A strain, Escherichia coli AC-521, which could efficiently covert glycerol to lactic acid, was isolated from soil samples. A series of morphological and biochemical characteristics and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA reveal that it belongs to Escherichia coli. Through orthogonal experiment of L16(45), the optimum medium compositions were determined as initial glycerol 70 g/L, yeast extract 4 g/L, peptone 7 g/L, (NH4)2SO4 10 g/L, and K2HPO4 2.5 g/L. The 5 L fermenter fed-batch fermentation was performed under optimal conditions, giving 74.5 g/L lactic acid with a yield of 0.87 mol/mol glycerol after 80 hours.

Objective To evaluate the differentiation-inducing effect of phenylacetate on pancreatic carcinoma cells and underlying mechanism of RNA editing deaminase in cell proliferation and differentiation. Methods The effect of phenylacetate on cell proliferation and cell cycle were investigated in cultured pancreatic carcinoma BXPC-3 cell lines by methylthiazoletetrazolium( MTT) assay, and flow cytometry. The effect of phenylacetate on the expression of RNA editing deaminase (ADAR2 mRNA) in BXPC-3 cells and fresh pancreatic carcinoma specimen was evaluated by RT-PCR. Results ADAR1 mRNA expression was positive in human pancreatic carcinoma tissues and BXPC-3 cell lines. After application of 1.0 and 2.0 mmol/L phenylacetate for 24 h and 72 h, BXPC-3 cell growth inhibition rate increased, G0/G1 phase cells decreased, S phase cells increased, ADAR2 mRNA expression decreased ( P < 0.01 ). Conclusion ADAR2 mRNA played a vital role of regulation in the process of pancreatic carcinoma cells growth and differentiation. Phenylacetate could regulate the proliferation and differentiation of pancreatic carcinoma cells through the regulation of ADAR2 mRNA expression.

Objective To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis and management of pancreatic lesions in patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, and improve the current understanding on pancreatic lesions in VHL disease.Methods The clinical data of three VHL disease patients with pancreatic lesions were analyzed retrospectively, including clinical features, laboratory findings, imaging, pathological features, operation method and follow-up.Results Two patients had a family history of hemangioblastoma in central neural system, and 1 patient had retinal multiple angioma and angioma in central neural system, who were diagnosed as VHL.One patient with pancreatic portal hypertension had splenectomy and biopsy of left renal tumor.During the surgery, pancreatic cystic lesions were observed and the transparent cysts were diffusively distributed on the surface.The other 2 patients were diagnosed as pancreatic multiple cysts and non functional pNETs, and pancreatic multiple cysts, respectively, based on the imaging.All the three patients had stable disease status, and followed up by outpatient visits.Conclusions VHL disease can manifest as simple pancreatic cyst, pancreatic serous cystadenoma and pNETs.The optimal individualized treatment should be determined by Multidisciplinary team (MDT) according to the general condition of patient.

To study the relation between drug release and the drug status within curcumin-loaded microsphere, SPG (shirasu porous glass) membrane emulsification was used to prepare the curcumin-PLGA (polylactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres with three levels of drug loading respectively, and the in vitro release was studied with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The morphology of microspheres was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the drug status was studied with X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared analysis (IR). The drug loading of microspheres was (5.85 ± 0.21)%, (11.71 ± 0.39)%, (15.41 ± 0.40)%, respectively. No chemical connection was found between curcumin and PLGA. According to the results of XRD, curcumin dispersed in PLGA as amorphous form within the microspheres of the lowest drug loading, while (2.12 ± 0.64)% and (5.66 ± 0.07)% curcumin crystals was detected in the other two kinds of microspheres, respectively, indicating that the drug status was different within three kinds of microspheres. In the data analysis, we found that PLGA had a limited capacity of dissolving curcumin. When the drug loading exceeded the limit, the excess curcumin would exist in the form of crystals in microspheres independently. Meanwhile, this factor contributes to the difference in drug release behavior of the three groups of microspheres.

Myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS)is a heterogeneous myeloid tumor that originates from hematopoietic stem cells(HSCs)and is associated with a high risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia(AML).Studies have shown that 90%of patients with MDS have gene mutations,of whom approximately 25%have SF3B1 mutations.In patients with MDS carrying this mutation,the TGF-β pathway is upregu-lated,inducing cell cycle arrest and thereby leading to erythroid ineffective hematopoiesis and pathological hematopoiesis.Luspatercept can be used as a ligand trap to capture TGF-β ligands,inhibit SMAD2/3 pathway activation,downregulate TGF-β pathway,and promote ad-vanced red blood cell maturation.Currently,it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA)for the treatment of anemia in patients with low-risk MDS,and studies have shown that the response rate is higher in patients with SF3B1 mutations.This article will re-view the current status of luspatercept in the treatment of SF3B1 mutation-related MDS;it will also analyze its effectiveness and safety and provide therapeutic strategies for clinical use.

BACKGROUND:Some patients still have unsatisfactory improvement of operative limb fatigue and pain after total knee arthroplasty.Clinical findings show that Jianpi Yiqi Huoxue Formula can promote recovery after total knee arthroplasty,but the specific efficacy remains to be studied. OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of Jianpi Yiqi Huoxue Formula on the muscle strength and pain of the operated limb after the primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty. METHODS:A total of 74 patients undergoing primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty were randomly divided into a trial group and a control group with 37 patients in each group.All patients received the same prostheses and surgical methods during the operation.Patients in the control group were treated with routine analgesics,anticoagulant drugs and functional exercise after the operation.The trial group received Jianpi Yiqi Huoxue Formula after the treatment in the control group.Both groups were treated continuously and followed up for 1 month.The changes in isokinetic muscle strength(peak torque and total work amount of extensor and flexor),visual analog scale score and the hospital for special surgery score of the two groups were analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The trial group had better improvement in peak torque and total work amount of extensor and flexor and the hospital for special surgery score than the control group 14 days and 1 month after surgery(P<0.05).(2)In contrast to the control group,the visual analog scale score of the trial group improved better at 7 and 14 days and 1 month after surgery(P<0.05).(3)It is indicated that Jianpi Yiqi Huoxue Formula can effectively improve the muscle strength of the operated limb,enhance the degree of postoperative joint pain,and promote functional rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND:MRI is important for the diagnosis of early knee osteoarthritis.MRI image recognition and intelligent segmentation of knee osteoarthritis using deep learning method is a hot topic in image diagnosis of artificial intelligence. OBJECTIVE:Through deep learning of MRI images of knee osteoarthritis,the segmentation of femur,tibia,patella,cartilage,meniscus,ligaments,muscles and effusion of knee can be automatically divided,and then volume of knee fluid and muscle content were measured. METHODS:100 normal knee joints and 100 knee osteoarthritis patients were selected and randomly divided into training dataset(n=160),validation dataset(n=20),and test dataset(n=20)according to the ratio of 8:1:1.The Coarse-to-Fine sequential training method was used to train the 3D-UNET network deep learning model.A Coarse MRI segmentation model of the knee sagittal plane was trained first,and the rough segmentation results were used as a mask,and then the fine segmentation model was trained.The T1WI and T2WI images of the sagittal surface of the knee joint and the marking files of each structure were input,and DeepLab v3 was used to segment bone,cartilage,ligament,meniscus,muscle,and effusion of knee,and 3D reconstruction was finally displayed and automatic measurement results(muscle content and volume of knee fluid)were displayed to complete the deep learning application program.The MRI data of 26 normal subjects and 38 patients with knee osteoarthritis were screened for validation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The 26 normal subjects were selected,including 13 females and 13 males,with a mean age of(34.88±11.75)years old.The mean muscle content of the knee joint was(1 051 322.94±2 007 249.00)mL,the mean median was 631 165.21 mL,and the mean volume of effusion was(291.85±559.59)mL.The mean median was 0 mL.(2)There were 38 patients with knee osteoarthritis,including 30 females and 8 males.The mean age was(68.53±9.87)years old.The mean muscle content was(782 409.18±331 392.56)mL,the mean median was 689 105.66 mL,and the mean volume of effusion was(1 625.23±5 014.03)mL.The mean median was 178.72 mL.(3)There was no significant difference in muscle content between normal people and knee osteoarthritis patients.The volume of effusion in patients with knee osteoarthritis was higher than that in normal subjects,and the difference was significant(P<0.05).(4)It is indicated that the intelligent segmentation of MRI images by deep learning can discard the defects of manual segmentation in the past.The more accuracy evaluation of knee osteoarthritis was necessary,and the image segmentation was processed more precisely in the future to improve the accuracy of the results.

Fiber photometry is a recently-developed method that indirectly measures neural activity by monitoring Ca

The olfactory bulb (OB) is the first relay station in the olfactory system. In the OB, mitral/tufted cells (M/Ts), which are the main output neurons, play important roles in the processing and representation of odor information. Recent studies focusing on the function of M/Ts at the single-cell level in awake behaving mice have demonstrated that odor-evoked firing of single M/Ts displays transient/long-term plasticity during learning. Here, we tested whether the neural activity of M/Ts and sniffing patterns are dependent on anticipation and reward in awake behaving mice. We used an odor discrimination task combined with in vivo electrophysiological recordings in awake, head-fixed mice, and found that, while learning induced plasticity of spikes and beta oscillations during odor sampling, we also found plasticity of spikes, beta oscillation, sniffing pattern, and coherence between sniffing and theta oscillations during the periods of anticipation and/or reward. These results indicate that the activity of M/Ts plays important roles not only in odor representation but also in salience-related events such as anticipation and reward.

Many people affected by fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorders have sensory processing deficits, such as hypersensitivity to auditory, tactile, and visual stimuli. Like FXS in humans, loss of Fmr1 in rodents also cause sensory, behavioral, and cognitive deficits. However, the neural mechanisms underlying sensory impairment, especially vision impairment, remain unclear. It remains elusive whether the visual processing deficits originate from corrupted inputs, impaired perception in the primary sensory cortex, or altered integration in the higher cortex, and there is no effective treatment. In this study, we used a genetic knockout mouse model (Fmr1^KO), in vivo imaging, and behavioral measurements to show that the loss of Fmr1 impaired signal processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). Specifically, Fmr1^KO mice showed enhanced responses to low-intensity stimuli but normal responses to high-intensity stimuli. This abnormality was accompanied by enhancements in local network connectivity in V1 microcircuits and increased dendritic complexity of V1 neurons. These effects were ameliorated by the acute application of GABA_A receptor activators, which enhanced the activity of inhibitory neurons, or by reintroducing Fmr1 gene expression in knockout V1 neurons in both juvenile and young-adult mice. Overall, V1 plays an important role in the visual abnormalities of Fmr1^KO mice and it could be possible to rescue the sensory disturbances in developed FXS and autism patients.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/metabolism* ; Fragile X Syndrome/metabolism* ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Neurons/metabolism*