In order to investigate the interelationship between copper deficiency and lipidemia, an experiment was done in weanling rats fed normol and copper deficient diet for one month. At the end of experimental period, the growth rate, the contents of copper, zinc, cholesterol and triglyceride in plasma and the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in plasma were measured. The differences between the two diets were compared by student's test and the relation between plasma copper and plasma cholesterol or MAO was ascertained by regression analysis.The results showed that a lower body weight gain and a highly significant hypercholesterolemia were found in copper deficiency rats and the plasma cholesterol concentration correlated reversely with the plasma copper (r = -0.724, p

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) are characterized by rapid amplification and wide differentiation.Thus, to establish in vitro BMSC induction models contributes to the study of tissue engineering.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possibility of inducing the differentiation of rat BMSCs into cardiomyocytes by 5-azacitidine in vitro.OESING, TIME AND SETTING: The cytological in vitro study was performed at the Central Laboratory of First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University from June 2005 to June 2008.MATERIALS: A total of 20 Sprague Dawley rats were supplied by the Experimental Animal Center, Liaoning Medical University.5-azacitidine (Sigma, USA) was used.MHEHODS: Following anesthesia, the rats were used to isolate the femur and tibia. BMSCs were isolated and cultured by the whole bone marrow method + adherent method. When 90% BMSCs were confluence, BMSCs were passaged. BMSCs at the third passage were incubated in a 24-well plate at 2×10~4/well, with 5,10, 15, 20 μmol/L 5-azacitidine. Simultaneously, a blank control group (without inductor) was set. Following 24 hours of induction, BMSCs were incubated in normal medium for 3 weeks.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The following parameters were measured: cell appearance and growth curve, morphological changes following induction, and expression of connexin-43 and a-striated muscle actin.RESULTS: Cultured BMSCs were spindle-shape, with some cell confluence. P3 cells following incubation entered static phase at 1 and 2 days, and entered logarithmic phase at 3 days, reached a peak at 9 days, and then entered platform stage. Cell number became decreased at 12 days. Following induction of 5 μmol/L 5-azacitidine, no significant difference was found in BMSCs.Following induction of 10 μmol/L 5-azacitidine, BMSCs became long and big, extended towards a direction, with the property of myotube formation cells. Following induction of 15 umol/L 5-azacitidine, a few cells survived surrounding the 24-well plate.Following induction of 20 μmol/L 5-azacitidine, cells died. Following induction of 10 μmol/L 5-azacitidine for 3 weeks, expression of connexin-43 and a-striated muscle actin was determined in BMSCs. However, a negative expression was detected in the blank control group.CONCLUSION: BMSCs cannot differentiate into cardiomyocytes by itself. Following in vitro induction, BMSCs can differentiate into cardiomyocytes. Low-dose 5-azacitidine concentration cannot induce the differentiation, but high-dose 5-azacitidine concentration will induce death in a large number of cells. Thus, 10 μmol/L is an optimal concentration.

Objective To explore the surgical treatment for ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures.Method From December 2000 to March 2007,13 patients with ipsilateral femoral neck and shaft fractures were treated,7 patients were stabilized with reconstruction inter-locking nail,3 patients were stabilized with cannulated lag screws and retrograde inter-locking nail,and the other patients who were missed diagnosis were stabilized with cannulated lag SCreWS and antergrade inter-locking nail.Results All patients were followed up for 18 months to 5 years,and had fracture union at one stage,except 1 patient had nonunion offemoral neck fracture and 1 patient had nonunion offemoral shaft fracture.Conclusions The ipsilateralfractures offemoralneck and shaftismre.andthefemoral neckfractureis easyto bemissed.The treating method should be chosen according to the position of femoral shaft fracture.

ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between the respiration-induced clinical target volume (CTV) motion and volume variation and the dosimetric variation of planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OAR) during free-breathing (FB) with whole breast intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).MethodsSeventeen patients with breast conserving surgery underwent respiration-synchronized four-dimentional computed tomography (4DCT) simulation scans on the state of FB.The treatment plan was constructed using the end-inspiration phase scan,then copied and applied to the other respiratory phases.The dose distribution was calculated separately to evaluate the dose-volume histograms parameters for the PTV,ipsilateral lung and heart.ResultsDuring FB,the CTV motion vector was (2.09 ±0.74) mm,and the volume variation was (3.05 ± 0.94) ％.There was no correlation between the volume variation of CTV and dosimetric variation of PTV/OAR ( r =-0.390 -0.480,P =0.182 -0.775 ).In anteroposterior (AP),superoinferior (SI) and vector directions,the CTV movement correlated well with the PTV mean dose,conformal index,and the lung volume receiving high dose (V20,V30,V40,and V50;r=-0.975-0.791,P =0.000 -0.041 ).In SI and vector directions,the CTV displacement only correlated with the heart volume receiving ＞ 5 Gy ( V5 ) ( r =-0.795,0.687,P =0.006,0.028 ).The lung volume variation and the lung volume receiving high dose correlated reasonably well (r=0.655 -0.882,P=0.001-0.04 0).The heart volume variation only correlated with the V5 of heart (r =-0.701,P =0.024).ConclusionsDuring free-breathing,the effect of breast volume variation can be ignored for whole breast IMRT,and whole breast IMRT assisted with breath-hold may improve the accuracy of dose delivery during radiotherapy.

Objective To introduce a new method for preparation of bioactive β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) by rapid stem cell screen-and-enrich-and-combine circulating system (SECCS) and evaluate its efficacy in the treatment of fresh fractures and bone defects.Methods Twenty-two patients with fresh fracture and bone defects were treated with SECCS from July 2013 to April 2016.They were 16 males and 6 females with an average age of 52.2 years (from 27 to 81 years).There were 15 tibial plateau fractures and 7 calcaneal fractures.The average size of bone defects was 12.5 mL.Bioactive β-TCP was prepared by SECCS intraoperatively and implanted back immediately into the bone defects.Radiographic examination,Lysholm knee scoring and Maryland foot scoring were used for assessment of curative efficacy.Results The 22 patients were followed up for an average of 25.7 months (from 12 to 46 months).By SECCS,the enrichment efficiency of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) reached up to 82.4％ and the cell viability was not affected.The tibial plateau fractures were re-transplanted with 13,381.3 BMSCs on average and healed after an average of 8.9 weeks (from 6 to 15 weeks).The Lysholm knee scores at one year postoperatively averaged 93.6 points (from 84 to 100 points),yielding 10 excellent cases,4 good cases and one fair case.The calcaneal fractures were implanted back with 16,677.7 BMSCs on average and healed after an average of 9.4 weeks (from 8 to 13 weeks).The average Maryland foot score at one year after operation was 93.6 points (from 85 to 98 points),yielding 6 excellent cases and one good case.Conclusion Bioactive materials prepared by SECCS are good bone grafts for fresh fractures and bone defects.

Objective To investigate the difference of target volumes and dosimetric parameters between supine and prone positions for external-beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) after breastconserving surgery (BCS).Methods Thirty breast cancer patients with T1N0M0 stage who underwent three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) EB-PBI after BCS were enrolled from July 2016 to April 2017.Supine and prone scan sets were acquired during free breathing for all patients.Target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) including heart,ipsilateral lung and bilateral breast were contoured by the same radiation oncologist.The tumor bed (TB) was determined based on surgical clips.The clinical target volume (CTV) consisted of the TB plus 1.0 cm margin and the planning target volume (PTV) was CTV plus 0.5 cm.Dosimetric parameters for target volumes and OARs were compared between supine and prone positions.Results The median volumes of the TB,the CTV and the PTV in supine were 14.40 cm3,57.35 cm3,108.85 cm3 and 14.10 cm3,62.60 cm3,113.70 cm3 for prone positions,respectively.The CTV and PTV in prone position were significantly greater than those in supine position,respectively (Z=-3.01,-2.87,P ＜0.05),but the TBs were not statistically different (P ＞0.05).The median homogeneity indexs (HI) in supine position was less than those in prone position (Z =-3.137,P ＜0.05),while the mean conformal indexs (CI) was increased with prone positioning (t =9.034,P ＜ 0.05).The mean dose (D) to the heart in the supine position was significantly lower than that in prone (0.34 and 1.19 Gy,Z =-4.12,P ＜0.05).The D to the ipsilateral lung in the prone position was significantly lower than that in supine (1.59 and 1.72 Gy,Z =-2.18,P ＜ 0.05).There was not significantly statistical difference for the D to the ipsilateral breast between two positionings (10.01 and 10.40 Gy,P ＞0.05).Conclusions It was feasible to carry out 3D-CRT EB-PBI in prone position in free breathing for Chinese breast cancer patient,with primary advantages of better CI and the significantly lower radiation dose to the ipsilateral lung.

Objective:To investigate the effects of exosome derived from miR-133a-3p engineered human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSC) on myocardial repair after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in rats.Methods:UcMSC was amplified and cultured in vitro. Lentiviral carrying miR-133a-3p and negative control vectors were transfected into ucMSC. Exosomes secreted by the transfected ucMSC were named miR-133a-3p-Exo and miR-NC-Exo, respectively. The AMI model of rats was established by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. MiR-133a-3p-Exo or miR-NC-Exo were then injected into the border zone of the infarct area. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography after twenty-eight days of intervention, and Masson staining was used to evaluate the area of myocardial fibrosis post-AMI. The myocardial apoptosis after infarction was evaluated by TUNEL staining and the angiogenesis after infarction was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining in the current study. Results:Compared with the miR-NC-Exo group, the left ventricular ejection fraction in the miR-133a-3p-Exo group was significantly increased ((47.4%±9.8%) vs. (64.2%±8.9%), P<0.05). While the myocardial fibrosis area ((31.2%±7.3%) vs. (18.0%±1.5%), P<0.01) and the percentage of apoptotic cardiomyocytes ((25.6%±3.6%) vs. (15.1%±4.4%), P<0.05) was significantly reduced in the miR-133a-Exo group. Besides, the expression of CD31 and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were also increased significantly in the miR-133a-3p-Exo group compared to the miR-NC-Exo group (CD31: (2.9±0.9) vs. (13.9±2.0), P<0.000 1, α-SMA: (3.5±0.9) vs. (11.0±1.6), P<0.000 1). Conclusion:Exosome derived from miR-133a-3p engineered ucMSC effectively inhibited myocardial apoptosis and promoted angiogenesis, thus improving the cardiac function after myocardial infarction in rats.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of gut microbiota in the preoperative, short-term postoperative and long-term postoperative period at (15.61±4.51) months in children with ventricular septal defect (VSD) of congenital heart disease (CHD) treated with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).Methods:A prospective study was conducted.In Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center, 13 patients with VSD who were scheduled for CPB and additional 10 age- and gender-matched healthy infants as pre-CPB control group from January 2021 to January 2022 were enrolled.Fecal samples were collected at pre- and early post-CPB.Meanwhile, 18 gender- and CHD diagnosis and operation-matched patients at (15.61±4.51) months after CPB and 8 healthy age- and gender-matched children as long-term control group after CPB were also enrolled, and fecal samples were collected.16S rRNA sequencing of fecal samples from all subjects were performed and comparing the differences in gut microbiota between two groups via comparing alpha and beta diversity, parameter test or nonparametric test, and LEfSe analysis.Results:Compared with those of pre-CPB control group, there was a significant difference in the composition of gut microbiota in the preoperative period of VSD children, with significantly increased abundances of Enterobacteriaceae and Shigella, and decreased abundance of Bifidobacterium (all P<0.05). The diversity of gut microbiota was comparable in VSD children before CPB and in the short period time after CPB (all P>0.05), except for the abundances of Clostridium and Streptococcus (all P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the relative abundances of other highly abundant gut bacteria between the two periods (all P>0.05). Compared with that in VSD children in the short period time after CPB, the abundances of short-chain fatty acids-producing microbes were significantly higher at (15.61±4.51) months postoperatively (all P<0.05), and the gut bacteria profile was similar to that of the long-term control group after CPB (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Gut microbiota imbalance exists in VSD children before CPB.The gut microbiota profile is not influenced by CPB, which returns normal at (15.61±4.51) months postoperatively.

Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, and Th17 cells are key factors in the pathogenesis of human inflammatory conditions, such as RA. Catalpol (CAT), a component in Rehmanniae Radix (RR), has been found to regulate human immunity. However, the effects of CAT on Th17 cell differentiation and improvement of RA are not clear. Materials and Methods: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice were constructed to detect the effects of CAT on arthritis and Th17 cells. The effect of CAT on Th17 differentiation was evaluated with let-7g-5p transfection experiments. Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Th17 cells after CAT treatment. Levels of interleukin-17 and RORγt were assessed by qRT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: We found that the proportion of Th17 cells was negatively associated with let-7g-5p expression in CIA mice. In in vitro experiments, CAT suppressed traditional differentiation of Th17 cells. Simultaneously, CAT significantly decreased Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation. Our results demonstrated that CAT inhibited Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p and that the suppressive effect of CAT on traditional differentiation of Th17 cells is not related with let-7-5p. Conclusion Our data indicate that CAT may be a potential modulator of Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p to reduce the expression of STAT3. These results provide new directions for research into RA treatment.

China prospective multicenter birth cohort (Prospective Omics Health Atlas birth cohort, POHA birth cohort) study was officially launched in 2022. This study, in collaboration with 12 participating units, aims to establish a high-quality, multidimensional cohort comprising 20 000 naturally conceived families and assisted reproductive families. The study involves long-term follow-up of parents and offspring, with corresponding biological samples collected at key time points. Through multi-omics testing and analysis, the study aims to conduct multi-omics big data research across the entire maternal and infant life cycle. The goal is to identify new biomarkers for maternal and infant diseases and provide scientific evidence for risk prediction related to maternal diseases and neonatal health.