Objective To investigate the intervention effect of Qingxin-Ⅱ Recipe on myocardial cell apoptosis and its fibrosis in viral myocarditis mice and its mechanism.Methods A total of 120 Balb/c mice were randomly divided into the model group (n=50),the treatment group (n=50) and the control group (n =20).Mice in the model and treatment groups were given intraperitoneal injection of CVB3 to establish the experimental model of viral myocarditis.The control and model groups were treated with normal saline and water by intragastric administration respectively and the treatment group was given Qingxin-Ⅱ Recipe.The expression level of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB),tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),collagen type Ⅰ-A1 (COL1-A1),collagen type Ⅲ-A1 (COL3-A1),matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9),tissue inhibitor of metallproteinase-1 (TIMP-1),myocardial interstitial collagen volume fraction (CVF) and apoptosis rate (Rapo) were assessed after treatment.Results The levels of NF-κB,TNF-α,IL-1 in cardiomyocytes,serum levels of COL1-A1,MMP-9,TIMP-1,the mRNA expression levels of COL1-A1,COL3-A1,MMP-9,TIMP-1 in cardiomyocytes,CVF and Rapo were lower in the treatment and control groups than in the model group (F=21.541,12.146,32.583,4.212,6.863,4.868,9.089,8.662,7.307,6.646,4.324,41.237,respectively,all P＜0.05).No significant differences in the levels of NF-κB,TNF-α,IL-1 of cardiomyocytes,in serum levels of COL1-A1,TIMP-1 and in mRNA expression levels of COL1-A1,COL3-A1,MMP-9,TIMP-1 of cardiomyocytes between the control group and the treatment group (all P＞0.05) were found,but serum MMP-9 level was higher in the treatment group than in the control group (P =0.033).Conclusions Qingxin-Ⅱ Recipe can effectively reduce inflammatory cytokines levels,protect myocardial cells from inflammatory damages and inhibit myocardial fibrosis in viral myocarditis.

Objective: To explore the effects and mechanism of humble leadership on organizational trust and voice behavior of nursing staff. Methods: A total of 249 questionnaires were collected with a questionnaire survey, the effective response rate was 91.54%. The structural equation model was used to test the relationship between variables. Results: The humble leadership had a significantly positive influence on the organizational trust (β= 0.46, P<0.01) and voice behavior (β= 0.63, P<0.01) of nursing staffs, organizational trust played the partial mediating effect (β= 0.29, P<0.01). Conclusion A nursing manager who is good at humble behavior can promote organizational trust among the subordinate nursing team, which in turn, directly and indirectly enhances their positive voice behavior.

Objective To evaluate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) treatment on the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts cultured on barium titanate/titanium alloy (BaTiO3) and zinc oxide/titanium alloy (ZnO) piezoelectric ceramic composite scaffolds.Methods The BaTiO3 and ZnO porous composite scaffolds were randomly divided into ultrasound (UBaTiO3 and UZnO) and control (CBaTiO3 and CZnO)groups,and MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the surface of the materials in each group.Cells in the ultrasound groups were subjected to a 20-min treatment LIPUS session daily,and the control group was sham-treated without the power source.The proliferation and differentiation rates of osteoblasts were evaluated using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT),alkaline phosphatase (ALP),and osteocalcin (OCN) assays.Results Significant differences in the MTF values were observed between the UBaTiO3 and CBaTiO3 groups at day 4 (P ＜ 0.05) and between the UBaTiO3 and UZnO groups at days 1,4,and 7 (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the CBaTiO3 group,the UBaTiO3 group showed significantly higher ALP activity and OCN levels at days 4 and 7 (P ＜ 0.05).Further,a significant difference in the ALP and OCN values between the UBaTiO3 and UZnO groups (P ＜ 0.05) was observed.Conclusion LIPUS promotes the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts on BaTiO3 and ZnO scaffolds.BaTiO3 scaffolds enable better promotion of osteogenesis under LIPUS treatment than ZnO scaffolds do.

OBJECTIVE: Endometrial cancer (EC) is a common gynecologic cancer worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of EC has not been epigenetically elucidated. Here, this study aims to describe the DNA methylation profile and identify favorable gene signatures highly associated with aberrant DNA methylation changes in EC. METHODS: The data regarding DNA methylation and gene expression were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs), differentially methylated regions (DMRs), and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and the relationship between the 2 omics was further analyzed. In addition, weighted CpG site co-methylation network (WCCN) was constructed followed by an integrated analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression data. RESULTS: Four hundred thirty-one tumor tissues and 46 tissues adjacent tumor of EC patients were analyzed. One thousand one hundred thirty-five DMCs (merging to 10 DMRs), and 1,488 DEGs were obtained between tumor and normal groups, respectively. One hundred forty-eight DMCs-DEGs correlated pairs and 13 regional DMCs-DEGs pairs were obtained. Interestingly, we found that some hub genes in 2 modules among 8 modules of WCCN analysis were down-regulated in tumor samples. Furthermore, protocadherins (PCDHs) clusters, DDP6, TNXB, and ZNF154 were identified as novel deregulated genes with altered methylation in EC. CONCLUSION: Based on the analysis of DNA methylation in a systematic view, the potential long-range epigenetic silencing (LRES) composed of PCDHs was reported in ECs for the first time. PCDHs clusters, DDP6, and TNXB were firstly found to be associated with tumorigenesis, and may be novel candidate biomarkers for EC.
Biomarkers ; Carcinogenesis ; DNA Methylation* ; DNA* ; Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Epigenomics ; Female ; Gene Expression* ; Genome ; Humans ; Methylation

Patients with severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at high risk of death primarily due to respiratory failure caused by the cytokine storm in pulmonary tissues. The treatment response of these patients remains limited. Recently, low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) has been clinically adopted to treat severe or critical COVID-19 patients in multiple medical centers abroad, indicating high feasibility and effectiveness. However, the mechanism and optimal radiation dose are still incompletely clear. This paper reviews the radiobiological mechanism, effectiveness, adverse reactions, and radiotherapy dose of LDRT in the treatment of severe or critical COVID-19 patients, aiming to better understand the clinical benefits and adverse reactions of LDRT.

The continuing challenges that limit effectiveness of tumor therapeutic vaccines were high heterogeneity of tumor immunogenicity, low bioactivity of antigens, as well as insufficient lymph nodes (LNs) drainage of antigens and adjuvants. Transportation of in situ neoantigens and adjuvants to LNs may be an effective approach to solve the abovementioned problems. Therefore, an FA-TSL/AuNCs/SV nanoplatform was constructed by integrating simvastatin (SV) adjuvant loaded Au nanocages (AuNCs) as cores (AuNCs/SV) and folic acid modified thermal-sensitive liposomes (FA-TSL) as shells to enhance de novo antitumor immunity. After accumulation in tumor guided by FA, AuNCs mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) induced the release of tumor-derived protein antigens (TDPAs) and the shedding of FA-TSL. Exposed AuNCs/SV soon captured TDPAs to form in situ recombinant vaccine (AuNCs/SV/TDPAs). Subsequently, AuNCs/SV/TDPAs could efficiently transport to draining LNs owing to the hyperthermia induced vasodilation effect and small particle size, achieving co-delivery of antigens and adjuvant for initiation of specific T cell response. In melanoma bearing mice, FA-TSL/AuNCs/SV and laser irradiation effectively ablated primary tumor, against metastatic tumors and induced immunological memory. This approach served a hyperthermia enhanced platform drainage to enable robust personalized cancer vaccination.

BACKGROUNDHemifacial spasm (HFS) is a facial nerve disorder characterized by episodic involuntary ipsilateral facial muscle contraction. Information on Chinese patients with HFS has not been well-characterized. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical feature and the treatment status of HFS across China.

METHODSA cross-sectional study including 1003 primary HFS patients had been carried out in 15 movement disorder clinics in China in 2012. The investigated information was acquired from questionnaires and medical records including demographic data, site of onset, aggravating and relieving factors, treatments prior to the investigation, etc.

RESULTSIn this study, the ratio of male to female was 1.0:1.8, the mean age at onset was (46.6 ± 11.5) years. About 1.0% patients were bilaterally affected. The most often site of initial onset was the orbicularis oculi muscle. The most often affected sites were orbicularis oculi, zygomatic, and orbicularis oris muscles. Stress/anxiety and relaxation were most often aggravating and relieving factors, respectively; 2.3% patients had family history, 28.4% cases were combined with hypertension, and 1.4% patients were with trigeminal neuralgia. Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injection was the most commonly used treatment, followed by acupuncture and oral medication. BTX-A maintained the highest repeat treatment ratio (68.7%), while 98.4% patients gave up acupuncture. The mean latency of BTX-A effect was (5.0 ± 4.7) days, the mean total duration of the effect was (19.5 ± 11.7) weeks, and 95.9% patients developed improvements no worse than moderate in both severity and function. The most common side effect was droopy mouth.

CONCLUSIONSThe onset age of HFS in China is earlier than that in western countries. The most often used two treatments are BTX-A injection and acupuncture, while the latter kept the poor repeat treatment ratio because of dissatisfactory therapeutic effect.

Adult ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; therapeutic use ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Hemifacial Spasm ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuromuscular Agents ; therapeutic use