Objective To study the persistence and replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in Epstein Barr virus (EBV) transforming peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from patients with he patitis C as well as variation of hypervariable regions (HVR) of the HCV genome. Methods PBMC from one patient with hepatitis C was infected by EBV and then transformed into lymphoblasts capable of being propagated indefinitely. Then, HCV RNA of the cultured cells and supernatants was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) every month and in situ PCR to identify the location of HCV RNA in the cells. The HVR genome sequences of HCV in the first and the ninth month subculture cells were identified by sequence analysis. Results HCV plus strand RNA could be detected in the cultured cells for as long as 1 year. The HCV plus strand RNA could be identified in supernatants and the minus strand RNA were also observed in the cultured cells intermittently. In situ PCR showed that the blue black positive signals of HCV RNA located mainly in cytoplasmas of EBV transforming B cell but negative in nucleous. The positive signal was not found in negative control cells by in situ RT PCR. HCV HVR genome sequence after half year was found to have two regions of a high degree of variability in 1491 to 1583 nucleotide (384 to 414 amino acid) and 1761～1781 nucleotide (473 to 479 amino acid). But, compared the HCV HVR genome sequence in first month subcultured cells with that in ninth month, there was not significant difference. Conclusion HCV may exist in the cultured cell line for a prolonged period wihtout HVR genome sequence changed.

Rapid reduction of postprandial blood glucose is very beneficial to diabetics. In order to shorten the onset time of recombinant insulin, the cone snail insulin G1 (cI G1) of Conus geographus was studied. First, the nucleotide sequence of recombinant cone snail proinsulin G1 (cPI G1) was designed and synthesized according to the genes of human proinsulin (hPI) and cPI G1. The codon was optimized according to Escherichia coli (E. coli) codon usage frequency. Then, the plasmid pET22b(+)-cPI G1 was constructed and the recombinant cPI G1 was expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) host strain. The recombinant cPI G1 was then purified and cleaved specially by trypsin to generate the recombinant cI G1, and its potency is 25.9 IU/mg. Fasting blood glucose test (FBGT) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) suggested that the recombinant cI G1 could rapidly reduce blood glucose in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, but only for a short duration. This study provides a technical reference for the development of recombinant fast-acting insulin.
Animals ; Conus Snail ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; Insulin ; Mice

PURPOSE: A prospective study was conducted to compare radiation exposure to different parts of an endovascular surgeon's body when using a mobile C-arm with that in a hybrid room. METHODS: Exposure during individual procedures performed on 39 patients with a mobile C-arm and 42 patients in a hybrid room, from July 2016 to December 2016, was evaluated. RESULTS: The procedures performed, fluoroscopy time, and dose-area product were not significantly different between groups. The dose-area product per second in the hybrid room group appeared greater than in the C-arm group (4.5 µGym2/sec vs. 3.1 µGym2/sec). In the C-arm group, the peak skin dose on the right neck (1.77 mSv) and shoulder (1.48 mSv) appeared higher than those on their left side (0.32 mSv, 0.53 mSv, respectively) and the counterparts of the hybrid room group (0.88 mSv, 0.20 mSv, respectively). CONCLUSION: The peak skin dose in the hybrid room appeared highest for the lower part of the protective apron. The dose-area product per second seemed to be greater in the hybrid room than when using the C-arm. Thus, attention should be focused on protecting the surgeon's upper body when using the C-arm and the lower body when using the hybrid room.
Endovascular Procedures ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Neck ; Operating Rooms ; Prospective Studies ; Radiation Exposure ; Shoulder ; Skin ; Surgeons

Objective To establish a method for simultaneous determination of gentiopicroside, berberine hydrochloride and baicalin in Longze Xiongdan capsule. Methods The separation was performed on a DIKMA Platisil ODS column (250 mm × 4. 6 mm, 5 µm) with gradient elution using methanol and 0.1% H3PO4 aqueous solution as mobile phase. The detection wavelength was set at 275 nm. Results Linear ranges of gentiopicroside, berberine hydrochloride and baicalin concentrations were 0.019-0.38 µg (r=0.9999), 0.15-3.00 µg (r=1.0000) and 0.078-1.56 µg (r=0.9997),respectively. Their average recoveries fell between 98.97% and 101.30%. Conclusion The method can be used as the standard for the quality control of Longze Xiongdan capsule.

In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have made breakthroughs in the field of lung cancer and have become a focal point for research. Programmed death-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor monotherapy was the first to break the treatment pattern for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, owing to the limited benefit of ICI monotherapy at the population level and its hyper-progressive phenomenon, it may not meet clinical needs. To expand the beneficial range of immunotherapy and improve its efficacy, several research strategies have adopted the use of combination immunotherapy. At present, multiple strategies, such as PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 inhibitors, and radiotherapy, as well as combined treatment with new target drugs, have been evaluated for clinical practice. To further understand the current status and future development direction of immunotherapy, herein, we review the recent progress of ICI combination therapies for NSCLC.
B7-H1 Antigen ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Drug Combinations ; Humans ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors ; Immunotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy*

BackgroundAsthma is a common chronic respiratory disease and is related to air pollution exposure. However, only a few studies have concentrated on the association between air pollution and adult asthma. Moreover, the results of these studies are controversial. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the influence of various pollutants on hospitalization due to asthma in adults.

MethodsA total of 1019 unrelated hospitalized adult asthma patients from Northeast China were recruited from 2014 to 2016. Daily average concentrations of air pollutants (particulate matter <2.5 μm [PM], particulate matter <10 μm [PM], sulfur dioxide [SO], nitrogen dioxide [NO], and carbon monoxide [CO]) were obtained from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre website from 2014 to 2016. Cox logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between air pollutants and hospital admissions in adult asthma.

ResultsThe maximum odds ratio (OR) value for most air pollutants occurred on lag day 1. Lag day 1 was chosen as the exposure period, and 8 days before onset was chosen as the control period. Three pollutants (PM, CO, and SO) were entered into the regression equation, and the corresponding OR (95% confidence interval) was 0.995 (0.991-0.999), 3.107 (1.607-6.010), and 0.979 (0.968-0.990), respectively.

ConclusionsA positive association between hospital admissions and the daily average concentration of CO was observed. CO is likely to be a risk factor for hospital admissions in adults with asthma.

Air Pollutants ; toxicity ; Air Pollution ; adverse effects ; Asthma ; epidemiology ; Carbon Monoxide ; toxicity ; China ; Environmental Monitoring ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Hospitalization ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Particulate Matter ; toxicity ; Risk Factors ; Sulfur Dioxide ; toxicity

Tumor chemoprevention and treatment are two approaches aimed at improving the survival of patients with cancers. An ideal anti-tumor drug is that which not only kills tumor cells but also alleviates tumor-causing risk factors, such as precancerous lesions, and prevents tumor recurrence. Chinese herbal monomers are considered to be ideal treatment agents due to their multi-target effects. Astragaloside has been shown to possess tumor chemoprevention, direct anti-tumor, and chemotherapeutic drug sensitization effects. In this paper, we review the effects of astragaloside on tumor prevention and treatment and provide directions for further research.
Humans ; Chemoprevention ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Neoplasms/prevention & control* ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology*

Objective : To study the effect and mechanism of action of Silibinin on the differentiation of 3T3-F442A preadipocytes in murine． Methods : The effects of 0－400 μmol / L Silibinin on the proliferation of 3T3-F442A adi- pocytes at 24，48 and 72 h were detected by 3-(4，5-dimethylthiazol-2) -2，5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide ( MTT) assay，and the effects of Silibinin on the adipogenesis of 3T3-F442A adipocytes were visualized by Oil Red O stai- ning ; RT-qPCR , Western blot and ELISA assays were used to detect the effects of Silibinin on 3T3-F442A adipo- cyte differentiation-associated transcription factor CCAAT / enhancer binding protein ( C / EBP) α , C / EBP β , per- oxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ cular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -α and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) ，matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and MMP-9，mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) and phosphorylated MEK (p-MEK) ，and extracellular regu- lated protein kinase (ERK) and phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK) expression. (PPARγ) ，adipocyte protein 2 (aP2) ，adipose generation-associated vas Results : MTT assay showed that the cell proliferation rate of 3T3-F442A preadipocytes decreased after 100，200，and 400 μmol /L Silibinin treatment compared with the control group (P＜0. 001) ; Oil Red O staining assay showed that the accumulation of red lipid droplets of the cells in the 160 μmol /L Silibinin assay group significantly decreased ; RT-qPCR assay showed that mRNA expression of C/EBPα , C/EBPβ , PPARγ , aP2，VEGF-α , VEGFR-2，MMP-2，and MMP-9 was down-reg- ulated in 3T3-F442A adipocytes treated with 160 μmol /L Silibinin compared with the control group (P＜0. 001) ; Western blot assay showed that protein expression of C /EBPα , C /EBPβ , PPARγ and aP2 was down-regulated in 3T3-F442A adipocytes treated with 160 μmol /L Silibinin (P＜0. 001) ，and the phosphorylation level of p-MEK/ MEK and p-ERK/ ERK proteins was down-regulated compared with the control group (P ＜0. 001) ; ELISA assay showed that the protein concentrations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the cell supernatant were down-regulated (P < 0. 001) in 3T3-F442A adipocytes treated with 160 μmol /L Silibinin． Conclusion Silibinin inhibited 3T3-F442A adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis through inhibition of the MEK/ ERK pathway and matrix metalloproteinase activity.

Clostridioides difficile/genetics* ; Clostridioides ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Feces ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics*