ObjectiveTo observe the changes of artery diameters, cerebral blood flow and glutamate level in the early stage (2 h after the stimulus finished) of acute mechanical middle cerebral artery (MCA) vasospasm in cats. MethodsThe right MCA was persistently mechanically stimulated using a small smooth stainless steel nail in the field across the olfactory tract for 30 min. The diameter of MCA was recorded with metrical ocular of microscope. The changes of the perfusion index of brain tissue were observed through the Laser Doppler flowmetry monitor fixed on the skull. The level of glutamate were investigated through high performance liquid chromatography. ResultsThe diameter of MCA decreased to 68.8% of normal. 2 h later, the diameter of MCA recovered. The perfusion index of the cortex surface decreased to 42.6% of normal and up to 63.8% 2 h later. The level of glutamate raised about 40 times of normal and maintained a high level 2 h after the mechanical stimulus. ConclusionThe persistent mechanical stimulus can cause acute cerebral vasospasm. Reduce of cerebral blood flow and raise of excitatory amino acids were observed in the early stage of acute mechanical vasospasm.

Objective To study the influence of arachidonic acid (AA) on L-type calcium channel in rabbits sin-gle cardiomyocyte and its mechanism of antiarrhythmia. Method The single ventricular cardiomyocyte was isolat-ed by using enzyme dispersion method and whole-cell clamp-patch technique was used to record L-type calcium current.All data were analyzed using ANOVA. Results AA inhibited Ica-L in a concentration-dependent manner. The application of 3 μmol/L, 10 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L arachidonic acid reduced the density of peak Ica-L from (10.79±0.93)pA/pF to (8.99±0.43)pA/pF to (7.60±0.35)pA/pF and to (5.60±0.30)pA/pF, respctive-ly (n=7, P<0. O1 ). The Ica-Lpartially resumed after washout. The AA up-shifted the I-V curves of Ica-L without changes of their shape,peak and reverse potentials. The AA also markedly shifted the inactivation curve to left, and prolonged the recorvery time from inactivation,but did not change the curve of calcium channel activation. Con-clustions By acceleration of L-type calcium channel inactivation and prolongation of recorvery time from inactiva-fion,arachidonic acid can reduce the calcium ion influe and prolong effective refractory period, playing the role of antiarrhythmia.

Objective To evaluate the MRI features of erythromycin eye ointment entered into the orbital soft tissue of guinea pigs.Methods MRI was performed dynamically to observe the signal changes 1 day,1 week,2 weeks ,3 weeks and 4 weeks after erythromycin eye ointment was successfully injected into orbital soft tissue of guinea pigs ,as well as HE stainings to monitor retrob-ulbar soft tissue specimens at each time point were obtained.Results After the injection of erythromycin eye ointment 1 day,1 week,2 weeks,3 weeks and 4 weeks later,the signal intensity of erythromycin eye ointment was resemble to the surrounding soft tissue and indistinguishable on T2 WI.On T1 WI,the signal intensity of erythromycin eye ointment was higher than that of contralat-eral adipose body of orbit at 1day and 1 week,and slightly higher than the contralateral adipose body of orbit at 2 weeks and 3 weeks,but resemblance at 4 weeks.HE staining showed that inflammatory cell infiltration and tissue necrosis at 1 day,the presence of foreign body macrophages and fibroblasts at 2 weeks,and the inflammatory cells surrounding the optic nerve gradually subsided at 3 weeks and 4 weeks.Conclusion Fat-suppressed T1 WI is the best sequence to observe erythromycin eye ointment.Abnormal signal changes on T1 WI can reflect the histopathological changes after erythromycin eye ointment into the tissue.

Time to positivity(TTP) is a new parameter in blood culture field.The article shows us the concepts of TTP,differential time to positivity (DTTP),and introduces their relation with bloodstream infection (BSI),catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI).Besides,it stresses TTP' s clinical application,including determining the severity of disease;identifying the isolates whether pollution or not; identification of isolate strains ; detection of the drug resistance of isolates ; evaluating the effect of antibiotic ; helping to adjust the therapeutic drug; diagnosing or excluding CRBSI by means of DTTP;deciding whether the catheter is the source of infection in patients with candidemia; understanding the epidemiological distribution of strain.At the same time,the article also describes the shortcomings and domestic current status.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of scalp-acupuncture on intelligence in patients with vascular dementia (VaD). METHODS: A total of 108 VaD patients were randomly divided into two groups: scalp-acupuncture group and Western medicine group. The scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Blesse Dementia Scale (BDS), Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS), Abilities of Daily Life (ADL) before and after treatment in the two groups were detected. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients completed the treatment. The scores of MMSE, BDS and HDS in the two groups were significantly increased, and the ADL scores significantly declined (P<0.05). There was no difference in the scores of MMSE, BDS, HDS and ADL between the two groups before and after the treatment. There was no difference in the total effectiveness between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Scalp-acupuncture therapy could improve the clinical intelligence level of VaD patients.

The effect of atorvastatin on warfarin-induced aortic medial calcification and systolic blood pressure (SBP) of rats induced by warfarin was studied. Thirty healthy and adult rats were randomly divided into Warfarin group (n=10), Atorvastatin group (n=10) and normal control group (n=10). Caudal arterial pressure of rats was measured once a week, and 4 weeks later, aorta was obtained. Elastic fiber, collagen fiber and calcium accumulation in tunica media of cells were measured by Von Kossa staining. The results showed that warfarin treatment led to elevation of systolic blood pressure and aortic medial calcification. The chronic treatment also increased collagen, but decreased elastin in the aorta. However, the atorvastatin treatment had adverse effects. It was concluded that treatment with atorvastatin presented evidence of blood pressure lowing and calcification reducing. These data demonstrate that atorvastatin protected aortic media from warfarin-induced calcification and elevation of systolic blood pressure.
Aortic Diseases/chemically induced ; Aortic Diseases/drug therapy ; Aortic Diseases/*pathology ; Blood Pressure/*drug effects ; Calcinosis/chemically induced ; Calcinosis/*drug therapy ; Calcinosis/pathology ; Heptanoic Acids/*pharmacology ; Heptanoic Acids/therapeutic use ; Hypertension/chemically induced ; Hypertension/*drug therapy ; Pyrroles/*pharmacology ; Pyrroles/therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar ; Warfarin

Objective To investigate the effect of BPI-1095 on caspase-3 protein expression in middle artery occlusion(MCAO) rats.Methods Cerebral ischemia was induced with MCAO in adult male SD rats.Rats were randomly subjected into 6 groups with 15 rats in each group.Each rat has been given tested medication of different dosage and was sacrificed 24 h after treatment.The area of infarction was measured on each slice by image analysis system.Meanwhile,immunohistochemistry staining was used to identify caspase-3 expression in ischemic brain tissue.Results The infarcted area were significantly decreased in big and moderate dose treated rats(P<0.05,vs the placebo group).The expression of caspase-3 protein decreased in contralateral and ipsilateral hemisphere areas.The caspase-3 positive cell was significantly decreased in rats treated with big doses compared with placebo-or ASA-treated rats.Conclusion BPI-1095 shows neuroprotection in MCAO rats,which may related with the inhibition of caspase-3 expression resulting in apoptosis in penumbra.

Objective: To understand the prevalence and associated factors of spinal curvature in children and adolescents in the Yangtze River Delta Region and to provide reference and help for the prevention and intervention of spinal curvature in children and adolescents. Methods: From September to November 2021, 8 246 middle school students in Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang provinces in the Yangtze River Delta Region were selected by stratified cluster sampling for spinal curvature assessment and questionnaire survey. Results: The detection rate of spinal curvature in middle school students in the Yangtze River Delta was 8.46 %. Girls (9.82%) were significantly higher than boys (7.20%)( χ 2=18.25, P <0.01), and students from urban area (10.77%) was significantly higher than that of suburban area (4.94%)( χ 2=86.75, P <0.01). Junior high school students (6.65%) were significantly lower than high school students (10.34%)( χ 2=36.26, P <0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that urban area( OR= 2.58, 95%CI =1.72-3.86), time usage of electronic equipment ≥ 3 h/d( OR=1.61, 95%CI =1.14-2.29), break between near work for more than 1 h ( OR=1.42, 95%CI =1.01-1.97) and outdoor activity <2 h/d( OR=1.84, 95%CI =1.26-2.69) were positively correlated with the occurrence of spinal curvature( P <0.05). Conclusion The detection rate of spinal curvature in middle school students in the Yangtze River Delta is relatively high, which is related to time spent on screen, near work and outdoor activity. Education and guidance should be strengthened to reduce the detection rate of spinal curvature.

Objective To investigate the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signal transduction pathway on the up-regulation of the expression of acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferasel (ACAT1) induced by Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pn), and to discuss the mechanism of macrophages-derived foam cell formation induced by C. pn. Methods C. pn was propagated in Hep-2 cells. THP-1 monocytes were induced into macrophages by 160 nmol/L phorbol myristate acetate(PMA) for 48 h, and were randomly allocated into four groups to be incubated continually: control group, C. pn infection group, C. pn and SP600125 (a special JNK inhibitor)group and SP600125 group. Lipid droplets in cytoplasm were observed by oil red O staining. The contents of intracellular cholesterol ester were detected by enzyme fluorescence analysis. The expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. Results Compared with the control group, the expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in C. pn infection group [(4.16±0.26) vs. (2.17±0.18), (1.20±0.10)vs. (0.61±0.03), both P<0.05], and C. pn-induced foam cell formation was observed. The expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein and the foam cell formation were inhibited by SP600125 in a concentration-dependent manner (r = - 0.92, P<0.05; r= - 0. 96, P<0.05, respectively). Conclusions The up-regulation of ACAT1 expression is induced by C. pn via JNK signal transduction pathway, which is involved in the mechanism of C. pn-induced macrophage-derived foam cell formation.

AIM: To investigate the signal transduction mechanism of Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) in down-regulating the expression of ATP binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) and ATP binding cassette G1 (ABCG1),the key molecules in cholesterol efflux and atherogenesis,from THP-1-derived macrophages. METHODS: Cpn was propagated in Hep-2 cells. THP-1 monocytes were induced into macrophages by 160 nmol/L phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) for 48 h,and were randomly allocated into 4 groups to incubate continually: control group,50 mg/L low density lipoprotein (LDL); Cpn infection group,Cpn (1×10~6 IFU) and 50 mg/L LDL; Cpn and SP600125 (a special JNK inhibiter) group,THP-1 macrophages were previously treated with different concentrations (1-20 μmol/L) of SP600125 for 1 h,and then infected with Cpn (1×10~6 IFU) and 50 mg/L LDL; SP600125 group,SP600125(20 μmol/L)and 50 mg/L LDL. The expressions of ABCA1/ABCG1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) from each group were detected then. The cholesterol efflux was detected by enzyme-fluorescence. The expressions of ABCA1/ABCG1 and PPARγ mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively. RESULTS: Cpn not only down-regulated the ABCA1/ABCG1 expression,but also down-regulated the expression of PPARγ,which regulated the ABCA1/ABCG1 genes transcriptions. However,the mentioned effects of Cpn infection were restrained by the special JNK inhibitor SP600125 in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Chlamydia pneumoniae may down-regulate ABCA1/ABCG1 expression from THP-1-derived macrophages via JNK-PPARγ signal transduction pathway.