AIM: To study the effect of food intake on weight, memory, staying balance and power, and some biochemical indexes in mice. METHODS: In accordance with the average food intake everyday, the animals were divided into five groups: group A took the average food intake fully, group B took 75% of the average food intake, group C took 50% of the average food intake, group D took 25% of the average food intake, and group E did not take any food at all. The weights, memory, staying balance and power were recorded every three days, the biochemical index was recorded on the 10th day. RESULTS: On the 3rd day, the weight and staying balance and power of mice in group E decreased. On the 6th and 9th day, the weight of mice in group ABC increased. Compared with group B and C, the memory group A and D decreased. On the 10th day, the blood glucose concentratoin in of group D decreased, total cholesterol and triglyceride also decreased with the reduction of food intake. CONCLUSION: A food intake of 75%-50% in all helpes to keep a good body status and memory, decreases total cholesterol and triglyceride in blood.

Objective To investigate the effect of the revision of Chinese Versions of Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test(RME) on the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's dementia (AD).Methods We compared performance on the cognitive test battery between 96 patients with MCI and 55 patients with AD and 95 control individuals.Neuropsychological tests, encompassing RME-T, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), were conducted on 96 patients with MCI, 55 patients with AD and 95 healthy control individuals.Completion rate of RME-T in the normal group and the total scores and each item score of RME-T were analyzed, and the feature between RME-T and RME-S (RME-short) was compared.Results The total score of RME-T was (23.7±4.7) in normal group, (19.9 ± 4.9) in MCI group,and (19.9±7.5) in AD group.There were significant differences in the total score of RME-T among the three groups (t=13.9, P＜0.01).The differences in the total score of RME-T between normal group and AD group, between normal group and MCI group were also significant (both P＜0.01).RME-S was composed of 20 items after rejecting 16 items of RME T whose project completion rate was lower than 50％ in the normal group and in which there was no significant difference among normal, MCI and AD groups.The correlations between the total score of RME-T and 3 item scores of RME-T were not significant (P＞0.05).However, the total score of RME-S was highly correlated with each item score of RME-S (P＜0.01).The total score of RME-T and RME S were highly correlated with each total score of the cognitive test battery (P＜0.01).With the normal and MCI groups, normal and AD groups as the subjects, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis found that AUC(RME-S) was＞ AUC(RME-T) in normal and AD groups (P＜0.01), whereas, AUC(RME-S) was＜AUC(RME-T) in normal and MCI groups (P＞0.05).Conclusions RME has good reliability and validity, and RME-S is better than RME-T in internal consistency, which is more suitable for identifying mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease in Chinese population, and it is worthy of further popularization and application.

AIM: To observe the effects of the human acidic fibroblast growth factor mutant (mhaFGF), lacking 27 amino acids at N-terminal, on the proliferation and signal transduction of the hepatocarcinoma cells. METHODS: The hepatocarcinoma cells were treated with human acidic fibroblast growth factor (haFGF) and mhaFGF, respectively. The expression levels of the signal proteins, Grb2 and Erk1/2, in the hepatocarcinoma cells were detected by semi-quantitative Western-blotting after treated for 15 min. The mitogenic activity of both haFGF and mhaFGF was detected by MTT method and the cell cycle was analysed by flow cytometer (FCM) after treated for 48 h. RESULTS: The mitogenic activity and the ratio of G 1 and S phase cells in mhaFGF-treated cells were markedly lower than that of the haFGF, and close to that of the control group. The expression level of both Grb2 and Erk1/2 in the mhaFGF-treated cells were lower than those in the haFGF- treated cells. CONCLUSION: The decrease in the mitogenic activity of mhaFGF is probably associated to its down-regulating the expression of the signal molecular, MAPK-ERK1/2 and Grb2.

This paper is to report the study of the pharmacokinetics of a fusion protein TAT-haFGF(14-154) for human acidic fibroblast growth factor and transcriptional activator protein in rat plasma, and the investigation of their penetration across blood-brain barrier in mice and rats, in order to provide a basis for clinical development and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine concentration of TAT-haFGF(14-154) in rat plasma and in mouse brain homogenate; and immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the distribution in brain. The concentration-time curve fitted two-compartment open model which was linear kinetics elimination after a single intravenous injection of TAT-haFGF(14-154) in rat at the dose of 300 microg x kg(-1). The half life time was 0.049 +/- 0.03 h for distribution phase and 0.55 +/- 0.05 h for elimination phase, and the weight was 1/C2. The result showed that TAT-haFGF(14-154) could be detected in the brain by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, the elimination of TAT-haFGF(14-154) in rat was swift, and TAT-haFGF(14-154) could penetrate across the blood-brain barrier, distribute in pallium and hippocampus and locate in the nucleus.

Dementia care is a chronic stressor severely influencing on physical and mental health and social life of family caregivers.In the research field of dementia care,the studies are inadequate regarding to the influence of caregiving stress on physical and mental health,especially on the risk of suffering from common chronic disease of family caregivers.So far,the studies are mainly based on hypotheses associated with chronic stress-induced three perspectives,i.e.,excessive activation of sympathetic nervous system,endothelial injury,and excessive activation of pro-inflammatory and procoagulant factors.This paper summarizes the research progress from these three perspectives.

Objective To identify abnormal cerebral glucose metabolism characteristics in patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) using 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET imaging. Methods From January 2014 to January 2017, resting-state brain 18 F-FDG PET imaging was performed in 10 CBD patients (5 males, 5 females; average age: (63.4±6.2) years) and 20 age-matched healthy subjects (8 males, 12 female; average age: (63.6±6.2) years). Voxel-based statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used to analyze images to obtain the CBD-related brain metabolic characteristics. The regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglc) was compared between 2 groups by two-sample t test. Results Compared with healthy controls, CBD group demonstrated asymmetrically decreased glucose metabolism mainly in the cere-bral hemisphere opposite to the more clinically affected body side, including the superior, middle and inferi-or frontal gyrus, the precentral gyrus, the superior and inferior parietal lobule, the angular gyrus, the supra-marginal gyrus, the precuneus, the middle occipital gyrus, the middle and inferior temporal gyrus, Heschl gyrus, the fusiform gyrus, the insula and the thalamus. And relatively increased glucose metabolism was present in ipsilateral precentral and postcentral gyrus, hippocampus, insula and putamen, bilateral cerebel-lum, paracentral lobules and pontine. The rCMRglc in those regions was significantly different between CBD patients and healthy controls (t values: 4.236-9.044, all P<0.01). Conclusion The asymmetric cerebral glucose metabolism features in CBD based on 18 F-FDG PET imaging contribute to the differential diagnosis between CBD patients and healthy subjects.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the different brain oxygen metabolism statuses in preeclampsia using magnetic resonance imaging and investigate the factors that affect cerebral oxygen metabolism in preeclampsia. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine women with preeclampsia (mean age 32.4 years; range, 18–44 years), 22 pregnant healthy controls (PHCs) (mean age 30.7 years; range, 23–40 years), and 40 non-pregnant healthy controls (NPHCs) (mean age 32.5 years; range, 20–42 years) were included in this study. Brain oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) values were computed using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) plus quantitative blood oxygen level-dependent magnitude-based OEF mapping (QSM + quantitative blood oxygen level-dependent imaging or QQ) obtained with a 1.5-T scanner. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to investigate the differences in OEF values in the brain regions among the groups. Results: Among the three groups, the average OEF values were significantly different in multiple brain areas, including the parahippocampus, multiple gyri of the frontal lobe, calcarine, cuneus, and precuneus (all P-values were less than 0.05, after correcting for multiple comparisons). The average OEF values of the preeclampsia group were higher than those of the PHC and NPHC groups. The bilateral superior frontal gyrus/bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus had the largest size of the aforementioned brain regions, and the OEF values in this area were 24.2 ± 4.6, 21.3 ± 2.4, and 20.6 ± 2.8 in the preeclampsia, PHC, and NPHC groups, respectively. In addition, the OEF values showed no significant differences between NPHC and PHC. Correlation analysis revealed that the OEF values of some brain regions (mainly involving the frontal, occipital, and temporal gyrus) were positively correlated with age, gestational week, body mass index, and mean blood pressure in the preeclampsia group (r = 0.361–0.812). Conclusion Using whole-brain VBM analysis, we found that patients with preeclampsia had higher OEF values than controls.

AIM:To investigate the regulatory role of retinoid X receptor(RXR)in oxidative stress response of rat type Ⅱ alveolar epithelial cells(AECII)induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation(HR).METHODS:The AECII were di-vided into control(C)group,HR group,HR+solvent dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO)group(HD group),HR+RXR agonist 9-cis-retinoic acid(9-RA)group(RA group),and HR+RXR antagonist HX531 group(HX group).Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8)method was used to measure the cell viability.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of surfactant protein A(SP-A)and RXRα in AECII.Kits were detected to the levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and malondialdehyde(MDA)in cells.Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructural changes of the cells.Western blot was used to detect the protein level of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2).RT-PCR was used to detect the expression level of Nrf2 mRNA.RESULTS:Compared with C group,the cell viability and SOD activity in HR,HD,RA and HX groups were decreased significantly(P<0.05),the MDA content were increased significantly(P<0.05),the Nrf2 mRNA and protein expression levels were decreased significantly(P<0.05 or P<0.01),and the immuno-fluorescence expression of RXRα was significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with HR and HX groups,the cells in RA group showed significantly increased cell viability(P<0.05),increased SOD activity(P<0.05),decreased MDA con-tent(P<0.05),increased Nrf2 mRNA and protein expression levels(P<0.01),and significantly increased immunofluo-rescence expression of RXRα(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:Hypoxia/reoxygenation can aggravate the oxidative stress re-sponse of rat AECII,and RXR agonist intervention can alleviate HR-induced rat AECII injury by inhibiting oxidative stress.

Coagulometer, known as blood coagulation analyzer, is a product that can provide accurate test results for medical diagnosis and treatment analysis by detecting a series of items closely related to thrombosis and hemostasis in coagulation reaction. On the basis of previous traditional methods, and with our deep understanding about the principles of hemagglutination detection, we propose a hemagglutination detection method by using the dual-magnetic circuit beads method. Then, the corresponding hemagglutination detection module is designed. The coagulation time of plasma can be measured by detecting the movement of the magnetic beads when the magnetic field intensity is appropriate. The activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT) of plasma is tested when the most suitable magnetic field intensity is found. The results preliminarily show that this blood coagulation test method is valid and the corresponding test module has a potential value in business.
Blood Coagulation ; Blood Coagulation Tests ; Magnetic Phenomena ; Magnetics ; Partial Thromboplastin Time

Objective To analyze the equity of the allocation of oral medical resources and the accessibility of health service capabilities in Wuhan. Methods The equity of oral medical resources was calculated with Gini coefficient and Theil index, accessibility was assessed by two-step floating catchment area model, and the spatial autocorrelation was used to study the high-low clustering of accessibility. Results The Gini coefficient of oral medical resources based on population level was around 0.3, and the Gini coefficient of oral medical resources based on geographic area was greater than 0.6. Theil index calculation results were similar. In terms of overall accessibility, the area with poor accessibility was 2,428 square kilometers, reaching 28.38% of the total area, while the area with better accessibility accounted for 14.18%. Conclusion The allocation of oral medical care resources based on population distribution was fairer and better than that based on geographic area. Moreover, the geographical accessibility varies greatly between regions, showing the characteristics of high-high cluster and low-low cluster.