Objectives To investigate the impact of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on dynamics of homing of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) after renal ischemia reperfusion injury (IR).Methods Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups after right-side kidney nephrectomy:for sham-operated rats,lumbotomy without vascular clamping was performed; IR rats were clamped renal blood vessels for 40 minutes while IPC rats were pre-treated with 15 min ischemia and 10 min reperfusion.At 3,12,24 h,and 3 days after reperfusion,the pool of circulating,kidneys,lungs and spleens were harvested.The extent of renal injury was assessed by biochemical and histological examination.The dynamics of homing of EPCs was observed by flow cytometry.Results The rats in IPC group exhibited significant improvements in renal function and morphology.Compared with IR group and sham group,the number of EPCs in blood was increased in the IPC group at 12 h and 24 h after reperfusion (P ＜ 0.05).The number of EPCs in kidney was increased at all times pointin the IPC group and IR group as compared to the sham group (P ＜ 0.05.In addition,EPCs number was increased in IPC group compared with the IR group at 12 h and 24 h [(11.36±0.66)％ vs (6.37±0.69)％,(6.31±0.70)％ vs (4.40±0.60)％,all P＜ 0.05].Compared with IR group and sham group,the number of EPCs in the lung was increased in the IPC groups at 12 h after reperfusion [(2.95±0.66)％ vs (1.78±0.59)％,(1.66±0.61)％,all P ＜ 0.05].The number of EPCs in spleen was increased in the IPC group at 72 h as compared with the IR group and sham group [(0.55±0.06)％ vs (0.34±0.07)％,(0.31±0.06)％,all P ＜ 0.05].Conclusions Endogenous EPCs may home to injured kidney after IPC.EPCs can also gather in the lungs and spleen.

Objective To observe the protein expressions of PI3Kp110, pAkt, pGSK3β of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway in the whole blood of patients with Kashin-Beck disease and analyze the status of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Methods Patients with Kashin-Beck disease ( KBD group ) were from six counties ( Xunyi , Linyou , Yongshou , Qianyang , Changwu and Long County) of Shannxi Province in Kashin-Beck disease areas , and the healthy controls (control group) were matched by age and sex. Venous blood was collected from patients and healthy controls. Trizol method was applied to extract the whole blood protein; protein expression levels of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in whole blood were detected by Western blotting; the gray values were observed and recorded by the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE) and GDS-8000 gel imaging analysis system. Differences between the two groups were assessed by Student’s t-test. Results Compared age and sex between KBD group and control group, differences were not statistically significant(t=0.701, P>0.05;χ2=0.400, P>0.05). The protein expression levels of PI3Kp110, pAkt and p-GSK3β in KBD group were higher than that in control group(156.1 ± 92.1 vs. 79.5 ± 21.5, 113.7 ± 15.2 vs. 43.3 ± 10.7 and 105.9 ± 17.5 vs. 37.3 ± 12.0, respectively) and the differences were statistically significant (t=2.563, 6.567, 7.916; all P < 0.05 or < 0.01). Conclusion The PI3Kp110, pAkt and p-GSK3β expressions of signaling pathway proteins in the whole blood of patiens with Kashin-Beck disease are up-regulated significantly and the status of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is activated.

Objective To study the changes of hippocampal caspase-3 and PSD-95 expression levels in the mice exposed to ketamine 30 mg/(kg·d)for three months. Methods Forty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups,and the chronic ketamine addiction model was established by giving mice a three month course of daily intraperitoneal injections of ketamine. Immunohistochemical study and Western blot-ting were applied to observe the expression of caspase-3 and PSD-95 protein. Results There were more expression of caspase-3 and less of PSD-95 in ketamine group as detected by immuohistochemistry. Western blotting results showed caspase-3 active fragment level significantly increased com-pared to saline group,but PSD-95 protein level was decreased. Conclusion The increased level of caspase-3 protein and reduced expression of PSD-95 are observed after long-term ketamine administration. These findings may provide an evidence for the neurotoxicity in mouse hippocampus of chronic ketamine addition as a recreational drug.

Objective: To examine sleep quality and related factors among middle school students,and to provide a scientific reference for making the relevart interventional measures. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire anonymous survey was conducted among 9 560 students randomly selected from Shanxi province using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to collect information on sleep quality. Results: Among all the participants, 2 255 (23.6%) middle school students were reported poor sleep quality. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was significantly higher in girls (24.5%) than in boys (22.4%)(χ2=5.93, P<0.05). Significant differences were observed in the prevalence of poor sleep quality between junior middle school (12.9%), senior middle school (36.6%) and vocational school students (24.6%) (χ2=636.07, P<0.01). The global PSQI, sleep duration and sleep disturbance scores were higher in girls than in boys (t=3.76，8.38，3.47，P<0.01). There were significant differences between students with different school stages in global PSQI, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction scores (F=727.43,83.69,1 670.07,8.24,26.19,4.20,609.80,P<0.05). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that gender, school stage, academic pressure, parental marital state, relationship with teachers, physical activity, smoking and drinking were associated with poor sleep quality among middle school students in Shanxi. Conclusion Sleep problems are common among middle school students, and appropriate intervention should be taken to improve sleep quality of students from individual, school-and family level.

Objective To investigate the effects of the erythropoietin (EPO) on ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in rats with nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). Methods Fifty-four Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups randomly after right kidney nephrectomy: Sham group, NSS group (PBS+NSS) and EPO group (EPO+NSS). During NSS, renal artery was clamped for 40 min to induce IRI. Sham group just adopted exposure renal artery without vascular clamped. Rats in NSS group were injected intraperitoneally with PBS for 3 days before NSS. Rats in EPO group were injected intraperitoneally with EPO for 3 days before NSS. After 12 h, 24 h, 72 h, blood sample and renal tissues were collected. The serum creatinine (Scr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were evaluated. The pathology injury was evaluated by HE staining. The CD24/CD133 double-positived renal progenitor cells (RPCs) were tested by flow cytometry. The CD133 and PCNA protein were quantified by immunohistochemical staining. The expressions of Wnt7b and β-catenin protein were detected by Western blotting. Results Rats in NSS group had more elevated Scr, BUN and pathology injury scores 12 h, 24 h and 72 h after operation than those in Sham group (all P<0.05). Compared with those in the NSS group, the Scr and BUN in the EPO group were significantly lower 24 h after the surgery (all P<0.05), and the pathology injury score also decreased (P<0.05). The proportion of RPCs, expressions of CD133 and PCNA, and expressions of Wnt7b and β-catenin protein were significantly higher after 24 h of the surgery in NSS group than those in the Sham group (all P<0.05). While compared with those in the NSS group, the proportion of RPCs and expressions of CD133, PCNA, Wnt7b and β-catenin increased at the EPO group (all P<0.05). Conclusions EPO can reduce the IRI after NSS, and its mechanism may be related to the mobilization of the RPCs by the Wnt7b/β-catenin signal pathway.

Objective To clarify the role of nuclear factor κB(NF-κB) signaling pathway in pathogenesis of Kashin-Beck disease(KBD) by observing the expression of NF-κB p65 in the whole blood samples of patients with KBD and controls,and the expression of NF-κB p65 in C28/I2 chondrocyte, and to analyze the role of NF-κB p65 molecule in chondrocyte apoptosis. Methods Through a case-control study, 161 patients with KBD (KBD group) were selected from Xunyi, Yongshou, Changwu, Linyou, Qianyang and Long counties in KBD endemic areas and 312 healthy people(control group) were matched by age and sex in Shaanxi Province. Venous blood samples were collected from patients and healthy controls, which were anticoagulated and used for determination of NF-κB p65 protein.According to the group design,the model of C28/I2 chondrocyte oxidative damage was established.The experiments were divided into 4 groups including control group(C), tBHP injury group (O, tBHP 300.00 μmol/L), low selenium pre-protection group (OS1, 0.05 mg/L Na2SeO3+ 300.00 μmol/L tBHP), and middle selenium pre-protection group(OS2, 0.10 mg/L Na2SeO3+ 300.00 μmol/L tBHP). Then, cell apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33342 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by dichlorfluorescein(DCF) method. The protein was extracted by Trizol method, then protein expression level of NF-κB p65 molecule was detected by Western blotting in whole blood samples and C28/I2 chondrocyte. Results The differences in age and sex were not statistically significant between KBD group and control group (t = 0.336, P > 0.05; χ2= 0.407, P > 0.05). The protein expression level of NF-κB p65 in KBD group was 1.835 times as high as that of control group (KBD:0.167 ± 0.026, control: 0.091 ± 0.014, t = 5.147, P < 0.01). Under the fluorescence microscope, chondrocyte showed strong blue fluorescence in tBHP group and the level of ROS(1.219 ± 0.104) was higher than those of low and middle selenium pre-protection groups(0.832 ± 0.077, 0.635 ± 0.070, P < 0.05).The protein expression level of NF-κB p65 in tBHP group (1.563 ± 0.351) was higher than that of control group (0.451 ± 0.069, P < 0.05), and protein levels of NF-κB p65 had a decreasing tendency in low and middle selenium pre-protection groups compared to tBHP group. Conclusion The NF-κB signaling pathway is up-regulated in KBD patients, moreover, chondrocyte experiments show that cell apoptosis is mediated via upregulation of NF-κB p65,which suggests NF-κB signaling pathway may play an important role in pathogenesis of KBD.

Unique factors in the space environment can cause dysbiosis of astronauts' gut microbiota and its metabolites, which may exert systematic physiological effects on human body. Recent progress regarding the effect of space flight/simulated space environment (SF/SPE) on the composition of gut microbiota and its metabolites was reviewed in this paper. SF/SPE may cause the increase of invasive pathogenic bacteria and the decrease of beneficial bacteria, aggravating intestinal inflammation and increasing intestinal permeability. SF/SPE may also cause the decrease of beneficial metabolites or the increase of harmful metabolites of gut microbiota, leading to metabolism disorder in vivo, or inducing damage of other systems, thus not beneficial to the health and working efficiency of astronauts. Summarizing the effects of SF/SPE on gut microbiota may provide scientific basis for further researches in this field and the on-orbit health protection of astronauts.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology* ; Dysbiosis/microbiology* ; Bacteria/metabolism*

【Objective】 To explore the mediating role of eating disorders in the relationship between body image satisfaction and anxiety symptoms among college students, and further examine the moderating effect of mindfulness on this mediating pathway. 【Methods】 By using convenience sampling, we conducted baseline and follow-up surveys among freshmen and sophomores at two universities in Xizang Autonomous Region from September to December 2021. Measurements included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the body image satisfaction subscale of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Data analyses performed using SPSS 23.0 included Pearson correlation analysis, mediation (model 4), and moderation (model 58) effect analysis. 【Results】 A total of 2 993 students participated in both the baseline and follow-up surveys, including 1 007 males (34.3%) and 1,666 Tibetan and other ethnic minorities (56.8%), with an average age of 19.8 (SD=1.3) years. Body image satisfaction significantly predicted anxiety symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by disordered eating. The presence of mindfulness moderated the impact of body image satisfaction on disordered eating and the influence of disordered eating on anxiety symptoms, indicating varying strengths of these relationships at different levels of mindfulness. 【Conclusion】 This study demonstrates that body image satisfaction can significantly predict anxiety symptoms, with disordered eating playing a mediating role in this relationship. The moderating effect of mindfulness further reveals that students with high levels of mindfulness are less likely to experience eating disorders influenced by body image dissatisfaction. Interventions for college students’ mental health should consider including management of body image and eating behaviors, as well as mindfulness training.