Zinc and its compounds with insulin-like effects have been found to own such properties as strong bio-compatibility,good stability and remarkable hypoglycemic effect. Since the discovery of their insulin-like function,zinc compounds and their anti-diabetic effects have been a geobal focus of research. Zinc ion is involved in physiological and biochemical processes in vivo,such as in carbohy-drate and lipid metabolism. The mechanism of zinc and zinc complexes in anti-diabetic activity are sum-marized in this article,including direct participation in insulin synthesis,antioxidation,involvement in the regulation of tyrosine protein phosphatase,and improving immunity. Zinc complexes with Zn(N2 O2 )have remarkable insulin-like effects. Particularly,the L-theanine-zinc compound,which is a class of zinc com-plexes with natural ligands,has also been found to show significant hypoglycemic effect in an in vivo experiment on KK-Ay mice,have stable chemical properties,be absorbed fast in vivoand be non-toxic with oral administration during model animal experiments. This paper reviews the progress in research on relationships between zinc and its complexes and the anti-diabetic effect.

Objective To observe the expressions of oxidized low density lipoprotein ( OxLDL ) receptor CD36 in kidney tissue of diabetic rats and in tubular cells incubated with OxLDL, and to explore the association of CD36 with the tubular injury and renal fibrosis in the process of diabetic nephropathy. Methods Diabetic rat model with hyperlipidemia was established by feeding with high sugar and fat diet and injection of low dose streptozotocin intraperitoneally. The expression of CD36 in kidney tissues was analyzed immunohistochemically. Meanwhile, the tubular sclerosis and fibrosis injury index were estimated and calculated. NRK-52E cells were stimulated with 50 mg/L OxLDL for 5, 10, 24, and 48 h, or 100 and 150 mg/L OxLDLs for 2 and 3 days. The protein expression of CD36 was detected by Western blot. Results The expression of CD36 in the renal tubulointerstitium of diabetic rats was increased comparing to that in control rats, and was localized mainly at tubular region. The renal tubular damage index(STI)ofdiabetesgroupwashigherthanthatincontrolgroup(5.54±1.5vs0.65±0.15,P<0.05). OxLDL stimulated CD36 expression in NRK-52E cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Conclusion The expression of CD36 was increased in renal tubular of diabetic rats, in consistent with STI. OxLDL increased CD36 expression in NRK-52E cells. These results suggest that the expression of CD36 is associated with renal tubular damages in experimental rat diabetes.

Objective:To investigate the orthodontic needs and to analyze the influencing factors of orthodontic treatment of university students in Xi'an.Methods:The orthodontic questionnaire survey was conducted in university students by stratified cluster random sampling,the Dental health component(DHC)and aesthetic component(AC)in the orthodontic treatment needs index were used as the objective indicators of orthodontic treatment needs,and the self-perceived aesthetic component(SAC)of the subjects was used as the subjective indicator of the need for orthodontic treatment.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine the influencing factors of university students'willingness to orthodontic treatment.Results:A total of 1135 university students were sur-veyed,including 578 males and 557 females.There were 224(19.74％),184(16.21％)and 120(10.57％)university students who required orthodontic treatment by DHC,AC and SAC analysis,respectively.Among the 224 university students who needed orthodontic treatment by DHC,68(30.36％)were willing to undergo orthodontic treatment,and 156(69.64％)were unwilling.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender,malocclusion,cognitive situation and social environment were independent influencing factors affecting the treatment intention.Conclusion:The objective orthodontic demand of Xi'an university students is high,but the demand for subjective orthodontic treatment is low.Gender,malocclusion,cognitive situation and social environment are the in-dependent influencing factors of university students'orthodontic treatment intention.

BACKGROUNDOuabain is a mammalian adrenocortical hormone that is involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension by inhibiting Na-K ATPase activity. It also participates in a variety of kinase-mediated signaling pathways associated with Na-K ATPase. Previous studies have shown that ouabain can cause cardiac remodeling independent of elevated blood pressure and that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) plays a coordinating role for numerous proteins involved in multiple processes associated with DNA synthesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that ouabain might play a role in the cerebral cortex through signaling pathways independent of hypertension. And PCNA might be involved in this process.

METHODSMale Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with ouabain or with 0.9% nitric sodium as the control group. Systolic blood pressure was recorded weekly. After four weeks of treatment, morphological changes in the cerebral cortex were analyzed using light and transmission electron microscopy. The expression of PCNA in the cerebral cortex was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, real time quantitative PCR, and Western blotting.

RESULTSAfter 4-week treatment, there was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure compared with the control group, but both structural deterioration and up-regulated expression of PCNA in the brain was induced by ouabain treatment.

CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that ouabain induces alterations in the brain structure, and this effect is independent of blood pressure. PCNA might be involved in the repair process of ouabain-induced brain damage.

Animals ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Ouabain ; therapeutic use ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE：To explore th e applicatio n of team situatio nal simulation education and teaching mode in clinical pharmacy teaching. METHODS ：A total of 60 clinical pharmacy interns were selected as the research objects ，and course disease was type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thirty interns were randomly selected as control group ，using traditional teaching mode ；other 30 interns were selected as trial group ，which carried out team situational simulation education and teaching mode. The teaching effects were evaluated by using the satisfaction of interns to the two modes ，the comprehensive score of graduation examination and the self-evaluation of learning effect. RESULTS ：Compared with traditional teaching mode ，team situational simulation education and teaching mode was conducive to stimulate the learning interest of interns ，improve their interpersonal communication ability ， cultivate teamwork spirit ，improve the awareness of humanistic care ，and cultivate the professional attitude of clinical pharmacists （P＜0.05）. Compared with control group ，the comprehensive score of trial group was dominantly increased （P＜0.001），and the scores of professional quality ，humanistic care and communication skills in the trial group were significantly higher than control group（P＜0.01）. In terms of self-evaluation of learning effect ，except for the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and the commonly used treatment regimens ，the self-evaluation scores of the other items in trial group were significantly higher than control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS ：Team situational simulation education and teaching mode is superior to traditional teaching mode for clinical pharmacy teaching.