BACKGROUND: Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which are metabolites of arachidonic acid catalyzed by cytochrome P450 epoxygenase, are degraded into inactive dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). Many studies have revealed that sEH gene deletion exerts protective effects against diabetes. Vascular calcification is a common complication of diabetes, but the potential effects of sEH on diabetic vascular calcification are still unknown. METHODS: The level of aortic calcification in wild-type and Ephx2-/- C57BL/6 diabetic mice induced with streptozotocin was evaluated by measuring the aortic calcium content through alizarin red staining, immunohistochemistry staining, and immunofluorescence staining. Mouse vascular smooth muscle cell lines (MOVAS cells) treated with β-glycerol phosphate (0.01 mol/L) plus advanced glycation end products (50 mg/L) were used to investigate the effects of sEH inhibitors or sEH knockdown and EETs on the calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells, which was detected by Western blotting, alizarin red staining, and Von Kossa staining. RESULTS: sEH gene deletion significantly inhibited diabetic vascular calcification by increasing levels of EETs in the aortas of mice. EETs (especially 11,12-EET and 14,15-EET) efficiently prevented the osteogenic transdifferentiation of MOVAS cells by decreasing nidogen-2 (NID2) expression. Interestingly, suppressing sEH activity by small interfering ribonucleic acid or specific inhibitors did not block osteogenic transdifferentiation of MOVAS cells induced by β-glycerol phosphate and advanced glycation end products. NID2 overexpression significantly abolished the inhibitory effect of sEH gene deletion on diabetic vascular calcification. Moreover, NID2 overexpression mediated by adeno-associated virus 9 vectors markedly increased insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and phospho-ERK1/2 expression in MOVAS cells. Overall, sEH gene knockout inhibited diabetic vascular calcification by decreasing aortic NID2 expression and, then, inactivating the downstream IGF2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS sEH gene deletion markedly inhibited diabetic vascular calcification through repressed osteogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells mediated by increased aortic EET levels, which was associated with decreased NID2 expression and inactivation of the downstream IGF2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
Animals ; Mice ; Vascular Calcification/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Epoxide Hydrolases/metabolism* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/genetics* ; Male ; Gene Deletion ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/genetics* ; Cell Line ; Immunohistochemistry ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; Mice, Knockout

Objective To construct a prediction model for coronal malalignment of lower limb in middle-aged and young people in China based on body surface big data in order to provide a faster and more accurate tool for predicting the malalignment in clinical practice.Methods A cross-sectional trial was adopted on 915 patients with knee meniscus tears admitted to the Sports Medical Center of our hospital from May 2022 to December 2023.The coronal force line of lower limb was measured,and according to the lower limb force line grading standards,the patients were divided into neutral force line group and malalignment lower limb group,and assigned randomly into training set and validation set in a ratio of 7∶3.Seven indicators,such as gender,age,and body surface big data (including BMI,lower limb length,distance between both knee joints,distance between both ankle joints,and subcutaneous fat thickness)were used to analyze the training set to predict the value of malalignment force line.Logistic regression model and nomogram model were constructed to visualize our prediction model. Then calibration curves,receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curve,and decision curve analysis (DCA)were applied to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the constructed model.Results In the training set of 640 cases,there were 299 males and 341 females,with a median age of 41 .5 years old,and for the validation set,there are 275 patients,including 128 males and 147 females,with a median age of 41 .0 years old.Significant differences were observed in above mentioned 7 indicators between the 2 groups in the training set (P<0.01 ).Based on the results of multiple logistic regression analysis,a prediction model for malalignment of lower limb was constructed,including BMI (24.31±3.58 kg/m2,OR=1 .12,95％CI:1 .06～1 .19,P<0.001 ),lower limb length[82.00 (78.00～87.00)cm,OR=0.95,95％CI:0.92～0.98,P=0.002],distance between both knee joints[30.00 (16.00～45.25)cm,OR=1 .06,95％CI:1 .05～1 .07,P<0.001],distance between both ankle joint[23.00 (8.00～30.00)mm,OR=0.98,95％CI:0.96～1 .00,P=0.078]and gender[man 299 (46.72％),OR=0.70,95％CI:0.46～1 .06,P=0.089].The area under the subject curve (AUC)value of our constructed model for predicting malalignment of lower limb was 0.808 and 0.770,respectively,in the training and validation sets.Conclusion Based on body surface big data,we primarily construct a prediction model for malalignment of lower limb for middle-aged and young people in China,which shows a good diagnostic performance on malalignment of lower limb.

Objective:To investigate correlation between neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs) formation and T cell subsets in mice with experimental autoimmune thyroiditis(EAT) and the impact of active vitamin D intervention.Methods:Six-week-old female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into Control group, EAT group and 1, 25 dihydroxy vitamin D 3[1, 25(OH) 2D 3] treatment group(VitD group; n=6/group). HE staining was used to observe thyroid pathology. Plasma thyroglobulin antibody(TGAb), thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPOAb), and 1, 25(OH) 2D 3 were measured by ELISA. Peripheral NETs formation, Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell ratio from spleen were measured by flow cytometry. Correlation between NETs formation rate and Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell ratio was analyzed. Results:Compared with Control group, mice in EAT group had significantly increased thyroid inflammation scores, thyroiditis morbidity, TPOAb, TGAb levels, NETs formation rate, Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + )and Th17 cell proportions( P were <0.001, 0.002, 0.007, <0.001, <0.001, 0.003, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively), and significant decreased 1, 25(OH) 2D 3, Th1 cell proportions, Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + ), Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-13 + ), and Th1/Th17 ratios( P were 0.010, 0.018, 0.010, 0.005, and 0.007, respectively). Compared with the EAT group, the VitD group had lower thyroid inflammation scores, TPOAb, TGAb levels, NETs formation rate, Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th17 cell proportions( P were 0.044, 0.007, <0.001, 0.001, 0.014, 0.008, and 0.001, respectively), and significant higher Th1 cell ratio, Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th1/Th17 ratio( P were 0.011, 0.009, and 0.003, respectively). The Th1/Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + ) was not significantly increased in VitD group compared with EAT group( P=0.174). NETs formation rate was positively correlated with Th2(CD4 + IL-4 + or CD4 + IL-13 + ) and Th17 cell proportion( r were 0.65, 0.59, and 0.61; and P were 0.004, 0.010, and 0.007, respectively), but not with Th1 cell proportion( r=-0.47, P=0.051). Conclusion:EAT mice were more prone to NETs formation. Active vitamin D may relieve immune imbalance with increased Th2 and Th17 cell ratio and decreased Th1 cell ratio by reducing the formation of NETs in EAT mice. Vitamin D played the protective role in thyroid by reducing thyroid pathological damage and thyroid autoantibody levels, and relived overall lymphocyte imbalance.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and molecular genetic characteristics of a Chinese family with congenital cataract-microcornea syndrome.Methods:The method of pedigree investigation was adopted.A Chinese Han family with congenital cataract-microcornea syndrome was recruited in Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University.All the family members received detailed ophthalmologic examination including the best corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure measurement by handheld applanation tonometry, slit lamp biomicroscopy, color fundus photography, B-scan ultrasonography, corneal diameter, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, ultrasound biomicroscopy, corneal endoscopy, and corneal topography.Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral venous blood from some patients and unaffected family members.Targeted high-throughput DNA sequencing was performed on the proband.The sequencing chip contained 188 known pathogenic genes related to lens abnormalities.Suspected pathogenic genes were verified by Sanger sequencing in phenotypically normal family members to identify the co-segregation and the disease-causing gene.Bioinformatics analysis was performed to analyze the pathogenicity of variants by REVEL.Conserved protein domains were analyzed by InterPro.Physicochemical property of the mutant protein was analyzed by ProtParam.The deleteriousness of the protein was predicted by PolyPhen-2.Homology of the variants in pathogenic gene was analyzed by NCBI website to compare the conservation among various species.This study followed the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University (No.XMYKZX-LW-2009-003).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject prior to entering the study cohort.Results:There were 39 members of 4 generations in this family including 11 patients with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.Clinical features of the patients included congenital cataract and microcornea.No obvious abnormality was found in ophthalmic and general examination.A heterozygous mutation c. 61C>T in the CRYAA gene was found, resulting in the mutation of the amino acid from arginine to tryptophan (p.Arg21Trp) at position 21, consistent with co-segregation.The number of cationic cluster in the mutant protein decreased, and the hydrophilicity and stability were reduced.The variant was predicted to be deleterious and was highly conserved in multiple species. Conclusions:A novel heterozygous mutation c.61C>T p. Arg21Trp in CRYAA gene is considered as the causal gene of this family.It is the first time this variant has been reported in China.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an effective treatment for end-stage knee disease, with the postoperative alignment, component position, soft tissue balance, and prosthesis matching being key factors for the success of TKA. In order to achieve more accurate postoperative alignment and component position, better soft tissue balance and prosthesis matching for longer prosthesis longevity, better postoperative function and higher patient satisfaction, various intelligent accuracy technological aids such as computer assisted navigation (CAN), patient specific instrumentation (PSI), surgical robots, microsensors, customized implants (CI) and personalized 3D preoperative planning have emerged and are given high expectation. In this paper, the authors review the application and research progress of the above technological aids mainly from aspects of alignment, component position, clinical outcomes and cost analysis, so as to provide a reference for the application of related technological aids in TKA.

Objective:To explore the effect of family empowerment scheme combined with cardiac rehabilitation guidance on patients with myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) .Methods:Using the convenient sampling method, a total of 100 patients with myocardial infarction who underwent PCI in Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from July 2018 to January 2020 were selected as the research objects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the control group and the observation group, with 50 cases in each group. The control group was given cardiac rehabilitation guidance, while the observation group was given the family empowerment scheme combined with cardiac rehabilitation guidance. The scores of Chinese version of Family Caregiver Task Inventory (FCTI) and The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) -BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) were compared between the two groups before the intervention and after 3 months of the intervention.Results:After 3 months of intervention, scores of each dimension of the FCTI scale of family members of patients in two groups were lower than those before the intervention and the scores of family members of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05) . The scores of each dimension of the WHOQOL-BREF in the observation group were higher than those before intervention and the score in the observation group were higher than that in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:The family empowerment scheme combined with cardiac rehabilitation guidance is beneficial to improve the caring ability of family members of patients with myocardial infarction after PCI and improve quality of life of patients.

We conducted a randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled, multicenter trial on the use of Shuanghuanglian (SHL), a traditional Chinese patent medicine, in treating cases of COVID-19. A total of 176 patients received SHL by three doses (56 in low dose, 61 in middle dose, and 59 in high dose) in addition to standard care. The control group was composed of 59 patients who received standard therapy alone. Treatment with SHL was not associated with a difference from standard care in the time to disease recovery. Patients with 14-day SHL treatment had significantly higher rate in negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 in nucleic acid swab tests than the patients from the control group (93.4% vs. 73.9%, P = 0.006). Analysis of chest computed tomography images showed that treatment with high-dose SHL significantly promoted absorption of inflammatory focus of pneumonia, which was evaluated by density reduction of inflammatory focus from baseline, at day 7 (mean difference (95% CI), -46.39 (-86.83 to -5.94) HU; P = 0.025) and day 14 (mean difference (95% CI), -74.21 (-133.35 to -15.08) HU; P = 0.014). No serious adverse events occurred in the SHL groups. This study illustrated that SHL in combination with standard care was safe and partially effective for the treatment of COVID-19.
COVID-19 ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of a child featuring developmental delay. METHODS: The child was subjected to whole exome sequencing. Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Whole genome sequencing revealed that the child has carried compound heterozygous variants c.2607-1G>C and c.899 + 2dupT of the RAB3GAP1 gene, which were respectively derived from her mother and father. CONCLUSION A rare case of Warburg micro syndrome type 1 was diagnosed. The phenotype of the child was consistent with the literature, in addition with dysplasia of palatine arch, prominent high palatal arch and tooth dysplasia. Above finding has provided a basis for genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis for the family.
Abnormalities, Multiple/genetics* ; Adult ; Cataract/genetics* ; Child ; Cornea/abnormalities* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypogonadism/genetics* ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Male ; Microcephaly/genetics* ; Mutation ; Optic Atrophy/genetics* ; Whole Exome Sequencing ; rab3 GTP-Binding Proteins/genetics*

Objective To observe the effects of finger-holding force ball on prevention of unplanned extubation in ICU patients.Methods A convenient sampling method was used to select 70 patients from January to June 2017 who received tracheal intubation,femoral vein catheterization or bladder catheter.From April to June 2017,35 patients were selected as the experimental group,and hand restraint was strengthened by means of finger-holding force ball.Thirty-five patients recruited from January to March 2017 were selected as the control group,and wrist restraint was performed by routine method.The risk rate of extubation and the skin injury of the wrist in two groups were compared.Results The risk rate of extubation in the experimental group for femoral vein catheterization,bladder catheter and tracheal intubation was 6.37 cases/1000 catheter days,0 and 5.68 cases/1000 catheter days,lower than 200.00 cases/1000 catheter days,177.60 cases/1000 catheter days,and 230.34 cases/1000 catheter days in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.001);redness and skin injury at wrist restraint site in the experimental group was 5.71％ and 0,lower than 22.86％ and 17.14％ in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion The finger-holding force ball is easy to use,the effects are good,and it is much more comfortable to use the finger-holding force ball than traditional restraint tools.

Background Noncontact tonometer (NCT) is a common application in clinical ophthalmology,while its measured value is influenced by corneal parameter.In recent years,there existed some clinical trials discussing the agreement between NCT and gold standard Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT),but there was still lack of evidence.Objective This study was to evaluate the agreement between NCT and GAT by applying evidence based medicine (EBM) method.Metbods A systematic literature retrieval was conducted from the MEDLINE,EMbase,CBM disc and CNKI database with the limitation of publishing time until June 2016.The literatures were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.The sample size,average age,sample characteristics and follow-up time were extracted.The value of intraocular pressure measured by NCT and GAT were analyzed.The overall effect size was analyzed using Review Manager 5.3 (from The Cochrane Collaboration) as weighted mean difference (WMD).There existed heterology in this study.Radom effect mode was used to evaluate and compare the difference between NCT and GAT value.Results Twenty four articles were retrieved.Six comparison studies incorporated with 478 eyes were included for Meta analysis.After random effects model was performed for correction.Intraocular pressure measured by NCT was 0.02 mmHg larger than that by GAT (1 mmHg =0.133 kPa).There was no significant difference in the measurement value of IOP between the two instruments (WMD =0.02,95％ CI:-0.59 to 0.63,P =0.95).Funnel chart method showed that literature publication bias existed in this study.Conclusions Normal persons' IOP obtained from NCT and GAT showed a good reproducibility.More comparison studies are needed to support this result.