As a new type of environmental pollutants, microplastics are widely distributed in the global ecosystem, and ingestion of microplastics may produce a number of toxic effects. Based on currently available publications, this paper describes the main pathways of exposure to microplastics, and summarizes the toxic mechanisms of microplastics in mammals, including oxidative stress, inflammatory response, immune damage, imbalance of gut microbiota, energy metabolism disorder and DNA damage, so as to provide insights into elucidation of the toxic mechanism mechanisms and health risk assessment of microplastics.

Objective To estimate the current quality of the reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to digestive diseases in China. Methods All the papers related to RCTs published in Chinese Journal of Digestion from 1999 to 2008 were hand-searched by professional staff then evaluated and analyzed them according to the international reference standard. ResultsIn the 3298 issues of the recent ten years, there were 92 research papers of RCTs which was accounting for 2.8%. The sample size ranged from 18 to 5241. Sixty-one (66.0%) trials included the exact standard of internalize and exclusion. Sixteen (17.4%) trails told the specific method of random allocation and 22(23.9%) were double-blinded. Fifty-eight (63.0%) trials compared the baseline condition of each groups. Seventy-three(79.3%) trails showed the specific approach of statistic. In the end, only 7(5.7%) trails were identified as the strictly-designed RCTs. Conclusions The quantity and quality of the clinical RCTs can not satisfy the demand of clinical practice. Strictly-scientific designed, multicentered, large sample prospective clinical RCT should be advocated.

AIM: Ischemic post-conditioning ( PC) plays an important role in cardioprotection from ischemia /reperfusion ( I/R) injury in the young heart but not in the aging hearts .The physiological and pathological roles of hydrogen sulfide ( H2 S) in the regulation of cardio-vascular functions have been recognized .Whether H2 S is involved in the recovery of PC-induced cardioprotection in the aging hearts is unclear.METHOD:The male Wistar young rats (3-month-old), the aging rats (24-month-old), primary cultured cardiomyocytes and the aging cardiomyocytes induced by D-galactose suffered from I/R (or H/R) and PC.RESULTS:I/R (or H/R) decreased H2S production rate and cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) expression, aggravated cardiomyocyte damage , apoptosis, myocardial infarct size and oxidative stress, reduced cardiac function, increased the levels of Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-9 mRNA and proteins, promo-ted the release of cytochrome c and mPTP opening, down-regulated the phosphorylation of ERK 1/2, PI3K, Akt and GSK-3βand mito-chondrial membrane potential , up-regulated the phosphorylation of IκBα, NF-κB, JNK2 and STAT3, and inhibited PKC-ε transloca-tion and mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K channels (mitoKATP) in isolated young and aging hearts as well as normal and aging cardiomyo-cytes.PC suppressed myocardial I/R injury in the young heart but not in the aging hearts .Supply of NaHS not only increased PC-in-duced cardioprotection in the young hearts and cardiomyocytes , but also attenuated I/R injury and significantly recovered the cardiopro-tective role of PC in the aging hearts and cardiomyocytes .CONCLUSION:The exogenous H 2 S restores PC-induced cardioprotection through inhibiting oxidative stress via the down-regulation of NF-κB and JAK2-STAT3 pathways and mPTP opening by the up-regulation of ERK1/2-GSK-3β, PI3K-Akt-GSK-3βand PKC-ε-mitoKATP pathways in the aging hearts and cardiomyocytes .These findings provide a novel potential target for the treatment of aging ischemic cardiomyopathy .

Objective To observe expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and cholecystokinin (CCK) in the hippocampus and spinal cord in morphine withdrawal or tolerance mice treated by electroacupuncture or catgut embedding and explore the difference between the regulating effects of electroacupuncture and catgut embedding on morphine withdrawal and tolerance.Methods Fifty-six male C57BL/6J mice were randomly allocated to withdrawal control, withdrawal model, withdrawal catgut embedding and withdrawal electroacupuncture groups, and tolerance control, tolerance model, tolerance catgut embedding and tolerance electroacupuncture groups, 7 mice in each group. A model of morphine withdrawal was made by subcutaneous injection of morphine hydrochloride using 7-day increasing addiction method. The withdrawal control group was injected with an equal volume of normal saline at the same time points. In the withdrawal electroacupuncture group, electroacupuncture at bilateral points Shenshu was performed using a Han’s acupoint nerve stimulation device (HANS-200) at 15 min after an injection of morphine hydrochloride. In the withdrawal catgut embedding group, 0.5 cm chromic catgut was embedded in bilateral points Shenshu at 15 min after an injection of morphine hydrochloride. Addiction was promoted by intraperitoneal injection of naloxone 4 mg/kg at 10 o’clock on the seventh day’s morning and Withdrawal reactions were observed in the mice. The score was recorded using the Ryuta Tomoji opioid withdrawal symptoms evaluation scale. NMDA receptor and CCK contents in the hippocampus and spinal cord were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A model of morphine tolerance was made by subcutaneous injection of morphine 10 mg/kg. The tolerance control group was injected with tolerance normal saline 10 ml/kg at the same time. In the tolerance catgut embedding group, catgut was embedded in point Shenshu at the first day after model making. In the tolerance electroacupuncture group, point Shenshu was given electroacupuncture at the first day after model making. After seven days of treatment, NMDA receptor and CCK contents in the hippocampus and spinal cord were measured by ELISA.Results There were statistically significant differences in hippocampal NR2B and CCK expressions between the withdrawal model and withdrawal control groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in hippocampal NR2B expression between the withdrawal electroacupuncture and withdrawal model groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in hippocampal CCK expression between the withdrawal catgut embedding or withdrawal electroacupuncture group and the withdrawal model group (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in spinal cord NR2A, NR2B and CCK expressions between the withdrawal model and withdrawal control groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in spinal cord NR2A and NR2B expressions between the withdrawal electroacupuncture and withdrawal model groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in hippocampal NR2A, NR2B and CCK expressions between the tolerance model and tolerance control groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in hippocampal CCK expression between the tolerance catgut embedding and tolerance model groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in hippocampal NR1 expression between the tolerance electroacupuncture group and the tolerance model or tolerance catgut embedding group (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in spinal cord CCK expression between the tolerance catgut embedding or withdrawal electroacupuncture group and the tolerance model group (P<0.05).Conclusions Both catgut embedding and electroacupuncture at point Shenshu have a reducing effect on morphine tolerance and withdrawal. The therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture is better than that of catgut embedding.

Objective To find methods to isolate and purify plasminogen activator (Pla) from artificial culture of Yersinia pestis. Methods Ultrasonication and urea extracting combined by ammonium sulfate salting-out were tried to extract Pla. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was used to purify Pla. The first step was ion exchange and the second was gel filtration, Preparative electrophoresis was used to purify Pla, too. The enzyme activity of the isolated or purificated Pla was detected. Results Both 50% - 60% saturated ammonium sulfate deposition of supernatant of plague bacilli ultrasonication and 0 - 10% saturated ammonium sulfate deposition of supernatant of plague bacilli powder soaked by urea had three bands(Mr about 31×103, 35×103 and 37×103) and lysis rings were 6.5 and 7.2 mm in diameter respectively when the enzyme activity was detected. Pla purified by HPLC was mainly composed of three bands(Mr about 31×103, 35×103 and 37×103), occupying more than 80% of total protein weight and lysis ring was 5.0 mm in diameter. Pla purified by preparative electrophoresis mainly consisted of three bands(Mr about 31×103, 35×103 and 37×103) with other proteins of low concentration nearby, no lysis ring was detected. Conclusions Pla is collected by the methods of ultrasonication and urea extracting. Priliminary purification of Pla can be achieved by HPLC and preparative electrophoresis.

Objective:To detect the expressions of p16INK4a protein in the cervical lesion tissues of the Mongolian patients, and to explore the relationship between its expression and the occurrence and development of cervical cancer in the Mongolian patients.Methods:A total of 100 cases of paraffin sections of cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN),chronic cervicitis and uterine leiomyoma were divided into 25 cases of cervical cancer, 35 cases of CIN, 20 cases of chronic cervicitis, and 20 cases of uterine leiomyoma groups. The expressions of p16INK4a protein in different cervical tissues were detected by immunohistochemical SP method.Results:The positive rates of p16INK4a protern in cervical cancer, CIN, chronic cervicitis and uterine leiomyoma tissnes were 100.0%, 74.3%, 25.0%,and 10.0%, respectively.The results of K-W H rank sum test for multiple sample comparisons showed that the positive expression rate of p16INK4a protein in cervical cancer tissue was significantly higher than those in CIN, chronic cervicitis and uterine leiomyoma tissues(P<0.05).Conclusion:p16INK4a protein can be used as a indicator to screen the Mongolian patients with early cervical cancer.

ObjectiveTo establish the reference value of inhibin-A in the serum of pregnant women with gestational age from 15 to 20+6 weeks in Guangdong province,and assess the efficiency of inhibin-A and quadruple test in Down syndrome screening.Methods A total of 2802 singleton pregnancies receiving triple test screening in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from March 2008 to December 2010 were included in this study.Inhibin-A was measured by automatic enzyme-linked immunosorbent chemiluminescence assay. The concentration of inhibin-A was expressed as multiples of the median (MoM),and adjusted with maternal weight and gestational age.Parameters of SURUSS were used to recalculate the risk of Down syndrome.The efficacy of single marker and combination were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the curve. Results(1) In normal singleton pregnancies,the median concentration of inhibin-A was 286.60,267.10,249.10,243.40,242.30 and 256.60 pg/ml respectively for each week of gestational age from 15 to 20+6 weeks.The distribution of inhibin-A in each gestational week was relatively stable.The mean concentration [(852.83±370.04) pg/ml] and MoM (2.82) of inhibin-A in twelve pregnant mothers with Down syndrome fetuses were significantly higher than those without [(293.28±149.46) pg/ml (t=5.37,P＜0.05) and 1,respectively].(2) The detection rate was 83.3％ (10/12) by using the quadruple test including free human chorionic gonadotropin-β,alphafetoprotein,unconjugated estriol and inhibin-A at false positive rate of 5.8％; while when the detection rate of triple test including alpha-fetoprotein,free human chorionic gonadotropin-β and unconjugated estriol was 83.3％,the false positive rate was 7.7％.When the false positive rate was set to 5.0％,the area under the curve of inhibin-A,alpha-fetoprotein,free human chorionic gonadotropin-β and unconjugated estriol was 63.7％,20.5％,46.1％ and 4.8％,respectively,and the relative area under the curve of routine triple test and quadruple test was 45.5％ and 63.1％,respectively.ConclusionsInhibin-A is suggested to be the most effective marker used for secondtrimester screening,which could be used for second trimester Down syndrome screening in Chinese population combined with existing three markers.

Objective To study the main features of mechanical asphyxia——the pathological characteristics of petechial hemorrhage after high temperature effect (roasted, boiled) and its changing rules.Methods Rabbit model of mechanical asphyxia death with choking neck and death from anteposition hanging was established.The experimental rabbits were randomly divided into roasted group and boiled group (n=4, in each group).The laryngeal ventricles and cardiopulmonary tissues in the roasted group were roasted for 3, 6 and 10 min, and the positions of petechial hemorrhage were observed and photographed.The same organs and tissues in the boiled group were heated in boiling water (100℃), and were observed and photographed at 30 and 60 s.Then histopathological examination was performed on all the laryngeal ventricles and cardiopulmonary tissues.Results The petechial hemorrhage originating from laryngeal ventricle, trachea and lung did not disappear after high temperature treatment in the eight rabbits.The deepened color was visible to naked eyes and distinct from the surrounding normal tissues, with bleeding under the microscope.Conclusion Petechial hemorrhage caused by mechanical asphyxia would not disappear under high temperature, which might be related to the manner of death, the intensity and time of action, and the individual differences.

The dosage-efficacy/toxicity relationship of the 50% alcohol extracts of Polygonum multiflorum was comparatively investigated on either normal or CCl4-induced chronic liver injury rats, by determining the general condition, serum biochemical indices and liver histopathology, coupled with the factor analysis. The dosages were 10 and 20 g raw materials per kg body weight. Compared with the normal control group, the normal high dose group showed significant increases of the serum alanine transaminase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), as well the frequent incidences of inflammatory cell infiltration, hepatic sinus enlargement and fiber stripes formation in histopathological sections. Compared with the model control group, the model low dose group showed significant declines of serum ALT, aspartate transaminase (AST) and total bile acid (TBA) (P < 0.05), as well the alleviation of vacuoles of hepatocytes, but no amelioration of the inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrous tissue hyperplasia; moreover, the model high dose group showed significant degeneration declines of serum HMGB-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-1β (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), as well the evident alleviation of vacuoles degeneration of hepatocytes, inflammatory cells infiltration and fibrosis degree. The factor analysis showed that the low dosage treatment had almost neither injuring effect on the normal rats nor protective effect on the model rats; while the high dosage treatment showed observable injuring effect on the normal rats, expressed by the significant increases of the factor-1 (HMGB-1, TNF-α and IL-1β as the main contributors) and factor-2 (TBIL, ALT and TBA as the main contributors) relative to the normal control group. The liver protective effect of the high dosage treatment could be observed with the significant reduction of the factor-1, indicating the effective alleviation of the expression of inflammatory cytokines. In conclusion, it could illustrated the phenomenon of symptom-based prescription theory of Polygonum multiflorum on rat livers: the high dosage of the herb had either an injuring effect on normal rats, or a therapeutic effect on the rats with chronic liver injury.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficiency of first trimester prenatal screening for fetal chromosome abnormality using maternal serum marker test and(or) plus nuchal translucency (NT) in Guangzhou region.

METHODSThe results of prenatal screening were retrospectively analyzed among 43 703 women with singleton pregnancies from January 2007 to September 2012. A total of 43 703 pregnancies between 9 and 13(+6) weeks of pregnancy were collected and analyzed for maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPPA), free β -human chorionic gonadotropin (free β -hCG) with or without crown-rump length (CRL). Nuchal translucency was measured by ultrasonographic scan between 11 and 13(+6) weeks of pregnancy. Gestational age was estimated by ultrasonographic scan. The risk values of Down syndrome (DS) and trisomy 18 were calculated using the software Lifcycle. Comparing the difference between the combined screening (PAPPA, free β -hCG and NT) and serum marker screening (PAPPA and free β -hCG).

RESULTSAmong the 43 703 pregnant women, screening showed that 1385 (3.17%) were Down syndrome positive and 55 (0.13%) were trisomy 18 positive. The final outcomes of pregnancy showed that 142 cases presented chromosomal abnormalities, of which 54 cases suffered from Down syndrome, 13 had trisomy 18, and 75 had other chromosome abnormalities. The total detection rate of Down syndrome and trisomy 18 were 83.33% and 76.92%, respectively.The positive rate is lower, and the detection rate is higher in combined screening group than serum marker screening group. The median PAPPA MoM was lower and the median free β -hCG MoM and NT measured value was higher in Down syndrome pregnancies than control group. The median PAPPA and free β -hCG MoM were lower and the median NT measured value was higher in trisomy 18 pregnancies than control group.

CONCLUSIONThe first trimester prenatal screening can effectively detect Down syndrome and trisomy 18 pregnancy. The combined screening method is superior to the serum marker screening and is the preferred strategy in the first trimester prenatal screening.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Biomarkers ; blood ; China ; Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human ; blood ; Chromosome Disorders ; diagnosis ; embryology ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 ; genetics ; Down Syndrome ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Female ; Fetal Diseases ; diagnosis ; ethnology ; genetics ; Genetic Testing ; methods ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Nuchal Translucency Measurement ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A ; metabolism ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trisomy ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Trisomy 18 Syndrome ; Young Adult