Objective To explore the characteristic of memory impairment and its relationship with Nmethyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B (NR2B) expression in alcohol dependence patients,in order to provide an unprecedented view of alcohol-associated memory impairment therapy.Methods Participants (n=67) included 35 alcohol dependence patients and 32 matched healthy controls.Wechsler memory scale (WMS) was used to access the memory.The expression levels of NR2B were detected with quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Results Compared with the memory quotient(MQ) of controls(69.45±8.96),that of alcohol dependence patients(50.59±8.64) significantly decreased (t=-6.08,P＜0.01).Compared with the NR2B expression level of controls (1.00-0.00),that of alcohol dependence patients (3.52 ± 1.17) significantly increased (t =9.67,P＜0.01).MQ was negatively correlated with the levels of NR2B expression (r=-0.44,P＜0.05).Conclusion Alcohol dependence patients suffer memory impairment detected by WMS,and modulate NR2B expression may improve the memory.

Objective To conduct cloning, sequencing and expression of Trichinella spiralis ES antigen p49 gene. Methods RT-PCR was used to amplify the specific gene fragment from the total RNA of Trichinella spirais larvae. The PCR product was ligated to the T-vector and the recombinant plasmid was verified by sequencing. T-p49 and pGE-4T-3 were treated by both BamHI and XhoI. The ligation reaction was catalyzed by T4 DNA ligase. Results The p49 gene was cloned by using RT-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the p49 gene obtained was consistent to the p49 sequence reported in the database. The expressed protein was shown as a new band at SDS-PAGE. BLAST analysis demonstrated that this p49 gene was 99% identical to the p49 gene reported and to the 43 kDa secreted glycoprotein gene in the database. Conclusion p49 gene from Trichinella spiralis larvae was cloned, sequenced and expressed.

This study investigated the changes of CD4(+) CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). The proportion of CD4(+) CD25(+) Tregs among CD4(+) T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of 33 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was determined by flow cytometry before, 1 week and 1 month after TACE. And 25 healthy volunteers served as control. One month after TACE, the patients were divided into two groups: 22 in group A, who were in stable condition or getting better; and 10 in group B, who were deteriorating. One patient died and was excluded. The results showed that the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs among CD4(+) T lymphocytes did not significantly change in the 33 patients 1 week after TACE as compared with that before TACE, however, the difference was significant (P<0.01) between the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and the healthy subjects. The percentage of CD4(+) CD25(+) Tregs among CD4(+) T lymphocytes in group A 1 month after TACE was decreased significantly in comparison with that before and 1 week after TACE (P<0.01), whereas, that in group B was increased significantly 1 month after TACE (P<0.01). It was concluded that patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had a higher proportion of CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs in peripheral blood. TACE did not significantly affect the level of CD4(+) CD25(+) Tregs within short time (such as 1 week). The proportion of CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs in peripheral blood 1 month after TACE was related to the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*immunology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic/*methods ; Liver Neoplasms/*immunology ; Liver Neoplasms/*therapy ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/*immunology

Objective To discuss the clinical application of ultrasound-CT double-guided radiofre-quency ablation(RFA) in treating hepatic tumors. Methods Fifteen patients with 20 liver tumor lesions were included in this study. Ultrasound-CT double-guided radiofrequency ablation was employed in all patients. First, under ultrasound guidance the electrode of RFA was inserted to the site close to the lesion, then, guided by CT scanning the accurate positioning of the electrode was accomplished and RFA procedure was completed. Results The accurate puncturing of the electrode was achieved in all 20 hepatic lesions, and the RFA procedure was successfully performed in a short time. Follow-up examination showed that there was no obvious residual tumor tissue, and no RFA-related complications occurred in all the 15 patients. Conclusion Under ultrasound-CT double-guidance, the percutaneous transhepatic puncturing can be more accurately accomplished, which can ensure a successful RFA procedure. This technique is especially useful when the hepatic tumor is incomplete or unclear on ultrasonograph, and it can improve the puncturing accuracy and reduce the complications as well.

Wolynes argued that the track of a protein's folding was directed by the tendency of lowering its energy, and thus when a local minimum of its energy was reached, a relatively stable conformation was formed. However not all of the local minimums will lead the protein to a biologically useful conformation, for those otherwise are called energy traps. Wolynes energy landscape theory and natural selection have well explained the high efficiency of protein folding in vivo, instead of being stuck in energy traps. As to whether a protein can assume different conformations with the same bioactivity, there is no clear answer yet. In this paper, two conformational states of a pHLA-A*2402 are discovered after refolding, and by studying their interactions with TCR and CD8alphaalpha, two conformations of pHLA-A*2402 are confirmed of having escaped from natural selection.
CD8 Antigens ; chemistry ; Energy Metabolism ; HLA-A24 Antigen ; chemistry ; Humans ; Protein Conformation ; Protein Folding ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; chemistry

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Wenyang Huayin Prescription(cooked Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata,Cinnamomi Ramulus,Codonopsis Radix,Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma,Poria,Descurainiae Semen Lepidii Semen,etc.)combined with conventional western medicine in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic heart failure(CHF).Methods A total of 120 elderly CHF patients with fluid retention due to yang deficiency syndrome who were treated in People's Hospital of Chenghai District from December 2021 to December 2022 were selected as the research objects.They were randomly divided into control group and observation group,with 60 cases in each group.The control group was given conventional western medicine treatment,and the observation group was treated with Wenyang Huayin Prescription on the basis of the treatment of the control group.The course of treatment was four weeks.The indexes of the two groups were observed before and after treatment:(1)TCM syndrome scores;(2)serum levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP),high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-6(IL-6);(3)left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD);(4)6-minute walking distance.The clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups were compared.Results After treatment,(1)the scores of TCM syndromes in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).(2)The levels of serum hs-CRP,TNF-α,IL-6 and NT-proBNP in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).(3)The levels of LVEF in the two groups were significantly higher than those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the levels of LVEDD were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05).The level of LVEF in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05),and the level of LVEDD was significantly lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05).(4)The 6-minute walking distance in the two groups was significantly increased when compared with that before treatment(P＜0.05),and the increase in the observation group was significantly greater than that in the control group(P＜0.05).(5)The total effective rate of the observation group(96.67%)was significantly higher than that of the control group(86.67%)(P＜0.05);the total incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group(1.67%)was significantly lower than that in the control group(11.67%)(P＜0.05).Conclusion Wenyang Huayin Prescription combined with conventional western medicine treatment can effectively reduce the TCM syndrome score of elderly CHF patients with fluid retention due to yang deficiency syndrome,improve clinical symptoms and cardiac function,and reduce the body's inflammatory response.The clinical efficacy is superior to that of western medicine alone,and the safety is relatively high.

This study investigated the changes of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). The proportion of CD4+CD25+ Tregs among CD4+ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of 33 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was determined by flow cytometry before, 1 week and 1 month after TACE. And 25 healthy volunteers served as control. One month after TACE, the patients were divided into two groups: 22 in group A, who were in stable condition or getting better;and 10 in group B, who were deteriorating. One patient died and was excluded. The results showed that the percentage of CD4+CD25+ Tregs among CD4+ T lymphocytes did not significantly change in the 33 patients 1 week after TACE as compared with that before TACE, however, the difference was significant (P<0.01) between the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and the healthy subjects. The percentage of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs among CD4+ T lymphocytes in group A 1 month after TACE was decreased significantly in comparison with that before and I week after TACE (P<0.01), whereas,that in group B was increased significantly 1 month after TACE (P<0.01). It was concluded that patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had a higher proportion of CD4~CD25+ Tregs in peripheral blood. TACE did not significantly affect the level of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs within short time (such as 1 week). The proportion of CD4+CD25+ Tregs in peripheral blood 1 month after TACE was related to the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the distribution and characteristics of peripheral nerve abnormalities in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) using magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) and to examine the diagnostic efficiency.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-one CIDP patients and 21 controls underwent MR scans. Three-dimensional sampling perfections with application-optimized contrasts using different flip-angle evolutions and T1-/T2- weighted turbo spin-echo sequences were performed for neurography of the brachial and lumbosacral (LS) plexus and cauda equina, respectively. Clinical data and scores of the inflammatory Rasch-built overall disability scale (I-RODS) in CIDP were obtained.RESULTS: The bilateral extracranial vagus (n = 11), trigeminal (n = 12), and intercostal nerves (n = 10) were hypertrophic. Plexus hypertrophies were observed in the brachial plexus of 19 patients (61.3%) and in the LS plexus of 25 patients (80.6%). Patterns of hypertrophy included uniform hypertrophy (17 [54.8%] brachial plexuses and 21 [67.7%] LS plexuses), and multifocal fusiform hypertrophy (2 [6.5%] brachial plexuses and 4 [12.9%] LS plexuses) was present. Enlarged and/or contrast-enhanced cauda equina was found in 3 (9.7%) and 13 (41.9%) patients, respectively. Diameters of the brachial and LS nerve roots were significantly larger in CIDP than in controls (p < 0.001). The largest AUC was obtained for the L5 nerve. There were no significant differences in the course duration, I-RODS score, or diameter between patients with and without hypertrophy.CONCLUSION: MRN is useful for the assessment of distribution and characteristics of the peripheral nerves in CIDP. Compared to other regions, LS plexus neurography is more sensitive for CIDP.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of portal vein stenting combined with 125I particle strand implantation followed by drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and molecular-targeted therapy for the treatment of stageⅢa liv-er cancer lacking a blood supply. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 11 patients who had stageⅢa liver cancer lacking a blood sup-ply combined with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) was conducted from October 2016 to October 2018. All the patients under-went portal vein stenting combined with 125I particle strand implantation, DEB-TACE, and comprehensive treatment containing molecu-lar-targeted drugs. During the follow-up period, all patients were evaluated for stent patency after the implantation and tumor re-sponse after DEB-TACE treatment. The liver function and blood routine changes before and 1 month after the surgery were completed, and the complications were summarized. Results: All 11 patients were judged as stageⅢa liver cancer based on the Chinese staging criteria (2017), Child-Pugh classification grade A and B. The imaging findings indicated that these tumors were hypovascular. The maxi-mum diameter of these lesions was (8.4±4.1) (2.8-14.1) cm, and all patients had PVTT. Among them, there were 4 cases of Cheng's typeⅡand 7 cases of typeⅢ: 6 cases of main PVTT≥50% and 1 case of PVTT<50%. All patients underwent portal vein stenting com-bined with 125I particle strand implantation, DEB-TACE, and comprehensive treatment containing molecular-targeted drugs. Three and 6 months after stent implantation, the patency rate was 100%; 3 months after DEB-TACE treatment, complete response was achieved in 4 (36.4%) patients, partial response was achieved in 5 (45.5%) patients, and stable disease was achieved in 2 (18.2%) patients. No patients exhibited progressive disease. Therefore, the objective response rate was 81.8% and disease control rate was 100%. As for the liver and kidney function and blood routine tests, there were no significant differences between baseline and 1 month after the sur- gery. In addition, no patient had any serious complication during the perioperative period. Conclusions: For patients with stageⅢa liv-er cancer lacking a blood supply and PVTT, a comprehensive treatment strategy including portal vein stenting combined with 125I parti-cle strand implantation, DEB-TACE, and molecular-targeted therapy can restore portal vein blood flow and maintain mid-and long-term stent patency, while effectively killing tumors and controlling tumor growth, which is a safe and effective treatment strategy.