AIM: To explore the change of delayed rectifier potassium channel (K_V) activity in alveolar macrophages (AM) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rats. METHODS: COPD model was established by exposure of the animals to cigarette smoke. With whole-cell voltage- or current-clamp techniques, K_V activity, membrane capacitance and resting membrane potential (Em) in AM from COPD model and control rats were compared. RESULTS: (1) Significant increases in total mononuclear cells and AM in bronchoal aveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were found in COPD group compared with in control group. (2) The AM K_V current altitude in COPD group [(520.5?38.7)pA, (+50) mV, n=30] was significantly lower than that in control group [(713.6?44.4)pA, (+50) mV, n=30, P0.05), but had more positive Em (P

AIM: To observe the changes of iNOS and eNOS in lung tissue and NO in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in smoking rats. METHODS: 80 Wistar rats were divided into control, smoking group, L-NIL group and L-NAME group (rats were exposed to smoke and injected (i.p.) with selective iNOS inhibitor L-NIL or NOS inhibitor L-NAME). iNOS and eNOS protein levels in whole lung were detected by immunohistochemical staining, and NOS mRNA was quantified using RT-PCR. In addition, NO - 2/NO - 3 was determined using Griess assay. RESULTS: The expression of iNOS mRNA and protein in smoking rats increased, the expression of eNOS mRNA and eNOS protein decreased, and the total cell count and the level of NO - 2/NO - 3in BALF increased( P

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of getting retroperitoneal lymph node biopsy via technique of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery(NOTES)in human being with current available devices.Methods We performed trans-gastric endoscopic biopsy of retroperitoneal lymph node with the aid of laparoscopy in a 50-year-old man,who presented with abdominal pain and enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes and signed a written informed consent before the procedure.After routine anesthesia and abdominal skin sterilization,a pneumoperitoneum was induced with a Veress needle placed in the umbilical area,followed by the introduction of a 5-mm trocar.Gastral cavity Was sterilized with antibiotics and povidone iodine.Under laparoscopie optical control,we made a styliform incision in the anterior wall of gastric corpus with a needle knife,and enlarged the incision by a dilatation balloon and then entered the peritoneal cavity with a sterile endoscope.We got two biopsies from the enlarged lymph node with a heat forceps assisted by laparoscopy.The specimen was taken out by retrieval basket through the stomach.The gastric incision Was closed with metal clips.Results The biopsy by means of NOTES was successfully performed without intra-or postoperative complications.The diagnosis was confirmed as lymphoma pathologically.The patient received chemotherapy and was discharged on the sixth postoperative day.There was no short or long-term complication.Conclusion Transgastric access for laparoscopy-assisted biopsy of retroperitoneal lymph node is feasible and safe in human being.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic significance of high sensitivity-C reactive protein (Hs-CRP) in patients with peripher-al T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Methods:A total of 234 newly diagnosed PTCL patients with a median age of 48 years were analyzed retro-spectively. Serum Hs-CRP levels and other factors, including tumor stage and international prognostic index (IPI), were determined. Af-ter a median follow-up of 23 months, the relationship between Hs-CRP and overall survival (OS) was observed. Results:Serum Hs-CRP level positively correlated with IPI score (r=0.132, P<0.001), tumor stage (r=0.183, P=0.005), B symptoms (r=0.225, P=0.001), and lactic dehydrogenase (r=0.169, P=0.009), but negatively correlated with plasma albumin levels (r=?0.343, P<0.001), hemoglobin concentra-tion (r=?0.239, P<0.001), and platelet count (r=0.131, P=0.045), and is uncorrelated with age (P>0.05), gender (P>0.05), fitness score (P>0.05), and leukocyte count (P>0.05). Patients with serum Hs-CRP levels≤10 mg/L had better OS than patients with serum Hs-CRP levels>10 mg/L. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models showed that platelet count, Hs-CRP, albumin levels, and IPI score were independent adverse prognostic factors. Conclusion:The baseline Hs-CRP level can serve as a major indicator of prognosis in PT-CL patients.

Background As emerging environmental contaminants with ecological risks, flame retardants (FRs) exhibit obvious toxicity and persistence. In recent years, as FRs have been widely detected in indoor environments and human samples, the human health risks after FRs exposure are of great concern. Objective To systematically understand the topic evolution, research status, progress, and development trends on the toxicity and health effects of FRs on humans worldwide. Methods We retrieved the literature regarding toxicity of FRs and their effects on human health through the Web of Science database from 2000 to 2020, screened and processed the literature using Endnote software, and analyzed annual publications, important citations, and authors. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were employed to draw co-citation network, keyword co-occurrence network, and keyword clustering map for bibliometric visualization analysis. Results From 2000 to 2020, 472 international papers on toxic effects and human health impacts of FRs were published. In terms of publication years, FRs-related research was mainly divided into three stages: the infancy and exploration stage (2001—2006), when the research on the toxic effects of FRs was just starting; the growth stage (2007—2015), when the risk assessments of FRs on human health were conducted; and the acceleration stage (2016—), when the studies have shifted to the mechanism of FRs damage to human health. In this field, China published the largest number of published articles in the world (177 papers), but the intermediary centrality (reflecting academic influence) was only 0.19, far lower than that of European and American countries such as the Netherlands (0.78), Britain (0.51), and Germany (0.44). Among the top 10 research institutions in terms of the number of articles published, the Chinese Academy of Sciences topped the list with 49 articles. Van der Veen and other researchers had a strong influence on the research of the toxic effects of phosphorous FRs since their papers published in 2012 were cited 1319 times and in the most prominent node in the literature co-citation network. The high-frequency keywords in the literature on the human health effects of FRs were polybrominated diphenyl ethers (217 times), brominated FRs (166 times), toxicity (147 times), FRs (102 times), exposure, polychlorinated biphenyls, in vitro experiment, plasticizer, etc. Through keyword clustering and co-occurrence analyses, it was found that current research is systematically exploring the toxic mechanism of FRs from a perspective integrating pollution source-exposure route-final receptor of pollutants, and is evaluating the environmental health risks via different exposure routes. The visualized bibliometric analysis findings suggested that future studies understand the underlying mechanisms of various cell damage caused by FRs toxicity, identify the key factors of change and their relationships, aiming to provide a scientific basis for targeted prevention of health effects of FRs. Conclusion The research hotspots on the toxic effects of FRs and their effects on human health have changed over time, and the breadth and depth have been increasing. The toxic effects of brominated/phosphorus FRs have always been the mainstream direction in this field. Further studies will focus on the molecular mechanisms of human toxicity after FRs exposure.