Objective To observe the effect of preemptive analgesia with lornoxicam on balance of Th1/Th2 during radical gastrectomy. Methods Thirty patients undergoing selective radical gastrectomy were randomly divided into 2 groups with 15 cases each. Lornoxicam 8 mg was used.before surgery,and PCA with lornoxieam and morphine was used for postoperative analgesia in group Ⅰ.PCA with morphine was used for postoperative analgesia in group Ⅱ. Plasma cortisol, interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were measured before induction of anesthesia(T_0 ), at the end ofoperation(T_1 ),at 24 h(T_1 ) and 72 h(T_3 ) after operation. Results Compared to that at T_0 ,Cor washigher at T_1 and T_2 in group Ⅱ and at T_2in group I(P<0. 05). (Cor levels at T_1 and T_2were lower ingroup Ⅰ than those in group Ⅱ(P<0. 05). IL-4 of group Ⅰ was lower at T_2 than that at T_0 (P<0.05). IL_4 at T_3 was lower in group Ⅰ than that in group Ⅱ (P < 0.05). IFN-γ of group Ⅰ washigher at T_1 than that at T_0 (P<0. 05), which was higher at T_2 than that of group Ⅱ(P＜0. 05). Theratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 in both groups was significantly higher at T_1-T_3 than those at T_0, which at T_2 washigher in group Ⅰ than that in group Ⅱ (P<0. 05). Conclusion Preemptive analgesia with lornoxicamcan alleviate the excurtion degree of Th1/Th2 and improve inmmnological suppression after radicalgastrectomy.

Objective:To assess the clinical utility of a fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) assay as a non-invasive method for diagnosing and monitoring urothelial carcinoma(UC) in the upper urinary tract(UUT).Methods:Urine specimens from 63 consecutive patients with UUT-UC and 69 controls with benign disease were analyzed by means of cytology and FISH.For FISH analysis,labeled probes specific for chromosomes 3,7,and 17 and for the p16(9p21) gene were used to assess chromosomal abnormalities indicative of malignancy.Sensitivity and specificity of both techniques were determined and compared.The frequency of chromosomal aberrations of malignant cells from UUT-UC was also determined.Results:Of 63 patients with UUT-UC,FISH affords an overall sensitivity of 84.1%(53/63),the figure being 71.4%(20/28)for PTa and PT1 tumors,94.3%(33/35) for PT2-4 tumors.The sensitivities of urine cytology were 35.7%(10/28)for PTa and PT1 tumor,45.7%(16/35)for PT2-4 tumors,with an overall sensitivity of 41.3%(26/63).The sensitivities of the two methods for the low grade tumors were 80%(20/25)and 44%(11/25),and for high grade tumors were 86.8%(33/38)and 39.5%(15/38),respectively.Specificities for FISH and urine cytology were 91.3%(63/69)and 94.2%(65/69)respectively.Conclusion:According to the results,the sensitivity of FISH for the detection of UUT-UC is superior to that of urine cytology and the specificities of FISH and urine cytology are not significantly different.FISH can promote the diagnosis of UUT-UC,especially for the low stage and low grade cases,it may be a new promising non-invasive method for the diagnosis of UUT-UC.

Objective·To explore plasma immune and inflammatory proteins that could serve as potential screening markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods·Healthy controls (n=19) and AD patients (n=19) were enrolled.Plasma samples were collected and 70 kinds of immune and inflammatory proteins were detected.The immune and inflammatory proteins associated with AD were screened by Mann-Whitney U test and partial correlation analysis.Discriminant analysis was used to develop multi-protein combined algorithm to distinguish plasma samples of AD patients from those of healthy controls.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy for the multi-protein combined algorithm.Results·Among the 70 proteins analyzed,23 were significantly higher in AD patients (P＜0.05),among which 19 were strongly correlated with AD (P＜0.05).These 19 proteins were analyzed with Wilks' lambda stepwise analysis to develop discriminant algorithm for detecting plasma samples of AD.Finally,the discriminant algorithm established by 11 plasma immune and inflammatory proteins (EGF,GRO,MDC,MCP-1,MCP-2,MCP-4,TARC,SCF,TRAIL,CTACK,GCP-2) was found to have an optimal diagnostic efficacy (AUC=0.994).The optimal cutoff value of the algorithm was-0.609.When the optimal cutoff value was obtained,the sensitivity of the equation could reach 100％ and the specificity could reach 94.7％.Conclusion·The discriminant equation composed of the above 11 plasma immune and inflammatory proteins has the potential to assist AD screening.

High glucose stimulated angiotensinⅡ(ATⅡ) production in mesangial cells of rat.Both high glucose and ATⅡdecreased expressions of matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) mRNA and MMP-9/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) mRNA ratio and increased TIMP-1 mRNA expression in mesangial cells of rat,which could be reversed by an ATⅡreceptor blocker,Saralasin.

Objective To study the effects of exogenous melatonin on plasma corticosterone(CS)and adrenal glucocorticoid receptor(GR)mRNA in neonatal rats after hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD). Methods One hundred and forteen 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups:model group(K group),sham operation group(H group),melatonin-treated group(T group),and normal control group(S group). Blood was obtained in different time points after HIBD. Plasma CS levels were measured by radioimmunoassay(RIA). The expression of GR mRNA was detected by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). Results Plasma level of CS increased and the expression of GR mRNA decreased significantly after HIBD,however,these changes were markedly reversed by exogenous melatonin. Conclusions Plasma CS and adrenal gland GR were involved in the pathological process of HIBD. Exogenous melatonin could up-regulate the expression of GR by decreasing the level of endogenous CS,so it may alleviate the excess stress injury after HIBD.

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) can spontaneously differentiate into neurons and glial cells in the absence of mitogen fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) or epidermal growth factor (EGF) in medium and the spontaneous differentiation of NSCs is mediated partially by endogenous ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). This study examined the relationship of FGF-2 and CNTF in the spontaneous differentiation of adult hippocampal progenitor cells (AHPs). AHPs were cultured in the medium containing different concentration of FGF-2 (1-100 ng/mL). Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining were applied to detect the expression of the astrocytic marker GFAP, the neuronal marker Tuj1, the oligodendrocytic marker CNPase and, Nestin, the marker of AHPs. The expression of endogenous CNTF in AHPs at early (passage 4) and late stage (passage 22) was also measured by Western blotting. The results showed that FGF-2 increased the expression of Nestin, dramatically inhibited the expression of GFAP and Tuj1 and slightly suppressed the expression of CNPase. FGF-2 down-regulated the expression of endogenous CNTF in AHPs at both early (passage 4) and late stage (passage 22). These results suggested that FGF-2 could inhibit the spontaneous differentiation of cultured AHPs by negatively regulating the expression of endogenous CNTF in AHPs.

(3S)-Linalool synthase (LIS) is a key enzyme involved in the monoterpene biosynthetic pathway. Based on our previous transcriptome study, the expression level of LIS gene was exceedingly related to glycyrrhizic acid (GA) biosynthesis. Therefore, we used hairy root culturing to further investigate the effect of LIS on the GA biosynthesis. A LIS gene (GenBank accession number: MZ169552) was cloned from Glycyrrhiza uralensis. The plant binary overexpression vector pCA-LIS was constructed by gene fusion. G. uralensis hairy roots overexpressing LIS were induced by the Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC15834. The expression levels of LIS were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and the contents of GA in hairy root lines were determined by UPLC. It was found that in the hairy root lines overexpressing LIS, the expression levels of LIS were significantly higher than that in the wild type, while the contents of GA were remarkably lower than those in the wild type and negative control. These findings indicate that the expression level of LIS is negatively correlated with the accumulation of GA. In this study, LIS was cloned from G. uralensis for the first time and the negative regulatory effect of LIS on GA biosynthesis was confirmed by reverse genetics. This work provides support for further improvement of the molecular regulatory network of GA biosynthesis in G. uralensis.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the characteristics of vertical cast-off bloodstain pattern by different hitting-tools. METHODS: The regular hitting tools, a kitchen knife, a dirk, a plane set-hammer and an iron pipe, were selected. At a distance of 30 cm away from the wall, the hitting tool with 5 mL fresh chicken blood made the cast-off bloodstain from top to bottom. Then the holistic distribution characteristics (length, width and density) of cast-off bloodstain and morphology characteristics (length, width and contact angle) of first single cast-off bloodstain were analyzed. RESULTS: The distribution length of cast-off bloodstain formed by dirk was minimum (P < 0.05). The distribution width of cast-off bloodstain formed by kitchen knife was minimum (P < 0.05). Except the pair of kitchen knife and plane set-hammer, the distribution density between each two tools had statistical differences (P < 0.05). The length of first single cast-off bloodstain formed by plane set-hammer was longest compared (P < 0.05). The width of first single cast-off bloodstain had statistical differences between kitchen knife and plane set-hammer, and between dirk and plane set-hammer (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The type of hitting tool could be inferred by the specific characteristics of cast-off bloodstain pattern formed by every specific type of hitting tool in crime scene.
Blood Stains ; Computer Simulation ; Crime ; Forensic Ballistics/methods* ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Humans

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) is an active chalcone compound isolated from licorice. It possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. In our previous study, we uncovered a great potential of ISL in treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, this study aims to reveal the mechanism underlying the alleviatory effects of ISL on T2DM-induced glycolipid metabolism disorder. High-fat-high-sugar diet (HFD) combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) were used to establish T2DM mice model. All animal experiments were carried out with approval of the Committee of Ethics at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. HepG2 cells were used in in vitro experiments, and sodium palmitate (SP) was applied to establish insulin resistance (IR) model cells. The effects of ISL on body weight, fasting blood glucose levels, and pathological changes in the livers of mice were examined. Enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were applied to detect the regulatory effects of ISL on key targets involved in glucolipid metabolism. Additionally, molecular docking and analytical dynamics simulation methods were used to analyze the interaction between ISL and key target protein. The results indicate that ISL significantly downregulates the transcriptional levels and inhibits the activities of key enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis, including pyruvate carboxylase (PC), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase (FBP). It also downregulates the transcriptional and protein levels of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), the two transcriptional factors involved in gluconeogenesis. Thus, ISL inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis in T2DM mice. In addition, ISL reduces total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels in the livers of T2DM mice. Moreover, ISL downregulates the mRNA levels of lipogenesis genes and upregulates those of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, lipid uptake, and lipid export. In conclusion, ISL suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis, promotes lipolysis, and restrains lipogenesis in T2DM mice, thereby improving the abnormal glycolipid metabolism caused by T2DM.

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) is a flavonoid compound isolated from licorice. It possesses excellent antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the alleviatory effect of ISL on energy metabolism imbalance caused by type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were used in in vivo experiments. The high-fat-high-glucose diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin was applied to establish T2DM animal model. All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the Institutional Guidelines of Laboratory Animal Administration issued by the Committee of Ethics at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. HepG2 cells were used in in vitro experiments. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to examine the protein and mRNA levels of mitochondrial function-related targets. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in HepG2 cells were measured by the flow cytometry. Additionally, the molecular docking of ISL and key target proteins was analyzed. It was found that ISL significantly inhibited the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I and increased the protein levels of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in the livers of mice and HepG2 cells. It also obviously decreased the ROS levels and increased the MMP levels in cultured HepG2 cells. In addition, ISL promoted mitochondrial biogenesis by activating proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1α (PGC-1α) and enhanced mitophagy by upregulating Parkin. It also improved mitochondrial fusion by increasing the mRNA and protein levels of mitofusin 2 (MFN2). In conclusion, ISL alleviates energy metabolism imbalance caused by T2DM through suppression of excessive mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and promotion of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitophagy, and fusion.