Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4)was a class of secreting protein,mainly synthesized by the liver,widely distribu-ted in the human body blood,urine and other body fluids.It plays an important role in assisting the physiological function of vitamin A[1].Recent research shows that RBP4 was a new kind of adipocytokine,participated in insulin resistance and occur-rence of type 2 diabetes,and had a closed relationship with diabetic nephropathy,nutritional disease.This article describes the function of RBP4,review the relationship between RBP4 and nutritional or other type of diseases,and new clinical detec-tion method with RBP4.

Objective To develop a kind of rapid decompression equipment replacing the toughened glass simulating the state of aircraft cabin glass bursting on the fly.Methods The metallic membrane was used to isolate both chambers with different air pressures.The areas of decompression membrane and path were determined by calculating on the basis of aircraft decompression altitude,cabin pressure differential and decompression time.The structural strength was determined according to enduring force of the metallic membrane.The membrane was ejected by high pressure air using the ejection launch technology of aircraft missile.The result of simulating aircraft cabin glass bursting on the fly was achieved.Results The rapid decompression equipment ejected by air pressure in low-pressure chamber could achieve the state of simulating aircraft cabin glass bursting on the fly,and the best decompression time was 0.16 s.Conclusion The rapid decompression equipment ejected by air pressure accomplishes the decompression preparative in short time with easy operation,and can satisfy the desired requirements for the performance and precision.

Objective To screen, analyze and predict microRNAs (miRNAs) related to systemic scle-roderma (SSc). Methods Differentially expressed miRNAs between tissue samples from 3 patients with SSc and 3 normal human controls were screened with a gene chip including 924 miRNAs. Target genes regulated by differentially expressed miRNAs were searched with bioinformatics method. Finally, miRNAs related to SSc were predicted. Results There were 24 miRNAs differentially expressed between tissue samples of SSc and normal controls, including 9 up-regulated miRNAs and 15 down-regulated miRNAs. Literature review disclosed that SSc was associated with target genes regulated by hsa-miR-206, has-let-7g, hsa-miR-133a, hsa-miR-125b, hsa-miR-40-5p and hsa-miR-23b. In particular, 15 target genes regulated by hsa-miR-206 were closely correlated with the pathogenesis of SSc. Conclusions In lesions of SSc, there is an expression of miRNAs related to the pathogenesis of SSc, which may include hsa-miR-206 as well as 5 other miRNAs.

Objective To compare the ear baric function between 4000m altitude chamber test with inhaling air and 6900m altitude chamber test with inhaling pure oxygen.Methods Eleven healthy male volunteers attended two tests as two groups by self-comparison. As the air group the volunteers inhaled air at 4000m, while as the pure oxygen group they inhaled pure oxygen at 6900m altitude, and the time interval between the two tests was more than two weeks. During the test, the volunteers breathed air or pure oxygen at random for 1h, and then were exposed at a speed of 20m/s to the target altitude for 5min. Hereafter they were sent back to the ground at the same speed. The changes of subjective symptoms, degree of tympanic congestion, acoustic immitance index and pure-tone auditory threshold were recorded before and after the test. The acoustic impedance index and pure-tone threshold were statistically analyzed.ResultsFour volunteers (4 ears) in air group and 7 volunteers (7 ears) in pure oxygen group reported ear pain in altitude chamber exposures, respectively. The pain-triggering altitude was higher in the pure oxygen group. Immediately after tests, there were 3 (3 ears) and 5 volunteers (5 ears) with Ⅲ degree congestion of the tympanic membrane in the two groups respectively. Four volunteers (6 ears) developed gradually aggravated hemorrhages after altitude exposure. And the tympanic membrane congestion difference between groups was statistically significant at 3 and 24h after tests (P<0.01). The type A tympanogram appeared in 11 (15 ears) and 11 (14 ears) volunteers respectively immediately after tests. The increase of static compliance value was significantly greater in pure oxygen group than in air group immediately after tests (P<0.05), the decrease of middle ear pressure was more significant in pure oxygen group than in air group at 3 and 24h after tests (P<0.05). Both the two altitude exposure tests resulted in eustachian tube dysfunction. At 3 and 24h after the tests, the increase of individual frequency pure-tone threshold was significantly higher in pure oxygen group than in air group (P<0.05).Conclusion Breathing pure oxygen and lifting height could increase the screening degree of ear baric function test in hypobaric chamber, and have greater influence on degree of tympanic congestion, acoustic immittance and pure-tone auditory threshold in 24 hours.

Objective:To observe any effect of cooling on the amplitude of vibration-induced sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs) in human digits.Methods:The middle fingers of 15 healthy adults were either cooled to about 22℃ using an ice pack or kept at about 32℃. A vibrator was applied to the joint connecting the middle finger and the palm vibrating with an amplitude of 2mm at a frequency of 60Hz. The amplitudes of middle finger SNAPs before, during and right after the vibration were recorded.Results:The SNAP amplitude at a given temperature was lower during vibration than before it, but it immediately returned to the pre-vibration level after the vibration ceased. The middle finger SNAP amplitudes at 22℃ were significantly higher than those at 32℃ throughout. The decrease in amplitude at 32℃ (61.7±15.1%) was significantly greater than that at 22℃ (24.1±7.0%).Conclusions:Cooling significantly reduces the effect of vibration on the amplitude of digital SNAPs. That suggests a way to protect the sensory nerves in hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with keratoconus, and to explore the factors influencing keratoconus severity.Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed.A total of 908 patients (1 476 eyes) with primary keratoconus were enrolled in Henan Eye Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021.The medical history data of patients were collected by face-to-face questionnaire survey.Refractive parameters were measured by subjective optometry.Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured by a non-contact tonometer, and corrected IOP was calculated by Dresden formula.Corneal topography parameters was obtained using Pentacam HR.The subgroup analysis of clinical characteristics of all patients was performed by age (<21 years, 21~<31 years, ≥31 years) and gender.Disease severity was graded based on steep keratometry (Ks), namely mild (Ks<48 D), moderate (48 D≤Ks<55 D) and severe (Ks≥55 D). The influencing factors of disease severity in keratoconus were analyzed by ordered Logistic regression.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECKY-2019[5]). All subjects or guardians were informed of the purpose and significance of the study and written informed consent was obtained.Results:Of the 908 patients, 622 were with bilateral keratoconus and 286 were with unilateral keratoconus.The median age of onset was 20(17, 26) years, and the median age of diagnosis was 21(18, 27) years.The ratio of males to females was 3.05∶1.There were 9.80%(89/908) of the patients having a history of allergy, 25.55%(232/908) having a history of other systemic diseases, and 1.98%(18/908) having a family history of keratoconus.Of the 1 476 affected eyes, 27.57%(407/1 476) were diagnosed as severe keratoconus, and 61.94%(568/917) had a history of eye rubbing.The medians of sphericity, cylindricity, IOP, corrected IOP, Ks, thinnest corneal thickness (TCT), anterior corneal surface elevation (AE) and posterior corneal surface elevation (PE) were -4.00(-7.00, -1.75)D, -3.50(-6.00, -1.50)D, 12.00(10.30, 13.80)mmHg, 15.40(13.60, 17.00)mmHg, 49.85(46.40, 54.90)D, 460.00(425.00, 490.00)μm, 21.00(13.00, 34.75)μm, 51.00(33.00, 75.00)μm, respectively.The spherical refraction, IOP and corrected IOP were lower and the cylindrical refraction was higher in patients at age <21 years than in patients at age 21~<31 years, and the TCT of patients at age <21 years was higher than that at age ≥31 years, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05). Compared with female patients, male patients had younger onset age, lower spherical refraction, IOP and corrected IOP, as well as higher cylindrical refraction, AE and PE, showing statistically significant differences (all at P<0.05). The spherical refraction and IOP of male patients were lower than those of female patients at age <21 years, and the cylindrical refraction was higher in males than in females among the patients at age 21~<31 years, and the differences were statistically significant (both at P<0.05). Among the patients with onset age <21 years and diagnosis age <21 years, the ratio of males to females in patients with severe keratoconus was higher than those with mild and moderate disease, and the difference was statistically significant (both at P<0.05). Older age of onset was a protective factor for disease severity in keratoconus (odds ratio=0.981, 95% confidence interval: 0.963~0.999). Conclusions:The younger the onset age of keratoconus patients, the more severe the disease.Among the patients with severe keratoconus, there were more male patients, and males have a younger onset age and severer conditions.It is suggested that early screening of keratoconus in children and adolescents should be strengthened in clinical work, and more active prevention and treatment measures should be taken for younger patients, especially males.

By the end of 2021, a total of 915000 cases of occupational pneumoconiosis and 450000 existing cases have been reported nationwide. Silicosis is a common and serious pneumoconiosis disease caused by long-term inhalation of large amounts of free silica dust and extensive nodular fibrosis in the lungs. Because its specific pathogenic mechanism has not been elucidated and the relevant research progress is slow, there is still a lack of effective therapeutic and interventional drugs. With the increase of national attention and the unique advantages of Chinese materia medica in the treatment of silicosis, more and more studies have been conducted on the treatment of silicosis with active ingredients of Chinese materia medica in China, but most of them are still in preclinical research stage. This article mainly introduced the pharmacological action and mechanism of selected active components of Chinese materia medica in the intervention of silicosis from three aspects: anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and intervention of apoptosis, providing ideas for subsequent research and development of new drugs for silicosis. This article argues, it is considered that some traditional Chinese medicines must observe the pathological changes in the treatment of silicosis in the overall animal experiment, clarify their pharmacodynamic effects, and further study the multiple targets and pathways involved in them to elucidate their specific mechanisms of action. At the same time, it can strengthen the analysis of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine, or modify the structure of active ingredients, and then enhance its pharmacological activity in the treatment of silicosis, realizing the transformation of preclinical research stage to the results of clinical research.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the survival rate and its prognostic factors for patients with biliary tract cancer, and then a prognostic risk prediction model was constructed to predict the survival probability of patients. Methods: A total of 14 005 patients with biliary tract cancer (including gallbladder cancer, extrahepatic bile duct cancer, and ampulla of Vater cancer), who were diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 in the US National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) were included in the development cohort. The prognostic risk factors of biliary tract cancer were investigated using multivariate Cox regression models. The predictive nomograms were then constructed to predict the overall survival probability of 1, 3, and 5 years, and the predictive discrimination and calibration ability of the nomograms were further evaluated. Meanwhile, 11 953 patients who were diagnosed during 2004 to 2009 from SEER Program were then selected to validate the external predictive accuracy of the prediction models. Results: The 1, 3 and 5-year cumulative survival rates of patients with biliary tract cancer were 41.9%, 20.4% and 15.3%, respectively, in the development cohort. Age greater than 50 years, African Americans and Native Americans and Alaska Natives, higher T, N and M stage and poor histological differentiation grade were risk factors for death, while married status, Asia-Pacific Islanders, insured status and surgery on primary site were protective factors. Gender was not significantly associated with the overall survival. The C statistic of the prediction model was 0.73 (95%CI: 0.72-0.74), and the calibration curve showed that the interaction curves of predictive and actual survival rates of 1, 3 and 5 years were close to the 45 degree diagonal. Results in the validation cohort were similar with those in the construction cohort, with a C statistic of 0.70 (95%CI: 0.69-0.72), indicating high external applicability of the prediction model. Findings from gallbladder cancer, extrahepatic bile duct cancer, and ampulla of Vater cancer are in consistent with the overall biliary tract cancer. Conclusions The survival rate of patients with biliary tract cancer is relatively poor, and the survival prediction model based on prognostic factors has high prediction accuracy. In the future, this prognostic prediction model could be applied to clinical practice to guide individualized treatment for patients with biliary tract cancer.