The prevalence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing year by year.However,since the complex pathogenesis of NAFLD has not been fully clarified,there still lacks a gold standard for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD.5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) can affect the development and progression of NAFLD via several links and thus change the course of NAFLD.This article introduces the association between 5-HT and NAFLD,the role of 5-HT in the pathogenesis of NAFLD,and its future application in treatment.

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrient elements for plants and a major limiting factor in plant growth and crop productivity. Glutamine synthase (GS) is a key enzyme involved in the nitrogen assimilation and recycling in plants. So far, members of the glutamine synthase gene family have been characterized in many plants such as Arabidopsis, rice, wheat, and maize. Reports show that GS are involved in the growth and development of plants, in particular its role in seed production. However, the outcome has generally been inconsistent, which are probably derived from the transcriptional and post-translational regulation of GS genes. In this review, we outlined studies on GS gene classification, QTL mapping, the relationship between GS genes and plant growth with nitrogen and the distribution characters, the biological functions of GS genes, as well as expression control at different regulation levels. In addition, we summarized the application prospects of glutamine synthetase genes in enhancing plant growth and yield by improving the nitrogen use efficiency. The prospects were presented on the improvement of nitrogen utility efficiency in crops and plant nitrogen status diagnosis on the basis of glutamine synthase gene regulation.
Arabidopsis ; Genes, Plant ; Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase ; genetics ; Nitrogen ; metabolism ; Oryza ; Plants ; enzymology ; genetics ; Triticum ; Zea mays

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of Percu Twist (PT) tracheostomy comparing with that of operative tracheostomy(OT)in intensive care unit(ICU). Methods Related data were retrieved from CBM,CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP,PubMed,EMBASE,CENTRAL,and Web of Science from the time of their establishment to May 15th 2014,and the data of randomized controlled trials(RCTs)concerning PT and OT were selected. The risk of bias assessment and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Meta analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. Results A total of 12 RCTs were identified,and 893 patients in ICU were involved. The results of Meta-analysis showed that PT could significantly shorten the operation time〔mean difference (MD)=-15.11,95% confidence interval(95%CI)=-17.14 to -13.07,P<0.000 01〕,reduce the volume of blood loss(MD=-17.59,95%CI=-21.90 to-13.28,P<0.000 01),reduce the size of incision(MD=-2.20, 95%CI=-2.57 to -1.82,P<0.000 01),shor ten the time of healing(MD=-3.60,95%CI=-4.15 to -3.05, P<0.000 01),and reduce complications such as infection of the wound〔odds ratio(OR)=0.20,95%CI=0.10-0.44,P<0.000 1〕and cutaneous emphysema/mediastinal emphysema(OR=0.22,95%CI=0.10-0.47,P<0.000 1)compared with OT group. The funnel plot suggested that publication bias might be found among 12 researches. Conclusions PT was shown to be more effective than OT in ICU with lower incidence of complications. As number of RCT cases is still small with unsatis factory quality,further clinical use is warranted for a better assessment.

BACKGROUND:It remains controversial about the clinical outcomes of bone fil ing mesh containers (BFMCs) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in pain relief, kyphosis correction, vertebral height restoration and reduction of cement leakage. OBJECTIVE:To compare the clinical outcomes of BFMCs and PKP for osteoporotic vertebral compressive fracture. METHODS:A total of 90 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compressive fracture were equivalently randomized into two groups, fol owed by treated with BFMCs or PKP, respectively. During a more than 3-month fol ow-up, pain relief, kyphotic angle, the vertebral height and cement leakage were observed in the two groups to assess the therapeutic effects. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Pain in al patients was relieved at 24 hours after operation. There was no significant difference in pain relief between two groups (P>0.05). PKP was more effective to restore the vertebral height (P<0.05), while BMCFs significantly reduced the leakage rate of bone cement (P<0.05). These results suggest that BFMCs and PKP have their own advantages in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compressive fracture, but both exert analgesic effects.

Objective To investigate the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the severity of acute pancreatitis,the data of patients with acute pancreatitis was collected to provide clinic basis for the diagnosis and treatment,severity assessment,prognostic judgement,and prevention of acute pancreatitis. Methods SPSS22.0 was used to analyze all data.Mann-Whitney U test(in case of non-normal distribution)was used to compare data between two groups.Chi-square test was used to counting data.Risk factors were analyzed by using logistic regression analysis. Results The severity of acute pancreatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease had a statistically significance with that of patients without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(χ2=3.968, P = 0.046);nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(95% CI:4.132 ~ 22.575,OR = 9.658,P < 0.01)had a correlation with the severity of acute pancreatitis.Conclusion Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was associated with the severity of acute pancreatitis.Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was the risk factors for the severity of acute pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVEThis preliminary study aims to investigate the effects of titanium and titanium alloy micro-nano-dimensional topography on the biological behavior of osteoblasts in vitro.

METHODSElectrolytic etching (EE) method was used to produce micro-nano dimensional titanium surfaces. The surfaces were observed to determine their effects on the adhesion, proliferation, cell morphology, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of osteoblasts.

RESULTSThe surfaces of the titanium and titanium alloy groups exhibited higher adhesion and proliferation of osteoblasts than those of the mechanical group. The titanium surface was covered with a group of cells, a large number of filopodia, and functional particles. The ALP activity of the titanium group was significantly higher than that of the titanium alloy and mechanical groups.

CONCLUSIONEE method in pure titanium and titanium alloy surfaces result in bowl-like nests and nanostructures of different diameters and depths. The diameters of the pure titanium and titanium alloy surfaces range from 30 to 50 μm and 5 to 8 μm, respectively. The former is more conducive to promote the proliferation and differentiation of cells.

Alloys ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Dental Etching ; Humans ; Nanostructures ; Osteoblasts ; Prostheses and Implants ; Surface Properties ; Titanium

Objective To investigate the physiological characteristics and the association with low prevalence of hypertension in "desert people" ,as an isolated population,in Taklimakan Desert.Methods All data were obtained from each person by questionnaire and standardized physical examinations. Total 469 subjects received examinations,including 359 subjects of "desert people" (M/F=205/154),aged from 15~99 years; 101 subjects of Uyghur from Yutian county (M/F=51/50),aged from 20~85 years,as controls. Some parameters :TC,TG,LDL-C,HDL-C,Apo-A,Apo-B,Lp-a,BUN,UA and CRE were determined. The statistical analysis was performed with SAS9.1.3 Version (Inititute Inc. Cary,NC. USA). Continuos values were expressed as mean?SD.Differences between groups were examined by student's t test,and statistical difference was considered when the P value was less than 0.05.Results 1)The height in "desert people" was significantly taller than that in controls.P value was 0.0317 for male and P60 years,P value was 0.0127 and 0.0443,respectively.(3)The prevalence of hypertension in "desert people" was 7%(24/359),that was significantly lower than that in controls(30.7%,31/101),P

As a collective noun of incense and medicine, fragrant medicine has long been integrated into Chinese culture. It is not only a symbol of the cultural exchange between China and foreign countries in the middle ancient times, but also plays a very important role in medicine and other fields. Among them, Borneol can not only be used for medicinal purposes, but also for incense and fumigation, as well as food, tea, wine and other applications. This paper intends to sort out the medicinal properties, effects and other applications of Borneol recorded in ancient books of traditional Chinese herbs in the past dynasties, focusing on summarizing its medicinal properties, meridians, effects, compatibility and application characteristics. In addition, modern pharmacological action was included as a supplement, in order to provide reference for the clinical use of Borneol in medicinal aspects.

PEP06 is a novel endostatin-Arg-Gly-Asp-Arg-Gly-Asp(RGDRGD)30-amino-acid polypeptide featuring a terminally fused RGDRGD hexapeptide at the N terminus.The active endostatin fragment of PEPO6 directly targets tumor cells and exerts an antitumoral effect.However,little is known about the kinetics and degradation products of PEP06 in vitro or in vivo.In this study,we investigated the in vitro metabolic stability of PEP06 after it was incubated with living cells obtained from animals of different species;we further identified the degradation characteristics of its cleavage products.PEP06 underwent rapid enzymatic degradation in multiple types of living cells,and the liver,kidney,and blood play important roles in the metabolism and clearance of the peptides resulting from the molecular degradation of PEP06.We identified metabolites of PEP06 using full-scan mass spectrometry(MS)and tandem MS(MS2),wherein 43 metabolites were characterized and identified as the degradation metabolites from the parent peptide,formed by successive losses of amino acids.The metabolites were C and N terminal truncated products of PEP06.The structures of 11 metabolites(M6,M7,M16,M17,M21,M25,M33,M34,M39,M40,and M42)were further confirmed by comparing the retention times of similar full MS spectrum and MS2 spectrum information with reference standards for the synthesized metabolites.We have demonstrated the metabolic stability of PEP06 in vitro and identified a series of potentially bioactive downstream metabolites of PEP06,which can support further drug research.