OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Zhenqing Recipe (ZQR) on non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), and the expression of hepatic salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) and sterol-regulatory element binding protein-ic (SREBP-lc) in type 2 diabetes rats.

METHODSA rat model of type 2 diabetes was established by high fat/sucrose diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of small dose streptozotocin (STZ) . Modeled rats were randomly divided into the model group, the ZQR group, and the metformin group, 8 in each group. Eight rats were recruited as a normal control group. ZQR at the daily dose of 12 g crude drugs/kg was administered to rats in the ZQR group by gastrogavage. Metformin suspension at the daily dose of 150 mg/kg was administered to rats in the metformin group by gastrogavage. Equal volume of distilled water was administered to rats in the normal control group and the model group. All medication lasted for 12 weeks. The levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), free fatty acid (FFA), serum triglyceride (TG), serum total cholesterol (TC), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were detected. The body weight and wet liver weight were weighed, and the liver weight index calculated. The liver TG content was measured. The pathological changes of liver and the expression of SIK1 were observed by HE staining and immunohistochemistry. The mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 and SREBP-1c were detected using RT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, FBG, FFA, TG, TC, ALT, AST, liver weight index, and liver TG contents significantly increased (P < 0.01); liver steatosis was severe, the mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 obviously decreased (P < 0.01); mRNA and protein expression of SREBP-1c increased (P < 0.01). After drug therapy, compared with the model group, FBG, FFA, TG, TC, ALT, AST, and liver weight index significantly decreased, liver TG contents significantly decreased, the mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 obviously increased, while mRNA and protein expression of SREBP-1c obviously decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) in the ZQR group and the metformin group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); and the pathological changes were also improved. All the indices were improved more in the ZQR group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn this experiment, we found that the expression of SIK1 decreased in NAFL rats with type 2 diabetes. ZQR could alleviate lesion of NAFL type 2 diabetes rats possibly by up-regulating hepatic SIK1 expression at mRNA and protein levels.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Fatty Liver ; complications ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Liver ; metabolism ; Male ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 ; metabolism

Objective To observe the corneal nerve fibres damage in different stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR) with type 2 diabetes.Methods A cross-sectional study.One hundred and twenty eyes of 120 patients with type 2 diabetes served as diabetes group.According to International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy Disease Severity Scales (2002),diabetes patients were classified into 4 subgroups:patients without diabetic retinopathy (NDR),patients with mild or moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (mNPDR),patients with severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (sNPDR) and patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR),each subgroup has 30 eyes of 30 patients.Another 30 eyes of 30 healthy participants served as control group.All eyes were scanned with HRT3 in vivo corneal confocal microscopy.Images of sub-basal nerve plexus were quantified including nerve fiber length (NFL),nerve fiber density (NFD),nerve fiber branch density (NFB),and nerve tortuosity (NT).The correlations of corneal nerve fiber with age,duration of diabetes and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1 c) were analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis.Results NFL,NFD and NFB were found to be significantly lower in diabetic patients (F=147.315,142.586,65.898;P=0.000,0.000,0.000),NT was significantly greater in diabetic patients (F=39.431,P=0.000),when compared to control group.In diabetic patients,NFL,NFD and NFB were gradually reduced with DR severity,NT was gradually increased with DR severity.While the difference ofNFL,NFD,NFB,NT was not statistically significant between sNPDR and PDR subgroups (P＞.0.05),but was statistically significant between other subgroups (P＜0.05).Spearman correlation analysis results showed that age (r=-0.071,-0.080,0.001,0.100;P=0.391,0.328,0.991,0.224) and HbAlc (r=-0.109,-0.115,-0.126,0.025;P=0.238,0.211,0.169,0.781) had no correlation with NFL,NFD,NFB,NT.Duration of diabetes was negatively correlated with the NFL,NFD (r=-0.212,-0.264;P=0.020,0.004),positive correlated with NT (r=0.261,P=0.004),and had no correlation with NFB (r=-0.119,P=0.194).Conclusions Corneal nerve fiber loss and nerve tortuosity increased were found in patients with type 2 diabetes,and even without diabetic retinopathy.The progress of corneal neuropathy was correlated with the severity of DR,but it was not change significantly between sNPDR and PDR.

Objective To investigate the effect of CD40/CD40 ligand on the genesis and development of coronary artery disease (CAD),and the inhibitory effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) on CD40/CD40 ligand. Methods A total of 71 patients were divided into four groups:acute myocardial infarction group (AMI, n=19), unstable angina pectoris group (UAP, n=18), stable angina pectoris group (SAP, n=17) and normal control group (N, n=17). Flow cytometry was used to detect the expres?sion of CD40 and CD40L in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of four groups. The group in which CD40 and CD40L were produced at the highest level was chosen, and a series concentrations of CsA(H1:0 mg/L, H2:0.01 mg/L, H3:0.1 mg/L, H4:1 mg/L)were used to treat the cells. Then the expressions of CD40 and CD40L were measured by flow cytome?try. Results Compared with N group,the expression of CD40 was significant higher in other groups (P<0.05). The expres?sion of CD40 was significant higher in UAP group and AMI group than that of SAP group. There was no significant difference in the expression of CD40 between UAP group and AMI group (P>0.05). The expression of CD40L was elevated and fol?lowed by different severity of CAD. There was significant difference in the expression of CD40L between groups (P<0.05) . AMI group showed the highest expression of CD40 and CD40L. After being treated with CsA, the expression of CD40 was higher in H1 group than that of H3 group and H4 group (P<0.05). The expression of CD40L was significantly higher in H1 group than that of other three groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion CD40 and CD40L may be involved in the development of CAD. Moreover, it might be restrained by CsA via regulation of CD40/CD40L.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the intervention effect and mechanism of compound Ginkgo biloba (CGB) preparations on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

METHODThe C57BL/6 mouse NAFLD model was induced with high fat diets. Since the 2nd week after modeling, the mice were orally administered with 600 and 200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) CGB for eight weeks. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (CHOL) and LPS in serum, as well as pathological changes and expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in hepatic tissues were observed. Changes in intestinal tight junction proteins ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-1 in intestinal tissues were determined under microscopy.

RESULTCompared with the normal group, the model group showed obvious fatty degeneration in rat livers, with notable increase in TNF-alpha expression (P < 0.01), significant increases in ALT, AST, TG, CHOL and LPS in serum (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), injury in intestinal tight junction proteins, and remarkable declines in ZO-1, Occludin and Claudin-1 (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, CGB high and low dose groups showed obvious relieves in fatty degeneration in rat livers and injury in intestinal tight junction proteins, significant reductions in TNF-alpha expression (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) and AST, TG, CHOL and LPS in serum (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) and remarkable increases in ZO-1 and Occludin expressions (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCGB can protect intestinal tight junction proteins, reduce intestinal leakage, relieve fatty degeneration and inflammations in livers and prevent NAFLD occurrence and development.

Alanine Transaminase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cholesterol ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Fatty Liver ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ginkgo biloba ; chemistry ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Triglycerides ; metabolism

Objective To investigate whether alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) possesses neuroprotective effects against high glucose-induced damage in vitro.Methods The cultured human lens epithelial cells (HLEC-B3 cells) were divided into normal control group,high glucose group and ALA group.Normal control group left untreated,ALA group was pretreated with different concentrations of ALA (25 μmol · L-1,50 μmol · L-1,100 μmol · L-1) for 1h,and then ALA group and high glucose group were cultured under high glucose conditions for 48h.After above treatment,the activity of lens epithelial cells in each group was detected immediately by MTT,and the changes in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by flow cytometry.In addition,the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) was detected by Western blot and RT-PCR in all groups.Results The activity of HLEC-B3 cells in high glucose group was 53.60％ ±4.10％,which was significantly lower than that in normal control group (P ＜ 0.01).The cell viability in 25 μmol · L-1,50 μmol · L-1,100 μmol · L-1 ALA group was 65.30％ ± 3.70％,72.70％ ± 4.90％ and 83.40％ ± 3.60％,respectively,all which were higher than those in the high glucose group (all P ＜ 0.05).Flow cytometry showed that intracellular ROS level in the high glucose group was significantly higher than that in the normal control group (P ＜ 0.01),but ROS levels were decreased to 14.70％ ±0.70％,8.70％ ±0.87％,5.20％ ±0.53％ after25 μmol· L-1,50 μmol· L-1,100 μmol · L-1 ALA treatment,respectively,with significant difference (all P ＜ 0.01).RT-PCR and Western blot results indicated that the relative expression of MnSOD mRNA and protein in the high glucose group was significantly lower than that in the normal control group (all P ＜ 0.01).Compared with the high glucose group,MnSOD mRNA and protein relative expression levels were significantly increased to 0.63 ± 0.06,0.71 ± 0.06,0.84 ± 0.04,and 0.25 ± 0.03,0.31 ± 0.02,0.45 ± 0.04,respectively (all P ＜ 0.05).In addition,the protective effects of ALA (25-100 μmol · L-1) on HLEC-B3 cells induced by high glucose was in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion ALA has a protective effect on human lens epithelial cell line HLEC-B3 cultured in high glucose condition,and this protective effect may be achieved by increasing the expression level of intracellular MnSOD.

OBJECTIVETo compare clinical effect of T-shaped locking internal fixation and external fixation in treating dorsal Barton's fracture,and investigate selective strategy of internal fixation.

METHODSFrom January 2008 to January 2013, 100 patients with dorsal Barton's fracture were randomly divided into two groups. In treatment group, there were 30 males and 20 females with an average age of (33.8±3.6) years old;30 cases were type B, 20 cases were type C;and treated with T-shaped locking internal fixation. In control group, there were 32 male and 18 females with an average age of (32.9±3.4) years old; 29 cases were type B, 21 cases were type C; and treated with external fixation. Volar tilt, ulnar deviation and radial height at 3 months after operation were detected and compared between two groups. Mechara functional evaluation were used to evaluate postoperative clinical effects. Clinical cure time, postoperative complications,joint mobility and function score were recorded and compared between two groups.

RESULTSIn treatment group,volar tilt was (11.9±2.7)°, ulnar deviation was (20.8+ 2.9)°,and radial height was (10.9±1.8) mm; while volar tilt was (9.1±1.6)°, ulnar deviation was (17.1±2.9)°, and radial height was (8.1±1.5) mm in control group. Treatment group was better than control group in volar tilt, ulnar deviation and radial height. Clinical cure time in treatment group was(12.0±2.3) weeks, shorter than control group (18.0±4.1) weeks. The incidence of complications in treatment group was lower than control group. According to Mehara functional evaluation,20 cases got excellent results, 25 good, 3 moderate and 2 poor in treatment group; 16 cases got excellent results, 14 good, 10 moderate and 10 poor in control group. Treatment group was better than control group in clinical effects.

CONCLUSIONT-shaped locking internal fixation with postoperative functional exercise for the treatment of dorsal Barton's fracture fits for biomechanics demands,and has advantages of stable fixation,rapid recovery, less complications and good functional recovery, it has better clinical effects.

Adult ; Bone Plates ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation ; instrumentation ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Male ; Radius Fractures ; surgery ; Wrist Injuries ; surgery

It remains unclear whether language tasks in one's first (L1) or second (L2) language can cause stress responses and whether frontal, autonomic and behavioral responses to stressful tasks are correlated. In this study, we studied 22 Chinese subjects whose L2 was English and measured the cerebral blood oxygenation in their frontal lobe by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as participants engaged in a mental arithmetic task (MAT) and verbal fluency tasks (VFTs) in L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English). To examine the activated cortical areas, we estimated the channel location based on Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) standard brain space by using a probabilistic estimation method. We evaluated heart rate (HR) changes to analyze autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning. We found that the MAT and VFTs induced greater increases in HR than did the control (Ctrl) task. Furthermore, subjects developed greater increases in HR in the MAT and VFTL2 than they did in the VFTL1. Compared with the Ctrl task, the MAT and both VFTL1 and VFTL2 produced robust and widespread bilateral activation of the frontal cortex. Interestingly, partial correlation analysis indicated that the activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) [Brodmann's area (BA) 47] was consistently correlated with the increases in HR across the three tasks (MAT, VFTL2, and VFTL1), after controlling for the performance data. The present results suggested that a VFT in L2 may be more stressful than in L1. The LIFG may affect the activation of the sympathetic system induced by stressful tasks, including MATs and VFTs.

OBJECTIVE Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites (nZn-CuO NPs) are novel nanoparticles synthesized by sonochemical method.This study aimed to further investigate the antitumor effects and mechanism of nZn-CuO NPs, as well as the exact mechanism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on nZn-CuO NPs-induced death using N-acetylcysteine (NAC). METHODS The antitumor effects of nZn-CuO NPs were evaluated by MTS assay and orthotopic transplantation tumor model in nude mice. The effects of nZn-CuO NPs with or without NAC on ROS production, DNA damage, apoptosis, mitochondrial damage, autophagy, lysosome impairment, and ER and Golgi stress were determined. Also,western blot was used to detect apoptosis and autophagy related proteins,as well as NF-κB pathway related proteins. RESULTS nZn-CuO NPs significantly inhibit tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. nZn-CuO NPs were able to cause cytotoxicity, ROS production, DAN damage mitochondrial damage, apoptosis, and autophagy, and NAC can attenuate them. Further studies showed that nZn-CuO NPs induced changes of apoptosis, autophagy and NF-κB pathway related proteins, and NAC can restore them. CONCLUSION Overall, our data demonstrated that nZn-CuO NPs could inhibit tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo by ROS-dependent regulation of apoptosis and autophagy, which might be cross-linked by NF-κB pathways.

Objective To assess the clinical safety and feasibility for ultrasound guided paravertebral block anesthesia of percutaneous nephrolithotomy.Methods Between December 2015 to June 2016,180 patients with renal or ureteral calculi were enrolled and evaluated with uhrasonography and CT scan.Of all the 180 patients,108 males and 82 females.Their mean age was 39 years (23-71 years).The clinical characteristics of the patients in each group,such as age,gender,BMI index,ASA status,mean arterial pressure and disease type had no significant differences (P ＞ 0.05).These patients were randomized into general anesthesia group (G group),combined spinal epidural anesthesia group (C group) and paravertebral nerve block anesthesia group (P group).G group:35 males and 25 females.Their mean age was (40.1 ± 11.8) years and BMI was (25.1 ± 3.8) kg/m2;Renal calculi 52 cases,ureteral calculi 8 cases,Average maximum stone diameter was (2.6 ± 0.8)cm.C group:38 males and 22 females.Their mean age was (39.7 ± 12.4) years and BMI was (24.6 ± 4.1) kg/m2;Renal calculi 54 cases,ureteral calculi 6 cases,Average maximum stone diameter was (2.4 ± 0.8) cm.P group:35 males and 25 females.Their mean age was (38.9 ± 12.7) years and BMI was (25.4 ± 4.0) kg/m2;Renal calculi 51 cases,ureteral calculi 9 cases,Average maximum stone diameter was (2.5 ± 0.7) cm.Periprocedural Vital signs,complications,the times of anal discharging gas and postoperative feeding,hospitalized day and expense in these three groups were evaluated.Results Major intraoperative or postoperative complications did not occur in all of the patients.Mean arterial pressure decreased during preoperative changing positions was observed in group G (mean decreased 8.8 mmHg)and group C (mean decreased 1.9 mmHg),with significant difference in intra-group (P ＜ 0.05).Postoperative nausea and vomiting was observed in 8 and 2 patients of group G and group P,respectively (P ＜ 0.05).Postoperative pain was observed in 2 and 7 patients of group C and group P,respectively (P ＞ 0.05).In addition,group P had early post operation feeding time [(6.4 ± 2.4) h],shorter hospitalized day [(4.5 ± 1.1) d] and lower hospitalized expense compared with other groups (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Ultrasound guided paravertebral block can provide safe and reliable surgical anesthesia for percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Objective To evaluate the changes in refractive state in high-myopic patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment after vitrectomy combined with cataract surgery.Methods Clinical data of 30 patients of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2016 to March 2017 was retrospectively analyzed,and these patients were randomly dividedly into two groups:high myopia (15 patients of 15 eyes) and non high myopia group (15 patients of 15 eyes),in which patients firstly underwent vitrectomy combined with phacoemulsification and silicone oil tamponade,followed by intraocular lens (IOL) implantation after the removal of silicone oil 3 months later.The two groups were continuously followedup for 6 months after IOL implantation.Before vitrectomy,the axial length,corneal curvature were measured for calculating the predictive spherical equivalent (SE).Then axial length and corneal curvature at 1 month,3,6 months after IOL implantation were measured for calculating the actual SE.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was recorded before and after operation and the LogMAR was calculated in each groups.The SE,axial length,corneal curvature before vitrectomy and 1 month,3,6 months after IOL implantation were respectively compared in each group.The relationship between the refractive prediction errors and the preoperative axial length in the high myopia group was evaluated.Results The LogMAR visual acuity was improved in both groups,and the difference between before and after treatment was statistically significant (both P ＜0.05).The SE at 1 month,3,6 months after surgery showed significantly myopic shift in the high myopic eyes,and the myopic shift gradually increased with time,with statistically significant at each time point (all P ＜ 0.05),but there was no significant difference in myopic shift between before and after surgery as well as among each time point after surgery in the non-high myopic eyes (P ＞ 0.05).Axial length and corneal curvature at 1 month,3,6 month after surgery in the high myopia group were significantly increased (all P ＜ 0.05),whereas those in the non high myopia group did not change significantly (all P ＞ 0.05).By simple linear regression analysis,the refractive prediction errors had a negative correlation with the preoperative axial length in the high myopia group (R2 =0.580,P =0.001).Conclusion The LogMAR visual acuity after vitrectomy combined with cataract surgery is improved in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.Postoperative axial length growth and corneal curvature increase are presented in patients with high myopia,and the longer the preoperative axial length is,the more myopic shift the eye shows.