Objective: To explore the effects of Vitamin K2 (VK2) on theaortic artery calciifcation and oxidative stress injury in experimental rats.
Methods: A total of 24 rats were divided into 4 groups:①Control group,②6-week calciifcation group,③12-week calciifcation group and④6-week calciifcation + 6-week VK2 group;n=6 in each group. The arterial calciifcation was induced by warfarin (WFN) treatment. The calcium nodule and deposition in rat’s theaortic artery were detected by Alizarin red staining and o-cresolphthalein complexone method, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by DHE probe staining and the morphological changes of mitochondria in smooth muscle cells were detected by transmission electron microscopy.
Results: Calciifcation nodule formed in both 6-week and 12-week calciifcation groups, the calciifcation deposition and ROS were higher than Control group,P<0.01. Compared with both calcification groups, the above indexes were decreased in 6-week calciifcation + 6-week VK2 group,P<0.01. Both calciifcation groups showed mitochondria swelling with unclear structure and cytoplasm vacuoles degeneration in vascular smooth muscle cells. The vascular smooth muscle cell volumes were similar between Control group and 6-week calcification + 6-week VK2 group, and no cytoplasm vacuoles degeneration was observed.
Conclusion: Warfarin induced aortic calciifcation is related to oxidative stress injury which may cause the ultra-micro structural damage in smooth muscle cells; VK2 may reduce the oxidative stress injury and improve the condition of vessel calciifcation in experimental rats.

Objective: To explore the effect of oxidative stress injury on the mechanism of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calciifcation induced by calcium and phosphorus in experimental rats.
Methods: The VSMC calcification was induced by incubating the cells with calcium chloride (CaCl2) andβ-sodium glycerophosphate (β-GP) for 8 days, and the cells were divided into 4 groups: ① Control group, ② Calcification group,③ Calciifcation+H2O2 group, ④ Calciifcation+catalase group. The calcium nodule formation and calcium deposition in VSMC were detected by Alizarin red staining and o-cresolphthalein complexone method, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by DCFH-DA probe staining and the protein expression of Runx2 was examined by Western blot analysis.
Results: Compared with Control group, Calciifcation group showed the higher ROS production, more calcium nodule and calcium deposition, higher Runx2 protein expression;while compared with Calciifcation group, the above indexes were even higher in Calciifcation+H2O2 group, P<0.05. The ROS production, calcium nodule, calcium deposition and Runx2 protein expression were lower in Calciifcation+catalase group than those in Calciifcation group and Calciifcation+H2O2 group, but still higher than that in Control group. The protein expression of Runx2 was similar between Calciifcation+catalase group and Control group, P>0.05.
Conclusion: CaCl2 andβ-GP treatment may induce VSMC calciifcation via activating ROS-Runx2 signal pathway in experimental rats.

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism of acupuncture for treatment of perimenopausal syndrome.

METHODSThe rats of perimenopausal syndrome were randomly divided into 3 groups, including an acupuncture group treated with acupuncture, a medication group with Gengnian'an, and a perimenopausal control group, with young rats used for a control group. Granulocyte apoptosis and expressions of Bcl-2 and Fas proteins in the ovary of the rat were detected.

RESULTSGranulocyte apoptosis increased significantly (P < 0.01), expression of Bl-2 proteins decreased significantly (P < 0.01) and expression of Fas proteins increased significantly (P < 0.01) in the ovary of perimenopausal rats as compared with the young rats; after acupuncture treatment, granulocyte apoptosis decreased significantly (P < 0.05), expression of Bel-2 proteins increased significantly (P < 0.05) and expression of Fas proteins decreased significantly (P < 0.01); after treatment of Gengnian'an, granulocyte apoptosis did not significantly change (P > 0.05), expression of Bcl-2 prteins increased significantly (P < 0.05) and expression of Fas proteins decreased significantly (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture can inhibit granulocyte apoptosis, up-regulate expression of Bcl-2 proteins and down-regulate expression of Fas proteins in the ovary of the perimenopausal rat.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Female ; Granulocytes ; pathology ; Ovary ; metabolism ; pathology ; Perimenopause ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; fas Receptor ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo summarize the 23-year experience of laparoscopic biliary surgery in General Hospital of PLA and evaluate the application of laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of biliary diseases.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 11 419 consecutive patients with biliary diseases undergoing laparoscopic surgery from April, 1992 and December, 2014. The disease spectrum was compared between patients treated before December 31, 2003 and those treated after the time point.

RESULTSThe 11419 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery accounted for 56.3% of the total patients undergoing biliary surgeries during the 23 years, including 4701 male and 6718 female patients with a mean age of 50.9∓13.2 years (6-93 years). Most (80.83%) of the patients received laparoscopic surgery for gallbladder stones, and 12.53% patients had the operation for gallbladder polyps. The laparoscopic operation rate was 84.81% in patients with gallbladder stones and 34.91% in patients with extrahepatic bile duct stones, but remained low in patients with biliary carcinoma. In laparoscopic operations, laparoscopic cholecystectomy was the most frequent (96.18%) followed by operations for extrahepatic bile duct stones, in which primary suture accounted for 1.38%, traditional T tube drainage for 0.90% and laparoscopic transcystic duct exploration for 0.72%. For malignant tumors, laparoscopic technique was used mainly for the purpose of exploration (0.34%). The application of laparoscopic technique in biliary surgery tended to increase after the year 2004, especially for benign gallbladder diseases and extrahepatic bile duct stones (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONLaparoscopic technique in biliary surgery is gradually replacing the traditional open operation and becomes the gold standard for the treatment of benign biliary diseases.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bile Duct Neoplasms ; surgery ; Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic ; Child ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Drainage ; Female ; Gallbladder Diseases ; surgery ; Gallstones ; surgery ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; trends ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEUsing two antithrombotic treatment (clopidogrel vs. clopidogrel combined warfarin) strategies after femoral-popliteal artery angioplasty prospectively, to evaluate which strategy is more effective for the restenosis prevention.

METHODSTotally 50 patients referred for endovascular treatment (including the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stent implantation) of the superficial femoral artery and popliteal artery from January 2008 to May 2009 were randomly divided into clopidogrel group (group A, 25 cases, 30 limbs) and clopidogrel plus warfarin group (group B, 25 cases, 33 limbs) before operation. Clinical outcomes and restenosis rate of the target lesions were evaluated at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation.

RESULTSTotally 88 patients were screened for participation in the study, 56 patients were included after the follow-up of 12 months. At 3 months, the rates of restenosis were 16.7% in group A and 18.2% in group B (χ² = 0.025, P = 0.874). At 6 months, the accumulated restenosis rates were 36.7% in group A and 36.4% in group B (χ² = 0.001, P = 0.98). At 12 months, the accumulated restenosis rates were 53.3% in group A and 42.4% in group B (χ² = 0.75, P = 0.387). Analysis for the critical limb ischemia sub-group showed that follow-up of 12 months, the accumulated restenosis rate was 8/10 in group A and 6/12 in group B (χ² = 1.023, P = 0.312).

CONCLUSIONThe clopidogrel alone treatment for PTA or PTA plus stent implantation of femoral popliteal artery has no statistically significant difference in comparison with the clopidogrel combined warfarin treatment in terms of the cumulative vascular restenosis rate at 3, 6, 12 months postoperatively.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Arterial Occlusive Diseases ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Female ; Femoral Artery ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Popliteal Artery ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Prospective Studies ; Ticlopidine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Warfarin ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the in-hospital clinical outcome of patients with coronary artery disease who underwent transradial intervention (TRI) and analyze the predictors of clinical outcome.

METHODSFrom May 2004 to May 2009, there were 16 281 patients who underwent transradial intervention, as well as 5388 patients who underwent transfemoral intervention (TFI) at our institution. The clinical characteristics, procedural characteristics, and in-hospital clinical adverse events were compared between TRI and TFI groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (composite of death, myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization) of TRI.

RESULTSThe annulations time was significantly longer for TRI than TFI (P < 0.01), fluoroscopy time, amount of contrast agent and procedural success rate (95.5% for TRI and 96.2% for TFI) were similar between the two groups. However, the rates of vascular complications (0.1% for TRI group and 1.3% for TFI group, P < 0.01), incidence of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (1.6% vs. 3.8%, P < 0.01) and in-hospital death (0.2% vs. 0.4%, P < 0.01) were all significantly lower in TRI group compared with TFI group. The following characteristics were identified as independent multivariate predictors of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events of TRI: age ≥ 65 (OR: 1.98, 95%CI: 1.50 - 2.61, P < 0.01), prior myocardial infarction (OR: 2.14, 95%CI: 1.63 - 2.82, P < 0.01), use of drug-eluting stent (DES) (OR: 0.68, 95%CI: 0.47 - 0.98, P = 0.04), dissection during procedure (OR: 4.08, 95%CI: 2.28 - 7.33, P < 0.01), left main lesion (OR: 2.12, 95%CI: 1.09 - 4.13, P = 0.03), number of implanted stents (OR: 1.25, 95%CI: 1.09 - 1.43, P < 0.01), and total stented length (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00 - 1.02, P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONSIn this large single-centre patient cohort, the transradial intervention is superior to transfemoral intervention in terms of in-hospital safety and efficacy. Age ≥ 65, prior myocardial infarction, use of DES, dissection during procedure, left main lesion, number of implanted stents and total stented length were identified as independent multivariate predictors of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events of TRI.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; methods ; Coronary Artery Disease ; therapy ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radial Artery ; Treatment Outcome

【Objective】 To investigate the effects of formononetin (FMN) on cardiomyocyte apoptosis and HSP90/AKT in rats with dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure. 【Methods】 Echocardiography, ELISA, histological staining, and TUNEL staining were used to observe the protective effect of different doses of FMN on dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure in rats and the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. The potential targets of formononetin on dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure were obtained from TCMSP, DisGeNet, GeneCards, and other databases, the key targets were obtained according to the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the key targets were verified by molecular docking. Western blotting was used to further verify the regulatory role of key targets in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure with formononetin. 【Results】 Formononetin could reduce the levels of LVIDS, LVIDD, NT-pro BNP, cTn-T, CK, CK-MB, and LDH in rats with dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure, increase the levels of EF and FS, and reduce the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. FMN had a strong binding effect on 10 key targets (AKT1, HSP90AA1, CASP3, MAPK1, MMP9, SRC, ALB, HRAS, IGF1, and EGFR) screened by network pharmacology, with HSP90AA1 and AKT1 having the strongest binding effect. Formononetin decreased the expression of HSP90, AKT and downstream CASP3 protein, but increased the expression of p-AKT in myocardial tissue. 【Conclusion】 Formononetin may inhibit the expression of HSP90, promote phosphorylation of AKT to p-AKT, and inhibit the expression of CASP3, thereby reducing the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and improving myocardial tissue damage, so as to achieve the purpose of treating dilated cardiomyopathy-mediated heart failure.

Objective To explore the efficacy of ganoderma lucidum preparation(Ling Zhi) in treating APP/PS-1 transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease(AD).Methods APP/PS-1 transgenic mice of 4 months were randomly divided into model group,ganoderma lucidum treatment groups,including high [2250 mg/(kg·d)] and middle [750 mg/(kg·d)] dose groups,i.e.LZ-H and LZ-M groups,and the positive control group(treated with donepezil hydrochloride [2 mg/(kg·d)]).In addition,C57BL/6J wild mice were selected as normal group.The animals were administered for 4 months.Histopathological examinations including hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining,immunohistochemistry,special staining,and electron microscopy were applied,and then the pathological morphology and structures in different groups were compared. Results The senile plaques and neurofibrillar tangles in the cerebrum and cerebellum were dissolved or disappeared in LZ-H and LZ-M groups.Decrease of amyloid angiopathy was found in LZ-H and LZ-M groups.The immature neurons appeared more in hippocampus and dentate nucleus of LZ-H and LZ-M groups than those in AD model and donepezil hydrochloride groups(hippcampus:F=1.738,P=0.016;dentate nucleus:F=1.924,P=0.026),and these immature neurons differentiated to be neurons.More Purkinje cells loss occurred in AD model mice than that in LZ-H and LZ-M groups(F=9.46,P=0.007;F=9.46,P=0.010).The LZ-H and LZ-M groups had more new neuron stem cells grown up in cerebellum.Electromicroscopic examination showed the hippocampal neurons in LZ-H and LZ-M group were integrated,the nuclear membrane was intact,and the mitochondria in the cytoplasm,endoplasmic reticulum,Golgi bodies,microtubules,and synapses were also complete.The microglial cell showed no abnormality.No toxicity appeared in the pathological specimens of mice treated with ganoderma lucidum preparation.Conclusion The ganoderma lucidum preparation can dissolve and decline or dismiss the senile plaques and neurofibrillar tangles in the brain of AD mice and also reduce the amyloid angiopathy.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

Objectives: To investigated the safety and efficacy of treating patients with acute non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and elevated levels of N-terminal pro-hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with levosimendan within 24 hours of first medical contact (FMC). Methods: This multicenter, open-label, block-randomized controlled trial (NCT03189901) investigated the safety and efficacy of levosimendan as an early management strategy of acute heart failure (EMS-AHF) for patients with NSTEMI and high NT-proBNP levels. This study included 255 patients with NSTEMI and elevated NT-proBNP levels, including 142 males and 113 females with a median age of 65 (58-70) years, and were admitted in the emergency or outpatient departments at 14 medical centers in China between October 2017 and October 2021. The patients were randomly divided into a levosimendan group (n=129) and a control group (n=126). The primary outcome measure was NT-proBNP levels on day 3 of treatment and changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline on day 5 after randomization. The secondary outcome measures included the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in NT-proBNP levels from baseline, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during hospitalization and at 6 months after hospitalization, safety during the treatment, and health economics indices. The measurement data parameters between groups were compared using the t-test or the non-parametric test. The count data parameters were compared between groups using the χ² test. Results: On day 3, the NT-proBNP levels in the levosimendan group were lower than the control group but were statistically insignificant [866 (455, 1 960) vs. 1 118 (459, 2 417) ng/L, Z=-1.25,P=0.21]. However, on day 5, changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline in the levosimendan group were significantly higher than the control group [67.6% (33.8%,82.5%)vs.54.8% (7.3%,77.9%), Z=-2.14, P=0.03]. There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in the NT-proBNP levels on day 5 between the levosimendan and the control groups [77.5% (100/129) vs. 69.0% (87/126), χ²=2.34, P=0.13]. Furthermore, incidences of MACE did not show any significant differences between the two groups during hospitalization [4.7% (6/129) vs. 7.1% (9/126), χ²=0.72, P=0.40] and at 6 months [14.7% (19/129) vs. 12.7% (16/126), χ²=0.22, P=0.64]. Four cardiac deaths were reported in the control group during hospitalization [0 (0/129) vs. 3.2% (4/126), P=0.06]. However, 6-month survival rates were comparable between the two groups (log-rank test, P=0.18). Moreover, adverse events or serious adverse events such as shock, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia were not reported in both the groups during levosimendan treatment (days 0-1). The total cost of hospitalization [34 591.00(15 527.46,59 324.80) vs. 37 144.65(16 066.90,63 919.00)yuan, Z=-0.26, P=0.80] and the total length of hospitalization [9 (8, 12) vs. 10 (7, 13) days, Z=0.72, P=0.72] were lower for patients in the levosimendan group compared to those in the control group, but did not show statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Early administration of levosimendan reduced NT-proBNP levels in NSTEMI patients with elevated NT-proBNP and did not increase the total cost and length of hospitalization, but did not significantly improve MACE during hospitalization or at 6 months.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Simendan/therapeutic use* ; Non-ST Elevated Myocardial Infarction ; Heart Failure/drug therapy* ; Peptide Fragments ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Biomarkers ; Prognosis