005), while iron overload occurred in 8 of 57 cases of ?-thalassemia (14.0%) and 89 out of 386 cases of ?-thalassemia (23.1%). Although the occurrence rate of iron overload in ?-thalassemia appeared higher than that in ?-thalassemia, no significant difference existed. Homozygote ?-thalassemia was prone to iron overload, followed by non-deletion HbH diseases, at the occurrence rate of 79.2% and 27.3% respectively. Iron deficiency was inclined to be associated with silent ?-thalassemia at the occurrence rate of 45.5%, followed by heterozygote ?-thalassemia (30.3%). Conclusion Both iron overload and iron deficiency can be found in thalassemia. Therefore, special treatments should be carried out according to given cases.

BACKGROUND: Studies regarding synthesizing composite bone repair materials with organic macromolecules as mineralizers template are the hot research spot. However, reports concerning using agar as bone repair materials are few. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize a novel agar-hydroxyapatite composite material, and to evaluate its physical and chemical properties as well as cytocompatibility.METHODS: ①A certain amount of the non-nano-hydroxyapatite in hydrochloric acid solution was added into a certain amount of agar sol, and the reaction system was adjusted with PH value of 7-8. And then the precipitate was lyophilized to obtain the composite of agar-hydroxyapatite.②The third generation of rat bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) was co-cultured with agar-hydroxyapatite. And the growth of cells was observed at days 1, 3 and 5 after culture. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results of X-ray diffraction patterns, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), thermal analyzer, transmission electron microscope, and scanning electron microscope showed that agar could manipulate the growth of hydroxyapatite, and hydroxyapatite nanocrystals was equably formed on the agar-fibers with high porosity. The BMSC grew well in the composite and form a clear cytoskeletal at days 3 and 5 after culture. The results reveal that agar-hydroxyapatite composite has good physical and chemical properties and cytocompatibility.

Objective:To investigate the ethics and existing problems of experimental animals in medical experiments and experimental teaching, and to formulate countermeasures so that animal ethics and animal welfare can be truly reflected in medical experiments.Methods:In this study, a "Basic Function Experiment Center Animal Experiment Questionnaire" with 25 questions was formulated from three aspects: the ethical cognition of experimental animals, whether animal experiments are ethical or not, how to view the problems of animal ethics and experimental teaching and the cognition of virtual simulation experiment teaching. Questionnaire was sent to Hubei University of Medicine to investigate the international students of Batch 2017 (5-year program), undergraduates of Batch 2017 (5-year program) and nursing students of Batch 2018 (4-year program) as well as teachers, researchers and employees of laboratory animal center (all with bachelor degree or above). The survey results were expressed as percentage.Results:The recovery rate of the questionnaire in this study was 98.04%(2 451/2 500), among which the practitioners, teachers and researchers in the laboratory animal center clearly understood the ethics of experimental animals, but there was a widespread phenomenon of lagging ethics among the students. For example, 16.24% (398/2 451) students had not received animal experiment ethics education and training, 29.46% (722/2 451) were not clear about animal protection laws and regulations, 7.14% (175/2 451) thought animal experiments were immoral; 29.54% (724/2 451) had vague cognition of animal welfare and ethical knowledge; 25.91% (635/2 451) were not familiar with the operation steps; 9.38% (230/2 451) were indifferent to the extra treatment of animals due to operation errors, 7.83% (192/2 451) chose to give up the experiment in the treatment of animals after massive bleeding, only 5.43% (133/2 451) chose to continue the experiment after timely hemostasis and infusion, and 9.26% (227/2 451) chose to do operations unrelated to the experiment. After the experiment, 2.28% (56/2 451) chose to kill the animals by bloodletting, only 5.51% (135/2 451) chose excessive anesthesia euthanasia, and 1.96% (48/2 451) chose to kill the animals by cervical dislocation and violence. Only 15.79% (387/2 451) chose to remember the dead animal for 2 minutes. Only 32.56%(798/2 451) of the respondents understood virtual simulation experiment, 34.92% (856/2 451) of the respondents thought that virtual simulation experiment or experimental teaching video could be used to replace the existing live animal experiment, 77.56% (1 901/2 451) believed that the construction of virtual simulation laboratory should be strengthened.Conclusion:It is imperative to strengthen the education of students' ethics of experimental animals, which is conducive to the establishment of correct ethics of experimental animals for medical students, so that the "3R" principle and animal welfare can be truly implemented in experimental teaching and scientific research experiments.

Bronchial asthma is a chronic respiratory disease，characterized by airway inflammation，airway hyperresponsiveness，reversible airway obstruction and airway remodeling，in which a variety of cells including airway inflammatory cells and structural cells are involved. Previous studies have shown that asthma is mainly driven by Th2 cytokines IL-4，IL-5，and IL-13，leading to airway eosinophil inflammation. With further research，however，it has been found that neutrophils are also closely related to asthma. Numbers of neutrophils are elevated in airway through increased chemotaxis and decreased apoptosis，which is earlier than eosinophils，leading to airway neutrophilic inflammation. Neutrophils can produce elastase，myeloperoxidase，neutrophil extra- cellular traps，chemokines and cytokines，participating in the occurrence and development of asthma. The antagonists against these molecules，such as anti-IL-8 receptor antibody，anti-IL-17 antibody，and DNase，have shown positive effects on neutrophilic asthma，but further studies are needed to support their clinical application. This article mainly reviews the role of neutrophils in asthma and related mechanisms.
Asthma/immunology* ; Cytokines ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Neutrophils/immunology*

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Huanglian Ejiaotang in intervening in insomnia based on 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT） system and gut microbiota. MethodFifty-five SPF-grade SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， low-， medium-， and high-dose Huanglian Ejiaotang groups （1.925， 3.85， and 7.7 g·kg^-1）， and Estazolam group （0.1 mg·kg^-1）. Except for those in the normal group， the rats in the other five groups were subjected to sleep deprivation on a narrow platform for 12 hours daily for 21 consecutive days. After 14 days of drug intervention， the sleep， exploratory behavior， and depressive-like behavior of the rats were assessed using the pentobarbital sodium sleep synergistic test， the open field test， and the sugar preference test， respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the levels of 5-HT， 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid （5-HIAA）， tryptophan hydroxylase （TPH）， and monoamine oxidase-A （MAO-A）. Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to measure the mRNA expression of the 5-HT1A receptor （5-HT1AR） and 5-HT2A receptor （5-HT2AR）. Differences in gut microbiota among the groups were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing， and the correlation between the 5-HT system and microbiota was revealed using redundancy analysis. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed a prolonged sleep latency （P<0.05）， reduced sleep maintenance （P<0.01）， decreased central area activity time in the open field （P<0.01）， and reduced sugar preference rate （P<0.05）. Moreover， the model group also showed decreased levels of 5-HT， 5-HIAA， TPH， and MAO-A （P<0.01）， decreased 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio （P<0.01）， downregulated mRNA expression of 5-HT1AR （P<0.01）， and upregulated mRNA expression of 5-HT2AR （P<0.05）. The proportion of Firmicutes decreased， while that of Bacteroidetes increased， leading to a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes （F/B） ratio （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose Huanglian Ejiaotang group exhibited a shortened sleep latency （P<0.01）， and increased sleep maintenance （P<0.01）. The low-dose Huanglian Ejiaotang group showed increased central area activity time （P<0.01） and an increased sugar preference rate （P<0.05）. The high-dose Huanglian Ejiaotang group exhibited increased levels of 5-HT， 5-HIAA， TPH， and MAO-A （P<0.01）， increased 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio （P<0.05）， upregulated mRNA expression of 5-HT1AR （P<0.01）， and downregulated mRNA expression of 5-HT2AR （P<0.05）. The low-dose Huanglian Ejiaotang group displayed an increased proportion of Firmicutes and a decreased proportion of Bacteroidetes， resulting in an increased F/B ratio. At the phylum level， 5-HT， 5-HIAA， and MAO-A were positively correlated with Firmicutes and negatively correlated with Bacteroidetes. At the genus level， 5-HT， 5-HIAA， TPH， and MAO-A were negatively correlated with Prevotella and Lactobacillus and positively correlated with Blautia and Bacteroides. ConclusionHuanglian Ejiaotang can improve sleep deprivation-induced insomnia and depressive-like behavior by regulating the activity of the 5-HT system and the composition of gut microbiota.