Objective To investigate the effect of administration intravenously of rosiglitazone (ROSI) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in rats and its mechanisms. Method Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (SO group), severe acute panereatitis model group (SAP group) and rosiglita-zone pretreatment group (ROSI group),18 rats in each group.SAP model was induced by retrograde inufsion of 5% sodium taurecholate into the biliopancreatic duct. The rats in SO group and SAP group were injected with 10% DMSO (0.2 ml/100 g) by femoral vein 30 minutes piror to the operation. In ROSI group,rosiglitazone partes ae-quales(6 mg/kg) was injected instead of 10% DMSO. Rats were killed at 3, 6 and 12 h after operation. Serum amylase level and myelopemxidase activity were detected. Pancreatic tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological evaluation. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used for detecting the levels ofTNF-α mRNA and ICAM-1 mRNA in pancreatic tissue. Results Amylase level, myeloperexidase ac-tivity, pathologic score and the expression of TNF-α and ICAM-1 mRNA were increased significantly in SAP group at each time point than those in SO group (P<0.05). Compared with SAP group, pretreatment with rosiglitazone reduced serum amylase level and pathologic score at time point of 6 h and 12 h (P<0.05), decreased myeloper-oxidase activity at 12 h (P<0.05), downregulatied the expression of TNF-α mRNA at all time pointy, (P<0.05),ICAM-1 mRNA at 6 h and 12h(P<0.05). Conclusions Rosightazone has the effect on pancreatitis in SAP through downregulating the expression of TNF-α mRNA and ICAM-1 mRNA.

Background Quartz dust cannot be degraded in the lungs, and inhalation of a large amount of quartz dust in the occupational production process will lead to the occurrence of pulmonary fibrosis, and then develop into silicosis. In recent years, studies have found that exosomes may be involved in the pathogenesis of fibrotic diseases by carrying microribonucleic acid (miRNA), but the mechanism of their actions in silicosis still needs to be studied. Objective To investigate the role of exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p/mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7 (Smad7) in quartz dust-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Methods Twenty-four healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (six rats in each group): control 4-week group, control 16-week group, quartz 4-week group, and quartz 16-week group. At the beginning of the experiment, 1 mL of quartz suspension (50 mg·mL⁻¹) and 1 mL of normal saline were injected into the trachea of rats in the quartz group and the control group, respectively, by means of one-time non-exposure intratracheal dust staining. Alveolar lavage was performed at the 4th and 16th weeks after dust staining, the exosomes in lavage solution were extracted by polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, morphological identification was conducted by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle size of exosomes was detected by nano-tracking analysis (NTA), and the marker proteins CD9 and CD63 of exosomes were detected by Western blotting (WB). The expression of miRNA-21-5p in exosomes was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The degree of lung tissue injury and fibrosis was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and Masson staining. The collagen content of lung tissue was detected by hydroxyproline (HYP) method. The expression of Smad7 protein in lung tissue was detected by WB. Results The results of pathological staining showed that compared with the control group, lung inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar wall thickening, and collagen increase were observed after 4 weeks of dusting, and collagen deposition and silicon nodules appeared after 16 weeks of dusting. Compared with the control group, the expression level of HYP in the lung tissue of the quartz group was increased after 4 weeks and 16 weeks of dust staining (P<0.05). Transmission electron microscopy showed that exosomes were saucer-shaped, and the average particle size of exosomes was 95.8 nm by NTA. Positive expression of exosome marker proteins CD9 and CD81 was found by WB. Compared with the control group, the expression of exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p in alveolar lavage fluid in the quartz group increased in the 4th week and the 16th week (P<0.05), and the expression of Smad7 protein in lung tissue decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion Exosome-derived miRNA-21-5p and Smad7 may be involved in the mechanism of quartz dust-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Objective: To explore the effects of subchronic aluminum exposure on the level of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation and the expression of N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1 (YTHDF1) in the hippocampus of rats. Methods: Twenty-four healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group (normal saline), the low dose group [10 μmol/kg Al(mal)3], the medium dose group [20 μmol/kg Al(mal)3] and the high dose group [40 μmol/kg Al(mal)3], with 6 rats in each group. The Al(mal)3 solution was administered via intraperitoneal injection on alternate days for 90 days. Escape latency, target quadrant dwell time and platform crossing times were tested to evaluate the learning and memory ability of the rats by the Morris water maze test after exposure. The brain tissue was weighted and the brain-to-body weight ratio was calculated after euthanasia. The level of m6A methylation and the expression of YTHDF1 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot assay, respectively. Results: All rats survived during aluminum exposure period. The brain-to-body weight ratios of the control group and the low, medium and high dose groups were (0.46±0.06)%, (0.44±0.04)%, (0.49±0.06)% and (0.51±0.07)%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). The escape latency of rats in the high dose group was longer than that in control and low group during the third to fifth day (both P>0.05). The escape latency of rats in all groups was shortened with the increase of training days (P<0.05). The target quadrant dwell time of rats in low, medium and high dose groups were lower than that in control group, and the platform crossing times of rats in high dose group were lower than that in control group (all P<0.05). The methylation level of m6A and expression level of YTHDF1 in hippocampus of rats in medium and high dose groups was higher than that in control group (both P<0.05). Conclusion The learning and memory impairment caused by subchronic aluminum exposure may be related to the increase of m6A methylation level and the decrease of YTHDF1 expression.

Objective To evaluate the different methods of blood purification for acute septic renal injury (AKI) in respect of outcome by using RIFLE(risk,injury,failure,loss and end-stage renal disease)criteria and A-PACHE Ⅱ score. MethodData of 96 patients with ASRI admired to ICU of Tianhe Hospital, Tianjin, from March 2004 to September 2006 were analyzed. Including criteria: 2001 International Sepsis Definitions Conference and 2004 RIFLE criteria of AKI. The methods of blood purification used continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT, n=54) and imermittent hemodialysis (IHD, n=42).The patients of CRRT group could be classified into stages Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ referred to RIFLE criteria. Excel was evaluated to set up clinical data base from documented material. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 11. 5 software. Physical signs, laboratory findings, variation of APACHE Ⅱ score and outcomes of patients were documented evaluated. Data of two groups compared using indepent samples T test, before and after the treatment compared using paired-samples T test, rate compared using chi-square test. Results①There were no statistical differences in APACHE Ⅱ score and creatinine (Cr) between CRRT group and IHD group before treatment (P>0.05). The mortalities of CRRT group and IHD group were 51.9％ and 52.4％, respectively (P>0.05), but the recovery rates of renal function in CRRT group and IHD group were 92.3％ and 65.0％ ,respectively (P< 0.05).②Mean arterial pressure (MAP),oxygen saturation (SpO2) of CRRT group were lower than those of IHD group (P<0.05) and they increased to some extent after treatment (P< 0.05). ③In the patients of stag Ⅰ ,the survival rate was 78.6％, APACHE Ⅱ score was 25.4± 2.5 before treatment, renal function recovery rate was 90.9％ ,and APACHE Ⅱ changed - 13.6 ± 4.3, while those relevant markers in the patients of stage Ⅲ were 38.1％, 36.1 ± 5.7,62.5 ％ and - 7.1 ± 4.2, respectively (P<0.05). ConclusionsThe RIFLE criteria has guiding significance for the early diagnosis and prognosis of ASRI,and the RIFLE and APACHE Ⅲ score may help to choose the optimum opportunity of treatment and the early CRRT as soon as possible after diagnosis can improve the outcome of patients with acute septic renal injury.

Objective:To construct a scientific research evaluation model through principal component analysis, and to explore scientific research evaluation methods for hospitals.Methods:The professional title, educational background, positions and scientific research output information of the scientific research personnel in the First Hospital of Jilin University from 2019 to 2020 were collected. Delphi expert consultation was used to determine the assignment value of each variable, and use SPSS 21.0 software was used to build the principal component analysis model and conduct model verification.Results:The study collected a total of 1 882 researchers′ information. The KMO value of the validity test and the Bartlett sphere test meet the requirements of principal component analysis (KMO=0.731, P<0.05); the model obtained a total of 7 principal components. Among them, principal component 1 represents researchers who published SCI papers, applying for national, provincial and ministerial level scientific research projects, and their part-time positions in academic societies. The second principal component represents the status of applying for patents and publications, and the third principal component represents the status of the awards. The scores of scientific research output of researchers were summarized and sorted according to disciplines, according to which the neurology, endocrinology and metabolism, neurosurgery, general surgery and orthopedics ranked better. The model verification results found that researchers with senior professional titles and doctoral degrees had the highest median weighted comprehensive score( P<0.05), suggesting that scholars with higher professional title levels and higher education received higher comprehensive scientific research output scores. Conclusions:The scientific research evaluation model constructed by this study can provide scientific data reference for the hospital scientific research evaluation.

The fungal bioluminescence pathway (FBP) is a metabolic pathway responsible for the generation of bioluminescence derived from fungi. This pathway utilizes caffeic acid as the substrate, generating a high-energy intermediate, and the decomposition of which yields green fluorescence with a wavelength of approximately 520 nm. The FBP is evolutionally conserved in luminescent fungal groups. Unlike other bioluminescent systems, the FBP is particularly suitable for engineering applications in eukaryotic organisms, especially in plants. Currently, metabolically engineered luminescent plants are able to emit visible light to illuminate its surroundings, which can be visualized clearly in the dark. The fungal bioluminescent system could be explored in various applications in molecular biology, biosensors and glowing ornamental plants, and even green lighting along city streets.
Luminescence ; Light ; Fluorescence ; Eukaryota ; Green Light

Background Previous studies show that aluminum exposure could increase the expression of miRNA-134-3p, which is involved in the mechanism of aluminum induced learning and memory impairment. However, it has not been investigated whether the expression level of miRNA-134-3p in the peripheral blood of occupational aluminum exposed workers is related to the blood aluminum concentration yet. Objective To evaluate a potential correlation between aluminum concentration in peripheral blood and miR-134-3p expression in occupational aluminum exposed workers. Methods A total of 184 male aluminum workers in the electrolytic aluminum workshop, aluminum oxide workshop, and thermal power workshop of an aluminum plant in Shanxi were selected by cluster sampling. They were divided into four groups (Q₁-Q₄) according to the quartiles of blood aluminum concentration, with 46 workers in each group. The basic information of workers was collected by questionnaire survey, and the cognitive function of workers was evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The plasma of workers was collected, and the relative expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The plasma aluminum concentration was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The associations among workers' peripheral blood aluminum concentration, plasma miR-134-3p expression level, and total MoCA score were evaluated by generalized linear models. Results The workers' medians (P₂₅, P₇₅) of blood aluminum concentration, plasma relative expression level of miR-134-3p, and MoCA score were 39.31 (25.30, 57.41) μg·L^-1, 2.93 (2.29, 3.74), and 22.0 (20.0, 26.0), respectively. The results of the generalized linear model showed that after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption, compared with the Q₁ group, blood aluminum in the Q₂, Q₃, or Q₄ group had an impact on related plasma miR-134-3p expression level and total MoCA score (P<0.05). With increasing blood aluminum concentration, the expression level of miR-134-3p in workers' plasma gradually increased, showing a positive correlation (b>0, P_trend<0.001), while the total score of MoCA gradually decreased, showing a negative correlation (b<0, P_trend<0.001). As the expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma increased, the total score of MoCA gradually decreased, showing a negative correlation (b<0, P_trend<0.001). There was a linear relationship between peripheral blood aluminum concentration and plasma relative expression level of miR-134-3p of the workers in the middle school and below group and the high school group (P_trend<0.05), b (95%CI)=1.796 (1.248, 2.344) and 1.192 (0.874, 1.510), and no correlation was found in the workers in the college and above group (P_trend>0.05). Conclusion Occupational aluminum exposure can lead to an increase in the expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma of workers, which may be related to a decrease in cognitive function of workers.