ObjectiveTo study the role of L-arginine/nitric oxide (NO) pathway in the antidepressant effects of ketamine.MethodsForty two male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were equally randomized into 7 groups ( n =6 ):control group ( C group ),L-Arginine ( a precursor of NO ) group ( LA group),L-NAME ( an non-selectivity inhibitor of NO synthase) group ( LN group),ketamine 3 mg/kg group ( K3 group),ketamine 10 mg/kg group (K10 group),L-Arginine + ketamine 10 mg/kg group(LAK10 group),L-NAME + ketamine 3 mg/kg group (LNK3 group).The forced swimming test (FST) of 15 min (pre-test session) was used to establish a rat depression model,then twenty-four hours later FST (test session) was carried out of 6 min and the immobility time in last 5 min was recorded. All the groups were pretreated with saline 1.0 ml,L-arginine 750 mg/kg or L-NAME 30 mg/kg 90 min before FST.Saline 1.0 ml,ketamine 3.0 mg/kg or ketamine 10.0 mg/kg were injected 60 min before FST.The content of hippocampal NO was detected immediately after ethology measurement.ResultsCompared with C group (immobility time:( 139.0 ± 27.6)s),the immobility time decreased significantly (( 85.5 ± 34.2),(91.3 ±31.6)s) in K10 group and LNK3 group (P＜0.05),K3 group,LA group,LAK10 group and LN group had no significant difference (P＞0.05) ;compared with C group ( (0.61 ±0.21 ) μmol/gProt),the content of NO increased in LA group ( ( 1.09 ±0.39) μmol/gProt) and decreased in K10 group and LNK3 group significantly( (0.28 ± 0.12),(0.31 ± 0.14 ) μmol/gProt) (P ＜ 0.05 ),K3 group,LAK10 group and LN group had no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).ConclusionThe antidepressant effects of ketamine are related to the suppression of L-arginine/nitric oxide pathway.

Adolescent ; Asthma ; therapy ; Child ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory Therapy ; methods ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Treatment Outcome

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in treatment of gastric cancer, but still lacking large sample controlled trial to evaluate its efficacy.

Objective To improve clinically the recognition of fungal infection associated with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in children. Methods Clinical data of 3 children with fungal infection complicated with HLH in our hospital was retrospectively analyzed. Results All the 3 cases complained of recurrent fever, 2 cases with cough and one case with vomiting. Hepatosplenomagaly and lymphadenectasis were found in the medical examination. The time of diagnosis of fungal infection through etiological examination was 5 days after admission. It was further diagnosed as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis after failure of effective antifungal therapy. Routine blood test showed the counts of leukocytes were increased in early stage, while the number of platelets and hemoglobin decreased in different degrees. The recovery is not satisfactory using antifungal therapy alone, and 2 of them are gradually aggravated and treated with mechanical ventilation. On the basis of antifungal therapy, 2 cases were treated under HLH-2004 regimen, 1 received dexamethasone treatment. All the 3 cases received intravenous immune globulin, and showed improvement. Conclusions Fungal infection complicated with HLH in childhood is rare. The effect of simple antifungal therapy on the progression is limited. However, increasing immunosuppressive therapy based on effective antifungal therapy can improve the prognosis.

The mammalian liver has a very strong regeneration capacity after partial hepatectomy (PH). To further learn the genes participating in the liver regeneration (LR), 551 cDNAs selected from subtracted cDNA libraries of the regenerating rat liver were screened by microarray, and their expression profiles were studied by cluster and generalization analyses. Among them, 177 genes were identified unreported and up- or down-regulated more than twofold at one or more time points after PH, of which 62 genes were down-regulated to less than 0.5; 99 genes were up-regulated to 2-10 folds, and 16 genes were either up- or down-regulated at different time points during LR. By using BLAST and GENSCAN, these genes were located on responsible chromosomes with 131 genes on the long arms of the chromosomes. The cluster and generalization analyses showed that the gene expression profiles are similar in 2 and 4, 12 and 16, 96 and 144 h respectively after PH, suggesting that the actions of the genes expressed in the same profiles are similar, and those expressed in different profiles have less similarity. However, the types, characteristics and functions of the 177 genes remain to be further studied.
Animals ; Chromosome Mapping ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Liver Regeneration ; genetics ; physiology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Time Factors

Objective:To determine a relationship between ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) and pathological lessions of renal tissues in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Methods:It was a cross-sectional observational study, involving children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January to December 2021 with definite pathological diagnosis through kidney biopsy. The SWE was used to determine the Young's modulus (elastic modulus) of the cortex and medulla of the upper, middle, and lower poles of the kidney. The renal histopathology was classified or graded. The statistical method was used to analyze the relationship between Young's modulus of the inferior polar cortex (YM cor) and medulla (YM med) of the right kidney and renal pathology. Results:The study included 110 children with definite pathological diagnosis through renal biopsy, aged (10.1±3.4) years old (2-17 years old), with 55 males (50.0%). The body mass index was (20.6±2.4) kg/m 2, and mean arterial pressure was (95±24) mmHg. There were 94 patients (85.4%) with CKD stage 1, 8 patients (7.3%) with CKD stage 2, and 8 patients (7.3%) with CKD stage 3. There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med in the upper and middle poles of the right kidneys, and YM med in the lower poles of right kidneys in CKD patients with different stages (all P>0.05). Both YM cor [(15.75±3.36) kPa] and YM med [(13.50±2.43) kPa] of CKD stage 3 patients were significantly higher than those of CKD stage 1 patients [(12.94±2.45) kPa, (11.88±2.23) kPa](both P<0.05). There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med in the lower poles of right kidneys between stage 1 and stage 2 CKD patients (both P>0.05). YM cor[(17.93±3.23) kPa] and YM med [(15.50±1.48) kPa] in patients with crescentic glomerulonephritis were higher than those in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis [(12.71±2.42) kPa, (11.57±2.63) kPa] and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis [(12.73±2.04) kPa, (11.48±2.10) kPa](all P<0.05). There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (both P>0.05). YM cor [(16.30±2.63) kPa] and YM med [(15.54±1.59) kPa] of Lee's Ⅳ grade of IgA nephropathy were higher than those of Lee's Ⅲ grade [(13.32±2.70) kPa, (12.57±2.50) kPa](both P<0.05), while the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children grade of purpura nephritis had no significant correlation with YM cor and YM med (both P>0.05). YM cor [(15.41±2.37) kPa] and YM med [(13.82±2.59) kPa] of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (T1/T2) group of IgA nephropathy mixed with purpura nephritis were significantly higher than those of T0 group's [(12.99±2.40) kPa, (11.79±2.05) kPa] (both P<0.05). Moreover, crescent formation (C1) group had a higher YM cor [(14.21±2.77) kPa] and YM med [(12.80±2.47) kPa] than those in C0 group [(12.73±2.15) kPa, (11.59±1.97) kPa] (both P<0.05), while YM cor and YM med were unrelated to the mesangial hypercellularity (M), endocapillary cellularity (E), segmental sclerosis or adhesion (S) indicators (all P>0.05). In lupus nephritis patients, YM cor ( r=0.744, P=0.035) and YM med ( r=0.728, P=0.009) were favorably linked with the chronic index, but not with the activity index (both P>0.05). Conclusions:Renal interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy and crescentic development are connected with YM cor and YM med at the lower pole of the kidney as measured by SWE. SWE can be used to assess the chronic renal lesions in children with CKD in the early and middle stages. It may develop into a new noninvasive way to assess renal pathology.

Objective To investigate the expression of peripheral programmed death (PD)-1hiCXCR5-CD4+T cells and its clinical significance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Peripheral blood PD-1hiCXCR5-CD4+ T cells from 21 SLE patients and 16 healthy controls were examined by flow cytometry. The levels of serum anti-double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) antibodies were determined using immunoradiometric as-say. Data were analyzed with t test and Pearson's correlation test. Results The per-centages of PD-1hiCXCR5- cells within CD4+ T cell were significantly higher in SLE patients [(2.1 ±2.0)％] compared to normal controls [(0.3±0.3)％] (t=2.959, P<0.01). The percentages of PD-1hiCXCR5-cells within CD4+T cells in moderate to severe active SLE patients (3.0 ±2.0)％ was significantly increased compared to patients with mild or inactive (1.0±1.4)％(t=2.574, P<0.05) and normal controls (0.3±0.3)％ (t=5.149, P<0.01). The percentages of PD-1hiCXCR5- cells within CD4+ T cells from SLE patients were positively related with systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) (r=0.475, P=0.0297). SLE patients in serum anti-dsDNA antibodies positive group (2.7±2.1)％displayed a higher percentage of PD-1hiCXCR5-cells within CD4+T cells than patients in serum anti-dsDNA antibodies negative group (0.6 ±0.5)％ (t=2.303, P<0.05). The percentages of PD-1hiCXCR5-cells within CD4+T cells from SLE patients were positively correlated with anti-dsDNA antibody titers. Conclusion The percentages of PD-1hiCXCR5- cells within CD4+ T cells from SLE patients are increased and are positively correlated with SLEDAI and anti-dsDNA antibody levels. Increased percentage of PD-1hiCXCR5-cells within CD4+T cells might play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) synthesis by activated sludge using volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in fermentation liquid of excess sludge as carbon source is a hotspot in the field of environmental biotechnology. However, there is no unified conclusion on the effects of non-VFAs, mainly dissolved organic matter (DOM), on PHA production. Thus, this critical review mainly introduces the main characteristics and common analysis methods of DOM in anaerobic fermentation liquid. The effects of DOM on PHA production are analyzed from the aspects of microbiology, metabolic regulation and sludge properties. The results of different studies showed that high concentration of DOM is bad for PHA production, but an appropriate amount of DOM is conducive to the stability of sludge properties, reducing the final PHA purification cost. Finally, suitable strategies were proposed to regulate the PHA synthesis by activated sludge with DOM for PHA production by anaerobic fermentation liquid.
Anaerobiosis ; Bioreactors ; Fatty Acids, Volatile ; Fermentation ; Polyhydroxyalkanoates ; Sewage