AIM: To investigate the effects of genistein on the expression of nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B) and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of asthma patients. METHODS: PBMCs were isolated from blood samples of 32 asthma patients and 31 healthy persons, which was divided into control groups, dexamethasone-treated groups and genistein-treated groups. The expression of NF-?B was analyzed by immunocytochemical staining. The level of TNF-? was measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The percentage of NF-?B-positive cells in PBMCs and the level of TNF-? in PBMCs culture supernatants were significantly higher in asthma patients than in healthy persons (all P

The technologies that we call cell micropatterning allow the control of the shape and size of cell adhesion. Combination of micro/nano technology, surface chemistry, electrochemistry and photochemistry enables us to control the adhesion, migration, differentiation of cells and the interactions between different types of cells. These methodologies bring about a new platform for the studies of cell biology. A number of techniques for cell patterning and compares their advantages and disadvantages were reviewed in this article. The applications of cell micropatterning, including those for fundamental studies in cell biology, tissue engineering and cell-based biosensors were also discussed.

Objective To investigate the influence of low tidal volume (VT ) combined with low level positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP) on the respiratory function of elderly patients in general anesthesia .Methods 46 elderly patients scheduled for up-per abdominal surgery in our hospital were randomly divided into two groups ,23 cases in each group .The control group received the conventional tidal volume (VT ) ,while the observation group was given low VT combined with 3cm H2 O of PEEP ,both groups were given intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) .The arterial blood was collected for conducting the blood gas analysis before operation(T0 ) ,at 30 min after anesthetic intubation(T1 ) and 15 min after extubation(T2 ) .The changes of the indexes of PaO2 ,PaCO2 ,Ppeek and A-aDO2 at various time points were compared between the two groups .Results PaO2 at T2 in the observa-tion group was(83 .58 ± 2 .43) mmHg ,which was significantly higher than that in the control group ,while A-aDO2 in the observa-tion group was(21 .50 ± 2 .12) ,which was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0 .05);Ppeek at T1 in the observa-tion group was(11 .27 ± 1 .22) cm H2O ,which was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The application of low VT combined with low PEEP in general anesthesia can effectively improve postoperative hypoxemia in elderly pa-tients and is conducive to the respiratory function recovery ,which has better clinical application value .

Aim The goal is to make a further comprehension of the pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease (PD) and hence add further knowledge for PD diagnosis by observing the functions of nitric oxide (NO) in striatum (STR). Method Microelectrodes were used to observe the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), L-glutamic acid (GLU) and ?-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on STR neurons' spontaneous firing rates, and at the same time, we observed the effects of NO on GLU and GABA. Results 77% (51/66) of the tested neurons were excited by SNP, NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME antagonized the excitatory effect of SNP. Duringthe periods of microelectrophoresis GLU and GABA, SNP amplified the excitatory effect of GLU and weakened the inhibitory effect of GABA. L-NAME antagonized the excitatory effect of GLU.Conclusion These results demonstrated clearly that NO, GLU and GABA functions might converge in the same STR neurons. NO and GLU functions are excitatory whereas GABA function is inhibitory on the firing activities in STR neurons.

Objective: To systematically evaluate risk factors for cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM), so as to provide the evidence for formulating CMM prevention and control strategies. Methods: Publications pertaining to the risk factors for CMM were retrieved from databases, including SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, PubMed and Cochrane Library from inception to March 31, 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using the software RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0, and sensitivity analysis was performed using the leave-one-out method. The publication bias was evaluated using Egger's test. Results: Totally 494 publications were screened, and 20 publications were included in the final analysis, including 13 cohort studies (covering 1 940 000 participants) and 7 cross-sectional studies (covering 13 000 000 participants). Meta-analysis revealed that female (OR=1.54, 95%CI: 1.40-1.71), middle age (OR=3.80, 95%CI: 3.33-4.34), elderly (OR=2.82, 95%CI: 1.48-5.37), urban resident (OR=1.41, 95%CI: 1.27-1.57), higher education level (OR=2.01, 95%CI: 1.35-3.01), higher economic level (OR=1.21, 95%CI: 1.16-1.25), overweight (OR=1.92, 95%CI: 1.64-2.26), obesity (OR=3.01, 95%CI: 2.30-3.93), central obesity (OR=1.70, 95%CI: 1.12-2.56), smoking (OR=1.27, 95%CI: 1.07-1.51), alcohol consumption (OR=1.27, 95%CI: 1.01-1.59), irregular diet (OR=1.10, 95%CI: 1.02-1.18), insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits (OR=1.12, 95%CI: 1.07-1.17), lack of sleep at night (OR=1.17, 95%CI: 1.08-1.27), and depression (OR=1.50, 95%CI: 1.33-1.69) were risk factors for CMM. Sensitivity analysis of effects of central obesity and alcohol consumption were not robust. No publication bias was examined by Egger's test. Conclusions Female, middle age, elderly, urban resident, higher education level, higher economic level, overweight, obesity, central obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, irregular diet, insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits, lack of sleep at night and depression are risk factors for CMM.

Objective To investigate the expression of Golgi protein?73(GP73) and Ki?67 antigen in gallbladder carcinoma ,and to analyze their correlations with proliferation ,invasion ,and prognosis of gallbladder carcinoma. Methods Streptavid?in?peroxidase (SP) immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of GP73 and Ki?67 in surgically resected specimens of 58 gallbladder carcinomas ,15 gallbladder adenomas and 15 gallbladder polyps samples . Results The positive rates of GP73 and Ki?67 protein in gallbladder carcinomas were 72.4% and67.24%,respectively ,which wer significantly higher than those in gallbladder adenomas(GP73:40.0%,Ki?67:26.7%,P<0.05)and in gallbladder polyps(GP73:13.3%,Ki?67:25.0%,P<0.05).The expression of GP73 was positively correlated with tumor differentiation ,Nevin staging and lymph node metastasis(P < 0.05), and the expression of GP73 was positively correlated with tumor differentiation ,Nevin staging(P < 0.05). GP73 expression was positively correlated with Ki?67 expression in gallbladder carcinoma (r = 0.473 ,P = 0.000). Patients with negative expression of GP73 and Ki?67 had longer survival time than those with positive expression of GP73 and Ki?67. Conclusion The expression of GP73 and Ki?67 was associated with proliferation ,invasion of gallbladder carcinoma. The combined detection of GP73 and Ki?67 is conducive to judging the progress and prognosis of the gallbladder carcinoma .

Eight cases of hypothyroid myopthy admitted in Zhanshan Hospital Xiamen University from 1995 to 2011 were retrospectivrely analyzed.The main clinical features were proximal muscle weakness,susceptibility to fatigue,and elevation of muscle enzymes.Electromyography revealed no specific findings.All patients obtained clinical recovery after thyoid hormone replacement.Hypothyroid myopathy should be considered in cases of muscle weakness and elevation of muscle enzymes.

Objective To explore the influence of injury severity on transplantation of embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) after traumatic brain injury (TBI).Methods The NSCs were isolated from the hippocampus of fetal rats aged at from 12-14 days.The cells were cultured and proliferated in the serum-free medium and identified in vitro.The animals received transplants in the bilateral hippocampal areas at day 3 following mild or moderate TBI separately.Conventional histology,TUNEL and immunohistology were examined to detect BrdU,NSE,GFAP,GalC,NGF and BDNF at day 14 post-implantation.Results BrdU-labeled positive cells in the bilateral hippocampus in the mild TBI group were more than those in the moderate TBI group at day 14 post-implantation.Significant differentiation of the astrocytes recognized as GFAP positive cells in the bilateral hippocampus was found at day 14 post-implantation.The expression of NGF and BDNF proteins was increased following TBI,the most evident in the mild TBI group.Conclusion The influence of injury severity on transplantation may be associated with the change of the microenvironment after TBI.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) preconditioning on contents of inflammation-related cytokines in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. Methods: Fifty-eight SD rats were divided into sham-operated group, untreated group, Salviae miltiorrhizae (SM) injection group and low-, medium- and high-dose GBE50 groups. After intragastric administration for 7 d, the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was occluded for 30 min followed by 60-min reperfusion to induce ischemia-reperfuion injury. Myocardium histopathologic change was observed by HE staining under a light microscope; myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in myocardium was measured by colorimetric detection; tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8 were detected by radioimmunoassay; IL-4 and IL-10 were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Compared with untreated group, rats in medium-dose GBE50 group had lower inflammatory reaction and MPO activity (P<0.01). GBE50 also decreased the content of IL-6 (P<0.05, P<0.01) and increased the content of IL-4 in myocardium (P<0.05, P<0.01) as compared with the untreated group. The content of TNF-alpha in myocardium in the medium-dose GBE50 group was lower and IL-10 was higher than those in the untreated group, but without significant differences. Conclusion: GBE50 can decrease the content of IL-6 and increase the content of IL-4 in myocardium after ischemia-reperfusion injury. It suggests that GBE50 can regulate the inflammatory reaction after ischemia-reperfusion injury via inhibiting inflammatory cytokines and promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Objective To discuss the effects of different drying methods on composition and antioxidative activities of the volatile oil fromCymbopogon citrates; To optimize the best drying method for Cymbopogon citrates. MethodsCymbopogon citrates was dried by drying in the sun, drying in the shade and oven drying at 40℃. Volatile oil was extracted by steam distillation. Chemical constituents in the volatile oil were analyzed by GC-MS and the antioxidative activities were determined by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP method).Results Extraction rate of the volatile oil fromCymbopogon citratesunder the environment of freshness, sun drying, shade drying and oven drying at 40℃ were 0.25%, 1.21%, 1.19% and 1.17%, respectively; after dried by different methods, main constituents and antioxidative activities of the volatile oil fromCymbopogon citrates were basically same. Conclusion Different drying methods have little influence on composition and antioxidative activities of the volatile oil fromCymbopogon citrates. Oven drying at 40℃ was the best way to dryCymbopogon citrates.