Objective:To observe therapeutic effects of blood glucose control by using acarbose in combination with different insulin.Method:58 patients were randomly divided into two groups treated with either insulin glargine (Lan- tus;Aventis) or human NPH insulin (Novolin;NovoNordisk).Subcutaneous injection of insulin before sleep and oral acar- bose were carried out for the treatment,which lasted three weeks.The degree of blood control,the amount of insulin used, and the cases of hypoglycemia for both groups were observed at the end of the experiments.Result:The fasting blood glu- cose showed its normal and stable result,and the average blood glucose values at different time slots per day in the group treated with insulin glarglne were lower than those in the group treated with human NPH insulin.The maximum difference of blood glucose values occurred after dinner while no significant variance appeared after breakfast and after lunch.Conclu- sion:The therapeutic effects are quite efficient and stable in controlling 24-hour blood glucose in type 2 diabetes by using acarbose in combination with either insulin glargine or human NPH insulin (Novolin;NovoNordisk).In addition,the oc- currence rates of hypoglycemia with both methods are low whereas the therapeutic effects for the first group are superior to those for the latter group.

Objective:To analyze the effect of comprehensive nursing education on anxiety, depression, quality of life and survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgery.Methods:A total of 136 HCC patients were randomly divided into two groups: general nursing education group and comprehensive nursing education group. The comprehensive nursing education group carried out 12 months of health belief education, psychological care, care activities and telephone condolence. The routine nursing group received basic education for 12 months. The changes of anxiety and depression were assessed by hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The quality of life (QOL) of participants within 12 months was assessed using the European research and treatment cancer quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30). The 3-year survival of the two groups was compared.Results:There was no significant difference between the two groups in baseline data. At the 9th and 12th month, the HADS-A score of the comprehensive nursing education group was significantly lower than that of the general nursing group ( P< 0.05). In the 12th month, the overall health of QLQ-C30 in the comprehensive nursing education group was better than that in the general nursing group ( P<0.05). The QLQ-C30 function score of the comprehensive nursing education group at the 12th month was better than that of the general nursing group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in QLQ-C30 symptom scores between the two groups at all time points ( P>0.05). The overall survival of the patients in the comprehensive nursing education group was better than that in the general nursing group ( P=0.026). Conclusion:the comprehensive nursing education can reduce the anxiety and depression of HCC patients after surgery, and can improve their quality of life and survival.

Aim To explore the influence of metformin(a first-line drug for type 2 diabetes) on ATP-induced inflammasome activation and the release of interleukin-1β(IL-1β) by LPS-activated peritoneal macrophages, a commonly-used inflammatory cell model.Methods Peritoneal macrophages were elicited by intraperitoneal injection of 30 g·L-1 thioglycollate into C57BL/6 mice.Inflammasome was activated and cell pyroptosis was induced by LPS plus ATP treatment, and the pyroptotic cells were calculated after propidium iodide(PI) staining.The protein levels of IL-1β and caspase-1 expressed in the cells and released from them into the supernatant were evaluated by Western blot.Immunofluorescent microscopy was recruited to detect the subcellular distribution and fluorescent intensity of the purinergic P2X7 receptor(P2X7R).Results Metformin per se did not induce pyroptosis in LPS-activated peritoneal macrophages, but it significantly and dose-dependently increased cell pyroptosis induced by ATP treatment.At protein levels, maturated IL-1β(17 ku) could not be released from the cells upon single LPS or LPS plus metformin stimulation;but after ATP was added, maturated IL-1β was released into the supernatants of the cells.Moreover, metformin dose-dependently increased the protein levels of both maturated IL-1β and active caspase-1 released by the LPS-activated peritoneal macrophages upon ATP stimulation.Conclusion Metformin intensifies the activation of inflammasome and increases the release of active caspase-1 and maturated IL-1β upon ATP stimulation in the LPS-activated peritoneal macrophages, which should promote inflammatory responses.

Objective Previous study showed that interval debulking surgery (IDS) may improve the survival of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).The precise significance of IDS needs to be evaluated.Methods Totally 136 consecutive patients with stage Ⅲ c or Ⅳ EOC (including primary peritoneal carcinoma and primary fallopian tube carcinoma ) who completed primary debulking surgery (PDS) and platinum-based chemotherapy were enrolled from January 2000 to December 2009 in a retrospective cohort study.The study group was divided into three groups:65 cases underwent optimal PDS (Group A ),41 cases received chemotherapy alone after suboptimal PDS (Group B ),and 30 patients underwent IDS after suboptimal PDS (Group C).All patients received six to eight courses of platinum-based combination chemotherapy (paclitaxel plus carboplatin/cisplatin,cyclophosphamide plus epirubicin and cisplatin).Patients' clinical characteristics,perioperative situation and prognosis were compared. Results Sixty-five cases (47.8％,65/136) from 136 patients achieved optimal PDS.For Group C,77％ (23/30)patients obtained optimal debulking surgery after IDS.Intraoperative injury rates were similar between Group B and Group C ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Mild perioperative complications rate was also similar ( P ＞0.05 ).Median progression-free survival (PFS) of Group A was 26 months.Median overall survival (OS) of Group B and Group C were 3l months and 40 months,respectively (P =0.254).Median PFS of Group B and Group C were 13 months and 24 months,respectively (P =0.289).Although when it came to 20 months after PDS,patients who underwent IDS had a significantly lower progressive disease (PD) rate (Group B 33％ versus Group C 61％,P =0.046 ),it still showed that there was no significant difference in either OS or PFS of these two groups.Those patients in Group C who obtained no visible residual got similar PFS (27 months) comparing to Group A (26 months,P =0.730),but OS was still shorter (P =0.010).Conclusions For advanced EOC patients,IDS has little effect on improving survival.While it is safe and acceptable,also may prolong PFS in those patients who got no visible residual after IDS.The results suggest that IDS might be used as an alternative treatment for advanced EOC patients who cannot obtain optimal PDS in certain local hospitals.

Objective To investigate maternal risk factors for fetal congenital heart diseases (CHD). Methods A case-control study was conducted on 16 645 pregnant women who underwent cardiovascular malformation screening for fetal cardiovascular system,whose pregnancy outcomes were recorded,and whose newborns were scanned by an echocardiography in Peking University People's Hospital,Haidian,Changping,Mentougou and Daxing Maternal and Child Health Hospital from Nov.2006 to Oct.2009.One hundred and twelve pregnant women whose babies were found to be CHD (40 severe CHD and 72 simple CHD) before or after delivery were taken as study group.Women in control group (n =304) were randomly selected from those pregnant women who had infants without CHD.Logistic regression analysis and x2 test were used to analyze the maternal risk factors for fetal CHD. Results (1) The average age of women whose infants had severe CHD was 28.3 years (21-40 years),and it was 29.9 years (22-39 years) for women whose infants had simple CHD.There were no significant differences between the control group (29.5 years,20-44 years) and the above two groups (t=1.511 and -0.826,P=0.138 and 0.410 respectively).(2) Single factor analysis:during first trimester,the rate of upper respiratory infection (18/39,46.2 ％) and exposure to certain chemicals (13/40,32.5％) of severe CHD group were higher than those of control group [(14.9％ (45/303) and 2.0％ (6/304)] (x2 =22.399 and 62.678,OR=4.895 and 23.753,95％CI:2.419-9.905 and 8.358-67.506,P =0.000 respectively).Compared with control group (0.0％,0/304),the rate of pregnant women with CHD family history in simple CHD group was significantly higher (4.2％,3/72)(Fisher exact test,P=0.007).(3) Logistic regression analysis:maternal upper respiratory infections (OR =5.120,95％CI:2.340-11.206,P =0.000) and exposure to certain chemicals (f)R=23.030,95％CI:7.506-70.665,P=0.000) during first trimester were risk factors for fetal severe CHD. Conclusions Upper respiratory infection and exposure to certain chemicals during first trimester might play important roles in the occurrence of fetal severe CHD.Maternal family history of CHD might associate with fetal simple CHD.

BACKGROUND:Stem celltumorigenicity is a practical issue concerning stability in the clinical application of stem cells. Therefore, it is particularly important to clear whether stem cells have tumorigenic ability or not. Nude mice occupy an increasingly important position in oncology, immunology, and safety evaluation of drugs and biological products.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the tumorigenicity of neural stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells in Balb/c nude immunodeficient mice.
METHODS:Balb/c nude mice were randomly divided into control group, negative group, positive group, neural stem cellgroup and mesenchymal stem cellgroup. HepG-2 cells, RPE cells, passage 4 neural stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells were injected subcutaneously into nude mice from different groups, respectively. After 12 weeks of injection, anatomical observation was performed to detect the tumor formation in the transplantation site. Meanwhile, soft agar colony formation assay was applied to investigate neural stem celland mesenchymal stem cellclone in vitro.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After 12 weeks of injection, the tumorigenicity study results showed that no tumor developed in the transplantation site in the control group, negative group, neural stem cellgroup and mesenchymal stem cellgroup. Histopathologic examinations also showed no abnormality in these groups. Soft agar colony formation assay showed in soft agar resistance medium, neural stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells did not exhibit clone ability. These findings indicate that neural stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells undergoing short-term passages have no tumorigenic growth.

Objective To evaluate the value of 3.0 T dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in the diagnosis of hip joint lesions in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods Fifty-two AS patients with hip involvement were diagnosed in Department of Rheumatology in our hospital from January 2013 to December 2016.All patients underwent AS disease activity ankylosing spondylitis disease activity score (ASDAS)-C-reactive protein (CRP) score evaluation of hip joint acti-vity and hip joint disease activity was evaluated by doctors.According to ASDAS-CRP score,patients were divided into active disease 34 cases and remission for 18 cases.All patients underwent double hip MRI plain scan,dynamic enhanced scan and post-processing analysis after the diagnosis.Six regions of interest were selected in the abnormal synovial area around the hip joint.The time signal TIC curve was generated automatically,the shape of the curve was described and the early intensification rate of the third,fourth phase was measured.The early intensification rates of the active disease group and the remission group were analyzed statistically.Two independent samples t test was used for analysis,and P＜0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.The early intensification rate of the third,fourth phase were compared with the ASDAS-CRP score,the evaluation of hip joint activity in patients and the evaluation of hip joint activity were carried out by doctors taking care of the patients.Results The TIC curve of the active group was rising fast,followed by platform or fast rising.The curve of the remission group was slow rising.The inten-sification rate of the third,fourth phase [(116±9)％,(146±12)％ respectively] in the active phase group was higher than that of the remission group [(23±5)％,(43±14)％],and the difference was statistically significant (t=2.447,3.054;P＜0.05).The rate of synovial enhancement of the third,fourth phases was positively correlated with the ASDAS-CRP score (r=0.802,0.836,P=0.01),and the correlation was poor with evaluation of hip joint activity by patients (r=0.352,0.458;the P=0.02,0.01respectively),and the correlation was goodwith the evaluation of hip joint activity by doctors (r=0.652,0.717;P=0.01).Conclusion The shape and early enhancement rate of magnetic reson-ance dynamic enhanced TIC curve is valuable in assessing the disease activity of hip joint lesions in AS patients.

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal dysfunction and both severity and prognosis in patients with heatstroke (HS).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted. Clinical data from 39 patients with HS seeking for treatment in Department of Critical Care Medicine of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2013 to September 2014 were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: gastrointestinal dysfunction group and non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ) score within 24 hours of admission and 28-day mortality were compared between two groups. In gastrointestinal dysfunction group, the gastrointestinal dysfunction score, the duration days of gastrointestinal dysfunction, the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and the duration of mechanical ventilation were collected. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between gastrointestinal function and the severity of the ailment as well as the prognosis.Results Among 39 patients with HS, 32 of them showed gastrointestinal dysfunction with an incidence of 82.05%. In gastrointestinal dysfunction group, the gastrointestinal dysfunction score was 2.3±0.8, the duration of gastrointestinal dysfunction was (17.3±15.2) days, the length of ICU stay was (37.8±25.0) days, and the duration of mechanical ventilation was (27.8±14.0) days. APACHEⅡ score in gastrointestinal dysfunction group was significantly higher than that of the non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group (26.30±6.00 vs. 17.40±6.00, t = 3.555,P = 0.001). The 28-day mortality in gastrointestinal dysfunction group was slightly higher than that of the non-gastrointestinal dysfunction group without statistically significant difference [43.75% (14/32) vs. 14.29% (1/7),P = 0.216]. It was shown by Pearson analysis that gastrointestinal dysfunction score was positively correlated with APACHEⅡ score (r = 0.727,P = 0.000), and the duration of gastrointestinal dysfunction was positively correlated with the length of ICU stay (r = 0.797,P = 0.000) and the duration of mechanical ventilation (r = 0.634,P = 0.000). Conclusion The results suggest that gastrointestinal function in patients with HS reflects the severity and prognosis of the ailment.

BACKGROUND:Currently, hematopoietic stem celltransplantation mainly depends on unrelated donors. Mental state of the unrelated donors is very important to ensure the successful celltransplantation. OBJECTIVE:To compare mental and physical health status of relative and unrelated donors during the hematopoietic stem cellcol ection. METHODS:We compared the mental (Symptom Checklist-90) and physical (temperature, breath, pulse, and blood pressure) health status of relative and unrelated donors at admission, 1 day before cellcol ection, and 1-2 days after cellcol ection.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At admission, there was no difference in the mental health status of relative and unrelated donors (P>0.05), while the scores on Symptom Checklist-90 were significantly higher in the unrelated donors than the relative donors, including total score, forced, depression, anxiety, hostility, and fear (P<0.05). The physical signs were steady in the unrelated and relative donors, but the difference in breath and systolic blood pressure was of great significance before and after cellcol ection in the two groups. These findings indicate that during cellcol ection, the unrelated donors exhibit heavier mental load than the relative donors, and psychological counseling and health guidance are necessary.

Objective:To detect the expression of microRNA (miR)-211-5p, erythropoietin hepatocyte kinase receptor B2 (EphB2) and erythropoietin hepatocyte kinase ligand B2 (ephrin B2) in spinal cord tissues as well as nerve cells after spinal cord injury (SCI), and to explore their mechanisms and effects on neurological recovery in SCI rats.Methods:The study was conducted from May 2020 to June 2021 using Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and PC12 cells. SD rats were divided into sham-operated group and SCI group of 30 rats each, and Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) score were performed at different postoperative time points (1, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 d), and the relative expression of miR-211-5p and Eph/ephrin B2 mRNA was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR); the SCI rats were divided into recombinant lentiviral vector LV-miR-211-5p group (group A), empty lentiviral vector LV-eGFP (group B) and saline group (group C), with 15 rats in each group, respectively. The recombinant lentiviral vector, empty lentiviral vector and saline were injected on the cephalic and caudal sides of the spinal cord injury, and the relative expression of miR-211-5p and Eph/ephrin B2 mRNA in the spinal cord tissue was measured at 1, 7 and 14 d after surgery. In addition, a PC12 injury cell line model was established with 150 μmol/L hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2), and the apoptosis rate and apoptosis-related proteins and contents of different cell lines were detected by flow cytometry and Western blot, respectively. MiR-211-5p was verified to target EphB2 by dual luciferase reporter gene. Results:The results of the animal experiments showed that at different postoperative time points, the miR-211-5p levels in the SCI group were lower than those in the SHAM group: 0.70 ± 0.03 vs. 1.00 ± 0.10, 0.60 ± 0.04 vs. 1.00 ± 0.05, 0.45 ± 0.10 vs. 1.00 ± 0.12, 0.30 ± 0.06 vs. 1.00 ± 0.15, 0.20 ± 0.05 vs. 1.00 ± 0.13, 0.10 ± 0.02 vs. 1.00 ± 0.07. In contrast, levels of Eph/ephrin B2 were higher in the SCI group compared to the SHAM group: 1.10 ± 0.05 vs. 1.00 ± 0.01, 1.80 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.08, 2.30 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.10, 2.60 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.05, 2.80 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.06, 3.00 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.07 and 1.20 ± 0.05 vs. 1.00 ± 0.02, 1.60 ± 0.01 vs. 1.00 ± 0.03, 2.10 ± 0.10 vs. 1.00 ± 0.01, 2.40 ± 0.11 vs. 1.00 ± 0.09, 2.70 ± 0.13 vs. 1.00 ± 0.05, 2.90 ± 0.12 vs. 1.00 ± 0.03 ( P<0.05). At 14 d after surgery, Group A exhibited higher BBB scores than Groups B and C: (14.0 ± 1.1) points vs. (8.0 ± 1.1) and (8.2 ± 1.2) points, while miR-211-5p levels were higher than those in Groups B and C: 1.90 ± 0.10 vs. 0.40 ± 0.01 and 0.50 ± 0.02, and Eph/ephrin B2 levels were lower than those in Groups B and C: 0.70 ± 0.10 vs. 1.80 ± 0.04 and 1.90 ± 0.06, 0.60 ± 0.03 vs. 2.00 ± 0.04 and 2.10 ± 0.05 ( P<0.05). Immunofluorescence staining showed that the levels of GAP-43 and synaptophysin in group A were higher than those in groups B and C at 14 d after surgery ( P<0.05). Cellular assays showed that overexpression of miR-211-5p inhibited the apoptosis rate of H 2O 2-induced PC12 cells and the expression of the apoptosis-related gene Cleaved-caspase3 ( P<0.05). Knockdown of miR-211-5p increased the apoptosis rate of H 2O 2-induced PC12 cells and the expression of the apoptosis-related gene Cleaved-caspase3 ( P<0.05). Dual luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that EphB2 was a target gene of miR-211-5p and overexpression of EphB2 antagonized the inhibitory apoptosis effect of miR-211-5p on H 2O 2-induced PC12 cells. Conclusions:This study showed that miR-211-5p could promote neurological repair in SCI by inhibiting the expression of Eph/ephrin B2 signaling pathway, suggesting that using miR-211-5p as a target to inhibit Eph/ephrin B2 signaling pathway may have a protective effect on SCI.