Objective To explore the predictive capability of different methods for difficult la-ryngoscopy and analyze its optimal cutoff value.Methods Three hundred consecutive patients (aged 18-65 years,weighing 42-88 kg,ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ)scheduled to undergo general anesthe-sia and surgery were invited to participate.Difficult airway assessments were performed by thyromen-tal height (TMH),thyromental distance (TMD),sternomental distance (SMD),modified Mallam-pati test (MMT)and ratio of height and TMD (RHTMD)before anesthetic induction.Cormack-Le-hane (C-L)grade of laryngoscopy view was assessed after induction.Sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value (PPV),negative predictive value (NPV)and accuracy of these tests were calculated. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC)curve of TMH was performed to determine the optimal cutoff value of TMH.Results There were 22 patients diagnosed as difficult airway.Sensitivity,specificity, PPV,NPV and accuracy of TMH were higher than those of TMD,SMD and MMT tests.Sensitivity of RHTMD was lower than that of TMH test,and specificity,PPV,NPV and accuracy of RHTMD were similar to that of TMH.The optimal cutoff value of TMH was 4.9 cm through ROC curve. Conclusion The optimal cutoff value of TMH detecting difficult laryngoscopy was 4.9 cm.Similar to RHTMD,TMH appears to be more effective for prediction of difficult laryngoscopy than TMD, SMD and MMT.

Objective To investigate the role of hippocampal cyclophilin D (CypD) in sepsis-associated encephalopathy in rats.Methods A total of 36 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 3-4 months,weighing 300-400 g,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =12 each) using a random number table:sham operation group (Sham group),sepsis group (S group),and sepsis + CypD inhibitor cyclosporin A group (CsA group).Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP).Cyclosporin A 6 mg/kg was injected intraperitoneally at 30 min before CLP in group CsA.All the animals underwent Morris water maze test on 4th day after CLP.The animals were sacrificed after the test,and the hippocampus was isolated for determination of the expression of cytochrome c (Cyt c),CypD,caspase-3,brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),phosphorylated protein kinase A (p-PKA),and phosphorylated cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (p-CREB).Results Compared with group Sham,the escape latency was significantly prolonged,the space exploration time was shortened,the expression of Cyt c,CypD,caspase-3,p-PKA and p-CREB was up-regulated,and the expression of BDNF was down-regulated in S and CsA groups (P＜0.05).Compared with group S,the escape latency was significantly shortened,the space exploration time was prolonged,the expression of Cyt c,CypD,caspase-3,p-PKA and p-CREB was down-regulated,and the expression of BDNF was up-regulated in group CsA (P＜0.05).Conclusion Hippocampal CypD may be involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of sepsis-associated encephalopathy,and the downstream mechanism is probably related to promotion of activation of PKA/CREB signaling pathway in rats.

Objective To investigate the effects of acetylated HMGB1 on cognitive function in rats with sepsis associated encephalopathy (SAE) and the effect of HMGB1 inhibitor.Methods Forty-eight males mice were randomly assigned to three groups (n=16): sham group (group S),cecal ligation puncture group (group C),cecal ligation puncture+sodium butyrate group (group B).Cecal ligation puncture was applied to establish the SAE model,and group S received sham operation.Rats in groups S and C were injected with normal saline 5 ml/kg 30 min and 4 h after CLP,respectively.The rats in group B were intraperitoneally injected with sodium butyrate 500 mg/kg 0.5 h and 4 h after CLP,respectively.All animals were performed Morris water maze test on 4th day after operation,and the exploring time of space exploration experiments were assessed on 7th day after CLP surgery.IL-6,BDNF,HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 expression in hippocampus of all rats were determined by Western Blot.Results Compared with group S,the latency of rats in group C was longer and the exploring time was shorter (P<0.05).Compared with group C,the latency of rats in group B was shorter and the exploring time was longer (P<0.05).Compared with group S,the expression of IL-6,HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 in group C increased (P<0.05) and the level of BDNF decreased (P<0.05).Compared with group C,the expression of IL-6,HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 in group B decreased (P<0.05) and the level of BDNF increased (P<0.05).Conclusion HMGB1 inhibitor sodium butyrate can inhibit the expression of acetylated HMGB1 in the hippocampus of SAE rats,and reduce the cognitive impairment induced by sepsis.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of different biomarkers for early diagnosis of acute kidney injury ( AKI ) in the patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass ( CPB) . Methods A total of 200 patients, aged 22-86 yr, weighing 46-87 kg, scheduled for elective cardiovascular surgery under CPB, were enrolled in this study. The concentration of serum creatinine was determined at 1 day before operation and 1-7 days after operation. At 1 day before operation and 0, 2, 6 and 12 h after operation, the concentrations of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), cystatin C ( Cys C) , tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase type 2 ( TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-7 ( IGFBP-7) were determined. The TIMP-2 and IGFBP-7 product ( TI) was calcu-lated. AKI was diagnosed after surgery according to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted, and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve ( AUC) was calculated. Results The incidence of AKI was 20. 5％. The AUC of AKI diagnosed by the concentration of urine NGAL was 0. 689, 0. 709, 0. 713 and 0. 803 at 0, 2, 6 and 12 h after opera-tion, respectively ( P<0. 05) . The AUC of AKI diagnosed by the concentration of urine Cys C was 0. 639, 0. 762, 0. 774 and 0. 812 at 0, 2, 6 and 12 h after operation, respectively ( P<0. 05) . The AUC of AKIdiagnosed by TI was 0. 687, 0. 721, 0. 740 and 0. 779 at 0, 2, 6 and 12 h after operation, respectively ( P<0. 05) . The AUC of AKI diagnosed by combined three indices the parallel test was 0. 694, 0. 773 and 0. 794 at 0, 2 and 6 h after operation, respectively ( P<0. 05) . The AUC of AKI diagnosed by the serial test was 0. 610, 0. 631 and 0. 667 at 0, 2 and 6 h after operation, respectively. Conclusion Urine NGAL or Cys C concentrations or TI single detection and parallel test have a certain accuracy for early diag-nosis of AKI in the patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery under CPB.

Objective To evaluate the role of C-X-C motif chemokine 13 (CXCL13) in sepsis-associated encephalopathy in mice.Methods A total of 64 healthy male C57BL/6J mice,aged 3-4 months,weighing 20-25 g,were divided into 4 groups (n=16 each) using a random number table method:sham operation group (Sham group),sepsis group (S group),CXCL13 siRNA group (si-CXCL13 group) and negative control siRNA group (si-control group).5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) 50 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected twice a day for 3 consecutive days in the four groups,and then lipopolysaccharide 500 μg/kg was intraperitoneally injected to establish the sepsis model in S,si-CXCL13 and si-control groups.CXCL13 siRNA 5 μl and siRNA 5 μl were injected into the left lateral cerebral ventricle in si-CXCL13 and si-control groups,respectively,at 3 days before establishing the model.Morris water maze test was performed at 5 days after establishing the model.The escape latency,time spent in the target quadrant,and the number of crossing the platform were recorded.Mice were sacrificed after the end of test,brains were removed and hippocampi were isolated for examination of the pathological changes of the dentate gyrus (with a light microscope) and for determination of the expression of CXCL13,C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),and the number of BrdU and BrdU/NeuroD positive cells (by immunofluorescence).Results Compared with sham group,the escape latency was significantly prolonged,the time spent in the target quadrant was shortened,and the number of crossing the platform was reduced on 2nd-4th days,the number of BrdU positive cells in the dentate gyrus was increased,and the number of BrdU/NeuroD positive cells in the dentate gyrus was decreased in S,siCXCL13 and si-control groups,and the expression of CXCL13 and CXCR5 was up-regulated,and the expression of BDNF was down-regulated in LPS and si-control groups (P＜0.05).Compared with S group,the escape latency was significantly shortened,the time spent in the target quadrant was prolonged,and the number of crossing the platform was increased on 2nd-4th days,the number of BrdU positive cells in the dentate gyrus was decreased,the number of BrdU/NeuroD positive cells in the dentate gyrus was increased,and the expression of CXCL13 and CXCR5 was down-regulated,and the expression of BDNF was up-regulated in si-CXCL13 group (P＜0.05),and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in si-control group (P＞0.05).Conclusion CXCL13 is involved in sepsis-associated encephalopathy through regulating hippocampal neurogenesis,and the mechanism may be related to down-regulating the expression of hippocampal BDNF in mice.

Objective To investigate the changes of serum C-X-C motif ligand 13 (CXCL13) concentration in senior patients undergoing total hip replacement and its role in post-operative dys-function(POCD).Methods Eighty consecutive senior patients aged 65-80 years with BMI 18.4-27.3 kg/m2,ASA physical status Ⅱ or Ⅲ,were recruited and scheduled to undergo hip joint replacement operation.Neuropsychological test was performed 1-5 d after operation and patients were divided into POCD group and non-POCD group.Serum C reactive protein (CPR),procalcitonin (PCT),IL-6, TNF-α,CXCL13 concentration were detected 1 d before and 1,2,3,4,5 d after operation. Results A total of 21 (26%)patients developed POCD 1-5 d after operation (recruited in POCD group),and the other 59 patients were recruited in non-POCD group.Compared with the time point of 1 d before operation,serum CRP,PCT,IL-6,TNF-αand CXCL13 concentration were higher 1-5 d after operation in all patients (P<0.05).The concentrationsof these factors were higher in patients from POCD group than in those from non-POCD group 1-5 d after operation (P < 0.05). Conclusion The CXCL13 concentration insenior patients undergoing total hip replacement who devel-oped POCD were higher than in those who did not developed POCD.Whether it is correlated with POCD remains further study.

Objective To investigate the role of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1)in rats with neuropathic pain and its possible mechanism.Methods Forty-eight male a-dult Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 220-300 g,were successfully placed intrathecal catheters,and then randomly divided into 4 groups (n=1 2 ):sham operation group (group S),neuropathic pain group (group CCI),TREM1 shRNA group (group RNAi)and negative lentivirus group (group Vi-rus).The neuropathic pain was induced by chronic sciatic nerve compression injury (CCI).In group RNAi,30 μl pGLVU6/RFP/Puro-shRNA (1×109IU/ml)was injected intrathecally 1 week before modeling.Group Virus was injected with 30 μl negative lentivirus,whereas group CCI and group S with equal amount of normal saline.MWT and TWL were measured 1 day before (baseline)and 1,3, 7,14 day after modeling.When behavioral test finished,the expression levels of TREM1,TLR4, MyD88,IκBαand p-NF-κB p65 in spinal cord were determined by Western blot.Whereas the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β,TNF-αand IL-6 in spinal cord were measured by RT-PCR.Results Com-pared with group S,the expression levels of TREM1 in groups CCI and Virus significantly increased (P<0.05).While compared with group CCI,the TREM1 expression of group RNAi in spinal cord significantly decreased (P<0.05).Compared with group S,MWT and TWL of groups CCI,Virus and RNAi after modeling and the expression of IκBαsignificantly decreased (P<0.05),whereas the expression of TLR4,MyD88,p-NF-κB p65 increased significantly (P<0.05),as well as the expres-sion of IL-1β,TNFαand IL-6 mRNA (P<0.05).Compared with group CCI,the MWT and TWL of group RNAi after modeling and the expression of IκBαremarkably increased (P<0.05),whereas the expression of TLR4,MyD88 and p-NF-κB p65 in the spinal cord remarkably decreased (P<0.05), as well as the expression of IL-1β,TNF-αand IL-6 mRNA (P<0.05).Conclusion TREM1 knock-down can alleviate neuropathic pain,the underlying mechanism might be the inhibition of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.