AIM:To explore the roles of Akt ( also called protein kinase B ) and active caspase-3 in the leptin-mediated chronic morphine antinociceptive tolerance in rats .METHODS: A model of chronic morphine antinociceptive tolerance was established in the SD rats .The protein levels of spinal Akt and cleaved caspase-3 were tested by Western blotting.The technique of immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the immunoreactivity positive cells of phospho -rylated ( p)-Akt and cleaved caspase-3 in the spinal cord .Double staining of immunohistochemistry was used to examine the cellular location of the p-Akt and cleaved caspase-3 positive cells.RESULTS: The chronic intrathecal injection of morphine (15 μg) for 7 d markedly upregulated the spinal protein levels of p-Akt and cleaved caspase-3 in the rats.Thirty min before injection of morphine , intrathecal injection of leptin antagonist (3μg) for 7 d significantly attenuated the upreg-ulation of the protein levels of p-Akt and cleaved caspase-3 induced by chronic morphine treatment .The p-Akt was exclu-sively observed in the spinal neurons .The cleaved caspase-3 was only localized with the spinal astrocytes .Intrathecal injec-ting the inhibitors of leptin , Akt and caspase-3 ameliorated the chronic antinociceptive tolerance .CONCLUSION: The spinal Akt pathway and active caspase-3 are involved in the leptin-mediated chronic morphine antinociceptive tolerance in rats.

Objective To investigate the association between chronic kidney dysfunction and the complexity of coronary artery disease in elderly patients.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 1380 consecutive patients underwent coronary angiography for the first time in our hospital and with angiographically diagnosed coronary artery disease from January 2011 to June 2012.The complexity of coronary artery disease were classified according to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) grading system as types A,B1,B2,and C.Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by the simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease(MDRD)equation.Patients were classified into 3 stages according to eGFR as follows:normal renalfunction(n=234,eGFR≥90 ml· min-1 · 1.73 m-2),mild renaldysfunction(n=881,60≤eGFR＜90 ml · min-1 · 1.73 m-2,and moderate or severe renaldysfunction(n=265,eGFR＜60ml · min-1 · 1.73 m-2).Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the association between chronic kidney dysfunction and the complexity of coronary artery disease.Results Patients with mild,moderate or severe renal dysfunction were older (F=56.82,P＜0.001),more predominantly female (x2 =66.29,P＜ 0.001) and more likely to have history of hypertension (x2 =17.57,P ＜ 0.001),diabetes (x2=20.97,P＜0.001) and hyperlipidemia (x2=10.48,P 0.005) than those with normal renal function.The percentage of lesions of types B2 or C in moderate or severe renal dysfunction group was higher than that in normal renal function group (x2=175.03,P＜0.001).The ordinal logistic regression showed that age,male,hypertension,diabetes,C-reactive protein and eGFR were independent risk factors for the ACC/AHA lesion classification.Conclusions Age,male,hypertension,diabetes,C-reactive protein and eGFR are independent risk factors for the complexity of coronary artery disease.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) with an atomic resolution is a powerful tool for biological structure. The probe is an important part that determines the resolution of AFM. Carbon nanotube is becoming an ideal AFM probe due to its unique structure physical and chemical properties. Carbon nanotube AFM probes can be made by manual assembly or chemical vapor deposition. Several proteins, nucleic acids and cells have been investigated with carbon nanotube probes. Not only the high-resolution images but also the determination of specific DNA sequence and haplotype were acquired. Carbon nanotube AFM probe will increasingly play an important role in biological studies.
Carbon ; Cells, Cultured ; Equipment Design ; Erythrocytes ; parasitology ; ultrastructure ; Microscopy, Atomic Force ; instrumentation ; Proteins ; ultrastructure ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; methods

Objective:To analyze the application of PDCA mode in the management of blood transfusion waiting time.Methods:Using random block design, 98 patients received blood transfusion during January to December 2018 were included into the before improvement; 32 patients received blood transfusion during January to June 2019 were included into the after improvement. Standard process of blood taking and transfusion was applied to the before improvement, while based on standard process, found out the deficiencies in the previous clinical practice, continuously improved the details of the process for the after improvement. Then blood transfusion waiting times were compared between the two groups.Results:The blood transfusion waiting time was (26.95±9.20) min before improvement and (25.59±4.16) min after improvement, with a significantly lower disqualification rate 6.25% (2/32) comparing with 26.53% (26/98) before improvement. The differences were statistically significant ( t value was 3.75, P<0.01; χ2 value was 5.87, P<0.05). Conclusions:The application of PDCA circulation management mode can shorten the blood transfusion waiting time and transfusion can be made within 30 minutes after blood taking so that nursing quality of transfusion in the ward can be improved.