1.Design, development and teaching practice of "first-class course of virtual simulation of flow cytometry application"
Luhang ZHAO ; Ling ZOU ; Xiaohong YU ; Ting LIU ; Dengpo WENG
Chinese Journal of Medical Education Research 2021;20(8):913-915
Through the description of the content and design of "first-class course of virtual simulation of flow cytometry application", combined with the application in experimental teaching of different subjects, this paper expounds the teaching effect and students' evaluation of the blended learning method of "virtual simulation experiment of flow cytometry application" combined with offline experimental content by means of questionnaire survey, and puts forward some views and opinions on the construction of the virtual simulation experiment teaching content system.
2.Correlation between cognitive impairment and cortical atrophy in elderly patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis
Xiaokun YIN ; Jing YE ; Hailong YU ; Jing HANG ; Luhang TAO ; Chao JIANG ; Qian ZHANG ; Tiantian HAN ; Beilei CHEN
Chinese Journal of Health Management 2023;17(1):19-24
Objective:To analyze the correlation between cognitive impairment and cortical atrophy in elderly patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 40 consecutive elderly patients with ACAS treated in the Department of Neurology, Northern Jiangsu People′s Hospital from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 (ACAS group), and 40 elderly healthy controls who accepted physical examination during the same period (control group) were included. Cognitive assessment was performed using the Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), and brain magnetic resonance imaging scanning was performed in the ACAS group. The artificial intelligence technique was applied for brain lobe segmentation and cortical volume calculation. The χ2-test, independent sample t-test and Wilcoxon non-parametric test were used to analyze the difference of clinical data and cognitive scores between the two groups. In the ACAS group, the cortical volumes of the side with carotid stenosis was compared with that of the normal side, and Spearman′s correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between cognitive scores and cortical atrophy. Results:Compared with the control group, the ACAS group got significantly lower scores of MMSE and MoCA, as well as lower scores of visuospatial executive function, attention and calculation, language function, abstraction ability and delayed recall [(25.60±2.49) vs (27.18±1.01), (22.05±3.59) vs (25.60±1.43), (2.73±1.04) vs (4.08±0.62), (4.53±0.93) vs (5.03±0.66), 2.00 (0.00) vs 3.00 (0.00), 1.00 (1.00) vs 2.00 (0.00), and (2.95±0.96) vs (3.35±0.62)] (all P<0.05). There was not significant differences in naming and orientation ability between the two groups (both P>0.05). The volume of cortical, temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe and insular lobe on the side with carotid stenosis in the ACAS group were significantly smaller than those on the normal side [186.23 (177.97, 202.53) vs 194.67 (185.65, 204.82) cm 3, 54.74 (50.66, 56.95) vs 55.61 (51.24, 58.49) cm 3, 72.98 (70.76, 78.34) vs 75.27 (72.34, 80.66) cm 3, 53.66 (51.11, 57.86) vs 56.59 (52.80, 60.09) cm 3, 6.57 (6.35, 7.07) vs 6.72 (6.46, 7.34) cm 3] (all P<0.05). The MoCA score in the ACAS group was positively related to the cortical volume ratio of the two sides ( r=0.427, P<0.01). The attention ( r=0.353) and abstraction ( r=0.226) ability scores were positively correlated with the temporal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (both P<0.05). The visuospatial executive ( r=0.187) and language ( r=0.373) ability scores were positively correlated with frontal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (both P<0.05), and visuospatial executive ( r=0.386), naming ( r=0.344), language ( r=0.517), abstraction ( r=0.335) and delayed recall ( r=0.333) ability scores were positively correlated with parietal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (all P<0.05). Conclusion:In elderly patients with ACAS, the cognitive impairment and cortical atrophy on the sides with carotid stenosis are significant and a positive correlation is detected between them.
3.Astragali Radix-Curcumae Rhizoma Inhibits Metastasis of Lewis Lung Cancer in Mice via C5a/NETs Pathway
Peiyu TIAN ; Hongyang YU ; Xiao LI ; Luhang YU ; Ziqiao YAN ; Yongqi DOU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(14):27-36
ObjectiveTo explore the mechanisms of Astragali Radix-Curcumae Rhizoma (HQ-EZ) in alleviating hypercoagulability and inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis by modulating the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) via the complement component 5a (C5a)/C5a receptor (C5aR) pathway. MethodForty male C57BL/6 mice were randomized into four groups: Blank, model, HQ-EZ (8.2 g·kg-1), and PMX53 (1 mg·kg-1). The mouse model of Lewis lung cancer was established in other three groups except the blank group. Mice were administrated with corresponding drugs from day 3 after modeling. Specifically, the HQ-EZ decoction was administrated for 14 consecutive days, while intraperitoneal injection of PMX53 was implemented on days 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. Mouse body weight and tumor diameter were measured every two days. On the next day of the last administration, lung microCT was performed to observe the tumor metastasis in vivo. Blood samples were collected from the eyeball after anesthetization, and tumor and lungs were collected after the mice were sacrificed. Tumor weight was measured to calculate the tumor growth inhibitory rate. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of C5a, neutrophil elastase (NE), citrullinated histone-H3 (Cit-H3), myeloperoxidase (MPO), matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9), NETs, von Willebrand Factor (vWF), tissue factor (TF), and P-selectin in the serum and tumor tissue. Terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling was conducted to assess apoptosis in the tumor tissue. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was conducted to observe lung metastasis, and immunofluorescence (IF) was employed to observe the expression of NETs in the tumor tissue. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of C5aR, MPO, and Cit-H3 in the tumor tissue. ResultCompared with the blank group, the model group had nodules in the lung, increased areas with low X-ray transmittance, appearance of nodular foci and multiple hemorrhagic foci in the lungs, and darkening lung color. Furthermore, the modeling elevated the serum levels of C5a, NETs and related proteins, vWF, TF, and P-selectin (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, HQ-EZ and PMX53 reduced the lung metastases, areas with low X-ray transmittance, and nodules in the lungs and lightened the lung color. Compared with the model group, the two drug intervention groups showed flat tumor growth curves, decreased tumor weight (P<0.01), increased apoptosis of tumor cells (P<0.01), lowered levels of C5a, NETs and related proteins, vWF, TF, and P-selectin both in the serum and tumor tissue (P<0.05), and down-regulated protein levels of C5aR, MPO, and Cit-H3 (P<0.05). ConclusionHQ-EZ inhibited the expression of NETs by suppressing the C5a/C5aR pathway, thereby alleviating hypercoagulability and inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis.