Objective To investigate the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on blood-brain barrier of focal cerebral ischemia rats, and explore the mechanism of the decoction. Methods The model of focal cerebral ischemia was made by thread embolism method. SD rats were divided randomly into sham-operated group, model group and Buyang Huanwu Decoction group. Buyang Huanwu Decoction group was given Buyang Huanwu Decoction by gavage, the sham-operated group and model group were given normal saline of the same quantity 24 h after modeling. The nervous function deficit scores was evaluated, brain tissues and serum were taken from the rats after treating for seven days, infarct volume was detected by TTC staining, and pathological changes of microvessel were observed microscopically in HE stained sections. And the protein level of MMP-9, MMP-2, VEGF in brain tissue and the serum levels of vWF in serum of every groups were measured by ELISA. Results Compared with model group, Buyang Huanwu Decoction significantly improved the neurological behavior performance, decreased the cerebral infarct volume, alleviated the pathological changes and decreased the protein level of MMP-9, MMP-2, VEGF, vWF. Conclusion Buyang Huanwu Decoction has the protective effect on blood-brain barrier in the model rats of focal cerebral ischemia. The mechanism may be related with restrainning the expression of MMP-9, MMP-2, VEGF, vWF.

Background/Aims: Ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) is common in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and can be associated with poor esophageal contraction reserve on multiple rapid swallows. Alterations in the esophageal microbiome have been reported in GERD, but the relationship to presence or absence of contraction reserve in IEM patients has not been evaluated. We aim to investigate whether contraction reserve influences esophageal microbiome alterations in patients with GERD and IEM. Methods: We prospectively enrolled GERD patients with normal endoscopy and evaluated esophageal motility and contraction reserve with multiple rapid swallows during high-resolution manometry. The esophageal mucosa was biopsied for DNA extraction and 16S ribosomal RNA gene V3-V4 (Illumina)/full-length (Pacbio) amplicon sequencing analysis. Results: Among the 56 recruited patients, 20 had normal motility (NM), 19 had IEM with contraction reserve (IEM-R), and 17 had IEM without contraction reserve (IEM-NR). Esophageal microbiome analysis showed a significant decrease in microbial richness in patients with IEM-NR when compared to NM. The beta diversity revealed different microbiome profiles between patients with NM or IEM-R and IEM-NR (P = 0.037). Several esophageal bacterial taxa were characteristic in patients with IEM-NR, including reduced Prevotella spp.and Veillonella dispar, and enriched Fusobacterium nucleatum. In a microbiome-based random forest model for predicting IEM-NR, an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.81 was yielded. Conclusions In symptomatic GERD patients with normal endoscopic findings, the esophageal microbiome differs based on contraction reserve among IEM. Absent contraction reserve appears to alter the physiology and microbiota of the esophagus.

OBJECTIVETo establish a rat model of scalding with controllable depth and area by high pressure steam.

METHODSHigh pressure steam apparatus consisting of an autoclave and a self-made scalding frame was employed in the study. The rats were inflicted with scalding with 0.12 Mpa (1 Mpa = 7500 mmHg) high pressure steam on the back through a hole of 2.6 cm in diameter for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 seconds, with five wounds at each time point. The tissue samples were harvested at 24 post injury hour (PIH) for pathomorphological examination. The depth of scald was measured, and injury to the sweat gland and hair follicles injury, the hair growth in scalded area, and the wound healing condition were observed with Photoshop software.

RESULTSThere was positive correlation between the scalding depth and scalding time. The injury time for superficial and deep partial thickness burn and full thickness burn were 3, 5 and 7 seconds respectively. The wound healing time was similar even the scalding became more and more serious when injury time increased from 7 to 10 seconds.

CONCLUSIONThe scalding depth and area in this model could be controlled, and the degree of scald injury could be graded accurately with easy manipulation. The result showed that it was an ideal model of skin burn wound.

Animals ; Burns ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Pressure ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Steam

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological characteristics, and treatment of malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (MGIST).

METHODSImmunohistochemistry was used to detect CD117, CD34, S100, vimentin and SMA expressions. The postoperative curative effect was compared between the patients with or without imatinib treatment.

RESULTSRadical resection was performed in 60 cases. Twenty-two tumors with a mean diameter of 5.3 cm were potentially malignant, and 38 tumor with a mean diameter of 9.2 cm were malignant. Microscopical examination revealed haemorrhagia or necrosis, abundant tumor cells, heteromorphism and caryocinesia of the tumors. 54 Cases were CD117 positive, 53 cases CD34 positive, 48 cases vimentin positive, 27 cases S100 positiveì16 cases SMA positive. The two-year recurrence rate was 80.5% in the patients without postoperative imatinib treatment, significantly higher than 21.1% in the patients with postoperative imatinib treatment(P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCD117 and CD34 markers are most valuable diagnostic indexes of MGIST, but its final diagnosis depends on pathology. Postoperative imatinib treatment is most effective to control recurrence and metastasis.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; metabolism ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect and safety of Pingchuan Yiqi Granule in treating bronchial asthma of qi-deficiency cold syndrome type (BS-QDC).

METHODSWith the randomized, positive agent parallel controlled design adopted, the 80 subjects enrolled were assigned in the ratio of 3:1 to two groups, the 60 patients in the trial group were treated with PYG and the 20 in the control group treated with Ruyi Dingchuan Pill (RDP), with the therapeutic course consisting of 7 days for both groups. The clinical effects, effects on TCM syndrome and the changes of lung function after treatment were observed.

RESULTSThe effect of the treatment on asthma in the trial group: clinically controlled rate was 6.67%, markedly effective rate 51.67%, improved rate 33.33% and ineffective rate 8.33%; and the corresponding rates in the control group were 5.00%, 50.00%, 30.00%, and 15.00% respectively. Comparison between the two groups showed insignificant difference (P>0.05). The effect on TCM syndrome in the treated group: clinically controlled rate was 11.67%, markedly effective rate 58.33%, effective rate 21.67% and ineffective rate 8.33%; and those in the control group were 10.00%, 50.00%, 30.00% and 10.00% respectively, also showing insignificant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Lung function test showed that the change on forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) after treatment in the trial group was of statistical significance (P<0.05), but no significant difference was shown in the change of peak expiratory flow (PEF, P>0.05); while the changes in the control group were just the opposite, showing insignificance in FEV1 (P>0.05) but significance in PEF (P<0.05). Comparison of the therapeutic effect on lung function between the two groups showed no significant difference (P>0.05). No adverse reaction was found in either group in the course of treatment.

CONCLUSIONPYG used to treat BS-QDC is effective and safe, it's effect is similar to that of RDP.

Adult ; Asthma ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Common Cold ; complications ; physiopathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Qi ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore an ideal skin substitute with its appearance and texture similar to normal skin, to repair wounds with full-thickness skin defect.

METHODSComposite skin (CS) in question was composed of allo/xenogeneic acellular dermal matrix (ADM) and razor thin autoskin. One step skin grafting was employed in the experimental study and clinical trial. Razor thin autoskin alone was used as the control in the study. Changes in the antigenicity of ADM and the reformation of basement membrane (BM) structure at epidermis-dermis junction (EDJ) of ADMs were studied at designated time points after the grafting with biochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Fifty-three patients with full thickness skin defects due to various causes, including scar excision were grafted with CS, and survival rate and long-term result were observed.

RESULTSThe grafted CS survived satisfactory. The reformation of the basement membrane structure was clearly observed at the 28th post-graft week. The basement membrane cells grew with polarization in an undulating arrangement. There was reformation of dermal papillae and ridges. The antigenicity of allo-ADM was obviously lower than that of xeno-ADM. Sixty-five out of 70 pieces of CS grafting (92.9%) survived totally, two of them survived partially, and three failed due to infection. The longest follow-up period was 8 and a half years. The grafted CS appeared similar to the normal skin in regard to the texture and color, especially allo-ADM, and no evident rejection reaction was seen.

CONCLUSIONADM possessed very low antigenicity, thus serving a lasting framework after grafting. In addition, it could serve as a "dermal template" for the induction of tissue regeneration.

Animals ; Burns ; surgery ; Dermis ; transplantation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Survival ; Humans ; Male ; Rabbits ; Skin Transplantation ; methods ; Swine ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing

Objective To evaluate the application of 43-plex SNP typing system in forensic science. Methods The typing of 43 SNP loci in 123 unrelated Han individuals from East China was detected by MALDI-TOF-MS. The application value of 43-plex SNP typing system was assessed according to the foren-sic parameters of population genetics. Results All the 43 SNP loci of 123 individuals showed no signifi-cant departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05). Excepted rs1355366, rs2270529, rs10776839 and rs938283, there were 39 SNP loci had minor allele frequencies (MAF), which were greater than 0.25. Among the 25 loci MAFs, 24 ranged from 0.4 to 0.5, while 3 were close to 0.4. The DP, CDP, PIC, Ho, PEtrio and PEduo of the 43 SNP loci were 0.2901-0.6544, 1-9.8×10-11, 0.1708-0.5000, 0.1557-0.5935, 0.0854-0.2500 and 0.0146-0.1250, respectively. The CPEtrio and CPEduo were 0.999986 and 0.9924361, respectively. Conclusion The 43-plex SNP typing system in present study shows a high polymorphism, which can be an effective supplement and verification for traditional STR genetic markers. It also can be used with other commercial kits for the forensic paternity testing and individual identification.

OBJECTIVE: To localize and define the region of nucleus export signal (NES) on BRD7, and determine the role of this region in nucleus export of the external protein. METHODS: Based on an in vitro expressed model of green fluorescence protein (GFP), we performed DNA walking analysis to set BRD7 into several sections according to the structural characteristics of BRD7, investigated the effect of different sections of BRD7 on nucleus export of GFP, defined the region of nucleus export signal sequence of BRD7, and further ascertained the content of amino acids in BRD7 and potential localization of BRD7 NES by bioinformatics. RESULTS: B7C1 fragments ranged from aa219 to aa450 in BRD7 were found to target the external protein GFP into the cytoplasm detected by GFP direct fluorescence, which could be inhibited by NES inhibitor Leptomycin B (LMB). This region was rich in hydrophobic amino acid residues but no typical NES with characteristics of leucine-rich sequence by bioinformatics. CONCLUSION The region from aa219 to aa450 is primarily defined as an atypical NES in BRD7.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; COS Cells ; Cell Nucleus ; metabolism ; Chlorocebus aethiops ; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cytoplasm ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nuclear Export Signals ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective:To analyze the laboratory parameters and clinical characteristics of TTP patients, so as to provide reference for the timely diagnosis and death risk assessment or TTP.Methods:83 patients with TTP from June 2016 to March 2022 in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. They were divided into survival and death groups. The differences in general information, clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters were compared between the two groups. The prognostic prediction score was constructed by combining parameters which differ between the two groups to calculate the corresponding mortality risk.Results:83 patients were included in the study, of whom 81.1% (60/74), 91.1% (72/79) and 86.2% (50/58) had increased AST, IBIL and cTnI results, and all (78/78) had higher LDH at admission. Hb was decreased in 97.5% (79/81) patients, and PLT of 97.5% (79/81) patients was less than 30×10 9/L. There were no significant differences in gender, age, blood type, presence of fever, ADAMTS-13 activity and PLASMIC score between the survival group (58 cases) and the death group (25 cases), but the proportion of neurologic symptoms in the death group was significantly higher than that in the survival group. AST, IBIL, cTnI and APTT at admission were significantly higher in the death group than in the survival group ( P<0.05). The risk of death was 4.86, 9.74, 3.71, and 5.33 for those with high AST, IBIL, APTT, and cTnI levels, respectively, compared with those with low levels at admission. At last, AST, IBIL, APTT, cTnI and neurological symptoms were included to construct a score model. For each 1 point increase, the risk of short-term death in TTP patients was 3.24. Conclusions:Multiple laboratory markers have high negative exclusion value for TTP. For TTP patients with high AST, IBIL, cTnI and APTT and neurologic symptoms, more attention and active treatment should be paid to reduce mortality.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of sperm morphology with reproductive hormones in infertile men and the pathogenesis of teratozoospermia.

METHODSThis study included 90 infertile men aged 25 - 40 years. We measured their testis volumes using the Prader orchidometer, conducted routine semen analyses according to the WHO laboratory standard, and determined the concentrations of reproductive hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) by chemiluminescence and the levels of free testosterone (FT) and bioavailable testosterone (BioT).

RESULTSAll the subjects showed normal sperm concentration. Based on the results of semen morphology analysis, the 90 infertile men were equally divided into groups 1 (morphologically normal sperm <4%), 2 (morphologically normal sperm > or = 4% and <10%), and 3 (morphologically normal sperm > or = 10%), with no significant differences in age among the three groups (P>0.05). The volumes of the left testis were (14.27 +/- 3.65) ml, (16.90 +/- 3.57) ml and (14.57 +/- 3.57) ml, respectively (P = 0.006 group 1 vs group 2, P = 0.741 group 1 vs group 3, P = 0.014 group 2 vs group 3), and those of the right testis were (14.60 +/- 3.70) ml, (16.60 +/- 3.35) ml and (14.67 +/- 3.54) ml, respectively (P = 0.050). There were no significant differences among the three groups in prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, estradiol, total testosterone and SHBG, (P>0.05). The levels of serum FT were (0.25 +/- 0.07) nmol/L, (0.29 +/- 0.07) nmol/L and (0.31 +/- 0.13) nmol/L (P = 0.086 group 1 vs group 2, P= 0.010 group 1 vs group 3, P= 0.364 group 2 vs group 3), and those of BioT were (5.81 +/- 1.58) nmol/L, (6.78 +/- 1.55) nmol/L and (7.29 +/- 3.02) nmol/L, respectively (P = 0.086 group 1 vs group 2, P = 0.010 group 1 vs group 3, P = 0.364 group 2 vs group 3). The percentage of morphologically normal sperm was positively correlated with the levels of serum FT and BioT (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe higher the levels of serum FT and BioT, the higher the percentage of morphologically normal sperm, which suggests that serum FT and BioT might be involved in the pathogenesis of teratozoospermia.

Adult ; Estradiol ; blood ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; blood ; physiopathology ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Prolactin ; blood ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin ; metabolism ; Sperm Count ; Spermatozoa ; abnormalities ; Testis ; Testosterone ; blood