In the present study, the AC impedance of rat blood was measured with Agilent 4294A impedance analyzer in the frequency range of 10(4)-10(8) Hz, and the effect of simulated weightlessness (SWL)on electrical properties of rat blood was investigated by analyzing the data characteristics with the use of electrical impedance spectroscopy, the Bode diagram, the Nyquist diagram and the Nichols diagram. The results demonstrated 60 days SWL caused some changes: (1) the electrical impedance of rat blood were reduced, mainly in the real part of complex impedance (Z'o and Z'infinity), the electrical impedance modulus amplitude (|Z*|o and |Z*|infinity), the impedance relaxation strength (deltaZ', delta|Z*|) and the logarithm of impedance modulus amplitude at low frequency (Log |Z*|o) were lower than that in the control (CON) group; (2) the characteristic frequency of the electrical impedance spectrum of rat blood and the phase angle were increases, mainly in the characteristic frequency (fc1, fc2) and the phase angle [theta(p) (degree), theta(p) (radian)] increased compared with that in the CON group. These data indicate that SWL leads to reduced resistivity and enhanced conductivity of blood.
Animals ; Blood ; Blood Physiological Phenomena ; Dielectric Spectroscopy ; methods ; Electric Impedance ; Male ; Rats ; Weightlessness Simulation

AIM: To observe the clinical efficacy of Yishen Yanggan Mingmu formula combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration(wARMD).METHODS: A total of 58 patients(58 eyes)with wARMD who were treated in Ningbo Eye Hospital from September 2020 to November 2022 were collected. They were divided into two groups according to randomized digital table: 29 patients(29 eyes)for the combination group and the other 29 patients(29 eyes)for the injection group. The injection group was only given intravitreal injection of conbercept; the combination group was orally administrated with Yishen Yanggan Mingmu formula combined with intravitreal injection of conbercept. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), central macular thickness(CMT)and the improvement of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndromes after 3mo of treatment were observed and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.RESULTS: After 3mo of treatment, the total improved effective rate of the combination group(76%)was higher than the rate of the injection group(66%). After the treatment, the BCVA of the two groups was both higher than that before treatment(P<0.05), the CMT in both groups was lower than that before the treatment(P<0.05), and the improvement of CMT of the combination group was better than the injection group(-155.93±143.79μm vs. -95.36±56.81μm, P<0.05). After 3mo of treatment, each kinds of TCM syndrome in the combination group were significantly improved compared with those syndromes before the treatment(P<0.001). In the injection group, only blurred vision was improved(P<0.05). After the treatment, the scores of dizziness and insomnia, soreness and weakness of waist and knees, paleness and cold limbs, dry eyes and fatigue in the combination group were significantly lower than the injection group(P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: The Yishen Yanggan Mingmu formula combined with intravitreal anti-VEGF drug injection is effective in the treatment of wARMD.

AIM: To investigate the effect of unilateral endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy on binocular surface indexes.METHODS: Totally 45 cases with monocular primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction(PANDO)who successfully underwent endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy between 1 December 2022 and 31 July 2023 were enrolled in the study. Ocular surface indexes, including the non-invasive tear break-up time(NIBUT), Sjögren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance ocular staining score(SICCA OSS), Korb score of lid wiper and Schirmer test scores, were collected preoperatively and at 0.5, 1 and 3 mo post-operatively. Subsequently, various indexes were compared at each time point between the operated and healthy eyes pre- and post-operatively.RESULTS: There was no significant differences between operated and healthy eyes in NIBUT, SICCA OSS, Korb scores and Schirmer test(all P>0.05). Furthermore, the Korb scores of operated eye at 0.5, 1 and 3 mo post-operatively were significantly lower than the preoperative value(P=0.034, 0.044, 0.027). Moreover, the Schirmer test score of the operated eye at 1 mo post-operatively was significantly lower than the preoperative value(P=0.0461).CONCLUSION:After a successful endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy, tear drainage is restored, however, ocular surface damage worsens. These changes typically peak at 1 mo post-operatively before gradually improving.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in vital life processes of gene expression, epigenetic regulation and X-chromosome inactivation. lncRNAs are also closely associated with tumor initiation and progression. Moreover, lncRNAs may enter human circulation system in the form of microvesicle or exosome, or in combination with RNA binding protein. Interestingly, the circulating lncRNAs are widely existed in body fluids, such as blood and urine. We review the origin of circulating lncRNAs, and the detection methods as potential biomarkers. We focus on the early diagnosis value of circulating lncRNAs as tumor biomarkers in lung, breast, gastric, liver, colorectal and prostate cancers. Compared with the traditional biomarkers, the circulating lncRNAs show the unique advantages and clinical values as novel biomarkers.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) reportedly function as important modulators of gene regulation and malignant processes in the development of human cancers. The lncRNA JPX is a novel molecular switch for X chromosome inactivation and differentially expressed JPX has exhibited certain clinical correlations in several cancers. Notably, JPX participates in cancer growth, metastasis, and chemoresistance, by acting as a competing endogenous RNA for microRNA, interacting with proteins, and regulating some specific signaling pathways. Moreover, JPX may serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. The present article summarizes our current understanding of the structure, expression, and function of JPX in malignant cancer processes and discusses its molecular mechanisms and potential applications in cancer biology and medicine.
Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; Neoplasms/genetics* ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation ; X Chromosome Inactivation

Objective:To investigate the inhibitory effects of halofuginone on radiation-induced pulmonary injury and to explore the therapeutic mechanism of this drug. Methods:A total of 72 healthy female C57BL/6 mice were randomized into 4 groups, namely, control, irradiation, halofuginone, and irradiation plus halofuginone groups, with 18 mice in each group. No treatment was performed in the control group. In the halofuginone group, the halofuginone lavage was conducted once a day, with a continuous course treatment for a month or until sacrifice of the mice. In the therapeutic alliance group, the treatment mode was the same as that in the halofuginone group. Then, a 6MV-X ray single fraction irradiation was performed after the completion of a 15-day intragastric administration. At 24 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 20 weeks after the irradiation, 3 mice from each group were randomly sacrificed, and total lung tissues were harvested. The lung was dissected to prepare pathological sections. The sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E) to explore morphologic changes. The protein and mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1 were analyzed by a combi-nation of immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. The level of hydroxyproline was also measured. Results: The out-comes of H&E staining showed that halofuginone markedly ameliorated the acute pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis induced by irra-diation. The combination group had a lower level of hydroxyproline than the irradiation group, with statistically significant differences at 20 weeks after irradiation (P=0.037). The protein and mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1 were higher in the irradiation and combi-nation groups than in the control group and (or) halofuginone group at different time points (P<0.05). The combination group had lower TGF-β1 protein expression than the irradiation group at different time points, with statistically significant differences at 2, 4, 12, and 20 weeks after the irradiation (P<0.05). Meanwhile, TGF-β1 mRNA level was lower in the combination group than in the irradiation group only at 4 and 12 weeks after the irradiation (P<0.05). Conclusion:Halofuginone can ameliorate the irradiation-induced lung inflamma-tion and fibrosis probably by inhibiting the radiation-induced TGF-β1 expression. Therefore, halofugione is expected to be a therapeu-tic drug for preventing irradiation injury of the lung.

Animals ; Dietary Carbohydrates ; administration & dosage ; Dietary Fats ; administration & dosage ; Dietary Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Malnutrition ; complications ; Obesity ; etiology ; Trace Elements ; administration & dosage

ObjectiveTo investigate the application of non-contrast and contrast-enhanced 18FDG PET/CT in the delineation of gross tumor volume ( GTV ) of pancreatic cancer.MethodsBetween Jan.2008 and Dec.2009,twenty-one patients with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer or recurrent pancreatic cancer after surgery in our hospital had both non-contrast CT and PET images acquired at the same body position.Among the whole group,eleven patients also had contrast CT images.The image data sets were transferred to the treatment planning workstation for registration.Then gross tumor volumes ( GTV )were delineated independently using the information of PET images,contrast/non-contrast CT scan and contrast/non-contrast PET-CT fusion images.The differences of mean volume in these different sets of GTV were analyzed.Results For the whole group,the mean volume of non-contrast GTVCT,GTVPET,noncontrast GTVPET-CT were 76.9 cm3,47.0 cm3 and 44.5 cm3,respectively.The mean volume of non-contrast GTVPET-CT was significantly smaller than non-contrast GTVCT ( z =-3.91,P =0.000 ).For the eleven patients with contrast CT,the mean volume of contrast GTVCT,GTVPET,contrast GTVPET-CT were 64.1 cm3,45.1 cm3 and 49.3 cm3,respectively.The mean volume of contrast GTVPET-CT was significantly smaller than contrast GTVCT (z =-2.13,P =0.033 ).No significant differences were found between contrast PET-CT and non-contrast PET-CT (z =-0.80,P =0.424).ConclusionsCo-registration of PET and contrast/noncontrast CT information in pancreatic cancer may improve the accuracy of GTV delineation,and possibly reduce the adverse effect of irradiation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness and toxicity of CyberKnife in the treatment of lung metastases.MethodsTreatment details and outcomes were reviewed for 93 targets of 48 histologically verified patients treated by CyberKnife at the CyberKnife Center of Tianjin between September 2006 and June 2010.The median tumor volume was 6.0(0.2 - 135.2) cm3,the median biological equivalent dose was 140.8(53 - 180) cGy (α/β =10),the median fraction was 3(1-7) times and the median isodose line was 81％ (71％-91％ ).ResultsThe rate of follow-up is 96％.33 cases were followed up for more than 2years.The effective rate was 90.3％.Two targets of 2 patients locally progressed.The 1-and 2-year local control rates,overall survival (OS) rates and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 98％ and 98％,83％ and 63％,and 64％ and 37％,respectively.Univariate analyses showed that age older than 60 versus ≤60 years tended to be predictor for PFS ( x2 =3.45,P =0.063 ) ;The PFS of patients who had single lesion was better than patients with multiple lesions ( x2 =4.49,P =0.034 ) ; patients with disease-free interval longer than 18 months had better OS ( x2 =6.50,P =0.011 ).Five patients were reported to experience treatment-related grade 1 radiation pulmonary injury,and one each for subcutaneous fibrosis with pigmentation,grade 2 and grade 3 adverse event.ConclusionsFor patients with lung metastatic lesion,CyberKnife is an effective option with high local control rate and little acute reaction.The long-term outcome and toxicity need further study.

The powder X-ray diffraction Fourier fingerprint pattern technique was used to develop a new quantitation method for the analysis of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide. And the high performance liquid chromatography method was used to evaluate the quantity of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide. The relationship of diffraction peak intensity and content of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide was investigated. The powder X-ray diffraction Fourier fingerprint pattern analysis technique can be used to evaluate the quantity of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide in the herb simultaneously.