Objective To investigate the brain glucose metabolism with 18 F?FDG microPET/CT in mouse models of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods A total of 12 healthy adult male mice were randomly divided into sham operation group (group A, n=6) and ICH model group (group B, n=6) by simple random sampling method. The animal models were established by injecting collagenase Ⅳ into the caudate nucleus of mice. Thereafter (5.5±0.3) MBq of 18F?FDG was injected into caudal vein at 6 h, 24 h, 48 h and 3 d, 5 d, 8 d, 14 d, respectively, following anesthesia. 18 F?FDG microPET/CT scans were ac?quired 30 min after the trace injection. SUV in the perihematomal brain tissue of ICH was measured and an?alyzed. Two?sample t test was used to compare SUV between groups. Results ( 1) Some mice had mild neurologic deficit after the sham operation in group A, while all mice had a marked neurologic deficit in group B, especially at 24 h after 18 F?FDG injection. ( 2) After 6 h, FDG uptake in perihematomal brain tis?sue decreased(SUV=0.80±0.04), which significantly lower than that in the opposite side(SUV=1.10± 0?04;t=2.69, P<0.05) and decreased to the minimum at 24 h(SUV=0.50±0.05). 18F?FDG uptake in perihematomal brain tissue began to increase at 3 d(SUV=1.20±0.05) and kept increasing during the 14 d observation. Compared with the group A, glucose metabolism in group B was significantly lower at each time point(t=37.67-86.60, all P<0.05). Conclusions 18 F?FDG microPET/CT may dynamically reflect the changes of brain glucose metabolism in ICH mouse models. The FDG uptake in the center of ICH may disap?pear and the volume of hematoma with decreased uptake may shrink during the observation period.

Objective To investigate the effects of transient receptor potential cation channel 6 (TRPC6) on the expression of nephrin, desmin and caspase 9 and on the apoptosis of podocytes in a mouse model of podocyte injury induced by TGF-β1.Methods Conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes were cultured in vitro and divided into four groups: control, TGF-β1 treatment, TGF-β1+PGPU6/GFP/Neo-TRPC6-mus-581 (TRPC6 knockdown) and TGF-β1+PGPU6/GFP/Neo-NC (negative control).Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the expression of nephrin, desmin and caspase 9 at mRNA and protein levels, respectively.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptotic rate of podocytes.DAPI fluorescent staining was used to observe the morphological changes of apoptotic podocytes.Results Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing podocytes at 48 hours after transfection were significantly more than those at 24 hours after transfection.The level of TRPC6 in mouse podocytes transfected with PGPU6/GFP/Neo-TRPC6-mus-581 was significantly decreased as compared with that of the control group (P<0.05).No significant difference in the expression of TRPC6 was observed between the negative control group and the control group.Compared with the control group, the TGF-β1 treatment group showed increased expression of desmin and caspase 9 at both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01), but decreased expression of nephrin at mRNA and protein levels at 48 hours after TGF-β1 intervention (P<0.05).The up-regulated desmin and caspase 9 and the down-regulated nephrin induced by TGF-β1 could be inhibited by the means of TRPC6 knockdown.The apoptosis rate of podocytes in TGF-β1 treatment group was (14.0±2.1)%, while that in TRPC6 knockdown was (10.90±0.56)% (P<0.05).The apoptosis rate of podocytes in negative control group was higher than that in TGF-β1 treatment group (P>0.05).More apoptotic cells with typical morphological features of apoptosis were observed after exposure to TGF-β1 for 48 hours.Conclusion TGF-β1 could induce the apoptosis of podocytes, inhibit the expression of nephrin and enhance the expression of caspase 9 and desmin, the possible mechanisms of which may be related to TRPC6 signal pathway.These changes in TGF-β1-treated podocytes could be alleviated by inhibiting the expression of TRPC6, which might have a protective effect on podocyte injury.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the degrees on the epidemic foci of Angiostronglus cantonensis and to explore the measurement methods.

METHODSSnails (Pila gigas) were collected from the spots of Wenzhou, Cangnan, Yongjia, Yueqing in Zhejiang province and Minhou, Changle, Ningde in Fujian province. The snails were examined microscopically in order to calculate their infection rates and the average worm number in the positive snails, then taking the product of multiplication of both values as infestation index.

RESULTSThe infection rates of the epidemic foci were 10.59% (9/85), 60.74% (181/298), 34.96% (79/226), 32.90% (76/231), 57.50% (184/320), 40.00% (82/205), 17.65% (12/68) and the rates of infectivity were 6.57, 183.54, 121.73, 93.45, 276.36, 76.08, 12.65, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe epidemic foci were divided into five ranks (super, high, mid-range, low and non-epidemic foci) according to the value of infestation index which ranked from > 75, 30-75, 5-29, < 5 to 0.

Angiostrongylus ; pathogenicity ; Animals ; China ; Disease Outbreaks ; Snails ; parasitology ; Strongylida Infections ; epidemiology

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of Chaichuan Tongren Mixture supplemented with hysteroscopic recanalization in the treatment of tubal obstructive infertility of liver depression and qi stagnation type.Methods:A total of 60 patients with tubal obstructive infertility of liver depression and qi stagnation type who met the inclusion criteria were selected, between August 2018 and June 2020, and they were divided into the observation group with 31 cases and the control group with 29 cases, according to the random number table method. The control group was treated with hysteroscopic recanalization, while the observation group was given Chaichuan Tongren Mixture on the basis of the control group. Both groups were treated for 4 months and followed up for 12 months. TCM syndromes were scored before and after treatment, and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2) was detected by fully automatic biochemical analyzer and levels of TNF-α, CRP and IL-6 were measured by ELISA. The tubal patency of patients after treatment was observed, the pregnancy status was recorded after the end of follow-up and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. Results:The total effective rate was 96.77% in the observation group and that in the control group was 75.86% ( χ2=4.01, P<0.01). The scores of breast distending pain, irregular menstruation, dark purple menstrual flow and lumbosacral pain in the observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t values were 17.69, 21.67, 20.89, 14.67, 18.20, respectively, all Ps<0.001). After treatment, the levels of serum PGE 2, TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6 were significantly lower in the observation group than those in the control group [(65.31±6.73) ng/L vs. (87.10±8.85) ng/L, t=10.78; (6.90±0.71) ng/L vs. (11.35±1.23) ng/L, t=17.30; (2.47±0.25) mg/L vs. (5.10±0.52) mg/L, t=25.23; (12.38±1.26) ng/L vs. (30.16±3.15) ng/L, t=29.05] ( P<0.01). After treatment, there was statistical significance in the total effective rate of tubal patency of 96.8% (30/31) in the observation group compared to 79.3% (23/29) in the control group ( χ2=4.43, P<0.01). At the end of follow-up, the pregnancy rate was 71.0% (22/31) in the observation group and 44.8% (13/29) in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=4.21, P<0.01). Conclusion:The Chaichuan Tongren Mixture supplemented with hysteroscopic recanalization can reduce the levels of inflammatory mediators and increase the pregnancy rate of patients with tubal obstructive infertility of liver depression and qi stagnation type.

OBJECTIVETo compare the specificity and sensitivity of two genotyping approaches for human papillomavirus (HPV).

METHODHPV DNA was amplified and detected in clinical specimens by polymerase chain reaction in a pair of universal primers MY09/11, and then genotyped with either sequencing method or liquid chip hybridization method (luminex method).

RESULTSequencing method obtained precise genotyping results in single-type HPV infection, while luminex method obtained accurate genotyping results in multiple-type HPV infection.

CONCLUSIONA combined method using both sequencing and luminex method is suitable for the genotyping of HPV-infected specimens.

Base Sequence ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Female ; Female Urogenital Diseases ; virology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Papillomaviridae ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Papillomavirus Infections ; virology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo determine whether Acanthamoeba polyphaga could affect the survival and growth of Vibrio cholerae O139 in low temperature.

METHODSV. cholerae O139 was co-cultured with the Acanthamoeba polyphaga to be examined on its intracellular growth and survival rate within cysts at low temperature, using methods as Gram-staining, electron microscope and passage culture.

RESULTSV. cholerae O139 were observed to enter into the trophozoites and grow the within the vacuoles after 8 hour incubation with Acanthamoeba polyphaga. The germs survived in the vacuole and/or endo-layer of wall and could be re-isolated from the excystment of Acanthamoeba polyphaga. At 30 degrees C, V. cholerae O139 could survive for 120 days with the amoeba while less than 45 days in PAS. At 4 degrees C, the number of viable bacteria decreased and reached undetectable levels for both study and control groups after a 30-day incubation. V. cholerae O139 could be re-isolated from the 30-, 45-, 60- and 75-day's infected cysts after excystment. However the ability of excystment for 90-day's infected cysts decreased and V. cholerae O139 within the cyst could not be isolated again because the amoebae had lysed.

CONCLUSIONThese findings indicated that V. cholerae O139 could grow within Acanthamoeba polyphaga and the survival time could be increased in the cysts at low temperature. It seemed that Acanthamoeba can provide an environmental reservoir for V. cholerae O139.

Acanthamoeba ; microbiology ; Bacterial Capsules ; Colony Count, Microbial ; Temperature ; Vibrio cholerae ; growth & development

Adverse reactions like weight gain and lipid metabolism disorders are often observed in the treatment of atypical antipsychotic drugs,which have shown great individual differences,but the mechanism is still uncertain.Research on pharmacogenomics indicate that gene polymorphism may play an important role.The drugs could increase food intake by acting on some related central receptors,or effect lipid metabolism in the adipose cell and hepatocyte.In this review,genes and polymorphisms related to lipid metabolic adverse drug reactions of atypical antipsychotic drugs were analyzed in these two aspects,so as to provide references for individualized medication and research.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the discharge outcome in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT).Methods:Elderly patients with AIS received IVT in the Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from August 2018 to August 2020 were retrospectively included. The modified Rankin Scale was used to evaluate discharge outcome, and the score >2 was defined as poor outcome. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) was defined as any intracranial hemorrhage found on imaging examination accompanied by neurological deterioration, where the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score increased by ≥4 from baseline or bleeding led to death. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent risk factors for sICH and poor discharge outcome. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the predictive value of NLR for sICH and poor discharge outcome. Results:A total of 228 elderly patients with AIS receiving IVT were enrolled, including 118 males (51.8%), aged 73.64±8.16 years, with a baseline NIHSS score of 6.23±6.54. Ninety patients (39.5%) had poor outcome at discharge, and 16 (7.0%) developed sICH. Univariate analysis showed that the NLR in the poor outcome group was significantly higher than that in the good outcome group ( P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a higher NLR was an independent risk factor for poor discharge outcome (odds ratio [ OR] 1.245, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.044-1.484; P< 0.05) and sICH ( OR 1.124, 95% CI 1.010-1.251; P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of NLR for predicting poor discharge outcome was 0.693 (95% CI 0.620-0.765; P<0.01). The optimal cutoff value was 4.345. Its corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 47.8% and 87.7%, respectively. The area under the curve of NLR for predicting sICH was 0.651 (95% CI 0.498-0.804; P<0.05). The optimal cutoff value was 3.515. Its corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 68.8% and 61.8%, respectively. Conclusions:A higher NLR is independently associated with sICH and poor discharge outcome in elderly patients with AIS receiving IVT, and have certain predictive value for sICH and poor discharge outcome.

BACKGROUNDPorcine liver performing efficient physiological functions in the human body is prerequisite for successful liver xenotransplantation. However, the protein differences between pig and human remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the liver expression profile of a highly inbred minipig line.

METHODSA cDNA library was constructed from liver tissue of an inbred Banna minipig. Two hundred randomly selected clones were sequenced then analysed by BLAST programme.

RESULTSAlignments of the sequences showed 44% encoded previously known porcine genes. Among the 56% unknown genes, sequences of 72 clones had high similarities with known genes of other species and the similarities to human were mostly above 0.80. The other 40 clones showing no similarity to genes in National Centre for Biotechnology Information are newly discovered, expressed sequence tags specific to liver of inbred Banna minipig. Twenty-two of the 200 clones had full length encoding regions, 38 complete 5' terminal sequences and 140 complete 3' terminal sequences.

CONCLUSIONThese newly discovered expression sequences may be an important resource for research involving physiological characteristics and medical usage of inbred pigs and contribute to matching studies in xenotransplantation.

Animals ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Library ; Liver ; metabolism ; Sequence Alignment ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Transplantation, Heterologous

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between metastasis or recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA load or the presence of double mutation at 1762/1764 in the basic core promoter (BCP).

METHODSOne-hundred-and-fifty-seven patients with HCC were included in the study. Events of tumor metastasis or recurrence were recorded during 120 weeks of clinical follow-up after treatment by surgery or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). The 1-year follow-up included monthly alpha fetoprotein (AFP) measurement and abdominal ultrasonography (US), as well as helical computed tomographic (CT) scan performed every 3 months. Follow-up beyond 1-year (surveillance) included AFP measurement and abdominal US every 2 months and helical CT scan every 6 months. Suspected metastasis or recurrence was investigated by hepatic angiography and confirmed according to the combined imaging findings. Serum HBV DNA level was measured by real-time PCR. HBV genotypes were determined by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

RESULTSOf the 157 HCC cases 110 experienced tumor metastasis or recurrence; the cumulative probability of post-treatment HCC metastasis or recurrence was 4 (2.55%) at week 12, 14 (8.92%) at week 24, 28 (17.83%) at week 48, 64 (40.76%) at week 72, 92 (58.60%) at week 96, and 110 (70.06%) at week 120. Multivariate analysis indicated that both the BCP 1762/1764 double mutations and HBV DNA levels were risk factors for HCC recurrence or metastasis. In particular, the incidence of HCC recurrence or metastasis increased with baseline serum HBV DNA levels in a dose-response manner, ranging from 8/19 (42.1%) for less than 3 log10 copies/ml HBV DNA to 35/61 (57.3%) for 3-5 log10 copies/ml and 67/77 (87.0%) for more than 5 log10 copies/ml. After adjusting for potential confounders, serum HBV DNA level remained independently associated with HCC metastasis or recurrence. HCC recurrence or metastasis occurred in 22/43 (51.2%) of patients without BCP 1762/1764 mutations and 88/114 (77.2%) of patients with BCP 1762/1764 mutations. The adjusted odds ratio for patients infected with BCP 1762/1764 double mutation HBV, compared with those infected with non-BCP 1762/1764 mutation HBV, was 5.264 (95% CI: 1.436-12.574, P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONInfection with HBV carrying the BCP 1762/1764 double mutation and presence of high HBV DNA load are independent risk factors for developing HCC metastasis or recurrence after surgery or TACE.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; virology ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens ; genetics ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Viral Load