Objective To observe the effect of pigplacenta ins tead of Ziheche (P lacenta Hominis) for the treatment of senile dementia. Methods Seventy Kunming mice were divided into blank group, model group, pos itive control group, Zih eche low and high dosage groups, and pigplacenta low and high dosage grou ps, wi th 10 in each. The senile dementia models were established with the D-Galactose subcutaneous injection. The blank group was not administered any medicines. The model group was prescribed normal saline instead of the tested medicine; the pos itive control group was given Naofukang by gavage; the Zih eche low and high dosage groups were given 2g/kg and 4g/kg Ziheche respectivel y by gavage; while the pigplacenta low and high dosage groups were treated wi th p igplacenta 4g/kg and 8g/kg respectively by gavage. After treatment for 6 week s, the behavior experimental dark-avoiding test and step-down test were applied to test the effect of the medicines on the learning memory of mice, and acetylchol inesterase and monoamine levels in brain tissues. Results There was no s ignificant difference between the effect of pigplacenta and Ziheche in resi stin g senile dementia. In the latency of dark-avoiding test, the effect of high d osa ge of pigplacenta was significantly better than that of Ziheche (P

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced spiral CT after low tension and drinking water in papillary carcinoma of ampulla. Methods CT manifestations of papillary carcinoma of ampulla comfirmed pathologically in 20 cases were analysed retrospectively emphasized in artery phase on contrast CT which was performed after injecting 654-2 20 mg and drinking 300~500 ml water.Results Of all the cases , only 2 cases showed tumor filling defect in the descending part of duedenum nearby pancreas on routine CT, but all the cases showed more or less tumor filling defect on contrast-enhanced spiral CT . The diameters of the tumor were between 0.8 to 2.6 cm,2 cases with head of pancreas affected,the diameters of the tumor were between 2.4 to 2.6 cm.There were 2 cases with lymph node metastasis nearby duedenum.All the cases showed expansion of gallbladder ,intrahepatic duct and choledochus expanding in the liver. Conclusion Contrast-enhanced spiral CT after low tension and drinking water is superior to routine CT in determining the size and morphosis of tumor.

The occurrence and progress of tumor is the result of the interaction of heredity and epigenetics. Histone deacetylation modification,as an important epigenetic modification,plays an important role in tumorigenesis and development. The abnormal expression of histone deacetylase in normal tissues and cells promotes the development of tumor and is related to the proliferation and apoptosis,angiogenesis,metastasis and drug resistance of tumor cells,and becomes a new target of tumor therapy. Histone deacetylase inhibitors as anti-tumor drugs have a good prospect of application.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Huoxue Bitong Plaster on lumbar osteoarthritis with blood stasis and cold-dampness blocking collaterals syndrome. Methods Totally 120 patients were randomly divided into treatment group (60 cases) and control group (60 cases). Huoxue Bitong Plaster was applied externally in the treatment group, while Goupigao Plaster was used externally in the control group, once a day, for two weeks. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by observing TCM symptom scores, VAS, Oswestry dability index (ODI), and onset time in both groups before and after treatment. Results The total effective rate was 86.67%(52/60) in treatment group, and 85.00% (51/60) in the control group, with no statistical significance (P>0.05). TCM symptom scores of both groups decreased after treatment (P<0.05). For the effect of relieving back pain and morning stiffness, the treatment group was superior to control group (P<0.05). For the effect of relieving waist heaviness, the control group was better than the treatment group (P<0.05). Besides, VAS and ODI of the treatment group were lower than the control group after treatment (P<0.05). The onset time of lightening back pain, morning stiffness in the treatment group was quicker than control group (P<0.05). For waist heaviness, the onset time in control group was quicker than treatment group (P<0.05). Conclusion Huoxue Bitong Plaster has good efficacy for lumbar osteoarthritis with blood stasis and cold-dampness blocking collaterals syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatiotemporal expression of neuromedin B receptor (NMBR) in mice myometrium at different pregnant stages, as well as its mechanism and relation with parturition. METHODS: The pregnant mice were divided into no-pregnancy (NP), early pregnancy (EP), mid-pregnancy (MP), late-pregnancy (LP), parturition (PT) and postpartum (PP) groups (12 mice in each group), according to pregnant stage. The mRNA and protein expression of NMBR, HSP70 and IL-6 were detected in myometrium in pregnant mice by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, while NF-kappaB-P65 DNA binding activity was determined by NoShift transcription factor assay kits, respectively. Their relation with parturition was analyzed. RESULTS: The mRNA expression level of NMBR in the PT group was significantly higher than that in the NP, EP, LP and PP groups (P<0.05), but this difference was not observed in the MP group (P>0.05). The NMBR protein in PT group was significantly higher than that in the other 5 groups (P<0.01). NF-kappaB-P65 DNA binding activity at PT group was remarkably higher than that in the NP, LP and PP groups (P<0.05). The expression of IL-6 mRNA was significantly higher than that in the NP, LP and PP groups (P<0.05), its protein expression in PT and LP groups was significantly higher than that in the NP and PP groups (P<0.05). The expression of HSP70 mRNA in the PT group was significantly higher than that in the NP and PP groups (P<0.05), and the protein of HSP70 was significantly up-regulated in PT and PP groups compared with in NP and LP groups (P<0.05). The DNA-binding activity of P65 was positively correlated to the mRNA expression of NMBR and IL-6 (r=0.40, P<0.01; r=0.30, P<0.05), so were positively correlated to DNA-binding activity of P65, mRNA expression of HSP70 and NMBR ( r=0.40, P<0.01; r=0.49, P<0.01). DNA-binding activity of P65 did not correlate with the mRNA expression of HSP70. CONCLUSION The mRNA and protein expressions of NMBR reach a peak at the onset of labor. NMBR may play an important role in the parturition via NF-kappaB P65-IL-6 signal transduction pathway. It may also influence the onset of labor by regulating HSP70, but this role does not rely on P65 pathway.
Animals ; Female ; Gestational Age ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Myometrium ; metabolism ; Parturition ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Receptors, Bombesin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism

Along with the increasingly serious environmental pollution, dealing with the "white pollution" issue, which is caused by the worldwide use of not readily-degradable or non-degradable synthetic plastics, has become a great challenge. It is an environmentally friendly strategy to degrade synthetic plastics using microorganisms that exist in nature or evolved under selection pressure. Based on the NSFC-EU International Cooperation and Exchanges Project "Bio Innovation of a Circular Economy for Plastics", this review summarized the screening of bacteria, fungi and microbial consortia capable of degrading synthetic plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PUR), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). We also analyzed the role of various microorganisms played in the degradation of petroleum-based plastics. Moreover, we discussed the pros and cons of using microorganisms and enzymes for degradation of synthetic plastics.
Biodegradation, Environmental ; Microbial Consortia ; Petroleum ; Plastics ; Polyurethanes

Polyolefin plastics are a group of polymers with C-C backbone that have been widely used in various areas of daily life. Due to their stable chemical properties and poor biodegradability, polyolefin plastic waste continues to accumulate worldwide, causing serious environmental pollution and ecological crises. In recent years, biological degradation of polyolefin plastics has attracted considerable attention. The abundant microbial resources in the nature offer the possibility of biodegradation of polyolefin plastic waste, and microorganisms capable of degrading polyolefin have been reported. This review summarizes the research progress on the biodegradation microbial resources and the biodegradation mechanisms of polyolefin plastics, presents the current challenges in the biodegradation of polyolefin plastics, and provides an outlook on future research directions.
Plastics/metabolism* ; Polymers/metabolism* ; Polyenes ; Biodegradation, Environmental

Recent studies have shown that programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) modulates distinct signal transduction pathways in different pathological conditions. Despite acute and chronic immune responses elicited by ischemia contributing to the functional deterioration of the kidney, the contributions and mechanisms of PDCD4 in acute kidney injury (AKI) have remained unclear. Using two murine AKI models including renal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) and cisplatin-induced AKI, we found that PDCD4 deficiency markedly ameliorated renal dysfunction and inflammatory responses in AKI mice. Consistently, upregulation of PDCD4 was also confirmed in the kidneys from patients with biopsy confirmed acute tubular necrosis from a retrospective cohort study. Moreover, we found that overexpression of

Objective To investigate the influencing factors for the prognosis of adult patients with chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Methods A total of 255 patients who were diagnosed with chronic DILI by liver biopsy in The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2014 to December 2018 were enrolled, and according to the liver function after 2 years, they were divided into non-recovery group and recovery group. The two groups were analyzed in terms of the clinical data including age, sex, body mass index, types of drugs used, type of DILI injury, severity of DILI injury, underlying diseases, laboratory markers, liver histology, and 2-year prognosis. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the independent risk factors for the prognosis of chronic DILI. Results After 2 years of follow-up, 195 patients (76.5%) achieved the recovery of liver function, while 60 patients (23.5%) did not achieve such recovery. There were significant differences between the two groups in the type of DILI injury ( P =0.028), the proportion of patients with diabetes ( P =0.048), and the degree of liver fibrosis ( P < 0.001), and compared with the recovery group, the non-recovery group had significantly higher levels of baseline white blood cell count, platelet count (PLT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and total bile acid and a significantly lower level of cholinesterase (ChE) (all P < 0.05). The baseline characteristics were included in the univariate logistic regression analysis, and the results showed that PLT, ALT, AST, ChE, and fibrosis degree were significantly associated with the prognosis of chronic DILI (all P < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis of the above variables showed that PLT < 100×10 9 /L (odds ratio [ OR ]=3.592, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.128-11.438, P =0.003) and ALT > 2×upper limit of normal (ULN) ( OR =3.080, 95% CI : 1.331-7.127, P =0.009) were independent risk factors for the prognosis of chronic DILI. Conclusion When patients meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic DILI, the independent risk factors PLT < 100×10 9 /L and ALT > 2×ULN may be used to screen out the patients who are more likely to have poor prognosis.

Objective To investigate the association between baseline IgM level and treatment response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 637 PBC patients who were diagnosed and treated with UDCA for the first time in The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2010 to January 2020. The PBC patients were divided into UDCA complete response group with 436 patients and UDCA poor response group with 201 patients, and baseline clinical data were compared between the two groups. According to the optimal cut-off value of IgM determined by the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of baseline indices in predicting the risk of poor treatment response, the patients were divided into IgM ≥1.5×ULN group and IgM < 1.5×ULN group, and baseline parameters, treatment response, and prognostic model score were compared between groups. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used for subgroup analysis, and forest plots were plotted for related risk values. Results Compared with the UDCA complete response group, the UDCA poor response group had significantly higher proportion of patients with liver cirrhosis, levels of total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bile acid, total cholesterol (TC), IgA, and IgM, and positive rate of anti-Gp210 antibody at baseline ( χ 2 =4.596, Z =-9.932, -8.931, -8.361, -7.836, -4.694, -3.242, and -2.115, χ 2 =15.931, all P < 0.05). The UDCA poor response group had significantly higher Mayo Risk Score, Globe score, and UK-PBC risk score than the UDCA complete response group ( t =4.092, Z =-10.910 and -11.646, all P < 0.001). Compared with the normal IgM group, the elevated IgM group had significantly higher levels of AST, ALP, TC, IgA, and IgG and a significantly higher positive rate of anti-Gp210 antibody ( Z =-3.774, -5.063, -4.344, -2.051, and -6.144, χ 2 =25.180, all P < 0.05). IgM had an AUC of 0.552 in predicting poor treatment response. Compared with the IgM < 1.5×ULN group, the IgM ≥1.5×ULN group had significantly higher levels of AST, ALP, TC, and IgG, a significantly higher positive rate of anti-Gp210 antibody, and a significantly higher poor UDCA response rate ( Z =-4.193, -5.044, -3.250, and -5.465, χ 2 =25.204 and 8.948, all P < 0.05). IgM ≥1.5×ULN had an odds ratio of 1.416 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.129-1.776, P =0.003) in predicting poor response. The subgroup analysis showed that for patients without liver cirrhosis, IgM ≥1.5×ULN had an odds ratio of 1.821 (95% CI : 1.224-2.711, P =0.003) in predicting poor response. Conclusion Baseline IgM level has an important value in predicting UDCA response. IgM level should be closely monitored during treatment in PBC patients with a high baseline IgM level, and second-line drugs should be given in time if the abnormality persists.