Objective To investigate the effects of Inula Britannica on myocardial caspase-3 and cytochrome c ( cyt c) following overtraining-induced acute myocardial injury in rats.Methods Forty-eight male Wistar rats weighing 200-220 g were randomly divided into 3 groups:group control (group C,n =8) ; group exhausting swim (group E,n =24) and group Inula Britannica (group IB,n =16).The animal model of overtraining-indnced acute myocardial injury was developed by exhausting swim.The animals were forced to swim until they were exhausted.The animals sank to the bottom and no righting reflex or escape response was elicited when they were taken out of water in groups E and IB.In group IB oral Inula Britannica 25 ml/kg was given 24 h and immediately before overtraining.Blood samples were taken from inferior vena cava immediately and at 6,24 h after overtraining in group E and at 6,24 h after overtraining in group IB for determination of serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration (by ELISA).The animals were sacrificed after blood sampling and myocardial specimens were obtained for microscopic examination and determination of caspase-3 and cyt c expression (by immuno-histochemistry).Results Overtraining significantly increased serum cTnI concentration and up-regulated myocardial caspase-3 and cyt c expression in group E as compared with group C.Oral Inula Britannica significantly attenuated overtraining-induced increase in serum cTnI concentration and myocardial caspase-3 and cyt c expression in group IB as compared with group E.Conclusion Inula Britannica can reduce overtraining-induced acute myocardial injury by down-regulating caspase-3 and cyt c expression.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of midazolam on human ether-a-go-go (hERG) K+ channels exogenously expressed in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293) and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODSWhole-cell patch clamp technique was used to record WT, Y652A and F656C hERG K+ current expressed in HEK-293 cells.

RESULTSMidazolam inhibited hERG K+ current in a concentration-dependent manner, the half-maximum block concentrations (IC50) values were (1.31 ± 0.32) µmol/L. The half-activation voltage (V1/2) were (2.32 ± 0.38) mV for the control and (-1.96 ± 0.83) mV for 1.0 µmol/L midazolam. The half-inactivation voltage (V1/2) was slightly shifted towards negative voltages from (-49.25 ± 0.69) mV in control to (-57.53 ± 0.53) mV after 1.0 µmol/L midazolam (P < 0.05). Mutations in drug-binding sites (Y652A or F656C) of the hERG channel significantly attenuated the hERG current blockade by midazolam.

CONCLUSIONMidazolam can block hERG K+ channel and cause the speed of inactivation faster. Mutations in the drug-binding sites (Y652 or F656) of the hERG channel were found to attenuate hERG current blockage by midazolam.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Ether-A-Go-Go Potassium Channels ; drug effects ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Midazolam ; pharmacology ; Mutation ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Potassium Channel Blockers ; pharmacology

According to the theory of in vitro radioassay, using TSHAb as binder and 125I-staphylococcal protein A (125I-SPA) as tracer agent, a new method for detecting the abnormal immunoglobulin (aIgG) in the sera of patients with Graves disease (GD) was reported. In the initial study of the method, the most appropriate interacting conditions of TSHAb with aIgG were explored and compared with ELISA using ganglioside (GLS) as a binder. The relationship between aIgG and thyroid-stimulating imunoglobulin(TSI) was probed into. The results showed that TSHAb could interact specifically with aIgG in vitro; but it could not interact with IgG from sera of normal subjects, systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE) patients and diabetic patients. With aIgG as an evaluating index, the mean value in 29 normal subjects was 1. 06?0. 17. When the sera of 72 patients with GD in different clinical stages were studied, the aIgG index was positive in 83% of untreated GD patients (n = 24), in 12% of GD patients in clinical remission (n = 25) and in 82% of relapsed GD patients (n = 23). Very significant difference was observed between normal subjets and untreated and relapsed patients with GD (P

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of unilateral pedicle screw fixation in treating thoracolumbar fractures through paraspinal approach.

METHODSFrom January 2006 to January 2009,21 patients with single level thoracolumbar fracture without neurological symptoms were treated with unilateral pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal approach. There were 14 males and 7 females,aged from 21 to 65 years old with a mean of 36.4 years. The duration from injury to operation ranged from 6 h to 5 d with an average of 3 d. According to the classification of Denis fracture, compression fractures happedned in 12 cases and burst fractures happened in 9 cases,including 1 case with T5 fracture, 2 cases with T7 fracture, 2 cases with T10 fracture, 3 cases with T11 fracture, 8 cases with T12 fracture, and 5 cases with L1 fracture. Based on the Flankel grade, all patients were classified as grade E. Anterior vertebral body height ratio, sagittal Cobb angle, condition of internal fixation failure, visual analogue score (VAS) were evaluated.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 12 to 36 months with an average of 20.5 months. No internal fixation failure was found. Anterior vertebral body height ratios at preoperative 3 days after operation and last follow-up were 54.3 +/- 2.8, 92.9 +/- 1.5, 93.8 +/- 1.7, respectively;sagittal Cobb angle at the three timepoints were (27.8 +/- 2.5) degrees, (5.3 +/- 0.8) degrees, (6.3 +/- 1.4) degrees, respectively; the difference was statistical significant (P < 0.05). VAS was (1.2 +/- 0.4) points at last follow-up and had obviously improved (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTreatment of thoracolumbar fractures with unilateral pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal approach is safe with the advantages of micro-trauma and less blood loss,which can not only completely retain the posterior spinal complex structure, reinforce the spinal stability, raise the reductional quality, but also improve the strength of fixation and the distribution of stress force.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; injuries ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

AIMTo study the role of the caudate-putamen (CPu)-hippocampus (HPC)-medial temporal lobe neocortex (MTNC) neural pathway in re-establishment of pathophysiological neural networks related to epileptogenesis.

METHODSExperiments were performed under anaesthesia on 45 SD rats. The right HPC, the right MTNC, bilateral HPC, the right HPC and the right MTNC depth electrographs were recorded with bipolar concentric electrodes. Tetanization (60 Hz, 2 s, 0.4 - 0.6 mA) of the right CPu or of the right HPC trains were used to establish acute rat epilepsy model. These depth electrographs were detected before or after tetani were delivered about 10 times at 10 min intervals.

RESULTSTetanization of the right CPu induced (1) primary afterdischarges and unilateral or bilateral HPC electrographic afterdischarges and kindling effect or inhibition-rebound-kindling effect were induced by repetitive tetani into the right CPu. (2) After injection of scopolamine (0.05 mg/kg i.p.), 3 Hz slow oscillations in HPC electrographs exhibited long-term potentiation followed by repetitive tetani into the right CPu. (3) After administration of scopolamine (i.p.) electrographic oscillations at 3Hz with synaptic modification in bilateral HPC were induced and epileptiform activities in the RHPC were synchronized with those in the RMTNC.

CONCLUSIONPathophysiological neural networks from the Cpu into the HPC might be reestablished by overactivation of the right CPu, in which two hemispheres are involved while temporal lobe epileptogenesis was facilitated.

Animals ; Caudate Nucleus ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Hippocampus ; physiology ; Male ; Neocortex ; physiology ; Neural Pathways ; Putamen ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Temporal Lobe ; physiology

Objective To research the feasibility of the prefabrication of skin flap with frozen allogeneic bone.Methods From November 2010 to July 2011,fifteen miniature pigs were randomly divided into three groups(n =5) according to different implanted positions.Rewarming,deep-frozen allogenic bone was implanted in subcutaneous tissue,subfascial compartment and muscle respectively.Emission Computed Tomography (ECT) was used in the 4th week,the 8th week and the 12th week postoperatively.Angiography and pathological examination was used in the 12th week.Results The difference of the result of ECT was statistically significant betweent the 4th week and the 8th week (P ＜ 0.05),and there was not statistically significant difference betweent the 12th week and the 8th week (P ＞ 0.05).Angiography showed that all allogeneic bone was vascularized in each group.Pathological examination showed that the vascularization and the inducing osteogenesis of the allogeneic bone which was implanted in the subfascial compartment or muscle was better than that in the subcutaneous tissue.Conclusion The deep-frozen allogenic bone can be used for the prefabrication of the bone-skin flap.

Objective To study the effects of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B)decoy oligodeoxynucleotide(ODN)on the preeclamptic umbilical serum induced expression of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA and tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?)in cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMC).Methods Primary cultured HUASMC of normal pregnancy were divided into four groups: group A(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of normal pregnancy);group B(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group C(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B cis decoy ODN 48 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group D(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B scramble ODN 24 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia).NF-?B cis decoy ODN and NF-?B scramble ODN were transfected with cationic lipofectamine to the latter two groups,respectively.The proliferation of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and the apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA were detected by RT-PCR,the expression levels of TNF-? were detected by western blot.Results(1)The proliferation of group B(0.19?0.02)and group D(0.18?0.03)was significantly increased as compared with those of group A(0.11?0.02)and group C(0.14?20.02)(P0.05).(5)The expression of TNF-? of group B(0.74?0.11),group C(0.36?0.09)and group D(0.79?0.12)were significantly higher than that of group A(0.15?0.03)(P0.05).Conclusions NF-?B cis decoy ODN could down-regulate the proliferation,as well as the expression levels of precollagen and TNF-? of HUASMC induced by umbilical serum of preeclampsia.NF-?B may play an important role in the pathogenesis of placental artery abnormalities in preeclampsia.

Objectives To evaluate the prognostic value of the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score in patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods A total of 334 consecutive patients with SAP who underwent first PCI following multi-slice computer tomography (MSCT) were enrolled from our institution between January 2007 and June 2012. The CAC score was calculated according to the standard Agatston calcium scoring algorithm. Complex PCI was defined as use of high pressure bal-loon, kissing balloon and/or rotablator. Procedure-related complications included dissection, occlusion, perforation, no/slow flow and emer-gency coronary artery bypass grafting. Main adverse cardiac events (MACE) were defined as a combined end point of death, non-fatal myo-cardial infarction, target lesion revascularization and rehospitalization for cardiac ischemic events. Results Patients with a CAC score>300 (n=145) had significantly higher PCI complexity (13.1%vs. 5.8%, P=0.017) and rate of procedure-related complications (17.2%vs. 7.4%, P=0.005) than patients with a CAC score≤300 (n=189). After a median follow-up of 22.5 months (4-72 months), patients with a CAC score≤300 differ greatly than those patients with CAC score>300 in cumulative non-events survival rates (88.9 vs. 79.0%, Log rank 4.577, P=0.032). After adjusted for other factors, the risk of MACE was significantly higher [hazard ratio (HR):4.3, 95%confidence inter-val (95%CI):2.4-8.2, P=0.038] in patients with a CAC score>300 compared to patients with a lower CAC score. Conclusions The CAC score is an independent predictor for MACE in SAP patients who underwent PCI and indicates complexity of PCI and proce-dure-related complications.

Abstract: Objective　To investigate whether the complement system of COVID-19 is affected by vaccination, and also to explore the relationship between complement and length of stay in hospital, with a view to providing input for clinical diagnosis and the management of COVID-19 patients. Methods　The patients admitted from November 1st to November 30th, 2021 in the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were selected as subjects. According to the time of vaccination, the patients were divided into two groups as vaccinated within half a year and over half a year. Then C3, C4, IgG, IgM, IgA, COVID-19 IgG and IgM, neutral granulocyte and lymphocyte count were detected and all patients' hospitalized days were recorded. With their hospitalization days of 14 d as a threshold, the patients were divided into two groups, and the above indicators were compared. Results　C3 concentration was (0.86±0.157) g/L in patients with vaccination within six months, which is significantly lower than (0.96±0.172) g/L in those over six months (P<0.05), but as for C4, IgG, IgM, IgA, COVID-19 IgG and IgM, neutral granulocyte and lymphocyte counts, there were no significant difference between two groups; as for the patients within 14 days of hospitalization, C3 and C4 concentrations were lower than those for more than 14 days, but the COVID-19 antibody IgG and IgM, lymphocyte counts were higher (all P<0.05). Conclusion　Vaccination within half a year can make the body's immune function and complement system to identify viruses earlier, more beneficial to remove viruses, but this effect is weakened after half a year; when admission, C3, C4, COVID-19 IgG level and lymphocyte counts can be used to predict hospitalization time in COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and complications of primary and secondary placements of motility coupling post (MCP) in the unwrapped porous polyethylene orbital implant (PPOI) following enucleation.

METHODSWe investigated 198 patients who received PPOI implantation following the standard enucleation procedure in the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, from 2002 to 2004. These patients were subgrouped into PPOI-only patients (112 cases, received PPOI following enucleation), primary MCP patients (46 cases, received primary placement of MCP during PPOI operation), and secondary MCP patients (40 cases, received secondary placement of MCP 6 months after the initial surgery). Effects and complications among these three groups were compared.

RESULTSThe PPOI-only patients took shorter treatment course when compared with other two MCP groups (P<0.001), without significant difference noted between the two MCP groups. However, the two MCP groups had better prosthetic motility than PPOI-only group (P<0.001), without significant difference between the two MCP groups. In the early stage, 2 eyes in the PPOI-only group and 1 eye in the primary MCP group had PPOI infection. In PPOI-only group, 3 (2.68%) eyes had PPOI exposure, which occurred after fitting the prostheses; 4 eyes (8.70%) in primary MCP group and 1 eye (2.50%) in secondary MCP had PPOI exposure, which occurred before fitting the prostheses. After prosthesis was fit successfully, the excessive discharge and granuloma were 33.9% and 1.79% in PPOI group-only, 53.3% and 8.9% in primary MCP group, and 52.5% and 7.5% in secondary MCP group, respectively.

CONCLUSIONBoth primary and secondary placements of MCP into the PPOI following enucleation can help patients to obtain desirable prosthetic motility, but may be associated with more complications. The primary placement of MCP with skilled operation in selected patients is more recommendable than secondary placement.

Adult ; Biocompatible Materials ; Eye, Artificial ; adverse effects ; Female ; Granuloma ; etiology ; Humans ; Infection ; etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Movement ; Orbital Implants ; adverse effects ; Polyethylene ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology