Curcumin can suppress the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and blocking Notch signaling pathway,and can inhibit the invasiveness of esophageal cancer cells by inhibiting the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway and suppressing the formation of tumor blood vessels and inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP).Curcumin can also regulate apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells by changing the expression and localization of nucleophosmin.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the situation of pharmacoeconomic researches about lipid-lowering drugs in China, and to seek the regimen with good cost-effectiveness in order to provide reference for rational drug use in the clinic. METHODS:Retrieved from CNKI and Wanfang database,pharmacoeconomic literatures about lipid-lowering drugs,published in domestic jour-nals during 2011-2015,were included to discuss the problems of pharmacoeconomic researches about lipid-lowering drugs and put forward related suggestions. RESULTS:Rosuvastatin and other medicines showed good cost-effectiveness,while there were many problems of domestic published pharmacoeconomic researches about lipid-lowering drugs,such as different research methods,dif-ferent treatment courses,different methods of cost calculation,single effect index and absence of ADR. On the whole,the research-es were low in quality,which led the difficulty of accurately obtaining the drugs with best cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS:In the future,related researches should confirm research duration and health output index,effect index and evaluation method accord-ing to disease types and research objectives;enhance the unity of research and design methods;pay attention to cost discount;in addition,strengthen pharmacoeconomic researches about lipid-lowering TCM and compare it with chemical drugs.

Objective To study the application value of chest low-dose spiral CT for the screening of lung cancer in physical examinees . Methods The data of physical examinees that underwent chest low-dose CT for screening of lung cancer from January 2013 to January 2016 was analyzed, the index included the correlation between age and sex with the detection rate of lung nodules and the detection rate of lung cancer, pathological types and clinical stages of lung cancer and so on. Results 9762 physical examinees underwent chest low-dose spiral CT, the detection rates of pulmonary nodules and lung cancer were 58.16%(5678/9762) and 0.34 % (33/9762) respectively. The detection rate of lung cancer increased with the age, the highest detection rate [1.13 % (8/709)] of lung cancer was found in 80 years old and above, the rate in 60-69 years old group was 0.36%(6/1641). In 33 cases of lung cancer, there were 22 cases in stage Ⅰ, 5 cases in stageⅢ, and 6 cases in stage Ⅳ. Early diagnosis rate was 66.67 % (22/33). Compared with the conventional thoracic spiral CT, the low-dose chest CT had loner radiation dose (P<0.05), and the image can meet the diagnostic requirement. Conclusions Chest low-dose spiral CT has great advantages in the detection of pulmonary nodules and early stage lung cancer. The application of low-dose CT in physical examinees, especially in high-risk groups of lung cancer, can improve the positive rate of lung cancer screening.

Objective To measure the present situation of medical students' learning adaptability and find the influencing factors in order to revise Learning Adaptability Scale for medical students.Methods A stratified sampling method was used to collect 1 180 medical students from Harbin Medical University.Using the internal consistency reliability test,the reliability of the revised student learning adaptability scale was verified.Five common factors were extracted by the exploratory factor analysis of the principal analysis method,and Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of medical student learning adaptability.Results The revised Student Learning Adaptability Scale (Cronbach's Alpha=0.914) consists of 27 measurement items.It includes five dimensions,namely self-directed learning,information utilization,environment choice,stresses response and goal orientation.The results showed that the adaptability of medical students was moderate (3.28 ± 0.52),and the influencing factors included job position (OR =1.496,95％ CI=1.114-2.009),academic achievement (OR =1.638,95 ％ CI=1.386-1.936),satisfaction with learning (OR=2.160,95％CI=1.745-2.673),professional satisfaction (OR=1.369,95％CI=1.092-1.718),professional interest (OR =1.426,95％ CI=1.186-1.715) and employment prospects (OR =1.526,95％ CI=1.251-1.862).Conclusion The reliability and validity of the Student Learning Adaptability Scale is appropriate.Medical students' learning adaptability is influenced by many factors.

OBJECTIVETo identify the enterovirus from stool samples of patients with hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) in Guangzhou from 2010 to 2012 and to perform phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene sequences of coxsackievirus A4 and coxsackievirus A10.

METHODSA total of 5 484 samples of suspected cases of HFMD which Guangzhou Center for Disease Control received from 2010 to 2012 were collected.Virus RNA was tested by nested RT-PCR method as human enterovirus 71, coxsackievirus A16, coxsackievirus A4, coxsackievirus A10 and other enteroviruses positive, and 4 111 samples were positive. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by partial VP1 gene sequences of coxsackievirus A4 and coxsackievirus A10 to perform phylogenetic analysis.

RESULTSIn 4 111 enterovirus-positive samples, the positive rate of EV71, CoxA16, CoxA10 and CoxA4 was 35.1% (1 443/4 111) , 30.7% (1 261/4 111) , 2.0% (82/4 111),0.8% (31/4 111) respectively. Different enterovirus-positive rate was statistically significant (χ(2) = 148.34, P < 0.05) .Incidences of coxsackievirus A4 positive was highest in 3-year old children as 1.3% (7/534) , and that of coxsackievirus A10 positive was highest in 0-year old children as 3.7% (34/914) . The highest positive rate of diagnosed coxsackievirus A4 positive cases was admitted in April(2.6%, 12/460) , and the highest positive rate of diagnosed coxsackievirus A10 positive cases was admitted in August 4.3% (12/278). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that all the CoxA4 stains were divided into subtype A and subtype B, and the CoxA10 stains were divided into subtypes A, subtype B and subtype C. The VP1 gene nucleotide sequences of CoxA4 and CoxA10 this study measured both belonged to subtype A.

CONCLUSIONSThe VP1 gene nucleotide sequences of CoxA4 and CoxA10 in Guangzhou from 2010 to 2012 both belonged to subtype A.

Child ; China ; epidemiology ; Enterovirus A, Human ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease ; Humans ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Viral

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic value of copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) in the genetic etiology of fetuses with nasal bone dysplasia (NBD). METHODS: A total of 217 fetuses discovered with NBD from December 2017 to December 2020 were divided into the isolated NBD group and NBD combined with other anomalies group, for which copy number variations (CNVs) were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 40 fetal abnormalities were detected in 217 cases, with an overall abnormal rate of 18.4%. These included 31 cases with aneuploidies (14.3%, 31/217) and 9 cases with genomic CNVs (4.1%, 9/217). Five cases of trisomy 21 (3.5%, 5/144) and two CNVs cases with unknown clinical significance (1.4%, 2/144) were detected in the isolated group. As for the combined NBD group, 26 aneuploidies (35.6%, 26/73), including 19 cases with trisomy 21, 6 cases with trisomy 18, 1 case with trisomy 13, 5 cases with pathogenic CNVs (6.8%, 5/73), and 2 cases with CNVs of unknown clinical significance (2.7%, 2/73) were detected. A significant difference was detected between the two groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The detection rate of CNV-seq is high for chromosomal aneuploidies and pathogenic CNVs in fetuses with NBD, particularly in those combined with other ultrasonic abnormalities.
Aneuploidy ; Bone Diseases, Developmental ; Chromosome Aberrations ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Down Syndrome/genetics* ; Female ; Fetus/abnormalities* ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Trisomy

Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, and Th17 cells are key factors in the pathogenesis of human inflammatory conditions, such as RA. Catalpol (CAT), a component in Rehmanniae Radix (RR), has been found to regulate human immunity. However, the effects of CAT on Th17 cell differentiation and improvement of RA are not clear. Materials and Methods: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice were constructed to detect the effects of CAT on arthritis and Th17 cells. The effect of CAT on Th17 differentiation was evaluated with let-7g-5p transfection experiments. Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Th17 cells after CAT treatment. Levels of interleukin-17 and RORγt were assessed by qRT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: We found that the proportion of Th17 cells was negatively associated with let-7g-5p expression in CIA mice. In in vitro experiments, CAT suppressed traditional differentiation of Th17 cells. Simultaneously, CAT significantly decreased Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation. Our results demonstrated that CAT inhibited Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p and that the suppressive effect of CAT on traditional differentiation of Th17 cells is not related with let-7-5p. Conclusion Our data indicate that CAT may be a potential modulator of Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p to reduce the expression of STAT3. These results provide new directions for research into RA treatment.

Patch clamp is a technique that can measure weak current in the level of picoampere (pA). It has been widely used for cellular electrophysiological recording in fundamental medical researches, such as membrane potential and ion channel currents recording, etc. In order to obtain accurate measurement results, both the resistance and capacitance of the pipette are required to be compensated. Capacitance compensations are composed of slow and fast capacitance compensation. The slow compensation is determined by the lipid bilayer of cell membrane, and its magnitude usually ranges from a few picofarads (pF) to a few microfarads (μF), depending on the cell size. The fast capacitance is formed by the distributed capacitance of the glass pipette, wires and solution, mostly ranging in a few picofarads. After the pipette sucks the cells in the solution, the positions of the glass pipette and wire have been determined, and only taking once compensation for slow and fast capacitance will meet the recording requirements. However, when the study needs to deal with the temperature characteristics, it is still necessary to make a recognition on the temperature characteristic of the capacitance. We found that the time constant of fast capacitance discharge changed with increasing temperature of bath solution when we studied the photothermal effect on cell membrane by patch clamp. Based on this phenomenon, we proposed an equivalent circuit to calculate the temperature-dependent parameters. Experimental results showed that the fast capacitance increased in a positive rate of 0.04 pF/℃, while the pipette resistance decreased. The fine data analysis demonstrated that the temperature rises of bath solution determined the kinetics of the fast capacitance mainly by changing the inner solution resistance of the glass pipette. This result will provide a good reference for the fine temperature characteristic study related to cellular electrophysiology based on patch clamp technique.
Cell Membrane ; Electric Capacitance ; Membrane Potentials ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Temperature

Objective:To investigate the serotype distribution, drug resistance and the virulence gene profiles of clinical isolates of Salmonella in Zhejiang Province. Methods:A retrospective study of 463 clinical isolates of Salmonella in nine regions of Zhejiang Province from 2010 to 2017 was conducted. Their serotypes were detected using the Kauffmann-White scheme based on serological detection. Antibiotics susceptibility tests were carried out using K-B disk diffusion method. Eleven virulence genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction. Results:A total of 35 serotypes were identified among the 463 strains of Salmonella. The dominant serotypes were Salmonella typhimurium (41.90%(194/463)) and Salmonella enteritis (22.25%(103/463)). The resistance rate of Salmonella to ampicillin was the highest (66.52%(308/463)), followed by ampicillin/sulbactam (46.87%(217/463)), while low resistance rate to piperacillin/tazobactam was observed (3.24%(15/463)). All strains were sensitive to imipenem and meropenem. Finally, 188 strains (40.60%) of multi-drug resistance were found. The virulence genes hilA, ssrB, marT, siiD, sopB and pagN were found in all Salmonella strains. The virulence gene vexA was found only in Salmonella typhi and Salmonella Dublin; virulence gene icmF was mainly found in Salmonella enteritis. The virulence plasmid gene spvB and pefA were mainly found in Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium and invariably appeared in pairs. The virulence gene cdtB was mainly found in Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi A. Conclusions:Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritis are the main clinically isolated Salmonella strains in Zhejiang Province. The situation of multi-drug resistance is severe and a variety of virulence genes are highly detected.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a fatal heart disease characterized by fibroadipocytic replacement of cardiac myocytes, accounts for 20% of sudden cardiac death and lacks effective treatment. It is often caused by mutations in desmosome proteins, with Desmoglein-2 (DSG2) mutations as a common etiology. However, the mechanism underlying the accumulation of fibrofatty in ACM remains unknown, which impedes the development of curative treatment. Here we investigated the fat accumulation and the underlying mechanism in a mouse model of ACM induced by cardiac-specific knockout of Dsg2 (CS-Dsg2 ^-/-). Heart failure and cardiac lipid accumulation were observed in CS-Dsg2 ^-/- mice. We demonstrated that these phenotypes were caused by decline of fatty acid (FA) β-oxidation resulted from impaired mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Rapamycin worsened while overexpression of mTOR and 4EBP1 rescued the FA β-oxidation pathway in CS-Dsg2 ^-/- mice. Reactivation of PPARα by fenofibrate or AAV9-Pparα significantly alleviated the lipid accumulation and restored cardiac function. Our results suggest that impaired mTOR-4EBP1-PPARα-dependent FA β-oxidation contributes to myocardial lipid accumulation in ACM and PPARα may be a potential target for curative treatment of ACM.