Aim: To study the effect of diabetes mellitus and insulin treatment on rat penile nitric oxide synthase content.Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided at random into two groups: the Control ( n = 8) and the Diabetic ( n =17). Diabetes mellitus was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The diabetic animals were then ran domly divided into two subgroups: diabetic rats without insulin treatment ( n = 7) and diabetic rats with insulin treat ment ( n = 10). The neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the penile corpus cavemosum were assayed by immrmo histochemical staining with specific antibody to nNOS and the nNOS-positive nerve fibers were counted semiquantita tively under a high power microscope. Results: The nNOS- positive nerve fibres in diabetic rats with treatment was higher than that in diabetic rats without treatment ( P ＜ 0.05) and lower than that in the controls ( P ＜ 0.01 ). The nNOS-positive nerve fibres in diabetic rat without treatment were also lower than that in the controls ( P ＜ 0.01). Con clusion: In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, the nNOS content in the penile corpus cavernosum was significantly decre~ed. Insulin treatment at the dose level employed partially restores the penile nNOS content in these rats.

Abstract: Objective　To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of 151 cases of melioidosis and the drug resistance of Burkholderia pseudomallei (BP), in order to provide the basis for diagnosis, treatment and reasonable prevention of melioidosis. Methods　A total of 151 inpatients and outpatients from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University from January 1, 2013 to August 31, 2022 were collected, and clinical specimens were submitted for examination to isolate and identify BP strains. The clinical data of 151cases of melioidosis and the drug resistance characteristics of pathogenic bacteria were retrospectively analyzed, and using SPSS26.0 software for statistical analysis. Results　Among 151 cases with BP infection, there were 138 males (91.4%) and 13 females (8.6%); the most patients were aged from 45-<60 years old, accounting for 74 cases (49.0%); melioidosis incidence was concentrated in October (19.2%), November (19.2%), August (9.9%) and July (8.6%), and; the number of confirmed cases showed an increasing trend and the time for confirmation was <10 d; Internal medicine system (31.1%), surgery system (26.5%) and intensive care department (20.5%) were the common departments for treating melioidosis; blood (49.0%), sputum (9.9%) and wound secretion (8.6%) were the main clinical specimens for detecting BP; pulmonary infection (68.2%), sepsis (35.1%) and local suppurative infection (23.8%) were the top clinical manifestations in patients with BP infection; the effective rate of treating melioidosis was 74.8%; abnormal liver function was a risk factor for the curative effect of melioidosis (χ2=5.010, P<0.05); the sensitivity rates of BP strains to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SXT), doxycycline (DOX), imipenem(IPM), ceftazidime (CAZ), amoxicillin/clavulanate (AMC) and tetracycline (TCY) were generally more than 90%, with sensitivities of 98.7%, 97.2%, 96.7%, 94.0%, 93.2% and 90.7%, respectively. Conclusions　It can be concluded that misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis of melioidosis is easy to occur, and the understanding of the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors in this area should be strengthened. The sensitivity of BP to commonly used antibiotics has shown a certain downward trend, clinical use should be standardized, and drug resistance monitoring should be strengthened to improve the efficacy of melioidosis treatment.

Objective: To study the effects of glycosaminoglycan from scallop skirt (SS-GAG) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the mechanism of anti-atherosclerosis action of SS-GAG. Methods: U937 cells were incubated with 80mg/L oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) for 48h to establish a macrophage-derived foam cell model. In addition, U937 cells were divided into 6 groups: ①control group; ②ox-LDL group; ③ox-LDL+200mg/L SS-GAG group; ④ox-LDL+400 mg/L SS-GAG group; ⑤ox-LDL+800 mg/L SS-GAG group; ⑥ox-LDL +Heparin 100 mg/L group.After 48h's incubation, the concentration of VEGF in the medium was determined by ELISA. Results: The expression of VEGF in U937 foam cells was obviously higher than that of the control group. After treatment with heparin (100 mg/L) and SS-GAG of different concentrations (200mg/L, 400 mg/L, 800 mg/L), the expression of VEGF decreased obviously, especially in the ox-LDL+800 mg/L SS-GAG group (P＜0.01). Conclusion: The antiatherogenic effect of SS-GAG is probably due to its ability to inhibit VEGF expression.

Animals ; Biofilms ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; metabolism ; Genes, Bacterial ; Yersinia pestis ; genetics ; metabolism

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Papilloma ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Radiography ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the current status of the prenatal care quality and the influencing factors in Hangzhou City. Methods We used sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire and the Chinese version of QPCQ to investigate 383 pregnancy women who were at 36 weeks' gestation or greater by convenient sampling method from September to December in 2016. Results A total of 350 questionnaires were valid. The average age of 350 samples was (29.71±3.67) years old. There were 231 primiparas which accounted for 66.00％. Among them, 196 (56.00％) were satisfied with the prenatal care they received, and 153 (43.70％) think general, and only 1 (0.30％) felt unsatisfied. The score of the Chinese version of QPCQ was 3.61±0.50. The item "My prenatal care professional (s) always answered my questions honestly" had the highest scores of 4.10±0.62, while "My prenatal care professional (s) did things hastily" had the lowest scores of 2.44±0.96 . By multiple linear regression analysis, those people who had more visiting time (β' = 0.21, P<0.01), less waiting time (β' = -0.18, P<0.01) and the cognition of the essentiality of pregnancy school (β' = 0.12, P=0.02) were more likely to give higher regards for the quality of prenatal care. Conclusion Sufficient time scored relative lower in the whole questionnaire. So, hospitals could take efforts to shorten the waiting time by promoting the hospital process optimization, making good use of this period time and other strategies, so as to improve the quality of prenatal care.

Cellular therapy in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a research hotspot in the field of neu-roscience in recent years. Compared with other cells,bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) are one of the most attractive therapeutic cells because BMMNCs can be rapidly isolated from bone marrow,are enriched with stem cells and permit autologous applications. Numerous basic researches showed that BMMNCs trans-plantation can decrease infarct volume and promote neurological outcomes in animal stroke model,indicating BMMNCs transplantation may has therapeutic values in acute ischemic stroke,and the transformation from basic research to clinical applications is on the key phase. In this paper,the progress of BMMNCs transplan-tation is reviewed in acute ischemic stroke on the aspects of BMMNCs component,methods of purification, route of transplantation,therapeutic mechanisms and problems from basic research to clinical application.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the therapeutic effect of spirulina platensis in allergic rhinitis (AR). METHODS: Ovalbumin sensitized white rats used as AR animals were treated with spirulina platensis (SPP). At the end of the treatment, the differences in the behavior science were observed; the changes in the nasal mucosa and mast cell degranulation were studied pathologically; and the levels of serum histamine and total immunoglobulin (Ig) E were determined by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay. RESULTS: The behavior science score of the SPP treatment group was lower than that of the negative control group (P < 0.01 ) ; inflammatory reaction of nasal mucosa in the SPP treatment group were remarkably relieved; the number of nasal mucosa mastocyte and mast cell degranulation in the SPP treatment group were lower than that of the negative control group (P <0.01 ). The levels of serum histamine and total IgE in the SPP treatment group were lower than that of the negative control group (P <0.01 ). It had no significant difference in the positive control group and the SPP treatment group and the blank control group (P > 0.05 ). CONCLUSION Spirulina platensis can prevent and treat AR in rats, which implies the possibility of using spirulina platensis for AR patients in the future.
Animals ; Eukaryota ; Male ; Ovalbumin ; Phytotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; chemically induced ; drug therapy

Objective: To explore whether acupuncture can improve sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment and emotional disorders caused by sleep deprivation, and its association with the attenuation of oxidative stress injury in prefrontal cortex. Methods: Fifty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group (n=10), a model group (n=14), a manual acupuncture (MA) group (n=14), and a sham-MA group (n=14). All the groups were established as sleep deprivation models via the modified multiple platform method, except for the control group. Rats in both the MA group and the sham-MA group received corresponding intervention, respectively. After modeling and intervention, the four groups received three behavioral tests, namely sleep monitoring, by comprehensive lab animal monitoring system (CLAMS), Morris water maze (MWM) test and open-field test (OFT), followed by oxygen free radical level test and Western blot (WB) detection for the expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2. Results: The MA group derived more sleep time within 24 h than either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05). On MWM orientation navigation test day 1, there were no significant differences in escape latency among the control, MA and sham-MA groups (P>0.05), and the escape latency was significantly shorter in these three groups than that in the model group (all P<0.05). On test day 4, the escape latency was markedly shorter in the MA group than that in either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05); meanwhile, the MA group showed significantly better performance compared with these two groups in space probe test (both P<0.05). In OFT, compared with the control group, there was a significant decline in the horizontal movement score in the other three groups (all P<0.05), and the decrease was more significant in the model group and the sham-MA group than that in the MA group (both P<0.05). The superoxide dismutase (SOD) content was markedly higher and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was markedly lower in the MA group than those in the model group and the sham-MA group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group and the sham-MA group, the expression of Bax was significantly lower and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly higher in the MA group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: MA therapy can lengthen the sleep time in sleep-deprived rats and improve learning and memory impairments induced by sleep deprivation, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the enhancement of antioxidant capacity in the prefrontal cortex and the inhibition of hippocampal neuronal apoptosis.

The prevalence of asthma and allergic disease has increased worldwide over the last few decades. Many common environmental factors are associated with this increase. Several theories have been proposed to account for this trend, especially those concerning the impact of environmental toxicants. The development of the immune system, particularly in the prenatal period, has far-reaching consequences for health during early childhood, and throughout adult life. One underlying mechanism for the increased levels of allergic responses, secondary to exposure, appears to be an imbalance in the T-helper function caused by exposure to the toxicants. Exposure to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals can result in dramatic changes in cytokine production, the activity of the immune system, the overall Th1 and Th2 balance, and in mediators of type 1 hypersensitivity mediators, such as IgE. Passive exposure to tobacco smoke is a common risk factor for wheezing and asthma in children. People living in urban areas and close to roads with a high volume of traffic, and high levels of diesel exhaust fumes, have the highest exposure to environmental compounds, and these people are strongly linked with type 1 hypersensitivity disorders and enhanced Th2 responses. These data are consistent with epidemiological research that has consistently detected increased incidences of allergies and asthma in people living in these locations. During recent decades more than 100,000 new chemicals have been used in common consumer products and are released into the everyday environment. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the environmental effects on allergies of indoor and outside exposure.
Adult ; Asthma ; Child ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immune System ; Immunoglobulin E ; Incidence ; Inflammation* ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Sounds ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco ; Vehicle Emissions