Objective The main objective of this study is to explore the effect of liver function on the awake BIS value.Methods According to the Child-Pugh classification,65 patients were divid-ed into three groups.Group A (n=27):patients with normal liver function;group B (n=21):pa-tients with Child-Pugh A;group C (n=1 7):patients with Child-Pugh B-C.The awake BIS value at rest was measured.Results Total bilirubin (TBIL),direct bilirubin (DBIL),indirect bilirubin (IBIL),alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),albumin (ALB)of group B and C were significantly poorer than group A (P <0.05 or P <0.01).The coagulation func-tion of group C was poorer than group A and B (P <0.01).Compared with group A (96.2 ± 1.7) and group B (95.6±0.8),the awake BIS value of group C (94.1±3.0)was significantly reduced (P<0.01).The awake BIS value was negatively correlated with the TBIL value (r = - 0.26,P =0.039).Conclusion The awake BIS value in end-stage liver disease patients was significantly lower than that in patients with normal liver function and mild liver dysfunction.The awake BIS value may be related with the amount of total bilirubin in the blood.

Objective To investigate therapeutic effects of phlorizin on the early stage of diabetic retinopathy(DR)in diabetic db/db mice.Methods The 24 db/db male mice were divided into 3 groups of phlorizin-treated diabetic group(20mg/kg of phlorizin by intragastric gavage)(DMT,n =8),diabetic group(normal saline solution by intragastric gavage)(DM,n=8),with C57BLKS/J db/ m mice as the control group(CC,n=8)for ten weeks.After ten weeks,all mice were sacrificed and the retina was isolated.The specimen was embedded in paraffin wax and sliced.The sections were dyed with Sudan red and observed for retinal morphological change.Meanwhile,the expressions of GSK-3β and phospho-GSK-3β in retinas were determined by western blot.Results During the study,the CC group showed good condition.The DM group featured with polydipsia,polyphagia and a rapid increase of body weight.Phlorizin-treated diabetic mice displayed much better than the DM group.Compared with CC group,DM group showed cells proliferation in capillary endothelia and obvious thickening in basement membrane.After administration of phlorizin,the vascular lesion of central regions was remarkably improved.The expression level of phospho-GSK-3β protein was lower in DM group than in control group(76.2±15.8 vs.255.4 ± 10.7,t =16.30,P＜0.01)and was higher in Phlorizin-treated DM group(188.5±18.4)than in DM group(76.2± 15.8,t=8.05,P＜0.01).Conclusions Phlorizin decreases phospho-GSK-3β3expression in retina in db/db diabetic mice and suppresses the GSK-3βactivity,which leads to the protection of DR.

Objective This study was designed to determine the effect of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4(TRPV4)on angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ)-induced renal injury in TRPV4-null mutant(TRPV4 -/-)mice. Methods The mice were divided into sham group and Ang Ⅱ-treated group. Ang Ⅱ was infused systemically into wild type(WT)and TRPV4 -/- mice via a miniosmotic pump for 4 weeks, and the sham mice were given with normal saline. Systolic blood pressure,urinary excretion of albumin and 8-isoprostane, serum creatinine, and the pathological changes in the kidney tissues were assayed after the 4-week treatment. Results Compared with corresponding sham mice,Ang Ⅱ infusion led to enhanced systolic blood pressure,increased urinary excretion of albumin and 8-isoprostane,increased serum creatinine(P< 0.05),and enhanced glomerulosclerosis degree and renal tubulointerstitial injury index(P< 0.05)in the WT and TRPV4 -/- mice. The result were associated with enhanced collagen levels in the kidney(P< 0.05). All of them were attenuated by the deletion of TRPV4 in the absence of alteration in blood pressure(P< 0.05). Conclusions Deletion of TRPV4 could alleviate renal injury during Ang Ⅱ-induced hypertension, suggesting that TRPV4 may contribute to the pathophysiology of angiotensin Ⅱ-induced renal injury.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features of a Chinese pedigree affected with tuberculosis sclerosis and explore its molecular pathogenesis. METHODS: Clinical data of the proband and members of his pedigree were collected. Whole exome sequencing was carried out to detect variants of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes. Candidate variants was verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: The proband and his mother, who also had mild features of tuberous sclerosis, were found to harbor a novel heterozygous c.4183C>T (p.Q1395X) variant of the TSC2 gene, which was absent in the 4 healthy relatives. Bioinformatic analysis suggested the variant to be likely pathogenic. CONCLUSION The heterozygous c.4183C>T (p.Q1395X) variant of the TSC2 gene probably underlay the disease in this pedigree. Above finding has expanded the spectrum of TSC2 gene variants. The more severe symptoms in the proband may be attributed to phenotypic heterogeneity of this disease.
China ; Humans ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Tuberous Sclerosis/genetics* ; Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein/genetics*

Drug resistance presents one of the major causes for the failure of cancer chemotherapy. Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), a population of self-renewal cells with high tumorigenicity and innate chemoresistance, can survive conventional chemotherapy and generate increased resistance. Here, we develop a lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle for co-delivery and cell-distinct release of the differentiation-inducing agent, all-trans retinoic acid and the chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin to overcome the CSC-associated chemoresistance. The hybrid nanoparticles achieve differential release of the combined drugs in the CSCs and bulk tumor cells by responding to their specific intracellular signal variation. In the hypoxic CSCs, ATRA is released to induce differentiation of the CSCs, and in the differentiating CSCs with decreased chemoresistance, DOX is released upon elevation of reactive oxygen species to cause subsequent cell death. In the bulk tumor cells, the drugs are released synchronously upon the hypoxic and oxidative conditions to exert potent anticancer effect. This cell-distinct drug release enhances the synergistic therapeutic efficacy of ATRA and DOX with different anticancer mechanism. We show that treatment with the hybrid nanoparticle efficiently inhibit the tumor growth and metastasis of the CSC-enriched triple negative breast cancer in the mouse models.

Objective: To carry out the 4^th round of third-party evaluation on the implementation and effect of the 1^st year of the 2^nd Phase National Healthcare Improvement Initiative(abbreviated as Initiative)since 2015. Methods: The 4^th round of the evaluation survey adopted the same methods, organization and execution, and technical roadmap as the former three rounds of evaluations. Results: The 4^th round of evaluation was carried out from 18 March to 9 April, 2019 at 185 public hospitals in 31 provinces(autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government)and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.Facility survey, health professional survey and patient survey were conducted at each of the sample health facilities. A total of 120 782 valid questionnaires were collected from 144 non-psychiatric health facilities, 16 246 valid questionnaires were obtained from 41 psychiatric health facilities, and 252 cases of outstanding departments/hospitals in healthcare improvement were also collected. The average overall scoring of the 12 dimensions to assess Initiative implementation at 144 non-psychiatric health facilities was 84.4%. The overall outpatient satisfaction scoring was 91.1%, 96.7%for the inpatients. The overall inpatient satisfaction(family members inclusive) at 41 psychiatric health facilities was 93%. Areas remaining to be improved include day-surgery, telemedicine and medical social work. Compared with technical services, non-technical care should be further strengthened. The compensation, workload and work environment of the healthcare providers are still to be improved. Conclusions The implementation of the Initiative by health facilities has been greatly improved. The percentage of health facilities and patients who had positive perceptions of improved doctor-patient relationship has been increasing. Patient care experiences at public hospitals have been generally improved, and the implementation of promoting traditional Chinese Medicine practices also made progress. However, work satisfaction of healthcare providers was found to be rather low, compared to the high level of patient satisfaction.