Objective: To observe the level of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus in young and senile rats. Methods: POMC mRNA was determined with in situ hybridization, the hybridization signals and areas of POMC mRNA-positive cells were measured with computer image analysis system. Results: Compared with young rats, average gray values of POMC mRNA-positive neurons in the hypothalalmic arcuate nucleus and near region in the senile rats decreased, but the numbers of POMC mRNA-positive neurons did not change significantly. Conclusion: The decrease of POMC mRNA expression level in individual neurons in hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of senile rats is one of the causes that decrease the expression of peptides-derived from POMC gene.

"Common Drive" is presented recently as a new concept used to explore the control mechanism of neuromuscular system. In this paper, the average firing rate (FR) of the motor unit action potential (MUAP) is estimated by means of decomposition technique for needle electromyographic (NEMG) signals obtained from elbow joint agonist-antagonist muscle pair with constant contraction force. The change tendency and correlation of the average FR with time are studied. The results of the experiment show that, no matter flexion or extension of the elbow joint, the average FR of both motor units(MUs) in the couple of agonist and antagonist descends with time, and the variations of their amplitude and fluctuation are highly correlated. This indicates that when two antagonist muscles are activated simultaneously to stiffen a joint, the nervous system views them as one unit and controls them in similar fashion. It also confirms the existence of "Common Drive" phenomenon at joint level.
Action Potentials ; physiology ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Motor Neurons ; physiology ; Muscle Contraction ; physiology ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Objective To study the role of Anopheles anthropophagus in malaria transmission and transmission threshold so as to provide basis for vector surveillance and malaria control strategy. Methods Parasitological and entomological methods were used in the investigation at 5 villages of Xinyang City, Henan Province. Results From July to August, 1999, 74 febrile cases (10\^9% of the total population) were examined. Among them 50 were infected, the incidence in the population of surveyed spots was 7\^4%. Active detection was made in another randomly selected two villages and found that the parasite rate in the inhabitants was 2\^0%, and the positive rate of IFA was 8\^4%. Only vivax malaria was detected. An.anthropophagus and An.sinensis were collected, with An.anthropophagus as the predominant one in human dwellings. The estimated man\|biting rate and the human blood index were 4\^9388 and 0\^7858 respectively. The vectorial capacity of An. anthropophagus was 5\^5296. The critical man\|biting rate of An.anthropophagus was 0\^2407 as calculated by the formula (ma=-rlnP/abP\+n) according to Macdonald′s model.The local man\|biting rate was 20 times higher than that of the critical man\|biting rate. Conclusion The results demonstrated that An.anthropophagus is the principal vector in malaria transmission in the area. The findings imply that the critical man\|biting rate is of practicable importance in vector surveillance.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is the most common neurological complication of sepsis, with an incidence of up to 70% in sepsis, and contributes to the increased mortality and disability in sepsis. To date, the exact pathogenesis of SAE is not clear. Most of current researches indicated that blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, active neuroinflammation, glial cell over activation as well as cerebral microcirculation dysfunction contributed to the pathophysiology of SAE. BBB, as a complex cellular structure between the central nervous system and the peripheral system, strictly controls the entrance and discharge of substances and plays an important role in maintaining the balance between biochemical system and immune system of central system. During the progress of sepsis, inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species resulting from peripheral system directly or indirectly resulted in the damage to the integrity and structure of BBB, which helped above species easily enter into the central system. Above these damages caused glial cell activation (microglia and astrocyte), the imbalance of neurotransmitters, mitochondrial dysfunction and neural apoptosis, which also reversely contributed to the damage to the integrity and permeability of BBB via decreasing the expression of tight junctional protein between cells. Therefore, this review focuses on the structural and functional changes of BBB in SAE, and how these changes lead to the development of SAE, in order to seek a BBB-targeted therapy for SAE.

Objective To observe the effect of tumor necrosis factor-α( TNF-α) on islet cell apoptosis and TXNIP expression.Methods INS-1 cells were cultured in vitro, treating with TNF-α(0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mg/L).We tested the effect of TNF-αon cell viability by CCK-8.INS-1 cells were treated with TNF-α( 5 mg/L, 24 h) for the proper concentration and incubation time; mRNA expression of TXNIP and ChREBP were measured by real-time PCR;in addition, protein levels of TXNIP , ChREBP and FOXO1 were analyzed by Western blot .Results TNF-αdecreased the survival rate of INS-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner ( P<0.05 ) , and induced apoptosis;protein and mRNA expression of TXNIP and ChREBP were significantly higher than that in control group ( P<0.05 );while the expression of protein level of FOXO 1 was down-regulated .Conclusions TNF-αinduces apoptosis in INS-1 cells and aggravates the cells damage .

0.05).Moreover,the growth curves of the two kinds of cells were similar.Con- clusions The cell growth properties of cultured transplanted rabbit SMG are similar to that of normal SMG,the cytobiological charac- teristic of transplanted autologous free rabbit SMG are not changed evidently.

The mutagenic effects of microwave and chromium trioxide (CrO(3)) on Vicia faba root tip were studied. Micronucleus assay and chromosomal aberration assay were used to determine the mitotic index, the micronucleus frequency and chromosomal aberration frequency of Vicia faba root tip cells induced by microwave and CrO(3). The results showed that the micronucleus frequency decreased, and that the mitotic index and chromosomal aberration frequency showed linear dose responses to CrO(3), in treatment of microwave for 5 s. In microwave of 25 s, the mitotic index decreased, the micronucleus frequency and chromosomal aberration frequency increased with increase of CrO(3) concentration. We concluded that microwave and CrO(3) had antagonistic effect on the mitotic index of Vicia faba root tip cells, but had synergetic effect on micronucleus frequency and chromosomal aberration frequency of Vicia faba root tip cells.
Cells, Cultured ; Chromium Compounds ; toxicity ; Chromosome Aberrations ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Chromosomes, Plant ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Micronucleus Tests ; Microwaves ; adverse effects ; Plant Roots ; drug effects ; genetics ; radiation effects ; Vicia faba ; drug effects ; genetics ; radiation effects

Biomarkers ; analysis ; Child ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; Wilms Tumor ; metabolism

There is still a lack of effective treatment for radioactive iodine-refractory DTC(RAIR DTC),anaplastic thyroid cancer(ATC)and medullary thyroid cancer(MTC).Once recurrence and metastasis occur,the patient's life is seriously threatened. With the vigorous development of molecular biology of thyroid cancer,many effective molecular targets have been found. Based on one or more targets,molecular targeted drugs underwent clinical trials for the treatment of thyroid cancer,showing good development and application prospects. Sorafenib,vandetanib,lenvatinib and cabozantinib have been approved by FDA for the treatment of advanced thyroid carcinoma. Other molecular targeting inhibitors,such as axitinib and selumetinib,have passed phaseⅡ/Ⅲ clinical trials. The emergence of the drugs provides new choices for the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer and advanced MTC. The drugs have many advantages,such as strong specificity,less side effects and good curative effect,having broad prospects in the treatment of thyroid cancer.

Objective To compare the influence of sevoflurane inhalation sedation and propofol intravenous sedation on duration of endotracheal intubation as well as the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and total length of hospital stay in postoperative critical patients.Methods Six databases including CNKI,Wanfang data,PubMed,Embase,Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the influence of sevoflurane inhalation sedation or propofol intravenous sedation on the sedation time,the duration of endotracheal intubation,the length of ICU stay,the total length of hospital stay and the adverse effects rate in postoperative critical patients from the time of database establishment to July 2018.At the same time,the reference materials of included literature were retrieved manually.All literatures were screened by three independent reviewers,and the data extraction and quality evaluation of the included studies were conducted.Meta-analysis was used for RCT that met the quality standards.Results A total of 7 RCT studies were enrolled involving 537 patients who were all transferred into ICU after surgery with trachea cannula.Among the patients,272 received sevoflurane sedation while the other 265 received propofol sedation.All the included studies were well designed and of high quality.The results of Meta-analysis showed that compared with propofol sedation,sevoflurane sedation could significantly shorten the duration of endotracheal intubation [standardized mean difference (SMD) =-0.60,95％ confidence interval (95％CI) =-0.88 to-0.31,P ＜ 0.000 1]and the total length of hospital stay (SMD =-0.36,95％CI =-0.61 to-0.12,P =0.003),and lower the cardiac troponin T (cTnT) within 12-24 hours after ICU admission (SMD =-0.61,95％CI =-0.85 to-0.36,P ＜ 0.000 01).There was no significant difference in the sedation time (SMD =-0.07,95％CI =-0.29 to 0.15,P =0.52),the length of ICU stay (SMD =-0.19,95％CI =-0.39 to 0.01,P =0.06),the incidence of nausea and vomiting [odds ratio (OR) =1.19,95％CI =0.61 to 2.32,P =0.61] or incidence of delirium (OR =0.80,95％CI =0.34 to 1.90,P =0.62) between sevoflurane group and propofol group.Conclusions Sevoflurane inhalation sedation may lead to shorter duration of endotracheal intubation and total length of hospital stay,and had better protection for myocardium as compared with propofol intravenous sedation.The above conclusions needed further study to confirm,due to the lack of literature enrolled in this Meta-analysis.