ObjectiveTo investigate the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 2B (NR2B) antagonist CP-101.606 in behaviour and expression of related signal proteins in a rat model of levodopa-induced motor complications.MethodsThe hemi-parkinsonian rat model was produced by injecting stereotaxically 6-OHDA to right medial forebrain bundle.Then,rats were intraperitoneally treated with levodopa (50 mg/kg with benserazide 12.5 mg/kg,twice daily) for 22 days.On 23th day,rats received CP-101.606 before levodopa administration.Rotational duration was estimated.After sacrificed,phosphorylated NR2B and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ (CaMKⅡ) and glutamate receptor 1 ( GluR1S831 ) were observed by western blot.ResultsThe results showed that NR2B antagonist CP-101.606 reversed the levodopa-induced shortened rotational duration.Chronic levodopa treatment increased abundance of the phosphorylated NR2B and downstream related signal proteins CaMKⅡ and GluR1S831 to (145.3±6.5)％ and (132.5±5.7)％ and (105.6±6.3)％,respectively.Moreover,CP-101.606 could reduce hyperphosphorylation of NR2B and CaMKⅡ and GluR1 S831 to (102 ± 4.9 )％,(98.4±3.9)％ and (49.5 ± 4.2 )％,respectively.ConclusionsThese results indicate that the enhancement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function mediated by NR2B phosphorylation contribute to development of motor complications,through a mechanism that involved the downstream signal mediators of NMDA receptor overactivation.Pharmaceuticals which act to inhibit NR2B may be useful in the treatment of the motor complications in parkinsonian patients.

OBJECTlVE To estabIish a simpIe,sensitive and quick method for determination of B7011 in rat pIasma. METHODS The method of protein precipitation with methanoI was used for pre-treatment of pIasma sampIes determined by Iiquid chromatography mass spectrometer. The Iinear reIa-tionship,intra-batch and inter-batch precision,specificity,matrix effect,recovery rate,the accuracy and stabiIity of the pIasma sampIes were vaIidated. The concentration of B7011 in pIasma was determined by LC-mS/ mS foIIowing a singIe intravenous injection of B7011 0.5 mg·kg-1 to rats. RESULTS The Iinear range of B7011 was 30-20 000 μg·L-1 ,the Iower Iimit of quantification was 30 μg·L-1 in pIasma,the in-tra-batch precision of 60,1000,16 000 and 10 000 ng·mL-1 was 5.61% -13.31%,2.31% -8.35%, 2.02%-9.47% and 4.0%-15.0% respectiveIy,and inter-batch precision was 10.05%,2.55%,3.75% and 8.58% respectiveIy. The recovery of 60,1000,and 16 000 μg·L-1 was 114.12%,109.2% and 101.06%respectiveIy. The average peak concentrations were 8373.28 and 8564.59 μg·L-1 ,the mean AUC was 98 400 and 104 000 μg·L-1·h and the t1/ 2z for B7011 was 41.7 and 63.6 h in bIood of maIe and femaIe rats, respectiveIy. CONCLUSlON The estabIished method is sensitive, fast and simpIe and concentration of B7011 in pIasma is determined by LC-mS/ mS foIIowing a singIe intravenous injection of B7011 0.5 mg·kg-1 to rats. It can satisfy the requirements of pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies.

Objective To investigate the expression level of thymus microRNA-27a-3p in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and to explore the pathogenesis of MG.Methods Thymus tissue samples from 36 cases were collected from December 2014 to February 2015 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University.Nineteen thymus tissue samples of MG group were collected from department of chest surgery,17 thymus tissue samples of control group were collected from department of chest surgery or congenital heart disease patients from department of cardiac surgery.The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in the thymus from 36 patients was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR),using U6 as housekeeping control.The Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test was used to analyze the relative expression of microRNA-27a-3p of the two groups.Spearman rank correlation was used to determine the correlation coefficient between microRNA-27a-3p and Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score (QMGS).Results (1) The expression level of microRNA-27a-3p in thymus was significantly higher in MG group (0.195(0.049,0.714)) compared with control group (0.045(0.004,0.088),Z =-2.646,P =0.008).(2) Nineteen MG patients were included in the study,out of which 7 were ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) patients and 12 were generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) patients.The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in GMG patients (0.493 (0.157,1.123)) was significantly higher than that in OMG patients (0.035 (0.008,0.103),Z =-2.620,P =0.009).(3) There was a positive correlation between the expression of microRNA-27a-3p and QMGS (r =0.576,P =0.010).Conclusions The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in thymus is significantly up-regulated in the patients with MG.MicroRNA-27a-3p may be associated with MG severity and significantly elevated in GMG patients compared with OMG patients.

Objective To investigate the association between myasthenia gravis (MG) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PTPN22 + 1858C/T,CTLA-4 (+ 49A/G;-1772C/T;-1661A/G),KRAS(rs9226),BCL2(rs4987855) and IGF-1R(rs34804698) genes.Methods Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was adopted to detect the gene types of SNPs in 76 MG patients who were enrolled in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from July 2011 to June 2015 and 59 healthy blood donors.Results In MG patients,the frequences of CTLA-4 +49A/G(rs231775) (57.9％) and-1772C/T (rs733618) (43.4％) were higher than that in the healthy controls (22.1％) (x2 =35.252,P =0.000; x2 =4.098,P =0.043).The frequence of CTLA-4 +49A/G in MG patients combined with thymoma (25.6％) was higher than other subgroups (thymic hyperplasia group:13.8％; normal thymus group:18.4％)(x2 =7.564,P=0.006; x2 =7.155,P=0.007).Meanwhile,the frequence of the C-1772 allele was higher in thymoma group (19.7％) compared with other two groups (thymic hyperplasia group:9.86％ ; normal thymus group:13.8％) (x2 =5.331,P =0.021 ;x2 =4.411,P =0.036).However,the other SNPs were not associated with the risk of MG.Conclusion There are associations of MG with CTLA-4 + 49A/G and-1772C/T SNPs,but not with PTPN,KRAS,BC12 and IGF-1R SNPs.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are major disease burdens with high mortality worldwide. Early prediction of cardiovascular events can reduce the incidence of acute myocardial infarction and decrease the mortality rates of patients with CVDs. The pathological mechanisms and multiple factors involved in CVDs are complex; thus, traditional data analysis is insufficient and inefficient to manage multidimensional data for the risk prediction of CVDs and heart attacks, medical image interpretations, therapeutic decision-making, and disease prognosis prediction. Meanwhile, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used for treating CVDs. TCM offers unique theoretical and practical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. Big data have been generated to investigate the scientific basis of TCM diagnostic methods. TCM formulae contain multiple herbal items. Elucidating the complicated interactions between the active compounds and network modulations requires advanced data-analysis capability. Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology has allowed these challenges to be resolved, which significantly facilitates the development of integrative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for CVDs and the understanding of the therapeutic principles of TCM formulae. Herein, we briefly introduce the basic concept and current progress of AI and machine learning (ML) technology, and summarize the applications of advanced AI and ML for the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. Furthermore, we review the progress of AI and ML technology for investigating the scientific basis of TCM diagnosis and treatment for CVDs. We expect the application of AI and ML technology to promote synergy between western medicine and TCM, which can then boost the development of integrative medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs.

Objective To investigate the distribution of integrons in clinical isolates of carbapen-em-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and their relationships to bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents.Methods A total of 115 carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains were isolated from clinical samples of patients from January to October, 2017. Phoenix 100 automatic microbiological analyzer was used for antimicrobial sensitivity analysis. Classes 1 and 2 integrase genes and carbapenemase-encoding genes, bla IMP , blaVIM , blaKPC , blaNDM and blaOXA-23 , were screened by PCR. The variable regions of integrons were amplified by long fragment PCR. The types of promoters and gene cassette arrays of variable regions were de-termined by sequencing and overlap PCR. Relationships between integrons and antimicrobial resistance were analyzed. Results The 115 isolates of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii were resistant to most commonly used antimicrobial agents, but sensitive to polymyxin E. All of the isolates carried blaOXA-23 gene and none of them were positive for blaIMP , blaVIM , blaKPC or blaNDM gene. Class 1 integrase gene intI1 was de-tected in 40 isolates (34. 8％ ), while class 2 integrase gene intI2 was not detected. Two gene cassette ar-rays of variable regions, aacA4-catB8-aadA1 (39 isolates) and aacC1-gacP-gacQ-aadA1a (23 isolates), were detected in intI1-positive isolates. Twenty-two isolates carried both aacA4-catB8-aadA1 and aacC1-gacP-gacQ-aadA1a. The upstream promoters of the variable regions were relatively strong promoters, PcH2 and PcS. The gene cassettes of the variable regions endowed bacteria with resistance to chloramphenicol and aminoglycoside antibiotics. The resistance rate of class 1 integron-positive isolates to compound sulfamethox-azole was higher than that of negative strains. However, their resistance rate to ampicillin/sulbactam was lower than that of negative strains. Conclusions Antimicrobial resistance in carbapenem-resistant Acineto-bacter baumannii was serious. Carbapenem resistance was associated with blaOXA-23 gene. The types of pro-moters of variable regions in class 1 integrons were all relatively strong promoters. Class 1 integrons were closely related to sulfonamides resistance.

Objective To access the influence factors of diagnostic delay of endometriosis. Methods We designed a questionnaire of diagnostic delay of endometriosis. From February 2014 to February 2016,400 patients who had dysmenorrhea and diagnosed with endometriosis by surgery in Peking University Third Hospital were surveyed retrospectively. Time and risk factors of diagnostic delay were analyzed.Results The diagnostic delay of 400 patients was 13.0 years(0.2-43.0 years),78.5%(314/400) patients thought pain was a normal phenomenon and didn′ t see the doctor. Patients who suffered dysmenorrhea at menarche experienced longer diagnostic delay than those who had dysmenorrhea after menarche(18.0 vs 4.5 years;Z=191.800,P<0.01).Patients who suffered aggravating dysmenorrhea experienced shorter delay time than those who suffered stable or relieving dysmenorrhea(11.0 vs 12.5 vs 18.0 years;Z=8.270, P<0.05), with the difference statistically significant, single factor analysis shows. Severe dysmenorrhea, deep infiltration endometriosis(DIE), family history of dysmenorrhea or endometriosis, previous surgical history of endometriosis,high stage,with infertility,adenomyoma or other symptoms,could help to shorten diagnostic delay with no significant difference(P>0.05). By multiple logistic regression analysis,the results shown that whether have dysmenorrhea at menarche and clinical diagnosis time were the independent factors affecting delayed diagnosis(P<0.01).Conclusions Diagnostic delay of endometriosis is common and the mean delay time is 13.0 years mainly due to the unawareness of dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea at menarche,clinical diagnosis time and dysmenorrhea intensity are the factors affecting time of diagnostic delay.

Objective:To explore the distribution of integrons in Escherichia coli isolated from community patients with urinary tract infections and their relationship with the phylogenetic groups and antimicrobial resistance. Methods:From November 2015 to December 2018, 152 isolates of E. coli that collected without repetition from the urine samples of outpatients in nephrology of Fengxian District Central Hospital in Shanghai, were studied retrospectively. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility analysis was carried out by Phoenix 100 automatic microbiological analyzer. Class 1, 2 integron integrase genes, variable regions of integrons and the phylogenetic groups of isolated E.coli were screened by PCR. The type of promoters and gene cassette arrays of variable regions were determined by sequencing. The relationship of intergon with the phylogenetic groups and antimicrobial resistance was also analyzed. Results:The resistance rate of 152 E. coli to ampicillin was 70.39% (107/152), and the resistance rates to other antibacterial drugs were all less than 40.00%. Among the 152 E. coli isolates, class 1 integron integrase gene intI1 was detected in 65 isolates (42.76%), 8 gene cassette arrays and 14 antimicrobial resistance gene cassettes were detected in 68 class 1 integrons. The most popular gene cassette array was dfrA17-aadA5 (51.47%, 35/68), while the variable regions of class 1 integrons were failed to detected in 12 intI1-positive isolates. Five variable region promoters were detected in 68 class 1 integrons, with the relative weak promoter PcH1 to be the most popular type (77.94%, 53/68). The gene cassette array arr- 2-cmlA5-bla OXA-10-aadA1 was also detected in this study. 65 intI1-positive isolates were mainly belonged to group B2 and D. The class 2 integron integrase gene intI2 was detected in 4 isolates (2.63%,4/152), and their variable region gene cassette arrays were all dfrA1-sat2-aadA1. Conclusions:Class 1 integrons were closely related to antimicrobial resistance in E. coli isolated from community patients with urinary tract infection. Most of the variable region promoters of class 1 integrons were relatively weak promoters. The distribution of each phylogenetic group in the intI1-positive isolates was consistent with the distribution of the overall isolates. The gene cassette array arr-2-cmlA5-bla OXA-10-aadA1 was detected in E. coli.