Objective To investigate the in-hospital death-related factors for acute encephalocele in patients with craniocerebral injury for craniotomy in order to provide evidence for clinical treatment and prognosis determina-tion.Methods The clinical data of 105 patients with craniocerebral injury occurring acute encephalocele during cra-niotomy were analyzed retrospectively.The correlations of the factors including sex,age,preoperative Glasgow coma scale(GCS)scores,preoperative intracranial pressure(ICP),postoperative pupil status,causes of encephalocel,post-operative GCS scores,postoperative ICP,coagulation mechanism,brain swelling,preoperative hypoxia,preoperative blood pressure and blood glucose were analyzed.Results The prognosis was assessed according to the Glasgow out-come scale(GOS)scores after procedure.There were 77 patients in death group(namely death cases)and 28 patients in survival group.Logistic regression analysis showed that postoperative GCS scores (Wald =14.127,Exp(B)=0.044,95%CI:0.032,0.448),causes of encephalocel(Wald =7.748,Exp(B)=8.183,95%CI:1.825,10.251), postoperative ICP(Wald =7.637,Exp(B)=7.637,95% CI:1.969,8.028),postoperative pupil status(Wald =4.001,Exp(B)=2.499,95%CI:1.019,5.122)and blood glucose(Wald =7.915,Exp(B)=8.891,95% CI:1.790,9.337)were closely associated with the in-hospital death in patients with acute encephalocele in craniocere-bral injury operation(P <0.05).Conclusion The postoperative GCS scores,causes of encephalocel,postoperative ICP,postoperative pupil status and blood glucose could be used as the important indexes for predicting in-hospital death of acute encephalocele in craniocerebral injury for craniotomy.To prevent the intraoperative encephalocele and reduce the intracranial pressure are the important measures to reduce the mortality rate of the patients with acute encephalocele.

OBJECTIVEThe glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) can induce palatal cleft; however, the mechanism involved remains unclear. E-cadherin is an important cell adhesion molecule, and it can significantly affect cell fate and embryonic development. Recent studies have indicated that E-cadherin expression in palatal epithelial cells is suppressed in normal palate fusion. This study aimed to determine whether the change in E-cadherin expression is related to the incidence of cleft palate in DEX-induced mice.

METHODSMice were divided into the experimental group and the control group. Pregnant mice were injected with DEX on E10.0-E12.0, whereas mice in the control group were injected with normal saline. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were employed to evaluate the effect of DEX on fetal mouse palatal processes, particularly the changes in E-cadherin and β-catenin expression levels in the phases of the experimental and control groups.

RESULTSData indicated that the incidence of cleft palate in the DEX group was 43.59% (17/39), whereas that in the control group was only 3.03% (1/33). The results of HE staining showed that the obviously shortened palatal processes could not contact and fuse with one another in the DEX-treated mice model compared with those in the control group. The ectopic expression of E-cadherin in embryonic palatal mesenchymal cells was also analyzed. The expression levels of E-cadherin and β-catenin in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group.

CONCLUSIONThese findings indicated that DEX could induce E-cadherin gene upregulation and ectopic expression, as well as high β-catenin expression, thereby inhibiting the growth of mesenchyme cells and cleft palate.

Animals ; Cadherins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cleft Palate ; chemically induced ; embryology ; Dexamethasone ; adverse effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

In this study, the rapid resolution liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-QTOF/MS) was used to profile the metabolites of urine samples from chronic heart failure (CHF) patients and healthy controls to find the differential metabolites which could provide the scientific evidence to explain the pathogenesis of the disease and supply a better therapy plan.Urine samples from 15 CHF patients (age (62.27±3.14) years) and 15 healthy controls (age (65.41±4.63) years) were analyzed by RRLC-QTOF/MS.After processing the data, the multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analysis, PCA) was performed to find the potential biomarkers.Result showed that urine samples of CHF patients were successfully distinguished from those of healthy controls.Two significantly differentially expressed metabolites, uridine and alanyltryptophan, were found and identified as potential biomarkers.The result showed that the LC-MS based metabolomics approach had good performance to identify potential biomarkers, and the disorder of uracil metabolism and Tryptophan metabolism may play an important role in the mechanism of CHF.

Endothelial cells in the inner wall of blood vessels respond to physical and chemical signals of the body by regulating vascular homeostasis， vascular tension， cell adhesion， cell proliferation， coagulation resistance and inflammatory factors， to maintain the stability of blood vessels. Angiogenesis is the key condition for tumor evolution， and the pathological mode of tumor angiogenesis provides nutrients and oxygen for tumor growth and promotes its proliferation. In recent years， endothelial cells have participated in tumor vascular infiltration and driven angiogenesis， which is considered to be the point link in tumor metastasis. By regulating metabolic remodeling， vascular endothelial cells provide the materials and energy needed in the process of tumor angiogenesis， and their abnormal metabolic characteristics facilitate their adaption to the changes of tumor microenvironment， which is often regarded as an important basis for tumor angiogenesis. The ''Yin fire'' theory in traditional Chinese medicine， originating from Huangdi's Internal Classic （Huang Di Nei Jing）， originally meant Yin deficiency generates internal heat， and belonged to the category of fire of internal injury. After the deduction and changes by physicians over the ages， the pathogenesis of ''spleen and stomach Qi deficiency-Yin fire rising-Qi and fire disharmony'' was gradually formed. The pathogenesis of metabolic remodeling of endothelial cells manifests the pathological characterization of Yin fire in an objective way， which is consistent with the disease state of uncontrolled and hyperactive tumor neovascularization. Changes in spleen and stomach Qi deficiency as well as imbalance of Qi movement lead to the failure of water and food in distribution， and thus metabolic disorders occur. Long term retention turns in phlegm and blood stasis， which combat with blood vessels， and result in abnormal local environment （formation of tumor microenvironment）， adverse pulse channel （imbalance of endothelial cell metabolism）， and tumor neovascularization. Under the guidance of ''Yin fire'' syndrome elements and by focusing on the correlation between Qi and fire， prescriptions are made based on the treatment method of ''strengthening the body and regulating Qi'' to regulate the metabolic function of endothelial cells， thus achieving a relatively balanced state of the body and inhibiting tumor angiogenesis. As a result， this study， centering on the metabolic remodeling of endothelial cells and ''Yin fire'' theory， elucidated the academic ideas， with the purpose of providing some theoretical support for the intervention of tumor vascularization by Chinese medicine.

In recent years， the incidence of pulmonary nodules has kept rising. To give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in the treatment of pulmonary nodules and identify the breakthrough points of integrating TCM with Western medicine， the China Association of Chinese Medicine organized medical experts in TCM and western medicine to carry out in-depth discussion regarding this disease. The discussion encompassed the modern medical advances， TCM theories of etiology and pathogenesis， the role and advantages of TCM in the whole course management of pulmonary nodules， contents and methods of research on pulmonary nodules， and science popularization work， aiming to provide a reference for clinical practice and scientific research. After discussion， the experts concluded that the occurrence of pulmonary nodules was rooted in the deficiency of the lung and spleen and triggered by phlegm dampness， blood stasis， and Qi stagnation. TCM can treat pulmonary nodules by controlling and reducing nodules， improving physical constitution， ameliorating multi-system nodular diseases， reducing anxiety and avoiding excessive diagnosis and treatment， and serving as an alternative for patients who are unwilling or unfit for surgical treatment. At present， the optimal diagnosis and treatment strategy for pulmonary nodules has not been formed， which needs to be further studied from multiple perspectives such as clinical epidemiology， biology， and evidence-based medicine. The primary task of current research is to find out the advantages， effective prescriptions， and target populations and determine the effective outcomes of TCM in the treatment of pulmonary nodules. At the same time， basic research should be carried out to explore the etiology and biological behaviors of pulmonary nodules. The expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary nodules with integrated TCM and Western medicine needs to be continuously revised to guide clinicians to conduct standardized， scientific， and accurate effective diagnosis and treatment.

Long-term primary culture of mammalian cells has been always difficult due to unavoidable senescence. Conventional methods for generating immortalized cell lines usually require manipulation of genome which leads to change of important biological and genetic characteristics. Recently, conditional reprogramming (CR) emerges as a novel next generation tool for long-term culture of primary epithelium cells derived from almost all origins without alteration of genetic background of primary cells. CR co-cultures primary cells with inactivated mouse 3T3-J2 fibroblasts in the presence of RHO-related protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632, enabling primary cells to acquire stem-like characteristics while retain their ability to fully differentiate. With only a few years' development, CR shows broad prospects in applications in varied areas including disease modeling, regenerative medicine, drug evaluation, drug discovery as well as precision medicine. This review is thus to comprehensively summarize and assess current progress in understanding mechanism of CR and its wide applications, highlighting the value of CR in both basic and translational researches and discussing the challenges faced with CR.