AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important regulator of cellular energy homeostasis. Recent studies demonstrated that AMPK is a novel signaling molecule modulating inflammatory responses and oxidative stress which are involved in inflammatory pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary infectious diseases and pulmonary fibrosis. AMPK attenuates inflammatory lung injury by phosphorylating its downstream targets, such as sirtuin1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha), p53 and forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a). This review summarized the relationship between AMPK and the development of inflammatory pulmonary diseases.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important regulator of cellular energy homeostasis. Recent studies demonstrated that AMPK is a novel signaling molecule modulating inflammatory responses and oxidative stress which are involved in inflammatory pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary infectious diseases and pulmonary fibrosis. AMPK attenuates inflammatory lung injury by phosphorylating its downstream targets, such as sirtuin1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha), p53 and forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a). This review summarized the relationship between AMPK and the development of inflammatory pulmonary diseases.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Forkhead Box Protein O3 ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; enzymology ; Lung Diseases ; enzymology ; Oxidative Stress ; PPAR gamma ; metabolism ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; Phosphorylation ; Sirtuin 1 ; metabolism ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the significance of procalcitonin(PCT),C-reactive protein(CRP),white blood cell(WBC) and other inflammatory markers in the diagnosis of pediatric patients with HFMD.Methods 138 cases of pediatric patients with foot and mouth disease(study group)and 50 cases of healthy children(control group)were recruited in the study.Procalcitonin (PCT),white blood cell(WBC),neutrophil count(NC),lymphocyte count(Ly),immunoglobulins,C-reactive protein and other indi-cators were determined and compared.Results PCT,CRP,WBC,NC,Ly% and IgM levels were higher in study group than those in control group,the differences were all statistically significant(P <0.05 );IgG,IgA levels in control group were lower than that in control group,the differences were statistically significant(P <0.05).Conclusion PCT,WBC,NC,Ly,CRP and IgA,IgG,IgM can provide experimental evidence for diagnosis of children with hand foot and mouth disease.

OBJECTIVEThis study aims to evaluate the effect of ptxA and ptxB genes, which are important genes in the L-ascorbate phosphotransferase system (PTS) of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans).

METHODSThe ptxA-, ptxB-, and ptxAB-double deficient mutant as well as ptxAB-complemented strain were constructed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to evaluate the expression of the target genes of wild-type S. mutans when L-ascorbate was used as the sole carbohydrate source. The OD₆₀₀ values of the wild type, deficient, and complemented strains were continuously monitored, and their growth curves were constructed to compare growth capacity.

RESULTSPolymerase chain reaction and sequencing analyses suggested that deficient and complemented strains were successfully constructed. The expression levelsof ptxA and ptxB significantly increased (P < 0.01) when L-ascorbate was used as the sole carbohydrate source. The growth capacity of the deficient mutants decreased compared with that of the wild-type strain. However, the wild-type phenotype could be restored in the complemented strain.

CONCLUSIONptxA and ptxB genes are associated with L-ascorbate metabolism of S. mutans. The construction of deficient strains and complemented strain lay a foundation for further mechanism study on L-ascorbate metabolism in S. mutans.

Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; Genes, Bacterial ; Phosphotransferases ; metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Streptococcus mutans ; physiology ; Transcription Factors ; genetics

[Objective] To investigate the effects of Yangyin Kangdu Powder (YKP) on peripheral blood T-lymphocyte subsets levels in X-ray-irradiated mice. [Methods] Forty-five mice were randomized into normal control, model and YKP groups. Except the normal group, the rats in model and YKP groups were irradiated with 6Gy X-ray to establish models with acute radiation-induced injury. Normal saline was given to the model group while YKP in the dosage of 10 g?kg-1?d-1 was orally administered to YKP group for one week. The changes of CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte subsets levels were detected by flow cytometry. [Results] Plasma levels of CD4 and CD8 and the ratio of CD4/CD8 decreased in the model group, the difference being significant as compared with the normal control group (P

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons selectively. Although the motor system lesion is the most predominant clinical manifestation of ALS, with the progression of the understanding of the pathogenesis and clinical detection of the disease, more and more patients are found to have extra-motor features of ALS, such as somatosensory involvement, etc. The research results demonstrated that ALS might be a kind of disorder combined with sensory disturbance according to the electrophysiology, neuropathology, neuroimaging, animal model simulation, genetic evidence, and other methods detected. We, herein, review the prevalence and detection methods especially the aspect of genetic associations implicated in the sensory nerve disturbance of ALS.

How to eliminate the background of other tissue and to protrude the blood vessel information is the basic requirements in DSA. Because of the complexity and non-linearity of the X-ray imaging process, the common DSA technique cannot completely remove other tissue's image which lapped over the vessels. By experiments, this paper analyses and corrects the imaging process of the actual DSA system based on the "equivalent single energy" model, and the results indicate the validity of this method.
Algorithms ; Aluminum ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; methods ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Plastics ; Radiographic Image Enhancement ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Objective To investigate the associations of baseline serum uric acid, bilirubin levels with short-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods The clinical data in successive patients with acute ischemic stroke were colected, including the serum levels of uric acid and bilirubin on admission, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, and the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score at discharge or at day14 (mRS 0-2 was defined as good outcome, > 2 was defined as poor outcome). Results A total of 162 patients with ischemic stroke were enroled, including 114 in the good outcome group and 48 in the poor outcome group. There were significant differences in proportions of the patients with diabetes melitus (51. 75% vs. 75. 00% ; χ2 = 7. 526, P = 0. 006), previous history of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) (18. 42% vs. 50. 00% ; χ2 = 17. 790, P = 0. 001), as wel as the baseline diastolic blood pressure (87. 061 ± 12. 245 mmHg vs. 82. 375 ± 10. 949 mmHg; t = 2. 293, P = 0. 023; 1 mmHg =0. 133 kPa), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1. 604 ± 0. 299 mmol/L vs. 1. 265 ± 0. 206 mmol/L; t =3. 227, P = 0. 002), fasting glucose (2. 875 ± 0. 438 mmol/L vs. 8. 160 ± 0. 592 mmol/L; t = - 4. 761, P <0. 001), uric acid (289. 365 ± 77. 168 μmol/L vs. 248. 206 ± 66. 206 μmol/L; t = 3. 111, P = 0. 002), total bilirubin (14. 673 ± 2. 213 μmol/L vs. 10. 395 ± 2. 714 μmol/L; t = 3. 779, P = 0. 001 ), direct bilirubin (6. 036 ± 1. 392 μmol/L vs. 4. 956 ± 1. 379 μmol/L; t = 2. 088, P = 0. 038), and indirect bilirubin (8. 634 ± 2. 307 μmol/L vs. 5. 439 ± 1. 223 μmol/L; t = 4. 219, P < 0. 001) levels between the 2 groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the previous history of stroke or TIA (odds ratio [ OR ] 3. 751, 95% confidence interval [CI ] 1. 395-10. 091; P = 0. 009) and baseline NIHSS score (OR 2. 723, 95% CI 1. 093-6. 783; P = 0. 031) were the independent risk factors for poor outcome of ischemic stroke; while uric acid (OR 0. 357, 95% CI 0. 141-0. 900; P = 0. 029), high-density lipoprotein (OR 0. 262, 95% CI 0. 079-0. 870; P = 0. 029), and indirect bilirubin (OR 0. 117, 95% CI 0. 025-0. 539; P = 0. 006) were independently correlated with good outcome. Conclusions The increased baseline uric acid and indirect bilirubin levels are the favorable factors for good outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Objective To explore the effects of upper limb robot-assisted therapy on motor function and activities of daily living in con-valescent stroke patients. Methods From June to September, 2016, 12 chronic stroke patients at their first-ever stroke were enrolled and ran-domized into experimental group (n=6) and control group (n=6). Both groups received routine rehabilitation. Additional robot-assisted thera-py was provided to the experimental group, and additional repetitive movement training was provided to the control group, 20 minutes a day, five days a week for four weeks. Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities (FMA-UE), modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Func-tional Independent Measure (FIM) were used to assess the motor function of the upper limbs and hands, the muscular tension of shoulder and elbow, and activities of daily living (ADL) before and after treatment. Results After treatment, the scores of FMA-UE and FIM were bet-ter in both groups (Z>2.032, P<0.05), and no significant difference was found between two groups (t<0.723, P>0.05), however, the scores were a little bit higher in the experimental group than in the control group. After treatment, for the experimental group, the MAS scores of shoulder abduction/adduction and elbow flexion/extension improved (Z>2.121, P<0.05);for the control group, the MAS scores of shoulder abduction/adduction improved (Z>2.000, P<0.05), but the MAS scores of elbow flexion/extension were not significantly different (Z<1.890,P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the MAS scores of shoulder abduction/adduction and elbow flexion/extension between two group (Z<1.734, P>0.05). The moving trail recorded by the computer, gradually became a regular pattern from the mass, saying the motor control ability became better. Conclusion Upper limb robot-assisted therapy can promote the recovery of the motor function of upper limbs and ADL in convalescent stroke patient, similar to the repetitive movement training.

Objective To discuss the treatment of periprosthetic femoral fractures (PFF) with unstable prosthesis by replacement of long-stem femoral prosthesis and internal fixation.Methods From December 2005 to December 2014,15 PFF patients with unstable prosthesis (15 hips) following were treated at our department.They were 10 men and 5 women,aged from 64 to 89 years (mean,76.2 years).Their primary surgeries included total hip arthroplasty in 13 cases and biological bi-polar replacement of femoral head in 2.Two prostheses were cement and 13 biological.By Vancouver classification,9 cases were type B2,and 6 type B3.The unstable prostheses in the 15 cases were replaced by long-stem femoral ones,followed by internal fixation.At the last follow-ups,clinical outcome were evaluated by Harris scoring and images of PFF by Beals & Tower criteria.Complications were documented.Results One died 4 months after operation.The other 14 patients were followed up for an average of 4.5 years (from 6 months to 9 years).Fracture union was achieved in 12 cases after an average of 3.9 months (from 3 to 9 months).Nonunion occurred in 2 cases.Imaging evaluation revealed 9 excellent cases,3 good ones and 2 poor ones.The Harris scores at the last follow-up averaged was 82.3 points (from 50 to 100 points).Deep vein thrombosis occurred preoperatively in one case and posterior tibial vein thrombosis occurred in 2 cases respectively on day 3 and day 10 postoperatively.No such complications occurred as malunion,fixation failure,dislocation or prosthesis loosening.Conclusion Satisfactory outcomes can be achieved by replacement of long-stem femoral prosthesis combined with appropriate fixation for treatment of PFF with unstabrosthesis.