Objective:To explore whether the introduction of web problem based learning (WPBL) teaching method in medical humanities English class under the background of new medical science is helpful to the course learning and the improvement of students' humanistic quality.Methods:Taking 602 students from Batch 2017 clinical medicine in Xi'an Medical University as the experimental group and 610 students from Batch 2018 as the control group, the research lasting a semester was carried out around eight modules. The control group adopted the traditional teaching mode, while the experimental group used the WPBL mode for teaching relying on the Blue Pigeon Cloud Network Language Learning Platform. After teaching, through comparing the final exam results and issuing self-made questionnaires, the teaching effects of the two methods on students' self-study ability, thinking ability, teamwork ability and knowledge application ability were compared. The data were statistically processed by SPSS 20.0.Results:The final average score of the experimental group (62.13±2.11) was higher than that of the control group (60.42±2.03), with significant differences ( P < 0.05). According to the statistical analysis of the questionnaire, there were differences between the two groups in evaluating the teaching effect, and the proportion of the experimental group was over 60%, significantly higher than that of the control group. 93.3% of the students in the experimental group were satisfied with the WPBL teaching method, while only 43.0% of the students in the control group were satisfied with the traditional teaching method, showing a significant difference between them. The evaluation of students in the experimental group were higher than the control group in terms of self-study ability, data access ability, knowledge exploration ability, language expression ability and problem finding and solving ability. 91.1% of students in the experimental group believed that the introduction of WPBL teaching mode in the course would help to improve their medical humanistic quality, which was significantly higher than the proportion of students in the control group. Conclusion:The empirical study shows that the introduction of WPBL teaching method in medical humanities English course can not only enable students to master learning skills, but also strengthen students' humanistic quality, thus promoting the development of medical education.

Background Neurofilament 200 (NF200) is an indirect indicator of the specific distribution of axons.It reflects the condition of the maintenance of neuronal morphology.Whether NF200 is involved in the damage of the visual pathway after retinal ischemia reperfusion injury (RIRI) should be further examined.Objective The present study was to investigate the expression of NF200 in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs),lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN),superior colliculus and visual cortex following RIRI.Methods Forty SD rats were randomized into the RIRI 1-,2-,3-,4-,6-,8-week groups,sham operation group and control group.Acute intraocular hypertension was induced in the right eye by anterior chamber perfusion of normal saline solution for 60 minutes to elevate the intraocular pressure to 110 mmHg.The animals were sacrificed at different time points for the preparation of the retina,LGN,superior colliculus and visual cortex sections.The expression of NF200 in RGCs,LGN,superior colliculus and visual cortex was assayed by immunohistochemistry.Results The expression level (A value) of NF200 in the RGCs was significantly different among the 8 groups after reperfusion (F =78.855,P =0.000),and that in the 1-week group was significantly lower than in the control group (t =36.563,P＜0.01).In the RIRI 1-week group,the expression of NF200 in the contralateral LGN in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (t =6.483,P＜0.01).In the 4-week group and 6-week group,the expression of NF200 in the contralateral LGN was significantly higher than that in the control group (t =2.904,4.313,P＜0.01).One week after RIRI,the expression of NF200 in contralateral superior celliculus in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (t =2.966,P＜0.05),and in the 2-week group,the expression of NF200 in the contralateral superior colliculus was significantly higher than that in the control group (t =7.397,P＜0.01).In the 2-week group,3-week group and 4-week group,the expression of NF200 in bilateral visual cortex was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group (contralateral ∶ t =18.728,18.213,15.088,P＜0.01 ; ipsilateral ∶ t =8.690,5.704,7.805,P＜0.01).Conclusions RIRI can induce axonal damage of RGCs,contralateral LGN,superior colliculus and bilateral visual cortex neurons.

Objective To study the mutations of Env sequence of SIVmac239 after infection of Chinese rhesus monkeys, and compare the differences and characteristics of Gp120 sequences of enterotropic and neurotropic SIV strains. Methods Six strains of simian immunodeficiency virus were analyzed in this study: four separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of SIVmac239-infected monkeys and two neurotropic SIVmac251 strains.Isolated and cultured monoclonal virus was obtained by limiting dilution assay.Gp120 sequences were amplified after the RNA extraction and phylogenetic analysis was processed thereafter.So did the Gp120 amino acid sequence and N-glycosylation sites analysis of the enterotropic and neurotropic strains.Results SIVmac239 had different mutations in four rhesus monkeys.The diversity in amino acid sequences of the enterotropic and neurotropic strains concentrated in the V1 and V4 regions of Gp120.The enterotropic strains had an addition of glycosylation site in V4 but the glycosylation site changes of neurotropic strains were located in the conservative regions of C1, C2 and C3.Conclusions The addition of one glycosylation site in V4 region of GP120 and loss of one glycosylation site in C1 region are associated with enhanced enterotropism and neurotropism.The differences between the enterotropic and neurotropic strains are not dipicted in Gp120 V3 region which is closely related with the tropism of strains.

This study was purposed to investigate the relationship between activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and multidrug resistance in K562/AO₂ cells and its mechanism. Human erythroleukemic cell line K562 and its adriamycin-resistant counterpart K562/AO₂ cells were used in the study. After inhibiting the activation of NF-κB with noncytotoxic concentration of antioxidant pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) in vitro, the multiple of drug resistance of K562/AO₂ cells was assessed by MTT assay. RT-PCR and flow cytometry method were used to detect the relative expression of mdr-1 mRNA and P-gp, respectively. The results showed that (1) multidrug resistance of K562/AO₂ cells to ADM was 59 times higher than that of K562 cells. When being pretreated with 0.2 μmol/L PDTC which is noncytotoxic to cells, the IC₅₀ of ADM in K562/AO₂ cells was sharply decreased with relative reverse efficiency of 93.03%, which was more higher than that of classic modifying agents Verapamil (Ver); (2) NF-κB activity of K562/AO₂ cells was significantly higher than that of K562 cells (p < 0.01). When being treated with PDTC, the activation of NF-κB was sharply decreased in K562/AO₂ cells; with 0.2 μmol/L PDTC for 24 hours it decreased to the lowest, nearly to the K562 cell level (p > 0.05); (3) the relative expression of both mdr-1 mRNA and P-gp in K562/AO₂ cells was more higher; the expressions of mdr-1 mRNA and P-gp both were inhibited in K562/AO₂ cell group treated with PDTC for 48 hours. It is concluded that the PDTC used as an inhibitor of NF-κB activity can partially reverse the multidrug resistance of K562/AO₂ cells, which mechanism can be associated with the down-regulation of mdr-1 mRNA and P-gp.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Sub-Family B ; ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1 ; metabolism ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Protease Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Pyrrolidines ; pharmacology ; Thiocarbamates ; pharmacology

To study the transport mechanisms of drugs for transplacental treatment of fetal tachyarrhythmia, MDCKII-BCRP and MDCKII cell models was used. MDCKII-BCRP and MDCKII cell monolayer model was used to investigate the bi-direction transport of sotalol, propranolol, propafenone, procainamide and flecainide. Drug concentrations were measured by HPLC-UV or chemiluminescence. The apparent permeability coefficient (P(app)), efflux rate (R(E)) and net efflux rate (R(net)) were calculated. Drugs with R(net) greater than 1.5 were further investigated using cellular accumulation experiments with or without a BCRP inhibitor. The R(net) of sotalol, propranolol, propafenone and procainamide were less than 1.5, while R(net) of flecainide with concentrations of 20 and 5 μmol x L(-1) were 1.6 and 1.9, respectively. The results showed that the transport of flecainide on MDCKII-BCRP cell monolayer could be mediated by BCRP; and the affinity increased when the concentration of flecainide decreased. Cellular accumulation experiments further suggested that accumulation of flecainide in MDCKII-BCRP cells was significantly lower than that in MDCKII cells in a concentration-dependent manner. BCRP inhibitor quercetin (50 μmol x L(-1)) significantly increased the accumulation of flecainide in MDCKII-BCRP cells (P < 0.05). Our preliminary data showed that flecainide but not sotalol, propranolol, propafenone or procainamide can be a substrate of BCRP. Thus the effect of flecainide may be affected by the BCRP in the maternal placental trophoblast membrane layer when treating fetal tachyarrhythmia.
Animals ; Biological Transport ; Cell Membrane Permeability ; Dogs ; Female ; Flecainide ; metabolism ; Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells ; metabolism ; Placenta ; physiology ; Pregnancy ; Tachycardia ; drug therapy

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on the protein expression of c-fos in fastigial nucleus (FN) and lateral hypothalamus area (LHA) in rats with acute myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), and to explore the role and mechanism of FN and LHA in EA at the Heart Meridian fighting against acute MIRI reaction. Methods: Seventy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group, an EA-Heart Meridian group and an EA-Lung Meridian group, with 14 rats in each group; an LHA lesion plus EA-Heart Meridian group (LHA+EA-Heart Meridian group) and a FN lesion plus EA-Heart Meridian group (FN+EA-Heart Meridian group), with 7 rats in each group. Except the sham operation group, the left anterior descending branch of coronary artery was ligated to establish acute MIRI rat models in the other 5 groups. In the three groups with EA-Heart Meridian treatment, Shenmen (HT 7) and Tongli (HT 5) were selected; Taiyuan (LU 9) and Lieque (LU 7) were selected in the EA-Lung Meridian group. All the EA groups received EA stimulation prior to modeling, with 1 mA in current intensity and 2 Hz in frequency, 20 min each time, once a day for a total of 7 d. The sham operation group and the model group did not receive EA stimulation. The electrocardiogram was observed in the rats to analyze the ST-segment deviation and cardiac arrhythmia score. The expression of c-fos protein in FN and LHA was detected by immunohistochemistry method. Results: Compared with the sham operation group, the ST-segment deviation, cardiac arrhythmia score and the expression of c-fos protein in the FN and LHA increased significantly in the model group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the ST-segment deviation, cardiac arrhythmia score and the expression of c-fos protein in FN and LHA decreased significantly in the EA-Heart Meridian group (all P<0.05). Compared with the EA-Heart Meridian group, the ST-segment deviation and cardiac arrhythmia score increased significantly in the EA-Lung Meridian group, LHA+EA-Heart Meridian group and FN+EA-Heart Meridian group (all P<0.05); the expression of c-fos in FN increased significantly in the EA-Lung Meridian group and LHA+EA-Heart Meridian group (both P<0.05); the expression of c-fos in LHA increased significantly in the EA-Lung Meridian group and FN+EA-Heart Meridian group (both P<0.05). Conclusion: FN and LHA are involved in the mechanism of EA at Heart Meridian to improve the acute MIRI reactions, and the cerebellum may participate in the improvement of cardiac function by EA through the cerebellum-hypothalamus projection.

Objective To investigate the effect of cell death by HIV-1 infection on gene 90K/Mac-2BP by RNA interference (RNAi) in U937 cell line.Methods We used human monocyte-macrophage cell line U937 as the cell model.Cells were infected by HIV-1 ( R5-tropic) 5 days, and then stained by PE-Annexin V and PerCP-7-AAD.90K/Mac-2BP in U937 cell line was knocked down , and these cells were infected by HIV-1 for 5 days.Then, cells were stained by PE-AnnexinV and PerCP-7-AAD.Apoptosis were examined upon flow cytometry .Results The percentages of Annexin V+cells without 90K/Mac-2BP knock-down were (16.27 ±0.30)% by HIV-1 infection.The percentages of them with 90K/Mac-2BP knock-down were (31.26 ±0.35)%, (25.76 ±0.30)%, (23.69 ±0.33)% respectively.The increase of cell apoptosis rate for HIV-1-infected U937 cells by 90K/Mac-2BP siRNA transfection was significantly greater than that for HIV-1-infected untreated cells (P﹤0.01).Conclusion The apoptosis of HIV-1-infected U937 cells was regulated by the expression of 90K/Mac-2BP.

Cocrystal separation technology is a technology that utilizes coformers to selectively form cocrystals with target compounds and separate them from mixed systems. Our study used puerarin (PUE), daidzein (DDZ), and genistein (GEN) as model drugs, which have similar structures and are the main isoflavones in Pueraria lobata root. The separation and purification processes in the modern traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) of these three components use conventional column chromatography, recrystallization, and other technologies, which have the issues of lengthy separation cycles, high solvent consumption, and inefficient preparation. Different with existing separation technology, our team used the early-found cocrystal separation method to design a step-by-step extraction and separation experiment of GEN-PUE-DDZ ternary mixture. Caffeine and L-proline were added to the mixed system in turn, GEN-caffeine cocrystal and PUE-proline cocrystal were prepared by suspension method. The cocrystals precipitated out of the solution. The purities of the GEN-caffeine cocrystal and the PUE-proline cocrystal could achieve 93% (the purity of GEN) and 99% (the purity of PUE). Besides, the purity of DDZ could also be increased by 6.76 times. This study proposed a simple operating, low cost and wide application range separation method different from the traditional separation method and realized the separation of structurally similar chemical components in TCM, laying a foundation for the application of cocrystal technology in the separation and refining of TCM.

This study explored three molecular typing methods for Vibrio parahaemolyticus(VP)in Liaoning Province in 2020,to assess the correlation among the three methods and the genetic relationships among between strains;analyze the epi-demic trends and distribution patterns of VPin Liaoning Province;and provide reliable technical support for the prevention and control of foodborne diseases.Serum typing,PFGE,REP-PCR,and ERIC-PCR molecular typing and cluster analysis were performed on 44 VP isolates from Liaoning Province in 2020.A total of 44 isolated strains were divided into 15 serotypes,and 8 isolated strains could not be classified.The serotypes were primarily O3 group,O1 group,and O2 group.Clinical isolates had high molecular similarity,whereas food isolates had low molecular similarity.The resolution(DI)of PFGE was 0.986,that of REP-PCR was 0.947,and that of ERIC-PCR was 0.935.The molecular similarity between serotype O3 and O1 group strains was high.The epidemic serotypes of isolated VP strains in Liaoning Province in 2020 were consistent with those from the past 5 years.The resolution of the PFGE typing method was better than that of REP-PCR and ERIC-PCR;moreover,REP-PCR had better resolution than ERIC-PCR.These three typing methods showed good intercorrelation.The O3 group strains are likely to originate from the O1 group strains.When a foodborne disease outbreak is caused by VP,laboratories with conditions can apply these three methods to trace the source of the pathogenic bacteriaquickly and effectively.

Alzheimer disease (AD), the most common dementia, is a chronic, progressive and neuro-degenerative disorder. With an increasing prevalence, AD has been the third cause of death after cardio-vascular diseases and cancer in the elderly population. However, the pathogenesis of AD remains unclear, which has led to a fairly slow development of drugs for AD and a dim view of future treatments of AD. It has been a hot spot and a big challenge to develop effective, therapeutic drugs for AD. Recently, this topic was discussed via WeChat by experts from the Neuropsychiatric WeChat Group, which consists of 300 Chinese-origin neuroscientists and neuropsychiatrists in China or overseas. The experts pointed out the problems that might have misled researches on drug discovery, such as the misleading but dominating AD pathology hypotheses and problems with the platforms for drug screening. Therefore, it is important to review the pathology of AD and the treatment strategies from big data and the overall view of the disease, which may shed new light on AD therapy to develop drugs for multiple targets, leading to omni-direc-tional, comprehensive treatments of AD. The development of AD can be further classified into different stages based on the upstream factors of AD pathology. Interestingly, it has been found that the AD brain has mitochondria damage and dysfunction; long-term exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation can also cause AD-like pathological changes. These provide novel views and ideas in terms of the path-ological process and preventive and therapeutic strategies for AD.