Animals ; Forecasting ; Herpesvirus 2, Gallid ; genetics ; physiology ; Marek Disease ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate whether serum complement C3 concentration was associated with the prevalence and incidence of prediabetes in an adult population. Methods A cross-sectional (n=10 539) and prospective cohort (n=3 064, followed up for-6 years, mean:2.8 y) study was performed on subjects recruited from the Health Management Center of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital in Tianjin. Measurements of serum C3 concentration, blood fasting glucose and other potential confounding factors were assessed at baseline and per year during the follow-up period. Prediabetes was defined according to the criteria of American Diabetes Association. Adjusted Logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the associations between C3 quintiles and prediabetes. Results The prevalence and incidence of prediabetes were 19.9% and 99.5 per 1 000 person-year, respectively. In cross-sectional analysis, after adjusted for potential confounders, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of prediabetes for increasing quintiles of C3 were 1.00 (reference), 1.18 (0.98-1.42), 1.11 (0.92-1.34), 1.38 (1.15-1.65) and 1.63 (1.36-1.95) (P for trend<0.000 1). In cohort analysis, in the final multivariate models, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for prediabetes across C3 quintiles were 1.00 (reference), 1.20 (0.94-1.54), 1.48 (1.16-1.88), 1.38 (1.09-1.76) and 1.53 (1.21-1.95) (P for trend <0.001), respectively. Conclusion The study suggests that the elevated C3 level is significantly associated with the prevalence and incidence of prediabetes, which means that C3 can be used as a biomarker in early prevention of prediabetes and diabetes.

Objective:To compare the accuracy and timeliness of 3-lead electrocardiography (ECG) and pulse oximetry (POX) in neonatal heart rate (HR) monitoring after birth.Methods:This prospective study recruited 42 high-risk newborns with gestational age ≥37 weeks and birth weight >1 500 g who were born through cesarean section without resuscitation requirement in Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital) from October 2019 to August 2020. 3-lead ECG electrodes and POX sensors were attached to the neonates immediately after drying to continuously monitor the HR within 10 min after birth. All procedure was recorded by video camera, and data were independently analyzed by a clinician after the procedure was completed. Differences in time required to connect the devices, time to obtain a reliable HR and the interval between them, the time needed for obtaining a reliable HR after birth, the proportion of neonates with reliable HR obtained within 5 min after birth and the consistency in the reliable HR readings between the two devices were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test, McNemar test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient or Bland-Altman bias analysis.Results:The median time required to connect POX and 3-lead ECG and to acquire a reliable HR were 13.0 s (10.0-17.0 s) vs 23.0 s (18.0-28.3 s) ( Z=-5.050, P<0.001), and 79.5 s (56.2-128.0 s) vs 11.0 s (10.0-13.3 s) ( Z=-5.646, P<0.001), respectively. The total time from the beginning of connecting the devices and birth to acquiring a reliable HR were both longer for POX than those for 3-lead ECG [92.0 s (71.3-139.0 s) vs 35.0 s (30.0-39.5 s), Z=-5.579, P<0.001; 110.5 s (85.8-153.5 s) vs 52.0 s (45.0-66.3 s), Z=-5.579, P<0.001]. Reliable HRs were obtained in 69.1% (29/42) and 2.4% (1/42) of the infants by 3-lead ECG and POX within 1 min after birth, respectively. The percentage of infants for obtaining a reliable HR detected by 3-lead ECG within 5 min after birth were more than those by POX, but with statistically significant differences only at the first 60 s, 90 s, 120 s and 150 s (all P<0.001). The median HRs obtained by 3-lead ECG and POX within 10 min after birth were 161 beats/min (147-175 beats/min) and 160 beats/min (146-176 beats/min), respectively ( r=0.966, P<0.001). The mean difference of HR detected by the two devices was 0.56 beats/min (95% CI:-4.3 to 5.4 beats/min). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.961, showing good internal consistency. Conclusions:Neonatal HR can be assessed accurately by 3-lead ECG within 1 min after birth, which is far earlier than that by POX. Therefore, 3-lead ECG can be an option for continuously HR monitor in neonatal resuscitation.

Objective To study the relationship between the dynamic change of free DNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)and the tissue injury in the patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods 54 cases of hypertensive intracerebral hemor-rhage were divided into 3 groups according to the glasgow coma scale(including 17 mild cases,21 moderate cases and 16 severe ca-ses).2 mL of CSF was collected for extracting free DNA on 1,3,7,15 d after stroke onset.The free DNA level was measured by the fluorescent real-time PCR.Results The free DNA level in the severe group was significantly higher than that in the mild and mod-erate groups.The free DNA level in the abnormal intracranial pressure group was higher than that in the normal intracranial pres-sure group;the intracranial infection group was higher than the non-infection group.Conclusion The free DNA level has certain value for diagnosing the craniocerebral injury in hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage and is conducive to monitor the occurrence of postoperative complications.

Objective To assess the value of color Doppler ultrasonogarphy in the diagnosis of subacute thyroiditis (SAT). Methods Sixty-eight patients of SAT and 30 patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma were included, and their imaging features were retrospectively reviewed. Results All the patients with SAT had either focal or diffuse hypoechogenicity of the thyroid lobes with rich blood supplying in the diseased region, among them 52 patients (76.47%, 52/68) had tenderness on palpation. Diffuse and focal lesions were found in 40 (58.82%, 40/68) and 28 patients (41.18%, 28/68). The boundary and shape of focal lesions had no diagnostic characteristics compared with those of thyroid papillary carcinoma. Punctate calcification and resistance index (RI) in the nodule were significant different between the SAT and thyroid papillary carcinoma (P＜0.05). Conclusion Color Doppler ultrasonography can display the features of SAT and is an effective method for the diagnosis of SAT.

To reveal the underlying mechanism of doxorubicin induced hepatotoxicity, an NMR-based metabolomic approach combined with multivariate statistical analysis was used to observe its metabolic alternations of rat liver. Sixteen differential metabolites between model rats and normal rats were characterized as potential pathological biomarkers related to doxorubicin induced hepatotoxicity. Six pathways, including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism were regarded as the targeted metabolic pathways according to Metabolic Pathway Analysis (MetPA). The results suggested that the metabolic perturbations in rats with doxorubicin induced hepatotoxicity were mainly involved in amino acid metabolism, lipid pathways, purine metabolism, energy metabolism, dysfunction of biotransformation and oxidative stress. The investigation revealed the effects of doxorubicin on liver in a holistic metabolic way, which laid a foundation for further studies on its toxicity mechanism.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Doxorubicin ; toxicity ; Energy Metabolism ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Metabolomics ; Multivariate Analysis ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats

Objective To evaluate whether the serum uric acid (SUA) levels are related to development of prediabetes. Methods This was a 6-year cohort study, subjects were recruited from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Health Management Center. A prospective assessment (n=30 910) was performed. Subjects without a history of prediabetes were followed up for 6 years (with a median follow-up of 2.7 person-years). All relevant variables including SUA concentrations, and fasting plasma glucose were assessed at baseline and yearly during the follow-up. Prediabetes was defined in accordance with the American Diabetes Association criteria of 2014. Multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to assess relationships between the quintiles of baseline SUA and the incidence of prediabetes. Results The incidence of prediabetes was 55 per 1 000 person-years. In comparison with subjects in the lowest quintile, the odds ratios and hazard ratio (95%confidence interval) of higher quintile of SUA were 1.04 (0.93, 1.15), 1.07 (0.95, 1.19), 1.13 (1.01, 1.28) and 1.15 (1.02, 1.30) (P for trend=0.01), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion SUA levels predicted an increased risk of prediabetes in adults.

Objective To investigate the effects of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) on blood glucose and metabolic parameters in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) . Methods A total of 973 T2DM patients were recruited, and the clinical data, biochemical and thyroid function parameters were measured. One hundred and forty eight T2DM patients were diagnosed as SCH (SCH group) and 152 euthyroid patients were selected as control group (NSCH group) . Results (1) The prevalence of SCH in type 2 diabetes was 15.3% (148/973) . (2) Compared with the NSCH group, the prevalence of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in SCH group (54.1%vs 35.5%,<0.01) as well as hypertension (64.9%vs 52%, <0.05) . There was no significant difference in HbA1c control and prevalence of dyslipidemia and hyperuricemia between two groups. Conclusion SCH may have some adverse effects on blood pressure and BMI in T2DM.

Objective To investigate the expression levels of BDNF, trkB and ChAT mRNA and proteins in the brain of adult tree shrews ( Tupaia belangeri ) .Methods Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to detect the expression levels of BDNF, trkB and ChAT mRNA in the hippocampus, basal ganglia and frontal cortex of adult tree shrews.The expression levels of BDNF, trkB and ChAT proteins andβ-actin was used as internal standard.Results The expression level of BDNF mRNA was highest in the hippocampus of adult tree shrew, and there were significant differences between that in the hippocampus, and basal ganglia and frontal cortex (P<0.01).The expression level of trkB mRNA was higher in the frontal cortex than in the basal ganglia and hippocampus, showing a significant difference between them ( P<0.05).The expression level of BDNF protein was significantly higher in the basal ganglia than in the hippocampus or frontal cortex (P<0.01).There were no significant difference (P>0.05) in the expressions of trkB protein among the hippocampus, basal ganglia and frontal cortex of the adult tree shrews.There were no significant differences in expressions of ChAT mRNA and protein among the hippocampus, basal ganglia and frontal cortex in adult tree shrews ( P>0.05 ) . Conclusions The expression levels of ChAT mRNA were consistent with that of ChAT protein in the hippocampus, basal ganglia and frontal cortex of adult tree shrews, while the expression levels of BDNF and trkB mRNA were not consistent with their proteins, which might indicate that the transcriptional regulation pattern might be more complex.Tree shrew is a valuable animal model in the study of mechanism of BDNF/trkB gene expression.

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effects of free musculo-cutaneous flap bridging with contralateral posterior tibial vessel on repair of lower extremity soft tissue defect.

METHODSFrom February 2006 to June 2013, 10 patients with soft tissue defect on lower shank and foot were included. The posterior tibial vessel on healthy lower extremity was chosen as recipient vessel and anastomosed with free latissimus dorsi musculo-cutaneous flap, or free latissimus dorsi musculo-cutaneous flap combined with thoracic-umbilical skin flap or anterolateral femoral musculo-cutaneous flap. The retrograde bridged flap was transposed to repair defect on contralateral lower shank and foot. The wound area ranged from 40 cm x 21 cm to 22 cm x 15 cm, with flap size from 48 cm x 26 cm to 25 cm x 18 cm. Meanwhile the defects on donor sites were covered with skin graft and both lower extremities were fixed with kirschner wires at middle tibia and calcaneus. The kirschner wires were removed at 4 weeks and pedicles were cut off 5-8 weeks postoperatively. Six patients received posterior tibial vessel reanastomosis at the same time of pedicle cutting.

RESULTSAll the 10 flaps survived and 3 patients received thinning of flaps due to excessive thickness. During the follow-up period of 3 months to 2 years follow up, the ambulatory function of injured legs recovered gradually with satisfactory appearance. The reanastomosed posterior tibial vessel on the healthy side was recovered.

CONCLUSIONSAppropriate bridged musculo-cutaneous flaps is suitable for extensive soft tissue defect of lower shank and foot. It is a safe and effective method for limb salvage.