[Objective]To study the expression of Cathepsin B,Caspase-3 and to explore the significance of their expression initially after acute spinal cord injury in rats.[Method]The spinal cord injury of the healthy adult SD rats (78) was induced with Nystrom’s way by the moderate compression at the level of T8 and T9 spinal cord. HE methods were used to detect the pathologic change of spinal cord. The expression of Cathepsin B and Caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemical study. Besides,using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated DUTP nick and labeling (TUNEL) methods to detect the level of the apoptosis of neural cells.[Result]There were few expressions of Cathepsin B, Caspase-3 and TUNEL positive cells in normal and sham operated spinal cord as detected by immunohistochemical study. The number of positive cells of Cathepsin B increased clearly at 3 days,reached a peak at 5 days,and was constant at 7 days after injury. While the expression of Caspase-3 increased obviously at 8 hours,got to a peak at 3 days,and was lowest at 7 days. And the number of positive cells of TUNEL also increased obviously at 8 hours,got to a peak at 3 days,and was lowest at 7 days. There were significance differences of morphological and position of positive cells between Cathepsin B and Caspase-3 or Tunel. [Conclusion]Caspase-3 protein expressions are enhanced in combination with neuronal apoptosis,while Cathepsin B may involve in the secondary injury by inflammatory cells after acute spinal cord injury.

Objective:To investigate the difference of metabolomics between acute heart failure (AHF) patients and control. To find and validate new metabolic biomarkers.Methods:This was a single-center case-control study which included 89 acute heart failure patients admitted to the emergency department of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2018 to June 2019. Eighty people without heart failure and diastolic dysfunction were enrolled as control group whose age and sex were matched to the study group. The fasting blood samples were collected from femoral arterial. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of plasma metabolites were performed in 2 groups by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model and ROC curve method were applied.Results:Compared with the control group, we found that AHF group had higher likelihood to groups with coronary heart disease (37% vs. 7%, P<0.001), hypertension (58% vs. 28%, P<0.001), diabetes (33% vs. 18%, P=0.033), atrial fibrillation (24% vs. 4%, P<0.001), smoking history (42% vs. 18%, P=0.001), and that AHF group had higher creatinine level [(121.6 ± 78.4) vs. (69.0 ± 21.0), P<0.001], higher urea level [(11.5 ± 7.6) vs. (6.2 ± 2.0), P<0.001], higher heart rate [(92 ± 23) vs. (78 ± 14), P<0.001], hypoproteinemia [(32.4 ± 5 .2) vs. (40.4 ± 2.2), P<0.001], and significantly increased BNP level [(4 200 ± 5 229) vs. (100 ± 68), P<0.001], lower left ventricular ejection fraction[(45 ± 8) vs. (57 ± 6), P<0.001], low serum sodium level ( P<0.001). The metabolites of AHF group were significantly different from those of the control group. The metabolites involved amino acids, fatty acids, lipids, nucleosides and their derivatives. Adenine, N-acetyl-L-glutamic, pseudouridine and Gamma-Glutamylcysteine had certain diagnostic value for AHF comparing to control. The AUC were 0.995, 0.932, 0.920 and 0.900. And the AUC value for BNP diagnosis of AHF is 0.978. Conclusions:There were significant differences in metabolism between AHF group and control group including multiple substances. Adenine, N-acetyl-L-glutamic, pseudouridine and Gamma-Glutamylcysteine has similar diagnostic value compared with BNP for diagnosing AHF.

Curcumin is derived from traditional Chinese medicine turmeric and can be used for chemoprevention and treatment of various cancers. Recent studies have shown that curcumin can participate in the regulation of various molecular signal transduction pathways, regulate the levels of reactive oxygen species, and regulate the inflammatory microenvironment to inhibit the occurrence of tumors. In addition, curcumin can inhibite the proliferation of tumor cells and promote apoptosis of tumor cells. Here, the paper reviews the mechanism of action of curcumin in cancer prevention and treatment and the new progress in the clinical trials, aiming to provide a basis for research in related fields.

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of nutritional risk among hospitalized patients with gynecologic tumor and provide a reference for nutritional intervention.Methods:Hospitalized patients with gynecologic tumor in a grade A class 3 hospital in Beijing were consecutively enrolled from December 2016 to December 2017. Nutritional risk was measured by nutritional risk screening 2002(NRS 2002)within the first 24 h after admission. The relevant influencing factors were analyzed.Results:A total of 1 500 hospitalized patients who met entry criteria and obtained informed consent were consecutively enrolled. The prevalence of nutritional risk was 23.1%, and 53.1 % patients had at least one nutrition-related problem. The analysis of relevant influencing factors showed that patients of age under 30 years and over 50 years( χ2=108.014, P<0.01), malignancy( χ2=112.197, P<0.01), low differentiation pathological type( χ2=251.392, P<0.01), chemotherapy( χ2=339.999, P<0.01)accompanied with vomiting( χ2=121.402, P<0.01), diarrhea( χ2=49.920, P<0.01)had the relatively high prevalence rate of nutritional risk. Pathological stage and operation had no significant effect( P>0.05). Conclusions:The prevalence of nutritional risk among hospitalized patients with gynecologic tumor is relatively high. The main relevant influencing factors include age, kinds of diseases, pathological type, chemotherapy, vomiting and diarrhea.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a promising technique for treating disorders of consciousness (DOCs). However, differences in the spatio-temporal responsiveness of the brain under varied SCS parameters remain unclear. In this pilot study, functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the hemodynamic responses of 10 DOC patients to different SCS frequencies (5 Hz, 10 Hz, 50 Hz, 70 Hz, and 100 Hz). In the prefrontal cortex, a key area in consciousness circuits, we found significantly increased hemodynamic responses at 70 Hz and 100 Hz, and significantly different hemodynamic responses between 50 Hz and 70 Hz/100 Hz. In addition, the functional connectivity between prefrontal and occipital areas was significantly improved with SCS at 70 Hz. These results demonstrated that SCS modulates the hemodynamic responses and long-range connectivity in a frequency-specific manner (with 70 Hz apparently better), perhaps by improving the cerebral blood volume and information transmission through the reticular formation-thalamus-cortex pathway.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Consciousness ; physiology ; Consciousness Disorders ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pilot Projects ; Spinal Cord ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Spinal Cord Stimulation ; methods ; Young Adult

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of Lutongning granules in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in animal models and study its mechanism of action， so as to provide laboratory data support for the clinical application of Lutongning granules and precise treatment. MethodMale SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， carbamazepine group （0.06 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， high-dose Lutongning group （2.70 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and low-dose Lutongning group （1.35 g·kg^-1·d^-1） according to the stratified basic mechanical pain thresholds， with 10 rats in each group. A trigeminal neuralgia model of rats was prepared by injecting 30% talc suspension into the infraorbital foramen area of the rat. The drug groups were administered 10 mL·kg^-1 of drugs by gavage after 2 h of modeling. The normal group and the model group were administered distilled water by gavage under the same conditions once a day for 10 consecutive days. Von Frey brushes were used to determine the mechanical pain threshold of rats. A fully automated blood and body fluid analyzer was employed to detect the blood routine of rats. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was utilized to detect the pathological changes in the trigeminal ganglion and medulla oblongata tissue. Transmission electron microscopy was used to scan the ultrastructure of the medulla oblongata tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin （IL）-1， IL-6， IL-8， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， neuropeptide substance P， and β-endorphins （β-EP） in the serum of rats， and Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of IL-1β， purinergic receptor P2X7 （P2X7R）， and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p-p38 MAPK）. ResultCompared with that in the normal group， the pain threshold of rats in the model group was significantly lower （P<0.01）. The absolute value of neutrophils （NEUT#） and the percentage of neutrophils （NEUT） were significantly improved， and the percentage of lymphocytes （LYMPH） was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. The serum levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α were significantly increased （P<0.01）. SP content in brain tissue was significantly increased， and β-EP content was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The relative protein expression of IL-1β， P2X7R， and p-p38 MAPK was significantly increased （P<0.05）. HE staining and transmission electron microscopy results of medulla oblongata tissue revealed neuronal degeneration， mild proliferation of microglial cells， reduction in the number of myelinated nerves， and obvious demyelination. The trigeminal nerve fibers of rats were disarranged， and some nerve fibers showed vacuolization. Axons were swollen， and Schwann cells proliferated. Demyelination was observed. Compared with the model group， each administration group significantly increased the pain threshold of rats （P<0.05， P<0.01）， reduced NEUT# and NEUT， and elevated LYMPH （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The administration group significantly decreased the levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α in serum and SP in brain tissue （P<0.01） and increased the level of β-EP （P<0.01）. They significantly down-regulated the protein expression of IL-1β， P2X7R， and p-p38 MAPK（P<0.05， P<0.01） and significantly ameliorated the pathological changes in medulla oblongata tissue and trigeminal nerves of rats. ConclusionLutongning Granules had significant therapeutic effects on trigeminal neuralgia induced by injection of talc into the infraorbital foramen of model rats， and the mechanism may be related to amelioration of P2X7R-mediated neuroinflammation and inhibition of demyelination of myelinated nerves.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Shufeng Jiedu capsule （SFJD）-containing serum on human lung epithelial cells infected by influenza A virus， and investigate the protective effect of the drug on the cells and the potential antiviral effect. MethodThe SFJD-containing serum was prepared and used to treat human lung epithelial cells （BEAS-2B） cultured in vitro. The viability of cells treated with different concentrations of SFJD-containing serum was measured by the cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）， and the optimal concentration of SFJD-containing serum was screened for subsequent experiments. BEAS-2B cells were classified into normal control， virus infection， and SFJD-containing serum groups， and the CCK-8 method was used to detect the survival rate of BEAS-2B cells after virus infection and drug administration. The expression of influenza virus nucleic acid in the cells of each group was determined， and the apoptosis of cells in different groups was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Real-time PCR was employed to determine the mRNA levels of influenza virus nucleoprotein （NP）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， and myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 （MyD88） in each group of cells. The immunofluorescence assay was used to detect the fluorescence intensities of TLR4， MyD88， and phosphorylated nuclear factor-κB （p-NF-κB） in lung epithelial cells. ResultCompared with that in the control group （normal serum）， the cell survival rates in the blank serum and the SFJD-containing serum （5%， 10%， and 20%） groups were 100.00%±0.00%， 89.05%±4.80%， 87.13%±5.90%， 93.83%±6.03%， and 99.33%±3.39%， respectively （P<0.01）. The SFJD-containing serum of 20% was selected as the optimal treatment for subsequent experiments. Compared with the normal control group， the virus infection group showed reduced cell survival rate （P<0.01）， and the reduction was increased by the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.01）. Compared with the virus infection group， SFJD-containing serum reduced the virus load （P<0.01） to decrease apoptosis. Compared with the normal control group， the virus infection group showed up-regulated mRNA levels of NP， TLR4， and MyD88 （P<0.01）， and the up-regulation was down-regulated by the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The fluorescence intensities of TLR4， MyD88， and p-NF-κB proteins in the cells increased after virus infection compared with those in the normal control （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and they were decreased after administration with the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe SFJD-containing serum can inhibit influenza virus in vitro by increasing the survival rate， reducing the apoptosis， and down-regulating the protein levels of TLR4， MyD88， and p-NF-κB in BEAS-2B cells.