This study aimed to investigate whether β-elemene could improve the dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells induced by low shear force (LSS), and the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). Parallel plate flow chambers and ox-LDL were used to establish vascular endothelial cells (ECs) dysfunction model and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMCs) proliferation and migration model, respectively, and the effects of β-elemene on ECs dysfunction and VSMCs proliferation and migration were examined. The activity of ROS in ECs was measured by DHE and the activity of NO in ECs was tested by DAF-FM DA. The protein phosphorylation of Akt and ERK in ECs were detected by Western blot. The proliferation of VSMCs was measured by MTT. The migration of VSMCs was examined by cell scratch test and Transwell assay. The gene expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in VSMCs was measured by RT-qPCR. In ECs, β-elemene could significantly reduce the LSS-induced increase in ROS, significantly increase the LSS-induced decrease in NO, decrease the phosphorylation of ERK, and increase the phosphorylation of Akt. In VSMCs, β-elemene could significantly reduce the proliferation and migration of VSMCs induced by ox-LDL, and reduce the gene expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9. To conclude, β-elemene can improve the LSS-induced ECs dysfunction and ox-LDL-induced VSMCs proliferation and migration.

To establish HPLC dual-wavelength fingerprint of Artemisia rupestris L. , and provide a scientific basis for the improvement of its quality specifications. The separation was performed on an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18(4. 6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm)column maintained at 32 ℃, with methanol-0. 2% formic acid-water gradient elution at flow rate of 1. 0 mL/min and the UV detection wavelength at both 245 and 325 nm. The sample injection volume was 20 μL. The fingerprint of Artemisia rupestris L. was established. 7 and 8 common peaks were found, respectively, of which 5 common peaks were identified, and the similarity among 9 batches of Artemisia rupestris L. and the fingerprints of control was over 0. 9. The HPLC dual-wavelength fingerprint of Artemisia rupestris L. was established for the first time, providing a new scientific basis for its identification and quality control.

Objective:To explore the association between location of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis and incidence of pulmonary embolism in patients with lower extremity fracture during hospitalization.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted of the 1,620 patients who had been treated for lower extremity fracture and deep vein thrombosis from October 2014 to November 2019 at Department of Orthopaedic Trauma, Honghui Hospital. They were 726 males and 894 females, aged from 18 to 98 years (average, 64.0 years). By the anatomical location of thrombosis, they were divided into a proximal thrombosis group and a distal thrombosis group; by the laterality of thrombosis, they were divided into a bilateral thrombosis group and a unilateral thrombosis group which was further divided into a left thrombosis subgroup and a right thrombosis subgroup. The incidences of pulmonary embolism were compared between 2 corresponding groups and subgroups.Results:Pulmonary embolism occurred in 13 of the 1,400 patients with distal thrombosis and in 12 of the 220 patients with proximal thrombosis; the incidence of pulmonary embolism in the proximal thrombosis group (5.45%, 12/220) was significantly higher than that in the distal thrombosis group (0.93%, 13/1,400) ( P<0.001). Pulmonary embolism occurred in 10 of the 337 patients with bilateral thrombosis and in 15 of the 1,283 patients with unilateral thrombosis; the incidence of pulmonary embolism in the bilateral thrombosis subgroup (2.97%, 10/337) was significantly higher than that in the unilateral thrombosis group (1.17%, 15/1,283) ( P=0.017). Pulmonary embolism occurred in 5 of the 677 patients with left thrombosis and in 10 of the 606 patients with right thrombosis; the incidence of pulmonary embolism in the right thrombosis subgroup (1.65%, 10/606) was insignificantly higher than that in the left thrombosis subgroup (0.74%, 5/677) ( P=0.129). Conclusions:In patients with lower extremity fracture, those with proximal or bilateral thrombosis are more prone to pulmonary embolism than those with distal or unilateral thrombosis, but the possibility of pulmonary embolism cannot be ignored clinically in those with distal or unilateral thrombosis.

Objective:To investigate the pathological subtypes and clinicopathological characteristics of the non-squamous immunophenotype nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NSNPC).Methods:The clinicopathological features of the non-squamous immunophenotype nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed between 2011 and 2019 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, transmission electron microscopy and PCR gene rearrangement. Follow-up data were also collected.Results:There were 14 males and 9 females with a median age of 46 years (ranging from 16 to 76 years) with an average age of 45 years. Microscopically, patterns were similar to the classic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry showed that most NSNPC cases expressed low molecular weight keratin (CK8/18, CK8 and CKL) and expressed pathway proteins in a low level (EGFR, PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR), which had significant difference from classic nasopharyngeal carcinoma group ( P<0.05). Other proteins including CK5/6, CKpan, CK7, Syn, CD56, CgA, SOX-10, AKT, mTOR, Notch, STAT3 and p-STAT3 showed no statistical difference between the two groups. Pathogen detection showed that EBER was positive (18/23, 78.3%) and HPV positive(2/23, 8.7%)which were HPV35 and HPV38. The cancer suppressor gene BLU was highly expressed in NSNPC; RASSF1 and Rbms3 were less expressed in NSNPC, in line with classic NPC. As a whole, NSNPC was characterized by ultrastructures of low-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Compared with classic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, NSNPC had a lower recurrence rate and earlier clinical stage( P<0.05),but there was no significant correlation with age, sex, distant metastasis and death ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The histological morphology, etiology and gene changes of NSNPC are similar to those of classical nasopharyngeal carcinoma and ultrastructural findings show that NSNPC still belongs to undifferentiated type in non-keratinized squamous cell carcinoma. The malignant degree of NSNPC is low and the prognosis is good.

To explore the way of prenatal echocardiography in the diagnosis of fetal double aortic arch . Methods T he data of fetuses diagnosed as double aortic arch in 6 prenatal centers in Hunan in echocardiograms performed at 20－36 weeks of gestation from 2013 to 2018 were reviewed . T he characteristics of echocardiographic with double aortic arch , and the associated malformations were observed ,the clinical outcome were analyzed . Results T he main echocardiographic features of the double aortic arch were three‐vessel‐tracheal view s ,which showed a bifurcation of the ascending aorta and a ring consisted of aortic right and left arch . From this retrospective analysis , 29 double aortic arches were identified ,which 8 cases ( 28% ) combined with cardiac defect and extracardiac abnormalities , 1 case with 22q11 deletion . Among them ,5 cases were confirmed by autopsy ,24 cases were diagnosed by computed tomography angiography ( 8 cases were confirmed by operation ) . Conclusions Systematic prenatal echocardiography in the diagnosis of fetal double aortic arch has significant clinical value in the cliagnose of double aortic arch ,w hether it is associated with other malformations and is important for assessing fetal prognosis .

Objective To investigate the expressions of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and brain natrium peptide (BNP) in patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF),and to explore the correlation between plasma levels of TGF-β1,BNP and TGF-β1/BNP with parameter of diastolic function,diastolic dysfunction and New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification of cardiac function.Methods Hospitalized patients with DHF from October 2016 to November 2017 in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital were selected as subjects.At the same time,the age-and gender-matched non-heart failure hospitalized patients were selected as the control.The diastolic function index (E/e') was measured using cardiac ultrasound spectral Doppler and tissue Doppler methods.The diastolic dysfunction classification was evaluated according to the American Society of Echocardiography guidelines.Cardiac function was evaluated with NYHA classification.The levels of plasma TGF-β1 and BNP were measured with method of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The correlation between the indicators was analyzed and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn.Results A total of 186 patients were enrolled,including 114 patients as DHF group [54 males and 60 females,mean age (70.75 ± 11.45) years old] and 72 cases as control group [41 males and 31 females,mean age (68.74 ± 10.86) years old].The levels of TGF-β1 [(77.68 ± 42.31) ng/L] and BNP [(1 153.84 ± 564.96) ng/L] in patients with DHF were significantly higher than those of the control group [(18.76 ± 13.70),(264.07 ± 179.43) ng/L,t =15.62,13.77,P ＜ 0.01].Pearson correlation analysis showed that level of plasma TGF-β1 had a significant liner correlation with index E/e' (r =0.582,P ＜ 0.01),level of plasma BNP had a low-degree liner correlation with index E/e' (r =0.261,P ＜ 0.01),and TGF-β1/BNP had no correlation with index E/e' (r =0.081,P ＞ 0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of TGF-β1 and BNP were significantly correlated with diastolic dysfunction grading (r =0.473,0.417,P ＜ 0.01),while TGF-β1/BNP had no correlation with diastolic dysfunction grading (r =0.062,P ＞ 0.05).Plasma TGF-β1 and BNP had low-degree correlation with NYHA classification of heart failure (r =0.309,0.326,P ＜ 0.01),TGF-β1/BNP had no correlation with NYHA classification of heart failure (r =0.011,P ＞ 0.05).Logistic analysis showed that both plasma TGF-β1 and BNP were independent predictors of DHF (OR =1.264,2.283,P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01).The area under ROC curve (AUC) of BNP for prediction of DHF was 0.937 ± 0.064,and TGF-β1 was 0.597 ± 0.042.AUC areas of BNP and TGF-β1 were significantly different (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The expressions of plasma TGF-β1 and BNP in patients with DHF are higher than those without DHF.The levels of plasma TGF-β1 and BNP are significantly correlated with index E/e',diastolic dysfunction grading and NYHA classification.Both elevated BNP and TGF-β1 levels are independent predictors of DHF.Both plasma BNP and TGF-β1 have auxiliary diagnostic value on DHF and the diagnostic value of plasma BNP is greater than plasma TGF-β1.

AIM: To study the effect and mechanism of Di'ao Xinxuekang (DXXK) on insulin resistance in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) mice. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into normal group and model group. After 16 weeks of high-fat diet, the model group was randomly divided into model group and Pioglitazone group (6.0 mg · kg

Spike recorded by multi-channel microelectrode array is very weak and susceptible to interference, whose noisy characteristic affects the accuracy of spike detection. Aiming at the independent white noise, correlation noise and colored noise in the process of spike detection, combining principal component analysis (PCA), wavelet analysis and adaptive time-frequency analysis, a new denoising method (PCWE) that combines PCA-wavelet (PCAW) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition is proposed. Firstly, the principal component was extracted and removed as correlation noise using PCA. Then the wavelet-threshold method was used to remove the independent white noise. Finally, EEMD was used to decompose the noise into the intrinsic modal function of each layer and remove the colored noise. The simulation results showed that PCWE can increase the signal-to-noise ratio by about 2.67 dB and decrease the standard deviation by about 0.4 μV, which apparently improved the accuracy of spike detection. The results of measured data showed that PCWE can increase the signal-to-noise ratio by about 1.33 dB and reduce the standard deviation by about 18.33 μV, which showed its good denoising performance. The results of this study suggests that PCWE can improve the reliability of spike signal and provide an accurate and effective spike denoising new method for the encoding and decoding of neural signal.
Algorithms ; Microelectrodes ; Principal Component Analysis ; Reproducibility of Results ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Wavelet Analysis

Objective To investigate the influencing factors for direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) therapy failure in the treatment of hepatitis C by comparing baseline clinical data and resistance-associated substitution (RAS) in sequencing data between the patients with HCV RNA reactivation after DAA therapy and the patients with successful DAA treatment. Methods A total of 13 patients from multiple centers who failed DAA therapy from November 2019 to October 2021 were enrolled as treatment failure group, and sequencing was performed for their positive serum samples. A total of 51 patients with successful DAA treatment were enrolled as control group, and baseline clinical data and sequencing results were compared between the treatment failure group and the control group. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups; univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to calculate odds ratio ( OR ) and investigate the influencing factors for treatment failure. Results All 12 patients with complete treatment data experienced recurrence within 1 year after the end of medication. The male patients with treatment failure had significantly higher baseline total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, and creatinine than their female counterparts ( Z =-2.517, -2.440, and -2.132, P =0.010, 0.010, and 0.038), and the patients with an age of ≤55 years ( OR =5.152, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.116-23.790, P =0.036) or genotype 3b ( OR =9.726, 95% CI : 1.325-71.398, P =0.025) had a higher probability of treatment failure. There were differences in the incidence rates of major RAS mutations on three gene fragments between the treatment failure group and the treatment success group, and the common RAS mutations detected in the treatment failure group were not detected in the treatment success group. Conclusion Age, genotype, and RAS in serum virus gene sequence are influencing factors for DAA treatment failure.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of O-arm navigation and ultrasound volume navigation (UVN) in guiding screw placement during minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) surgery. METHODS: Sixty patients who underwent MIS-TLIF surgery for lumbar disc herniation between June 2022 and June 2023 and met the selection criteria were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to group A (screw placement guided by UVN during MIS-TLIF) or group B (screw placement guided by O-arm navigation during MIS-TLIF), with 30 cases in each group. There was no significant difference in baseline data, including gender, age, body mass index, and surgical segment, between the two groups ( P>0.05). Intraoperative data, including average single screw placement time, total radiation dose, and average single screw effective radiation dose, were recorded and calculated. Postoperatively, X-ray film and CT scans were performed at 10 days to evaluate screw placement accuracy and assess facet joint violation. Pearson correlation and Spearman correlation analyses were used to observe the relationship between the studied parameters (average single screw placement time and screw placement accuracy grading) and BMI. RESULTS: The average single screw placement time in group B was significantly shorter than that in group A, and the total radiation dose of single segment and multi-segment and the average single screw effective radiation dose in group B were significantly higher than those in group A ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the total radiation dose between single segment and multiple segments in group B ( P>0.05), while the total radiation dose of multiple segments was significantly higher than that of single segment in group A ( P<0.05). No significant difference was found in the accuracy of screw implantation between the two groups ( P>0.05). In both groups, the grade 1 and grade 2 screws broke through the outer wall of the pedicle, and no screw broke through the inner wall of the pedicle. There was no significant difference in the rate of facet joint violation between the two groups ( P>0.05). In group A, both the average single screw placement time and screw placement accuracy grading were positively correlated with BMI ( r=0.677, P<0.001; r=0.222, P=0.012), while in group B, neither of them was correlated with BMI ( r=0.224, P=0.233; r=0.034, P=0.697). CONCLUSION UVN-guided screw placement in MIS-TLIF surgery demonstrates comparable efficiency, visualization, and accuracy to O-arm navigation, while significantly reducing radiation exposure. However, it may be influenced by factors such as obesity, which poses certain limitations.
Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Pedicle Screws ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fusion ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome