A comparison of plant and animal stem cells can highlight core aspects of stem-cell biology. In both kingdoms, stem cells are defined by their clonogenic properties and are maintained by intercellular signals. The signaling molecules are different in plants and animals stem cell niches, but the roles of argonaute and polycomb group proteins suggest that there are some molecular similarities.
Animals ; Plant Cells ; Signal Transduction ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism

GPCBAR1, also known as TGR5 receptor, is one member of the GPCRs family. TGR5, a pattern recognition receptor located on cell membrane, is widely expressed in human beings and animals, playing numerous significant roles in anti-inflammation and immune regulation, energy metabolism, glucose metabolism and anti-cancer. Many signaling pathways are induced by TGR5 upon activated. AKT, NF-kB, ERK, STAT3, cAMP signaling pathways, methods and results of TGR5-mediated signaling pathways and t(ie development of new drugs via TGR5-mediated signaling pathways were reviewed in this paper.

Objective To evaluate the clinical feasibility of localization CT enhanced image replacing plain CT scan image for target delineation and dose calculation.Methods Forty cases of NPC were collected and divided into two groups with different concentrations of contrast agents.The contours of planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs) of each case were delineated in the plain scan image,and the contours of PTV and OARs were copied to the enhanced image.Two plans based on the plain scan image and the enhanced image were designed in the planning system of Eclipse.The dose distribution and OARs and MU were compared between the groups.Results No statistical differences were found in the dosimetry of PTV,OARs and MU (P＞0.05).Conclusion The image intensifier has little effect on the dose calculation of Eclipse for NPC.In the radiotherapy for NPC,the localization CT enhanced image can be used to replace the plain CT scan image for target delineation and dose calculation.

BackgroundIron-containing foreign body trapped in the eyeball wall without affecting the opticus occurs occasionally in clinic. Operation always is performed in an attempt to avoid the deposition of rust in different tissues of the eye-balls. However,a few animal experimental studies showed that a small foreign body does not affect the retina and opticus in the period of three months. The question of whether surgery needs to be carried out is worth discussion. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of posterior intrascleral iron foreign body on the rabbit retina and opticus. MethodsTwelve healthy adult Japan flap-eared white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups. Medium carbon iron with rust or without rust( size of 2. 0 mm × 1. 0 mm×0. 2 mm) were implanted into the posterior sclera of the left eye to create the animal model with iron foreign body in the eyeball wall. The cornea, anterior chamber, crystalline lens, vitreous and fundus of the rabbits were observed under a slit lamp microscope 1weekbeforeoperationand 1week, 2weeks, 1monthand 3months after operation.Flash electroretinogram(F-ERG) and flash visual evoked potential (F-VEP) were recorded at the time points mentioned above. All the rabbits were sacrificed and the eye balls were extracted at the end of the experiment, and the position of the iron foreign body was determined. The histopathological examinations of the retina and opticus were performed under the light microscope. This experiment complied with the Regulations for the Administration of Affair Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission. ResultsThere were no statistical differences for the a-wave amplitude of F-ERG among different time points( F =1. 885,P =0. 129 ) and different treatment groups ( F =1. 188, P =0. 340 ), as with the ERG b-wave amplitude ( time: F =2. 73, P =0. 064 ; group : F =1. 114, P =0. 367). The differences in the latencies of F-VEP N1-wave were insignificant among the different time points( F =1. 605, P =0. 263 ) as well as various groups ( F=1. 556, P =0.314 ), and those of F-VEP P1 -wave were not evidently changed ( time: F =2. 329, P =0. 092 ; group : F =2. 186, P =0. 103 ). No correlations were seen between the time factor and grouping factor ( P ＞ 0. 05 ). There was no apparent siderosis bulbi change during the follow-up duration. No morphological abnormality in the retina and optical nerve was found under the light microscope. At the end of the experiment,intrascleral iron foreign body was wrapped by surrounding tissue in a stable condition. Conclusions The small posterior intrascleral iron foreign body, whether it is oxidized or not, does not produce distinctive functional or pathological damage on retina and opticus in the short term.

OBJECTIVETo study vertebral body stress distribution of normal disc, post-Diskectomy and artificial disk respectively by 3-D finite element methods, and to explore artificial intervertebral disk insertion impact on stress distribution of vertebral body.

METHODSModels of normal disk, post-Diskectomy, artificial disk and L(4 - 5) motion segment were established by using finite element software MSC. MARK, then vertebral body stress was analyzed through model of L(4 - 5) motion segment respectively.

RESULTSThe vertebral body's stress was the smallest after insertion of artificial intervertebral disk (AID), and its stress distributed equally. But the stress under post-discectomy was bigger than the normal disc's in all the motion state. On the other hand, the stress distribution state of the post-discectomy changed while the spine were in different motion state, during the spine flexion, the stress in the anterior of vertebral body was the biggest; While extension, in the posterior and in right flexion state, the biggest stress was in the right. While vertical compression and rotation, the stress distributed equally.

CONCLUSIONThe results illustrate that the vertebral body's stress is the smallest after insertion of AID in 3 groups of all motion state, and its stress distributes equally. But the level of vertebral body stress increases after discectomy comparing with the normal group. In generally, it is much more reasonable that the disc is reconstructed with AID because of the biomechanical effect on vertebral body made by AID insertion.

Diskectomy ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; physiology ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; physiology ; surgery ; Models, Biological ; Prostheses and Implants ; Prosthesis Implantation ; Stress, Mechanical

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of tea polyphenol(TP) on the rat with alcoholic liver damage.

METHODRats were divided into 3 groups, in which 2 groups were stomach perfused with alcohol to result in ALD, and 1 group of them stomach perfused with TP simultaneously. Another group was normal control groups (stomach perfused with drinking water). In the end of 12 weeks, the liver specimen of each rat was observed by anglicizing its tissue damage, and all data collected was performed by statistical analysis in quantum and semi-quantum. Meanwhile cytokines gene express of each group is determined.

RESULTIn the end of 12 weeks, alcoholic hepatitis appeared in rat liver. Hepatic injury in alcohol group and TP group were found, but could not be found in normal group. Compared with pure alcohol group, alcoholic liver damage mainly showing with steatosis in TP group were slight, in addition showing liver cellular swelling with small area, with less spot and focal necrosis, none bridging necrosis. Steatosis were slight relatively, mega-bubble steatosis were less found. Collagen deposition of TP group were less than those of pure alcohol group. Gene expression of. cytokine have diversity statistically such as IL-3, IL-4, IL-1R2, IL-6R, IL-7R2, IL-3Ra, IL-R1, IL-13, IL-1R1, IL-7R2, EPO-R, LIFR, IL-1R2, IL-5R2, CSF1, CD27, IL-6R.

CONCLUSIONTP is able to attenuate alcoholic liver damage. It's mechanism is possibly due to modulating cytokines gene expression of cytokine.

Animals ; Flavonoids ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression ; Interleukins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Phenols ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polyphenols ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Interleukin ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Tea ; chemistry

Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the elderly often reveals white matter changes (WMCs) with substantial variability across individuals.Our study was designed to explore MRI features and site-specific factors of ischemic WMCs.Clinical data of consecutive patients diagnosed with ischemic cerebral vascular disease who had undergone brain MRI were collected and analyzed.Multi-logistic regression analysis comparing patients with mild versus severe WMCs was performed to detect independent associations.Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to detect regionally specific differences in lesions.We found that lesion distribution differed significantly across five cerebral areas,with lesions being predominant in the frontal lobe and parieto-occipital area.To explore WMCs risk factors,after adjusting for gender,diabetes mellitus,and hypertension,only age (P＜0.01),creatinine (P=0.01),alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (P=0.01) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P=0.03) were found to be independently associated with severe WMCs.Age (P＜0.001) was strongly associated with WMCs in the frontal lobe while hypertension was independently related to lesions in the basal ganglia (P=0.048) or infratentorial area (P=0.016).In conclusion,MRI of WMCs showed that ischemic WMCs occurred mostly in the frontal lobe and parieto-occipital area.The infratentorial area was least affected by WMCs.Typically,age-related WMCs were observed in the frontal lobes,while hypertension-related WMCs tended to occur in the basal ganglia and infratentorial area.

Objective To investigate the changes of hydrogen sulfide (H_2S) level in plasma in order to explore the role of H_2S in the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to congenital heart disease (CHD).Methods There were 9 CHD patients and 9 normal children in this study. The plasma concentration of H_2S and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) of each child were measured. Meanwhile, the relationship between H_2S level and PAP was analyzed.Results The plasma level of H_2S in the group of CHD significantly decreased compared with control group (32.13?2.25) ?mol/L vs [(43.69?2.05)?mol/L, P

To study and analyze prevalence condition of hypertension and complicated cardiovascular risk factors in north Fujian rural area .Methods : By cluster sampling , an epidemiological questionnaire and physical ex‐amination were performed among 1784 residents using standardized survey method , who were ≥35 years from six towns and eight villages in north Fujian rural area from Jun 2013 to Mar 2014. Hypertension was diagnosed accord‐ing to The 2010 Chinese Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension , multivariate Logistic regres‐sion was used to analyze independent risk factors for hypertension in these subjects .Results : Prevalence rate of hy‐ pertension was 17.43% (31／1784 ) in north Fujian rural area .After population standardization , it＇s 23. 21%(18.66% in men and 16. 13% in women) , there was no significant difference in prevalence rate of hypertension be‐tween men and women in any age layer , P＞0. 05 all.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that age , overweight (BMI≥24 kg／m2 ) , high triglyceride and fasting blood glucose were independent risk factors for hyper‐tension in north Fujian rural area (OR＝1.107－2.096 , P＜0. 05 or ＜0. 01).Conclusion : Prevalence rate of hyper‐tension is high in north Fujian rural area , age , overweight , smoking , high triglyceride and fasting blood glucose are the main risk factors .

OBJECTIVETo study the anatomy of the small intestine,and investigate the optimal selection of donors,recipients,and their small intestine vessels in piglet small intestine transplantation.

METHODSThe weight and length of 30 piglets were measured. Angiography and pigments perfusion were used to observe the main vessels of the small intestine,and the length of the small intestine,and the external diameter of the main vessels of the small intestine were measured in vivo and ex vivo.

RESULTSThe length of the small intestine was 11.5 times as long as the body length, and its weight accounted for 2.3% of the body weight. The outer diameters of abdominal aorta (AT), mesenteric anterior artery (MAA) and its 5(th)-6(th) branches in vivo and ex vitro were 4.3/4.6mm, 2.5/2.7mm and 1.9/2.2mm respectively. The total number of MAA's branches was 6-8 in general and its 5(th)-6(th) branches were the longest [(20.0 +/- 7.0) mm, (22.0 +/- 8.2) mm]. The outer diameter of mesenterial anterior vein (MAV) was 1-2 mm wider than that of MAA.

CONCLUSIONSAT, MAA and its 5(th)-6(th) branches are the preferable vessels for small intestine transplantation. In segmental small intestine transplantation, the length of the small intestine and body weight can be used to primarily select the suitable animals.

Animals ; Blood Vessels ; anatomy & histology ; Female ; Intestine, Small ; blood supply ; transplantation ; Male ; Organ Transplantation ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature