More and more attention has been drawn on nano-materials in the application of molecular imaging and targeted cancer therapy. Quantum dots, due to their rich surface chemical properties and bright stable fluorescence, have been used as a new type of nano-probes and widely used in molecular, cellular and vivo biological imaging. In recent years, many inspiring achievements have been obtained in the study on quantum dots surface modification and biological imaging in cell and animals. In this article, current status and the latest developments of the study and the application are reviewed.

Objective To compare the influences of different routes of nutrition on the outcome and respiratory muscle strength of elderly patients in respiratory intensive care unit (RICU). Methods Totally 147 elderly patients in RICU were equally randomized into combined nutrition group ( combinination of parenteral nutrition and enteral nutrition), total enteral nutrition (EN) group, and total parenteral nutrition (PN) group. The changes of energy metabolism, respiratory muscle strength, and short-term outcome were observed or determined.Results Plasma albumin (ALB), hemoglobin (Hb), creatinine (Cr) levels, and nitrogen balance significantly increased in all group 7 days later ( all P ＜ 0. 01 ), while blood urea nitrogen (BUN) significantly decreased ( P ＜0.01 ). The increase of ALB, Hb, Cr levels, and nitrogen balance were significantly more remarkable than that in EN group and PN group (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). The decrease of BUN level in the combined nutrition group was significantly more remarkable than that in EN group ( P ＜ 0. 05 ). After nutritional support, the maximum inspiratory pressure in the combined nutrition group (P =0. 021 ) and EN group (P = 0. 011 ) became significantly higher, and occlusion pressure at 0.1 second inspiration level in the combined nutrition group became significantly lower ( P =0. 025). The incidences of infectious and non-infectious complications in PN group were significantly higher than those in EN group (P = 0. 002 and 0. 017, respectively) and combined nutrition group ( P = 0. 005 and 0. 004, respectively). Gastric retention was more common in EN group than that in PN group ( P = 0. 035). The weaning time,length of RICU stay, length of hospital stay and 20-day-mortality were significantly decreased in the combined nutrition group than those in the other two groups ( all P ＜ 0. 05 ). Conclusion The effectiveness of the combined application of PN and EN is superior to PN or EN alone in improving nutritional status and respiratory muscle strength as well as in improving the short-term outcome in elderly patients in RICU..

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Head ; surgery ; Humans ; Neck ; surgery ; Otolaryngology

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is still one of the significant threats to human life. In recent years, the continuous exploration of small molecule inhibitors represented by bedaquinoline has brought new vitality into the field of tuberculosis. However, small molecule inhibitors will inevitably occur acquired drug resistance during clinical medication. As a new pharmacological mechanism, targeted protein degradation (TPD) achieves efficacy by destroying rather than inhibiting protein targets. It might be an excellent strategy to develop anti-tuberculosis drugs based on the TPD concept to solve drug resistance. This article reviews the protein degradation pathways of Mtb, such as the Pup proteasome system and the ClpP-ClpC1 complex enzyme system. The future development of these strategies into TPD drugs was prospected and summarized.

In this study, a combination of metabolomics and network pharmacology was used to study the pharmacodynamic substances and mechanism of action of Yiyi Fuzi powder (YYFZ) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rats. The animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval number: TCM-LAEC2021241). The metabolomic analysis using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS technique identified 22 metabolites, including arachidonic acid, tryptophan, linoleic acid, phenylalanine, as significant biomarkers for the treatment of RA with YYFZ, and they were significantly regressed after YYFZ treatment. The analysis of YYFZ blood components also revealed that 11 blood components, including hypaconitine, benzoylhypaconitine, and deoxyaconitine, may be the components that exert direct pharmacological effects in YYFZ in vivo, and further network pharmacological analysis of blood components obtained that YYFZ may exhibit anti-inflammatory effects through acting on PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway. The results of this study provide implications for the clinical application of YYFZ.

BACKGROUND: Sleep deprivation cannot only cause learning and memory impairment of animal and human, but also lead to increased content of nitric oxide in brain tissue of rats. Melatonin has the effects of antifreeradical and antioxidation. It has been reported that melatonin can improve aluminum chloride and morphine abstinence induced learning and memory impairment of animal, however, whether it has influence on sleep deprivation induced learning and memory impairment is not very clear. OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of melatonin on memory of rats after sleep deprivation and analyze its possible mechanism. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial.SETTING: Teaching and Experiment Center of Basic Medicine and Department of Nursing, the Fourth Military Medical University.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in Teaching and Experiment Center of Basic Medicine of the Fourth Military Medical University in January 2005. A total of 24 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups, namely, control group, small dosage of melatonin group and large dosage of melatonin group, with 8 in each group on the basis of random digits table.METHODS: To rats in small dosage of melatonin group and large dosage of melatonin group, the dosage of melatonin was 5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg respectively, which was made into 2 mL solution and intraperitoneally injected into the rats at 17:00 o'clock every day, while rats in control group were injected with 2 mL physiological sodium at the same time, once a day for continuous 7 days. Then a 3-day sleep deprivation was given to the rats; melatonin or physiological sodium were also given according to different groups during these days. Rat model of sleep deprivation was established by "Flower Ppot" technique; water maze was used for detecting the memory of rats after 48-hour and 72-hour sleep deprivation; took escape latency (s) as indicator of changes of learning and memory of rats; the shorter the escape latency, the better the spacial memory of rats. When sleep deprivation was finished, all the rats were put to death and hippocampus and cerebral cortex were taken out in ice bath. The content of nitric oxide in cerebral cortex and hippocampus was detected with the method of nitrate reduction, and malondialdehyde (MDA) with the method of thiobarbital acid.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results of escape latency after 48hour and 72-hour sleep deprivation. Contents of nitric oxide and MDA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats.There was significant difference in escape latency in water maze after 48-hour and 72-hour sleep deprivation among each group (F=11.886, P=0.000)and (F=5.440, P=0.012); the escape latency after 48-hour and 72-hour sleep deprivation remarkably decreased both in small and large dosage of melatonin groups as compared with control group, and the latency after 48-hour sleep deprivation was shorter in large dosage group than that in small ide and MDA in brain of rats among each group, namely, nitric oxide in cerebral cortex (F=14.038, P=0.000), MDA in cerebral cortex (F=27.414,P=0.000), nitric oxide in hippocampus (F=22.692, P=0.000), MDA in hippocampus (F=14.316, P=0.000). Compared with control group, the contents of nitric oxide and MDA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus in the two experimental groups decreased significantly, and there was obvious difference in the content of nitric oxide in hippocampus between large and small dosage groups, which showed a dose-effect relationship.CONCLUSION: Melatonin can improve memory impairment of rats after sleep deprivation, which may be closely related to the effect of inhibiting the increase of nitric oxide and MDA in their cerebral cortex and hippocampus.

Objective To observe the effects of dexamethasone (DEX) therapy on the clinical outcome and changes of lymphocyte subsets in children with mild and severe encephalitis.Methods Eighty-two children with mild and severe viral encephalitis were randomly divided into two groups: with DEX treatment (n=46) or without(n=36).The clinical efficacy was evaluated 3 weeks later, and the clinical manifestation were also observed. The changes of CD4~+,CD8~+ T lymphocyte percentage were determined by flow cytometry on admission and at 1 week,4 weeks after treatment.Another group of 20 cases was enrolled as control group.Results Compared with the control group,both the DEX treatment group and non-DEX treatment group showed a reduced CD4~+ lymphocyte count, an increased CD8~+ lymphocyte count(P

0.05).Conclusion Long-term inhaled glucocorticosteroids has no obvious effect on GH and height growth of asthmatic children.

Objective To explore the relationship of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1)and oxygen-induced retinopathy(OIR).Methods Thirty-six newborn SD rats were divided into 2 expanded litters,18 of which were exposed to 50 mL/L oxygen and then 10 mL/L oxygen in alternating 24-hour periods(experiment group),an additional 18 rats as control rats were raised simultaneously in room air(control group).On postnatal 14 days(P14),oxygen-exposed rats were removed to room air.The eyeballs of 6 rats from each group were enucleated and fixed by formaldehyde at postnatal 14 days(P14),postnatal 17 days(P17),and postnatal 21 days(P21)respectively,and then cross sectioned.The nuclei of proliferative retinal vessels were counted through the crosssections to measure the average retinal capillary density index(RCDI)when stained with hematoxylin and eosin(HE)under light;the expression of MCP-1 was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results There existed obviously differencc between 2 groups in the field of both RCDI and the expression of MCP-1 at the same time point [t(P14)=6.69 P=0.001,t(P17)=3.43 P=0.006,t(P21)=2.37 P=0.039;t(P14)=40.45,t(P17)=43.44,t(P21)=17.45 Pa=0],when RCDI and the expression of MCP-1 were compared among the different time points with in the same group,there existed obviously difference among three time points in the experiment group(F=17.74 P=0.0001;F=421.5 P=0),but no differencc in control group(F=0.016 P=0.984;F=0.006 P=0.994).There existed positive correlation between the expression of MCP-1 and the value of RCDI in experiment group(r=0.822 P=0).Conclusions Neovascularization resulting from OIR occurs before room air recove-ry.MCP-1 is upregulated and subsequently downregulated in OIR.Neovascularization in the OIR model appear to be associated with increased retinal MCP-1.

0.05).Conclusion pcDNA3-gB with different doses have not significant effect on the indexes of hematology,hematological biochemistry and pathology in immunized mice.It is initially proved that pcDNA3-gB is safe.