Objective To evaluate the effects of peptide-based enteral nutrition (PBEN) on inflammatory response and immune function in rats with intestinal mucositis.Methods 48 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (all n =8):basal feed group (BFG),PBEN group (PBENG),intact protein enteral nutrition group (IPENG),methotrexate (MTX) + BFG,MTX + PBENG,and MTX + IPENG.The rats in MTX + BFG,MTX + PENG,and MTX + IPENG were intraperitoneal injected with MTX 10 mg/kg on day 0 and day 6 to induce sustained intestinal injury.From day 1,BFG and MTX + BFG were fed with basal feed,PBENG and MTX + PBENG with PBEN,IPENG and MTX + IPENG with IPEN.The daily energy intake of each rat was 1.80 kJ/g body weight.All the rats were sacrificed on day 11.The pathological changes of intestinal tissue were observed with HE staining,the levels of tissue myeloperoxidase (MPO),nitric oxide (NO),inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS),the thymus index and spleen gland index of intestinal tissue were measured using colorimetry,and the serum levels of immunoglobulins IgG,IgA,and IgM were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results There were no significant differences among BFG,PBENG,and IPENG in each index.Serious injury of intestinal mucosa was observed in MTX groups.Significant differences were noted in all indexes between MTX + BFG and BFG (all P ＜0.05).The mucosal damage score (Chiu score) and the level of MPO and iNOS in MTX + PBENG were significantly lower than those in MTX + BFG [2.3 ± 0.69vs.2.96 ± 0.75,P =0.003 ; (2.30 ± 0.42) U/g tissue vs.(2.98 ± 0.23) U/g tissue,P =0.040 ; (0.37 ±0.06) U/mg prot vs.(0.44 ±0.10) U/rag prot,P =0.030] ; the serum levels of IgG and IgA were significantly higher than those in MTX + BFG (P =0.015,P =0.021) ; however,the levels of NO and IgM were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P =0.597,P =0.160).There were no statistically significant differences between MTX + IPENG and MTX + BFG in terms of the indexes (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion PBEN can reduce the inflammation response and improve the immune function in intestinal mucositis rat.

Objective To establish a rat model of persistent intestinal mucosal injury.Methods The rat model of persistent intestinal mucosal injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of methotrexate.The food intake and body weight of all the rats were recorded.Pathological changes were observed using HE staining, the level of D-lactate and diam-ine oxidase in plasma, and myeloperoxidase and malondiadehyde in the intestinal tissue were measured by biochemistry. Results After modeling, the rat body weight and food intake were decreased.On day 4, the scores of mucosal damage, the levels of plasma D-lactate, DAO, MPO and MDA were significantly increased (P<0.05).On day 5, the intestinal damages of rats began to restore, and there was no significant difference among groups on day 6.The symptoms after the secondary injection were similar to those after the first injection, and the rats recovered gradually at day 12.Conclusions Intestinal mucosal injury in rats induced by 20 mg/kg MTX is an acute injury process, the course only lasts for 4-5 days. Intermittent injections twice of 10 mg/kg MTX can cause persistent intestinal mucosal injury in rats.This persistent injury model is more suitable for nutritional therapy evaluation in medium-and long-term studies of nutritional therapy.

Objective To quantitatively assess the cardiopulmonary exercise function of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and observe the effect of aerobic exercise on cardiopulmonary function, motor function and activities of daily living. Methods From December, 2014 to June, 2016, 34 incomplete SCI patients (ASIA C and D) and 23 healthy controls received cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). SCI pa-tients were randomly divided into conventional rehabilitation group (n=17) and aerobic exercise group (n=17). The aerobic exercise group received aerobic exercise for four weeks. They were assessed with CPET, motor and sensory function, walking index for spinal cord injury II (WISCI II) and spinal cord independence measure (SCIM) before and four weeks after training. Results Oxygen uptake (VO2)peak, anaerobic threshold (AT), metabolic equivalent of energy (METpeak), VO2/heart rate (HR)peak, respiratory exchange rate (RER)peak, minute ventilation (VE)peak, work rate (WR)peak and systolic blood pressure (SBP)peak were lower in the patients than in the controls (t>2.714, P<0.05). VO2peak、AT、METpeak、VO2/HRpeak、WRpeak increased in the aerobic exercise group after training (t>2.431, P<0.05). METpeak and WRpeak improved in the conventional rehabilitation group after training (t>3.282, P<0.01). The scores of motor in ASIA and SCIM improved in both groups after training (t>2.985, P<0.05). Conclusion The cardiopulmonary function decreased in incomplete SCI patients, which could be improved by moderate intensity aerobic exercise.

Promoter is one of important elements for gene expression and regulation. In the construction of recombinants for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, it is necessary to have the promoters with varying strengths for fine-tuning metabolic pathway to reach the metabolic balance, decrease the accumulation of intermediate and increase the production of target metabolite. However, the natural promoters available are not completely suitable for fine-tuning metabolic pathway due to discrete strength, lack of versatility and standardization. To deal with this problem, in this study, a new 88 bp synthetic promoter, which contains the typical -35 box, -10 box as well as ribosome bind site, was designed. Then, the promoter library was constructed by introducing some degenerate base pairs in the sequence of 6 bp in the upstream of the initial transcription site and 14 bp in spacer region between -35 and -10 box. 720 promoters with varying strengths were screened out from a library of more than 5 000 clones via the expression of red fluorescent protein mCherry under the control of the synthetic promoter. The sequence analysis based on 35 promoters with varying strengths showed the promoters with varying strengths are base preference. The purine bases in -13 site and pyrimidine bases in the transcriptional initiation sequence are of high frequency; the purine and pyrimidine bases are of the similar frequency in the spacer sequence between -35 and -10 box in strong promoter. In the end, five characterized promoters with varying strengths were selected to tune the synthetic pathway of cis,cis-muconic acid in Escherichia coli. The results showed that the promoters with varying strengths can regulate the production of cis,cis-muconic acid and the accumulation of the intermediate catechol.
Base Sequence ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ; Genes, Bacterial ; Metabolic Engineering ; methods ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Sorbic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the effects of Chaihu Shugan powder ( CSP) on lipid metabolism and the pro-teins involved in adenosine 5’-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) pathway in the liver tissues of the rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly di-vided into normal control ( NC) group, with HFD ( HFD) group and CSP group.The NAFLD models were established by feeding with HFD for 16 weeks in the rats.The rats in CSP group were intragastrically administered with CSP extracts (9.6 g· kg-1 · d-1 ) , and blood and liver samples were collected 16 weeks later.Serum and liver levels of total cholesterol ( TC) and triglyceride ( TG) , and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase ( AST) were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer.The histological changes of liver tissues were observed with HE staining, while the lipid deposition was observed with Oil Red O staining.The ultrastructural changes of the liver tissues were observed under transmission electron microscope.Moreover, the protein levels of AMPK, phosphorylated AMPK (pAMPK), SIRT1 and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in the liver were detected by Western blot.RESULTS:The results of HE staining, Oil Red O staining and electron microscopy demonstrated that NAFLD rat model was successfully estab-lished.Compared with NC group, the serum and liver levels of TC and TG, and serum level of AST in model group were markedly elevated ( P<0.01) .Moreover, the protein levels of pAMPK and SIRT1 in HFD group were markedly reduced (P<0.01), whereas UCP2 level was elevated (P<0.01).Furthermore, liver levels of TC and TG, and serum level of AST in GSP group were markedly reduced as compared with HFD group ( P<0.05 ) .The protein levels of pAMPK and SIRT1 were elevated ( P<0.05 ) , whereas the UCP2 level was reduced as compared with HFD group ( P<0.01 ) .The protein level of AMPK between the 3 groups had no significant difference.CONCLUSION: CSP attenuates hepatic lipid disorder and hepatic lipid deposition in NAFLD rats induced by feeding with HFD for 16 weeks, which is associated with the activation of AMPK/SIRT1 pathway.

Objective:To observe the protective effect of Zhicao Tea Mixture on Müller cells and the expression of inflammatory factors in mice with diabetic retinopathy.Methods:Seventy-five C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the normal control group, diabetes mellitus (DM) group, low concentrations group, medium concentrations group and high concentrations group, with 16 mice in each group. The diabetes model of mice in all groups except the normal control group were established by intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg/kg). Four weeks after the successful modeling, the Zhicao Tea Mixture with low (30 ml/kg), medium (60 ml/kg) and high concentrations (120 ml/kg) were respectively administered by gavage. Weight and blood glucose of mice in each group were measured every two weeks. After 8 weeks, Western blot method was used to detect the mice retina Müller cells activation marker gelatinous fibrous acidic protein (GFAP). Immunofluorescence was performed to detect the expression GFAP and glutamine synthetase (GS). Real-time quantitative PCR (RT- qPCR) and ELISA were used to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of mouse retinal VEGF, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 respectively.Results:The weight of mice in the DM group was lower than that of the normal control group, and the blood glucose was increased. Zhicao Tea Mixture had no effect on the weight of DM mice, but had a significant hypoglycemic effect. The GFAP expression ( t=38.318, P<0.001) in the retina of mice in the DM group was increased and GS expression ( t=29.737, P<0.001) was decreased compared with the control group. The GFAP expression ( t=13.677, 19.387, 16.305; P<0.05) in the retina of mice in the low, medium and high concentrations group were decreased and GS expression ( t=5.170, 19.399, 6.705; P<0.05) were increased compared with the DM group. The expressions of retinal inflammatory factors VEGF, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in DM group all increased, while the expressions of the above-mentioned inflammatory factors in the retina of mice decreased in the low, medium and high concentrations group. Conclusion:Zhicao Tea Mixture can decrease the blood glucose of DM mice and reduces the diabetic retinal inflammatory response.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of intermittent oral-to-esophageal tube feeding combined with perioral massage in treating dysphagia of children with Pierre Robin Syndrome (PRS). Methods A total of 92 PRS children with mandibular distraction osteogenesis were selected and divided into observation group and control group by stratified randomization, with 46 cases in each group. The control group received continuous nasal tube feeding intervention, while the observation group received intermittent oral-to-esophageal tube feeding combined with perioral massage intervention. The changes in nutritional status[body mass index (BMI), serum hemoglobin (Hb), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB)] before and after 1 month of intervention were compared between the two groups. The clinical indicators (hospital stay, time to start oral feeding, and time to full gastrointestinal feeding) were also compared 1 month after the intervention. The swallowing conditions and incidence of complications were recorded in both groups. Results After 1 month of intervention, BMI, Hb, TP and ALB in both groups significantly increased, and the observation group had significant higher values in BMI of (21.58±1.26) kg/m², Hb of (118.76±10.36) g/L, TP of (55.28±6.74) g/L, ALB of (33.46±4.37) g/L compared to BMI of (20.30±1.22) kg/m², Hb of (112.74±9.46) g/L, TP of (51.68±6.33) g/L and ALB of (30.59±4.68) g/L in the control group (P < 0.05). In the observation group, the feeding time was (32.26±4.43) minutes, hospital stay was (21.48±3.11) days, time to start oral feeding was (14.26±3.16) days, and time to full gastrointestinal feeding was (16.79±2.32) days, which were significantly shorter than (36.79±4.65) min, (24.39±3.31) days, (17.25±3.24) days, and (20.48±3.29) days respectively in the control group (P < 0.05); the average residual feeding volume was (10.26±2.18) mL and the number of cases with milk flow was 8 (17.39%) in the observation group, which were significantly less than (12.79±2.31) mL and 17 (36.95%) in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Intermittent oral-to-esophageal tube feeding combined with perioral massage can effectively improve swallowing difficulty in children with PRS and shorten the hospital stay.

Surgery is the important treatment for each type of thyroid cancer. Single or multiple parathyroid injuries or blood supply disorders may occur during the operation, resulting in dramatic decline of parathyroid hormone and hypocalcemia after operation, which is common in clinical practice. After discharge, chronic hypocalcemia can cause great physical and psychological pain to patients. Although the residual parathyroid glands can compensate after surgery in some cases, long-term negative calcium balance and postoperative hypocalcemia may cause excessive hyperplasia of the residual parathyroid glands, resulting in parathyroid hyperfunction or even hyperparathyroidism, which can lead to osteoporosis, urinary calculi, metastatic vascular calcification, and systemic abnormal migratory calcium deposits. It’s advisable to enhance the awareness of the cause and harm of the postoperative hypocalcemia, evaluate and diagnose it early, and actively intervene in every stage of before, during and after the operation and long-term follow-up, which can effectively reduce the occurrence and severity of hypocalcemia and improve the postoperative life quality and the prognosis.

Thyroid cancer is the common malignant tumor in the neck, and surgery is the important treatment measure for it. Some patients suffer from hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy, which will seriously affect the patient’s life quality and prognosis. This article reported a case of 42 years old female patient with hypocalcemia for 6 years after total thyroidectomy due to thyroid cancer, who still had frequent hypocalcemia with high dose of oral calcium and active vitamin D supplementation. Long-term and frequent facial and limb numbness, convulsions, epileptic-like seizures and sudden unconsciousness afflicted her due to hypocalcemia. After admission, her symptoms were obviously relieved after one week of adequate calcium supplementation through oral administration or intravenous infusion under close monitoring. Upon discharge she was able to maintain the normal level of blood calcium by decreased dose of oral calcium supplementation alone. Long-term limb numbness, convulsions, low back pain, shoulder pain, walking instability and other symptoms disappeared basically. The epileptic-like seizures did not recur. During six months of follow-up, her blood calcium was still well controlled in normal level.

Cardiovascular diseases have become a major cause of disability and death among the elderly in China.The continuous improvement of medical care has provided effective treatment for elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases in the acute phase, while how to improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients in the chronic phase has become a medical imperative to be solved.Cardiac rehabilitation, with exercise rehabilitation at its core, is expected to improve cardiopulmonary function, enhance exercise tolerance, alleviate anxiety and depression, and reduce mortality and rehospitalization rates, and has therefore become an effective intervention for cardiovascular diseases in the elderly.In the light of special concerns for the elderly population, such as cognitive impairment, frailty, sarcopenia and polypharmacy, this article systematically introduces the characteristics, obstacles and clinical strategies of cardiac rehabilitation for geriatric cardiovascular diseases, in an effort to provide a clinical reference guide for geriatric cardiac rehabilitation.