Objective To investigate the effects of emulsified isoflurane preconditioning on myocardial NF-κB activity during ischemia-reperfusion(I/R)in rats.Methods Forty-eight healthy male SD rats weighing 230-280 g were randomly divided into 4 groups with 12 animals in each group: sham operation group(group S),I/R group,lipid emulsion + I/R group(group L)and emulsified isoflurane + I/R group(group EI).In group I/R,EI and L,myocardial I/R was produced by occlusion of left coronary anterior descending artery(LAD)for 30 min followed by 120 min reperfusion.In group L,30% lipid emulsion 4 ml·kg-1 ·h-1 was infused intravenously for 30 min before myocardial I/R.In group EI,emulsified isoflurane 4 ml· kg- 1 · h- 1 was infused intravenously for 30 min followed by 15 min washout before myocardial I/R.In group S and I/R,normal saline was given instead.Blood samples were taken from femoral artery at the end of 120 min reperfusion for determination of serum cTnI and IL-6 concentrations and CK-MB activity by ELISA.The rats were then killed and the myocardial tissues were taken for determination of NF-κB activity by Western blot and observation of the ultrastructure by electron microscopy.Results The NF-κB activity,serum cTnI and IL-6 concentrations and CK-MB activity were significantly higher in group I/R,EI and L than in group S(P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01),while lower in group EI than in group I/R(P ＜ 0.05).Microscopic examination showed that emulsified isoflurane significantly attenuated the histopathological changes in group EI.Conclusion Emulsified isoflurane pretreatment can attenuate myocardial I/R injury through decreasing the NF-κB activity and inhibiting inflammatory response in rats.

BACKGROUNDFalls are the most frequently reported adverse events in inpatient settings. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of inpatient falls within aged care wards in a tertiary hospital to investigate the associated characteristics of elderly patients suffering from falls and fall-related characteristics.

METHODSConsecutive retrospective cross-sectional design spanned July 2006 to December 2008.

PATIENT GROUPInformation on all aged care inpatients who suffered from 1 or more falls was extracted from Incident Information Management System (IIMS). Further details about the particular admission(s) were obtained from patients' medical records, e.g., patients' characteristics and circumstances surrounding the falls. Randomly selected aged care patients who did not suffer from a fall and who were discharged from the hospital in the same period served control group. Characteristics among patients with single fall and recurrent falls, as well as non-fallers were compared.

RESULTSOf the 438 falls evaluated, 71.9% occurred in patients' room and 18.9% in patients' bathroom/toilet. The common activities were moving/transferring and taking shower/toileting, respectively, 70.3%, 12.1% while occurring falls; and time of falls had a high peak during 9:00-11:00 a.m. Many were unassisted while falling. The common contributing factors for fall were intrinsic factors. Patients with recurrent falls were more likely to have lower Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score. Logistic regression analysis showed length of stay longer than five weeks, dementia and stroke were independent risk factors for recurrent falls; and living in hostel/nursing home preadmission, needing assistance with mobility, cognitive impairment, stroke, incontinence and arthritis/osteoporosis were independent risk factors for fall.

CONCLUSIONSIn an aged care ward, falls are independently associated with recurrent factors. Cognitive impairment/dementia was a strong risk factor for falls, and main causes leading to fall were intrinsic factors. For patients with cognitive impairment/dementia and behavioral disorder providing special and effective interventions is of paramount importance for reducing the incidence of fall in an aged care ward in hospital settings.

Accidental Falls ; statistics & numerical data ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nursing Homes ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Liver organoids are three-dimensional cellular tissue models in which cells interact to form unique structures in culture. During the past 10 years, liver organoids with various cellular compositions, structural features, and functional properties have been described. Methods to create these advanced human cell models range from simple tissue culture techniques to complex bioengineering approaches. Liver organoid culture platforms have been used in various research fields, from modeling liver diseases to regenerative therapy. This review discusses how liver organoids are used to model disease, including hereditary liver diseases, primary liver cancer, viral hepatitis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Specifically, we focus on studies that used either of two widely adopted approaches: differentiation from pluripotent stem cells or epithelial organoids cultured from patient tissues. These approaches have enabled the generation of advanced human liver models and, more importantly, the establishment of patient-tailored models for evaluating disease phenotypes and therapeutic responses at the individual level.

PURPOSE: Lovastatin is an effective inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis. A previous study demonstrated that lovastatin can also suppress airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in murine model of asthma. We aimed to investigate the effect of lovastatin on mucus secretion and inflammation-associated gene expression in the lungs of murine model of asthma. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) by intraperitoneal injection, and orally administered lovastatin from days 14 to 27 post-injection. Gene expression in lung tissues was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. AHR and goblet cell hyperplasia were also examined. BEAS-2B human bronchial epithelial cells were used to evaluate the effect of lovastatin on the expression of cell adhesion molecules, chemokines, and proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. RESULTS: We showed that lovastatin inhibits the expression of Th2-associated genes, including eotaxins and adhesion molecules, in the lungs of murine model of asthma. Mucin 5AC expression, eosinophil infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia were significantly decreased in the lung tissue of murine model of asthma treated with lovastatin. Furthermore, lovastatin inhibited AHR and expression of Th2-associated cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. However, a high dose (40 mg/kg) of lovastatin was required to decrease specific IgE to OVA levels in serum, and suppress the expression of Th2-associated cytokines in splenocytes. Activated BEAS-2B cells treated with lovastatin exhibited reduced IL-6, eotaxins (CCL11 and CCL24), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 protein expression. Consistent with this, lovastatin also suppressed the ability of HL-60 cells to adhere to inflammatory BEAS-2B cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that lovastatin suppresses mucus secretion and airway inflammation by inhibiting the production of eotaxins and Th2 cytokines in murine model of asthma.
Animals ; Asthma* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Chemokines ; Cholesterol ; Cytokines ; Eosinophils ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Goblet Cells ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Immunoglobulin E ; Inflammation* ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; Interleukin-6 ; Lovastatin* ; Lung ; Mice ; Mucin 5AC ; Mucus* ; Ovalbumin ; Ovum ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective: To explore the change rules of active ingredients in Phyllanthi Fructus of different storage years,in order to provide theory basis for storage. Method: Seven Phyllanthi Fruatus samples of different storage years were collected. HPLC-UV detection method was established to determine the contents of gallic acid,corilagin,chebulagic acid,ellagic acid and quercetin. Samples were fingerprinted by FT-NIR and identified by PLS-DA model. Result: Gallic acid,which was the bioactive marker in Chinese Pharmacopoeia,had the highest content. It was followed by ellagic acid and chebulagic acid,and corilagin and quercetin had the least content. The components had significant differences between samples of different storage years (P<0.05). Gallic acid and quercetin reached the maximum value at 6 years of storage,which were 79.36 and 1.68 mg·g^-1 respectively. The contents of chebulagic acid,corilagin and ellagic acid reached a maximum at 4 years of storage,which were 18.85,7.97,21.46 mg·g^-1,respectively. FT-NIR data was optimized by MSC+SG (second derivative, the window parameter as 11,and the polynomial order as 3). The classification accuracy was 84.5%. Spectral data reduced to several important potential variables,and was fused with 5 active components based on minimum cross-validation root mean square error,and the classification accuracy increased to 98.8%. Conclusion: The analysis of PLS-DA by HPLC-UV and FT-NIR could effectively explain the accumulation characteristics of active components in Phyllanthi Fruatus. According to the data fusion strategy,PLS-DA model could distinguish samples of different qualities. The results provide a scientific basis for the quality evaluation and identification of Phyllanthi Fruatus.

BACKGROUND: Imprecise interpretation of coronary angiograms was reported and resulted in inappropriate revascularization. Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score is a comprehensive system to evaluate the complexity of the overall lesions. We hypothesized that a real-time SYNTAX score feedback from image analysts may rectify the mis-estimation and improve revascularization appropriateness in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: In this single-center, historical control study, patients with stable CAD with coronary lesion stenosis ≥50% were consecutively recruited. During the control period, SYNTAX scores were calculated by treating cardiologists. During the intervention period, SYNTAX scores were calculated by image analysts immediately after coronary angiography and were provided to cardiologists in real-time to aid decision-making. The primary outcome was revascularization deemed inappropriate by Chinese appropriate use criteria for coronary revascularization. RESULTS: A total of 3245 patients were enrolled and assigned to the control group (08/2016-03/2017, n = 1525) or the intervention group (03/2017-09/2017, n = 1720). For SYNTAX score tertiles, 17.9% patients were overestimated and 4.3% were underestimated by cardiologists in the control group. After adjustment, inappropriate revascularization significantly decreased in the intervention group compared with the control group (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73-0.95; P = 0.007). Both inappropriate percutaneous coronary intervention (adjusted OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.74-0.92; P < 0.001) and percutaneous coronary intervention utilization (adjusted OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79-0.98; P = 0.016) decreased significantly in the intervention group. There was no significant difference in 1-year adverse cardiac events between the control group and the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time SYNTAX score feedback significantly reduced inappropriate coronary revascularization in stable patients with CAD. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION Nos. NCT03068858 and NCT02880605; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.