AIM: This study was designed to investigate the protective role of hypobaric hypoxic pretreatment (HHPT) on hippocampal neurons in Babl/c inbred mice. METHODS: HHPT was produced by simulating a 7 000 m high altitude 2.5 h/d for 3 d. At 36 h after last time decompression, three subgroups consisted of both the control and pretreatment mice were subjected to the 12 000 m high altitude hypobaric hypoxia for 4 h, the severe ischemia produced by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion for 18 min, and the severe ischemia/hypoxia produced by permanently ligation of right lateral common carotid artery followed by a 8 000 m high altitude hypobaric hypoxia for 4 h, respectively. The extents of protection to hippocampal CA1 neurons by HHPT were evaluated by accounting the number of intact neurons between HHPT and control group. RESULTS: The results indicated that HHPT protected hippocampal neurons against severe hypobaric hypoxia, severe ischemia, and ischemia combined with hypobaric hypoxia. CONCLUSION: Hypobaric hypoxic pretreatment induces a delayed protection to hippocampal neurons against hypoxic and ischemic injuries.

AIM: This study was designed to explore the differentially expressed genes between hypobaric hypoxic delayed preconditioning (HHDP) and normal mouse hippocampus. METHODS: HHDP was produced by treating the animals at a 7 000 m high altitude for 2.5 h/d for 3 d. At 36 h after last time decompression, total RNA was isolated from hippocampus. cDNA was synthesized and amplified by SMART PCR. cDNA libraries of differentially expressed gene between HHDP and control hippocampus were constructed. 452 clones from forward (subtracted control from preconditioning) cDNA library and 74 clones from backward (subtracted preconditioning from control) one were screened by reverse Northern hybridization. RESULTS: Screening with subtracted probes, hybridization signal of 85 gene fractions decreased and that of 217 gene fractions increased by more than 2 times in HHDP hippocampus compared with control. Screening with unsubtracted probe, hybridization signal of 44 gene fractions decreased and that of 135 gene fractions increased by more than 2 times in HHDP hippocampus compared with control. Some of the clones had been sequenced. Analysis and comparison with the data of GenBank were performed. The results showed that mouse cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 and 6, deleted in split-hand/split-foot 1 region (DSS1) and cDNA corresponding to clone IMAGE: 5251089 of mice cDNA library were increased in hippocampus of HHDP mice. cDNA corresponding to clone IMAGE: 3593193, mus musculus adult male olfactory brain cDNA and mus musculus bladder RCB-0544 MBT-2 cDAN were decreased in hippocampus of HHDP mice. CONCLUSION: Many genes expresses differentially in hippocampus of mice during HHDP. This may be one of the molecular mechanisms of HHDP.

AIM: This study was designed to explore the effect of hypoxia on expression of P450 2C11 mRNA in cultured rat astrocytes. METHODS: Cultured rat astrocytes were randomly divided into 4 groups: glutamate group (G), hypoxic group (H), hypoxia + glutamate group (H+G) and control (C). Cells of control group were exposed to nomorxic (95% air, 5%CO 2) condition,that of G and H+G were incubated with 100 ?mol/L L-glutamate ,then cells of H and H+G exposed to hypoxic conditions (5%CO 2, 95%N 2) at 37℃?Each group had five timepoints which included 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, respectively. Expression of mRNAs of P450 2C11 were detected with reverse transcription ploymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Expression of P450 2C11 mRNA did not change in H and C at all the above mentioned timepoints. While it showed marked and continuous increase from 6 h to 24 h in G and from 3 h to 24 h in G+H. P450 2C11 mRNA expression was significantly higher in G than both in H and C, and it was the highest of all groups in G+H. CONCLUSIONS: Glutamate and hypoxia+glutamate increased the expression of P450 2C11 mRNA in cultured rat astrocytes continuously in 24 hours. Hypoxia alone did not increase the expression of P450 2C11 mRNA but enhanced the effect of glutamate on expression of P450 2C11 mRNA in astrocytes, which is maybe one of the mechanisms of hypoxic-induced cerebral dilation.

The experimental teaching of Pharmaceutical Technology plays a critical role in improving the students' knowledge conversion,application,and innovation abilities in pharmaceutical engineering specialty.According to the problems existing in experimental teaching process,exploration and practice on the case teaching method and the student-centered teaching mode are introduced in this paper.The implementation of the teaching reform can effectively combine pharmaceutical technology theory with practice,and is conducive to the professional development of pharmaceutical engineering in our university.

Aim To observe the improvement of visual-auditory cognitive functions in the human entering high altitude by taking in tea polyphenols.Methods Thirty eight males living at 3 700 m high altitudes for 90 days constantly were randomly divided into two groups: ①group Ⅰ(placebo,40 mg/day); ②group Ⅱ(TP,300 mg/day).Cognitive functions were measured by integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test and the difference between groups was evaluated by the comparisons of post-treatment to pre-treatment.Results Compared with pre-treatment,PruA was significantly higher after taking in TP(P

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque rupture and thrombosis are the independent risk factors of acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Early identification of vulnerable plaques provides the evidence for early intervention in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, and also helps to reduce the recurrence risk in patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. This article focuses on comparing the advantages and limitations of the available clinical imaging methods in identifying vulnerable carotid artery plaque, and provides relevant prognostic indicators for patient risk stratification in clinical work.

Objective To study the relationship between behavioral problems and family environment in preschool-age children. Methods Children between 4-6 years of age in the kindergartens of Zhongshan city were randomly selected. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess the behavioral problems in children, and self-designed general situation question-naire and Family Environment Scale-Chinese Version (FES-CV) were applied to evaluate the family environment. Results A total of 3445 children were enrolled and 29.87%children showed behavioral problems. There were signiifcant differences in the scores of feeling expression, family conlfict, intelligence, recreation, organization and control between children with and without behavior problems (P<0.001). The scores of feeling expression, intelligence, recreation, organization and control were signiif-cantly higher and the score of family conlfict was lower in healthy children in comparison with children with behavior problems. Through multivariate logistic regression, it was suggested that female (OR=2.04), non-urban population (township OR=1.45, rural OR=1.51), non-local Zhongshan resident (OR=1.39), father’s low educational level (technical secondary school OR=1.77, junior high school OR=2.17, primary school and below OR=3.24), discipline styles (indulgent OR=1.47, mixed OR=1.37), family conlfict (OR=1.13) were independent risk factors for behavioral problems (P<0.05). Mother’s age over 30 (OR=0.74) or over 40 (OR=0.46), feeling expression (OR=0.94) and intelligence (OR=0.87) were independent protective factors for behavioral prob-lems (P<0.05). Conclusions Behavioral problems in preschool-age children are closely related to family environment, which needs to be paid more attention.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of gene of phosphate and tension homology (PTEN)-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin pathway on hippocampal mitophagy and cognitive function in mice with sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) and its possible mechanism. METHODS: A total of 80 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into Sham group, cecal ligation puncture (CLP) group, PINK1 plasmid transfection pretreatment groups (p-PINK1+Sham group, p-PINK1+CLP group), empty vector plasmid transfection control group (p-vector+CLP group), with 16 mice in each group. The mice in CLP groups were treated with CLP to reproduce SAE models. The mice in the Sham groups were performed laparotomy only. Animals in the p-PINK1+Sham and p-PINK1+CLP groups were transfected with PINK1 plasmid through the lateral ventricle at 24 hours before surgery, while mice in the p-vector+CLP group were transfected with the empty plasmid. Morris water maze experiment was performed 7 days after CLP. The hippocampal tissues were collected, the pathological changes were observed under a light microscope after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the mitochondrial autophagy was observed under a transmission electron microscopy after uranyl acetate and lead citrate staining. The expressions of PINK1, Parkin, Beclin1, interleukins (IL-6, IL-1β) and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the Sham group, CLP group mice in Morris water maze experiment had longer escape latency, shorter target quadrant residence time, and fewer times of crossing the platform at 1-4 days. Under the light microscope, the hippocampal structure of the mouse was injured, the neuronal cells were arranged in disorder, and the nuclei were pyknotic. Under the electron microscope, the mitochondria appeared swollen, round, and wrapped by bilayer or multilayer membrane structures. Compared with the Sham group, CLP group had higher expressions of PINK1, Parkin, Beclin1, LC3II/LC3I ratio, IL-6 and IL-1β in hippocampus, indicating that sepsis induced by CLP could activated inflammatory response and caused PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy. Compared with the CLP group, p-PINK1+CLP group had shorter escape latencies, spent more time in the target quadrant and had more number of crossings in the target quadrant at 1-4 days. Under the light microscope, the hippocampal structures of mice was destroyed, the neurons were arranged disorderly, and the nuclei were pyknotic. Under transmission electron microscope, swollen and rounded mitochondria and mitochondrial structure wrapped by double membrane or multilayer membrane structure were observed. Compared with the CLP group, the levels of PINK1, Parkin, Beclin1 and LC3II/LC3 ratio in the p-PINK1+CLP group were significantly increased [PINK1 protein (PINK1/β-actin): 1.95±0.17 vs. 1.74±0.15, Parkin protein (Parkin/β-actin): 2.06±0.11 vs. 1.78±0.12, Beclin1 protein (Beclin1/β-actin): 2.11±0.12 vs. 1.67±0.10, LC3II/LC3I ratio: 3.63±0.12 vs. 2.27±0.10, all P < 0.05], while the levels of IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly decreased [IL-6 protein (IL-6/β-actin): 1.69±0.09 vs. 2.00±0.11, IL-1β protein (IL-1β/β-actin): 1.11±0.12 vs. 1.65±0.12, both P < 0.05], suggesting that overexpression of PINK1 protein could further activate mitophagy and reduce the inflammatory response caused by sepsis. There was no statistically significant difference in the above pathological changes and related indicators between Sham group and p-PINK1+Sham group, CLP group and p-vector+CLP group. CONCLUSIONS PINK1 overexpression can further activate CLP-induced mitophagy by upregulating Parkin, thereby inhibiting inflammation response and alleviate cognitive function impairment in SAE mice.
Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy ; Phosphates ; Actins ; Beclin-1 ; Interleukin-6 ; Autophagy ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; Sepsis ; Mitochondria ; Protein Kinases

In order to reveal the mechanism of silicon (Si) fertilizer in improving nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrient availability in paddy soil, we designed a series of soil culture experiments by combining application of varying Si fertilizer concentrations with fixed N and P fertilizer concentrations. Following the recommendations of fertilizer manufacturers and local farmers, we applied Si in concentrations of 0, 5.2, 10.4, 15.6, and 20.8 μg/kg. At each concentration of added Si, the availability of soil N and P nutrients, soil microbial activity, numbers of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and P-decomposing bacteria which means that the organic P is decomposed into inorganic nutrients which can be absorbed and utilized by plants, and urease and phosphatase activity first increased, and then decreased, as Si was added to the soil. These indicators reached their highest levels with a Si application rate of 15.6 μg/kg, showing values respectively 19.78%, 105.09%, 8.34%, 73.12%, 130.36%, 28.12%, and 20.15% higher than those of the controls. Appropriate Si application (10.4 to 15.6 µg/kg) could significantly increase the richness of the soil microbial community involved in cycling of N and P nutrients in the soil. When the Si application rate was 15.6 μg/kg, parameters for characterizing microbial abundance such as sequence numbers, operational taxonomic unit (OTU) number, and correlation indices of microbial community richness such as Chao1 index, the adaptive coherence estimator (ACE) index, Shannon index, and Simpson index all reached maximum values, with amounts increased by 14.46%, 10.01%, 23.80%, 30.54%, 0.18%, and 2.64%, respectively, compared with the control group. There is also a good correlation between N and P mineralization and addition of Si fertilizer. The correlation coefficients between the ratio of available P/total P (AP/TP) and the number of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, AP/TP and acid phosphatase activity (AcPA), AP/TP and the Shannon index, the ratio of available N/total amount of N (AN/TN) and the number of ammoniated bacteria, and AN/TN and AcPA were 0.9290, 0.9508, 0.9202, 0.9140, and 0.9366, respectively. In summary, these results revealed that enhancement of soil microbial community structure diversity and soil microbial activity by appropriate application of Si is the key ecological mechanism by which application of Si fertilizer improves N and P nutrient availability.

Arnebiae Radix is used widely in TCM external treatment. It has obvious curative effect on skin diseases， wound infection and local inflammation， and is used to treat water and fire burns， skin ulcers， eczema， psoriasis， vitiligo and atopic dermatitis， etc. The clinical and commercial preparations mainly include ointment， liniment and suppository. Modern research has proved that microcapsules， nano-micelles， nanofiber membranes， nanogels and other novel nanoformulations can significantly improve the stability of drug-effective substances， improve local drug concentration and targeting， and perform sound drug release properties in vitro. This paper reviews the variety and application of Arnebiae Radix traditional preparations for external use and the research progress of novel nanoformulations of Arnebiae Radix， from which we prospect to provide some valuable references for the future application and development of Arnebiae Radix external preparations.