Objective To investigate the correlation between apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphisms and expression of p38MAPK of injured astrocytes in the early stage.Methods Scratch injury to astrocytes of three different alleles of APOE (ε2,ε3,andε4) was induced.RT-PCR and Western-blot were applied to detect dynamic changes of intracellular p38MAPK before injury and at 12,24,48,and 72 hours postinjury.Results Expression of p38MAPK in APOEε2,ε3,andε4 astrocytes increased gradually over time,whereas before and 12-hour after injury,the difference was insignificant in pair comparison (P ＞ 0.05).p38MAPK in APOEε2,ε3,andε4 astrocytes revealed progressive up-regulation at 24,48,and 72 hours postinjury,but the expression in APOEε4 astrocytes was the highest (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion In the early period of injury,highly expressed p38MAPK in APOEε4 astrocytes indicates a more active p38MAPK-induced inflammatory response in APOEε4 carriers which may contribute to acute exacerbation and poor outcome.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have shown that composite scaffold of chitosan and poly-L-lactic acid has good biocompatibility with some cells. OBJECTIVE:To study the biocompatibility of poly-L-lactic acid reinforced by chitosan and olfactory ensheathing cells. METHODS:In experimental group, olfactory ensheathing cells from Sprague-Dawley rats aged 1-3 days were incubated onto chitosan-reinforced poly-L-lactic acid film. And in control group, olfactory ensheathing cells were co-cultured with poly-L-lysine. The proliferative ability of olfactory ensheathing cells was detected and the cells were observed with immunofluorescence histochemical staining at 1, 3, 5, 7 days after culture. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Olfactory ensheathing cells could survive on the chitosan-reinforced poly-L-lactic acid film, and the cytotoxic grade wasⅠ. Morphology of the cells in the experimental group was round or oval, with little processes and the cells aggregated into groups. One day after implantation, the periphery cells of the mass extended short projections and gradual y spread outward;3 days after implantation, the cells spread and most of the cells generated projections, most of which were bipolar or tri-polar;5 days after implantation, cel processes significantly extended, most cells were bipolar and tri-polar cells, while some were oval cells and irregular triangular cells;7 days after implantation, the cel density increased, and cel processes extended. Cel morphology of the control group had similar characteristics as the experimental group. There was no obvious difference between the control and the experimental group in number, perimeter or area of the cells (P>0.05). It showed that chitosan-reinforced poly-L-lactic acid had good biocompatibility with olfactory ensheathing cells.

BACKGROUND: Fibrin glue has been demonstrated to function as a kind of biomaterial with high quality. It has been used in nerve tissue engineering and proved to be a kind of scaffold for some cells.OBJECTIVE: To explore the biocompatibility of fibrin glue and olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs).DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: An in vitro control trial based on cytology was performed at the Institute of Neurobiology,Nantong University from August 2007 to February 2008.MATERIALS: Fibrin glue was made of fibrin and catalyst, and OECs derived from rats' olfactory bulb were normally primary-cultured.METHODS: OECs were divided into control (OECs clone spheres were cultured alone) and in fibrin glue (OECs clone spheres were cultured and combined with fibrin glue) groups. After 1 week of culture, the proliferation of OECs were observed by convert microscope and detected by S-100 immunofluorescence histochemical staining.MAIN OUTCOME M EASURES: OECs morphology, cell count, the area of the cell bodies and the perimeter of the cell were determined.RESULTS: OECs could survive, migrate in fibrin glue, and float in the fibrin glue in the lower layer. After 7 days of incubation, cell body exhibited fusiform or triangle, predominantly bipolar or bipolar. The number of the S-100 positive cells was more, and cell bodies were larger in fibrin glue group than control group (P < 0.05). However, there was no obvious difference between two groups in cell perimeter (P > 0.05).CONCLUSION: Fibrin glue has good biocompatibility with OECs, and OECs can survive and migrate in fibrin glue.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the indications,findings,interventions of fibrobronchoscopy(FB) in neonates and their correlative diseases with neonatal FB results and clinical data.Methods Retrospective case series of 243 consecutive patients of 28 days old or younger were investigated underwent FB for the first time from January 2010 to December 2014,at a tertiary care hospital.The common indications for FB and detection rate of respiratory tract diseases were collected.If the findings of FB had significant associations with premature birth and other diseases were analyzed.Associations between interventions and basic illnesses were also analyzed.Results Of the 243 patients undergoing 275 procedures of FB,201 cases were boys(73.1％).The age of FB was (13.34 ± 9.76) days and the weight was (3.08 ± 0.68) kg.Forty-five cases were premature infants (16.4％).A total of 254 procedures were found to have congenital diseases (92.4％),and 177 cases of them had congenital heart diseases (CHD) (64.4％).Common indications for FB were dyspnea(140 cases,50.9％),tachypnea(82 cases,29.8％),and stridor(71 cases,25.8％).A total of 188 upper airway lesions were found and the most common findings were laryngomalacia(56 cases,20.4％) and vocal cord paralysis(bilateral/unilateral,50 cases,18.2％).A total of 315 lower airway lesions were found and the most common findings were airway mucosal inflammation (98 cases,35.6％),trachea and main bronchial stenosis (73 cases,26.5 ％).A total of 21 cases (7.6％) underwent supraglottoplasty during or after FB,while 17 cases (6.2％) underwent tracheal dilation and 10 cases (3.6％) underwent tracheotomy.Compared with non-CHD neonates,neonates with CHD were statistically significantly less likely to have congenital lesions statistically,such as laryngomalacia(15.8％ vs.28.6％,P =0.012),bilateral vocal cord lesions(6.2％ vs.21.4％,P =0.000) and congenital laryngeal dysplasia(0 vs.7.1％,P =0.001).The tracheotomy(0 vs.10.2％,P =0.000) and supraglottoplasty(2.3％ vs.17.3％,P =0.000) were more rare.Nevertheless,they were more likely to have secondary lesions such as the left main bronchial stenosis caused by extrinsic compression (23.7％ vs.1.0％,P =0.000),abnormal bronchial anatomy(9.6％ vs.2.0％,P =0.018),left vocal cord paralysis(9.0％ vs.1.0％,P =0.008) and airway mucosal inflammation(41.8％ vs.24.5％,P =0.004).The tracheostenosis and main broncial stenosis (37.3％ vs.7.1％,P =0.000) with long-term intubation(78.5％ vs.58.2％,P =0.000) were more common.There was no significant difference between term neonates and premature infants in the detection rate of respiratory tract diseases (P ＞ 0.05),tracheotomy (0 vs.4.3 ％,P =0.322),supraglottoplasty (13.3 ％ vs.6.5 ％,P =0.205) or long-term i ntubation (80.0％ vs.69.6％,P =0.157).Complications caused by procedure were rare and mild.Conclusions FB can detect whether the neonates with dyspnea,tachypnea and stridor have laryngomalacia,vocal cord paralysis,airway mucous edema,tracheal and main bronchial stenosis and other signs,and FB may play an important role in diagnosis,treatment and prognosis evaluation of neonatal respiratory diseases.

The present research was aimed to explore the biocompatibility of IKVAV self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold with olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) of rats. The OECs were seeded onto the surface of coverslips covered with IKVAV self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold hydrogel (2D culture system), and implanted within IKVAV self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold hydrogel (3D culture system), respectively. The adhesion, viability of OECs were observed with inverted microscope. Then the characteristics for survival and adhesion of cells by image processing were observed, and statistical analysis on the number of S-100 positive cell, the area of the cell bodies and the perimeter of the cell and MTT method were carried out. It was found that the OECs could survive and migrate in IKVAV self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold. The result of the cell MTT exam, of the shape and quantity of cells had no significant difference compared to those of the OECs cultured with poly-L-lysine (PLL). It has been proved that IKVAV self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold has good biocompatibility with rat OECs.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate ; chemistry ; Laminin ; chemistry ; Nanofibers ; chemistry ; Olfactory Bulb ; cytology ; drug effects ; Peptide Fragments ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the effects of duration of surgery on flash-induced visual evoked potentials (VEP) in patients undergoing spinal surgery in prone position.Methods Eighty-two ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients of both sexes aged 20-76 yr weighing 43-96 kg undergoing spinal surgery in prone position were divided into 3 groups according to the duration of surgery:group S≤2 h ( n =34) ; group M 2-4 h ( n =38) and group L≥4 h ( n =10).VEP was monitored using protektor VEP monitoring device (Xltek Co.,Canada).The latency,amplitude and recovery time of wave P100 were recorded before and 10 min after induction of anesthesia and at the end of surgery.Results Compared with group S,the amplitude of wave P1000 was significantly decreased at the end of surgery in group M,the lantency of wave P100 was significantly prolonged,while the amplitude of wave P100 was decreased at the end of surgery in group L ( P ＜ 0.05).Compared with group M,the lantency of wave P100 was significantly prolonged,while the amplitude of wave P100 was decreased at the end of surgery in group L ( P ＜ 0.05).Compared with groups S and M,the recovery time of wave P100 was significantly prolonged in group L ( P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the recovery time of wave P100 between groups S and M ( P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Duration of surgery (≥4 h) can affect flash-induced VEP,the longer the duration,the stronger the effects.

Objective:On the basis of introducing and piloting long-term care insurance services and providing home care for older adults with disabilities in Suzhou, this paper aims to explore the working experience of home caregivers in the caring environment, understand their difficulties and issues, explore their true feelings and the relevant causes, and to draw lessons from their experience, providing constructive suggestions for the establishment of caregivers as well as policy recommendations for the government.Methods:The qualitative research method was used to collect the field experience data of 9 home caregivers in the caring environemnt through observation and semi-structured interview. Colaizzi phenomenological analysis was used to process and analyze the data.Result:1. Heavy workload and lack of incentive mechanism; 2. Care experience is diverse, with a sense of achievement and happiness, but lack of family′s trust and identification; 3. Professional trainings and peer support are needed.Conclusion:1. Improving the working environment of caregivers and reducing the burden of care; 2.Improve the employment treatment of home care workers, and actively improve the relevant incentive mechanism;3. Paying attention to the emotional experience of caregivers and helping them adapt to their role; 4.Standardize professional knowledge and skills training, provide risk assessment tools, and improve the quality of care.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Scimitar syndrome.Methods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 13 children with scimitar syndrome from January 2013 to November 2020, including clinical symptoms, chest X-ray, echocardiography, cardiac CT and cardiac catheterization prognosis and follow-up.Results:13 children with scimitar syndrome were diagnosed, including 7 girls and 6 boys with a average age of 17 months(21 days to 10 years).3 cases <5 kg in weight. Ten patients presented with the infantile form and 3 with the adult form of scimitar syndrome. 13 infantile form had lower respiratory tract infections, heart failure, and growth retardation, of which 8 cases were with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. 3 adult form were diagnosed because of heart murmur. 12 cases had coexisting cardiac lesions, including 12 atrial septal defect, 2 patent ductus arteriosus, 1 right ventricular double outlet/ventricular septal defect, 4 right lung and right pulmonary artery dysplasia, 2 right lung dysplasia, 6 additional systemic arterial supply to the right lung. Ten patients had pulmonary venous drainage correction surgery, one patient only underwent right ventricular double-outlet correction, three patients died of severe pulmonary hypertension; one patient lost the opportunity of surgery due to obstructive pulmonary hypertension, and one patient was complicated by nervous system The disease gave up treatment. One corrected case was stenosed during discharge and 2 corrected children became stenotic during follow-ups.Conclusion:Found with the median or dextrocardial heart, recurrent respiratory infections, or unexplained pulmonary hypertension, the possibility of scimitar syndrome should be considered. The combination of echocardiography and cardiac CTA can confirm the diagnosis as soon as possible. The risk factors for mortality included infantile form and severe preoperative pulmonary hypertension. Long-term follow-up is still required after operation, and surgical intervention is required again if necessary.

Objective:To summarize and analyze the efficacy, experience and follow-up results of 300 cases of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) intervened by arterial switch operation.Methods:It was a retrospective, single-center study involving 300 TGA patients intervened by arterial switch operation between January 2010 and December 2017 in Guangdong Provincial People′s Hospital.Their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.There were 236 male patients and 64 females.Among them, 128 cases (42.7%) were TGA with ventricular septal defect (TGA/VSD), and 172 cases (57.3%) were TGA with intact ventricular septal defect (TGA/IVS). The mean age and weight at operation were (23.8±39.2) cases days, and (3.5±0.8) kg, respectively.There were 193 cases (64.3%) with usual coronary artery patterns, and 107 cases (35.7%) with unusual coronary artery patterns.Among the 107 cases with unusual coronary artery patterns, 21 cases (7.0%) were involved with the intramural coronary artery, and 17 (5.7%) presented the single-ostium coronary pattern.Non normal distribution data were used the Mann- Whitney U test.Categorical measures were compared by Chi- square test or Fisher′ s exact test.Survival probability and freedom from events were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and difference in survival probability by the Log Rank test. Results:All patients were successfully intervened by arterial switch operation, 73.3% of patients with TGA/IVS underwent the surgery within 3 weeks after birth, and 85.9% of patients with TGA/VSD underwent surgery within 3 months.The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic occlusion time were (193±68) min, and (122±39) min, respectively.Twenty-five patients (8.3%) died in hospital.Thirty cases had low cardiac output syndrome, 1 implanted with a permanent pacemaker due to complete atrioventricular block.A total of 254 patients were followed up for 1 month to 10 years.Three patients with single-ostium coronary pattern died at the follow-up period.The 5-year and 10-year survival rates were both 90.7%.During the follow-up, 49 cases (49/254 cases, 19.3%) had pulmonary artery stenosis, 66 cases (66/254 cases, 26.0%) had aortic valve regurgitation, 47 cases (47/254 cases, 18.5%) had pulmonary valve regurgitation, and 4 (4/254 cases, 1.6%) had aortic anastomotic stenosis.Among the 21 patients (21/254 cases, 8.3%) requiring reintervention, 17 patients (17/254 cases, 6.7%) underwent a total of 18 reinterventions, including 12 interventions of pulmonary artery plasty, 4 of percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty, 1 of aortic reconstruction at anastomosis and 1 of pacemaker exchange due to battery exhaustion.Conclusions:Arterial switch operation is the optimal treatment for TGA.The long-term follow-up results of arterial switch operation are satisfactory in TGA children, with a low risk of long-term reoperation.

The ban on addition of antibiotics in animal feed in China has made the search for new antibiotics substitutes, e.g. bacteriocin, a hot topic in research. The present study successfully isolated an antibacterial substance producing strain of Bacillus sp. from alpaca feces by agar diffusion method, using Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus and Listeria monocytogenes as indicator bacteria. The isolated strain was named as B. licheniformis SXAU06 based on colony morphology, Gram staining and 16S rRNA gene sequence. The antibacterial substance was isolated and purified through a series of procedures including (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, chloroform extraction, molecular interception and SDS-PAGE analysis. Bioinformatics analysis of the LC-MS/MS data indicated that the antibacterial substance was a bacteriocin-like substance (BLIS) with an approximate molecular weight of 14 kDa, and it was designated as BLIS_SXAU06. BLIS_SXAU06 exhibited high resistance to treatment of proteinase K, high temperature, high acidity and alkalinity. BLIS_SXAU06 was heterologously expressed in E. coli and the recombinant BLIS_SXAU06 exhibited effective antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, M. luteus, and L. monocytogenes, showing potential to be investigated further.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Bacillus licheniformis ; Bacteriocins/pharmacology* ; China ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Escherichia coli/genetics* ; Listeria monocytogenes ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry