BACKGROUND:Most of the natural chitosan are shaped as powder and have small specific surface area.It is difficult to reclaim both vector and adsorbate by chitosan,thus limiting its application as an adsorbing vector.OBJECTIVE:To analyze the optimal preparation technology of porous chitosan microspheres.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:Repeated-measures experiment was carried out in the laboratory of Applied Chemistry,Shaanxi University of Technology from November 2006 to May 2007.MATERIALS:Chitosan with a deacetylation degree of 95.62%.METHODS:The reverse liquid phase suspension polymerization method was adopted in this study using cyclohexane as porogenic agent and glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent.Cyclohexane and cutaraldehyde were added continuously,with the alterations of reaction temperature,stirring speed and extraction time.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The influence on the preparation of porous chitosan microspheres by the dosage of cyclohexane and glutaraldehyde,reaction temperature,stirring speed and extraction time was observed.RESULTS:The optimal conditions of preparing porous chitosan microspheres,in which 90% particle diameters were 3-12 μm,included:reaction temperature 60-70℃.medium stirring speed 100-120 r/min,extraction time no less than 48 hours.CONCLUSION:The preparation method used in this study has short time-consuming,the prepared chitosan microspheres are characteristic as micron-grade diameter,narrow distributing particle size and porosity.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has a high incidence in orthopedics,researches about its etiology begins early.However,it is still unclear until now.Idiopathic scoliosis trends to a familial aggregation,and its inheritance is diverse,which suggests idiopathic scoliosis can be the result of the interaction of many factors and major genes.It is reported that the inheritance mode of idiopathic scoliosis includes autosomal dominant inheritance,X-linkage dominant inheritance and polygenic inheritance.With the consummate of genome genetic map and the development of genetic technology at recent years,scholars have gained much advancement through the researches in gene screening,candidate gene,gene mutation and animal model.Further study should focus on the accurate site of related genes.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of chromogranin A in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms after laparoscopic surgery,and to monitor the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with real-time monitoring.Methods Forty-five patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms were enrolled in this study from March 2013 to March 2015 in First Hospita of Yulin City.All patients were underwent laparoscopic surgery.The surgical results were observed and the levels of postoperative chromogranin A were monitored.Comparisons between groups were evaluated with the x2 test.Follow-up using telephone interview was performed to detect patients' survival and up to January 2017.Results TNM patients with benign and malignant patients in the postoperative chromogranin A examination found that the positive expression rate were 85.0％ and 53.0％,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.01) and the corresponding synaptophysine examination were 88.0％ and 89.0％ (P ＜ 0.05).The positive expression rates of chromogranin A in patients with lymph node metastasis and non-lymph node metastasis were 47.0％ and 80.0％,respectively (P ＜ 0.01).The positive expression rates of the corresponding synaptophysin were 87.0％ and 87.0％,respectively (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Endoscopic surgery for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms is a minimally invasive,safe surgical approach,long-term survival rate of patients with the use of chromogranin A to monitor the level of patients after surgery can effectively assess the development and prognosis of the disease,but the synaptophysine has no significance in assessing the prognosis of the patient.

Objective To investigate the effects of endogenous sulfur dioxide (SO2) on the oxidative stress induced by cobalt chloride (CoCl2) in the rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs).Methods Rat PASMCs were treated with 200 μ mol/L CoCl2 to mimic the hypoxia insult.Endogenous SO2 generating enzyme aspartate aminotransferase 1 (AAT1) expression was upregulated or downregulated (AAT1 sh) by transfection with lentivirus.Rat PASMCs were randomly divided into 8 groups:vehicle group,vehicle + CoCl2 group,AAT1 group,AAT1 + CoCl2 group,scramble group,scramble + SO2 group,AAT1 sh group and AAT1 sh + SO2 group.SO2 donor Na2 SO3/NaHSO3 at concentration of 100 μ mol/L were added in scramble + SO2 group and AAT1sh + SO2 group.The expressions of AAT1,superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and SOD2 in PASMCs were detected by Western blot method.In situ SO2 content in PASMCs was detected by fluorescent probe.The superoxide anions in PASMCs were labeled by dihydroethidium (DHE) probe under fluorescent microscope.Results Compared with the vehicle group,the levels of SO2 and the expressions of AAT1 (0.221 ± 0.002 vs.0.446 ± 0.004),SOD1 (0.076 ± 0.028 vs.0.171 ± 0.019) and SOD2 (0.080 ± 0.031 vs.0.196 ± 0.018) significantly decreased (all P ＜ 0.01),and superoxide anion increased in rat PASMCs of vehicle + CoCl2 group.Meanwhile,compared with vehicle + CoCl2 group,the levels of SO2 and the expressions of AAT1 (0.839 ± 0.056 vs.0.221 ± 0.002),SOD1 (0.177 ± 0.020 vs.0.076 ± 0.028) and SOD2 (0.195 ±0.018 vs.0.080-± 0.031) markedly increased (all P ＜ 0.01),and superoxide anion decreased in rat PASMCs of AAT1 + CoCl2 group.On the contrary,compared with the scramble group,the levels of SO2 and the expressions of AAT1 (0.062 ±0.017 vs.0.354 ±0.034),SOD1 (0.054 ±0.029 vs.0.157 ±0.023) and SOD2(0.180 ±0.100 vs.0.586 ± 0.176)significantly decreased (all P ＜ 0.01),and superoxide anion increased in rat PASMCs of AAT1sh group.Furthermore,compared with the AAT1 sh group,the levels of SO2 and the expressions of SOD1 (0.155 ± 0.022vs.0.054 ± 0.029) and SOD2 (0.578 ± 0.200 vs.0.180 ± 0.100) significantly increased (all P ＜ 0.01),and superoxide anion decreased in rats PASMCs of AAT1sh + SO2 group.Conclusion Endogenous SO2/AAT1 inhibits CoCl2-induced oxidative stress in rat PASMCs.

Objectives:To investigate the risk factors for acute liver injury (ALI) in patients after resuscitation from cardiac arrest and their influence on prognosis.Methods:The clinical data of patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in our department from January 2015 to January 2018 were analyzed. According to whether ALI occurred, the selected patients were divided into the ALI group and non-ALI group. The basic situation of the two groups of patients and the occurrence of shock and cardiac insufficiency after cardiac arrest were investigated. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the effect of ALI on the 1-year survival of patients. The 28-day mortality and neurological recovery were observed in patients in the ALI group. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for ALI.Results::There were 54 patients in the ALI group and 158 patients in the non-ALI group. The patients in the ALI group needed a longer time to recover spontaneous circulation [19 (10-27) min, P=0.015], and the overall condition (SOFA score, acidosis, and lactic acid) were more serious. The incidences of shock and heart failure after cardiac arrest in the ALI and non-ALI groups were 74% and 55%, and 89% and 70%, respectively. The 1-year cumulative survival rate of patients in the non-ALI group was significantly higher than that of the ALI group ( P=0.043). The longer the duration of ALI, the higher the incidence of poor prognosis. The time to resume spontaneous circulation ( OR=3.762; 95% CI: 2.347-5.098) and heart failure ( OR=4.272; 95% CI: 2.943-5.932) after cardiac arrest were associated with ALI in patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (both P<0.05). Conclusions:The time to resume spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest and heart failure after cardiopulmonary resuscitation are risk factors for ALI, and the occurrence of ALI increases patient’s mortality.

Objective To investigate the association of serum ghrelin level with cognition, hippocampal volume, and proton magnetic resonance spectrum ( [ 1 H ]-MRS ) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus ( T2DM) . Methods The T2DM patients cared at the Wuhan Fourth Hospital were recruited. Data on demographic characteristics and clinical parameters were collected. Ghrelin was measured by ELISA assay. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment ( MoCA ) and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The changes of metabolites in hippocampus were detected by [1 H]-MRS, including N-acetyl asparate ( NAA) , choline ( Cho) , myo-inositol ( MI) , creatine ( Cr) . All patients were divided into 2 groups[cognitive impairment (CI) and non-cognitive impairment (NCI) groups] by MoCA. Results (1) Compared with patients in NCI group, the serum ghrelin level, bilateral hippocampal volume, and NAA/Cr ratio of [1H]-MRS metabolites in CI group were decreased, but MI/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were increased(all P<0.05). (2) Serum ghrelin was positively correlated with a variety of RBANS scores ( including immediate memory, attention, delayed memory, and total scores) , bilateral hippocampal volume, and NAA/Cr ratio of [ 1 H]-MRS metabolites in T2DM patients, but it was negatively correlated with MI/Cr ratio and Cho/Cr ratio ( all P<0. 05 ) . ( 3 ) Logistic regression analysis showed that ghrelin was a protective factor of cognition in T2DM patients. Conclusions T2DM patients with cognitive impairment had lower levels of ghrelin, and serum ghrelin was postively correlated with their cognitive performance, hippocampal volume, and [1 H]-MRS metabolites, suggesting that serum ghrelin may be involved in the occurrence and development of cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2DM.

Objective To investigate the value of D-dimer plus injury severity score (ISS) in predicting the prognosis of trauma patients. Methods The clinical data of 1 592 traumatic patients admitted to our emergency room from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Excluding criteria included patients below the age of 14 and patients admitted over 24 h after injury, clinical death at admission, patients left from the hospital without the approval of attend doctor, detail and complete clinical data of patients not available, patients with history of coagulopathy, primary hepatic function failure, anticoagulants used within 6 months prior to injury, and patients with multiple injury affecting more than two parts of body. Finally, a total of 1 167 patients were enrolled in this study. The 28-day prognosis was used as the endpoint. The patients were divided into survival group and death group. The differences in venous plasma D-dimer and ISS at the fi rst detection between two groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U test. According to ISS, the patients were divided into mild injury group, moderate injury group and severe injury group. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA test was used to compare the differences among different groups. Meanwhile, the area under the ROC curve was used to compare the accuracy of predictive effi ciency of D-dimer, ISS and the combination of both. Results There was a positive correlation between D-dimer and ISS, and D-dimer and ISS in survival group were significantly lower than those in death group(Z=-7.777, Z=-6.694, P <0.01). There was a statistically signifi cant difference in mortality among groups (χ2= 70.85, P <0.01); The area under the ROC curve of ISS, D-dimer and both combined was 0.728, 0.765, 0.800, respectively. The area under the ROC curve of D-dimer to predicte patients' prognosis was a little bit larger than that of ISS, but the difference was not statistically signifi cant (Z=1.051, P=0.293). The area under the ROC curve of joint both of them for the prognosis of the patients was greater than that of ISS or D-dimer alone( Z=3.028, Z=2.722, P<0.05). Conclusions The levels of D-dimer and ISS in patients with traumatic injury are correlated with the severity and mortality of patients. The increased D-dimer and ISS score indicates that the risk of death is increased, and prediction effi ciency of combining both of them is superior to either alone.

Objective:To investigate the effects of inhibition of Wnt/ β-catenin signaling pathway on paraquat (PQ)-induced transition of human lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5 and related molecular mechanisms.Methods:The MRC-5 cells were divided into three groups. Control group: without drug treatment; PQ group: the cells were treated by PQ (50 μmol/L) for 72 hours to establish cell transition model; PQ+DKK1 group: the cells were treated with PQ (50 μmol/L) and DKK1 (10 ng/mL) for 72 hours. Then, the cells were collected, and the transition related signatures including α-SMA, Vimentin and Collagen I were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot (WB); Meanwhile, the expression levels of Wnt pathway-related molecules including β-catenin, Cyclin D1 and WISP1 were determined by WB, immunofluorescence and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) during the transition; In addition, the inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin pathway Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) was applied to block the signaling. Then the expression changes of β-catenin, cyclin D1 and WISP1 were detected by WB to verify the inhibitory effect, and the transition marker molecules including α-SMA, Vimentin and Collagen I were also determined by WB.Results:After 72 hours, compared with the Control group, the expression levels of α-SMA, Vimentin and Collagen I of MRC-5 cells in PQ group were increased significantly ( P<0.05); The expression levels of β-catenin, Cyclin D1 and WISP1 of MRC-5 cells in PQ group were significantly up-regulated ( P<0.05); DKK1 could inhibit the high expression of α-SMA, Vimentin and Collagen I of MRC-5 cells during PQ-induced transition ( P<0.05). Conclusions:DKK1 could inhibit PQ-induced transition of lung fibroblasts by interference with Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which was expected to further inhibit pulmonary fibrosis caused by PQ.

Objective To investigate the value of the reverse shock index multiplied by GlasgowComa scale score (rSIG) and serum translocator protein 18000 in the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Methods One hundred and fifteen patients with severe traumatic brain injury were divided into the survival group and death group. SPSS 20.0 software was used to compare the vital signs, rSIG and TSPO between the two groups, and the relationship between rSIG and TSPO was analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to predict the value of rSIG and TSPO and their combination in the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury. According to the best cut-off value of rSIG and TSPO of ROC curve, patients were divided into the rSIG ≤ 14.8 group and rSIG>14.8 group, and the TSPO ≤ 1.84 ng/mL group and TSPO>1.84 ng/mL group, and the mortality between the groups was compared. Results In 115 patients, rSIG of the survival group was significantly higher than that of the death group, and TSPO was significantly lower than that of the death group [(10.5±4.4) vs. (6.4±4.1), 1.0(0.3,1.9) ng/mL vs.3.4 (2.0, 4.6) ng/mL, P<0.01]. The ability of rSIG combined with TSPO to forecast the mortality of patients with severe traumatic brain injury is not superior to the predictive power of these two indicators alone. The serum TSPO value and 28-day mortality in the rSIG > 4.15 group were significantly higher than those in the rSIG ≤ 4.15 group. The rSIG value of the TSPO ≤ 1.84 ng/mL group was significantly higher than that of the TSPO>1.84 ng/mL group; the 28-day mortality was significantly lower than that in the TSPO>1.84 ng/mL group. The rSIG value was negatively correlated with serum TSPO value (r=-0.611, P<0.01). Conclusions rSIG value and serum TSPO value have good predictive value for the prognosis of patients with severe traumatic brain injury, and can provide certain guiding significance in clinical practice.

Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase (CRL)-4 is a member of the large CRL family in eukaryotes. It plays important roles in a wide range of cellular processes, organismal development, and physiological and pathological conditions. DDB1- and CUL4-associated factor 8 (DCAF8) is a WD40 repeat-containing protein, which serves as a substrate receptor for CRL4. The physiological role of DCAF8 is unknown. In this study, we constructed Dcaf8 knockout mice. Homozygous mice were viable with no noticeable abnormalities. However, the fertility of Dcaf8-deficient male mice was markedly impaired, consistent with the high expression of DCAF8 in adult mouse testis. Sperm movement characteristics, including progressive motility, path velocity, progressive velocity, and track speed, were significantly lower in Dcaf8 knockout mice than in wild-type (WT) mice. However, the total motility was similar between WT and Dcaf8 knockout sperm. More than 40% of spermatids in Dcaf8 knockout mice showed pronounced morphological abnormalities with typical bent head malformation. The acrosome and nucleus of Dcaf8 knockout sperm looked similar to those of WT sperm. In vitro tests showed that the fertilization rate of Dcaf8 knockout mice was significantly reduced. The results demonstrated that DCAF8 plays a critical role in spermatogenesis, and DCAF8 is a key component of CRL4 function in the reproductive system.
Animals ; Cullin Proteins/genetics* ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics* ; Factor VIII ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Spermatogenesis/genetics* ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases