Objective To investigate the effect of curcumin (Cur)on AngⅡ-induced proliferation and oxidative stress of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).Methods Primary rat VSMCs were cultured and divided into control group,AngⅡ group,AngⅡ+Cur 5μmol/L group,AngⅡ+Cur 10μmol/L group,AngⅡ+Cur 20μmol/L group,and Cur 20μmol/L group.The proliferation of AngⅡ-induced VSMCs was measured by MTT assay.The mRNA and protein expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)and p47phox were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot.Nitric oxide (NO)production was measured by Griess reaction.Production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS)was measured by DCFH-DA staining,and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD)and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx)were detected by xanthine oxidase assay and visible spectrophotometer. small interfering RNA (siRNA)was used to silence the expression of p47phox to further explore the mechanism for Cur inhibiting the proliferation of AngⅡ-induced VSMCs and oxidative stress.Results VSMCs activities were not significantly affected by Cur at the concentration between 0 and 80μmol/L.Cur (5,10 and 20μmol/L)significantly inhibited AngⅡ-induced proliferation of VSMCs.Cur had an inhibitory effect on the overexpression of NO,iNOS, p47phox and ROS in VSMCs and upregulated the activities of SOD and Gpx in a concentration-dependent manner. AngⅡ-induced ROS production in VSMCs was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with p47phox specific siRNA.Conclusion Cur can inhibit the proliferation and oxidative stress of AngⅡ-induced VSMCs.

Objective To explore the inhibitory effect of curcumin on LPS-induced inflammation and the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 )/NADPH oxidase/reactive oxygen species (ROS)signaling pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).Methods Primary VSMCs were cultured and divided into control group, LPS group,LPS + curcumin 5 μmol/L group,LPS + curcumin 10 μmol/L group and LPS + curcumin 30 μmol/L group.Cell activity was observed by MTT assay.The secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-1 (IL-1)was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)kits.The mRNA expressions of TLR4 and p22phox were detected by real-time PCR.Expression of intracellular ROS was measured by flow cytometry. Results The activities of VSMCs were not significantly affected by curcumin at the concentration between 0 and 80 μmol/L.Curcumin (5,10 and 30 μmol/L)significantly inhibited LPS-induced oversecretion of TNF-αand IL-1, as well as overexpression of TLR4 and p22phox at the mRNA and protein levels,and ROS production in VSMCs in a concentration-dependent manner.Conclusion Curcumin has a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the secretion of inflammatory cytokine,overexpressions of TLR4 and p22phox,and production of ROS in VSMCs stimulated by LPS.Furthermore,curcumin may partly depend on TLR4/NADPH oxidase/ROS signaling pathways to inhibit inflammation in LPS-induced VSMCs.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the volume of left atrial appendage and recurrence of atrial fibrillation(AF)after radiofrequency ablation. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 66 cases of first atrial fibrillation radiofrequency catheter ablation in the Department of cardiovascular medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were enrolled from June 2014 to June 2016 and divided into the recurrence group(n=18)and the non recurrent group(n=48)based on the 1 year follow-up results ,Collecting the patient's clinical data and following up.64 layers of spiral CT scans were performed for all patients before operation,and the volume of left atrium( LAV)and left atrial appendage volume(LAAV)were measured. The general data ,laboratory examinationresults ,echocardiographic parameters and left atrial CT parameters of two groups were compared. The relationship between patient parameters and recurrence of atrial fibrillation after radio-frequency ablation were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results There was no significant difference in blood lipid and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF%)between the two groups in terms of sex, age ,hypertension ,coronary heart disease and other common diseases (P > 0.05).The volume of left atrial appendage and left atrial volume in the recurrent group were larger than those in the non recurrence group (P <0.05). The left atrial appendage volume(OR=1.518,95%CI:1.151-2.000,P = 0.003)can be used as an independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence of atrial fibrillation. The area under the ROC curve of left atrial appendage volume in predicting the recurrence of atrial fibrillation after radiofrequency ablation is 0.806(95%CI:0.689-0.922 ,P < 0.001). Conclusion Greater left ventricular volume is an independent risk factor for recurrence of atrial fibrillation after radiofrequency catheter ablation ,whether in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or persistent atrial fibrillation.

Background: Senecavirus A (SVA), a member of the family Picornaviridae, is newly discovered, which causes vesicular lesions, lameness in swine, and even death in neonatal piglets. SVA has rapidly spread worldwide in recent years, especially in Asia. Objectives: We conducted a global meta-analysis and systematic review to determine the status of SVA infection in pigs. Methods: Through PubMed, VIP Chinese Journals Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data search data from 2014 to July 26, 2020, a total of 34 articles were included in this analysis based on our inclusion criteria. We estimated the pooled prevalence of SVA in pigs by the random effects model. A risk of bias assessment of the studies and subgroup analysis to explain heterogeneity was undertaken. Results: We estimated the SVA prevalence to be 15.90% (1,564/9,839; 95% confidence interval [CI], 44.75–65.89) globally. The prevalence decreased to 11.06% (945/8,542; 95% CI, 28.25–50.64) after 2016. The highest SVA prevalence with the VP1-based RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry assay was 58.52% (594/1,015; 95% CI, 59.90–83.96) and 85.54% (71/83; 95% CI, 76.68–100.00), respectively. Besides, the SVA prevalence in piglet herds was the highest at 71.69% (119/166; 95% CI, 68.61–98.43) (p < 0.05). Moreover, our analysis confirmed that the subgroups, including country, sampling year, sampling position, detected gene, detection method, season, age, and climate, could be the heterogeneous factors associated with SVA prevalence. Conclusions The results indicated that SVA widely exists in various countries currently.Therefore, more prevention and control policies should be proposed to enhance the management of pig farms and improve breeding conditions and the environment to reduce the spread of SVA.

Objective:To investigate the predictors of the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) in the treatment of ureteral calculi, and to evaluate the predictive value of the maximum ureteral wall thickness (UWT) in the treatment of ureteral calculi with ESWL.Methods:The clinical data of 138 patients with ureteral calculi treated with ESWL in the Second People's Hospital of Hefei from January 2020 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 91 males and 47 females. The age was (50.9±14.8) years old. The body mass index was (25.3±3.6) kg/m 2. The stones of 73 cases were located on the left side and 65 cases were on the right side. 70 cases had upper ureteral stones, 18 cases had middle ureteral stones, and 50 cases had lower ureteral stones. The median length of the stone was 8.5 (7.5, 10.5) mm. The CT value of the stone was 509 (343, 783) HU. The anteroposterior diameter of the renal pelvis was 12.0 (10.1, 16.0) mm, and UWT was (2.8 ± 0.8) mm. All patients underwent urinary non-contrast CT before lithotripsy, and the UWT of the stone bed was measured on the CT images. According to the stone removal situation 2 weeks after the operation, the patients were divided into a successful lithotripsy group and a failed lithotripsy group. Univariate analysis was used to compare the differences of various indicators between the two groups, and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent predictors of ESWL in the treatment of ureteral calculi for the indicators. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) of each independent predictor, and the cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity were analyzed. Results:All operations were successfully completed, and the success rate of the first-stage lithotripsy was 71.7% (99/138). The results of univariate analysis showed that the stone length diameter, stone CT value, anteroposterior diameter of renal pelvis, stone skin distance, and UWT were significantly different between the successful lithotripsy group and the failure group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in age, gender, body mass index, stone side and stone location ( P>0.05). The results of multivariate logistic analysis showed that stone length ( OR=1.393, P=0.015), stone CT value ( OR=1.002, P=0.043) and UWT ( OR=17.997, P<0.001) were all for the efficacy of ESWL in the treatment of ureteral stones. The ROC curve was used to compare the three independent predictors. The area under the UWT curve was the largest (AUC=0.898, P<0.001), followed by the length of the stone (AUC=0.744, P<0.001), and the CT value of the stone (AUC=0.672, P= 0.002). The cut-off value for UWT was 3.19 mm, which had a sensitivity of 91.9% and a specificity of 71.8% for predicting the success of ESWL lithotripsy. When dividing the patients into thin wall group (UWT ≤3.19 mm) and thick wall group (UWT>3.19 mm) according to the cut-off value, the success rates of one-stage lithotripsy in the two groups were 89.2% (91 / 102) and 22.2% (8/36), respectively ( P<0.05). Conclusions:UWT, calculus length and calculus CT value are independent predictors of the efficacy of ESWL in the treatment of ureteral calculi, and UWT has the best predictive value. When UWT≤3.19 mm, the success rate of ESWL in the treatment of ureteral calculi is higher.