Aim To confirm the inhibitory effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia ( CIHH) on my-ocardial apoptosis induced by metabolism syndrome ( MS) , and to investigate its mechanism. Methods A rat model of MS induced by fructose was used. The blood pressure and the plasma content of glucose, tri-glyceride, cholesterol, and insulin after 12 h fasting were detected. HE stain were used to detect the cardi-ac structure. The TUNEL staining and activity of caspase-3 were used to detect the apoptosis of myocar-dium. The protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by Western blot . Results Compared with the control rats, the blood pressure and the plasma content of glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, and insu-lin were all increased in rats with MS. In rats with MS, the impairment of cardiac structure and the increase of apoptosis were also observed. The protein expression of Bcl-2 was significantly down-regulated, and that of Bax was significantly up-regulated in MS rats. The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was also significantly decreased. Interest-ingly, CIHH could ameliorate all of the above issues. There was no significant difference between control group and CIHH group. Conclusion CIHH may im-prove the increased apoptosis in rats with MS via inhib-iting the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. This stud-y might provide new targets for therapy and the preven-tion of MS patients.

INTRODUCTION: Pericardiocentesis is a potentially life-saving procedure. We compared two low-cost models-an agar-based model and a novel model, Centesys-in terms of ultrasound image quality and realism, effectiveness of the model, and learners' confidence and satisfaction after training. METHODS: In this pilot randomised 2x2 crossover trial stratified by physician seniority, participants were assigned to undergo pericardiocentesis training either with the agar-based or Centesys model first, followed by the other model. Participants were asked to rate their confidence in performing ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis, clarity and realism of cardiac structures on ultrasound imaging, and satisfaction on a 7-point Likert scale before and after training with each model. RESULTS: Twenty participants with median postgraduate year of 4 (interquartile range [IQR] 3.75-6) years were recruited. Pre-training, participants rated themselves a median score of 2.5 (IQR 2-4) for level of confidence in performing pericardiocentesis, which improved to 5 (IQR 4-6) post-training with Centesys ( CONCLUSION Centesys achieved greater learner satisfaction as compared to the agar-based model, and was an effective tool for teaching ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis and drain insertion.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of superior cervical ganglion block (SCGB) on cardiac function and nucleotide like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway in a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R).Methods:Sixty healthy SPF male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, aged 2-3 months, were divided into 4 groups ( n=15 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (sham group), myocardial I/R group (IR group), myocardial I/R + normal saline group (IR+ NS group), and myocardial I/R + SCGB group (IR+ SCGB group). Myocardial I/R model was developed by ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery for 45 min followed by restoration of blood flow in anesthetized aninals. IR+ SCGB group received SCGB (0.25% ropivacaine 0.1 ml) at 10 min before reperfusion once a day for 2 consecutive weeks, while 0.9% sodium chloride was given instead of ropivacaine in IR+ NS group. Blood samples were collected at 24 h and 14 days of reperfusion for determination of serum concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), troponin T (TnT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and IL-1β by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Echocardiography was performed before ischemia and at 14 days of reperfusion, and left ventricular short axis shortening rate (FS), ejection fraction (EF), and cardiac output (CO) were measured. The rats were sacrificed at 14 days of reperfusion and the hearts were taken for determination of the contents of norepinephrine (NE) in myocardial tissues in the infarction area (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), percentage of myocardial fibrosis area (by Masson staining), M1 macrophage marker CD68 + cell count in the infarction area (by immunohistochemical method), and expression of NLRP3 and gasdermin D (GSDMD) in myocardial tissues (by Western blot). Results:Compared with Sham group, the serum concentrations of TnT, TNF-α, IL-18 and IL-1β, percentage of myocardial fibrosis area, and NE levels in serum and myocardial tissues were significantly increased, the expression of NLRP3 and GSDMD in myocardial tissues was up-regulated, CD68 + cell count was increased, and EF, CO and FS were decreased in IR group ( P<0.05). Compared with IR group, the serum concentrations of TnT, TNF-α, IL-18 and IL-1β, percentage of myocardial fibrosis area, and NE levels in serum and myocardial tissues were significantly decreased, the expression of NLRP3 and GSDMD in myocardial tissues was down-regulated, CD68 + cell count was decreased, and EF, CO and FS were increased in IR+ SCGB group ( P<0.05), and no statistically significant changes were found in the parameters mentioned above in IR+ NS group ( P>0.05). Conclusions:SCGB can improve the cardiac function in a rat model of myocardial I/R, and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of NLRP3 signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health crisis, which elicits psychological problems in different population This study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in the front-line staff. METHODS: Patient Health Questionnare-9 (PHQ-9), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Fatigue Self-assessment Scale (FSAS) were used to assess the depression, anxiety, and fatigue in front-line staff. RESULTS: The detection rates of depression, anxiety, and fatigue were 49.1%, 21.8%, and 76.0% among the front-line staff. The rates of depression, anxiety, and fatigue in community workers were higher than those in medical workers and other occupational staff (<0.01). The PHQ-9 of front-line staffs was negatively correlated with age, family income, family members' support, satisfaction of service objects, and sleep quality (all <0.01), while positively correlated with education level, fatigue, fear of pneumonia, and the duration of daily attention to the COVID-19 (all <0.01). SAS was negatively correlated with age, family income, family support, satisfaction of objects service, and sleep quality (all <0.01), while positively correlated with gender, fatigue, fear of pneumonia, and duration of daily attention to the COVID-19 (all <0.01). CONCLUSIONS The front-line workers should manage work and rest time reasonably to adjust their negative mood and fatigue. The government and the society should pay more attention to the psychological state of the front-line staff, particularly for the staff working in the community or villages and towns in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, front-line staff can be obtained mental intervention or be taken a rest from the high-intensive work.
Anxiety ; diagnosis ; Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; prevention & control ; psychology ; Depression ; diagnosis ; Fatigue ; diagnosis ; Health Personnel ; psychology ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral ; prevention & control ; psychology

ObjectiveTo screen and validate key enzyme genes affecting the polysaccharide content in different Polygonatum species and perform in-depth amino acid sequence analysis by transcriptomic analysis of P. zanlanscianense， P. kingianum， and P. cyrtonema rhizomes to enrich the transcriptome data of Polygonatum plants and provide references for polysaccharide biosynthesis mechanism and genetic improvement. MethodThe Polygonatum transcriptome was sequenced and analyzed using the Illumina NovaSeq high-throughput sequencing platform， and the differences in the transcriptomes of the three Polygonatum species were compared and according to the annotations of Nr， Gene Ontology （GO）， and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） databases. The key enzymes in the polysaccharide metabolism pathway were screened， and the expression of key enzyme genes was clustered and correlated with the polysaccharide content. Finally， Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was performed to validate the eight key enzyme genes， and the key genes of polysaccharide biosynthesis were further screened for homologous gene sequence analysis in combination with sequencing results， followed by constructing phylogenetic trees， predicting motifs， conserved structural domains， protein sequence isoelectric points， and molecular weights， and constructing 3D protein structures by using homology modeling method. ResultThe annotation of the Nr database revealed that three Polygonatum species had the highest gene homology with Asparagus officinalis. GO database annotation results showed that three Polygonatum species differed significantly in binding， catalytic activity， metabolic processes， and cellular components， while the KEGG pathway annotation results indicated that three Polygonatum species differed significantly in the starch and sucrose metabolic pathway and galactose metabolic pathway. According to clustering analysis， correlation analysis， Real-time PCR， expression profiles， and structural and functional predictions of amino acid sequences， the key enzyme significantly affecting the polysaccharide content in different Polygonatum species was inferred to be β-fructofuranosidase （sacA）. ConclusionSacA may be the main influencing factor for the difference in polysaccharide content of Polygonatum， and is also an important reason why Polygonatum polysaccharides are mainly fructans.