OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and possible regulatory mechanism of miR-34a in the lung tissue of neonatal rat model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) induced by hyperoxia. METHODS: In the study, 80 newborn SD rats were randomly divided into hyperoxia group (FiO₂=60%) and air group (FiO₂=21%) within 2 hours after birth, 40 rats per group. Lung tissue samples of the SD rats in each group were extracted on the 1st, 7th, 14th and 21st days after birth, and the pathological changes of lung tissue were observed under light microscope after HE staining. The number of radial alveolar counts (RAC) and the mean alveolar diameter (MAD) and the thickness of alveolar septal thickness (AST) were measured to evaluate the development of alveoli. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-34a, angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and tyrosine kinase receptor-2 (Tie-2) in lung tissue of rats in hyperoxia group and air group at different time points. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the proteins expression of Ang-1 and Tie-2 in the lung tissues of the two groups at different time points. RESULTS: The weight of rats in the hyperoxia group on the 7th, 14th and 21st days after birth was significantly lower than that in the air group (P all < 0.05). With the prolongation of oxygen exposure, the number of alveoli decreased, the volume increased, the structure simplified, the alveolar cavity enlarged obviously and the alveolar septum thickened in the hyperoxia group. On the 7th, 14th and 21st days after birth, the RAC in the hyperoxia group was significantly lower than that in the air group (P all < 0.05). Compared with the air group, MAD and AST increased significantly on the 7th, 14th and 21st days after birth in the hyperoxia group, and the difference was statistically significant (P all < 0.05). The expression level of miR-34a in lung tissue of hyperoxia group was significantly higher than that of air group on the 7th, 14th and 21st days after birth, and the difference was statistically significant (P all < 0.05). Compared with the air group at the same time point, the expression levels of Ang-1 and Tie-2 mRNA and protein in the hyperoxia group were lower than those in the air group on the 14th and 21st days after birth (P all < 0.05). CONCLUSION The new BPD model of newborn SD rats can be successfully established by continuous exposure to 60% hyperoxia. The expression of miR-34a was up-regulated in the lung tissue of the new BPD model of neonatal rats. MiR-34a may play an important role in the occurrence and development of BPD by regulating Ang-1/Tie-2 signal pathway.
Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/genetics* ; Hyperoxia/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Animals, Newborn ; Rats ; Angiopoietin-1/genetics* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Receptor, TIE-2/genetics* ; Lung/pathology* ; Male

Objective:To explore the association between the G71R polymorphism of the UGT1A1 gene and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Methods:DNA was extracted from blood samples of 61 neonates with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia(severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia group), 60 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia(hyperbilirubinemia group) and 62 healthy neonates(control group), the G71R mutation of UGT1A1 gene was analyzed by direct sequencing. Results:In severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia group, there were 17 cases of homozygous mutation(A/A), 23 cases of heterozygous mutation(A/G) , and 21 cases of wild type(G/G) , with 28.87% homozygous mutation rate and 37.70% heterozygous mutation rate.In neonatal hyperbilirubinemia group, there were ten cases of homozygous mutation(A/A), 28 cases of heterozygous mutation(A/G) and 22 cases of wild type(G/G), with 16.67% homozygous mutation rate and 46.67% heterozygous mutation rate.In the control group, there were nine cases of homozygous mutation (A/A), 28 cases of heterozygous mutation(A/G) and 25 cases of wild type(G/G), among which the homozygous mutation rate was 14.52% and the heterozygous mutation rate was 45.16%.The genotype frequency( χ2=4.14, P=0.38)and allele frequency( χ2=2.47, P=0.29)of G71R in severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia group, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia group and control group were not statistically significant. Conclusion:The G71R polymorphism of the UGT1A1 gene may not be significantly correlated with the prevalence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Objective:To quantitatively evaluate the energy loss (EL) and vortex characteristics in the left ventricle by vector flow mapping (VFM) technique in heart failure patients with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).Methods:One hundred and five patients in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from October 2016 to November 2017 with heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)<50% were enrolled and divided into HFmrEF Group (LVEF40%~<50%, 56 cases) and HFrEF group (LVEF<40%, 49 cases). Another 32 healthy people at the same period were matched as control group. The EL, vortex area and circulation of isovolumic relaxation phase (IVR), rapid filling phase (RFP), atrial contraction phase (ACP), isovolumic contraction phase (IVC) and rapid ejection phase (REP) in the left ventricle was measured by VFM technique.Results:The EL in HFmrEF group and HFrEF group was lower than that in the control group. In ACP, the EL was gradually decreased among the control group, HFmrEF group and HFrEF group( P<0.05). In ACP, the vortex area and circulation was larger in heart failure patients than those in the control group, and gradually increased from control group, to HFrEF group( P<0.05). Positive correlation between EL and E/e ′ was evidenced in the RFP ( r=0.524, P< 0.001). While in ACP, there was a positive correlation between EL and A peak ( r=0.492, P<0.001), and a negative correlation between EL and vortex area ( r=-0.235, P=0.040). Conclusions:VFM can be applied to evaluate the EL in left ventricle. The EL in the left ventricle of patients with HFmrEF and HFrEF is significantly lower than that in control group. El is correlated with cardiac systolic and diastolic function and vortex area.

Objective:The blood free carnitine levels of preterm infants with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) were detected within 7 days after birth, and the correlation between blood free carnitine levels and NRDS in preterm infants was explored.Methods:Seventy premature infants with gestational ages from 28 to 36 weeks who were admitted to the NICU of the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 were selected as the participants.Among them, 35 cases were in the NRDS group, while 35 cases of premature infants without NRDS were chosen as the control group.Heel blood samples were collected from all subjects within 6 hours, 3 days and 7 days after birth, and the levels of blood free carnitine were detected by tandem mass spectrometry.Results:Within 7 days after birth, the levels of free carnitine in blood of premature infants in the two groups gradually decreased with time, but the decreasing trend was not similar( F=4.096, P=0.021). Compared with 6 hours after birth, the blood free carnitine level in NRDS group decreased significantly with 3 days after birth[(35.24±9.58) μmol/L vs.(23.96±7.12) μmol/L, P<0.05]. The levels of blood free carnitine in NRDS group at 6 hours and 3 days after birth were significantly lower than those in control group[(35.24±9.58) μmol/L vs.(40.85±11.39) μmol/L; (23.96±7.12) μmol/L vs.(29.60±8.05) μmol/L, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in blood free carnitine levels between the two groups at 7 days after birth ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The blood free carnitine levels of premature infants decreased within 7 days after birth.The decrease of carnitine level in premature infants with NRDS may be related to the occurrence and development of NRDS.

Objective:To explore the effect of PSD-95 inhibitor ZL006 in neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD) and its potential mechanism.Methods:The seven-day-old healthy Wistar rats( n=80) were randomly divided into control group( n=20), sham operation group( n=20) and operation group (HIBD model group, n=40). The operation group was randomly divided into ZL006, treatment group (intraperitoneal injection of ZL006, 10 mg/kg, n=20) and non-treatment group ( n=20). The neonatal rats of each group were randomly selected on the 1st and 7th day after operation, and the degree of cerebral infarction was observed by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining.The protein expression level of brain tissue in the injured area was examed by Western blot, and the effects of ZL006 on oxidative stress and antioxidant enzymes in rats with HIBD were evaluated by ELISA. Results:(1) On the first day after operation, the brain injury was the most serious in the non-treatment group, and the cerebral infarction decreased in the ZL006 treatment group.On the 7th day after operation, a little infarction could be seen in the operation group, but there was no significant difference among other three groups.(2)On the first day after operation, the expression of PSD-95 protein in the operation group was significantly higher than that in the control group and sham operation group( P<0.01). There was significant difference in the expression of PSD-95 protein between the ZL006 treatment group and the non-treatment group ( P<0.05). On the 7th day after operation, there was no significant difference in the expression of PSD-95 protein among three groups.(3)On the first day after operation, the expression of 4-hydroxynonenal in the operation group was significantly higher than that in the control group and sham operation group( P<0.01), and that in the non-treatment group was higher than that in the ZL006 treatment group ( P<0.05). On the 7th day after operation, there was no significant difference in the expression of 4-hydroxynonenal among three groups.(4) On the first day after operation, the expression of superoxide dismutase in the operation group was significantly lower than that in the control group and sham operation group( P<0.01), and that in the non-treatment group was lower than that in the ZL006 treatment group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression level of superoxide dismutase among three groups on the 7th day after operation. Conclusion:It is suggested that PSD-95 may be involved in the early pathogenesis of HIBD, and ZL006 may have neuroprotective effect on HIBD in newborn rats.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of 2 algorithm models, cascade channel model and combined wavelet with linear prediction coefficient(LPC), on extracting the hypernasal format parameters of cleft palate speech.Methods:The voice of 859 patients, 421 male and 438 female with average age of 12.1 years, were collected from the speech data of the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery of West China Hospital of Stomatology of Sichuan University. The patients were classified into 216 normal speech patients, 220 low-level hypernasal patients, 213 moderate-level hypernasal patients and 210 high-level hypernasal patients. 62 707 speech samples were collected. Cascade channel model and combined wavelet with LPC were used to combine the K-nearest neighbor classifier respectively to distinguish the hypernasal level, and the result were compared with the golden standard, i. e. the speech evaluation result. The result were analyzed statistically with chi-square test.Results:Compared to the cascaded channel model, levels combined wavelet with LPC achieved significantly higher accuracy of all hypernasal levels ( P<0.05). Among all different mis-classifications, the most common error of the 2 models was misjudging normal speech patients as low-level hypernasal patients (for cascaded channel model: 41/216, 18.98%; for combined wavelet with LPC: 32/216, 14.81%). Conclusions:Two algorithm models based on formant parameters for hypernasal recognition of cleft palate was established. Combined wavelet with LPC both realized the automatic identification of hypernasal level in Mandarin Chinese. The average classification accuracy of hypernasal level evaluation by using combined wavelet with LPC is higher.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of 2 algorithm models, cascade channel model and combined wavelet with linear prediction coefficient(LPC), on extracting the hypernasal format parameters of cleft palate speech.Methods:The voice of 859 patients, 421 male and 438 female with average age of 12.1 years, were collected from the speech data of the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery of West China Hospital of Stomatology of Sichuan University. The patients were classified into 216 normal speech patients, 220 low-level hypernasal patients, 213 moderate-level hypernasal patients and 210 high-level hypernasal patients. 62 707 speech samples were collected. Cascade channel model and combined wavelet with LPC were used to combine the K-nearest neighbor classifier respectively to distinguish the hypernasal level, and the result were compared with the golden standard, i. e. the speech evaluation result. The result were analyzed statistically with chi-square test.Results:Compared to the cascaded channel model, levels combined wavelet with LPC achieved significantly higher accuracy of all hypernasal levels ( P<0.05). Among all different mis-classifications, the most common error of the 2 models was misjudging normal speech patients as low-level hypernasal patients (for cascaded channel model: 41/216, 18.98%; for combined wavelet with LPC: 32/216, 14.81%). Conclusions:Two algorithm models based on formant parameters for hypernasal recognition of cleft palate was established. Combined wavelet with LPC both realized the automatic identification of hypernasal level in Mandarin Chinese. The average classification accuracy of hypernasal level evaluation by using combined wavelet with LPC is higher.

Objective To evaluate the performance on comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)and to investigate the differences between Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) and CGA scoring.Methods Patients aged 60 years or over diagnosed with AML at Beijing Hospital from September 2008 to April 2018 were enrolled in this study.CGA was performed during staging procedures through application of age,activities of daily living(ADL)/instrumental activities of daily living(IADL)and the comorbidity score based on the cumulative illness rating scale for geriatrics(CIRS-G).According to CGA scores,patients were classified into a not-applicable group,an applicable group and a frail group.The difference between ECOG-PS and CGA scoring was compared.Results A total of 73 patients were enrolled in this study.There were 37 (50.7 ％),14 (19.2 ％) and 22 (30.1％) patients in the applicable,not-applicable and frail groups,respectively.Comorbidities were observed in the majority of patients,with cardiovascular disease,diabetes mellitus and hypertension among the most common disorders.In patients aged 60 to 64 years,16.7％ (1/6) were considered as frail,and the percentage of frail patients increased to 36.4％ (8/22)in patients aged 80 years and over.Moreover,functional impairment evaluated by CGA was observed in 36.5 ％ (19/52)of patients with ECOG-PS ≤ 1.Conclusions According to CGA scoring,approximately half of AML patients aged 60 years or over have functional impairment.Functional impairment is observed in some patients with ECOG-PS ≤1,indicating that ECOG-PS may underestimate functional impairment in elderly AML patients.

Objective: To explore the relationship between serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) level and neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and to verify whether GFAP combined with craniocerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can more accurately evaluate the prognosis of HIE. Methods: We selected HIE children who hospitalized in the department of neonatology, the affiliated hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from January 2017 to December 2017, and full-term newborns without brain injury who were hospitalized in the same period. Serum samples were taken for GFAP detection on the 1st, 3rd, 7th day after birth of HIE and the 3rd day after birth of full-term newborns without brain injury. All the subjects completed craniocerebral MRI examination and followed up. At the same time, the correlation between GFAP level and the severity of brain MRI was evaluated. Results: ⑴ The level of serum GFAP in HIE group on the 3rd day after birth [(5.54±1.30)ng/ml] was significantly higher than that in control group [(3.38±0.31)ng/ml] (P<0.01). ⑵ Comparison of serum GFAP levels in HIE children with different degrees: the serum levels of GFAP in the severe group on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day were as follows: (5.56±1.89)ng/ml, (6.42±1.63)ng/ml, (7.22±1.30)ng/ml; the serum levels of GFAP in moderate group on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day were as follows: (5.07±0.62)ng/ml, (6.73±0.772)ng/ml, (6.25±0.812)ng/ml; the serum levels of GFAP in mild group on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day were as follows: (4.20±0.13)ng/ml, (5.34±0.33)ng/ml, (4.52±0.33)ng/ml; the serum GFAP levels in severe group were higher than those in moderate group and mild group on the 1st, 3rd and 7th day, and those in moderate group were higher than those in mild group (P<0.01). ⑶ Comparison of serum GFAP levels between sequelae group and non-sequelae group: there was no significant difference between sequelae group [(5.22±1.52)ng/ml, (6.48±1.17)ng/ml] and non-sequelae group [(4.47±0.50)ng/ml, (5.75±0.88)ng/ml] on the 1st and 3rd day (P>0.05); there was significant difference between sequelae group [(6.93±1.29)ng/ml] and non-sequelae group [(4.91±0.77)ng/ml] on the 7th day (P<0.01). ⑷ Comparison of serum GFAP levels between abnormal group of MRI and normal group of MRI: the levels of serum GFAP on day 1, 3 and 7 in abnormal craniocerebral MRI group were as follows: (5.25±1.28)ng/ml, (6.66±1.10)ng/ml, (6.64±1.08)ng/ml; the levels of serum GFAP on day 1, 3 and 7 in the normal group of MRI were as follows: (4.26±0.25)ng/ml, (5.41±0.40)ng/ml, (4.62±0.48)ng/ml; the serum levels of GFAP on day 1, 3 and 7 in mild abnormal craniocerebral MRI group were as follows: (4.92±0.9)ng/ml, (6.42±0.47)ng/ml, (5.95±0.58)ng/ml; the levels of serum GFAP on day 1, 3 and 7 in moderate abnormal group of craniocerebral MRI were as follows: (4.49±0.58)ng/ml, (6.24±1.87)ng/ml, (6.11±0.08)ng/ml; the levels of serum GFAP on day 1, 3 and 7 in the severe abnormal group of craniocerebral MRI were as follows: (6.17±1.34)ng/ml, (7.22±0.91)ng/ml, (7.73±1.01)ng/ml. Among the three groups of abnormal group of craniocerebral MRI, there were no significant differences in serum GFAP levels on day 1 and 3 (P>0.05), and there were significant differences on day 7 (P<0.05). Conclusions It is speculated that the increase of serum GFAP level in HIE newborns is related to the severity and prognosis of the disease, and is positively related to the results of craniocerebral MRI examination.Detecting the changes of serum GFAP in HIE newborns is helpful to determine the severity of the disease and evaluate the prognosis of the children. Combining GFAP with craniocerebral MRI may improve the accuracy of the judgment.