Micro/nanoplastics (MNPs), recognized as emerging environmental pollutants, are widely distributed in natural environments. Due to their small particle size and significant migratory capacity, MNPs can infiltrate diverse environmental matrices, then invade and accumulate in the organism via the skin, respiration, and digestion. Recently, concerns have grown over the detrimental effects and potential toxicity of MNPs on reproductive health. This review summarized published epidemiological and toxicological studies related to MNPs exposure and their effects on reproductive health. Firstly, this review critically examined the current landscape of epidemiological evidence and found that MNPs (e.g., polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, etc.) are present in various biological specimens from both males and females, and their presence may be associated with an increased risk of reproductive disorders. Secondly, extensive toxicological studies revealed that MNPs exposure induces reproductive health damage through mechanisms such as disrupting the microstructure of reproductive organs and altering molecular-level expressions. Oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis are identified as potential links between MNPs exposure and reproductive damage. Finally, this review addressed the prevalent shortcomings in existing studies and proposed future directions to tackle the challenges posed by MNPs-induced reproductive harm. These insights aim to inform strategies for safeguarding public reproductive health and ecological security, providing a scientific foundation for mitigating risks associated with MNPs pollution.

Background and Aims:Sleeve gastrectomy(SG)has become the most widely performed bariatric procedure worldwide,but postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)remains a major concern.This multicenter study aimed to identify independent risk factors associated with GERD after SG to guide preoperative assessment and intraoperative management.Methods:Clinical data of 672 patients who underwent SG between January 2020 and December 2022 in six bariatric centers and completed a 12-month follow-up were retrospectively analyzed.Demographic characteristics,esophagogastric junction(EGJ)integrity graded by the AFS system,operative parameters,and postoperative outcomes were compared between patients with and without GERD.Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of postoperative GERD.Results:The overall incidence of GERD after SG was 24.7%(166/672).Multivariate analysis revealed that a preoperative BMI>35 kg/m2(OR=1.68,P=0.033),EGJ integrity AFS grade>2(OR=2.90,P=0.006),and preoperative reflux symptoms(OR=2.44,P=0.030)were independent risk factors for GERD.A staple line more than 1 cm from the angle of His(OR=0.45,P<0.001)and a bougie size>36 Fr(OR=0.08,P=0.001)were protective factors.Conclusion:High BMI,impaired EGJ integrity,and preoperative reflux symptoms significantly increase the risk of GERD after SG,whereas adequate preservation of the His angle and appropriate bougie calibration may reduce it.Comprehensive preoperative EGJ assessment and standardized surgical techniques are essential for minimizing postoperative reflux.

Background and Aims:Sleeve gastrectomy(SG)has become the most widely performed bariatric procedure worldwide,but postoperative gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)remains a major concern.This multicenter study aimed to identify independent risk factors associated with GERD after SG to guide preoperative assessment and intraoperative management.Methods:Clinical data of 672 patients who underwent SG between January 2020 and December 2022 in six bariatric centers and completed a 12-month follow-up were retrospectively analyzed.Demographic characteristics,esophagogastric junction(EGJ)integrity graded by the AFS system,operative parameters,and postoperative outcomes were compared between patients with and without GERD.Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of postoperative GERD.Results:The overall incidence of GERD after SG was 24.7%(166/672).Multivariate analysis revealed that a preoperative BMI>35 kg/m2(OR=1.68,P=0.033),EGJ integrity AFS grade>2(OR=2.90,P=0.006),and preoperative reflux symptoms(OR=2.44,P=0.030)were independent risk factors for GERD.A staple line more than 1 cm from the angle of His(OR=0.45,P<0.001)and a bougie size>36 Fr(OR=0.08,P=0.001)were protective factors.Conclusion:High BMI,impaired EGJ integrity,and preoperative reflux symptoms significantly increase the risk of GERD after SG,whereas adequate preservation of the His angle and appropriate bougie calibration may reduce it.Comprehensive preoperative EGJ assessment and standardized surgical techniques are essential for minimizing postoperative reflux.

Pacemaking dysfunction has become a significant disease that may contribute to heart rhythm disorders, syncope, and even death. Up to now, the best way to treat it is to implant electronic pacemakers. However, these have many disadvantages such as limited battery life, infection, and fixed pacing rate. There is an urgent need for a biological pacemaker (bio-pacemaker). This is expected to replace electronic devices because of its low risk of complications and the ability to respond to emotion. Here we survey the contemporary development of the bio-pacemaker by both experimental and computational approaches. The former mainly includes gene therapy and cell therapy, whilst the latter involves the use of multi-scale computer models of the heart, ranging from the single cell to the tissue slice. Up to now, a bio-pacemaker has been successfully applied in big mammals, but it still has a long way from clinical uses for the treatment of human heart diseases. It is hoped that the use of the computational model of a bio-pacemaker may accelerate this process. Finally, we propose potential research directions for generating a bio-pacemaker based on cardiac computational modeling.

Objective To evaluate the clinical effects of the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods From Dec.2013 to Dec.2015,83 cases with T2DM received LRYGB were enrolled to this study.They were divided into low body mass index group (LBMI,25≤BMI＜28),intermediate body mass index group (IBMI,28≤BMI＜32) and high body mass index group (HBMI,BMI≥33).Meanwhile,the clinical effects and side-effects were evaluated among three groups.The factors of adverse effects were evaluated by Cox multivariate analysis.Results Only one patient in HBMI was conversed to open surgery,all the others received LRYGB.The surgery time,intraoperative blood loss and complica tion were positively related to BMI,and the difference was statistically significant between the 3 groups(P＜0.05).The main side-effect of LRYGB was gastrointestinal reaction.The level of fasting blood-glucose,postprandial 2 hours blood sugar,HbA1c and cholesterol total in three groups were lower than baseline (P＜0.05),however,there was no significant difference among the three groups (P＞0.05).The rate of clinical effects in three groups was 89.5％,89.3％ and 91.7％.There was no significant difference among the three groups(P＞0.05);In Cox multivariate analysis,cholesterol total and BMI were independent prognostic indicator for LRGB adverse.Conclusions LRYGB is a safe and effective method for patients with T2DM,which can effectively improve glucose and lipid metabolism.The increased BMI can increase the incidence of LRYGB complications.Total cholesterol is an independent prognostic indicator for the adverse of LRYGB.

Objective To evaluate the effect of resveratrol on the growth of an established A431 xenogratt tumor in nude mice.Methods The model of human skin squamous cell carcinoma was established by inoculating A431 cells in log-phase growth into the left axillary fossa of Balb/c (nu/nu) nude mice.After 7-8 days,60 mice bearing human A431 skin squamous cell carcinoma xenografts were randomly and equally divided into 6 groups:blank control group receiving no treatment,negative control group treated with intraperitoneal sodium chloride physiological solution,positive control group treated with intraperitoneal cyclophosphamide,high-,medium-and low-dose resveratrol groups treated with intraperitoneal resveratrol of 40,20 and 10 μg per gram body weight per day,respectively.Tumor size was measured at a 4-day interval during the treatment course.After 14-day treatment,the mice were sacrificed.Xenograft tumors were removed from these mice and subjected to weight measurement,pathological examination by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and apoptosis detection by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL).Western blot was conducted to quantify the protein expression of apoptosis-related factors,including phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (p-ERK),p53 and caspase 3.Data were processed by SPSS 13.0 software,and statistical analysis was carried out by analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis.Results By the end of treatment,the xenograft tumor volume was (1153.56 ± 255.41) mm3,(1001.69 ± 115.08) mm3,(1206.80 ± 175.88) mm3,(1342.28 ± 211.12) mm3,(1642.34 ± 225.85) mm3 and (1564.32 ± 156.49) mm3,and the weight was (1.84 ±0.30) g,(1.72 ± 0.39) g,(1.96 ± 0.40) g,(2.67 ± 0.73) g,(3.16 ± 0.52) g,and (3.33 ± 0.59) g,respectively in the positive control group,high-,medium-and low-dose resveratrol group,negative control group and blank control group.Significant differences were observed in the xenograft tumor volume (F =16.00,P ＜ 0.05) and weight (F =19.15,P ＜ 0.05) among the 6 groups.According to the tumor weight,the growth of tumor was inhibited by 45.57％,37.97％ and 15.51％ respectively in the high-,medium-and low-dose resveratrol groups.Increased apoptotic index was observed in the positive control group,high-,medium-and low-dose resveratrol groups compared with the negative control group and blank control group (36.79 ± 8.86,33.15 ± 6.00,18.09 ±3.92 and 10.53 ± 4.20 vs.3.87 ± 1.63 and 2.73 ± 1.61,F =93.26,P ＜ 0.05).Analysis of variance showed that the protein expressions of p-ERK,p53 and caspase 3 were all higher in the three resveratrol groups than in the negative control group and blank control group (F =6.65,6.78,11.56,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05).The protein expression of p53 was statistically correlated with p-ERK (r =0.68,P ＜ 0.05) and caspase 3 (r =0.56,P ＜0.05).Conclusions Resveratrol shows an inhibitory effect on the growth of human A431 skin squamous cell carcinoma xenografts in nude mice,likely by increasing p53 expression and inducing tumor cell apoptosis via the activation of MAPK/ERK pathway.

In this paper, to analyze the functional influence of ischemia on cardiac cell electrical activity and subsequently on ventricular electrical wave conduction, a human ventricular ischemic model was developed, which took into account three major pathophysiological components of ischemias hyperkalaemia, acidosis, and anoxia. This model simulated the action potential (AP) propagations of endocardial, midmycardial and epicardial cells with different levels of ischemia, and the influence of each factor on cell AP was analyzed. Finally the ECG waveform under ischemia was quantified by using a 2D model of human left ventricular tissue based on the anatomical structure of human heart. The experimental results showed that under ischemia action potential durations (APD) were reduced. In most cases, the larger the size of ischemic region or the more severe the ischemic level, the more dramatic the changes in the amplitude of ST-T wave were observed. For the three components of ischemia, hyperkalaemia was the dominant contributor to ST-T wave changes, which was in agreement with the results obtained on animal models.
Action Potentials ; physiology ; Computer Simulation ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Ventricles ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; physiopathology ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Myocardial Ischemia ; physiopathology

Objective To study the effect of intratumor angiogenesis and vascular growth factor(VEGF), basic fibroblase growth factor(bFGF), Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and their receptors(flt-1 bFGFR.PDGFR) on the invasion, metaslasis of pancreatic carcimoma(PC) and the relationship between the expressions of three kinds of angiogenic factors, their receptors and microvessel count(MVC). Methods Tis- sue sections of 51 PC and 32 acute or chronic pancreatitis were examined by in situ hybridization for the expression of VEGF bFGF.PDGF, and by immunohistochemistry for the expression of the three kinds of angiogenic factor receptors and MVC. The correlation of the expressions and pathological characteristics of PC were also studied. Results The positive rate of VEGF mRNA,bFGF mRNA, PDGF mRNA and their receptors in PC were significantly higher than that in acute or chronic pancreatistis( P

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of endoscopic thyroidectomy(ESTC) via the approach of areola of breast.Methods The clinical data of 46 cases of endoscopic thyroidectomy via the breast areola approach from October 2004 to November 2006 were retrospectively analyzed.Results The operation was successfulmy completed endoscopically in 44 cases,including 18 cases of unilateral partial thyroidectomy,26 cases of bilateral partial thyroidectomy,and 2 cases were converted to open operation for thyroid cancer neck dissection.The operation time of ESTC was 80~160minutes(mean 110min),and the intraoperative blood loss was 25~45ml,(mean,33?9.5ml).Pathological findings showed 25 cases of thyroid adenoma,16 cases of nodular goiter,and 3 cases of Graves disease.The length of postoperative hospital stay was 3~6day(mean4.5d).Complications occurred in 2 cases,including 1case of bleeding from left puncture tract,and 1 case of temporary hoarseness.Conclusions Endoscopic thyroidectomy via breast areola approach is a technically feasible and safe procedure,and has the advantage of minimal trauma,and with excellent cosmetic outcomes.