OBJECTIVES: Exposure to rare earth elements (REEs) has been linked to various systemic diseases, but their impact on the offspring blood-brain barrier (BBB) via the gut-brain axis remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to neodymium oxide (Nd₂O₃) on the BBB integrity of offspring rats, and to evaluate the potential protective role of bifidobacterium tetrad viable tablets (BTVT) against Nd₂O₃-induced intestinal and BBB damage. METHODS: Healthy adult SD rats were mated at a 1:1 male-to-female ratio, with the day of vaginal plug detection marked as gestational day 0. A total of 60 pregnant rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: Control, 50 mg/(kg·d) Nd₂O₃, 100 mg/(kg·d) Nd₂O₃, 200 mg/(kg·d) Nd₂O₃, and 200 mg/(kg·d) Nd₂O₃ + BTVT group. Treatments were administered by daily oral gavage throughout pregnancy and lactation. On postnatal day 21 (weaning), offspring feces, brain, and colon tissues were collected. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to assess structural changes in brain and intestinal tissues. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in feces were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Evans Blue (EB) dye extravasation assessed BBB permeability. Gene and protein expression levels of tight junction proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) were measured by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blotting (WB), respectively. Neodymium levels in brain tissue were determined via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). RESULTS: HE staining revealed that maternal Nd₂O₃ exposure caused mucosal edema, increased submucosal spacing, and lymphocyte infiltration in offspring colon, as well as neuronal degeneration and vacuolization in brain tissue. BTVT intervention alleviated these changes. GC-MS analysis showed that levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and isobutyric acid significantly decreased, while valeric acid and isovaleric acid increased in offspring of Nd₂O₃-exposed mothers (P<0.05). BTVT significantly restored levels of acetic, propionic, and isobutyric acids and reduced valeric acid content (P<0.05). EB permeability was significantly elevated in Nd₂O₃-exposed offspring brains (P<0.05), but reduced with BTVT treatment (P<0.05). RT-PCR and WB showed downregulation of occludin and ZO-1 expression following Nd₂O₃ exposure (P<0.05), which was reversed by BTVT (P<0.05). ICP-MS results indicated significantly increased brain neodymium levels in offspring from all Nd₂O₃-exposed groups (P<0.05), while BTVT significantly reduced neodymium accumulation compared to the 200 mg/(kg·d) Nd₂O₃ group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Maternal exposure to Nd₂O₃ during pregnancy and lactation disrupts intestinal health and BBB integrity in offspring, elevates brain neodymium accumulation, and induces neuronal degeneration. BTVT effectively mitigates Nd₂O₃-induced intestinal and BBB damage in offspring, potentially through modulation of the gut-brain axis.
Animals ; Female ; Blood-Brain Barrier/pathology* ; Pregnancy ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Male ; Neodymium/toxicity* ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/prevention & control* ; Lactation ; Maternal Exposure/adverse effects* ; Brain

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of hip neuromuscular training on reducing the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in female soccer players. MethodsFrom March to May, 2022, 39 female soccer players from Xi'an Physical Education University were randomly divided into control group (n = 19) and experimental group (n = 20). On the basis of daily training, the control group received sham intervention, and the experimental group received hip neuromuscular training, for six weeks. Before and after training, they were measured dynamic knee valgus (DKV) angle and assessed with Landing Error Score System (LESS); while they were also measured the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and root mean square (RMS) of electromyography as single leg landing of gluteus medius and gluteus maximus. ResultsAll the indexes varied little after training in the control group (|t| < 1.178, P > 0.05), while the indexes improved in the experimental group (|t| > 2.288, P < 0.05), except sagittal score of LESS; and all the indexes improved more in the experimental group than in the control group (|t| > 2.609, P < 0.05), except sagittal score of LESS and MVIC of gluteus maximus. ConclusionHip neuromuscular training can reduce the risk of ACL injury in female soccer players.

Objective: To investigate the knowledge regarding clinical research among children at 8-18 years of age. The survey results will form the basis for developing public education program for this population. Methods: The survey was conducted among children at 8-18 years of age using WeChat and spot investigation between January 2016 and January 2017. According to different developmental stages, the survey population was divided into four groups: age 8-10, 11-13, 14-15 and 16-18 years. The level of knowledge regarding clinical research was analyzed. Results: Totally 1 329 questionnaires were issued and 1 233 effective questionnaires were returned with a recovery rate of 92.8%. The overall awareness rate regarding clinical research was 32.8% (405/1 233) . It revealed that 282 (22.9%) individuals thought that clinical research was to treat people like experimental rats. When asked "who have the final decision on research participation", the percentages of those who chose oneself, parents or guardian and doctor were 44.6% (550/1 233), 74.2% (915/1 233) and 36.8% (454/1 233) respectively. When asked "If you want to participate a study, but your parents or guardian do not agree, what would you do?", 33.9% (418/1 233) of individuals will "give up". As to "If you do not want to participate a study, but your parents or guardian think you should, what would you do?", 51.3% (632/1 233) chose "listen to parents" and 28.8% (355/1 233) chose "refuse the suggestions of parents or guardian". As to "what are your greatest concerns of participating an investigation?" , 68.1% (840/1 233) chose "worry about added pain or discomfort". but 58.0% (715/1 233) thought if "doctors and nurses take good care of me" their "concerns will reduce" or "feel better to participate in the research?". 55.6% (686/1 233) and 49.3% (608/1 233) individuals responded that they will "participate in an research?" when they "know that other people also participate the research" and when they "know the details regarding what will happen after the enrollment". Conclusions The knowledge level of clinical research among children aged 8-18 years were not high. It is very necessary to promote the public education of clinical research for this population and also very necessary to address their concern regarding the research.

To investigate the knowledge regarding clinical research among children at 8-18 years of age. The survey results will form the basis for developing public education program for this population. Methods The survey was conducted among children at 8-18 years of age using WeChat and spot investigation between January 2016 and January 2017. According to different developmental stages, the survey population was divided into four groups: age 8-10, 11-13, 14-15 and 16-18 years. The level of knowledge regarding clinical research was analyzed. Results Totally 1 329 questionnaires were issued and 1 233 effective questionnaires were returned with a recovery rate of 92.8%. The overall awareness rate regarding clinical research was 32.8% (405/1 233). It revealed that 282 (22.9%) individuals thought that clinical research was to treat people like experimental rats. When asked"who have the final decision on research participation", the percentages of those who chose oneself, parents or guardian and doctor were 44.6% (550/1 233), 74.2% (915/1 233) and 36.8% (454/1 233) respectively. When asked "If you want to participate a study, but your parents or guardian do not agree, what would you do?", 33.9% (418/1 233) of individuals will "give up". As to "If you do not want to participate a study, but your parents or guardian think you should, what would you do? ", 51.3% (632/1 233) chose"listen to parents" and 28.8% (355/1 233) chose"refuse the suggestions of parents or guardian". As to "what are your greatest concerns of participating an investigation?", 68.1% (840/1 233) chose"worry about added pain or discomfort". But 58.0%(715/1 233) thought if"doctors and nurses take good care of me"their "concerns will reduce" or "feel better to participate in the research? ". 55.6% (686/1 233) and 49.3% (608/1 233) individuals responded that they will"participate in an research? "when they"know that other people also participate the research" and when they"know the details regarding what will happen after the enrollment". Conclusions The knowledge level of clinical research among children aged 8-18 years were not high. It is very necessary to promote the public education of clinical research for this population and also very necessary to address their concern regarding the research.

BACKGROUND:There are a lot of studies on isolation and culture methods of human placental chorionic-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hpcMSCs), but how to simply and efficiently harvest a large amount of primary MSCs has not been resolved. OBJECTIVE:To optimize the tissue explants method of isolating and culturing hpcMSCsin vitro. METHODS:Human placental chorionic villi were collected from full-term deliveries under aseptic condition and isolated by electric homogenizer. hpcMSCs were prepared by tissue explants method. The fluid and tissue of the primary culture flask and douching normal saline of the initial culture were centrifuged and prepared for secondary culture. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: It saved time and effort to treat human placental chorionic villi with electric homogenizer, with good effects on tissue dispersion and removal of red blood cells. The average time of cell acquisition in initial culture and secondary culture was (17.73±1.14) and (10.03±1.30) days, respectively. The yields of primary cultured cells in initial culture and secondary culture were (6.97±0.98)×105 and (13.82±1.44)×105per Φ100 mm culture dish, respectively. The adherent cells showed fibroblast-cell-like shape, which were in parallel or circinate arrangement. Highly expressed CD73, CD105 and CD90 could be detected in the third generation of hpcMSCs, but CD34, CD45, CD14, CD19 and HLA-DR were negative. Following induction, alizarin red staining and oil red O staining produced a strong reaction in cells. In a word, the optimized method is a simple and efficient method for obtaining a large amount of primary hpcMSCs.

Objective To establish a cultivating method for obtaining a large number of P0 generation human placental chorionic-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hpcMSCs).Methods The hpcMSCs were isolated from human placental chorion.After primary culturing and culturing for seven days,the culture medium,the non-adherent tissue and the douching normal saline of the primary culture were centrifuged and re-cultured twice.Cell morphology was observed by an inverted microscope.CCK-8 was used to measure the cell growth curve.Flow cytometry was used to detect cell surface markers.Adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation kits were used to assess the cell differentiation potential.Results The obtained hpcMSCs were fibroblast-like adherent cells and (25.54±3.38)×106 cells were obtained per placenta.The total yield of the primary culture,secondary culture and tertiary culture were (11.73±2.09)×106,(11.12±1.42)×106 and (2.69±0.71)×106,respectively,and the incubation time were (12.00±0.64) d,(8.87±0.63) d and (12.33±0.80) d.There was significant differences in incubation time between the secondary culture and the primary culture as well as the tertiary culture (all P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference between the primary culture and the tertiary culture.However,the incubation time of the tertiary culture had an increasing trend (P＞0.05).The yield per culture flask of the primary culture,secondary culture and tertiary culture were (1.12±0.15) × 106,(2.10±0.16)×106 and (1.04±0.16)×106,respectively.There was significant differences in the yield per culture flask between the secondary culture and the primary culture as well as the tertiary culture (all P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference between the primary culture and the tertiary culture.However,the yield per culture flask of the tertiary culture had a decreasing trend (P＞0.05).There was no difference among the three cultures in the growth curve and the expression of surface markers,and the osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation were all positive.Conclusions The P0 generation hpcMSCs isolated from a choriocarcinoma sample can be doubled by the three cultures compared with the primary culture,which can provide plenty stem cell source for the regenerative medicine.

Objective To analyze iodine nutrition and its correlation with thyroid function in pregnant women.Methods A total of 295 pregnant women were enrolled from Jun.to Oct.2016,and detected for serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH),free thyroxine(FT4) and thyroid-peroxidase antibody(TPOAb) by using electrochemiluminescence analysis,and for urinary iodine concentration(UIC) by cold digestion method according to iodine catalytic effect of arsenic-cerium.Results The median of UIC was 174.90 μg/L.The prevalence of iodine deficiency and iodine excess were 40.00% and 7.12% respectively.The prevalence of TPOAb positivity and thyroid dysfunction in the iodine deficiency group and iodine excess group were significantly higher than those of iodine proper group(P<0.05).The levels of TSH and FT4 of iodine excess group were significantly higher than those of iodine proper group(P<0.05).Conclusion The abnormality of iodine nutrition could be common in pregnant women.Monitoring of UIC and thyroid hormones should be highlighted.

Objective To evaluate the effects of N-acetycysteine on the expression of caveolin-3 (Cav-3) during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in diabetic rats.Methods Twenty-four pathogenfree healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 230-270 g,were divided into 3 groups (n =8 each) using a random number table:myocardial I/R group (group I/R),diabetes mellitus plus myocardial I/R group (group D) and N-acetycysteine group (group NAC).Diabetes mellitus was induced by injection of streptozotocin 60 mg/kg via the tail vein and confirmed by blood glucose ≥ 16.7 mmol/L 3 days later.At 1 week after successful establishment of the model,N-acetycysteine 1.5 g · kg-1 · d-1 was injected through a gastric tube into stomach for 4 consecutive weeks in group NAC,and the equal volume of normal saline was given for 4 consecutive weeks in I/R and D groups.Myocardial I/R was then induced by 30 min ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery followed by 2 h of reperfusion.At the end of reperfusion,the myocardial infarct size was determined by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining,the levels of serum creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and 15-F2t-Isoprostane were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and the expression of myocardial Cav-3,Akt,phosphor-Akt (p-Akt),endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and phosphor-eNOS (p-eNOS) was detected by Western blot.Results Compared with group I/R,the myocardial infarct size and levels of serum CK-MB and 15-F2t-Isoprostane were significantly increased,and the myocardial Cav-3,p-Akt and p-eNOS expression and NO level were decreased in group D (P＜0.05).Compared with group D,the myocardial infarct size and levels of serum CK-MB and 15-F2t-Isoprostane were significantly decreased,and the myocardial Car-3,p-Akt and p-eNOS expression and NO level were increased in group NAC (P＜0.05).Conclusion N-acetycystein can activate Akt/eNOS/NO signaling pathway through up-regulating myocardial Cav-3 expression,thus reducing myocardial I/R injury in diabetic rats.

Objective To explore the efficacy of tigecycline combined with cefoperazone/sulbactam in the treatment of infections due to multiple drug resistant strains and pandrug-resistant acinetobacter baumannii, so as to guide the reasonable clinical medication.Methods A total of 16 cases of ventilator associated pneumonia caused by multiple drug resistant strains and pandrug-resistant acinetobacter baumannii treated in the First Hospital of Shijiazhuang from November 2012 to November 2014 were retrospectively analyzed, and the severity of the infection, clinical efficacy and mortality were observed.Results The multiple drug resistant strains and pandrugresistant acinetobacter baumannii were frequently detected in the 16 patients.Fifteen cases had been used other antibiotics before tigecycline, such as imipenem, cefoperazone/Shubatan, minocycline etc.The severity of underlying disease was assessed with the acute physiology and chronic health score(APACHE Ⅱ sore) within 24 h of admission, on the first day of tigecycline (TGC) therapy and after 7 days of TGC therapy.It showed that the average APACHE Ⅱ score were (25±6.0), (24.2±6.4) and (17.8±6.6) within 24 hours of admission(P＜0.01), on the first day of TGC therapy and after 7 days of TGC therapy.Thirty days after application of the TGC, the bacterial eradication rate was 56.25％ (9/16).The effective rate was 87.5％ (14/16).The failure rate was 12.5％ (2/16).Conclusion The effect of the tigecycline combined with cefoperazone/sulbactam on the clearance of the multiple drug resistant strains and pandrug-resistant acinetobacter baumanniiis is satisfied.

Background: Nasal?type extranodal natural killer/T?cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) originates primarily in the nasal cavity or extra?nasal sites within the upper aerodigestive tract. However, it is unclear whether the primary site can serve as an independent prognostic factor or whether the varying clinical outcomes observed with different primary sites can be attributed merely to their propensities of regional lymph node involvement. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic implications of the primary site and regional lymph node involvement in patients with early?stage nasal?type ENKTCL. Methods: To develop a nomogram, we reviewed the clinical data of 215 consecutively diagnosed patients with early?stage nasal?type ENKTCL who were treated in Sun Yat?sen University Cancer Center with chemotherapy and radiotherapy between 2000 and 2011. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined using a concordance index (C?index) and calibration curve. Results: The 5?year overall survival (OS) and progression?free survival (PFS) rates of patients with nasal ENKTCL were higher than those of patients with extra?nasal ENKTCL (OS: 68.2% vs. 46.0%, P = 0.030; PFS: 53.4% vs. 26.6%, P = 0.010).The 5?year OS and PFS rates of patients with Ann Arbor stage IE ENKTCL were higher than those of patients with Ann Arbor stage IIE ENKTCL (OS: 66.3% vs. 59.2%, P = 0.003; PFS: 51.4% vs. 40.3%, P = 0.009). Multivariate analysisshowed that age >60 years, ECOG performance status score nasal primary site, and regional lymph node involvement were significantly associated with lower 5?year OS rate;≥2, elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, extra?age >60 years, elevated LDH level, extra?nasal primary site, and regional lymph node involvement were significantly associated with lower 5?year PFS rate. The nomogram included the primary site and regional lymph node involve?ment based on multivariate analysis. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted and actual 5?year OS and PFS rates, and the C?indexes of the nomogram for the OS and PFS rates were 0.697 and 0.634, respectively. Conclusions: The primary site and regional lymph node involvement are independent prognostic factors for early?stage ENKTCL treated with chemotherapy followed by definitive radiotherapy.