Objective:To build mice ulcerative colitis(UC)model by dextran sodium sulfate salt(DSS),and to explore effect and molecular mechanism of oridonin(Ori)on alleviating UC by mediating Sirt1 signaling pathway,as well as to find new drugs for UC treatment.Methods:Sixty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal group(NC),model group(DSS),DSS+mesalazine sustained-release granule group(AC),DSS+low-dose Ori group(Ori-L),DSS+medium-dose Ori group(Ori-M)and DSS+high-dose Ori group(Ori-H),with 10 mice in each group.Except NC group,mice in other groups were given 3%DSS aqueous solution free for 7 days.After successful modeling,Ori-L group,Ori-M group and Ori-H group were intragastric with 50,100 and 150 mg/kg Ori suspension,respectively.NC group and DSS group drank distilled water free,AC group was intragastric with mesalazine sustained-release granules 100 mg/kg,lasted for 10 days.Weight changes of mice were recorded and disease active index(DAI)score was performed.After treatment,serum levels of IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were detected by ELISA.Whole colon tissues were extracted,length was measured,and HE staining was performed.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to detect expressions of Sirt1,NF-κB and p53 in colon tissues of each group.Results:After successful modeling,compared with NC group,the other 5 groups of mice showed weight loss,DAI score increased and colon length shortened,Sirt1 expression was signi-ficantly inhibited,while expressions of NF-κB and p53 were significantly increased,accompanied by obvious inflammatory pathologi-cal features.Compared with DSS group,Ori-L,Ori-M,and Ori-H groups and AC group had less weight loss during experiment,and DAI scores showed lower disease activity and relatively less colon length shortening,Sirt1 expression was less inhibited,expressions of NF-κB and p53 were also relatively small.Results of AC group could prove that Ori has therapeutic effect on UC.Conclusion:Ori can improve UC in mice,whose effect may be related to regulation of Sirt1 signal.

Objective:To explore the prevalence and independent associated factors of vascular calcification (VC) in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients of stage 3-5.Methods:It was a single-center cross-sectional observational study. Non-dialysis stage 3-5 CKD patients ≥18 years old who were admitted to the Department of Nephrology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from May 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 with VC evaluation were enrolled. The patients' general information, laboratory examination and imaging data were collected. Coronary artery calcification (CAC), thoracic aorta calcification (TAC), abdominal aorta calcification (AAC), carotid artery calcification and aortic valve calcification (AVC) were evaluated by cardiac-gated electron-beam CT (EBCT) scans, lateral lumbar x-ray, cervical macrovascular ultrasound and echocardiography, respectively. The differences in clinical data and the prevalence of VC at different sites of patients with different CKD stages were compared, and the prevalence of VC at different sites of patients in different age groups [youth group (18-44 years old), middle-aged group (45-64 years old) and elderly group (≥65 years old)] and patients with or without diabetes were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the independent associated factors of VC for different areas.Results:A total of 206 patients aged (51±14) years were included, including 129 (62.6%) males. There were 44 patients with CKD stage 3 (21.4%), 51 patients with CKD stage 4 (24.8%), and 111 patients with CKD stage 5 (53.9%). CKD was caused by chronic glomerulonephritis [104 cases (50.5%)], diabetic kidney damage [35 cases (17.0%)], hypertensive kidney damage [29 cases (14.1%)] and others [38 cases (18.4%)]. Among 206 patients, 131 (63.6%) exhibited cardiovascular calcification, and the prevalence of CAC, TAC, AAC, carotid artery calcification, and AVC was 37.9%, 43.7%, 37.9%, 35.9% and 9.7%, respectively. The overall prevalence of VC in young, middle-aged and elderly patients was 24.6%, 73.6% and 97.4%, respectively. With the increase of age, the prevalence of VC in each site gradually increased, and the increasing trend was statistically significant (all P<0.001). The overall prevalence of VC in CKD patients with diabetes was 92.5% (62/67), and the prevalence of VC at each site in the patients with diabetes was significantly higher than that in the patients without diabetes (all P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (every 10 years increase, OR=2.51, 95% CI 1.77-3.56, P<0.001), hypertension ( OR=5.88, 95% CI 1.57-22.10, P=0.009), and diabetes ( OR=4.66, 95% CI 2.10-10.35, P<0.001) were independently correlated with CAC; Age (every 10 years increase, OR=6.43, 95% CI 3.64-11.36, P<0.001) and hypertension ( OR=6.09, 95% CI 1.33-27.84, P=0.020) were independently correlated with TAC; Female ( OR=0.23, 95% CI 0.07-0.72, P=0.011), age (every 10 years increase, OR=3.90, 95% CI 2.42-6.29, P<0.001), diabetes ( OR=5.37, 95% CI 2.19-13.19, P<0.001) and serum magnesium ( OR=0.01,95% CI 0-0.35, P=0.014) were independently correlated with AAC. Moreover, age and diabetes were independently correlated with carotid artery calcification, AVC and overall VC Conclusions:The prevalence of VC in non-dialysis CKD patients of stage 3-5 is 63.59%, of which CAC reaches 37.9%, TAC is the most common one (43.7%), while AVC is the least one (9.7%). Age and diabetes are the independent associated factors for VC of all sites except TAC, while hypertension is an independent associated factor for both CAC and TAC.

Objective To determine whether local gradient fluid shear stress(FSS)causes a specific distribution of intracellular calcium ion concentration,which ultimately determines the direction of cell migration.Methods Numerical simulations were performed using COMSOL software.The method of staining intracellular calcium ion for RAW264.7 osteoclast precursors was established.After applying gradient FSS on the cells,the distribution and dynamic changes of intracellular calcium ion concentration and cell migration parameters were analyzed.Results Osteoclast precursors tended to migrate towards regions with lower FSS,and oscillatory flow regulated the distribution of intracellular calcium ions along the direction of cell migration.After blocking phospholipase C(PLC),mechanosensitive cation-selective channels(MSCC),endoplasmic reticulum(ER),and removing extracellular calcium,the migration speed of cells towards the low FSS direction was significantly reduced,but the migration speed along the liquid flow direction was significantly enhanced.Meanwhile,the calcium ion distribution along the liquid flow direction was significantly increased.Conclusions Osteoclast precursors can sense the FSS gradient,resulting in a specific distribution of intracellular calcium ions along the direction of migration.This ultimately leads to the migration of osteoclast precursors towards regions with lower FSS.This study provides important basic data for ultimately elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of bone tissue remodeling under dynamic external forces.

Recent innovations in nanomaterials inspire abundant novel tumor-targeting CRISPR-based gene therapies. However, the therapeutic efficiency of traditional targeted nanotherapeutic strategies is limited by that the biomarkers vary in a spatiotemporal-dependent manner with tumor progression. Here, we propose a self-amplifying logic-gated gene editing strategy for gene/H₂O₂-mediated/starvation multimodal cancer therapy. In this approach, a hypoxia-degradable covalent-organic framework (COF) is synthesized to coat a-ZIF-8 in which glucose oxidase (GOx) and CRISPR system are packaged. To intensify intracellular redox dyshomeostasis, DNAzymes which can cleave catalase mRNA are loaded as well. When the nanosystem gets into the tumor, the weakly acidic and hypoxic microenvironment degrades the ZIF-8@COF to activate GOx, which amplifies intracellular H⁺ and hypoxia, accelerating the nanocarrier degradation to guarantee available CRISPR plasmid and GOx release in target cells. These tandem reactions deplete glucose and oxygen, leading to logic-gated-triggered gene editing as well as synergistic gene/H₂O₂-mediated/starvation therapy. Overall, this approach highlights the biocomputing-based CRISPR delivery and underscores the great potential of precise cancer therapy.

YABBY proteins are important transcription factors that regulate morphogenesis and organ development in plants. In order to study the YABBY of strawberry, bioinformatic technique were used to identify the YABBY gene families in Fragaria vesca (diploid) and Fragaria×ananassa (octoploid), and then analyze the sequence characters, phylogeny and collinearity of the family members. The RNA-seq data and the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technique were used to assay the expression patterns of the family members. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) was fused with FvYABBYs and transiently expressed in tobacco leaf cells for the subcellular localization. As the results, six FvYABBY genes and 26 FxaYABBY genes were identified from F. vesca and F.×ananassa, respectively. The FvYABBY genes were grouped into five clades, and five family members were orthologous with AtYABBY genes of Arabidopsis. In F. vesca, all of the FvYABBYs were basically not expressed not expressed in root and receptacle, while FvYABBY1, FvYABBY2, FvYABBY5 and FvYABBY6 were highly expressed in leaf, shoot, flower and achene. In F.×ananassa, FxaYABBY1, FxaYABBY2, FxaYABBY5 and FxaYABBY6 were expressed in achene, and all FxaYABBY were poorly or not expressed in receptacle. Additionally, under the abiotic stresses of low temperature, high salt and drought, the expression of FvYABBY1, FvYABBY3, FvYABBY4 and FvYABBY6 were down-regulated, FvYABBY5 was up-regulated, and FvYABBY2 was up-regulated and then down-regulated. In tobacco leaf cells, the subcellular localization of FvYABBY proteins were in the nucleus. These results provides a foundation for the functional researches of YABBY gene in strawberry.
Fragaria/genetics* ; Arabidopsis ; Biological Assay ; Cold Temperature ; Computational Biology

Purpose To assess the feasibility of nuclear score combined with ultrasound features on indeterminate thyroid nodules in fine needle aspiration cytological diagnosis.Methods A consecutive cohort of 119 thyroid fine-needle aspiration(FNA)specimens with indeterminate diagnosis(TBSRTC cate-gory Ⅲ-Ⅴ)and available histopathologic follow-up was evalua-ted.Original sonographic images and cytological slides of each nodule were reviewed by two experienced sonographers and two experienced cytopathologists respectively,and evaluated jointly to obtain consensus.The identification of the optimal cut-off points of simplified nuclear score and ultrasound features score for the diagnosis of malignancy or low-risk neoplasm were evalu-ated using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves and the assessment of the area under the ROC curve(AUC).The specificity,sensitivity,positive predictive value(PPV)and negative predictive value(NPV)of nuclear score and US score were evaluated from crosstabs based on Cut-off points and signif-icance were calculated.The diagnostic accuracy of simplified nuclear score combined with ultrasound features was estimated by Logistic regression and ROC curve analysis.Results Nucle-ar grooves,intra-nuclear inclusions and chromatin clearing were more common in malignancy/low-risk neoplasms(P = 0.001,0.013 and 0.001 respectively).A Cut-off point of≥2 for the simplified nuclear score was sensitive for defining malignancy/low-risk neoplasm,and the sensitivity was 99.1%.Nodule height greater than width,absent halo sign,irregular margin and absent intranodular vascularization were more common in malig-nancy/low-risk neoplasms(P = 0.003,0.007,0.003 and 0.004 respectively).When the Cut-off point was set as≥5,the PPV and specificity for defining malignancy/low-risk neoplasm were 95.9%and 78.6%respectively.ROC curve analysis showed that the diagnostic accuracy of nuclear score combined with US score(0.873,95%CI = 0.777-0.970)was higher than that of nuclear score alone(0.817,95%CI = 0.687-0.948,P =0.092)or US score alone(0.758,95%CI 0.637-0.879,P =0.047).But no significant difference was detec-ted between the combined score and the nuclear score.Conclu-sion The addition of simplified nuclear score and US score to FNA cytology can increase the diagnostic accuracy of cytology in indeterminate categories.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the post-marketing safety of Compound porcine cerebroside and ganglioside injection in patients with ischemic stroke. METHODS A drug-induced， prospective， non-controlled clinical study design was conducted. Using the patients with ischemic stroke who received Compound porcine cerebroside and ganglioside injection at least once in 46 secondary class A and above medical institutions across the country from April 2020 to May 2021 as the monitoring objects， and their basic data， medication information and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions were analyzed. RESULTS Among 13 514 patients with ischemic stroke， the incidence of adverse events was 10.01%， and the incidence of adverse reactions related to Compound porcine cerebroside and ganglioside injection was 0.33%. Drug-related adverse drug reactions were mild or moderate， concentrated in the gastrointestinal system （18 cases）， skin and subcutaneous tissue （10 cases）， nervous system （7 cases） and other systems/organs， mainly including constipation， abdominal pain， diarrhea， rash， pruritus， dizziness and other symptoms. Most of the patients （91.03%） recovered or improved after treatment， and 2 patients died. Among the 45 patients with adverse drug reactions， 84.44% were cured or improved after drug withdrawal or symptomatic treatment， and 15.56% had no significant change. The incidence of adverse drug reactions in tertiary hospitals was significantly higher than that in secondary hospitals， and the incidence of adverse drug reactions in patients with allergic history was significantly higher than that in patients without allergic history （P＜0.05）. Irrational drug use was found in 2.76% of patients， and the incidence of adverse drug reactions（2.95%） was significantly higher than that in patients without irrational drug use（0.26%，P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The adverse drug reaction symptoms of ischemic stroke patients treated with Compound porcine cerebroside and ganglioside injection are relatively common， the incidence rate is generally low， and it is related to the patients’ physique and whether the drug use is standardized.

Objective To express the monkeypox virus (MPXV) A23R protein in Escherichia coli and purify by Ni-NTA affinity column, and to prepare mouse antiserum against MPXV A23R. Methods The recombinant plasmid pET-28a-MPXV-A23R was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 to induce the expression of A23R protein. After optimizing the conditions of expression, A23R protein was highly expressed. Recombinant A23R protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity column and identified by Western blot analysis. The purified protein was used to immunize mice for preparing the A23R polyclonal antibody, and the antibody titer was detected by ELISA. Results The expression of A23R recombinant protein reached the peak under the induced conditions of 0.6 mmol/L isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG), 37 DegreesCelsius and 20 hours. The purity of the protein was about 96.07% and was identified by Western blot analysis. The mice were immunized with recombinant protein, and the titer of antibody reached 1:102 400 at the 6th week after immunization. Conclusion MPXV A23R is expressed highly and purified with a high purity and its antiserum from mouse is obtained with a high titre.
Animals ; Mice ; Monkeypox virus ; Antibodies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Blotting, Western ; Recombinant Proteins ; Escherichia coli/genetics*

Objective:To observe the expression of adenosine kinase (ADK) in the hippocampus of patients with refractory epilepsy, and to explore the role of ADK in the pathogenesis of refractory epilepsy.Methods:Thirteen patients with intractable epilepsy who underwent surgical resection of hippocampal tissue at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University were collected as the epilepsy group; At the same time, 4 cases of relatively normal temporal lobe brain tissue from patients with traumatic brain injury undergoing debridement surgery (without previous history of epileptic seizures) were collected, and these 4 patients served as the control group. The expression of ADK in two groups of specimens was detected at the tissue, gene, and protein levels using methods such as dual fluorescence immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT Real time PCR), and Western blotting.Results:In the human brain, ADK was mainly expressed in the nucleus of astrocytes. Through histological observation, ADK was weakly expressed in normal brain tissue, while there is significant proliferation of glial cells and excessive expression of ADK in the brain tissue of patients with refractory epilepsy. The percentage of ADK positive glial cells in the epilepsy group was (53.90±17.59)%, and the control group was (23.82±4.18)%, with a statistically significant difference ( P<0.01). At the genetic level, using RT Real time PCR, it was found that the expression level of ADK mRNA in the epilepsy group was higher than that in the control group, with a 2 -△△Cp of 13.36, which was 13.36 times higher than that in the control group. At the protein level, the expression of ADK protein in the epilepsy group was found to be higher than that in the control group using protein immunoblotting ( P<0.01). Conclusions:ADK is weakly expressed in the nucleus of astrocytes in normal human brain tissue. In the brain tissue of patients with refractory epilepsy, astrocytes significantly proliferate and there is excessive expression of ADK. ADK may play an important role in the occurrence and development of refractory epilepsy in humans.

Objective:To analyze the trend of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and death causes in Tianjin from 2011 to 2020 and to guide the management of maternal health.Methods:All the reviews data of 89 maternal death cases in Tianjin from 2011 to 2020 were retrospectively collected to analyze the trend of MMR, rank order of death causes, and death review results using Chi-square test. Results:(1) The average MMR in Tianjin was 7.97/100 000 during the study period, showing an overall fluctuating decline. The highest MMR was 12.61/100 000 in 2014 and the lowest was 3.85/100 000 in 2019. (2) Among the dead pregnant women and parturients, non-registered residents had higher proportion of women with advanced age, no steady occupation/unemployment, below junior college education, multipara, or without maternal health manual compared with the registered residents [33.33% (8/24) vs 20.00% (13/65), χ2=46.18; 100.00%(24/24) vs 69.23%(45/65), χ2=9.53; 87.50% (21/24) vs 64.62% (42/65), χ2=4.44; 79.17% (19/24) vs 44.62% (29/65), χ2=8.42; 75.00%(18/24) vs 13.85% (9/65), χ2=31.02; all P<0.05]. (3) Direct obstetric factors and indirect factors that caused death were accounted for 57.30% (51/89) and 42.70% (38/89). The top five death causes were postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive disease during pregnancy, sudden death, venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and amniotic fluid embolism. (4) In terms of the maternal death review results, 39.33% (35/89) of maternal deaths were avoidable, among which 94.29% (33/35) were caused by direct obstetric factors and 5.71% (2/35) were indirect. (5) The main influencing factors of avoidable death causes were knowledge and skills inadequacy in the health care system (62.86%, 22/35), of which 86.36% (19/22) happened in health facilities at and below the district/county level. Conclusion:It is suggested to strengthen the medical care of health facilities at and below the district/county level and the maternal health management of the non-permanent residents to ensure maternal and infant safety and to further reduce the MMR.