Arsenic from environmental contamination is a risk factor for kidney disease, and the clinical use of arsenic also triggers a new concern that the potential kidney damage caused by exposure to clinical doses of arsenic trivalent. So far, the undergoing mechanisms contributing to arsenic nephrotoxicity mostly remain unclear, and universally accepted methods for preventing this complication are limited too. Ancient Chinese medical scientists recognized the toxicity of arsenic long ago, and there were some records of Chinese herbs against arsenic poisoning in ancient books of Chinese medicine. In the past decade, several herbal formulations, as well as some potentially active compounds extracted from Chinese herbs, have been employed to prevent arsenic nephrotoxicity both in vivo and in vitro and showed better therapeutic effects. The present paper thus summarizes and discusses these Chinese medicine methods in preventing such a public health problem. In addition, we call for large, well-designed, randomized, and controlled clinical trials to be performed to further assess the efficacy and safety of these potential methods of Chinese medicine against arsenic nephrotoxicity.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of the Halo-pelvic traction combined with posterior instrumentation correction and internal fixation for the treatment of severe and rigid scoliosis. METHODS: From January 2015 to 2019 May, 16 patients with severe and rigid scoliosis were treated by the Halo-pelvic traction combined with posterior instrumentation correction. There were 7 males and 9 females, aged 14 to 28 years with an average of 17.6 years, Cobb angle was 90° to 140° with an average of (108.84±17.93) °. Including congenital scoliosis in 10 cases (6 cases of dyssegmented scoliosis, 3 cases of dysplasia, 1 case of mixed scoliosis), idiopathic scoliosis in 4 cases and neurofibromatosis in 2 cases. All patients in group had scoliosis corrected by Halo-pelvic distraction combined with posterior instrumentation correction and internal fixation. Among them, 7 cases were treated with self-made guide device for iliac bone puncture, and the other cases with traditional bare hands. The height, scoliosis Cobb angle, kyphosis Cobb angle and correction rate of 16 patients before and after surgery were observed. RESULTS: The body height was corrected from (144.88±6.32) cm to (154.56±7.87) cm ; Cobb angle of scoliosis was corrected from (108.84±17.93) ° to (42.12±7.29) °, Cobb angle of kyphosis was corrected from (64.18±16.39) ° to (33.81±6.06) °. After the Halo pelvic traction, the body height increase, Cobb angle of scoliosis and kyphosis were changed with the mean of (7.06± 5.65) cm, (41.50±9.09)%, (30.52±9.66)%, respectively. After the stage Ⅱ surgical correction, the body height increase, Cobb angle of scoliosis and kyphosis were changed with the mean of (2.63±1.78) cm, (32.47±10.80)%, (15.55±9.47)% (The baseline Cobb angle referenced by the correction rate was the Cobb angle of the previous treatment). The body height increase and correction rate of Cobb angle of scoliosis and kyphosis with staged traction combined with surgery was (9.69±5.42) cm, (61.09 ± 5.03)%, (46.07±8.60)%. There was significant difference in body height increase, correction rate of Cobb angle of scoliosis and kyphosis between before and after each period of treatment (<0.05). CONCLUSION Treatment of severe and rigid scoliosis with Halo-pelvic traction combined with stage Ⅱ surgical correction can significantly correct deformities and improve appearance, and has fewer surgical complications and strong clinical operability.

Objective To investigate the causal association between hip circumference (HC) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on Mendelian randomization. Methods The genetic variants data of the HC and T2DM from the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) and DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) database were matched according to the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rsID. Genetic loci strongly related to the HC were used as instrumental variables; and the inverse-variance weighting, MR-Egger regression model and weighting median method were carried out to analyze the causal effect of HC on T2DM. Results Fifty-two, nine and fifteen SNPs were matched in the total cohort, female cohort and male cohort, respectively. Heterogeneity test suggested the SNPs were homogeneous. We found HC to be positively associated with T2DM risk (OR=1.065, 95% CI: 1.030-1.100, OR=1.103, 95% CI: 1.057-1.150 and OR=1.583, 95% CI: 1.273-1.968, respectively) in above three cohorts, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed the results were robust. Conclusions There is a relationship between HC and T2DM of people, and HC may be the risk factor of T2DM.

Objective Analyze the correlation of depression between the childhood abuse behavior and adulthood cyberbullying behavior, so as to discuss and provide evidences for preventing the cyberbullying behavior of college students. Methods A total of 4 040 college students were surveyed after multistage stratified cluster random sampling from 6 universities in Shanxi Province of China by using childhood trauma questionnaire, self-rating depression scale and cyberbullying scale. Results In the three dimensions of cyberbullying, cyber-verbal bullying behavior, identity concealing behavior and cyber-forgery fraud behavior, male students and only child students scored higher than that of female students and non-only child students (all P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between childhood abuse, adult depression and cyberbullying (all P<0.001). The mediation effect results showed that depression symptoms of college students were mediating between childhood abuse experience and cyberbullying behavior (the mediation effect result was 0.090, P<0.001), the mediation effect contributed 12.16% to the total effect, the mediation model fitting index were 2/df=39.96，RMSEA=0.101，CFI=0.948，TLI=0.924，SRMR=0.043. Conclusions Childhood abuse experience and adulthood depression are closely related to the implementation of cyberbullying behavior in college, and depression plays part of mediating role in predicting the implementation of cyberbullying behavior in college students who has childhood abuse experience.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify novel plasma biomarkers for distinguishing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients from healthy individuals who have positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen (VCA-IgA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred seventy-four plasma cytokines were analyzed by a Cytokine Array in eight healthy individuals with positive EBV VCA-IgA and eight patients with NPC. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunohistochemistry were employed to detect the expression levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3) in NPC cell lines and tumor tissues. Plasma MIF and CCL3 were measured by ELISA in 138 NPC patients, 127 EBV VCA-IgA negative (VN) and 100 EBV VCA-IgA positive healthy donors (VP). Plasma EBV VCA-IgA was determined by immunoenzymatic techniques. RESULTS: Thirty-four of the 174 cytokines varied significantly between the VP and NPC group. Plasma MIF and CCL3 were significantly elevated in NPC patients compared with VN and VP. Combination of MIF and CCL3 could be used for the differential diagnosis of NPC from VN cohort (area under the curve [AUC], 0.913; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 80.30%), and combination of MIF, CCL3, and VCA-IgA could be used for the differential diagnosis of NPC from VP cohort (AUC, 0.920; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 84.00%), from (VN+VP) cohort (AUC, 0.961; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 92.00%). Overexpressions of MIF and CCL3 were observed in NPC plasma, NPC cell lines and NPC tissues. CONCLUSION: Plasma MIF, CCL3, and VCA-IgA combination significantly improves the diagnostic specificity of NPC in high-risk individuals.
Biomarkers* ; Blotting, Western ; Capsid* ; Cell Line ; Chemokine CCL3 ; Cohort Studies ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Macrophages* ; Plasma* ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tissue Donors

Objective To investigate the incidence and risk factors of intraoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients with multiple injuries.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 183 patients with multiple injuries who had been admitted to the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma,Xi'an Honghui Hospital from January 2016 to November 2017.They were 117 males and 66 females,aged from 16 to 84 years (average,47.3 years).Craniocerebral injuries occurred in 16 cases,chest injuries in 24 cases,spinal injuries in 9 cases,pelvic acetabular fractures in 64 cases,upper limb fractures in 40 cases,and lower limb fractures in 145 cases.Venous ultrasonography of bilateral lower limbs was performed preoperatively and postoperatively to detect incidence of DVT.The patients were divided into a DVT group and a non-DVT group.The 2 groups were compared in terms of gender,age,interval from injury to surgery,D-dimer levels upon admission and discharge,operation time,intraoperative blood transfusion,injury severity scoring (ISS) and type of injury.After single-factor analysis was used to screen risk factors,multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the main independent risk factors.Results The incidence of lower limb DVT in patients with multiple injuries was 42.08％ (77/183).Of the 77 DVT patients,12 had proximal thrombosis (6.56％) and 65 distal thrombosis (35.52％).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age of ＞ 60 years,operative time for ≥2 hours,and presence of spinal injury were independent risk factors for DVT in patients with multiple injuries (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The incidence of lower limb DVT can be high in patients with multiple injuries.An age of ＞ 60 years,operation time for ≥2 hours and presence of spinal injury are independent risk factors for DVT in these patients.

Objective To investigate the incidence and risk factors of deep venous thrombosis in patients with open fracture of lower extremities.Methods A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 203 patients with open fracture of lower limbs admitted to Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma,Xi'an Jiangtong University Medical College Red Cross Hospital from January 2015 to November 2017.There were 75 males and 45 females,the average age was 47.3 years,and the age ranged from 18 to 63 years.Classification of open fracture sites of lower limbs:open fracture of femoral shaft in 59 cases;open fracture of tibia and fibula in 107 cases;open fracture of ankle in 37 cases.Gustilo classification of open fracture included 34 cases of type Ⅰ,71 cases of type Ⅱ and 98 cases of type Ⅲ.According to whether thrombosis occurs or not,the patients were divided into thrombosis group (n =63) and non-thrombosis group(n =140).The incidence of thrombosis was expressed as percentage (％).The age,fracture degree,injury type,Gustilo classification of open fracture,gender,body mass index (BMI),combined medical diseases,fracture site,preoperative and postoperative D-dimers were subjected to x2 test or Fisher's exact test.The test αt value was taken as 0.05 on both sides.P ＜ 0.05 suggested that the difference was statistically significant.Results The incidence of deep venous thrombosis in 63 cases of open fracture was 31.03％,of 63 DVT patients,5 were central thrombosis (7.93％),17 were mixed thrombosis (26.98％) and 41 were peripheral thrombosis (65.08％).The main type of thrombosis was peripheral thrombosis.There were significant differences in age,fracture degree,injury type and open fracture Gustilo type between the two groups of thrombus group and non thrombus group (P ＜ 0.05).Sex,BMI,internal medical diseases,fracture sites,and D-two polymer before and after operation were not statistically significant (P ＞0.05).Conclusions The incidence of DVT was higher in patients with open fracture of lower extremities,the main type of thrombosis was peripheral thrombosis.Age over 60 years old,high falling injury,2 or more fractures and comminuted fractures,open fractures Gustilo type Ⅲ was associated with DVT.

BACKGROUND: Zinc, an inorganic antibacterial material, has a suitable degradation rate and good antibacterial property. Adding alloying elements can improve the mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the material, which is the development direction of novel medical biodegradable metal materials. There is still lack a comparable research on the antibacterial properties among zinc-based materials. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antibacterial properties of pure zine and zinc-based alloys in vivo. METHODS: Eighty Sprague-Dawley rats, SPF grade, were randomized into two groups (n=40/group) , and all rats were injected with Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli solution to prepare infection models. Different materials (Zn, ZnAl, ZnSr, Zn3 Mg, Zn3 Ag, Zn3 Ca and Zn4 Cu; five rats for each material) were implanted into the medullary cavity of femur. The control group without any material was set. At 1, 4, 7 and 14 days after implantation, the changes of body temperature, white blood cell count, serum tumor necrosis factor α and serum zinc content in rats were detected. The secretions and tissues of the surgical site were collected to identify the bacterial species. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The body temperature in all the rats was increased to different extents after bacterial infection, but the temperature of the rats implanted with zinc and zinc alloys was always lower than that in the control group at 7 and 14 days (P < 0.05) . The temperature in the Zn3 Ag group was significantly lower than that in the other groups at 7 and 14 days (P < 0.05) . (2) The white blood cell count and tumor necrosis factor α level in the zinc and zinc alloys groups were significantly lower than those in the control group at 7 and 14 days after implantation (P < 0.05) . The white blood cell count and tumor necrosis factor α level in the Zn3 Ag group were significantly lower than those in the other groups (P < 0.05) . (3) The serum zinc content in all groups has no significant difference (P> 0.05) . (4) The bacterial culture results showed S.aureus (+) in the Staphylococcus aureus infection group and E.coli (+) in the Escherichia coli infection group. (5) To conclude, degradable zinc-based alloys exert marked antibacterial effects, and Zn3 Ag alloys have the best antibacterial activity.

AIM:To investigate the stemness of mouse triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) 4T1 cells induced by doxorubicin (DOX) and the underlying mechanism.METHODS:The 4T1 cells and MDA-MB-468 cells were treated with DOX at different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5μmol/L) for 24 h, and the shape and viability of the cells were observed.The concentration of DOX at 0.1μmol/L was chosen as the optimal concentration for the following experiments.The 4T1 cells and MDA-MB-468 cells resistant to DOX were established by continuous stimulation with DOX for 4 weeks, and named as 4T1-DOX and MDA-MB-468-DOX.Sphere formation assay was used to detect the stemness of 4T1cells and MDA-MB-468 cells.The expression of CD133 was observed by immunofluorescence staining.The expression of CD44 was analyzed by flow cytometry.The protein levels of Stat3, phosphorylated Stat3 (p-Stat3) and Oct-4 were determined by Western blot.RESULTS:The sphere formation ability of the 4T1-DOX cells was stronger than that of the 4T1control cells.The 4T1-DOX cells expressed high levels of the stemness markers CD133 and CD44 as compared with the 4 T1 cells (P<0.05).Furthermore, the 4T1-DOX cells exhibited enhanced activation of Stat3 (p-Stat3) and increased expression of Oct-4 (P<0.05) , while the expression of total Stat3 had no obvious variation.In addition, when activation of Stat3 was inhibited by WP1066, the protein levels of p-Stat3, Oct-4 and CD44 were down-regulated (P<0.05).Furthermore, inhibition of Stat3 phosphorylation reduced the sphere formation ability of the 4T1-DOX cells (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:DOX induces the stemness of mouse TNBC 4T1 cells through Stat3-Oct-4 signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), an autophagy marker protein, in ameloblastomas. Methods Immunohistochemical methods were employed to evaluate the expression of LC3 in104 cases of ameloblastomas and 20 cases of normal oral mucosal tissues. The results were analyzed by a semiquantitative analysis method. Results The reactivity of LC3 in the epithelial cells of ameloblastomas was positive, and the positivity rate was significantly higher than that in normal oral mucosal tissues (P ＜ 0.05). There were no significant differences between the LC3 expression levels with respect to age, gender, or recurrence (P ＜ 0.05). The positivity rate in mandible ameloblastomas was significantly higher than that in maxilla and gingiva ameloblastomas (P ＜ 0.05). The reactivity for LC3 was significantly higher in solid ameloblastomas than that in the other three tissue types (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion Autophagic activity in ameloblastomas was higher than that in normal oral mucosal tissues. This suggests that autophagy plays an important role during tumorigenesis, and contributes to the local invasion of ameloblastomas.