Objective:To investigate the correlation between macular cherry red spot (CS) and severity of neurological manifestations in Chinese children with sialidosis (SD) type I.Methods:A evidence-based medical study. "China", "Sialidosis" and "Sialidoses" were used as Chinese and English search terms. The literature was searched in CNKI, Wanfang and PubMed. The cases were all from China and matched the diagnostic criteria. According to the presence or absence of CS in the fundus, the SD children were divided into a group with CS (+) and a group without CS (-), and the correlation between the occurrence of ocular CS and neurological manifestations was compared with meta-analysis by RevMan 5.3 software.Results:Sixty-eight studies were initially retrieved according to the search strategy, and 17 studies were finally included, and 5 studies with CS+ and CS- were meta-analyzed. Among the 43 patients, 28 were male and 15 were female, with a median age of 12 years. Visual impairment was observed in 37 cases (90.2%, 37/41, 2 cases not recorded), and CS was present in 24 cases (55.8%, 24/43). The most common neurological manifestation was myoclonus (97.7%, 42/43), followed by cerebellar ataxia (95.1%, 39/41, 2 cases not recorded) and seizures (91.4%, 32/35, 8 cases not recorded). Pathogenic NEU1 gene mutations were detected in 42 cases and one case was undocumented. The incidence of seizure in group CS+ (100%, 20/20) was higher than that in group CS- (80%, 12/15). Meta-analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myoclonus or ataxia [relative risk ( RR)=1.13, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 0.79-1.63, P=0.49] and seizure ( RR=1.13, 95% CI 0.84-2.06, P=0.24) among the children in the CS+ and CS- groups. Conclusions:The incidence of ocular CS in Chinese children with type I SD was 55.8%. There was no correlation with neurological manifestations, however the incidence of seizure was significantly higher in patients with CS than in others without CS.

Objective To explore the effects of occupational noise exposure on hypertension in Chongqing area,and to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of hypertension in noise-exposed populations.Methods Using the Chongqing key occupational disease surveillance and occupational disease hazard factor site monitoring database,the samples of adult male and female occupational noise-exposed popu-lations in Chongqing were selected by the cluster sampling,the physical examination data were collected,and the degree of hearing loss was evaluated by the binaural high-frequency mean hearing thresholds.The follow-up lasted for 3 years (2017-2019) and 5 years (2017-2021).The age,noise operation working age,BMI and blood pressure were respectively compared among the male and female respondents with different degrees of hearing loss;the Cox proportional risk regression model was adopted to analyze the relationship between de-gree of hearing loss and hypertension.Results After 3-year follow-up,the prevalence rate of hypertension in the respondents was 6.47％(308/4761),6.92％(289/4178) in males and 3.26％(19/583) in females;the de-tection rates of normal hearing,mild hearing loss and high degree of hearing loss were 46.42％,42.62％ and 10.96％ respectively.After 5-year follow-up,the prevalence rate of hypertension among the respondents was 12.44％ (431/3464),12.92％(399/3088) in males,and 8.51％(32/376) in females;the detection rates of normal hearing,mild hearing loss,and high degree of hearing loss were 64.20％,25.87％ and 9.93％ respec-tively.After 3-year,5-year follow-up,there was no significant difference in the systolic blood pressure among respondents with different degrees of hearing loss in males and females (P>0.05),but the diastolic blood pressure had significant difference (P<0.05).After adjusting the confounding factors,the 5-year risk of hy-pertension in male respondents with noise-induced mild hearing loss (binaural high-frequency mean hearing threshold 25-40 dB) was significantly increased (HR=1.25,95％CI:1.05-1.48,P<0.01).The 5-year risk of hypertension in female respondents with noise induced high degree of hearing loss (binaural high-frequency mean hearing threshold>40 dB) was significantly increased (HR=1.26,95％CI:1.10-1.44,P<0.01). Conclusion Among the populations with occupational noise exposure,the risk of developing hypertension in males with mild hearing loss is increased,and the risk of developing hypertension in males with high degree of hearing loss is increased.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia seen in clinical settings, which has been associated with substantial rates of mortality and morbidity. However, clinically available drugs have limited efficacy and adverse effects. We aimed to investigate the mechanisms of action of andrographolide (Andr) with respect to AF. We used network pharmacology approaches to investigate the possible therapeutic effect of Andr. To define the role of Andr in AF, HL-1 cells were pro-treated with Andr for 1 h before rapid electronic stimulation (RES) and rabbits were pro-treated for 1 d before rapid atrial pacing (RAP). Apoptosis, myofibril degradation, oxidative stress, and inflammation were determined. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to investigate the relevant mechanism. Andr treatment attenuated RAP-induced atrial electrophysiological changes, inflammation, oxidative damage, and apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. RNA-seq indicated that oxidative phosphorylation played an important role. Transmission electron microscopy and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content assay respectively validated the morphological and functional changes in mitochondria. The translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) to the nucleus and the molecular docking suggested that Andr might exert a therapeutic effect by influencing the Keap1-Nrf2 complex. In conclusions, this study revealed that Andr is a potential preventive therapeutic drug toward AF via activating the translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus and the upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) to promote mitochondrial bioenergetics.
Animals ; Rabbits ; Atrial Fibrillation/metabolism* ; Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/pharmacology* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Oxidative Stress ; Energy Metabolism ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Heme Oxygenase-1

ObjectiveTo study the expression changes of Lon protein and mitochondrial dynamics-related protein in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice and provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by invigorating the spleen and supplementing Qi. MethodEight 3-month-old SAMR1 mice were used as the normal group， and 32 3-month-old SAPM8 mice were divided into model group， western medicine group （0.013 g·kg^-1）， low-dose Si Junziwan group （3.24 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose Si Junziwan group （12.56 g·kg^-1）， with 8 mice in each group. The western medicine group was gavaged with donepezil， and the Si Junziwan low- and high-dose groups were gavaged with Si Junziwan for 30 days. The positioning navigation experiment of the water maze was started on the 25^th day， and the space exploration experiment of the water maze was started on the 30^th day. On the 30^th day， the protein expression of mitofusin 2 （MFN2） was detected by immunohistochemistry， the expression of adenosine 5'-monophosphate （AMP）-activated protein kinase （AMPK） was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， the content of ATP was detected by colorimetry， the microstructure of neuron mitochondria was detected by electron microscope， and the expressions of Aβ protein， Lon protein， dynamin-related protein 1 （DRP1） protein， and MFN1 protein were detected by Western blot. ResultAs compared with the normal group， the latency escape period increased， the number of crossings decreased， the expression of AMPK increased， and the content of ATP decreased in the model group. The expressions of Aβ protein and DRP1 protein increased （P<0.01）， whereas the expressions of Lon protein， MFN1 protein decreased in the model group （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and MFN2 protein decreased. The vacuolation of mitochondria increased and the cristae broke in the model group. As compared with model group， the time of the latent escape period decreased （P<0.01）， and the number of crossings increased in the low-dose and high-dose Si Junziwan groups （P<0.05）. The expression of AMPK （P<0.01） decreased， the content of ATP increased （P<0.01）， the expression of Aβ and DRP1 protein decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the expression of MFN1 protein was up-regulated （P<0.05） in high-dose Si Junziwan groups. The vacuolation was more obvious in the low-dose Si Junziwan group， whereas the vacuolation was restored and the ridge was clear in the high-dose Si Junziwan group. ConclusionSi Junziwan treats Alzheimer's disease by up-regulating the protein expression of Lon， correcting the disorder of mitochondrial division and fusion protein， and changing the memory function of SAMP8 mice.

Freshwater snail is an important biological group in aquatic ecosystem and an intermediate host of many parasites. Intestinal flora plays an important role in animal energy metabolism and resistance to pathogens. We analyzed the intestinal microbiota diversity of Radix auricularia (RA) and Planorbella trivolvis (PL) by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. At the phylum level, RA had 23 phyla, including Proteobacteria (33.63%), Cyanobacteria (15.33%), Chloroflexi (13.95%), and Actinomycetes (12.99%). PL had 13 phyla, including Proteobacteria (54.88%), Bacteroidetes (28.49%), and Actinomycetes (7.65%). At the genus level, there were 445 genera in RA, including Pleurocapsa, Thiodictyon, Leptotrichia, and Nocardioides. There were 238 genera in PL, including Cloacibacterium, OM60NOR5_clade, Pseudomonas, and Rhodobacter. Ninety-three genera were the common core flora of the two snail species (all the samples were present), and 27 genera had an abundance greater than 0.5%. The structure of intestinal microbiota was significantly different between the two groups (P=0.027). We performed the functional prediction of intestinal microbiota using Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt), and the results show that the KEGG functional composition of the intestinal flora of the two snails was similar, and the abundance of the amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and membrane transport were large. In summary, the intestinal microbiota of the two snails was high in diversity and significantly different, but there were a large number of common core flora.
Animals ; Auricularia ; Ecosystem ; Fresh Water ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics* ; Snails

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic values of interleukin-22 (IL-22), interferon-γ(IFN-γ)and macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) in pleural effusion for tuberculosis pleurisy.Methods:From April 2018 to May 2019, a total of 77 patients including 45 cases of tuberculous pleurisy, 19 cases of malignant pleurisy, 13 cases of parapneumonia and 13 cases of healthy control in Wuxi Fifth People′s Hospital were enrolled. The levels of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF in plasma and pleural effusion were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic values of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF for tuberculous pleurisy. Results:The median levels of IL-22, IFN-γ, MIF and adenosine deaminase in 45 cases with pleural effusion in tuberculosis pleurisy group were 396.8 ng/L, 2 200.0 ng/L, 241.3 μg/L and 70.8 U/L, respectively, which were all significantly higher than 32 cases with non-tuberculosis pleurisy group, including 19 cases with malignant pleurisy and 13 cases with parapneumonia (52.8 ng/L, 232.3 ng/L, 179.6 μg/L and 17.0 U/L, respectively). The differences were all statistically significant ( U=179.000, 118.500, 287.000, 162.000, respectively, all P<0.05). The median levels of IL-22 and IFN-γ in plasma of tuberculosis pleurisy group were 20.0 ng/L and 45.9 ng/L, respectively, which were both higher than healthy control group (14.3 ng/L and 33.4 ng/L, respectively). The level of MIF was 96.2 μg/L, which was lower than healthy control (159.5 μg/L). The differences were all statistically significant ( U=74.000, 13.000 and 73.000, respectively, all P<0.05). The areas under ROC curve (AUC) of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF in pleural effusion for the diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy were 0.876, 0.917 and 0.682, respectively.The sensitivities were 93.75%, 100.00% and 63.64%, respectively; the specificities were 82.22%, 91.11% and 65.85%, respectively. The median levels of IL-22 and IFN-γ in plasma in tuberculosis pleurisy group at two months of follow-up after anti-tuberculosis therapy were 16.0 ng/L and 33.9 ng/L, respectively, which were both lower than baseline (20.0 ng/L and 44.7 ng/L, respectively). The differences were both statistically significant ( U=2.156 and 2.221, respectively, both P<0.05). Conclusion:IFN-γ and IL-22 in pleural effusion could be used as effective indicators to identify tuberculous pleurisy, and the dynamic monitoring of IL-22 in patients′plasma could be an important biomarker in evaluating the efficacy of anti-tuberculosis treatment.

Objective: To determine whether intrauterine infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) occurs in early pregnancy and to characterize associated virulence factors. Methods: Villi tissues and blood samples of 45 HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive pregnant women were collected during the first trimester and HBV DNA loads were quantified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The expression of GCM1, HBsAg and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in villi tissues were detected by immunohistochemical method. Results: Data from qRT-PCR showed that HBV DNA was detected in 14 of 45 villi tissues (positive rate of 31.11%), and 24 of 45 blood samples (positive rate of 53.33%), further statistical analysis showed that the positive rates of HBV DNA between blood samples and villi tissues were not significantly different (χ²=4.555, P=0.054). Among them, 12 samples were consistently positive between the villi and blood specimens, and HBsAg, HBeAg, HBeAb, HBV DNA from peripheral blood in these pregnant women were significantly higher than those of the other women (P value was 0.007, 0.004, 0.000, and 0.000 respectively). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that blood HBV DNA greater than 106 IU/ml was independently associated with HBV DNA positive in villi, and the HBsAg, HBeAg, villi tissues HBV DNA positive rates of these pregnant women were significantly higher than those of the other pregnant women (all P value were 0.000). Immunohistochemistry results showed that all 45 cases were positive for GCM1 expression in the cell nucleus. Nine cases also had HBsAg expression in the cytoplasm. Only one case was found to express HBV core antigen (HBcAg) in the nucleus. Conclusions HBV DNA and HBsAg can be detected from villi tissues harvested during the first trimester in HBsAg-positive pregnant women, and the results suggest an early occurrence of intrauterine infection of fetuses with high HBV levels.

BACKGROUND: Stellate ganglion block has the ability to improve the imbalance of the autonomic nervous system in perimenopausal syndrome. Lumbosacral plexus is an automatic nervous block, and exerts similar effects with stellate ganglion block. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of lumbosacral plexus block on the serum level of hormones and histology of the ovary in rabbits, thus providing a new treatment strategy for perimenopausal syndrome. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled animal experiment, which was finished at the Animal Center of Guiyang Medical Unversity, China. The healthy rabbits were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, and underwent lumbosacral plexus block by injecting 0.5 mg of vitamin B12, 100 mg of lidocaine and 10 mL of normal saline into the psoas compartment, and the same volume of normal saline, respectively. The effect of lumbosacral plexus block on the serum levels of hormones (estradiol, gonadotropin releasing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone) at rabbit proestrus, estrus and metaestrus were observed, respectively. The pathological changes of the ovary in a complete estrus cycle were observed. The relationship between the treatment time of lumbosacral plexus block and the levels of hormones was investigated after 1, 3 and 6 complete estrus cycles. The experimental followed the national guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and Consensus author guidelines on animal ethics and welfare by the International Association for Veterinary Editors (IAVE), and prepared in accordance with the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments Guidelines (ARRIVE Guidelines). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Lumbosacral plexus block can increase the serum level of estrogen, reduce the serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary axis function. Presumably, it may be used as a treatment method or adjuvant therapy of perimenopausal syndrome. Future experiments are needed to explore the effect of lumbosacral plexus block on the serum levels of hormones in a rabbit after oophorectomy to determine whether it exhibits the same effect on ovarian failure.

Background and purpose:Cancer-related pain is one of the most important symptoms of patients with advanced cancer. Chemotherapy sometimes induces peripheral neuropathy and pain. These symptoms seriously affect patients’ quality of life. Cancer pain assessment is now achieved by the subjective scales of patients, but lacking objective measurement. In this study, we used the neurotic electrophysiological method by way of PainVision system (PV system) to evaluate cancer pain quantitatively to detect and analyze degree of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Methods:We obtained numerical rating scale (NRS) scores from patients receiving analgesics and calculated the PainRatio from PV system at the same time. Then we analyzed the relationship between NRS and PainRatio scores. We detected current perception threshold (CPT) levels of patients receiving chemotherapy to ifnd the correlation between chemotherapy and CPT level, and attempt to evaluate chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.Results:PainRatio scores were linearly associated with NRS scores (Pearson correlation coeffcient=0.849,P<0.001). Patients with neuropathy symptoms got higher CPTs. However, no statistically signiifcant difference was observed between patients treated with oxaliplatin, paclitaxel and other agents.Conclusion:PainVision system can be used in cancer pain assessment quan-titatively, and be helpful in cancer pain assessment objectively. Patients with deifned neuropathy showed higher CPTs, indicating the potential clinical value of PV system in detecting and evaluating chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.

Objective:To study the antitumor effect and mechanism of cocultured CIK cells modified with IL-24 gene and autologous DCs on HL-60 cells in vitro.Methods:DCs and CIK cells were prepared routinely from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMC).IL-24 gene was transferred into CIK cells via electroporation.The cells obtained were named CIK-IL24.RT-PCR and ELISA were used to evaluate expression of IL-24 gene in transfected CIK cells.The phenotypic changes of CIK cells were identified by flowcytometry analysis.The concentration of IFN-γ and TNF-α in supernatant of CIK was determined by ELISA.FCM was used to determine the cytotoxicity of cocultured CIK cells modified with IL-24 gene and autologous DCs against HL-60 cells.Results:Eukaryotic expressing plasmid pcDNA3.0-IL24 was transferred into CIK cells successfully via electroporation.The expressing rate of CD3~+、CD3~+CD56~+ cells had no significant change in CIK cells.However,the rate of CD4~+CD25~+ cells was significantly decreased compared with that of the control group.Expression of adhesion molecules CD54,CXCR4 were significantly increased on CD3+CD56+ cells.CIK-IL24 cells produced markedly higher levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α as compared with the CIK cells.By comparison with non-transfected CIK cells co-cultured with DCs,transfected CIK cells co-cultured with DCs had a significantly higher lytic activity against HL-60 cells.Conclusion:IL-24 gene modification can enhance the anti-tumoral immunity of CIK cells,the mechanism of which might be related to the increased secretion of IFN-γ,TNF-α,up-regulation of adhesion molecule expression,and reduction of the rate of CD4~+CD25~+ cells in CIK cells.