AIM:To investigate the expression profile and biological significance of long noncoding RNA(lncRNA)zinc finger antisense 1(ZFAS1)in the brains of mice with diabetic encephalopathy(DE).METHODS:Ten db/m mice served as the normal control group,while twenty 22-week-old db/db mice were used to establish the DE model and randomly divided into two subgroups:ten as the db/db model control and the remaining ten receiving ZFAS1 gene knockdown(db/db+sh-ZFAS1)via lentiviral transfection.Weekly measurements of body weight and blood glucose levels were performed.Brain tissues were collected for Nissl staining to evaluate neuronal damage,TUNEL assay to detect apop-tosis,and immunofluorescence staining to examine neural biomarker expression.Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and oxidative stress markers,including reactive oxygen species(ROS),malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT)and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),were determined.Western blot was conducted to quantify the protein expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphorylated p38(p-p38)in brain tissues.The expression levels of ZFAS1 and caspase-3 mRNA were determined by RT-qPCR.RESULTS:Knockdown of ZFAS1 in db/db mice significantly improved cognitive function,alleviated hippocampal neuronal damage,and reduced body weight and blood glucose levels(P<0.01).More-over,oxidative stress was mitigated,as evidenced by decreased MDA and ROS levels(P<0.01)and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes,GSH-Px,SOD and CAT(P<0.01 or P<0.05).Meanwhile,ZFAS1 silencing down-regulated Bax and p-p38/p38 protein expression(P<0.01 or P<0.05)while up-regulating Bcl-2(P<0.01).Consistently,RT-qPCR confirmed significant down-regulation of ZFAS1 and caspase-3 mRNA levels(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:lncRNA ZFAS1 is highly expressed in the hippocampus of DE mice.Down-regulation of ZFAS1 expression enhances cognitive func-tion,suppresses oxidative stress,and inhibits neuronal apoptosis,thereby attenuating neural damage in DE.

AIM:To investigate the expression profile and biological significance of long noncoding RNA(lncRNA)zinc finger antisense 1(ZFAS1)in the brains of mice with diabetic encephalopathy(DE).METHODS:Ten db/m mice served as the normal control group,while twenty 22-week-old db/db mice were used to establish the DE model and randomly divided into two subgroups:ten as the db/db model control and the remaining ten receiving ZFAS1 gene knockdown(db/db+sh-ZFAS1)via lentiviral transfection.Weekly measurements of body weight and blood glucose levels were performed.Brain tissues were collected for Nissl staining to evaluate neuronal damage,TUNEL assay to detect apop-tosis,and immunofluorescence staining to examine neural biomarker expression.Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and oxidative stress markers,including reactive oxygen species(ROS),malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT)and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),were determined.Western blot was conducted to quantify the protein expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphorylated p38(p-p38)in brain tissues.The expression levels of ZFAS1 and caspase-3 mRNA were determined by RT-qPCR.RESULTS:Knockdown of ZFAS1 in db/db mice significantly improved cognitive function,alleviated hippocampal neuronal damage,and reduced body weight and blood glucose levels(P<0.01).More-over,oxidative stress was mitigated,as evidenced by decreased MDA and ROS levels(P<0.01)and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes,GSH-Px,SOD and CAT(P<0.01 or P<0.05).Meanwhile,ZFAS1 silencing down-regulated Bax and p-p38/p38 protein expression(P<0.01 or P<0.05)while up-regulating Bcl-2(P<0.01).Consistently,RT-qPCR confirmed significant down-regulation of ZFAS1 and caspase-3 mRNA levels(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:lncRNA ZFAS1 is highly expressed in the hippocampus of DE mice.Down-regulation of ZFAS1 expression enhances cognitive func-tion,suppresses oxidative stress,and inhibits neuronal apoptosis,thereby attenuating neural damage in DE.

Objective To discuss the application of Germany Cooperation for Transparency and Quality in Health Care (KTQ) quality certification system in the field of nursing management. Methods The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) from KTQ was used in the management of ward nursing quality. The post-interventional quality of basic nursing, critical nursing, health education, ward management, nursing safety and disinfection and isolation were compared and contrasted with the pre-interventional one. Result The quality of basic nursing, critical nursing, health education, ward management, nursing safety and disinfection and isolation were significantly improved after intervention with PDCA from KTQ (P<0.01). Conclusion The KTQ quality certification system can be applied to improve the nursing quality in the process of nursing management.