Objective To evaluate both the causal relationship between plasma metabolites and the risk of knee osteoarthritis(KOA)and the potential mediating or masking effect of immune cells using Mendelian randomization(MR)systems.Methods The GWAS data on 1400 plasma metabolites,731 immune cell traits and KOA was retrieved from the genome-wide association study(GWAS)database.Two-way MR analysis was used to evaluate the causal relationship between plasma metabolism and KOA.Two-step mediation MR analysis was conducted to evaluate immune cell traits that might have mediating or masking effects.Results After sensitivity analysis and screening,65 plasma metabolites and 35 immune cell traits were found to have causal relationships with KOA(P＜0.05).Mediation analysis found that CD45RA+CD28-CD8br％CD8br had a mediating effect in the causal relationship between three metabolites(2-hydroxyhi-ppurate,X-07765,X-23739)and the risk of KOA.2-hydroxyhippurate(salicylic acid)exerted a masking effect,and the effect ratio was 0.0412.Conclusion A variety of plasma metabolites and immune cell traits are causally related to KOA,which should not be regarded as a simple degenerative joint disease.The protective effect of salicylic acid against KOA may be weakened by its role in inducing the differentiation of Treg cells,which is worthy of more studies.

The aluminum stress in acidic soil areas of China is an important abiotic stress factor that hampers the normal growth and development of plants and seriously affects the agricultural yield. The forms of plant resistance to aluminum stress are complex and diverse, which include secretion of organic acids, increase of rhizosphere pH, secretion of mucus, cell wall fixation of Al³⁺, organic acid chelation of Al³⁺ in cell solute, and vacuolar area isolation. Most of studies focus on analyzing conventional physiological characteristics, but in-depth molecular biological analyses are lacking. This review summarizes the mechanisms how plants adapt to acidic aluminum stress. This includes the effect of acid aluminum stress on plant growth and physiological metabolism, the two main physiological mechanisms of plant adaptation to acid aluminum stress (aluminum exclusion mechanism, aluminum tolerance mechanism), and the aluminum resistance related genes. Finally, this paper puts forward some prospects for further revealing the mechanism of plant adaptation to acid aluminum stress and excavating high-quality crops suitable for cultivation in acidic soils.
Acids ; Adaptation, Physiological ; Aluminum ; Crops, Agricultural/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Roots ; Soil/chemistry*

Seed quality plays an important role in the agricultural and animal husbandry production, the effective utilization of genetic resources, the conservation of biodiversity and the restoration and reconstruction of plant communities. Seed aging is a common physiological phenomenon during storage. It is a natural irreversible process that occurs and develops along with the extension of seed storage time. It is not only related to the growth, yield and quality of seed and seedling establishment, but also has an important effect on the conservation, utilization and development of plant germplasm resources. The physiological mechanisms of seed aging are complex and diverse. Most studies focus on conventional physiological characterization, while systematic and comprehensive in-depth studies are lacking. Here we review the recent advances in understanding the physiology of seed aging process, including the methods of seed aging, the effect of aging on seed germination, and the physiological and molecular mechanisms of seed aging. The change of multiple physiological parameters, including seed vigor, electrical conductivity, malondialdehyde content and storage material in the seed, antioxidant enzyme activity and mitochondrial structure, were summarized. Moreover, insights into the mechanism of seed aging from the aspects of transcriptome, proteome and aging related gene function were summarized. This study may facilitate the research of seed biology and the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources.
Germination ; Plants ; Proteome ; Seedlings ; Seeds/genetics*

Objective:To evaluate the effect of different options of preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) on perioperative complications of patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).Methods:The clinical data of patients undergoing PD for periampullary carcinoma from January 2016 to November 2021 at Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital) were retrospectively analyzed. The 303 patients including 199 males and 104 females, aged (64.2±8.8) years. According to PBD, the patients were divided into two groups: percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) group ( n=228) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) group ( n=75). PBD operation-related complications (including bleeding, biliary leakage, etc.), postoperative complications of PD (including pancreatic fistula, biliary leakage, surgical site infection, etc.) and perioperative complications (PBD operation-related complications + postoperative complications of PD) were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze factors influencing perioperative complications of PD. Results:The incidence of PBD operation-related complications in PTBD group was 10.1% (23/228), lower than that in ERCP group 25.3%(19/228), and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=10.99, P=0.001). The incidence of postoperative complications of PD in PTBD group was 38.2%(87/228), lower than that in ERCP group 69.3%(52/75), the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=22.09, P<0.001). The incidence of total perioperative complications in PTBD group was 44.3% (101/228), lower than that in ERCP group 73.3%(55/75), the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=19.05, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that patients with periampullary carcinoma undergoing ERCP biliary drainage and PD had increased risk of surgical site infection ( OR=2.86, 95% CI: 1.59-5.16, P<0.001) and pancreatic fistula ( OR=3.06, 95% CI: 1.21-7.74, P=0.018). Conclusion:ERCP biliary drainage is a risk factor for postoperative pancreatic fistula and surgical site infection in patients with periampullary carcinoma undergoing PD. PTBD should be recommended as the first choice for the patients underwent PD.

Lipids are important components of living organisms that participate in and regulate a variety of life activities. Lipids in plants also play important physiological functions in response to a variety of abiotic stresses (e.g. salt stress, drought stress, temperature stress). However, most research on lipids focused on animal cells and medical fields, while the functions of lipids in plants were overlooked. With the rapid development of "omics" technologies and biotechnology, the lipidomics has received much attention in recent years because it can reveal the composition and function of lipids in a deep and comprehensive way. This review summarizes the recent advances in the functions and classification of lipids, the development of lipidomics technology, and the responses of plant lipids against drought stress, salt stress and temperature stress. In addition, challenges and prospects were proposed for future lipidomics research and further exploration of the physiological functions of lipids in plant stress resistance.
Droughts ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Lipids ; Plants ; Stress, Physiological

Objective:To explore the influence of characteristics of green space on blood pressure control.Methods:Hypertensive patients who were managed by community health centers for one year and aged 35 years old and above were selected as the study subjects in Shenzhen. Multi-stage random sampling method was applied to select a representative sample of 1 200 patients. A total of 1 116 valid questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 93.0%. From November 2019 to January 2020, well-structured questionnaire, physical examination and laboratory biochemical test were applied for information collection among the 1 116 participants. Binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between characteristics of green space and blood pressure control.Results:The rate of blood pressure control was 67.8%. Results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting confounding factors, health supporting elements, such as fitness areas ( OR=1.678, 95% CI:1.231-2.288), collective exercise venues( OR=1.373, 95% CI:1.020-1.848), health knowledge promotion areas ( OR=1.416, 95% CI: 1.049-1.911) in green space, were significantly correlated with blood pressure control. Green space safetiness ( OR=1.010, 95% CI: 1.000-1.019), comfortableness ( OR=1.011, 95% CI: 1.001-1.021) and maintenance status ( OR=1.011, 95% CI: 1.001-1.021) also played a role. The rate of blood control among patients with exclusive green space was higher than that of patients without exclusive green space ( OR=1.333, 95% CI: 1.009-1.762). Conclusion:Health supporting elements, safety, comfort, maintenance of green space and exclusive green space play an important role in blood pressure controlling.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of quercetin against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice and explore its mechanism. METHODS: Forty male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group (with saline treatment), 15 mg/kg LPS group, and quercetin-treated groups with intragastric quercetin treatment (once daily for 3 consecutive days) at low (25 mg/kg) and high (50 mg/kg) dose prior to 15 mg/kg LPS injection. LPS was administered by intraperitoneally injection 1 after the last gavage of quercetin. The mice were sacrificed 24 h after LPS injection for analysis of kidney pathologies, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels; serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 were detected by ELISA, and the expressions of Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), MyD88, TRAF-6 and NF-κBp65 in the kidney were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: Quercetin significantly lessened renal pathologies, lowered BUN and creatinine levels ( < 0.05) and inhibited TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 production in mice with LPS-induced AKI ( < 0.05). Pretreatment with quercetin also significantly inhibited TLR4, MyD88, and TRAF-6 expressions and NF-κBp65 activation in the kidneys of the rats with LPS challenge ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Quercetin pretreatment can protect mice against LPSinduced AKI by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; NF-kappa B ; Quercetin ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; drug effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; drug effects

AIM:To explore the role of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in the dysfunction of vascular endo-thelial cells exposed to high glucose.METHODS: In human aortic endothelial cells cultured under high-glucose ( 22 mmol/L glucose) medium, nitric oxide ( NO) level, polymorphonuclear neutrophil-endothelial cell adhesion rate, protein level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ( ICAM-1) , migration of endothelial cells and Akt/endothelial nitric oxide syn-thase ( eNOS) pathway activation were observed after S1P, sphingosine kinase-1 inhibitor and/or Akt inhibitor treatments. RESULTS:S1P decreased NO level, increased polymorphonuclear neutrophil adhesive rate, enhanced ICAM-1 protein level, and inhibited migration of endothelial cells and activation of Akt/eNOS pathway in endothelial cells cultured under high-glucose condition.Sphingosine kinase-1 inhibitor, which reduced S1P content, significantly improved the above endo-thelial cell function indexes and restored the activation of Akt/eNOS pathway.CONCLUSION: S1P promoted high glu-cose-induced dysfunction of endothelial cells probably by inhibiting the activation of Akt/eNOS signal pathway.Targeting S1P is expected to become one of potential treatment strategies to reduce endothelial cell dysfunction.

Objective To investigate the restrictive factors in the development of foreign medical education. Methods From the years 2011 to 2013, 350 foreign students conducted a questionnaire survey in Chongqing Medical University, and recovered 339 valid questionnaires. Results Only 33.0%(112/339) students thought that the teacher's English was fluent and 70.2% (238/339) needed to add Chinese class. Additionally, 69.6% (236/339) and 63.1% (214/339) students considered theoretical knowledge and practi-cal experience were not enough. 92.3%(313/339) students came from developing countries in Southeast Asia. 86.1%(292/339) foreign students considered that university management was insufficient. Conclusion The survey found the restrictive factors included students' demand for English and Chinese, lack of medical ex-pertise and practice, the problem of student sources and daily management difficulties and so on.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and related factors of nasal surgery combined with upper air way radiofrequency ablation(RFA) for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) with chronic nasal blockage. METHOD: One hundred and three mild or moderate OSAHS patients with chronic nasal blockage were recruited, all cases had nasal surgery and upper airway RFA. All patients were evaluated by body mass index (BMI), Epworth sleep scale (ESS), snoring scale, and nocturnal polysomnography (PSG). Eighty-nine patients were reevaluated at least 6 months after surgery with the preoperative methods. RESULT: After operation, the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) decreased from (18.67 +/- 9.48)/h to (9.22 +/- 7.18)/h; the lowest artery oxygen saturation (LSaO2) increased from (0.83 +/- 0.08) to (0.92 +/- 0.06); the Epworth sleep scale(ESS) decreased from (8.74 +/- 5.67) to (5.12 +/- 3.74); the snoring scale decreased from (7.16 +/- 2.85) to (3.56 +/- 2.26), the percentage of time with oxyhemoglobin saturation below 0.90 (CT90) decreased from (18.64 +/- 12.98) to (10.73 +/- 8.29). All of the differences were obvious (P<0.01). Success was defined as a postoperative apnea-hypopnea in dex < 10 events per hour and at least 50% less than the preoperative value. The surgical success rate was 75.3% (67/89). No major perioperative complications occurred. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that nasal surgery combined with upper airway RFA can improve snoring and disease-specific quality of life in patients with anatomic na sal obstruction with mild or moderate OSAHS.
Adult ; Catheter Ablation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Septum ; surgery ; Nasal Surgical Procedures ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; surgery ; Snoring ; surgery ; Turbinates ; surgery