Objective To assess the exposure levels of heavy metals,including lead,arsenic,mercury,and cadmium,in the local population in Sichuan and Chongqing,China,to compare and analyze the differences in reference intervals(RIs)obtained from direct and indirect sampling methods,and to explore the interchangeability and limitations of these two sampling methods.Methods RIs were obtained by the direct sampling method and the indirect sampling method.In the direct sample method,the levels of blood arsenic,urinary cadmium,urinary mercury,and blood lead levels of 5562 healthy participants aged 22-50 years in Sichuan and Chongqing,China were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.Using the human biomonitoring(HBM)data,we established RIs for the population by a nonparametric method.On the other hand,in the indirect sampling method,RIs were established via a nonparametric method based on data from the laboratory information system(LIS)of a local hospital after stratifying healthy individuals using a Gaussian mixture model(GMM).Comparative analysis of the RIs derived from the two sampling methods were then conducted.Results The RI for blood arsenic was 0.11-1.3 μmol/L.The RI for urinary cadmium was 0.51-2.80 μmol/mol creatine for adults aged 22 to under 43 years and 0.66-2.96 μmol/mol creatine for adults aged 43-50 years.The RI for urinary mercury was 0.12-1.10 μmol/mol creatine.The RI for blood lead was 14.00-47.00 pg/L for adults aged 22 to under 41 year,16.00-53.38 pg/L for males aged 41-50 year,and 15.00-51.02 pg/L for females aged 41-50 year.Most of the RIs established by the direct sampling method had a narrower range compared to those established by the indirect sampling method,and the RIs established by both sampling methods were partially biased.Conclusions The RIs for blood arsenic,urine cadmium,urine mercury,and blood lead in healthy individuals aged 22-50 years in Sichuan and Chongqing,China were established using both direct and indirect sampling methods,which contributes to a better understanding of environmental exposure to metals in the general population and provides a reference for metal poisoning.For data from the same lab,the GMM-based indirect sampling method demonstrated relatively consistent performance in establishing RIs compared with the direct sampling method.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of the complement C3/C3aR signaling pathway in the prefrontal cortex and colon neuroglia cell interactions during meth-amphetamine(METH)addiction,to observe the effects of TLR4 inhibitors as well as complement C3 elimination on METH reward and relapse behavior,and to explore the neuroinflammatory mechanisms of complement C3 acti-vation in METH addiction.METHODS ①A 14 d and 28 d rat METH addiction model was established to observe the effects of TLR4 antagonist ibudilast 3 mg·kg-1 and 10 mg·kg-1 on self-administration,reward motivation,relapse,and natural reward behavior in METH-trained 14 d rats and the effects of 0.02 mg·kg-1 complement C3 antago-nist on self-administration behavior in METH-trained 28 d rats.② Differences in the expression of TLR4,NF-κB,GRP94,C3,cathepsin L,CD68,and GFAP in the pre-frontal cortex of each group were examined using West-ern blotting.③ In addition,the expression of ATF6 in the prefrontal cortex of each group and the effects on neuro-nal and microglia/macrophage INOS,CD206 GRP94,and complement C3/C3aR.RESULTS ① Endoplasmic reticulum stress occurred in neurons and microglia after METH exposure depending on GRP94 and unfolded pro-tein responses to the ATF6 pathway.In addition,it acti-vates the TLR4-NF-κB pathway.② Microglia with high complement C3/C3aR expression in the prefrontal cortex were recruited to synaptic pruning and phagocytic responses around neurons with high GRP94,comple-ment C3/C3aR expression and these effects were blocked by complement C3 antagonists.③ In the rec-tum,GRP94 functions as a molecular chaperone for com-plement C3 and cathepsin L.Crosstalk occurs between enteric neurons high in GRP94,complement C3,and macrophages high in C3aR,located in the submucosa,lamina propria,and muscular,respectively,and all of these effects are blocked by complement C3 antago-nists.④ Treatment with the TLR4 antagonist ibudilast inhibits self-administration,reward motivation,and cue-or METH-priming in METH-trained 14 d rats,but fails to affect natural reward behavior.Ibudilast treatment attenu-ates the TLR4-NF-κB inflammatory pathway and comple-ments C3/C3aR pathway in the prefrontal cortex.CON-CLUSION Activation of the complement C3/C3aR signal-ing pathway by TLR4-NF-κB inflammatory signaling in the prefrontal cortex mediates the METH addiction pro-cess,providing an experimental basis for the clinical treatment of METH addiction,and targeting TLR4/NF-κB inflammatory signaling and complement C3/C3aR may be a new way to intervene in METH addiction.

Animals ; Coronary Vessels ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Rats

Objective To evaluate the significance of myocardial bridge and find a reasonable diagnosis and treatment strategy.Methods Sixty-three myocardial bridge patients and sixty-three patients with negative results of coronary artery angiography were reviewed.The clinical data of symptoms,electrocardiogram,exercise tests,coronary artery angiography,therapeutics and the serum levels of C-reactive protein(CRP)were analyzed.Results The symptoms of chest distress and chest pain were found in myocardial bridge patients.Myocardial consumption of oxygen augmentation causes the symptoms of aggravation.Positive results of electrocardiogram and exercise tests in many of myocardial bridge patients were examined.There were no relationship with severity of myocardial bridge artery stenosis.Most of myocardial bridge were discovered in anterior descending branch.At present,the main treatment of myocardial bridge was drug therapeutics.After treatment,the serum levels of CRP was significantly decreased.Conclusion Myocardial bridge was anatomy abnormality with important clinical significance.The serum levels of CRP can be used to evalue the therapeutic efficacy of myocardial bridge.