BACKGROUND:Patients with chronic ankle instability tend to overpronate when walking,which increases the risk of ankle sprain during the stance phase of the walking cycle.Clinicians often use Kinesio taping or athletic taping for ankle taping.Since Kinesio taping is elastic and athletic taping cannot be stretched,there are differences in technical applications and physiological mechanisms between them,which may result in different rehabilitation effects.OBJECTIVE:To compare the effects of Kinesio taping and athletic taping on the frontal plane of the foot motion and the horizontal plane of the tibia motion in patients with chronic ankle instability during the stance phase of walking.METHODS:Forty patients with chronic ankle instability were randomly divided into Kinesio taping group and athletic taping group.In the Kinesio taping group,two patches were pasted from the inside to the outside of the hind foot to generate pulling tension that facilitates foot eversion;in the athletic taping group,ankle locking basket taping was used.Walking tests were conducted on an electric treadmill before and after taping.A three-dimensional motion analysis system was used to obtain the kinematic parameters of the subjects'foot and tibia.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After taping,in the Kinesio taping group,the foot valgus angle increased in the early stance phase(P<0.05),but there was no effect on foot position in the late stance phase(P>0.05).After taping,in the athletic taping group,internal rotation of the tibia increased in the late stance phase(P<0.05);however,there was no significant change in tibial position in the early stance phase(P>0.05).To conclude,compared with athletic taping,Kinesio taping can provide a flexible pulling force that is beneficial for foot eversion in the early stance phase of the gait cycle,while not restricting normal foot inversion in the late stance phase.Therefore,Kinesio taping may be a practical rehabilitation therapy for patients with chronic ankle instability,correcting abnormal motion of the ankle joint without restricting its natural motion.

Objective To establish a method for simultaneous determination of four high-molecular-weight thiol derivatives (TDs) in workplace air by gas chromatography. Methods The four kinds of vapor-phase macromolecular TDs (1-pentanethiol, 1-hexanethiol, 1-benzyl mercaptan, and n-octanethiol) in the workplace air were collected using the GDH-1 air sampling tubes, desorbed with anhydrous ethanol, separated on a DB-FFAP capillary column, and determined by flame ionization detector. Results The quantitation range of the four TDs was 0.30-207.37 mg/L, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.999 00. The minimum detection mass concentrations and minimum quantitation mass concentrations were 0.18-0.32 and 0.60-1.05 mg/m³, respectively (both calculated based on the 1.5 L sample and 3.0 mL desorption solvent). The mean desorption efficiencies ranged from 87.07% to 103.59%. The within-run and between-run relative standard deviations were 1.92%-8.22% and 1.89%-8.45%, respectively. The samples can be stored at room temperature or 4 ℃ for three days and up to 7 days at -18 ℃. Conclusion This method is suitable for the simultaneous determination of four vapor-phase TDs in workplace air.

BACKGROUND:Patients with chronic ankle instability tend to overpronate when walking,which increases the risk of ankle sprain during the stance phase of the walking cycle.Clinicians often use Kinesio taping or athletic taping for ankle taping.Since Kinesio taping is elastic and athletic taping cannot be stretched,there are differences in technical applications and physiological mechanisms between them,which may result in different rehabilitation effects.OBJECTIVE:To compare the effects of Kinesio taping and athletic taping on the frontal plane of the foot motion and the horizontal plane of the tibia motion in patients with chronic ankle instability during the stance phase of walking.METHODS:Forty patients with chronic ankle instability were randomly divided into Kinesio taping group and athletic taping group.In the Kinesio taping group,two patches were pasted from the inside to the outside of the hind foot to generate pulling tension that facilitates foot eversion;in the athletic taping group,ankle locking basket taping was used.Walking tests were conducted on an electric treadmill before and after taping.A three-dimensional motion analysis system was used to obtain the kinematic parameters of the subjects'foot and tibia.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After taping,in the Kinesio taping group,the foot valgus angle increased in the early stance phase(P<0.05),but there was no effect on foot position in the late stance phase(P>0.05).After taping,in the athletic taping group,internal rotation of the tibia increased in the late stance phase(P<0.05);however,there was no significant change in tibial position in the early stance phase(P>0.05).To conclude,compared with athletic taping,Kinesio taping can provide a flexible pulling force that is beneficial for foot eversion in the early stance phase of the gait cycle,while not restricting normal foot inversion in the late stance phase.Therefore,Kinesio taping may be a practical rehabilitation therapy for patients with chronic ankle instability,correcting abnormal motion of the ankle joint without restricting its natural motion.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have successfully constructed erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.It was found that the apoptosis of ischemic and hypoxic human neuroblastoma cell line(SH-SY5Y)was significantly reduced by erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells. OBJECTIVE:To explore the possible neuroprotective mechanisms of erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells against ischemic-hypoxic SH-SY5Y and their associated epigenetic mechanisms. METHODS:Oxygen-glucose deprivation was applied to ischemia-hypoxia-induced SH-SY5Y cell injury,and multifactorial assays were applied to detect the expression levels of inflammatory factors in the cells before and after hypoxia and co-culture,respectively,with mesenchymal stem cells,as well as lentiviral-transfected null-loaded plasmids of the negative control mesenchymal stem cells and erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.The expression levels of supernatant inflammatory factors were detected by multifactor assay after co-culture.Proteomics was used to detect the differentially expressed proteins of negative control mesenchymal stem cells and erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.Cleavage under targets and tagmentation sequencing was applied to detect genomic H3K4me2 modification,and joint analysis was conducted with RNA-sequencing.Lentiviral vector infection was applied to construct the stable knockdown of REST in SH-SY5Y cells.qRT-PCR and western blot assay were performed to detect the expression level of REST.The apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry after co-culture of oxygen-glucose deprivation treatment with erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.The expression difference of H3K36me3 group proteins was detected by western blot assay,and transcriptome sequencing was performed to analyze the differentially expressed genes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the control group,monocyte chemotactic protein 1,interleukin-6,interleukin-18,and interleukin-1 beta,interferon α2,and interleukin-23 levels significantly increased in the cerebrospinal fluid supernatant of patients with ischemic-hypoxic encephalopathy(P<0.01).(2)After co-culturing SH-SY5Y cells with erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells under ischemia and hypoxia,the expression levels of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 and interleukin-6 were significantly reduced.(3)Analysis of protein network interactions revealed significant downregulation of monocyte chemotactic protein 1,interleukin-6 related regulatory proteins CXCL1 and BGN.(4)Transcriptome sequencing analysis found that pro-inflammatory genes were down-regulated,and functional enrichment of histone modifications,and the expression of transcription factors REST and TET3 significantly up-regulated in the erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell group compared with the negative control mesenchymal stem cell group.(5)Combined analysis of transcriptome sequencing and cleavage under targets and tagmentation revealed changes in epigenetic levels as well as significant activation of the promoter regions of transcription factors REST and TET3.(6)Stable knockdown REST in SH-SY5Y cells was successfully constructed;the transcript levels of REST mRNA and protein expression were both decreased.(7)After the REST knockdown SH-SY5Y cells were co-cultured with erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells,apoptosis was significantly increased and H3K36me3 expression was significantly decreased.Transcriptome sequencing results showed that the expression of inflammation-related genes Aldh1l2 and Cth,as well as apoptosis-suppressor genes Mapk8ip1 and Sod2 was reduced at mRNA transcription level(P<0.01).(8)It is concluded that erythropoietin-overexpressed umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells activated the expression of REST and TET3 by altering the kurtosis of H3K4me2 and upregulated the modification level of H3K36me3,which in turn regulated the expression of inflammation-related genes Aldh1l2 and Cth,as well as apoptosis-suppressor genes Mapk8ip1 and Sod2,and facilitated neuronal survival.

Objective To elucidate the mechanism of dl-3-N-butylphthalide (NBP) on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in rat models. Methods Forty SD rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group (Sham group), model group (IRI group), NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate group (PDTC group), low-dose NBP group (NBP-L group) and high-dose NBP group (NBP-H group), with 8 rats in each group. Serum creatinine (Scr), serum cystatin C(Cys-C), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 levels were detected in all groups. Pathological injury of renal tissues in each group was observed by Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The expression levels of inflammatory factors and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway and cell pyroptosis-related proteins in renal tissues were measured by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Results Compared with the Sham group, renal tissue injury was more severe, and the levels of Scr, Cys-C, BUN and serum IL-1β and IL-18 were all up-regulated in the IRI group. Western blot showed that the relative expression levels of NOD-like receptor protein (NLRP3), Gasdermin D(GSDMD), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase (Caspase)-1, IL-18, IL-1β, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 proteins were all up-regulated, and immunohistochemical staining revealed that the expression levels of NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65, IL-1β, IL-18 and NLRP3 proteins were all up-regulated in the IRI group. Compared with the IRI group, renal tissue injury was alleviated, and the levels of Scr, Cys-C, BUN and serum IL-18 and IL-1β were down-regulated in the PDTC, NBP-L and NBP-H groups. Western blot showed that the expression levels of NLRP3, GSDMD, Caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 proteins were down-regulated, and immunohistochemical staining indicated that the expression levels of NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, IL-1β, IL-18 and NLRP3 proteins were down-regulated in the PDTC, NBP-L and NBP-H groups, respectively. Compared with the NBP-L group, renal tissue injury was mitigated, and the levels of Scr, Cys-C, BUN, serum IL-18 and IL-1β were all down-regulated in the NBP-H group. Western blot showed the expression levels of NLRP3, GSDMD, Caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 proteins were down-regulated in the NBP-H group. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that the expression levels of NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, IL-1β, IL-18 and NLRP3 proteins were down-regulated in the NBP-H group. Conclusions NBP may down-regulate the activity of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway and reduce the expression levels of cell pyroptosis-related proteins and inflammatory factors after renal IRI, thereby suppressing cell pyroptosis and alleviating renal IRI.

Objective To establish a rapid qualitative analysis method for volatile organic components in chemicals. Methods Headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to qualitatively determine 19 volatile organic components, including benzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, and n-hexane, in chemicals. Different sample amounts, heating temperatures, heating times, and sample volumes were analyzed to assess their effects on detection results and optimize sampling conditions. Results Based on the set chromatography, the optimal sampling process of this method was as follows： 5.0 g sample in a 20.0 mL headspace bottle, incubated at 40 ℃ for 30 minutes in a constant-temperature drying incubator, and a 1.00 mL headspace gas injection. The within-run and between-run relative standard deviations of all components ranged from 0.00% to 21.05% and 0.00% to 33.33%, respectively. The samples stored in sealed glass containers were stable at room temperature for at least 60 days. Conclusion This method offers simplicity, good reproducibility, and stability, making it suitable for rapid qualitative analysis of volatile organic components in chemicals.

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of six aniline compounds (ADs) in workplace air. Methods GDH-1 air sampling tube was used to collect six co-existing ADs such as aniline, o-toluidine, N-methylaniline, m-methylaniline, p-methylaniline and N,N-dimethylaniline in the vapor and aerosol of workplace air. The samples were desorbed and eluted using a methanol solution containing 1.00% ammonia water, followed by separation on a C₁₈ chromatographic column and detection using a diode array detector. Results The quantification range of the method was 0.19 -253.50 mg/L, with the correlation coefficient of 0.999 9 for all six ADs. The minimum detection range was 0.02-0.06 mg/m³, and the minimum quantitation range was 0.04-0.19 mg/m³ [both calculated for a 15.0 L sample with a desorption (elution) solution volume of 3.00 mL]. The average desorption and elution efficiencies were 92.15%-104.41% (silica gel) and 94.29%-104.29% (filter membrane). The intra-assay relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 0.90%-9.72% (silica gel) and 0.57%-6.96% (filter membrane). The inter-assay RSD ranged from 2.03%-9.78% (silica gel) and 2.50%-8.62% (filter membrane). The samples were stable at room temperature for seven days. Conclusion This method can be used for the simultaneous determination of six ADs in workplace air.

Kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is the major cause of poor prognosis after kidney transplantation and partial nephrectomy. Besides, it is also a critical pathophysiological process of acute kidney injury. Consequently, the prevention and treatment of kidney IRI are of significance to improve clinical prognosis of recipients undergoing kidney transplantation. However, the mechanism underlying IRI is complex, and the exact mechanism remains elusive. Inflammation, as one of the main pathogenesis of IRI, plays a significant role in IRI-induced kidney injury. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB, as a rapid response transcription factor, has been proven to be involved in the regulation of inflammation during kidney IRI. Therefore, in this article, the structure of NF-κB, the activation pattern of NF-κB signaling pathway, the regulatory mechanisms of NF-κB upstream and downstream signaling pathways in kidney IRI were reviewed, and the role of NF-κB signaling pathway in kidney IRI was investigated, aiming to provide novel clinical ideas for the prevention and treatment of kidney IRI.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) commonly occurs in renal transplantation, which is an important pathophysiological process that causes acute renal failure and severely affects clinical prognosis of the recipients. Inflammatory response plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and pathological process of IRI. Activated NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome can mediate the maturation and release of various pro-inflammatory cytokines, thereby regulating the inflammatory response and relevant cell functions. In this article, the mechanism underlying NLRP3 inflammasome and its related inflammatory signaling pathway in renal IRI were reviewed, aiming to provide novel ideas for clinical prevention and treatment of renal IRI.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury often occurs during operations that need to block the blood supply of the kidneys. It is an important pathophysiological process that affects the recovery of kidney function and causes acute renal failure. Activated NLRP3 inflammasome can mediate the maturation and release of a variety of pro-inflammatory factors, and participate in the inflammatory response in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, thereby regulating body inflammation and related cell functions. This article summarized how NLRP3 inflammasome mediated the occurrence of inflammation in renal ischemia reperfusion injury, and further provied a new basis for the prevention and treatment of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.