N,N-Dimethylglycine (DMG) is a glycine derivative, and its sodium salt (DMG-Na) has been demonstrated to possess various biological activities, including immunomodulation, free radical scavenging, and antioxidation, collectively contributing to the stability of tissue and cellular functions. However, its direct effects and underlying mechanisms in wound healing remain unclear. In this study, a full-thickness excisional wound model was established on the dorsal skin of mice, and wounds were treated locally with DMG-Na. Wound healing progression was assessed by calculating wound closure rates. Histopathological analysis was conducted using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and keratinocyte proliferation, migration, and differentiation were evaluated using CCK-8 assays, scratch wound assays, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Inflammation-related cytokine expression in keratinocytes was analyzed via ELISA and qRT-PCR. Results revealed that DMG-Na treatment significantly accelerated wound healing in mice and improved overall wound closure quality. The wound healing rates on days 3, 6, and 9 were 49.18%, 68.87%, and 90.55%, respectively, with statistically significant differences compared to the control group ( P<0.05). DMG-Na treatment downregulated the mRNA levels of keratinocyte differentiation markers while enhancing cell proliferation and migration ( P<0.05). Furthermore, DMG-Na decreased the secretion of LPS-induced keratinocyte inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and CXCL10 ( P<0.05). These findings indicate that DMG-Na regulates inflammatory responses and promotes keratinocyte proliferation and migration, thereby facilitating the healing of skin wounds.
Animals ; Wound Healing/drug effects* ; Mice ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Keratinocytes/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Glycine/pharmacology* ; Skin/injuries* ; Male

Objective:This study aimed to assess the effects of Peer Balint-style group on the empathy ability of third-year long-term medical students and to provide a theoretical and practical reference for effectively improving their humanistic quality.Methods:Ninety third-year Chinese long-term medicine students participated. Volunteers received either ten sessions of 1.5-h Peer Balint-style group which were led by specially trained peers from June 2019 to August 2019. The College Students' Empathy Ability Questionnaire was used before the experiment and the second day after the experiment. The total score of the scale from the pre-test and post-test and the scores of each dimension conformed to a normal distribution, with equal variance, describing in the form of ( x± s). Paired t-tests were performed to compare the total score and each dimension score before and after the intervention, using SPSS 22.0. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 peer-group leaders and group members after the clinical practice period. The interview materials were analyzed by traditional content analysis. The content of the qualitative research was open-coded to obtain 10 categories, suggesting the role and inadequacy of Peer Balint-style groups. Results:A total of 63 valid samples were obtained. There was no significant difference of ( t=-0.44, P=0.661, P>0.05) between the total score of the post-test (118.00±11.98) and the total score of the pre-test (117.38±12.36). In each dimension, the reverse comprehension score of post-test (9.06±1.97) was significantly different ( t=-2.08, P=0.041, P>0.05) from the pre-test's (8.57±2.15), which increased compared to the pre-test score. Conclusions:Peer Balint-style group had a positive effect on improving empathy among medical students. Compared with the traditional Balint group, it has wider coverage, higher affinity and greater mobility. However, the design of the Peer Balint-style group still needs to be further improved.

Objective:To investigate the amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression in brain glioma tissues and cerebrospinal fluid of glioma patients and their significances.Methods:(1) Fifty-six brain glioma specimens surgically resected and pathologically confirmed in our hospital from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected, including 9 with WHO grading I, 14 with WHO grading II, 18 with WHO grading III, and 15 with WHO grading IV. In addition, the necrotic brain tissues of 4 patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage during hematoma removal at the same time period were collected as controls. Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the APP protein and mRNA expressions in glioma tissues and control brain tissues, respectively. (2) The cerebrospinal fluid of above 56 patients with glioma, 4 patients with viral meningitis, 4 patients with bacterial meningitis, 4 patients with autoimmune encephalitis, 5 patients with epilepsy, 3 patients with migraine and 3 normal subjects were collected at the same time period, and the APP content in the cerebrospinal fluid of all subjects were detected by ELISA.Results:(1) Western blotting and RT-qPCR showed that the APP protein and mRNA expressions in glioma tissues of WHO grading I, II, III and IV were significantly higher than those in control brain tissues, and the APP protein and mRNA expressions in glioma tissues of WHO grading I, II, III and IV increased successively, with statistical differences ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in APP protein and mRNA expressions between first-onset glioma and recurrent glioma in glioma tissues of WHO grading I and II ( P>0.05); while in glioma tissues of WHO grading III and IV, APP mRNA expression in recurrent glioma was statistically higher than that in first-onset glioma ( P<0.05). (2) ELISA results showed that APP content in patients with viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis, autoimmune encephalitis, epilepsy or migraine was not significantly different as compared with that in normal controls ( P>0.05). The APP content in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with WHO grading I, II, III and IV gliomas was significantly higher than that in normal controls, and the APP content in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with WHO grading I, II, III and IV gliomas increased successively, with statistical differences ( P<0.05). Conclusion:APP is highly expressed in glioma tissues and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with glioma, and its expression is significantly correlated with the pathological grades of glioma; the detection of APP expression in cerebrospinal fluid can be used as a new screening method for glioma patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of pre-implanted anti-adhesion patch under laparoscopic approach in a Miles' operation on the incidence of parastomal hernia in elderly patients.Methods A total of 68 patients with low rectal cancer admitted into our general surgery department were enrolled in the study from January 2012 to January 2015.All patients received laparoscopic assisted Miles operation.According to whether or not the pre-implanted anti adhesion patch was used during the operation,the 68 cases were divided into pre-implanted patch group(n=38)and the non-implanted patch group(n=30).The operation states,postoperative complications,complications during follow-up and 3-year survival rate were compared between the two groups.Results The operation duration was longer in the pre-implanted patch group than in the non-implanted patch group[(235.7± 33.6)min vs.(94.3±28.9)min,t =5.36,P=0.000].The incidence of complications was lower in the pre implanted patch group than in the non-implanted patch group at 3 years after operation[10.5％ (4/38)vs.90.0％(27/30),x2 =42.69,P =0.000].The local recurrence rate,distant metastasis rate and 3-year overall survival rate had no significant difference between the two groups[23.7 ％ (9/38)vs.23.3％ (7/30),31.6％ (12/38) vs.33.3％ (10/30) and 71.1％ (27/38) vs.70.0％ (21/30)respectively,x2=0.06,0.02 and 0.01,P=0.800,0.878 and 0.925].Conclusions Pre-implanted anti-adhesion patch under laparoscopic approach can significantly reduce the incidence of parastomal hernia in elderly patients after a Miles' operation,which is worthy of promotion.

Objective To optimize the preparative procedure for stachydrine in Fructus Leonuri. Methods The preparation was screened by orthogonal experiment, and a mathematical model of relationship of extraction time, methanol concentration, and solid-liquid ratio with the content of stachydrine hydrochloride was established by using back-propagation (BP) neural network. And the process parameters were optimized with genetic algorithm (GA) . Results The optimum process parameters were as follows: extraction with 69% of methanol concentration and with solid-liquid ratio being 11 times for 62 min. The content of stachydrine obtained by BP neural network modeling and GA was higher than that achieved by orthogonal experiment. Conclusion The optimum preparative procedure could be achieved by combining BP modeling with GA. The model developed in this study was proved to be predictable and feasible for the optimization of process parameters of multi-dimension nonlinear system.