OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of moxibustion on small intestinal mucosal immune barrier in rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) and explore its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Of 38 newborn rats from 4 healthy SPF pregnant rats, 12 neonatal rats were randomly selected in a normal group. IBS-D model was prepared by the combined measures for the rest rats, including neonatal maternal separation, acetic acid enema and chronic restraint stress. Twenty-four successfully-modeled rats were randomized into a model group and a moxibustion group, 12 rats in each one. In the moxibustion group, suspending moxibustion was delivered at bilateral "Tianshu" (ST25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST37), 20 min each time, once daily and for 7 consecutive days. Separately, before acetic acid enema (aged 35 days), after modeling (aged 45 days) and after intervention (aged 53 days), the body mass, loose stool rate (LSR) and and the minimum volume threshold when abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) scored 3 were observed in the rats of each group. After intervention (aged 53 days), using HE and PAS staining, the morphology of duodenum was observed, the length of villus and the depth of crypt were measured, the ratio of the length of villus to the depth of crypt was calculated; and the numbers of mucosal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and goblet cells were counted. With ELISA adopted, the contents of γ-interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in duodenal mucosa of rats were detected. The proportion of T cell subsets in duodenal mucosa was detected using flow cytometry. The microvilli and tight junctions of duodenal mucosal epithelial cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy, and the integrity of duodenal mucosa observed by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, for the rats in the model group, the body mass, the minimum volume threshold when AWR scored 3, the length of duodenal villus and the the ratio of the length of villus to the depth of crypt, as well as the proportion of CD₈⁺ T subset were all reduced (P<0.01, P<0.05), the counts of goblet cells in duodenal mucosa decreased (P<0.01); LRS, the proportion of CD₄⁺ T subset and CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺, as well as the contents of IFN-γ, IL-4 and sIgA in duodenal mucosa and IFN-γ/IL-4 were all elevated (P<0.01); and the numbers of IELs rose (P<0.01). The morphology of duodenal mucosa was irregular, the villi got shorter, sparse and scattered, with uneven density. The morphology of epithelial cells was destroyed and the tight junctions damaged, with larger spaces. When compared with the model group, in the moxibustion group, the body mass, the minimum volume threshold when AWR scored 3, the length of duodenal villus and the ratio of the length of villus to the depth of crypt, as well as the counts of goblet cells in duodenal mucosa increased (P<0.01); LRS, the proportion of CD₄⁺ T subset, and CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺, as well as the contents of IFN-γ, IL-4 and sIgA in duodenal mucosa and IFN-γ/IL-4 were reduced (P<0.01); and the numbers of IELs was dropped (P<0.01). The morphology of duodenal mucosa was more regular, the villi were grew, got longer and arranged regularly, with even density. The morphology of epithelial cells was slightly destroyed, and the tight junctions partially damaged. CONCLUSION Moxibustion at "Tianshu" (ST25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST37) can reduce visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-D rats and relieve abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms. Its effect mechanism may be related to the repair of small intestinal mucosal immune barrier and the improvement in the immune function in IBS-D.
Animals ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/immunology* ; Rats ; Moxibustion ; Intestinal Mucosa/immunology* ; Female ; Diarrhea/therapy* ; Intestine, Small/immunology* ; Male ; Humans ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Disease Models, Animal

Objective:To investigate the effects of human glycolipid transfer protein(GLTP)on proliferation,migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer(PC)cells,and to elucidate their mechanisms.Methods:The difference in the expression levels of GLTP proteins between PC tissue and normal pancreas tissue was analyzed by University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Data Analysis Platform(UALCAN)Database,as well as the difference in the expression levels of GLTP protein between PC tissue and normal pancreas tissue of the PC patients with different clinicopathological characteristics.The PANC-1 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into control group(transfected with pFLAG-CMV4 plasmid)and GLTP-overexpression(GLTP-OE)group(transfected with pFLAG-GLTP plasmid).The stably GLTP transfected cells were established using the antibiotic screening method.Knock-down experiments were performed using non-specific siRNA transfected PANC-1 cells as control group and si-GLTP transfected PANC-1 cells as si-GLTP group.Western blotting method was used to detect the expression of GLTP protein in the cells in various groups,cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)method was used to detect the proliferation activities of PANC-1 cells,clone formation assay was used to detect the number of clone formation,and Transwell chamber assay were used to detect the numbers of migration and invasion cells in various groups.Transcriptomics sequencing analyses were conducted to assess the possible mechanism of GLTP in the PANC-1 cells.Western blotting method was employed to detect the expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K),phosphorylated PI3K(p-PI3K),protein kinase B(Akt),and phosphorylated Akt(p-Akt)proteins in the PANC-1 cells in various groups;Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)was used to assess the expression levels of amphiregulin(AREG)and kinase insertion domain receptor(KDR)mRNA in the cells in various groups.The mice were randomly divided into control group(injected with pFLAG-GMV4 transfected PANC-1 cells)and experimental group(injected with pFLAG-GLTP stably transfected PANC-1 cells),and the subcutaneously transplanted tumor models were prepared;the volumes and weights of the transplanted tumors of the mice in two groups were measured.Results:UALCAN database analysis showed that the expression level of GLTP protein in PC tissue was lower than that in normal pancreas tissue(P＜0.01),and there were statistically significant differences in the GLTP protein expression between PC tissue and normal pancreas tissue of the PC patients with different cancer stages(P＜0.05),tumor grades(P＜0.05),ages(P＜0.001),and genders(P＜0.05).Compared with control group,the proliferation activity(P＜0.01)and the number of clone formation(P＜0.001)of the cells in GLTP-OE group were decreased,while the numbers of migration cells(P＜0.001)and invasion cells(P＜0.01)were decreased.In the knock-down experiment,compared with control group,the proliferation activity(P＜0.01)and the number of clone formation(P＜0.05)of the cells in GLTP-OE group were increased,while the numbers of migration cells(P＜0.001)and invasion cells(P＜0.001)were increased.Compared with control group,the tumor weight and volume of the mice in experimental group were decreased(P＜0.01),following the injection of tumor cells for a period of four weeks.In the over-expression experiment,compared with control group,the expression levels of p-PI3K(P＜0.01),p-Akt-S473(P＜0.01),and p-Akt-T308(P＜0.05)proteins in the cells in GLTP-OE group were decreased;the expression levels of AREG(P＜0.01)and KDR(P＜0.01)mRNA were decreased.In the knock-down experiment,compared with control group,the expression levels of p-PI3K(P＜0.01),p-Akt-S473(P＜0.01),and p-Akt-T308(P＜0.01)in the cells in si-GLPT group were increased,and the expression levels of AREG(P＜0.01)and KDR(P＜0.05)mRNA were increased.Conclusion:Low expression levels of GLTP in PC tissue are present.The over-expression of GLTP can inhibit the proliferation,migration and invasion of PANC-1 cells,as well as the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumors in the nude mice;its possible mechanism may be related to decreasing the activity of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Pyran- and furanocoumarins are key representatives of tetrahydropyrans and tetrahydrofurans, respectively, exhibiting diverse physiological and medical bioactivities. However, the biosynthetic mechanisms for their core structures remain poorly understood. Here we combined multiomics analyses of biosynthetic enzymes in Peucedanum praeruptorum and in vitro functional verification and identified two types of key enzymes critical for pyran and furan ring biosynthesis in plants. These included three distinct P. praeruptorum prenyltransferases (PpPT1-3) responsible for the prenylation of the simple coumarin skeleton 7 into linear or angular precursors, and two novel CYP450 cyclases (PpDC and PpOC) crucial for the cyclization of the linear/angular precursors into either tetrahydropyran or tetrahydrofuran scaffolds. Biochemical analyses of cyclases indicated that acid/base-assisted epoxide ring opening contributed to the enzyme-catalyzed tetrahydropyran and tetrahydrofuran ring refactoring. The possible acid/base-assisted catalytic mechanisms of the identified cyclases were theoretically investigated and assessed using site-specific mutagenesis. We identified two possible acidic amino acids Glu303 in PpDC and Asp301 in PpOC as vital in the catalytic process. This study provides new enzymatic tools in the epoxide formation/epoxide-opening mediated cascade reaction and exemplifies how plants become chemically diverse in terms of enzyme function and catalytic process.

Objective:To investigate the effect of early external diaphragm pacing on the diaphragm function and prognosis of patients with mechanical ventilation.Methods:A total of 47 patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in the Emergency Intensive Care Unit of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University) from October 2019 to July 2021 were selected and randomly divided into the treatment group ( n=23) and control group ( n=24). The patients in the control group received routine clinical treatment. On this basis, the treatment group received external diaphragm pacing treatment every day from the third day of mechanical ventilation until weaning, and was followed up to 30 days after discharge. The diaphragm thickness, diaphragm excursion, diaphragm thickening fraction, mechanical ventilation time, number of weaning failures, length of hospital stay and death toll were compared between the two groups. Results:Compared with the control group, the diaphragm thickness [(0.21±0.05) cm vs. (0.16±0.05) cm], diaphragm excursion [(1.38±0.37) cm vs. (1.11±0.48) cm], and diaphragm thickening fraction [26% (19%, 32%) vs. 18.5% (10.25%, 20%)] in the treatment group increased significantly (all P<0.05). The mechanical ventilation time was shorter in the treatment group [10 (7, 15) d vs. 13 (10.25, 19) d], and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the number of weaning failures (7 vs. 9), length of hospital stay [22 (15 , 30) d vs.. 24 (17.25, 34.25) d] and deaths (8 vs. 8) (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Early application of external diaphragm pacing can improve the diaphragm function of patients with mechanical ventilation, delay the decline in diaphragm function, increase diaphragm excursion and diaphragm thickening fraction, and shorten the mechanical ventilation time.

Objective:To investigate the typing and clinical value of posterior group renal calyces.Methods:From April 2020 to June 2021, 640 patients (320 men and 320 women) who underwent CTU examination in our hospital with kidneys on both sides and normal or only mild hydronephrosis in the collecting system were analyzed. A total of 1 280 renal CTU three-dimensional reconstructed images were counted.The patients aged 52.4±11.9 years. The patients' CTU images were reconstructed in three dimensions using the spine as a marker to rotate the collecting system images in stereoscopic space to simulate a prone position. A two-person review was taken to observe the imaging morphology of the renal calyces in the prone position, and the 640 renal calyces in the posterior group of the left and right sides were counted for staging. Based on the morphology of the renal calyces and the influence on the establishment of surgical access, the posterior group of renal calyces was divided into 3 major types. Pot-belly type: the renal pelvis is shaped like a pot-belly, and the renal pelvis is directly connected to the cup-shaped minor calyces without a distinct major renal calyces. Classically branched: 2 or more major renal calyces are branched and converge to form the renal pelvis. Elongated branched: the major calyces are branched, with at least one major calyces having an axis length ≥0.9cm and a neck width ≤0.3cm.The classic branching type is divided into three types, a, b, and c, including seven subtypes, based on the relationship of the posterior group of the minor calyces to the major calyces. Type a is derived from group 1 major calyces only, type b is derived from group 2 major calyces at the same time, and type c is derived from the upper, middle and lower groups of major calyces at the same time. Type a contains 3 subtypes.Type a1 is derived from the upper group of major calyces only, type a2 is derived from the middle group of major calyces only, and type a3 is derived from the lower group of major calyces only. Type b is also divided into 3 subtypes. Type b1 is derived from the upper and middle groups of major calyces at the same time, type b2 is derived from the middle and lower groups of major calyces at the same time, and type b3 for the upper and lower renal major calyces. Type c had no corresponding subtype.Results:Statistical findings revealed that all kidneys had posterior group calyces. The morphological typing of the posterior group of calyces was 8.83% (113/1 280) for the pot-bellied type, which had the highest occurrence of 2 minor calyces (5.63%, 72/1 280). 71.25% (912/1 280) had the classically branched type, which had the highest occurrence of 3 minor calyces (31.17%, 399/1 280). 19.92% (255/1 280) had the elongated branched type, with the highest percentage of 3 occurring in the calyces (9.92%, 127/1 280). The anatomical typing of the classical branching type occurred in 20.50% (187/912) for type a, 66.45% (606/912) for type b, and 13.05% (119 /912) for type c. The percentage of occurrence of type a1/a2/a3 was 4.06% (37/ 912), 6.14% (56/ 912), and 10.31% (94/912). b1/b2/b3 types occurred in 2.03% (21/912), 7.46% (68/912), and 56.69% (517/912), respectively.Conclusions:The posterior group of calyces is structurally complex and extremely variable. In this study, the posterior group calyces were found to be present in all patients, and the posterior group calyces were morphologically divided into 3 types, with the highest percentage of occurrence of the classical branching type and the highest percentage of 3 posterior group minor calyces. The classical branching anatomical typing was highest in type b with the highest percentage of type b3, which combined with stone distribution, made it easy to choose the puncture location. The typing of the posterior group of calyces can provide an anatomical basis for PCNL puncture from the posterior group.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of heparin binding protein (HBP) for sepsis.Methods:From June 2019 to December 2020, 188 patients admitted to the department of emergency of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital were enrolled. The patients were divided into non-sepsis group (87 patients) and sepsis group (101 patients) according to Sepsis-3 criteria. Gender, age, white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), HBP, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, quick SOFA (qSOFA) score, modified early warning score (MEWS) and patients' recent medication history were recorded, the differences in the above indicators between the two groups were compared. The risk factors of sepsis were analyzed by Logistic regression. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between HBP, PCT, CRP and SOFA score to evaluate the predictive value of HBP, PCT and CRP for the severity of septic organ failure. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic value of HBP, PCT and CRP for sepsis.Results:Compared with the non-sepsis group, the sepsis group had significantly higher levels of HBP, PCT, CRP, WBC, SOFA score, qSOFA score, and MEWS [HBP (μg/L): 55.46 (24.57, 78.49) vs. 5.90 (5.90, 9.01), PCT (μg/L): 6.83 (1.75, 30.64) vs. 0.23 (0.12, 0.75), CRP (mg/L): 67.35 (26.23, 123.23) vs. 4.45 (2.62, 47.22), WBC (×10 9/L): 11.84 (7.18, 16.06) vs. 6.58 (5.47, 8.99), SOFA score: 6 (4, 8) vs. 0 (0, 0), qSOFA score: 2 (1, 3) vs. 0 (0, 1), MEWS: 4 (3, 6) vs. 1 (0, 2)], the length of hospital stay was significantly prolonged [days: 10 (4, 17) vs. 0 (0, 7)], and the mortality was significantly increased [29.7% (30/101)vs. 4.6% (4/87)], with statistical significance (all P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that HBP, PCT and CRP were significantly positively correlated with SOFA score ( r values were 0.60, 0.33, and 0.38, respectively, all P < 0.01), among which HBP had the strongest correlation, CRP was the second, and PCT was the weakest. Logistic regression analysis showed that HBP, PCT and CRP levels were independent risk factors for sepsis [odds ratio ( OR) were 1.015, 1.094, 1.067, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were 1.007-1.022, 1.041-1.150, 1.043-1.093, all P < 0.01]. ROC curve analysis showed that HBP, PCT and CRP all had some diagnostic value for sepsis [the area under ROC curve (AUC) were 0.92, 0.87, 0.80, 95% CI were 0.88-0.97, 0.82-0.92, 0.74-0.87, respectively, all P < 0.01]. Among them, the diagnostic efficacy of HBP was higher when the cut-off value was ≥15.11 μg/L, its sensitivity and specificity were 86.14% and 89.66%, respectively, which were higher than the sensitivity (81.19%) and specificity (80.46%) when the PCT cut-off value was≥ 1.17 μg/L. However, CRP had the best sensitivity of 94.06% for the diagnosis of sepsis but lacked of specificity (63.22%). Conclusion:HBP can be used as a biological indicator for predicting sepsis and can assess the severity of organ failure in septic patients.

Objective:To comparatively evaluate the scan time and the accuracy of maxillary full-arch scans using four intraoral scanners (IOS) on conditions of the intraoral head-simulator and the hand-held model, and to evaluate the influence of different scanning conditions on digital scan.Methods:A upper dental arch model with melamine-formaldehyde resin teeth and silica gel gingiva that could be fixed on a head simulator was scanned with an optical scanner (ATOS Core) in order to obtain the standard tessellation language dataset as reference. Intraoral scans were performed on the model fixed on the head simulator by three researchers with four IOS [A: TRIOS 3; B: CS 3600; C: CEREC Omnicam; D: iTero]. For each scanner and each researcher, six scans were performed, to obtain the datasets as the head simulator group. And another six scans with each of the four intraoral scanners were performed by each researcher on the hand-held model to obtain the STL datasets as the hand-held group. The scan time were recorded for each scan. In the Geomagic Wrap software, the digital models were trimmed with only the teeth information retained and supreimposed by best fit alignment function and compared to obtain the root mean square (RMS) values of the discrepancies by three-dimensional compare function. The test datasets of each group were compared with the reference dataset for trueness. The six test scanning datasets with the same scanner of the same researcher were cross compared for precision. Mann Whitney U test was used to statistically analyze the difference values of the scan time, trueness and precision of the same intraoral scanner between head simulator group and hand-held group. Results:Compared to the hand-held group, the scan time of A [142(82) s] and D [119(52) s], which two IOS both with handle, were longer in head simulator group [A: 98(28) s; D: 85(22) s] ( P<0.01). However there were no significant differences between the two groups for scan time of IOS B and C ( P>0.05). For full-arch scan accuracy (trueness and precision), there were no significant differences between the two groups of IOS A and B ( P>0.05), while the trueness of C ( P<0.05) and the precision of D ( P<0.01) were better in head simulator group [C: 112(38) μm; D: 43(13) μm] compared to hand-held group [C: 135(47) μm; D: 53(18) μm]. However, there were no significant differences for the precision of C ( P>0.05) and the trueness of D ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The scan time and the accuracy of full-arch digital scans with different IOS may be effected by the scan conditions. For in vitro study of intraoral scanning, head-simulator can simulate the intraoral environment of the real patient to some extent. Meanwhile, the position of the dentist and the patient, and also the limited intraoral space during intraoral scanning are also simulated.

Objective: To compare the short-term and long-term results of thoracoscopic and open pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: The clinical data of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent pneumonectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Qingdao University Hospital from January 2008 to December 2016 were collected. Totally 142 patients (55 in the thoracoscopic group and 87 in the open group) were included in the study. A total of 29 pairs of patients were successfully matched by propensity score matching (PSM). Perioperative outcomes and overall survival were compared between the two groups using t test, χ² test, Kaplan-Meier curve and Log-rank test, respectively. Results: Camparion with open group, the thoracoscopic group had longer operative time ((209.7±70.2) minutes vs. (171.3±43.5) minutes, t=2.50, P=0.02), more mediastinal lymph node dissection (M(Q_R): 17(9) vs. 11(10), W=388, P=0.02) and shorter postoperative hospital stay (7.0(3.5) vs. 9.0(3.0), W=285, P=0.03). There was no significant difference in estimated blood loss, postoperative drainage time, dissected lymph node number, dissected lymph node station and perioperative complications. After PSM, there were no signifificant differences found in 3-year survival (71.4% vs. 48.1%, P=0.10) and 3-year disease-free survival (67.4% vs. 47.2%, P=0.13) between the two groups. Conclusion Thoracoscopic pneumonectomy is safe and feasible for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with more mediastinal lymph node dissection and accelerating recovery, and equivalent long-term prognosis when compared with open approach.

er to detect the beam quality of the SC200 superconducting cyclotron,measure the beam at the extraction reference and the acceptance of the accelerator is realized.This article mainly introduces the design that use the scintillation screen at the extraction reference to measure the beam profile,position and use the Faraday cup to measure the current intensity with 2.5 level accuracy.The remoted controlling of probes and the acquisition and processing of signal based on LabVIEW and PLC.
Proton Therapy ; instrumentation

Objective To explore the relation between vitamin D deficiency and susceptibility to spinal tuberculosis. Methods A total of 163 hospitalized patients with untreated spinal tuberculosis in Tianjin Haihe hospital were enrolled in this study from June 2013 to May 2016. A total of 170 individuals participated in health examination program at the same period were enrolled as the control group. The serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The 25(OH)D grading included serious deficiency group (<25 nmol/L), deficiency group (≥25 nmol/L and <50 nmol/L), insufficiency group (≥50 nmol/L and <75 nmol/L) and sufficiency group (≥75 nmol/L). Histopathological classification was confirmed by intraoperative findings. Results The serum level of 25(OH)D was significantly lower in patient group [23.99(20.55,29.54)nmol/L] than that of control group [42.94(35.68,51.04) nmol/L] (P<0.01), and which was also significantly lower in four seasons than that of controls (P<0.05). The serum levels of 25(OH)D were significantly higher in summer group than those of winter group in both patient and control groups (P<0.008 3). The proportion of patients with serious deficiency of 25(OH)D was significantly higher in spring and winter groups in patient group, which was significantly lower in summer group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in patients with serious deficiency of 25(OH)D between four seasons (P<0.01). For control group, there was a higher proportion of cases with deficiency of 25(OH)D in four seasons, and there was no significant difference in the distribution of seasons (P>0.05). In patient group, there were 107 cases of caseous necrosis type, 56 cases of hyperplasia type, and the proportion of caseous necrosis type was significantly higher in the severe deficiency group (79.17%, 76/96) than that of deficiency group (46.27%, 31/67, P<0.01). Conclusion Excluding the effect of season, vitamin D deficiency is associated with susceptibility to spinal tuberculosis and histopathologic classification.