Objective To investigate immunogenic and toxic effects of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles in mouse skeletal muscles and in human blood in vitro. Methods GO nanoparticles prepared using a probe sonicator were supended in deionized H2O or PBS, and particle size and surface charge of the nanoparticles were measured with dynamic light scattering (DLS). Different concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/mL) of GO suspension or PBS were injected at multiple sites in the gastrocnemius muscle (GN) of C57BL/6 mice, and inflammatory response and immune cell infiltrations were detected with HE and immunofluorescence staining. We also examined the effects of GO nanoparticles on human red blood cell (RBC) morphology, hemolysis and blood coagulation using scanning electron microscope (SEM), spectrophotometry, and thromboelastography (TEG). Results GO nanoparticles suspended in PBS exhibited better colloidal dispersity, stability and surface charge effects than those in deionized H2O. In mouse GNs, injection of GO suspensions dose- and time-dependently resulted in sustained muscular inflammation and myofiber degeneration at the injection sites, which lasted till 8 weeks after the injection; immunofluorescence staining revealed obvious infiltration of monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and CD4+T cells around the injection sites in mouse GNs. In human RBCs, incubation with GO suspensions at 0.2, 2.0 and 20 mg/mL, but not at 0.002 or 0.02 mg/mL, caused significant alterations of cell morphology and hemolysis. TEG analysis showed significant abnormalities of blood coagulation parameters following treatment with high concentrations of GO. Conclusion GO nanoparticles can induce sustained inflammatory and immunological responses in mouse GNs and cause RBC hemolysis and blood coagulation impairment, suggesting its muscular toxicity and hematotoxicity at high concentrations.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and mutation spectrum of monogenic diseases in Chinese population through a large-scale,multicenter carrier screening.Methods This study was conducted among a total of 33 104 participants(16 610 females)from 12 clinical centers across China.Carrier status for 223 genes was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and different PCR methods.Results The overall combined carrier frequency was 55.58%for 197 autosomal genes and 1.84%for 26 X-linked genes in these participants.Among the 16 669 families,874 at-risk couples(5.24%)were identified.Specifically,584 couples(3.50%)were at risk for autosomal genes,306(1.84%)for X-linked genes,and 16 for both autosomal and X-linked genes.The most frequently detected autosomal at-risk genes included GJB2(autosomal recessive deafness type 1A,393 couples),HBA1/HBA2(α-thalassemia,36 couples),PAH(phenylketonuria,14 couples),and SMN1(spinal muscular atrophy,14 couples).The most frequently detected X-linked at-risk genes were G6PD(G6PD deficiency,236 couples),DMD(Duchenne muscular dystrophy,23 couples),and FMR1(fragile X syndrome,17 couples).After excluding GJB2 c.109G>A,the detection rate of at-risk couples was 3.91%(651/16 669),which was lowered to 1.72%(287/16 669)after further excluding G6PD.The theoretical incidence rate of severe monogenic birth defects was approximately 4.35‰(72.5/16 669).Screening for a battery of the top 22 most frequent genes in the at-risk couples could detect over 95%of at-risk couples,while screening for the top 54 genes further increased the detection rate to over 99%.Conclusion This study reveals the carrier frequencies of 223 monogenic genetic disorders in the Chinese population and provides evidence for carrier screening strategy development and panel design tailored to the Chinese population.In carrier testing,genetic counseling for specific genes or gene variants can be challenging,and the couples need to be informed of these difficulties before testing and provided with options for not screening these genes or gene variants.

Objective To investigate immunogenic and toxic effects of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles in mouse skeletal muscles and in human blood in vitro. Methods GO nanoparticles prepared using a probe sonicator were supended in deionized H2O or PBS, and particle size and surface charge of the nanoparticles were measured with dynamic light scattering (DLS). Different concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/mL) of GO suspension or PBS were injected at multiple sites in the gastrocnemius muscle (GN) of C57BL/6 mice, and inflammatory response and immune cell infiltrations were detected with HE and immunofluorescence staining. We also examined the effects of GO nanoparticles on human red blood cell (RBC) morphology, hemolysis and blood coagulation using scanning electron microscope (SEM), spectrophotometry, and thromboelastography (TEG). Results GO nanoparticles suspended in PBS exhibited better colloidal dispersity, stability and surface charge effects than those in deionized H2O. In mouse GNs, injection of GO suspensions dose- and time-dependently resulted in sustained muscular inflammation and myofiber degeneration at the injection sites, which lasted till 8 weeks after the injection; immunofluorescence staining revealed obvious infiltration of monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and CD4+T cells around the injection sites in mouse GNs. In human RBCs, incubation with GO suspensions at 0.2, 2.0 and 20 mg/mL, but not at 0.002 or 0.02 mg/mL, caused significant alterations of cell morphology and hemolysis. TEG analysis showed significant abnormalities of blood coagulation parameters following treatment with high concentrations of GO. Conclusion GO nanoparticles can induce sustained inflammatory and immunological responses in mouse GNs and cause RBC hemolysis and blood coagulation impairment, suggesting its muscular toxicity and hematotoxicity at high concentrations.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and mutation spectrum of monogenic diseases in Chinese population through a large-scale,multicenter carrier screening.Methods This study was conducted among a total of 33 104 participants(16 610 females)from 12 clinical centers across China.Carrier status for 223 genes was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and different PCR methods.Results The overall combined carrier frequency was 55.58%for 197 autosomal genes and 1.84%for 26 X-linked genes in these participants.Among the 16 669 families,874 at-risk couples(5.24%)were identified.Specifically,584 couples(3.50%)were at risk for autosomal genes,306(1.84%)for X-linked genes,and 16 for both autosomal and X-linked genes.The most frequently detected autosomal at-risk genes included GJB2(autosomal recessive deafness type 1A,393 couples),HBA1/HBA2(α-thalassemia,36 couples),PAH(phenylketonuria,14 couples),and SMN1(spinal muscular atrophy,14 couples).The most frequently detected X-linked at-risk genes were G6PD(G6PD deficiency,236 couples),DMD(Duchenne muscular dystrophy,23 couples),and FMR1(fragile X syndrome,17 couples).After excluding GJB2 c.109G>A,the detection rate of at-risk couples was 3.91%(651/16 669),which was lowered to 1.72%(287/16 669)after further excluding G6PD.The theoretical incidence rate of severe monogenic birth defects was approximately 4.35‰(72.5/16 669).Screening for a battery of the top 22 most frequent genes in the at-risk couples could detect over 95%of at-risk couples,while screening for the top 54 genes further increased the detection rate to over 99%.Conclusion This study reveals the carrier frequencies of 223 monogenic genetic disorders in the Chinese population and provides evidence for carrier screening strategy development and panel design tailored to the Chinese population.In carrier testing,genetic counseling for specific genes or gene variants can be challenging,and the couples need to be informed of these difficulties before testing and provided with options for not screening these genes or gene variants.

Background: Zhongyi paste is a traditional Chinese medicine herbal paste that is externally applied to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Methods: An acute foot swelling inflammation model in C57BL/6J mice was established by carrageenan-induced pathogenesis. Zhongyi paste raised the pain threshold and also reduced the degree of swelling in mice with carrageenan-induced foot swelling. Results: Analysis indicated that serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) cytokine levels and PGE2levels in the paw tissue of the mice were decreased by Zhongyi paste treatment. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot results showed that Zhongyi paste downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and also downregulated the mRNA expression of PGE2 . At the same time, the Zhongyi paste exerted a stronger effect as an external drug than that of indomethacin, which is an oral drug, and voltaren, which is an externally applied drug. Conclusions Our results indicated that Zhongyi paste is a very effective drug to reduce inflammatory swelling of the foot, and its mechanism of action is related to regulation of the ERK1/2–COX-2–PGE2 pathway.

Objective To investigate the training expectations and training strategies of orthopedic clinical specialist nurses (OCSN).Methods Totally 5 020 orthopedic nurses from 342 hospitals from 30 provinces and cities were selected bv convenience sampling.Participants were investigated hy WeChat platform with self-designed questionnaire.Results A total of 4 982 effective questionnaires were collected.Among investigated nurses,13.7％ of them received orthopedic specialist nurses training;91.4％ believed that training should be carried out.Qualifications should be:college degree and above,senior nurse and above,at least 3 ～5 years of nursing experience,1～3 years of nursing experience in orthopedic department.For curriculum,public courses expected to be arranged were communieation skills,nursing teaching,nursing management,and nursing research;expected professional courses were functional exercises,pain management,extremity injury nursing,common treatment techniques in orthopedic department,traction nursing,and position nursing.It was suggested that training was divided into subspecialties and off-duty;classroom teaching,teaching rounds,case discussion and experience exchange were expected training methods;"theory-practice-theory-practice" was most preferable traiuing mode.The preferred teachers were orthopedic doctors,orthopedic head nurses,orthopedic specialist nurses,and senior orthopedic nurses.The length of training was expected to be three months,time for clinical practice should be greater than or equal to theoretical teaching,and the practice bases should be tertiary hospitals.Evaluation should be performed before completion,recertification could be later than completion,and the interval time of recertification should be within 5 years.Conclusion Training needs of orthopedic nurses for OCSN are strong.Training expectations(contents,length,modes and teachers) of orthopedic nurses should be considered when designing systematic training program on OCSN.

Objective To investigate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of toothache drop pills. Methods The acute inflammatory models such as xylene-induced ear edema and egg white-induced paw edema and the chronic inflammatory model granuloma induced by cotton pellet implantation were used in researching the inflammatory effects of toothache drop pills. Meanwhile, the analgesic effects of toothache drop pills were observed by hot plate and acetic acid writhing test. Results Compared with the blank control group,the degree of ear swelling in mice in the positive control group, toothache drop pills middle and high dose group (2.56 ± 1.35 mg, 4.26 ± 1.21 mg, 3.23 ± 1.25 mg vs. 8.25 ± 1.21 mg) were lower than the blank control group (P<0.05). 120 minutes after administration,compared with the blank control group, the degree of paw swelling in mice in the positive control group, toothache drop pills middle and high dose group (23.54 ± 9.12 mg, 27.58 ± 9.14 mg, 21.25 ± 8.45 mg vs.39.54 ± 8.89 mg) were lower than the blank control group (P<0.05). Granuloma swelling quality in mice caused by cotton in the positive control group, toothache drop pills middle and high dose group (6.51 ± 2.58 mg, 7.82 ± 1.57 mg, 6.58 ± 3.47 mg vs. 13.58 ± 3.25 mg) were lower than the blank control group (P<0.05). The threshold of pain in mice in the positive control group, toothache drop pills middle and high dose group (20.86 ± 2.58 s, 20.25 ± 2.14 s, 20.75 ± 1.78 s vs.17.21 ± 3.31 s) were increased (P<0.05). The number of mice writhing in the positive control group, toothache drop pills middle and high dose group (23.47 ± 7.57, 28.65 ± 6.54, 24.36 ± 7.78 vs. 40.96 ± 6.58) were decreased(P<0.05). Conclusion Toothache drop pills had obvious anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the molecular typing feature of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains isolated from different reservoirs in eight provinces of China from 2006 to 2014.

METHODSAccording to the time, place, reservoir, and PFGE pattern of the EPEC strains isolated from stools of humans with diarrhea, animal feces, and foods in eight provinces of China between 2006 and 2014, 149 EPEC strains were selected and characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) using seven housekeeping genes provided by E.coli MLST database. Strain analysis demonstrated 56 different sequence types (STs). SeqMan II, MEGA 5.05, and eBURST V3 were applied to analyze the genetic relationships of domestic and forein existing 392 strains (243 EPEC strains included in the E.coli MLST database and 149 EPEC strains comprised in the present study).

RESULTSAmong the 56 different STs, the prevalent ST was ST-40, which included 19 (19/149, 12.8%) isolates. Nineteen new STs were identified. Eleven new alleles were detected in six house-keeping genes (adk, fumC, gyrB, icd, mdh, and purA). Six STs were simultaneously detected among EPEC strains isolated from patients with diarrhea and animals. And these EPEC strains were all aEPEC strains. Two STs were simultaneously identified among EPEC strains isolated from patients with diarrhea and foods. Also, these EPEC strains were all aEPEC strains. 33 out of 173 STs were divided into five major clone complexes by eBURST, STC-29, STC-10, STC-20, STC-28, and STC-517. The remaining EPEC strains included in the other 140 STs were part of the other clone complexes or just were singletons.

CONCLUSIONA high degree of phylogenetic heterogeneity was observed among the EPEC strains isolated in eight provinces of China. The EPEC strains with same STs of human isolates isolated from animal feces and foods were all aEPEC strains.

Animals ; China ; Diarrhea ; Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli ; Escherichia coli ; Escherichia coli Proteins ; Feces ; Humans ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Phylogeny

Objective To analyze the subtypes of eae genes in various non-O157 Shiga toxin-pro-ducing Escherichia coli ( STEC) strains isolated in China.Methods The complete nucleotide sequences of 10 eae genes were amplified by PCR and sequenced.The BLASTn software was used to analyze the se-quences for eae gene subtyping.A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the10 ea e gene sequences to-gether with the gene sequences of 30 different subtypes in GenBank and those of STEC strains of 7 prevalent serotypes (O157 ∶H7, O26 ∶H11, O103 ∶H2, O111 ∶H8, O145 ∶H28, O45 ∶H2 and O121 ∶H19) using MEGA 5.0.Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on the 10 STEC strains with reference to the Escherichia coli ( E.coli) MLST website ( http://mlst.warwick.ac.uk/mlst/dbs/Ecoli) for the typing of multiple loci.A minimum spanning tree ( MST) was constructed using the BioNumerics software to inves-tigate the phylogenetic relationships between the 10 eae gene-positive STEC strains in this study and hemolyt-ic uremic syndrome-associated enterohemorrhagic E.coli ( HUSEC) strains as well as all human STEC strains of O157, O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145 serotypes submitted to the E.coli MLST website data-base.Results The complete nucleotide sequences of eae genes in 10 non-O157 STEC strains were 2.8 kb in length and belonged to 3 known subtypes.The predominant subtype wasβ1, accounting for 60%of the 10 STEC strains (6/10), followed byθandγ1 subtypes with two strains in each type.The eae gene sequences in certain strains were identical to those of the prevalent serotypes.Seven sequence types ( STs) were identi-fied from the 10 STEC strains carrying eae gene.Conclusion The eae genes harbored by the non-O157 STEC strains isolated from different specimens in China were diverse and had close phylogenetic relationships with the highly pathogenic and prevalent STEC strains.This study implied that the STEC strains harboring eae gene had high pathogenic potential.

Objective To prepare toothache drop pills and establish its quality standard.Methods The drop pills were prepared by a routine method; HPLC was used for the determination of the EU isoimperatorin content.Results The drop pills were well- distributed in size, smooth and glossy in appearance, mild in hardness; TLC can identify isoimperatorin characteristic spots; Determination of the Indigo 0.50~520μg/ml linear relationship was good,r=0.999 8, the recovery of 98.38%.RSD values were 1.05%.Conclusion The preparation method of toothache drop pills is simple, and the drop pills are well-shaped with controllable quality.