Background Environmental noise pollution is serious, and there are few studies on the effects of long-term noise exposure during sleep on cognitive function and possible biological clock mechanism. Objective To explore the cognitive impairment induced by noise exposure during sleep in mice and possible biological clock mechanism, and to provide a theoretical basis for the protection against noise exposure. Methods Twenty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a control group and a noise-exposed group, 10 mice in each group. The noise-exposed group was exposed to sleep-period noise using a noise generator for 12 h (08:00–20:00) per day for a total of 30 d. The calibrated noise intensity was set at 90 dB. No intervention was imposed on the control group. At the end of the noise exposure, cognitive function of mice was examined using the new object recognition experiment and the open field test, and the hippocampal tissue damage of mice were evaluated by Nissl staining, ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) immunofluorescence staining, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR for inflammatory factors and biological clock genes. Oxidative stress indicators in the hippocampus of mice were also detected by assay kit. Results After noise exposure during sleep period, the results of new object recognition experiment showed that the discrimination index of mice in the noise-exposed group was 0.06±0.04, which was significantly lower than that of the control group (0.65±0.13) (P<0.05). The results of open field test showed that the central activity distance of the noise-exposed group was (242.20±176.10) mm, which was significantly lower than that of the control group, (1548.00±790.30) mm (P < 0.05), and the central activity time of the noise-exposed group was (0.87±0.64) s, which was significantly lower than that of the control group, (6.00±2.86) s (P < 0.05). The Nissl staining results showed that compared with the control group, neurons in the hippocampus of the noise-exposed mice were shrunken, deeply stained, disorganized, and loosely connected. The immunofluorescence results showed that microglia in the hippocampus of the noise-exposed mice were activated and the expression of Iba1 was significantly increased compared with those of the control group (P<0.05). The real-time PCR results of showed that the mRNA levels of the biological clock genes Clock, Per2, and Rev-erbα were significantly increased compared with those of the control group (P<0.05), and the mRNA level of Per1 was significantly decreased compared with that of the control group (P<0.05); and the mRNA levels of IL-18, IL-6, iNOS, and NLRP3 in the hippocampal tissues of mice were significantly increased compared with those of the control group (P<0.05). The results of oxidative stress evaluation showed that compared with the control group, reduced glutathione content was significantly reduced in the noise-exposed group (P<0.001). Conclusion Noise exposure during sleep period can lead to the destabilization of biological clock genes in hippocampal tissues and trigger hippocampal neuroinflammation, which can lead to the activation of microglia and cause cognitive impairment in mice.

Octapeptin has strong antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, while it also has activity against some Gram-positive bacteria. This study used natural octapeptin A3 and B3 as lead compounds for structural modification. Twenty-one peptide derivatives (including A3 and B3) containing eight amino acid residues were prepared by solid-phase synthesis, and evaluated for antibacterial activity and renal cytotoxicity. Among them, three compounds 6, 7 and 17 exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and significantly enhanced the activity for Gram-positive bacteria while maintaining the activity of Gram-negative bacteria. Several compounds improved the activity for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Compound 7 was active against all test strains and had relatively low renal cytotoxicity. The results provide a basis for the further development of novel polypeptide antibiotics.

Background Long-term exposure to noise during sleep may has adverse effects on metabolic system, and liver lipid metabolism is closely related to circadian clock genes. Objective To investigate the effects of long-term noise exposure during sleep on liver circadian clock and lipid metabolism in mice and its related mechanism. Methods Twenty C57BL/6J male mice were randomly divided into two groups: a noise exposure group and a control group with 10 mice in each group. The mice in the noise exposure group were exposed to white noise at 90 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for 30 consecutive days, 8 h a day, from 9:00 to 17:00. The mice in the control group were exposed to background noise ≤40 dB SPL. After noise exposure, the animals were neutralized at 14:00 (ZT6) and 2:00 (ZT18), 5 animals at each time spot, and the liver tissues were collected. Total cholesterol and triglyceride in liver were determined by cholesterol oxidase method and glycerol phosphate oxidase method respectively. The expressions of circadian clock genes (Clock, Bmal1, Rev-erbα, and Rev-erbβ) and lipid metabolism genes (Srebp1c, Hmgcr, Fasn, Lxrα, Acc1, and Chrebp) in liver were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Results Compared with the control group, the content of total cholesterol in liver in the noise exposure group increased by 48% (P<0.05) and the content of liver triglyceride increased by 61% (P<0.05) at ZT18. The mRNA expression levels of circadian clock genes Clock and Bmal1 in the noise exposure group was significantly increased at ZT18 and decreased at ZT6 (P<0.05). The mRNA expression level of Rev-erbα decreased at both ZT6 and ZT18 (P<0.05). The mRNA expression level of Rev-erbβ had no significant change at ZT6 and ZT18. The mRNA expression levels of liver lipid metabolism related genes Srebp1c, Hmgcr, Chrebp, and Lxrα in the noise exposure group were higher than those in the control group at ZT18 (P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of Acc1 and Fasn showed no significant change at ZT6, then an upward trend at ZT18, but no significant difference between the two time spots (P>0.05). Conclusion Long-term noise exposure during sleep can cause circadian clock and lipid metabolism disorders in mice. Among them, suppression of key circadian clock genes may be associated with Rev-erbα-mediated upregulation of the nuclear receptors Srebp1c and Chrebp for lipid synthesis and deposition in the liver, resulting in lipid metabolism disorder.

Humans ; Aged ; Lung Diseases ; Pneumonia/drug therapy* ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy* ; Administration, Inhalation ; Community-Acquired Infections/drug therapy*

Fatigue-related traffic accidents and fatalities have been extensively studied by scholars globally.Specialized vehicles,due to their unique mission profiles,are more likely to cause driving-related fatigue and serious consequences.This paper reviews the current research of fatigue driving by using an inductive analysis method to summarize the mechanisms,risk factors,and monitoring methods.This paper also offers a vision of priorities and methodologies for research in the future.It is recommended that the mechanisms of driving fatigue be explored at the molecular biological level and that fatigue monitoring systems be made more feasible via the combined application of non-intrusive monitoring in order to reduce the toll on life and property taken by driving fatigue.

Objective To investigate the CT and MRI findings of different types of small round cell tumor(SRCT)in the nasal cavity and sinuses.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the imaging data and clinical data of 35 SRCT patients confirmed by pathology.Thirty-one SRCT patients underwent CT examination,and 19 SRCT patients underwent MRI examination.Results There were 20 cases of tumors that invaded the nasal cavity and 19 cases involved the sinuses,including 11 cases of the maxillary sinus,7 cases of the ethmoid sinus,2 cases of the sphenoid sinus,and 1 case of the frontal sinus.CT findings of SRCT were all soft tissue masses.Lymphoma was relatively homogeneous with mild bone destruction,and usually involved nasal vestibular skin.Rhabdomyosarcoma(embryonic type)happened at an early age and easily caused bone destruction and metastasis.Melanoma generally occurred in the nasal septum and nasal cavity,which was prone to bleeding.Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma was heterogeneous,with moderate to significant enhancement,bone absorption and destruction were often noticed.The MRI manifestations of SRCT were equal or long signal on T1WI,high signal on T2WI,and significant diffusion limitation on diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)except for melanoma.On contrast-enhanced images,lymphoma showed mild to moderate enhancement,rhabdomyosarcoma showed typical"grape sign",and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma showed"sieve"and"map-like"obvious enhancement.Typical melanoma showed a high signal on T1WI and a low signal on T2WI and usually caused bleeding.The MRI findings were related to the presence of melanoma and hemorrhage within the lesion.Conclusion SRCT of the nasal cavity and sinuses have a high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis,CT and MRI have many similar manifestations.Combining clinical data,bone destruction,MRI enhancement,and DWI sequence can effectively distinguish different types of SRCT,as well as squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity and sinuses and adenoid cystic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND:Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint pain,swelling,and dysfunction.Acupuncture,as a traditional medical treatment,has proved its effectiveness and safety in many diseases.However,the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis remains controversial.Therefore,the purpose of this study is to evaluate and explore the effect of Tiaodu Tongmai acupuncture in the treatment of preclinical rheumatoid arthritis of different ages through the generalized estimating equation,and to provide a basis for the application of acupuncture in rheumatoid arthritis. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of Tiaodu Tongmai acupuncture therapy on preclinical rheumatoid arthritis(pre-RA)patients at different ages based on generalized estimating equation. METHODS:A total of 123 patients with preclinical rheumatoid arthritis treated from January to September 2023 were selected as the study objects and divided into study group(n=64)and control group(n=59)according to different treatment methods.The study group was given Tiaodu Tongmai acupuncture treatment,and the control group was given acetaminophen tablets.The baseline balance was adjusted by propensity score matching method.The clinical efficacy and cytokine levels before and after treatment between the two groups were compared.The generalized estimating equation model was established to evaluate the efficacy of Tiaodu Tongmai acupuncture therapy on preclinical rheumatoid arthritis patients at different ages. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After 0 days of treatment,there were significant differences in joint pain and C-reactive protein expression between study and control groups(P＜0.05).After 4 weeks of treatment,there were significant differences in visual analogue scale scores,joint pain,C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate between the two groups(P＜0.05).After 8 weeks of treatment,there were significant differences in visual analogue scale scores,C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate between the two groups(P＜0.05).After 12 weeks of treatment,there were significant differences in visual analogue scale scores,C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate between the two groups(P＜0.05).(2)The total effective rate of the study group was 93.75%,while that of the control group was 79.17%.The clinical efficacy of the study group was significantly better than that of the control group(P＜0.05).(3)There were significant differences in interleukin-6,interferon-γ,macrophage migration inhibitory factor,rheumatoid factor IgA,rheumatoid factor IgM,metallomatrix proteinase 3,metallomatrix proteinase 9,and anti-cyclic citrulline antibody in the study group before and after treatment(P＜0.05).The levels of interleukin-6,interferon-γ,rheumatoid factor IgA,rheumatoid factor IgM,metallomatrix proteinase 3,metallomatrix proteinase 9,and anti-cyclic citrulline antibody in the control group after treatment were significantly different from those before treatment(P＜0.05).There were significant differences in interleukin-6,interferon-γ,macrophage migration inhibitory factor,rheumatoid factor IgA,rheumatoid factor IgM,metallomatrix proteinase 3,and anti-cyclic citrulline antibody between the two groups after treatment(P＜0.05).(4)After 12 weeks of treatment,the comprehensive efficacy of patients of all ages in the study group was better than that of the control group(P＜0.05).After 8 weeks of treatment,the comprehensive efficacy of patients aged 23-35,36-50,and 51-60 years old in the study group was better than that of the control group(P＜0.05),and the comprehensive efficacy of patients aged 18-22 years old was comparable between the two groups.After 4 weeks of treatment,the comprehensive efficacy of patients aged 36-50 and 51-60 years old in the study group was better than that of the control group(P＜0.05),and the comprehensive efficacy was comparable between the two groups of patients aged 18-22 and 23-35 years.Overall,Tiaodu Tongmai acupuncture therapy has advantages in treating preclinical rheumatoid arthritis patients aged 36-50 and 51-60 years.

The working principle and development of flexible semiconductor devices based on organic field effect transistor(OFET)technology were introduced.The current research status of OFET-based wearable flexible monitoring devices were reviewed,including biomechanical monitoring devices,tattoo biomonitoring devices and cellular detection devices and etc.The deficiencies of OFET-based wearable flexible monitoring devices were analyzed,and it's pointed out that miniaturization,personalization and diversification were the directions for the development of the future OFET-based wearable flexible moni-toring devices.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(1):93-100]

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture on intestinal flora and serum inflammatory factors in rabbit model with rheumatoid arthritis(RA);To explore the mechanism of its therapeutic effect on RA.Methods RA model rabbits were established by ovalbumin induction combined with Freund's complete adjuvant,and the rabbits after successful modeling were randomly divided into model group,probiotic group and electroacupuncture group,with 6 rabbits in each group.Another 6 rabbits were set as the normal group.The electroacupuncture group received electroacupuncture at the bilateral"Zusanli"and"Dubi"for 30 minutes,the probiotic group was given probiotic capsules solution(14.5 mg/kg)by gavage,once a day,for two consecutive weeks.The knee joint circumference and pain threshold of rabbits were measured,histopathological morphological changes of colonic tissue and synovial tissue ws observed by HE staining,16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze structural changes of intestinal flora,the contents of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in serum were detected by ELISA.Results Compared with the normal group,the circumference of knee joint of rabbits in the model group increased significantly,the pain threshold was significantly decreased(P<0.01);the colonic mucosal damage was serious,the goblet cells were missing,a large number of inflammatory cells were infiltrate;the joint capsule synovial surface was rough,the synovial cell layer was hyperplasia and thickening,the synovial tissue inflammatory cell infiltration was obvious;the number and evenness of gut microbiota species decreased,while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,and Bacteroidetes decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01),the relative abundance of Desulfobacteria increased(P<0.01),while the relative abundance of Campylobacter,Lawsonella,and Pseudomonas increased(P<0.01),while the relative abundance of Heshanomonas and Herbaspirillum decreased(P<0.01);the contents of serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 increased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the knee joint circumference of the probiotic group and the electroacupuncture group decreased,the pain threshold increased(P<0.01,P<0.05);the degree of intestinal mucosal damage was reduced,the goblet cells were basically arranged neatly,the inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced;synovial cells proliferation and thickening decreased,with a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration;the number and evenness of gut microbiota species increased,while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,and Bacteroidetes increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),the relative abundance of Desulfobacteria decreased(P<0.01),while the relative abundance of Campylobacter,Lawsonella and Pseudomonas decreased(P<0.01),the relative abundance of Heshanomonas and Herbaspirillum increased(P<0.05,P<0.01);the contents of serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 significantly decreased(P<0.01).Conclusion Electroacupuncture can significantly improve the symptoms of RA rabbits and reduce the inflammatory reaction in synovial tissue of joint,and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of intestinal flora structure.

Objective To explore the mechanism by which CD137 signal regulates the aging of vas-cular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs).Methods Thirty 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were ran-domly divided into a young group(8 weeks old)and an aged group(80 weeks old),with 30 mice in each group.After corresponding periods of feeding,the mice were euthanized,and the plasma and aortic blood vessels were isolated.In the cell experiments,normal VSMCs were divided into a control group,bleomycin(BLM)group,combined agonist group,and combined inhibitor group.The cellular senescence level of VSMCs was assessed using a cellular senescence β-galactosidase staining kit.Western blotting and PCR were employed to examine the expression of senescence-related proteins in tissues and cells,while ELISA was utilized to measure the expression of senes-cence-related inflammatory factors.Results The expression of CD137 and γ-H2AX in the aorta was significantly higher,while that of PCNA was obviously lower in the aged group than the young group(P＜0.05).The plasma level of CD137 was notably higher in the aged group than the young group(154.0±4.1 pg/ml vs 98.0±2.3 pg/ml,P＜0.05).Compared with the normal control group,there were significantly more aged VSMCs in the BLM group(P＜0.05).While,treatment of combined agonist resulted in larger amount of aged VSMCs when compared with the BLM group(P＜0.05),which was reversed by combined inhibitor treatment(P＜0.05).The levels of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly elevated in the BLM group than the normal control group(P＜0.05).The combined agonist group had even higher levels of TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1βthan the BLM group(P＜0.05),but the levels were decreased in the combined inhibitor group(P＜0.05).Compared with the normal control group,the expression of Bcl-2,γ-H2AX,P53,and P21 were significantly increased in the BLM group,combined agonist group,and combined inhibi-tor group,while that of PCNA was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the BLM group,the expression of P53 and P21 in the combined agonist group showed an increase(P＜0.05),and the expression of P53 was significantly decreased in the combined inhibitor group(P＜0.05).Conclusion CD137 signal regulates the P53/P21 pathway to promote VSMC aging.