OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effects of total saponins from Panax japonicus (TSPJ) against high-fat dietinduced testicular Sertoli cell junction damage in mice. METHODS: Forty male C57BL/6J mice were randomized into normal diet group, high-fat diet group, and low-dose (25 mg/kg) and high-dose (75 mg/kg) TSPJ treatment groups (n=10). The mice in the normal diet group were fed a normal diet, while the mice in the other groups were fed a high-fat diet. After TSPJ treatment via intragastric administration for 5 months, the testes and epididymis of the mice were collected for measurement of weight, testicular and epididymal indices and sperm parameters. HE staining was used for histological evaluation of the testicular tissues and measurement of seminiferous tubule diameter and seminiferous epithelium height. The expression levels of ZO-1, occludin, claudin11, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and β-catenin in Sertoli cells were detected with Western blot, and the localization and expression levels of ZO-1 and β-catenin in the testicular tissues were detected with immunofluorescence assay. The protein expressions of LC3B, p-AKT and p-mTOR in testicular Sertoli cells were detected using double immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: Treatment with TSPJ significantly improved high-fat diet-induced testicular dysfunction by reducing body weight (P < 0.001), increasing testicular and epididymal indices (P < 0.05), and improving sperm concentration and sperm viability (P < 0.05). TSPJ ameliorated testicular pathologies and increased seminiferous epithelium height of the mice with high-fat diet feeding (P < 0.05) without affecting the seminiferous tubule diameter. TSPJ significantly increased the expression levels of ZO-1, occludin, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and β-catenin (P < 0.05) but did not affect claudin11 expression in the testicular tissues. Immunofluorescence assay showed that TSPJ significantly increased ZO-1 and β-catenin expression in the testicular tissues (P < 0.001), downregulated LC3B expression and upregulated p-AKT and p-mTOR expressions in testicular Sertoli cells. CONCLUSION TSPJ alleviates high-fat diet-induced damages of testicular Sertoli cell junctions and spermatogenesis possibly by activating the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and inhibiting autophagy of testicular Sertoli cells.
Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Testis ; Sertoli Cells ; beta Catenin ; Diet, High-Fat ; Occludin ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; Seeds ; Cadherins ; Intercellular Junctions

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of acute leukemia patients during pregnancy.Methods:The clinical data of 16 cases with acute leukemia during pregnancy from January 2009 to December 2018 in the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnosis and treatment regimens, pregnancy outcome, the early fetus and survival status of patients were also analyzed.Results:All 16 leukemia cases were confirmedly diagnosed and classified by bone marrow puncture, including 13 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (5 cases of non-acute promyelocytic leukemia and 8 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia) and 3 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. At the time of confirmed diagnosis, 6 patients were in first trimester, 6 cases in second trimester and 4 cases in late trimester. As for pregnancy outcome, 1 patient had natural birthing, 5 patients underwent cesarean operation, 9 patients underwent artificial abortion and 1 patient had spontaneous abortion. Chemotherapy was performed in 15 patients during pregnancy, 11 patients received chemotherapy for treatment of primary disease after pregnancy, 3 patients died during the treatment. During the follow-up of 13 cases, 8 patients survived and 5 patients lost follow-up.Conclusions:Early diagnosis of acute leukemia during pregnancy is very important. Bone marrow puncture should be performed timely to make clear diagnosis when blood routine result is abnormal during antenatal care. Multidisciplinary consultation should be initiated in time, and the best treatment plan should be worked out to guard against serious complications during pregnancy.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the clinical outcomes of single unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) in children with high risk and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) .Methods:Between June 2008 and December 2018, a total of 160 consecutive pediatric patients with AML received single UCBT (excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia) . Myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimen were applied. All patients received a combination of cyclosporine A (CsA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for the prophylaxis of graft -versus- host disease (GVHD) .Results:The cumulative incidence of neutrophil cells engraftment at day +42 and platelet recovery at day +120 was 95.0% (95% CI 90.0%-97.5%) at a median of 16 days after transplantation (range, 11-38 days) and 85.5% (95% CI 83.3%-93.4%) with a median time to recovery of 35 days (range, 13-158) , respectively. Incidence of grades Ⅱ-Ⅳ and Ⅲ-Ⅳ acute GVHD and chronic GVHD were 37.3% (95%CI 29.3%-45.2%) , 27.3% (95% CI 20.0%-35.0%) and 22.4% (95% CI 15.5%-28.7%) , respectively. The transplant-related mortality (TRM) at 360 day was 13.1% (95% CI 8.4%-18.9%) . The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 13.8% (95% CI 8.5%-20.3%) . The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 71.7% (95% CI 62.7%-77.8%) and 72.2% (95% CI 64.1%-78.7%) , respectively. The 5-year GVHD and relapse free survival (GRFS) was 56.1% (95% CI 46.1%-64.9%) . The 5-year cumulative recurrence rates of CR1, CR2, and NR groups were 5.3%, 19.9%, and 30.9% ( P=0.001) , and the 5-year OS rates were 79.9% (95% CI 70.3%-86.7%) , 71.1% (95% CI 50.4%-84.4%) and 52.9% (95% CI 33.0%-69.3%) ( χ2=7.552, P=0.020) , respectively. Conclusions:For pediatric patients with high risk and refractory AML, UCBT is a safe and effective treatment option, and it is favorable to improve the survival rate in CR1 stage.

Objective:To analyze the monitoring results of iodine deficiency disorders among residents in Rizhao City, Shandong Province, from 2016 to 2018.Methods:Information of monitoring data on iodine deficiency disorders of residents of Rizhao City, Shandong Province from 2016 to 2018 was collected from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Rizhao City, Shandong Province. The analysis carried out included iodine content of drinking water for residents of Rizhao City in 2017; iodine contents of salt in the home of 8 - 10 years of children, pregnant women; urine iodine levels of 8 - 10 years of children, pregnant women; and thyroid volume of 8 - 10 years of children from 2016 to 2018.Results:A total of 431 drinking water samples were collected in Rizhao City in 2017, the median of iodine in water was 4.8 μg/L. In 2016 - 2018, the rate of non-iodized edible salt in the homes of children and pregnant women in Rizhao City were 11.09% (153/1 380), 19.07% (302/1 584) and 6.92% (90/1 301); the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt were 80.94% (1 117/1 380), 65.03% (1 030/1 584) and 84.63% (1 101/1 301), respectively. Of these, the highest rate of non-iodized edible salt was in 2017 (χ 2 = 75.38, P < 0.05), and with the lowest consumption rate of qualified iodized salt (χ 2 = 56.52, P < 0.05). Totally 829, 891 and 881 urine samples were tested for 8 - 10 years of children, and the medians of urine iodine were 195.8, 243.0 and 164.8 μg/L, respectively. Totally 396, 381 and 420 urine samples were tested for pregnant women, and the medians of urine iodine were 161.5, 148.3 and 105.2 μg/L, respectively. The rates of goiter in 8 - 10 years of children were 1.50% (13/866), 0.89% (8/901) and 1.25% (11/881), respectively, and the difference between years was not statistically significant (χ 2 = 1.41, P > 0.05). Conclusions:Rizhao City is an area of environmental iodine deficiency, local residents iodine nutrition in general is at an appropriate level. However, pregnant women show iodine deficiency in recent years, which will be the focus of scientific iodine supplementation measures.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology enable humans to interact with external devices by decoding their brain signals. Despite it has made some significant breakthroughs in recent years, there are still many obstacles in its applications and extensions. The current used BCI control signals are generally derived from the brain areas involved in primary sensory- or motor-related processing. However, these signals only reflect a limited range of limb movement intention. Therefore, additional sources of brain signals for controlling BCI systems need to be explored. Brain signals derived from the cognitive brain areas are more intuitive and effective. These signals can be used for expand the brain signal sources as a new approach. This paper reviewed the research status of cognitive BCI based on the single brain area and multiple hybrid brain areas, and summarized its applications in the rehabilitation medicine. It's believed that cognitive BCI technologies would become a possible breakthrough for future BCI rehabilitation applications.

Objective To explore the effect of prognostic nutrition index (PNI) on the overall survival time of patients with brain metastases of lung adenocarcinoma.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinic data of 274 patients who were admitted to our hospital and confirmed with brain metastases of lung adenocarcinoma from May 2013 to May 2016.The prognosic factors for brain metastases such as PNI,gender,age,smoking history,epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status,Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score,the number of brain lesions,treatment of brain lesions,extracranial metastases and the status of primary disease were analyzed.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to determine the optimal cut-off value of PNI,and the patients were divided into high PNI group and low PNI group.The univariate and multivariate prognostic analyses were performed by the Log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards model.Results The patients were divided into high PNI (＞ 50.45) group (n =72) and low PNI (≤50.45) group (n =202).The median overall survival (OS) was 11.20 months in all patients with brain metastases,and the median OS of the low PNI group and high PNI group were 10.13 months and 15.17 months respectively.The univariate analysis results showed that gender (x2 =5.459,P =0.019),age (x2 =3.986,P =0.046),smoking or not (x2 =6.878,P =0.009),EGFR mutation status (x2 =20.484,P＜0.001),KPS score (x2 =126.573,P ＜ 0.001),extracranial metastases or not (x2 =4.403,P =0.036),treatment on the brain lesions (x2 =40.444,P ＜ 0.001) and PNI (x2 =7.972,P =0.005) were related to the prognosis.The Cox multivariate analysis results showed that age (HR =1.580,95％ CI:1.104-2.295,P =0.012),EGFR mutation status (HR =0.549,95％ CI:0.408-0.738,P ＜ 0.001),KPS score (HR =0.077,95％CI:0.045-0.134,P ＜ 0.001),treatment on brain metastases (HR =0.882,95％ CI:0.789-0.987,P =0.029) and PNI (HR =0.614,95％ CI:0.437-0.861,P =0.005) were related to the prognosis.Conclusion PNI is an independent prognostic predictor of brain metastases in patients with lung adenocarcinoma,and the high-PNI is correlated to the long OS of patients with brain metastases of lung adenocarcinoma,which has certain clinical practical value.

Objective To investigate the effects of the erythropoietin (EPO) on ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in rats with nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). Methods Fifty-four Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups randomly after right kidney nephrectomy: Sham group, NSS group (PBS+NSS) and EPO group (EPO+NSS). During NSS, renal artery was clamped for 40 min to induce IRI. Sham group just adopted exposure renal artery without vascular clamped. Rats in NSS group were injected intraperitoneally with PBS for 3 days before NSS. Rats in EPO group were injected intraperitoneally with EPO for 3 days before NSS. After 12 h, 24 h, 72 h, blood sample and renal tissues were collected. The serum creatinine (Scr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were evaluated. The pathology injury was evaluated by HE staining. The CD24/CD133 double-positived renal progenitor cells (RPCs) were tested by flow cytometry. The CD133 and PCNA protein were quantified by immunohistochemical staining. The expressions of Wnt7b and β-catenin protein were detected by Western blotting. Results Rats in NSS group had more elevated Scr, BUN and pathology injury scores 12 h, 24 h and 72 h after operation than those in Sham group (all P<0.05). Compared with those in the NSS group, the Scr and BUN in the EPO group were significantly lower 24 h after the surgery (all P<0.05), and the pathology injury score also decreased (P<0.05). The proportion of RPCs, expressions of CD133 and PCNA, and expressions of Wnt7b and β-catenin protein were significantly higher after 24 h of the surgery in NSS group than those in the Sham group (all P<0.05). While compared with those in the NSS group, the proportion of RPCs and expressions of CD133, PCNA, Wnt7b and β-catenin increased at the EPO group (all P<0.05). Conclusions EPO can reduce the IRI after NSS, and its mechanism may be related to the mobilization of the RPCs by the Wnt7b/β-catenin signal pathway.

Objective To preliminarily explore the application of terahertz spectroscopy in the early detection of lung cancer by comparing the differences among lung cancer tissues,paracancerous tissues,and normal lung tissues with terahertz spectroscopy and screen the suitable terahertz frequency for specific diagnosis of lung cancer.Methods Thirty groups of lung tissue samples from non-small cell lung cancer patients at stage of Ⅰ to Ⅲ A were collected,and each group contained lung cancer tissue,paracancerous tissues,and normal lung tissue from the same patient.These lung cancer specimens included 17 cases of adenocarcinoma,10 cases of squamous cell carcinoma,2 cases of large cell lung cancer,and 1 case of sarcomatoid carcinoma.Terahertz spectroscopy from 0.2 THz to 2.0 THz was used to detect these tissue samples,and the absorption coefficient was compared.Results ① The absorption coefficient was significantly higher in the lung cancer tissues than the normal lung tissues.② Terahertz spectroscopy at a frequency of 0.8 to 1.4 THz may have the specific diagnostic value of lung cancer.Conclusion Since the absorption rate is higher in the lung cancer than the normal lung tissue,which is suggested that terahertz spectroscopy may be regarded as a novel non-invasive diagnostic approach for lung cancer.The specific diagnostic value of the terahertz frequency may be 1.4-2.0 THz for lung cancer.

Objective To analyze the impact of a new salt iodine standard on children's iodine nutrition status.Methods A survey on iodine nutritional status was carried out in Rizhao before and after salt iodine content adjustment (2011,2012-2014).A town was selected from 5 areas (east,west,south,north,middle) in every county of Rizhao,4 villages were selected from each town,and then edible salt samples were collected in 15 households from each village.A central primary school was selected in some sampled town,at least 20 of these children's instant urine samples were collected for detection of urinary iodine,and at least 40 children aged 8-10 years old were selected for examination of thyroid volume.Results Totally 1 164 salt samples were collected before the adjustment,93.7％ (1 091/1 164) of salt iodine concentration was in 18-33 mg/kg;totally 400 urine samples of 8-10 children were collected and the median urinary iodine (MUI) was 250.7 μg/L;the thyroid glands of 200 children were inspected and the goiter rate with palpation was 3.0％ (6/200).Totally 3 600 salt samples were collected after the adjustment,88.5％ (3 186/3 600) of salt iodine concentration was in 18-33 mg/kg;totally 1 122 urine samples of 8-10 children were collected and the MUI was 140.4 μg/L;the thyroid glands of 1 336 children were inspected,the goiter rate with palpation was 1.0％ (13/1 336).Conclusions After implementation of the new standard,children's iodine nutrition has down to appropriate levels.So the salt iodine concentration after adjustment may be safer and the salt iodization prevention strategies should be carried out for a long time in Rizhao City.

Objective To study the curative efficacy and safety of single-unit umbilical cord blood transplantation (sUCBT) for malignant hematologic diseases,which is provided by China's public cord blood bank.Methods We retrospectively analyzed 409 cases of malignant hematologic diseases who accepted myeloablative single-unit unrelated donor UCBT without ATG at our center between May 2008 and December 2016.A comparative analysis was made on the total nuclear cells (TNC) of the umbilical cord blood before freezing and after thawing,the cells of CD34+,the recovery rate of cells and the clinical effect of UCBT.Result 409 units of umbilical cord blood used in UCBT respectively came from eight China's public cord blood banks.The average TNC of 409 units of umbilical cord blood before freezing and after the tubular recovery were respectively 18.5 × 108 and 16.34 × 108 (p =0.000).The average recovery rate of the tubular recovery was 88.5％,and there was significant difference among cord blood banks (P =0.000).The average TNC of umbilical cord blood before freezing and transfusion were respectively 18.5 × 108 and 15.86 × 108 (p =0.000).The average recovery rate of umbilical cord blood transfusion was 85.9％,with the difference being significant among cord blood banks (P =0.000).The average number of CD34+ cells before freezing and after the tubular recovery was 11.18 × 106and 8.68 × 106 (p =0.000).The average recovery rate of CD34+ cells after the tubular recovery was 80.75 ％,with the difference being significant among the cord blood banks (P =0.000).At 42nd day after UCBT,the cumulative incidence of neutrophil engraftment was 95.4％,and the median time of the engraftment was 17 days (11-38 days).The cumulative incidence of platelet engraftment at 120th day was 84.6％,and the median time of the engraftment was 36 days (14-93 days).The cumulative incidence of erythrocyte engraftment at 60th day was 92％,and the median time of engraftment was 22 days (9d-60 days).After the umbilical cord blood provided by each bank was used in UCBT,it got the difference in cumulative incidence of engraftment.The P values for cumulative incidence of neutrophil,platelet and erythrocyte engraftment were respectively 0.004,0.01 and 0.000 2,with the differences being statistically significant.At 100th day after UCBT,the cumulative incidence of Ⅱ-Ⅳ and Ⅲ-Ⅳ degrees of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was respectively 28.63％ and 15.7％.After umbilical cord blood provided by each bank was used in UCBT,it got the difference in cumulative incidence of aGVHD.There was no significant difference between Ⅱ-Ⅳ and Ⅲ-Ⅳ degrees (P =0.809 and 0.68 respectively).At 3rd year after UCBT,the cumulative incidence of relapse was 15.89％.After umbilical cord blood provided by each bank was used in UCBT,there was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of relapse (P =0.898).At 3rd year after UCBT,the overall survival (OS) rate and disease free survival (DFS) rate were respectively 66.7％ and 59％.After umbilical cord blood provided by each bank was used in UCBT,it got the difference in OS and DFS.There was no significant difference in OS and DFS (P =0.566 and 0.703 respectively).At 3rd year after sUCBT,the rate of graft-versus-host diseases/relapse-free survival (GRFS) was 54.3％.After umbilical cord blood provided by each bank was used in UCBT,there was no significant difference in the rate of GRFS (P =0.449).Conclusion The umbilical cord blood provided by China's public cord blood bank was used in UCBT.It has a high safety and good efficacy in treating malignant hematologic diseases.But it needs to set up the standardized and normalized quality-control system of umbilical cord blood for China's public cord blood bank.