Objective A porcine vocal cord injury model was established to analyze and compare the damage range of porcine vocal cords and the repair process after vocal cord injury caused by CO2 laser surgery and radiofre-quency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology.Methods Fifteen pigs,30 sides of vocal cords,were used in this study.The bilateral vocal cords of the same pig were divided into CO2 laser and radiofrequency coblation(RFC)groups respectively.CO2 laser and radiofrequency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology were used to perform ubligamental cordectomy.Three pigs were sacrificed after anesthesia on postoperative day 1 and postop-erative 3,6,9,and 15 weeks.The vocal cords were harvested for HE staining.The depth of edema degeneration zone and the fibrous tissue thickness were measured vertically in the two groups,and the postoperative vocal cord damage range and vocal cord repair process were compared between the two groups.Results The depth of edema degeneration zone in the CO2 laser group was deeper than that in the RFC group at 1 day postoperatively(P＜0.01).There was no significant difference in the depth of the edema degeneration zone between the two groups at the 3rd,6th,and 9th weeks after operation(P＞0.05).The depth of the edema degeneration zone at 3rd weeks postoperatively was less than that at 1 day postoperatively,and at 6th weeks postoperatively was less than that at 3rd weeks postoperatively for both operation modes(P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference be-tween 9th weeks postoperatively and 6th weeks postoperatively(P＞0.05).At the 15th week after operation,the fibrous tissue thickness of the vocal fold lamina propria in the RFC group was thinner than that in the CO2 laser group(P＜0.01).Conclusion Radiofrequency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology causes less damage to porcine vocal fold than CO2 laser.There is no significant difference between the two operation modes in terms of postoperative repair process,while the fibrous tissue in the lamina propria of the vocal fold is thinner in the RFC group when a vocal fold scar is formed.

BACKGROUND: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a severe congenital disorder characterized by vaginal hypoplasia caused by dysplasia of the Müllerian duct. Patients with MRKH syndrome often require nonsurgical or surgical treatment to achieve satisfactory vaginal length and sexual outcomes. The extracellular matrix has been successfully used for vaginal reconstruction. METHODS: In this study, we developed a new biological material derived from porcine vagina (acellular vaginal matrix, AVM) to reconstruct the vagina in Bama miniature pigs. The histological characteristics and efficacy of acellularization of AVM were evaluated, and AVM was subsequently transplanted into Bama miniature pigs to reconstruct the vaginas. RESULTS: Macroscopic analysis showed that the neovaginas functioned well in all Bama miniature pigs with AVM implants. Histological analysis and electrophysiological evidence indicated that morphological and functional recovery was restored in normal vaginal tissues. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the neovaginas had mucosal folds characteristics of normal vagina. No significant differences were observed in the expression of CK14, HSP47, and a-actin between the neovaginas and normal vaginal tissues. However, the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) was significantly lower in the neovaginas than in normal vaginal tissues. In addition, AVM promoted the expression of b-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1. These results suggest that AVM might promotes vaginal regeneration by activating the b-catenin/cMyc/cyclin D1 pathway. CONCLUSION This study reveals that porcine-derived AVM has potential application for vaginal regeneration.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect and molecular mechanism of Huaier granule on the growth of sorafenib resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods The gradient concentration of Huaier granule was used to treat HCC cells, and the effect of Huaier granule on the proliferation, migration and invasion of sorafenib resistant HCC cells was analyzed. Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the possible interaction between microRNA-31-5p (miR-31-5p) and sprouty-related proteins with an EVH1 domain 1 (SPRED1). The expression levels of miR-31-5p and SPRED1 in HCC cells were detected by real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR); cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8, colony formation, scratch healing, Transwell and flow cytometry; RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and dual luciferase assay were used to verify the binding relationship between miR-31-5p and SPRED1. Results Huaier granule could significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of sorafenib resistant HCC cells, and induce apoptosis. Bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-31-5p was highly expressed in HCC, and Huaier granule was able to down-regulate the expression of miR-31-5p, inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of sorafenib resistant HCC cells, and induce apoptosis; miR-31-5p showed a targeted inhibition effect on the expression of SPRED1. SPRED1 was down-regulated in HCC, and overexpression of SPRED1 was able to reverse the promoting effect of overexpression of miR-31-5p on proliferation and metastasis of sorafenib resistant HCC. Conclusion Huaier granule can inhibit sorafenib resistant HCC metastasis through the miR-31-5p/SPRED1 axis, indicating that Huaier granule has the potential to be used as a novel drug for HCC treatment.

Ex vivo-expanded mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)have been demonstrated to be a heterogeneous mixture of cells exhibiting varying proliferative,multipotential,and immunomodu-latory capacities.However,the exact characteristics of MSCs remain largely unknown.By single-cell RNA sequencing of 61,296 MSCs derived from bone marrow and Wharton's jelly,we revealed five distinct subpopulations.The developmental trajectory of these five MSC subpopulations was mapped,revealing a differentiation path from stem-like active proliferative cells(APCs)to multipotent progenitor cells,followed by branching into two paths:1)unipotent preadipocytes or 2)bipotent prechondro-osteoblasts that were subsequently differentiated into unipotent prechondro-cytes.The stem-like APCs,expressing the perivascular mesodermal progenitor markers CSPG4/MCAM/NES,uniquely exhibited strong proliferation and stemness signatures.Remarkably,the prechondrocyte subpopulation specifically expressed immunomodulatory genes and was able to sup-press activated CD3+T cell proliferation in vitro,supporting the role of this population in immunoregulation.In summary,our analysis mapped the heterogeneous subpopulations of MSCs and identified two subpopulations with potential functions in self-renewal and immunoregulation.Our findings advance the definition of MSCs by identifying the specific functions of their heteroge-neous cellular composition,allowing for more specific and effective MSC application through the purification of their functional subpopulations.

OBJECTIVE： To prepare Zingiber officinale oil microcapsules and to evaluate its quality. METHODS： Z. officinale oil microcapsules were prepared by spray drying method with sodium starch octenyl succinate as capsule material. The preparation technology was optimized by orthogonal test with mixing temperature of capsule material and capsule core， mass ratio of capsule material and capsule core， stirring speed as factors， using encapsulation efficiency as index. The drug loading， encapsulation efficiency， appearance， particle size distribution and stability of light， heat and humidity （using iodine value and peroxide value as indexes） were evaluated. RESULTS： The optimal preparation technology of Z. officinale oil microcapsules was that the mixing temperature of capsule material and core was 60 ℃； mass ratio of capsule material and capsule core was 10 ∶ 1； stirring speed was 12 000 r/min. Average drug-loading amount and encapsulation efficiency of Z. officinale oil microcapsules prepared by optimal technology were 17.97％ and 73.57％ （n＝3）. The morphology of Z. officinale oil microcapsules was round， smooth， non-sticky and uniform in size distribution. The average diameter of microcapsules was （6.30±0.27） μm. Under light， heat and humidity conditions， the iodine value and peroxide value of Z. officinale oil microcapsules changed slightly. CONCLUSIONS： The optimal preparation technology of Z. officinale oil microcapsules is simple and reproducible. The prepared microcapsules have good encapsulation efficiency， high drug loading amount and good stability.

Neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by SLC25A13 gene mutations, and is characterized by delayed jaundice clearance, liver dysfunction, and elevated aminoacidemia. The confirmed diagnosis depends on gene analysis. Citrin deficiency is one of the important causes of neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis in China. Recently more and more researches about NICCD were reported. The paper summarized the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, and progresses in diagnosis and treatment of NICCD.

Objective To study the cardioprotective function of Zhurihen dripping pills in experimental animals.Methods By hypoxia tolerance model and isoproterenol hydrochloride induced acute hypoxia model, measuring the time of death in mice.For rat serum LDH, CK, SOD and MDA were measured to observe protective effect of Zhurihen dripping pills on vasopressin-induced acute myocardial ischemia model.The effect of Zhurihen dripping pills on latency and durations were observed in acute arrhythmia induced by inhaled chloroform – epinephrine rabbits model.Results The hypoxia tolerance in mice and myocardial hypoxia tolerance significantly improved by Zhurihen dripping pill, and prolonged the survival time in mice.The serum level of LDH, CK, SOD and MDA significantly improved, and protected the impaired myocardial cell in rats.The latent period of arrhythmia was significantly prolonged and duration of arrhythmia was shortened in rabbits.Conclusion Zhurihen dropping pills an improve myocardial oxygen deficiency, anti-arrhythmia effect and protect myocardial cells.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the Monte Carlo software in measuring the radiation dose to the patients who received the CCTA (Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography) examination.Methods A anthropomorphic chest phantom underwent CCTA using three scan parameters (tube voltage 80 kV,100 kV and 120 kV).Computer Software ImpactDose 2.0 was used to compute the chest organ dose on the basis of the three groups tube voltage CT scan characteristic,and the stimulation results of ImpactDose 2.0 software was verified by use of anthropomorphic phantom thermoluminescence dosimeter experiment method.Results For all the measured organs except for lung,the absorbed organ dose and effective dose of three groups of tube voltages of CCTA measured by the InpactDose 2.0 was lower than those as measured by anthropomorphic phantom study.The relative error of both methods was within ± 50％.Conclusions Monte Carlo software can be used to estimate the levels of radiation dose during CCTA examination with a tolerable error within the acceptable range.

OBJECTIVETo quantitatively analyze the temporal and spatial pattern of RhoA expression in injured spinal cord of adult mice.

METHODSA spinal cord transection model was established in adult mice. At 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56 and 112 days after the surgery, the spinal cords were dissected and cryosectioned for RhoA/NF200, RhoA/GFAP, RhoA/CNPase or RhoA/IBA1 double fluorescent immunohistochemistry to visualize RhoA expressions in the neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia. The percentages as well as the immunostaining intensities of RhoA-positive cells in the parenchymal cells were quantitatively analyzed.

RESULTSRhoA was weakly expressed in a few neurons and oligodendrocytes in normal spinal cord. After spinal cord injury, the percentage of RhoA-positive cells and RhoA expression intensity in the spinal cord increased and peaked at 7 days post injury (dpi) in neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, followed by a gradual decrease till reaching a low level at 112 dpi. In the microglia, both the RhoA-positive cells and RhoA expression intensity reached the maximum at 14 dpi and maintained a high level till 112 dpi.

CONCLUSIONTraumatic spinal cord injury can upregulate RhoA expression in the neurons as well as all the glial cells in the spinal cord. RhoA expression patterns vary with post-injury time, location and among different parenchymal cells in the injured spinal cord.

Animals ; Astrocytes ; metabolism ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Microglia ; metabolism ; Neuroglia ; metabolism ; Neurons ; metabolism ; Spinal Cord ; metabolism ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; metabolism ; rho GTP-Binding Proteins ; metabolism

Objective To study the influence of various doses and injection rates of contrast agent on CT perfusion in rabbits' liver with a deconvolution mathematical model. Methods Eight rabbits were enrolled in the experiment. Randomized block design was adopted. The treatment factor (contrast medium injection rate) was classified into 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 ml/s, while the subjects were divided into 3 blocks with contrast medium injection dose of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ml/kg. The data obtained at CT perfusion imaging were then transferred to the workstation. Absolute values of 7 perfusion parameters (hepatic arterior fraction, blood flow, blood volume, permeability surface, mean transmit time, hepatic artery perfusion and portal vein perfusion) were measured with perfusion software (Perfusion 3). Results The dose of contrast medium had significant effect on peak enhancement of the aorta, the portal vein and liver tissue (P<0.05), whereas the injection rates had significant influence on the arrival time to peak enhancement of the aorta and the portal vein. However, the dose of contrast medium and injection rates had no significant effect on perfusion parameters (P>0.05). Conclusion CT perfusion imaging with a deconvolution mathematical model can quantify the hemodynamic functional status in liver with stable results. This technique does not need strict confinement to dose and injection rate of contrast medium, and has great potential value to be put into clinical use.