Objective : To investigate the antidepressant effects and the underlying mechanisms of tetrahydrocurcumin(THC) and its nanoparticle formulation(THCN). Methods : Forty-six male ICR mice were randomly divided into Con group, LPS group, THC group, THCN group and SER group. A mouse depression model was established by intraperitoneal administration of LPS. The anxiety and depression-like behaviors of mice were evaluated by open field test(OFT) and forced swimming test(FST). Myelin staining was applied to assess the extent of demyelination in the prefrontal cortex of the mice. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were further examined for the expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) and Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) through quantitative immunofluorescence assays. Results : Compared with the Con group, the LPS group showed increased anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in both the long-term and short-term experiments(P<0.05); the degree of demyelination increased in the LPS group of the long-term experiment(P<0.01); the expression of GFAP was reduced in the LPS group of the short-term experiment(P<0.01), while the expression of TLR4 increased(P<0.05); the expression of TLR4 decreased in the THC group(P<0.01); the expression of GFAP in the prefrontal cortex of the THCN group was reduced(P<0.01), while the expression of TLR4 increased(P<0.05). Compared with the LPS group, the THC group showed reduced depressive-like behaviors in the long-term experiment(P<0.05), while the anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors of the THCN group and the SER group were reduced(P<0.05), and the anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors of the THC group and the THCN group were reduced in the short-term experiment(P<0.05); the degree of demyelination was reduced in the THC group, THCN group and SER group in the long-term experiment(P<0.05); the expression of GFAP increased in the THC group of the short-term experiment(P<0.05), while the expression of TLR4 was reduced(P<0.05), and the expression of GFAP increased in the THCN group(P<0.05). Compared with the THC group, the THCN group and the SER group showed reduced anxiety-like behaviors in the long-term experiment(P<0.05); the expression of GFAP in the prefrontal cortex of the THCN group was reduced in the short-term experiment(P<0.05), while the expression of TLR4 in the hippocampal DG area increased in the short-term experiment(P<0.01). Conclusion Tetrahydrocurcumin and its nanoparticle formulation both exert significant ameliorative effects on depression-like behaviors and demyelination in mice induced by lipopolysaccharide. The antidepressant mechanism of THC appears to be mediated through the down-regulation of TLR4 and the up-regulation of GFAP. The mechanism underlying the antidepressant action of THCN seems predominantly focused on the enhancement of GFAP expression.

Objective To summarise and analyse the qualitative studies on the factors that influence patient involvement in decision-making for the initial administration of insulin for the patients with Type II diabetes,from the perspectives of patients and healthcare staff in order to provide a reference to promote patient involvement in decision-making.Methods Systematic searches were conducted across databases,such as CINAHL,Cochrane Library,EMBASE,PubMed,Web of Science,PsycINFO,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data,VIP,and SinoMed,for qualitative studies on the factors that affect patient involvement in initial insulin decision-making for the patients with Type II diabetes.The search was limited to articles from the inception of the databases to 30th September,2023.Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute(JBI)evidence-based healthcare centre for qualitative research quality assessment tool.The results were integrated using a synthesising integration method.Results A total of 19 articles were included,yielding 20 study results,which were categorised into 7 themes of patient decision-making related values,patient role preferences in decision-making,condition of patient,the role of healthcare staff in patient participation in decision-making,professional quality of healthcare staff,relationship between patient and healthcare staff,and the support from a medical institution.The data were ultimately integrated into 4 overarching themes of patient personal factors,healthcare staff factors,patient-staff interaction factors and medical institution factors.Conclusion The involvement of the patients with Type II diabetes in the decision-making for the initial administration of insulin is influenced by patients themselves,healthcare staff and medical institutions.It requires efforts of multiple parties:not only with the patients actively participate in decision-making,but also with the healthcare staff and institutions who provide effective decision supports.

Objective To analyze and construct systolic blood pressure(SBP)fluctuation trajectory in a community population with hypertension and to analyze the factors influencing different trajectories.Methods This is a community-based retrospective cohort study.A latent class trajectory model was used to identify and construct longitudinal trajectories of blood pressure change.Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associated factors of blood pressure trajectories by adjusting for different confounders.Potential confounding factors were identified using a directed acyclic graph based on a priori knowledge.Results A total of 793 patients with hypertension were enrolled in the analysis.They were divided into 3 groups by LCTM-fitted systolic blood pressure trajectories,namely stable low-level group(n=561,70.74％),declining group(n=170,21.44％)and rising group(n=62,7.82％).Significant differences were observed among the 3 trajectories groups in terms of age,frequency of exercise,ways of follow-up,salt intake,compliance behavior,and referral(P＜0.05).Compared to the stable low-level group and adjusting for corresponding confounding factors,the male patients and the patients with"outpatient follow-up"were more likely to be classified into"declining group",with OR and 95％CI of 1.436(1.016～2.030)and 1.702(1.202～2.410),respectively.The participants aged ≥ 65 years,who did not exercise or occasionally exercised,and had moderate and severe salt intake,were more likely to be classified into the"rising group"(OR=1.949,2.284,2.433,4.540,95％CI:1.145～3.317,1.305～3.998,1.272～4.654,1.291～15.963).Conclusion SBP trajectories in community-dwelling hypertensive population can be divided into stable low-level,declining and rising groups.Gender,age,salt intake,exercise frequency,and follow-up methods may be influencing factors for SBP blood pressure trajectory.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were not complex, and the endothelial barrier was destroyed in the pathogenesis progress of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Previous studies have demonstrated that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which was secreted by bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, could decrease endothelial apoptosis. We investigated whether mTOR/STAT3 signaling acted in HGF protective effects against oxidative stress and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction and ALI mice. METHODS: In our current study, we introduced LPS-induced PMEVCs with HGF treatment. To investigate the effects of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway in endothelial oxidative stress and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 were, respectively, used to inhibit mTOR/STAT3 signaling. Moreover, lentivirus vector-mediated mTORC1 (Raptor) and mTORC2 (Rictor) gene knockdown modifications were introduced to evaluate mTORC1 and mTORC1 pathways. Calcium measurement, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial membrane potential and protein, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and endothelial junction protein were detected to evaluate HGF effects. Moreover, we used the ALI mouse model to observe the mitochondria pathological changes with an electron microscope in vivo. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that HGF protected the endothelium via the suppression of ROS production and intracellular calcium uptake, which lead to increased mitochondrial membrane potential (JC-1 and mitochondria tracker green detection) and specific proteins (complex I), raised anti-apoptosis Messenger Ribonucleic Acid level (B-cell lymphoma 2 and Bcl-xL), and increased endothelial junction proteins (VE-cadherin and occludin). Reversely, mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 could raise oxidative stress and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis even with HGF treatment in LPS-induced endothelial cells. Similarly, mTORC1 as well as mTORC2 have the same protective effects in mitochondria damage and apoptosis. In in vivo experiments of ALI mouse, HGF also increased mitochondria structural integrity via the mTOR/STAT3 pathway. CONCLUSION In all, these reveal that mTOR/STAT3 signaling mediates the HGF suppression effects to oxidative level, mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, and endothelial junction protein in ARDS, contributing to the pulmonary endothelial survival and barrier integrity.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Endothelial Cells/metabolism* ; Endothelium/metabolism* ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Mammals/metabolism* ; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1/metabolism* ; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 2/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome ; Sirolimus/pharmacology* ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism*

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among five high-risk populations in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, so as to provide insights into improvements in the control strategy for hepatitis C. Methods: The detection of anti-HCV antibody was collected from patients receiving renal dialysis, patients receiving invasive diagnosis and treatment in hospitals, physical examination populations, unpaid blood donors and subjects admitted to family planning clinics in national hepatitis C surveillance sentinels in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2013 to 2021, and the year-, gender- and age-specific prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was analyzed. Results: The mean prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was 2.19%, 1.81%, 0.05%, 0.10% and 0.03% among 3 600 patients receiving renal dialysis, 3 600 patients receiving invasive diagnosis and treatment in hospitals, 18 000 physical examination populations, 18 000 volunteer blood donors and 3 600 subjects admitted to family planning clinics, respectively. The prevalence of anti-HCV antibody appeared a tendency towards a decline among patients receiving renal dialysis (χ2trend=49.065, P<0.001) and volunteer blood donors (χ2trend=11.419, P=0.001). The prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was higher among male patients receiving invasive diagnosis and treatment in hospitals than among females (2.34% vs. 1.36%; χ2=4.826, P=0.028), and no gender-specific prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was seen among other four high-risk populations (all P>0.05). The highest prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was detected among patients receiving renal dialysis (3.30%) and patients receiving invasive diagnosis and treatment in hospitals at ages of 50 to 59 years (3.35%), while the highest prevalence was found among physical examination populations at ages of 60 years and greater (0.18%). Conclusion The prevalence of anti-HCV antibody was high among patients receiving renal dialysis and patients receiving invasive diagnosis and treatment in hospitals and low among physical examination populations, volunteer blood donors and subjects admitted to family planning clinics in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2013 to 2021. Periodical monitoring of anti-HCV antibody is recommended among the elderly.

In this study,we developed a novel on-line solid phase extraction (SPE)-ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS)-based analytical method for simulta-neously quantifying 12 illicit drugs and metabolites (methamphetamine,amphetamine,morphine,co-deine,6-monoacetylmorphine,benzoylecgonine,3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine,3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine,cocaine,ketamine,norketamine,and methcathinone) and cotinine(COT) in wastewater samples.The analysis was performed by loading 2 mL of the sample onto an Oasis hydrophilic-lipophilic balance cartridge and using a cleanup step (5％ methanol) to eliminate interference with a total run time of 13 min.The isotope-labeled internal standard method was used to quantify the target substances and correct for unavoidable losses and matrix effects during the on-line SPE process.Typical analytical characteristics used for method validation were sensitivity,linearity,precision,repeatability,recovery,and matrix effects.The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ)of each target were set at 0.20 ng/L and 0.50 ng/L,respectively.The linearity was between 0.5 ng/L and 250 ng/L,except for that of COT.The intra-and inter-day precisions were ＜10.45％ and 25.64％,respec-tively,and the relative recovery ranged from 83.74％ to 162.26％.The method was used to analyze various wastewater samples from 33 cities in China,and the results were compared with the experimental re-suits of identical samples analyzed using off-line SPE.The difference rate was between 19.91％and-20.44％,and the error range could be considered acceptable.These findings showed that on-line SPE is a suitable alternative to off-line SPE for the analysis of illicit drugs in samples.

Objective To investigate the compliance of follow-up and the associated factors of diabetic retinopathy screening among diabetes patients in Muping District,Yantai City.Methods 438 diabetes patients who received free diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening in Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Muping District of Yantai City from April 2012 to June 2013 were enrolled in the cross-sectional study.The re-examination rate at five years later,as well as the possible associated factors,including age,gender,height,weight,education level,occupation,past medical history,smoking and drinking habits,diabetes process,diabetes medication history,severity of DR,glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1 c),renal functionand blood lipid were analyzed and evaluated.Results Among 438 patients,159 returned for check up five years later,with a follow-up rate of 36.3％.Further analysis revealed that follow-up rate was related to occupation types (P =0.003) and HbAlc level (P =0.006).Other factors did not show statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The compliance of DR screening visits is related to occupational type and blood glucose control.It is suggested that in the screening of DR in China,we should pay attention to the propaganda and education of diabetic patients to control blood glucose,and focus on some occupational diabetes people,such as housework workers and farmers.

Objective:To investigate the expression of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), a long non-coding RNA gene, in gastric can-cer tissues;determine the relationship of MEG3 with the prognosis of gastric cancer;and explore the relationship between MEG3 and apoptosis-associated protein P53 as well as murine double minute 2 (MDM2). Methods:Fifty-five consecutive patients with gastric cancer admitted to Qingdao Municipal Hospital for surgical treatment from September 2012 to June 2013 were included in this study. Gastric cancer and paired normal tissues were collected. The expression of MEG3 was tested through real-time quantitative poly-merase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of P53 and MDM2 in gastric cancer and eval-uate their correlations with MEG3. Results:The expression of MEG3 decreased in cancer tissues (7.98±0.19) relative to the correspond-ing normal tissues (9.47±0.18) (P<0.05). P53 and MDM2 showed negative relationships in the gastric cancer and normal tissues. A posi-tive relationship was found between P53 and MEG3 (r=0.591, P<0.05), whereas a negative relationship was found between MDM2 and MEG3 (r=?0.346, P<0.05). The median survival time was significantly prolonged in patients with high MEG3 expression compared with patients with low MEG3 expression. Conclusion:MEG3 exerts an inhibiting effect on the development of gastric cancer. MEG3, P53, and MDM2 may have important relationships in the biological mechanisms of gastric cancer development. Detecting the expression level of MEG3 may be useful for the prognosis of gastric cancer.

Objective To evaluate the sensitive indicator of left ventricular rotation/torsion assessed by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (STI) and Logistic regression analysis,and to investigate the clinical value of the sensitive indicator for assessment of left ventricular dysfunction in patients with chronic cor pulmonale (CCP).Methods 36 patients with CCP (CCP group) and 38 healthy controls (control group) were included in this study.Imaging in parasternal short-axis view (in basal and apical level) were selected.Parasternal short-axis views at mitral valve and apical levels were collected.Basal peak rotation,apical peak rotation,peak torsion,basal end-systolic rotation,apical end-systolic rotation and end systolic torsion were measured with Echo PAC software.Relevant indicators of left ventricular rotation/torsion were selected by using logistic regression analysis and the regression equation was established.Optimal values of specific parameters (Peak torsion and end-systolic torsion) were calculated with receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results Specific parameters of rotation/torsion were significantly reduced in patients with CCP as compared with controls (all P＜0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that end-systolic torsion and peak torsion were correlated with CCP (OR=0.473 and 0.706,P=0.007 and 0.011).Cut-off value of peak torsion for predicting left ventricular dysfunction was 12.070°,the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.819 (95％ CI:0.683-0.956),the sensitivity was 84.6％,and the specificity was 73.9 ％.Cut-off value of end-systolic torsion for predicting left ventricular dysfunction was 10.680°,AUC was 0.875(95％CI:0.744 1.000),the sensitivity was 84.6％,and the specificity was 91.3％.Conclusions Two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging can sensitively assess left ventricular torsion and evaluate the left ventricular dysfunction in patients with CCP.

Objective To study the expression changes of CD54 and CD106 in peripheral blood lymphocyte in patients with congest heart failure. Methods With FCM technique, the levels of CD54 and CD106 in lymphocyte from patients with CHF were measured , and those of patients with hypertension , patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and normal controls were measured at the same time. Cardiac function during heart failure episodes and remission stage was monitored by Color Doppler Echocardiography. Results Levels of CD54 and CD106 were significantly elevated in patients with hypertension , patients with active CHF and hypertension , patients with inactive CHF and hypertension when compared with those of normal controls. Levels of CD54 and CD106 were significantly elevated in patients of dilated cardiomyopathy , patients with active CHF and dilated cardiomyopathy , patients with inactive CHF and dilated cardiomyopathy when compared with those of normal controls. Levels of CD54 and CD106 in patients of CHF were elevated with the degree of CHF. There was significantly negative correlation between LVEF and CD54 of CHF. Conclusions CD54 and CD106 may use as the marker to monitor the progress of CHF.