Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of interventional embolization of middle meningeal artery(MMA)for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma(CSDH).Methods The clinical data of 14 patients with CSDH(17 lesions in total),who were treated with simple embolization of MMA at the Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College of China between July 2021 and July 2022,were retrospective analyzed.After superselective catheterization of MMA using a microcatheter was accomplished,Onyx-18 glue,a liquid embolization agent,was used to embolize the main trunk and the branches of MMA.Imaging follow-up was adopted at 30 days and 90 days after discharge from hospital to evaluate the absorption of hematoma,and the improvement of clinical symptoms was defined as the modified Rankin Scale score(mRS)being decreased≥1 point from the baseline value.Results Successful embolization of MMA was accomplished for all the 17 lesions in the 14 patients,and no procedure-related complications occurred.During the follow-up period,the clinical symptoms and signs were remarkably improved in all patients.The postoperative 90-day hematoma volume was reduced by more than 90%in 11 patients and by more than 40%in one patient,and in 2 patients the postoperative 30-day hematoma volume was reduced by more than 30%.Complete absorption of hematoma was seen in 11 patients,and partial absorption of hematoma was observed in 3 patients.Conclusion For the treatment of newly-developed or recurrent CSDH,interventional embolization of MMA is clinically safe and effective.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,32:12-16)

The long-term presence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the environmental water samples not only affects the life safety of aquatic organisms and disturbs the ecoenvironment, but also poses a serious threat to human health. In this study, amino-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NH2) were firstly prepared by solvothermal method. Subsequently, polyethyleneimine (PEI) with a branched chain structure was successfully grafted onto Fe3O4 nanoparticles by Schiff base reaction in aqueous solution at room temperature using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent, and a recyclable PEI-grafted magnetic nano-sorbent (Fe3O4@PEI) was synthesized and applied for the detection of NSAIDs in the environmental water samples. The compositional properties of Fe3O4@PEI were investigated by different characterization methods and the parameters affecting the extraction of NSAIDs were optimized. Due to high adsorption of Fe3O4@PEI for NSAIDs, the quantitative analysis of four NSAIDs in the environmental water samples, ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and tolfenamic acid, was performed in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography. A good linear relationship between the chromatographic peak area and concentration was observed in the range of 1−500 µg/mL. The recoveries of the samples at three different spiked levels ranged from 85.6% to 107.8%; the intra-day precision was less than 7.8% (n=6); and the inter-day precision was less than 9.5% (n=3). The method is simple, rapid, accurate and reliable, and can be used for the analysis of NSAIDs in the environmental water samples．

Autologous ozonized blood transfusion(AOBT) is a therapy of re-transfusion of 100-200 mL of autologous blood after shaking and agitation with appropriate amount of oxygen-ozone in vitro. The oxidation of blood through the strong oxidation of ozone can enhance the non-specific immune response of the body, regulate the internal environment and promote health. This therapy has been increasingly applied in clinical practice, while no unified standard for the operation process in terms of ozone concentration, treatment frequency and treatment course had been established. This operation process of AOBT is primarily explored in order to standardize the operation process and ensure its safety and efficacy.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effect mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) on functional constipation (FC) at the combined lower he-sea and front-mu points of large intestine based on enteric neuronal autophagy. METHODS: A total of 40 SPF Kunming mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 8), i.e. a control group, a model group, an acupuncture group, a 3-methyl adenine (3-MA) group, and a 3-MA + acupuncture group. Except the control group, the FC model was established by gavage with compound diphenoxylate suspension for 14 days in the other 4 groups. After successful modeling, the mice of the acupuncture group and the 3-MA + acupuncture group received EA at bilateral "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37), stimulated for 30 min with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/15 Hz of frequency, 1 mA of intensity. EA was delivered once daily. One course of treatment was composed of 5 days and 2 courses were needed, with an interval of 2 days. An intraperitoneal injection of 3-MA (15 mg/kg) was administered 30 min before EA in the mice of the 3-MA group and the 3-MA + acupuncture group, once daily. Before and after intervention, the time of the first black stool defecation and defecation behaviors in 6 h were observed in each group. After intervention, in every group, the small intestine propulsion rate was calculated, the colon tissue morphology was observed using HE staining, the ultrastructure of enteric neuronal autophagy was observed under transmission electron microscope, and the expressions of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), Beclin-1 and neuronal nuclear antigen protein (NeuN) in neurons of colonic muscularis were determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Before intervention, when compared with those in the control group, the time of the first black stool defecation was prolonged (P<0.01, P<0.05), and numbers (P<0.01), wet weight (P<0.01, P<0.05) and water content (P<0.05, P<0.01) of stool in 6 h were reduced in the model, acupuncture, 3-MA and 3-MA + acupuncture groups. After intervention, compared with those in the control group, the time of the first black stool defecation was longer (P<0.05), and numbers (P<0.01), wet weight (P<0.01) and water content (P<0.01) of stool in 6 h were decreased in the model group. The time of the first black stool defecation was shortened (P<0.01), and numbers (P<0.01), wet weight (P<0.01) and water content (P<0.01) of stool in 6 h were increased in the acupuncture group when compared with those in the model group. The time of the first black stool defecation was extended (P<0.01), and numbers (P<0.01), wet weight (P<0.01) and water content (P<0.01) of stool in 6 h were declined in the 3-MA + acupuncture group in comparison with those in the acupuncture group. All layers of colon tissue were normal and intact in each group. When compared with the control group, the small intestine propulsion rate and the average optical density (OD) values of LC3, Beclin-1 and NeuN in neurons of colonic muscularis were decreased (P<0.01), and autophagosomes were dropped in the model group. In the acupuncture group, the small intestine propulsion rate and the average OD values of NeuN, LC3 and Beclin-1 in neurons of colonic muscularis increased (P<0.01,P<0.05), and autophagosomes were elevated when compared with those in the model group. The small intestine propulsion rate and the average OD values of NeuN, LC3 and Beclin-1 in neurons of colonic muscularis were dropped (P<0.05,P<0.01) in the 3-MA + acupuncture group in comparison with those in the acupuncture group. CONCLUSIONS Electroacupuncture may promote enteric neuronal autophagy and increase the number of neurons so that the intestinal motility can be improved and constipation symptoms can be relieved in FC mice.
Mice ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Beclin-1 ; Acupuncture Points ; Constipation/therapy* ; Intestine, Small ; Autophagy ; Water

Objective: To investigate the physical and intellectual development and mutation characteristics of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene among 53 newborns with phenylketonuria (PKU), so as to provide insights into the management and genetic counseling of PKU Methods: The medical records of 54 children with definitive diagnosis of PKU and standardized therapy until 2 years at the Center for Neonatal Disease Screening of Shanxi Children' s Hospital from 2018 to 2021 were collected. Newborns' body weight and height developments were evaluated using the World Health Organization growth chart (2006 version), and the intellectual development was assessed using the national criteria of Development Behavior Assessment Scale among Children at Ages of 0 to 6 Years (WS/T 580-2017). The gene mutations were detected among neonates and their children, and the physical, intellectual developments and genetic characteristics of neonates with PKU were descriptively analyzed. Results: The 53 PKU cases included 29 male children and 24 female children, 36 cases with classic PKU and 17 cases with mild PKU, and 30 cases from rural areas and 23 cases from urban areas. The study subjects had a median age of 30 (10) d at initial therapy, and a mean blood phenylalanine concentration of (1 507±685) μmol/L at definitive diagnosis. There were 52 cases with normal height developments (98.11%), and all cases had normal weight and intellectual developments. The mean developmental functional quotient (DFQ) was significantly greater among urban children with PKU than among rural children [(94.92±8.57) vs. (87.65±6.57); t=-3.498, P=0.001], and the mean DFQ was significantly higher among children with mild PKU than among those with classic PKU [(95.55±8.76) vs. (88.57±7.11); t=-3.095, P=0.003]. There were 37 mutations detected in the PAH gene, which were mainly distributed in exons 3, 6, 7, 11, 12 and intron 4. Three high-frequency mutation sites were detected, including c.728G>A, c.611A>G and c.1197A>T, including three novel mutations (c.674C>G, c.1316-2A>C and c.1069T>C). Conclusions Following standardized treatment, the children with PKU have comparable physical and intellectual developments as compared to normal children. c.728G>A, c.611A>G and c.1197A>T were predominant mutations in the PAH gene among these 53 children with PKU, and three novel mutations were identified, including c.674C>G, c.1316-2A>C and c.1069T>C.

Objective:To investigate the etiology of bilateral cerebral infarction (BCI) and influencing factors of short-term clinical outcome.Methods:Patients with BCI admitted to the Department of Neurology, Xiangyang Central Hospital from January to July 2020 were enrolled retrospectively. According to the Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) criteria, the etiological classification was performed, including large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), cardioembolism (CE), small vessel occlusion (SVO), stroke of other determined etiology (SOE), and stroke of undetermined etiology (SUE). According to the location of acute infarction showed on diffusion-weighted imaging, the patients were divided into anterior circulation group, posterior circulation group, and anterior + posterior circulation group. The demographic and baseline data of the three groups were compared. The short-term outcome was assessed by the modified Rankin Scale score at discharge. 0-2 was defined as good outcome, and >2 were defined as poor outcome. The clinical data of the good outcome group and the poor outcome group were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent influencing factor of short-term clinical outcome. Results:A total of 72 patients with BCI were enrolled, accounting for 9.4% of all acute cerebral infarction. Their age was 67.89±12.50 years. There were 41 males (56.9%). Twenty-three patient were in the anterior circulation group (32.0%), 25 were in the posterior circulation group (34.7%), and 24 were in the anterior + posterior circulation group (33.3%). The etiological types were SUE in 25 cases (34.7%), CE in 22 cases (30.6%), LAA in 14 cases (19.4%), SOE in 9 cases (12.5%), and SVO in 2 cases (2.8%). CE, SUE and SOE were the main etiologies in the anterior circulation group, and CE was the most common (43.5%). The proportion of CE was significantly higher than that in the posterior circulation group ( P=0.036), and there was no significant difference compared with the anterior + posterior circulation group. LAA, SUE and CE were the main etiologies in the posterior circulation group, and LAA was the most common (48.0%). The proportion of LAA was significantly higher than that in the anterior circulation group ( P<0.001) and the anterior + posterior circulation group ( P=0.002). SUE, CE and SOE were the main etiologies in the anterior + posterior circulation group, and SUE was most common (37.5%). However, there was no significant difference in the proportion of SUE between the anterior + posterior circulation group, the anterior circulation group and the posterior circulation group. Forty patients (55.6%) had poor short-term outcomes. The history of ischemic heart disease, fasting blood glucose, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, large infarction (the largest infarct diameter >5 cm), the number of infarct distribution layers (6.6 mm/layer) and the proportion of LAA in the poor outcome group were significantly higher than those in the good outcome group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that higher baseline NIHSS score was an independent risk factor for poor outcome in patients with BCI (odds ratio 1.373, 95% confidence interval 1.014-1.859; P=0.041). Conclusions:BCI is not uncommon. Its main etiologies are SUE, CE and LAA. CE is the most common in the anterior circulation BCI, LAA is the most common in the posterior circulation BCI, and SUE is the most common in the anterior + posterior circulation BCI. The short-term poor outcome rate of BCI is higher, and the higher baseline NIHSS score is an independent risk factor for poor outcome of patients with BCI.

Objective:To explore the values of CTP score, MELD score, MELD-Na score, ALBI score and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting the short/long-term prognoses of patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) after liver transplantation (LT).Methods:From August 2015 to February 2017, basic preoperative profiles and survival status were retrospectively reviewed for 125 ESLD patients undergoing orthotopic LT.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized for evaluating the capability of five scores for predicting short-term (3 months post-operation) and long-term (5 years post-operation) prognoses.Cut-off value was determined according to the Jordan index and Kaplan-Meier survival curve plotted.The difference in survival rate between upper and lower cut-off values was analyzed by Log-rank test.Results:Five-year survival rate post-LT was 69.6%(87/125), case fatality rate 30.4%(38/125) and case fatality rate within 3 months post-operation 12.8%(16/125). The AUROC values of CTP score, MELD score, MELD-Na score, ALBI score and NLR for short-term prognosis were 0.787, 0.767, 0.875, 0.801 and 0.837 and AUROC values for predicting long-term prognosis 0.744, 0.744, 0.817, 0.778 and 0.815 respectively.De Long test indicated that the capabilities of MELD-Na score for predicting short-term prognosis varied significantly from that of another four models ( P<0.05). No significant difference existed in capability of predicting long-term prognosis ( P>0.05). The cut-off values of MELD and MELD-Na scores at Month 3/60 post-LT were 20.09 vs.16.44 and 23.63 vs.17.79.The survival rates of upper and lower groups distinguished by cut-off values were 90.9% vs.50.0%, 86.5% vs.45.1% and 99.3% vs.55.6%, 93.9% vs.42.4% respectively.The differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Predictive value of MELD-Na score for short-term prognosis of LT is superior to than that of CTP, MELD score, ALBI score or NLR.However, it offers no significant superiority in predicting long-term prognoses.With a rising preoperative MELD/MELD-Na score, postoperative mortality spikes.

Oocyte cryopreservation is widely used for clinical and social reasons. Previous studies have demonstrated that conventional slow-freezing cryopreservation procedures, but not storage time, can alter the gene expression profiles of frozen oocytes. Whether vitrification procedures and the related frozen storage durations have any effects on the transcriptomes of human metaphase II oocytes remain unknown. Four women (30-32 years old) who had undergone IVF treatment were recruited for this study. RNA-Seq profiles of 3 fresh oocytes and 13 surviving vitrified-thawed oocytes (3, 3, 4, and 3 oocytes were cryostored for 1,2, 3, and 12 months) were analyzed at a single-cell resolution. A total of 1987 genes were differentially expressed in the 13 vitrified-thawed oocytes. However, no differentially expressed genes were found between any two groups among the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 12-month storage groups. Further analysis revealed that the aberrant genes in the vitrified oocytes were closely related to oogenesis and development. Our findings indicated that the effects of vitrification on the transcriptomes of mature human oocytes are induced by the procedure itself, suggesting that long-term cryostorage of human oocytes is safe.
Adult ; Cryopreservation ; Female ; Humans ; Metaphase ; Oocytes ; RNA-Seq ; Vitrification

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is capable of hydrolyzing nearly all β-lactam antibiotics, posing an emerging threat to public health. There are currently less effective treatment options for treating NDM-1 positive “superbug”, and no promising NDM-1 inhibitors were used in clinical practice. In this study, structure–activity relationship based on thiosemicarbazone derivatives was systematically characterized and their potential activities combined with meropenem (MEM) were evaluated. Compounds 19bg and 19bh exhibited excellent activity against 10 NDM-positive isolate clinical isolates in reversing MEM resistance. Further studies demonstrated compounds 19bg and 19bh were uncompetitive NDM-1 inhibitors with Ki = 0.63 and 0.44 μmol/L, respectively. Molecular docking speculated that compounds 19bg and 19bh were most likely to bind in the allosteric pocket which would affect the catalytic effect of NDM-1 on the substrate meropenem. Toxicity evaluation experiment showed that no hemolysis activities even at concentrations of 1000 mg/mL against red blood cells. In vivo experimental results showed combination of MEM and compound 19bh was markedly effective in treating infections caused by NDM-1 positive strain and prolonging the survival time of sepsis mice. Our finding showed that compound 19bh might be a promising lead in developing new inhibitor to treat NDM-1 producing superbug.

Objective:To observe the G protein-coupled receptor 48 (GPCR48) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with different metastatic potential and its characteristics effect on the invasion and metastasis of Huh7 hepatoma cells via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).Methods:Western blot was used to detect the protein expression level of GPCR48 in HCC cells with different metastatic potential. The lentivirus vector expressing GPCR48 gene was constructed. GPCR48 was overexpressed in Huh7 hepatoma cells. The GPCR48 overexpression level was detected by real-time PCR and Western blot. Transwell invasion and migration assay was used to detect the Huh7 hepatoma cells invasion and migration ability in the Control, Mock and GPCR48 overexpression group. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect Huh7 hepatoma cells mRNA and protein expression levels of the EMT related markers (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and γ catenin) in the Control, Mock and GPCR48 overexpression groups, respectively. Analysis of variance was used to compare the differences between data sets.Results:GPCR48 protein expression level in metastatic HCC cell lines was significantly higher than non-metastatic HCC cell lines ( P < 0.05). The lentivirus vector expressing the GPCR48 gene had effectively transfected the Huh7 hepatoma cells and stably expressed the GPCR48mRNA and protein. Compared with the Mock and the Control group, Huh7 hepatoma cells invasion and migration ability in the GPCR48 overexpression group was significantly enhanced ( F≥5.54, P < 0.05), and the mRNA and protein expression levels of epithelial phenotypic markers E-cadherin and γ-catenin were decreased ( P < 0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of the mesenchymal phenotypic markers N-cadherin and Vimentin were increased ( P < 0.05), indicating that EMT changes occurred in Huh7 hepatoma cells had overexpressed GPCR48. Conclusion:GPCR48 expression level is positively correlated with the metastatic potential of HCC cells. GPCR48 overexpression can down-regulate the expression of epithelial phenotypic markers and up-regulate the expression of mesenchymal phenotypic markers, and induce EMT changes in HCC cells, thus promoting HCC cells invasion and migration.