Objective:To investigate the effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on myocardial remodeling in mice with diabetic cardiomyopathy and related mechanisms.Methods:Between January and December 2021, 60 6-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were chosen for the study, 40 were used to establish a diabetic cardiomyopathy model and the model was established in 28 mice, of whom, 14 were assigned to a non-intervention group and 14 to a dapagliflozin treatment group(intervention group).The rest of the 20 mice were in the control group.The mice in the intervention group were treated with dapagliflozin via oral gavage for 12 weeks.Cardiac structure and function were measured by ultrasound, the degree of myocardial fibrosis was evaluated by histology and electron microscopy, the concentrations of inflammatory factors were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, apoptosis of myocardial cells was examined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL), and the level of myocardial oxidative stress was evaluated by dihydroethidium fluorescence.Results:At the end of the experiments, the body weight and fasting blood glucose in the intervention group were slightly lower than in the non-intervention group, but the difference was not statistically significant, while values from cardiac function parameters such as left ventricular ejection fraction were more favorable than in the non-intervention group[(61.07±4.66)% vs.(45.8±4.80)%, t=-5.24, P<0.05].Compared with the non-intervention group, the intervention group had alleviated myocardial hypertrophy, less myocardial disarray, and reduced collagen volume fraction[(18.4±1.9)% vs.(31.8±3.7)%, t=-12.0, P<0.05].Furthermore, the concentrations of inflammatory factors in the intervention group were lower than in the control group[interleukin-6: (82.19±10.90)ng/L vs.(291.02±31.02)ng/L, t=23.8, P<0.05; tumor necrosis factor-α: (70.45±12.13)ng/L vs.(201.31±27.10)ng/L( t=16.5), P<0.05; perforin 3: (13.05±2.04)μg/L vs.(42.40±1.26)μg/L( t=45.8), P<0.05; the index of myocardial apoptosis: 1.736±0.247 vs.0.864±0.129, t=11.7, P<0.05].The level of myocardial oxidative stress in the non-intervention group was higher than in the intervention group(2.655±0.252 vs.1.274±0.298, t=-13.3, P<0.05). Conclusions:Dapagliflozin can reduce myocardial hypertrophy and inhibit myocardial fibrosis through mitigating myocardial oxidative stress and inflammatory response, thus suppressing myocardial remodeling and ultimately protecting cardiac function in diabetic cardiomyopathy mice.

Myostatin gene (MSTN) encodes a negative regulator for controlling skeletal muscle growth in animals. In this study, MSTN^-/- homozygous mutants with "double muscle" phenotypic traits and stable inheritance were bred on the basis of MSTN gene editing rabbits, with the aim to establish a method for breeding homozygous progeny from primary MSTN biallelic mutant rabbits. MSTN^-/- primary mutant rabbits were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. The primary mutant rabbits were mated with wild type rabbits to produce F1 rabbits, whereas the F2 generation homozygous rabbits were bred by half-sibling mating or backcrossing with F1 generation rabbits of the same mutant strain. Sequence analysis of PCR products and its T vector cloning were used to screen homozygous rabbits. The MSTN mutant rabbits with 14-19 week-old were weighed and the difference of gluteus maximus tissue sections and muscle fiber cross-sectional area were calculated and analyzed. Five primary rabbits with MSTN gene mutation were obtained, among which three were used for homozygous breeding. A total of 15 homozygous rabbits (5 types of mutants) were obtained (M2-a: 3; M2-b: 2; M3-a: 2; M7-a: 6; M7-b: 2). The body weight of MSTN^-/- homozygous mutant rabbits aged 14-19 weeks were significantly higher than that of MSTN^+/+ wild-type rabbits of the same age ((2 718±120) g vs. (1 969±53) g, P < 0.01, a 38.0% increase). The mean cross sections of gluteus maximus muscle fiber in homozygous mutant rabbits were not only significantly higher than that of wild type rabbits ((3 512.2±439.2) μm² vs. (1 274.8±327.3) μm², P < 0.01), but also significantly higher than that of MSTN^+/- hemizygous rabbits ((3 512.2±439.2) μm² vs. (2 610.4±604.4) μm², P < 0.05). In summary, five homozygous mutants rabbits of MSTN^-/- gene were successfully bred, which showed a clear lean phenotype. The results showed that the primary breeds were non-chimeric mutant rabbits, and the mutant traits could be inherited from the offspring. MSTN^-/- homozygous mutant rabbits of F2 generation could be obtained from F1 hemizygous rabbits by inbreeding or backcrossing. The progenies of the primary biallelic mutant rabbits were separated into two single-allelic mutants, both of which showed a "double-muscle" phenotype. Thus, this study has made progress in breeding high-quality livestock breeds with gene editing technology.
Animals ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Mutation ; Myostatin/metabolism* ; Phenotype ; Rabbits

Objective: To compare the clinical features and the outcome of in-hospital mortality between patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries(MINOCA)and myocardial infarction with obstructive coronary artery disease (MI-CAD). Methods: This is a retrospective study. The clinical data of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients admitted to Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from January 2017 to May 2021, who underwent coronary angiography, were collected. Patients were divided into MINOCA group and MI-CAD group according to the degree of coronary stenosis (<50% or ≥50%). Baseline clinical characteristics, electrocardiograph during hospitalization, myocardial bridge, length of stay in hospital, discharge medication and the outcome of in-hospital mortality were collected and compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to screen the related factors of MINOCA and the factors predicting the nosocomial death outcome of patients with AMI. Results: A total of 3 048 AMI patients were enrolled, age was 62 (54, 69) years, 741 (24.3%) patients were women including 165 patients (5.4%) in the MINOCA group and 2 883 patients (94.6%) in the MI-CAD group. Compared with MI-CAD patients, MINOCA patients were younger, had a higher proportion of females and a higher incidence of NSTEMI, and had a lower history of smoking, diabetes, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Baseline inflammatory markers such as neutrophil count, monocyte count, neutrophil count/lymphocyte count (NLR), and monocyte count/high-density lipoprotein count (MHR) were lower, creatinine, N-terminal pro-brain B-type Natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNP), creatine kinase-MB, hypersensitive troponin I, fibrinogen, baseline blood glucose levels were lower, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was higher, and the incidence of myocardial bridge, arrhythmia, tachycardia and atrial fibrillation was higher (P<0.05). The application rates of calcium antagonists and non-vitamin K antagonists oral anticoagulants were higher in MINOCA group (P<0.05), and there was no statistical difference in hospitalization days and in-hospital death between the two groups (P>0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that young age, female, non-smoker, no history of coronary heart disease and low MHR were risk factors of MINOCA (P<0.05). MINCOA was not associated with higher in-hospital death (P>0.05). Patients with AMI and a history of coronary heart disease, chronic renal failure, higher baseline blood glucose, higher NLR, and higher D-dimer were risk factors of in-hospital death (P<0.05). Conclusions: Compared with MI-CAD patients, MINOCA patients are younger, more likely to be female and non-smokers and on history of coronary heart disease, and have lower baseline MHR. MINOCA is often associated with myocardial bridge and atrial fibrillation. The incidence of in-hospital death in MINCOA patients is similar as in MI-CAD patients.
Atrial Fibrillation/complications* ; Blood Glucose ; Coronary Artery Disease/complications* ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, HDL ; MINOCA ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction/complications* ; Retrospective Studies

As a strategic emerging industry of China, the biotechnology industry develops rapidly in recent years, which significantly increased the demand for creative and capable talents. As a core curriculum of bioengineering specialty, biotechnology equipment plays an important role in fostering such talents. To address the problems in biotechnology equipment course teaching such as limited equipment availability, limited engineering practice, and lack of learning motivations, curriculum reform and optimization were performed based on curriculum resource development, virtual reality-physical combined engineering training, and boosting learning motivations. The optimized teaching contents focus on fostering morality, intelligence, and creative practice abilities by connecting new requirements of social development, introducing new progress in biotechnology research, as well as new practices in research and development (R & D). Measures such as teaching methods innovation, assessment and evaluation methods optimization, cutting-edge R & D progress, diverse resources integration, and online-offline combined teaching, were developed to boost the learning motivation and foster the innovation competence of students. By above exploration and practice, the practice and innovation competence of students were significantly enhanced.
Humans ; Students ; Learning ; Curriculum ; Bioengineering ; Biomedical Engineering

Ethylene glycol is the main component of antifreeze, due to its special sweetness, it is easy to cause misuse. In this paper, the clinical data of 4 cases of acute ethylene glycol poisoning admitted to Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital from August 2016 to August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed to explore the clinical characteristics of acute ethylene glycol poisoning cases. Early and accurate assessment of the disease and early hemodialysis treatment is the key to cure acute ethylene glycol poisoning.

Ethylene glycol is the main component of antifreeze, due to its special sweetness, it is easy to cause misuse. In this paper, the clinical data of 4 cases of acute ethylene glycol poisoning admitted to Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital from August 2016 to August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed to explore the clinical characteristics of acute ethylene glycol poisoning cases. Early and accurate assessment of the disease and early hemodialysis treatment is the key to cure acute ethylene glycol poisoning.

Objective:To explore the feasibility and application value of three dimensional (3D) printing technology in creating models of abnormal fetal aortic arch and its branches.Methods:Eleven cases of abnormal fetuses confirmed fetal aortic arch and its branches anomalies from March 2019 to July 2020 in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were prospectively enrolled. All the fetuses underwent two dimensional(2D) echocardiography and spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC) technology examination. The 3D volume images of fetal heart were post-processed by Mimics software to create images of the great vessels and their branches in standard tessellation language format (STL) file. The STL file was output to the 3D printer and the 3D printing models of fetal great vessels and their branches were obtained. Compared with conventional ultrasound, the characteristics and application value of 3D printed models of abnormal fetal aortic arch and its branches were analyzed.Results:Eleven fetuses were successfully modeled and printed out large blood vessels and their branch models. The 3D printing model had its own advantages in displaying large blood vessels and their branch abnormalities. It could provide high quality imaging anatomical details and visualize great vessels origin, branch and position and can better display vascular ring spatial relations.Conclusions:It is feasible to use 3D printing technology to make the fetal aortic arch and its branch abnormal model. The 3D printing model can directly display its characteristic changes and provide a certain reference basis for accurately determining the type of vascular ring in the prenatal stage.

Objective:To analyse the clinical characteristics of mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome and to find the risk factors.Methods:A total of 126 patients with mercury-toxic admitted to Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from January 2017 to January 2020 were selected as the research objectives. General data such as age, gender, mercury exposure history of all patients and laboratory data such as urine mercury and urine creatinine were collected. The clinical manifestations and pathological types of patients with mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome were analyzed, and the risk factors of mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome were found by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results:Among the 24 patients with mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome, 1 was poisoned by respiratory tract, 6 were poisoned by digestive tract, and 17 were poisoned by skin absorption. In addition to the manifestations of kidney injury, some of the patients also showed neurological symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, hand tremor, and limb pain. The main pathological types were membranous nephropathy (9 cases) and micropathological nephropathy (10 cases) . The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the digestive tract and skin absorption pathways of mercury were risk factors for mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome ( OR=21.099, 23.840, P<0.05) . Conclusion:The absorption pathway of mercury has an important influence on the pathogenesis of mercury-toxic nephrotic syndrome, especially in patients with mercury poisoning absorbed by the skin and digestive tract, the risk of complicating nephrotic syndrome is higher.

The case of oral hydrochloric acid poisoning is rare in clinic, and it is easy to be misdiagnosed when the poison is not clear. The clinical data of 1 case of oral hydrochloric acid poisoning successfully treated was retrospectively analyzed to provide reference for diagnosis and treatment of similar clinical cases.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of and associated risk factors for pulmonary dysfunction in silicosis patients with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) .Methods:In-patients with PMF treated in the Department of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology in Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University from June 2014 to October 2020 were enrolled in this study. Based on their pulmonary ventilation function, the patients were divided into normal ventilation group, obstructive ventilation dysfunction group, restrictive ventilation dysfunction group, and mixed ventilation dysfunction group. The location and area of the large opacity and the grade of emphysema were evaluated by high-resolution CT (HRCT) of the chest. Based on the location, the large opacity was classified into central type, peripheral type, and mixed type.Results:A total of 115 silicosis patients with PMF were enrolled, with 85 (73.91%) having different types of pulmonary dysfunction, including 36 cases (31.30%) in the obstructive ventilation dysfunction group, 9 cases (7.83%) in the restrictive ventilation dysfunction group and 40 cases (34.78%) in the mixed ventilation dysfunction group. As for the location of the large opacity, 41 cases (35.65%) were central type, 52 cases (45.22%) were peripheral type, and 22 cases (19.13%) were mixed type. Logistic regression analysis showed that the central large opacity and grade 3-4 emphysema were risk factors for obstructive ventilation dysfunction ( OR=52.179, 5.500, P<0.05) , class C large opacity was the risk factor for restrictive ventilation dysfunction ( OR=33.146, P<0.05) , class B, class C large opacity and central large opacity were the risk factors for mixed ventilation dysfunction ( OR=6.414, 11.561, 19.600, P<0.05) . Conclusion:In silicosis patients with PMF, the incidence rate of pulmonary ventilation dysfunction is higher, mainly obstructive and mixed ventilation dysfunction. The area and location of large opacity are associated with the incidence and types of pulmonary ventilation dysfunction.