Objective To observe the effects of Wuzi Yanzong Pill(WYP)on motor function in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease(PD)and to explore its potential mechanisms.Methods Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group,model group and WYP group,with 8 mice in each group.Mice in model and WYP group were intraperitoneally injected with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine for 7 consecutive days to establish a PD model.From the 1st day of model preparation,mice in WYP group were gavaged with WYP solution[16 g/(kg·d)]twice daily for 14 consecutive days.At the same time,mice in control group and model group were gavaged with 0.9%NaCl solution[50 ml/(kg·d)]twice a day.Gait experiment was utilized to assess the behavioral performance of mice in each group.Immunofluorescence staining was conducted to detect the number of tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)-positive cells in the substantia nigra region,the fluorescence intensity of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2),and the number of NeuN neurons co-labeled with Nrf2 in each group.Western blotting was employed to determine the expression levels of TH,Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap-1),Nrf2,and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)in the brain tissue of mice in each group.Results The gait experiment results showed that,compared with control group,standing time of the left front paw,right front paw,left hind paw,and right hind paw of the mice in model group was significantly shortened(P<0.01),while swinging time of the left front paw,right front paw,left hind paw,and right hind paw was significantly prolonged(P<0.05).Compared with model group,standing time of the left front paw and right hind paw of the mice in WYP group was significantly prolonged(P<0.05),while swing time of the left front paw and right front paw was significantly shortened(P<0.05).Immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting results showed that,compared with control group,in model group the number of TH-positive cells,average fluorescence intensity of Nrf2,and HO-1 levels decreased(P<0.01),while the Keap-1 protein level increased(P<0.01),and the number of Nrf2 expression on NeuN neurons decreased(P<0.001).Compared with model group,the number of TH-positive cells,average fluorescence intensity of Nrf2,HO-1 level,and the number of Nrf2 expression on NeuN neurons in the brain tissue of mice in WYP group increased(P<0.05),while Keap-1 protein level decreased(P<0.05).Conclusions WYP could alleviate the motor dysfunction and protect dopaminergic neurons in PD mice.The underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of Keap-1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway to inhibit oxidative stress response.

In order to make up for the innovation deficiency in the traditional residency training model and the shortcomings of active learning and lifelong learning, evidence-based medicine is introduced into the residency training of dental general practitioners. Theoretical knowledge training of evidence-based medicine is conducted through online course learning. PICO mode is used to conduct evidence-based analysis of clinical cases under the guidance of the instructor, so that trainees can get familiar with the process of evidence-based analysis. Students can finally design and complete the application cases of evidence-based medicine, and teachers give evaluation guidance. Through this process, students can learn and master the knowledge of evidence-based medicine step by step, thus obtaining better teaching results.

Objective: To explore the effect of perioperative chemotherapy on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients under real-world condition. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out. Real world data of gastric cancer patients receiving perioperative chemotherapy and surgery + adjuvant chemotherapy in 33 domestic hospitals from January 1, 2014 to January 31, 2016 were collected. Inclusion criteria: (1) gastric adenocarcinoma was confirmed by histopathology, and clinical stage was cT2-4aN0-3M0 (AJCC 8th edition); (2) D2 radical gastric cancer surgery was performed; (3) at least one cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was completed; (4) at least 4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) [SOX (S-1+oxaliplatin) or CapeOX (capecitabine + oxaliplatin)] were completed. Exclusion criteria: (1) complicated with other malignant tumors; (2) radiotherapy received; (3) patients with incomplete data. The enrolled patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy were included in the perioperative chemotherapy group, and those who received only postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were included in the surgery + adjuvant chemotherapy group. Propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to control selection bias. The primary outcome were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) after PSM. OS was defined as the time from the first neoadjuvant chemotherapy (operation + adjuvant chemotherapy group: from the date of operation) to the last effective follow-up or death. PFS was defined as the time from the first neoadjuvant chemotherapy (operation + adjuvant chemotherapy group: from the date of operation) to the first imaging diagnosis of tumor progression or death. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the survival rate, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the independent effect of perioperative chemo therapy on OS and PFS. Results: 2 045 cases were included, including 1 293 cases in the surgery+adjuvant chemotherapy group and 752 cases in the perioperative chemotherapy group. After PSM, 492 pairs were included in the analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, body mass index, tumor stage before treatment, and tumor location between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with the surgery + adjuvant chemotherapy group, patients in the perioperative chemotherapy group had higher proportion of total gastrectomy (χ(2)=40.526, P<0.001), smaller maximum tumor diameter (t=3.969, P<0.001), less number of metastatic lymph nodes (t=1.343, P<0.001), lower ratio of vessel invasion (χ(2)=11.897, P=0.001) and nerve invasion (χ(2)=12.338, P<0.001). In the perioperative chemotherapy group and surgery + adjuvant chemotherapy group, 24 cases (4.9%) and 17 cases (3.4%) developed postoperative complications, respectively, and no significant difference was found between two groups (χ(2)=0.815, P=0.367). The median OS of the perioperative chemotherapy group was longer than that of the surgery + adjuvant chemotherapy group (65 months vs. 45 months, HR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62-0.89, P=0.001); the median PFS of the perioperative chemotherapy group was also longer than that of the surgery+adjuvant chemotherapy group (56 months vs. 36 months, HR=0.72, 95% CI:0.61-0.85, P<0.001). The forest plot results of subgroup analysis showed that both men and women could benefit from perioperative chemotherapy (all P<0.05); patients over 45 years of age (P<0.05) and with normal body mass (P<0.01) could benefit significantly; patients with cTNM stage II and III presented a trend of benefit or could benefit significantly (P<0.05); patients with signet ring cell carcinoma benefited little (P>0.05); tumors in the gastric body and gastric antrum benefited more significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion: Perioperative chemotherapy can improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Male ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms/surgery*

Panax japonicus is a traditional Chinese medicine,and its principle components have shown certain pharmacological activities for cell damage,aging and cell apoptosis. In order to clarify the pharmacological mechanism and involved metabolic pathways of P. japonicas,the gene expression of Tetrahymena thermophila under P. japonicus treatment was analyzed through high-throughput transcriptome sequencing in this study. Based on the transcriptome analysis,3 544 differentially expressed genes were identified in control group,of which 1 945 genes showed up-regulated expression and 1 599 genes showed down-regulated expression. Under P. japonicas treatment in the experiment group,3 312 differentially expressed genes were screened,of which 1 `493 genes showed up-regulated expression and 1 819 genes showed down-regulated expression. GO enrichment analysis indicated that in control group,the genes in the cells in a series of fundamental biological process were down-regulated,such as DNA replication and protein synthesis; while the signal transduction process and fatty acids oxidizing process were enriched. Whereas in the experiment group,down-regulated genes were mainly enriched in oxidation-reduction,cofactor metabolic process and vitamin metabolic process; up-regulated genes were enriched in signal transduction process and protein modification process. In the analysis using KEGG database,cell cycle pathway was enhanced and autophagy pathway was inhibited under the condition of P. japonicas treatment. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction( RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression differences between 6 up-regulated and 4 down-regulated genes in related metabolic pathways. The RT-q PCR results and RNA-Seq data were highly correlated and consistent with each other. This study could provide important direction and basis for further study on the mechanism of cell growth regulation with the treatment of P. japonica.
Gene Expression ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Tetrahymena thermophila ; drug effects ; genetics ; Transcriptome

Severe hyperthyroidism can cause the injuries of multiple organs including heart and liver and ultimately be fatal. A 26-year-old young woman admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital for severe hyperthyroidism due to irregular use of anti-thyroid drugs. She had heart failure,atrial fibrillation,and severe liver damage at admission. Anti-thyroid drugs were then actively used to treat the primary disease,along with interventions to correct heart failure and control atrial fibrillation. Severe total bilirubin elevation was found during the treatment, which was resolved after the use of glucocorticoid and liver-protective therapy. The patient was regularly followed up after discharge,and the clinical manifestations were good.
Adult ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Female ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Liver Diseases

OBJECTIVETo investigate protective effect of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) against lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice and explore its underlying mechanisms.

METHODSForty MRL/lpr mice were randomized equally into blank control group, dexamethasone (1.5 mg/kg) group, GA (20 mg/kg) group, and GA (40 mg/kg) group with corresponding treatments for 7 days, with 10 wild-type mice as the control group. Serum levels of uric acid and creatinine and inflammatory cytokines in the serum and kidney were tested after the treatments using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The pathological changes in the kidneys were detected using HE staining, and the protein expressions of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β, p-NF-κB, NF-κB, p-IκBα, and IκBα were detected with Western blotting.

RESULTSGA obviously decreased serum levels of uric acid and creatinine, decreased inflammatory cytokines in the serum and kidney, ameliorated renal pathologies and inhibited the expressions of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β, p-NF-κB, and p-IκBα proteins in MRL/lpr mice.

CONCLUSIONGA has protective effects against lupus nephritis in MRL/lpr mice.

Objective To understand the natural population dynamics and spatial distribution of Tyrophagus putrescentiae in storage flour,so as to provide an evidence for its prevention and control. Methods The samples from five sampling points in Wuhu City were collected monthly from January to December,2013,and examined and counted for T. putrescentiae. The disper-sion pattern target,Iwao's m*--x regression analysis and Taylor's lgS2-lg-x regression analysis were used for analyzing the spa-tial distribution pattern of T. putrescentiae in the storage flour. Results The peaks of population dynamics of T. putrescentiae were discovered in July and September. The indexes of dispersion were as follows:I>0,CA>0,m*/-x >1;and the linear re-gression equation of Iwao:m*=3.7403+1.0175-x (r=0.9958)and Taylor:lgS2=0.5004+1.1349 lg-x (r=0.8328) showed that the spatial distribution pattern of T. putrescentiae in the storage flour was assembled. Conclusion The peak of pop-ulation dynamics of T. putrescentiae in the storage flour in Wuhu City is a double peak type,and the spatial distribution pattern of T. putrescentiae is assembled.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of the expression of Sox4 and β-catenin with the prognosis of osteosarcoma. A total of 108 cases of conventional osteosarcoma were involved in this study and 28 cases of osteochondroma served as controls. The expression of Sox4 and β-catenin was detected by using immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. The results showed that Sox4 and β-catenin were over-expressed in 67 (62.03%) and 62 (57.41%) of 108 osteosarcoma cases, while in only 3 (10.71%) and 5 (17.86%) of 28 controls, respectively (P<0.05 for all). The expression of Sox4 and β-catenin was associated with the distant metastasis, pathological grade and Enneking stage of patients with osteosarcoma (P<0.05 for all). The mean overall survival time and the 5-year-survival rate in osteosarcoma patients with Sox4 and β-catenin over-expressed were significantly reduced as compared with those in Sox4 and β-catenin low-expression group (P<0.05 for all). Cox multifactor regression analysis revealed that the distant metastasis, Enneking stage, and the expression of Sox4 and β-catenin were independent risk factors of patients with osteosarcoma (P<0.05 for all). The findings indicated that overexpression of Sox4 and β-catenin is associated with a poor prognosis of osteosarcoma.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Bone Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteosarcoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; SOXC Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; genetics ; metabolism