Pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 has seriously threatened human life and health worldwide and caused a large number of deaths. Viral infection and acute inflammation are important causes of death, so it is particularly important to combine antiviral therapy with anti-inflammatory therapy. Glycyrrhizic acid, the main component of the glycyrrhizic root extract, has a wide range of pharmacological effects as well as high efficiency and low toxicity, its preparation has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis and other diseases. Glycyrrhizic acid can regulate the expression and release of a variety of cytokines and play a significant anti-inflammatory effect. At the same time, glycyrrhizic acid also showed significant inhibition towards a variety types of viruses. Therefore, the potential application of glycyrrhizic acid as COVID-19 treatment should be explored.

Objective: Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used to predict the incidence of tuberculosis in China from 2018 to 2019, providing references for the prevention and control of pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods: The monthly incidence data of tuberculosis in China were collected from January 2005 to December 2017. R 3.4.4 software was used to establish the ARIMA model, based on the monthly incidence data of tuberculosis from January 2005 to June 2017. Both predicted and actual data from July to December 2017 were compared to verify the effectiveness of this model, and the number of tuberculosis cases in 2018-2019 also predicted. Results: From 2005 to 2017, a total of 13 022 675 cases of tuberculosis were reported, the number of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in 2017 was 33.68% lower than that in 2005, and the seasonal character was obvious, with the incidence in winter and spring was higher than that in other seasons. According to the incidence data from 2005 to 2017, we established the model of ARIMA (0,1,2)(0,1,0)₁₂. The relative error between the predicted and actual values of July to December 2017 fitted by the model ranged from 1.67% to 6.80%, and the predicted number of patients in 2018 and 2019 were 789 509 and 760 165 respectively. Conclusion The ARIMA (0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 0)₁₂ model well predicted the incidence of tuberculosis, thus can be used for short-term prediction and dynamic analysis of tuberculosis in China, with good application value.

OBJECTIVE: To understand and analyze the rules of endurance exercise on the cerebral cortex adaptive mechanism in aged rats. METHODS: In this study, 3-month-old (n=20), 13-month-old (n=24) and 23-month-old (n=24) specific-pathogen free (SPF) male Sprague-Dawley Rat (SD) rats were divided into young (Y-SED), middle-aged (M-SED) and old-aged (O-SED) sedentary control group, and the corresponding Y-EX, M-EX and O-EX in the endurance exercise runner group. The 10-weeks of regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise intervention were carried out in the endurance exercise runner group. The exercise mode is treadmill exercise (slope 0), and the exercise intensity gradually increases from 60%～65% of the maximum oxygen consumption (V·O) to 70%～75%, and the exercise time is 10 weeks. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to detect age-related morphological changes. The expressions of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the expressions of synapsin 1 (SYN1) and Ca/calmodulin- dependent protein kinases IIα (CaMK IIα) / AMP-activated protein kinase α1(AMPKα1) / mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway -related genes were detected. RESULTS: The cerebral cortex structure of the rats in each group showed age-related aging changes, the expression of SOD in the cortex showed a gradual decline, the expression of BDNF showed an age-increasing trend, and the expression levels of SYN1 and CaMK IIα were increased with age. The changes in AMPKα1 and SirT2 and IP3R, AKT1 and mTOR mRNA levels were increased slightly in middle-aged rats and decreased in aged rats. Compared with the rats in each sedentary control group, the nucleus of the cerebral cortex was tightly arranged and the number of nuclei observed under the microscope was increased significantly in each exercise group. Exercise promoted the expressions of SOD, BDNF and synaptophysin SYN1 in the cortex of rats, and the expression levels of SOD and BDNF in aged rats were up-regulated significantly (P＜ 0.01). The expression level of SYN1 in rats was up-regulated significantly (P＜0.05) in the young and aged rats. The expression of CaMK IIα in the cortex of middle-aged and aged rats was up-regulated (P＜0.01), while the expression level of CaMK IIα in young rats was down-regulated (P＜0.01). Exercise could up-regulate the expression level of AMPKα1 in the cortex of young rats (P＜ 0.05), but not in middle-aged and old-age rats. Exercise could up-regulate the expression of SirT2 in the cortex of rats in all age groups (P＜0.05). Exercise up-regulated the expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (IP3R)/ protein kinase B 1(AKT1) /mTOR in the cortex of rats, among which young IP3R was significantly up-regulated (P＜0.01) in the young group, mTOR was significantly up-regulated in young and middle-aged group (P＜0.01), and mTOR was also significantly up-regulated in the aged group (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION Endurance exercise up-regulates BDNF expression, regulates CaMKIIα signaling, activates AMPK signaling pathway and IP3R / AKT1 / mTOR signaling pathway, and improves synaptic plasticity in the cortex.
Age Factors ; Animals ; Cerebral Cortex ; physiology ; Male ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Physical Endurance ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction

Objective To Analyze the change trend of the incidence and mortality of breast cancer in Chinese women from 2005 to 2013 in the Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report in order to provide references for the implement of the prophylaxis and treatment of breast cancer. Methods Extracted all the records of the incidence and mortality of breast cancer in Chinese women from 2005 to 2013, applied the Joinpoint regression model to analyze the change trend of the incidence and mortality of breast cancer in Chinese women. Results The incidence levels of breast cancer among urban women in China was higher than that in rural from 2005 to 2013, the change trend of urban incidence was stable(t=-0.2, P=0.828), the rural incidence showed an increasing trend(t=7.8, P<0.001). The peaks of urban and rural incidence were in the age group of 50- and the age group of 45- respectively.The mortality of breast cancer among urban women in China was higher than that in rural from 2005 to 2013, the change trend of urban mortality was stable(t=0.8, P=0.458), and the rising trend of rural mortality was obvious(t=3.3, P=0.014). The mortality of urban women began to rise after the age of 30, accelerating to rise after the age of 75, the mortality of rural women began to rise after the age of 30, the change tended to be stable at the age of 55-69, and began to rise after the age of 70 again. Conclusions The incidence and mortality of breast cancer among urban women in China were all higher than that in rural from 2005 to 2013, the rising trend of the incidence and mortality of breast cancer among rural women was obvious, so the prophylaxis and treatment measures of breast cancer should be actively formulated and perfected.

Objective:To elucidate the factors influencing the differences in the survival rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients between the rural and urban regions in China. Methods:A total of 36,723 ESCC patients derived from the clinical data-bases containing 500,000 esophageal and gastric cardia carcinoma cases (1973-2015) of the Henan Key Laboratory for Esophageal Can-cer Research of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, were analyzed. Of these patients, 33,625 were from the rural re-gions (91.6%), comprising 20,906 male patients with an average age of 58.98 ± 8.71 years and 12,719 females with an average age of 59.59 ± 8.53 years. The remaining 3,098 were from the urban regions and composed of 2,089 male patients with an average age of 60.84±9.10 years and 1,009 females with an average age of 62.46 ± 9.14 years. All the patients underwent radical esophagectomy, de-tailed histopathological diagnosis, and TNM staging. Chi square test, Kaplan-Meier, Log-rank, and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze the differences between ESCC patients from rural regions and those from urban regions and among the risk factors in prognosis. Results:Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank analysis results showed that the ESCC patients from the rural regions had significantly higher overall survival than the urban patients (χ2=12.971, P=0.000). Further analysis showed that rural patients≥50 years old and diagnosed with stage IIa and IIb (middle stage) ESCC had higher survival rates than urban patients in males and females (male:χ2=16.188, P<0.001;female:χ2=5.019, P=0.025). However, the survival rates of rural and urban patients with stage 0,Ⅰa,Ⅰb (early stage) and Ⅲa, Ⅲc, and Ⅳ (late stage) were similar (P>0.05). The results of Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis showed that age, gender, and TNM stages were independent risk factors for rural and urban ESCC patients. When the rural and urban ESCC patients were both considered, the Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis results showed that male ESCC patients≥50 years old, urban residence, and TNM stages were independent risk factors. Conclusion:Rural ESCC patients have significantly high-er overall survival than urban patients. Male, age of≥50 years old, urban residence, and TNM stages were independent risk factors for ESCC patient survival.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of Amiodarone combined with Wenxin granule in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris complicated with ventricular arrhythmia. Methods A total of 80 patients with unstable angina pectoris complicated with ventricular arrhythmias from February 2014 to May 2016 were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, with 40 patients in each group. Two groups were treated with conventional dilatation vascular anticoagulation and antiplatelet treatment, on the basis of routine treatment, the observation group was given Amiodarone combined with Wenxin granule, and the control group was given Amiodarone plus conventional treatment, the effects of the treatment in two groups were compared. Results After a course of treatment, the average times within 24 hours of myocardial ischemia and angina occurred of patients in the control group were less than the control group, the cumulative dosage of nitroglycerin is less than the control group (P<0.05), at the same time, the control group during the follow-up period, the incidence of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular rate was lower than the control group. The incidence of adverse reactions was also lower than that of the control group. Conclusion Compared with the control group and the control group, the efficacy and safety of Amiodarone combined with Wenxin granule in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris complicated with ventricular arrhythmias are better than Amiodarone alone. After combination treatment, the times of partial ventricular arrhythmias and angina pectoris in patients were reduced with less adverse reactions and better safety, compared with single use of Amiodarone.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the pathological changes of major organs in rats that have inhaled methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) aerosol and to provide clues to the oxidative damage mechanism of MEKP.

METHODSA total of 100 Sprague-Dawley rats (male-to-female ratio = 1:1) were randomly and equally divided into blank control group, solvent control group, and 50, 500, and 1000 mg/m(3) MEKP exposure groups to inhale clean air, solvent aerosol, or MEKP for 6 h per day, 5 d per week, for 13 weeks. A rat model of subchronic MEKP exposure was established. The clinical manifestations during exposure were recorded. The organ coefficients of the kidney, thymus, and testis were calculated. The histopathological changes of the lung, liver, and testis were observed by HE staining.

RESULTSThe male rats in 1000 mg/m(3) MEKP exposure group had significantly lower organ coefficients of the kidney and testis than those in blank control group, solvent control group, and 50 and 500 mg/m(3) MEKP exposure groups (P < 0.05). The rats in 1000 mg/m(3) MEKP exposure group had a significantly lower organ coefficient of the thymus than those in blank control group and solvent control group (P < 0.05). Some rats in 500 and 1000 mg/m3 MEKP exposure groups had significant damage to the lung, liver, and testis, which demonstrated a worsening trend as the dose increased. Pulmonary hyperinflation, hyperemia, bleeding, interstitial pneumonia, and even lung abscess were seen in the damaged lung. Nuclear enrichment, hepatocyte steatosis, and mild cellular edema in the portal area were seen in the damaged liver. Variable degeneration, necrosis, and dysplasia of spermatogenic cells and significant decrease in sperms in spermatogenic cells were seen in the damaged testis. The female rats in blank control group, solvent control group, and 50, 500, and 1000 mg/m(3) MEKP exposure groups showed no pathological changes in the ovary.

CONCLUSIONInhalation of MEKP aerosol can cause oxidative damage to the liver, lung, kidney, thymus, and testis in rats, particularly to the testis in male rats.

Animals ; Butanones ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Female ; Inhalation Exposure ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Lung ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testis ; drug effects ; pathology ; Thymus Gland ; drug effects ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory effects of CD36-targeting RNA interference on the latent transforming growth factor β1 (L-TGF-β1) activation and silicotic fibrosis in rat silicosis model.

METHODSWistar rats were divided into four groups: saline control group (n=24), SiO2 model group (10 mg SiO2 per rat) (n=24), SiO2+Lv-shCD36 group (lentiviral vector expressing specific shRNA against CD36) (n=24), and SiO2+Lv-shCD36-NC group (non-silence control lentivirus) (n=24). At 7, 21, and 28 d after instillation, the rats were sacrificed. The activity of TGF-β1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was measured by evaluating its inhibitory effect on the proliferation of mink lung epithelial cells. The pathological changes of lung tissue were observed by HE staining and van Gieson staining. The hydroxyproline content in the lungs was determined by alkaline lysis method.

RESULTSAt 7 d after instillation, the expression of CD36 mRNA in alveolar macrophages was significantly lower in the SiO2+Lv-shCD36 group than in the saline control group, SiO2 model group, and SiO2+Lv-shCD36-NC group (P < 0.05); the quantity and percentage of active TGF-β1 in BALF were significantly lower in the SiO2+Lv-shCD36 group than in the SiO2 model group and SiO2+Lv-shCD36-NC group (P < 0.05). At 28 d after instillation, there were cellular silicotic nodules in the lungs of rats in SiO2+Lv-shCD36 group and fibrotic cellular silicotic nodules in the lungs of rats in SiO2 model group and SiO2+Lv-shCD36-NC group. At 21 and 28 d after instillation, the hydroxyproline content was significantly lower in the SiO2+Lv-shCD36 group than in the SiO2 model group and SiO2+Lv-sh CD36-NC group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCD36-targeting RNA interference has inhibitory effects on the L-TGF-β1 activation and silicotic fibrosis in rat silicosis model.

Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; chemistry ; CD36 Antigens ; genetics ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Hydroxyproline ; chemistry ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; metabolism ; Male ; RNA Interference ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Silicon Dioxide ; toxicity ; Silicosis ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the oxidative damage and apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52e cell line) induced by ethylbenzene.

METHODSNRK-52e cells were exposed to 30, 60, 90, 120 μmol/L ethylbenzene for 24 hours. Cell viability were measured using MTT, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT), the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were detected respectively. PI fluorescent staining assay was applied to detect percentage of apoptosis in ethylbenzene-treated groups.

RESULTSCompared with control group, cell outline became clear, cell diopter increased, cell became smaller and shrinkage, some cells broke in 60 μmol/L ethylbenzene-treated group. Plenty of cells died, suspension cells increased significantly in 90 μmol/L ethylbenzene-treated group. Compared with control group, cell viability the activities of SOD and CAT and the content of GSH were significantly decreased in 60 and 90 μmol/L ethylbenzene-treated groups (P<0.05). The MDA content were remarkably elevated in 90 μmol/L ethylbenzene-treated groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONEthylbenzene can induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in NRK-52e cells (P<0.05).

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzene Derivatives ; toxicity ; Cell Line ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Kidney Tubules ; cytology ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo identify potential mutations of retinoschisis 1 (RS1) gene responsible for X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) in two Chinese families.

METHODSThe 6 exons and flanking intronic regions were analyzed with PCR and direct sequencing.

RESULTSTwo RS1 mutations were identified in the two families, which included 1 frameshift mutation (c.573delG, p.Pro192fs) and 1 missense mutation (c.626G>A, p.Arg209His).

CONCLUSIONTwo RS1 mutations have been identified, among which Pro192fs mutation is discovered for the first time in Chinese population. Above results may enrich our understanding of the clinical manifestations of XLRS and facilitated early diagnosis and genetic counseling for the disease.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Eye Proteins ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Diseases, X-Linked ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Retinoschisis ; diagnosis ; genetics