ObjectiveGastric cancer (GC) seriously affects human health and life, and research has shown that it is closely related to the serine/glycine metabolism. The proliferation ability of tumor cells is greatly influenced by the metabolism of serine and glycine. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism of serine/glycine metabolism can affect the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. MethodsIn this work, a stable metabolic dynamic model of gastric cancer cells was established via a large-scale metabolic network dynamic modeling method in terms of a potential landscape description of stochastic and non-gradient systems. Based on the regulation of the model, a quantitative analysis was conducted to investigate the dynamic mechanism of serine/glycine metabolism affecting the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. We introduced random noise to the kinetic equations of the general metabolic network, and applied stochastic kinetic decomposition to obtain the Lyapunov function of the metabolic network parameter space. A stable metabolic network was achieved by further reducing the change in the Lyapunov function tied to the stochastic fluctuations. ResultsDespite the unavailability of a large number of dynamic parameters, we were able to successfully construct a dynamic model for the metabolic network in gastric cancer cells. When extracellular serine is available, the model preferentially consumes serine. In addition, when the conversion rate of glycine to serine increases, the model significantly upregulates the steady-state fluxes of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosyl homocysteine (SAH). ConclusionIn this paper, we provide evidence supporting the preferential uptake of serine by gastric cancer cells and the important role of serine/glycine conversion rate in SAM generation, which may affect the proliferation ability of gastric cancer cells by regulating the cellular methylation process. This provides a new idea and direction for targeted cancer therapy based on serine/glycine metabolism.

Objective To design a small-size dual-microphone front-end system to solve the problems of the portable field medical equipment in speech interaction due to noises in field conditions.Methods The system realized small-size dual-microphone beamforming based on the least squares criterion and then implemented front-end speech enhancement,which was composed of dual microphones(SMD micro electro mechanical system microphone),a signal preprocessing module,an embedded processor(STM32F405 series processor),an analog to digital converter(ADC),an digital to analog converter(DAC)and a power supply module.The signal preprocessing module,ADC and DAC were built into the general-purpose audio encoder WM8978,and a LM1117 voltage regulator chip was adopted as the power supply module.Keil μ Vision4 development software was used for software compiling and testing.Directivity experiment and speech enhancement experiment were carried out to verify the performance of the system.Results Directivity experiment showed that the system gained high directivity consistency at each frequency point in the frequency range of 0.5 to 2.0 kHz;speech enhancement experiment indicated that the system effectively improved the sound quality and recognition rate of speech under the conditions of three types of non-smooth noises,namely,gunshot,alarm of the monitor and collision of the medical utensils.Connclusion The system developed can realize speech enhancement to facilitate speech interaction of the portable field medical equipment.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(11):39-43]

Pulmonary fibrosis is a diffuse interstitial lung disease with poor prognosis,and its pathogenesis has not been fully clar-ified.Lipid,as a key component of cell structure involved in signal transduction,plays an important role in maintaining lung function.More and more studies show that lipid changes are closely related to the progress of pulmonary fibrosis.This paper briefly reviews the pulmonary fibrosis disease,the research pro-gress of lipidomics in pulmonary fibrosis and the role of various lipids in pulmonary fibrosis.

PURPOSE: The long-term situation of children with spinal cord injury (SCI) was investigated, and suggestions for helping them better return to the society were provided. METHODS: SCI patients less than 18 years old hospitalized in Beijing Boai Hospital from January 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Information including motor function, complications, characteristic changes, self-care abilities, school attendance and social participation were collected by telephone interview and electronic questionnaire. All the answers were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 86 cases were enrolled, 77 girls and 9 boys, with a median injury age of 6 years and 2 months. The follow-up time was 3-130 months. The main cause of trauma in these children was sport injury (66.3%), the thoracic spinal cord was involved the most (91.9%), and complete SCIs accounted for the majority (76.7%). In terms of complications, children with complete SCIs were more likely to have urinary incontinence, constipation and characteristic changes (p < 0.05); whereas the incomplete SCIs often have spasticity (p < 0.05). As to the daily living abilities, children with incomplete lumbar SCIs were more capable to accomplish personal hygiene, transfer, and bathing independently than those with complete injuries, or cervical/thoracic SCIs, respectively (p < 0.05). Moreover, children older than 9 years care more able to dress and transfer independently than the youngers (p < 0.05). Wheelchair users accounted for 84.9% and more than half of them were able to propel wheelchair independently, and those who move passively in wheelchairs were mostly introverted kids (p < 0.05). Almost all (93.8%) children with incomplete injuries were able to walk independently. Most (79.1%) children continued to attending school, and 41.9% participated in interest classes. Unfortunately, 67.4% of the children spent less time playing with their peers than before the injury. CONCLUSION SCIs impair physical structures and function of children, affect their independence in daily living, and restrict school attendance and social interaction. Comprehensive rehabilitation after injury is a systematic work. Medical staff and caregivers should not only pay attention to neurological function, but also help them improve self-care abilities. It is also important to balance rehabilitation training and school work and social participation.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Adolescent ; Follow-Up Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries/complications* ; Prognosis

Male ; Humans ; Penis ; Granuloma/etiology* ; Pelvis ; Iatrogenic Disease

Aim To study the mechanism of the ethanol extract from Leucopaxillus giganteus (LGEE) in treating breast cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular experimental validation. Methods Some chromatographic methods were used to isolate the chemical constituents of LGEE, and their structures were elucidated based on spectral data. The antitumor activities of LGEE were determined by MTT assay. The predicted targets of LGEE were selected by TCMSP and Pharmmaper, and Genecards database was used to screen the targets. GO and KEGG analysis of target genes were performed. Molecular docking was used to test the binding of active components to core targets. Western blotting was used to validate the regulating function of chlorogenic acid on CHEK2 and CASP3 targets of MDA-MB-231 cells. Results Thirteen compounds were identified including clitocine, chlorogenic acid and so on. LGEE displayed anticancer activities against MDA-MB-231 with the inhibition percent (87. 35 ± 1. 55)%, at the concentration of 200 mg· L

This study aimed to assess the hypoglycemic activity, and in vitro inhibition of α-glucosidase, inhibition of the advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and total antioxidant capacity were used to clarify its bioactivity. Furthermore, the potential hypoglycemic active chemical constituents in the aqueous extract of Osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii flower were characterized using high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) method. The result showed that in vitro inhibition of α-glucosidase of the extract (IC₅₀ = 2.11 ± 0.26 mg·mL^-1) were similar to acarbose (IC₅₀ = 2.88 ± 0.32 mg·mL^-1), and it inhibited the AGEs formation and the total antioxidant capacity in a certain extent. Based on the MS fragmentation pathway analysis of reference chemical acteoside contained in this extract, and related references, 73 constituents were tentatively identified from the aqueous extract of Osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii flower, including 58 phenylethanoids, 8 caffeoylquinic acids, 1 flavonoid vicenin-2, and 6 common organic chemicals in plant. Furthermore, 8 unknown alkaloids were characterized in this work. Among of these chemicals, 61 phenylethanoids were supposed to be detected for the first time. In conclusion, this work disclosed the potential hypoglycemic active constituents of Osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii flower.

To explore the relationship between the early or delayed age at natural menopause and metabolic syndrome (MS) in women. A total of 4 734 natural menopausal women who completed the baseline survey from November 2017 to January 2020 in the Guangzhou Middle-aged and Elderly Chronic Disease Prospective Cohort Study were selected in this cross-sectional study. Data on general demographic characteristics, disease history and female physiological health indicators were collected. Logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline curve were used to analyze the relationship between the age at natural menopause and MS. The results showed that the mean age of the subjects was (60±6) years old. The median (Q₁,Q₃) age at natural menopause was 50 (49, 52) years old, and the prevalence of MS was 14.8%(699/4 734). After adjusting for confounders, the age at natural menopause was closely related to MS in an approximate"U"shape. Compared with the group of normal age at natural menopause, the early age at menopause (OR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.12-2.06) and delayed age at menopause (OR=1.77, 95%CI: 1.36-2.30) had a higher risk of MS. In the group with time since menopause ≤6 years and 7-9 years, the risk of MS in the group with delayed age at menopause was 2.40 times (95%CI: 1.54-3.75) and 2.19 times (95%CI: 1.11-4.31) higher than that in the group with normal menopausal age, respectively. In conclusion, the early and delayed age at natural menopause increased the risk of MS. The increased risk of MS in delayed age at natural menopause mainly occurred within 10 years since menopause.
Middle Aged ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Postmenopause ; Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology* ; Prospective Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Menopause/physiology* ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TEAS) at Neiguan (PC 6) on general anesthesia under preserving spontaneous breathing in thoracoscopic lobectomy. METHODS: A total of 66 patients of primary lung cancer undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy were divided to an observation group (33 cases, 1 case discontinued) and a control group (33 cases). In the observation group, TEAS at Neiguan (PC 6) was used 30 min before anesthesia induction till the end of surgery. The surgery time, maximum value of partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (P_ETCO₂) and minimum value of oxygen saturation (SpO₂) of the two groups were recorded. The dosage of propofol, sufentanil, remifentanil and dexmedetomidine were analyzed. Separately, before induction (T₀), at the start of surgery (T₁), thoracic exploration (T₂) and lobectomy (T₃), as well as 30 min (T₄) and 60 min (T₅) after lobectomy, the mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), serum cortisol (Cor) and norepinephrine (NE) were measured. The time of post anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay, ambulation, flatus, chest drainage and the incidence of nausea and vomiting were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The maximum value of P_ETCO₂, the dosage of propofol and remifentanil in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), the minimum value of SpO₂ in the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01). At T₁-T₅, the MAP, HR, serum Cor and NE levels in the observation group were all lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The ambulation time, the time for the flatus, chest drainage time, and the incidence of nausea and vomiting in the observation group were all lower than those in the control group (P<0.001, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION For the general anesthesia under preserving spontaneous breathing in thoracoscopic surgery, TEAS at Neiguan (PC 6) relieves stress response, reduces opioids dosage and promotes postoperative recovery.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Carbon Dioxide ; Flatulence ; Propofol ; Remifentanil ; Anesthesia, General ; Nausea ; Norepinephrine ; Electric Stimulation

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a user-friendly risk score for older mitral regurgitation (MR) patients, referred to as the Elder-MR score. METHODS: The China Senile Valvular Heart Disease (China-DVD) Cohort Study functioned as the development cohort, while the China Valvular Heart Disease (China-VHD) Study was employed for external validation. We included patients aged 60 years and above receiving medical treatment for moderate or severe MR (2274 patients in the development cohort and 1929 patients in the validation cohort). Candidate predictors were chosen using Cox's proportional hazards model and stepwise selection with Akaike's information criterion. RESULTS: Eight predictors were identified: age ≥ 75 years, body mass index < 20 kg/m², NYHA class III/IV, secondary MR, anemia, estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min per 1.73 m², albumin < 35 g/L, and left ventricular ejection fraction < 60%. The model displayed satisfactory performance in predicting one-year mortality in both the development cohort (C-statistic = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.69-0.77, Brier score = 0.06) and the validation cohort (C-statistic = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.68-0.78, Brier score = 0.06). The Elder-MR score ranges from 0 to 15 points. At a one-year follow-up, each point increase in the Elder-MR score represents a 1.27-fold risk of death (HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.21-1.34, P < 0.001) in the development cohort and a 1.24-fold risk of death (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.17-1.30, P < 0.001) in the validation cohort. Compared to EuroSCORE II, the Elder-MR score demonstrated superior predictive accuracy for one-year mortality in the validation cohort (C-statistic = 0.71 vs. 0.70, net reclassification improvement = 0.320, P < 0.01; integrated discrimination improvement = 0.029, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The Elder-MR score may serve as an effective risk stratification tool to assist clinical decision-making in older MR patients.