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The aim of this study was to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of leptin (LEP) and the leptin receptor (LEPR) in testicular development of prepubertal ganders. In an in vivo animal experiment, active immunization against LEPR severely depressed prepubertal testicular development by significantly reducing testicular weights at 200 and 227 days of age. The number of elongated spermatids in the seminiferous tubules was also significantly decreased by immunization with LEPR at ages of 200 and 227 days. Inhibition of testicular development by LEPR immunization was associated with decreases in LHR, StAR, 3β-HSD, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, and PRLR mRNA expression levels in testicular tissue, which resulted in a significant decrease in testosterone synthesis. In the in vitro experiments, the addition of LEP combined with anti-LEPR antibodies strengthened LEPR signal transduction, and inhibited significantly testosterone production in cultured Leydig cells isolated from prepubertal gander testes. The mRNA expression of LHR, StAR, 3β-HSD, CYP11A1, CYP17A1 also decreased significantly after treatment with LEP combined with anti-LEPR antibodies in cultured Leydig cells. These results suggest that anti-LEPR antibodies strengthen LEPR signaling transduction in the presence of LEP, and immunization against LEPR inhibited testes development and testosterone secretion in prepubertal ganders.

Purpose Pneumonia is one of the common complications of hip fracture. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors and apply a nomogram to predict postoperative pneumonia in elderly hip fracture patients. Materials and Methods From August 2014 to October 2019, 1113 hip fracture patients who were older than 65 years and underwent surgical treatment in our hospital were subjects of this study. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent risk factors. A predictive nomogram model was built, and the discrimination and calibration were determined by receiver operating characteristic and calibration plot. Results A total of 166 patients developed pneumonia after operation (14.91%, pneumonia group) while the remaining 947 patients did not (85.09%, non-pneumonia group). According to the results, body mass index (OR, 0.76, 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.84, P

Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 virus and pathological features of multiple organs in COVID-19 patients remains unclear, which interferes with the improvement of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. In this article, we summarize the pathological findings obtained from systematic autopsy (37 cases) and percutaneous multiple organ biopsy (“minimally invasive autopsy”, 54 cases). These findings should shed light on better understanding of the progression of COVID-19 infection and the means of more effective intervention.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of active immunization against recombinant Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) protein on the ovarian follicular development, egg production, and molecular regulatory mechanisms in broody-prone Zhedong White geese. For this, a recombinant goose AMH protein was expressed using a prokaryotic expression system. Fifty incubating geese from the same genetic background were selected and equally divided into two groups. The immunization group was actively immunized against the recombinant goose AMH protein, whereas the control group was immunized against bovine serum albumin (BSA). Immunization against AMH accelerated ovarian follicular development and increased clutch sizes by one to two eggs in two consecutive laying-incubation cycles. Furthermore, immunization against AMH upregulated the mRNA transcription levels of the FSH-beta gene in the pituitary gland, and FSHR, 3beta-HSD, and Smad4 genes in the granulosa layer of pre-ovulatory follicles; however, immunization downregulated the expression of the OCLN gene in the granulosa layer of pre-ovulatory follicles, and Smad5 and Smad9 genes in the granulosa layer of SYFs. These results suggest that AMH might hinder ovarian follicular development by decreasing both pituitary FSH secretion as well as ovarian follicular sensitivity to FSH. The latter molecular mechanism could be fulfilled by regulating Smad5 or Smad9 signals in SYFs, as well as the FSHR and Smad4 signals that affect progesterone synthesis and yolk deposition in the pre-ovulatory follicles.

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal in the natural environment that can cause multiple organ damage to the bodies of animals and humans. Selenium yeast (SeY) is a kind of organic selenium (Se) that has a very strong function against Cd-induced injury to tissues or organs. The aim of the current study was to investigate the roles of inflammatory factors and heat shock proteins (HSPs) in inflammatory injury triggered by Cd and to analyze the protective effects of SeY on Cd-induced damnification in the livers of chickens. Two hundred 120-day-old layers were randomly divided into four groups and raised on a conventional diet, or with Se (0.5 mg/kg SeY), Cd (150 mg/kg CdCl2), or Se + Cd (0.5 mg/kg SeY and 150 mg/kg CdCl2) in their basic diets for 120 days. Then, the liver histopathology, production of nitric oxide (NO), activity of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors (iNOS, NF-κB, TNF-α, and PTGE) and heat shock proteins (HSPs 27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) were examined. The results showed that exposure to Cd obviously increased Cd accumulation, NO production, iNOS activity, inflammatory factor, and HSP mRNA and protein expression levels and further caused an inflammatory response. Supplementation with SeY had an antagonistic effect on Cd-induced inflammatory injury in chicken livers. Thus, the present study suggests that SeY can be taken as a potential therapeutic for Cd-induced liver inflammatory injury in chickens.

Angioedema is one of the dreaded side effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. It has been well established in the literature and the timing of onset is variable from months to years after initiation of therapy. Patients remain at risk of recurrence of angioedema even after discontinuation of the drug if they developed it once while on the drug. While only recurrences of ACE inhibitor-induced angioedema are described in the literature, our patient did not develop angioedema while being on the drug and had the first occurrence of angioedema one month after the medication was discontinued. We argue that since our patient did report an ACE inhibitor-related dry cough, this case emphasizes the strength of the relation between the two common side effects of the ACE inhibitors. This favors that among the risk factors that predispose individuals to develop angioedema, ACE inhibitor-associated cough is a major one. Although the mechanism of ACE inhibitor-related cough is poorly understood, bradykinin seems to be the common culprit mediator for these two side effects. Hence, clinicians need to be aware of this potential threat and be cautioned when they witness an ACE inhibitor-related cough.

PURPOSE We aimed to determine the global effects of the Cheneau brace combined with Schroth exercises on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). METHODS We analyzed 192 patients with AIS who underwent the Cheneau brace treatment alone or combined with Schroth best practice (SBP) from June 2013 to October 2019. There were 138 patients in the Brace group and 54 patients in the Brace + SBP group. Radiographs were obtained at various treatment durations. Answers to the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire were recorded before the intervention and at the time of treatment wean. RESULTS The Cobb angle (-3.55°; p

CD8+ T cell responses play a critical regulatory role in protection against mycoplasma infection-related respiratory diseases. Nanovesicles derived from cell membranes have been shown to induce CD8+ T cell responses. Moreover, the short residence time of mycoplasma membrane-related vaccines in local lymph nodes limits the efficacy of current mycoplasma vaccines. Here, a long-residence pneumonia vaccine is developed using nanovesicles prepared by cell membrane fusion of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and interferon-γ (IFN-γ )-primed macrophages, which are grafted with polyethylene glycol to increase residence time in the lymph nodes. Upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on the membrane of IFN-γ-primed macrophages increases the targeting of the hybrid nanovesicle vaccine to the local lymph nodes, with increased CD8+ T cell activation. A mechanistic study reveals that CD8+ T cell activation is achieved via a pathway involving upregulation of C-C motif chemokine ligand 2/3 expression by E26 transformation-specific sequences, followed by increased immune-stimulatory activity of dendritic cells. In vivo, prophylactic testing reveals that the hybrid nanovesicle vaccine triggers a long-term immune response, as evidenced by a memory CD8+ T cell response against mycoplasma infection. The current study provides a new design strategy for mycoplasma vaccines that involves a hybrid method using biological sources and artificial modification.

Background: Asians with atrial fibrillation carry a higher risk of ischemic stroke than non-Asians even under treatment of nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants. The purpose of the study was to observe the feasibility of intravenous thrombolytic therapy after administering a reversal agent, idarucizumab, in dabigatran-treated patients with acute ischemic stroke in Taiwan. Methods: Dabigatran-treated patients with acute ischemic stroke who received intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) after idarucizumab reversal were enrolled in the retrospective nationwide study. The clinical data, treatment course, and outcomes were recorded. Stroke severity was evaluated using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. Any intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) after rt-PA was detected by neuroimaging studies. Results: Ten dabigatran-treated patients (6 men, mean age 71.10 ± 7.96 years) with acute ischemic stroke were included. Before stroke, the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.50 ± 1.57 and 8 patients (80%) received dabigatran 110 mg twice daily. All patients were treated with 5 g idarucizumab, following which the activated partial thromboplastin time normalized. Intravenous rt-PA (mean dose .78 mg/kg) was initiated a mean time of 11.11 minutes after idarucizumab infusion. The NIHSS score improved significantly after thrombolysis (16.0 ± 6.67 at admission to 9.38 ± 4.75 at discharge, P = .016). ICH developed in 3 patients (30%). Two of them were asymptomatic and 1 patient suffered from symptomatic ICH leading to mortality. Conclusion: Our data reconfirmed the feasibility of intravenous rt-PA for Asian stroke patients after reversal of dabigatran effect with idarucizumab.

Background Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum L. consist a classic formula in traditional Chinese Hui medicine and are widely used in treatment of stroke. To examine the therapeutic effect of neuron injury after apoplexy, we used a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion model in rats to investigate the effects of dichloromethane fraction (DF) of Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum L. Materials and Methods After subjecting the rats to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion, DF (100 and 200 mg/kg) were administered for 14 days. Neurological deficits and the degree of cerebral tissue injury was detected by 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride Staining Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Nissl staining. Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95), synapsin-I (syn-I), and α-synuclein (α-syn) were stained by immunohistochemistry. PSD-95, Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II), phosphorylated CaMK II (p-CaMK II), CaM, N-methyl D-aspartate receptor subtype 2B (NR2B) expression were detected by Western blot. Meanwhile, phytochemical profile of DF was determined through ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). Results DF alleviated neurological deficits and markedly prevented ischemia-induced cellular damage. Immunohistochemical micrographs revealed that PSD-95 and syn-I proteins increased, and α-syn presented reduced expression in brain samples from the sham group. Western blot analyses revealed that the model group exhibited a noticeable reduction in PSD-95, p-CaMK II, CaM, and NR2B. The DF-treated model group exhibited increased PSD-95, p-CaMK II, CaM, and NR2B. UPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis revealed eight main components of DF, of which piperine accounted for the largest proportion.

Purpose The purpose of our study was to determine the risk factors for reduction loss in patients with proximal humeral fractures after locking plate fixation and establish a nomogram prediction model. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of proximal humeral fractures patients who had been surgically treated for locking plate in our institution from January 2016 to December 2018. Perioperative information was obtained through the electronic medial record system, univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed to determine the risk factors of reduction loss, and a nomogram model was constructed to predict the risk of reduction loss. The predictive performance and consistency of the model were evaluated by the consistency coefficient (C-index) and the calibration curve, respectively. Results 115 patients were finally enrolled in our study. Multivariate analysis results showed that age, fracture classification, medial comminution, and calcar screw status were independent risk factors for reduction loss. The accuracy of the contour map for predicting transfusion risk was 0.944. Conclusion We found a correlation between reduction loss and age, fracture classification, medial comminution, and calcar screw status after locking plate fixation for proximal humeral fractures patients. Our nomogram is helpful for clinicians to identify high-risk patients, early intervention and reduce the incidence of reduction loss.

Copper (Cu) is a common environmental pollutant in nature. Cu-poisoning can cause liver damage and erythrocytes hemolysis. To evaluate the effect of CuSO4 poisoning on the morphological and functional characteristics of goat red blood cells. Five 10-14-month-old goats were selected for jugular vein blood sampling to obtain erythrocytes, and then the erythrocytes were processed with different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 μmol/L) of CuSO4 for 48 h, and 40 μmol/L doses CuSO4 incubated for different time (12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 h) to process erythrocytes. We observed the changes in erythrocyte morphology through scanning electron microscopy, and detected the antioxidant function and activities of three ATPases. Additionally, biological properties were examined from the perspectives of phospholipids and membrane protein components, permeability fragility, and fluidity in erythrocytes. We found that after CuSO4 treatment, the antioxidant capacity of erythrocytes decreased, which was manifested as increased MDA content and decreased CuZn-SOD and GSH-Px activities (p < 0.05). In addition, we also found that erythrocyte fluidity decreased, osmotic fragility increased, membrane phospholipid percentage and protein composition changes abnormally, and Na+/K+-ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase activities decreased (p < 0.05). From the results, it can be concluded that CuSO4 exposure causes hemolysis of goat erythrocytes through oxidative stress to the structure and function of erythrocytes, showing a dose-time effect.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from gram-negative bacteria was found to be involved in the decrease in laying performance in goose flocks with high stocking density during summer months. LPS injection delayed the increase in the laying rate and altered hierarchical follicle morphology. While there is evidence that LPS exerts suppressive effects on goose reproduction, the time course effects of LPS on the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (HPG) axis remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the expression of genes in the HPG axis and the plasma gonadotrophin hormone concentrations in breeding geese at 0, 6, 12, 24, and 36 h after intravenous injection with LPS. The results showed that LPS treatment enhanced and suppressed expression of hypothalamic gonadotropin-inhibiting hormone (GnIH) and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) mRNA, respectively, and similar effects were observed on the mRNA expression of their receptors, GnIHR and GnRHR, in the pituitary. LPS treatment transiently increased follicle FSH&beta, mRNA expression at 12 h and exerted no significant effect on LH&beta, mRNA expression in the pituitary. Regardless of the expression of FSH&beta, and LH&beta, plasma follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations were significantly increased during 24&ndash, 36 h after LPS treatment. In the ovary, StAR and Cyp11a1 were mainly expressed in the granulosa layer (GL) of hierarchical follicles, while Cyp17a1 and Cyp19a1 were mainly expressed in white follicles (WFs) and yellowish follicles (YFs), and to a lesser extent in the theca layer (TL). After LPS treatment, the mRNA levels of Cyp11a1 in the GLs, Cyp17a1 in the WFs and TL, and Cyp19a1 in the WFs, YFs, and TL were significantly decreased. However, LPS treatment transiently upregulated StAR expression at 12 h. These results indicate that the exposure of laying geese to LPS may impair the HPG axis and disturb ovarian steroidogenesis. Our research provides new insights into reproductive dysfunction caused by LPS and the immune challenge in birds.

The aim of the study was to investigate the protective effects of selenium yeast (SeY) against necroptosis triggered by Cd via inhibition of oxidative stress and MAPK pathway in the liver of chicken. Two hundred 120-day-old layers were randomly divided into four groups and raised for 120 days. The histopathological examination showed that necrosis characteristics were observed in Cd-exposed chicken livers. The exposure of Cd significantly reduced the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT while improving MDA level in both serum and liver of chickens (P 0.05), and induced oxidative stress. The MLKL, Rip1, RIP3, ERK, JNK and P38 mRNA expression of Cd group were significantly higher than other three groups (P ＜ 0.01), and those in the Se + Cd group were significantly higher than control group and Se group (P ＜ 0.01). However, the mRNA expression level of caspase8 of Cd was significantly lower than other three groups (P ＜ 0.01), and that in the Se + Cd group was significantly higher than control group and Se group (P ＜ 0.01), so the supplement of SeY could improve these situations. Similar results were also detected at the protein level. The results of the present study indicated that Cd could induce oxidative stress, activate MAPK pathway and evoke necroptosis damage in chicken livers, whereas SeY had protective effects in preventing this kind of Cd-induced injury by inhibition of oxidative stress and down-regulation MAPK pathway.

Purpose. Due to the rarity, it is difficult to predict the survival of patients with fibrosarcoma. This study aimed to apply a nomogram to predict survival outcomes in patients with fibrosarcoma.Methods. A total of 2235 patients with diagnoses of fibrosarcoma were registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, of whom 663 patients were eventually enrolled. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors. Nomograms were constructed to predict 3-year and 5‐year overall survival and cancer‐specific survival of patients with fibrosarcoma.Results. In univariate and multivariate analyses of OS, age, sex, race, tumor stage, pathologic grade, use of surgery, and tumor size were identified as independent prognostic factors. Age, sex, tumor stage, pathologic grade, use of surgery, and tumor size were significantly associated with CSS. These characteristics were further included to establish the nomogram for predicting 3-year and 5-year OS and CSS. For the internal validation of the nomogram predictions of OS and CSS, theC-indices were 0.784 and 0.801.Conclusion. We developed the nomograms that estimated 3-year and 5-year OS and CSS. These nomograms not only have good discrimination performance and calibration but also provide patients with better clinical benefits.

For the first time, we identified 15 cases of Candida auris in Shenyang, China, and then performed a risk factor assessment for these patients compared with 30 control subjects who were hospitalized in the same ward during the same period of time as the infected patients. We found that diarrhea, gastrointestinal decompression, infection, or colonization with other Candida isolates (especially Candida albicans) and tetracycline antibiotics were all risk factors for C. auris infection or colonization. Diarrhea and tetracycline antibiotics were independent risk factors. We suggest clinicians pay special attention to the emergence of multidrug-resistant C. auris infections or colonization.

Treatment of fetal rat and embryonic chicken with exogenous glucocorticoids induces premature differentiation of growth hormone (GH) secreting cells. The effect of corticosterone (CORT) on somatotroph differentiation was mostly studied in pituitary cells in vitro. Currently, there is no evidence for glucocorticoid-mediated induction of somatotroph differentiation during pituitary development in bird species other than chicken. In this study, we sought to find out if in ovo injection of corticosterone into developing goose embryos could induce premature increase of GH in somatotrophs. On embryonic day (e) 15, the albumen of fertile goose eggs was injected with 300 μl of 0.9% saline, 300 μl 5 × 10-8M CORT, or 300 μl 5 × 10-6 M CORT. Embryos were allowed to develop until e20 and e28 and isolated pituitaries were subjected to quantitative real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry to detect GH mRNA and protein, respectively. At e20 and e28, blood from chorioallantoic vessels was subjected to radioimmunoassay for analysis of plasma GH protein. In ovo administration of exogenous corticosterone brought about a 2.5-fold increase in the expression of GH mRNA and increased the in situ expression of GH protein in goose pituitary cells, and enhanced plasma GH levels compared to that of the respective controls at e20. These findings prove that administration of glucocorticoid could stimulate the expression of GH in somatotrophs during goose embryonic development. Our results suggest the probable involvement of membrane glucocorticoid receptor in the corticosterone mediated expression of GH. Together with previously published data, our results suggest that corticosterone mediated induction of GH expression during embryonic development is relatively conserved among different vertebrates.

Context Electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) L5 is a naturally occurring, atherogenic entity found at elevated levels in the plasma of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the absence of elevated plasma LDL levels. Objective To investigate the role of L5 in the mechanism of adipose tissue inflammation associated with MetS. Patients/Setting Plasma LDL isolated from patients with MetS (n = 29) and controls (n = 29) with similar plasma LDL levels was separated into five subfractions, L1 to L5, with increasing electronegativity. Design We examined the invivo effects of L5 on adipose tissue in mice and the in vitro effects of L5 on adipocytokine signaling and monocytes. Results Tail-vein injection of human L5 but not L1 into C57BL/6 mice induced the accumulation of F4/80+ and CD11c+ M1 macrophages. The effects of L5 were attenuated in mice deficient for L5's receptor, lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor 1 (LOX-1). L5 but not L1 induced human adipocytes to release inflammatory adipocytokines. Incubating human THP-1 monocytes with LDL-free culture media from L5-treated adipocytes enhanced the migration of monocytes by 300-fold (P < 0.001 vs L1-treated adipocyte media)-effects that were attenuated by LOX-1 neutralizing antibody. Migrated cells were positive for mature macrophage marker PM-2K, indicating the transformation of monocytes into macrophages. The infiltration of M1 macrophages in adipose tissue was also observed in a previously established hamster model of endogenously elevated L5. Conclusions L5 induces adipose inflammation through LOX-1 by promoting macrophage maturation and infiltration into adipose tissue. Elevated plasma L5 levels may be a novel etiology of adipose tissue inflammation in patients with MetS.

MiRNAs are integral for maintaining immune homeostasis and self-tolerance. In this study, qPCR analyses were performed to determine which miRNAs play an important role in wound healing. Next, an experiment in a model of wound healing was performed, and histology, mRNA expression and T-cell subpopulations in wound tissue were analyzed. The accelerated experiments were performed by local injection of either rIL-17A and/or rIL-9 after wound healing. In vitro, the differentiation of Th17/Th9 in miR-155+/+ or miR-155-/- mice was investigated, and the target genes of miR155 were analyzed. From our findings, miR-155-/- in mice promoted wound healing and weakened T cell-mediated inflammation, especially in IL-17/IL-9, and less severe skin fibrosis developed in the mice. rIL-17A and/or rIL-9 could exacerbate inflammatory injury and delay wound healing. We also demonstrated that miR-155-/- led to a defect in the differentiation of Th17/Th9 in vitro, and this effect of IL-17/IL-9 might be related to the expression of C-maf, which is a target gene of miR155. MiR-155 regulated IL-17/IL-9-related inflammation in wound healing and might be a potential therapeutic target to attenuate the inflammatory response in wound tissue and promote the closure of wound injuries.

The aim of this study was to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of prolactin (PRL) in testicular development of prepubertal cockerels. In an in vivo animal experiment, active immunization against PRL severely depressed prepubertal testicular development by significantly reducing testicular weights at both 122 and 164 d of age. The number of elongated spermatids in the seminiferous tubules was also significantly decreased by immunization with 199-residue chicken PRL (cPRL) at age 122 d. Inhibition of testicular development by cPRL immunization was associated with decreases in LH receptor (LHR), FSH receptor (FSHR), Stat5b, P450scc, steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein, and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) mRNA expression levels in testicular tissue. In in vitro experiments, testosterone production by cultured Leydig cells isolated from prepubertal cockerel testes was dose-dependently enhanced by treatment with bioactive recombinant PRL, but a lesser response was seen with high concentrations of PRL. The distinct changes in testosterone production in response to high and low concentrations of added PRL were paralleled by similar patterns of change in the mRNA levels of Stat5b, LHR, P450scc, StAR, 3β-HSD, and CYP17A1 in cultured Leydig cells, as well as protein amounts of phosphorylated Jak2 and Stat5a/b. In conclusion, low to medium doses of PRL potentiate testis development in prepubertal cockerels by enhancing testosterone secretion from Leydig cells via activation of PRLR/Stat5b signal transduction, which upregulates mRNA expression of LHR and testosterone synthesizing enzymes. However, this positive regulation was weaker in response to a high dose of PRL, which reduced PRLR/Stat5b signal transduction and the expression of genes involved in LH signaling and testosterone synthesis.

The present study was conducted to establish a sandwich ELISA for the determination of prolactin (PRL) concentrations in the plasma of domestic fowls. The assay uses a recombinant goose PRL as the reference standard, expressed in a eukaryotic system, and as the antigen for raising a polyclonal antibody in rabbit. This rabbit anti-goose PRL polyclonal antibody was used for coating the wells of the ELISA plate, and its biotinylated form served as the detection antibody. An avidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase was used to bind the detection antibody and to catalyze the chromogenic reaction using 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine as the substrate. The assay showed a linear relationship between the optical density and concentration of the standard PRL in the 0 to 12.5 ng/mL range, and the assay was sensitive to a concentration as low as 0.39 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-assay CVs were7% and 11%, respectively. The response curves of the serially diluted plasma samples from goose, duck, and chicken exhibited similar parallel relationships to that observed for the reference standards. Consistent with previous findings, the assay effectively detected differences in PRL concentration in plasma samples from chicken, duck, and goose at various reproductive stages.

Background: Zinc transporters have been considered as essential regulators in many cancers; however, their mechanisms remain unknown, especially in gliomas. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1(IDH1) mutation is crucial to glioma. This study aimed to investigate whether zinc transporters are correlated with glioma grade and IDH1 mutation status. Materials and Methods: IDH1 mutation status and mRNA expression of four zinc transporters (ZIP4, ZIP9, ZIP11, and ZnT9) were determined by subjecting a panel of 74 glioma tissue samples to quantitative real-time PCR and pyrosequencing. The correlations between the expression levels of these zinc transporter genes and the grade of glioma, as well as IDH1 mutation status, were investigated. Results: Among the four zinc transporter genes, high ZIP4 expression and low ZIP11 expression were significantly associated with higher grade (grades III and IV) tumors compared with lower grade (grades I and II) counterparts (p

Berberine (BBR) has shown neuroprotective properties. The present study aims to investigate the effects of BBR on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and SphK1/S1P signaling, which plays a key role in MS. EAE was induced in mice, followed by treatment with BBR at 50, 100, or 300 mg/kg/d. Neurophysiological function was evaluated daily; inflammation, cell infiltration, and the severity of demyelination were also examined. The SphK1, SphK2, and S1P levels in the animals and primary astrocyte culture were measured. We found that treatment with BBR reduced the loss of neurophysiological function and the degree of demyelination. Moreover, BBR was associated with a decrease in SphK1 and S1P levels both in the animals and in culture. These results indicated that BBR suppresses demyelination and loss of neurophysiological function by inhibiting the SphK1/S1P signaling pathway. The use of BBR as a treatment of MS warrant further exploration.

Objective: Finite element analysis was used to compare preoperative and postoperative stress distribution of a bone healing model of femur fracture, to identify whether broken ends of fractured bone would break or not after fixation dislodgement one year after intramedullary nailing. Method s: Using fast, personalized imaging, bone healing models of femur fracture were constructed based on data from multi-slice spiral computed tomography using Mimics, Geomagic Studio, and Abaqus software packages. The intramedullary pin was removed by Boolean operations before fixation was dislodged. Loads were applied on each model to simulate a person standing on one leg. The von Mises stress distribution, maximum stress, and its location was observed. Results : According to 10 kinds of display groups based on material assignment, the nodes of maximum and minimum von Mises stress were the same before and after dislodgement, and all nodes of maximum von Mises stress were outside the fracture line. The maximum von Mises stress node was situated at the bottom quarter of the femur. The von Mises stress distribution was identical before and after surgery. Conclusion : Fast, personalized model establishment can simulate fixation dislodgement before operation, and personalized finite element analysis was performed to successfully predict whether nail dislodgement would disrupt femur fracture or not.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Cornus officinalis (Cornaceae), known in Chinese as “Shanzhuyu,” is a frequently used traditional Chinese medicine. It tastes sour and is astringent and slightly warm in nature. Its fruits have long been used to treat kidney deficiency, high blood pressure, waist and knee pain, dizziness, tinnitus, impotence, spermatorrhea, menorrhagia, and other diseases in China. The main distribution areas are Shanxi and Gansu. Aim of the study This review focused on the ethnopharmacological uses of the herb. We also focus on the phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies on C. officinalis. The recent analytical methods developed for the quality control of the herb’s constituents are also reviewed. Additionally, future trends and prospects in the study of this herb are proposed. Materials and methods Information on C. officinalis was gathered by searching the internet (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Scifinder, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar) and libraries. Results This review compiled the ethnopharmacological uses, including the classic prescriptions and historical applications. Approximately 300 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from C. officinalis. The major active components of the plant are organic acids and iridoids, among which morroniside and loganin have been extensively investigated. The fruit of the plant has been used in treating many diseases in traditional medicine. Scientific studies indicated the herb’s wide range of pharmacological activities, such as hepatic and renal protection, antidiabetes activity, cardioprotection, antioxidation, neuroprotection, antitumor activity, anti-inflammation, analgesic effects, antiaging activity, antiamnesia, antiosteoporosis, and immunoregulation. The analytical methods developed for the quantitative and qualitative determination of various compounds in the herb were further reviewed. Conclusions In this paper, we reviewed various studies conducted on C. officinalis, especially in areas of its ethnopharmacological use, as well as on its phytochemistry, pharmacology, and modern analytical methods used. Some of the herb’s ethnomedical indications have been confirmed by the herb’s pharmacological effects, such as its hepatic and renal protection and the antidiabetic effects. In particular, the crude extract and its chemical composition have exerted good therapeutic effect in diabetic treatment. C. officinalis entails additional attention on its pharmacological effects and drug development to expand its effective use clinically. Many advanced technologies are used for quality testing, but the detection component is exceedingly scarce for synthetically evaluating the quality of C. officinalis herbs. Thus, further research is necessary to investigate the quality control and toxicology of the plant, to further elucidate its clinical use, and to control herbal quality.

We compared midterm prognostic predictors of peripheral artery disease (PAD) with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) presenting with critical lower limb ischemia (CLI). A total of 172 patients with PAD (109 DM; 63 non-DM) were enrolled. The major adverse events (MAEs) were death or amputation. The diabetic group had a higher MAE rate (39% vs 22%, P = .042) with a mean follow-up duration of 30 ± 19 months. In a multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, revascularization (odds ratio = 0.289, P = .006) and higher serum cholesterol (odds ratio=0.988, P = .027) predicted a lower MAE rate in the DM group. In contrast, the presence of severe chronic kidney disease (stage 4 or 5, odds ratio = 5.238, P = .025) was a positive predictor of MAEs in the nondiabetic group. In conclusion, the prognostic predictors of MAE in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with PAD and CLI were different.

This study aimed to rapidly determine 13 representative sulfonamide (SA) residues in pork by using a surface-modified hydrophilic polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) electrospun nanofibrous membrane as the solid-phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment sorbent, followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis. The highly hydrophilic nature of PSSA nanofibrous membrane created by vacuum plasma treatment was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), water contact angle, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. In the pretreatment procedures, 13 SA standards, which were spiked in the fatty pork samples, were extracted, enriched, and purified by the SPE procedure based on the principle of ion exchange with the sulfonic groups on the PSSA chains. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves of 13 SA compounds showed good linearities with correlation coefficients (r) of more than 0.99 in the range of 50.0-200 μg kg(-1). The mean recoveries of 13 SAs at the spiked concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 μg kg(-1) were in the range of 70.3-92.5 % with average RSDs (n = 6) of less than 15 % (except for sulfacetamide, 56.9-61.6 %). Compared with other pretreatment methods reported previously, less organic solvent (especially without degreasing the extract with n-hexane) was used in this time-saving SPE procedure, which avoids the possibility of emulsification and therefore enhances the recoveries. The developed and validated analysis method was sensitive, accurate, rapid, convenient, environmentally friendly, and was successfully applied for the detection of 13 SA residues in commercially available pork samples.

With the development of society and the improvement of living standards, the increase of the average life of residents, China has gradually entered the aging stage. Community health service has been more and more attention. In this paper, proposed a people-oriented, application of computer network, medical facilities and other methods, the different subjects of the integrated community, hospitals, patients of sound, efficient, convenient comprehensive service system on community health care based on analyzing the status quo of China's aging population and community medical service demand. In order to meet the needs of community residents, and to promote the comprehensive service on community health care procedures, systematic, standardized, user-friendly development objective.

OBJECTIVE. Recently MDCT has become widely used for the evaluation of ischemic heart disease, but clinically the evaluation is primarily focused on the coronary artery only. We describe why and how to comprehensively evaluate the cardiac CT scan, including myocardium, motion, viability, valve, and perfusion aspects related to ischemic heart disease.CONCLUSION. Radiologists should be familiar with the protocol design and comprehensive interpretation of cardiac MDCT to provide comprehensive treatment suggestions for the patients.

The noninvasive methods for measuring blood oxygen saturation were reviewed, including tayor series expansion model, near infrared spectroscopy,oxygenation index (IOX) and multiple regression analysis aided by monte carlo simulation. Moreover the advantages and disadvantages of each method were discussed. Based on the mechanism of photodynamic therapy(PDT), a modified IOX method was developed, and the preliminary result indicates this method could monitor the changes of blood oxygen saturation in process of PDT treatment for port wine stain(PWS).

Recent advances in Raman spectroscopy for diagnosis of human tissue diseases on skin, blood, breast, stomach, lung etc. are introduced. Meanwhile, development of novel Raman detection techniques and its development trend are discussed.

Using catheter coronary angiography (CAG) as reference standard, we examined the agreement of 40-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) in triaging patients into the 2 controversial strategies of managing low-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Seventy-eight patients with low-risk ACS received both MDCT and CAG. Early invasive strategy was assigned for the patient if there was significant stenosis (or =50% diameter stenosis) in any of the coronary artery segments with diameter larger than 1.5 mm. The results of MDCT were compared with the CAG for agreement.The overall agreement of the early conservative/early invasive strategy assignment was 92.3%, with kappa value of 0.82 between MDCT and CAG. Only 1 patient needing early invasive strategy was missed by MDCT.Forty-detector row computed tomography is reliable in triaging patients into the 2 strategies of managing low-risk ACS.

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association of the ABCB1 gene C3435 T polymorphism and the CYP3A5 gene A6986G polymorphism with sirolimus (SRL) trough concentration and dose requirements in Chinese stable renal transplant recipients. Blood samples were collected from 105 healthy volunteers and 50 renal transplant patients, whose polymorphisms of the ABCB1 and CYP3A5 genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Plasma concentrations of SRL were determined with HPLC. The allele frequencies of the ABCB1 mutation in Chinese healthy volunteers and renal transplant recipients were 51.0% and 44.0% (p0.05), while the allele frequencies of the CYP3A5 mutation were 72.9% and 71.0% (p0.05). The SRL concentration/dose ratio (C/D) in patients with CYP3A5 (*)3/(*)3 were significantly higher than that of those with (*)1 allele (p0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between C/D and ABCB1 SNPs (p0.05). These results confirm that when treated with a SRL-based therapy and low-dose steroids, patients carrying the CYP3A5(*)1 allele required significantly more SRL to achieve adequate blood trough concentrations. In patients with SRL-based therapy, genotyping of the CYP3A5 genes may help to optimize the SRL management in renal transplant recipients.