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OBJECTIVE To investigate physiologic and biochemical effects of electroacupuncture and dexmedetomidine administration to goats. ANIMALS 30 healthy adult goats. PROCEDURES Goats were allotted to 5 groups (6 goats/group) and received electroacupuncture, dexmedetomidine (5 or 20 μg/kg, IM), electroacupuncture plus dexmedetomidine (5 μg/kg, IM), or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (IM [control treatment]). Pain threshold, cardiorespiratory effects, rectal temperature, and hematologic and biochemical variables were assessed. RESULTS Dexmedetomidine (20 μg/kg) increased pain threshold and decreased heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature. Pain threshold of goats receiving electroacupuncture plus dexmedetomidine (5 μg/kg) was higher than that of goats receiving electroacupuncture or of goats receiving dexmedetomidine at 5 μg/kg at 30 minutes, but did not differ from that of goats receiving dexmedetomidine at 20 μg/kg. Compared with goats administered dexmedetomidine at 20 μg/kg, goats receiving electroacupuncture plus dexmedetomidine at 5 μg/kg had a higher heart rate from 30 to 60 minutes and a higher respiratory rate from 5 to 60 minutes. Electroacupuncture plus dexmedetomidine (5 μg/kg) did not affect rectal temperature. Serum glucose concentrations of goats receiving electroacupuncture plus dexmedetomidine (5 μg/kg) were higher than for goats receiving dexmedetomidine at 5 μg/kg at 30 minutes but not for goats receiving dexmedetomidine at 20 μg/kg. Creatinine and BUN concentrations, alanine or aspartate aminotransferase activities, and hematologic variables of treated goats did not change. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Electroacupuncture in combination with a low dose of dexmedetomidine (5 μg/kg, IM) administered to goats provided antinociception.

Weiwei Shao,* Quhui Wang,* Feiran Wang, Yasu Jiang, Meirong Xu, Junfei XuDepartment of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, People’s Republicof China*These authors contributed equally tothis workAbstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the calcyphosine (CAPS) expression in human colorectal cancer (CRC) and to explore its clinical and prognostic significances. CAPS expression was measured by Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, and immunohistochemistry. The relationships between the CAPS expression levels and the clinicopathological factors were investigated. The Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were used to investigate the overall survival of the patients. Moreover, the effects of CAPS on biological roles of CRC cells were also evaluated by MTT assay, colony formation assay, and transwell assay. CAPS was significantly overexpressed in cancerous tissue and CRC cell lines compared with adjacent nontumor tissue and a normal human intestinal epithelial cell line. Overexpression of CAPS was significantly associated with histological grade (P=0.004), invasive depth (P

This is an experimental study. The objective of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of Ginkgo biloba extract 761 (EGb761) on histological features of injured sites and on functional performance of rats subjected to standardized spinal cord injury (SCI). This study was conducted in Xian, Shaanxi, China. Thirty female Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated, saline-treated control and EGb761-treated. The Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Score (BBB score) was calculated and footprint analysis was performed to evaluate the functional performance of the rats in each group. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and caspase-3 staining were performed to evaluate the necrosis area and apoptotic cells at the injured site in each group. At 14, but not 1, 3 and 7, days post injury (DPI), rats in the EGb761-treated group exhibited significantly better BBB scores compared with the saline-treated control group (P

The topic of this thesis is the quantification of the influence of preferential flow on landslide-triggering in potentially unstable slopes. Preferential flow paths (e.g., cracks, macropores, fissures, pipes, etc.) commonly exists in slopes. Flow velocities in preferential flow paths can be significantly larger than in the matrix. Under large rainfall or snow-melt events, preferential flow can bypass the adjacent soil matrix and directly reach the groundwater table. The fast pressure build-up caused by preferential flow can reduce the effective stress and shear strength, which is an important triggering factor for landslides. Single-permeability models can not appropriately simulate preferential flow. Hence, hydro-mechanical models of landslide need the inclusion of preferential flow. Preferential flow also affects tracer transport in subsurface flow systems. The celerity in unsaturated flow represents the maximum water velocity in a soil, and it may be used to predict the first arrival time of a conservative tracer. The celerity function is derived from the soil hydraulic conductivity function for unsaturated flow, and is used to derive the breakthrough curve of a conservative tracer under advective transport. Analysis of the bimodal hydraulic function for a dual-permeability model shows that different parameter sets may result in similar soil hydraulic conductivity behavior, but distinctly different celerity behavior. In Chapter 4, a 2D hydro-mechanical model is developed using COMSOL multi-physics modeling software to couple a dual-permeability model with a linear-elastic model. Numerical experiments are conducted for two different rainfall events on a synthetic slope. The influence of preferential flow on slope stability is quantified by comparing the simulated slope failure area for single-permeability model and dual-permeability models. The single-permeability model only simulate regular wetting fronts propagating downward without representing the preferential flow. In contrast, the dual-permeability model can simulate the influence of preferential flow including the enhanced drainage that facilities pressure dissipation under low-intensity rainfall, as well as the fast pressure build-up that may trigger landslides under high-intensity rainfall. The dual-permeability model resulted in a smaller failure area than the corresponding single-permeability model under low-intensity rainfall, while the dual-permeability model resulted in a larger failure area and earlier timing than the corresponding single-permeability model for high-intensity rainfall. In Chapter 5, a parsimonious 1D hydro-mechanical model is developed for field application by coupling a 1D dual-permeability model with an infinite slope stability analysis approach. The numerical model is benchmarked against the HYDRUS-1D for the simulation of non-equilibrium flow. In Chapter 6, the model is applied to simulate the pressure response in a clay-shales slope located in northern Italy. In the study area, preferential flow paths such as tension cracks and macropores are widespread. Intense rain-pulses in the summer can cause nearly-instant pressure responses which may reactivate landslide movement. The water exchange coefficient of the dual-permeability model is calibrated for two single-pulse rainfall-events in the summer, while all other parameters are obtained from field investigations. Results from the dual-permeability model are compared to previously published outcomes using a linear-diffusion equation, where the diffusion coefficient was calibrated for each rainfall event separately. The dual-permeability model explicitly accounts for the influence of both matrix flow and preferential flow on water flow and pressure propagation in variably saturated soils, and is able to simulate the measured pressure response to multi-pulse rainfall-events quite well even in the winter time. Results indicate that the dual-permeability model may be more appropriate for the prediction of landslide-triggering when the pore water pressure response is influenced by preferential flow under high-intensity rainfall.

Background Loss-of-function variants in the angiopoietin-like 3 gene (ANGPTL3) have been associated with decreased plasma levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. It is not known whether such variants or therapeutic antagonism of ANGPTL3 are associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Methods We sequenced the exons of ANGPTL3 in 58,335 participants in the DiscovEHR human genetics study. We performed tests of association for loss-of-function variants in ANGPTL3 with lipid levels and with coronary artery disease in 13,102 case patients and 40,430 controls from the DiscovEHR study, with follow-up studies involving 23,317 case patients and 107,166 controls from four population studies. We also tested the effects of a human monoclonal antibody, evinacumab, against Angptl3 in dyslipidemic mice and against ANGPTL3 in healthy human volunteers with elevated levels of triglycerides or LDL cholesterol. Results In the DiscovEHR study, participants with heterozygous loss-of-function variants in ANGPTL3 had significantly lower serum levels of triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol than participants without these variants. Loss-of-function variants were found in 0.33% of case patients with coronary artery disease and in 0.45% of controls (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.41 to 0.85; P=0.004). These results were confirmed in the follow-up studies. In dyslipidemic mice, inhibition of Angptl3 with evinacumab resulted in a greater decrease in atherosclerotic lesion area and necrotic content than a control antibody. In humans, evinacumab caused a dose-dependent placebo-adjusted reduction in fasting triglyceride levels of up to 76% and LDL cholesterol levels of up to 23%. Conclusions Genetic and therapeutic antagonism of ANGPTL3 in humans and of Angptl3 in mice was associated with decreased levels of all three major lipid fractions and decreased odds of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. (Funded by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01749878 .).

To evaluate the effects of different doses of ascorbic acid (AA) on the functional performance of rats subjected to standardized spinal cord injury (SCI). Thirty female Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups (10 animals in each group): control group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received intraperitoneal saline administration; normal-dose AA group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received daily intraperitoneal administration of AA at 100 mg kg−1 bodyweight; high-dose AA group: rats were subjected to SCI injury and received daily intraperitoneal administration of AA at 200 mg kg−1 bodyweight. The Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Score (BBB score) and footprint analysis were performed to evaluate the functional performance of the rats in each group, and hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to evaluate necrosis at the injury site. At days 14 and 28 after SCI, rats in the high-dose AA group, but not the normal-dose AA group, exhibited significantly better BBB score compared with the control group (P

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology, however the internal concentration polarization (ICP) problem needs to be resolved in order to improve the water flux. Hydrophobic/hydrophilic interpenetrating network composite nanofibers (HH-IPN-CNF) was used for FO membrane support layer, which was successfully designed and fabricated by electrostatic spinning technology. Hydrophobic polymer is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and hydrophilic polymer is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The FO membrane flux has a significant increase due to the HH-IPN-CNF support layer. The membrane flux improved with the increase of PVA nanofiber content in the HH-IPN-CNF support layer. When the ratio of PET/PVA composite nanofibers was 1/4, the FO membrane exhibited the highest water flux (47.2 LMH) and low salt leakage (9.5 gMH). In the test, deionized (DI) water was used as feed solution (FS), and 0.5 M NaCl solution was used as draw solution (DS) in the mode of active layer facing DS. The improvement of FO flux was attributed to the increase of wetting performance of support layer and the water-transferring function. The existence of the HH-IPN-CNF structure formed between PET and PVA nanofibers leads to the reduction of the ICP. The FO membranes with HH-IPN-CNF support layer achieved a significant increase in water flux.