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Background With the incidence of chronic metabolic diseases rising by year, which has threatened the national health, the study of non-coding RNA and endocrine metabolism-related diseases has become a research hotspot at home and abroad, while lncRNA NEAT1 and miRNA-182-5p in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) combined with metabolic-related fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been rarely reported. Objective To investigate the mechanism and clinical significance of lncRNA NEAT1 and miRNA-182-5p in the development of liver fibrosis in T2DM patients with MAFLD. Methods A total of 236 T2DM patients admitted to the endocrinology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology from October 2021 to June 2022 were included as the study subjects, and 49 healthy people were included as the healthy control group. General information and laboratory test results of the subjects were collected. Visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) were measured. Peripheral blood was collected and lncRNA NEAT1, miRNA-182-5p were determined. T2DM patients were divided into the T2DM with non-MAFLD group (n=82) and T2DM with MAFLD group (n=154). T2DM with MAFLD group was further divided into the low-risk subgroup (n=55), medium-risk subgroup (n=69) and high-risk subgroup (n=30) according to the liver fibrosis index (FIB-4). In addition, healthy people were selected as the healthy control group (n=49). Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation of lncRNA NEAT1 and miRNA-182-5p expression levels in the high-risk subgroup of liver fibrosis, and multilevel ordinal Logistic regression was used to explore the influencing factors of liver fibrosis risk in T2DM patients with MAFLD. Results Age, neck circumference (NC), fasting blood glucose (FPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the healthy control group were lower than those in the T2DM with non-MAFLD and T2DM with MAFLD groups, the albumin (Alb) in the healthy control group was higher than that in the T2DM with non-MAFLD and T2DM with MAFLD groups (P

The response of laterally loaded piles installed near the crest of clay slopes is analysed. Three-dimensional finite element analyses are presented for piles at various distances from a slope crest and for different pile shape. The results of these analyses are used to study the variation of the pile displacement, the bending moment of the pile and the soil resistance in relation to pile to slope distance and pile shape. The obtained results show that the proximity of slope significantly affects the lateral load capacity of the piles but not significantly when the piles are placed at 7D (where D is pile diameter) or greater from the slope crest. Furthermore, the lateral soil resistance on the ground surface for circular piles is larger than that for rectangular piles at the same lateral load in level ground. The decrease rate of lateral soil resistance on the ground surface for circular piles gets faster as the slope ratio and load level increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to investigate the effect of four immune enhancers on growth performance and immune effect of Newcastle disease vaccine (NDV) in chicks. A total of 150 healthy chicks were randomly divided into five groups, with five replicates in each group and six chicks in each replicate, including control group (CG group), Astragalus group (AM group), Lyciumberry powder group (LB group), Angelicapowder group (AS group) and levesomisole powder group (LMS group). Chickens were immunized with LIVE La Sota vaccine at seven days of age. Six chicks were randomly selected from each group at 1, 2, 3 and 4 w before immunization and after immunization to determine the immune organ index and growth indices. The results showed that the body weight of AM group was significantly higher than that of CG group at the 1st week after immunization (P<0.05). At the 2nd week after immunization, the body weight of AM group was significantly higher than that of CG group and LMS group (P<0.05). At the 3rd week after immunization, the body weight of AM group was extremely higher than that of CG group (P<0.01). The average daily gain of chickens in AM group, AS group and LB group was significantly higher than that in CG group (P<0.05), and the feed to gain of chickens in AM group was extremely lower than that in CG group (P<0.01). At the 2nd and 3rd w after immunization, the bursa index of AM group and AS group was significantly higher than that of CG group (P<0.05). At the 1st week after immunization, spleen index of AM group was extremely higher than that of CG group (P<0.01). AS group was significantly higher than CG group (P<0.05). At the 2nd week after immunization, thymus index in AM group, LB group, LMS group and AS group was significantly higher than that in CG group ( P<0.05). At the 1st and 2nd w after immunization, the antibody titer in AM group and AS group was significantly higher than that in CG group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that dietary supplementation of 10 g/kg AM and AS can effectively promote the early growth and development of chicks and improve the immune function of chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety disorder is a serious and burdensome psychiatric illness that frequently turn into chronic clinical conditions. Puerarin have been shown to be effective in the therapy of depression. However, few studies are concerned about the anxiolytic-like effects of puerarin. The current study aimed to evaluate the anxiolytic-like effects of puerarin and its possible mechanism. To evaluate this, the behavioral tests, i.e. Vogel-type conflict test (VTCT), elevated plus-maze test (EPMT), and open-field test (OFT) were conducted. Data showed that similar to the positive-control drug sertraline (Ser) (15 mg/kg, i.g.), the anxiolytic-like effects were produced by puerarin (60 and 120 mg/kg, i.g.) in VTCT and EMPT respectively without affecting locomotor activity in OFT. Moreover, the present study also found that consistent with Ser, the levels of allopregnanolone and serotonin (5-HT) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were increased by puerarin (60 and 120 mg/kg, i.g.), respectively. In summary, the present study indicated that puerarin exerted the anxiolytic-like effects, which maybe associated with normalization of 5-HT levels and biosynthesis of allopregnanolone in brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In order to investigate the feasibility of in vitro screening the antitumor activity of natural compounds by trypsin, porcine trypsin was used to for screening test, which is marked by inhibition of enzyme activity. Four compounds, namely daidzin, genistin, matrine and oxymatrine, were selected as test subjects. The natural antitumor drug camptothecin was used as the control. The inhibitory effect was detected by two experimental methods: direct detection of trypsin activity inhibition and hydrolysis of bovine serum albumin by trypsin. The results showed the inhibitory effects of the four natural compounds on trypsin, and the inhibition rates of the four natural compounds were significantly different. The enzyme activity assay showed that the inhibitory effect of matrine was better than that of oxymatrine, indicating that trypsin had a good screening resolution. The inhibitory effect was significantly increased with the increased ratio of sample to trypsin, suggesting the structure-activity correlation and dose-effect correlation of the screening methods. Altogether, the experimental method of screening antitumor activity of natural compounds by trypsin has good application values. Since porcine trypsin is similar to human trypsin in terms of molecular structure and performance, it is more applicable for screening of antitumor efficacy of natural pharmacodynamic compounds.

This study aimed at understanding the differences in traits of functional twigs and leaves of a typical alpine shrub species, Rhododendron przewalskii , at Kaka Mountain in the headwater region of Minjiang River. Leaf and twig traits were compared for shrubs at different growth stages (flower bud stage and flowering stage) and altitude (3600 m and 3800 m). The effects of spatial heterogeneity on their correlations and trade-offs were evaluated at leaf and twig levels, respectively. Our results showed that twig length was significantly longer at low altitude than high altitude for the shubs at the same growth stage. The number and mass of flowers at flowering stage were significantly higher at high altitude than those at low altitude. At the same altitude, twig mass, number of leaves, total leaf mass, total leaf area and total petiole mass were all significantly greater at the flower bud stage than those at the flowering stage, while the individual leaf mass and individual petiole mass at flower bud stage were significantly smaller than those at flowering stage. Compared with the flower bud stage, the proportion of leaf mass decreased by 13% at the flowering stage, while biomass proportion of twig significantly increased. At the flower bud stage, twig mass had a higher contribution to total twig mass. In contrast, the contribution of total leaf mass to total twig mass was higher at flowering stage. More biomass of leaf was allocated to individual leaf mass at flower bud stage. More biomass of leaf was allocated to individual petiole mass and individual leaf mass at flowering stage at low altitude and high altitude, respectively. At low altitude, allometric growth patterns presented between twig mass and total leaf area, total leaf mass. Similarly, individual petiole mass and individual leaf area had allometric growth. Our results indicated that the functional traits of twigs and leaves varied across both altitude and plant growth stage.

Aim: To compares the clinical features of patients infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV) with or without severe jaundice. In addition, the risk factors for HEV infection with severe jaundice were investigated., Methods: We enrolled 235 patients with HEV into a cross-sectional study using multi-stage sampling to select the study group. Patients with possible acute hepatitis E showing elevated liver enzyme levels were screened for HEV infection using serologic and molecular tools.HEV infection was documented by HEV antibodies and by the detection of HEV-RNA in serum. We used χ(2) analysis, Fisher's exact test, and Student's t test where appropriate in this study. Significant predictors in the univariate analysis were then included in a forward, stepwise multiple logistic regression model., Results: No significant differences in symptoms, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, or hepatitis B virus surface antigen between the two groups were observed. HEV infected patients with severe jaundice had significantly lower peak serum levels of γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT) (median: 170.31 U/L vs 237.96 U/L, P = 0.007), significantly lower ALB levels (33.84 g/L vs 36.89 g/L, P = 0.000), significantly lower acetylcholine esterase (CHE) levels (4500.93 U/L vs 5815.28 U/L, P = 0.000) and significantly higher total bile acid (TBA) levels (275.56 μmol/L vs 147.03 μmol/L, P = 0.000) than those without severe jaundice. The median of the lowest point time tended to be lower in patients with severe jaundice (81.64% vs 96.12%, P = 0.000). HEV infected patients with severe jaundice had a significantly higher viral load (median: 134 vs 112, P = 0.025) than those without severe jaundice. HEV infected patients with severe jaundice showed a trend toward longer median hospital stay (38.17 d vs 18.36 d, P = 0.073). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that there were significant differences in age, sex, viral load, GGT, albumin, TBA, CHE, prothrombin index, alcohol overconsumption, and duration of admission between patients infected with acute hepatitis E with and without severe jaundice., Conclusion: Acute hepatitis E patients may naturally present with severe jaundice.