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Based on accumulating evidence, cholesterol metabolism dysfunction has been suggested to contribute to the pathophysiological process of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and lead to neurological deficits. As a key transporter of cholesterol that efflux from cells, the ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transporter family exerts many beneficial effects on central nervous system (CNS) diseases. However, there is no study regarding the effects and mechanisms of ABCG1 on TBI. As expected, TBI resulted in the different time‐course changes of cholesterol metabolism‐related molecules in the injured cortex. Considering ABCG1 is expressed in neuron and glia post‐TBI, we generated nestin‐specific Abcg1 knockout (Abcg1‐KO) mice using the Cre/loxP recombination system. These Abcg1‐KO mice showed reduced plasma high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and increased plasma lower‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels under the base condition. After TBI, these Abcg1‐KO mice were susceptible to cholesterol metabolism turbulence. Moreover, Abcg1‐KO exacerbated TBI‐induced pyroptosis, apoptosis, neuronal cell insult, brain edema, neurological deficits, and brain lesion volume. Importantly, we found that treating with retinoid X receptor (RXR, the upstream molecule of ABCG1) agonist, bexarotene, in Abcg1‐KO mice partly rescued TBI‐induced neuronal damages mentioned above and improved functional deficits versus vehicle‐treated group. These data show that, in addition to regulating brain cholesterol metabolism, Abcg1 improves neurological deficits through inhibiting pyroptosis, apoptosis, neuronal cell insult, and brain edema. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that the cerebroprotection of Abcg1 on TBI partly relies on the activation of the RXRalpha/PPARgamma pathway, which provides a potential therapeutic target for treating TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being short of conventional chromophores, polyacrylamide is generally not regarded as a fluorescent material. Exactly the polymerization of dilute solutions of acrylamide and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide led to thick liquids at 60 °C, showing no fluorescence. Things changed when the phase transition of water was involved. The squeezing effect of ice crystals not only created polymeric solids (cryogels) at − 20 °C, but also endowed them unexpected fluorescence emissions. The macroporous cryogels are mainly blue fluorescent polymers. However yellow and red fluorescence were also achieved by changing the ingredient ratios. A series of instrumental detections revealed that the multicolor fluorescence were based on exquisite amido stacking induced from ice squeezing. If people make good use of the squeezing effect of the heaven-sent molecule to manipulate the interactions of monomer functionalities, cryogenic polymerization can be a promising method to produce diverse polymeric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the pollution characteristics and sources of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), 44 ambient air samples were collected using the active sampling method, which were then determined via gas chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry. The main results showed that filters, polyurethane foam, and XAD-2 resin were the essential materials for sampling NPAHs in ambient air in order to characterize the pollution status accurately. The levels of ρ (Σ 18 NPAHs) in ambient air at GBA ranged from 162 pg·m -3 to 2094 pg·m -3 , and the average levels of ρ (Σ 18 NPAHs) were (675±430) pg·m -3 in summer and (637±349) pg·m -3 in winter. NPAHs were widely found in the ambient air of GBA and were dominated by 1-nitronaphthalene (220 pg·m -3 ), 2-nitronaphthalene (146 pg·m -3 ), 9-nitroanthracene (105 pg·m -3 ), and 2-nitrofluoranthene (72 pg·m -3 ). The congener profile characteristics of NPAHs in summer and winter were similar. The gas/particle partitioning characteristics of NPAHs revealed that dicyclic and tricyclic NPAHs tend to occur in the gas phase, and tetracyclic NPAHs tend to be adsorbed in the particle phase. The fraction of NPAHs concentrations in the particulate fraction of their total atmospheric concentrations increased with the increase in their molecular weight. In winter, NPAHs tend to be adsorbed in the particle phase, whereas in summer, NPAHs tend to exist in the gas phase. Based on the ratios of characteristic pollutants, in both the summer and winter season, photochemical reactions were the main source of NPAHs in the atmosphere of GBA and were primarily generated by the reaction of the hydroxyl radical in the daytime. The carcinogenic risk value calculation showed that the current carcinogenic risk of NPAHs in the ambient air of GBA was controllable.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for peptic ulcer., Methods: Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for peptic ulcer were searched from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, Chinese Scientific and Technological Journals (VIP), China Biomedicine (CBM), PubMed and the Cochrane Library from the establishment time of databases to September, 2016. Data extraction and quality evaluation were implemented for the literature which met the inclusive criteria. The RevMan 5.3 software was used to make Meta-analysis., Results: Sixteen papers including 1 570 patients of peptic ulcer were included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that there was no statistical significance between acupuncture and western medicine in the effective rate, the healing rate of ulcer area and the HP negative rate (all P >0.05); the recurrence rate of acupuncture was significantly lower than that of western medicine[RR=0.35, 95%CI (0.14, 0.84), P <0.05]. Acupuncture plus western medicine was significantly different from simple western medicine in the effective rate, the healing rate of ulcer area and the recurrence rate[RR=1.20,95% CI (1.04, 1.38), P =0.01; RR=1.29, 95% CI (1.06, 1.58), P =0.01;RR=0.27, 95% CI (0.16, 0.45), P <0.00001]. The analysis of evidence grade (GRADE) pre-sented that the healing rate of ulcer area and the HP negative rate of acupuncture were "low grade", and others were "extremely low grade"., Conclusions: Acupuncture combined with western medicine has some advantages for peptic ulcer compared with the conventional western medicine, which needs further confirmation due to the lower evidence grade. Larger samples, randomized controlled trials with high quality are highly recommended.

Objective: To observe the effect of moxibustion stimulation of "Ganshu"(BL 18) region on contents of T cells in the peripheral blood in rats with Diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), so as to explore its effective in improving immunoregulatory function., Methods: Seventy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group ( n =10), model group( n =15), direct moxibustion-15 s group( n =15), direct moxibustion-30 s group ( n =15) and ginger-separated moxibustion group( n =15). The primary HCC precancerous lesion model was established by intraperitoneal injection of DEN (50 mg/kg), once every 3 days for 10 weeks. Moxibustion was applied to bilateral "Ganshu"(BL 18) for about 15 min (3 moxa-cones), or 30 min (six moxa-cones), with or without ginger-slice separation, once every other day for 10 consecutive weeks. The contents of T cells of CD 3 + , CD 4 + , CD 8 + and CD 4 + /CD 8 + ratio in the peripheral blood were detected with Flow Cytometey(FCM), pathological changes of liver were observed by light microscope after hematoxylin-eosin(HE) stain., Results: Compared to the control group, the contents of blood CD 3 + and CD 4 + T cells and ratio of CD 4 + /CD 8 + were significantly down-regulated, while that of CD 8 + T cells was obviously increased in the model group( P <0.05, P <0.01). After moxibustion intervention, the decreased CD 3 + and CD 4 + T cells and CD 4 + /CD 8 + levels and the increased CD 8 + T cell contents were reversed in all the 3 moxibustion groups ( P <0.05, P <0.01), except CD 3 + in the ginger-separated moxibustion group ( P >0.05). There were no significant differences among the three moxibustion groups in the CD 3 + , CD 4 + , CD 8 + and CD 4 + /CD 8 + levels ( P >0.05). In addition, the pathological changes of liver tissue as central vein deviation or absence, disordered arrangement of hepatic cords, narrowing of the hepatic sinusoid, hyperplasia of collagen fibers, formation of tuberosis, unevenness of liver cells with nuclear anachromasis and higher heteromorphism, and macronucleus oncocytes in primary HCC rats were not observed or milder after moxibustion intervention., Conclusions: Direct moxibustion and ginger-separated moxibustion can improve pathological changes of hepatic cells in rats with HCC, which may be associated with its actions in raising blood CD 3 + and CD 4 + T cell contents and reducing CD 8 + T levels to improve immune function.

Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture intervention on gastric ulcer (GU) and sleeping quality from the viewpoint of brain-gut axis which plays an important role in the regulation of many vital functions in the body., Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomized into normal control, GU model, acupuncture of "Zhongwan"(CV 12)-"Zusanli"(ST 36, gastric function regulating acupoints), acupuncture of "Shenmai" (BL 62)-"Zhaohai" (KI 6, sleep-promotion acupoints), and acupuncture of CV 12-ST 36+ BL 62-KI 6 (combined treatment) groups, with 8 rats in each group. GU model was established by intragastric perfusion of dehydrated alcohol (1 mL/rat), and sleep model established by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital sodium (40 mg/kg) after the last treatment. The abovementioned acupoints were punctured with filiform needles and stimulated by manipulating the needle for about 30 s, once every 5 min during 20 min of needle retention. The treatment was conducted once daily for five days. The contents of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-25(IL-25) in the serum and hippocampal tissues were detected by ELISA., Results: Compared with the normal control group, the gastric ulcer index score, barbiturate-induced sleeping time, and TNF-α and IL-25 contents in both serum and hippocampus were significantly increased in the model group (P < 0.01). Following acupuncture treatment, in comparison with the model group, the gastric ulcer index score, barbiturate-induced sleeping time, and TNF-α and IL-25 contents in both serum and hippocampus were significantly down-regulated in the CV 12-ST 36, BL 62-KI 6 and combined treatment groups (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The effects of the CV 12-ST 36 and combined treatment groups were remarkably superior to those of the BL 62-KI 6 group in down-regulating ulcer index score, serum IL-25, and hippocampal TNF-α and IL-25 contents (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). In addition, the effects of the BL 62-KI 6 and combined treatment groups was considerably better than that of the CV 12-ST 36 group in shortening barbiturate-induced sleeping time (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The effect of the combined treatment group was markedly better than that of the CV 12-ST 36 and BL 62-KI 6 groups in lowering serum TNF-α content (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Acupuncture stimulation of CV 12, ST 36, KI 6 and BL 62 can relieve the gastric mucosal lesion, and shorten barbiturate-induced sleeping time in gastric ulcer rats, which may be related to its effects in reducing TNF-α and IL-25 contents in the serum and hippocampus tissues, suggesting a correlation between the gastrointestinal disorder and sleeping.