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Objective: To explore high density lipoprotein (HDL)/low density lipoprotein (LDL) and total typeⅠcollagen amino terminal extender peptide (t-PINP)/ C-terminal peptide of typeⅠcollagen β special sequence(β-CTX)and risk of osteoporosis vertebral fractures (OPVFs) in elderly women., Methods: The clinical data of 446 female OPVFs patients aged above 60 years old from January 2019 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether or not fracture, patients were divided into non-fracture group (186 patients) and fracture group(260 patients). Univariate analysis was performed to analysis age, body mass index(BMI), N-terminal mioldle molecular fragment of osteocalcin, N-MID OC), t-PINP, β-CTX, 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25-(OH) VitD], blood sugar (Glu), total cholesterol(TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), Ca, P, Mg, urea (UREA), creatinine (Cr) and Cystatin C(CysC), and correlation between OPVFs and the above indexes and lipid, bone metabolism indexes between two groups;Logistic regression was performed to analyze risk factors and stratification relationship between vertebral fracture and HDL/LDL, t-PINP/β-CTX. Logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors and stratification relationship between OPVFs and HDL/LDL, t-PINP/β-CTX., Results: There were no significant difference in age and BMI between non-fracture group and fracture group ( P >0.05). Compared with non-fracture group, contents of HDL, t-PINP/β-CTX and HDL/LDL in fracture group were decreased, and contents of β-CTX were increased ( P <0.05). OPVFs was positively correlated with β-CTX ( r =0.110, P <0.05), and negatively correlated with HDL, HDL/LDL and t-PINP/β-CTX ( r =-0.157, -0.175, -0.181, P <0.05). HDL and HDL/LDL were negatively correlated with β-CTX ( r =-0.22, -0.12, P <0.05) and t-PINP ( r =-0.13, -0.10, P <0.05). 25-(OH) VitD was positively correlated with TC and HDL ( r =0.11, 0.18, P <0.05). HDL/LDL was positively correlated with t-PINP/β-CTX( r =0.11, P =0.02). t-PINP/β-CTX[ OR =0.998, 95% CI (0.997, 1.000), P <0.05], HDL/LDL[ OR =0.228, 95% CI (0.104, 0.499), P <0.01] were risk factors for vertebral fracture. The lower levels between two tristratified indicators, the higher the vertebral fracture rate. The risk of fracture was 2.5 and 2 times higher in the lowest stratum than in the highest stratum, with an adjusted OR was[2.112, 95% CI (1.310, 3.404)] and [2.331, 95% CI (1.453, 3.739)], respectively., Conclusion: Serum low HDL/LDL and t-PINP /β-CTX are independent risk factors for OPVF in elderly women, and have good predictive value for OPVF risk.

Background: Patients who underwent lobectomy resection are prone to hypoxemia, and the vast majority present with type I respiratory failure. Thus, improvement of hypoxemia is one of the most important factors to facilitate postoperative recovery of patients. In this study, the superiority-inferiority of different oxygen inhalation methods were compared with high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO), noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) and nasal oxygen breath (NOB) in patients with hypoxemia after single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy, and the clinical efficacy of HFNO in these patients was further investigated., Methods: A total of 180 patients from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in China with hypoxemia who accepting single-port VATS lobectomy from June 2021 to March 2022 were randomly divided into three groups (n=60), which were treated with HFNO, NIMV and NOB, respectively. The results of arterial blood gas analysis, patient's comfort score and incidence of complications were observed before, 1 h, 6 h-12 h and after use. Statistical analyses were conducted using statistical program for social sciences 25.0 (SPSS 25.0), and P<0.05 was considered as statistical significance., Results: For patients with hypoxemia after accepting single-port VATS lobectomy, HFNO was no less effective than NIMV (P=0.333), and both of whom could fast increase patients' partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspiration O₂ (PaO₂/FiO₂) compared to NOB (P<0.001). Besides, HFNO shows a great advantage in comfort degree and stay length (P<0.001, P=0.004), and incidence of complications were slightly lower than other groups (P=0.232). But it is worthy to note that HFNO is still slightly less effective than NIMV in patients with postoperative hypoxemia accompanied by elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂)., Conclusions: For patients with hypoxemia who accepting single-port VATS lobectomy, HFNO can be used as the first choice. However, for patients with postoperative hypoxemia accompanied by elevated PaCO₂, NIMV is still recommended to improve oxygenation.

Objective: To observe the effects of Xiaoqinglong Decoction and Qingqi Huatan Pills on interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced mucushypersecretion model of human airway epithelial H292 cellsand related molecules of nuclear factor-κB/microRNA-494(NF-κB/miR-494) signaling pathway, and to explore the mechanism of the two medicines in improving pathological airway mucus., Methods: Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetric method was used to detect the effects of different concentrations of Xiaoqinglong Decoction and Qingqi Huatan Pills on the activity of H292 cellsinduced by IL-1β, and the appropriate concentration was selected for subsequent experiments. Cells were randomly divided into blank group, IL-1β model group (5 μg/L IL-1β), NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) group (5 μg/L IL-1β+100 μmol/L PDTC), Xiaoqinglong Decoction (5 μg/L IL-1β+1 000 mg/L Xiaoqinglong Decoction) and Qingqi Huatan Pill group (5 μg/L IL-1β+1 000 mg/L Qingqi Huatan Pills). 5 μg/L IL-1β was used to induce H292 cells for 24 hours to establish a model of airway epithelial mucus hypersecretion. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect the levels of mucin 5AC (MUC5AC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-8 and the synthesis of intracellular MUC5AC and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of MUC5AC mRNA, CFTR mRNA, miR-494. Western blotting was used to detect protein expression of key proteins (p65) and NF-κB inhibitors (IκB) in NF-κB signaling pathway., Results: Xiaoqinglong Decoction and Qingqi Huatan Pills with the concentration of 1 000 mg/L were selected for the follow-up experiment. Compared with the blank group, the levels of MUC5AC, TNF-α and IL-8 were significantly increased in the model group, intracellular MUC5AC protein content and mRNA expression were also significantly increased, intracellular CFTR protein content and mRNA expression were significantly decreased, and intracellular p65 protein expression was significantly up-regulated, the expression of IκB protein was significantly down-regulated, and the expression of miR-494 was significantly increased. Compared with the model group, the levels of MUC5AC, TNF-α and IL-8 were significantly reduced in PDTC group, Xiaoqinglong Decoction group and Qingqi Huatan Pill group, intracellular MUC5AC protein content and mRNA expression were also significantly decreased, and intracellular p65 protein expression was significantly down-regulated, and IκB protein expression was significantly up-regulated, miR-494 expression was significantly reduced. Intracellular CFTR protein content and mRNA expression were significantly increased in both PDTC group and Qingqi Huatan Pill group. Compared with the PDTC group, the level of TNF-α in the Xiaoqinglong Decoction group was significantly increased (ng/L: 22.77±3.14 vs. 11.09±3.37, P < 0.05),the content and mRNA expression of CFTR and IκB protein expression was significantly decreased [CFTR protein (ng/L): 97.38±6.62 vs. 227.04±19.48, CFTR mRNA (2 -ΔΔCt ): 0.99±0.08 vs. 1.21±0.08, IκB/β-actin: 1.69±0.11 vs. 2.00±0.18, all P < 0.05], the level of TNF-α in Qingqi Huatan Pill group was significantly higher (ng/L: 19.08±3.71 vs. 11.09±3.37, P < 0.05). Compared with Xiaoqinglong Decoction group, the protein content and mRNA expression of CFTR and IκB protein expression in Qingqi Huatan Pill group were significantly increased [CFTR protein (ng/L): 235.01±22.71 vs. 97.38±6.62, CFTR mRNA (2 -ΔΔCt ): 1.32±0.15 vs. 0.99±0.08, IκB/β-actin: 1.94±0.16 vs. 1.69±0.11, all P < 0.05]., Conclusions: The effect of Xiaoqinglong Decoctionin improving the hypersecretion of mucus in the airway epithelium may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB/miR-494 inflammatory signal-mediated MUC5AC hypersecretion, while the effect of Qingqi Huatan Pills may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB/miR-494 inflammatory signal-mediated MUC5AC hypersecretion and CFTR dysfunction. Therefore, the difference in the mechanism of the two treatments of airway pathological mucus is mainly in the regulation of CFTR mRNA and protein.

With the completion of large-scale genome sequencing of human beings and other organisms, understanding the expression of control elements on the genome has become an important research task in the post-genome era. The enhancer trapping technology is an effective method for identifying enhancer elements in the genome and understanding its mechanism for gene expression regulation. In this study, we selected the stable enhancer trapping line TK4 (head and trunk specific GFP expression), which is generated with the mediation of Tol2 transposon system, and analyzed the trapped enhancers with the techniques of Splinkerette PCR (sp-PCR), in situ hybridization and comparative genomics. We crossed F1 individuals of TK4 line with wild-type zebrafish, collected fertilized eggs, and then detected the expression pattern of green fluorescent protein reporter gene by fluorescence microscopy at six different developmental stages, 6 hpf (hour post fertilization), 24 hpf, 48 hpf, 3 dpf (day post fertilization), 4 dpf and 5 dpf . The zebrafish genome flank sequence near the insertion site of Tol2 transposon was cloned by sp-PCR, and the results revealed that the insertion located at the position 27749253 of chromosome 23, and the transgene inserted reversely inside the intron 1 of rps26 gene. Within the 100 kb region of the insertion site, totally, seven genes including arf3a, wnt10b, wnt1, rps26, IKZF4, dnajc22 and lmbr1l were identified. Comparative genomic analysis by VISTA program revealed that there were two potential enhancer elements in the downstream of rps26 gene, which were conserved non-coding sequence (CNS) 1 and CNS2. The results of in situ hybridization showed that two transcripts of rps26 gene were maternal expression, the expression of rps26-201 in zygote was earlier than that of rps26-001, and the GFP signal of TK4 line zebrafish was not detectable before 6hpf, the expression patterns of rps26 and GFP at the late stages display similarity, and also represent differences, which suggested that the expression of rps26 and GFP may be controlled by the same enhancer, and also by the different enhancer, and two potential enhancers (CNS1 and CNS2) may play a differential regulation roles on the spatial and temporal expression of nearby genes (including rps26). In this study, we successfully obtained two potential enhancers near rps26 gene for the first time, which laid a foundation for further study of the regulation mechanism between these two enhancers and nearby genes in the genome, and the combination technique used in this study also provides a reference for enhancer analysis.

The mechanical behavior modeling of human soft biological tissues is a key issue for a large number of medical applications, such as surgery simulation, surgery planning, diagnosis, etc. To develop a biomechanical model of human soft tissues under large deformation for surgery simulation, the adaptive quasi-linear viscoelastic (AQLV) model was proposed and applied in human forearm soft tissues by indentation tests. An incremental ramp-and-hold test was carried out to calibrate the model parameters. To verify the predictive ability of the AQLV model, the incremental ramp-and-hold test, a single large amplitude ramp-and-hold test and a sinusoidal cyclic test at large strain amplitude were adopted in this study. Results showed that the AQLV model could predict the test results under the three kinds of load conditions. It is concluded that the AQLV model is feasible to describe the nonlinear viscoelastic properties of in vivo soft tissues under large deformation. It is promising that this model can be selected as one of the soft tissues models in the software design for surgery simulation or diagnosis.

Objective: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common vestibular disorder that causes vertigo. Study of BPPV has dramatically rapid progress in recent years. We analyze the BPPV growth, Method: We searched the international data quantity year by year in database of PubMed, ScienceDirect and WILEY before 2014 respectively, then we searched the domestic data quantity year by year in database of CNKI, VIP and Wanfang Data before 2015 by selecting "Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo" as the keywords. Then we carried out regression analysis with the gathered results in above databases to determine data growth regularity and main factors that affect future development of BPPV. Also, we analyzes published BPPV papers in domestic and international journals., Result: PubMed database contains 808 literatures, ScienceDirect contains 177 database and WILEY contains 46 literatures, All together we collected 1 038 international articles. CNKI contains 440 literatures, VIP contains 580 literatures and WanFang data contains 449 literatures. All together we collected 1 469 domestic literatures. It shows the rising trend of the literature accumulation amount of BPPV. The scattered point diagram of BPPV shows an exponential growing trend, which was growing slowly in the early time but rapidly in recent years., Conclusion: It shows that the development of BPPV has three stages from international arical: exploration period (before 1985), breakthrough period (1986-1998). The deepening stage (after 1998), Chinese literature also has three stages from domestic BPPV precess. Blank period (before the year of 1982), the enlightenment period (1982-2004), the deepening stage (after the year of 2004). In the pregress of BPPV, many outsantding sccholars played an important role in domestic scitifction of researching, which has produced a certain influence in the worldwide.

Objective: To investigate the effect of dust aerosol exposure on lung function and lung histopathology in rats., Methods: According to random number table method, 120 Wistar male rats were divided into untreated control group, treated control group and experimental group, with 40 rats in each group. Experimental group were exposed to the wind tunnel simulation of sandstorm for 5 hours in every day; the untreated control group were put in the standard living environment next to the wind tunnel; the treated control group were exposed to the same wind tunnel simulation of sandstorm for 5 hours in every day, and the speed of wind was the same as the experimental group, but excluding dust. At different time points, the lung function and electron microscopy were performed in all rats., Results: The level of Dynamic Compliance (Cdyn) ((0.227 ± 0.023), (0.198 ± 0.022) ml/cmH₂O, 1 cmH₂O=0.098 kPa) and forced vital capacity (FVC) ((6.24 ± 0.29), (5.59 ± 0.19) ml) were lower in the experimental group at 90 and 120 days, as compared to the untreated control group (Cdyn: (0.266 ± 0.014), (0.265 ± 0.018) ml/cmH2O; FVC: (7.15 ± 0.23), (7.17 ± 0.20) ml) and treated control group (Cdyn: (0.269 ± 0.015), (0.264 ± 0.019) ml/cmH2O; FVC: (7.14 ± 0.19), (7.15 ± 0.21) ml) (all P<0.05). At 120 days, The level of the forced expiratory flow after 50% of the FVC ((12.3 ± 2.2) ml/s) and peak expiratory flow ((25.79 ± 0.42) ml/s) were lower in the experimental group, as compared to the untreated control group ((15.9 ± 2.5), (27.99 ± 0.36) ml/s) and treated control group ((15.8 ± 2.1), (27.90 ± 0.38) ml/s) (all P<0.01). The FVC rate of 0.2 second in the experimental group was higher than that in the untreated control group and treated control group ( (85 ± 5)%, (73 ± 4)%, (73 ± 4)%, all P<0.05). The electron microscopy showed that the lung tissues had no obvious abnormalities at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days in untreated control group and treated control group. But in the experimental group, at 30 days, the endothelial cells of alveolar type I cells were swelled and the number of alveolar type II cells were increased; at 60 days, alveolar type II cells hyperplastic, basement membrane thinned and destructed; at 90 days, the number of alveolar type II cells decreased, Lamellar body evacuation; at 120 days, a lot of collagen fiber was formed in the alveolar septa., Conclusions: The strong sandstorm environmental exposure to a certain period of time can cause the decline of lung function and the damage of lung histopathology in rats. Exposure time was positively correlated with the damage of lung tissue.

Objective: To examine various pneumatized extensions of the sphenoid sinus of Chinese people., Method: The sphenoid sinus and its surrounding structures were examined from 100 computed tomography images of the sinus. The type of the sphenoid sinus was classified according to the various extensions of the sinus., Result: The type of the sphenoid sinus was classified into the following 6 basic types based on the direction of pneumatization: sphenoid body, lateral, clival, lesser wing, anterior, and combined., Conclusion: The variations in the extensions of pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus may facilitate entry into areas bordering the sphenoid sinus.

Background and Objective: XAF1 is a factor necessary to inhibit tumor cell growth. Low XAF1 expression is associated with various tumor cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect and the mechanism of adenovirus vector Ad5/F35 mediated X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein associated factor-1 (XAF1) on the inhibition of cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis of human lung adenocarcinoma cell A549., Methods: Recombinant virus Ad5/F35-XAF1 and controlled virus Ad5/F35-NULL exhibited different multiplicities of infection (MOI) at the same time. mRNA and protein expressions of XAF1 were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. Cell proliferation was observed by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, and cell apoptosis was analyzed by FACS with Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining. The expressions of apoptosis-associated proteins, such as PARP, Caspase-3, and Caspase-8, were also determined by Western blot., Results: mRNA and protein expressions of XAF1 were significantly increased in human lung adenocarcinoma cell A549 after this cell was transfected with Ad5/F35-XAF1 for 48 h; these expressions were higher than those of the controlled group Ad5/F35-NULL. Cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis was induced in a dose-dependent manner in the Ad5/F35-XAF1 group. After Ad5/F35-XAF1 transfection was performed, the cleavage of apoptosis-associated proteins, such as PARP, Caspase-3, and Caspase-8, was activated., Conclusions: Restored XAF1 expression inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. Furthermore, XAF1 may activate associated apoptotic signaling pathways in A549 cell line.

Objective: To describe and analyze the clinical features of nasal respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartom and improve the levels of diagnosis and treatment., Method: Fourteen cases of nasal respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartom confirmed by pathology were collected and analyzed., Result: In 14 cases, primary complaint of Hyposmia(or Anosmia)and nasal obstruction were occured in 13 and 11 cases respectively. Four cases had past history of endoscopic sinus surgery because of the diagnosis of nasal polyps. Polypoid neoplasms could be seen in the bilateral olfactory clefts. Sinus CT showed soft tissue shadows in bilateral nasal cavity and mucous membrane thickening in different sinus. Endoscopic sinus surgery were utilized to eliminate focus in all cases. All cases weren t recurred after 2-20 months' following-up visitings., Conclusion: Nasal respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartom is so rare that clinical and pathological doctors have limited knowledge of it. It has its own characteristics from the clinical symptoms, signs to sinus CT although they are nonspecific. So we should improve the understanding about it to avoid misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis.

Objective: Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) is a rare early-onset genetic encephalopathy. The aim of this study was to explore the clinical, imaging and genetic features of a family with AGS, which may contribute to definite diagnosis, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis of this rare disease in China. We summarized the characteristics of AGS through reviewing related references., Method: Information of the proband and other family members as well as their DNA samples were collected. All the exons and exon-intron boundaries of pathogenic genes were amplified with PCR and were directly sequenced for genomic DNA. And we reviewed the reports of 252 cases., Result: (1) The proband was a 6 years plus 7 months old boy. He presented with severe developmental delay and abnormal posture mainly as torsion of limbs. By physical examination he was found to have some chilblain-like skin lesions at the end of limbs and microcephaly. The CT scan of his head displayed multiple calcification, especially in the basal ganglia. The MRI of his head displayed a hypointense signal in T1-weighted (T1W) images and a hyperintense signal in T2-weighted (T2W) in cerebral white matter and cystic lesions in temporal white matter. The younger sister of the proband presented with chilblain-like skin lesions on her face and the end of limbs had no developmental delay. The CT of her head showed multiple calcification, especially in the basal ganglia. (2) Two mutations were identified in TREX1, one was a novel nonsense mutation (c.294&#95;295insA), and the other was a known pathogenic mutation (c.868&#95;885del). (3) The common performances of AGS included mental retardation [92% (231/252) ], dystonia [75% (189/252)], microcephaly [63% (159/252) ], chilblain [42% (106/252) ], basal ganglia calcification [100% (252/252)], brain atrophy[88% (222/252)] and cerebral white matter lesions [86% (217/252)]. TREX1 [38% (96/252) ] and RNASEH2B [23% (58/252)]are the most common pathogenic genes., Conclusion: We determined pathogenic gene of these patients which is the basis of genetic counseling for this family. c.294&#95;295insA mutation is a novel mutation not reported around the world yet.

Objective: To evaluate the necessity of postural restrictions after repositioning maneuvers in posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)., Method: Sixty-eight consecutive patients diagnosed of posterior canal BPPV with a positive Dix-Hallpike test. Thirty-two patients were instructed to follow postural restrictions after repositioning maneuvers, and 36 patients did not receive any postural restriction after treatment. All the patients were reevaluated at 1 week and 3 months later respectively., Result: There was no statistical difference in number of maneuvers needed to resolve symptoms between two groups., Conclusion: Epley maneuver is effective to treat patients with posterior canal BPPV, and postural restrictions does not improved the efficacy. Above all, we do not recommend any postural restrictions to patients with posterior canal BPPV.

The regulatory mechanism of bacterial cell division has long been a research focus. Forming a septum at the middle of the cell, the seemingly simple process is involved by multiple regulation factors. Zring (FtsZ ring) is the skeleton of the splitting complex. The locus where Z ring is formed is not only the position the septum formed but also determines the cell division site. Formation of Zring in the incorrect location results in inequality cell division. Several cell division regulation systems have been identified, including the Min system, nucleoid occlusion and the MipZ protein which effectively prevent Zring assembly by different mechanisms, ensuring formation of the fission complex at the correct position. Recent progresses about the formation process of Zring and regulation mechanism affecting the Z-ring positioning are summarized.

Objective: To explore the protein expressions of PYK2 (protein-rich tyrosine kinase-2) and caveolin-1 in alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) dog model and the effect of early drug intervention., Methods: A total of 28 adult dogs were randomly divided into 4 groups: (i): alcohol-fed; (ii): alcohol plus valsartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB); (iii): alcohol plus carnitine; (iv): control group. At Month 6, the cardiac functions of all animals were evaluated by echocardiography. The concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in cardiac tissue were detected by chronometry. The protein expressions of collagen types I and III were determined by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) while those of PYK2 and caveolin-1 evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The internal relationship of PYK2, caveolin-1, MDA and collagen types I & III was analyzed., Results: Compared with the control group, the contents of SOD and GSH-Px significantly decreased in the alcohol, valsartan and carnitine groups while MDA significantly increased in the alcohol and carnitine groups. The relative contents in each group were as follows: MDA [alcohol: (28 ± 5) U/mg Pro; valsartan: (33 ± 13) U/mg Pro; carnitine: (33 ± 10) U/mg Pro], GSH-Px [alcohol: (188 ± 37) U/g Pro; valsartan: (362 ± 29) U/g Pro; carnitine: (282 ± 29) U/g Pro and MDA [alcohol: (19.4 ± 3.0) nmol/mg Pro; carnitine: (10.8 ± 2.1) nmol/mg Pro]. Compared with the control group, the concentration of collagen typeI significantly increased in the alcohol, valsartan and carnitine groups. In the alcohol-fed group, the protein expression of PYK2 gradually increased with the progression of ACM while that of caveolin-1 stayed at a low level. Through the interventions of valsartan and carnitine, the protein expression of PYK2 significantly increased while that of caveolin-1 significantly decreased (all P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Alcohol promotes the myocardial oxidative stress and fibrosis through an elevated expression of PYK2 and a lowered expression of caveolin-1. Then a deterioration of cardiac structures and functions occur.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of valsartan and carnitine on cardiomyocyte Calpain-1 and Bcl-xl expressions of dogs with chronic alcohol intake-induced cardiomyopathy., Methods: Dogs were randomly assigned into 4 groups (n = 7 each): (1) alcohol fed (free access to 5%, 1(st) week; 10% 2(nd) week; 500 ml 25% bolus plus free access to 5% from 3 to 24 weeks, A); (2) alcohol + valsartan (5 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1), B); (3) alcohol + carnitine (300 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1), C); (4) Control (D). After six months, all animals were assessed for left ventricular (LV) function by echocardiography. The Bad and Bcl-xl protein expressions were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The expression of Calpain-1 protein was determined with Western blot. Myocardial morphology was quantified on HE stained slices and under electron microscopy. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end-labeling (TUNEL) was performed for apoptosis analysis., Results: Compared with group D, LVEDD and LVESD were significantly increased while EF and FS significantly decreased in group A. In alcohol fed group, expressions of Bad and Calpain-1 protein were significantly increased while Bcl-xl protein expression was downregulated, all changes could be significantly attenuated by intervention with valsartan and carnitine (all P < 0.05)., Conclusion: These data suggest that alcohol could promote cardiac myocyte apoptosis, reduce cardiac function and aggravate myocardial remodeling which valsartan and carnitine could reduce alcoholic cardiomyopathy by downregulating Calpain-1 and Bad protein expression and upregulating expression of Bcl-xl protein.

Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents from Lamiophlomis rotata and the bioactivities of 8-epideoxyloganic acid., Method: The constituents were isolated by using a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over ployamide, silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. Structures of the isolates were identified by spectroscopic data analysis. Bioactivities were screened by using models in vivo., Result: Five constituents were isolated. 8-epideoxyloganic acid was isolated for the first time in L. rotata and also in lamioplomis genus. 8-epideoxyloganic acid could significantly inhibit aectic acid-induced twisting times and slower the time of homeostatsis, also inhibit xylene-induced ear edema in mice., Conclusion: 8-epideoxyloganic acid possesses bioactivities of analgesia, homeostasis and anti-inflammatory.

Objective: To investigate the level of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells and observe relation between expression of Foxp3 and CD127 in peripheral blood of chronic HBV infection., Methods: CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg in peripheral blood from 34 patients of immune tolerance stage, 26 patients of immune clearance stage and 31 patients of non-active status were quantitatively analyzed by flow cytometry., Results: Immune tolerance group presented a higher fraction of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg than non-active group in chronic HBV infection (Z = -2.693, P = 0.007 and t = 3.251, P = 0.002), and HBV positive group also presented a higher fraction than non-active group (t = 2.266, P = 0.026 and t = 3.208, P = 0.002), But ALT normal group is similar to ALT abnormal group (P > 0.05). In this study, the relation between expression of CD127low and Foxp3+ from CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells was observed, and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg presented a higher fraction than CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg., Conclusion: Peripheral Treg in HBV active replication group is higher than HBV negative group of chronic HBV infection. Expression of CD127low is consistent with Foxp3+ in CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells, but the former is significantly higher than the latter.

Ecosystem health is one of the research hotspots in ecology. This paper discussed the concept of urban ecosystem health, and from the viewpoint of complex ecosystem, presented a new method and a calculation model for the comprehensive assessment of urban ecosystem health to overcome the current researches shortcomings. The application of the method and model in Foshan City of Guangdong Province showed that the assessment results could reflect not only the overall health status of the city, but also the relative health level of the city's sub-systems.

The investigation on the growth, yield and benefit of rape inter- and mixed cropped with milk vetch showed that comparing with sowing rape under zero tillage, the physiological and ecological characters of transplanted rape, including its height, leaf size, root diameter, opening degree and yield were obviously improved. Under zero tillage, mixed cropping had an obvious advantage than inter- and single cropping. After tillage, the yield of transplanted rape under mixed cropping was 11.9% more than that under single cropping with zero tillage. The benefit of transplanting rape under mixed cropping with tillage was the biggest, followed by single cropping rape with zero tillage. It could be concluded that the patterns of transplanting rape under mixed cropping after tillage and zero tillage had the best physiological and ecological effects, not only increasing rape yield and income, but also improving soil fertility.

To cultivate iodine-enriched forest vegetables in the mountainous regions of northeast China, a series of iodine application experiments were conducted. Iodine fertilizer (potassium iodide, KI) was added to the forest soils supporting a variety of wild-vegetable plants, with a dosage gradient of 1.00, 3.33, 10.00, 16.67 and 50.00 mg.kg-1. The results showed that iodine application was an effective approach to obtain iodine-rich vegetable materials, and the iodine contents in treated plants could be 2-40 times higher than control. But, the residual of added iodine in soil was generally not high, only occupying 40%-5% of the application dosage. The accumulation of iodine in plants did not consistently increase with the dosage, which tended to slow down when the application amount increased to 10.00 mg.kg-1. In a comprehensive consideration of soil iodine residual, plant iodine accumulation and application cost, the proper iodine dosage should be approximately 10 mg.kg-1. Soil conditions had significant influence on the efficiency of iodine application, and the cultivated lands should be chosen at fine-textured, fertile, and upper-sloped sites, while sandy soils and down-sloped sites were unfavorable to the preservation of added iodine and to plant absorption.

To study the effects of Chinese herbal medicine Tangshenkang (TSK) capsule on diabetic nephropathy (DN), 57 patients with DN were randomly divided into two groups, the treated group and the control group, they were treated with TSK capsule and the conventional therapy respectively. There were serious disorders of metabolism in DN patients, that showed the TXB 2/6-keto-PGF1 alpha ratios and lipid peroxidase (LPO) levels were higher than that of healthy people. After 6 weeks treated with TSK capsule the albuminuria levels reduced obviously (decreased 51%), renal plasma flow (RPF) increased, glomerular filtration rate and the LPO levels decreased and a positive correlation was observed between albuminuria levels and TXB 2/6-keto-PGF1 alpha ratios while the clearance rate of creafinin didn't improve significantly. There were no significant difference in the above-mentioned parameters in the control group before and after treatment. These results suggested that TSK capsule possessed a significant effect in improving albuminuria and glomerular function. And the effect of TSK might be due to its adjusting TXB 2/6-keto-PGF1 alpha ratios and its lipid-peroxidation in DN patients.

The centromeric DNA (SFA-DNA) isolated from enriched mouse centromeric preparation has been cloned. The vector adopted for the cloning was ELBL3. About two thousand clones were obtained. The average size of the SFA-DNA inserts was estimated by measuring the inserts obtained from a mixture of 20 radomly picked clones. It was found that the average size of the SFA-DNA inserts is approximately 14 Kb.

In the present study, the primary constrictions of mouse pachytene chromosomes stained with Hoechst 33258, and those stained by indirect immunofluorescence method with CREST antiserum were compared with those hybridized by the probe DNA isolated from the enriched mouse spindle fiber attachments. It was found that the DNA probe hybridized not only with the centromeric regions on synaptonema complexes but also with the DNA of pericentromeric heterochromatin of all autosomes. Moreover, the DNA probe hybridized also with the centromeric regions of both X and Y chromosomes. It was concluded that the DNA isolated from the enriched mouse spindle fiber attachments contains a complete set of the centromeric DNAs of all autosomes, X and Y chromosomes.