Effects of extreme temperatures on public sentiment in 49 Chinese cities

The rising sentiment challenges of the metropolitan residents may be attributed to the extreme temperatures. However, nationwide real-time empirical studies that examine this claim are rare. In this research, we construct a daily extreme temperature index and sentiment metric using geotagged posts on one of China's largest social media sites, Weibo, to verify this hypothesis. We find that extreme temperatures causally decrease individuals' sentiment, and extremely low temperature may decrease more than extremely high temperature. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that individuals living in high levels of PM2.5, existing new COVID-19 diagnoses and low-disposable income cities on workdays are more vulnerable to the impact of extreme temperatures on sentiment. More importantly, the results also demonstrate that the adverse effects of extremely low temperatures on sentiment are more minor for people living in northern cities with breezes. Finally, we estimate that with a one-standard increase of extremely high (low) temperature, the sentiment decreases by approximately 0.161 (0.272) units. Employing social media to monitor public sentiment can assist policymakers in developing data-driven and evidence-based policies to alleviate the adverse impacts of extreme temperatures.

Effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on intestinal flora in the rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome based on 16S rDNA technique

OBJECTIVES

To explore the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on intestinal flora in the rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) based on 16S rDNA technique.

METHODS

Ten rats were randomized from 58 SPF-grade male SD rats to be the blank group. The remained 48 rats were prepared to be IBS-D models by the modified method of acetic acid enema combined with binding tail-clip stress. Forty successfully-modeled rats were randomly divided into a model group, an acupuncture group, a moxibustion group and a western medication group, with 10 rats in each one. In the acupuncture group, the needle was inserted at bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) and remained for 15 min in each rat. In the moxibustion group, the suspending moxibustion was delivered at bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) for 15 min. The rats in the western medication group were given pinaverium bromide suspension (10 mL/kg) by intragastric administration. The above interventions were performed once daily for consecutive 14 days. The body mass and the score of fecal trait were compared before and after modeling, as well as after intervention in each group. Fecal water content, diarrhea index and colon transit time (CTT) were measured after modeling and intervention in the rats of each group separately. After intervention, the colonic morphology of rats in each group was observed, and using 16S rDNA technique, the intestinal flora was detected.

RESULTS

After modeling, compared with the blank group, the body mass and CTT were reduced (P<0.01); fecal trait scores, fecal water contents and diarrhea index increased (P<0.01) in the other 4 groups. After intervention, the body mass and CTT of the rats decreased (P<0.01), and fecal trait score, fecal water content and diarrhea index increased (P<0.01) in the model group compared with those in the blank group. In the acupuncture group, the moxibustion group and the western medication group, when compared with the model group, the body mass and CTT were elevated (P<0.01), while fecal trait scores, fecal water contents and diarrhea index declined (P<0.01). Compared with the western medication group, fecal water content decreased in the acupuncture group and the moxibustion group (P<0.05), while CTT increased in the acupuncture group (P<0.01), the body mass increased and fecal trait score was dropped in the moxibustion group (P<0.05). The colonic mucosa structure was clear and complete, and there was no obvious inflammatory cell infiltration in the blank group. The mild interstitial edema of intestinal mucosa was presented with the infiltration of few inflammatory cells in the model group. There was the infiltration of few inflammatory cells in the mucosa of the acupuncture group, the moxibustion group and the western medication group. Compared with the blank group, the indexes of Richness, Chao1, ACE and Shannon decreased in the model group (P<0.05). Indexes of Richness, Chao1 and ACE increased in the acupuncture group and the moxibustion group (P<0.05), and the Richness index in the western medication group increased (P<0.05) when compared with those in the model group. The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Prevotella increased (P<0.05), and that of Firmicutes and Muribaculaceae decreased (P<0.05) in the model group compared with those in the blank group. When compared with the model group, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Prevotella was reduced (P<0.05), while that of Firmicutes and Muribaculaceae increased (P<0.05) in the acupuncture group, the moxibustion group and the western medication group; and that of Actinobacteria and Bifidobacterium increased in the acupuncture group and the moxibustion group (P<0.05). Compared with the blank group, the relative abundance of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis was elevated (P<0.05), and that of folate biosynthesis, lipoic acid metabolism, zeatin biosynthesis, ubiquinone and other terpenoid quinone biosynthesis decreased (P<0.05) in the model group. The relative abundance of LPS biosynthesis was dropped (P<0.05), and that of folate biosynthesis, lipoic acid metabolism, zeatin biosynthesis, ubiquinone and other terpenoid quinone biosynthesis increased (P<0.05) in the acupuncture group, the moxibustion group and the western medication group compared with those of the model group.

CONCLUSIONS

Either acupuncture or moxibustion can relieve the symptoms of IBS-D and protect intestinal mucosa, which may be associated with regulating the structure of intestinal flora and promoting nutrient metabolism and biosynthesis.

[The influence of zinc on apoptosis and cell proliferation in palatal shelves during the fusion phase in mice and identification of a special protein family based on gene expression in cleft palate]

Objective: To investigate the effect of the trace element zinc (Zn) on apoptosis and cell proliferation in palate shelvesduring the fusion phase, and to screen candidate genes of the Zn-finger special protein (Sp) family that were differentially expressed between the cleft palate and the normal palate to explore the mechanism of Zn in the development of cleft palate. Methods: Zn-rich, normal-Zn, low-Zn, and Zn-deficient diets were fed to female mice and, for the resultant fetuses, paraffin slices of their heads were made at embryonicdays 14.5 and 16.5. Using terminaldeoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling, the number of apoptotic cells in the palatal shelves was counted, and cell proliferation activity was detected using proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining. Total RNA from the palatal shelves of fetal mice was extracted from the Zn-rich diet, normal Zn-diet, and Zn-deficient-diet groups. We used microarray analysis to examine the expression of genes to identify intergroup differential gene expression and polymerase chain reaction tests to validate the results. Results: At ED14.5, the incidence of cleft palate in the regular zinc group, zinc rich group, low zinc group, and zinc deficient group was 8% (3/36), 2% (1/39), 29% (12/41), and 39% (15/38), respectively. The HE staining results at ED14.5 showed that both the left and right palatal processes in the zinc group had been lifted up and were in contact and connected with each other. In the zinc deficiency group, the left and right palatine processes remained vertically downwards on both sides of the tongue, ultimately forming cleft palate; In the low zinc group, the left and right palatine processes were raised but not in contact, ultimately resulting in cleft palate. There is no significant difference between the zinc rich group and the regular zinc group. At ED14.5, the positive rates of proliferative cells in the palatal process of fetal mice in the regular zinc group (80.29% ± 7.39%) and the zinc rich group (87.69% ± 6.62%) were significantly higher than those in the zinc deficient group (56.05% ± 16.13%) and the low zinc group (56.22% ± 9.61%) (t=4.32, P<0.05). The apoptosis index of fetal rat palatal process cells in the zinc deficient group (38.80% ± 3.10%) and the low zinc group (28.80% ± 6.19%) were significantly higher than those in the regular zinc group (16.80% ± 1.82%) (t=19.35, P<0.001; t=5.81, P<0.001). There were 663 differentially expressed genes in the zinc rich group and the zinc deficient group, with 513 up-regulated genes and 150 down-regulated genes, among which Sp5 was found to be located. The real time PCR results showed that compared with the regular zinc group (2.22 ± 0.36), the expression level of Sp5mRNA in the palatal process tissue of the zinc deficient group (1.23 ± 0.38) significantly increased (P<0.05), while the zinc rich group (3.68 ± 0.90) significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions: Trace element Zn content was found to be closely related to the occurrence of cleft palate in mice offspring, with a lack of Zn leading to cleft palate.

[Study on related factors and characteristics of multimorbidity of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children in Hunan Province]

From January 2019 to December 2021, overweight and obese children who visited in health outpatient Center of Hunan Children's Hospital were studied to explore and analyze the rate, related factors and patterns of multimorbidity of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children in Hunan Province. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the multimorbidity-related factors of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children. Association rules (apriori algorithm) were used to explore the multimorbidity patterns of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children. A total of 725 overweight and obese children were included in this study. The multimorbidity rate of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children was 46.07% (334/725). Age, waist circumference, the frequency of food consumption such as hamburgers and fries and adding meals before bedtime were multimorbidity-related factors of overweight and obesity-related diseases in children. The multimorbidity associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was relatively common. The patterns with the top three support degrees were "NAFLD+dyslipidemia","NAFLD+hypertension" and "NAFLD+hyperuricemia". The patterns with the top three confidence and elevation degrees were "Hypertension+dyslipidemia => NAFLD","Hyperuricemia => NAFLD" and "NAFLD+hypertension => dyslipidemia".

[Association of hs-CRP with frailty and its components among the elderly over 65 years old in 9 longevity areas of China]

Objective: To investigate the association of the levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) with frailty and its components among the elderly over 65 years old in 9 longevity areas of China. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Health Ageing and Biomarkers Cohort Study (HABCS, 2017-2018) were used and the elderly over 65 years old were included in this study. Through questionnaire interview and physical examination, the information including demographic characteristics, behavior, diet, daily activity, cognitive function, and health status was collected. The association between hs-CRP and frailty and its components in the participants was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression model and restrictive cubic spline. Results: A total of 2 453 participants were finally included, the age was (84.8±19.8) years old. The median hs-CRP level was 1.13 mg/L and the prevalence of frailty was 24.4%. Compared with the low-level group (hs-CRP<1.0 mg/L), the OR (95%CI) value of the high-level group (hs-CRP>3.0 mg/L) was 1.79 (1.35-2.36) mg/L. As for the components, the hs-CRP level was also positively associated with ADL disability, IADL disability, functional limitation and multimorbidity. After adjusting for confounding factors, compared with the low-level group, the OR (95%CI) values of the high-level group for the four components were 1.68 (1.25-2.27), 1.88 (1.42-2.50), 1.68 (1.31-2.14) and 1.39 (1.12-1.72), respectively. Conclusion: There is a positive association between the levels of hs-CRP and the risk of frailty among the elderly over 65 years old in 9 longevity areas of China. The higher hs-CRP level may increase the risk of frailty by elevating the risk of four physical functional disabilities, namely ADL disability, IADL disability, functional limitation and multimorbidity.

[Factors associated with malnutrition in infants with congenital heart disease within one year after surgery]

Objective: To explore the risk factors of malnutrition in infants with congenital heart disease within one year after surgery. Methods: This retrospective cohort study selected 502 infants with congenital heart disease who underwent surgical treatment in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from February 2018 to January 2019. Their basic information and clinical data were analyzed, and their nutrition status after the surgery was followed up by questionnaire survey. Weight-for-age Z score (WAZ)≤-2 one year after operation was defined as malnutrition group, and WAZ>-2 was non-malnutrition group. The perioperative indicators and complementary food advancement were compared between the two groups by chi-square test, t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. The risk factors of malnutrition were analyzed by Logistic regression. Results: A total of 502 infants were selected, including 301 males and 201 females, with the age of 4.1 (2.0, 6.8) months. There were 90 cases in malnutrition group and 412 cases in non-malnutrition group. The body length and weight at birth in the malnutrition group were lower than those in the non-malnutrition group ((47.8±3.8) vs. (49.3±2.5) cm, (2.7±0.6) vs.(3.0±0.5) kg, both P<0.001). The proportion of paternal high school education or above and the proportion of family per capita income of 5 000 yuan or above in the malnutrition group were lower than those in the non-malnutrition group ((18.9% (17/90) vs. 30.8% (127/412), 18.9% (17/90) vs. 33.7% (139/412), both P<0.05). Compared to the non-malnutrition group, the proportion of complex congenital heart disease in the malnutrition group was higher (62.2% (56/90) vs. 47.3% (195/412), P<0.05). The postoperative mechanical ventilation time, postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) stay time, postoperative hospital stay, total length of ICU stay and total hospital stay in the malnutrition group were significantly longer than those in non-malnutrition group (all P<0.05). The proportion of egg and fish supplementation over 2 times/week within one year after the surgery was also lower in the malnutrition group (both P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that mother's weight at delivery (OR=0.95,95%CI 0.91-0.99), the pre-operative WAZ≤-2 (OR=6.04, 95%CI 3.13-11.65), the complexity of the cardiac disease (OR=2.23, 95%CI 1.22-4.06), the hospital stay after the surgery over 14 days (OR=2.61, 95%CI 1.30-5.26), the types of complementary food<4 (OR=2.57, 95%CI 1.39-4.76), and the frequency of meat and fish<2 times/week (OR=2.11, 95%CI 1.13-3.93) were the risk factors associated with malnutrition within one year after the surgery. Conclusion: Mother's weight at delivery pre-operative nutritional status, complexity of cardiac disease, postoperative hospital stay, types of daily supplements and frequency of fish are risk factors associated with malnutrition within one year after surgery in children with congenital heart disease.

[Chinese expert consensus on management of dyslipidemia in the elderly]

Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Statins delay the occurrence and development of ASCVD, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and death. Due to safety concerns, there exist insufficient use of lipid-lowering agents and a high withdrawal rate of the agents in the elderly. To promote the prevention and treatment of ASCVD, this expert consensus is issued and focuses on the management of dyslipidemia of Chinese elderly basing on the clinical evidence of the use of lipid-lowering drugs by the elderly, and the lipid management guidelines and expert consensus recommendations at home and abroad.

Ordered stereom structure in sea urchin tubercles: High capability for energy dissipation

Tubercles in sea urchin shells serve as a base on the test plates connecting the spine; these undergo compressive or impact stress from the spines. As the volume fraction of the ordered stereom structure in a tubercle increases, the compressive load-displacement curves are gradually characterized by the typical behavior of ceramic foams. Although this ordered stereom structure only exhibits an average porosity of 50.6%, it also exhibits high fracture resistance and energy dissipation capacity. Such remarkable behavior of the ordered stereom structure is attributed to its unique hierarchical microstructure. Specifically, at the macroscale, the stereom structure is periodic. It has uniformly distributed pores that are typically round, which can effectively reduce the stress concentration around the pores, and the ordered arrangement of the trabeculae along the axial direction of the tubercle bears the most compressive stress. The trabeculae present a bottleneck shape with a specific dimension, ensuring the best fracture resistance with a relatively higher porosity. Furthermore, crack deflection in the trabeculae changes the local fracture mode of the mineral, thereby increasing the crack surface area. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The connecting bases of the spines in sea urchin shell, known as tubercle, effectively undergo the compressive stress or impact stress from the spines. An ordered stereom structure is found in the tubercle, and it shows an excellent fracture resistance and energy dissipation capacity. Such a fantastic behavior of the ordered stereom structure mainly takes advantage of its unique hierarchical microstructure. The stereom structure presents a periodic structure on macroscale, the trabeculae show a bottleneck shape with a specific dimension to guarantee the best fracture resistance with a relatively higher porosity, and the soft fillers among CaCO₃ nanoparticles in a trabecula cause consecutive crack deflections.

[Influence of visceral lipids obesity on the early postoperative complications after radical gastrectomy]

Objective: To investigate the effect of visceral fat area (VFA) on the surgical efficacy and early postoperative complications of radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods: A retrospective cohort study method was used. Clinicopathological data and preoperative imaging data of 195 patients who underwent D2 radical gastric cancer surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2014 to December 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. Inclusion criteria: (1) complete clinicopathological and imaging data; (2) malignant gastric tumor diagnosed by preoperative pathology, and gastric cancer confirmed by postoperative pathology; (3) no preoperative complications such as bleeding, obstruction or perforation, and no distant metastasis. Those who had a history of abdominal surgery, concurrent malignant tumors, poor basic conditions, emergency surgery, palliative resection, and preoperative neoadjuvant therapy were excluded. The VFA was calculated by software and VFA ≥ 100 cm² was defined as visceral obesity according to the Japan Obesity Association criteria . The patients were divided into high VFA (VFA-H, VFA≥100 cm², n=96) group and low VFA (VFA-L, VFA<100 cm², n=99) group . The clinicopathological characteristics, surgical outcomes and early postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk factors of early complications. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze predictive values of VFA for early complications. Pearson's χ² test was used to analyze the correlation between BMI and VFA. Results: There were no significant differences in terms of gender, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, preoperative comorbidities, preoperative anemia, tumor TNM staging, N staging, T staging and tumor differentiation, surgical method, extent of resection, and tumor location between the VFA-L group and the VFA-H group (all P>0.05). However, patients in the VFA-H group had higher BMI, larger tumor, lower rate of hypoalbuminemia and greater subcutaneous fat area (SFA) (all P<0.05). The VFA-H group presented significantly longer operation time and significantly less number of harvested lymph nodes as compared to the VFA-L group (both P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, conversion to laparotomy and postoperative hospital stay (all P>0.05). Complications of Clavien-Dindo grade II and above within 30 days after operation were mainly anastomosis-related complications (leakage, bleeding, infection and stricture), intestinal obstruction and incision infection. The VFA-H group had a higher morbidity of early complications compared to the VFA-L group [24.0% (23/96) vs 10.1% (10/99), χ²=6.657, P=0.010], and the rates of anastomotic complications and incision infection were also higher in the VFA group [10.4% (10/96) vs. 3.0% (3/99), χ²=4.274, P=0.039; 7.3% (7/96) vs. 1.0% (1/99), P=0.033]. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that high BMI (OR=3.688, 95%CI: 1.685-8.072, P=0.001) and high VFA (OR=2.526, 95%CI: 1.148-5.559,P=0.021) were independent risk factors for early complications. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of VFA for predicting early complications was 0.645, which was higher than that of body weight (0.591), BMI (0.624) and SFA (0.626). Correlation analysis indicated that there was a significantly positive correlation between BMI and VFA (r=0.640, P<0.001). Conclusion: VFA ≥ 100 cm² is an independent risk factor for early complications after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.It can better predict the occurrence of above early postoperative complications.

[Efficacy of laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction versus laparoscopic total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction for early upper gastric cancer]

Objective: To compare clinical efficacy between laparoscopic radical proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (LPG-DTR) and laparoscopic radical total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction (LTG-RY) in patients with early upper gastric cancer, and to provide a reference for the selection of surgical methods in early upper gastric cancer. Methods: A retrospective cohort study method was carried out. Clinical data of 80 patients with early upper gastric cancer who underwent LPG-DTR or LTG-RY by the same surgical team at the Department of General Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2018 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into the DTR group (32 cases) and R-Y group (48 cases) according to surgical procedures and digestive tract reconstruction methods. Surgical and pathological characteristics, postoperative complications (short-term complications within 30 days after surgery and long-term complications after postoperative 30 days), survival time and nutritinal status were compared between the two groups. For nutritional status, reduction rate was used to represent the changes in total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, body mass, hemoglobin and vitamin B12 levels at postoperative 1-year and 2-year. Non-normally distributed continuous data were presented as median (interquartile range), and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between groups. The χ(2) test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of data between groups. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the ranked data between groups. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method categorical, and compared by using the log-rank test. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in baseline data betweeen the two groups, except that patients in the R-Y group were oldere and had larger tumor. Patients of both groups successfully completed the operation without conversion to laparotomy, combined organ resection, or perioperative death. There were no significant differences in the distance from proximal resection margin to superior margin of tumor, postoperative hospital stay, time to flatus and food-taking, hospitalization cost, short- and long-term complications between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with the R-Y group, the DTR group had shorter distal margins [(3.2±0.5) cm vs. (11.7±2.0) cm, t=-23.033, P<0.001], longer surgery time [232.5 (63.7) minutes vs. 185.0 (63.0) minutes, Z=-3.238, P=0.001], longer anastomosis time [62.5 (17.5) minutes vs. 40.0 (10.0) minutes, Z=-6.321, P<0.001], less intraoperative blood loss [(138.1±51.6) ml vs. (184.3±62.1) ml, t=-3.477, P=0.001], with significant differences (all P<0.05). The median follow-up of the whole group was 18 months, and the 2-year cancer-specific survival rate was 97.5%, with 100% in the DTR group and 95.8% in the R-Y group (P=0.373). Compared with R-Y group at postoperative 1 year, the reduction rate of weight, hemoglobin and vitamin B12 were lower in DTR group with significant differences (all P<0.05); at postoperative 2-year, the reduction rate of vitamin B12 was still lower with significant differences (P<0.001), but the reduction rates of total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, body weight and hemoglobin were similar between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: LPG-DTR is safe and feasible in the treatment of early upper gastric cancer. The short-term postoperative nutritional status and long-term vitamin B12 levels of patients undergoing LPG-DTR are superior to those undergoing LTG-RY.

Genistein Protects against Spinal Cord Injury in Mice by Inhibiting Neuroinflammation via TLR4-Mediated Microglial Polarization

Objective

The present study was designed to study the effect of genistein on spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice and to explore its underlying mechanisms.

Methods

We established SCI mouse model, and genistein was administered for treatment. We used the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) exercise rating scale to evaluate exercise recovery, and the detection of spinal cord edema was done using the wet/dry weight method. Apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining, and inflammation was evaluated by measuring inflammatory factors by an ELISA kit. The expression of M1 and M2 macrophage markers was determined using flow cytometry, and the expression of proteins was detected using immunoblotting.

Results

Genistein treatment not only improved the BBB score but also reduced spinal cord edema in SCI mice. Genistein treatment reduced apoptosis by increasing Bcl2 protein expression and decreasing Bax and caspase 3 protein expression. It also reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) in the SCI area of SCI mice. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that genistein treatment significantly decreased the ratio of M1 macrophages (CD45+/Gr-1-/CD11b+/iNOS+) and increased the ratio of M2 macrophages (CD45+/Gr-1-/CD11b+/Arginase 1+) in the SCI area of SCI mice on the 28th day after being treated with genistein. We also found that genistein treatment significantly decreased the expression of TLR4, MyD88, and TRAF6 protein in the SCI area of SCI mice on 28th day after being treated with genistein.

Conclusion

Our findings suggested that genistein exerted neuroprotective action by inhibiting neuroinflammation by promoting the activation of M2 macrophages, and its underlying mechanisms might be related to the inhibition of the TLR4-mediated MyD88-dependent signaling pathway.

[Association between urinary arsenic levels and anemia among older adults in nine longevity areas of China]

Objective: To investigate the association between urinary arsenic levels and anemia among older adults in nine longevity areas of China. Methods: A total of 1 896 subjects aged 65 years and above who participated in the Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study (HABCS) in 2017-2018 were included. A self-made questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics, lifestyle and other information from the subjects. Through physical examination, data including height, weight and blood pressure were determined and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Blood and urine samples were collected for the detection of hemoglobin (Hb), blood glucose, blood lipids, plasma vitamin B₁₂ and urinary arsenic concentrations. The urinary arsenic levels were divided into four groups according to the quartiles of urinary arsenic concentrations (μg/g creatinine): Q₁ (<18.7), Q₂ (18.7-34.5), Q₃ (34.6-69.5) and Q₄(≥69.6). Multivariate logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline fitting logistic regression model were used to analyze the association between urinary arsenic levels and anemia. Results: The age of the 1 896 subjects (M (Q₁, Q₃)) was 83 (74, 92) years, including 952 females (50.21%), and the concentration of Hb (M (Q₁, Q₃)) was 135 (124, 147)g/L. The prevalence of anemia was 24.89% (472 cases). The geometric mean and M (Q₁, Q₃) of urinary arsenic concentrations were 37.5 and 34.6 (18.7, 69.6)μg/g creatinine, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis showed that after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, education level, smoking and drinking status, residence, economic level, ethnicity, the status of vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, consumption frequency of aquatic products and meat, the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia, urinary arsenic levels were positively associated with anemia (Taking group Q₁ as a reference, OR (95%CI) values in Q₂, Q₃ and Q₄ groups were 1.73 (1.20-2.50), 2.08 (1.43-3.02) and 1.52 (1.02-2.28), respectively). The results of restricted cubic spline fitting logistic regression analysis showed a non-linear association between urinary arsenic concentrations and anemia (P<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed there was a negative multiplicative interaction between the prevalence of chronic diseases and urinary arsenic levels with OR (95%CI) was 0.55 (0.30-0.99), while no multiplicative interaction was found between age, gender, residence, smoking status, drinking status and urinary arsenic levels (P>0.05). There was a positive association between urinary arsenic levels and anemia in participants who were absence of chronic diseases,male, living in rural, smoking and drinking with OR (95%CI) values of 3.62 (1.30-10.06),2.46 (1.34-4.52), 1.70 (1.03-2.80), 2.21 (1.01-4.82) and 2.79 (1.23-6.33), respectively. Conclusion: There is a positive association between urinary arsenic levels and anemia among older adults in nine longevity areas of China.

Success of Big Infectious Disease Reimbursement Policy in China

Big infectious diseases do harm to the whole society, and it is highly crucial to control them on time. The major purpose of this article is to theoretically demonstrate that the Chinese government’s intervention in large-scale infectious diseases is successful and efficient. Two potential strategies were considered: strategy 1 was infectious disease without government intervention, and strategy 2 was infectious disease with government intervention. By evolution model, this article illustrates the efficiency of big infectious disease reimbursement policy in China. Without government reimbursement, this article finds that high expenditures accelerate the disease infection. The number of infected persons decreases under big infectious disease reimbursement policy in China. The higher the treatment costs, the more important the government intervention. Big infectious disease reimbursement policy in China can serve as an efficient example to cope with big infectious diseases.

Kinking and cracking behavior in nacre under stepwise compressive loading

The damage evolution of nacre under compressive loading has not been well understood, despite numerous investigations on its compressive behavior. In the present work, quasi-in-situ loading-unloading-reloading stepwise compressive tests were performed on nacre in Pinctada maxima shell, which exhibits a distinctive gradient feature with the thickness of platelets decreasing from the external to internal parts. In the loading direction parallel to the platelets, multiple microcracks and kink bands can absorb much deformation energy, leading to a graceful failure. Kinking only occurs at the final stage of fracture process, and it thus has no obvious influence on the strength of nacre, but contributes to a much larger strain. In the loading direction perpendicular to the platelets, nacre exhibits concurrently much higher compressive strength and fracture strain, as the damage can be effectively restricted. This is attributed to the presence of gradient structure, which disperses the stress concentration in front of the crack tip, and arouses the toughening mechanisms including damage localization and crack deflection. The findings obtained in this study are expected to provide fundamental insights into the design of bio-inspired advanced engineering materials.

[Regulation of m^(6)A RNA Methylation and Its Effect on Myogenic Differentiation in Murine Myoblasts]

N^(6)-methyladenosine (m^(6)A) has been identified as a conserved epitranscriptomic modification of eukaryotic mRNAs, and plays important biological roles in the regulation of cellular metabolic processes. However, its role in myogenic differentiation is unclear. Here, we altered the m^(6)A RNA methylation level by overexpression of METTL3, and explored the effect of m^(6)A RNA methylation on myogenic differentiation of murine myoblasts in vitro. The m6A RNA methylation level is regulated by exogenous methylation inhibitor cycloleucine (Cyc) and methyl donor betaine (Bet). Therefore, chemical reagents of Cyc and Bet were used to test the regulatory effect of m^(6)A RNA methylation on myogenic differentiation. Results showed that METTL3 and Bet positively regulated the m^(6)A RNA methylation levels, and Cyc negatively regulated m^(6)A RNA methylation levels. In addition, m^(6)A methylation positively regulated myogenic differentiation in murine myoblasts. These findings provide insight in the mechanisms underlying the effect of m^(6)A RNA methylation on myogenesis.

[Study on the relationship between smoking behavior and health literacy among grade 4-6 primary students in Shandong province]

Objective: To investigate the associations between smoking and literacy on health among 4-6 grade primary school students. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted to research on health literacy and smoking among 4-6 grade pupils in Shandong province, through a multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method. Sociodemographic characteristics, health literacy level and smoking rate were collected from respondents. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of smoking and health literacy. Results: A total of 9 240 questionnaires were distributed, with the rate of valid response as 99.7%. The current smoking rate of the students was 2.6%, on higher in boys (3.1%) than in girls (2.0%). 60.8% of 4-6 grade students were found to have adequate health literacy level. Levels of literacy health in both boy and girl school students appeared 56.7% and 64.9%, respectively. Results indicated that health literacy in smokers (14.4%) was lower than that in non-smokers (62.0%). Results from the binary logistic regression analysis showed that the independent influencing factors would include grade, father's education level, economic situation of the family, self-assessment on the school record and literacy on health (P<0.01). After controlling the other independent variables, the smoking rate was 8.62 (1/0.116) times in students with low literacy level on health, than those with high literacy level. Conclusions: Literacy on health was significantly associated with smoking in the 4-6 grade pupils of Shandong province.

[A randomized controlled study of peramivir, oseltamivir and placebo in patients with mild influenza]

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of peramivir trihydrate in patients with influenza. Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo and positive control, multicenter clinical trial, comparing peramivir trihydrate with oseltamivir and placebo. The inclusive criteria were 15-70 years old, onset within 48 h, positive rapid influenza antigen test, and febrile (>38℃) accompanied with at least two associated symptoms. The severe cases complicated with chronic pulmonary and cardiac diseases, malignancies, organ transplantation, hemodialysis, uncontrolled diabetes, immunocompromised status, pregnancy and coexistence of bacterium infections were excluded. All patients were randomized 2∶2∶1 to receive peramivir, oseltamivir and placebo respectively. The primary endpoint was the disease duration, the secondary endpoints included time to normal axillary temperature and normal living activities, viral response, and adverse effects. Results: Following informed consent, 133 patients were included in this study. Four patients were exclude due to missing medical records, not fitting inclusion or exclusion criteria and poor compliance. A total of 129 patients were finally analyzed, including 49 cases, 54 cases and 26 cases in peramivir group, oseltamivir group and placebo group. The median disease duration were 96 (76, 120) hours, 105 (90,124) hours, and 124 (104, 172) hours in three groups respectively (P>0.05) . The time to normal axillary temperature, normal living activities and viral response were not significantly different in three groups (P>0.05) . Conclusion: The value of antiviral therapy in patients with mild influenza needs to be further determined.

[Ibrutinib inhibits mesenchymal stem cells-mediated drug resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma]

目的

探讨依布替尼克服弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤（DLBCL）细胞耐药的机制。

方法

①体外实验：以DLBCL细胞系SUDHL10细胞（GCB亚型）、HBL-1（ABC亚型）以及8例DLBCL患者原代细胞为研究对象，与正常人骨髓基质细胞（MSC）共培养后，显微镜下计数向MSC趋化迁移及与MSC黏附的DLBCL细胞数，ELISA法检测MSC的CXCL12表达水平，流式细胞术检测DLBCL细胞的CXCR4表达水平；以携带有CXCR4的慢病毒转染HBL-1细胞，米托蒽醌、依布替尼处理后与MSC共培养，流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡水平；倒置显微镜下观察HBL-1细胞集落形成情况。②体内实验：以HBL-1细胞构建的NOD/SCID肿瘤模型小鼠为研究对象，观察依布替尼治疗后肿瘤体积变化。

结果

①依布替尼处理后，DLBCL细胞向MSC的迁移数和与MSC的黏附比例明显降低（P值均<0.05），并呈剂量依赖性。②与依布替尼处理前比较，处理后MSC的CXCL12表达水平降低（SUDHL10细胞：660 pg/ml对1 400 pg/ml，P=0.004；HBL-1细胞：720 pg/ml对1 490 pg/ml，P=0.018；DLBCL原代细胞：850 pg/ml对1 450 pg/ml，P=0.004），DLBCL细胞的CXCR4表达水平降低（P值均<0.05）。③共培养时，对照组、米托蒽醌组、依布替尼组、米托蒽醌组+依布替尼组的HBL-1细胞凋亡比例分别为15.1%、17.5%、23.5%、58.7%，转染过表达CXCR4后，HBL-1细胞凋亡比例分别为14.2%、16.1%、22.5%、38.3%，共培养联合用药组HBL-1细胞凋亡比例高于单药培养组，差异均有统计学意义（P值均<0.05）。④对照组、MSC组、依布替尼组、MSC组+依布替尼组集落数分别为113±5、205±4、62±9、123±3（每孔2.5×10³），模型小鼠皮下肿瘤体积分别为6 500、17 000、4 000、10 000 mm³，依布替尼处理后较处理前集落数和肿瘤体积明显减少，差异均有统计学意义（P值均<0.05）。

结论

依布替尼靶向作用于CXCL12/CXCR4轴，抑制CXCR4表达从而克服MSC介导的耐药作用，并且能够在体内外抑制MSC促淋巴瘤细胞集落形成的作用。为依布替尼治疗复发耐药DLBCL提供了理论依据。

[Comparison of perioperative conditions between total and partial colpocleisis for elderly patients suffered from severe pelvic organ prolapse]

Objective: To study perioperative period conditions of total and partial colpocleisis with severe pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in elderly patients. Methods: From Jan. 2014 to Oct. 2017 286 severe POP elderly patients underwent total or partial colpocleisis. The mean age was (76.0±5.1) years (60-90 years) . Of which, 220 patients (76.9%, 220/286) presented more than one kind of medical disease. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay after surgery, postoperative complications, preoperative urinary dysuria symptoms of total and partial colpocleisis in treatment of 286 patients were analyzed. Results: In 286 patients, 172 patients (60.1%) underwent total colpocleisis and 114 patients (39.9%) underwent partial colpocleisis. Totally 48 patients (16.8%) in 286 patients underwent anti-urinary incontinence procedure. The mean operating time of 286 patients was (67±22) minutes,the mean blood loss was (52± 57) ml, the mean hospital stay after surgery was (5.9±1.9) days (2-16 days) . The rate of postoperative complications was 8.7% (25/286) . Those complications including 1 case of bladder injury during operation, 3 cases of postoperative pelvic hematoma, 1 case of intestinal obstruction, 5 cases of atrial fibrillation, 10 cases of postoperative morbidity, 3 cases of pulmonary embolism, 1 case of lower limb thrombosis, 1 case of urinary retention underwent electrical stimulation treatment because of ineffective application of urinary retention catheter. The mean operating time was (67±22) minutes in total colpocleisis and (68±20) minutes in partial colpocleisis (P>0.05) , the mean blood loss was (58±62) ml in total colpocleisis and (41±45) ml in partial colpocleisis (P>0.05) , the mean hospital stay after surgery was (5.9±1.9) days in total colpocleisis and (6.0±1.8) days in partial colpocleisis (P>0.05) , the rate of post operative complications was 8.1%(14/172) in total colpocleisis and 9.6% (11/114) in partial colpocleisis (P>0.05) , respectively; those four of comparisons showed no significant difference. There were 129 patients (45.1%, 129/286) with voiding difficulty before surgery; the mean postvoid residual volumes of the above two operation types of people after operation were (35±43) and (34±41) ml, which showed no significant difference (P>0.05) . Conclusions: Colpocleisis is a safe and effective management in selected elderly patients with severe POP, who no longer desire to maintain vaginal coital function. There is no significant difference in the perioperative period conditions between total and partial colpocleisis. The choice of surgical procedure is based on factors such as the presence or absence of malignancy in the uterus, age and willingness of the patient, and general condition.

[MiR-222-3р Regulates the Proliferation and Differentiation of C2C12 Myoblasts by Targeting BTG2]

MiR-222-3р has been implicated in tumor cell proliferation and has an important role in the differentiation and maturation of myogenic cells. However, its role in skeletal myoblast proliferation is still unclear. In this study, we found that miR-222-3р expression increases initially and then decreases during C2C12 myoblast proliferation. Using synthetic miRNA mimics and inhibitors in gain- or loss-of-function experiments, we snowed that miR-222-3р overexpression in C2C12 cells promotes myoblast proliferation and represses myofiber formation, while miR-222-3р downregulation has the opposite effect. Using a prediction program, BTG2 was identified as a possible target gene of miR-222-3р. During myogenesis, miR-222-3р mimics repress BTG2 expression, while miR-222-3р inhibitors promote BTG2 expression. Using dual-luciferase reporter assay, we further demonstrated that miR-222-3р specifically targets BTG2. Additionally, we show that siRNA-mediated downregulation of BTG2 expression in C2C12 myoblasts promotes the proliferation and suppresses differentiation. In conclusion, we provide a novel insight into the mechanism by which miR-222-3р regulates the proliferation and differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts by targeting BTG2. This information contributes to our understanding of the role of miRNAs in skeletal muscle development.

[Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of dengue in China]

Dengue is the most prevalent and rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease. As a dengue non-endemic country, China has experienced several dengue outbreaks in recent years. However, dengue patients in China displayed distinct clinical characteristics compared to patients in endemic countries. To standardize the diagnosis and treatment of dengue fever, the experts of the Society of Infectious Diseases, Society of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology of Chinese Medical Association, and the Society of Emergency Medicine, China Association of Chinese Medicine have reached this guideline based on guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of dengue (World Health Organization, 2009); guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of dengue (National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China, 2014, Edition 2), health industry standard of the People's Republic of China "diagnosis for dengue fever (WS216-2018)" and systemic reports on dengue. The guideline includes 8 aspects: introduction, terminology, epidemiology and prevention, etiology and pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and problems to be solved.

Deformation and fracture behavior of a natural shell ceramic: Coupled effects of shell shape and microstructure

Common seashells possess their most adaptive functions benefiting from the macro-geometry and unique microstructures. The Cymbiola nobilis shell exhibits a logarithmic spiral-like shape and it is hierarchically constructed by the fiber-like crossed-lamellar structure. Three-point bending tests are conducted on three groups of samples taken from different locations (G1 with two macro-layers, G2 with three macro-layers, and G3 containing three macro-layers but with an arch-like curved shape). A novel method was developed to evaluate the bending stress of the curved samples and understand the bending fracture resistance of such curved samples. Due to the presence of a horizontal force that can decrease or shield the bending moment at the bottom center of samples, the arch-like G3 samples demonstrate the highest bending fracture resistance, revealing the significance of the curved shape of shell in the protection against the external attacks. The number of macro-layers and the curved shape of shell play an important role in the mechanical properties of the shell. The orientation of building blocks in a single crossed-lamellar layer is critical to the fracture resistance, and five types of fracture modes based on interfacial debonding, inter- and trans-lamella fracture are identified. The results obtained in this study would help open a new pathway to the development of bio-inspired high-performance structural materials.

[Vascular endothelial growth factor-loaded microspheres promote dental pulp regeneration and vascularization]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-loaded microspheres on dental pulp tissue regeneration and vascularization in vivo. Methods:In vitro release experiment and human umbilical vein endothelial cell migration experiment were conducted with VEGF loaded microspheres. The dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) were co-cultured with VEGF microspheres to observe the compatibility between the cells and the microspheres. DPSC and VEGF loaded microspheres were injected into the root lumen through the apical foramen, which were then transplanted subcutaneously into nude mice. Histological and immunohistochemical features were observed after nine weeks. Results: DPSCs attached and spread on the surface of the microspheres. HE staining showed that the regenerated pulp-like tissue fulfilled the whole apex and middle third of the root. Differentiated odontoblast-like cells aligned with the existing tubular root dentin. Conclusions: VEGF-loaded microspheres promoted the regeneration of pulp-like tissues and formation of blood vessels.

Theoretical investigation of the strengthening mechanism and precipitation evolution in high strength Al-Zn-Mg alloys

Density-functional theory calculations have been performed to systematically investigate the behaviors of solute atoms in 7000 series Al-Zn-Mg based alloys. It is found that solute atoms Mg and Zn are likely to segregate to the Σ5(210)[001] tilt Al GB. The bonding environment and interface cohesion will be affected to different degrees. Also, for GPI(100) our calculations indicate that a Zn/Mg/Zn sandwich configuration in the Al matrix (100) planes is energetically favorable. However, for GPII(111) the disordered structure turns out to be the most stable one. It mainly results from strong 3d-3s hybridization interactions between Zn and Mg atoms. Furthermore, the properties of the metastable phase η' and the equilibrium phase η have also been addressed. The present study provides valuable insight for developing Al alloys with superior performance.

Development of digastric muscles in human foetuses: a review and findings in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle

The digastricus and omohyoideus muscles are digastric muscles with two muscle bellies. An insertion tendon of the posterior belly becomes an intermediate tendon in digastricus muscles, whereas a single band-like muscle in omohyoideus muscles may later be interrupted by an intermediate tendon, possibly due to muscle cell death caused by mechanical stress. In human foetuses, an intermediate tendon provides the temporal origins of the tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani muscles. Some reptiles, including snakes, carry multiple series of digastric-like axial muscles, in which each intersegmental septum is likely to become an intermediate tendon. These findings indicate that many pathways are involved in the development of digastric muscles. A review of these morphologies suggested that the flexor digi-torum superficialis (FDS) muscle was a digastric muscle, although the intermediate tendon may not be visible in the surface view in adults. The present observations support the hypothesis that the proximal anlage at the elbow develops into a deep muscle slip to a limited finger, while the distal anlage at the wrist develops into the other slips. The findings suggest that, in the FDS muscle, the proximal and distal bellies of the embryonic digastric muscle fuse together to form a laminar structure, in which muscle slips accumulate from the palmar to the deep side of the forearm. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 362-370).

[Evaluation of health effect among occupational population exposed to nano-titanium dioxide: a cross-sectional study]

Objective: To characterize the health effects of nano-titanium dioxide exposure in an occupational cohort. Methods: Eighty-five male employees of a nano-titanium dioxide manufacturing enterprise in Shandong Province were evaluated in September 2014. Forty-four were exposed to nano-titanium dioxide (exposure group), and 41 were not exposed to nano-titanium dioxide (control group). We collected employees' basic information, smoking and drinking history, previous medical history, family history, and occupational history. Differences in blood pressure, hematological parameters, and blood biochemistry between the two groups were analyzed and compared. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of nano-titanium dioxide exposure on blood pressure, hematological parameters, and blood biochemistry indices after controlling for age, smoking, drinking, and body mass index (BMI). Twenty-five employees from the exposure group and 25 employees from the control group were selected at random for measurement of genetic damage by cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. Poisson regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of nano-titanium dioxide exposure on micronucleus frequency or micronucleus cell frequency after controlling for age, smoking, drinking, and BMI. Results: The median (P₂₅-P₇₅) surface area concentration of particles deposited in the tracheobronchial region, the surface area concentration of particles deposited in the alveolar region, and particle number concentration in the exposure group were 35.35(24.31-57.42) μ m²/cm³, 173.09(116.27-270.72) μ m²/cm³, and 40 244.00 (17 803.50-78 679.00) /cm³, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those in the control group 33.90 (27.44-43.29) μm²/cm³, 150.50(125.82-192.87)μm²/cm³, and 18 721.00 (12 721.00-51 898.50)/cm³, respectively. Z values were 15.47, 15.96, and 14.54, respectively (P<0.001 for all three values). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that exposure to nano-titanium dioxide contributed most to the alteration of mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, creatinine, and LDL-C, with standardized regression coefficients of 0.23, -0.51, and 0.30, respectively (P<0.05 for all three values), after adjusting for age, smoking, drinking, and BMI. There were no significant differences in micronucleus frequency and micronucleus cell frequency between the exposure group (3.00‰ (1.50‰-5.00‰) and 3.00‰ (2.00‰-4.00‰), respectively) and control group (2.00‰ (1.00‰-4.50‰) and 2.00‰ (1.00‰-4.00‰), respectively); P>0.05 for all comparisons. Poisson regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, smoking, drinking, and BMI, there was still no statistically significant correlation between nano-titanium dioxide exposure and micronucleus frequency (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 0.81-1.54) or micronucleus cell frequency (OR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.75-1.51); P>0.05 for all comparisons. Conclusion: Nano-titanium dioxide particles exerted some health effects on the occupationally-exposed cohort, whose hematological parameters and blood biochemistry were influenced to some degree. However, a potential link between occupational exposure to nano-titanium dioxide and blood pressure or induction of genetic damage or was not found.

[Mechanism of Astragaloside prevents cholestatic liver fibrosis through inhibition of Notch signaling activation]

Objective: The Notch signaling pathway is closely related to biliary fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that Astragaloside (AS) can prevent the progression of cholestatic liver fibrosis. The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of AS on the regulation of Notch signaling pathway in biliary fibrosis. Methods: Cholestatic liver fibrosis was established by common bile duct ligation (BDL) in rats. Two weeks after BDL, the rats were randomly divided into a model group (i.e., BDL), an Astragalosides group (AS), and a sorafenib (SORA) positive control group and treated for 3 weeks. Bile duct proliferation and liver fibrosis were determined by tissue staining. Protein and gene expression were determined by immunostaining, immunoblotting and RT-PCR, respectively. Activation of the Notch signaling pathway was evaluated by analyzing expressions of Notch-1, -2, -3, -4, Jagged (JAG)1, Delta like (DLL)-1, -3, -4, Hes1, Numb and RBP-Jκ. Statistical analysis of variance analysis, q test, P < 0.05 showed that the difference was statistically significant. Results: (1) AS significantly reduced the deposition of collagen and the Hyp content of liver tissue (500.15 ± 86.10 vs. 625.72 ± 105.62, P = 0.031), and inhibited the activation of hepatic stellate cells. (2) AS significantly decreased the protein and mRNA expressions of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 (1.02±0.15 vs. 1.89±0.36, P = 0.007; 1.17±0.18 vs. 1.68±0.29, P = 0.013, respectively) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA, 0.41±0.11 vs. 0.72±0.16, P = 0.003; 1.71±0.57 vs. 2.68±0.46, P = 0.008, respectively) compared with BDL group. In contrast, AS significantly enhanced expression of the Smad 7 protein compared with the BDL group (0.72±0.008 vs. 0.33±0.001, P = 0.005). AS also reduced biliary epithelial cell proliferation. AS reduced the mRNA levels of CK7, CK8 and CK18 (1.31±0.39 vs. 2.63±0.82, P = 0.009; 0.71±0.09 vs. 0.87±0.08, P = 0.031; 2.56±0.32 vs. 3.41±0.39, P = 0.010, respectively) and reduced the positive areas of CK19 and OV6 (62 337.17±21 873.38 vs. 22 5472.67±26 933.63, P = 0.000; 92 237.43±15 894.11 vs. 171 298.13±61 761.37, P = 0.000, respectively). (3) The mRNA expression of Notch-2, -3, -4 and JAG1 were significantly reduced in the AS group compared to the BDL group (1.07±0.19 vs. 1.51±0.28, P = 0.044; 0.99±0.24 vs. 1.18±0.10, P = 0.043; 1.36±0.42 vs. 3.40±0.44, P = 0.048; 2.62±0.43 vs. 3.73±0.83, P = 0.046, respectively). In contrast, the mRNA level of Numb was clearly enhanced after AS treatment (0.90±0.05 vs. 0.75±0.11, P = 0.019). In addition, consistent with the mRNA levels, the protein expressions of Notch-2, -3, -4 and JAG1 were reduced significantly (1.27±0.18 vs. 1.71±0.26, P = 0.004; 0.99±0.11 vs. 4.38±0.60, P = 0.001; 1.76±0.32 vs. 4.01±0.74, P = 0.002; 1.62±0.33 vs. 2.74±0.63, P = 0.002) and the Numb protein level was increased significantly (1.50±0.15 vs. 0.85±0.11, P = 0.001) in AS group compared with BDL group. Conclusion: AS may prevent cholestatic liver fibrosis via inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting the abnormal proliferation of biliary epithelial cells. Results indicate that AS may be a potential treatment for cholestatic liver disease.

[The value of serum free light chain in differential diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance]

Objective: To investigate the value of serum free light chain (FLC) in differential diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS). Methods: Forty-nine hospitalized patients who underwent renal biopsy in Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2013 and December 2015 were included. Monoclonal gammopathy was detected by serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), serum immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE), urine IFE and serum FLC. All patients were classified as MGRS (n=32) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (n=17). Results: Renal lesions in MGRS subgroup included light chain amyloidosis (n=24, 75.0%), light chain deposition disease (n=7, 21.9%), and fibrillary glomerulopathy (n=1, 3.1%). Renal diseases in MGUS subgroup included membranous nephropathy (n=10), focal segmental glomerulosclerosi (FSGS) (n=3), diabetic glomerulopathy (n=1), Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis (n=1), anti-GBM disease concurrent with membranous nephropathy (n=1) and glomerulomegaly (n=1). Positive number of SPE, serum IFE, urine IFE and abnormal number of serum FLC ratio in MGRS subgroup were 12, 16, 23 and 30, respectively. Positive number of SPE, serum IFE, urine IFE and abnormal number of serum FLC ratio in MGUS subgroup were 11, 17, 6 and 3, respectively. MGRS and MGUS subgroups differed significantly in positive rate of serum IFE (P<0.001), as well as positive rate of urine IFE (P=0.02) and abnormal rate of serum FLC ratio (P<0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, total consistent rate of serum FLC ratio for diagnosis of MGRS were 93.8%, 82.4%, and 89.8% respectively. The sensitivity for diagnosing MGRS could be increased to 100% by combining serum FLC ratio and urine IFE. Conclusions: The significance of monoclonal gammopathy in patients with renal disease should be evaluated by renal pathology.On the premise of excluding lymphoplasmacytic malignancy, serum FLC ratio had promising diagnostic value for MGRS, which was helpful for differential diagnosis of patients who had contraindication to renal biopsy.

[The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adults in rural areas of Ningxia Hui autonomous region]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) among adults in rural areas of Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 639 adults enrolled with a multistage method from Jingyuan County. The MS was identified according to Chinese type 2 diabetes prevention guide (2013). Results: Among all the subjects, 17.4% of them met the MS definition with the standardized prevalence of 14.7% after adjustment of sex and age. The prevalence and standardized rate of MS in men were 19.9% and 17.3%, and in women were 15.3% and 13.5%.The prevalence of MS in men was higher than that in women(P<0.001) and increased with aging in both genders. The prevalence and standardized rate of abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, high triglycerides, and low HDL-C were 19.5% and 16.7%, 15.0% and 12.9%, 42.0% and 37.1%, 25.8% and 23.1%, 28.5% and 27.7%, respectively. The rate of abdominal obesity was higher in women than in men (20.5% vs 18.2%, P=0.004), whereas the rate of hypertension, high triglycerides, and low HDL-C were higher in men than in women (all P<0.01). The prevalence of having one parameter of the MS was 68.4%. Conclusion: The prevalence of MS is higher in rural areas of Ningxia Hui autonomous region, suggesting that a series of comprehensive prevention measures should be carried out to prevent and control the MS so as to improve the public health conditions in rural areas.

Mechanical properties of crossed-lamellar structures in biological shells: A review

The self-fabrication of materials in nature offers an alternate and powerful solution towards the grand challenge of designing advanced structural materials, where strength and toughness are always mutually exclusive. Crossed-lamellar structures are the most common microstructures in mollusks that are composed of aragonites and a small amount of organic materials. Such a distinctive composite structure has a fracture toughness being much higher than that of pure carbonate mineral. These structures exhibiting complex hierarchical microarchitectures that span several sub-level lamellae from microscale down to nanoscale, can be grouped into two types, i.e., platelet-like and fiber-like crossed-lamellar structures based on the shapes of basic building blocks. It has been demonstrated that these structures have a great potential to strengthen themselves during deformation. The observed underlying toughening mechanisms include microcracking, channel cracking, interlocking, uncracked-ligament bridging, aragonite fiber bridging, crack deflection and zig-zag, etc., which play vital roles in enhancing the fracture resistance of shells with the crossed-lamellar structures. The exploration and utilization of these important toughening mechanisms have attracted keen interests of materials scientists since they pave the way for the development of bio-inspired advanced composite materials for load-bearing structural applications. This article is aimed to review the characteristics of hierarchical structures and the mechanical properties of two kinds of crossed-lamellar structures, and further summarize the latest advances and biomimetic applications based on the unique crossed-lamellar structures.

[Polymethylmethacrylate augmentation of bone cement injectable cannulated pedicle screws was used to treat degenerative lumbar scoliosis with osteoporosis]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the application of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) augmentation of cement-injectable cannulated pedicle screws for the treatment of degenerative lumbar scoliosis with osteoporosis.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study was used to compare cement injectable cannulated pedicle screws (CICPs) group with PMMA augmentation and control group with traditional method in the correction surgery for Lenke-silva level III and level IV degenerative scoliosis cases with osteoporosis. Both groups were followed up for 1 year. The clinical results were assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) of pain on lumbar and lower limbers, Oswestry disability index (ODI) score and EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) score. The coronal major curve Cobb angel in coronal plane and thoracic kyphosis Cobb angle, lumbar lordosis Cobb angle and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) in sagittal plane were tested in whole long spine X ray. The fusion rates were evaluated by lumbar X ray and dynamic X ray.

RESULTS

In this study 34 cases were enrolled, 15 cases in CICPs group and 19 cases in control group. The general characteristics including age, gender, weight, height, BMI and BMD were without statistical difference between the two groups. There were (5.7±2.2)PMMA augmentation screws in CICPs group. The operation time, blood loss and blood transfusion were higher in CICPs group than in control group, but without statistical difference. Lumbar VAS, lower limbers VAS, ODI score and EQ-5D were all better in 1 month postoperation, 6 months postoperation and 1 year postoperation than in preoperation in both groups. lumbar VAS scores of CICPs group in 6 months postoperation (CICPs group 3.1±1.3 vs. control group 4.4±1.4, P<0.01) together with lumbar VAS scores (CICPs group 3.3±1.0 vs. control group 5.2±1.4, P<0.01), ODI scores (CICPs group 22.7±17.2 vs. control group 31.4±18.5, P<0.01) and EQ-5D in 1 year postoperation (CICPs group 2.9±2.0 vs. control group 3.5±2.5, P<0.01)were lower than those of control group. The coronal major curve Cobb angels were all lower in 1 month postoperation, 6 months postoperation and 1 year postoperation than in preoperation in both groups; thoracic kyphosis Cobb angle and lumbar lordosis Cobb angle were all higher in 1 month postoperation, 6 months postoperation and 1 year postoperation than in preoperation in both groups. The coronal major curve Cobb angel was lower in CICPs group than that in control group in 1 year postoperation (CICPs group 17.6°±6.9° vs. control group 21.2°±7.2°, P<0.01)and thoracic kyphosis Cobb angle was higher in CICPs group than that in control group in 6 months postoperation (CICPs group -33.5°±8.8 ° vs. control group -28.9°±8.3°, P<0.01) and 1 year postoperation (CICPs group -33.0°±8.1° vs. control group -26.3°±7.4°, P<0.01) together with lumbar lordosis Cobb angle were higher in CICPs group than that in control group in 1 year postoperation (CICPs group 26.4°±8.1° vs. control group 22.1°±7.3°, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Polymethylmethacrylate augmentation of bone cement-injectable cannulated pedicle screws for the treatment of degenerative lumbar scoliosis with osteoporosis was effective and safe, the short-term clinical result was good.

[Comparison of the effects of total hip arthroplasty via direct anterior approach and posterolateral piriformis-sparing approach]

OBJECTIVE

To compare the clinical effects of direct anterior approach (DAA) and posterolateral piriformis-sparing approach (Mis-PLA) for minimally invasive surgery of total hip arthroplasty.

METHODS

The patients who had total hip arthroplasty from March 2015 to February 2016 were randomly divided into 2 groups: DAA group and Mis-PLA group. In the study, 43 patients (45 hips) were performed with total hip replacement via the direct anterior approach (DAA group). As comparison, 39 patients (42 hips) were performed with total hip replacement via the posterolateral piriformis-sparing approach (Mis-PLA group) at the same period. DAA group: 27 male patients (27 hips), and 16 female patients (18 hips), with an average age of (57.4±7.3) years, preoperative Harris score (41.4±8.7), body mass index (BMI) (24.3±2.2) kg/m²; Mis-PLA group: 25 male patients (26 hips), 14 female patients (16 hips), with an average age of (59.2±7.3) years, preoperative Harris score (39.6±8.4), BMI (24.7±2.5) kg/m². The length of incision, operation time, blood loss, postoperative Harris score were observed and specially the hip functional recovery was fully assessed.

RESULTS

(1) All the incisions healed by first intention. No complications were found in both groups. The length of incision:DAA group: (9.2±0.7) cm and Mis-PLA group: (9.5±0.6) cm. No statistical significant differences were found (P=0.053). The operation time:DAA group (74.3±10.1) min and Mis-PLA group (37.5±4.3) min, which showed statistically significant differences (P<0.01). Blood loss: DAA group (229.6±79.2) mL and Mis-PLA group (215.7±56.0) mL. No statistical significant differences were found (P=0.366). (2) The patients in both groups were followed up for 6-12 months. The Harris hip scores for 6 weeks' follow-up: (85.5±4.1) in DAA group and (79.0±4.4) in Mis-PLA group, which indicated statistically significant differences (P<0.01). The Harris scores for the 6-month follow-up: (94.3±2.7) in DAA group and (95.2±1.9) in Mis-PLA group. No statistically significant differences were found (P=0.125). The basic daily hip function analysis for the 6-week follow-up: walking speed: no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups (P=0.298); Climbing stairs: Mis-PLA group' outcome was better than DAA group's with statistical differences (P=0.047); Circling, sitting and wearing shoes and socks: outcomes in DAA group exceeded Mis-PLA group's with statistically significant differences (P<0.01, P=0.016, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Total hip arthroplasty through either DAA or Mis-PLA approaches could result in very satisfactory clinical effect. Comparing with DAA, Mis-PLA requires less operation time, shorter learning curve,which indicates that it is a relatively safer approach. The advantages of total hip arthroplasty through direct anterior approach lie in less positional limitation in the early stage of postoperative period, as well as a faster recovery of hip function.

[Application of ultrasound guidance for fascia iliaca compartment block in pediatric femoral surgery]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound guidance for fascia iliaca compartment block in pediatric femoral surgery. Methods: This study was a prospective study, thirty children who were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) statusⅠ with 5-10 years old scheduled for femoral surgery were selected in orthopedics department in Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from May to December in 2014. After induction of general anesthesia, all the children were inserted the laryngeal mask. Then they were received fascia iliaca compartment block using ultrasound guidance under sevoflurane inhalation anesthesia. The indicators including heart rate(HR), mean arterial pressure(MAP), oxygen saturation(SpO(2)) and exhaled sevoflurane concentration were recorded before skin incision(T(1)), at 1, 5, 10 min after incision(T(2)-T(4))and at the end of the surgery(T(5)). Postoperative pain were assessed using the pain behavior assessment scale at awake time, 2 h and 4 h after surgery. The efficacy of postoperative analgesia and the satisfaction of parents at 2 h and 4 h after surgery were recorded. Results: The differences between HR、MAP and SpO(2) in children at T(1)-T(5) were no statistical significance (all P>0.05). Exhaled sevoflurane concentration at T(1)-T(5) were(2.50±0.51)%, (2.51±0.42)%, (2.50±0.41)%, (2.54±0.31)% and(0.61±0.20)%, respectively, the differences were statistically significant(F=13.503, P<0.05), among them that at T(5) was significantly lower than at T(1)-T(4)(all P<0.05). The pain score at awake time, 2 h and 4 h after surgery were (1.6±0.7), (3.3±1.4) and (3.9±1.3) scores, respectively. The parents satisfaction were 87% and 73% at 2 h and 4 h afer surgery respectively. Conclusion: The way of ultrasound guidance for fascia iliaca compartment block combined with general anesthesia can be safely and effectively used in pediatric femoral surgery. Using the technique of ultrasonic imaging, the fascia iliaca compartment can be directly observed and then the local anesthetics is injected, therefore the efficacy of block is improved.

A new insight into the fabella at knee: the foetal development and evolution

Using longitudinal semiserial sections of 12 lower extremities from 8 human foetuses at 15-18 weeks, we compared foetal morphologies of the knee in specimens with and without fabellae. We also compared the fabella, if present, with the hallucal sesamoid in the same foetus. Cartilaginous fabella, positive for versican and tenascin by immunohistochemistry, was found in 5 of the 8 foetuses. This structure was embedded in a thick and tight lateral fibrous band, providing a common origin of the plantaris muscle and the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle. The plantaris was covered by the lateral head of the gastrocnemius, but these 2 muscles were separated by a distinct fascia or space. Notably, the foetal fabella did not attach to the joint capsule. In the 3 specimens without fabellae, the lateral fibrous band was thin, containing a fibrous mass, negative for versican and tenascin, in place of the fabella. The "medial" head of the gastrocnemius faced or covered the plantaris, while the lateral head was continuous with the plantaris. A hallucal cartilaginous sesamoid, positive for versican and tenascin, was present in all 8 specimens. It carried a flat surface facing the joint cavity and was covered by tendons of the short muscles of the foot. Because of the difference in topographical relation of muscles between specimens with or without fabella, rather than mechanical stress to the tendon, fabella development may require a distinct plantaris muscle independent of the gastrocnemius. We discussed about an evolutionary aspect of the fabella and plantaris muscle.

Cloning and characterization of a novel betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase gene from Suaeda corniculata

Glycine betaine is an important quaternary ammonium compound that is produced in response to several abiotic stresses in many organisms. The synthesis of glycine betaine requires the catalysis of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), which can convert betaine aldehyde into glycine betaine in plants, especially in halotolerant plants. In this study, we isolated the full-length cDNA of BADH from Suaeda corniculata (ScBADH) using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Next, we analyzed the expression profile of ScBADH using real-time PCR. The results showed that ScBADH expression was induced in the roots, stems, and leaves of S. corniculata seedlings under salt and drought stress. Next, ScBADH was overexpressed in Arabidopsis, resulting in the transgenic plants exhibiting enhanced tolerance over wild-type plants under salt and drought stress. We then analyzed the levels of glycine betaine and proline, as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, during salt stress in WT and transgenic Arabidopsis. The results indicated that overexpression of ScBADH produced more glycine betaine and proline, and increased SOD activity under NaCl treatment. Our results suggest that ScBADH might be a positive regulator in plants during the response to NaCl.

Overexpression of soybean R2R3-MYB transcription factor, GmMYB12B2, and tolerance to UV radiation and salt stress in transgenic Arabidopsis

MYB, v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog, proteins play central roles in plant stress response. Previously, we identified a novel R2R3-MYB transcription factor, GmMYB12B2, which affected the expression levels of some key enzyme genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis in transgenic Arabidopsis. In the present study, we analyzed the expression levels of GmMYB12B2 under salt, low temperature, drought, abscisic acid (ABA), and ultraviolet (UV) radiation treatments in soybean using semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression of GmMYB12B2 was drastically induced by UV irradiation and salt treatment, but no response was detected under low temperature, drought, and ABA stresses. A detailed characterization of the GmMYB12B2 overexpression lines revealed that GmMYB12B2 might be involved in response of plants to UV radiation and salt stresses. Transgenic Arabidopsis lines constitutively expressing GmMYB12B2 showed an increased tolerance to salt and UV radiation treatment compared with wild-type plants. The expression levels of certain salt stress-responsive genes, such as DREB2A and RD17, were found to be elevated in the transgenic plants. These results indicate that GmMYB12B2 acts as a regulator in the plant stress response.

Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution decreases mortality and morbidity in high-risk patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with complex congenital heart disease: an 11-year experience from a single institution

Cardioplegic reperfusion during a long term ischemic period interrupts cardiac surgery and also increases cellular edema due to repeated solution administration. We reviewed the clinical experiences on myocardial protection of a single perfusion with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) for high-risk patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with complex congenital heart disease. This retrospective study included 101 high-risk patients undergoing arterial switch operation between March 2001 and July 2012. We divided the cohort into two groups: HTK group, myocardial protection was carried out with one single perfusion with HTK solution; and St group, myocardial protection with conventional St. Thomas' crystalloid cardioplegic solution. The duration of cardiopulmonary bypass did not differ between the two groups. The mortality, morbidity, ICU stay, post-operative hospitalization time, and number of transfusions in HTK group were lower than those in St group (P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that HTK is a statistically significant independent predictor of decreased early mortality and morbidity (P<0.05). In conclusion, HTK solution seems to be an effective and safe alternative to St. Thomas' solution for cardioplegic reperfusion in high-risk patients with complex congenital heart disease.

Developmental methylation pattern regulates porcine GPR120 expression

DNA methylation is an important component of the epigenetic machinery and plays a critical role in transcriptional regulation. It mostly occurs in CpG abundant regions, known as CpG islands (CGIs). G protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) functions as an omega-3 fatty acid receptor and is involved in multiple-biological processes, including lipogenesis. Herein, we show that GPR120 is highly expressed in porcine mature adipose tissue and is positively associated with adipose tissue development (r = 0.86, P < 0.01). We also predicted 5 CGIs across the GPR120 genomic sequence and investigated their methylation status using the MassArray approach. Our results show that these CGIs exhibit significantly different methylation states (P(CGI) < 0.01), and that the DNA methylation of GPR120 5ꞌ-untranslated and first exon regions can negatively regulate its expression levels. This study will aid further investigations on the epigenetic mechanism regulating GPR120 expression.

Preparation and identification of an antiserum against recombinant UL31 protein of pseudorabies virus

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) early protein UL31 is a homologue of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) UL31, which is a multifunctional protein important for HSV-1 infection. However, the precise roles of PRV UL31 in virus life cycle are still poorly understood. A relatively crucial tool for uncovering the function of UL31 is an antiserum that specifically detects UL31 in the PRV-infected cells. For this purpose, a recombinant UL31 protein consisting of N-terminal 27 aa of UL31 fused to EYFP and His-tag was expressed, purified and used for the preparation of antiserum in BALB/c mice. Our results show that Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assay showed that this antiserum could specifically detect the purified recombinant UL31 as well as full-length UL31 in the PRV infected cells. These results demonstrate that the prepared antiserum could serve as a valuable tool for further studies of UL31 functions in PRV infection.

Effects of muscle fiber type on glycolytic potential and meat quality traits in different Tibetan pig muscles and their association with glycolysis-related gene expression

The myosin heavy chain (MyHC) composition, glycolytic potential, mitochondrial content, and gene expression related to energy metabolism were analyzed in eight muscles from Tibetan pigs, to study how meat quality develops in different muscle tissues. The muscles were classified into three clusters, based on MyHC composition: masseter, trapezius, and latissimus dorsi as 'slow-oxidative-type'; psoas major and semimembranosus as 'intermediate-type'; and longissimus dorsi, obliquus externus abdominis, and semitendinosus as 'fast-glycolytic-type'. The 'slow-oxidative-type' muscles had the highest MyHC I and MyHC IIA content (P < 0.01); 'intermediate-type' muscles, the highest MyHC IIx content (P < 0.01); and 'fast-glycolytic-type' muscles, the highest MyHC IIb content (P < 0.01). The pH values measured in 'slow-oxidative-type' muscles were higher than those in the other clusters were; however, the color of 'fast-glycolytic-type' muscles was palest (P < 0.01). Mitochondrial content increased in the order: fast-glycolytic-type < intermediate-type < slow-oxidative-type. In the 'slow-oxidative-type' muscles, the expression levels of genes related to ATP synthesis were higher, but were lower for those related to glycogen synthesis and glycolysis. Mitochondrial content was significantly positively correlated with MyHC I content, but negatively correlated with MyHC IIb content. MyHC I and mitochondrial content were both negatively correlated with glycolytic potential. Overall, muscles used frequently in exercise had a higher proportion of type I fibers. 'Slow-oxidative-type' muscles, rich in type I fibers with higher mitochondrial and lower glycogen and glucose contents, had a higher ATP synthesis efficiency and lower glycolytic capacity, which contributed to their superior meat quality.

βig-h3 CORRELATES WITH RELATED FACTORS OF PERITONEAL METASTASIS OF GASTRIC CANCER

βig-h3 is an extracellular matrix protein induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and involved in adhesion between cell and cell, cell and matrix. It has been proved that βig-h3 is highly expressed in human lung cancer and colorectal cancer cells, and thus it is considered to have the same effect on gastric cancer cells. This research applied histochemical staining and RT-PCR to detect the content of βig-h3 in peritoneal mesothelial cells and the content of carcino embryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA in abdominal dropsy or peritoneal washing liquid, in order to explore the relationship between the factors of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer and βig-h3. It was found that the positive ratio of βig-h3 in the gastric cancer group was higher than that in the benign disease group, and the positive rate of immunohistochemistry was closely related to the relative factors of peritoneal metastasis such as tumor infiltration depth, serosal types, macroscopic peritoneal metastasis, CEA mRNA, results of pleural lavage cytology (PLC) examination, etc. Research found that βig-h3 expressed distinctly in gastric cancer peritoneal metastasis, therefore, it is useful for monitoring biological behavior of gastric cancer.

Creating leptin-like biofunctions by active immunization against chicken leptin receptor in growing chickens

In this study, immunization against chicken leptin receptor (cLEPR) extracellular domain (ECD) was applied to investigate leptin regulation and LEPR biofunction in growing chicken pullets. A recombinant protein (cLEPR ECD) based on the cLEPR complemenary DNA sequence corresponding to the 582nd to 796th amino acid residues of cLEPR mature peptide was prepared and used as antigen. Immunization against cLEPR ECD in growing chickens increased anti-cLEPR ECD antibody titers in blood, enhanced proportions of phosphorylated janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and served as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) protein in liver tissue. Chicken live weight gain and abdominal fat mass were significantly decreased (P < 0.05), but feed intake was stimulated by cLEPR ECD immunization (P < 0.05). The treatment also upregulated the gene expression levels of lepR, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), acetyl CoA carboxylase-2 (ACC2), and uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) in liver, abdominal fat, and breast muscle (P < 0.05) but decreased fasn expression levels (P < 0.01). Apart from that of lepR, the expression of appetite-regulating genes, such as orexigenic genes, agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY), were upregulated (P < 0.01), whereas the anorexigenic gene proopiomelanocortin (POMC) was downregulated in the hypothalamic tissue of cLEPR-immunized pullets (P < 0.01). Blood concentrations of metabolic molecules, such as glucose, triglycerides, and very-low-density lipoprotein, were significantly decreased in cLEPR-immunized pullets but those of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein increased. These results demonstrate that antibodies to membrane proximal cLEPR ECD enhance cLEPR signal transduction, which stimulates metabolism and reduces fat deposition in chickens.

Development-related expression patterns of protein-coding and miRNA genes involved in porcine muscle growth

Muscle growth and development is associated with remarkable changes in protein-coding and microRNA (miRNA) gene expression. To determine the expression patterns of genes and miRNAs related to muscle growth and development, we measured the expression levels of 25 protein-coding and 16 miRNA genes in skeletal and cardiac muscles throughout 5 developmental stages by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The Short Time-Series Expression Miner (STEM) software clustering results showed that growth-related genes were downregulated at all developmental stages in both the psoas major and longissimus dorsi muscles, indicating their involvement in early developmental stages. Furthermore, genes related to muscle atrophy, such as forkhead box 1 and muscle ring finger, showed unregulated expression with increasing age, suggesting a decrease in protein synthesis during the later stages of skeletal muscle development. We found that development of the cardiac muscle was a complex process in which growth-related genes were highly expressed during embryonic development, but they did not show uniform postnatal expression patterns. Moreover, the expression level of miR-499, which enhances the expression of the β-myosin heavy chain, was significantly different in the psoas major and longissimus dorsi muscles, suggesting the involvement of miR-499 in the determination of skeletal muscle fiber types. We also performed correlation analyses of messenger RNA and miRNA expression. We found negative relationships between miR-486 and forkhead box 1, and miR-133a and serum response factor at all developmental stages, suggesting that forkhead box 1 and serum response factor are potential targets of miR-486 and miR-133a, respectively.

[A method of hyperspectral quantificational identification of minerals based on infrared spectral artificial immune calculation]

Rapid identification of minerals based on near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectra is vital to remote sensing mine exploration, remote sensing minerals mapping and field geological documentation of drill core, and have leaded to many identification methods including spectral angle mapping (SAM), spectral distance mapping (SDM), spectral feature fitting(SFF), linear spectral mixture model (LSMM), mathematical combination feature spectral linear inversion model(CFSLIM) etc. However, limitations of these methods affect their actual applications. The present paper firstly gives a unified minerals components spectral inversion (MCSI) model based on target sample spectrum and standard endmember spectral library evaluated by spectral similarity indexes. Then taking LSMM and SAM evaluation index for example, a specific formulation of unified MCSI model is presented in the form of a kind of combinatorial optimization. And then, an artificial immune colonial selection algorithm is used for solving minerals feature spectral linear inversion model optimization problem, which is named ICSFSLIM. Finally, an experiment was performed to use ICSFSLIM and CFSLIM to identify the contained minerals of 22 rock samples selected in Baogutu in Xinjiang China. The mean value of correctness and validness identification of ICSFSLIM are 34.22% and 54.08% respectively, which is better than that of CFSLIM 31.97% and 37.38%; the correctness and validness variance of ICSFSLIM are 0.11 and 0.13 smaller than that of CFSLIM, 0.15 and 0.25, indicating better identification stability.

Establishment of an acute rejection model by transplanting both renal grafts into two different rats using a modified method of ureterovesical anastomosis

OBJECTIVE

To establish an acute rejection model after kidney transplantation in the rat using a modified method of ureterovesical anastomosis.

METHODS

Thirty-nine Wistar rat donors, were transplanted into 70 male SD rats. Wistar rats (group 1; n = 18) underwent harvest of both kidneys, cold perfusion, and transplantation into 36 SD rats. Wistar rats (group 2; n = 18) underwent left kidney harvest, cold perfusion and transplantation into 18 SD rats. Groups 1 and 2 did not receive immunosuppression after transplantation. Six kidneys were harvested from 3 Wistar rats (group 3), were transplanted into 6 SD rats that were treated with CsA (5 mg/kg per day) postoperatively, and humanely killed at 21 days. There were 10 SD in sham operated rats (group 4). The renal allograft vein was end-to-end anastomosed to the recipient renal vein using an epidural catheter. The renal allograft was anastomosed end-to-side to the recipient abdominal aorta with an abdominal aortic flap. The renal allograft ureterovesical flap was directly inserted into the recipient bladder, and attached by 4-5 interrupted sutures. The recipient's right kidney vessels were ligated at 3 days postoperatively.

RESULTS

The success rates were 91.7% and 88.9% in groups 1 and 2, respectively. Except for the time for removal of the renal allografts, the operative durations and warm ischemia times differed insignificantly between both groups (P > .05). Blood creatinine levels increased significantly after kidney transplantation in groups 1 and 2 compared with the sham operated and CsA-treated cohorts (P < .01), but insignificantly between groups 1 and 2 (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

A dual renal allograft model was established in the rat using a modified ureterovesical anastomosis. The technique can be reproduced reliably, reducing costs and shorten using overall operative duration.

Carcass and meat quality traits of four commercial pig crossbreeds in China

We evaluated carcass and meat quality traits of two Chinese native crossbreeds Landrace x Meishan (LM) and Duroc x (Landrace x Meishan) (DLM) and two foreign crossbreeds Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) (DLY) and PIC (an imported five-way crossbreed). One hundred and twenty weaned pigs (half castrated males and half females) were reared and slaughtered at a predestinated slaughter age. The general carcass and meat quality traits were measured and analyzed. The DLY and PIC crosses had significantly heavier live weights (93.39 and 96.33 kg, P < 0.01), significantly higher dressing percentages (80.65 and 79.39%, P < 0.05), significantly bigger loin areas (42.69 and 43.91 cm(2), P < 0.001), and significantly more lean carcasses (65.78 and 66.40%, P < 0.001) than LM and DLM. On the other hand, LM had a significantly lower live weight (70.29 kg, P < 0.01), significantly thicker back fat (3.54 cm, P < 0.001), significantly less lean carcasses (46.82%, P < 0.001), and significantly less ham and breech (26.53%, P < 0.05) than the other crossbreeds. Among meat quality parameters, LM had the highest intramuscular fat content (5.02%, P < 0.001) and the smallest fiber area (3126.45 μm(2), P < 0.01). However, PIC showed the lowest pH(1) (5.82, P < 0.01) and pH(2) (5.63, P < 0.01), the highest drip loss (2.89%, P < 0.01), and the lowest intramuscular fat (1.35%, P < 0.001). We concluded that LM and DLM had good meat quality traits but poorer carcass traits than DLY and PIC; DLY had good carcass and meat quality traits; PIC had good carcass traits, but it had less intramuscular fat, lower pH and higher drip loss.

Methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism analysis of fat and muscle tissues in pigs

DNA methylation may be involved in regulating the expression of protein-coding genes, resulting in different fat and muscle phenotypes. Using a methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism approach, we obtained 7423 bands by selective amplification of genomic DNA from six different fat depots and two heterogeneous muscle types from Duroc/Landrace/Yorkshire cross-bred pigs. The degrees of DNA methylation, determined by the percentages of hemi- and fully methylated sites relative to the total number of CCGG sites, were similar in male and female pigs for each specific tissue [χ(2) test; P (two-tailed) > 0.05]. Gender bias was therefore ignored. There were significant differences in the degree of DNA methylation among the eight tissue types [χ(2) test; P(total) (two-tailed) = 0.009]. However, similar degrees of methylation were observed among the six fat depots [χ(2) test; P(fat) (two-tailed) = 0.24 > 0.05]and between the two muscle types [χ(2) test; P(muscle) (two-tailed) = 0.76 > 0.05]. We conclude that the degree of DNA methylation differs between porcine fat and muscle tissue, but that the methylation status of a particular tissue type is similar, despite being deposited at different body sites.