Schisandrin B alleviates testicular inflammation and Sertoli cell apoptosis via AR-JNK pathway.

Bacterial testicular inflammation is one of the important causes of male infertility. Using plant-derived compounds to overcome the side effects of antibiotics is an alternative treatment strategy for many diseases. Schizandrin B (SchB) is a bioactive compound of herbal medicine Schisandra chinensis which has multiple pharmacological effects. However its effect and the mechanism against testicular inflammation are unknown. Here we tackled these questions using models of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mice and -Sertoli cells (SCs). Histologically, SchB ameliorated the LPS-induced damages of the seminiferous epithelium and blood-testicular barrier, and reduced the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in mouse testes. Furthermore, SchB decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators and inhibited the nuclear factor kB (NF-κB) and MAPK (especially JNK) signaling pathway phosphorylation in LPS-induced mSCs. The bioinformatics analysis based on receptor prediction and the molecular docking was further conducted. We targeted androgen receptor (AR) and illustrated that AR might bind with SchB in its function. Further experiments indicate that the AR expression was upregulated by LPS stimulation, while SchB treatment reversed this phenomenon; similarly, the expression of the JNK-related proteins and apoptotic-related protein were also reversed after AR activator treatment. Together, SchB mitigates LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis by inhibiting the AR-JNK pathway.

Negative expression of CD117 predicted inferior OS and PFS in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, the correlation between CD117 antigen and the prognosis of hematological malignancies has been demonstrated. However, there is limited literature on the clinical significance of CD117 antigen in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical features and prognostic significance of CD117 in APL. METHODS: In this study, we retrospectively investigated the clinicopathological characteristics, outcome, and prognostic impact of negative CD117 expression (CD117-) in 169 APL patients treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) containing regimen. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 63.0 months. CD117- was detected in 13 APL patients (7.7%). No significant differences were found in baseline characteristics between CD117+ and CD117- subgroups. However, compared to CD117+ APL, the incidence of early death (ED) was significantly higher in CD117- APL (p = 0.023). By multivariate analysis, CD117- was an independent adverse prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.022 and p = 0.014, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: To sum up, CD117- is associated with greater risk of ED and has the statistical power to predict inferior OS and PFS, this marker may be considered to build prognostic scores for risk-adapted therapeutic strategies in APL management.

Additional cytogenetic abnormalities in patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia predict inferior event-free survival.

BACKGROUND: The innovative combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has established a new chapter of curative approach in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The disease characteristics and prognostic influence of additional cytogenetic abnormalities (ACA) in APL with modern therapeutic strategy need to be elucidated. METHODS: In the present study, we retrospectively investigated disease features and prognostic power of ACA in 171 APL patients treated with ATRA-ATO-containing regimens. RESULTS: Patients with ACA had markedly decreased hemoglobin levels than that without ACA (p = 0.021). Risk stratification in the ACA group was significantly worse than that in the non-ACA group (p = 0.032). With a median follow-up period of 62.0 months, worse event-free survival (EFS) was demonstrated in patients harboring ACA. Multivariate analysis showed that ACA was an independent adverse factor for EFS (p = 0.033). By further subgroup analysis, in CD34 and CD56 negative APL, patients harboring ACA had inferior EFS (p = 0.017; p = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: To sum up, ACA remains the independent prognostic value for EFS, we should build risk-adapted therapeutic strategies in the long-term management of APL when such abnormalities are detected.

A Simulation-Based Study of the Effect of Brake Light Flashing Frequency on Driver Brake Behavior from the Perspective of Response Time.

To prevent vehicle crashes, studies have proposed the use of flashing signals (brake lights or other light indicators) to improve the driver's response time when the leading vehicle is braking. However, there are no consistent results on the ideal flashing frequency of the brake lights. This study aimed to investigate different brake light flashing frequencies to assess their impact on braking response time. Twenty-four participants aged 25 to 30 were recruited. Two driving speed environments (50 and 80 km/h), three deceleration rates (0.25, 0.6, and 1 g), and four brake light flashing frequencies (0, 2, 4, and 7 Hz) were examined. Braking response time, average braking force, and braking response time ratio were used to evaluate the driving behavior. The results showed that the braking response time and average braking force were affected by the deceleration rate in the 50 km/h driving environment. In the 50 and 80 km/h driving environments, although there were no significant differences among the three deceleration rates, the braking response time decreased by 3-7% under the flashing brake light condition. These findings can be used as a reference for safety designs as well as future studies on driving behavior.

[Meta-analysis on the effects of health education towards HIV/AIDS high-risk behavior, knowledge, and related attitude among floating population in China].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of health education on HIV/AIDS high-risk behaviors, knowledge, and attitude among floating population in China. METHODS: A computerized literature searching was carried out in Chinese Biomedical Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang and VIP databases to collect articles published in China between 2005 and 2010. Words as "AIDS", "Floating Population", "Intervention", "Health Education", "High-risk Behavior" were used. Type of studies would include "self-control intervention studies or studies containing sections of self-control intervention". Meta-analyses were performed to assess 8 outcomes which targeting on high-risk behavior, knowledge and attitudes of AIDS. RevMan 4.2 software was used to analyze the intervention effects for these indexes. RESULTS: After the interventions, the rate on awareness of "Whether condoms can reduce the HIV/AIDS infection risk" increased by 23% [rate difference (RD) 95%CI: 0.19, 0.27] and "Whether keeping monogamous sexual relationship can reduce the risk of infection" increased by 18% (RD 95%CI: 0.14, 0.23). The proportion of "Willing to use condoms in sexual life" increased by 16% (RD 95%CI: 0.11, 0.22); and "The incidence of commercial sex behaviors" reduced by 6% (RD 95%CI: -0.11, -0.02). "The Ratio of condom use during commercial sex behaviors" increased by 17% (RD 95%CI: 0.10, 0.23). and "Recent use of condoms during sex" increased by 25% (RD 95%CI: 0.15, 0.35). All the data showed significant differences (P < 0.01), respectively. CONCLUSION: After health education, great improvements were found for HIV-related sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among the floating population.