Biology and morphometric relationship of gall inducers Contarinia sp. and corresponding parasitoids for swollen galls of Nitraria sibirica pall.

Galls function as provide shelter for gall inducers, guarding them against their natural enemies. Previous research has illuminated the interactions between galls, gall inducers, and their corresponding parasitoids within various caltrop plants. However, less is known about these relationships within Nitraria sibirica, particularly regarding the efficacy of parasitism. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the morphometric relationships among the swollen galls, gall inducers, and their parasitoids. Two species of gall inducers and three species of parasitoids were obtained from the swollen galls of N. sibirica. The correlations of the parasitization indexes, the lifespan of gall inhabitants, and temperature and the morphometric relationships between the galls and their inhabitants were analyzed. The dominant gall inducer identified was Contarinia sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Furthermore, it was observed that three solitary parasitoids attacked Contarinia sp. in the swollen galls, with only Eupelmus gelechiphagus acting as an idiobiont ectoparasitoid. The dominant parasitoids were Platygaster sp. and Cheiloneurus elegans at sites 1 and 2, respectively, with Platygaster sp. displaying greater abundance than C. elegans in the swollen galls. The lifespan of the gall inhabitants shortened gradually as the temperature increased. Moreover, the optimal number of gall chambers ranged from two to four per swollen gall with maximized fitness, which can be considered the optimal population density for the gall inducer Contarinia sp. Morphometric analysis exhibited a strong linear correlation between gall size and chamber number or the number of gall inhabitants, as well as a weak correlation between gall size and body size of the primary inhabitants of swollen galls. Our results highlight the importance of the biological investigation of parasitoids and gall inducers living in closed galls with multiple chambers and may pave the way for potential application in biological control.

Sodium butyrate increases P-gp expression in lung cancer by upregulation of STAT3 and mRNA stabilization of ABCB1.

As a new type of anticancer drug, the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) in cancer clinical therapy is disappointing owing to drug resistance. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is clearly recognized as a multidrug resistance protein. However, the relationship between P-gp and sodium butyrate (SB), a kind of HDACIs, has not been investigated. In this study, we found that SB increased mRNA and protein expression of P-gp in lung cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms were elucidated. We found that SB treatment enhanced the mRNA and protein expression of STAT3 rather than that of ß-catenin, Foxo3a, PXR, or CAR, which were reported to directly regulate the transcription of ABCB1, a P-gp-encoding gene. Interestingly, inhibition of STAT3 expression obviously attenuated SB-increased P-gp expression in lung cancer cells, indicating that STAT3 played an important role in SB-mediated P-gp upregulation. Furthermore, we found that SB increased the mRNA stability of ABCB1. In summary, this study showed that SB increased P-gp expression by facilitating transcriptional activation and improving ABCB1 mRNA stability. This study indicated that we should pay more attention to HDACIs during cancer clinical therapy.

Risk factors and predictors of acute gastrointestinal injury in stroke patients.

PURPOSE: This prospective study investigates the incidence, risk factors, biological markers, and predictors of acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) in patients with stroke. METHODS: The study involved a total of 98 patients with acute cerebrovascular disease were included. According to the ESICM, the definition of AGI in intensive care patients is classified as grade 0, I, II and III. Patients' demographics, serological indicators (e.g., urea nitrogen, albumin, D-lactate, α-GST, neutrophil count and lymphocyte count), relevant scores (NIHSS score, GCS score, APACHE II score), length of hospital stay as well as the 7-day and 28-day mortality were recorded. RESULTS: In 98 patients, the incidence of AGI was 90.8 %. The APACHE II, NIHSS, GCS and Hs-mGPS scores significantly increased the odds of a higher AGI grade (P < 0.05). Also, current use of antibiotics and the presence of pneumonia significantly increased the probability of a higher AGI grade (P < 0.05). NLR, diabetes and dehydrating drugs increased the probability of AGI grade II and III (P < 0.05). Finally, an early commencement of endovascular treatment significantly reduced the incidence of AGI class III (P < 0.05). Patients with higher AGI grades had longer hospital stays and higher 28-day mortality (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The degree of the neurological deficit in stroke patients (high NIHSS score, low GCS score) in this study was associated with the development of AGI. The patients' gastrointestinal barrier function continued to deteriorate during the week of onset. The APACHE II score, NRL score and HS-mGPS score have some predictive value for the occurrence of AGI in stroke patients.

FLAIR-hyperintense lesions in anti-MOG-associated encephalitis with seizures overlaying anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: a case report and literature review.

Background: FLAIR-hyperintense lesions in anti-MOG-associated encephalitis with seizures (FLAMES) has been identified increasingly frequently in recent years. However, this rare MOG antibody disease may coexist with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDARe), in an overlap syndrome with unknown clinical features and prognosis. Methods: We report a new case of this overlap syndrome and present a systematic review of similar cases in the literature to provide information on the clinical presentation, MRI features, EGG abnormalities, treatment, and prognosis of patients with this rare syndrome. Results: A total of 12 patients were analyzed in the study. The most common clinical manifestations of FLAMES overlaid with anti-NMDARe were epilepsy (12/12), headache (11/12), and fever (10/12). Increases in intracranial pressure (median: 262.5 mmH2O, range: 150-380 mmH2O), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leukocyte count (median: 128×106/L, range: 1-610×106/L), and protein level (median: 0.48 g/L) were also observed. The median CSF anti-NMDAR antibody titer was 1:10 (1:1-1:32), while the median serum MOG antibody titer was 1:32 (1:10-1:1024). Seven cases exhibited unilateral cortical FLAIR hyperintensity, and five cases (42%) had bilateral cortical FLAIR hyperintensity, including four cases involving the bilateral medial frontal lobes. Of the 12 patients, five showed lesions at other sites (e.g., the brainstem, corpus callosum, or frontal orbital gyrus) before or after the development of cortical encephalitis. EEG showed slow waves in four cases, spike-slow waves in two cases, an epileptiform pattern in one case, and normal waves in two cases. The median number of relapses was two. Over a mean follow-up period of 18.5 months, only one patient experienced residual visual impairment, while the remaining 11 patients had good prognoses. Conclusion: FLAMES alone is difficult to distinguish from overlap syndrome based on clinical features. However, FLAMES with bilateral medial frontal lobe involvement suggests the presence of the overlap syndrome.

Downregulation of both EGFR and ErbB3 improves the cellular response to pemetrexed in an established pemetrexed­resistant lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ErbB3 (HER3) play important roles in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, anti-apoptosis and chemoresistance; however, their dysregulation in pemetrexed (PEM) resistance remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between PEM resistance and gene expression of EGFR and ErbB3, by establishing the PEM-resistant lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line, A549/PEM. Compared with A549 cells, the A549/PEM cells were significantly more resistant to PEM (P=0.0024). The downregulation of S phase and arrest at G1 stage were detected in the A549/PEM cell line when compared to the A549 cells (P<0.05). The apoptosis rate of A549/PEM cells was much lower than that of the A549 cells after a 24 h continuous exposure to PEM (P<0.001). Real-time PCR and western blotting demonstrated the overexpression of EGFR and ErbB3 in A549/PEM cells. However, downregulation of EGFR or ErbB3 by lentiviral delivered shRNAs in A549/PEM cells showed no significant correlation with PEM sensitivity while silencing both EGFR and ErbB3 increased the cellular response to PEM in the A549/PEM cells and significantly decreased phosphorylation of STAT3, AKT and ERK. Together, these data suggest that either high expression of EGFR or ErbB3 plays a critical role in the cellular response to PEM in human lung adenocarcinoma cells though EGFR/ErbB3-dependent pathways.

[Multi-state model in the evaluation of outcome on mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to introduce the multi-state Markov model for the prediction of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to find out the related factors for AD prevention and early intervention among the elderly. METHODS: MCI, moderate to severe cognitive impairment, and AD were defined as state 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A three-state homogeneous model with discrete states and discrete times from data on six follow-up visits was constructed to explore factors for various progressive stages from MCI to AD. Transition probability and survival curve were made after the model fit assessment. RESULTS: At the level of 0.05, data from the multivariate analysis showed that gender (HR=1.23, 95%CI: 1.12-1.38), age (HR=1.37, 95%CI: 1.07-1.72), hypertension (HR=1.54, 95%CI: 1.31-2.19) were statistically significant for the transition from state 1 to state 2, while age (HR=0.78, 95%CI: 0.69-0.98), education level (HR=1.35, 95%CI: 1.09-1.86) and reading (HR=1.20, 95%CI: 1.01-1.41) were statistically significant for transition from state 2 to state 1, and gender (HR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.33-1.89), age (HR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.02-1.64), hypertension (HR=1.22, 95%CI: 1.11-1.43), diabetes (HR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.12-2.00), ApoEe4 (HR=1.44, 95%CI: 1.09-1.68) were statistically significant for transition from state 2 to state 3. Based on the fitted model, the three-year transition probabilities during each state at average covariate level were estimated. CONCLUSION: To delay the disease progression of MCI, phase by phase prevention measures could be adopted based on the main factors of each stage. Multi-state Markov model could imitate the natural history of disease and showed great advantage in dynamically evaluating the development of chronic diseases with multi-states and multi-factors.

[Current status and influencing factors regarding quality of life among patients with Alzheimer's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status and influencing factors regarding quality of life among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: Through stratified cluster sampling method, two hundred patients with AD and their caregivers were chosen and interviewed. AD patients were assessed by questionnaires, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD), in order to compare the reports from patients and caregivers on QOL-AD and to analyze related influencing factors. Descriptive analysis, paired t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). RESULTS: The scores of reports from patients (28.78 ± 4.30) were lower than that from the caregivers' (30.05 ± 6.05). The difference was statistically significant (t = 2.122, P < 0.05) and was positively correlated (r = 0.312, P < 0.001). Data from multivariate analysis showed that cognitive level (t = 3.465, P = 0.001), marriage relationship (t = 3.062, P = 0.003), having public activities (t = 2.581, P = 0.011), personal characters (t = 2.254, P = 0.026), restricted diet pattern (t = 3.614, P < 0.001), regularly drinking tea (t = 2.652, P = 0.009) and doing housework (t = 3.180, P = 0.002) were predictive factors. CONCLUSION: Scores from the caregiver's report on QOL-AD were higher than that from the patients'. Many factors influenced the quality of life on AD patients. Strategies on improving the quality of life among AD patients can be developed based on the findings of this study.