The Aesthetic Evaluation of the Brow-Eye Continuum After Correction of Severe Congenital Ptosis in Children With Extended Frontalis Muscle Advancement Technique.

BACKGROUND: Severe congenital ptosis is a common ocular deformity in pediatric patients that can significantly impact visual development and aesthetic appearance, leading to negative psychosocial outcomes. The frontalis muscle advancement technique is a well-established surgical treatment for severe congenital ptosis. Aesthetic changes of the brow-eye continuum often plays an important role in ptosis surgery. METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective case series study of patients with severe congenital ptosis who underwent the frontalis muscle advancement technique at the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University between April 2020 and June 2021. The study aimed to evaluate the aesthetic changes of the eyebrow-eyelid continuum after surgery. The main outcome measurements included marginal reflex distance 1, palpebral fissure height, eyebrow position, upper eyelid to lower eyebrow distance, lower eyelid to upper eyebrow distance, and nasal base to lower eyelid distance. RESULTS: The study included 48 patients (66 eyelids), with 30 unilateral and 18 bilateral patients. Our analysis found that eyebrow height decreased by an average of 4.8% postoperatively relative to preoperatively in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The frontalis muscle advancement technique has demonstrated effectiveness in achieving aesthetically pleasing outcomes in children with severe ptosis. It is crucial to pay careful attention to the brow-eye continuum during the correction process, as its harmony can greatly impact the final result.

Planctomonas psychrotolerans sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of Suaeda salsa.

A psychrotolerant actinobacterium, designated strain J5903T, was isolated from an alkaline soil sample from the rhizosphere of Suaeda salsa collected in desertification land surrounding Jiuliancheng Nur in Hebei Province, PR China. Cells of the isolate were Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile and non-spore-forming cocci. Strain J5903T grew optimally at 20‒25 °C, at pH 7.0‒7.5 and with <1 % (w/v) NaCl. The cell-wall peptidoglycan type was B2γ with d-2,4-diaminobutyric acid and l-2,4-diaminobutyric acid as diagnostic amino acids. The muramyl residue was acetyl type. The menaquinones were MK-11, MK-12, MK-10 and MK-13. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified glycolipid. The major whole-cell fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content was 69.1 mol%. It shared the highest average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values with Planctomonas deserti 13S1-3T. Phylogenies based on genome sequence showed that strain J5903T and P. deserti 13S1-3T formed a robust cluster with high bootstrap support. Strain J5903T shared typical chemotaxonomic characteristics with P. deserti 13S1-3T. Combining the polyphasic taxonomic evidence, strain J5903T represents a novel species of the genus Planctomonas, for which the name Planctomonas psychrotolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is J5903T (=DSM 101894T=CGMCC 1.15523T).

CXCR3 knockdown protects against high glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine production at the onset of diabetic nephropathy.

Chemokines and their receptors play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, their expression pattern and function in glomerular podocytes have not been investigated as of yet. In the present study, we investigated whether CXCR3 could protect podocytes from high glucose-induced apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine production and explored the possible mechanism. Cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry, respectively. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψm) was measured using a dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) ortetrechloro-tetraethylbenzimidazol carbocyanine iodide (JC-1) fluorescent probe, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine the gene expression of CXCR3. Western blots were carried out for the related protein expression in podocytes, including CXCR3, Nephrin, Podocin, Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-3. Firstly, we found that CXCR3 expression was significantly up-regulated and cell viability was decreased in high glucose (HG)-treated mouse podocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Secondly, knockdown of CXCR3 in mouse podocytes significantly suppressed HG-induced viability decrease, cell cycle arrest, ROS generation and ∆Ψm reduction. Moreover, knockdown of CXCR3 reduced the podocytes injury in cell apoptosis and inflammation through increasing the expression of Nephrin, Podocin and Bcl-2, and decreasing the expression of Bax and Caspase-3. In conclusion, CXCR3 knockdown protected podocytes from HG-induced apoptosis and inflammation in vitro, suggesting that inhibition of CXCR3 may have a therapeutic potential in DN treatment.

[Preparation and Characterization of Manganese and Fluorine Co-Modified Hydroxyapatite Composite Coating].

Titanium and titanium alloys have been widely used as orthopedic, dental implants and cardiovascular stents owing to their superior physical properties. However, titanium surface is inherently bio-inert, thus could not form efficient osseointegration with surrounding bone tissue. Therefore, to improve the surface property of titanium implant is significantly important in clinical application. Manganese and fluorine co-doped hydroxyapatite (FMnHAP) coatings were prepared on titanium substrate by electrochemical deposition technique. The as-prepared coatings were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests. The results indicated that the FMnHAP coatings take the morphology of nanoscale-villous-like, the composite coating becomes more compact. The FTIR test indicated that the symmetry of bending vibration modes of hydroxyl changed, simulated body fluid immersion test proved that the FMnHAP coatings had induce carbonate-apatite formation, indicating that the composite coating possess excellent biocompatibility. In the electrochemical corrosion testing, the FMnHAP coatings showed stronger corrosion resistance than pure Ti.

Chain elongation analog of resveratrol as potent cancer chemoprevention agent.

Resveratrol is identified as a natural cancer chemoprevention agent. There has been a lot of interest in designing and developing resveratrol analogs with cancer chemoprevention activity superior to that of parent molecule and exploring their action mechanism in the past several decades. In this study, we have synthesized resveratrol analogs of compounds A-C via conjugated chain elongation based on isoprene unit retention strategy. Remarkably, cytotoxic activity analysis results indicated that compound B possesses the best proliferation inhibition activity for NCI-H460 cells in all the test compounds. Intriguingly, compound B displayed a higher cytotoxicity against human non-small cell lung cancer cells (NCI-H460) compared to normal human embryonic lung fibroblasts (MRC-5). Afterward, flow cytometry analysis showed that compound B would induce cell apoptosis. We further researched the action mechanism. When NCI-H460 cells were incubated by compound B for 6 or 9 h, respectively, the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was enhanced obviously. With elevation of intracellular ROS level, flow cytometry measurement verified mitochondrial transmembrane potential collapse, which was accompanied by the up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2. More interestingly, compound B increased the expression of caspase-9 and caspase-3, which induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, compound B arrested cell cycle in G0/G1 phase. These are all to provide useful information for designing resveratrol-based chemoprevention agent and understanding the action mechanism.

[The role of nitric oxide on the dysfunction of intestinal motility in rats subjected to hemorrhagic shock].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of nitric oxide (NO) in intestinal motility dysfunction in rats subjected to hemorrhagic shock (HS). METHODS: Sixteen male Wistar rats were randomly and equally divided into two groups. The HS model of rat was induced by bleeding from femoral artery. After animal models were made, different inducers were added, and duodenum samples were harvested for the determination of contractile response to acetylcholine (ACh) in vitro, activities of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), contents of NO in tissue, and morphological changes. RESULTS: The spontaneous contraction of intestinal smooth muscle and contractile response induced by ACh were significantly decreased at 180 minutes in HS group, compared with control group, the contractile response induced by ACh of intestinal smooth muscle was decreased by almost 60% (0.40±0.11 g×mm(-2)×s(-1) vs. 1.00±0.20 g×mm(-2)×s(-1), P<0.01). The inhibitor of iNOS N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) could significantly restore the suppressed contractile response of smooth muscle strips obtained from HS rats (0.97±0.25 vs. 0.40±0.11, P<0.01). Moreover, the inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase 1H-[1,2,4] Oxadiazolo [4,3-a] quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) also improved the contractility of HS muscle strips significantly (0.79±0.17 vs. 0.40±0.11, P<0.01). But the blocker of ATP-sensitive potassium channel glibenclamide had no effect on the contractility of HS muscle strips (0.47±0.14 vs. 0.40±0.11, P>0.05). Compared with those of control group, iNOS activities (2.295±0.310 U/g vs. 1.319±0.322 U/g) and NO contents (2.880±0.353 µmol/g vs. 1.505±0.387 µmol/g) in duodenum of HS rats were both significantly increased (both P<0.01). Under light microscopy, the most significant morphological change in duodenum following HS was the infiltration of obvious inflammatory cells. CONCLUSIONS: The NO produced by the overexpression of iNOS induced by HS involves in the motility dysfunction of intestine through the mechanism of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) system. Moreover, NO-mediated infiltration of inflammatory cells in tissue may also contribute to the development of motility dysfunction of intestine following HS.

[Role of intestinal lymphatic pathway in pathogenesis of intestine-derived bacteria/endotoxin translocation in rats in shock].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of toxic substances in mesenteric lymph and portal vein blood of rats in hemorrhagic shock, and the influence of mesenteric lymph duct ligation on level of endotoxin (ET) in organs and bacterial contents in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and spleen in rats with hemorrhagic shock, and to evaluate the role of lymphatic pathway in pathogenesis of intestine-derived bacteria/endotoxin translocation (BET) in rats with shock. METHODS: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the shock group and control group. A model of serious hemorrhagic shock was reproduced by blood shedding to maintain the blood pressure at 40 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) for 90 minutes under aseptic condition, and MLN and portal vein blood were harvested. The specimens were also obtained in control group. The contents of ET, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined in them. Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group, shock group and lymphatic duct ligation group. Mesenteric lymph ducts were ligated after resuscitation. All rats were sacrificed, and lung, liver, heart and kidney were removed and homogenized for determination of the content of ET. MLN and spleen homogenates were subjected to bacterial culture. RESULTS: The contents of ET, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in lymph were significantly higher than those of plasma in shock group, and also higher than that in normal plasma and normal lymph (all P<0.01). In shock group the contents of ET in lung, liver, heart and renal homogenate 3 and 6 hours after transfusion and resuscitation were significantly higher than those of sham operation group and ligation group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Bacterial culture of MLN and spleen in shock group rats 3 and 6 hours after transfusion and resuscitation was positive, but it was not in ligation group. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the intestinal lymphatic pathway plays an important role after compromise of gut barrier function in carrying out BET after hemorrhagic shock.