[Analysis of HIV testing status and relevant factors in male sexually transmitted diseases patients in Shandong Province].

A survey was conducted to analyze the HIV testing status and related influencing factors of male sexually transmitted diseases(STD) patients attending 18 county-level hospitals in Shandong Province from July 2015 to August 2016. The HIV detection rate of 1 570 subjects was 77.58% (1 218/1 570), and the HIV-antibody positive rate was 0.99% (12/1 218). Compared with general hospitals patients, urinary and anorectal patients, non-sexual patients, and patients with negative attitudes toward HIV testing, patients were more likely to be tested for HIV from specialized hospitals (OR=3.74, 95%CI:2.53-5.54), the skin and venereal section (OR=1.92, 95%CI: 1.31-2.79), the STD group (OR=2.02, 95%CI: 1.34-3.03) and patients with positive attitude (OR=15.20, 95%CI:10.74-21.52).

[Effect of α7nAChR mediated cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway on inhibition of atrial fibrillation by low-level vagus nerve stimulation].

Objective: To investigate the effect of α7nAChR mediated cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway on inhibition of atrial fibrillation by low-level vagus nerve stimulation(LL-VNS). Methods: Eighteen beagles were randomized into control group (n=6), LL-VNS group (n=6) and methyllycaconitine (MLA) + LL-VNS group (n=6). All the beagles were subjected to rapid atrial pacing at 800 beats/min for 6 hours.And the effective refractory period (ERP) of atriums and pulmonary veins and induced atrial fibrillation (AF) were measured hourly during non-pacing.After cessation of pacing for 3 hours, the beagles in control group were injected with saline into four ganglionated plexis (GPs), the beagles in LL-VNS group were given LL-VNS and saline injected into four GPs, and the beagles in MLA+ LL-VNS group were injected with MLA into four GPs combined with LL-VNS.And the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and acetylcholine (ACh) in the plasma at baseline condition, 3 h and 6 h were measured.At the end of this experiment, atrial tissues were collected to examine the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, ACh, NF-κBp65 and STAT3 proteins. Results: During the right atrium pacing for the first 3 hours, the ERPs were gradually decreased while AF inducibility were gradually increased in all groups. At the end of this experiment, compared with the control group and MLA+ LL-VNS group, the ERPs in LL-VNS group were increased, and the induced times and duration of AF were significantly decreased. The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in plasma were all significantly decreased in LL-VNS group and MLA+ LL-VNS group when compared with the control group(pg/ml) [IL-6: (101±6) vs (119±7), P<0.05; (102±5) vs (119±7), P<0.05; TNF-α: (17.8±1.7) vs (22.1±2.0), P<0.05; (17.9±2.2) vs (22.1±2.0), P<0.05]. And the levels of ACh were higher than in the control group(µg/ml)[(151±13) vs (123±10), P<0.05; (145±5) vs (123±10), P<0.05]. After cessation of pacing for 6 hours, compared with the control groupand MLA+ LL-VNS group, the tissue levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly decreased in LL-VNS group (P<0.05). The concentrations of NF-κBp65 proteins in atrial tissues were lower in the LL-VNS group (P<0.05), and the levels of STAT3 proteins in those tissues were higher in the LL-VNS group than in thein the two other groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: LL-VNS could inhibit the atrial electrical remodeling and atrial fibrillation induction; cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway mediated by α7nAChR may be the important mechanism in vagal nerve regulated AF.

DNA repair gene XRCC3 T241M polymorphism and susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in a Chinese population: a meta-analysis.

Numerous studies have evaluated the association between the X-ray repair complementing defective repair in Chinese hamster cells 3 (XRCC3) T241M polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. However, the results of such investigations have proved inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of the association between this polymorphism and HCC risk in the Chinese population. Published literature from PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was retrieved, and a total of 5 case-control studies consisting of 2967 patients and 3874 controls were included in this meta-analysis, which revealed a significant association between the XRCC3 T241M polymorphism and HCC risk (TT vs MM: OR = 6.54, 95%CI = 2.14-19.99; TT vs MT: OR = 4.72, 95%CI = 2.26-9.86; dominant model: OR = 0.38, 95%CI = 0.26-0.57; recessive model: OR = 1.27, 95%CI = 0.99-1.62). In a subgroup analysis by sample size (number of subjects > 1000), similar results were obtained. Thus, XRCC3 T241M polymorphism may constitute a risk factor for HCC in the Chinese population.

Effects of tea polyphenols on ovarian development in rats.

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. Tea polyphenols are the major constituents of tea leaves and have shown many potential healthy benefits. However, whether tea polyphenols influence ovarian follicle assembly and development and ovarian life span is unknown. To study the effect of tea polyphenols on ovarian follicle development and oocyte apoptosis, we investigated rat ovarian development of different ages [from postnatal day (PD)1 after birth to 10 months] after treatment with tea polyphenols. Our data showed that the percentage of unassembled follicles increased in the ovaries of 1- and 2-day-old rats which were ip injected with tea polyphenols (50 mg/kg/d) or whose mothers were treated with tea polyphenols (100 mg/kg/d) by intragastric administration from the day 11 after the detection of vaginal plug till delivery. The percentage of primordial follicles increased, while that of developing follicles decreased in the ovaries of 4- and 8-day-old rats following peritoneal injection with tea polyphenols compared with controls. The ratio of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive oocytes decreased in the ovaries of neonatal rats following tea polyphenol treatment. In the 3- and 10-month-old rat ovaries, the number of primordial follicles augmented, whereas that of atretic follicles decreased after the treatment for 4 weeks. These data suggest that tea polyphenols may inhibit the transition from primordial to developing follicles, extend the entire growth phase of a follicle, and reduce dominant follicle numbers per cycle to increase the reserve of germ cells, inhibit oocyte apoptosis and follicle atresia during ovarian development from birth to early aged, and retard climacterium in rats. Drinking even a small cup of tea per day may benefit to extent the productive life of ovary.

[Stereoselectivity of arrhythmogenic effect of praziquantel in conscious rabbits].

Praziquantel (PQT) is a chiral compound with an asymmetric center at the 11 b-position. The recemic mixture is usually used as an antischistosomal drug, however the antischistosomal activity is mainly concentrated in the R (-)-enantiomer. This study was undertaken to investigate the stereoselectivity of the arrhythmogenic effect of PQT in conscious rabbits. Arrhythmias, as well as bradycardia, were induced in rabbits by iv (+/-) PQT or its enantiomers at 45 mg/kg. The frequency of ectopic rhythms in the (+), (+/-) and (-) PQT groups were 100, 60 and 20%, respectively. Statistically, the frequency of ectopic rhythms in the (+) PQT group was significantly higher than those in the (-) PQT group and in the (+/-) PQT group, although there was no significant difference between the (+/-) and (-) PQT groups. The severity of the arrhythmias induced by (+) PQT was much higher than that induced by (-) PQT. The bradycardia action of (+) PQT was much more intense than that of (-) PQT. (+/-) PQT or its enanthiomers (icv) at a dose of 2 or 3 mg/kg also induced arrhythmias. The frequency of ectopic rhythms in the (+) PQT group was significantly higher than that in the (-) PQT group. The results suggest that there is a stereoselectivity of the arrhythmogenic effects of PQT in rabbits. Arrhythmias induced by PQT may partly mediated via the central nervous system, and the arrhythmogenic effects of (+/-) PQT may be caused mainly by (+) PQT.