Membrane-Based Preparation Process and Antioxidant and Anti-AGEs Activities of a Novel Propolis Ultrafiltrate.

Propolis is one functional supplement with hundreds of years of usage. However, it's rarely consumed directly for its resinous property. Herein, a pre-treated process which can remove the impurity while preserve its bioactivities is needed to maximise its therapeutic opportunities. In the present study, a membrane-based ultrafiltration process was developed on a KM1812-NF experimental instrument. Using Brazilian green propolis as testing material, all experimental steps and parameters were sequentially optimized. In addition, a mathematical model was developed to fit the process. As a result, the optimum solvent was 60 % ethanol adjusted to pH 8-9, while the optimum MWCO (molecular weight cut-off) value of membrane was 30 KDa. The membrane filtration dynamic model fitted with the function y=(ax+b)/(1+cx+dx2 ). The resulting propolis ultrafiltrate from Brazilian green propolis, termed P30K, contains the similar profile of flavonoids and phenolic acids as raw propolis. Meanwhile, the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) value of P30K is 11429.45±1557.58 µM TE/g and the IC50 value of inhibition of fluorescent AGEs (advanced glycation end products) formation is 0.064 mg/mL. Our work provides an innovative alternative process for extraction of active compounds from propolis and reveals P30K as an efficient therapeutic antioxidant.

A novel role of sulfate in promoting Mn phytoextraction efficiency and alleviating Mn stress in Polygonum lapathifolium Linn.

A hydroponic method was performed to explore the effects of sulfate supply on the growth, manganese (Mn) accumulation efficiency and Mn stress alleviation mechanisms of Polygonum lapathifolium Linn. Three Mn concentrations (1, 8 and 16 mmol L-1, representing low (Mn1), medium (Mn8) and high (Mn16) concentrations, respectively) were used. Three sulfate (S) levels (0, 200, and 400 µmol L-1, abbreviated as S0, S200 and S400, respectively) were applied for each Mn concentration. (1) The average biomass (g plant-1) of P. lapathifolium was ordered as Mn8 (6.36) > Mn1 (5.25) > Mn16 (4.16). Under Mn16 treatment, S addition increased (P < 0.05) biomass by 29.96% (S200) and 53.07% (S400) compared to that S0. The changes in the net photosynthetic rate and mean daily increase in biomass were generally consistent with the changes in biomass. (2) Mn accumulation efficiency (g plant-1) was ordered as Mn8 (99.66) > Mn16 (58.33) > Mn1 (27.38); and S addition increased (p < 0.05) plant Mn accumulation and Mn transport, especially under Mn16 treatment. (3) In general, antioxidant enzyme activities (AEAs) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in plant leaves were ordered in Mn16 > Mn8 > Mn1. Sulfate addition decreased (P < 0.05) AEAs and MDA under Mn16 treatment, while the changes were minor under Mn1 and Mn8 treatments. (4) Amino acid concentrations generally increased with increasing Mn concentration and S level. In summary, the medium Mn treatment promoted plant growth and Mn bioaccumulation; sulfate, especially at 400 µmol L-1 S, can effectively promote plant growth and Mn accumulation efficiency. The most suitable bioremediation strategy was Mn16 with 400 µmol L-1 S.

Nitrogen fertilizers promote plant growth and assist in manganese (Mn) accumulation by Polygonum pubescens Blume cultured in Mn tailings soil.

This study examined how different nitrogen (N) forms and application levels promote plant growth and assist in manganese (Mn) remediation of Polygonum pubescens Blume (P. pubescens) cultured in soil with a high Mn level. The effects of ammonium chloride (a) and urea (u), at three application levels (10, 20, and 30 mg L-1 N) and control (no N addition, CK) on the growth, Mn accumulation, and enzymatic anti-oxidative defenses of P. pubescens were examined. In general, both ammonium-N and urea-N promoted the plant mass and height of P. pubescens. The total Mn amount of roots, stems, and leaves in N treatments were higher (p < 0.05) than that of CK. The ammonium-N treatments showed greater plant biomass and Mn accumulation compared to the urea-N ones. In general, the accumulations of Mn, Cr, Zn, and Cu were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the N fertilizer treatment than those in the control; while the accumulations of Pb were higher (p < 0.05) in P. pubescens across all N fertilizer treatments than those in the control. The N addition decreased the contents of O2- and H2O2 in the leaves of P. pubescens, while increasing the activities of enzymatic anti-oxidative defenses.

Expression of Allograft Inflammatory Factor-1 (AIF-1) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1) is a cytoplasmic protein cloned from activated macrophages in human and rat allografts. AIF-1 has been identified as a modulator of inflammatory response, and recently published studies have shown its increased expression in carcinogenesis. However, there are still limited data on the potential functional role of AIF-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS We evaluated the expression of AIF-1 in 104 cases of paired HCC and adjacent non-cancerous liver tissues using immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and qPCR analysis, and sought to determine whether its expression was correlated with clinicopathological features. In vitro assays, including cell proliferation and migration assays, were used to study the effects of AIF-1 knockdown in L02 human hepatocyte, and Huh7 and SMMC7721 liver cancer cell lines. RESULTS Expression of AIF-1 was increased in HCC compared to adjacent normal liver tissues and was positively correlated with median tumor size (p=0.046), number of tumor deposits (p=0.009), the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage (p=0.004), and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) (p<0.001). Huh7 and SMMC7721 human HCC cells demonstrated upregulated AIF-1 expression compared to normal hepatocytes. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing of AIF-1 expression resulted in a reduction in cell proliferation and migration in human HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest AIF-1 may have roles as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target in HCC.

Exploring the casual association between gut microbiome, circulating inflammatory cytokines and chronic pancreatitis: A Mendelian randomization analysis.

It has been established that gut dysbiosis contributed to the pathogenesis of digestive disorders. We aimed to explore the causal relationships between intestinal microbiota, circulating inflammatory cytokines and chronic pancreatitis (CP). Summary statistics of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of intestinal microbiome was retrieved from the MiBioGen study and the GWAS data of 91 circulating inflammatory cytokines and CP were obtained from the GWAS catalog. The 2-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed between gut microbiota, circulating inflammatory cytokines and CP, in which the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was regarded as the primary analysis approach. To prove the reliability of the causal estimations, multiple sensitivity analyses were utilized. IVW results revealed that genetically predicted 2 genera, including Sellimonas and Eubacteriumventriosumgroup, and plasm C-C motif chemokine 23 (CCL23) level were positively associated with CP risk, while genus Escherichia Shigella, Eubacteriumruminantiumgroup and Prevotella9, and plasma Caspase 8, Adenosine Deaminase (ADA), and SIR2-like protein 2 (SIRT2) level, demonstrated an ameliorative effect on CP. Leave-one-out analysis confirmed the robustness of the aforementioned causal effects and no significant horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity of the instrumental variables was detected. However, no association was found from the identified genera to the CP-related circulating inflammatory cytokines. Besides, the reverse MR analysis demonstrated no causal relationship from CP to the identified genera and circulating inflammatory cytokines. Taken together, our comprehensive analyses offer evidence in favor of the estimated causal connections from the 5 genus-level microbial taxa and 4 circulating inflammatory cytokines to CP risk, which may help to reveal the underlying pathogenesis of CP.

Genetic alterations of KRAS and TP53 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma associated with poor prognosis.

The aim of this study is to investigate certain genetic features of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA). A total of 12 eligible ICCA patients were enrolled, and tumor tissues from the patients were subjected to next-generation sequencing of a multi-genes panel. Tumor mutation burden (TMB), mutated genes, copy number variants (CNVs), and pathway enrichment analysis were performed. The median TMB was 2.76 Mutation/Mb (range, 0-36.62 Mutation/Mb) in ICCA patients. The top two most commonly mutated genes in ICCA were KRAS (33%) and TP53 (25%). The co-mutations of KRAS and TP53 were 16.7% (2/12) in ICCA patients. Notably, patient P6 with the highest TMB did not have KRAS and TP53 mutations. Additionally, TP53 and/or KRAS alterations were significantly associated with poor progression-free survival than those with wild type (1.4 months vs 18 months). DNA damage repair and homologs recombinant repair deficiencies were significantly associated with high TMB in ICCA cases. In conclusion, we found that certain genetic mutations of TP53 and KRAS could predict poor prognosis in ICCA patients.

[Clinical features of chronic epididymitis: report of 63 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical features of chronic epididymitis (CE) for the purpose of improving its diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: According to the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected 63 CE patients in this study, obtained the data on their symptoms, signs, sexual activities, histories of related diseases, impact on quality of life and CE symptom indexes (CESI) by interrogation, physical examination and questionnaires, assessed their correlation with CE, and summarized the clinical features of the disease. RESULTS: The case group showed a similarity to the controls in age, ethnicity, education, smoking and drinking, but significantly larger numbers of sexual partners and patients with a history of urinary tract infections than the latter. Epididymal swelling and tenderness were found in 92.1%, and scrotal pain in 75.5% of the CE patients. CESI and the score of the impact on quality of life were 7.9 +/- 4.6 and 12.5 +/- 5.6 in the case group, significantly higher than in the controls (4.4 +/- 3.2 and 8.5 +/- 4.2) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The significant signs of chronic epididymitis are epididymal swelling and tenderness, which affect the patient's quality of life. The association of chronic epididymitis with the number of sexual partners and history of urinary tract infections are yet to be further confirmed by larger-sample studies.

MicroRNAs: Crucial Players in the Differentiation of Human Pluripotent and Multipotent Stem Cells into Functional Hepatocyte-Like Cells.

Hepatic disease negatively impacts liver function and metabolism. Primary human hepatocytes are the gold standard for the prediction and successful treatment of liver disease. However, the sources of hepatocytes for drug toxicity testing and disease modeling are limited. To overcome this issue, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have emerged as an alternative strategy for liver disease therapy. Human PSCs, including embryonic stem cells (ESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) can self-renew and give rise to all cells of the body. Human PSCs are attractive cell sources for regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, drug discovery, and developmental studies. Several recent studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can also differentiate (or trans-differentiate) into hepatocytes. Differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs into functional hepatocytelike cells (HLCs) opens new strategies to study genetic diseases, hepatotoxicity, infection of hepatotropic viruses, and analyze hepatic biology. Numerous in vitro and in vivo differentiation protocols have been established to obtain human PSCs/MSCs-derived HLCs and mimic their characteristics. It was recently discovered that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in controlling the ectopic expression of transcription factors and governing the hepatocyte differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs. In this review, we focused on the role of miRNAs in the differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs into hepatocytes.

Association Between Plasma Fibulin-1 and Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity in Arterial Stiffness.

Arterial stiffness forms the basis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and is also an independent predictor of CVD risk. Early detection and intervention of arterial stiffness are important for improving the global burden of CVD. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the gold standard for assessing arterial stiffness and the molecular mechanism of arterial stiffness remains to be studied. Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is one of the major mechanisms of arterial stiffness. Partial quantitative changes of ECM proteins can be detected in plasma. Therefore, we examined the hypothesis that a discovery proteomic comparison of plasma proteins between high arterial stiffness (baPWV ≥ 1,400 cm/s) and normal arterial stiffness (baPWV < 1,400 cm/s) populations might identify relevant changed ECM proteins for arterial stiffness. Plasma samples were randomly selected from normal arterial stiffness (n = 6) and high arterial stiffness (n = 6) people. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) based quantitative proteomics technique was performed to find a total of 169 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Nine ECM proteins were included in all DEPs and were all up-regulated proteins. Fibulin-1 had the highest statistically fold-change (FC = 3.7, p < 0.0001) in the high arterial stiffness population compared with the control group during the nine ECM proteins. The expression of plasma fibulin-1 in normal arterial stiffness (n = 112) and high arterial stiffness (n = 72) populations was confirmed through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Similarly, ELISA results showed that plasma concentrations of fibulin-1 in the high arterial stiffness group were higher than those in the normal arterial stiffness group (12.69 ± 0.89 vs. 9.84 ± 0.71 µg/ml, p < 0.05). Univariate analysis of fibulin-1 with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) indicated that fibulin-1 was positively correlated with baPWV in all participants (r = 0.32, p < 0.01) and a stronger positive correlation between baPWV and fibulin-1 in high arterial stiffness group (r = 0.64, p < 0.0001) was found. Multiple regression analysis of factors affecting baPWV showed that fibulin-1 was also a significant determinant of the increased ba-PWV (R 2 = 0.635, p = 0.001). Partial correlation analysis showed that baPWV increased with the growth of plasma fibulin-1(r = 0.267, p < 0.001). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that fibulin-1 is positively correlated with ba-PWV and an independent risk factor for arterial stiffness.

Atomic cerium modulated palladium nanoclusters exsolved ferrite catalysts for lean methane conversion.

The active and stable palladium (Pd) based catalysts for CH4 conversion are of great environmental and industrial significance. Herein, we employed N2 as an optimal activation agent to develop a Pd nanocluster exsolved Ce-incorporated perovskite ferrite catalyst toward lean methane oxidation. Replacing the traditional initiator of H2, the N2 was found as an effective driving force to selectively touch off the surface exsolution of Pd nanocluster from perovskite framework without deteriorating the overall material robustness. The catalyst showed an outstanding T50 (temperature of 50% conversion) plummeting down to 350°C, outperforming the pristine and H2-activated counterparts. Further, the combined theoretical and experimental results also deciphered the crucial role that the atomically dispersed Ce ions played in both construction of active sites and CH4 conversion. The isolated Ce located at the A-site of perovskite framework facilitated the thermodynamic and kinetics of the Pd exsolution process, lowering its formation temperature and promoting its quantity. Moreover, the incorporation of Ce lowered the energy barrier for cleavage of C─H bond, and was dedicated to the preservation of highly reactive PdOx moieties during stability measurement. This work successfully ventures uncharted territory of in situ exsolution to provide a new design thinking for a highly performed catalytic interface.

The landscape of PD-L1 expression and somatic mutations in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver, and becoming the third-leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Despite the immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecular targeted therapies have shown preferable efficacy in HCC, large number of HCC patients do not respond effectively to anti-PD-1 reagents. Besides, the accumulation of genetic mutations in cancer cells may lead to the therapy resistant. Hence, there are clinical gaps between genetic and transcriptomic biomarkers for the HCC treatment. METHODS: To investigate the genetic mapping of liver cancer, targeted deep sequencing (TDS) and bioinformatics analysis were performed on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor tissues and matched blood samples. Furthermore, copy number variants (CNVs) and Tumor mutation burden (TMB) were calculated. Immunohistochemistry was applied to determine the PD-L1 expression in HCC tumor tissues. Clinical characteristic, PD-L1 expression, and the TMB were analyzed in 32 HCC patients. RESULTS: This study indicated that the PD-L1 positive patients exhibited a lower TMB compared to the PD-L1 negative group, and PD-L1 positive patients were more likely to suffer from aggressive clinicopathologic features than PD-L1 negative patients. We also verified the top 30 mutated genes, including TP53, CTNNB1, KMT2D, AXIN1, ALK, and NOTCH1, in our dataset. Our results indicated that PD-L1 positive patients possessed more tumors with vascular invasion and advanced CCLC stage. Moreover, PD-L1 positive patients exhibited a lower TMB compared to the PD-L1 negative group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings could improve our understanding of the effects of immune checkpoint therapies on prognosis, and could facilitate the monitoring of somatic mutations in HCC.

Hydrocotyle vulgaris L.: a new cadmium-tolerant landscape species and its physiological responses to cadmium exposure.

Landscape plants have both ecological and aesthetic value and may also represent ideal candidates for phytoremediation. In the present study, one round of hydroponic culture for 14 days with different cadmium (Cd) concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg L-1 Cd) was carried out to test whether Hydrocotyle vulgaris L. is a Cd-tolerant plant. Furthermore, physiological parameters, including pigment concentrations, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme activities (AEAs), and nutrient uptake, were also examined to determine the tolerance of H. vulgaris to Cd exposure. The results showed that H. vulgaris could grow normally under all Cd supply levels. The Cd removal efficiency reached 100% at Cd concentrations ≤1.0 mg L-1. The concentrations of Cd in roots and shoots increased (P < 0.05) with Cd supplementation. The maximum concentrations of Cd reached 26.4 and 118 mg kg-1 in shoots and roots, respectively. The translocation factor values were similar under all Cd treatments. The highest mean daily increase in biomass (MDIB) was obtained under 1 mg L-1 Cd exposure, which increased by 69.86% compared to that in the control, which may be due to the increased photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic rate, and the consistent nutrient concentrations under this Cd level, as there were positive relationships between these parameters and MDIB. Moreover, the activities of AEA also generally explicated highest among all Cd levels. All these results indicate that the above physiological parameters play a positive role in promoting plant growth and alleviating Cd stress. In summary, H. vulgaris was verified as a potential Cd-tolerant plant, providing new information for Cd phytoremediation. Furthermore, given its extensive habitat distribution, this species might be tested for phytoremediation of contaminated soils in future work.

Identify potential clinical significance of long noncoding RNA forkhead box P4 antisense RNA 1 in patients with early stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Previous studies have shown that forkhead box P4 antisense RNA 1 (FOXP4-AS1) is dysregulated in tumor tissues and can serve as a prognostic indicator for multiple cancers. However, the clinical significance of FOXP4-AS1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unclear. The goal of this study is to recognize the possible clinical significance of long noncoding RNA FOXP4-AS1 in patients with early stage PDAC. A total of 112 patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) PDAC cohort, receiving RNA sequencing, were involved in the study. Survival analysis, functional mechanism, and potential small molecule drugs of target therapy of FOXP4-AS1 were performed in this study. Survival analysis in TCGA PDAC cohort suggested that patients with high FOXP4-AS1 expression had significantly augmented possibility of death than in PDAC patients with lower FOXP4-AS1 expression (adjusted P = .008; adjusted HR = 2.143, 95% CI = 1.221-3.760). In this study, a genome-wide RNA sequencing dataset was used to identify 927 genes co-expressing with FOXP4-AS1 in PDAC tumor tissues. A total of 676 differentially expressed genes were identified between different FOXP4-AS1 expression groups. Functional enrichment analysis of these genes and gene set enrichment analysis for PDAC genome-wide RNA sequencing dataset was done. We have found that FOXP4-AS1 may function in PDAC by participating in biological processes and pathways including oxidative phosphorylation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, classical tumor-related pathways such as NF-kappaB as well as Janus kinase/signal transducers in addition to activators of transcription, cell proliferation, and adhesion. In addition, we also screened two potential targeted therapeutic small molecule drugs (dimenhydrinate and metanephrine) for FOXP4-AS1 in PDAC. In conclusion, our present study demonstrated that higher expression of FOXP4-AS1 in PDAC tumor tissues were related with an inferior medical outcome. Through multiple genome-wide approaches, we identified the potential molecular mechanisms of FOXP4-AS1 in PDAC and two targeted therapeutic drugs for it.

The preventive effect of Chinese herbal preparation Xuebijing against hyperactive inflammation after hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery.

BACKGROUND: Hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery is a primary treatment for benign and malignant diseases of the liver, biliary tract, and pancreas. Hyperactive inflammation has been indicated as a critical risk factor of post-operation death after HPB surgery. Xuebijing is an anti-inflammatory intravenous herbal preparation made from traditional Chinese medicines. Emerging evidence has implicated a protective role of Xuebijing against hyperactive inflammation. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. We analyzed a total of 638 cases of HPB surgery, including hepatectomy, Whipple's surgery, and surgeries for cholelithiasis, which were divided into a Xuebijing treatment group and a conventional treatment group according to whether they were treated with Xuebijing injection or not. Clinical data related to liver function and inflammation were compared between the two groups after operation, including liver function index, white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil percentage (NE%), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), body temperature, mortality, incidence of adverse reaction, length of postoperative hospital stay, and hospitalization cost. RESULTS: Xuebijing injection was found to decrease the levels of inflammatory markers in the blood significantly, including WBC, NE%, CRP, IL-6, and reduce the incidence of postoperative fever without prolonging in-hospital length or increasing cost compared to the conventional treatment group. Moreover, our data demonstrated that Xuebijing injection did not impact liver function after hepatectomy. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that Xuebijing injection alleviates hyperactive inflammation caused by HPB surgery, and support the application of Xuebijing injection as a safe therapeutic approach against hyperactive inflammation in patients with HPB surgery.

Prediction and analysis of weighted genes in hepatocellular carcinoma using bioinformatics analysis.

The aim of the present study was to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between primary tumor tissue and adjacent non­tumor tissue of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples in order to investigate the mechanisms of HCC. The microarray data of the datasets GSE76427, GSE84005 and GSE57957 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. DEGs were identified using the limma package in the R programming language. Following the intersection of the DEGs screened from the three datasets, 218 genes were selected for further study. A protein­protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database. The construction and analysis of modules were performed using Cytoscape and the module with the highest score was selected for further analysis. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis were conducted for genes involved in the PPI network and the selected subnetwork. The network of the enriched pathways and their associated genes was constructed using Cytoscape. For the genes in the global PPI network, metabolism­associated pathways were significantly enriched; whereas, for the genes in the subnetwork, 'cell cycle', 'oocyte meiosis' and 'DNA replication' pathways were significantly enriched. To demonstrate the portability and repeatability of the prognostic value of the weighted genes, a validation cohort was obtained from datasets of The Cancer Genome Atlas and Kaplan­Meier survival analysis was conducted. Evidence is presented that the expression levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 family member, cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 8, alcohol dehydrogenase 4 (class II), pi polypeptide, alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (class I), ß polypeptide and cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 9 were associated with the overall survival of patients with HCC and that the expression levels of pituitary tumor­transforming 1, cell division cycle 20, DNA topoisomerase II α and cyclin B2 were negatively associated with the overall survival of patients with HCC. In conclusion, 9 weighted genes, involved in the development and progression of HCC, were identified using bioinformatics and survival analyses.

[Effect of Xuebijing injection on postoperative inflammatory response in patients after hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries: a retrospective cohort study].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of Xuebijing injection on inflammatory response in patients after hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries, and to evaluate its safety and clinical value. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. 708 patients received hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University from January 2015 to September 2017 were enrolled and divided into Xuebijing treatment group and conventional treatment group according to whether they were treated with Xuebijing injection or not. The inflammatory response indexes included white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil (NE), C-reactive protein (CRP), body temperature, which were compared between the two groups at 1, 3, and 5 days after operation. The incidence of adverse reactions, the length of postoperative hospital stays and hospitalization costs were compared. RESULTS: A total of 209 patients were prescribed with Xuebijing injection, and 499 patients were allocated into conventional treatment group. The two groups were stratified by liver, biliary and pancreatic surgery types, and further 1:1 propensity score matching was performed. After propensity score match, 189 patients were included in each group, with 101, 46, and 42 patients undergoing liver, biliary, and pancreas surgery, respectively. There were no significant differences in baseline data such as gender, age and inflammatory response indexes before surgery between the two groups. In both groups, the WBC and NE showed a gradual decline after operation, CRP were increased gradually and then decreased after 3 days. Compared with the conventional treatment group, Xuebijing treatment group showed obvious anti-inflammatory effect from 3 days after operation [WBC (×109/L): 10.1±4.0 vs. 11.0±3.5, NE: 0.71±0.10 vs. 0.76±0.12, CRP (mg/L): 73.1±38.7 vs. 82.2±41.8, all P < 0.05]. On the 5th day, it still showed a strong anti-inflammatory trend [WBC (×109/L): 7.0±2.8 vs. 7.9±2.6, NE: 0.62±0.10 vs. 0.68±0.12, CRP (mg/L): 43.4±31.0 vs. 50.9±25.3, all P < 0.05]. The cases of postoperative fever in the Xuebijing treatment group were significantly less than that in the conventional treatment group (cases: 98 vs. 119, χ2 = 4.711, P = 0.029). There was no significant different in the total incidence of adverse drug reactions such as rash, nausea and vomiting (5.0% vs. 3.2%), the length of postoperative hospital stays [days: 9.3 (6.1, 13.5) vs. 9.1 (5.5, 13.3)] and hospitalization costs [wanyuan: 5.8 (3.6, 9.5) vs. 5.7 (3.5, 9.8)] between Xuebijing treatment group and conventional treatment group (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Xuebijing injection has a good anti-inflammatory effect on patients undergoing hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries. Xuebijing injection has good safety and can be applied to the prevention and treatment of excessive inflammatory reaction after hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries.

[Toxoplasma infection in males with sterility in Shenyang, China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the Toxoplasma gondii (TOX) infection in males with sterility and the effect of the infection on the reproductive function of males. METHODS: Enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect TOX-CAg, TOX-IgG and TOX-IgM in the peripheral blood of male patients with sterility. RESULTS: Among 100 cases of male sterility, 7 were TOX-IgG positive (7%), 16 TOX-IgM positive (16%) and 13 TOX-CAg positive (13%). Among 100 normal males, 7 were TOX-IgG positive (7%), 3 TOX-IgM positive (3%) and 1 TOX-CAg positive (1%). CONCLUSION: TOX infection may affect the fertility of males and cause male sterility. For this reason, males should prevent themselves from TOX infection.

Echo-Tracking Method Improves the Reliability in Flow-Mediated Dilation Assessment by Measuring Brachial Artery Reactivity.

The purpose of the study was to compare the intraobserver and interobserver reliability and agreement for measurement of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) between B-mode method and echo-tracking (ET) method. Twenty healthy volunteers (mean age, 31.6 ± 9.2 years) underwent ultrasound examination by both B-mode and ET methods. Baseline brachial artery diameter, post-cuff release diameter, and FMD percent were assessed by each sonologist on 2 consecutive days. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients, and Bland-Altman plots were used to visually compare measurement bias and agreement by the 2 ultrasound methods. A total of 40 pairs of data were available for analysis. Excellent intraobserver and interobserver reliability values were found for all variables assessed by the 2 methods. The intraclass correlation coefficient values were higher for ET in both intraobserver and interobserver evaluations, but only for interobserver evaluations for post-cuff release diameter and FMD was there no overlap in the 95% confidence interval. The Bland-Altman plots showed that in 95% of the measurements, the percentage difference between ET and B-mode ultrasound techniques was within 18.1%, 19.4%, and 17.3% for baseline brachial artery diameter, post-cuff release diameter, and FMD percent, respectively. The results suggest that ET and B-mode methods are reproducible in assessing the FMD. The ET method improves the reliability of FMD assessment, but we cannot determine which measurement is better for FMD.

[Role of CD44 in monocyte transmigration across Cryptococcus neoformans-infected blood-brain barrier in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of CD44 in monocyte adhesion to human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) and monocyte migration across an in vitro model of blood-brain barrier (BBB) infected by Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn). METHODS: An in vitro blood-brain barrier model was constructed using a transwell chamber covered with a HBMEC monolayer. The wild-type strain of Cn B4500FO2, TYCC645#32 strain with CPS1 gene deletion and PCIP strain with CPS1 complementation were chosen to infect the monolayer HBMECs. THP-1 cells were added to the upper chamber of transwell, and the relative migration rate was determined by counting the number of the cells entering the lower chambers. The inhibitory effects of anti-CD44 monoclonal antibody and the CD44 inhibitor bikunin were examined on THP-1 binding to and migration across HBMECs. RESULTS: Cn infection of the HBMECs caused markedly enhanced THP-1 cell adhesion and migration across the monolyers (P<0.01) dependent on Cn concentration and exposure time. Addition of anti-CD44 monoclonal antibody and bikunin significantly lowered THP-1 adhesion and migration rates in the BBB model with Cn-infected HBMECs (P<0.01) with a dose dependence of the antibody (within 0-1 µg) and inhibitor (within 0-20 nmol/L). Both THP-1 adhesion rate and migration rate were lowered in the BBB model infected with CPS1 gene-deleted Cn but increased in the model infected with the complemented strain compared with those in the wild-type strain-infected model. CONCLUSION: In the in vitro BBB model, CD44 expressed on HBMECs may play an essential role in monocyte adhesion to and migration across the BBB. The capsular hyaluronic acid may mediate Cn-induced monocyte adhesion and migration.

No chemopreventive effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on nonmelanoma skin cancer: evidence from meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC),which includes squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), is the most common form of cancer, and its incidence is increasing. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been reported to be chemopreventive for NMSC. However, the results from published studies were controversial. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and Embase databases for relevant studies. Moreover, relevant reviews regarding the use of NSAIDs for NMSC patients were examined for potential inclusive studies. To measure the effects of NSAIDs, the relative risk (RR) was analyzed. RESULTS: A Total of 8 studies were included in our meta-analysis. We found that NSAIDs use was not associated with a reduced risk of SCC or BCC under the random effects model (pooled RR  =  0.86, 95% CI, 0.73-1.02, P  =  0.085; pooled RR  =  0.94, 95% CI 0.85-1.04, P  =  0.266; respectively). CONCLUSION: From the included studies, we found no statistically significant chemopreventive effect on NMSC of NSAIDs. This finding warrants more prospective studies evaluating the relationship between NSAIDs and NMSC.