Lumbar kinematics, functional disability and fear avoidance beliefs among adults with nonspecific chronic low back pain

Objectives: This study aimed to examine correlations between lumbar kinematics, functional disability and fear avoidance beliefs among adults with nonspecific chronic low back pain [LBP]

Methods: This crosssectional study was conducted between March and December 2014. A total of 32 adults diagnosed with nonspecific chronic LBP were recruited from outpatients attending either an orthopaedic clinic at a university hospital or a private physiotherapy clinic in Malaysia. Lumbar kinematics were measured using sensors attached at the first lumbar [L1] and second sacral [S2] vertebrae levels. The Oswestry Disability Index [ODI] and Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire [FABQ] were used to assess degree of functional disability and fear avoidance beliefs, respectively

Results: For maximum range of motion, positive correlations were observed between ODI scores and right lateral flexion and right rotation [P = 0.01 each], although there was a negative correlation with left rotation [P = 0.03]. With maximum angular velocity, ODI scores were positively correlated with right and left lateral flexion L1 [P = 0.01 and <0.01, respectively] but negatively correlated with left lateral flexion L2 [P = 0.04]. Regarding minimum angular velocity, ODI scores were positively correlated with left lateral flexion S2 [P <0.01] but negatively correlated with right and left lateral flexion L1 [P = 0.02 each], right rotation L1 [P = 0.02] and left rotation S2 [P = 0.01]. No significant correlations were found between lumbar kinematics and FABQ scores

Conclusion: These findings suggest that certain lumbar kinematic parameters are correlated with functional disability, but not with fear avoidance beliefs

LXW7 ameliorates focal cerebral ischemia injury and attenuates inflammatory responses in activated microglia in rats

Inflammation plays a pivotal role in ischemic stroke, when activated microglia release excessive pro-inflammatory mediators. The inhibition of integrin αvβ3 improves outcomes in rat focal cerebral ischemia models. However, the mechanisms by which microglia are neuroprotective remain unclear. This study evaluated whether post-ischemic treatment with another integrin αvβ3 inhibitor, the cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide-cGRGDdvc (LXW7), alleviates cerebral ischemic injury. The anti-inflammatory effect of LXW7 in activated microglia within rat focal cerebral ischemia models was examined. A total of 108 Sprague-Dawley rats (250–280 g) were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). After 2 h, the rats were given an intravenous injection of LXW7 (100 μg/kg) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Neurological scores, infarct volumes, brain water content (BWC) and histology alterations were determined. The expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)], and Iba1-positive activated microglia, within peri-ischemic brain tissue, were assessed with ELISA, western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Infarct volumes and BWC were significantly lower in LXW7-treated rats compared to those in the MCAO + PBS (control) group. The LXW7 treatment lowered the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. There was a reduction of Iba1-positive activated microglia, and the TNF-α and IL-1β expressions were attenuated. However, there was no difference in the Zea Longa scores between the ischemia and LXW7 groups. The results suggest that LXW7 protected against focal cerebral ischemia and attenuated inflammation in activated microglia. LXW7 may be neuroprotective during acute MCAO-induced brain damage and microglia-related neurodegenerative diseases.

MicroRNA‑618 modulates cell growth via targeting PI3K/Akt pathway in human thyroid carcinomas.

OBJECTIVE: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were popularly investigated in many cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression, role, and mechanism of microRNA‑618 (miR‑618) in human thyroid cancer (TC) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative real‑time polymerase chain reaction was carried out to examine the expression level of miR‑618 in 20 TC tissues with 15 adjacent normal tissues. Synthesized mimics medicated miR‑618 overexpression model was done in TC TPC‑1 cell line. The effects of cell growth were determined by the 3‑(4,5‑dimethylthiazol‑2‑yl)‑2,5‑diphenyl‑tetrazoliumbromide method. In addition, PI staining followed by flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell cycle. Then, we performed Western blotting to analyze the impact of miR‑618 overexpression on the classical PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. RESULTS: We confirmed previous findings that miR‑618 was downregulated in TC. Functionally, we found that forced expression of miR‑618 suppressed cell proliferation and led to G2/M arrest in TPC‑1 cells. Mechanically, we showed that miR‑618 overexpression induced a significant inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in TPC‑1 cells. Importantly, restoration of Akt reversed the growth inhibitory effects of miR‑618. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results described a growth‑suppressive role of miR‑618 in TC cells partially targeting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Detection of F1 antibody against Yersinia pestis in flushing fluid of heart blood of Rhombomys opimus with ELISA: a feasibility study / 中国地方病学杂志

Objective To analyse the feasibility of detecting F1 antibody to Yersinia pestis in flushing fluid of heart blood of Rhombomys opimus with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) method and its application value in surveillance of the disease. Methods Serum, flushing fluid of heart blood and infusion fluid of liver and spleen of Rhombomys opimus, which were caught by capture in the plague focus of Zunger basin in 2007, were taken to carry out detection for F1 antibodies to Yersinia pestis with ELISA method. The data were processed with SPSS 17.0. Results Positive rate and average titer of serum were 12.35%(11/162) and 25.35, of flushing fluid of heart blood were 10.49%(17/162) and 23.75 and of the infusion fluid of liver and spleen 6.79%(17/162) and 2240,respectively. No statistical difference was found in positive detection rate when it was compared between serum and flushing fluid of heart blood(χ2 = 1.333, P ＞ 0.05), but it was obviously different between serum and infusion fluid of liver and spleen(χ2 = 7.111, P ＜ 0.01 ) and between flushing fluid of heart blood and infusion fluid of liver and spleen(x2 = 6.250, P ＜ 0.05). There was a significant difference in average titer between serum, flushing fluid of heart blood and infusion fluid of liver and spleen(t = 2.290, 3.612, P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01 ). The plague F1 antibody positive coincidence rate of serum and flushing fluid of heart blood was 85.0%(17/20), of serum and infusion fluid of liver and spleen was 55.0% (11/20), and of flushing fluid of heart blood and infusion fluid of liver and spleen was 64.7%(11/17). Conclusions The ELISA method can detect Fl antibody in flushing fluid of heart blood,and the method is feasible in plague surveillance.

Comparison of three immunological methods in detection of Yersina pestis F1 antigen / 中国地方病学杂志

Objective To compare the effect of three methods in diagnosis of plague by detecting of Yersina pestis F1 antigen. Methods In natural foci of plague, wild animal samples, such as blood, liver, spleen,and lymphoid tissue were collected, and the three methods of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),reverse indirect hemagglutination assay(RIHA) and gold-immunochromatography assay(GICA) were employed to detect F1 antigen of Yersina pestis. Results Total of 414 infused organ samples of natural death and captured wild animals in natural foci of plague were determined. Positive samples detected by GICA and ELISA were the same,the positive rates were 5.31%(22/414), both positive and negative coincidence rates were consistently 100%. Only 18 samples were positive by retrial in 186 samples with more than 2 holes aggregation by preliminary examination of RIHA, with nonspecific agglutination rate of 40.6% (168/414) and positive rate of 4.35% (18/414). The positive coincidence rate was 81.82% (18/22) between RIHA with GICA and ELISA, and negative coincidence rate was statistically significant(t = 4.379, P ＜ 0.01). Conclusions ELISA, RIHA and GICA can be used for early diagnosis of plague by detecting F1 antigen. The results of RIHA have quantitative significance, with higher non-specific agglutination rate, and heavy workload of re-examination; GICA and ELISA has the same specificity and sensitivity, but the results of GICA is only qualitative. ELISA excluded the defect of RIHA and GICA, and combines the advantages of both methods.

Baicalin reduces the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is one of the important medicinal herbs widely used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in Asia. Baicalin (BA) is a bioactive anti-inflammatory flavone found abundantly in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. To explore the therapeutic potential of BA, we examined the effects of systemic administration of the flavone (5 and 10 mg/kg, ip) on relapsing/remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by proteolipid protein 139-151 in SJL/J mice, an experimental model of multiple sclerosis. The mice treated with PBS or BA at day -1 and for 3 consecutive days were observed daily for clinical signs of disease up to 60 days after immunization. In the PBS-EAE group, neurological scores were: incidence (100 percent), mean day of onset (8.0 ± 0.73), peak clinical score (3.0 ± 0.4), and cumulative disease index (141.8 ± 19.4). In the BA-EAE group (5 or 10 mg kg-1 day-1, respectively), incidence (95 or 90 percent), mean day of onset (9.0 ± 0.80 or 9.2 ± 0.75; P = 0.000), peak clinical score (2.2 ± 0.3 or 2.0 ± 0.3; P = 0.000), and cumulative disease index (75.9 ± 10.1 or 62.9 ± 8.4; P = 0.000) decreased, accompanied by the histopathological findings (decrease of dense mononuclear infiltration surrounding vascellum) for the spinal cord. Additionally, the in vitro effects of BA (5, 10, and 25 µM) on mononuclear cells collected from popliteal and inguinal lymph nodes of day-10 EAE mice were evaluated using an MTT reduction assay for cell proliferation, and ELISA to measure IFN-g and IL-4 cytokines. Compared with the control group, BA caused an increase in IL-4 (EAE-DMSO: 3.56 ± 0.42 pg/mL vs EAE-BA (5, 10, and 25 µM): 6.03 ± 1.1, 7.83 ± 0.65, 10.54 ± 1.13 pg/mL, respectively; P < 0.001); but inhibited IFN-g (EAE-DMSO: 485.76 ± 25.13 pg/mL vs EAE-BA (5, 10, and 25 µM): 87.08 ± 9.24, 36.27 ± 5.44, 19.18 ± 2.93 pg/mL, respectively; P < 0.001) and the proliferation of mononuclear cells (EAE-DMSO:...

Construction of Porcine CCK pDNA and Its Expression in COS-7 Cells / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

CCK correlates with the generation and progression of pancreatic cancer. The research aims to construct eukaryotic expression plasmid pIRES2-EGFP/CCK (CCK pDNA) and transiently express it in COS-7 cells. Total RNA was extracted from porcine intestinal mucosa. RT-PCR was used to amplify the aimed segments CCKcDNA which was then digested with EcoR1 and BamH1 and inserted into a eukaryotic expression plasmid pIRES2-EGFP to construct CCK pDNA. The constructed plasmid was transfected into COS-7 cells by lepofectamine TM2000-mediated transfer method.The expression of CCK in transfected COS-7 cells was detected 24, 48 and 72 h post-transfection with fluorescence microscopy and the expression level of CCK mRNA in transfected COS-7 cells was assayed by using RT-PCR. The results showed CCK pDNA was successfully constructed and expressed transiently in COS-7 cells. Green fluorescent protein could be detected in the COS-7 cells transfected with porcine CCK pDNA 24 h post-transfection. At 48th h post-transfection, the number of positive cells was increased significantly and much brighter green fluorescence could be detected.And 72 h post-transfection, the green fluorescence of positive cells became even stronger, while no green fluorescence was detected in the control group. The expression of CCK mRNA in the cells was detectable by using RT-PCR. In COS-7 cells transfected with CCK pDNA a high level of porcine CCK mRNA was detected while no expression of porcine CCKmRNA was found in the cells transfected with null plasmid. It was concluded CCK pDNA was expressed successfully in COS-7 cells,which lays a foundation for further research on the relationship between CCK and tumor.

Management of Clinical HIV Laboratory for Preventing Hospital Infection / 中华医院感染学杂志

OBJECTIVE To prevent the nosocomial infection event in the clinical HIV laboratory. METHODS There were risk factors of hospital infection existing in clinical HIV laboratory.To improve the management,enhancing rules and regulations,and correspond controlling measures were necessary. RESULTS By the occurrence of hospital infection in the clinical HIV laboratory could effectively prevented. CONCLUSIONS The clinical HIV laboratory can effectively prevent the occurrence of laboratory hospital infection,through improving the management,enhancing the necessary rules and regulations,improving the organization and realizing the corresponding controlling measures.