Dietary supplementation of proteases on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics and gut microbiota of growing pigs fed sorghum-based diets.

Low-tannin sorghum is an excellent energy source in pig diets. However, sorghum contains several anti-nutritional factors that may have negative effects on nutrient digestibility. The impacts of proteases on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, and gut microbiota of growing pigs fed sorghum-based diets were studied in this study. Ninety-six pigs (20.66 ± 0.65 kg BW) were allocated into three groups (eight pens/group, four pigs/pen): (1) CON (control diet, sorghum-based diet included 66.98% sorghum), (2) PRO1 (CON + 200 mg/kg proteases), (3) PRO2 (CON + 400 mg/kg proteases) for 28 d. No differences were observed in growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients between CON and PRO1 groups. Pigs fed PRO2 diet had increased (P < 0.05) BW on d 21 and 28, and increased (P < 0.05) average daily gain during d 14-21 and the overall period compared with pigs fed CON diet. In addition, pigs fed PRO2 diet had improved (P < 0.05) ATTD of gross energy, CP, and DM compared with pigs fed CON and PRO1 diets. Pigs fed PRO2 diet had lower (P < 0.05) plasma globulin (GLB) level and higher (P < 0.05) plasma glucose, albumin (ALB) and immunoglobulin G levels, and ALB/GLB ratio than pigs fed CON and PRO1 diets. Furthermore, pigs fed PRO2 diet had decreased (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of Acidobacteriota at the phylum level and increased (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of Prevotella_9 at the genus level. The linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis also showed that pigs fed PRO2 diet had significantly enriched short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, such as Subdoligranulum and Parabacteroides. In conclusion, protease supplementation at 400 mg/kg improved the growth performance of growing pigs fed sorghum-based diets, which may be attributed to the improvement of nutrient digestibility, host metabolism, immune status and associated with the altered gut microbiota profiles.

[Airborne fungi monitoring].

Airborne fungi are an important class of aeroallergens that can lead to the development of allergic rhinitis and asthma, and reducing the exposure of fungi is an important strategy to prevent the exacerbation of symptoms in individuals with fungal allergy. Therefore, monitoring airborne fungi and understanding their dispersion patterns are important for clinical diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The purpose of this article is to review the methods of airborne fungi monitoring and factors influencing the distribution and dispersal of airborne fungi.

[Clinical effect of perforator flap combined with toe transplantation for repairing thumb damage with soft tissue defect of hand].

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of perforator flap combined with toe transplantation for repairing thumb damage with soft tissue defect of hand. Methods: The retrospective observational study method was used. From May 2014 to June 2019, 8 patients with thumb damage and soft tissue defect of hand were admitted to the 988th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA, including 6 males and 2 females, aged from 25 to 46 years. Among them, thumb damage in 3 cases were degree Ⅱ, 1 case was degree Ⅲ, and 4 cases were degree Ⅳ. All thumb damage were repaired with perforator flap combined with toe transplantation. The skin and soft tissue defects of hand were repaired by free anterolateral thigh perforator flap in 6 cases and free deep inferior epigastric perforator flap in 2 cases. The thumb damage of degree Ⅱ was repaired by the first toe transplantation combined with perforator flap, and thumb damage of degree Ⅲ or Ⅳ was repaired by the second toe transplantation combined with perforator flap. The survival and blood supply of reconstructed thumbs and flaps, and wound healing of donor sites were observed after surgery. All the patients were followed up for 10 to 18 months, the appearance of the reconstructed thumbs, sensory recovery, and foot walking function were observed. At the final follow-up, the functional reconstruction of the thumb was evaluated. Results: All the blood supply and survival of the reconstructed thumbs and flaps were good, and all the wounds of donor sites healed well. During the follow-up, the appearances of the reconstructed thumb and flap were good, the sensation of pain and touch of the finger pulp recovered well, and no significant impact on foot walking function was observed. At the final follow-up, the function of reconstructed thumb was evaluated as excellent in 4 cases, good in 3 cases, and fair in 1 case. Conclusions: The repair method of perforator flap combined with toe transplantation technique can complete the targeted repair of thumb damage with skin and soft tissue defect of hand in one stage, minimizing the foot donor site injury and shortening the course of disease and early rehabilitation, which is one of the ideal methods for the treatment of complex thumb damage.

Long noncoding RNA PCAT-1 accelerates the metastasis of pancreatic cancer by repressing RBM5.

Since this article has been suspected of research misconduct and the corresponding authors did not respond to our request to prove originality of data and figures, "Long noncoding RNA PCAT-1 accelerates the metastasis of pancreatic cancer by repressing RBM5, by Y. Wang, X.-M. Jiang, Z.-X. Feng, X.-L. Li, W.-L. Zhang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (17): 7350-7355-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201909_18841-PMID: 31539121" has been withdrawn. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/18841.

Effect of STAT3 mediated epigenetic regulation in pre-eclampsia: an analysis of trial data.

OBJECTIVE: To study the role of the PI3K-AKT/mTor signalling pathway, mediated by the STAT3 gene, in the epigenetic pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HTR8/Svneo, JEG-3, JAR, and Bewo trophoblast cell lines were divided into a PE group and a control group. STAT3 gene overexpression and interference silencing, immunofluorescence, Real Time-PCR and Western blot, GST-pull down, CHIP, Dual-Luciferase reporter gene test, Rescue experiment, LC-MS/MS analysis. Methods and materials also comprised CCK-8, transwell invasion, MSP and BSP, flow cytometry and wound-healing assay. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the expression of DNMT1 mRNA and protein was increased, while the expression of STAT3, PTEN, TSC2 mRNA and protein was decreased. There was improvement after 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA-DC) intervention.GST-pull down confirms that STAT3 interacts with PTEN and TSC2. CHIP verifies that STAT3 binds directly to PTEN, and double luciferase reporter experiments verify that STAT3 regulates PTEN promoter activity. STAT3 expression of PTEN is, meanwhile, saved by knock down of PTEN in HTR8/SVneo cells. LC-MS/MS analysis showed upregulation of STAT3, PTEN, TSC2 and TSC2. MSP and BSP analysis screened out the significant difference genes of STAT3, PTEN and TSC2. Following 5-AZA-DC intervention, apoptosis downregulation, invasion upregulation and cell-proliferation upregulation were evinced. CONCLUSIONS: Trophoblast STAT3 was an important gene mediating the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia induced by the PI3K-AKT/mTor signal axis. In the context of epigenetic therapy for pre-eclampsia, STAT3 may be deployed as a potential target.

Long noncoding RNA PCAT-1 accelerates the metastasis of pancreatic cancer by repressing RBM5.

OBJECTIVE: The role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is vital in tumor progression. Our study aims to identify the role of PCAT-1 in the metastasis of pancreatic cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Real time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to measure PCAT-1 expression in 50 pancreatic cancer patients' tissues. Furthermore, to identify the function of PCAT-1 in pancreatic cancer in vitro wound healing assay and transwell assay were conducted. Besides, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were performed to explore the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: The expression level of PCAT-1 was significantly upregulated in pancreatic cancer samples compared with adjacent tissues. Moreover, cell migration and cell invasion were inhibited via knockdown of PCAT-1 in pancreatic cancer cells. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expression of RBM5 was upregulated via knockdown of PCAT-1 in pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, the RBM5 expression level was negatively related to the PCAT-1 expression level in pancreatic cancer tissues. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that PCAT-1 acts as an oncogene in pancreatic cancer and promotes cell metastasis via inhibiting RBM5, which might be a novel therapeutic strategy in pancreatic cancer.

[Trends analysis of vitamin D status among pregnant women in Hefei during 2015-2017]. / 2015­2017å¹´åˆè‚¥å¸‚å­•å¦‡ç»´ç”Ÿç´ DçŠ¶æ€å˜åŒ–è¶‹åŠ¿ç ”ç©¶

From March 2015 to February 2018, 4 728 women aged 18 to 45 years old with single-pregnancy at the gestational age of 13 to 27 weeks in Hefei were recruited to analyze the trend of vitamin D status. The average levels of serum 25(OH)D in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were (43.22±18.41) nmol/L, (39.3±15.1) nmol/L and (36.6±17.0) nmol/L, and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency were 69.5%, 77.6% and 81.4%, respectively. Compared with 2015, the levels of serum 25(OH)D in pregnant women in 2016 and 2017 decreased by 5.23 (95%CI: 4.10-6.35) nmol/L and 7.98 (95%CI: 6.77-9.19) nmol/L. The OR (95%CI) values for the risk of vitamin D deficiency were 1.88 (95%CI: 1.57-2.24) and 2.41 (95%CI: 1.98-2.93).

Midline preperitoneal repair for incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia.

OBJECTIVE: Femoral hernias constantly present as incarceration or strangulation and require emergency surgery. Incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia repair remains challenging and controversial. The aim of our study was to analyze the efficacy of preperitoneal tension-free hernioplasty via lower abdominal midline incision for incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia. METHODS: Data of 47 patients who underwent emergency surgery for incarcerated or strangulated femoral hernias from January 2009 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the surgical incisions, they were divided into two groups: the observation group (21 cases) had a lower abdominal midline incision, and the control group (26 cases) had a traditional inguinal incision. General data of patients, intraoperative findings, operative time and postoperative complications were compared. RESULTS: Patient characteristics showed that the two groups were comparable.15 cases (31.9%) underwent intestinal resection, and 32 cases (68.1%) underwent first-stage tension-free repair in total. The rate of first-stage tension-free hernioplasty was significantly higher in the observation group (18/21, 85.7% vs 14/26 53.8%, P = 0.020). No additional incision was required in the observation group, while six cases of the control group (23.1%) had an additional incision for intestinal resection and anastomosis (P = 0.026). Mean operative time (53.6 ± 24.7 min vs 77.9 ± 36.5 min, P = 0.012) and the length of hospital stay (6.3 ± 4.2 days vs 10.3 ± 6.9 days, P = 0.020) were significantly shorter in the observation group. The time of return to normal physical activity resulted significantly reduced compared to the control group (9.2 ± 4.1 days vs 13.3 ± 6.6 days, P = 0.017). The total incidence of postoperative complication (including chronic pain, foreign body sensation, hernia recurrence, wound infection and seroma/hematomas) in the observation group was lower (14.3% vs 42.3% P = 0.037). There were two recurrences in the control group. No mesh-related infection and no mortalities in two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Midline preperitoneal approach for incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia is a convenient and effective technique. It can improve the rate of first-stage tension-free repair of incarcerated femoral hernia and allow intestinal resection through the same incision, and with lower rate of postoperative complications.

[Investigation on depressive mood of Nurses in a Maternal and Child Hospital].

Objective: To understand the depression of nurses in the maternity and child care hospital and in order to provide references for improving the physical and mental health of nurses. Methods: A total of 679 nurses from 14 departments of a provincial maternity and child health care hospital in June 2017 were selected as the subjects to investigate the depression of nurses by questionnaire. Results: The total rate of depression was 40% in this group and the average standard of SDS was (49.45+12.02) , which was higher than the norm in our country and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01) . The average standard of SDS for nurses in different departments was higher than the norm in our country except the women's health caredepartment. The differences of the depression in age、the age for nurse、monthly income、night shift frequency、children's status、the work feelings and family support were statistically significant (The values of 2 are 12.908、9.953、10.316、19.422、11.246、41.672 and 61.434, P<0.05) . Multivariate Logistics Regression Analysis showed age、family income、night shift frequency、the work feelings、family support were risk factors of depression among nurses, by 26-35 years of age、the monthly income less than 6 000 yuan、night shift frequency (less than 5~6 days) , dislike work、family support for work in general and no support. Conclusion: The rate of depression among nurses in provincial maternity and child health care hospital is high. Hospital departments should attach great importance to the psychological problems of nurses and give psychological intervention in order to improve the mental health level of nurses.

A novel prognostic biomarker for cholangiocarcinoma: circRNA Cdr1as.

OBJECTIVE: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary malignant hepatobiliary cancer worldwide. The circular RNA (circRNA) Cdr1as has been found to play critical roles in various cancers. However, the relationship between circRNA Cdr1as and CCA is still ambiguous. The aim of this study was to explore the expression level of Cdr1as in CCA and to further investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of Cdr1as. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the circRNA Cdr1as expression in 54 paired tumor and adjacent normal tissues of CCA patients by using quantitative Real-time PCR, and evaluated the relevance between Cdr1as expression level and the clinicopathological features. We further assessed the association of Cdr1as expression with overall survival and its prognostic efficacy. RESULTS: The expression of circRNA Cdr1as in tumor tissues was higher than that in adjacent normal tissues. The overexpression of Cdr1as was closely associated with the advanced TNM stage, lymph node invasion, and postoperative recurrence. The overall survival of CCA patients with high Cdr1as expression was worse than that of the CCA patients with low Cdr1as expression. According to multivariate analysis, the Cdr1as expression could be considered as an independent prognostic biomarker for cholangiocarcinoma with acceptable sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding suggested that circRNA Cdr1as may serve as a potential vicious molecular biomarker to predict the aggressive tumor progression and worse prognosis for CCA patients.

LncRNA CCAT1 as the unfavorable prognostic biomarker for cholangiocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of long noncoding RNA CCAT1 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and to assess the CCAT1 expression as a prognostic biomarker for CCA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The CCAT1 expression in tumor tissues and paired adjacent normal tissues from 91 CCA patients was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The association of the CCAT1 expression with clinicopathological features of CCA patients and the prognostic value of the CCAT1 expression for overall survival was also evaluated by Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression model and ROC analysis. RESULTS: The CCAT1 expression was significantly upregulated in CCA tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. The CCAT1 expression was obviously associated with histological differentiation, lymph node invasion, and TNM stage. The overall survival of CCA patients with high CCAT1 expression was worse. Furthermore, the CCAT1 expression could be considered as an independent prognostic factor in predicting the overall survival for CCA patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that lncRNA CCAT1, which was upregulated and associated with aggressive malignant behavior, may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma.

[Combined multiple artery-first approach to pancreatoduodenectomy].

Objective: To investigate the clinical application of combined multiple artery-first approach to pancreatoduodenectomy. Methods: The clinical data of 53 patients who were diagnosed with peripancreatic head tumor at Department of Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery of Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between June 2013 and June 2015 was retrospectively analyzed.Pancreatic enhanced CT scan, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, ultrasonography and tumor marker detection were applied for all the patients preoperatively.The 53 patients were operated by combined multiple artery-first approach(superior+ posterior approach, superior+ inferior approach, posterior+ inferior approach, superior+ posterior+ inferior approach) according to individualized therapeutic concept.And 42 patients underwent pancreatoduodenectomy, 9 patients underwent palliative operation and 2 patients just received exploratory operation. Results: Forty-two peripancreatic head tumor patients underwent pancreatoduodenectomy by applying combined multiple artery-first approach.The median operation time and intraoperative blood loss were (5.4±3.1)hours and (366±297)ml and the harvested lymph node and duration of hospital stay were 19±5 and (14.0±5.6)days.Nine patients underwent "total mesopancreas excision" and the rate of postoperative pancreatic fistula and R0 resection were 38.1% and 88.1%. Anomalous origin hepatic right artery was detected in one patients during the operation and no death occurred within 30 days postoperatively. Conclusion: According to the tumor location and patient's condition, individualistically applying combined multiple artery-first approach can reduce intraoperative blood loss, terminate unnecessary surgery, detect anomalous origin artery, make the tumor resection more radical and pancreatoduodenectomy more safety.

Icariin induces S-phase arrest and apoptosis in medulloblastoma cells.

Medulloblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumor in children. Despite a relatively high long-term survival rate, complications still represent great burden for the majority of patients receiving traditional therapy. Therefore, the development of new effective treatments and drugs is urgently needed. A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assay were used to evaluate medulloblastoma cell proliferation and colony formation, respectively. Cell cycles and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. A western blot was performed to determine the levels of protein expression. Axenograft model of medulloblastoma was established to evaluate the in vivo anticancer effects of icariin. The CCK-8 assay showed that icariin decreased cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The colony formation assay indicated that icariin potently inhibited the colony formation ability of Daoy and D341 cells. Icariin-induced proliferation inhibition may be due to S-phase arrest in medulloblastoma cells. In addition, icariin induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, as shown by the results of annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double staining and Hoechst 33342 staining. Icariin progressively inhibited tumor growth and induced apoptosis in a mouse model. Moreover, cell cycle regulators Cyclin A, CDK2, and Cyclin B1, and apoptosis-related proteins caspase-3, caspase-9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bcl-2 were modulated in response to treatment with icariin in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggest that icariin may exert anticancer effects. Thus, it is a promising drug for medulloblastoma treatment.

Cloning and transformation of INDUCER of CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1) in tomato.

The tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) is sensitive to cold, and low field temperatures can result in shortened growth periods and decreased crop yield. Transcription of CRT/DRE-binding factor (CBF) is regulated by INDUCER of CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1). CBF activates many downstream genes that confer cold tolerance on plants. ICE1 has been used in genetic engineering to improve cold-resistance in several plant species. Here, ICE1 in a plant expression vector was used to transform a tissue-cultured rhubarb tomato variety using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The transgenic and control plants were compared at 4°C for 0, 24, and 72 h. We measured leaf physiological indicators related to cold resistance, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (Pro) contents, and peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities. At 72 h, the MDA content in transgenic plants was significantly lower than in control plants, indicating a lower membrane lipid injury. The Pro contents and the CAT and POD activities in the transgenic plants increased significantly compared with those of the control plants. For Pro, the increase continued over the prolonged stress exposure, while CAT and POD activities reached peak levels at 24 h. These results are consistent with the roles of Pro, CAT, and POD in defending the integrity of plant cells. Our study not only improves the cold resistance of tomato, but also provides the foundation for further research on the role of ICE1 as a transcription factor in plant cold resistance.