Bithiophene-Functionalized Infrared Two-Photon Absorption Metal Complexes as Single-Molecule Platforms for Synergistic Photodynamic, Photothermal, and Chemotherapy.

A planar conjugated ligand functionalized with bithiophene and its Ru(II), Os(II), and Ir(III) complexes have been constructed as single-molecule platform for synergistic photodynamic, photothermal, and chemotherapy. The complexes have significant two-photon absorption at 808 nm and remarkable singlet oxygen and superoxide anion production in aqueous solution and cells when exposed to 808 nm infrared irradiation. The most potent Ru(II) complex Ru7 enters tumor cells via the rare macropinocytosis, locates in both nuclei and mitochondria, and regulates DNA-related chemotherapeutic mechanisms intranuclearly including DNA topoisomerase and RNA polymerase inhibition and their synergistic effects with photoactivated apoptosis, ferroptosis and DNA cleavage. Ru7 exhibits high efficacy in vivo for malignant melanoma and cisplatin-resistant non-small cell lung cancer tumors, with a 100 % survival rate of mice, low toxicity to normal cells and low residual rate. Such an infrared two-photon activatable metal complex may contribute to a new generation of single-molecule-based integrated diagnosis and treatment platform to address drug resistance in clinical practice and phototherapy for large, deeply located solid tumors.

Development and evaluation of a test strip for the rapid detection of antibody against equine infectious anemia virus.

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a contagious disease of horses caused by the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The clinical signs at the acute phase include intermittent high fever, thrombocytopenia, hemorrhage, edema, and anemia. The clinical signs at chronic and relapsing subclinical levels include emaciation and progressive weakness. Surviving horses become lifelong carriers because of the integration of the viral genome into that of the host, and these horses can produce and transmit the virus to other animals. This increases the difficulty of imposing practical control measures to prevent epidemics of this disease. Serological tests measuring the antibodies in equine sera are considered to be a reliable tool for the long-term monitoring of EIA. However, the standard serological tests for EIV either have low sensitivity (e.g., agar gel immunodiffusion test, AGID) or are time consuming to perform (e.g., ELISA and western blotting). The development of a rapid and simple method for detecting the disease is therefore critical to control the spread of EIA. In this study, we designed and developed a colloidal gold immunochromatographic (GICG) test strip to detect antibodies against EIAV based on the double-antigen sandwich. Both the p26 and gp45 proteins were used as the capture antigens, which may help to improve the positive detection rate of the strip. We found that the sensitivity of the test strip was 8 to 16 times higher than those of two commercially available ELISA tests and 128 to 256 times higher than AGID, but 8 to 16 times lower than that of western blotting. The strip has good specificity and stability. When serum samples from experimental horses immunized with the attenuated EIAV vaccine (n = 31) were tested, the results of the test strip showed 100% coincidence with those from NECVB-cELISA and 70.97% with AGID. When testing clinical serum samples (n = 1014), the test strip surprisingly provided greater sensitivity and a higher number of "true positive" results than other techniques. Therefore, we believe that the GICG test strip has demonstrated great potential in the field trials as a simple and effective tool for the detection of antibodies against EIAV. KEY POINTS: • A colloidal gold immunochromatographic (GICG) fast test strip was developed with good specificity, sensitivity, stability, and repeatability • The test strip can be used in point-of-care testing for the primary screening of EIAV antibodies • Both the p26 and gp45 proteins were used as the capture antigens, giving a high positive detection rate in the testing of experimentally infected animal and field samples.

Development and application of a competitive ELISA for the detection of antibodies against Salmonella Abortusequi in equids.

The high abortion rate associated with Salmonella Abortusequi (S. Abortusequi) infection in equids has re-emerged over the past 10 years and has caused serious economic losses to China. Our previous studies showed that the flagellin FljB gene could distinguish S. Abortusequi from most Salmonella serotypes. In this study, the flagellin antigen was used to develop a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) that could be used to detect both horse and donkey serum samples using a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that was found to bind to FljB. A cELISA was established using the purified MAb coating of the plate and incubation of the mixture of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated FljB antigen with the undiluted serum sample. The performance of the cELISA and the tube agglutination test (TAT) assay was compared with respect to sensitivity and specificity, by testing a panel containing 660 S. Abortusequi-positive and 515 S. Abortusequi-negative serum samples, all of which had been characterized by Western blotting. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to determine the cutoff value and estimate the detection specificity (Sp) and sensitivity (Se). ROC analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of cELISA [AUC = 0.9941; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.9898-0.9984] were higher than those of TAT (AUC = 0.7705; 95% Cl, 0.7437-0.7972). A cutoff value of 39.5% was selected with Sp and Se values of 100 (95% Cl, 99.26-100.00) and 97.58 (95% Cl, 96.10-98.50), respectively. The cELISA has excellent futures compared with TAT, such as shortened detection time, no need for pre-treatment of sera, and easy interpretation of the results, and is more suitable for disease surveillance.

Development and evaluation of a real-time quantitative PCR for the detection of equine infectious anemia virus.

IMPORTANCE: Equine infectious anemia (EIA) has a worldwide distribution and causes significant losses to the equine industry worldwide. A reliable detection method is necessary to control the transmission of EIA virus (EIAV). Currently, most of the available real-time PCR assays, including the qPCR of recommended by WOAH, are developed according to the sequences of European or American EIAV strains; however, the primers and probe sequences have low homology with Asian EIAV strains. To the best of our knowledge, no qPCR method capable of the well detection of Asian EIAV strains, especially Chinese EIAV strains, has been published to date. The development of a sensitive, specific, and rapid qPCR assay for the detection of the EIAV strains is therefore of great importance.

[Observation of the therapeutic effect on acute ankle sprain treated with surrounding needling and cold compression].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the difference in the therapeutic effect on acute ankle sprain treated with the combination of surrounding needling and cold compression in comparison of the conventional cold compression. METHODS: The patients with acute ankle sprain were randomly divided into control group (33 cases) and observation group (35 cases). In the first 3 days of treatment, the conventional cold compression was used in the control group, while the surrounding needling technique of acupuncture was combined with cold compression in the observation group. Separately, along the distal-lateral side of the leg, and the lateral sides of the heel and the dorsal part of the foot, 3 or 4 needles were inserted in each part，total 9 to 12 needles, toward the center of swelling and pain site, and distributed in a fan shape. The needles were retained for 30 min and the acupuncture therapy was delivered once daily. Since the 4th day of treatment, the hot compress and the static stretching exercise of the ankle joint were adopted in the two groups, once daily for 1 week. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score for ankle pain and ankle swelling degree were compared between the two groups before and after 3-day treatment, as well as the score of American orthopedic foot and ankle society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale was evaluated. RESULTS: After 3-day treatment, VAS score was decreased in both groups (P<0.01), and the score in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.01). Ankle swelling degree was relieved in both groups (P<0.01), and there was no significant difference between the two groups. After 1 week of treatment, the scores of AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale were improved in both groups (P<0.01), and the score in the observation group was higher than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Either the combined therapy of surrounding needling and cold compression or the conventional cold compression can effectively relieve pain and swelling induced by acute ankle sprain. The therapeutic effect of the combined therapy is superior to the conventional cold compression for the motor function improvement of ankle joint.

Using computed tomography angiography and computational fluid dynamics to study aortic coarctation in different arch morphologies.

Objective: To study the differences in computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging of gothic arches, crenel arches, and romanesque arches in children with Aortic Coarctation (CoA), and to apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study hemodynamic changes in CoA children with gothic arch aorta. Methods: The case data and CTA data of children diagnosed with CoA (95 cases) in our hospital were retrospectively collected, and the morphology of the aortic arch in the children was defined as gothic arch (n = 27), crenel arch (n = 25) and romanesque arch (n = 43). The three groups were compared with D1/AOA, D2/AOA, D3/AOA, D4/AOA, D5/AOA, and AAO-DAO angle, TAO-DAO angle, and aortic arch height to width ratio (A/T). Computational fluid dynamics was applied to assess hemodynamic changes in children with gothic arches. Results: There were no significant differences between D1/AOA and D2/AOA among gothic arch, crenel arch, and romanesque arch (P > 0.05). The differences in D3/AOA, D4/AOA, and D5/AOA among the three groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05), D4/AOA, D5/AOA of the gothic arch group were smaller than the crenel arch group, and the D3/AOA and D5/AOA of the gothic arch group were smaller than the romanesque arch group (P < 0.05). The difference in AAO-DAO angle among the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and the AAO-DAO angle of gothic arch was smaller than that of romanesque arch and crenel arch group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the TAO-DAO angle between the three groups (P > 0.05). The difference in A/T values among the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and the A/T values: gothic arch > romanesque arch > crenel arch (P < 0.05). The CFD calculation of children with gothic arch showed that the pressure drop between the distal stenosis and the descending aorta was 58 mmHg, and the flow rate at the isthmus and descending aorta was high and turbulent. Conclusion: Gothic aortic arch is common in CoA, it may put adverse effects on the development of the aortic isthmus and descending aorta, and its A/T value and AAO-DAO angle are high. CFD could assess hemodynamic changes in CoA.

Development and evaluation of a blocking ELISA for serological diagnosis of equine infectious anemia.

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is an important viral disease characterized by persistent infection in equids worldwide. Most EIA cases are life-long virus carriers with low antibody reactions and without the appearance of clinical symptoms. A serological test with high sensitivity and specificity is required to detect inapparent infection. In this study, a B-cell common epitope-based blocking ELISA (bELISA) was developed using a monoclonal antibody together with the EIAV p26 protein labelled with HRP. The test has been evaluated against the standard and with field serum samples globally. This bELISA test can be completed within 75 min, and the sensitivity is higher than those of either the AGID or one commercial cELISA kit. This bELISA assay was 8-16 times more analytically sensitive than AGID, and 2 to 4 times more analytically sensitive than one cELISA kit by testing three sera from the USA, Argentina, and China, respectively. The 353 serum samples from Argentina were tested, in comparison with AGID, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of our bELISA assay were 100% (154/154) and 97.0% (193/199), respectively, and the accuracy of the bELISA test was 98.3%. The bELISA test developed in this study is a rapid, sensitive, specific method for the detection of EIAV infection, and could be a promising candidate for use in the monitoring of the EIA epidemic worldwide. KEY POINTS: • A universal epitope-based blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) was developed for detection of antibodies to EIAV. • The bELISA assay can be used to test EIAV serum samples from different regions of the world including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. • The bELISA assay was evaluated in three different international labs and showed a better performance than other commercial kits.

Development and Application of Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection of Salmonella Abortusequi.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Abortusequi is a major pathogen in horse and donkey herds, causing abortion in pregnant equids and resulting in enormous economic losses. A rapid and reliable method is urgently needed to detect S. Abortusequi in herds where the disease is suspected. To achieve this goal, a TaqMan-based real-time PCR assay targeting the gene for the flagellin protein phase 2 antigen FljB was developed. This real-time PCR assay had high specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility. The detection limit of the assay was 30 copies/µL of standard plasmid and 10 CFU/µL of bacterial DNA. Furthermore, 540 clinical samples, including 162 tissue, 192 plasma, and 186 vaginal swab samples collected between 2018 and 2021 in China, were tested to assess the performance of the developed assay. Compared to the gold standard method of bacterial isolation, the real-time PCR assay exhibited 100% positive agreement for all tissue, plasma and vaginal swab tests. Additionally, this assay detected DNA from S. Abortusequi from 56.7% (34/60) culture-negative tissue and 22.9% (41/179) culture-negative vaginal swab samples from infected equids. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that the results of the developed real-time PCR assays were in significant agreement with those of the culture method. The real-time PCR assay can be completed within 45 min of extraction of DNA from samples. Our results show that this assay could serve as a reliable tool for the rapid detection of S. Abortusequi in tissue, plasma, and vaginal swab clinical samples.

Effect of the Radial Velocity Distribution on the Loss Generation of a Contra-Rotating Fan in a Ventilation System.

Quantification of the loss generation of ducted contra-rotating fan (CRF) blades is difficult to achieve, since there are no guide vanes between rotors. A blade design program was established to investigate the relationship between radial velocity distribution and incurred loss. Numerical and experimental techniques were used to confirm the optimal configuration's overall performance. The relationship between loss and velocity distribution under the impact of spanwise load distribution was confirmed by the entropy contour from various perspectives. The appropriate radial velocity distribution can improve the operating efficiency of a CRF by reducing the entropy around the annulus under design and near-stall conditions. This regularity could provide some strategies in the design of contra-rotating blades.

ABX-1431 inhibits the development of endometrial adenocarcinoma and reverses progesterone resistance by targeting MGLL.

Endometrial cancer is a common gynecological malignancy. With the onset of EC patients younger, conservative treatment with progesterone has become an important option for patients trying to preserve reproductive function. However, progesterone resistance is a key factor affecting the efficacy of therapy and it is urgent to clarify the mechanism so as to propose a potential target and inhibit the development of endometrial adenocarcinoma and progesterone resistance. MGLL, an important factor involved in lipid mobilization, is overexpressed in many tumors, however the biological function of MGLL in the development of endometrial adenocarcinoma and the process of progesterone resistance still remains unclear. In this study, we first found MGLL was highly expressed in progesterone resistant samples of endometrial adenocarcinoma, and then we verified its expression was increased in endometrial adenocarcinoma. Through in vitro and in vivo experiments, we demonstrated that overexpression of MGLL promoted tumor proliferation, metastasis and the occurrence of progestogen resistance, knockdown MGLL inhibited tumor proliferation, metastasis and reversed progestogen resistance. In addition, knockdown of MGLL can sensitize endometrial adenocarcinoma cells to progesterone, possibly by affecting ROS generation and reducing the expression of AKR1C1. Finally, it was verified that ABX-1431, MGLL inhibitor, reversed progesterone resistance and enhanced the sensitivity of endometrial adenocarcinoma to progesterone both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, the high expression of MGLL is involved in the occurrence and development of endometrial adenocarcinoma and progesterone resistance. Targeted inhibition of MGLL by inhibitors may be an effective method for the treatment of progesterone resistance in endometrial adenocarcinoma.

In vivo Realization of Dual Photodynamic and Photothermal Therapy for Melanoma by Mitochondria Targeting Dinuclear Ruthenium Complexes under Civil Infrared Low-power Laser.

A series of dinuclear RuII complexes with extremely high TPA cross sections in the range of 800-900 nm have been designed. The amphiphilic complex Ru3 containing tert-butyl groups has balanced performance in singlet oxygen generation and photothermal conversion and becomes the ideal drug candidate of the series. Ru3 targets mitochondria without penetrating the nucleus, which substantially increases its photodynamic therapy activity and reduces its dark cytotoxicity. Ru3 successfully suppresses melanoma tumor growth in vitro and in vivo with combined photodynamic and photothermal therapy under low light dose irradiation of an 808 nm low-power laser, avoiding the known PDT resistance in melanoma. The excellent therapeutic effect of Ru3 facilitates its applications in further human trials for larger or deeper buried tumors, thereby becoming a prospective candidate for a new generation of low-power IR-driven dual PDT/PTT drugs.

ADGRG1 Is a Predictor of Chemoresistance and Poor Survival in Cervical Squamous Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin is the first-line chemotherapy for cervical cancer. Cisplatin resistance has always been one of the most significant barriers to acquiring better outcomes. However, the complex molecular mechanisms accounting for the phenomenon are not completely clear. METHODS: Construction of the cisplatin-resistant cell model of cervical cancer, then performing RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of the differential expression genes. Then Adhesion G protein-coupled receptor G1 (ADGRG1) was screened out as our target gene. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) was searched to show the expression level of ADGRG1 in cervical cancer and normal tissue. Kaplan-Meier Plotter (Kmplot) was used to explore the relationship of its expression with survival data. Tissue specimens were used to verify the relationship between the clinicopathological characteristics and ADGRG1 expression. Then we explored the roles of ADGRG1 in tumorigenesis through in vitro and in vivo assays. RESULTS: We found the ADGRG1 was significantly overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues compared to corresponding normal tissues. Higher ADGRG1 expression was correlated with poor progress-free survival. Knockdown of ADGRG1 markedly suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and increased cell sensitivity to cisplatin in vitro. Similarly, the role of ADGRG1 knockdown on tumorigenicity and sensitivity to cisplatin treatment was verified in vivo. The underlying mechanism was explored by western blotting that ADGRG1 knockdown inhibited tumorigenesis by PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: ADGRG1 acts as an oncogene to maintain tumorigenicity, migration, and invasion, and its depressed expression prompts sensitivity to cisplatin. Thus, ADGRG1 may represent a potential prognostic marker and possible therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Fatostatin reverses progesterone resistance by inhibiting the SREBP1-NF-κB pathway in endometrial carcinoma.

Progesterone resistance can significantly restrict the efficacy of conservative treatment for patients with endometrial cancer who wish to preserve their fertility or those who suffer from advanced and recurrent cancer. SREBP1 is known to be involved in the occurrence and progression of endometrial cancer, although the precise mechanism involved remains unclear. In the present study, we carried out microarray analysis in progesterone-sensitive and progesterone-resistant cell lines and demonstrated that SREBP1 is related to progesterone resistance. Furthermore, we verified that SREBP1 is over-expressed in both drug-resistant tissues and cells. Functional studies further demonstrated that the inhibition of SREBP1 restored the sensitivity of endometrial cancer to progesterone both in vitro and in vivo, and that the over-expression of SREBP1 promoted resistance to progesterone. With regards to the mechanism involved, we found that SREBP1 promoted the proliferation of endometrial cancer cells and inhibited their apoptosis by activating the NF-κB pathway. To solve the problem of clinical application, we found that Fatostatin, an inhibitor of SREBP1, could increase the sensitivity of endometrial cancer to progesterone and reverse progesterone resistance by inhibiting SREBP1 both in vitro and in vivo. Our results highlight the important role of SREBP1 in progesterone resistance and suggest that the use of Fatostatin to target SREBP1 may represent a new method to solve progesterone resistance in patients with endometrial cancer.

Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes as High-Sensitivity Two-Photon Excited Mitochondria Dyes and Near-Infrared Photodynamic Therapy Agents.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using two-photon near-infrared light excitation is a very effective way to avoid the use of short-wavelength ultraviolet or visible light which cannot efficiently penetrate into the biological tissues and is harmful to the healthy cells. Herein, a series of cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes with a structurally simple diimine ligand were designed and the synthetic route and preparation procedure were optimized, so that the complexes could be obtained in apparently higher yield, productivity, and efficiency in comparison to the traditional methods. Their ground state and excited singlet and triplet state properties were studied by spectroscopy and quantum chemistry theoretical calculations to investigate the effect of substituent groups on the photophysical properties of the complexes. The Ir(III) complexes, especially Ir1 and Ir3, showed very low dark toxicities and high phototoxicities under both one-photon and two-photon excitation, indicating their great potential as PDT agents. They were also found to be highly sensitive two-photon mitochondria dyes.

Development of an EvaGreen-based real-time PCR assay for detection of Aleutian mink disease virus.

The objective of this study was to develop a rapid, sensitive and specific EvaGreen (EG)-based real-time PCR assay capable of detecting Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) and to evaluate the reliability of the assay for analysis of blood or tissue samples. For this assay, a pair of primers was designed based on a nonstructural protein (NS)-encoding gene of AMDV, and the identity of PCR products was identified based on a melting temperature of 82.8°C. The EG-based real-time PCR assay did not detect canine distemper virus or mink enteritis virus, and the assay could be used to detect Chinese and American AMDV strains, in contrast to a commercial TaqMan kit that could only detect American AMDV strains. The amplification efficiencies of the EG assay were 104.8% for the Chinese strain and 94.4% for the American strain, and the detection limit was 1 copy/µL of AMDV plasmid or 3 pg/µL of viral DNA (Chinese strain). The intra- and inter-assay variation coefficients of melting temperature were all lower than 0.15%, confirming the high reproducibility of the assay. Forty-five clinical blood samples were simultaneously analyzed using the EG real-time PCR, TaqMan kit and conventional PCR, and the detection rates were 91.1%, 0.0% and 86.7%, respectively. Serum samples were also collected from the corresponding blood samples and tested using the counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) assay, where positive samples accounted for 24.4% of the 45 samples. In conclusion, EG-based real-time PCR is a rapid, sensitive, universal assay that can be effectively utilized as a reliable and specific tool for detection and quantitation of AMDV.

[Acupuncture for dysarthria: systematic review].

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for dysarthria, and to explore the rules of acupoints selection for dysarthria. METHODS: The clinical randomized control trial literature regarding acupuncture for dysarthria published before January of 2018 were searched in databases, including CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Ebsco, Science Direct and Cochrane Library. The information of included studies was extract and the quality was assessed. The Meta analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software. The frequency of acupoints was calculated by using Excel software to analyzed the rules of acupoints selection. RESULTS: Totally 21 papers were included, involving 1651 patients. The pooled effects of clinical efficacy: heterogeneity test P =0.74, I 2=0%, OR =6.36, 95% CI: 4.55, 8.88, Z =10.84 (P<0.01), indicating the efficacy in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The pooled effects of the symptom score in Frenchay scale: heterogeneity test P =0.56, I 2=0%, WMD =3.20, 95% CI: 1.38, 5.02, Z =3.45 (P<0.01), indicating the efficacy in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The acupoints with frequency of more than 5 times were Fengchi (GB 20), Yuye (EX-HN 13), Jinjin (EX-HN 12), Lianquan (CV 23), Baihui (GV 20), tongue-three needles and Yamen (GV15). The meridians with frequency of more than 5 times were the extra channels, governor vessel, gallbladder channel, conception vessel and stomach channel. CONCLUSION: The clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with speech training/regular treatment is significantly superior to that of control group (speech training, medication, regular treatment); acupuncture is safe and effective for dysarthria; the majority of selected acupoint is local acupoints around tongue, throat and neck, as well as extra points and empirical points. However, high-quality randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes are still needed to provide further evidence.

[Reliability and Validity of the Abridged Chinese Version of Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child form in China].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability and validity of the abridged Chinese version of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) -child form. METHODS: A total of 86 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were recruited from the West China Hospital from July 2014 to December 2016, along with 6 896 children recruited from three schools in Chengdu. The participants completed the AQ scale under instructions from a trained interviewer. Then 170 school children were selected and repeated the AQ scale within one month. RESULTS: All subscale scores were correlated with the scale score, but with weak inter-subscale correlations. The total AQ score of the control group was continuously distributed in the population, which was similar to the normal distribution. The skewness was -0.127 and the kurtosis was -0.124, indicating that the total AQ score was negatively skewed and slightly flat in the population.There were differences in AQ scores between different genders in community children (P<0.01), with male group (42.09±9.92) higher than female group (40.07±9.94).There was no gender difference in the ASD individuals. There was a correlation between age and AQ score (R=0.06).The autistic children had a higher AQ score (54.49±14.16) than the school children (41.12±9.98)(P<0.01). Similar results were found in the subscale scores, except for"attention to detail". The AQ scale had a Cronbach α coefficient of 0.71: ranging from 0.21 to 0.69 for the subscales. The test-retest reliability was good for the scale and the subscales (all P>0.05) . The sensitivity and specificity of AQ for screening ASD was both 0. 71. CONCLUSION: The abridged Chinese version of the AQ-child scale has good psychometrics properties and may be a valid and reliable instrument for ASD screening with a cut-off score of 48.

[Electroacupuncture Relieves Visceral Hypersensitivity by Down-regulating Mast Cell Number，PAR-2/TRPV 1 Signaling, etc. in Colonic Tissue of Rats with Irritable Bowel Syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of "Shangjuxu" (ST 37, Lower Confluent point) and "Tianshu" (ST 25, Front-Mu point) on visceral pain and expression of colonic tryptase(Try), proteinase-activated receptor 2(PAR-2)，transient receptor potential channel vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TPRV 1)，substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in rats with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of IBS. METHODS: Forty male Sprague Dawley rats were equally randomized into normal control (control), model, medication and EA groups (n＝10 in each). The IBS model was established by chronic acute combining stress (CACS, water deprivation, fasting, tail clamping, forced swimming in ice water, restraint, etc.) for 21 days. Rats of the medication group were treated by gavage of Pinaverium Bromide (1 mg/mL, 15 mg/kg), once daily for 14 d. EA (10 Hz/50 Hz, 0.2－0.3 mA) was applied to bilateral ST 37 and ST 25 for 30 min, once daily for 14 d. The muscular withdrawal reflex (AWR) of both abdomen and buttock was detected by colorectal distension (CRD) with a water-filled balloon for examining the visceral hypersensitivity. The number of mast cells in the colonic tissue was counted after toluidine blue stain. The immunoactivity of colonic Try was determined by immunochemistry and the expression of colonic PAR-2, TRVP 1, SP and CGRP proteins detected by Western blot. RESULTS: After modeling, the body weight was significantly decreased in IBS rats of the model, medication and EA groups compared with their own individual pre-treatment and with the control group (P<0.01), and markedly higher in both medication and EA groups than in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The intra-colonic volume thresholds for inducing abdominal and hip AWR were significantly lower in the model group than in the normal control group (P<0.01), and obviously higher in both medication and EA groups than in the model group (P<0.05，P<0.01). The AWR scores of intra-colorectal balloon at volumes of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mL of water were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group (P<0.01), and considerably lower in the EA and medication groups than in the model group (P<0.01). The number of colonic MC and the expression levels of colonic Try, PAR-2, TRPV 1, SP and CGRP proteins were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group (P<0.01), and obviously decreased in both medication and EA groups relevant to the model group (P<0.01). Comparison between the medication and EA groups showed that the decreased expression levels of colonic PAR-2, TRPV 1, SP and CGRP proteins were significantly lower in the EA group than in the medication group (P<0.05), but no significant differences were found between the two groups in intra-colonic volumes for inducing AWR, AWR scores, body weight, and colonic MC number and Try immunoactivity levels (P>0.05)．. CONCLUSION: EA of ST 37 and ST 25 can relieve visceral hypersensitivity in IBS rats, which may be associated with its effects in down-regulating the number of MC and the expression of PAR-2, TRVP 1, SP, CGRP and Try proteins in the colonic tissue.

[Effect of Catgut Implantation on Spatial Learning-memory Ability, Expression of Hippocampal Protein Kinase C Interacting Protein 1 and GluR 2 and Ca2+ Content in Rats with Chronic Ischemic Cognitive Impairment].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of catgut embedment at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Dazhui" (GV 14), etc. on learning-memory ability, expression of hippocampal protein kinase C interacting protein 1 (PICK 1) and glutamate receptor 2 (GluR 2) proteins and level of calcium ions, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of vascular cognitive impairment. METHODS: A total of 56 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation, model, catgut embedment and medication groups (n=14 in each). The chronic ischemic cognitive impairment model was established by permanent occlusion of bilate-ral common carotid arteries. The catgut embedment was applied to GV 20, GV 14, "Shenshu" (BL 23) and "Xuanzhong" (GB 39), once a week, for 4 weeks. Rats of the medication group received intraperitoneal injection of monosialate tetrahexose ganglioside sodium (GM-1, 0.33 mg/kg), once daily for 4 weeks. The rats' learning-memory ability was detected by Morris water maze tasks, pathological changes of hippocampal Nissl's bodies were tested by Nissl staining. The expression levels of PICK 1 and GluR 2 proteins in the hippocampus were detected by Western bolt (WB), and the concentration of calcium ions in the hippocampus tissue was measured by Bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay. RESULTS: After modeling, the mean escape latencies of place navigation test were significantly increased while the crossing times of target platform quadrant of space probing test notably decreased in the model, catgut embedment and medication groups compared with their own individual pre-modeling (P<0.01). Following the treatment, the increased mean escape latencies and decreased crossing times were markedly reversed in both catgut embedment and medication groups relevant to the model group (P<0.01, P<0.05). Nissl staining showed that after mode-ling, a smaller amount of Nissl bodies with dispersing arrangement, reduction in cellular volume, and loss of large amount of cells with vague structure, and hyperchromatic nuclear pyknosis were found in the hippocampus tissue, which was relatively milder in both catgut embedment and medication groups. The hippocampal PICK 1 protein expression and the calcium ion concentration were obviously higher in the model group than in the sham operation group (P<0.01), and significantly lower in both embedment and medication groups than in the model group (P<0.01, P<0.05), while hippocampal GluR 2 protein expression was obviously lower in the model group than in the sham operation group (P<0.01), and markedly higher in both embedment and medication groups than in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). No significant differences were found between the embedment and medication groups in the abovementioned indexes (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Catgut implantation at GV 20 etc. can effectively improve the learning-memory ability in rats with chronic ischemic cognitive impairment, which may be related to its effects in down-regulating the expression of PICK 1 and calcium ion concentration and up-regulating the expression of AMPA receptor subunit GluR 2 protein in the hippocampus.

Temporal Unmixing of Dynamic Fluorescent Images by Blind Source Separation Method with a Convex Framework.

By recording a time series of tomographic images, dynamic fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) allows exploring perfusion, biodistribution, and pharmacokinetics of labeled substances in vivo. Usually, dynamic tomographic images are first reconstructed frame by frame, and then unmixing based on principle component analysis (PCA) or independent component analysis (ICA) is performed to detect and visualize functional structures with different kinetic patterns. PCA and ICA assume sources are statistically uncorrelated or independent and don't perform well when correlated sources are present. In this paper, we deduce the relationship between the measured imaging data and the kinetic patterns and present a temporal unmixing approach, which is based on nonnegative blind source separation (BSS) method with a convex analysis framework to separate the measured data. The presented method requires no assumption on source independence or zero correlations. Several numerical simulations and phantom experiments are conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed temporal unmixing method. The results indicate that it is feasible to unmix the measured data before the tomographic reconstruction and the BSS based method provides better unmixing quality compared with PCA and ICA.