Dual Role of Mitophagy in Cardiovascular Diseases.

ABSTRACT: Mitophagy is involved in the development of various cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, heart failure, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and hypertension. Mitophagy is essential for maintaining intracellular homeostasis and physiological function in most cardiovascular origin cells, such as cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells. Mitophagy is crucial to ensuring energy supply by selectively removing dysfunctional mitochondria, maintaining a balance in the number of mitochondria in cells, ensuring the integrity of mitochondrial structure and function, maintaining homeostasis, and promoting cell survival. Substantial research has indicated a "dual" effect of mitophagy on cardiac function, with inadequate and increased mitochondrial degradation both likely to influence the progression of cardiovascular disease. This review summarizes the main regulatory pathways of mitophagy and emphasizes that an appropriate amount of mitophagy can prevent endothelial cell injury, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, macrophage polarization, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, avoiding further progression of cardiovascular diseases.

The abnormalities of coagulation and fibrinolysis in acute lung injury caused by gas explosion.

Acute lung injury (ALI) caused by gas explosion is common, and warrants research on the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, the role of abnormalities of coagulation and fibrinolysis in this process has not been defined. It was hypothesized that the abnormal coagulation and fibrinolysis promoted ALI caused by gas explosion. Based on the presence of ALI, 74 cases of gas explosion injury were divided into the ALI and non-ALI groups. The results of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), and platelet count (PLT) were collected within 24 hours and compared between the groups. ALI models caused by gas explosion were established in Sprague Dawley rats, and injuries were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and histopathological scoring. Moreover, the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected to examine thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), tissue factor (TF), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patients in ALI group had shorter PT and longer APTT, raised concentration of FIB and decreased number of PLT, as compared to the non-ALI group. In ALI rats, the HE staining revealed red blood cells in alveoli and interstitial thickening within 2 hours which peaked at 72 hours. The levels of TAT/TF in the BALF increased continually until the seventh day, while the PAI-1 was raised after 24 hours and 7 days. The TFPI was elevated after 2 hours and 24 hours, and then decreased after 72 hours. Abnormalities in coagulation and fibrinolysis in lung tissues play a role in ALI caused by gas explosion.

Burn Wound Bacteriological Profiles, Patient Outcomes, and Tangential Excision Timing: A Prospective, Observational Study.

PURPOSE: Because infection can thwart burn healing, microorganisms, their susceptibility patterns, and the effect of tangential excision timing on outcomes of burn patients were examined. METHODS: A prospective, observational study was conducted that involved 318 patients with deep second-degree burns from a gas explosion treated in Xinxiang, Henan, China between January 2009 and December 2016. Patient demographic data, culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test results, and outcome variables (resuscitation fluid volume, signs of shock, body temperature, heart rate, and time to wound healing) were analyzed. Outcomes were compared among patients who had early (<24 hours), middle (2 to 7 days), and late (> 7 days) post burn excision. RESULTS: Bacterial culture and drug sensitivity data were available for 314 of the 318 persons with burns >10% of total body surface area (TBSA). Of the 486 bacterial isolates, 330 (67.9%) were gram-negative and 156 (32.1%) were gram-positive. The number of isolates and resistance to third-generation cephalosporins increased over time. Patients having early tangential excision had significantly lower heart rate (P <.05) and reduced time to healing (P <.01) than patients in the middle or late excision group. CONCLUSION: Early tangential excision was found to be safe and to facilitate healing.

[Imaging analysis of burst injury of the lungs in coal miners workers].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the imaging features of burst injury of the lung in coal miners and to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data and imaging findings of 78 patients with burst injury of the lung. RESULTS: The imaging findings of burst injury of the lung were variable and complex, and they varied over time. Eleven cases showed no abnormalities on X-ray and CT within 24 h, but abnormalities appeared within 3 d; 53 cases showed abnormalities on X-ray and CT and had an exacerbation within 3 d; 8 cases showed improvements when reexamined. Among the 78 patients examined by X-ray and (or) CT, ground glass-like shadows were noted in 15 cases, interstitial changes in 13 cases, segmental consolidation in 24 cases, and diffuse consolidation in 26 cases. The complications included pneumothorax (n = 35), hemothorax (n = 28), costal fracture (n = 24), and pulmonary infection (n = 27). CONCLUSION: X-ray plain film and CT offer a reliable basis for early diagnosis of burst injury of the lung. CT is superior to X-ray plain film in detecting lesions, so chest CT should be performed as early as possible to remedy burst injury of the lung.

[The epidemiological features of blast injury of lungs caused by gas explosion].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical epidemiological features. of blast injury of lungs caused by gas explosion. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 132 cases of blast injury of lungs caused by gas explosion injuries in our hospital from 1990 to 2010 were made, including the information of lung injury, associated injuries, treatment and mortality. RESULTS: 56 patients were conscious on admission, during 1 ∼ 5 days, 30 patients got cough, hemoptysis and other pulmonary symptoms, 7 patients had hemothorax, 11 cases combined with pneumothorax, 86 cases of patients with burns, 96 cases with pulmonary aspiration compound injury, 41 cases with abdominal organs blast injuries, 76 cases with pulmonary infection, 31 cases with shock, Seven patients died of respiratory failure, two patients died of respiratory failure. CONCLUSION: Blast injury of lung featured with serious internal injuries, combined with many injuries, The incidence of compound injury was high, and it was difficult to diagnose. Chest X-ray were varied. The mortality was high, and the predominant causes of death were respiratory failure, shock, sepsis. Most patients with blast injury of lung need tracheotomy and mechanical ventilation. Timely tracheotomy, mechanical ventilation were the major prognostic measures.

A novel technique of three-dimensional reconstruction segmentation and analysis for sliced images of biological tissues.

A novel technique of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction, segmentation, display and analysis of series slices of images including microscopic wide field optical sectioning by deconvolution method, cryo-electron microscope slices by Fourier-Bessel synthesis and electron tomography (ET), and a series of computed tomography (CT) was developed to perform simultaneous measurement on the structure and function of biomedical samples. The paper presents the 3D reconstruction segmentation display and analysis results of pollen spore, chaperonin, virus, head, cervical bone, tibia and carpus. At the same time, it also puts forward some potential applications of the new technique in the biomedical realm.