Treatment of functional dyspepsia in Chinese adult patients with domperidone: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of domperidone for the treatment of Chinese patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) who were diagnosed according to the Rome IV criteria and to identify the FD subtypes that potentially responded better to domperidone. METHODS: This multicenter prospective study was conducted in China from August 2018 to July 2020, consisting of a 1-week screening phase and a 2-week double-blind treatment phase. Participants were randomized to receive domperidone 10 mg or matching placebo tablets thrice daily for 14 days. The primary end-point was the overall treatment effect (OTE) response rate after 2-week therapy. RESULTS: Altogether 160 patients were included, with 80 patients in each group. The OTE response rate after 2-week therapy was significantly higher for domperidone compared with placebo (60.7% vs 46.0%; relative risk [RR] 1.318, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.972-1.787). Moreover, the OTE response rate after 2-week domperidone or placebo treatment was 60.3% versus 54.9% for postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) (RR 1.098, 95% CI 0.750-1.607) and 60.6% versus 35.2% for overlapping PDS-epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) (RR 1.722, 95% CI 0.995-2.980). Adverse events were reported by seven patients in the domperidone group and 12 patients in the placebo group. None of the adverse events in the domperidone group were serious. CONCLUSION: Domperidone showed a positive pattern regarding OTE response rates after 2-week therapy compared to placebo in patients with FD, as well as in subtypes of PDS and overlapping PDS-EPS. No new safety issue was observed.

Open-framework hybrid zinc/tin selenide as an ultrafast adsorbent for Cs+, Ba2+, Co2+, and Ni2.

Efficient adsorption of radioactive 137Cs+ and 60Co2+ and their decay products 137Ba2+ and 60Ni2+ bears significance for hazard elimination in case of nuclear emergency, which relies on the adsorption rate enhancement that takes advantages of compositional and structural optimization. Herein, we report a zinc-doped selenidostannate constructed from T2-supertetrahedral clusters, namely K3.4(CH3NH3)0.45(NH4)0.15Zn2Sn3Se10·3.4 H2O (ZnSnSe-1K). The soft Se and micro-porosity synergistically endow this material with a binding affinity to Cs+, Ba2+, Co2+, and Ni2+ ions and ultrafast kinetics with R > 97.6% in 2-60 min. In particular, ZnSnSe-1K can remove 99.34% of Cs+ in 2 min (KdCs > 1.5 × 105 mL g-1), contributing to a record rate constant k2 of 9.240 g mg-1 min-1 that surpasses all metal chalcogenide adsorbents. ZnSnSe-1K exhibits good acid/base tolerance (pH = 0-12), and the adsorption capacities at neutral are 253.61 ± 9.15, 108.94 ± 25.32, 45.76 ± 14.19 and 38.49 ± 2.99 mg g-1 for Cs+, Ba2+, Co2+, and Ni2+, respectively. The adsorption performances resist well co-existing cations and anions, and the removal rates can keep above or close to 90% even in sea water. ZnSnSe-1K is employed in continuous column and membrane filtration, both of which shows excellent elimination efficiency (R > 99%) for mixed Cs+, Ba2+, Co2+, and Ni2+. Especially, the membrane with an ultrathin (70 µm) ZnSnSe-1K layer can remove 97-100% Cs+ in suction filtration with a short contact time of 0.33 s. Combined with the simple synthesis, facile elution and great irradiation resistance, ZnSnSe-1K emerges as a selenide adsorbent candidate for use in environmental remediation especially that involving nuclear waste disposal.

Interconnected ordinal pattern complex network for characterizing the spatial coupling behavior of gas-liquid two-phase flow.

The complex phase interactions of the two-phase flow are a key factor in understanding the flow pattern evolutional mechanisms, yet these complex flow behaviors have not been well understood. In this paper, we employ a series of gas-liquid two-phase flow multivariate fluctuation signals as observations and propose a novel interconnected ordinal pattern network to investigate the spatial coupling behaviors of the gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns. In addition, we use two network indices, which are the global subnetwork mutual information (I) and the global subnetwork clustering coefficient (C), to quantitatively measure the spatial coupling strength of different gas-liquid flow patterns. The gas-liquid two-phase flow pattern evolutionary behaviors are further characterized by calculating the two proposed coupling indices under different flow conditions. The proposed interconnected ordinal pattern network provides a novel tool for a deeper understanding of the evolutional mechanisms of the multi-phase flow system, and it can also be used to investigate the coupling behaviors of other complex systems with multiple observations.

Activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling by autophagic degradation of APC contributes to the osteoblast differentiation effect of soy isoflavone on osteoporotic mesenchymal stem cells.

The functional role of autophagy in regulating differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been studied extensively, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in the initiation of osteoblast differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells, and the stability of core protein ß-catenin is tightly controlled by the APC/Axin/GSK-3ß/Ck1α complex. Here we showed that genistein, a predominant soy isoflavone, stimulated osteoblast differentiation of MSCs in vivo and in vitro. Female rats were subjected to bilateral ovariectomy (OVX); four weeks after surgery the rats were orally administered genistein (50 mg·kg-1·d-1) for 8 weeks. The results showed that genistein administration significantly suppressed the bone loss and bone-fat imbalance, and stimulated bone formation in OVX rats. In vitro, genistein (10 nM) markedly activated autophagy and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, and stimulated osteoblast differentiation in OVX-MSCs. Furthermore, we found that genistein promoted autophagic degradation of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), thus initiated ß-catenin-driven osteoblast differentiation. Notably, genistein activated autophagy through transcription factor EB (TFEB) rather than mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). These findings unveil the mechanism of how autophagy regulates osteogenesis in OVX-MSCs, which expands our understanding that such interplay could be employed as a useful therapeutic strategy for treating postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Characterizing gas-liquid two-phase flow behavior using complex network and deep learning.

Gas-liquid two-phase flow is polymorphic and unstable, and characterizing its flow behavior is a major challenge in the study of multiphase flow. We first conduct dynamic experiments on gas-liquid two-phase flow in a vertical tube and obtain multi-channel signals using a self-designed four-sector distributed conductivity sensor. In order to characterize the evolution of gas-liquid two-phase flow, we transform the obtained signals using the adaptive optimal kernel time-frequency representation and build a complex network based on the time-frequency energy distribution. As quantitative indicators, global clustering coefficients of the complex network at various sparsity levels are computed to analyze the dynamic behavior of various flow structures. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach enables effective analysis of multi-channel measurement information for revealing the evolutionary mechanisms of gas-liquid two-phase flow. Furthermore, for the purpose of flow structure recognition, we propose a temporal-spatio convolutional neural network and achieve a classification accuracy of 95.83%.

Mefunidone ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury through inhibiting MAPK signaling pathway and enhancing Nrf2 pathway.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening disease which has high mortality and lacks effective pharmacological treatments. Excessive inflammation and oxidative stress are the key pathogenesis of ALI. Mefunidone (MFD), a novel small molecule compound, displayed anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative stress effects on streptozocin (STZ) and db/db mice in our previous studies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of MFD on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and explore the potential molecular mechanisms. METHODS: We investigated the effects of MFD on LPS-induced ALI mouse model and LPS-stimulated immortalized mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (iBMDMs). RESULTS: MFD could alleviate pulmonary structure disorder and attenuate pulmonary neutrophils infiltration induced by LPS. MFD could also decreased proinflammatory cytokines release and reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation stimulated by LPS. Further, MFD could significantly reduce LPS-induced phosphorylation levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), increase expression of nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) and restore the expressions of antioxidant enzymes. CONCLUSION: Our results firstly supported that MFD effectively protected LPS-induced ALI against inflammation and oxidative stress through inhibiting MAPK signaling pathway and activating Nrf2 pathway.

Ideal nodal rings of one-dimensional photonic crystals in the visible region.

Three-dimensional (3D) artificial metacrystals host rich topological phases, such as Weyl points, nodal rings, and 3D photonic topological insulators. These topological states enable a wide range of applications, including 3D robust waveguides, one-way fiber, and negative refraction of the surface wave. However, these carefully designed metacrystals are usually very complex, hindering their extension to nanoscale photonic systems. Here, we theoretically proposed and experimentally realized an ideal nodal ring in the visible region using a simple 1D photonic crystal. The π-Berry phase around the ring is manifested by a 2π reflection phase's winding and the resultant drumhead surface states. By breaking the inversion symmetry, the nodal ring can be gapped and the π-Berry phase would diffuse into a toroidal-shaped Berry flux, resulting in photonic ridge states (the 3D extension of quantum valley Hall states). Our results provide a simple and feasible platform for exploring 3D topological physics and its potential applications in nanophotonics.

[Effects of bisphenol A exposure on proteins tyrosine phosphorylation in mammalian sperm]. / åŒé šAæš´éœ²å¯¹å“ºä¹³åŠ¨ç‰©ç²¾å­è›‹ç™½é ªæ°¨é ¸ç£·é ¸åŒ–çš„å½±å“.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic estrogen compound, which widely exists in the environment, interferes with mammalian endocrine and affects the function of reproductive system of males. Taking fresh sperm of boar, 17 ℃ preservation boar sperm, and mouse sperm as test materials, we examined the effects of BPA (0, 0.1,1,10,100 µmol∙L-1) on proteins tyrosine phosphorylation in sperm and the molecular mechanism by using wes-tern blot (WB) and immunofluorescence techniques coupled to in vitro culture method. The results showed that low BPA concentration (0.1, 1 µmol∙L-1) markedly accelerated the protein tyrosine phosphorylation of fresh boar capacitated sperm. However, the tyrosine phosphorylation of boar sperm decreased in high BPA concentration (10, 100 µmol∙L-1). The tyrosine phosphorylation of the mouse sperm raised with the increases of BPA concentration. Moreover, BPA affected different kinds of proteins related to tyrosine phosphorylation modification of porcine and mouse sperm capacitation, suggesting that the effect of BPA exposure on mammalian sperm was species-specific. Furthermore, the results of immunofluorescence showed that the effects of BPA on protein tyrosine phosphorylation in sperm mainly occurred in the middle and principal piece of flagellum.

Organic chloramines attenuation and disinfection by-product formation during UV, chlorination and UV/chlorine processes.

Organic chloramines (OCs) have become one of the research focuses in the field of drinking water treatment due to its limited oxidation and sterilization ability as well as potential cytotoxicity and genetic toxicity to the public. Among widespread OCs, produced by chlorinating cytosine are a typical one exists during chlorine disinfection. OCs degradation during UV, chlorination and UV/chlorine processes were systematically investigated. UV irradiation at 254 nm could effectively degrade OCs by 96.6% after 60 min, mainly because N-Cl bond had significant UV absorption at 250-280 nm leading to the generation of Cl• and HO•. Direct chlorination had poor removal of OCs with the OCs concentration increased first and then decreased as time went by. On the other hand, the removal of OCs during UV/chlorination was much higher than that during chlorination, but was worse than that during UV alone. pH had a minor effect on OCs decomposition via UV irradiation, whereas the effect was pronounced in the chlorination and UV chlorine processes. UV wavelength can affect the degradation of OCs with efficiency decreased in the order of UV 254 > UV 265 > UV 275. The total yields of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during the degradation of OCs followed UV/chlorine > UV > chlorination. CH and DCAA were the two dominant types of DBPs among detected 7 DBPs. DBPs yield followed the order of UV254 > UV265 > UV275 at pH 6.0 and 7.0. After UV 265 irradiation, DBPs yield slightly decreased by 2.4%, 3.0% and 6.6% with the pH increased from 6.0 to 9.0. The results can provide theoretical basis for effective control of OCs in drinking water.

Formation and control of organic chloramines and disinfection by-products during the degradation of pyrimidines and purines by UV/chlorine process in water.

Pyrimidine and purine bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine) are important precursors of organic chloramines (OC) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) during chlor(am)ination. In this study, OC and DBP formation derived from pyrimidine and purine bases during chlor(am)ination, post-chlor(am)ination after pretreated by UV alone and UV/chlorination were systematically investigated with ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs, 265 and 275 nm) and low pressure mercury lamp (LPUV, 254 nm). The results revealed that higher OC formation was observed during chlorination than that during chloramination of pyrimidine and purine bases. The degradation of pyrimidine and purine bases followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. Both solution pH and UV wavelength played vital influence on the degradation of pyrimidine and purine bases. In terms of fluence-based rate constants (kobs), the degradation rates of pyrimidine and purine bases decreased in the order of 275 nm > 265 nm > 254 nm in alkaline conditions. The synergistic effects of kobs, chlorine,kobs, •OH and kobs, RCS contributed to the differences of pyrimidine and purine bases degradation at different pH values and UV wavelengths. A vital suppression of OC formation was observed during post-chlorination after pretreated by 275 nm UV-LED/chlorination. In addition, compared with LPUV (254 nm), less DBP formation was observed at UV-LED (275 nm), especially during the UV/chlorine process. The phenomena obtained in this study indicated that 275 nm UV-LED combined with chlorine could be a preferred method to promote pyrimidine and purine bases degradation and control OC and DBP formation in practical water treatment.

Resolving the origins of invertebrate colonists in the Yangtze River Estuary with molecular markers: Implications for ecological connectivity.

Understanding connectivity over different spatial and temporal scales is fundamental for managing of ecological systems. However, controversy exists for wintertime ecological connectivity between the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) and inner southwestern Yellow Sea. Here, we investigated ecological connectivity between the YRE and inner southwestern Yellow Sea in wintertime by precisely pinpointing the source of the newly colonized populations of a winter-spawning rocky intertidal invertebrate, Littorina brevicula (Philippi, 1844), on artificial structures along the coast of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) using mitochondrial ND6 sequences and microsatellite data. Clear phylogeographic and genetic differentiation were detected between natural rocky populations south and north of the YRE, which resulted from the lack of hard substrate for rocky invertebrates in the large YRD coast. For the newly colonized populations on the coast of YRD, most individuals (98%) to the south of ~33.5°N were from natural rocky populations to the south of the YRE and most of those (94%) to the north of ~33.5°N were from the northern natural rocky populations, which demonstrated strong ecological connectivity between the inner southwestern Yellow Sea and the YRE in winter time. We presented the first genetic evidence that demonstrated a northward wintertime coastal current in the inner southwestern Yellow Sea, and precisely illustrated the boundary of the coastal current recently proposed by numerical experiment. These results indicated that the YRE serves as an important source of materials and energy for the inner southwestern Yellow Sea in winter, which can be crucial for the function of the Yellow Sea ecosystem.

Investigating Effects of Plasma Apolipoprotein E on Ischemic Heart Disease Using Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Observationally plasma apolipoprotein E (apoE) is positively associated with ischemic heart disease (IHD). A Mendelian randomization (MR) study suggesting apoE is unrelated to cardiovascular mortality did not consider specific isoforms. We used MR to obtain estimates of plasma apoE2, apoE3 and apoE4 on IHD, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B (apoB). METHODS: We obtained independent genetic instruments from proteome genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and applied them to large outcome GWAS. We used univariable MR to assess the role of each isoform and multivariable MR to assess direct effects. RESULTS: In univariable MR, apoE4 was positively associated with IHD (odds ratio (OR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.09), but apoE2 and apoE3 were less clearly associated. Using multivariable MR an association of apoE2 with IHD (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.38) could not be excluded, and associations of apoE3 and apoE4 with IHD were not obvious. In univariable MR, apoE2 and apoE4 were positively associated with apoB, and a positive association of apoE2 with LDL cholesterol could not be excluded. Using multivariable MR apoE2 was positively associated with LDL cholesterol, and associations with apoB could not be excluded. After adjusting for apoB, no direct effects of apoE isoforms on IHD were evident. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma apoE2 and apoE4 may play a role in lipid modulation and IHD. Whether apoE could be a potential therapeutic target requires further clarification when larger genetic studies of apoE isoforms are available.

Quantitative Segmentation Analysis of the Radiological Changes by Using ITK-SNAP: Risk Assessment of the Severity and Recurrence of Medication-related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw.

Background and purpose: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) severely impairs patients' quality of life and is remarkably refractory to treatment. There are lots of studies about identification of the radiographic features of MRONJ, yet reports about quantitative radiographic analysis for the risk assessment of the severity and recurrence of MRONJ are rarely heard. The aim of this study was to investigate the volumes of osteolytic lesions and radiodensity values of osteosclerotic lesions in MRONJ patients by using ITK-SNAP for severity prediction and prognosis evaluation. Materials and methods: Of 78 MRONJ patients (78 lesions) involved in this retrospective study, 53 were presented as osteolytic lesions and 25 were presented as osteosclerotic changes alone. Comprehensive CBCT images, demographics and clinical data of patients were investigated. The volumetric analysis and radiodensity measurement were performed by ITK-SNAP. SPSS 25.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results: The osteolytic lesion volumes in MRONJ patients receiving intravenous bisphosphonates (P=0.004) and patients without osteoporosis (P=0.027) were significantly large. No significant correlation between the volumes and bisphosphonates duration was found (P=0.094). The radiodensity values of osteosclerotic lesions was significantly correlated with bisphosphonates duration (P=0.040). The surrounding area of post-surgical lesions in MRONJ patients with recurrence showed significantly great radiodensity values (P=0.025). No significant correlation between the radiodensity values and the transformation from osteosclerotic lesions to osteolytic lesions was observed (P=0.507). Conclusion: MRONJ patients receiving intravenous bisphosphonates develop into large volumes of osteolytic lesions more easily. Long-term bisphosphonates duration is possibly related with higher bone density of osteosclerotic lesions, while higher density is not associated with the transformation from osteosclerotic lesions to osteolytic lesions. A rise of bone mineral density nearby post-surgical lesions is probably a predictor for MRONJ recurrence.

Simultaneous determination of five alkaloids from Rauvolfia vomitoria in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS: Application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and type 2 diabetic rats.

Rauvolfia vomitoria is widely distributed in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, and has been used in traditional folk medicine in China. Indole alkaloids were found to be major bioactive components, while the effects of diabetes mellitus on the pharmacokinetic parameters of the components have not been reflected in vivo. In this study, an efficient and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of five ingredients of R. vomitoria in rats. Detection was implemented in multiple-reaction-monitoring mode with an electrospray positive-ionization source. Validation parameters were all in accordance with the current criterion. The established method was effectively employed to compare the pharmacokinetic behaviors of five alkaloids (reserpine, yohimbine, ajmaline, ajmalicine, and serpentine) between normal and type 2 diabetic rats. The single-dose pharmacokinetic parameters of the five alkaloids were determined in normal and diabetic rats after oral administration of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight. The results indicated that diabetes mellitus significantly altered the pharmacokinetic characteristics of yohimbine, ajmaline, and ajmalicine after oral administration in rats. This is an attempt to provide some evidence for clinicians that may serve as a guide for the use of antidiabetic medicine in clinical practice.

Structural characterization of a novel polysaccharide from Pleurotus citrinopileatus and its antitumor activity on H22 tumor-bearing mice.

In this research, a novel polysaccharide (PCP) was extracted from Pleurotus citrinopileatus and purified by Sephadex G-150 gel column, and its antitumor activity was investigated using the model H22 tumor-bearing mice. PCP was found to be composed of arabinose, galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose and glucuronic acid in a proportion of 0.66: 14.59: 10.77: 1: 0.69: 0.23 with average molecular weight of 7.30 × 105 Da. Further analysis suggested that PCP was a pyranose with α-type and ß-type glycosidic residues. The antitumor assays in vivo indicated that PCP could effectively suppress H22 solid tumor growth, protect immune organs and improve inflammation and anemia. Besides, Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining and JC-1 staining demonstrated that PCP could induce apoptosis of H22 hepatoma cells. The PI staining assay revealed that PCP induced H22 hepatoma cells apoptosis by arresting cell cycle in S phase. These results suggest that the polysaccharide from Pleurotus citrinopileatus possesses potential value in the treatment of liver cancer.

[Research progress on chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Periplocae Cortex and predictive analysis on Q-marker].

Periplocae Cortex is a traditional Chinese medicine in China, which is mainly produced in northeast China, north China, northwest China, southwest China. In recent years, the increasing in-depth research resulted in the discovery of anti-tumor and cardiac pharmacological activities of Periplocae Cortex, which has broad application prospects. On the basis of summarizing chemical components and pharmacological effects, combined with the theoretical system of Q-marker, the quality control components of Periplocae Cortex were predicted from the aspects of the correlation between chemical composition and traditional medicinal properties, traditional efficacy, and new clinical use, plasma composition, measurable composition, storage time by analyzing literature. Among the components, periplocoside, periplocin, periplogenin, 4-methoxy salicylaldehyde showed significant activity, which provides a scientific basis for quality evaluation of Periplocae Cortex.

Circular RNA circEIF3I promotes papillary thyroid carcinoma progression through competitively binding to miR-149 and upregulating KIF2A expression.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to regulate the development and progression of various cancers. However, the expression and function of circRNAs in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) remain largely unknown. This study is aimed to investigate the potential roles of circEIF3I in PTC and elucidate the functional mechanism. We found that the expression of circEIF3I was significantly upregulated in PTC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. CircEIF3I expression was positively associated with tumor size, TNM stage and metastasis. CircEIF3I knockdown remarkably suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of PTC cells. Mechanistically, circEIF3I promoted KIF2A expression through competitively interacting with miR-149. In conclusion, circEIF3I upregulation in PTC tissues facilitates KIF2A expression by inhibiting miR-149, leading to malignant progression of PTC. This study suggested circEIF3I/miR-149/KIF2A axis might be a potential therapeutic target.

First mitochondrial genome of a periwinkle from the genus Littoraria: Littoraria sinensis.

The nearly complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the periwinkle Littoraria sinensis is presented. This is the first mitochondrial genome of the genus Littoraria and the fifth sequenced Littorinidae. The mitogenome of L. sinensis is 16,320 bp in size, with 37 genes and one partial control region. The genes order is identical to those observed in other Littorinidae mitogenomes. The overall base composition shows that AT content (64.76%) is higher than GC content (35.24%). This study should provide new information for the further phylogenetic studies of this species.

[Effects of moxibustion on the structure and function of blood brain barrier in Alzheimer's disease model rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of moxibustion on the structure and function of blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer's disease (AD) model rats. METHODS: Forty-eight SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group, sham operation group, model group, moxibustion group. Model group and moxibustion group rats were injected with aggregated Aß25-35 by bilateral hippocampus. In the rat model, the sham-operated group was injected with the same amount of normal saline in the bilateral hippocampus, and the normal group was not treated. After successful modeling, the moxibustion treatment was given at 2～3 cm above the Baihui, Shenshu and Yintang points of the moxibustion group rats, each time for 10 min, once a day, continuous treatment for 21 d. The Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the learning and memory ability of rats in each group. The Evans blue method was used to detect the permeability of blood-brain barrier. The ultrastructure of blood-brain barrier was observed under electron microscope. The matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) positive cells in hippocampus were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the escape latency was significantly increased (P＜0.01), and the space exploration time was decreased (P＜0.01), the learning and memory function in model group was impaired seriously, the Evans blue content in the brain was increased significantly (P＜0.01), the perivascular edema became larger, and the blood-brain barrier structure function was impaired. At the same time, the positive expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in hippocampus were increased significantly (P＜0.01). Compared with model group, the learning and memory ability in moxibustion group rats was enhanced (P＜ 0.05), the content of Evans blue in the brain was decreased (P＜0.05), the degree of perivascular edema was reduced, and the damage of blood-brain barrier was improved. Positive expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in hippocampus were decreased (P＜0.05 or P＜ 0.01). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion can decrease the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9, and reduce the damage of the structure and function of blood-brain barrier, thereby improving the learning and memory ability of AD model rats, and exerting therapeutic effects.

Potential factors associated with clinical stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma at diagnosis: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: In China, most patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are diagnosed at a late stage and consequently have a poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate potential factors associated with the clinical stage of NPC at diagnosis. METHODS: Data were obtained from 118 patients with early-stage NPC and 274 with late-stage NPC who were treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between August 2014 and July 2015. Patients were individually matched by age, sex, and residence, and a conditional logistic regression model was applied to assess the associations of clinical stage at diagnosis with socioeconomic status indicators, knowledge of NPC, physical examinations, patient interval, and risk factors for NPC. RESULTS: Although knowledge of early NPC symptoms, smoking cessation, and patient interval were important factors, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, motorbike ownership, and physical examination exhibited the strongest associations with the clinical stage of NPC at diagnosis. Compared with smoking fewer than ten cigarettes a day, smoking 10-30 cigarettes [odds ratio (OR) 4.03; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-14.68] or more than 30 cigarettes (OR 11.46; 95% CI 1.26-103.91) was associated with an increased risk of late diagnosis. Compared with not owning a motorbike, owning a motorbike (OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.23-0.64) was associated with early diagnosis. Subjects who underwent physical examinations were less likely to receive a late diagnosis than those who did not undergo examinations (OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.28-0.89). However, indicators of wealth were not significant factors. CONCLUSIONS: Initiatives to improve NPC patient prognosis should aim to promote knowledge about early symptoms and detection, health awareness, and accessibility to health facilities among all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status.