Applying GC-MS based serum metabolomic profiling to characterize two traditional Chinese medicine subtypes of diabetic foot gangrene.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and particular advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic foot gangrene (DFG). Patients with DFG are mainly divided into two subtypes, tendon lesion with edema (GT) and ischemic lesion without edema (GI), which are suitable for different medical strategies. Metabolomics has special significance in unravelling the complexities of multifactorial and multisystemic disorders. This study acquired the serum metabolomic profiles of two traditional Chinese medicine subtypes of DFG to explore potential molecular evidence for subtype characterization, which may contribute to the personalized treatment of DFG. A total of 70 participants were recruited, including 20 with DM and 50 with DFG (20 with GI and 30 with GT). Conventional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used as untargeted metabolomics approaches to explore the serum metabolomic profiles. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) and MetaboAnalyst were used to identify the related metabolic pathways. Compared with DM patients, the levels of 14 metabolites were altered in the DFG group, which were also belonged to the differential metabolites of GI (13) and GT (7) subtypes, respectively. Among these, urea, α-D-mannose, cadaverine, glutamine, L-asparagine, D-gluconic acid, and indole could be regarded as specific potential metabolic markers for GI, as well as L-leucine for GT. In the GI subtype, D-gluconic acid and L-asparagine are positively correlated with activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and fibrinogen (FIB). In the GT subtype, L-leucine is positively correlated with the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP). Arginine and proline metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis are the most important metabolic pathways associated with GI. The main metabolic pathways related to GT include pyrimidine metabolism, glutathione metabolism, biosynthesis of valine, leucine, and isoleucine, as well as valine, serine, and isoleucine with metabolites. The results of this study indicate that patients with different DFG subtypes have distinct metabolic profiles, which reflect the pathological characteristics of each subtype respectively. These findings will help us explore therapeutic targets for DFG and develop precise treatment strategies.

An effective treatment for diabetic foot necrosis with traditional Chinese and Western medicine: a case report.

Patients with diabetes who undergo a kidney transplant are at a great risk of undergoing amputations, usually associated with severe infection and necrosis. The treatment of severe diabetic foot necrosis is challenging in clinic, and the function of the limb is often hugely compromised. A 74-year-old male who had been diagnosed with severe post-renal transplant diabetic foot necrosis refused the option of below-knee amputation from previous surgeons, and requested to keep his left foot. The patient was treated with integrated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, with positive results. TCM therapeutic principles included 'clearing heat, removing toxicity, regulating Qi, resolving dampness, activating stagnant blood and nourishing yin as well as tonifying Qi and blood'. Treatment with Western medicine included wound debridement, internal fixation or joint fusion, and use of insulin, antibiotics and vasodilators. The patient was treated with a staged and diverse approach (i.e., a combination of TCM and Western medicine, surgical management and education for diabetic foot care), which ultimately helped the patient achieve limb salvage and regain normal function. A combination therapy of Western medicine and TCM may be a promising approach to heal diabetic foot ulcers.

Cutaneous nodular polyarteritis presenting as refractory ulcers on both lower extremities: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (cPAN) is a systemic disease that is limited to the skin. cPAN usually presents with cutaneous reticular cyanotic, erythematous and palpable nodules, and cutaneous ulcers.Research has indicated that the use of hormones and immunosuppressive drugs can delay ulcer healing and associated neuropathy, and also elevate the risk of disease recurrence upon their reduction or withdrawal. Therefore, it is a necessary to find a safe and effective approach that minimize hormone side effects in ulcer treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient, a 48-year-old female of Han Chinese ethnicity, has suffered from recurrent erythema nodosum on both lower limbs for 8 years. The condition was aggravated by skin breakdown over the last 3 months. Despite multiple treatments, the patient's condition did not improve significantly, leading to the exploration of a combined approach of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Following six months of combined traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment, t the patient's newborn erythema and ulcers on both lower limbs did not reappear, and the ulcers gradually decreased in size and the erythema disappeared. The patient took the TCM regularly until April 15, 2023, when the ulcers were completely healed. Three months after the patient stopped taking TCM, the ulcers had completely healed with no recurrence, as observed during the follow-up visit on July 14th, 2023. CONCLUSION: Traditional Chinese Medicine Combined with Low-Dose Hormones May Effectively Treat Bilateral Lower Extremity Skin Ulcers Caused by Cutaneous Polyarteritis Nodosa.

Unraveling shared risk factors for diabetic foot ulcer: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) stands as a severe diabetic lower extremity complication, characterized by high amputation rates, mortality, and economic burden. We propose using Mendelian randomization studies to explore shared and distinct risk factors for diabetic lower extremity complications. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We selected uncorrelated genetic variants associated with 85 phenotypes in five categories at the genome-wide significance level as instrumental variables. Genetic associations with DFU, diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), and diabetic peripheral artery disease (DPAD) were obtained from the FinnGen and UK Biobank studies. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI) emerged as the only significant risk factor for DPAD, DPN, and DFU, independent of type 2 diabetes, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HbA1c. Educational attainment stood out as the sole significant protective factor against DPAD, DPN, and DFU. Glycemic traits below the type 2 diabetes diagnosis threshold showed associations with DPAD and DPN. While smoking history exhibited suggestive associations with DFU, indicators of poor nutrition, particularly total protein, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume, may also signal potential DFU occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced glycemic control and foot care are essential for the diabetic population with high BMI, limited education, smoking history, and indicators of poor nutrition. By focusing on these specific risk factors, healthcare interventions can be better tailored to prevent and manage DFU effectively.

Circ_0058063 regulates the development of esophageal cancer through miR-377-3p/HOXA1 axis.

Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. Circular RNA (CircRNA) can be used as a tumor marker. Therefore, this provides an important idea for our research. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to analyze the expression of circ_0058063, miR-377-3p and homeobox protein Hox-A1 (HOXA1), western blot was used to analyze the protein levels of HOXA1 and cyclinD1, B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 associated X (Bax). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay and wound healing assay were used to analyze cell proliferation and migration; apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to analyze the luciferase activities. Transwell assay was used to analyze the cell invasion. A glycolysis metabolism assay was used to analyze cell glycolysis ability. Xenograft models were used to validate the effect of circ_0009035 in the growth of esophageal cancer in vivo . Circ_0009035 and HOXA1 were upregulated, while miR-377 was downregulated in esophageal cancer.. Circ_0058063 targeted miR-377-3p, and HOX4 was a target of miR-377-3p. Knockdown of circ_0058063 inhibited migration, invasion and proliferation and promoted apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells. MiR-377-3p inhibition or HOXA1 overexpression could restore the effect of si-circ_0058063 on esophageal cancer cells. Knockdown of circ_0058063 repressed the growth of esophageal cancer tumors in vivo. Our study found that circ_0058063 could regulate the expression of HOXA1 by targeting miR-377-3p, thereby affecting the progress of esophageal cancer.

Clinical efficacy and safety of robot assisted surgery for choledochal cysts excisions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and therapeutic effect of Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) for choledochal cysts (CCs) excisions. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM were searched from database inception to 1 May 2022. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) was used to conduct quality assessments, and RevMan (Version 5.4) was used to perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: In all, 9 studies, involving 623 patients, were analyzed. RAS compared with LAS was associated with less intraoperative blood loss, shorter time to start solid diets, shorter postoperative hospital stay, and lower complications. There was no significant difference in operative time between the two groups, but the total costs were higher in RAS. Our subgroup analysis showed that RAS had significant advantages over LAS in the child group: minor bleeding, shorter length of hospital stay, and fewer postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence indicates that the RAS system has the advantages of less intraoperative blood loss, minor tissue damage, quick recovery, and sound healing in treating choledochal cyst, which proves that the RAS is safely feasible. Especially in children, RAS tends to be a better choice.

Prognostic Role of Lymphocyte-C-Reactive Protein Ratio in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis.

Introduction: The lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) is a new immunoinflammatory score and prognostic marker, but the relationship between this index and the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients remains controversial.Therefore, aim of the study was to assess the relationship between LCR and prognosis for colorectal cancer patients through a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases for randomized controlled studies and observational studies on the relationship between LCR and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients, all searched from the date of database creation to January 6, 2022.Our primary endpoints observed were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of colorectal cancer patients, and secondary observables were basic characteristics of included studies, such as country, study duration, sample size, LCR threshold, and pathological characteristics of patients in each study, such as degree of differentiation, gender, tumor location, T stage, and lymphatic metastasis. Results: A total of 10 case-control studies including 7068 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were worse in colorectal cancer patients with lower levels of LCR (HR=0.44, 95% CI=0.38-0.52, P<0.001; HR=0.56, 95% CI=0.41-0.76, P< 0.001).Subgroup analysis based on country, study length, sample size, and LCR threshold showed that lower levels of LCR were all associated with poorer OS (P < 0.05). Regarding pathological characteristics, patients in the low LCR group were generally poorly differentiated (OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.55-2.07, P<0.001), while there was no significant relationship with gender, tumor location, T stage, and lymphatic metastasis (P>0.05). Discussion/Conclusion: LCR can be used as a prognostic marker for colorectal cancer patients, and patients with lower levels of LCR may have a poor prognosis. Due to the limitation of the number and quality of the included studies, the above findings need to be validated by more high-quality studies. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022296563.

Clinical efficacy and safety of robotic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG) is a new technique that is rapidly gaining popularity and may help overcome the limitations of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG); however, its safety and therapeutic efficacy remain controversial. Therefore, this meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RDG. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for studies that compared RDG and LDG and were published between the time of database inception and May 2021. We assessed the bias risk of the observational studies using ROBIN-I, and a random effect model was always applied. RESULTS: The meta-analysis included 22 studies involving 5386 patients. Compared with LDG, RDG was associated with longer operating time (Mean Difference [MD] = 43.88, 95% CI = 35.17-52.60), less intraoperative blood loss (MD = - 24.84, 95% CI = - 41.26 to - 8.43), a higher number of retrieved lymph nodes (MD = 2.41, 95% CI = 0.77-4.05), shorter time to first flatus (MD = - 0.09, 95% CI = - 0.15 to - 0.03), shorter postoperative hospital stay (MD = - 0.68, 95% CI = - 1.27 to - 0.08), and lower incidence of pancreatic fistula (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.07-0.79). Mean proximal and distal resection margin distances, time to start liquid and soft diets, and other complications were not significantly different between RDG and LDG groups. However, in the propensity-score-matched meta-analysis, the differences in time to first flatus and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups lost significance. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the available evidence, RDG appears feasible and safe, shows better surgical and oncological outcomes than LDG and, comparable postoperative recovery and postoperative complication outcomes.

Neutralization of Hv1/HVCN1 With Antibody Enhances Microglia/Macrophages Myelin Clearance by Promoting Their Migration in the Brain.

Microglia dynamically monitor the microenvironment of the central nervous system (CNS) by constantly extending and retracting their processes in physiological conditions, and microglia/macrophages rapidly migrate into lesion sites in response to injuries or diseases in the CNS. Consequently, their migration ability is fundamentally important for their proper functioning. However, the mechanisms underlying their migration have not been fully understood. We wonder whether the voltage-gated proton channel HVCN1 in microglia/macrophages in the brain plays a role in their migration. We show in this study that in physiological conditions, microglia and bone marrow derived macrophage (BMDM) express HVCN1 with the highest level among glial cells, and upregulation of HVCN1 in microglia/macrophages is presented in multiple injuries and diseases of the CNS, reflecting the overactivation of HVCN1. In parallel, myelin debris accumulation occurs in both the focal lesion and the site where neurodegeneration takes place. Importantly, both genetic deletion of the HVCN1 gene in cells in vitro and neutralization of HVCN1 with antibody in the brain in vivo promotes migration of microglia/macrophages. Furthermore, neutralization of HVCN1 with antibody in the brain in vivo promotes myelin debris clearance by microglia/macrophages. This study uncovers a new role of HVCN1 in microglia/macrophages, coupling the proton channel HVCN1 to the migration of microglia/macrophages for the first time.

Inverse association between body mass index and all-cause mortality in rural chinese adults: 15-year follow-up of the Anqing cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and all-cause mortality in a Chinese rural population. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: This study was conducted from 2003 to 2018 in Anqing, Anhui Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: 17 851 participants aged 25-64 years (49.4% female) attending physical examinations and questionnaire were included in this study. The inclusion criterion was families having a minimum of three participating siblings. The exclusion criteria included participants without family number and BMI data at baseline. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measure was all-cause mortality. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression analysis was performed to determine the association between baseline BMI and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of 14.1 years, 730 deaths (8.0%) occurred among men, and 321 deaths (3.6%) occurred among women. The mean BMI for males was 21.3[Formula: see text] kg/m2, and for female it was 22.1±3.1 kg/m2. Baseline BMI was significantly inversely associated with all-cause mortality risk for per SD increase (OR, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72 to 0.87) for males; OR, 0.88 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.01) for females). When BMI was stratified with cut points at 20 and 24 kg/m2, compared with the low BMI group, a significantly lower risk of death was found in the high BMI group (BMI ≥24: OR, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.43 to 0.77) in males; 0.65 (95% CI, 0.46 to 0.93) in females) after adjustment for relevant factors. CONCLUSIONS: In this relatively lean rural Chinese population, the risk of all-cause mortality decreased with increasing BMI. The excess risk of all-cause mortality associated with a high BMI was not seen among this rural population.

Physical Activity and Liver Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.

OBJECTIVE: Liver cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer. Physical activity (PA) was found to be associated with lower risks of several types of cancer. However, the association between PA and the risk of liver cancer is still inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aiming to summarize the association between PA and liver cancer risk. METHODS: Literatures related were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Chinese Biomedical literature database from 1965 to 2017 without language limitation. Meta-analyses were performed using random effect model. RESULTS: A total of 5 cohort studies involving 2 513 975 subjects were identified. The pooled relative risk of leisure-time PA with liver cancer risk was 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.84-1.01]. There is no significant association between leisure-time PA and liver cancer risk. However, leisure-time PA significantly reduced liver cancer risk in never smokers. The pooled hazard ratio of daily total PA with liver cancer risk was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.66-0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Daily total PA significantly reduces liver cancer risk, whereas leisure-time PA significantly reduces liver cancer risk only in never smokers.

A retrospective study of Yiqi-Huoxue Decoction on blood pressure in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

This retrospective study investigated the effect of Yiqi-Huoxue Decoction (YQHXD) on blood pressure (BP) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).A total of 72 patients with BP following AIS who received routine treatment were included in this retrospective study. Of those, 36 patients received YQHXD and were assigned to a treatment group. The other 36 patients were allocated to a control group. All patients were treated for a total of 4 months. The outcomes were assessed by systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and Barthel index scale (BIS). All outcomes were measured after 4-month treatment.After treatment, all subjects in the treatment group showed greater improvements in SBP (P < .05), DBP (P < .05), NIHSS (P < .05) score, and BIS (P < .05) than those of patients in the control group. In addition, the safety profile is similar in both groups.The findings of this study demonstrated that YQHXD may benefit on BP in patients with AIS. Future studies should focus on warranting the current results.

Effects and safety of Buyang-Huanwu Decoction for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: We designed this study to assess the effects and safety of Buyang-Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: Electronic databases of Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, VIP Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure will be comprehensively and systematically searched from initial time of each electronic database to the present without limitations of language and publication status. Randomized controlled trials on BYHWD alone against any other interventions for the treatment of AIS will be included. All process of study selection, data collection, and methodological quality assessment will be independently undertaken by 2 investigators. Cochrane risk of bias tool and RevMan 5.3 software will be utilized for the performance of methodological quality assessment and statistical analysis, respectively. RESULTS: This study will summarize most recent high quality evidence on investigating the effects and safety of BYHWD alone against any other interventions for the treatment of patients with AIS. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study will provide helpful evidence for the clinical practice for patients with AIS using BYHWD, as well as the relevant future researches.Study registration number: INPLASY202040169.

Genetic risk analysis for an individual according to the theory of programmed onset, illustrated by lung and liver cancers.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate cancer association in the genome and the genetic risk of death from major cancers according to the theory of programmed onset for an individual. METHODS: Alleles of 15 randomly selected short tandem repeat (STR) loci, including D6S1043, D12S391, CSF1PO, D7S820, D2S1338, D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D16S539 and D19S433, were determined in 50 patients with lung cancer and 50 patients with liver cancer. The onset age of patients with and without the alleles was compared with Cox regression. Frequencies of significant alleles from Cox regression between the cancer group and control population were analysed through logistic regression for cross-validation. The death probability in an individual carrying two or one of two cancer-related alleles or not carrying two cancer-related alleles was calculated with outcomes of case-control studies translated into the results of the cohort studies. RESULTS: It was confirmed that D18S51-20 was a lung cancer-related allele and that D21S11-30.2 and D6S1043-18 were liver cancer-related alleles. Probabilities of death from lung or liver cancers ranged from 0.115 to 0.395, respectively, for those who carry and/or do not carry D18S51-20, D21S11-30.2, D6S1043-18. CONCLUSIONS: A more efficient method could be devised for genetic risk analysis according to the theory of programmed onset. The analysis of the CODIS-STR loci (STR loci listed in the US combined DNA indexing system) as genetic markers may provide an efficient and reliable approach to estimate an individual's genetic predisposition.

Circulating microRNAs as a novel class of diagnostic biomarkers in gastrointestinal tumors detection: a meta-analysis based on 42 articles.

OBJECTIVE: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have become the focus of most recent efforts in cancer research. However, there have been inconsistencies in the literature regarding the suitability of circulating miRNAs for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers. This study aims to assess the diagnostic performance of circulating miRNAs in detection of gastrointestinal cancer through a meta-analysis. METHODS: Eligible studies were selected by conducting a systematic literature search of public databases. The sensitivity and specificity were used to plot the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve and calculate the area under the SROC curve (AUC). The between-study heterogeneity was evaluated by Q test and I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were further performed to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity. All analyses were performed using the STATA 12.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 107 studies from 42 articles were included for the meta-analysis according to the inclusion criteria. The overall analysis of all gastrointestinal cancers showed that circulating miRNAs have a relatively good diagnostic performance in gastrointestinal cancers, with a sensitivity of 0.75, a specificity of 0.81 and an AUC of 0.85. In addition, subgroup analyses based on different type of miRNA assay suggested that single-miRNA assay displayed a relatively low diagnostic performance with the AUC values of 0.84 for gastric cancer (GC) and 0.79 for colorectal cancer (CRC), while multiple-miRNAs assay significantly improved the diagnosing accuracy with AUC rising to 0.92 for GC and 0.89 for CRC. Another interesting finding was that plasma-based miRNA assay reach a higher accuracy compared with serum-based one for GC, while opposite conclusion was drawn for CRC. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, circulating miRNAs, particularly the combination of multiple miRNAs, may present as promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers. Further large-scale prospective studies are necessary to validate their potential applicability in human cancer diagnosis.

Combined long-curved ostectomy in the inferior mandibular border and angle of the mandible with splitting corticectomy for reduction of the lower face.

BACKGROUND: In Asian countries, a square-shaped face is considered unattractive. Many operative techniques have been developed and reported for reduction of the lower face, including mandibular angle ostectomy and splitting corticectomy. Many surgeons have performed the operation in the angle region using one of the aforementioned techniques, which may not lead to effective results. This report mainly discusses the standard procedures of surgery. METHODS: To overcome the drawbacks of conventional procedures and to perform ostectomy accurately, proper preoperative analysis and design were implemented for 159 patients with square-shaped faces. Based on a new type of classification and concepts for mandible reduction, long-curved ostectomy combined with splitting corticectomy was used for reduction of the lower face. A series of standard procedures was developed during the operative process. RESULTS: The majority of patients were satisfied with both their frontal and lateral appearances. The gonial angle and the mandibular plane angle were increased effectively. No major complications such as fracture or facial nerve damage occurred. Lip numbness occurred for 15% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' series of standard procedures allows surgeons to perform accurate, safe, and reproducible ostectomy and to obtain reliable and stable effects.

[The changes of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in rat's brain].

OBJECTIVE: To apply Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to study the process of postmortem degradation of the rat brain and to provide a new way for the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI). METHODS: The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the bodies were kept in a controlled environmental chamber set at (30 +/- 2) degrees C. To measure the content of the chemical groups in postmortem rat brains at the different time points from 0 to 36 h using the FTIR spectrograph. RESULTS: With prolongation of PMI, the peak position of main absorbance bands in the FTIR spectra showed no significant changes, while the peak levels showed dramatic changes: (1) The relative peak intensity of 1080 cm(-1), 1238 cm(-1) (I1080/I1398, I1238/I1398) associated with nucleic acid decreased obviously; (2) The peak intensity ratio at Amide I, II (I1647/I1541) decreased; (3) The peak intensities at 1456 cm(-1) and 1398 cm(-1) showed a decreased and an increased trend, respectively; (4) Compared to the peak intensity of 1647 cm(-1), the peak intensities at 2852 cm(-1), 2871 cm(-1), 2923 cm(-1), and 2958 cm(-1) tended to increase, with only a slightly increased tendency in peak intensity of 2871 cm(-1). CONCLUSION: FTIR spectroscopy may be potentially used as an effective method for estimating the PMI in medicolegal practice using brain tissue sample.

[Expression of brain natriuretic peptide and c-fos gene in rat after acute myocardial ischemia and its medicolegal significance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the mRNA expression of BNP and c-fos gene in rat heart after acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) and to provide a marker for its medicolegal diagnosis. METHODS: AMI animal model of rat was made by ligating LAD. mRNA expression of BNP and c-fos gene were studied with RT-qPCR and ordinary PCR at 10 min, 30 min, 60 min and 3h after the successful ligation. The H&E staining was also used. Changes of the mRNA expression in different time groups were compared. RESULTS: There was significant difference in BNP mRNA expression of the 3 h group by RT-qPCR compared with normal control group, 10 min, 30 min, and 60 min groups (P < 0.05). There were dramatic differences in c-fos mRNA expression between every two groups (P < 0.05) except between the normal group and the 10 min group, between the 30 min group and the 3 h group. The peak of c-fos expression was in 60 min group. No difference was shown between groups by the ordinary PCR. Myocardial fiber acidophilia staining and wavy changes could be seen occasionally at 3 h experimental group by H&E staining. CONCLUSIONS: C-fos gene probably be used as an auxiliary test for myocardial ischemia of duration of 30 minutes or longer. RT-qPCR may be suitable for diagnosis of early AMI.