[Bioinformatics analysis and key gene verification of sepsis myocardial macrophage microarray data based on GEO database].

Objective: Bioinformatics analysis was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in macrophages of sepsis myocardial injury and to verify key genes. Methods: Experiment 1 (gene chip and bioinformatics analysis): The gene chip data GSE104342 of cardiac macrophages in septic mice was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. DEGs were obtained by R language analysis. DAVID online database was used to obtain gene ontology and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of DEGs. STRING online database was used for protein-protein interaction network analysis of DEGs, and then key genes were screened by using Cytoscape software and molecular complex detection (MCODE) plug-ins. Experiment 2 (sepsis model construction and related protein verification): Ten male C57BL/6 mice, aged 8-14 weeks. Five mice were randomly selected as control group, and 5 mice were selected as the sepsis group by building a mice sepsis model in vivo. Echocardiography was used to detect the cardiac function. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to assess the cardiac morphology. TUNEL staining was used to evaluate cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of differentiation antigen cluster 206 (CD206),inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS),F4/80,suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (Socs3) ,interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (Il1rn) and chemokine C-C motif ligand 7 (Ccl7) protein. RAW264.7 macrophages were cultured in vitro and divided into 2 groups: LPS groupstimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 mg/L) and blank control group treated with equal-volume phosphate buffer solution. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to evaluate the expression of Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7 in vitro. Results: Experiment 1: 24 647 genes were screened in GSE104342 dataset and 177 genes (0.72%) were differential expression, including 120 up-regulated genes and 57 down-regulated genes. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in inflammatory response, immune response, apoptosis regulation and antigen processing and presentation. KEGG signaling pathway analysis showed that DEGs in cardiac macrophages of septic mice were mainly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, NOD like receptor signaling pathway. Three hub genes were obtained by STRING and Cytoscape analysis, including Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7. Experiment 2: In vivo, it was found that compared with the control group, the cardiac function of the sepsis mice decreased significantly, the myocardial cells were significantly edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, myocardial fiber rupture, some myocardial nuclei dissolved and disappeared, and the cardiomyocyte apoptosis increased, suggesting that the sepsis myocardial injury model of mice was successfully constructed. Compared with the control group, the expression of CD206 in the myocardium of septic mice was down-regulated, the expression of iNOS, F4/80, Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7 were up-regulated. In addition, there was co-localization between Socs3, Il1rn, Ccl7 and F4/80 protein. Compared with the blank control group, the expression of Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7 significantly upregulated after LPS intervention in vitro by RT-PCR. Conclusions: The selected key genes Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7 were up-regulated in myocardial macrophages of septic mice. Socs3, Il1rn and Ccl7 are expected to become new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis cardiac injury.

[Genomic epidemiology of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from acute diarrheal patients in Shenzhen City from 2013 to 2021].

Objective: To characterize the prevalence and genomic epidemiology of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from acute diarrheal patients in Shenzhen City from 2013 to 2021. Methods: Based on the Shenzhen Infectious Diarrhea Surveillance System, acute diarrheal patients were actively monitored in sentinel hospitals from 2013 to 2021. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates was performed, and the genomic population structure, serotypes, virulence genes and multilocus sequence typing were analyzed. Outbreak clusters from 2019 to 2021 were explored based on single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis. Results: A total of 48 623 acute diarrhea cases were monitored in 15 sentinel hospitals from 2013 to 2021, and 1 135 Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains were isolated, with a positive isolation rate of 2.3%. Qualified whole-genome sequencing data of 852 isolates were obtained. Eighty-nine serotypes, 21 known ST types and 5 new ST types were identified by sequence analysis, and 93.2% of strains were detected with toxin profile of tdh+trh-. 8 clonal groups (CGs) were captured, with CG3 as the absolute predominance, followed by CG189. The CG3 group was dominated by O3:K6 serotype and ST3 sequence type, while CG189 group was mainly O4:KUT, O4:K8 serotypes and ST189a and ST189 type. A total of 13 clusters were identified, containing 154 cases. About 30 outbreak clusters with 29 outbreak clusters caused by CG3 strains from 2019 to 2021. Conclusion: Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a major pathogen of acute infectious diarrhea in Shenzhen City, with diverse population structures. CG3 and CG189 have been prevalent and predominant in Shenzhen City for a long time. Scattered outbreaks and persistent sources of contamination ignored by traditional methods could be captured by WGS analysis. Tracing the source of epidemic clone groups and taking precise prevention and control measures are expected to significantly reduce the burden of diarrhea diseases caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in Shenzhen City.

[Effectiveness, safety and cost of urinary follicle stimulating hormone in controlled ovarian stimulation in China: multi-center retrospective cohort study of 102 061 in vitro fertilization cycles].

Objective: To explore the effectiveness, safety and cost between urinary follicle stimulating hormone (uFSH) and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in China. Methods: Data were collected from 16 reproductive centers in China covering oocytes collection time from May 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018. Eligible patients were over 18 years old, adopting COS with uFSH (uFSH group) or rFSH (rFSH group) as start gonadotropins (Gn), and using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and (or) intracytoplasmic sperm injection for fertilisation, excluding frozen embryo recovery cycle. Generalised estimating equation was used to address the violation of independency assumption between cycles due to multiple IVF cycles for one person and clustering nature of cycles carried out within one center. Controlling variables included age, body mass index, anti-Müllerian hormone level, cause of infertility, ovulation protocol, type of fertilisation, number of embryos transferred, number of days of Gn use. Results: Totally 102 061 cycles met eligibility criteria and were included in the analyses. In terms of effectiveness, after controlling relevant unbalanced baseline characteristics, compared with rFSH group, the high oocyte retrieval (>15 oocytes was considered high retrieval) rate of uFSH group significantly decreased in gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist protocol (OR=0.642, P<0.01) and in gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol (OR=0.556, P=0.001), but the clinical pregnancy rate per transfer cycle and the live birth rate per transfer cycle significantly increased (OR=1.179, OR=1.169, both P<0.01) in both agonist and antagonist protocols. For safety, multiple analysis result demonstrated that in the agonist protocol, compared with rFSH group, the incidence of moderate to severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome of uFSH group significantly decreased (OR=0.644, P=0.002). The differences in ectopic pregnancy rate and multiple pregnancy rate between the uFSH and rFSH groups were not significant (P=0.890, P=0.470) in all patients. In terms of cost, compared with rFSH group, the uFSH group had lower total Gn costs for each patient (P<0.01). Conclusion: For patients who underwent COS, uFSH has better safety, and economic profiles over rFSH in China.

[Clinical prognostic analysis of 124 adult patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: a multicenter retrospective study of the Huaihai Lymphoma Working Group].

Objective: Factors influencing the prognosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in adults were analyzed based on multicentric data. Methods: Clinical data of 124 adult patients with HLH diagnosed in eight medical centers in the Huaihai Lymphoma Working Group from March 2014 to July 2020 were collected. The optimal truncation value of continuous variables was obtained based on the Maxstat algorithm, X-Tile software, and restricted cubic spline. Cox proportional risk regression model was used to construct the adult HLH risk prediction model, and the visualization of the model was realized through the histogram. The bootstrap resampling method was used to verify the model, C-index and calibration curve was used to verify the histogram, and the prediction accuracy was checked. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate the survival rate and draw the survival curve. Furthermore, the differences between groups were tested by log-rank. Results: The median age of the 124 patients was 55 (18-84) years, including 61 (49.19%) males. The most common etiology was infection. Serum ferritin increased in 110 cases (88.71%) , hepatosplenomegaly in 57 cases (45.97%) . Of the 124 patients, 77 (62.10%) died, and the median survival time of the patients was 7.07 months. Univariate results showed that the prognosis of adult HLH was influenced by sex, age, fibrinogen, serum creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, and albumin (P<0.05) . The results of multivariate analysis showed that gender, platelet, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, and treatment regimens were independent influencing factors for prognosis. Based on the above five risk factors, the prediction model of the histogram was established, and the C-index of the model was 0.739. Finally, the calibration chart showed good consistency between the observed and predicted values of HLH. Conclusion: The prognosis of the adult hemophagocytic syndrome is influenced by many factors. Gender, platelet, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, and treatment regimens are independent risk factors. Therefore, the established histogram provides a visual tool for clinicians to evaluate the prognosis of adult HLH.

[Influence of female age on the fresh cycle live birth rate of different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols in poor ovarian response patients].

Objective: To investigate the influence of age on the fresh cycle live birth rate in patients with poor ovarian response in different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups. Methods: The clinical data of 3 342 patients in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2014 to November 2018 were retrospectively collected, including early-follicular phase long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist long protocol group (1 375 cases), mid-luteal phase short-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group (1 161 cases) and GnRH antagonist protocol group (806 cases); each group was divided into 4 subgroups according to age: ≤30 years, 31－35 years, 36－40 years and >40 years, the pregnancy outcomes in each age subgroup were analyzed under different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols. Results: In early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group, the final live birth rates of each age subgroup were 39.4% (228/579), 36.1% (135/374), 16.6% (48/290) and 3.0% (4/132); in mid-luteal phase short-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group, live birth rates of each age subgroup were 32.1% (99/308), 20.8% (55/264), 13.0% (45/346) and 7.0% (17/243); in GnRH antagonist protocol group, live birth rates of each age subgroup were 22.8% (26/114), 16.3% (25/153), 11.2% (31/278), and 3.8% (10/261); the live birth rate of each group decreased significantly with the increase of age (all P<0.01). When the age≤35 years old, the fresh cycle live birth rate of the early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group was significantly better than those of the other two groups (all P<0.01). The multivariate logistic regression analysis of age and live birth rate of the three controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups showed age was the independent influence factor (OR=0.898, 95%CI: 0.873-0.916, P<0.01; OR=0.926, 95%CI: 0.890-0.996, P<0.01; OR=0.901, 95%CI: 0.863-0.960, P<0.01). Conclusions: Age is an independent influencing factor for the prediction of fresh cycle live birth rate in low ovarian response patients. No matter which controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocol is adopted, the final live birth rate decreases significantly with the increase of women's age. In addition, the early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol has the highest fresh cycle live birth rate among all controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups.

[Effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide on the proliferation and migration of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells under co-culture conditions].

Objective: To investigate the effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS) of type Ⅰand Ⅳ fimA on the proliferation and migration of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMC) under co-culture conditions and to explore the biological basis and possible mechanisms of the relationship between periodontitis and atherosclerosis (As). Methods: Type Ⅰ and Ⅳ fimA Pg were anaerobically cultured and the Pg-LPS was extracted, purified and identified. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and HUASMC were cultured in vitro and the HUVEC-HUASMC co-cultured cell model was established using rat tail type Ⅰ collagen. The experiment was divided into three groups: group T1 (co-cultured cells were stimulated with type Ⅰ fimA Pg-LPS at the mass concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10.0 mg/L), group T2 (co-cultured cells were stimulated with type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS at the mass concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10.0 mg/L), and negative control group (without LPS). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect the proliferation ability of HUASMC and the migration ability of HUASMC was observed by using the Transwell migration chamber. Comparasons of the changes in the proliferation and migration ability of HUASMC after 2, 8, 24 and 48 h of Pg-LPS stimulated co-cultured cells with various mass concentrations of Pg-LPS were conducted. Results: For the co-cultured cells under the action of type Ⅰ and Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS, at 24 and 48 h, in each mass concentration group of the two types of Pg-LPS (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10.0 mg/L), HUASMC's A values were significantly up-regulated compared to the negative control group (P<0.05) and for the co-cultured cells after the stimulation of type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS at concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L at 48 h, the A values (1.386±0.044, 1.455±0.058) of HUASMC were significantly higher than that of HUASMC (1.168±0.064, 1.204±0.088) in the same concentrations of type Ⅰ fimA Pg-LPS (P<0.05). In addition, the A values of HUASMC in stimulated co-cultured cells under concentrations of 5.0 and 10.0 mg/L of type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS at 48 h were significantly higher than that in stimulated co-culture cells under the concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L of type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS (1.170±0.082, 1.239±0.089) (P<0.05). The migration results of HUASMC showed that at 8, 24, and 48 h, the numbers of migration of HUASMC in each mass concentration group of type Ⅰ and Ⅳ fimA Pgas-LPS were significantly higher than that of HUASMC under the same Pg-LPS mass concentration at 2 h in the same group (P<0.05). The migration quantities of HUASMC in the other Pg-LPS mass concentration groups at 48 h were significantly higher than that of HUASMC under the same Pg-LPS mass concentration at 24 h in the same group (P<0.05), except for 10.0 mg/L type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS. The numbers of HUASMC migration in 2.0 mg/L type Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS stimulated co-cultured cells at 48 h (204.00±20.98) were significantly higher than that in type Ⅰ fimA Pg-LPS stimulated co-culture cells at the same concentration (141.89±18.28) (P<0.05). Further more, at the same observation time point, the higher the Pg-LPS concentration, the greater the number of HUASMC migration (P<0.05). Conclusions: Both Ⅰ and Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS could enhance the proliferation and migration ability of HUASMC in the co-culture system, and the virulence of Pg-LPS might be related to the fimA genotype. Ⅳ fimA Pg-LPS showed a more significant stimulating effect and more likely to cause HUASMC dysfunction than Ⅰ fimA Pg-LPS, which provided part of the basis for the progression of As in severe periodontitis.

[Novel coronavirus pneumonia-related liver injury: etiological analysis and treatment strategy].

The outbreak of pneumonia caused by 2019 novel coronavirus infection in Wuhan has become a public health emergency of international concern. However, some patients are accompanied by varying degrees of liver injury in addition to respiratory symptoms. This paper analyzes the clinical characteristics, susceptible population, related factors and treatment strategies to provide a reference for clinical decision making in novel coronavirus pneumonia-related liver injury.

[Pulmonary rehabilitation guidelines in the principle of 4S for patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)].

A recent epidemic of pneumonia cases in Wuhan China was caused by a novel coronavirus with strong infectivity, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The article provides the pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) methods in the principle of 4S (simple, safe, satisfy, save) for patients with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus, shows how to establish a ventilative and convectional PR environment to prevent the spread of virus through droplets, how to guide the patients to carry out PR, how to carry out respiratory muscle training, effective cough, expectoration, sneeze, general exercise, digestive function rehabilitation and psychological rehabilitation, and how to clean and disinfect the PR environment.

[Study on the overall implementation status of the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

Objective: To understand the current overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas of Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: According to the scheme design of the questionnaires, all the National Demonstration Areas were involved in this study. For each National Demonstration Areas, eight departments were selected to complete a total of 12 questionnaires. Results: Scores related to the implementation of the National Demonstration Areas accounted for 71.8% of the total 170 points. Based on the scores gathered from this study, the 23-items-index-system that represented the status of project implementation was classified into seven categories. Categories with higher percentile scores would include: monitoring (88.0%), safeguard measures (75.0%), health education and health promotion (75.0%). Categories with lower percentile scores would include: the national health lifestyle actions (67.7%), community diagnosis (66.7%), discovery and intervention of high-risk groups (64.7%), and patient management (60.9%). There were significant differences noticed among the eastern, central and western areas on items as safeguard measures, health education/promotion, discovery and intervention of high-risk groups. In all, the implementation programs in the eastern Demonstration Areas seemed better than in the central or western regions. As for the 23 items, five of the highest scores appeared on policy support, mortality surveillance, tumor registration, reporting system on cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events, and on tobacco control, respectively. However, the lowest five scores fell on healthy diet, patient self-management program, oral hygiene, setting up the demonstration units and promotion on basic public health services, respectively. The overall scores in the eastern region was higher than that in the central or the western regions. The scores in the central and western regions showed basically the same. Conclusions: The overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas was satisfactory. Future attention should be focusing on patient management as well as discovery and intervention of high-risk groups, which also presented the lowest scores, in this survey.

Study on the epigenetic methylation modification of bipolar disorder major genes.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study changes and possible roles of epigenetic modification of candidate genes in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder, and provide the basis for clinical diagnosis and analysis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 150 patients with bipolar disorder were enrolled in this study from January 2014 to June 2015; also, 50 healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. The patients were followed up for 18 months and followed up once every 3 months to review the methylation status. The methylation status was examined before and after treatment, and the patients were followed up every 3 months after treatment, and the follow-up period was 18 months. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy control group, there were 2075 CpG island aberrant methylation points in patients with bipolar disorder, which can be divided into 24 categories. Log-Ratio > 0.5 was used as the positive criteria, and COMT and PPIEL were identified as the genes associated with bipolar disorder. Compared with the control group, the levels of COMT and PPIEL gene methylation in the observation group were significantly higher (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the methylation level of COMT and PPIEL gene between the two groups (p > 0.05) after 12 months of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The methylation level of COMT and PPIEL gene is closely related to bipolar disorder.

[The protective effect of Xuebijing on paraquat-induced HK-2 cells apoptosis and the underlying mechanisms].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of Xuebijing (XBJ) on paraquat (PQ) -induced apoptosis in Human kidney cell line-2 (HK-2) cells. Methods: Routinely cultured HK-2 cells, (1) Cell growth inhibition experiment after PQ and XBJ intervention: PQ was divided into 0、200、400、800、1600 and 3200 µmol/L PQ groups, and the cell survival rate was detected after intervening 24、48 and 72 h. XBJ was divided into 0、5、10、20、40 mg/ml XBJ groups, and the cell survival rate was detected after intervening 24、48 and 72 h.To determine the rational drug concentration and the duration of action of XBJ and PQ. (2) PQ-induced HK-2 cell growth inhibition experiment antagonized by XBJ: The cells were divided into normal control group, PQ group (800 µmol/L) and PQ+XBJ group (The cells were pretreated with 5、10 and 20 mg/ml XBJ for 1 h, then cultured with PQ of 800 µmol/L) , After cultured 24 h、48 h and 72 h separately, the cell survival rate was detected. (3) HK-2 cells were divided into normal control group、PQ group (800 µmol/L PQ cultured for 24 h) 、PQ+XBJ group (pretreated with 10 mg/ml XBJ for 1 h, and then 800 µmol/L PQ cultured for 24 h) and XBJ group (10 mg/ml XBJ cultured 24 h). The apoptosis of cells was detected by flow cytometry. The protein expression of Bcl-2 and BAX in each group was detected by Western blotting. The expressions of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were detected by caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity kit active. Results: (1) PQ could significantly reduced the survival rate of HK-2 cells and showed time and concentration dependence. The survival rate of HK-2 cells was about 55% after 800 µmol/L PQ contacted 24 h, XBJ under 20 mg/ml was no significant effect on the survival rate of HK-2 cells after cultured 72 h. (2) Compared with the PQ group, the survival rate of HK-2 cells of PQ+XBJ group was significantly increased (P<0.05). (3) Compared with the normal control group, the cell apoptosis rate of PQ group was significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the PQ group, the cell apoptosis rate of PQ+XBJ group was significantly decreased (P<0.05). (4) Compared with the normal control group, Bcl-2 protein expression in PQ group was significantly decreased and BAX protein expression in PQ group was significantly increased (P<0.05) ; compared with PQ group, Bcl-2 protein expression in PQ+XBJ group was significantly increased, BAX protein expression in PQ+XBJ group was significantly decreased (P<0.05). (5) Compared with the normal control group, the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in PQ group were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with PQ group, the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in PQ+XBJ group were decreased significantly (P<0.05) . Conclusion: XBJ (10 mg/ml) has obvious protective effect on HK-2 cell injuried by PQ (800 µmol/L) , It can improve the survival rate of cells through reducing the apoptosis of HK-2 cells which induced by PQ.

The influence of male age on treatment outcomes and neonatal birthweight following assisted reproduction technology involving intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of male age on treatment outcomes and neonatal birthweight following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This study included 2,474 ICSI cycles. Male partners were stratified into 5-year age categories (up to 25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40 and 41 and up). Multilevel logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between male age and treatment outcomes. After adjusting for confounders, we found no difference in the clinical pregnancy rate. However, we observed that the 31- to 35-year group had a higher odds of live birth than that of the >41-year group (aOR 1.63, p = .03), and that the risk of abortion in the 31- to 35-year group was lower than that of the reference group (aOR 0.41, p = .02). A total of 754 single-foetus newborns and 556 twin newborns were analysed. Among the singletons, none of the variables differed among the five groups (p > .05). Among the twins, the infants in the 36- to 40-year group had a lower neonatal birthweight and a higher low-birthweight rate than those of the other groups (p < .05). Our study indicates that increased paternal age negatively affects the live birth and miscarriage rates. In addition, advanced paternal age may affect the birthweight of twins.

OXTR and ZEB1 expression before and after progesterone dosing in pregnant women with threatened premature labor.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in the peripheral blood mRNA levels of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) before and after progesterone dosing in pregnant women with threatened premature labor. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 30 healthy pregnant women with 28- to 33+6-week gestational age and singleton pregnancy (group A) and from 30 pregnant women with singleton pregnancy and threatened premature labor before and 48 hours after progesterone dosing (groups B and C, respectively) for quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay to assess the OXTR and ZEB1 mRNA levels. RESULTS: The OXTR mRNA level was higher in the group B than in the groups A and C, and the ZEB1 mRNA level was lower in the group B than in the groups A and C. Notably, no significant difference was found in the mRNA level of OXTR or ZEB1 between group A and group C. CONCLUSIONS: The peripheral blood mRNA level of OXTR was increased, and that of ZEB1 was decreased in pregnant women with threatened premature labor. Progesterone helped to maintain pregnancy by readjusting the mRNA levels of OXTR and ZEB1.

[The study on the effect of ginkgo biloba extract on homocysteine and serum lipids concentration of patients with severe OSAHS].

Objective:To investigate the effects of ginkgo biloba extract on plasma homocysteine and blood lipid concentration of patients with severe OSAHS.Method:One hundred and forty cases of severe OSAHS patients were selected with means of multichannel sleep monitor, and were randomly divided into treatment group and control group.Both the two groups of patients were given basic treatment.In addition, the treatment group was given ginkgo biloba extract injection. The changes of Hcy and lipid concentrations of the two groups of patients after treatment were tested.Result:After 10 days of treatment, peripheral serum Hcy, total cholesterol (total cholesterol, TC), total triglyceride(total triglycerides, TG concentration) in both two groups decreased compared with those before treatment(P<0 .05), and above parameters in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group.Conclusion:Intravenous infusion of ginkgo biloba extract can further reduce the serum Hcy and serum lipid concentration in patients with OSAHS.

[A case of ectopic teeth in ethmoid sinus removed under endoscopic surgery].

In this paper, we report a case of ectopic teeth in the right ethmoid sinus which was successfully removed by nasal endoscopic surgery.

Production of hGFAP-DsRed transgenic Guangxi Bama mini-pigs via somatic cell nuclear transfer.

The mini-pig is a useful animal model for human biomedical research due to its physiological similarity to humans and the ease of handling. In order to optimize the efficiency of production of transgenic Bama mini-pigs through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), we examined the effects of contact inhibition, roscovitine treatment, and serum starvation on the cell cycle synchronization and transgenic cloned embryo development in vivo and in vitro after nuclear transfer. The analysis showed that the rates of G0/G1 stage cells in the contact inhibition (92.11%) and roscovitine treatment groups (89.59%) were significantly higher than in serum starvation group (80.82%). A higher rate of apoptosis was seen in the serum starvation group (14.13%) compared to the contact inhibition and roscovitine treatment groups (6.71 and 2.46% respectively, P < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in blastocyst yield in the serum starvation group (14.19%) compared to the roscovitine treatment and contact inhibition groups (21.31 and 20.32% respectively, P < 0.05). A total of 1070 transgenic cloned embryos derived from the three treatment groups were transferred to surrogate sows; one pregnancy was established and three embryos from the roscovitine treatment group successfully completed gestation. These results indicate that the roscovitine treatment was more effective at synchronizing transgenic kidney cells in Bama mini-pigs and allowed reconstructed embryos to develop to full term.

imDC: an ensemble learning method for imbalanced classification with miRNA data.

Imbalances typically exist in bioinformatics and are also common in other areas. A drawback of traditional machine learning methods is the relatively little attention given to small sample classification. Thus, we developed imDC, which uses an ensemble learning concept in combination with weights and sample misclassification information to effectively classify imbalanced data. Our method showed better results when compared to other algorithms with UCI machine learning datasets and microRNA data.

The effects of enzyme supplementation on performance and digestive parameters of broilers fed corn-soybean diets.

The study was performed to evaluate the effects of enzyme supplementation on performance and digestive parameters of broilers fed corn-soybean diets from 1 to 21 d of age. A total of 480 one-day-old Cobb broilers were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments, with 6 replicate pens per treatment and 20 birds per pen. The experiment consisted of a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with 2 dietary ME levels (high ME, energy 1, 12.13 MJ/kg or low ME, energy 2, 11.92 MJ/kg) and 2 levels of supplemental enzyme (including xylanase, 1,800 IU/g, ß-glucanase, 500 IU/g, and α-amylase, 800 U/g; 0 or 0.1% of diet). Enzyme supplementation had no effect on average daily weight gain, feed intake, and feed:gain. However, enzyme supplementation decreased the relative weight of the pancreas (d 7 and 21) in broilers fed the high ME diet. Low dietary ME level increased pancreatic lipase (d 7, P = 0.015), trypsin (d 14, P = 0.01; d 21, P = 0.014), amylase (d 21, P = 0.027), and pepsin (d 7, P = 0.001; d 21, P = 0.042) activity, but reduced pancreatic lipase (d 14, P = 0.03; d 21, P = 0.004) and amylase (d 14, P = 0.027) activity. Enzyme supplementation resulted in an increase in pancreatic amylase (d 7, P = 0.023), trypsin (d 7, P = 0.02; d 21, P = 0.004), lipase (d 21, P = 0.001), pepsin (d 7, P = 0.001; d 14, P = 0.004; d 21, P = 0.001), and maltase (d 14, P = 0.011, in ileum) activity. Moreover, broilers fed low dietary ME and enzyme supplementation diets had an increase in pancreatic lipase (d 21, P = 0.001) and pepsin (d 7, P = 0.001) activity. Low ME diets reduced jejunum villus height and jejunum and ileum crypt depth (d 7, 21). However, enzyme supplementation, especially enzyme supplementation in low ME diets, increased jejunum and ileum villus height and villus surface area. This suggested enzyme supplemented with low ME diet might be more effective to improve the activity of digestive enzymes and the absorptive capacity of the small intestine.

Effects of dietary supplementation of quercetin on performance, egg quality, cecal microflora populations, and antioxidant status in laying hens.

Plant polyphenols, especially flavonoids, are of great interest due to their wide range of biological activities. Quercetin, a ubiquitous flavonoid, is known to have antioxidant and antibacterial effects. In this study, we investigated the effect of quercetin on performance, egg quality, cecal microflora populations, and antioxidant status in laying hens. Two hundred forty 28-wk-old Hessian laying hens, with an average laying rate of lay 85% at the start, were randomly allotted to 4 treatments and fed 1 of 4 diets (negative control, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g of quercetin/kg of diet) for 8 wk. Layer performance responses, egg quality parameters, cecal microflora populations and antioxidant status were measured at the end of the experiment. Results showed that feed conversion decreased as the quercetin level increased. Laying rate had a quadratic correlation with the level of quercetin (P = 0.056) and was maximized by the supplementation level of 0.2 g/kg of diet. However, no significant quercetin effect was observed on egg quality. Regression analysis showed that the population of total aerobes and coliforms decreased and the population of Bifidobacteria increased as the level of quercetin increased. Regression analysis also showed the activities of Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase increased as the level of quercetin increased (P < 0.05). Results of the study suggest that the appropriate level of supplementation is 0.367 to 0.369 g of quercetin/kg of feed based on the improvement of laying rate (with 88.55 as maximum value) and feed conversion (with 2.0725 as minimum value). Our observations provided further evidence that dietary supplementation of quercetin improved performance by modulation of intestinal environment and liver superoxide dismutase content in laying hens. Quercetin has the potential as functional feed additive in animal production.

Effect of quercetin on performance and egg quality during the late laying period of hens.

1. At the end of the peak laying period for fowl, both performance and egg quality decrease markedly. Counteracting either or both of these could, therefore, have significant positive economic implications. Quercetin, a typical representative of the flavonol compounds, has a variety of biological functions. However, there are no reported findings on its use as a feed additive. 2. In this study, we investigated the effects of quercetin on laying rate, egg quality and blood traits associated with egg quality in laying hens (Hessain) during the late laying period and explored the possibility of using quercetin as a functional feed additive. 3. The laying hens (n = 240; 39 weeks old) were randomly assigned to 4 treatments consisting of 6 replicates (n = 10) and were fed with diets containing quercetin at 0, 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6 g/kg. 4. Results showed that laying rate was increased and feed-egg ratio was decreased significantly by 0.2 and 0.4 g/kg quercetin. Compared with controls, Haugh unit, eggshell strength, eggshell thickness and yolk protein were increased, but yolk cholesterol was decreased by quercetin. 5. In conclusion, quercetin was beneficial in improving performance and egg quality. The recommended concentration of quercetin is 0.4 g/kg of the basal diet. At this concentration, increased laying rate, improved egg quality and reduced yolk cholesterol can be expected.