The protective role of circ_0016760 downregulation against sevoflurane­induced neurological impairment via modulating miR­145 expression in aged rats.

Sevoflurane can produce toxicity to the hippocampal tissues of brain, leading to nerve damage, causing learning and cognitive dysfunction. CircRNAs have been indicated to act as a key mediator in anesthetic neurotoxicity. This study focused on the effect of circ_0016760 on sevoflurane­induced neurological impairment. The GEO database (GSE147277) and RT­qPCR were used to predict and  measure the circ_0016760 expression. The interaction of circ_0016760 and miR­145 was verified by dual­luciferase reporter assay. The CCK­8 assay, flow cytometry, ELISA, ROS kit, MWM test were carried out to measure the cell viability, apoptosis, inflammation indicators, ROS level, and cognitive and memory function of the rats. Sevoflurane exacerbated neurotoxicity by restraining cell viability, inducing cell apoptosis, neuroinflammation, and ROS generation, and causing learning and cognitive dysfunction. Circ_0016760 expression was increased in POCD patients from the GEO database and upregulated after sevoflurane exposure. miR­145 was a target miRNA of circ_0016760. Silencing of circ_0016760 weakened the effect of sevoflurane on cell viability, cell apoptosis, inflammation­related factors, oxidative stress, which could be reversed by miR­145 inhibitor. The animal experiments results showed that circ_0016760 played a protective effect on regulating the cognitive behavior of sevoflurane­treated aged rats, expression of inflammation cytokine, and oxidative stress factors through targeting miR­145 in sevoflurane­treated aged rat's hippocampal neurons. Our results revealed that silencing of circ_0016760 attenuated sevoflurane­induced hippocampal neuron injury by regulating miR­145 expression, which may provide potential insights into the treatment of sevoflurane­induced neurological impairment.

Determination of arsenic species in Solanum Lyratum Thunb using capillary electrophoresis with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A simple and highly efficient interface to couple capillary electrophoresis with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry by a microflow polyfluoroalkoxy nebulizer and a quadruple ion deflector was developed in this study. By using this interface, six arsenic species, including arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, and arsenocholine, were baseline-separated and determined in a single run within 11 min under the optimized separation conditions. The instrumental detection limit was in the range of 0.02-0.06 ng/mL for the six arsenic compounds. Repeatability expressed as the relative standard deviation (n = 5) of both migration time and peak area were better than 2.5 and 4.3% for six arsenic compounds. The proposed method, combined with a closed-vessel microwave-assisted extraction procedure, was successfully applied for the determination of arsenic species in the Solanum Lyratum Thunb samples from Anhui province in China with the relative standard deviations (n = 5) ≤4%, method detection limits of 0.2-0.6 ng As/g and a recovery of 98-104%. The experimental results showed that arsenobetaine was the main speciation of arsenic in the Solanum Lyratum Thunb samples from different provinces in China, with a concentration of 0.42-1.30 µg/g.