Progress on CRISPR/Cas9 system in the genetic improvement of livestock and poultry.

CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, as a highly efficient genome editing method, has been extensively employed in the realm of animal husbandry for genetic improvement. With its remarkable efficiency and precision, this technology has revolutionized the field of animal husbandry. Currently, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene knockout, gene knock-in and gene modification techniques are widely employed to achieve precise enhancements in crucial production traits of livestock and poultry species. In this review, we summarize the operational principle and development history of CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Additionally, we highlight the research advancements utilizing this technology in muscle growth and development, fiber growth, milk quality composition, disease resistance breeding, and animal welfare within the livestock and poultry sectors. Our aim is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in gene editing for livestock and poultry.

Progress in the study of reproductive toxicity of platinum-based antitumor drugs and their means of prevention.

Platinum-based antitumor drugs are broad-spectrum agents with unique mechanisms of action. Combination chemotherapy regimens based on platinum drugs are commonly used in cancer treatment. However, these drugs can cause various adverse reactions in the human body through different routes of administration, including reproductive toxicity, genetic toxicity, and embryonic developmental toxicity. Preventing adverse effects is crucial to enhance patients' quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. This article discusses the types and developmental history of antitumor active platinum compounds, their mechanisms of action, routes of administration, and their potential reproductive, genetic, and embryonic developmental toxicity. This text explores preventive measures based on animal experimental results. Its aim is to provide references for personalized treatment and occupational protection when using platinum drugs. The continuous progress of science and technology, along with the deepening of medical research, suggests that the application of platinum drugs will broaden. Therefore, the development of new platinum drugs will be an important direction for future research.

Asperuloside Promotes Apoptosis of Cervical Cancer Cells through Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mitochondrial Pathway / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of asperuloside on cervical cancer based on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondrial pathway.@*METHODS@#Different doses (12.5-800 µg/mL) of asperuloside were used to treat cervical cancer cell lines Hela and CaSki to calculate the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of asperuloside. The cell proliferation was analyzed by clone formation assay. Cell apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential were determined by flow cytometry. The protein expressions of cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax, Cyt-c, cleaved-caspase-4 and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were analyzed by Western blot. And the inhibitor of ER stress, 4-phenyl butyric acid (4-PBA) was used to treat cervical cancer cells to further verify the role of ER stress in the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells induced by asperuloside.@*RESULTS@#Asperuloside of 325, 650, and 1300 µg/mL significantly inhibited the proliferation and promoted apoptosis of Hela and CaSki cells (P<0.01). All doses of asperuloside significantly increased intracellular ROS levels, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, significantly reduced Bcl-2 protein expression level, and increased Bax, Cyt-c, GRP78 and cleaved-caspase-4 expressions (P<0.01). In addition, 10 mmol/L 4-PBA treatment significantly promoted cell proliferation and reduced apoptosis (P<0.05), and 650 µg/mL asperuloside could reverse 4-PBA-induced increased cell proliferation, decreased apoptosis and cleaved-caspase-3, -4 and GRP78 protein expressions (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Our study revealed the role of asperuloside in cervical cancer, suggesting that asperuloside promotes apoptosis of cervical cancer cells through ER stress-mitochondrial pathway.

Matrix analysis for the identification of risk factors for choking and coughing while eating in disabled elderly individuals / 上海预防医学

ObjectiveTo identify factors related to the occurrence of choking and coughing while eating in the disabled elderly and conduct importance matrix analysis to provide a reference basis for controlling choking on food in the disabled elderly. MethodsA convenience sampling method was used to select 80 disabled elderly individuals in a hospital between October 2019 and April 2022 as the study population. The occurrence of choking and coughing while eating was recorded， and a questionnaire was administered to collect general information. Additionally， assessments were conducted using the intelligent mental status examination scale （MMSE）， oral health checklist （BOHSE）， eating assessment tool⁃10 （EAT-10）， and chewing function evaluations. Univariate and multifactorial analyses were conducted to analyze the influencing factors of choking and coughing while eating in the elderly with disabilities. ResultsThe incidence of choking and coughing while eating was 52.50% （42/80） among the 80 disabled elderly. The degree of disability （OR=2.895， 95%CI： 1.352‒6.201）， age （OR=4.040， 95%CI： 1.121‒14.562）， BOHSE score （OR=2.473， 95%CI： 1.002‒6.102）， EAT-10 score （OR=5.345， 95%CI： 2.112‒13.527）， and chewing function score （OR=3.453， 95%CI： 1.247‒9.562） were identified as risk factors for choking and coughing while eating in the disabled elderly. The MMSE score （OR=0.343， 95%CI： 0.135‒0.869） was identified as a protective factor. The importance matrix analysis indicated that EAT-10 score， MMSE score， and chewing function had high importance with slightly lower difficulty in improvement， and were thus listed as items in the priority improvement area. Age and degree of disability had high importance and high difficulty in improvement， and therefore belonged to the suboptimal improvement area. BOHS score was slightly lower both in importance and difficulty of improvement， entering the alternative improvement area. ConclusionAge， degree of disability， BOHSE score， EAT-10 score， and chewing function score are risk factors for the occurrence of choking and coughing while eating， while the MMSE score is a protective factor. The importance matrix analysis can provide a basis for targeted intervention in clinical practice.

Effect and Mechanism of Menispermi Rhizoma Total Alkaloids on Antiviral Infection / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the antiviral effect of Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids and its relationship with the type Ⅰ interferon （IFN-Ⅰ） signaling pathway. MethodThe effects of Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids on the intracellular replication of influenza A virus （H1N1）， vesicular stomatitis virus （VSV）， and cerebral myocarditis virus （EMCV） were detected by fluorescent inverted microscope， flow cytometry， Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， and Western blot. A mouse model infected with H1N1 was constructed， and the mice were divided into a control group， H1N1 model group， Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids groups （10， 20， 30 mg·kg-1）， and oseltamivir group （40 mg·kg-1）， so as to study the effects on the weight and survival rate of infected mice. Real-time PCR was used to detect the activation effect of Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids on the IFN-Ⅰ pathway in cells， and the relationship between the antiviral effect of Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids in IFNAR1 knockout A549 cells （IFNAR1-/--A549） and IFN-Ⅰ pathway was detected. ResultCompared with the control group， the virus proliferated significantly in the model group （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids could significantly inhibit the replication of H1N1， VSV， and EMCV in vitro （P<0.01）， inhibit the weight loss of the mice infected with the H1N1 in vivo， and improve the survival rate of mice （P<0.05）. In addition， Menispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids activated the IFN-I pathway and relied on this pathway to exert the function of antiviral infection. ConclusionMenispermi Rhizoma total alkaloids exert antiviral effects in vivo and in vitro by activating the IFN-Ⅰ pathway.

Expression and distribution of brain⁃derived neurotrophic factor in different cerebrum regions of yak and cattle / 解剖学报

Objective To clarify the expression and distribution of brain⁃derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cerebrum of plateau yaks and cattle, and to explore the relationship between BDNF function and the adaptability of altitude hypoxia. Methods Five yaks and five cattles were selected.The content and distribution of BDNF in frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebrum white matter and hippocampus of yak and cattle were analyzed by Real⁃time PCR, Western blotting and Immunohistochemistry. Results Real⁃time PCR result showed that BDNF mRNA expression in the cerebrum of yaks and cattles was highest in temporal cortex, followed by hippocampus, parietal cortex, occipital cortex and frontal cortex, and lowest in white matter. Western blotting results showed that the content of BDNF protein in the cerebrum of yaks was the highest in temporal cortex,followed by hippocampus. The content of BDNF protein in other tissues was parietal cortex, frontal cortex and cerebrum white matter, and the content of BDNF protein was the lowest in occipital cortex. The content of BDNF protein intlecerebrum of cattles was the highest in the temporal cortex, followed by the hippocampus. The content of BDNF protein in other tissues was parietal cortex, occipital cortex and frontal cortex in descending order, and the protein content in cerebrum white matter was the lowest. Immunohistochemical results showed that the positive expression of BDNF protein in the cerebrum of yaks and cattles was basically similar, mainly distributed in the granulosa cells and glial cells in the frontal cortex, temporal cortex, parietal cortex and occipital cortex, glial cells in cerebrum white matter, pyramidal cell layer and polyform cell layer in the hippocampus. There was the small amount of distribution in Martinotti cells and the molecular layer of hippocampus in the cerebral cortex. Conclusion BDNF mRNA and protein are distributed and expressed in different brain regions of yaks and cattles, but the expression level different, which is speculated to be closely related to the specific functions of different cerebrum regions. The expression level of the cerebrum of yak is higher than that of cattle except occipital cortex, suggesting that it is related to the altitude hypoxic environment. BDNF may play an important role in enhancing hypoxic tolerance and protecting internal environmental homeostasis in the process of animal adaptation to hypoxic environment.

Establishment of a high-throughput screening platform based on drug repurposing targeting alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and discovery of potential weight loss drugs / 药学实践杂志

Objective Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein （ORM） was a new target for the development of weight loss drugs. To search for potential weight loss drugs that could target ORM from the compound library of already marketed drugs based on drug repurposing. Methods The pGL4.20-ORM1 promoter recombinant plasmid was contructed and validated, and then a lentiviral vector was utilized to establish stable AML12 cell lines expressing ORM1 promoter-LUC-PURO. This cell line was employed for high-throughput screening of compounds from the marketed drug library, and the luminescence value of the cells was characterized by enzyme marker. Results Primary screening and secondary screening of 1 470 compounds identified 42 compounds that increased ORM1 promoter expression and could be used for further weight loss effect assessment. Conclusion This study successfully constructed LV-AML12-ORM1 promoter-LUC-PURO stable expression cell lines using lentiviral vectors, laying a foundation for efficient and stable screening of weight loss drugs targeting ORM.

Research progress on natural medicines and active compounds in the treatment of heart failure / 药学实践杂志

Heart failure is the terminal stage of various cardiovascular diseases and a leading cause of death. For a long time, natural medicines have been used to treat heart failure（HF） with remarkable effects. In this paper, the Traditional Chinese Medicine compound patents in the national patent database were mined, common Traditional Chinese Medicines for the clinical treatment of HF were selected, and the single active ingredient contained in them was analyzed, which provided some valuable tips for the development of drugs for the treatment of heart failure.

The expression mechanism of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 and its role in immunomodulatory ability of mesenchymal stem cells / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an important immunosuppressive molecule, which inhibits the function of T cells and other immune cells by binding to the receptor programmed cell death-1. The PD-L1 expression disorder plays an important role in the occurrence, development, and treatment of sepsis or other inflammatory diseases, and has become an important target for the treatment of these diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a kind of pluripotent stem cells with multiple differentiation potential. In recent years, MSCs have been found to have a strong immunosuppressive ability and are used to treat various inflammatory insults caused by hyperimmune diseases. Moreover, PD-L1 is deeply involved in the immunosuppressive events of MSCs and plays an important role in the treatment of various diseases. In this review, we will summarize the main regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 expression, and discuss various biological functions of PD-L1 in the immune regulation of MSCs.

Melatonin alleviates cisplatin-induced mice spermatogenesis defects.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is a chemotherapeutic drug that is used to treat many different types of tumors. However, it also has significant adverse effects on male reproduction, which are partially mediated oxidative damage. Melatonin (MLT) is a promising antioxidant that can be used for reproductive protection. In this paper, we investigated the effect of CDDP on spermatogenesis, as well as MLT's potential role in reproductive protection. CDDP (5 mg/kg BW) significantly reduced male mice testosterone levels and decreased sperm vitality and progressive motility. Additionally, a lower percentage of stage VII and VIII seminiferous tubules were observed in CDDP-treated mice. MLT administration significantly alleviated CDDP-induced testicular damages, CDDP-induced lowered male fertility in vivo, and enhanced in vitro embryonic development of two cells and blastocysts. These changes may be due to CDDP-mediated spermatogenesis defects in germ cell and Leydig cell proliferation, which are reflected in abnormal PCNA, SYCP3, and CYP11A1 expression levels and can be improved by MLT. CDDP treatment significantly decreased the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as SOD and GSH levels, and increased MDA levels in mice testis, leading to increased apoptosis of germ cells and increased BAX/BCL2 ratios in mice testis. MLT treatment may reduce germ cell apoptosis by reducing oxidative damage in mice testis. This study demonstrated that CDDP affects sperm fertility by altering germ cell and Leydig cell proliferation via increased oxidative damage and that MLT can attenuate these damages. Our work provides potential information for further research on the toxic effects of CDDP and the protective effects of MLT on male reproduction.

Exploration of cultural norms and behavioural beliefs about zoo animal behaviour, welfare, ethics and husbandry practices in a sample of the international zoo community.

Beliefs influence the intentions of people to behave in certain ways towards animals. This study presents survey responses from 237 people working in zoos in China and Europe and describes their demographic characteristics. It explores their beliefs about zoo animal behaviour, welfare and ethical issues, and zoo practices, using a survey methodology. These beliefs may be influenced by individual demographic or cultural factors such as age, gender and region of employment, as well as experiential or situative 'norms' within the work environment. Beliefs were significantly influenced by the region of employment with Chinese respondents beliefs being significantly different to beliefs from respondents in the United Kingdom or the rest of Europe. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the survey generated clusters of people from both regions who indicated positive beliefs about zoo animal welfare as well as clu sters indicating a lack of understanding of some zoo animal welfare issues. In addition, a cluster suggesting cognitive dissonance between beliefs about animals welfare and zoo practices was generated from Chinese responses. Factor analysis identified that prioritisation of in-situ conservation within good animal welfare was a key feature in Chinese respondents, whereas European beliefs prioritising in-situ conservation were distinct from those on supporting good animal welfare. This paper identifies similarities and differences in beliefs about zoo animal welfare and zoo husbandry practices between Europe and China, and discusses the underlying norms and values that these beliefs may reflect.

Saikosaponin D alleviates cancer cachexia by directly inhibiting STAT3.

Cancer cachexia is a metabolic syndrome that is characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, and effective therapeutics have yet to be developed. Saikosaponin D (SSD), a major bioactive component of Radix Bupleuri, exhibits antiinflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, and hepatoprotective effects. In this study, we demonstrated that SSD is a promising agent for the treatment of cancer cachexia. SSD could alleviate TCM-induced myotube atrophy and inhibit the expression of E3 ubiquitin ligases muscle RING-finger containing protein-1 (MuRF1) and muscle atrophy Fbox protein (Atrogin-1/MAFbx) in vitro. Moreover, SSD suppressed the progression of cancer cachexia, with significant improvements in the loss of body weight, gastrocnemius muscle, and tibialis anterior muscle mass in vivo. Mechanism investigations demonstrated that SSD could directly bind to STAT3 and specifically inhibit its phosphorylation as well as its transcriptional activity. Overexpression of STAT3 partially abolished the inhibitory effect of SSD on myotube atrophy, indicating that the therapeutic effect of SSD was attributed to STAT3 inhibition. These findings provide novel strategies for treatment of cancer cachexia by targeting STAT3, and SSD may be a promising drug candidate for cancer cachexia.

Mining and analysis for adverse drug event signals of liver failure in underage population based on the FAERS database / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To conduct data mining on drugs causing liver failure in underage populations based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System （FAERS） database， so as to provide reference for clinical use of related drugs. METHODS The data on reported adverse drug event （ADE） of liver failure in this population （under 18 years old） from the first quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2022 were retrieved from the FAERS database for mining and analysis； they were divided into infants（≤1 year old）， young children（＞1-＜6 years old）， children（6-＜12 years old） and adolescents（12-＜18 years old） according to the age. The reporting odds ratio （ROR）， proportional reporting ratio and Bayesian confidence propagation neural network of the proportional imbalance method were used to screen ADE signals. RESULTS A total of 1 051 ADE reports of liver failure were collected from the underage population involving 60 drugs. The highest incidence was found in adolescents （410 cases， 39.01%）， followed by young children （297 cases， 28.26%）. The instructions of 14 drugs did not mention hepatobiliary system injury and liver failure risk， including 31 cases of levetiracetam （2.95%），18 cases of metronidazole （1.71%）， 16 cases of each of topiramate and methylprednisolone （1.52% each）， 12 cases of dexamethasone （1.14%）， 11 cases of tisagenlecleucel （1.05%）， 10 cases of each of ferrous sulfate， metformin and busulfan （0.95% each）， 9 cases of propofol （0.86%）， 8 cases of onasemnogene abeparvovec （0.76%）， 5 cases of each of diphenhydramine and omeprazole （0.48% each）， 4 cases of sebeliesterase α （0.38%）， totaling 165 cases， accounting for 15.70% of the total reported cases. Metformin was contrary to the known liver safety， and E-mail：libingchemical@163.com metronidazole and levetiracetam were new risk signals， which caused more serious clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Fourteen new pharmacovigilance signals which cause liver failure in the underage population are found in this study； the liver function of patients should be closely monitored when using these drugs. Among those drugs， metformin neither undergoes liver metabolism nor has been reported in the relevant literature， and the liver-related ADE caused by metformin deserves further attention. The clinical outcomes caused by metronidazole and levetiracetam are relatively serious and need to be given sufficient attention.

Impact of CSF3R Mutation on Treatment Response and Survival of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression of CSF3R mutation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and analyze its clinical characteristics and prognosis.@*METHODS@#A retrospective study was conducted in 212 patients with AML who were newly diagnosed in the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 1th 2018 to June 30th 2021, including 22 patients with CSF3R mutations as mutation group and 190 patients with CSF3R wild type ［66 cases of them were screened by propensity score matching (PSM), as control group］. The early efficacy and survival between the two groups were compared.@*RESULTS@#The median age of patients in the mutation group was 50(17-73) years old, and the ratio of male to female was 1.2:1 The main types were AML with maturation (11 cases) and acute myelomonocytic leukemia (9 cases). Prognostic stratification was carried out according to the risk stratification system of the European leukemia network in 2017, with 16 cases (72.73%) in the middle and high-risk group. At the initial diagnosis, the median count of white blood cell (WBC) was 44.75(1.30-368.71)×109/L, among which 15 cases (68.18%) were >10×109/L, and the median count of platelet (PLT) was 24(4-55)×109/L. CSF3R T618I (68.18%) was a common mutation site, which had concomitant gene mutations, in which CEBPA mutation was the most common (10 cases, 45.45%), but only existed in CSF3R T618I mutation. The CR/CRi rate was 68.18% and 71.21% in the mutant group and the control group (P >0.05), the median over all survival time was 15 months and 9 months (P >0.05), and the median disease-free survival time was 8 months and 4 months (P >0.05), respectively.@*CONCLUSION@#Most AML patients with CSF3R mutation are middle-aged patients, the main types are AML with maturation and acute myelomonocytic leukemia, and most of them have middle and high-risk prognosis. CSF3R mutation may not be an independent prognostic marker for newly diagnosed AML patients.

Research progress on innovative drugs for diabetic nephropathy with potential anti-inflammatory targets / 药学实践杂志

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)，which is also the main cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, the treatment methods are limited at present. More and more evidences have indicated that inflammatory response is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of DN. Several anti-inflammatory strategies that target specific inflammatory mediators (transcription factors, pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules) and intracellular signaling pathways have shown benefits in the DN rodent model. The mechanisms related to inflammation in the development and progression of DN were summarized and new strategies to prevent or treat DN based on inflammation were briefly discussed in this review.

Chinese version of the stressor scale for emergency nurse: assessment of reliability and validity / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To translate the Stressor Scale for Emergency Nurse (SSEN), and to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version.Methods:According to the Brislin model to translate and back-translate the orginal English version, the Chinese version of the scale was determined after cross-cultural adaptation and pretesting. From October 2021 to January 2022, 401 emergency nurses in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were selected for a questionnaire survey to evaluate the reliability and validity of the translated Chinese scale.Results:The Chinese version of the SSEN retains 27 items, 4 common factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, and the factor cumulative variance contribution rate was 78.463%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that χ2/ df=2.280, comparative fitness index=0.933, Tucker-Lewis index=0.924, incremental fit index=0.933, root mean square of approximate residual=0.079, all within the acceptable range. The item-level content validity index of the Chinese SSEN was 0.80-1.00; the scale-level content validity index was 0.97; it was positively correlated with the Maslach Burnout Inventory manual, and the correlation coefficient was 0.456 ( P<0.001); the Cronbach α coefficient of the total table was 0.971, the split-half reliability was 0.877, and the test-retest reliability was 0.958. Conclusions:The Chinese version of the SSEN has good reliability and validity, and it can be used to investgate the occupattional stressors for emergency nurses in the context of Chinese culture.

Acute effects of NO2 on hospitalization risk of children with respiratory diseases in Foshan City / 公共卫生与预防医学

Objective To explore the acute effects of NO2 on children's respiratory hospitalization risk in Foshan City. Methods The daily average concentrations of six air pollutants such as NO2 and fine particulate matter, and meteorological data including average temperature and relative humidity in Foshan were collected from 2016 to 2019. Data on the daily number of children newly hospitalized for respiratory diseases (ECRH) in Foshan Women and Children Hospital were retrieved. Time series analysis was used to quantitatively evaluate the effect of daily NO2 concentration on the hospitalization risk of children with respiratory diseases. Results From 2016 to 2019, the average ECRH in the hospital was 10. The daily average concentrations of air pollutants NO2, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 were 42.0 μg/m3, 35.3 μg/m3, 58.1 μg/m3, and 11.4 μg/m3, respectively. The air pressure, daily average temperature and relative humidity of atmosphere were 1008.4 Pa, 23.7℃ and 73.3%, respectively. ECRH was significantly correlated with the daily average concentration of NO2 (r=0.079, P3 increase of NO2 concentration in the single pollutant model, the excess risk of ECHR in the hospital increased by 1.22% (95% CI: 0.06%, 2.40%) and 1.37% (95% CI: 0.23%, 2.53%) in lag0 and Lag1 day, respectively. The strongest effect appeared in lag0:7 with the excess risk increasing by 1.70% (95% CI:0.12%, 3.31%). In the NO2 + SO2 + CO + O3_8h + PM2.5 and NO2 + SO2 + CO + O3_8h + PM10 multi-pollutant models, significance correlation still existed between the daily average NO2 concentration and ECHR in lag0, lag1 and lag0:1 to lag0:7. The strongest effect appeared in lag0:1, and the excess risks were 4.06% (95% CI: 1.83%, 6.34%) and 3.95% (95% CI: 1.85%, 6.09%), respectively. Dose-response relationship analysis showed a linear relationship between the daily average NO2 concentration and ECHR, and the excess risk of new hospitalization gradually increased with the increase of daily average NO2 concentration. Conclusion There was a significant correlation between NO2 concentration and hospitalization risk of children with respiratory diseases in Foshan City, which suggests that the government should further strengthen the prevention and control of air pollution.

Analysis of the causes of long-standing pelvic anterior sacral space infection and discussion of management techniques / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective: To investigate the causes and management of long-term persistent pelvic presacral space infection. Methods: Clinical data of 10 patients with persistent presacral infection admitted to the Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2015 to October 2020 were collected. Different surgical approaches were used to treat the presacral infection according to the patients' initial surgical procedures. Results: Among the 10 patients, there were 2 cases of presacral recurrent infection due to rectal leak after radiotherapy for cervical cancer, 3 cases of presacral recurrent infection due to rectal leak after radiotherapy for rectal cancer Dixons, and 5 cases of presacral recurrent infection of sinus tract after adjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer Miles. Of the 5 patients with leaky bowel, 4 had complete resection of the ruptured nonfunctional bowel and complete debridement of the presacral infection using an anterior transverse sacral incision with a large tipped omentum filling the presacral space; 1 had continuous drainage of the anal canal and complete debridement of the presacral infection using an anterior transverse sacral incision. 5 post-Miles patients all had debridement of the presacral infection using an anterior transverse sacral incision combined with an abdominal incision. The nine patients with healed presacral infection recovered from surgery in 26 to 210 days, with a median time of 55 days. Conclusions: Anterior sacral infections in patients with leaky gut are caused by residual bowel secretion of intestinal fluid into the anterior sacral space, and in post-Miles patients by residual anterior sacral foreign bodies. An anterior sacral caudal transverse arc incision combined with an abdominal incision is an effective surgical approach for complete debridement of anterior sacral recalcitrant infections.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Fibrosis by Enhancing Autophagy via Inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/mTOR Pathway and by Alleviating the EMT via Inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/GSK3β/Snail Pathway in NRK-52E Fibrosis

Background and Objectives@#Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the origins of myofibroblasts in renal interstitial fibrosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) alleviating EMT has been proved, but the concrete mechanism is unclear. To explore the mechanism, serum-free MSCs conditioned medium (SF-MSCs-CM) was used to treat rat renal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E) fibrosis induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) which ameliorated EMT. @*Methods@#and Results: Galectin-3 knockdown (Gal-3 KD) and overexpression (Gal-3 OE) lentiviral vectors were established and transfected into NRK-52E. NRK-52E fibrosis model was induced by TGF-β1 and treated with the SF-MSCs-CM for 24 h after modelling. Fibrosis and autophagy related indexes were detected by western blot and immunocytochemistry. In model group, the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin (FN), Galectin-3, Snail, Kim-1, and the ratios of P-Akt/Akt, P-GSK3β/GSK3β, P-PI3K/PI3K, P-mTOR/mTOR, TIMP1/MMP9, and LC3B-II/I were obviously increased, and E-Cadherin (E-cad) and P62 decreased significantly compared with control group. SF-MSCs-CM showed an opposite trend after treatment compared with model group. Whether in Gal-3 KD or Gal-3 OE NRK-52E cells, SF-MSCs-CM also showed similar trends. However, the effects of anti-fibrosis and enhanced autophagy in Gal-3 KD cells were more obvious than those in Gal-3 OE cells. @*Conclusions@#SF-MSCs-CM probably alleviated the EMT via inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/GSK3β/Snail pathway. Meanwhile, Gal-3 KD possibly enhanced autophagy via inhibiting Galectin-3/Akt/mTOR pathway, which synergistically ameliorated renal fibrosis. Targeting galectin-3 may be a potential target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.