Expression of proteinase-activated receptor-2 and transient receptor potential A1 in vagal afferent nerve of rat after lung schemia-reperfusion injury.

Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (LIRI) is a common and severe clinical complication. As the injury occurs, the pulmonary afferent nerves play an important role in regulating respiratory functions under pathophysiological conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine expression of proteinaseactivated receptor-2 (PAR2) and transient receptor potential A1 (TRPA1) in pulmonary vagal afferent nerves of LIRI and further to determine molecular mediators linking activation of PAR2 and TRPA1. A rat model of LIRI was used. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis were employed to examine pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICs, i.e., IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α), and the protein levels of PIC receptors, PAR2, TRPA1, and intracellular signals. In the results, IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α along with their receptors were amplified in afferent nerves of LIRI rats as compared with control rats. Sensory PAR2 and TRPA1 were also upregulated by LIRI. Blocking PAR2 by infusion of FSLLRY-NH2 attenuated upregulation of TRPA1 via intracellular signals, namely p38-MAPK and JNK. Moreover, blocking individual PIC receptor attenuated PAR2 and TRPA1 in pulmonary vagal afferent nerves. Our data showed specific signaling pathways leading LIRI to activation of PIC signal and activation of PAR2 and TRPA1 in pulmonary vagal afferent nerves via intracellular mediators. Targeting one or more of these signaling molecules may present opportunities to improve the abnormalities in vagal afferent nerve-mediated respiratory functions observed as LIRI occurs.

[Study on surveillance data of adverse events following immunization of seasonal influenza vaccine in China during 2015-2018 influenza season].

Objective: To analyze the occurrence features of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) of Seasonal Influenza Vaccines (InfV) used in China, 2015-2018 influenza season. Methods: InfV (including concurrent administered with other vaccines) AEFI data were collected through the Chinese national AEFI information system during 2015.9.1-2018.8.31 (excluding Chinese Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan data). The vaccine lot release data were collected from National Institutes for Food and Drug Control published database. Time periods of three influenza season were 2015.9.1-2016.8.31, 2016.9.1-2017.8.31, 2017.9.1-2018.8.31. The vaccines used and included in this analysis were trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV3)-Split, IIV3-Split (Children) and IIV-subnit. The incidence of AEFI were calculated (per 100 000 release doses), and epidemiological characteristic were analyzed using descriptive methodology. Results: A total of 8 464 InfV AEFIs were collected in 2015-2018 influenza season from National AEFI Information System, in which 5 646 were IIV3-split, with the rate of 10.64/100 000 release doses, 2 818 were IIV3-split (Children), with the rate of 9.355/100 000 release doses. The most common symptom was fever (axillary temperature ≥37.1 ℃) within vaccine reactions, with a number of 6 207 cases. In which, there were 3 554 cases with fever (axillary temperature ≥38.6 ℃) and the estimated reporting rate was 4.274/100 000 release doses. In all rare vaccine reactions, the most common diagnosis was anaphylactic rash(442, 0.531/100 000 release doses) and angioedema (70, 0.084/100 000 release doses). Even the rates of serious rare vaccine reactions were low, febrile Convulsion (27, 0.032/100 000 release doses) and Henoch-Schönlein Purpura(HSP) (21, 0.025/100 000 release doses) were relatively common in serious rare vaccine reactions during the study period. Conclusion: The estimated rate of rare vaccine reactions related toInfV was relatively low. In all vaccine reactions, fever was the most common symptoms. The most common diagnosis of non-serious rare vaccine reaction were anaphylactic rash and angioedema. The incidence of serious rare vaccine reactions was low.

Effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ATP-binding cassette B1 gene on the clinical outcome of traumatic brain injury.

The critical role of ATP-binding cassette B1 (ABCB1) in the function of the blood-brain barrier led us to conducted this prospective study in order to investigate the clinical outcome of patients suffering from severe traumatic brain injury. A total of 182 patients with traumatic brain injury were included in our study. Genotyping of ABCB1 C3435T and G2677T/A was conducted using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Using multivariate-logistic regression analysis, we found that patients carrying the CT+CC genotype of ABCB1 C3435T were more likely to have a better neurological outcome when compared with the TT genotype (odds ratio = 2.71, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-6.86). However, no significant association was found between the G2677T/A polymorphism and outcome of traumatic brain injury patients. Our study provides important information regarding the prognostic value of ABCB1 C3435T, and the ABCB1 C3435T polymorphism may be used as a predictive marker for the outcome of traumatic brain injury patients.

Understanding strong magnetostriction in Fe(100-x)Ga(x) alloys.

Magnetostriction of ferromagnetic materials describes the change of their shape or dimension in response to the reorientation of magnetization under the influence of external magnetic field. Fe(100-x)Ga(x) binary alloys (Galfenol) have large magnetostriction and excellent ductility; and they are very promising rare-earth free materials for applications in sensors, actuators, energy-harvesters and spintronic devices. Here we report results of large-scale ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations for Galfenol, especially regarding the mechanism that leads to the sudden drop of tetragonal magnetostriction at x ~ 19, a long-standing puzzle for the community. Based on rigid band analysis, we propose possible ways to further optimize the performance of Galfenol for device applications. For example, we found that the substitution of a small amount of Cu for Ga (1.6%) in certain configuration may double the magnetostriction of Galfenol.

First-principles investigations of the pressure-induced structural transitions in Mg(AlH(4))(2).

A systematic investigation is presented of the high-pressure structural stability of Mg(AlH(4))(2) using a plane-wave pseudo-potential method. The total-energy calculations show that under ambient pressure the structure of α-Mg(AlH(4))(2) found by experiments is more stable than the other proposed structures, and with pressure increasing the α to ß (δ-Zr(MoO(4))(2)-type structure) and ß to γ (Ca(BF(4))(2)-type structure) transitions occur at 0.67 and 10.28 GPa respectively, accompanied with volume reductions of 6.6% and 8.7%. A detailed study of the electronic structures reveals the bonding characteristics between Al and H and between Mg and H as well as the nonmetallic features of α, ß, and γ phases under pressure of up to 20.0 GPa. Their electronic structures are mainly responsible for the relative high-pressure stability of the three phases. Finally, an analysis of their structural relations indicates that it is possible to produce the [Formula: see text] structural transition by applying pressure.

Surface reconstructions and stability of X-shaped carbon nanotube junction.

A complete surface reconstruction takes place after a local connection between two crossed tubes is established, leading to the creation of an extended X-shaped junction constituted by topological defects with smooth negative curvature. Molecular-dynamics simulations show that the surface reconstructions occur through (1) generalized Stone-Wales transformation and (2) the movement of sp and sp3 atoms and their transformation to sp2 atoms by bond rearrangement. Based on both the principle of energy minimization and a generalized Euler's rule, it is demonstrated that the most stable structure for X junctions contains only 12 heptagons. The annealing temperature influences the topological structure and stability of junctions.

Chaotic synchronization in large map networks.

The chaotic synchronization in n-dimensional large map networks with local coupling and their size stabilities in the node number N-->infinity are studied analytically and numerically. The analytical results show that the chaotic synchronization is stable for N-->infinity in the presence of the external driving or global coupling. The numerical calculations show that, as the driving or global interaction strength increases from zero, the network states have the whole route: spatiotemporal chaotic state --> cluster chaotic synchronous state --> complete chaotic synchronous state --> spatiotemporal pattern --> spatiotemporal chaotic state.

Concentrated point defects in and order-disorder transition temperature of intermetallic compounds.

In this Letter, a scheme that combines first-principles methods, statistical mechanics, and a self-consistent procedure is presented to evaluate the point defect concentrations in intermetallic compounds. The obtained point defect concentrations can be further used to predict the order-disorder transformation temperature.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for primary trigeminal neuralgia using the Leksell Gamma unit.

OBJECTIVE: Previous papers have reported Gamma Knife radiosurgery to be a safe, effective method for primary trigeminal neuralgia. Since November 1996, we have treated primary trigeminal neuralgia using the Leksell Gamma Knife at the Tianjin Medical University. The present study reports clinical results of Gamma Knife radiosurgery in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in 80 cases. METHODS: The mean patient age was 67 years (range 32-92), the mean duration of facial pain was 7.6 years (range 1.5-29). The male:female ratio was 31:49. The right side of the face was involved in 45 patients (56.25%) and the left side in 30 cases (37.5%), with bilateral involvement in 5 cases (6.25%). Under local anesthesia, all patients underwent stereotactic MRI to identify the trigeminal nerve. A single isocenter, using a 4-mm collimator, was positioned at the sensory root of the trigeminal nerve entry zone of the pons, 4-6 mm from the brainstem surface, so that no more than the 20% isodose was administered to the brainstem. The maximum dose was between 70 and 90 Gy, with a mean of 75.6 Gy. For bilateral trigeminal neuralgia, two separate matrices were employed, and bilateral Gamma Knife radiosurgery was performed on the same day. RESULTS: Follow-up ranged from 12 to 43 months (mean 23.7 months). Neurological evaluation indicated excellent response in 42 cases (52.5%), good response in 25 cases (31.25%), effective response in 8 cases (10%), so the total pain control rate was 93.75%. The latency from Gamma Knife surgery to pain relief ranged from 1 to 120 days (mean 22 days). Among the 75 patients 7 with pain control experienced pain recurrence 5-26 months after being completely free from pain. A second Gamma Knife radiosurgery was performed in 7 recurrent cases and 5 patients with treatment failure. A maximal dose ranging from 70 to 80 Gy was given (mean 74.2 Gy). After a mean follow-up of 18 months (8-33 months), 9 patients achieved excellent results, and 2 had good results. The latency interval to pain relief ranged from 1 to 120 days (mean 15 days). Nine patients developed new facial numbness, while no other complication appeared in the remainder of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a safe and effective method in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia once diagnosis is established.

Dose-volume effect in gamma knife radiosurgery of meningiomas.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between dose-volume effect and complication in gamma knife radiosurgery of intracranial meningiomas. METHOD: By using an integrated logistic formula to establish mathematical models, the authors analyzed the relationship between treatment volume and logistic probability for 15 Gy, and the relationship between prescribed dose and treatment volume in 3% logistic probability. Furthermore, 37 meningiomas treated by gamma knife radiosurgery were analyzed retrospectively to investigate how the 3% isoeffect curve impacted on complication. RESULT: There was a linear relation between treatment volume and logistic probability for 15 Gy. The regression formula was f(x) = 0.0042x + 0.0007. The 3% isoeffect curve indicated that the prescribed dose was inversely proportional to the treatment volume. During 16.3 months follow-up on average, 18 cases below the 3% isodose curve were without complication, but in 19 cases above the 3% isodose curve, 5 cases suffered complications, the difference being statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Dose selection in gamma knife radiosurgery is volume dependent. The 3% isodose curve may possibly be the guideline in gamma knife radiosurgery of meningiomas.

Cerebral ventricle-brain ratio in monozygotic twins discordant and concordant for schizophrenia.

1. Several studies on monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia showed that the cerebral ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) was larger in the twins with schizophrenia, as compared with the corresponding normal twins. 2. The results suggest that the difference of the VBR of the discordant twins was larger than that of the concordant twins of schizophrenia. 3. The authors studied the VBR in four monozygotic twin pairs discordant and four monozygotic twin pairs concordant for schizophrenia by computerized tomography. 4. In the discordant twins, all pairs showed that the VBR of the normal twins was smaller than that of the corresponding twins with schizophrenia. 5. The difference of the VBR of the discordant twins and that of the concordant twins of schizophrenia was not statistically different using Mann-Whitney U test. 6. The preliminary results suggest that the VBR enlargement in schizophrenia is not genetically controlled in monozygotic twins either discordant or concordant for schizophrenia. 7. In monozygotic concordant twins, the brain pathology may be heterogeneous.

Exclusion of five trinucleotide repeat (CAG and CCG) expansions in 17 families with schizophrenia.

Trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases are characterized by anticipation. Several studies suggested the anticipation in schizophrenia. We studied five novel trinucleotide repeats identified by Li et al in a human brain cDNA library in 100 unrelated control subjects, and 57 subjects in 17 families with schizophrenia. The CTG-B43 and B45d, and CCG-A3 were not polymorphic in any unrelated control subjects or subjects with familial schizophrenia. The CTG-A4 had two alleles and the CTG-B1 three alleles. The two clones were not expanded in subjects with familial schizophrenia or unrelated healthy controls. There was no difference in allele frequency between unrelated control subjects and subjects in the families with schizophrenia. The allele frequencies in unaffected and affected subjects in the families with schizophrenia were not significantly different. There was no difference between the offspring and parental generations of affected subjects in the families with schizophrenia. The results suggest the exclusion of the five trinucleotide repeat expansions in the 17 families with schizophrenia.

Anticipation and imprinting in schizophrenia.

Anticipation, i.e., a decrease in the age of onset and/or an increase in the severity of a disease in subsequent generations, and imprinting, i.e., different modes of parental transmission, have been suggested in trinucleotide repeat amplification diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine if anticipation and imprinting are associated with familial schizophrenia. Two generations of 49 schizophrenics from 24 families were studied. Ages of onset, numbers hospitalized, diagnostic subclasses of schizophrenia, amounts of antipsychotics, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, treatment resistance, and clinical course ratings, were compared between the two generations. The age of onset was significantly lower in the offspring generation, although there was no difference in the severity between the two generations. The negative symptom scores and clinical course scores in the offspring generation for paternal transmission were significantly higher than those for maternal transmission. Our results suggest the presence of imprinting and anticipation in schizophrenia.

Three CAG trinucleotide repeats on chromosome 6 (D6S1014, D6S1015, and D6S1058) are not expanded in 30 families with schizophrenia.

Since 1991, more than five neuro-genetic disorders have been recognized to be caused by trinucleotide repeat expansions, and the list of such disease should grow. The diseases are characterized clinically by the phenomenon of anticipation, i.e., worsening of the disease phenotype in successive generations with increasing trinucleotide repeat expansion. The presence of anticipation in familial schizophrenia has been suggested. Several studies have provided supportive evidence that the suceptability locus for schizophrenia is on chromosome 6. Therefore, we analyzed three CAG trinucleotide repeat clones D6S1014, D6S1015, and D6S1058 on chromosome 6, which are polymolphic in 30 families with schizophrenia. No unusually, long alleles that would suggest abnormal expansion of more than 35 trinucleotide repeats were observed for these genes. Also, no statistically significant differences were found between the offspring and parental generations of affected subjects or between the affected and unaffected subjects in families with schizophrenia.

[Study on effect of reinforcing kidney and invigorating spleen principle on severe asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore on prevention and treatment of severe asthma with reinforcing the Kidney and invigoration the Spleen Principle (RKISP) and its mechanism. METHODS: Patients were treated with steroid aerosol (as control group), and both steroid aerosol and RKISP (as test group) respectively. RESULTS: The markedly effective rate of the test group was higher than that of the control group, the doses of beta-analeptic and the side-effect rates of the test group were lower than that of the control group, the pulmonary function of the test group was more remarkably improved. After treatment, the T cell hyperplasia response to specific allergen, the basophilic cell releasing capacity, the serum IgE and eosinophil of the test group were all reduced more obviously than those of the control group. In the control group, the neutrophil increased and the neutrophil phagocytic capability as well as the function of adrenal cortex were declined. While in the test group, the neutrophil phagocytic capability was raised, the neutrophil and the function of adrenal cortex had no significant changes. CONCLUSIONS: RKISP cooperated with steroid in relieving attack of asthma, and it was more important for it to display an obvious modulation action on immune and neuroendocrine system.

[Study on effect of strengthening body resistance method on asthmatic attack].

In order to study the effect of strengthening body resistance method on asthmatic attack, asthma patients of Cold type and Heat type were treated with symptomatic treatment (as control groups), and treatment both on the principal and secondary aspect (as test group) respectively. The results showed that the markedly effective rates of the test groups of both type were higher than that of the two control groups. In test groups after treatment, the 1 second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and the maximal expiratory flow increased markedly, the human leucocyte antigen carrying (HLA-DR+) T cell ratio, the basophilic cell releasing capacity (HBR) and the T cell hyperplasia response to specific allergen were all reduced. While in the control groups, these criteria had no significant changes after treatment. These results suggested that the strengthening body resistance method displayed an obvious regulating action in relieving attack of asthma.

The inhibitory effect of extracts from Fructus lycii and Rhizoma polygonati on in vitro DNA breakage by alternariol.

Alternariol caused DNA single-strand breakage. Conversion of the closed circular double-stranded supercoiled DNA (pBR 322) to the nicked circular form and linear form was used to investigate the effect of extracts of some Chinese medical herbs on DNA nicking induced by alternariol. Some substances in the extracts of Rhizoma polygonati (RP) and Fructus lycii (FL) were shown to protect DNA from the attack by alternariol. Some substance in the RP may bind to plasmid DNA, and this binding reduces the electrophoretic mobility of DNA. These results indicate that substances from FL and RP may be used as DNA protectors. It is possible that they play an important role in preventing cancer.

[Clinical and experimental study of RA mixture in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis].

The RA mixture is composed of Tripterygium Wilfordii (TW) and other Chinese medicinal herbs with effect of expelling Wind, activiting blood circulation, invigorating the Kidney and Qi. The authors treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with RA mixture and compared it with D-penicillamine as control. The two group's therapeutical effect is similar (P > 0.05), but the side effect occuring ratio in treatment group was obviously lower than that of control group (P < 0.01). After treatment with RA mixture, the patient's human lymphocytic antigen-degenerative reaction (HLA-DR+) cell, CD4/CD8 ratio reduced and auto-mixed lymphocytic reaction (AMLR) level enhanced (P < 0.05). The results of animal experiment showed that swelling of RA model mouse's joint could be reduced by both RA mixture and TW. Comparing with TW, RA mixture had stronger effect in controlling the inflammation of synovial cell and fibroid degeneration of fibrocytes. At the same time, RA mixture had stronger effect in protecting the immune organ from atrophy and protecting functions of cellular immunity. All above suggest that RA mixture reduce the syndroms of RA by improving distribution of T lymphocyte subsets and the functions of cellular immunity. The other Chinese medicinal herbs in the RA mixture could enhance TW's therapeutical effect and reduce it's side effect.