Predicting the acute-phase response fever risk in bisphosphonate-naive osteoporotic patients receiving their first dose of zoledronate.

INTRODUCTION: To devise a precise and efficient tool for predicting the individualized risk of acute-phase response (APR) in bisphosphonate (BP)-naive osteoporotic (OP) patients, receiving their first intravenous dose of zoledronate (ZOL). METHODS: The baseline clinical and laboratory data of 475 consecutive BP-naive OP patients, who received their first intravenous dose of ZOL between March 2016 and March 2021 in the Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University, were chosen for analysis. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were generated to establish candidate predictors of APR fever risk, using three distinct fever thresholds, namely, 37.3 °C (model A), 38.0 °C (model B), and 38.5 °C (model C). Next, using predictor regression coefficients, three fever-threshold nomograms were developed. Discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of each predicting models were then assessed using the area under the curve (AUC), calibration curve (CC), and decision curve analysis (DCA). The internal and external model validations were then performed. RESULTS: The stable predictors were age, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D, serum total calcium, and peripheral blood erythrocytes count. These were negatively associated with the APR fever risk. The AUCs of models A, B, and C were 0.828 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.782 to 0.874), 0.825 (95% CI, 0.767 to 0.883), and 0.879 (95% CI, 0.824 to 0.934), respectively. Good agreement was observed between the predictions and observations in the CCs of all three nomograms. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed and validated nomogram prediction models that can predict APR fever risk in BP-naive OP patients receiving their first infusion of ZOL.

Notoginseng Saponin Rg1 Prevents Cognitive Impairment through Modulating APP Processing in Aß1-42-injected Rats.

With the intensification of the aging process of the world, Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is the main type of senile dementia, has become a primary problem in the present society. Lots of strategies have been used to prevent and treat AD in animal models and clinical trials, but most of them ended in failure. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) contain a variety of monomer compositions which have been separated and identified. Among of the monomer compositions, notoginseng saponin Rg1 (Rg1) accounts for 20% of the cultivation of panax notoginseng roots. And now PNS have been reported to be widely used to treat cardio-cerebrovascular diseases and have neuroprotective effects to restrain the ß-amyloid peptide (Aß)25-35-mediated apoptosis. Moreover, it is reported that PNS could accelerate the growth of nerve cells, increase the length of axons and promote synaptic plasticity. Whether Rg1 can ameliorate the cognitive impairment and the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. To study the preventive effect of Rg1 on cognitive impairment and the possible mechanism, we established the cognitive impairment model in rats through Aß1-42 (2.6 µg/µL, 5 µL) injection and then treated the rats with Rg1 (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) administered intragastrically for 4 weeks. We observed that Aß1-42 could induce spatial learning and memory deficits in rats. Simultaneously, Aß1-42 injection also resulted in the reduced neuron number in cornuammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) of hippocampus, as well as the increased level of hyperphosphorylated ß-amyloid precursor protein (APP) at Thr668 site with up-regulation of ß-APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and presenilin 1 (PS1) and down-regulation of a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10) and insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). Administration of Rg1 effectively rescued the cognitive impairment and neuronal loss, and inhibited the ß-secretase processing of APP through reducing APP-Thr668 phosphorylation and BACE1/PS1 expression, and increasing the expression of ADAM10 and IDE. We concluded that Rg1 might have neuroprotective effects and could promote learning and memory ability, which might be a viable candidate in AD therapy probably through reducing the generation of Aß and increasing the degradation of Aß.

[Variation of community structure and function of rhizospheric denitrifiers at tillering and booting stages of rice]. / æ°´ç¨»åˆ†è˜–æœŸå’Œå­•ç©—æœŸæ ¹é™ åç¡åŒ–èŒç¾¤è½ç»“æž„åŠåŠŸèƒ½å˜åŒ–.

We investigated the variation of denitrifying communities in rice rhizosphere at tillering and booting stages in comparison with bulk soils with a pot experiment. The techniques of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) were used to measure the abundance and community composition of denitrifiers (narG and nosZ), respectively. The results showed that the potential denitrification activity in the rhizosphere at tillering stage was significantly lower than bulk soils. No significant difference was detected between the rhizosphere and bulk soils at booting stage. The abundance of both narG- and nosZ-containing denitrifying bacteria was significantly higher in rhizosphere than in bulk soils at both tillering and booting stages. In comparison with narG-containing community, community composition and diversity of nosZ-containing bacteria were more sensitive to rice growth. In conclusion, the exudates of rice could induce significantly more denitrifying bacteria in rhizosphere, whose denitrifying activities were related to growth stage of rice. At the period with strong growth, the secretion of roots showed clear restriction to the functions of rhizospheric denitrifiers compared to booting stage.