Dynamic Molecular Interphases Regulated by Trace Dual Electrolyte Additives for Ultralong-Lifespan and Dendrite-Free Zinc Metal Anode.

Metallic zinc is a promising anode material for rechargeable aqueous multivalent metal-ion batteries due to its high capacity and low cost. However, the practical use is always beset by severe dendrite growth and parasitic side reactions occurring at anode/electrolyte interface. Here we demonstrate dynamic molecular interphases caused by trace dual electrolyte additives of D-mannose and sodium lignosulfonate for ultralong-lifespan and dendrite-free zinc anode. Triggered by plating and stripping electric fields, the D-mannose and lignosulfonate species are alternately and reversibly (de-)adsorbed on Zn metal, respectively, to accelerate Zn2+ transportation for uniform Zn nucleation and deposition and inhibit side reactions for high Coulombic efficiency. As a result, Zn anode in such dual-additive electrolyte exhibits highly reversible and dendrite-free Zn stripping/plating behaviors for >6400 hours at 1 mA cm-2, which enables long-term cycling stability of Zn||ZnxMnO2 full cell for more than 2000 cycles.

Reversal of hepatorenal syndrome and kidney recovery: When renal has more to offer.

Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is one of the most severe complications in advanced cirrhosis. Type-1 HRS is relatively uncommon, yet carries considerably higher mortality rate. Effective treatment for HRS, especially therapy towards survival benefits, is still limited. However, the role for dialysis in HRS has been questioned over the years. The initiation of dialysis remains controversial for those who aren't transplant candidates. Meanwhile, there's a growing attention towards the successful use of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in cirrhotic patients. Herein, we report a case of HRS-1 in a 76-year-old male patient with decompensated cirrhosis. Through a series of adjustments of hemodialysis regimens and pharmacological prescriptions, patient stabilized and the opportunity for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) insertion was gained. PD was initiated after TIPS placement. With a gradual decrease of dialysis dose, patient successfully weaned off PD and achieved both reversal of HRS and kidney recovery. Markedly improved nutritional status and quality of life were reported. The potential role of dialysis and TIPS in HRS may be worth revisiting. Further studies regarding the optimal timing of dialysis initiation, choices of dialysis modality, and efficacy of dialysis therapy in combination with TIPS in HRS patients are warranted.

Investigation and Analysis of the Effect of Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Nurses on Occupational Protection Against COVID-19.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) of gastrointestinal endoscopy nurses on occupational protection against COVID-19. We analyzed the influencing factors on KAB to provide a reference for the training of nurses on occupational protection in endoscopic centers. A convenience sample of 400 endoscopy nurses from 26 provinces and cities in China was surveyed using a questionnaire to determine their KAB about occupational protection against COVID-19. Job title was an influencing factor of endoscopy nurses' attitude toward occupational protection against COVID-19. The type of hospital, whether nurses had received training on COVID-19, number of training courses received, and nurses' satisfaction with the workload in their endoscopic center were the influencing factors for occupational protective behavior. Study participants had good knowledge of occupational protection against COVID-19. Their overall attitude was positive, but their protective behavior needs further improvement. Feasible interventions to strengthen the occupational protective behavior of endoscopy nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic are suggested to improve the overall occupational protection level of endoscopy nurses.

Human epidemiological evidence about the association between air pollution exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that ambient air pollution exposure can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) significantly. In consideration of the common underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, exposure to air pollution may also increase the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but the current evidence was inconsistent and has not well been systematically reviewed. Our goal was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the association between air pollution exposure and GDM. METHODS: An extensive literature search was conducted in selected electronic databases for related human epidemiological studies published in English language. Summary effect estimates were calculated using random-effect models for a) risk per unit increase in continuous air pollutant concentration and b) risk of high versus low exposure level in individual study if each exposure that had been examined in ≥2 studies. We evaluated the heterogeneity using Cochran's Q test and quantified it by I2 statistic. Publication bias was also evaluated through the funnel plot when sufficient number of studies are available. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies evaluating the association between GDM and exposure to air pollution were identified finally. The summary odds ratio (OR) for incidence of GDM following a 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure during the second trimester was 1.04 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.01, 1.09) and in NOx during the first trimester was 1.03 (95%CI: 1.00, 1.07) per 10 ppb increase, while for high versus low SO2 exposure during the second trimester was 1.25 (95%CI: 1.02, 1.53). High heterogeneity among study-specific results in majority of the analyses were observed, and attributed to different exposure assessment methods, populations, study locations, and covariates adjustment. Publication bias cannot be excluded because of the inclusion of small number of studies. CONCLUSIONS: The present study supports the evidence that air pollution exposure increases the risk the GDM, albeit the existence of high heterogeneity. Further studies are necessary to elaborate the suggestive associations. These results are of public health significance since worsening air pollution in developing countries has been expected to increase the risk of GDM development.

Study on the interaction of a cyanine dye with human serum transferrin.

Complexation between the primary carrier of ligands in blood plasma, human serum transferrin (Tf), and a cyanine dye, 3,3'-di(3-sulfopropyl)-4,5,4',5'-dibenzo-9-phenyl-thiacarbocyanine-triethylam monium salt (PTC) was investigated using fluorescence spectra, UV/Vis absorption spectra, synchronous fluorescence spectra, circular dichroism (CD) and molecular dynamic docking. The experimental results demonstrate that the formation of PTC-Tf complex is stabilized by van der Waal's interactions and hydrogen bonds, and the binding constants were found to be 8.55 × 10(6), 8.19 × 10(6) and 1.75 × 10(4) M(-1). Moreover, fluorescence experiments prove that the operational mechanism for the fluorescence quenching is static quenching and non-radiative energy transfer. Structural investigation of the PTC-Tf complexes via synchronous fluorescence spectra and CD showed that the structure of Tf became more stable with a major increase in the α-helix content and increased polarity around the tryptophan residues after PTC binding. In addition, molecular modeling highlights the residues located in the N-lobe, which retain high affinity for PTC. The mode of action of the PTC-Tf complex is illustrated by these results, and may provide an effective pathway for the transport and targeted delivery of antitumor agents.

[Investigation on the cyanine dyes supramolecular assembly and chiral inducement by fulvic acid].

Using cyanine dyes supramolecular as molecular probes to mark FA has important significance in life sciences and pharmaceutical chemistry, which can detect FA as drug efficacy mechanism and the change in physiological activity. In the present paper, we investigated supramolecular assembly and chiral inducement of cyanine dyes template by FA with absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The result suggests that FA can induce cyanine dyes from J-aggregation to monomer along with different colors change and has strong affinity with cyanine dye monomer. The template of FA not only can translate the chirality of MTC H-aggregation to other two states, but also induce ETC J-aggregation to molecular rearrangement and form left-handed helix of J-aggregates. Besides, the association of PTC with FA, i. e. binding to FA gave rise to the J-aggregation CD signals. Meanwhile, it was inferred that the meso substituent of cyanine dyes play an important role in the interaction between FA and the J-aggregation: the smaller the meso substituent, the higher the affinity interacted with FA. Clearly, the binding abilities between cyanine dyes and FA follow the order of MTC>ETC>PTC. These results support that the cyanine dyes supramolecular aggregates can be used as a kind of excellent molecular probes for specific recognition of FA and achieve the effect of visual inspection.

Immune persistence after different polio sequential immunization schedules in Chinese infants.

Trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) has been withdrawn and instead an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and bivalent type 1 and type 3 OPV (bOPV) sequential immunization schedule has been implemented since 2016, but no immune persistence data are available for this polio vaccination strategy. This study aimed to assess immune persistence following different polio sequential immunization schedules. Venous blood was collected at 24, 36, and 48 months of age from participants who had completed sequential schedules of combined IPV and OPV in phase III clinical trials. The serum neutralizing antibody titers against poliovirus were determined, and the poliovirus-specific antibody-positive rates were evaluated. A total of 1104 participants were enrolled in this study. The positive rates of poliovirus type 1- and type 3-specific antibodies among the sequential immunization groups showed no significant difference at 24, 36, or 48 months of age. The positive rates of poliovirus type 2-specific antibody in the IPV-IPV-tOPV group at all time points were nearly 100%, which was significantly higher than the corresponding rates in other immunization groups (IPV-bOPV-bOPV and IPV-IPV-bOPV). Immunization schedules involving one or two doses of IPV followed by bOPV failed to maintain a high positive rate for poliovirus type 2-specific antibody.

Systems infection biology: a compartmentalized immune network of pig spleen challenged with Haemophilus parasuis.

BACKGROUND: Network biology (systems biology) approaches are useful tools for elucidating the host infection processes that often accompany complex immune networks. Although many studies have recently focused on Haemophilus parasuis, a model of Gram-negative bacterium, little attention has been paid to the host's immune response to infection. In this article, we use network biology to investigate infection with Haemophilus parasuis in an in vivo pig model. RESULTS: By targeting the spleen immunogenome, we established an expression signature indicative of H. parasuis infection using a PCA/GSEA combined method. We reconstructed the immune network and estimated the network topology parameters that characterize the immunogene expressions in response to H. parasuis infection. The results showed that the immune network of H. parasuis infection is compartmentalized (not globally linked). Statistical analysis revealed that the reconstructed network is scale-free but not small-world. Based on the quantitative topological prioritization, we inferred that the C1R-centered clique might play a vital role in responding to H. parasuis infection. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we provide the first report of reconstruction of the immune network in H. parasuis-infected porcine spleen. The distinguishing feature of our work is the focus on utilizing the immunogenome for a network biology-oriented analysis. Our findings complement and extend the frontiers of knowledge of host infection biology for H. parasuis and also provide a new clue for systems infection biology of Gram-negative bacilli in mammals.

Molecular characterization of caveolin-1 in pigs infected with Haemophilus parasuis.

Caveolin-1 (Cav1) plays a critical role in the invasion of pathogenic microbes into host cells, yet little is known about porcine Cav1. In this study, we provide the molecular characterization of Cav1 in pigs following stimulation with LPS/polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid as well as during infection with Haemophilus parasuis. The porcine Cav1 gene is 35 kb long and is located at SSC18q21; two isoforms (Cav1-α and Cav1-ß) are produced by alternative splicing. Three point mutations were identified in the coding region of the gene, two of which were significantly associated with nine immunological parameters in Landrace pigs, including the Ab response against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and lymphocyte counts. Promoter analysis indicated that NF-κB activates both Cav1 transcripts, but the forkhead gene family specifically regulates Cav1-ß in the pig. Porcine Cav1 is expressed ubiquitously, with Cav1-α more abundantly expressed than Cav1-ß in all tissues investigated. Basal expression levels of Cav1 in PBMCs are relatively similar across different pig breeds. LPS and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid markedly induced the expression of Cav1 in porcine kidney-15 cells in vitro, likely through NF-κB activation. Pigs infected with H. parasuis exhibited decreased expression of Cav1, particularly in seriously impaired organs such as the brain. This study provides new evidence that supports the use of Cav1 as a potential diagnostic and genetic marker for disease resistance in animal breeding. In addition, our results suggest that Cav1 may be implicated in the pathogenesis of Glasser's disease, which is caused by H. parasuis.

Hydrolysis and acidification of waste-activated sludge in the presence of biosurfactant rhamnolipid: effect of pH.

In this investigation, the effect of pH (4.0-11.0) on waste-activated sludge (WAS) hydrolysis and acidification in the presence of a biosurfactant rhamnolipid (RL) were studied. The results showed that the hydrolysis and acidification of WAS in the presence of RL at alkaline pH values were more efficient than that at acidic and near-neutral pH values. After 6 h of hydrolysis, the soluble protein and carbohydrate were 1,654.7 and 675.9 mg/L (pH 11.0), and 825.6 and 376.0 mg/L (pH 7.0), whereas the values were only 315.0 and 84.0 mg/L at pH 4.0 and 164.1 and 32.0 mg/L for the blank, respectively. After 2 or 3 days of fermentation, the accumulated short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) reached the highest and then decreased with a further increase in time at all investigated pH values. The analysis of SCFA compositions showed that acetic, propionic, and iso-valeric acids were the three main products at any pH value. A higher pH contributed to a greater proportion of acetic acid and a lesser proportion of iso-valeric acid; a lower pH resulted in a greater proportion of iso-valeric and lesser proportion of acetic acid in the initial fermentation. The proportions of acetic acid for the system with biosurfactant RL addition were 16.65, 36.33, and 62.94 %, respectively, at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 11.0 after 1 day. Correspondingly, the proportions were 40.34, 12.60, and 11.01 % for iso-valeric acid.

[Inhibitory effect of Akt inhibitor deguelin on the growth of PC-3 prostate cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the inhibitory effect of Akt inhibitor deguelin on PC-3 human prostate cancer cell lines and its possible mechanism. METHODS: PC-3 human prostate cancer cells were cultured in deguelin at the concentrations of 10, 100, 500 and 1 000 nmol/L for 24, 48 and 72 hours, respectively. Then the inhibitory effect of deguelin on the proliferation of the PC-3 cells was determined by MTT assay and that on the cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. The expression levels of MDM2 and GSK3beta mRNA were measured by RT-PCR and those of MDM2 and GSK3beta proteins by Western blot. RESULTS: At 24, 48 and 72 hours, the inhibition rates of deguelin on the proliferation of the PC-3 prostate cancer cells were (91.10 +/- 3.75), (86.39 +/- 1.16) and (79.51 +/- 2.63)% at 10 nmol/L, (82.46 +/- 3.65), (76.84 +/- 0.97) and (69.69 +/- 2.30) % at 100 nmol/L, (81.46 +/- 0.41), (75.56 +/- 1.12) and (54.07 +/- 3.21)% at 500 nmol/L, and (66.77 +/- 2.82), (58.22 +/- 0.35) and (39.34 +/- 2.40)% at 1000 nmol/L, all with statistically significant differences from the control group (P < 0.01). Deguelin at 10, 100, 500 and 1 000 nmol/L increased the cell cycles blocked in the G0/G1 phase ([62.4 +/- 2.2], [63.6 +/- 1.1 ], [65.0 +/- 0.3] and [66.5 +/- 1.9]%, P < 0.01) and reduced the percentage of the S-phase cells ([14.7 +/- 2.4], [11.1 +/- 5.2], [5.8 +/- 1.1] and [7.0 +/- 0.6]%, P < 0.01). RT-PCR and Western blot showed markedly up-regulated expressions of GSK3 P3 a3beta down-regulated expressions of MDM2 mRNA and proteins in the PC-3 cells treated with deguelin. CONCLUSION: Akt inhibitor deguelin can inhibit the proliferation of PC-3 human prostate cancer cells by affecting the down-stream signal molecules GSK3P3 and betaDM2 in the Akt pathway.

Large vessel vasculitis with rare presentation of acute rhabdomyolysis: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal involvement in primary large vessel vasculitis (LVV), including giant cell arteritis and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK), tends to be subacute. With the progression of arterial disease, patients may develop polyarthralgia and myalgias, mainly involving muscle stiffness, limb/jaw claudication, cold/swelling extremities, etc. Acute development of rhabdomyolysis in addition to aortic aneurysm is uncommon in LVV. Herein, we report a rare case of LVV with the first presentation of acute rhabdomyolysis. CASE SUMMARY: A 70-year-old Asian woman suffering from long-term low back pain was hospitalized due to limb claudication, dark urine and an elevated creatine kinase (CK) level. After treatment with fluid resuscitation and antibiotics, the patient remained febrile. Her workup showed persistent elevated levels of inflammatory markers, and imaging studies revealed an aortic aneurysm. A decreasing CK was evidently combined with elevated inflammatory markers and negativity for anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies. LVV was suspected and confirmed by magnetic resonance angiography and positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose/computed tomography. With a favourable response to immunosuppressive treatment, her symptoms resolved, and clinical remission was achieved one month later. However, after failing to follow the tapering schedule, the patient was readministered 25 mg/d prednisolone due to disease relapse. Follow-up examinations showed decreased inflammatory markers and substantial improvement in artery lesions after 6 mo of treatment. At the twelve-month follow-up, she was clinically stable and maintained on corticosteroid therapy. CONCLUSION: An exceptional presentation of LVV with acute rhabdomyolysis is described in this case, which exhibited a good response to immunosuppressive therapy, suggesting consideration for a differential diagnosis when evaluating febrile patients with myalgia and elevated CK. Timely use of high-dose steroids until a diagnosis is established may yield a favourable outcome.

A New Immunosuppressive Therapy for Very Severe Aplastic Anemia in Children with Autoantibodies.

OBJECTIVE: At present, a number of very severe aplastic anemia (VSAA) patients cannot receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or standard immunosuppressive therapy (IST) due to the high cost of therapy, shortage of sibling donors, and lack of resources to support the HSCT. In addition, some VSAA patients with autoantibodies have no life-threatening infections or bleeding at the time of initial diagnosis. Considering the disease condition, economics and other factors, the present study designed a new and relatively mild treatment strategy: cyclosporine A plus pulsed high-dose prednisone (CsA+HDP). METHODS: The present study retrospectively analyzed 11 VSAA patients, who were treated with CsA+HDP in our hospital from August 2017 to August 2019. RESULTS: The median follow-up time for these patients was 24.9 months. The overall response rate was 54.5% (6/11) at six months after the initiation of IST and 81.8% (9/11) at deadline. Five patients achieved complete remission and four patients met the criteria for partial response at the last follow-up. The median time to response for responders was 110 days. Three patients underwent HSCT due to the poor effect of CsA+HDP or to find a suitable transplant donor. Recurrence and clonal evolution were not found in any of these patients. The estimated 3-year overall survival rate and 3-year failure-free survival rate were 100.0% and 72.7%, respectively. In addition, the results revealed that the cyclosporine-prednisone-associated toxicity was mild and well-tolerated by most patients. CONCLUSION: The novel CsA+HDP regimen has good therapeutic effect and safety for VSAA patients with autoantibodies, who have no serious life-threatening infections or bleeding at the time of initial diagnosis.

Engineering PD-L1 Cellular Nanovesicles Encapsulating Epidermal Growth Factor for Deep Second-Degree Scald Treatment.

Scars are common and intractable consequences after scalded wound healing, while monotherapy of epidermal growth factors does not solve this problem. Maintaining the stability of epidermal growth factors and promoting scarless healing of wounds is paramount. In this study, engineering cellular nanovesicles overexpressing PD-L1 proteins, biomimetic nanocarriers with immunosuppressive efficacy, were successfully prepared to encapsulate epidermal growth factors for maintaining its bioactivity. Remarkably, PD-L1 cellular nanovesicles encapsulating epidermal growth factors (EGF@PDL1 NVs) exerted desired therapeutic effect by attenuating the overactivation of T cell immune response and promoting skin cells migration and proliferation. Hence, EGF@PD-L1 NVs promoted wound healing and prevented scarring in deep second-degree scald treatment, demonstrating a better effect than using individual PD-L1 NVs or EGF. This research proved that EGF@PD-L1 NVs is considered an innovative and thorough therapy of deep second-degree scald.

The splitting of the electromagnon mode in conically spiral multiferroic magnets.

In this paper, we study conically spiral multiferroic magnets with coupled magnetic and ferroelectric orders. By generalizing the spin-current model, we study spin wave excitations and electromagnons. We find that the electromagnon mode will split into two branches with different dispersions in an (external or internal) magnetic field. We apply our theory to some multiferroic materials and find that the results qualitatively agree with recent experiments. We also make predictions for new experiments.

Risk factors for spontaneous abortion from a prevention perspective in rural China: a population-based follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to investigate the risk factors for spontaneous abortion among rural Chinese women. METHODS: Risk factors prior to pregnancy associated with spontaneous abortion were identified among 17,248 rural women enrolled in a prospective population-based follow-up study. The risk of spontaneous abortion was estimated with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for several factors. A nonconditional logistic regression analysis was then performed to identify the independently associated factors. RESULTS: The total sample of this study population consisted of 17,248 pregnant women including 921 of them whose pregnancies resulted in spontaneous abortion and the incidence of spontaneous abortion was 5.04%. After the adjustment of confounding factors, menarche age, serum creatinine, family genetic diseases or maternal congenital defects was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion while folic acid supplementation reduced the risk among rural Chinese women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study suggest that multiple modifiable factors may increase the risk of spontaneous abortion which may help relevant departments better to guide detailed effectively prevention strategies toward spontaneous abortion to improve the reproductive quality of rural population. Further studies are required to elaborate these risk factors for spontaneous abortion.

Improvement of 3-D Ultrasound Spine Imaging Technique Using Fast Reconstruction Algorithm.

Three-dimensional (3-D) freehand ultrasound (US) imaging has been applied to the investigation of spine deformity. However, it is a challenge for the current 3-D imaging reconstruction algorithms to achieve a balance between image quality and computation time. The objectives of this article are to implement a new fast reconstruction algorithm that can fulfill the request of immediate demonstration and processing for high-quality 3-D spine imaging, and to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of scoliotic curvature measurement when using the algorithm. The fast dot-projection (FDP) algorithm was applied for voxel-based nearest neighbor (VNN), multiple plane interpolation (MPI), and pixel nearest neighbor (PNN) protocols to reduce the reconstruction time. The 3-D image volume was reconstructed from the datasets acquired from scoliotic subjects. The computational cost, image characteristics, and statistical analyses of curve measurements were compared and evaluated among different reconstruction protocols. The results illustrated that the 3-D spine images using the FDP-MPI4 algorithm showed higher brightness (20%), contrast (14%), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (26%) than FDP-VNN. The measurement performed by trainee rater exhibited significant improvement in measurement reliability and accuracy using FDP-MPI4 in comparison with FDP-VNN ( ), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of interrater measurement increased from 0.88 to 0.96. The FDP-PNN method could acquire and reconstruct spine images simultaneously and present the results in 1-2 min, which showed the potential to provide the approximate real-time visualization for fast screening.

Neuroprotective Effect of Fructus broussonetiae on APP/PS1 Mice via Upregulation of AKT/ß-Catenin Signaling.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of Chinese herbal medicine Fructus broussonetiae (FB) in both mouse and cell models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: APP/PS1 mice treated with FB for 2 months and vehicle-treated controls were run through the Morris water maze and object recognition test to evaluate learning and memory capacity. RNA-Seq, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining were also conducted to evaluate the effects of FB treatment on various signaling pathways altered in APP/PS1 mice. To further explore the mechanisms underlying FB's protective effect, PC-12 cells were treated with Aß25-35 in order to establish an in vitro model of AD. RESULTS: FB-treated mice showed improved learning and memory capacity on both the Morris water maze and object recognition tests. RNA-seq of hippocampal tissue from APP/PS1 mice showed that FB had effects on multiple signaling pathways, specifically decreasing cell apoptotic signaling and increasing AKT and ß-catenin signaling. Similarly, FB up-regulated both AKT and ß-catenin signaling in PC-12 cells pre-treated with Aß25-35, in which AKT positively regulated ß-catenin signaling. Further study showed that AKT promoted ß-catenin signaling via enhancing ß-catenin (Ser552) phosphorylation. Moreover, AKT and ß-catenin signaling inhibition both resulted in the attenuated survival of FB-treated cells, indicating the AKT/ß-catenin signaling is a crucial mediator in FB promoted cell survival. CONCLUSIONS: FB exerted neuroprotective effects on hippocampal cells of APP/PS1 mice, as well as improved cell viability in an in vitro model of AD. The protective actions of FB occurred via the upregulation of AKT/ß-catenin signaling.

Could saline irrigation clear all residual common bile duct stones after lithotripsy? A self-controlled prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: A previous study showed that irrigation with 100 mL saline reduced residual common bile duct (CBD) stones, which potentially cause recurrent stones after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. AIM: To determine whether saline irrigation can improve CBD clearance after lithotripsy. METHODS: This prospective self-controlled study enrolled patients receiving mechanical lithotripsy for large (> 1.2 cm) CBD stones. After occlusion cholangiography confirmed CBD stone clearance, peroral cholangioscopy (POC) was performed to determine clearance scores based on the number of residual stones. The amounts of residual stones spotted via POC were graded on a 5-point scale (score 1, worst; score 5, best). Scores were documented after only stone removal (control) and after irrigation with 50 mL and 100 mL saline, respectively. The stone composition was analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: Between October 2018 and January 2020, 47 patients had CBD clearance scores of 2.4 ± 1.1 without saline irrigation, 3.5 ± 0.7 with 50 mL irrigation, and 4.6 ± 0.6 with 100 mL irrigation (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that CBD diameter > 15 mm [odds ratio (OR) = 0.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01-0.49; P = 0.007] and periampullary diverticula (PAD) (OR = 6.51, 95%CI: 1.08-39.21; P = 0.041) were independent risk factors for residual stones. Bilirubin pigment stones constituted the main residual stones found in patients with PAD (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Irrigation with 100 mL of saline may not clear all residual CBD stones after lithotripsy, especially in patients with PAD and/or a dilated (> 15 mm) CBD. Pigment residual stones are soft and commonly found in patients with PAD. Additional saline irrigation may be required to remove retained stones.

[Effect of Tongdu Shujin Decoction () plus Lijin () manipulation on degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of Tongdu Shujin Decoction (, TSD) combined with manipulation for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. METHODS: The clinical data of 50 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis diagnosed from October 2015 to October 2017 were retrospectively studied. Fifty patients were divided into a treatment group and a control group, 25 cases in each group. In the treatment group, 25 patients were treated by TSD plus combined manipulation, including 10 males and 15 females, with an average age of (53.43±5.26) years old, the course of disease was (6.9± 2.3) years. In the control group, 25 patients were treated by the adenosine cobalamin tablets and loxoprofen sodium tablets, including 12 males and 13 females, with an average age of (56.37±4.61) years old, the course of disease was (7.1±3.4) years. The two groups were treated for 4 weeks. After treatment, the clinical efficacy of the two groups were evaluated by the low back pain evaluation criteria (JOA) and visual analogue scale (VAS) . RESULTS: Fifty patients were followed up for 2.2 to 3.2 (2.62± 0.47) months. After treatment, JOA and VAS scores of the two groups were significantly improved compared with those before treatment, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01) , and the improvement degree of the treatment group was better than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01) . CONCLUSION: TSD combined with manipulation for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis has a good effect.