[A multicenter randomized controlled study of bismuth-containing quadruple therapy followed by Jing-Hua-Wei-Kang in the treatment of patients newly diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori infection and dyspepsia].

Objective: To investigate the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication rate and improvement of dyspepsia in patients who were newly diagnosed with H. pylori infection and dyspepsia and treated by bismuth-containing quadruple therapy followed by Jing-Hua-Wei-Kang(JHWK). Methods: Patients who were newly diagnosed with dyspepsia and H. pylori infection and treated in 16 medical centers in China between December 1, 2017 and September 30, 2019 were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group received bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (esomeprazole+amoxicillin+furazolidone+colloidal bismuth pectin capsule, 14 days), followed by JHWK (30 days), and the course of treatment was 44 days in total. In the control group, the administration regimen was bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (esomeprazole+amoxicillin+furazolidone+colloidal bismuth pectin capsule, 14 days). The main outcome measure was H. pylori eradication rate, while the secondary outcome measures were dyspepsia symptom changes and adverse events during the treatment and the 1st month after treatment. Results: A total of 1 054 patients were included in the study. There were 522 cases enrolled in the experimental group, including 224(42.91%) men and 298(57.09%) women, and the age was 53(26, 73) years old; 532 cases enrolled in the control group, including 221(41.54%) men and 311(58.46%) women, and the age was 46(22, 71) years old. Based on PP analysis, it was found that the H. pylori eradication rate in the experimental group was significantly higher than those in the control group (93.85% vs 87.88%, P=0.001). In the group of all enrolled patients, the symptom dyspepsia after H. pylori eradication was significantly improved compared with that before treatment [4(4, 7) vs 15(10, 22), P<0.001], so was the superior and middle abdominal pain [1(1, 4) vs 4(1, 8), P<0.001], the postprandial fullness [1(1, 4) vs 4(4, 9), P<0.001], the early satiety [1(1, 1) vs 4(1, 4), P<0.001], and the heartburn [1(1, 1) vs 1(1, 4), P<0.001]. The symptom dyspepsia after treatment was significantly improved compared with that before treatment in the experimental, the control groups, the successful and the unsuccessful H. pylori eradication groups. The superior and middle abdominal pain after treatment was signifcantly improved than that before treatment [1(1, 2) vs 1(1, 4), P<0.001], so were the postprandial fullness [1(1, 3) vs 1(1, 4), P=0.002] and the dyspepsia[4(4, 7) VS 7(4, 10), P<0.001]. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the experimental group and the control group (1.34% vs 0.38%, P=0.09). Conclusions: Compared with bismuth-containing quadruple therapy, bismuth-containing quadruple therapy followed by JHWK significantly improves the H. pylori eradication rate without increasing the incidence of adverse events. H. pylori eradication therapy can improve symptoms of patients with H. pylori infection and dyspepsia.

Aberrant promoter methylation of the CD4 gene in peripheral blood cells of mastitic dairy cows.

Bovine mastitis is the most common and costly disease of dairy cattle. Cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) is closely related to the immune response in mastitis. We quantified promoter CpG methylation levels of the CD4 gene in Chinese Holsteins with clinical mastitis (CM) and in healthy controls; these levels were quantitatively detected with bisulfite pyrosequencing assays and confirmed by cloning sequencing. We found that the bovine CD4 promoter had 16% more methyl groups in the cows with CM (75.0 ± 5.8%) compared to the controls (59.0 ± 8.5%). The decreased expression level of CD4 in CM cows may be downregulated by the increased DNA methylation levels in the CD4 promoter. Two-dimensional hierarchical clustering analyses showed large differences in promoter CD4 methylation between mastitic and healthy cows; the dendrogram clearly distinguished the cows with clinical mastitis from healthy controls based on methylation levels. The DNA methylation level of the CD4 gene was strongly influenced by mastitis status in all comparisons. We suggest that the DNA methylation level of the CD4 promoter can be used as a molecular marker for clinical mastitis in dairy cows.

Novel single nucleotide polymorphisms of the bovine methyltransferase 3b gene and their association with meat quality traits in beef cattle.

DNA methylation is essential for adipose deposition in mammals. We screened SNPs of the bovine DNA methyltransferase 3b (DNMT3b) gene in Snow Dragon beef, a commercial beef cattle population in China. Nine SNPs were found in the population and three of six novel SNPs were chosen for genotyping and analyzing a possible association with 16 meat quality traits. The frequencies of the alleles and genotypes of the three SNPs in Snow Dragon beef were similar to those in their terminal-paternal breed, Wagyu. Association analysis disclosed that SNP1 was not associated with any of the traits; SNP2 was significantly associated with lean meat color score and chuck short rib score, and SNP3 had a significant effect on dressing percentage and back-fat thickness in the beef population. The individuals with genotype GG for SNP2 had a 25.7% increase in lean meat color score and a 146% increase in chuck short rib score, compared with genotype AA. The cattle with genotype AG for SNP3 had 35.7 and 24% increases in dressing percentage and 28.8 and 29.2% increases in back-fat thickness, compared with genotypes GG and AA, respectively. Genotypic combination analysis revealed significant interactions between SNP1 and SNP2 and between SNP2 and SNP3 for the traits rib-eye area and live weight. We conclude that there is considerable evidence that DNMT3b is a determiner of beef quality traits.

Rosuvastatin inhibits inflammatory response and resists fibrosis after myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of rosuvastatin on myocardial infarction in rats and its mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 24 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: intensive statin group (n=8), myocardial infarction control group (n=8) and sham-operation group (n=8). The left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated to establish myocardial infarction models. Rats in intensive statin group were treated with gavage via rosuvastatin (1 mg × kg) and 1.5 mL distilled water suspension at 3 d before operation, while rats in the other two groups received gavage via the same amount of distilled water till 4 weeks after operation. Venous blood was collected using capillary glass tubes at 3 d before operation (before medication) and the last day in the 4th week after operation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was detected via chemiluminescence assay, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was detected via immunofluorescence assay. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and Masson staining were performed for myocardium to detect the inflammation and fibrosis. Finally, the expressions of inflammatory protein p65, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and fibrin were detected via Western blotting, and the Snail expression was detected by immunohistochemical assay. RESULTS: The survival rate and cardiac function of rats in intensive statin group were superior to those in control group. HE staining and detection of blood IL-6 and TNF-α, and p65 and PPAR protein expressions revealed that the inflammatory levels in the body and myocardium of rats in intensive statin group were decreased compared with those in control group. Masson staining and detection of fibrin level showed that the myocardial fibrosis level of rats in intensive statin group was reduced compared with that in control group. CONCLUSIONS: Rosuvastatin can reduce the level of myocardial fibrosis through alleviating the inflammatory response in rats with myocardial infarction.

A combustion method to synthesize nanoporous graphene.

In this paper, we introduce a combustion method which is rapid, low cost, mass-producing and environmentally friendly to produce nanoporous graphene. After loading a graphene oxide aerogel (GOA)/paper (GOP) on a preheated hot plate (as the heat source, with a temperature as low as 200 °C) under an ambient environment, in a few seconds, the GOA/GOP would self-combust and change into reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with nanopores mainly concentrated in the 0.4-2.0 nm range and a large specific surface area of 536 m2 g-1. Supercapacitors fabricated with the synthesized porous RGO (P-RGO) showed a high specific capacitance of 245 F g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, and a retention rate of about 96.9% after 12 000 cycle tests with respect to the initial specific capacitance with a scan rate of 10.0 A g-1. The production yield of this method was as high as 77.0%.

A kinematic study of the oropharyngeal swallowing of a liquid.

Swallowing can become a problem for people with advanced age or laryngeal cancer, especially after surgical resection. The purpose of this study was to quantify the mechanical transport of the bolus through the throat by simultaneously comparing the instantaneous position and velocity of the bolus to the generation of pressure at different sites in the oropharyngeal cavity. Swallows of barium liquid were analyzed using Manofluorography, which simultaneously recorded pressure and barium position through a split screen display. Frame-by-frame analysis was used to describe bolus motion. The graph of head and tail movement showed an hourglass shape with an initial slow, then rapid movement of the bolus head. The peak bolus head velocity averaged 47 cm/s and the maximum acceleration was 460 cm/s2. Comparison of pressure traces with the kinematic curves revealed the relative timings of tongue movement, negative suction pressure from the pharyngoesophageal segment and the contraction wave. The magnitude of the gravity and resistance forces were estimated and relative strengths compared. The pharynx can be viewed as a dynamic conduit with changing diameters. The tongue driving force initially drove the bolus. Laryngeal elevation and the pharyngoesophageal segment developed a prebolus negative suction pressure ahead of the bolus. For vertical swallowing of the barium liquid, gravity played the dominant role in head transport. Contraction of the pharyngeal walls served to clear the tail of the bolus from the pharynx. These results aid in the understanding of the physiology of normal swallowing and provide quantitative data for the evaluation of oropharyngeal reconstruction.