Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio: a controversial marker in predicting Crohn’s disease severity

Peripheral blood-derived inflammation-based scores such as the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) have recently been proposed as prognostic markers in ulcerative colitis. In some previous serological markers are commonly used to detect the severity of the Crohn’s disease (CD), but their sensitivity and specificity are relatively low. So we want to use simple indicators which are easy to obtain to predict disease severity. Now, we investigated and compared the capacity of NLR and other inflammatory markers in detecting CD activity and differentiating CD patients from healthy controls. These CD patients had not received corticosteroid or immunosuppressive drugs within a defined period of time. Data from our hospital between 2010 and 2012 was used. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cells (WBC), platelet count and albumin were measured in 44 patients with active CD, 66 patients with inactive CD, and 55 healthy blood donors. Disease activity was assessed by the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index. In the active CD group, NLR values were found to be elevated compared to inactive CD patients and controls (6.00±7.38, 5.53±6.18 and 1.84±0.85, respectively), but statistical difference was not found between active and inactive CD groups. The overall accuracy of NLR (cutoff: 2.13 fl), CRP (cutoff: 10.5 mg/dl), ESR (cutoff: 19.5 mm/hour) and WBC (cutoff: 9.2 × 10⁹/l) in differentiating CD patients from healthy controls was 80.9%, 67.3%, 71% and 60% respectively. NLR values were found to be correlated with WBC and CRP levels. NLR increased in CD patients compared with healthy subjects. NLR had the best accuracy in determination of CD patients and healthy controls. NLR did not show a discriminative value in disease activity.     

睑板腺功能障碍相关干眼的诊疗进展

近年来随着电子产品终端使用频率的增加,干眼的发病率也逐年攀升,严重影响人们的工作与生活。干眼是最常见的眼表疾病,通常由多种因素引起,其中睑板腺功能障碍是引起干眼的主要因素之一。睑板腺分泌异常或导管阻塞均会引起蒸发过强型干眼的发生。本综述通过总结相关文献,对睑板腺功能障碍相关干眼的病因、病理、诊断、相关治疗进行阐述。     

Serum nesfatin-1 is associated with testosterone and the severity of erectile dysfunction

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate serum nesfatin-1 concentrations in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Patients with ED were selected from the Department of Urology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. The International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) was used to evaluate the severity of ED. Serum nesfatin-1 and gonadal hormone levels, including luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone were measured. The IIEF-5 scores (t = −21.034, p < .001) and nesfatin-1 levels (t = −7.043, p < .001) in patients with ED were significantly lower than in healthy controls. Moreover, patients with ED showed decreased testosterone levels (t = −3.478, p = .001), whereas there were no significant differences in serum levels of FSH (t = −0.088, p = .930) and LH (t = 1.114, p = .270) between the two groups. Furthermore, positive relationships were found between serum nesfatin-1 and testosterone concentrations (r = .742, p = .001) and IIEF-5 scores (r = .395, p = .009) in ED patients. Additionally, based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under curve for nesfatin-1 was 0.884 with 83.3% sensitivity and 81.4% specificity in discriminating ED patients from healthy controls. The decrease in serum nesfatin-1 level may be related to testosterone and the severity of ED.     

Phytochemical characterization,antioxidant potential,and health risk assessment of Radix Oryzae Glutinosae

Radix Oryzae Glutinosae (ROG) has been used as a traditional anhidrotic agent in China. Ten samples were systematically assessed based on four aspects of their chemical profiles and antioxidant activity. The former was achieved using ultraviolet-visible spectra (UV), infrared absorption spectra (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR), and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) fingerprints, and antioxidant activity was assessed using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, the 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) assay, and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The presence of amino acids, flavonoids, organic acids, and sugars was indicated in all samples. A hierarchical cluster analysis and a canonical discriminant analysis were introduced to interpret the results of the multi-pattern fingerprint. The results of the correlations between the individual elements and between each element with the different types of metabolites displayed many interesting patterns. In vitro studies revealed that all samples displayed antioxidant activities. A pollution status examination and heavy metal evaluation of the ROG samples were performed. The human health risk assessment associated with the intake of potentially harmful elements in herbs was calculated in terms of the estimated daily intake, the target hazard quotient, and the lifetime cancer risk. The Nemerow multi-factor pollution index results suggested that all samples belonged to the serious pollution level. The results of the noncarcinogenic risk assessment study indicated that the pattern of consumption of this herb in China seems to suggest an excessive health hazard associated with some toxic elements studied. The carcinogenic risk results suggested that there is a potential risk due to As, Cr, Cd, and Ni for consumers, and these may contribute to the population cancer burden through ROG ingestion. This study provides insights into the organic medicinal constituents and the trace elements of the herb. The results will enable this herb to be used more effectively and safely.     

Pegylated Interferon-α Plus Ribavirin Therapy Improves Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Attaining Sustained Virological Response

Background

Pegylated interferon (pegIFN) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) has successfully improved the rate of sustained virological response (SVR) in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals, which reduces the progression of the chronic liver disease. However, the influence of combination therapy (pegIFN/RBV) on cardiac function has yielded ambiguous results. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of combination therapy with pegIFN/RBV on cardiac function of HCV-infected individuals with SVR.

Inhibition mechanism of a newly cloned candidate tumor suppressor gene JST during hepatocarcinogenesis and its abnormal expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma from Qidong liver cancer risk area, China

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To study inhibition effect of a newly cloned candidate tumor suppressor gene (JST) during hepatocarcinogenesis and its normal expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma from Qidong liver cancer risk area, China. METHODOLOGY: By preparing rabbit anti-human JST polyclonal antibody, constructing of JST frameshift mutant and exploring RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, Northern blot, cDNA expression microarray, co-immunoprecipitation and the tumorigenicity assay in vivo and in vitro, gene treatment, etc, JST gene expression and inhibition tumor growth effects were analyzed, including 150 pairs of HCC specimens and their adjacent para-cancerous tissues, 8 cases of normal liver tissues and QGY7701, HepG2, Hep3B cell line. Its relationship with the invasiveness of HCC from Qidong was also investigated. RESULTS: Our results showed that there is expression difference for JST between liver cancer and para-cancerous tissue and the results of RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, Northern blot suggested that it is a down-regulation gene. The labeling index (LI) of cancer tissue and para-cancerous tissue was (70.2+/-8.7) and (9.4+/-2.8) respectively (p<0.01), lower LI was closely related with invasiveness of HCC, decreased expression of JST was also shown by Western blotting. Results of RT-PCR showed the JST gene expression index (EI) of HCCs was lower than that of para-cancerous tissue and normal liver tissue and there are some sequence differences between cancer and para-cancerous tissues. Northern blot showed JST having down-regulation expression among 92.20% (138/150) of patients. Using in situ hybridization, the signal corresponding to JST mRNA was particularly weak in cytoplasm of HCC when compared with those of para-cancerous and normal liver tissues. Less expression of JST was also found to be correlated with high metastasis potentiality of HCC. JST overexpression inhibits DNA synthesis and apoptosis in QGY7701 cells. QGY7701 cell transfected with JST is more inhibited in soft agar than that of vector transfected control cells (p<0.01) or QGY7701 cells stably transfected with the JST frameshift mutant. The tumor formation is more inhibited in the QGY7701-pcDNA3.1-JST group than that in the QGY7701-pcDNA3.1, QGY7701-pcDNA3.1-JST frameshift mutant group. cDNA expression microarray showed expression differences of 10% (20/200,18 up-regulation; 2 up-regulation) tumor genes were considered significant between QGY7701-pcDNA3.1-JST and QGY7701-pcDNA3.1. Using a co-immunoprecipitation approach, intracellular binding of JST and p53 was found. Higher levels of p53 were detected following infection with pcDNA3.1-JST when compared with pcDNA3.1. Induction of FasL could be demonstrated in Hep3B and in HepG2 cells following transfection pcDNA3.1-JST, but not following transfection pcDNA3.1. CONCLUSIONS: JST is a putative tumor suppressor gene. Overexpression of JST gene may contribute to inhibiting the occurrence, advancement and invasiveness of HCC from Qidong, a high risk area in China.     

Clinical therapeutic effects of high-flow nasal oxygen therapy in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:For patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) complicated by respiratory acidosis, noninvasive ventilation therapy is thought to be the first-line treatment. In patients with AECOPD, the effect of high-flow nasal oxygen therapy is not well studied. In this study, the existing data will be synthesized to obtain an effective rate of movement of nasal oxygen therapy in patients with AECOPD.Methods:Using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, a systematic search will be undertaken to identify randomized controlled trails (RCTs) on the clinical therapeutic effects of rate of movement of nasal oxygen therapy in patients with AECOPD without language constraints from their onset to November 2020. To classify potentially qualifying tests, we will also review Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the reference lists of included studies. Two independent reviewers will review inclusion trials and execute data extraction. Research bias and quality will be measured using the Cochrane Collaboration Bias Method 2.0. The findings of the analysis will be pooled using a formula of fixed-effects or random-effects. We will address any dispute by dialogue, and cases of disagreement will be mediated by a third author.Results:The current research will examine the clinical therapeutic results of patients with AECOPD with rate of movement of nasal oxygen therapy.Conclusion:To assess the efficacy of rate of movement of nasal oxygen therapy in patients with AECOPD, the present analysis would provide consistent facts.OSF registration number:November 18, 2020.osf.io/umd48. (https://osf.io/umd48/).     

不同形态低切应力对小鼠腹主动脉重构及内皮P选择素表达的影响

目的 制备小鼠腹主动脉狭窄的实验模型,探讨短期不同形态的低剪切应力对动脉重建及内皮P选择素表达的影响.方法 24只小鼠随机平均分为3个实验组(1h组、4h组、24h组)和1个正常对照组,实验组用动脉银夹建立腹主动脉局部狭窄模型,彩色多普勒超声检测狭窄近心端和远心端血流动力学参数,计算切应力值;血管标本行HE染色和内皮P选择素免疫组织化学染色,定量分析动脉病理形态学的改变和半定量分析内皮P选择素表达的强度.结果 狭窄动脉近心端和远心端血流分别形成低切应力区和振荡性低切应力涡流区,并且在所有观察点狭窄动脉近心端和远心端血管发生不同程度的动脉重建与内皮P选择素表达,但近心端较远心端更明显(P<0.05).结论 血流动力学改变在较短的时间内可引起动脉重构及内皮P选择素的表达,而且不同形态低切应力导致的病变程度是不同的.     

The effects of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate and diphenylboronic anhydride on gap junctions composed of Connexin43 in TM₄ sertoli cells

2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB) has recently been demonstrated to inhibit gap junction (GJ) channels, whereas the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Using mouse TM? Sertoli cell which expresses connexin43 (Cx43), we explored the effects of 2-APB and its analogues on dye-coupling through junctional channels formed by Cx43 and on expression of Cx43. Exposure of the cells to 2-APB (1-50 μM) and one of its analogues diphenylboronic anhydride (DPBA) (1-30 μM) for 4 h leads to a significant decrease in dye coupling of GJ in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibitory effects of 2-APB and DPBA are reversible since decreased GJ coupling resumes after the two compounds are washed out. The disfunction of GJ induced by 2-APB and DPBA is associated with a decrease in total amount of Cx43 protein and number of GJs on the cell membrane. 2-APB and DPBA do not alter Cx43 phosphorylation state and the level of Cx43 mRNA expression. The loss of Cx43 protein is prevented by either lysosomal or proteasomal inhibitor, suggesting that the decrease in Cx43 results from a 2-APB or DPBA-enhanced degradation of Cx43. The present results indicate that 2-APB and DPBA inhibit GJ communication through decreasing Cx43 expression in TM? cells.