ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the underlying mechanism of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) induced by Gynura segetum by measuring autophagy in mouse models. Methods: The model group was administered G. segetum (30 g/kg/d) by gavage, while the normal control group was administered an equal volume of saline daily for five weeks. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hepatic histopathological examinations, and Masson staining were performed to evaluate liver injury. Liver intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and P-selectin were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Hepatocellular apoptosis was assessed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Protein expression levels of autophagy markers were measured using Western blot analysis. Results: Gynura segetum was found to significantly induce liver injury compared with control mice, as evidenced by the increase of serum transaminases, a decrease in triglyceride levels, and histopathological changes in mice. Gynura segetum remarkably induced hepatocellular apoptosis and upregulated the expressions of ICAM-1 and P-selectin and also downregulated the protein expression levels of LC3, Atg12 and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein. Conclusions: Our results suggested that G. segetum induced liver injury with HSOS, and it was partly due to its ability to impair the autophagy pathway.

Abstract The study was designed to investigate the effects of cryopreservation on bovine, ovine, and goat sperm motility, acrosome structure, enzyme activity, and fertilization ability. Percentage of sperm with hyaluronidase enzyme (HYD) activity was detected by a modified sodium hyaluronate-gelatin membrane. The N-α-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BNPNA) method was used to assess the sperm acrosome enzyme (ACE). The mean percentage of sperm acrosome integrity dropped significantly (P < 0.01) after cryopreservation. The ACE activity of bovine sperm (100.48) was higher (P < 0.01) than that of ovine (57.88) or goat sperm (50.30), while the percentage of sperm with HYD activity of bovine (71.10%) and ovine (67.60%) sperm was higher than that of goat sperm (58.52%) after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Sperm motility was positively correlated with the activity of the two acrosome enzymes before and after cryopreservation (P < 0.01). Cryopreservation had a negative effect on acrosomal morphology, motility, and acrosomal enzyme activity in their sperm. The fertilization ability of ovine and goat sperm decreased significantly after cryopreservation, but that of frozen bovine sperm did not differ significantly when compared with fresh sperm. There was no significant difference between ovine and goat sperm indices, except for percentage of sperm with HYD activity.

PURPOSE:To re-evaluated the clinic efficacy of ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URS) and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on ureteral calculi with Cochrane systematic reviews in this paper.METHODS: We searched clinical randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled trials in databases such as Cochrane library, Medline, Springer, Elsevier Science Direct, PubMed. Pooled estimate of risk ratios (RRs), standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as measure of effect sizes. Summary effect estimates were also stratified by sample size, study design and study region. The overall effect sizes were derived using a random-effects model or fixed-effects model when appreciated, and meta-analysis were conducted with software RewMan 5.0.RESULTS:The meta-analysis suggested that there were significant differences of post-treatment stone free rate, repeat treatment rate, patients' satisfaction, incidence of postoperative complications, operation time and hospital stays between ESWL treatment cases and URS treatment cases. But in the sample sizes analysis, there were no significant differences of the post-treatment stone free rate and repeat treatment rate when the sample sizes were less than 100.CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the ureteroscopic lithotripsy treatment, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy treatment provided a significantly lower post-treatment stone free rate, but it also obviously brought out less postoperative complications, shorter operation time and hospital stays.