OBJECTIVES: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are potentially ideal for type 2 diabetes treatment, owing to their multidirectional differentiation ability and immunomodulatory properties. Here we investigated whether the stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) in combination with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) could treat type 2 diabetic rats, and explored the underlying mechanism. METHODS: SD rats were used to generate a type 2 diabetes model, which received stem cell therapy, HBO therapy, or both together. Before and after treatment, body weight, blood glucose, and serum insulin, blood lipid, pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6), and urinary proteins were measured and compared. After 6 weeks, rats were sacrificed and their organs were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunofluorescence staining for insulin and glucagon; apoptosis and proliferation were analyzed in islet cells. Structural changes in islets were observed under an electron microscope. Expression levels of Pdx1, Ngn3, and Pax4 mRNAs in the pancreas were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RESULTS: In comparison with diabetic mice, those treated with the combination or SHE therapy showed decreased blood glucose, insulin resistance, serum lipids, and pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased body weight and serum insulin. The morphology and structure of pancreatic islets improved, as evident from an increase in insulin-positive cells and a decrease in glucagon-positive cells. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining of islet cells revealed the decreased apoptosis index, while Ki67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining showed increased proliferation index. Pancreatic expression of Pdx1, Ngn3, and Pax4 was upregulated. CONCLUSION: SHED combined with HBO therapy was effective for treating type 2 diabetic rats. The underlying mechanism may involve SHED-mediated increase in the proliferation and trans-differentiation of islet β-cells and decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis of islets.

Abstract Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death worldwide, and angiogenesis plays important roles in CHD. Thus, in the present study, the angiogenic efficacy of four common cardiovascular medicines (aspirin, pravastatin, metoprolol and isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN)) was determined by the number and length of zebrafish intersegmental vessels (ISVs) after immersing zebrafish embryos in different medicines. Results showed that ISMN significantly increased the length and number of ISVs. ISMN is a long-acting nitrate ester drug. It has been used as a vasodilator to dilate arteries and veins to reduce the cardiac preload and postload. However, the effect of ISMN on angiogenesis remains unclear. Thus, by in vitro experiments, the angiogenic mechanism of ISMN was evaluated through detecting the viability and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the expression of angiogenesis-related genes and miRNAs. Results indicated that ISMN could increase the viability and proliferation of HUVECs by decreasing apoptosis, and elevated the expressions of vedf, kdrl, pdgfr in zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, the expressions of miR-126, miR-130a and miR-210 were also regulated in ISMN-treated HUVECs. In conclusion, ISMN could promote angiogenesis in zebrafish embryos and HUVECs, implying ISMN may be a potential therapeutic in treating angiogenesis-related diseases.

OBJECTIVES: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) affect the elderly population, especially postmenopausal women. Percutaneous kyphoplasty is designed to treat painful vertebral compression fractures for which conservative therapy has been unsuccessful. High-viscosity cement can be injected by either a hydraulic pressure delivery system (HPDS) or a balloon tamp system (BTS). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the safety and clinical outcomes of these two systems. METHODS: A random, multicenter, prospective study was performed. Clinical and radiological assessments were carried out, including assessments of general surgery information, visual analog scale, quality of life, cement leakage, and height and angle restoration. RESULTS: Using either the HPDS or BTS to inject high-viscosity cement effectively relieved pain and improved the patients’ quality of life immediately, and these effects lasted at least two years. The HPDS using high-viscosity cement reduced cost, surgery time, and radiation exposure and showed similar clinical results to those of the BTS. In addition, the leakage rate and the incidence of adjacent vertebral fractures after the HPDS treatment were reduced compared with those after treatment using the classic vertebroplasty devices. However, the BTS had better height and angle restoration abilities. CONCLUSIONS: The percutaneous HPDS with high-viscosity cement has similar clinical outcomes to those of traditional procedures in the treatment of vertebral fractures in the elderly. The HPDS with high-viscosity cement is better than the BTS in the treatment of mild and moderate OVCFs and could be an alternative method for the treatment of severe OVCFs.

Abstract: Introduction and aim. Hyponatremia is common in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and is associated with increased mortality. Tolvaptan, a vasopressor V2 receptor antagonist, can increase free wáter excretion, but its efficacy and safety in cirrhotic patients remain unclear. Material and methods. We studied the usage and safety of tolvaptan in cirrhotic patients in a real-life, non-randomized, multicenter prospective cohort study. Forty-nine cirrhotic patients with hyponatremia were treated with tolvaptan 15 mg daily, and 48 patients not treated with tolvaptan in the same period served as controls. Improvement in serum sodium level was defined as an increase in serum sodium from < 125 to ≥ 125 mmol/L or from 125-134 to ≥ 135 mmol/L on day 7. Results. Twenty-three (47%) patients in the tolvaptan group and 17 (35%) in the control group had normal serum sodium on day 7 (p = 0.25). Serum sodium improved in 30 (61%) patients in the tolvaptan group and 17 (35%) patients in the control group (p = 0.011). Adverse events occurred in 46-47% of patients in both groups, and tolvaptan was not associated with worsened liver function. No patient with normal serum sodium on day 7 died within 30 days of treatment, whereas 16% of those with persistent hyponatremia died (p = 0.0019). Conclusion. In conclusion, short-term tolvaptan treatment is safe and can improve serum sodium level in cirrhotic patients with hyponatremia. Normalization of serum sodium level is associated with better survival.

Abstract A solution procedure using the Green's function based finite element method (FEM) is presented for two-dimensional nonlinear steady-state seepage analysis with the presence of free surface in isotropic dams. In the present algorithm, an iteration strategy is designed to convert the over-specified free surface problem to a regular partial differential equation problem. Then, at each iteration step, the Green's function for isotropic linear seepage partial differential equation is employed to construct the element interior water head field, while the conventional shape functions are used for the independent element frame water head field. Then these two independent fields are connected by a double-variable hybrid functional to produce the final solving equation system. By means of the physical definition of Green's function, all two-dimensional element domain integrals in the present algorithm can reduce to one-dimensional element boundary integrals, so that versatile multi-node element is constructed to simplify mesh reconstruction during iteration. Finally, numerical results from the present Green's function based FEM with isotropic Green's function kernels are compared with other numerical results to verify and demonstrate the performance of the present method.

A toxoplasmose é uma zoonose global causada pelo Toxoplasma gondii, o qual pode infectar animais de sangue quente e seres humanos. Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de investigar a soroprevalência em cavalos para T. gondii, na região de Xinjiang, no Noroeste da China. Em 2011, foram recolhidas 637 amostras de sangue em sete distritos da Prefeitura Autônoma de Changji Hui do Xinjiang, as quais foram testadas para a presença de anticorpos, utilizando-se o teste de aglutinação modificado (MAT). Foram estimados fatores de risco relacionados com a soroprevalência (idade, sexo e distrito), através de uma análise de regressão logística multivariada. Um total de 200 equinos (31,4%, 95% IC 27,79 – 35,00) foi positivo para T. gondii. Idade, sexo e região estudada não apresentaram associação com a soroprevalência (p>0,05) na análise de regressão logística. Os resultados revelam que a infecção por T. gondii tem uma prevalência generalizada em todo o território de Xinjiang, no Noroeste da China, constituindo uma séria ameaça à saúde de animais e de humanos. Consequentemente, propõe-se que sejam adotadas medidas reforçadas para o controle e prevenção da infecção de cavalos por T. gondii, no Xinjiang, Noroeste da China.

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect warm-blooded animals and humans. The present study was performed to investigate the seroprevalence of T. gondii in horses in Xinjiang, northwestern China. A total of 637 blood samples were collected from seven regions in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang in 2011 and assayed for T. gondiiantibodies using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Risk factors (age, gender, and region) related to seroprevalence were determined by a multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 200 horses (31.4%, 95% CI 27.79–35.00) were seropositive for T. gondii. Age, gender, and region present no association with seroprevalence (p>0.05) in the logistic regression analysis. The results indicated that T. gondii is widely prevalent in horses in Xinjiang, northwestern China, representing a serious threat to animal and human health. Therefore, more careful measures should be performed to control and prevent T. gondii infection in horses from Xinjiang, northwestern China.

Foi desenvolvida uma nova abordagem de extração no ponto nuvem assistida por cossurfactantes ultrassônicos-termostáticos (CUS-CPE), combinada à cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência e detecção por ultavioleta (CLAE-UV), para a análise de glicocorticoides (dipropionato de beclometasona (BD), butirato de hidrocortisona (HB) e fenilpropionato de nandrolona (NPP)) em amostras de urina humana. Neste estudo, quatro sistemas de extração diferentes no ponto nuvem (CPE) são discutidos, incluindo ácido nonanoico DC-193, sulfato de sódio DC-193, ácido láurico DC-193 e o clássico sulfato de Triton X-100. Entre eles, sulfato de sódio DC-193 e Triton X-100 têm sido estudados nos últimos anos. Comparando com os dois primeiros sistemas, o ácido nonanoico DC-193 teve um ponto nuvem (CP) mais baixo, pouca absorbância UV e provocou danos menores à coluna de três glicocorticoides na mesma concentração de agente tensoativo, necessária como processo de pré-concentração, prévio à CLAE. Diagramas de fase foram usados para estudar os comportamentos de cavitação e transferência de massa das duas fases em micelas de agente tensoativo de silicone orgânico do tipo poliéter, dimeticona PEG-12 (DC-193). Os volumes da fase rica em agentes tensoativos obtidos foram muito pequenos (o fator de enriquecimento (EF) foi 35), o qual é muito menor e apresenta uma fase de separação mais rápida do que para Triton X-100 na mesma concentração de agente tensoativo. A linearidade foi investigada entre 1 e 350 ng mL-1. Os limites de detecção (LOD) estimados foram 1,29 para BD, 2,67 para HB e 3,33 ng mL-1 para NPP, respectivamente. O sistema proposto é rápido e eficiente, com recuperação dos três glicocorticoides superior a 85%, o que é similar ou melhor do que os dados relatados na literatura. O método mostrou-se seletivo, linear, preciso e reprodutível, tendo sido aplicado com sucesso na análise de glicocorticoides em amostras de urina humana.

A novel approach, cosurfactants ultrasonic-thermostatic-assisted cloud point extraction (CUS-CPE) combined with high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) is developed for the analysis of glucocorticoids (beclometasone dipropionate (BD), hydrocortisone butyrate (HB) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (NPP)) in human urine samples. In this study, four different cloud point extraction (CPE) systems are discussed, including DC-193-nonanoic acid, DC-193-sodium sulfate, DC-193-lauric acid and the classic Triton X-100 sulfate systems. Among them, DC-193-sodium sulfate and the classic Triton X-100 sulfate systems has been studied in the past few years. Comparing with the first two systems, DC-193-nonanoic acid system had a lower cloud point (CP), little UV absorbance and it is less damaging to the column of three glucocorticoids in same surfactant concentration which was required for application as a pre-concentration process prior to HPLC. Phase diagrams were used to study the cavitation and mass transfer behaviors of the two phases on micelles of polyether type organic silicon surfactant, PEG-12 dimethicone (DC-193).The volumes of surfactant-rich phase obtained were very small (the enrichment factor (EF) was 35), which was much smaller and had a quick phase separating speed than that of Triton X-100 in the same surfactant concentration. Linearity was investigated from 1 to 350 ng mL-1. The limits of detection (LOD) thus estimated were 1.29 for BD, 2.67 for HB and 3.33 ng mL-1 for NPP, respectively. In proposed CPE step is rapid and effective to obtain recovery of three glucocorticoids higher than 85%, which is similar or better than literature reported data. The method was shown to be selective, linear, precise and reproducible and successfully applied for the analysis of glucocorticoids in human urine samples.