Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a difficult intestinal disease characterized by inflammation, and its mechanism is complex and diverse. Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPT2) plays an important regulatory role in inflammatory diseases. However, the role of ANGPT2 in UC has not been reported so far. After exploring the expression level of ANGPT2 in serum of UC patients, the reaction mechanism of ANGPT2 was investigated in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced UC mice. After ANGPT2 expression was suppressed, the clinical symptoms and pathological changes of UC mice were detected. Colonic infiltration, oxidative stress, and colonic mucosal barrier in UC mice were evaluated utilizing immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and related kits. Finally, western blot was applied for the estimation of mTOR signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins. ANGPT2 silencing improved clinical symptoms and pathological changes, alleviated colonic inflammatory infiltration and oxidative stress, and maintained the colonic mucosal barrier in DSS-induced UC mice. The regulatory effect of ANGPT2 on UC disease might occur by regulating the mTOR signaling pathway and thus affecting autophagy-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome inactivation. ANGPT2 silencing alleviated UC by regulating autophagy-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome inactivation via the mTOR signaling pathway. (UC inflammation diverse Angiopoietinlike Angiopoietin like ANGPT (ANGPT2 diseases However far patients DSSinduced DSS induced suppressed detected stress immunohistochemistry immunofluorescence kits Finally NLRP inflammasomerelated proteins autophagymediated autophagy mediated (ANGPT

ABSTRACT Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of the vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) at different time points for postoperative prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) in adult congenital heart disease patients undergoing surgical treatment combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods: Patients were divided into two groups that developed PMV or not. The propensity score matching method was applied to reduce the effects of confounding factors between the two groups. VIS at different time points (VIS at the end of surgery, VIS6h, VIS12h, and VIS12h max) after surgery were recorded and calculated. The value of VIS in predicting PMV was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze independent risk factors. Results: Among 250 patients, 52 were in the PMV group, and 198 were in the non-PMV group. PMV rate was 20.8%. After propensity score matching, 94 patients were matched in pairs. At each time point, the area under the ROC curve predicted by VIS for PMV was > 0.500, among which VIS at the end of surgery was the largest (0.805). The optimal cutoff point for VIS of 6.5 could predict PMV with 78.7% sensitivity and 72.3% specificity. VIS at the end of surgery was an independent risk factor for PMV (odds ratio=1.301, 95% confidence interval 1.091~1.551, P<0.01). Conclusion: VIS at the end of surgery is an independent predictor for PMV in patients with adult congenital heart disease surgical treatment combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. Introduction vasoactiveinotropic vasoactive inotropic (PMV grafting Methods not VIS6h VISh h max calculated (ROC Results 25 5 group 19 nonPMV non 208 20 8 20.8% 9 pairs 0500 0 500 0.500 0.805. 0805 0.805 . 805 (0.805) 65 6 6. 787 78 7 78.7 723 72 3 72.3 specificity odds ratio1301 ratio 1 301 ratio=1.301 95 10911551 091 551 1.091~1.551 P<0.01. P001 P P<0.01 01 P<0.01) Conclusion 2 20.8 050 50 0.50 080 0.80 80 (0.805 78. 72. ratio130 30 ratio=1.30 1091155 09 55 1.091~1.55 P00 P<0.0 20. 05 0.5 08 0.8 (0.80 ratio13 ratio=1.3 109115 1.091~1.5 P0 P<0. 0. (0.8 ratio1 ratio=1. 10911 1.091~1. P<0 (0. ratio=1 1091 1.091~1 P< (0 ratio= 109 1.091~ ( 10 1.091 1.09 1.0 1.

Abstract Objective Kawasaki Disease (KD) may mimic Parapharyngeal (PPI) and Retropharyngeal Infections (RPI), leading to misdiagnosis as Deep Neck Infections (DNIs). The treatment plans for the two diseases are different, and delayed treatment can lead to serious complications. Therefore, prompt diagnosis and management are necessary. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical features of KD mimicking DNIs and explore the treatment options. Methods Children with cellulitis or abscess in parapharyngeal or retropharyngeal space in neck CT were included in this study. The medical records of enrolled children were retrospectively reviewed. Results In total, 56 children were diagnosed with PPI or/and RPI. Twenty-two (39.3%) participants were eventually diagnosed with KD, and 34 (60.7%) were diagnosed with DNIs. Compared with the DNIs group, the KD group had a higher body temperature (p = 0.007), and higher levels of AST (p = 0.040), ALT (p = 0.027), and ESR (p = 0.030). Deep cervical cellulitis (p = 0.005) were more common in the KD group. However, deep neck abscess often occurred in the DNIs group (p = 0.002), with parapharyngeal abscess being the most common type of abscess (p = 0.004). The KD mimicking DNIs cases did not respond to antibiotic treatment, but symptoms significantly improved after the use of Immunoglobulin (IVIG) and aspirin. Conclusion Children with KD may exhibit retropharyngeal or parapharyngeal inflammation in the early stages. KD should be considered a differential diagnosis for children with DNIs, high fever, and no response to antibiotic therapy. Surgery in KD mimicking deep neck abscess requires caution. Level of Evidence I. (KD (PPI RPI, RPI , (RPI) . (DNIs) different complications Therefore necessary options reviewed total 5 orand Twentytwo Twenty 39.3% 393 39 3 (39.3% 60.7% 607 60 7 (60.7% p 0.007, 0007 0.007 0 007 0.007) 0.040, 0040 0.040 040 0.040) 0.027, 0027 0.027 027 0.027) 0.030. 0030 0.030 030 0.030) 0.005 0005 005 However 0.002, 0002 0.002 002 0.002) 0.004. 0004 0.004 004 0.004) IVIG (IVIG aspirin stages fever therapy caution I (RPI (DNIs 39.3 (39.3 60.7 6 (60.7 000 0.00 00 0.04 04 0.02 02 003 0.03 03 39. (39. 60. (60. 0.0 (39 (60 0. (3 (6 (

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Primary thyroid tuberculosis (PTT) is an uncommon type of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It does not have specific clinical manifestations, and most cases are diagnosed through postoperative histopathological examination. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic pattern and management strategy among patients with primary thyroid tuberculosis. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study on patients with primary thyroid tuberculosis in the First Hospital of Jilin University (Changchun, China). METHODS: Between March 2015 and June 2020, nine cases of PTT were diagnosed and treated in the Department of Thyroid Surgery of the First Hospital of Jilin University. Age at diagnosis, primary symptoms, preoperative biopsy, operation method, pathological classification, acid-fast staining test, anti-TB therapy and prognosis were registered in order to explore the appropriate protocol for diagnosis and treatment of this disease. RESULTS: None of the patients was diagnosed with thyroid tuberculosis before surgery. All the patients underwent surgery. Granulomatous changes or caseous necrosis in thyroid tissue were found through postoperative histopathological evaluation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were positive in all patients. Most patients had a good prognosis after surgery and anti-tuberculosis drug therapy. CONCLUSION: PTT is a rare disease. It is important to improve the preoperative diagnosis. Preoperative diagnostic accuracy relies on increased awareness of the disease and appropriate use of preoperative diagnostic methods, such as PCR detection, fine-needle aspiration cytology, acid-fast bacillus culture, ultrasound and blood sedimentation. PCR detection of M. tuberculosis is recommended as the gold standard for diagnosis.

Abstract Enzymatic hydrolysis of chlorella powder is a promising process to prepare high Fischer ratio oligopeptides (HFOPs). However, the relationship between Fischer ratios and enzymatic hydrolysis approaches remains poorly understood. In HFOPs production, directed enzymatic hydrolysis to release aromatic amino acids may be an effective way to increase Fischer ratio. The mutant carboxypeptidase from Aspergillus niger M00988 (cpAR), which has good specificity for hydrophobic amino acids in terminal peptidolysis, and commonly used papain and flavourzyme have been used to prepare HFOPs in this study. cpAR enzyme, flavourzyme The results show that the use of cpAR enzyme can increase the Fischer ratio. With chlorella powder as the raw material, alkaline protease and cpAR enzyme were used for two-step hydrolysis, and then activated carbon adsorption and ultrafiltration were used to prepare HFOPs. The Fischer ratio of oligopeptides reached 37.39, the length of the peptide chain was mainly distributed around 7-9 amino acids.

Resumo Fundamento: A fração de ejeção (FE) tem sido utilizada em análises fenotípicas e na tomada de decisões sobre o tratamento de insuficiência cardíaca (IC). Assim, a FE tornou-se parte fundamental da prática clínica diária. Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar características, preditores e desfechos associados a alterações da FE em pacientes com diferentes tipos de IC grave. Métodos: Foram incluídos neste estudo 626 pacientes com IC grave e classe III–IV da New York Heart Association (NYHA). Os pacientes foram classificados em três grupos de acordo com as alterações da FE, ou seja, FE aumentada (FE-A), definida como aumento da FE ≥10%, FE diminuída (FE-D), definida como diminuição da FE ≥10%, e FE estável (FE-E), definida como alteração da FE <10%. Valores p inferiores a 0,05 foram considerados significativos. Resultados: Dos 377 pacientes com IC grave, 23,3% apresentaram FE-A, 59,5% apresentaram FE-E e 17,2% apresentaram FE-D. Os resultados mostraram ainda 68,2% de insuficiência cardíaca com fração de ejeção reduzida (ICFEr) no grupo FE-A e 64,6% de insuficiência cardíaca com fração de ejeção preservada (ICFEp) no grupo FE-D. Os preditores de FE-A identificados foram faixa etária mais jovem, ausência de diabetes e fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo (FEVE) menor. Já os preditores de FE-D encontrados foram ausência de fibrilação atrial, baixos níveis de ácido úrico e maior FEVE. Em um seguimento mediano de 40 meses, 44,8% dos pacientes foram vítimas de morte por todas as causas. Conclusão: Na IC grave, a ICFEr apresentou maior percentual no grupo FE-A e a ICFEp foi mais comum no grupo FE-D.

Abstract Background: Ejection fraction (EF) has been used in phenotype analyses and to make treatment decisions regarding heart failure (HF). Thus, EF has become a fundamental part of daily clinical practice. Objective: This study aims to investigate the characteristics, predictors, and outcomes associated with EF changes in patients with different types of severe HF. Methods: A total of 626 severe HF patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III–IV were enrolled in this study. The patients were classified into three groups according to EF changes, namely, increased EF (EF-I), defined as an EF increase ≥10%, decreased EF (EF-D), defined as an EF decrease ≥10%, and stable EF (EF-S), defined as an EF change <10%. A p-value lower than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 377 severe HF patients, 23.3% presented EF-I, 59.5% presented EF-S, and 17.2% presented EF-D. The results further showed 68.2% of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in the EF-I group and 64.6% of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in the EF-D group. The predictors of EF-I included younger age, absence of diabetes, and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The predictors of EF-D were absence of atrial fibrillation, lower uric acid level, and higher LVEF. Within a median follow-up of 40 months, 44.8% of patients suffered from all-cause death. Conclusion: In severe HF, HFrEF presented the highest percentage in the EF-I group, and HFpEF was most common in the EF-D group.

Abstract Rabbit with hypercholesterolaemia is an important model for studying cholesterol metabolism disease. This study aimed to evaluate the expression stability of nine reference genes for quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue from rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia. In total, 30 male Harbin Large White (HLW) rabbits were fed a normal feed (n = 15) or a high cholesterol feed (n = 15) for 8 weeks to induce hypercholesterolaemia. Nine reference genes were verified by qPCR using cDNA extracted from rabbit tissue samples. For qPCR analysis, reference genes were evaluated using the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms. Overall, seven rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia were identified based on body weight and total cholesterol measurements. Combining the results of the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms, the most stable reference genes were hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (Hprt1) and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (Eef1a1) in the adrenal gland, β-2-microglobulin (B2m) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gapdh) in the liver, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (Ywhaz) and Gapdh in the spleen, and peptidylprolyl isomerase (Ppia), β-actin (Actb), succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A flavoprotein (Sdha), and B2m in the kidney. Taken together, our results confirmed that Hprt1 and Eef1a1, B2m and Gapdh, Ywhaz and Gapdh, and Ppia, Actb, Sdha, and B2m were the best reference genes for qPCR analyses in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue, respectively, of rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia.

Propofol is an intravenous sedative hypnotic agent of which the growth-inhibitory effect has been reported on various cancers. However, the roles of propofol in endometrial cancer (EC) remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the effects of propofol on EC in vitro and in vivo. Different concentrations of propofol were used to treat Ishikawa cells. Colony number, cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were analyzed by colony formation, MTT, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays. In addition, the pcDNA3.1-Sox4 and Sox4 siRNA plasmids were transfected into Ishikawa cells to explore the relationship between propofol and Sox4 in EC cell proliferation. Tumor weight in vivo was measured by xenograft tumor model assay. Protein levels of cell cycle-related factors, apoptosis-related factors, matrix metalloproteinases 9 (MMP9), matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were examined by western blot. Results showed that propofol significantly decreased colony numbers, inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion but promoted apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in Ishikawa cells. Moreover, propofol reduced the expression of Sox4 in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, propofol significantly suppressed the proportions of Ki67+ cells, but Sox4 overexpression reversed the results. Furthermore, in vivo assay results showed that propofol inhibited tumor growth; however, the inhibitory effect was abolished by Sox4 overexpression. Moreover, propofol inhibited Sox4 expression via inactivation of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway. Our study demonstrated that propofol inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion but promoted apoptosis by regulation of Sox4 in EC cells. These findings might indicate a novel treatment strategy for EC.

ResumoIntrodução:O stent coronário intravascular tem sido utilizado no tratamento de doença arterial coronária, com uma maior limitação de restenose intra-stent (RIS). O aço inoxidável 316 tem sido amplamente utilizado para stents. Neste estudo, foi desenvolvido um novo método de revestimento para reduzir a RIS para revestir simultaneamente o fator de crescimento endotelial vascular (VEGF) e anti-CD34 em aço inoxidável 316L.Métodos:Placas de aço inoxidável 316L redondas no grupo DH foram polimerizadas com compostos gerados a partir da reacção de condensação de dopamina e heparina utilizando N- (3-dimetilaminopropil) -N'-etilcarbodiimida (EDC) e N-hidroxissuccinimida (NHS). Dezesseis folhas a partir do grupo DH foram ainda imersas em 1 ug/ml de VEGF 165 e 3 mg/ml de heparina sódica, um após outro por 10 vezes, sendo denominado como o grupo D-(HV)10. Oito folhas de D-(HV)10 foram revestidas com anticorpo anti-CD34 e denominado como grupo D-(HV)10-A. Testes de imunofluorescência e ELISA foram usados para avaliar se os discos de aço inoxidável 316L foram revestidos com sucesso com VEGF e anticorpo anti-CD34.Resultados:Os resultados dos testes de imunofluorescência e ELISA mostraram que o VEGF pôde ser detectado nos grupos D-(HV)10 e D-(HV)10-A, evidenciando que as chapas de aço foram cobertas com VEGF com sucesso. O anticorpo anti-CD34 podia apenas ser observado no grupo D-(HV)10-A, o único grupo revestido com anticorpo CD34. Ambos os resultados sugerem que as chapas de aço inoxidável 316L foram revestidas com sucesso com VEGF e anticorpo anti-CD34.Conclusão:Nosso estudo desenvolveu um método para revestir simultaneamente VEGF e anti-CD34 de aço inoxidável. Esta pesquisa tem um papel fundamental para a nova estratégia de revestimento.

AbstractIntroduction:Intravascular coronary stenting has been used in the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), with a major limitation of in-stent restenosis (ISR). The 316 stainless steel has been widely used for coronary stents. In this study, we developed a novel coating method to reduce ISR by simultaneously coating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and anti-CD34 antibody on 316L stainless steel.Methods:Round 316L stainless steel sheets in the D-H group were polymerized with compounds generated from condensation reaction of dopamine and heparin using N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Sixteen sheets from the D-H group were further immersed into 1ug/ml VEGF165 and 3mg/ml heparin sodium one after another for 10 times, and named as the D-(H-V)10 group. Eight sheets from the D-(H-V)10 group were coated with anti-CD34 antibody and termed as the D-(H-V)10-A group. Immunofluorescence assay and ELISA were used to evaluate whether the 316L stainless steel disks were successfully coated with VEGF and anti-CD34 antibody.Results:The results of immunofluorescence assay and ELISA showed that VEGF could be detected in the D-(H-V)10 and D-(H-V)10-A group, suggesting the steel sheets were successfully covered with VEGF. Anti-CD34 antibody could only be observed in the D-(H-V)10-A group, which was the only group coated with CD34 antibody. Both results suggested that the 316L stainless steel sheets were successfully coated with VEGF and anti-CD34 antibody.Conclusion:Our study developed a method to simultaneously coat VEGF and anti-CD34 antibody to stainless metal steel. This research serves as a fundamental role for a novel coating strategy.