Research on Influences of Transient High IOP during LASIK on Retinal Functions and Ultrastructure

Objectives. To study the influences of transient high intraocular pressure(IOP) during LASIK on retinal functions and ultrastructure. Methods. Thirty-two New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into normal control, experimental control, negative suction 20 s and negative suction 3 min groups. The experimental control group was treated only by laser. Rabbit eyes received suction for different periods of time (20 s, 3 min) by negative pressure generator in different groups. The changes of neuro-optic and retinal ultrastructure were observed under electron and light microscopes; retinal neurofunctional changes were observed with flash-visual evoked potential (F-VEP) and flash-electroreinogram (F-ERG). Results. There was no obvious change in optic nerve, retina, ERG a-wave and b-wave in normal control and experimental control groups. There were slight changes in tissues of optic nerve and retina at various times of suction 20 s compared with control group, and a sharp change in suction 3 min group within 14d after operation, but these changes recovered at 28d . Amplitude of ERG b-wave observed at different time will decrease with suction periods prolonged. It can recover to normal level with the prolonged recovery periods. Amplitude and incubation period of ERG a-wave and VEP-P did not change significantly after different duration of suction. Conclusions. The transient high IOP during LASIK might have influence on retinal function and ultrastructure, but these changes were reversible

High level of miR-196b at newly diagnosed pediatric acute myeloid leukemia predicts a poor outcome

Differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been implicated in leukemogenesis. We investigate the ex- pression pattern of miR-196b. Using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), we detected the expression of miR- 196b and its correlated genes (SMC1A/MLH1) in initial pediatric AML. A significant association was observed between overexpression of miR-196b and inferior overall survival of pediatric AML (Log Rank P<0.0001). AML M4/5 subtype, high white blood cell (WBC) count at presentation, MLL rearrangement, or FLT3-ITD mutation at diagnosis and non-remission group after the first induction chemotherapy possessed higher miR-196b expression. Furthermore, a positive relationship was found between the expression of miR-196b and SMC1A/MLH1 (Spear- man’s r=0.37 and 0.44, P=0.001 and <0.0001, respectively). Taken together, these findings suggest that differen- tially high expression of miR-196b in diagnostic marrow samples of pediatric AML is associated with unfavorable outcome, and miR-196b potentially can be a novel biomarker for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment in pediatric AML

Modulation of Gut Microbiota by Low Methoxyl Pectin Attenuates Type 1 Diabetes in Non-obese Diabetic Mice

Intestinal homeostasis underpins the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D), and dietary manipulations to enhance intestinal homeostasis have been proposed to prevent T1D. The current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of supplementing a novel specific low-methoxyl pectin (LMP) dietary fiber in preventing T1D development. Female NOD mice were weaned onto control or 5% (wt/wt) LMP supplemented diets for up to 40 weeks of age, overt diabetes incidence and blood glucose were monitored. Then broad-spectrum antibiotics (ABX) treatment per os for 7 days followed by gut microbiota transfer was performed to demonstrate gut microbiota-dependent effects. Next-generation sequencing was used for analyzing the composition of microbiota in caecum. Concentration of short chain fatty acids were determined by GC-MS. The barrier reinforcing tight junction proteins zonula occludens-2 (ZO-2), claudin-1 and NOD like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation were determined by Western blot. The proportion of CD25(+)Foxp3(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cell (Foxp3(+) Treg) in the pancreas, pancreatic and mesenteric lymph nodes was analyzed by flow cytometry. We found that LMP supplementation ameliorated T1D development in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, as evidenced by decreasing diabetes incidence and fasting glucose levels in LMP fed NOD mice. Further microbiota analysis revealed that LMP supplementation prevented T1D-associated caecal dysbiosis and selectively enriched caecal bacterial species to produce more SCFAs. The LMP-mediated microbial balance further enhanced caecal barrier function and shaped gut-pancreatic immune environment, as characterized by higher expression of tight junction proteins claudin-1, ZO-2 in caecum, increased Foxp3(+) Treg population and decreased NLRP3 inflammasome activation in both caecum and pancreas. The microbiota-dependent beneficial effect of LMP on T1D was further proven by the fact that aberration of caecal microbiota by ABX treatment worsened T1D autoimmunity and could be restored with transfer of feces of LMP-fed NOD mice. These data demonstrate that this novel LMP limits T1D development by inducing caecal homeostasis to shape pancreatic immune environment. This finding opens a realistic option for gut microbiota manipulation and prevention of T1D in humans

Lactose Induces Phenotypic and Functional Changes of Neutrophils and Macrophages to Alleviate Acute Pancreatitis in Mice

Publisher's version (útgefin grein)Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one common clinical acute abdominal disease, for which specific pharmacological or nutritional therapies remain elusive. Lactose, a macronutrient and an inducer of host innate immune responses, possesses immune modulatory functions. The current study aimed to investigate potential modulatory effects of lactose and the interplay between the nutrient and pancreatic immunity during experimentally induced AP in mice. We found that either prophylactic or therapeutic treatment of lactose time-dependently reduced the severity of AP, as evidenced by reduced pancreatic edema, serum amylase levels, and pancreatic myeloperoxidase activities, as well as by histological examination of pancreatic damage. Overall, lactose promoted a regulatory cytokine milieu in the pancreas and reduced infiltration of inflammatory neutrophils and macrophages. On acinar cells, lactose was able to suppress caerulein-induced inflammatory signaling pathways and to suppress chemoattractant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 production. Additionally, lactose acted on pancreas-infiltrated macrophages, increasing interleukin-10 and decreasing tumor necrosis factor alpha production. Notably, lactose treatment reversed AP-associated infiltration of activated neutrophils. Last, the effect of lactose on neutrophil infiltration was mimicked by a galectin-3 antagonist, suggesting a potential endogenous target of lactose. Together, the current study demonstrates an immune regulatory effect of lactose to alleviate AP and suggests its potential as a convenient, value-added therapeutic macronutrient to control AP, and lower the risk of its systemic complications.This study was supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 91642114, 31570915, 81573420, and 31400779, National Young 1000 Talents Plan), Jiangsu Province Recruitment Plan for High-level, Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talents, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant nos. JUSRP51613A and JUSRP11866) and free exploration funding from State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology (SKLF-ZZB-201702).Peer Reviewe

Residues 318 and 323 in capsid protein are involved in immune circumvention of the atypical epizootic infection of infectious bursal disease virus

Recently, atypical infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by a novel variant infectious bursal disease virus (varIBDV) suddenly appeared in immunized chicken flocks in East Asia and led to serious economic losses. The epizootic varIBDV can partly circumvent the immune protection of the existing vaccines against the persistently circulating very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV), but its mechanism is still unknown. This study proved that the neutralizing titer of vvIBDV antiserum to the epizootic varIBDV reduced by 7.0 log2, and the neutralizing titer of the epizootic varIBDV antiserum to vvIBDV reduced by 3.2 log2. In addition, one monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2-5C-6F had good neutralizing activity against vvIBDV but could not well recognize the epizootic varIBDV. The epitope of the MAb 2-5C-6F was identified, and two mutations of G318D and D323Q of capsid protein VP2 occurred in the epizootic varIBDV compared to vvIBDV. Subsequently, the indirect immunofluorescence assay based on serial mutants of VP2 protein verified that residue mutations 318 and 323 influenced the recognition of the epizootic varIBDV and vvIBDV by the MAb 2-5C-6F, which was further confirmed by the serial rescued mutated virus. The following cross-neutralizing assay directed by MAb showed residue mutations 318 and 323 also affected the neutralization of the virus. Further data also showed that the mutations of residues 318 and 323 of VP2 significantly affected the neutralization of the IBDV by antiserum, which might be deeply involved in the immune circumvention of the epizootic varIBDV in the vaccinated flock. This study is significant for the comprehensive prevention and control of the emerging varIBDV

The influence of chess training on pupils’ self-efficacy， self-esteem and social anxiety

Background With the 2001 announcement about three chess games in school, go, Chinese chess and chess, the three upsurge of popularity is set off in the country. Chess started late in China and was originally considered as an intellectual sport related to intelligence. Its role in psychological characteristics has not received enough attention from people. Objective In order to study the influence of chess training on pupils' self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety. Methods 121 pupils from Jinding No.1 primary school are selected as study subjects and divided into experimental group and control group. The experiment group is the community group of 31 pupils, and the control group is the non-community group of 90 pupils. Using General Self-Efficacy Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, and Social Anxiety Scale for Children, the scales are used to test, and the pupils are observed and the teachers and parents are interviewed. Results There are significant differences in self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety between the community and the non-community pupils. Conclusion It shows that a certain intensity of chess training has a greater impact on pupils' self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety

The influence of chess training on pupils’ self-efficacy， self-esteem and social anxiety

Background With the 2001 announcement about three chess games in school, go, Chinese chess and chess, the three upsurge of popularity is set off in the country. Chess started late in China and was originally considered as an intellectual sport related to intelligence. Its role in psychological characteristics has not received enough attention from people. Objective In order to study the influence of chess training on pupils' self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety. Methods 121 pupils from Jinding No.1 primary school are selected as study subjects and divided into experimental group and control group. The experiment group is the community group of 31 pupils, and the control group is the non-community group of 90 pupils. Using General Self-Efficacy Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, and Social Anxiety Scale for Children, the scales are used to test, and the pupils are observed and the teachers and parents are interviewed. Results There are significant differences in self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety between the community and the non-community pupils. Conclusion It shows that a certain intensity of chess training has a greater impact on pupils' self-efficacy, self-esteem and social anxiety

ITRAQ-Based Proteomics Analysis of Acute Lung Injury Induced by Oleic Acid in Mice

Background/Aims: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and the pathogenesis of oleic acid (OA)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice. Methods: Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were injected with OA through the tail vein and sacrificed 6 hours after OA administration to identify protein expression levels in lung tissue using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technology. Then, DEPs such as antithrombin III (AT III), 12-lipoxygenase (12-LO), dedicator of cytokinesis 2 (DOCK2), polycystin-2 and plasminogen were identified by western blotting. Subsequently, we focused on investigating the effect of AT III on endothelial integrity using siRNA interference technology. The levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and TGF-β expression were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Alterations in the tight junction component ZO-1 and the phosphorylation of myosin light chain (pMLC) were determined by western blotting. The stress fiber F-actin were also detected by immunofluorescence staining. In addition, endothelial permeability was determined via a transwell permeability assay. Results: A total of 5152 proteins were found to be expressed in lung tissues from the OA-treated and saline-treated mice. Among these proteins, 849 were differentially expressed between the two groups, including 545 upregulated and 304 downregulated proteins. After AT III knockdown, the levels of inflammatory factors and endothelial permeability were elevated, the expression of ZO-1 was decreased, and the expression of F-actin and pMLC was increased. All these results illustrated that AT III knockdown exaggerated the disruption of endothelial integrity mediated by OA. Conclusion: These findings using iTRAQ technology demonstrate, for the first time, differences in the lung tissue expression levels of proteins between OA-treated mice and saline-treated mice. This study reveals that 12-LO, DOCK2 and especially AT III may be candidate biomarkers for OA-induced acute lung injury