Effect of sodium aescinate on methyl parathion-induced myocardial injury in rats

Purpose: To explore the effects and mechanism of sodium aescinate (SA) on methyl parathion (MP)-induced myocardial injury.Methods: Rats were divided into following groups: In Control group, rats were administered 0.9 % NaCl by intraperitoneal injection. In MP group, rats were administered 20 mg/kg MP by intraperitoneal injection. In MP + SA group, rats were administered 20 mg/kg MP in combination with SA at a concentration of 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection. Histological changes were assessed by H&E staining. Serum levels of cardiac troponin T (CTnT) and atrial natriuretie peptide (ANP) were measured by automatic biochemical analyzer and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The levels of malondiadehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH - Px), and glutathione (GSH) in heart tissue was detected by spectrophotometry. The apoptosis of myocardial cells was measured by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay. The level of apoptosis-related proteins was assessed by western blot.Results: Superoxide dismutase attenuated MP-induced myocardial injury, and decreased the levels of ANP and cTnT in serum (p < 0.01). Superoxide dismutase attenuated the MP-induced decrease in GSH, GSH-px, and SOD expression (p < 0.05) but increased MDA level (p < 0.01). Moreover, SA inhibited the apoptosis of myocardial cells and regulation of apoptosis-related protein expression (e.g., Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase 3).Conclusion: These results demonstrate that SA attenuates MP-induced myocardial injury by regulating oxidative stress and apoptosis.Keywords: Sodium Aescinate, Methyl Parathion, Acute Organophosphorus Pesticide Poisoning, Myocardial Injur

A mobile polar atmospheric parameter measurement system: II. First atmospheric turbulence observation at Antarctic Taishan Station

This is the second paper of a series devoted to atmospheric optical turbulence Cn 2 observation using a mobile polar atmospheric parameter measurement system. We present the initial results of Cn 2 measurement at Antarctic Taishan Station using micro-thermal sensors and a three-dimensional sonic anemometer at height ~2.0 m above the snow surface. The site testing experiments were carried out during the 30th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE). We collected about 1 000 h of data between 30 December 2013 and 10 February 2014. The Cn2 curve exhibits clear daily structures, with two peaks around midnight and midday and two troughs around 7:30 and 17:00 local time (UTC+5). The mean Cn2 is 2.7×10−15 m−2/3 and the 25th and 75th percentiles of the Cn2 cumulative distribution are 9.6×10−16 m−2/3 and 6.2×10−15 m−2/3, respectively. Meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and air pressure are also presented

The Classification of the Persistent Infection Risk for Human Papillomavirus among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex with Men: Trajectory Model Analysis

Objective. To classify the infection risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) among human immunodeficiency virus- (HIV-) negative men who have sex with men (MSM) using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). Methods. This study collected data on demographic and sexual behavior characteristics by questionnaires at semiannual visits from March 1st, 2016 to December 31th, 2017. Researchers collected anal exfoliated cells to finish HPV testing and blood samples to finish HIV testing at baseline and follow-up visits. Accumulative infection numbers of different types of HPV as the primary outcome and the follow-up visits as the independent predicator to build a GBTM model. Results. There were 500 potentially eligible HIV-negative participants at baseline, 361 (72.2%) of whom were included in this study after screening. Three trajectory groups were identified as the best-fitted GBTM model. Trajectory 1, defined as decreased group (DG) accounted for 44.6% (161/361) of the sample, showed a declining pattern with visits. Trajectory 2, defined as flat group (FG) accounted for 49.6% (179/361) of the sample, showed a flat pattern with visits. Trajectory 3, regarded as the increased group (IG) accounted for 5.8% (21/361) of the sample, showed an uptrend. Compared to the DG, risk factors for the FG included receptive anal intercourse (AOR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.36-3.71), occasional condom use in anal sex during the past six months (AOR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.16-3.14), experience of transactional sex with males in the past year (AOR, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.12-11.54), and substance use (AOR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.08-3.04). Risk factors for the IG included receptive anal intercourse (AOR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.04-7.70), occasional condom use in anal sex during the past six months (AOR, 3.93; 95% CI, 1.40-11.01), and history of other STIs (AOR, 5.72; 95% CI, 1.40-23.46). Conclusion. The MSM data in this study showed three distinct developmental trajectories (DG, FG, and IG) of HPV infection among HIV-negative MSM, with receptive anal intercourse and occasional condom use in anal sex during the past six months being the risk factors associated with FG and IG

What you don't know... can't hurt you? A natural field experiment on relative performance feedback in higher education

This paper studies the effect of providing feedback to college students on their position in the grade distribution by using a natural field experiment. This information was updated every six months during a three-year period. We find that greater grades transparency decreases educational performance, as measured by the number of examinations passed and grade point average (GPA). However, self-reported satisfaction, as measured by surveys conducted after feedback is provided but before students take their examinations, increases. We provide a theoretical framework to understand these results, focusing on the role of prior beliefs and using out-of-trial surveys to test the model. In the absence of treatment, a majority of students underestimate their position in the grade distribution, suggesting that the updated information is “good news” for many students. Moreover, the negative effect on performance is driven by those students who underestimate their position in the absence of feedback. Students who overestimate initially their position, if anything, respond positively. The performance effects are short lived—by the time students graduate, they have similar accumulated GPA and graduation rates

Comprehensive single-cell analysis reveals novel anergic antigen-presenting cell subtypes in human sepsis

BackgroundSepsis is a life-threatening condition with high mortality. A few studies have emerged utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze gene expression at the single-cell resolution in sepsis, but a comprehensive high-resolution analysis of blood antigen-presenting cells has not been conducted.MethodsAll published human scRNA-seq data were downloaded from the single cell portal database. After manually curating the dataset, we extracted all antigen-presenting cells, including dendritic cells (DCs) and monocytes, for identification of cell subpopulations and their gene profiling and intercellular interactions between septic patients and healthy controls. Finally, we further validated the findings by performing deconvolution analysis on bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data and flow cytometry.ResultsWithin the traditional DC populations, we discovered novel anergic DC subtypes characterized by low major histocompatibility complex class II expression. Notably, these anergic DC subtypes showed a significant increase in septic patients. Additionally, we found that a previously reported immunosuppressive monocyte subtype, Mono1, exhibited a similar gene expression profile to these anergic DCs. The consistency of our findings was confirmed through validation using bulk RNA-seq and flow cytometry, ensuring accurate identification of cell subtypes and gene expression patterns.ConclusionsThis study represents the first comprehensive single-cell analysis of antigen-presenting cells in human sepsis, revealing novel disease-associated anergic DC subtypes. These findings provide new insights into the cellular mechanisms of immune dysregulation in bacterial sepsis