The Effect of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) on Brain Injury Repair and Synapse Regeneration in Mice Under Different Conditions of Intrauterine Ischemia and Hypoxia Through Wnt Pathway

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can be differentiated into a variety of cells and repair damaged cells. We explore whether BMSCs can repair brain damage and synapses regeneration in mice under intrauterine ischemia and hypoxia. Twenty-five pregnant mice were assigned into control group, 6% hypoxic injury group, 8% hypoxic injury group, 6% treatment group, 8% treatment group followed by analysis of the expression of MBP, MAG, CSPGs, IGF-1, NCAN, COLIV, SynD1G1, GFAP, GSK-3β, and β-actin by RT-PCR and Western blot. Our results showed that the expression of MBP, MAG, COL IV, SynD1G1, IGF-1 in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in hypoxic injury group with significant differences between the 8% treatment group and 6% treatment group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, BMSCs can repair brain damage and synapse regeneration in mice under different intrauterine ischemia and hypoxia conditions which might be through Wnt signaling pathway.

Motion Analysis of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex by Using Ultrasonography Images: Preliminary Analysis

The triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) is a significant stabilizer of the distal radioulnar joint. Diagnosing TFCC injury is currently difficult, but ultrasonography (US) has emerged as a low-cost, minimally invasive diagnostic tool. We aimed to quantitatively analyze TFCC by performing motion analysis by using US. Twelve healthy volunteers, comprising 24 wrists (control group), and 15 patients with TFCC Palmer type 1B injuries (injury group) participated. The US transducer was positioned between the ulnar styloid process and triquetrum and was tilted ulnarly 30° from the vertical line. The wrist was then actively moved from 10° of radial deviation to 20° of ulnar deviation in a 60-rounds-per-minute rhythm that was paced by a metronome. The articular disc displacement velocity magnitude was analyzed by using particle image velocimetry fluid measurement software. The mean area of the articular discs was larger on ulnar deviation in the control group. The mean articular disc area on radial deviation was larger in the injury group. The average articular disc velocity magnitude for the injury group was significantly higher than that for the control group. The results suggest that patients with TFCC injury lose articular disc cushioning and static stability, and subsequent abnormal motion can be analyzed by using US.

The Application Value of Spiral CT Lung Densitometry Software in the Diagnosis of Radiation-Induced Lung Injury

In order to study the application value of spiral CT lung density measurement software in the diagnosis of radioactive lung injury, the average CT values of lung apex, hilum, and diaphragm were measured by Pulmo automatic evaluation software of 16-slice spiral CT in 96 patients with different types of radiation lung injury diagnosed by conventional CT and 80 healthy subjects. The radiation lung injury on CT slices was classified, and the lung density was measured. In 96 patients with different types of radiation lung injury, 56 patients had different degrees of increase in average lung density, which was most obvious in the type of air insufficiency and chronic fibrosis. CT values of lung density in the ground glass stage and patch stage of acute radiation pneumonia had little influence due to the range and time of exposure. The lung density of 35 patients with radiation injury was measured in the normal range. There was a significant difference between normal lung density and abnormal lung density in different types of radiation lung injury (X2 = 56.718, P < 0.001 ). The mean lung density of 68 cases was normal and that of 12 cases was abnormal. There was a significant difference in lung density between the lung injury group and the normal group (X2 = 18.027, P < 0.001 ). Spiral CT lung density measurement can accurately evaluate the lung density values of different types of radiation lung injury and judge the correlation between lung density and different types of radiation lung injury. It is of great value to diagnose, locate, and master the radiation dose of different types of radiation lung injury.

Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Inhibition in Acute Ischemia-Reperfusion Heart Injury—Cardioprotective Properties of Carvedilol

Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) is activated in hearts upon ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury and cleaves sarcomeric proteins. It was shown that carvedilol and nebivolol reduced the activity of different MMPs. Hence, we hypothesized that they could reduce MMPs activation in myocytes, and therefore, protect against cardiac contractile dysfunction related with IR injury. Isolated rat hearts were subjected to either control aerobic perfusion or IR injury: 25 min of aerobic perfusion, followed by 20 min global, no-flow ischemia, and reperfusion for 30 min. The effects of carvedilol, nebivolol, or metoprolol were evaluated in hearts subjected to IR injury. Cardiac mechanical function and MMP-2 activity in the heart homogenates and coronary effluent were assessed along with troponin I content in the former. Only carvedilol improved the recovery of mechanical function at the end of reperfusion compared to IR injury hearts. IR injury induced the activation and release of MMP-2 into the coronary effluent during reperfusion. MMP-2 activity in the coronary effluent increased in the IR injury group and this was prevented by carvedilol. Troponin I levels decreased by 73% in IR hearts and this was abolished by carvedilol. Conclusions: These data suggest that the cardioprotective effect of carvedilol in myocardial IR injury may be mediated by inhibiting MMP-2 activation.

The epidemiology of burn injury among children during COVID-19 19 pandemic and WFH policy in Malang, East Java, Indonesia

Work from home (WFH) mandate is one of the major changes known during this pandemic, aimed as a preventive way to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study aimed to observe the characteristics of pediatric burn injury during COVID-19 pandemic and WFH mandate's impact on pediatric burn injury admission at some Hospital burn centers in Malang. Every patient’s age, gender, clinical characteristics, parent's background, and other variables such as the possession of siblings, response time using our burn registry form, and comparative analysis of the incident in WFH housewife mother were assessed. The majority were in the group age of under five years old group age (70%) with a mean of 5.5 years. The most frequent part of the burn injured is extremity 36.7%, and hot liquid dominates as the cause of the injury 73.3% with the total body surface area of burn injury group &gt;10% is the most common 56.7%. The burn injury incident happened more frequently in mothers with children less than two in both groups. This study showed that the increase in increasement of the pediatric burn injury during COVID-19 pandemic between housewife mother and WFH mother has no significant difference also showed that parent especially mother unable to supervise the children during WFH. Strategies to mitigate pediatric burn injuries during WFH should be thoughtfully implemented.

Biomarkers and Mechanism Analysis for Polygoni Multiflori Radix Preparata-Induced Liver Injury by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS-Based Metabolomics

Background. Polygonum Multiflorum Radix Preparata (PMP), prepared from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (PM), is traditionally valued for its liver and kidney-tonifying effects. However, the previous studies showed that PMP was hepatotoxic, which limited its clinical use. Unfortunately, the potential hepatotoxic ingredients and the molecular mechanism are still uncertain. Objective. The aim of this study was to find out potential biomarkers of hepatotoxicity using metabolomics profile. Materials and Methods. 60% ethanol extract of PMP (PMPE) was prepared. Subsequently, an untargeted metabolomics technology in combination with ROC curve analysis method was applied to investigate the alteration of plasma metabolites in rats after oral administration of PMPE (40 g/kg/d) for 28 days. Results. Compared to the control group, the significant difference in metabolic profiling was observed in the PMPE-induced liver injury group, and sixteen highly specific biomarkers were identified. These metabolites were mainly enriched into bile acids, lipids, and energy metabolisms, indicating that PMPE-induced liver injury could be related to cholestasis and dysregulated lipid metabolism. Conclusions. This study is contributed to understand the potential pathogenesis of PMP-induced liver injury. The metabonomic method may be a valuable tool for the clinical diagnosis of PMP-induced liver injury.

Correlation Between Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio and Myocardial Injury in Population Exposed to High Altitude

Objective: Myocardial injury is a severe complication in population exposed to high altitude. As a new biomarker for inflammatory response, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been widely used to predict the prognosis of various diseases. In this study, we intend to explore the risk factors for myocardial injury at high altitude and examine the relationship between NLR level and development of myocardial injury.Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to a secondary general hospital at high altitude from June 2019 to May 2020 were selected into this retrospective study. Clinical and biochemical data were collected. According to the results of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzymes (CK-MB), and aspartate amino transferase (AST), patients were divided into myocardial injury group and normal group.Results: A total of 476 patients were enrolled in this study. Myocardial injury occurred in 158 patients (33.2%). We found that altitude, NLR, hemoglobin, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, and lipoprotein A in myocardial injury group were significantly higher than that in normal group (P &lt; 0.05), while platelet count in myocardial injury group was significantly lower than that in normal group (P &lt; 0.05). Logistic multivariate regression analysis revealed that there was an independent relationship between myocardial injury and smoke, NLR, hemoglobin (P &lt; 0.05). By using Spearman correlation analysis, NLR was proved to have a significant positive correlation with LDH, CK, and CK-MB (P &lt; 0.05) instead of AST. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to demonstrate that NLR could significantly predict the occurrence of myocardial injury with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.594 (95% CI: 0.537–0.650, P &lt; 0.05), and the level of 2.967 (sensitivity = 38.0%, specificity = 83.6%) was optimal cutoff value.Conclusion: The incidence of myocardial injury is high in population at high altitude. Smoke, hemoglobin, and NLR are independent factors related to myocardial injury. As a convenient and efficient marker, NLR is found to be closely associated with myocardial enzymes and have a predict role in the occurrence of myocardial injury. This study will provide a theoretical basis on NLR for the early diagnosis of myocardial injury at high altitude.

Sophocarpine Alleviates Injury-Induced Intima Hyperplasia of Carotid Arteries by Suppressing Inflammation in a Rat Model

Introduction: Balloon angioplasty is a commonly applied procedure for treating atherosclerotic vascular diseases. However, the maintenance of long-term lumen patency is relatively difficult due to the occurrence of restenosis. Previous research has shown that the occurrence of vascular wall inflammation is associated with higher rates of restenosis. Sophocarpine (SPC) can exert various therapeutic effects such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, antivirus and immune regulation. This study aimed to investigate whether SPC can alleviate intimal hyperplasia following balloon injury in a rat carotid artery model. Methods: Twenty Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups: (i) control, (ii) balloon injury, (iii) balloon injury followed by saline injection, and (iv) balloon injury followed by SPC administration. Each group contained five rats. A high-pressure balloon of 3 mm × 20 mm was placed in the carotid artery. The balloon was inflated to a pressure of 8 atmospheres to carry out rat carotid artery balloon injury model. The areas of neointimal and media were determined by Verhoeff_Van Gieson staining, and the intima-to-media (I:M) ratios were subsequently evaluated. After that, the protein levels of IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1, NF-κB, TNF-α, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and eNOS were measured. Results: The ratio of I:M was remarkably higher in the balloon injury group than in the control group (p < 0.01). SPC could significantly decrease the ratio of I:M compared with the balloon injury group (p < 0.01). Besides, the protein levels of IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1, NF-κB, TNF-α, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were increased in rat carotid arteries exposed to balloon injury (p < 0.01), and treatment with SPC could attenuate these effects (p < 0.05). Furthermore, balloon injury inhibited the protein expression of eNOS (p < 0.01), and SPC could elevate its level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: SPC could alleviate an intimal hyperplasia in balloon-injured carotid artery, and the mechanisms underlying this protective effect might be due to its inhibitory potency against inflammation signals. Our study also implies the potential applicability of SPC in treating restenosis after balloon angioplasty.

Trihydroxyethyl Rutin Provides Neuroprotection in Rats With Cervical Spinal Cord Hemi-Contusion

Objective: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of trihydroxyethyl rutin in rats with cervical spinal cord hemi-contusion.Methods: Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to hemi-contusion at a stroke depth of 1.2 mm, and then intraperitoneally injected with 50 or 100 mg/kg trihydroxyethyl rutin per day for 12 weeks (T50 and T100 groups, respectively). Changes in somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), motor evoked potentials (MEPs), and behavior were continuously monitored. At 12 weeks post-injury, immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess changes in cervical spinal cord microvascular morphology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed to examine end-stage injury in the cervical spinal cord, and Eriochrome cyanine-stained slices of spinal cord tissue were evaluated for injury.Results: There were no significant differences in biomechanical parameters among the spinal cord injury, T50 and T100 rat groups. At 3 days-post-injury, there was a significant decrease in grip strength. At 12 weeks post-injury, grip strength recovery was significantly better in the T50 and T100 groups than in the injury group. Compared with the injury group, the total limb placement frequency was significantly higher in the T50 group at 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12 weeks post-injury and in the T100 group at 2, 6, 8, and 10 weeks post-injury. Ipsilateral SEPs and MEPs were dynamic, increasing in latency and decreasing in amplitude in the injury compared with sham group. MRI scanning demonstrated that the coronal, sagittal, and transversal lesion areas were smaller in the T50 and T100 groups than in the injury group. Microvascular density showed a greater reduction in the injury group compared with the T50 and T100 groups. Eriochrome cyanine staining showed that the ipsilateral side, residual parenchyma, and gray matter areas were larger in the T50 and T100 groups than in the injury group.Conclusion: Trihydroxyethyl rutin exhibits robust neuroprotective effects, improving limb motor function and nerve electrophysiological parameters after spinal cord injury, maintaining microvascular density, and reducing the area of injury and degree of demyelination.

Increased Lateral and Medial Femoral Posterior Radius Ratios Are Risk Factors for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Background Many studies have shown that the distal femoral sagittal morphological characteristics had a clear relationship with knee joint kinematics. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between distal femoral sagittal morphological characteristics and noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Methods A retrospective case-control study of 148 patients was conducted. Two age- and sex-matched cohorts (each n = 74) were analysed: a noncontact ACL injury group and a control group. The lateral femoral posterior radius (LFPR), medial femoral posterior radius (MFPR), lateral height of the distal femur (LH), medial height of the distal femur (MH), lateral femoral anteroposterior diameter (LFAP), medial femoral anteroposterior diameter (MFAP), lateral femoral posterior radius ratio (LFPRR), and medial femoral posterior radius ratio (MFPRR) were compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the significance of the LFPRR and MFPRR in predicting ACL injury. Results Compared with patients in the control group, patients in the ACL injury group had an increased LFPR, MFPR, MFAP, LFPRR, and MFPRR. ROC curve analysis revealed that an increased LFPRR above 31.7% was associated with noncontact ACL injury, with a sensitivity of 78.4% and a specificity of 58.1%, and an increased MFPRR above 33.4% was associated with noncontact ACL injury, with a sensitivity of 58.1% and a specificity of 70.3%. Conclusion This study showed that increased LFPRR and MFPRR were risk factors for noncontact ACL injury. These data could help identify individuals susceptible to ACL injuries.