Metformin attenuates sepsis-induced neuronal injury and cognitive impairment

Background Sepsis is considered to be a high-risk factor for cognitive impairment in the brain. The purpose of our study is to explore whether sepsis causes cognitive impairment and try to evaluate the underlying mechanisms and intervention measures. Methods Here, we used cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) to simulate sepsis. Open field, Novel Objective Recognition, and Morris Water Maze Test were used to detect cognitive function, long-term potentiation was used to assess of synaptic plasticity, and molecular biological technics were used to assess synaptic proteins, ELISA kits were used to detect inflammatory factors. Metformin was injected into the lateral ventricle of SD rats, and we evaluated whether metformin alleviated CLP-mediated cognitive impairment using behavioral, electrophysiological and molecular biological technology experiments. Results Here we report hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficits and synaptic dysfunction induced by the CLP, accompanied by a significant increase in inflammatory factors. At the same time, metformin was able to improve cognitive impairment induced by CLP in adult male rats. Conclusion These findings highlight a novel pathogenic mechanism of sepsis-related cognitive impairment through activation of inflammatory factors, and these are blocked by metformin to attenuate sepsis-induced neuronal injury and cognitive impairment.

Design and research of port automatic magnetic mooring device based on electromagnetic technology

With the rapid development of modern science and technology, ship design and construction are becoming more and more large-scale, professional and intelligent, and the degree of integration, intelligence and modularization of port and terminal equipment is also getting higher and higher. Smart ships and wisdom The construction of ports has become an important trend in the development of the shipping industry. Although the rope materials of modern ships have been greatly improved, the main mooring method of ships still relies on the traditional operation method of manual mooring [1], which has low operation efficiency, high degree of danger and high risk factor. This article mainly studies the use of electromagnetic technology to realize the automatic berthing and unberthing of ships. The electromagnetic mooring device is controlled by the remote control system to realize the automatic berthing and unberthing operations of the ship, and the height and angle are automatically adjusted according to the tide and loading conditions to realize berthing monitoring.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in the non-cirrhotic liver

Liver cirrhosis is an established high-risk factor for HCC and the majority of patients diagnosed with HCC have cirrhosis. However, HCC also arises in non-cirrhotic livers in approximately 20 %of all cases. HCC in non-cirrhotic patients is often clinically silent and surveillance is usually not recommended. HCC is often diagnosed at an advanced stage in these patients. Current information about HCC in patients with non-cirrhotic liver is limited. Here we review the current knowledge on epidemiology, clinical features and imaging features of those patiens.

Trend of Obesity in The United States During a Decade

Background and objectiveWhile obesity prevalence in the United States has increased considerably, its impact on factors such as mortality, comorbidity, and cost have not been extensively analyzed in hospitalized patients. Detailed information on the prevalence of obesity and associated factors among inpatients may help in developing health care policies aimed at reducing mortality, comorbidity, and cost.MethodsIn this study, data for analysis of inpatient discharges from 2005 to 2015 were obtained from the Health Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) database. Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater is defined as obesity. Descriptive analysis includes trends of obesity by sex, race, region, location and payer. To classify magnitude of association between obesity and comorbidities, we classified prevalence ratio (PR) to high risk factor (PR≥1.5), low risk factor (PR= <1.5-1.25), null (<1.25->0.8) and preventive factor (PR<0.8) based on expert epidemiologists opinion. Results During the study period we reviewed 82,618,702 discharges with 6,705,774 obesity for a rate of 8.11%. The percent of obese discharges increased from 4.6% in 2005 to 11.9% in 2015. In all subgroup variables, there was a substantial difference between obesity and non-obesity in hospital patients. Data indicated females had a higher prevalence of hospital discharges with obesity, compared to males. Moreover, Black race had the highest percentage and Asian or Pacific Islander is the lowest in this trend. ConclusionWhile obesity prevalence in the United States population has slowly increased, there has been a more marked increase in obese patients in the hospital.

The shift of media processes to internet communication and computer-assisted language learning as a high-risk factor of inter-group interaction in applied linguistic space

The issue of inter-group social conflicts development is one of the most acute problems of modern society. Within the framework of this article (on the example of inter-ethnic interaction) there is considered the question of modern communication technologies in the field of inter-group interaction. The study proves that with the intensive development of modern means of communication, there takes place a significant intensification of social risks associated with inter-group conflicts (intensity of aggravation factors and increase in the scale of inter-group confrontations). At the level of inter-ethnic interaction, all that is primarily due to the negative stereotypes of different ethnic groups, as well as to the replication of negative interaction experiences in different ethnic groups (with an emphasis on ethnicity).

The Tobacco Metabolite NNK Enhances Pancreatic Cancer Cell Stemness and Chemoresistance by Activating the β2AR-Akt Autophagy Axis

Background: Low responsiveness to chemotherapy is an important cause of poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Smoking is a high-risk factor for pancreatic cancer and its resistance to gemcitabine; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is the main metabolite of tobacco burning and has been shown to be associated with cancer development and chemoresistance, but in pancreatic cancer, its mechanism remains poorly understood.Methods: The effect of NNK on pancreatic cancer cell viability was confirmed by using Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. Stem cell sphere formation assays and western blotting/qPCR measurements of stemness-related molecules were used to detect pancreatic cancer cell stemness. The pancreatic cancer autophagy status was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining of LC3 and western blotting/qPCR analysis of autophagy-related molecules.Results: NNK promoted stemness and gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, NNK intervention increased autophagy and changed the expression levels of autophagy-related markers, which preliminarily confirmed the activation of autophagy by NNK. Finally, the results showed that NNK-promoted stemness, and gemcitabine resistance was activated by the autophagy pathway, which was mediated by the β2AR-Akt signalling pathway.Conclusions: Autophagy induced by activating the NNK-induced β2AR-Akt signalling pathway promoted stemness and gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer cells.

Detection of Human Cholangiocarcinoma Markers in Serum Using Infrared Spectroscopy

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignancy of the bile duct epithelium. Opisthorchis viverrini infection is a known high-risk factor for CCA and in found, predominantly, in Northeast Thailand. The silent disease development and ineffective diagnosis have led to late-stage detection and reduction in the survival rate. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) is currently being explored as a diagnostic tool in medicine. In this study, we apply ATR-FTIR to discriminate CCA sera from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), biliary disease (BD) and healthy donors using a multivariate analysis. Spectral markers differing from healthy ones are observed in the collagen band at 1284, 1339 and 1035 cm−1, the phosphate band () at 1073 cm−1, the polysaccharides band at 1152 cm−1 and 1747 cm−1 of lipid ester carbonyl. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows discrimination between CCA and healthy sera using the 1400–1000 cm−1 region and the combined 1800—1700 + 1400–1000 cm−1 region. Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) scores plots in four of five regions investigated, namely, the 1400–1000 cm−1, 1800–1000 cm−1, 3000–2800 + 1800–1000 cm−1 and 1800–1700 + 1400–1000 cm−1 regions, show discrimination between sera from CCA and healthy volunteers. It was not possible to separate CCA from HCC and BD by PCA and PLS-DA. CCA spectral modelling is established using the PLS-DA, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and Neural Network (NN). The best model is the NN, which achieved a sensitivity of 80–100% and a specificity between 83 and 100% for CCA, depending on the spectral window used to model the spectra. This study demonstrates the potential of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and spectral modelling as an additional tool to discriminate CCA from other conditions.

Dementia and disadvantage in the USA and England: population-based comparative study

ObjectivesTo compare dementia prevalence and how it varies by socioeconomic status (SES) across the USA and England.DesignPopulation-based comparative study.SettingNon-Hispanic whites aged over 70 population in the USA and England.ParticipantsData from the Health and Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which are harmonised, nationally representative panel studies. The sample includes 5330 and 3147 individuals in the USA and England, respectively.Main outcome measuresBetween country differences in age-gender standardised dementia prevalence, across the SES gradient. Dementia prevalence was estimated in each country using an algorithm based on an identical battery of demographic, cognitive and functional measures.ResultsDementia prevalence is higher among the disadvantaged in both countries, with the USA being more unequal according to four measures of SES. Overall prevalence was lower in England at 9.7% (95% CI 8.9% to 10.6%) than the USA at 11.2% (95% CI 10.6% to 11.8%), a difference of 1.4 percentage points (pp) (p=0.0055). Most of the between country difference is driven by the bottom of the SES distribution. In the lowest income decile individuals in the USA had 7.3 pp (p<0.0001) higher prevalence than in England. Once past health factors and education were controlled for, most of the within country inequalities disappeared; however, the cross-country difference in prevalence for those in lowest income decile remained disproportionately high.ConclusionsThere is inequality in dementia prevalence according to income, wealth and education in both the USA and England. England has lower dementia prevalence and a less steep SES gradient. Most of the cross-country difference is concentrated in the lowest SES group, which provides evidence that disadvantage in the USA is a disproportionately high risk factor for dementia.

Analysis of the Results of Gastrin-17 and its Related Influencing Factors in Health Check-Up Population

Background: To analyze the difference of serum gastrin-17 levels in different sexs, ages, and body mass index (BMI) of healthy people, and to explore the correlation between gastrin 17 and pepsinogen, in addition to study the influence of Helicobacter pylori infection and various inflammatory factors on the secretion level of gastrin-17. Methods: 531 subjects who received physical examination in our center from April 2019 to December 2019 were enrolled in the study. All the staff were tested for gastrin 17 (G17), pepsinogen I (PGI), pepsinogen II (PGII), PGI / PGII (PGR), Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) and other inflammatory factors. To compare the difference of G17 secretion in different populations and its correlation with PG, then to understand the HP infection and the influence of inflammatory indicators on G17. Results: There was no significant difference in the secretion level of G17 in different sex, age and BMI (P > 0.05); G17 was positively correlated with PGI and PGII, but negatively correlated with PGR; the level of G17 in Helicobacter pylori positive patients was 10.16±12.84, which was significantly higher than that in negative patients(3.27±6.65), P =0.017, 95% CI: 1.713 (1.100, 2.668); the increase of serum amyloid A(SAA) in different inflammatory indicators was the high-risk factor of G17 abnormality, P=0.016, 95% CI: 2.692 (1.202, 6.028), obviously CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) had no effect on G17 abnormalities. Conclusions: The secretion of G17 is closely related to PG and HP. Combined screening is helpful for early screening of gastrointestinal diseases in healthy or high-risk groups of gastric cancer, but the influence of inflammatory indicators on G17 should be excluded to improve the reliability of the results.

The Tobacco Metabolite NNK Enhances Pancreatic Cancer Cell Stemness and Chemoresistance by Activating The β2AR-Akt Autophagy Axis

Background: Low responsiveness to chemotherapy is an important cause of poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Smoking is a high-risk factor for pancreatic cancer and its resistance to gemcitabine; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is the main metabolite of tobacco burning and has been shown to be associated with cancer development and chemoresistance, but in pancreatic cancer, its mechanism remains poorly understood.Methods: The effect of NNK on pancreatic cancer cell viability was confirmed by using Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. Stem cell sphere formation assays and western blotting/qPCR measurements of stemness-related molecules were used to detect pancreatic cancer cell stemness. The pancreatic cancer autophagy status was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining of LC3 and western blotting/qPCR analysis of autophagy-related molecules.Results: NNK promoted stemness and gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, NNK intervention increased autophagy and changed the expression levels of autophagy-related markers, which preliminarily confirmed the activation of autophagy by NNK. Finally, the results showed that NNK-promoted stemness, and gemcitabine resistance was activated by the autophagy pathway, which was mediated by the β2AR-Akt signalling pathway.Conclusions: Autophagy induced by activating the NNK-induced β2AR-Akt signalling pathway promoted stemness and gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer cells.