Trimethylamine N-oxide aggravates vascular permeability and endothelial cell dysfunction under diabetic condition:in vitro and in vivo study

AIM:To provide the direct evidence for the crucial role of trimethylamine N-oxide(TMAO)in vascular permeability and endothelial cell dysfunction under diabetic condition.METHODS:The role of TMAO on the in vitro biological effect of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(HRMEC)under high glucose conditions was tested by a cell counting kit,wound healing,a transwell and a tube formation assay.The inflammation-related gene expression affected by TMAO was tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The expression of the cell junction was measured by Western blotting(WB)and immunofluorescence staining.In addition,two groups of rat models,diabetic and non-diabetic,were fed with normal or 0.1%TMAO for 16wk,and their plasma levels of TMAO,vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),interleukin(IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-αwere tested.The vascular permeability of rat retinas was measured using FITC-Dextran,and the expression of zonula occludens(ZO)-1 and claudin-5 in rat retinas was detected by WB or immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS:TMAO administration significantly increased the cell proliferation,migration,and tube formation of primary HRMEC either in normal or high-glucose conditions.RT-PCR showed elevated inflammation-related gene expression of HRMEC under TMAO stimulation,while WB or immunofluorescence staining indicated decreased cell junction ZO-1 and occludin expression after high-glucose and TMAO treatment.Diabetic rats showed higher plasma levels of TMAO as well as retinal vascular leakage,which were even higher in TMAO-feeding diabetic rats.Furthermore,TMAO administration increased the rat plasma levels of VEGF,IL-6 and TNF-αwhile decreasing the retinal expression levels of ZO-1 and claudin-5.CONCLUSION:TMAO enhances the proliferation,migration,and tube formation of HRMEC,as well as destroys their vascular integrity and tight connection.It also regulates the expression of VEGF,IL-6,and TNF-α.

Time trends and gender disparities of Chinese cataract burden and their predictions

AIM:To evaluate the trends and changes in the number and rates of disability-adjusted life years(DALYs)and prevalence of cataract in China between 1990 and 2019,and to predict the trends of cataract burden from 2020 to 2030.METHODS:The Global Burden of Diseases(GBD)database was employed to collect the data on DALYs and the prevalence of cataract in China,which was distinguished by age and sex during the past three decades from 1990 to 2019,and then changes in the number and rates of cataract from 2020 to 2030 were predicted.All data were analyzed by the R program(version 4.2.2)and GraphPad Prism 9.0 statistics software.RESULTS:The number of DALYs of cataract increased from 449322.84 in 1990 to 1087987.61 in 2019,number of cataract cases increased from 5607600.94 in 1990 to 18142568.96 in 2019.The age-standardized DALY rates(ASDR)generally increased slightly[estimated annual percentage change(EAPC=0.1;95%CI:-0.24 to 0.45)],age-standardized prevalence rates(ASPR)also increased(EAPC=0.88;95%CI:0.6 to 1.15).Cataract burden increased with age and female gender.Among the causes of cataract,air pollution was the most important,followed by smoking,high fasting plasma glucose,and high body mass index(BMI).The burden of cataract is predicted to grow persistently from 2020 to 2030,the number of DALYs and prevalence for cataract will rise to 2336431 and 43698620 respectively by 2030,the ASDR is predicted to be 85/100000 and ASPR will be 1586/100000 in 2030,females will still be at greater risk of suffering from cataract than males.CONCLUSION:The burden of cataract in China kept rising from 1990 to 2019.Increasing age and female gender are risk factors for cataract.Air pollution,smoking,high fasting plasma glucose,and high BMI are associated with cataract.The burden of cataract in China will gradually increase from 2020 to 2030,the elderly women in particular need attention.Our results may be of help for providing reference strategies to reduce cataract burden in the near future.

Effects of micro-alloying and production process on precipitation behaviors and mechanical properties of HRB600

Effects of micro-alloying elements and production process on microstructure, mechanical properties and precipitates of 600 MPa grade rebars were studied by using pilot test, metallographic observa- tion, tensile test, thermodynamic calculation and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the tested steels are composed of ferrite and pearlite, in which the conterlt range of pearlite is 33%-45%. For vanadium micro-alloyed steel, interphase preeipitation Strengthening effect of V can be promoted and the yield strength of tested steels can be increased with increasing V content and de- creasing finishing rolling temperature. The temperature of terminated cooling should be more than 700 ℃ when the water cooling is used. When niobium is added to the steel, more coarse （Nb,V）C,N precipitates are generated at high temperature, so that the solid solubility of precipitated phases of vanadium is reduced and the precipitation strengthening effect of vanadium is weakened.

Distribution of P2O5 between solid solution and liquid phase in dephosphorization slag of CaO-SiO2-FeO-P2O5-Na2O system

A multi-phase slag containing Na2O is potential to efficiently dephosphorize high-P hot metal.After dephosphorization,the generated slag with high P2O5 content is regarded as a P resource.Because P2O5 was mainly concentrated in the 2CaO SiO2-3CaO P2O5 solid solution,the recovery of P from dephosphorization slag primarily depends on the separation of the solid solution from other phases.The distribution ratios of P2O5 between solid solution and liquid phase in the CaOSiO2-FeO-P2O5-Nslag system were investigated.The results indicated that the addition of Na2O facilitated the enrichment of P2O5 in the solid solution because it increased not only the distribution ratio of P2O5 but also the mass fraction of the solid solution.The distribution ratio of P2O5 was independent of the P2O5 content in slag.A higher P2O5 content in slag resulted in higher P2O5 and Na2O contents in the solid solution.The distribution ratio of P2O5 increased with the total Fe content in the liquid phase,regardless of the valence of Fe.An increase in the FeO content in slag brought a higher P2O5 content in the solid solution.As slag basicity increased,the distribution ratio of P2O5 increased,but the P2O5 content in the solid solution decreased.