Gastrointestinal problems in a valproic acid-induced rat model of autism: From maternal intestinal health to offspring intestinal function

BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder(ASD)is a developmental disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behavior.Gastrointestinal(GI)problems,such as constipation,diarrhea,and inflammatory bowel disease,commonly occur in patients with ASD.Previously,GI problems of ASD patients were attributed to intestinal inflammation and vertical mother-to-infant microbiome transmission.AIM To explore whether GI problems in ASD are related to maternal intestinal inflam-mation and gut microbiota abnormalities.METHODS An ASD rat model was developed using valproic acid(VPA).Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and fecal 16S rRNA sequencing were used to test GI changes.RESULTS VPA exposure during pregnancy led to pathological maternal intestinal changes,resulting in alterations in maternal gut microbiota.Additionally,the levels of inflammatory factors also increased.Moreover,prenatal exposure to VPA resulted in impaired duodenal motility in the offspring as well as increased levels of infla-mmatory factors.CONCLUSION GI problems in ASD may be associated with maternal intestinal inflammation and microbiota abnormality.Future research is required to find more evidence on the etiology and treatment of GI problems in ASD.

Severe plastic deformation of commercially pure aluminum using novel equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity

Equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity(ECAEE-SC)was introduced as a novel severe plastic deformation(SPD)technique,which is capable of imposing large plastic strain and intrinsic back-pressure on the processed billet.The plastic deformation behaviors of commercially pure aluminum during ECAEE-SC process were investigated using finite element analysis DEFORM-3D simulation software.The material flow,the load history,the distribution of effective strain and mean stress in the billet were analyzed in comparison with conventional equal channel angular extrusion(ECAE)process.In addition,single-pass ECAEE-SC was experimentally conducted on commercially pure aluminum at room temperature for validation,and the evolution of microstructure and microhardness of as-processed material was discussed.It was shown that during the process,the material is in the ideal hydrostatic stress state and the load requirement for ECAEE-SC is much more than that for ECAE.After a single-pass ECAEE-SC,an average strain of 3.51 was accumulated in the billet with homogeneous distribution.Moreover,the microstructure was significantly refined and composed of equiaxed ultrafine grains with sub-micron size.Considerable improvement in the average microhardness of aluminum was also found,which was homogenized and increased from HV 36.61 to HV 70.20,denoting 91.75%improvement compared with that of the as-cast billet.

Effects of lipoic acid on the activities of fibrinase, antioxidant enzymes and related factors in patients with type 2 diabetic foot

Objective:To investigate the effects of lipoic acid on the activities of fibrinase, antioxidant enzymes and related factors in patients with type 2 diabetic foot.Methods: 120 patients with type 2 diabetic foot treated in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism in our hospital from March 2015 to March 2018 were collected and randomly divided into control group and observation group, 60 cases in each group. The patients in control group were treated with alprostadil, and the patients in observation group were treated with lipoic acid combined with alprostadil. Before and after treatment, the levels of plasminogen activator, fibrinopeptide A, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), catalase (CAT), Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and homocysteine (Hcy) of patients in the two groups were detected and compared.Results: After treatment, the levels of plasminogen activator, SOD, GSH-PX and CAT of patients in the control group and the observation group were significantly increased. The levels of fibrinogen A and plasminogen activator inhibitor -1 of patients in the control group and the observation group were significantly decreased. The changes of the above indexes of patients in the observation group were more obvious than those in the control group (P<0.05). The levels of TLR2, TLR9, VCAM-1, MMP-9 and Hcy in the serum of patients in the control group and the observation group were significantly decreased. The down-regulation of these factors of patients in the observation group was more obvious than that in the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion:Lipoic acid combined with alprostadil in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus disease can significantly enhance the activity of fibrinolytic enzymes and antioxidant capacity, alleviate inflammation, and it has a good clinical effect.

Changes of bone mineral density, bone metabolism indices and cell factors in patients with hyperthyroidism

Objective:To observe the changes of bone mineral density, bone metabolism indices and cell factor in patients with hyperthyroidismMethods:A total of 116 cases of hyperthyroidism patients from June 2015 to June 2016 in our hospital were selected. as the object of observation group. Then, 120 cases of healthy people were selected as the object of control group. Thyroid function indexes (TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4, TSH), bone mineral density (BMD), bone metabolism indexes (PTH, BGP, PINP) and cell factors (IL-2, IL-6) in both groups were detected and compared.Results:TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4, TSH in control group were (1.40±0.81) nmol/L, (94.36±32.10) nmol/L, (5.04±1.18) pmol/L, (15.37±4.60) pmol/L, (2.55±1.21) mU/L. TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4, TSH in observation group were (5.48±2.36) nmol/L, (405.55±71.48) nmol/L, (16.27±5.14) pmol/L, (46.83±12.66) pmol/L, (0.04±0.01) mU/L. TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4 in the observation group were higher than that in control group obviously. TSH in the observation group was lower than that in observation group obviously. The difference between two groups was considered statistically significant. BMD, PTH in observation group were (0.62±0.08) g/m2, (26.25±9.16) pg/mL, which were obviously lower than BMD (1.23±0.11) g/m2, PTH (37.13±8.05) pg/mL in control group. The difference between two groups was considered statistically significant. BGP, PINP in observation group were (14.51±6.25) ng/mL, (223.63±10.38) μg/L, which were obviously higher than BGP (5.97±1.98) ng/mL, PINP (33.18±6.15) μg/L in control group. The difference between two groups was considered statistically significant. IL-2 in observation group was (1.60±0.51) ng/L, which was obviously lower than IL-2 (4.72±1.29) ng/L, in control group. IL-6 in observation group was (1.98±0.34) pg/L, which was obviously higher than IL-6, (1.50±0.23) pg/L, in control group. The difference between two groups was considered statistically significant.Conclusion:Bone mineral density in patients with hyperthyroidism decreased and bone metabolism in patients with hyperthyroidism was active. The significant changes of IL-2, IL-6 also can be seen. In the clinical ,We should enhance the detection of these indexes, so as to take measures to prevent and cure the complications such as osteoporosis.