The progenitors of inner ear hair cells and their regulating genes

Hair cells in the mammalian inner ear are very fragile and are often injured as a result of acoustic trauma or exposure to ototoxic drugs (cisplatin, aminoglycosides, etc) [1]. In amphibians and birds, spontaneous

Clinical characteristics and current management of hepatitis B and C in China

AIM: To describe a population of outpatients in Chinainfected by hepatitis B virus(HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus(HCV), and assess their current management status.METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study of HBV- and/or HCV-infected patients was conducted from August to November, 2011 in western China. Patients ≥ 18 years of age with HBV and/or HCV infections who visited outpatient departments at 10 hospitals were evaluated, whether treated or not. Data were collected on the day of visit from medical records and patient interviews.RESULTS: A total 4010 outpatients were analyzed, including 2562 HBV-infected and 1406 HCV-infected and 42 HBV/HCV co-infected patients. The median duration of documented infection was 7.5 years in HBV-infected and 1.8 years in HCV-infected patients. Cirrhosis was the most frequent hepatic complication(12.2%), appearing in one-third of patients within 3 years prior to or at diagnosis. The HCV genotype was determined in only 10% of HCV-infected patients. Biopsy data were only available for 54 patients(1.3%). Antiviral medications had been received by 58.2% of patients with HBV infection and 66.6% with HCV infection. Nucleos(t)ide analogs were the major antiviral medications prescribed for HBV-infected patients(most commonly adefovir dipivoxil and lamivudine). Ribavirin + pegylated interferon was prescribed for two-thirds of HCV-infected patients. In the previous 12 mo, around one-fifth patients had been hospitalized due to HBV or HCV infection.CONCLUSION: This observational, real-life study has identified some gaps between clinical practice and guideline recommendations in China. To achieve better health outcomes, several improvements, such as disease monitoring and optimizing antiviral regimens, should be made to improve disease management.

Effectiveness of flipped classrooms in nursing education: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The flipped classroom has generated considerable interest in nursing education in the last few years, especially in higher education in China. However, research to date has been insufficient to confirm the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach. Since most of the Chinese studies are published in Chinese journals, they may not be easily accessible to international researchers. Therefore,this meta-analysis aimed to review the effectiveness of a flipped classroom in nursing education both in English and Chinese databases.Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the robust available evidence about the effectiveness of flipped classrooms in nursing education through a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods: A systematic search of English databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Science Director,CINAHL and Google Scholar, and Chinese databases, including Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), WanFang Data, VIP Information and Chinese Biomedical Literature(CMB), were conducted to identify peer-reviewed studies that met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently performed study identification with Endnote X7 software and used Excel to extract data. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed with Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool, and a meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software following the guidelines proposed by PRISMA reporting standards with the protocol register No. CRD42016041826.Results: A total of 29 studies were included in systematic review. There was a significant postintervention improvement in academic performance both in knowledge with a pooled random-effects standardized mean difference of 1.13 and skills with a pooled random-effects standardized mean difference(SMD) of 1.68. Students' self-learning abilities were also improved with a pooled random-effects SMD of 1.51 compared with traditional lecture. In the subgroup analysis, we found that the effect sizes had high fidelity in terms of nursing degrees and research settings. There was a high rating of flipped classroom pedagogy from teaching evaluations, study satisfaction, study attitude and improvement in critical thinking and problem-solving skills.Conclusions: These results indicated that a flipped classroom might help nursing students improve in knowledge, skills, attitudes, self-learning, study satisfaction, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.We recommend adopting this approach for nursing education reform. There is a call for robust empirical research and unification of appraisal standards for further support of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom. Furthermore, a meta-regression analysis is also recommended to explore the sources of heterogeneity in included studies.

Expression of AIF-1 and RANTES in Unexplained Spontaneous Abortion and Possible Association with Alloimmune Abortion

Objective To investigate the effects of allograft inflammatory factor-1 （AIF-1） and （RANTES） in sera and deciduas on unexplained early spontaneous abortion. Methods AIF-1 and RANTES were examined in sera and deciduas/endometria of 43 unexplained early spontaneous abortion women （group A）, 40 healthy women with early pregnancy（group B） and 20 healthy women with no pregnancy （group C）. Immunohistochemistry and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） were used in this study. Results AIF-1 protein was expressed both in deciduas of group A and in endometria of group C. In group A, H scores in the recurrent abortion deciduas specimens were significantly greater than those in the first abortion;in endometrium, expression of AIF-1 was greater in the secretory than in proliferative phase of group C. In group B, concentrations of RANTES in sera were higher in 7th-8th week of pregnancy than in 6th-7th and 〉8th week of pregnancy; expression of AIF-1 protein showed a negative correlation with RASNTES concentration; a significant increase of the RANTES levels in sera and tissue was observed in group B. Conclusion These results demonstrate, for the first time, that AIF-1 are expressed in deciduas of unexplained spontaneous abortion suggesting that AIF-1 involve in alloimmune abortion; RANTES might act as a novel blocking antibody;AIF-1 and RANTES might act as reliable markers for diagnosis of early alloimmune abortion.

Integrated treatment for lower-limb stage Ⅱ thromboangiitis obliterans by interventional therapy and oral administration of Chinese medicine: a randomized controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE: To observe if integrated treatment is better than other therapies for lower-limb stage thromboangiitis obliterans(TAO).ⅡMETHODS: Ninety lower-limb stage randomly dividedⅡ i or worse TAO patients werento three groups: group A(30 cases) treated by intervention and oral administration of Chinese medicine; groupB(30 cases) treated by intervention alone; and group C(30 cases) treated only with oral administration of Chinese medicine. Therapeutic effects were observed, including the cure rate; the recurrence rate after one month, three months, six months, nine months, and one year; the ankle brachial indexes; the incidence of complications; and the level of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.RESULTS: Group A had significantly better clinically curative effects, related indexes, and outcomes during the long-term follow-up survey, than that of groups B and C.CONCLUSION: Integrated treatment is more effective for treating lower-limb stage Ⅱ or worse TAO.

Syntheses, Cytotoxicity and Properties of CO Releasing Molecules Containing Acetyl Salicylamide-3-pyridine

A series of CO-releasing molecules [M（CO）5L] （M=Cr, W, Mo, L=acetyl salicylamide 3-pyridine, 1--3; L= N,N-dimethyl-4-pyridine, 4-6; L=nicotinamide, 7--9; L=4-CHO-pyridine, 10--12） were synthesized. And in this paper, we have investigated mainly cytotoxicity and properties of the CO-releasing molecules containing acetyl salicyamide-3-pyridine, namely complexes 1--3. The stability of complexes 1 and 2 was evaluated by means of UV-Vis spectroscopy and 1H NMR spectra. The results indicate complexes 1 and 2 were stable in methanol and acidic aqueous solution, but unstable and decayed in basic media （pH 10.0）. Among all the complexes, complex 2 was the slowest CO-releaser, and its half-life was 73.8 min. Complex 9 containing nicotinamide was the fastest CO-releaser with half-life only 6.5 min. In addition, cytotoxic effects of all the complexes on the proliferation of fibroblast line were assayed by MTT. Among all the complexes, the IC50 of complex 1 was 6 μmol/L, revealing complex 1 possessed stronger antiproliferative activity than the control. Analysis by Flow cytometry revealed that complex 1 arrested Hela cells in S phase while complexes 2 and 8 arrested in G2/M phase. Cell apoptosis caused by the complexes mainly occurred in ＂Late apoptosis＂.

Effect of Zibushenjing Fang on skeletal development and brain tissue antioxidation in mice with kidney essence insufficiency: a mechanistic study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Zibushenjing Fang (formula for tonifying the kidney essence) on skeletal development and brain tissue antioxidation in mice with kidney essence insufficiency. METHODS: Fifty male Kunming mice were randomly divided into five groups: normal group, model group, Jinkuishenqi Wan group, Zibushenjing Fang high dose group, and Zibushenjing Fang low dose group, with 10 mice in each group. The model of kidney essence insufficiency syndrome was established in all the mice except the normal group by using a cat to threaten the mice and by swimming until exhaustion daily which lasted about 21 days. Mice in the model group were administered 20 mL/ kg -1 · d -1 of normal saline intragastrically. The Jinkuishenqi Wan group was given 2.7 g/kg-1 · d-1 ofa solution of Jinkuishenqi Wan. The Zibushenjing Fang high dose group was given 20 g/kg -1 · d -1 and the Zibushenjing Fang low dose group was given 10 g/kg -1 · d -1 of a solution of Zibushenjing Fang.The general condition of all the groups was observed, including the quantity of food and water intake, swimming time, length of femur, and weight of the femur and musculus quadriceps femoris. The total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxi- dase (GSH-Px), and methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) activities in the brain tissues were detected. RESULTS: Zibushenjing Fang could improve the manifestation of kidney essence insufficiency, increase the quantity of food and water intake, swimming time, femur length, and femur and musculus quadriceps femoris weight. It could also regulate the activities of T-SOD, GSH-Px, and MDA in brain tissue. CONCLUSION: Zibushenjing Fang may play an important role in treating kidney essence insufficiency syndrome by promoting body development and improving brain tissue antioxidation.