Langerhans cell histiocytosis in children with refractory diarrhoea and hypoalbuminaemia as the initial presentation: two case reports and a literature review.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) involving the gastrointestinal tract is a rare condition for which clinical experience is limited. We describe the cases of two patients who initially presented with chronic diarrhoea, hypoproteinaemia, and intermittent fever. These findings suggest that in cases of refractory diarrhoea accompanied by recurrent hypoalbuminaemia, especially with abdominal rash, LCH should be considered.

Changes and related factors of blood CCN1 levels in diabetic patients.

Objective: To study the differences in blood cellular communication network factor 1 (CCN1) levels between patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and healthy individuals and to explore the relationship between CCN1 and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: Plasma CCN1 levels were detected using ELISA in 50 healthy controls, 74 patients with diabetes without diabetic retinopathy (DM group), and 69 patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR group). Correlations between CCN1 levels and age, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and other factors were analyzed.

Catheter-related bloodstream infections in children with intestinal failure: a 6-year review from an intestinal rehabilitation center in China.

Background: Children with intestinal failure (IF) have frequent catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). This study aimed to analyze the clinical presentation and laboratory parameters of CRBSIs in children with IF.

Methods: This 6-year retrospective study was conducted among IF children with CRBSIs at an intestinal rehabilitation center in China.

Comparison and recent progress of molecular imprinting technology and dummy template molecular imprinting technology.

Molecular imprinting technology for the preparation of polymers with specific molecular recognition function had become one of the current research hotspots. It has been widely applied in chromatographic separation, antibody and receptor mimetics, solid-phase extraction, bio-sensors, and other fields in the last decades. In this study, molecular imprinting technology was summarized from the points of templates and dummy templates, and four typical target analytes were selected to compare the differences between templates and dummy templates.

Prevalence and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes in Shanghai.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in residents of Shanghai and analyze the risk factors of DR.

Methods: This study involved 7233 patients with diabetes in 2016. The demographic data of the participants were collected using a questionnaire survey.

Partial S substitution activates NiMoO for efficient and stable electrocatalytic urea oxidation.

Achieving a profound understanding of the reaction kinetics of a catalyst by modulating its electronic structure is significant. Herein, we present a scalable approach to achieving a spatially partial substitution of S into NiMoO. The increase in active components in a true Ni oxidation state as a result of optimizing the coordination environment greatly improved urea oxidation activity.

[Clinical observation on electroacupuncture combined with moxibustion for treatment of urinary incontinence after stroke due to deficiency of kidney-].

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of electroacupuncture combined with moxibustion in the treatment of urinary incontinence after stroke due to deficiency of kidney-.

Methods: Sixty patients with urinary incontinence after stroke due to kidney- deficiency were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group，with 30 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were given oral administration of Jingui Shenqi pills and Suoquan capsules.

Effects of extracellular ATP on local and systemic responses of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) leaves to wounding.

Wounding increased the extracellular Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (eATP) level of kidney bean leaves. Treatment with wounding or exogenous ATP increased the hydrogen peroxide (HO) content, activities of catalase and polyphenol oxidase, and malondialdehyde content in both the treated and systemic leaves. Pre-treatment with ATP-degrading enzyme, apyrase, to the wounded leaves reduced the wound-induced local and systemic increases in HO content, activities of catalase and polyphenol oxidase, and malondialdehyde content.

[Intestinal absorption and metabolism of Puerariae Lobatae Radix decoction by in situ closed-loop method].

Biopharmaceutics classification system of Chinese materia medica (CMMBCS) emphasizes characteristic of the multi-component environment based on the drug solubility and permeability. In this study, the in situ closed-loop method combined with LC-MS technique was utilized to study the intestinal absorption and metabolism of Puerariae Lobatae Radix decoction (PLRD), providing selection basis for intestinal permeability components in CMMBCS. A total of 36 components were identified from PLRD.

Three new sesquiterpenes from Pterocarpus santalinus.

Three new sesquiterpenes of canusesnol K (1), canusesnol L (2) and 12, 15-dihydroxycurcumene (3), along with five known ones (4-8), were isolated from the heartwood extract of Pterocarpus santalinus. Their structures were established by extensive analyses of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, including H NMR, C NMR, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY, and HRESI-MS. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were established with Modified Mosher's method.

Altered systemic bile acid homeostasis contributes to liver disease in pediatric patients with intestinal failure.

Intestinal failure (IF)-associated liver disease (IFALD), as a major complication, contributes to significant morbidity in pediatric IF patients. However, the pathogenesis of IFALD is still uncertain. We here investigate the roles of bile acid (BA) dysmetabolism in the unclear pathogenesis of IFALD.

Hereditary pancreatitis of 3 Chinese children: Case report and literature review.

Background: Hereditary pancreatitis (HP) is quite rare and is distinguished by incomplete penetrance presentation as early-onset relapsing pancreatitis, usually beginning in childhood. HP is now known to be commonly relevant to mutations in the PRSS1 (gene-encoding cationic trypsinogen), SPINK1 (serine protease inhibitor, Kazal type 1), CFTR (cystic fibrosis), carboxypeptidase A1 (CPA1), and chymotrypsin C (CTRC) genes as reported in some Caucasian studies. HP has a variable spectrum of severity and may develop complications.

Expression of Iron Transporters and Pathological Hallmarks of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases in the Brain of Young, Adult, and Aged Rats.

Iron accumulates progressively in the brain with age; however, the cause is unknown. We hypothesized that iron accumulation may be associated with the age-induced changes in the expression of iron metabolism proteins in the brain. Here, we systematically investigated iron content and the expression of two major iron importers, transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) and divalent metal transporter (DMT1), two iron exporters, ferroportin 1 (Fpn1) and ceruloplasmin (CP), and hepcidin, along with the pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's diseases (AD) in the brain of young (3 months), adult (12 months), and aged (24 months) rats.

The effects of different lipid emulsions on the lipid profile, fatty acid composition, and antioxidant capacity of preterm infants: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Background & Aims: Olive oil (OO), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT)/long-chain triglycerides (LCT) mixture and soybean oil (SO) lipid emulsions are currently used for preterm infants in China. The aim of our study was to compare the lipid profile, fatty acid composition, and antioxidant capacity of preterm infants administered OO, MCT/LCT, or SO lipid emulsions.

Methods: In this study, 156 preterm infants (birth weight < 2000 g and gestational age < 37 weeks) received parenteral nutrition (PN) containing OO, MCT/LCT, or SO lipid emulsions for a minimum of 14 d.

Effect of an Olive Oil-Based Lipid Emulsion Compared With a Soybean Oil-Based Lipid Emulsion on Liver Chemistry and Bile Acid Composition in Preterm Infants Receiving Parenteral Nutrition: A Double-Blind, Randomized Trial.

Background: The pathogenesis of parenteral nutrition (PN)-associated liver dysfunction is multifactorial. Lipid emulsions may be one of the putative mechanisms. Our aim was to comparatively assess the effect of parenteral olive oil- and soybean oil-based lipid emulsions on liver chemistry and bile acid composition in preterm infants.

Lipopolysaccharides upregulate hepcidin in neuron via microglia and the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Neuroinflammation is closely related to brain iron homeostasis. Our previous study demonstrated that lipopolysaccharides (LPS) can regulate expression of iron-regulatory peptide hepcidin; however, the mechanism is undefined. Here, we demonstrated that intracerebroventricular injection of LPS in rat brain upregulated hepcidin and downregulated ferroportin 1 in the cortex and substantia nigra.

[Analysis of cataract surgical rate and its influencing factors in Shanghai, China].

Objective: To explore the cataract surgical rate (CSR) of Shanghai from 2006 to 2012 and examine its influencing factors.

Methods: As of 2003, a cataract surgery registration form had been filled by physicians after every cataract surgery in Shanghai. The local eye disease prevention team then entered the relevant information into the Shanghai Cataract Operations Database.

Reducing iron in the brain: a novel pharmacologic mechanism of huperzine A in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Huperzine A (HupA), a natural inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase derived from a plant, is a licensed anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug in China and a nutraceutical in the United States. In addition to acting as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, HupA possesses neuroprotective properties. However, the relevant mechanism is unknown.

[Therapeutic effects of Fuzhenghuayu decoction in a CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis rat model and on hepatic stellate cell activation].

Objective: To evaluate the influence of Fuzhenghuayu decoction on fibrotic liver tissue and activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) using a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver cirrhosis rat model system.

Methods: Sixty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following groups: normal (non-model, non-drug intervention), CCl4 liver fibrosis model, and CCl4 liver fibrosis model Fuzhenghuayu drug intervention at low dose (0.75 g/kg/d) and high dose (1.

[Preparation, characterization and Calu-3 cellular uptake of three kinds of poly(b-benzyl-L-amino)block-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles].

The aim of this paper is to compare the cytotoxicity and cellular uptake efficiency of three kinds of poly(b-benzyl-L-amino) block-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles (PXA-PEG-NPs) using Calu-3 cells, and select one as a nasal drug delivery vector for curcumin (Cur). Poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) block-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles (PBLG-PEG-NPs), poly(gamma-benzyl-L-lysine) block-poly(ethyleneglycol) nanoparticles (PZLL-PEG-NPs) and poly(gamma-benzyl-L-aspartate) block-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles (PBLA-PEG-NPs) were prepared by emulsion-solvent evaporation method. MTT assays were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of PXA-PEG-NPs against Calu-3 cells.

[Serum changes of adiponectin, insulin resistance and their correlation in endometrial cancer patients].

Objective: To explore changes of serum adiponectin and insulin resistance in patients with endometrial cancer and to evaluate the clinical significance and correlation.

Methods: The serum levels of adiponectin and fasting insulin were determined by ELISA, electro-chemilluminometry and radioimmunoassay in 35 patients with endometrial cancer [all patients divided into two groups, A1 group belonged to without postmenopausal when first visiting (n = 20), A2 group belonged to postmenopausal when first visiting (n = 15)] and 30 cases of health control. The result of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index was calculated.

Cross-sectional investigation of visual impairing diseases in Shanghai blind children school.

Background: The control of blindness in children is a high priority within the VISION 2020 initiative. To determine the causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children from Shanghai Blind Children School (SBCS) can provide useful information on childhood blindness in Shanghai.

Methods: A cross-sectional investigation of students in SBCS was conducted in May 2010.

A new benzofuran glucoside from Ficus tikoua Bur.

From the water-soluble portion of the methanol extract of stems of Ficus tikoua Bur., a new benzofuran glucoside, named 6-carboxyethyl-5-hydroxybenzofuran 5-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), together with one known benzofuran glucoside (2) were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D ((1)H-(1)H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy and HRMS techniques.

[Design of a volume-rendering toolkit using GPU-based ray-casting].

This paper presents an approach to GPU-based ray-casting of a shader model 3.0 compatible graphics card. In addition, a software toolkit is designed using the proposed algorithm to make the full benefit of GPU by extending VTK.