Having excluded potential confounding effect of exogenous albumin administration, low serum albumin levels are associated with an increased risk of death in patients with severe sepsis.

Background and Objective: Tea drinking is associated with positive effects on bone health and may protect against osteoporosis, especially in elderly women. Pu-erh tea has many beneficial effects on human health; however, whether Pu-erh tea has anti-osteoporotic potential remains unclear. Thus, we investigated the effects of Pu-erh tea extract (PTE) on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats and on osteoclastogenesis in vitro.Methods: Female Wistar rats were divided into six groups: the sham, model, and Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule (XLGB) groups, and the low-, medium-, and high-dose PTE groups. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were used as an animal model of osteoporosis. The animals were intragastrically administered distilled water, XLGB, or different concentrations of PTE for 13 weeks. Body weight, blood biochemical indicators, relative organ coefficients, femoral bone mineral density (BMD), bone biomechanical properties, and bone microarchitecture were examined and analyzed. Additionally, the in vitro effects of PTE on osteoclastic activities were investigated using the RAW 264.7 cell line as an osteoclast differentiation model. The effects of PTE on osteoclast differentiation and the expression of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins were determined.Results: PTE reduced OVX-induced body weight gain after 6 weeks of treatment, and the high-dose exerted a significant effect. High-dose PTE significantly ameliorated OVX-induced estradiol (E2) deficiency. PTE treatment maintained calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and improved other blood biochemical parameters to various degrees. In addition, PTE treatment improved organ coefficients of the femur, uterus, and vagina and improved femoral BMD and bone biomechanical properties. PTE treatment strikingly ameliorated bone microarchitecture. Moreover, in the in vitro studies, osteoclast differentiation using the differentiation cell model was significantly inhibited by PTE without cytotoxic effects. Additionally, PTE efficaciously suppressed the expression of key osteoclast-specific genes and proteins.Conclusion: PTE can ameliorate ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats and suppress osteoclastogenesis in vitro.

AIM:To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of β-adrenergic blocker plus 5-isosorbide mononitrate (BB + ISMN) and endoscopic band ligation (EBL) on prophylaxis of esophageal variceal rebleeding. METHODS:

BackgroundCAD (Coronary Artery Disease) is a complex disease that influenced by various environmental and genetic factors. Previous studies have found many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the risk of CAD occurrence. However, the results are inconsistent. In this study, we aim to investigate genetic etiology in Chinese Han population by analysis of 7 SNPs in lipid metabolism pathway that previously has been reported to be associated with CAD.MethodsA total of 631 samples were used in this study, including 435 CAD cases and 196 normal healthy controls. SNP genotyping were conducted via multiplex PCR amplifying followed by NGS (next-generation sequencing).ResultsRs662799 in APOA5 (Apolipoprotein A5) gene was associated with CAD in Chinese Han population (Odds-ratio = 1.374, P-value = 0.03). No significant association was observed between the rest of SNPs and CAD. Stratified association analysis revealed rs5882 was associated with CAD in non-hypertension group (Odds-ratio = 1.593, P-value = 0.023). Rs1800588 was associated with CAD in smoking group (Odds-ratio = 1.603, P-value = 0.035).ConclusionThe minor allele of rs662799 was the risk factor of CAD occurrences in Chinese Han population.

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Intravascular ultrasound elastography (IVUSE) is a promising imaging technique for early investigation of vulnerable plaques. Compared to radiofrequency signal processing, digital B-mode analysis is simple and of higher portability. However, rare studies have been reported validating the latter technique in vivo. In this study, we developed an IVUSE computer software system involving semi-automatic border delineation and block-matching algorithm and validated the system in vivo. Seven minipigs were fed with atherogenic diet for 40 weeks. For each pig, the endothelium of one side of the renal arteries was denuded at the fifth week. With cross-correlation analysis, Lagrangian strain was calculated from two intravascular ultrasound images acquired in situ. Sixty regions of interests were selected from 35 elastograms matched well with the corresponding histological slices. Plaque types within these regions were classified as fibrous, fibro-fatty or fatty on Masson's trichrome and Oil-red O staining. Macrophage infiltration was also evaluated with immunohistology. Comparison between the mean strain value of the region of interest and the histological results revealed significant differences in strain values among different plaque types and non-diseased artery walls. The extent of macrophage infiltration was found to be correlated positively with strain values. For identification of fibro-fatty and fibrous plaques and macrophage infiltration, the system showed high sensitivity (93, 96 and 92%, respectively) and specificity (89, 76 and 66%, respectively), as revealed by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Our IVUSE system based on B-mode analysis is capable of characterizing fibrous and fibro-fatty plaques and macrophage intensity, thus holds potential for identifying vulnerable plaque.

The PON1 alleles 192R and 55L are associated with CAD, and the Q192R polymorphism may be a risk factor for CAD.

The current study investigated the protective effects of inactivated pseudomonas aeruginosa (IPA) on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIR/I) and the mechanisms governing this interaction. Left anterior descending coronary artery ligation was performed on rats for 30 min and reperfusion was performed for a subsequent 2 h. Rat hearts were obtained and the myocardial infarction area was determined using nitroblue tetrazolium. Myocardial cell apoptosis was determined using flow cytometry. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and catalase (CAT) activities were assayed using the corresponding kits. Additionally, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) were assayed using western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. When compared with the model group, the results of IPA treatment revealed improved heart function, reduced myocardial infarction area and reduced endothelial cell apoptosis, which led to decreased LDH and MDA levels, and increased SOD and CAT levels in serum, and decreased LDH and MDA levels and increased SOD and CAT in myocardial tissues. Moreover, increased Nrf2 and HO-1 expression levels in the myocardial tissues were also observed at all concentrations of IPA. It was concluded that IPA pretreatment ameliorated MIR/I and reduced endothelial apoptosis and oxidative stress via the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.