Prevalence of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in China: A Community-Based,Cross-Sectional Study

International hospital-based studies have indicated a high risk of cognitive impairment after stroke, evidence from community-based studies in China is scarce. To determine the prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and its subtypes in stroke survivors residing in selected rural and urban Chinese communities, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in 599 patients accounting for 48% of all stroke survivors registered in the 4 communities, who had suffered confirmed strokes and had undergone cognitive assessments via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Hachinski Ischemia Scale (HIS). Detection of PSCI was based on scores in these neuropsychological scales. Factors potentially impacting on occurrence of PSCI were explored by comparing demographic characteristics, stroke features, and cardiovascular risk factors between patients with and without PSCI. The overall prevalence of PSCI was 80.97% (95%CI: 77.82%-84.11%), while that of non-dementia PSCI (PSCI-ND) and post-stroke vascular dementia (PSD) was 48.91% (95%CI: 44.91%-52.92%) and 32.05% (95%CI: 28.32%-35.79%), respectively. Prior stroke and complications during the acute phase were independent risk factors for PSCI. The risk of recurrent stroke survivors having PSCI was 2.7 times higher than for first-episode survivors, and it was 3 times higher for those with complications during the acute phase than for those without. The higher prevalence of PSCI in this study compared with previous Chinese studies was possibly due to the combined effects of including rural stroke survivors, a longer period from stroke onset, and different assessment methods. There is an urgent need to recognize and prevent PSCI in stroke patients, especially those with recurrent stroke and complications during the acute phase.     

尼群地平对实验性糖尿病大鼠心肌收缩性的影响

腹腔注射链脲佐霉素（６５ｍｇ／ｋｇ）诱发Ｗｉｓｔａｒ大鼠糖尿病。糖尿病发病４周后,向饲料中加尼群地平（３０ｍｇ·ｋｇ－１·ｄ－１）。结果表明,糖尿病４周时大鼠心室舒张功能首先受损,８周后心室舒张和收缩功能均明显受累。尼群地平处理对糖尿病大鼠的心肌收缩性有一定的改善作用。提示尼群地平对大鼠糖尿病性心肌病有一定有益作用。     

不同感染状态下EB病毒核抗原亚型表达的研究

本实验用免疫印迹法纯化的抗ＥＢＮＡ亚型抗体,结合显微荧光分光光度检测技术,检测在不同感染状态下,三种亚型ＥＢＮＡ抗原在细胞中的表达程度。结果表明,处于潜伏感染状态下的Ｒａｊｉ细胞ＥＢＮＡ－１表达量较大,经巴豆油和正丁酸诱导进入钝挫感染状态后ＥＢＮＡ－１表达减少,而ＥＢＮＡ－２的表达增强。Ｂ＿（９５－８）细胞也有相似的趋势。表明ＥＢ病毒的激活可能与不同ＥＢＮＡ亚型表达量的改变有关。     

AREL1 resists the apoptosis induced by TGF-β by inhibiting SMAC in vascular endothelial cells

Abnormal apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells is an important feature of arteriosclerosis (AS). Here, we induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and investigated the role of antiapoptotic E3 ubiquitin ligase (AREL1) in the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells. We proved that AREL1 is downregulated in TGF-β treated HUVECs. The overexpression of AREL1 inhibits the activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 and attenuates cell apoptosis induced by TGF-β. According to the result of coimmunoprecipitation, AREL1 interacts with the proapoptotic proteins the second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (SMAC) in TGF-β treated HUVECs. In addition, miR-320b inhibits the expression of AREL1, and the overexpression of AREL1 attenuates the apoptosis induced by miR-320b mimics in HUVECs. In conclusion, AREL1 is downregulated by miR-320b. AREL1 overexpression inhibits TGF-β induced apoptosis through downregulating SMAC in vascular endothelial cells. Our study explores pathogenesis regulation mechanism and new biological therapeutic targets for vascular disease.     

Structural studies of the capsular polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide O-antigen of Aeromonas salmonicida strain 80204-1 produced under in vitro and in vivo growth conditions.

Aeromonas salmonicida is a pathogenic aquatic bacterium and the causal agent of furunculosis in salmon. In the course of this study, it was found that when grown in vitro on tryptic soy agar, A. salmonicida strain 80204-1 produced a capsular polysaccharide with the identical structure to that of the lipopolysaccharide O-chain polysaccharide. A combination of 1D and 2D NMR methods, including a series of 1D analogues of 3D experiments, together with capillary electrophoresis-electrospray MS (CE-ES-MS), compositional and methylation analyses and specific modifications was used to determine the structure of these polysaccharides. Both polymers were shown to be composed of linear trisaccharide repeating units consisting of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galacturonic acid (GalNAcA), 3-[(N-acetyl-L-alanyl)amido]-3,6-dideoxy-D-glucose[3-[(N-acetyl-L-alanyl)amido]-3-deoxy-D-quinovose, Qui3NAlaNAc] and 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-quinovose, QuiNAc) and having the following structure: [-->3)-alpha-D-GalpNAcA-(1-->3)-beta-D-QuipNAc-(1-->4)-beta-D-Quip3NAlaNAc-(1-]n, where GalNAcA is partly presented as an amide and AlaNAc represents N-acetyl-L-alanyl group. CE-ES-MS analysis of CPS and O-chain polysaccharide confirmed that 40% of GalNAcA was present in the amide form. Direct CE-ES-MS/MS analysis of in vivo cultured cells confirmed the formation of a novel polysaccharide, a structure also formed in vitro, which was previously undetectable in bacterial cells grown within implants in fish, and in which GalNAcA was fully amidated.