Perinatal hypoxia has been observed to cause more aggressive pulmonary hypertension in human. Several mediators such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and substance P are believed to be crucial in the mechanism of inducing pulmonary hypertension. This study was designed to test whether substance P and ROS play a role in perinatal hypoxia-exaggerated, monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension. Normoxic Wistar rats (weighing 258 ± 9 g, n = 31) were divided into two groups: control (n = 16) and MCT (n = 15). Perinatal hypoxia Wistar rats (weighing 260 ± 19 g, n = 49) were divided into six groups: Hypoxia (n = 8), Hypoxia+MCT (n = 8), Hypoxia+capsaicin (CP)+MCT (n = 7), Hypoxia+MCT+1,3-dimethyl-2-thiourea (DMTU)E (n = 10), Hypoxia+MCT+DMTUL (n = 9), and Hypoxia+MCT+ hexa(sulfobutyl) fullerenes (HSF) (n = 7). Rats in the control group received saline injections. MCT (60 mg/kg, s.c.) was given three weeks prior to the functional examination. Chronic capsaicin pretreatment was performed to deplete substance P. Hydroxyl radical scavenger DMTU (500 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected early (DMTUE ) or late (DMTUL ) after MCT. Antioxidant HSF (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was given once daily for three weeks following MCT. MCT treatment caused significant increases in pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa) and substance P level in lung tissue in normoxic rats. The MCT-induced increase in pulmonary arterial blood pressure was exaggerated by perinatal hypoxia, but this exaggeration was attenuated by either capsaicin pretreatment or antioxidant administrations. These results suggest that both ROS and substance P are involved in perinatal hypoxia-augmented, MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension.

In this article, a nanoporous chitosan polymer membrane was successfully produced and applied as microdialysis membrane forin vitrosampling of biomolecules. With the use of nanoparticle leaching technique, porogenic gelatin nanoparticles formed nanopores in the chitosan-based membrane to create a secure implantable nanoporous membrane for biomolecule sampling. The gelatin nanoparticles size was in the range of 45 to 70 nm, and the pore size of the chitosan membrane was around 40 to 100 nm. The porosity of membrane was found to be dependent on the mixing ratio of chitosan solution and gelatin nanoparticles solution. The results of diffusion study showed that we can alter the mixing ratio of porogen to achieve size-selective molecular diffusion, which means that the porosity and cut-off size of porous membrane can be controlled. The recoveries of the probe fabricated from the chitosan-based membrane were examined for four different model compounds of different molecular weights: 2-NBDG, substance P, TNF-α, and FITC-BSA. The microdialysis probes showed linear responses and substantial recovery to various concentrations of biomolecules. These results indicated that the microdialysis probe constructed by chitosan nanoporous membrane could sample and monitor the biomoleculesin vitroand has the potential for the applicationin vivo.

The pressor effects on blood pressure (BP) elicited by electro-acupuncture (Ea) stimulations and vesico-vascular reflex (VVR) were investigated in anesthetized rats. Twenty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used throughout this study. Two acupoints, the Hoku (Li-4) and the Tsusanli (St-36), were tested by a low frequency Ea (LFEa, 2 Hz) and a high frequency Ea (HFEa, 20 Hz) with intensities 20 times that of the motor threshold. Ea at Tsusanli elicited no pressor effects (98.15 +/- 4.10% and 101.43 +/- 3.96% of pre-stimulation control in LFEa and HFEa, respectively) whereas pressor effects could be induced by Ea stimulations at Hoku (126.3 +/- 3.3% and 136.3 +/- 3.8% of pre-stimulation control in LFEa and HFEa, respectively. P < 0.01, n = 10). In addition, the patterns of pressor effects elicited by LFEa and HFEa at Hoku were different, i.e., LFEa at Hoku elicited a tonic pressor effect, while HFEa elicited a phasic one. The VVR induced by bladder isovolumic saline distension also elicited a pressor effect on BP (119.2 +/- 2.2%, P < 0.01, n = 10) in the same preparations during bladder contractions. The VVR did not modify the Ea-induced pressor responses, and vice versa, when both of them were superimposed. All the results suggested that the pressor effects elicited by the VVR and the Ea stimulation were additive responses. In addition, for future clinical application, our findings may imply that patients should be carefully monitored for signs and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction during clinical acupuncture treatments

Importance: Due to the evolving variants of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is important to understand the relationship between the disease condition and socioeconomic, demographic, and health indicators across regions. Background: Studies examining the relationships between infectious disease and socioeconomic variables are not yet well established. Design: A total of 3042 counties in the United States are included as the observation unit in the study. Two outcome variables employed in the study are the control of disease spread and infection prevalence rates in each county. Method: Data are submitted to quantile regression, hierarchical regression, and random forest analyses to understand the extent to which health outcomes are affected by demographics, socioeconomics, and health indicators. Results: Counties with better control of the disease spread tend to have lower infection rates, and vice versa. When measuring different outcome variables, the common risk factors for COVID-19 with a 5% level of statistical significance include employment ratio, female labor ratio, young population ratio, and residents’ average health risk factors, while protective factors include land size, housing value, travel time to work, female population ratio, and ratio of residents who identify themselves as mixed race. Conclusions: The implications of the findings are that the ability to maintain social distancing and personal hygiene habits are crucial in deterring disease transmission and lowering incidence rates, especially in the early stage of disease formation. Relevant authorities should identify preventive factors and take early actions to fight infectious diseases in the future.

Background: The loss of skeletal muscle mass by aging determines the health status and the quality of life (QoL). Objective: To examine the relationships between appendicular muscle strength and the QoL of elderly adults in gender difference. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, in which 690 subjects who participated in older adults health examination in the health management center of Tri-Service General Hospital from 2018 to 2021. A structured questionnaire was used to collect basic demographic data. The 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12) was used to evaluate the QoL of subjects. Their grip strength and gait speed were measured, and Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure muscle mass and other body composition data. Multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between upper and lower limb muscle strength and the QoL of older adults. Results: In men, legs muscle mass percentage (LegsMM%) (β = 3.67; 95% CI: 0.64-6.69; p = 0.018) and gait speed (β = 6.09; 95% CI: 3.88-8.30; p < 0.001) were positively associated with physical component summary (PCS) scores, and gait speed (β = 4.63; 95% CI: 2.66-6.60; p < 0.001) was also related to an improvement mental component summary (MCS) scores. In women, arms muscle mass percentage (ArmsMM%) (β = 6.50; 95% CI: 2.34-10.66; p = 0.002) and grip strength (β = 10.54; 95% CI: 6.27-14.81; p < 0.001) had the greatest effect on improving PCS scores, whereas grip strength (β = 7.58; 95% CI 4.00-11.17; p < 0.001) was also found to help improve MCS scores. Conclusions: Men should focus on lower limb training, whereas females should focus on upper limb training to effectively improve their QoL. Appropriate exercise interventions should be designed for different genders for the promotion of the healthy aging policy.