The aim of this study was to investigate pathophysiological alterations and oxidative stress in various stages of streptozotocin (STZ)‑induced diabetes mellitus (DM) in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (120) were randomized into DM and control groups. Body mass, plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels, as well as aldose reductase (AR) activities, in brain tissue and serum were determined. Electron microscopy was used to observe neuron and vessel changes in the brain. In STZ‑treated rats, blood glucose, low density lipoproteins, triglycerides and total cholesterol levels increased 1.43‑3.0‑fold and high density lipoprotein, HbA1c and insulin sensitivity index increased 1.1‑1.23‑fold compared with control. At week 16 following treatment, DM rat serum H2O2 concentration was increased, indicating oxidative stress and mRNA levels of GPx and SOD were 2‑fold higher than the control. Protein GPx and SOD levels were reduced (P<0.01). DM rats were identified to exhibit early irregular glomerular capillary basement membrane thickening and vacuolization in the mitochondria and epithelial cells. Neuron cells and blood vessels in the DM rat brains became increasingly abnormal over time with altered Golgi bodies, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum cisterns, concurrent with SOD inactivation and AR protein accumulation. Disease progression in rats with STZ‑induced DM included brain pathologies with vascular and neuron cell abnormalities, associated with the reduction of SOD, CAT and GPx activities and also AR accumulation.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of highly selective peripheral nerve radiofrequency (RF) ablation for the pain caused by severe knee osteoarthritis (OA). A total of 96 patients with knee OA were randomly divided into two groups. The 49 patients in group A were treated with highly selective peripheral nerve RF ablation group and the 47 patients in group B were treated with sodium hyaluronate injection. Visual analogue scale (VAS), Lysholm knee score (LKS), and pain relief before treatment and at 3 days and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment were compared. At each time point after treatment in group A, both VAS and LKS scores were significantly different compared with before treatment (P<0.05). At 3 days, and at 3 and 6 months after treatment in group B, VAS scores were significantly different from before treatment (P<0.05) and at 9 and 12 months after treatment, the scores were not significantly different from those before treatment. In addition, LKS scores were only significantly different at 3 months after treatment compared with before treatment (P<0.05) and not significantly different after that time point. Furthermore, compared with group B, the rates of effective pain relief in group A were significantly higher at each time point after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with sodium hyaluronate injection, highly selective peripheral nerve RF ablation of the knee was more effective, easy to operate and had no significant adverse effects for the treatment of knee OA.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to be involved in the progression of acute pancreatitis (AP). The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of circ_0000284 on caerulein‐induced AR42J cell injury. To mimic AP in vitro, rat pancreatic acinar AR42J cells were treated with caerulein. The expression of circ_0000284 and miR‐10a‐5p was evaluated by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to determine the content of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α). Western blotting was applied to analyze the levels of Wnt/β‐catenin pathway‐related and apoptosis‐related proteins. Cell viability and apoptosis were monitored by Counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The target connection between circ_0000284 and miR‐10a‐5p was verified by dual‐luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. AP induced inflammation in patients, and caerulein treatment increased apoptosis and inflammation in AR42J cells. Circ_0000284 was upregulated in serum of AP patients and caerulein‐induced AR42J cells, while Wnt/β‐catenin pathway was inactivated. Knockdown of circ_0000284 could decrease apoptosis and inflammation in caerulein‐induced AR42J cells, which was attenuated by miR‐10a‐5p inhibition or Wnt signaling pathway antagonist Dickkopf‐related protein 1 (DKK1). MiR‐10a‐5p was sponged by circ_000028 and was downregulated in caerulein‐induced AR42J cells. Circ_0000284 depletion could protect caerulein‐induced AR42J cells from apoptosis and inflammation by upregulating miR‐10a‐5p expression and activating Wnt/β‐catenin pathway, underscoring a potential target for AP therapy.

Stress concentration on a bolt thread, resulting from its own special shape, poses a threat to the fatigue strength of the bolt, which directly affects the safety and reliability of aircraft. In this paper, deep rolling was applied to a bolt thread to improve its fatigue resistance. The properties of the plastic deformation layer, including the surface morphology, microstructure, hardness, and residual stress, as well as the fatigue life of the bolt, were characterized by means of SEM, white light interferometer, EBSD, and fatigue tests. The results showed that the surface roughness of the bottom of the thread was reduced to 0.255 μm, and a plastic deformation layer of about 300 μm in depth was formed after rolling. A more compact streamlined fibrous microstructure, composed of refined grains, with increased dislocation density and hardness and decreased tensile residual stress, was formed in the plastic deformation layer. The fatigue life of the bolts after rolling increased by about 113%, evidencing the comprehensive result of these microstructure modifications.

PurposeHepatitis B (HBV)-infected hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common cancers, and it has high incidence and mortality rates worldwide. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma has been increasing in recent years, and existing treatment modalities do not significantly improve prognosis. Therefore, it is important to find a biomarker that can accurately predict prognosis.MethodsThis study was analyzed using the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and validated by the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database. The STRING database was used to construct a gene co-expression network and visualize its functional clustering using Cytoscape. A prognostic signature model was constructed to observe high and low risk with prognosis, and independent prognostic factors for HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma were identified by Cox regression analysis. The independent prognostic factors were then analyzed for expression and survival, and their pathway enrichment was analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).Results805 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by differential analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) showed that DEGs were mostly clustered in functional modules, such as cellular matrix response, cell differentiation, and tissue development. Prognostic characterization models showed that the high-risk group was associated with poor prognosis, while Cox regression analysis identified ASF1B as the only independent prognostic factor. As verified by expression and prognosis, ASF1B was highly expressed in HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma and led to a poor prognosis. GSEA showed that high ASF1B expression was involved in cell cycle-related signaling pathways.ConclusionBioinformatic analysis identified ASF1B as an independent prognostic factor in HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma, and its high expression led to a poor prognosis. Furthermore, it may promote hepatocellular carcinoma progression by affecting cell cycle-related signaling pathways.