Objective To investigate the value of ultrasound in tethered cord syndrome (TCS) in infants. Methods From December 2005 to July 2013, 25 cases TCS were confirmed by surgery in Shenzhen children's hospital. The ultrasonogram and MRI of 25 infants were analysed retrospectively. The diagnostic accuracy of ultra-sound and its clinical significance were evaluated. Results In 25 cases of TCS confirmed by surgery, the coincidence rate of conus level detected by ultrasound [96%(23/24)] was lower than that by MRI (100%(25/25)). Ultrasound showed reduced spinal cord vibration in 4 cases, disappeared spinal cord vibration in 21 cases. Two cases of reduced spinal cord vibration detected by ultrasound were confirmed as disappeared spinal cord vibration by surgery. The coincidence rate of disappeared spinal cord vibration detected by ultrasound was 91%(21/23). The sacral spinal seg-ments form showed by ultrasound were entirely consistent with those of MRI, including 4 cases of enlarged spinal cord, 13 cases of spinal cord without enlargement and 8 cases of spinal cord ended with rat caudate. Twenty-five cases of TCS had malformations:7 cases meningocele (3 cases combined lipoma), 14 cases myelomeningocele (5 cases combined lipoma, 1 case combined hydromyelia), 3 cases spinal canal-epidermis fistula (all combined lipoma) and 1 case solitary lipoma. Compared with the operation findings, ultrasound misdiagnosed 2 cases of myelomeningo-cele as meningocele, missed 1 of case lipoma which combined with meningocele. MRI missed two cases of spinal canal-epidermis fistula. Conclusions Infantile spinal ultrasound examination can accurately locate the position of conus, accurately display the spinal cord. Compared with MRI, ultrasound examination can real-time visually display spinal cord vibration and help to diagnose tethered cord. Ultrasound examination are convenient, repeatable opera-tion with low cost, therefore it can be used as the preferred screening method to diagnose of tethered spinal cord.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of coronary artery Z-scores on echocardiography in diagnosing coronary artery abnormalities. Methods The echocardiography results of 612 patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) at the acute and recovery phase were retrospectively studied. Coronary artery luminal diameters were converted to body-surface-area-adjusted Z-scores. According to coronary Z-scores classiifcation, all the subjects were divided to four groups:415 cases with no dilation (ND), 133 cases with small coronary artery abnormalities (SCAAs), 47 cases with large coronary artery abnormalities (LCAAs), and 17 cases with giant coronary artery abnormalities (GCAAs). Clinical features (gender, age, typical clinical manifestations, fever duration) and laboratory results (CRP, ESR, WBC, PLT) were compared among all the four groups. Coronary artery diameters and the Z-scores were compared between acute and convalescence phase. Results Along with the increase of coronary Z-score, fever duration was prolonged [ND group:(7.75±3.12) d, SCAAs group (8.50±4.12) d, LCAAs group: (8.57±3.58) d, GCAAs group: (11.88±4.33) d, F=22.375, P<0.05]. With coronary Z-score increasing, PLT also increased (F=22.029, P=0.000), and the highest PLT was observed in GCAAs group. There were no significant differences in the CRP, ESR and WBC among all the four groups (F=0.236, 1.116, 0.121, all P>0.05). No significant different coronary diameters were found in ND cases between recovery and acute phase [(2.24±0.34) mm vs (2.33±0.36) mm, t=1.926, P > 0.05]. But there were significant difference in the coronary Z-scores of ND patients between recovery and acute phase (0.41±0.82 vs 1.17±0.75, t=8.332, P < 0.05). The coronary Z-scores in SCAAs group (1.32±0.89 vs 3.40±0.62, t=11.073, P < 0.05), LCAAs group (3.12±2.27 vs 6.20±1.28, t=4.579, P<0.05) and GCAAs group (11.88±6.77 vs 20.4±9.70, t=3.480, P<0.05) at recovery phase were smaller than values at acute phase. Conclusions The KD coronary Z-scores are the body-surface-area-adjusted standard value, and not subject to the influence of children growth and development. Therefore, it may accurately evaluate the severity of coronary artery abnormalities and its recovery process. Accurate quantitative of the coronary artery luminal dimensions is important in KD clinical management and prognosis prediction.

Objective:To investigate the effects of osteocalcin (BGP) on bone growth and development and the expression levels of related hormones in offspring rats under the intervention of sodium fluoride.Methods:Twenty-four clean female SD rats and 24 clean male SD rats were selected, weighing 180-220 g, and the rats were mated in a 1∶1 cage for 10 d. The fluorosis rat model was established by drinking the fluorosis water method, female rats were divided into 3 groups according to body weight by random number table method, each group of 8 rats, including the high-dose, low-dose and control groups, with sodium fluoride of 200, 100, 0 mg/L in drinking water. The female rats were exposed to fluoride from the 0th day of pregnancy to the 3rd week after the offspring rats were born (before weaning). After weaning, 10 male offspring rats were selected from each group and continued to be exposed to fluoride in the same amount and manner until the 12th week after birth. The body weight and length of the offspring rats were measured every week before weaning and every two weeks after weaning. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum BGP, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin (CT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) contents in the offspring rats of each group exposed to fluoride for 12 weeks.Results:In the 2nd week of fluoride exposure, the body weights [(27.25 ± 3.57), (26.27 ± 4.48) g] and body lengths [(6.92 ± 0.46), (6.50 ± 0.54) cm] of the low-dose and high-dose groups were lower than those of the control group [(31.32 ± 3.62) g, (7.19 ± 0.26) cm, P < 0.05], but there were no significant differences in body weights and lengths between the high-dose group and the low-dose group ( P > 0.05). From the 3rd week of fluoride exposure, the body weight and length of the high-dose group were lower than those of the low-dose group and the control group ( P < 0.05). Serum BGP, PTH and ALP contents [(5.42 ± 0.26) mg/L, (157.53 ± 32.21) ng/L, (36.62 ± 6.01) U/L] in the control group were lower than those of the low-dose group [(6.15 ± 0.29) mg/L, (212.26 ± 51.97) ng/L, (50.68 ± 6.11) U/L] and high-dose group [(7.31 ± 0.77) mg/L, (274.21 ± 60.32) ng/L, (74.99 ± 9.08) U/L], and CT content [(182.40 ± 17.39) ng/L] was higher than those of the low-dose and high-dose groups [(135.77 ± 14.06), (70.09 ± 13.49) ng/L], and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05); serum BGP, PTH and ALP contents in the high-dose group were higher than those in the low-dose group, and the CT content was lower than that in the low-dose group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion:Sodium fluoride may be involved in regulating the expression of related hormones by promoting the secretion of BGP, thereby affecting the bone growth and development of offspring rats.

Objective:Applying bibliometrics to analyze the research history, hotspots and trends of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) interventions in edema-related diseases, and to provide reference for the revision of diagnostic and therapeutic criteria for edema in TCM.Methods:The literature about edema treated with TCM was retrieved from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM from 1 st. Jan 1995 to 25 th. May 2022. CiteSpace and VOSviewer softwares were used to draw the knowledge map, and analyze the co-occurrence relationship and clustering characteristics of the institution, author, keywords and mechanism hotspots. Results:Totally 3 198 articles were included. The annual number of documents issued generally shows a spiral rise trend. Liaoning University of Chinese Medicine published the most articles. Core authors published the most articles were Sun Wei (13 articles); the team with the highest cooperation intensity was Yang Hongtao's team; keywords formed 7 clusters. Hotspot mechanisms included metabolic disorders, immune balance, anti-inflammation, calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Keywords in the past 7 years were membranous nephropathy, chronic heart failure, diabetes, lymphedema etc.Conclusions:The attention paid to the intervention of TCM in the field of edema is generally on the rise, and has decreased in the past two years. The research categories focus on the experience of famous doctors, clinical trials, and mechanistic studies, and nephropathy-related edema has been the focus of research; diabetic nephropathy, chronic heart failure, metabolomics, and immunotherapy are expected to be the focus of attention in the next stage.

Objective:To analyze the efficacy evaluation criteria of the existing TCM treatment for edema RCT research, and to provide reference for the construction of unified standards.Methods:The batabases CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, Pubmed and Web of Science were retrieved. The randomized controlled trials for the treatment of edema of TCM research, from September 1, 1993 to July 31, 2022, were screened and included. The content of efficacy evaluation, performed statistics on evaluation standard, the curative effect evaluation indexes, as well as standard composition, usage were extracted. We analyzed the characteristics, application and problems of the existing efficacy evaluation criterion.Results:A total of 123 Chinese articles were included. The included literature involved nephrogenic edema, cardiogenic edema, idiopathic edema, apoplexy limb edema and other edema. In recent years, randomized controlled trials on the treatment of edema by TCM have mainly used four efficacy evaluation criteria. Of which the Guidelines for Clinical Research on New Chinese Medicines (Trial) in 2002 had the highest utilization rate of 29.27%. Secondly, the utilization rate of Standard for Diagnosis and Curative Effect of TCM Diseases and Syndromes was 21.14%. The rest of the criteria were used by less than 6%. While 39.02% of the literature did not use the standards or used self-designed standards. Among the composition of efficacy evaluation indices, the application rate of TCM syndrome or symptom efficacy index was the highest (91.87%), the utilization rate of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire Indicators was only 4.88%; biochemical tests accounted for a large proportion of Western medical indicators, while the measurement of edema severity was rarely applied. Conclusions:At present, the evaluation criteria of edema curative effect are diversified and insufficiently popularized, which need to be further screened and improved. It is suggested to construct a TCM edema efficacy evaluation model based on the characteristics of edema syndrome, comprehensively evaluate the efficacy from multiple dimensions such as TCM syndromes, western medicine indicators, and quality of life, and improve the scientific indicators.

Objective To analysis the change of hip joint in healthy infants by ultrasound,and establish the normal reference value of the developmental dysplasia of the hip(DDH). Methods A total of 8 000 healthy infants from 0 to 24 weeks were collected from the Multi-center study of 10 children′s medical centers. Among them,3 855 infants(2 065 females and 1 790 males) with complete data and follow-up were included in this study. All subjects were divided into 6 groups ( ＜4,4～7,8～11,12～15,16～19 and≥20 weeks group). α angle,femoral head length and width,femoral head coverage ratio by acetabulum ( FHC) were measured in the coronal view on the neutral position;distance from pubis to femoral head ( P-H) and distance from ischium to femoral head ( I-H ) were measured in the transverse view on neutral position;distance from femoral head topubis ( H-P) was measured in the posterolateraltransverse view on the flexion position. The results of each group changes with age were analysised. Results ① The α angle of healthy infants from 0 to 20 weeks were increased with age,the difference among the groups were statistically significant( P ＜0.05),but there was no significant difference between 16～19 and ≥20 weeks group( P ＞0.05). ②The femoral head length and width of all age groups were increased with age,the difference among all the groups was statistically significant( all P ＜0.05). ③ FHC from 0 to 20 weeks were increased with age,the difference among the groups were statistically significant( P ＜0.05) except between 16～19 and ≥20 weeks group( P ＞0.05). ④ The P-H and I-H in all age groups showed no statistically significant ( all P＞0.05). ⑤The H-P of all age groups were increased with age,the difference between the groups were statistically significant(all P ＜0.05).Conclusions The development of hip joints have the certain regular developmental pattern in healthy infants less than 5 months of birth and are relatively constant after birth more than 5 months. The ultrasound normal reference value of the hip joints can be used for the early diagnosis of the DDH.

Cognition and pain share common neural substrates and interact reciprocally: chronic pain compromises cognitive performance, whereas cognitive processes modulate pain perception. In the present study, we established a non-drug-dependent rat model of context-based analgesia, where two different contexts (dark and bright) were matched with a high (52°C) or low (48°C) temperature in the hot-plate test during training. Before and after training, we set the temperature to the high level in both contexts. Rats showed longer paw licking latencies in trials with the context originally matched to a low temperature than those to a high temperature, indicating successful establishment of a context-based analgesic effect in rats. This effect was blocked by intraperitoneal injection of naloxone (an opioid receptor antagonist) before the probe. The context-based analgesic effect also disappeared after optogenetic activation or inhibition of the bilateral infralimbic or prelimbic sub-region of the prefrontal cortex. In brief, we established a context-based, non-drug dependent, placebo-like analgesia model in the rat. This model provides a new and useful tool for investigating the cognitive modulation of pain.
Action Potentials ; drug effects ; physiology ; Analgesics ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; In Vitro Techniques ; Naloxone ; pharmacology ; Narcotic Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Optogenetics ; Pain ; drug therapy ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Pain Measurement ; drug effects ; Pain Threshold ; drug effects ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Physical Stimulation ; Prefrontal Cortex ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pyramidal Cells ; drug effects ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors

Biological rhythms controlled by the circadian clock are absent in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, they start to develop during the differentiation of pluripotent ESCs to downstream cells. Conversely, biological rhythms in adult somatic cells disappear when they are reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These studies indicated that the development of biological rhythms in ESCs might be closely associated with the maintenance and differentiation of ESCs. The core circadian gene Clock is essential for regulation of biological rhythms. Its role in the development of biological rhythms of ESCs is totally unknown. Here, we used CRISPR/CAS9-mediated genetic editing techniques, to completely knock out the Clock expression in mouse ESCs. By AP, teratoma formation, quantitative real-time PCR and Immunofluorescent staining, we did not find any difference between Clock knockout mESCs and wild type mESCs in morphology and pluripotent capability under the pluripotent state. In brief, these data indicated Clock did not influence the maintaining of pluripotent state. However, they exhibited decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, the biological rhythms failed to develop in Clock knockout mESCs after spontaneous differentiation, which indicated that there was no compensational factor in most peripheral tissues as described in mice models before (DeBruyne et al., 2007b). After spontaneous differentiation, loss of CLOCK protein due to Clock gene silencing induced spontaneous differentiation of mESCs, indicating an exit from the pluripotent state, or its differentiating ability. Our findings indicate that the core circadian gene Clock may be essential during normal mESCs differentiation by regulating mESCs proliferation, apoptosis and activity.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Base Sequence ; CLOCK Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Circadian Clocks ; genetics ; Gene Editing ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Gene Knockout Techniques ; Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta ; genetics ; metabolism ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; SOXB1 Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism