Objective To establish an orthotopic rat model of bladder cancer induced by N-methyl.nitrosourea (MNU)and to evaluate the diagnostic value of CT(computed tomography)scanning in this experimental model.Methods 50 SD rats were randomly divided into the control group(group A)with 15 rats and experimental group(group B)with 35 rats.Each rat of group B was treated with 2 mg MNU per dose every other week,totally 4 doses,by per urethra administration.Meanwhile,each rat of group A was treated with normal saline.Then,at the 14th week,all the rats were evaluated by CT scanning and pathological examination.Results Abnormal changes were detected in each of the 28 rats in group B by CT scanning,and manifested as local mass,thickening bladder wall accompanied with heterogeneous density.Bladder cancer was diagnosed by pathology.However,no bladder tumor was detected by CT scanning and pathologicalexamination in group A.Conclusion A rat model of orthotopic bladder cancer can be established by per urethra administration of MNU.CT scanning is a reliable diagnostic technique concerning this model.Furthermore,this technique can render US a more suitable rat model for further experimental studies on chemotherapy and radiotherapy of bladder Cancer.

Aim Toexaminethecombinedeffectsof 5-ALA and metformin on diabetes mellitus induced by streptozotocin( STZ) in mice, and to discuss the mech-anisminitially.Methods Thediabeticmiceinduced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ were treated with 5-ALA and/or metformin for 30 days. Physical signs, fasting blood glucose ( FBG ) , fasting plasma insulin ( FIns) , plasma leptin ( Lep) , glucose tolerance, and histological changes of liver and pancreas were as-sessed. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the homeo-stasismodelassessment(HOMA).Results There were more significant effects when 5-ALA combined with metformin than only using metformin on lowering FBG, FIns and Lep. And 5-ALA combined with met-formin could improve glucose tolerance and the insulin sensitivity. Microscopic analysis demonstrated that sig-nificant changes in pancreatic islet and characteristic feature of the vacuolization phenotype in liver was ob-served on diabetic mice, and use of 5-ALA could in-hibit shrinking pancreatic islet number and hepatic morphological changes, especially in combination with metformin.Conclusions Asynergisticeffectof5-ALA and metformin is observed. Combined therapy of 5-ALA and metformin can decrease FBG and improve glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and islet ? cells function and morphology.

Objective:To explore the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of pathogens in primary infectious diseases of the spine (IDS) and to reveal its pathogen spectrum.Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Clinical data of 380 patients with primary IDS who were treated at four medical centers in China from December 2019 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 82 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 129 cases were from the Orthopedics Section Ⅱ (Bone Infection), Public Health Clinical Center Affiliated to Shandong University, 112 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and 57 cases were from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. There were 238 males and 242 females, with an age of (61.4±13.1) years (range: 10 to 91 years). Specimens from the site of spinal infection were obtained for pathogen culture, pathological examination, and mNGS detection preoperatively or intraoperatively in all patients. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by the two methods were analyzed and compared using the Chi-square test.Results:Among the 380 patients, 320 had confirmed pathogenic bacteria, with the highest proportion being pyogenic bacterial infections, accounting for 76.9% (246/320). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for 22.8% (73/320). Brucella accounted for 13.8% (44/320); Mycobacterium tuberculosis accounted for 6.3% (20/320). Fungal infections accounted for 3.4% (11/320), mainly Aspergillus and Candida. In addition, Mycoplasma was detected in 3 cases (0.9%) and Benacox body in 4 cases (1.2%). The pathogen spectrum constructed by mNGS covered 46 types of pathogens, higher than the 22 types detected by traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS was 80.8% (308/381), significantly higher than the 27.9% (106/381) of traditional methods ( χ2=182.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:mNGS improves the positive rate of pathogen diagnosis in IDS, detecting a broader spectrum of pathogens, and serves as a valuable complement to traditional diagnostic methods. Combining both methods in the diagnosis of IDS can maximize detection rates, providing robust evidence for precise anti-infective treatment.

Objective:To explore the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of pathogens in primary infectious diseases of the spine (IDS) and to reveal its pathogen spectrum.Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Clinical data of 380 patients with primary IDS who were treated at four medical centers in China from December 2019 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 82 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 129 cases were from the Orthopedics Section Ⅱ (Bone Infection), Public Health Clinical Center Affiliated to Shandong University, 112 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and 57 cases were from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. There were 238 males and 242 females, with an age of (61.4±13.1) years (range: 10 to 91 years). Specimens from the site of spinal infection were obtained for pathogen culture, pathological examination, and mNGS detection preoperatively or intraoperatively in all patients. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by the two methods were analyzed and compared using the Chi-square test.Results:Among the 380 patients, 320 had confirmed pathogenic bacteria, with the highest proportion being pyogenic bacterial infections, accounting for 76.9% (246/320). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for 22.8% (73/320). Brucella accounted for 13.8% (44/320); Mycobacterium tuberculosis accounted for 6.3% (20/320). Fungal infections accounted for 3.4% (11/320), mainly Aspergillus and Candida. In addition, Mycoplasma was detected in 3 cases (0.9%) and Benacox body in 4 cases (1.2%). The pathogen spectrum constructed by mNGS covered 46 types of pathogens, higher than the 22 types detected by traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS was 80.8% (308/381), significantly higher than the 27.9% (106/381) of traditional methods ( χ2=182.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:mNGS improves the positive rate of pathogen diagnosis in IDS, detecting a broader spectrum of pathogens, and serves as a valuable complement to traditional diagnostic methods. Combining both methods in the diagnosis of IDS can maximize detection rates, providing robust evidence for precise anti-infective treatment.

Objective:To investigate the Chinese anesthesiologist′s proficiency, training experience and needs of flexible bronchoscope-guided awake flexible bronchoscopy intubation (AFBI) using a questionnaire method.Methods:The cluster sampling was used, and self-designed questionnaires that addressed 54 questions in 5 categories were distributed through WeChat and online platforms. The survey took one month, and the answers were automatically recorded by the WeChat server.Results:A total of 1 250 anesthesiologists participated in the survey in 30 provinces of China, 9 of them were not anesthesiologists, and 1 241 (99.28%) questionnaires were validated. In the valid questionnaires, 52.70% (654) of the anesthesiologists were from tertiary hospitals, and 74.78% (928) of the anesthesiologists were attending physicians or above, only 7.57% (94) of the anesthesiologists had sufficient confidence in AFBI. Twenty-five point two two percent (313) of the anesthesiologists preferred fiberoptic intubation as the first tool when dealing with the anticipated difficult airway. Forty-eight point one one percent (597) of the anesthesiologists had implemented AFBI. Among them, 80.74% (482) had experienced unsuccessful AFBI practices. Eight hundred and ninety-four anesthesiologists had received AFBI training, and the most common AFBI training strategy was theoretical lectures. In addition, the degree of satisfaction regarding the theoretical lectures quality, technical training, clinical practice relativity and non-technical skills training was 21.47% (192), 14.32% (128), 12.3% (110) and 17.90% (160), respectively. The degree of satisfaction with all the 4 training elements mentioned above was 7.27% (65).Conclusions:The awareness and practice of Chinese anesthesiologists in terms of clinical application of AFBI to treat difficult airways need to be strengthened at present, and the lack of high-quality AFBI training may be the key.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the role of SGK-1 in the occurrence of temporomandibular joint(TMJ) osteoarthritis(TMJ-OA). Methods: Sixteen rats were randomly divided into Control group(Control group) and TMJ-OA group(TMJ-OA group), and TMJ-OA group was injected with sodium iodoacetate(MIA) intra articular cavity while Control group was injected with 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Pain behavior was assessed by measuring the head withdrawal threshold(HWT) with a von-Frey apparatus. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and Safranin O-fast green stains were used to observe the histological structure changes of the condyle of TMJ-OA rats. Real-time PCR was performed to exam the expression levels of mRNA of SGK-1, MMP-13, IL-1β, COX-2 in mandibular condylar cartilage(MCC). HE stain was used to observe the histological structure changes of the trigeminal ganglion(TG) of TMJ-OA rats. Real-time PCR was performed to exam the expression levels of mRNA of SGK-1, COX-2 in TG. Results: MIA injection induced typical OA-like lesions in the TMJ within 28 days. Administration of MIA led to the significant decrease in HWT, disordered of the condyle cartilage and subchondral bone structure, demyelination aggravated of nerve fibers in TMJ rats. Compared with rats in Control groups, the expression levels of SGK-1 in MCC and TG of rats in TMJ-OA group were upregulated. Conclusion In the pathological process of TMJ-OA, SGK-1 may plays an important role not only in cartilage structural damage but also in pain transmission.

In animal experiments, ischemic stroke is usually induced through middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and quality assessment of this procedure is crucial. However, an accurate assessment method based on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is still lacking. The difficulty lies in the inconsistent preprocessing pipeline, biased intensity normalization, or unclear spatiotemporal uptake of FDG. Here, we propose an image feature-based protocol to assess the quality of the procedure using a 3D scale-invariant feature transform and support vector machine. This feature-based protocol provides a convenient, accurate, and reliable tool to assess the quality of the MCAO procedure in FDG PET studies. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed protocol is fully quantitative, objective, automatic, and bypasses the intensity normalization step. An online interface was constructed to check images and obtain assessment results.
Animals ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery/diagnostic imaging* ; Positron-Emission Tomography/methods*

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neuron disease. At present, no definite ALS biomarkers are available. In this study, exosomes from the plasma of patients with ALS and healthy controls were extracted, and differentially expressed exosomal proteins were compared. Among them, the expression of exosomal coronin-1a (CORO1A) was 5.3-fold higher than that in the controls. CORO1A increased with disease progression at a certain proportion in the plasma of patients with ALS and in the spinal cord of ALS mice. CORO1A was also overexpressed in NSC-34 motor neuron-like cells, and apoptosis, oxidative stress, and autophagic protein expression were evaluated. CORO1A overexpression resulted in increased apoptosis and oxidative stress, overactivated autophagy, and hindered the formation of autolysosomes. Moreover, CORO1A activated Ca²⁺-dependent phosphatase calcineurin, thereby blocking the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes. The inhibition of calcineurin activation by cyclosporin A reversed the damaged autolysosomes. In conclusion, the role of CORO1A in ALS pathogenesis was discovered, potentially affecting the disease onset and progression by blocking autophagic flux. Therefore, CORO1A might be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for ALS.
Mice ; Animals ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/pathology* ; Calcineurin/metabolism* ; Motor Neurons/pathology* ; Microfilament Proteins/metabolism* ; Cytoskeletal Proteins/metabolism*