Objective:To investigate the feasibility of cone-beam CT (CBCT) in evaluating the thickness of cortical bone in jaw bone.Methods:Sixty patients [twenty-three for males and forty-seven for females, at an average age of (43.8±1.7) years] from Center of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC & Anhui Provincial Hospital with 63 operational regions were included in the present study. Totally 63 bone sections from these areas were all selected at last. Case Viewer and oral dynamic system were used for the measurements in sections and CBCT graphs of the cortical bone thicknesses at alveolar ridges. Paired samples t test was performed to compare the difference between CBCT measurement and Case Viewer measurement. Results:The cortical bone thicknesses measured by Case Viewer were (1.20±0.75), (0.68±0.46) and (1.48±0.77) mm in the posterior, maxillary posterior and mandibular posterior areas, respectively. The cortical bone thicknesses measured by dynamic navigation software were (1.14±0.77), (0.64±0.24) and (1.41±0.83) mm in the posterior, maxillary posterior and mandibular posterior areas, respectively. There were no significant differences between either the two methods or the different areas ( P>0.05). Conclusions:CBCT would be a useful equipment for the analysis of cortical bone thickness with a reliable and convincible accuracy.

ObjectiveTo explore the intervention mechanism of Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang in rats with functional dyspepsia （FD） based on the Ras homolog gene family member A （RhoA）/Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 （ROCK2）/Myosin phosphatase target Subunit 1 （MYPT1） pathway. MethodSixty male SD suckling rats in SPF grades were randomly divided into blank group （n=10） and model group （n=50）. The comprehensive modeling method （gavage administration of iodoacetamide+exhaustion of swimming+disturbance of hunger and satiety） was used to replicate the rat model of FD. After successful replication of the model， the rats in the model group were randomly divided into model group， mosapride group， and high， middle， and low-dose Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang groups， with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the blank group and model group were given 10 mL kg^-1·d^-1 normal saline， those in the mosapride group were given 1.35 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 mosapride， and those in the high， middle， and low-dose Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang groups were given 12， 6， and 3 g·kg^-1·d^-1 Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang， respectively. The intervention lasted 14 days. The general living conditions of rats were observed before and after modeling and administration， and the 3-hour food intake and body mass of rats were measured. After intervention， the intestinal propulsion rate of rats was measured， and the pathological changes in the gastric tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The content of choline acetyl transferase （ChAT） and vasoactive intestinal peptide （VIP） in the medulla oblongata and gastric tissue homogenate was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， the distribution of adenosine triphosphate （ATP） enzyme in gastric antrum smooth muscle was observed by frozen section staining， and the protein expression levels of RhoA， ROCK2， and phosphorylated-myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 （p-MYPT1） in the gastric tissue were detected by Western blot. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group had withered hair， lazy movement， slow action， poor general living condition， lower 3-hour food intake， body mass， and lower intestinal propulsion rate （P<0.05）， whereas no obvious abnormality in gastric histopathology. In the model group， the content of ChAT in the medulla oblongata and gastric tissue decreased， the content of VIP in gastric tissue increased， the distribution of ATP enzyme in gastric antrum smooth muscle decreased significantly， and the protein expression levels of RhoA， ROCK2， and p-MYPT1 in the gastric tissue decreased significantly （P<0.05）. As compared with the model group， the general living condition of rats in each intervention group was significantly improved， and the 3-hour food intake， body mass， and intestinal propulsion rate were significantly increased （P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in gastric pathology in the intervention groups. The content of ChAT in the medulla oblongata and gastric tissue increased significantly， the content of VIP in the gastric tissue decreased， the distribution of ATP enzyme in gastric antrum smooth muscle increased significantly， and the protein expression levels of RhoA， ROCK2， and p-MYPT1 in the gastric tissue increased significantly （P<0.05）. The intervention effect of Xiangsha Liujunzi Tang group on the above indexes was dose-dependent. ConclusionXiangsha Liujunzi Tang can effectively improve the general living condition and gastric motility of rats with FD， and its specific mechanism may be related to the activation of the RhoA/ROCK2/MYPT1 pathway in the gastric tissue to regulate smooth muscle relaxation and contraction and promote gastric motility.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of low-dose plasma exchange (PE) combined with artificial liver in the treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and its effect on mortality rate after stratification. Methods A total of 272 ACLF patients who were admitted to Department of Infection and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, from January 2018 to December 2020 were enrolled and divided into low-dose PE+double plasma molecular absorption system (DPMAS)/hemoperfusion (HP) group ( n =190) and medical treatment group( n =82). Laboratory markers were collected before and after treatment, and clinical outcome was compared between the two groups; stratified analysis (early stage, early-middle stage, late stage or types A, B, C) was performed for the two groups according to Diagnostic and treatment guidelines for liver failure (2018 edition), and all patients were followed up to observe general status and death at 12 weeks (short-term) and 48 weeks (long-term) after discharge. The independent samples t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the paired samples t -test was used for comparison before and after treatment; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Wilcoxon test was used for comparison before and after treatment; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results Both low-dose PE combined with DPMAS/HP and medical treatment alone could reduce the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin (TBil), and blood ammonia and increase the level of albumin (Alb), and both groups had significant changes in these indices after treatment (all P < 0.05). Compared with medical treatment alone, low-dose PE combined with DPMAS/HP better reduced ALT, TBil, and blood ammonia and improved Alb, with significant changes in these indices after treatment (all P < 0.05). Low-dose PE combined with DPMAS/HP could significantly reduce bile acid, international normalized ratio, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and MELD score and increase platelet-to-white blood cell ratio (all P < 0.05), while medical treatment alone could not improve the above indices (all P > 0.05). Compared with medical treatment alone, low-dose PE combined with DPMAS/HP could reduce the short-term mortality rate of ACLF patients, especially the short-term mortality rate of ACLF patients with early-stage, early-middle-stage or type A ACLF, and there were significant differences between the two groups (all P < 0.05). In the low-dose PE+DPMAS/HP group, the patients with early-stage ACLF had significantly lower short- and long-term mortality rates than those with late-stage ACLF, and the patients with type A ACLF had significantly lower short- and long-term mortality rates than those with type C ACLF (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Low-dose PE combined with DPMAS/HP has good clinical efficacy and can effectively reduce the short-term mortality rate of ACLF, especially the short-term mortality rate of patients with early-stage, early-middle-stage, or type A ACLF.

cFos is one of the most widely-studied genes in the field of neuroscience. Currently, there is no systematic database focusing on cFos in neuroscience. We developed a curated database-cFos-ANAB-a cFos-based web tool for exploring activated neurons and associated behaviors in rats and mice, comprising 398 brain nuclei and sub-nuclei, and five associated behaviors: pain, fear, feeding, aggression, and sexual behavior. Direct relationships among behaviors and nuclei (even cell types) under specific stimulating conditions were constructed based on cFos expression profiles extracted from original publications. Moreover, overlapping nuclei and sub-nuclei with potentially complex functions among different associated behaviors were emphasized, leading to results serving as important clues to the development of valid hypotheses for exploring as yet unknown circuits. Using the analysis function of cFos-ANAB, multi-layered pictures of networks and their relationships can quickly be explored depending on users' purposes. These features provide a useful tool and good reference for early exploration in neuroscience. The cFos-ANAB database is available at www.cfos-db.net .
Animals ; Fear ; Mice ; Neurons ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos ; Rats

cFos is one of the most widely-studied genes in the field of neuroscience. Currently, there is no systematic database focusing on cFos in neuroscience. We developed a curated database—cFos-ANAB—a cFos-based web tool for exploring activated neurons and associated behaviors in rats and mice, comprising 398 brain nuclei and sub-nuclei, and five associated behaviors: pain, fear, feeding, aggression, and sexual behavior. Direct relationships among behaviors and nuclei (even cell types) under specific stimulating conditions were constructed based on cFos expression profiles extracted from original publications. Moreover, overlapping nuclei and sub-nuclei with potentially complex functions among different associated behaviors were emphasized, leading to results serving as important clues to the development of valid hypotheses for exploring as yet unknown circuits. Using the analysis function of cFos-ANAB, multi-layered pictures of networks and their relationships can quickly be explored depending on users’ purposes. These features provide a useful tool and good reference for early exploration in neuroscience. The cFos-ANAB database is available at www.cfos-db.net.