Objective To investigate the effect of tritiated water on the immune system of zebrafish and its potential molecular mechanism. Methods Zebrafish embryos (2.5 to 3 hours post-fertilization [hpf]) were exposed to 3.7 × 10⁴ Bq/mL tritiated water (tritiated water group), and those exposed to E3 culture medium were used as the control group. The mortality rate, hatching rate, deformity rate, heart rate, body length, yolk sac area, neutrophil count in the tail, immune-related gene expression, and immune-related protein expression of zebrafish in the two groups were determined. Then transcriptome technology was used to further analyze the possible mechanism of tritiated water affecting the immune system of zebrafish. Results Compared with the control group, zebrafish at 72 hpf in the tritiated water group had no significant changes in the mortality rate, hatching rate, deformity rate, body length, and yolk sac area((t = 0.9045, 0.5000, 1.0000, 0.7238, 0.0337, P = 0.4169, 0.6433, 0.3739, 0.4785, 0.9735), but had significantly increased heart rate(t = 4.575，P = 0.002). At 4 days post-fertilization (dpf), the neutrophil count in the tail of zebrafish in the tritiated water group was significantly increased(t = 2.563，P = 0.0196), the mRNA expression of TNF-α was significantly decreased(t = 2.891, P = 0.045), the protein expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was significantly increased(t = 3.848, P = 0.018), and the protein expression of NLRP3 was significantly decreased(t = 14.98, P = 0.001). At 7 dpf, the neutrophil count in the tail and the protein expression levels of NF-κB, NLRP3, and interleukin-1β were significantly decreased(t = 3.772, 7.048, 15.620, 4.423, P = 0.014, 0.002, 0.0001, 0.012). Transcriptome sequencing revealed that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the “neutrophil activation” and “platelet activation pathways” at 4 dpf and in the “neutrophil apoptosis”, “ferroptosis”, and “necroptosis” pathways at 7 dpf. Conclusion Tritiated water exposure induces a temporally dynamic immune response in zebrafish, potentially affecting immune homeostasis by regulating neutrophil activation and apoptosis, as well as the expression of NF-κB and NLRP3.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of antagonistic needling therapy on lower limb spasticity and the muscle morphology of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius in patients with stroke. METHODS: A total of 100 patients with post-stroke lower limb spasticity were randomly divided into an antagonistic needling group (50 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a routine acupuncture group (50 cases, 1 case dropped out). Both groups received basic treatment and rehabilitation training. The routine acupuncture group was treated with scalp acupuncture at anterior oblique line of vertex-temporal and vertex lateral line 1, combined with body acupuncture at Jianyu (LI15), Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36), Taichong (LR3), etc. on the affected side, with Quchi (LI11) and Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36) and Fenglong (ST40), Yanglingquan (GB34) and Taichong (LR3) connected to an electroacupuncture device, using disperse wave at 2 Hz of frequency. The antagonistic needling group used the same scalp and upper limb acupoints as the routine acupuncture group, with additional antagonistic needling on the lower limb at Yanglingquan (GB34), Qiuxu (GB40), Jiexi (ST41), and Xuanzhong (GB39) on the affected side, with Quchi (LI11) and Hegu (LI4), Yanglingquan (GB34) and Qiuxu (GB40), Jiexi (ST41), and Xuanzhong (GB39) connected to an electroacupuncture device, using disperse wave at 2 Hz of frequency. Both groups received treatment once daily for 6 consecutive days per course, with a total of 4 courses. The modified Ashworth scale (MAS), Holden functional ambulation classification (FAC), lower limb Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), composite spasticity scale (CSS), and musculoskeletal ultrasound parameters (thickness and fiber length of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius, and pennation angle of the gastrocnemius on both sides) were evaluated before and after treatment. Clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the MAS grades and CSS scores were decreased in both groups after treatment (P<0.01), with greater reductions in the antagonistic needling group (P<0.05, P<0.01). FAC grades and FMA scores were increased in both groups after treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05), with greater improvements in the antagonistic needling group (P<0.05). The muscle thickness, fiber length of the tibialis anterior, the muscle thickness, fiber length and pennation angle of the gastrocnemius on the affected side were improved in both groups after treatment (P<0.01), with greater improvements in the antagonistic needling group (P<0.01, P<0.05). On the unaffected side, these parameters were also increased after treatment in both groups (P<0.01, P<0.05), but the antagonistic needling group showed smaller increases than the routine acupuncture group (P<0.01, P<0.05). The total effective rate in the antagonistic needling group was 91.8% (45/49), higher than 81.6% (40/49) in the routine acupuncture group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Antagonistic needling could effectively reduce spasticity, improve motor function, and enhance muscle structure in patients with post-stroke lower limb spasticity.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Spasticity/pathology* ; Aged ; Stroke/physiopathology* ; Lower Extremity/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Muscle, Skeletal/pathology* ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the osteogenic efficacy of three-dimensional printing individualized titanium mesh (3D-PITM) as a scaffold material in guided bone regeneration (GBR). METHODS: 1) Patients undergoing GBR for alveolar bone defects were enrolled as study subjects, and postoperative healing complications were recorded. 2) Postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans acquired at least 6 months post-surgery were used to calculate the percentage of actual bone formation volume. 3) Alveolar bone specimens were collected during the first-stage implant surgery for histomorphometric analysis. This analysis quantitatively measured the proportions of newly formed bone and newly formed unmineralized bone within the specimens. Specimens were categorized into three groups based on healing complications (good healing group, wound dehiscence group, 3D-PITM exposure group) to compare differences in the proportions of newly formed bone and newly formed unmineralized bone. RESULTS: 1) Twelve patients were included. Guided bone regeneration failed in one patient, and 3D-PITM exposure occurred in three patients (exposure rate: 25%). 2) The mean percentage of actual bone formation volume in the 11 successful guided bone regeneration cases was 95.23%±28.85%. 3) Histomorphometric analysis revealed that newly formed bone constituted 40.35% of the alveolar bone specimens, with newly formed unmineralized bone accounting for 13.84% of the newly formed bone. Intergroup comparisons showed no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) in the proportions of newly formed bone or newly formed unmineralized bone between the good healing group and the wound dehiscence group or the 3D-PITM exposure group. CONCLUSIONS 3D-PITM enables effective bone augmentation. Radiographic assessment demonstrated favorable bone formation volume, while histological analysis confirmed substantial formation of newly formed mineralized bone within the surgical site.
Humans ; Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Titanium ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Bone Regeneration ; Osteogenesis ; Surgical Mesh ; Tissue Scaffolds ; Alveolar Process/surgery* ; Adult ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Wound Healing ; Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal/methods* ; Alveolar Bone Loss/surgery*

Objective:To investigate the specimen quality of intersphincteric resection with transabdominal transanal mixed approach for rectal cancer in the Chinese Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision Registry Collaborative (CTRC) database.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. Based on the concept of real-world research, the clinicopathological data of 281 pati-ents with rectal cancer in the CTRC database who underwent intersphincteric resection with trans-abdominal transanal mixed approach in 19 medical centers, including the Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University et al, from November 15,2017 to December 31,2023 were collected. There were 196 males and 85 females, aged 61(range, 27-87)years. Observation indicators: (1) preoperative examinations; (2) neoadjuvant therapy; (3) postoperative examinations; (4) analysis of influencing factors for positive circumferential margin in surgical specimen of intersphincteric resec-tion for rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages. The chi-square test was used for univariate analysis. Logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. Results:(1) Preoperative examinations. Of the 281 patients, 234 cases underwent preoperative pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examina-tion. There were 2 cases in clinical stage T0, 3 cases in clinical stage T1, 58 cases in clinical stage T2, 137 cases in clinical stage T3, 24 cases in clinical stage T4, 3 cases in clinical stage Tx, 7 cases missing clinical T staging data. There were 87 cases in clinical stage N0, 68 cases in clinical stage N1, 60 cases in clinical stage N2, 9 cases in clinical stage Nx, 10 cases missing clinical N staging data. There were 30 cases with mesorectal fascia invasion, 53 cases with extramural venous invasion. The distance from lower margin of tumor to anal margin was 41.9(range, 1.0-80.0)mm. (2) Neoadjuvant therapy. Of the 281 patients, 125 cases underwent neoadjuvant therapy, including 39 cases receiving chemo-therapy alone, 6 cases receiving short-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, 5 cases receiving short-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy and delayed surgery, 48 cases receiving long-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, 2 cases receiving other treatments, and 25 cases missing neoadju-vant therapy data. (3) Postoperative examinations. Of the 281 patients, 249 cases achieved R 0 resection, 9 cases achieved R 1 resection, and there were 23 cases missing surgical margin data. The maximum tumor diameter, the number of lymph nodes harvested and positive rate of vessel carcinoma embolus were 30.0(range, 0.5-200.0)mm, 13(range, 0-70) and 27.55%(73/265) in 281 patients. There were 252 patients with circumferential margin records, showing positive in 15 cases, with a positive rate as 5.95%(15/252). The minimum distance from deep part of tumor to circumferential margin was 7.0(range, 0-150.0)mm in 252 patients. There were 85 cases with distal margin records, showing positive in 1 case, and the distance from lower margin of tumor to distal margin was 10.0(range, 0-202.0)mm. There were 273 patients with specimen integrity records, which showed intact specimen in 208 cases, fair specimen in 58 cases, poor specimen in 4 cases, unevaluated specimen in 3 cases. There were 7 cases with rectal perforation. Of the 281 patients, cases in pathological stage T0, Tis, T1, T2, T3, T4 were 14, 5, 22, 107, 113, 12, respectively, and there were 8 cases missing pathological T staging data. Of the 281 patients, cases in pathological stage N0, N1a, N1b, N1c, N2a, N2b were 176, 27, 27, 11,20, 12, respectively, and there were 8 cases missing pathological N staging data. Of the 281 patients, there were 4 cases with distant metastasis, 262 cases without distant metastasis, 5 cases not evaluated, and 10 cases missing tumor metastasis data. Of the 125 patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy, there were 85 cases with tumor regression grade records, including 16 cases as grade 1, 27 cases as grade 2, 19 cases as grade 3, 15 cases as grade 4, 8 cases as grade 5. (4) Analysis of influencing factors for positive circumferential margin in surgical specimen of intersphincteric resection for rectal cancer. Results of univariate analysis showed that preoperative T staging on preoperative pelvic MRI, mesorectal fascia invasion, extramural venous invasion, pathological T staging, and pathological N staging were related factors for positive circumferential margin in surgical specimen of intersphincteric resection for rectal cancer ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Intersph-incteric resection with transabdominal transanal mixed approach has good specimen quality and low positive rate of surgical margin. T staging on preoperative pelvic MRI may be related to positive circumferential margin after intersphincteric resection for rectal cancer.

Background and purpose:The incidence of autonomic dysfunction(AD)in patients with advanced cancer is approximately 65%-80%.The neurasthenic symptoms such as dizziness,palpitations and fatigue caused by AD are difficult to alleviate even with sufficient rest,seriously affecting the patients'quality of life.Meanwhile,the cardiovascular autonomic nervous system plays a significant regulatory role in heart rate,myocardial function and myocardial blood flow.AD increases the morbidity and mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients.AD is not only a functional state but might also be an early sign of overall myocardial lesion.Research indicates that after adjusting for age,gender and cardiovascular risk factors,previous radiation exposure is associated with AD manifestations such as increased resting heart rate and abnormal heart rate recovery after exercise.However,there are currently few relevant studies on the effect of radiotherapy on cardiac autonomic function,and the specific injury effects and dose threshold of injury occurrence remain unclear.This study aimed to explore the impact of thoracic radiotherapy on the cardiac autonomic function of patients with malignant tumors by comparing the differences in heart rate variability(HRV)analysis parameters before and after radiotherapy,and to explore the dosimetric risk factors for the occurrence of AD by comparing the dosimetry between the case group and the control group,providing a theoretical basis for optimizing the dose distribution of radiotherapy regimens in order to improve patient prognosis and reduce the occurrence of complications.Methods:We prospectively collected data of patients with malignant tumors who underwent thoracic radiotherapy in the Radiotherapy Department of the Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology from February 2023 to December 2023.Inclusion criteria:① Patients who were pathologically confirmed to have malignant tumors(lung cancer breast cancer or esophageal cancer);② patients with radiation therapy indications as recommended by the guidelines;③ patients with an ECOG score of 0-1;④ patients with no significant abnormalities in electrocardiogram and echocardiography results.Exclusion criteria:① previously received chest radiotherapy;② patients with obvious palpitation,chest tightness and chest pain before treatment;③ diabetes,heart disease and other serious underlying diseases;④ anti-arrhythmic drugs are currently being used;⑤ patients who cannot tolerate radiotherapy and who were lost or lost during follow-up.HRV analysis was used to evaluate changes in autonomic nerve function after radiotherapy.Patients with AD were included in the case group,and the remaining patients were included in the control group.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis methods were used to explore the dosimetric risk factors and cardiac dose limitations for the occurrence of AD after thoracic radiotherapy.This study was approved by the ethics committee of Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology(ethics number:20230228020).Results:A total of 89 patients with thoracic tumors meeting the study criteria were enrolled in the study.Among them,41(46%)patients experienced cardiac AD after radiotherapy.The cardiac Dmax(6 273.500 cGy vs 4 675.900 cGy,P＜0.001),cardiac Dmean(1513.700 cGy vs 452.050 cGy,P＜0.001),cardiac V5(49.000%vs 21.250%,P＜0.001),V20(30.500%vs 7.300%,P＜0.001),V30(18.700%vs 3.600%,P＜0.001)and V40(10.900%vs 1.500%,P＜0.001)were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group.The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that cardiac V30 was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of cardiac AD[OR(95%CI)=1.583(1.093-2.291),P=0.015].Cardiac V30 could predict the occurrence of radiation-induced cardiac injury with an area under the curve of 0.788,and 17.1%was the optimal cut-offvalue of cardiac V30 for predicting the occurrence of cardiac AD.Conclusion:After thoracic radiotherapy,the cardiac irradiation dose-volume was significantly higher in patients with cardiac AD than in the control group.When cardiac V30 was higher than 17.1%,the risk of cardiac AD in patients significantly increased.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the distribution and regulation of G-quadruplex(G4)in enzymes related to glycolysis.METHODS The sequences of the transcription start site(TSS)region upstream of 1500 bp to the 5'-Untranslated region in 200 enzymes and their subtypes in glycolysis were selected for bioinformatics analysis.Related enzymes in glycolysis containing putative G-quadru-plex-forming sequences(PQSs)were identified.Circular Dichroism and Native polyacrylamide gel elec-trophoresis were used to verify the formation of G4.The ExonucleaseⅠhydrolysis assay was used to validate the stability of the formed G4 under 0,0.5,2,8,16,and 32 min.A reporter gene plasmid was constructed by inserting specific fragments of the related enzymes before the luciferase expression sequence.The dual-luciferase reporter assay system validate the expression level of luciferase to assess the impact of G4 on promoter activity.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to validate the transcriptional regulatory role of G4 by detecting the mRNA levels of luciferase.RESULTS ①Bioin-formatics analysis showed that out of the 200 glycolysis-related enzymes,12 contained PQSs.Based on the analysis of the length and structure of PQSs,aldolase A(ALDOA)and phosphoglycerate mutase 2(PGAM2)proved to be able to form stable G4.② ALDOA and PGAM2 had the maximum positive absorption peak at 260 nm and maximum negative absorption peak at 240 nm.Both of them could form a G4 at the same time.③After digestion with ExonucleaseⅠ,ALDOA and PGAM2 showed no significant hydrolysis and demonstrated the stability of G4 structures.However,both of them could be gradually hydrolyzed after mutations in their PQSs.④ After PQS mutation of ALDOA and PGAM2,the mRNA levels and expression of downstream luciferase of ALDOA were significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),while PGAM2 was significantly decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01).CONCLUSION The gene sequences of glycolysis-related enzymes and their subtypes contain a large number of PQSs.ALDOA and PGAM2 can form stable G4 and perform transcriptional regulatory functions.

The incidence of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fracture (OTLVF) in the elderly is gradually increasing. The kyphotic deformity caused by various factors has become an important characteristic of OTLVF and has received increasing attention. Its clinical manifestations include pain, delayed nerve damage, sagittal imbalance, etc. Currently, the definition and diagnosis of OTLVF with kyphotic deformity in the elderly are still unclear. Although there are many treatment options, they are controversial. Existing guidelines or consensuses pay little attention to this type of fracture with kyphotic deformity. To this end, the Lumbar Education Working Group of the Spine Branch of the Chinese Medicine Education Association and Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized the experts in the relevant fields to jointly develop Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures with kyphotic deformity in the elderly ( version 2024), based on evidence-based medical advancements and the principles of scientificity, practicality, and advanced nature, which provided 18 recommendations to standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To construct and validate a machine learning model for preoperative prediction of perineural invasion (PNI) status in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).Methods:Clincial data of 329 patients, including 245 admitted to Zhengzhou University People's Hospital from January 2018 to June 2023 and 84 admitted to the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2013 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into a training set ( n=231) and a validation set ( n=98). Clinicopathological data including age, gender, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status were collected. Predictive variables were determined using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. Six machine learning algorithms including random forest (RF), logistic regression, and linear kernel-based support vector machine were selected to construct the preoperative prediction model for PNI in ICC. Performance metrics of the model were calculated using a confusion matrix, and the final model was selected. The model performance was evaluated in the validation set. Calibration curves were plotted to evaluate the final model, and a Pareto chart was used to visualize the importance of predictive variables. Results:LASSO regression identified nine predictive variables included in the prediction model, including carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), HBV infection status, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, prothrombin time, total bilirubin, albumin, neutrophil times gamma-glutamyl transferase to lymphocyte ratio, and tumor burden score. Among the trained six models, the area under the curve (AUC) of the RF model was 0.909, with a sensitivity of 0.842 and an accuracy of 0.870. Compared with the AUC of the RF model, the AUCs of the other 5 models were lower (all P<0.05). The AUC of the RF model for predicting PNI in ICC in validation set was 0.736. Calibration curves showed good fit of the RF model's prediction of PNI in ICC in both training and validation sets. The Pareto chart showed that CA19-9 was the most important predictive variable in the model, followed by HBV infection status. Conclusion:The machine learning model based on the RF algorithm has a high accuracy in preoperative prediction of PNI status in ICC.

Objective To investigate the pathological damage to and inflammation of different intestinal segments in a rat model of severe hemorrhage,and to explore the effect of polarization of intestinal macrophage on the pathophysiology of intestinal inflammation.Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups:the sham operation group and hemorrhage group.In the hemorrhage group,40％of the total blood volume was lost in 25-30 minutes,while in the sham operation group,only the femoral artery and vein were intubated without bleeding.The rats were killed at 0,3,6,12 and 24 hours.The entire intestine was isolated quickly,and sections of the intestine were cut at the duodenum,jejunum,ileocecal junction,colon and rectum for histopathological evaluation.ELISA was adopted to determine related inflammation factors while multi-color immunohistochemistry was used to calculate macrophage surface markers.The data was statistically analyzed.Results(1)Compared with the sham group,there was no significant difference in colon histology at 3 h and 6 h,but significant difference was detected in rectum scores only at 24 h.The scores of other intestinal segments were significantly different at each time point.The severity of ileocecal and colonic lesions after bleeding increased with time.The duodenum,jejunum and ileocecum were more critically injured at 3 h than the rectum at 6 h.The injury to the duodenum,jejunum,ileum and colon was much more pronounced than to the rectum at 12 h.(2)The expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β in the rectum were increased significantly at 12 h post operation.The expressions of IL-1β,TNF-α in the jejunum increased obviously at 3 h and 6 h,respectively.(3)Three hours after severe bleeding,the level of macrophages in the jejunum and ileocececal area increased significantly,and the percentage of M1 macrophages was higher.After 6 hours,the proportion of M2 macrophages in the jejunum and M1 macrophages decreased significantly.After 3 hours,the percentage of M1 macrophages in the colon decreased,but that of M2 macrophages increased.The proportion of M2 polarized macrophages in the duodenum and rectum increased at 3 h after severe bleeding but decreased at 6 h.Conclusion Pathological damage to intestinal sections after bleeding varies depending on the time,and is correlated with the inflammatory level of macrophages.

Objective To explore the relationship between alterations of neural network plasticity and spatial learning and memory functions in mouse models with depression-like behaviors.Methods C57Thy1-YFP/GAD67-GFP mice were randomized into control group(with no treatment)and chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS)group(n=15)subjected to CUMS for 8 weeks.Depression-like behaviors of the mice were assessed using sucrose preference test,open field test,and forced swimming test,and their spatial learning and memory abilities were evaluated using Morris water maze test.The changes in the firing patterns of different neuronal subtypes were detected in the central nucleus of the amygdala(CeA)and the prelimbic cortex(PrL)using whole-cell patch-clamp technique.Results Compared with the control mice,CUMS mice showed significantly decreased sucrose preference,total distance moved,number of grid-crossings,entries into the central area,and time spent in the central area in the open field test(P<0.01).In the forced swimming test,CUMS mice exhibited obviously shortened time of struggling,swimming,and climbing with increased immobility time.In Morris water maze test,CUMS mice showed significantly increased escape latency and path length,decreased percentage of distance and swimming time within the target quadrant,and increased first entry latency into the target zone and swimming time within the opposite quadrant.Exposure to CUMS resulted in significantly enhanced energy barrier and increased absolute refractory period and inter-spike interval of glutamatergic neurons in the CeA and GABAergic neurons in the PrL,while the opposite changes were observed in GABAergic neurons in the CeA and glutamatergic neurons in the PrL.Conclusion CUMS-induced depression may lead to plastic changes in the excitatory and inhibitory neuronal networks within the CeA and PrL to cause impairment of spatial learning and memory abilities in mice.