A 5-year-old Mongolian girl from Inner Mongolia presented with a painless,round skin lesion on the left cheek for 10 months.Several weeks prior to the development of lesions,her left cheek was seratched by a dog.Subsequently small asymptomatic erythematous papules developed at the scratched site and gradually enlarged.Direct microscopy of scales from the lesions revealed septate,branching hyphae and fungal culture grew Eurotiom amstelodami(perfect stage of aspergillus).She was initially diagnosed as cutaneous aspergillosis and treated with itraconazole 200 mg per day for 2 months,but limited improvement was achieved.Histopathological examination with Wright-Giemsa staining of skin biopsies revealed abundant leishman Donovani hodies intracellulatry and extracellularly in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue; PAS staining of tissue specimens showed no fungal element and fungal culture was negative.She was finally diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis.After treatment with terbinafine 125 mg per day for 2 months,the lesion subsided.

Objective To investigate the value of Real-time PCR in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis(IA) and to compare it with galactomannan antigen assays.Methods A retrospective study was performed on 110 episodes of hospitalization of 88 patients who were at risk of invasive aspergillosis at Peking University First and Renmin Hospital from May 2008 to December 2010.23 cases with diagnosis and clinical diagnosis IA were classified as infection group and 87 cases with suspected diagnosis and non-IA were classified as non-infeciton group according to the international criterion.Real-time PCR and gaiactomannan antigen detections were performed on 257 serum samples.A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC)was developed based on the quantitative cycle numbers and an optimal cut off value of quantification cycle (Cq) was determined.The sensitivity (Se),specificity (Sp),positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated under different considerations among which McNemar chi-square tests were used for statistical analyze.Results The area under ROC curve of Real-time PCR for the diagnosis of IA was 0.91 (95％ CI:0.825-0.995) and the optimal cut off value of Cq was 39.45.The Se and Sp of one positive PCR,two positive PCR,one positive GM and two positive GM were 87.0％,79.3％ ; 58.3％,97.8％ ; 78.3％,63.2％ ; and 58.3％,82.6％,respectively.When one positive PCR was considered as the diagnostic criterion of IA,Real-time PCR was able to diagnose 100％ and 84.2％ of proven and probable IA cases,respectively.The Sp of one/two positive PCR were statistically higher than one/two positive GM (P ＜ 0.05),respectively.The Sp of two positive PCR was statistically higher than one positive PCR (P ＜0.05).The Se and Sp were 65.2％,89.7％ and 100％,52.3％ for one positive PCR combined one positive GM and one PCR or GM positive,respectively.Conclusions Real-time PCR assays have better sensitivities and specificities than GM in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis.When two PCR positive were considered,better specificity and positive predictive value were achieved.

BACKGROUND: Opiate drugs are widely used to control chronic cancer pain, which brings many adverse reactions. Transplantation of sodium alginate-polylysine-alginate microencapsulated bovine adrenal chromaffin cell (BCC) has reported to be used as chronic cancer pain controllers. However, the high price and poor strength of polylysine limited its clinical application. Chitosan is characterized by sufficient resource, low price and good biocompatibility, which is a substitute for polylysine.OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of xenotransplantation of sodium alginate-chitosan-alginate (ACA) microencapsulated BCC on patients with advanced cancer pain.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A retrospective case analysis. All cases were obtained from Department of Oncology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University from January 2007 to December 2008.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 10 patients with advanced cancer, including 1 female and 9 males, aged 46-78 years. According to visual algetic mimic scale (VAS), 3 patients suffered moderate pain and 7 cases suffered severe pain.METHODS: Microencapsulation method was applied to encapsulate BCC with ACA membrane and transplant the microencapsulated BCC (5-7)×10~6 into the subarachnoids pace of 10 patients.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The degree of pain release, duration of analgesic effect, as well as adverse reaction.RESULTS: All 10 patients had pain relief rapidly after transplantation in varying degrees. Complete pain relief was shown in 2 cases, medium relief in 1 case, slight relief in 4 cases. Slight irritation of cauda eguina was presented after transplantation, which could disappear within 3-5 days.CONCLUSION: Xenotransplantation of ACA microencapsulated BCC into the spinal subarachnoids pace of patients with cancer pain can produce analgesic effect promptly, significantly, and safely.

Three-dimensional cell culture is a novel type of in vitro culture method.This system can mimic the microenvironment of cell growth in vivo,where cells exhibit similar state and function to that in the in vivo environment.Currently,three-dimensional culture system has been widely applied in tissue engineering and tumor cell biology fields,etc.Radiotherapy is an important treatment of cancer.Radioresistance of tumor cells is the main cause of treatment failure,tumor recurrence and metastasis.Tumor cells can exhibit the resistant characteristics in the three-dimensional culture system,similar to those of tumor cells in vivo.Therefore,three-dimensional culture system can be adopted to investigate the radioresistance and underlying mechanism of tumor cells and identify the key factors regulating the radioresistance of tumor cells,which plays a pivotal role in enhancing the radioresistance and improving the effect of radiotherapy.This article will review recent research progress in the radioresistance and sensitization of tumor cells under three-dimensional culture system,aiming to provide reference for relevant investigations.

Objective:The study retrospectively identified the correlative factors of low back pain after single-level oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF).Methods:Records of 93 patients (55 males and 38 females) who underwent OLIF (oblique lateral interbody fusion) surgery for lumbar degenerative diseases from May 2016 to September 2019 were analyzed retrospectively and patients' age was 55.73±9.48 years (range 32-78 years). There were 18 patients underwent L 3, 4 segment (19.35%), 73 patients underwent L 4, 5 segment (78.50%), and 2 patients underwent L 5S 1 segment (2.15%). There were 43 patients underwent OLIF stand alone and 50 patients underwent OLIF combined with lateral or posterior internal fixation. The follow-up time was 22.86±5.90 months (range 12-32 months). According to whether the visual analog scale (VAS)≥3 at the last follow-up visit, the patients were divided into low back pain group and no low back pain group. The demographic characteristics (age, gender, body mass index and comorbidities), basic surgical data (surgical segments, surgical methods, surgical time, intraoperative bleeding, endplate injury or not during operation), imaging data (lumbar lordosis, segmental lordosis, intervertebral height and cage subside) and lumbar function were recorded. The potential related factors were analyzed by univariate analysis, and the factors with P<0.05 were selected in the multivariate logistic regression model. Then the risk factors of low back pain after OLIF were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results:Nineteen patients with VAS score equal or greater than 3 were included in low back pain group, and the remaining 74 patients were included in no low back pain group. There was no significant difference in baseline data such as age, gender, BMI, follow-up time and comorbidities between two groups. There was no significant difference in VAS score between the two groups before operation ( t=0.818, P=0.414), but there was significant difference in VAS score at last follow-up visit ( t=6.958, P<0.001). The incidence rate of osteoporosis in low back pain group (63.16%) was significantly higher than that in no low back pain group (25.68%) ( t=9.558, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in vertebral height between the two groups ( t=1.008, P=0.316), however, the vertebral height was higher in no low back pain group ( t=2.537, P=0.316) at the last follow-up. The incidence of cage subsidencewas 8.11% in no low back pain group and 36.84% in low back pain group and there was significant difference between the two groups ( t=10.381, P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that osteoporosis ( P=0.009), intraoperative bone endplate injury ( P=0.031), decreased intervertebral space height ( P=0.029) and cage subsidence ( P=0.016) were associated with low back pain after single-level OLIF. Conclusion:Low back pain is one of the common complications after OLIF. Osteoporosis, intraoperative bony endplate injury, decreased intervertebral space height and cage subsidence were closely related to postoperative low back pain. In order to reduce the incidence of postoperative low back pain and improve the clinical outcomes, attention should be paid to the protection of the bony endplate, rational use of internal fixation and active anti-osteoporosis treatment after operation.

Objective:To investigate the effect of O-arm navigation assisted posterior pedicle screw reduction and internal fixation of atlantoaxial fractures.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted to analyze 37 patients with atlantoaxial fractures admitted to Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2016 to June 2018, including 22 males and 15 females, aged from 29 to 68 years [(50.9±9.8)years]. The posterior pedicle screw reduction and internal fixation was performed under O-arm navigation system (navigation group, n=24), and using free-hand technique (free-hand group, n=13). The operation time and blood loss were compared between the two groups. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and neck disability index (NDI) were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy before operation, 7 days operation and at the last follow-up. The complications were detected. A total of 86 screws were placed in navigation group (Neo grade 0: 83 screws, grade 1: 2 screws, grade 2: 1 screw ), and 44 screws were inserted in free-hand group (Neo grade 0: 36 screws, grade 1: 5 screws, grade 2: 2 screws, grade 3: 1 screw)( P<0.05). Classification of screw positions proposed by Neo et al was used to evaluate the position relationship between the screw and the bone cortex and the incidence of screw penetration. Results:All patients were followed up 24-38 months [(27.7±4.0)months]. The operation time in navigation group was (189.8±35.4)minutes, significantly shorter than (221.5±48.6)minutes in free-hand group ( P<0.05). The bleeding volume in navigation group was 300.0 (250.0, 537.5)ml , significantly less than 500.0 (425.0, 625.0)ml in free-hand group ( P<0.05). Both groups showed significantly enhanced JOA and decreased NDI after operation and at last follow-up, compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in JOA and NDI between the two groups ( P>0.05). No severe complications such as neurovascular injury occurred during operation. The incidence of cortical penetration was 3% (3/86) in navigation group and 18% (8/44) in free-hand group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:In the process of posterior atlantoaxial pedicle screw placement, the application of O-arm navigation can significantly reduce the operation time and amount of bleeding, and enhance the accuracy of pedicle screw implantation.

Objective: To explore the role of parenting style in the association of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and emotional behavior problems (EBPs) in preschool children, so as to provide a reference for the prevention and control of EBPs in children. Methods: A total of 6 111 children aged 3-6 years old from 36 kindergartens in 3 areas of Anhui Province in June 2021, follow up data were collected in December 2021. Maternal ACEs, mother child relationship and children EBPs were respectively assessed using the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire(ACEs-IQ), Parental Rearing Style Scale and the difficulty score factor in the Chinese Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire(SDQ). The Bootstrap was used to examine the mediation effect of maternal parenting styles. Results: Maternal ACEs were positively associated with child SDQ difficulty scores( r = 0.28, P <0.01). Negative parenting (indulgent, permissive, authoritarian and inconsistent) were positively correlated with maternal ACEs scores( r =0.28, 0.30, 0.21, 0.31) and child SDQ difficulty scores( r =0.25, 0.20, 0.20, 0.28)( P <0.01). Positive parenting (democracy) was negatively correlated with maternal ACEs and SDQ difficulty scores( r =-0.09, -0.29, P <0.01). After adjusting for confounding factors, the results of the mediation effect test of Bootstraping procedure showed that maternal parenting styles (indulgent, democracy, permissive, authoritarian and inconsistent) played a mediation role in maternal ACEs and EBPs of preschool children, and the mediation effects were respectively 19.13%, 7.34%, 24.88%, 12.05% and 26.83%. Conclusion Parenting styles play a mediating role in the association of maternal ACEs and EBPs in preschool children, and improving mothers negative parenting styles is of great significance to reduce EBPs in the offspring of maternal ACEs.

Objective:Trigeminal neuralgia(TN)is a severe chronic neuropathic pain that mainly affects the distribution area of the trigeminal nerve with limited treating efficacy.There are numerous treatments for TN,but currently the main clinical approach is to suppress pain by carbamazepine(CBZ).Brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)is closely related to chronic pain.This study aims to determine the effects of CBZ treatment on BDNF expression in both the trigeminal ganglion(TG)and serum of TN via a chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve(ION-CCI)rat model. Methods:The ION-CCI models were established in male Sprague-Dawley rats and were randomly divided into a sham group,a TN group,a TN+low-dose CBZ treatment group(TN+20 mg/kg CBZ group),a TN+medium-dose CBZ treatment group(TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group),and a TN+high-dose CBZ treatment group(TN+80 mg/kg CBZ group).The mechanical pain threshold in each group of rats was measured regularly before and after surgery.The expressions of BDNF and tyrosine kinase receptor B(TrkB)mRNA in TGs of rats in different groups were determined by real-time PCR,and the expression of BDNF protein on neurons in TGs was observed by immunofluorescence.Western Blotting was used to detect the protein expression of BDNF,TrkB,extracellular regulated protein kinases(ERK),and phospho-extracellular regulated protein kinases(p-ERK)in TGs of rats in different groups.The expression of BDNF in the serum of rats in different groups was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Results:The results of mechanical pain sensitivity showed that there was no significant difference in the mechanical pain threshold in the right facial sensory area of the experimental rats in each group before surgery(all P>0.05).From the 3rd day after operation,the mechanical pain threshold of rats in the TN group was significantly lower than that in the sham group(all P<0.01),and the mechanical pain threshold of rats in the TN+80 mg/kg CBZ group,the TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group,and the TN+20 CBZ mg/kg group was higher than that in the TN group(all P<0.05).The BDNF and TrkB mRNA and protein expressions in TGs of rats in the TN group were higher than those in the sham group(all P<0.05),and those in the TN+80 mg/kg CBZ group,the TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group,and the TN+20 mg/kg CBZ group were lower than the TN group(all P<0.05).The p-ERK levels in TG of rats in the TN+80 mg/kg CBZ group,the TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group,and the TN+20 mg/kg CBZ group were significantly decreased compared with the TN group(all P<0.05).The BDNF and neuron-specific nuclear protein(NeuN)were mainly co-expressed in neuron of TGs in the TN group and they were significantly higher than those in the sham group(all P<0.05).The co-labeled expressions of BDNF and NeuN in TGs of the TN+ 80 mg/kg CBZ group,the TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group,and the TN+20 mg/kg CBZ group were lower than those in the TN group(all P<0.05).The results of ELISA showed that the level of BDNF in the serum of the TN group was significantly higher than that in the sham group(P<0.05).The levels of BDNF in the TN+80 mg/kg CBZ group,the TN+40 mg/kg CBZ group,and the TN+20 mg/kg CBZ group were lower than those in the TN group(all P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the BDNF level in serum was negatively correlated with mechanical pain threshold(r=-0.650,P<0.01). Conclusion:CBZ treatment can inhibit the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the TGs of TN rats,reduce the level of BDNF in serum of TN rats and the phosphorylation of ERK signaling pathway,so as to inhibit TN.The serum level of BDNF can be considered as an indicator for the diagnosis and prognosis of TN.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of linalool against acute liver injury induced by aflatoxin B₁（AFB₁） in rats and explore its protective mechanism. MethodTwenty male SPF SD rats were randomly divided into three groups： Control （n=6）， AFB₁ （n=7）， and linalool （n=7） groups. Linalool solution （200 mg·kg^-1） was administered preventatively for 14 days， while the control and AFB₁ groups intragastrically received an equivalent volume of double distilled water. After preventative administration of linalool， AFB₁ solution （1 mg·kg^-1， dissolved in saline） was intraperitoneally injected for two consecutive days to induce acute liver injury in rats. Samples were collected and processed 14 days after model establishment. Pathological changes in liver tissue of rats were observed using Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and Masson staining. Biochemical detection was performed to measure the levels of alanine transaminase（ALT）， aspartate transaminase（AST）， γ-glutamyl transferase（GGT）， lactate dehydrogenase（LDH）， alkaline phosphatase（ALP）， total bilirubin（TBil）， direct bilirubin（DBil）， indirect bilirubin（IBil）， malondialdehyde（MDA）， superoxidedismutase（SOD）， catalase（CAT） ， glutathione（GSH）， Fe³⁺， and Fe²⁺ in the liver tissue. Western blot was adopted to assess protein expression levels of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2（Nrf2） and heme oxygenase-1（HO-1）. Molecular docking was performed to verify the binding between linalool and key proteins of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. Molecular dynamics techniques were used to confirm the stability and affinity of linalool binding with key proteins of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. ResultPathological results showed that compared to that in the AFB₁ group， the liver structure in the linalool group tended to be normal， with a significant decrease in blue collagen fibers. The linalool group exhibited significantly reduced levels of ALT， AST， GGT， LDH， ALP， TBil， DBil， and IBil （P<0.01）， Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ content， and oxidative stress marker MDA （P<0.01）. The levels of antioxidants SOD， CAT， and GSH significantly increased （P<0.01）. Molecular docking showed a molecular docking energy between linalool and Nrf2 and HO-1 targets of -5.495 6 and -5.199 4 kcal·mol^-1（1 cal≈4.186 J）， respectively. Molecular dynamics results indicated strong affinity in the binding of linalool with Nrf2 and HO-1. Western blot revealed a significant increase in Nrf2 protein expression （P<0.05） and a decrease in HO-1 protein expression （P<0.01） in the linalool group. ConclusionLinalool may protect against AFB₁-induced acute liver injury by modulating the Nrf2/HO-1 ferroptosis signaling pathway to inhibit liver cell ferroptosis and regulate hepatic oxidative stress levels.