The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has recently been proposed as a key player in the representation of itch stimuli. However, to date, little is known about the contribution of specific ACC interneuron populations to itch processing. Using c-Fos immunolabeling and in vivo Ca²⁺ imaging, we reported that both histamine and chloroquine stimuli-induced acute itch caused a marked enhancement of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing interneuron activity in the ACC. Behavioral data indicated that optogenetic and chemogenetic activation of these neurons reduced scratching responses related to histaminergic and non-histaminergic acute itch. Similar neural activity and modulatory role of these neurons were seen in mice with chronic itch induced by contact dermatitis. Together, this study highlights the importance of ACC VIP⁺ neurons in modulating itch-related affect and behavior, which may help us to develop novel mechanism-based strategies to treat refractory chronic itch in the clinic.
Animals ; Pruritus/physiopathology* ; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide/metabolism* ; Interneurons/metabolism* ; Gyrus Cinguli/metabolism* ; Mice ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Histamine ; Chloroquine ; Optogenetics ; Mice, Transgenic

Objective To investigate the structural changes and influencing factors of the average inpatient cost per admis-sion in public hospitals in Guangdong Province.Methods Grey relational analysis and structural variation degree analysis were used to analyze the correlation and changes between the average inpatient cost per admission and various cost components in public hospitals of Guangdong Province from 2017 to 2023.Results The average inpatient cost per admission in public hospitals of Guangdong Province showed an overall upward trend from 2017 to 2023,with an average annual growth rate of 3.84％.Among the components,laboratory test fees and examination fees grew at average annual rates of 6.17％and 6.68％,respectively.The top four cost components with the highest grey relational degree with the average inpatient cost were laboratory test fees(0.867),exam-ination fees(0.835),nursing fees(0.784),and treatment fees(0.728).The top four components with the largest structural vari-ation values were surgery fees(2.57％),medical material fees(1.77％),laboratory test fees(1.56％),and examination fees(1.45％).Conclusion The growth of the average inpatient cost per admission has slowed,and the cost structure has been opti-mized to some extent.However,the relatively rapid increase in laboratory test and examination fees has a significant impact on the cost structure.It is necessary to deepen the coordinated governance of healthcare,medical insurance,and medicine,strengthen the leveraging role of medical insurance payment,improve the external governance system and scientific compensation mechanism,and combine these with refined hospital management to promote reasonable cost control and high-quality development in public hospitals.

Objective To investigate the structural changes and influencing factors of the average inpatient cost per admis-sion in public hospitals in Guangdong Province.Methods Grey relational analysis and structural variation degree analysis were used to analyze the correlation and changes between the average inpatient cost per admission and various cost components in public hospitals of Guangdong Province from 2017 to 2023.Results The average inpatient cost per admission in public hospitals of Guangdong Province showed an overall upward trend from 2017 to 2023,with an average annual growth rate of 3.84％.Among the components,laboratory test fees and examination fees grew at average annual rates of 6.17％and 6.68％,respectively.The top four cost components with the highest grey relational degree with the average inpatient cost were laboratory test fees(0.867),exam-ination fees(0.835),nursing fees(0.784),and treatment fees(0.728).The top four components with the largest structural vari-ation values were surgery fees(2.57％),medical material fees(1.77％),laboratory test fees(1.56％),and examination fees(1.45％).Conclusion The growth of the average inpatient cost per admission has slowed,and the cost structure has been opti-mized to some extent.However,the relatively rapid increase in laboratory test and examination fees has a significant impact on the cost structure.It is necessary to deepen the coordinated governance of healthcare,medical insurance,and medicine,strengthen the leveraging role of medical insurance payment,improve the external governance system and scientific compensation mechanism,and combine these with refined hospital management to promote reasonable cost control and high-quality development in public hospitals.

Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)PET/CT in differentiating primary lung cancer(PLC)from metastatic pulmonary breast cancer in breast cancer patients with solitary pulmonary lesion(SPL).Materials and Methods This retrospective analysis included 58 breast cancer patients with SPL in the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2015 to August 2024.All patients had pathologically confirmed breast cancer with SPL and underwent PET/CT scans,including 36 cases of PLC and 22 cases of metastatic pulmonary breast cancer.Differences in clinical pathological features,high resolution CT morphological,and PET metabolic characteristics were analyzed.Multivariate Logistic regression was utilized to investigate independent predictive factors for SPL diagnosis.Results Statistically significant differences were observed between lesion density,nodule-lung interface,bubble sign,vascular convergence sign and pleural indentation sign(χ2=9.420,7.000,8.487,all P<0.05).PET/CT metabolic analysis revealed a significant difference in maximum standardized uptake value(SUVmax)between the two groups(Z=4.613,P<0.001).Multivariate analysis showed that bubble sign,pleural indentation sign and lower SUVmax were independent predictors for PLC.With an SUVmax threshold of 2.5,the area under the receiver operating curve(AUC)was 0.862,with a sensitivity of 90.9%,specificity of 77.8%and an accuracy of 82.8%.Combined analysis of high resolution CT and SUVmax demonstrated the highest diagnostic efficacy,with an area under the curve of 0.937,sensitivity of 90.9%,specificity of 94.4%and accuracy of 93.1%.Conclusion The presence of bubble sign,pleural indentation and SUVmax<2.5 suggests a high likelihood of PLC.Combined high resolution CT imaging features and PET metabolic characteristics significantly improve diagnostic accuracy for SPLs in breast cancer patients.

Purpose To explore the role of translesion synthesis-related gene NmrA like redox sensor 1(NMRAL1)in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC).Methods Bioinformatics analysis was em-ployed to investigate the expression of the NMRAL1 gene across various cancer types and its correlation with prognosis.Immunohistochemistry was utilized to analyze the expression pattern of NMRAL1 in PTC and conduct clinicopathological correlation analysis.Additionally,stable cell lines overexpressing NMRAL1 were established in TPC-1 cells.The effects of NMRAL1 overexpression on cell proliferation,migration,and invasion of TPC-1 and Nthy-ori 3-1 cells were assessed using CCK-8 assay,clonogenic assay,Transwell assay,and scratch assay,respectively.Furthermore,RT-qPCR experiments were conducted to investigate the regulatory effect of NMRAL1 on the expression of genes associated with translesion DNA synthesis.Results Bioinformatics analysis revealed that NMRAL1 was highly expressed in all 26 types of tumors compared to normal tissues in the TCGA x GTEx dataset.Patients with high expression of NMRAL1 in thyroid cancer had significantly lower survival rates than those with low expression(P＜0.05).In the immunohisto-chemical validation of 30 PTC samples,NMRAL1 had a positive rate of 73.33％,in PTC tissues,while it was not ex-pressed in adjacent normal thyroid tissues.The staining intensity scores of NMRAL1 in PTC and adjacent tissues exhib-it significant differences(P＜0.000 1).High expression of NMRAL1 was associated with the size of the tumor(P=0.027 4)and lymph node metastasis(P=0.044 1).In vitro functional experiments revealed a significant enhance-ment in both cell proliferation and migration/invasion capacities upon overexpression of NMRAL1(P＜0.05).Moreo-ver,mRNA and protein expression levels of translesion synthesis-related genes were upregulated(P＜0.001).Con-clusion NMRAL1 promotes proliferation and migration of thyroid carcinoma cells,suggesting that this function may be achieved by enhancing DNA damage repair capacity,thereby improving the survival of damaged cells.

Based on the underlying mechanism of acupuncture therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH),we discussed the research on the pathological mechanism of ICH and the effect of acupuncture therapy in recent 20 years,from primary and secondary brain injury.It was concluded that acupuncture had an intervention effect on multiple links such as hematoma compression,brain edema,oxidative stress,nerve cell death and cerebral blood flow changes.However,there were still problems such as less in vivo research,lack of thinking on syndrome differentiation and insufficient research on the quantity effect and overall regulation of acupuncture.

Objective To discuss the risk factors for impaired fasting glucose(IFG)and construct and validate a predictive model based on column charts of the risk of IFG occurrence.Methods This retrospective study included 3 037 individuals who underwent routine physical examinations at a hospital in Shenyang between August and December 2022.The population was randomly divided into a training group(n=2 126)and a validation group(n=911)in a 7∶3 ratio,and physical examination data were collected.LASSO regression analy-sis was used to screen predictive variables and logistic regression analysis was used to further screen and construct a column chart pre-dictive model.The validation group was used to conduct an internal validation of the feasibility of the model,and the area under the curve(AUC)of receiver operator characteristic(ROC)and goodness of fit tests were used to evaluate the model effectiveness.Results Among the 3 037 included individuals,2 880 did not experience IFG and 157 did.The results showed that age(OR=1.04,95％CI:1.02-1.05),body mass index(BMI,OR=1.10,95％CI:1.05-1.17),systolic blood pressure(SBP,OR=1.01,95％CI:1.00-1.03),triglycerides(TG,OR=1.20,95％CI:0.99-1.51),and a history of hypertension(OR=1.28,95％CI:1.04-1.59)were independent risk factors for IFG occurrence in this population.Based on these variables,a column chart prediction model was constructed.In the training group,the model predicted an AUC of 0.722(95％CI:0.68-0.77)for IFG occurrence,while in the validation group,it predicted an AUC of 0.907(95％CI:0.87-0.94)for IFG occurrence.The results of the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed that the models of the training and validation groups were not significantly different(P＞0.05);that is,the actual probability was consistent with the prediction probability of the model,and the models calibration was good.Conclusion A risk prediction model for IFG occurrence that included five variables:age,BMI,SBP,TG,and history of hypertension could be construted.This model might help to identify high-risk groups for IFG early and allow for inter-vention in a timely manner.

Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) is a cytosolic pattern recognition receptor that recognizes multiple pathogen-associated molecular patterns and damage-associated molecular patterns. It is a cytoplasmic immune factor that responds to cellular stress signals, and it is usually activated after infection or inflammation, forming an NLRP3 inflammasome to protect the body. Aberrant NLRP3 inflammasome activation is reportedly associated with some inflammatory diseases and metabolic diseases. Recently, there have been mounting indications that NLRP3 inflammasomes play an important role in liver injuries caused by a variety of diseases, specifically hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury, hepatitis, and liver failure. Herein, we summarize new research pertaining to NLRP3 inflammasomes in hepatic injury, hepatitis, and liver failure. The review addresses the potential mechanisms of action of the NLRP3 inflammasome, and its regulation in these liver diseases.
Humans ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Inflammasomes/physiology* ; Animals ; Liver Diseases/metabolism* ; Liver/metabolism* ; Reperfusion Injury/metabolism*

The gradient field, one of the core magnetic fields in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, is generated by gradient coils and plays a critical role in spatial encoding and the generation of echo signals. The uniformity or linearity of the gradient field directly impacts the quality and distortion level of MRI images. However, traditional point measurement methods lack accuracy in assessing the linearity of gradient fields, making it difficult to provide effective parameters for image distortion correction. This paper introduced a spherical measurement-based method that involved measuring the magnetic field distribution on a sphere, followed by detailed magnetic field calculations and linearity analysis. This study, applied to assess the nonlinearity of asymmetric head gradient coils, demonstrated more comprehensive and precise results compared to point measurement methods. This advancement not only strengthens the scientific basis for the design of gradient coils but also provides more reliable parameters and methods for the accurate correction of MRI image distortions.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Magnetic Fields ; Algorithms ; Phantoms, Imaging

Objective To investigate the renal function recovery and perioperative risk factors for chronic kidney disease in patients after acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) repair. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent ATAAD repair at the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital, Xiamen University from 2020 to 2021, and their clinical data were analyzed. Results A total of 255 patients were included, with 200 males and 55 females, and an average age of (52.80±12.46) years. The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) after ATAAD repair was 43.9%. Dissection involving the renal artery [OR=2.144, 95%CI (1.234, 3.765), P=0.007], intraoperative urine output [OR=0.761, 95%CI (0.625, 0.911), P=0.004], and intraoperative red blood cell transfusion [OR=1.288, 95%CI (1.088, 1.543), P=0.004] were significantly associated with early AKI after ATAAD repair. Long-term renal function follow-up data were available for 232 patients, among whom 40 (17.2%) patients developed chronic kidney disease (CKD). Independent predictors for CKD included lower body mass index [OR=0.827, 95%CI (0.723, 0.931), P=0.003], preoperative cardiac tamponade [OR=5.344, 95%CI (1.65, 17.958), P=0.005], preoperative renal hypoperfusion syndrome [OR=12.629, 95%CI (5.003, 35.373), P<0.001], postoperative peak serum creatinine time>3 d [OR=7.566, 95%CI (2.799, 22.731), P<0.001], and AKI grade [grade 1: OR=4.418, 95%CI (1.339, 15.361), P=0.016; grade 2: OR=8.345, 95%CI (1.762, 40.499), P=0.007; grade 3: OR=9.463, 95%CI (2.602, 37.693), P<0.001]. Conclusion AKI related to ATAAD repair can recover in the early postoperative period, but both the duration and severity of AKI will affect long-term renal function. In addition, patients' nutritional status, preoperative cardiac tamponade, and renal hypoperfusion syndrome are also independent risk factors for long-term renal dysfunction.