Transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) is a novel non-invasive transcranial electrical stimulation technique that achieves deep brain stimulation through multiple electrodes applying electric fields of different frequencies. Current studies on the mechanism of tTIS effects are primarily based on rodents, but experimental outcomes are often significantly influenced by electrode configurations. To enhance the performance of tTIS within the limited cranial space of rodents, we proposed various electrode configurations for tTIS and conducted finite element simulations using a realistic mouse model. Results demonstrated that ventral-dorsal, four-channel bipolar, and two-channel configurations performed best in terms of focality, diffusion of activated brain regions, and scalp impact, respectively. Compared to traditional transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), these configurations improved by 94.83%, 50.59%, and 3 514.58% in the respective evaluation metrics. This study provides a reference for selecting electrode configurations in future tTIS research on rodents.
Animals ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/instrumentation* ; Electrodes ; Mice ; Computer Simulation ; Finite Element Analysis ; Brain/physiology*

Objective To explore the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and total atherosclerotic burden of brain-and heart-arteries in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods This study retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ischemic stroke of the large-artery atherosclerosis or small-artery occlusion subtypes accompanied by cervicocephalic atherosclerosis,who were admitted to the Department of Neurology,Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University,between May 2023 and December 2024.General and clinical data,including age(＜60years,≥60years),sex,admission blood pressure,body mass index,history of hypertension,diabetes mellitus,hyperlipidemia,ischemic stroke,symptomatic coronary artery disease,smoking,alcohol consumption,and medication use(including antiplatelet drugs,anticoagulants,lipid-lowering drugs,antidiabetic drugs,antihypertensive drugs,and β-blockers),characteristics of ischemic stroke(including the duration of onset,ischemic side[left,right,bilateral],and ischemic location[anterior circulation,posterior circulation,bilateral circulation])were collected from all patients enrolled.On the morning after admission,fasting venous blood samples were collected to measure the levels of triglycerides,total cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol,fasting blood glucose,glycated hemoglobin,homocysteine,fibrinogen,D-dimer,C-reactive protein,high-sensitivity C-reactive protein,N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide,creatine kinase-MB,cardiac troponin T,and myoglobin.Transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 7 days after admission to evaluate cardiac function.Left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output were recorded,and cardiac index were calculated.Upon admission,neurological impairment,disability,motor function,and balance ability were assessed using the National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS),modified Rankin scale(mRS),Fugl-Meyer assessment(FMA),and Berg balance scale,respectively.The Saltin-Grimby physical activity level scale was used to evaluate the intensity of habitual physical activity prior to stroke onset.Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed within 7 days after admission to assess cardiopulmonary fitness.During the test,peak oxygen uptake(VO2peak),percentage of predicted VO2peak(VO2peak%pred),and metabolic equivalent of task(MET)were recorded.Based on the minimum oxygen uptake required for independent living(15 ml/[kg·min]),VO2peak was classified into low VO2peak(＜15 ml/[kg·min])and high VO2peak(≥15 ml/[kg·min]).With VO2peak%pred＜0.60 as the cutoff,VO2peak%pred was divided into low VO2peak%pred(＜0.60)and high VO2peak%pred(≥0.60).MET were categorized into low MET(＜mean MET)and high MET(≥mean MET)according to the mean value of MET in this study population.Imaging data of cardio-cerebral arteries were obtained by simultaneous CT arteriography within 7 days after admission.Total atherosclerotic burden of brain-and heart-supplying arteries(TAB-BHAs)was used to quantitatively evaluate the overall degree of cardio-cerebral atherosclerosis.And patients were stratified into high TAB-BHAs(≥4 points)and low TAB-BHAs(＜4 points)groups.The differences in general and clinical characteristics,as well as cardiopulmonary fitness indices,were assessed among different groups of TAB-BHAs.Spearman' s correlation was used in the preliminary analysis of the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness indicators and TAB-BHAs.Multivariate Logistic regression was conducted with VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low METs as independent variables,and high TAB-BHAs as the dependent variable to assess the association between cardiopulmonary fitness and TAB-BHAs.Covariates were selected through regressions stratified by age≥60 years,male,the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO),and the variables exhibit statistically significant differences between the low and high TAB-BHAs groups,respectively.Results A total of 104 patients with ischemic stroke were enrolled.Among all patients enrolled,60patients(with ages ranging from 30 to 72years and a mean age of[54±11]years)met the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and were ultimately included.Amid the 60 patients,52 were male and 8 were female.There were 20 patients(33.3%)with low VO2peak,28 patients(46.7%)with low VO2peak%pred,and 31 patients(51.7%)with low MET(MET＜5.0).45 patients were classified into the low TAB-BHAs group and 15 into the high TAB-BHAs group.(1)Compared with the low TAB-BHAs group,patients in the high TAB-BHAs group were significantly older and had a higher proportion of patients aged≥60 years,they also showed significantly higher fibrinogen levels and a history of antihypertensive drug use(all P＜0.05).No significant differences were observed in other general or clinical characteristics between the two groups(all P＞0.05).Regarding cardiopulmonary fitness parameters,patients in the high TAB-BHAs group had lower VO2peak and MET levels,and higher proportions of patients with low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low MET compared with those in the low TAB-BHAs group(all P＜0.05).(2)Based on the Spearman's correlation analysis,VO2peak(r=-0.298,P=0.021),VO2peak%pred(r=-0.305,P=0.018),MET(r=-0.303,P=0.018)all exhibited negative correlations between and TAB-BHAs.(3)LASSO regression was used to identify the most pertinent variables for high TAB-BHAs,including low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and fibrinogen.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was then performed with low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low MET as independent variables and high TAB-BHAs as the dependent variable.The results showed that after adjusting for age≥60 years,male,and fibrinogen,both low VO2peak(adjusted OR,4.420,95%CI 1.052-18.573,P=0.042)and low VO2peak%pred(adjusted OR,7.423,95%CI 1.411-39.046,P=0.018)were independently associated with high TAB-BHAs in ischemic stroke patients.After further adjusting for variables that differed among high and low TAB-BHAs groups(including age≥60 years,male,fibrinogen,and history of using antihypertensive drugs),multivariate Logistic regression showed that low VO2peak%pred remained independently associated with high TAB-BHAs in ischemic stroke patients(adjusted OR,6.347,95%CI 1.170-34.418,P=0.032).Conclusion Poor cardiopulmonary fitness might be associated with high degree of overall cardio-cerebral atherosclerosis,suggesting cardiorespiratory fitness as a potential correlated indicator that could provide clues for improving early screening of patients with heavy cardio-cerebral atherosclerotic burden and for exploring the underlying mechanisms.

Objective To explore the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and total atherosclerotic burden of brain-and heart-arteries in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods This study retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ischemic stroke of the large-artery atherosclerosis or small-artery occlusion subtypes accompanied by cervicocephalic atherosclerosis,who were admitted to the Department of Neurology,Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University,between May 2023 and December 2024.General and clinical data,including age(＜60years,≥60years),sex,admission blood pressure,body mass index,history of hypertension,diabetes mellitus,hyperlipidemia,ischemic stroke,symptomatic coronary artery disease,smoking,alcohol consumption,and medication use(including antiplatelet drugs,anticoagulants,lipid-lowering drugs,antidiabetic drugs,antihypertensive drugs,and β-blockers),characteristics of ischemic stroke(including the duration of onset,ischemic side[left,right,bilateral],and ischemic location[anterior circulation,posterior circulation,bilateral circulation])were collected from all patients enrolled.On the morning after admission,fasting venous blood samples were collected to measure the levels of triglycerides,total cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol,fasting blood glucose,glycated hemoglobin,homocysteine,fibrinogen,D-dimer,C-reactive protein,high-sensitivity C-reactive protein,N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide,creatine kinase-MB,cardiac troponin T,and myoglobin.Transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 7 days after admission to evaluate cardiac function.Left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output were recorded,and cardiac index were calculated.Upon admission,neurological impairment,disability,motor function,and balance ability were assessed using the National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS),modified Rankin scale(mRS),Fugl-Meyer assessment(FMA),and Berg balance scale,respectively.The Saltin-Grimby physical activity level scale was used to evaluate the intensity of habitual physical activity prior to stroke onset.Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed within 7 days after admission to assess cardiopulmonary fitness.During the test,peak oxygen uptake(VO2peak),percentage of predicted VO2peak(VO2peak%pred),and metabolic equivalent of task(MET)were recorded.Based on the minimum oxygen uptake required for independent living(15 ml/[kg·min]),VO2peak was classified into low VO2peak(＜15 ml/[kg·min])and high VO2peak(≥15 ml/[kg·min]).With VO2peak%pred＜0.60 as the cutoff,VO2peak%pred was divided into low VO2peak%pred(＜0.60)and high VO2peak%pred(≥0.60).MET were categorized into low MET(＜mean MET)and high MET(≥mean MET)according to the mean value of MET in this study population.Imaging data of cardio-cerebral arteries were obtained by simultaneous CT arteriography within 7 days after admission.Total atherosclerotic burden of brain-and heart-supplying arteries(TAB-BHAs)was used to quantitatively evaluate the overall degree of cardio-cerebral atherosclerosis.And patients were stratified into high TAB-BHAs(≥4 points)and low TAB-BHAs(＜4 points)groups.The differences in general and clinical characteristics,as well as cardiopulmonary fitness indices,were assessed among different groups of TAB-BHAs.Spearman' s correlation was used in the preliminary analysis of the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness indicators and TAB-BHAs.Multivariate Logistic regression was conducted with VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low METs as independent variables,and high TAB-BHAs as the dependent variable to assess the association between cardiopulmonary fitness and TAB-BHAs.Covariates were selected through regressions stratified by age≥60 years,male,the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO),and the variables exhibit statistically significant differences between the low and high TAB-BHAs groups,respectively.Results A total of 104 patients with ischemic stroke were enrolled.Among all patients enrolled,60patients(with ages ranging from 30 to 72years and a mean age of[54±11]years)met the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and were ultimately included.Amid the 60 patients,52 were male and 8 were female.There were 20 patients(33.3%)with low VO2peak,28 patients(46.7%)with low VO2peak%pred,and 31 patients(51.7%)with low MET(MET＜5.0).45 patients were classified into the low TAB-BHAs group and 15 into the high TAB-BHAs group.(1)Compared with the low TAB-BHAs group,patients in the high TAB-BHAs group were significantly older and had a higher proportion of patients aged≥60 years,they also showed significantly higher fibrinogen levels and a history of antihypertensive drug use(all P＜0.05).No significant differences were observed in other general or clinical characteristics between the two groups(all P＞0.05).Regarding cardiopulmonary fitness parameters,patients in the high TAB-BHAs group had lower VO2peak and MET levels,and higher proportions of patients with low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low MET compared with those in the low TAB-BHAs group(all P＜0.05).(2)Based on the Spearman's correlation analysis,VO2peak(r=-0.298,P=0.021),VO2peak%pred(r=-0.305,P=0.018),MET(r=-0.303,P=0.018)all exhibited negative correlations between and TAB-BHAs.(3)LASSO regression was used to identify the most pertinent variables for high TAB-BHAs,including low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and fibrinogen.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was then performed with low VO2peak,low VO2peak%pred,and low MET as independent variables and high TAB-BHAs as the dependent variable.The results showed that after adjusting for age≥60 years,male,and fibrinogen,both low VO2peak(adjusted OR,4.420,95%CI 1.052-18.573,P=0.042)and low VO2peak%pred(adjusted OR,7.423,95%CI 1.411-39.046,P=0.018)were independently associated with high TAB-BHAs in ischemic stroke patients.After further adjusting for variables that differed among high and low TAB-BHAs groups(including age≥60 years,male,fibrinogen,and history of using antihypertensive drugs),multivariate Logistic regression showed that low VO2peak%pred remained independently associated with high TAB-BHAs in ischemic stroke patients(adjusted OR,6.347,95%CI 1.170-34.418,P=0.032).Conclusion Poor cardiopulmonary fitness might be associated with high degree of overall cardio-cerebral atherosclerosis,suggesting cardiorespiratory fitness as a potential correlated indicator that could provide clues for improving early screening of patients with heavy cardio-cerebral atherosclerotic burden and for exploring the underlying mechanisms.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of acidophil stem cell pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET)/adenoma.Methods:Five cases of acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma were diagnosed between May 2022 and July 2023 at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China. The clinicopathological features of the tumor were analyzed by using histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. The relevant literature was reviewed.Results:There were 1 male and 4 females, aged from 23 to 69 years. Patient 3 was 55 years old at the time of diagnosis and first surgery, and relapsed 5 years later. The patients′ median age was 32 years. Patients 1 and 5 showed elevated blood prolactin, with various degrees of hormonal symptoms except Patient 3, who showed only tumor compression symptoms. Imaging studies showed that all cases involved the sellar floor. The tumors of Patients 1, 2 and 5 were closely related to the cavernous sinus segment of the internal carotid artery. The tumors exhibited a diffuse growth pattern with chromophobic to slightly acidophilic cytoplasm. A few of tumor cells showed chromophobic cytoplasm. The nucleoli were conspicuous. Intranuclear inclusion bodies and variably-sized clear vacuoles were observed occasionally. Under electron microscope, marked mitochondrial abnormalities were observed, including increased mitochondria number, expanded hypertrophy, and absence of mitochondrial ridge fracture. Some mitochondrial matrices were dense, while some were vacuolated.Conclusions:Acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma is a rare type of pituitary adenomas/PitNETs. It often has a more clinically aggressive manner with immature cells, diffuse expression of PIT1, prolactin, and varying degrees of growth hormone expression. Because of the obvious diversity of their clinical hormone status and hormone immune expression, the diagnosis of this type tumor is still a challenge.

Hypertension is one of the main factors leading to cardiovascular death.The number of cardiovascular patients were about 330 million in China,and 245 million among them were suffering from hypertensive in 2021.The rates of treatment and control of hypertension were less than 45.8%from 1991 to 2018.Therefore,it is of great clinical significance and social value to carry out hypertension related research.Animal models of hypertension are important tools to explore the pathogenesis of hypertension and evaluate the development of antihypertensive agents.At present,there are many ways to establish animal models of hypertension,by consulting and sorting out the relevant papers of animal models of hypertension at home and abroad,the author summarized and discussed the replication methods,principles,features and applications of commonly used animal models from four aspects,such as genetics,surgical induction,environmental induction and pharmaceuticals induction,in order to provide a reference for the selection and establishment of more scientific animal models of hypertension and lay the foundation for the combined treatment of hypertension with Chinese and Western medicine.

Animals ; Cdc20 Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Embryo, Mammalian/embryology* ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Infertility, Female/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mutation ; Oocytes/metabolism*

Objective To analyze the influence of a dental caries phototherapy device using neodymium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser on the temperature of tooth pulp chamber of different sites and morphologies under different irradiation duration and power. Methods Fifty intact isolated teeth were collected and randomly divided into middle incisor group, upper right first premolar group, upper right second molar group, upper left first premolar group, and upper left second molar group. Each experimental group was irradiated according to the laser power 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 and 2.0 W, and the irradiation duration 30, 60, 90 s. The temperature rise of the pulp chamber was recorded with a thermocouple thermometer. Results After the laser irradiation, the temperature of the tooth pulp chamber increased, and the temperature rise was less than 5.5℃, i.e. the threshold leading to the dental pulp necrosis. Conclusions The use of laser to prevent dental caries will increase the temperature of the tooth pulp chamber, but the temperature rise in the range of 5.5 ° C is relatively safe and will not cause irreversible damage to the pulp tissue.

Objective To investigate the effect of FCGR3A polymorphisms on NK cell function. Methods Peripheral blood samples from can?cer patients were collected and FCGR3A polymorphisms were confirmed by PCR. In vitro proliferation rates,ADCC activity,and expression of NK cell activating receptors were compared under trastumab stimulation. Results This study showed that the wild?type FCGR3A exhibited a higher affinity to trastumab along with better NK cell proliferation and ADCC activity than the mutant type. Compared to the patients with wild?type FC?GR3A,the proliferation rates of NK cells in patients with the mutant type were reduced by approximately 8?fold. In addition,the expression of NK cell activating receptors in patients with wild?type FCGR3A was higher than in patients with the mutant type. Conclusion Mutations in FC?GR3Areduce NK cell function,causing a poor reaction to monoclonal antibody.

Decoction is one of the most commonly used dosage forms of traditional Chinese medicine. The stability of chemical constituents in decoction is closely related to the clinical efficacy and safety. There were few reports about the influence of metal ions in the stability of chemical constituents in traditional Chinese medicine. However, there is no evidence that metal ions in decoction water need to be controlled. In this study, 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (THSG), one of the main constituents in Polygoni Multiflori Radix was studied. Ordinary tap water, deionized water, and water containing different metal ions were used to investigate and compare the influence on THSG. The results showed that after storage in a dark place at the room temperature for 10 days, the degradation of THSG was 7% in deionized water, while undetectable in tap water. The content of THSG could be decreased by different kinds of metal ions, and the effect was concentration-dependent. Moreover, Fe3+ and Fe2+ showed the greatest influence at the same concentration; and our study has shown that THSG decreased more than 98% in Fe and Fe2+ solutions at 500 ppm concentration. In the same time we found out p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (molecular weight: 122.036 7) and 2,3,5-trihydroxybenzaldehyde-2-O-glycoside (molecular weight: 316.079 4) were the main degradation products of THSG in tap water and water containing Cu2+, Ca2+, Zn2+, Mg2+ and Al3+. The product of THSG dimer with a water molecule was found in water containing Fe3+ and Fe2+. The above results showed that the metal ions in water could significantly influence the stability of THSG in water, indicating that the clinical efficacy and safety of decoction would be affected if the metal ions in water were not under control. It's suggested that deionized water should be used in the preparation of decoction containing Polygoni Multiflori Radix in the clinic to avoid degradation of THSG. Meanwhile, decoction prepared by tap water should be taken by patients in a short time. Our investigation provides important information and reference about the influence of metal ions on the stability of decoctions in other traditional Chinese medicine that have unstable groups such as hydroxyls and unsaturated bonds, etc.

At present,the various levels of safety evaluations of traditional Chinese medical (TCM) injections were in force in post-marketing clinical researches,while the process quality is guaranteed with difficulty.Therefore,it is requisite to call for technical guidance.By drawing lessons from the international experience of drug marketing safety evaluation and the related methods,we proposed the key techniques of quality control for clinical safety evaluation of TCM injections from the three aspects:preparation,implementation and summarization of researches,combining with the characteristics of TCM injections.The key techniques contained some scientific problems,ethics,publicity,data management,statistical analysis,specification report,etc.This paper comprehensively introduced the requisite technologies and methods over research quality,laying a foundation for the studies of post-marketing clinical safety evaluation of TCM injections.