ObjectiveThis study explores the methods of lung tissue extraction and fixation required for pathological studies of fetal rats, based on the unique physiological structure of fetal rat lung tissue and existing lung tissue fixation techniques for adult rats. MethodsSix pregnant adult SD rats at 20.5 days of gestation were subjected to cesarean section to obtain fetal rats. Four healthy fetal rats with similar body weight, vital signs, and respiratory status were selected from each pregnant rat, and they were randomly divided into the following groups using a random number table: direct lung infiltration group, lung infiltration group after intratracheal infusion, whole-body infiltration group of fetal rats, and whole-body infiltration group after intratracheal infusion of fetal rats. To systematically compare and analyze the anatomical morphology under different fixation methods, lung tissues from four groups of fetal rats were harvested, perfused, and fixed, and the gross morphology of lung tissues in each group was observed. Paraffin sections were prepared and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (H&E). The histological morphology of the whole lung, alveoli, and bronchi was further examined under optical microscopy. ResultsIn the direct lung infiltration group, the hilar structures were unclear, lung lobation was indistinct, the shape was irregular, lung cavities were small, and alveoli and bronchi were shrunken. In the lung infiltration group after intratracheal infusion, the hilar structures were clear, lobation was pronounced, the shape was regular, lung cavities were large, and alveoli and bronchi were full. Both the whole-body infiltration group and whole-body infiltration group after intratracheal infusion of fetal rats exhibited visible lungs, hearts, skins, and other organs. The lung tissues of both groups showed obvious lobulation, irregular shape, and damage at the margins of lung lobes. In the whole-body infiltration group, the thoracic cavities of the fetus were flattened, lung cavities were small, and alveoli and bronchi were shrunken. In the whole-body infiltration group after intratracheal infusion of fetal rats, the fetal thoracic cavities were full, lung cavities were large, and alveoli and bronchi were relatively full. ConclusionThe lung infiltration after intratracheal infusion method for fetal rat lung tissue fixation outperforms direct lung infiltration, whole-body infiltration of fetal rats, and whole-body infiltration after intratracheal infusion of fetal rats in terms of preservation of the lung tissue's original morphology, paraffin sectioning, staining, and pathological observation and analysis. The embedding, sectioning, and staining processes are also simple and save consumables. Therefore, intratracheal infusion followed by lung infiltration method is recommended for fixation in histopathological observation of fetal rat lung tissue.

Objective To investigate and compare the effects of electroacupuncture and dexamethasone on lung function and histomorphology and behavior in the offspring of perinatal nicotine exposure(PNE)rats.Methods Twenty-four pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control,model,electroacupuncture shallow needling,and dexamethasone groups using the random number table method(n=6 rats per group).A pulmonary dysplasia model in offspring rats with PNE was prepared by cervicodorsal subcutaneous injection with nicotine,and successful establishment of the model was confirmed by demonstrating statistically significant differences in growth parameters,lung function,and lung morphology compared to the control group.From the sixth day of maternal conception,the control group received cervicodorsal subcutaneous injection with 0.9%sodium chloride solution(1 mg/kg once per day),and the remaining groups were similarly injected with nicotine(1 mg/kg once per day).Concurrent with the nicotine injections,the electroacupuncture shallow needling group received electroacupuncture interventions at the"Zusanli"(ST 36)acupoint on both sides once a day for 20 min.In contrast,the offspring rats in the dexamethasone group received intraperitoneal dexamethasone injections from postnatal day 8(1.5 mg/kg once per day for 3 days),with a later dose of 0.75 mg/kg once per day for 4 days.Following successful model establishment,four offspring per rat were retained in each group using the random number table method.Until the 21st day after the birth of the offspring,using the random number table method,one offspring randomly selected from the four retained offspring per rat in each group was assigned to growth parameter assessment including body weight,lung weight,and lung index;simultaneously,one offspring was randomly selected for pulmonary function which was detected by a small animal pulmonary function machine,with the parameters of forced vital capacity(FVC),functional residual capacity(FRC),dynamic lung compliance(Cdyn),peak expiratory flow(PEF),peak inspiratory flow(PIF),and airway resistance(RL);concurrently,one offspring was randomly selected for hematoxylin and eosin staining to observe the histomorphology of the lung tissue,alveolar numbers,and mean alveolar septal thickness;additionally,one offspring was randomly selected for Morris water maze testing to evaluate the effects of the two intervention methods on learning and memory capabilities in offspring rats with PNE.Results Compared with the control group,the body weight,lung weight,lung index,FVC,PEF,FRC,Cdyn,alveolar number,platform crossing times,target quadrant time percentage,and target quadrant path percentage in the Morris water maze experiment were significantly decreased in the offspring rats of the model group(P<0.01).In contrast,PIF,RL,average thickness of alveolar septa,and latency of the Morris water maze experiment were significantly increased in the offspring rats of the model group(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,both electroacupuncture shallow needling group and dexamethasone group exhibited significant increases in body weight,lung weight,lung index,FVC,PEF,FRC,Cdyn,and alveolar numbers(P<0.05,P<0.01),along with significant decreases in PIF,RL values,and mean alveolar septal thickness(P<0.01).However,in the Morris water maze experiment,compared with the model group,the electroacupuncture shallow needling group demonstrated significantly more platform crossing times and a higher target quadrant time percentage and target quadrant path percentage(P<0.01),coupled with reduced latency period(P<0.01),whereas the dexamethasone group showed no significant differences compared to the model group.Compared to the electroacupuncture shallow needling group,the dexamethasone group showed significantly less platform crossing times and a lower target quadrant time percentage and target quadrant path percentage,coupled with increased latency period(P<0.01).Conclusion Both electroacupuncture and dexamethasone demonstrated protective effects on lung development in PNE offspring rats by ameliorating lung histomorphology and pulmonary function.However,offspring receiving late,small-dose,short-course dexamethasone exhibited inferior learning and memory capabilities,whereas the electroacupuncture group showed significantly superior cognitive performance compared to the dexamethasone group.

Objective:To explore the dynamic change trajectory and influencing factors of postoperative fatigue (POF) in patients with early digestive tract cancer undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), so as to provide theoretical basis for individualized management of such patients.Methods:Using cross-sectional survey and convenient sampling method, the patients who underwent ESD for early cancer of digestive tract in the endoscopic center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January to June 2024 were selected as the research objects. The questionnaires were conducted at 30 min, 24 h, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days after ESD with Christensen's postoperative fatigue score. Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation between pain, insomnia and POF. The latent variable growth model was used to identify the potential categories of POF trajectory, and the influencing factors were analyzed by Logistic regression.Results:A total of 232 patients were finally induded, with ages of 19-94(59.53 ± 13.29) years, including 120 males and 112 femalss. The POF level of patients with early cancer of digestive tract showed a downward trend one week after operation. Three postoperative fatigue trajectories were fitted, 9.05% in moderate or severe fatigue low-speed smooth descent group (C1 group); 32.76% in moderate fatigue first decreased quickly and then slowly group (C2 group) and 58.19% in mild fatigue continuous decline group (C3 group). The result of Logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with C1 group, people without religious beliefs were morelikely to enter C2 group [ β = 1.572, OR = 4.818(1.033 - 22.465), P<0.05]; compared with C3 group, patients with high pain level and severe insomnia degree were likely to enter C1 [ β = 2.621, 0.663, OR were 13.754(2.692 - 70.283) and 1.942(1.429 - 2.638), both P<0.05] and C2 [ β = 2.010, 0.491, OR were 7.464(1.890 - 29.482) and 1.634(1.348 - 1.982), both P<0.05] group. Conclusions:There were three potential types of POF in patients with early digestive tract cancer ESD. Medical staff should pay attention to patients with severe insomnia, intense pain and religious beliefs, and give staged fatigue assessment and individualized intervention, so as to reduce the level of POF and promote rapid recovery.

Objective To investigate and compare the effects of electroacupuncture and dexamethasone on lung function and histomorphology and behavior in the offspring of perinatal nicotine exposure(PNE)rats.Methods Twenty-four pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control,model,electroacupuncture shallow needling,and dexamethasone groups using the random number table method(n=6 rats per group).A pulmonary dysplasia model in offspring rats with PNE was prepared by cervicodorsal subcutaneous injection with nicotine,and successful establishment of the model was confirmed by demonstrating statistically significant differences in growth parameters,lung function,and lung morphology compared to the control group.From the sixth day of maternal conception,the control group received cervicodorsal subcutaneous injection with 0.9%sodium chloride solution(1 mg/kg once per day),and the remaining groups were similarly injected with nicotine(1 mg/kg once per day).Concurrent with the nicotine injections,the electroacupuncture shallow needling group received electroacupuncture interventions at the"Zusanli"(ST 36)acupoint on both sides once a day for 20 min.In contrast,the offspring rats in the dexamethasone group received intraperitoneal dexamethasone injections from postnatal day 8(1.5 mg/kg once per day for 3 days),with a later dose of 0.75 mg/kg once per day for 4 days.Following successful model establishment,four offspring per rat were retained in each group using the random number table method.Until the 21st day after the birth of the offspring,using the random number table method,one offspring randomly selected from the four retained offspring per rat in each group was assigned to growth parameter assessment including body weight,lung weight,and lung index;simultaneously,one offspring was randomly selected for pulmonary function which was detected by a small animal pulmonary function machine,with the parameters of forced vital capacity(FVC),functional residual capacity(FRC),dynamic lung compliance(Cdyn),peak expiratory flow(PEF),peak inspiratory flow(PIF),and airway resistance(RL);concurrently,one offspring was randomly selected for hematoxylin and eosin staining to observe the histomorphology of the lung tissue,alveolar numbers,and mean alveolar septal thickness;additionally,one offspring was randomly selected for Morris water maze testing to evaluate the effects of the two intervention methods on learning and memory capabilities in offspring rats with PNE.Results Compared with the control group,the body weight,lung weight,lung index,FVC,PEF,FRC,Cdyn,alveolar number,platform crossing times,target quadrant time percentage,and target quadrant path percentage in the Morris water maze experiment were significantly decreased in the offspring rats of the model group(P<0.01).In contrast,PIF,RL,average thickness of alveolar septa,and latency of the Morris water maze experiment were significantly increased in the offspring rats of the model group(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,both electroacupuncture shallow needling group and dexamethasone group exhibited significant increases in body weight,lung weight,lung index,FVC,PEF,FRC,Cdyn,and alveolar numbers(P<0.05,P<0.01),along with significant decreases in PIF,RL values,and mean alveolar septal thickness(P<0.01).However,in the Morris water maze experiment,compared with the model group,the electroacupuncture shallow needling group demonstrated significantly more platform crossing times and a higher target quadrant time percentage and target quadrant path percentage(P<0.01),coupled with reduced latency period(P<0.01),whereas the dexamethasone group showed no significant differences compared to the model group.Compared to the electroacupuncture shallow needling group,the dexamethasone group showed significantly less platform crossing times and a lower target quadrant time percentage and target quadrant path percentage,coupled with increased latency period(P<0.01).Conclusion Both electroacupuncture and dexamethasone demonstrated protective effects on lung development in PNE offspring rats by ameliorating lung histomorphology and pulmonary function.However,offspring receiving late,small-dose,short-course dexamethasone exhibited inferior learning and memory capabilities,whereas the electroacupuncture group showed significantly superior cognitive performance compared to the dexamethasone group.

Objective:To explore the dynamic change trajectory and influencing factors of postoperative fatigue (POF) in patients with early digestive tract cancer undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), so as to provide theoretical basis for individualized management of such patients.Methods:Using cross-sectional survey and convenient sampling method, the patients who underwent ESD for early cancer of digestive tract in the endoscopic center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January to June 2024 were selected as the research objects. The questionnaires were conducted at 30 min, 24 h, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days after ESD with Christensen's postoperative fatigue score. Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation between pain, insomnia and POF. The latent variable growth model was used to identify the potential categories of POF trajectory, and the influencing factors were analyzed by Logistic regression.Results:A total of 232 patients were finally induded, with ages of 19-94(59.53 ± 13.29) years, including 120 males and 112 femalss. The POF level of patients with early cancer of digestive tract showed a downward trend one week after operation. Three postoperative fatigue trajectories were fitted, 9.05% in moderate or severe fatigue low-speed smooth descent group (C1 group); 32.76% in moderate fatigue first decreased quickly and then slowly group (C2 group) and 58.19% in mild fatigue continuous decline group (C3 group). The result of Logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with C1 group, people without religious beliefs were morelikely to enter C2 group [ β = 1.572, OR = 4.818(1.033 - 22.465), P<0.05]; compared with C3 group, patients with high pain level and severe insomnia degree were likely to enter C1 [ β = 2.621, 0.663, OR were 13.754(2.692 - 70.283) and 1.942(1.429 - 2.638), both P<0.05] and C2 [ β = 2.010, 0.491, OR were 7.464(1.890 - 29.482) and 1.634(1.348 - 1.982), both P<0.05] group. Conclusions:There were three potential types of POF in patients with early digestive tract cancer ESD. Medical staff should pay attention to patients with severe insomnia, intense pain and religious beliefs, and give staged fatigue assessment and individualized intervention, so as to reduce the level of POF and promote rapid recovery.

Coronary restenosis is an important cause of poor long-term prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease. Here, we show that lysine methyltransferase SMYD2 expression in the nucleus is significantly elevated in serum- and PDGF-BB-induced vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and in tissues of carotid artery injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia. Smyd2 overexpression in VSMCs (Smyd2-vTg) facilitates, but treatment with its specific inhibitor LLY-507 or SMYD2 knockdown significantly inhibits VSMC phenotypic switching and carotid artery injury-induced neointima formation in mice. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that SMYD2 knockdown represses the expression of serum response factor (SRF) target genes and that SRF overexpression largely reverses the inhibitory effect of SMYD2 knockdown on VSMC proliferation. HDAC3 directly interacts with and deacetylates SRF, which enhances SRF transcriptional activity in VSMCs. Moreover, SMYD2 promotes HDAC3 expression via tri-methylation of H3K36 at its promoter. RGFP966, a specific inhibitor of HDAC3, not only counteracts the pro-proliferation effect of SMYD2 overexpression on VSMCs, but also inhibits carotid artery injury-induced neointima formation in mice. HDAC3 partially abolishes the inhibitory effect of SMYD2 knockdown on VSMC proliferation in a deacetylase activity-dependent manner. Our results reveal that the SMYD2-HDAC3-SRF axis constitutes a novel and critical epigenetic mechanism that regulates VSMC phenotypic switching and neointimal hyperplasia.

Anesthesia machines are important auxiliary equipment for clinical anesthesia. Doctors and engineers should actively grasp the key technical progress in anesthesia equipment and deal with the problems and risks associated with its use. To summarize and analyze the clinical progress and application trends of key anesthesia technologies,such as automatic detection of anesthesia equipment,low flow,target control,depth prediction,lung protection and the combination of static and inhalation anesthesia,and to discuss thinking of fault analysis,formulation of maintenance strategy,and troubleshooting methods by combining hardware and software based on common faults of anesthesia equipment and maintenance examples. The aim is to provide thinking for reducing the workload and improve the quality of medical care of medical institutions,and to provide partial guidance for doctors and engineers working in medical institutions.

Anesthesia machines are important auxiliary equipment for clinical anesthesia. Doctors and engineers should actively grasp the key technical progress in anesthesia equipment and deal with the problems and risks associated with its use. To summarize and analyze the clinical progress and application trends of key anesthesia technologies,such as automatic detection of anesthesia equipment,low flow,target control,depth prediction,lung protection and the combination of static and inhalation anesthesia,and to discuss thinking of fault analysis,formulation of maintenance strategy,and troubleshooting methods by combining hardware and software based on common faults of anesthesia equipment and maintenance examples. The aim is to provide thinking for reducing the workload and improve the quality of medical care of medical institutions,and to provide partial guidance for doctors and engineers working in medical institutions.

ObjectiveTo understand the current research status, research hotspots and development trends of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) in the field of rehabilitation. MethodsThe relevant articles of CIMT in rehabilitation from January, 2000 to October, 2022 in CNKI and Web of Science were retrieved. The authors, institutions, countries, keywords and burst words were extracted with CiteSpace 6.1.R3 to draw knowledge mapping. ResultsA total of 1 165 articles were included, 359 articles in Chinese and 806 in English. The trend of annual publications was generally consistent, and after a period of rapid growth, the current annual publications showed a fluctuating trend. There was more cooperation among the institutions in English articles, with geographical limitation. The institutions in Chinese articles had the problem of insufficient cooperation. The researches mainly focused on the application of CIMT in different diseases, the improvement of motor function by CIMT, the application of CIMT in combination with other therapies, and the study of the related mechanisms of CIMT. In recent years, Chinese burst keywords included modified constraint-induced movement therapy, stroke hemiparesis, clinical efficacy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; English burst keywords included transcranial direct current stimulation, non-invasive brain stimulation, and unilateral cerebral palsy. ConclusionResearch on CIMT in the field of rehabilitation is in a period of steady development, and CIMT combined with non-invasive brain stimulation is likely to be a hotspot in future research.

People as third-party observers, without direct self-interest, may punish norm violators to maintain social norms. However, third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame (i.e., verbally describe) a norm violation. We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon, which we call the "third-party framing effect". In these experiments, participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain (described as "harming others" in one condition and "not helping others" in the other condition), then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost. Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame, manifesting a framing effect. Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect. Meanwhile, activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect; the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect. These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.
Empathy ; Female ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Humans ; Neuroimaging ; Pain ; Punishment/psychology*