OBJECTIVES: Patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) have a high incidence of cardiac involvement, which often presents insidiously and can progress rapidly, making it one of the leading causes of death. Multiparametric cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) provides a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of myocardial injury and is emerging as a valuable tool for detecting cardiac involvement in CTD. This study aims to investigate the correlations between CMR features and serological biomarkers in CTD patients, assess their potential clinical value, and further explore the impact of pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity on CMR-specific parameters, thereby evaluating the role of CMR in the early diagnosis of CTD-related cardiac involvement. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 72 consecutive CTD patients who underwent CMR at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between September 2019 and March 2024. Clinical data, serological markers, and CMR parameters were collected. Differences in CMR parameters were compared between CTD patients with positive and negative serological markers. Correlations between serological biomarkers and CMR parameters were analyzed, with subgroup analyses performed for different CTD subtypes. Logistic regression (univariate and multivariate) was applied to explore the effects of pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity on CMR parameters, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoff values. RESULTS: In differential analyses, CTD patients with elevated interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 levels exhibited significantly higher myocardial T₂ values compared with those with normal levels (P=0.014, P=0.012). Elevated IL-10 was associated with a higher prevalence of microvascular lesions on CMR (P=0.038). Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and T₂ values (r=0.371, P=0.009). ROC analysis indicated that when the hs-cTnT threshold was 0.01 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting elevated left ventricular T₂ values were 85.71% and 61.11%, respectively [area under the curve (AUC)=0.767, P=0.001]. hs-cTnT and creatine kinase (CK) were also positively correlated with native T₁ values (r=0.371, P=0.009; r=0.364, P=0.032). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) showed a positive correlation with the percentage of the late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (r=0.236, P=0.047). Conversely, hs-cTnT correlated negatively with global radial strain (GRS) (r=-0.297, P=0.034), while CK correlated negatively with both GRS and global circumferential strain (GCS) (r=-0.292, P=0.022; r=-0.282, P=0.027). Among patients with elevated hs-cTnT, the cumulative glucocorticoid dose prior to CMR was negatively associated with elevated T₂ values (OR=0.997, P=0.018), and this correlation remained significant after adjusting for duration of steroid use (OR=0.997, P=0.044). ROC analysis showed that when the cumulative glucocorticoid dose did not exceed 613 mg/mL (prednisone equivalent), the sensitivity and specificity for predicting elevated T₂ values were 90.48% and 77.78%, respectively (AUC=0.862, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Several inflammatory biomarkers demonstrate correlations with specific CMR parameters, with hs-cTnT showing the strongest associations across multiple indices. Elevated hs-cTnT suggests a high likelihood of cardiac involvement in CTD patients. Furthermore, pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity significantly influences the specificity of T₂ mapping, indicating its importance in interpreting CMR results. These findings provide critical insights for clinicians in the early recognition, timely intervention, and disease evaluation. Future research should further explore the role of CMR in the assessment of CTD-related cardiac assessment of CTD-related cardiac involvement. Future studies should further explore the role of CMR in evaluating CTD cardiac manifestations and its integration with other clinical data to optimize patient management.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Connective Tissue Diseases/blood* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; ROC Curve ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Troponin T/blood*

Accurate and efficient methods for identifying and tracking each animal in a group are needed to study complex behaviors and social interactions. Traditional tracking methods (e.g., marking each animal with dye or surgically implanting microchips) can be invasive and may have an impact on the social behavior being measured. To overcome these shortcomings, video-based methods for tracking unmarked animals, such as fruit flies and zebrafish, have been developed. However, tracking individual mice in a group remains a challenging problem because of their flexible body and complicated interaction patterns. In this study, we report the development of a multi-object tracker for mice that uses the Faster region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) deep learning algorithm with geometric transformations in combination with multi-camera/multi-image fusion technology. The system successfully tracked every individual in groups of unmarked mice and was applied to investigate chasing behavior. The proposed system constitutes a step forward in the noninvasive tracking of individual mice engaged in social behavior.
Animals ; Mice ; Deep Learning ; Zebrafish ; Algorithms ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Social Behavior

Many people affected by fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorders have sensory processing deficits, such as hypersensitivity to auditory, tactile, and visual stimuli. Like FXS in humans, loss of Fmr1 in rodents also cause sensory, behavioral, and cognitive deficits. However, the neural mechanisms underlying sensory impairment, especially vision impairment, remain unclear. It remains elusive whether the visual processing deficits originate from corrupted inputs, impaired perception in the primary sensory cortex, or altered integration in the higher cortex, and there is no effective treatment. In this study, we used a genetic knockout mouse model (Fmr1^KO), in vivo imaging, and behavioral measurements to show that the loss of Fmr1 impaired signal processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). Specifically, Fmr1^KO mice showed enhanced responses to low-intensity stimuli but normal responses to high-intensity stimuli. This abnormality was accompanied by enhancements in local network connectivity in V1 microcircuits and increased dendritic complexity of V1 neurons. These effects were ameliorated by the acute application of GABA_A receptor activators, which enhanced the activity of inhibitory neurons, or by reintroducing Fmr1 gene expression in knockout V1 neurons in both juvenile and young-adult mice. Overall, V1 plays an important role in the visual abnormalities of Fmr1^KO mice and it could be possible to rescue the sensory disturbances in developed FXS and autism patients.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein/metabolism* ; Fragile X Syndrome/metabolism* ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Neurons/metabolism*

OBJECTIVETo establish a RP-HPLC method to determine the pharmacokinetics of ferulaic acid of ferulaic acid, Rhizoma Chuanxiong extraction and Naodesheng capsule in rat and assess the effect of other components in medical material and in compound on the pharmacokinetics of ferulaic acid.

METHODThe rats were orally treated with referential ferulaic acid, Rhizoma Chuanxiong extraction and Naodesheng capsule repectively. Blood samples were collected by cutting rats tails. Plasma was separated by centrifugation at 10,000 r x min(-1) for 10 min, and two-times methanol in volume was added to deposit proteins. After centrifugation, the upper liquid was transferred to filter. The concentration of ferulaic acid in serum was determined by RP-HPLC. The stationary phase was C18, and methanol-0.5% acetic acid (30:70) was taken as the mobile phase, A UV detector was used at 320 nm. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with 3p97 program.

RESULTA good linear relationship of ferulaic acid was obtained from 0.05-1 mg x L(-1), the lowest limits of determination were 13 microg x L(-1). The plasma concentration-time curves of ferulaic acid were fitted with two-compartment models properly. The pharmacokinetics parameterst AUC(0-t), Cmax, CL of ferulaic acid showed significant differences between referential group and the other groups.

CONCLUSIONThe method applied for determination of ferulaic acid content in blood was simple, accurate and feasible for the study of ferulaic acid pharmacokinetics in rats. The results indicated that the other ingredients of Rhizoma Chuanxiong had remarkable influence on the pharmacokinetics of ferulaic acid. However, compatibility promotes the ferulic's absorption, enhances the ferulic's biological exploitability.

Animals ; Capsules ; Coumaric Acids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Pinellia ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To report the clinical effect,characteristic and functional recovery of replantation of amputated pediphalanx. Methods Sixty cases (70 toes) of amputated toes had been taken the replantation which methods were anterograde and changing postural. Results Sixty-eight were successful in all the 70 amputated toes.The survival rate was 97%.The shape of replanted toes was good.About the range of flexion,the great toes were 25?～60? and the second and third toes were 36?～85?.The two-point discrimination on the toe tip was 1.1～1.8 mm.In the gait 60 cases had been normal and 10 cases had closed to normal. Conclusion The replantation of amputated toe must be performed with taking great pains.The successful operation can reduce the degree of disability of patient and remain the function and shape of the foot.To raise the rate of success of the operation,the skilled technology of microsurgery was the most important.