Fear memory contextualization is critical for selecting adaptive behavior to survive. Contextual fear conditioning (CFC) is a classical model for elucidating related underlying neuronal circuits. The primary visual cortex (V1) is the primary cortical region for contextual visual inputs, but its role in CFC is poorly understood. Here, our experiments demonstrated that bilateral inactivation of V1 in mice impaired CFC retrieval, and both CFC learning and extinction increased the turnover rate of axonal boutons in V1. The frequency of neuronal Ca²⁺ activity decreased after CFC learning, while CFC extinction reversed the decrease and raised it to the naïve level. Contrary to control mice, the frequency of neuronal Ca²⁺ activity increased after CFC learning in microglia-depleted mice and was maintained after CFC extinction, indicating that microglial depletion alters CFC learning and the frequency response pattern of extinction-induced Ca²⁺ activity. These findings reveal a critical role of microglia in neocortical information processing in V1, and suggest potential approaches for cellular-based manipulation of acquired fear memory.
Mice ; Animals ; Primary Visual Cortex ; Extinction, Psychological/physiology* ; Learning/physiology* ; Fear/physiology* ; Hippocampus/physiology*

ObjectiveIn the treatment of acute gouty arthritis （AGA）， western medicine is mostly used for anti-inflammatory and analgesic purposes to control the blood uric acid level， but some patients are still at risk of poor control and recurrent attacks. Chinese medicinal prescriptions， potent in resisting inflammation and relieving pain， are able to stabilize the blood uric acid level， reduce acute attacks， and improve the clinical efficacy of western medicine. However， there is a lack of evidence to support their use as evidence-based medicine. This study employed network Meta-analysis （NMA） to evaluate the efficacy and safety of common Chinese medicinal prescriptions in the treatment of AGA， aiming to provide evidence-based medical evidence for the clinical use of Chinese medicinal prescriptions in the treatment of AGA. MethodChinese and English databases were searched for prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials （RCTs） on Chinese medicinal prescriptions against AGA from database inception to December 1， 2022. Stata software and Review Manager were used for statistical analysis. ResultForty-four papers with 3 564 cases involved were included in the current NMA. In terms of reducing blood uric acid， the cumulative probability results showed that Mahuang Lianyao Chixiaodou Tang showed optimal efficacy （87.60%）. In terms of relieving joint pain， Danggui Niantongtang and Guizhi Shaoyao Zhimutang showed optimal efficacy （92.00% and 82.30%）. In terms of improving erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR）， Simiaowan was superior to other prescriptions （87.00%）. In terms of reducing C-reactive protein （CRP）， Simiaowan and Baihutang modified with Guizhitang showed superior efficacy （76.00% and 66.10%）. In terms of safety， except for the basic treatment group， Mahuang Lianyao Chixiaodou Tang had the lowest probability of adverse events， and Danggui Niantongtang had the highest probability of adverse reactions during treatment. According to the results of cluster analysis， Mahuang Lianyao Chixiaodou Tang and Simiaowan are effective and safe. ConclusionAccording to the results of NMA， Chinese medicinal prescriptions can assist in the treatment of AGA and improve the effectiveness of western medicine. For patients with AGA， clinicians can choose Mahuang Lianyao Chixiaodou Tang or Simiaowan as an auxiliary drug for routine western medicine treatment.

Loofah seeds ribosome inactivating protein luffin-α was fused with a tumor-targeting peptide NGR to create a recombinant protein, and its inhibitory activity on tumor cells and angiogenesis were assessed. luffin-α-NGR fusion gene was obtained by PCR amplification. The fusion gene was ligated with pGEX-6p-1 vector to create a recombinant plasmid pGEX-6p-1/luffin-α-NGR. The plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21, and the target protein was isolated and purified by GST affinity chromatography. The luffin-α-NGR fusion gene with a full length of 849 bp was successfully obtained, and the optimal soluble expression of the target protein was achieved under the conditions of 16 ℃, 0.5 mmol/L IPTG after 16 h induction. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting confirmed the recombinant protein has an expected molecular weight of 56.6 kDa. Subsequently, the recombinant protein was de-tagged by precision protease digestion. The inhibitory effects of the recombinant protein on liver tumor cells HepG2 and breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 were significantly stronger than that of luffin-α. The Transwell and CAM experiment proved that the recombinant protein luffin-α-NGR also had a significant inhibitory effect on tumor cells migration and neovascularization. The inhibitory activity on tumor cells and angiogenesis of the recombinant luffin-α-NGR protein lays a foundation for the development of subsequent recombinant tumor-targeting drugs.
Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Plasmids ; Recombinant Proteins/pharmacology* ; Saporins/metabolism*

Objective To compare the sensitivity and specificity of dot immunogold method (DIM) and particle agglutination (PA) for the diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection. Methods The 190 serum specimens of 113 children with mycoplasmal pneumonia (infection group) and 50 serum specimens of 50 health children (health group) were tested for MP by PA and DIM- A and B. Results In infection group, the positive rates of DIM- A and B were 82.63% (157/190) and 84.74%(161/190), and there was no statistical difference (χ2 = 0.31, P>0.05); the positive rate of PA (titer ≥1:160) was 70.00%(133/190), the positive rate of PA was significantly lower than that in DIM-A and B, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05). In infection group, with the increase of PA titer, the positive rate of DIM was gradually increased, and there was a correlation between 2 methods (rA=0.972, rB=0.830);the positive rates of DIM- A and B in serum specimens of PA negative were 40.62%(13/32) and 53.12%(17/32), and in the PA titer of 1:5120, there was still a negative result in DIM. In health group, the positive rates of DIM-A and B were 26.00% (13/50) and 28.00% (14/50), and there was no statistical difference (χ2 = 0.66, P>0.05); the positive of PA was 8.00% (4/50), the positive rate of PA was significantly lower than that in DIM- A and B, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05 or<0.01). Conclusions Compared with the PA, DIM has low sensitivity and poor specificity for clinical diagnosis. DIM is not suitable for clinical diagnosis of MP infection.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum plasma brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP ) levels and myocardial injury in neoborns after asphyxia. Methods Neoborns who were admitted to Department of neonatology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University from December 2012 to December 2013 within 3 days after birth were considered. According to the number organized in chronological order every other case, newborns with neonatal asphyxia were assigned to observation group. The observation group were further divided into myocardial injury subgroup and non-cardiac injury subgroup according to the diagnostic criteria of myocardial injury. Newborns without neonatal asphyxia or neonatal cardiovascular diseases were assigned to control group. Exclusion criteria for control group were electrolyte disturbance, liver and kidney dysfunction. Blood sample was drawn from patients within 2 hours of admission to hospital and again on day 14. Serum BNP , creatine kinase isoenzyme ( CK-MB) , serum sodium and calcium were detected for further analysis. Results In 107 cases with neonatal asphyxia, 77 infants who had complete clinical records were selected as observation group, of which 36 met the diagnostic criteria of myocardial injury and assigned to myocardial injury subgroup. Non-cardiac injury subgroup consisted of the rest 41 cases in observation group. Twenty-two cases were enrolled to control group. Within 2 hours after admission, the serum BNP level of myocardial injury subgroup were significantly higher than those of the non-cardiac injury subgroup and the control group ( 2. 35 ± 0. 44 , 2. 12±0. 64, 1. 88±0. 27, log transformed, respectively, P＜0. 05). The BNP level of non-cardiac injury subgroup were also significantly higher than those of the control group. Serum BNP and CK-MB levels of observation group were positively correlated (r=0. 212,P=0. 030). After treatment, serum BNP level of myocardial injury subgroup at 14 days after admission decreased significantly, compared to the level at 2 hours within admission (P＜0. 05). When the cutoff value for infants with myocardial injury was 108. 05 pg/mL, the area under the ROC curve was 0. 753, with a sensitivity of 75. 0％ and a specificity of 64. 5％, positive predictive value was 56. 4％ and negative predictive value was 72. 3％. Conclusions Serum BNP level can reflect myocardial injury in neonates with asphyxia and can guide clinical treatment.

Objective To explore the association between urinary microalbumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in hypertensive patients.Methods A total of 877 primary hypertension patients were enrolled in this trial from September 2009 to December 2012,and were randomly recruited and patients were divided into normal ACR group (ACR ＜ 30 mg/g,n =723),microalbuminuria group (30 mg/g ≤ ACR ＜ 300 mg/g,n =136) and macro-albuminuria group (ACR ≥300 mg/g,n =18).baPWV was measure by automatic pulse wave velocity measuring system.Results The baPWV values in patients of micro-albuminuria group and macro-albuminuria group were significantly higher than in the normal ACR group (all P ＜ 0.05).The baPWV value of macro-albuminuria group was significantly higher than in the micro-albuminuria group (P ＜ 0.05).Linear correlation analysis revealed that ACR was positively correlated with baPWV (r =0.413,P ＜ 0.01).Multiple linear regression analysis showed that ACR independently correlated with baPWV in patients with primary hypertension (β =0.29,R2 =0.112,P ＜ 0.01) after adjusting for age,sex,body mass index,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,blood glucose,total cholesterol,low density lipoprotein,high density lipoprotein and triglyceride.Using ACR ＜ 30 mg/g and ACR ≥ 30 mg/g as dichotomous variable,binary logistic regression analysis showed that ACR≥30 mg/g was also a risk factor of the ascending baPWV in primary hypertension patients (OR:1.73,95％ CI:1.62-2.98) after adjusting the traditional cardiovascular risk factors.Conclusion ACR is positively correlated to baPWV in primary hypertension patients,and the ascending baPWV is a risk factor of early renal dysfunction in primary hypertension patients.

Objective To investigate the clinical effects of TCM herbs and enema in the treatment of recurrent uterine endometriosis and control of endometriosis recurrence.Methods The recurrent endometriosis patients were randomly divided into two groups,35 cases were treated with TCM herbs and Chinese medicine enema as the observation group,35 ninhydrin treatment of patients with pregnancy-ene as the control group,two groups of patients were treated for six months,the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were observed.Results After treatment,VRS scores compared with the corresponding group before treatment was significantly lower.VRS scores in the observation group after treatment was significantly lower than the control group.The amenorrhea rate was significantly higher than control group,the complex tidal time at the end of treatment compared with the control group was significantly shorter,the observation group,no case of adverse reactions,the control group,patients experienced adverse events,observation group 4 cases(8.57％) recurrence,in the control group of 10 cases(28.57％) relapse,the difference between the two groups were statistically significant,The patients treatment of 30 cases of lesions decreased in size,the control group,had 28 cases of lesions smaller in size,there was no significant difference.Condtusion Chinese herbal enema and topical treatment of recurrent uterine endometriosis had significant efficacy,no adverse reactions,late recurrence is low.

Objective To explore the effect of proximal femoral intramedullary nail with anti-rotation (PFNA) in old patients with intertrochanteric fractures.Methods 82 patients with proximal femoral fractures were randomly divided into the control group(41 cases) and the observation group(41 cases).The patients in the control group were operated through DHS steel plate,while the patients in the observation group were operated through PFNA.After followed-up for six months,the function of hip joint and quality of life (QOL) of patients were compared between two groups.Results There wasn't any serious complications in two groups.The excellent and good rate was 90.2％ in the observation group and 75.6％ in the control group,there was significant difference between the two groups (x2 =4.100,P ＜ 0.05).The QOL after operation was increased in two groups,and the QOL in the observation group was higher than that in the control group(t =4.752,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion The proximal femoral intramedullary nail with anti-rotation in treatment of old patients with intertrochanteric fractures can not only raise surgical treatment,but also improve QOL.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of 3'-methoxy puerarin on cerebral infarction volume and free radical change of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and discuss the protective effect of 3'-methoxy puerarin on the cerebral ischemic/ reperfusion injury.

METHODThe thread method was used to induce middle cerebral artery embolization, to establish the focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model. Rats were divided into five groups: the sham and model group, the two-dose group (5, 10 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) of 3'-methoxy puerarin and nimodipine group (5 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)). The behavior changes and volume of cerebral infarction were observed, and the leves of SOD and the content of MDA were measured.

RESULT3'-methoxy puerarin could significantly improve the symptoms of neurological deficit and reduce the infarct volume, and increased SOD activity and reduced the content of MDA of cortex in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rat, the action of 10 mg x kg(-1) of 3'-methoxy puerarin is more remarkable.

CONCLUSION3'-methoxy puerarin has protective effect on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat.

Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVE To study the isolation status and antimicrobial resistance of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli collected from intensive care unit(ICU) of our hospital so as to instruct the rational clinical application of antibiotics.METHODS The antimicrobial resistance of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli isolates collected from patients in ICU from Jan 2003 to Dec 2007 was analyzed.Antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates were tested by Kirby-Bauer method.RESULTS Total 384 nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli isolates were collected in 5 years.The most common species were Acinetobacter baumannii(219),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(117) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilla(36).The antimicrobial resistance rate of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacterial to most antibiotics were much higher.The antimicrobial resistance rate of Acinetobacter spp to imipenem,cefoperazone/sulbactam and piperacillin/tazobactam was 3.7%,28.3% and 42.9%.But the resistance rate of Acinetobacter spp to imipenem was increased in recent 2 years(58.0%).The antimicrobial resistance rate of P.aeruginosa to cefoperazone/sulbactam was the lowest.That of imipenem-resistant P.aeruginosa to cefoperazone/sulbactam was 34.0%.S.maltophilla was relatively susceptible to ceftazidime,cefoperazone/sulbactam and piperacillin/tazobactam.CONCLUSIONS Nonfermenters Gram-negative bacilli are the important pathogens in ICU.Surveillance of their prevalence and drug resistance may provide evidences for rational antibiotic choices.