Humans and animals have a fundamental ability to use experiences and environmental information to organize behavior. It often happens that humans and animals make decisions and prepare actions under uncertain situations. Uncertainty would significantly affect the state of animals' minds, but may not be reflected in behavior. How to "read animals' mind state" under different situations is a challenge. Here, we report that neuronal activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats can reflect the environmental uncertainty when the task situation changes from certain to uncertain. Rats were trained to perform behavioral tasks under certain and uncertain situations. Under certain situations, rats were required to simply repeat two nose-poking actions that each triggered short auditory tone feedback (single-task situation). Whereas under the uncertain situation, the feedback could randomly be either the previous tone or a short musical rhythm. No additional action was required upon the music feedback, and the same secondary nose-poking action was required upon the tone feedback (dual-task situation); therefore, the coming task was uncertain before action initiation. We recorded single-unit activity from the mPFC when the rats were performing the tasks. We found that in the dual task, when uncertainty was introduced, many mPFC neurons were actively engaged in dealing with the uncertainty before the task initiation, suggesting that the rats could be aware of the task situation change and encode the information in the mPFC before the action of task initiation.
Animals ; Prefrontal Cortex/cytology* ; Uncertainty ; Neurons/physiology* ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Long-Evans ; Action Potentials/physiology* ; Acoustic Stimulation

Speech prosody is a supra segmental feature of voice,which plays an important role in daily com-munication.Cochlear implantation(CI)can help the hearing-impaired children to normalize their speech,but CI children still have varying degrees of speech prosody obstacles.This paper summarizes the perception,production characteristics and intervention strategies of CI children's speech prosody at home and abroad,in order to attract the attention of education,medical,rehabilitation and academic fields to CI children's speech prosody research,and to provide reference for future intervention of CI children's speech prosody.

Objective To investigate the effectiveness and safety of infarct core resection combined with decompressive craniectomy(DC)based on corticospinal tract(CST)protection in the treatment of massive cerebral infarction(MCI)with malignant brain edema.Methods This study retrospectively enrolled MCI patients with malignant brain edema who underwent internal decompression combined with DC at Xingtai Central Hospital from January 2021 to June 2024.The enrolled patients were divided into a control group and an experimental group base on the intracranial internal decompression method used.All patients underwent CT perfusion(CTP),CT angiography(CTA),diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI),and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)within 24 h of admission.Preoperative imaging data was automatically processed using an artificial intelligence diagnostic system.For the experimental group,the imaging data was fused within a neuro-navigation system preoperatively to visualize the spatial relationships between the infarct core,ischemic penumbra,and CST and infarct core resection combined with DC was performed while protecting the CST through neuro-navigation.The control group underwent anterior temporal lobectomy combined with DC.Baseline and clinical data were collected from both groups,including gender,age,smoking history,alcohol consumption history,diabetes,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,hyperhomocysteinemia,atrial fibrillation history,responsible occluded vessel(internal carotid artery,middle cerebral artery),preoperative infarct volume on DWI,preoperative ischemic penumbra volume,preoperative the National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS)score,time from onset to surgery,intraoperative procedure duration,intraoperative blood loss,preoperative and 1-month postoperative fraction anisotropy(FA)values of the CST on the affected side,modified Rankin scale(mRS)score at 6 months postoperatively,and surgery-related complications within 1 month postoperatively(intracranial hemorrhage[operative site oozing,hemorrhagic transformation]and intracranial infection[surgical incision site infection,empyema,brain abscess,meningitis]).6-month follow-up after surgery were conducted through outpatient visit or telephone calls and prognosis of patients was evaluated using the mRS(with mRS of 0-3 defined as good prognosis,4-6 as poor prognosis,and 6 indicating death).The effectiveness indicators included FA value of the affected CST at 1 month postoperatively,good prognosis rate after surgery at 6 months,and 6-month mortality rate after surgery.The safety indicators included the incidence rates of surgical complications(intracranial hemorrhage and infection)within 1 month postoperatively.Based on preoperative DTI images,all patients were further divided into a CST-intact(infarct core did not invade CST,CST morphology intact or deformed/shifted)and a CST-damaged(infarct core invaded CST,CST disrupted or interrupted)subgroup for analysis.Results A total of 62patients(37 males,25 females,age 49-60 years,mean[55±4]years)were enrolled in this study.With 28 patients in the experimental group and 34 in the control group.(1)No significant differences were found in baseline or clinical data between the experimental and control groups(all P＞0.05),and the reoperative FA values of the affected CST were showed no significant differences(P=0.588).(2)The efficacy and safety metrics were evaluated.For the efficacy indices,at 1 month after the surgery,FA values of the affected CST increased significantly compared to preoperative values in both groups(0.409±0.051 vs.0.312±0.052 in the experimental group,and,0.381±0.048 vs.0.319±0.049 in control group;both P＜0.05),and the FA value was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group(0.409±0.051 vs.0.381±0.048,P=0.030).At the 6-month follow-ups,the good prognosis rate was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group(39.3％[11/28]vs.14.7％[5/34],P=0.028).No significant difference in the 6-month mortality rate were observed between the two groups(P=0.787).For the safety indices,no significant differences were found in the incidence rates of intracranial hemorrhage or intracranial infection within 1 month postoperatively between the two groups(both P＞0.05).(3)For further subgroup analysis,no significant differences were found in baseline or clinical data between the CST-damaged subgroup and the CST-intact subgroup in both the experimental and control groups(all P＞0.05).In CST-intact subgroup,FA values of the affected CST increased significantly at 1 month postoperatively compared to preoperatively in the study group(0.428±0.047 vs.0.342±0.045,P＜0.05)and the control group(0.401±0.051 vs.0.347±0.048,P＜0.05).While in the CST-damaged subgroup,no significant differences were found in FA value of the affected CST 1 month postoperatively compared with that preoperatively in both the experimental and control groups(bothP＞0.05).A significantly higher FA values 1 month postoperatively(0.428±0.047 vs.0.401±0.051,P=0.036)and good prognosis rate(9/12 vs.4/16,P=0.020)were observed in the CST-intact subgroup of the experimental group comparing with that of the control group,while there was no statistically significant difference in the 6-month mortality rate between the groups within the CST-intact subgroup(P=1.000).There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in both efficacy and safety indices within the CST-damaged subgroup(all P＞0.05).Conclusions Infarct core resection combining DC with CST protection demonstrates superior neurological functional improvement in comparison with anterior temporal lobectomy combining DC in treating MCI with malignant brain edema,particularly for patients with an intact CST before surgery(as indicated in patients'preoperative imaging results).This(infarct core resection combining DC with CST protection)approach does not increase the incidence of surgical complications.Prospective large sample controlled studies are required for further validation.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of internal decompression based on white matter tract preservation in the treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction(MMCAI).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 54 patients with MMCAI.Patients were divided into a study group(n=26)and a control group(n=28)according to the surgical approach.Patients in the study group underwent preoperative fusion of CT,CTP,DWI,and DTI imaging data within a neuronavigation system.This fusion visualized the spatial relationships between the infarct core(IC),ischemic penumbra,and the corticospinal tract(CST).Subsequently,IC resection combined with decompressive craniectomy(DC)was performed while protecting the CST.Patients in the control group underwent DC alone.Key outcome measures included:changes in fractional anisotropy(FA)within the affected CST projection area at 1 month postoperatively;and 6-month postoperative mRS score,mortality,and surgical complications at 6 months postoperatively.Results At 1 month postoperatively,FA in the affected CST projection area were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group(0.092±0.013 vs.0.082±0.008,P<0.05).At the 6-month follow-up,the postoperative mRS score in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group[2.3(1.3,4.5)vs.3.9(2.4,5.5),P<0.05]and a lower mortality rate(11.5%vs.39.3%,P<0.05)compared to the control group.However,there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of postoperative intracranial hemorrhage,intracranial infection,or epilepsy(P>0.05).Conclusion Internal decompression based on white matter tract protection combined with DC can reduce mortality and contribute to improving function outcomes in patients with MMCAI.

Speech prosody is a supra segmental feature of voice,which plays an important role in daily com-munication.Cochlear implantation(CI)can help the hearing-impaired children to normalize their speech,but CI children still have varying degrees of speech prosody obstacles.This paper summarizes the perception,production characteristics and intervention strategies of CI children's speech prosody at home and abroad,in order to attract the attention of education,medical,rehabilitation and academic fields to CI children's speech prosody research,and to provide reference for future intervention of CI children's speech prosody.

Objective To investigate the effectiveness and safety of infarct core resection combined with decompressive craniectomy(DC)based on corticospinal tract(CST)protection in the treatment of massive cerebral infarction(MCI)with malignant brain edema.Methods This study retrospectively enrolled MCI patients with malignant brain edema who underwent internal decompression combined with DC at Xingtai Central Hospital from January 2021 to June 2024.The enrolled patients were divided into a control group and an experimental group base on the intracranial internal decompression method used.All patients underwent CT perfusion(CTP),CT angiography(CTA),diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI),and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)within 24 h of admission.Preoperative imaging data was automatically processed using an artificial intelligence diagnostic system.For the experimental group,the imaging data was fused within a neuro-navigation system preoperatively to visualize the spatial relationships between the infarct core,ischemic penumbra,and CST and infarct core resection combined with DC was performed while protecting the CST through neuro-navigation.The control group underwent anterior temporal lobectomy combined with DC.Baseline and clinical data were collected from both groups,including gender,age,smoking history,alcohol consumption history,diabetes,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,hyperhomocysteinemia,atrial fibrillation history,responsible occluded vessel(internal carotid artery,middle cerebral artery),preoperative infarct volume on DWI,preoperative ischemic penumbra volume,preoperative the National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS)score,time from onset to surgery,intraoperative procedure duration,intraoperative blood loss,preoperative and 1-month postoperative fraction anisotropy(FA)values of the CST on the affected side,modified Rankin scale(mRS)score at 6 months postoperatively,and surgery-related complications within 1 month postoperatively(intracranial hemorrhage[operative site oozing,hemorrhagic transformation]and intracranial infection[surgical incision site infection,empyema,brain abscess,meningitis]).6-month follow-up after surgery were conducted through outpatient visit or telephone calls and prognosis of patients was evaluated using the mRS(with mRS of 0-3 defined as good prognosis,4-6 as poor prognosis,and 6 indicating death).The effectiveness indicators included FA value of the affected CST at 1 month postoperatively,good prognosis rate after surgery at 6 months,and 6-month mortality rate after surgery.The safety indicators included the incidence rates of surgical complications(intracranial hemorrhage and infection)within 1 month postoperatively.Based on preoperative DTI images,all patients were further divided into a CST-intact(infarct core did not invade CST,CST morphology intact or deformed/shifted)and a CST-damaged(infarct core invaded CST,CST disrupted or interrupted)subgroup for analysis.Results A total of 62patients(37 males,25 females,age 49-60 years,mean[55±4]years)were enrolled in this study.With 28 patients in the experimental group and 34 in the control group.(1)No significant differences were found in baseline or clinical data between the experimental and control groups(all P＞0.05),and the reoperative FA values of the affected CST were showed no significant differences(P=0.588).(2)The efficacy and safety metrics were evaluated.For the efficacy indices,at 1 month after the surgery,FA values of the affected CST increased significantly compared to preoperative values in both groups(0.409±0.051 vs.0.312±0.052 in the experimental group,and,0.381±0.048 vs.0.319±0.049 in control group;both P＜0.05),and the FA value was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group(0.409±0.051 vs.0.381±0.048,P=0.030).At the 6-month follow-ups,the good prognosis rate was significantly higher in the experimental group than that in the control group(39.3％[11/28]vs.14.7％[5/34],P=0.028).No significant difference in the 6-month mortality rate were observed between the two groups(P=0.787).For the safety indices,no significant differences were found in the incidence rates of intracranial hemorrhage or intracranial infection within 1 month postoperatively between the two groups(both P＞0.05).(3)For further subgroup analysis,no significant differences were found in baseline or clinical data between the CST-damaged subgroup and the CST-intact subgroup in both the experimental and control groups(all P＞0.05).In CST-intact subgroup,FA values of the affected CST increased significantly at 1 month postoperatively compared to preoperatively in the study group(0.428±0.047 vs.0.342±0.045,P＜0.05)and the control group(0.401±0.051 vs.0.347±0.048,P＜0.05).While in the CST-damaged subgroup,no significant differences were found in FA value of the affected CST 1 month postoperatively compared with that preoperatively in both the experimental and control groups(bothP＞0.05).A significantly higher FA values 1 month postoperatively(0.428±0.047 vs.0.401±0.051,P=0.036)and good prognosis rate(9/12 vs.4/16,P=0.020)were observed in the CST-intact subgroup of the experimental group comparing with that of the control group,while there was no statistically significant difference in the 6-month mortality rate between the groups within the CST-intact subgroup(P=1.000).There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in both efficacy and safety indices within the CST-damaged subgroup(all P＞0.05).Conclusions Infarct core resection combining DC with CST protection demonstrates superior neurological functional improvement in comparison with anterior temporal lobectomy combining DC in treating MCI with malignant brain edema,particularly for patients with an intact CST before surgery(as indicated in patients'preoperative imaging results).This(infarct core resection combining DC with CST protection)approach does not increase the incidence of surgical complications.Prospective large sample controlled studies are required for further validation.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of internal decompression based on white matter tract preservation in the treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction(MMCAI).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 54 patients with MMCAI.Patients were divided into a study group(n=26)and a control group(n=28)according to the surgical approach.Patients in the study group underwent preoperative fusion of CT,CTP,DWI,and DTI imaging data within a neuronavigation system.This fusion visualized the spatial relationships between the infarct core(IC),ischemic penumbra,and the corticospinal tract(CST).Subsequently,IC resection combined with decompressive craniectomy(DC)was performed while protecting the CST.Patients in the control group underwent DC alone.Key outcome measures included:changes in fractional anisotropy(FA)within the affected CST projection area at 1 month postoperatively;and 6-month postoperative mRS score,mortality,and surgical complications at 6 months postoperatively.Results At 1 month postoperatively,FA in the affected CST projection area were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group(0.092±0.013 vs.0.082±0.008,P<0.05).At the 6-month follow-up,the postoperative mRS score in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group[2.3(1.3,4.5)vs.3.9(2.4,5.5),P<0.05]and a lower mortality rate(11.5%vs.39.3%,P<0.05)compared to the control group.However,there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of postoperative intracranial hemorrhage,intracranial infection,or epilepsy(P>0.05).Conclusion Internal decompression based on white matter tract protection combined with DC can reduce mortality and contribute to improving function outcomes in patients with MMCAI.

Objective:To explore the specific mechanism of histone deacetylase 2(HDAC2)mediated histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation(H3K27ac)modification in promoting the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.Methods:Samples of 40 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and paracan-cerous tissues resected from January 2021 to January 2023 were collected.The expressions of HDAC2 and H3K27ac in hepatocellular carcinoma,paracancerous tissues and cell lines were detected by immunohis-tochemistry and Western blotting.The correlation between the expression levels of HDAC2 and H3K27ac and the relationship between HDAC2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were analyzed.The proliferation,migration and invasion of Hep3B and HepG2 cells were determined by MTS,clone formation,scratch and Transwell experiments.The acetylation of H3K27 mediated by HDAC2 was verified by Western blotting,real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)and chromatin immunoprecipitation high-throughput sequencing(ChIP-seq).In vivo xeno-transplantation experiment,the tumorigenicity of cells in each group was measured,and the expression of proteins related to phosphoinositide 3-kinases/phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin(PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR)signal pathway was detected.Results:High expression of HDAC2 and low expression of H3K27ac were found in hepatocel-lular carcinoma tissues and cell lines(P＜0.05),and there was a negative correlation between them(r=-0.477,P=0.002).The expression of HDAC2 was related to tumor size,hepatitis B virus infec-tion,TNM stage and portal vein tumor thrombus(P＜0.05).Compared with the sh-NC group of Hep3B and HepG2 cells,the proliferation,clone formation,migration and invasion ability of sh-HDAC2 group were decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the Empty group,the HDAC2 group exhibited increased ex-pression levels and activity of HDAC2,as well as enhanced cell proliferation,clone formation,migra-tion,invasion ability,tumor volume and mass in vivo,and elevated expression levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,and p-mTOR(P＜0.05).Conversely,the enrichment and expression levels of H3K27ac,along with the expression level of PTEN,were decreased(P＜0.05).In the iHDAC2 group,the expression levels and activity of HDAC2,as well as the proliferation,clone formation,migration,invasion ability,tumor volume and mass in vivo,and expression levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,and p-mTOR were reduced(P＜0.05).Additionally,the expression levels of H3K27ac and PTEN were increased(P＜0.05).To validate the involvement of the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in HDAC2-mediated regula-tion of malignant behaviors in liver cancer cells through H3K27ac,the PI3K activator 740Y-P was intro-duced.Compared with the iHDAC2 group,the iHDAC2+740Y-P group exhibited increased prolifera-tion,clone formation,migration,invasion ability,tumor volume and mass in vivo,and elevated expres-sion levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,and p-mTOR(P＜0.05).Conversely,the expression level of PTEN was decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion:HDAC2 initiates PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR signal pathway by me-diating H3K27 acetylation,which promotes the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective:To search and evaluate the relevant evidence of percutaneous external fixation needle care management, and integrate the evidence to provide the best nursing management strategy for clinical needle care.Methods:BMJ best clinical practice, UpToDate, PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, CNKI, Wanfang database and other domestic and foreign databases related to clinical practice guidelines, evidence summary, expert consensus, systematic evaluation, randomized controlled trial were searched. The search period was from database inception to November 2023. Evaluated the quality of the included literatures, and conduct evidence extraction, level evaluation and evidence summary analysis.Results:A total of 11 articles were included, including 1 guideline, 1 evidence summary, 3 systematic reviews, 2 expert consensus, and 4 randomized controlled trials. The 10 pieces of best evidence were summarized in 5 categories, including needle evaluation, cleaning management, scab management, disinfection management, and dressing management.Conclusions:This study summarized the best evidence on the management of percutaneous external fixation needle care, and provides evidence- based basis for clinical nurses to perform needle care. In clinical practice, evidence should be selectively and reasonably applied in combination with clinical situations and relevant factors to promote the improvement and development of clinical nursing work.

Changes in structure of oral solid dosage forms (OSDF) elementally determine the drug release and its therapeutic effects. In this research, synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-computed tomography was utilized to visualize the 3D structure of enteric coated pellets recovered from the gastrointestinal tract of rats. The structures of pellets in solid state and in vitro compendium media were measured. Pellets in vivo underwent morphological and structural changes which differed significantly from those in vitro compendium media. Thus, optimizations of the dissolution media were performed to mimic the appropriate in vivo conditions by introducing pepsin and glass microspheres in media. The sphericity, pellet volume, pore volume and porosity of the in vivo esomeprazole magnesium pellets in stomach for 2 h were recorded 0.47, 1.55 × 10⁸ μm³, 0.44 × 10⁸ μm³ and 27.6%, respectively. After adding pepsin and glass microspheres, the above parameters in vitro reached to 0.44, 1.64 × 10⁸ μm³, 0.38 × 10⁸ μm³ and 23.0%, respectively. Omeprazole magnesium pellets behaved similarly. The structural features of pellets between in vitro media and in vivo condition were bridged successfully in terms of 3D structures to ensure better design, characterization and quality control of advanced OSDF.