Defensive behaviors induced by innate fear or Pavlovian fear conditioning are crucial for animals to avoid threats and ensure survival. The zona incerta (ZI) has been demonstrated to play important roles in fear learning and fear memory, as well as modulating auditory-induced innate defensive behavior. However, whether the neuronal subtypes in the ZI and specific circuits can mediate the innate fear response is largely unknown. Here, we found that somatostatin (SST)-positive neurons in the rostral ZI of mice were activated by a visual innate fear stimulus. Optogenetic inhibition of SST-positive neurons in the rostral ZI resulted in reduced flight responses to an overhead looming stimulus. Optogenetic activation of SST-positive neurons in the rostral ZI induced fear-like defensive behavior including increased immobility and bradycardia. In addition, we demonstrated that manipulation of the GABAergic projections from SST-positive neurons in the rostral ZI to the downstream nucleus reuniens (Re) mediated fear-like defensive behavior. Retrograde trans-synaptic tracing also revealed looming stimulus-activated neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) that projected to the Re-projecting SST-positive neurons in the rostral ZI (SC-ZIr^SST-Re pathway). Together, our study elucidates the function of SST-positive neurons in the rostral ZI and the SC-ZIr^SST-Re tri-synaptic circuit in mediating the innate fear response.
Mice ; Animals ; Zona Incerta/metabolism* ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Fear/physiology* ; Somatostatin/metabolism*

Objective:To analyze the disease characteristics and hospitalization burden of elderly inpatients with cerebrovascular disease, so as to provide basis for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions.Methods:The data of the first page of medical records of elderly inpatients with cerebrovascular disease from 2015 to 2020 in a comprehensive tertiary hospital in Jiangsu Province were retrospectively collected.Descriptive analysis, variance analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were carried out for the research objects using SPSS statistics and Python complex network methods.Results:A total of 14 657 elderly inpatients with cerebrovascular disease were included.From 2015 to 2020, the number of hospitalizations increased from 1 268 to 4 733, the average number of hospitalizations increased from 2.0 to 2.9, the average length of stay decreased from 11.9 days to 9.1 days, and the average number of illnesses increased from 1.9 to 4.9.The five most common comorbidities associated with cerebrovascular diseases were hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, other types of heart disease and other respiratory diseases.From 2015 to 2020, the average hospitalization costs of elderly cerebrovascular inpatients decreased from 20588.1 Chinese yuan(CYN)to 15580.9 Chinese yuan(CYN). The hospitalization cost was mainly composed of drug cost(46.6%), diagnosis cost(28.2%)and treatment cost(20.2%). There were significant differences in the average hospitalization expenses among patients with different gender, age, number of admissions, length of stay and number of diseases( P<0.05 for all). Gender, age, number of hospitalizations and length of stay had an impact on hospitalization expenses. Conclusions:The number of inpatients, comorbidities, and hospitalized times of elderly patients with cerebrovascular disease showed an increasing trend, while the number of hospitalization days and the average hospitalization cost showed a downward trend.Comorbidities associated with cerebrovascular diseases should be one of the concerns of chronic disease management in the elderly.

Objective:To analyze the hospitalization expenses of elderly patients with hypertension and its influencing factors, so as to provide reference for optimizing the medical service management of elderly patients with hypertension.Methods:Medical record home page data of all hypertension inpatients of elderly patients at two tertiary general hospitals in Jiangsu province from 2017 to 2020 were retrieved. These data were used to analyze the basic information, hospitalization expenses and their influencing factors. Descriptive analysis was used for all data, variance analysis was used for one-way analysis, and multiple linear regression was used for multivariate analysis.Results:A total of 20 596 elderly inpatients with hypertension were included in this study. The number of patients was increased from 1 476 in 2017 to 10 771 in 2020. Among them, the number of inpatients with≥2 diseases increased from 1 105(74.86%) to 10 564(98.08%); From 2017 to 2020, the average hospitalization expenses of elderly inpatients with hypertension were 11 500 yuan, 13 600 yuan, 13 800 yuan and 14 100 yuan respectively, increasing year by year; Gender, age, number of hospitalizations, hospitalization days and number of diseases were the influencing factors of hospitalization expenses( P<0.05), and the hospitalization expenses increased with the increase of hospitalization days, number of diseases and age. Conclusions:The number of elderly patients with hypertension, the incidence of comorbidity, and the average hospitalization cost in tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu province were increasing year by year. There were many factors affecting the hospitalization cost. The author suggested that the treatment of elderly patients with hypertension should be shifted to prevention, so as to reduce the economic burden of disease and improve their quality of life.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of digital subtraction angiography combined with wire guidance versus gastroscopy in enteral nutrition catheterization in patients with special diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Methods:We recruited 120 patients with special diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract who underwent enteral nutrition catheterization in Yuyao People's Hospital from January 2016 to July 2020. These patients had gastric outlet obstruction ( n = 40), esophageal obstruction ( n = 39), tracheoesophageal fistula and mediastinal-esophageal fistula ( n = 26), or anastomotic fistula or anastomotic stenosis ( n = 15) after esophageal and gastric surgery. They were randomly allocated into the control and study groups ( n = 60/group). The control group was subject to enteral nutrition catheterization under the guidance of gastroscopy. The study group was subject to enteral nutrition catheterization using digital subtraction angiography combined with wire guidance. We compared the success rate of enteral nutrition catheterization, the time to successful enteral nutrition catheterization, changes in vital signs (such as heart rate, respiratory rate, mean arterial pressure, and blood oxygen saturation) after catheterization relative to before catheterization, and the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups. Results:The success rate of enteral nutrition catheterization was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (86.67% vs. 65.00%, χ2 = 7.68, P = 0.006). The time to successful enteral nutrition catheterization in the study group was significantly shorter than that in the control group [(28.61 ± 3.37) minutes vs. (39.75 ± 4.61) minutes, t = -8.92, P < 0.001]. During enteral nutrition catheterization, heart rate, respiratory rate, and mean arterial pressure in the control group were significantly increased compared with before enteral nutrition catheterization ( t = 5.07, 6.85, 4.96, all P < 0.001). During enteral nutrition catheterization, the heart rate and respiratory rate were significantly higher in the control group than in the study group ( t = 3.45, 3.29, both P < 0.001). After enteral nutrition catheterization, the incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (13.33% vs. 33.33%, χ2 = 6.70, P = 0.010). Conclusion:Digital subtraction angiography combined with wire guidance can increase the success rate of enteral nutrition catheterization in patients with special diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract, shorten the time to successful enteral nutrition catheterization, increase patient tolerance to catheterization, and reduce adverse reactions.

Objective:To investigate the long-term effects of porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) biologic mesh in open Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair.Methods:The prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. The clinical data of 76 patients with unilateral inguinal hernia who underwent open Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair in 2 medical centers (52 cases in Tianjin People′s Hospital and 24 cases in China-Japan Friendship Hospital) from August 2013 to March 2014 were selected. Based on random number method, patients were allocated into two groups. Patients undergoing Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair using Biodesign Surgisis mesh were allocated into control group, and patients undergoing Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair using SIS biologic mesh were allocated into experiment group. Observa-tion indicators: (1) grouping situations of the enrolled patients; (2) postoperative long-term effects. Follow-up was conducted using telephone interview, text message or mail to detect hernia recurrence or death due to other reasons as the end-point event of patients up to December 2019. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented by M (range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Results:(1) Grouping situations of the enrolled patients: a total of 76 patients were selected for eligibility. There were 38 cases in the control group and the experiment group, respectively. The number of males and females, age, body mass index, cases with intraspinal anesthesia or local anesthesia (anesthesia method), cases with inguinal hernia on the left side or on the right side, cases classified as type Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ or Ⅴ of Gilbert classification, operation time of the control group were 35, 3, (56±15)years, (23.0±2.0)kg/m 2, 22, 16, 16, 22, 9, 16, 0, 11, 2 and (49±15)minutes, respectively. The above indicators of the experiment group were 34, 4, (54±13)years, (22.9±2.2)kg/m 2, 17, 21, 14, 24, 9, 21, 1, 7, 0, and (53±21)minutes, respectively. There was no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( χ2=0.157, t=0.532, 0.367, χ2=1.317, 0.220, Z=-0.315, t=-0.765, P>0.05). (2) Post-operative long-term effects: 35 patients of the control group were followed up for (68.8±2.7)months, 4 cases of which died due to other reasons, 1 case had hernia recurrence, 1 case had chronic pain and no foreign body sensation and postoperative infection occurred. Thirty-one patients of the experiment group were followed up for (68.8±2.7)months, with no death or above complications. There was no significant difference in hernia recurrence or chronic pain between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The long-term effects of biological mesh in open Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair is satisfactory and there is no difference in the long-term effects between the domestic SIS biological mesh and Biodesign Surgisis mesh.

Scutellaria barbata D. Don is widely used in TCM clinical practice, so it is important to delve the information of its system biology. In this paper, we integrate its natural compounds and genomics information. The Herb-Prince complex networks algorithm is used to delve potential associated genes, gene families and KEGG signal pathways for Scutellaria barbata D. Don, and the information is verified by literature. The top 100 genes, 4 gene families and 10 KEGG signaling pathways were found. The related results are highly consistent with the clinical and pharmacological studies of Scutellaria barbata D. Don, which provide decision support for researchers to study pharmacological activities of Scutellaria barbata D. Don at the molecular level.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacies of polypropylene-polyglactic composite mesh, polyester mesh, polypropylene mesh in Lichtenstein repair for inguinal hernia.Methods The clinical data of 1 080 patients with primary unilateral inguinal hernia who were admitted to the Tianjin People's Hospital from February 2012 to May 2013 were prospectively analyzed.A randomized controlled study was performed based on a random numble table.All the patients were allocated into the ProGrip group (Parietex ProGripTM Self-Fixating Mesh), PET group (ParietexTM Lightweight Monofilament Polyester Mesh) and PP group (BardTM Soft Mesh).Patients received standard Lichtenstein tension-free repair under local anesthesia and were followed up by outpatient examination and telephone interview till May 2014.The indexs observed during the follow-up included occurrence of complications, post-operative pain and postoperative health-related quality of life.The following indexes were recorded : time of mesh fixation, operation time, hernia recurrence, pain degree at postoperative week 1 and month 1, 6, 12 by numerical rating scale (NRS), quality of life at postoperative month 1 by SF-36 questionnaire survey including physical function, role physical, body pain, general health, vitality, social function, role emotional,mental health.Measurement data with normal distribution were presented as x ± s.Comparisons among groups were analyzed by ANOVA and pairwise comparison by t test.Measurement data with skewed distribution were presented as M (range) and repeated measurement data were analyzed using the repeated measures ANOVA.Count data were evaluated by the chi-square test and Fisher exact probability.Postoperative moderate and severe pain rates were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed by the Log-rank test.Results There were 1 022 patients screened for eligibility including 367 patients in the ProGrip group, 346 patients in the PET group and 309 patients in the PP group.The time of mesh fixation and operation time were (1.3 ± 0.5) minutes and (30 ± 5) minutes in the ProGrip group, (4.9 ± 0.9) minutes and (45 ± 7) minutes in the PET group, (5.0 ± 0.9) minutes and (44 ± 7)minutes in the PP group, respectively, showing significant differences among the 3 groups (F =6.21, 4.33,P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences in the time of mesh fixation and operation time between the ProGrip group and the PET group (t =1.36, 4.39, P ＜ 0.05), and also between the ProGrip group and the PP group (t =2.67, 2.99, P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in the time of mesh fixation and operation time between the PET group and the PP group (t =0.98, 0.63, P ＞ 0.05).Nine hundred and nine patients were followed up for a median time of 13 months (range, 12-26 months) , with a follow-up rate of 88.943％ (909/1 022).The number of recurred hernia in the ProGrip group, the PET group and the PP group was 1, 0, 0,showing no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).The NRS scores of pain from postoperative week 1 to postoperative month 12 were ranged from 0 (0-2) to 0 (0-0) in the ProGrip group, from 2(0-5) to 0(0-0) in the PET group and from 1 (0-4) to 0 (0-0) in the PP group.The number of patients with moderate and severe pain was ranged from 52(14.17％) to 0(0) in the ProGrip group, from 87 (25.14％) to 0 (0) in the PET group and from 89 (28.80％) to 0(0) in the PP group.There were no significant differences in the changing trends of NRS scores of pain and number of patients with moderate and severe pain among the 3 groups (F =1.66, x2=1.52, P ＞ 0.05).The scores of physical function in the ProGrip group, PET group, PP group at postoperative month 1 were 52 ± 4,50 ± 6, 50 ± 6, the scores of role physical were 50 ± 6, 50 ± 6, 50 ± 5, the scores of body pain were 52 ± 7, 52 ± 7, 52 ± 7, the scores of general health were 63 ± 4, 57 ± 9, 58 ± 8, the scores of vitality were 63 ± 5, 62 ± 6,63 ± 6, the scores of social function were 58 ± 4, 58 ± 8, 57 ± 8, the scores of role emotional were 59 ± 4, 57 ± 8,58 ± 8, and the scores of mental health were 65 ± 4, 63 ± 5, 63 ± 6, respectively, showing no significant differences in above indexes among the 3 groups (F =2.36,3.65,1.98,2.41, 6.32, 2.33, 4.21, 3.52, P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Patients undergoing Lichtenstein repair for inguinal hernia with polypropylene-polyglactic composite mesh, polyester mesh and polypropylene mesh have comparative of incidence of postoperative complications, postoperative pain, quality of life, and present postoperative long-term low recurrence, low incidence of pain and relatively high quality of life.

ObjectiveTo evaluate results of the Lichtenstein tension-free mesh repair and summaraize the clinical experience in the treatment of the inguinal hernia. MethodsIn this retrospective study, 4011 tension-free inguinal hernia repairs were performed in 3631 patients, using a polypropylene mesh (Lichtenstein technique). Results The average hospitalization was 3.8 days, the overall complication rate was 2.4％, the recurrence rate was 0.1％. ConclusionThe Lichtenstein repair for the treatment of inguinal hernia has the advantage of less postoperative pain and low recurrence and is highly suitable for day case surgery.

Objective To determine the val ue of five MR imaging signs in diagnosing the bucket handle tears (BHT) of menisci of the knee. Methods MR imaging of 139 knees with subsequent arthroscope exams were retrospectively evaluated. Based on the results of arthroscopy, 19 knees had BHT of menisci. Two radiologists evaluated each MR exam independently, with discrepancies resolved by consensus. Each MR exam was analyzed for five signs: a double posterior cruciate ligament sign, a flipped meniscus sign, an absent bow tie sign, an internal displaced fragment sign, and an abnormal circumferential meniscus sign. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy for diagnosing BHT of menisci were calculated for the presence of each individual sign. Results The sensitivities of these five signs ranged between 52.6% and 89.5%, and specificities ranged between 83.3% and 98.3%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values ranged between 42.9% and 88.2%, and between 92 7% and 98.3%, respectively. The accuracy of these five signs ranged between 82.7% and 96 4%. Conclusion BHT of menisci may have many signs on MR imaging. The diagnostic sensitivities of the internal displaced fragment sign and the abnormal circumferential meniscus sign are the highest. The double posterior cruciate ligament sign has the highest specificity and positive predictive value, while the internal displaced fragment sign has the highest negative predictive value and accuracy.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of MR arthrography for rotator cuff tear. Methods A prospective study was undertaken in 32 patients with shoulder diseases using MR arthrography. Abnormalities revealed on MR arthrography of the rotator cuff, the labrum, and the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii muscle were recorded. The results of MR arthrography were compared with those of arthroscopy and surgery. Results Based on the results of arthroscopy and surgery, 32 patients comprised 14 complete rotator cuff tear, 6 partial rotator cuff tear, and 12 subjects without tear. For detecting rotator cuff tear, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MR arthrography were 100%, 100%, 100% respectively. For detecting complete rotator cuff tear, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MR arthrography were 100%, 94%, 97% respectively. Meanwhile, MR arthrography revealed all multi tendon tear and all abnormalities of the labrum and the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii muscle before arthroscopy. Conclusion MR arthrography is an accurate and comprehensive method for evaluating rotator cuff tear.