ObjectiveIn nature, objects cast shadows due to illumination, forming the basis for stereoscopic perception. Birds need to adapt to changes in lighting (meaning they can recognize stereoscopic shapes even when shadows look different) to accurately perceive different three-dimensional forms. However, how neurons in the key visual brain area in birds handle these lighting changes remains largely unreported. In this study, pigeons (Columba livia) were used as subjects to investigate how neurons in pigeon’s ventrolateral mesopallium (MVL) represent stereoscopic shapes consistently, regardless of changes in lighting. MethodsVisual cognitive training combined with neuronal recording was employed. Pigeons were first trained to discriminate different stereoscopic shapes (concave/convex). We then tested whether and how light luminance angle and surface appearance of the stereoscopic shapes affect their recognition accuracy, and further verify whether the results rely on specify luminance color. Simultaneously, neuronal firing activity of neurons was recorded with multiple electrode array implanted from the MVL during the presentation of difference shapes. The response was finally analyzed how selectively they responded to different stereoscopic shapes and whether their selectivity was affected by the changes of luminance condition (like lighting angle) or surface look. Support vector machine (SVM) models were trained on neuronal population responses recorded under one condition (light luminance angle of 45°) and used to decode responses under other conditions (light luminance angle of 135°, 225°, 315°) to verify the invariance of responses to different luminance conditions. ResultsBehavioral results from 6 pigeons consistently showed that the pigeons could reliably identify the core 3D shape (over 80% accuracy), and this ability wasn’t affected by changes in light angle or surface appearance. Statistical analysis of 88 recorded neurons from 6 pigeons revealed that 83% (73/88) showed strong selectivity for specific 3D shapes (selectivity index>0.3), and responses to convex shapes were consistently stronger than to concave shapes. These shape-selective responses remained stable across changes in light angle and surface appearance. Neural patterns were consistent under both blue and orange lighting. The decoding accuracy achieves above 70%, suggesting stable responses under different conditions (e.g., different lighting angles or surface appearance). ConclusionNeurons in the pigeon MVL maintain a consistent neural encoding pattern for different stereoscopic shapes, unaffected by illumination or surface appearance. This ensures stable object recognition by pigeons in changing visual environments. Our findings provide new physiological evidence for understanding how birds achieve stable perception (“invariant neural representations”) while coping with variations in the visual field.

PURPOSE: Bone cement-reinforced fenestrated pedicle screws (FPSs) have been widely used in the internal fixation and repair of the spine with osteoporosis in recent years and show significant improvement in fixation strength and stability. However, compared with conventional reinforcement methods, the advantages of bone cement-reinforced FPSs remain undetermined. This article compares the effects of fenestrated and conventional pedicle screws (CPSs) combined with bone cement in the treatment of osteoporosis. METHODS: A clinical control study of FPSs and CPSs combined with bone cement reinforcement in osteoporotic vertebral internal fixation was performed using the database PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, the Wanfang, and the China Biomedical Literature Service System. Two evaluators screened the relevant literature in strict accordance with the inclusion criteria (diagnosis of participants, type of clinical study, treatment with FPS and CPS, and outcome indicators) and exclusion criteria (duplicate literature and missing or incorrect data) and independently conducted data extraction and quality evaluation. Clinical control studies of direct comparison between FPS and CPS combined with bone cement reinforcement in patients who were definitively diagnosed with thoracolumbar fractures or spinal degenerative diseases were included. Quality evaluation was conducted using the Cochrane risk bias evaluation tool for randomized controlled studies and using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for retrospective case-control studies. RevMan software (version 5.3) was used for the meta-analysis to compare the clinical efficacy, radiological results, and related complications of the 2 methods. RESULTS: A total of 13 articles were included, including 7 randomized controlled studies and 6 retrospective case-control studies. There were 909 patients in these studies, 451 in the FPS and polymethyl methacrylate (FPS & PMMA) group and 458 in the CPS and polymethyl methacrylate (CPS & PMMA) group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in operation time, hospital stay, visual analogue score, Japanese orthopaedic association score, Oswestry disability index score, Cobb angle, vertebral body deformation index and fusion rate (p > 0.05). The mean difference of intraoperative bleeding volume was -10.45, (95% confidence intervals (CI) (-16.92, -3.98), p = 0.002), the mean difference of loss height of the anterior edge of the vertebral body after surgery was -0.69 (95% CI (-0.93, -0.44), p < 0.001), and the relative risk (RR) of overall complication rate was 0.43 (95% CI (0.27, 0.68), p < 0.001), including the RR of bone cement leakage rate was 0.57 (95% CI (0.39, 0.85), p = 0.005). The screw loosening rate (RR = 0.26, 95% CI (0.13, 0.54), p < 0.001) of the FPS group was significantly lower than that of the CPS group. CONCLUSION The existing clinical evidence shows that compared with the CPS combined with bone cement, the use of FPS repair in the internal fixation of an osteoporotic vertebral body can reduce the amount of intraoperative bleeding, be more conducive to maintaining the height of the vertebral body, and significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative complications such as bone cement leakage and screw loosening.
Humans ; Pedicle Screws ; Bone Cements ; Spinal Fractures/surgery* ; Osteoporotic Fractures/surgery* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/instrumentation*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expression regulation of lipid metabolism gene ABHD5 in testes. METHODS: Differential gene analysis was performed by integrating databases of TCGA and GTEx to identify the target gene ABHD5. The expression trends of ABHD5 gene in testicular carcinoma tissue were analyzed. Human testis single-cell atlases were obtained from the Human Protein Atlas and Male Health Atlas databases to determine the expression distribution of ABHD5 across different testicular cell types. Additionally, the GTEx database was utilized to visualize the expression pattern of ABHD5 in the testis, thereby enhancing the understanding of its transcriptional profile. The relationship between ABHD5 expression and age was assessed through integrated database analysis. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed to detect differential expressions of ABHD5 in testicular tissues of young and aged mice respectively. RESULTS: The TCGA database indicated that the expression of ABHD5 in human testicular carcinoma tissue was significantly lower than that in normal testicular tissue which showed a negative correlation with patient survival. ABHD5 was highly expressed in germ cells of the testis reveaked from Human Protein Atlas and Male Health Atlas databases. The stability of ABHD5 protein was crucial for testicular tissue, and its expression decreased with age. Furthermore, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that ABHD5 expression in the testicular tissue of aged mice was significantly lower than that in young mice. CONCLUSION ABHD5 plays an important role in testicular tissue, and may be inseparable from testicular tumors and reproductive aging. However, its mechanism of action remains to be further studied.
Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Testis/metabolism* ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism/genetics* ; 1-Acylglycerol-3-Phosphate O-Acyltransferase/metabolism* ; Testicular Neoplasms/metabolism*

Triple-negative breast cancer is therapeutically challenging due to the low expression of tumor markers and 'cold' tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Here, we present a dual-targeting peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) for tumor inhibition. Our PDC efficiently and selectively delivers cytotoxic Monomethyl Auristatin E (MMAE) into tumor cells via C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and folate receptor 1 (FOLR1) for synergistic inhibition of growth and metastasis. Our results show that the dual-targeting PDC has potent antitumor activity in cultured human cells and several murine transplanted tumor models without apparent toxicity. The combination of dual-targeting PDC and radiotherapy modulates the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment by increasing CD8⁺ T cell infiltration and attenuating the proportion of myeloid-derived suppressor and regulatory T cells. Therefore, our dual-targeting PDC represents a promising new strategy for cancer therapy that rebalances the immune system and promotes tumor regression.

Local anesthetics (LAs), such as articaine (AT), exhibit limited efficacy in inflammatory environments, which constitutes a significant limitation in their clinical application within oral medicine. In our prior research, we developed AT-17, which demonstrated effective properties in chronic inflammatory conditions and appears to function as a novel oral LA that could address this challenge. In the present study, we further elucidated the beneficial effects of AT-17 in acute inflammation, particularly in oral acute inflammation, where mitochondrial-related apoptosis played a crucial role. Our findings indicated that AT-17 effectively inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nerve cell apoptosis by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro. This process involved the inhibition of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) production and the subsequent activation of the NRF2 pathway. Most notably, improvements in mitochondria-related apoptosis were key contributors to AT-17's inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channels. Additionally, AT-17 was shown to reduce mtROS production in nerve cells through the Na⁺/NCLX/ETC signaling axis. In conclusion, we have developed a novel local anesthetic that exhibits pronounced anesthetic functionality under inflammatory conditions by enhancing mitochondria-related apoptosis. This advancement holds considerable promise for future drug development and deepening our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of action.

Human brain banks use a standardized protocol to collect,process and store post-mortem human brains and related tissues,along with relevant clinical information,and to provide the tissue samples and data as a resource to foster neuroscience research according to a standardized operating protocols(SOP).Human brain bank serves as the foundation for neuroscience research and the diagnosis of neurological disorders,highlighting the crucial rule of ensuring the consistency of standardized quality for brain tissue samples.The first version of SOP in 2017 was published by the China Human Brain Bank Consortium.As members increases from different regions in China,a revised SOP was drafted by experts from the China Human Brain Bank Consortium to meet the growing demands for neuroscience research.The revised SOP places a strong emphasis on ethical standards,incorporates neuropathological evaluation of brain regions,and provides clarity on spinal cord sampling and pathological assessment.Notable enhancements in this updated version of the SOP include reinforced ethical guidelines,inclusion of matching controls in recruitment,and expansion of brain regions to be sampled for neuropathological evaluation.

Objective To explore the modal testing method for the three-axis manned centrifuge under elastic boundary conditions with considerations on its complicated structure and high rotational inertia.Methods Modal testing was carried out with a three-axis manned centrifuge under elastic boundary conditions as the subject and a force hammer as the excitation source according to GJB 2706A-2008 Modal tests method for spacecraft and GB/T 11349.3-1992 Experimental determination of mechnical mobility measurements using impact excitation.Four times of hammering were carried out at each excitation position,and the data of the four times of hammering underwent linear average computation.Data acquisition was implemented with a three-axis accelerometer and a 64-channel data collector,and the modal data were analyzed using a frequency response function based on the Test.Lab modal test and analysis software.Results The coherence coefficient of the excitation signal was not lower than 0.8 in the 30 Hz band;the first three orders of the system's intrinsic vibrations were all torsional vibrations,with the frequencies of 9.15,15.66 and 19.22 Hz,respectively;the first order frequency of the system was about 9.15 Hz for both Z18 and Z21 excitation positions,and each of the second and third order frequencies similar situations were observed for also had a roughly equal value for the two excitation positions.Conclusion The force hammer testing method is applicable for the modal testing of the three-axis manned centrifuge,ensuring equipment safety and subject comfort.Referen-ces are provided for the following structural optimization design.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(8):38-43]

Objective:To investigate serum vitamin A and vitamin D status in children aged 2-<7 years in 20 cities in China.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 2 924 healthy children aged 2-<7 years were recruited from September 2018 to September 2019 from 20 cities in China, categorized by age groups of 2-<3 years, 3-<5 years, and 5-<7 years. The demographic and economic characteristics and health-related information of the enrolled children were investigated. Body weight and height were measured by professional staff members. The serum vitamin A and vitamin D levels were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were applied to analyze the association between vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency as well as their underlying impact factors.Results:The age of the 2 924 enrolled children was 4.33 (3.42, 5.17) years. There were 1 726 males (59.03%) and 1 198 females (40.97%). The prevalences of vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency in enrolled children were 2.19% (64/2 924) and 3.52% (103/2 924), respectively, and the insufficiency rates were 29.27% (856/2 924) and 22.20% (649/2 924), respectively. Children with both vitamin A and vitamin D deficiencies or insufficiencies were found in 10.50% (307/2 924) of cases. Both vitamin A ( χ2=7.91 and 8.06, both P=0.005) and vitamin D ( χ2=71.35 and 115.10, both P<0.001) insufficiency rates were higher in children aged 3-<5 and 5-<7 years than those in children aged 2-<3 years. Vitamin A and vitamin D supplementation in the last 3 months was a protective factor for vitamin A and D deficiency and insufficiency, respectively ( OR=0.68 and 0.22, 95% CI 0.49-0.95 and 0.13-0.40, both P<0.05). The rates of vitamin A and D insufficiency was higher in children with annual household incomes <60 000 RMB than in those with annual household incomes ≥60 000 RMB ( χ2=34.11 and 10.43, both P<0.01). Northwest and Southwest had the highest rates of vitamin A and vitamin D insufficiency in children aged 2-<7 yeas, respectively ( χ2=93.22 and 202.54, both P<0.001). Conclusions:Among 20 cities in China, children aged 2-<7 years experience high rates of vitamin A and vitamin D insufficiency, which are affected by age, family economic level, vitamin A and vitamin D supplementation, and regional economic level. The current results suggest that high level of attention should be paid to vitamin A and vitamin D nutritional status of preschool children.

Superior vena cava syndrome(SVCS)is a group of clinical syndromes caused by obstruction of the superior vena cava and its major branches from various causes.Pulmonary artery stenosis(PS)is a complication of lung cancer or mediastinal tumours.SVCS combined with PS due to pulmonary metastases from bladder cancer is extremely rare and has not been reported in the literature.Here we reported an old male patient with pulmonary metastases from bladder cancer presenting with swelling of the head,neck and both upper limbs.SVCS combined with PS was clarified by pulmonary artery computed tomography angiography(CTA)and digital subtraction angiography(DSA).Endovascular stenting was used to treat SVCS.Angiography also showed that PS had not caused pulmonary hypertension and did not need to be treated.The swelling of the patient's head,neck and upper limbs was gradually reduced after the procedure.

Quercetin can mediate the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)signaling pathways to prevent osteoporosis(OP).This paper comprehensively discusses the interrelationship between MAPK and osteoporosis-related cells based on the latest domestic and international research.Additionally,it elucidates the research progress of quercetin in mediating the MAPK signaling pathway for OP prevention.The aim is to provide an effective foundation for the clinical prevention and treatment of OP and the in-depth development of quercetin.