Pitch abnormalities are a common manifestation of various voice disorders, with complex pathophysiological mechanisms involving changes in vocal fold tension, mass, and neuromuscular dysfunction of the larynx. This study aims to investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms of pitch-related disorders and explore diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, providing insights for clinical management.
Humans ; Voice Disorders/therapy* ; Vocal Cords/physiopathology*

Objective To evaluate the molluscicidal effect and cost of spraying molluscicides with drones against Oncomelania hupensis snails in marshland and lake areas, so as to provide new insights into field snail control in China. Methods A marshland and lake setting measuring approximately 12 000 m² was selected in Wanzhi District, Wuhu City on June 2023 as the test field, and assigned to four groups, of 3 000 m² in each group. Environmental cleaning was not conducted in groups A or B, which were given 5% niclosamide ethanolamine salt granules sprayed with knapsack-type sprayers and drones at a dose of 40 g/m², and environmental cleaning was conducted in groups C and D, which were given 5% niclosamide ethanolamine salt granules sprayed with drones and knapsack-type sprayers at a dose of 40 g/m², respectively. O. hupensis snails were surveyed before chemical treatment and 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 days post-treatment. The uniformity of chemicals was determined on the day of treatment, and the snail mortality, corrected snail mortality and density of living snails were calculated and compared among groups. The cost of molluscicides, labor fees of environmental cleaning and chemical treatment and cost of equipment were calculated, and the cost for a 1% reduction in the mean density of living snails was calculated 14 days post-treatment. Results The mean densities of living snails and mortality rates of snails were 1.82 to 2.85 snails/0.1 m² and 1.41% to 2.94% in groups A, B, C and D before chemical treatment, and the mortality and corrected mortality of snails were 55.75%, 49.32%, 85.94% and 87.50%, and 55.00%, 48.47%, 85.70% and 87.29% in groups A, B, C and D 14 days post-treatment. There was a significant difference in the mortality of snails among the four groups 14 days post-treatment (χ² = 38.735, P < 0.005), and there was a higher snail mortality in Group D than in Group A (χ² = 16.876, P < 0.005), and higher in Group C than in Group B (χ² = 20.508, P < 0.005). The density of living snails reduced by 55.00%, 43.94%, 90.43% and 87.14% 14 days post-treatment relative to pre-treatment in groups A, B, C and D, respectively. The test for uniformity of chemicals showed that the mean dose of molluscicides were 57.34, 55.21, 40.19 g/m² and 32.37 g/m² in groups A, B, C and D, respectively, and the minimal standard deviation (7.07) and coefficient of variation (0.18) of mean doses were seen in Group C. The costs for chemical treatment were 0.33 Yuan in groups A and B and 1.53 Yuan in groups C and D, respectively. The costs for a 1% reduction in the mean density of living snails were 17.82, 22.47, 50.73 Yuan and 52.56 Yuan in groups A, B, C, and D 14 days post-treatment, respectively. Conclusions The molluscicidal effect and cost of spraying 5% niclosamide ethanolamine salt granules with drones are comparable to manual spraying, and chemical treatment with drones are high in uniformity of molluscicides, time- and labor-saving, and feasible for applications in complex environments, which deserves widespread applications in the field of snail control.

Humans ; Amyloidosis ; Amyloid ; Cardiomyopathies

In order to understand the prevalence and genetic variation of H9N2 subtype avian influ-enza virus in Shandong,a total 492 tracheal and lung tissue samples collected from chicken farms with respiratory symptoms in partial areas in Shandong were detected by H9 subtype AIV real-time RT-PCR,and the positive samples were inoculated with chicken embryos for two generations.Whole genome sequences of the positive strains by applying Illumina Miaseq platform,and genetic evolution and mutation at positions associating with viral pathogenicity and transmissibility were analyzed.The results showed that there were 72 samples were positive for H9 subtype AIV among the 492 samples,with a positive rate of 14.63％.Thirty-four strains of H9 subtype AIV were ob-tained from the positive samples after passing through chicken embryo,meanwhile,the 34 isolates were all H9N2 subtype AIV by whole genome sequencing analysis.By analyzing the evolutionary tree of HA and NA genes,HA and NA genes of the 34 H9N2 AIV strains belonged to Y280-like branch and F/98-like branch,respectively.Meanwhile,based on above branches,there were obvious time node subbranch,which one was"isolates before 2013",another one was"isolates after 2013".The HA cleavage sites of thirty-four H9N2 strains were all 325PSRSSR↓GLF333,which met the se-quence characteristics of the lowly pathogenic avian influenza virus,and the HA receptor binding site 226 amino acid was leucine,which had the characteristics of blinding to a-2,6 mammalian sialic acid receptors.Among the internal amino acid sites that are key to mammalian adaptation,all strains had an I368V mutation in the PB1 gene that enhanced viral transmissibility in mammals and the PB2 genes of some strains were mutated to enhance the mammalian adaptation of I292 V and A588 V.The above results illustrated that the H9N2 subtype AIV gene segments in Shandong have different degrees of recombination and gene variation,so it is necessary to strengthen the monito-ring of virus variation.

Objective: To explore the value of vector angle of Lorenz plots(LPs) and the role of combining B-line slope in improving the diagnostic efficiency of arrhythmia． Methods: LPs of 119 cases with ventricular premature contraction (VPC group ) ，97 cases with supraventricular premature contraction(SPC group) ，52 cases with type II°I atrioventricular block ( Ⅱ ° Ⅰ group) and 54 cases with type Ⅱ ° Ⅱ atrioventricular / sinoatrial block ( Ⅱ ° Ⅱ group) were retrospectively analyzed．The B-line slope and vector angle were measured，and the differences between groups were compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of B-line slope，vector angle and their combination between groups ，and MedCalc software was used for statistical comparison．The consistency of intra-observer and inter-observer measurements of B-line slope and vector angle was evaluated using Intra group correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plot. Results: There were significant differences between VPC group and SPC group，and between Ⅱ ° Ⅰ group and II°II group (P＜0. 05) ．The area under the curve (AUC) of B-line slope，vector angle，and the combination of the two in distinguishing ventricular and supraventricular premature contraction were 0. 81，0. 84 and 0. 87 respectively，and the AUC in distinguishing type Ⅱ ° Ⅰ and type Ⅱ ° Ⅱ atrioventricular / sinoatrial block were 0. 76，0. 78 and 0. 80 respectively．The ICC of vector angle was better than B-line slope (Intra-observer 0. 99 vs 0. 98，Inter-observer 0. 97 vs 0. 96) ． Conclusion Vector angle can be used to identify the type of arrhythmia，and has good intraobserver and interobserver consistency．Its combination with B-line slope has the highest accuracy in diagnosing arrhythmia，providing a new reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Adipose Tissue ; Cadaver ; Humans ; Vertebral Artery

Objective:To investigate the role of rapamycin target protein (mTOR) in lanthanum-induced injury of cerebral cortical neurons in offspring rats, and the effect on brain development, learning and memory ability of offspring rats.Methods:Thirty-two adult female and 32 male Wistar rats, were randomly divided into 4 groups according to their body weight, with 16 rats in each group (half female and half male). Female rats were fed with different amounts of lanthanum chloride[0.0 (control), 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 g/L], while male rats drank normal water. Female and male rats were mated in cages at a ratio of 1∶1. Female rats began to be exposed to lanthanum from pregnancy, while their offspring were exposed to lanthanum until 4 weeks after weaning. Morris water maze experiment was carried out in the 4 groups of offspring rats, and the effects of lanthanum on learning and memory were observed by space exploration. The cerebral cortex of offspring rats was taken, and the amount of Nissl body was observed under microscope after Nissl staining. The expression of mTOR mRNA in offspring rats cerebral cortex nerve cells was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Western blotting was used to detect the protein content of p-mTOR in offspring rats cortical neurons.Results:Compared with the control group, the body weight of offspring rats exposed to lanthanum at 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 g/L was significantly decreased [(121.75 ± 11.20), (110.00 ± 11.59), (98.88 ± 7.95) and (85.63 ± 7.25) g, P < 0.05], and the brain tissue coefficient and cortical coefficient were significantly increased [(1.43 ± 0.10)%, (1.56 ± 0.18)%, (1.66 ± 0.14)%, (1.89 ± 0.16)%; (0.86 ± 0.08)%, (0.94 ± 0.08)%, (1.01 ± 0.07)%, (1.08 ± 0.09)%, P < 0.05]. The brain weight [(1.63 ± 0.05), (1.61 ± 0.03) g] of 5.0 and 10.0 g/L lanthanum-exposed groups were significantly lower than those in the control group and 2.5 g/L lanthanum-exposed group [(1.73 ± 0.06), (1.70 ± 0.06) g, P < 0.05]. Compared with the control group (53.25 ± 9.93), the amounts of Nissl body in cerebral cortical neurons in different lanthanum-exposed groups (36.13 ± 3.98, 27.50 ± 5.21, 13.63 ± 5.93) were significantly decreased ( P < 0.05). The results of space exploration experiment showed that compared with the control group [(5.75 ± 1.98) times, (10.69 ± 2.96) s, (3.75 ± 1.28) times], the times of entering the target quadrant [(3.63 ± 1.41) times] and the stay time in the target quadrant [(5.12 ± 2.09) s] in 10.0 g/L lanthanum-exposed group were significantly reduced ( P < 0.05), and the times of entering the platform [(1.88 ± 0.84), (1.13 ± 1.12) times] in 5.0 and 10.0 g/L lanthanum-exposed groups were significantly reduced ( P < 0.05). There were significant differences in mTOR mRNA (1.00 ± 0.28, 0.74 ± 0.19, 0.58 ± 0.13, 0.45 ± 0.29) and p-mTOR protein expression levels (0.69 ± 0.07, 0.33 ± 0.06, 0.30 ± 0.04, 0.17 ± 0.03) in cortical tissues ( F = 8.33, 139.12, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Lanthanum exposure can damage cortical neurons, affect the brain development of offspring rats, reduce the expression of mTOR mRNA and p-mTOR protein in the brain of offspring rats, reduce the ability of space exploration and observation, resulting in the decline of learning and memory ability of offspring rats.

Objective To explore the effect of dronedaronel on hyperpolarization-activated cyclic-nucleotide-gated(HCN) channel expression by detecting the change of HCN channel mRNA and protein level before and after giving dronedarone in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.Methods Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were separated and digested by type Ⅱ collagenase,and then single ventricular myocytes were collected through differential sticking wall separation method.According to the concentrations (0.1,0.5,1.0,5.0,10.0,20.0 μmol/L of dronedaronel for treating myocytes for 48 h) and time(10 μmol/L of dronedaronel for treating myocytes for 1,6,12,24,48 h)the gradient grouping was conducted.The levels of HCN2 and HCN4 channel mRNA and protein level were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot.Results The HCN2 mRNA and HCN4 mRNA expression levels in concentration gradient group and time gradient group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05);compared with the control group,the protein level in the 10 umol/L dronedaronel treatment for 12 h group was significantly down-regulated(P＜ 0.01).Conclusion Dronedaronel could inhibit the expression of HCN2/HCN4 channel mRNA and protein,moreover its action shows the concentration dependency and reaches the maximum at 12 h after medication.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of clinical and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging(CMR) of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular(ALVC) involvement. Methods Ten cases of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular involvement and sixteen randomly chosen cases of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with right ventricular (ARVC) involvement were enrolled in this study. Clinical symptoms, cardiac electrophysiological changes as well as the cardiac morpharage, ventricular functions and delayed enhancement of myocardium assessed by CMR were compared between the two groups. The size of heart chambers, global ventricular functions and the fat/fibrosis infiltration were evaluated by turbo fast spin echo, ture FISP cine and delayed enhancement. These were statistically analyzed by independent samples t test, respectively.Results There was no significant difference in age and gender between two groups. All the patients in two groups presented non-specific clinical manifestations with no significant differences (P>0.05) except for short of breath(P=0.034). The end-diastolic diameter of left ventricular, left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, left and right ejection fraction in ALVC and ARVC group were (64.2±7.7), (49.2±5.9) mm(t=5.551,P<0.001), (113.9±24.0), (69.2± 30.0) ml/m2(t=3.962, P<0.001), (38.5±3.1)%, (56.0±8.4)%(t=-6.733,P<0.001), (42.0±5.5)%, (18.0±7.3)%(t=8.817, P<0.001) respectively. An medium of 11 and 14 segments of fat or fat/fibrosis were found in intramural wall of the LV myocardiumin patients with ALVC,while only 0 segment(all P<0.001)was found in patients with ARVC.Conclusions The clinical manifestations of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular involvement was similar to ARVC, however, with regarding to cardiac morphological, functional and myocardial lesions, these two diseases have different characteristics in CMR features.“one-stop-shop”MRI examination has high value in the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with Left ventricular involvement.

In this study, we evaluated the difference ot biological characteristics in the MERS-CoV infected mice model in prior to transduction with different dosage of human DPP4. Firstly, we transduced different dosage of DPP4 (high or low) into mice, and then challenged them with MERS-CoV in order to establish the model. After establishment of mice model, we observed the clinical signs of disease, virus replication, immunopathogenesis and antibody response. The results indicated that the infected mice showed typical pneumonia, virus replication, histological lesions, and neutralizing antibody production. Moreover, the high dosage group was superior to the low dosage group. Fourteen days after infection, the specific antibody to virus structural protein and neutralizing antibody were analyzed, the high dosage group induced higher level antibody. In summary, the MERS-CoV infected mice model were established prior transduction with DPP4, and the level of DPP4 influenced the clinical signs of disease, virus replication and antibody response in this model.
Animals ; Coronavirus Infections ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology ; virology ; Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; genetics ; physiology