BACKGROUND:Cannabidiol is effective in ameliorating the body's inflammatory response,but no clear mechanistic studies have been conducted to ameliorate skeletal muscle inflammation induced by exhaustive exercise. OBJECTIVE:To explore the mechanism by which cannabidiol improves skeletal muscle inflammation during exhaustive exercise by using transcriptome sequencing technology. METHODS:Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups:blank control group,exercise coconut oil group,exercise control group,50 mg/kg cannabidiol group,60 mg/kg cannabidiol group,and 70 mg/kg cannabidiol group,with six rats in each group.Except for rats in the blank control group,rats in each group were subjected to swimming exercise for 9 days to produce the exhaustive exercise model.At the end of each swimming exercise,rats in the cannabidiol groups were given 2 mL of fat-soluble cannabidiol at different concentrations(50,60,and 70 mg/kg)by gavage;rats in the exercise coconut oil group were given the same volume of coconut oil by gavage until the end of the exercise on the 9th day;and rats in the blank control group and the exercise control group were not given any special treatment.The levels of inflammatory factors and differentially expressed genes in the skeletal muscle of rats in each group were determined using ELISA and transcriptome sequencing techniques.Differentially expressed genes obtained were subjected to KEGG analysis,and the accuracy of the sequencing data was verified by fluorescence quantitative PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results of ELISA showed that the contents of interleukin-6(P<0.05),tumor necrosis factor-α(P<0.01),interleukin-10 and other inflammatory factors in the exercise group increased significantly compared with the blank control group and the coconut oil group.After cannabidiol intervention,the mass concentrations of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α showed a sequential decrease with increasing cannabidiol concentration.By comparing GO and KEGG databases,the functional properties of differentially expressed genes were analyzed,and the results showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway and the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway.RT-qPCR results showed that the trends of five randomly selected differentially expressed genes were in agreement with the transcriptome sequencing results.To conclude,cannabidiol can improve skeletal muscle inflammation caused by exhaustive exercise.

Sexual dimorphism in the brain underlies behavioral differences between sexes. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a complex nucleus that differs between males and females, but the sexual dimorphism in cytoarchitecture and the connectome of its oval subdivision (ovBNST) remains largely unexplored. By combining snRNA-seq and transgenic labeling, we found a higher density of ovBNST proenkephalin (ovBNST^PENK) neurons in male than female mice. Anatomically, we virally mapped the efferents and afferents of ovBNST^PENK neurons, finding reciprocally dimorphic connections with the hypothalamus and striatum. Gene enrichment analysis suggests that ovBNST^PENK neurons are modulated by the upstream dopamine pathway. Functionally, by applying caspase-3-mediated depletion of ovBNST^PENK neurons, we found that loss of these neurons enhanced locomotor activity in male but not female mice, without altering the anxiety-like phenotypes in either sex. Our study may pave the way for a better understanding of the anatomical and functional profiles of ovBNST^PENK neurons from a sexually dimorphic perspective.
Animals ; Male ; Female ; Septal Nuclei/physiology* ; Sex Characteristics ; Neurons/physiology* ; Enkephalins/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Protein Precursors/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neural Pathways/physiology*

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of different drying aids on the hygroscopic property of extract powder of modified Liujunzi decoction （MLJZD）， and screen the best drying aid. METHODS MLJZD extract was mixed with β-cyclodextrin， microcrystalline cellulose， lactose， arabic gum， maltodextrin， corn starch， mannitol， dextrin， soluble starch and pre-gelatinized starch at the mass ratio of 1∶0.3 and 1∶0.5， respectively. The extract powder was prepared after vacuum drying. Physical fingerprints were established with 8 physical indexes， including moisture content， bulk density， vibrating-solid density， gap rate， Carr index， Hausner ratio， angle of rest and hygroscopicity， and then similarity evaluation was performed. The matrix hotspot map was drawn to analyze the influence of physical indexes on hygroscopicity. The moisture absorption rate of MLJZD extract powder was measured at room temperature for 2， 4， 8， 10 h and 1， 2， 3， 7 d. The moisture absorption rate-time curve was drawn， and the best auxiliary materials were selected by comparison. RESULTS The similarity evaluation results of physical fingerprint showed that the prepared MLJZD extract powder were stable and the similarities were above 0.90. The matrix hotspot analysis showed that there was significant correlation between bulk density and vibratory density and the moisture absorption rate of the MLJZD extract powder （P＜0.05）. The moisture absorption rate-time curve analysis showed that the moisture absorption rate of MLJZD extract powder prepared with the mass ratio of 1∶0.5 was lower than prepared with the mass ratio of 1∶0.3. Under both ratios， lactose showed the best drying aid effect， followed by soluble starch and mannitol. CONCLUSIONS Lactose， as the drying aid （under the mass ratio of 1∶0.5）， can obviously improve the hygroabsorbance effect of the extract powder of MLJZD， which provides a reference for the selection of auxiliary materials for MLJZD solid preparations.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block (SNB) and paraverteral nerve block (PVB) in treating postherpetic neuralgia.Methods:A total of 52 patients with postherpetic neuralgia who visited the Pain Clinic of the Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from February 2020 to December 2022 were selected and randomly divided into an ultrasound-guided SNB group and a PVB group using a random number table method, with 26 patients in each group. Patients in the SNB group received ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block therapy; The PVB group received ultrasound-guided paraverteral nerve block treatment. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) scores, and total effective rate were observed in two groups of patients before treatment, 2 weeks after treatment, 1 month after treatment, 3 months after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Complications during treatment were also observed.Results:The total effective rates of SNB group patients at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment were significantly higher than those of PVB group (all P<0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores of both groups of patients at each time point were significantly reduced compared to before treatment (all P<0.05); The VAS scores of patients in the SNB group were lower than those in the PVB group at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores between SNB and PVB groups before nerve block treatment (all P>0.05). The MCS and PCS scores of the two groups of patients were significantly higher than before treatment at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment (all P<0.05). The MCS scores of the SNB group were significantly higher than those of the PVB group at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment (all P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in PCS scores between the two groups (all P>0.05). Both groups of patients did not experience any serious complications related to the treatment in this study during the follow-up period. Conclusions:Both ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block and paraverteral nerve block can safely and effectively treat postherpetic neuralgia. The clinical effect of ultrasound-guided spinal nerve block in treating postherpetic neuralgia is better than that of paraverteral nerve block.

Objective:To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of solid intraductal papilloma (sIDP) of breast by comparing with fibronenoma of breast (FA).Methods:The CEUS data of 62 cases of sIDP patients and 94 cases of FA patients that confirmed by pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from October 2016 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into sIDP group and FA group according to the pathological results. The enhancement speed, enhancement degree, enhancement uniformity, whether the edge after enhancement was polished, whether the enhancement range was enlarged, whether there was a ring unenhanced area in the inner edge of the lesion and whether the inner edge of the unenhanced area was polished were observed in the two groups. SonoLiver software was used to perform offline analysis of the dynamic process of CEUS in the two groups respectively, the enhancement sequence diagram of the lesions was obtained. The pathological result was taken as the gold standard, univariate analysis was applied, and the parameters with statistical significance between the two groups were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis to establish a differential diagnosis model. The diagnostic efficiency of sIDP was analyzed by ROC curve and diagnostic model.Results:Compared with the FA group, CEUS in the sIDP group mostly showed fast forward, high enhancement, and the enhancement sequence was mostly centrifugal. After CEUS, the lesion edges in the sIDP group were mostly accompanied by unenhanced areas and the inner edges of the unenhanced areas were not intact, and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Binary Logistic regression showed that age, enhancement degree and enhancement order were independent risk factors for sIDP diagnosis. The ROC curve showed that the area under the ROC curve of age, enhancement degree and enhancement sequence combined for the diagnosis of sIDP was 0.874 (95% CI=0.812-0.922), the accuracy was 76.9%, the sensitivity was 67.7%, the specificity was 83.0%, the positive predictive value was 72.4%, and the negative predictive value was 79.6%. Conclusions:There are significant differences in age, enhancement degree and enhancement sequence between sIDP and FA patients. The three-parameter combination can improve the diagnostic efficiency of sIDP.

Cardiovascular disease is a health hazard to humans and systolic heart failure due to myocardial infarction is a major cause of death.It was previously thought that myocardial cells of the adult mammalian heart possess a limited ability to proliferate and self-renew.However,it has been widely reported that mammals have the ability to regenerate the myocardium,which is restricted to early postnatal life,and that it is strong enough to repair damaged heart tissue.The discovery of myocardial regeneration in neonatal hearts has provided an ideal animal model to investigate the mechanisms that affect myocardial regeneration,and many mechanisms that reverse myocardial cell cycle arrest and promote myocardial regeneration have been revealed.In this article,we review the factors affecting gene expression for myocardial regeneration(e.g.,ncRNAs and transcription factors),myocardial regeneration-related signaling pathways,and the regulation of myocardial regeneration by non-myocardial cells(e.g.,extracellular matrix,immune response,and epicardium)to provide directions for achieving myocardial regeneration after myocardial injury in adult mammals.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the lipid-lowering activity of Quansanqi tablets（QSQ）， an innovative new drug of Panax notoginseng. MethodMice and golden hamsters were used to establish a hyperlipidemia model by injecting egg yolk milk and feeding high-fat diets. The levels of total cholesterol （TC），triglyceride （TG），low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） were detected， and liver function indicators ［alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate amino-transferase （AST）， and alkaline phosphatase （ALP）］ of golden hamsters were detected. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the degree of liver injury. In the experiments， a normal group， a model group， an atorvastatin calcium group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose QSQ groups （0.32， 0.64， 1.28 g·kg^-1 for mice， and 0.16， 0.32， 0.64 g·kg^-1 for golden hamsters） were set up. ResultCompared with the normal group， the acute hyperlipidemia model mice showed increased TC， TG， and LDL-C levels （P<0.01）， and the hyperlipidemia model mice showed increased TC and LDL-C levels （P<0.01）. Additionally， the hyperlipidemia model golden hamsters showed increased serum TC， TG， LDL-C， ALT， AST， and ALP levels （P<0.05， P<0.01）. HE staining indicated the presence of fat accumulation in the liver， accompanied by inflammatory reactions. Compared with the model group， QSQ of various doses could reduce TC， TG， and LDL-C levels in acute hyperlipidemia model mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the high-dose QSQ could reduce TC and LDL-C levels （P<0.01） and increase HDL-C level （P<0.05） in hyperlipidemia model mice， as well as reduce TC， TG， and LDL-C levels in hyperlipidemia model golden hamsters （P<0.05， P<0.01）， especially in the first two weeks. In addition， atorvastatin calcium could further increase ALT， AST， and ALP levels （P<0.05， P<0.01） and aggravate liver function damage， while low-dose QSQ could reduce ALT， AST， and ALP （P<0.05）， and medium- and high-dose QSQ did not cause further liver function damage. ConclusionQSQ have a significant lipid-lowering effect on different hyperlipidemia model animals and can improve liver function and liver injury.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of using indocyanine green angiography in mapping the superficial temporal vessels and assisting design and harvesting of the superficial temporal artery based forehead flap. METHODS: A clinical data of 14 patients with facial soft tissue defects repaired with superficial temporal artery based forehead flaps between October 2015 and November 2022 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 9 males and 5 females with a median age of 9.5 years (range, 3-38 years). The forehead flaps were used to reconstruct facial soft tissue defects following excision of facial scar (8 cases) or congenital melanocyte nevus (6 cases). The size of defects ranged from 3 cm×2 cm to 24 cm×9 cm. Before operation, the indocyanine green angiography was used to map the superficial temporal artery and vein, and to analyze the relationship of the arteries and veins. The forehead flaps with unilateral superficial temporal fascia as the pedicle was transferred to repair the small facial defect in 2 cases. The facial pedicle contained the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery and 2 cm of the superficial temporal fascia around the vessel, and the tiny accompanying vein of the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery was used as the outflow of the flap. The forehead flaps with the skin pedicle including bilateral or unilateral superficial temporal fascia and the overlying skin was pre-expanded and transferred to repair the large facial defect in 12 cases. The skin pedicle contained the frontal branch of superficial temporal artery and one of main branches of superficial temporal vein. Among the 12 cases, the frontal branch of superficial temporal vein was used as the outflow in 4 cases, and the parietal branch was used as the outflow in 8 cases. The size of the flaps ranged from 3 cm×2 cm to 30 cm×13 cm. The skin pedicles were divided at 3 weeks after the flap transfer. RESULTS: Indocyanine green angiography could clearly showed the course and branching of the superficial temporal artery and vein. Individual differences existed in the location where the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery entered the forehead. The superficial temporal vein had great variability and did not follow the artery. One patient had expander-related complication, which resulted in 3-cm flap necrosis. The necrotic tissue was debrided and repaired with skin grafting. The other flaps totally survived and the incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 2-24 months, with a median of 11.5 months. The color, texture, and thickness of the flaps matched well with those of recipient sites. Hypertrophic scar was not observed in recipient or donor site. All patients were satisfied with the reconstructive outcomes. CONCLUSION Indocyanine green angiography can clearly visualize the course and the branches of the superficial temporal arteries and veins, which can help surgeons understand the position, distribution, and concomitant relationship of the superficial temporal vessels, and make a rational surgical plan of the forehead flap.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Child ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Temporal Arteries/surgery* ; Indocyanine Green ; Forehead/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Transplantation ; Angiography ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Perforator Flap/blood supply* ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To review the research progress of the principle and clinical application of keloid core excision technique. METHODS: The literature on keloid core excision technique at home and abroad in recent years was extensively reviewed, and the principle, development history, indications, advantages and disadvantages of this technique were summarized, and the existing controversies were analyzed. RESULTS: Keloid core excision is a technique to remove the inner fibrous core from the keloid and cover the defect with the keloidal flap. It reduces the wound tension, yields good aesthetic results in the treatment of ear keloids, and reduces the recurrence rate of keloids combining with adjuvant therapies. CONCLUSION The keloid core excision technique has specific advantages, yet its overall efficacy remains controversial. Further studies are imperative to explore the mechanisms regarding keloid recurrence and the vascular supply principles of the keloidal flap. It is also necessary to define appropriate surgical indications and safety protocols of this technique.
Humans ; Keloid/pathology* ; Recurrence ; Surgical Flaps/pathology* ; Plastic Surgery Procedures ; Treatment Outcome