Endodontic microsurgery (EMS) is an oral surgical procedure that utilizes the magnification and illumination provided by a microscope. Fine instruments are used to remove periapical diseased tissues, resect the root apex, and tightly seal the root canal system, aiming to promote the healing of periapical tissues and retain the affected tooth whenever possible. Precise localization and resection of the root apex have always been challenging in EMS. The application of digital technology in EMS can address many issues in traditional endodontic microsurgery. Digital technology offers advantages such as optimizing surgical planning, providing precise positioning guidance, and enhancing operational accuracy. Currently, the commonly used digital technologies in EMS include static and dynamic navigation technologies and oral surgical robots. Static navigation technology enhances surgical predictability through precise preoperative planning and guided fabrication, yet is constrained by its inability to adjust during surgery. Dynamic navigation technology excels in real-time tracking and intraoperative flexibility but demands high hand-eye coordination from surgeons and may be hindered by bulky handheld devices. Oral surgical robots reduce hand tremors and human error in surgery with their high precision, stability, and ability to adjust in real time, but their clinical applicability is limited and their cost is high. In clinical practice, tailored combinations of these technologies can be applied based on case complexity. For simple cases with well-defined anatomy, static navigation alone may suffice. For complex anatomical cases, static navigation can provide initial planning, supplemented by dynamic navigation for real-time guidance or robotic systems for high-precision execution. This paper discusses the workflow, clinical application status and advantages and limitations of these three digital technologies in EMS. The continuous development of digital technology is expected to simplify the operation process, improve the navigation accuracy, and reduce the operation cost. It is believed that with continuous improvement and optimization, these technologies will effectively break through the current bottleneck of the cost of equipment, operation complexity, and accuracy enhancement. These technologies are also expected to further expand the application boundaries, providing more minimally invasive, precise, and time-saving personalized treatment solutions for endodontic diseases.

The anti-inflammatory phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Illicium dunnianum (I. dunnianum) resulted in the isolation of five pairs of new lignans (1-5), and 7 known analogs (6-12). The separation of enantiomer mixtures 1-5 to 1a/1b-5a/5b was achieved using a chiral column with acetonitrile-water mixtures as eluents. The planar structures of 1-2 were previously undescribed, and the chiral separation and absolute configurations of 3-5 were reported for the first time. Their structures were determined through comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis [nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass (HR-ESI-MS), infrared (IR), and ultraviolet (UV)] and quantum chemistry calculations (ECD). The new isolates were evaluated by measuring their inhibitory effect on NO in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 cells. Compounds 1a, 3a, 3b, and 5a demonstrated partial inhibition of NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays revealed that 1a down-regulated the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), COX-2, and iNOS and the protein expressions of COX-2 and iNOS. This research provides guidance and evidence for the further development and utilization of I. dunnianum.
Lignans/isolation & purification* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification* ; Mice ; Animals ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Illicium/chemistry* ; Cyclooxygenase 2/immunology* ; Interleukin-6/immunology* ; Nitric Oxide/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/immunology* ; Lipopolysaccharides

Stresses induced by the deficiency or excess of trace mineral elements, such as manganese (Mn), represent a common limiting factor for the production of crops like Brassica napus. To identify key genes involved in Mn allocation in B. napus and elucidate the underlying mechanisms, a member of the metal tolerance protein (MTP) family obtained in the previous screening of cDNA library of B. napus under Mn stress was selected as the research subject. Based on the sequence information and phylogenetic analysis, it was named as BnMTP10. It belongs to the Mn-cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) subfamily. Expression of BnMTP10 in yeast significantly improved the tolerance of transformants to excessive Mn and iron (Fe) and reduced the accumulation of Mn and Fe. However, the yeast transformants exhibited no significant changes in tolerance to excess cadmium, boron, aluminum, zinc, or copper. The qRT-PCR results demonstrated that the flowers of B. napus had the highest expression of BnMTP10, followed by roots and leaves. Subcellular localization studies revealed that BnMTP10 was localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Compared with wild-type plants, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing BnMTP10 exhibited enhanced tolerance to excessive Mn stress but showed no significant difference under Fe stress. Correspondingly, under excessive Mn stress, the Mn content in the roots of transgenic Arabidopsis increased significantly. However, under excessive Fe stress, the Fe content in transgenic Arabidopsis did not alter significantly. According to the results, we hypothesize that BnMTP10 may alleviate excessive Mn stress in plants by mediating Mn transport to the ER. This study facilitated our understanding of efficient mineral nutrients, and provided theoretical foundations and gene resources for breeding B. napus.
Brassica napus/genetics* ; Manganese/metabolism* ; Plants, Genetically Modified/genetics* ; Plant Proteins/physiology* ; Arabidopsis/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Cation Transport Proteins/metabolism* ; Stress, Physiological

This study aims to determine the nephrotoxic effects of 3-monochloropropanel-1,2-diol(3-MCPD)on female and male SD rats.A nephrotoxicity model was established by gavage of dif-ferent doses of 3-MCPD,and 80 SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:the control group(0 mg/kg 3-MCPD),low-dose group(15 mg/kg 3-MCPD),medium-dose group(30 mg/kg 3-MCPD),high-dose group(60 mg/kg 3-MCPD),with half female and half male.The body mass and food intake of the rats were recorded weekly,and the urine and blood and kidney tissues were col-lected after 28 consecutive days of gavage,and the blood erythrocyte count(WBC),white blood cell count(RBC),hemoglobin(HGB),erythrocyte-compaction-transfer-value(HCT),creatinine(CREA),serum urea nitrogen(BUN),and the indexes of blood phosphorus(P)and calcium(Ca)were detected;the level of kidney injury molecule(KIM-1)was measured by ELISA kit;the renal pathological changes was observed by histopathology method;and transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze differential genes in female and male rats.The results showed that 3-MCPD did not significantly affect the growth of male rats,but high doses significantly reduced the weight and food intake of female rats.The high-dose group of 3-MCPD caused a significant decrease in RBC,HGB,and HCT levels in both male and female rats,resulting in a significant increase in KIM-1 and P,and a significant decrease in Ca,but only a significant increase in CREA and BUN in female rats.Histopathology showed that in the high-dose group of male rats,only mild renal tubular dilation,epithelial cell edema,and clear tubular type were observed in the kidneys,while in female rats,a large number of renal sacs,clear tubular type,and interstitial inflammatory cells with fibrosis were observed in the kidneys.Transcriptome sequencing showed 1 712 differentially expressed genes in the high-dose group of female rats and 1 153 differentially expressed genes in the high-dose group of male rats.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that both male and female rats in the high-dose group experienced oxidative stress and cell apoptosis,but 3-MCPD may also participate in the process of kidney damage in females by inhibiting autophagy and inducing iron death pathways.The above results indicate that high-dose 3-MCPD has a more significant nephrotoxic effect on fe-male rats.

Objective To explore the impact of irregular shape of head CT hematomas on postoperative re-bleeding and prognosis of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH)who undergo craniotomy for hematoma evacuation.Methods We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ICH who underwent craniotomy for hematoma evacuation in the Department of Neurosurgery of the Second People's Hospital of Guiyang Affiliated to Guizhou Medical University from January 2019 to June 2024.Baseline and clinical data were collected form the patients,including age,gender,smoking history,drinking history,hypertension,diabetes,history of anticoagulant use,admission systolic and diastolic blood pressure,admission National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS)score,Glasgow coma scale(GCS)score,time from onset to the first head CT,neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR).Admission head CT scans were used to assess hematoma shape(regular or irregular),hematoma location(basal ganglia,lobar,multifocal),hematoma volume,perihematomal edema volume,the presence of midline shift,and intraventricular extension.Volume of the hematoma was assessed 2 days after surgery.Postoperative re-bleeding is defined as an increase in the volume of the hematoma by 12.5 ml compared to the previous postoperative CT scan within 2 weeks after surgery,or the reappearance of high-density areas in the focal area of the head CT scan during follow-up after complete hematoma clearance.Conduct patients follow-ups via telephone at 6 months postoperatively to assess their modified Rankin scale(mRS)scores.The sliding dichotomy method was applied to define prognosis based on the patients' baseline characteristics and disease severity.The prognostic score was calculated using formula:10 × admission GCS score-age-0.64 × admission hematoma volume.A prognostic score＞27.672 was considered potentially favorable,while a score ≤ 27.672 was considered potentially unfavorable.For patients with a potentially favorable prognosis,an mRS score of 0-2 was defined as a good outcome,and a score of 3-6 as a poor outcome.For those with a potentially unfavorable prognosis,an mRS score of 0-3 was defined as a good outcome,and a score of 4-6 as a poor outcome.In the comparison of baseline and clinical data between patients with regular and irregular hematoma shapes,factors with P＜0.05 were included in propensity score matching(PSM)to adjust for confounding variables.A 1∶1 matching was performed using the nearest neighbor method with a caliper value set to 0.25.Variables with statistically significant differences between groups after PSM matching were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis to identify influencing factors for postoperative re-bleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients undergoing craniotomy hematoma evacuation.The predictive value of irregular hematoma shape for postoperative rebleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Results(1)A total of 440 ICH patients were enrolled,including 342 males and 98 females,aged from 20 to 84 years with a mean age of(56±12)years.Statistically significant differences were observed in baseline and clinical data between patients with regular and irregular hematoma shapes before PSM,including age,admission GCS score,NIHSS score,NLR,proportion of patients with hematoma rupture into ventricles,preoperative hematoma volume,proportion of patients with midline shift,preoperative volume of hematoma surrounding edema,proportion of patients with hematoma located in multiple sites,and postoperative 2-day hematoma volume(all P＜0.05).After propensity score matching of these factors,298 ICH patients were included in the statistical analysis,comprising 228 males and 70 females,with an age range of 20 to 84 years and a mean age of(57±12)years.Following PSM,no statistically significant differences were observed in the baseline and clinical characteristics between patients with irregular and regular hematoma shapes(all P＞0.05).(2)After propensity score matching,28 patients experienced postoperative re-bleeding while 270 did not.Significant differences were observed between the two groups in the following factors:proportion of patients with a history of anticoagulant use,admission PLR,NLR,irregular hematoma shape,and hematoma volume at 2 days after operation(all P＜0.05).No statistically significant differences were found in the remaining baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).Using postoperative re-bleeding as the dependent variable and incorporating factors with P＜0.05 from the univariate analysis as independent variables,multivariate Logistic regression analysis identified irregular hematoma shape(OR,2.821,95％CI 1.142-6.968,P=0.025)and larger hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(OR,1.062,95％CI 1.026-1.099,P＜0.01)as independent risk factors for re-bleeding following intracranial hematoma evacuation in ICH patients.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that irregular hematoma shape predicted postoperative re-bleeding with an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.62,showing a sensitivity of 71.4％and a specificity of 52.2％.(3)After propensity score matching,174 patients had poor prognosis while 124 had good prognosis.Significant intergroup differences were observed in age,admission GCS score,NIHSS score,irregular hematoma shape,proportion of patients with hematomas located in the basal ganglia and cerebral lobes,and hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(all P＜0.05).No statistically significant differences were found in the remaining baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).Using poor prognosis as the dependent variable and incorporating factors with P＜0.05 from univariate analysis as independent variables,multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that advanced age(OR,1.039,95％CI 1.015-1.064,P=0.002),high admission NIHSS score(OR,1.068,95％CI 1.025-1.113,P=0.002),irregular hematoma shape(OR,2.675,95％CI 1.582-4.524,P＜0.01),and larger hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(OR,1.033,95％CI 1.002-1.064,P=0.038)were independent risk factors for poor prognosis.Conversely,lobar hematoma location(OR,0.192,95％CI 0.073-0.504,P＜0.01)was identified as a protective factor.ROC curve analysis showed that irregular hematoma shape predicted poor prognosis after intracranial hematoma evacuation with an AUC of 0.61,demonstrating a sensitivity of 59.2％and specificity of 62.9％.Conclusion Irregular hematoma shape on head CT is an independent risk factor for both postoperative re-bleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients undergoing craniotomy for hematoma evacuation.

Objective To explore the impact of irregular shape of head CT hematomas on postoperative re-bleeding and prognosis of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH)who undergo craniotomy for hematoma evacuation.Methods We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ICH who underwent craniotomy for hematoma evacuation in the Department of Neurosurgery of the Second People's Hospital of Guiyang Affiliated to Guizhou Medical University from January 2019 to June 2024.Baseline and clinical data were collected form the patients,including age,gender,smoking history,drinking history,hypertension,diabetes,history of anticoagulant use,admission systolic and diastolic blood pressure,admission National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS)score,Glasgow coma scale(GCS)score,time from onset to the first head CT,neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR).Admission head CT scans were used to assess hematoma shape(regular or irregular),hematoma location(basal ganglia,lobar,multifocal),hematoma volume,perihematomal edema volume,the presence of midline shift,and intraventricular extension.Volume of the hematoma was assessed 2 days after surgery.Postoperative re-bleeding is defined as an increase in the volume of the hematoma by 12.5 ml compared to the previous postoperative CT scan within 2 weeks after surgery,or the reappearance of high-density areas in the focal area of the head CT scan during follow-up after complete hematoma clearance.Conduct patients follow-ups via telephone at 6 months postoperatively to assess their modified Rankin scale(mRS)scores.The sliding dichotomy method was applied to define prognosis based on the patients' baseline characteristics and disease severity.The prognostic score was calculated using formula:10 × admission GCS score-age-0.64 × admission hematoma volume.A prognostic score＞27.672 was considered potentially favorable,while a score ≤ 27.672 was considered potentially unfavorable.For patients with a potentially favorable prognosis,an mRS score of 0-2 was defined as a good outcome,and a score of 3-6 as a poor outcome.For those with a potentially unfavorable prognosis,an mRS score of 0-3 was defined as a good outcome,and a score of 4-6 as a poor outcome.In the comparison of baseline and clinical data between patients with regular and irregular hematoma shapes,factors with P＜0.05 were included in propensity score matching(PSM)to adjust for confounding variables.A 1∶1 matching was performed using the nearest neighbor method with a caliper value set to 0.25.Variables with statistically significant differences between groups after PSM matching were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis to identify influencing factors for postoperative re-bleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients undergoing craniotomy hematoma evacuation.The predictive value of irregular hematoma shape for postoperative rebleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Results(1)A total of 440 ICH patients were enrolled,including 342 males and 98 females,aged from 20 to 84 years with a mean age of(56±12)years.Statistically significant differences were observed in baseline and clinical data between patients with regular and irregular hematoma shapes before PSM,including age,admission GCS score,NIHSS score,NLR,proportion of patients with hematoma rupture into ventricles,preoperative hematoma volume,proportion of patients with midline shift,preoperative volume of hematoma surrounding edema,proportion of patients with hematoma located in multiple sites,and postoperative 2-day hematoma volume(all P＜0.05).After propensity score matching of these factors,298 ICH patients were included in the statistical analysis,comprising 228 males and 70 females,with an age range of 20 to 84 years and a mean age of(57±12)years.Following PSM,no statistically significant differences were observed in the baseline and clinical characteristics between patients with irregular and regular hematoma shapes(all P＞0.05).(2)After propensity score matching,28 patients experienced postoperative re-bleeding while 270 did not.Significant differences were observed between the two groups in the following factors:proportion of patients with a history of anticoagulant use,admission PLR,NLR,irregular hematoma shape,and hematoma volume at 2 days after operation(all P＜0.05).No statistically significant differences were found in the remaining baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).Using postoperative re-bleeding as the dependent variable and incorporating factors with P＜0.05 from the univariate analysis as independent variables,multivariate Logistic regression analysis identified irregular hematoma shape(OR,2.821,95％CI 1.142-6.968,P=0.025)and larger hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(OR,1.062,95％CI 1.026-1.099,P＜0.01)as independent risk factors for re-bleeding following intracranial hematoma evacuation in ICH patients.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that irregular hematoma shape predicted postoperative re-bleeding with an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.62,showing a sensitivity of 71.4％and a specificity of 52.2％.(3)After propensity score matching,174 patients had poor prognosis while 124 had good prognosis.Significant intergroup differences were observed in age,admission GCS score,NIHSS score,irregular hematoma shape,proportion of patients with hematomas located in the basal ganglia and cerebral lobes,and hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(all P＜0.05).No statistically significant differences were found in the remaining baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).Using poor prognosis as the dependent variable and incorporating factors with P＜0.05 from univariate analysis as independent variables,multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that advanced age(OR,1.039,95％CI 1.015-1.064,P=0.002),high admission NIHSS score(OR,1.068,95％CI 1.025-1.113,P=0.002),irregular hematoma shape(OR,2.675,95％CI 1.582-4.524,P＜0.01),and larger hematoma volume at 2 days post-operation(OR,1.033,95％CI 1.002-1.064,P=0.038)were independent risk factors for poor prognosis.Conversely,lobar hematoma location(OR,0.192,95％CI 0.073-0.504,P＜0.01)was identified as a protective factor.ROC curve analysis showed that irregular hematoma shape predicted poor prognosis after intracranial hematoma evacuation with an AUC of 0.61,demonstrating a sensitivity of 59.2％and specificity of 62.9％.Conclusion Irregular hematoma shape on head CT is an independent risk factor for both postoperative re-bleeding and poor prognosis in ICH patients undergoing craniotomy for hematoma evacuation.

This study aims to determine the nephrotoxic effects of 3-monochloropropanel-1,2-diol(3-MCPD)on female and male SD rats.A nephrotoxicity model was established by gavage of dif-ferent doses of 3-MCPD,and 80 SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:the control group(0 mg/kg 3-MCPD),low-dose group(15 mg/kg 3-MCPD),medium-dose group(30 mg/kg 3-MCPD),high-dose group(60 mg/kg 3-MCPD),with half female and half male.The body mass and food intake of the rats were recorded weekly,and the urine and blood and kidney tissues were col-lected after 28 consecutive days of gavage,and the blood erythrocyte count(WBC),white blood cell count(RBC),hemoglobin(HGB),erythrocyte-compaction-transfer-value(HCT),creatinine(CREA),serum urea nitrogen(BUN),and the indexes of blood phosphorus(P)and calcium(Ca)were detected;the level of kidney injury molecule(KIM-1)was measured by ELISA kit;the renal pathological changes was observed by histopathology method;and transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze differential genes in female and male rats.The results showed that 3-MCPD did not significantly affect the growth of male rats,but high doses significantly reduced the weight and food intake of female rats.The high-dose group of 3-MCPD caused a significant decrease in RBC,HGB,and HCT levels in both male and female rats,resulting in a significant increase in KIM-1 and P,and a significant decrease in Ca,but only a significant increase in CREA and BUN in female rats.Histopathology showed that in the high-dose group of male rats,only mild renal tubular dilation,epithelial cell edema,and clear tubular type were observed in the kidneys,while in female rats,a large number of renal sacs,clear tubular type,and interstitial inflammatory cells with fibrosis were observed in the kidneys.Transcriptome sequencing showed 1 712 differentially expressed genes in the high-dose group of female rats and 1 153 differentially expressed genes in the high-dose group of male rats.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that both male and female rats in the high-dose group experienced oxidative stress and cell apoptosis,but 3-MCPD may also participate in the process of kidney damage in females by inhibiting autophagy and inducing iron death pathways.The above results indicate that high-dose 3-MCPD has a more significant nephrotoxic effect on fe-male rats.

Objective:To analyze and summarize the clinical, genotypic and pathological characteristics of children with PAX2 gene mutation in China, and to provide information for the monitoring, treatment and prognosis of the disease. Methods:It was a case series analysis study. The clinical data of children with PAX2 gene mutation in Pediatric Nephrology Department, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2014 to December 2022 were collected, and peripheral blood gene DNA was extracted and sequenced for whole exome sequencing. The clinical, pathological and genotypic characteristics of PAX2 gene variation of children in China were summarized by searching PubMed, Medline, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang database and compared with the cases in this single center. Results:Among the 13 children with PAX2 gene mutation, there were 9 males and 4 females, 12 patients with abnormal urine tests, 7 patients with small kidney volume by imaging examination, and 5 patients with renal cysts. The clinical phenotypes were congenital renal and urinary tract malformations in 8 cases, renal coloboma syndrome in 1 case, and hematuria or proteinuria in 3 cases. Five patients underwent renal biopsies, showing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and C3 glomerulopathy in 1 case, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in 1 case, thin basement membrane lesion in 1 case, and IgA nephropathy in 2 cases. The genetic testing in 13 children showed 9 de novo mutations and 4 new mutations of c.321G>A, c.213-8C>G, c.63C>A and c.449C>T. There were 2 cases of 76dupG (p.V26Gfs*28) mutant. A total of 51 Chinese children with PAX2 gene mutation were found in the literature search. There were 32 males and 19 females, 8 cases with small kidney volume and 12 cases with renal cysts. The clinical phenotypes were congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract in 28 cases, renal coloboma syndrome in 17 cases, and hematuria or proteinuria in 6 cases. Seven patients underwent renal biopsies, including 2 cases with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, 1 case with minimal lesion, 1 case with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, 1 case with IgA nephropathy, 1 case with membranous nephropathy and a case with focal proliferative sclerosing purpura nephritis combined with glomerular hypertrophy. Thirty-four cases were de novo mutations, and 12 mutations were from the father or mother. The father or mother of 5 children had no clinical manifestations, with normal renal function. There were 11 cases of 76dupG (p.V26Gfs*28) mutant. Conclusions:The clinical phenotypes and genotypes of PAX2 gene variation in Chinese children are diverse. The most common clinical phenotype of PAX2 gene variation is congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract. c.76dupG (p.V26Gfs*28) is the most common of PAX2 gene variant.

Objective:To determine a relationship between ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) and pathological lessions of renal tissues in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Methods:It was a cross-sectional observational study, involving children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January to December 2021 with definite pathological diagnosis through kidney biopsy. The SWE was used to determine the Young's modulus (elastic modulus) of the cortex and medulla of the upper, middle, and lower poles of the kidney. The renal histopathology was classified or graded. The statistical method was used to analyze the relationship between Young's modulus of the inferior polar cortex (YM cor) and medulla (YM med) of the right kidney and renal pathology. Results:The study included 110 children with definite pathological diagnosis through renal biopsy, aged (10.1±3.4) years old (2-17 years old), with 55 males (50.0%). The body mass index was (20.6±2.4) kg/m 2, and mean arterial pressure was (95±24) mmHg. There were 94 patients (85.4%) with CKD stage 1, 8 patients (7.3%) with CKD stage 2, and 8 patients (7.3%) with CKD stage 3. There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med in the upper and middle poles of the right kidneys, and YM med in the lower poles of right kidneys in CKD patients with different stages (all P>0.05). Both YM cor [(15.75±3.36) kPa] and YM med [(13.50±2.43) kPa] of CKD stage 3 patients were significantly higher than those of CKD stage 1 patients [(12.94±2.45) kPa, (11.88±2.23) kPa](both P<0.05). There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med in the lower poles of right kidneys between stage 1 and stage 2 CKD patients (both P>0.05). YM cor[(17.93±3.23) kPa] and YM med [(15.50±1.48) kPa] in patients with crescentic glomerulonephritis were higher than those in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis [(12.71±2.42) kPa, (11.57±2.63) kPa] and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis [(12.73±2.04) kPa, (11.48±2.10) kPa](all P<0.05). There was no significant difference of YM cor and YM med between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (both P>0.05). YM cor [(16.30±2.63) kPa] and YM med [(15.54±1.59) kPa] of Lee's Ⅳ grade of IgA nephropathy were higher than those of Lee's Ⅲ grade [(13.32±2.70) kPa, (12.57±2.50) kPa](both P<0.05), while the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children grade of purpura nephritis had no significant correlation with YM cor and YM med (both P>0.05). YM cor [(15.41±2.37) kPa] and YM med [(13.82±2.59) kPa] of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (T1/T2) group of IgA nephropathy mixed with purpura nephritis were significantly higher than those of T0 group's [(12.99±2.40) kPa, (11.79±2.05) kPa] (both P<0.05). Moreover, crescent formation (C1) group had a higher YM cor [(14.21±2.77) kPa] and YM med [(12.80±2.47) kPa] than those in C0 group [(12.73±2.15) kPa, (11.59±1.97) kPa] (both P<0.05), while YM cor and YM med were unrelated to the mesangial hypercellularity (M), endocapillary cellularity (E), segmental sclerosis or adhesion (S) indicators (all P>0.05). In lupus nephritis patients, YM cor ( r=0.744, P=0.035) and YM med ( r=0.728, P=0.009) were favorably linked with the chronic index, but not with the activity index (both P>0.05). Conclusions:Renal interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy and crescentic development are connected with YM cor and YM med at the lower pole of the kidney as measured by SWE. SWE can be used to assess the chronic renal lesions in children with CKD in the early and middle stages. It may develop into a new noninvasive way to assess renal pathology.

Objective:To observe any effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (p-ERK1/2) and phosphorylated cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein (p-CREB) in the spinal dorsal horns of diabetics experiencing neuropathic pain.Methods:Eight rats were randomly selected from 30 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats as the normal group (N), and the remaining twenty-two rats were treated with a single high-dose intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) to establish a neuropathic pain model. The rats modeled successfully were randomly divided into a model group (M, n=8) and an EA group ( n=8). In the EA group, electroacupuncture was applied at the bilateral Hou san li and Kunlun acupoints starting on the 15th day after the STZ injection. The daily sessions lasted 30 minutes for 1 week. Body weight (BW), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) were observed before the STZ injection and on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days afterward. The expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB in the dorsal horns of the rats′ spinal cords was detected using western blotting. The count of p-CREB-positive cells in the dorsal horns and their co-localization with neurons was detected using immunofluorescence. Results:In comparison with the N group, the average BW of the M group on the 7th, 14th and 21st days after the STZ injection was significantly lower, while the average FBG was significantly higher. There was no significant difference between the M and N groups in the average PWL on the 7th day after the STZ injection, but it had decreased significantly in the M group on the 14th and 21st days. Compared with the M group, the average PWL of the EA group was significantly longer on the 21st day after the injection. The expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB protein in the spines of the M group was significantly higher than in the N group. p-CREB positive cells were more numerous in the M group compared with the N group, while in the EA group they were fewer. P-CREB was co-located with neurons in the spinal dorsal horn.Conclusion:EA can alleviate neuropathic pain effectively, perhaps by inhibiting the expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB in the dorsal horns of the spinal cord.