Objective: To investigate treatment strategies for chronic periapical periodontitis in prematurely erupted premolars and provide guidance for managing pulp and periapical diseases in young permanent teeth with immature roots. Methods: A regenerative endodontic procedure (REP) was performed on a prematurely erupted maxillary left first premolar (tooth 24) at Nolla stage Ⅶ with chronic apical periodontitis, following standardized protocols including root canal irrigation, disinfection, and coronal sealing. The case was followed up, and a literature review was conducted. Results: Clinical resolution of symptoms was observed on tooth 24, with sustained root development. After a 20-month follow-up, the tooth had restored biological function. Literature synthesis revealed that periapical infections in prematurely erupted permanent teeth predominently arise from pulp exposure and bacterial infection, with retrograde infection being rare. For young permanent teeth with necrotic pulp, regenerative endodontic procedures has been established as the treatment of choice to promote apical closure and root maturation. The critical steps of regenerative endodontic procedures include thorough disinfection, induced bleeding to form a fibrin scaffold, and coronal sealing to facilitate stem cell recruitment and differentiation. Conclusion Regenerative endodontic procedures represents an effective and viable treatment option for prematurely erupted young permanent teeth with chronic periapical periodontitis.

Objective:To investigate the changes in brain functional network and structural-functional network coupling in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), and to analyze their correlation with cognitive function, disease duration, and age of onset.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Clinical and imaging data of 19 children with DRE who received consultation and treatment at the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from August 2021 to August 2023 (DRE group) were prospectively included. Another 27 age-and sex-matched healthy children were collected as the healthy control group. All subjects had 3D-T 1WI, T 2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans and Wechsler Intelligence Scale assessments. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the global and local topological attributes, as well as the structural-functional coupling (SFC) values at the whole brain and modular levels in two groups. Correlations between abnormal resting state brain functional network indicators and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale score [verbal comprehension index (VCI), perceptual reasoning index (PRI), working memory index (WMI), processing speed index (PSI), full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ)], disease duration and age of onset was evaluated using a Spearman or Pearson correlation analysis. Results:Compared to the healthy control group, DRE group exhibited decreased VCI, PRI, WMI, PSI, FSIQ and the differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). Both brain functional networks had small world attributes. There was a statistically significant difference in the area under the curve of sparsity of degree centrality (DC) in the left pallidum between the DRE group and healthy control group (2.998±0.942, 4.992±1.945, t=-4.07, FDR corrected P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the DRE group had decreased SFC within the limbic network (LN) ( P<0.05), increased SFC within the sensorimotor (SMN) ( P<0.05), decreased SFC between the default mode network-LN ( P<0.05), and increased SFC between the SMN-attentional network (AN) ( P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in SFC at the whole brain level between the two groups. Correlation analysis indicated that DC in left pallidum in DRE group negatively correlated with the PSI ( r=-0.537, P=0.018), and SFC between the SMN and AN demonstrated a negative correlation with age of onset ( r=-0.537, P=0.018). Conclusion:The altered DC in left pallidum may be related to cognitive impairment in children with DRE, providing biomarker information for the study of neural mechanisms in children with DRE.

In order to clarify the effects of drought stress training on the quality and drought resistance of Codonopsis pilosula, this study used PEG to simulate drought stress and employed potting with water control for the drought stress training of C. pilosula plants. The polysaccharide content, secondary metabolites, antioxidant system, and photosynthetic pigment system of C. pilosula after drought stress training were analyzed. The results showed that the content of fructans in the root of C. pilosula increased after two rounds of drought stress treatment, and it was significantly higher than that of the control group. The accumulation of fructans in the root of C. pilosula showed an upward trend during the rehydration treatment. The content of lobetyolin and tangshenoside Ⅰ increased after drought stress treatment compared with that of the control group. The rehydration treatment caused first increasing and then decreasing in the content of lobetyolin, while it had no significant effect on the tangshenoside Ⅰcontent. The content of photosynthetic pigments decreased after drought stress treatment, and it gradually increased during the first round of rehydration and the second round of rehydration. Moreover, the increase was faster in the second round of rehydration than in the first round of rehydration. The content of the peroxidation product malondialdehyde(MDA) and the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), peroxidase(POD), and catalase(CAT) increased after drought stress treatment compared with those of the control group, and they showed a tendency of decreasing during rehydration. Moreover, the decrease was faster in the second round of rehydration than in the first round of rehydration. When the plants of C. pilosula after drought stress training were again subjected to severe drought stress, the wilting rate decreased significantly, and the biomass increases significantly. This study showed that the drought stress training could promote the accumulation of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites in the root of C. pilosula. When encountering drought stress again, C. pilosula plants could quickly regulate the antioxidant system and delay the decomposition of chlorophyll to respond to drought stress. The findings provide a theoretical basis for the ecological cultivation of C. pilosula in arid and semi-arid areas.
Codonopsis/growth & development* ; Droughts ; Polysaccharides/metabolism* ; Stress, Physiological ; Water/metabolism* ; Antioxidants/metabolism* ; Photosynthesis ; Drought Resistance

Objective:To investigate the changes in brain functional network and structural-functional network coupling in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), and to analyze their correlation with cognitive function, disease duration, and age of onset.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Clinical and imaging data of 19 children with DRE who received consultation and treatment at the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from August 2021 to August 2023 (DRE group) were prospectively included. Another 27 age-and sex-matched healthy children were collected as the healthy control group. All subjects had 3D-T 1WI, T 2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans and Wechsler Intelligence Scale assessments. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the global and local topological attributes, as well as the structural-functional coupling (SFC) values at the whole brain and modular levels in two groups. Correlations between abnormal resting state brain functional network indicators and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale score [verbal comprehension index (VCI), perceptual reasoning index (PRI), working memory index (WMI), processing speed index (PSI), full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ)], disease duration and age of onset was evaluated using a Spearman or Pearson correlation analysis. Results:Compared to the healthy control group, DRE group exhibited decreased VCI, PRI, WMI, PSI, FSIQ and the differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). Both brain functional networks had small world attributes. There was a statistically significant difference in the area under the curve of sparsity of degree centrality (DC) in the left pallidum between the DRE group and healthy control group (2.998±0.942, 4.992±1.945, t=-4.07, FDR corrected P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the DRE group had decreased SFC within the limbic network (LN) ( P<0.05), increased SFC within the sensorimotor (SMN) ( P<0.05), decreased SFC between the default mode network-LN ( P<0.05), and increased SFC between the SMN-attentional network (AN) ( P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in SFC at the whole brain level between the two groups. Correlation analysis indicated that DC in left pallidum in DRE group negatively correlated with the PSI ( r=-0.537, P=0.018), and SFC between the SMN and AN demonstrated a negative correlation with age of onset ( r=-0.537, P=0.018). Conclusion:The altered DC in left pallidum may be related to cognitive impairment in children with DRE, providing biomarker information for the study of neural mechanisms in children with DRE.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of aristolochic acid (AA)-associated cancer in patients with AA nephropathy (AAN). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with AAN at Peking University First Hospital from January 1997 to December 2014. Long-term surveillance and follow-up data were analyzed to investigate the influence of different factors on the prevalence of cancer. The primary endpoint was the incidence of liver cancer, and the secondary endpoint was the incidence of urinary cancer during 1 year after taking AA-containing medication to 2014. RESULTS: A total of 337 patients diagnosed with AAN were included in this study. From the initiation of taking AA to the termination of follow-up, 39 patients were diagnosed with cancer. No cases of liver cancer were observed throughout the entire follow-up period, with urinary cancer being the predominant type (34/39, 87.17%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, follow-up period, and diabetes were potential risk factors, however, the dosage of the drug was not significantly associated with urinary cancer. CONCLUSIONS No cases of liver cancer were observed at the end of follow-up. However, a high prevalence of urinary cancer was observed in AAN patients. Establishing a direct causality between AA and HCC is challenging.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Incidence ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology* ; Kidney Diseases/chemically induced* ; Aristolochic Acids/adverse effects*

We aimed to identify the infectious source of a case of melioidosis,to provide evidence for the prevention and control of melioidosis in Shanxi Province,China.The patient developed repeated fever,fatigue,diarrhea,and other symptoms after being caught in the rain while traveling in Hainan Province.The blood culture was positive,and the bacterial strain was i-dentified as Burkholderia thayensis and sent to the provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention for further evaluation.MALDI-TOF MS and biochemical identification were used to identify the strain,whole genome sequencing was performed after nucleic acid extraction,MLST type and drug-resistance genes were analyzed,and a phylogenetic tree was constructed.The iso-lated strain was identified as Burkholderia pseudomallei by MALDI-TOF MS and biochemistry,and the MLST type was 366.The whole gene sequencing analysis indicated a close evolutionary relationship with the three isolates in Hainan Province,with high homology.This case of melioidosis was indeed imported from Hainan Province,according to molecular tracing analysis and epidemiological investigation,thus suggesting that medical institutions and disease control departments should strengthen understanding of melioidosis,and improve the diagnosis and treatment ability.

[Objective]To observe the expression of spinal G protein-gated inwardly-rectifying potassium(GIRK)channel subunits 1 and 2 in spinal dorsal horn of morphine-tolerant rats and investigate the regulatory mechanism.[Methods]Twenty four rats were equally and randomly divided into 4 groups:saline,morphine,morphine+saline and morphine+εV1-2.The morphine-tolerant rat model was established by intrathecal administration of morphine(15 μg/d)for 7 days.Thirty minutes before daily morphine administration,rats received protein kinase C-ε(PKCε)selective inhibitor εV1-2 to test its effect on morphine tolerance and GIRK1-2 expression.All rats received behavioral tests on days 1,3,5 and 7 and thereafter immunofluorescence.[Results]Double fluorescence staining showed that GIRK1 and GIRK2 were expressed primarily in the spinal laminae I-Ⅱ and co-immunostained with μ-opioid receptor(MOR).Seven-day intrathecal administration of morphine induced antinociceptive tolerance and a significant reduction of the spinal GIRK1(22.45±10.58 vs.62.83±20.80,P<0.001)and GIRK2(23.67±8.78 vs.50.17±11.05,P=0.001)fluorescence intensity,as compared with saline control rats.In addition,pretreatment with εV1-2 significantly delayed the reduction of morphine antinociception(P<0.001)and prevented the decrease of GIRK1(54.50±10.37 vs.19.33±9.48,P<0.001)and GIRK2(39.83±6.24 vs.15.83±9.58,P=0.001)expression induced by morphine treatment.[Conclusions]Morphine tolerance is closely related to down-regulation of GIRK1-2 expression and PKCε plays a crucial regulatory role herein.

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a prevalent learning disorder, and the KIAA0319 gene is a DD-associated gene, potentially affecting reading ability by influencing brain development. This review provides an overview of the impact of KIAA0319 gene on brain development in fish, non-primate mammals, primate mammals, and humans. In studies involving fish, the kiaa0319 gene was found to be expressed in the brain, eyes and ears of zebrafish. In mammalian studies, abnormal Kiaa0319 gene expression affected neuronal migration direction and final position, as well as dendritic morphology during embryonic development in rats, leading to abnormal white and gray matter development. Knocking down the Kiaa0319 gene impaired the primary auditory cortex in rats, resulting in phoneme processing impairment similar to DD. In mice, Kiaa0319 overexpression affected the neuronal migration process, causing delayed radial migration of neurons to the cortical plate. Knockout of the Kiaa0319 gene led to abnormal development of the gray matter in mice, resulting in reduced volume of the medial geniculate nucleus and then impacting auditory processing. In primate studies, research on marmosets found that KIAA0319 gene is expressed in the visual, auditory, and motor pathways, while studies on chimpanzees revealed that KIAA0319 gene abnormalities primarily affected the gray matter volume and microstructure of the posterior superior temporal gyrus, morphology of the superior temporal sulcus and gray matter volume of the inferior frontal gyrus. The impact of KIAA0319 gene on human brain development is mainly concentrated in the left temporal lobe, where abnormal KIAA0319 gene expression caused reduced gray matter in the left inferior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus, as well as reduced white matter volume in the left temporoparietal cortex. Abnormalities in KIAA0319 gene also led to decreased hemispheric asymmetry in the superior temporal sulcus. The above-mentioned brain regions are crucial for language and reading processing. It is analyzed that the abnormalities in the DD-associated KIAA0319 gene affect neuronal migration and morphology during brain development, resulting in abnormal development of subcortical structures (such as the medial geniculate nucleus and lateral geniculate nucleus) and cortical structures (including the left temporal cortex, temporoparietal cortex and fusiform gyrus) which are involved in human visual and auditory processing as well as language processing. Impairment of the medial geniculate nucleus affects the information transmission to the auditory cortex, leading to impaired phoneme processing. Abnormalities in the magnocellular layers within the lateral geniculate nucleus hinder the normal transmission of visual information to the visual cortex, affecting the dorsal visual pathway. The left temporal lobe is closely related to language and reading, and abnormalities in its gray matter and connections with other brain areas can affect the language and word processing. In summary, abnormalities in the KIAA0319 gene can partly explain current research findings on the cognitive and neural mechanisms of DD, providing a genetic basis for theoretical models related to DD (such as general sensorimotor theory and the magnocellular theory). However, the mechanism of developmental dyslexia is complex, and there are mutual influences between different DD-associated genes and between genes and the environment, which require further exploration.

Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Renal Dialysis ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Heart Valve Prosthesis

Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Renal Dialysis ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Heart Valve Prosthesis