Objective:To observe the effect of electroacupuncture on depression in chronic pain mice; To explore its mechanism.Methods:36 C57BL/6J mice were divided into a blank control group, a sham-operation group, a model group, and an electroacupuncture group using a random number table method, with 9 mice in each group. The chronic compression injury model of sciatic nerve was established in the model group and electroacupuncture group. Mechanical pain threshold (MWT) and latent heat wave leg reflex (TWL) were measured on preoperative day 1 and postoperative days 4, 7, 14, 21, and 35. Electroacupuncture treatment was performed on the 14th day after modeling, and on the 35th day after modeling, open field experiments, elevated cross maze experiments, forced swimming experiments, and tail suspension experiments were conducted to evaluate depressive like behavior in mice. Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of glutamate receptor 1 (GluA1), glutamate receptor 2 (GluA2), human glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3), and calmodulin dependent protein kinase Ⅱ (CaMKⅡ) in the hippocampus of each group of mice; GluA1 positive cells in the hippocampus of mice was observed using immunofluorescence technology.Results:Compared with the blank group, the MWT and TWL value of the model group decreased ( P<0.05) on postoperative days 4, 7, 14, and 21. Compared with the model group, the electroacupuncture group had a longer stay time in the central area of the open field ( P<0.01), an increased percentage of stay time and activity frequency in the elevated arm opening ( P<0.01), a shorter static time for forced swimming ( P<0.01), and a shorter immobility time for the suspended tail ( P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the expressions of GluA1, GLUT3, GluA2, and CaMKⅡ proteins in the hippocampus of mice in the electroacupuncture group increased ( P<0.05), and the number of GluA1 positive cells increased ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Electroacupuncture can affect synaptic plasticity by regulating the AMPA receptor in the hippocampal region, thereby improving depressive mood caused by chronic pain.

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture auricular acupuncture points on depression-like behaviors and ventral dorsal tegmental area(VTA)TH,DRD1 and DRD2 induced in well acute stress disorder(ASD)mice.Methods Experiment 1:18 male C57 mice were divided into 9 control and 9 model mice.Behavioural paradigms such as forced swimming test(FST)and tail suspension test(TST)were used to detect depression-like behaviors in the mice starting on day 5 and day 36;double-labelled staining for immediate early gene protein(C-Fos)and tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)was detected in the VTA of the mice by immunofluorescence.Experiment 2:45 male C57 mice were divided into 15 mice each in the control groups,model groups and electroacupuncture groups.30 days after completion of the electroacupuncture intervention,the mice were tested for depressive behaviors using behavioural paradigms such as FST and TST;dopamine receptor D1(DRD1)and dopamine receptor D2(DRD2)was detected in the VTA of mice in each group using fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot techniques;the number of TH neurons in the brain area of the VTA of mice was observed by immunofluorescence.Results Experiment 1:Compared with the control group,the immobile duration of the model group increased in the TST(P<0.001)and FST(P<0.001)on day 5 and day 6,and the immobile duration of the model group increased in the TST(P<0.01)and FST(P<0.01)on day 36 and day 37;compared with the control group,the number of C-Fos and TH fluorescence double-labelled neurons in the model group increased(P<0.05).Experiment 2:At day after completion of the electroacupuncture intervention,the immobile duration of TST(P<0.01)and FST(P<0.01)were decreased in the electroacupuncture group compared with the model group;compared with the control group,DRD1 mRNA(P<0.001)and protein expression(P<0.01)were increased in the VTA of the electroacupuncture group,and DRD2 mRNA(P<0.001)and protein expression(P<0.05)were decreased,TH protein expression(P<0.05)increased,and the number of TH neurons increased(P<0.01).Conclusion Early intervention with auricular electroacupuncture points has an ameliorative effect on depression-like behaviors induced by acute stress disorder in mice,which may be achieved by modulating the activity level of dopaminergic neurons and the expression level of DRD1 and DRD2 in the VTA.

Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.

Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture auricular acupuncture points on depression-like behaviors and ventral dorsal tegmental area(VTA)TH,DRD1 and DRD2 induced in well acute stress disorder(ASD)mice.Methods Experiment 1:18 male C57 mice were divided into 9 control and 9 model mice.Behavioural paradigms such as forced swimming test(FST)and tail suspension test(TST)were used to detect depression-like behaviors in the mice starting on day 5 and day 36;double-labelled staining for immediate early gene protein(C-Fos)and tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)was detected in the VTA of the mice by immunofluorescence.Experiment 2:45 male C57 mice were divided into 15 mice each in the control groups,model groups and electroacupuncture groups.30 days after completion of the electroacupuncture intervention,the mice were tested for depressive behaviors using behavioural paradigms such as FST and TST;dopamine receptor D1(DRD1)and dopamine receptor D2(DRD2)was detected in the VTA of mice in each group using fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot techniques;the number of TH neurons in the brain area of the VTA of mice was observed by immunofluorescence.Results Experiment 1:Compared with the control group,the immobile duration of the model group increased in the TST(P<0.001)and FST(P<0.001)on day 5 and day 6,and the immobile duration of the model group increased in the TST(P<0.01)and FST(P<0.01)on day 36 and day 37;compared with the control group,the number of C-Fos and TH fluorescence double-labelled neurons in the model group increased(P<0.05).Experiment 2:At day after completion of the electroacupuncture intervention,the immobile duration of TST(P<0.01)and FST(P<0.01)were decreased in the electroacupuncture group compared with the model group;compared with the control group,DRD1 mRNA(P<0.001)and protein expression(P<0.01)were increased in the VTA of the electroacupuncture group,and DRD2 mRNA(P<0.001)and protein expression(P<0.05)were decreased,TH protein expression(P<0.05)increased,and the number of TH neurons increased(P<0.01).Conclusion Early intervention with auricular electroacupuncture points has an ameliorative effect on depression-like behaviors induced by acute stress disorder in mice,which may be achieved by modulating the activity level of dopaminergic neurons and the expression level of DRD1 and DRD2 in the VTA.

Consecutively hospitalized patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China were retrospectively enrolled from January 2020 to March 2020 to investigate the association between the use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitor (RAS-I) and the outcome of this disease. Associations between the use of RAS-I (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)), ACEI, and ARB and in-hospital mortality were analyzed using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models in overall and subgroup of hypertension status. A total of 2771 patients with COVID-19 were included, with moderate and severe cases accounting for 45.0% and 36.5%, respectively. A total of 195 (7.0%) patients died. RAS-I (hazard ratio (HR)= 0.499, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.325-0.767) and ARB (HR = 0.410, 95% CI 0.240-0.700) use was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality among patients with COVID-19. For patients with hypertension, RAS-I and ARB applications were also associated with a reduced risk of mortality with HR of 0.352 (95% CI 0.162-0.764) and 0.279 (95% CI 0.115-0.677), respectively. RAS-I exhibited protective effects on the survival outcome of COVID-19. ARB use was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality among patients with COVID-19.
Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists/therapeutic use* ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19 ; Humans ; Hypertension/drug therapy* ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; Retrospective Studies