ObjectiveMagnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive neuroimaging technique, meticulously captures the magnetic fields emanating from brain electrical activity. Compared with MEG based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID), MEG based on optically pump magnetometer (OPM) has the advantages of higher sensitivity, better spatial resolution and lower cost. However, most of the current studies are clinical studies, and there is a lack of animal studies on MEG based on OPM technology. Pain, a multifaceted sensory and emotional phenomenon, induces intricate alterations in brain activity, exhibiting notable sex differences. Despite clinical revelations of pain-related neuronal activity through MEG, specific properties remain elusive, and comprehensive laboratory studies on pain-associated brain activity alterations are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inflammatory pain (induced by Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)) on brain activity in a rat model using the MEG technique, to analysis changes in brain activity during pain perception, and to explore sex differences in pain-related MEG signaling. MethodsThis study utilized adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Inflammatory pain was induced via intraplantar injection of CFA (100 μl, 50% in saline) in the left hind paw, with control groups receiving saline. Pain behavior was assessed using von Frey filaments at baseline and 1 h post-injection. For MEG recording, anesthetized rats had an OPM positioned on their head within a magnetic shield, undergoing two 15-minute sessions: a 5-minute baseline followed by a 10-minute mechanical stimulation phase. Data analysis included artifact removal and time-frequency analysis of spontaneous brain activity using accumulated spectrograms, generating spectrograms focused on the 4-30 Hz frequency range. ResultsMEG recordings in anesthetized rats during resting states and hind paw mechanical stimulation were compared, before and after saline/CFA injections. Mechanical stimulation elevated alpha activity in both male and female rats pre- and post-saline/CFA injections. Saline/CFA injections augmented average power in both sexes compared to pre-injection states. Remarkably, female rats exhibited higher average spectral power 1 h after CFA injection than after saline injection during resting states. Furthermore, despite comparable pain thresholds measured by classical pain behavioral tests post-CFA treatment, female rats displayed higher average power than males in the resting state after CFA injection. ConclusionThese results imply an enhanced perception of inflammatory pain in female rats compared to their male counterparts. Our study exhibits sex differences in alpha activities following CFA injection, highlighting heightened brain alpha activity in female rats during acute inflammatory pain in the resting state. Our study provides a method for OPM-based MEG recordings to be used to study brain activity in anaesthetized animals. In addition, the findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of pain-related neural activity and pain sex differences.

Objective:To investigate the safety and efficacy of four-hook needle combined with holographic image in robot-assisted partial nephrectomy for completely intrarenal tumors.Methods:The clinical data of 8 patients with completely intrarenal tumors treated by robot-assisted partial nephrectomy with four-hook needle combined with holographic image admitted to General Hospital of Central Theater Command from October 2023 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 6 males and 2 females, with average age of (44.5±12.0) years old. Tumors of 6 cases were in the left side and 2 cases in the right side. The maximum diameter of the tumor was (23.2±8.1) mm. The R. E.N.A.L. score was (9.0±1.4). The preoperative serum creatinine (Scr) was (73.1±14.7) μmol/L. CT-guided four-hook needle was used to locate the edge of completely intrarenal tumor before surgery. During the operation, the tumor was precisely resected under the guidance of hologram and four-hook needle. Perioperative data of patients were collected and analyzed.Results:All the tumor were successfully resected under the guidance of four-hook needle and hologram without conversion to radical nephrectomy or open surgery. The mean operative time was (117.0±14.5) min, the mean hot ischemia time was (20.2±5.1) min, the mean intraoperative blood loss was (75.0±17.3) ml, and the average hospitalization time was (9.5±1.3) days.The one week postoperative Scr was (73.2±14.8) μmol/L, which had no significant difference with that of before operation ( P=0.952). None of them received blood transfusion. The pathology results of 8 patients were clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and the surgical margins were negative. Conclusions:For completely intrarenal tumors, the four-hook needle combined with the hologram can guide the surgeon to quickly locate the tumor, accurately resect the tumor, reduce perioperative complications, and is safe and effective.

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of recombinant human anti-severe acute respiratory syn-drome coronavirus 2(anti-SARS-CoV-2)monoclonal antibody injection(F61 injection)in the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)combined with renal damage.Methods Patients with COVID-19 and renal damage who visited the PLA General Hospital from January to February 2023 were selected.Subjects were randomly divided into two groups.Control group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy,while trial group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy combined with F61 injection.A 15-day follow-up was conducted after drug administration.Clinical symptoms,laboratory tests,electrocardiogram,and chest CT of pa-tients were performed to analyze the efficacy and safety of F61 injection.Results Twelve subjects(7 in trial group and 5 in control group)were included in study.Neither group had any clinical progression or death cases.The ave-rage time for negative conversion of nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 in control group and trial group were 3.2 days and 1.57 days(P=0.046),respectively.The scores of COVID-19 related target symptom in the trial group on the 3rd and 5th day after medication were both lower than those of the control group(both P＜0.05).According to the clinical staging and World Health Organization 10-point graded disease progression scale,both groups of subjects improved but didn't show statistical differences(P＞0.05).For safety,trial group didn't present any infusion-re-lated adverse event.Subjects in both groups demonstrated varying degrees of elevated blood glucose,elevated urine glucose,elevated urobilinogen,positive urine casts,and cardiac arrhythmia,but the differences were not statistica-lly significant(all P＞0.05).Conclusion F61 injection has initially demonstrated safety and clinical benefit in trea-ting patients with COVID-19 combined with renal damage.As the domestically produced drug,it has good clinical accessibility and may provide more options for clinical practice.

AIM To establish a UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous content determination of liquiritin apioside,alibiflorin,swertiamarin,methyl gallate,benzoylpaeoniflorin,sweroside,6′-O-β-D-glucosylgentiopicroside,isoliquiritigenin,loganic acid,liquiritigenin,gallic acid,paeoniflorin,oxypaeoniflorin,gentiopicroside,glycyrrhizic acid,isoliquiritoside and liquiritin in Yangxue Ruanjian Capsules.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 40℃thermostatic Waters BEH C18column(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate(containing 0.1%formic acid)-acetonitrile flowing at 0.3 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and electron spray ionization source was adopted in negative ion scanning with multiple reaction monitoring mode.RESULTS Seventeen constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r>0.999 6),whose average recoveries were 91.33%-104.03%with the RSDs of 1.58%-3.50%.CONCLUSION This rapid,accurate and stable method can be used for the quality control of Yangxue Ruanjian Capsules.

ObjectiveTo understand the mortality trends among residents of Fuling District， Chongqing， before and after theCOVID-19 outbreak， and to provide references for the government to formulate disease prevention and control policies and measures. MethodsData on mortality and population in Fuling District from 2017 to 2022 were collected to analyze population mortality and standardized mortality rates， and to compare the changes in the causes of death by year and before and after the pandemic. ResultsFrom 2017 to 2022， the crude mortality rate in Fuling District showed an upward trend （APC=3.04%， P<0.05）， while the standardized mortality rate showed a downward trend （APC=-6.47%， P<0.01）. The mortality rate of males was higher than that of females （P<0.05）， with different age groups having different causes of death composition. The highest proportion of deaths in 0-year-old group was from infectious diseases， maternal and neonatal diseases， and nutritional deficiencies， the highest proportion of deaths in the 1‒24 age group， with the exception of those aged 5‒9， was from injuries， and the main cause of death for residents aged 25 and above was chronic diseases. The mortality rate of mental and behavioral disorders rose from the 13th to the 9th place. According to the epidemic situation of COVID-19， there were no changes in the top five causes of death among the entire population. The motility rate of endocrine， nutritional and metabolic diseases rose from the sixth to the fifth place in male population， and the motility rate of malignant tumor rose from the 3rd to the 2nd place in female population. ConclusionThere are no changes in the top five causes of death among the entire population of Fuling District before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Chronic diseases remain the main cause of death. It is necessary to control the risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as hypertension， diabetes， and dyslipidemia， and to curb the rising trend of mortality rates from strokes and acute myocardial infarction. For deaths caused by accidental injuries， targeted health education should be conducted for different populations.

Objective To systematically summarize the published literature on the genetic variants associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). Methods Literature from Web of Science,PubMed,and Embase between January 1980 and September 2022 was systematically searched.Meta-analyses of the genetic variants were conducted using at least five data sources.The epidemiologic credibility of the significant associations was graded using the Venice criteria. Results Based on literature screening,399 eligible studies were included,comprising 381 candidate gene association,16 genome-wide association,and 2 whole-exome sequencing studies.We identified 465 genetic variants in 173 genes in candidate gene association studies,and 25 genetic variants in 17 genes were included in the meta-analysis.The meta-analysis identified 11 variants in 10 genes that were significantly associated with NAFLD,with cumulative epidemiological evidence of an association graded as strong for two variants in two genes(HFE,TNF),moderate for four variants in three genes(TM6SF2,GCKR,and ADIPOQ),and weak for five variants in five genes(MBOAT7,PEMT,PNPLA3,LEPR,and MTHFR). Conclusion This study identified six variants in five genes that had moderate to strong evidence of an association with NAFLD,which may help understand the genetic architecture of NAFLD risk.

Objective To investigate the effect of glucagon-like peptide 1(GLP-1)receptor agonists exendin-4 on the secretion of cyclophilin A(CyPA)to inhibit atherosclerosis(AS)and vascular calcification in mice role of the process.Methods Twenty ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into model group and exendin-4 group,10 mice in each group,and were fed with high-fat diet to establish AS model,another 10 wild-type C57BL/6J mice were taken as the control group,and the exendin-4 group was intraperitoneally injected with the GLP-1R agonist exendin-4,1/d,for 8 weeks.After 8 weeks,the ELISA method was used to determine the level of triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and CyPA,serum calcium level was detected by methylthymol blue colorimetric method,oil red O staining to detect the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta,HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of the aorta,Von Kossa staining was used to observe the calcium deposition in the aorta,immunohistochemical staining,Real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression levels of aortic RUNX2 and bone morphogenetic protein 2(BMP-2),immunofluorescent staining was used to detect the positive expression of CyPA in aortic tissue.Results Compared with the control group,the serum levels of TG,TC,LDL-C,Ca and CyPA in the model group increased(P<0.05),the atherosclerotic plaque areas of the aorta increased(P<0.05),the aortic wall was thickened significantly and a large number of inflammatory cells were infiltrated,a large amount of calcium deposits were deposited in the aortic parietal membrane,the positive expression area ratio of RUNX2 and BMP-2,the relative mRNA expression of RUNX2 and BMP-2,the relative protein expression of RUNX2 and BMP-2 in aortic tissue all increased(P<0.05),and the red fluorescence of CyPA expression in aortic tissue was enhanced significantly.Compared with the model group,the serum levels of TG,TC,LDL-C,Ca and CyPA in the exendin-4 group decreased(P<0.05),the atherosclerotic plaque areas of the aorta decreased(P<0.05),the thickening of the aortic wall and the infiltration of inflammatory cells were alleviated significantly,the calcium deposition in the aortic wall was reduced,the positive expression area ratio of RUNX2 and BMP-2,the relative mRNA expression of RUNX2 and BMP-2,the relative protein expression of RUNX2 and BMP-2 in aortic tissue all decreased(P<0.05),and at the same time,the red fluorescence of CyPA expression in aortic tissue was weakened significantly.Conclusion GLP-1 receptor agonists exendin-4 can inhibit atherosclerosis and vascular calcification in mice,and the mechanism may be related to the reduction of CyPA secretion.

Objective: To explore the current situation of fetal heart defects in Yunnan Province and surrounding high altitude areas and the social factors affecting pregnancy outcome. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Pregnant woman who underwent fetal echocardiography and diagnosed as fetal cardiac defects in Yunnan Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital from June 2017 to January 2021 were included. According to the clinical prognostic risk scoring system and grading criteria of fetal cardiac birth defects, the cases were divided into grade Ⅰ to Ⅳ. The disease distribution and proportion of each prognostic grade, pregnancy outcomes were analyzed and compared. The cases were divided into continued pregnancy group and terminated pregnancy group according to pregnancy outcome. The social factors that may affect the selection of pregnancy outcomes were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 4 929 fetal echocardiography examination data were collected, and 4 464 cases (90.57%) were from Yunnan Province and surrounding high altitude areas. 2 166 cases of heart defects were finally analyzed, including 998 cases of congenital heart disease (CHD), 93 cases of cardiac tumors, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia, 1 075 cases of foramen ovale, ductus arteriosus abnormalities and normal variations. The pregnant women were (29.2±5.0) years old with (25.6±3.8) gestational weeks. The number of cases with prognostic grade from Ⅰ to Ⅳ was 1 037 (47.88%), 620 (28.62%), 314 (14.50%), and 44 (2.03%), respectively. And 151 cases (6.97%) were not classified. The cases of normal variation and thin aortic arch development accounted for 42.66% (924/2 166), 5.22% (113/2 166), respectively. The top 3 diseases of grade Ⅱ were ventricular septal defect, coarctation of aorta and mild-moderate pulmonary stenosis, respectively, and their distribution was 11.63% (252/2 166), 3.92% (85/2 166) and 2.35% (51/2 166) respectively in all cases of heart defects, and 25.25% (252/998), 8.52% (85/998) and 5.11% (51/998) respectively in cases of CHD. Among the cases rated as grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ, most of them were complicated congenital heart disease, and the disease types are scattered. The more common cases in grade Ⅲ were complete transposition of great arteries (accounting for 2.40% (52/2 166) of all cases with heart defects, 5.21% (52/998) of all cases with CHD) and pulmonary artery occlusion (type Ⅰ to Ⅲ) with ventricular septal defect (accounting for 2.17% (47/2 166) of all cases with heart defects, and 4.71% (47/998) of all cases with CHD). In grade Ⅳ, single ventricle (0.74% (16/2 166) of all cases with heart defects, 1.60% (16/998) of all cases with CHD) and left ventricular dysplasia syndrome (0.65% (14/2 166) of all cases with heart defects, 1.40% (14/998) of all cases with CHD) are more common. A total of 1 084 cases were successfully followed up, and 675 cases were born, 392 cases were terminated, spontaneous abortion occurred in 17 cases. The proportion of terminated pregnancy cases was significantly increased from grade Ⅰ to Ⅳ, accounting for 5.24% (21/401), 27.78% (70/252), 89.54% (214/239) and 95.56% (43/45), respectively. Among the terminated pregnancy cases, those with grade Ⅲ accounted for the highest proportion (54.59% (214/392)). The distribution of terminated pregnancy cases was mainly complex congenital malformations or diseases with very poor prognosis (pregnancy outcome grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ), and proportion of terminated pregnancy with pregnancy outcome grade Ⅰ and Ⅱ cases (normal variation or good prognosis) accounted for 5.36% (21/392) and 17.86% (70/392), respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that pregnant women with low education (high school and below: OR=2.73, 95%CI 1.26-5.93, P<0.001; illiteracy: OR=3.27, 95%CI 1.29-7.10, P<0.001) and low family income (Annual income<100 000 yuan: OR=2.47, 95%CI 1.69-5.12, P<0.001) were more likely to choose termination of pregnancy in case of fetal heart defect. Conclusion: In Yunnan province and the surrounding high altitude areas, the disease distribution of fetal heart defect is mainly simple or low-risk disease, but the complex malformation, especially the disease with poor pregnancy outcome, accounts for a relative high proportion. Pregnancy termination also occurs in some cases with good pregnancy outcome. The education level and family income of pregnant women may affect their choice of pregnancy outcome in case of fetal heart defect.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Altitude ; China/epidemiology* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/diagnostic imaging* ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Echocardiography ; Fetal Heart/diagnostic imaging*

The present study investigated the mechanism of artesunate in the treatment of bone destruction in experimental rheumatoid arthritis(RA) based on transcriptomics and network pharmacology. The transcriptome sequencing data of artesunate in the inhibition of osteoclast differentiation were analyzed to obtain differentially expressed genes(DEGs). GraphPad Prism 8 software was used to plot volcano maps and heat maps were plotted through the website of bioinformatics. GeneCards and OMIM were used to collect information on key targets of bone destruction in RA. The DEGs of artesunate in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and key target genes of bone destruction in RA were intersected by the Venny 2.1.0 platform, and the intersection target genes were analyzed by Gene Ontology(GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment. Finally, the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB(RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation model and collagen-induced arthritis(CIA) model were established. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction(q-PCR), immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry were used to verify the pharmacological effect and molecular mechanism of artesunate in the treatment of bone destruction in RA. In this study, the RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation model in vitro was established and intervened with artesunate, and transcriptome sequencing data were analyzed to obtain 744 DEGs of artesunate in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. A total of 1 291 major target genes of bone destruction in RA were obtained from GeneCards and OMIM. The target genes of artesunate in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and the target genes of bone destruction in RA were intersected to obtain 61 target genes of artesunate against bone destruction in RA. The intersected target genes were analyzed by GO/KEGG enrichment. According to the results previously reported, the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathway was selected for experimental verification. Artesunate intervention in the RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation model showed that artesunate inhibited CC chemokine receptor 3(CCR3), CC chemokine receptor 1(CCR1) and leukemia inhibitory factor(LIF) mRNA expression in osteoclasts in a dose-dependent manner compared with the RANKL-induced group. Meanwhile, the results of immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry showed that artesunate could dose-dependently reduce the expression of CCR3 in osteoclasts and joint tissues of the CIA rat model in vitro. This study indicated that artesunate regulated the CCR3 in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathway in the treatment of bone destruction in RA and provided a new target gene for the treatment of bone destruction in RA.
Rats ; Animals ; Arthritis, Experimental/drug therapy* ; Artesunate/therapeutic use* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/genetics* ; Transcriptome ; Network Pharmacology ; Osteoclasts ; Receptors, Cytokine/therapeutic use*

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) and Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in the diagnosis of cirrhosis and the dynamic changes of CHI3L1 and GP73 after HCV clearance in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs). The comparison of continuous variables of normal distribution were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and t-test. The comparison of continuous variables of non-normal distribution were statistically analyzed by rank sum test. The categorical variables were statistically analyzed by Fisher's exact test and χ(2) test. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman correlation analysis. Methods: Data of 105 patients with CHC diagnosed from January 2017 to December 2019 were collected. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was plotted to study the efficacy of serum CHI3L1 and GP73 for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Friedman test was used to compare CHI3L1 and GP73 change characteristics. Results: The areas under the ROC curve for CHI3L1 and GP73 in the diagnosis of cirrhosis at baseline were 0.939 and 0.839, respectively. Serum levels of CHI3L1 and GP73 in the DAAs group decreased significantly at the end of treatment compared with baseline [123.79 (60.25, 178.80) ng/ml vs. 118.20 (47.68, 151.36) ng/ml, P = 0.001; 105.73 (85.05, 130.69) ng/ml vs. 95.52 (69.52, 118.97) ng/ml, P = 0.001]. Serum CHI3L1 and GP73 in the pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin (PR) group were significantly lower at the end of 24 weeks of treatment than the baseline [89.15 (39.15, 149.74) ng/ml vs. 69.98 (20.52, 71.96) ng/ml, P < 0.05; 85.07 (60.07, 121) ng/ml vs. 54.17 (29.17, 78.65) ng/ml, P < 0.05]. Conclusion: CHI3L1 and GP73 are sensitive serological markers that can be used to monitor the fibrosis prognosis in CHC patients during treatment and after obtaining a sustained virological response. Serum CHI3L1 and GP73 levels in the DAAs group decreased earlier than those in the PR group, and the serum CHI3L1 levels in the untreated group increased compared with the baseline at about two years of follow-up.
Humans ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy* ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism* ; Liver Cirrhosis/diagnosis* ; Fibrosis ; Biomarkers