Objective To evaluate the radiation impact of a self-developed digital miniature CT on the human body and the environment under simulated scanning conditions, and verify its safety and regulatory compliance. Methods Under typical head scanning conditions with the digital miniature CT (70 kV/10 mA), the equivalent doses received at the body surface sites corresponding to the thyroid, breast, stomach, liver, kidney, and gonads of the phantom were measured without protection and with 0.5 mmPb equivalent protection using LiF (Mg, Cu, P) thermoluminescent dosimeters. The ambient dose equivalent rates at the bed level inside the CT room at different directions and distances from the scanning center were measured using a model AT1121 X/γ dosimeter. The equivalent doses of organs on both sides of the phantom and the ambient equivalent dose rates on the left and right sides of the longitudinal axis of the bed in the CT room were compared. The Mann-Whitney test was used at a significance level of P < 0.05. Results During a single scan of the head with the digital miniature CT, the equivalent doses at the body surface sites corresponding to the thyroid, breast, stomach, liver, kidney, and gonads without protection were 1.04, 0.95, 0.55, 0.57, 0.40, and 0.12 mSv, respectively, which were only 0.84% to 8.24% of the doses inside the irradiation field. With 0.5 mm Pb equivalent protection, the equivalent dose of the thyroid decreased from 8.24 mSv to 3.27 mSv with a reduction of 60.3%, and the doses of the other organs were reduced to 1.5-11.5 μSv with the maximum reduction of 14 times. In the longitudinal axis direction of the CT bed, the ambient dose equivalent rate at a distance of 2 m from the scanning center was reduced to 0.066 mSv/h, which was only 9.6% of the ambient equivalent dose rate at a distance of 50 cm from the scanning center. Conclusion The digital miniature CT has advantages in ensuring patient safety, optimizing imaging quality, and promoting technological development, demonstrating promising application potential. However, the radiation protection of personal and CT room should not be ignored.

Several metal needles were unearthed from the tomb of LIU He, the Marquis of Haihun in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Based on the inscription on the signboard unearthed from the tomb and the handed down literature, these needles should be closely related to the "nine needles" mentioned in the handed down medical classics. These needles should be used in acupuncture and moxibustion at that time, and their diameters are close to the specifications and dimensions of the needles in the modern time, which provides the important cultural relics data of the Han Dynasty for the research of early acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine. This article uses the method of mutual verification of unearthed cultural relics, unearthed documents, and handed down documents to investigate the acupuncture method of medical needles unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun, and to sort out and demonstrate the development of acupuncture and moxibustion in the Western Han Dynasty. The medical needles unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun and their needling techniques can be confirmed by the "nine needles" in the Lingshu (Miraculous Pivot), the "acupuncture treatment" in the bamboo slips of the Han Dynasty in the Northwest, and the "acupuncture atlas" on the Han portrait stone. It proves that the manufacturing of needles for acupuncture and moxibustion and the therapeutic methods and techniques of acupuncture had been greatly developed in the middle and late stages of the Western Han Dynasty.
Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation* ; Needles/history* ; China ; Humans ; History, Ancient ; Moxibustion/instrumentation* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/instrumentation*

Chronic visceral pain is a persistent and debilitating condition arising from dysfunction or sensitization of the visceral organs and their associated nervous pathways. Increasing evidence suggests that imbalances in central nervous system function play an essential role in the progression of visceral pain, but the exact mechanisms underlying the neural circuitry and molecular targets remain largely unexplored. In the present study, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was shown to mediate visceral pain in mice. Visceral pain stimulation increased c-Fos expression and Ca²⁺ activity of glutamatergic VTA neurons, and optogenetic modulation of glutamatergic VTA neurons altered visceral pain. In particular, the upregulation of NMDA receptor 2A (NR2A) subunits within the VTA resulted in visceral pain in mice. Administration of a selective NR2A inhibitor decreased the number of visceral pain-induced c-Fos positive neurons and attenuated visceral pain. Pharmacology combined with chemogenetics further demonstrated that glutamatergic VTA neurons regulated visceral pain behaviors based on NR2A. In summary, our findings demonstrated that the upregulation of NR2A in glutamatergic VTA neurons plays a critical role in visceral pain. These insights provide a foundation for further comprehension of the neural circuits and molecular targets involved in chronic visceral pain and may pave the way for targeted therapies in chronic visceral pain.
Animals ; Male ; Visceral Pain/metabolism* ; Up-Regulation/physiology* ; Ventral Tegmental Area/metabolism* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Neurons/drug effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism* ; Chronic Pain/metabolism* ; Glutamic Acid/metabolism*

Here, we report a previously unrecognized syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder associated with biallelic loss-of-function variants in the RBM42 gene. The patient is a 2-year-old female with severe central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities, hypotonia, hearing loss, congenital heart defects, and dysmorphic facial features. Familial whole-exome sequencing (WES) reveals that the patient has two compound heterozygous variants, c.304C>T (p.R102*) and c.1312G>A (p.A438T), in the RBM42 gene which encodes an integral component of splicing complex in the RNA-binding motif protein family. The p.A438T variant is in the RRM domain which impairs RBM42 protein stability in vivo. Additionally, p.A438T disrupts the interaction of RBM42 with hnRNP K, which is the causative gene for Au-Kline syndrome with overlapping disease characteristics seen in the index patient. The human R102* or A438T mutant protein failed to fully rescue the growth defects of RBM42 ortholog knockout ΔFgRbp1 in Fusarium while it was rescued by the wild-type (WT) human RBM42. A mouse model carrying Rbm42 compound heterozygous variants, c.280C>T (p.Q94*) and c.1306_1308delinsACA (p.A436T), demonstrated gross fetal developmental defects and most of the double mutant animals died by E13.5. RNA-seq data confirmed that Rbm42 was involved in neurological and myocardial functions with an essential role in alternative splicing (AS). Overall, we present clinical, genetic, and functional data to demonstrate that defects in RBM42 constitute the underlying etiology of a new neurodevelopmental disease which links the dysregulation of global AS to abnormal embryonic development.
Female ; Animals ; Mice ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics* ; Facies ; Cleft Palate ; Muscle Hypotonia

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of sacubitril/valsartan in the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD)at stage 5 with resistant hypertension,and to explore the cardiovascular benefits and security of medical in the patients.Methods Patients with CKD5 resistant hypertension diagnosed and treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from September 2020 to March 2022 were selected and divided into the observation group(treated with routine treatment of kidney disease at end-stage and sacubitril/valsartan)and control group(include droutine treatment of renal disease at end-stage and ACEI or ARB drugs)according to treatment strategy.The patients in both two groups were treated with adequate dialysis treatment and conventional drug treatment of renal disease at end-stage.The patients were followed up for at least 3 months,the clinical efficacy of three months after treated with sacubitril/valsartan was observed,and the efficacy indicators and security indicators and adverse cardiovascular events were observed,the occurrence of adverse effects during the period of drug use were compared with the control group.Results A total of 110 patients were included in this study and there were 55 cases in each group.There were no significant differences in gender,age,age of dialysis,etiology,dialysis mode and blood pressure between the two groups(P>0.05).The Systolic blood pressure(SBP),diastolic blood pressure(DBP),b-type urinary natriuretic peptide precursor(Pro-BNP)and cardiac function grade in the observation group after treatment was significantly decreased compared with before treatment.The left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and the ratio of LVEF<50%in the observation group was significantly reduced after treatment(P<0.05).SBP,DBP and Pro-BNP decreased 3 months after treatment compared with the baseline before treatment,and improved significantly in the first month after treatment(P<0.05).The decrease of DBP and BNP before and after treatment was significantly different between the two groups,and the decrease of DBP and BNP was more significant in the observation group(P<0.05).The difference of LVEF and left ventricular end diastolic diameter(LVEDD)between the two groups before and after treatment was statistically significant,and the improvement was more obvious in the observation group(P<0.05).There were no significant differences in the safety indicators of serum potassium,estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)and liver function between two groups before and after treatment(P>0.05).In terms of adverse reactions,only 1 case in the control group developed hyperkalemia within 3 months of follow-up,and no hypotension or other adverse reactions occurred in the two groups.Conclusions The treatment of patients with CKD stage 5 hypertension with sacubitril/valsartan has obvious cardiovascular benefits.Sacubitril/Valsartan has efficacy in lowering blood pressure,improving cardiac function and reducing volume load,with less adverse events and higher safety than control group.

BackgroundDepression as a major mental health condition is commonly found in junior high school students. Peer attachment， emotional resilience and childhood abuse have been found to be associated with depressive symptoms， and it has been hypothesized that peer attachment and emotional resilience may play a chained effecting path in the relationship between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms in junior high school students. ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between childhood abuse and depressive symptom in junior high school students， analyze the effecting path of peer attachment and emotional resilience， thus to provide references for improving the mental health of junior high school students. MethodsFrom May to July 2022， a cluster sampling technique was utilized to recruit 1 781 junior high school students from a junior high school in Anhui province. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form （CTQ-SF）， Revised version of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment （IPPA-R）， Adolescent' Emotional Resilience Questionnaire （AERQ） and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale （CES-D） were used as the measurement tools. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the correlation among above scales. Process4.2 and Bootstrapping method were employed to verify the effecting path of peer attachment and emotional resilience in the relationship between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms. ResultsCTQ-SF score was negatively correlated with IPPA-R peer attachment subscale score and AERQ score （r=-0.527， -0.495， P<0.01） and positively correlated with CES-D score （r=0.669， P<0.01） in junior high school students. IPPA-R peer attachment subscale score was positively correlated with AERQ score （r=0.556， P<0.01） and negatively correlated with CES-D score （r=-0.599， P<0.01） in junior high school students. AERQ score was negatively correlated with CES-D score （r=-0.698， P<0.01） in junior high school students. Childhood abuse in junior high school students was shown to be a positive predictor of depressive symptoms （β=0.675， P<0.01） and a negative predictor of peer attachment （β=-0.824， P<0.01） and emotional resilience （β=-0.305， P<0.01）. Peer attachment and emotional resilience were independent effecting path between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms， with indirect effect size of 0.093 （95% CI： 0.066~0.122） and 0.108 （95% CI： 0.084~0.133）， respectively. Peer attachment and emotional resilience affected as a chain effecting path between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms， with indirect effect size of 0.087 （95% CI： 0.071~0.105）， accounting for 12.89% of the total effect. ConclusionChildhood abuse in junior high school students can affect the presence of depressive symptom both directly and indirectly through either separate or chained effecting path of peer attachment and emotional resilience. ［Funded by 2020 Provincial General Scientific Research Project of West Anhui Health Vocational College （number， KJ2020B006）； 2024 Provincial University Natural and Humanities Sciences Research Project of West Anhui Health Vocational College （number， 2024AH053467）］

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of CT/MRI image fusion and usual CT guided percutane-ous radiofrequency thermocoagulation of trigeminal semilunar ganglion.Methods The medical information of 88 patients diagnosed with primary trigeminal neuralgia were assembled.In accordance with different imaging guidance means,they were equally divided into the control group(trigeminal semilunar ganglion radiofrequency thermo-coagulation with CT guidance)and the fusion group(trigeminal semilunar ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagula-tion with assistance of CT/MRI image fusion technology)at random.The puncture time,intraoperative discomfort rate,preoperative,intraoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale(VAS)score,Barrow neurological insti-tute(BNI)pain score and postoperative complication rate were contrasted.Results The puncture operation time of the fusion group was shorter than that of the control group(P<0.05);the intraoperative and postoperative VAS and BNI scores,occurrence rate of intraoperative discomfort and postoperative complications in the fusion group were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion In respect of improving therapeutic effect and diminishing intraoperative discomfort and postoperative complications,CT/MRI image fusion technique is superior to CT guidance.

Background::Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive. Thus, our study aimed to develop a microbarrier microfluidic chip to efficiently isolate deformable tumor cells from distinct types of bladder cancer cells.Methods::The stiffness of bladder cancer cells was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The modified microfluidic chip was utilized to separate soft cells, and the 3D Matrigel culture system was to maintain the softness of tumor cells. Expression patterns of integrin β8 (ITGB8), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were determined by Western blotting. Double immunostaining was conducted to examine the interaction between F-actin and tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59). The stem-cell-like characteristics of soft cells were explored by colony formation assay and in vivo studies upon xenografted tumor models. Results::Using our newly designed microfluidic approach, we identified a small fraction of soft tumor cells in bladder cancer cells. More importantly, the existence of soft tumor cells was confirmed in clinical human bladder cancer specimens, in which the number of soft tumor cells was associated with tumor relapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the biomechanical stimuli arising from 3D Matrigel activated the F-actin/ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis pathways to enhance the softness and tumorigenic capacity of tumor cells. Simultaneously, we detected a remarkable up-regulation in ITGB8, TRIM59, and phospho-AKT in clinical bladder recurrent tumors compared with their non-recurrent counterparts.Conclusions::The ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis axis plays a crucial role in modulating tumor softness and stemness. Meanwhile, the soft tumor cells become more sensitive to chemotherapy after stiffening, that offers new insights for hampering tumor progression and recurrence.

ObjectiveTo explore the molecular mechanism of modified Shengjiangsan in alleviating endoplasmic reticulum （ER） stress and reducing urinary protein in the rat model of diabetic nephropathy （DN）. MethodSeventy-five SD rats were randomized into normal， model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （4.37， 8.73， 17.46 g·kg^-1， respectively） modified Shengjiangsan， and irbesartan （0.014 g·kg^-1） groups， with 10 rats in each group. Rats were administrated with corresponding doses of medications or distilled water by gavage， once a day， for 8 consecutive weeks. After the last administration， the levels of glucose （GLU） in the blood， 24-hour urinary protein （24 h-UTP）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） in the renal tissue were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin staining， periodic acid-Schiff staining， and transmission electron microscopy were employed to observe the pathological changes in rat kidneys. Immunohistochemistry was employed to measure the expression levels of nephrin， podocin， glucose-regulated protein 78 （GRP78）， C/EBP homologous protein （CHOP）， and activating transcription factor 4 （ATF4） in the kidneys of rats. Western blot was employed to measure the protein levels of silent information regulator 1 （Sirt1）， phosphorylated （p）-protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase （PERK）， and p-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha （eIF2α） in rat kidneys. ResultCompared with the normal group， the modeling caused pathological damage to the kidneys， elevated the levels of GLU and 24 h-UTP （P<0.05）， up-regulated the protein levels of GRP78， CHOP， ATF4， p-PERK， and p-eIF2α （P<0.05）， and down-regulated the protein level of Sirt1 （P<0.05） in rat kidneys. Compared with the model group， modified Shengjiangsan and irbesartan lowered the GLU and 24 h-UTP levels （P<0.05）， alleviated the pathological damage in the renal tissue， down-regulated the protein levels of GRP78， CHOP， ATF4， p-PERK， and p-eIF2α （P<0.05）， and up-regulated the protein level of Sirt1 （P<0.05）. ConclusionModified Shengjiangsan up-regulates Sirt1 expression and inhibits phosphorylation of proteins in the PERK/eIF2α pathway to reduce ER stress and oxidative stress in the renal tissue， thus alleviating the pathological damage in the renal tissue and reducing urinary protein in DN rats.

Hepato-pancreato-biliary diseases (HPBD) are often complicated. The diagnosis and treatment of HPBD involve many disciplines. The malignant degree of hepatobiliary pancreatic system is high, and the prognosis of patients is poor. The multidisciplinary team (MDT) brings specialists from different disciplines together to make a comprehensive and individualized treatment for patients. MDT is emerging in HPBD in recent years. MDT helps improve the accuracy of diagnosis and prognosis. However, there are still some controversies and obstacles in the application of MDT for patients with HPBD. We reviewed the development, current status and experience of MDT in the field of HPBD, analyze the current controversy and obstacles, and providing reference for its future application.