OBJECTIVE To study the improvement effects and mechanism of proanthocyanidins （PACs） on steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head （SONFH） in rabbits based on the receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 （RIPK1）/RIPK3/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein （MLKL） signaling pathway. METHODS SONFH model in rabbits was induced by injecting Escherichia coli endotoxin+methylprednisolone. The successfully modeled rabbits were randomly divided into Model group （normal saline）， low-dose PACs group （PACs-L group， 11 mg/kg）， high-dose PACs group （PACs-H group， 22 mg/kg）， high-dose PACs+ RIPK1 activator （rRIPK1） group （PACs-H+rRIPK1 group， 22 mg/kg PACs+4 μg/kg rRIPK1）， along with a control group （normal saline）， with 6 rabbits in each group. Each administration group was given relevant medicine once a day intragastrically/via injection， for 4 consecutive weeks. After the last administration， the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in rabbit serum were measured. The changes in the microstructure of rabbit femurs， including bone mineral density （BMD）， trabecular thickness （Tb.Th）， trabecular number （Tb.N）， and trabecular separation （Tb. Sp） were examined. The histopathological features of rabbit femoral tissues were observed， and the apoptotic status of cells within the rabbit femoral tissues was detected. The mRNA expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） and bone morphogenetic protein 2 （BMP2） in rabbit femoral tissues were determined. The expressions of RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL signaling pathway-related proteins in femoral tissues were detected. RESULTS Compared with the Control group， serum contents of TNF-α and IL-6， Tb.Sp， empty bone cavity rate， cell apoptosis rate， phosphorylation levels of RIPK1， RIPK3 and MLKL in femoral tissue were significantly increased in the Model group （P＜0.05）. BMD， Tb.Th， Tb.N， as well as the mRNA expression of VEGF and BMP2， along with protein expression of caspase-8， in the femoral tissues were all decreased （P＜0.05）. The bone cells in the femoral tissue were unevenly distributed， and the trabeculae were arranged sparsely. Compared with the Model group， the aforementioned quantitative indicators （P＜0.05） and pathological changes in all dosage groups of PACs showed significant improvements. Compared with the PACs-H group， the aforementioned quantitative indicators （P＜0.05） and pathological changes in the PACs-H+rRIPK1 group showed significant reversal. CONCLUSIONS PACs can ameliorate SONFH in rabbits， and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of the activation of the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL signaling pathway， suppression of apoptosis in femoral tissue cells， and promotion of angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND:Previous brain studies have mostly focused on adults and fetuses,and the developmental characteristics of young children's brainstems have rarely been studied. OBJECTIVE:To observe the brainstem development characteristics of healthy young children and to explore the age-related differences and their correlation with sex. METHODS:From January 2019 to April 2022,a retrospective study of 3.0T MRI images of 174 children aged 2 to 6 years in the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University was conducted,and the median sagittal diameter,area and angle of the brainstem(including midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata)were measured. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There is an age-related increase in the anterior and posterior diameters of the midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata in the 2-5 years old group as well as in the longitudinal diameter and area of the midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata in the 2-6 years old group.Except for the longitudinal diameter of the medulla oblongata,all others show a positive correlation with age(r>0,P<0.05).In the 2-3 years old group and 4-5 years old group,the children are in the rapid growth and development stage,and these two age groups can be used as the key observation indicators for the development of young children.The anterior-posterior diameter,longitudinal diameter,area of the pons and total brainstem area are strongly correlated with age,which can be used as the key observation indicators for the brainstem development in young children.

BACKGROUND:Nowadays,there are increasing reports on the digitization and visualization system of acupuncture points for adults in traditional Chinese medicine,and the digitization and visualization system of acupuncture points for children in traditional Chinese medicine and the simulation system of acupuncture manipulation for Mongolian medicine training have been reported.However,there are no reports on relevant systems for children in Mongolian medicine. OBJECTIVE:To develop a simulation system of acupuncture points for children in Mongolian medicine,in the hope that it can be used for clinical teaching,manipulation practice and research on acupuncture safety. METHODS:Based on the tomographic anatomical dataset of preschool boys,a three-dimensional(3D)digital virtual anatomical model of children with multiple internal organs and tissues was constructed by using PhotoShop.2021 and Digihuman Reconstruction System software.The relevant annotation information database of 27 acupoints such as Dinghui acupoint of Mongolian medicine was compiled by the Unity database language.The Mongolian gold needle and silver needle were selected to record the acupuncture point teaching video on the 3D printed head and neck resin model of children.In Unity3D software,children's anatomical model,acupoint annotation information database and acupuncture operation video were integrated and coded,and a 3D digital children's Mongolian acupuncture acupoint visualization system integrating simulation acupuncture training,clinical teaching and acupuncture safety research was successfully created. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:This study was based on real children's specimens.In order to reduce the error of two-dimensional segmentation,the manual layer-by-layer segmentation section image method was used to ensure the accuracy of the 3D model to the greatest extent.The Digihuman Reconstruction System was used to extract and save the individual segmentation data while maximizing the accuracy of the 3D model.PhotoShop.2021 software was used to complete the 3D reconstruction of the outer skin of the head and neck of children and the internal bony structure,cervical spinal cord,blood vessels and nerves,muscles and ligaments.After 3D reconstruction,the basic morphology of each independent structure and the integrity of the overall contour were verified in MeshLab software and the final fine adjustment and anatomical position confirmation were conducted using 3-matic research 13.0 software.The real anatomical morphology of the head and neck of preschool children was successfully simulated and restored.Unity3D software was used to integrate the 3D model of children,acupuncture operation video and acupoint annotation database,and the 3D digital Mongolian acupuncture acupoint visualization system for children was successfully constructed.Based on the real continuous fault ultra-thin dataset of preschool boys in China,China's first 3D digitization and visualization system of acupuncture points in the head and neck of children in Mongolian medicine was developed.Compared with the previous acupuncture soft works,this system is more suitable for the anatomical morphological development characteristics of Asian children,and has a high value of application in the fields of research on the safety of acupuncture in Mongolian medicine,clinical teaching and acupuncture simulation training.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and practicality of the Jaundice color card (JCard) as a screening tool for neonatal jaundice.Methods:Following the standards for reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD) statement, a multicenter prospective study was conducted in 9 hospitals in China from October 2019 to September 2021. A total of 845 newborns who were admitted to the hospital or outpatient department for liver function testing due to their own diseases. The inclusion criteria were a gestational age of ≥35 weeks, a birth weight of ≥2 000 g, and an age of ≤28 days. The neonate′s parents used the JCard to measure jaundice at the neonate′s cheek. Within 2 hours of the JCard measurement, transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) was measured with a JH20-1B device and total serum bilirubin (TSB) was detected. The Pearson′s correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plots and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistic analysis.Results:Out of the 854 newborns, 445 were male and 409 were female; 46 were born at 35-36 weeks of gestational age and 808 were born at ≥37 weeks of gestational age. Additionally, 432 cases were aged 0-3 days, 236 cases were aged 4-7 days, and 186 cases were aged 8-28 days. The TSB level was (227.4±89.6) μmol/L, with a range of 23.7-717.0 μmol/L. The JCard level was (221.4±77.0) μmol/L and the TcB level was (252.5±76.0) μmol/L. Both the JCard and TcB values showed good correlation ( r=0.77 and 0.80, respectively) and agreements (96.0% (820/854) and 95.2% (813/854) of samples fell within the 95% limits of agreement, respectively) with TSB. The JCard value of 12 had a sensitivity of 0.93 and specificity of 0.75 for identifying a TSB ≥205.2?μmol/L, and a sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity of 0.35 for identifying a TSB ≥342.0?μmol/L. The TcB value of 205.2?μmol/L had a sensitivity of 0.97 and specificity of 0.60 for identifying TSB levels of 205.2 μmol/L, and a sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity of 0.26 for identifying TSB levels of 342.0 μmol/L. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of JCard for identifying TSB levels of 153.9, 205.2, 256.5, and 342.0 μmol/L were 0.96, 0.92, 0.83, and 0.83, respectively. The AUC of TcB were 0.94, 0.91, 0.86, and 0.87, respectively. There were both no significant differences between the AUC of JCard and TcB in identifying TSB levels of 153.9 and 205.2 μmol/L (both P>0.05). However, the AUC of JCard were both lower than those of TcB in identifying TSB levels of 256.5 and 342.0 μmol/L (both P<0.05). Conclusions:JCard can be used to classify different levels of bilirubin, but its diagnostic efficacy decreases with increasing bilirubin levels. When TSB level are ≤205.2 μmol/L, its diagnostic efficacy is equivalent to that of the JH20-1B. To prevent the misdiagnosis of severe jaundice, it is recommended that parents use a low JCard score, such as 12, to identify severe hyperbilirubinemia (TSB ≥342.0 μmol/L).

Objective To investigate the effect of dietary intake on the childbirth outcomes of primipara women with full-term labor analgesia. Methods A total of 400 primipara women with full-term labor analgesia were randomly divided into observation group and control group. The observation group received intake management and individualized dietary guidance, while the control group ate and drank according to their own wishes. The childbirth quality, the incidence of vomiting, the use of oxytocin due to uterine atony, the rate of intrapartum fever, the rate of perineal incision, the rate of cesarean section, the rate of vaginal assisted delivery, and the rate of postpartum hemorrhage were compared between the two groups. The duration of the first stage of labor, the duration of the second stage of labor, the duration of labor analgesia, and the amount of postpartum hemorrhage within 2 hours were also compared. Neonatal Apgar score, random blood glucose, umbilical artery blood pH value, umbilical artery blood lactic acid (Lac) value, the incidence of neonatal asphyxia, the incidence of neonatal fever, and the incidence of neonatal hypoglycemia were compared between the two groups. Results The observation group had lower incidences of vomiting, oxytocin use rate due to uterine atony, intrapartum fever rate, perineal incision rate, transferring cesarean section rate, and vaginal assisted delivery compared to the control group(P < 0.05). The observation group had lower rates of postpartum hemorrhage, shorter duration of the first and second stages of labor, shorter duration of labor analgesia, and less postpartum hemorrhage within 2 hours compared to the control group, and the incidences of neonatal hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in umbilical artery blood pH value, Lac value, neonatal Apgar score, random blood glucose, neonatal asphyxia rate, and neonatal fever rate between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Intake management and individualized dietary guidance during labor can reduce the incidence of uterine atony, shorten the duration of labor, decrease the incidence of dystocia, reduce postpartum hemorrhage within 2 hours and decrease the incidence of neonatal glucose abnormality.

Objective: To investigate the association of the risk of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents with their early life factors and parental weight. Methods: From June 1 to June 30 of 2022, the stratified randomized cluster sampling method was used to collect information using questionnaires from 5 370 primary and secondary school students in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and multivariate analysis were performed using multiple Logistic regression model estimation in a generalized linear model for parental BMI and early life factors in children and adolescents. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 32.2% , and the prevalence of overweight/obesity among male students was 37.8%, which was higher than that of female students 26.1% χ 2= 84.59 , P <0.01). The results of the multirariate Logistic regression anaysis showed that the prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher in only paternal overweight ( OR=1.52, 95%CI =1.30-1.77), only maternal overweight ( OR=1.61, 95%CI = 1.31 -1.97), and parentl overweight ( OR=2.42, 95%CI =2.03-2.87)( P <0.05). The risk of overweight/obesity was higher in children with high birth weight ( OR=1.29, 95%CI =1.08- 1.55 ), children born by caesarean section ( OR=1.32, 95%CI =1.17- 1.48 ), and children whose mothers gained excessive weight during pregnancy ( OR=1.24, 95%CI =1.06-1.46), and the results were statistically significant ( P <0.05). Conclusions Overweight parents, excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy, cesarean delivery, and high birth weight are associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents. Attention should be paid to these aspects in obesity prevention and control.

Objective:To identify the risk factors for intrapartum fever during labor analgesia and establish the prediction model.Methods:The medical records from pregnant women with intrapartum fever during labor analgesia were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether the highest body temperature ≥38 ℃, the parturients were divided into intrapartum fever group and non-fever group. The general data from patients, duration of hospital stay before labor, induced labor, prenatal hemoglobin concentration, body msaa index (BMI) during pregnancy, artificial rupture of membranes in the incubation period, frequency of vaginal examination and etc. were collected. The risk factors of which P values were less than 0.05 would enter the logistic regression analysis to stratify intrapartum fever-related risk factors, and the weighted score regression prediction model was established. Hosmer-Lemshow Test was used to assess the fit of the model, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to evaluate the model. The nomogram was drawn for visually presenting the regression model. The clinical calibration curve, decision curve analysis and clinical impact curve were drawn to assess the created prediction model. Results:There were 99 parturients developed fever during labor analgesia, with an incidence of 34.7%. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that duration of hospital stay before labor, prenatal hemoglobin concentrations, BMI during pregnancy, induced labor, artificial rupture of membranes in the incubation period and frequency of vaginal examination were the independent risk factors for intrapartum fever during labor analgesia. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.943, 95% confidence interval was 0.916-0.969, the sensitivity was 86.9%, the specificity was 88.6%, and the Youden index was 0.755. The prediction model of the line chart was assessed by Hosmer-Lemshow, P=0.898. Conclusions:Duration of hospital stay before labor, hemoglobin concentrations, BMI during pregnancy, induced labor, artificial rupture of membranes in the incubation period and frequency of vaginal examination are independent risk factors for intrapartum fever during labor analgesia in parturients, and the risk prediction model developed can effectively predict the occurrence of intrapartum fever during labor analgesia.

To investigate the enzyme properties of the black sesame polyphenol oxidase (BsPPO), a synthesized Bsppo gene was cloned into the vector pMAL-c5x and expressed in E. coli. Subsequently, the MBP fusion label in the recombinant protein was removed by protease digestion after affinity purification. The synthesized Bsppo gene contained 1 752 bp which encodes 585 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 65.3 kDa. Transformation of the recombinant vector into E. coli BL21(DE3) resulted in soluble expression of the fusion protein MBP-BsPPO. The enzymatic properties of the recombinant BsPPO was investigated after MBP fusion tag excision followed by affinity purification. The results demonstrated that the optimal temperature and pH for BsPPO was 25°C and 4.0, respectively. BsPPO exhibited a good stability under low temperature and acidic environment. Low-intensity short-term light exposure increased the activity of BsPPO. Cu²⁺ could improve the activity of BsPPO while Zn²⁺ and Ca²⁺ showed the opposite effect. BsPPO could catalyze the oxidation of monophenols, diphenols, and triphenols, and exhibited good catalytic activity on l-tyrosine and vanillic acid. Moreover, BsPPO exhibited high catalytic activity on black sesame metabolites, including 2-methoxy cinnamic acid, indole-3-carboxylic acid and phloretin. These results may serve as a basis for further characterization of BsPPO.
Catechol Oxidase/genetics* ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics* ; Sesamum/genetics*

Objective To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on Toll-like receptor 4 ( TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 88 ( MyD88)/nuclear factor Kappa B ( NF-κB) signaling pathway in the pe-ripheral blood mononuclear cells of elderly patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing lower extremity surger-y. Methods Forty elderly patients of both sexes with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 65-80 yr, with body mass index of 18. 5-27. 9 kg/m2 , of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅱ or Ⅲ, with New York Heart Association Ⅰ or Ⅱ, undergoing lower extremity surgery with tourniquets under general anesthesia, were divided into 2 groups ( n=20 each) by using a random number table method: control group ( group C) and dexmedetomidine group ( group D) . Combined intravenous-inhalational anesthesia was applied. Dexmedetomidine was infused over 15 min in a dose of 1μg/kg after induction of anesthesia, fol-lowed by a continuous infusion of 0. 5 μg·kg-1 ·h-1 until the end of surgery in group D, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead of dexmedetomidine in group C. Before using the the tourniquet and at 15 min, 1 h and 24 h after loosing the tourniquet, arterial blood samples were collected for determi-nation of the expression of TLR4, NF-κB and MyD88 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and concentra-tions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha ( TNF-α) , interleukin-1β ( IL-1β) , cardiac troponin I ( cTnI ) and creatine kinase-MB ( CK-MB) in plasma. Results Compared with group C, the expression of TLR4, NF-κB and MyD88 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was significantly down-regulated, and the concentra-tions of TNF-α, IL-1β, cTnI and CK-MB in plasma were decreased at each time point after loosing the tourniquet in group D ( P＜0. 05) . Conclusion The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine reduces myo-cardial damage may be related to inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and reducing systemic inflammatory responses in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing lower extremity surgery.

Working time of normal setting impression materials was 71 (hand mixing,30 s),66 (Alghamix,20 s) and 53 (Algimax-Ⅱ,8 s) seconds respectively.Working time of fast setting impression materials was 56 (hand mixing,30 s) and 51 (Alghamix 20 s) seconds respectively.Setting time of normal setting impression materials was 163 (hand mixing,30 s),160(Alghamix 20 s) and 124(Algimax-Ⅱ,8 s)seconds respectively.Setting time of fast setting impression materials were 131 (hand mixing,30 s) and121 (Alghamix 20 s) seconds.The working and setting time of normal setting impression materials mixed by hand mixing(30 s) and auto-mixing (Alghamix 20 s;Algimax-Ⅱ,8 s) and fast setting impression materials mixed by hand mixing(30 s) and with auto-mixing using Alghamix (20 s) may satisfly clinical requirement.