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BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a promising diagnostic adjunct in fracture detection. However, few studies describe the improvement of clinicians’ diagnostic accuracy for nasal bone fractures with the aid of AI technology. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the value of the AI model in improving the diagnostic accuracy for nasal bone fractures compared with manual reading. METHODS: A total of 252 consecutive patients who had undergone facial computed tomography (CT) between January 2020 and January 2021 were enrolled in this study. The presence or absence of a nasal bone fracture was determined by two experienced radiologists. An AI algorithm based on the deep-learning algorithm was engineered, trained and validated to detect fractures on CT images. Twenty readers with various experience were invited to read CT images with or without AI. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity with the aid of the AI model were calculated by the readers. RESULTS: The deep-learning AI model had 84.78% sensitivity, 86.67% specificity, 0.857 area under the curve (AUC) and a 0.714 Youden index in identifying nasal bone fractures. For all readers, regardless of experience, AI-aided reading had higher sensitivity ([94.00 ± 3.17]% vs [83.52 ± 10.16]%, P< 0.001), specificity ([89.75 ± 6.15]% vs [77.55 ± 11.38]%, P< 0.001) and AUC (0.92 ± 0.04 vs 0.81 ± 0.10, P< 0.001) compared with reading without AI. With the aid of AI, the sensitivity, specificity and AUC were significantly improved in readers with 1–5 years or 6–10 years of experience (all P< 0.05, Table 4). For readers with 11–15 years of experience, no evidence suggested that AI could improve sensitivity and AUC (P= 0.124 and 0.152, respectively). CONCLUSION: The AI model might aid less experienced physicians and radiologists in improving their diagnostic performance for the localisation of nasal bone fractures on CT images.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is lethal but lacks effective therapies. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a central metabolite indispensable for a broader range of fundamental intracellular biological functions. Reduction of NAD+ usually occurs after acute brain insults, and supplementation of NAD+ has been proven neuroprotective. P7C3-A20 is a novel compound featuring its ability to facilitate the flux of NAD+. In this study, we sought to determine the potential therapeutic value of P7C3-A20 in ICH. In collagenase-induced ICH mouse models, we found that P7C3-A20 treatment could diminish lesion volume, reduce blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage, mitigate brain edema, attenuate neural apoptosis, and improve neurological outcomes after ICH. Further, RNA sequencing and subsequent experiments revealed that ICH-induced neuroinflammation and microglial proinflammatory activities were significantly suppressed following P7C3-A20 treatment. Mitochondrial damage is an important trigger of inflammatory response. We examined mitochondrial morphology and function and found that P7C3-A20 could attenuate OxyHb-induced impairment of mitochondrial dynamics and functions in vitro. Mechanistically, Sirt3, an NAD+-dependent deacetylase located in mitochondria, was then found to play a vital role in the protection of P7C3-A20 against mitochondrial damage and inflammatory response. In rescue experiments, P7C3-A20 failed to exert those protective effects in microglia-specific Sirt3 conditional knockout (CKO) mice. Finally, preclinical research revealed a correlation between the plasma NAD+ level and the neurological outcome in ICH patients. These results demonstrate that P7C3-A20 is a promising therapeutic agent for neuroinflammatory injury after ICH and exerts protective actions, at least partly, in a Sirt3-dependent manner.

Objectives To investigate the clinical effect of percutaneous vertebroplasty (percutaneous vertebroplasty, PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (percutaneous kyphoplasty, PKP), PVP) in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fracture (osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, OVCF). Methods From March 2016 to June 2019, we treated the patients who were admitted to our hospital from March 2016 to June 2019. The clinical data of 150 OVCF patients were analyzed retrospectively, and it was divided into PKP group (group A), PVP group (group B) and PVP + traditional Chinese medicine hyperextraction reduction method group (group C) according to different operation methods, and 50 cases in each group. Preoperative, postoperative 1d,3-month,6-month,1-year pain-visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the degree of pain relief of the back and back of the patient, and the range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine was assessed. The recovery of degree, the recovery of kyphosis Cobb angle, the refracture of injured vertebrae and adjacent vertebrae after operation, and the trend of long-term stability of spine were followed up. Results The operation was smooth and there were no complications such as incision infection and deep venous thrombosis. At 3 months and 6 months after operation, there was significant difference between PVP overextended reduction group (group C) and PKP group (group A), PVP group (group B). The recovery rate of Cobb angle in sagittal plane of injured vertebrae was compared before and after operation. 1 day, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year follow-up. There was no significant difference between group C and group A and group B (P 0.05). There was no significant difference in the improvement rate of ODI between group C and group A. there was no significant difference in the improvement rate of ODI between group C and group A. there was no significant difference in the improvement rate of ODI between group C and group A at 1 day, 3 months and 1 year after operation. During the follow-up of 6 months after operation, there was significant difference between group C and group A and group B (P 0.05). There was a significant difference between group C and group A and B at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after operation (P 0.05). Conclusions The three methods of reduction and fixation (PKP,PVP and PVP) are effective in relieving pain, strengthening vertebral body, stabilizing injured vertebra, restoring vertebral body height and correcting kyphosis of thoracolumbar spine. However, in the course of long-term follow-up, simple PVP The residual low back pain or recurrence in patients with PKP, the loss of the height of injured vertebrae, the occurrence of fractures and even the complications of refracture of adjacent vertebrae after enhanced operation, resulting in the decrease of the balance and long-term stability of spinal muscle and bone system. And then increase the degeneration process of the thoracolumbar segment of the spine.

Self-gravitation traction is 1 of the most popular treatments for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the self-gravitation traction device in the treatment of LDH and to confirm its positive treatment effect.This trial is designed as a pragmatic double-center, single-blind, and 3-arm (1:1:1 ratio) randomized controlled trial. The recruited patients with LDH will be randomly allocated to the intervention (traction weight is 40% or 60% of its body weight) or control (traction weight is 20% of its body weight) group. Traction will be completed within 6 consecutive weeks (3 times a week), with 10 minutes of traction for the first 3 weeks, 20 minutes of traction for the next 3 weeks. After the experiment is completed, we will establish an experiment-related database. The software of SPSS, version 21 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL) will be used for statistical analysis, and measurement data will be expressed via mean and standard deviation (mean ± SD).Once the trial is completed, we will publish the study in journals in both Chinese and English to promote the dissemination and use of the results. In addition, we also plan to promote the research results at various academic conferences both domestically and internationally.

Gout in the spine and adnexa is rare in clinical practice and can also be easily misdiagnosed, we reported a patient with nerve root compression due to lumbar gout stones in the lumbar spinal canal.A 51-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with lumbar pain with numbness in the left lower limb for more than 6 months. The physical examination showed that tenderness and percussion pain were present at L4-S1 spinous process. Straight leg raise test: 50° on the left side were positive. Laboratory tests showed that the sUA was 669 μmol/L, MRI of the lumbar spine showed that cystic T1WI low signal and T2WI mixed high signal shadows were seen in the spinal canal at the level of L4-L5.Combining with lab examinations, imaging examinations, and histopathological results, the patient was diagnosed with lumbar spinal canal tophi.After active improvement of all examinations, the patient underwent surgical treatment with decompression and internal fixation of the L4-L5 segment.After surgery, the patient's symptoms improved and muscle strength returned to normal. Among the 95 previously reported patients with lumbar gout, the ratio of men to women was 2.96:1, and the peak age group of incidence was 56 to 65 years. The onset of the disease was mainly in a single segment of the lumbar spine, with 34.41% of all cases occurring at the L4-L5 level. 61.05% of the patients had a history of gout attacks or hyperuricemia, and the most frequently involved site was the foot and ankle, followed by the wrist. Sixty-seven patients underwent surgical treatment, and 22 chose conservative treatment, with overall satisfactory results.The incidence of lumbar gout is low and relatively rare in the clinic and pathological biopsy is still the gold standard. Vertebral plate incision and decompression are often selected for surgical treatment, and whether to perform fusion should be comprehensively considered for the destruction of vertebral bone by gout and the reasonable selection of the extent of surgical resection. Whether choosing surgical treatment or conservative therapy, the control of uric acid levels should be emphasized.

Background: Tympanomastoid paragangliomas are usually benign, slowly growing, painless tumors. The common presenting symptoms of this tumor are pulsatile tinnitus and conductive hearing loss. Vertigo as the cardinal or initial symptom is extremely are, especially in the early stages of the disease. Case presentation: A 53-year-old female patient presented only with intermittent recurrent vertigo and was later found to have a tympanomastoid paraganglioma. Her symptoms disappeared completely after resection of the tumor. This is the first report in literature of a case of tympanomastoid paraganglioma with vertigo as the single symptom. Conclusion: The tympanomastoid paraganglioma is rare and its clinical symptoms are nonspecific, so it is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed. It is worth noting that although clinically uncommon, vertigo can also be the first or sole symptom of tympanomastoid paraganglioma. Detailed physical examination and imaging examination of the ear are necessary and should be carried out meticulously. Keywords: Paraganglioma, Glomus tympanicum, Vertigo, Tympanomastoid

BackgroundCerebral fat embolism (CFE) syndrome at high altitude was rare complicated with paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) syndrome and septic shock. It is a challenge to differential diagnosis and treatment at high altitude.Case presentationThis case presents a CFE with PSH and septic shock of a 23-year-old man occurred at high altitude of 3800 m above sea level, transferred by airplane successfully and cured in the department of neurosurgery, Xi’an Tangdu Hospital.ConclusionsIt is key that CFE with PSH can be rapid diagnosed and treatment bundles of septic shock should be initiated as soon as possible. Early neurological rehabilitation played an important role for good outcome.

Endometriosis is a common chronic gynecological disease greatly affecting women health. Prior studies have implicated that dysferlin (DYSF) aberration might be involved in the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriosis. In the present study, we explore the potential presence of DYSF mutations in a total of 152 Han Chinese samples with ovarian endometriosis. We analyze the potential presence of DYSF mutations by direct DNA sequencing. A total of seven rare variants/mutations in the DYSF gene in 10 out of 152 samples (6.6%) were identified, including 5 rare variants and 2 novel mutations. For the 5 rare variants, p.R334W and p.G941S existed in 2 samples, p.R865W, p.R1173H and p.G1531S existed in single sample, respectively; for the two novel mutations, p.W352* and p.I1642F, they were identified in three patients. These rare variants/mutations were absent or existed at extremely low frequency either in our 1006 local control women without endometriosis, or in the China Metabolic Analytics Project (ChinaMAP) and Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) databases. Evolutionary conservation analysis results suggested that all of these rare variants/mutations were evolutionarily conserved among 11 vertebrate species from Human to Fox. Furthermore, in silico analysis results suggested these rare variants/mutations were disease-causing. Nevertheless, we find no significant association between DYSF rare variants/mutations and the clinical features in our patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report revealing frequent DYSF mutations in ovarian endometriosis. We identified a high frequency of DYSF rare variants/mutations in ovarian endometriosis for the first time. This study suggests a new correlation between DYSF rare variants/mutations and ovarian endometriosis, implicating DYSF rare variants/mutations might be positively involved in the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriosis.

Background This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with overall survival (OS) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Method Records of patients with diagnosed ESCC were reviewed. Leukocyte counts and patients' characteristics were extracted from their clinical records to calculate NLR. Correlation between NLR and baseline characteristics with overall survival (OS) was then analyzed using Cox regression. The patients were then separated into higher and lower NLR groups according to median NLR. OS was further compared between the 2 groups. Results A total of 1281 patients were included in the study. Cox regression analysis showed a significant correlation of NLR with OS of ESCC patients. The median pretreatment NLR was identified as 2.86. Higher NLR was associated with worse prognosis in terms of OS. Conclusions Pretreatment NLR is independently associated with OS of ESCC patients. Therefore, NLR may be used as a predictive indicator for pretreatment evaluation and adjustment of treatment regimen.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces cognitive impairments, motor and behavioral deficits. Previous evidences have suggested that neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation could facilitate functional recovery from brain insults, but their underlying mechanisms remains to be elucidated. Here, we established TBI model by an electromagnetic-controlled cortical impact device in the rats. Then, 5 μl NSCs (5.0 × 105/μl), derived from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mouse, was transplanted into the traumatic brain regions of rats at 24 h after injury. After differentiation of the NSCs was determined using immunohistochemistry, neurological severity scores (NSS) and rotarod test were conducted to detect the neurological behavior. Western blot and RT-PCR as well as ELASA were used to evaluate the expression of synaptophysin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In order to elucidate the role of BDNF on the neural recovery after NSC transplantation, BDNF knockdown in NSC was performed and transplanted into the rats with TBI, and potential mechanism for BDNF knockdown in the NSC was analyzed using microassay analysis. Meanwhile, BDNF antibody blockade was conducted to further confirm the effect of BDNF on neural activity. As a result, an increasing neurological function improvement was seen in NSC transplanted rats, which was associated with the upregulation of synaptophysin and BDNF expression. Moreover, transplantation of BDNF knockdown NSCs and BDNF antibody block reduced not only the level of synaptophysin but also exacerbated neurological function deficits. Microassay analysis showed that 14 genes such as Wnt and Gsk3-β were downregulated after BDNF knockdown. The present data therefore showed that BDNF-mediated neuroplasticity underlie the mechanism of NSC transplantation for the treatment of TBI in adult rats. usc Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the most commonly performed surgery for the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD). However, DBS systems remain largely unaffordable to patients in developing countries, warranting the development of a safe, economically viable, and functionally comparable alternative. Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of wirelessly programmed DBS of bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with primary PD. Methods: Sixty-four patients with primary PD were randomly divided into test and control groups (1:1), where DBS was initiated at either 1 month or 3 months, respectively, after surgery. Safety and efficacy of the treatment were compared between on- and off-medication states 3 months after surgery. Outcome measures included analysis of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores, duration of “on” periods, and daily equivalent doses of levodopa. All patients were followed up both 6 and 12 months after surgery. Results: Three months after surgery, significant decrease in the UPDRS motor scores were observed for the test group in the off-medication state (25.08 ± 1.00) versus the control group (4.20 ± 1.99). Conclusions: Bilateral wireless programming STN-DBS is safe and effective for patients with primary PD in whom medical management has failed to restore motor function.

Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles have the potential to be safer alternatives to viruses for gene delivery; however, their use has been limited by poor efficacy in vivo. In this work, we synthesize and characterize polymeric gene delivery nanoparticles and evaluate their efficacy for DNA delivery of herpes simplex virus type I thymidine kinase (HSVtk) combined with the prodrug ganciclovir (GCV) in a malignant glioma model. We investigated polymer structure for gene delivery in two rat glioma cell lines, 9L and F98, to discover nanoparticle formulations more effective than the leading commercial reagent Lipofectamine 2000. The lead polymer structure, poly(1,4-butanediol diacrylate-co-4-amino-1-butanol) end-modified with 1-(3-aminopropyl)-4-methylpiperazine, is a poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) and formed nanoparticles with HSVtk DNA that were 138 ± 4 nm in size and 13 ± 1 mV in zeta potential. These nanoparticles containing HSVtk DNA showed 100% cancer cell killing in vitro in the two glioma cell lines when combined with GCV exposure, while control nanoparticles encoding GFP maintained robust cell viability. For in vivo evaluation, tumor-bearing rats were treated with PBAE/HSVtk infusion via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) in combination with systemic administration of GCV. These treated animals showed a significant benefit in survival (p = 0.0012 vs control). Moreover, following a single CED infusion, labeled PBAE nanoparticles spread completely throughout the tumor. This study highlights a nanomedicine approach that is highly promising for the treatment of malignant glioma.

The analysis of the residual life of high temperature low cycle fatigue of 30CrMnSiA steel plays important roles in improving security and avoiding accidents. In this paper, the RBF neural network method is used to predict the residual life of high temperature low cycle fatigue of 30CrMnSiA steel base on data from the thermo-mechanical fatigue test. The feasibility of the method is proved by a practice example, and the learning results are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Epidemiological studies demonstrate that pain frequently occurs comorbid with depression. Gentiopicroside (Gent) is a secoiridoid compound isolated from Gentiana lutea that exhibits analgesic properties and inhibits the expression of GluN2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex of mice. However, the effects of Gent on the reserpine-induced pain/depression dyad and its underlying mechanisms are unclear. Reserpine administration (1 mg/kg subcutaneous daily for 3 days) caused a significant decrease in the nociceptive threshold as evidenced by the reduced paw withdrawal latency in response to a radiant heat source and mechanical allodynia. Behavioral detection indicated a significant increase in immobility time during a forced swim test, as well as decreased time in the central area and total travel distance in an open field test. Furthermore, reserpinized animals exhibited increased oxidative stress. Systemic Gent administration dose-dependently ameliorated the behavioral deficits associated with reserpine-induced pain/depression dyad. At the same time, the decrease in biogenic amine levels (norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin) was integrated with the increase in caspase-3 levels and GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors in the amygdala of the reserpine-injected mice. Gent significantly reversed the changes in the levels of biogenic amines, caspase-3, and GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors in amygdala. However, Gent did not affect the expression of GluN2A-containing NMDA receptors. The inhibitory effects of Gent on oxidative stress were occluded by simultaneous treatment of GluN2B receptors antagonist Ro25-6981. Our study provides strong evidence that Gent inhibits reserpine-induced pain/depression dyad by downregulating GluN2B receptors in the amygdala.

Objective This study evaluated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of embolization of dural arteriovenous fistula via a very small, short feeding artery with the assistance of a balloon placed proximal to the tip of the microcatheter, such that the balloon serves as a plug. Methods Eight patients who underwent treatment of DAVF by balloon-assisted transarterial embolization with Onyx were retrospectively reviewed. Gender, age, angiography findings, procedure details, clinical and angiographic outcomes, complications, and follow-up were recorded and analyzed. Results Nine embolization procedures were performed in eight male patients via extracranial arteries. Balloon-assisted embolization was successful in all eight patients. A Hyperglide balloon was used in five patients, and a Hyperform balloon was used in three patients. Angiographic resolution of the fistula was achieved in all patients without complications. All patients recovered uneventfully. During the follow-up period of 7–19 months, all patients were asymptomatic except for one patient who experienced mild headaches. Conclusions Treatment of DAVF by balloon-assisted embolization with Onyx achieved promising results, even in patients with very small and short feeding arteries. This technique allowed the treatment of DAVF cases where other techniques have failed.

Background: As a well-known cancer with high mortality, lung cancer has been implied to be closely associated with brain metastasis. Despite notable advances, effective treatment methods are still in urgent need. This study aims to investigate the value of serum microRNA-let-7a (miR-let-7a) expression in predicting efficacy and prognosis of radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer brain metastasis. Methods: To begin with, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed for better understand of the correlation between miR-let-7a and lung cancer. Afterwards, the relationship between serum miR-let-7a expression and radiotherapy efficacy was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Following successful transfection, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were utilized for evaluating the involvement of miR-let-7a in regulation of DICER1 expression in lung cancer cell line. Then, whether miR-let-7a was implicated in proliferation and cell cycle distribution of lung cancer cells were confirmed by cell counting kit-8 assay and flow cytometry respectively. Results: Initially, it was revealed that serum miR-let-7a expression was decreased in lung cancer. Later, we found that decreased miR-let-7a displayed an unfavorable role in radiotherapy efficacy and overall survival rate of patients with lung cancer brain metastasis. After the successful transfection, the inverse relationship between miR-let-7a and DICER1 expression was uncovered. Meanwhile, biological behaviors of lung cancer cells were presented to be limited after transfection of overexpressed miR-let-7a. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that the lower expression of miR-let-7a in patients with lung cancer brain metastasis was closely related to unfavorable efficacy and prognosis of radiotherapy, and it may be an important predictive biomarker by regulation of DICER1.

Growing evidence has shown that proNGF-p75NTR-sortilin signaling might be a crucial factor in neurodegeneration, but it remains unclear if it may function in nigral neurons under aging and disease. The purpose of this study is to examine and quantify proNGF and sortilin expression in the substantia nigra and dynamic changes of aging in lactacystin and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat models of Parkinson’s disease using immunofluorescence, electronic microscopy, western blot and FLIVO staining methods. The expression of proNGF and sortilin was abundantly and selectively identified in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-containing dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra. These proNGF/TH, sortilin/TH-positive neurons were densely distributed in the ventral tier, while they were less distributed in the dorsal tier, where calbindin-D28K-containing neurons were numerously located. A correlated decrease of proNGF, sortilin and TH was also detected during animal aging process. While increase of proNGF, sortilin and cleaved (active) caspase-3 expression was found in the lactacystin model, dynamic proNGF and sortilin changes along with dopamine neuronal loss were demonstrated in the substantia nigra of both the lactacystin and 6-OHDA models. This study has thus revealed the presence of the proNGF-sortilin signaling complex in nigral dopamine neurons and its response to aging, lactacystin and 6-OHDA insults, suggesting that it might contribute to neuronal apoptosis or neurodegeneration during pathogenesis and disease progression of Parkinson’s disease; the underlying mechanism and key signaling pathways involved warrant further investigation.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been considered as a novel target of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for intractable psychiatric disorders. Quite a few questions exist about this new treatment, and might be explored in nonhuman primate models. There are several reports on DBS of brain nucleus other than NAc in nonhuman primates. Therefore, we stereotactically implanted the electrodes into bilateral NAc under the guidance of MRI using a clinical Leksell stereotactic system in normal rhesus monkeys. NAc could be recognized as the area of continuity between the caudate nucleus and putamen in the coronal sections, which is beneath the internal capsule, and the gray matter nucleus between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and anterior commissure in axial sections, which is medial to the putamen. NAc is mainly at a point 2.0-3.0 mm inferior, 3.0-4.0 mm anterior, and 4.5-5.5 mm lateral to the anterior commissure. The electrodes were implanted accurately and connected to an implantable pulse generator subcutaneously. After recovery from surgery, stimulation with a variety of parameters was trialed, and continuous stimulation at 90 μs, 3.5 V, 160, or 60 Hz was administered individually for 7 days. The behaviors and spontaneous locomotor activity of the animals did not change significantly during stimulation. This is the first report on DBS of NAc in nonhuman primates to the best of our knowledge. Bilateral electrical stimulation of NAc is a safe treatment. This model could be helpful in further studies on the clinical use of NAc stimulation for psychiatric disorders and for a better understanding of the functions of this nucleus.

MSP58, a novel oncogene, shows transforming activity in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. However, the oncogenic role of MSP58 in tumor cells has not been fully characterized. To extend understanding of how this protein operates in tumorigenesis, we aimed to identify the effect of MSP58 on neuroblastoma cell proliferation. Here, we found that MSP58 was highly expressed in neuroblastoma tumor samples and cell lines. We found that the majority of MSP58 protein can be detected in the nucleus as reported in other cells. Moreover, MSP58-targeted shRNA lentivirus attenuated neuroblastoma cell proliferation. Knockdown of MSP58 resulted in S-phase cell accumulation, which was accompanied by changes in cell cycle-related molecules. These results indicate that MSP58 plays an oncogenic role in the proliferation of neuroblastoma cells and could be a novel target for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcome and changes of the personality and psychopathological profile of opiate addicts after bilateral stereotactic nucleus accumbens (NAc) ablative surgery. Methods: 60 patients were followed up for 5 years and abstinent status and adverse events were evaluated. NAc lesion volumes and locations were obtained by postoperative MRI scans. The Chinese version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-RSC), the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life Questionnaire – Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered to the patients before and 5 years after the stereotactic surgery. Results: The total abstinence rate of all patients in their 5th postoperative year was 47.4%. The abstinent patients had a significantly larger lesion volume than the relapsed ones, but a larger lesion volume also increased the risk of adverse events. 5 years after surgery, the abstinent patients showed significant decreases on the Psychoticism (EPQ-P) and Neuroticism (EPQ-N) scores by EPQ-RSC, a significant decline on the Global Severity Index and the subscores in all 10 dimensions by SCL-90-R, significant decreases on the BDI and Y-BOCS scores, and significant improvements on the scores of all domains by WHOQOL-BREF, while for the relapsed patients, only the subscores of obsessive-compulsive by SCL-90-R and the Y-BOCS scores significantly decreased. Postoperative analysis revealed that the abstinent patients had a significantly better score than the relapsed ones by various instruments, and NAc lesion volumes and locations did not correlate with the outcome of any of these instruments. Conclusion: The bilateral ablation of NAc by stereotactic neurosurgery was a feasible method for alleviating psychological dependence on opiate drugs and preventing a relapse. Long-term follow-up suggested that surgery can improve the personality and psychopathological profile of opiate addicts with a trend towards normal levels, provided persistent abstinence can be maintained; relapse, on the other hand, may ruin this effect.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces cognitive impairments, motor and behavioral deficits. Previous evidences have suggested that neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation could facilitate functional recovery from brain insults, but their underlying mechanisms remains to be elucidated. Here, we established TBI model by an electromagnetic-controlled cortical impact device in the rats. Then, 5 μl NSCs (5.0 × 10

It has been established that a postsynaptic scaffolding protein, gephyrin, is essential for anchoring two main groups of inhibitory receptors, GABAA receptors (GABAARs) and glycine receptors (GlyRs), to the postsynaptic sites of neurons. The present study was primarily attempted to examine if expression patterns of gephyrin might be different between jaw-closing (JC) and jaw-opening (JO) motoneurons. The JC- and JO-motoneurons in the rat trigeminal motor nucleus (Vm) were located in the dorsolateral (Vm.dl) and ventromedial (Vm.vm) divisions, respectively (Mizuno et al.,1975). Thus, immunoreactivity (IR) for gephyrin was investigated in the Vm: immunofluorescence histochemistry for gephyrin was combined with retrograde tract-tracing of fluorogold (FG), which was injected into nerves innervating JC-muscles or nerves innervating JO-muscles; neuronal cells were counterstained with propidium iodide (PI). The Vm.dl was discriminated from the Vm.vm by the presence of vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1)-immunopositive axon terminals, which were distributed in the Vm.dl but not in the Vm.vm (Pang et al., J Comp Neurol2009;512:595–612). Gephyrin-IR showed a punctate pattern of fluorescence, and motoneuronal profiles were coated with small clusters of gephyrin-immunopositive puncta throughout the Vm. The distribution density of such clusters was apparently higher in the Vm.dl than in the Vm.vm; this was confirmed quantitatively by a method similar to that described by Lorenzo et al. (Eur J Neurosci2006;23:3161–3170). On the basis of the present results, possible correlation between the distribution density of gephyrin clusters in the submembrane region of Vm motoneurons and that of axon terminals making inhibitory synapses on Vm motoneurons was discussed. Anat Rec, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia is believed to have an important function, but little is known about its actual mechanisms. We studied the resonance characteristics of subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons and their ionic mechanisms using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rat brain slices. A swept-sine-wave current with constant amplitude and linearly increasing frequency was applied to measure the resonance frequency ( f res ) of STN neurons. We also used single-frequency sine wave current to evoke firing. We found that the resonance of STN neurons was temperature- and voltage-dependent. The f res of STN neurons was about 4 Hz when the temperature was maintained at 38 °C and holding potential was at −70 mV. The f res increased with more negative holding potentials and decreased with lower temperature. Action potentials fired most readily when the input frequency was near f res . After application of drug ZD7288 (20 μM), the resonance of STN neurons was blocked and the spikes evoked by both impedance amplitude profile (ZAP) current and single-frequency sine wave current arose readily at the lowest frequencies, indicating that hyperpolarization-activated cation current ( I h ) generated the resonance and mediated a preferential coupling at frequencies near f res between inputs and firing. In conclusion, there is a θ -frequency resonance mediated by I h in STN neurons. The resonance characteristics are temperature- and voltage-dependent. The resonance mediates a frequency-selective coupling between inputs and firing.

Three dimension temperature fields and stress-strain fields of the 6110-type diesel engine piston were analyzed by using the program ANSYS. The simulating tests of crack propagation under high temperature low cycle fatigue were carried out with pre-crack notched specimens. According to the theory of high temperature strength and fracture, the equivalent J-integral range ΔJf were induced to predict the surplus fatigue life of diesel engine piston. It was concluded that this approach is suitable and provides valuable reference for designers of diesel engine.

By the investigation of the 400°C low cycle fatigue behavior of 4 kinds of notched cylindrical specimens made 2.25Cr-1Mo stee1. The high temperature low cycle fatigue life was evaluated by the criterons of equivalent range. The results show that equivalent criterion for evaluating high temperature low cycle fatigue life has its experimental and theoretical foundation, but further investigation is still needed．

In order to solve the fault diagnosis problem of diesel engine, Elman neural network (ENN) was applied to build a fault diagnosis model of diesel engine. The training algorithm is in introduced and at the same time, the process of diesel engine fault diagnosis is also expatiated. The diagnosis results indicate the reliability. So a contingent fault of diesel engine can be identified effectively.

Gypenosides (GP), the saponin extract derived from the Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino, a widely reputed medicinal plant in China, has been reported to have some neuroprotective effects. We used a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion to investigate the protective effects of GP on the cortex and hippocampal CA1 region and the underlying mechanisms for its inhibition of cognitive decline. Daily doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg GP were orally administered to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats for 61 days after inducing cerebral hypoperfusion experimentally, and spatial learning and memory were assessed using the Morris water maze. Antioxidative capability was measured biochemically. The levels of lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage were assessed by immunohistochemical staining for 4-hydroxynonenal and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, respectively. Activated astrocytes were assessed by immunohistochemical staining and western blotting with GFAP antibodies. Rats receiving 200 mg/kg GP had better spatial learning and memory than saline-treated rats. GP 200 mg/kg/day were found to markedly enhance antioxidant abilities, decrease lipid peroxide products and oxidative DNA damage, and reduce the activation of inflammatory astrocytes. However, GP 100 mg/kg had no significant effects. GP may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of dementia induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and further evaluation is warranted.

The low cycle fatigue behavior was experimentally studied with the 3-dimension notched LD8 aluminum alloy specimens at 300°C. The 3- dimension stress-strain responses of specimens were calculated by means of the program ADINA. The multiaxial fatigue life prediction was carried out according to von Mises’s equivalent theory. The results from the prediction showed that the equivalent strain range can be served as the valid mechanics for predicting multiaxial high temperature and low cyclic fatigue life.

The crack propagation law of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel with notched cylinder was researched under high temperature low cycle fatigue. The crack propagation life was viewed by fatigue experiment and the equivalent stress-strain on the crack tip was calculated by the ANSYS. The equivalent J-integral range which was computed by equivalent elastic and plastic strain ranges were employed to denote the fatigue crack propagation rate. The results showed that crack propagation law of this material under complex stress state can be characterized by equivalent J-integral ranges and the relation between da/dN and ΔJf is not influenced by the type of notch and the load strain range.

OBJECTIVE We wanted to evaluate the clinical value of intraoperative ultrasonography for real-time guidance when performing microneurosurgical resection of small subcortical lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-two patients with small subcortical lesions were involved in this study. The pathological diagnoses were cavernous hemangioma in 25 cases, cerebral glioma in eight cases, abscess in eight cases, small inflammatory lesion in five cases, brain parasite infection in four cases and the presence of an intracranial foreign body in two cases. An ultrasonic probe was sterilized and lightly placed on the surface of the brain during the operation. The location, extent, characteristics and adjacent tissue of the lesion were observed by high frequency ultrasonography during the operation. RESULTS All the lesions were located in the cortex and their mean size was 1.3 ± 0.2 cm. Intraoperative ultrasonography accurately located all the small subcortical lesions, and so the neurosurgeon could provide appropriate treatment. Different lesion pathologies presented with different ultrasonic appearances. Cavernous hemangioma exhibited irregular shapes with distinct margins and it was mildly hyperechoic or hyperechoic. The majority of the cerebral gliomas displayed irregular shapes with indistinct margins, and they often showed cystic and solid mixed echoes. Postoperative imaging identified that the lesions had completely disappeared, and the original symptoms of all the patients were significantly alleviated. CONCLUSION Intraoperative ultrasonography can help accurately locate small subcortical lesions and it is helpful for selecting the proper approach and guiding thorough resection of these lesions.

The structure, characteristics and principles of BP neural network model are described in this paper. First, three impact factors of the dissolved oxygen are selected as the sample input of network, and then the parameters of BP neural network are selected, such as network structure, learning algorithm, output layer transfer function, learning rate and so on. Finally, the BP neural network model is established and trained, in order to approach compensate the effects of improves non-linearity. The simulation results show that BP neural network is practical and dependable in the field of dissolved oxygen modeling and has nice applied prospect.

In this paper, the tests of the thermo-mechanical fatigue of the material, cut from a coke tower were performed. The tower made of 20G has been in service for 20 years. Then, we calculated the temperature and stress-strain. The results showed that the tower can be in service for another four years．

Objectives: Our purpose was to assess the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of a modified predilation for middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis. Background: Wingspan stenting of MCA remains a technical challenge, and rates of residual stenosis and restenosis must be lowered. Methods: A series of 48 patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis greater than 50% and refractory to medical therapy underwent Wingspan stenting with different balloon/artery ratios before (group 1, Boston guidelines predilation) or after (group 2, modified predilation) July of 2008. Technical success, periprocedural complications, recurrent symptoms, and restenosis were assessed retrospectively, and risk factors for restenosis were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Successful stenting occurred in 48 of 49 (98%) lesions. Primary endpoints within 30 days included one (2.12%) minor stroke and two (4.26%) transient ischemic attacks. Stenoses were reduced from 77.11% ± 10.09% to 27.50% ± 6.91% in group 1 versus from 72.56% ± 10.46% to 8.20% ± 5.41% in group 2. A total of 43 patients were followed up for 12.92 ± 5.08 months, and recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack occurred in two (4.65%) patients. Vessels were followed with transcranial Doppler (43 vessels), angiography (23 vessels), or computed tomographic angiography (one vessel). The restenosis rate was 8 of 18 (44%) in group 1 and 3 of 25 (12%) in group 2. Restenosis was associated with residual stenosis and diabetes. Conclusions: Wingspan stenting for symptomatic MCA stenosis can be performed with high success and low complication rates, and modified predilation with the Gateway balloon can reduce the rates of residual stenosis and restenosis. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The in-phase and out-of-phase thermal fatigue of aluminum alloy were experimentally studied. The fatigue life was evaluated analytically by using the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics method (mainly J integral). The results of experiments and calculations showed that the life of out-of-phase fatigue was longer than that of in-phase fatigue within the same strain range. This is the same as the results of other materials such as medium and low carbon steel. On the other hand, the predicted life was consistent with experimental results. This suggests that J integral as a mechanics parameter for characterizing the thermal fatigue strength of aluminum alloy and the calculation method developed here is efficient. A parameter ΔW was proposed from energy aspect to characterize the capacity of crack propagation. The in-phase thermal fatigue life was the same as the out-of-phase thermal fatigue life for identical ΔW values.