[Research progress on the mechanism of pain related neural pathways above the spinal cord].

Pain is a multi-dimensional emotional experience, and pain sensation and pain emotion are the two main components. As for pain, previous studies only focused on a certain link of the pain transmission pathway or a certain key brain region, and there is a lack of evidence that connectivity of brain regions is involved in pain or pain regulation in the overall state. The establishment of new experimental tools and techniques has brought light to the study of neural pathways of pain sensation and pain emotion. In this paper, the structure and functional basis of the neural pathways involved in the formation of pain sensation and the regulation of pain emotion in the nervous system above the spinal cord level, including thalamus, amygdala, midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG), parabrachial nucleus (PB) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), are reviewed in recent years, providing clues for the in-depth study of pain.

[Psittacosis Pneumonia with Pleural Effusion:Report of Three Cases and Literature Review].

It was generally believed that psittacosis pneumonia (pneumonia caused by Chlamydia psittaci) was rarely combined with pleural effusion and the characteristics of pleural effusion were rarely reported in the domestic literature.Herein,we reported three cases of pleural effusion due to psittacosis pneumonia,with elevated level of adenosine deaminase and lymphocyte-predominant exudative pleural effusion.Further,we reviewed the psittacosis pneumonia reports with complete clinical and lung imaging data.The imaging manifestations included pulmonary consolidation and common occurrence of a small amount of pleural effusion.The patients of psittacosis pneumonia combined with pleural effusion had severe symptoms,obvious hypoxia,and increased risk of invasive ventilation.

Activation of ventrolateral orbital cortex improves mouse neuropathic pain-induced anxiodepression.

Depression and anxiety are frequently observed in patients suffering from neuropathic pain. The underlying mechanisms remained unclear. The ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) has attracted considerable interest in its role in antidepressive effect in rodents. In the present study, we further investigated the role of the VLO in the anxiodepressive consequences of neuropathic pain in a chronic constriction injury of infraorbital nerve-induced trigeminal neuralgia (TN) mouse model. Elevated plus maze, open field, forced swimming, tail suspension, and sucrose preference tests were used to evaluate anxiodepressive-like behaviors. The results show that chemogenetic activation of bilateral VLO neurons, especially CaMK2A+ pyramidal neurons, blocked the TN-induced anxiodepressive-like behaviors. Chemogenetic and optogenetic activation of VGLUT2+ or inhibition of VGAT+ VLO neurons was sufficient to produce an antianxiodepressive effect in TN mice. Pharmacological activation of D1-like receptors (D1Rs) but not D2Rs in the VLO significantly alleviated TN-induced depressive-like behaviors. Electrophysiological recordings revealed a decreased excitability of VLO excitatory neurons following neuropathic pain. Furthermore, activation of submedius thalamic nucleus-VLO (Sm-VLO) projection mimicked the antianxiodepressive effect of VLO excitation. Conversely, activation of VLO-periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) projection had no effect on TN-induced anxiodepressive behaviors. This study provides a potentially novel mechanism-based therapeutic strategy for the anxiodepressive consequences of neuropathic pain.

Variation of soil bacterial diversity after the invasion of Phyllostachys edulis into Pinus massoniana forest.

To identify the variation in soil bacterial community diversity brought by the invasion of Phyllostachys edulis into Pinus massoniana forest, we collected mixed soil samples from three types of forests, including a pure Ph. edulis forest, a mixed Ph. edulis and conifers (P. massoniana) fore-st, and a mixed forest of evergreen broadleaves and conifers. Samples were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing for measuring the soil bacterial community diversity and structure. The results showed that the bacterial communities comprised of 511 genera, 160 families, 134 orders, 88 classes, and 39 phyla. The proportion of Acidobateria in the pure Ph. edulis forest was significantly lower and the proportions of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, TM7, and Chlamydiae were significantly higher than that in other forests. Meanwhile, various genera showed significant differences in proportions in both the mixed forests when compared with their corresponding proportions in the pure Ph. edulis forest. There were 130 non-dominant genera presented alone in each of the two mixed forests, at proportions between 0.005% and 0.1%. The pure Ph. edulis forest had the lowest &Agr; diversity, while that of the mixed Ph. edulis and evergreen broadleaf forest was intermediate, and that of the mixed evergreen broadleaf and coniferous forest was the highest. The index of &Agr; diversity followed evergreen coniferous mixed forest > bamboo needle mixed forest > pure bamboo forest, and the diffe-rence between the mixed Ph. edulis and evergreen broadleaf forest and the mixed evergreen broadleaf and coniferous forest was insignificant. The PCoA results revealed that the invasion of Ph. edulis affected the population diversity and community structure of soil bacteria. There was a significant correlation between the percentage of non-dominant bacterial phyla in the soil (less than 0.1% of the proportion) and the soil environmental gradient such as water-soluble organic nitrogen and nitrate. Water-soluble organic nitrogen and nitrate had strong effects on the non-dominant bacterial population in the soil following the invasion of Ph. edulis into the P. massoniana forest. These findings would serve as important references for further related studies.

D2-like but not D1-like dopamine receptors are involved in the ventrolateral orbital cortex-induced antinociception: a GABAergic modulation mechanism.

The ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) is part of an endogenous analgesic system consisting of an ascending pathway from the spinal cord to VLO via the thalamic nucleus submedius (Sm) and a descending pathway to the spinal cord relaying in the periaqueductal gray (PAG). This study examines whether activation of D(1)-like and D(2)-like dopamine receptors in VLO produces antinociception and whether GABAergic modulation is involved in the VLO, D(2)-like dopamine receptor activation-evoked antinociception. The radiant heat-evoked tail flick (TF) reflex was used as an index of nociceptive response in lightly anesthetized rats. Microinjection of the D(2)-like (D(2)/D(3)) dopamine receptor agonist quinpirole (0.1-2.0 microg), but not D(1)-like (D(1)/D(5)) receptor agonist SKF-38393 (1.0, 5.0 microg), into VLO produced dose-dependent antinociception which was antagonized by the D(2)-like (D(2)/D(3)) receptor antagonist raclopride (1.5 microg). We also found that VLO application of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline or picrotoxin (100 ng) enhanced the quinpirole-induced inhibition of the TF reflex, whereas the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol (250 ng) or THIP (1.0 microg) significantly attenuated the quinpirole-induced inhibition. These results suggest that D(2)-like, but not D(1)-like, dopamine receptors are involved in VLO-induced antinociception and that GABAergic disinhibitory mechanisms participate in the D(2)-like receptor mediated effect. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that D(2)-like receptor activation may inhibit the inhibitory action of the GABAergic interneurons on the output neurons projecting to PAG leading to activation of the brainstem descending inhibitory system and depression of nociceptive inputs at the spinal dorsal horn.