Recent progress in the applications of presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography imaging in parkinsonism.

Nowadays, presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography, which assesses deficiencies in dopamine synthesis, storage, and transport, is widely utilized for early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of parkinsonism. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the latest developments in the application of presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography imaging in disorders that manifest parkinsonism. We conducted a thorough literature search using reputable databases such as PubMed and Web of Science. Selection criteria involved identifying peer-reviewed articles published within the last 5 years, with emphasis on their relevance to clinical applications. The findings from these studies highlight that presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography has demonstrated potential not only in diagnosing and differentiating various Parkinsonian conditions but also in assessing disease severity and predicting prognosis. Moreover, when employed in conjunction with other imaging modalities and advanced analytical methods, presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography has been validated as a reliable in vivo biomarker. This validation extends to screening and exploring potential neuropathological mechanisms associated with dopaminergic depletion. In summary, the insights gained from interpreting these studies are crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of preclinical investigations and clinical trials, ultimately advancing toward the goals of neuroregeneration in parkinsonian disorders.

Classification of musical hallucinations and the characters along with neural-molecular mechanisms of musical hallucinations associated with psychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND: Musical hallucinations (MH) involve the false perception of music in the absence of external stimuli which links with different etiologies. The pathomechanisms of MH encompass various conditions. The etiological classification of MH is of particular importance and offers valuable insights to understand MH, and further to develop the effective treatment of MH. Over the recent decades, more MH cases have been reported, revealing newly identified medical and psychiatric causes of MH. Functional imaging studies reveal that MH activates a wide array of brain regions. An up-to-date analysis on MH, especially on MH comorbid psychiatric conditions is warranted. AIM: To propose a new classification of MH; to study the age and gender differences of MH in mental disorders; and neuropathology of MH. METHODS: Literatures searches were conducted using keywords such as "music hallucination," "music hallucination and mental illness," "music hallucination and gender difference," and "music hallucination and psychiatric disease" in the databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. MH cases were collected and categorized based on their etiologies. The t-test and ANOVA were employed (P < 0.05) to compare the age differences of MH different etiological groups. Function neuroimaging studies of neural networks regulating MH and their possible molecular mechanisms were discussed. RESULTS: Among the 357 yielded publications, 294 MH cases were collected. The average age of MH cases was 67.9 years, with a predominance of females (66.8% females vs 33.2% males). MH was classified into eight groups based on their etiological mechanisms. Statistical analysis of MH cases indicates varying associations with psychiatric diagnoses. CONCLUSION: We carried out a more comprehensive review of MH studies. For the first time according to our knowledge, we demonstrated the psychiatric conditions linked and/or associated with MH from statistical, biological and molecular point of view.

Application of bone perforation in the surgery of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in stage â ¡.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the effect of surgery combined with bone perforation for treating stage Ⅱ medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). METHODS: A total of 21 patients with stage Ⅱ mandibular MRONJ who underwent surgical treatment from June 2020 to June 2023 were included in this study. Retrospective analysis was conducted on their clinical data, including gender, age, primary disease, drug name and administration method, pre-surgery drug cessation, and prognosis. The cohort comprised 14 males and 7 females, with an average age at onset of 68.33±10.74 years. According to the guidelines of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the included patients had stage Ⅱ mandibular MRONJ. The treatment approach consisted of partial mandibulectomy combined with bone perforation techniques, ensuring tension-free suturing of soft tissues. Follow-up was performed regularly, and the curative effect was evaluated. The SF-12 health survey was used to assess the quality of life for all patients before and after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients were followed up for 8-38 months after surgery, and the mucosal healing of 17 patients was good (80.95%). The postoperative quality of life score (83.62±5.90) was significantly higher than that before operation (63.67±4.70, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery combined with bone perforation te-chnique is an effective treatment method with high success rate in refractory stage Ⅱ MRONT patients.

Air pollution exposure during preconception and first trimester of pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus in a large pregnancy cohort, Hebei Province, China.

Objective: To explore the relationship between the exposure level of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and particulate matter 10 (PM10) in the air of pregnant women during preconception and first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: The data of pregnant women delivered in 22 monitoring hospitals in Hebei Province from 2019 to 2021 were collected, and the daily air quality data of their cities were used to calculate the exposure levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in different pregnancy stages, and logistic regression model was used to analyze the impact of exposure levels of PM2.5 and PM10 on GDM during preconception and first trimester of pregnancy. Results: 108,429 singleton live deliveries were included in the study, of which 12,967 (12.0%) women had a GDM diagnosis. The prevalence of GDM increased over the course of the study from 10.2% (2019) to 14.9% (2021). From 2019 to 2021, the average exposure of PM2.5 and PM10 was relatively 56.67 and 103.08µg/m3 during the period of preconception and first trimester of pregnancy in Hebei Province. Handan, Shijiazhuang, and Xingtai regions had the most severe exposure to PM2.5 and PM10, while Zhangjiakou, Chengde, and Qinhuangdao had significantly lower exposure levels than other regions. The GDM group had statistically higher exposure concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 during the period of preconception, first trimester, preconception and first trimester (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of GDM increases by 4.5%, 6.0%, and 10.6% for every 10ug/m3 increase in the average exposure value of PM2.5 in preconception, first trimester, preconception and first trimester, and 1.7%, 2.1%, and 3.9% for PM10. Moreover, High exposure to PM2.5 in the first, second, and third months of preconception and first trimester is associated with the risk of GDM. And high exposure to PM10 in the first, second, and third months of first trimester and the first, and third months of preconception is associated with the risk of GDM. Conclusion: Exposure to high concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 during preconception and first trimester of pregnancy can significantly increase the risk of GDM. It is important to take precautions to prevent exposure to pollutants, reduce the risk of GDM, and improve maternal and fetal outcomes.

Integrating multi-omics and machine learning survival frameworks to build a prognostic model based on immune function and cell death patterns in a lung adenocarcinoma cohort.

Introduction: The programmed cell death (PCD) plays a key role in the development and progression of lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, immune-related genes also play a crucial role in cancer progression and patient prognosis. However, further studies are needed to investigate the prognostic significance of the interaction between immune-related genes and cell death in LUAD. Methods: In this study, 10 clustering algorithms were applied to perform molecular typing based on cell death-related genes, immune-related genes, methylation data and somatic mutation data. And a powerful computational framework was used to investigate the relationship between immune genes and cell death patterns in LUAD patients. A total of 10 commonly used machine learning algorithms were collected and subsequently combined into 101 unique combinations, and we constructed an immune-associated programmed cell death model (PIGRS) using the machine learning model that exhibited the best performance. Finally, based on a series of in vitro experiments used to explore the role of PSME3 in LUAD. Results: We used 10 clustering algorithms and multi-omics data to categorize TCGA-LUAD patients into three subtypes. patients with the CS3 subtype had the best prognosis, whereas patients with the CS1 and CS2 subtypes had a poorer prognosis. PIGRS, a combination of 15 high-impact genes, showed strong prognostic performance for LUAD patients. PIGRS has a very strong prognostic efficacy compared to our collection. In conclusion, we found that PSME3 has been little studied in lung adenocarcinoma and may be a novel prognostic factor in lung adenocarcinoma. Discussion: Three LUAD subtypes with different molecular features and clinical significance were successfully identified by bioinformatic analysis, and PIGRS was constructed using a powerful machine learning framework. and investigated PSME3, which may affect apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma cells through the PI3K/AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathway.

Assessment of Rab geranylgeranyltransferase subunit beta in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Introduction: Geranylgeranyltransferase Subunit Beta (RABGGTB) was expressed at higher levels in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with healthy controls. This study aims to observe the expression of RABGGTB in different cells from patients with ALS and different diseases. Methods: In this case-control study, we collected peripheral blood from patients with ALS and healthy controls, and compared the expression of RABGGTB in natural killer cells (NK), T cells and B cells between patients with ALS and healthy controls by flow cytometry. And compared the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages from patients with ALS, Parkinson's disease (PD), acute cerebrovascular disease (ACVD), and healthy controls by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Then flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes from SOD1G93A mice and WT mice. Results: The expression of RABGGTB was not significantly changed in NK cells, cytotoxic T cells (CTL), helper T cells (Th), regulatory T cells (Treg), and B cells from patients with ALS compared to healthy controls. And the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages was higher in the ALS group than in the PD, ACVD and control group. The expression of RABGGTB was significantly higher in monocytes of SOD1G93A mice compared to WT mice. Conclusion: These findings suggest that RABGGTB expression was increased in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages from patients with ALS, not in NK, CTL, Th, Treg, and B cells. Future studies are needed to find the clinical implication of RABGGTB in ALS.

Preparation and application of a pseudo-templated multi-monomer aflatoxins imprinted polymer.

A functional material was developed with specific recognition properties for aflatoxins for pre-processing enrichment and separation in the detection of aflatoxins in Chinese herbal medicines. In the experiment, ethyl coumarin-3-carboxylate, which has a highly similar structure to the oxonaphthalene o-ketone of aflatoxin, was selected as a pseudo-template, zinc acrylate, neutral red derivative, and methacrylic acid, which have complementary functions, were selected as co-monomers to prepare a pseudo-template multifunctional monomer molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). The MIP obtained under the optimal preparation conditions has a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.036 mg/mg and an imprinting factor of 3.67. The physical property evaluation of the polymers by Fourier infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy, pore size analyzer, thermogravimetric analyzer, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed that the MIP were successfully prepared and porous spherical-like particles were obtained. The synthesized polymer was used as a solid-phase extraction agent for the separation of aflatoxins from the extract of spina date seed. The linear range of the developed method was 10-1000 ng/mL, the limit of detection was 0.36 ng/mL, the limit of quantification was 1.19 ng/mL, and the recoveries of the extracts at the concentration level of 0.2 µg/mL were in the range 88.0-93.4%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.97% (n). The results showed that the preparation of MIPs using ethyl coumarin-3-carboxylate as a template was simple, economical, and convenient. It is expected to become a promising functional material for the enrichment and separation aflatoxins from complex matrices.

[Association of serum irisin levels with glucose and lipid metabolism among adolescents in Yinchuan City from 2017 to 2020].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between serum irisin levels and glucose and lipid metabolism among adolescents in Yinchuan City. METHODS: From 2017 to 2020, a conbination of convenient sampling and stratified cluster random sampling method were used to select 1219 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old in Yinchuan City as research subjects. The height and weight were measured using the height and sitting height meter and the bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Blood indicators such as fasting plasma glucose(FPG), totalcholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) were measured using fully automatic biochemical analyzer. Serum irisin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between irisin and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. RESULTS: The FPG, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C levels of subjects in the highest tertile of irisin levels were significantly lower than those of subjects in the lowest tertile of irisin levels(F values were 5.13, 3.15, 3.07 and 5.01, P<0.05), and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05). The serum irisin levels in the hyperglycemia group(t=2.87, P<0.01), hypercholesterolemia group(t=2.36, P=0.02) and hyperLDL-Cemia group(t=2.34, P=0.02) were significantly lower than those in the normoglycemia group, normal TC group and normal LDL-C group. Meanwhile, the irisin level in the low HDL-Cemia group(t=-2.57, P=0.01) was significantly higher than that in the normal HDL-C group, and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). Participants in the highest tertile of irisin had 0.51, 0.49 and 0.50 times the risk of hyperglycemia(OR=0.51, 95%CI 0.29-0.87), hypercholesterolemia(OR=0.49, 95%CI 0.27-0.89) and hyperLDL-cemia(OR=0.50, 95%CI 0.25-0.99) compared with those in the lowest tertile. CONCLUSION: Low levels of irisin are associated with the occurrence of hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperLDL-Cemia in adolescents.

PET imaging of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 subtype A for neurological recovery in ischemic stroke.

PURPOSE: [18F]SynVesT-1 is a novel radiopharmaceutical for assessing synaptic density in vivo. This study aims to investigate the potential of [18F]SynVesT-1 positron emission tomography (PET) in evaluating neurological recovery in the rat model of ischemic stroke, and to compare its performance with [18F]FDG PET. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to photothrombotic cerebral infarction, and safinamide was administered intraperitoneally from day 3 to day 14 post-stroke to alleviate neurological deficits. Cylinder test and forelimb placing test were performed to assess the neurological function. MRI, [18F]SynVesT-1 PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging were used to evaluate infarct volume, synaptic density, and cerebral glucose metabolism pre- and post-treatment. [18F]SynVesT-1 and [18F]FDG PET images were compared using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and region of interest (ROI)-based analysis. Post-mortem histological analysis was performed to validate PET images. RESULTS: Safinamide treatment improved behavioral outcomes in stroke-damaged rats. Both [18F]SynVesT-1 and [18F]FDG PET detected stroke-induced injury, with the injured region being significantly larger in [18F]FDG PET than in [18F]SynVesT-1 PET. Compared with the saline group, radiotracer uptake in the injured area significantly increased in [18F]SynVesT-1 PET after safinamide treatment, whereas no notable change was observed in [18F]FDG PET. Additionally, [18F]SynVesT-1 PET imaging showed a better correlation with neurological function recovery than [18F]FDG PET. Post-mortem analysis revealed increased neuronal numbers, synaptic density, and synaptic neuroplasticity, as well as decreased glia activation in the stroke-injured area after treatment. CONCLUSION: [18F]SynVesT-1 PET effectively quantified spatiotemporal dynamics of synaptic density in the rat model of stroke, and showed different capabilities in detecting stroke injury and neurological recovery compared with [18F]FDG PET. The utilization of [18F]SynVesT-1 PET holds promise as a potential non-invasive biomarker for evaluating ischemic stroke in conjunction with [18F]FDG PET.

Bunyavirus SFTSV nucleoprotein exploits TUFM-mediated mitophagy to impair antiviral innate immunity.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome is an emerging viral hemorrhagic fever caused by a tick-borne bunyavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), with a high case fatality. We previously found that SFTSV nucleoprotein (NP) induces macroautophagy/autophagy to facilitate virus replication. However, the role of NP in antagonizing host innate immunity remains unclear. Mitophagy, a selected form of autophagy, eliminates damaged mitochondria to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that SFTSV NP triggers mitophagy to degrade MAVS (mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein), thereby blocking MAVS-mediated antiviral signaling to escape the host immune response. Mechanistically, SFTSV NP translocates to mitochondria by interacting with TUFM (Tu translation elongation factor, mitochondrial), and mediates mitochondrial sequestration into phagophores through interacting with LC3, thus inducing mitophagy. Notably, the N-terminal LC3-interacting region (LIR) motif of NP is essential for mitophagy induction. Collectively, our results demonstrated that SFTSV NP serves as a novel virulence factor, inducing TUFM-mediated mitophagy to degrade MAVS and evade the host immune response.Abbreviation: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; ACTB: actin beta; co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CQ: chloroquine; DAPI: 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; FCCP: carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone; GFP: green fluorescent protein; HTNV: Hantan virus; IAV: influenza A virus; IFN: interferon; LAMP1: lysosomal associated membraneprotein 1; LIR: LC3-interacting region; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associatedprotein 1 light chain 3 beta; MAVS: mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein; Mdivi-1: mitochondrial division inhibitor 1; MOI: multiplicity of infection; MT-CO2/COXII: mitochondrially encoded cytochrome C oxidase II; NP: nucleoprotein; NSs: nonstructural proteins; poly(I:C): polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid; RIGI: RNA sensor RIG-I; RLR: RIGI-like receptor; SFTSV: severe fever withthrombocytopenia syndrome virus; TCID50: 50% tissue culture infectiousdose; TIMM23: translocase of inner mitochondrial membrane 23; TOMM20:translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20; TUFM: Tu translation elongationfactor, mitochondrial.

Spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of lewy body dementia by metabolic PET imaging.

PURPOSE: Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disease with high heterogeneity and complex pathogenesis. Our study aimed to use disease progression modeling to uncover spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of LBD in vivo, and to explore differential profiles of clinical features, glucose metabolism, and dopaminergic function among different evolution-related subtypes. METHODS: A total of 123 participants (31 healthy controls and 92 LBD patients) who underwent 18F-FDG PET scans were retrospectively enrolled. 18F-FDG PET-based Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) model was established to illustrate spatial-temporal evolutionary patterns and categorize relevant subtypes. Then subtypes and stages were further related to clinical features, glucose metabolism, and dopaminergic function of LBD patients. RESULTS: This 18F-FDG PET imaging-based approach illustrated two distinct patterns of neurodegenerative evolution originating from the neocortex and basal ganglia in LBD and defined them as subtype 1 and subtype 2, respectively. There were obvious differences between subtypes. Compared with subtype 1, subtype 2 exhibited a greater proportion of male patients (P = 0.045) and positive symptoms such as visual hallucinations (P = 0.033) and fluctuating cognitions (P = 0.033). Cognitive impairment, metabolic abnormalities, dopaminergic dysfunction and progression were all more severe in subtype 2 (all P < 0.05). In addition, a strong association was observed between SuStaIn subtypes and two clinical phenotypes (Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies) (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings based on 18F-FDG PET and data-driven model illustrated spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of LBD and categorized novel subtypes with different evolutionary patterns, clinical and imaging features in vivo. The evolution-related subtypes are associated with LBD clinical phenotypes, which supports the perspective of existence of distinct entities in LBD spectrum.

Friend or foe? Using eye-tracking technology to investigate the visual discrimination ability of giant pandas.

The role that visual discriminative ability plays among giant pandas in social communication and individual discrimination has received less attention than olfactory and auditory modalities. Here, we used an eye-tracker technology to investigate pupil fixation patterns for 8 captive male giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca. We paired images (N = 26) of conspecifics against: 1) sympatric predators (gray wolves and tigers), and non-threatening sympatric species (golden pheasant, golden snub-nosed monkey, takin, and red panda), 2) conspecifics with atypical fur coloration (albino and brown), and 3) zookeepers/non-zookeepers wearing either work uniform or plain clothing. For each session, we tracked the panda's pupil movements and measured pupil first fixation point (FFP), fixation latency, total fixation count (TFC), and duration (TFD) of attention to each image. Overall, pandas exhibited similar attention (FFPs and TFCs) to images of predators and non-threatening sympatric species. Images of golden pheasant, snub-nosed monkey, and tiger received less attention (TFD) than images of conspecifics, whereas images of takin and red panda received more attention, suggesting a greater alertness to habitat or food competitors than to potential predators. Pandas' TFCs were greater for images of black-white conspecifics than for albino or brown phenotypes, implying that familiar color elicited more interest. Pandas reacted differently to images of men versus women. For images of women only, pandas gave more attention (TFC) to familiar combinations (uniformed zookeepers and plain-clothed non-zookeepers), consistent with the familiarity hypothesis. That pandas can use visual perception to discriminate intra-specifically and inter-specifically, including details of human appearance, has applications for panda conservation and captive husbandry.

Association of maternal infection of SARS-CoV-2 and neonatal susceptibility: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study aims to assess the risk of neonatal susceptibility to COVID-19 among pregnant women. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 1089 pregnant women ≥28 weeks of gestational age, who were categorized into infected and uninfected groups. Data for all participants were collected through a comprehensive review of electronic medical records and follow-up phone calls. The primary outcome was neonatal infection with SARS-CoV-2, while secondary outcomes included delivery patterns and gestational age at delivery. Results: Maternal vaccination (OR 95%CI:0.63[0.46, 0.85]) and maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 (OR 95%CI: 0.45[0.34, 0.60]) were found to be associated with a decreased risk of neonatal infection. The infected group exhibited a lower neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection rate (25.93%) compared to the uninfected group (45.15%). Logistic regression analysis identified several risk factors associated with an increased risk of neonatal infection, including pregnancy BMI (OR 95%CI: 1.04[1.01, 1.08]), age at first pregnancy (OR 95%CI: 1.05[1.01, 1.10]), age at menarche (OR 95%CI: 1.13[1.02, 1.26]), and parturition (Yes vs. No) (OR 95%CI:1.4 [1.04,1.88]). Conclusion: Maternal vaccination and perinatal infection with SARS-CoV-2 play a protective role in preventing neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Jin-Gu-Lian Capsule Did Not Significantly Improve Clinical Value in Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy: A Real-World Study.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical value of adding Jin-gu-lian (JGL) capsules into rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment by examining its impact on disease activity and quality of life (QoL) through a real-world study (RWS). Patients and methods: RWS was conducted to compare the inflammatory markers, including IgM-RF, ESR, and CRP, between RA patients treated with only Western medicine (reference group) and Western medicine plus JGL (study group) during one-year follow-up. The clinical data was acquired from the hospital information system (HIS). Telephone call-based follow-up on QoL (SF-36) and accompanying symptoms, including gastrointestinal complaints, attacks of pneumonia, herpes zoster, URTIs, UTIs, and LTBIs. Finally, the anti-rheumatic drugs given to both groups were also compared. RWS was further validated for its feasibility by performing studies with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment, which is a commonly used anti-rheumatic drug for RA with mild effect. Results: The study group failed to show a significant effect on inflammatory markers, especially on the CRP levels, indicating no additional clinical value of supplementing with JGL. Similarly, at the endpoint, no significant differences between the two groups on QoL and related symptoms were observed. Our study suggests that the patients in the study group might need more anti-rheumatic drugs to fill the treatment insufficiency, and the application ratio of NSAIDs would be significantly higher than the reference group. By conducting this study on HCQ treatment, the positive aspects of controlling disease activity and reducing NSAIDs application were found, which demonstrates the utility of performing the RWS to evaluate the effect of JGL. Conclusion: Adding JGL did not significantly improve the clinical efficacy of RA treatment by this RWS. Folk herbal prescriptions such as JGL are suggested to underwent strict clinical trials before application.

Surgical advantage of modified labial salivary gland biopsy using chalazion forceps: a prospective randomized controlled study.

Labial salivary gland biopsy (LSGB) is one of the specific diagnostic criteria for primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). In traditional LSGB, there is no lower lip fixation device, the field of view is unclear due to intraoperative bleeding, and the incision is large, which is unfavourable for healing. The use of auxiliary devices to improve the shortcomings of traditional LSGB technique would be meaningful. Therefore, this case-control study aimed to assess the value of modified LSGB using chalazion forceps as compared with traditional LSGB. After obtaining written informed consent from all participating parents and patients, we randomly assigned 217 eligible participants to undergo LSGB using chalazion forceps (n = 125) or traditional LSGB (n = 92). The outcome variables were surgical time, incision length, intraoperative bleeding, pain score at 24 h after surgery, incision healing status at 7 days after surgery, gland collection, and pathological results. The final diagnostic results of the two surgical methods were compared, and the match rates between the pathological results and the final clinical diagnoses were compared between the two groups. The data were analysed using parametric and nonparametric tests. Compared with the traditional group, the modified group had a smaller incision, shorter operative time, less blood loss, lower 24 h pain score, and better Grade A incision healing at 7 days after surgery (p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between the patients in the two surgical-method groups in terms of the positive biopsy results and the final diagnosis based on expert opinions (p > 0.05). By multivariable regression analysis, only a focus score (FS) of ≥ 1 (p < 0.01), dry eye disease (p < 0.05) and anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) titre ≥ 1:320 (p < 0.05) were correlated with the diagnosis of pSS. The positive biopsy results of patients in the different surgical-method groups had a biopsy accuracy of > 80.0% for the diagnosis of pSS. The positive biopsy results in the different surgical-method groups were consistent with the expert opinions and the 2016 ACR-EULAR primary SS classification criteria. The modified LSGB using an auxiliary chalazion forceps offers a good safety with a small incision, shorter operative time, less bleeding, reduced pain and a low incidence of postoperative complications.The match rate of LSGB pathological results of the proposed surgical procedure with the final diagnosis of pSS is high.

Transcriptomic decoding of regional cortical vulnerability to major depressive disorder.

Previous studies in small samples have identified inconsistent cortical abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite genetic influences on MDD and the brain, it is unclear how genetic risk for MDD is translated into spatially patterned cortical vulnerability. Here, we initially examined voxel-wise differences in cortical function and structure using the largest multi-modal MRI data from 1660 MDD patients and 1341 controls. Combined with the Allen Human Brain Atlas, we then adopted transcription-neuroimaging spatial correlation and the newly developed ensemble-based gene category enrichment analysis to identify gene categories with expression related to cortical changes in MDD. Results showed that patients had relatively circumscribed impairments in local functional properties and broadly distributed disruptions in global functional connectivity, consistently characterized by hyper-function in associative areas and hypo-function in primary regions. Moreover, the local functional alterations were correlated with genes enriched for biological functions related to MDD in general (e.g., endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitogen-activated protein kinase, histone acetylation, and DNA methylation); and the global functional connectivity changes were associated with not only MDD-general, but also brain-relevant genes (e.g., neuron, synapse, axon, glial cell, and neurotransmitters). Our findings may provide important insights into the transcriptomic signatures of regional cortical vulnerability to MDD.

The dose-response relationship of vortioxetine on major depressive disorder: an umbrella review.

Vortioxetine is a novel multimodal antidepressant, but its precise efficacy and dose-response relationship for treating different symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD) is still unclear. This umbrella review aims to assess the effectiveness, tolerability, and dose-response relationship of vortioxetine across a comprehensive range of clinical features in adults with MDD, including cognition, depression, anxiety, quality of life, and side effects. We meticulously searched eight electronic databases and included systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of vortioxetine. The methodological quality of each included SR was independently assessed using the AMSTAR2 tool. To evaluate the credibility of the evidence, we utilized the GRADE framework and the Ioannidis criteria. In total, 35 SRs with 278 MAs met the inclusion criteria and based on these studies we performed 56 MAs of interest. While vortioxetine has been consistently shown to have positive effects on various domains, the evidence regarding cognitive performance and depression symptoms is notably robust compared to placebo, despite of relatively overall low quality of evidence. Finally, a dose-response relationship was observed across all categories within the treatment range of 5-20 mg/d and a dosage of vortioxetine 20 mg/d is recommended for adult MDD patients to achieve full functional recovery.

A new diagnostic technique for identifying Angiostrongylus spp. larvae in intermediate snail species by examining the buccal cavity.

BACKGROUND: Angiostrongyliasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis are gastropods, and snail species such as Pomacea canaliculata play a key role in the transmission of human angiostrongyliasis. Detecting A. cantonensis infection in snails is an important component of epidemiological surveillance and the control of angiostrongyliasis. METHODS: In this study, a new method for diagnosing A. cantonensis infection in gastropods was developed by recovering larvae from the buccal cavity of three snail species. The entire buccal cavity of a snail was extracted, and the tissue was pressed between two microscope slides to observe whether A. cantonensis larvae were present. Our new method was compared with traditional pathogenic detection methods of lung microscopy, tissue homogenization, and artificial digestion. We artificially infected 160 P. canaliculata, 160 Cipangopaludina chinensis, and 160 Bellamya aeruginosa snails with A. cantonensis. Then, the four different detection methods were used to diagnose infection in each snail species at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post exposure. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in the percentages of infected P. canaliculata snails using the four methods to detect A. cantonensis larvae. The radula pressing method had a mean detection rate of 80%, while the lung microscopy (81.3%), tissue homogenization (83.8%), and artificial digestion (85%) methods had slightly greater detection rates. Similarly, the percentages of infected C. chinensis snails that were detected using the radula pressing (80%), tissue homogenization (82.1%), and artificial digestion (83.8%) methods were not significantly different. Finally, the percentages of infected B. aeruginosa snails that were detected using the radula pressing (81.3%), tissue homogenization (81.9%), and artificial digestion (81.4%) methods were not significantly different. These results showed that the radula pressing method had a similar detection rate to traditional lung microscopy, tissue homogenization, or artificial digestion methods. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a new method for the qualitative screening of gastropods that act as intermediate hosts of A. cantonensis (and other Angiostrongylus species), provides technical support for the control of human angiostrongyliasis, and furthers research on A. cantonensis.

Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping and Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Fruit Weight (FW) in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.).

The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) holds substantial economic value as a globally cultivated horticultural crop. However, the genetic architecture of watermelon fruit weight (FW) remains poorly understood. In this study, we used sh14-11 with small fruit and N14 with big fruit to construct 100 recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Based on whole-genome resequencing (WGR), 218,127 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected to construct a high-quality genetic map. After quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, a candidate interval of 31-38 Mb on chromosome 2 was identified for FW. Simultaneously, the bulked segregant analysis (BSA) in the F2 population corroborated the identification of the same interval, encompassing the homologous gene linked to the known FW-related gene fas. Additionally, RNA-seq was carried out across 11 tissues from sh14-11 and N14, revealing expression profiles that identified 1695 new genes and corrected the annotation of 2941 genes. Subsequent differential expression analysis unveiled 8969 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 354 of these genes exhibiting significant differences across four key developmental stages. The integration of QTL mapping and differential expression analysis facilitated the identification of 14 FW-related genes, including annotated TGA and NAC transcription factors implicated in fruit development. This combined approach offers valuable insights into the genetic basis of FW, providing crucial resources for enhancing watermelon cultivation.