Serial electroconvulsive Seizure alters dendritic complexity and promotes cellular proliferation in the mouse dentate gyrus; a role for Egr3

BACKGROUND

Despite being one of the safest, most effective treatments for severe mood disorders, the therapeutic mechanisms of electroconvulsive therapy remain unknown. Electroconvulsive seizure (ECS) induces rapid, high-level expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), in addition to stimulation of neurogenesis and dendritic remodeling of dentate gyrus (DG) neurons. We have previously shown that this upregulation of BDNF fails to occur in the hippocampus of mice lacking the IEG Egr3. Since BDNF influences neurogenesis and dendritic remodeling, we hypothesized that Egr3-/- mice will exhibit deficits in neurogenesis and dendritic remodeling in response to ECS.

OBJECTIVE

To test this hypothesis, we examined dendritic remodeling and cellular proliferation in the DG of Egr3-/- and wild-type mice following repeated ECS.

METHODS

Mice received 10 daily ECSs. Dendritic morphology was examined in Golgi-Cox-stained tissue and cellular proliferation was analyzed through bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging.

RESULTS

Serial ECS in mice results in dendritic remodeling, increased spine density, and cellular proliferation in the DG. Loss of Egr3 alters the dendritic remodeling induced by serial ECS but does not change the number of dendritic spines or cellular proliferation consequences of ECS.

CONCLUSION

Egr3 influences the dendritic remodeling induced by ECS but is not required for ECS-induced proliferation of hippocampal DG cells.

Electrophysiological and behavioral evidence for the attention capture and suppression failure of irrelevant singleton in test anxiety

Attention bias (ABs) and inhibition deficits play crucial roles in the development, maintenance, and recurrence of test anxiety. However, whether test-anxious individuals will show ABs and inhibition deficits of general task-irrelevant stimuli in a complex visual display is unclear. Thus, we used the additional singleton task (AST) and recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) indices of attentional selection (the N2 posterior contralateral, N2pc), suppression (distractor positivity, PD), and maintenance of working memory (the sustained posterior contralateral negativity, SPCN) to explore this issue. Twenty-eight participants in the high test-anxious (HTA) group and twenty-eight participants in the low test-anxious (LTA) group attended the experiment and were required to search for a target and synchronously ignore a singleton distractor on some trials. Consequently, HTA and LTA individuals had poorer accuracies and longer response times in the distractor-present condition than in the distractor-absent condition. The HTA group got larger interferences from singleton distractors than the LTA group. Electrophysiological results revealed a distractor N2pc and SPCN in the HTA group. Moreover, target N2pc and SPCN in the HTA group were larger when the singleton distractor and target were on the same side than on the opposite side. These results indicated that HTA individuals were captured attention by singleton distractors and failed to expel them from working memory. Accordingly, the present findings extended previous work by providing direct evidence that test anxiety could increase the effects of stimulus-driven attention systems and impair the function of goal-directed attention systems.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.03(stat)±0.03(sys)±0.09(norm) and 0.26±0.08(stat)±0.02(sys)±0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3S) R_{AA} is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.

Beam Energy Dependence of Fifth- and Sixth-Order Net-Proton Number Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C_{5}, C_{6}) and factorial cumulants (κ_{5}, κ_{6}) of net-proton and proton number distributions, from center-of-mass energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) 3 GeV to 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Cumulant ratios of net-proton (taken as proxy for net-baryon) distributions generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at 3 GeV. The measured values of C_{6}/C_{2} for 0%-40% centrality collisions show progressively negative trend with decreasing energy, while it is positive for the lowest energy studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (for baryon chemical potential, μ_{B}≤110  MeV) which contains the crossover transition range. In addition, for energies above 7.7 GeV, the measured proton κ_{n}, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component (Poisson+binomial) shape of proton number distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyperorder proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μ_{B}∼750  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV is starkly different from those at vanishing μ_{B}∼24  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and higher collision energies.

[Levofloxacin combined with cellulase can eradicate bacille Calmette-Guerin biofilm infection]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the inhibitory effects of levofloxacin (LEV) combined with cellulase against bacille CalmetteGuerin (BCG) biofilms in vitro.

METHODS

The mature growth cycle of BCG biofilms was determined using the XTT method and crystal violet staining. BCG planktonic bacteria and BCG biofilms were treated with different concentrations of LEV and cellulose alone or jointly, and the changes in biofilm biomass were quantified with crystal violet staining. The mature BCG biofilm was then treated with cellulase alone for 24 h, and after staining with SYTO 9 and Calcofluor White Stain, the number of viable bacteria and the change in cellulose content in the biofilm were observed with confocal laser scanning microscopy. The structural changes of the treated biofilm were observed under scanning electron microscopy.

RESULTS

The MIC, MBC and MBEC values of LEV determined by broth microdilution method were 4 μg/mL, 8 μg/mL and 1024 μg/mL, respectively. The combined treatment with 1/4×MIC LEV and 2.56, 5.12 or 10.24 U/mL cellulase resulted in a significant reduction in biofilm biomass (P < 0.001). Cellulase treatments at the concentrations of 10.24, 5.12 and 2.56 U/mL all produced significant dispersion effects on mature BCG biofilms (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

LEV combined with cellulose can effectively eradicate BCG biofilm infections, suggesting the potential of glycoside hydrolase therapy for improving the efficacy of antibiotics against biofilmassociated infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Predicting the probability of malignant pathological type of kidney cancer based on mass size: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Different degrees of malignancy of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) correspond to dissimilar therapies, and the prediction of malignancy of kidney cancer based on tumor size is still not fully studied.

METHODS

We evaluated a total of 50,776 patients with T1-T2, N0, M0 RCC diagnosed between 2004 to 2015 based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Three and four fuhrman grade clear cell RCC, three and four fuhrman grade papillary RCC, collecting duct RCC, sarcomatoid differentiation RCC and unclassified RCC were classified as aggressive RCC. The other RCC was classified as indolent RCC. The probability of aggressive and indolent was estimated according to tumor size using a logistic regression model. Differences in survival between subgroups were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

There were 38,003 cases of indolent tumor and 12,773 cases of aggressive tumor totally. As tumor size increases, the predicted probability of an aggressive tumor also increases. Concretely, kidney cancers of 2cm, 3cm and 4cm were estimated to be 19.6%, 21.6% and 23.7% more likely to be aggressive. And for the same tumor size, clear cell RCC in men is more likely to be invasive relative to women and other kidney cancer pathology types. In addition, both the overall and tumor-specific survival are longer for indolent tumors than for aggressive tumors.

CONCLUSION

We evaluated the degree of malignancy of different sizes RCC in a retrospective study. This result may be helpful in the choice of initial therapy strategies for kidney cancer patients.

Neurophysiological Correlates for Dynamic Variability Between Vigilance and Avoidance in Test Anxiety

Attention bias (ABs) to threat is essential in the etiology and maintenance of test anxiety. However, little is known about the attention pattern of ABs in test anxiety. The stimulus duration affects the attention pattern in anxiety. Thus, the present research combined the dot-probe paradigm and event-related potentials (ERPs) and varied the stimulus duration (100ms or 500ms) to test the ABs in test anxiety. Consequently, both groups showed a threat N2pc in 100ms and 500ms duration, suggesting that both groups allocated attention to the test-related threat. However, in the 100ms duration, the high test-anxious (HTA) group had smaller target-elicited P1 and greater target-elicited N2 in the threat-congruent condition than in the neutral condition. In the 500ms duration, an earlier threat N2pc and a threat PD followed a greater target P1, and smaller target N2 were pronounced in the HTA group. The current results provided electrophysiological evidence that the HTA group kept a dynamic attention pattern that fluctuated shift between vigilance and avoidance in the 100ms and 500ms duration. The HTA group was more vigilant than the LTA group in the 500ms duration when strategic attention was concerned, proposing that the vigilance in test anxiety was not an automatic process.

[Long-term outcome follow-up of Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty for medial compartment osteoarthropathy:a single center's experience for 10 years]

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcomes of minimally invasive Oxford phase Ⅲ unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) for patients with medial compartment osteoarthropathy. Methods: The clinical data of 594 patients (701 knees) who underwent minimally invasive UKA with Oxford phase Ⅲ unicompartmental prosthesis at Department of Orthopedics,the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2007 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 155 males and 439 females,aged (62.6±10.9) years (range: 44 to 81 years),with a body mass index of (26.9±3.8) kg/m² (range: 21.1 to 36.2 kg/m²).There were 359 left knees and 342 right knees,676 knees with osteoarthritis and 25 knees with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle.There were 487 cases underwent UKA (66 cases underwent UKA on one side and total knee arthroplasty on the other) and 107 cases underwent bilateral UKA.Patients' prosthetic survival,complications,range of motion(ROM) of the knee,visual analogue score (VAS),Western Ontario and McMaster University (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index,and American knee society score (KSS) were collected to assess clinical outcomes.Paired sample t test was used to compare the data before and after operation. Results: All patients completed the surgery successfully.There was no intraoperative fractures,postoperative infections or symptomatic vascular embolic disease occurred.The postoperative complications,including mobile bearing dislocation,prosthesis loosening,tibial plateau collapse,the lateral compartment degeneration and postoperative pain were occurred in 18 cases (3.0%,18/594).Thirteen patients suffered complications were transferred to total knee arthroplasty,4 underwent partial revision,if this was used as the endpoint of the study,the surgical success rate was 97.1% (577/594) and the prosthetic revision rate was 2.9%.The ROM was improved from(105.9±11.8)°preoperatively to (114.0±13.3)° at the last follow-up (t=10.796,P<0.01);the KSS clinical score was increased from 54.3±3.6 to 90.1±6.0 (P<0.01) and the functional score was increased from 55.9±3.9 to 87.5±5.7(t=124.325,P<0.01;t=110.985,P<0.01).The WOMAC osteoarthritis index was decreased from 54.8±6.7 to 9.2±3.1 at the last follow-up(t=150.860,P<0.01) and the VAS was decreased from 6.1±1.1 to 1.5±1.0 at the last follow-up(t=74.941,P<0.01). Conclusions: Minimally invasive Oxford phase Ⅲ UKA for medial compartment knee osteoarthritis has a favorable prosthesis survival rate,low revision rate,and few complications at long-term follow-up.Patients have significant improvement in knee function with satisfactory clinical outcomes.

[Functional outcomes of 100 patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction undergoing Cheng's GIRAFFE(®) reconstruction after proximal gastrectomy]

Objective: To investigate the functional outcomes and postoperative complications of Cheng's GIRAFFE reconstruction after proximal gastrectomy. Methods: A descriptive case series study was conducted. Clinical data of 100 patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction who underwent Cheng's GIRAFFE reconstruction after proximal gastrectomy in Cancer Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (64 cases), Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine (24 cases), Lishui Central Hospital (10 cases), Huzhou Central Hospital (1 case) and Ningbo Lihuili Hospital (1 case) from September 2017 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Of 100 patients, 64 were males and 36 were females; the mean age was (61.3 ± 11.1) years and the BMI was (22.7±11.1) kg/m(2). For TNM stage, 68 patients were stage IA, 24 were stage IIA and 8 were stage IIB. Postoperative functional results and postoperative complications of radical gastrectomy with Giraffe reconstruction were analyzed and summarized. Gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ) score and postoperative endoscopy were used to evaluate the occurrence of reflux esophagitis and its grade (grade N, grade A, grade B, grade C, and grade D from mild to severe reflux). The continuous data conforming to normal distribution were expressed as (mean ± standard deviation), and those with skewed distribution were presented as median (Q1, Q3). Results: All the 100 patients successfully completed R0 resection, including 77 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery and 23 patients undergoing laparotomy. The Giraffe anastomosis time was (38.6±14.0) min; the blood loss was (73.0±18.4) ml; the postoperative hospital stay was 9.5 (8.2, 13.0) d; the hospitalization cost was (6.0±0.3) ten thousand yuan. Fourteen cases developed perioperative complications (14.0%), including 7 cases of pleural effusion or pneumonia, 3 cases of anastomotic leakage, 2 cases of gastric emptying disorder, 1 case of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and 1 case of anastomotic stenosis, who were all improved and discharged after symptomatic management. Patients were followed up for (33.3±1.6) months. Eight patients were found to have reflux symptoms by RDQ scale six months after surgery, and 11 patients (11/100,11.0%) were found to have reflux esophagitis by gastroscopy, including 6 in grade A, 3 in grade B, and 2 in grade C. All the patients could control their reflux symptoms with behavioral guidance or oral PPIs. Conclusion: Cheng's GIRAFFE reconstruction has good anti-reflux efficacy and gastric emptying function; it can be one of the choices of reconstruction methods after proximal gastrectomy.