Leverage Effective Deep Learning Searching Method for Forensic Age Estimation.

Dental age estimation is extensively employed in forensic medicine practice. However, the accuracy of conventional methods fails to satisfy the need for precision, particularly when estimating the age of adults. Herein, we propose an approach for age estimation utilizing orthopantomograms (OPGs).

Screening of Genes Co-Associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infectious Sudden Death in Infancy and Bioinformatics Analysis of Their Regulatory Networks.

Objectives: The common differentially expressed mRNAs in brain, heart and liver tissues of deceased sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and infectious sudden death in infancy (ISDI) confirmed by autopsy was screened by bioinformatics to explore the common molecular markers and pathogenesis of SIDS and ISDI.

Methods: The datasets of GSE70422 and GSE136992 were downloaded, the limma of R software was used to screen differentially expressed mRNA in different tissue samples of SIDS and ISDI decedents for overlapping analysis. The clusterProfiler of R software was used to conduct gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis.

The 5-HT receptors in the VLO contribute to the development of morphine-induced behavioral sensitization in rats.

The 5-hydroxytryptamine 7 receptor (5-HTR) is one of the most recently cloned serotonin receptors which have been implicated in many physiological and pathological processes including drug addiction. Behavioral sensitization is the progressive process during which re-exposure to drugs intensified the behavioral and neurochemical responses to drugs. Our previous study has demonstrated that the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) is critical for morphine-induced reinforcing effect.

Phosphorylation of Neurofilament Light Chain in the VLO Is Correlated with Morphine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization in Rats.

Neurofilament light chain (NF-L) plays critical roles in synapses that are relevant to neuropsychiatric diseases. Despite postmortem evidence that NF-L is decreased in opiate abusers, its role and underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We found that the microinjection of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor Trichostatin A (TSA) into the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) attenuated chronic morphine-induced behavioral sensitization.

NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in prefrontal neurons underlies social memory retrieval in female mice.

Social memory is the ability to discriminate familiar conspecific from the unknown ones. Prefrontal neurons are essentially required for social memory, but the mechanism associated with this regulation remains unknown. It is also unclear to what extent the neuronal representations of social memory formation and retrieval events overlap in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and which event drives social memory strength.

Atorvastatin improves bone marrow endothelial progenitor cell function from patients with immune-related hemocytopenia.

Background: Immune-related hemocytopenia (IRH) is a type of autoimmune disease that targets bone marrow hematopoietic cells. This study investigated the influence of atorvastatin on the functional aspects of bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells (BM EPCs) in IRH patients.

Methods: BM EPCs were isolated from 15 patients with IRH and 20 normal controls.

Association between a Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Schizophrenia.

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor 4 () had been identified as a susceptibility gene associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) by GWAS, but inconsistent results have been found in other studies. To validate these findings and to reveal the effects of different inheritance models, rs2958182, rs1261085, rs8766, and rs12966547 of the gene were genotyped in the Northwest Han Chinese population (448 cases and 628 controls) via a multiplex polymerase chain reaction SNPscan assay. Single SNP, genotype, and association analyses with three different models were performed.

Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Polymorphisms Contribute to Opioid Dependence and Addiction by Affecting Promoter Region Function.

Mounting evidence shows that drug dependence involves the complex interplay between genetics and the environment. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine (DA) synthesis, which plays an essential role in the development of drug addiction. Noradrenergic dysfunction due to abnormalities TH expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of drug addiction.

The pronociceptive role of 5-HT receptors in ventrolateral orbital cortex in a rat formalin test model.

Recent studies have shown the 5-HT receptors are expressed in regions which are important in pain processing such as the cortex, amygdala, thalamus, PAG, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG), suggesting a putative role of 5-HT receptors in pain modulation. The ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) is part of an endogenous analgesic system, consisting of the spinal cord - thalamic nucleus submedius (Sm) - VLO - periaqueductal gray (PAG) - spinal cord loop. The present study assessed the possible role of 5-HT receptors in the VLO in formalin-induced inflammatory pain model.

Age estimation using pulp/enamel volume ratio of impacted mandibular third molars measured on CBCT images in a northern Chinese population.

The present study aims to evaluate the relation between chronological age and the ratio of pulp volume (PV) to enamel volume (EV) of impacted mandibular third molars (IMTMs) by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and an improved 3D image segmentation technique. A sample of CBCT images of IMTM was collected from 414 northern Chinese subjects (214 male and 200 female clinical patients) ranging in age from 20 to 65 years. The GrowCut effect image segmentation (GCEIS) module algorithm was used to calculate the PV and EV from CBCT images.

[Clinical Application of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification in Detection of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae].

Objective To explore the clinical value of one-step visualization loop-mediated isothermal amplification(LAMP)in the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae(Mp). Methods One-step visualized LAMP,polymerase chain reaction(PCR),and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)were used to simultaneously detect 108 clinical Mp specimens in children,which included 73 cases of Mp infection diagnosed by PCR and 35 cases of other chronic/acute respiratory tract infections.On the first day of admission,one-step visualization LAMP,PCR(fluorimetric method),and ELISA were used to test the throat swab and serum sample obtained from the same patient,and the Kappa value was calculated.

Novel Association between Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase 3 Gene Polymorphism and Antithyroid Drug-Induced Agranulocytosis in the Han Population.

Some effective antithyroid drugs (ATDs) have been widely used for patients with Graves' disease (GD) but are associated with ATD-induced agranulocytosis. We selected 29 ATD-induced agranulocytosis patients, 44 ATD-induced neutropenia patients, and 140 GD controls among the Chinese Han population who were recruited at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiao Tong University. We assessed their response to ATDs treatment by performing genotyping for a candidate gene association study of samples from patients receiving treatment.

The histone demethylase KDM6B in the medial prefrontal cortex epigenetically regulates cocaine reward memory.

Epigenetic remodeling contributes to synaptic plasticity via modification of gene expression, which underlies cocaine-induced long-term memory. A prevailing hypothesis in drug addiction is that drugs of abuse rejuvenate developmental machinery to render reward circuitry highly plastic and thus engender drug memories to be highly stable. Identification and reversal of these pathological pathways are therefore critical for cocaine abuse treatment.

Microinjection of histone deacetylase inhibitor into the ventrolateral orbital cortex potentiates morphine induced behavioral sensitization.

Accumulating evidence indicates that epigenetic regulation, such as changes in histone modification in reward-related brain regions, contributes to the memory formation of addiction to opiates and psychostimulants. Our recent results suggested that the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) is involved in the memories of stress and drug addiction. Since addiction and stress memories share some common pathways, the present study was designed to investigate the role of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in the VLO during morphine induced-behavioral sensitization.

Activation of α1 adrenoceptors in ventrolateral orbital cortex attenuates allodynia induced by spared nerve injury in rats.

Recent studies have demonstrated that noradrenaline acting in the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) can potentially reduce allodynia induced by spared nerve injury (SNI), and this effect is mediated by α2 adrenoceptor. The present study examined the effect of the α1 adrenoceptors in the VLO on allodynia induced by SNI in the rats. The mechanical paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) was measured using von-Frey filaments.

Studies of genetic variability of the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α gene in an Indian maturity-onset diabetes of the young family.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), one of the specific types of diabetes mellitus, is a monogenetic disorder characterized by an autosomal dominant (AD) inheritance and β-cell dysfunction. To study an Indian family with clinical diagnosis of MODY and detect the genetic mutations in the aspect of molecular mechanism, seven blood samples were obtained from the diabetic patients of this pedigree and genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes. The exon1, exon2 and exon4 of hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α (HNF-1α) gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction.

The α1 adrenoceptors in ventrolateral orbital cortex contribute to the expression of morphine-induced behavioral sensitization in rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of microinjection of benoxathian, selective α1 adrenoceptor antagonist, into the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) on morphine-induced behavioral sensitization and its underlying molecular mechanism in rats. A single morphine treatment protocol was used in establishing the behavioral sensitization model. The effect of bilateral intra-VLO benoxathian injection on locomotor activity was examined and the protein expression levels of α1 adrenoceptors and activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the VLO were detected after locomotor test.

[Development of CBCT technique and its application on dental age assessment].

Teeth are the hardest organs in the human body. They are not easily affected by external physical and chemical factors to degrade or deform. Dental age assessment has been widely used in forensic practice.

Age estimation in northern Chinese children by measurement of open apices in tooth roots.

The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of Cameriere's methods on dental age estimation in the northern Chinese population. A sample of orthopantomographs of 785 healthy children (397 girls and 388 boys) aged between 5 and 15 years was collected. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated with Cameriere's method.

Studies of the chronological course of third molars eruption in a northern Chinese population.

Dental age estimation is of great importance for individual identification in forensic medicine and many other fields of study. Among them, tooth eruption is a parameter developmental morphology that can be determined by clinical examinations or by dental X-rays. The purpose of present research is to study the chronological course of third molars eruption in a Chinese population and compare that with other ethnic population for age estimation.

The influence of impaction to the third molar mineralization in northwestern Chinese population.

Age estimation by third molar mineralization has been developed for a period of time. Recent studies showed that impaction status has an influence on the rate of the third molar mineralization in Europids and male Black African populations. In this regard, the present study was conducted to determine whether the impaction status could delay the chronological process of third molar mineralization in northwestern Chinese population too.

Dopamine D1 receptor gene variation modulates opioid dependence risk by affecting transition to addiction.

Dopamine D1 receptor (DRD1) modulates opioid reinforcement, reward, and opioid-induced neuroadaptation. We propose that DRD1 polymorphism affects susceptibility to opioid dependence (OD), the efficiency of transition to OD, and opioid-induced pleasure response. We analyzed potential association between seven DRD1 polymorphisms with the following traits: duration of transition from the first use to dependence (DTFUD), subjective pleasure responses to opioid on first use and post-dependence use, and OD risk in 425 Chinese with OD and 514 healthy controls.

Microinjection of valproic acid into the ventrolateral orbital cortex enhances stress-related memory formation.

There is collecting evidence suggesting that the process of chromatin remodeling such as changes in histone acetylation contribute to the formation of stress-related memory. Recently, the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO), a major subdivision of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), was shown to be involved in antidepressant-like actions through epigenetic mechanisms. Here, we further investigated the effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) valproic acid (VPA) on stress-related memory formation and the underlying molecular mechanisms by using the traditional two-day forced swimming test (FST).

Role of dopamine D3 receptors in basal nociception regulation and in morphine-induced tolerance and withdrawal.

Repeated administration of opioids such as morphine leads to the development of tolerance to their pain-relieving effects as well as to physical dependence. Although the association between the dopamine system and the molecular mechanisms of morphine-induced antinociceptive tolerance has been studied, the possible interaction between morphine-induced tolerance and D3 receptors has not been investigated. In the present study, male mice lacking the dopamine D3 receptor gene were used to investigate the function of D3 receptors in the development of morphine-induced tolerance and withdrawal.