Development and tissue origins of the mammalian cranial base

The vertebrate cranial base is a complex structure composed of bone, cartilage and other connective tissues underlying the brain; it is intimately connected with development of the face and cranial vault. Despite its central importance in craniofacial development, morphogenesis and tissue origins of the cranial base have not been studied in detail in the mouse, an important model organism. We describe here the location and time of appearance of the cartilages of the chondrocranium. We also examine the tissue origins of the mouse cranial base using a neural crest cell lineage cell marker, Wnt1-Cre/R26R, and a mesoderm lineage cell marker, Mesp1-Cre/R26R. The chondrocranium develops between E11 and E16 in the mouse, beginning with development of the caudal (occipital) chondrocranium, followed by chondrogenesis rostrally to form the nasal capsule, and finally fusion of these two parts via the midline central stem and the lateral struts of the vault cartilages. X-Gal staining of transgenic mice from E8.0 to 10 days post-natal showed that neural crest cells contribute to all of the cartilages that form the ethmoid, presphenoid, and basisphenoid bones with the exception of the hypochiasmatic cartilages. The basioccipital bone and non-squamous parts of the temporal bones are mesoderm derived. Therefore the prechordal head is mostly composed of neural crest-derived tissues, as predicted by the New Head Hypothesis. However, the anterior location of the mesoderm-derived hypochiasmatic cartilages, which are closely linked with the extra-ocular muscles, suggests that some tissues associated with the visual apparatus may have evolved independently of the rest of the “New Head”.     

The evidence‐based group‐level symptom‐reduction model as the organizing principle for mental health care: time for change?

The content and organization of mental health care have been heavily influenced by the view that mental difficulties come as diagnosable disorders that can be treated by specialist practitioners who apply evidence‐based practice (EBP) guidelines of symptom reduction at the group level. However, the EBP symptom‐reduction model is under pressure, as it may be disconnected from what patients need, ignores evidence of the trans‐syndromal nature of mental difficulties, overestimates the contribution of the technical aspects of treatment compared to the relational and ritual components of care, and underestimates the lack of EBP group‐to‐individual generalizability. A growing body of knowledge indicates that mental illnesses are seldom “cured” and are better framed as vulnerabilities. Important gains in well‐being can be achieved when individuals learn to live with mental vulnerabilities through a slow process of strengthening resilience in the social and existential domains. In this paper, we examine what a mental health service would look like if the above factors were taken into account. The mental health service of the 21st century may be best conceived of as a small‐scale healing community fostering connectedness and strengthening resilience in learning to live with mental vulnerability, complemented by a limited number of regional facilities. Peer support, organized at the level of a recovery college, may form the backbone of the community. Treatments should be aimed at trans‐syndromal symptom reduction, tailored to serve the higher‐order process of existential recovery and social participation, and applied by professionals who have been trained to collaborate, embrace idiography and maximize effects mediated by therapeutic relationship and the healing effects of ritualized care interactions. Finally, integration with a public mental health system of e‐communities providing information, peer and citizen support and a range of user‐rated self‐management tools may help bridge the gap between the high prevalence of common mental disorder and the relatively low capacity of any mental health service.     

Effects of psychophysiological stress on trapezius muscles blood flow and electromyography during static load

Mental stress was induced by the Stroop colour word task (CW task) and the effects on the micro-circulation and electromyography (EMG) in the upper portion of the trapezius muscle were studied during a series of fatiguing, standardized static contractions. A lowered blood flow of the skin recorded continuously by laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used as a stress indicator in addition to an elevated heart rate. Muscle blood flow was recorded continuously by LDF using a single optical fibre placed inside the muscle, and related to surface EMG. A group of 20 healthy women of different ages was examined. Recordings were made during a 50-min period in the following sequence: a 10-min series of alternating 1-min periods of rest and stepwise increased contraction induced by keeping the arms straight and elevated at 30, 60, 90 and 135° with a 1-kg load carried in each hand; a 10-min recovery period without load; a repeated contraction series with simultaneous performance of the CW task; a second 10-min recovery period, and a second contraction series without CW task. Signal processing was done on line by computer. The LDF and root mean square (rms)-EMG values were calculated, as well as the EMG mean power frequency (MPF) for fatigue. The CW-task added to the contraction series caused an increase in the heart rate accompanied by a decrease in the blood flow to the skin and a 30% increase in the blood flow in the exercising muscle. Both returned to normal during the subsequent recovery period and showed normal levels during the final contraction series without CW. The rms-EMG showed a 20% increase that persisted during the final contraction series performed without CW. There was no influence on MPF. This CW has previously been shown to evoke an increased secretion of adrenaline from the adrenal medullae to the blood. The increased blood flow in the exercising muscle would therefore appear to have been caused by -adrenoceptor vasodilatation, and the fall in the blood flow in the skin by -adrenoceptor vasoconstriction. The findings may have implications for work situations characterized by repetitive static loads to the shoulder muscles and psychological stress.     

离退休老干部心理健康调查

目的：了解离退休老干部的心理健康情况,解决离退休老干部心理疾病,提高老干部生活质量,为更好的老干部保健提供依据。方法：采用症状自评量表（SCL-90）对海军某干休所146名离退休老干部心理健康情况进行调查评估,并进行统计学分析。结果：与中国成人常模比较,离退休老干部的总体心理健康水平偏低（P〈0．05）。离退休老干部躯体化、强迫、抑郁和焦虑因子明显高于全国常模,其他因子之间无统计学差异。离退休男干部的躯体化、强迫、抑郁和焦虑因子得分低于离退休女干部。结论：离退休老干部存在着不同的心理问题,需要重视其心理健康。我们可以采取心理教育和疏导、丰富老干部日常生活以及药物治疗、心理治疗等多种措施．预防和治疗老干部心理问题。     

心理护理对腹腔镜胆囊切除术患者焦虑心理的影响

目的:探讨心理护理对腹腔镜胆囊切除术患者焦虑心理的影响。方法:将84例腹腔镜手术患者随机分为2组:对照组23例,给予常规护理;心理护理组61例,给予常规护理+心理护理,其中文化程度<高中的患者34例,文化程度≥高中的患者27例。采用焦虑自评量表(SAS)评价焦虑状态,采用疼痛视觉模拟标尺评估患者疼痛情况,以及评估患者情绪情感、恐惧程度及对治疗满意度。结果:与对照组比较,心理护理组患者焦虑程度、恐惧程度、疼痛评分、显著下降(P<0.05);与文化程度<高中比较,文化程度≥高中的患者焦虑评分显著降低(P<0.05),情绪情感的评分显著增加(P<0.05);术后第1-2天疼痛评分无显著差异(P>0.05),术后第3天疼痛评分有显著差异(P<0.05);心理护理组的满意度明显升高(P<0.05)。结论:腹腔镜手术患者存在明显的焦虑、恐惧症状,心理护理干预能有效缓解患者焦虑心理,减轻疼痛程度,减少疼痛时间,提高患者对医疗服务满意度,可有效提高临床护理质量与效率。     

Personal Experience of Schizophrenia and the Role of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Danwei</Emphasis>: A Case Study in 1990s Beijing

Danwei as a cornerstone of Chinese urban society has received great research attention. The relationship between the Danwei and psychiatric patients, however, remains unclear. This article aims to shed light on the subject with an integrated micro–macro approach. It introduces a historical understanding of mental health in urban China under the “economic state in transition” framework. A detailed case study in clinical sociology is provided to reveal the many social factors affecting the experience of a schizophrenic patient and his significant others. A changing role of the Danwei is hypothesized and validated with qualitative data. The Danwei was shown to have changed significantly before the mid-1990s, yet it still played a major role in urban workers’ lives, including those of psychiatric patients, and even more so in people’s expectations. This lends support to the need for a more responsive public policy to address various social issues brought about by economic reform, with the learning of worldwide experiences including “community care,” “social support” and “social rehabilitation.” Implications for social research, policymaking and professional practice are discussed.

Visiting parents in times of COVID-19: The impact of parent-adult child contacts on the psychological health of the elderly

Using the 8th wave of the SHARE and the SHARE Corona Survey, we investigated whether the disruption of parent–adult child contacts due to social distancing restrictions increased the symptoms of depression among old age individuals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We model the relationship between the disruption of parent–adult child contacts and the mental health of the elderly using a recursive simultaneous equation model for binary variables. Our findings show that the likelihood of disruption of parent–adult child contacts was higher with adult children who do not live with or close to their parents (i.e., in the same household or in the same building) for whom contact disruption increases about 15 %. The duration of restrictions to movement and lockdowns also has a positive and significant effect on parent-child contact disruption: an additional week of lockdown significantly increases the probability of parent-child contact disruption, by about 1.5 %. The interventions deemed essential to reduce the spread of the pandemic, such as the “stay-at-home” order, necessarily disrupted personal parent–child contacts and the social processes that facilitate psychological well-being, increasing the probability of suffering from a deepening depressed mood by about 17 % for elderly parents.     

后路椎体间融合术与经椎间孔入路腰椎融合术治疗退行性腰椎滑脱症的疗效对比及对AGEs、IL-6的影响

摘要 目的：探讨后路椎体间融合术与经椎间孔入路腰椎融合术治疗退行性腰椎滑脱症的疗效对比及对晚期糖基化终末产物（AGEs）、白细胞介素6（IL-6）的影响。方法：选择2019年1月-2019年12月在我院接受治疗的100例退行性腰椎滑脱症患者,根据手术选择方式分为观察组（n=51）和对照组（n=49）。对照组给予后路椎体间融合术(PLIF)治疗,观察组给予经椎间孔入路腰椎融合术(TLIF)治疗。比较两组患者的临床优良率、血清AGEs、IL-6、手术情况、视觉模拟评分（AVS）、Oswestry功能障碍指数（ODI）评分变化情况及并发症发生情况。结果：治疗后,两组总优良率分别为90.20%,71.43%,差异显著（P<0.05）;观察组手术时间、术中出血量、术后引流量及卧床时间均显著低于对照组,差异显著（P<0.05）;治疗前,两组血清AGEs、IL-6水平无明显差异;治疗后,两组血清AGEs水平均显著降低,且观察组低于对照组,IL-6水平显著上升,观察组低于对照组（P<0.05）;治疗前,两组AVS、ODI评分水平无明显差异;治疗后,两组AVS、ODI评分水平均显著降低,且观察组低于对照组（P<0.05）;两组并发症总发生率为3.92%、18.37%,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论：在退行性腰椎滑脱症患者中应用经椎间孔入路腰椎融合术临床效果更好,术后AGEs、IL-6水平更低,且并发症较少。     

孤独症谱系障碍儿童早期神经发育水平和智能特征分析

目的:探讨孤独症谱系障碍(Autism spectrum disorder,ASD)儿童早期神经发育水平及智能分区特征,为提高ASD的早期识别和诊断提供理论依据.方法:运用Gesell发育评估量表对18月龄至48月龄以内的27例ASD患儿和30例发育迟缓(Mental retardation,MR)患儿的发育商(Dev...     

Evolutionary significance of the mandibular foramen area in Neandertals.

An unusual morphology of the mandibular foramen area is described, and its incidence determined for several fossil and modern hominid skeletal samples. This morphology, designated the horizontal-oval type mandibular foramen, is found in 46.2% of the 26 Neandertal foramina examined and in 23.1% of a European Upper Paleolithic sample of 13 foramina. In a total of 747 foramina from five modern skeletal samples, the highest incidence is 3.72%. Possible explanations for the presence of the H-0 trait and its unusually high incidence in Neandertals are examined. It is concluded that this feature is probably a genetic trait which either (1) might be selected for in Neandertals as a part of a massive masticatory apparatus, or (2) represents a discrete cranial trait without functional significance that simply reflects the high incidence of certain genes in Neandertal gene pools.