Craving-induced effects of different drug cues on persons abstaining from heroin

Background: The key factors of inducing drug cravings in persons abstaining from drug use remain a focus of addictions research. Given the accumulating evidences, the scope of cues investigated in the cue-reactivity paradigm has increased considerably. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of the intensity and endurance of different types of cues on their ability to induce craving. This study investigated differences among drug-cue words, negative physiological-cue words, and negative social-cue words in the induction of drug cravings among persons abstaining from heroin.

Methods: The sample consisted of 149 male abstinent heroin abusers from four addiction rehabilitation centers in China. Based on their abstinence lengths, they were labeled as short-term, medium-term, and long-term abstainer participants respectively. All participants completed a stress-imagery task and rated craving by visual analog scale.

Results: There was a significant interaction of cue type and abstinence length. There was no difference on the craving induced by three types of cue words in the short-term group. In the medium-term group, craving induced by negative social-cue words was significantly stronger than that by negative physiological-cue words, but not that by drug-cue words. In the long-term group, the craving induced by negative social-cue words remained the strongest, significantly stronger than that by both drug-cue words and negative physiological-cue words.

Conclusion: Negative social-cue words presented in the current study retain the ability to induce craving in heroin abstainers; this finding suggests that negative social cues encountered under more general circumstances could be a risk factor for relapse.     

Deferoxamine promotes recovery of traumatic spinal cord injury by inhibiting ferroptosis

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent novel cell death pathway. Deferoxamine, a ferroptosis inhibitor, has been reported to promote spinal cord injury repair. It has yet to be clarified whether ferroptosis inhibition represents the mechanism of action of Deferoxamine on spinal cord injury recovery. A rat model of Deferoxamine at thoracic 10 segment was established using a modified Allen's method. Ninety 8-week-old female Wistar rats were used. Rats in the Deferoxamine group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 mg/kg Deferoxamine 30 minutes before injury. Simultaneously, the Sham and Deferoxamine groups served as controls. Drug administration was conducted for 7 consecutive days. The results were as follows:(1) Electron microscopy revealed shrunken mitochondria in the spinal cord injury group.(2) The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating score showed that recovery of the hindlimb was remarkably better in the Deferoxamine group than in the spinal cord injury group.(3) The iron concentration was lower in the Deferoxamine group than in the spinal cord injury group after injury.(4) Western blot assay revealed that, compared with the spinal cord injury group, GPX4, xCT, and glutathione expression was markedly increased in the Deferoxamine group.(5) Real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that, compared with the Deferoxamine group, mRNA levels of ferroptosis-related genes Acyl-CoA synthetase family member 2(ACSF2) and iron-responsive element-binding protein 2(IREB2) were up-regulated in the Deferoxamine group.(6) Deferoxamine increased survival of neurons and inhibited gliosis. These findings confirm that Deferoxamine can repair spinal cord injury by inhibiting ferroptosis. Targeting ferroptosis is therefore a promising therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury.     

Characterization of membrane occupation and recognition nexus repeat containing 3, meiosis expressed gene 1 binding partner,in mouse male germ cells

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a well-organized process of cell development and differentiation. Meiosis expressed gene 1 (MEIG1) plays an essential role in the regulation of spermiogenesis. To explore potential mechanisms of MEIG1''s action, a yeast two-hybrid screen was conducted, and several potential binding partners were identified; one of them was membrane occupation and recognition nexus repeat containing 3 (MORN3). MORN3 mRNA is only abundant in mouse testis. In the testis, Morn3 mRNA is highly expressed in the spermiogenesis stage. Specific anti-MORN3 polyclonal antibody was generated against N-terminus of the full-length MORN3 protein, and MORN3 expression and localization was examined in vitro and in vivo. In transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells, the antibody specifically crossed-reacted the full-length MORN3 protein, and immunofluorescence staining revealed that MORN3 was localized throughout the cytoplasm. Among multiple mouse tissues, about 25 kDa protein, was identified only in the testis. The protein was highly expressed after day 20 of birth. Immunofluorescence staining on mixed testicular cells isolated from adult wild-type mice demonstrated that MORN3 was expressed in the acrosome in germ cells throughout spermiogenesis. The protein was also present in the manchette of elongating spermatids. The total MORN3 expression and acrosome localization were not changed in the Meig 1-deficient mice. However, its expression in manchette was dramatically reduced in the mutant mice. Our studies suggest that MORN3 is another regulator for spermatogenesis, probably together with MEIG1.     

The Long-Term Effective Rate of Different Branches of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia After Single Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation: A Cohort Study

To evaluate the efficacy of computed tomography (CT) guided single radiofrequency thermocoagualtion (RFT) in 1137 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia after a follow-up period of 11 years, specially focused on duration of pain relief in different branches of trigeminal nerve, side effect, and complications.Retrospective study of patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia treated with a single CT guided RFT procedure between January 2002 and December 2013.The mean follow-up time was 46.14 ± 30.91 months. Immediate postprocedure pain relief was 98.4%. V2 division obtained the best pain relief rate: 91%, 89%, 80%, 72%, 60%, and 54% at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 years, respectively. No statistical difference pairwise comparison was in other groups. The complications included masseter muscle weakness, corneitis, diplopia, ptosis, hearing loss, limited mouth opening, and low pressure headache. Masticatory weakness mostly occurred in patients with V3 branch involvement, while Corneitis and Diplopia all in patients with V1 branch involvement. No mortalities observed during or after RFT.All different branches division of trigeminal neuralgia achieved comparable satisfactory curative effect; V2 obtained the best excellent pain relief, after RFT procedure. Facial numbness is inevitable after RFT, which patients who have pain in all 3 trigeminal divisions and patients who desire no facial numbness should be cautious. Masticatory weakness is mainly related with V3 injured, while Corneitis and Diplopia in patients with V1 injured by RFT.     

A mechanism for gratitude development in a child

Most scholars consider gratitude as a moral emotion, with only few seeing it as a character trait. As a result, no systematic mechanism has ever been attempted to develop gratitude in children. Given the social issue of widespread lack of gratitude in the one-child generations of China, this article attempts to outline a mechanism of parental moral education for gratitude development. The mechanism is underpinned by love, induction and discipline; and theoretically justified in accordance with key psychological and sociological theories, such as Piaget's theory of moral development, Kohlberg's moral stages theory, attachment theory, Hoffman's internalisation theory, Rest's social justice theory and Baumrind's parenting styles theory. The benefits and potential risks of each strategy of the mechanism are addressed.