As an important component of functional magnetic resonance imaging,diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) can provide qualitative and quantitative information for tumor evaluation and distinguish esophageal lesions and mediastinal lymph node metastasis.DWI-computed tomography fusion images facilitate the delineation of target volume.During radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma,monitoring the changes in apparent diffusion coefficient value helps to predict the early treatment outcomes and prognosis;DWI compensates for the shortcomings of radiography alone in the evaluation of short-term treatment outcomes.This paper reviews the application of DWI in the diagnosis,delineation of target volume,assessment of treatment outcomes,and prognostic prediction in radiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and it's possible mechanism of Tanshinone ⅡA in radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis.Methods Having the right hemithorax of female Wistar rats irradiated(30?Gy) in 10 fractions within 14 days by 6 ?MV photons,the radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis animal model was established.In the treatment group,sodium Tanshinone ⅡA sulfonate(15?mg/kg) was given by intraperitoneal injection 1 hour before each fraction of irradiation.Five months after irradiation,the difference of the histopathological changes,the hydroxyproline content and expression of TGF-?1 between the radiation alone group,tanshinone plus radiation and control group were analyzed by HE stain,Massion stain,immunohistochemical methor and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) method.Results The histopathological comparison revealed the protective effect of Tanshinone ⅡA.The content of hydroxyproline was(21.99?3.96),((38.25?)(7.18)),(28.94?4.29)??g/g in the control group,radiation alone group and radiation plus Tanshinone ⅡA.The expression of TGF-?1(mRNA and protein) was reduced by Tanshinone ⅡA.Pathological changes of the pulmonary fibrosis was reduced by Tanshinone ⅡA yet.Conclusions Our study shows that Tanshinone ⅡA can inhibit radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis,and the possible mechanism of its may be made possible through down-regulating the expression of TGF-?1 in the irritated lung tissue.

Objective: To investigate the effect of rat hyperplasia suppressor gene-1(rHSG-1) on the proliferation of aortic vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs) from spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR). Methods:VSMCs were transfected with an adenoviral vector expressing rHSG-1(Ad5rHSG-1). The effect of rHSG-1 on the proliferation of VSMCs was investigated by cell counting, MTT assay and 3H-thymidine incorporation. We also analyzed the cell-cycle using flow cytometry and detected the expression of p27 Kip1 and p21 Cip1 by Western Blot. Results:The proliferation of VSMCs infected with Ad5rHSG-1 was inhibited,a 40% reduction compared with the control group(P

Objective Assess the value of pleura sliding sign with chest ultrasonography in the prediction of pleura adhesion prior to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS).Method 63 patients were evaluated for pleura sliding signs with chest ultrasonography at 9 points along the chest wall prior to thoracotomies and were compared with the findings of the same points during the operation.Methods Pleura sliding signs on 567 points were examined in 63 cases,and 106 points pleura adhesion were found by chest ultrasonography and 72 points were proved by operations.461 points were no pleura adhesion under chest unltrasonography and 495 points had no pleura adhesion confirmed by operations.Results The sensitivity,specificity,negative predictive value,positive predictive value and overall accuracy were 80.56%,90.03%,96.96%,54.72% and 9.07%,respectively.The Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC)curve showed that there should be no pleura adhesion if there were more than 8 points positive pleura sliding signs.Conclusion Examination of pleura sliding sign by chest ultrasonography is helpful to predict the presence and location of pleura adhesion prior to VATS.

Objective To study the expression of CD44 gene in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) tissue and the relationship with prognosis.Methods The expressions of CD44 gene in 36 specimens from 36 patients with NSCLC were determined by RT-PCR and all the patients were followed up for 3 years.Results CD44 gene was excessively expressed in 21 of 36 specimens of NSCLC tissues,excessive expression rate was 58.3%.The expression of CD44 mRNA in NSCLC tissue was related to metastasis of lymph node(?2 =9.787,P

Objective To explore the relationship between expression of muc-1 gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and lymph node metastasis and its clinical significance.Methods The expression of muc-1 gene in 36 specimens of NSCLC tissues and 10 normal lung tissues were determined by RT-PCR.Results muc-1 gene was positively expressed in 19 of 36 specimens of NSCLC tissues,the positive expression rate was 52.7%.The expression of muc-1 mRNA in NSCLC tissues was related to metastasis of lymph node(?2 =6.733,P0.05).The positive expression rate of muc-1 gene was higher in NSCLC tissues with lymph node metastasis(N0 10%,N1 58.82%,N2 88.9%).Conclusion The lymph node metastasis rate in NSCLC patients with muc-1 gene positive expression is higher,the detection of muc-1 gene expression can guide the prognosis and therapy of NSCLC patients after operation.

A total of 60 hemiplegic patients after stroke were divided randomly into 2 groups.The control group received conventional rehabilitation training while the treatment group isokinetic training based on conventional rehabilitation training.Both groups were trained for 8 weeks.Results showed the differences of peak torque of knee flexors and extensors were significant between two groups (P ＜ 0.01).The ratio of flexion and extension showed significant difference (P ＜ 0.01).The treatment group was superior to control group in walking ability (P ＜ 0.01).Therefore isokinetic training provides significant improvement in stability of knees and walking ability in hemiplegic patients after stroke.

Objective To investigate the relationship of ELK-3 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition ( EMT) for ex-ploring its possible mechanism .Methods The human hepatocellular carcinoma cells ( HCC) were divided into small interference RNA transfection group and Ras-ELK-3 pathway inhibitor group .The protein level of ELK-3 target gene EGR-1 E-cadherin ,vimentin and p38 in HCC were determined by Western blot analysis .Results The protein level of ELK-3 and its target gene EGR-1 in treated human hepatocellular carcinoma cells significantly decreased as compared with the negative control group (P<0.01).The protein level of E-cadherin was significantly increased (P<0.01), while vimentin and p38 were decreased in HCC cells with ELK-3 interference (P<0.01).Conclusions ELK-3 in-terference can inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of HCC cells by down-regulating p38.

Objective To evaluate the role of 11C-methionine positron emission tomographv(MET PET-CT)in differentiating tumor recurrence from radiation necrosis in brain slioma patients.Methods From June 2008 to September 2009,30 brain glioma patients with suspected tumor recurvence or radiation necrosis after radiotherapy were evaluated by MET PET-CT.The median time between initial radiotherapy and PET examination was 13.5 months.Tumor recurrence were confirmed by histological analysis while necrosis was based on histological analysis or the subsequent clinical follow-up.Results Eighteen out of 19 patients were histologically confirmed tumor recurrence among those tumor recurrence shown by MET PET-CT after surgery or stereotactic biopsy.11 patients were considered to have radiation necrosis because of stable neurological sympotoms and without massive enlargement of the lesion during the after follow-up.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of MET PET-CT for detecting tumor recurrence were 100%,91.7%and 96.7%respectively.Conclusion MET PET-CT is a powerful tool in differentiating brain tumor recurrence from radiation necrosis after radiotherapy.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a serious intracranial hemorrhage characterized by acute bleeding into the subarachnoid space. The effects of shikonin, a natural compound from the roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon, on oxidative stress and blood–brain barrier (BBB) injury in SAH was evaluated in this study. A rat model of SAH was established by endovascular perforation to mimic the rupture of intracranial aneurysms. Rats were then administered 25 mg/kg of shikonin or dimethylsulfoxide after surgery. Brain edema, SAH grade, and neurobehavioral scores were measured after 24 h of SAH to evaluate neurological impairment. Concentrations of the oxidative stress markers superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain cortex were determined using the corresponding commercially available assay kits. Evans blue staining was used to determine BBB permeability. Western blotting was used to quantify protein levels of tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1, Occludin, and Claudin-5. After modeling, the brain water content increased significantly whereas the neurobehavioral scores of rats with SAH decreased prominently. MDA levels increased and the levels of the antioxidant enzymes GSH and SOD decreased after SAH. These changes were reversed after shikonin administration. Shikonin treatment also inhibited Evans blue extravasation after SAH. Furthermore, reduction in the levels of tight junction proteins after SAH modeling was rescued after shikonin treatment. In conclusion, shikonin exerts a neuroprotective effect after SAH by mitigating BBB injury and inhibiting oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex.