Objective To explore the clinical value and significance of elastography technique used in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules .Methods The preoperative imaging data of pathologically confirmed 138 patients with thyroid nodules(160 nodules) were retrospectively analyzed .The imaging characteristics of routine preoperative ultra-sound and elastography were compared and the results were compared with the histopathological findings ,thus to eval-uate the clinical value of elastography in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules .Results Of 160 thyroid nodules in 138 pa-tients,129 nodules (80.63%) were histologically confirmed benign ,31 nodules (19.38%) were confirmed malig-nant.According to the elastic graph color grading standards of ultrasound elastography , in 129 benign nodules, 113 nodules (86.82%) were 0~Ⅱ grade,16 nodules(13.18%) wereⅢ~Ⅳ grade.Of 31 malignant nodules,4 nodules (12.90%) were 0~Ⅱgrade,27 nodules (87.10%) wereⅢ~Ⅳgrade.The diagnosis coincidence rate of conventional ultrasound was 66.25%,which was significantly lower than 87.50%of elastosonography (χ2 =20.32, P=0.000).The specificity,sensitivity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of routine ultrasound were 61.29%,67.44%,87.88%,31.15%,which were significantly lower than those of ultrasound elastography (87.10%,87.60%,96.58%,62.79%)(χ2 =15.04,P=0.000;χ2 =5.39,P=0.022;χ2 =5.92,P=0.019;χ2 =10.24,P=0.001).Conclusion Compared with conventional ultrasound ,ultrasound elastography technique has ob-vious advantages in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules ,which has very important clini-cal value and should be popularized and applied in clinical diagnosis .

Objective struclured clinical examination (OSCE) is a kind of examination which could objectively evaluate the students′clinical skills.Nowadays,OSCE are wildly applied in medical educational field throughout the world.Timely discussion and analysis on the problems existed in the implementation process of OSCE is necessary.Measures should be taken to improve the OSCE examination and to meet the requirements of higher clinical practice training level such as increasing clinical skill simulation training hardware investment,optimizing settings and conlents of the examination and the test stations as well as introducing standardized patients (SP) and other measures.

Objective:To explore the inhibitory mechanism of herb cake-partitioned moxibustion on tumor growth in colitis-associated colorectal cancer(CAC)based on histone lysine demethylase 4D(KDM4D). Methods:Inbred male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal group,a CAC group,a herb cake-partitioned moxibustion group,and an inhibitor group.Except the normal group,rats in the other three groups were treated with azoxymethane(AOM)combined with dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)to make CAC rat models.Rats in the normal group and the CAC group did not receive interventions;rats in the herb cake-partitioned moxibustion group received moxibustion at Qihai(CV6)and bilateral Tianshu(ST25),2 cones for one point each time,once a day for 30 d with 1-day rest every week;rats in the inhibitor group received intraperitoneal injection of KDM4D inhibitor,5-chloro-8-hydroxyquinoline(5-c-8HQ),once a day for 30 d.After intervention,the general condition,colon length,tumor number and volume,and histopathological colon changes were observed.The expression of adenomatous polyposis coli(APC),axis inhibitor(Axin),cyclin D1,matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-7 and MMP-9 mRNAs were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA),cleaved caspase3,KDM4D,APC,and Axin proteins were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results:Compared with the normal group,the general condition was poor,the colon length was significantly shortened(P<0.01),the number and volume of colonic tumors were increased(P<0.01),the structure of glandular duct was obviously disordered with"back-to-back"and cowall phenomenon,and also high-grade adenocarcinoma formed;the protein expression levels of PCNA and KDM4D were significantly increased(P<0.01),while cleaved caspase3,APC,and Axin were significantly reduced(P<0.01);the mRNA expression levels of cyclin D1,MMP-7,and MMP-9 were significantly increased(P<0.01),while APC and Axin were significantly reduced(P<0.01)in the CAC group.Compared with the CAC group,the general condition was improved,the length of colon was significantly increased(P<0.01),the number and volume of the colonic tumors were reduced(P<0.05),and the colon tissues showed epithelial cell proliferation with enlarged and deep staining nuclei,dysplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration;the protein expression levels of PCNA and KDM4D were significantly reduced(P<0.01),while the cleaved caspase3,APC,and Axin were significantly increased(P<0.01);the mRNA expression levels of cyclin D1,MMP-7,and MMP-9 were reduced(P<0.05),while the APC and Axin were increased(P<0.05)in the colon tissues of rats in the herb cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the inhibitor group. Conclusion:Herb cake-partitioned moxibustion regulated abnormally expressed KDM4D in CAC rats,activated APC and Axin,the upstream molecules of Wnt/β-catenin pathway,inhibited abnormally activated downstream molecules of Wnt/β-catenin pathway.This may be a key mechanism of herb cake-partitioned moxibustion in inhibiting CAC tumor growth.

Abstract: Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are synthetic psychoactive substances that can pose a public health risk. The SCs are structurally variable and susceptible to structural modification. The rapid emergence of structurally unknown synthetic cannabinoids has led to new challenges in their identification. In recent years, machine learning has made great progress and has been widely applied to other fields, providing new strategies for the identification of unknown synthetic cannabinoids and the inference of possible sources. This paper describes the principles of commonly used machine learning methods and the application of machine learning techniques to mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, metabolomics and quantitative conformational relationships of synthetic cannabinoids, aiming to provide new ideas for the identification of unknown synthetic cannabinoids.

Objective: To explore the persistent viral response rate (SVR) in patients with refractory chronic hepatitis C after interferon (IFN) (peginterferon 360 μg qw) and ribavirin (PR) therapy failure. The SVR of patients with refractory chronic hepatitis C was improved by PR combined with direct antiviral agents (DAA) and proper extension of the course of therapy was applied. Methods: Seventeen cases of refractory chronic hepatitis C after IFN(peginterferon 360 μg qw) and ribavirin therapy failure were given PR combined with DAA treatment. The side effects were observed and corresponding adjustments were made on drug dosage, and SVR was recorded. Results: The 17 cases completed the whole course of treatment with PR combined with DAA for 24 weeks. All the 17 patients obtained rapid viralogical response (RVR) and SVR. After treatment, the SVR rate was 100% in patients including those with virologic relapse, retreated or previously non-responsive patients with refractory chronic hepatitis C. The adverse reaction of PR combined with DAA 24 weeks was generally mild. Conclusions The use of PR combined with DAA re-treatment in patients with refractory chronic hepatitis C can achieve SVR and shorten the treatment time. PR combined with DAA re-therapy is one of effective treatments to improve the rate of sustained viral response in patients with refractory chronic hepatitis C.

ObjectiveTo compare the differences in clinical characteristics between kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome and damp-heat stasis obstruction syndrome in patients with ankylosing spondylitis （AS）， thereby providing reference for clinical differentiation and treatment. MethodsThe clinical data of 2339 patients with AS were collected， including 1075 cases of kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome and 1264 cases of damp-heat stasis obstruction syndrome. The basic information including age， gender， course of disease， history of ophthalmia， family history and human leukocyte antigen B27 （HLA-B27） positive history， Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index （BASDAI） score， Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index （BASFI） score， Bath ankylosing spondylitis measurement index （BASMI） score， Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 （DASS-21） score， single symptom score in terms of spinal pain， peripheral joint pain， tendon tenderness， morning stiffness degree and morning stiffness time， patient-reported outcomes including patient global assessment （PGA） score， chronic disease therapy function-fatigue scale （FACIT-F） score and night pain visual analog scale （VAS） score， laboratory indicators including serum C-reactive protein （CRP） and erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR）， and CT grading of sacroiliitis were measured and compared between groups. ResultsPatients with kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome were older and had a longer course of disease （P＜0.01）. The BASDAI， BASFI and BASMI scores of the patients with kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome were 3.84±1.79， 2.78±2.00 and 3.42±2.36， respectively， while those in patients with damp-heat stasis obstruction syndrome were 4.30±1.99， 3.43±2.12， and 2.92±1.76. The BASDAI score， BASFI score， PGA score， FACIT-F score， spinal pain score， peripheral arthralgia score， tendon tenderness score， morning stiffness degree score， depression score， anxiety score， and stress score in patients with damp-heat stasis obstruction syndrome were all higher than those with kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome， with longer duration of morning stiffness and higher CRP （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. BASMI score and night pain VAS score were more higher in patients with kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome （P＜0.01）. There was no significant difference in the ESR level and CT grading of the sacroiliac joint between the two groups （P＞0.05）. ConclusionAS patients with kidney deficiency and stasis obstruction syndrome have poorer spinal mobility， while those with damp-heat stasis obstruction syndrome have higher disease activity， poorer physical function， and are more prone to adverse psychological reactions.

BACKGROUND: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine has been efficiently used for decades. However, hepatocellular carcinoma caused by HBV is still prevalent globally. We previously reported that interferon (IFN)-induced tripartite motif-containing 25 (TRIM25) inhibited HBV replication by increasing the IFN expression, and this study aimed to further clarify the anti-HBV mechanism of TRIM25. METHODS: The TRIM25-mediated degradation of hepatitis B virus X (HBx) protein was determined by detecting the expression of HBx in TRIM25-overexpressed or knocked-out HepG2 or HepG2-NTCP cells via Western blotting. Co-immunoprecipitation was performed to confirm the interaction between TRIM25 and HBx, and colocalization of TRIM25 and HBx was identified via immunofluorescence; HBV e-antigen and HBV surface antigen were qualified by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit from Kehua Biotech. TRIM25 mRNA, pregenomic RNA (pgRNA), and HBV DNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and pgRNA interaction was verified by RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation assay. RESULTS: We found that TRIM25 promoted HBx degradation, and confirmed that TRIM25 could enhance the K90-site ubiquitination of HBx as well as promote HBx degradation by the proteasome pathway. Interestingly, apart from the Really Interesting New Gene (RING) domain, the SPRY domain of TRIM25 was also indispensable for HBx degradation. In addition, we found that the expression of TRIM25 increased the recognition of HBV pgRNA by interacting with RIG-I, which further increased the IFN production, and SPRY, but not the RING domain is critical in this process. CONCLUSIONS The study found that TRIM25 interacted with HBx and promoted HBx-K90-site ubiquitination, which led to HBx degradation. On the other hand, TRIM25 may function as an adaptor, which enhanced the recognition of pgRNA by RIG-I, thereby further promoting IFN production. Our study can contribute to a better understanding of host-virus interaction.
Humans ; Hepatitis B virus ; DEAD Box Protein 58/metabolism* ; RNA ; Liver Neoplasms ; Virus Replication ; Tripartite Motif Proteins/genetics* ; Transcription Factors ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics*