Objective To summarize the experience of the ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) in communicating hydrocephalus and its complications. Methods The clinical features, operative techniques and outcome of 100 patients with hydrocephalus were analysed retrospectively. Results Ninety-five (95%) cases had a good result. Postoperative complications were found in 6(6%) cases including shunt apparatus blockage (4 cases) and shunt infection (2 cases). All the cases improved after taking the corresponding measures. Conclusion VPS is the most common shunt style for communicating hydrocephalus. The shunt apparatus blockage and infection are common postoperative complications. Intraoperative aseptic technique, the minimally invasive procedure, and the optimal placement of shunt tube may play an important role in improving the outcome of cerebrospinal fluid shunting surgery for communicating hydrocephalus.

Ob jective To research the gene expression profile of aura-absence migraine patients before and after acupuncture of Shaoyang meridian acupoints or non-acupoints. Methods Twenty aura-absence migraine patients were randomly divided into meridian acupoint group and non-acupoint group, 10 cases in each group. Gene chip technology was used to investigate the differences of two sets of gene expression profiles, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied for the analysis of partial genes to verify the accuracy of gene chip detection results. Results Seventy-two differentially expressed genes were obtained in meridian acupoint group, and 110 differentially expressed genes were obtained in non-acupoint group. The function genes of meridian acupoint group involved brain endorphin enzyme, adenosine triphosphate ( ATP) synthase, etc., which were closely related with the curing of aura-absence migraine. Non-acupoint group had extensive and scattered function genes involving apoptosis, DNA repair, etc., which had less correlation with the curing of aura-absence migraine. ATPAF2, PTGS2, TOR3A genes of meridian acupoint group and ACP2, AURKA, ARHGEF11, CASP8 gene of non-acupoint group presented by RT-PCR analysis had verified the reliability of microarray data. Conclusion The therapeutic effect of meridian acupoints acupuncture for aura-absence migraine has achieved through the multi-gene action at the molecular level, but the corresponding target genes for the placebo effect of non-acupoint acupuncture have not been found , which demonstrates the existence of meridian effect.

Objective:To analyze the relationship between free androgen index and insulin function in obese young men aged from 20 to 35.Methods:A total of 82 young obese men in Obesity Clinic from February to October 2019 were enrolled in the study. The subjects were divided into 3 subgroups according to free androgen index level tertiles. The blood glucose and insulin levels were tested after oral glucose tolerance test. Homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), homeostasis model assessment for β cell function (HOMA-β), insulin secretion index, and insulin sensitivity index (Matsuda index) were used to evaluate β cell function in oder to analyze the relationship between free androgen index and insulin function.Results:In young obese men, participants with higher free androgen index levels exhibited less waist circumference, lower body mass index, 1 h postprandial insulin, 2 h postprandial insulin, HOMA-IR level but with a higher total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, and Matsuda index level (all P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the free androgen index and the HOMA-IR ( r=-0.386, P=0.016), and the correlation tended to a linear trend after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and waist circumference ( Ptrend=0.034). Free testosterone was positively correlated with Matsuda index ( r=0.280, P=0.004), but the correlation disappeared after adjustment ( Ptrend=0.623). The results of further regression analysis showed that the level of free testosterone index decreased by 14.1% ( OR=0.869, 95% CI0.767-0.984, P=0.028) for each increase of HOMA-IR after adjustment. Conclusion:The level of free testosterone index is a predictor of insulin resistance in obese young men, but the association between this parameter and insulin sensitivity may be caused by obesity.

PURPOSE: Osteitis refers to the development of new bone formation and remodeling of bone in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients; it is typically associated with eosinophilia, nasal polyps (NPs), and recalcitrant CRS. However, the roles of ossification in CRS with or without NPs remain unclear due to the lack of appropriate animal models. Thus, it is necessary to have a suitable animal model for greater advances in the understanding of CRS pathogenesis.METHODS: BALB/c mice were administered ovalbumin (OVA) and staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). The numbers of osteoclasts and osteoblasts and bony changes were assessed. Micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans were conducted to measure bone thickness. Immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to evaluate runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteonectin, interleukin (IL)-13, and RUNX2 downstream gene expression. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed in mucosal tissues from control and CRS patients. The effect of resveratrol was evaluated in terms of osteogenesis in a murine eosinophilic CRS NP model.RESULTS: The histopathologic changes showed markedly thickened bones with significant increase in osteoblast numbers in OVA/SEB-treated mice compared to the phosphate-buffered saline-treated mice. The structural changes in bone on micro-CT were consistent with the histopathological features. The expression of RUNX2 and IL-13 was increased by the administration of OVA/SEB and showed a positive correlation. RUNX2 expression mainly co-localized with osteoblasts. Bioinformatic analysis using human CRS transcriptome revealed that IL-13-induced bony changes via RUNX2. Treatment with resveratrol, a candidate drug against osteitis, diminished the expression of IL-13 and RUNX2, and the number of osteoblasts in OVA/SEB-treated mice.CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we found the histopathological and radiographic evidence of osteogenesis using a previously established murine eosinophilic CRS NP model. This animal model could provide new insights into the pathophysiology of neo-osteogenesis and provide a basis for developing new therapeutics.
Animals ; Computational Biology ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit ; Enterotoxins ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interleukin-13 ; Interleukins ; Mice ; Models, Animal ; Mucous Membrane ; Nasal Polyps ; Nose ; Osteitis ; Osteoblasts ; Osteoclasts ; Osteogenesis ; Osteonectin ; Ovalbumin ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sinusitis ; Transcription Factors ; Transcriptome

Objective:To investigate the value of an MRI and digital pathology images based omics nomogram for the prediction of recurrence risk in soft tissue sarcoma (STS).Methods:This was a retrospective cohort study. From January 2016 to March 2021, 192 patients with STS confirmed by pathology in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were enrolled, among which 112 patients in the Laoshan campus were enrolled as training set, and 80 patients in the Shinan campus were enrolled as validation set. The patients were divided into recurrence group ( n=87) and no recurrence group ( n=105) during follow-up. The clinical and MRI features of patients were collected. The radiomics features based on fat saturated T 2WI images and pathomics features based on digital pathology images of the lesions were extracted respectively. The clinical model, radiomics model, pathomics model, radiomics-pathomics combined model, and omics nomogram which combined the optimal prediction model and the clinical model were established by multivariate Cox regression analysis. The concordance index (C index) and time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (t-AUC) were used to evaluate the performance of each model in predicting STS postoperative recurrence. The DeLong test was used for comparison of t-AUC between every two models. The X-tile software was used to determine the cut-off value of the omics nomogram, then the patients were divided into low risk ( n=106), medium risk ( n=64), and high risk ( n=22) groups. Three groups′ cumulative recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were calculated and compared by the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test. Results:The performance of the radiomics-pathomics combined model was superior to the radiomics model and pathomics model, with C index of 0.727 (95% CI 0.632-0.823) and medium t-AUC value of 0.737 (95% CI0.584-0.891) in the validation set. The omics nomogram was established by combining the clinical model and the radiomics-pathomics combined model, with C index of 0.763 (95% CI 0.685-0.842) and medium t-AUC value of 0.783 (95% CI0.639-0.927) in the validation set. The t-AUC value of omics nomogram was significantly higher than that of clinical model, TNM model, radiomics model, and pathomics model in the validation set ( Z=3.33, 2.18, 2.08, 2.72, P=0.001, 0.029, 0.037, 0.007). There was no statistical difference in t-AUC between the omics nomogram and radiomics-pathomics combined model ( Z=0.70, P=0.487). In the validation set, the 1-year RFS rates of STS patients in the low, medium, and high recurrence risk groups were 92.0% (95% CI 81.5%-100%), 55.9% (95% CI 40.8%-76.6%), and 37.5% (95% CI 15.3%-91.7%). In the training and validation sets, there were statistically significant in cumulative RFS rates among the low, medium, and high groups of STS patients (training set χ2=73.90, P<0.001; validation set χ2=18.70, P<0.001). Conclusion:The omics nomogram based on MRI and digital pathology images has favorable performance for the prediction of STS recurrence risk.

Objective:To analyze the molecular evolution characteristics of HA and NA genes of influenza B/Yamagata (BY) and influenza B/Victoria (BV) lineage viruses in Guizhou Province, aiming to provide reference for scientific prevention and control of influenza. Methods:The prevalence of various types of influenza viruses in Guizhou Province from 2017 to 2021 was analyzed. The nucleic acid of influenza B viruses was extracted, and then the HA and NA genes were amplified by RT-PCR. Fourteen strains were sequenced and the sequences of 83 strains were obtained from GISAID. Homologies between the 97 influenza B viruses as well as the phylogenetic characteristics and amino acid site variations were analyzed. Results:Influenza A, BY and BV lineage viruses co-circulated in Guizhou Province and BV lineage was the predominant type. The homologies of HA and NA genes were 98.7%-99.4% and 98.4%-99.6% between BY lineage viruses and the reference vaccine strain B/PHUKET/3073/2013. BV lineage viruses shared 98.3%-99.3% and 98.9%-99.6% homologies with the reference vaccine strain B/Colorado/06/2017. The BY lineage strains in Guizhou Province mainly belonged to Y3 genetic group with HA gene in two branches of Y3-H1-2 and NA gene in three branches of Y3-N1-3. Three reassortant strains were found in Y3 clade. The isolated BV lineage strains mainly belonged to V1A-2 genetic group with HA gene in four branches of V1A-2 H1-4 and NA gene in five branches of V1A-2 N1-5. Twenty reassortant strains were found in V1A-2 clade and no inter-lineage reassortants were found. Analysis of variations at key amino acid sites showed that there was no mutation at epitopes in Y3 genetic group. However, there were point mutations at four main epitopes and a shift mutation in 190 helix in V1A-2 genetic group. There was no mutation in drug resistance sites. Conclusions:Various types of influenza viruses circulated in Guizhou Province. The homology between influenza B viruses and vaccine strains was decreasing. Different branches of HA and NA genes had been evolved and various forms of mutations were detected in the sequences. Intra-lineage reassortant strains and new varieties emerged. Surveillance of influenza B viruses should be strengthened.