Objective To explore the titre of serum anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibodies (anti-PLA2 R antibodies) detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to provide a more specific serological index for clinical diagnosis and disease judgment of membranous nephropathy (MN).Methods Thirty-four cases of MN confirmed by kidney biopsy ,32 inpatients with autoimmune diseases ,nephrotic syndrome and renal insufficiency in the nephrology department of our hospital and 12 persons un-dergoing physical examination were selected.The serum was collected for detecting anti-PLA2 R antibodies level.Then its diagnostic performance for diagnosing MM was analyzed by combining with serum TP ,ALB ,IgG ,IgA ,IgM ,C3 and C4 indicators.Results The medians of anti-PLA2 R antibodies titres in the MN group ,disease control group and healthy control group were 22.1 ,2.0 ,2.0 RU/mL respectively ,which had statistical difference between the MN group and other two groups (P<0.05).Seventeen cases of anti-PLA2R antibodies positive were in the MN group(positive rate50% )and 17 cases were negative,the disease control group and healthy control group all were negative.Its specificity and positive predictive value were 100% ,TP ,ALB and IgG had statistical difference between the MN group with the disease control group and healthy control group (P<0.05);the relative coefficients of anti-PLA2 R antibodies with TP ,ALB and IgG ,IgA ,IgM ,C3 and C4 were in turn -0.382 ,-0.344 ,-0.502 ,-0.295 ,0.062 , 0.005 and 0.241 respectively ,anti-PLA2R antibodies were negatively correlated with TP ,ALB ,IgG and IgA(P<0.01) ,positively correlated with C4(P<0.05) and had no relation with IgM and C3(P>0.05).Conclusion Anti-PLA2 R antibodies have higher specificity for the diagnosis of MN and can serve as the necessary and specific serologic detection indicator in the patients unable to conduct renal biopsy.Quantitative detection helps to condition judgment.

Objective: To prepare and identify recombinant human IL 2/GM CSF(rhIL 2/GM CSF) fusion protein antibodies and to study its specificity and its effect on fusion protein biological activity. Methods: rhIL 2 /GM CSF fusion protein was purified by DEAE Sepharose FF ion exchange chromatography. The purified protein was used to immunize rabbits for the preparation of antisera. The titer and specificity of the antisera were detected by ELISA and Dot ELISA and the biological activity by cell proliferation. Results: The antisera not only reacted with the rhIL 2/GM CSF, IL 2 and GM CSF, but also inhibited the biological activity of the rhIL 2/GM CSF, IL 2 and GM CSF. Conclusion: The obtained antisera can be used to study the structure and function of the rhIL 2/GM CSF.

Objective To investigate the association of the expressions of Fas, FasL, Bcl-2 and Bax in thyroid tissue with the pathogenesis in Graves′ disease (GD). Methods Thyroid tissues from 54 patients with GD and 10 patients with thyroid adenoma (paraadenoma tissue as normal controls) were studied for Fas, FasL, Bcl-2 and Bax expressions in the thyrocytes and lymphocytes by immunohistochemical method. Quantitative analysis was performed by Mias 99 pathological image system. Results (1) The positive granule area, average light density and integrated light density of Fas, FasL, Bcl-2 and Bax in the thyroid tissue from patients with GD were higher than those from normal controls (P

Objective To investigate the impacts of LASP-1 on the behavior and cell proliferation ability of tumor derived osteoblast-like cells and non tumor derived osteoblasts. Methods QRT-PCR and Western blot were performed to detect LASP-1 expressions in mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMMSC),human osteoblasts (hOB) and human osteosarcoma cell (MG-63). With the construction of recombinant vector and the transfection of shLASP-1,the expression changes in both LASP-1 and osteocalcin(OCN),and the cell number of cell-cycle phase distribution were analyzed. Results With up-or down-regulation of LASP-1,osteocalcin(OCN) expression,cell proliferation ability and the cell number of G2/M phase in non tumor cells(BMMSC,hOB)had no obvious changes. However,as for the tumor cells(MG-63),with an increased expression of LASP-1,the expression of OCN,cell proliferation number and the cell number at G2/M phase changed. There was no significant effect on the moving ability of each cell. Conclusions LASP-1 has no significant effect on the osteogenic proper-ties,cell proliferation ability and cell cycle distribution of non tumor derived cells,but has a regulatory effect on tumor derived cells(MG-63).

Objective:To explore the causal association between inflammatory cytokines and fibromyalgia by Mendelian randomization analysis.Methods:By mining the GWAS Catalog database and FinnGen database, the exposure factor was set as inflammatory cytokines, and the outcome was fibromyalgia. The main analysis method adopted in this study is inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, with MR-Egger, Simple Mode method, weighted median (WM), and Weighted Mode as supplementary statistical methods for Mendelian randomization analysis. Subsequently, by swapping the exposure factors and outcomes, the directionality of the analysis was tested.Results:Among the 91 known inflammatory cytokines, a causal association was found between natural killer cell receptor 2B4 (CD244), monocyte chemotactic protein 2 (MCP-2), C-X-C chemokine 6 (CXCL6), interleukin 12β subunit (IL12B), and fibromyalgia. Among them, CD244, CXCL6, and IL12B were positively correlated with FM [CD244: OR(95% CI)=1.21(1.08, 1.35), P<0.001]. [MCP-2: OR(95% CI)=0.91(0.87, 0.96), P<0.001], [CXCL6: OR(95% CI)=1.15(1.06, 1.24), P<0.001], IL-12B [ OR(95% CI)=1.13(1.06, 1.20), P<0.001]. Sensitivity analysis did not find multiple effects, heterogeneity,or correlation. Conclusion:The increase in the levels of CD244, CXCL6, and IL-12B will increase the risk of FM, while the increase in the level of MCP-2 will reduce the risk of FM disease.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have shown the correlation between lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters and natural absorption of lumbar disc herniation.However,the lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters included lumbar lordosis angle,lumbosacral joint angle,sacral inclination angle and many other parameters.The effects of each parameter on the natural absorption of the herniated disc were different.In addition,there are few studies on the reabsorption of a specific segment of intervertebral disc herniation at present,and most of the measured data are obtained from digital radiography or CT,while the correlation between lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters measured from MRI and reabsorption after L5/S1 intervertebral disc herniation is rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To study the corresponding changes of lumbar sagittal plane parameters after L5/S1 intervertebral disc herniation reabsorption and to screen out the lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters with the most significant changes during intervertebral disc reabsorption. METHODS:Totally 57 patients with lumbar disc herniation who had complete MRI image data were selected and met the diagnostic criteria for lumbar disc herniation and only received non-surgical treatment for reabsorption of L5/S1 protrusion segments.MRI measured the protrusion area of the maximum protrusion plane in the coronal plane,lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters[lumbar curvature index,lumbar lordosis(α),L5/S1 disc angle(β),intervertebral height measurement,lumbosacral joint angle,sacral platform angle,sacral inclination angle,and lower lumbar lordosis angle].Besides,lumbosacral sagittal plane parameters were ranked in the importance of variables by random forest model in R software,and then significant variables were fitted with multiple linear regression.The changes between parameters before and after treatment were analyzed and compared by paired sample t-test. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 57 patients with L5/S1 lumbar disc herniation were included in this study,and the symptoms and imaging features of the patients were significantly relieved to a large extent.(2)Before treatment,there were 4 cases of grade 1,29 cases of grade 2 and 24 cases of grade 3 according to the Classification of Michigan State University.After treatment,there were 48 cases of grade 1 and 9 cases of grade 2.(3)The random forest model suggested that intervertebral height,lumbar curve index,sacral inclination angle,and lower lumbar lordosis angle changed significantly in L5/S1 disc herniation reabsorption,and the order of their change significance was lumbar curve index>intervertebral space height>sacral inclination angle>lower lumbar lordosis angle.(4)Lumbar curve index,lumbar lordosis and sacral platform angle increased,with statistical significance(P<0.05).There were no significant differences in disc angle,intervertebral height,lower lumbar lordosis angle,sacral inclination angle or lumbosacral joint angle(P>0.05).(5)Lumbar curvature index was the most significant parameter of the lumbosacral sagittal plane in herniated disc reabsorption.In addition,lumbar curve index,sacral inclination angle,and lower lumbar lordosis angle are commonly used clinically to describe the change of lumbar curvature,suggesting that L5/S1 disc herniation reabsorption is correlated with the change of lumbar curvature.It is indicated that in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation,a clinical cure can be achieved by improving or restoring the disordered lumbar curvature.

Objective:To investigate the value of three-dimensional (3D) T 1WI structural images using different acceleration methods including parallel acquisition technique, joint compressed sensing (uCS) technique, and artificial intelligence-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) technique for brain region segmentation. Methods:In this cross-sectional study, fifty patients (female: n=25, age range: 13 to 87 years old) at Corning Hospital of Ningbo University from July to September 2023 were prospectively and consecutively collected. All the subjects underwent brain MRI. Six groups of 3D T 1WI structural images were obtained using different acceleration technique and parameters, including 3D T 1WI without acceleration factor (3D-T 1WI group), 3D T 1WI with parallel acquisition technique with acceleration factor 3 (3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group), 3D T 1WI with uCS technique with acceleration factor 4.5 and 6.9 (3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9 group), 3D T 1WI by ACS technique with acceleration factors of 3 and 5 (3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 group). T 2WI fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images were also acquired. Subjective scores (cerebral grey matter and white matter clarity scores, clarity scores of cerebral white matter degeneration lesions in relation to the surrounding white matter, and Gibbs artifact scores) and objective metrics [signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), cerebrospinal fluid signal homogeneity, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and natural image quality evaluator (NIQE)] were used to evaluate image quality in different groups. Totally 109 brain regions were segmented and volumes were measured using the uAI Research Portal image analysis tool. Kappa or intraclass correlation coefficient ( ICC) was used to evaluate the agreement of subjective and objective evaluation indexes between the 3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9 group, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 group, and 3D-T 1WI group. Kappa or ICC value>0.70 was considered as good agreement. Results:The acquisition time for the 3D-T 1WI group, 3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9 group, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 group were 527, 204, 169, 95, 133, 90 s, respectively. Subjective evaluation showed that the 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 groups had excellent agreement with the 3D-T 1WI group in terms of the distribution of cases of cerebral grey matter and white matter clarity scores, respectively (all Kappa value=1.000); The distribution of cases of clarity score of cerebral white matter lesions and surrounding white matter in the 3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group were in good agreement with that of the 3D-T 1WI group ( Kappa values of 0.775, 0.701, and 0.777, respectively); the distribution of the number of cases of the Gibbs artifact score of the 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 groups was in good agreement with the 3D-T 1WI group (all Kappa value=1.000). Objective evaluation showed the CNR of the images in the 3D-T 1WI-PI-3, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5, and 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9 groups were in good agreement with those of the 3D-T 1WI group ( ICC of 0.720, 0.759, and 0.752, respectively); PSNR and SSIM were in good agreement among the 3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9 group, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 group (PSNR: ICC=0.854; SSIM: ICC=0.851). NIQE of 3D-T 1WI-PI-3 group, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5 group, and 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3 group images were in good agreement with the 3D-T 1WI group ( ICC value of 0.866, 0.727, 0.753, respectively). The ICC values of the volume of each segmented brain region among the 3D-T 1WI-PI-3, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-4.5, 3D-T 1WI-uCS-6.9, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-3, 3D-T 1WI-ACS-5 group and the 3D-T 1WI group images showed decreased in order (all ICC≥0.62). Conclusions:The uCS and ACS techniques used in 3D-T 1WI show high agreement with 3D-T 1WI in terms of brain segmentation. The application of these accelerating techniques can significantly shorten the acquisition time with obtaining images with good image quality, displaying great value.