Objective To discuss and analyze the reliability and validity of the application Chinese version of Caregiver Grief Scale (CGS) on caregivers of patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma. Methods To translate the original English scale into Chinese and adapt it to the culture of China, forming a Chinese CGS. Totally 330 patients were selected with advanced hepatocarcinoma who were hospitalized in a gradeⅢ, class A hospital by the convenient sampling method. They were carried out exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis respectively. Results For Chinese CGS, the critical value of every purpose has statistical significance (P < 0.05) by comparison. Exploratory factor analysis showed:KMO value was 0.923;Bartlett's sphericity test value was 794.31;cumulative variance contribution rate was 67.532%;four common factors can be extracted. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the structural model of the scale was good: χ2/d?=1.11<3.0,goodness of fit index=0.995,root mean square error of approximation=0.021,adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.968,normed fit index=0.973, comparative fit index=0.957,Tucker-Lewis index=0.993,incremental fit index=0.943. Each correlation coefficient of the scale has statistical significance and expert validity is between 0.832 and 0.973. Reliability analysis shows that the total Cronbach'sαof the scale was 0.908;Cronbach'sαcoefficient of every dimension was between 0.896 and 0.913; Guttman's split-half reliability was 0.917; test-retest reliability was 0.831. ROC curve showed that when the total score of the scale ≥24.5, specificity and sensitivity were good. Conclusions Chinese version of CGS has good reliability and validity, which is suitable for preliminary screening grief emotion of caregivers of patients with advanced hepatocarcinoma.

Objective To investigate the incidence,influencing factors and clinical features of ischemic hepatitis.Methods Changes of serum transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase in patients with shock and respiratory failure were recorded in our hospital.Ischemic hepatitis was identified according to diagnosis guidelines,and its incidence was counted.Clinical data of patients with ischemic hepatitis were recorded.Results There were 53 cases diagnosed as ischemic hepatitis in 317 severe patients,including hemorrhagic shock,heart failure,respiratory failure,et al.The incidence was high in elderly patients aged over 70 years and male.Levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT),AST and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly increased 1-3 days after shock and respiratory failure,then reached to peak value 1-5 days [averaged (3.35±0.89) days] after shock and respiratory failure.Serum ALT was 869-4354 U/L,AST was 773-4833U/L and LDH was 1021-2662 U/L.Total bilirubin level was increased in 16 cases and the total bilirubin was 14-54 μmol/L.AST was declined to a point within 2 times the upper limit of normal range after 9-16 days,averaged (13± 1.6) days.Elevated transaminase level had no correlation with sex,age and pre-existing liver diseases.The time of enzyme changes had no correlation with sex but age and liver diseases.Patients aged ≥ 70 years had later AST peak and the recovery time was longer than younger patients (P＜0.01).Conclusions Ischemic hepatitis occurs mainly in men and elderly people.But advanced age and underlying liver diseases can affect the recovery time of transaminase in patients with ischemic hepatitis.

Objective To investigate the protective effects of extract of Periplaneta americana (APA) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats. Methods Seventy SD rats were divided into five groups:normal con-trol group (C), model control group (M), extract of APA 1 group (APA1), extract of APA 2 group (APA2) and reduced glutathi-one group (R). The liver fibrosis model was induced by injecting 40%CCl4-olive solution subcutaneously for seven weeks in M, APA1, APA 2 and R groups. Drugs were given at the same time. Rats were killed at 7-week (C, M, APA1 and R groups), and were killed at 9-week (APA2 group). The serum values of transaminase (ALT, AST), albumin (ALB), hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN), and hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were detected respectively. The expressions of apoptotic relat-ed gene Bcl-2 and Bax protein in central veins and portal areas of hepatic lobules were detected by immunohistochemical method. Results Rats showed poor nutritional status, and significantly increased transaminase, HA and LN in M group, but the serum level of ALB was significantly lower than that in C group. There was extensive necrosis of liver cells, obviously fi-brosis or cirrhosis in model rats’liver tissues. The serum contents of ALT, AST, HA and LN were significantly decreased, the serum level of ALB were significantly increased in APA1,APA2 and R groups (P<0.05). There were complete hepatic lobule and no obvious fibrous tissue hyperplasia in liver biopsy of APA1 and R groups. The values of Bcl-2/Bax proteins in central vein of liver tissues were significantly higher in APA1,APA2 and R groups than those of M group (P<0.05), but the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was lower in periportal area of liver tissues (P<0.05). There were significantly higher body weight and ALB levels in APA1 group than those in R group (P<0.05). The level of transaminase was slightly higher in APA1 group than that of R group. The degeneration of liver cells was found mostly in R group. Conclusion The extract of Periplaneta americana has a role in protecting liver cells, inhibiting the progression of hepatic fibrosis, and improving the nutritional sta-tus of trial rats.

Objective:To preliminarily explore the effects of tumor treating fields (TTF) arrays on the dose distribution in the treatment of Glioblastoma (GBM) using combined radiotherapy and concurrent TTF.Methods:EDR2 and MatriXX plate ionization chamber were employed to measure the absorbed doses of tissues at different depths (< 1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm, 1 cm, 1.5 cm, 3 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm) in the case that TTF arrays and latex-free foam were attached and not attached on the surface. Then the absorbed doses were calculated, compared, and analyzed. For the volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) of 10 GBM patients, deep dose verification was performed using the Sun Nuclear ArcCheck 3D dose verification system and the D99%, Dmean, and D1% of tumors and OARs were assessed. Results:The surface dose increased by 173% in the case that TTF arrays and latex-free foam were attached to the surface compared with the case of the surface with nothing attached. The surface dose increased by 61.7% due to the attachment of low-density latex-free foam. The dose deviation gradually decreased with an increase in the depth and stabilized (about 4%) at a depth of greater than 1.5 cm. As indicated by the VMAT verification result, the D99%, Dmean, and D1% of PTV and CTV decreased by 1.1%-1.2% and the Dmean and D1% of OARs (i.e., brainstem, pituitary gland, optic chiasma, optic nerve, eyeball, and eye crystal) decreased by 0.7%-1.5% in the case that TTF array and latex-free foam were attached on the surface compared with the case the surface with nothing attached. Conclusions:The combined radiotherapy and concurrent TTF in the GBM treatment will lead to a slight reduction of the absorbed doses of targets and OARs but a significant increase in the absorbed doses of the scalp. Therefore, it is recommended that the scalp doses should be reduced as far as possible in the design of the radiation treatment plan to reduce the adverse reactions on the scalp of GBM patients.

BACKGROUND:Intervertebral disc degeneration is an important cause of low back pain.At present,there are many modeling methods for disc degeneration in China and abroad,but there is not a model for low back pain due to disc degeneration. OBJECTIVE:To compare the effect of mechanical puncture combined with tumor necrosis factor α and complete Freund's adjuvant with a conventional disc mechanical puncture alone. METHODS:A total of 18 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups,with 6 animals in each group.No treatment was given in the blank group.Animal models of intervertebral disc degeneration were made in the L4-5 segments of rats in the control using conventional mechanical puncture.In the experimental group,on the basis of mechanical puncture,tumor necrosis factor α+complete Freund's adjuvant was injected into the L4-5 intervertebral discs using a microinjector to establish a model of disc degeneration induced by mechanical puncture combined with inflammatory factors.Four weeks after surgery,the pain threshold of rats was measured by the hot plate method for assessing the perception of heat injury in rats with intervertebral disc degeneration.MRI examination was performed to observe the disc degeneration in each group.ELISA was used to detect the levels of serum tumor necrosis factor α,interleukin 1β,interleukin 6 and prostaglandin E2.Hematoxylin-eosin and Safranin O-fast green staining were used to observe the morphological changes of the disc. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In terms of pain,the behavioral pain threshold of the experimental group was continuously decreased,and the levels of serum inflammatory factors were significantly higher compared with the control group.In terms of morphology,the MRI results showed that the L4-5 nucleus pulposus signal completely disappeared in the experimental group.Histopathological results showed that in the control group,the nucleus pulposus was intact,more notochord cells were visible,and some fiber rings were ruptured,while in the experimental group,there are fewer notochord cells and the structure of the nucleus pulposus and fibrous ring is disturbed,with the boundary disappearing.To conclude,mechanical puncture combined with tumor necrosis factor alpha and complete Freund's adjuvant can successfully establish a discogenic low back pain model in rats.This operation is simple and economical to achieve obvious disc degeneration and low back pain,with greatly shortened molding cycle.This model can be used as a reference for studying discogenic low back pain models.

Objective To investigate the role of theophylline drugs in acute exacerbation stage of chron-ic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).Methods The clinical data of 401 patients with AECOPD ad-mitted and treated in this hospital from January 2016 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into the drug group (n=308) and control group (n=93) according to whether or not u-sing theophylline drugs.The control group was given the conventional treatment,and the drug group was giv-en theophylline drugs on the basis of conventional treatment.The hospitalization duration,C-reactive protein (CRP),procalcitonin (PCT),blood routine[WBC,neutrophil,hemoglobin,hematocrit (HCT),platelet-lym-phocyte ratio (PLR),neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR),eosinophils,basophil]changes were compared between the two groups,and the parameters with differences conducted the subgroup analysis to observe the effect of different types of theophylline.Results Before treatment,there was no statistically significant differ-ence in the baseline data between the drug group and the control group,and the number of basophils between the aminophylline group and doxophylline group (P>0.05).After treatment,there was no statistically signif-icant difference in PCT,CRP,WBC,neutrophil,hemoglobin,HCT,PLR,NLR and eosinophil between the drug group and control group (P>0.05).The length of hospital stay in the drug group was shorter than that of the control group,and the basophils count was less than that of the control group,and the difference was statisti-cally significant (P<0.05).After treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the hospitaliza-tion duration in the aminophylline group and doxophylline group in the drug group subgroups (P>0.05),but the basophils count was higher than that of the doxofylline group (P<0.05).Conclusion Theophylline drugs could significantly shorten the hospitalization duration and reduce the basophils in the patients with AECO-PD.There is no significant difference in shortening the hospitalization duration between aminophylline and doxophylline,but aminophylline's effect on basophils is significantly stronger than that of doxophylline.

Although oxymatrine (OMT) has been shown to directly inhibit the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV), limited research has been done with this drug. In the present study, the antiviral effect of OMT was investigated in an immunocompetent mouse model of chronic HBV infection. The infection was achieved by tail vein injection of a large volume of DNA solution. OMT (2.2, 6.7 and 20 mg/kg) was administered by daily intraperitoneal injection for 6 weeks. The efficacy of OMT was evaluated by the levels of HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). The immunoregulatory activity of OMT was evaluated by serum ELISA and flow cytometry. Results shows that OMT at 20 mg/kg inhibited HBV replication, and it was more efficient than entecavir (ETV) in the elimination of serum HBsAg and intrahepatic HBcAg. In addition, OMT accelerated the production of interferon-(IFN-) in a dose-dependent manner in CD4T cells. Our findings demonstrate the beneficial effects of OMT on the enhancement of immunological function and in the control of HBV antigens. The findings suggest this drug to be a good antiviral therapeutic candidate for the treatment of HBV infection.