Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic value of relative lesion length in differentiating extrahepatic bile duct infiltrating cholangiocarcinoma with inflammation.Methods:From October 2014 to February 2018, 24 cases of infiltrating extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas confirmed operatively and pathologically and 23 cases of extrahepatic bile duct inflammation confirmed clinically from the Third People′s Hospital of Datong City were respectively enrolled in this study. Upper abdomen MR and/or CT image data of all patients were respectively reviewed. The extrahepatic duct wall was defined as wall thickening with obvious enhancement. The length of the lesion was measured. L lesion/L duct was referred as the ratio of the lengths of lesion to extrahepatic bile duct (common hepatic duct+common bile duct)was calculated. The difference in the average values of L lesion/L ductbetween the cholangiocarcinomas group and inflammation group was analyzed with t test, and the differential diagnostic efficacy of L lesion/L ductratio was analyzed with receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) test. Results:Significant difference was found in the length of lesion between the extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma group [(22.01±1.86) mm] and the cholangitis group [(47.36±2.81) mm] ( P<0.01). The average ratio of L lesion/L ductwere 0.26±0.02 for the cholangiocarcinomas group and 0.54±0.03 for the inflammation group, respectively ( P<0.01). The area under the ROC curve of L lesion/L duct in diagnosis of the infiltrating extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas was 0.92. With <0.40 as cut-off point, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 87.5% and 82.6%, respectively. Conclusion:The L lesion/L ductmight be taken as an important diagnostic sign in differentiation between infiltrating extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas and extrahepatic bile duct inflammation.

Objective To investigate the effect of autophagy activation on cell proliferation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).Methods HUVECs were treated with rapamycin(Rapa).Western blot assay was performed to examine the expression of protein of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3),Beclin 1 and unc-51-like kinase 1(ULK1).Autophagosomes were detected by transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and autophagy fluorescence was detected by monodansylcadaverine staining(MDC)assay.The effect of autophagy activation on cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 assay and EdU assay.Vascular formation experiments were used to detect vasculogenic ability.Results After Rapa treatment,LC3,Beclin1 and ULK1 expressions were en-hanced,while the green autophagy fluorescence expression in the experimental group was stronger than that in the control group,and autophagosomes were visible by TEM;CCK-8 and EdU results showed that compared with the control group,the cell proliferation ability was weakened and tubes formation ability was reduced after the activation of autophagy in experimental cells.Conclusion Rapa upregulates autophagy activity in HUVECs to inhibit cell proliferation under certain time.

OBJECTIVE To establish a UPLC detection method for simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid(MPA) and its glucuronide(MPAG) in plasma of rats, and to investigate gender-related pharmacokinetic characteristics of mycophenolic acid. METHODS Twelve SD rats(half male and half female) were intragastrically administrated with 90 mg·kg-1·d-1mycophenolate acetate, and blood was collected from periorbital vein at different time points after administration. Plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and drug concentrations of MPA and metabolite MPAG in plasma were determined using UPLC. The method was developed using Waters BEH C18 column. The gradient elution was performed at a flow rate of 0.35 mL·min-1 with the mobile phase acetonitrile solution (A)-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution(B). The detection wavelength was at 266 nm and column oven temperature was maintained at 40 ℃. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by using DAS 2.0 software. RESULTS The linear relationship between peak area and concentrations of MPA and MPAG were good in the ranges of 0.31-160 µg·mL-1(R2=0.999 8) and 0.62-320 µg·mL-1(R2=0.999 4), respectively. Analytical methods of MPA and MPAG all met the requirements of the methodology. Pharmacokinetic parameters AUC0-t and Cmax of MPA and MPAG in female rats were higher than that in male rats(P<0.05 or P<0.01). In addition, the metabolic rate of genistein[UDP-glucuronosyltransferases(UGT)s substrate] and MPA in male rat liver microsomes were significantly faster than that in female rat liver microsomes. CONCLUSION This developed UPLC method is sensitive, accurate and specific, which is suitable to detect the concentrations of MPA and MPAG in the plasma. The pharmacokinetics of MPA and MPAG in rats are gender different, which may be related to the sex difference of UGTs metabolic enzyme activity.

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have made COVID-19 convalescents susceptible to re-infection and have raised concern about the efficacy of inactivated vaccination in neutralization against emerging variants and antigen-specific B cell response. To this end, a study on a long-term cohort of 208 participants who have recovered from COVID-19 was conducted, and the participants were followed up at 3.3 (Visit 1), 9.2 (Visit 2), and 18.5 (Visit 3) months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. They were classified into three groups (no-vaccination (n = 54), one-dose (n = 62), and two-dose (n = 92) groups) on the basis of the administration of inactivated vaccination. The neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers against the wild-type virus continued to decrease in the no-vaccination group, but they rose significantly in the one-dose and two-dose groups, with the highest NAb titers being observed in the two-dose group at Visit 3. The NAb titers against the Delta variant for the no-vaccination, one-dose, and two-dose groups decreased by 3.3, 1.9, and 2.3 folds relative to the wild-type virus, respectively, and those against the Omicron variant decreased by 7.0, 4.0, and 3.8 folds, respectively. Similarly, the responses of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific B cells and memory B cells were boosted by the second vaccine dose. Results showed that the convalescents benefited from the administration of the inactivated vaccine (one or two doses), which enhanced neutralization against highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants and memory B cell responses. Two doses of inactivated vaccine among COVID-19 convalescents are therefore recommended for the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination guidelines and policies need to be updated.