Objective:To investigate the values of immunophenotype and the Collagen type1 alpha1/Proto-oncogene Proteins c-sis (COL1A1/PDGFB) fusion gene in the diagnosis of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). Methods:IHC markers and the COL1A1/PDGFB fusion gene were detected by IHC staining and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 73 cases previously diagnosed as DFSP. A total of 85 and 10 non-DFSP cases were also included as controls for IHC staining and FISH, respectively. Results:In the 73 DFSP cases, the positive detection rates for immunohistochemical marker vimentin, CD34, CD99, S100, desmin and SMA were 100%, 91.78%, 61.64%, 0, 0, and 6.85%, correspondingly. Protein expression levels in these cases varied from the control group, and CD34 ex-pression was significantly different among the differential diagnoses. The positive detection rate for the COL1A1/PDGFB fusion gene was 86.96%(60/69), whereas the gene expression in the control group was negative. Conclusion:The COL1A1/PDGFB fusion gene is a highly specific and sensitive marker in the diagnosis of DFSP. CD34 is a suitable marker for DFSP.

More than 20 protein bands with molecular weights of 19—175 KD in 18 strains of Ureaplosma urealyticum were detected by SDS-PAGE and thin layer scanning analysis. The molecular weights of major proteins were between 32 KD and 140 KD. Among them, the percentages of 67, 78 and 140 KD proteins were similar in all strains, but those of 32, 43 and 94 KD proteins were greatly different. Thus, Ureaplasma urealyticum can be divided into two groups: group A including serovars 2,5,7,9,10,11,12, and local isolates C,D, E, F; group B including serovars 1,3,6,13,14, and local isolates A, B. The serovars of Ureaplasma urealyticum could not be distinguished by using SDS-PAGE alone.

Background:Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in early stage with early intervention may stabilize disease progression, avoiding or delaying the occurrence of decompensation. Seeking non-invasive serum biomarkers is becoming an important topic in the diagnosis and assessment of liver cirrhosis. Aims:To study the value of serum miR-192 and miR-29a as non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Methods:Differentially expressed serum miRNAs between patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy controls were screened through online literature retrieval and then confirmed by real-time PCR. Serum levels of two confirmed miRNAs,miR-192 and miR-29a were analyzed in 120 patients with liver cirrhosis and 76 healthy volunteers by real-time PCR. A mathematical model of combined detection of miR-192 and miR-29a for diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was established by binary logistic regression. The diagnostic performance of various non-invasive serum indicators was evaluated by ROC curve analysis. Results:Compared with healthy controls,expression level of serum miR-192 in cirrhotic patients was significantly increased and that of serum miR-29a was significantly reduced(P ﹤ 0. 001). The diagnostic performance of risk score obtained from mathematical model of combined detection of serum miR-192 and miR-29a was superior to that of single miRNA detection or other non-invasive serum indicators,such as APRI,FIB-4 and ARR,the areas under ROC curve of the above mentioned indicators were 0. 968,0. 887,0. 933,0. 796,0. 793,and 0. 571,respectively. Serum levels of miR-192,miR-29a and the risk score of their combined detection were significantly correlated with the stage of liver cirrhosis according to the Child-Pugh classification( P ﹤ 0. 05). Conclusions:Serum miR-192,miR-29a and the risk score of their combined detection might be novel non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and assessment of liver cirrhosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of tube voltage and iodine concentration of contrast medium (CM) on abdominal dynamic enhanced CT image quality.Methods Six miniature pigs underwent repeated upper abdomen dynamic contrast-enhanced CT scans in 4 scanning protocols with different concentration of CM and tube voltage,namely,protocol 1,CM with iodine concentration of 270 milligrams iodine per milliliter (mg/ml) and 80 kV tube voltage;protocol 2,270 mg/ml and 120 kV;protocol 3,370 mg/ml and 80 kV and protocol 4,370 mg/ml and 120 kV.The same iodine dose (600 mg/ml) and iodine delivery rate (IDR) (920 mg/s) were used in all protocols.The CM with iodine concentration of 270 mg/ml were injected at a flow rate of 3.4 ml/s,and 370 mg/ml CM injected at 2.5 ml/s.Image reconstruction was performed with iterative reconstruction (iDose4) in protocol 1 and 3,filtered back projection (FBP) was used in protocol 2 and 4.A subjective scoring system for image quality,image noise and sharpness was conducted by 2 radiologists independently.The measured values (peak of enhanced CT values,image noise of aorta,inferior vena cava,portal vein,hepatic vein and liver parenchyma) as well as the calculated values [their time-to-peak,signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise (CNR) ratios] were compared between among 4 protocols.The CT volume dose index (CDTIvol) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded from the CT console after each scanning.Factorial designed ANOVA was used for comparison of enhanced CT values of vessels and liver parenchyma,noise,SNR and CNR.The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for comparison of values among the 4 protocols,including the time-to-peak enhancement of vessels and liver parenchyma,the subjective scores of image quality indices.Result There was no significant differences in subjective scores of the image quality,image noise and image sharpness (P＞0.05).The scored were more than 3,and the images with 4 scanning protocols were all acceptable for diagnosis.There was no significant differences between protocol 1 and 3,protocol 2 and 4 in the peak enhancement CT values of aorta [(729±46) HU vs.(707±59)HU,(515±84)HU vs.(513±53)HU],inferior vena cava [(366±95)HU vs.(368±92)HU,(282±39)HU vs.(262 ± 67)HU],portal vein [(213± 18)HU vs.(201 ±29)HU,(180±21)HU vs.(176±27)HU],hepatic vein [(207±18)HU vs.(193±10)HU,(179±24)HU vs.(170±14)HU] and liver parenchyma [(128±7) HU vs.(127±4) HU,(135±5)HU vs.(135±6)HU] (P＞0.05).But the CT values of vessels (aorta,inferior vena cava,portal vein and hepatic vein) in protocol 1 and 3 were significantly higher than those in protocol 2 and 4 (P＜0.05),the CT values of liver parenchyma in protocol 1 and 3 were significantly lower than values in protocol 2 and 4 (P＜0.05).The image noises of vessels were higher in protocol 1 and 3 than noises in other protocols (P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference in liver parenchyma noise among protocols (P＞0.05).No significant differences were observed on the peak times,SNR and CNR in aorta,inferior vena cava,portal vein,hepatic vein and liver parenchyma among 4 protocols (P＞0.05).The CDTIvol and DLP were 199.67 mGy,1 597.4 mGy· cm respectively in protocol 1 and 3,585.12 mGy and 4 680.9 mGy· cm in protocol 2 and 4 (scanning with 120 kV).Conclusions CM with different iodinated concentration could achieve the same enhancement in the abdominal vessels and liver parenchyma by using the proper scan protocols,which have the same IDR and iodine dose per kilogram body weight.Higher vessel enhanced peak values were achieved when using the protocols with 80 kV tube voltage than 120 kV.By using a low dose protocol of 80 kV tube voltage with the iterative reconstruction algorithm,the quality of image can be warranted.

Objective To investigate the P2X3 receptor expression in L6-S1 dorsal root ganglion (DRG)and bladder detrusor in a rat model of neurogenic bladder and urethra. Methods Eighty Sprague-Dawley rats wererecruited and randomly divided into a sacral injury group, a suprasacral injury group and a control group. Spinal tran-section was performed to establish the animal model of neurogenic bladder and urethra in rats of the sacral injurygroup and suprasacral injury group. Check the P2X3 receptor expression in DBG and bladder detrusor among thethree groups by Western blot test at 20 days after model establishment. Results P2X3 receptor expression in L6-S1DRG of sacral injury group was significantly less than that of the suprasacral injury group, which was in turn signifi-cantly higher than that of the control group. P2X3 receptor expression in bladder detrusor of sacral injury group wassignificantly lower than that of the suprasacral injury group, which was in turn significantly higher than that of thecontrol group. Conclusion There was close relationship between P2X3 receptor expression and dysfunction of blad-der and urethra.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the frequency of USP6 gene rearrangement in nodular fasciitis (NF) and to evaluate its clinical application.

METHODSTwenty nine cases of previously diagnosed NF were screened for the presence of the USP6 gene rearrangement by interphase fluorescence-in-situ hybridization (FISH) on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Fifteen of these cases, which had available tissue, were also analysed for MYH9-USP6 fusion transcripts by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSTwenty four of the 29 cases (83%) were positive for the USP6 gene rearrangement by interphase FISH. The 15 cases with RT-PCR showed the following results: 11 positive, one deletion and three negative for USP6 gene rearrangement. Of these 15 cases, eight (8/15) showed MYH9-USP6 fusion transcript by RT-PCR. Of these eight cases, seven were positive for USP6 gene rearrangement and one showed USP6 deletion by FISH.

CONCLUSIONSUSP6 gene rearrangement is a recurrent genetic event in NF. It is a valuable ancillary tool for the pathological diagnosis of these lesions.

Fasciitis ; genetics ; Gene Rearrangement ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Interphase ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Translocation, Genetic ; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase ; genetics

Objective:To investigate the application value of baseline MRI multi-parametric imaging radiomics in prediction of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCR) efficacy of rectal mucinous adenocarcinoma (RMAC).Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from August 2012 to October 2018. A total of 79 patients were included in this study, including 52 males and 27 females, aged 20-78 years (median age 52 years). According to the classification criteria of pathological regression, all patients were divided into NCR responsiveness group ( n=31) and nonresponsiveness group ( n=48). And 701 imaging features of T 2WI, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and enhanced T 1WI images of baseline MRI were extracted, and feature subsets were selected by repeatability analysis and feature dimensionality reduction to construct the radiomics prediction model. The tumor features from baseline MRI between the NCR responsiveness group and the nonresponsiveness group were compared, and the features of P<0.05 were combined with the radiomics to construct a model. Using pathology as the gold standard, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the prediction model, and the area under the curve (AUC), 95% confidence interval, sensitivity and specificity were calculated, and the DeLong test was used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of different prediction models. Results:By comparing the conventional tumor imaging characteristics of the NCR responsiveness group and the nonresponsiveness group, the differences in lymph node stage and mucinous nodule status between the two groups were statistically significant (χ2 =6.040, 5.870, P<0.05). The AUC of ROC curves based on T 2WI, DWI, and enhanced T 1WI radiomics were 0.816, 0.821, and 0.819, respectively, which were higher than those of conventional tumor characteristics (lymph node staging, mucinous nodule status) (AUC=0.607), and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=-2.391, -2.580 and -2.717, P<0.05). Among the joint prediction models of T 2WI, DWI and contrast-enhanced T 1WI radiomics and conventional tumor features, the DWI combined model had the largest AUC (0.843), and there was no statistically significant difference between the three combined models (all P>0.05). Conclusion:The baseline T 2WI, DWI, and contrast-enhanced T 1WI radiomics model can be used to predict the NCR efficacy of RMAC, which is better than the predictive efficacy of conventional features, and the combination with conventional features can further improve the predictive efficacy.

To build a CT-based radiomics predictive mode to evaluate the differentiation degree of the esophageal squamous carcinoma.
 Methods: A total of 160 patients with surgical pathology, complete clinical data and chest CT scanning before operation were retrospectively collected from January 2008 to August 2016. All patients were assigned randomly to a primary data set and an independent validation. Texture analysis was performed on CT images, while the carcinomas were performed by manual segmentation to extract the radiomics features. Radiomics features were extracted and 9 radiomics signatures were finally selected after dimension reduction. Radiomics features were extracted and established via Matlab. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to build the predictive model. A 10-fold cross-validation was used for selecting parameters in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) model by minimum criteria. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under ROC curve (AUC) were used to compare the model performance in the primary validation and the independent validation for evaluating the differentiation degree of esophageal squamous carcinoma.
 Results: Radiomics signature showed great effect in discriminating primary data set and independent validation. The predictive model had a good performance in primary data set. The AUC was 0.791, the sensitivity was 81.6%, and specificity was 72.3%. In the independent validation, the AUC was 0.757, the sensitivity was 70.0%, and the specificity was 73.0%.
 Conclusion: The predictive model can be used for evaluating the differentiation degree of esophageal squamous carcinoma efficiently, which can be helpful to clinicians in diagnosis and choice of treatment for esophageal squamous carcinoma.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Humans ; ROC Curve ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective:To study the patterns of tocilizumab (TCZ) use, its efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in routine clinical practice.Methods:A total of 407 patients with RA were enrolled from 23 centers and treated with TCZ within 8 weeks prior to the enrollment visit, and were followed for 6-month. The patterns of TCZ treatment at 6 months, the effectiveness and safety outcomes were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS version 9.4.Results:A total of 396 patients were included for analysis, in which 330 (83.3%) patients received TCZ combined with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), and 16.7%(66/396) received TCZ monotherapy. At baseline, TCZ was initiated in 56.6%(224/396) and 9.6%(38/396) of patients after failure of DMARDs and other biological agents (bDMARDs) respectively. During the 6-month follow-up period, the mean frequency of TCZ administration was (3.7±1.6), the mean TCZ dosage was (7.4±1.2) mg/kg, and the mean interval between doses was (40±13) days. 120(25.8%) patients were on TCZ treatment at the end of the study. Improvements in disease activity, systemic symptoms and patient report outcomes were observed at the end of the study. 22.7%(90/396) patients experienced at least one treatment related adverse event, and 8 patients experienced at least one serious adverse event.Conclusion:This study demonstrates that TCZ treatment is effective in patients with RA when being treated for 6 months with an acceptable safety profile. The duration of TCZ treatment needs to be extended.

The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is considered an immune privileged system as it is separated from the periphery by the blood brain barrier (BBB). Yet, immune functions have been postulated to heavily influence the functional state of the CNS, especially after injury or during neurodegeneration. There is controversy regarding whether adaptive immune responses are beneficial or detrimental to CNS injury repair. In this study, we utilized immunocompromised SCID mice and subjected them to spinal cord injury (SCI). We analyzed motor function, electrophysiology, histochemistry, and performed unbiased RNA-sequencing. SCID mice displayed improved CNS functional recovery compared to WT mice after SCI. Weighted gene-coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) of spinal cord transcriptomes revealed that SCID mice had reduced expression of immune function-related genes and heightened expression of neural transmission-related genes after SCI, which was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis and was consistent with better functional recovery. Transcriptomic analyses also indicated heightened expression of neurotransmission-related genes before injury in SCID mice, suggesting that a steady state of immune-deficiency potentially led to CNS hyper-connectivity. Consequently, SCID mice without injury demonstrated worse performance in Morris water maze test. Taken together, not only reduced inflammation after injury but also dampened steady-state immune function without injury heightened the neurotransmission program, resulting in better or worse behavioral outcomes respectively. This study revealed the intricate relationship between immune and nervous systems, raising the possibility for therapeutic manipulation of neural function via immune modulation.