Ojective To investigate the relationship between the serum adiponectin concentration and insulin resistance in patients with obesity and diabetic patients. Methods Fasting serum adiponectin concentration was measured by RIA in 19 normal subjects, 23 obese subjects, 31 diabetic patients without obesity and 26 diabetic patients with obesity. Results There was no significant difference in serum adiponectin concentration between nomal and obese subjects, and between type 2 diabetics without obesity and type 2 diabetics with obesity . The serum adiponectin concentrations was significantly higher in type 2 diabetics without or with obesity than that in nomal and obese subjects. There was significant difference in serum adiponectin concentration between female and male subjects. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference(WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), body fat percentage (BF%), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin sensitivity index (ISI), triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C) were significantly correlated with serum adiponectin concentration. A stepwise mulitiple linear regression analysis showed that HDL-C, FPG, WC, BF% entered the regression equation. Conclusion Serum adiponection level was associated with sex, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance.

Objective To carry out the quality control testing and evaluation for three digital mammography systems.Methods The performance of three digital mammography systems was assessed by applying methods recommended in the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis and Chinese specification for testing of quality control in X-ray mammography.The performance of X-ray generator of three digital mammography systems were tested and evaluated.CDMAM 3.4 phantom with four different thickness(30,40,50,60 mm) were exposured in DR,PCM,and CR system,respectively.The average glandular dose (AGD) value was measured and image quality figure (IQF) analysis was performed in each thickness.Results The X-ray machine performance of DR and CR was in accordance with existing standard,however the standard was inappropriate to evaluate part of X-ray machine performance of PCM system.The AGDs for system DR were 1.20,1.42,1.75 and 2.20 mGy for 30,40,50 and 60 mm PMMA thickness,respectively.The respective AGDs for system PCM and CR were 0.82,1.19,1.33,1.70 mGy and 0.59,0.88,1.47,2.19 mGy.For the same phantom thickness sequence,the IQFs were 21.36,21.57,27.25 and 30.58 for system DR,28.02,29.10,35.90,and 41.24 for system PCM,whereas they were 39.78,39.30,43.85 and 48.08 for system CR.Conclusions The AGDs of all three systems were in accordance with the values recommended in European guideline.The AGD and IQF could provide an effective way for performance assessment and constancy checks for digital mammography systems.

Objective To investigate the clinical and imaging features in patients with vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) through a comparative study in patients with ischemic stroke with or without VBD.Methods The patients with acute cerebral infarction were divided into either a VBD group or a non-VBD group according to magnetic resonance angiography.The VBD group was further divided into an anterior circulation infarction subgroup and a posterior circulation infarction subgroup.The cardiovascular risk factors,the diameter of basiar artery (BA),bifurcation height,and horizontal displacement were compared in all groups.Results A total of 269 patients with acute cerebral infarction were included,28 had VBD,accounting for 10.41％ of the patients with acute cerebral infarction during the same period.The proportion of male patients (78.6％ vs.66.8％ ;x2 =4.392,P =0.036),age (70.38 ± 10.58 years vs.62.86 ± 12.20 years; t =2.870,P =0.009),and the proportion of hypertension (89.3％ vs.47.7％ ; x2 =17.367,P =0.000) in the VBD group were significantly higher than those in the non-VBD group.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 1.248,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.137-1.371; P=0.000),hyperglycemia (OR 1.599,95％ CI 1.181-2.164; P =0.002),hypertension (OR 1.251,95％ CI 1.020-1.534; P =0.032) and increased triglyceride level (OR 1.876,95％ CT 1.021-3.445; P =0.043) were the independent risk factors for VBD,while female gender (OR 0.133,95％ CI 0.024-0.735; P =0.021) was the independent protective factor for VBD.Of the 28 cerebral infarction patients with VBD,9 had anterior circulation infarction and 19 had posterior circulation infarction.There were significant differences in BA diameter ([5.40 ± 0.49] cm vs.[6.00 ± 0.77] cm; t =2.046,P =0.041),and the proportions of high score in bifurcation height (x2 =6.768,P =0.037) and horizontal displacement (x2 =5.241,P =0.042) between the 2 groups (all P ＜0.05).The multivafiate logistic regression analysis showed that the BA bifurcation height was an independent risk factor for posterior circulation infarction (OR 1.347,95％ CI 1.069-2.457; P =0.038) in patients with VBD.Conclusions VBD accounted for 10.41％ of the patients with acute cerebral infarction during the same period.Advanced age,hyperglycemia,hypertension and increased triglyceride level were the independent risk factors for VBD.Female gender was the independent protective factors for VBD,and the BA bifurcation height was an independent risk factor for VBD occurring posterior circulation infarction.

Tumor cells leads to enhanced glucose uptake and the conversion of a larger fraction of pyruvate into lactate even under the circumstance of abundant oxygen. This phenomenon of aerobic glycolysis is known as the Warburg effect. Lactic acid, as an important tool for tumor cells to modify the tumor microenvironment, promotes the process of tumor invasion and metastasis, and contributes to tumor development by inducing and recruiting immunosuppression-related cells and molecules. Lactic acid could efflux out of the cancer cells via the monocarboxylate transporters to prevent intracellular acidification. Lactate can inhibit the cytolytic activity of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, promoting the differentiation of tolerogenic interleukin 10 (IL-10)-producing dendritic cells. Moreover, the lactate-derived lactylation of histone lysine residues can promote macrophage polarization toward the M2-like phenotype, suppressing the immune response within the tumor microenvironment. In this review, we discuss the role of lactate as an immunosuppressor molecule that contributes to tumor evasion from the aspects of lactic acid metabolism and its effect on immune cells. And we explore the possibility of targeting potential targets in lactate metabolism for tumor treatment. At last, we proposed a tumor immunotherapy strategy by inhibiting the pathway of aerobic glycolysis and proteins associated with the production and transport of lactic acid.

As an essential amino acid, tryptophan (Trp) has various physiological functions and is of great significance in the metabolic process of tumors. In the human body, tryptophan is mainly transformed through kynurenine metabolic pathway, which not only promotes the inherent malignant properties of tumor cells, but also leads to immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. Changes in tryptophan metabolism often occur in tumors, accompanied by abnormal gene expression of tryptophan-related enzymes, among which indoleamine 2,3-bioxygenase (IDO)-related gene expression and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO)-related gene changes are the most significant. A large number of clinical trials on IDO inhibitors, TDO inhibitors and combination therapy have been carried out. This paper reviewed the tryptophan metabolic pathway, regulation of IDO (TDO), kynurenine (KYN) and other related genes in tumor cells, and outlined the development of therapeutic schedule targeting tryptophan-related genes. The new progress provides new ideas for the further exploration of tumor treatment options.

italic>γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a crucial inhibitory neurotransmitter found in various cells in the human body. While the GABAergic system is typically associated with the nervous system, recent research has revealed that immune cells and tumor cells also express components of this system. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), GABA is secreted to act extracellularly on other cells. GABA is metabolized via the GABA shunt and is involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle by generating succinate, which can provide energy for tumor cells. Activation of GABA receptors (GABARs) is a major pathway through which GABA participates in the regulation of antitumor immune responses. The activation of GABA type A receptors (GABA_ARs) can inhibit the activation and proliferation of T cells, elicit anti-inflammatory macrophages, and promote tumor cell growth and migration, while activation of GABA type B receptors (GABA_BRs) is generally considered to inhibit cancer cell migration and induce cancer cell apoptosis. In general, receptor activation inhibits immune cells, but the effect on tumor cells varies. Additionally, the downregulation of the expression levels of GABA transporters (GATs) is involved in tumor progression. Although antagonists of GABA metabolism and drugs that act on GABA receptors are considered therapeutic drugs for tumors, there have been few clinical studies conducted on them.

Objective To explore the efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib in combination with interferon-α-2b for Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Methods Seventeen pa-tients with unreseetable metastatic renal cell carcinoma were enrolled and received sorafenib in combi-nation with interferon-α-2b. Sorafenib was continuously given at the dose of 400 mg twice per day, in-terferon-α-2b 300 MIU subscutaneously once per day for 5 d each week, until disease progression or intolerable toxieities occurred. Tumor responses were evaluated every two months by response evalua-tion criteria in solid tumor. Results The median treatment duration was 120(51-442)d. All 17 pa-tients were evaluable for efficacy and safety. Five patients achieved partial responses (PR), 1 uncon-firmed PR,9 stable diseases. Two patients had progressed diseases. The overall response rate was 29%(5/17)with the disease control rate of 88%(15/17). Due to short-time follow up, the median progression free and overall survival time were not yet available. The common side effects included: fever 82%(14/17), diarrhea 82%(14/17), hand-foot syndrome 71%(12/17), asthenia 65%(11/17), rash 53%(9/17), alopecia 41% (7/17), mucosities 41% (7/17), hypertension 29% (5/17), anorexia 24% (4/17), hoarseness 24% (4/17), myalgia 24 % (4/17), nausea/vomiting 12 % (2/17) and headach/ dizzle 12%(2/17). Eleven (65%) out of 17 patients developed neutropenia, 5(29%) thrombocytope-nia and 5 (29%)anemia. Four(24%) out of 17 patients had abnormally elevated ALT/AST. Conclu-sion Sorafenib in combination with interferon-α-2b for metastatic renal cell carcinoma improves re-sponse rate with manageable toxicity.

The degradation of chlorinated organic compounds by zerovalent iron is an effective technique which is popular in recent years.In the present paper,the recent researches on the technique were reviewed including the reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic compounds by using the zerovalent iron and the factors which affect the degradation,especially the influence of DO,Cl~- and Fe~(2+),and the perspective of application of the technique was presented.

AIM:To examine the difference of vascular remodeling between aorta and small artery in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) and control rats.METHODS:Male SHR (20-week-old) were used as experiment group,and age matched male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as control group.The systolic blood pressure and body weight were measured once a week.At 43 weeks old,the rats were anaesthetized,blood samples were collected,and thoracic aorta and mesenteric small artery tissue were harvested.The morphological changes of the arterial tissue were observed with HE staining.The collagen and elastine fibers were detected by the Sirius red-Victoria blue staining.The protein expression of type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagens were analyzed by confocal laser-scanning microscopy and Western blot.The changes of the vascular ultrastructure were imaged by transmission electron microscopy.The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and the cell apoptosis in the arterial wall were examined by immunohistochemical method and TdT-mediated dUTP nick and labeling (TUNEL) detection.RESULTS:The inner diameter (ID) and luminal cross-sectional area (LCSA) of mesenteric small artery were decreased,whereas ratio of wall thickness (WT) to ID (WT/ID) and ratio of wall cross-sectional area (WCSA) to LCSA (WCSA/LCSA) were increased.Meanwhile,adventitia fibroblast migrated to the nedia,with overload collagens,especially collagen Ⅲ.Proliferation index (PI) and apoptotic index (AI) of the mesenteric small artery wall cells were increased.The ID,LCSA,WT/ID and WCSA/LCSA of the aorta were increased.Moreover,the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) showed hypertrophy and hyperplasia,with overload collagens.The PI and AI of the aortic wall cells were increased.CONCLUSION:The difference of vascular remodeling between the aorta and small artery is significant.The small artery mainly appears hyperplasia of matrix,especially the adventitial collagen Ⅲ.Meanwhile,the cell apoptosis in the small artery wall is increased.The aorta mainly appears hyperplasia and hypertrophy of media VSMCs.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of low-dose decitabine (DAC) in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients with intermediate-or high-risk. Methods Low-dose DAC (10 mg/d, 7 days) combined with CAG regimen were given to 19 elderly patients with AML and intermediate- or high-risk MDS patients. The efficacy and adverse reactions were evaluated after a course of treatment, and the patients were followed up for survival. Results After a course of treatment, 8 patients achieved complete remission (CR), 7 patients achieved partial remission (PR). After 4 courses of treatment, 68.4 % (13/19) of patients achieved CR, the overall response rate reached 78.9% (15/19). Fewer side effects were seen associated with chemotherapy. After 42 months of follow-up, there were 12 survival cases, the median survival time was 13.5 months (3-42 months). Conclusion Low-dose DAC combined with CAG regimen have a better efficacy, higher safety, and lower economic burden for elderly AML patients and intermediate- or high-risk MDS patients, which is beneficial to greatly improve patients' compliance.