Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of rubber band-assisted endoscopic submucosal excavation (RB-ESE) for gastric submucosal tumors (SMT).Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on data of gastric SMT patients who underwent ESE in Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from January 2017 to August 2022. A total of 48 patients were selected and divided into two groups: RB-ESE group ( n=20) and the conventional ESE (C-ESE) group ( n=28). The operation time, bleeding rate and perforation rate during operation, the retention rate of the mucosal cap, the number of clips, postoperative complications, and the hospitalization time were analyzed. Additionally, correlations between complications and tumor size/location and between bleeding and perforation were evaluated. Results:No significant difference was found in the general conditions between the two groups ( P>0.05). The operation time of RB-ESE group (14.82±2.31 min) was significantly shorter than that of C-ESE group (23.70±3.67 min) ( t=-9.539, P<0.001). The intraoperative bleeding rates were 20.0% (4/20) and 42.9% (12/28) in the RB-ESE group and C-ESE group respectively ( χ2=2.743, P=0.098), while the intraoperative perforation rates were 25.0% (5/20) and 46.4% (13/28) respectively ( χ2=2.286, P=0.131). Furthermore, the mucosal cap preservation rate was notably higher in the RB-ESE group at 60.0% (12/20) compared with 7.1% (2/28) in the C-ESE group ( χ2=15.777, P<0.001). The number of clips applied to close the wound was 8.05±1.40 and 10.43±1.96 in the RB-ESE group and C-ESE group respectively ( t=4.925, P<0.001). The postoperative hospital stays were 4.35±0.75 days and 5.00±0.86 days respectively in two groups ( t=2.724, P=0.009). No postoperative bleeding or perforation occurred in either group. The results showed that the occurrence of perforation and bleeding were associated with tumor diameter. Patients with tumor size ≥2 cm showed increased proportions of intraoperative bleeding [68.4% (13/19), P<0.001] and perforation [78.9% (15/19), P<0.001]. There was a correlation between intraoperative bleeding and perforation ( P<0.001). Conclusion:RB-ESE proves to be an effective and safe approach for managing gastric SMT, offering advantages such as reduced operation time and hospital stays, improved retention of the mucosal cap post-operation, and less clips use. The results suggest that RB-ESE could be widely adopted for treating SMT.

Objective To investigate the differences in the influencing factors for acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) and infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) between Eastern and Western countries, and to provide a theoretical basis for the prediction and prevention of ANP. Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for articles on the influencing factors for ANP and IPN published up to January 21, 2021, and a Meta-analysis was performed. Results A total of 59 studies were included, with 22 studies from Eastern countries and 37 studies from Western countries.The Meta-analysis showed that in Eastern countries, male sex (odds ratio[ OR ]=1.51, 95% confidence interval[ CI ]: 1.18-1.91, P < 0.01), C-reactive protein (CRP)(standardized mean difference[ SMD ]=1.39, 95% CI : 1.06-1.71, P < 0.01), D-dimer ( SMD =0.44, 95% CI : 0.07-0.81, P =0.02), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE-Ⅱ) score (mean difference[ MD ]=3.51, 95% CI : 1.38-5.64, P < 0.01), alcoholic etiology ( OR =3.57, 95% CI : 2.68-4.75, P < 0.01), and biliary etiology ( OR =0.60, 95% CI : 0.46-0.77, P < 0.01) were the influencing factors for ANP, and in Western countries, male sex ( OR =1.63, 95% CI : 1.30-2.05, P < 0.01), CRP ( SMD =2.09, 95% CI : 1.12-3.05, P < 0.01), APACHE-Ⅱ score ( MD =4.28, 95% CI : 2.73-5.83, P < 0.01), Ranson score ( MD =2.99, 95% CI : 2.50-3.47, P < 0.01), and organ failure ( OR =10.87, 95% CI : 2.62-45.04, P < 0.01) were the influencing factors for ANP.In Eastern countries, age ( MD =2.16, 95% CI : 0.43-3.89, P =0.01), body mass index (BMI)( MD =1.74, 95% CI : 1.23-2.25, P < 0.01), albumin level ( SMD =-0.43, 95% CI : -0.75 to-0.12, P < 0.01), CRP ( SMD =0.58, 95% CI : 0.04-1.11, P =0.03), procalcitonin ( SMD =0.80, 95% CI : 0.56-1.04, P < 0.01), D-dimer ( MD =0.23, 95% CI : 0.15-0.31, P < 0.01), APACHE-Ⅱ score ( MD =2.47, 95% CI : 0.73-4.22, P < 0.01), Ranson score ( MD =1.60, 95% CI : 1.46-1.73, P < 0.01), and extent of necrosis ≥30%( OR =2.52, 95% CI : 1.26-5.06, P < 0.01) were the influencing factors for IPN, while in Western countries, age ( MD =4.07, 95% CI : 1.82-6.31, P < 0.01), APACHE-Ⅱ score ( MD =3.28, 95% CI : 1.39-5.17, P < 0.01), Ranson score ( MD =2.18, 95% CI : 1.75-2.62, P < 0.01), SIRS score ( OR =3.88, 95% CI : 1.58-9.51, P < 0.01), alcoholic etiology ( OR =0.61, 95% CI : 0.42-0.87, P < 0.01), and organ failure ( OR =3.63, 95% CI : 1.11-11.92, P =0.03) were the influencing factors for IPN. Conclusion Current evidence shows that biliary etiology and alcoholic etiology are unique influencing factors for ANP in the Eastern population, while Ranson score is a unique influencing factor in the Western population.BMI and extent of necrosis ≥30% are unique influencing factors for IPN in the Eastern population, while alcoholic etiology is a unique influencing factor in the Western population.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in the assessment of acute pancreatitis (AP).Methods:598 patients diagnosed with AP admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University between January 2016 and December 2020 were recruited and divided into severe acute pancreatitis group (SAP group, n=57) and non-severe acute pancreatitis group (non SAP group, n=541) according to the Atlanta Classification (2012 revision). General clinical data and related biochemical indicators of all enrolled patients were collected, and Bedside Index of Acute Pancreatitis Severity (BISAP) score, Ranson score and CT Severity Index (CTSI) score were performed. The risk factors of SAP were analyzed by logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the evaluation value of AIP and various scoring systems on the severity of pancreatitis. Results:The AIP, white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil count (NEUT), fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum total cholesterol (TC) level, proportion of hyperlipidemia, proportion of diabetes, Ranson score, BISAP score, CTSI score of patients in SAP group were higher than those in non SAP group, and the difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that AIP was an independent risk factor for SAP ( P<0.05). ROC curve showed that the are under the curve (AUC) of SAP predicted by AIP was 0.706(95% CI: 0.631-0.782, P<0.001). Conclusions:AIP is an independent risk factor for SAP, which helps to assess the severity of AP.

Background: The systemic immune inflammation index (SII) is a reproducible biomarker of inflammatory process. Aims: To explore the predictive value of SII for severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods: A total of 406 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) from Jan. 2013 to Dec. 2020 at Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University were collected, and were divided into SAP group and non SAP group. ROC curve was drawn to evaluate the value of SII, NLR, PLR, CAR for predicting SAP. Results: Compared with non‑SAP group, SII, NLR, PLR, CAR were significantly increased in SAP group (P<0.05). When the best cut‑off value was 1 705.83, AUC of SII for predicting SAP was 0.754, the sensitivity was 75.47%, and the specificity was 69.12%. AUC of SII for predicting SAP was higher than that of PLR, CAR (Z=2.647, P=0.007; Z= 2.616, P=0.008), while no significant difference was found between SII and NLR (P>0.05). And no significant difference in AUC was found between PLR and CAR (P>0.05). Conclusions: SII is a good new hematological index that can be used to predict the severity of AP, its predictive ability is similar to NLR, better than PLR and CAR.

Objective:To explore the relationships between sarcopenia and the clinical efficacy and prognosis of elderly patients with esophageal cancer who were treated by radical radiotherapy.Methods:The clinicopathological data of 134 elderly patients with esophageal cancer who received radical radiotherapy in Department of Radiotherapy, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from January 2013 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The muscle cross-sectional area at the level of the third lumbar vertebra was measured by using computed tomography (CT) images. These patients were divided into sarcopenia group ( n=56) and non-sarcopenia group ( n=78) according to the skeletal muscle index before radiotherapy. The efficacy and incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were compared. Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the survival curve, and Cox regression model was used to analyze prognostic factors. Results:There was a significant difference in the objective response rate between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia group at 1 month after radiotherapy [53.57% (30/56) vs. 71.79% (56/78) , χ2=4.71, P=0.030]. There was no significant difference in the disease control rate between the two groups [94.64% (53/56) vs. 91.03% (71/78) , χ2=0.21, P=0.651]. There was a significant difference in the total incidence of adverse reactions between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia group [67.86% (38/56) vs. 47.44% (37/78) , χ2=5.52, P=0.019]. By the end of the follow-up, the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of 134 elderly patients with esophageal cancer who received radical radiotherapy were 91.0%, 73.1% and 55.2% respectively. The median OS of patients in the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia group were 14 months and 26 months respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( χ2=9.84, P=0.002) . The median progression-free survival (PFS) of the two groups were 7 months and 18 months respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( χ2=9.91, P=0.002) . Univariate analysis showed that cT stage ( HR=2.45, 95% CI: 1.26-4.74, P=0.008) , cN stage ( HR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.06-2.50, P=0.027) , cTNM stage ( HR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.28-3.27, P=0.003) , body mass index (BMI) ( HR=2.23, 95% CI: 1.01-4.90, P=0.046) , pre-radiotherapy sarcopenia ( HR=2.45, 95% CI: 1.27-4.72, P=0.007) and chemotherapy ( HR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.11-0.83, P=0.020) were prognostic factors for OS; cT stage ( HR=2.27, 95% CI: 1.18-4.39, P=0.015) , cN stage ( HR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.04-2.47, P=0.030) , cTNM stage ( HR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.19-3.02, P=0.007) , BMI ( HR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.06-3.79, P=0.032) , pre-radiotherapy sarcopenia ( HR=1.79, 95% CI: 1.06-3.04, P=0.031) and adverse reactions ( HR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.38-0.97, P=0.037) were prognostic factors for PFS. Multivariate analysis showed that pre-radiotherapy sarcopenia ( HR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.22-3.00, P=0.005) was an independent prognostic factor for OS; BMI ( HR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.03-3.15, P=0.039) and pre-radiotherapy sarcopenia ( HR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.27-3.14, P=0.003) were independent prognostic factors for PFS. Conclusion:Sarcopenia before radiotherapy can be a useful predictor for prognosis in elderly patients with esophageal cancer who received radical radiotherapy, and patients with sarcopenia benefit less from treatment.

Objective:To explore the relationship between lipid accumulation product (LAP) and disease activity, nutritional status in patients with Crohn disease (CD).Methods:The clinical data of 74 patients with CD in the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from July 2020 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into active group (32 cases) and remission group (42 cases) according to simplified Crohn disease activity index (CDAI). The general clinical data, laboratory examination results and body fat indexes were recorded, body fat indexes including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, LAP and nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS2002) score. Spearman method was used for correlation analysis; the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to analyze the efficacy of LAP in predicting the disease activity and nutritional status in patients with CD.Results:The proportion of males, body weight, hemoglobin, albumin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in active group were significantly lower than those in remission group: 46.9% (15/32) vs. 71.4% (30/42), (53.58 ± 8.13) kg vs. (61.05 ± 9.38) kg, (109.94 ± 23.70) g/L vs. (134.19 ± 18.03) g/L, (34.01 ± 5.71) g/L vs. (39.15 ± 4.27) g/L, (3.23 ± 0.68) mmol/L vs. (3.66 ± 0.74) mmol/L, (1.12 ± 0.36) mmol/L vs. (1.34 ± 0.55) mmol/L and (0.91 ± 0.23) mmol/L vs. (1.04 ± 0.33) mmol/L, the nutritional risk rate, platelet count, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were significantly higher than those in remission group: 68.8% (22/32) vs. 19.0% (8/42), (317.97 ± 130.19) ×10 9/L vs. (194.00 ± 51.91) × 10 9/L, 14.15 (6.15, 41.35) mg/L vs. 1.51 (0.22, 5.58) mg/L and 40.00 (20.50, 64.25) mm/1 h vs. 9.00 (3.00, 20.00) mm/1 h, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01 or <0.05); there were no statistical difference in age, height, total protein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol between the two groups ( P>0.05). The BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and LAP in active group were significantly lower than those in remission group: 19.46 (17.70, 21.45) kg/m 2 vs. 21.08 (18.87, 23.12) kg/m 2, (72.51 ± 5.92) cm vs. (77.67 ± 7.27) cm, 0.44 ± 0.03 vs. 0.46 ± 0.04, 13.42 (5.07, 17.72) cm·mmol/L vs. 15.49 (9.37, 31.71) cm·mmol/L, the NRS2002 was significantly higher than that in remission group: 3.00 (1.00, 3.75) scores vs. 1.00 (0, 2.00) scores, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01 or <0.05). Spearman correlation analysis result showed that LAP was positively correlated with BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio ( r = 0.701, 0.766 and 0.829; P<0.01); LAP was negatively correlated with NRS2002 score, platelet count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( r =- 0.609, - 0.249 and - 0.243; P<0.01 or<0.05). ROC curve analysis result showed that the areas under the curve of LAP predicting disease remission and nutritional status improvement in patients with CD were 0.645 and 0.832 (95% CI 0.520 to 0.770 and 0.739 to 0.925), the best cut-off values were 20.89 and 12.86 cm·mmol/L, the sensitivities were 45.2% and 81.8%, and the specificities were 87.5% and 73.3%. Conclusions:LAP has good predictive value for disease remission and nutritional status improvement in patients with CD.

In recent years,with the change of lifestyle in China, hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) has been the second leading cause of acute pancreatitis (AP). Recent studies have shown that HTG has long-lasting influences on AP onset (including recurrence), AP severity, as well as pancreatic regeneration. However, the underlying mechanisms of HTG-AP is still unclear, mainly focusing on free fatty acid, microcirculation disturbance, calcium overload, oxidative stress, gene polymorphism and so on. However, there is lack of effective intervention for the diagnosis and treatment of HTG-AP, which needs further study.

Pancreatic fatty infiltration is defined as the deposition of excess adipose tissue (mainly consisting of triacylglyceride ) in the pancreas.Epidemiological studies have revealed that the prevalence of pancreatic fatty infiltration is high , but the research is still at a preliminary stage and there is no consensus on the relevant pathophysiological mechanisms so far .The diagnosis of pancreatic fatty infiltration relies on histopathologic examination and imaging techniques .This article reviews the recent research advances on the pancreatic fat infiltration in order to improve our understanding of the disease .

Objective To analyze the effect of angiopoietin-like protein 4(ANGPTL4) on M2 macrophage differentiation.Methods The frequency of M2 macrophages in spleen of ANGPTL 4-/-mice and the controls was detected by flow cytometry.And the changes of M2 macrophages was measured by LPS stimulation.F4/80 + macrophages was separated by flow cytometry and treated with LPS or recombinant ANGPTL 4 protein.The secretion of IL-4 in CD4 + T cells was observed after purified macrophages after co-culture with CD4 + T cells by the flow-cytometric intracellular staining method.Results There was no significant difference in the frequency of M2 macrophages in ANGPTL 4-/-mice and controls.LPS stimulation did not affect the expression of M2 macrophages from ANGPTL 4-/-mice.The macrophages from ANGPTL 4/-mice did not promote differentiation of CD4 + T cells into Th2 cells.After co-culturing of macrophages and CD4 + T cells for 48 h in vitro,IL-4 secretion of CD4 + T cells was not changed.Conclusions ANGPTL4 has no effects on M2 macrophage differentiation.

Objective To analyze the effect of angiopoietin-like protein 4(ANGPTL4) on M2 macrophage differentiation.Methods The frequency of M2 macrophages in spleen of ANGPTL 4-/-mice and the controls was detected by flow cytometry.And the changes of M2 macrophages was measured by LPS stimulation.F4/80 + macrophages was separated by flow cytometry and treated with LPS or recombinant ANGPTL 4 protein.The secretion of IL-4 in CD4 + T cells was observed after purified macrophages after co-culture with CD4 + T cells by the flow-cytometric intracellular staining method.Results There was no significant difference in the frequency of M2 macrophages in ANGPTL 4-/-mice and controls.LPS stimulation did not affect the expression of M2 macrophages from ANGPTL 4-/-mice.The macrophages from ANGPTL 4/-mice did not promote differentiation of CD4 + T cells into Th2 cells.After co-culturing of macrophages and CD4 + T cells for 48 h in vitro,IL-4 secretion of CD4 + T cells was not changed.Conclusions ANGPTL4 has no effects on M2 macrophage differentiation.