Objective To investigate the image quality and radiation dose of 640-slice CT coronary arteriography(CTCA) with adaptive iterative dose reduction three-dimensional (AIDR3D)reconstrucction algoritym.Methods 640-slice CTCA with auto-matic exposure was performed on 84 consecutive patients.The original image data were reconstructed with AIDR3D and the filtered back-projection (FBP)algorithms at the image postprocessing workstation.Two experienced radiologists without knowing clinical information and reconstruction algorithms independently measured and calculated the image noise,signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio with AIDR3D and FBP reconstruction algorithms.The qualitative image quality was assessed by using the 4-point scale.The radiation dose was calculated based on dose-length product exported on CT scanner.The quantitative and qualitative im-age quality with two kinds of reconstruction algorithm was analyzed statistically.Results The CTCA image noise was (27.20± 4.40)HU with AIDR3D and (60.00±12.40)HU with FBP,which with AIDR3D was decreased by 46.10% than that with FBP;the signal-to-noise ratio was 21.10 ± 5.10 with AIDR3D and 11.40 ± 2.80 with FBP,which with AIDR3D was increased by 84.70% than that with FBP;the contrast-to-noise ratio was 24.70±5.10 with AIDR3D and 13.50±3.20 with FBP,which with AIDR3D was raised by 82.20% than that with FBP,the differences in 3 indexes between the two kinds of reconstruction algorithm were statistically significant(P < 0.05 ).The CTCA qualitative image quality scores of proximal,middle and distal parts with AIDR3D were (3.90±0.30),(3.70±0.50)and (3.60±0.60)respectively,which all were higher than (2.60±0.60),(2.30± 0.60)and (2.10±0.70)with FBP respectively,the differences in 3 items between 2 kinds of algorithm had statistical significance (P <0.05).The total segments which could be used to diagnose the CTCA images with AIDR3D and FBP algorithms were 1 216 segments (96.50%)and 504 segments (40.00%),respectively,the difference had statistical significance(P <0.05).The mean ef-fective radiation dose was (2.10±1.00)mSv.Conclusion 640-slice CTCA with AIDR3D reconstruction algorithm not only signifi-cantly reduces the image noise than the conventional FBP algorithm,improves the quantitative and qualitative image quality,but also decreases the effective radiation dose.

Objective:To analyze whether involved-field irradiation (IFI) was associated with improved survival and reduced treatment-related adverse events compared with elective nodal irradiation (ENI) in Chinese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving radiotherapy.Methods:Literature review was conducted from CNKI, Wanfang Data, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Central databases (until July 31, 2022). Relevant data were collected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Primary outcomes included overall survival (OS) rate and treatment-related adverse events. Secondary outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS) rate and local control rate (LCR). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The quality of the results was assessed by using the meta analysis of Evidence Evaluation and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methods.Results:A total of 7 articles with 918 patients were included of which 465 received IFI and 453 received ENI. The 1-, 2-, 3-and 5-year OS rates in the IFI group were not significantly different from those in the ENI group (1-year OS rate: RR=1.00, 95% CI=0.94-1.07, P=0.97, high certainty; 2-year OS rate: RR=1.01, 95% CI=0.90-1.13, P=0.90, high certainty; 3-year OS rate: RR=0.86, 95% CI=0.71-1.05, P=0.14, high certainty; 5-year OS rate: RR=0.76, 95% CI=0.42-1.37, P=0.36, low certainty). In the IFI group, patients with ≥grade 2 acute radiation esophagitis ( RR=0.71, 95% CI=0.58-0.87, P=0.001, high certainty), ≥grade 3 acute radiation esophagitis ( RR=0.39, 95% CI=0.24-0.64, P<0.001, high certainty) and ≥grade 2 acute radiation pneumonitis ( RR=0.72, 95% CI=0.52-0.99, P=0.04, high certainty) were significantly lower compared with those in the ENI group. However, no significant differences were observed in the incidence of ≥grade 3 late radiation esophagitis, ≥grade 3 acute radiation pneumonitis and ≥grade 3 late radiation pneumonitis between two groups. No significant differences were noted in the 1-, 2-, 3-PFS rates and LCR between two groups. Conclusions:For Chinese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, IFI and ENI yield similar efficacy in terms of OS, PFS and LCR. However, IFI has a lower incidence of ≥grade 2 acute radiation esophagitis, ≥grade 3 acute radiation esophagitis and ≥grade 2 acute radiation pneumonitis than ENI.

Objective:To investigate whether the squirrels in Yunnan Province carried Yersinia pestis phages and their epidemiological significance. Methods:From 2015 to 2018, plague host animals were investigated in five of Yunnan plague foci and non-plague foci. The spleen, liver and intestinal specimens of the squirrels captured in the investigation were taken and stored at low temperature for later use. Intestinal specimens with PBS solution, were filtered by 0.22 μm and added to LB liquid medium containing 100 μl suspension of plague vaccine strain (EV76) and then oscillated in a constant temperature gas bath at 28 ℃ and 220 r/min for 18 to 24 h. The double-layer plate method was used to isolate and observe the growth of plaque. The morphology and structure of Yersinia pestis phages were observed under electron microscope. Meanwhile, spleen, liver and intestinal specimens were taken for detection of Yersinia pestis specific marker gene caf1. Results:A total of 10 squirrels were captured (8 Callosciurus erythraeus and 2 Dremomys pernyi), and four Yersinia pestis phages were isolated (2 in Callosciurus erythraeus and 2 in Dremomys pernyi). Two were isolated from non-plague foci (Yongshan County), two from house rats plague foci (Mile County and Xinping County), and none was isolated from wild radents plague foci (Jianchuan County and Eryuan County). By naked eye observation, two bacteriophages from the plague foci produced transparent plaques and grew well, while two bacteriophages from non-plague foci produced translucent plaques and with poor growth. By electron microscopy, these Yersinia pestis phages were of typical Myoviridae family, their head diameter was about 40 nm, muscle tail was about 120 nm, and tail filament cluster was slightly visible at the end of muscle tail. And all the 10 samples of squirrels were negative of plague-specific caf1 gene. Conclusions:The proportion of plague phages carried by Yunnan squirrels is relatively high. Although the detection of caf1 is negative. Squirrels may be a carrier of plague transmission due to the existence of Yersinia pestis phages.

【Objective】 To evaluate the clinical implications of ARL5B in esophageal cancer and its underlying mechanisms by using bioinformatics methods. 【Methods】 ARL5B transcriptomic expression data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), R software was employed to detect the differential expression mRNAs, and related clinical information was collected for survival analysis. To validate the bioinformatics results, Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were carried out for clinical specimens of esophageal cancer tumor tissues and adjacent tissues. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of ARL5B and its associated clinicopathologic features. The underlying mechanisms of ARL5B in esophageal cancer were preliminarily explored by bioinformatics and qRT-PCR. 【Results】 Bioinformatics method showed that the expression of ARL5B in human esophageal cancer tissues was significantly higher than in adjacent tissues and correlated with poor prognosis. Clinical specimens were detected, the expressions of ARL5B mRNA and protein were the highest in metastases lymph node, followed by esophageal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, which corresponded with bioinformatics results. The expression of ARL5B was strongly correlated with lymph node metastases and advanced clinical stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis results denoted high ARL5B level, indicating poor prognosis. Enrichment analysis showed that ARL5B was associated the biological processes such as vacuolar transport, late endosome to lysosome transport, and organelle localization. Protein-protein interaction analysis (PPI) suggested that ARL5B might interact with VPS16, KIF1A and TOM1, whose expressions were verified by qRT-PCR and positively correlated with ARL5B expression. 【Conclusion】 ARL5B was highly expressed in esophageal cancer and associated with lymph node metastases, advanced clinical stage, and poor prognosis. ARL5B may be involved in the progression of esophageal cancer with several molecular mechanisms.