Hepatic stellate cells(HSCs) are the mesenchymal cells in the liver. In the process of tumori-genesis and metastasis, the interactions between HSCs and tumor ceils play an important role in promoting tumor invasion through extracellular matrix remodelling. Here we review the latest investigative advances a-bout the tumor-stromal interactions.

By reviewing literature, summarization and generalization are respectively pertormed according to different electroacupunture (EA) parameters. Based on the understanding of clinical and experimental usage of EA parameters, effects of different parameters are summarized, and a preliminary evaluation is done to point out the advantages and disadvantages. It is found out that different EA parameters would produce different effects on the body, and researches are more in the field of experimental area and less in the clinical area. What's more, the majority of scholars focuses their attention on single-factor study, leading to fewer researches on the effects of parameters combination.
Animals ; Biomedical Research ; Electroacupuncture ; instrumentation ; methods ; trends ; Humans

Objective To evaluate efficacy and safety of fixed combination of nitrendipine and atenolol in treatment for patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension and their optimal dosage matching.Methods Totally,275 patients with essential hypertension were selcted from seven hospitals in Shanghai,Nanjing and Suzhou,China and randomized into five groups with same proportional probability in a double-blind,double-dummy,parallel active-controlled,multi-center clinical trial,receiving fixed combination of nitrendipine and atenolol at three different dosage matching (nitrendipine/atenolol 5/12.5 mg,5/10 mg,5/7.5 mg for groups 1,2 and 3),and nitrendipine (10 mg for group 4) or atenolol (25 mg for group 5),respectively for eight weeks.Results Mean reduction of diastolic blood pressure (DBP)was (17±7) mm Hg,(18±9) mm Hg and (17±7) mm Hg for groupl,2 and 3,respectively from the baseline,significantly greater than that in groups 4 and 5[(13±7) mm Hg and (12±6) mm Hg,respectively].Mean reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) was (21 ±11)mm Hg,(24±12) mm Hg,(23±11) mm Hg,(19±13) mm Hg and (18±9) mm Hg,respectively for the five groups from the baseline,and the reduction in group 2 was significantly greater than that in group 5,with an overall efficacy of 94.4%,98.1% and 88.2% for groups 1,2 and 3,respectively,all statistically higher than that in group 5 (71.4%) with P＜0.01,eight weeks after treatment.The ratio of patients with increased dose of antihypertensive agents in week 5 was lower in group 2 than that in the other four groups,with mild adverse reaction only,no obvious change in laboratory biochemical examinations,and no needs in special management.Conclusions Fixed combination of atenolol and nitrendipine with an optimal doses of 5 mg and 10 mg respepctively was effective and safe for mild and moderate hypertension with good tolerance.

Objective To enlarge the scan width of cone-beam computed tomograpby(CBCT) and offer the integrity of structures( including tumor targets and organs at risk) on CBCT images by pasting the CBCT images together without gap or data lost. Methods Patients received CBCT scan twice at different longitude position. The two CBCT image series were then imported to TPS and fused with the planning CT. The same layer of two CBCT series was found by analyzing the two fusion results and recording their sequence numbers. The CBCT image series and the sequence numbers were sent to" CBCT Pasting", a special software we developed for this investigation. Then the software merged the CBCT series into the same reference flame. To validate the feasibility of CBCT Pasting,we observed its geometric characteristics by patients and phantoms. Results On the images of phantom, the difference was 0.26% (28.34 cm3) of the total body volume,and 1.87% (12.82cm3) and 1.47%(10.07cm3) of the two lungs between CT and CBCT images. On the images of patients, the difference was 1.97% (64.53cm3) ,2.30%(33.32cm3) and 1.75%(31.21cm3) for the total-lung,the left lung and the right lung. Conclusions The CBCT scan and pasting can enlarge the scan width without image data lost. This technique can provide a chance to observe the whole target and OAR and help physicists to evaluate the treatment plan.

AIM:To study the effect of centromere protein W ( CENP-W) down-regulation on human glioma U87 cells.METHODS:Small interfering RNA ( siRNA) was used to inhibit the expression of CENP-W in the U87 cells. The interference effect of siRNA was evaluated by RT-qPCR and Western blot .The proliferation of the cells was analyzed by MTT assay , BrdU staining and colony formation experiment .Transwell chamber assay was used to detect the invasion a-bility of the cells .The cell migration ability was measured by a scratch test .The changes of the cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry .RESULTS:The results of MTT assay , colony formation experiment and BrdU staining showed that the cell proliferation and colony formation abilities in experimental group were significantly lower than those in control group and negative control group .The results of Transwell and scratch experiments showed that the migra-tion and invasion abilities in experimental group were weaker than those in blank control group and negative control group . The results of flow cytometry analysis showed that the cell cycle distribution in experimental group was arrested in G 0/G1 phase .The percentage of apoptotic cells in experimental group was higher than that in control group ( P<0.05 ) .CON-CLUSION:Down-regulation of CENP-W expression inhibits the proliferation , migration and invasion of human glioma cells and promotes the apoptosis of the cells , suggesting that CENP-W may be a potential target of gene therapy for human glioma.

Objective: To discuss the significance of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery in the treatment of local advanced esophageal cancer. Methods:A total of 272 cases of local advanced esophageal cancer were studied in retrospect. Out of the 272 cases, 112 were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery (CT-S), whereas the remaining 160 cases underwent surgical treatment (S) only. Complications and survival state after surgery were compared. Results: The rate of complications after surgery was as follows: CT-S: 34.8% (39/112); S: 29.4% (47/160), P=0.50. The five-year survival rate was 35.7% and 29.4%, respectively, P<0.05. The CT-S patients were divided into partial remission (PR) and stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) groups according to the effect of the chemotherapy. The five-year survival rate was 38.5% and 30.1%, respectively, P<0.01. Conclusion: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is available for local advanced esophageal cancer. Postoperative complications are not increased by chemotherapy, and the survival rate for local advanced esophageal cancer is improved by neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PR has better prognosis compared with SD/PD.

Objective To investigate the MRI features of intracranial solitary fibrous tumors/hemangiopericytomas (SFT/HPC),and to compare these findings with those of intracranial meningiomas.Methods The clinical features and MRI findings in 28 patients of intracranial SFT/HPC (SFT/HPC group)and 68 patients of meningiomas (meningiomas group) confirmed by operation and pathology were retrospectively analyzed.The indicators of two groups were compared.Results Shape of tumor,signal homogeneous,signal voids of vessel in tumor,hypointense signal nodules on T2WI and enhanded,cystic or necrosis in tumor,meningeal tail sign,changes of the nearby bone,sex,Ki-67％ level,blood lose in surgery had significant differences between SFT/HPC group and meningiomas group (all P＜0.05).Conclusion There are some differences between intracranial SFT/HPC and meningiomas.It is helpful in diagnosis and differential diagnosis through the comparative analysis of the imaging signs.

In order to optimize acupuncture treatment protocol for functional defecation disorders, literature during past 20 years is reviewed, and factors which influences acupuncture therapeutic effect are analyzed from aspects of acupoint, acupuncture technique, etc. As for the selection of acupoint, more attention should be paid on the use of Baliao, especially Zhongliao (BL 33) and Xialiao (BL 34); when Baliao is deeply needled, it is essential to acquire scientific technique. The relationship between acupuncture parameter (including electroacupuncture waveform and frequency), acupuncture techniques (including reinforcing and reducing technique, quantity of stimulation, etc. ) and acupuncture efficacy is complicated, and the scientific values of present research conclusion are in need, of further improvement. The diagnosis and treatment awareness on types of functional defecation should be strengthened, and the mental health of the constipation patients should be concerned. The combination of acupuncture and biofeedback training can have a synergistic effect, which is benefit to achieve a better long-term effect. Based on this, acupuncture treatment protocol for functional defecation disorders can be optimized to further improve the efficacy.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Constipation ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Defecation ; Female ; Humans ; Male

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of wholeGtumor texture analysis of contrastGenhanced T1 WI (T1 Ce)in differentiating cystic glioma (CG)from brain abscess (BA).Methods MRI data of 25 cases of ringGenhanced CG and 24 cases of BA proven pathologically were retrospectively studied.All the patients underwent preGsurgery MRI plain and contrastGenhanced scans.FireVoxel software was used to outline the ROI of the wholeGtumor.The signal intensity histogram and related texture parameters of the 3D ROI were obtained,including mean, median,standard deviation,inhomogeneity,skewness,kurtosis and entropy.The data were first tested for normality and the differences in wholeG tumor texture analysis parameters of T1 Ce between CGs and BAs were compared using the independentGsample t test(normal distribution)and MannGWhitney rank sum test (skewed distribution).ROC curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of the parameter in differentiating CG from BA.Results There were statistical significances in the parameters of mean,median,standard deviation,inhomogeneity and skewness between CGs and BAs(P＜0.05),and there were no any statistical significances in kurtosis and entropy between CGs and BAs(P＞0.05).In all the texture parameters,the AUC of inhomogeneity was the largest(0.988),and when the threshold was 0.314, the sensitivity and the specificity were 92.60% and 9 7.1 0%,respectively.Conclusion Some of the quantitative parameters of the wholeGtumor texture analysis of T1 Ce(mean,median,standard deviation,inhomogeneity and skewness)could provide reliable and objective evidences for imaging differential diagnosis of CG and BA preGsurgery.

Objective:To investigate the application value of 18F-FDG PET-CT combined with MRI in the radiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma by comparing the differences in the gross target volume (GTV), position length delineated on the end expiratory (EE) phase of 4DCT, PET-CT and T 2-weighted MRI (T 2W-MRI). Methods:Twenty-six patients with thoracic esophageal cancer scheduled to receive concurrent chemoradiotherapy sequentially underwent 3DCT, 4DCT, PET-CT and enhanced MRI for thoracic localization. All images were fused with the 3DCT images by deformable registration. GTV CT, GTV 50% GTV PET2.5, GTV MRI and GTV DWI were delineated on 3DCT, the EE phase of 4DCT images, PET-CT with the thresholds of SUV≥2.5, T 2W-MRI and diffusion-weighted images, respectively. Results:GTV PET2.5 was significantly larger than GTV 50% and GTV MRI ( P<0.001 and P=0.008), whereas the volume of GTV MRI was similar to that of GTV 50%( P=0.439). Significant differences were observed between the CI of GTV MRI to GTV 50% and GTV PET2.5 to GTV 50%( P=0.004). The conformity indexes (CIs) of GTV MRI to GTV CT and GTV PET2.5 to GTV CT were statistically significant ( P=0.004 and P=0.039). The CI of GTV MRI to GTV PET2.5 was significantly smaller than that of GTV MRI to GTV 50%, GTV MRI to GTV CT, GTV PET2.5 to GTV 50% and GTV PET2.5 to GTV CT ( P=0.000-0.021). The length of gastroscopy was similar to those of GTV PET2.5 and GTV DWI (both P>0.05), and there was no significant difference in the length between GTV PET2.5 and GTV DWI ( P=0.072). Conclusion:GTV MRI yields significantly different volume and poor spatial matching compared with GTV PET2.5. The application of PET-CT combined with MRI under respiratory gating system in the delineation of GTV should be used with caution in thoracic squamous esophageal cancer. MRI-DWI can replace PET-CT to help determine the upper and lower boundaries of GTV based on CT images.