Objective To compare the dosimetry and toxicities between postoperative fixed-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (FF-IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy/volumetric modulated arc therapy (IGRT-VMAT) for cervical cancer.Methods A total of seventy patients with stage I b-Ⅱa postoperative cervical cancer who had high risk factors,were divided into FF-IMRT (FF-IMRT group,n =35)and IGRT-VMAT (IGRT-VMAT group,n =35),to compare the difference of target dose and adverse reaction between the two groups.Results In the IGRT-VMAT group,the interfractional setup errors in the x,y,and z axes were (0.25±0.14) cm,(0.26±0.16) cm,and (0.24±0.18) cm,respectively;the intrafractional setup errors in the x,y,and z axes were (0.1±0.09) cm,(0.12±0.09) cm,and (0.11±0.09) cm,respectively;the margins in the x,y,and z axes were 0.75 cm,0.84 cm,and 0.78 cm,respectively.Under the same dosimetric conditions,the IGRT-VMAT group was superior to the FF-IMRT group in terms of conformity index,treatment time,and number of monitor units (P=0.000).The Dmean and volume receiving high-dose irradiation for the bladder,rectum,and small intestine were significantly lower in the IGRT-VMAT group than in the FF-IMRT group (P=0.000).Compared with the FF-IMRT group,the IGRT-VMAT group had a significantly reduced incidence of acute and chronic gastrointestinal,urinary,and hematologic toxicities (P＜ 0.05).Conclusions IGRT-VMAT can correct setup error online,shorten the treatment time,reduce the dose to organs at risk,and alleviate acute and chronic toxicities,and is especially suitable for patients with postoperative small bowel position changes.

Objective:To explore the factors affecting the postoperative prognosis of early cervical squamous cell carcinoma and inves-tigate the different radiotherapy techniques. Methods:A total of 100 postoperative patients of early cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated in Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from March to September 2013 were enrolled in our study. The prognostic factors for these patients were analyzed. After being subjected to differ-ent postoperative radiotherapy techniques, the efficacy and complications of the techniques were assessed for patients, including 50 cases of conventional radiotherapy (CRT) and 50 cases of image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Results:The 3-year overall survival rate was 89%, and the 3-year disease-free survival rate was 78%. The 3-year overall survival rates of the CRT and IGRT groups were 78.57%and 89.06%, respectively. The difference between these rates was statistically significant (P=0.034). The 3-year survival rates of the CRT and IGRT groups were 66.67%and 87.36%, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P=0.042). The incidence of ear-ly and late complications in the CRT group was higher than that in IGRT group, and the difference of P<0.05 was statistically significant. Multivariate analysis showed that postoperative radiotherapy, parametrial invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular space in-vasion, perineural invasion, and deep stromal invasion were the independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with early stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion:Early prognosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma results from the interaction of mul-tiple factors. The 3-year survival rate of the IGRT group was significantly better than that of the CRT group in the early stage of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. IGRT alleviates acute and chronic toxicities and helps improve the quality of life of patients.

AIM: To study the protective effects of Xiaoyan Lidan Tablet(Herba Andrographis,Herba Rabdosiae serrae,Radix Sophorae Flavescentis,etc) on acute hepatic injury in rats. METHODS: Acute hepatic injury was induced by intraperitoneal(ip) injection of carbon tetrachloride and D-galactosamine,respectively.The levels of ALT,AST,ALP,TBA,total bilirubin(T-Bil),total protein (TP) and albumin(ALB) in serum were analyzed.The body weight,liver weight,spleen weight and thymus weight of each rat were measured.The hepatic glycogen content was analyzed individually.Liver tissue pathology was observed. RESULTS: Xiayan Lidan Tablet can decrease ALT,AST,ALP,TBA and T-Bil in serum,reduce necrosis in pathological observation. CONCLUSION: Xiaoyan Lidan Tablet gives the protective effects to acute hepatic injury induced by CCl_4 and D-Gal in rats.

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a conventional digital index for diagnosis of anemia,and recent studies have found its new clinical significance:high RDW is closely related to prognosis and diagnosis of both solid tumors and hematological tumors in addition to acute and chronic kidney disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.RDW,which is cheap and easily acquired,may offer a new direction for clinical diagnosis and prognosis of tumor though the relevant mechanism is unclear.

Objective To establish and validate a ferroptosis model in human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells(HAVSMCs).Methods HAVSMCs were obtained from aortic arch tissues of donors who underwent heart transplantation at the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Department,Tongji Hospital,Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology.Ferroptosis was induced through imidazole ketone erastin(IKE)and cystine-deficient medium(CD)in HAVSMCs.Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8),human lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)assay kit,flow cytometry and cell immunofluores-cence staining were used to evaluate whether ferroptosis was successfully induced in HAVSMCs.Results After the induction of ferroptosis in HAVSMCs for a certain period of time,obvious morphological changes of HAVSMCs were observed under the optical microscope,and the flow cytometry analysis showed that the proportion of propidium iodide(PI)positive stained cells was significantly increased under the induction of IKE/CD.The results of CCK-8 and LDH assays showed that the cell viability of HAVSMCs was significantly reduced,and the level of cell damage was markedly increased under IKE/CD induction.Ferrostatin-1,an inhibitor of ferroptosis,was able to reverse the toxic effects of ferroptosis induction on the cells.The flow cytometry analysis of BODIPY-C11 and immunofluorescence staining of 4-hydroxynonenal(4-HNE)showed a notable increase in lipid peroxidation levels in IKE/CD-induced HAVSMCs.Conclusion In this study,a ferroptosis model was successfully established in human aor-tic vascular smooth muscle cells with IKE and cystine-deficient medium,which provided an experimental basis for subsequent researches.

Candida albicans is the most abundant fungal species in oral cavity. As a smart opportunistic pathogen, it increases the virulence by switching its forms from yeasts to hyphae and becomes the major pathogenic agent for oral candidiasis. However, the overuse of current clinical antifungals and lack of new types of drugs highlight the challenges in the antifungal treatments because of the drug resistance and side effects. Anti-virulence strategy is proved as a practical way to develop new types of anti-infective drugs. Here, seven artemisinins, including artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, artemisinic acid, dihydroartemisinic acid, artesunate, artemether and arteether, were employed to target at the hyphal development, the most important virulence factor of C. albicans. Artemisinins failed to affect the growth, but significantly inhibited the hyphal development of C. albicans, including the clinical azole resistant isolates, and reduced their damage to oral epithelial cells, while arteether showed the strongest activities. The transcriptome suggested that arteether could affect the energy metabolism of C. albicans. Seven artemisinins were then proved to significantly inhibit the productions of ATP and cAMP, while reduced the hyphal inhibition on RAS1 overexpression strain indicating that artemisinins regulated the Ras1-cAMP-Efg1 pathway to inhibit the hyphal development. Importantly, arteether significantly inhibited the fungal burden and infections with no systemic toxicity in the murine oropharyngeal candidiasis models in vivo caused by both fluconazole sensitive and resistant strains. Our results for the first time indicated that artemisinins can be potential antifungal compounds against C. albicans infections by targeting at its hyphal development.
Animals ; Mice ; Candida albicans ; Candidiasis, Oral/drug therapy* ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology* ; Hyphae ; Artemisinins/pharmacology*