AIM:To investigate the expression and probable role of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase(ERK1/2)in renal fibrosis associated with diabetic in mice.METHODS:Male homozygous C57BL/6 mice were divided at random into control group(intraperitoneally injected with citrate buffer)and diabetes group(received 5 consecutive daily intraperitoneal injections of streptozotocin at dose of 50 mg?kg-1?d-1).All mice were followed up for 16 weeks.Diabetes was confirmed by serum glucose levels exceeding 16.7 mmol/L.Mice were killed at 0,4,8,12 and 16 weeks respectively after streptozotocin injection.The kidney tissues were obtained from diabetic and control mice.Serum glucose,kidney weight/body weight(KW/BW),24 h albumin excretion rate(UAE)and the serum creatinine(Scr)were measured.The kidney tissue was used for histological and morphometric studies of glomerular size,glomerular matrix expansion(PAS),and the expression of TGF-?1,phosphorylated ERK1/2 and collagen Ⅲ by immunohistochemical staining.RESULTS:The serum level of glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice increased significantly.The kidney weight/body weight ratio,glomerular volume and glomerular matrix expansion in diabetic mice were obviously higher than those in control mice.Serum creatinine and 24 h albumin excretion rate in diabetic mice increased significantly compared with control mice.TGF-?1,phosphorylated ERK1/2 and collagen Ⅲ levels were obviously increased in the kidney of diabetic mice compared with those in control mice(P

Objective:To reveal the abnormal topology of brain network in Alzheimer′s disease (AD), and evaluate the laterality of tau protein deposition in brains of AD patients based on 18F-APN-1607 PET brain imaging combined with graph theory. Methods:From November 2018 to January 2020, 23 clinically diagnosed AD patients (9 males, 14 females; age (61.3±10.7) years) and 13 normal controls (NC) (9 males, 4 females; age (61.6±4.5) years) who underwent 18F-APN-1607 PET imaging in Huashan Hospital, Fudan University were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. The brain network analysis method based on graph theory was used to construct the tau network of the NC group and the AD group, the network attributes (clustering coefficient, shortest path length, local efficiency, and small-worldness) were calculated, and the asymmetry index (AI) of each group to evaluate the laterality of tau protein deposition was obtained. Permutation test (1 000 times) was used to analyze the differences in brain network parameters between the NC group and the AD group. Results:The tau network of the AD group had obvious topological disorder, and the connections in the olfactory cortex and temporal lobe were weakened, while in the posterior cingulate gyrus, anterior wedge, and parietal occipital lobe, the connections were enhanced. Compared with NC group, clustering coefficient ( t values: 2.28-2.69), local efficiency ( t values: 2.34-3.06) and small-worldness ( t values: 2.26-3.32) were significantly decreased in AD group (all P<0.05) with the sparsity of 20%-50%, while the shortest path length was significantly increased ( t values: 2.13-2.85; all P<0.05). There was significant tau laterality in the posterior cingulate gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, paracentral lobule, superior temporal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus (AI: 10.5%(8.1%, 13.9%), 14.1%(7.6%, 20.3%), -12.4%(-15.7%, -7.8%), -10.8%(-15.3%, -2.1%) , -12.1%(-17.9%, -6.6%), respectively). Conclusion:The tau network analysis based on 18F-APN-1607 may be used to reveal abnormal topological changes of AD patients, and the tau deposition in the posterior cingulate gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, paracentral lobule, superior temporal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus has obvious laterality in AD patients.

Objective:To explore the potential application of combining 18F-FDG PET imaging and radiomics in the diagnosis of Parkinson′s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS). Methods:A total of 154 subjects of two cohorts (training set and validation set) were enrolled from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University from March 2015 to August 2020 in this cross-sectional study, including 40 normal controls (NC; 23 males and 17 females, age: (60.2±10.5) years), 40 PD patients (20 males and 20 females, age: (64.7±6.3) years), 40 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients (20 males and 20 females, age: (64.1±5.9) years), and 34 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients (19 males and 15 females, age: (65.0±9.2) years). 18F-FDG PET images and clinical scale were selected, and one-way analysis of variance was used to compare differences of clinical scale among groups. Radiomic features extraction and feature selection were carried out. Two and three classification models were constructed based on logistic regression, and the ROC curves of clinical model, radiomics model and combined model were calculated. Independent classification tests were conducted 100 times with 5-fold cross validation in two cohorts. Results:There were significant differences in the scores of unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn-Yahr rating scale (H&Y) among different groups in cohort 1 and cohort 2 respectively ( F values: 4.83-17.95, all P<0.05). A total of 2 444 imaging features were extracted from each subject, and after features selection, 15 features for classification were obtained. In the two classification experiment, the AUCs of the three models in binary classification of PD/MSA/PSP/NC group were 0.56-0.68, 0.74-0.93 and 0.72-0.93, respectively. The classification effects of the radiomics model were significantly better than those of the clinical model ( z values: 1.71-2.85, all P<0.05). In the three classification experiment, the sensitivity of the radiomics model reached 80%, 80% and 77% for PD, MSA and PSP, respectively. Conclusion:18F-FDG imaging combined with radiomics has potential in the diagnosis of PD and APS.

Objective:To investigate the correlations of urinary adverse reactions with dose to the bladder and urethra during external pelvic irradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer.Methods:This study retrospectively collected relevant dosimetric parameters and urinary symptoms, such as frequent, urgent, and painful urination, from locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with external pelvic irradiation in the Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. The dosimetric parameters examined in this study included the maximum, minimum, and mean doses to bladder and urethra (i.e., Dmax, Dmin and Dmean), mean doses received in an area of 0.1, 1, and 2 cm 3 around the planning target volume, D0.1 cm 3, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3, and percentages of irradiated volumes in the whole organ volume under doses of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 Gy, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15 Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy, V50 Gy. Then the correlations between urinary symptoms and these dosimetric parameters were analyzed using the independent-sample t-test and the Logistic regression model. Results:The median volumes of bladder and urethra were 294.8 and 4.71 cm 3, respectively. Patients were divided into two groups based on the median division. The univariate analysis showed that urethral Dmax, Dmin, Dmean, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy and V50 Gy correlated with urinary complications ( t = 14.30, 21.65, 32.19, 33.36, 16.62, 17.91, 21.52, 20.11, 12.27, 37.25, 30.18, 36.24 and 21.98, P<0.05). The multivariate analysis further indicates that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy, V40 Gy and Bladder V40 Gy, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3 were independent predictors of grade 2 urinary adverse reactions ( P<0.05). Conclusions:This study reported the correlations of relevant dosimetric parameters of urethra with urinary toxicity during external pelvic irradiation. It holds that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy and V40 Gy should be restricted to minimize the risks of grade 2 urinary complications.

Objective:To compare the effects of different reference brain regions on the semi-quantitative SUV ratio (SUVR) of 18F-Florzolotau PET images of Alzheimer′s disease (AD). Methods:The 18F-Florzolotau PET images of 28 (13 males, 15 females, age (57.3±9.5) years) normal controls (NC), 19 patients (4 males, 15 females, age (73.3±7.3) years) with β-amyloid (Aβ)-positive mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 40 patients (19 males, 21 females, age (61.9±9.1) years) with AD were collected from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University between November 2018 and July 2020. Six semi-quantitative reference brain regions were defined, including whole cerebellum (WC), cerebellar gray matter (GM), cerebellar white matter (WM), parametric estimation of reference signal intensity (PERSI), WC after partial volume correction (WC_pvc), cerebellar GM after partial volume correction (GM_pvc). SUVR was calculated for 14 ROIs, which included the whole brain defined by the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) template, fusiform, inferior temporal, lingual, middle temporal, occipital, parahippocampal, parietal, posterior cingulate, precuneus defined by the AAL template, and Meta ROI composed of the above brain regions, and braak_Ⅰ-Ⅱ, braak_Ⅲ-Ⅳ, braak_Ⅴ-Ⅵ defined by the Desikan Killiany template. AUC was used to evaluate the classification ability of SUVR, and the correlation between SUVR and clinical scale scores were assessed by Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results:The SUVRs of most brain regions showed a steady upward trend in the AD disease spectrum. In the classification task of NC and MCI, the overall performance of SUVR based on WC_pvc was relatively optimal (AUCs: 0.975-1.000). In the classification task of NC and AD, SUVRs of 10 ROIs based on the WC_pvc method showed the relatively best performance (AUCs: 0.976-1.000). The correlation between SUVR of fusiform based on cerebellar WM and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score was the strongest ( rs=-0.72, P<0.001), and the SUVR of precuneus based on WC_pvc showed the strongest correlation with clinical dementia rating (CDR) score ( rs=0.78, P<0.001). Conclusion:The SUVR based on WC_pvc method performs well in classification and correlation tasks, and is recommended to be used in semi-quantification of 18F-Florzolotau PET images of AD.

As a new technology in the field of computer science, virtual reality has been widely used in the field of medicine. Because of its great developmental potential and application value, virtual reality has attracted wide attention in the field of plastic surgery. By summarizing the pros and cons of this technology, such as the development of this technology, the study of craniofacial anatomy, plastic surgery training, preoperative design, doctor-patient communication, etc., the purpose of this article is to promote the application of virtual reality in the realm of plastic surgery so that more and more patients and physicians could benefit from this technology.

As a new technology in the field of computer science, virtual reality has been widely used in the field of medicine. Because of its great developmental potential and application value, virtual reality has attracted wide attention in the field of plastic surgery. By summarizing the pros and cons of this technology, such as the development of this technology, the study of craniofacial anatomy, plastic surgery training, preoperative design, doctor-patient communication, etc., the purpose of this article is to promote the application of virtual reality in the realm of plastic surgery so that more and more patients and physicians could benefit from this technology.

Objective:To investigate the optimal bladder filling volume in the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative cervical cancer.Methods:Totally 111 early cervical cancer patients with positive incisal margins or insufficient safety boundaries were included. The normal saline 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml were filled into their bladders, and accordingly six groups were determined, and 66, 69, 66, 69, 72, 56 person-times in each group, respectively. The CT-based simulation positioning was performed. According to the ICRU 89 report, high-risk clinical target volume and organs at risk such as bladder and rectum were delineated. The Oncentra planning system was used to prepare the treatment program. The high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV), D90, and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of organs at risk under different volumes were recorded. Results:Compared to the 60 ml group, the volume and dosage of HR-CTV in the groups of 50, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml had no significant difference ( P>0.05). The D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of the bladder and rectum of patients in these groups significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant ( tbladder = 3.21, 5.83, 2.89, 12.95, 7.96, Pbladder = 0.031, 0.010, 0.041, 0.000, 0.001; trectum = 2.94, 4.66, 2.53, 5.89, 4.13, Prectum = 0.037, 0.024, 0.049, 0.005, 0.028). The pairwise comparison among these groups except for the 60 ml group showed that the volume and dosage of HR-CTV and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of bladder and rectum had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Moreover, the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of sigmoid colon and small intestine of these groups had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:In the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative early cervical cancer, a bladder filling volume of 60 ml can ensure the volume and dose of HR-CTV and can protect the bladder and rectum compared with other filling volumes.

Objective:Exploring tau related disease pattern (tauRDP) in the brain of Alzheimer′s disease (AD) patients based on 18F-APN-1607 PET scan. Methods:18F-APN-1607 PET images were collected from 17 AD patients (6 males and 11 females, age: (61.7±12.3) years, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score: 17.6±7.9) and 10 normal controls (NC; 6 males and 4 females, age: (61.2±4.7) years) from Huashan Hospital of Fudan University. The scaled subprofile model (SSM) based on principal component analysis (PCA) technique was used to construct the tauRDP. Then the expression value of tauRDP in each sample was calculated. The differences on tauRDP expression values between AD patients and NC were compared by independent-sample t test. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between tauRDP expression values and MMSE values in AD patients. Results:The tauRDP area mainly included: precentral gyrus, dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus of opercular part, inferior frontal gyrus of triangular part, supplementary motor area, medial superior frontal gyrus, left median cingulate and paracingulate gyri, right cuneus, superior occipital gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior parietal gyrus inferior parietal, but supramarginal and angular gyri, supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, precuneus and middle temporal gyrus. There were significant differences ( t=4.395, P<0.001) between AD group (12.6±8.0) and NC group (0.0±1.0) in tauRDP expression values. The tauRDP expression values were correlated with MMSE values in AD group significantly ( r=-0.566, P=0.018). Conclusions:TauRDP established basing on SSM/PCA method can be used to quantitatively express the abnormal spatial distributions of tau deposition. Expression value of tauRDP has the potential to initially assess the severity of AD.

Objective:To compare the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy on the target volume and organs at risk for locally advanced bulky (>4 cm) cervical cancer. Methods:From March 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, 146 patients pathologically diagnosed with cervical cancer were selected and randomly divided into two groups using random number table method: the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group ( n=73) and CCRT group ( n=73). Patients in the NACT+CCRT group received 2 cycles of paclitaxel combined with cisplatin NACT, followed by CCRT, the chemotherapy regimen was the same as NACT. In the CCRT group, CCRT was given. Statistical description of categorical data was expressed by rate. The measurement data between two groups were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test for comparison of two independent samples, and the rate or composition ratio of two groups was compared by χ2 test. Results:Before radiotherapy, GTV in the NACT+CCRT group was (31.95±25.96) cm 3, significantly lower than (71.54±33.59) cm 3 in the CCRT group ( P<0.01). Besides, CTV and PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were also significantly lower compared with those in the CCRT group (both P<0.05). In terms of target volume dosimetry, D 100GTV, D 95CTV, V 100GTV, V 100CTV and V 95PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were significantly higher than those in the CCRT group (all P<0.05). The complete remision (CR) rates in the NACT+CCRT and CCRT groups were 86.3% and 67.6%, with statistical significance between two groups ( P<0.01) . Regarding organs at risk, NACT+CCRT group significantly reduced the dose to the bladder, rectum, small intestine and urethra compared with CCRT group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:NACT can reduce the volume of tumors in patients with large cervical masses, increase the radiation dose to tumors, reduce the dose to organs at risk, and make the three-dimensional brachytherapy easier. Therefore, NACT combined with CCRT may be a new choice for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer with large masses.