ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of low glycemic index(LGI)diet and exercise on plasma glucose and lipid profiles in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. MethodsSeventeen newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients with FPG ≤ 10mml/L treated by LGI diet and exercise only for two months.Fasting plasma glucose (FPG),2 hours postprandial glucose(2hPG),glycosylated hemoglobin A1 C(GHbA1C),and lipid profiles were measured.The results of FPG,2hPG,GHbA1C,and lipid profiles were compared. ResultsTwo months after treatment,the level of fasting glucose(6.19 ± 0.60)mmol/L,postprandial 2h plasma glucose(8.59 ± 0.90)mmol/L,TG(1.15 ± 0.45)mmol/L,TC(4.98 ± 0.77)mmol/L,LDL(3.20 ± 0.71)mmol/L were significantly lower than (7.84 ± 1.19)mmol/L,(13.97 ± 3.35)mmol/L,TG(1.79 ± 0.75)mmol/L,TC(5.46 ± 0.27)mmol/L,LDL (3.57 ± 0.28)mmol/L,HDL(1.59 ± 0.30)mmol/L was significantly higher than(1.42 ± 0.26)mmol/L,the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05);HbA1c(6.49 ± 0.57)% was slightly lower than(7.29 ±0.77)%,but the difference was not significant(P＞0.05);No hypoglycemia was observed during the treatment. ConclusionThe exellent glycemic control and improvement of lipid profile could be achieved by low glycemic index diet and exercise only.Furthermore,no hypoglycemia occurred during the treatment.

Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of high frequency ultrasound in the diagnosis of duodenal obstruction in neonates.Methods Ultrasonography,clinical data and etiological diagnoses of the operation in 113 neonates with duodenal obstruction were reviewed retrospectively.The digestive tract,including stomach,duodenum,jejunoileum and colon,were examined in all patients with 8-12 MHz linear transducer before operation.Results In the 113 neonates with duodenal obstruction,63 cases were diagnosed intestinal malrotation,31 cases duodenal stenosis,14 cases annular pancreas,and 5 cases duodenal atresia.One hundred and six cases were diagnosed as duodenal obstruction by ultrasound,of which intestinal malrotation in 61 cases,duodenal stenosis in 29 cases,duodenal atresia in 4 cases,and annular pancreas in 12 cases.The diagnostic rate was 93.81% (106/113 cases),96.83% (61/63 cases),93.55% (29/31 cases),80.00% (4/5cases) and 85.71% (12/14 cases),respectively.The location of obstruction diagnosed by ultrasound was coincident with the operation in 92 cases,with a diagnostic rate of 81.42%(92/113).Conclusions High frequency ultrasound plays an important role in diagnosing the causes and location of duodenal obstruction.It can be used as the first choice of examinal methods for the neonates with duodenal obstruction.

Objective:To investigate the performance of W2 plastic scintillator in megavolt photon and electron beams.Methods:The photon and electron beam energy provided by linear accelerator was used to collect data of the W2 scintillator. The parameters include the electrometer reading stability, W2 dose and dose rate linearity, and angular response. And the dose uncertainty of the W2 correction factors was also investigated.Results:The standard deviation of the electrometer reading stability was between 0.03 and 0.47. The linear regression factors of W2 dose were all 1.0; the maximum deviation of the dose rates was 0.61%. The Cerenkov light radiation correction factor(CLR) for 6 and 10 MV were 0.741 and 0.746, respectively, and the CLR for 6, 9, 12 and 15 MeV were 0.750, 0.753, 0.757 and 0.757, respectively. The maximum deviation of dose uncertainty for 15 MeV was 3.15%.Conclusions:The signal obtained by the blue and green channel was no angular dependence, the same as the high-energy electron beam, which verified that the Cerenkov radiation correction factor has good linearity. W2 plastic scintillator can be applied to non-coplanar radiotherapy dosimetry.

The American Transplant Congress (ATC) is an influential academic congress in the field of organ transplantation. In this article, the hotspots of liver transplantation in 2020 ATC were summarized, including the latest research progress in donor liver procurement and quality assessment, donor liver preservation and ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma and other hepatic malignancies, complications after liver transplantation, transplantation immunology, perioperative management and donor-derived infection, pediatric liver transplantation and cell therapy, etc.

Background:Abnormal expression of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)has been found in almost all tumors in humans,providing numerous potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers,and therapeutic targets. Materials and methods:The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database was used to screen potential LncRNAs,and 30 paired hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)tissues were used to investigate RP11-307C12.11 expression levels by qRT-PCR and another 105 HCC tissues by in situ hybridizsation(ISH).RP11-307C12.11 overexpression and knockdown experiments were performed to investigate the effects of RP11-307C12.11 on HCC growth through in vitro and in vivo assays(MTT assay,colony formation assay,EdU assay,and xenograft model).The molecular mechanism underlying these effects was confirmed by MS2-RIP-assay,RIP assay,luciferase assay,and rescue experiments. Results:RP11-307C12.11 expression level was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in the adjacent normal tissues.Elevated RP11-307C12.11 expression level was associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients,and it may be represented as an independent prognostic biomarker in patients with HCC.Functionally,RP11-307C12.11 overexpression promoted HCC growth both in vitro and in vivo;however,its knockdown reversed these effects.Mechanistically,we found that RP11-307C12.11 expressed pre-dominantly in the cytoplasm and sponged microRNA(miR)-138 to regulate its common target CCND1 and PDK1. Conclusions:Thus,we found that RP11-307C12.11 acts as an oncogene in HCC by binding to miR-138,which might provide a novel target for HCC therapy.

Objective To study the application of laser speckle contrast algorithm in high-frequency ultrasound blood flow imaging. Methods The laser speckle contrast algorithm was extended to the field of high-frequency ultrasound blood flow imaging. The high-frequency ultrasound structure images were processed by using the classic laser speckle temporal contrast algorithm to suppress the static tissue signals, enhance the dynamic blood flow signals, and obtain the high-frequency ultrasound blood flow images. The simulation experiments on flow phantoms were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, and then human skin tissue in vivo experiments were performed to verify the applicability of the algorithm. The performances of blood flow images which obtained from ultrasound structure images with different frames by laser speckle contrast algorithm were compared and analyzed. Results The blood flow information in a tube was clearly visible in the flow phantoms experiments. The static skin tissue signals were significantly suppressed, dynamic blood flow signals were strengthened in the human skin tissue in vivo experiments, and high-frequency ultrasound blood flow images were obtained. By comparing and analyzing the performances of blood flow images, the results showed that the best blood flow images could be obtained when the number of frame was set to 10 frames. Conclusions The speckle contrast algorithm is feasible and has good application prospects in high-frequency ultrasound blood flow imaging.

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a recessive single gene disease of X chromosome, which is rare clinically and has a very low incidence in newborn boys. This is mainly due to the abnormal pathway in which androgens play a role, resulting in sexual differentiation disorder in patients. A pair of identical twins were admitted to our hospital, and a new pathogenic mutation site of the androgen receptor gene was found, resulting in an androgen insensitivity phenotype.

Objective: To compare the efficacies of two training protocols, i.e. the multimedia instruction and the conventional method, in periodontal surgery teaching for undergraduate students. Methods: One hundred and twenty-three dental undergraduates in their pre-clinical training course were recruited and divided into two groups according to the learning grade matching principle: the experimental group (multimedia instruction, 60 students) and the control group (conventional method, 63 students). The teaching aim was to train the students gingivectomy and periodontal flap surgery by using the pig jaws. The conventional teaching method of teacher-demonstrating and student-practicing was used in the control group, and the practice time of the students′ for each surgery was 45 minutes. A standardized teaching video combined with the teachers′ explanations of the key steps was used in the experimental group. The students′ practice time for each surgery was 60 minutes. The efficacy of teaching protocol was evaluated by the teachers according to the scoring criteria set by the teaching group. Results: In gingivectomy training, accuracy of fixed points, angle of postoperative gingival margin and morphology of gingiva of the experimental group were better than those of the control group. The experimental group also had more complete and continuous excised gingivae and more thorough adjacent gingival removal. The total scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (92.8±2.6 vs. 89.9±3.7, P<0.05). In periodontal flap surgery training, the experimental group operated the blade around the shape of the tooth better in internal bevel incision than the control group. Additionally, the incision position of internal bevel incision, periosteal integrity after flapping and flap depth of the experimental group were better than those of the control group. Besides, the experimental group had smoother flap edge and more thorough debridement. The total scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (92.2±4.1 vs. 89.2±4.4, P<0.05). Conclusions The teaching efficacy of multimedia instruction was better than that of the conventional method. Its value needs to be further tested in future teaching practice.

Objective To evaluate the effect of microvascular invasion (MVI) on prognosis of recipients after liver transplantation for primary liver cancer (liver cancer). Methods Clinical data of 177 recipients after liver transplantation for liver cancer were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into the MVI-positive group (n=64) and MVI-negative group (n=113) according to postoperative pathological examination results. Clinical data were statistically compared of all recipients between the negative and positive MVI groups. The prognosis and risk factors of liver transplantation recipients for liver cancer were analyzed. Results Among 177 recipients, 64 cases (36.2%) were positive for MVI and 113 (63.8%) negative for MVI. Compared with the MVI-negative recipients, MVI-positive recipients had significantly lower degree of tumor differentiation, higher preoperative alpha-fetaprotein (AFP) level, larger maximal tumor diameter, a larger quantity of tumors, more satellite lesions and more recipients who did not meet the Milan criteria (all P < 0.05). The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of recipients after liver transplantation for liver cancer were 80.2%, 62.1%, 58.5% and 66.3%, 57.5%, 51.2%, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year OS and RFS of MVI-positive recipients were 70%, 39%, 35% and 53%, 39%, 33%, significantly lower than 86%, 75%, 72% and 73%, 68%, 63% of their counterparts negative for MVI (all P < 0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that the maximal tumor diameter >8 cm, preoperative AFP level ≥20 ng/mL, low degree of tumor differentiation and positive MVI were the independent risk factors for OS of recipients after liver transplantation for liver cancer (all P < 0.05). Positive MVI, low degree of tumor differentiation and preoperative down-staging failure were the independent risk factors for RFS of recipients after liver transplantation for liver cancer (all P < 0.05). Conclusions MVI is of significant clinical value in predicting clinical prognosis of recipients after liver transplantation for liver cancer.

Objective:To assess the three-dimensional dose distribution in radiotherapy plans using the structural similarity index(SSIM), compare the performance of SSIM with commonly used quality assessment indices, and develop a SSIM-based quality assessment method of multiple prescribed doses.Methods:The SSIM was introduced to providea quality score of various voxels by comparing actual and ideal three-dimensional dose data and combining the spatial location information of the voxels. Then the average value in a region of interest (ROI) was calculated as the quality score of the region. Fifty-three cases of cervical cancer were selected to analyze the correlation of the SSIM with the uniformity index (HI), conformity index (CI) of the dose distribution in various ROIs and to explore the capability of the SSIM to reflect the uniformity and conformity of dose distribution.Two types of quality defects were individually introduced into two of 53 radiotherapy plans. Then the two plans were compared with normal plans to characterize the response of the SSIM.Results:There was no correlation between HI and SSIM in positive lymph nodes(PGTVnd) due to the decrease in the HI sensitivity, while there was a significant negative correlation between them in regions where PGTVnd was removed from the planning target volume(PTV, R=-0.86, P<0.01). Meanwhile, there was a significant positive correlation between CI and SSIM in PGTVnd ( R=0.83, P<0.01). Therefore, the SSIM can be used to identify the artificial design defects in plans by determining abnormal dose gradients. Conclusions:Apart from reducing the defects of previous assessment parameters, the SSIM has the capability to assess the quality of radiotherapy plans by combining the uniformity and conformity of dose distribution and can provide accurate feedback on the spatial locations of quality defects.