Objective To study the tortuosity coefficient (TC) values of basilar arteries in the adult,and its change in cerebral basilar artery infarction.Methods TC values of basilar arteries was prospectively analyzed using the magnetic resonance angiography images of 135 controls(19-80 years of age,male 90,female 45)and 42 patients with cerebral infarction(5l-70 years of age,male 28,female 14).The relationship between TC values and posterior circulation infarction was statistically evaluated.Results Differences of TC between age groups were statistically significant except group B (31-50 years)and C(51-70 years)(F=10.31,P<0.01).The infarction group had greater TC value(2.497±1.200)than the control group(1.939±0.850,t=2.39,P=0.0195).Conclusions (1)Basilar artery tortuosity is positively related to age,reflecting the degree of arteriosclerosis;(2)Basilar artery tortuosity increases in patients with posterior circulation infarction.

Objective To explore the pathological features of Aβ1-42 deposition and its correlation with Apolipoprotein E in brain of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type Ⅱ diabetic rats.Methods High fat diet combined with small dose of STZ induced diabetic rats were adopted as experiment rats,and randomly divided into 3 months old diabetes mellitus group and 6 months old diabetes mellitus group (n=15).Healthy Wistar rats were adopted as control rats,and divided 3 months old control group and 6 months old control group (n=15).The Aβ1-42 and ApoE location and expressions were detected by immtmohistochemistry.Real-time fluorogenic quantitative-PCR and Westem blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein levels of ApoE in each group.Results Immunohistochemical results showed that Aβ1-42 in the brain of the diabetic rats gathered around the vessel wall and blood vessel.The number of Aβ1-42 and ApoE positively-stained cells and positively-stained vessels was significantly larger and the ApoE mRNA and protein expressions were significantly increased in the 6 months old diabetes mellitus group as compared with those in the 3 months old diabetes mellitus group (P＜0.05).The number of Aβ1-42 and ApoE positively-stained cells and positively-stained vessels was significantly larger and the ApoE mRNA and protein expressions were significantly increased in the 6 months old control groupas compared with those in the 3 months old control group (P＜0.05).As compared with that in the 6 months old control group,the number of Aβ11-42 and ApoE positively-stained cells and positively-stained vessels was significantly larger and the ApoE mRNA and protein expressions were significantly increased in the 6 months old diabetes mellitus group (P＜0.05).As compared with that in the 3 months old control group,the number of Aβ1-42 and ApoE positively-stained cells and positively-stained vessels was significantly larger and the ApoE mRNA and protein expressions was significantly increased in the 3 months old diabetes mellitus group (P＜0.05).Person correlation coefficient indicated that the number of positively-stained cells of Aβ-42 was positively correlated to ApoE protein expression level (r=0.9755,P=0.000).Conclusions Aβ1-42 in the brain of type Ⅱ diabetic rats expresses both in blood vessel wall and around blood vessel.Age and duration of diabetes can increase the deposition of A3 and ApoE in brain tissues,and there is a positive correlation between them.

Objective:To compare the early and late predictive value of several critical illness scores (CISs) and biomarkers in patients with bloodstream infection (BSI)-associated pneumonia, and to identify the value of procalcitonin (PCT) in etiological diagnosis.Methods:Patients with at least one positive blood culture within 24 hours admission to department of emergency of China-Japan Friendship Hospital from January 2014 to December 2018 and with final diagnosis of pneumonia were enrolled. Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), mortality in emergency department sepsis (MEDS), Logistic organ dysfunction system (LODS), and acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ (APACHEⅡ) scores were calculated based on the first parameters on the day of admission. Differences of various indicators among different Gram-stained bacterial infections and among patients with different prognosis at 28-day or 60-day were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of biomarkers in differential diagnosis of pneumonia caused by single bacterial infection, and the predictive value of several CISs and biomarkers on 28-day and 60-day death of patients with pneumonia.Results:Among 540 patients with pneumonia caused by single bacterial infection, 256 (47.4%) patients with Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) infection and 284 (52.6%) with Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) infection. The 28-day mortality was 29.4% (159/540) and the 60-day mortality was 36.3% (196/540). PCT level was significantly higher in patients with GNB infection than that in GPB infected patients [μg/L: 1.99 (0.32, 13.19) vs. 0.45 (0.13, 3.53), P < 0.01]. There were significant differences of CISs and biomarkers between death group and survival group in predicting 28-day and 60-day mortality in BSI-associated pneumonia. ROC curve analysis showed that: ① the optimal cut-off value of PCT in the diagnosis of single bacterial infection was 0.48 μg/L, with the area under ROC curve (AUC) was 0.739 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.686-0.793]. When PCT value was greater than 4.49 μg/L, the specificity of diagnostic of GNB infection could reach 81.8%, and the positive predictive value (PPV) was 75.0%. When PCT value was greater than 10.16 μg/L, the diagnostic specificity could reach 91.2%. ② In the prediction of 28-day and 60-day mortality, the SOFA score showed highest AUC [28-day: 0.818 (95% CI was 0.768-0.867), 60-day: 0.800 (95% CI was 0.751-0.849)]. SOFA score greater than 8.5 points could help to predict 28-day and 60-day mortality for pneumonia patients with specificity of 90.5% and 91.6%, respectively. AUC of PCT for predicting 28-day and 60-day mortality in patients with BSI associated with pneumonia was 0.637 (95% CI was 0.575-0.700) and 0.628 (95% CI was 0.569-0.688), respectively. When PCT value was greater than 8.15 μg/L, the specificity and negative predictive value (NPV) were 80.2% and 75.1% respectively, and they could reach 80.2% and 68.7% when PCT value was greater than 7.46 μg/L. Conclusion:PCT is more reliable in the identification of pathogen type in BSI-associated pneumonia, while CISs may be more advantageous in the assessment of early and late prognosis.

Objective:To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) related lung injury.Methods:Fifty mice were randomly (random number) divided into five groups: the sham-operated group, SAP group and different doses (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) of HSYA pretreatment group. Mice were pretreated with HSYA 24 h before SAP induction, pancreatic and lung tissues were isolated for histopathological examination at 72 h after modeling, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected for biochemical analysis. Results:Compared with the sham-operated group, serum amylase activity, lung injury pathological score and BALF protein concentration in the SAP group were significantly increased [(2120.44 ± 354.50) U/L vs. (226.72 ± 20.84) U/L; (6.91 ± 0.28) vs. (0.53±0.18); (2563.25±348.22) μg/mL vs. (345.62±56.35) μg/mL, all P<0.05]. Inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 levels and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were increased [(120.5±14.25) pg/mL vs. (31.5±4.82) pg/mL; (214.72±10.62) pg/mL vs. (39.26±5.66) pg/mL; (4.52±0.34) U/mg vs. (1.03±0.17) U/mg]. Compared with the SAP group, HSYA pretreatment significantly attenuated SAP-related pancreatic and lung tissue damage and the activities of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-6 and MPO in BALF. In addition, HSYA promoted the expression of the antioxidant protein heme oxygenase-1 and blocked the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Conclusions:HSYA exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities to inhibit SAP-related lung injury, which indicated that HSYA may be a potential therapeutic drug for SAP-induced lung injury.

Objective To investigate the impact of type 2 inflammation markers blood eosinophils(EOS)and fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO)on bronchodilator responsiveness(BDR)in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods This study was conducted among 389 patients with an established diagnosis of COPD in our hospital from October,2019 to October,2023,who all underwent bronchial dilation test(BDT)of the large and small airways.Based on smoking history,blood EOS,and FeNO,these patients were divided group A(blood EOS<300/μL+FeNO<35 ppb+smoking history<20 pack-years),group B(blood EOS<300/μL+FeNO<35 ppb+smoking history≥20 pack-years),group C(blood EOS≥300/μL or FeNO≥35 ppb+smoking history≥20 pack-years),and group D(blood EOS≥300/μL or FeNO≥35 ppb+smoking history<20 pack-years)for analyzing the relationship between clinical indexes and BDR.Results BDR evaluation based on forced expiratory volume in 1 second(FEV1),forced vital capacity(FVC),and maximum mid-expiratory flow(MMEF)yielded consistent results,all showing a younger mean age,higher FeNO levels,and higher blood EOS counts and percentages in patients positive for BDT(P<0.05).The improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 were significantly lower in group A than in group D.The improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 as well as the improvement rate of MMEF were significantly lower in group B than in group D.In the overall patients,age and FeNO were significantly correlated with the improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 and the improvement rate of MMEF(P<0.05).Conclusion Type 2 inflammation markers have different effects on BDR in the large and small airways of COPD patients,and their clinical significance needs further investigation.

Objective To investigate the impact of type 2 inflammation markers blood eosinophils(EOS)and fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO)on bronchodilator responsiveness(BDR)in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods This study was conducted among 389 patients with an established diagnosis of COPD in our hospital from October,2019 to October,2023,who all underwent bronchial dilation test(BDT)of the large and small airways.Based on smoking history,blood EOS,and FeNO,these patients were divided group A(blood EOS<300/μL+FeNO<35 ppb+smoking history<20 pack-years),group B(blood EOS<300/μL+FeNO<35 ppb+smoking history≥20 pack-years),group C(blood EOS≥300/μL or FeNO≥35 ppb+smoking history≥20 pack-years),and group D(blood EOS≥300/μL or FeNO≥35 ppb+smoking history<20 pack-years)for analyzing the relationship between clinical indexes and BDR.Results BDR evaluation based on forced expiratory volume in 1 second(FEV1),forced vital capacity(FVC),and maximum mid-expiratory flow(MMEF)yielded consistent results,all showing a younger mean age,higher FeNO levels,and higher blood EOS counts and percentages in patients positive for BDT(P<0.05).The improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 were significantly lower in group A than in group D.The improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 as well as the improvement rate of MMEF were significantly lower in group B than in group D.In the overall patients,age and FeNO were significantly correlated with the improvement value and improvement rate of FEV1 and the improvement rate of MMEF(P<0.05).Conclusion Type 2 inflammation markers have different effects on BDR in the large and small airways of COPD patients,and their clinical significance needs further investigation.

ObjectiveTo tentatively understand the status of radioactive contamination in nuclear medicine personnel. MethodsA total of 34 radiation staff engaged in nuclear medicine diagnosis and treatment were selected from two hospitals in Shanghai as the survey subjects.Among the 34 medical staff， 8 were nuclear medicine doctors， 14 were nuclear medicine technicians and 12 were nuclear medicine nurses. After surface contamination monitoring was first carried out to confirm that they had no surface radioactivity contamination， whole body scanning was performed with a whole body counter to determine whether they were internally contaminated with artificial radionuclides. ResultsThe α surface contamination was not detected in the nuclear medical staff. The β surface contamination of the nuclear medicine doctors， technicians and nurses was （13.8±0.8）， （14.1±0.8） and （14.0±0.7） times per second， respectively. There were 2， 2， and 4 nuclear medicine doctors who were contaminated with ¹⁸F， ^99mTc and ¹³¹I， 3， 5， and 2 nuclear medicine technicians who were contaminated with ¹⁸F， ^99mTc and ¹³¹I， and 6， 8， and 5 nuclear medicine nurses who were contaminated with ¹⁸F， ^99mTc and ¹³¹I， respectively. The ¹⁸F activity of nuclear medicine technicians was 1 997‒9 401 Bq， and the ^99mTc activity of nuclear medicine technicians and nurses was 3 699‒18 692 and 652‒388 22 Bq， respectively. One nuclear medicine nurse had a ^99mTc activity of 35 389 Bq. According to the preliminary estimation of ¹³¹I internal irradiation dose， the maximum committed effective dose of nuclear medicine doctors， technicians and nurses could reach 0.370， 0.018 and 0.584 mSv， respectively. ConclusionThe nuclear medicine staff are exposed to radioactive contamination， and it is important to monitor and evaluate their internal radiation doses.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has emerged as an intractable cancer with scanty therapeutic regimens. The aberrant activation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) are reported to be common in CCA patients. However, the underpinning mechanism remains poorly understood. Deubiquitinase (DUB) is regarded as a main orchestrator in maintaining protein homeostasis. Here, we identified Josephin domain-containing protein 2 (JOSD2) as an essential DUB of YAP/TAZ that sustained the protein level through cleavage of polyubiquitin chains in a deubiquitinase activity-dependent manner. The depletion of JOSD2 promoted YAP/TAZ proteasomal degradation and significantly impeded CCA proliferation