Purpose: The imaging characteristics of two popular kV cone-beam CT (CBCT) and two MVCT systems utilised in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) were evaluated. Materials and methods: The study was performed on Varian Clinac iX, Elekta Synergy S, Siemens Oncor, and Tomotherapy. A CT phantom (Catphan-504, Phantom Laboratory, Salem, NY) was scanned for measurements of image quality including image noise, uniformity, density accuracy, spatial resolution, contrast linearity, and contrast resolution. The measurement results were analysed using in-house image analysis software. Reproducibility, position correction, and geometric accuracy were also evaluated with markers in a smaller alignment phantom. The performance evaluation compared volumetric image properties from these four systems with those from a conventional diagnostic CT (CCT). Results: It was shown that the linearity of the two kV CBCT was fairly consistent with CCT. The Elekta CBCT with half-circle 27-cm FOV had higher CT numbers than the other three systems. The image noises of the Elekta kV CBCT, Siemens MV CBCT, and Tomotherapy fan-beam CT (FBCT) are about 2-4 times higher than that of the Varian CBCT. The spatial resolutions of two kV CBCTs and two MV CBCTs were 8-11 lp/cm and 3-5 lp/cm, respectively. Conclusion: Elekta CBCT provided a faster image reconstruction and low dose per scan for half-circle scanning. Varian CBCT had relatively lower image noise. Tomotherapy FBCT had the best uniformity.

Objective To assess early clinical safety and efficacy of transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TF-TAVR) for pure aortic regurgitation (PAR). Methods The clinical data of PAR patients who underwent TAVR in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital and Wuhan Asia General Hospital from January 2018 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into a TF-TAVR group and a transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TA-TAVR) group. The clinical data of the patients were analyzed. Results A total of 54 patients were enrolled, including 34 males and 20 females with an average age of 74.43±6.87 years. The preoperative N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level was lower [808.50 (143.50, 2 937.00) pg/mL vs. 2 245.00 (486.30, 7 177.50) pg/mL, P=0.015], and the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (56.00±6.92 mm vs. 63.07±10.23 mm, P=0.005) and sinus junction diameter (32.47±4.41 mm vs. 37.65±8.08 mm, P=0.007) were smaller in the TF-TAVR group. There was no death in the two groups during the hospitalization. Only 1 new death within postoperative 1 month in the TF-TAVR group (cerebral hemorrhage). A total of 2 new deaths in the TF-TAVR group (1 patient of sudden cardiac death and 1 of multiple organ failure), and there was no death in the TA-TAVR group within postoperative 3 months. There was 1 new death in the TA-TAVR group (details unknown), and there was no death in the TF-TAVR group within postoperative 6 months. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the all-cause mortality and the cumulative survival rate during the follow-up period (P>0.05). The incidence of high atrioventricular block was 36.0% in the TF-TAVR group and 10.3% in the TA-TAVR group (P=0.024). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the perivalvular leakage (≥moderate), valve in valve, a second valve implantation, valve migration, cerebrovascular events, major vascular complications, complete left bundle branch block, new permanent pacemaker implantation or transferring to surgery (P>0.05). However, the incidence rates of complete left bundle branch block and new permanent pacemaker implantation were higher in the TF-TAVR group, accounting for 56.0% and 40.0%, respectively. Conclusion TF-TAVR is a safe and feasible treatment for PAR patients, which is comparable to TA-TAVR in the early postoperative safety and efficacy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of MRI three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction model in quantifying glenoid bone defect by comparing with CT 3D reconstruction model measurement. METHODS: Forty patients with shoulder anterior dislocation who met the selection criteria between December 2021 and December 2022 were admitted as study participants. There were 34 males and 6 females with an average age of 24.8 years (range, 19-32 years). The injury caused by sports injury in 29 cases and collision injury in 6 cases, and 5 cases had no obvious inducement. The time from injury to admission ranged from 4 to 72 months (mean, 28.5 months). CT and MRI were performed on the patients' shoulder joints, and a semi-automatic segmentation of the images was done with 3D slicer software to construct a glenoid model. The length of the glenoid bone defect was measured on the models by 2 physicians. The intra-group correlation coefficient ( ICC) was used to evaluate the consistency between the 2 physicians, and Bland-Altman plots were constructed to evaluate the consistency between the 2 methods. RESULTS: The length of the glenoid bone defects measured on MRI 3D reconstruction model was (3.83±1.36) mm/4.00 (0.58, 6.13) mm for physician 1 and (3.91±1.20) mm/3.86 (1.39, 5.96) mm for physician 2. The length of the glenoid bone defects measured on CT 3D reconstruction model was (3.81±1.38) mm/3.80 (0.60, 6.02) mm for physician 1 and (3.99±1.19) mm/4.00 (1.68, 6.38) mm for physician 2. ICC and Bland-Altman plot analysis showed good consistency. The ICC between the 2 physicians based on MRI and CT 3D reconstruction model measurements were 0.73 [95% CI (0.54, 0.85)] and 0.80 [95% CI (0.65, 0.89)], respectively. The 95% CI of the difference between the two measurements of physicians 1 and 2 were (-0.46, 0.49) and (-0.68, 0.53), respectively. CONCLUSION The measurement of glenoid bone defect based on MRI 3D reconstruction model is consistent with that based on CT 3D reconstruction model. MRI can be used instead of CT to measure glenoid bone defects in clinic, and the soft tissue of shoulder joint can be observed comprehensively while reducing radiation.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods* ; Joint Instability ; Shoulder Joint/diagnostic imaging* ; Shoulder Dislocation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods*

The pulsatile flow experiment can not only evaluate the preclinical safety and risk of prosthetic heart valve (PHV) but also play an important role in the computational model and fluid simulation, providing an experimental basis for the performance optimization of PHV. This paper mainly reviews the development and the latest progress of PHV pulsatile flow experiments and the characteristics of experimental pulse duplicator, and discuss the research direction of pulsatile flow experiments, expecting a further development in this field.

Objective To systematically evaluate the risk prediction model of anastomotic fistula after radical resection of esophageal cancer, and to provide objective basis for selecting a suitable model. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted on Chinese and English databases including CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, CBM, PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library for relevant studies on the risk prediction model of anastomotic fistula after radical resection of esophageal cancer from inception to April 30, 2023. Two researchers independently screened literatures and extracted data information. PROBAST tool was used to assess the risk of bias and applicability of included literatures. Meta-analysis was performed on the predictive value of common predictors in the model with RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 18 studies were included, including 11 Chinese literatures and 7 English literatures. The area under the curve (AUC) of the prediction models ranged from 0.68 to 0.954, and the AUC of 10 models was >0.8, indicating that the prediction performance was good, but the risk of bias in the included studies was high, mainly in the field of research design and data analysis. The results of the meta-analysis on common predictors showed that age, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, C-reactive protein, history of preoperative chemotherapy, hypoproteinemia, peripheral vascular disease, pulmonary infection, and calcification of gastric omental vascular branches are effective predictors for the occurrence of anastomotic leakage after radical surgery for esophageal cancer (P<0.05). Conclusion The study on the risk prediction model of anastomotic fistula after radical resection of esophageal cancer is still in the development stage. Future studies can refer to the common predictors summarized by this study, and select appropriate methods to develop and verify the anastomotic fistula prediction model in combination with clinical practice, so as to provide targeted preventive measures for patients with high-risk anastomotic fistula as soon as possible.

The non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) has gradually become a hot spot of current research, and it has been applied in many fields such as mental disorder detection and physiological monitoring. However, the electroencephalography (EEG) signals required by the non-invasive BCI can be easily contaminated by electrooculographic (EOG) artifacts, which seriously affects the analysis of EEG signals. Therefore, this paper proposed an improved independent component analysis method combined with a frequency filter, which automatically recognizes artifact components based on the correlation coefficient and kurtosis dual threshold. In this method, the frequency difference between EOG and EEG was used to remove the EOG information in the artifact component through frequency filter, so as to retain more EEG information. The experimental results on the public datasets and our laboratory data showed that the method in this paper could effectively improve the effect of EOG artifact removal and improve the loss of EEG information, which is helpful for the promotion of non-invasive BCI.
Humans ; Electrooculography/methods* ; Artifacts ; Brain-Computer Interfaces ; Algorithms ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

PURPOSE: To determine whether the delivery of the SV40 large T-antigen is a feasible method for transiently inducing proliferation of corneal endothelial cells, we delivered liposome-protein complex into bovine corneal endothelial cells(BCEC). METHOD: SV40 large T-antigen protein was introduced into BCEC and positive cells were identified by immunohistochemistry. Quiescent BCECs were double-labeled using BrdU as a measure of de novo DNA synthesis and the Ki-67 was detected by standard immunohistochemical methods. RESULT: The treatment of quiescent BCECs with large T antigen caused an increase in BrdU incorporation and Ki-67 expression. It was tested by time-course study. CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that liposome-mediated delivery of transforming proteins could be a method to transiently induce corneal endothelial cell proliferation.
Antigens, Viral, Tumor* ; Bromodeoxyuridine ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA ; Endothelial Cells* ; Immunohistochemistry

The 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced tumor fluorescence is a useful intraoperative marker for the diagnosis and the detection of various malignancies, but its use in meningioma is only reported infrequently. In meningioma, a complete resection of the tumor mass is crucial for the prevention of recurrence and postoperative morbidities. Deep sylvian meningioma is a rare type of meningioma where complete tumor removal is complicated by its deep anatomical location and close involvement with the middle cerebral artery. From our experience, 5-ALA-mediated fluorescence facilitated a safe excision whilst preserving critical neurovascular structures. To our best knowledge, this is first report from use of 5-ALA in a deep sylvian meningioma.
Fluorescence ; Meningioma ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Recurrence

<p>OBJECTIVETo explore the endothelial progenitor cell markers and biological characteristics of human CD133 umbilical cord blood cells( EPC).p><p>METHODSCD133+ cells were enriched from human umbilical cord blood by immunomagnetic sorting, and cultured with EGM-2MV medium containing epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor 2. The percentage of CD133+ cells in cord blood monocytes, the growth curve and growth characteristics of primary EPCs were measured by flow cytometry and immunochemistry method. Weibel-Palade body was observed with transmission electron microscope. The mixture of EPCs and human stomach cancer cell line GC7901 were injected into athymic mice to observe the tumor growth and vascularization.p><p>RESULTSThe percentage of CD133+ cells in cord blood monocytes was 0.91%, and after sorting, the percentage of CD133+ cells was raised to 85.52%. The cultured cells showed a typical spindle-shaped morphology in 3 post-culture days (PCD) and areas of clusters of cobblestone-like cells in 10 PCD. The number of EPC increased from 7 PCD on, peaked on 17 PCD. Obvious amplification and clone-like growth on 7 PCD were observed by light microscope. Typical Weibel-Palade body was observed in the cells under transmission electron microscope. Tumor forming experiment in athymic mice showed that the tumor size of EPC group was larger than that of control with smaller necrosis area and more and larger blood vessels. Immuno-fluorescent staining showed many human vWF antigen-positive endothelial cells being involved in the tumor vascularization.p><p>CONCLUSIONImmunomagnetic sorting can efficiently enrich EPC from human umbilical cord blood. Our data support that the EPC may contribute to angiogenesis, speed up vascularization of ischemic tissue.p>
AC133 Antigen ; Animals ; Antigens, CD ; Antigens, CD34 ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Separation ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Monocytes ; cytology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Peptides ; Stem Cells ; cytology

<p>OBJECTIVETo explore the preliminary methods of in vitro isolation, culture and identification of sebocytes and eccrine sweat gland cells from human fetal skin.p><p>METHODSHuman fetal skin was digested with dispase or type II collagenase, and then by micro - sieving to isolate human sebaceous gland and eccrine sweat gland cells. DMEM/F12 (1: 1) was used as the basic culture medium, supplemented with fetal bovine serum, recombinant human epidermal growth factor, L-glutamine, Hydrocortisone, choleratoxin, penicillin and streptomycin as the medium for sebocytes, or fetal bovine serum, recombinant human epidermal growth factor, triiodothyronine, hydrocortisone, insulin, transferrin, sodium selenite to the medium for eccrine sweat gland duct cells. Primary cultures and subcultures were incubated at 37 degrees C in humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2/95% oxygen. Cell morphology was observed by inverted phase contrast microscopy, and the cultured cells were identified with cell clone efficiency determination. The cultured sebocytes were identified with oil red staining and CK4.62, Epithelia Membrane Antigen (EMA) immunohistochemistry staining. The cultured eccrine sweat gland duct cells were identified with CK7, CK19 immunohistochemistry staining.p><p>RESULTSThe isolated sebocytes and eccrine sweat gland cells from human fetal skin could grow by adhering to the wall and proliferate in vitro. The cell clone efficiency of human fetal sebocytes was 2.7%, which was obviously lower than that of human fetal keratinocytes (8.0%, P < 0.01). There was no obvious difference in the cell clone efficiency between human fetal eccrine sweat gland cells (7.3%) and human fetal keratinocytes (7.7%, P > 0.05) . The results of oil red staining indicated that a small quantity of lipid droplets in sebocytes, and immunohistochemistry staining of CK4.62, EMA were positive in subculture sebocytes. The immunohistochemistry staining of CK7, CK19 was positive in subculture eccrine sweat gland duct cells.p><p>CONCLUSIONIn vitro cultured human fetal sebocytes and eccrine sweat gland duct cells displayed the markers and biological characteristics of epithelial lineage, but human fetal sebocytes proliferated morep>
Cell Culture Techniques ; Eccrine Glands ; cytology ; Fetus ; cytology ; Humans ; Sebaceous Glands ; cytology ; Skin ; cytology ; Vernix Caseosa ; cytology