Objective:To investigate the value of chest CT quantitative index in clinical classification and lung injury severity evaluation of COVID-19.Methods:The current study retrospectively analyzed the clinical and CT data of 438 patients with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2020 in Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology. The clinical types included common type ( n=146), severe type ( n=247) and critical type ( n=45). The chest CT indexes of all patients were quantitatively analyzed by artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning, including whole lung volume, CT lung opacification, ground glass opacification volume (GGO volume; CT value<-300 HU), solid opacification volume (SO volume; CT value ≥-300 HU) and the ratio of volume to the whole lung volume, the ratio of SO volume to GGO volume (SO volume/GGO volume). Kruskal-Wallis test was used to conduct statistical analysis of the differences in quantitative parameters among clinical types, and multiple ordered logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between quantitative parameters and clinical types. Results:Among the 438 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, severe and critical patients were older ( P<0.05), and most of the critical patients were male ( P<0.05). The main clinical manifestations of all clinical types were fever, followed by cough, fatigue, chest tightness, dyspnea, gastrointestinal symptoms and so on. GGO volume was the main CT manifestation of all the three clinical subtypes. The whole-lung opacification volume, GGO volume, SO volume and their proportions in whole-lung volume significantly increased from common, severe to critical types (all P<0.05). SO volume/GGO volume increased with the severity of clinical type [common type 0.12 (0.03, 0.34), severe type 0.29 (0.11, 0.59), critical type 0.61 (0.39, 0.97)]. Multiple ordered logistic regression analysis showed that whole-lung opacification volume (OR=1.009), SO volume/GGO volume (OR=1.866), GGO volume (OR=1.008) and SO volume (OR=1.016) had a significant positive effect on the severity of clinical typing ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Quantitative indicators of chest CT based on deep learning algorithm (SO volume, GGO volume, SO volume/GGO volume) are closely related to the clinical severity of COVID-19.

Objective To examine the expressions of IKKε protein in the specimens and cells of epithelial ovarian cancer and investigate the effect of IKKε inhibitor on cell proliferation and apoptosis. Methods (1) A total of 118 cases of patients with the median age of 59 who have accepted surgical treatment due to ovarian cancer in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from January 2006 to April 2013 were selected. Twenty cases of patients with the median age of 55 who have accepted hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy due to uterine leiomyoma during the same period were selected as the control. The expressions of IKKε protein were detected by immunohistochemistry in normal ovarian tissues and epithelial ovarian cancer specimens,and the relationship between the expressions of IKKε and the clinical features of patients was analyzed. IKKε protein was determined by western blot in various ovarian cancer cells, including SKOV3, OV2008, C13, A2780S, A2780CP, OV4, OV5, OV8, and CAOV3 treated with or without IKKε inhibitor. The cellular proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells after 48 hours treatment of IKKε inhibitor were analyzed by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Results (1) The immunohistochemical results showed that IKKε was highly expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer specimens with the expression rate 66.1% (78/118), compared with normal ovarian tissue with the expression rate 35.0% (7/20), which exhibited statistically significant difference (χ2=6.993, P=0.008). The expression of IKKε protein was correlated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, histological grade, the level of CA125 in preoperative serum and distribution of the tumor (P<0.05), but no correlation with age, histological type, the incidence pattern, and tumor size (all P>0.05). (2) IKKε was widely overexpressed in different levels in SKOV3, OV2008, C13, A2780S, A2780CP, OV4, OV5, OV8, and CAOV3 cells, and the expression of IKKε decreased as the increase of the concentration of IKKε inhibitor (0.1 and 0.5 μmol/L) in OV2008, C13, A2780S, and A2780CP cells after 48 hours treatment. Different concentrations of IKKε inhibitor (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 25 μmol/L) significantly inhibited the proliferation of OV2008, C13, A2780S, A2780CP, and SKOV3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (P<0.05), and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.43, 0.86, 0.10, 0.19, and 0.24 μmol/L, respectively. The cell apoptotic rate of OV2008, C13, A2780S, A2780CP, and SKOV3 cells was significantly increased after 48 hours treatment of IKKεinhibitor with the concentration of 0.1 and 0.5 μmol/L (P<0.05). Conclusions The IKKε protein in epithelial ovarian cancer specimens and cells is overexpressed. IKKε inhibitor could inhibit cellular proliferation and induce apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Together, the result indicated that IKKε may be a candidate target for the treatment of ovarian cancer in future.

Objective To detect and explore the expression and clinical significance of dual specificity tyrosine phosphorylation regulated kinase1b (Dyrk1b) in the specimens and cells of cervical lesions. Methods (1)All the data were collected from 75 patients with cervical cancer and 52 cases with squamous intraepithelial lesion(SIL)admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical College during Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2013 and confirmed by pathological examination, included 60 cases of stageⅠand 15 cases of stageⅡ, 12 cases with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(LSIL)and 40 cases with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(HSIL). While, 28 cases with chronic cervicitis were chosen as the control group. The protein expression of Dyrk1b was detected by immunohistochemistry among the four groups.(2)The expression of Dyrk1b in HeLa and SiHa cells were detected by western blot method and the expression of Dyrk1b protein were also detected after treatment of AZ191 (5, 10 μmol/L) for 48 hours in HeLa and SiHa cells.(3)The cellular survival and proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells treated by different concentrations of AZ191(2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 μmol/L)for 48 hours were detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay.(4)The rate of apoptosis of HeLa and SiHa cells was detected by flowcytometry after treatment of AZ191 (5, 10μmol/L) for 48 hours. Results (1)The positive rates of Dyrk1b protein in chronic cervicitis, LSIL, HSIL and cervical squamous cancer by immunohistochemistry were 11%(3/28), 1/12, 42%(17/40)and 71%(53/75), respectively. The expression of Dyrk1b in cervical squamous cancer and HISL were higher than those in LSIL and chronic cervicitis (P<0.01), there were significant difference between cervical squamous cancer and HSIL, or between HSIL and LSIL(all P<0.05), while there were not significant difference between LSIL and chronic cervicitis(P>0.05). Expression of Dyrk1b was correlated with stromal invasion depth of cervical cancer (P<0.05), but not with age, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and serum squamous cell carcinom antigen(SCC-Ag)levels (all P>0.05). (2) Dyrk1b protein was expressed in different levels in HeLa and SiHa cells, and the expression of Dyrk1b was decreased gradually as the increased of the concentration of AZ191 in both HeLa and SiHa cells by treatment of AZ191 for 48 hours. (3) Different concentration of AZ191 treated on cervical cancer cells could inhibit the cellular proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner(P<0.01), concomitant to the decreased cell survival rate. The apoptosis rate of HeLa and SiHa were increased significantly after 10μmol/L AZ191-treatment for 48 hours, but no any difference induced by 5 μmol/L AZ191-treatment compared to control group. Also,there was no any difference between Hela and SiHa cells in either inhibitory effect or apoptosis rate induced by AZ191. Conclusions Dyrk1b is over-expressed in either specimens or cells of cervical cancer. The expression of Dyrk1b protein in cervical lesions is increased as the progression of disease. Dyrk1b inhibitor AZ191 could inhibit cellular proliferation and induce apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner in cervical cancer cells.

Objective:To investigate the CT and clinical features of COVID-19.Methods:Chest CT and clinical data of 103 patients who were confirmed as COVID-19 in January 2020 were collected retrospectively. According to diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 (trial version 5), all the patients were classified into common( n=58), severe ( n=36) and critical ( n=9) types, and their clinical findings, laboratory examination and CT finding were analyzed. CT features included distribution, location, size, shape, edge, number and density of the lesion, percentage of pneumonia lesions of the whole lung and extra-pulmonary manifestations. The CT features among different clinical types were compared using χ 2 test or Fisher's exact probability. Comparisons of age, duration from onset to CT examination, and percentage of pneumonic lesions to total lung volume among different types were performed by using analysis of variance (normal distribution) or Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test (non-normal distribution). Results:In terms of clinical manifestations, the patients with critical COVID-19 were more common in elderly men, with a median age of 65 years. Fever was the first symptom in 49 (84%) of 58 common patients, and also the first symptom in both severe and critical COVID-19 patients. The incidence of coughing in severe (25/36, 69%) and critical (6/9, 67%) COVID-19 patients was higher than that in common patients (20/58, 34%). All critical patients had dyspnea. CT showed the common COVID-19 was located in bilateral lung (40/58, 71%)with multiple (40/58, 69%), ground glass (31/58, 52%) or mixed (25/58, 43%)opacities (56/58, 97%), while all the severe and critical COVID-19 were located in bilateral lung(100%) with multiple (34/36, 96%), patchy (33 /36, 92%), or mixed opacities (26/36, 72%) in severe patients, and with mixed opacities more than 3 cm in critical patients. As for the percentage of pneumonia focus in the whole lung volume, the common type (12.5%±6.1%) was significantly lower than the severe type (25.9%± 10.7%) and the critical type (47.2%±19.2%), with statistically significant differences( P< 0.001 and 0.002 respectively), and the severe type COVID-19 was also significantly lower than the critical type ( P= 0.032). Conclusions:CT and clinical features of different clinical types of COVID-19 pneumonia are different. Chest CT findings are characteristic, which can not only help the early diagnosis but also evaluate the clinical course and severity.

Objective: To investigate the CT and clinical features of 2019 novel coronavirus (NCP) pneumonia. Methods: Chest CT and clinical data of confirmed 103 patients with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in January 2020, retrospectively. According to diagnosis and treatment of NCP infected pneumonia (trial version 5), all the patients were classified into mild(n=58), severe (n=36) and very severe (n=9) type, and their clinical findings, laboratory examination and CT finding were analyzed. CT features included lesions’ distribution, location, size, shape, edge, number, density, percentage of pneumonia lesions of the whole lung and extra-pulmonary manifestations. The CT features of different clinical subtypes were compared using χ²test or Fisher's exact probability. Comparisons between the percentage of pneumonic lesions to total lung volume were computed by using analysis of variance (normal distribution) or Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test (non-normal distribution). Results: In terms of clinical manifestations, the patients with severe NCP were more common in elderly men, with a median age of 65 years. Fever was the first symptom in 49 (84%) of 58 patients with NCP, and fever was the first symptom in both severe and critical NCP patients. The incidence of cough in severe (25 / 36, 69%) and critical (6 /9, 67%) NCP patients was higher than that in general (20 /58, 34%). All critical patients have dyspnea. In terms of CT findings, common NCP showed double lung (40/58,71%) multiple (40 / 58,69%) ground glass (31/58,52%) or mixed (25 / 58,43%) lesions (56 / 58,97%); severe and critical NCP showed double lung lesions, heavy NCP mainly showed multiple (34 / 36,96%) patches (33 / 36,92%) mixed density lesions (26 / 36,72%); 9 severe NCP lesions were more than 3 cm Mixed density lesions. The percentage of pneumonia focus in the whole lung volume: the common type (12.5% ± 6.1%) was significantly lower than the severe type (25.9% ± 10.7%) and the critical type (47.2% ± 19.2%) NCP, the difference was statistically significant (P values were < 0.001 and 0.002 respectively), and the severe type NCP was also significantly lower than the critical type (P = 0.032). Conclusions CT and clinical features of different clinical types of NCP pneumonia are different. Chest CT findings have unique characteristic, which can not only make early diagnosis, but also evaluate its clinical course and severity.

Objective:To optimize the different salt preparation processes of salt-processed Psoraleae Fructus and compare the differences among different salt products.Methods:Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) characteristic chromatogram of Psoraleae Fructus was established. By using the comprehensive scoring method, the total content of psoralen and isopsoralen and the peak area of the characteristic chromatogram were used as the evaluation index to optimize the four different processing technologies, including "stir-frying with salt-water", "steaming with salt-water", "spraying with salt-water" and "microwaving with salt-water". Meanwhile, entropy weight TOPSIS method, clustering analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA) and other chemical pattern recognition methods were used to compare the quality difference of different salt-processed Psoraleae Fructus.Results:The optimized "stir-frying with salt-water" process of salt-processed Psoralea Fructus was 170 ℃ for 13 min, "steaming with salt-water" process for 1 h, "spraying with salt-water" process for 110 ℃ for 13 min and "microwaving with salt-water" process for 105 s microwave heating. TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation results of entropy weight showed that the quality of different salt products of Psoraleae Fructus ranked as product of stir-frying with salt-water > product of stir-frying with green salt-water > product of spraying with salt-water > product of microwaving with salt-water > product of steaming with salt-water; HCA results showed that different salt products of Psoraleae Fructus could be polymerized into two categories, between which product of stir-frying with salt-water and product of stir-frying with green salt-water were polymerized into one category; product of spraying with salt-water, product of microwaving with salt-water and product of steaming with salt-water were another category; the results of PCA showed that different salt products of Psoraleae Fructus could be clustered into 4 categories, among which product of stir-frying with salt-water, product of stir-frying with green salt-water and product of spraying with salt-water were clustered into the same category respectively, and product of microwaving with salt-water and product of steaming with salt-water were clustered into the same category.Conclusion:The chemical composition of Psoraleae Fructus processed by different salting methods is different. The results of this study can provide reference for processing optimization of salt-processed Psoraleae Fructus and identification of different salt products.