Objective To investigate the role of large-diameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) simulation in target volume delineation in radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods Eighteen patients with NPC underwent computed tomography (CT) simulation and MRI simulation scans and localization in the same body position,with SOMATOM Sensation Open 40-row 82-cm large-diameter CT simulator and Siemens 3T MRI MAGNETOM Skyra 70-cm large-diameter simulator,respectively.The gross tumor volume (GTV) and parotid glands were delineated on all images according to the ICRU Report 50/62,and MRI was applied to observe the changes in GTV and parotid volume during radiotherapy.Paired t-test was applied to analyze the differences between GTVCT and GTVMRI and between GTVnx-CT and GTVnx-MRI.Results GTVMRI decreased significantly compared with GTVCT,and the average volume decreased from (213.64±84.59) cm3 to (199.68±84.69) cm3(p=0.006).As for the volume of primary lesions in the nasopharynx,GTVnx-MRI was significantly smaller than GTVnx-CT,and the volume decreased from (95.75± 24.76) cm3 to (88.12±26.25) cm3 (P =0.001);as for the volume of cervical lymph nodes,GTVnd-MRI was significantly smaller than GTVnd-CT,and the volume decreased from (117.89± 72.69) cm3 to (111.56± 70.69) cm3 (P=0.018).The targets delineated by CT and MRI did not overlap completely,with major differences in skull base bone and cervical soft tissue.The volume of both parotid glands delineated on MRI image was higher than that delineated on CT image,with a major difference in the deep lobe.MRI showed that GTV was reduced by 82.64± 16.87％ during radiotherapy,and the volumes of the left and right parotid glands were reduced by (32.7± 23.95) ％ and (34.7± 21.72) ％,respectively.Conclusions The delineation of target volume based on MRI simulation is more accurate than that based on CT simulation and can achieve a smaller volume range,which helps to guide target volume delineation in radiotherapy for NPC accurately.

Objective To analyze the clinical and pathological features of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with hepatic steatosis.Methods Clinical and pathological data of 841 patients with CHB who underwent liver biopsy in Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital during September 2015 to September 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.One hundred and thirty five gender and age-matched pairs of steatosis and non-steatosis patients entered the analysis.Multivariable Logistic regression and rank sum test were used to analyze the clinical features and risk factors of hepatic steatosis in CHB patients .Spearman correlation test was used to analyze the correlation between hepatic steatosis and HBV DNA , hepatic inflammation and fibrosis status.Results Logistic regression analysis showed that overweight ／obesity ( χ2 ＝3.947, OR ＝1.436, 95%CI 1.005-2.051, P＜0.05) and hyperlipidemia (χ2 ＝4.277,OR＝1.803,95%CI 1.031-3.151, P＜0.05) were the risk factors for hepatic steatosis in CHB patients.There was no correlation of hepatic steatosis with serum HBeAg and HBV DNA levels (Z＝-1.762,r＝-0.011, both P＞0.05). However, hepatic steatosis was negatively correlated with inflammatory grade and fibrosis grade of the liver (r＝-0.146 and -0.192, both P＜0.05).Conclusions Overweight／obesity and hyperlipidemia are associated with steatosis in CHB patients.Hepatic steatosis may not aggravate the degree of liver inflammation and fibrosis in CHB patients.

Objective To analyze the disease burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)attributable to high body mass index(BMI)in China from 1990 to 2019 in the context of rapid growth in high BMI rates.Methods Data was extracted from GBD 2019,and the disease burden of T2DM attributable to high BMI in China from 1990 to 2019 was analyzed for overall and subgroups defined by age and sex separately and jointly.The joinpoint regression models were used to analyze the trends of standardized death rate and standardized disability-adjusted life year(DALY)rate.Results From 1990 to 2019,the prevalence of T2DM increased from 2928.78 per 100000 to 6328.79 per 100000 in China.The number of T2DM deaths attributed to high BMI increased from 10500 to 47500 and the standardized death rate increased from 1.25 per 100000 to 2.39 per 100000.The attributed DALY increased from 771800 person-years to 3737600 person-years,and the standardized DALY rate increased from 80.21 per 100000 to 181.54 per 100000.Years of life lost(YLL)and years lived with disability(YLD)and their standardized rates also increased.From 1990 to 2019,the annual average percentage change of the standardized death rate and the standardized DALY rate of T2DM attributable to high BMI were 2.28%and 2.81%,respectively,which were statistically significant(P<0.05)and males were both higher than females.The standardized DALY rate and the standardized death rate of males exceeded that of females in 2010 and 2014,respectively.Age-stratified results showed that the burden of T2DM,which is attributed to a high BMI,is even greater in people over 50 years old.The YLD rate attributable to high BMI increased the most among the 15～49 age group,reaching 323.99%.Conclusion From 1990 to 2019,the disease burden of T2DM that can be attributed to high BMI increased significantly in China.It is necessary to strengthen prevention and control efforts,effectively manage population BMI,and adopt key interventions for high-risk groups to reduce the disease burden of T2DM.

Objective:To investigate the prognosis and its influencing factors of elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to provide references for clinical treatment.Methods:The clinical data of 152 patients with DLBCL aged over 60 years old from January 2013 to June 2017 in Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and the log-rank test was used for univariate analysis of factors affecting the prognosis of patients, and the Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for multivariate analysis.Results:The median overall survival (OS) time of 152 elderly patients with DLBCL was 36 months (32-40 months), and the 1, 2, and 3-year OS rates were 80.26%, 61.84%, and 57.24%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the differences in the 3-year OS rates of elderly DLBCL patients with different gender, clinical staging, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Ki-67, β 2-microglobulin (β 2-MG) levels, smoke history, use of rituximab and CHOP regimens were statistically significant (all P < 0.1). The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that male, late clinical staging, elevated LDH, and elevated β 2-MG were risk factors for the OS of elderly DLBCL patients (all P < 0.05). The use of rituximab and CHOP regimens were the protective factors for the OS of elderly patients with DLBCL (all P < 0.05). Conclusions:The elderly male DLBCL patients with late clinical staging, elevated LDH and elevated β 2-MG have a poor prognosis, and the elderly DLBCL patients treated with CHOP regimen and rituximab have a better prognosis.

Objective:To investigate Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori) infection status and interfamilial transmission pattern in Zhengzhou area. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to march 2021, among 731 individual from 266 families randomly selected from 9 communities of Zhengzhou area. H. pylori infection status was determined by serum antibody tests, and 13C-urea breath test was performed in the previously eradicated population to clarify the current infection status. The individual and familial infection rate, infection status for couples and children and adolescent were analyzed. Results:Among 731 individuals from 266 families, 397 of them were H. pylori positive. The individual infection rate was 54.31% (397/731); among infected individuals 77.83% (307/397) were infected with type Ⅰ strain, 22.67% (90/397) were infected by type Ⅱ strain. Annual household income ( χ2=0.419, 0.410, 0.213, all P>0.05), smoking history (χ 2=0.071, P>0.05), drinking history ( χ2=0.071, P>0.05), dining place ( χ2=0.009, P>0.05), gastrointestinal symptoms ( χ2=0.047, P>0.05), family history of gastric disease ( χ2=0.069, P>0.05), and history of gastric cancer ( χ2=0.004, P>0.05) had no significant differences between H. pylori-positive and -negative groups, but the infection rate in individuals with higher education level was lower ( χ2=4.449, P<0.05). The infection rate was significantly higher in≥18 age groups compared with<18 age groups ( χ2=6.531, 23.362, 20.671, 24.244, 37.948, 14.597 and 5.170, all P<0.05). The familial H. pylori infection rate was 87.59% (233/266), and in 61 families all member were infected (26.18%, 61/233). The positive rate was 23.08% (6/26) in 50 families with children under 18 years when both parents were infected. Among 231 coupled families, both couples were infected in 78 families (33.76%), one couple was infected in 113 families (48.92%), and both couples were not infected in 40 (17.32%). With the increase of marriage time, the infection rate of both spouses increased significantly ( χ2=7.775, 12.662, 15.487, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The distribution of H. pylori infection presents a family cluster pattern, and intrafamilial infection is an important transmission rout of H. pylori. The type I strain of H. pylori is the dominate strain in this area.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication, along with repetitive and restrictive patterns of behaviors or interests. Normal brain development is crucial to behavior and cognition in adulthood. Abnormal brain development, such as synaptic and myelin dysfunction, is involved in the pathogenesis of ASD. Microtubules and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are important in regulating the processes of brain development, including neuron production and synaptic formation, as well as myelination. Increasing evidence suggests that the level of MAPs are changed in autistic patients and mouse models of ASD. Here, we discuss the roles of MAPs.
Animals ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Autistic Disorder ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Neurons ; metabolism ; Social Behavior

Objective To establish the method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of Schistosoma japonicum from urine samples, and to evaluate the efficiency of this method for extraction from urine samples treated with various methods. Methods The S. japonicum SjG28 gene fragment was selected as a target sequence, and the 81 bp short DNA fragment was amplified on the target sequence using PCR assay. Following characterization using sequencing, the short DNA fragment was added into the urine samples as an exogenous short DNA fragment. Primers and probes were designed with SjG28 as a target gene, to establish the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay. The sensitivity of this qPCR assay was evaluated with exogenous short DNA fragments that were diluted at a 1:10 dilution ratio as the DNA template, and the specificity of the qPCR assay was evaluated with the genomic DNA of S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, Ancyiostoma duodenaie, Cionorchis sinensis, and Paragonimus westermani as DNA templates. Exogenous short DNA fragments were added into artificial and healthy volunteers’ urine samples, followed by pH adjustment, centrifugation and concentration, and the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments from urine samples was compared with the QIAmp Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen kit) and BIOG cfDNA easy kit (BIOG kit). Results An 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum was successfully prepared, and the lowest detection limit of the established qPCR assay was 100 copies/μL of the 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum. If the genomic DNA of S. japonicum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, A. duodenaie, C. sinensis, and P. westermani served as DNA templates, the qPCR assay only detected fluorescent signals with S. japonicum genomic DNA as the DNA template. If the pH values of artificial urine samples were adjusted to 5, 6, 7 and 8, the recovery rates were (49.12 ± 2.09)%, (84.52 ± 4.96)%, (89.38 ± 3.32)% and (87.82 ± 3.90)% for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum with the Qiagen kit, and were (2.30 ± 0.07)%, (8.11% ± 0.26)%, (13.35 ± 0.61)% and (20.82 ± 0.68)% with the BIOG kit, respectively (t = 38.702, 26.955, 39.042 and 29.571; all P values < 0.01). If the Qiagen kit was used for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment from artificial urine samples, the lowest recovery rate was seen from urine samples with a pH value of 5 (all P values < 0.05), and there were no significant differences in the recovery rate from urine samples with pH values of 6, 7 and 8 (all P values > 0.05). Following centrifugation of artificial [(64.30 ± 1.00)% vs. (58.87 ± 0.26)%; t = 12.033, P < 0.05] and healthy volunteers’ urine samples [(31 165 ± 1 017) copies/μL vs. (28 471 ± 818) copies/μL; t = 23.164, P < 0.05]. In addition, concentration of artificial urine samples with the 10 kDa Centrifugal Filter and concentration of healthy volunteers’ urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter were both effective to increase the recovery of the Qiagen kit for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum (both P values < 0.01). Conclusions A method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum from urine samples has been successfully established, and the Qiagen kit has a high extraction efficiency. Adjustment of urine pH to 6 to 8 and concentration of healthy volunteers’ urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter are both effective to increase the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum.