Objective To analyze and summarize the CT features of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).Methods 30 patients with MTC proved by surgery and pathology were scanned by CT.And the CT manifestations were analyzed retrospectively.Results In a total of 30 patients,a single lesion in 25 (83.3%)patients and multiple ones in 5 (16.7%)were found with irregular shape in 27 (90.0%),unclear border in 26 (86.7%),heterogenous enhancement with irregular internal hypodensity in 27 (90.0%),cal-cifications in 4 (13.3%)and invasion of trachea in 4 (13.3%).As for the 29 patients underwent the neck surgery ,26 (89.7%) were pathologically confirmed with lymph nodes metastasis.CT showed the metastatic lymph nodes with well-defined border in 1 2 (46.2%)and ill-defined one in 14 (53.8%),calcifications in 5 (19.2%)and heterogenous enhancement with irregular internal hy-podensity in all (100.0%).Conclusion CT features of MTC and metastatic lymph nodes appeared as heterogenous enhancement with irregular internal low attenuation area,which can improve the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis.

Recent evidence has suggested that Akt2 plays an important role in the protection of cells from paclitaxel (PTX)-induced apoptosis and control of the cell cycle. In addition, some scholars suggested that the PTX sensitivity depends on a functional spindle assembly checkpoint. In the present study, we investigated the role of the Akt2/Bub1 cross-talking in apoptosis and cell cycle after exposure of the A2780 ovarian cancer cells to paclitaxel (PTX). Recombinant expression plasmid WT-Akt2 was transfected into A2780 cells by lipofectamine2000, and then the expression level of Akt2 gene was detected by using RT-PCR and Western blotting. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342 staining after treatment with PTX. Moreover, we compared the expression level of Bub1 in different groups by Western blotting. Our study showed that up-regulation of Akt2 contributed to A2780 ovarian cancer cells overriding PTX-induced G(2)/M arrest, and inhibited Bub1 expression. Our findings might shed light on the molecular mechanism of PTX-induced resistance in ovarian cancer and help develop novel anti-neoplastic strategies.

Objective To investigate the correlation between blood pressure variability (BPV) and early neurological deterioration (END) in patients with acute anterior circulation large artery atherosclerotic (LAA)stroke. Methods From January 2015 to June 2018, consecutive patients with anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University were enrolled prospectively. According to the etiological classification, they were divided into LAA group and non-LAA group. By monitoring the blood pressure within 72 h of hospitalization, the mean, maximum (max)and minimum (min) values, and the difference between max and min (max-min), standard deviation (SD),and coefficient of variation (CV; CV = SD × 100/mean) were calculated. END was defined as the highest score of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) within 72 h of admission increased by ≥2than the baseline. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between BPV parameters and END. Results A total of 271 patients with anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke were enrolled, including 101 females (37. 3％) and 170 males (62. 7％), with an average age of 64. 99 ± 11. 51 years. There were 95 patients (35. 1％) with LAA and 176 (64. 9％) with non-LAA. In the LAA group and non-LAA group, 36 patients (37.9％) and 50 patients (28.4％) developed END respectively. The comparison between END patients and non-END patients in the LAA group showed that there were significant differences in age, sex, diabetes mellitus, baseline NIHSS score and C-reactive protein, as well as SBPmax , SBPmax-min , SBPSD , SBPCV, DBPmax , DBPmax-min , DBPSD , and DBPCV in BPV indices (all P < 0. 05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that many BPV indices were the independent risk factors for END, including SBPmax (odds ratio [OR] 1. 027, 95％ confidence interval [CI] 1. 003-1. 052; P = 0. 027),SBPmax-min (OR 1. 041, 95％CI 1. 015-1. 068; P = 0. 002), SBPSD (OR 1. 177, 95％ CI 1. 048-1. 322; P =0. 006), SBPCV (OR 1. 226, 95％ CI 1. 036-1.451; P = 0. 018), DBPmax (OR 1. 073, 95％ CI 1. 017-1. 133;P = 0. 010), DBPmax-min (OR 1. 107, 95％CI 1. 044-1. 174; P = 0. 001), DBPSD (OR 1. 693, 95％CI 1. 268- 2. 260; P < 0. 001), and DBPCV(OR 1. 726, 95％CI 1. 311-2. 271; P < 0. 001). In the non-LAA group, there were no significant association between all BPV parameters and the occurrence of END. Conclusion BPV was significantly correlated with END in patients with anterior circulation LAA.

Recent evidence has suggested that Akt2 plays an important role in the protection of cells from paclitaxel(PTX)-induced apoptosis and control of the cell cycle.In addition,some scholars suggested that the PTX sensitivity depends on a functional spindle assembly checkpoint.In the present study,we investigated the role of the Akt2/Bub1 cross-talking in apoptosis and cell cycle after exposure of the A2780 ovarian cancer cells to paclitaxel(PTX).Recombinant expression plasmid WT-Akt2 was transfected into A2780 cells by lipofectamine2000,and then the expression level of Akt2 gene was detected by using RT-PCR and Western blotting.Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342 staining after treatment with PTX.Moreover,we compared the expression level of Bubl in different groups by Western blotting.Our study showed that up-regulation of Akt2 contributed to A2780 ovarian cancer cells overriding PTX-induced G2/M arrest,and inhibited Bub1 expression.Our findings might shed light on the molecular mechanism of PTX-induced resistance in ovarian cancer and help develop novel anti-neoplastic strategies.

This paper introduces the construction and application of the medical quality evaluation indicator system in clinical departments of a large general hospital.It describes the indicator system's constitution and score setting,summarize the characteristics and application practice of the assessment system,and proposes some ideas for the following improvement,which in order to provide some reference for other hospitals.

Objective To evaluate the precision and effectiveness of ultrasound-guided visualization for nasojejunal tube placement with the"R(right reclining)-S(shoulder)-A(abdominal)"3-point positioning for critically ill patients.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on all critically ill patients who underwent nasojejunal tube placement in Department of Critical Medicine of a tertiary hospital in Chongqing from April 2022 to August 2023.According to the position of the catheter,they were divided into a control group and an observation group.The control group received ultrasound-guided nasojejunal tube insertion,while the observation group used the"R-S-A"3-point positioning (the patient were placed in a right lateral position,the nurse stood at the right shoulder of the patient,and the ultrasound operator stood on the right side of the abdomen in the operating direction)for ultrasound-guided nasojejunal tube insertion.And,the control group had no specific requirements for positioning during the procedure.After propensity matching,the time and success rate of catheter insertion and incidence of complications were compared between the 2 groups.Results The time of catheter insertion was significantly shorter (36.2±10.3 vs 42.3±8.3 min),and the success rate of insertion was obviously higher (95.2％ vs 66.7％)in the observation group when compared with the control group (P<0.05).The incidence of complication was 9.5％ in the observation group,and 28.6％ in the control group,but there was no statistical difference between the 2 groups.Conclusion Ultrasound-guided nasojejunal tube placement based on "R-S-A"3-point positioning has high precision and strong effectiveness in critically ill patients,which can shorten the time and improve the success rate of catheter insertion.

Objective: To evaluate the compliance rate of screening colonoscopy and associated factors in high-risk populations of colorectal cancer (CRC) in urban China. Methods: CRC screening data from the Program of Cancer Screening in Urban China conducted in 12 provinces in 2012-2014 was used in the present study. All 97 445 participants were asked to take epidemiological questionnaire survey to evaluate their cancer risk. Participants who were evaluated as "high risk for CRC" were recommended to receive colonoscopy at designated hospitals. Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences of participation rates between groups. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to explore the potential factors associated withthe compliance rate of screening colonoscopy. Results: Overall, 97 445 participants of CRC high-risk were included in this analysis, and 14 949 of them took screening colonoscopy, yielding a participation rate of 15.3%. The participation rate varied greatly across provinces, ranging from 25.2% (2 785/11 071) in Heilongjiang to 9.7% (1 698/17 515) in Liaoning. Moreover, the participation rate in 2013-2014 was significantly higher than that in 2012-2013 (17.1%(9 766/57 280) vs 12.9% (5 183/40 165), χ²=57.67, P<0.001) . The multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that: compared with individuals of 40-49 years old, individuals of 50-59 or 60-69 years old were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy, with OR of 1.17 (95% CI: 1.12-1.22) and 1.13 (95% CI: 1.08-1.19), respectively; compared with uneducated individuals, individuals with good educational background of equivalent to high school or higher (OR=1.29, 95% CI:1.10-1.50) were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy; compared with individuals who never took fecal occult blood tests (FOBT) before, individuals with previous positive FOBT results (OR=1.40, 95% CI:1.31-1.50) were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy; compared with individuals with no inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), individuals with IBD (OR=1.63, 95%CI:1.56-1.69) were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy; Compared with individuals without polyp history, individuals having history of previous polyp detection (OR=1.43, 95% CI:1.37-1.50) were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy; compared to individuals with no family history of CRC, individuals with history of CRC (OR=1.60, 95% CI:1.53-1.66) were more willing to accept screening colonoscopy. Conclusion The overall participation rate of screening colonoscopy among high-risk population of CRC in the 12 participating sites was 15.3%. The study findings indicated that age, education level, history of past fecal occult blood test, IBD, history of polyp, family history of CRC were associated with the compliance rate of colonoscopy in this population-based CRC screening program.

Objective:To compare the rates of acceptance of colonoscopy, fecal immunochemical test (FIT), or a novel risk-adapted screening approach in the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program. Related risk factors were also studied.Methods:The study has been based on an ongoing randomized controlled trial on colorectal cancer screening programs in six centers of research since May 2018. The involved participants were those who presented at the baseline screening phase. All the participants were randomly allocated into one of the following three intervention arms in a 1∶2∶2 ratio: colonoscopy group, FIT group, and a novel risk-adapted screening group. All the participants underwent risk assessment on CRC by an established risk score system. The subjects with high-risk were recommended to undertake the colonoscopy while the low-risk ones were receiving the FIT. Detailed epidemiological data was collected through questionnaires and clinical examinations. Rates of participation and compliance in all three groups were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore the potential associated factors related to the acceptance of screening.Results:There were 19 546 eligible participants involved in the study, including 3 916 in the colonoscopy group, 7 854 in the FIT group, and 7 776 in the novel risk-adapted screening group, respectively. Among the 19 546 participants, the mean age was 60.5 years ( SD=6.5), and 8 154 (41.7 %) were males. The rates of participation in the colonoscopy, FIT and the novel risk-adapted screening groups were 42.5 %, 94.0 % and 85.2 %, respectively. In the novel risk-adapted screening group, the participation rate was 49.2 % for the high-risk participants who need to undertake colonoscopy and was 94.0 % for the low-risk ones who need to undertake FIT. Results from the multivariate logistic regression models demonstrated that there were several factors associated with the rates of participation in CRC screening, including age, background of education, history of smoking cigarettes, previous history of bowel examination, chronic inflammatory bowel disease and family history of CRC among the 1 st-degree relatives. Conclusions:FIT and the novel risk-adapted screening approach showed superior participation rates to the colonoscopy. Further efforts including health promotion campaign for specific target population are needed to improve the engagement which ensures the effectiveness of CRC screening programs.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) and to provide reference for designing effective colorectal cancer (CRC) screening strategy in China.Methods:Based on an ongoing randomized controlled trial comparing the colorectal cancer screening strategies, this current study involved 3 407 participants aged 50-74 years who had undergone colonoscopies. All the feces samples were collected from the participants prior to receiving the colonoscopy. Fecal hemoglobin (Hb) was tested by FIT following a standardized operation process. Diagnosis-related indicators of FIT were calculated using the colonoscopy results as the gold standard.Results:Among the 3 407 participants, the mean age (SD) as 60.5 (6.3) years and 1 753 (51.5%) were males. The participants involved 28 (0.8%) CRCs, 255 (7.5%) advanced adenomas, 677 (19.9%) nonadvanced adenomas, and 2 447 (71.8%) benign or negative findings. With an overall positivity rate of 2.8% (96/3 407) at the recommended cutoff value of 20 μg Hb/g, the sensitivities of FIT for both CRC and advanced adenoma were 57.1% (95 %CI: 37.2%-75.5%) and 11.0% (95 %CI: 7.4%-15.5%), respectively, with the corresponding specificity as 98.4% (95 %CI: 97.8%-98.8%). At a decreased cut-off value of 5 μg Hb/g, the sensitivities for detecting CRC and advanced adenoma increased to 64.3% (95 %CI: 44.1%-81.4%) and 16.5% (95 %CI: 12.1%-21.6%), respectively, but the specificity reduced to 95.2% (95 %CI: 94.4%-95.9%). The areas under the ROC curve for CRC and advanced adenoma were 0.908 (95 %CI: 0.842-0.973) and 0.657 (95 %CI: 0.621-0.692), respectively. Of the diagnostic performance, there were no significant differences noticed by different sex and age groups. Conclusions:In our study, the quantitative FIT showed modest sensitivity in detecting CRC but limited sensitivity in detecting advanced adenoma. In population-based CRC screening programs, the quantitative FIT had the advantage of adjusting the positive threshold based on the targeted detection rate and available resource load of colonoscopy.