Objective To study the correlation between isokinetic parameters and modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) in ankle spasticity as-sessment. Methods 18 stroke patients (spasticity group) and 16 healthy subjects (control group) in our hospitals from August 2014 to March 2015 were included. MAS was used to assess the ankle muscular tension. The ankle passive movement of both groups was measured with BIODEX isokinetic motor assessment system under 10 °/s, 60 °/s, 120 °/s, 180 °/s, 240 °/s. The peak torque (PT), peak torque/body weight (PT/BW), average torque (AT), and slopes of the linear regression curve of torque-velocity (SLOPE) were recorded. The correlation of the isokinetic paramenters and the MAS were tested with Spearman correlation analysis. Results The PT, PT/BW and AT were higher in the spasticity group than in the control group (P<0.05). And they increased as the angular velocity increased, and slowed after 120 °/s. The corre-lation coefficient of MAS and PT, PT/BW, AT, SLOPE were from 0.3043 to 0.7632 (P<0.01). Conclusion The isokinetic parameters were speed-dependent and closely related to MAS. 120 °/s was of the highest sensitivity, and the SLOPE under this anglular velocity was highly correlated with MAS.

Objective To find the plantar pressure readings which best indicate foot inversion during the stance phase of walking among hemiplegic stroke survivors.Methods Twenty-two hemiplegic stroke survivors who were able to walk without extra aid were recruited as the experimental group, while 17 healthy elderly men of similar age and body weight were selected as the control group.Those in both groups were asked to walk at their preferred speed over a Footscan device which measured medio-lateral pressure ratios, maximum plantar pressures and the contact areas of both feet.The Clinical Spasticity Index (CSI) was used to evaluate the affected feet.Results The average medial forefoot pressure of the affected side in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group, but their average mesopodium and heel pressure was significantly higher.The average pressure applied by the great toe on the uninjured side in the experimental group was significantly smaller than that of the control group, but the average mesopodium and heel pressure of both feet among the hemiplegics were significantly higher than those of the control group.Among the experimental group, the average medial forefoot pressure of the affected foot was significantly greater than that of the healthy foot.The average contact area of the great toe on the affected side was significantly bigger than was observed in the control group.That of the medial forefoot was, however, significantly smaller than in the control group.There was no significant difference in the contact area between the healthy and affected feet in the experimental group, though the maxmium medio-lateral pressure ratios of their full feet and forefeet on the affected side were significantly lower than those in the healthy group.No significant differences in the maxmium medio-lateral pressure ratios of the heel were observed between the two groups, nor of the full feet, forefeet and heels of the affected and unaffected sides in the experimental group.The patients demonstrated consistently reduced joint mobility on both sides during the stance phase, coinciding with increased inversion.A significant negative correlation was found between the maxmium medio-lateral pressure ratios of the full foot and the maximum pressure of the lateral part of forefoot in the experimental group, but there was no significant correlation with contact area or CSI.Conclusions Plantar pressure data can be used to describe the amount of foot inversion in the stance phase of walking with hemiplegic patients after stroke.The maxmium medio-lateral pressure ratios can effectively reflect their foot inversion.

Objective To explore the feasibility of combining anterior and posterior fontanelle acoustic windows for fetal median sagittal plane cranial scanning in prenatal ultrasound.Methods From July 5 to August 25 in 2012,200 pregnant women in Huai'an First Hospital at 22 to 24 gestational weeks accepted transabdominal uhrasonography,with anterior fontanelle,longitudinal suture and posterior fontanelle as acoustic windows to obtain the median sagittal plane.In the mean time,ten aborted or induced fetuses (with malformations or maternal complications) underwent cranial ultrasound with the same acoustic windows.The successful rates of obtaining median sagittal plane were calculated.Data were analyzed by Chi-square test.Results (1) Among the ten aborted or induced fetuses,all median sagittal planes were successfully obtained through anterior,posterior fontanelle,or longitudinal suture alone.(2) Among the 200 cases of prenatal uhrasonography,the successful rate of obtaining median sagittal plane through posterior fontanelle alone was 76.0％(152/200),which was higher than that through anterior fontanelle alone [59.5％ (119/200),x2=12.5,P＜0.01].The successful rate was 95.5％ (191/200) when combining the anterior and posterior fontanelle,which was higher than that through anterior fontanelle or posterior fontanelle alone (x2 =74.3 and 31.1,both P＜0.01).The successful rate of obtaining median sagittal plane through posterior fontanelle was 67.3％ (65/102) in cephalic presentation,which was also higher than that through anterior fontanelle [37.3％ (38/102),x2 =14.3,P＜0.01].The successful rate was 88.8％ (87/98) through posterior fontanelle in non-cephalic presentation,which was similar to that through anterior fontanelle [82.7％(81/98),x2 =1.5,P＞0.05].When both anterior and posterior fontanelle applied,the successful rate in cephalic presentation was 9.8％ (10/102),lower than that in non-cephalic presentation fetuses [71.4％ (70/98),x2 =79.1,P＜0.01].Conclusions The successful rate in obtaining median sagittal plane through posterior fontanelle is higher than that through anterior fontanelle,and might be increased when both anterior and posterior fontanelle were used.

Brain metastases are the major cause of adult malignant nervous system tumors. For this part of population, treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor. In recent years, immunotherapy based on inhibitors of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1), have brought innovation to the treatment of malignant tumors. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the management of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Encouraging results have suggested that ICIs could be active in selected advanced NSCLC brain metastases with driver-negative patients. However, for patients with brain metastases, not only the corresponding clinical data are limited, but also the evaluation of its efficacy lacks a unified standard. This article aims to review the relevant efficacy evaluation standards and their application in clinical researches, compare the similarities and differences, and look forward to future trends.
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Objective:To explore the causal relationship between body mass index (BMI) and hypothyroidism using the two-sample Mendelian randomization model.Methods:A large-scale anthropometric genome-wide association study published in the GIANT database was used to select single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which were statistically significantly associated with BMI as an instrumental variable ( P<5×10 -8, linkage disequilibrium r 2<0.1). The causal relationship between BMI and hypothyroidism was determined by the inverse variance weighted (IVW), weighted median method and the MR-Egger method, respectively. A heterogeneity test, gene pleiotropy test, and sensitivity analysis were performed to evaluate the stability and reliability of the results. Results:A total of 89 SNPs related to BMI were screened out as instrumental variables. IVW analysis suggested that for every standard deviation increase in BMI, the risk of hypothyroidism increased by 0.9% (odd ratio ( OR)=1.009, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 1.006-1.012, P<0.001). Similar results were obtained with the weighted median method ( OR=1.007, 95% CI: 1.002-1.011, P=0.003) and the MR-Egger method ( OR=1.008, 95% CI: 1.001-1.015, P=0.006). The MR-Egger analysis showed that genetic pleiotropy did not bias the results (intercept=0.000 1, P=0.776), the one-by-one exclusion method did not show that a single instrumental variable SNP had a significant impact on the results, and the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Mendelian randomized analysis showed a positive causal relationship between BMI and hypothyroidism.

Objective : Mendelian randomization analysis was used to explore the causal relationship of T．gondii in- fection and the cyst distribution and inflammation in brain tissue by immunohistochemistry． Methods : Genome- wide association analysis data of T．gondii infection and encephalitis were obtained ，single nucleotide polymor- phisms (SNPs) were selected，Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted by inverse variance weighting，and the causal relationship between T．gondii infection and encephalitis was evaluated by OR value and 95% CI．Quality control was carried out by using heterogeneity test，horizontal multi-efficiency test and leave-one-out sensitivity test. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using brain sections of mice infected with tissue cysts of Wh6 strain for image analysis using Image J software. Results : A total of 29 SNPs were associated with toxoplasmic encephalitis. The results of IVW method suggested that T．gondii infection made encephalitis risk 0. 98 times higher ( OR = 0. 98， 95% CI = 0. 76 to 1. 27) ，indicating no causal relationship between the two．The quality control results suggested that the selected SNPs were stable and reliable．Toxoplasma cysts were distributed in various parts of the brain tis- sue． Conclusion T．gondii infection and encephalitis are related，but there is no sufficient evidence to prove the causal relationship between the two.