To compare the characteristics of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of gallbladder heat attacking the stomach and stagnant heat of the liver and stomach in patients with reflux esophagitis (RE), in terms of clinical symptoms, combination of gallbladder conditions, esophageal mucosal inflammation, gastric bile reflux under endoscopy and helicobacter pylori (HP) infection.

Objective To study the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis and treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Method An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was utilized to detect the serum IL-18 level of 58 UC patients. Results The serum IL-18 level in acute period of UC patients was significantly higher than that in control ones(P < 0.05 ). There was no significant difference between remisson period of UC and control ones (P> 0.05). The serum IL-18 level was closely related with the degree of UC (P < 0.05),the mean concentration of serum IL-18 was significantly higher in patients with severe ulcerative colitis [ (392.78 ± 50.17)pg/ml]than in patients with mild colitis ulcerative [ (138.92 ± 23.41 )pg/ml]and in control ones. Serum IL-18 in active ulcerative colitis were positively related to clinical disease severity and activity or laboratory parameters,including CAI,serum CRP,erythrocyte sedimentation rates,or total leukocyte counts (r = 0.775,0.705,0.662,0.625,P < 0.01 ). The level of IL-18 was declined after treatment with corticoids(P< 0.05). Conclusions IL-18 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of UC. The measurement of IL-18 is helpful to estimate the disease activity of UC and it may be considered as laboratory and activity criteria for UC.

Objective To explore the safety and short?term efficacy of irreversible electroporation (IRE)ablation which is a novel ablation technology in unresectable hepatic neoplasms. Methods Patients with pathologically diagnosed as liver cancer or liver metastases were prospectively enrolled. The patients were not suitable for surgery with PS score ≤ 2. Exclusion criteria included who was not tolerate general anesthesia, severe liver and kidney dysfunction, and with cardiac pacemaker. A total of 16 patients were included in this study. There was 12 males and 4 females, aged 40 to 86 years with mean age (60 ± 10)y. Ultrasound and CT guided percutaneous IRE ablation was performed. Perioperative hemodynamic changes were reviewed. Liver and kindey function before and 7 d after ablation was compare by t test. The adverse reactions within 30 d after ablation treatment were recorded. CT and MR scans within 1 month were performed and the 30 d curative effect was evaluated by the modified RECIST criteria. Results All patients received IRE treatment successfully, and some patients experienced adverse reactions within 30 days after ablation, including abdominal pain in 7 cases, peritoneal effusion in 5 cases, hydrothorax in 4 cases, fever in 3 cases, cough, nausea and vomiting in 2 cases, biliary tract infection and thrombocytopenia in 1 case. After symptomatic treatment, these symptoms were improved. Severe complications, such as massive haemorrhage and bile leakage didn't occur. At 30 days after ablation, the curative effects were evaluated. Complete response (CR) was achieved in 1 patient , partial response (PR) was achieved in 12 patients, stable disease (SD) was in 2 patients , and progressive disease(PD) was 1 patients . The tumor relief rate (complete response+partial response) was 81.3%. Conclusions IRE ablation in the treatment of unresectable hepatic malignant tumor could have many advantages, including high safety, mild adverse reactions, and short?term efficacy. However, its long?term effect still need further observation.

Present study aimed to investigate the eff ect of curcumin-pretreatment on intestinal I/R injury and on intestinal mucosa barrier. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into: sham, I/R, and curcumin groups (n=10). Animals in curcumin group were pretreated with curcumin by gastric gavage (200 mg/kg) for 2 days before I/R. Small intestine tissues were prepared for Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining. Serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels were measured. Expression of intestinal TNF-alpha and tight junction protein (ZO-1) proteins was detected by Western blot and/or immunohistochemistry. Serum DAO level and serum and intestinal TNF-alpha leves were signifi cantly increased after I/R, and the values were markedly reduced by curcumin pretreatment although still higher than that of sham group (p<0.05 or p<0.001). H&E staining showed the significant injury to intestinal mucosa following I/R, and curcumin pretreatment signifi cantly improved the histological structure of intestinal mucosa. I/R insult also induced significantly down-regulated expression of ZO-1, and the eff ect was dramatically attenuated by curcumin-pretreatment. Curcumin may protect the intestine from I/R injury through restoration of the epithelial structure, promotion of the recovery of intestinal permeability, as well as enhancement of ZO-1 protein expression, and this eff ect may be partly attributed to the TNF-alpha related pathway.
Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing) ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Curcumin* ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Intestine, Small ; Intestines ; Permeability ; Rats, Wistar ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Tight Junctions* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha* ; Zonula Occludens-1 Protein*

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and clinical outcomes of early laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation(RFA) forspontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 12 patients with spontaneously ruptured HCC treated by laparoscopic RFA from April 2005 to June 2018 in the West Campus of Beijing Chao-yang Hospital,Capital Medical University.The successful rate,safety,peritoneal recurrence rate,complete ablation rate and survival rate of RFA were respectively analyzed.Results The median size of the 12 HCC cases was 5.85 cm (4.0-10.1 cm) in the maximal dimension.Procedures of laparoscopic RFA ablation were performed successfully for all patients.Complete ablation was achieved in 58.3％patients (7/12).Five patients with incompletely ablated tumors received repeated RF ablation to achieve completeablation.Four patients (33.3％) developed minor complications(Dindo-Clavien grade Ⅰ).The mean follow-up of 36.8 months,4 patients (33.3％) were alive and 8 (66.7％) died.Of the 12 patients,the 1-and 3-year survival rates were 90.0％ and 60.0％,respectively.No patient had peritoneal recurrence.Conclusion Early laparoscopic RFA therapy is an minimally invasive,safety and effective treatment measure for spontaneouslyruptured HCC in selected patients,which presents an advantage of achieving simultaneous hemostasis,tumorelimination,and rinsing of peritoneal cavity to minimize the risk of peritoneal metastasis.

Objective:To investigate the classification of main pancreatic duct and treatment strategy after linear stapler closure of pancreatic neck in laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD).Methods:The records of 51 consecutive patients with LPD who were treated by linear staple closure technique of pancreatic neck from February to December 2022 from Binzhou Second People′s Hospital, Shijingshan Campus, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Rizhao Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic-Splenic Surgery Research Institute, Chaoyang Central Hospital, Shandong Juxian People′s Hospital, Weihai Municipal Hospital, Binzhou Central Hospital, and Affiliated Hospital of Chifeng University were retrospectively reviewed. According to the visibility, position and diameter of the main pancreatic duct at the stump of the pancreas, the type of main pancreatic duct was divided into type I, type Ⅱ, type Ⅲa and type Ⅲb. The number of cases in each main pancreatic duct classification and the corresponding treatment strategies were examined.Results:A total of 51 cases of LPD were successfully completed. Of these patients, the males comprised 56.9%(29/51), and females comprised 43.1%(22/51), with age ranging from 31 to 88 years old. The type of the main pancreatic duct at the stump of the pancreas included 7 cases (13.7%) of type Ⅰ, 39 cases (76.5%) of type Ⅱ, 2 cases (3.9%) of type Ⅲa, and 3 cases (5.9%) of type Ⅲb. Corresponding treatment strategies were adopted according to different main pancreatic duct types, the main pancreatic duct was successfully found, and a support drainage tube was inserted.Conclusion:After linear stapler closure of pancreatic neck, corresponding treatment strategies should be adopted according to the classification of the main pancreatic duct, which would help to improve the success rate of finding the main pancreatic duct and placing a support drainage tube.

Objective:To explore the influencing factors of long-term survival for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated by radiofrequency ablation (RFA).Methods:A retrospective analysis of 255 patients who underwent RFA as the main treatment modality for HCC from May 1, 2004 to Feb 28, 2015 was performed. All patients were divided into two groups according to the postoperative survival time: the 5-year or more survival group and the less than 5-year survival group. Clinical indicators such as age, maximum tumor size and number, and frequency of radiofrequency ablation were compared between the two groups. Cox single factor and multiple factors were used to analyze the influencing factors of long-term survival.Results:The median overall survival of all the 255 patients was 4.3 years (range 0.5-15.5 years). There were 115 patients (45.1%) who survived for 5 years or more and 140 patients (54.9%) who survived for less than 5 years. The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates of all the patients were 86.7%, 61.2%, 44.8% and 34.8%, respectively. There were no significant differences in gender, age, accompanying symptoms, aetiology of liver disease, level of alpha fetoprotein and treatment ( P>0.05), but there were significant differences in Child-Pugh class, liver cirrhosis, maximum diameter of tumor, tumor number, tumor stage, and frequency of RFA ( P<0.05) between the 2 groups of patients. Multivariate analysis showed that age ≥70 years old, Child-Pugh class B, maximum diameter of tumor >5.0 cm, multiple tumor were independent risk factors of long-term survival, but the number of sessions of RFA was a protective factor. Conclusions:For medium sized HCC and solitary large HCC, RFA combined with other therapeutic modalities could achieve satisfactory therapeutic results. Age, Child-Pugh class, maximum diameter of tumor, tumor number and RFA frequency were influencing factors for long-term survival of HCC patients.

Objective: To prove the validity and accuracy of the digitizer instead of the conventional electronics plug-in for radionuclide measurement. Methods:  Based on a large-area flow-gas multi-wire proportional counter for 2πα and 2πβ surface particle emission rate measurement, the DT5730 digital waveform sampler developed by CAEN was used for waveform signal acquisition, amplitude analysis, and data processing of the α-plane source 241Am and the β-plane source nuclides 14C, 36Cl, and 90Sr-90Y of different energies. Results: The deviations between the α and β surface particle emission rate results obtained after dead time and background corrections and the measurements obtained based on the plug-in calibrator were all within 0.6%, within the uncertainty range, under consistent experimental conditions such as electronics threshold and high pressure. Conclusion The digitizer is an effective alternative to conventional electronics plug-ins for α and β signal acquisition and processing and the accurate measurement of α and β emission rates.

BACKGROUNDApical abscess is an inflammatory process in the peri-radicular tissues caused by biofilms in the necrotic root canal systems. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the bacterial colonization is required for a better understanding of the pathogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the patterns of bacterial infection of root canals of teeth with apical abscesses and to determine whether histological and microbiological findings correlated with clinical conditions.

METHODSEighteen samples from 18 teeth with apical pathological lesions were analyzed. Nine patients with acute apical abscesses experienced severe pain, and nine patients were asymptomatic with a sinus tract. After extraction, each affected root was divided into two halves. One half was processed for histobacteriologic analysis and examined using light microscopy, and the other half was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the patterns of microbial colonization of the root canals.

RESULTSThe appearance of each sample subjected to SEM was consistent with the histobacteriologic findings despite the presence or absence of clinical symptoms. Intraradicular biofilms comprising cocci, rods, and/or filaments of amorphous materials were observed in the apical third of the main root canals in all samples. The bacterial biofilms covering the main root canal walls also penetrated the dentinal tubules to varying depths. The morphologies of biofilms varied, and a unique pattern of intraradicular infection was not identified.

CONCLUSIONIntraradicular infections formed complex and variable multispecies biofilms and their presence did not correlate with clinical symptoms.

Abscess ; microbiology ; Aged ; Bacterial Infections ; microbiology ; Biofilms ; growth & development ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Middle Aged

Objective To correct the counting loss of ³⁷Ar below the activity threshold during the measurement of the absolute activity of the inert radioactive gas ³⁷Ar using the proportional counter filled with gas. Methods Monte Carlo simulation with Geant4 was performed to establish a proportional counter model and output the energy deposition spectrum of ³⁷Ar, which were used to simulate and analyze the causes and correction of counting loss. Results The photon detection efficiency was only 38.7% at 60 kPa. The counting loss was mainly caused by the wall effect produced by the photons, which could be reduced by increasing the gas pressure and corrected by extrapolation. The influence of wall effect at 100 kPa was 4.4%, and the deviation between simulation and experiment was < 0.6%. Conclusion A factor could be calculated by Geant4 simulation for the correction of counting loss, thus achieving the accurate measurement of ³⁷Ar activity by proportional counter.