Objective To evaluate the detection competence of HbA2 and HbF in Guangxi medical laboratories.Methods The external quality assessment(EQA) of HbA2 and HbF was conducted twice a year and five samples was detected each time during 2012 to 2016.The laboratories participated in EQA completed the samples' detection and submitted the detection results at specified time according to the requirements of EQA.The distribution of each detection system,the qualification rate of each laboratory,the variation degrees of each detection system and each detection method,and the variations of results for different levels of quality control(QC) materials during 5 years were analyzed based on the returned results.Results The application of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis(CE) increased year by year and their usage rates in 2016 reached up to 46.1％ (82/178) and 18.0％ (32/178),respectively.The qualification rates of HbA2 and HbF increased from 51.5％ (34/66) and 60.6％ (40/66) in 2012 to 93.3％ (166/178) and 92.1％ (164/178) in 2016,respectively.The average coefficient of variation(CV) of each detection system decreased year by year.There were good CVs for the results of high,medium and low levels of HbA2 QC materials detected by the Bio-Rad Variant Ⅱ and Sebia CAPILLARYS 2 systems,and they were less than 6.0％.HPLC and CE could quantitatively detect the HbA2 and HbF levels,and their total detection competence was superior to that of agarose gel electrophoresis.Conclusion EQA can assess the abihty of one laboratory detecting HbA2 and HbF,and quantitatively analyze the levels of HbA2 and HbF,which may provide the quality assurance and data support for the screening and prevention of thalassemia.

Objective To investigate the incidence of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (GEP-NEN) in Chengdu City in 2010 and summarize clinical characteristics of GEP-NEN.Methods The incidence of GEP-NEN was estimated with the data in 2010 from the databases of West China Hospital and Chengdu Health Information Centre.Results A total of 77 cases of GEP-NEN were diagnosed in West China Hospital in 2010.Ten cases from other hospitals or non-Chengdu citizenship were excluded,so a total of 67 cases were included in this study.In 2010,the incidence of GEP-NEN was 1.86/105 in Chengdu City.Among 67 GEP-NEN cases,most lesions were located in pancreas and rectum (38 cases,56.7％),followed by stomach (10 cases),esophagus (seven cases) and duodenum (four cases).Among 57 GEP-NEN cases which had pathotogial grading,26 cases (45.6 ％) had neuroendocrine carcinomas or mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinomas when diagnosed.Conclusions In 2010,the incidence of GEP-NEN in Chengdu City is similar to the reports from other countries.Pancreas,rectum and upper gastrointestinal tract are predilection sites of GEP-NEN.The diagnosis rate of early GEP NEN needs to be raised.

Objective: To investigate the lateral canthoplasty and canthopexy with bone drilling to correct lower eyelid malposition and its benefit. Methods: From January 2014 to January 2019, lateral canthopexy with bone drilling technique was used to repair 56 patients with lower eyelid malposition in Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Changhai Hospital. Forty-four patients with lower eyelid ectopic had multiple previous surgeries, and 12 patients had congenital lower eyelid retraction. For patients without lower palpebral margin extension, lateral canthopexy with bone drilling technique was applied. For patients with lower palpebral margin extension, the lateral canthus angle was exposed to shorten the lower eyelid margin. For congenital lower eyelid retraction, the lateral canthus tendon was completely cut off, and then fixed with double armed sutures. Results: Operations were successfully performed on all 56 patients, and the patients were followed up for 1-38 months. Forty-nine patients achieved good eyelid shape and satisfied with the operative effects (87.5%). Malposition was ameliorated in 6 patients (10.7%). One remained uncorrected (1.8%). Conclusions Lateral canthopexy with bone drilling technique could obtain firm suspension force. For lower eyelid malposition, especially for patients with recurrent malposition or congenital lower eyelid retraction, satisfied function and appearance could be achieved.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of robotic navigation and percutaneous internal fixation in the treatment of fresh undisplaced scaphoid lumbar fractures.Methods:From November 2019 to October 2020, 8 patients were treated at Department of Hand Surgery, Xuzhou Renci Hospital for fresh undisplaced scaphoid lumbar fractures. There were 7 males and one female with an average age of 27.5 years (from 18 to 42 years), and 5 left and 3 right cases. Navigation by a Tianji orthopedic robot was conducted to decide the positions for implantation of percutaneous Herbert screws to fixate the fractures. The bone healing was followed up by regular X-ray and CT examinations. The functional recovery was evaluated by Mayo wrist score, grip strength, pinch strength and wrist range of motion, and the wrist pain was evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS).Results:All the 8 patients were followed up for a mean time of 12.8 months (from 6 to 19 months). All the wounds healed by the first intention without any inflammation or infection. CT examination at 3 months postoperation found that all the fracture ends got united. At the final follow-up, the average active motions of the injured wrist were: 67.9° in flexion, 64.1° in extension, 21.2° in radial deviation and 52.2° in unlar deviation, respectively. The average grip strength was recovered to 31.3 kg, reaching up to 85.2% (from 66.7% to 100.0%) of the contralateral wrist; the average pinch force was recovered to 19.5 kg, reaching up to 89.3% (from 77.8% to 100.0%) of the contralateral wrist. At the last follow-up, the Mayo wrist function scores averaged 97.5 (from 95 to 100) and all the 8 cases were excellent. The VAS pain score of the wrist averaged 0.88 (from 0 to 2).Conclusion:In the treatment of fresh undisplaced scaphoid lumbar fractures, navigation with a Tianji orthopedic robot can be used to visualize percutaneous minimally invasive screw fixation so that accurate positioning and precise screw placement are ensured, leading to rapid rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation is closely related to the EGFR-TKI target treatment and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients. The mutation status of EGFR is limited by tissue detection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference of EGFR mutants in plasmacirculating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) obtained from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in three groups: pre-therapy, after traditional chemotherapy and targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze whether the plasma cfDNA could effectively determine the EGFR mutations and monitor the drug resistant gene T790M, as well as its prognostic prediction value in patients with targeted therapy. METHODS: ARMS (amplification refractory mutation system)-PCR was used to detect EGFR mutations in 107 (50 of pre-therapy, 29 after traditional chemotherapy and 28 after targeted therapy) cases of paired plasma and tumor tissue specimens, followed by comparing their concordance. The sensitivity, specificity and the prognostic value of plasma cfDNA detection were also observed. RESULTS: The total rate of EGFR mutation was 56% (60/107) in all plasma samples and 77.6% (83/107) in corresponding tumor tissues. Completely the same mutants and wild-type EGFR were found in 68.2% cases of paired specimens. The sensitivity of plasma cfDNA detection was 72.3% and the specificity was up to 100%. Patients were sub-categorized according to therapy. The results showed that the highest consistent rate of cfDNA and tumor tissues was found in the group of pre-therapy (74%, 37/50). Whereas, the lowest consistent rate was observed in the targeted therapy group (57.1%, 16/28). It indicated that the targeted treatment could change the EGFR status in plasma cfDNA. Further analyses on inconsistent cases in this group revealed that 50% of them were compound EGFR mutations with T790M. Thereby, it suggested that targeted therapy might induce the emergence of drug resistance gene T790M. This speculation was confirmed by survival analyses. Based on plasma cfDNA results, patients with T790M mutant had significantly worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). CONCLUSIONS For EGFR testing, ARMS-PCR on plasma cfDNA is a promising methodology with the highest specificity and effective sensitivity. It is useful for EGFR testing in patients before treatment, especially the late-stage patients. Simultaneously, plasma cfDNA could be used to monitor the drug resistant mutation, T790M status and predict prognosis after targeted therapy.
Adenocarcinoma ; blood ; drug therapy ; genetics ; mortality ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids ; blood ; ErbB Receptors ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; genetics ; mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Mutation, Missense ; Prognosis

Objective : Given that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is associated with the progression of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) , this study aims to investigate whether the polarization induction of synovial macrophages mediated by the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis is the cause of KOA progression . Methods : The synovial fluid of KOA KL-Ⅱ and KL-Ⅲ patients and normal individuals was collected , and the percentage of M1 macrophages (CD80 , CD86) and M2 macrophages (CD163 , CD206) in the synovial fluid (M1 /M2 ratio) was measured to e- valuate the polarization of macrophage cytokines such as IL-1 , IL-6 , IL-10 , and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α, transforming growth factor ( TGF)-βExpression in KOA synovial fluid , and detect and analyze of key molecules PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis PI3K , AKT3 , mTORC1 , and inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iONS) in KOA synovial fluid . Results : Compared with the synovial fluid of normal individuals , the percentage of M1 macrophages (CD80 , CD86) in KOA patients increased (P < 0. 01) , and the M1 /M2 ratio increased ( P < 0. 001) ; The ex- pression of IL-1 , IL-6 , and TNF-αin the synovial fluid of the KOA group was also higher than that of the control group (P < 0. 01) , while the expression of IL-10 and TGF-βin the KOA group was significantly reduced ( P < 0. 01) ; The key proteins PI3K , AKT3 , mTORC1 , and downstream inflammatory factor iONS in the PI3K/AKT/ mTOR signaling pathway in the synovial fluid of the KOA group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0. 01) . Conclusion In KOA synovial fluid , M1 macrophage polarization plays a dominant role , and the inflam- matory response mediated by M1 macrophage polarization may be the cause of synovitis . At the same time , the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway may mediate the polarization of M1 macrophages involved in KOA inflammato- ry response .

Objective: To observe the effects of the tofacitinib on interstitial lung disease( ILD) by regulating the JAK⁃STAT signaling pathway. Methods: Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:normal group , ILD group ,prednisone acetate group , and tofacitinib group. Except for the normal group , the other three groups were given 3mg/ml bleomycin solution for modeling. After 28 days of intragastric administration , the lung tissues of all rats were collected for hematoxylin⁃eosin staining ( HE) and Western blot ( WB) to detect the protein levels of JAK1 and STAT1;Enzyme⁃linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect tumor necrosis factor in rat serum (TNF) Ⅳ α , interleukin (IL) Ⅳ6 , IL⁃10 , IL⁃1β . Results : HE staining of lung tissue in ILD ,prednisone acetate group and tofacitinib group showed alveolar tissue thickening , alveolar wall capillary congestion , bronchial luminal epithelial cells shedding, and inflammatory cell exudation. The results of WB showed that JAK1 and STAT1 significantly increased in ILD group , and decreased in different degrees compared with ILD group , tofacitinib group and prednisone acetate group (P < 0. 05) . The ELISA results showed that the expressions of serum TNF⁃α , IL⁃6 and IL⁃1β in the ILD group were significantly higher than those in the normal group (P < 0. 01) . The expression of pine group decreased (P < 0. 05) , and the expression of IL⁃10 was the opposite. Conclusion Tofacitinib reduces lung tissue damage and the inflammatory response in the treatment of ILD by inhibiting the JAK⁃STAT pathway and down⁃regulating the expression of inflammatory factors TNF⁃α , IL⁃6 , IL⁃1β and up⁃regulating the anti⁃inflammatory factor IL⁃10.

Molecular knowledge of human gastric corpus epithelium remains incomplete. Here, by integrated analyses using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, and single-cell assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (scATAC-seq) techniques, we uncovered the spatially resolved expression landscape and gene-regulatory network of human gastric corpus epithelium. Specifically, we identified a stem/progenitor cell population in the isthmus of human gastric corpus, where EGF and WNT signaling pathways were activated. Meanwhile, LGR4, but not LGR5, was responsible for the activation of WNT signaling pathway. Importantly, FABP5 and NME1 were identified and validated as crucial for both normal gastric stem/progenitor cells and gastric cancer cells. Finally, we explored the epigenetic regulation of critical genes for gastric corpus epithelium at chromatin state level, and identified several important cell-type-specific transcription factors. In summary, our work provides novel insights to systematically understand the cellular diversity and homeostasis of human gastric corpus epithelium in vivo.
Humans ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Gastric Mucosa/metabolism* ; Chromatin/metabolism* ; Stem Cells ; Epithelium/metabolism* ; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins/metabolism*