Objective To investigate the differential value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and time-intensity curves(TIC) in diagnosing testicular and epididymal mass lesions.Methods CEUS via intravenous bolus injection of SonoVue and TIC were performed for quantitative analysis of testicular and epididymal mass lesions.Forty-one patients with 42 testicular and epididymal mass lesions and 26 normal testicles were examined with CUES,the perfusion progress were recorded dynamically,which findings were compared with surgery.Results Twenty-three (54.76％) malignant masses displayed enhanced pattern as evenly enhanced,fast-in and fast-out (8.7％),evenly enhanced,fast-in and slow-out (65.2 ％ ),unevenly enhanced,fast-in and slow-out (26.1％ ).Ninteen (45.24 ％ ) benign masses revealed enhanced pattern as unevenly enhanced,fast-in and slow-out ( 10.5 ％),evenly enhanced,slow-in and slowout ( 10.5 ％ ),unevenly enhanced,slow-in and slow-out ( 36.9 ％ ),without enhancement ( 42.1％ ).There was statistical difference of peak intensity,time to peak and areas among malignant group,benign group and normal group ( P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions CEUS combined with TIC could provide differential diagnostic value for testicular and epididymal mass lesions.

Objective: To study the expression of microRNA-221(miR-221) and IL-17 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and their roles in the carcinogenesis of PTC. Methods: Real-time RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect the expression of miR-221 and IL-17 in 40 cases of PTC, 20 adjacent normal thyroid tissues and 20 cases of nodular goiter, and the correlation with clinicopathologic features was analyzed. Results: (1)The expression level of miR-221 was significantly higher in PTC compared with nodular goiter and adjacent normal thyroid tissue (P<0.05), but not between the latter two (P>0.05). The expression of miR-221 was related to TNM staging, capsular invasion and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) but not to patients′ age, sex, tumor size, multifocality, tumor spread and vascular invasion.(2)Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot showed that higher levels of IL-17 mRNA and IL-17 protein in PTC than nodular goiter and adjacent normal thyroid tissue (P<0.05), but not between the latter two (P>0.05). IHC assay showed positive expression of IL-17 in PTC but not in nodular goiter and adjacent normal thyroid tissue. IL-17 expression was related to TNM staging, capsular invasion and lymph node metastasis, but not to patients′ age, sex, tumor size, tumor spread and vascular invasion.(3) Expression analysis revealed a significant correlation between the miR-221 and IL-17 expression (r=0.524, P=0.001). Conclusions The expressions of miR-221 and IL-17 are significantly higher and positively correlated in PTC, suggesting that miR-221 may regulate IL-17 expression by interacting with a variety of cytokines and inflammatory cells to participate in the development of PTC. miR-221 may be a potential novel prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for PTC.

Objective This study aims to evaluate factors related to quality of life of patients with oral cancer.Methods CNKI,Wanfang,VIP,CBM,Pubmed,Medline,Web of Science,Embase,and The Cochrane Library were searched up to May 2023 for studies that evaluated the quality of life of patients with oral cancer.All the included studies were independently selected,extracted,and rated by two researchers,and results are summarized by qualitative analysis.Results Twenty-four articles on 2 717 patients were included.Factors related to the quality of life of patients with oral cancer mainly included age,tumor TNM stage,radiochemotherapy,and gender,which could be summarized into three as-pects:personal factors,disease-related factors,and surgical factors.More than five studies reported on the analysis of age,gender,tumor TNM stage,pathological stage,neck dissection method,marital status,recurrence,smoking,educa-tion level,etc.The results are relatively consistent.Conclusion The incidence of oral cancer increases,and many fac-tors affected the quality of life.The included literature is a cross-sectional study,and the sample size is limited.The caus-al relationship between relevant factors and quality of life should be verified using large sample sizes.

Objective To explore the enrichment method of the crude alkaloid of Zanthoxylum nitidum(Roxb.)DC.(Z.nitidum),which can inhibit the proliferative activity of human erythroid leukemia cells(HEL cells)in vitro,and to provide a scientific basis for the antitumor activity of Z.nitidum.Methods Z.nitidum was extracted using different concentrations of ethanol(60%,70%,80%,90%,and 100%)to determine the optimum extraction conditions according to the highest extraction rate.Static and dynamic adsorption determined the adsorption capacity of different macroporous resins(HPD 100,XDA-5,D101,HPD 722,HPD 400)on the ethanol extracts from Z.nitidum.The effects of crude alkaloids on the proliferation activity of HEL cells in each group were studied by the MTT method.Results Z.nitidum was extracted from 60%,70%,80%,90%,and 100%ethanol,and the extract with 60%ethanol concentration had the highest yield(11.937±0.002)%.Static and dynamic adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption capacity of the above five kinds of macroporous resins was 1∶500(extract of Z.nitidum∶macroporous resin).The crude alkaloids enriched by different macroporous resins have different effects on the proliferation activity of HEL cells.The inhibition rates(%)at a concentration of 80 μg·mL-1 of Z.nitidum were(59.62±3.46)%(XDA-5),(55.81±5.16)%(HPD 100),(59.33±1.33)%(D101),(79.63±1.02)%(HPD 722),and(83.97±0.38)%(HPD 400),respectively.HPD 400 macroporous resin-enriched crude alkaloids inhibited the proliferation of HEL cells most significantly(P<0.01).Conclusion The process of enriching the crude alkaloids of Z.nitidum using macroporous resin was simple and feasible,and the crude alkaloids enriched by HPD 400 showed significant inhibitory effects on HEL cells with good anti-leukemic activity.