Objective To explore the application value of chest dual-energy subtraction (DES) technology in the diagnosis of occupational pneumoconiosis. Methods A total of 86 patients with suspected pneumoconiosis and 21 dust-exposure workers were selected as the research subjects using random sampling method. The posterior and anterior chest radiographs were taken by digital radiography (DR) and DES technology, and the difference of chest radiographs of DR, DES and combined groups were compared. Results The positive rate of superior chest radiographs in DR group was higher than that in DES group (72.9% vs 56.1%, P<0.05). The determination of shadow shape and size, total density and stage of pneumoconiosis on chest radiographs in DES group and combined group were consistent with those in DR group (all Kappa values >0.75, all P<0.01). However, the judgment of small shadow intensity, small shadow aggregation and large shadow distribution in the two groups were not superior to those in the DR group (Kappa value was 0.67, 0.74, both P<0.01). There was no significant difference between DES group and DR group in the determination of small shadow intensity, small shadow aggregation and large shadow distribution (P>0.05). However, there were statistically significant difference in this index between the combined group and DES group and DR group (all P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in shadow shape and size, total density and stage of pneumoconiosis in chest radiographs among these three groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion There was no difference between DES alone and DES combined with DR for the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis in terms of shadow shape and size, total density and stage of pneumoconiosis when compared with the gold standard DR. The value of DES in the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis needs further study.

Objective To investigate the short?term functional connectivity (FC) changes of default mode network (DMN) after liver transplantation (LT) by using seed?based functional connectivity analysis of resting?state functional MRI (rs?fMRI). Methods Eighteen cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 20 healthy controls were included in this study. All the patients underwent rs?fMRI examination before and one month after LT. The data were analyzed using DPARSF and REST software. Seed?based functional connectivity analysis was used to isolate the DMN. The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was chosen as seed region for the DMN map. Maps of the DMN were compared among the groups. Values of Z reflecting the functional connectivity of 3 groups were obtained. Two?sample t?test was performed to explore the DMN difference between cirrhotic patients and controls, and we used paired t tests to examine for any differences in functional connectivity before and after LT. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationship between the changes of functional connectivity with that of clinical indexes and neuropsychological test scores pre?and post?LT. Results Typically spatial distributions of the DMN were found in all the groups. According to paired t test, post?LT patients showed increased FC in left medial prefrontal cortex (t=3.31, P<0.05), while decreased FC in left precuneus and left lateral temporal cortex (t=-3.37,-4.53,respectively, both P<0.05). Compared to healthy controls, pre?LT patients showed decreased FC in the right precuneus, bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral inferior parietal cortex, and bilateral lateral temporal cortex(t=-4.32—3.00, all P<0.05), and post?LT patients showed decreased FC in right precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex, bilateral inferior parietal cortex, and bilateral lateral temporal cortex(t=-4.33—2.99,all P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis revealed positively correlation between the changes of functional connectivity in left medial prefrontal cortex with that of DST (r=0.543, P=0.02). Conclusions This study found that the DMN FC of post?LT patients still lower than that of healthy controls one month after LT. The left medial prefrontal cortex was the first brain region that showed increased FC, while the FC of some regions continued to decrease, suggesting that brain function reorganization can continue after LT. Rs?fMRI can be used to observe the DMN changes in post?LT patients.

BACKGROUNDTo investigate the role of interferon-alpha (IFN-α) in completely resected stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

METHODSForty-four stageIand II NSCLC patients were randomized to two groups. Study group (surgery+IFN-α) received IFN-α injection, 3 million unit, every two days, with a period of treatment of 90 days. Control group (surgery only) received no adjuvant therapy until relapse or metastasis were detected. pTNM stage, histological types, relapse or metastasis, survival time were observed and evaluated.

RESULTSMedian follow-up was 49.9 months. The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-year survival rates were 90.5%, 80.9%, 52.4%, 52.4% in the study group and 95.2%, 80.9%, 66.0%, 50.8% in the control group respectively. No significant statistic difference was found between the two groups ( P = 0.663 9 ). Kaplan-Meier and Cox Model analysis showed pTNM stage ( P =0.010 2), N status ( P =0.015) and weight loss ( P =0.030) were prognostic factors in completely resected stage I and II NSCLC.

CONCLUSIONSPostoperative low-dose IFN-α short-term therapy cannot significantly improve 3- and 4-year survival rates of patients with stage I and II completely resected NSCLC.

BACKGROUNDTo explore the experience of gefitinib molecular target therapy for Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSThe unpublished data of gefitinib for advanced NSCLC in 7 hospitals were collected. The detailed data from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 282 patients with advanced NSCLC was treated with gefitinib from July 2001 to December 2003. Response rate was 22.2%-47.7%, disease control rate 62.6%-81.8%. No severe side effects were surveyed.

CONCLUSIONSGefitinib can be used safely and effectively in Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC.

BACKGROUNDDendritic cells (DCs) are the unique antigen-presenting cells that can activate naive T lymphocytes. This function is critical for inducing specific immune response. DCs-based vaccines have been used broadly in immunotherapy for many carcinomas. Constructing vaccines by transfecting total tumor RNA into DCs can be done with a few tumor tissues and need not to identify tumor antigens, so it is especially suitable for lung cancer which lacks tumor-specific antigens but has great heterogenicity and weak immunogenicity. Currently, the best transfection stage and method are still indefinite. So, the objective of this study is to explore the best condition of transfecting total RNA extracted from lung cancer tissues into DCs.

METHODSTen patients with lung cancer were enrolled whose tumor tissues were CEA and MUC1 positive in immunohistochemical staining. Total tumor RNA were extracted by one-step method. Then DCs and T cells were separated and cultured from peripheral blood monocytes and the RNA was transfected into the DCs in different stages with different methods. CEA and MUC1 expression in the transfected DCs were measured by flow cytometry analysis and T cells' proliferation was examined by mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR).

RESULTSThe expression of CEA and MUC1 protein in immature DCs (11.33±2.64, 39.68±7.25) was remarkably higher than that in mature DCs (5.46±1.63, 27.17±4.16) after transfection with total RNA of lung cancer tissues (P < 0.01), and the DCs presented more powerful effects on T cell proliferation. The CEA and MUC1 expression on DCs were significantly higher in electroporation transfection group (20.53±3.64, 65.39± 9.33) than that in lipofection group (11.33±2.64, 39.68±7.25) and passive pulsing transfection group ( 0.91±0.27,18.53±3.26)(P < 0.01), and the DCs in electroporation transfection group presented more powerful effects on stimulating T cell proliferation than the other two groups did.

CONCLUSIONSTransfecting total tumor RNA into immature DCs by using electroporation is a good way to construct DCs-based vaccines for lung cancer and to achieve a higher activity to stimulate T cell proliferation.

OBJECTIVESTo identify predictors of survival following pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and provide evidence for the revision of patient selection criteria.

METHODS81 cases of pneumonectomy for NSCLC from January 1990 to May 1996 at our hospital were reviewed retrospectively. There were 65 men (80.2%) and 16 women (19.8%), with a mean age 53.4 +/- 9.4 years (range 20 - 68 years). Predominant histological types included squamous cell carcinoma (54.3%), adenocarcinoma (24.7%), and squamoadenocarcinoma (17.3%). After follow-up for more than 5 years, data were examined using the chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox-mantel test. The possible factors affecting survival were tested with univariate and multivariate analysis.

RESULTSThe 5-year survival of N(0), N(1) and N(2) disease of NSCLC following pneumonectomy was (20.8 +/- 9.9)%, (15.4 +/- 10.0)% and (4.0 +/- 2.8)%, respectively. There was no perioperative death. The operative complications morbidity was 22.2%. Factors adversely affecting survival with univariate analysis included age over 60 years for right pneumonectomy, cardiopulmonary complications, adenocarcinoma, peripheral location, tumor greatest dimension more than 10 cm, chest wall involvement and N(2) disease. Factors adversely affecting survival with multivariate analysis included cardiopulmonary complications, greatest tumor dimension more than 10 cm, chest wall involvement and N(2) disease.

CONCLUSIONSPneumonectomy provides survival benefit with a high operative complications morbidity. Old age (>/= 60 years) for right pneumonectomy, cardiopulmonary complications, adenocarcinoma, and N(2) disease may be negative prognostic factors of long-term survival. Patient selection should be based on cardiopulmonary evaluation and the stage of disease.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pneumonectomy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

Objective To analyze clinicopathological characteristics and the potential risk-related factors of female breast hyperplasia in different age groups.Method From Jan 2015 to Dec 2016,patients diagnosed with breast hyperplasia in 12 hospitals were evaluated.All patients completed the self-designed questionnaires on women'health,including basic demographic information,clinic examination information,radiologic information and pathologic results.The patients were divided into a young group (＜ 45 years old) and an elderly group (from 45 to 75 years old).Results There were 3 684 cases of breast hyperplasia,including 2 291 cases in young group and 1 393 cases in elder group,respectively Clinically breast pain type were most commonly observed in both young and older groups (50.3％ vs.42.7％,P ＜ 0.001).While pathological research based on biopsy showed that breast adenopathy were the most common changes in both groups (67.9％ vs.61.7％,P ＜0.001).More breast cancer cases were identified in elder group than that in young group,especially in clinically lump type patients (9.4％ vs.4.2％,P ＜ 0.001).Compared with elder group,patients in young group have different distribution characteristics regarding to fertility factors,lifestyle factors and psychology scale including anxiety and depression.Conclusion Distributions of clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors of female breast hyperplasia differ across different age groups.

ObjectiveBased on ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）， to evaluate the establishment of a mouse model of liver Yin deficiency by thyroid tablet suspension combined with 10% carbon tetrachloride（CCl₄） from the perspective of non-targeted metabolomics， in order to lay the foundation for the establishment of a traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） syndrome model. MethodA total of 24 mice were randomly divided into blank group and model group. The model group was given thyroid tablet suspension（0.003 2 g·kg^-1） by gavage for 14 consecutive days， and 10% CCl₄（5 mL·kg^-1） was intraperitoneally injected once a week to establish a liver Yin deficiency model， while the blank group was injected with an equal amount of olive oil intraperitoneally and gavaged with an equal amount of distilled water， and was fed with normal feed. After the modeling was completed， 6 mice in each group were randomly selected， the levels of alanine aminotransferase（ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase（AST）， cyclic adenosine monophosphate（cAMP）， cyclic guanosine monophosphate（cGMP）， interleukin（IL）-6， IL-10， tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）were measured in the mice serum， and malondialdehyde（MDA）， superoxide dismutase（SOD）， total protein（TP）， hydroxyproline（HYP） and other indicators were measured in the mice liver. Liver tissue sections were taken for hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and observing pathological changes. The remaining 6 mice in each group were subjected to UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were used to screen differential metabolites in the liver Yin deficiency mouse model， Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database was used to analyze the corresponding metabolic pathways of differential metabolites. ResultCompared with the blank group， mice in the model group showed liver Yin deficiency manifestations such as reduced body weight， fatigue and sleepiness， disheveled and lusterless hair， irritability. The levels of ALT， cAMP/cGMP， IL-6， AST， MDA， cAMP， TNF-α significantly increased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the levels of SOD， IL-10 and cGMP significantly decreased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the changes of HYP and TP were not statistically significant. Hepatic steatosis and distortion of the radial arrangement of the liver plate cells were seen in the section images of the model group， endogenous substances were clearly separated， and 252 differential metabolites were identified in the serum samples， which were mainly involved in the metabolic pathways of purine metabolism， steroid hormone biosynthesis and pyrimidine metabolism. A total of 229 differential metabolites were identified in the liver samples， mainly involving nucleotide metabolism， purine metabolism， steroid hormone biosynthesis， pyrimidine metabolism， antifolate resistance， insulin resistance， primary bile acid biosynthesis， prostate cancer， sulfur relay system， arachidonic acid metabolism and other metabolic pathways. ConclusionThe successful establishment of liver Yin deficiency model in mice by CCl₄ combined with thyroid hormone is evaluated through the investigation of serum and liver metabolomics， combined with biochemical indicators， which provides a biological basis and experimental foundation for the Yin deficiency syndrome model of TCM.