In this paper the application of DNA fingerprints to evaluate the efficiency of DNA extraction was studied DNA mixtures of landfill leachate and active sludg e were extracted using three different methods and the DNA extraction was evalua ted by ARDRA and RISA fingerprints The results showed that RISA is a effecti ve way to evaluate DNA extraction

A new method was developed for the investigation of microbial ecology, which used the cloning/sequencing technique combined with RISA profiling The method is effective, cheap and easy to use, which can be performed in most of the molecular biological laboratories

Objective To observe the influence of hemoperfusion(HP) on microinflammatory state and atherosclerosis in uremic patients .Methods Thirty‐six patients with uremia were randomly assigned into 2 groups ,18 cases in eath group .The hemo‐dialysis(HD) group took hemodialysis for 3 times per week ,4 h per time;the HP+ HD group took once HP per week on the basis of HD .The levels of C‐reactive protein(CRP) ,total cholesterol(TC) ,triglyceride(TG) ,urea nitrogen(BUN) and serum creatinine (Cr) were measured before therapy and in six months after therapy .The atherosclerotic plaque size was detected by ultrasound with fine resolution .Results The levels of CRP ,TG and TC after treatment in the HP+ HD group were significantly decreased com‐pared with those before treatment and the HD group (P<0 .05) .The number of therosclerotic plaques in the HP+ HD group had no increase .BUN and Cr had no statistical differences between the two groups(P>0 .05) .Conclusion HP can alleviate the inflam‐matory reaction and decrease the atherosclerosis occurrence .

Primary aldosteronism(PA) is a common cause of secondary hypertension, with adrenal vein sampling(AVS)being the gold standard for etiological typing diagnosis. This retrospective study analyzed data from patients diagnosed with PA who underwent AVS or unilateral adrenalectomy at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital′s Endocrinology Department from July 2018 to August 2021. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors associated with unilateral aldosterone hypersecretion were identified. Based on these factors, a predictive model for diagnosing unilateral primary aldosteronism(UPA)was established: age <40 years, plasma aldosterone concentration(PAC)>15 ng/dL, adrenal CT indicating an unilateral typical adenoma, and spontaneous hypokalemia. This predictive model could help 14% of PA patients avoid unnecessary AVS procedures.

Objective:To explore the pathological characteristics of adrenal masses based on various tumor diameter and unenhanced computed tomography(CT) attenuation value, and evaluate the value of the two parameters in the assessment of the benign and malignant nature of adrenal masses.Methods:The data of 1 367 patients who underwent adrenalectomy in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 2017 to October 2022 were retrospectively collected. The adrenal masses were divided into four groups according to tumor diameter and unenhanced CT attenuation value, and the clinical and histopathological characteristics of the four groups were compared respectively. Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between tumor diameter, non-contrast CT attenuation value and malignant adrenal masses, and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of both in benign and malignant adrenal masses.Results:The proportion of adrenocortical carcinoma and other malignant tumors increased with the rise of tumor diameter or unenhanced CT attenuation value. After adjusting for age and gender, tumor diameter( OR=1.624, 95% CI 1.464-1.803, P<0.001) and unenhanced CT attenuation value( OR=1.108, 95% CI 1.079-1.138, P<0.001) were predictors of malignant adrenal masses. The tumor diameter and unenhanced CT attenuation value in diagnosing malignant adrenal masses had area under the ROC curve(AUC) of 0.838 and 0.892, respectively. With the optimal cut-off values of >3.4 cm and >30 HU, the sensitivity was 75.5% and 83.7%, and the specificity was 80.5% and 84.4%, respectively. The combination of tumor diameter >3.4 cm and unenhanced CT attenuation value >20 HU had an AUC of 0.927, with a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity of 90.1% in diagnosing malignant adrenal masses. Conclusions:Tumor diameter and unenhanced CT attenuation value has important significance in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant adrenal masses. A combination of tumor diameter (>3.4 cm) and unenhanced CT attenuation value (>20 HU) demonstrates best diagnostic efficiency. Clinical application of this combined index can effectively diagnose malignant adrenal masses while avoiding unnecessary investigations or surgery.

Objective:To identify the clinical and pathological characteristics of adrenocortical carcinoma(ACC) with hypercortisolism and analyze the prognostic factors.Methods:Clinical data of ACC patients between January 2003 and December 2022 from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were collected retrospectively. Clinical and pathological characteristics were compared between ACC patients with hypercortisolism and nonfunctional ACCs. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analyses and Cox regression models were performed to analyze prognostic factors for ACC patients.Results:In 61 cases of ACC patients, the average age was (49.33±16.32) years. After a median follow-up of 77 months(95% CI 47.49-106.51 months), median overall survival and progression-free survival were 50 months(95% CI 20.44-79.56 months) and 29 months(95% CI 22.87-35.13 months), respectively. Among 36 patients with complete endocrinologic evaluations, 19(52.77%) were diagnosed with hypercortisolism. Compared with nonfunctional ACC, patients with hypercortisolism had more hypokalemia(42.11% vs 6.25%, P=0.022), capsular invasion(68.42% vs 25.00%, P=0.018), and distant metastases(73.68% vs 25.00%, P=0.007). Median overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly shorter than nonfunctional ACC(overall survival: 39 months vs 67 months, P=0.009; progression-free survival: 30 months vs 51 months, P=0.040) as well. Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that Ki67 index( HR=1.078, P=0.024) was an independent risk factor for overall survival. Hypercortisolism( HR=71.112, P=0.006), Ki67 index( HR=1.345, P=0.003), adjuvant therapy( HR=176.652, P=0.012), and operation( HR=0.020, P=0.003), were associated with disease progression. Conclusion:ACC accompanied by hypercortisolism is more prone to invasion and distant metastasis, resulting in shorter survival. Hypercortisolism is an independent prognostic factor for ACC patients.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) as a new type of thermoplastic engineering plastic, has good biological activity, elastic modulus close to human cortical bone and radiation permeability, and has been widely used in medical field. This study aims to explore the safety and clinical efficacy of using 3D printing personalized PEEK materials to repaire scapular bone defects after bone tumor resection. A total of 6 patients who underwent the implantation of 3D printed PEEK scapular prosthesis from January 2020 to December 2021 in Yunnan Cancer Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 3 males and 3 females, with age ranged from 14 to 52 years. There were 1 case of synovial sarcoma, 1 of Ewing's sarcoma, and 4 of chondrosarcoma. PEEK prosthesis was designed and fabricated based on CT data before surgery. Tumor resection and prosthesis replacement were performed under the premise of ensuring safe surgical boundaries, including 2 cases of total scapular prosthesis replacement and 4 cases of partial scapular prosthesis replacement. The operation time was 90-170 min, and the intraoperative blood loss was 100-400 ml. All 6 patients received satisfactory follow-up, with a tumor progression free survival time of 16-28 months. No tumor recurrence or metastasis was observed, and all patients survived tumor free. At last follow-up, the Constant-Murley shoulder joint score was a minimum of 62 points and a maximum of 68 points. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association's shoulder joint score was 63 points minimum and 78 points maximum. Computer-aided design 3D printing PEEK material prosthesis has certain advantages in the treatment of scapular tumor limb salvage. It has light weight, well adapted, relatively simple installation, good histocompatibility, and can obtain a better appearance and function of the shoulder joint after operation. It can become one of the options for limb salvage treatment of scapular tumor.

Objective:To explore the value of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) stimulation in adrenal vein sampling (AVS) with its effect on the sampling success rate and lateralization determination.Methods:The clinical data of 54 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) who underwent AVS in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from July 2018 to June 2020 were collected retrospectively. Blood samples from bilateral adrenal veins were collected simultaneously at baseline and after ACTH stimulation. The selectivity index (SI), lateralization index (LI), and relative aldosterone secretion index (RASI) were examined.Results:The concentration of serum cortisol level in left and right adrenal vein and peripheral vein increased significantly after ACTH stimulation ( P<0.001). SI of left adrenal vein increased from 18.00 (2.29, 20.29) to 34.76 (12.10, 46.86) , and the SI of right adrenal vein increased from 26.61(5.24, 31.85) to 28.40 (27.65, 56.05, P<0.001). The bilateral vein sampling success rate increased from 80%(43/54) to 93%(50/54). LI decreased from 2.85(1.78, 6.20) at baseline to 2.45(1.40, 6.10) after ACTH stimulation without significant difference( P>0.05). Eleven patients who identified unilateral secretion at baseline demonstrated bilateral after ACTH stimulation, and the RASI of these patients decreased from 0.50 (0.38, 1.25 ) to 0.37 (0.22, 0.84, P=0.019). Conclusion:ACTH stimulation significantly increased SI and the AVS success rate in patients with PA: ACTH stimulation decreased the relative aldosterone secretion in the dominant side of some patients with aldosterone producing adenoma, thus reduced the proportion of identified unilateral PA.

OBJECTIVE：To optim ize the ultrafiltration technology of enzymatic hydrolysate from Eucommia ulmoides peel. METHODS：The single factor test was adopted to investigate the effects of molecular weight of ultrafiltration membrane ，liquid temperature，operating pressure ，operating frequency ，membrane filtration time ，liquid concentration and pH on transfer rates of aucubin，geniposide and chlorogenic acid as well as solid removal rate in enzymatic hydrolysate from E. ulmoides peel. Setting the molecular cut off of fixed ultrafiltration membrane of 100 000，liquid concentration of 7 g/L，and pH value of 7，the ultrafiltration technology was optimized by Box-Behnken design response-surface methodology and validated with liquid temperature ，operating pressure，operating frequency and membrane passing time as factors ，using comprehensive scores calculated from transfer rates of aucubin，geniposide and chlorogenic acid as well as solid removal rate as indexes. RESULTS ：The optimal ultrafiltration technology of enzymatic hydrolysate from E. ulmoides peel was as follows as liquid temperature of 35 ℃，operating pressure of 0.5 MPa，operating frequency of 35 Hz and membrane passing time of 42 min. Results of validation tests showed that the comprehensive scores of the transfer rates of aucubin ，geniposide and chlorogenic acid as well as solid removal rate in enzymatic hydrolysate from E. ulmoides peel was 78.06％（RSD＝1.43％，n＝3），and its relative error with the predicted value （77.18％） was 1.14％. CONCLUSIONS ：The optimized ultrafiltration technology is stable and reliable ，and can be used for the ultrafiltration purification of enzymatic hydrolysate from E. ulmoides peel.