Objective To study CT numbers correction of kilo?voltage cone?beam CT (KV?CBCT) images for dose calculation. Method Aligning the CBCT images with plan CT images, then obtain the background scatter by subtracting CT images from CBCT images. The background scatter is then processed by low?pass filter. The final CBCT images are acquired by subtracting the background scatter from the raw CBCT. KV?CBCT images of Catphan600 phantom and four patients with pelvic tumors were obtained with the linac?integrated CBCT system. The CBCT images were modified to correct the CT numbers. Finally, compare HU numbers between corrected CBCT and planning CT by paired T test. Evaluate the image quality and accuracy of dose calculation of the modified CBCT images. Results The proposed method reduces the artifacts of CBCT images significantly. The differences of CT numbers were 232 HU, 89 HU, 29 HU and 66 HU for air, fat, muscle and femoral head between CT and CBCT respectively (P= 0?? 39,0?? 66,0?? 59,1).The differences of CT numbers between CT and CBCT was reduced to within 5 HU. And the error of dose calculation with corrected CBCT images was within 2%. Conclusions The CT numbers of corrected CBCT are similar with plan CT images and dose calculations based on the modified CBCT show good agreement with plan CT.

Objective To investigate the effects of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)on life quality and cardiac events in elderly patients with stable angina owing to chronic coronary total occlusion(CTO).Methods Patients with stable angina due to CTO hospitalized in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2015 to January 2018 were consecutively recruited in this prospective study,and were randomly divided into the combined treatment group(n=44)and the control group (n=43).Patients in the combined treatment group were treated with PCI and optimal medical therapy,and those in the control group were treated with optimal medical therapy alone.Patients followed up for 6 months after treatment.Cardiac function,life quality(Seattle angina questionnaire,SAQ)and adverse cardiovascular events were compared before and after treatment.Results A total of 87 patients were involved,with a mean age of (69.5 ± 7.2) years.Basic characteristics,including age,sex ratio,previous history,left ventricular ejection fraction,coronary artery lesions and SAQ scores,were similar between the groups(P＞0.05).After a 6 month post treatment follow up,SAQ scores improved in all patients,compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05).Moreover,patients in the combined treatment group had higher SAQ scores on physical limitation(86.3 ± 11.6 vs.76.3 ± 21.3),angina stability(67.3 ±24.5 vs.57.3±21.2)and angina frequency(93.3±4.3 vs.86.4±8.3)than those in the control group (P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in major adverse cardiovascular event rate between the groups[18.2％(8 cases) vs.16.3％(7 cases),X2 =0.055,P＞0.05].Conclusions Combined with optimal medical therapy,PCI can improve the life quality in elderly patients with stable angina due to CTO,but has no significant influence on the short-term major adverse cardiovascular event rate.

Mycobacterium (M.) vaccae is a fast-growing species of saprophytic bacteria that is widely distributed. To understand the host immune responses induced by M. vaccae isolated from bovine submaxillary lymph nodes, C57BL/6 mice were infected with reference strain M. vaccae Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and isolated M. vaccae using intraperitoneal injections. Comparison of the bacterial replication and organ pathology between M. vaccae and M. vaccae BCG revealed that M. vaccae was more malignant than M. vaccae in mice. We also demonstrated that serum from the M. vaccae-infected mice contained a higher expression level of gamma-interferon (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-12, IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta than did the other groups, especially after week 4. Furthermore, when the numbers of CD3⁺CD4⁺IFN-γ⁺ and CD3⁺CD4⁺IL4⁺ cells in the infected mice were observed by flow cytometry, we found that a powerful T helper 1 (Th1) response was induced by M. vaccae infection, which was associated with the emergence of CD3⁺CD4⁺IFN-γ⁺ cells. However, the Th1 response declined over time, which was associated with appearance of the CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ and CD4⁺CD25⁺CD152⁺Treg cell reaction. In addition, a strong Th2 response was found. Finally, we found that M. vaccae infection increased the production of type I IFNs, which was associated with a reduced Th1 response.
Animals ; Bacillus ; Bacteria ; Chemokine CCL2 ; Flow Cytometry ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Interferon-gamma ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukins ; Lymph Nodes ; Mice* ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Mycobacterium* ; Pathology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Objective:To develop a U-Net-based quadruple numerical neural network (QU-Net) model for retinal vessel segmentation and to verify its precision and efficiency in extracting and segmenting retinal vessels from fundus images.Methods:This study used the concept of hypercomplex numbers, the three channels of color images, and a quaternion matrix representing all the information data of the images, which was then used as input for quaternion convolution and quaternion fully connected layers based on the U-Net architecture to form a QU-Net model.The QU-Net model was first tested on the DRIVE, STARE, and CHASE_DB1 datasets and compared with the traditional real-valued U-Net, M-Net, and SU-Net models in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, F1 score, and Matthews correlation coefficient.Finally, the model was further optimized and the optimized QU-Net model was compared side-by-side with the well-known advanced models to comprehensively evaluate and analyze the efficiency and accuracy of the model in extracting and segmenting retinal blood vessels from fundus images.Results:The results showed that the QU-Net model achieved the following vessel segmentation results: accuracy 0.956 6, sensitivity 0.700 8, specificity 0.987 9, precision 0.595 4 on the DRIVE dataset, accuracy 0.975 5, sensitivity 0.890 7, specificity 0.984 2, precision 0.662 5 on the STARE dataset, and accuracy 0.979 4, sensitivity 0.747 0, specificity 0.990 6, precision 0.596 9 on the CHASE_DB1 dataset.Its specificity was better than U-Net, M-Net and SU-Net models, and its accuracy, sensitivity and precision were not inferior to the three models.After optimization, the sensitivity, precision and F1 value of the QU-Net model were effectively improved on the three datasets while maintaining its original accuracy and specificity.When compared with the performance indicators of other models on the three datasets, it was found that the optimized QU-Net model had good performance in accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, precision, and F1 score, indicating that its vessel segmentation ability was not inferior to the advanced models.Among all the models compared, the optimized QU-Net model had the best F1 score and Matthews correlation coefficient.Conclusions:The QU-Net model proposed in this study expands the data dimension space from the traditional real number space to the complex number space and greatly reduces the loss of data information.The optimized QU-Net model has good efficiency and accuracy in extracting retinal vessel segmentation from fundus images, and has certain advantages in detecting fine vessels.

Autologous costal cartilage is the best material for auricle reconstruction due to its superior biomechanical properties and histocompatibility. However, costal cartilage harvest will inevitably damage the donor site. By conducting a comprehensive search for relevant literatures, this author reviewed the donor site complications of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction, including thoracic deformity, pneumothorax, scar and pain, as well as the corresponding prevention and treatment methods, hoping to provide reference for the clinical application of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction.

Autologous costal cartilage is the best material for auricle reconstruction due to its superior biomechanical properties and histocompatibility. However, costal cartilage harvest inevitably lead to the damage of the donor site. By conducting a comprehensive search for relevant literatures, the authors reviewed the donor site complications of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction, including thoracic deformity, pneumothorax, scar and pain, as well as the corresponding prevention and treatment methods, hoping to provide reference for the clinical application of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction.

Cartilage tissue engineering offers a promising therapeutic approach for auricular, tracheal, and joint reconstruction. However, implanted engineered cartilage currently faces challenges such as host immune rejection and inflammatory reactions, which can lead to deformities and fibrosis, compromising long-term maintenance of shape and function. Effectively modulating immune and inflammatory responses is crucial for advancing the clinical application of engineered cartilage. This article reviewed relevant literature to analyze the mechanisms of inflammatory responses occurring after the implantation of tissue-engineered cartilage, and summarized the types and surface characteristics of biomaterials, providing a reference for the design of biomaterials in cartilage tissue engineering.

Autologous costal cartilage is the best material for auricle reconstruction due to its superior biomechanical properties and histocompatibility. However, costal cartilage harvest will inevitably damage the donor site. By conducting a comprehensive search for relevant literatures, this author reviewed the donor site complications of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction, including thoracic deformity, pneumothorax, scar and pain, as well as the corresponding prevention and treatment methods, hoping to provide reference for the clinical application of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction.

Autologous costal cartilage is the best material for auricle reconstruction due to its superior biomechanical properties and histocompatibility. However, costal cartilage harvest inevitably lead to the damage of the donor site. By conducting a comprehensive search for relevant literatures, the authors reviewed the donor site complications of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction, including thoracic deformity, pneumothorax, scar and pain, as well as the corresponding prevention and treatment methods, hoping to provide reference for the clinical application of autologous costal cartilage ear reconstruction.

Cartilage tissue engineering offers a promising therapeutic approach for auricular, tracheal, and joint reconstruction. However, implanted engineered cartilage currently faces challenges such as host immune rejection and inflammatory reactions, which can lead to deformities and fibrosis, compromising long-term maintenance of shape and function. Effectively modulating immune and inflammatory responses is crucial for advancing the clinical application of engineered cartilage. This article reviewed relevant literature to analyze the mechanisms of inflammatory responses occurring after the implantation of tissue-engineered cartilage, and summarized the types and surface characteristics of biomaterials, providing a reference for the design of biomaterials in cartilage tissue engineering.