Purpose: Tumor regression grade (TRG) has been widely used in gastrointestinal carcinoma to assess pathological responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT). There are various standards without a consensus, and it is still unclear which kind of system has better predictive value. This study aims to investigate and compare the predictive ability of the Mandard and Becker TRGs in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 290 patients with locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent NCT and curative surgery were studied. Survival analysis for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were based on the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards method. Predictive values of TRGs and models were assessed by time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the area under the ROC curve (AUC), nomogram, and calibration curve. Results: In multivariable analysis, the Mandard TRG was associated with OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.806; p=0.026) and DFS (HR, 1.792; p=0.017). The Becker TRG was also related to OS (HR, 1.880; p=0.014) and DFS (HR, 1.919; p=0.006). The Mandard and Becker TRG AUCs for 5-year survival were 0.72 and 0.71, respectively. The whole models showed an increased predictive value, with AUCs of 0.85 and 0.86, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two TRGs and two models. Conclusion TRG was an independent predictor for survival, and there was no significant difference between these two systems.

Objective:To explore the expression of serum inflammatory factors in patients with thyroid tumor and their correlation with thyroid hormones.Methods:A total of 92 patients with thyroid tumors (48 cases of thyroid cancer and 44 cases of thyroid adenoma) admitted to Department of Endocrinology in Linyi Central Hospital in Shandong Province from Jan. 2020 to Oct. 2021 were enrolled. 50 healthy volunteers who received physical examination in the hospital during the same period were enrolled in the control group. The serum inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) , interleukin-6 (IL-6) , interleukin-17 (IL-17) ] and thyroid hormone expression levels [thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) , free thyroxin T4 (FT4) , free triiodothyronine (FT3) ] of the three groups were detected. Analysis of variance was used for multi-group comparison, independent sample t test was performed for comparison between groups, Spearman correlation analysis and Logistic regression analysis were made for the risk factors of thyroid cancer. The expression of serum inflammation and thyroid hormones in patients with different stages of thyroid cancer was observed. Results:Serum TNF-α, IL-17, IL-6 from high to low were in the thyroid cancer group (74.61±7.94 ng/L, 68.65±7.05 ng/L, 20.52±2.84 ng/L) , thyroid adenoma group (26.97±3.42 ng/L, 46.31±5.31 ng/L, 13.61±1.58 ng/L) , control group (18.82±2.63 ng/L, 34.52±4.02 ng/L, 8.97±1.06 ng/L) ( F=1596.271, 468.602, 423.351, all P<0.001) ; Serum TSH levels from high to low were in the thyroid cancer group (8.64±1.34 mU/L) , the thyroid adenoma group (5.21±1.02 mU/L) , the control group (3.94±0.85 mU/L) ( F=242.182, P=0.000) . There was no significant difference in serum FT4 or FT3 levels among the three groups ( P=0.753, 0.634) . Correlation analysis indicated that serum TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-6 were positively correlated with the expression level of serum TSH ( r=0.936, 0.726, 759, all P<0.05) . The expression level of TNF- α, IL-17, IL-6 and TSH was significantly higher in patients of stage III and IV than that in patients of stage I and II ( t=2.541, 4.394, 6.390, 4.962, P=0.015, P<0.001, P<0.001, P<0.001) . Multivariate Logistic regression analysis suggested serum TNF-α, IL-17, IL-6 and TSH were all risk factors for thyroid cancer. Conclusions:Serum inflammatory factors and some thyroid hormones (TSH) are generally highly expressed in patients with thyroid tumors, the expression levels of serum inflammatory factors are correlated with the expression of TSH. There are statistically significant differences in the expression levels of serum inflammatory factors and TSH between patients with thyroid cancer of different stages, serum inflammatory factors and TSH are also involved in the occurrence and development of thyroid cancer, and are risk factors for thyroid cancer.

To satisfy the daily demand of skin condition maintenance, make non-invasive real-time detection, and get proper quantitative evaluation of skin viscoelasticity parameters at the same time, a portable non-invasive detection system to acquire real-time skin tissue viscoelasticity is developed. The system relies mainly on a single-degree-of-freedom forced vibration model, with spring-damp-mass, and on dynamic micro indentation method. The experiment is conducted on two kinds of springs, and on pigskin tissues as well, the system's suitability, accuracy and stability are confirmed. The skin viscoelasticity detection in vivo is also carried out on 20 subjects with different ages, the differences of skin viscoelasticity in various parts of the body are investigated, and the correlations between age and skin viscoelasticity are clarified.
Elasticity ; Humans ; Skin ; Skin Physiological Phenomena ; Time ; Viscosity

Inflammatory markers in peripheral blood, such as neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio, can reflect the reactive hyperplasia of inflammatory cells in tumors. The metabolic parameters of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT are also correlated with the reactive hyperplasia of inflammatory cells in tumors. However, only a few reports exist on the relationship between tumor metabolic parameters and peripheral blood inflammatory markers. Therefore, this review starts from three aspects: tumor peripheral blood inflammatory markers, inflammatory cell reactive hyperplasia in tumors, and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters. The correlation between ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters and peripheral blood inflammatory markers is reviewed.

Community-acquired respiratory infection is the commonest cause of sepsis presenting to emergency departments. Yet current experimental animal models simulate peritoneal sepsis with intraperitoneal (I.P.) injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as the predominant route. We aimed to compare the progression of organ injury between I.P. LPS and intranasal (I.N.) LPS in order to establish a better endotoxemia murine model of respiratory sepsis. Eight weeks old male BALB/c mice received LPS-Escherichia coli doses at 0.15, 1, 10, 20, 40 and 100 mg per kg body weight (e.g. LPS-10 is a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight). Disease severity was monitored by a modified Mouse Clinical Assessment Score for Sepsis (M-CASS; range 0–21). A M-CASS score ≥ 10 or a weight reduction of ≥ 20%, was used as a criterion for euthanasia. The primary outcome was the survival rate (either no death or no need for euthanasia). The progression of disease was specified as M-CASS, body weight, blood glucose, histopathological changes to lung, liver, spleen, kidney, brain and heart tissues. Survival rate in I.P. LPS-20 mice was 0% (2/3 died; 1/3 euthanized with M-CASS > 10) at 24 h. Survival rate in all doses of I.N. LPS was 100% (20/20; 3–4 per group) at 96 h. 24 h mean M-CASS post-I.P. LPS-10 was 6.4/21 significantly higher than I.N. LPS-10 of 1.7/21 (Unpaired t test, P < 0.05). Organ injury was present at 96 h in the I.P. LPS-10 group: lung (3/3; 100%), spleen (3/3; 100%) and liver (1/3; 33%). At 24 h in the I.P. LPS-20 group, kidney injury was observed in the euthanized mouse. At 96 h in the post-I.N. LPS-20 group, only lung injury was observed in 2/3 (67%) mice (Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s, P < 0.01). At 24 h in the post-I.N. LPS-100 group all (4/4) mice had evidence of lung injury. Variable doses of I.N. LPS in mice produced lung injury but did not produce sepsis. Higher doses of I.P. LPS induced multi-organ injury but not respiratory sepsis. Lethal models of respiratory virus, e.g., influenza A, might provide alternative avenues that can be explored in future research.

The axon initial segment (AIS) is a highly specialized axonal compartment where the action potential is initiated. The heterogeneity of AISs has been suggested to occur between interneurons and pyramidal neurons (PyNs), which likely contributes to their unique spiking properties. However, whether the various characteristics of AISs can be linked to specific PyN subtypes remains unknown. Here, we report that in the prelimbic cortex (PL) of the mouse, two types of PyNs with axon projections either to the contralateral PL or to the ipsilateral basal lateral amygdala, possess distinct AIS properties reflected by morphology, ion channel expression, action potential initiation, and axo-axonic synaptic inputs from chandelier cells. Furthermore, projection-specific AIS diversity is more prominent in the superficial layer than in the deep layer. Thus, our study reveals the cortical layer- and axon projection-specific heterogeneity of PyN AISs, which may endow the spiking of various PyN types with exquisite modulation.
Mice ; Animals ; Axon Initial Segment ; Synapses/physiology* ; Pyramidal Cells/physiology* ; Cerebral Cortex ; Axons/physiology*

We report a complete genomic sequence of rare isolates (minor genotype) of the SARS-CoV from SARS patients in Guangdong, China, where the first few cases emerged. The most striking discovery from the isolate is an extra 29-nucleotide sequence located at the nucleotide positions between 27,863 and 27,864 (referred to the complete sequence of BJ01) within an overlapped region composed of BGI-PUP5 (BGI-postulated uncharacterized protein 5) and BGI-PUP6 upstream of the N (nucleocapsid) protein. The discovery of this minor genotype, GD-Ins29, suggests a significant genetic event and differentiates it from the previously reported genotype, the dominant form among all sequenced SARS-CoV isolates. A 17-nt segment of this extra sequence is identical to a segment of the same size in two human mRNA sequences that may interfere with viral replication and transcription in the cytosol of the infected cells. It provides a new avenue for the exploration of the virus-host interaction in viral evolution, host pathogenesis, and vaccine development.
Base Sequence ; China ; Cluster Analysis ; Gene Components ; Genetic Variation ; Genome, Viral ; Genotype ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; genetics

Objective : To investigate the expression , synergistic relationship and clinical significance of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1A) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGFA) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) . Methods : The expression and correlation of ADH1A and VEGFA in HCC and adjacent normal tissues were ana lyzed by GEPIA . TCGA and GSEA were used to analyze the pathway of ADH1A in HCC . The clinical and patho logical data of 84 patients with HCC were collected , and 54 patients with paracancer normal tissue samples were se lected as controls to analyze the correlation between ADH1A and VEGFA and clinicopathological parameters of HCC . Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of ADH1A and VEGFA in cases and con trols , and the correlation between the expression of ADH1A and VEGFA and the clinical progression and prognosis of patients with HCC was analyzed based on clinical pathological parameters and Kaplan Meier. Results : Bioinfor matics analysis found that ADH1A was low expressed in HCC and VEGFA was highly expressed in HCC , and there was a negative correlation between the two ( P < 0.001) ; immunohistochemical detection results showed that the expression of ADH1A in HCC tissue was lower than that in normal tissue adjacent to cancer (P < 0.01) while the expression rate of VEGFA in HCC tissue was significantly higher than that of normal tissue adjacent to cancer (P < 0.01) ; The recurrence rate of vascular thrombus and HCC patients in HCC group with high expression of ADH1A was lower (P < 0.05) . The proportion of tumor diameter > 5 cm , high TNM stage , microsatellite and G2 G3 dif ferentiation in HCC tissues in VEGFA high expression group was higher (P < 0.05) . Kaplan Meier survival analy sis showed that patients with high ADH1A expression and low VEGFA expression had a higher five year survival rate . Conclusion Low expression of ADH1A and high expression of VEGFA in tumor tissues of patients with HCC indicate tumor progression and can be used as one of the prognostic evaluation indicators for patients with HCC .