To investigate the effect of autoimmune regulator (AIRE) on phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells, a recombinant expression vector containing full-length human AIRE cDNA was transfected into 16HBE cells. After incubation with transfected 16HBE cells, engulfment of apoptotic HL-60 cells induced by camptothecin was detected by myeloperoxidase (MPO) staining. The change in the expression of Rac 1 in transfected 16HBE cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The results showed that the phagocytosis percentage of the experimental group, the mock transfection group and the negative control group (non-apoptotic cells) was (25.50+/-3.67)%, (6.25+/-1.58)% and (1.0+/-0.67)%, respectively. Moreover, the expressions of Rac 1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in AIRE-transfected 16HBE cells, suggesting that AIRE may function as a regulator in the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells by promoting the expression of Rac 1.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of spiral CT in composition changes of pediatric urinary.Methods A total of 25 pediatric patients with urinary stones were investigated.Eighteen patients with renal stones were stratified into two groups:an alkalization therapy alone group ( n =9 ) and a comprehensive therapy group (n =9).Flame atomic absorption spectrum (AAS) was employed to measure calcium level of the pediatric urinary stones.Spiral CT was employed to measure the peak CT number in vitro of all the pediatric urinary stones and 61 adult urinary stones,which served as controls.Results All pediatric urinary stones contained calcium ( 0.11％ - 26.30％ ).A positive correlation was observed between the CT number of pediatric urinary stone and its stone calcium level ( r =0.855,P ＜ 0.01 ).Compared to the alkalization therapy alone group,the CT number and stone calcium level of pediatricrenal stones in the comprehensive therapy group were significant higher (stone CT number:162 ± 60 HU VS.783 ±476 HU,P ＜ 0.01 ; stone calcium level:1.30 ± 1.52％ VS 19.83 ± 7.48％,P ＜ 0.01 ).Compared to ≤400 HU pediatric renal stones,＞ 400 HU renal stones contained more calcium (21.71 ± 5.27％,1.65 ±1.82％,P ＜ 0.01 ) and failed to dissolve by alkalization therapy alone ( x2 =11.455,P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions CT could be a predictive tool for composition changes of pediatric urinary stones.In clinical CT scanning setting,＞400 HU pediatric urinary stones probably will contain more calcium and not be suitable for alkalization therapy alone.

Medical whole-body positron emission tomography (PET), one of the most successful molecular imaging technologies, has been widely used in the fields of cancer diagnosis, cardiovascular disease diagnosis and cranial nerve study. But, on the other hand, the sensitivity, spatial resolution and signal-noise-ratio of the commercial medical whole-body PET systems still have some shortcomings and a great room for improvement. The sensitivity, spatial resolution and signal-noise-ratio of PET system are largely affected by the performances of the scintillators and the photo detectors. The design of a PET system is usually a trade-off in cost and performance. A better image quality can be achieved by optimizing and balancing the key components which affect the system performance the most without dramatically increases in cost. With the development of the scintillator, photo-detector and high speed electronic system, the performance of medical whole-body PET system would be dramatically improved. In this paper, we report current progresses and discuss future directions of the developments of technologies in medical whole-body PET system.
Humans ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; trends

[ABSTRACT]AIM:ToinvestigatetheeffectofimmunosuppressantFK506onserumglucoseinratsandtoex-plore its mechanism .METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats ( n =12 ) were randomly divided into drug group and normal group.The rats in drug group were intraperitoneally injected with FK 506 at dose of 1 mg· kg-1 · d-1 and the rats in nor-mal group received saline (1 mL· kg-1 · d-1 , ip) for 14 d.The fasting weight and fasting glucose were regularly meas-ured every 2 d.Visceral fat was isolated from the rats at the end of experiment .The mRNA expression of adiponectin , lep-tin, visfatin, resistin, retinol-binding protein 4 ( RBP4) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ( PPAR-γ) was determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR .The protein expression of PPAR-γand adiponectin was measured by Western blotting .RESULTS:Compared with normal group , the concentration of fasting blood glucose in model group was significantly increased from the 10th day (P<0.05).At day 14, the fasting blood glucose of the model group increased from (5.10 ±0.62) mmol/L to (7.73 ±0.73) mmol/L.No significant change of blood glucose in normal group between the 10th day and the 14th day [from (4.66 ±0.32) mmol/L to (5.80 ±0.10) mmol/L] was observed.Compared with normal group , the mRNA expression of PPAR-γ, adiponectin and leptin in the adipose tissue of model group was signifi-cantly decreased ( P <0.01 ) , whereas the expression of visfatin , resistin and RBP4 was significantly increased ( P <0.05).Compared with normal group, the expression of PPAR-γand adiponectin in model group was decreased (P <0.01).CONCLUSION:FK506 may decrease the expression of PPAR-γto change the expression of adipocytokines and induce hyperglycemia in rats .

OBJECTIVETo identify risk factors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

METHODSA total of 715 cirrhotic patients with CHB were recruited from the Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and enrolled in this case-control study between January 2009 and September 2014. All participants were Chinese Han residing in Shanghai and the surrounding areas. The patients were divided into a cirrhosis group (n =281) and a HCC group (n=434). History of hepatitis B infection and HCC, as well as clinical data from serological, imaging and pathological examinations were collected for analysis.SPSS software, version 19.0, was used for all statistical comparisons.

RESULTSSingle factor analysis indicated that development of HCC in cirrhotic patients with CHB was significantly associated with male sex, age of 50 years or more, family history of HCC, alcohol consumption,fatty liver, detectable levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, and history of HBV infection without effective antiviral treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age of 50 years or more (P =0.005, odds ratio [OR] =1.766), history of alcohol consumption (P =0.002, Or = 2.570), family history of HCC (P =0.014, Or = 2.268), fatty liver (P =0.023, Or = 3.390), and history of HBV infection without effective antiviral treatment (P < 0.001,Or = 5.389) were risk factors of HCC.The risk factors for development of HCC in cirrhotic patients with hepatitis B after achieving sustained virologic suppression (SVS) were family history of HBV infection (P =0.014, Or = 2.537), family history of HCC (P =0.037,Or = 3.339) and fatty liver (P =0.018, Or = 11.646).

CONCLUSIONRisk factors of HCC in cirrhotic patients with CHB include age,drinking history,family history of HCC, fatty liver, and ineffective antiviral treatment of CHB.Family history of HBV infection or HCC, and fatty liver disease, were significantly associated with HCC development after SVS in patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis.

Alcohol Drinking ; Antiviral Agents ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Fatty Liver ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Neoplasms ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors

Objective Adhesion or too highly located folds upper eyelid and even hlepharoptosis are common complications after double eyelid operation. The method was designed to correct these de-formities. Methods The incision of upper eyelid was designed under the scar. Skin was resected between the former and the new double line, if there was excessive skin. Completely relieve the adhesion until nor-mal tissue was exposed. Expose lateral extension of retro-orbicularis oculi fat pad. An upper pedicle fat flap was formed after cutting tissues off along bilateral borders. Appropriately and transversely cutting lateral portion of the pedicle made it rotate inside downward with enough blood supply. The fat flap was fixed with released orbital fat and the lower edge of fat flat fixed with upper border of supratarsal to restorate the volume. For severe condition, fat granule injection could be used after the skin was sutured. Results 42 cases (80 eyes) were treated in the past two years. The deformities of 32 cases were corrected by the application of retro-orbicularis oculi fat pad. Fat granule injection was applied for the other 10 pa-tients meanwhile. 30 cases (60 eyes) were followed up for 6 to 24 months. The results were satisfactory. Conclusion The methods are performed easily and the results are satisfied. It is worth of recommenda-tion.

To investigate the effect of autoimmune regulator(AIRE)on phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells,a recombinant expression vector containing full-length human AIRE cDNA was transfected into 16HBE cells.After incubation with transfected 16HBE cells,engulfment of apoptotic HL-60 cells induced by camptothecin was detected by myeloperoxidase(MPO)staining.The change in the expression of Rac 1 in transfected 16HBE cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting.The results showed that the phagocytosis percentage of the experimental group,the mock trans-fection group and the negative control group(non-apoptotic cells)was(25.50±3.67)%,(6.25±1.58)%and(1.0±0.67)%,respectively.Moreover,the expressions of Rac 1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in AIRE-transfected 16HBE cells,suggesting that A1RE may function as a regulator in the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells by promoting the expression of Rac 1.

Objective To assess the psychometric potential of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale-Beijing (MoCA-BJ) as a screening instrument for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in older adults in Wuhan communities of central China. Methods MoCA-BJ and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were adopted to assess the MCI of 381 older adults from 13 communities in Wuhan in 2015. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the construct validity of MoCA-BJ, and the relationship between all aspects of cognitive function and MoCA different dimensions. Results MoCA-BJ had acceptable reliability (w=0.76), and MoCA-BJ and MMSE estimation results were highly correlated (r=0.73, P＜0.01). By comparing three measurement models through confirmatory factor analysis, we found that the MoCA-BJ scale had two factors (F1: visual space executive function, F2: memory-based other cognitive functions) in model 3, fit degree of which was higher than model 1 by one factor, and there was a statistically significant difference in the number of factors between model 1 and model 3 (χ2dif=8.73,P＜0.01). Conclusions The MoCA-BJ has two underlying factors that respectively represent two highly correlated but distinct factors, cognition and visual-spatial. Uninformative items should be revised with culturally sensitive items and the cut-off point for mild impairment should also be altered.

Objective:To analyze the trend of medication use in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in recent ten years in at Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University.Methods:From 2010 to 2019, the clinical data of 1 425 patients diagnosed with UC in the Department of Gastroenterology at Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, were retrospectively collected. According to the period of medication, the UC patients were divided into year 2010 to 2014 group and year 2015 to 2019 group. The general information and the medication trend of year 2010 to 2014 group and year 2015 to 2019 group were analyzed. And then according to gender and age (<40 years old and ≥40 years old), patients were divided into subgroups and analyzed. Independent sample t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The number of UC patients of year 2010 to 2014 group and year 2015 to 2019 group was 369 and 1 056, respectively. The percentages of patients in remission of the two groups were 9.5% (35/369) and 12.0% (127/1 056), respectively; the percentages of mild patients were 40.4% (149/369) and 41.6% (439/1 056), respectively; the percentages of moderate patients were 37.4% (138/369) and 28.9% (305/1 056), respectively; the percentages of severe patients were 12.7% (47/369) and 17.5% (185/1 056), respectively. There was no significant difference in the proportion of UC patients with different degrees between year 2010 to 2014 group and year 2015 to 2019 group ( P>0.05). There were no significant differences in the age and proportion of female between the year 2010 to 2014 group and year 2015 to 2019 group ((46.2±15.3) years old vs. (44.6±30.6) years old; 45.8%, 169/369 vs. 44.8%, 473/1 056; both P>0.05). The utilization rates of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), glucocorticoid, immunosuppressants, and biological agents of the year 2015 to 2019 group were all higher than those of the year 2010 to 2014 group (96.8%, 1 022/1 056 vs. 90.0%, 332/369; 29.9%, 316/1 056 vs. 14.6%, 54/369; 8.4%, 89/1 056 vs. 2.4%, 9/369; 4.8%, 51/1 056 vs. 0.5%, 2/369, respectively), and the differences were all statistically significant ( χ2=26.766, 33.256, 15.315 and 14.038, all P<0.01). Within each of the year 2010 to 2014 group and the year 2015 to 2019 group, there were no significant differences between the female and male in the age, utilization rates of 5-ASA, glucocorticoid, immunosuppressants and biological agents ((47.2±13.6) years old vs. (45.3±16.5) years old, (43.1±12.9) years old vs. (45.8±39.5) years old, 88.8%, 150/169 vs. 91.0%, 182/200; 96.8%, 458/473 vs. 96.7%, 564/583; 13.6%, 23/169 vs. 15.5%, 31/200; 28.3%, 134/473 vs. 31.2%, 182/583; 2.4%, 4/169 vs. 2.5%, 5/200; 7.0%, 33/473 vs. 9.6%, 56/583; 0 vs. 1.0%, 2/200; 5.3%, 25/473 vs. 4.5%, 26/583; all P>0.05). In the patients aged≥40 years old of the year 2010 to 2014 group, the proportion of females was higher than that of the patients aged <40 years old (50.2%, 121/241 vs. 37.5%, 48/128), and the utilization rate of 5-ASA in patients aged ≥40 years old was lower than that of patients aged <40 years old (85.9%, 207/241 vs. 97.7%, 125/128), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=5.438 and 12.824, P=0.020 and P<0.01). In the year 2010 to 2014 group, there were no statistically significant differences in the utilization rates of glucocorticoid, immunosuppressants and biological agents between patients aged ≥40 years old and patients aged <40 years old (13.7%, 33/241 vs. 16.4%, 21/128; 2.1%, 5/241 vs. 3.1%, 4/128; 0 vs. 1.6%, 2/128; all P>0.05). In the year 2015 to 2019 group, the utilization rate of biological agents in patients aged≥40 years old was lower than that in patients aged<40 years old (3.7%, 23/630 vs. 46.5%, 198/426), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=4.721, P=0.030). In the year 2015 to 2019 group, there were no statistically significant differences in female proportion, utilization rates of 5-ASA, glucocorticoid, immunosuppressants and biological agents between patients aged≥40 years old and patients aged <40 years old (43.7%, 275/630 vs. 46.5%, 198/426; 96.0%, 605/630 vs. 97.9%, 417/426; 29.7%, 187/630 vs. 30.3%, 129/426; 8.6%, 54/630 vs. 8.2%, 35/426; all P>0.05). Conclusions:Compared with year 2010 to 2014, the number of UC patients remarkably increased in the year 2015 to 2019 in the Department of Gastroenterology, Xijing Hospiatal, Air Force Medical University. The utilization rates of 5-ASA, glucocorticoid, immunosuppressants and biological agents all increased in UC patients. The medication trends of UC patients with different gender were almost the same. The medication trends of UC patients with different age were different.

Purpose: Higher neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLRs) indicate a pro-inflammatory state and are associated with poor survival. Conversely, higher albumin-globulin ratio (AGRs) may be associated with improved prognosis. We aimed to investigate the association between NLR and AGR and prognosis and survival in patients with breast cancer. Methods: This retrospective study included all patients with stage I–III breast cancer between 2011 and 2017 in Singapore General Hospital and National Cancer Center Singapore.Multivariate logistic regression analysis of NLR, AGR, age, stage, grade, and subtype was performed. Survival data between groups were compared using Cox regression analysis and log-rank tests. Results: A total of 1,188 patients were included, of whom 323 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and 865 underwent upfront surgery. In patients who underwent NACT, a higher AGR was significantly associated with a higher pCR rate (cut-off > 1.28; odds ratio [OR], 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–3.74; p = 0.020), better DFS (cut off > 1.55; hazard ratio [HR], 0.37; 95% CI, 0.16–0.85; p = 0.019), and better CSS (cut off > 1.46; HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17–0.92; p = 0.031). Higher NLR was significantly associated with worse DFS (cut off > 4.09; HR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.07–2.91; p = 0.026) and worse CSS (cut off > 4.09; HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.11–3.53; p = 0.021). In patients who underwent upfront surgery, higher AGR correlated with significantly better OS (cut off > 1.17; HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.36–0.82; p = 0.004) and higher NLR correlated with worse OS (cut off > 2.38; HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09–2.44; p = 0.018). Conclusion NLR and AGR are useful in predicting the response to NACT as well as prognosis of patients with breast cancer. Further studies are needed to explore their value in clinical decision making.