Objective To develop whole breast irradiation with volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT)-based hybrid intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after breast conserving surgery for breast cancer,and to evaluate its value in clinical application.Methods Ten patients with breast cancer undergoing breast conserving surgery were enrolled.Two radiotherapy plans were designed based on hybrid fixed-beam IMRT/IMRT technique and hybrid VMAT/IMRT technique,respectively.One group received whole breast irradiation with a prescribed dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions.The other group received whole breast irradiation with a prescribed dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions,as well as simultaneous integrated boost to the tumor bed with 60 Gy in 25 fractions.The dosimetric parameters and delivery efficiency were compared between the two plans using paired t test.Results For patients treated with whole breast irradiation alone,there were no significant differences in conformity index and homogeneity index of target volume between the two plans (P=0.866,0.056);however,compared with the hybrid fixed-beam IMRT/IMRT technique,the hybrid VMAT/IMRT technique significantly increased the doses to organs at risk (OARs) and the number of monitor units (MUs) in the intensity-modulated field (P=0.000-0.050,P=0.002).For patients treated with whole breast irradiation with a simultaneous integrated boost to the tumor bed;however,the hybrid VMAT/IMRT technique significantly reduced the doses to the lung and spinal cord,number of MUs in intensity-modulated field,and delivery time compared with the hybrid fixed-beam IMRT/IMRT technique (P=0.004,0.001,0.000,0.000).Conclusions For patients treated with whole breast irradiation with a simultaneous integrated boost to the tumor bed,the hybrid VMAT/IMRT technique is highly promising for clinical application due to better OAR sparing and higher delivery efficiency.

Background: The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been widely applied for predicting survival outcomes of patients with various malignant tumors. Although a low PNI predicts poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer after tumor resection, the prognostic value remains unknown in patients with stage Ⅲ colon cancer undergoing cura-tive tumor resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of PNI in patients with stageⅢ colon cancer. Methods: Medical records of 274 consecutive patients with stage Ⅲ colon cancer undergoing curative tumor resec-tion followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and capecitabine between December 2007 and December 2013 were reviewed. The optimal PNI cutoff value was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The associations of PNI with systemic inflammatory response markers, including lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and clinicopathologic characteristics were assessed using the Chi square or Fisher's exact test. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman's correlation confficient. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) stratified by PNI were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test, and prognostic factors were identified by Cox regression analyses. Results: The preoperative PNI was positively correlated with LMR (r= 0.483,P < 0.001) and negatively correlated with NLR (r=? 0.441,P < 0.001), PLR (r=? 0.607,P < 0.001), and CRP level (r=? 0.333,P < 0.001). A low PNI (≤ 49.22) was significantly associated with short OS and DFS in patients with stage IIIC colon cancer but not in patients with stage IIIA/IIIB colon cancer. In addition, patients with a low PNI achieved a longer OS and DFS after being treated with 6–8 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy than did those with < 6 cycles. Multivariate analyses revealed that PNI was inde-pendently associated with DFS (hazard ratios 2.001; 95％ confidence interval 1.157–3.462;P= 0.013). Conclusion: The present study identified preoperative PNI as a valuable predictor for survival outcomes in patients with stage Ⅲ colon cancer receiving curative tumor resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of the oxidored nitro domain containing protein 1 (NOR1) gene knockdown on the biological behavior of HeLa cells in cervical carcinoma. METHODS: The recombinant plasmids pSUPER-shNOR1-1, pSUPER-shNOR1-2 and pSUPERscramble, which targeted to NOR1 gene, were constructed by pSUPER.neo+GFP vector, transfected into HeLa cells respectively using Lipofectamine 2000 reagent, and followed by G418 selection. The expression level of NOR1 mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was performed to determine the growth curve of cell viability. The stable transfectants were treated with H₂O₂ and cell apoptosis was determined by Hoechst 33258 staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferasemediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The expression levels of Bcl-2, cleaved caspase 9 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) were measured by Western blot. RESULTS: NOR1- knockdown HeLa cells were successfully constructed by transfection of pSUPER-shNOR1-1 or pSUPER-shNOR1-2 plasmids into HeLa cells. MTT assay showed that the silence of endogenous NOR1 in HeLa cells could lead to the increase in cell viability and proliferation, and the inhibition of H₂O₂-induced apoptosis compared with the negative control. Western blot showed that the expression level of active caspase 9 and cleaved PARP was inhibited in NOR1-knockdown cells when they were treated with H₂O₂ while the expression level of Bcl-2 protein increased. CONCLUSION Silence of endogenous NOR1 facilitates the cell viability and growth of HeLa cells, and attenuates HeLa cells apoptosis induced by H₂O₂, which might be mediated by up-regulation of Bcl-2 level and down-regulation of the cleaved caspase 9 cascade.
Apoptosis ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cell Survival ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Genetic Vectors ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection ; Up-Regulation

Objective:To investigate the demand and influencing factors of home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas, and provide a decision-making basis for improving home care social support services for the elderly with dementia.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From March 2021 to March 2022, 386 family caregivers of elderly people with dementia were randomly selected from tertiary hospitals in four central urban areas of Wuhan by stratified sampling method. A questionnaire was used to investigate the current situation and attributes of the demand for home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas. The importance of the demand for home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas was calculated by the Better-Worse coefficient method and sensitivity formula method. The optimal scale regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors and influencing forces of independent variables on service demand.Results:The score of social support service demand for home care was (88.6 ± 29.71) points. The Better coefficient of demand for all social support services was greater than the absolute value of the Worse coefficient. One requirement (pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance) was a one-dimensional attribute, and the remaining 29 items were charm attributes. The top 6 items in importance ranking were 2 items of informational support (pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance; telephone counselling guidance for family caregivers), 1 items of instrumental support (financial assistance for family caregivers) and 3 items of social companionship support(cultural recreation/physical activity activities, door-to-door accompaniment, accompany the elderly to social activities). Optimal scale regression model test: all four models of social support service demand were statistically significant ( F values were 2.75-4.23, all P <0.01). The gender, education level, number of children of the elderly with dementia, age,education level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of families, and the relationship between family caregivers and the elderly with dementia were the influencing factors of self-esteem support (all P<0.05). The educational level, marital status, type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, educational level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of the family, and the relationship between family caregivers and the elderly with dementia were the influencing factors of informational support (all P <0.05). The educational level and type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, the educational level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, and the average monthly income of families were the influencing factors of social companionship support (all P <0.05). The type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, the self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of families, and the relationship between family caregivers and elderly relatives were the influencing factors of instrumental support (all P <0.05). Five times for caregiver human resources, 3 times for family economic resources and 3 times for the elderly with dementia, and 1 time for relatives resource factors were the top 3 times of independent variable influence force entered the ranking. Conclusions:The demand for social support services for home care of the elderly with dementia is low, with the characteristics of expectant tendency and centralized demand. The provision of home-based care social support services should give priority to meeting the needs of "pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance", and provide financial assistance, counseling and guidance, social companionship and other services as much as possible. Caregiver human resources are the key factors affecting home care social support services, family economic resources and the elderly with dementia are important factors, it is recommended to fully tap the potential of relatives resources and community resources.

Objective:To evaluate the risk factors for prognosis of primary intussusception treated by enema reduction in children.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 519 patients with primary intussusception in Anhui Provincial Children′s Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020 was performed. Among the 519 patients, there were 346 males and 173 females. The median age was 15 months, with a range of 3 to 69 months, some basic information was collected. Patients were divided into bad prognosis group ( n=71) and good prognosis group ( n=448) according to prognosis.Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce confounding bias between the groups. Conditional logistic regression were used to analysis the risk factors of primary intussusception treated by enema reduction. Results:There were 71 cases of poor prognosis among 519 primary intussusception patients, incidence was 13.7%.Before PSM, there was significant difference in 6 covariates, including gender, age, duration of symptoms, bloody stool, diarrhoea and fever between two group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in abdominal pain and vomit between two group ( P>0.05). With propensity score matching, 69 pairs of patients were sucessfully matched. After PSM, distribution of the above covariates reached equilibrium between two groups ( P>0.05). There were statistically significant differences in enema reduction, mass location, seroperitoneum, lactic acid and overweight/obese between the two groups ( P<0.05). Conditional logistic regression analysis confirmed that enema reduction( OR=3.478, 95% CI: 1.150-10.517, P=0.027), mass location ( OR=6.596, 95% CI: 1.669-26.056, P=0.007), lactic acid( OR=1.012, 95% CI: 1.003-1.021, P=0.010), overweight/obese ( OR=6.085, 95% CI: 1.650-22.436, P=0.007) were independent factors for predicting prognosis of primary intussusception treated by enema reduction. Conclusions:AER, mass located left hemicolon, elevated lactic acid and overweight/obese were independent risk factors for poor prognosis of primary intussusception treated by enema reduction.

Objective: To explore the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia in Chinese residents. Methods: Based on data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), residents with blood samples provided in the 2009 round (including information of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, medical history, and laboratory examinations etc.) were selected as the participants in the current analysis. Unconditional logistic regression models were utilized to compute the ORs and corresponding 95%CIs for assessing the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia. Results: Among the 8 785 subjects, 1 435 had hyperuricemia with a prevalence rate of 16.3%, consisting of 886 men and 549 women with prevalence rates of 21.6% (886/4 110) and 11.7% (549/4 675) , respectively. Compared with never smokers, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among current smokers, 0.77 (0.63-0.94) among current smokers with 20-39 years of smoking, and 0.79 (0.65-0.97) among current smokers with 11-20 cigarettes per day. When stratified by gender and compared with non-smoker, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia among current smokers compared with never smokers was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among men, while no significant association was found in female current smokers (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.42-1.26, P=0.260). Conclusion In Chinese residents, there is an inverse association between smoking and hyperuricemia prevalence, and this association may be related to duration and intensity of smoking among current smokers. The findings need to be validated in large prospective cohort studies.

Objective To investigate the complications of deep brain stimulation (DBS) internal pulse generator (IPG) replacement procedures and discuss the reasons,preventive measures and treatments.Methods From 2012 to 2016,285 procedures (according to the number of replacement IPG) were performed for 211 patients in our hospital.Among them,178 patients were with Parkinson's disease,29 patients were with dystonia,3 patients were with tic disorder,and one with essential tremor.Thirty-two patients previously used Medtronic replaced with local DBS with brand of PINC and Sceneray,and the other 179 patients remained the use of Medtronic brand.Furthermore,36 patients got extension cable reimplantation along with IPG replacements.Results Replacement surgeries were divided into 3 types:IPG replacement in situ;bilateral side single-channel IPG was replaced by double-channel IPG or double-channel IPG was replaced by bilateral single-channel IPG;extended cables and IPG replacement were carried out simultaneously.The follow up period was from one to 6 years for these 211 patients,and 15 got surgical-and hardware-related complications:6 with sack hemorrhage,2 with skin erosion,one with IPG rejection,3 with adaptor fracture,and 3 with impedance abnormality were recorded;no infection was noted.Twenty-six patients got significant improvement after new IPG replacement.Conclusions DBS IPG replacement operations is a regular surgery with certain safety.Personalized surgical procedures,rigorous intraoperative operation and correct postoperative management can effectively reduce and prevent the complications of IPG replacement surgery.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum markers β amyloid (Aβ), tau and thyroid hormone levels and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in the acute phase of cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 214 patients with acute cerebral infarction were enrolled. The baseline data and serological indicators were collected and the cognitive function of patients was evaluated. All patients were divided into cognitive impairment group and normal group based on follow-up results. The differences of Aβ1-42, tau protein and thyroxine levels between the two groups and their relationship with disease progression were analyzed. The Cox regression analysis and ROC curve were used to compare the above parameters to predict the development of PSCI. Results The total protein level of Tau (210.6 ±98.9 pg/mL) was higher and Aβ1-42 (426.1 ±123.5 pg/mL) and triiodothyronine (T3) (1.43 ±0.57 nmol/L), free thyroxine (FT4) (13.15±2.23 pmol/L) was significantly lower in the cognitive impairment group than in the normal group (P<0.05). Tau protein (r=-0.457), Aβ1-42 (r=0.348), T3 (r=0.211), and FT4 (r=0.306) were all associated with disease progression (P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that Aβ1-42 and T3 were important influencing factors in the occurrence of PSCI. The area under the curve of Aβ1-42 combined with T3 was 0.841. The specificity and the sensitivity were 74.8% and 85.3%, respectively, with a diagnostic cutoff value of 0.572. Conclusion Aβ1-42 and T3 levels in the acute phase of cerebral infarction may predict the progression of PSCI.

Objective: To obtain the high-resolution dose distribution for the single source channel of Leksell 4C gamma knife. Methods: A parallel computing platform based on the Message Passing Interface (MPI) and Monte Carlo Code MCNPX was established. The ring-shaped detector and two pre-validated variance reduction techniques (emission direction-biased sampling of source and termination of electron tracking in partial structures) were adopted to derive the high-resolution dose distribution for the single source channel of Leksell 4C gamma knife. The effect of cut-off energy for both photon and electron on the accuracy of simulation outcomes was evaluated and statistically compared. Results: Compared with previous findings, the spatial resolution of the dose distribution for the single source channel obtained in this study was higher (radial resolution=0.1 mm) with less statistical error (<1%). The calculation time was acceptable (approximately 24 h). For the 4-, 8-, 14-and 18-mm variable collimators, the penumbra and full width at the half maximum (FWHM) for single side were 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 mm and 2.2, 4.3, 7.3, 9.3 mm, respectively, which were consistent with previous studies. The difference of the simulation results was extremely small between different cut-off energy for photon (1 keV vs.10 keV). However, the simulation results significantly differ between 1 and 521 keV electronic cut-off energy. Conclusions The MCNPX parallel computing platform based on the MPI environment can be utilized to derive highly accurate dose distribution with high resolution in acceptable calculation time. The cut-off energy of the photon and electron should be cautiously set up during simulation.

Objective The aim of this study is to explore the hypoglycemic effect of active components of Anoectochilus roxburghii on zebrafish models. Methods Anoectochilus roxburghii components were extracted and separated into three groups: the alcohol extraction group, macromolecular polysaccharide group (≥ 5 ×103) and small molecular polysaccharide group (＜5×103). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 2% glucose solution (2% Glu) at 24 h to imitate acute hyperglycemia phenotype, and then treated with the three Anoectochilus roxburghii components. Based on this high-glucose model, the zebrafish embryos at 72 h were collected to detect the whole tissue glucose value. Furthermore, semi-quantitative PCR and whole mount in situ hybridization were performed to detect the expression of mRNA levels of glycometabolism-related genes. Results An acute diabetic zebrafish model was induced by high glucose stress. In this model, some key factors during glycometabolism such as insulin, pck-1 and pdx-1 were significantly affected, while the alcohol extracts of Anoectochilus roxburghii obviously reversed these abnormalities induced by high glucose stress, even to normal levels. Conclusions The alcohol extracts of Anoectochilus roxburghii has obvious hypoglycemic effect on diabetic zebrafish model. Our result suggest that Anoectochilus roxburghii has a potential application in the hypoglycemic drug screening.