ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different concentrations of Shaoyaotang-containing serum on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced inflammation of human colorectal adenocarcinoma （Caco-2） cells by inhibiting apoptosis via activating the tumor necrosis factor （TNF） receptor superfamily member 6 （Fas）/Fas ligand （FasL） pathway. MethodsCaco-2 cells were allocated into blank， model （LPS， 10 mg·L^-1）， Shaoyaotang-containing serum （5%， 10%， 15%， 20%）， and Fas inhibitor （KR-33493， 20 mmol·L^-1） groups. Except the blank group， the other groups were stimulated with 10 mg·L^-1 LPS for 24 h for the modeling of inflammation. After successful modeling， the blank， Fas inhibitor， and model groups were treated with blank serum， and the Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups were treated with the serum samples at corresponding concentrations for 24 h. The Fas inhibitor group was subjected to KR-33493 pretreatment for 1 h. Cell proliferation and viability were examined by the cell-counting kit-8 （CCK-8） method. The levels of interleukin （IL）-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase （Caspase）-3， Caspase-9， B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） were determined by Western blot and Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， respectively. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group presented a decrease in cell survival rate （P<0.01）. Compared with that in the model group， the cell survival rate showed no significant change in the 5% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group but increased in the 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups （P<0.01）. Since there was no statistical difference between the 5% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group and the model group， 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing sera were selected for the follow-up study. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed risen levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.01）， an increased apoptosis rate （P<0.01）， up-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the Fas inhibitor group and the 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups showed declined levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.01）， decreased apoptosis rates （P<0.01）， down-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and up-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In addition， the 15% and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups had lower levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lower apoptosis rates （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lower protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and higher protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01） than the 10% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group. ConclusionThe Shaoyaotang-containing serum can reduce the content of inflammatory factors in Caco-2 cells， down-regulate the protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax， and up-regulate the protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 under the intervention of LPS by regulating the Fas/FasL pathway and inhibiting the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells in ulcerative colitis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different concentrations of Shaoyaotang-containing serum on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced inflammation of human colorectal adenocarcinoma （Caco-2） cells by inhibiting apoptosis via activating the tumor necrosis factor （TNF） receptor superfamily member 6 （Fas）/Fas ligand （FasL） pathway. MethodsCaco-2 cells were allocated into blank， model （LPS， 10 mg·L^-1）， Shaoyaotang-containing serum （5%， 10%， 15%， 20%）， and Fas inhibitor （KR-33493， 20 mmol·L^-1） groups. Except the blank group， the other groups were stimulated with 10 mg·L^-1 LPS for 24 h for the modeling of inflammation. After successful modeling， the blank， Fas inhibitor， and model groups were treated with blank serum， and the Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups were treated with the serum samples at corresponding concentrations for 24 h. The Fas inhibitor group was subjected to KR-33493 pretreatment for 1 h. Cell proliferation and viability were examined by the cell-counting kit-8 （CCK-8） method. The levels of interleukin （IL）-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase （Caspase）-3， Caspase-9， B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） were determined by Western blot and Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， respectively. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group presented a decrease in cell survival rate （P<0.01）. Compared with that in the model group， the cell survival rate showed no significant change in the 5% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group but increased in the 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups （P<0.01）. Since there was no statistical difference between the 5% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group and the model group， 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing sera were selected for the follow-up study. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed risen levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.01）， an increased apoptosis rate （P<0.01）， up-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the Fas inhibitor group and the 10%， 15%， and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups showed declined levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.01）， decreased apoptosis rates （P<0.01）， down-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and up-regulated protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In addition， the 15% and 20% Shaoyaotang-containing serum groups had lower levels of IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lower apoptosis rates （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lower protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and higher protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01） than the 10% Shaoyaotang-containing serum group. ConclusionThe Shaoyaotang-containing serum can reduce the content of inflammatory factors in Caco-2 cells， down-regulate the protein and mRNA levels of Fas， FasL， Caspase-3， Caspase-9， and Bax， and up-regulate the protein and mRNA levels of Bcl-2 under the intervention of LPS by regulating the Fas/FasL pathway and inhibiting the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells in ulcerative colitis.

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of using the domestic ArcherQA system for fast and simplified independent verification of CyberKnife (CK) stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) plans.Methods:SRT plans of 57 patients treated with CK at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from August 2021 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 15 intracranial, 30 pulmonary, and 12 abdominal tumors cases. Point-dose and planar-dose verifications were performed using an ionization chamber and radiochromic films embedded in a homogeneous phantom, and the results were compared with those calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS). The localization CT images and corresponding SRT plans were imported into the ArcherQA system for independent dose verification and analysis. The correlation between ArcherQA results and phantom measurements was analyzed, with comparisons of target mean dose differences and γ pass rates.Results:Phantom measurement results showed, the measured point-dose differences for intracranial, lung, and abdominal plans were -0.94% ± 3.22%, 1.92% ± 2.05%, and 2.12% ± 0.77%, respectively. The mean dose differences in target dose calculation between ArcherQA and TPS: intracranial in the gross tumor volume (GTV) regions were 0.34% ± 2.21%, lung tumor GTV were -2.47% ± 2.46%, and abdominal tumor GTV were 0.80% ± 2.61%, respectively. Among them, the abdominal GTV region showed the highest correlation between ArcherQA and measured results ( r=0.78). The average two-dimensional γ pass rates (2 mm/2%, threshold=10%) measured using phantom films were 95.92% ± 2.35% for intracranial, 95.70% ± 2.74% for lung, and 96.74% ± 3.41% for abdominal tumors plans, respectively. The three-dimensional ArcherQA results showed comparable γ pass rates (1 mm/2%, threshold=10%) for lung and abdominal GTV and PTV regions, with similar medians and data dispersion to film measurements. Conclusions:The ArcherQA system enables rapid and efficient independent dose verification of CK SRT plans without the need for additional hardware. The verification results show good correlation with phantom measurements, supporting its potential as an auxiliary quality assurance tool in clinical CK SRT implementation.

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of using the domestic ArcherQA system for fast and simplified independent verification of CyberKnife (CK) stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) plans.Methods:SRT plans of 57 patients treated with CK at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from August 2021 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 15 intracranial, 30 pulmonary, and 12 abdominal tumors cases. Point-dose and planar-dose verifications were performed using an ionization chamber and radiochromic films embedded in a homogeneous phantom, and the results were compared with those calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS). The localization CT images and corresponding SRT plans were imported into the ArcherQA system for independent dose verification and analysis. The correlation between ArcherQA results and phantom measurements was analyzed, with comparisons of target mean dose differences and γ pass rates.Results:Phantom measurement results showed, the measured point-dose differences for intracranial, lung, and abdominal plans were -0.94% ± 3.22%, 1.92% ± 2.05%, and 2.12% ± 0.77%, respectively. The mean dose differences in target dose calculation between ArcherQA and TPS: intracranial in the gross tumor volume (GTV) regions were 0.34% ± 2.21%, lung tumor GTV were -2.47% ± 2.46%, and abdominal tumor GTV were 0.80% ± 2.61%, respectively. Among them, the abdominal GTV region showed the highest correlation between ArcherQA and measured results ( r=0.78). The average two-dimensional γ pass rates (2 mm/2%, threshold=10%) measured using phantom films were 95.92% ± 2.35% for intracranial, 95.70% ± 2.74% for lung, and 96.74% ± 3.41% for abdominal tumors plans, respectively. The three-dimensional ArcherQA results showed comparable γ pass rates (1 mm/2%, threshold=10%) for lung and abdominal GTV and PTV regions, with similar medians and data dispersion to film measurements. Conclusions:The ArcherQA system enables rapid and efficient independent dose verification of CK SRT plans without the need for additional hardware. The verification results show good correlation with phantom measurements, supporting its potential as an auxiliary quality assurance tool in clinical CK SRT implementation.

Hemophilic arthritis(HA),caused by recurrent bleeding,can seriously affect patient quality of life and consumes extensive social and medical resources.There is thus a need to establish an animal model of HA for research;however,this is limited by ethical requirements.Here we review the recent literature and summarize research progress into animal models of HA at home and abroad,from the aspects of species selection,modeling method,histopathology,and imaging evaluation method.Species selection includes rodents such as mice,New Zealand rabbits,beagles,miniature pigs,and crab-eating macaques.Modeling method comprise gene knockout trauma models,gene knockout spontaneous models,and injection models.Among these,the gene knockout spontaneous model closely mimics the pathological process of spontaneous bleeding and concurrent arthritis in human HA,making it more relevant to human HA.However,due to high modeling costs,phenotypic instability,and low survival rates,this model is not the preferred choice for animal experimental studies.In contrast,gene knockout trauma models exhibit characteristics such as short modeling time,strong stability,and high success rates,thus being widely utilized in animal experimental research.Evaluation of HA models involves various imaging method including MRI,micro-CT,MSKUS/PD,in addition to various gross scoring method.By reviewing the progress of HA model research,more experimental evidence is provided for investigating the pathogenesis and validating the efficacy of HA treatments,thereby compensating for the lack of clinical data,particularly in the field of traditional Chinese medicine therapy.

Objective To evaluate the application of computed tomography urography(CTU),ultrasonography and intravenous pyelography(IVP)in the diagnosis of duplication of kidney and ureter.Methods Clinical diagnostic information of 79 patients with duplication of kidney and ureter admitted to the 971st Hospital of Navy from February 2016 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients received ultrasonography,IVP and CTU.Results The diagnostic accordance rates of ultrasonography,IVP and CTU for duplication of kidney and ureter were 64.6%,72.2%and 96.2%,respectively.Clear dimensional features presented in CTU and postprocessing images,which fully met the need of diagnosis in duplication of kidney and ureter.Conclusion CTU can provide more comprehensive and accurate clinical diagnostic information.The diagnostic accuracy rate of CTU for duplication of kidney and ureter is higher than those of ultrasonography and IVP,which is worthy of popular ization and application.

Objective:To observe whether hair follicle cells from mice of different species can integrate to generate new pigmented hair follicles, and to explore the role of different melanocyte populations in pigmented hair follicle reconstruction in mice.Methods:The epidermal cell population, hair follicle epithelial cell population and dermal cell population were isolated from the skin of fetal or neonatal C57BL/6J and BALB/C mice, and epidermal melanocytes were obtained by culture and purification of the epidermal cell population. The experiments were divided into 3 parts: (1) hair follicle reconstruction experiment in neonatal C57BL/6J mice, which included 2 groups: epidermal cells + hair follicle epithelial cells group and dermal cells group; (2) chimeric hair follicle reconstruction experiment, which included 4 groups: dermal cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group, dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice group, dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + dermal cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group, and dermal cells of fetal BALB/C mice + dermal cells of fetal C57BL/6J mice group; (3) pigmented hair follicle reconstruction experiment, which included 3 groups: dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + epidermal cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group, dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + hair follicle epithelial cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group, and dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + cultured C57BL/6J epidermal melanocytes group. Different cells were implanted into dorsal skin fold chambers of the nude mice, and there were 4 mice in each group. At weeks 4 and 8 after inoculation, hair follicle reconstruction was assessed by gross observation, histological examination and immunofluorescence assay.Results:Among the 8 BALB/C nude mice in the 2 groups in the hair follicle reconstruction experiment, 7 survived and 1 died of wound infections on week 4 after inoculation; at weeks 4 and 8 after inoculation, no hair growth was observed in the epidermal cells + hair follicle epithelial cells group (3 mice) , while normal hair grew out in the dermal cells group (4 mice) mixed with epithelial components. Among the 16 BALB/C nude mice in the 4 groups in the chimeric hair follicle reconstruction experiment, 14 survived and 2 died of wound infections on week 4 after inoculation; at weeks 4 and 8 after inoculation, brown-grey hair grew well in the dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + dermal cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group (4 mice) , and dermal cells of fetal BALB/C mice + dermal cells of fetal C57BL/6J mice group (3 mice) . Among the 12 BALB/C nude mice in the 3 groups in the pigmented hair follicle reconstruction experiment, 10 survived and 2 died of wound infections on week 4 after inoculation; at weeks 4 and 8 after inoculation, only white hair grew out in the dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + cultured C57BL/6J epidermal melanocytes group (3 mice) , and no hair follicle melanocytes were observed by immunofluorescence assay, while brown-grey hair grew well in the dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + epidermal cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group (4 mice) , and dermal cells of neonatal BALB/C mice + hair follicle epithelial cells of neonatal C57BL/6J mice group (3 mice) .Conclusions:The interaction between mesenchymal cells and hair follicle epithelial cells is a necessary condition for hair follicle reconstruction. The hair follicle cells from different species of mice can integrate to generate new pigmented hair follicles. Both hair follicle melanocytes and epidermal melanocytes can participate in the formation of pigmented hair follicles, but differentiated melanocytes have no such ability.

Objective:To assess the shielding requirements of low energy X-ray intraoperative radiotherapy room under the domestic and foreign standards and guidelines, to measure the sured transmission factors for a range of shielding materials, the ambient dose equivalent rate around concerned positions and the shielding effect of protective devices, so as to provide references for shielding design of such radiotherapy units and applications of radiological protection devices.Methods:The required shielding thicknesses for a treatment room with INTRABEAM intraoperative radiotherapy system were calculated under the Chinese national standard GBZ 121, IPEM report No. 75 and NCRP report No. 151, respectively. The transmission factors for a range of shielding materials including solid water slab, shielding sheet and shielding apron were measured. Moreover, the ambient dose equivalent rates were measured under the simulated working conditions and the shielding effectiveness of a lead screen was evaluated.Results:The required lead thicknesses calculated under different standards and guidelines were less than 0.6 mm for all the concerned points, with the differences at sub-millimeter level. The low energy X-rays generated by this equipment attenuated rapidly in the shielding materials. The measured transmission factors of 0.05 mm lead equivalent shielding sheet and 0.25 mm lead equivalent shielding apron were 0.068 and 0.003 8, respectively. When the radiation was delivered using spherical applicator without any attenuation, the ambient dose equivalent rates at 1 m and 2 m from the X-ray source were 10.7 and 2.6 mSv/h, respectively. The corresponding measurement values decreased to 3.8 and 0.9 μSv/h, respectively, when the spherical applicator was inserted into a small water tank. Meanwhile, the ambient dose equivalent rate at 2 m was reduced to the background level when using protective screen.Conclusions:The shielding requirements for a low energy X-ray intraoperative radiotherapy facility are minimal, with low effective energy of X-rays generated by this equipment, but the dose rate close to the unshielded radiation source is high. The shielding scheme of treatment room should be optimized in design and the protective device should be used in a reasonable way.

Objective:To identify the radiomics features related to the occurrence of radiation pneumonitis based on localized CT images of the chest in lung cancer patients, establish a machine learning model and investigate the value of radiomics technology in predicting the incidence of radiation pneumonitis.Methods:Clinical data of 86 patients with stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer who received radical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) were retrospectively analyzed. The radiation pneumonitis was graded by follow-up imaging data and clinical information. The planning CT images were collected. The lung was used as the volume of interest for extraction of radiomics features. The radiomics features, clinical and dosimetric parameters associated with the incidence of radiation pneumonitis were analyzed. Using the support vector machine to construct the model, the prediction performance of the model was evaluated by the five-fold verification method.Results:A total of 1029 radiomics features were extracted from CT images and 5 features were selected by ANOVA and LASSO. Two validation sets showed differences between adopting radiomics features alone and incorporating clinical and dosimetric parameters and radiomics features (AUC=0.67 and 0.71, respectively).Conclusions:The radiomics model constructed by planning CT images of lung cancer patients has the potential to predict the occurrence of radiation pneumonitis. Addition of clinical and dosimetric parameters can further improve the prediction performance of the model.

Objective:To investigate the application of equivalent uniform dose (EUD) in the combination of intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy (combined-BT) for cervical cancer.Methods:Twenty cervical cancer patients treated with combined-BT in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital were recruited in this study. For each patient, treatment plans were optimized based on EUD and hybrid EUD (h-EUD). The results were statistically compared with predefined plans generated by Oncentra Brachy v4.3 using hybrid inverse planning optimization (HIPO). Furthermore, virtual uniform interstitial experiments were applied to evaluate the advantage of EUD.Results:All three plans showed consistent conformity index. Compared with the HIPO plans, the average D 2cm 3 of bladder, rectum and intestine in the EUD plans were decreased by 0.22 Gy, 0.23 Gy and 0.28 Gy, and those in the h-EUD plans were declined by 0.16 Gy, 0.22 Gy and 0.24 Gy, respectively. The average EUD of bladder, rectum and intestine in the EUD plans were decreased by 0.14 Gy, 0.20 Gy and 0.15 Gy, and those in the h-EUD plans were declined by 0.20 Gy, 0.13 Gy and 0.16 Gy, respectively (all P<0.05). The virtual interstitial experiment showed EUD could significantly improve the dose sparing for organs at risk (OARs). Conclusion:The application of EUD can significantly improve the dose sparing for normal tissues without compromising dose homogeneity and conformity during combined-BT for cervical cancer.