Objective To investigate the relationship of replication factor C subunit 2(RFC2)with the prognosis of glioblastoma(GBM)and cell proliferation,as well as its underlying molecular pathway in GBM development.Methods Using bioinformatics methods,cell cycle genes were screened as independent prognostic factors for GBM.Combined with clinical indicators,a risk scoring model for GBM patients was established and validated.The target gene RFC2 was analyzed with GO,KEGG,and GSEA.U87 GBM cells at logarithmic growth stage were transfected with lentivirus and divided into different groups(control,ShRFC2 # 1,and shRFC2 # 2 groups).qRT-PCR,Western blotting,Edu staining,and cloning assay were used to detect mRNA expression,protein expression,and cell proliferation.Results The expression of RFC2 was upregulated in GBM and showed an obvious upregulation trend with the increase of pathological grade of glioma.The analyses of gene function and pathway indicated that RFC2 was involved in the processes of sister chromosome segregation,chromosome segregation,organelle fission,and mitosis by promoting the transition of G1 to S phase during cell cycle.qRT-PCR and Western blotting showed that compared with the control group,the amount of mRNA and translated protein in the knockdowned groups decreased(P＜0.000 1).The positive rate of Edu staining and the colony forming ability decreased(P＜0.000 1,P＜0.001).Conclusion RFC2 is highly expressed in glioblastoma and associated with pathological grade of glioma and poor prognosis of patients.It also promotes the cell proliferation function of glioblastoma.RFC2 may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for glioblastoma.

ObjectiveTo analyze the supplementary test results of HIV screening positive samples in Jianyang City, Chengdu from 2019 to 2022, to evaluate different HIV testing methods, and to provide a basis for the development of HIV testing strategies in the local area. MethodsWestern blotting (WB) supplementary test was conducted on 1 172 screening positive samples from the HIV confirmatory laboratory in 2019‒2022 according to the national technical specifications. The samples were tested by the rapid test, enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), and chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). The test results of the three HIV screening methods were collected and a database was established for statistical analysis. ResultsA total of 1 172 samples were tested through supplementary test, of which 1 022 samples were tested positive (87.20%), 75 were uncertain (6.40%), and 75 were negative (6.40%). The positive results of the three different HIV screening methods were consistent with the supplementary test. The rapid test had the highest positively supplementary rate of 88.54%, followed by ELISA of 86.98%, and CLIA of 85.92%. The difference was statistically significant (χ²=9.505, P<0.05). The detection rate of WB band patterns in positive samples were the highest at 100.00% for gp160 and gp120, and lowest at 50.68% and 63.41% for p55 and p17, respectively. The WB band patterns of uncertain samples were mainly gp120 (81.33%) and p24 (46.67%). Among the 75 uncertain samples, 39 were followed up and 29 of which turned positive, with a high positive conversion rate of 74.36%. ConclusionIt is necessary to directly add HIV nucleic acid testing to samples with positive WB supplementary test results and samples with uncertain WB supplementary test results in combination with CLIA, so as to avoid the spread of HIV infection caused by missed detections.

Objective To investigate the impact of Yanghe-patch acupoint in the treatment of impaired glucose tolerance(IGT)with Yang-deficiency constitution and its influence on serum metabolites.Methods The study enrolled a total of 63 patients with IGT were randomly selected and stratified into two groups:The control group(32 cases)and the treatment group(31 cases)at Ningbo Municipal Hospital of TCM Affliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University from October 2022 to January 2024,blood glucose,blood lipids,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),Yang-deficiency body mass score,and infrared thermal imaging temperature before and after treatment were compared between two groups.Furthermore,29 healthy individuals were selected as healthy negative controls,and their serum metabolites were analyzed by using liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer(LC-MS)among three groups.Principal component analysis and orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminate analysis were employed to identify characteristic differential metabolites.Additionally,key metabolic pathways were screened through network analysis by using MetaboAnalyst software.Results The treatment group after Yanghe-patch showed significant reductions in fasting blood glucose,glycosylated hemoglobin,triglycerides,low-density lipopro-tein and TNF-α levels(P＜0.05).Additionally,Yang-deficiency constitution conversion points significantly decreased within the treatment group(P＜0.05),while there were significant increases in the temperatures of Ren channel,Du channel,middle-Jiao and lower-Jiao(P＜0.05).However,there was a notable decrease in upper-Jiao temperature(P＜0.05).Metabolomics analysis identified varying levels of serum metabolites in IGT patients with Yang-deficiency constitution,such as 4-acetylaminobutyric acid,3-dehydrocholic acid,citric acid,and cystine etc.16 metabolites.Treatment group exhibited distinct expression patterns for 16 metabolites(including diaminoheptadecic acid,acetyl-L-carnitine and monobutyl phthalate etc.).The analysis by MetaboAnalyst shows that Yang-deficiency constitution with IGT was linked to dysregulation in the tricarboxylic acid cycle,aminoacyl bioanabolic pathway,and Gly-Ser-Thr metabolic axis.Additionally,Yanghe-patch intervention affects the glycine,serine and threonine(Gly-Ser-Thr)metabolic axis and sphingolipid metabolism.Conclusion The application of Yanghe-patch on acupoints shows potential in alleviating chronic systemic inflammation and improving symptoms associated with Yang-deficiency constitution in individuals with IGT.Metabolomics analysis has revealed a range of metabolites involved in their mechanism,among which the Gly-Ser-Thr metabolic pathway is considered crucial for regulating the constitution of Yang-deficiency constitution in individuals with IGT.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) patients in the era of first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:Medical records of 56 patients with ES-SCLC who received thoracic radiotherapy after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy plus immunotherapy in Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The control group was not established for clinical causes. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to identify prognostic factors using the Cox proportional hazards model. The cumulative incidence of local regional recurrence (LRR) was estimated using the Fine-Grey competing risks regression model.Results:Among 56 patients in our cohort, 47 patients received consolidative TRT (cTRT) before progression and 9 patients received salvage TRT after progression. The median follow-up time was 21 months (95% CI=19.8-22.2 months), the median OS was not reached, the median PFS was 9 months (95% CI=7.0-13.0 months), and the 1-year and 18-month OS rates were 84.9%, 62.1%. In the cTRT group, the 1-year and 18-month OS rates were 84.1%, 64.5%, with the median PFS of 10 months; 1-year and 18-month LRFS rates were 73.6% and 66.0%, respectively; the cumulative incidence of LRR at 1-year and 2-year were 24.9% and 30.8%, respectively. No other 4-5 grade adverse events (AE) were reported except 6 patients presenting with 4 grade hematologic toxicities. Three grade radiation esophagitis occurred in 3 patients (5%). Ten patients (18%) developed 1-2 grade treatment-related pneumonitis, including 5 (9%) patients with immune related pneumonitis and 5 (9%) patients with radiation pneumonitis. Conclusion:The application of TRT after first-line chemoimmunotherapy is safe and may has potential survival benefit for patients with ES-SCLC.

Objective:To analyze the treatment efficacy, safety and dose parameters of optimized hippocampus-avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) and explore the corresponding dosimetric parameters under the condition of narrowing the hippocampus avoidance region as hippocampus region plus 2 mm in three dimensions.Methods:Clinical data of patients with LS-SCLC receiving HA-PCI (hippocampus avoidance region defined as hippocampus region plus 2 mm in three dimensions) in Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from August 2014 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Dose parameters of HA-PCI and adverse events were analyzed using descriptive statistics analysis. Changes of neurocognitive function, such as mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Hopkins verbal learning test-revised (HVLT-R) scores, were evaluated by analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis H test. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and intracranial PFS (iPFS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. The cumulative incidence of local-regional recurrence (LRR), extracranial distant metastases (EDM), and locoregional recurrence (LR) were investigated under competing risk analysis. Results:A total of 112 patients were included, the median follow-up time was 50 months (95% CI: 45.61-54.38). The median volume of hippocampus was 4.85 ml (range: 2.65-8.34 ml), with the average dose ≤9 Gy in 106 patients (94.6%), ≤8 Gy in 92 patients (82.1%). The median volume of hippocampus avoidance area was 15.00 ml (range: 8.61-28.06 ml), with the average dose ≤12 Gy in 109 patients (97.3%), ≤10 Gy in 101 patients (90.2%). The 2-year cumulative LRR, EDM, LR rates were 16.9%, 23.2% and 28.5%, respectively. The 5-year cumulative LRR, EDM, LR rates were 23.2%, 26.9% and 33.3%, respectively. The 2-year iPFS, PFS and OS rates were 66.1% (95% CI: 57.9%-75.4%), 53.6% (95% CI: 45.1%-63.7%) and 80.4% (95% CI: 73.3%-88.1%), respectively. The most common grade I-Ⅱ adverse events were nausea (33.9%) and dizziness (31.3%), and only 1 patient developed grade Ⅲ nausea and dizziness. MMSE ( n=57) and HVLT-R tests ( n=56) showed no significant decline. Conclusions:Optimized HA-PCI can achieve similar dose limitation with favorable efficacy and light toxicity. No significant decline is observed in short-term neurocognitive function in evaluable patients.

Objective To analyze the effect of Xiaozhi Decoction in the treatment of hyperlipidemiain different classification of physical constitution in TCM.Methods We screened 206 patients with Hyperlipidemia in our hospital and had been treated with drugs during May 2020 to March 2023.Totally 103 patients in the TCM group were treated with Xiaozhi Decoction,103 patients in the western medicine group were treated with atorvastatin.Selected total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and liver transaminase before and after a period of treatment.The non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(non-HDL-C)will be calculated,too.Results In the Phlegm-Dampness constitution,TC,TG,LDL-C and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the TCM group(P<0.05);TC,TG and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the western medicine group(P<0.05).The TCM group is superior to the western medicine group in TC,LDL-C,non-HDL-C(P<0.05).In the Qi-Deficiency constitution,TC,TG,LDL-C and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the TCM group(P<0.05);TC,LDL-C and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the western medicine group(P<0.05).The TCM group is superior to the western medicine group in non-HDL-C(P<0.05).In the Blood-Stasis constitution,TC,TG,LDL-C and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the western medicine group only(P<0.05).The western medicine group is superior to the TCM group in TC,LDL-C,non-HDL-C(P<0.05).In the Yin-Yang Harmony constitution,TC and non-HDL-C decreased significantly both in the TCM group(P<0.05).TC,LDL-C and non-HDL-C decreased significantly all in the western medicine group(P<0.05).The western medicine group is superior to the TCM group in TC,LDL-C,non-HDL-C(P<0.05).Conclusion Xiaozhi Decoction is superior to the the atorvastatin in the treatment of hyperlipidemia for the Phlegm-Dampness constitution and Qi-deficiency constitution groups.But it is not superior to the atorvastatin in the treatment of hyperlipidemia for the Blood-Stasis constitution and Yin-Yang Harmony constitution groups.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost in the treatment of brain metastases of lung cancer.Methods:Forty lung cancer patients with brain metastases who received whole-brain radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost and hippocampal avoidance in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2014 to 2020 were enrolled in this study. Brain MRI, survival follow-up and evaluation of side effects were performed before radiotherapy and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after radiotherapy, respectively. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and changes in cognitive function were analyzed. Continuous data were described as Mean ± SD. Categorical data were described by frequency and composition ratio or percentage. Survival analysis was conducted by Kaplan-Meier method. Influencing factors of survival were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox's regression analyses.Results:A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study. The median follow-up time was 14.2 months and the median OS, PFS and intracranial PFS of all patients were 14.8 months, 6.7 months and 14.8 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender and newly diagnosed stage Ⅳ disease were associated with worse OS and PFS, respectively. The Hopkins verbal learning test-revised (HVLT-R) scores at baseline and 1, 3 and 6 months after radiotherapy were 21.94±2.99, 20.88±3.12, 20.03±3.14, and 19.78±2.98, respectively. The HVLT-R score at 6 months after radiotherapy was decreased by approximately 9.8% compared with the baseline. No grade 3 or above toxic and side effect occurred in the entire cohort.Conclusion:Hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost is a safe and effective treatment for brain metastases of lung cancer, which is expected to reduce the impact of radiotherapy on cognitive function.

OBJECTIVES: Safe and effective anticoagulation is essential for hemodialysis patients who are at high risk of bleeding. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of two-stage regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) combined with sequential anticoagulation and standard calcium-containing dialysate in intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) treatment. METHODS: Patients at high risk of bleeding who underwent IHD from September 2019 to May 2021 were prospectively enrolled in 13 blood purification centers of nephrology departments, and were randomly divided into RCA group and saline flushing group. In the RCA group, 0.04 g/mL sodium citrate was infused from the start of the dialysis line during blood draining and at the venous expansion chamber. The sodium citrate was stopped after 3 h of dialysis, which was changed to sequential dialysis without anticoagulant. The hazard ratios for coagulation were according to baseline. RESULTS: A total of 159 patients and 208 sessions were enrolled, including RCA group (80 patients, 110 sessions) and saline flushing group (79 patients, 98 sessions). The incidence of severe coagulation events of extracorporeal circulation in the RCA group was significantly lower than that in the saline flushing group (3.64% vs. 20.41%, P<0.001). The survival time of the filter pipeline in the RCA group was significantly longer than that in the saline flushing group ((238.34±9.33) min vs. (221.73±34.10) min, P<0.001). The urea clearance index (Kt/V) in the RCA group was similar to that in the saline flushing group with no statistically significant difference (1.12±0.34 vs. 1.08±0.34, P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS Compared with saline flushing, the two-stage RCA combined with a sequential anticoagulation strategy significantly reduced extracorporeal circulation clotting events and prolonged the dialysis time without serious adverse events.
Humans ; Citric Acid/adverse effects* ; Prospective Studies ; Sodium Citrate ; Hemorrhage/chemically induced* ; Citrates/adverse effects* ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects* ; Renal Dialysis/adverse effects*

Objective:To explore the effect of pretreatment body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of patients with unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after chemoradiotherapy.Methods:The clinical data of 711 patients with locally advanced NSCLC treated with radiotherapy, sequential chemoradiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy from January 2013 to December 2017 in Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College were retrospectively analyzed. Radiotherapy was performed with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and the chemotherapy regimens were paclitaxel+carboplatin, pemetrexed+cisplatin or etoposide+cisplatin. The effects of pretreatment BMI and other clinical factors on overall survival (OS) of patients were analyzed. Survival analysis was performed by using Kaplan-Meier method; univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by using Cox proportional hazards model.Results:According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended BMI grouping method for Asian, the median OS time of low BMI group (<18.5 kg/m 2, 23 cases), normal BMI group (18.5-23.9 kg/m 2, 293 cases) and high BMI group (≥24.0 kg/m 2, 395 cases) was 17 months (95% CI 11-29 months), 29 months (95% CI 22-36 months) and 30 months (95% CI 27-34 months), respectively. OS in the low BMI group was poorer than that in the normal BMI group and high BMI group ( χ2 = 11.20, P = 0.004). Maximally selected rank statistics was used to determine the optimal cut-off value of BMI for prediction of survival as 21.31 kg/m 2, according to which patients were divided into low BMI group (BMI<21.31 kg/m 2, 130 cases) and high BMI group (BMI≥21.31 kg/m 2, 581 cases), the median OS time of the two groups was 20 months (95% CI 17-27 months) and 32 months (95% CI 28-35 months), respectively. OS in the low BMI group was poorer than that in the high BMI group ( χ2 = 12.30, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that age ≥ 65 years old, male, Karnofsky score < 80 points, low BMI, smoking, histological type of squamous cell carcinoma and radiotherapy alone were independent risk factors for OS (all P < 0.05). Conclusions:For patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC who received chemoradiotherapy, those with low pretreatment BMI have poor prognosis.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and tolerance of sequential thoracic radiotherapy combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) after induction systemic therapy.Methods:ES-SCLC patients from a phase I trial and a real-world study were enrolled for those who received thoracic radiotherapy after induction systemic treatment (chemotherapy/chemotherapy combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors) and consolidated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. These two studies were both approved by the Ethics Committee of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital (Clinical Trials.gov number, NCT03971214, NCT04947774).Results:Between January 2019 and March 2021, a total of 11 patients with ES-SCLC were analyzed, aged 52-73 years, with a median age of 62 years. Among them, five patients (45.5%) received induction chemotherapy and six patients (54.5%) received chemotherapy combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor, and then all received intensity-modulated thoracic radiotherapy after evaluation of systemic treatment efficacy. Two patients developed treatment-related grade G3-5 toxicity (18.2%, 1 treatment-related pneumonitis and 1 radiation esophagitis). G 1-G 2 hematologic toxicity, pneumonia, and anorexia were common mild toxicities. Only one patient (9.1%) terminated immunotherapy due to immune-related pneumonitis. During a median follow-up time of 12.5 months (range: 3.5-16.4 months), the median disease progression-free survival and overall survival was 7.4 months (95% CI: 6.9-8.0 months) and 14.6 months (95% CI: 9.0-20.2 months), respectively. Conclusions:Sequential thoracic radiotherapy followed by PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor is safe and feasible in patients with ES-SCLC after induction therapy. Given that both thoracic radiotherapy and immunotherapy benefits the ES-SCLC in survival, this comprehensive treatment modality warrants further investigation.