Objective To investigate the value of CT value in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid calcification.Methods The CT plain scan data of 48 cases of thyroid benign calcification and 26 cases of thyroid malignant calcification confirmed by pathology were analyzed retrospectively,and the CT values of 74 cases of thyroid calcification were measured.The best threshold and the maximum area under the receiver operator characteristic(ROC)curve for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid calcification were determined by plotting ROC curve,and the corresponding specificity,sensitivity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,false positive rate,false negative rate,accuracy and Jordan index were calculated.Then the optimal threshold value was used as a parameter for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid calcification,and we adoptted χ2 analyze the statistical difference between benign and malignant thyroid calcification in CT gray value.Results The area under the ROC curve was 0.814,and the 95%confidence interval(CI)was 0.712-0.915.When the CT value was 869.5HU(for the convenience of 870HU),the specificity was 69.2%,the sensitivity was 81.3%,the positive predictive value was 64.3%,the negative predictive value was 82.6%,the false positive rate was 20.8%,and the false negative rate was 30.8%,the accuracy was 75.7%and the maximum of the Youden index was 0.505.When 870HU was taken as the differential diagnosis parameter of thyroid benign and malignant calcification(χ2=16.795,P<0.001).Conclusion When the CT value is 870HU,it has important value in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid calcification.

Background::Liver cancer is largely resistant to chemotherapy. This study aimed to identify the effective chemotherapeutics for β-catenin-activated liver cancer which is caused by gain-of-function mutation of catenin beta 1 ( CTNNB1), the most frequently altered proto-oncogene in hepatic neoplasms. Methods::Constitutive β-catenin-activated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were established by deleting exon 3 ( β-cateninΔ(ex3)/+ ), the most common mutation site in CTNNB1 gene. A screening of 12 widely used chemotherapy drugs was conducted for the ones that selectively inhibited β-cateninΔ(ex3)/+ but not for wild-type MEFs. Untargeted metabolomics was carried out to examine the alterations of metabolites in nucleotide synthesis. The efficacy and selectivity of methotrexate (MTX) on β-catenin-activated human liver cancer cells were determined in vitro. Immuno-deficient nude mice subcutaneously inoculated with β-catenin wild-type or mutant liver cancer cells and hepatitis B virus ( HBV); β-cateninlox(ex3)/+ mice were used, respectively, to evaluate the efficacy of MTX in the treatment of β-catenin mutant liver cancer. Results::MTX was identified and validated as a preferential agent against the proliferation and tumor formation of β-catenin-activated cells. Boosted nucleotide synthesis was the major metabolic aberration in β-catenin-active cells, and this alteration was also the target of MTX. Moreover, MTX abrogated hepatocarcinogenesis of HBV; β-cateninlox(ex3)/+ mice, which stimulated concurrent Ctnnb1-activated mutation and HBV infection in liver cancer. Conclusion::MTX is a promising chemotherapeutic agent for β-catenin hyperactive liver cancer. Since repurposing MTX has the advantages of lower risk, shorter timelines, and less investment in drug discovery and development, a clinical trial is warranted to test its efficacy in the treatment of β-catenin mutant liver cancer.

Objective:To observe the protective effect and possible mechanism of stellate ganglion block(SGB)on spatial learning memory function impairment in rapid eye movement sleep deprived(RSD)rats.Methods:Thirty-two rats were randomly assigned to Control group,RSD group,SGB group,and rapid eye movement sleep deprivation with stellate ganglion block intervention(RSD+SGB)group.The rats in RSD group and RSD+SGB group were modeled by modified multi-platform method(MMPM),and the rats in SGB group and RSD+SGB group were intervened by the SGB method.Morris water maze(MWM)was selected to evaluate the spatial learning and memory functions of rats in each group,and the expression levels of glutamate(Glu)and aspartate(Asp)in hippocampal tissues of rats in each group were detected by colorimetric assay,and the expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1(NR1)and caspase-3 in hippocampal tissues of rats in each group were detected by Western Blot.Results:Compared with the RSD group,rats in RSD+SGB group had a significantly shorter escape latency after SGB intervention(P＜0.05),while the number of passes through the original platform position and the percentage of target quadrant time were significantly in-creased(P＜0.05);at the same time,the hippocampal tissues'expression levels of Glu,Asp,NR1,and caspase-3 were all significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Conclusion:SGB protects against RSD-induced impairment of spatial learn-ing memory capacity by reducing hippocampal tissue excitotoxicity and apoptosis induced by excitatory amino acid hyper-activation in RSD rats.

Progressive functional deterioration in the cochlea is associated with age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, the cellular and molecular basis underlying cochlear aging remains largely unknown. Here, we established a dynamic single-cell transcriptomic landscape of mouse cochlear aging, in which we characterized aging-associated transcriptomic changes in 27 different cochlear cell types across five different time points. Overall, our analysis pinpoints loss of proteostasis and elevated apoptosis as the hallmark features of cochlear aging, highlights unexpected age-related transcriptional fluctuations in intermediate cells localized in the stria vascularis (SV) and demonstrates that upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperon protein HSP90AA1 mitigates ER stress-induced damages associated with aging. Our work suggests that targeting unfolded protein response pathways may help alleviate aging-related SV atrophy and hence delay the progression of ARHL.
Mice ; Animals ; Transcriptome ; Aging/metabolism* ; Cochlea ; Stria Vascularis ; Presbycusis

Aging/metabolism* ; Animals ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Macaca fascicularis ; Retina/metabolism* ; Single-Cell Analysis

Objective:To establish a quick and convenient method for detecting human adenoviruses (Human adenoviruses, HAdV) based on immunochromatographic assay (ICA).Methods:Two antibody clones, 3C11 and 7E6 were found to bind to all tested HAdVs and then subsequently processed into ICA. The specificity and sensitivity were evaluated using representative strains of the respiratory HAdV types, including HAdV-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and a gastroenteric type HAdV-41 together with the original throat swabs of 10 HAdV patients confirmed by nuclear acid testing (NAT).Results:The ICA exhibited high specificity to HAdVs and its detection limitation ranged from 0.16 to 10 3 half tissue culture infectious dose (TCID 50)/ml for different types of HAdVs. All clinic samples with successful virus isolation tested by this ICA showed positive result . Conclusions:The ICA developed in the present study will be suitable for HAdVs screening in clinic setting, especially for those of respiratory types.

With esoterica of Infantile Tuina by LI Dexiu and Infantile Tuina Therapy of LIU Kaiyun, the differences and similarities of manipulations, acupoints and the principles of treatment were studied so as to provide theoretical evidence to popularize tuina of LI Dexiu and LIU Kaiyun.
Acupuncture Points ; China ; Female ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; therapy ; Male ; Massage ; history ; manpower ; methods

BACKGROUND:Breviscapine has been shown to impact the reproductive capacity in rats with type 2 diabetes mel itus, but few reports concerned its mechanism of action.
OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of breviscapine on proliferating cel nuclear antigen and proto-oncogene c-fos expression in testis of type 2 diabetes mel itus rats.
METHODS:Total y 36 healthy male rats were randomly divided into control group, model group and breviscapine group with 12 rats in each group. In the model group and breviscapine group, rat models of type 2 diabetes mel itus were established by continuous intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Blood glucose reaching 16.7 mmol/L in rats was considered as the standard of model induction. In the control group, rats were given an equal volume of citrate buffer solution by single intraperitoneal injection. In the breviscapine group, rats were administered breviscapine 10 mg/(kg?d) for 4 consecutive weeks by intraperitoneal injection. Rats in the other two groups were injected with an equal volume of physiological saline at the same time point.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After 4 weeks of intervention, serum testosterone testing, immunohistochemistry and PCR results showed that serum testosterone levels, proliferating cel nuclear antigen, c-Fos protein and mRNA expression:control group>breviscapine group>model group (P<0.05);blood glucose concentration:the control group

The extensive application of radiotherapy and the long survival of patients with malignant tumors have led to an in-creased incidence rate of radiation-induced osteosarcoma (RIOS), one of the most critical radiation-induced complications. Compared with primary osteosarcoma, RIOS has higher grade and poorer prognosis, which reduces the survival of patients with cancers. However, RIOS has not been fully understood in the clinical setting. This paper summarizes the latest progress at home and abroad, focusing on the incidence rate, risk factor, latency, and diagnostic criteria of RIOS. The molecular mechanism of RIOS is associated with the muta-tion of p53, the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and the superposition of multiple alleles. Furthermore, we discuss the differences in clinical characteristics, imaging findings, treatment, and prognosis between primary osteosarcoma and RIOS.

Objective To investigate the infection of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in patients with atherosclerosis and explore its clinical significance.Methods A total of 134 patients with atherosclerosis (observation group) including 102 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and 32 patients with non-CHD from December 2009 to April 2012 were enrolled in this study.The 102 patients with CHD were divided into HCMV infection group (86 cases) and non-HCMV infection group (16 cases).Another 40 healthy person were selected as control group.The carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was assessed by ultrasonography.The serum HCMV-IgM was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results The infection rate of HCMV in observation group was 77.6％ (104/134),which was higher than that of 37.5％(15/40) in control group(P ＜ 0.05).The infection rate of HCMV in CHD patients and non-CHD patients was 84.3％(86/102) and 56.2％(18/32),and there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).The carotid IMT in HCMV infected atherosclerosis patients was (1.31 + 0.28) mm,which was higher than that of (1.14 ± 0.21)mm in non-HCMV infected atherosclerosis patients (P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of myocardial infarction and multi-vessel lesion in HCMV infection group was higher than that in non-HCMV infection group [39.5％(34/86) vs.25.0％(4/16) and 43.0％(37/86) vs.18.8％(3/16)](P＜ 0.05).The incidence of stable angina pectoris and single-vessel lesion in HCMV infection group was lower than that in non-HCMV infection group [26.7％(23/86) vs.43.8％(7/16) and 22.1％(19/86) vs.56.2％(9/16)](P＜0.05).Conclusion The high-infection rate of HCMV is found in atherosclerosis patients,and it maybe have a close relationship with the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis.