OBJECTIVE To preliminarily investigate the antiasthmatic effect and mechanism of Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum herb pair on the respiratory center. METHODS Male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， dexamethasone group （positive control）， and Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum 2∶1， 1∶1 and 1∶2 groups. Rats in each group were administered different ratios of the herb pair decoction [all at 18 g （crude drug）/kg]， dexamethasone suspension （0.5 mg/kg）， or normal saline intragastrically twice daily for seven consecutive days. Forty minutes after the last administration， medicated cerebrospinal fluid was collected to determine the content of effective components entering the brain. One and a half hours after the last administration， the nucleus tractus solitarius （NTS） was located using a stereotaxic apparatus. Histamine phosphate （1 μL） was injected into the NTS region at a constant rate of 1 μL/min using a 10 μL microsyringe to induce excitation of the respiratory center in rats； the blank group was injected with normal saline. The contents of neurotransmitters [nerve growth factor （NGF）， substance P （SP）， norepinephrine （NA）， 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT） and acetylcholine （Ach）] in the medulla oblongata brain tissue were detected. The mRNA expressions of neurokinin-1 receptor （NK-1R）， p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and c-fos in the medulla oblongata， as well as the protein expressions of NK-1R， p38 MAPK， and c-fos in the NTS region， were determined. RESULTS The main active components of Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum herb pair entering the brain were ephedrine， pseudoephedrine， and methylephedrine. Compared with blank group， the contents of NGF， SP， NA， 5-HT and Ach， and the relative expression levels of NK-1R， p38 MAPK， and c-fos mRNA and protein were significantly increased in the model group （ P ＜0.01）. Compared with model group， Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum herb pair groups with different ratios significantly reduced the neurotransmitter contents and the relative expression levels of NK-1R， p38 MAPK， and c-fos mRNA and protein （ P ＜0.01）， with the 2∶1 Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum herb pair and 1∶1 mass ratios showing relatively better effects. CONCLUSIONS Ephedrae Herba alkaloids are the main active components in affecting the function of the respiratory center. The herb pair groups with a larger proportion of Ephedrae Herba exhibit stronger effects. Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum herb pair can reduce the excitability of the respiratory center by down-regulating the expression of the NK-1R/MAPK/c-fos pathway in the NTS and decreasing the abnormal release of neurotransmitters such as NGF and SP.

Stereotactic radiotherapy is widely favored because of its high treatment precision and less fractionations.ZND-A is a new domestic gamma-ray cone-beam focused stereotactic radiotherapy system.Herein the technical characteristics of ZND-A system are described in detail from the aspects of the treatment frame,gamma-ray module,collimator module,six-dimensional treatment couch module and image-guided system module,and the main parameters are compared with the mainstream gamma knife equipments at home and abroad.With reference to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST 1.1),the initial efficacy of the patients treated by the ZND-A system is analyzed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the ZND-A system for providing a reference for the hospital clinical use of this type of gamma knife.

Objective To explore the application values of different detection methods in monitoring the decline pattern of syphilis-spe-cific antibody in the non-congenital syphilis children.Methods A total of 80 non-congenital syphilis children were included in the study.The serum specimens were collected after birth,and the syphilis-specific antibodies were detected using electrochemilumines-cence immunoassay(ECLIA),western blotting(WB),treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay(TPPA),enzyme-linked im-munosorbent assay(ELISA),and toluidine red unheated serum test(TRUST).Follow-up was conducted every three months until the positive results of ELISA and TRUST turned to negative.Results The results of ECLIA showed that the syphilis-specific antibody lev-els in the non-congenital syphilis children declined to 25％of the level at birth within 2 to 3 months,and the rate of decline was inde-pendent of the initial concentration.WB analysis indicated that the specific IgG bands in non-congenital syphilis children at birth were consistent with those of their mother,and the sequence of specific antibodies decline was as follows:TPN47,TPN15,TPN45,and TPN17.Due to methodological limitations,the absorbance values of ELISA showed no significant change during the first three months after birth when high concentrations of antibodies were present in the samples,but it showed high sensitivity in the detection for the samples with low-concentration of syphilis antibodies.The detection rates of ECLIA,TPPA,and WB were compared by using ELISA as the reference method.At birth,the detection rates of syphilis antibodies were 100％,100％,and 90％,respectively.In 3 months after birth,the detection rates were 100％,100％,and 75％.In 6 months after birth,,they were 100％,46％,and 15％.In 9 months after birth,they were 83％,33％,and 0％.The positive rate of TRUST was 17.5％at birth.and turned to negative in 3 month of follow-up.Conclusion Syphilis specific IgG antibodies may fully transferred to the fetus and decline in a predictable pattern after birth.The comprehensive analysis for the results of the four methods suggested that dynamic detection using ECLIA method could be used to pre-dict the risk of non-congenital syphilis or terminate the follow-up at 3 months,while the seroconversion detected by WB was earlier than that by TPPA,while ELISA required the longest follow-up period.

Stereotactic radiotherapy is widely favored because of its high treatment precision and less fractionations.ZND-A is a new domestic gamma-ray cone-beam focused stereotactic radiotherapy system.Herein the technical characteristics of ZND-A system are described in detail from the aspects of the treatment frame,gamma-ray module,collimator module,six-dimensional treatment couch module and image-guided system module,and the main parameters are compared with the mainstream gamma knife equipments at home and abroad.With reference to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST 1.1),the initial efficacy of the patients treated by the ZND-A system is analyzed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the ZND-A system for providing a reference for the hospital clinical use of this type of gamma knife.

Objective To explore the application values of different detection methods in monitoring the decline pattern of syphilis-spe-cific antibody in the non-congenital syphilis children.Methods A total of 80 non-congenital syphilis children were included in the study.The serum specimens were collected after birth,and the syphilis-specific antibodies were detected using electrochemilumines-cence immunoassay(ECLIA),western blotting(WB),treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay(TPPA),enzyme-linked im-munosorbent assay(ELISA),and toluidine red unheated serum test(TRUST).Follow-up was conducted every three months until the positive results of ELISA and TRUST turned to negative.Results The results of ECLIA showed that the syphilis-specific antibody lev-els in the non-congenital syphilis children declined to 25％of the level at birth within 2 to 3 months,and the rate of decline was inde-pendent of the initial concentration.WB analysis indicated that the specific IgG bands in non-congenital syphilis children at birth were consistent with those of their mother,and the sequence of specific antibodies decline was as follows:TPN47,TPN15,TPN45,and TPN17.Due to methodological limitations,the absorbance values of ELISA showed no significant change during the first three months after birth when high concentrations of antibodies were present in the samples,but it showed high sensitivity in the detection for the samples with low-concentration of syphilis antibodies.The detection rates of ECLIA,TPPA,and WB were compared by using ELISA as the reference method.At birth,the detection rates of syphilis antibodies were 100％,100％,and 90％,respectively.In 3 months after birth,the detection rates were 100％,100％,and 75％.In 6 months after birth,,they were 100％,46％,and 15％.In 9 months after birth,they were 83％,33％,and 0％.The positive rate of TRUST was 17.5％at birth.and turned to negative in 3 month of follow-up.Conclusion Syphilis specific IgG antibodies may fully transferred to the fetus and decline in a predictable pattern after birth.The comprehensive analysis for the results of the four methods suggested that dynamic detection using ECLIA method could be used to pre-dict the risk of non-congenital syphilis or terminate the follow-up at 3 months,while the seroconversion detected by WB was earlier than that by TPPA,while ELISA required the longest follow-up period.

OBJECTIVE To study the pharmacokinetic changes in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of bronchial asthma model rats after the complication of Ephedra sinica and Prunus armeniaca. METHODS SD male rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， E. sinica group （12 g/kg， calculated by raw drug， similarly hereinafter）， P. armeniaca group （6 g/kg） and E. sinica-P. armeniaca drug-pair group （12 g/kg of E. sinica+6 g/kg of P. armeniaca）， with 6 rats in each group. Except for the blank group， the bronchial asthma model was induced by spraying rats in each group with an equal volume mixture of 2% acetylcholine chloride and 0.4% histamine phosphate， once a day， for 7 d. One hour before modeling every time， rats in each group were gavaged with the corresponding drug/normal saline， once a day， for 7 d. After the final administration and provocation of asthma， blood and cerebrospinal fluid collection were performed at different time points. The plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples were pre-treated （with geranylgeranyl as the internal standard）， and the mass concentrations of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine， methyl ephedrine and amygdalin in both samples were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. DAS 2.0 pharmacokinetic software was used to determine the main pharmacokinetic parameters through the non-atrial chamber model and to compare the changes of the pharmacokinetic parameters before and after the combination of the two drugs. RESULTS Compared with E. sinica group， cmax and AUC0-21.33 h （or AUC0-10.67 h） of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine and methyl ephedrine in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of rats were significantly reduced in E. sinica-P. armeniaca drug-pair group， while CLZ/F and VZ/F were significantly increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； tmax of methyl ephedrine in the cerebrospinal fluid was significantly shortened （P＜ 0.05）.Compared with P. armeniaca group， the t1/2 of amygdalin in the plasma of rats in E. sinica-P. armeniaca drug-pair group was significantly shortened， and CLZ/F was significantly increased （P＜0.01）； the tmax of bitter amygdalin in the cerebrospinal fluid was significantly shortened， and the AUC0-10.67 h， CLZ/F， and VZ/F were significantly increased （P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS The combination of E. sinica and P. armeniaca accelerates the absorption and elimination of ephedra alkaloids， thus reducing the accumulation of ephedra alkaloids in the bronchial asthma model rats.

Objective:To investigate the proliferation kinetics of T cells in patients with B-cell hematologic malignancies who received CAR19 T cell therapy.Methods:Observational study. Flow cytometry was used to monitor the levels of CAR19+and CAR19-T cell expansion and the dynamic changes of T lymphocyte subsets before and after CAR19 T cell therapy. The 52 patients with B-cell hematologic malignancies (including 12 B-ALL and 40 NHL) who received CAR19 T cell therapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from November 2021 to December 2023 were recruited in this study. Patients were divided into complete response group and incomplete response group according to the efficacy evaluation criteria in the treatment guidelines for B-cell hematologic malignancies. T test or non-parametric rank sum test were used to compare the differences of CAR19+and CAR19-T cell subsets between the two groups.Results:At the peak of CAR19+T cell expansion, there was no statistic difference of CAR19+T cell subsets between the complete response group and the incomplete response group. After 6 months, the percentage of CD4+T cells (CD3+CD4+CD8-) in CAR19-T cells in patients was lower than the pre-treatment level(48.0+27.2,63.1+19.7,<0.01), and the percentages of CD197+CD45RA+and CD197-CD45RA-subsets recovered to the pre-treatment level, while the percentage of CD197-CD45RA+subset(4.2+3.0,21.1+15.6,<0.01) was lower than the pre-treatment level. The percentage of CD8+T cells (CD3+CD4-CD8+) returned to pre-treatment level after 6 months, CD197-CD45RA-subset in CD8+T cells returned to pre-treatment level, while CD197+CD45RA+subset(16.6+8.7,35.1+30.1,<0.01),CD197+CD45RA-subset(18.7+9.1,25.8+19.1,<0.01) were still lower than pre-treatment level.Conclusion:After CAR19 T cell treatment, there was no significant differences in the proportions of CAR19+T cell subsets in patients with different therapeutic effects. After treatment, the proportion of CAR19-CD3+CD4-CD8+cells recovered earlier than CD3+CD4+CD8-cells, and the dynamic changes of each subgroup were different. This therapeutic regimen has a great impact on the subpopulation of CAR19-T cells in vivo, and the reconstruction of such T cells takes a long time.

Objective:To investigate the proliferation kinetics of T cells in patients with B-cell hematologic malignancies who received CAR19 T cell therapy.Methods:Observational study. Flow cytometry was used to monitor the levels of CAR19+and CAR19-T cell expansion and the dynamic changes of T lymphocyte subsets before and after CAR19 T cell therapy. The 52 patients with B-cell hematologic malignancies (including 12 B-ALL and 40 NHL) who received CAR19 T cell therapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from November 2021 to December 2023 were recruited in this study. Patients were divided into complete response group and incomplete response group according to the efficacy evaluation criteria in the treatment guidelines for B-cell hematologic malignancies. T test or non-parametric rank sum test were used to compare the differences of CAR19+and CAR19-T cell subsets between the two groups.Results:At the peak of CAR19+T cell expansion, there was no statistic difference of CAR19+T cell subsets between the complete response group and the incomplete response group. After 6 months, the percentage of CD4+T cells (CD3+CD4+CD8-) in CAR19-T cells in patients was lower than the pre-treatment level(48.0+27.2,63.1+19.7,<0.01), and the percentages of CD197+CD45RA+and CD197-CD45RA-subsets recovered to the pre-treatment level, while the percentage of CD197-CD45RA+subset(4.2+3.0,21.1+15.6,<0.01) was lower than the pre-treatment level. The percentage of CD8+T cells (CD3+CD4-CD8+) returned to pre-treatment level after 6 months, CD197-CD45RA-subset in CD8+T cells returned to pre-treatment level, while CD197+CD45RA+subset(16.6+8.7,35.1+30.1,<0.01),CD197+CD45RA-subset(18.7+9.1,25.8+19.1,<0.01) were still lower than pre-treatment level.Conclusion:After CAR19 T cell treatment, there was no significant differences in the proportions of CAR19+T cell subsets in patients with different therapeutic effects. After treatment, the proportion of CAR19-CD3+CD4-CD8+cells recovered earlier than CD3+CD4+CD8-cells, and the dynamic changes of each subgroup were different. This therapeutic regimen has a great impact on the subpopulation of CAR19-T cells in vivo, and the reconstruction of such T cells takes a long time.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of primary cardiac tumors in infants and children.Methods:The clinical information for 21 patients with primary cardiac tumor in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from May 2010 to August 2018 were analyzed retrospectively.Their median age was 7 months (gestational age 26 weeks-15 years old, and 6 cases were found in fetal phase) and 10 cases of them were male, 11 cases were girl.The clinical features, treatment methods and prognosis were summarized.Results:Among the 21 patients, 8 cases had an atypical heart murmur, 2 cases with chest tightness and chest pain, 2 cases with congestive heart failure, 1 case with dizziness and amaurosis, 1 case with cerebral artery embolism, 1 case with higher inflammatory index, and 9 cases were asymptomatic.Totally, 13 cases underwent surgical resection.All of them were confirmed as benign tumors, including 4 cases of rhabdomyoma, 3 cases of myxoma, 3 cases of fibroma and 2 cases of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) and 1 case of teratomas.There was no death during perioperative period.Follow-ups were performed from 3 months to 7 years, and 3 cases had recu-rrence (2 cases with myxomas and 1 cases with IMT). There were 8 cases without treatment, of which 7 cases were clinically diagnosed as transverse leiomyoma.During the follow-up, 3 cases disappeared, 1 case became small, 2 cases had no obvious change, and 1 case was lost to follow-up.One case was considered to be malignant tumor, and died within half a year.Conclusions:Primary cardiac tumors in children are mostly benign, especially transverse leiomyoma, and their clinical manifestations are diverse.Pathological examination is the golden standard for diagnosis.Surgical treatment is a radical method for most cardiac tumors, some benign tumors can be treated with drug adjuvant therapy, while the prognosis is poor for malignant cardiac tumor patients.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic values of interleukin-22 (IL-22), interferon-γ(IFN-γ)and macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF) in pleural effusion for tuberculosis pleurisy.Methods:From April 2018 to May 2019, a total of 77 patients including 45 cases of tuberculous pleurisy, 19 cases of malignant pleurisy, 13 cases of parapneumonia and 13 cases of healthy control in Wuxi Fifth People′s Hospital were enrolled. The levels of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF in plasma and pleural effusion were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic values of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF for tuberculous pleurisy. Results:The median levels of IL-22, IFN-γ, MIF and adenosine deaminase in 45 cases with pleural effusion in tuberculosis pleurisy group were 396.8 ng/L, 2 200.0 ng/L, 241.3 μg/L and 70.8 U/L, respectively, which were all significantly higher than 32 cases with non-tuberculosis pleurisy group, including 19 cases with malignant pleurisy and 13 cases with parapneumonia (52.8 ng/L, 232.3 ng/L, 179.6 μg/L and 17.0 U/L, respectively). The differences were all statistically significant ( U=179.000, 118.500, 287.000, 162.000, respectively, all P<0.05). The median levels of IL-22 and IFN-γ in plasma of tuberculosis pleurisy group were 20.0 ng/L and 45.9 ng/L, respectively, which were both higher than healthy control group (14.3 ng/L and 33.4 ng/L, respectively). The level of MIF was 96.2 μg/L, which was lower than healthy control (159.5 μg/L). The differences were all statistically significant ( U=74.000, 13.000 and 73.000, respectively, all P<0.05). The areas under ROC curve (AUC) of IL-22, IFN-γ and MIF in pleural effusion for the diagnosis of tuberculosis pleurisy were 0.876, 0.917 and 0.682, respectively.The sensitivities were 93.75%, 100.00% and 63.64%, respectively; the specificities were 82.22%, 91.11% and 65.85%, respectively. The median levels of IL-22 and IFN-γ in plasma in tuberculosis pleurisy group at two months of follow-up after anti-tuberculosis therapy were 16.0 ng/L and 33.9 ng/L, respectively, which were both lower than baseline (20.0 ng/L and 44.7 ng/L, respectively). The differences were both statistically significant ( U=2.156 and 2.221, respectively, both P<0.05). Conclusion:IFN-γ and IL-22 in pleural effusion could be used as effective indicators to identify tuberculous pleurisy, and the dynamic monitoring of IL-22 in patients′plasma could be an important biomarker in evaluating the efficacy of anti-tuberculosis treatment.