Objective:To apply statistical process control (SPC) techniques to the quality assurance of non-normal radiotherapy plans through Johnson transformation, establishing patient-specific tolerance and action limits based on treatment sites and dose/distance assessment criteria, thereby enhancing the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) verification accuracy and dose delivery precision.Methods:In this study, 951 gamma analysis data of patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) executed on the Halcyon accelerator platform were selected and categorized into six groups based on treatment sites, including brain (102 cases), head and neck (100 cases), breast (229 cases), lung (154 cases), esophagus (223 cases), and pelvic (143 cases) groups. The six groups of data were statistically analyzed through Anderson-Darling normality tests ( α = 0.05) using Minitab 21 software. Non-normal data were transformed into normal data through Johnson transformation and then were used to establish treatment site-specific tolerance and action limits, which were compared with the Shewhart control charts based on normal distributions. Results:The PSQA result of the six groups all exhibited non-normal distributions ( P < 0.05). Through Johnson transformation, the tolerance and action limits for the head and neck, breast, lung, esophagus, and pelvic areas under the 3%/2 mm criterion ranged from 95.13% to 96.16% and 94.19% to 95.91%, respectively. In contrast, the tolerance and action limits ranged from 91.15% to 94.86% and 89.94% to 94.78% under the 2%/2 mm criterion. Directly applying Shewhart control charts without normality assumptions yielded higher tolerance limits compared to the application of Johnson transformation, increasing the false positive rate in the non-normal PSQA process. Conclusions:Applying the SPC techniques directly to a non-normal process can lead to an increased false alarm rate and wrong process interpretation. The SPC techniques combined with Johnson transformation enable more effective monitoring of a non-normal PSQA process, facilitating timely identification of potential factors that may lead to an out-of-control process based on the treatment site-specific limits.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Huaban Jiedu Formulation （化斑解毒方， HJF） in treating psoriasis vulgaris with blood-heat syndrome. MethodsA randomized， double-blind， placebo-controlled study was conducted with 60 patients diagnosed with psoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome. Patients were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group， with 30 cases in each. The treatment group received HJF granules orally， one dose a day， combined with topical Qingshi Zhiyang Ointment （青石止痒软膏）， while the control group received placebo granules， one dose a day， combined with the same topical ointment. Both groups were topically treated twice daily of 28 days treatment cours. Psoriasis area and severity index （PASI）， visual analogue scale for pruritus （VAS）， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， dermatology life quality index （DLQI）， and psoriasis life stress inventory （PLSI） were assessed before treatment and on day 14 and day 28. Response rates for PASI 50 （≥50% reduction） and PASI 75 （≥75% reduction）， as well as overall clinical efficacy， were compared between groups. Serum levels of interleukin-6 （IL-6） and interleukin-17 （IL-17） were measured before and after 28 days of treatment. Adverse reactions during treatment were recorded. ResultsAfter 28 days of treatment， both groups showed significant reductions in PASI total score， lesion area score， erythema， scaling， and infiltration scores， pruritus VAS score， TCM syndrome score， DLQI， PLSI， and serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels （P＜0.05）. Compared to the control group， the treatment group had significantly greater improvements in PASI total score and erythema score， TCM syndrome score， serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels， and PASI 50 response rate after 28 days （P＜0.05）. Between-group comparisons of score differences before and after 28-day treatment revealed that the treatment group showed significantly better improvements in PASI total， lesion area score， erythema score， TCM syndrome score， DLQI， PLSI， and inflammatory markers （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The total effective rate on day 14 and day 28 was 40.00% （12/30） and 83.33% （25/30） in the treatment group， versus 6.90% （2/29） and 41.38% （12/29） in the control group， respectively. The clinical efficacy in the treatment group was significantly superior to that in the control group （P＜0.05）. Mild gastric discomfort occurred in 3 patients in the treatment group and 1 in the control group. ConclusionHJF can effectively improve skin lesions and TCM symptoms relieve pruritus， enhance quality of life， and reduce inflammatory markers IL-6 and IL-17， in patients with blood-heat syndrome of psoriasis vulgaris， with a good safety profile.

Objective To propose and validate a decomposition method based on half-projection reconstruction for dual-energy cone beam CT(DE CBCT),thereby providing a potentially feasible low-dose imaging solution for anatomical monitoring and dose reconstruction optimization in adaptive radiotherapy.Methods Dual-energy scans were performed on a Gammex phantom using the on-board kilovoltage CBCT system of a VitalBeam accelerator at acquisition frame rates of 15 and 7 frames per second(f/s).Images were reconstructed from the projection data,and dual-energy decomposition was applied to the 7 f/s dual-energy images to derive relative electron density(RED)and stopping power ratio(SPR)using weighted formulas and empirical functions,followed by accuracy evaluation.Additionally,the weighted CT dose index was calculated for different scanning parameters.Results Dual-energy decomposition effectively suppressed image artifacts,with RED and SPR errors remaining below 2.82%and 2.56%,respectively.Compared with the traditional dual-scan method which required high-and low-energy acquisitions,the weighted CT dose index of the half-projection DE CBCT was reduced by 11.60 mGy(a 52.90%reduction).Furthermore,it was 2.58 mGy lower than the dose of the full-projection high-energy CBCT alone(a 19.98%reduction)and only 1.31 mGy higher than that of the low-energy CBCT(a 14.52%increase).Conclusion The proposed method effectively suppresses image artifacts while maintaining high accuracy in RED and SPR under low radiation dose conditions,demonstrating its potential value for scenarios requiring frequent image guidance,such as adaptive radiotherapy.

In recent years,the global public health sector has faced significant challenges due to the continuous e-mergence of novel infectious disease outbreaks,including Avian influenza virus infection,Ebola virus disease,and COVID-19.These epidemics not only threaten human health but also severely impact socioeconomic development worldwide.In response,innovative approaches in prevention and control of infectious diseases have emerged,dem-onstrating substantial value in practical applications in epidemic prevention and control.These methods play a cru-cial role in key areas such as dynamic monitoring of epidemic,optimization of prevention and control strategies as well as prediction of epidemic transmission trend,which remarkably enhance the precise prevention and control and boost the capability of rapid response.However,to fully realize their potentials,further integration of these innovative approaches with epidemiological theory is essential to develop a more robust methodological framework that can better adapt to the complexity of infectious diseases prevention and control and the dynamic change.

Objective:To analyze the differences between subjective refraction and autorefraction in myopic children and adolescents under different ciliary muscle functional states.Methods:A cohort study was conducted.A total of 98 myopic children and adolescents (196 eyes) aged 7-15 years who visited the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment Center from November 2023 to February 2024 were included by random sampling.All participants underwent cycloplegia with 1.0% cyclopentolate and completed both subjective refraction and autorefraction before cycloplegia, after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia.The spherical equivalent (SE) differences and differences in SE(ΔSE) between different conditions were compared.Proportion of ΔSE, differences in spherical power (ΔS), and differences in cylindrical power (ΔC) of objective and subjective refraction between different conditions within the clinically acceptable error range (-0.25 to 0.25 D) was calculated and compared.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Eye Diseases Prevention & Treatment Center (No.2021SQ021).Written informed consent was obtained from guardian of each subject before any medical examination.Results:The SE values obtained from autorefraction before cycloplegia, after cycloplegia, and after recovery from cycloplegia were -2.44(-3.47, -1.63), -2.13(-3.25, -1.50), and -2.38(-3.50, -1.66)D, respectively, with a statistically significant overall difference ( χ2=148.36, P<0.001) and statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons at different time points (all P<0.001); for subjective refraction, the SE values were -2.25(-3.50, -1.50), -2.19(-3.47, -1.45), and -2.28(-3.50, -1.50)D, respectively, with a statistically significant overall difference ( χ2=43.48, P<0.001) and statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons at different time points (all P<0.001).Subjective refraction ΔSE between before and after cycloplegia, after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia were significantly smaller than those of autorefraction ( t=2.84, 1.82; both P<0.001).There was no significant difference in ΔSE between subjective refraction and autorefraction between before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia ( t=-0.43, P=0.070).The proportions of subjective refraction ΔSE within the acceptable error range between before and after cycloplegia, before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia, and after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia were significantly higher than those of autorefraction ( χ2=28.32, 11.82, 25.55; all P<0.001).The proportion of subjective refraction ΔS and ΔC both within the acceptable error range between before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia was 81.63%(160/196) and 79.59%(156/196) between after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia. Conclusions:Subjective refraction is less affected by different ciliary muscle functional states.The differences in subjective refraction results under different ciliary muscle functional states are mostly within the acceptable error range.The subjective refraction results before or after cycloplegia can be used to better predict the subjective refraction results after recovery from cycloplegia.

Objective:To analyze the differences between subjective refraction and autorefraction in myopic children and adolescents under different ciliary muscle functional states.Methods:A cohort study was conducted.A total of 98 myopic children and adolescents (196 eyes) aged 7-15 years who visited the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment Center from November 2023 to February 2024 were included by random sampling.All participants underwent cycloplegia with 1.0% cyclopentolate and completed both subjective refraction and autorefraction before cycloplegia, after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia.The spherical equivalent (SE) differences and differences in SE(ΔSE) between different conditions were compared.Proportion of ΔSE, differences in spherical power (ΔS), and differences in cylindrical power (ΔC) of objective and subjective refraction between different conditions within the clinically acceptable error range (-0.25 to 0.25 D) was calculated and compared.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Eye Diseases Prevention & Treatment Center (No.2021SQ021).Written informed consent was obtained from guardian of each subject before any medical examination.Results:The SE values obtained from autorefraction before cycloplegia, after cycloplegia, and after recovery from cycloplegia were -2.44(-3.47, -1.63), -2.13(-3.25, -1.50), and -2.38(-3.50, -1.66)D, respectively, with a statistically significant overall difference ( χ2=148.36, P<0.001) and statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons at different time points (all P<0.001); for subjective refraction, the SE values were -2.25(-3.50, -1.50), -2.19(-3.47, -1.45), and -2.28(-3.50, -1.50)D, respectively, with a statistically significant overall difference ( χ2=43.48, P<0.001) and statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons at different time points (all P<0.001).Subjective refraction ΔSE between before and after cycloplegia, after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia were significantly smaller than those of autorefraction ( t=2.84, 1.82; both P<0.001).There was no significant difference in ΔSE between subjective refraction and autorefraction between before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia ( t=-0.43, P=0.070).The proportions of subjective refraction ΔSE within the acceptable error range between before and after cycloplegia, before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia, and after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia were significantly higher than those of autorefraction ( χ2=28.32, 11.82, 25.55; all P<0.001).The proportion of subjective refraction ΔS and ΔC both within the acceptable error range between before cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia was 81.63%(160/196) and 79.59%(156/196) between after cycloplegia and after recovery from cycloplegia. Conclusions:Subjective refraction is less affected by different ciliary muscle functional states.The differences in subjective refraction results under different ciliary muscle functional states are mostly within the acceptable error range.The subjective refraction results before or after cycloplegia can be used to better predict the subjective refraction results after recovery from cycloplegia.

Objective:To apply statistical process control (SPC) techniques to the quality assurance of non-normal radiotherapy plans through Johnson transformation, establishing patient-specific tolerance and action limits based on treatment sites and dose/distance assessment criteria, thereby enhancing the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) verification accuracy and dose delivery precision.Methods:In this study, 951 gamma analysis data of patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) executed on the Halcyon accelerator platform were selected and categorized into six groups based on treatment sites, including brain (102 cases), head and neck (100 cases), breast (229 cases), lung (154 cases), esophagus (223 cases), and pelvic (143 cases) groups. The six groups of data were statistically analyzed through Anderson-Darling normality tests ( α = 0.05) using Minitab 21 software. Non-normal data were transformed into normal data through Johnson transformation and then were used to establish treatment site-specific tolerance and action limits, which were compared with the Shewhart control charts based on normal distributions. Results:The PSQA result of the six groups all exhibited non-normal distributions ( P < 0.05). Through Johnson transformation, the tolerance and action limits for the head and neck, breast, lung, esophagus, and pelvic areas under the 3%/2 mm criterion ranged from 95.13% to 96.16% and 94.19% to 95.91%, respectively. In contrast, the tolerance and action limits ranged from 91.15% to 94.86% and 89.94% to 94.78% under the 2%/2 mm criterion. Directly applying Shewhart control charts without normality assumptions yielded higher tolerance limits compared to the application of Johnson transformation, increasing the false positive rate in the non-normal PSQA process. Conclusions:Applying the SPC techniques directly to a non-normal process can lead to an increased false alarm rate and wrong process interpretation. The SPC techniques combined with Johnson transformation enable more effective monitoring of a non-normal PSQA process, facilitating timely identification of potential factors that may lead to an out-of-control process based on the treatment site-specific limits.

Objective To propose and validate a decomposition method based on half-projection reconstruction for dual-energy cone beam CT(DE CBCT),thereby providing a potentially feasible low-dose imaging solution for anatomical monitoring and dose reconstruction optimization in adaptive radiotherapy.Methods Dual-energy scans were performed on a Gammex phantom using the on-board kilovoltage CBCT system of a VitalBeam accelerator at acquisition frame rates of 15 and 7 frames per second(f/s).Images were reconstructed from the projection data,and dual-energy decomposition was applied to the 7 f/s dual-energy images to derive relative electron density(RED)and stopping power ratio(SPR)using weighted formulas and empirical functions,followed by accuracy evaluation.Additionally,the weighted CT dose index was calculated for different scanning parameters.Results Dual-energy decomposition effectively suppressed image artifacts,with RED and SPR errors remaining below 2.82%and 2.56%,respectively.Compared with the traditional dual-scan method which required high-and low-energy acquisitions,the weighted CT dose index of the half-projection DE CBCT was reduced by 11.60 mGy(a 52.90%reduction).Furthermore,it was 2.58 mGy lower than the dose of the full-projection high-energy CBCT alone(a 19.98%reduction)and only 1.31 mGy higher than that of the low-energy CBCT(a 14.52%increase).Conclusion The proposed method effectively suppresses image artifacts while maintaining high accuracy in RED and SPR under low radiation dose conditions,demonstrating its potential value for scenarios requiring frequent image guidance,such as adaptive radiotherapy.

In recent years,the global public health sector has faced significant challenges due to the continuous e-mergence of novel infectious disease outbreaks,including Avian influenza virus infection,Ebola virus disease,and COVID-19.These epidemics not only threaten human health but also severely impact socioeconomic development worldwide.In response,innovative approaches in prevention and control of infectious diseases have emerged,dem-onstrating substantial value in practical applications in epidemic prevention and control.These methods play a cru-cial role in key areas such as dynamic monitoring of epidemic,optimization of prevention and control strategies as well as prediction of epidemic transmission trend,which remarkably enhance the precise prevention and control and boost the capability of rapid response.However,to fully realize their potentials,further integration of these innovative approaches with epidemiological theory is essential to develop a more robust methodological framework that can better adapt to the complexity of infectious diseases prevention and control and the dynamic change.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) and the underlying mechanism. Methods Forty-five healthy adult male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control, model, and BMSCs groups. The model and BMSCs groups received a single irradiation dose of 20 Gy to the chest, while the control group did not receive X-ray irradiation. For the BMSCs group, an injection of 1 × 10⁶ BMSCs cells was administered via the tail vein within 6 h after irradiation. In the 5th week, the lung tissue was taken to observe pathological changes with HE staining; examine the expression of the inflammatory factors interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) with immunohistochemical staining; observe the polarization of macrophages with immunofluorescence staining; and measure the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin proteins by Western blot. Results After radiation, the model group developed pulmonary vasodilation and congestion with septal thickening and inflammatory cell infiltration, and these changes were markedly reduced in the BMSCs group. The model group showed significantly down-regulated expression of IL-6 and TNF-α compared with significantly increased levels in the model group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Treatment with BMSCs significantly increased the polarization of lung macrophages towards the M2 type, while significantly decreasing the abnormally increased N-cadherin and vimentin levels in RILI mice (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Conclusion BMSCs have therapeutic effects for RILI mice, which may be through promoting macrophage polarization from M1 to M2.