AIM: To investigate the influence of pterygium thickness and area on corneal refractive status.METHODS: Prospective longitudinal study. A total of 60 cases(60 eyes)of pterygium patients admitted to our hospital from January 2024 to September 2024 were randomly selected. All patients underwent pterygium excision combined with pedicle conjunctival flap transplantation for treatment. Optical coherence tomography(OCT)was used to measure the preoperative thickness of patient's pterygium, and a digital slit lamp microscope was used to measure the area of pterygium. The corneal refractive status(degree of corneal astigmatism and average curvature)and changes in uncorrected visual acuity of patients before surgery, 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery were compared. The relationship between preoperative thickness and area of pterygium in patients and corneal refractive status indicators at different postoperative time points were analyzed, and Logistic regression was used to analyze the impact of pterygium thickness and area on postoperative visual improvement in patients.RESULTS: All patients completed follow-up after surgery for 3 mo. At 3 mo after surgery, visual acuity improved in 21 eyes(35%). The results of bivariate Pearson correlation analysis showed that the thickness and area of pterygium positively correlated with the degree of corneal astigmatism and uncorrected visual acuity before surgery and 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery(all P<0.05), and negatively correlated with the average corneal curvature before surgery and 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery(all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the thickness and area of pterygium before surgery, high degree of corneal astigmatism, and low uncorrected visual acuity(large LogMAR value)were all risk factors for poor postoperative visual improvement in patients(OR>1, P<0.05). The large average corneal curvature before surgery was a protective factor for poor postoperative visual improvement in patients(OR<1, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The increase in thickness and area of pterygium can, to some extent, improve corneal astigmatism, reduce the average curvature of the cornea, and affect postoperative visual recovery.

Objective To observe the value of radiomics models based on gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid(Gd-EOB-DTPA)enhanced hepatobiliary phase(HBP)MRI for assessing clinical pathological stage of hepatic fibrosis(HF).Methods Data of 240 patients with pathologically/clinically diagnosed and clinical pathological staged HF who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MR examination were retrospectively analyzed.The liver-to-muscle signal intensity ratio(SIR1)and liver-to-spleen signal intensity ratio(SIR2)were measured based on HBP images.Radiomics features of HBP images were extracted and screened to construct radiomics models.The signal intensity ratio(SIR)-radiomics combined models were constructed based on SIR and radiomics signatures.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were drawn to evaluate the efficacy of each model for assessing clinical pathological stage of HF.Results The area under the curve(AUC)of SIR1 and SIR2 models for assessing clinical pathological stage of HF were 0.63-0.70 and 0.65-0.71,respectively.The most effective radiomics model for assessing HF,significant HF,advanced HF and early cirrhosis was support vector machine(SVM),SVM,light gradient boosting machine and K-nearest neighbor model,respectively,with the AUC in validation set of 0.87,0.82,0.81 and 0.80,respectively,while the AUC of SIR-radiomics combined models in validation set of 0.88,0.82,0.82 and 0.81,respectively.Conclusion The radiomics models based on Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced HBP MRI were helpful for assessing clinical pathological stage of HF.Combining with HBP SIR could improve their efficacy.

Objective:To explore the value of the imaging nomogram model based on preoperative CT features of patients with small intestinal stromal tumor (SIST) in predicting pathological risk classification.Methods:This was a cohort study. The patients who were diagnosed as primary SIST by postoperative pathology in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2014 to October 2023 were retrospectively included. According to the modified 2008 National Institutes of Health classification criteria, the patients were divided into a pathological intermediate/high-risk group (86 cases) and a very low/low-risk group (56 cases). The features of preoperative enhanced CT images of SIST were analyzed, including tumor boundary, necrosis, intra-tumoral hemorrhage, intra-tumoral calcification, growth pattern, enhancement pattern, enhancement degree, enlarged vessels feeding or draining the mass (EVFDM), and tumor location. Patients were followed up to determine the recurrence-free survival (RFS). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to screen the independent predictors of SIST with pathological medium/high-risk group. The independent predictors were combined to construct an imaging prediction model, and a nomogram was drawn. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the model. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve, and the log-rank test was used to compare the differences in RFS.Results:Univariate logistic regression results showed that tumor shape, necrosis, intra-tumoral hemorrhage, EVFDM, and tumor location were potentially related to medium/high-risk SIST. Multivariate logistic regression results showed that tumor shape ( OR=3.92, 95% CI 1.58-9.71, P=0.003), necrosis ( OR=4.60, 95% CI 1.91-11.09, P<0.001), and EVFDM ( OR=6.25,95% CI 1.74-22.47, P=0.005) were independent predictors of pathological intermediate/high-risk SIST. The area under the curve of the imaging predictive model combining the three predictors to predict the intermediate/high-risk SIST was 0.835 (95% CI 0.769-0.901), the sensitivity was 0.810, the specificity was 0.839, and the accuracy was 0.789. Taking the cut-off value (0.810) as the boundary value, the patients were divided into the high-risk group (74 cases) and the low-risk group (68 cases) according to the prediction results. The median RFS of the predicted high-risk group was poorer than that of the predicted low-risk group, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=5.20, P=0.023). Conclusions:The imaging nomogram model based on preoperative CT image features shape, necrosis, and EVFDM can effectively predict the pathological intermediate/high-risk SIST before surgery and has important predictive value for postoperative recurrence.

Marine microorganisms, especially marine fungi, have historically proven their value as a prolific source for structurally novel and pharmacologically active secondary metabolites (Deshmukh et al., 2018; Carroll et al., 2022). The corals constitute a dominant part of reefs with the highest biodiversity, and harbor highly diverse and abundant microbial symbionts in their tissue, skeleton, and mucus layer, with species-specific core members that are spatially partitioned across coral microhabitats (Wang WQ et al., 2022). The coral-associated fungi were very recently found to be vital producers of structurally diverse compounds, terpenes, alkaloids, peptides, aromatics, lactones, and steroids. They demonstrate a wide range of bioactivity such as anticancer, antimicrobial, and antifouling activity (Chen et al., 2022). The genetically powerful genus Emericella (Ascomycota), which has marine and terrestrial sources, includes over 30 species and is distributed worldwide. It is considered a rich source of diverse secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity or cytotoxicity (Alburae et al., 2020). Notably, Emericella nidulans, the sexual state of a classic biosynthetic strain Aspergillus nidulans, was recently reported as an important source of highly methylated polyketides (Li et al., 2019) and isoindolone-containing meroterpenoids (Zhou et al., 2016) with unusual skeletons.
Animals ; Aspergillus nidulans ; Polyketides/chemistry* ; Anthozoa/microbiology* ; Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology* ; Alkaloids

BACKGROUND: Previous research demonstrated that a homozygous mutation of g.136372044G>A (S12N) in caspase recruitment domain family member 9 ( CARD9 ) is critical for producing Aspergillus fumigatus -induced ( Af -induced) T helper 2 (T H 2)-mediated responses in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). However, it remains unclear whether the CARD9S12N mutation, especially the heterozygous occurrence, predisposes the host to ABPA. METHODS: A total of 61 ABPA patients and 264 controls (including 156 healthy controls and 108 asthma patients) were recruited for sequencing the CARD9 locus to clarify whether patients with this heterozygous single-nucleotide polymorphisms are predisposed to the development of ABPA. A series of in vivo and in vitro experiments, such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and RNA isolation and quantification, were used to illuminate the involved mechanism of the disease. RESULTS: The presence of the p.S12N mutation was associated with a significant risk of ABPA in ABPA patients when compared with healthy controls and asthma patients, regardless of Aspergillus sensitivity. Relative to healthy controls without relevant allergies, the mutation of p.S12N was associated with a significant risk of ABPA (OR: 2.69 and 4.17 for GA and AA genotypes, P = 0.003 and 0.029, respectively). Compared with patients with asthma, ABPA patients had a significantly higher heterozygous mutation (GA genotype), indicating that p.S12N might be a significant ABPA-susceptibility locus ( aspergillus sensitized asthma: OR: 3.02, P = 0.009; aspergillus unsensitized asthma: OR: 2.94, P = 0.005). The mutant allele was preferentially expressed in ABPA patients with heterozygous CARD9S12N , which contributes to its functional alterations to facilitate Af -induced T H 2-mediated ABPA development. In terms of mechanism, Card9 wild-type ( Card9WT ) expression levels decreased significantly due to Af -induced decay of its messenger RNA compared to the heterozygous Card9S12N . In addition, ABPA patients with heterozygous CARD9S12N had increased Af -induced interleukin-5 production. CONCLUSION Our study provides the genetic evidence showing that the heterozygous mutation of CARD9S12N , followed by allele expression imbalance of CARD9S12N , facilitates the development of ABPA.
Humans ; Aspergillosis, Allergic Bronchopulmonary/complications* ; Aspergillus fumigatus/genetics* ; Asthma/genetics* ; Aspergillus ; Mutation/genetics* ; CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/genetics*

Objective: The etiology of schizophrenia is unknown and is associated with abnormal spontaneous brain activity. There are no consistent results regarding the change in spontaneous brain activity of people with schizophrenia. In this study, we determined the specific changes in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation/fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF/fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in patients with drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (Dn-FES). Methods: A comprehensive search of databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted to find articles on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging using ALFF/fALFF and ReHo in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls (HCs) and then, anatomical/activation likelihood estimation was performed. Results: Eighteen eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to the spontaneous brain activity of HCs, we found changes in spontaneous brain activity in Dn-FES based on these two methods, mainly including the frontal lobe, putamen, lateral globus pallidus, insula, cerebellum, and posterior cingulate cortex. Conclusion We found that widespread abnormalities of spontaneous brain activity occur in the early stages of the onset of schizophrenia and may provide a reference for the early intervention of schizophrenia.

Objective:To describe clinical characteristics, genetic mutation and therapeutic response of a family diagnosed as slow-channel congenital myasthenia syndrome (SCCMS) and analyze the factors of the efficacy of channel blockers therapy.Methods:Clinical data and therapeutic response in three patients from a family of SCCMS from Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University in May 2017 were collected. The clinical data, mutations and response to therapy of all literature SCCMS cases in the English database of Pubmed and Chinese database of Wanfang until December 31, 2018 were analyzed statistically.Results:The proband was a 48-year-old female who referred to Xuanwu Hospital for limb weakness for 40 years. The proband′s elder daughter presented with onset of the birth and delayed motor milestones, scoliosis and difficulty in walking. The younger daughter was born healthy with normal motor milestones, while fatigue and weakness gradually appeared. The antibodies of myasthenia gravis were negative. No repetitive compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) were detected in three patients. Repetitive nerve stimulation showed decrements. Gene test revealed heterozygous mutation of CHRNE p.εV279F, a known pathogenic mutation of SCCMS. Seventeen SCCMS cases were reported in literature. A total of 20 patients with SCCMS were described in terms of clinical manifestation, mutation, drug therapy and efficacy in detail. According to the literature description, they were divided into significant benefit group and mild to modest benefit group to channel blocker therapy. The age of onset in 10 patients with significant benefit was 1.50 (0.75, 28.25) years from birth to 43 years, and that in 10 patients with mild to modest benefit was 2.50 (0, 6.25) years from birth to 11 years. There was no significant difference between the two groups. The age at the initial channel blocker therapy in the group with significant benefit was (23.40±13.29) years from 12 to 43 years, whereas that in the group with mild to modest benefit was (34.10±13.43) years from 20 to 62 years, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. The delay time of treatment (age at the beginning of treatment with channel blockers-age of onset) in patients with significant benefit was 13.0 (10.25, 15.00) years, which was 32.50 (19.25, 38.00) years in patients with mild to modest benefit ( Z=-3.374, P=0.000). According to the response of cholinesterase inhibitor, eight patients were in the effective group, 10 patients were in the ineffective group and two patients were without cholinesterase inhibitor. The age of onset in the effective group was 0 (0, 4.75) years, while that in the ineffective group was 6.50 (1.00, 28.25) years ( Z=-2.315, P=0.021).The age of treatment with channel blockers was (27.90±12.99) years in the effective group and (32.00±13.21) years in the ineffective group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. The delay time of channel blocker treatment in effective group was (30.25±11.07) years, while that in ineffective group was (14.30±9.60) years ( t=-3.274, P=0.005). Conclusions:In SCCMS, the effect of channel blockers was related to the delay time of treatment. Channel blocker was more effective the sooner it was started after the onset of symptoms. The average age of onset of SCCMS patients with positive responses to cholinesterase inhibitor was younger, but the delay time of channel blocker therapy was longer, resulting in poor therapeutic effect.

Objective To analyze the CT and MRI features of pancreatic serous micro-cystic cystadenoma (SMCA).Methods CT and MRI data of 17 patients with SMCA confirmed by pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Tumor's location,diameter,septation,contrast-enhancement features,calcification,central scar, and the extent of pancreaticobiliary duct dilatation were recorded.Results Seventeen patients were enrolled.10 underwent CT,6 underwent MR(2 patients also underwent MRCP), and 1 underwent both CT and MR.Tumors were located at pancreatic head in 2 cases,neck in 2 cases,and body/tail in 13 cases.Lesion size ranged from 1.7 cm to 14 cm with an average of 5.2 cm.Septation was seen in 16 cases.Central scar was seen in 9 cases Septation and scar were enhanced and cystic component was not enhanced on contrast enhancement.6 patients presented the main pancreaticduct dilation.Conclusion Pancreas SMCA has certain imaging features.It is always manifested as lobulated mass with multiple small capsules(<2 cm) and fiber separations.The fiber separation enhance significantly,but lower than normal pancreatic tissue.Central scar is the characteristic manifestation of SMCA, and it manifests iso or slightly lower signal on T1WI and T2WI.Typical SMCA can be diagnosed according to the CT and MR imaging manifestations.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum levels of PCT and neutrophil CD64 contents with the effect of hormone therapy and complications in the patients with primary nephrotic syndrome.Methods Sixty-five patients with primary nephrotic syndrome in our hospital from September 2015 to September 2016 were selected as the research subjects,all cases were treated with hormonal therapy,the serum levels of PCT and neutrophil CD64 were detected and their relationship with the curative effect and complications of nephrotic syndrome was analyzed.Results According to the PCT and neutrophil CD64 median levels,the cases were divided into the high level group and low level group,the results found that serum creatinine,serum protein,urine protein and pathological types had no statistical difference between the high level group and low level group.The hormone sensitivity had 15 cases in the patients with high PCT level,which was significantly lower than 21 cases in the patients with low PCT level;the hormone sensitivity had 14 cases in the patients with high neutrophil CD64 level,acute renal failure,infection and thrombus in the patients with high PCT level had 8,10,6 cases,which were significantly lower than those in the patients with low PCT level;acute renal failure,infection and thrombus in the patients with high neutrophil CD64 level had 7,11,6 cases,which were significantly higher than those in the patients with low neutrophil CD64 level (P<0.05).Conclusion The levels of serum PCT and neutrophil CD64 are significantly correlated with the therapeutic effect and clinical prognosis in the patients with nephrotic syndrome.