AIM:To systematically evaluate the changes in retinal and choroidal thickness in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis by using optical coherence tomography(OCT)through Meta-analysis.METHODS: Literatures on the measurement of retinal and choroidal structure in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis by using OCT from CNKI, VIP, WF, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, SinoMed, and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the databases to January 2024. In addition, quality of the included literatures was assessed by the Newtle-Ottawa scale(NOS), and RevMan 5.4.1 and Stata 16.0 were used for statistical analysis.RESULTS: A total of 17 articles(including 18 studies)were included, and the Meta-analysis results showed that, patients with internal carotid artery stenosis had significantly thinner peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer(pRNFL), ganglion cell complex(GCC), center macular thickness(CMT), and subfoveal choroidal thickness(SFCT)than the healthy control group(age matched normal population). The pRNFL and SFCT of the ipsilateral eye in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis become thinner compared with the contralateral eye.CONCLUSION:To a certain extent, the morphological structure of the retina and choroid can be altered by stenosis of the internal carotid artery. OCT can non-invasively detect the microstructural changes of the retina and choroid in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis, and can be used for the evaluation of internal carotid artery stenosis.

Objective:To investigate the application value of biological muscle flap in laparo-scopic radical proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastric anastomosis.Methods:The retrospec-tive and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 10 patients with adeno-carcinoma of esophagogastric junction who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from May 2023 to August 2023 were collected. All patients were males, aged (65±5)years. All patients underwent laparoscopic radical proximal gastrectomy and esophagogastric anastomosis with digestive tract reconstruction using the esophagogastric biological muscle flap. Observation indicators: (1) surgical situations and early complications; (2) follow-up and late com-plications. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measure-ment data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers. Results:(1) Surgical situations and early complications. All 10 patients success-fully completed the surgery without conversion to open surgery, and the operation time was (166±18)minutes. Cases with digestive tract reconstruction as end-to-side anastomosis and Overlap anas-tomosis were 1 and 9, respectively. The time of digestive tract reconstruction, the number of lymph node dissected, volume of intraoperative blood loss, time to postoperative first anal exhaust, time to postoperative first intake of liquid food, duration of postoperative hospital stay were (40±12)minutes, 24±6, (41±9)mL, (3.4±0.5)days, (4.1±1.0)days, (8.3±0.7)days in the 10 patients. Of 4 cases with postoperative early complications, 1 case developed pulmonary infection (Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅱ) on the second day after surgery, with pulmonary infection absorbed after 5 days of antibiotic treat-ment. Two cases experienced chest distress and shortness of breath on the third day after surgery, with the diagnosis of a small to moderate amount of pleural effusion after chest B-ultrasound examination. After pleural puncture and active treatment, the symptoms of them were improved and the pleural effusion disappeared. There was 1 case with choking sensation when eating solid food, which was started from the third week after surgery. Upper gastrointestinal imaging revealed mild anastomotic stenosis of Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅰ in the patient, who was improved after conservative treatment. On the 7th day after surgery, all 10 patients underwent upper gastrointestinal angiography, and no anastomotic leakage or stenosis occurred. There was no sign of contrast agent reflux in the supine position and 30° head down position. (2) Follow-up and late complications. All 10 patients were followed up for 59.5(range, 31.0-127.0)days. The esophageal reflux scale score of 10 patients was 1.4±0.3. During the follow-up, 1 case underwent gastroscopy on 40 days after surgery, which showed reflux esophagitis with Los Angeles grade as B and the Clavien-Dindo grade as Ⅰ. There was no clinical symptom such as heartburn or acid reflux. Results of 24-hour pH monitoring showed that the patient experienced 24 instances of reflux in an upright position and 15 instances of reflux in a supine position, with no prolonged reflux. The total reflux time within 24 hours was 75 minutes. The DeMeester score was 38.3. Results of esophageal pressure measurement showed that the esophageal contraction morphology was normal, but the anastomotic opening was not well relaxed. The rest of 9 cases had no complication such as reflux esophagitis.Conclusion:Biological muscle flap applied in the laparoscopic radical proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastric anastomosis is safe and feasible, with satisfied short-term efficacy.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of the coaxial needle technique in percutaneous liver biopsy for patients with coagulation function abnormalities.Methods:Clinical data of 210 patients who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy using the coaxial needle technique under ultrasound guidance from December 2018 to May 2021 in 3 centers were collected. A retrospective analysis was conducted to compare the puncture success rate, number of samples obtained, pathology qualification rate, intraoperative and postoperative bleeding rates between the group with coagulation function abnormalities and the group with normal coagulation function.Results:After propensity score matching, there were 105 patients in each group, with a puncture success rate of 100% in both groups. The pathology qualification rate was 100% for all samples.Intraoperative bleeding occurred in 78 cases (74.3%, 78/105) in the coagulation function abnormalities group and in 64 cases (61.0%, 64/105) in the normal coagulation function group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.006). Postoperative bleeding occurred in 3 cases (2.9%, 3/105) in the coagulation function abnormalities group and in 0 case in the normal coagulation function group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.081). Conclusions:The use of the coaxial needle technique for percutaneous liver biopsy in patients with coagulation function abnormalities not only allows for obtaining an adequate tissue sample but also demonstrates good safety.

Objective To establish and optimize a method for simultaneous determination for the contents of sodium,potassium,calci-um and magnesium ions in serum using microwave digestion combined with ion chromatography,and evaluate its performance.Methods Serum samples were pretreated by microwave digestion,and four cations were quantitatively determined using ion chromatography.The linearity,precision,recovery and accuracy of the established method were verified with reference to the EP6-A and EP15-A3 docu-ments issued by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI).Results The imprecisions of determinations for sodium,po-tassium,calcium and magnesium ions expressed as coefficient of variation(CV)were 0.10％to 0.36％,0.15％to 0.48％,0.22％to 0.87％and 0.21％to 0.73％,respectively.The recoveries with adding standard of the four cations were between 97.3％and 103.0％.Referred to RELA2020 and RELA2021,the deviations of the analysis results were-0.57％to-0.14％,-0.84％to-0.16％,-1.82％to-0.37％,and-0.60％to 0.34％for sodium,potassium,calcium,and magnesium,respectively,and all the comparisons were pas-sed.The limits of detection/quantification were 0.017 5/0.058 3 mmol/L,0.000 5/0.001 7 mmol/L,0.009 9/0.032 9 mmol/L and 0.001 1/0.003 5 mmol/L for the four cations,indicating that after pretreatment,no significantly interfere from other impurities for the results of determination was found.Conclusion A method for simultaneous determination of sodium,potassium,calcium and magnesi-um ions in serum was successfully established and optimized using microwave digestion combined with ion chromatography.The method showed good precision and accuracy,simple operation,short time consumption and low cost,thus it could be used for quality improve-ment of clinical electrolyte testing in serum.

Objective:To develop a candidate reference method for cortisol in human serum by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC/MS/MS).Methods:An isotope-labeled internal standard was added to samples, followed by alkalizing with sodium carbonate solution and liquid-liquid extraction with n-hexane/ethyl acetate. Isoelution with a methanol aqueous solution was employed for liquid chromatographic separation, while ESI in the positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring mode were used for mass spectrometry. The volume of sample, standard, and internal standard solutions were all controlled by weighing, and the results were calculated by bracketing method. The accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, LOD and LOQ of this method were evaluated referring to the CLSI C62-A and C50-A guidelines and the domestic expert consensus documents.Results:The method demonstrated excellent accuracy and precision with the bias of ERM-DA192, ERM-DA193 and RELA 2021-2023 all being less than 2%. The recovery of added cortisol ranged from 98.2% to 101.1%. Both intra- and inter-assay imprecisions was <2%. The method was free from interference by structural analogue and showed a good linearity in the range of 25-1 600 nmol/L. The LOD and LOQ were 0.5 nmol/L and 1.0 nmol/L, respectively. A cortisol assay kit (chemiluminescence immunoassay) traced to this candidate reference method was used to determine 46 clinical serum samples concurrently, and the two methods exhibited good correlation.Conclusions:A candidate reference method for the determination of cortisol in serum was established, demonstrating high sensitivity, good repeatability and accuracy. This method can serve as a reference for the measurement traceability and accuracy evaluation of routine methods.

Objective:To summarize the clinicopathologic features and clinical diagnosis and treatment experience of retroperitoneal paraganglioma.Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical, pathological and follow-up data of 39 patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from 1 Oct 2012 to 1 Oct 2022 for retroperitoneal paragangliomas undergoing resection.Results:There were 19 males and 20 females with tumor being functional in 11 cases (28%) and non-functional in 28 cases (72%). CT angiography showed that the tumors were distributed around the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava in most cases. All 39 patients underwent tumor rescetion.Patients in laparoscopic group had shorter operation time and postoperative hospital saty compared with open sugery [(135±66)min vs. (194±67)min, t=-2.529, P=0.016; (6.6±2.2)d vs.(9.6±4.8)d, t=-2.096, P=0.043], while there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of intraoperative blood loss [(152±151)ml vs. (361±608)ml, t=-1.169, P=0.250]. There were no major postoperative complications in the laparoscopic group, and pulmonary infection in 1 case and intestinal obstruction in 1 case in the open group. Thrity-six cases were followed up, ranging from 2 to 115 months, 1 patient in the laparoscopic group died 1 year after surgery due to recurrence and metastasis. In the open group, 1 case recurred 2 years later and was discharged after the second operation, and 1 case died of recurrence 2 years after surgery. Conclusions:Surgery is indicated for retroperitoneal paraganglioma. Adequate perioperative management is the key to the success of the operation. Laparoscopic surgery is superior to open surgery in terms of operation time and postoperative recovery .

Objective To evaluate the feasibility,efficacy and tolerability of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation(RFA) for treating malignant tumor in the caudate lobe.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in the patients with malignant tumor in the caudate lobe treated by percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) from January 2009 to July 2016.The epigastric approach (EA),the intercostal approach (IA) and an approach combining EA and IA were used as the paths of puncture.Intraprocedural contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was used to evaluate the ablation effect.The enhancement of CT/MR was used as the gold standard to evaluate the ablation effect within 1 to 3 months after surgery.Technical success (TS),technique efficacy (TE),local tumor progression (LTP) and complications were documented.Results A total of 14 patients with 14 malignant tumors in the caudate lobe of the liver were included in this study.The EA,IA,and the approach combining EA and IA were used in 7,6,and 1 patient,respectively.Intraprocedural CEUS showed complete ablation in all cases.CT / MRI evaluation within 1 to 3 months after surgery showed that the complete ablation rate was 100％ (14/14).After a median follow-up of 15.5 months (interquartile range,3 55 months),2 patients had recurrence in other regions of the liver,there was no local tumor progression and no serious complications occurred in 14 patients.Conclusions Ultrasound guided RFA is a safe,effective and important mean for the treatment of malignant tumors in caudate lobe of liver.

ABSTRACT:Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of Hedgehog signaling pathway on the invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro.Methods The SHH,SMO and Gli-1 expression levels of breast cancer cell line MDA-231 and normal mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A were detected by Western blot at protein level and by Real-time RT-PCR at mRNA level.Next,shRNA vector was transfected into the MDA-2 3 1 cells with highly expressed SMO,and the stable transfected cells were selected by G4 1 8 .Western blot and Real-time RT-PCR were performed to observe the inhibitory effect of RNAi on SMO expression.MTT assay was used to assess the influence of SMO siRNA on cell proliferation.Transwell assay was applied to observe cell invasion ability.The expressions of Gli-1,Snail,MMP-9,E-cadherin and Vimentin protein were determined by Western blot.Results Compared with those of normal mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A,the expressions of SHH,SMO and Gli-1 were significantly increased.The invasion of MDA-2 3 1 cells was inhibited significantly after SMO silencing.Additionally, the protein expressions of Gli-1 , Snail, MMP-9 and Vimentin were obviously inhibited, and E-cadherin was significantly increased.Conclusion Mutative activation of Hedgehog signaling pathway in breast cancer cells promotes cell invasion probably through induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition of the tumor cells.

Background: Although the prognostic impact of body mass index (BMI) in patients with non?metastatic naso?pharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) had been extensively studied, its effect among metastatic NPC patients remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic effect of BMI in patients with metastatic NPC. Methods: We retrospectively studied 819 patients who were diagnosed with distant metastasis from NPC and received treatment between 1998 and 2007. The patients were divided into three subgroups according to the World Health Organization classifications for Asian populations: underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (BMI 18.5–22.9 kg/m2), and overweight/obese (BMI ≥23.0 kg/m2). The associations of BMI with overall survival (OS) andprogression?free survival (PFS) were determined by Cox regression analysis. Results: Of the 819 patients, 168 (20.5%) were underweight, 431 (52.6%) were normal weight, and 220 (26.9%) were overweight/obese. Multivariate analysis adjusted for covariates showed that overweight/obese patients had a longer OS than underweight patients [hazard ratio (HR), 0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.49–0.84] and normal weight patients (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.57–0.90); no significant difference in PFS was observed among these three groups (P = 0.407). Moreover, in stratified analysis, no statistically significant differences in the effect of overweight/obesestatus among different subgroups were observed. Conclusion: For patients with metastatic NPC, overweight/obese status was associated with longer OS but not longer PFS compared with underweight or normal weight status.

Objective To compare the accuracy,convenience and repeatability of 3DUS-US and CT-US image fusion technology based on electromagnetic positioning.Methods A tissue-mimicking phantom was established and used to obtain ultrasound or CT volume images.Two different operators performed 3DUS-US and CT-US image fusion and repeated 10 times,respectively.The success rate,the registration error distance and fusion time of two techniques were recorded and compared between the different operators.Results The ultrasound and CT images of the phantom and its stability could meet the demands of this experiment.3DUS-US and CT-US image fusions were successful.The registration error distance of 3DUS-US image fusion was (1 .70 ± 0.42)mm and fusion time was (76.00 ± 9.99)s,they were obviously superior to CT-US (P = 0.014,P < 0.001 ).There were no significant differences between the two operators in the registration error distance and fusion time of 3DUS-US (P =0.508,P =0.5 1 7).But the registration error distance of CT-US image fusion in experienced operator was lower than the junior (P =0.009),and fusion time had not statistical difference between the two operators (P =0.234).Conclusions The technique of 3DUS-US automatic image fusion based on electromagnetic positioning has advantages of convenience and no experiential dependence comparing with CT-US in the phantom experiments,so it is worthy of being widely popularized in clinical application.