OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Phellodendron amurense polysaccharides （PAP） on improving gouty nephropathy （GN） in rats， and to investigate its mechanism primarily by interfering the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK）/nuclear factor-κB（NF-κB）/tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）. METHODS Sixty rats were randomly divided into normal group （water）， model group （water）， allopurinol group （positive control， 20 mg/kg）， PAP high-dose， medium-dose and low-dose groups （100， 50， 25 mg/kg， by raw material） after being stratified by body weight， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the normal group， the other groups were induced to construct GN model by giving 1 500 mg/kg potassium oxazinate and 100 mg/kg adenine intragastrically for 14 days. After modeling， the rats in each group were given relevant medicine/water intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 28 days. After the last medication， the levels of biochemical parameters related to renal function [uric acid， creatinine （Cr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， xanthine oxidase （XOD）] were detected in rats， and the histopathological changes in the rat kidney were observed. The protein expressions of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1（MCP-1），TNF-α and interleukin-6（IL-6） as well as the phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 protein were determined in renal tissue of rats. RESULTS Compared with the normal group， the model group suffered from the dilatation of renal tubules， structural damage to glomeruli， accompanied by inflammatory infiltration and fibrosis； the contents of uric acid， Cr， BUN and XOD， the protein expressions of MCP-1，TNF-α and IL-6 and the phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 protein were all increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the pathological symptoms of renal tissue in rats had been improved to varying degrees in different dose groups of PAP； the contents of uric acid， Cr， BUN and XOD， protein expressions of MCP-1， TNF-α and IL-6， the phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 protein in PAP high-dose and PAP medium-dose groups were all decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS PAP exhibits an anti-GN effect， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting the p38 MAPK/NF-κB/TNF-α signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of establishing a canine model of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration through the application of cumulative axial load and a six-phase combined motion on the vertical sitting dog's lumbar spine.Methods:Twenty adult female grass dogs, each weighing 10.0±0.5 kg, were randomly divided into two groups, with 10 dogs in each group. In the model group, dogs were secured to an exercise machine in a vertical position, and six phases of lumbar spine movement (flexion and extension, left and right lateral flexion, left and right rotation, 45° each) were combined with a specific number of cycles under continuous axial load (245 N). In the control group, dogs were secured to the exercise machine in a vertical position without any intervention. Radiographic examinations were performed before and after 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 150,000 compound exercises in the model group. The disc height index (DHI) was measured through lateral X-ray, and MRI T2-mapping was used for quantitative analysis of intervertebral disc degeneration. When intervertebral disc degeneration was evident on MRI T2-weighted imaging (modified Pfirrmann system > Grade V), the combined motion was halted. Micro-CT quantitative analysis of bone mineral density (BMD) in the upper and lower endplates, trabecular bone structure, and histological staining (HE staining, "O" staining, Sirius red staining) were employed to verify and assess the degree of intervertebral disc degeneration.Results:After 50,000 compound exercises, mild degeneration of the intervertebral discs at L 6-7 and L 7S 1 was observed on T2-weighted imaging. With the accumulation of exercise load, the degree of degeneration progressively increased, reaching a moderate degree of degeneration after 100,000 composite exercises, and DHI began to decrease. Mild degeneration was also observed in the upper L 5-6 intervertebral disc. When the cumulative exercise volume reached 150,000 repetitions, the height of intervertebral spaces in the L 5-6, L 6-7, and L 7S 1 segments further decreased, and the intervertebral discs exhibited severe degeneration (improved Pfirrmann grading system Grades IV-VI). The upper L 4-5 intervertebral discs also displayed mild degeneration. Histological scores were as follows: L 5-6 (8.2±0.8), L 6-7 (9.5±0.7), and L 7S 1 (10.3±0.5), indicating a degree of degeneration in the order of L 5-6

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the major causes of graft loss after transplantation. Recently, the regulation of B cell differentiation and the prevention of donor-specific antibody (DSA) production have gained increased attention in transplant research. Herein, we established a secondary allogeneic in vivo skin transplant model to study the effects of romidepsin (FK228) on DSA. The survival of grafted skins was monitored daily. The serum levels of DSA and the number of relevant immunocytes in the recipient spleens were evaluated by flow cytometry. Then, we isolated and purified B cells from B6 mouse spleens in vitro by magnetic bead sorting. The B cells were cultured with interleukin-4 (IL-4) and anti-clusters of differentiation 40 (CD40) antibody with or without FK228 treatment. The immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgM levels in the supernatant were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting were conducted to determine the corresponding levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression in cultured cells and the recipient spleens. The results showed that FK228 significantly improved the survival of allogeneic skin grafts. Moreover, FK228 inhibited DSA production in the serum along with the suppression of histone deacetylase 1 (HADC1) and HDAC2 and the upregulation of the acetylation of histones H2A and H3. It also inhibited the differentiation of B cells to plasma cells, decreased the transcription of positive regulatory domain-containing 1 (Prdm1) and X-box-binding protein 1 (Xbp1), and decreased the expression of phosphorylated inositol-requiring enzyme 1 α (p-IRE1α), XBP1, and B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1). In conclusion, FK228 could decrease the production of antibodies by B cells via inhibition of the IRE1α-XBP1 signaling pathway. Thus, FK228 is considered as a promising therapeutic agent for the clinical treatment of AMR.
Animals ; Depsipeptides ; Endoribonucleases ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Skin Transplantation

Objective:To establish an automatic segmentation network based on different receptive fields for gross target volume (GTV) and organs at risk in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Methods:Radiotherapy data of 100 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma including CT images and GTV and organs at risk delineated by the physicians were collected. Ninety plans were randomly selected as the training dataset, and the other 10 plans as the validation dataset. Firstly, the images were subject to three data augmentation methods including center cropping, vertical flipping and rotation (-30°to 30°), and then input into MA_net networks proposed in this study for training. The model performance of networks was assessed by the number of network parameters (NP), floating-point number (FPN), the running memory (RM) and Dice index (DI), and eventually compared with DeeplabV3+ , PSP_net, UNet+ + and U_Net networks.Results:When the input image was in the size of 240×240, MA_net had a NP of 23.20%, 20.10%, 25.55% and 27.11% of these 4 networks, 50.02%, 19.86%, 6.37% and 13.44% for the FPN, 40.63%, 23.60%, 11.58% and 14.99% for the RM, respectively. For the DI of GTV, MA_net was 1.16%, 2.28%, 1.27% and 3.59% higher than these 4 networks. For the average DI of GTV and OAR, MA_net was 0.16%, 1.37%, 0.30% and 0.97% higher than these 4 networks.Conclusion:Compared with those four networks, the proposed MA_net network has slightly higher Dice index with fewer parameters, lower FPN and smaller RM.

"The Expert Group on Tumor Ablation Therapy of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, The Tumor Ablation Committee of Chinese College of Interventionalists, The Society of Tumor Ablation Therapy of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and The Ablation Expert Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology" have organized multidisciplinary experts to formulate the consensus for thermal ablation of pulmonary subsolid nodules or ground-glass nodule (GGN). The expert consensus reviews current literatures and provides clinical practices for thermal ablation of GGN. The main contents include: (1) clinical evaluation of GGN, (2) procedures, indications, contraindications, outcomes evaluation and related complications of thermal ablation for GGN and (3) future development directions.
.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of remote injection device assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.Methods:Using retrospective research and analysis methods, 168 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures admitted to Heze Municipal Hospital from September 2019 to August 2020 were selected. A total of 139 cases were followed up, with a follow-up rate of 82.7%, including 22 males and 117 females, with an average age of 74.17 years. According to the different equipment used, they were divided into two groups. Seventy-two cases used remote injection device to assist percutaneous vertebroplasty (observation group), 67 cases used traditional puncture needle puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty (control group). All patients were completed follow-up at 3 months after surgery. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, bone cement injection volume, bone cement leakage rate, VAS score and ODI score of 1 day, 1 month and 3 months after operation were observed. Measurement data were expressed as ( Mean± SD), using t test, counting data were expressed as percentage [ n(%)], using χ2 test. Results:Both groups of patients successfully completed the operation without complications such as paraplegia, pulmonary embolism, or infection. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in operation time of two groups[(47.71±6.05) min vs (47.61±5.66) min, t=0.100, P=0.920]. The intraoperative blood loss of the two groups was no statistically significant difference [(7.08±3.00) mL vs (8.06±3.48) mL, t=1.782, P=0.079]. The difference between two groups of the amount of bone cement injected was statistically significant, [(6.44±1.03) mL vs (5.73±1.41) mL, t=3.369, P=0.001]. The bone cement leakage rate of the observation group was 27.78% (19/72), and the control group was 43.28% (29/67), and there was statistically significant( χ2=4.382, P=0.036). The preoperative VAS score of the observation group was (6.75±1.14) , and the control group was (6.64±1.08), and there was no significant difference between two groups( t=0.583, P=0.561) The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (1.28±0.75) and (1.21±0.77) respectively at 1 day after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.583, P=0.588). The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (0.89±0.76) and (1.09±0.67) respectively at 1 month after operation. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.641, P=0.103). The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (0.74±0.63) and (0.87±0.74) respectively at 3 months after operation. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.118, P=0.266). The preoperative ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (60.32±7.46) and (61.96±9.76) respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.121, P=0.264). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (14.93±6.01) and (15.10±6.43) respectively at 1 day after operation, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.161, P=0.872). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (10.54±4.24) and (11.31±3.71) respectively at 1 month after operation, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.136, P=0.258). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (10.64±3.70) and (10.39±3.74) respectively at 3 months after operation, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.396, P=0.693). Conclusion:Compared with traditional puncture needle puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty, the remote injection device assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty has a definite clinical effect in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, and the bone cement leakage rate is low.

Objective:To compare the accuracy and generalized robustness of three predictive models of knowledge-based treatment strategies for radiotherapy for optimized model selection.Methods:The clinical radiotherapy plans of 45 prostate cancer (PC) cases and 25 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) cases were collected, and analyzed using three models (Z, L and S model), proposed by Zhu et al, Appenzoller et al and Shiraishi et al, respectively, to predict the dose-volume histogram (DVH) of bladder and rectum on PC cases and that of left and right parotid on NPC cases. The prediction error was measured by the difference of area under the predicted DVH and the clinical DVH curves (|V (pre_DVH)-V (clin_DVH)|), where a smaller prediction error implies a greater prediction accuracy. The accuracies of these three models were compared on the single organ at risk (OAR), and the generalized robustness of models was evaluated and compared by calculating the standard deviation of the prediction accuracy on different OAR. Results:For bladder and rectum, the prediction error of L model (0.114 and 0.163, respectively) was significantly higher than those values of Z and S models (≤0.071, P<0.05); for left parotid gland, the predicted error of S model (0.033) did not present significant difference from those values of Z and L models (≤0.025, P>0.05); for right parotid gland, S model (0.033) demonstrated significantly higher prediction error than those of Z and L models (≤0.028, P<0.05). Regarding different OAR, S model showed a lower standard deviation of prediction accuracy when comparing to Z and L models (0.016, 0.018 and 0.060, respectively). Conclusions:In the prediction of DVH in bladder and rectum of PC, Z and S models were more accurate than L model. In contrast, Z and L models demonstrated higher accuracy than S model in the prediction of left and right parotid glands of NPC. In respect to different OAR, the generalized robustness of S model was superior than the other two models.

Objective:Concentration ratio and circular distribution were used to descrip the seasonal epidemic features of thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in Anhui province.Methods:SFTS data were collected via National Notifiable Disease Report System from 2011-2017 in Anhui province. The temporal distribution of SFTS in Anhui province was reviewed, and then the M value was calculated to further present the seasonal morbidity features of it; circular distribution was conducted to obtain SFTS′s circulation and peak period of its morbidity.Results:From 2011-2017, the total case number of SFTS in Anhui province was 1 641, and 67, 67, 85, 239, 283, 507, 393 respectively for each year. The incidence showed an obvious ascending tendency (linear χ2=614.29, P<0.001), with a peak in 2017 (0.83/100 000). The mean angle value was 171.05° ( Z=439.66, P<0.001). Based on this, the peak incidence date was predicted to be June, 21st, with a peak period between 15th April and 27th August. Conclusions:There is an obvious seasonal peak features of SFTS in Anhui province, with a peak period between April and August, which suggests that enhanced prevention protocols should be carried out during the peak period.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis in patients with prostate specific antigen (PSA) abnormal prostate disease. Methods The patients who had abnormal PSA from January 2017 to December 2018 in Weifang People′s Hospital were selected. Patients with prostate puncture indications were as research target. A total of 137 patients including 44 patients with prostate cancer and 93 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia were diagnosed by puncture. All patients underwent magnetic resonance scan and enhancement and spectroscopy before surgery. The comparative value of magnetic resonance scan + enhancement, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and joint examination was obtained. Results Sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging and enhancement was 77.3% (34/44), specificity was 86.0% (80/93), and accuracy was 83.2% (114/137). Sensitivity of magnetic resonance spectroscopy was 52.3% (23/44), specificity was 77.4% (72/93), and accuracy was 69.3% (95/137). The sensitivity of the combined application was 90.9% (40/44), specificity was 91.4% (85/93), and accuracy was 91.2% (125/137). Conclusions The application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy can increase the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of magnetic resonance plain scan and intensive examination for diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Objective To investigate the value of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) in quantitative evaluation of the microstructural changes in basal ganglia and thalamus in Wilson's disease (WD) patients,and to assess the diagnostic efficacy of NODDI.Methods Totally 27 WD patients (WD group) and 26 age-and sex-matched controls (control group) were enrolled.All subjects underwent MR scanning with NODDI.Parameters of NODDI,including intracellular volume fraction (Vic),orientation dispersion index (ODI) and isotropic volume fraction (Viso) of bilateral caudate nucleus,globus pallidus,putamen and thalamus were compared between the 2 groups.Correlation analysis was performed between each parameter of NODDI and clinical Young scores.Random Forest model was used to assess the relative importance of each parameter and to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy.Results The Vic and ODI of bilateral caudate nucleus,globus pallidus and putamen in WD patients were significantly lower than those in normal controls (all P＜0.05),while Viso was significantly higher than that in normal controls (all P＜0.05).The Vic of bilateral thalamus was lower,while Viso was higher in WD patients than those in normal controls (all P＜0.05),and ODI had no significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.055).In WD patients,Vic and ODI of bilateral caudate nucleus,globus pallidus and putamen were negatively correlated with clinical Young scores.Viso of globus pallidus and putamen were positively correlated with clinical scores.The prediction accuracy of NODDI was 96.23％,and the area under ROC curve was 0.96.Conclusion NODDI can effectively evaluate changes in microstructures and metabolism during copper deposition in WD patients,and it may be useful in detecting changes of brain deep nuclei and assessing the progression of WD.