Objective:To establish a risk prediction model based on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression for procalcitonin (PCT), milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) and CXC chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9) in elderly patients with liver cancer after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) .Methods:A total of 150 elderly patients with liver cancer who underwent TACE treatment in Shishi City Hospital, Fujian Province and 910th Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Joint Logistic Support Force from August 2020 to August 2023 were selected as the study subjects. Patients with infection after TACE were included in the infected group and those without infection were included in the non-infected group according to whether the patients had infection during the postoperative hospitalization. The baseline data of patients were collected and compared. LASSO regression was used to screen the factors that may affect the infection after TACE in elderly patients with liver cancer and binary logistic regression analysis was performed. According to the results of regression analysis, a nomogram model was constructed based on the regression analysis results and the nomogram was internally validated using Bootstrap and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves.Results:There were 18 cases of infection in 150 elderly patients with liver cancer after TACE, with an incidence of 12.00%. There were statistically significant differences in focal rupture and bleeding ( χ2=5.92, P=0.015), ascites ( χ2=6.70, P=0.010), skin or mucosal damage ( χ2=6.67, P=0.010) between the infected group ( n=18) and the non-infected group ( n=132). The levels of serum PCT [ (1.17±0.32 ) μg/L vs. (0.91±0.14) μg/L], MFG-E8 [ (194.29±45.85) pg/ml vs. (158.76±28.63) pg/ml] and CXCL9 [ (948.49±52.38) pg/ml vs. (886.05±50.07) pg/ml] were higher than those in the non-infected group, with statistically significant differences ( t=4.13, P<0.001; t=4.55, P<0.001; t=4.94, P<0.001). Four factors related to infection after TACE intervention in patients with liver cancer were finally selected by LASSO regression model, skin or mucosal damage, PCT, MFG-E8, CXCL9 levels. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that skin or mucosal damage ( OR=13.48, 95% CI: 1.29-140.47, P=0.030), high levels of serum PCT ( OR=1.13, 95% CI: 1.05-1.22, P=0.001), MFG-E8 ( OR=1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.07, P=0.003), CXCL9 ( OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08, P=0.001) were risk factors for infection after TACE in elderly patients with liver cancer. Based on skin or mucosa damage, PCT, MFG-E8 and CXCL9, a nomogram prediction model for postoperative infection in elderly patients with liver cancer after TACE intervention was established. Calibration curve showed that the C-index of postoperative infection predicted by the nomogram model in elderly patients with liver cancer after TACE intervention was 0.939, indicating the model had good discrimination. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) predicted by the nomogram model for infection after TACE intervention in elderly patients with liver cancer was 0.960 (95% CI: 0.926-0.995, P<0.001), which had certain predictive value. The specificity, sensitivity and Youden index were 0.864, 0.944 and 0.808, respectively. Conclusions:Skin or mucosal damage, high levels of serum PCT, CXCL9 and MFG-E8 are closely related to postoperative infection in elderly patients with liver cancer after TACE, and the prediction model constructed based on this has better predictive performance for postoperative infection.

Bone defects,a challenge in orthopedics,are mostly caused by severe trauma,bone tumor and bone infection.Their chief treatments include bone graft,distraction osteogenesis and Masquelet technique.Compared with other treatments,Masquelet technique is simpler and causes fewer complications,especially for infectious defects.In the first stage of Masquelet technique,a bone defect is filled with bone cement.The spacer most commonly used is polymethylmethacrylate(PMMA).PMMA can form induced membrane rich in blood vessels and bioactive components promoting osteogenesis,but it is not biodegradable,lacks bone conductibility,has an obvious thermal effect during operation,and is hard to remove in the second phase of Masquelet technique.Calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate bone cement are biodegradable materials which overcome the defects of PMMA due to their biological absorbability,bone conduction and bone inducement.It is possible for them to replace PMMA in Masquelet technique,but their poor mechanical strength limits their application.There is clinical evidence showing that calcium sulfate bone cement can form obvious induced membrane.As calcium silicate cement can also form a layer of fibrous tissue around the shell,it may be applied in orthopaedic surgery after improvement as a potential filling agent.A structure like induced membrane can form around a silicone prosthesis,and it functions similarly as induced membrane around PMMA and is more resistant to a radiation environment.Silicone has obvious advantages over PMMA after resection of bone tumor.Spacers used in the first stage of Masquelet technique have important effects on formation process and quality of induced membranes.By comparing membranes induced by different types of spacer,we can know more about the effects of spacers on induced membranes in the first stage of Masquelet technique and thus discover the most suitable spacers good for fracture healing and membrane formation.

Objective To investigate the imaging methods of multislice spiral CT (MSCT) of sternum and its diagnostic value in the sternum diseases.Methods 108 cases(100 cases in normal group and 8 cases in disorder group) underwent conventional chest volume scan and thin slice low contrast images reconstruction with 16-slice spiral CT.Then all the source images were processed using standard/curved multiplanar reconstruction(MPR), maximum intensity projection(MIP), surface shaded display (SSD) and volume rendering technique(VRT). All post-processed images were observed and analyzed by two radiologists. Results The sternums were clearly showed by the post-processed images.In displaying the structure of sternum, sagittal MPR was better than axial MPR (U=14.107, P=0.000) and coronal curve MPR was better than coronal MPR (U =11.882, P=0.000); in evaluating the shape of sternum , VRT was better than the imaging modes of MIP, SSD(UVRT:MIP =13.553, UVRT:SSD=12.102, P=0.000). Among 8 patients with sternum diseases, 5 cases of sternum fracture and 3 cases of sternum metastasis tumor were found. Conclusion Coronal curve MPR, sagittal MPR and VRT are the best imaging methods of MSCT to show sternum and they are markedly superior to conventional X-ray images and axial CT images in evaluating the sternum diseases.