Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a neurodegenerative disease with highly heterogeneous pathological and clinical manifesta-tions,and it is the most common cause of dementia.This heterogeneity poses challenges for diagnosis,treatment,and evaluating novel pharmacological efficacy.This review summarizes the latest progress in the major clinical subtypes of AD based on clinical manifesta-tions,genetic,and pathological features.Early-onset and late-onset AD clinical subtypes may share the same symptoms but differ in etiology,age of onset,mode of presentation,disease progression,and associated comorbidities.Typical and atypical AD differ signifi-cantly in clinical manifestations,pathological features,and diagnostic criteria.Research on AD subtypes based on imaging and omics data has also made considerable progress.This review also outlines the molecular pathological heterogeneity of AD.A deep understand-ing of these heterogeneities is crucial for diagnosis,the formulation of pharmacological treatment strategies,and clinical management.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of different scanning conditions on the image quality of medical electron accelerator cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and provide a reference for the selection of scanning conditions for different body parts. Methods Set different scanning conditions, the Catphan 503 phantom was scanned using CBCT parameters to analyze the influence of spatial resolution, noise, uniformity, spatial geometric accuracy, and low-contrast resolution on the image quality of CBCT. RESULTS: For the head, chest, and abdomen, with the increase in scanning parameter values, the noise value decreased by 47.4%, 26.1%, and 51.3% respectively, and the uniformity values decreased by 30.2%, 26.6%, and 47.9% respectively. The low-contrast resolution values decreased by 50.6%, 34.2%, and 12.0%. The influence of different scanning conditions on spatial geometric accuracy and spatial resolution is not significant. CONCLUSION Different scanning parameters have a certain influence on the image quality of medical electron accelerator CBCT. Lower scanning parameters can be selected based on individual patients to reduce the additional radiation dose, providing a reference for the safe application of CBCT image guidance in radiotherapy.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/instrumentation* ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Particle Accelerators

OBJECTIVE: To examine the anti-inflammatory effects and potential mechanisms of polypeptide from Moschus (PPM) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced THP-1 macrophages and BALB/c mice. METHODS: The polypeptide was extracted from Moschus and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Subsequently, LPS was used to induce inflammation in THP-1 macrophages and BALB/c mice. In LPS-treated or untreated THP-1 macrophages, cell viability was observed by cell counting kit 8 and lactate dehydrogenase release assays; the proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry, respectively; and protein and mRNA levels were measured by Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. In LPS-induced BALB/c mice, the proinflammatory cytokines were measured, and lung histology and cytokines were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, respectively. RESULTS: The SDS-PAGE results suggested that the molecular weight of purified PPM was in the range of 10-26 kD. In vitro, PPM reduced the production of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-18, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), IL-6 and ROS in LPS-induced THP-1 macrophages (P<0.01). Western blot analysis demonstrated that PPM inhibited LPS-induced nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway and thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP)/nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain, leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway by reducing protein expression of phospho-NF-κB p65, phospho-inhibitors of NF-κB (Iκ Bs) kinase α/β (IKKα/β), TXNIP, NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), and pro-caspase-1 (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In addition, qRT-PCR revealed the inhibitory effects of PPM on the mRNA levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, in LPS-induced BALB/c mice, PPM reduced TNF-α and IL-6 levels in serum (P<0.05 or P<0.01), decreased IL-1β and IL-18 levels in the lungs (P<0.01) and alleviated pathological injury to the lungs. CONCLUSION PPM could attenuate LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB-ROS/NLRP3 pathway, and may be a novel potential candidate drug for treating inflammation and inflammation-related diseases.

Malignant tumors are currently seriously endangering human health and life， which has become one of the main causes of death in China. In modern Western medicine， they are mainly tackled by surgery， chemotherapy， and radiotherapy， but the death toll continues to rise year by year. At present， most of the anti-tumor chemotherapeutics used in clinical practice have toxic and side effects， affecting the anti-tumor efficacy and the conditions after treatment. Long-term medication will also induce drug resistance， making the good anti-tumor effect difficult to be achieved. With the vigorous development of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， it has played a crucial role in the fight against tumors. It is believed in TCM that "heat toxin" is one of the important causes of tumors. Therefore， the methods of clearing away heat and removing toxin are often emphasized in the treatment of tumors， and the resulting outcomes are satisfactory. There are many Chinese herbs and Chinese herbal compounds classified into the heat-clearing and toxin-removing type. Xihuangwan， a classic heat-clearing prescription， is composed of Calculus Bovis， Moschus， Olibanum， and Myrrh and has the effects of clearing away heat， removing toxin， eliminating edema， and dissipating mass， which is mainly used to treat carbuncle， pustule， scrofula， multiple abscess， and cancer caused by heat-toxin obstruction. In modern clinical practice， it has been employed in patients with lung cancer， breast cancer， gastric cancer， liver cancer， colorectal cancer， and other malignant tumors， especially during the advanced stage， as a routine or adjuvant treatment for alleviating their clinical symptoms and improving their quality of life. The main active components of Xihuangwan are pentacyclic triterpenoids （such as masticinic acids）， volatile oils， steroids （like porcine deoxycholic acid）， and bilirubin， which have been proved effective in anti-tumor. This paper reviewed the prescription source， pharmaceutical research， clinical anti-tumor research， and pharmacological mechanisms of Xihuangwan， which has provided reference for further expanding the anti-tumor applications of Xihuangwan and enhancing its secondary development.

Objective To establish an Early Warning System for Recurrence Scoring after Radical Resection of BCLC stage 0/A Primary Liver Cancer (PLC-EWSPRS), and to investigate its predictive value. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 232 patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer who underwent radical resection in Affiliated Hospital of Chuanbei Medical College from January 2009 to January 2015, and according to the presence or absence of recurrence within 5 years after surgery based on telephone or outpatient follow-up data, the patients were divided into recurrence group with 103 patients and non-recurrence group with 129 patients. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The indices with statistical significance were included in the binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer after surgery. Two points were assigned for independent risk factors and one point was assigned for risk factors to establish the PLC-EWSPRS system. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of this system. Results Compared with the non-recurrence group, the recurrence group had significantly higher levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and a significantly lower level of albumin (Alb) before surgery ( Z =3.864 and 4.587, t =-5.628, all P < 0.001), as well as a significantly higher proportion of patients with positive HBsAg, capsular invasion, microvascular invasion (MVI), tumor diameter ≥5 cm, liver cirrhosis (moderate-to-severe), non-R0 resection, or death within 5 years ( χ 2 =35.539, 22.325, 13.398, 7.130, 4.312, 4.034, and 18.527, all P < 0.05). The regression analysis showed that preoperative Alb < 40 g/L (odds ratio [ OR ]=5.796, P < 0.001), preoperative ALT ≥40 U/L ( OR =3.029, P =0.002), MVI ( OR =3.981, P =0.003), positive HBsAg ( OR =7.829, P < 0.001), capsular invasion ( OR =5.357, P < 0.001), and non-R0 resection ( OR =3.048, P =0.018) were independent risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery. According to the assignment criteria of the PLC-EWSPRS system, the recurrence group had the lowest score of 2 points and the highest score of 14 points, while the non-recurrence had the lowest score of 0 point and the highest score of 11 points, and the recurrence group had a significantly higher score than the non-recurrence group ( P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the PLC-EWSPRS system had an AUC of 0.918 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.883-0.953, P < 0.001) in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection, and subgroup analysis showed that the system had an AUC of 0.796 (95% CI : 0.695-0.896, P =0.002), 0.859 (95% CI : 0.791-0.927, P < 0.001), and 0.944 (95% CI : 0.839-1.000, P =0.044), respectively, in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with a low score of 0-5 points, a moderate score of 6-10 points, and a high score of 11-14 points. Conclusion The PLC-EWSPRS system has a good value in predicting the recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery and thus has important guiding significance for postoperative reexamination and treatment strategy for patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a high performance liquid chromatographic （HPLC） method for simultaneous determination of three effective constituents, including tetrahydrocannabinol （THC）, cannabidiol （CBD） and cannabinol （CBN） in Cannabis plants. METHODS: A C₁₈ column was used in this study, and acetonitrile-phosphate buffer （0.015 mol/L KH₂PO₄） was used as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. At a detection wavelength of 220 mm, UV absorption spectra were collected at the wavelength range of 190-400 nm, and the spectra and retention time were counted as qualitative evidence. RESULTS: THC, CBD and CBN could be well separated by this method. Three components had good linear relationship in the range of 0.4-40 μg/mL （R²≥0.999 3）. The recoveries were over 87%. The limits of detection were 1.8 ng, 2.0 ng and 1.3 ng, respectively. The relative standard deviation （RSD） were less than 5% for both inter-day and intra-day precisions. CONCLUSIONS Reversed-phase HPLC method is simple, rapid and accurate, and it is suitable for the qualitative and quantitative detection of THC, CBD and CBN in Cannabis plants.
Cannabidiol/analysis* ; Cannabinol/analysis* ; Cannabis/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dronabinol/analysis*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the impact of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on MDM2 gene expression in astrocytoma cell line SHG-44, and to provide basic data for further research on the progression mechanism and gene therapy of human astrocytoma.

METHODSThe differential expressions of MDM2 gene and protein in SHG-44 cells were detected by cDNA microarray and Western blot, respectively, before and after treatment of ATRA. The expressions of MDM2 protein in WHO grade II and grade IV astrocytomas were determined by immunohistochemical streptavidin-peroxidase method. Some differentially expressed genes were selected randomly for Northern blot analysis.

RESULTSThe intensity ratio of ATRA-treated to untreated SHG-44 cell was 0.37 in the cDNA microarray, suggesting that the expression of MDM2 gene was down-regulated in SHG-44 cells after treatment with ATRA. Some genes differentially expressed in the microarray were confirmed by Northern blot. Western blot demonstrated that the optical density ratios of MDM2 to beta-actin in ATRA-treated and untreated SHG-44 were 14.02+/-0.35 and 21.40+/-0.58 (t = 24.728, P = 0.000), respectively, suggesting that the expression of MDM2 protein was inhibited in ATRA-treated SHG-44 cells. Moreover, the percentages of MDM2-positive protein were 24.00% (6/25) and 56.52% (13/23) (chi(2) = 5.298, P = 0.021) in WHO grade II and grade IV astrocytomas, respectively, suggesting that the expression of MDM2 protein may increase along with the elevation of astrocytoma malignancy.

CONCLUSIONATRA can inhibit MDM2 gene expression in SHG-44 cells, and MDM2 is related to astrocytoma progression.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Astrocytoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cell Size ; drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Time Factors ; Tretinoin ; pharmacology