Objective:To compare the safety and efficacy of high-dose- rate interstitial brachytherapy and particle implantation radiotherapy in the treatment of lymph nodes with pelvic metastases in the field after external radiotherapy.Methods:Clinical data of 42 patients with residual or newly metastatic pelvic lymph nodes after radiotherapy at Cangzhou Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital who met the inclusion criteria from January 2017 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 12 patients were male and 30 females, aged 39-82 years, (61.6±9.64) years on average. According to the treatment method, all patients were divided into the high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy group ( n=18) and particle implantation radiotherapy group ( n=24). During 3-year follow-up, the local control rate (LCR), incidence of complications and overall survival (OS) were compared between two groups. Age and operation time conforming to normal distribution were analyzed by t-test. The remaining indexes were analyzed by the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. The OS and LCR were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results:There was no significant difference in baseline data between two groups (all P>0.05). The operation time in the high-dose- rate interstitial brachytherapy group was longer than that in the particle implantation radiotherapy group [(66.39±11.07) : (45.75±9.19) min, P<0.001]. During subsequent follow-up, there was no significant difference in the LCR between two groups (1-year LCR 88.9% vs. 87.5%, P=0.927; 2-year LCR 72.2% vs. 62.5%, P=0.874). There was no significant difference in the median OS between two groups (31.6 vs. 29.8 months, P=0.798). There was no significant difference in the incidence of early complications between two groups [ (4/18) vs. 5/24 (20.8%), P=1.000]. No late complications observed. Conclusion:High-dose- rate interstitial brachytherapy yields equivalent efficacy and safety to particle implantation radiotherapy in the treatment of lymph nodes with pelvic metastases.

Objective:To study the clinical and immunological features of two case of rare antisynthetase syndrome (ASS), so as to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment.Methods:Two cases with rare antisynthetase syndrome admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2020 to August 2022 were collected.Results:The two rare ASS were anti-Zo antibody and anti-Ha antibody positive patients, both of which had interstitial lung disease (ILD) as the main clinical manifestation and positive anti-Ro52 antibody. Two rare antisynthetase autoantibodies manifested cytoplasmic ANA indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) staining pattern, but it is different from the cytoplasmic dense speckled pattern of several common ASS antibodies. After treatment with glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, case 1 died of respiratory failure due to a long course of disease and late diagnosis, the lung lesions of case 2 improved significantly.Conclusion:When encountering the cytoplasmic ANA fluorescent pattern in ILD patients, especially with anti-Ro52 antibody, it is necessary to screen more myositis specific antibodies to rule out the possibility of rare ASS.

Objective:To apply digital analysis to quantify hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra, and explore its clinical value for diagnosis of Parkinson′s disease (PD).Methods:The cross-sectional study included 652 PD patients (PD group) and 99 healthy controls (healthy control group) from November 2017 to October 2020 in Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. All subjects underwent transcranial sonography. The diagnostic accuracy of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity using digital analysis was compared with that in a manual measurement in PD. Furthermore, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to explore its diagnosis value in PD.Results:There were 482 subjects including 400 in the PD group and 82 in the healthy control group, whose quantified results of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity could be used for analysis. The ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve of the quantified larger substantia nigra hyperechoic region detection for diagnosing PD was 0.858 (95% CI 0.805-0.910), the sensitivity was 87.8%, and the specificity was 73.2%, consistent with that of doctors (area under the curve: 0.884). Further more, among these PD patients, there was no correlation between larger substantia nigra hyperechogenicity and age, age of onset, course of disease, non-motor symptoms, and motor symptoms (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Digital analysis was used to quantify the changes in substantia nigra hyperechogenicity in this seudy. The results showed that diagnostic accuracy for PD based on digital analysis was consistent with that of experienced clinicians.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors and missed diagnosis of intraductal carcinoma of prostate (IDC-P) in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.Methods:The preoperative PSA, prostate MRI, bone scans and lung CT of all patients who underwent prostate biopsy in Department of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from January 2018 to July 2020 were reviewed. A total of 261 patients with high suspicion of metastatic prostate cancer were screened for inclusion. Two full-time senior pathologists of urogenital tumors in Xiangya Hospital independently reviewed their pathological sections and detected IDC-P according to the 2016 WHO tumor classification. Diagnostic criteria are defined as malignant epithelial cells filling large acini and prostatic ducts, with preservation of basal cells and solid or dense cribriform pattern/loose cribriform or micropapillary pattern with either marked nuclear atypia or non-focal comedonecrosis.Results:The detection rate of IDC-P was 29.12%(76/261), while the actual reporting rate was only 9.96%(26/261). The results of subgroup analysis including age, PSA level, Gleason score as well as different metastatic sites showed that detection rate of IDC-P was 33.69% in the PSA≥50 ng/ml subgroup, much higher than 17.57% in the PSA <50 ng/ml subgroup ( P=0.0039); And it was 32.33% in the Gleason score ≥ 8 subgroup, much higher than 3.45% in the Gleason score < 8 subgroup ( P<0.01). It was not significantly different in different age subgroups as well as different metastatic site subgroups. These data suggest that PSA ≥ 50 ng/ml as well as Gleason score ≥ 8 may be risk factors of IDC-P.157 samples were stained by immunohistochemistry. The detection rates of IDC-P were 84.21% (16/19) in P63 (+ ) samples, 36.00% (9/25) in ERG (+ ) samples. There were 3 samples with both P63 (+ ) and ERG (+ ), all of which had IDC-P. Conclusions:There is misdiagnosis of IDC-P on prostate needle biopsy in patients with metastatic prostate cancer currently. PSA ≥ 50 ng/ml and Gleason score ≥ 8 are risk factors of IDC-P. Thus, attention should be paid to the possibility of IDC-P in such patients. When the diagnosis is difficult, immunohistochemical staining for ERG and P63 is helpful in IDC-P determination.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Objective:To investigate the association of polymorphisms at the matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-3-1612 position of the promotor region with the inflammatory response and oxidative stress in elderly patients with cerebral ischemic stroke.Methods:In this retrospective study, 129 elderly patients with cerebral infarction diagnosed and treated in our hospital between March 2019 and March 2021 were enrolled as the study group, and 110 healthy subjects were selected as the control group.Polymorphisms of the MMP-3-1612 position in the promotor region, the inflammatory response and oxidative stress were examined using appropriate parameters and the associations between them were analyzed. Results:Compared with the control group, the proportions of patients with hypertension, diabetes, and smoking history in the study group were significantly higher( χ2=16.05, 17.19, 14.19, all P<0.05), and the levels of fasting blood glucose, low-density lipoprotein, and homocysteine were also significantly higher( t=6.22, 3.64, 2.69, all P<0.05).Meanwhile, compared with patients carrying the MMP-3-5A/6A or the MMP-3-6A/6A genotype, the levels of serum inflammatory markers such as high mobility group box-1 protein(HMGB1), fractalkine(FKN), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and interleukin-17(IL-17)in patients carrying the MMP-3 gene 5A/5A genotype were significantly higher(all P<0.05).In addition, the expression of serum oxidative stress-related molecules Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap1), nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor2(Nrf2), antioxidant response element(ARE), quinone oxidoreductase 1(NQO1), and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)was also significantly increased(all P<0.05), but there was no difference in these markers between patients carrying the MMP-3-5A/6A genotype and patients carrying the MMP-3-6A/6A genotype( P>0.05).Patients carrying the 5A/5A genotype and the 6A/6A genotype exhibited only one 97 bp band and one 120 bp band, respectively, while the patients carrying the 5A/6A genotype exhibited two 97 bp bands and two 120 bp bands.There was no statistical difference in the number of patients carrying the 5A/6A genotype in the cerebral infarction group compared with the control group( P>0.05), and the number of patients carrying the 5A/5A genotype in the cerebral infarction group was higher than that in the control group(69% or 53.49% vs.35% or 31.82%, χ2=11.34, P<0.05).Polymorphisms of the MMP-3 gene had a positive correlation with the risk of stroke( r=0.25, P<0.05). MMP-3-1612 gene polymorphism( OR=7.21, 95% CI: 1.13-1.83, P=0.01), elevated blood glucose( OR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.18-2.06, P<0.001), high homocysteine( OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.08-1.58, P<0.01), hypertension( OR=5.414, 95% CI: 1.140-4.46, P<0.01), elevated low-density lipoprotein( OR=4.03, 95% CI: 1.03-2.35, P=0.02), coronary heart disease( OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.47-3.19, P<0.01)and diabetes( OR=8.52, 95% CI: 1.32-4.71, P<0.01)were risk factors for cerebral infarction. Conclusions:In elderly patients with cerebral infarction, polymorphisms of the MMP-3-1612 position in the promotor region is closely related to the risk of cerebral ischemic stroke, the inflammatory response and oxidative stress.MMP-3 gene polymorphisms are risk factors for stroke.

ObjectiveTo explore the activating effects of ten important effective components in seven medicinal and edible substances on human pregnane X receptor （PXR）， including Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma （liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid）， Houttuyniae Herba （quercetin and houttuyfonate）， Prunellae Spica （rosmarinic acid）， Cassiae Semen （aurantio-obtusin）， Poria （pachymic acid）， Lilii Bulbus （Lilium brownii saponin and colchicine）， and Lycii Fructus （Lycium barbarum polysaccharide） and screen potentially toxic components. MethodCell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay was used to investigate the cytotoxic effect of liquiritin， glycyrrhizic acid， quercetin， houttuyfonate， rosmarinic acid， pachymic acid， aurantio-obtusin， and colchicine （10， 20， and 50 μmol·L^-1）， and L. brownii saponin and L. barbarum polysaccharide （10， 20， and 50 mg·L^-1） on normal human hepatocyte cell line （L02）. The release of lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） in L02 cells after drug treatments was detected by the biochemical analyzer. The apoptosis induced by ten effective components was explored by Hoechst 33342 staining. The secreted luciferase reporter system was used to co-transfect the PXR expression vector and reporter gene vector containing cytochrome P450 3A4 （CYP3A4） transcriptional regulatory region into L02 cells， with 10 μmol·L^-1 rifampicin （RIF） as a positive control. After treated with liquiritin， glycyrrhizic acid， quercetin， houttuyfonate， rosmarinic acid， aurantio-obtusin， pachymic acid， and colchicine （5， 10， and 20 μmol·L^-1） and L. brownii saponin and L. barbarum polysaccharide （5， 10， and 20 mg·L^-1） for 24 h， the cells were tested for secreted luciferase activity. ResultCompared with the control group， colchicine， L. brownii saponin， and quercetin decreased the cell viability （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the control group， quercetin， rosmarinic acid， glycyrrhizic acid， colchicine， aurantio-obtusin， and pachymic acid increased the release rate of LDH in L02 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The proportion of hyperchromatic nuclei increased gradually after rosmarinic acid， liquiritin， and L. barbarum polysaccharide treatments as compared with the control group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In terms of co-transfection of pcDNA3.1-PXR and pGLuc-CYP3A4 into L02 cells， compared with the control group， aurantio-obtusin and pachymic acid showed activating effects on PXR （P<0.05）， whereas liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid showed inhibitory effects （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe findings suggest that when medicinal and edible substances are taken for a long time， attention should be paid to their influence on drug-metabolizing enzymes and possible interactions， so as to improve their safety.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns.Methods:From January 2015 to January 2019, patients with type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture deformity after extensive burns were admitted to the Department of Skin Wound Repair Center of Wuhan Third Hospital. Rectangular scar flaps were used to reconstruct the axillary area, Y-shaped incision was made on the short side to release the scar, the resulting defects after flap formation were repaired with autologous split-thickness skin grafts. The hyperplasia and contracture of the grafted skin, the size of rectangular scar flap, the appearance of axilla, the growth of residual axillary hair, and the range of motion of shoulder joint were observed during the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years.Results:A total of 6 cases were selected, including 2 males and 4 females, aged from 18 to 58 years, with the duration of scar contracture deformity ranging from 1 to 23 years. The rectangular scar flaps of all 6 patients survived. At the follow-up of 18 months to 3 years, the axillary scar hyperplasia and the skin graft contracture were mild. At 18 months after operation, the function of shoulder joint was restored with 180° shoulder abduction and lifting. Axillary appearance and residual axillary hair growth were satisfactory, the self-care ability and the quality of life of patients improved.Conclusions:Rectangular scar flap combined with autologous thinning split-thickness skin graft is a good method for repairing type Ⅳ axillary scar contracture in patients with lack of autologous skin sources for extensive burns.

Objective:To study the impact of simultaneous ligation of splenic artery on prognosis of patients with severe hypersplenism in liver transplantation.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 206 patients who underwent liver transplantation in the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from December 2016 to February 2019. There were 180 males and 26 females, aged (51.0±9.0) years old. Fifty-one patients underwent splenic artery ligation during liver transplantation and they were enrolled into the observation group, and 155 patients without splenic artery ligation were enrolled into the control group. The changes in white blood cells (WBC), platelets, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin and serum creatinine as well as the incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.Results:The platelet count of the observation group was significantly lower than those of the control group before operation and on days 1, 3, 7, 30 and 90 after operation, (all P<0.05). The WBC counts in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group before operation and on days 1 and 3 after operation (all P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the WBC counts between the two groups on days 5, 7, 30 and 90 after operation (all P>0.05). There were also no significant differences in alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin indexes between the two groups after surgery (all P>0.05), but the serum creatinine levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group on days 3, 5, 7 and 30 after surgery (all P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the rates of infection, severe acute rejection, biliary tract complications, arterial/portal thrombosis and mental complications between the two groups (all P>0.05). The rate of renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury in the observation group (9.8%, 5/55) was significantly higher than that in the control group (1.3%, 2/155) ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Ligation of splenic artery during liver transplantation was safe and it had a significant advantage in the early postoperative recovery of WBC count and creatinine without increasing the incidence of complications in patients with severe hypersplenism.