Objective:To explore the value of contrast enhancement T1 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence (CE-T1FLAIR) based on modulated flip angle technique in refocused imaging with extended echo train (MATRIX) in detecting metastases.Methods:One hundred and seventy-six patients with pathologically diagnosed malignant tumors and brain metastases accepted enhanced 3.0T MRI scan in Department of Medical Imaging, He'nan Provincial Cancer Hospital from October 2023 to February 2024 were enrolled. Lianying's intelligent brain metastasis AI-assisted detection system and sequences of MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR, 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR and FSE CE-T1FLAIR were used to detect the brain metastasis lesions, respectively. Length of the lesions was measured according to Lianying's intelligent brain metastasis AI-assisted detection system, and all lesions were divided into 3 categories: <3 mm, 3-10 mm, and >10 mm. Differences in detection rate in brain metastases of different lengths and locations among the 3 sequences were compared.Results:Detection rates of MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR, 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR, and FSE CE-T1FLAIR in brain metastases were 99.67%, 90.52%, and 71.02%, which were decreased successively, with significant differences ( P<0.05). Detection rates of MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR, 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR and FSE CE-T1FLAIR in brain metastases with length<3 mm (99.24%, 79.95% and 46.45%) or length of 3-10 mm (100%, 98.19% and 87.53%) were decreased successively, with significant differences ( P<0.05). Detection rates of MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR (100%, 80.56% and 64.24%), 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR (100%, 97.25% and 76.11%), and FSE CE-T1FLAIR (100%, 91.18% and 70.59%) in metastases at the superficial area of the brain convexity, gray-white matter junction area, and cerebellum were decreased successively, with significant differences ( P<0.05). Detection rates of FSE CE-T1FLAIR in brain metastases in the basal ganglia and brainstem (69.33% and 50%) were significantly lower than those of MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR and 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR (97.33% and 92.86%; 88% and 78.57%, P<0.05). Conclusion:MATRIX CE-T1FLAIR sequence is better than 3D GRE_fsp CE-T1FLAIR and FSE CE-T1FLAIR sequences in detecting brain metastases, especially for metastases with length<10 mm and metastases located at the superficial area of the brain convexity, gray-white matter junction area and cerebellum.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a machine learning model based on extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm for early prediction of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), and explore its predictive efficiency. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) who admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 were enrolled. Demography information, etiology, past history, and clinical indicators and imaging data within 48 hours of admission were collected according to the medical record system and image system, and the modified CT severity index (MCTSI), Ranson score, bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) and acute pancreatitis risk score (SABP) were calculated. The data sets of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University were randomly divided into training set and validation set according to 8 : 2. Based on XGBoost algorithm, the SAP prediction model was constructed on the basis of hyperparameter adjustment by 5-fold cross validation and loss function. The data set of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University was served as independent test set. The predictive efficacy of the XGBoost model was evaluated by drawing the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve), and compared it with the traditional AP related severity score; variable importance ranking diagram and Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) diagram were drawn to visually explain the model. RESULTS: A total of 1 183 AP patients were enrolled finally, of which 129 (10.9%) developed SAP. Among the patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, there were 786 patients in the training set and 197 in the validation set; 200 patients from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were used as the test set. Analysis of all three datasets showed that patients who advanced to SAP exhibited pathological manifestation such as abnormal respiratory function, coagulation function, liver and kidney function, and lipid metabolism. Based on the XGBoost algorithm, an SAP prediction model was constructed, and ROC curve analysis showed that the accuracy for prediction of SAP reached 0.830, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.927, which was significantly improved compared with the traditional scoring systems including MCTSI, Ranson, BISAP and SABP, the accuracy was 0.610, 0.690, 0.763, 0.625, and the AUC was 0.689, 0.631, 0.875, and 0.770, respectively. The feature importance analysis based on the XGBoost model showed that the top ten items ranked by the importance of model features were admission pleural effusion (0.119), albumin (Alb, 0.049), triglycerides (TG, 0.036), Ca²⁺ (0.034), prothrombin time (PT, 0.031), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS, 0.031), C-reactive protein (CRP, 0.031), platelet count (PLT, 0.030), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, 0.029), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP, 0.028). The above indicators were of great significance for the XGBoost model to predict SAP. The SHAP contribution analysis based on the XGBoost model showed that the risk of SAP increased significantly when patients had pleural effusion and decreased Alb. CONCLUSIONS A SAP prediction scoring system was established based on the machine automatic learning XGBoost algorithm, which can predict the SAP risk of patients within 48 hours of admission with good accuracy.
Humans ; Pancreatitis ; Acute Disease ; Retrospective Studies ; Hospitalization ; Algorithms

Objective:To investigate the risk factors for futile recanalization in patients with acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion after endovascular mechanical thrombectomy (EMT), and establish a nomogram model predicting futile recanalization in these patients.Methods:One hundred and eighty-eight patients with acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion after EMT were enrolled from Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2018 to December 2021. Patients were divided into futile recanalization group and effective recanalization group according to whether futile recanalization occurred; futile recanalization was defined as successful recanalization showed by immediate postoperative DSA (modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction [mTICI] ≥2b), but poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] scores>2 90 d after surgery). The clinical data were compared between futile recanalization group and effective recanalization group. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the risk factors for futile recanalization. R software was used to establish a nomogram model for futile recanalization. C-index was used to evaluate the differentiation of the model, and correction curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of the line graph model prediction. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficiency of the nomogram model.Results:Ninety-two patients had futile recanalization. Compared with the effective recanalization group, futile recanalization group had significantly older age, significantly higher hemoglobin A1c on admission, significantly longer time from puncture to vascular recanalization, significantly higher proportions of patients with hypertension history and poor collateral circulation, and significantly different severities of stroke and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and distribution of occlusive sites ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age, history of hypertension, time from puncture to vascular recanalization, poor collateral circulation, severe WMHs, and moderate-severe stroke were independent risk factors for futile recanalization after EMT in patients with acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion ( P<0.05). A nomogram model of futile recanalization was established according to the above 6 factors, with C-index of 0.862 ( 95%CI: 0.809-0.914); the calibration curve of the model was highly coordinated to the ideal model curve; area under the ROC curve of futile recanalization was 0.862 ( 95%CI: 0.809-0.914, P<0.001). Conclusions:Acute anterior circulation large vessel occlusion patients with older age, history of hypertension, longer time from puncture to vascular recanalization, poor collateral circulation, severe WMHs, and moderate-severe stroke trend to have futile recanalization after EMT. This nomogram can predict futile recanalization after EMT.

Objective:To investigate the safety and effectiveness of Solitaire FR with intracranial support catheter for mechanical thrombectomy (SWIM) in the treatment of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).Methods:Patients with progressive CVST treated with SWIM technology in the Neurology Department, Zhongshan Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from June 2019 to March 2022 (including 4 patients with intracranial hemorrhage) were retrospectively included. The venous sinus recanalization after procedure and during follow-up was observed. The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to evaluate the outcome at 3 months after procedure.Results:A total of 9 patients with progressive CVST were treated with SWIM technology, including 6 males with a median age of 37.0 years (range, 15-78). Immediately post-procedural angiography showed complete recanalization of the venous sinuses in 6 cases and partial recanalization in 3 cases. At 3 months after procedure, the mRS score showed that 3 cases was 0, 3 cases was 1, 2 cases was 2, and 1 case was 4.Conclusion:SWIM technology may be a safe and effective method in the treatment of progressive CVST.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.004.].

Objective:To focus on the publicity of medical research in medical colleges and universities in the new era, analyze the current practices and problems, and think how to promote scientific and technological innovation in medical colleges and universities.Methods:Through case analysis and data statistics, suggestions were put forward for medical colleges and universities to further promote medical research publicity by using the example of Peking University Health Science Center.Results:Strengthening medical scientific research publicity is part of the national development strategy as well as the high-quality development of medical colleges and universities.Peking University Health Science Center does well in meeting the new development requirements and makes solid progress from the perspective of the content, topics, characters and platforms of scientific research publicity, but there is still room for improving management, popularizing fundamental research achievements and raising social impact.Conclusions:Scientific research publicity is an important aspect of scientific research management. It is suggested to promote the role of scientific research publicity in scientific research management of medical colleges and universities from the aspects of improving management mode, strengthening correct orientation, improving content quality, establishing brand thinking, and making good use of integrated communication, so as to promote the innovative and high-quality development of medical research, and better serve the national scientific and technological development and construction of Healthy China.

The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) throughout the world has resulted in stressful healthcare burdens and global health crises. Developing an effective measure to protect people from infection is an urgent need. The blockage of interaction between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and S protein is considered an essential target for anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) drugs. A full-length ACE2 protein could be a potential drug to block early entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells. In this study, a therapeutic strategy was developed by using extracellular vesicles (EVs) with decoy receptor ACE2 for neutralization of SARS-CoV-2. The EVs embedded with engineered ACE2 (EVs-ACE2) were prepared; the EVs-ACE2 were derived from an engineered cell line with stable ACE2 expression. The potential effect of the EVs-ACE2 on anti-SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo neutralization experiments using the pseudovirus with the S protein (S-pseudovirus). EVs-ACE2 can inhibit the infection of S-pseudovirus in various cells, and importantly, the mice treated with intranasal administration of EVs-ACE2 can suppress the entry of S-pseudovirus into the mucosal epithelium. Therefore, the intranasal EVs-ACE2 could be a preventive medicine to protect from SARS-CoV-2 infection. This EVs-based strategy offers a potential route to COVID-19 drug development.

A number of studies have indicated that disorders of consciousness result from multifocal injuries as well as from the impaired functional and anatomical connectivity between various anterior forebrain regions. However, the specific causal mechanism linking these regions remains unclear. In this study, we used spectral dynamic causal modeling to assess how the effective connections (ECs) between various regions differ between individuals. Next, we used connectome-based predictive modeling to evaluate the performance of the ECs in predicting the clinical scores of DOC patients. We found increased ECs from the striatum to the globus pallidus as well as from the globus pallidus to the posterior cingulate cortex, and decreased ECs from the globus pallidus to the thalamus and from the medial prefrontal cortex to the striatum in DOC patients as compared to healthy controls. Prediction of the patients' outcome was effective using the negative ECs as features. In summary, the present study highlights a key role of the thalamo-basal ganglia-cortical loop in DOCs and supports the anterior forebrain mesocircuit hypothesis. Furthermore, EC could be potentially used to assess the consciousness level.
Adult ; Bayes Theorem ; Connectome ; Consciousness Disorders ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Machine Learning ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neural Pathways ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Prognosis ; Prosencephalon ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of auricular plaster therapy plus umbilical application of Chinese herbal medicine on opioid analgesic action and adverse reactions.MethodOne hundred and twentypatients with cancer pain treated with opioids were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups. The treatment group received auricular plaster therapy plus umbilical application of Chinese herbal medicine. Opioid dosage and adverse reactions were observed in the two groups.ResultOpioid dosage, the severities of nausea, vomiting and defecation and the incidences of dizziness, somnolence, itching, urinary voiding difficulty and Respiratory inhibition decreased significantly and the quality of life improved significantly in the treatmentgroup compared with the control group.ConclusionAuricular plaster therapy plus umbilical application of Chinese herbal medicine can improve opioid analgesic effect and reduce the incidences and severities of adverse reactions.