OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the intestinal flora in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and explore its possible mechanism based on the gut-lung axis theory. METHODS: A total of 30 male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into a normal control (NC) group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each one. In the model group and the EA group, COPD model was established by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide combined with cigarette fumigation. In the EA group, EA was applied at bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Zusanli" (ST36), with disperse-dense waves, in frequency of 4 Hz/20 Hz, current of 1-3 mA, 20 min a time, once a day for 14 days continuously. Before and after modeling, as well as after intervention, body weight was observed; after intervention, the lung function indexes (forced expiratory volume in 0.1 second [FEV_0.1], FEV_0.1/forced vital capacity [FVC]%, forced expiratory volume in 0.3 second [FEV_0.3] and FEV_0.3/FVC%) were measured, serum levels of inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α[TNF-α], interleukin-6[IL-6], interleukin-1β[IL-1β] and interleukin-10[IL-10]) were detected by ELISA, histopathology of lung and colon tissues was observed by HE staining, the intestinal flora were analyzed by 16S rRNA, and the correlations between lung function and intestinal flora were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the NC group, in the COPD group, the body weight and lung function indexes were reduced (P<0.01); the lung and colon tissues were damaged, the mean linear intercept (MLI) of alveolus and inflammatory cell numbers of 100 μm² in lung tissue were increased (P<0.01); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was decreased (P<0.01); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were increased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was increased (P<0.01), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05); 31 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. Compared with the COPD group, in the EA group, the body weight and lung function indexes were increased (P<0.01); the damage of lung and colon tissues was improved, the MLI of alveolus was decreased (P<0.05); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were decreased (P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was increased (P<0.05); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were decreased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was increased (P<0.01); 35 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. The lung function was positive related with Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and YRC22, and was negative related with Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus. CONCLUSION EA may ameliorate lung function and tissue injury of COPD by regulating intestinal flora dysbiosis and inflammatory response, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect mediated via "gut-lung" axis.
Animals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/genetics* ; Male ; Electroacupuncture ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Lung/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Humans ; Interleukin-6/immunology* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology* ; Intestines/microbiology* ; Interleukin-10/immunology*

Objective:To compare the dosimetric differences between volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer.Methods:From January 2019 to December 2019, 46 cases of patients with head and neck cancer confirmed by pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University were selected. All patients underwent CT-simulation in supine position. Planning target volumes (PTVs) were delineated for two dose levels of PTV70 and PTV54 in 35 equal fraction. Simultaneous integrated boost plan was generated for all patients and optimized with both techniques, VMAT and IMRT with similar planning objectives. The dosimetry differences between the two plans were compared.Results:The conformity index (CI)95% of PTV70 in VMAT plan was higher than that in IMRT plan (0.91±0.02 vs. 0.86±0.06), and the difference was statistically significant ( t=4.933, P=0.004). The homogeneity index (HI)95% of PTV54 in VMAT plan was superior to that in IMRT (0.09±0.04 vs. 0.26±0.02), and the difference was statistically significant ( t=4.548, P=0.038). The spinal cord D 1% of VMAT was lower than that in IMRT (37.62±4.34 vs. 40.93±7.45), and the difference was statistically significant ( t=2.615, P=0.045). The dose of left parotid gland in VMAT was (21.28±8.13) Gy and the dose of right parotid gland was (22.39±7.42) Gy, which were slightly lower than those in IMRT [(22.73±11.42) Gy and (24.25±7.91) Gy], but the differences were not statistically significant ( t=0.703, P=0.322; t=1.134, P=0.315). Compared with IMRT, VMAT could significantly reduce the number of monitor units (521±112 vs. 2 129±564), and could significantly shorten the treatment time of patients [(2.12±0.39) min vs. (9.18±2.62) min], and the differences were statistically significant ( t=18.957, P<0.001; t=18.213, P<0.001). Conclusion:The dose distribution of VMAT technology is better than IMRT, the dose of organ at risk is reduced, the monitor unit is lesser, and the treatment time is shorter.

Objective To explore the relationship between thrombocytosis and gastric cancer at the points of clinicopathological stage and prognosis.Methods The clinical data of 156 gastric cancer patients from January 2005 to January 2007 were retrospectively analyzed,and the status of patients was obtained through telephone calls.The frequency of patients with thrombocytosis in different clinicopathological stages was analyzed,and comparison of survival time was made between normal PLT groups and thrombocytosis groups.Results 20.5％ patients with gastric cancer were accompanied with thrombocytosis in 156 cases,and the frequency of patients with thrombocytosis in Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ stage were 4.8％,21.7％,24.4％,30.4％,and the difference was statistically significante (x2 =8.768,P =0.003).Patients with thrombocytosis had a shorter survival time than those with normal platelet counts (one year survival rate:59.4％ vs 81.5％,x2 =6.984,P =0.008 ; three years survival rate:34.4％ vs 63.7％,x2 =8.968,P =0.003).Conclusion In gastric cancer,thrombocytosis is associated with TNM stage.The gastric cancer patients with thrombocytosis have poorer prognosis than those without thrombocytosis.

Platelets can interact with circulating tumor cells to form platelet-tumor cell thrombus, which can facilitate the immune evasion of tumor cells. Activated platelets can also release a variety of bioactive factors, promoting tumor growth, invasion and angiogenesis. Research exploring the relationship between platelet and tumor metastasis can help elucidate the mechanisms of tumor metastasis and find new therapies for treatment of tumor metastasis.