OBJECTIVES: We propose a sparse-view cone-beam CT reconstruction algorithm based on bidirectional flow field guided projection completion (BBC-Recon) to solve the ill-posed inverse problem in sparse-view cone-beam CT imaging. METHODS: The BBC-Recon method consists of two main modules: the projection completion module and the image restoration module. Based on flow field estimation, the projection completion module, through the designed bidirectional and multi-scale correlators, fully calculates the correlation information and redundant information among projections to precisely guide the generation of bidirectional flow fields and missing frames, thus achieving high-precision completion of missing projections and obtaining pseudo complete projections. The image restoration module reconstructs the obtained pseudo complete projections and then refines the image to remove the residual artifacts and further improve the image quality. RESULTS: The experimental results on the public datasets of Mayo Clinic and Guilin Medical University showed that in the case of a 4-fold sparse angle, compared with the suboptimal method, the BBC-Recon method increased the PSNR index by 1.80% and the SSIM index by 0.29%, and reduced the RMSE index by 4.12%; In the case of an 8-fold sparse angle, the BBC-Recon method increased the PSNR index by 1.43% and the SSIM index by 1.49%, and reduced the RMSE index by 0.77%. CONCLUSIONS The BBC-Recon algorithm fully exploits the correlation information between projections to allow effective removal of streak artifacts while preserving image structure information, and demonstrates significant advantages in maintaining inter-slice consistency.
Algorithms ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role and mechanism of microRNA-145-5p (miR-145-5p) in hypoxia-induced pyroptosis of human alveolar epithelial cells. METHODS: In vitro, human alveolar epithelial cell line BEAS-2B was cultured. Cells in the logarithmic growth phase were cultured to 80% confluence and then used for the experiment. (1) BEAS-2B cells were cultured under 1% O₂ hypoxic condition, with a normoxic control group. Western blotting was employed to detect the expressions of pyroptosis marker proteins [NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), Gasdermin D N-terminal domain (GSDMD-N), and caspase-1] in cells cultured for 24 hours. Real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-145-5p in cells cultured for 6 hours and 12 hours. (2) Cells were transfected with 30 nmol/L miR-145-5p mimic to overexpress miR-145-5p expression under normoxic condition or 30 nmol/L miR-145-5p inhibitor to suppress miR-145-5p expression under hypoxic condition. Control group and negative control group were respectively set up. After 24 hours of cell culture, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of pyroptosis marker proteins and nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in cells. Flow cytometry was applied to detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells. The target genes of miR-145-5p were predicted by miR target gene prediction software miRWalk and verified by Western blotting. (3) Under hypoxic condition, cells were transfected with 6.94 ng/μL silent information regulator 5 (Sirt5) overexpression plasmid or pretreated with 12.5 mmol/L N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) as an ROS inhibitor. The empty plasmid group and control group were set up. After 24 hours of cell culture, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Sirt5, Nrf2, and pyroptosis marker proteins in cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect the level of ROS in cells. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the normoxic control group, the expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in the 24-hour hypoxia group was significantly increased, indicating that hypoxia could induce pyroptosis in BEAS-2B cells. The expression level of miR-145-5p in cells gradually increased with the extension of hypoxia induction time, indicating that hypoxia could cause the increase of miR-145-5p expression level. (2) The expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in cells of miR-145-5p mimic group significantly increased under normoxic condition as compared with the control and negative control groups [NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/β-actin): 1.58±0.07 vs. 1.00±0.01, 0.98±0.07, GSDMD-N protein (GSDMD-N/β-actin): 1.71±0.03 vs. 1.01±0.01, 0.85±0.03, caspase-1 protein (caspase-1/β-actin): 2.33±0.04 vs. 1.01±0.01, 1.05±0.04, all P < 0.05], Nrf2 protein expression level was significantly decreased (Nrf2/β-actin: 0.79±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 1.03±0.04, both P < 0.05), ROS level was significantly up-regulated (fluorescence intensity: 1.74±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 0.92±0.03, both P < 0.05). Under hypoxia condition, compared with control group and negative control group, the expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in miR-145-5p inhibitor group were significantly decreased [NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/β-actin): 0.21±0.04 vs. 1.70±0.02, 1.63±0.04; GSDMD-N protein (GSDMD-N/β-actin): 1.32±0.02 vs. 2.51±0.02, 2.72±0.03; caspase-1 protein (caspase-1/β-actin): 0.56±0.01 vs. 2.77±0.02, 3.12±0.03; all P < 0.05], Nrf2 protein expression level was significantly increased (Nrf2/β-actin: 1.57±0.04 vs. 1.22±0.01, 1.28±0.04, both P < 0.05), ROS level was significantly down-regulated (fluorescence intensity: 0.64±0.05 vs. 1.87±0.04, 1.70±0.07, both P < 0.05). The results indicated that miR-145-5p could promote cell pyrodeath. The predictive result of miRWalk showed that the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of Sirt5 had complementary base binding sites with miR-145-5p. The expression level of Sirt5 protein in cells of miR-145-5p mimic group was significantly lower than that of control group and negative control group under normoxic condition (Sirt5/β-actin: 0.59±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 1.01±0.03, both P < 0.05), which verified that Sirt5 was the target gene of miR-145-5p. (3) The occurrence of pyrodeath could be partially reversed by transfection with Sirt5 overexpression plasmid or adding ROS inhibitor NAC into cells, and Sirt5 overexpression could also up-regulate Nrf2 expression and eliminate intracellular ROS. CONCLUSION In human alveolar epithelial cells, miR-145-5p can down-regulate Nrf2 by targeting Sirt5, thereby increasing ROS expression and inducing pyrodeath.
Humans ; MicroRNAs ; Pyroptosis ; Cell Hypoxia ; Alveolar Epithelial Cells/cytology* ; Cell Line ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Caspase 1/metabolism* ; Epithelial Cells/metabolism* ; Gasdermins ; Phosphate-Binding Proteins

Objective We propose a dual-domain cone beam computed tomography(CBCT)reconstruction framework DualCBR-Net based on improved differentiable domain transform for cone-angle artifact correction.Methods The proposed CBCT dual-domain reconstruction framework DualCBR-Net consists of 3 individual modules:projection preprocessing,differentiable domain transform,and image post-processing.The projection preprocessing module first extends the original projection data in the row direction to ensure full coverage of the scanned object by X-ray.The differentiable domain transform introduces the FDK reconstruction and forward projection operators to complete the forward and gradient backpropagation processes,where the geometric parameters correspond to the extended data dimension to provide crucial prior information in the forward pass of the network and ensure the accuracy in the gradient backpropagation,thus enabling precise learning of cone-beam region data.The image post-processing module further fine-tunes the domain-transformed image to remove residual artifacts and noises.Results The results of validation experiments conducted on Mayo's public chest dataset showed that the proposed DualCBR-Net framework was superior to other comparison methods in terms of artifact removal and structural detail preservation.Compared with the latest methods,the DualCBR-Net framework improved the PSNR and SSIM by 0.6479 and 0.0074,respectively.Conclusion The proposed DualCBR-Net framework for cone-angle artifact correction allows effective joint training of the CBCT dual-domain network and is especially effective for large cone-angle region.

Objective We propose a dual-domain cone beam computed tomography(CBCT)reconstruction framework DualCBR-Net based on improved differentiable domain transform for cone-angle artifact correction.Methods The proposed CBCT dual-domain reconstruction framework DualCBR-Net consists of 3 individual modules:projection preprocessing,differentiable domain transform,and image post-processing.The projection preprocessing module first extends the original projection data in the row direction to ensure full coverage of the scanned object by X-ray.The differentiable domain transform introduces the FDK reconstruction and forward projection operators to complete the forward and gradient backpropagation processes,where the geometric parameters correspond to the extended data dimension to provide crucial prior information in the forward pass of the network and ensure the accuracy in the gradient backpropagation,thus enabling precise learning of cone-beam region data.The image post-processing module further fine-tunes the domain-transformed image to remove residual artifacts and noises.Results The results of validation experiments conducted on Mayo's public chest dataset showed that the proposed DualCBR-Net framework was superior to other comparison methods in terms of artifact removal and structural detail preservation.Compared with the latest methods,the DualCBR-Net framework improved the PSNR and SSIM by 0.6479 and 0.0074,respectively.Conclusion The proposed DualCBR-Net framework for cone-angle artifact correction allows effective joint training of the CBCT dual-domain network and is especially effective for large cone-angle region.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic inguinal lymph node dissection(L-ILND)and open inguinal lymph node dissection(O-lLND)in the treatment of penile cancer after radical penile cancer surgery. Methods:The clinical outcomes of 63 patients who were diagnosed with penile cancer(TNM staging:T1_3,N0-3,M0)and received L-ILND(41 cases)or O-ILND(22 cases)after radical penile cancer surgery in Department of Urology,Hubei Cancer Hospital,Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology from 2008 to 2020 were retrospectively studied.The primary endpoint of this study was overall survival,and the secondary endpoints were 5-year overall survival and 5-year cancer-specific survival.The different clinical characteristics were compared between the L-ILND group and O-ILND group.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the risk facotrs for postoperative wound complications.Kaplan-Meier method was used for prognosis analysis.COX regression analysis was used to investigate the factors for overall survival prediction. Results:Among the 63 penile cancer patients studied,41 patients received L-ILND and the remaining 22 received O-ILND.There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups of patients.The median overall survival(78 months vs 72 months,P=0.844),5-year overall survival rate(74.5％vs 78.3％,P=0.144),5-year cancer-specific survival rate(77.2％vs 71.4％,P=0.228)showed no obvious difference between L-ILND and O-ILND group.The rate of postoperative wound complications in the O-ILND group was significantly higher than that in the L-ILND group(74％vs 15％,P=0.01 2).The result of multivariate COX regression analysis showed that tumor grade[hazard ratio(H-R)=2.774,P=0.021]and lymph node pathological stage(HR=1.482,P=0.024)were significantly correlated with patients'prognosis. Conclusion:The clinical efficacy of L-ILND and O-ILND is similar,but L-ILND has a higher safety profile and lower incidence of postoperative wound complications.Therefore,L-ILND is a more ideal surgical approach for inguinal lymph node dissection after radical penile cancer surgery.

Humans ; Computational Biology ; Neutrophils/metabolism* ; Sepsis/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; Immunosuppression Therapy ; Gene Expression Profiling

Rubus corchorifolius(Shanmei or mountain berry,2n=14)is widely distributed in China,and its fruits possess high nutritional and medicinal values.Here,we reported a high-quality chromosome-scale genome assembly of Shanmei,with contig size of 215.69 Mb and 26,696 genes.Genome comparison among Rosaceae species showed that Shanmei and Fupenzi(Rubus chingii Hu)were most closely related,followed by blackberry(Rubus occidentalis),and that environmental adaptation-related genes were expanded in the Shanmei genome.Further resequenc-ing of 101 samples of Shanmei collected from four regions in the provinces of Yunnan,Hunan,Jiangxi,and Sichuan in China revealed that among these samples,the Hunan population of Shanmei possessed the highest diversity and represented the more ancestral population.Moreover,the Yunnan population underwent strong selection based on the nucleotide diversity,linkage dise-quilibrium,and historical effective population size analyses.Furthermore,genes from candidate genomic regions that showed strong divergence were significantly enriched in the flavonoid biosyn-thesis and plant hormone signal transduction pathways,indicating the genetic basis of adaptation of Shanmei to the local environment.The high-quality assembled genome and the variome dataset of Shanmei provide valuable resources for breeding applications and for elucidating the genome evo-lution and ecological adaptation of Rubus species.

Objective:To investigate the predictors of clinically important stress-related gastrointestinal bleeding (CIS-GIB) after acute stroke and their impact on short-term outcome.Methods:Consecutive acute stroke patients diagnosed as stress ulcer (SU) and admitted to Beijing Friendship Hospital from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2020 were enrolled retrospectively. The primary outcome event was CIS-GIB and was defined as dominant gastrointestinal bleeding and corresponding clinical manifestations occurred within 24 h after bleeding. The second outcome event was the short-term clinical outcome assessed by the modified Rankin Scale score at 14 d after onset, and ≤2 was defined as a good outcome. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the independent influencing factors of CIS-GIB and short-term outcome. Results:A total of 96 patients with post-stroke SU were included, accounting for 2.5% (96/3 819) of all patients with acute stroke; among them, 16 patients (16.7%) developed CIS-GIB, accounting for 0.4% (16/3 819) of all patients with acute stroke. Among the included patients, there were 27 women (29.2%), with a median age of 70 years (interquartile range, 62-79 years). The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 8 (interquartile range, 3-17), and a median time interval between SU and the index stroke event was 2 d (interquartile range, 1-5 days). Compared with the non-CIS-GIB group, the baseline NIHSS score and the proportion of patients with supratentorial stroke were higher, the time interval between SU and the index stroke event was longer, the proportion of patients with coagulation dysfunction, using nasogastric tube and ventilator, receiving gastrointestinal invasive hemostasis and erythrocyte component transfusion were higher, and the risks of poor outcome and death were higher in the CIS-GIB group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the baseline NIHSS score (odds ratio [ OR] 1.146, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.029-1.275; P=0.013), glycosylated hemoglobin ( OR 1.567, 95% CI 1.025-2.395; P=0.038), history of chronic gastric diseases ( OR 24.900, 95% CI 1.446-428.728; P=0.027), supratentorial stroke ( OR 5.701, 95% CI 1.002-32.443; P=0.050) and activated partial thromboplastin time ≥34.0 s ( OR 11.036, 95% CI 1.154-105.560; P=0.037) were the independent risk factors for CIS-GIB; the baseline NIHSS score was an independent influencing factor for poor outcome ( OR 1.366, 95% CI 1.029-1.812; P=0.031). Conclusion:The incidence of CIS-GIB in patients with acute stroke is about 0.4%, which significantly increases the risk of short-term adverse outcome. High glycosylated hemoglobin level, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, high baseline NIHSS score, supratentorial stroke and history of chronic gastric diseases are the independent risk factors for CIS-GIB.

Objective:To study the incidence and influencing factors for clinical deterioration at an early stage in patients with mild posterior circulation infarction (PCI).Methods:Totally 291 patients with mild PCI from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2020 were retrospectively included. Clinical deterioration within 24 h (CD 24h) and clinical deterioration between 2 d and 14 d (CD 14d) were the endpoint events. IBM SPSS Statistics 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Pearson chi-square test or Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the group differences of corresponding variables. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of the primary endpoint events. Results:The incidences of CD 24h and CD 14d were 21.6% (63/291) and 30.6% (89/291) respectively, with the reperfusion therapy rate of 13.4% (39/291). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis with CD 24h as the endpoint event showed that the baseline NIHSS was a positive independent factor increasing the risk of CD 24h ( OR=1.184, 95% CI=1.078-1.300, P<0.01). Cerebellar infarction (compared with brainstem infarction) ( OR=0.250, 95% CI=0.082-0.757, P=0.014)and non-macroatherosclerosis (compared with major atherosclerosis) ( OR=0.026, 95% CI=0.002-0.325, P=0.005) had negative predictive effects on CD 24h. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis with CD 14d as the endpoint event showed that pulmonary infection complications after stroke ( OR=28.085, 95% CI=6.863-114.927, P<0.01) and baseline NIHSS ( OR=1.114, 95% CI=1.001-1.240, P=0.048) were independent factors of CD 14d. Reperfusion therapy ( OR=0.089, 95% CI=0.013-0.613, P=0.014) could reduce the risk of CD 14d.Top of basilar syndrome(compared with single brainstem infarction) ( OR=7.526, 95% CI=1.565-36.188, P=0.012) increased the risk of CD 14d, while the non-macroatherosclerotic (compared with the macroatherosclerotic subtype) ( OR=0.076, 95% CI=0.009-0.683, P=0.021) negatively predicted the risk of CD 14d. Baseline NIHSS ( OR=0.834, 95% CI=0.758-0.918, P<0.01), CD 14d ( OR=0.048, 95% CI=0.018-0.130, P<0.01) and pulmonary infection complications ( OR=0.045, 95% CI=0.012-0.167, P<0.01) were negatively predicted the good clinical prognosis (modified Rankin score 14 days after onset ≤2). Conclusion:Early clinical deterioration has a negative predictive effect on clinical prognosis improvement of patients with mild PCI. Large artery atherosclerotic stenosis subtype and basilar apex syndrome are the risk factors of CD 24h and CD 14d of patients with mild PCI, and pulmonary infection is the risk factor of CD 14d. Reperfusion therapy in acute phase is helpful to reduce the risk of early clinical deterioration and improve clinical prognosis in patients with mild PCI.

Influenza virus is one of the common pathogens causing acute respiratory infectious diseases, and is easy to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after infecting human body, which is an important cause of death of influenza patients. Influenza-induced ARDS results from a combination of overwhelming inflammation and immune response, causing tissue damage and apoptosis. Furthermore, virus-mediated oxidative stress is another important mechanism. Viral infection can produce excessive reactive oxygen species, which damage the epithelial-endothelial barrier with pulmonary edema. In this content, numerous studies have highlighted the importance of antioxidants as a new therapy aimed at blocking both viral replication and virus-induced inflammation. Therefore, this paper summarizes the epidemiology and mechanisms of influenza-induced ARDS, the role of oxidative stress in the occurrence and development of influenza-related ARDS and the role of antioxidants in anti influenza virus infection, in order to provide reference for effective treatment of influenza patients, reducing mortality, developing new anti influenza drugs and preventing and controlling influenza epidemic.