Reactive astrocytes, which exhibit a correlation with the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, are present in a considerable number during the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the underlying factors shaping astrocyte reactivity and neuroinflammation in PD remain inadequately elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7)/FGF receptor 2 (FGFR2) autocrine signaling intensifies astrocyte reactivity and inflammation. Genetic deletion of Arrb2, β-Arrestin2 encoding gene, led to escalated astrocyte reactivity in MPTP-treated mice, which was further substantiated in astrocyte-specific Arrb2 knockdown mice. RNA sequencing profiling of Arrb2 knockout astrocytes identified Fgf7 as a critical effector of astrocyte reactivity. Subsequently, conditional knockdown of Fgf7 and its receptor Fgfr2 in astrocytes elicited advantageous effects for MPTP-treated mice by restraining the inflammatory phenotypic transition of reactive astrocytes. Furthermore, deletion of astrocytic Fgf7 mitigated MPTP-induced pathology in Arrb2 knockout mice. Mechanistically, STAT1 was distinguished as the transcription factor suppressing Fgf7 expression, while β-Arrestin2 counteracted the proteasomal degradation of STAT1 by binding to RNF220, an E3 ubiquitin ligase for STAT1. More importantly, selectively engaging dopamine D2 receptor (Drd2)/β-Arrestin2-biased signaling using the agonist UNC9995 exhibited therapeutic potential in MPTP-treated mice via moderation of astrocytic FGF7 production, thereby restoring balance in astrocyte reactivity. Collectively, our study bridges a crucial knowledge gap by elucidating the novel functions of FGF family members within the central nervous system, particularly within the context of PD. The autocrine signaling of FGF7/FGFR2 represents a novel mechanism and a potential druggable target for modulating astrocyte-derived inflammation.

Objective:To compare the accuracy of two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and conventional 2D ultrasound in measuring bladder volume in pelvic tumor patients, using computed tomography (CT) as the reference.Methods:A set of bladder phantoms were constructed to compare CT and ultrasound measurements with actual injected volumes. Clinical data of 104 pelvic tumor patients who received radiotherapy at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between August and December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Portable transabdominal ultrasound was used to obtain the largest bladder cross-section, and the maximum diameters in the left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP), and superior-inferior (SI) directions (D LR, D AP, D SI) were measured. The 2D ultrasound volume was calculated as V=0.523 × D LR × D AP × D SI. Full-bladder transverse videos were recorded and processed in Matlab R2016a through frame extraction(60 images), followed by contrast enhancement, edge detection segmentation, cubic spline interpolation, and image smoothing to achieve 3D reconstruction. Paired t-tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman analyses were performed to assess systematic bias and consistency between ultrasound methods and CT. Multivariate linear regression was applied to evaluate the effects of slice thickness, posture, age, and other factors on CT measurements. Results:In the phantom study, deviations of 2D ultrasound and CT from actual injected volumes were (0.73±3.05) ml ( t=-0.48, P=0.667) and (1.52±11.27) ml ( t=0.17, P=0.875), with ICC values>0.999. In the clinical study, mean bladder volumes measured by 3D-reconstructed ultrasound, conventional 2D ultrasound, and CT were (373.5±153.31), (314.89±135.28), (382.82±157.57) ml, respectively. The 3D-reconstructed method showed excellent agreement with CT (ICC=0.98; Bland-Altman mean bias=-9.32 ml, P=0.096), while 2D ultrasound also showed good consistency (ICC=0.91), but significantly underestimated bladder volume (mean bias=-67.93 ml, P<0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that 2D ultrasound had the best agreement with CT in the medium-volume group (200-500 ml, ICC=0.902), whereas agreement decreased in the small-volume (<200 ml, ICC=0.884) and large-volume (>500 ml, ICC=0.840) groups (all P<0.001). The 3D-reconstructed ultrasound maintained excellent consistency with CT across all subgroups (all ICC>0.95), and the measured bladder volume was not statistically significant. Multivariate regression showed that slice thickness, posture, age, sex, and surgical status had no significant effects on CT measurements. Conclusions:Ultrasound with 3D reconstruction enables accurate bladder volume monitoring through true 3D contour reconstruction, while conventional 2D ultrasound systematically underestimates bladder volume and requires correction.

Objective:To compare the accuracy of two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and conventional 2D ultrasound in measuring bladder volume in pelvic tumor patients, using computed tomography (CT) as the reference.Methods:A set of bladder phantoms were constructed to compare CT and ultrasound measurements with actual injected volumes. Clinical data of 104 pelvic tumor patients who received radiotherapy at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between August and December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Portable transabdominal ultrasound was used to obtain the largest bladder cross-section, and the maximum diameters in the left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP), and superior-inferior (SI) directions (D LR, D AP, D SI) were measured. The 2D ultrasound volume was calculated as V=0.523 × D LR × D AP × D SI. Full-bladder transverse videos were recorded and processed in Matlab R2016a through frame extraction(60 images), followed by contrast enhancement, edge detection segmentation, cubic spline interpolation, and image smoothing to achieve 3D reconstruction. Paired t-tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman analyses were performed to assess systematic bias and consistency between ultrasound methods and CT. Multivariate linear regression was applied to evaluate the effects of slice thickness, posture, age, and other factors on CT measurements. Results:In the phantom study, deviations of 2D ultrasound and CT from actual injected volumes were (0.73±3.05) ml ( t=-0.48, P=0.667) and (1.52±11.27) ml ( t=0.17, P=0.875), with ICC values>0.999. In the clinical study, mean bladder volumes measured by 3D-reconstructed ultrasound, conventional 2D ultrasound, and CT were (373.5±153.31), (314.89±135.28), (382.82±157.57) ml, respectively. The 3D-reconstructed method showed excellent agreement with CT (ICC=0.98; Bland-Altman mean bias=-9.32 ml, P=0.096), while 2D ultrasound also showed good consistency (ICC=0.91), but significantly underestimated bladder volume (mean bias=-67.93 ml, P<0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that 2D ultrasound had the best agreement with CT in the medium-volume group (200-500 ml, ICC=0.902), whereas agreement decreased in the small-volume (<200 ml, ICC=0.884) and large-volume (>500 ml, ICC=0.840) groups (all P<0.001). The 3D-reconstructed ultrasound maintained excellent consistency with CT across all subgroups (all ICC>0.95), and the measured bladder volume was not statistically significant. Multivariate regression showed that slice thickness, posture, age, sex, and surgical status had no significant effects on CT measurements. Conclusions:Ultrasound with 3D reconstruction enables accurate bladder volume monitoring through true 3D contour reconstruction, while conventional 2D ultrasound systematically underestimates bladder volume and requires correction.

Purpose/Significance To explore and implement the automated interpretation of pediatric medical exam answers,so as to enhance the efficiency and quality of answer explanation compilation.Method/Process The paper proposes a method that combines latent semantic indexing(LSI),MC-BERT,and the CoSENT model.Initially,multiple candidate answer explanations are extracted from ref-erence documents using the LSI method and the MC-BERT model.Subsequently,the CoSENT model is employed to calculate the simi-larity between the candidate explanations and the question stems as well as the answer options.The candidate explanation with the highest similarity is then selected as the final answer explanation.Result/Conclusion The experimental results show that the method presented in this paper achieves a precision rate of 72.6％.Compared to single methods or models,it significantly improves the recall and precision of answer parsing,effectively enhances the efficiency of compiling question answer explanations,reduces the burden on educators,and pro-vides significant data support for educational research.

ABSTRCT Purpose To explore the evolution of HER2 nega-tive subgroups(IHC Null,Ultra-low and 1+)in breast cancer with hormone receptor(HR)positive before and after neoadju-vant therapy,and the relationship with clinical pathological fea-tures.Methods There were 255 patients who did not achieve pathological complete response(pCR)consecutively after neoad-juvant therapy.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the ex-pression of ER,PR,HER2 and Ki67 and to evaluate the evolu-tion of HER2-negative subgroups after neoadjuvant therapy and its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics.Results Among the 255 patients included in this study,HER2 expression was 0 and 1+in 116 cases(45.5％)and 139 cases(54.7％)respectively before neoadjuvant therapy,and then HER2 0 was further divided into Null group(61 cases,23.9％)and Ultra-low group(55 cases,21.6％).After neoadjuvant therapy,HER2 expression was 0 and 1+in 117 cases(45.9％)and 138 cases(54.1％)respectively,and then HER2 0 was further di-vided into Null group(64 cases,25.1％)and Ultra-low group(53 cases,20.8％).HER2 status changed in 121 patients(47.5％)after neoadjuvant therapy.The highest conversion rate was from HER2 Ultra-low before neoadjuvant therapy to 1+after neoadjuvant therapy,with a conversion rate of 11.76％(30/255),followed by HER2 1+to the Ultra-low,with a conversion rate of 10.98％(28/255).After the neoadjuvant therapy,44 of 55 cases had transformation in the HER2 Ultra-low group,with the conversion rate of as high as 80％.Chi-square test showed that HER2 expression before neoadjuvant therapy was correlated with the maximum tumor diameter(≤2 cm,＞2cm)after neo-adjuvant therapy(x2=6.106,P=0.047);the tumor of HER21+before neoadjuvant therapy was mostly 2 cm or less in the di-ameter.The HER2 status after neoadjuvant therapy was correla-ted with the tumor thrombus(x2=6.975,P=0.029).Patients with HER2 Ultra-low after treatment were more likely to have vascular invasion.Conclusion In HR positive breast cancer,when the HER2 0 cases are divided into Ultra-low and Null sub-groups,the HER2 conversion rate increases significantly after neoadjuvant therapy,in which the Ultra-low conversion rate is the highest,indicating that the HER2 Ultra-low cases are highly unstable after neoadjuvant therapy.It is important to detect HER2 expression in residual lesions after neoadjuvant therapy and to identify the Ultra-low HER2 expression subgroup.

Objective To clarify the changes in CXCL5 in serum and gastric tissues of patients with chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG)and precancerous lesions of gastric cancer(PLGC)and to investigate the predictive value of CXCL5 for the diagnosis of CAG and PLGC.Methods This study enrolled 72 participants of CAG admitted to the Department of Splenology and Gastroenterology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from June 2022 to June 2023,with gastroscopy and pathologically confirmed diagnosis,as well as 68 healthy participants who underwent gastroscopy in the same period at our department.We collected clinical information and laboratory results from all participants.The logistic regression analysis methods were used to identify the diagnostic value of serum CXCL5.Furthermore,in order to clarify the role of CXCL5 in the developent of CAG,a total of 15 patients each with CAG,intestinal metaplasia,and dysplasia treated at our hospital from June 2023 to December 2023,and 15 healthy participants were selected.The relationship between the expression of CXCL5 and the degree of clinicopathology was analysed in each group using ELISA,PCR,and immunohistochemistry staining to validate and assess the diagnostic efficacy of CXCL5.Results The study found that several factors were associated with CAG,including family history of tumours,smoking and alcohol consumption history,dietary regularity,Helicobacter pylori infection,the number of lesions,gastric function scores and CXCL5(P<0.05).The ROC curve had an AUC of 1.00 and a Youden index of 0.986,indicating excellent predictive ability.The ELISA results indicated a significantly higher serum CXCL5 expression level in the CAG,intestinal metaplasia,and dysplasia groups compared to the normal group.There was a positive correlation between the serum CXCL5 expression level and the degree of pathology.The PCR and immunohistochemistry staining results indicate that the mRNA and pro-tein expression levels of CXCL5 in gastric tissues of patient groups were significantly higher compared to the nor-mal group.Furthermore,the mRNA and protein expression levels of CXCL5 in gastric tissues were positively correlated with the degree of pathology.Conclusions The results indicate that CXCL5 is highly expressed in the serum and gastric tissues of patients with CAG and PLGC,and its expression level is positively correlated with the degree of pathology.Therefore,CXCL5 could serve as a predictive indicator and a potential therapeutic target for the diagnosis of CAG and PLGC.

With the increasing proportion of human papilloma virus(HPV)infection in the pathogenic factors of oro-pharyngeal cancer,a series of changes have occurred in the surgical treatment.While the treatment mode has been im-proved,there are still many problems,including the inconsistency between diagnosis and treatment modes,the lack of popularization of reconstruction technology,the imperfect post-treatment rehabilitation system,and the lack of effective preventive measures.Especially in terms of treatment mode for early oropharyngeal cancer,there is no unified conclu-sion whether it is surgery alone or radiotherapy alone,and whether robotic minimally invasive surgery has better func-tional protection than radiotherapy.For advanced oropharyngeal cancer,there is greater controversy over the treatment mode.It is still unclear whether to adopt a non-surgical treatment mode of synchronous chemoradiotherapy or induction chemotherapy combined with synchronous chemoradiotherapy,or a treatment mode of surgery combined with postopera-tive chemoradiotherapy.In order to standardize the surgical treatment of oropharyngeal cancer in China and clarify the indications for surgical treatment of oropharyngeal cancer,this expert consensus,based on the characteristics and treat-ment status of oropharyngeal cancer in China and combined with the international latest theories and practices,forms consensus opinions in multiple aspects of preoperative evaluation,surgical indication determination,primary tumor re-section,neck lymph node dissection,postoperative defect repair,postoperative complication management prognosis and follow-up of oropharyngeal cancer patients.The key points include:① Before the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer,the expression of P16 protein should be detected to clarify HPV status;② Perform enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the maxillofacial region before surgery to evaluate the invasion of oropharyngeal cancer and guide precise surgical resec-tion of oropharyngeal cancer.Evaluating mouth opening and airway status is crucial for surgical approach decisions and postoperative risk prediction;③ For oropharyngeal cancer patients who have to undergo major surgery and cannot eat for one to two months,it is recommended to undergo percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy before surgery to effectively improve their nutritional intake during treatment;④ Early-stage oropharyngeal cancer patients may opt for either sur-gery alone or radiation therapy alone.For intermediate and advanced stages,HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer general-ly prioritizes radiation therapy,with concurrent chemotherapy considered based on tumor staging.Surgical treatment is recommended as the first choice for HPV unrelated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma(including primary and re-current)and recurrent HPV related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma after radiotherapy and chemotherapy;⑤ For primary exogenous T1-2 oropharyngeal cancer,direct surgery through the oral approach or da Vinci robotic sur-gery is preferred.For T3-4 patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer,it is recommended to use temporary mandibu-lectomy approach and lateral pharyngotomy approach for surgery as appropriate;⑥ For cT1-2N0 oropharyngeal cancer patients with tumor invasion depth＞3 mm and cT3-4N0 HPV unrelated oropharyngeal cancer patients,selective neck dissection of levels ⅠB to Ⅳ is recommended.For cN+HPV unrelated oropharyngeal cancer patients,therapeutic neck dissection in regions Ⅰ-Ⅴ is advised;⑦ If PET-CT scan at 12 or more weeks after completion of radiation shows intense FDG uptake in any node,or imaging suggests continuous enlargement of lymph nodes,the patient should undergo neck dissection;⑧ For patients with suspected extracapsular invasion preoperatively,lymph node dissection should include removal of surrounding muscle and adipose connective tissue;⑨ The reconstruction of oropharyngeal cancer defects should follow the principle of reconstruction steps,with priority given to adjacent flaps,followed by distal pedicled flaps,and finally free flaps.The anterolateral thigh flap with abundant tissue can be used as the preferred flap for large-scale postoperative defects.

Objective To explore the expression of fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL1), the distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and their relationship with the prognosis of esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Methods We analyzed retrospectively the clinical data of 120 ESCC patients. The expression of FGL1 was detected through immunohistochemistry. The distributions of intratumoral TILs (iTILs) and stromal TILs (sTILs) were evaluated under a microscope. Survival analysis was used to evaluate the patient outcomes. Results The positive rate of FGL1 in ESCC was 18.3% (22/120), and it was connected to the TNM stage, lymph node status, and TILs. A total of 73 cases (60.8%) showed low levels of iTILs (iTILs≤10%), and 47 cases (39.2%) exhibited high iTIL levels (iTILs > 10%). Similarly, 82 cases (68.3%) presented low levels of sTILs (sTILs≤10%), and 38 cases (31.7%) manifested high sTIL levels (sTILs > 10%). The distribution of iTILs was associated with FGL1, tumor differentiation, and TNM stage, whereas the distribution of sTILs was associated with FGL1, tumor location, and TNM stage. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that tumor diameter, TNM stage, lymph node status, FGL1, and TILs were associated with the prognosis of patients with ESCC (P < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression revealed that FGL1, TILs and TNM stage were the influencing factors of prognosis. Conclusion FGL1 expression is associated with the poor prognosis and may be a prognostic biomarker of ESCC. FGL1 combined with TILs can be used as a biomarker to predict ESCC.

Objective:To compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based and computed tomography (CT)-based target volume delineation and dose coverage in partial breast irradiation (PBI) for patients with breast cancer, aiming to explore the application value of MRI localization in PBI after breast-conserving surgery.Methods:Twenty-nine patients with early breast cancer underwent simulating CT and MRI scans in a supine position. The cavity visualization score (CVS) of tumor bed (TB) was evaluated. The TB, clinical target volume (CTV), planning target volume (PTV) were delineated on CT and MRI images, and then statistically compared. Conformity indices (CI) between CT- and MRI-defined target volumes were calculated. PBI treatment plan of 40 Gy in 10 fractions was designed based on PTV-CT, and the dose coverage for PTV-MRI was evaluated.Results:The CVS on CT and MRI images was 2.97±1.40 vs. 3.10±1.40( P=0.408). The volumes of TB, CTV, PTV on MRI were significantly larger than those on CT, (24.48±16.60) cm 3vs. (38.00±19.77) cm 3, (126.76±56.81) cm 3vs. (168.42±70.54) cm 3, (216.63±81.99) cm 3vs. (279.24±101.55) cm 3, respectively, whereas the increasing percentage of CTV and PTV were significantly smaller than those of TB. The CI between CT-based and MRI-based TB, CTV, PTV were 0.43±0.13, 0.66±0.11, 0.70±0.09( P<0.001), respectively. The median percentage of PTV-MRI receiving 40 Gy dose was 81.9%(62.3% to 92.4%), significantly lower than 95.6%(95.0%~97.5%) of PTV-CT. Conclusions:The CVS between CT and MRI is not significantly different, but the MRI-based TB, CTV, PTV are significantly larger than CT-based values. The PTV-MRI is of underdose if PBI treatment plan is designed for PTV-CT. As a supplement of CT scan, MRI can enhance the accuracy of TB delineation after breast-onserving surgery.

Objective:To analyze the prognostic factors of breast cancer patients with isolated chest wall recurrence (ICWR) after mastectomy, and investigate the optimal treatment.Methods:A total of 201 breast cancer patients with ICWR after mastectomy who were treated in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Fifth Medical Center Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 1998 to April 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The median follow-up was 92.8 months and survival data were obtained.Results:Among 201 patients with ICWR, 103 patients developed subsequent locoregional recurrence (sLRR) and 5-year cumulative sLRR rate was 49.1%; 134 patients developed distant metastasis (DM) and 5-year DM rate was 64.4%; 103 patients died, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 17.4 months and the 5-year PFS rate was 23.2%; the median overall survival (OS) was 62.5 months and the 5-year OS rate was 52.1%. Multivariate analysis showed that the recurrence interval ( HR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.26-3.73) and the locoregional treatment ( HR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.05-2.40) were the independent prognostic factors for sLRR. The initial HER2 status ( HR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.03-2.48) was the independent prognostic factor for DM. The recurrence interval ( HR=1.99, 95% CI: 1.30-3.04), the locoregional treatment ( HR=1.99, 95% CI: 1.43-2.76) and the treatment modalities after recurrence ( HR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.18-2.46) were the independent prognostic factors for PFS. The initial HER2 status ( HR=1.69, 95% CI: 1.02-2.81), the recurrence interval ( HR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.15-2.98) and the treatment modalities after recurrence ( HR=2.48, 95% CI: 1.56-3.96) were the independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusions:Breast cancer patients after ICWR have an optimistic OS until now, but the risk of sLRR and DM is high. Comprehensive treatment modalities including surgery, radiotherapy and systemic therapy improve the outcome of breast cancer patients with ICWR after mastectomy.