Objective To improve the performance of auto-segmentation of prostate target area and organs-at-risk in online magnetic resonance image and enhance the efficiency of magnetic resonance imaging-guided adaptive radiotherapy(MRIgART)for prostate cancer.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 40 patients who underwent MRIgART for prostate cancer,including 25 in the training set,5 in the validation set,and 10 in the test set.The planning CT images and corresponding contours,along with online MR images,were registered and input into a deep learning network for online MR image auto-segmentation.The proposed method was compared with deformable image registration(DIR)method and single-MR-input deep learning(SIDL)method.Results The overall accuracy of the proposed method for auto-segmentation was superior to those of DIR and SIDL methods,with average Dice similarity coefficients of 0.896 for clinical target volume,0.941 for bladder,0.840 for rectum,0.943 for left femoral head and 0.940 for right femoral head,respectively.Conclusion The proposed method can effectively improve the accuracy and efficiency of auto-segmentation in MRIgART for prostate cancer.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of preoperative pelvic floor electromyography(EMG)parameters for the risk of urinary incontinence after prostate cancer surgery.Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 271 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy in the urology department of Peking University First Hospital from January 2020 to October 2022.The data included patient age,body mass index(BMI),international prostate symptom score(IPSS),prostate-specific antigen(PSA)levels,Gleason score,type of surgery,urethral reconstruction,lymph node dis-section,nerve preservation,catheterization duration,D'Amico risk classification,American Society of Anesthesiologists(ASA)score,Charlson comorbidity index,postoperative duration,prostate volume,and pelvic floor EMG parameters(pre-resting mean,fast muscle mean,and slow muscle mean scores).Independent risk factors affecting early postoperative urinary incontinence were identified through multiva-riate Logistic regression analysis.The predictive efficacy of pelvic floor EMG results was evaluated by cal-culating the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,and the optimal threshold for early postoperative urinary incontinence was determined based on the Youden index and clinical signifi-cance.Results:The study included 271 prostate cancer patients,with an 81.9％rate of voluntary urinary control post-surgery.The median score for fast pelvic floor muscles was 23.5(18.2,31.6),and for slow muscles,it was 12.5(9.6,17.3).Among the patients,179(66.1％)did not preserve nerves,and 110(40.6％)underwent urethral reconstruction.Advanced age and low fast muscle scores were identified as independent risk factors for urinary incontinence.Patients aged ≤60 had 5.482 times the voluntary urinary control rate compared with those aged ≥70(95％CI:1.532-19.617,P＜0.05).There was a significant correlation between fast muscle scores and urinary incontinence recovery(OR=1.209,95％CI:1.132-1.291,P＜0.05).When the optimal threshold for preoperative fast muscle score was set at 18.5,the ROC sensitivity and specificity were 80.6％and 61.2％,respectively.Con-clusion:Preoperative pelvic floor EMG parameters show good predictive accuracy and clinical applicabili-ty for the risk of urinary incontinence after prostate cancer surgery.These parameters can be used for ear-ly identification of urinary incontinence risk,with age and fast muscle scores being important predictors.

Objective:To explore the assessment value of liver enzyme changes before and after hepatectomy on the prognosis of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 421 patients with primary HCC who received at the First and Second Affiliated Hospitals of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2016 to December 2020.The univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses were used to screen the risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with primary HCC,and the optimal cut-off value was selected to group the most valuable indicators among them,further analyzing the different factors among subgroups.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess the prognosis of the subgroups,and the survival curves were plotted and statistically tested. Results:Multivariate COX regression analysis revealed that Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer(BCLC)stage,tumor number,alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),the quantitative change of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT)and total bilirubin(TBIL)before and after surgery were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with primary HCC(P＜0.01),and there were differences in hepatitis B virus surface antigen(HBsAg),TNM stage,BCLC stage,tumor size,tumor number,tumor differentiation degree,AFP,surgery type,intraoperative bleeding volume,postoperative albumin-bilirubin(ALBI)and white blood cell count between the high and low GGT variation groups(P＜0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the prognosis of patients with primary HCC between the high and low GGT variation groups was significantly different,with a hazard ratio of 2.603 for mortality and 1.449 for recurrence(both P＜0.01). Conclusion:The quantitative change of GGT before and after hepatectomy has an evaluation value for the prognosis of patients with primary HCC,and the quantitative change of GGT greater than 29.5 is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of patients with primary HCC.

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of using MRI-only simulation images for dose calculation of both photon and proton radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases.Methods:T 1-weighted MRI images and CT images of 100 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy in Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2020 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. MRI images were converted to generate pseudo-CT images by using deep learning network models. The training set, validation set and test set included 70 cases, 10 cases and 20 cases, respectively. Convolutional neural network (CNN) and cycle-consistent generative adversarial neural network (CycleGAN) were exploited. Quantitative assessment of image quality was conducted by using mean absolute error (MAE) and structural similarity (SSIM), etc. Dose assessment was performed by using 3D-gamma pass rate and dose-volume histogram (DVH). The quality of pseudo-CT images generated was statistically analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results:The MAE of the CNN and CycleGAN was (91.99±19.98) HU and (108.30±20.54) HU, and the SSIM was 0.97±0.01 and 0.96±0.01, respectively. In terms of dosimetry, the accuracy of pseudo-CT for photon dose calculation was higher than that of the proton plan. For CNN, the gamma pass rate (3 mm/3%) of the photon radiotherapy plan was 99.90%±0.13%. For CycleGAN, the value was 99.87%±0.34%. The gamma pass rates of proton radiotherapy plans were 98.65%±0.64% (CNN, 3 mm/3%) and 97.69%±0.86% (CycleGAN, 3 mm/3%). For DVH, the dose calculation accuracy in the photon plan of pseudo-CT was better than that of the proton plan.Conclusions:The deep learning-based model generated accurate pseudo-CT images from MR images. Most dosimetric differences were within clinically acceptable criteria for photon and proton radiotherapy, demonstrating the feasibility of an MRI-only workflow for radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal cancer. However, compared with the raw CT images, the error of the CT value in the nasal cavity of the pseudo-CT images was relatively large and special attention should be paid during clinical application.

The paper introduces Professor XU Yunxiang's experience in treatment of tic disorder with Xu's manual flying needling therapy by both hands. This therapy is characterized by the integration of yinyang regulation and the painless technique of manual flying needling. It is especially applicable to pediatric encephalopathy. Professor XU Yunxiang believes that tic disorder is related to the liver hyperactivity and spleen weakness, and the imbalance in the sea of marrow in pathogenesis. The treatment should focus on inhibiting the wood, supporting the earth, eliminating the wind and regulating the mind. The acupoints are specially selected on the head and from the back-shu points, the front-mu points and the affected meridians. The needling technique is featured by "flying for calming down the mind, manipulating with both hands simultaneously, combining the back-shu points and the front-mu points, inducing the sensation transmission, obtaining the reinforcing and reducing with both hands and removing the needles for tranquilizing the mind". This therapy is aimed at regulating the mind, qi and body movement. It increases the efficiency of acupuncture, reduces needling pain, strengthens needling sensation and improves children's compliance.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Tic Disorders/physiopathology*

Objective:To assess the efficacy and safety of 100 units of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) intradetrusor injection in patients with overactive bladder.Methods:From April 2016 to December 2018, 17 tertiary hospitals were selected to participate in this prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Two phases of study were conducted: the primary phase and the extended phase. This study enrolled patients aged 18 to 75 years who had been inadequately managed by anticholinergic therapy (insufficient efficacy or intolerable side effects) and had spontaneous voiding with overactive bladder. Exclusion criteria included patients with severe cardiac, renal and hepatic disorders, patients with previous botulinum toxin treatment for 6 months or allergic to BTX-A, patients with urinary tract infections, patients with urinary stones, urinary tract tumors, diabetes mellitus, and bleeding tendency. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to BTX-A group and placebo control group in a ratio of 2∶1. Two groups of patients received 20 intradetrusor injections of BTX-A 100U or placebo at the depth of the submucosal muscle layer respectively under cystoscope, including 5 injections at the base of the bladder, 3 injections to the bladder triangle, 5 injections each to the left and right walls and 2 injections to the top, sparing the bladder neck. As a placebo control group, patients received same volume of placebo containing no BTX-A and only adjuvant freeze-dried preparations for injection with the same method. A combination of gelatin, sucrose, and dextran served as adjuvants. Average micturition times per 24 hours, urinary incontinence (UI) episodes per day, average micturition volume per day, OAB symptom score(OABSS), and quality of life (QOL) score were recorded at baseline and the 2nd, 6th and 12th week after treatment. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from baseline in the average micturition times per 24 hours at the 6th week after treatment. The secondary efficacy endpoints included the change from baseline in the average micturition times per 24 hours at 2nd and 12th week, as well as the change from baseline in the OABSS, QOL score, average frequency of urgency and UI episodes per day, urgency score, average micturition volume per day at 2nd, 6th and 12th week after treatment. Patients were followed for 12 weeks to assess adverse events (AEs). After assessed at week 12, if the micturition times has decreased less than 50% compared to baseline and the patient is willing to receive retreatment, then patients could enter the extended trial phase. In that phase, patients in both groups were injected with 100 units BTX-A from 12th week onwards and then followed up the same indicators for 12 weeks.Results:216 patients were enrolled in this trial (144 cases in the BTX-A group and 72 cases in the placebo control group). Baseline characteristics such as age (47.75±14.20 in the BTX-A group and 46.39±15.55 in the control group), sex (25 male/117 female in the BTX-A group and 10/61 in the control group), and disease duration (0.51 years in the BTX-A group and 0.60 years in the control group) were balanced between the two groups( P>0.05). A marked reduction from baseline in average micturition times per 24 hours was observed in all treatment groups at the 6th week and the reduction of the two groups was statistically different ( P<0.001 and P=0.008 respectively). Compared with the baseline, the average micturition times per 24 hours at the 6th week decreased from baseline by 2.40(0.70, 4.60)times for the BTX-A group and 0.70(-1.00, 3.30) times for the placebo control group respectively, and the difference between the two groups was considered to be statistically significant ( P=0.003). The change rates of average micturition times per 24 hours from baseline at the 6th week of the two groups were (16±22)% and (8±25)% respectively, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P=0.014). Compared with the baseline, the average micturition times per 24 hours at 2nd and 12th week decreased by 2.00(0.00, 4.00)and 3.30(0.60, 5.03)for the BTX-A group, 1.00(-1.00, 3.00)and 1.70(-1.45, 3.85)for the placebo control group respectively. The difference between two groups was considered to be statistically significant ( P=0.038 and P=0.012); the changes of average urgency times per day for the BTX-A group and the control group at the 2nd, 6th and 12th week were 2.00(0.00, 4.30)and 2.40(0.30, 5.00), 3.00(0.30, 5.70)and 0.70(-1.30, 2.70), 0.70(-1.30, 3.00) and 1.35(-1.15, 3.50), respectively. There were significant differences between two groups at the 2nd, 6th and 12th week, ( P=0.010, P=0.003 and P=0.025, respectively). The OABSS of the BTX-A group and the control group at the 6th week decreased by 1.00(0.00, 4.00)and 0.50(-1.00, 2.00) compared with the baseline, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P=0.003). 47 cases of BTX-A group and 34 cases of placebo control group entered the extended trial phase, and 40 and 28 cases completed the extended trial phase, respectively. The average micturition volume per 24 hours changed by -16.60(-41.60, -0.60)ml and -6.40(-22.40, 13.30)ml, (-35.67±54.41)ml and(-1.76±48.69)ml, (-36.14±41.51)ml and (-9.28±44.59)ml, (-35.85±43.35)ml and(-10.41±40.29)ml for two groups at the 12th, 14th, 18th and 24th week, and the difference between two groups was statistically significant at each follow-up time ( P=0.01, 0.006, 0.012 and 0.016, respectively). There was no significant difference in other parameters( P>0.05). However, adverse reactions after intradetrusor injection included increased residual urine volume (27 in the BTX-A group and 3 in the control group), dysuria (21 in the BTX-A group and 6 in the control group), urinary infection (19 in the BTX-A group and 6 in the control group), bladder neck obstruction (3 in the BTX-A group and 0 in the control group), hematuria (3 in the BTX-A group and 1 in the control group), elevated alanine aminotransferase (3 in the BTX-A group and 0 in the control group), etc. During the follow-up period, there was no significant difference in the other adverse events between two groups except the increase of residual urine volume( P<0.05). In the primary trial phase, among the 27 cases with increased residual urine volume in BTA group, only 1 case (3.70%) with PVR more than 300 ml; the PVR of 3 patients in the placebo group was less than 100 ml. The increase of residual urine volume caused by the injection could be improved or disappeared with the passage of time. Conclusions:Intradetrusor injection of Chinese BTX-A improved the average micturition times per 24 hours, the average daily urgent micturition times, OABSS, and average micturition volume per time, and reduced the adverse effects in patients with overactive bladder.Chinese BTX-A at dose of 100U demonstrated durable efficacy and safety in the management of overactive bladder.

We developed a novel portable and automated dissolution test analyzer for rapid and high precision in vitro dissolution testing of drugs.The analyzer consists of a flow-through-cell drug dissolution system,an automated sequential sampling system,a high-speed capillary electrophoresis (HSCE) system,and a data acquisition system.Combining the high-temporal resolution flow-gating sampling approach with HSCE,which has outstanding advantages of efficient separation and resolution,the analyzer can achieve rapid analysis and exhibits the ability in miniaturization for on-site assessment of different active pharmaceutical ingredients.To integrate the flow-through-cell dissolution system with HSCE,a specially designed flow-gating-injection (FGI) interface was employed.The performance of the analyzer was investigated by analyzing the dissolution of immediate-release drugs including single dose (amoxicillin dispersible tablets) and fixed dose combination (amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium) drug tablets with the high-temporal resolutions of 12 s and 20 s,respectively.The dissolution profiles of different active pharmaceutical ingredients could be simultaneously and automatically monitored with high repeatability and accuracy.The analyzer was successfully utilized for the pharmaceutical quality control and bio-relevant dissolution testing,as well as in vivo-in vitro correlation analysis.Our portable analyzer is miniaturized,convenient and of low-cost,and will provide a valuable tool for dissolution testing in pharmaceutical research and development.

Objectives:To summarize the experience of treatment of 23 cases of urachal carcinoma in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of urachal carcinoma.Methods:Clinical data of a total of 23 patients with urachal carcinoma from January 2014 to August 2019, including 19 males and 4 females, with a median age of 53 years (34 to 84 years) were retrospectively analyzed. The most common symptom was painless gross hematuria (20/23, 87.0%). All patients underwent CT examination before operation. Three of them had calcification (13.0%), and the median maximum diameter was 3.5 cm (2.0-7.0 cm). Preoperative cystoscopy revealed 23 cases of anterior or parietal mass of the bladder. Partial cystectomy and urachectomy were performed in 17 cases, partial cystectomy plus urachectomy (including umbilectomy) were performed in 5 cases, and total cystectomy were performed in 1 case. Eleven patients (47.8%) underwent pelvic lymph node dissection. Twenty-one cases (91.3%) had Sheldon stage Ⅲ or above tumors.Results:There were 21 cases of urachal adenocarcinoma and 2 cases of transitional cell carcinoma with adenoid differentiation. Five patients underwent adjuvant therapy (21.7%), including 1 patient of 5-fluorouracil (5-fu)+ cisplatin, two patients of gemcitabine+ cisplatin, and one patient of gemcitabine+ cisplatin+ vascular endothelial inhibitor. One case underwent local pelvic radiotherapy alone. No recurrence or metastasis occurred during the follow-up period. All patients were followed up for 38 months (2 to 68 months). A total of 3 patients developed distant metastasis and died during follow-up. The death occurred at 15 months, 40 months, and 49 months after surgery, all of which were caused by tumor metastasis. Two other patients had recurrence at 9 and 13 months after surgery, respectively, and they were followed up for 55 and 25 months after recurrence. Survival analysis showed that the 2-year cancer-specific survival rate was 94.1%, and the 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was 74.9%.Conclusions:Early diagnosis of urachal cancer is difficult. Emphasizing the examination of the urachus during physical examination may help early detection. Surgery-based comprehensive treatment can achieve good tumor control for localized umbilical carcinoma. The accurate pathological staging through pelvic lymph node dissection and the early postoperative adjuvant therapy may improve the prognosis of the patients.

Genome packaging is a fundamental process in a viral life cycle and a prime target of antiviral drugs. Herpesviruses use an ATP-driven packaging motor/terminase complex to translocate and cleave concatemeric dsDNA into procapsids but its molecular architecture and mechanism are unknown. We report atomic structures of a herpesvirus hexameric terminase complex in both the apo and ADP•BeF3-bound states. Each subunit of the hexameric ring comprises three components-the ATPase/terminase pUL15 and two regulator/fixer proteins, pUL28 and pUL33-unlike bacteriophage terminases. Distal to the nuclease domains, six ATPase domains form a central channel with conserved basic-patches conducive to DNA binding and trans-acting arginine fingers are essential to ATP hydrolysis and sequential DNA translocation. Rearrangement of the nuclease domains mediated by regulatory domains converts DNA translocation mode to cleavage mode. Our structures favor a sequential revolution model for DNA translocation and suggest mechanisms for concerted domain rearrangements leading to DNA cleavage.

Objective To investigate the effect of sodium houttuyfonate on the expression of PI3K and AKT1 and mTOR mRNA in the lung of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD),and reveal the possible mechanism of the COPD treated with sodium houttuyfonate. Methods Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group,model control group,dexamethasone group and sodium houttuyfonate group(n=6 for each). The rat models of COPD were established by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide and smudging. The expressions of PI3K and AKT1 and mTOR mRNA were determined by real-time PCR. The morphological changes of the lung tissue was examined by histopathology. Results Compared with the normal control group,the expressions of PI3K and AKT1 were significantly in-creased and mTOR mRNA was significantly decreased in the model group(P<0.01,P<0.05). Compared with the mod-el group,the expressions of PI3K and AKT1 were significantly decreased and mTOR mRNA was significantly increased in the sodium houttuyfonate group and dexamethasone group(P<0.01,P<0.05). Compared with the dexamethasone group, the expression of mTOR mRNA was significantly increased in the sodium houttuyfonate group(P<0.05). The pathological observation indicated that there were local pulmonary consolidation and a extensive neutrophil infiltration in the alveolar cav-ity. Prominent pulmonary interstitial fibrous hyperplasia was observed in the model group. The pathological manifestations were much ameliorated than those of the model group,and only mild interstitial pneumonia and a slight fibrous hyperplasia were seen in the sodium houttuyfonate and the dexamethasone groups. Conclusions Sodium houttuyfonate reduces the in-jury of lung tissue and has protective effect on COPD rats. The mechanism is probably related to the down-regulatation of expression of PI3K and AKT1 mRNA and up-regulatation of expression of mTOR mRNA in COPD rats.