Objective:To evaluate the volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) dose verification of cervical cancer based on γ rule and dose volume histogram (DVH) and to perform correlation analysis between the evaluation results and the dose differences.Methods:Twenty cervical cancer VMAT plans were selected and performed on TrueBeam Linac. The delivered point and surface dose was measured by FC-65 G and ArcCheck and the results were compared to those calculated by Eclipse. The dose of patients was reconstructed by 3DVH. Then, differences between the reconstructed and plan value of D mean, D 95%, D 98% and D 2% of PTV, V 20Gy of left and right femoral head, V 40Gy of rectum, D 1cm 3 of cord, D 98%, D 2% and D 50% of the 50% prescription iso-dose volume (IDV), were evaluated and 3-dimensional (3D) γ was assessed for each organ. Lastly, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between point dose difference, 2D γ pass-rate (γ%), γ mean and 3D γ% of each organ and the dose difference. Results:Small differences were found between the point dose measured, reconstructed and the plan value. Differences between D mean of PTV, all dose parameters of IDV and plan values were all within 3% and V 40Gy of rectum showed the largest difference. As for the 3D γ%, the maximum pass rate was found for the left and right femoral head and the maximum variance for cord D 1cm 3. There was a moderate correlation between measured and reconstructed point dose deviation and dose difference of each organ, while no significant correlation was found for 2D γ%. Strong correlation was found between 3D γ% of target and D 50% of PTV/IDV and no correlation was found for other organs. Conclusion:The performance of both γ-and DVH-based evaluation can reveal dose error for dose verification, but both of them have some limitations and should be combined in clinical practice.

Objective:To evaluate the positive rate of the bronchodilation test (BDT) in asthmatic children with normal forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV 1/FVC, so as to improve the recognition of the importance of the BDT test in asthmatic children with normal FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1/FVC. Methods:Children aged 5-14 who were diagnosed with asthma in the outpatient clinic of Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University from September 2018 to August 2019 and willing to receive pulmonary function and BDT examinations were enrolled.Data of pulmonary function of children with normal FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1/FVC were collected to analyze the rate of positive BDT results and the status of small airway function. Results:A total of 1 631 asthmatic children with normal FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1/FVC were enrolled in this study, including 1 414 children with normal pulmonary function and 217 children with small airway dysfunction.Fifteen minutes after the bronchodilator was inhaled, 127 children (87 males and 40 females) showed positive BDT results, accounting for 7.8%.Among these children, 62 cases (28.6%) with co-existing small airway dysfunction showed positive BDT results.The improvement rate of FEV 1 was 8.0% to 11.9% in 132 cases (8.1%). The FEV 1 before bronchodilator inhalation accounted for (98.5±10.3)% of the predicted value.Fifteen minutes after terbutaline sulfate inhalation, the improvement rate was 13.5% (12.5%, 16.2%). The improvement rates of forced expiratory flow at 50% of FVC exhaled (FEF 50, r=-0.339, P<0.01), forced expiratory flow at 75% of forced vital capacity exhaled (FEF 75, r=-0.400, P<0.01), maximum mid-expiratory flow(MMEF, r=-0.375, P<0.01) were negatively correlated with their baseline values.The improvement rate of FEV 1 was not associated with its baseline value ( r=-0.128, P=0.153), but negatively correlated with the baseline value of MMEF ( r=-0.231, P<0.01). Conclusions:BDT results are positive in some asthmatic children with normal FEV 1, FVC and FEV 1/FVC.It is recommended that BDT testing should be conducted as much as possible in the diagnosis and follow-up of children with typical or atypical asthma.In this way, the diagnosis can be confirmed and the current optimal results can be obtained.Meanwhile, small airway function testing is helpful for comprehensive assessment of asthma and its control level.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) not only directly damages lung tissue, but also can be absorbed into blood through alveolar capillaries, which is toxic to the cardiovascular system. PM2.5 can affect lipid metabolism, endothelial function, coagulation and thrombosis through oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction, autonomic nervous dysfunction and immune regulation abnormality, so that it promote arteriosclerosis, plaque instability, and increase the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease. We reviewed the effects and mechanisms of PM2.5 on arteriosclerosis, in order to provide the evidence for the studies into prevention of cardiovascular diseases caused by air pollution.

Objective:To evaluate the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) performance of TrueBeam accelerator using trajectory log files.Methods:All tests were performed 5 times under different gantry-collimator angle combination. The 1 mm picket fences were constructed by static or dynamic MLC. The control ability for small-field accuracy of accelerator was evaluated. Repeatability was assessed by MLC repeat motion. The movement performance of difference velocities along one direction and the opposite direction were evaluated via a 1 cm picket fences which slipped from -7 cm to 7 cm with a uniform velocity and stopped or immediately back at 7 cm. The MLC performance in a complex program was evaluated by a cross movement test.Results:Both the static and the dynamic picket fences yielded high accuracy. The deviation spectrums of MLC in different gantry angle were consistent, however, an absolute difference of 0.001 1 mm was found. For uniform velocity movement tests with 0°gantry, the RMSE of MLC was increased from 0.015 0 mm to 0.059 8 mm when the speed was accelerated from 5 mm/s to 25 mm/s. Similar results were obtained in non-zero gantry angle. The "overspeed" effect caused by the direction change movement of MLC was less obvious than that caused by speed changed from zero to a uniform velocity movement state. There was no significant change in speed before and after the MLC crossing. The MLC speed fluctuated around the set value, which was independent of the gantry angle.Conclusion:A method for evaluating the performance of MLC using trajectory log files is established, which can evaluate the MLC performance of TrueBeam accelerator and be used for MLC rapid quality control in clinical practice.

Objective To establish and evaluate a morning check system for linac based on electronic portal image device (EPID).Methods Delivered fluence maps of open and wedge fields at 10 cm×10 cm field size of Synergy Linac were measured by EPID.Figure features from these two images were extracted with matlab codes and analyzed to realize a quick morning check.The repeatability of dose response and mechanical setup,relationship between gray value and machine unit (MU),accuracy of output and field size test were investigated with both EPID and DailyQA3.The status of Synergy linac was monitored both by DailyQA3 and EPID for two months.Results EPID was able to test the linac consistently with a testing error of 0.50 mm,1.00 mm for field size and center,respectively.Both of the test accuracy for flatness and symmetry was 0.17％.The mechanical accuracy test and dosimetric repeatability test were also consistent.The dose response of EPID was linearly related to the linac output (R2＞0.999).EPID was highly sensitive to the change of output and radiation field size.The measurement deviations between EPID and DailyQA3 were consistent and within clinical acceptable tolerance.Conclusions EPID showed great accuracy and stability on monitoring the performance of linac.The established daily check tool based-on EPID is accurate and reliable for clinical usage.

Objective: To screen and verify the differential expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs(LncRNAs) in peripheral blood of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), to identify the potential molecular specific markers of early T2DM. Methods: The blood samples of 4 type 2 diabetic patients and 4 normal control subjects were collected for microarray analysis. Then six candidate markers of LncRNAs screened from the differential expression profile were tested by qRT-PCR among the subjects (80 cases in the T2DM group and 50 cases in the control group). The possibility of these LncRNAs as molecular diagnostic markers was analyzed, and finally two of them were carried out by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Compared with control subjects, there were differentially expressed 133 LncRNAs in type 2 diabetic patients, among which 5 were up-regulated with the maximum up-regulated fold 3.29 and 128 were down-regulated with the maximum down-regulated fold 8.99. Six down-regulated LncRNAs were selected for validation and revealed a similar result to that of microarray.The expressions of two LncRNAs(NONHSAT160746 and NONHSAT140069) in peripheral blood of diabetic patients were significantly lower than those of control subjects (P<0.01). The areas under the ROC curve of the two LncRNAs were 0.734 and 0.703, respectively(P<0.01). Conclusion LncRNAs NONHSAT160746 and LncRNAs NONHSAT140069 are the potential molecular specific markers for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To achieve quantitative analysis of image quality parameters and establish warning and action thresholds for the on-board imaging (OBI) system of linear accelerator. Methods: The Catphan604 phantom was repeatedly scanned in the Full-Fan and Half-Fan CBCT scanning modes on a Varian EDGE linear accelerator, and the software based on Python language development in-house was utilized to analyze image quality parameters, such as CT number linearity, geometric consistency, slice thickness, spatial resolution, uniformity and low-contrast resolution. The quantitative analysis results of each image quality parameter obtained from 16 times of scanning within 16 months were normalized to the mean and the standard deviations were recorded. A run chart analysis was created to determine the warnings and action thresholds. Results: The software built in-house can quantitatively analyze the image parameters of the two scanning modes of OBI system. The low-contrast resolution of Half-Fan was better than that of Full-Fan, whereas the spatial resolution of Full-Fan was superior to that of Half-Fan. One standard deviation (1σ) was set as the warning threshold and 2 standard deviations (2σ) as the action threshold, respectively. The tolerance level of Half-Fan was smaller than that of Full-Fan. Conclusion Self-developed software enables quantitative analysis of accelerator image quality parameters, establishes warning and action tolerance of quality assurance and provides guidance for image quality assurance under image-guided radiotherapy specification.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of total marrow and lymphatic irradiation (TMLI)with helical tomotherapy as a conditioning regimen before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).Methods Seven children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and aplastic anemia were recruited as study subjects.The median age was 7 years old.The prescribed dose was 12 Gy/6 fractions twice daily.The exposure dose of the target and the organs at risk between helical helical tomotherapy-based TMLI regimen and total body irradiation (TBI) regimen were statistically compared,and acute toxicity grading was performed for all patients.Results Compared with the TBI regimen,the average exposure dose reduction for organs at risk after the TMLI regimen was ranged from 4.2％ to 40.6％.The average exposure dose reduction for the kidney was the largest among all organs.The acute toxicities experienced by all patients were graded and recorded including 2 cases of nausea,5 cases of vomiting,1 case of anorexia,1 case of eryhema,3 cases of diarrhea,and 1 case of oral mucositis.Only grade 1-2 toxicities were observed,and no grade 3-4 toxicities occurred.Conclusions The findings in this study confirm the feasibility of helical helical tomotherapy-based TMLI regimen.Compared with the TBI regimen,the mean duration of treatment for the TMLI regimen with an equivalent dose is not increased.The exposure dose experienced by organs at risk is reduced and the predicted incidence rate is decreased when the TMLI regimen is employed,which provides a myeloablative pretreatment strategy.However,the long-term toxicity of TMLI regime remains to be evaluated by clinical trials.

Objective This study was to observe the meibomian gland scores,the miss rate of meibomian,break-up time of tear film (BUT) changes after long-term wearing orthokeratolog,and to evaluate orthokeratolog impact on meibomian gland function and the stability of the tear film.Methods A prospective case-controlled study was performed.Fifty patients 98 eyes with myopia were enrolled.According to the myopia correction mode,the patients were divided into control group (24 cases) and experimental group (overnight orthokeratolog treatment) group (26 cases).All subjects were underwent the examinations sequentially as follows:evaluation of ocular surface disease symptoms using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI),lid margin and ocular surface examination by slit lamp microscrope,infrared meibomian photography and BUT.All measurements were repeated at 3 months,6 months,24-months follow-up visit.All patients signed informed consent before examination.Results After wearing orthok-contact lens for 24 months,the meibomian gland score was 4.54±1.10 and 2.29±0.75 in the experimental group and control group,respectively,the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The BUT was (6.35 ± 1.52) s 24 months after wearing orthokeratolog,which was less than (9.38 ± 1.88) s in the control group,the difference was statistically significant (P＜ 0.05).The miss rate of meibomian gland was 24.39 ± 5.54 and 22.81 ± 5.23 in the experimental group and control group,respectively.There was no statistically significant difference among the the miss rate of meibomian gland between groups and within groups (all at P＞0.05).Conclusions Long-term wearing orthokeratolog has negetive effects on meibomian gland function and the stability of the tear film.

Objective To investigate the optimal distance between the upper and lower targets in the subsection total body irradiation(TBI)using helical tomotherapy,and to analyze the dose distribution of abutment regions. Methods A total of 8 patients with acute leukemia with a height of about 120 cm were involved in the study. All patients were scanned from the calvarium to the toe by computerized tomography (CT,Siemens)with a thickness of 5 mm,and a lead wire was placed at a point 10 cm above the patella as a marker of the boundary between the upper and lower targets. The delineation of target volumes and organs at risk(OAR)was performed in the Varian Eclipse 10.0 doctor workstation. The different distances between the lead wires and the boundary of the two targets were delineated, and images were transferred to the HT workstation to design the radiotherapy planning,including Jaw width(5 cm),modulation factor(1.8),and pitch(0.43). The plans were superimposed together, and then the dose distribution in abutment regions with different target gaps was analyzed to find the optimal distance. Results When the target gap was 5 cm, the dose distribution in abutment regions was satisfactory. However,the dose was obviously insufficient when the gap was more than 5 cm;the doses in abutment regions significantly exceeded the prescribed doses when the gap was less than 5 cm. Conclusions In the subsection TBI using HT, different parameters were designed,including Jaw width(5 cm), modulation factor(1.8), pitch(0.43), and slice thickness(5 mm). The upper and lower borders of the targets should be 2.5 cm away from the lead wire,that is,a gap of 5 cm,thus avoiding the dose-related hot or cold spots in the target convergence and ensuring a safer and more accurate radiotherapy.