Objective To evaluate the radiation impact of a self-developed digital miniature CT on the human body and the environment under simulated scanning conditions, and verify its safety and regulatory compliance. Methods Under typical head scanning conditions with the digital miniature CT (70 kV/10 mA), the equivalent doses received at the body surface sites corresponding to the thyroid, breast, stomach, liver, kidney, and gonads of the phantom were measured without protection and with 0.5 mmPb equivalent protection using LiF (Mg, Cu, P) thermoluminescent dosimeters. The ambient dose equivalent rates at the bed level inside the CT room at different directions and distances from the scanning center were measured using a model AT1121 X/γ dosimeter. The equivalent doses of organs on both sides of the phantom and the ambient equivalent dose rates on the left and right sides of the longitudinal axis of the bed in the CT room were compared. The Mann-Whitney test was used at a significance level of P < 0.05. Results During a single scan of the head with the digital miniature CT, the equivalent doses at the body surface sites corresponding to the thyroid, breast, stomach, liver, kidney, and gonads without protection were 1.04, 0.95, 0.55, 0.57, 0.40, and 0.12 mSv, respectively, which were only 0.84% to 8.24% of the doses inside the irradiation field. With 0.5 mm Pb equivalent protection, the equivalent dose of the thyroid decreased from 8.24 mSv to 3.27 mSv with a reduction of 60.3%, and the doses of the other organs were reduced to 1.5-11.5 μSv with the maximum reduction of 14 times. In the longitudinal axis direction of the CT bed, the ambient dose equivalent rate at a distance of 2 m from the scanning center was reduced to 0.066 mSv/h, which was only 9.6% of the ambient equivalent dose rate at a distance of 50 cm from the scanning center. Conclusion The digital miniature CT has advantages in ensuring patient safety, optimizing imaging quality, and promoting technological development, demonstrating promising application potential. However, the radiation protection of personal and CT room should not be ignored.

ObjectiveThe full name of vertebroplasty is percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). It is a clinical technique that injects bone cement into the diseased vertebral body to achieve strengthening of the vertebra. The research on the safety and efficacy of bone cement is the basis for clinical application. In this study, vertebroplasty is used to evaluate and compare the safety and efficacy of Tecres and radiopaque bone cement in experimental pigs, and to determine the puncture method suitable for pigs and the pre-clinical evaluation method for the safety and efficacy of bone cement. MethodsTwenty-four experimental pigs (with a body weight of 60-80 kg) were randomly divided into an experimental group (Group A) and a control group (Group B). Group A was the Tecres bone cement group, and Group B was the radiopaque bone cement group, with 12 pigs in each group. Under the monitoring of a C-arm X-ray machine, the materials were implanted into the 1st lumbar vertebra (L1) and 4th lumbar vertebra (L4) of the pigs via percutaneous puncture using the unilateral pedicle approach. The animals were euthanized at 4 weeks and 26 weeks after the operation, respectively. The L4 vertebrae were taken for compressive strength testing, and the L1 vertebrae were taken for hard tissue pathological examination to observe the inflammatory response, bone necrosis, and degree of osseointegration at the implantation site. ResultsThe test results of compressive strength between groups A and B showed no significant difference at 4 weeks and 26 weeks after bone cement implantation (P > 0.05). Observation under an optical microscope (×100) revealed that at 4 weeks postoperatively, both groups A and B showed that the bone cement was surrounded by proliferative fibrous tissue, with lymphocyte infiltration around it. The bone cement was combined with bone tissue, the trabecular arrangement was disordered, and osteoblasts and a small amount of osteoid were formed. At 26 weeks postoperatively, bone cement was visible in both groups A and B. The new bone tissue was mineralized, the trabeculae were fused, the trabecular structure was regular and dense with good continuity, and no obvious inflammatory reaction was observed. ConclusionIn experimental pig vertebrae, there were no significant differences observed in the compressive strength, inflammation response, bone destruction, and integration with the bone between Tecres and non-radiopaque bone cement. Both exhibited good biocompatibility and osteogenic properties. It indicates that using vertebroplasty to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bone cement in pigs is scientifically sound.

Objective To observe the daily bladder and bowel preparation of patients with prostate cancer by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), and analyze its impact on the precise implementation of radiotherapy for prostate cancer and side effects. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 38 patients with prostate cancer who underwent volumetric modulated arc therapy. The number of radiation fractions for each patient ranged from 25 to 35. A CBCT scan was performed before each daily radiation therapy, and the number of scans for each patient ranged from 25 to 40. Setup errors were adjusted to ensure that the tumor was targeted and the rectum wall was not in the high-dose target area of the prostate. There were 93 instances where treatment could not be successfully implemented and re-preparation and re-scanning were required. We calculated the success rate of treatment and setup errors, compared radiotherapist-adjusted error values under different bladder and bowel preparation conditions, and recorded radiotherapy-related side effects. Results The success rate of treatment in the 38 patients was (92.14 ± 5.25)%. Among the 93 instances of seriously inadequate preparation, 48.4% were due to insufficient bladder filling, and 30.1% were due to intestinal bloating. Radiotherapy side effects were negatively correlated with the success rate of treatment (r = −0.393, P = 0.015). When bladder filling was sufficient, there were no significant differences in radiotherapist-adjusted error values in the left-right (LR), superior-inferior (SI), and anterior-posterior (AP) directions between adequate and inadequate bowel preparation (P > 0.05). When the bladder was moderately or insufficiently filled, there were significant differences in radiotherapist-adjusted error values in the LR, SI, and AP directions between adequate and inadequate bowel preparation (P < 0.05). Conclusion Insufficient bladder filling and intestinal bloating are the main factors influencing the successful implementation of radiotherapy for prostate cancer. When the bladder is sufficiently filled, bowel preparation does not affect prostate position change.

BACKGROUND:Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease with chronic rheumatic immunity.Soft tissue ossification and fusion and spinal stiffness can cause biomechanical changes. OBJECTIVE:To reconstruct the lumbar-sacral intervertebral disc in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis by finite element analysis,and to study the range of motion of each segment of T11-S1 and the biomechanical characteristics of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. METHODS:The imaging data were obtained from an ankylosing spondylitis patient with lumbar kyphosis.The original CT image data of continuously scanned spine were imported into Mimics 21.0 in DICOM format,and T11-S1 was reconstructed respectively.The established model was imported into 3-Matic software in the format of"Stl"to reconstruct the intervertebral disc,and the fibrous intervertebral disc model was obtained.The improved model was further imported into Hypermesh software,and the vertebra,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus and ligament were mesh-divided.After the material properties were given,the model was imported into ABAQUS software to observe the range of motion of each vertebral body in seven different working conditions of T11-S1,and analyze the biomechanical characteristics of each segment of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The range of motion of L1 vertebrae was higher than that of other vertebrae under six different working conditions:extension,forward flexion,rotation(left and right),and lateral flexion(left and right).The maximum range of motion was 2.18° during L1 vertebral flexion,and the minimum range of motion was 0.12° during L5 vertebral extension.(2)The annular fiber flexion at L2-L3 segments was greater than the extension(P<0.05),and the annular fiber flexion at L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments was less than the extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of L1-L2 annular fibers was greater than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion of the annulus was greater than the right flexion in L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4,L4-L5 and L5-S1 segments(P<0.05).(3)The nucleus pulposus stresses of T11-L12,L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments in forward flexion were greater than in extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of T12-L1 and L3-L4 segments was smaller than the right rotation(P<0.05),and that of T11-T12,L1-L2,and L2-L3 segments was larger than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion was larger than the right flexion in the T11-S1 segment.(4)It is concluded that in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis,the minimum range of motion of the vertebral body is located at the L5 vertebral body in extension.To prevent fractures,it is recommended to avoid exercise in the extension position.During the onset of lumbar kyphosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis,the maximum stress of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus is located in the L1-L2 segment,which is fixed and will not alter with the change of body position.The late surgical treatment and correction of deformity should focus on releasing the pressure of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus in this segment to avoid the rupture of the annulus fibrosus and the injury of the nucleus pulposus.

Objective:To investigate pathological features and differential diagnosis in the gonads with disorder of sex development.Methods:Thirty-six cases of clinically diagnosed hermaphroditism with gonadal biopsy in the Department of Pathology, the Seventh Medical Center of People′s Liberation Army General Hospital from April 2007 to July 2021, were collected. All biopsy pathological sections were reviewed, and the gonadal cases with abnormal pathological morphology were screened out. The clinical and imaging data and karyotype of these cases were reviewed. Additional immunohistochemical staining was performed and relevant literature was reviewed.Results:Seven cases of ovotesticular disorder of sex development (OTDSD) were identified, which were characterized by the presence of testicular and ovarian differentiation in the same individual. All patients were under 15 years old and presented with abnormal appearance of external genitalia, and the ratio of male to female was 2∶5. Ultrasonography showed testicular structure in all female patients and cryptorchidism in all male patients. The most common karyotype was 46, XX. One case with undifferentiated gonadal tissue (UGT) and one case with streak gonads were screened out. UGT germ cells were neither in seminiferous tubules nor in follicles, but randomly distributed in an ovarial-type interstitial background, sometimes accompanied by immature sex cords. Streak gonads resembled UGT without germ cells. FOXL2 was positive in granulosa cells, but negative in Sertoli cells. SOX9 expression was opposite. OCT4 was weakly positively/negatively expressed in oocytes and positively expressed in the germ nuclei of UGT.Conclusions:Four differentiation patterns need to be identified in the gonadal biopsy: ovarian differentiation, testicular differentiation, undifferentiated gonadal tissue and streak gonad. The positive expression of SOX9 indicates testicular differentiation, while the positive expression of FOXL2 confirms ovarian differentiation, and the expression of both markers in the same tissue indicates ovotestis differentiation. It is very important to identify UGT, because that has a high probability of developing into gonadoblastoma in the future.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide,with high morbidity and mortality rates.This malignancy poses a grave threat to human life and health.Its early onset symptoms are not typical,and many patients are diagnosed in the middle and late stages;multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment remains the primary treatment for patients with advanced and unresectable gastric cancer.Comprehensive surgery is typically performed for patients with gastric cancer who are eligible for surgery.Preoperative arterial infu-sion chemotherapy is gradually receiving attention as a novel treatment method.Compared with traditional chemotherapy,it has the ad-vantages of higher efficiency,fewer side effects,and a higher surgical resection rate in later stages.It has been gradually applied in clinical practice and has achieved certain results.This article discusses the application and development of arterial infusion chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant therapy for gastric cancer.

Objective:To investigate the value of 3D CT reconstruction in diagnosis of chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) combined with syndesmotic diastasis (SD).Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 160 patients with CLAI who had been examined by arthroscopy from January 2018 to September 2022 at Department of Foot and Ankle Surgery, Wuhan Fourth Hospital. There were 64 males and 96 females with an age of (39.8±12.6) years. Eighty-one left and 79 right feet were affected; the time from injury to surgery was (27.3±11.6) months. The patients were divided into a widened interval group and a normal interval group according to the syndesmotic width measured, with 2 mm as a critical value. After preoperative 3D CT reconstruction, the differences in anterior tibiofibular distance, posterior tibiofibular distance, the narrowest tibiofibular distance, fibular translation, fibular rotation, and syndesmotic area (SA) were compared between the 2 groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed successively to identify the risk factors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify the best predictive factor and critical value. According to the findings of previous research, the above analyses were repeated to determine the best predictive factor and critical value respectively in the sex subgroup, fibular morphology subgroup and incisura feature subgroup.Results:The binary logistic regression showed that SA was a risk factor for CLAI combined with SD ( OR=1.196, 95% CI: 1.122 to 1.275, P < 0.001). The ROC curve revealed an area under curve of 0.847 and the difference critical value of 22.06 mm 2 that indicated a sensitivity of 80.4% and a specificity of 78.9%, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that SA was suitable for male and female patients and patients with different fibular morphologies and incisura features but the difference critical values were different. Conclusion:In 3D CT reconstruction, measurement of SA may help the diagnosis of CLAI combined with SD.

Objective:To discuss the effect of the small ubiquitin-like modifier-specific protease 1(SENP-1)/hypoxia-inducible factor 1α(HIF-1α)pathway on chronic intermittent hypoxia(CIH)-induced vascular endothelial injury in the rats,and to clarify the related mechanism.Methods:The SD rats were randomly divided into control group and CIH group,and then the rats in each group were further divided into 2,4,and 6-week subgroups,and there were 8 rats in each subgroup.The rats in CIH group were exposed to CIH in a CIH chamber to induce CIH and create the obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)models,while the rats in control group were exposed to normoxic conditions.The serum and thoracic aorta tissue of the rats in various groups were collected at each time point.HE staining was used to observe the thoracic aorta vascular injury of the rats in various groups;ELISA method was used to detect the levels of nitric oxide(NO),endothelin-1(ET-1),von Willebrand factor(vWF),and thrombomodulin(TM)in serum of the rats in various groups;Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of SENP-1,HIF-1α,and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA)proteins in thoracic aorta tissue of the rats in various groups.In vitro,the aortic endothelial cells(rAECs)of the rats were cultured and infected with SENP-1 shRNA adenovirus(sh-SENP-1)to construct the cell line with low expression of SENP-1.The CIH was used to induce the vascular endothelial cell injury,and the cells were divided into CIH group,CIH+sh-NC group,and CIH+sh-SENP-1 group;control group was set up separately.CCK-8 method was used to detect the proliferation activities of the cells in various groups;ELISA method was used to detect the activities of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)in the supernatant and the levels of NO,ET-1,malondialdehyde(MDA),and activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD)in the cells in various groups;flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptotic rates of the cells in various groups;Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of SENP-1,HIF-1α,and VEGFA proteins in the cells in various groups.Results:With the extension of CIH induction time,compared with control group,the thoracic aorta endothelium in CIH group gradually became rough and significantly thickened,the level of serum NO of the rats in CIH group was decreased(P＜0.05),and the levels of serum ET-1,vWF,and TM,and the expression levels of SENP-1,HIF-1α,and VEGFA proteins in thoracic aorta tissue were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with control group,the proliferation activity of the cells in CIH group was decreased(P＜0.05),the LDH activity in the supernatant,the levels of ET-1,MDA,and the apoptotic rate in the cells were increased(P＜0.05),while the levels of NO and activity of SOD in the cells were decreased(P＜0.05),and the expression levels of SENP-1,HIF-1α,and VEGFA proteins in the cells were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with CIH group,the proliferation activity of cells in CIH+sh-SENP-1 group was increased(P＜0.05),the activity of LDH in the supernatant,the levels of ET-1,MDA,and the apoptotic rate of the cells were decreased(P＜0.05),while the level of NO and activity of SOD in the cells were increased(P＜0.05),and the expression levels of SENP-1,HIF-1α,and VEGFA proteins were decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion:The SENP-1/HIF-1α pathway is highly activated in the thoracic aorta injury tissue of the rats induced by CIH.Silencing SENP-1 expression can reduce CIH-induced vascular endothelial cell injury,and its mechanism may be related to downregulating the activation level of SENP-1/HIF-1α pathway.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of internal fixation failure in proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) for treating intertrochanteric fracture.Methods The imageological data of 179 patients with intertrochanteric fracture receiving PFNA internal fixation were analyzed retrospectively.The univariate analysis was adopted to analyze the influence of the gender,degree of osteoporosis,AO/OTA fracture type,top apex distance (TAD),postoperative coxa vara,lateral wall state,fracture reduction situation and screw blade position on the internal fixation failure.The logistic regression model was constructed.The risk factors of internal fixation failure were analyzed.Results Among 179 patients,the internal fixation failure occurred in 16 cases.The univariate analysis showed the AO/OTA fracture type,TAD,postoperative coxa vara,lateral wall state,fracture reduction effect and screw blade location were related with the internal fixation failure (P<0.05).The logistic regression analysis prompted that postoperative coxa vara (OR=6.97,95％CI:2.24-21.68,P=0.001) and the lateral wall breakage (OR=3.08,95％CI:1.03-9.22,P=0.045) were the risk factors of internal fixation failure in femoral intertrochanteric fracture.Conclusion Coxa vara and lateral wall breakage are the risk factors of internal fixation failure in PENA for treating femoral intertrochanteric fracture,and the operation reduction should avoid the coxa vara appearance.

Background::Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive. Thus, our study aimed to develop a microbarrier microfluidic chip to efficiently isolate deformable tumor cells from distinct types of bladder cancer cells.Methods::The stiffness of bladder cancer cells was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The modified microfluidic chip was utilized to separate soft cells, and the 3D Matrigel culture system was to maintain the softness of tumor cells. Expression patterns of integrin β8 (ITGB8), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were determined by Western blotting. Double immunostaining was conducted to examine the interaction between F-actin and tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59). The stem-cell-like characteristics of soft cells were explored by colony formation assay and in vivo studies upon xenografted tumor models. Results::Using our newly designed microfluidic approach, we identified a small fraction of soft tumor cells in bladder cancer cells. More importantly, the existence of soft tumor cells was confirmed in clinical human bladder cancer specimens, in which the number of soft tumor cells was associated with tumor relapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the biomechanical stimuli arising from 3D Matrigel activated the F-actin/ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis pathways to enhance the softness and tumorigenic capacity of tumor cells. Simultaneously, we detected a remarkable up-regulation in ITGB8, TRIM59, and phospho-AKT in clinical bladder recurrent tumors compared with their non-recurrent counterparts.Conclusions::The ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis axis plays a crucial role in modulating tumor softness and stemness. Meanwhile, the soft tumor cells become more sensitive to chemotherapy after stiffening, that offers new insights for hampering tumor progression and recurrence.