ObjectiveTo study the association of serum adiponectin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels to short-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). MethodsClinical data of 216 patients with AIS in Beijing Bo'ai Hospital from January, 2019 to September, 2020 were collected. The serum biochemical indicator was measured in all the patients within 24 hours after enrollment, and adiponectin was detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Meanwhile, all patients were evaluated with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to assess the functional outcome 90 days after onset during follow-up. ResultsThe incidence of poor outcome in patients with AIS within 90 days was 48.1%. Compared with the good outcome group, the serum adiponectin was lower (t = 5.861, P < 0.001) and the serum hs-CRP level was higher (Z = 5.525, P < 0.001) poor outcome group. Reduced serum adiponectin (OR = 0.862, 95%CI 0.751 to 0.975, P < 0.001) and increased serum hs-CRP (OR = 1.215, 95%CI 1.015 to 1.455, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for poor outcome in patients with AIS. The areas under curve (95% CI) of serum adiponectin and hs-CRP for predicting the outcome of patients with AIS were 0.819 (0.761 to 0.877) and 0.722 (0.654 to 0.791), respectively (P < 0.001). The predictive power of serum adiponectin was higher than that of hs-CRP (Z = 2.151, P = 0.032). The optimum cut-off point of adiponectin was < 3.5 mg/L, and the Yoden index was 0.609, yielding a sensitivity of 0.704 and a specificity of 0.905. ConclusionSerum adiponectin and hs-CRP can serve as independent predictors for short functional outcome in patients with AIS.

Objective:To verify Baveno VI criteria, Expanded-Baveno VI criteria, liver stiffness×spleen diameter-to-platelet ratio risk score (LSPS), and platelet count/spleen diameter ratio (PSR) in evaluating the severity value of esophageal varices (EV) in patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH).Methods:111 cases of NCPH and 204 cases of hepatitis B cirrhosis who met the diagnostic criteria were included in the study. NCPH included 70 cases of idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (INCPH) and 41 cases of nontumoral portal vein thrombosis (PVT). According to the severity of EV on endoscopy, they were divided into the low-bleeding-risk group (no/mild EV) and the high-bleeding-risk group (moderate/severe EV). The diagnostic value of Baveno VI and Expanded-Baveno VI criteria was verified to evaluate the value of LSPS and PSR for EV bleeding risk severity in NCPH patients. The t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the measurement data between groups. Comparisons between counting data groups were performed using either the χ2 test or the Fisher exact probability method. Results:Considering endoscopy was the gold standard for diagnosis, the missed diagnosis rates of low/high bleeding risk EVs in INCPH/PVT patients with Baveno VI and Expanded-Baveno VI criteria were 50.0%/30.0% and 53.8%/50.0%, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in platelet count (PLT), spleen diameter, liver stiffness (LSM), LSPS, and PSR between low-bleeding-risk and high-bleeding-risk groups in INCPH patients, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of LSPS and PSR was 0.564 and 0.592, respectively ( P=0.372 and 0.202, respectively). There were statistically significant differences in PLT, spleen diameter, LSPS, and PSR between the low and high-bleeding risk groups in PVT patients, and the AUCs of LSPS and PSR were 0.796 and 0.833 ( P=0.003 and 0.001, respectively). In patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis, the Baveno VI and Expanded-Baveno VI criteria were used to verify the low bleeding risk EV, and the missed diagnosis rates were 0 and 5.4%, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in PLT, spleen diameter, LSM, LSPS and PSR between the low-bleeding-risk and high-bleeding-risk groups ( P<0.001). LSPS and PSR AUC were 0.867 and 0.789, respectively ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Baveno VI and Expanded-Baveno VI criteria have a high missed diagnosis rate for EVs with low bleeding risk in patients with INPCH and PVT, while LSPS and PSR have certain value in evaluating EV bleeding risk in PVT patients, which requires further clinical research.

Objective:To study the efficacy of direct intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (DIPS) in treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS).Methods:From January 1, 2015 to June 31, 2017, consecutive patients with BCS who were treated with DIPS at the Department of Interventional Therapy of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, the Liver Disease Research Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital and the General Surgery Department of Beijing Ditan Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The symptoms, physical signs (including abdominal distension, ascites, pleural effusion, splenomegaly, hepatic encephalopathy) and perioperative laboratory results of these patients were collected and analyzed. Biochemical indicators including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin (DBil), and portal pressure gradient were compared before and 2 weeks after treatment. The patients were followed up for at least 3 years to assess their clinical symptoms, patency of shunt, oncological status and survival.Results:Of 67 patients with BCS who were included in the study, there were 45 males and 22 females, aged (38.12±23.22) years. The BCS classification of these patients were hepatic vein type ( n=65), including 62 patients with complete hepatic vein obstruction, 3 patients with hepatic vein occlusion due to thrombosis, and 2 patients with mixed hepatic vein and inferior vena cava occlusion. All 67 patients underwent DIPS with 93 stents being implanted. In addition, 43 patients underwent gastric coronary vein embolization, and 2 patients with mixed type of BCS underwent inferior vena cava stenting. The portal pressure gradient decreased from (22.17±9.16) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) to (9.87±4.75) mmHg, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). Abdominal distension was relieved, at one month and ascites completely subsided in 3 months after operation. The liver congestion and swelling were obviously relieved. Comparison of patients 2 weeks after operation and before operation, ALT decreased from (65.28±27.75) U/L to (28.43±13.46)U/L, AST from (68.75±29.23) U/L to (26.92±13.33)U/L, TBil from (175.31±80.48)μmol/L to (45.08±26.54)μmol/L, DBil from (127.55±44.65)μmol/L to (35.12±10.77)μmol/L, and albumin increased from (31.56±7.22) g/L to (44.18±11.36)g/L, the difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05). All patients were followed up for at least 3 years. Shunt stenosis was detected in 5 patients (7.46%) with shunt expansion being performed, variceal bleeding in 2 patients (2.99%), ascites recurrence in 4 patients (5.97%) and hepatic encephalopathy in 2 patients (2.99%). No patients were diagnosed with hepatic cancer, and no patients died. Conclusion:DIPS was efficacious, safe and reliable to that BCS patients. It rapidly reduced portal venous pressure, relieved liver congestion, and restored liver morphology and liver function in these patients.

Objective:To evaluate the rapid diagnostic value of serum novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) IgM/IgG detection in COVID-19, aiming to further improve the diagnostic and screening system of COVID-19.Methods:Blood samples were collected from 32 patients with COVID-19 (tested positive for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid by RT-PCR and presented with clinical symptoms) and 34 non-COVID-19 patients (tested negative for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid by RT-PCR and clinically confirmed as non-COVID-19 patients). Colloidal gold-based immunochromatography was used for rapid detection of 2019-nCoV IgM/IgG in these samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the test, and the correlation of serum 2019-nCoV IgM/IgG with disease course were analyzed.Results:Among the 32 COVID-19 patients, nine tested positive for 2019-nCoV IgM with a positive rate of 28.1% (9/32) and 25 positive for 2019-nCoV IgG with a positive rate of 78.1% (25/32). The total positive rate was 84.4% (27/32). Two of the 34 non-COVID-19 patients tested positive for 2019-nCoV IgG with a positive rate of 5.9% (2/34), while none of them was positive for 2019-nCoV IgM. The positive rates of serum IgM were 42.9% (3/7), 30.8% (4/13) and 16.7% (2/12) at 10-20 d, 21-30 d and 31-40 d after the patients developed the symptoms of COVID-19, respectively, which showed a decreasing tread with prolonged disease course. The positive rates of serum IgG in COVID-19 patients were 57.1% (4/7), 84.6% (11/13) and 83.3% (10/12) at 10-20 d, 21-30 d and 30-40 d after symptom onset. The rate showed an increasing trend with prolonged disease course and reached the peak in about 21-30 d.Conclusions:Serum 2019-nCoV IgM/IgG detection (using colloidal gold method) had high sensitivity (84.4%) and strong specificity (94.1%) in the diagnosis of 2019-nCoV infection. It had a great value in the diagnosis and screening of COVID-19 and could be used as a valuable complementary method to the COVID-19 diagnostic system due to its advantages of flexibility, rapidity and simplicity.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of DNMT3B in regulating the proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. METHODS: We collected the tumor tissues and adjacent tissues from a total of 175 patients with HCC diagnosed in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between May, 2008 and May, 2013 to prepare the tissue microarrays. The association of the expression of DNMT3B with the prognosis and the tumor-free survival and tumor-specific survival rates of the patients was analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to analyze the effect of DNMT3B expression on the prognosis of HCC. We used RNA interference technique to knock down the expression of DNMT3B in Huh-7 hepatoma cells and observed the changes in cell proliferation using CCK-8 assay and EDU staining and in cell migration and invasion ability using Transwell assay. RESULTS: The positive rates of DNMT3B was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in paired adjacent tissues (67.4% 41.1%, =0.015). A high DNMT3B expression in HCC was significantly associated with the tumor size (=0.001), vascular invasion (=0.004), and intrahepatic metastasis (=0.018). The patients with high DNMT3B expressions had significantly lower tumor-free and tumor-specific survival rates than those with low DNMT3B expressions ( < 0.005). In Huh-7 cells, silencing DNMT3B significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and inhibited cell migration and invasion. Western blotting showed that silencing DNMT3B obviously increased LATS1 expression, decreased the expression of YAP1, and activated Hippo signaling pathway. Methylation-specific PCR showed that the methylation level of LATS1 was decreased in the cells with DNMT3B silencing. CONCLUSIONS The expression level of DNMT3B is significantly higher HCC tissues than in the adjacent tissues, and the high expression of DNMT3B is closely related to the low survival rate of the patients. Silencing DNMT3B inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. DNMT3B promotes the progression of HCC primarily by enhancing the expression of YAP1 through methylation of LATS1 and inhibition of its expression, which inhibits the anti-cancer effect of Hippo signaling pathway.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Signal Transduction

Objective: To develop a convolution neural network (CNN) model to classify multi-sequence MR images of the prostate. Methods: ResNet18 convolution neural network (CNN) model was developed to classify multi-sequence MR images of the prostate. A deep residual network was used to improve training accuracy and test accuracy. The dataset used in this experiment included 19 146 7-sequence prostate MR images (transverse T₁WI, transverse T₂WI, coronal T₂WI, sagittal T₂WI, transverse DWI, transverse ADC, transverse PWI), from which a total of 2 800 7-sequence MR images was selected as a training set. Three hundred and eighty eight 7-sequence MR images were selected as test sets. Accuracy was used to evaluate the effectiveness of ResNet18 CNN model. Results: The classification accuracy of the model for transverse DWI, sagittal T₂WI, transverse ADC, transverse T₁WI, and transverse T₂WI was as high as 100.0% (44/44,52/52), and the accuracy for transverse PWI was also as high as 96.7% (116/120). The accuracy for coronal T₂WI was 77.5% (31/40). 0.8% (1/120) of transverse PWI was incorrectly assigned to transverse T₂WI, and 2.5% (3/120) incorrectly assigned to sagittal T₂WI. 15.0% (6/40) of coronal T₂WI was incorrectly assigned to transverse T₂WI, and 7.5% (3/40) to sagittal T₂WI. Conclusion The experimental results show the effectiveness of our deep learning method regarding accuracy in the prostate multi-sequence MR images detection.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of transjugular intrahepatie portosystemie shunting (TIPS) for recurrent portal hypertension after liver transplantation.Methods The retrospective crosssectional study was conducted.The clinical data of 15 patients with recurrent portal hypertension after liver transplantation who underwent TIPS in the 9th School of Clinical Medicine between January 2008 to June 2016 were collected.Course of TIPS:the portal vein pressure was measured and varicose veins were embolized after puncture,cannulation and angiography.A balloon catheter with diameter of 7 mm or 8 mm was used to dilate the preshunt channel,and a covered stent or bare stent with a diameter of 7,8 or 10 mm was implanted to establish the shunt channel.Portal vein angiography was performed and the portal vein pressure was measured again.Observation indicators:(1) Surgical situations;(2) changes of portal vein pressure before and after TIPS;(3)follow-up and survival situations.Follow-up using outpatient examination was performed to record clinical symptoms at postoperative 1,3,6 and 12 months.Regular hepatic vascular ultrasonography was done at postoperative 1,3,6 and 12 months to detect patency of shunt.The follow-up period was up to June 2018.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as (x) ±s and analyzed by the paired t test.Measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M (range).Count data were represented as percentage.Results (1) Surgical situations:all the 15 patients underwent successful TIPS,without any serious complications or death.Stent implantation situation:bare stent,covered stent and bare stent + covered stent were implanted in 4,8 and 3 patients,respectively.Among the 15 patients,7 mm,8 mm and 10 mm diameter shunt channel were established in 4,8 and 3 patients respectively.(2) Changes of portal vein pressure before and after TIPS:portal vein pressure of the 15 patients decreased from (34±8)mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) to (21±7)mmHg before and after TIPS,with a statistically significant difference (t =7.07,P＜0.05).Portal vein pressure gradient decreased from (26± 9)mmHg to (12±5)mmHg before and after TIPS,with a statistically significant difference (t=6.43,P＜0.05).(3) Follow-up and survival situations:15 patients were followed up for 24.0-60.0 months,with a median follow-up time of 37.8 months.Main clinical symptoms:of 12 patients with gastrointestinal hemorrhage,3 had gastrointestinal rehemorrhage mainly due to portal vein pressure rising again caused by shunt restenosis or occlusion,9 had no gastrointestinal rehemorrhage.Of 5 patients with portal vein thrombosis,thrombus was disappeared basically in 3 patients and decreased obviously (no effect on blood flow) in 2 patients.Three patients with refractory ascites were effectively improved after TIPS,however,2 of them were recurred at postoperative 5 months.Postoperative restenosis or occlusion of shunt channel:among 15 patients,7 developed restenosis or occlusion of the shunt channel (including 4 with bare stents).Five of them underwent shunt recanalization and another 2 without special clinical symptoms had no treatment.Hepatic encephalopathy:6 of 15 patients including 1 with 7 nun shunt,3 with 8 mm shunt and 2 with 10 mm shunt developed hepatic encephalopathy,of which grade Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and Ⅳ hepatic encephalopathy wee detected in 2,3,0 and 1 patients,respectively.Survival situations:of the 15 patients,1 died of hepatic failure at postoperative 6 months,3 were performed liver transplantation again at postoperative 3,8 and 14 months,respectively,11 survived more than 2 years with the longest survival time more than 6 years.Conclusion TIPS is safe and effective for recurrent portal hypertension after liver transplantation for patients who have not effective other treatment.

Objective To evaluate the effect of aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) on the expression of protein kinase D1 (PKD1) in a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431,and to explore the mechanism underlying ALA-PDT-induced apoptosis of A431 ceils.Methods A431 cells were cultured in vitro,and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to select the optimal combination of ALA concentration and PDT dose with the strongest proliferation inhibitory effect.A431 ceils at exponential growth phase were randomly divided into 4 groups:control group receiving no treatment,ALA group treated with ALA solution alone,PDT group treated with PDT alone,and ALA-PDT group treated firstly with ALA solution and then with PDT.After 12-,24-,36-and 48-hour additional culture,CCK-8 assay was conducted to evaluate the cellular proliferation inhibition,and the apoptosis rate at the time point of the strongest proliferation inhibitory effect was measured by flow cytometry.RT-PCR was performed to determine the expression of protein kinase D1 gene (PRKD1) in A431 cells at different time points after the ALA-PDT treatment,and Western blot analysis to measure protein expression of PKD 1 and its phosphorylation at Tyr463 (pTyr463) and Ser916 (pSer916) in A431 cells.Results The combination of ALA at the concentration of 1.5 mmol/L with PDT at an irradiation dose of 2 J/cm2 was optimal due to its strongest proliferation inhibitory effect.After 12-,24-,36-and 48-hour additional culture,there were significant differences in the proliferation inhibition rate among the 4 groups (F =39.56,P ＜ 0.05).At 24 hours after the treatment,the ALA-PDT group showed significantly higher proliferation inhibition rate (46.26％ ± 1.25％) compared with the ALA group (14.65％ ± 0.33％,P ＜ 0.05),PDT group (14.96％ ± 0.68％,P ＜ 0.05) and control group (11.98％ ± 0.32％,P ＜ 0.05),as well as compared with that at 12 hours (P ＜ 0.05).At 24 hours after the treatment,the apoptosis rate significantly differed among the 4 groups (F =16.32,P ＜ 0.05),and the ALA-PDT group showed a significantly higher apoptosis rate (41.92％ ± 3.23％) compared with the control group (4.67％ ± 0.88％,P ＜ 0.05),ALA group (7.02％ ± 1.52％,P ＜ 0.05) and PDT group (8.37％ ± 0.59％,P ＜ 0.05).At 0,6,12,24,36 and 48 hours after the treatment,there were significant differences in the mRNA expression of PRKD 1 among the 4 groups (F =22.24,P ＜ 0.05),and the mRNA expression of PRKD1 at 24 hours was significantly lower than that at 0,6,12 hours (all P ＜ 0.05),but was not significantly different from that at 36 and 48 hours (both P ＞ 0.05).No significant difference in the Ser916-phosphorylated PKD1 expression was found among the 4 groups (F =1.53,P ＞ 0.05),while there were significant differences in the expression of PKD1 and Tyr463-phosphorylated PKD 1 among the 4 groups (F =10.04,8.27,both P ＜ 0.05).Additionally,the ALA-PDT group showed significantly lower expression of PKD 1 and Tyr463-phosphorylated PKD 1 compared with the control group,ALA group and PDT group (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion PKD1 may be involved in the photochemical process of A431 cell apoptosis induced by ALA-PDT,and may promote the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma by Tyr463 phosphorylation.

The interplay between mechanoresponses and a broad range of fundamental biological processes, such as cell cycle progression, growth and differentiation, has been extensively investigated. However, metabolic regulation in mechanobiology remains largely unexplored. Here, we identified glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1)-the primary glucose transporter in various cells-as a novel mechanosensitive gene in orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Using an in vivo rat OTM model, we demonstrated the specific induction of Glut1 proteins on the compressive side of a physically strained periodontal ligament. This transcriptional activation could be recapitulated in in vitro cultured human periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs), showing a time- and dose-dependent mechanoresponse. Importantly, application of GLUT1 specific inhibitor WZB117 greatly suppressed the efficiency of orthodontic tooth movement in a mouse OTM model, and this reduction was associated with a decline in osteoclastic activities. A mechanistic study suggested that GLUT1 inhibition affected the receptor activator for nuclear factor-κ B Ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) system by impairing compressive force-mediated RANKL upregulation. Consistently, pretreatment of PDLCs with WZB117 severely impeded the osteoclastic differentiation of co-cultured RAW264.7 cells. Further biochemical analysis indicated mutual regulation between GLUT1 and the MEK/ERK cascade to relay potential communication between glucose uptake and mechanical stress response. Together, these cross-species experiments revealed the transcriptional activation of GLUT1 as a novel and conserved linkage between metabolism and bone remodelling.
Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Blotting, Western ; Bone Remodeling ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Glucose Transporter Type 1 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; Humans ; Hydroxybenzoates ; pharmacology ; Immunohistochemistry ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Osteoprotegerin ; metabolism ; Periodontal Ligament ; cytology ; RANK Ligand ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tooth Movement Techniques ; Transcriptional Activation

Objective To observe how different measuring methods of corneal curvature produce affect postoperative corneal a-stigmatism correction after implantation of TORIC artificial lens .Methods To measure 4 teams of age-related cataract patients complicated with regular astigmatism of more than 1 .0D by the procedure of manual keratometer ,IOL Master ,auto keratometer and Pentacam respectively .The Toric artificial lenses were precisely placed in appropriate position in phacoemulsification surgery .We observed the uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) ,best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in 1D ,1W ,1M ,3M before and after the sur-gery ,corneal astigmatism after the surgery ,as well as anticipated and consequent residual astigmatism .Results The variance analy-sis of absolute-value deviation between anticipated residual astigmatism (ARA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) is P<0 .0001 ,the above difference was statistically significant ;we consider that the astigmatic deviation measured by the four methods is different ;besides the deviation of paired comparison results between Master-team (0 .322) and auto-team (0 .242) ,auto-team and manual-team (0 .218) ,manual-team and Pentacam-team(0 .107) is more than 0 .05 and not statistically significant ,all the remaining paired comparison results are statistically significant ,(P<0 .05) ,the Pentacam-team (0 .082) is the minimum deviation ,while the IOL Master-team (0 .422) is the maximum one .Conclusion The measuring result to estimate the exact value of Acrysof Toric IOL by Pentacam is more accurate than by other methods .