Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of gastrointestinal space-occupying lesions.Methods Data of 116 patients with gastric,small intestinal or colorectal space-occupying lesions(totally 116 lesions)who underwent CT-guided percutaneous biopsy were retrospectively analyzed.The success rate of sampling was recorded.According to surgical pathology or follow-up results,the effectiveness of percutaneous biopsy,including the diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,accuracy and false negative rate were calculated.The impact of cavity wall thickness of the lesion(＜1 cm and≥1 cm),needle insertion depth(＜5 cm and≥5 cm)and puncture needle through gastrointestinal tract or not were observed and the related complications were recorded.Results All lesions were successfully sampled.The diagnostic sensitivity of percutaneous biopsy was 88.07%(96/109),with specificity of 100%(7/7),accuracy of 88.79%(103/116)and false negative rate of 11.93%(13/109).For lesions with cavity wall thickness≥1 cm and puncture needle insertion depth＜5 cm,the sensitivity and accuracy of puncture biopsy were higher(all P＜0.05),while the sensitivity and accuracy of puncture needle through gastrointestinal tract or not were not different(both P＞0.05).Slight bleeding around the lesions occurred in 12 cases(12/116,10.34%),but no other complications happened.Conclusion CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of gastrointestinal space-occupying lesions was effective and safe.

Objective:To investigate the consistency between the iodine-unstained area and the pathological size of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) specimens of superficial esophageal cancer.Methods:A retrospective study was performed on data of 32 patients with superficial esophageal cancer who accepted ESD from May 2019 to April 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The maximum transverse diameter and maximum longitudinal diameter of the iodine-unstained area were compared with the tumor pathological area. A size difference no more than 0.5 cm was considered as conformity, any difference between 0.5 and 1.0 cm was considered as non-conformity, and any difference no less than 1.0 cm was considered as serious non-conformity. At the same time, pink sign after spraying Lugo solution and the consistency of pink sign area with the iodine free area were observed.Results:A total of 32 patients with 33 lesions were enrolled in this study, including 23 males and 9 females and the age of the patients was 59.5±7.3 years. There were 19 (57.6%) lesions whose size of iodine-unstained area was consistent with the tumor pathological area. These 19 lesions were all positive for the pink sign, and the pink sign area overlapped with the iodine-unstained area. In addition, 4 (12.1%) iodine-unstained areas of the lesions did not match the size of the pathological area, and 10 (30.3%) iodine-unstained areas of the lesions were seriously inconsistent with the size of the pathological area. These 14 (42.4%) lesions were all positive for pink sign, and the pink sign area was significantly smaller than the iodine-unstained area. Among the 14 discordant lesions, 2 lesions underwent ESD according to the iodine-unstained area, which resulted in excessive resection and postoperative stenosis.Conclusion:Determining the extent of superficial esophageal cancer by iodine-unstained areas before ESD may lead to excessive resection of the lesions, which is related to the fact that the iodine-unstained areas of the lesions are sometimes significantly larger than the pink sign areas. Therefore, in order to achieve precise treatment, endoscopists can choose the iodine-unstained area with positive pink sign as the first choice for resection.

Macrophages are important immune effector cells with significant plasticity and heterogeneity in the body immune system, and play an important role in normal physiological conditions and in the process of inflammation. It has been found that macrophage polarization involves a variety of cytokines and is a key link in immune regulation. Targeting macrophages by nanoparticles has a certain impact on the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases. Due to its characteristics, iron oxide nanoparticles have been used as the medium and carrier for cancer diagnosis and treatment, making full use of the special microenvironment of tumors to actively or passively aggregate drugs in tumor tissues, which has a good application prospect. However, the specific regulatory mechanism of reprogramming macrophages using iron oxide nanoparticles remains to be further explored. In this paper, the classification, polarization effect and metabolic mechanism of macrophages were firstly described. Secondly, the application of iron oxide nanoparticles and the induction of macrophage reprogramming were reviewed. Finally, the research prospect and difficulties and challenges of iron oxide nanoparticles were discussed to provide basic data and theoretical support for further research on the mechanism of the polarization effect of nanoparticles on macrophages.
Humans ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Cytokines ; Inflammation ; Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Nanoparticles ; Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles ; Tumor Microenvironment

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)‍-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Chlorocebus aethiops ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Mammals/genetics* ; Toxoplasma/genetics* ; Toxoplasmosis/pathology* ; Vero Cells ; ras GTPase-Activating Proteins/genetics*

ObjectiveTo observe the differences of brain functioning between dominant and non-dominant hemispheres during rehabilitation for subacute stroke based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). MethodsFrom September, 2019 to June, 2020, ten subacute stroke inpatients with left hemiplegia (non-dominant hemisphere group) and 16 with right hemiplegia (dominant hemisphere group) from Beijing Bo'ai Hospital received the same unilateral task-oriented occupational therapy for upper limbs, for four weeks. They were assessed with Action Research Arm Test, Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities and grip strength before and after treatment, and scanned with fNIRS to the β value of bilateral sensorimotor cortex, premotor cortex and prefrontal cortex according to the changes of oxyhemoglobin concentration. ResultsAll the indexes of assessment improved in the both groups after treatment (|t| > 3.253, P < 0.05), while the scores of Action Research Arm Test and grip strength improved more in the dominant hemisphere group than in the non-dominant hemisphere group (|t| > 2.154, P < 0.05). For the β value of fNIRS, there was no main effect on time, region and groups (F < 0.542, P > 0.05), and the interactive effect between region and group was significant (F = 4.226, P < 0.01): In the dominant hemisphere group, the β value was higher in the ipsilateral premotor cortex than in the contralateral cortex (P = 0.030), and it was less in the contralateral prefrontal cortex than in the ipsilateral sensorimotor cortex (P = 0.024), ipsilateral premotor cortex (P = 0.003) and ipsilateral prefrontal cortex (P = 0.018). ConclusionFor the subacute stroke patients with right hemiplegia, the activation of brain regions is different between dominant and non-dominant hemispheres during the rehabilitation of upper limb and hand.

Natural products, and especially the active ingredients found in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), have a thousand-year-long history of clinical use and a strong theoretical basis in TCM. As such, traditional remedies provide shortcuts for the development of original new drugs in China, and increasing numbers of natural products are showing great therapeutic potential in various diseases. This paper reviews the molecular mechanisms of action of natural products from different sources used in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer, introduces the methods and newly emerging technologies used to identify and validate the targets of natural active ingredients, enumerates the expansive list of TCM used to treat inflammatory diseases and cancer, and summarizes the patterns of action of emerging technologies such as single-cell multiomics, network pharmacology, and artificial intelligence in the pharmacological studies of natural products to provide insights for the development of innovative natural product-based drugs. Our hope is that we can make use of advances in target identification and single-cell multiomics to obtain a deeper understanding of actions of mechanisms of natural products that will allow innovation and revitalization of TCM and its swift industrialization and internationalization.

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.

Objective    To analyze the correlation between the gray value of epicardial fat and the prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated by thoracoscopic radiofrequency ablation. Methods    The clinical data of 97 patients, including 75 males and 22 females with an average age of 57.8±9.4 years, who underwent thoracoscopic radiofrequency ablation in Fuwai Hospital from 2017 to 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. The left atrial fat volume and average gray scale were calculated by left atrial enhanced CT. According to the average gray scale of left atrial fat tissue, the patients were divided into three groups: a high gray scale group, a medium gray scale group and a low gray scale group. The patients were followed up at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation. The end point of follow-up was the recovery rate of sinus rhythm. Survival analysis was used to analyze the correlation between CT features of epicardial fat enhancement and prognosis. Results    After adjustment of body mass index, body surface area, gender and left atrial end diastolic diameter, regression analysis showed that the fat gray of left atrial enhanced CT was correlated with the type of AF (OR=0.30, 95%CI 0.12-0.79, P=0.014). Cox regression analysis showed that the fat gray value of left atrial CT predicted the recurrence of AF after thoracoscopic radiofrequency ablation (OR=0.92, 95%CI 0.85-0.99). The Kaplan-Meier curve showed significant difference in the long-term recurrence rate of AF among the three groups (P=0.011). The lower left atrial fat enhanced CT gray scale was, the higher long-term recurrence rate of AF was. Conclusion    The gray value of left atrial fat enhanced CT can effectively predict the recurrence of AF after radiofrequency ablation in thoracoscopic surgery.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) for duodenal accessory papilla.Methods:Data of 122 cases of duodenal accessory papilla diagnosed by EUS at the endoscopy center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from February 28, 2006 to February 28, 2018 were analyzed and summarized.Results:Of the 122 duodenal accessory papilla cases, the age was 52.1±12.9, with more males than females. The most common site of duodenal accessory papillae was the descending part above the papilla (88/122, 72.13%), followed by the junction of duodenal bulb and descending part (29/122, 23.77%), and a small proportion of lesions located in the duodenal bulb (5/122, 4.10%). Duodenal accessory papillae were all solitary, whose diameter mostly ranged 0.5-1.0 cm (88/122, 72.13%), a smaller proportion of diameter larger than 1.0 cm (23/122, 18.85%), and only a few with diameter less than 0.5 cm (11/122, 9.02%). Most duodenal accessory papillae were hypoechoic (71/122, 58.20%) or moderate to low echogenic (35/122, 28.68%), and the echoes were mostly homogeneous. The mucosa layer was smooth, with a sphincteroid structure in the submucosa and below. The boundary of the duodenal accessory papillae was mostly clear (121/122, 99.18%) and characteristic lacunar cavity structures were often seen in the center (83/122, 68.03%). The surrounding intestinal wall was normal and no associated enlarged lymph nodes were found around the intestine.Conclusion:EUS can clearly show the structure of duodenal accessory papilla and adjacent organs, and is of high value for the diagnosis of duodenal accessory papilla.

Objective To investigate the differences of measurement of gross target volume (GTV)between endoscopic ultrasonography ( EUS )-based ( GTVEUS ) and computed tomography ( CT ) -based (GTVCT) method for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods EUS was performed on 36consecutive patients with thoracic squamous cell carcinoma, and the superior and inferior boarders of the tumor defined by EUS were marked with hemoclips. The CT planning scan was then performed with the patient in supine position, and the GTVCT and GTVEUS were contoured respectively. The lengths ( LCT and LEUS) and spatial locations of longitudinal GTVCT and GTVEUS were compared. Results The mean LCT and LEUS were (7. 79 ± 3. 15 ) cm and (7. 42 ± 2. 72) cm, respectively ( t = 0. 82, P ＞ 0. 05 ), with a correlation coefficient of 0. 61 (P ＜0. 001 ). Locations of longitudinal GTVCT and GTVEUS were compared in 34cases, with 2 excluded for invisualization on CT. The mean conformal index (CI) was (0. 79 ± 0. 18 ), and spatial variations were found in 71% patients, with 8 patients at proximal end and 21 others at distal end.There was no clip placement associated complication. Conclusion Endoscopic hemoclips placement is safe and reliable. EUS can provide additional information to CT in defining longitudinal GTV in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, especially in superficial and submucosal carcinomas.