Objective:To explore the characteristics of brain dynamic activity in patients with schizophrenia by using functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI).Methods:Forty-three patients with schizophrenia and 31 normal controls were recruited and under fMRI scanning.The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(PANS)was used to assess the severity of clinical symptoms.The DPABI software were used to compute dReHo and dFC.Granger causality analysis was used to calculate the effective connectivity between the significant brain regions of dReHo and the whole brain.Two sample t-test was performed to compare the difference of dReHo and dFC be-tween patients with schizophrenia and normal controls.Results:The dReHo of left postcentral gyrus(LPG)(P＜0.01,cluster-level FWE corrected)in patients with schizophrenia was decreased.The Dfc was increased between left postcentral and left middle frontal gyrus,left superior medial frontal gyrus,right calcarine,left medial cingulum gyrus,right supplementary motor area(P＜0.01,uncorrected).Compared with normal controls,patients with schiz-ophrenia showed decreased effective connectivity from LPG to right putamen.Conclusion:It suggests that the ab-normal functional activity of the postcentral gyrus mightcontribute to the neural physiopathology in patients with schizophrenia.

Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of serum C-C chemokine 22 (CCL22) and its receptor C-C chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and its correlation with liver function indicators and disease progression. Methods A total of 96 patients with CHB who were treated in Neijiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from October 2021 to November 2022 were recruited as the observation group, and divided into mild group (n=43), moderate group (n=36) and severe group (n=17) , according to the progress of the disease. In addition, 50 healthy people who underwent physical examination in the same hosiptal were selected as the control group. The levels of serum CCL22 mRNA, CCR4 mRNA and liver function indicators [alanine aminotrans-ferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL) and albumin (ALB)] were measured. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between serum CCL22 and CCR4 levels and liver function indicators and disease severity, and logistic regression was applied to evaluate the factors affecting the progress of CHB patients. Results Compared with the control group, the levels of CCL22 mRNA, CCR4 mRNA, ALT, AST and TBIL in the observation group were obviously higher (P<0.05), the level of ALB was obviously lower (P<0.05); the expression levels of serum CCL22 mRNA, CCR4 mRNA, ALT, AST and TBIL in mild, moderate and severe groups increased in turn, while the expression level of ALB decreased in turn, with significant differences between groups (P<0.05); The levels of serum CCL22 mRNA and CCR4 mRNA were positively correlated with liver function indicators ALT, AST, TBIL levels, and negatively correlated with ALB level (P<0.05); Both CCL22 mRNA and CCR4 mRNA were positively correlated with the severity of the disease (r=0.646, 0.516, P<0.001); the expression levels of CCR4 mRNA, ALT, AST, TBIL and ALB were all factors affecting the development of CHB patients (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression of CCL22 and CCR4 in serum is closely related to liver function index and severity of CHB patients, which can provide reference for clinical evaluation and symptomatic treatment.

Mandibular defects caused by injuries, tumors, and infections are common and can severely affect mandibular function and the patient's appearance. However, mandible reconstruction with a mandibular bionic structure remains challenging. Inspired by the process of intramembranous ossification in mandibular development, a hierarchical vascularized engineered bone consisting of angiogenesis and osteogenesis modules has been produced. Moreover, the hierarchical vascular network and bone structure generated by these hierarchical vascularized engineered bone modules match the particular anatomical structure of the mandible. The ultra-tough polyion complex has been used as the basic scaffold for hierarchical vascularized engineered bone for ensuring better reconstruction of mandible function. According to the results of in vivo experiments, the bone regenerated using hierarchical vascularized engineered bone is similar to the natural mandibular bone in terms of morphology and genomics. The sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is specifically activated in hierarchical vascularized engineered bone, indicating that the new bone in hierarchical vascularized engineered bone underwent a process of intramembranous ossification identical to that of mandible development. Thus, hierarchical vascularized engineered bone has a high potential for clinical application in mandibular defect reconstruction. Moreover, the concept based on developmental processes and bionic structures provides an effective strategy for tissue regeneration.
Bone Regeneration ; Bone Transplantation/methods* ; Hedgehog Proteins ; Humans ; Mandible/surgery* ; Osteogenesis

Objective:To establish the biology reference interval (RI) of peripheral blood procalcitonin (PCT) for children between 3 days and 6 years old in China.Methods:Totally 3 353 reference individuals with apparent health or no specific diseases were recruited in 18 hospitals throughout the country during October 2020 to May 2021. Reference individuals were divided into four groups: 3-28 days, 29 days - 1 year, 1-3 years and 4-6 years. Vein blood or capillary blood were collected by percutaneous puncture from every reference individual. The PCT level in serum and the capillary whole blood were assayed by Roche Cobas e601 and Norman NRM411-S7 immunoanalyzer. Outliers were deleted and 95th percentiles of every group were provided as RIs. Man-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test were used performed to assess the difference among different gender, age or method groups. Results:The difference of PCT distribution between male and female is not statistically significant, but the difference between serum and capillary whole blood is statistically significant. The differences between age groups are significant too. For Roche e601, serum PCT RI of 3-28 days group is <0.23 μg/L, 29 days - 6 years are <0.11 μg/L. For NRM411, Serum PCT RI of 3-28 days group is <0.21 μg/L, 29 days - 1 year: <0.09 μg/L, 1 - 6 years: <0.10 μg/L. For whole blood PCT, RI of 3-28 days group is <0.26 μg/L, 29 days - 6 years is <0.15 μg/L.Conclusions:Serum and capillary whole blood PCT have different RIs, however, capillary whole blood PCT testing is valuable in pediatric application. Children in 3-28 days show higher PCT levels than other age group. To establish the RIs and understand the differences among different groups are essential for the interpretation and clinical application of peripheral blood PCT testing results.

The minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery developed rapidly in last decades. In order to promote the development of minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery in China, the Chinese Minimally Invasive Cardiovascular Surgery Committee (CMICS) has gradually standardized the collection and report of the data of Chinese minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery since its establishment. The total operation volume of minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery in China has achieved substantial growth with a remarkable popularization of concepts of minimally invasive medicine in 2019. The data of Chinese minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery in 2019 was reported as a paper for the first time, which may provide reference to cardiovascular surgeons and related professionals.

Objective:To explore the performance of the commonly used whole blood C-reactive protein (CRP) detection systems and give related recommendation on the performance requirements of detection systems.Methods:A total of 7 540 venous blood samples from 26 maternal, child and children′s hospitals were collected to conduct this multi-center study on the analytical performance of 5 commonly used whole blood CRP detection systems from March to April in 2019. The blank check, carryover, repeatability, intermediate precision, linearity, sample stability, influence of hematocrit/triglyceride/bilirubin, comparison with SIEMENS specific protein analyzer and trueness were evaluated. The 5 systems included BC-5390CRP autohematology analyzer, AstepPLUS specific protein analyzer, Ottoman-1000 Automated Specific Protein POCT Workstation, i-CHROMA Immunofluorometer equipment Reader and Orion QuikRead go detecting instrument. The 5 systems were labeled as a, b, c, d and e randomly.Results:Within the 5 systems, all values of blank check were less than 1.00 mg/L, the carryovers were lower than 1.00%. The repeatability of different ranges of CRP concentrations including 3.00-10.00, 10.00-30.00 and>30.00 mg/L were less than 10.00%, 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively, and the intermediate precision was less than 10.00%. The linearity correlation coefficients of the 5 systems were all above 0.975, while the slope was within 0.950-1.050. Whole blood samples were stable within 72 hours both at room temperature (18-25 ℃) and refrigerated temperature (2-8 ℃). The CRP results were rarely influenced by high triglyceride or bilirubin, except for the immmunoturbidimetric test based on microparticles coated with anti-human CRP F(ab) 2 fragments. When triglyceride was less than 15.46 mmol/L, the deviation of CRP was less than 10.00%. When bilirubin was less than 345.47 μmol/L, the deviation of CRP was less than 10.00%. CRP was more susceptible to Hct on the systems without Hct correction. The deviation of CRP between different Hct dilution concentration and 40% dilution concentration can reach as high as 67.48%. The correlation coefficients ( r) of 5 systems were all more than 0.975 in the range of 0-300.00 mg/L compared with Siemens specific protein analyzer. All systems passed the trueness verification using the samples with specified values of 12.89 and 30.60 mg/L. Conclusion:The performance of 5 systems can basically meet the clinical needs, but it is suggested that the whole blood CRP detection system without automatic Hct correction should be modified manually.

Objective:To explore the effect of the feedback method education model in patients with recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) , so as to provide a new education model for clinical health education.Methods:From May 2019 to May 2020, convenience sampling was used to select 76 RAU patients in the Stomatology Hospital of Southern Medical University. According to the method of random number table, the patients were divided into the experimental group and the control group, with 38 cases in each group. The experimental group implemented feedback method education model, and the control group carried out routine health education. The scores of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) , number of ulcers, healing time, pain degree, ulcer diameter and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) scores of patients were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention.Results:The score of MMAS-8 in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group after the intervention, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05) . After the intervention, the number of ulcers in the experimental group was less than that in the control group, and the ulcer diameter was smaller than that in the control group, and the healing time was shorter than that in the control group, and the pain degree was lower than that in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05) . After the intervention, the total score and dimension scores of OHIP-14 in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group, and the differences were also statistically significant ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:The feedback method education model can improve the adherence of RAU patients, the clinical indicators and the quality of life related to oral health of patients, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility and safety of sphincter-preserving surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) with consolidation chemotherapy in the interval period or total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) for low rectal cancer.Methods:A descriptive case series study was carried out. Clinical data of patients with locally advanced low rectal cancer (LALRC) who achieved complete clinical response (cCR) or nearly cCR (near-cCR) after nCRT at the Department of Colorectal Surgery of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital from May 2015 to February 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Case inclusion criteria: (1) Low rectal adenocarcinoma within 6 cm from the anal verge. (2) After nCRT, tumor presented markedly regression as mucosal nodule or abnormalities, superficial ulcer, scar or a mucosal erythema (< 2 cm); no regional lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis was found in rectal ultrasonography, pelvic MRI and PET-CT; MRI showed obvious fibrosis in the original tumor site; and post-treatment CEA was normal. (3) The patient and the family members adhered to receive the transanal full-thickness local excision with informed consent. (4) When the residual lesions were difficult to detect after nCRT, patients received the watch and wait (W&W) strategy. Exclusion criteria: (1) Before nCRT, pathological results showed poorly differentiated or signet-ring cell carcinoma; lateral lymph node metastasis was suspected. (2) When the residual lesion size was more than 3 cm after nCRT, it was difficult to perform local excision. The consolidation nCRT group received 3-4 cycles of CAPOX regimen (oxaliplatin and capecitabine) or six cycles of mFOLFOX6 (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil) combined with the long-course radiotherapy (intensity-modulated radiation therapy with a total dose of 50.4Gy). Patients with concurrent chemotherapy more than or equal to five cycles of CAPOX or eight cycles of mFOLFOX6 were defined as total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) group. Local resection was recommended for patients who were near-cCR according to modified MSKCC criteria 8-33 weeks after the end of radiotherapy. Patients with a near-cCR, who were judged as ycN0 according to PET-CT and MRI and were ypT0 after local excision, could enter the W&W strategy. Patients with pathologic stage more advanced than ypT1, and those with positive resection margin, or lymphovascular invasion were recommended for salvage radical surgery after local excision. The ypT1 patients with a negative resection margin and without lymphovascular invasion might receive the W&W management carefully if they refused radicalsurgery to sacrifice the sphincter for low rectal cancer.Results:Of 32 patients, 14 were males and 18 were females with the average age of 59 years old. Twenty-three patients underwent consolidation nCRT, and 9 received TNT. The first evaluation after treatments showed 19 cases with cCR and 13 with near-cCR. Twenty-nine patients received local excision while 3 patients with undetectable lesions received W&W policy. Four cases (12.5%) underwent salvage radical surgery with abdominoperineal resection. After local excision, 3 cases underwent salvage radical surgery immediately, and the final pathologic result was ypT3N0, ypT2N0, and ypT2N0 respectively, of whom 2 cases were in the group of consolidation CRT and 1 was in the TNT group. Of these 3 cases, 1 case with an initial cT3 stage showed a pathologic stage of ypT1 and a negative circumferential resection margin after consolidation nCRT and local excision, however, the final pathologic stage was ypT3 with fragmented tumor deposits in the mesorectum after the salvage radical surgery. Meanwhile 1 patient in the TNT group receiving W&W suffered from intraluminal regrowth after 7.4 months follow-up and underwent salvage abdominoperineal resection. One patient in the consolidation nCRT group died of stroke 42.5 months after local resection. Another patient in the TNT group had cerebral metastasis 10 months after the W&W policy, but no local recurrence was found in the pelvic cavity, then received resection of the metastatic tumors. The average follow-up for all the patients was 23 (5-51) months. The cumulative local regrowth rate was 5.0%. The overall survival rate was 85.7%, and the sphincter-preservation rate was increased from 25.0% (28/32) in the original plan to 87.5% (28/32) actually. The 3-year disease-free survival rate was 89.7%. The 3-year organ-preserving survival rate was 85.7%, and the 3-year stoma-free survival rate was 82.5%. At present, 31 patients still survived.Conclusions:After nCRT with consolidation chemotherapy or TNT for low rectal cancer, patients with cCR, ycN0 according to PET-CT and MRI, and ypT0 after local excision, can consider the W&W strategy. Strict patient selection with a near-cCR for local resection and sphincter-preserving strategy can reduce the local regrowth of cancer, and the short-term outcomes are satisfactory.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility and safety of sphincter-preserving surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) with consolidation chemotherapy in the interval period or total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) for low rectal cancer.Methods:A descriptive case series study was carried out. Clinical data of patients with locally advanced low rectal cancer (LALRC) who achieved complete clinical response (cCR) or nearly cCR (near-cCR) after nCRT at the Department of Colorectal Surgery of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital from May 2015 to February 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Case inclusion criteria: (1) Low rectal adenocarcinoma within 6 cm from the anal verge. (2) After nCRT, tumor presented markedly regression as mucosal nodule or abnormalities, superficial ulcer, scar or a mucosal erythema (< 2 cm); no regional lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis was found in rectal ultrasonography, pelvic MRI and PET-CT; MRI showed obvious fibrosis in the original tumor site; and post-treatment CEA was normal. (3) The patient and the family members adhered to receive the transanal full-thickness local excision with informed consent. (4) When the residual lesions were difficult to detect after nCRT, patients received the watch and wait (W&W) strategy. Exclusion criteria: (1) Before nCRT, pathological results showed poorly differentiated or signet-ring cell carcinoma; lateral lymph node metastasis was suspected. (2) When the residual lesion size was more than 3 cm after nCRT, it was difficult to perform local excision. The consolidation nCRT group received 3-4 cycles of CAPOX regimen (oxaliplatin and capecitabine) or six cycles of mFOLFOX6 (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil) combined with the long-course radiotherapy (intensity-modulated radiation therapy with a total dose of 50.4Gy). Patients with concurrent chemotherapy more than or equal to five cycles of CAPOX or eight cycles of mFOLFOX6 were defined as total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) group. Local resection was recommended for patients who were near-cCR according to modified MSKCC criteria 8-33 weeks after the end of radiotherapy. Patients with a near-cCR, who were judged as ycN0 according to PET-CT and MRI and were ypT0 after local excision, could enter the W&W strategy. Patients with pathologic stage more advanced than ypT1, and those with positive resection margin, or lymphovascular invasion were recommended for salvage radical surgery after local excision. The ypT1 patients with a negative resection margin and without lymphovascular invasion might receive the W&W management carefully if they refused radicalsurgery to sacrifice the sphincter for low rectal cancer.Results:Of 32 patients, 14 were males and 18 were females with the average age of 59 years old. Twenty-three patients underwent consolidation nCRT, and 9 received TNT. The first evaluation after treatments showed 19 cases with cCR and 13 with near-cCR. Twenty-nine patients received local excision while 3 patients with undetectable lesions received W&W policy. Four cases (12.5%) underwent salvage radical surgery with abdominoperineal resection. After local excision, 3 cases underwent salvage radical surgery immediately, and the final pathologic result was ypT3N0, ypT2N0, and ypT2N0 respectively, of whom 2 cases were in the group of consolidation CRT and 1 was in the TNT group. Of these 3 cases, 1 case with an initial cT3 stage showed a pathologic stage of ypT1 and a negative circumferential resection margin after consolidation nCRT and local excision, however, the final pathologic stage was ypT3 with fragmented tumor deposits in the mesorectum after the salvage radical surgery. Meanwhile 1 patient in the TNT group receiving W&W suffered from intraluminal regrowth after 7.4 months follow-up and underwent salvage abdominoperineal resection. One patient in the consolidation nCRT group died of stroke 42.5 months after local resection. Another patient in the TNT group had cerebral metastasis 10 months after the W&W policy, but no local recurrence was found in the pelvic cavity, then received resection of the metastatic tumors. The average follow-up for all the patients was 23 (5-51) months. The cumulative local regrowth rate was 5.0%. The overall survival rate was 85.7%, and the sphincter-preservation rate was increased from 25.0% (28/32) in the original plan to 87.5% (28/32) actually. The 3-year disease-free survival rate was 89.7%. The 3-year organ-preserving survival rate was 85.7%, and the 3-year stoma-free survival rate was 82.5%. At present, 31 patients still survived.Conclusions:After nCRT with consolidation chemotherapy or TNT for low rectal cancer, patients with cCR, ycN0 according to PET-CT and MRI, and ypT0 after local excision, can consider the W&W strategy. Strict patient selection with a near-cCR for local resection and sphincter-preserving strategy can reduce the local regrowth of cancer, and the short-term outcomes are satisfactory.

Objective: To screen out the potential gene biomarkers to predict responses to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with rectal cancer and to explore the main downstream pathways of resistance. Methods: The gene expression profiles (GSE35452) of locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy from 46 specimens (24 responders, TRG 0/1, and 22 non-responders, TRG 2/3) were downloaded from the GEO database. The differentially expressed genes were identified to screen out the potential biomarkers by use of the GCBI platform. GO and KEGG pathways enrichment analysis were performed to integrate enrichment results of differentially expressed genes. Signal-signal interaction network was constructed and analyzed to screen out potential main downstream pathways. Results: A total of 1079 differentially expressed genes were screened, including 657 up-regulated and 422 down-regulated ones. Among these genes, REG4 had the maximum fold change value of -6.029 491. In GO term, these differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in molecule metabolic process, cell cycle, DNA-dependent transcription, signal transduction and apoptotic process. The KEGG pathways enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were enriched in 65 KEGG pathways, including metabolic pathways, cell cycle and metabolism pathways. Signal-signal interaction network analysis showed that MAPK signaling pathway and cell cycle pathway might play a determinant role in the development of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy resistance. Further analysis showed that CDKN1B, CDKN2A, RBL1, TFDP1, CCND2, CCNE2, CDC6 and CDK6 in cell cycle might induce chemoradiotherapy resistance by blocking G1/S phase cell cycle arrest, decreasing the apoptosis of tumor cells and increasing S phase ratio of chemoradiotherapy resistance. Conclusion G1/S phase cell cycle arrest blocking plays an important role in the development of chemoradiotherapy resistance in patients with rectal cancer. Moreover, the key genes, such as REG4, may be useful in predicting responses to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.