Objective The distribution of the photon energy spectrum in isocenter plane of the medical linear accelerator and the influence of secondary collimator on the photon energy spectrum are studied.Methods Use the BEAMnrc program to simulate the transmission of the 6 MeV electrons and photons in 5 cm×5 cm,10 cm×10 cm,15 cm×15 cm and 20 cm×20 cm fields in treatment head of the medical linear accelerator,where a phase space file was set up at the isocenter plane to record the particle information passing through this plane.The BEAMdp program is used to analyze the phase space file,in order to obtain the distribution of the photon energy spectrum in isocenter plane and the influence of secondary collimator on the photon energy spectrum.Results By analyzing the photon energy spectrum of a medical linear accelerator with a nominal energy of 6 MV,it is found that the secondary collimator has little effect on the photon energy spectrum;different fields have different photon energy spectrum distributions;the photon energy spectrum in different central regions of the same field have the same normalized distribution.Conclusion In the dose calculation of radiation therapy,the influence of photon energy spectrum should be carefully considered.

Background::Histological healing is closely associated with improved long-term clinical outcomes and lowered relapses in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Here, we developed a novel diagnostic criterion for assessing histological healing in UC patients.Methods::We conducted a retrospective cohort study in UC patients, whose treatment was iteratively optimized to achieve mucosal healing at Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital of Tongji University from January 2017 to May 2022. We identified an inflammatory cell enumeration index (ICEI) for assessing histological healing based on the proportions of eosinophils, CD177 + neutrophils, and CD40L + T cells in the colonic lamina propria under high power field (HPF), and the outcomes (risks of symptomatic relapses) of achieving histological remission vs. persistent histological inflammation using Kaplan-Meier curves. Intrareader reliability and inter-reader reliability were evaluated by each reader. The relationships to the changes in the Nancy index and the Geboes score were also assessed for responsiveness. The ICEI was further validated in a new cohort of UC patients from other nine university hospitals. Results::We developed an ICEI for clinical diagnosis of histological healing, i.e., Y = 1.701X 1 + 0.758X 2 + 1.347X 3 - 7.745 (X 1, X 2, and X 3 represent the proportions of CD177 + neutrophils, eosinophils, and CD40L + T cells, respectively, in the colonic lamina propria under HPF). The receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis revealed that Y <-0.391 was the cutoff value for the diagnosis of histological healing and that an area under the curve (AUC) was 0.942 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.905-0.979) with a sensitivity of 92.5% and a specificity of 83.6% ( P <0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the intrareader reliability was 0.855 (95% CI: 0.781-0.909), and ICEI had good inter-reader reliability of 0.832 (95% CI: 0.748-0.894). During an 18-month follow-up, patients with histological healing had a substantially better outcome compared with those with unachieved histological healing ( P <0.001) using ICEI. During a 12-month follow-up from other nine hospitals, patients with histological healing also had a lower risk of relapse than patients with unachieved histological healing. Conclusions::ICEI can be used to predict histological healing and identify patients with a risk of relapse 12 months and 18 months after clinical therapy. Therefore, ICEI provides a promising, simplified approach to monitor histological healing and to predict the prognosis of UC.Registration::Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, No. ChiCTR2300077792.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of buccal acupuncture on analgesia after tonsilloadenoidectomy in pediatric patients.Methods:This was a randomized controlled study. One hundred and twenty-six American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ or Ⅱ pediatric patients, aged 3-12 yr, weighing 12-34 kg, with body mass index <30 kg/m 2, undergoing elective tonsilloadenoidectomy with general anesthesia, were divided into 2 groups ( n=63 each) by the random number table method: buccal acupuncture group (group B) and control group (group C). All pediatric patients received the same anesthesia induction and intraoperative anesthesia maintenance. The concentration of sevoflurane was adjusted to keep the fluctuation amplitude of vital sign parameters within 20% of the baseline value. After surgery, the drug was immediately stopped and the children were transferred to the postanesthesia care unit for resuscitation under general anesthesia. In group B, the bilateral neck points, upper neck points, hologram points on the head and Zhongjiao points were selected before removal of the tracheal catheter, and disposable acupuncture needles were inserted directly into the acupoints and remained for 20-30 min. Group C received no buccal acupuncture. The pain Assessment Scale (FLACC) was used to assess the severity of postoperative pain. The postoperative agitation score was evaluated by Aono four-point rating method to evaluate the occurrence of agitation. The effective pressing times of patient-controlled analgesia, rescue analgesia and occurrence of nausea and vomiting within 48 h after operation were recorded. The occurrence of bleeding, infection and broken needle at acupuncture sites was recorded. Results:Compared with group C, the effective pressing times of patient-controlled analgesia and incidence of nausea and vomiting were significantly decreased in group B ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of rescue analgesia and incidence of postoperative agitation between the two groups ( P>0.05). No infection or broken needle was found at acupuncture sites after buccal acupuncture, only 2 cases had slight bleeding at the puncture site, and there was no abnormality after pressing in group B. Conclusions:Buccal acupuncture can enhance the analgesic effect after tonsilloadenoidectomy in pediatric patients.

The Omicron family of SARS-CoV-2 variants are currently driving the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we analyzed the clinical laboratory test results of 9911 Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages-infected symptomatic patients without earlier infection histories during a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Shanghai in spring 2022. Compared to an earlier patient cohort infected by SARS-CoV-2 prototype strains in 2020, BA.2.2 infection led to distinct fluctuations of pathophysiological markers in the peripheral blood. In particular, severe/critical cases of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection were associated with less pro-inflammatory macrophage activation and stronger interferon alpha response in the bronchoalveolar microenvironment. Importantly, the abnormal biomarkers were significantly subdued in individuals who had been immunized by 2 or 3 doses of SARS-CoV-2 prototype-inactivated vaccines, supporting the estimation of an overall 96.02% of protection rate against severe/critical disease in the 4854 cases in our BA.2.2 patient cohort with traceable vaccination records. Furthermore, even though age was a critical risk factor of the severity of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection, vaccination-elicited protection against severe/critical COVID-19 reached 90.15% in patients aged ≽ 60 years old. Together, our study delineates the pathophysiological features of Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages and demonstrates significant protection conferred by prior prototype-based inactivated vaccines.
Humans ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; China/epidemiology* ; Disease Outbreaks/prevention & control* ; Vaccination

Objective:To develop a prototype artificial intelligence immunofluorescence image recognition system for classification of antinuclear antibodies in order to meet the growing clinical requirements for an automatic readout and classification of immunof luorescence patterns for antinuclear antibody (ANA) images.Methods:Immunofluorescence images with positive results of ANA in Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from April 2020 to December 2021 were collected. Three senior technicians independently and in parallel interpreted the Immunofluorescence images to determine the ANA results. Then the images were labeled according to the ANA International Consensus on Fluorescence Patterns (ICAP) classification criteria. There were 7 labeled groups: Fine speckled, Coarse speckled, Homogeneous, nucleolar, Centromere, Nuclear dots and Nuclear envelope. Each group was randomly divided into training dataset and validation dataset at a ratio of 9∶1 by using random number table. On the deep learning framework PyTORCH 1.7, the convolutional neural network (CNN) training platform was constructed based on ResNet-34 image classification network, and the automatic ANA recognition system was established. After the model was established, the test set was set up separately, the judgment results of the model were output by ranking the prediction probability, with the results of the 2 senior technicians was taken as "golden standard". Parameters such as accuracy, precision, recall and F1-score were used as indicators to evaluate the performance of the model.Results:A total of 23138 immunofluorescence images were obtained after segmentation and annotation. A total of 7 models were trained, and the effects of different algorithms, image processing and enhancement methods on the model were compared. The ResNet-34 model with the highest accuracy andswas selected as the final model, with the classification accuracy of 93.31%, precision rate of 91%, and recall rate of 90% and F1-score of 91% in the test set. The overall coincidence rate between the model and manual interpretation was 90.05%, and the accuracy of recognition of nucleolus was the highest, with the coincidence rate reaching 100% in the test set.Conclusion:The current AI system developed based on deep learning of the ANA immunofluorescence images in the present study showed the ability to recognize ANA pattern, especially in the common, typical, simple pattern.

Objective:To construct a Discharge Preparation Service Demand Assessment Scale for Psychiatric Patients with Depression.Methods:Convenience sampling was used to select 25 experts from fields such as psychiatric nursing, psychiatric management, and rehabilitation treatment as the subject of the consultation. On the basis of literature review and clinical experience, the research group used the Delphi method to conduct two rounds of consultation with 25 experts, forming a Discharge Preparation Service Demand Assessment Scale for Psychiatric Patients with Depression. The enthusiasm of experts was evaluated using the effective response rate of the questionnaires. The authority level of experts was assessed using an authority coefficient. The concentration of expert opinions was evaluated using the mean of item importance assignment and coefficient of variation. The degree of coordination of expert opinions was represented by the Kendall coordination coefficient.Results:The effective response rates of the two rounds of consultation questionnaires were all 100%, with expert authority coefficients of 0.890 and 0.904, and the Kendall coordination coefficients of expert opinions of 0.247 and 0.203 ( P<0.05) . The Discharge Preparation Service Demand Assessment Scale for Psychiatric Patients with Depression was constructed, which included 10 dimensions and 38 items. Conclusions:The Discharge Preparation Service Demand Assessment Scale for Psychiatric Patients with Depression is scientific and reliable, which can provide a basis for clinical nurses to evaluate the discharge preparation service demands of psychiatric patients with depression.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) diagnosed and treated in our hospital during the past 10 years.Methods:A retrospective clinical study. From 2011 to 2021, 126 eyes of 67 patients with PVRL who were diagnosed and treated in Department of Ophthalmology, Eye-ENT Hospital, Fudan University were included in the study. Among them, there were 23 males (34.3%, 23/67) and 44 females (65.7%, 44/67); the average age was 57.1 years. There were 59 cases with both eyes (88.1%, 59/67) and 8 cases with one eye (11.9%, 8/67). At the initial eye diagnosis, 22 cases had a clear history of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL); 5 cases were found to have intracranial lesions by head imaging examination; 40 cases had no central nervous system involvement. Twenty cases were treated with glucocorticoids due to misdiagnosed uveitis. All patients received intravitreal injection of methotrexate (IVM) treatment. The treatment regimen was twice a week in the induction period for 2 weeks, once a week in the consolidation period for 1 month, and once a month in the maintenance period. Patients with PCNSL or both eyes received concurrent systemic chemotherapy (chemotherapy), and some in combination with radiation therapy to the brain (radiotherapy). The mean follow-up time was 39.3 months. The clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The visual acuity before and after treatment was compared by t test. Results:Among the 22 cases with a clear history of PCNSL at the initial eye diagnosis, the average time from intracranial diagnosis to eye diagnosis was 22.9 months. Among the 40 cases without central nervous system involvement at first, 14 cases (20.9%, 14/67) developed central nervous system lesions during follow-up period. The mean time from ocular diagnosis to intracranial diagnosis was 9.9 months. Among the 126 eyes, 42 eyes (33.3%, 42/126) had anterior segment inflammation. vitreous inflammation type, retinal type, and vitreous retinal type were 58 (46.0%, 58/126), 7 (5.6%, 7/126), and 61 (48.4%, 61/126) eyes, and 9 of them (7.1%, 9/126) had optic nerve involvement at the same time. Patients received an average of 12 IVM treatments. IVM combined with systemic chemotherapy in 59 cases (88.1%, 59/67), of which 16 cases were combined with brain radiotherapy. All patients achieved complete remission after completing the treatment cycle (100.0%, 67/67). After treatment, 21 eyes (16.7%, 21/126) had ocular recurrence; 22 (32.8%, 22/67) had intracranial recurrence; 8 cases (11.9%, 8/67) died. The mean progression-free survival of patients was 23.7 months; the mean survival time was 43.6 months; the 5-year overall survival rate was 72.5%.Conclusions:The manifestations of PVRL are complex and diverse, and most of them are accompanied by involvement of the central nervous system. It can be divided into vitreitis type, retinal type and vitreoretinal type, and the optic nerve can be involved at the same time; IVM combined with systemic treatment can completely relieve the disease.

Objective:To analyze the long-term efficacy of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) assisted with vitamin D in the treatment of elderly thoracolumbar single vertebral osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) and its effect on transfected bone morphogenetic protein-Effects of 7 (BMP-7) /25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [ (25- (OH) -D3] levels.Methods:106 elderly patients with fresh OVCF of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae who were treated with PKP in Li Huili Hospital of Ningbo Medical Center from Jun. 2017 to Jun. 2021 were selected as the research object, and they were divided into two groups according to the random number table method (53 cases in each group) . Both groups were treated with PKP and received conventional anti-osteoporosis treatment and rehabilitation training. On this basis, patients in the treatment group were given vitamin D therapy. Before treatment and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment, the degree of pain improvement, Cobb angle improvement, bone mineral density, vertebral body compression rate, vertebral body function recovery and serum BMP-7, 25- (OH) -D3 level, and the cement leakage rate of all subjects within 1 year of follow-up was recorded.Results:Two patients in the observation group and 3 patients in the control group lost to follow-up. Comparing the results of before treatment and 12 months after treatment: the control group’s BMD increased from 0.585±0.042 to 0.755±0.0641; BMP-7 increased from 80.02±6.24 to 129.87±10.52;25- (OH) -D3 increased from 9.15±2.16 to 13.52±2.64;and the treatment group’s BMD increased from 0.576±0.039 to 0.868±0.079; BMP-7 increased from 78.36±6.20 to 153.41±12.70; 25- (OH) -D3 increased from 9.01±2.12 to 16.24±2.81; the treatment group had higher increase ( P<0.05) . Meanwhile the control group’s Cobb angle decreased from 13.54±1.81 to 8.05±1.05; vertebral body compression rate decreased from 28.41±3.47 to 19.86±2.29; ODI score decreased from 74.42±7.37 to 24.08±2.41; VAS score decreased from7.54±0.81 to 2.65±0.25,and the treatment group’s Cobb angle decreased from 13.70±1.89 to 7.42±0.97;vertebral body compression rate decreased from 28.97±3.62 to 18.86±2.02; ODI score decreased from75.78±7.43 to 21.39±2.08; VAS score decreased from7.70±0.891 to 2.32±0.20,while the treatment group decreased more ( P<0.05) . In addition, the vertebral refracture rate in the control group was 22.00% (11/50) , while the vertebral refracture rate in the treatment group was 5.88% (3/51) , and there was a significant difference between the groups ( χ 2=5.125, P=0.024) . Conclusion:PKP combined with vitamin D in the treatment of elderly thoracolumbar OVCF can significantly improve the levels of BMP-7 and 25- (OH) -D3, better restore bone mineral density, vertebral body function and correct kyphosis, with a more ideal long-term efficacy.

Inflammatory caspase-11 senses and is activated by intracellular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leading to pyroptosis that has critical role in defensing against bacterial infection, whereas its excess activation under pathogenic circumstances may cause various inflammatory diseases. However, there are few known drugs that can control caspase-11 activation. We report here that scutellarin, a flavonoid from Erigeron breviscapus, acted as an inhibitor for caspase-11 activation in macrophages. Scutellarin dose-dependently inhibited intracellular LPS-induced release of caspase-11p26 (indicative of caspase-11 activation) and generation of N-terminal fragment of gasdermin D (GSDMD-NT), leading to reduced pyroptosis. It also suppressed the activation of non-canonical nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome as evidenced by reduced apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) speck formation and decreased interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and caspase-1p10 secretion, whereas the NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950 only inhibited IL-1β and caspase-1p10 release and ASC speck formation but not pyroptosis. Scutellarin also suppressed LPS-induced caspase-11 activation and pyroptosis in RAW 264.7 cells lacking ASC expression. Moreover, scutellarin treatment increased Ser/Thr phosphorylation of caspase-11 at protein kinase A (PKA)-specific sites, and its inhibitory action on caspase-11 activation was largely abrogated by PKA inhibitor H89 or by adenylyl cyclase inhibitor MDL12330A. Collectively, our data indicate that scutellarin inhibited caspase-11 activation and pyroptosis in macrophages at least partly via regulating the PKA signaling pathway.

Objective:To evaluate the day-surgery unit-based training of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).Methods:Perioperative data of 438 patients (187 males and 251 females) with a median age of 54 (aged 17 to 91) years undergoing LC during January 2019 to April 2021 in the day-surgery unit of Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively collected and subdivided according to the training methods of surgeons [Group A( n=260): conventional training vs. Group B ( n=178): protocoled stepwise training]. The protocoled stepwise training consists of the rotation in open biliary surgery unit, the stimulator-based laparoscopic training, and the stepwise procedural tutoring. The conventional training features the traditional surgical practice following senior surgeons. The technical data involving operation time, blood loss, the percentages of intraoperative decision-making by senior surgeons and the handing-over of procedure to senior surgeons, etc. were statistically analyzed. Results:The operation time was shortened in Group B [(55±30) min vs. (61±33) min], with significantly decreased percentages of intraoperative decision-making by senior surgeons [7.9% (14/178)vs. 16.9%(44/260), P<0.05] and the handing-over of procedure to senior surgeons [3.4%(6/178) vs. 11.2%(29/260), P<0.05]. Conclusion:Based on the protocoled stepwise training and the consecutive, high-volumed and standardized procedures, the laparoscopic technical proficiency and competency of the trainee surgeons have been improved.