Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated thoracic radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy in the treatment of limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Methods A total of 117 patients with LS-SCLC were enrolled and randomly divided into test group (n=59) and control group (n=58). Patients in the experiment group were given hypofractionated thoracic radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy, while patients in the control group were given hyperfractionation radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy. Objective response rate (ORR), 2-year overall survival (OS), 2-year progression free survival (PFS), and immune cell level were used to evaluate clinical efficacy. We compared the incidence of side effects between the two groups. Results After the treatment, the ORR of patients in the test group was higher than that in the control group (P > 0.05). The mean OS and PFS of patients in the test group were significantly longer than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and NK cells in the test group were significantly higher, whereas the levels of CD8⁺ were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of radiation pneumonitis, radiation esophagitis, and severe dermatitis in the test group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Hypofractionated radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy for treatment of LS-SCLC can effectively improve the anticancer efficacy and patient survival, reduce the damage to the body's immune function, and alleviate adverse reaction of radiotherapy.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical Bisaitong （鼻塞通） in treating moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis （AR）. MethodsA randomized， positive-controlled， non-inferiority clinical trial design was adopted. Totally， 108 cases of moderate-to-severe AR were randomly divided into Bisaitong group and mometasone furoate group，with 54 cases in each group. The Bisaitong group was treated with Bisaitong smeared at the nasal cavity twice a day， and the mometasone furoate group received inhalation of mometasone furoate nasal spray 100 μg in each nostril， once a day. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks and followed up after additional 4 weeks. Both groups were compared on the rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire （RQLQ）， rhinoconjunctivitis total symptom score （RTSS）， visual analogue score （VAS） of sneezing， runny nose， nasal itching， nasal congestion degree， days of AR episodes at enrollment， after 2- and 4-week， and at follow-up. The peripheral blood eosinophil （EOS） count and percentage （EOS%）， serum eosinophil cationic protein （ECP）， serum dust mite， dermatophagoides farinae， and cockroach allergen-specific IgE （sIgE） levels were compared between groups at enrollment and after 4-week treatment. Drug overuse rate was calculated， and the safety was evaluated. The analysis of all efficacy outcomes was based on both full analysis set （FAS） and per-protocol set （PPS）. ResultsThe lower limit of the 95% confidence interval for the differences in RQLQ scores were greater than -0.6 measured after 2- and 4-week treatment and at follow-up compared to that measured at the enrollment in both groups， indicating of the Bisaitong group being non-inferior to the mometasone furoate group. There was no statistically significant difference between groups on RTSS score， VAS scores of sneezing， runny nose， nasal itching， nasal congestion degree and days of episodes at all timepoints （P＞0.05）， but each outcome changed significantly over time in both groups （P＜0.01）. The differences between groups in EOS count， EOS%， ECP levels， serum dust mite， dermatophagoides farinae， cockroach sIgE levels， and drug overuse rate were not statistically significant at enrollment and after 4-week treatment （P＞0.05）. Adverse events occurred in eight cases （15.10%） in the Bisaitong group and five cases （9.30%） in the mometasone furoate group， showing no significant difference between groups （P＞0.05）. ConclusionTopical Bisaitong is non-inferior to mometasone furoate nasal spray in the treatment of moderate to severe AR in terms of clinical symptom relief，reduction in the episodes， improvement of quality of life， and sound safety.

Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is a ubiquitous virus. The incidence of HHV-6 after liver transplantation is estimated to be 22% ? 54%; it may present with fever, hepatitis, pneumonia, encephalitis, and myelosuppression and has a poor prognosis. HHV-6(+) recipients had a mortality rate of 29%, significantly higher than that of HHV-6(?) recipients (6%). Since most infections are asymptomatic, HHV-6 monitoring is not routinely performed in clinical practice, which means clinicians often ignore the diagnosis of HHV-6 and eventually delay diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, a case of human herpesvirus 6B encephalitis after liver transplantation was retrospectively analyzed, and the literature related to this disease was reviewed to improve the understanding of this disease.

Objective:This meta-analysis was conducted to systematically evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging guided laparoscopic liver tumor resection (FIGLTR).Methods:A systematic search was made for the literature on indocyanine green fluorescence image-guided laparoscopic hepatectomy in randomized, semi-randomized controlled trials and observational studies, and manually search published materials and conference papers in Chinese and English and trace references included in the literature. The retrieval period was up to September 2021. The quality of included studies was evaluated, then the meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.1 software.Results:Ten studies were included with 803 patients, including 341 in the FIGLTR group and 462 in the non-FIGLTR group. Meta results showed that: Compared to the traditional resection group, indocyanine green fluorescence imaging can significantly shorten the operative time ( MD=-22.61, 95% CI: -34.20--11.03, P<0.001), reduce intraoperative bleeding ( MD=-49.17, 95% CI: -84.99--13.36, P<0.01), shorter hospital stay ( MD=-0.89, 95% CI: -7.72--0.06, P<0.05), Improve the removal rate of R 0 edge ( OR=8.80, 95% CI: 1.96-39.44, P<0.05) and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications ( OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.34-0.87, P<0.05) of laparoscopic liver tumor resection. There were no differences found in portal block time and transfusion rate. Conclusion:Indocyanine green fluorescence imaging technology provides a new way for safe and accurate laparoscopic resection of liver tumors.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are the most common phytotoxins with documented human hepatotoxicity. PAs require metabolic activation by cytochromes P450 to generate toxic intermediates which bind to proteins and form protein adducts, thereby causing cytotoxicity. This study investigated the role of the gut-liver axis in PA intoxication and the underlying mechanisms. We exposed mice to retrorsine (RTS), a representative PA, and for the first time found RTS-induced intestinal epithelium damage and disruption to intestinal barrier function. Using mice with tissue-selective ablation of P450 activity, we found that hepatic P450s, but not intestinal P450s, were essential for PA bioactivation. Besides, in RTS-exposed, bile duct-cannulated rats, we found the liver-derived reactive PA metabolites were transported by bile into the intestine to exert enterotoxicity. The impact of gut-derived pathogenic factors in RTS-induced hepatotoxicity was further studied in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced chronic colitis. DSS treatment increased the hepatic endotoxin level and depleted hepatic reduced glutathione, thereby suppressing the PA detoxification pathway. Compared to RTS-exposed normal mice, the colitic mice displayed more severe RTS-induced hepatic vasculature damage, fibrosis, and steatosis. Overall, our findings provide the first mode-of-action evidence of PA-induced enterotoxicity and highlight the importance of gut barrier function in PA-induced liver injury.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of CalliSpheres microsphere-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (CSM-TACE) versus conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (cTACE) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through a meta-analysis. MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and VIP were searched for all Chinese and English articles on the application of CSM-TACE and cTACE in HCC published up to the end of October, 2020. After quality assessment was performed for the articles included, RevMan 5.3 software provided by Cochrane Library was used for analysis. ResultsA total of 15 studies were included, with 1535 patients in total. This meta-analysis showed that compared with the patients receiving cTACE, the patients receiving CSM-TACE had significantly higher 1-year overall survival rate (odds ratio ［OR］=2.26, 95% confidence interval ［CI］: 1.63-3.13, P＜0.000 01), 2-year overall survival rate (OR=1.73, 95%CI: 1.20-2.50, P=0.003), and 2-year progression-free survival rate (OR=1.60, 95%CI: 1.05-2.43, P=0.03). In terms of safety, compared with the patients receiving cTACE, the patients receiving CSM-TACE had significantly lower incidence rates of postoperative vomiting (OR=0.65, 95%CI: 0.46-0.92, P=0.01), bone marrow suppression (OR=0.17, 95%CI: 0.05-0.54, P=0.003), and neutropenia (OR=0.18, 95%CI: 0.07-045, P=0.000 3), while there were no significant differences between the two groups of patients in postoperative pyrexia, abdominal pain, and ascites (all P＞0.05). ConclusionCSM-TACE has significant advantages in improving 1- and 2-year overall survival rates and 2-year progression-free survival rates and can significantly reduce the incidence rates of postoperative vomiting, bone marrow suppression, and neutropenia. Therefore, CSM-TACE is a safe and effective treatment method.

Objective:To establish the quality standard for Xiaotang Zhike pills.Methods:Atractylodis Rhizoma,Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Scrophulariae Radix in the formula were qualitatively identified by TLC. HPLC was used for the determination of puerarin in Xiaotang Zhike pills. The analysis was performed on a Wondasil C18-WR(250mm × 4.6 mm,5 μm)column with methanol-water(25:75) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 ml·min-1. The detection wavelength was set at 250 nm, the column temperature was 40℃ and the sample size was 10 μl. Results:TLC showed good specificity without any interference for the identification of atrctylodin,puerarin and harpagoside. The calibration curve of puerarin was in good linearity over the range of 41.20-618.00 ng(r = 0.999 9). The average recovery was 100.16%(RSD = 2.91%). Conclusion:The established methods in the study are simple,feasible and reproducible,which are suitable for the quality control of Xiaotang Zhike pills.

Objective To investigate the effect of phloroglucinol on pregnancy outcome in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF).Methods A total of 146 patients with RIF from March 2014 to March 2016 from the reproductive medical center of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region people's Hospital was randomly divided into two groups,73 cases were included in study group [16 cases of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and 57 cases of frozen/thawed embryo transfer (FET)].Patients in study group were given intramuscular injection of phloroglucino140mg,two times a day before the transplantation day to three days after transplantation,73 cases without phloroglucinol injection were included as control group.The biochemical pregnancy rate,clinical pregnancy rate,embryo implantation rate,abortion rate,ectopic pregnancy rate,multiple pregnancy rate and live birth rate were compared between two groups.Results The biochemical pregnancy rate in study group of FET was significantly higher than the control group (57.9％ vs 36.8％,P ＜0.05);the biochemical pregnancy rate in study group of IVF-ET was higher than the control group (50％ vs 37.5％,P ＞ 0.05),but there was no significant difference between the study group and control group;compared to the control group,the study group was increased clinical pregnancy rate,implantation rate,live birth rate,and decreased abortion rate (P ＞ 0.05),but the difference was not statistically significant.Conclusions The application of phloroglucinol in women with RIF may improve the biochemical pregnancy rate,especially in FET cycles.

Objective To investigate the affect of rhTNFR:Fc on the postoperative recovery of patients with inflammatory arthritis after arthroplasty. Methods Patients with inflammatory arthritis undergoing arthroplasty were included and divided into rhTNFR:Fc group (rhTNFR:Fc only or combined with conven-tional DMARDs) and conventional DMARDs group (monotherapy with or combination of conventional DMARDs). We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of postoperative infection, wound healing time, the febrile period (body temperature ≥37.5 ℃) and the duration of antibiotics treatment after arthroplasty. x2 test and t test were used for statistical analysis. Results Sixty-seven patients were included, 18 in the rhTNFR: Fc group and 49 in the conventional DMARDs group. One postoperative infection occurred in rhTNFR :Fc group but none in the DMARDs group. There was no significant difference by Fisher's exact test (P＞0.05). The febrile duration was (4±3) days in the rhTNFR :Fc group and (3±3) days in the conventional DMARDs group, the difference was not statistically significant (P＞0.05). The wound healing time was (14.0±3.1) days in the rhTNFR :Fc group and (14.7±2.9) days in the conventional DMARDs group, which was not statistically different(P＞0.05). The duration of antibiotics treatment after operation was (14.8±9.3) days in the rhTNFR: Fc group and (10.3±2.7) days in the conventional DMARDs group, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). Conclusion Using rhTNFR:Fc during perioperative period in patients with inflammatory arthritis does not increase the risk of infectious complications or extending wound healing time and the febrile duration.

Visually impaired people face many inconveniences because of the loss of vision. Therefore, scientists are trying to design various guidance systems for improving the lives of the blind. Based on sensory substitution, auditory guidance has become an interesting topic in the field of biomedical engineering. In this paper, we made a state-of-technique review of the auditory guidance system. Although there have been many technical challenges, the auditory guidance system would be a useful alternative for the visually impaired people.
Acoustics ; Auditory Perception ; Biomedical Engineering ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Sensory Aids ; Software ; Sound Localization ; Visual Perception ; Visually Impaired Persons ; rehabilitation