Objective:To investigate the feasibility of coronary CT angiography(CCTA)-feature tracking(FT) for assessing global and regional myocardial strain in patients with heart failure(HF).Methods:From July 2019 to December 2020, twenty-five patients diagnosed with HF from Peking Union Medical College Hospital were prospectively enrolled into the study. All patients underwent retrospective electrocardiogram-gated CCTA and cardiac MR (CMR) imaging within 7 days. CCTA-FT and CMR-FT were undertaken using cvi 42 dedicated commercial software to measure global and regional strain parameters, including global peak radial strain (GPRS), global peak circumferential strain (GPCS) and global peak longitudinal strain (GPLS), as well as peak radial strain (PRS), peak circumferential strain (PCS) and peak longitudinal strain (PLS) of left ventricular basal segment, middle segment and apical segment. Conventional left ventricular functional parameters were also calculated, including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular stroke volume (LVSV) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI). Paired t test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the differences of measurements between CCTA group and CMR group. Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the two groups. Inter-and intra-observer consistence in CCTA group was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis. Results:The effective radiation dose of CCTA examination was 6.00 (4.86,7.63) mSv. Inter-and intra-observer consistence in CCTA group was excellent, and the ICC value was 0.85-0.98. In the overall strain parameters, GPCS in CCTA group[-8.10%(-10.32%, -5.20%)] was significantly lower than that of CMR group[-8.49%(-13.79%, -5.95%)] ( Z=-2.15, P=0.031). There was no significant difference in GPRS and GPRS between the two measurement methods ( P>0.05). Strong correlations were observed between GPRS, GPCS and GPLS ( r=0.65, 0.63, 0.71,all P<0.001). For local strain parameters, PCS in the middle segment and apical segment of CCTA group were lower than those of CMR group ( Z=-2.17, -2.62, all P<0.05). There were no significant differences in PCS of basal segment, PRS and PLS of all segments between groups (all P>0.05). The PCS and PLS of basal segment, PRS of middle segment and PRS of apical segment were moderately correlated ( r=0.46, 0.52, 0.58, 0.53, P<0.05); The other local strain parameters were strongly correlated, the range of r value was from 0.64 to 0.70 (all P<0.001). For left ventricular functional parameters, LVEF, LVSV and LVMI showed no significant differences between groups ( P>0.05), and the correlation was extremely strong ( r=0.90, 0.89, 0.96, all P<0.001). Conclusions:The repeatability of CCTA-FT technique in measuring myocardial strain was good, and the correlation of parameters measured by CCTA-FT technique and CMR-FT technique was excellent. Therefore, CCTA-FT technique can be used as a new noninvasive and simple method to evaluate myocardial motor function.

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a cytosolic DNA sensor which is regarded as a potential target for antitumor immunotherapy. However, clinical trials of STING agonists display limited anti-tumor effects and dose-dependent side-effects like inflammatory damage and cell toxicity. Here, we showed that tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) actively enter macrophages to promote STING activation and M1 polarization in a size-dependent manner, and synergized with Mn²⁺ to enhance the expressions of IFN-β and iNOS, as well as the co-stimulatory molecules for antigen presentation. Moreover, to reduce the cytotoxicity of Mn²⁺, we constructed a TDN-MnO₂ complex and found that it displayed a much higher efficacy than TDN plus Mn²⁺ to initiate macrophage activation and anti-tumor response both in vitro and in vivo. Together, our studies explored a novel immune activation effect of TDN in cancer therapy and its synergistic therapeutic outcomes with MnO₂. These findings provide new therapeutic opportunities for cancer therapy.

"The Expert Group on Tumor Ablation Therapy of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, The Tumor Ablation Committee of Chinese College of Interventionalists, The Society of Tumor Ablation Therapy of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and The Ablation Expert Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology" have organized multidisciplinary experts to formulate the consensus for thermal ablation of pulmonary subsolid nodules or ground-glass nodule (GGN). The expert consensus reviews current literatures and provides clinical practices for thermal ablation of GGN. The main contents include: (1) clinical evaluation of GGN, (2) procedures, indications, contraindications, outcomes evaluation and related complications of thermal ablation for GGN and (3) future development directions.
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Objective:To investigate the correlation between amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) values and Ki-67 labeling index of cervical squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:From October 2017 to December 2018, 24 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma [International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ] were prospectively enrolled in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and underwent pelvic morphological MRI on a 3.0 T MR scanner, including three-dimensional turbo-spin-echo APTw imaging and DWI. The maximum diameters of the lesions, APTw values and ADC values on the slice with the maximum diameter of the lesion were independently measured by two radiologists. The ICC was computed to evaluate the inter-observer consistency. Ki-67 immunohistochemical expression status was assessed by one pathologist. The Pearson correlation analysis was performed between the APTw values, maximum diameters, ADC values and Ki-67 labeling index.Results:The APTw values of cervical squamous cell carcinoma were (2.9±0.5)%. Inter-observer ICC was 0.972 (95%CI 0.937-0.988). The APTw values were positively moderately correlated with Ki-67 labeling index [(61.9±18.7)%, r=0.532, P=0.008]. The maximum diameters of the lesions were (28.7±10.6) mm. The mean ADC values were (0.998±0.217)×10 -3 mm 2/s. No correlations were found between maximum diameters, ADC values and Ki-67 labeling index ( r=0.038, P=0.859; r=0.238, P=0.263). Conclusion:APTw values can partially reveal the proliferation status of cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective:To explore the feasibility in evaluating segmental extracellular volume (ECV) using dual-layer spectral detector CT in patients with heart failure with various percentages of delayed hyper-enhanced volume, using MRI as a reference.Methods:Twenty-seven patients with heart failure in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were prospectively enrolled in this study from July 2019 to January 2021. All the patients underwent both CT late iodine enhancement and MR late gadolinium enhancement imaging within a week. According to percentages of hyper-enhanced volume on cardiac MR image, myocardial segments were classified into 3 groups: 0-4% (group A), 5%-49% (group B) and 50%-100% (group C). ECV images were independently observed by 2 experienced radiologists. The correlation and agreement between CT-ECV and MRI-ECV for the whole myocardial assessment and for the segmental assessment were evaluated using Spearman correlation and Bland-Altman analysis. Inter-observer agreement was assessed using the ICC.Results:Of the 27 patients, 432 segments were analyzed, with 199 segments in group A, 151 segments in group B and 82 segments in group C. In the whole myocardial analysis, the CT-ECV and MRI-ECV were 32.25% (28.04%, 34.28%) and 32.27% (28.35%, 34.77%), respectively. A good correlation was found between CT-ECV and MRI-ECV ( r=0.969, P<0.001). Bland-Altman analysis between CT-ECV and MRI-ECV showed a small bias (0.4%), with 95% limits of agreement of -6.9% to 7.8%. as for the segmental myocardial assessment, the CT-ECV was 28.23% (26.18%, 29.92%) for group A, 33.29% (30.16%, 35.96%) for group B and 40.22% (34.06%, 46.70%) for group C. There was statistically significant difference in ECV among three groups (all P<0.001). Good correlations between CT-ECV and MRI-ECV were found in group A ( r=0.614, P<0.001), group B ( r=0.852, P<0.001) and group C ( r=0.953, P<0.001). Bland-Altman analysis between CT-ECV and MRI-ECV showed a small bias 2.0% (95% limits of agreement:-17.6%-21.6%) in group A, a small bias -0.4% (95% limits of agreement: -13.8%-12.9%) in group B and a small bias -1.8% (95% limits of agreement: -17.4%-13.9%) in group C. The ICC values between 2 observers were 0.877 and 0.945 on CT-ECV and MRI-ECV, respectively. Conclusions:The larger percentage of hyper-enhanced volume on cardiac MR image, the stronger correlation are between the CT-ECV and MRI-ECV. CT-ECV may be taken as an alternative tool for quantitative evaluation of myocardial tissue in patients with heart failure.

Objective:To evaluate the short-term influence of bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in anxiety symptoms and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Methods:Thirty-nine PD patients underwent bilateral STN-DBS in our hospital from August 2017 to August 2018 were chosen in our study. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scales were performed in these patients before and one month after surgery, and at the last follow-up, respectively. Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8 (PDQ-8) was performed before surgery and at the last follow-up. Statistical methods were used to analyze the differences of the above scores at different time points, and correlations between each two improvement degrees of above scores. The participants were subsequently divided into four groups based on preoperative BAI scores: no anxiety group ( n=18), mild anxiety group ( n=10), moderate anxiety group ( n=8), and severe anxiety group ( n=3); the above scales were performed. Results:(1) The BAI scores of 39 patients one month after surgery and at the last follow-up (14 [8, 20] and 9 [3, 14]) were significantly lower than those before surgery (16 [9, 27]), and the BDI scores (8[6, 16]) and PDQ-8 scores (3 [2, 6]) at the last follow-up were significantly lower than those before surgery (15 [8, 21] and 9 [6, 13], P<0.05). (2) Correlation analysis revealed that the improvement degree of BAI scores was positively correlated with that of BDI scores ( r s=0.722, P=0.000), and negatively correlated with preoperative baseline scores of BDI and PDQ-8, respectively ( r s=-0.714, P=0.000; r s=-0.378, P=0.018). (3) The BAI scores in the mild and moderate anxiety groups at the last follow-up were significantly lower as compared with the preoperative baseline BAI scores ( P<0.05). The improvement degree of BAI scores in mild, moderate, and severe anxiety groups was significantly higher than that in the no anxiety group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The bilateral STN-DBS has considerable benefit effect on anxiety symptoms and health-related quality of life in PD patients during short-term follow-up, suggesting an involvement of STN in the pathogenesis of anxiety in PD.

Objective: To explore the application value of 3.0 T MultiVane XD (MVXD) technique in female patients with uterine adenomyosis and fibroids. Methods: Patients diagnosed with uterine fibroids with ultrasound and suspected of adenomyosis were involved prospectively from March to May 2018, 3.0 T pelvic MRI examinations were performed during peri-ovulatory period. Axialconventional turbo spin echo (TSE) T₂WI, axial MVXD T₂WI, sagittal conventional TSE T₂WI and MVXD sagittal T₂WI were acquired. Two observers rated those 4 series in the aspects of sharpness of uterine border, motion artifacts, identification capability of lesions, confidence of diagnosis and overall image quality. Cohen Kappa analysis was used to evaluate the consistency of scores between 2 observers. Scores of TSE T₂WI and MVXD T₂WI qualities were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test. Results: Twenty patients were enrolled. Axial conventional TSE T₂WI, axial MVXD T₂WI were aquired on all of them. Sagittal conventional TSE T₂WI, sagittal MVXD T₂WI were aquired on 19 among them. Nine patients had only obvious adenomyosis, 6 had only uterinefibroids, and 5 had adenomyosis and uterine fibroids. Compared to conventional TSE technique, scores of two observers in the sharpness of uterine border, motion artifacts, and overall image quality is higher by MVXD with significant difference (P<0.05). The Kappa values for image quality scores of two observers ranged from 0.615 to 0.971, the agreement was good or very good. Conclusion Applying MVXD T₂WI technique to patients with uterine fibroids and adenomyosiscould improve image quality, without sacrificing the ability to recognize and diagnose lesions, compared to conventional TSE T₂WI technique.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of local and systemic zoledronic acid in the treatment of giant cell tumor of bone.Methods:The clinical data of 42 patients with giant cell tumor of bone who were treated in the Department of Joint and Sports Medicine Surgery of Shandong Provincial Third Hospital from January 2000 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether zoledronic acid was used during and after operation, the patients were divided into zoledronic acid group ( n=21) and non zoledronic acid group ( n=21). The perioperative indexes, pain visual analogue scale (VAS), international Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score of lower extremity function, adverse reactions and the postoperative recurrence were compared between the two groups. Results:The operative time of zoledronic acid group and non zoledronic acid group were (158.4±20.5) min and (169.5±19.5) min, the intraoperative bleeding volume were (236.3±9.7) ml and (228.2±16.5) ml, the postoperative drainage volume were (163.3±7.4) ml and (161.4±9.3) ml, and the healing time of incision were (13.8±2.1) d and (14.0±2.0) d, respectively, with no significant difference ( t=-1.798, P=0.080; t=1.936, P=0.062; t=0.733, P=0.468; t=-0.290, P=0.774). The preoperative VAS scores of zoledronic acid group and non zoledronic acid group were 6.54±1.76 and 6.72±1.51 respectively, the MSTS scores were 13.56±2.35 and 12.79±1.98 respectively, and the differences were not statistically significant ( t=-0.356, P=0.724; t=1.148, P=0.258). The VAS scores of the two groups were 1.32±0.31 and 1.92±0.19 at 4 weeks after operation, 0.93±0.29 and 1.47±0.38 at 3 months after operation respectively, and the differences were statistically significant ( t=-7.562, P<0.001; t=-5.177, P<0.001). The VAS scores of the two groups were 0.31±0.12 and 0.35±0.23 at the last follow-up, with no significant difference ( t=0.707, P=0.485). The MSTS scores of zoledronic acid group and non zoledronic acid group were 24.89±3.86 and 21.82±2.95 at 4 weeks after operation, 26.78±2.57 and 24.62±2.62 at 3 months after operation respectively, and the differences were statistically significant ( t=2.896, P=0.006; t=2.697, P=0.010). The MSTS scores of the two groups were 27.31±2.21 and 26.69±2.93 at the last follow-up, with no significant difference ( t=0.774, P=0.443). The postoperative recurrence time of the two groups was (9.79±2.58) months and (7.31±1.73) months respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=3.659, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in recurrence Campanacci grade and recurrence tumor location between the two groups ( U=7.000, P=0.860; χ2=1.062, P>0.999). The occurrence rates of fever in zoledronic acid group and non zoledronic acid group were 23.81% (5/21) and 4.76% (1/21), the occurrence rates of myalgia were 19.05% (4/21) and 4.76% (1/21), the incidences of influenza like symptoms were 14.29% (3/21) and 0 (0/21), the occurrence rates of gastrointestinal reaction were 9.52% (2/21) and 4.76 (1/21), and the differences were not statistically significant ( χ2=1.750, P=0.186; χ2=0.980, P=0.341; χ2=1.436, P=0.231; χ2<0.001, P>0.999). All the patients had no serious adverse reactions such as liver and kidney function damage and mandible necrosis. Conclusion:Local and systemic application of zoledronic acid in the treatment of giant cell tumor of bone can improve the early postoperative pain and limb function, delay the recurrence time, and can be used as an auxiliary treatment of giant cell tumor of bone.

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of high concentrated contrast media combined with monochromatic images to improve image quality with double low scanning in dual-layer spectral coronary CT angiography.Methods:Fifty-six patients with suspected coronary artery disease were enrolled and randomly separated into two groups. All patients were scanned at 120 kVp in step-and-shoot mode using a dual-layer detector CT (IQon spectral CT). Patients were either injected with 18 ml high concentration contrast medium(400 mgl/ml) at 2 ml/s (group A) or 45 ml contrast medium (370 mgl/ml) at 4 ml/s (group B). Forty to 80 keV monoenergetic images with 10 keV increment and conventional image (group A2) were reconstructed for group A, conventional poly-energetic image was reconstructed for group B. Region of interest was placed on aorta root (AO), middle segment of left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCX) and right coronary artery (RCA) to measure the attenuation and noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Image quality was assessed by two reviewers independently with a 4-point scale on image quality (1-undiagnostic,4-excellent). The objective and subjective image evaluation were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The Steel Dwass was used for multiple comparisons between monoenergetic images in Group A and conventional images in Group B, after the Kruskal-Wallis test.Results:There were significant differences among the attenuation, noise, SNR and CNR of group B, group A2, and monoenergetic images(all P<0.001).The CT value in the aortic root was significantly higher at 40-50 keV monoenergetic images than that in group B(all P<0.05), and similarly, the CT value in LAD,LCX and RCA at 40 keV were superior than that in group B(all P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the noise of the aortic root among 40 keV image, group A2 and group B(all P>0.05),while the noise in the 50-80 keV monoenergetic images were significantly lower than that in Group B(all P<0.001). The SNR and CNR in the aortic root were significantly higher at 40-60 keV monoenergetic images than that in group B(all P<0.001).The SNR in LAD and RCA at 40，50 keV and the CNR in LAD and RCA at 40-60 keV were higher than that in group B(all P<0.01).The SNR at 40-60 keV and CNR at 40-70 keV in LCX were superior than that in group B(all P<0.05). There were significant differences among the subjective image quality score of group B, group A2, and monoenergetic images(all P<0.001).The subjective image quality score of 40，50 keV images were not significantly different from that in group B (all P>0.05),while the score in 60-80 keV image and group A2 were lower than that of Group B(all P<0.001). Conclusion:40，50 keV low monochromatic images derived from dual-layer spectral detect CT combined with high concentrated contrast media can provide comparable or superior image quality with double low scanning in CCTA study.