ObjectiveTo explore the current situation of forensic ethics practice and education by designing a questionnaire on forensic ethics， with a view to exploring the path of forensic ethics education construction. MethodsA total of 667 valid questionnaires were collected using the online survey method， basically covering various regions across the country and all sub-specialties of forensic medicine. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the relevant data. ResultsMost practitioners had relevant ethical reflections in the process of forensic practice. 69.12% of the respondents indicated that they had studied the relevant rules， but approximately half stated that there were no corresponding ethical norms or standard operating manuals. The specific behaviors violating ethics in different units were diverse. 23.04% of the respondents reported that they had encountered unethical behaviors， but only 4.9% of them reported such violations. In terms of forensic ethics education， 87.75% of the respondents believed that there were issues with the current model of forensic ethics education. Meanwhile， the respondents showed a high degree of recognition for receiving forensic ethics education， with 84.15% of respondents expressing willingness to participate in relevant courses. More than half of respondents were willing to participate in forensic ethics education during undergraduate studies， new employee training， and regular post-employment training. ConclusionCurrently， there is a problem of ethical neglect in forensic work in China. Combining ethics courses with professional courses at the practitioner training stage and providing regular training at the practice stage are effective measures to popularize forensic ethics knowledge， enhance ethical awareness， and improve the quality of practice.

Objectives:To examine the functional outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure and early elevated retrograde liberation of the neurovascular bundle (PEEL).Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study. Between June 1, 2022, and March 20, 2023, 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 153 cases of RARP with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure (PPSS) were included in this study. All patients were males, aged (62.5±5.2) years (range: 50 to 73 years). There were 18 cases of ≤T2b stage and 9 cases of T2c stage. After 1∶1 propensity score matching, the postoperative functional outcomes of 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 27 cases of RARP with PPSS were compared. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon and included patients were clinically staged as cT1-2N0M0 without preoperative urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction. In RARP with PEEL, the prostate was cut near the midline at the front when dissecting the neurovascular bundle, dissection was performed between the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia and the prostatic fascia, preserving the parietal layer and the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia, and the neurovascular bundle was retrogradely released from the apex. The cumulative probability curve was plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test was used to compare the differences in functional outcomes between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare postoperative urinary continence and sexual function.Results:The recovery time of continence and potency was significantly longer in the PPSS group than in the PEEL group (all P<0.05). The continence rate of the PEEL group was significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (92.59% vs. 68.10%, P=0.026) at 3 months after surgery. The potency rate of the PEEL group was also significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (40.70% vs. 15.10%, P=0.037) at 3 months after surgery. In the univariate analysis, compared to the PPSS technique, the PEEL technique was associated with a shorter recovery time of continence ( HR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.48, P=0.027) and a shorter recovery time of potency ( HR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.13, P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, the PEEL technique was an independent prognosis factor for postoperative recovery of continence ( HR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 4.17, P=0.047) and potency ( HR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.43 to 8.92, P=0.007). All the cases of the PPSS group and the PEEL group were performed successfully with negative surgical margins. Conclusion:Compared with PPSS, PEEL may be more conducive to the recovery of urinary continence and sexual function after RARP.

Background::Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive. Thus, our study aimed to develop a microbarrier microfluidic chip to efficiently isolate deformable tumor cells from distinct types of bladder cancer cells.Methods::The stiffness of bladder cancer cells was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The modified microfluidic chip was utilized to separate soft cells, and the 3D Matrigel culture system was to maintain the softness of tumor cells. Expression patterns of integrin β8 (ITGB8), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were determined by Western blotting. Double immunostaining was conducted to examine the interaction between F-actin and tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59). The stem-cell-like characteristics of soft cells were explored by colony formation assay and in vivo studies upon xenografted tumor models. Results::Using our newly designed microfluidic approach, we identified a small fraction of soft tumor cells in bladder cancer cells. More importantly, the existence of soft tumor cells was confirmed in clinical human bladder cancer specimens, in which the number of soft tumor cells was associated with tumor relapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the biomechanical stimuli arising from 3D Matrigel activated the F-actin/ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis pathways to enhance the softness and tumorigenic capacity of tumor cells. Simultaneously, we detected a remarkable up-regulation in ITGB8, TRIM59, and phospho-AKT in clinical bladder recurrent tumors compared with their non-recurrent counterparts.Conclusions::The ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis axis plays a crucial role in modulating tumor softness and stemness. Meanwhile, the soft tumor cells become more sensitive to chemotherapy after stiffening, that offers new insights for hampering tumor progression and recurrence.

Objectives:To examine the functional outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure and early elevated retrograde liberation of the neurovascular bundle (PEEL).Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study. Between June 1, 2022, and March 20, 2023, 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 153 cases of RARP with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure (PPSS) were included in this study. All patients were males, aged (62.5±5.2) years (range: 50 to 73 years). There were 18 cases of ≤T2b stage and 9 cases of T2c stage. After 1∶1 propensity score matching, the postoperative functional outcomes of 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 27 cases of RARP with PPSS were compared. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon and included patients were clinically staged as cT1-2N0M0 without preoperative urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction. In RARP with PEEL, the prostate was cut near the midline at the front when dissecting the neurovascular bundle, dissection was performed between the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia and the prostatic fascia, preserving the parietal layer and the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia, and the neurovascular bundle was retrogradely released from the apex. The cumulative probability curve was plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test was used to compare the differences in functional outcomes between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare postoperative urinary continence and sexual function.Results:The recovery time of continence and potency was significantly longer in the PPSS group than in the PEEL group (all P<0.05). The continence rate of the PEEL group was significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (92.59% vs. 68.10%, P=0.026) at 3 months after surgery. The potency rate of the PEEL group was also significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (40.70% vs. 15.10%, P=0.037) at 3 months after surgery. In the univariate analysis, compared to the PPSS technique, the PEEL technique was associated with a shorter recovery time of continence ( HR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.48, P=0.027) and a shorter recovery time of potency ( HR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.13, P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, the PEEL technique was an independent prognosis factor for postoperative recovery of continence ( HR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 4.17, P=0.047) and potency ( HR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.43 to 8.92, P=0.007). All the cases of the PPSS group and the PEEL group were performed successfully with negative surgical margins. Conclusion:Compared with PPSS, PEEL may be more conducive to the recovery of urinary continence and sexual function after RARP.

Objective:To analyze the effectiveness and interobserver agreement of the Parer five-tier, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) three-tier, and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) three-tier electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) systems in identification of neonatal acidosis during labor.Methods:This retrospective study was conducted on full-term singleton cephalic deliveries with neonatal acidosis (umbilical artery blood gas pH≤7.1) and normal newborns (umbilical artery blood gas pH≥7.2) in the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School from January to December 2020. EFM tracings during the last 30-60 min before delivery were collected. Four obstetricians independently described the features of randomly sorted and coded EFM tracings. Another obstetrician categorized these tracings using the NICHD three-tier, FIGO three-tier, and Parer five-tier evaluation systems based on the features. All researchers were masked to the clinical characteristics and maternal and neonatal outcomes. The sensitivity and specificity for identifying neonatal acidosis, as well as the interobserver agreement, were analyzed for all three systems. Independent sample t-test, Chi-square (or Fisher's exact test) and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis. Inter-group comparisons of sensitivity and specificity between the three evaluation systems were assessed using McNemar's test. The Kappa statistic was used to analyze interobserver agreement. Results:This study included a total of 3 558 cases. After propensity score matching, there were 44 cases of neonatal acidosis and 78 control cases. There were no significant differences in parity, gestational weeks, modes of delivery, placental abruption, or analgesia rates between the two groups. The rates of instrumental vaginal delivery and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission in the acidosis group were significantly higher than those in the control group [15.8% (7/44) vs. 2.6% (2/78), χ2=8.45, P=0.003; 31.8% (14/44) vs. 12.8% (10/78), χ2=8.45, P=0.004], while the umbilical artery blood pH and mean base excess were lower in the acidosis group than in the control group [7.04±0.07 vs. 7.30±0.05, t=4.98; (－12.40±3.32) vs. (－5.64±1.95) mmol/L, t=13.61; both P<0.001]. (2) Using the NICHD three-tier system, 95.5% (42/44) of the acidosis cases and 89.7% (70/78) of the control cases were classified as having category Ⅱ EFM tracings, indicating potential fetal acid-base imbalance; category Ⅲ EFM tracings were only observed in 4.5% (2/44) of the cases in the acidosis group. With the FIGO three-tier system, 81.8% (36/44) of the acidosis cases were categorized as having "pathological" tracings, and with the Parer five-tier system, 86.4% (38/44) of the acidosis cases were correctly classified into the "orange or red" risk zones that indicated acid-base imbalance. Among the control cases, there were 28.2% (22/78) with EFM tracings of "normal patterns" categorized by the FIGO three-tier system, and 41.0% (32/78) classified into the "green or blue" risk zones by the Parer five-tier system, which indicated good fetal conditions. None of the acidosis cases were misdiagnosed as being normal by the Parer five-tier system. (3) Compared with the NICHD three-tier system, both the FIGO three-tier and the Parer five-tier systems showed increased diagnostic sensitivity [4.5% (1.2%- 14.5%) vs. 81.8% (66.8%-89.4%) and 86.4% (71.8%-92.4%)], but decreased specificity [100.0% (95.3%- 100.0%) vs. 87.2% (78.0%-92.9%) and 84.6% (75.0%-91.0%)]. There was no statistically significant difference in the sensitivity or specificity between the FIGO three-tier and Parer five-tier systems for identifying neonatal acidosis ( P=0.727 and 0.791). (4) When reading the tracings of control cases, the total agreement rate for the NICHD three-tier system by different observers was as high as 94.2%, while the total agreement rates for the FIGO three-tier and Parer five-tier systems were 69.7% and 67.7%, respectively. In the interpretation of EFHR tracings for acidosis cases, the interobserver agreement for the Parer five-tier system was excellent [Kappa (95% CI): 0.87 (0.79-0.95)], while both the NICHD three-tier and FIGO three-tier systems showed good agreement [Kappa (95% CI): 0.77 (0.66-0.88) and 0.72 (0.60-0.84)]. Conclusions:The Parer five-tier and the FIGO three-tier systems have higher sensitivity in identifying neonatal acidosis than the NICHD three-tier system, and the Parer five-tier system achieves a higher negative predictive value and a greater agreement in the interpretation of pathological EFM patterns.

Objective:To investigate the associations between plasma trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) level and premature coronary heart disease (PCHD).Methods:From July 2018 to July 2020, total of 166 patients with suspected coronary heart disease were enrolled from the Heart Center of Shenzhen Bao′an Hospital affiliated to Southern Medical University. According to the coronary imaging results and age of onset, they were divided into young control group ( n=30), PCHD group ( n=49), middle-aged and elderly control group ( n=30) and the middle-aged and elderly coronary heart disease group ( n=57). Plasma TMAO concentration in each group was determined by stable isotope liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, and the correlation of plasma TMAO level with PCHD and SYNTAX score was analyzed. Results:The plasma TMAO level in PCHD group was significantly higher than that in young control group [(7.54±2.10) μmol/L vs. (4.60±1.89) μmol/L; t=6.73, P?0.001] and middle-aged and elderly coronary heart disease group [(3.90±1.75) μmol/L; t=2.45, P=0.015]. The plasma TMAO level was positively correlated with SYNTAX score in PCHD group ( r=0.66, P?0.001) and in middle-aged and elderly coronary heart disease group ( r=0.27, P=0.042). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that plasma TMAO level was an independent risk factor for PCHD ( OR=2.30, P?0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that when the cutoff level of plasma TMAO was 6.08 μmol/L, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of PCHD were 73.5% and 76.7%, respectively. Conclusion:The plasma TMAO level is significantly correlated with PCHD and had certain predictive value for PCHD.

Objective:To propose a method of image similarity measurement based on structure information and intuitionistic fuzzy set and measure the similarity between CT image and CBCT image of radiotherapy plan positioning, aiming to objectively measure the setup errors.Methods:A total of four pre-registration images of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma patient on the cross-sectional and sagittal planes and a pelvic tumor patient on the cross-sectional and coronal planes were randomly selected. Five methods were used to quantify the setup errors, including correlation coefficient, mean square error, image joint entropy, mutual information and similarity measure method.Results:All five methods could describe the deviation to a certain extent. Compared with other methods, the similarity measure method showed a stronger upward trend with the increase of errors. After normalization, the results of five types of error increase on the cross-sectional plane of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma patient were 0.553, 0.683, 1.055, 1.995, 5.151, and 1.171, 1.618, 1.962, 1.790, 3.572 on the sagittal plane, respectively. The results of other methods were between 0 and 2 after normalization, and the results of different errors of the same method slightly changed. In addition, the method was more sensitive to the soft tissue errors.Conclusions:The image similarity measurement method based on structure information and intuitionistic fuzzy set is more consistent with human eye perception than the existing evaluation methods. The errors between bone markers and soft tissues can be objectively quantified to certain extent. The soft tissue deviation reflected by the setup errors is of significance for individualized precision radiotherapy.

Objective: To quantitatively evaluate dose accuracy of radiotherapy for cervical cancer. Methods: A CT image correction algorithm based on image transformation was proposed. Referring to CBCT images, CT images of radiotherapy plan for cervical cancer were corrected to obtain the corrected images which could reflect the actual body position of treatment. The clinical plan was transplanted to the corrected images for dose recalculation as a test plan, and the dosimetry parameters were statistically compared to evaluate the dose accuracy. Results: Both of the target coverage of contrast plans could meet the clinical requirements (>98%), and there was no significant difference in the homogeneity index (P=0.150). The conformability of the test plan was significantly worse than that of the clinical plan (P<0.05). The maximum dose of each organ at risk in the test plan was approximately 30 cGy higher than that of the clinical plan (P<0.05), V₅₀ was slightly higher than that of the clinical plan, whereas the average dose (D_mean) did not significantly differ. Conclusion The CT image correction algorithm based on image transformation can quantitatively evaluate the dose accuracy of radiotherapy for cervical cancer, which provides reference for resolving similar problems in clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the effect of pelvic floor stabilized structure preservation (PPSS) during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP)on postoperative continence recovery.Methods From October 2017 to April 2018,86 patients with prostatic cancer who underwent traditional RARP and RARP plus PPSS were included.There were 31 patients in non-PPSS group and 55 patients in PPSS group.In non-PPSS group,patients age was (68.48 ± 7.79) years old,BMI was (24.79 ± 3.05) kg/m2,median prostate volume was 63.54 (53.00-99.36) cm3,clinic T-stage T1-T2,T3,T4 accounted for 49.39％,22.58％,6.45％ and ISUP grade 1,2,3,4,5 accounted for 22.58％,22.81％,12.90％,12.90％,19.35％ respectively.In PPSS group,patients age was (69.53 ± 6.81)years old,BMI was (23.95 ± 3.03) kg/m2,median prostate volume was 73.39 (54.88-94.23) cm3,clinic T-stage T1-T2,T3,T4 accounted for 72.73％,7.27％,3.64％ and ISUP grade 1,2,3,4,5 accounted for 21.82％,18.18％,23.64％,18.18％,10.91％ respectively.The preoperative PSA,BMI,clinical T-stage,ISUP grade,and postoperative hospital days had no significant differences (P ＞ 0.05)between the two groups.Both groups were operated via transperitoneal approach.In the non PPSS group,endo-pelvic fascia and pubic prostate ligament was cut,and dorsal vessel complex was ligated.In PPSS group,the partial endo-pelvic fascia was bluntly pushed to the pelvic wall to preserve tendon arch,and pubic prostate ligament also was preserved without suturing and ligating dorsal vascular complex.The catheter was removed 7 d after RARP.The continence recovery were compared between the two groups,including pad number on the day of I,7,14,30,90 and ICI-Q-SF scores on the day of 30 and 90 after catheter removal.Results There was no significant difference in pad numbers used between the two groups on the day of 1,7,14,30 after catheter removal.On the 90th day,the proportions of using pad ≥4 in PPSS group were significantly lower than those in non-PPSS group (1.89％ vs.20.69％,P =0.004).No significant difference was found in ICI-Q-SF scores on the 30th and 90th day between the two groups.Univariate analysis showed that PPSS group used less pads than non-PPSS group on the 90th day [OR =0.07(95％ CI 0.01-0.65),P =0.019];T3 patients used more pads than T1-T2 patients [OR =9.19 (95％ CI 1.32-63.87),P =0.025].After adjusting for age,ISUP grading,T staging,and PSA,multivariate regression analysis showed that the risk of using pad ≥ 4 in PPSS group compared with non-PPSS group was 0.46,0.34,0.27,0.25,and 0.03 on the day of 1,7,14,30 and 90 after catheter removal,respectively.The PPSS approach didn't increase the risk of positive surgical margin.Conclusions Preservation of pelvic stabilized structure in RARP is very efficient in term of continence rate after RARP,and it does not increase the risk of positive surgical margin.

Objective To investigate the expression of PI3K, AKT and PTEN in gliomas. Methods The pathological specimens of 66 glioma patients who underwent surgery in our hospital and Huashan Hospital from January to December 2017 were analyzed, and another 50 normal pathological specimens were selected as reference group. Immunohisto-chemistry was used to detect the expressions of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase B and homologous phos-phatase-tensin. The expression of three indicators between glioma tissues and normal brain tissues was compared to analyze the correlation between the three positive expressions in glioma tissues. Results The positive expression rates of PI3K and AKT in normal brain tissue were significantly lower than those in low-grade gliomas and high-grade gliomas, and the difference was significant (P＜0. 05). And the positive expression rates of PI3K and AKT in the low-grade gliomas were significantly lower than those in high-grade gliomas, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜ 0. 05). The positive rate of PTEN protein in normal brain tissue was 100. 0％, which was significantly higher than that in low-grade glioma and high-grade glioma, with significant difference (P＜0. 05). And the positive rate of PTEN protein in the low malignant glioma was significantly higher than that in high grade glioma, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0. 05). Conclusion PI3K and AKT are highly expressed and PTEN is low-expressed in gliomas, which is related to the degree of malignancy.