Sudomotor dysfunction is associated with impaired left ventricular diastolic function in persons with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The incidence of preserved ejection fraction heart failure has significantly increased in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction is an early and important manifestation of preserved ejection fraction heart failure. The onset of heart failure in persons with diabetes is associated with diabetic neuropathy. However, the relationship among sudomotor function, which is an early manifestation of small fiber neuropathy, and LV diastolic function remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between sudomotor function and LV diastolic function in persons with T2DM.

METHODS

In total, 699 persons with T2DM were enrolled and divided into three groups according to electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) assessed using the SUDOSCAN device: "no dysfunction" group (NSF), "moderate dysfunction" group (MDF), and "severe dysfunction" group (SDF). LV diastolic function was assessed using Doppler echocardiography. To evaluate the relationship between ESC and echocardiographic parameters, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed. Additionally, logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between LV diastolic function and ESC. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the performance of sudomotor function indicators in detecting impaired cardiac diastolic function.

RESULTS

There were 301 persons (43.06%) in the NSF group, 232 (33.19%) in the MDF group, and 166 (23.75%) in the SDF group. Compared to the NSF group, the MDF and SDF groups had higher A and E/e' and lower e' values (all p < 0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that A and E/e' were negatively associated with foot ESC (FESC) and hand ESC (HESC), whereas e' was positively associated with FESC and HESC (all p < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, binary logistic regression analysis showed that ESC was independently associated with impaired LV diastolic function (p = 0.003). The area under the ROC curve values for FESC and HESC were 0.621 and 0.635, respectively (both p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Deteriorating sudomotor function was associated with reduced diastolic function indicators. ESC can be used as a biomarker for detecting LV diastolic impairment.

Constructing tin oxides Interfacial Layer with Gradient Compositions for Efficient Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells with Efficiency Exceeding 28

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) growth of conformal thin SnOx films on perovskite absorbers offers a promising method to improve carrier-selective contacts, enable sputter processing, and prevent humidity ingress toward high-performance tandem perovskite solar cells. However, the interaction between perovskite materials and reactive ALD precursor limits the process parameters of ALD-SnOx film and requires an additional fullerene layer. Here, it demonstrates that reducing the water dose to deposit SnOx can reduce the degradation effect upon the perovskite underlayer while increasing the water dose to promote the oxidization can improve the electrical properties. Accordingly, a SnOx buffer layer with a gradient composition structure is designed, in which the compositionally varying are achieved by gradually increasing the oxygen source during the vapor deposition from the bottom to the top layer. In addition, the gradient SnOx structure with favorable energy funnels significantly enhances carrier extraction, further minimizing its dependence on the fullerene layer. Its broad applicability for different perovskite compositions and various textured morphology is demonstrated. Notably, the design boosts the efficiencies of perovskite/silicon tandem cells (1.0 cm2) on industrially textured Czochralski (CZ) silicon to a certified efficiency of 28.0%.

Measurements of All-Particle Energy Spectrum and Mean Logarithmic Mass of Cosmic Rays from 0.3 to 30 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

We present the measurements of all-particle energy spectrum and mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays in the energy range of 0.3-30 PeV using data collected from LHAASO-KM2A between September 2021 and December 2022, which is based on a nearly composition-independent energy reconstruction method, achieving unprecedented accuracy. Our analysis reveals the position of the knee at 3.67±0.05±0.15  PeV. Below the knee, the spectral index is found to be -2.7413±0.0004±0.0050, while above the knee, it is -3.128±0.005±0.027, with the sharpness of the transition measured with a statistical error of 2%. The mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is almost heavier than helium in the whole measured energy range. It decreases from 1.7 at 0.3 PeV to 1.3 at 3 PeV, representing a 24% decline following a power law with an index of -0.1200±0.0003±0.0341. This is equivalent to an increase in abundance of light components. Above the knee, the mean logarithmic mass exhibits a power law trend towards heavier components, which is reversal to the behavior observed in the all-particle energy spectrum. Additionally, the knee position and the change in power-law index are approximately the same. These findings suggest that the knee observed in the all-particle spectrum corresponds to the knee of the light component, rather than the medium-heavy components.

Vegetation-fire feedbacks increase subtropical wildfire risk in scrubland and reduce it in forests

Climate dictates wildfire activity around the world. But East and Southeast Asia are an apparent exception as fire-activity variation there is unrelated to climatic variables. In subtropical China, fire activity decreased by 80% between 2003 and 2020 amid increased fire risks globally. Here, we assessed the fire regime, vegetation structure, fuel flammability and their interactions across subtropical Hubei, China. We show that tree basal area (TBA) and fuel flammability explained 60% of fire-frequency variance. Fire frequency and fuel flammability, in turn, explained 90% of TBA variance. These results reveal a novel system of scrubland-forest stabilized by vegetation-fire feedbacks. Frequent fires promote the persistence of derelict scrubland through positive vegetation-fire feedbacks; in forest, vegetation-fire feedbacks are negative and suppress fire. Thus, we attribute the decrease in wildfire activity to reforestation programs that concurrently increase forest coverage and foster negative vegetation-fire feedbacks that suppress wildfire.

Individualised prediction of progression of solitary sub-solid pulmonary nodules based on CT semantic and clinical features: a 3-year follow-up study

AIM

To develop and validate a progressive prediction model for estimating the time to progression (TTP) of sub-solid pulmonary nodules (SSNs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 126 cases who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. The primary endpoint of the study was TTP of SSNs. Baseline characteristics were assessed in terms of clinical and CT semantic features. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed to determine the relationship between SSNs TTP and factors from the entire data set. The nomogram was constructed based on the result of multivariate analysis and internal validation was performed using the bootstrapping. The nomogram's performance was assessed with the C-index, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

The median follow-up time of the population was 42.5 (21.5) months. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with higher or positive values of the indices had higher cumulative progression rates (p<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression models identified diameter, consolidation tumour ratio (CTR), morphology, and vasodilation sign (VDS) as independent risk factors of TTP. These predictors were included in the final model to estimate individual probabilities of progression in the 3 years, which performed well in the discrimination (the C-index was 0.901 [95%CI: 0.830-0.981] and 0.875 [95%CI: 0.805-0.942] in the training and internally validation sets).

CONCLUSION

The radiological semantic features nomogram is a promising and favourable prognostic biomarker for predicting progression and may aid in clinical risk stratification and decision-making for SSNs.

Measurement of Ultra-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission of the Galactic Plane from 10 TeV to 1 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

The diffuse Galactic γ-ray emission, mainly produced via interactions between cosmic rays and the interstellar medium and/or radiation field, is a very important probe of the distribution, propagation, and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this Letter, we report the measurements of diffuse γ rays from the Galactic plane between 10 TeV and 1 PeV energies, with the square kilometer array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Diffuse emissions from the inner (15°10  TeV). The energy spectrum in the inner Galaxy regions can be described by a power-law function with an index of -2.99±0.04, which is different from the curved spectrum as expected from hadronic interactions between locally measured cosmic rays and the line-of-sight integrated gas content. Furthermore, the measured flux is higher by a factor of ∼3 than the prediction. A similar spectrum with an index of -2.99±0.07 is found in the outer Galaxy region, and the absolute flux for 10≲E≲60  TeV is again higher than the prediction for hadronic cosmic ray interactions. The latitude distributions of the diffuse emission are consistent with the gas distribution, while the longitude distributions show clear deviation from the gas distribution. The LHAASO measurements imply that either additional emission sources exist or cosmic ray intensities have spatial variations.

Buried-Interface Engineering of Conformal 2D/3D Perovskite Heterojunction for Efficient Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells on Industrially Textured Silicon

Exploring strategies to control the crystallization and modulate interfacial properties for high-quality perovskite film on industry-relevant textured crystalline silicon solar cells is highly valued in the perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaics community. The formation of a 2D/3D perovskite heterojunction is widely employed to passivate defects and suppress ion migration in the film surface of perovskite solar cells. However, realizing solution-processed heterostructures at the buried interface faces solvent incompatibilities with the challenge of underlying-layer disruption, and texture incompatibilities with the challenge of uneven coverage. Here, a hybrid two-step deposition method is used to prepare robust 2D perovskites with cross-linkable ligands underneath the 3D perovskite. This structurally coherent interlayer benefits by way of preferred crystal growth of strain-free and uniform upper perovskite, inhibits interfacial defect-induced instability and recombination, and promotes charge-carrier extraction with ideal energy-level alignment. The broad applicability of the bottom-contact heterostructure for different textured substrates with conformal coverage and various precursor solutions with intact properties free of erosion are demonstrated. With this buried interface engineering strategy, the resulting perovskite/silicon tandem cells, based on industrially textured Czochralski (CZ) silicon, achieve a certified efficiency of 28.4% (1.0 cm2 ), while retaining 89% of the initial PCE after over 1000 h operation.

Effect of emodin combined with cisplatin on the invasion and migration of HepG2 hepatoma cells

Cisplatin is the leading chemotherapy agent for advanced liver cancer. However, the resistance to cisplatin in liver cancer reduces its efficacy. A potential strategy to increase its effectiveness and reduce toxicity is to combine cisplatin with 1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone (emodin). In this study, we examined the effects of emodin combined with cisplatin on the invasion and migration of HepG2 cells and analyzed the role of emodin. The effects of cisplatin, emodin and their combination were assessed in HepG2 cells. Proliferation, invasion and migration of HepG2 cells were examined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), scar and Transwell assays. The gelatinase spectrum and an ELISA detected the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2) and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9). The expression of E-cadherin and vimentin was detected by immunofluorescence and Western blots. Emodin inhibited cell invasion and migration in HepG2 hepatoma cells, increased E-cadherin expression, decreased vimentin, MMP-2, and MMP-9 expression. The combination of emodin and cisplatin-induced a more significant effect in a dose-dependent manner. In this study, we found that emodin inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis. Compared with either cisplatin or emodin alone, the combination of both showed a more significant synergistic effect. Emodin can enhance the sensitivity of HepG2 HCC cells to cisplatin by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and thus, play a role in preventing recurrence and metastasis in HCC.

A tera-electron volt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have a tera-electron volt (TeV) afterglow, but the early onset of this has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons >0.2 TeV were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid ~650 seconds after the peak. We interpret the emission using a model of a relativistic jet with half-opening angle ~0.8°. This is consistent with the core of a structured jet and could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.

[Soybean isoflavones alleviate cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats by inhibiting ferroptosis and inflammatory cascade reaction]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the mechanism that mediates the effect of soybean isoflavones (SI) against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in light of the regulation of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), ferroptosis, inflammatory response and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability.

METHODS

A total of 120 male SD rats were equally randomized into sham-operated group (Sham group), cerebral I/R injury group and SI pretreatment group (SI group). Focal cerebral I/R injury was induced in the latter two groups using a modified monofilament occlusion technique, and the intraoperative changes of real-time cerebral cortex blood flow were monitored using a laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF). The postoperative changes of cerebral pathological morphology and the ultrastructure of the neurons and the BBB were observed with optical and transmission electron microscopy. The neurological deficits of the rats was assessed, and the severities of cerebral infarction, brain edema and BBB disruption were quantified. The contents of Fe²⁺, GSH, MDA and MPO in the ischemic penumbra were determined with spectrophotometric tests. Serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1βwere analyzed using ELISA, and the expressions of GPX4, MMP-9 and occludin around the lesion were detected with Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

The rCBF was sharply reduced in the rats in I/R group and SI group after successful insertion of the monofilament. Compared with those in Sham group, the rats in I/R group showed significantly increased neurological deficit scores, cerebral infarction volume, brain water content and Evans blue permeability (P < 0.01), decreased Fe²⁺ level, increased MDA level, decreased GSH content and GPX4 expression (P < 0.01), increased MPO content and serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β (P < 0.01), increased MMP-9 expression and lowered occludin expression (P < 0.01). All these changes were significantly ameliorated in rats pretreated with IS prior to I/R injury (P < 0.05 or 0.01).

CONCLUSION

SI preconditioning reduces cerebral I/R injury in rats possibly by improving rCBF, inhibiting ferroptosis and inflammatory response and protecting the BBB.

Serum SIRT6 Levels Are Associated with Frailty in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Frailty is one of the major health problems facing aging societies worldwide. We investigated the association between serum SIRT6 and frailty in older adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of associations of serum SIRT6 and frailty in older people.

SETTING

Enrolled community-dwelling and hospital outpatient clinic adults older than 65 years old in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 540 community-dwelling older adults (age ≥ 65 years) in Wuhan were included in the study.

MEASURES

We used Frailty Phenotype criteria for classifying participants based on their frailty status. Serum SIRT6 was measured using an ELISA kit.

RESULTS

A total of 540 older adults were included in this cross-sectional study. Serum SIRT6 was lower in the slowness group (7.23±1.81 vs 5.89±1.74, p<0.001), weakness group (6.87±1.88 vs 5.68±1.64, p<0.001), and exhaustion group (6.73±1.90 vs 5.88±1.74, p<0.001) compare with the normal group. ROC curves were used to assess the efficiency of SIRT6 in predicting frailty in older adults. The AUC for SIRT6 was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.7514 to 0.8325), with the highest sensitivity of 68.0% and the specificity of 91.9%, and the optimal critical value of 4.65ng/ml according to Youden's index. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum SIRT6 level was independently associated with frailty in older people.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, serum SIRT6 was decreased in frailty compared with robust older adults. A decreased serum SIRT6 was independently associated with an increased risk of frailty. SIRT6 may be a potential target for the treatment of patients with frailty.

Associations of Body-Roundness Index and Sarcopenia with Cardiovascular Disease among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Findings from CHARLS

OBJECTIVES

Sarcopenia and obesity may contribute to chronic disease. However, little is known about the association between sarcopenia, body roundness index (BRI), and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of sarcopenia and BRI with CVD in middle-aged and older Chinese population.

DESIGN

Cohort study with an 8-year follow-up.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Data were derived from 4 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, and 6152 participants aged 45 or above were included in the study.

METHODS

Sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. CVD was defined as the presence of physician-diagnosed heart disease, diabetes and/or stroke. The associations of BRI and sarcopenia with CVD risk were explored using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 58.3 (8.9) years, and 2936 (47.7%) were males. During the 8 years follow-up, 2385 cases (38.8%) with incident CVD were identified. Longitudinal results demonstrated that compared to neither sarcopenia or high BRI, both sarcopenia and high BRI (HR: 1.49, 95%CI: 1.08, 2.07) were associated with higher risk of CVD. In the subgroup analysis, individuals with both sarcopenia and high BRI were more likely to have new onset stroke (HR: 1.93, 95%CI: 1.12, 3.32) and increased risk of multimorbidity (HR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.14, 4.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Coexistence of sarcopenia and high BRI was associated with higher risk of CVD. Early identification and intervention for sarcopenia and BRI not only allows the implementation of therapeutic strategies, but also provides an opportunity to mitigate the risk of developing CVD.

Constraints on Heavy Decaying Dark Matter from 570 Days of LHAASO Observations

The kilometer square array (KM2A) of the large high altitude air shower observatory (LHAASO) aims at surveying the northern γ-ray sky at energies above 10 TeV with unprecedented sensitivity. γ-ray observations have long been one of the most powerful tools for dark matter searches, as, e.g., high-energy γ rays could be produced by the decays of heavy dark matter particles. In this Letter, we present the first dark matter analysis with LHAASO-KM2A, using the first 340 days of data from 1/2-KM2A and 230 days of data from 3/4-KM2A. Several regions of interest are used to search for a signal and account for the residual cosmic-ray background after γ/hadron separation. We find no excess of dark matter signals, and thus place some of the strongest γ-ray constraints on the lifetime of heavy dark matter particles with mass between 10^{5} and 10^{9}  GeV. Our results with LHAASO are robust, and have important implications for dark matter interpretations of the diffuse astrophysical high-energy neutrino emission.

[Techniques in prophylactic ileostomy reversal]

In order to prevent and reduce the severity of anastomotic leakage after low rectal cancer surgery, prophylactic ileostomy is often performed by the clinician simultaneously. There are many controversies about prophylactic ileostomy in medicine, such as ileostomy indications, ileostomy complications, ileostomy reversal time, ileostomy reversal method and technique. Based on relevant literature and our own experience, we discussed the timing, method and complications of ileostomy reversal in this article to improve the diagnosis and treatment of ileostomy reversal as well as the life quality of the patients after ileostomy reversal.

[Association between postpartum depression and concentrations of transforming growth factor-β in human colostrum: a nested cohort study]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association between postpartum depression (PPD) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) concentrations in human colostrum.

METHODS

Participants were recruited from a maternal and infant cohort established in a tertiary general hospital in Guangdong Province between December, 2020 and September, 2021. In the afternoon of the second postpartum day, the women were evaluated with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for screening PPD (defined as a score of 10 or higher). The women with PPD were matched at a 1:1 ratio with women without PPD with maternal age difference within 5 years and the same mode of delivery. Colostrum samples were collected in morning on the third postpartum day for measurement of TGF-β concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the association between EPDS scores and TGF-β concentrations was analyzed in the two groups.

RESULTS

A total of 90 women were included in the final analysis. The mean concentrations of TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 in the colostrum were 684.03 (321.22-859.25) pg/mL, 5116.50±1747.04 pg/mL and 147.84±48.68 pg/mL in women with PPD, respectively, as compared with 745.67 (596.00-964.22) pg/mL, 4912.40±1516.80 pg/mL, and 168.21±48.15 pg/mL in women without PPD, respectively. Compared with women without PPD, the women with PPD had significantly lower concentrations of TGF-β1 (P=0.026) and TGF-β3 (P=0.049) in the colostrum. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the EPDS scores were negatively associated with the concentrations of TGF-β1 (r=-0.23, P=0.03) and TGF-β3 (r=-0.25, P=0.02) in the colostrum.

CONCLUSION

PPD is associated with decreased concentrations of TGF-β1 and TGF-β3 in human colostrum, suggesting the need of early PPD screening and interventions during pregnancy and the perinatal period to minimize the impact of PPD on human milk compositions.

Expression and roles of GRAS gene family in plant growth, signal transduction, biotic and abiotic stress resistance and symbiosis formation-a review

The GRAS (derived from GAI, RGA and SCR) gene family consists of plant-specific genes, works as a transcriptional regulator and plays a key part in the regulation of plant growth and development. The past decade has witnessed significant progress in understanding and advances on GRAS transcription factors in various plants. A notable concern is to what extent the mechanisms found in plants, particularly crops, are shared by other species, and what other characteristics are dependent on GRAS transcription factor (TFS)-mediated gene expression. GRAS are involved in many processes that are intimately linked to plant growth regulation. However, GRAS also perform additional roles against environmental stresses, allowing plants to function more efficiently. GRAS increase plant growth and development by improving several physiological processes, such as phytohormone, biosynthetic and signalling pathways. Furthermore, the GRAS gene family plays an important role in response to abiotic stresses, e.g. photooxidative stress. Moreover, evidence shows the involvement of GRAS in arbuscule development during plant-mycorrhiza associations. In this review, the diverse roles of GRAS in plant systems are highlighted that could be useful in enhancing crop productivity through genetic modification, especially of crops. This is the first review to report the role and function of the GRAS gene family in plant systems. Furthermore, a large number of studies are reviewed, and several limitations and research gaps identified that must be addressed in future studies.

Resveratrol modulates the gut microbiota of cholestasis in pregnant rats

This study aims to investigate the effect of resveratrol on intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and its effect on the gut microbiome profiles, thus contributing to the potential therapeutic strategies for ICP. ICP rat models were established by injecting 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE) subcutaneously from the thirteenth day of gestation for four days and then treated with EE (D group, n=5), resveratrol (R group, n=5), or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA; U group, n=5) from the seventeenth to the twentieth day of gestation. Fecal samples were analyzed with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing. In results: the gut microbiota of pregnant rats was characterized with reduced alpha diversity (Chao1 index), and significant variation in the microbiota structure (ANOSIM) was also observed after being treated with EE. The richness of four phyla and ten genera was upregulated, and five phyla and ten genera were downregulated by EE treatment. The dysbiosis of Bilophila, Ruminococcus, and Actinobacteria caused by EE treatment was reversed by resveratrol administration. There was a correlation between total bile acid and alanine aminotransferase in ICP rats. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis results suggested that the secondary bile acid biosynthesis was decreased, and the alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism was increased after being treated with EE in pregnant rats. In conclusion, EE treatment could lead to gut microbiome dysbiosis and bile acid metabolism dysregulation in pregnant rats. Resveratrol could partially rescue gut microbiota dysbiosis and improve the biochemical characteristics caused by EE treatment.

[Multicenter real-world study on safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy in combination with immunotherapy for colorectal cancer]

Objective: To provide reference and evidence for clinical application of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer through multicenter large-scale analysis based on real-world data in China. Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter case series study. From January 2017 to October 2021, data of 94 patients with colorectal cancer who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy in Peking University Cancer Hospital (55 cases), Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (19 cases), Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (13 cases) and Changhai Hospital of Navy Medical University (7 cases) were retrospectively collected, including 48 males and 46 females. The median age was 58 years. Eighty-one cases were rectal cancer and 13 cases were colon cancer (2 cases of double primary colon cancer). Twelve cases were TNM staging II and 82 cases were stage III. Forty-six cases were well differentiated, 37 cases were moderately differentiated and 11 cases were poorly differentiated. Twenty-six patients (27.7%) with mismatch repair defects (dMMR) and microsatellite instability (MSI-H) were treated with immunotherapy alone, mainly programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1); sixty-eight cases (72.3%) with mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) and microsatellite stability (MSS) were treated with immune combined with neoadjuvant therapy, mainly CapeOx (capecitabine+oxaliplatin) combined with PD-1 antibody plus long- or short-course radiotherapy, or PD-1 antibody combined with cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) antibody. Analysis and evaluation of adverse events during neoadjuvant immunotherapy were performed according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Standard version 3.0; the surgical complications were evaluated according to the Clavien-Dindo grading standard; the efficacy evaluation of neoadjuvant immunotherapy included the following indicators: major pathological remission (MPR) was defined as tumor regression induced by neoadjuvant therapy in pathology residual tumor ≤10%; pathological complete response (pCR) was defined as tumor regression induced by neoadjuvant therapy without residual tumor in pathology; the tumor response rate was disease control rate (DCR), namely the proportion of complete response (CR), partial response (PR) and stable disease (SD) in the whole group; the objective response rate (ORR) was CR+PR. Results: The median cycle of neoadjuvant immunotherapy was 4 (1-10) in whole group, and the incidence of immune-related adverse reactions was 37.2% (35/94), including 35 cases (37.2%) of skin-related adverse reactions, 21 cases (22.3%) of thyroid dysfunction and 8 cases (8.5%) of immune enteritis, of which grade III or above accounted for 1.1%. The median interval between completion of neoadjuvant therapy and surgery was 30 (21-55) days. There were 81 cases of radical resection of rectal cancer, 11 cases of radical resection of colon cancer, and 2 cases of colon cancer combined with other organ resection. The primary tumor resection of all the patients reached R0. The incidence of surgical-related complications was 22.3% (21/94), mainly anastomotic leakage (4 cases), pelvic infection (4 cases), abdominal effusion (3 cases), anastomotic stenosis (3 cases ) and abdominal and pelvic hemorrhage (2 cases). Grade I-II complications developed in 13 cases (13.8%), grade III and above complications developed in 8 cases (8.5%), no grade IV or above complications were found. During a median follow-up of 32 (1-46 ) months, DCR was 98.9% (93/94), ORR was 88.3 % (83/94), pCR was 41.5% (39/94), MPR was 60.6% (57/94). The pCR rate of 26 patients with dMMR and MSI-H undergoing simple immunotherapy was 57.7% (15/26), and MPR rate was 65.4% (17/26). The pCR rate of 68 pMMR and MSS patients undergoing combined immunotherapy was 35.3%(24/68), and MPR rate was 58.8% (40/68). Conclusions: Neoadjuvant immunotherapy has favorable tumor control rate and pathological remission rate for patients with initial resectable colorectal cancer. The incidences of perioperative adverse reactions and surgical complications are acceptable.

A prospective study on vulvovaginal candidiasis: multicentre molecular epidemiology of pathogenic yeasts in China

BACKGROUND

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is frequent in women of reproductive age, but very limited data are available on the epidemiology in cases of VVC in China.

OBJECTIVES

The current study has been conducted to reveal the prevalence, species distribution of yeast causing VVC and molecular genetics of Candida albicans in China.

METHODS

Vaginal swabs were collected from 543 VVC outpatients recruited in 12 hospitals in China between September 2017 and March 2018. They were preliminarily incubated on Sabouraud dextrose agar and then positive subjects of which were then transmitted to our institute for further identification. CHROMagar™ was used to isolate Candida species, and all isolates were finally identified by DNA sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to analyse phylogenetic relationships of the various C. albicans isolates.

RESULTS

Eleven different yeast species were identified in 543 isolates, among which C. albicans (84.7%) was the most frequent, followed by C. glabrata (8.7%). We obtained 117 unique diploid sequence types from 451 clinical C. albicans isolates and 92 isolates (20.4%) belonged to a New Clade. All the strains appearing in the New Clade were from northern China and they were isolated from non-recurrent VVC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that C. albicans are still the main cause of VVC in China and the majority of C. albicans isolates belongs to Clade 1 with DST 79 and DST 45 being two most common. Moreover, the New Clade revealed in our study seems to be specific to northern China.

[The clinical application of blood routine and liver and kidney function test in COVID-19 disease prediction]

Objective: To explore the clinical application value of routine indicators such as blood routine and liver and kidney function in auxiliary diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19 patients. Methods: SNK-q and other methods were used to retrospectively analyzed the differences of blood routine test, liver and kidney function and other inflammatory indexes of 30 patients with covid-19, 29 patients with other viral pneumonia, 35 patients with influenza A/B and 25 healthy persons from January 28 to February 14, 2020 in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Results: The neutrophils count increased gradually in COVID-19 group, influenza A/B group and other types of viral pneumonia group, and the difference between COVID-19 group and other viral pneumonia groups was statistically significant(H=-19.064,P<0.05); The lymphocyte count decreased gradually in the control group, influenza A/B group, other viral pneumonia group and COVID-19 group. In addition, DB, UA and GLU were also different among groups. Subgroup analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in N(F=9.581,t=-0.152,P<0.05), N%(F=5.723,t=-0.600, P<0.05), NLR(F=4.773, t=-1.161, P<0.05), PCT(F=17.464, t=-1.477, P<0.05)and CRP(F=7.656, t=-1.973, P<0.05) between patients with lung involvement +-++ and patients with lung involvement +++-++++. There were statistically significant differences in NLR(F=63.931, t=-2.815, P<0.01), AST(F=15.704, t=-1.930, P<0.01), ALT(F=35.551, t=-2.199, P<0.01), LDH(F=7.715, t=-2.703, P<0.05) and GLU(F=6.306, t=-5.116, P<0.05) between the light+common subgroup and the heavy+critical subgroup of COVID-19 clinical classification. Correlation analysis showed that clinical stage and imaging credit period were significantly correlated with NLR (r=0.406, P=0.026; r=0.397, P=0.030), ALT (r=0.403, P=0.049; r=0.418, P=0.047), LDH (r=0.543, P<0.01; r=0.643, P<0.01) and GLU(r=0.750, P<0.01; r=0.471, P=0.042). A total of 5 principal components were extracted from all the included indicators, and the comprehensive information extraction rate was 82.86%. Indicators of a large load included Ur, PCT and CRP in PC1; ALT, AST and GLU in PC2; N%, L%, L and NLR in PC3. It indicated that the indicators of acute infection, liver function and blood routine had certein warning effect on disease surveillance. The results of ROC curve analysis showed that the combined detection of N+TB+Urea was the best practice to distinguish COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia, while the combined detection of N+L+UA was the most effective solution to make a distinction between COVID-19 and influenza A/B patients. In the aspect of disease evaluation, NL+LDH+GLU+ALT combined detection represent the best diagnostic performance to distinguish the clinical stage of light+common type and heavy+critical type, achieving the AUC (ROC) to 0.904, with the sensitivity 75% and the specificity 100% at the cut-off value of 0.477. Conclusion: In addition to etiology and imaging examination, doctors can also improve the routine laboratory tests such as blood routine test, liver and kidney function to assist diagnosis and disease prediction of patients with respiratory tract infection.

[Construction and evaluation of a novel diagnosis pathway for 2019-Corona Virus Disease]

Objective: To construct and evaluate a diagnosis pathway (Xiangya pathway) for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: Consecutive subjects aged ≥12 years old who were screened for COVID-19 were included in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 23 to February 3, 2020, and the subjects were further divided into the inception cohort and the validation cohort. The gender, age, onset time of disease of the subjects were recorded. The information of epidemiological history, fever, and the declined blood lymphocytes were collected as clinical indicators, CT scan was used to evaluate the possibility of COVID-19 and range of lung involvement. According to the current Chinese national standards, throat swabs of suspected cases were collected and the nucleic acid of COVID-19 was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The Xiangya pathway was constructed with multi-indexes, compared with clinical indicators, CT results and Chinese national standards, their effectiveness of detecting confirmed cases were verified in the inception and validation cohort. Results: A total of 382 consecutive adults who was screened for COVID-19 were included, and 261 cases were in the inception cohort and 121 cases were in the validation cohort. Among the 382 cases, 192 were males (50.3%) and 190 were females (49.7%), with a median age of 35 years (range: 15-92 years). There were 183 cases (47.9%) with epidemiological history, 275 cases (72.0%) with fever, 212 cases (55.5%) with decreased peripheral blood lymphocytes, 114 cases (29.8%) with positive CT findings, 43 cases (11.3%) with positive CT-COVID-19, and 30 cases (7.9%) with positive virus nucleic acid by throat swab. Compared with clinical indicators, the sensitivity and specificity of CT were 0.950 and 0.704, respectively. The accuracy of CT to make a definite diagnosis was higher than that of epidemiological history, fever, and declined blood lymphocyte count (0.809 vs 0.660, 0.532, 0.596, P=0.001, 0.002, 0.003, respectively). The sensitivity of this pathway and the pathway recommended by the Health Commission of China were both high (all were 1.000), while the specificity and accuracy of the Xiangya pathway were higher than the one recommended by the Health Commission (0.872 vs 0.765, 0.778 vs 0.592, both P<0.001). The CT-COVID-19 reduced the missed diagnosis rate caused by false negative of nucleic acid test (31 vs 64), with difference rate of 51.6%, and the positive rate of nucleic acid test was 64.5% (20/31). In validation cohort, the specificity and accuracy of the Xiangya pathway was 0.967, the positive rate of nucleic acid test was 76.9%(10/13). Conclusions: The Xiangya pathway can predict the nucleic acid test results of COVID-19, and can be applied as a reliable strategy to screen patients with suspected COVID-19 among people aged ≥12 years in areas other than Hubei during the epidemic period of COVID-19. The cohort size needs to be increased for further validation.

[Analysis of imatinib trough concentration at steady state in adjuvant therapy of patients with high risk gastrointestinal stromal tumor]

Objective: To explore the features of imatinib mesylate (IM) plasma concentration during adjuvant therapy and clinical factors associated with IM plasma concentration in patients with high risk gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and to determine whether IM plasma concentration <1100 μg/L influences the efficacy of adjuvant therapy. Methods: A retrospective case control study method was used. Case inclusion criteria: (1) complete resection of lesion and GIST confirmed by pathology; (2) high risk classified according to modified National Institutes of Health classification system (2008); (3) administration of IM 400 mg/d for at least 1 month; (4) not taking the medication likely affecting IM pharmacokinetic, such as rifampicin, dilantin, and carbamazepine, within 1 month before blood collection. Data of GIST patients who visited GIST Disease - Oriented Outpatient, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology between January 2015 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. After taking IM for 22-26 hours, 5 ml of peripheral venous blood was collected into EDTA anticoagulant tube. IM plasma concentration was detected by using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Patients were divided into <1100 μg/L group and ≥1100 μg/L group according to plasma concentration. Linear regression was used to analyze the relevance between clinical features and IM plasma concentration. Parameters with normal distribution were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient, and parameters with non-normal distribution were analyzed by Spearman correlation. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and COX regression model were used for survival analysis. Results: Among the 85 patients enrolled in the study, 49 patients (57.6%) were male and 36 (42.4%) were female, with mean age of (51.9±11.0) years. The body mass index was (22.5±2.9) kg/m(2) and body surface area was (1.6±0.2) m(2). Thirty patients received gene test, including 23 patients with c-Kit exon 11 mutation, 4 with c-Kit exon 9 mutation, 1 with c-Kit exon 11 and 17 mutation and 2 without c-Kit or PDGFRA gene mutation. The mean IM plasma concentration was (1391.4±631.3) μg/L, and there were 32 patients with plasma concentration <1100 μg/L and 53 patients with plasma concentration ≥1100 μg/L. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in gender, age, body mass index, body surface area, hematological examination (white blood cells, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and serum creatinine), tumor location, tumor size, mitotic counts, duration of adjuvant therapy and methods of operation (all P>0.05). Positive correlation between IM plasma concentration and serum creatinine was observed in linear regression analysis (r=0.297, P=0.007), but there were no correlations between IM plasma concentration and age (r=0.044, P=0.686), body mass index (r=0.066, P=0.547), body surface area (r=-0.010, P=0.924), white blood cells (r=-0.080, P=0.478), albumin (r=-0.065, P=0.563), alanine aminotransferase (r=0.114, P=0.308), aspartate aminotransferase (r=0.170, P=0.127) and duration of adjuvant therapy (ρ=0.060, P=0.586). There was no statistically significant difference in IM plasma concentration between patients with different genders (t=0.336, P=0.738) and patients with different surgical methods (F=0.888, P=0.451). Up to March 1, 2019. the median follow-up time was 30 (range 4-49) months. Tumor recurrence was detected in two patients with plasma concentration <1100 μg/L and two with plasma concentration ≥1100 μg/L. One recurrent patient with plasma concentration <1100 μg/L was detected to harbor c-Kit exon 11 and exon 17 mutations, and the other did not receive gene detection. Two recurrent patients with plasma concentration ≥1100 μg/L were both detected to harbor c-Kit exon 9 mutation. The 3-year relapse-free survival rate was 96.4% in the cohort, 96.2% in patients with plasma concentration <1100 μg/L, and 96.6% in patients with plasma concentration ≥1100 μg/L. No significant difference in relapse-free survival was observed between the two groups (P=0.204). Univariate Cox analysis showed that IM plasma concentration <1100 μg/L was not a risk factor for patients with high risk GIST (HR=0.238, 95% CI: 0.022-2.637, P=0.242). Conclusions: IM plasma concentration of adjuvant therapy in patients with high risk GIST varies with individual. Patients with higher level of serum creatinine are more likely to have a higher plasma concentration. A blood drug concentration standard of less than 1100 μg/L for advanced GIST patients may not influence the prognosis of patients with high risk GIST.

[Early postoperative complications and risk factors in laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer]

Objective: To investigate the morbidity and treatment of early postoperative complications after laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer, and to explore the risk factors. Methods: A case-control study was performed to retrospectively collect clinicopathological data of 764 patients undergoing laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer at our department between January 2015 and December 2017. Patient inclusion criteria: (1) gastric cancer diagnosed by preoperative electronic gastroscopy and biopsy, and confirmed by postoperative pathology; (2) without invasion into adjacent organs by preoperative evaluation of tumors; (3) tumors without definite liver and distant metastasis; (4) R0 resection of gastric cancer and standard D2 lymph node dissection; (5) patients with informed consent. Exclusion criteria: (1) unperformed laparoscopic D2 radical resection; (2) other types of gastric tumor confirmed by pathology; (3) cases with incomplete clinical data. Complication occurring within two weeks after laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy was defined as early postoperative complication. Patients were divided into two groups: non-complication group (693 cases) and complication group (71 cases) according to the occurrence of complications after operation. The clinicopathological data of two groups were analyzed and compared with t test and χ(2) test, and the factors of P < 0.2 were included in the multivariate logistic regression model to analyze the risk factors of postoperative complications. Results: Of 764 patients, 71 (9.3%) developed early postoperative complications, with median onset time of 3 (1 to 11) days. Surgical complications accounted for 7.9% (60/764), including 13 cases (1.7%) of abdominal hemorrhage, 12 cases (1.6%) of anastomotic leakage, 10 cases (1.3%) of incision infection, 8 cases (1.0%) of anastomotic bleeding, 7 cases (0.9%) of gastric stump weakness, 4 cases (0.5%) of abdominal infection, 4 cases (0.5%) of duodenal stump leakage and 2 cases (0.3%) of small intestinal obstruction. Non-surgical complications accounted for 1.4% (11/764), including 6 cases (0.8%) of pulmonary infection and 5 cases (0.7%) of cardiovascular disease. Two cases (0.3%) died of sepsis caused by severe abdominal infection; 9 cases (1.2%) recovered after receiving the second operation, among whom 5 cases were abdominal hemorrhage, 2 cases were anastomotic leakage and 2 cases were duodenal stump leakage; the remaining patients were healed with conservative treatment. Compared with patients without complications, patients with complications had higher proportions of BMI ≥24 kg/m(2) [42.3% (30/71) vs. 24.2%(168/693), χ(2)=10.881, P=0.001], comorbity [64.8% (46/71) vs. 33.5% (232/693), χ(2)=27.277, P<0.001], combined organ resection [70.4% (50/71) vs. 20.5% (142/693), χ(2)=85.338, P<0.001], and pTNM stage of III [70.4% (50/71) vs. 40.1% (278/693), χ(2)=24.196, P<0.001], meanwhile had longer time to postoperative flatus [(4.2±2.1) days vs. (2.9±1.2) days, t=4.621, P=0.023], longer hospital stay [(34.6±12.6) days vs. (14.2±6.2) days, t=9.862, P<0.001] and higher hospitalization cost [(126.8±64.5) thousand yuan vs. (85.2±35.8) thousand yuan, t=11.235, P<0.001]. Multivariate analysis showed that BMI ≥24 kg/m(2) (OR=3.762, 95% CI: 1.960-8.783, P=0.035), accompanying disease (OR=8.620, 95% CI: 1.862-29.752, P<0.001), combined organ resection (OR=6.210, 95% CI: 1.357-21.568, P=0.026), and pTNM stage (OR=4.752, 95% CI: 1.214-12.658, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors of postoperative complications. Conclusions: Laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy is a safe and effective approach for gastric cancer. Most early postoperative complications can obtain satisfactory efficacy after conservative treatment. Perioperative management should be strengthened for those patients with high BMI, accompanying diseases, combined organ resection, and advanced pTNM stage.

Evaluation of a molecular point-of-care testing for viral and atypical pathogens on intravenous antibiotic duration in hospitalized adults with lower respiratory tract infection: a randomized clinical trial

Objectives

The primary objective was to evaluate whether a molecular point-of-care test (POCT) for viral and atypical pathogens added to routine real-time PCR could reduce duration of intravenous antibiotics in hospitalized patients with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) compared with routine real-time PCR.

Methods

In this single-centre, open-label, randomized controlled study, we enrolled hospitalized adults diagnosed with LRTI. Patients were randomized to an intervention group (POCT FilmArray Panel for 20 viruses, atypical pathogens and bacteria plus routine real-time PCR) or a control group (routine real-time PCR for ten pathogens). The primary outcome was duration of intravenous antibiotics during hospitalization. The secondary outcomes included length of stay, cost of hospitalization and de-escalation within 72 hours and between 72 hours and 7 days. Intention-to-treat analysis was used.

Results

Between October 2017 and July 2018, we enrolled 800 eligible patients (398 in the intervention group and 402 in the control group). Duration of intravenous antibiotics in the intervention group was shorter than in the control (7.0 days (interquartile range (IQR) 5.0–9.0) versus 8.0 days (IQR 6.0–11.0); p <0.001). Length of hospital stay in the intervention group was significantly shorter (8.0 days (IQR 7.0–11.0) versus 9.0 days (IQR 7.0–12.0; p <0.001) and the cost of hospitalization in the intervention group was significantly lower ($1804.7 (IQR 1298.4–2633.8) versus $2042.5 (IQR 1427.4–2926.2); p 0.002) than control group. More patients in the intervention group achieved de-escalation within 72 hours (7.9%, 29/367 versus 3.2%, 12/377; p 0.005) and between 72 hours and 7 days (29.7%, 109/367 versus 22.0%, 83/377; p 0.024).

Conclusions

Use of molecular POCT testing for respiratory viruses and atypical pathogens might help to reduce intravenous antibiotic use in hospitalized LRTI patients.

Clinical Trial Registration

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03391076.

The oral microbiota - a mechanistic role for systemic diseases

Human oral microbiota is the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms found in the oral cavity. Oral microbiota generally exists in the form of a biofilm and plays a crucial role in maintaining oral homeostasis, protecting the oral cavity and preventing disease development. Human oral microbiota has recently become a new focus research for promoting the progress of disease diagnosis, assisting disease treatment, and developing personalised medicines. In this review, the scientific evidence supporting the association that endogenous and exogenous factors (diet, smoking, drinking, socioeconomic status, antibiotics use and pregnancy) modulate oral microbiota. It provides insights into the mechanistic role in which oral microbiota may influence systemic diseases, and summarises the challenges of clinical diagnosis and treatment based on the microbial community information. It provides information for noninvasive diagnosis and helps develop a new paradigm of personalised medicine. All these benefit human health in the post-metagenomics era.

Genetic polymorphisms in IL1B predict susceptibility to steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head in Chinese Han population

The purpose of this research was to examine if the IL1B gene polymorphism has impact on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese population. We found that IL1B rs1143630 decreased the SANFH's risk and IL1B rs2853550 increased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH. So, we guess that IL1B gene influences the genetic susceptibility of steroid-induced ONFH.

INTRODUCTION

Genetic polymorphisms in IL1B gene could be related in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis. Discusses on the relationship between the IL1B gene and steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (steroid-induced ONFH) is still less in Chinese Han population. So, in this research, we want to examine whether the IL1B gene polymorphism has impact on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 286 steroid-induced ONFH patients and 441 controls were recruited, and seven SNPs (rs2853550, rs1143643, rs3136558, rs1143630, rs1143627, rs16944, and rs1143623) in IL1B gene were selected; unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to research the influence on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH. Functional annotations of IL1B variants were performed by RegulomeDB and HaploReg.

RESULTS

rs1143630 (A>C) in the IL1B gene decreased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in the allele model (OR = 0.69, 95%CI 0.51-0.93, p = 0.014). Further genetic model analyses found that IL1B rs2853550 AG genotype increased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH compared with the people who are carriers of the IL1B rs2853550 GG genotype (OR = 1.69, 95%CI 1.16-2.46, p = 0.012). In the dominant model, IL1B rs1143630 GG-GT genotype decreased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH (OR = 0.62, 95%CI 0.44-0.87, p = 0.0051). And further haplotype analysis was performed, while the result was not significant. Using RegulomeDB and HaploReg, rs2853550 is likely to affect TF binding, any motif and DNase peak.

CONCLUSIONS

We guess that IL1B gene influences the genetic susceptibility of steroid-induced ONFH.

Evaluation of Methods of Displaying the Real-Time Scattered Radiation Distribution during Fluoroscopically-Guided Interventions for Staff Dose Reduction

2D and 3D scatter dose display options are evaluated for usefulness and ease of interpretation for real-time feedback to staff to facilitate changes in individual positioning for dose reduction purposes, as well as improving staff consciousness of radiation presence. Room-sized scatter dose 3D matrices are obtained utilizing Monte Carlo simulations in EGSnrc. These distributions are superimposed on either a ceiling-view 2D graphic of the patient and table for reference or a 3D augmented reality (AR) display featuring a real-time video feed of the interventional room. A slice of the scatter dose matrix, at a selectable distance above the floor, is color-coded and superimposed on the computer graphic or AR display. The 3D display obtains depth information from a ceiling mounted Microsoft Kinect camera, which is equipped with a 1080p visual camera, as well as an IR emitter/receiver to generate a depth map of the interventional suite and persons within it. The 3D depth information allows parts of objects above the 2D dose map to pass through the map without being colorized by it so the height perspective of the dose map can be maintained. The 2D and 3D displays incorporate network information from the imaging system to scale the scatter dose with exposure factors and adjust rotation of the distribution to match the gantry. Demonstration images were displayed to neurosurgery interventional staff and survey responses were collected. Results from the survey indicated that scatter distribution displays would be desirable and helpful in managing staff dose.

A simulation platform using 3D printed neurovascular phantoms for clinical utility evaluation of new imaging technologies

Modern 3D printing technology allows rapid prototyping of vascular phantoms based on an actual human patient with a high degree of precision. Using this technology, we present a platform to accurately simulate clinical views of neuro-endovascular interventions and devices. The neuro-endovascular interventional phantom has a 3D printed cerebrovasculature model derived from a patient CT angiogram and embedded inside a human skull providing bone attenuation. Acrylic layers were placed underneath and on top of the skull, simulating entrance and exit tissue attenuation and also simulating forward scatter. The 3D model was connected to a pulsatile flow loop for simulating interventions using clinical devices such as catheters and stents. To validate the x-ray attenuation and establish clinical accuracy, the automatic exposure selection by a clinical c-arm system for the phantom was compared with that for a commercial anthropomorphic head phantom (SK-150, Phantom Labs). The percentage difference between automatic exposure selection for the neuro-intervention phantom and the SK-150 phantom was under 10%. By changing 3D printed models, various patient diseased anatomies can be simulated accurately with the necessary x-ray attenuation. Using this platform various interventional procedures were performed using new imaging technologies such as a high-resolution x-ray fluoroscope and a dose-reduced region-of-interest attenuator and differential temporally filtered display for enhanced interventional imaging. Simulated clinical views from such phantom-based procedures were used to evaluate the potential clinical performance of such new technologies.

Enhanced production of avermectin by deletion of type III polyketide synthases biosynthetic cluster rpp in Streptomyces avermitilis

The rpp biosynthetic gene cluster (sav7130-7131) in Streptomyces avermitilis contains a type III polyketide synthases (PKSs) and a cytochrome P450 and was reportedly involved in producing a diffusible brown pigment. Since the same precursor malonyl-CoA was used as substrate for the type I PKSs and type III PKSs, there might be a competition for precursor between rpp gene cluster and avermectin biosynthetic cluster. In this work, rpp biosynthetic gene cluster deletion mutants were constructed to improve avermectin production. In an industrial strain AV-LP, rpp deletion improved avermectin production from 1024 to 1262 mg l^-1 without any effect on the cell growth. In the same way, the production of an industrial overproducer increased from 3582 to 4450 mg l^-1 . Transcriptional analysis suggested that the deletion of rpp gene cluster stimulated transcription of aveR, leading to increased transcription of biosynthetic gene aveA1 and a consequent increase in avermectin production.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Because of the wide use of avermectins, many efforts have been made to improve the productivity via conventional genetic engineering technique. However, due to the lack of the molecular and genetic basis underlying such a yield enhancement after iterative rounds of mutagenesis and selection, it is often difficult to improve the titre in overproducers. Here, we report knocking out rpp biosynthetic gene cluster improved the production of an industrial overproducer by 24%. This work enriched the strategy to improve the production of antibiotics in industrial strains and may help further understanding of the interaction between type III polyketide synthases and other types.

Evaluation of Methods to Produce an Image Library for Automatic Patient Model Localization for Dose Mapping During Fluoroscopically-Guided Procedures

The purpose of this work is to evaluate methods for producing a library of 2D-radiographic images to be correlated to clinical images obtained during a fluoroscopically-guided procedure for automated patient-model localization. The localization algorithm will be used to improve the accuracy of the skin-dose map superimposed on the 3D patient-model of the real-time Dose-Tracking-System (DTS). For the library, 2D images were generated from CT datasets of the SK-150 anthropomorphic phantom using two methods: Schmid's 3D-visualization tool and Plastimatch's digitally-reconstructed-radiograph (DRR) code. Those images, as well as a standard 2D-radiographic image, were correlated to a 2D-fluoroscopic image of a phantom, which represented the clinical-fluoroscopic image, using the Corr2 function in Matlab. The Corr2 function takes two images and outputs the relative correlation between them, which is fed into the localization algorithm. Higher correlation means better alignment of the 3D patient-model with the patient image. In this instance, it was determined that the localization algorithm will succeed when Corr2 returns a correlation of at least 50%. The 3D-visualization tool images returned 55-80% correlation relative to the fluoroscopic-image, which was comparable to the correlation for the radiograph. The DRR images returned 61-90% correlation, again comparable to the radiograph. Both methods prove to be sufficient for the localization algorithm and can be produced quickly; however, the DRR method produces more accurate grey-levels. Using the DRR code, a library at varying angles can be produced for the localization algorithm.

Longitudinal assessment of oxytocin efficacy on bone and bone marrow fat masses in a rabbit osteoporosis model through 3.0-T magnetic resonance spectroscopy and micro-CT

This study aims to longitudinally assess the effect of oxytocin on bone and bone fat masses using micro-CT, in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and histopathological adipocyte quantification. Early in vivo oxytocin (OT) treatment to the osteoporosis (OP) rabbit model may reliably inhibit bone degeneration and reduce bone marrow fat accumulation by decreasing marrow adipocyte size and density.

INTRODUCTION

This study aims to longitudinally assess the effect of early OT treatment on bone and bone fat masses in a rabbit OP model by comparing the results of MRS and micro-CT with histopathological findings.

METHODS

Sixty 20-week-old female rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups. The control and OP groups were subjected to either sham surgery or bilateral ovariectomy (OVX). The OT group was subcutaneously injected with OT daily from the second week after OVX for 8 weeks. The left proximal femurs of the rabbits were evaluated through MRS, micro-CT, and histopathological examination at 0, 4, 8, 10, and 12 weeks after operation. Differences in fat fraction (FF) values, micro-CT parameters, and calculated pathological marrow adipocytes among three groups were analyzed.

RESULTS

The FF values of the OP group significantly increased (p = 0.019), but the tissue mineral density (TMD) decreased (p = 0.037) from eighth week compared with those of the control group. The FF values of the OT group significantly decreased (p = 0.044), but the TMD values increased (p = 0.042) from eighth week compared with those of the OP group. The adypocyte diameter of the OT group significantly decreased (p = 0.041) from eighth week and then adypocyte density did so too from tenth week, compared with those of the OP group at the same time point. No difference in adypocyte calculation was found between the OT and control groups until the 12th week after operation.

CONCLUSION

Early in vivo OT treatment slowed down bone deterioration and reduced bone marrow adiposity accumulation in a rabbit OP model, which is consistent with pathologic findings. OT treatment is a promising preventive OP therapy.

Alginate fibers embedded with silver nanoparticles as efficient catalysts for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted much attention as promising catalysts in various electron transfer reactions due to their high catalytic efficiency.

Overexpression of MTA1 promotes invasiveness and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells

AIM

To investigate the effect of metastasis-associated gene MTA1 on proliferation and invasion potential of ovarian cancer cell line A2780.

METHODS

The eukaryotic expressing vector pcDNA3. 1-MTA1 was introduced into A2780 cells by gene transfection in vitro. The MTA1 mRNA and protein level in cancer cells were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot, respectively. The growth activities of cancer cells were detected by trypan blue stain method. The clone formation assay in soft agar was used to observe the proliferation of cancer cells. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were used to evaluate migration and invasion abilities of cancer cells. And the protein level of bcl-xL in ovarian cancer cells was measured by immunohistochemistry and western blot. The TUNEL assay was performed to study the apoptosis of tumor cells.

RESULTS

Seventy-two hours after transfection, the MTA1 expression increased significantly (P < 0.01). The up-regulation of MTA1 did not affect the growth activities of cancer cells (P > 0.05), but it promoted clone formation, migration and invasion abilities of cancer cells (P < 0.01). The cellular expression of bcl-xL increased 65.22 %, with a PI value of (71.64 ± 5.96) %. With the up-regulation of MTA1 and bcl-xL level, the apoptotic rate of A2780 cell was decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

MTA1 gene plays an important role in progression and metastasis of ovarian cancers, which provides an ideal strategy for gene therapy of ovarian cancers.