[Comparison of prognosis of elderly patients with gastric and colorectal tumors receiving different nutritional support treatments].

Objective: To compare the prognosis of elderly patients with gastric and colorectal cancer treated with different nutritional support methods. Methods: Elderly patients with gastrointestinal tumors who received surgical treatment in Beijing Hospital from January 2019 to June 2020 were retrospectively included and divided into malnourished group and non-malnourished group according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). The patients were divided into parenteral nutrition (PN) group, enteral nutrition (EN) group and enteral+parenteral nutrition (EN+PN) group according to the nutritional support. The prognosis of patients with different nutritional support treatment was compared. Results: A total of 426 elderly patients with gastric and colorectal tumors underwent surgical treatment were included, including 287 males and 139 females, aged 65-91 (72±6) years. There were 186 cases in malnourished group and 240 cases in non-malnourished group. A total of 257 patients received nutritional support therapy, including 108 cases in PN group, 48 cases in EN group and 101 cases in EN+PN group. The body mass index (BMI) of malnutrition group was lower than that of non-malnutrition group [(20.5±3.4) vs (23.7±2.8) kg/m2, P<0.001], and the score of nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) [M (Q1, Q3)] was higher than that of non-malnutrition group [4 (4, 5) vs 2 (2, 3) points, P<0.001]. The total hospitalization time of patients in EN group was shorter than that in PN group and EN+PN group [(11.9±4.0) vs (16.5±6.5) and (19.2±7.1) d, all P<0.001]. The total hospitalization time in PN group was shorter than that in EN+PN group [(16.5±6.5) vs (19.2±7.1) d, P=0.005]. The total incidence of complications in EN group was lower than that in PN group [0 vs 9.3% (10/108), P=0.030] and EN+PN group [0 vs 19.8% (20/101), P<0.001]. The incidence of total complications in PN group was lower than that in EN+PN group [9.3% (10/108) vs 19.8% (20/101), P=0.030]. Conclusion: Among the three nutritional supportive treatment modalities: EN, PN, and EN+PN, patients receiving EN support treatment have a shorter total hospitalization time and a lower complication rate.

[A clinicopathological classification analysis of ocular mass lesions in 7 910 cases].

Objective: To investigate the anatomical region, histopathological classification and histogensis distribution of ocular mass lesions in South China. Methods: Retrospective cases study. The clinical and pathological data of 7 910 samples with ocular (adnexal) tumors or proliferative lesions which were examined from January 2000 to May 2018 were retrospectively retrieved. The constituent ratios of ocular mass lesions in different anatomical regions and histogenesis have been analyzed. Results: There were 3 445 males and 4 465 females aged from 3 months to 106 years. Classification by anatomical region. Eyelid 4 976 cases (62.9%): benign-pigmented nevus (31.7%, 1 342/4 235), squamous cell papilloma (12.3%, 519/4 235), seborrheic keratosis (9.4%, 396/4 235); malignant-basal cell carcinoma (48.5%, 359/741), sebaceous gland carcinoma (34.4%, 255/741), squamous cell carcinoma (12.3%, 91/741). Ocular surface 1 449 cases (18.3%): benign-pigmented nevus (26.6%, 359/1 348), squamous cell papilloma (12.8%, 173/1 348); malignant-lymphoma (34.7%, 35/101), squamous cell carcinoma (30.7%, 31/101).Orbit 1 485 cases (18.8%): benign-hemangioma (28.5%, 332/1 167), lacrimal gland (duct) cyst(13.2%, 154/1 167); malignant-lymphoma (44.7%, 142/318), adenoid cystic carcinoma (10.1%, 32/318). Classification by histogenesis: epithelial 2 145 cases (27.1%), cutaneous appendages 378 cases (4.8%), cystoid 1 068 cases (13.5%), mesenchymal 748 cases (9.5%), lymph-hematopoietic 225 cases (2.8%), neurogenic 31 cases (0.4%), melanocytic 1 765 cases (22.3%), others 1 550 cases (19.6%). Conclusions: Over the past 18 years, the ocular tumors identified at the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine most frequently occur in eyelid and originate from epithelium. The most common types are as followings. Benign lesions: pigmented nevus, squamous cell papilloma are the most common types for eyelid and ocular surface, whereas hemangioma, lacrimal gland (duct) cyst and epidermoid cyst are the most common types for orbit. Malignant cancers: basal cell carcinoma is the most prevalent disease in eyelid, whereas lymphoma occurs more frequently in ocular surface and orbit. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55: 847-853).

Exploring the relationship between preterm placental calcification and adverse maternal and fetal outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between preterm placental calcification and adverse pregnancy outcome, including maternal and fetal outcomes. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, monthly ultrasonography was performed starting at 28 weeks' gestation to establish the diagnosis of Grade III placental calcification. Women were classified into three groups: Group 1, the early preterm group, with placental calcification found prior to 32 weeks (n = 63); Group 2, the late preterm group, with placental calcification found between 32 and 36 weeks (n = 192); and Group 3, the control group, without placental calcification noted between 28 and 36 weeks (n = 521). Women who smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol during pregnancy, or who had hypertension, diabetes, significant antenatal anemia or placenta previa were all excluded. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the risks of adverse pregnancy outcome in Groups 1 and 2 by calculating odds ratios (OR) with 95% CIs, adjusted by maternal age, body mass index, economic status, marital status, type of delivery and parity. RESULTS: Risks for adverse maternal outcome including postpartum hemorrhage (OR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.251-9.388), placental abruption (OR, 6.52; 95% CI, 1.356-31.382) and maternal transfer to the intensive care unit (OR, 9.76; 95% CI, 1.826-52.195) and for adverse fetal outcomes including preterm birth (OR, 4.20; 95% CI, 1.775-9.940), low birth weight (OR, 4.58; 95% CI, 2.201-9.522), low Apgar score (OR, 6.53; 95% CI, 2.116-20.142) and neonatal death (OR, 9.04; 95% CI, 1.722-47.411) were much higher in Group 1 than in Group 3. In contrast, there were no significant differences in adverse pregnancy outcome between Groups 2 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: Early preterm placental calcification is associated with a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcome, and may serve as an indicator of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes when noted on ultrasonography. Conversely, women with late preterm placental calcification are not at greater risk for adverse pregnancy outcome.

Prostaglandin-D synthetase induces transcription of the LH beta subunit in the primary culture of chicken anterior pituitary cells via the PPAR signaling pathway.

Downstream effects of prostaglandin-D synthetase (PGDS) in a primary culture of chicken (Gallus gallus) anterior pituitary cells were investigated to study how PGDS regulated laying in hens. Either PGDS downstream metabolite, PGD(2) or PGJ(2), elevated LHB mRNA and LHB protein levels in dose- and time-dependent manners, and treatment with arachidonic acid (1 microM) alone upregulated 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-PGJ(2) (15-d-PGJ(2); derived from PGJ(2))/PGJ(2), LHB mRNA, and LHB protein levels (P<0.05) in the primary culture of chicken pituitary anterior cells. Transfection of the plasmid Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein-PGDS plasmid into these cells in medium containing 1 microM arachidonic acid additionally increased 15-d-PGJ(2)/PGJ(2), LHB mRNA, and LHB protein levels (P<0.05). In the hypothalamus/pituitary gland of laying hens, there was a high correlation (r=0.64; P<0.05) between PGDS and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor A (PPARA) mRNA level in a high egg production strain, the L2 Taiwan country chickens. In commercial Single-Comb White Leghorn layers, there were high correlation coefficients between PGDS and PPARA (r=0.65; P<0.05) and between PGDS and PPARG (r=0.67; P<0.01) mRNA levels. A broad-range PPARs agonist, GW9578 (5 to 500 nM), enhanced LHB mRNA and LHB protein levels (P<0.05). The PPARA-specific (GW6471) and PPARG-specific (T0070907) antagonists suppressed endogenous LHB mRNA and LHB protein levels (P<0.05); in addition, both antagonists attenuated arachidonic acid-induced LHB mRNA levels (P<0.05) and PGDS-induced (in the presence of 1 microM arachidonic acid) LHB mRNA and LHB protein (P<0.05) levels in the primary culture of chicken anterior pituitary cells. Higher LHB mRNA/LHB protein ratios in PGD(2)-, PGJ(2)-, arachidonic acid-, PGDS-, and GW9578-induced as well as GW6471- and T0070907-suppressed anterior pituitary cells suggested that LHB transcription occurred before translation. In conclusion, PGDS induced LHB transcription and subsequent translation via the PPAR signaling pathway.

Successful induction of antisera against rabbit embryos for isolation of the ICM and putative embryonic stem cells.

In Expt 1, goat antisera against rabbit blastocysts were induced using spleen cell injection and skin-graft for immunosurgical isolation of ICM cells. Goats received rabbit spleen cell suspension (4 x 10(8) cells/ml) intravenously once a week for three consecutive weeks, plus an additional dose (boost injection) 10 days after the third injection, or a piece of rabbit skin (3 x 3 cm) transplantation. Blood samples were collected starting from the day after the last cell injection for 21 days. Serum was separated, heat inactivated and stored in frozen condition before titre analysis. Results showed that the antisera/antibodies derived by spleen cell injection reached their peak titre 7 days after the last cell injection, compared with 5 days by the skin-grafted group. In Expt 2, morphologically normal blastocysts were collected for isolating ICMs immunosurgically or for direct culture of zona-free whole blastocysts. In both methods, ICM cells started attaching to the feeder layer and outgrowing from the centre portion of the cells on day 3 after the onset of culture. ICM outgrowths increased in size during days 4-5, and most cells differentiated morphologically after day 6. One colony derived from isolated ICM developed into morphologically ES-like cells expressing alkaline phosphatase activity. Our results indicated that both skin-grafting and spleen cell injection were effective inducing antisera against rabbit embryonic cells. More studies are required to optimize the culture system for rabbit ES cells.

Primary hepatic malignant fibrous histiocytoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of the liver remains extremely rare with only several cases having been reported in literature. We report a case of hepatic MFH in a 53-year-old man who presented with upper abdominal pain, and weight loss for one month. Ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scan showed a large mass with fine tumor vessels over the left lobe of the liver. Histopathological findings indicated a mesenchymal tumor consisting of spindle cells in storiform pattern intermingled with histiocyte-like cells and giant cells. Immunohistochemically, most tumor cells expressed vimentin, alpha-1 anti-chymotrypsin, alpha-1 antitrypsin and CD68. Morphological and immunohistochemical findings support that the tumor should be classified as a primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The literatures is briefly reviewed.

3D QSAR analyses of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors based on pharmacophore alignment.

In an effort to develop a quantitative ligand-binding model for the receptor tyrosine kinases, a pharmacophore search was first used to identify structural features that are common in two novel sets of 12 molecules of the 3-substituted indolin-2-ones and 19 compounds of the benzylidene malononitriles with low-to-high affinity for HER2, a kind of receptor tyrosine kinase. The common pharmacophore model based on these 31 compounds was used as a template to obtain the aligned molecular aggregate, which provided a good starting point for 3D-QSAR analysis of only the 19 benzylidene malononitriles. Two molecular field analysis (MFA) techniques, including CoMFA and CoMSIA, were used to derive the quantitative structure-activity relationships of the studied molecules. From the studied results, it was obvious that the 3D-QSAR models based on the pharmacophore alignment were superior to those based on the simple atom-by-atom fits. Considering the flexibility of the studied molecules and the difference between the active conformers and the energy-lowest conformers, the pharmacophore model can usually provide the common features for the flexible regions. Moreover, the best CoMSIA model based on the pharmacophore hypothesis gave good statistical measure from partial least-squares analysis (PLS) (q(2) = 0.71), which was slightly better than the CoMFA one. Our study demonstrated that pharmacophore modeling and CoMSIA research could be effectively combined. Results obtained from both methods helped with understanding the specific activity of some compounds and designing new specific HER2 inhibitors.

Laser intraductal photocoagulation of bilateral parotid ducts for reducing drooling of cerebral palsied children: a preliminary report.

Previous reports suggested that surgical treatment was effective to reduce abnormal, profuse drooling in children with low cognitive function, but with risk of complications. Laser photocoagulation might be an option to simplify the procedure and decrease complications. Our study considered whether laser photocoagulation could improve drooling in children with cerebral palsy (CP). CP children with drooling were recruited from the pediatric rehabilitation clinic, all of whom had persistent profuse drooling after 6 months of conservative treatment. They received neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser for intraductal photocoagulation to bilateral parotid ducts, and were followed up for 2 to 3 months. Each patient was assessed before and after the procedure by: 1) questionnaire-based semiquantitative assessment of drooling severity and frequency (Thomas-Stonell and Greensberg 1988); 2) quantitative assessment of saliva amount by collection of stimulated saliva for 2 minutes in cooperative children. Six CP children with severe drooling received laser photocoagulation, five of them had remarkable decrease of drooling 1 month later. Patients had cool liquid intake soon after the procedure, and were discharged on the second day after treatment. A period of transient face swelling ranged from 6 to 37 days. No antibiotic treatment was indicated nor were any complications noted after the procedure. As a result of these studies, it is suggested that laser intraductal photocoagulation of bilateral parotid duct could be used as a simple and effective procedure for reducing drooling in CP children, and would avoid complications from conventional surgery.

Monoclonal antibodies against human esophageal carcinoma cell lines.

Two monoclonal antibodies, designated 4C4 and 4G1, were produced by immunization of BALB/c mice with a human esophageal carcinoma cell line, CE69T/VGH, followed by fusion of the spleen cells from an immunized mouse with myeloma cells NS-1. 4C4 showed strong binding activity to three human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and one human hepatoma cell line, but not to any other cell lines tested. 4G1 reacted with three human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and four other cell lines. By peroxidase-antiperoxidase staining, 4C4 and 4G1 detected antigens of the epithelial cells on 10 pairs of esophageal carcinoma and normal esophageal specimens. 4G1 recognized a CE69T/VGH antigen with a molecular weight of 180K. Since 4G1 also reacted with purified carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and immunoprecipitated 125I-CEA, 4G1 seems to be an antibody recognizing CEA produced by CE69T/VGH cells. Since 4C4 also bound to the epithelial cells of normal uterine, vaginal, breast and liver tissues, it seems to recognize an epithelial antigen, and can be used to characterize the antigen in the specialization or differentiation of epithelial cells.

Monoclonal antibodies against antigens expressed on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Monoclonal antibodies with selectivity for human hepatoma cell lines were produced by immunizing BALB/c mice with human hepatoma cell lines, HA22T/VGH or Hep 3B, and fusing sensitized mouse spleen cells with mouse myeloma cells. Two monoclonal antibodies recognizing antigens present only on human hepatoma cell lines were investigated. The monoclonal antibody IB1 was found to react with 3 of 9 hepatoma cell lines. Monoclonal antibody 9B2 reacted with all nine hepatoma cell lines. None of the other 20 cell lines tested was bound by IB1 and 9B2. The immunoperoxidase staining of monoclonal antibodies on frozen sections of paired hepatoma and normal liver tissues from the same individuals were studied. Antibody IB1 reacted with 3 of 13 hepatoma tissues, but with none of the normal liver and other tissues, and antibody 9B2 was reactive with antigens appearing on the bile canalicular domain of hepatoma and normal liver tissues. The antibody 9B2 stained no normal tissues with the exception of proximal tubules of kidney. Radioimmunoprecipitation tests identified two antigens reacting with 9B2. The major antigen had an apparent molecular weight of 140,000 and a minor one of 130,000. Therefore, antibody IB1 seems to be specific for antigens present on a group of human hepatoma cells and may be useful for classification and diagnosis of human hepatomas. Antibody 9B2 is quite specific to human liver cells and may be used to provide clues for the characterization of tumor cell lines, identification of metastatic tumors with hepatocytic origin, and study of the structure and function of bile canaliculi.