Adrenal cortical carcinoma in children: a clinicopathological analysis of 25 cases / 中华病理学杂志

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) in children. Methods: Twenty-five children with ACC diagnosed in the Department of Pathology, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China from March 2014 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The related literature was reviewed. Results: A total of 25 children with ACC were collected, including 11 males and 14 females, with a male to female ratio of 1.0∶1.3. The patient ages ranged from 8 months to 14 years (median, 4 years). Eighteen cases with clinical data had functional tumors (18/22, 81.8%) presenting with virilization or precocious puberty (15/18), symptoms related to hypercortisolism (8/18) or endocrine symptoms mixed with both (5/18), while 3 cases (3/22, 13.6%) had unknown clinical data. The clinical manifestations of four patients with nonfunctional tumors were an abdominal mass and/or abdominal pain, walking instability and others. Grossly, the average maximum diameter of the tumor was 9.4 cm. Most of the tumors were nodular and partially encapsuled. The cut surfaces were gray or gray brown, soft with hemorrhage. Histologically, the tumor cells were diffusely distributed, separated by a vascular-rich network. The tumor cells were large, with distinct nucleoli, abundant eosinophilic or clear cytoplasm, and round or oval nuclei. The mitotic index was high, and atypical mitoses were common. Necrosis, calcification, capsule invasion or/and venous invasion were present. In some cases, the tumor invaded the surrounding soft tissues or kidneys. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were diffusely positive for syn and SF1 and focally positive for α-inhibin, Melan A and Calretinin, but negative for CgA. Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 2%-90%. TP53 gene status was examined in 7 cases, in which mutations were detected in 4 cases. Follow-up data was obtained in 21 patients, among whom 18 received chemotherapy and 3 received radiotherapy. Distant metastasis occurred in 13 patients. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 11.2 months and median overall survival (OS) was 54.7 months. Patients aged less than 5 years had a better prognosis for OS (P<0.05) than the older ones (≥5 years), but a similar PFS (P>0.05). Male patients and Ki-67 proliferation index <15% had a better prognosis tendency for OS, but there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusions: ACC in children is a rare, often functional tumor associated with Li-Fraumeni genetic syndrome and has a poor prognosis. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis require a combination of morphological, phenotypic and clinical analysis.

Radiomics model based on CT images for distinguishing invasive lung adenocarcinoma with micropapillary or solid structure / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the radiomics features to distinguish invasive lung adenocarcinoma with micropapillary or solid structure. Methods    A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who received surgeries and pathologically confirmed invasive lung adenocarcinoma in our hospital from April 2016 to August 2019. The dataset was randomly divided into a training set [including a micropapillary/solid structure positive group (positive group) and a micropapillary/solid structure negative group (negative group)] and a testing set (including a positive group and a negative group) with a ratio of 7∶3. Two radiologists drew regions of interest on preoperative high-resolution CT images to extract radiomics features. Before analysis, the intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the stable features, and the training set data were balanced using synthetic minority oversampling technique. After mean normalization processing, further radiomics features selection was conducted using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm, and a 5-fold cross validation was performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were depicted on the training and testing sets to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the radiomics model. Results    A total of 340 patients were enrolled, including 178 males and 162 females with an average age of 60.31±6.69 years. There were 238 patients in the training set, including 120 patients in the positive group and 118 patients in the negative group. There were 102 patients in the testing set, including 52 patients in the positive group and 50 patients in the negative group. The radiomics model contained 107 features, with the final 2 features selected for the radiomics model, that is, Original_ glszm_ SizeZoneNonUniformityNormalized and Original_ shape_ SurfaceVolumeRatio. The areas under the ROC curve of the training and the testing sets of the radiomics model were 0.863 (95%CI 0.815-0.912) and 0.857 (95%CI 0.783-0.932), respectively. The sensitivity was 91.7% and 73.7%, the specificity was 78.8% and 84.0%, and the accuracy was 85.3% and 78.4%, respectively. Conclusion    There are differences in radiomics features between invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma with or without micropapillary and solid structures, and the radiomics model is demonstrated to be with good diagnostic value.

Novel STING-targeted PET radiotracer for alert and therapeutic evaluation of acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI), as a common clinical emergency, is pulmonary edema and diffuse lung infiltration caused by inflammation. The lack of non-invasive alert strategy, resulting in failure to carry out preventive treatment, means high mortality and poor prognosis. Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a key molecular biomarker of innate immunity in response to inflammation, but there is still a lack of STING-targeted strategy. In this study, a novel STING-targeted PET tracer, [18F]FBTA, was labeled with high radiochemical yield (79.7 ± 4.3%) and molar activity (32.5 ± 2.9 GBq/μmol). We confirmed that [18F]FBTA has a strong STING binding affinity (Kd = 26.86 ± 6.79 nmol/L) and can be used for PET imaging in ALI mice to alert early lung inflammation and to assess the efficacy of drug therapy. Our STING-targeted strategy also reveals that [18F]FBTA can trace ALI before reaching the computed tomography (CT) diagnostic criteria, and demonstrates its better specificity and distribution than [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG).

Evaluation of brainstem function using vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in patients with early-stage Parkinson′s disease / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate whether vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) can be used to assess brainstem and its supplementary diagnostic value in patients with early-stage Parkinson′s disease (PD).Methods:A total of 123 patients with early-stage PD (PD group) diagnosed in the Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2019 to January 2022 were consecutively enrolled, and 122 healthy controls (healthy control group) were included. Cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and ocular VEMP (oVEMP) examinations were performed on all subjects. VEMP parameters between the 2 groups were compared, and receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the auxiliary diagnostic efficacy of VEMP for early-stage PD. Correlations between VEMP parameters and motor and non-motor symptoms such as autonomic dysfunction were analyzed in the PD group using Spearman correlation analysis.Results:Bilateral latencies of cVEMP [left P1 latency (Lp13): 19.0 (16.4, 20.9) ms vs 13.1(12.0, 14.2) ms, Z=-11.18, left N1 latency (Ln23): 27.4 (24.6, 29.9) ms vs 21.2 (19.8, 23.0) ms, Z=-10.14; right P1 latency (Rp13): 18.8 (16.2, 20.9) ms vs 13.0 (11.7, 14.1) ms, Z=-10.84, right N1 latency (Rn23): 27.7 (24.3, 29.7) ms vs 21.1 (19.6, 22.9) ms, Z=-10.50] and bilateral latencies of oVEMP [left N1 latency (Ln10): 12.7 (10.7, 14.4) ms vs 10.4 (9.7, 11.4) ms, Z=-8.02, left P1 latency (Lp15): 16.5 (15.1, 18.3) ms vs 14.5 (13.4, 15.3) ms, Z=-7.96; right N1 latency (Rn10): 12.8 (11.4, 14.0) ms vs 10.5 (9.7, 11.5) ms, Z=-8.85, right P1 latency (Rp15): 16.7 (15.3, 18.3) ms vs 14.4 (13.3, 15.1) ms, Z=-9.39] of the PD group significantly prolonged compared to the healthy control group (all P<0.001). Compared to the healthy control group, the area under the curve (AUC) values of Lp13, Ln23, Rp13 and Rn23 of cVEMP in the PD group were all greater than 0.7, and the AUC values of Lp13 and Rp13 in the PD group were greater than 0.9 (all P<0.001); the AUC values of Ln10, Lp15, Rn10, and Rp15 of oVEMP in the PD group were all greater than 0.7 (all P<0.001). The Rn10-p15 corrected amplitude in PD patients was positively correlated with levodopa equivalent dose ( r=0.21, P=0.020). The Rn10 in PD patients was positively correlated with the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire scores ( r=0.21, P=0.023). The Lp13-n23 corrected amplitude was negatively correlated with the Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson′s Disease-Autonomic scores ( r=-0.20, P=0.023). There was no significant correlation between VEMP parameters and Unified Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale part Ⅲ score ( P>0.05). Conclusion:VEMP, especially cVEMP, as a non-invasive neuroelectrophysiological index, is an objective marker for brainstem damage and could be used for screening early-stage PD patients.

Correlation between the quartering method of nerve root subsidence sign and the cross-sectional area of the narrow segment thecal sac in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To study the correlation between the quartering of nerve root subsidence sign (NRS) and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the narrow segment thecal sac in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Methods:The data of 203 LSS patients in the Fourth People′s Hospital of Hengshui from January 2020 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent MRI cross sectional scanning. The patients were divided into positive type a group ( n=62), positive type b group ( n=32), positive type c group ( n=51), and negative group ( n=58) by NRS quartering method. The minimum CSA, median sagittal diameter (PAD), and lateral recess sagittal diameter of each group were compared. The correlation between NRS quartering classification and the minimum CSA and related indicators of lumbar spinal stenosis was analyzed. Results:The minimum CSA, PAD, and sagittal diameter of the lateral recess in the positive a group, positive b group, and positive c group were all smaller than those in the negative group, while the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were higher than those in the negative group; The minimum CSA, PAD, and sagittal diameter of the lateral recess in the positive b type and positive c type groups were smaller than those in the positive a type group, while the VAS score and ODI index were higher than those in the positive a type group; The minimum CSA, PAD, and sagittal diameter of the lateral recess in the positive c type group were smaller than those in the positive b type group; The VAS score and ODI index were higher than those of the positive b type group; The differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). 203 patients were divided into 54 normal cases, 58 mild stenosis cases, 49 moderate stenosis cases, and 42 severe stenosis cases based on the minimum CSA. The coincidence rate between negative NRS and minimal CSA diagnosis as normal was 94.44%(51/54), the coincidence rate between positive type a and minimal CSA diagnosis as mild stenosis was 84.48%(49/58), the coincidence rate between positive type b and minimal CSA diagnosis as moderate stenosis was 53.06%(26/49), and the coincidence rate between positive type c and minimal CSA diagnosis as severe stenosis was 90.48%(38/42). Using the kappa consistency test, the kappa value for quantitative diagnosis of minimum CSA stenosis in NRS and LSS patients was 0.743, indicating good consistency. The kappa values for quantitative diagnosis of NRS, sagittal diameter of lateral recess, and PAD stenosis were 0.271 and 0.335, with poor consistency. NRS typing was negatively correlated with CSA and PAD ( r=-0.723, -0.581, all P<0.001), and positively correlated with VAS score and ODI index ( r=0.473, 0.640, all P<0.001). Conclusions:The NRS quartering method has a good consistency in diagnosing the severity of LSS patients and the minimum CSA of stenosis segments, suggesting that the NRS quartering method can better reflect the degree of Spinal stenosis, which can not only be used as an auxiliary indicator for qualitative diagnosis of LSS, but also has a high value in quantitative diagnosis.

Research progress on the influencing factors of health literacy in patients with coronary heart disease based on the perspective of health ecology / 中国实用护理杂志

The self-health management level of patients with coronary heart disease depends largely on their health literacy level. The theory of health ecology believes that the factors affecting individual health are multi-level. Based on the perspective of health ecology, this paper analyzed the influencing factors of health literacy of patients with coronary heart disease from five aspects: personal characteristics, behavior, interpersonal network, living and working conditions, environmental policies, so as to provide a basis for formulating targeted and systematic strategies for improving the health literacy of patients with coronary heart disease in the future.

Research progress of endothelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation in fibrotic diseases / 中国药理学通报

Fibrosis is a repair response initiated by tissues and organs after injury, and is a self-protection mechanism of the body. It has been found that endothelium-to-interstitial transdifferentiation (EndMT) is involved in the physiological and pathological processes of various organ fibrosis, which has become a focus of the research on fibrotic diseases. In recent years, the study has found that EndMT plays an important role in many pathological processes in cardiovascular system, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas fibrosis, and so on. This article summarizes EndMT regulatory mechanism and its role in each organ fibrosis, as well as the related treatment progress of EndMT targets, so as to provide new targets for prevention and control of organ fibrosis.

Study on preventive and therapeutic effect of Tongbu-fangchan prescription on Ach-CaCl / 中国药理学通报

Aim To explore he preventive and therapeutic effects of Tongbu-fangchan prescription on aceylcholine-calcium chloride (Ach-CaCl

Cross-cultural adaptation, preliminary validity and reliability and modification of the Chinese Version of the KING′s Parkinson′s Disease Pain Scale / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To perform cross-cultural adaption of the KING′s Parkinson′s Disease Pain Scale (KPPS), explore its reliability and validity in Chinese Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients, and to create the new version of the pain scale which adapts to the Chinese PD patients.Methods:This study enrolled 225 patients, including 121 men and 104 women who were selected from the Outpatient Center of Movement Disorders Clinic of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2018 to July 2020. All patients completed the evaluation of the Chinese Version of KPPS (KPPS-CV). According to the preliminary evaluation results, the expert group modified KPPS-CV after discussion, and developed a Modified KPPS-CV (MKPPS-CV). These patients then completed the MKPPS-CV evaluation during the 3-month follow-up. Cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to published international guidelines that include translation, back-translation, expert review, and pretesting. The following psychometric properties were evaluated: basic item analysis; floor and ceiling effects; construct validity; content validity; criterion validity (Spearman′s rho between the KPPS-CV and Numeric Rating Scale); internal consistency reliability (Cronbach′s alpha); test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient, ICC).Results:In item analysis, 50% of the items had poor discrimination (critical ratio<3.0), and floor effect was found in all domains (proportion of 0 point>15%). The items were reclassified after exploratory factor analysis. The content validity of item 3, item 10 and item 11 was low (item-level content validity index<0.78). Criterion validity showed the highest correlations (Spearman′s rho>0.88) between the KPPS-CV and Numeric Rating Scale. While overall scale reliability was minimally acceptable at 0.46, which showed a poor reliability of this scale. Test-retest reliability was excellent for each item (Spearman's rho>0.85). The Cronbach′s alpha of MKPPS-CV (0.76) was higher than that of KPPS-CV (0.46). It showed a great improvement after the modifying.Conclusions:When using scales that are not developed for local populations, differences in culture and clinical practices should be taken into account. MKPPS-CV is an acceptable, valid measure to evaluate pain in Chinese PD patients, which is more suitable for Chinese people.

Correlation between nutritional status and unplanned readmission in elderly patients with chronic heart failure / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To evaluate nutritional status in elderly patients with chronic heart failure and to investigate its association with unplanned readmission.Methods:From July 2020 to August 2021, 220 elderly patients hospitalized for chronic heart failure in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Basic information, laboratory tests and other data of the patients were collected. Nutritional status of the patients was assessed by geriatric nutritional risk index and the patients were divided into groups. Data were analyzed by R4.1.1 and SPSS26.0, survival curves were drawn by Kaplan-Meier method, and the relationship between nutritional status and unplanned readmission in elderly patients with chronic heart failure was analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression.Results:Among 220 elderly patients with chronic heart failure, 59.5%(131/220) were in normal nutrition. There were 40.5%(89/220) in the malnutrition, including 26.8%(59/220) in the mild malnutrition and 13.6%(30/220) in the moderate and severe malnutrition. During the follow-up period of 3 months, 25.9% (57/220) had unplanned readmission. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the incidence of unplanned readmissions was higher in the moderate and severe malnutrition than in the normal and mild malnutrition, and the difference among them was statistically significant ( P<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that moderate and severe malnutrition was an independent predictor of unplanned readmission in elderly patients with chronic heart failure ( HR=2.064, 95% CI 1.029-4.138, P<0.05). Conclusions:The prevalence of malnutrition in elderly patients with chronic heart failure is high. Moderate and severe malnutrition is an independent predictor of unplanned readmission in elderly patients with chronic heart failure. The geriatric nutritional risk index is an effective screening tool and can provide a reference for clinical evaluation of nutritional risk in patients.

Analysis of risk factors and construction of risk prediction model of cognitive dysfunction in patients with atrial fibrillation / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To identify the risk factors of cognitive dysfunction in patients with atrial fibrillation and to establish a risk prediction model.Methods:The convenience sampling method was used to evaluate 260 patients with atrial fibrillation who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology of the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College from January to December 2020. The cognitive function of the patients was evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Function Assessment Scale (MoCA). Univariate analysis was used to screen the independent variables that had influence on the occurrence of cognitive dysfunction, and the statistically significant variables were included in the multivariate Logistic regression model. According to the regression coefficients of statistically significant variables, a line map was drawn to construct the risk prediction model of cognitive dysfunction in patients with atrial fibrillation.Results:There were 209 cases with cognitive impairment and 51 cases without cognitive impairment. Univariate analysis showed that sex, age, smoking history, drinking history, education level, free thyroxine, hemoglobin, D-dimer and BMI ( χ2 values were 4.08-18.83, t values were -6.04-2.94, Z=-2.76) were significantly different between the patients with or without cognitive dysfunction. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age ( OR values were 1.13), education level ( OR=0.01-0.05), quit smoking history ( OR=0.36), drinking history ( OR=0.35) and free thyroxine( OR=1.14) had significantly statistical significance ( P<0.05). The area under ROC curve (AUC) = 0.878 and AUC>0.8, this model had good clinical prediction ability. Conclusions:The construction of cognitive dysfunction risk prediction model for patients with atrial fibrillation can prevent or intervene high risk factors in advance, facilitate clinical use, and provide data support for the improvement of cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Effect of Gegen Qinliantang on TLR4/IKKβ/NF-κB Pathway in KKAy Mice with Diabetes / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of classical prescription Gegen Qinliantang（GGQLT） on inflammatory factors and key targets in the inflammatory pathways mediated by lipopolysaccharide in KKAy mice and explore its mechanism in improving spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM）. MethodSixty-five SPF KKAy mice with spontaneous T2DM and 13 C57BL/6J mice （control） were selected in the barrier system and fed on a high-fat diet. The model was properly induced in 44 mice in the context of random blood glucose exceeding or equal to 13.9 mmol·L-1. Then the mice were assigned into a normal group （20 mL∙kg-1 normal saline）， a model group （20 mL∙kg-1 normal saline）， an acarbose group （3.9 mg∙kg-1）， and high- and low-dose GGQLT groups （1.82 and 0.45 g∙kg-1）， with 11 mice in each group. The mice in each group were treated correspondingly by gavage for eight weeks， once per day. Blood glucose and body weight were systematically evaluated. Twelve hours after the last administration， blood samples were collected from the eyes， and the serum and muscle and liver tissues were extracted. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and glucose transporter type 4 （GluT4） were detected by semi-quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The protein expression of IκB kinase β （IKKβ） and nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） in muscle tissues and Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4） in liver tissues was detected by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased body weight and blood glucose （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the acarbose group and the GGQLT groups showed reduced body weight and blood glucose （P<0.05， P<0.01）. As revealed by ELISA results， compared with the normal group， the model group showed increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 （P<0.01） and deceased GluT4 level （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the groups with drug treatment showed reduced levels of TNF-α and IL-6 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the acarbose group and the high-dose GGQLT group showed increased GluT4 level （P<0.05， P<0.01）. As displayed by Western blot results， compared with the normal group， the model group showed increased protein expression of IKKβ， NF-κB， and TLR4 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the acarbose group and the GGQLT groups showed reduced protein expression of IKKβ， NF-κB， and TLR4 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionGGQLT can inhibit the inflammatory cascade effect and improve T2DM by down-regulating the levels of key inflammatory factors in the TLR4 pathway， inhibiting their activation， and increasing the translocation and activity of GluT4 on the basis of the regulation of intestinal flora.

Immunomodulatory and Antioxidant Activity of Gouqi Chewable Tablets / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the regulatory effect of Gouqi chewable tablets on innate and adaptive immunity in normal mice and its antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo. MethodThe effects of low-， medium-， and high-dose groups （0.25， 0.5， 1.5 g·kg-1） on the immune function of normal mice were observed by carbon clearance test， immune organ index test， serum hemolysin test， ConA-induced splenic lymphocyte proliferation test， and natural killer cell （NK cell） activity test. The effects of Gouqi chewable tablets on the antioxidant capacity in vivo were determined by detecting the content of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）， and malondialdehyde （MDA） in mice serum. The in vitro antioxidant activity of Gouqi chewable tablets was detected by 2，2'-azino-bis（3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid） diammonium salt （ABTS）， 2，2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH）， and hydroxyl radical scavenging tests. ResultCompared with the blank control group， the low-， medium-， and high-dose groups of Gouqi chewable tablets improved the viability of NK cells， the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes， and the level of serum hemolysin antibody in mice （P<0.05）. The high-dose group increased the thymus index， spleen index， and phagocytic function of macrophages （P<0.05， P<0.01）. As compared with the blank control group， the activity of GSH-Px in mice serum in the medium-dose group was increased （P<0.05）， and the content of MDA in mice serum in the high-dose group was decreased （P<0.05）. In in vitro antioxidant tests， the median inhibitory concentration （IC50） values of Gouqi chewable tablets were 1.64±0.20， 2.04±0.03， and 10.27±0.03 g·L-1 by the DPPH， ABTS， and OH- free radical method， respectively. Those results indicated that Gouqi chewable tablets have good antioxidant effects in vitro. ConclusionGouqi chewable tablets can enhance the immune function of mice with good antioxidant effects.

Determination of Three Types of New Psychoactive Tryptamines in Blood by QuEChERS Combined with UPLC-MS/MS / 法医学杂志

Objective To establish a method combining QuEChERS and ultra-high liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） for rapid screening and testing of three types of new psychoactive tryptamines in human blood： 5-MeO-DALT, 5-MeO-MiPT and 5-MeO-DiPT. Methods The effects of the type of extractant, the type and dosage of salting-out agent, and the dosage of adsorbent on the test results of the three tryptamines were investigated. Blood samples were processed by QuEChERS method and then determined by UPLC-MS/MS. Results The linear relationships of 5-MeO-DALT, 5-MeO-MiPT and 5-MeO-DiPT in human blood were good in the range of 0.5-100, 0.5-100 and 0.2-100 ng/mL, respectively, with their coefficients higher than 0.99. The limits of detection （LODs） were 0.1-0.2 ng/mg. The recoveries ranged from 84.86% to 94.57%. Intra-day and inter-day precisions were good. Conclusion The method is simple, rapid, easy to operate and has a high recovery. It is suitable for the qualitative and quantitative study of tryptamines in blood and can provide the reference for public security organs to deal with related cases.

Analysis of mutations of KCNJ5 gene in aldosterone-producing adenomas / 中华内分泌外科杂志

Objective:To analyze KCNJ5 mutation of adenomas in patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) companying with hypokalemia, and to compare the clinical characteristics of patients with and without KCNJ 5 mutations.Methods:Clinical data of 144 APA patients were retrospectively analyzed. DNA were extracted from adenoma tissues, and amplified and sequenced for KCNJ5 gene. The serum potassium level and cardiac complications in patients with and without KCNJ5 gene mutation were compared.Results:Among 144 tumors, 131 tumors (91%) had KCNJ5 mutation, including 68 tumors with G151R, 56 tumors with L168R, 5 tumors with E145Q, and two tumors with novel mutations, V156_K160delITE and G151delinsVR. Compared with patients without KCNJ5 mutation, patients with KCNJ5 mutation had lower preoperative serum potassium levels, more cardiac complications, lower postoperative systolic blood pressure, and better postoperative hypertension relief. There were no statistical differences in age, gender, blood pressure, serum potassium level, plasma renin activity or plasma aldosterone concertration.Conclusion:91% adenomas in patients with APA and hypokalemia had KCNJ5 mutation, suggesting that KCNJ5 mutation is the main cause in these patients.

Preparation and evaluation of methotrexate sustained-release particles using crosslinked cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks / 药学学报

Methotrexate (MTX) injection has a short half-life and significant toxic side effects. In order to overcome the demerits of MTX injection, MTX@COF was prepared for subcutaneous injection by loading MTX in crosslinked cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (COF) in this study. The cationic lipid material (2, 3-dioleoyl-propyl)-trimethylamine (DOTAP) was then coated on the MTX@COF surface by solvent evaporation. Different surface charge characteristics were observed in the coated MTX@COF@DOTAP with no significant change in particle morphology. The in vitro release behaviors of sustained-release particles were investigated in water and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), and the in vivo release characteristics were evaluated for pharmacokinetics in rats. The in vitro release results showed that the cumulative release of MTX, MTX@COF and MTX@COF@DOTAP within 6 h was 92.70%, 36.31% and 18.19% in water, respectively; the cumulative release of MTX, MTX@COF and MTX@COF@DOTAP within 4 h was 90.82%, 79.37% and 58.30% in phosphate buffer, respectively; the results showed that MTX@COF can significantly delay the release of MTX, the modification to MTX@COF by DOTAP can further delay the release of MTX. Pharmacokinetic studies in rats showed that the mean retention time [MRT(0-t)] and the time to peak (Tmax) of the subcutaneous injection of MTX@COF@DOTAP group were significantly prolonged compared with the MTX@COF group and the MTX group. The area under the concentration-time curve [AUC(0-t)] of the MTX@COF@DOTAP subcutaneous injection group was 1.8 times high as that of the MTX group. In this study, MTX@COF@DOTAP particles had a certain sustained-release effect, and could prolong the bioavailability of MTX by subcutaneous injection, which provided a new idea for the development of new MTX dosage forms.

The value of Facial Emotion Recognition Test in the early diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the value of Facial Emotion Recognition Test (FERT) in the early diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).Methods:A total of 27 patients with mild bvFTD, 27 patients with mild Alzheimer′s disease (AD) and 54 normal controls were successively collected in the Memory Clinic of Department of Neurology,Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to July 2019. The subjects were assessed by the FERT and a battery of neuropsychological background tests including Mini-Mental State Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), etc. The discriminatory power of the FERT was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results:The average FERT scores of bvFTD, AD and control groups were 18.00 (14.00, 21.00), 25.00 (21.00, 28.00) and 28.00 (26.00, 30.00) respectively. The FERT scores of bvFTD group were significantly lower than those of control groups ( H=-55.278, P<0.001) and AD groups ( H=-28.407, P=0.002). ROC results showed that the FERT had a high discriminatory power for differentiating bvFTD from the controls, with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.969 (95% CI 0.931-1.000, P<0.001). Both the sensitivity and specificity were 92.6% with a cut-off value at 24. For differentiating bvFTD group from AD group, the AUC value for the FERT was 0.850 (95% CI 0.749-0.951, P<0.001), with sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 71.4% with a cut-off value of 22. Compared with the AUC values for the FAB and AVLT-Delayed Recall (0.776 and 0.714), the AUC value for the FERT was slightly higher, though the differences among them were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Disturbance of emotion processing is presented in the early stage of bvFTD. FERT is one of the sensitive and specific neuropsychological indicators for the early diagnosis of bvFTD.

Low-glucose combined with palmitic acid enhances the radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer through inducing reactive oxygen species generation and DNA damage / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To investigate the mechanism underlying the inhibiting effect of low-glucose combined with palmitic acid on human colon cancer cells and its influence on the radiosensitivity.Methods:Under the treatment of low-glucose, palmitic acid and low-glucose combined with palmitic acid, the treatment condition that significantly inhibited the proliferation of SW480 was screened by CCK-8 assay. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis rate were detected by flow cytometry. The changes in the radiosensitivity were detected by immunofluorescence-based γ-H 2AX quantification and colony formation assay. The protein expression level was detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with the control group, the condition of low-glucose combined with 120μmol/L palmitic acid significantly inhibited the proliferation of SW480 cells ( P<0.01). The expression levels of CPT1a, PFKFB3 and PKM were significantly up-regulated, the expression levels of NDUFV1, NDUFV2 and NDUFS1 were remarkably down-regulated, the ROS level was significantly increased and the ATP level was considerably reduced in the cells under metabolic stress (all P<0.01). After irradiation, the number of γ-H 2AX foci was significantly increased ( P<0.05), and the D 0 value was significantly reduced ( P<0.01), the ROS level was considerably increased ( P<0.001), the apoptosis rate was significantly increased ( P<0.001) and the expression level of γ-H 2AX protein was remarkably up-regulated ( P<0.01) in the low-glucose combined with 120μmol/L palmitic acid group. Pretreatment with NAC could reverse the changes of ROS, apoptosis and γ-H 2AX protein expression. Conclusions:The combination of low-glucose and palmitic acid can induce metabolic stress in SW480 cells, inhibit tumor proliferation and increase the radiosensitization when combined with radiotherapy by inducing the generation of ROS and DNA damage.

Effect of Dingkundan in Adjuvant Treatment of Patients with Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy After Endometrial Carcinoma Operation / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of Dingkundan in adjuvant treatment of clinical symptoms， quality of life， immune function and prognosis of patients with radiotherapy and chemotherapy after endometrial carcinoma （EC） operation. Method:Patients were divided into control group （82 cases） and observation group （86 cases） according to random number table. A total of 75 patients in control group completed the study （4 patients fell off or lose visit， and 3 patients were eliminated）， while 77 patients in observation group completed the study （5 patients fell off or lose visit， and 4 patients were deleted）. After operation， patients got brachytherapy， external pelvic irradiation and chemotherapy. Patients in control group got Bazhenwan， 1 pill/time， 2 times/day， and those in observation group got Dingkundan， 7 g/time， 2 times/day. The course of treatment lasted for 4 months， and long-time follow-up data was recorded. Before treatment， and at the second and fourth month after treatment， deficiency of Qi and blood was scored. Toxic reactions after radiotherapy and chemotherapy were recorded， and incidence rate of acute and advanced radiation injury of bladder and rectum and toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs at grade 3 or above grade 3 level were compared. And levels of T lymphocyte subsets （CD3⁺， CD4⁺， CD8⁺ and CD4⁺/CD8⁺） were detected， European collaborative quality of life Cancer Core Scale （EORTC QLQ-C30） was evaluated， and expressions of pce125 （CA125）， epididymis protein 4 （HE4）， Dickkopf-related protein-1 （DKK1）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9） and transforming growth factor-<italic>β</italic>₁ （TGF-<italic>β</italic>₁） were tested before and after treatment. The follow-up was made for every three months， and the progression （recurrence/metastasis） of patients was recorded. Result:Scores of deficiency of Qi and blood in observation group were lower than those in control group at the second and fourth week after treatment （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Incidence rates of acute and advanced radiation injury of bladder and rectum and toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs at grade 3 or above grade 3 level and incidence rates of bone marrow suppression， gastrointestinal toxicity， neurotoxicity were lower than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Five functional dimensions and overall quality of life score based on EORTC and QLQ-C30 in observation group were higher than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and scores of three symptom dimensions were lower than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Levels of CD3⁺， CD4⁺ and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ were higher than those in the control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and CD8⁺ was lower than those in the control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Levels of CA125， HE4， DKK1， VEGF， MMP-9 and TGF-<italic>β</italic>₁ were lower than those in the control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The disease progression rate in observation group was 18.18% （14/77）， which was lower than 33.33% （25/75） in control group （<italic>χ</italic>²=4.572， <italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:In adjuvant treatment of patients with radiotherapy and chemotherapy after EC operation， Dingkundan can reduce the symptoms of Qi and blood deficiency syndrome and side effects caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy， improve the quality of life and immune function， inhibit the expression of tumor markers and tumor growth factor， delay the progression of tumor and improve the prognosis.

Effect of Electroacupuncture at Fengchi on Astrocytes and Neurons in Rats with Acute Cerebral Infarction / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective:To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture at Fengchi (GB20) on astrocytes and neurons in rats with acute cerebral infarction. Methods:A total of 64 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n = 16), model group (n = 16), non-acupoint group (n = 16) and Fengchi group (n = 16). The latter three groups were modeled with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and the latter two groups were treated with electroacupuncture after modeling, at the point near Fengchi and Fengchi, respectively, for seven days. All the rats were assessed with neurological deficit score after treatment, while the cerebral infarction area and water content were measured, the histopathology of hippocampus was observed by HE staining, the expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in hippocampus were detected with ELISA, the apoptosis of brain neurons were measured with TUNEL, and the expression levels of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 in brain homogenate were detected with Western blotting and reverse transcription real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results:Compared with the sham group, the neurological deficit score, cerebral infarction area and water content increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the other groups; while the the expression of GFAP and NSE in hippocampus increased (P < 0.05) and the expression of BDNF decreased (P < 0.05); the number of apoptosis in hippocampus increased (P < 0.05), and the expression of caspase-3 increased (P < 0.05) and the expression of Bcl-2 decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group and non-acupoint group, the neurological deficit score, cerebral infarction area and water content decreased in the Fengchi group (P < 0.05); while the the expression of GFAP and NSE in hippocampus decreased (P < 0.05) and the expression of BDNF increased (P < 0.05); the number of apoptosis in hippocampus decreased (P < 0.05), and the expression of caspase-3 decreased (P < 0.05) and the expression of Bcl-2 increased (P < 0.05). Conclusion:Electroacupuncture at Fengchi can protect the brain from acute cerebral infarction, adjust the expression of GFAP, NSE and BDNF, and reduce the neuronal apoptosis.