Predictive Value of Corrected 18 F-FDG PET/CT Baseline Parameters for Primary DLBCL Prognosis: A Single-center Study.

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of corrected baseline metabolic parameters in fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) for 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with primary diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients and Methods Retrospective clinical and pathological data were collected for 199 patients of DLBCL diagnosed between January 2018 and January 2021. All patients underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans without any form of treatment. The corrected maximum standardized uptake value (corSUVmax), corrected mean standardized uptake value (corSUVmean), corrected whole-body tumor metabolic volume sum (corMTVsum), and corrected total lesion glycolysis of whole body (corTLGtotal) were corrected using the SUVmean in a 1-cm diameter mediastinal blood pool (MBP) from the descending thoracic aorta of patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression were used to examine the predictive significance of corrected baseline metabolic parameters on 3-year PFS of patients. The incremental values of corrected baseline metabolic parameters were evaluated by using Harrell's C-indices, receiver operating characteristic, and Decision Curve Analysis. Results The multivariate analysis revealed that only the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)-International Prognostic Index (IPI) and corMTVsum had an effect on 3-year PFS of patients ( p < 0.05, respectively). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated significant differences in PFS between the risk groups classified by corSUVsum, corMTVsum, and corTLGtotal (log-rank test, p < 0.05). The predictive model composed of corMTVsum and corTLGtotal surpasses the predictive performance of the model incorporating MTVsum and TLGtotal. The optimal performance was observed when corMTVsum was combined with NCCN-IPI, resulting in a Harrell's C index of 0.785 and area under the curve values of 0.863, 0.891, and 0.947 for the 1-, 2-, and 3-year PFS rates, respectively. Conclusion The corMTVsum offers significant prognostic value for patients with DLBCL. Furthermore, the combination of corMTVsum with the NCCN-IPI can provide an accurate prediction of the prognosis.

Hierarchical Tantalum Oxide Composite for Efficient Solar-Driven Water Purification.

Applying solar energy to generate drinking water is a clean and low-energy exhaust route to address the issue of water purification. The current challenge with solar vapor generation is constructing nano/micro-hierarchical structures that can convert solar irradiation into exploitable thermal energy with high efficiency. Although various structures and material designs have been reported in recent years, solar vapor conversion can be improved by integrating light harvesting, thermal concentration, and water diffusion. Because of the optimized solar harvesting, enhanced heat capacity, and specified diffusive path endowed by the hierarchical composite structure, amorphous tantalum oxide/carbon-based yolk-shell structures (α-Ta2O5/C YS) for highly efficient solar vapor generation under 1 sun illumination are applied in this study. As a result, the α-Ta2O5/C YS realized a water evaporation rate of 3.54 kg m-2 h-1 with a solar-thermal conversion efficiency of 91% under one sun irradiation (1 kW m-2) with excellent evaporation stability. The collected water from seawater meets the World Health Organization drinking water standard. Importantly, reactive oxygen species enabled by α-Ta2O5 could be produced for water sterilization, exhibiting a facile way for application in various scenarios to acquire drinkable water.

Clinical study of prenatal ultrasonography combined with T­box transcription factor 1 as a biomarker for the diagnosis of congenital heart disease.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) seriously threatens fetal health. Therefore, prenatal examination to detect deformity is extremely important. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical application value of prenatal ultrasonography combined with molecular biology methods in the diagnosis of fetal CHD. A total of 1,000 pregnant women who had received fetal ultrasonography to examine fetal CHD were enrolled. Ultrasounds were performed for fetal heart examination and diagnosis, mainly on fetal heart position, size, structure and function, and heart valve morphology and function. These indexes were tested again 2 weeks after birth. Blood samples were collected from pregnant women with fetal CHD. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blotting were performed to detect the association between heart development and T­box transcription factor 1 (TBX1) expression. The results revealed that 10 fetuses had CHD (1%), of which ultrasound detected 9 cases. The specificity and sensitivity of ultrasounds were 100 and 90%, respectively. Of the 9 cases were identified by prenatal ultrasound screening, including 2 cases had endocardial cushion defect, 1 case had pulmonary stenosis combined with right ventricular dysplasia, 1 case had tetralogy of Fallot combined with a cleft lip and palate, 2 cases had ventricular septal defect, 1 case had a single ventricle defect, 1 case had Ebstein and 1 case had a triatrial heart. One case of ventricular septal defect was missed prior to delivery. PCR and western blotting demonstrated that TBX1 expression may be associated with CHD. Therefore, ultrasonography combined with laboratory examinations represent efficient, economic and safe methods for fetal CHD detection. These methods may be significant to improve the rate of CHD diagnosis, and require further investigation.

An fMRI study of the effects on normal language areas when acupuncturing the Tongli (HT5) and Xuanzhong (GB39) acupoints.

Objective Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of the effects of acupuncturing the Tongli (HT5) and Tongli (HT5)-Xuanzhong (GB39) acupoints on the normal language areas with a view to providing a theoretical basis for using acupuncture to treat patients with aphasia. Methods This study enrolled healthy volunteers. The following acupoints were stimulated: right Tongli (HT5), right Tongli (HT5)-Xuanzhong (GB39), right Tongli (HT5) sham acupuncture, left Tongli (HT5), and left Tongli (HT5)-Xuanzhong (GB39) acupoints. Acupuncture stimulation was delivered whilst fMRI scanning of the brain was undertaken. Results Ten healthy volunteers (five males) were included in this study (mean age 44.5 ± 2.5 years; range 40-55 years). Based on the statistical analyses, only acupuncturing the right Tongli (HT5) acupoint resulted in activation of multiple regions of the bilateral cerebral hemisphere that were closely related to the language regions. The right Tongli (HT5) stimulation had a laterality index of 0.0952; with the activated voxels on the left side language-related areas being greater than those on the right side. Conclusions Acupuncturing the right Tongli (HT5) acupoint results in activation of the bilateral language-related areas, so this acupoint might be useful for the acupuncture treatment of aphasia caused by cerebral infarction.

Incidence and age and gender profiles of hyperplasia in individual cervical vertebrae.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the incidence and age and gender profiles of hyperplasia in individual cervical vertebrae. METHODS: In this retrospective study, computed tomography three-dimensional reconstruction images of cervical vertebrae from patients with neck discomfort were analyzed for the presence of hyperplasia and compared with age and gender data. RESULTS: Scans from a total of 580 patients (352 males, 228 females) were analyzed. The highest incidence of hyperplasia was seen in C2 (25%), followed by C1 (23%), C6 (16%), C5 (15%), C7 (9%), C4 (8%) and C3 (4%). Patients with C2 hyperplasia were the youngest and those with C1 hyperplasia were the second youngest, while patients with C7 hyperplasia were the oldest. Of those with C2, C1 and C7 hyperplasia, males were significantly younger than females, whereas of those with C3, C4, C5 and C6 hyperplasia, females were significantly younger than males. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperplasia of the cervical spine shows different age and gender profiles among the seven vertebrae. These findings may be helpful for the early recognition of cervical hyperplasia and highlight the importance of protecting the atlanto-axial joint in daily life.

The Functional Role of PMP22 Gene in the Proliferation and Invasion of Osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: As the most common primary bone tumor, osteosarcoma has an improved survival rates with advancement of treatment methods. A higher rate of metastasis, however, leads to the aggravation of the disease. Studies have shown that some genes, namely osteosarcoma metastasis-related genes, participate in the process of tumor metastasis. The peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene has recently been found to be abundantly expressed in the oncogenesis of osteosarcoma. Its detailed role and function in the tumor metastasis, however, remains unknown. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The recombinant retroviral plasmid pcDNA3.1-PMP22 was constructed and used to transfect osteosarcoma cells SOSP-M, whose cell proliferation was measured by MTT method. The formation of tumor cell colony, the cell migration and invasion were also measured. The signal transduction pathway MAPK was further analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS: The pcDNA3.1-PMP22 plasmid was confirmed to have a 305bp PMP22 fragment by EcoRI-XhoI dual digestion. Compared to the control group, osteosarcoma cell invasion was significantly facilitated by the transfection of pcDNA3.1-PMP22 plasmid (p<0.05). The recombinant plasmid also significantly potentiated the formation of tumor cell colony and increased the migration and invasion ability of tumor cells (p<0.05 in all cases). Phosphorylated p-ERK and p-P38 were also up-regulated by vector transfection (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Osteosarcoma metastasis-related gene PMP22 participates in the proliferation, invasion, migration and colony formation of osteosarcoma cells possibly via the MAPK signal transduction pathway, providing evidences for further investigation of metastatic mechanism of osteosarcoma.

Coronary competitive reverse flow: Imaging findings at CT angiography and correlation with invasive coronary angiography.

OBJECTIVE: To study the imaging features of coronary competitive reverse flow and incidence of a "reverse attenuation gradient" in coronary CT angiography (CTA) with correlation to invasive coronary angiography (ICA). METHODS: Patients who had undergone coronary CTA and ICA within 2 weeks were retrospectively identified in our database and reviewed. All cases with ICA-confirmed competitive reverse flow or chronic total occlusions (CTOs) were included for further analysis. The "reverse attenuation gradient sign" was defined as a reverse intraluminal opacification gradient of vessels which showed higher opacification in more distal compared with proximal segments. ICA findings were recorded and served as the reference to identify the clinical implications of this sign. RESULTS: In total, 134 patients (mean age, 68.1 ± 11.3 years; range, 38-90 years; 104 men) were included in our study. ICA revealed 11 cases of coronary competitive reverse flow and 123 cases of CTO. A reverse attenuation gradient sign was present in 9 of 11 patients (82%) with coronary competitive reverse flow and 72 of 123 (59%) chronically occluded coronary arteries. Myocardial bridges, distal collateral filling, as well as direct visualization of collateral connection were all more frequent in cases with coronary competitive reverse flow group compared with cases with a CTO. CONCLUSIONS: The reverse attenuation gradient sign distal to an upstream coronary severe stenosis indicates the presence of competitive collateral flow. Coronary CTA is able to correctly detect coronary competitive collateral flow and differentiate it from CTOs.

Laser frequency stabilization using a dispersive line shape induced by Doppler Effect.

We report a simple and robust Doppler-free spectroscopic technique to stabilize a laser frequency to the atomic transition. By employing Doppler Effect on the atomic beam, we obtained a very stable dispersive signal with a high signal-to-noise ratio and no Doppler-background, which served as an error signal to electronically stabilize a laser frequency without modulation. For validating the performance of this technique, we locked a DFB laser to the (133)Cs D2 line and observed an efficient suppression of the frequency noise and a long-term reduction of the frequency drifts in a laboratory environment.

Icariside II inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest through the ROS-p38-p53 signaling pathway in A375 human melanoma cells.

Icariside II (IS) is a metabolite of icariin, which is derived from Herba Epimedii. In the present study, the antiproliferative effects of IS on A375 human melanoma cells were examined in vitro and a possible mechanism through the ROS-p38-p53 pathway is discussed. A cell WST-8 assay revealed that treatment with IS markedly reduced cell viability from 77 to 21% (25 and 100 µM, respectively), and cell counting demonstrated that IS treatment reduced cell proliferation. IS treatment also induced cell cycle arrest of A375 cells at the G0/G1 and G2/M transitions and inhibited the expression of cell-cycle related proteins, including cyclin E, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), cyclin B1 and phosphorylated cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (P-CDK1). In this study, it was determined that IS inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest through the generation of reactive oxygen species and activation of p38 and p53. These findings were further supported by the evidence that pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine, SB203580 or pifithrin-α significantly blocked IS-induced reduction of cell viability, increase of cell death and cell cycle arrest. In conclusion, IS inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest. Crucially, it was confirmed that these effects were mediated at least in part by activating the ROS-p38-p53 pathway.

Abnormal functional connectivity with mood regulating circuit in unmedicated individual with major depression: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance study.

BACKGROUND: Reports on mood regulating circuit (MRC) indicated different activities between depressed patients and healthy controls. The functional networks based on MRC have not been described in major depression disorder (MDD). Both the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus are all the key regions of MRC. This study was to investigate the two functional networks related to ACC and thalamus in MDD. METHODS: Sixteen patients with MDD on first episode which never got any medication and sixteen matched health controls were scanned by 3.0 T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during resting-state. The pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) was used as seed region to construct the functional network by cortex section. The thalamus was used as seed region to construct the functional network by limbic section. Paired-t tests between-groups were performed for the seed-target correlations based on the individual fisher z-transformed correlation maps by SPM2. RESULTS: Depressed subjects exhibited significantly great functional connectivity (FC) between pgACC and the parahippocampus gyrus in one cluster (size 923) including left parahippocampus gyrus (-21, -49, 7), left parietal lobe (-3, -46, 52) and left frontal lobe (-27, -46, 28). The one cluster (size 962) of increased FC on thalamus network overlapped the precuneus near to right parietal lobe (9, -52, 46) and right cingulate gyrus (15, -43, 43) in health controls. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal functional networks exist in earlier manifestation of MDD related to MRC by both cortex and limbic sections. The increased functional connectivity of pgACC and decreased functional connectivity of thalamus is mainly involved in bias mood processing and cognition.