Clinical application of flash spiral mode of high-pitch dual source CT in carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels combined one-stop angiography.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the clinical application value of flash spiral mode of high-pitch dual source CT in carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels combined one-stop imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 100 consecutive patients were given carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels combined one-stop imaging at flash spiral mode of high-pitch dual source CT. 27 patients received DSA examination of carotid and cerebral vessels, and 38 patients received digital subtraction angiography (DSA) examination of the coronary artery at the same time. Carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels combined one-stop imaging was compared with "golden standard", DSA image. RESULTS: The overall satisfaction rate of coronary arteries, extracranial segment of the carotid artery (CA-E), intracranial segment of the carotid artery (CA-I), and cerebral vessels (anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral artery) were 93%, 99%, 95% and 97% respectively, and the positive rate of hemadostenosis was consistent with DSA. The kappa value indicating consistency of cerebral, carotid and coronary artery vessels was 0.78382, 0.80654, 0.82398, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The method of carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels combined one-stop imaging by flash spiral mode of high-pitch dual source CT can provide high image quality. It comprehensively evaluates stenosis of carotid, cardiac and cerebral vessels, which is of great importance for early intervention in harmful events of the cardia and cerebrovascular disorder.

[Visual quality after implantation of a rotational asymmetric refractive intraocular lens in patients with high myopia and cataract].

Objective: To evaluate the visual quality after phacoemulsification and implantation of a rotational asymmetric refractive intraocular lens in patients with high myopia and cataract. Methods: A retrospective cohort study. Sixty-two patients (92 eyes) of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2017 to December 2019 were evaluated after phacoemulsification and implantation of a rotational asymmetric refractive intraocular lens (LS-313 MF30). According to the axial length, the participants were allocated to either a control group or a high myopia group. Among the 33 patients (46 eyes) in the control group, the axial length was shorter than 26 mm; among the 29 patients (46 eyes) in the high myopia group, the axial length was more than 26 mm. The high myopia group was further divided into two subgroups. The super high myopia subgroup included 12 patients (18 eyes), and the axial length was ≥30 mm; the high myopia subgroup consisted of 17 patients (28 eyes), and the axial length was<30 mm and ≥26 mm. Uncorrected distance visual acuity, uncorrected intermediate visual acuity and uncorrected near visual acuity were recorded after surgery. The follow-up time was more than 6 months. At the end of the follow-up, patients' contrast sensitivity (CS), reading acuity, reading speed and visual quality questionnaire results were assessed. The main statistical methods were two-way repeated measures analysis of variance, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: There were no significant differences in gender distribution, age, or follow-up time between the control and high myopia groups, the control and high myopia subgroup, or the super high myopia subgroup (all P>0.05). At the end of the follow-up, the uncorrected distance, intermediate and near visual acuity of the super high myopia subgroup was 0.07±0.11, 0.34±0.08 and 0.20±0.09, respectively. The difference in postoperative visual acuity was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). The CS and CS with glare of the high myopia group (3 cpd: 1.48±0.18, 1.42±0.16; 6 cpd: 1.75±0.18, 1.76±0.15; 12 cpd: 1.44±0.24, 1.43±0.19; 18 cpd: 0.90±0.23, 0.85±0.20) were significantly different from the control group (3 cpd: 1.66±0.18, 1.62±0.16; 6 cpd: 1.88±0.14, 1.85±0.11; 12 cpd: 1.54±0.18, 1.53±0.14; 18 cpd: 1.06±0.18, 1.01±0.15) (P<0.05), except at 12 cpd (P=0.05). The CS and CS with glare of the super high myopia subgroup (3 cpd: 1.39±0.21, 1.31±0.13; 6 cpd: 1.66±0.16, 1.64±0.12; 12 cpd: 1.32±0.23, 1.31±0.18; 18 cpd: 0.75±0.16, 0.73±0.15) were worst (all P<0.05). A significant difference between the high myopia subgroup and the control group was only found at 3 cpd (1.53±0.13 vs. 1.66±0.18, 1.50±0.13 vs. 1.62±0.16; both P<0.05). The reading acuity and reading speed of the super high myopia subgroup were lower than the high myopia subgroup and the control group, while the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). The questionnaire survey showed that there was no significant difference in the proportion of glare and halo between the two subgroups and the control group (both P>0.05). No patients reported dissatisfaction. The rate of glasses independents was 11/12 in the super high myopia subgroup, 15/17 in the high myopia subgroup and 31/33 in the control group, with no significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusions: The rotational asymmetric refractive intraocular lens is suitable for patients with high myopia and cataract, and has good far and near vision after operation. However, it could result in relatively low CS for super high myopia patients, so rigorous preoperative examination must be done. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2021, 57: 358-365).

MiR-424 suppressed viability and invasion by targeting to the DCLK1 in neuroblastoma.

OBJECTIVE: Neuroblastoma is the most frequent tumor of sympathetic nervous system in infants. MiRNAs acted as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in the process of tumor development. We aim at exploring the functions of miRNA in neuroblastoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cell viability and invasion were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and transwell assays. Western blot was utilized to assess the protein expression associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. Quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to calculate the mRNA levels of miRNA and gene. RESULTS: MiR-424 was downregulated while doublecortin like kinase 1 (DCLK1) was upregulated in neuroblastoma tissues and cells compared to adjacent non-tumor and normal spongiocyte cells. MiR-424 suppressed cell viability, invasion, and EMT by targeting DCLK1. MiR-424 regulated the expression of DCLK1 by directly binding to the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of DCLK1 mRNA in SK-N-SH and Be2C cells. DCLK1 reversed partial functions of miR-424 in neuroblastoma. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-424 suppressed cell viability, invasion, and EMT by directly targeting the 3'-UTR of DCLK1 mRNA. The newly identified miR-424/DCLK1 axis provides novel insights into the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma.

MMP-9 is increased in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer by the mediation of HER2.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression is not only closely associated with the tumor growth, but is also related to tumor invasion. We here aimed to investigate the mechanism of HER2 mediation in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. The human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901, MKN-45, AGS, the immortalized cell line GES-1 derived from normal gastric mucosa. Cell transfection and selection of stable cell lines and the gene and protein levels of HER2 and Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were examined to determine the molecular relationship between them in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. The human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901, MKN-45, AGS, the immortalized cell line GES-1 derived from normal gastric mucosa. Cell transfection and selection of stable cell lines and the gene and protein levels of HER2 and MMP-9 were examined to determine the molecular relationship between them in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. We demonstrated that vector-based shRNA significantly knocked down the expression of HER2 and considerably inhibited both the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. HER2 knockdown resulted in the downregulation of the expression of MMP-9, whereas HER2 overexpression improved the transcription of MMP-9 through the activation of an MMP-9 promoter. The promoter region of MMP-9 between -2500 and -2000 bp was found to be crucial for the upregulation of HER2-mediated transcription. Furthermore, a truncated promoter (-70 to +63) did not display any transcriptional activity. Cell invasion activity was almost completely inhibited when MMP-9 was knocked down. Conversely, the overexpression of MMP-9 partly rescued the invasion ability of cell strains with knockdown HER2. These findings help further understanding of the molecular mechanisms through which HER2 promotes malignancy, and suggest that targeting both HER2 and MMP-9 may be required to effectively block HER2 signaling in gastric cancer therapy.

[Comparison between two types of air microorganism sampling].

The airflow striking sampling was compared with flat utensils sedimentation sampling for collection of air microorganisms. The result showed that air microorganism count with the former method is more efficient than the latter method (P < 0.05). The flat utensils sedimentation sampling only collected larger particles of microorganism so the air microorganism count was not accurate. However, it is still a suitable method in hygiene without other choices. The airflow striking sampling collected more middle and tiny particles for air microorganism than the sedimentation sampling and can accurately show microorganism content in air, so it is an optimal sampling method.