Combined radiomics nomogram of different machine learning models for preoperative distinguishing intraspinal schwannomas and meningiomas: a multicenter and comparative study.

AIMS: The objective of our study was to establish and verify a novel combined model based on multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics and clinical features to distinguish intraspinal schwannomas from meningiomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research analyzed the preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) images and clinical characteristics of 209 patients with intraspinal tumors who received tumor resection at three institutions. 159 individuals from institutions 1 and 2 were randomly assigned into a training group (n=111) and a test group (n=48) in a 7-3 ratio. A nomogram was constructed using the training cohort and was internally and externally verified in the test cohort and an independent validation cohort (n=50). Model performance was assessed utilizing the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration curves. RESULTS: The nomogram exhibited superior predictive efficacy in distinguishing between spinal schwannomas and meningiomas when compared to both the radiomics model and the clinical model. The nomogram yielded AUCs of 0.994, 0.962, and 0.949 in the training, test, and external validation cohorts, respectively, indicating its exceptional differentiating ability. The DCAs demonstrated that the nomogram yielded the best net benefit. The calibration curves indicated that the nomogram got good agreement between the predicted and the actual observation. CONCLUSION: This research suggests that the nomogram incorporating clinical and radiomic features may be an effective auxiliary tool for distinguishing between intraspinal schwannomas and meningiomas, and has important clinical significance for clinical decision-making and prognosis prediction.

[Analysis of vaginal microecology in 23 181 cases of the gynecological female outpatients].

Objective: To analyze the vaginal microecological status of vaginitis population and non-vaginitis population of gynecological female outpatients. Methods: A total of 30 265 women who visited the gynecological outpatient clinic of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital from December 2018 to December 2020 completed vaginal microecological examination. After removing the follow-up patients, 23 181 women were divided into group with symptoms and signs of vaginitis (6 697 cases) and group without symptoms and signs of vaginitis (16 484 cases), according to whether the women with symptoms and signs of vaginitis or not. And the vaginal microecological status of the two groups was compared and analyzed. Results: (1) The total detection rate of vaginitis in the initial women was 34.87% (8 083/23 181), of which 46.10% (3 087/6 697) in group with symptoms and signs of vaginitis and 30.31% (4 996/16 484) in group without symptoms and signs of vaginitis, nearly 1/3 of the gynecological outpatients without signs and symptoms of vaginitis had vaginitis. (2) Among the types of simple vaginitis, vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) was the most frequent in group with symptoms and signs of vaginitis (16.01%, 1 072/6 697), followed by aerobic vaginitis (AV; 12.83%, 859/6 697), with significant differences compared with group without symptoms and signs of vaginitis (all P<0.001). There were no statistical differences between the two groups of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and trichomonal vaginitis (TV), indicating that BV and TV were more likely to be neglected (all P>0.05). (3) The proportion of various combinations of vaginitis among 2 632 cases of mixed vaginitis were, in descending order: BV+AV, VVC+AV, BV+AV+VVC, AV+TV, AV+TV+BV, BV+VVC. (4) Microecological analysis of 15 098 cases diagnosed with non-vaginitis had normal flora (including those with normal flora and those with normal flora but decreased function) in 14 013 cases (92.81%, 14 013/15 098), abnormal flora in 429 cases (2.84%, 429/15 098) and the BV intermediate in 656 cases (4.34%, 656/15 098); this indicated that the vast majority of the microecological tests were normal in the vaginal microbiota of those without vaginitis. Conclusions: Microecological examination could diagnose multiple pathogenic infections at once, and is especially important as a guide for the definitive diagnosis of mixed vaginitis and vaginitis with atypical clinical symptoms. Vaginal infections such as BV and TV that are easily overlooked should be concerned.

Development and cross-species transferability of unigene-derived microsatellite markers in an edible oil woody plant, Camellia oleifera (Theaceae).

Camellia oleifera is an important edible oil woody plant in China. Lack of useful molecular markers hinders current genetic research on this tree species. Transcriptome sequencing of developing C. oleifera seeds generated 69,798 unigenes. A total of 6949 putative microsatellites were discovered among 6042 SSR-containing unigenes. Then, 150 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were evaluated in 20 varieties of C. oleifera. Of these, 52 SSRs revealed polymorphism, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from 2 to 15 and expected heterozygosity values from 0.269 to 0.888. The polymorphic information content varied from 0.32 to 0.897. Cross-species transferability rates in Camellia chekangoleosa and Camellia japonica were 90.4 and 78.8%, respectively. The 52 polymorphic unigene-derived SSR markers serve to enrich existing microsatellite marker resources for C. oleifera and offer potential for applications in genetic diversity evaluation, molecular fingerprinting, and genetic mapping in C. oleifera, C. chekangoleosa, and C. japonica.

Knockdown of RhoGDIα induces apoptosis and increases lung cancer cell chemosensitivity to paclitaxel.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of RhoGDIα knockdown on apoptosis and the chemosensitivity of lung cancer cells to paclitaxel. The signaling proteins involved were also assessed. RhoGDIα expression was assessed by RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometric assessment, and cell viability was measured with the MTT assay. Phosphorylation levels of signaling proteins, ERK, JNK, Akt, Bad and IκBα were tested by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Positivity for RhoGDIα in lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than in paracancerous tissues. Downregulation of RhoGDIα was associated with significantly increased apoptosis and repressed cell viability. This effect could be due to the consequent upregulation of p-JNK, as well as decreased levels of p-ERK, p-Bad and p-IκBα. Knockdown of RhoGDIα strengthened the effect on apoptosis and inhibition of cell viability induced by paclitaxel treatment. This chemosensitization effect could be a result of the intensification of pro-apoptotic JNK activation, and repression of anti-apoptotic p-ERK, p-Bad and p-IκBα expression stimulated by paclitaxel. In summary, our study indicated that RhoGDIα could be a promising therapeutic target, and the combination of RhoGDIα siRNA and paclitaxel might be a valuable potential therapy for lung cancer treatment.

Blockade of IL-17 alleviated inflammation in rat arthritis and MMP-13 expression.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one systemic auto-immune disorder featured as chronic synovitis and can destruct joint cartilage. Fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) secretes various factors affecting chondrocyte matrix and degradation. This study thus investigated the effect of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) on FLS and osteoclast. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats were assigned to CIA model, CIA + IgG1 isotype, and CIA + Anti-Rat IL-17A groups. Tissue volume and arthritis index (AI) evaluated arthritis condition. ELISA and flow cytometry measured IL-17A content and Th17 cell percentage in joint cavity fluid. Matrix metallopeptidase 13 (MMP-13) and collagen type II alpha 1 (COL2A1) expression in synovial tissues were compared. FLS-osteoclast co-culture system was treated with IL-17A + IgG1 Isotype or CIA + Anti-Rat IL-17A. MMP-13 and COL2A1 expression were compared. RESULTS: CIA model rats had significantly higher IL-17A and Th17 cell ratio in joint cavity fluid. Injection of Anti-Rat IL-17A decreased AI and tissue volume in model rats, decreased MMP-13 while increased COL2A1 expression in synovial or cartilage tissues. IL-17A treatment remarkably up-regulated MMP-13 mRNA or protein expression in chondrocytes. Anti-IL-17A weakened effects of IL-17A on FLS or chondrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: IL-17A inhibits COL2A1 mRNA and protein expression of chondrocyte in the co-culture system via inducing MMP-13 expression in FLS, thus enhancing collagen degradation and playing a role in RA-related cartilage injury.

Alpha 2-adrenoceptors and I1-imidazoline binding sites: relationship with catecholamines in women of reproductive age.

A comparison is presented between plasma catecholamine concentrations and platelet [125I]-p-iodoclonidine binding sites in 16 healthy women. Blood samples were obtained at six regularly spaced intervals over two consecutive menstrual cycles from healthy women with regular menstrual periods. Although no cycle-related changes were observed per se, there were significant correlations between the platelet binding sites and plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations. The densities of platelet alpha 2-adrenoceptors were negatively correlated in an exponential fashion (r2 = 0.694, P = 0.009) with plasma epinephrine concentrations, implying agonist-induced downregulation. On the other hand, platelet I1-imidazoline binding sites were positively correlated with plasma concentrations of norepinephrine in a linear fashion (r2 = 0.326, P = 0.021). This is the first indication that I1 binding sites might be upregulated by a physiological factor. Furthermore, the data suggest that elevations in plasma norepinephrine might explain reports of upregulated I1 binding sites in depressed patients.

Tolerance development to butorphanol: comparison with morphine.

In order to evaluate and to compare the time course, dose response, and the degree of tolerance development to butorphanol and morphine, rats were continuously intracerebroventricularly (ICV) infused with saline vehicle (1 microliter/h), butorphanol (6.5, 13, 26, and 52 nmol/microliters/h), or morphine (1.6, 6.5, and 26 nmol/microliters/h) through osmotic minipumps for 1 to 3 days. The tail-flick responses were determined pre-, during, and postinfusion. Tolerance to morphine developed faster than that to butorphanol. The antinociceptive response to the ICV challenge dose (6 h after the termination of drug infusion) of butorphanol or morphine was decreased significantly and there was a negative correlation between the dose of the drug infused and the observed antinociceptive response. In terms of butorphanol and morphine tolerance, a parallel rightward shift in the dose-response curve was produced with the degree of shift proportional to the log of the infusion dose. In tail-flick tests, the shifts of the dose-response curves for butorphanol and morphine in tolerant animals were 11.8- and 46.3-fold, respectively. However, in the acetic acid writhing test, the shifts of the dose-response curves for butorphanol and morphine in tolerant animals were 11.3- and 11.7-fold, respectively. These results suggest that there is a greater degree of tolerance to morphine than there is to butorphanol, but the degree of butorphanol tolerance is still substantial. In addition, two pain assays (tail flick vs. writhing) yielded different estimations of tolerance in a comparison of morphine and butorphanol.

Crosstolerance between butorphanol and morphine in rats.

To investigate the antinociceptive effects of morphine and U-50,488 after continuous administration with butorphanol, rats were intracerebroventricularly (ICV) infused with butorphanol (26 nmol/microliters/h) through osmotic minipumps for 3 days. Six hours after termination of infusion, the rats were challenged with different doses of morphine or U-50,488. Antinociceptive effects, as assessed by tail-flick and acetic acid writing tests, were measured 15 min after challenge. Development of crosstolerance to morphine was evident in butorphanol-infused animals. The study also revealed that crosstolerance to butorphanol developed in continuously ICV morphine-infused animals. Continuous ICV infusion with butorphanol produced a marked rightward shift of the antinociceptive dose-response curve resulting from U-50,488 challenge. These results showed that there is an antinociceptive crosstolerance between butorphanol and morphine, and crosstolerance to U-50,488 developed in continuously butorphanol-infused animals. The present data suggested that chronic ICV treatment with high doses of butorphanol can lead to desensitization of the antinociceptive systems mediated through the central kappa as well as mu receptors in rats.

Evaluation of combined assays of serum ferritin, alpha-1-antitrypsin and alpha-fetoprotein in liver cancer.

Serum ferritin (SF), alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were examined preoperatively in 66 patients with intrahepatic space-occupied lesions revealed by B-real time ultrasonography. Elevated SF levels (> 300 micrograms/L in males and > 180 micrograms/L in females), AAT levels (4.2 g/L), and AFP levels (> 20 micrograms/L) were shown in 84%, 71% and 66% respectively of 55 patients with liver cancer. Combined analysis indicates that if all the three tests are negative, liver cancer can be essentially excluded; and positive AFP can rule out hepatic hemangioma. So combined assays of SF, AAT and AFP are valuable in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of liver cancer.

Primary ovarian pregnancy. Report of fifteen cases.

From June 1973 through November 1988, fifteen cases of ovarian pregnancy were admitted to the Shanghai First People's Hospital. All these cases met the four criteria for the diagnosis as listed by Spiegelberg. The incidence of ovarian pregnancy as compared to those of normal and ectopic pregnancy are 1:3 179 and 1:28.1, respectively, which are higher than foreign data reported. Ovarian pregnancy is quite similar to tubal pregnancy in clinical manifestations. Etiological analysis does not reveal any close relationship with inflammation of the female genital tract. However, application of IUD increases the risk of ovarian pregnancy. The principle of management is wedge resection of the diseased ovary.

[Hereditary persistence of alpha-fetoprotein].

A proband with persistently elevated AFP levels ranging between 21-129 ng/ml with median of 90 ng/ml has been found and observed for 1 year. Family studies have revealed that his father had had persistent AFP elevation for 4 years, ranging from 46 to 198.2 ng/ml, with median level of 93 ng/ml. His brother also has elevated AFP level. However, his mother, paternal uncle and paternal aunt have normal AFP level. Clinical examinations and laboratory tests have shown that AFP elevations are not associated with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis, or other malignancies. We believe that such AFP persistency is of hereditary nature. To our knowledge, this is the first family of hereditary AFP persistence reported in China and the fourth one reported in the world literature.

[Rational surgical approaches to the treatment of small primary liver cancer, and the prevention of postoperative recurrence].

From Sep. 1985 to Dec. 1990, surgical treatment was performed in 27 patients with small primary liver cancer (SPLC, < or = 5cm in diameter). Of them, segmentectomy was done in 23 cases and radical local resection in 4 cases with recurrence rate of 66.77% (18/27). Non recurrent lesions were located in the incisal margin. In this group re-resection rate was 55.6% (10/18). (1) Early detection and treatment of recurrent lesions remain a mainstay of prolonging survival. (2) Serum Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), ultrasonography and X-ray chest film were basic follow-up methods for subclinical recurrence of SPLC. For re-operation cases, digital subtract angiography (DSA) are useful in identifying subclinical lesions. (3) For recurrent liver cancer local hepatectomy was a reasonable approach. (4) For SPLC, radical segmentectomy or radical local resection with a safe margin of 1 to 2cm was the authors' choice.

Glutamate in opioid dependence.

The present review will concentrate on a discussion of recent investigations which implicate a critical linkage of three facets of the central nervous system mediation of opioid dependence, as evidenced by expression of acutely-precipitated withdrawal events. These are the kappa-opioid receptor subtype, the glutamatergic neuronal system and a specific brain locus, the locus coeruleus. The impetus for this line of investigation derives from a recognition that opioid analgesics, such as butorphanol (Stadol), exhibit a markedly different profile of activity at opioid receptors than does morphine yet have abuse liability and cause dependence readily. Emphasis will be placed on demonstration of a rodent model in which butorphanol administration induces dependence through a unique (in comparison with morphine) activation of the kappa-opioid receptor. The use of in vivo microdialysis techniques clearly identifies, in this model, that acutely-precipitated withdrawal from dependence on butorphanol results in focal increases in extracellular levels of glutamate within the locus coeruleus, and that the withdrawal syndrome can be mimicked by intracerebroventricular administration of exogenous glutamate, acting through the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor subtype. The data confirm the participation of glutamate as a general phenomenon in opioid dependence, identify the locus coeruleus as a primary site for glutamatergic mediation of dependence, and suggest novel aspects to the neuropharmacology of opioid dependence with respect to the role of the kappa-opioid receptor.

Natural occurrence of fumonisins b1 and b2 in corn from three main production provinces in China.

A total of 255 corn samples collected in 2010 from three main corn production provinces of China (Liaoning, Shandong, and Henan) were analyzed for contamination with fumonisins (FB(1) and FB(2)). The incidence of contamination was significantly higher in samples from Liaoning than in samples from the other two provinces. Approximately 80.0% of the samples from Liaoning were contaminated with fumonisins, with a mean total fumonisin concentration of 3,990 ng/g. In contrast, the mean total fumonisin concentrations were 845 and 665 ng/g in samples from Shandong and Henan, respectively. The probable daily intake of fumonisins (0.3 µg/kg of body weight) is within the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake of 2.0 µg/kg of body weight set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives.

[Short-term curative effects of daoyin-tuna qigong therapy in 103 cases of chronic atrophic gastritis].

UNLABELLED: Daoyin-Tuna Qigong therapy was applied to 103 cases with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). The average duration of disease was 7.8 years. Daoyin-Tuna Qigong exercises were done 4 times a day, 1 hour each time. 79 days made a course and no drug was given. 31 cases were checked with gastroscopy and biopsy, 30 cases with electrogastrogram and 34 cases with immunity detection before and after treatment course. RESULTS: In clinical symptoms, the therapy appeared markedly effective in 72 cases (69.9%). The effective cases were 28 (27.2%). The total effective rate was 97.1%. The body weight of 95 cases (92.2%) increased by 2.4 +/- 1.3 kg on the average at the end of the treatment course, and the capacity for eating was increased by 110 +/- 70 g a day in 99 cases (96.1%). In gastroscopy and pathology examination, the rates of marked effectiveness were 35.5% and 48.4%, the effective 29.0% and 38.7%, the total effective 64.5% and 87.1% respectively. Electrogastrogram check: the frequency and amplitude of the electrogastrogram increased markedly (P less than 0.05) in comparison with the pre-therapy. Immunology examination: E-rosette was 51.3 +/- 8.4% before treatment and 55.3 +/- 7.7% after treatment (P less than 0.05). It is suggested that Daoyin-Tuna Qigong therapy would be a better and new treatment for CAG.