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Objective:To develop and validate the models based on mixed enhanced computed tomography (CT) radiomics and deep learning features, and evaluate the efficacy for differentiating pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma (PASC) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) before surgery.Methods:The clinical data of 201 patients with surgically resected and histopathologically confirmed PASC (PASC group) and 332 patients with surgically resected histopathologically confirmed PDAC (PDAC group) who underwent enhanced CT within 1 month before surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University from January 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected. The patients were chronologically divided into a training set (treated between January 2011 and January 2018, 156 patients with PASC and 241 patients with PDAC) and a validation set (treated between February 2018 and December 2020, 45 patients with PASC and 91 patients with PDAC) according to the international consensus on the predictive model. The nnU-Net model was used for pancreatic tumor automatic segmentation, the clinical and CT images were evaluated, and radiomics features and deep learning features during portal vein phase were extracted; then the features were dimensionally reduced and screened. Binary logistic analysis was performed to develop the clinical, radiomics and deep learning models in the training set. The models' performances were determined by area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and decision curve analysis (DCA).Results:Significant differences were observed in tumor size, ring-enhancement, upstream pancreatic parenchymal atrophy and cystic degeneration of tumor both in PASC and PDAC group in the training and validation set (all P value <0.05). The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed the tumor size, ring-enhancement, dilation of the common bile duct and upstream pancreatic parenchymal atrophy were associated with PASC significantly in the clinical model. The ring-enhancement, dilation of the common bile duct, upstream pancreatic parenchymal atrophy and radiomics score were associated with PASC significantly in the radiomics model. The ring-enhancement, upstream pancreatic parenchymal atrophy and deep learning score were associated with PASC significantly in the deep learning model. The diagnostic efficacy of the deep learning model was highest, and the AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the deep learning model was 0.86 (95% CI 0.82-0.90), 75.00%, 84.23%, and 80.60% and those of clinical and radiomics models were 0.81 (95% CI 0.76-0.85), 62.18%, 85.89%, 76.57% and 0.84 (95% CI 0.80-0.88), 73.08%, 82.16%, 78.59% in the training set. In the validation set, the area AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of deep learning model were 0.78 (95% CI 0.67-0.84), 68.89%, 78.02% and 75.00%, those of clinical and radiomics were 0.72 (95% CI 0.63-0.81), 77.78%, 59.34%, 65.44% and 0.75 (95% CI 0.66-0.84), 86.67%, 56.04%, 66.18%. The DCA in the training and validation sets showed that if the threshold probabilities were >0.05 and >0.1, respectively, using the deep learning model to distinguish PASC from PDAC was more beneficial for the patients than the treat-all-patients as having PDAC scheme or the treat-all-patients as having PASC scheme. Conclusions:The deep learning model based on CT automatic image segmentation of pancreatic neoplasm could effectively differentiate PASC from PDAC, and provide a new non-invasive method for confirming PASC before surgery.
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Functional cure of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), defined as negative hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with or without the presence of hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs), is considered the optimal endpoint for CHB treatment at present. Studies have shown that HBsAg clearance can reduce the risk of HBV complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, HBsAg clearance rate remains at a relatively low level, which may be associated with the immune tolerance state caused by HBV infection. HBsAg clearance and/or the presence of anti-HBs indicate the partial recovery of HBV-specific immunity. This article discusses the influencing factors for the functional cure of CHB and the underlying mechanisms.
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ObjectiveTo explore the pharmacodynamic effect of the water extract of Citri Grandis exocarpium （WEC） on mice with alcohol-induced acute liver injury and provide data support for the development of this medicinal for anti-alcoholism and liver protection. MethodThe main components of WEC were determined by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. Sixty Balb/c mice were randomized into 6 groups： control group （equal volume of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution）， model group （equal volume of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution）， low-， medium-， and high-dose WEC groups （0.5， 1.0， 2.0 g·kg-1）， and Haiwang Jinzun tablet positive control group （2.0 g·kg-1）. The administration lasted 14 days. One day before the end of the administration， mice were fasted for 12 h with free access to water. The mice， except the control group， were given 56° Chinese liquor （13 mL·kg-1）. After 2 h， blood was taken from eyeballs and the liver was dissected and weighed. Automatic biochemical analyzer was employed to detect the expression of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and alcohol dehydrogenase （ADH）. The pathological changes of liver tissues were observed based on hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and apoptosis of hepatocytes based on TUNEL/DAB staining. The expression of proteins related to apoptosis was detected by Western blot. ResultAccording to the HPLC fingerprint， the main components of WEC were rhoifolin and naringin. Compared with the control group， the model group showed increase in liver/body weight ratio （P<0.01） and the expression of ALT and AST （P<0.05， P<0.01）， decrease in the expression of ADH （P<0.05）， blurred structure of hepatic lobules， pathological changes of liver tissue， loose cytoplasm with edema， severe steatosis， rise of the TUNEL-positive rate （P<0.01）， reduction in expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）， and increase in Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， medium-dose WEC lowered liver/body weight ratio （P<0.05）. All doses of WEC depressed the activity of ALT and AST （P<0.05， P<0.01）， up-regulated the expression of ADH （P<0.05）， significantly improved the pathological features of alcohol-induced cytoplasmic porosity， edema， and steatosis， down-regulated the TUNEL-positive rate （P<0.05， P<0.01）， enhanced the expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.05）， and decreased Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.01）. ConclusionWEC regulates the expression of ALT， AST， and ADH and improves hepatic steatosis and hepatocyte apoptosis to fight against acute liver injury.
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ObjectiveTo explore the pharmacodynamic effect of the water extract of Citri Grandis exocarpium （WEC） on mice with alcohol-induced acute liver injury and provide data support for the development of this medicinal for anti-alcoholism and liver protection. MethodThe main components of WEC were determined by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. Sixty Balb/c mice were randomized into 6 groups： control group （equal volume of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution）， model group （equal volume of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution）， low-， medium-， and high-dose WEC groups （0.5， 1.0， 2.0 g·kg-1）， and Haiwang Jinzun tablet positive control group （2.0 g·kg-1）. The administration lasted 14 days. One day before the end of the administration， mice were fasted for 12 h with free access to water. The mice， except the control group， were given 56° Chinese liquor （13 mL·kg-1）. After 2 h， blood was taken from eyeballs and the liver was dissected and weighed. Automatic biochemical analyzer was employed to detect the expression of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and alcohol dehydrogenase （ADH）. The pathological changes of liver tissues were observed based on hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and apoptosis of hepatocytes based on TUNEL/DAB staining. The expression of proteins related to apoptosis was detected by Western blot. ResultAccording to the HPLC fingerprint， the main components of WEC were rhoifolin and naringin. Compared with the control group， the model group showed increase in liver/body weight ratio （P<0.01） and the expression of ALT and AST （P<0.05， P<0.01）， decrease in the expression of ADH （P<0.05）， blurred structure of hepatic lobules， pathological changes of liver tissue， loose cytoplasm with edema， severe steatosis， rise of the TUNEL-positive rate （P<0.01）， reduction in expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）， and increase in Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， medium-dose WEC lowered liver/body weight ratio （P<0.05）. All doses of WEC depressed the activity of ALT and AST （P<0.05， P<0.01）， up-regulated the expression of ADH （P<0.05）， significantly improved the pathological features of alcohol-induced cytoplasmic porosity， edema， and steatosis， down-regulated the TUNEL-positive rate （P<0.05， P<0.01）， enhanced the expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.05）， and decreased Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.01）. ConclusionWEC regulates the expression of ALT， AST， and ADH and improves hepatic steatosis and hepatocyte apoptosis to fight against acute liver injury.
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Objective To enhance the solubility and bioavailability of curcumin (CUR).Methods A novel curcumin nanoparticles were prepared.The CUR-PGD nanoparticles were prepared by the method of ultrasound precipitation combined with high-pressure homogenization using codendrimer PAMAM-co-0.25OEG (PGD) as stabilizer.The stability of CUR-PGD nanoparticles was measured in 0.9% sodium chloride solution,5% glucose, PBS and plasma.Results The drug loading capacity (DL%) of CUR-PGD nanoparticles was 41.2%, the solubility of CUR was increased to 1.5 mg·mL-1 (50 times of CUR bulk powder).The mean diameter of the nanoparticles was 438.0 nm with spherical morphology and the zeta potential was 41.4 mV.The nanoparticles was stable in 0.9% sodium chloride solution,5% glucose, PBS and plasma and there was no hemolytic phenomenon, which meant they were suitable for intravenous administration.The DSC and XRD spectra of CUR-PGD nanoparticles showed that the CUR was presented as crystal morphology in the nanoparticles.The CUR released from nanoparticles was detected in different releasing medium and presented obvious controlled release behavior.Conclusion PGD may be an effective stabilizer for the preparation of CUR-PGD nanoparticles and CUR-PGD nanoparticles are a promising drug delivery system for CUR application in clinic.
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Objective To investigate the influence of ionic strength on the stability of the methotrexate-loaded dendrimer nanoparticles. Methods The influences of different ions (Na+,Cl-) and different concentrations of sodium chloride on the stability of the nanoparticles were studied. The particle size was measured by dynamic light scattering(DLS) and drug-loading content was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in order to evaluate the stability. Results The Cl- was finally verified to play an important role in stabilizing the nanoparticles and the effective concentration of the sodium chloride was recommended to be below 1. 80% . Conclusion The recommended concentration (less than 1. 80% ) of the sodium chloride significantly improves the stability of the nanoparticles and benefits for long term storage.