Clinical value of ultrasound parameters PI, TTP, and MTT in assessing cervical lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical value of ultrasound in assessing cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS: The medical records of 179 PTC patients treated in Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital between March 2016 and March 2019 were collected. The patients were assigned to a transfer group (54 cases) and a non-transfer group (125 cases) according to their pathologic results. The ultrasound parameters (peak intensity (PI), time to peak (TTP), and mean transit time (MTT)) of the two groups were compared. Then, multivariate logistic regression was used to analysis the results, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the value of risk factors in predicting CLNM. RESULTS: The transfer group showed notably lower PI, TTP and MTT than the non-transfer group (P<0.001), and focus diameter, microcalcification, multiple foci, PI, TTP, and MTT were identified as independent risk factors for LNM in patients (P<0.05). According to the ROC curve, the areas under the curves (AUCs) of microcalcification, multiple foci, and PI were all smaller than 0.7; the AUCs of focus diameter and MTT were smaller than 0.8, and the AUC of TTP was 0.855. CONCLUSION: PI, TTP, and MTT all decrease in PTC patients with CLNM, and TTP has a strong predictor for CLNM in them, with an AUC of 0.855.

Mechanism of Kruppel-Like Factor 4 in Pyroptosis of Nasal Mucosal Epithelial Cells in Mice With Allergic Rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic nasal inflammation, characterized by nasal epithelial dysfunction. Gene therapy targeting transcription factors is a promising strategy for quenching allergic inflammation, including AR. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to probe the mechanism of Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in pyroptosis of nasal mucosal epithelial cells (NEpCs) in AR mice and provide targets for AR treatment. METHODS: AR mouse models were established using sensitization with ovalbumin, followed by injection with short hairpin RNA KLF4 (sh-KLF4). AR symptoms were assessed by the times of sneezing and nose rubbing, hematoxylin-eosin, and periodic acid-Schiff staining. Levels of KLF4, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), cleaved caspase-1, and N-terminal domain (GSDMD-N) in nasal mucosal tissues were determined by Western blot assay, and levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-18 in nasal lavage fluid were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The binding of KLF4 to the NLRP3 promoter was verified using chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase assays. The functional rescue experiment was performed with oe-NLRP3 and sh-KLF4 in AR mice. RESULTS: KLF4 was upregulated in nasal mucosal tissues of AR mice. KLF4 inhibition reduced the times of sneezing and nose rubbing, inflammatory cell infiltration, and goblet cell hyperplasia in nasal mucosal tissues, and levels of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1, GSDMD-N, IL-1ß, and IL-18. KLF4 was enriched on the NLRP3 promoter and improved NLRP3 expression. NLRP3 overexpression reversed the inhibition of sh-KLF4 on pyroptosis of NEpCs in AR mice. CONCLUSION: KLF4 bound to the NLRP3 promoter and promoted pyroptosis of NEpCs in AR mice via activating NLRP3.

Ultrasound/CT combined with serum CEA/CA19.9 in the diagnosis and prognosis of rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: To explore the significance of computed tomography (CT) and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) combined with serum CEA and CA19.9 in the staging, diagnosis and prognosis of rectal cancer. METHODS: Fifty-six patients with rectal cancer were recruited from our oncology department. ELISA detected the expression level of CEA and CA19.9 in serum. The hemodynamic parameters of the rectal mucosa and tumor were detected by TRUS [resistance index (RI), pulse index (PI), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic volume (EDV)]. All patients were pathologically examined to determine the disease stage and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of serum tumor markers, CT and TRUS. All patients were followed up for 24 months to assess the relationship between the combined examinations and the disease prognosis. RESULTS: CEA and CA19.9 levels were significantly different in patients with different pathological stages (p<0.05). RI and PI decreased with increasing pathological stage, while PSV and EDV were increased with increasing pathological stage. The serum CEA+CA19.9 examination showed 12 cases of misdiagnosis, with an accuracy diagnostic rate of 78.57% (447sol;56). CT examination showed 8 cases of misdiagnosis, with an accuracy diagnostic rate of 85.71% (48/56). TRUS showed 6 cases of misdiagnosis, with an accuracy diagnostic rate of 89.28% (50/56). However, only 2 cases were misdiagnosed and 96.43% (54/56) were accurate, while no statistical difference was noticed between combined detection and pathology (p<0.05). Postoperative follow-up showed significant differences in T staging at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after operation (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: CT and TRUS combined with serum CEA and CA19.9 had great value in the diagnosis and prognosis in rectal cancer.

Automatic low-order aberration correction based on geometrical optics for slab lasers.

In this paper, we present a method based on geometry optics to simultaneously correct low-order aberrations and reshape the beams of slab lasers. A coaxial optical system with three lenses is adapted. The positions of the three lenses are directly calculated based on the beam parameters detected by wavefront sensors. The initial sizes of the input beams are 1.8 mm×11 mm, and peak-to-valley (PV) values of the wavefront range up to several tens of microns. After automatic correction, the dimensions may reach nearly 22 mm×22 mm as expected, and PV values of the wavefront are less than 2 µm. The effectiveness and precision of this method are verified with experiments.

Comparative effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation with or without transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aim of this study is to compare the overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) versus RFA alone. All eligible studies were collected from the PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Embase electronic databases. The outcomes were overall survival rates. We used odds ratios to assess the strength of the association, and 95% confidence intervals give a sense of the precision of the estimate. Statistical analyses were performed by Review Manager 5.0 and Stata 11.0. A total of 19 available studies were considered in the present meta-analysis. When all groups were pooled, meta-analysis showed that RFA plus TACE significantly improved the survival rates of patients with HCC at 1, 3, and 5 years compared with RFA alone. The combination of RFA with TACE has advantages in improving overall survival rate, and provides better prognosis for HCC patients.

Improving light extraction of InGaN-based light emitting diodes with a roughened p-GaN surface using CsCl nano-islands.

InGaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) with a top nano-roughened p-GaN surface are fabricated using self-assembled CsCl nano-islands as etch masks. Following formation of hemispherical GaN nano-island arrays, electroluminescence (EL) spectra of roughened LEDs display an obvious redshift due to partial compression release in quantum wells through Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) etching. At a 350-mA current, the enhancement of light output power of LEDs subjected to ICP treatment with durations of 50, 150 and 250 sec compared with conventional LED have been determined to be 9.2, 70.6, and 42.3%, respectively. Additionally, the extraction enhancement factor can be further improved by increasing the size of CsCl nano-island. The economic and rapid method puts forward great potential for high performance lighting devices.

[New study progress of sinomenine].

To further understand sinomenine, this paper has introduced the abstract technology, assaying, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacological action, pharmacotoxicology, pharmacokinetics and clinical application of sinomenine based on the important and significant contents of reference which have been consulted in the past ten years. Sinomenine is a kind of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with very effective and little side effect and expected it as a good new drug withdrawal medicine in the future.