Echo State Neural Network Based on an Improved Gray Wolf Algorithm Predicts Porosity through Logging Data.

In oil exploration and development, many reservoir parameters are very essential for reservoir description, especially porosity. The porosity obtained by indoor experiments is reliable, but human and material resources will be greatly invested. Experts have introduced machine learning into the field of porosity prediction but with the shortcomings of traditional machine learning models, such as hyperparameter abuse and poor network structure. In this paper, a meta-heuristic algorithm (Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm) is introduced to optimize the ESN (echo state neural) network for logging porosity prediction. Tent mapping, a nonlinear control parameter strategy, and PSO (particle swarm optimization) thought are introduced to optimize the Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm to improve the global search accuracy and avoid local optimal solutions. The database is constructed by using logging data and porosity values measured in the laboratory. Five logging curves are used as model input parameters, and porosity is used as the model output parameter. At the same time, three other prediction models (BP neural network, least squares support vector machine, and linear regression) are introduced to compare with the optimized models. The research results show that the improved Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm has more advantages than the ordinary Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm in terms of super parameter adjustment. The IGWO-ESN neural network is better than all machine learning models mentioned in this paper (GWO-ESN, ESN, BP neural network, least squares support vector machine, and linear regression) in terms of porosity prediction accuracy.

Comparative Genomic Analysis and Rapid Molecular Detection of Xanthomonas euvesicatoria Using Unique ATP-Dependent DNA Helicase recQ, hrpB1, and hrpB2 Genes Isolated from Physalis pubescens in China.

Ground cherry (Physalis pubescens) is the most prominent species in the Solanaceae family due to its nutritional content, and prospective health advantages. It is grown all over the world, but notably in northern China. In 2019 firstly bacterial leaf spot (BLS) disease was identified on P. pubescens in China that caused by both BLS pathogens Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria resulted in substantial monetary losses. Here, we compared whole genome sequences of X. euvesicatoria to other Xanthomonas species that caused BLS diseases for high similarities and dissimilarities in genomic sequences through average nucleotide identity (ANI) and BLAST comparison. Molecular techniques and phylogenetic trees were adopted to detect X. euvesicatoria on P. pubescens using recQ, hrpB1, and hrpB2 genes for efficient and precise identification. For rapid molecular detection of X. euvesicatoria, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and real-time PCR techniques were used. Whole genome comparison results showed that the genome of X. euvesicatoria was more closely relative to X. perforans than X. vesicatoria, and X. gardneri with 98%, 84%, and 86% ANI, respectively. All infected leaves of P. pubescens found positive amplification, and negative controls did not show amplification. The findings of evolutionary history revealed that isolated strains XeC10RQ, XeH9RQ, XeA10RQ, and XeB10RQ that originated from China were closely relative and highly homologous to the X. euvesicatoria. This research provides information to researchers on genomic variation in BLS pathogens, and further molecular evolution and identification of X. euvesicatoria using the unique target recQ gene through advance molecular approaches.

Traditional Chinese medicine in COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread across the globe, posing an enormous threat to public health and safety. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in combination with Western medicine (WM), has made important and lasting contributions in the battle against COVID-19. In this review, updated clinical effects and potential mechanisms of TCM, presented in newly recognized three distinct phases of the disease, are summarized and discussed. By integrating the available clinical and preclinical evidence, the efficacies and underlying mechanisms of TCM on COVID-19, including the highly recommended three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas, are described in a panorama. We hope that this comprehensive review not only provides a reference for health care professionals and the public to recognize the significant contributions of TCM for COVID-19, but also serves as an evidence-based in-depth summary and analysis to facilitate understanding the true scientific value of TCM.

An instrument for evaluating the clinical applicability of guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an instrument for evaluating the clinical applicability of guidelines from the guideline-users' perspective. METHODS: We established this instrument through forming a working group, forming an initial list of items based on a qualitative systematic review, establishing initial instrument via two rounds of modified Delphi surveys, and external review the initial instrument. RESULTS: The results of modified Delphi surveys establishing appraisal aspects, appraisal items, general information of the evaluator met the preset requirements. The instrument includes three parts: general information of the evaluator (12 items), evaluation of clinical applicability (12 items, including items on the availability, readability, acceptability, feasibility, and overall applicability of guideline), and scoring scheme. CONCLUSIONS: The instrument for evaluating the clinical applicability of guidelines from the guideline-users' perspective provides criteria and methods for improving the clinical applicability of guidelines during development and updating.

Glutamate dehydrogenase mediated amino acid metabolism after ammonium uptake enhances rice growth under aeration condition.

KEY MESSAGE: Aeration stimulates the rice growth and nitrogen (N) metabolism; in which, the glutamate accumulation limited by the glutamate dehydrogenase pathway after ammonia uptake may control root N metabolism during aeration. Increasing rhizosphere oxygen content greatly improves rice growth and biomass. To study the intrinsic mechanism involved in nitrogen (N) metabolism, a hydroponic experiment was conducted by supplying two different oxygen levels to two different rice genotypes. Compared to the hypoxia-resistant cultivar (Nip; japonica rice 'Nipponbare'), the hypoxia-sensitive cultivar (U502; upland rice 'Upland 502') presented with severe oxidative damage under the lack of aeration. However, aeration significantly reduced root oxidative damage by enhancing root antioxidant capacity and leaf photosynthesis especially in U502, and significantly increased nitrate (NO3-) and ammonia (NH4+) uptake and upregulated the expression of the genes controlling these processes. Additional NO3- was mainly incorporated into amino acids in the leaves whereas NH4+ assimilation occurred mostly in the roots. The 15N gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that aeration had no influence on the compositions of the individual amino acids derived from 15NO3- in the roots, but increased labeled glutamic acid (Glu), asparagine, γ-aminobutyric acid, and alanine in 15NH4+-treated roots. Aeration inhibited root glutamate synthetase activity but this did not inhibit 15N-Glu production from 15NH4+. In contrast, aeration upregulated isocitrate dehydrogenase and glutamate dehydrogenase. These mechanisms and soluble carbohydrates may constitute an alternative pathway for Glu production in which amino acid metabolism is enhanced after NH4+ uptake during aeration. Therefore, the rice growth-enhancing effect of aeration is closely correlated with root redox equilibrium, N uptake, and amino acid metabolism. Glutamic acid accumulation is limited by the glutamate dehydrogenase pathway after NH4+ uptake and may control root N metabolism during aeration.

Whole-process prevention and treatment model of traditional Chinese medicine for coronavirus disease 2019 epidemics / 中华危重病急救医学

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history in treating infectious diseases, and the form of intervention varies with different medical conditions and disease types. "The battle field of Chinese doctor for anti-epidemic" was formed in fighting against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemics in China, and from the battle, valuable experiences of using TCM for prevention and treatment had been obtained. During responding to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemics, we followed the principle of keeping summary and perfection while treament. And a whole process of TCM pattern or a model was organized, including early prevention in communities, cluster intervention in isolated places, comprehensive intervention in mobile cabin hospitals, centralized treatment in designated hospitals and rehabilitation support in rehabilitation posts. Thus, the innovation of whole process of TCM intervention was involved in the "trench warfare" strategy and platform system for prevention and treatment of new infectious COVID-19 epidemics. At different stages or conditions, different TCMs were used to play advantageous roles to solve various problems and elevate the effects of prevention and treatment of the disease. The construction of TCM mobile cabin hospitals was an innovation of organization form that might offset the constraints in technology and scale of simple community isolation or simple hospital treatment, exploring a new way for TCM to cope with public health emergencies.

Coagulation and immune function indicators for monitoring of coronavirus disease 2019 and the clinical significance / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the significance of coagulation and immune function indicators in clinical diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).@*METHODS@#All patients with COVID-19 diagnosed and treated in First People's Hospital of Yueyang from January to March 2020 were enrolled. The general data of patients were collected. The patients were assigned into a light group (=20), an ordinary group (=33), a severe group (=23), and a critically severe group (=7) according to the severity of the disease. Coagulation and immune function indicators of each group were compared, and the relevance of coagulation and immune function indicators was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The age of COVID-19 patients in Yueyang City was mainly between 45 and 65 years old. There was a significant difference in the coagulation function and immune-related indicators in each group of patients (all <0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#There are some abnormalities in coagulation and immune function in patients with COVID-19, which possess significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Variability of leaf photosynthetic characteristics in rice and its relationship with resistance to water stress under different nitrogen nutrition regimes.

The negative effects of water stress on rice can be alleviated by NH4 + nutrition. However, the effects of mixed nitrogen (N) nutrition (NO3 - + NH4 + ) on resistance to water stress are still not well known. To investigate the response of rice growth to water stress and its relationship with photosynthetic characteristics, a hydroponic experiment supplying different N forms was conducted. Compared with NO3 - nutrition, mixed-N and NH4 + nutrition greatly alleviated the reduction of leaf area, chlorophyll content, and photosynthesis under water stress, whilst subsequently maintaining higher biomass. In contrast, water stress inhibited the root-shoot ratios in NH4 + - and mixed-N-supplied plants, indicating reduced root growth and higher photosynthate availability to shoots. The following key observations were made: (1) a similar stomatal limitation and low proportion of activated Rubisco were observed among the three different N nutrition regimes; (2) increased mesophyll conductance in NH4 + - and mixed-N-supplied plants simultaneously stimulated leaf photosynthesis and improved the water use efficiency and (3), the maximum carboxylation rate and actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II in NH4 + - and mixed-N-supplied plants were significantly higher than that in NO3 - -supplied plants, thus resulting in higher photochemical efficiency under water stress. In conclusion, mixed-N and NH4 + nutrition may be used to develop strategies for improved water stress resistance and stimulated biomass production under conditions of osmotic stress and possibly drought.

Multivariate analysis of the incidence of hepatic encephalopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt / 中国综合临床

Objective To analyze the correlation between the clinical characteristics and the incidence of postoperative hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis who received transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt ( TIPS) . Methods The clinical data of 80 patients with liver cirrhosis hospitalized in the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from March 2015 to March 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The related factors of hepatic encephalopathy complications after TIPS treatment were analyzed. Results The cumulative incidence of hepatic encephalopathy was about 23. 75%(19／80) in one year after TIPS operation. Through single factor analysis and multi factor Logistic regression analysis,it was found that the two factors of preoperative platelet level and the location of tips blood shunt were closely related to the occurrence of hepatic encephalopathy after TIPS operation. The ROC curve suggested that the AUC of preoperative platelet level and the location of tips blood shunt were 0. 657 and 0. 668, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the former were 70. 0%,52. 6% and the cutoff value was 51 ×109／L, respectively, while those of the latter were 70. 5% and 63. 2%, respectively. Conclusion Preoperative platelets level＞51×109／L or shunting of the left branches of the portal vein may indicate a lower incidence of hepatic encephalopathy.

Prevalence and influencing factors of smoking among college students in Guizhou Province / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand the smoking of college students in Guizhou Province and to explore associated factors for better prevention and control of smoking behavior.@*Methods@#A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used to describe the current smoking situation of college students. And 2 451 college students of different majors and grades from three cities with high, medium and low economic development levels were selected. Besides, we used multivariate logistic regression analysis to analyze the major factors affecting current smoking.@*Results@#Ever smoking rate of college students in Guizhou Province was 50.8%, the peak age of first smoking attempt was 8-13(35.2%); current smoking rate of college students in Guizhou Province was 20.8%. Logistic regression analysis showed that male, upper grade, monthly living expenses of not less than 1 000 yuan, single parents, family smoking and peer smoking were the main risk factors affecting college students’ smoking(OR=5.52,1.44,1.48,1.69,1.47,1.88,P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#College students in Guizhou Province have a higher rate of smoking attempt and low rate of current smoking, as well as low tobacco dependence which is determined by multiple factors. Tobacco hazard education, mental health education and living environment intervention for college students may help reduce the probabitity for tobacco use.

Abuse of diphenoxylate and related factors of forced drug abstainer in Gansu province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate the prevalence of diphenoxylate abuse and related factors of forced drug abstainer in Gansu province.Methods By using a self-designed questionnaire,an epidemiologic investigation was carried out among 2 108 forced drug abstainer selected from the compulsory isolation detoxification center of Gansu province.A case-control study was conducted to analyze the factors related with diphenoxylate abuse.Results The diphenoxylate abuse rate among forced drug abstainer in Gansu was 19.8％ (406/2 046),ranking first in medical drug abuse.Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factors as relieving withdrawal symptoms (OR=2.08,95％CI:1.01-4.32),ways to obtain diphenoxylate (other ways:OR=1.00;regular clinic:OR=27.67,95％CI:2.64-289.82;friend:OR=0.01,95％CI:0.01-0.03),degree of euphoria (high:OR=1.00;medium:OR=3.36,95％CI:1.18-9.55;low:OR=26.16,95％CI:10.30-66.42),years of drug abuse (＜5 years:OR=-1.00;10-15 years:OR=2.48,95％CI:1.02-6.04),abuse at home or in friend's house (OR=3.04,95％CI:1.08-8.68),abuse in car (OR=0.05,95％CI:0.00-0.68) and detoxification for the first time (OR=0.61,95％ CI:0.43-0.86) were the possible influencing factors for diphenoxylate abuse.Conclusions The prevalence of diphenoxylate abuse in forced drug abstainer in Gansu was relatively high.Reasons of abusing,the way to obtain diphenoxylate,whether using drug together with friends,degree of euphoria,years of abuse,abuse place and times for detoxification were related factors influencing the abuse of diphenoxylate.

Abuse of diphenoxylate and related factors of forced drug abstainer in Gansu province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate the prevalence of diphenoxylate abuse and related factors of forced drug abstainer in Gansu province.Methods By using a self-designed questionnaire,an epidemiologic investigation was carried out among 2 108 forced drug abstainer selected from the compulsory isolation detoxification center of Gansu province.A case-control study was conducted to analyze the factors related with diphenoxylate abuse.Results The diphenoxylate abuse rate among forced drug abstainer in Gansu was 19.8％ (406/2 046),ranking first in medical drug abuse.Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factors as relieving withdrawal symptoms (OR=2.08,95％CI:1.01-4.32),ways to obtain diphenoxylate (other ways:OR=1.00;regular clinic:OR=27.67,95％CI:2.64-289.82;friend:OR=0.01,95％CI:0.01-0.03),degree of euphoria (high:OR=1.00;medium:OR=3.36,95％CI:1.18-9.55;low:OR=26.16,95％CI:10.30-66.42),years of drug abuse (＜5 years:OR=-1.00;10-15 years:OR=2.48,95％CI:1.02-6.04),abuse at home or in friend's house (OR=3.04,95％CI:1.08-8.68),abuse in car (OR=0.05,95％CI:0.00-0.68) and detoxification for the first time (OR=0.61,95％ CI:0.43-0.86) were the possible influencing factors for diphenoxylate abuse.Conclusions The prevalence of diphenoxylate abuse in forced drug abstainer in Gansu was relatively high.Reasons of abusing,the way to obtain diphenoxylate,whether using drug together with friends,degree of euphoria,years of abuse,abuse place and times for detoxification were related factors influencing the abuse of diphenoxylate.

The preliminary report of a registration clinical trial of proton and heavy ion irradiation / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective@#To verify the safety and efficacy of IONTRIS particle therapy system (IONTRIS) in clinical implementation.@*Methods@#Between 6.2014 and 8.2014, a total of 35 patients were enrolled into this trial: 31 males and 4 females with a median age of 69 yrs (range 39-80). Ten patients had locally recurrent head and neck tumors after surgery, 4 cases with thoracic malignancies, 1 case with hepatocellular carcinoma, 1 case with retroperitoneal sarcoma, and 19 cases with non-metastatic prostate carcinomas. Phantom dose verification was mandatory for each field before the start of radiation.@*Results@#Twenty-two patients received carbon ion and 13 had proton irradiation. With a median follow-up time of 1 year, all patients were alive. Among the 16 patients with head and neck, thoracic, and abdominal/pelvic tumors, 2, 1, 12, and 1 cases developed complete response, partial response, stable disease, or disease progression, respectively. Progression-free survival rate was 93.8% (15/16). Among the 19 patients with prostate cancer, biological-recurrence free survival was 100%. Particle therapy was well tolerated in all 35 patients. Twenty-five patients (71.4%) experienced 33 grade 1 acute adverse effects, which subsided at 1 year follow-up. Six (17.1%) patients developed grade 1 late adverse effects. No significant change in ECOG or body weight was observed.@*Conclusions@#IONTRIS is safe and effective for clinical use. However, long term follow-up is needed to observe the late toxicity and long term result.

Effect of Notch1 signaling pathway on the differentiation and function of Th17 cells in peripheral blood of patients with psoriasis / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect of Notch 1 signaling pathway on the differentiation and function of Th17 cells in peripheral blood of patients with psoriasis.Methods Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 35 patients with psoriasis and 32 healthy controls.Flow cytometry was performed to determine the proportion of Th17 cells in CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs),real-time RT-PCR to measure the mRNA expression of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt),interleukin (IL)-17,Notch 1 and hairy-and-enhancer-of-split-1 (Hes-1),and enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect levels of IL-17 in the serum and culture supernatant of PBMCs stimulated with phorbol ester,calcium ionophore and brefeldin A.The correlation of Notch 1 mRNA expression with psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) was analyzed,so were its correlation with the proportion of Th17 cells,mRNA expression of RORγt,and mRNA and protein expression of IL-17.PBMCs isolated from the patients with psoriasis were divided into 5 groups to be treated with γ-secretase inhibitor N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-1-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) at different concentrations of 0(control group),2.5,5.0,10.0 and 20.0μmol/L,respectively,so as to evaluate the effects of blocking the Notch1 signaling pathway by DAPT on the proportion of Th17 cells in PBMCs,levels of RORγt and IL-17.Results Compared with the healthy controls,patients with psoriasis showed a significant increase in the proportion of Th17 cells in CD4+ T cells in PBMCs (2.863％ ± 0.969％ vs.0.604％ ± 0.124％,P ＜ 0.01),mRNA expression of RORγt (5.255 ± 0.998 vs.1.530-± 0.485,P ＜ 0.01),Notch1 (6.743 ± 1.756 vs.1.731 ± 0.456,P ＜ 0.01),Hes-1 (6.384 ± 1.665 vs.1.627 ± 0.485,P ＜ 0.01) and IL-17 (6.944 ± 1.626 vs.1.698 ± 0.329,P ＜ 0.01),and serum level of IL-17 ([36.444 ± 5.936] ng/L vs.[11.762 ± 2.260] ng/L,P ＜ 0.01).Among the patients with psoriasis,the mRNA expression of Notch1 was positively correlated with PASI scores,proportion of Th17 cells,mRNA expression of RORγt and IL-17,and serum level of IL-17 (r =0.584,0.544,0.518,0.549 and 0.511,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences in the proportion of Th17 cells,mRNA expression of RORγt and IL-17,and level of IL-17 in the culture supematant among the control group,2.5-,5.0-,10.0-and 20.0-μmol/L DAPT groups (F =79.527,82.239,78.086 and 80.558,respectively,all P ＜ 0.01).The above indices were significantly lower in the 2.5-,5.0-,10.0-and 20.0-μmol/L DAPT groups than in the control group (all P ＜ 0.05),and decreased along with the increase of DAPT concentrations.Conclusion Notch1 signaling pathway can promote the differentiation of Th17 cells and the expression of RORγt,IL-17 and Hes-1 in the peripheral blood of patients with psoriasis.

Glycine increases cold tolerance in rice via the regulation of N uptake, physiological characteristics, and photosynthesis.

To investigate the response of rice growth and photosynthesis to different nitrogen (N) sources under cold stress, hydroponic cultivation of rice was done in greenhouse, with glycine, ammonium, and nitrate as the sole N sources. The results demonstrate that exposure to low temperature reduced the rice biomass and leaf chlorophyll content, but their values in the glycine-treated plants were significantly higher than in the ammonium- and nitrate-treated plants. This might be attributed to the higher N uptake rate and root area and activity in the glycine-treated plants. The glycine-treated plants also maintained high contents of soluble proteins, soluble sugars, and proline as well as enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities to protect themselves against chilling injury. Under cold stress, reduced stomatal conductance (gs) and effective quantum efficiency of PSII (ΦPSII) significantly inhibited the leaf photosynthesis; however, glycine treatment alleviated these effects compared to the ammonium and nitrate treatments. The high non-photochemical quenching (qN) and excess energy dissipative energy (Ex) in the glycine-treated plants were beneficial for the release of extra energy, thereby, strengthening their photochemical efficiency. We, therefore, conclude that the strengthened cold tolerance of glycine-treated rice plants was closely associated with the higher accumulation of dry matter and photosynthesis through the up-regulation of N-uptake, and increase in the content of osmoprotectants, activities of the antioxidant defense enzymes, and photochemical efficiency. The results of the present study provide new ideas for improving the plant tolerance to extreme temperatures by nutrient resource management in the cold regions.

Ethical Issues on Hospital Centralized Monitoring for the Safety of Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) Injections / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

The safety of TCM injection triggered attentions and hotspots in recent years in China.The centralized monitoring of TCM injection provided important evidence for analyzing the safety risk of TCM injections,recognizing adverse reactions and contraindications and perfecting the instructions.This study aimed at exploring the ethical problems on centralized monitoring.In this paper,we retrieved and screened the ethical issues of TCM injections over hospital centralized monitoring in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI,1979-Ju1.,2016).Issues over it were put forward and addressed.It is found that the current ethical issues related to hospital centralized monitoring lacks sufficient attentions,corresponding norms and requirements.Based on the ethical issues reflected from the literatures,suggestions should be pressed ahead with the ethical review of centralized surveillance,signing of informed consents,registration of research programs,data statistics and reporting stages,for the better protection of the rights and interests of subjects and improvement of research quality.

Problems and Solutions of Statistical Analysis for Hospital Centralized Safety Monitoring of Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) Injections / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Safety hospital centralized monitoring is one of the important methods for evaluating the medication safety of TCM injections in clinic.It is critical to warrant research quality by reasonable statistical analysis.However,universally accepted standards and guidelines for the statistical analysis of hospital centralized monitoring of TCM injections have not been issued so far,which would probably reduce the research quality of safety hospital centralized monitoring of TCM injections since the unreasonable use of statistical analysis methods.Combined with previous practical experience and understanding,we put forward the problems of statistical analysis of hospital centralized monitoring of TCM injections with the provision of some advice in this paper based on the analysis of the preceding studies,laying a foundation for the same kind of researches.

Application of computer-aided approaches to the PUMC classification of scoliosis

Surgical planning for scoliosis relies on the classification of the spinal curve pattern. To improve the reliability of the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) classification system for scoliotic spinal curves, a computer-aided system is proposed and its reliability is evaluated. First, the reliability of curve measurements was improved by the computer-aided Cobb measurement approach. Second, judgmental errors were reduced by the computer program through the automation of the PUMC classification procedure. Four observers divided into an expert group and a resident group participated in the experiments. The kappa statistic was used to evaluate the variability. Classifications of 65 scoliotic cases by the four observers showed that with the computer's aid, the average intraobserver and interobserver kappa values were improved from 0.86 to 0.93 and from 0.75 to 0.86, respectively. The results indicate that the proposed computerized system can assist a surgeon in the PUMC classification of scoliosis and is especially useful for inexperienced surgeons.

Application of radiomics information captured from PET/CT and CT to predict therapeutic effect of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy in stageⅠ non-small cell lung cancer / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Radiomics is an emerging field that generates large amounts of valuable clinical information through extracting quantitative imaging features. The purpose of this study was to use the radiomics approach to assess the value of features captured from PET and CT in predicting the therapeutic effect in stageⅠ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).Methods:Patients with stageⅠ NSCLC conifrmed by pathology and treated with SABR were included retrospectively. The gross tumor volume (GTV) was deifned by two radiologists. PET and CT scan images were collected, and radiomic features were further extracted and analyzed. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to distinguish patients with or without local control.Results:Sixteen patients were eligible for analysis. This study identiifed two PET features (LL_GLCM_Maximal_Correlation_Coeffcient and HL_GLRMS_LRE) captured from PET/CT as having signiifcance in classifying patients with or without disease development. This study not ifnd similar results in CT scans.Conclusion:It seems feasible to use radiomics information effects from PET/CT to predict therapeutic effects of SABR in stageⅠ NSCLC. Further investigation is needed.

Results of a phase Ⅱ study of concurrent 5-fluorouracil/paclitaxel plus radiotherapy in patients ;with carcinoma of the esophagus / 中国癌症杂志

Background and purpose:Concurrent radiochemotherapy is the standard modality for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. This clinical trial aimed to assess the effectiveness and toxicity of continuous infusion of 5-lfuorouracil (5-FU) and weekly paclitaxel combined with radiotherapy in ESCC patients. Methods:Patients with locally advanced (T2-4N0-1M0-1a) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were enrolled in a prospective, single-institutional, single-arm study of deifnitive chemoradiotherapy. Patients received 61.2 Gy with IMRT in 34 fractions. Patients had a Karnofsky performance status of 70 or greater, and normal liver, renal, and bone marrow functions. Patients were recommended to receive concurrent 5-FU (300 mg/m2 civ 96 h) for 5 days a week for 5 weeks, plus paclitaxel (50 mg/m2) given during 3 hours every week for 5 weeks. Patients were recommended to receive 2 courses of consolidation chemotherapy after concurrent radio (chemo) therapy (5-FU 1 800 mg/m2 civ 72 h, plus paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 every 28 days). The primary endpoints of the study were 5 year overall survival and acute toxicity. Results:Fifty patients were enrolled in this study, including 38 male patients and 12 female patients;median age:58 years (ranged 26 to 75 years). 72%patients completed all the chemotherapy and 98%patients received the full dose of radiotherapy. 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 75%, 56%, 42%and 28%respectively. Among haematological toxicities, grade 3 leukopenia (16%) was recorded, and no patients experienced any≥grade 2 thrombocytopenia or anaemia. Among non-haematological toxicities, the rates of grade 2 peripheral neurotoxicity, arthralgias and myalgias, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue were 8%, 4%, 4%, 2%and 6%respectively. The rates of≥grade 2 acute radiation-induced esophageal toxicity, radiation pneumonitis and skin toxicity were 32%, 44% and 14% respectively. No treatment-related deaths occurred and no patients experienced any ≥ grade 4 toxicities. Conclusion: Continuous infusion of 5-FU plus paclitaxel given concurrently with radiotherapy may be an effective and tolerable treatment option for ESCC patients.