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Introduction: Associations of variations in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 genes with susceptibility to idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) have been well documented. Association with spontaneous remission, however, is poorly defined in the Chinese Han population. Methods: A Chinese cohort of 117 IMN patients and 138 healthy controls were recruited between July 2009 and November 2019. Case-control studies for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within HLA-DQA1 (rs2187668) and PLA2R1 (rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117, rs3749119) genes were performed. The contributions of these polymorphisms to predict susceptibility, titre of autoantibodies against the M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (anti-PLA2R1), glomerular PLA2R1 expression, and spontaneous remission were analysed. Results: We found that variations in PLA2R1 (SNPs rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117) were strongly associated with IMN susceptibility, while SNP (rs2187668) within HLA-DQA1 did not increase the risk of IMN. All SNPs in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 were not statistically associated with anti-PLA2R1 titre, glomerular PLA2R1 expression and spontaneous remission after Bonferroni correction (P>0.0167). Clinical and pathological parameters such as lower levels of serum albumin, higher levels of anti-PLA2R1 and glomerular PLA2R1 expression were independent risk factors for non-spontaneous remission. Conclusion: This study confirms that variations in PLA2R1 (SNPs rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117) are risk factors for IMN. We found excellent association of serum albumin level, anti-PLA2R1 titre and glomerular PLA2R1 positivity with non-spontaneous remission in IMN. Keywords: HLA-DQA1, idiopathic membranous nephropathy, PLA2R1, susceptibility, spontaneous remission

The aim of the present study was to identify the hepatic vascular variations with visual three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of vessels in pediatric patients with choledochal cyst (CDC). We retrospectively analyzed the data of 84 children with pathologically confirmed CDCs treated in the Children's Hospital of Soochow University. 180 patients without CDCs as a control to analysis the hepatic artery and portal vein anatomy. All patients were examined by multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) and the images of children with CDC were reconstructed by Hisense computer-assisted surgery system (Hisense CAS) to obtain visual 3D images. There were 71 females and 13 males diagnosed with CDC. According to Todani classification of CDC, there were 42 cases of type Ia, 10 cases of type Ic and 32 cases of type IVa. There were 10 (11.9%) patients with hepatic artery variations, 14 (16.7%) patients with right hepatic artery located on the ventral side of the CDC, and 16 (19.0%) patients with portal vein variations. Sex, age and types of the cyst were not associated with the presence of vascular variations. There was no significant difference in hepatic vascular variation between CDCs and control groups. Visual 3D images clearly displayed the hepatic vascular variations and the spatial structure of the CDC in pediatric patients with CDC. Hepatic artery and portal vein variations can be detected in pediatric patients with CDC. Visual 3D technique can visually and stereoscopically display the anatomical variations of the hepatic artery and portal vein.

In order to improve the detection rate of pedestrian, a novel technique that is based on hybrid Gaussian background modeling combined with HOG and SVM is proposed. The random video frame test sampl...

Aim. Increasing evidence indicates that hepatic subcapsular flow (HSF) can serve as a noninvasive ultrasonographic marker for the early diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA). However, results regarding its diagnostic accuracy are inconsistent and inconclusive. We conducted this meta-analysis with an aim to systematically evaluate the diagnostic value of HSF in predicting BA. Methods. A comprehensive literature search of four databases was conducted to identify the eligible studies. All analyses were performed using STATA 12.0. Results. Nine studies from eight articles containing 368 patients and 469 controls were included in our meta-analysis. Briefly, the values for pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were 0.95 (95% CI 0.88-0.98), 0.92 (95% CI 0.85-0.96), 11.6 (95% CI 6.3-21.5), 0.06 (95% CI 0.02-0.14), 201 (95% CI 59-689), and 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99), respectively. Additionally, metaregression along with subgroup analysis based on various covariates revealed the potential sources of heterogeneity and the detailed diagnostic value in each subgroup. Conclusion. Our meta-analysis showed that HSF assay could provide high accuracy in predicting BA patients and non-BA individuals. However, further studies with better design and larger sample size are required to support the results of the present study.

In order to reasonably analyze the influence of shear deformation of corrugated steel web on the natural vibration frequency of PC continuous box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs, first, the element stiffness matrix of PC box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs is derived by using the energy variation principle. Second, according to the derived element stiffness matrix, the solution program for calculating thenatural frequency of multi-span uniform cross-section PC continuous box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs considering the influence of steel web shearing effect is compiled by MATLAB software. The correctness of the natural vibration frequencies calculated by the MATLA B software is verified by the measured frequency of the constructed bridge and the calculated value by ANSYS 3D FE method. Finally, the influence parameters of the bending vibration frequency of the abovementioned bridge are analyzed. The result shows that (1) The natural frequencies calculated by the proposed program are in good agreement with the measured and FE values of the built bridges. The calculation program has higher precision, the difference of the first 5-order natural frequencies is within 6.01% and 7.32%.(2) The shear defomation effect of corrugated steel webs has great influence on the natural frequency of the subject bridge, while the modification of the shear modulus of corrugated steel webs and the type of corrugated steel webs has little influence on the bending vibration frequency of the bridge, the difference of the first 5-order bending vibration frequencies is within 1.07% and 0.55%, which can be ignored.(3) The dynamic analysis of the subject bridge considering the shear deformation effect can be easily incorporated into the matrix displacement system of the common framed structure, which avoids the complexity of the establishment and solution of the ANSYS FE model, It provides a reference for the calculation and analysis of the bending vibration frequency of the bridge type.

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of MRI, colostography/fistulography, and X-ray imaging modalities for preoperative diagnosis of anorectal malformations (ARMs) in pediatric patients. Methods This retrospective analysis included a total of 84 pediatric patients with ARMs. Preoperative imaging findings were assessed by 2 radiologists and compared to surgical findings. Results MRI identified anomalies of the spine in 25 of 84 patients (29.8%), anomalies of the genital system in 7 of 84 patients (8.3%), anomalies of the urinary system in 22 of 84 patients (26.2%), and underdeveloped sphincter muscle complex in 34 of 84 patients (40.5%). In the 44 subjects receiving both MRI and X-ray, MRI was more sensitive in detecting anomalies of spine (18/44 vs. 8/44; P = 0.002), and both correctly identified the distal end of the rectum in 77.3% (34/44) of the cases. In the 24 subjects receiving both MRI and colostography/fistulography, MRI was more accurate in identifying Pena's classification (22/24 vs. 15/24; P = 0.039). Distal end of the rectum was correctly identified in 75.0% (18/24) and 58.3% (14/24) of the cases (P = 0.125). Conclusions MRI could clearly reveal fistula anatomy and associated anomalies of ARMs and should be routinely used for preoperative evaluation of ARMs. Type of study Study of diagnostic test. Level of evidence Level II.

BACKGROUND During pregnancy, appropriate physical activity plays critical roles in maternal and fetal health. This study investigated the effects of Sophrology childbirth-Kegel-Lamaze respiratory training (SLK triple therapy) on maternal and newborn health, pelvic floor function, and quality of life. MATERIAL AND METHODS Single-pregnant primiparous women involved in this study were divided into the control group (n=120) and the SLK triple therapy group (n=120). SLK triple therapy was taught to and practiced by the women in the SLK triple therapy group. Data on delivery mode (natural delivery or cesarean section), postpartum complications (postpartum urinary incontinence, postpartum hemorrhage), and birth process were recorded. Apgar scores and body weight of newborns were evaluated. Pelvic floor function, postpartum emotion, and sexual functions were assessed. RESULTS Women in the SLK triple therapy group had significantly better natural delivery rate compared to the control group (p

Background The present study was aimed to investigate the expression profile of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and its potential as biomarker for pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM). Methods The differential expression of lncRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) from 15 pediatric patients with PBM and 15 control subjects were analyzed with microArray and validated with quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Gene Ontology enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were used to investigate the biological functions of these genes. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to predict the biomarker of lncRNA in PBM. Results There were 2915 mRNAs and 173 lncRNAs upregulated, 2121 mRNAs and 316 lncRNAs downregulated in PBM cases, respectively. The enriched GO associated with differentially expressed mRNA were extracellular matrix, extracellular region and kinetochore. The most enriched pathway of Protein digestion and absorption was associated with cancer and PI3K-Akt signaling. Cis- and Trans-target gene analysis indicated that mRNAs were predicted to be regulated by one lncRNA and one mRNA corresponded to several lncRNAs. The results showed that the expression trends of NR_110876, NR_132344, XR_946886 and XR_002956345 were consistent with the microarray results, and the difference was statistically significant NR_132344, XR_946886 and XR_002956345 (P

Objective To develop a mathematical model based on a combination of clinical and radiologic features (barium enema) for early diagnosis of short-segment Hirschsprung disease (SHSCR) in neonate. Methods The analysis included 54 neonates with biopsy-confirmed SHSCR (the cases) and 59 neonates undergoing barium enema for abdominal symptoms but no Hirschsprung disease (the control). Colon shape features extracted from barium enema images and clinical features were used to develop diagnostic models using support vector machine (SVM) and L2-regularized logistic regression (LR). The training cohort included 32 cases and 37 controls; testing cohort consisted 22 cases and 22 controls. Results were compared to interpretation by 2 radiologists. Results In the analysis by radiologists, 87 out of 113 cases were correctly classified. Six SHSCR cases were mis-classified into the non-HSCR group. In the remaining 20 cases, radiologists were unable to make a decision. Both the SVM and LR classifiers contained five clinical features and four shape features. The performance of the two classifiers was similar. The best model had 86.36% accuracy, 81.82% sensitivity, and 90.91% specificity. The AUC was 0.9132 for the best-performing SVM classifier and 0.9318 for the best-performing LR classifier. Conclusion A combination of clinical features and colon shape features extracted from barium enemas can be used to improve early diagnosis of SHSCR in neonate.

Background The long-term prognosis of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) depends on the severity of renal involvement, and crescent formation is considered an important risk factor for poor prognosis of Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN). The objective of this study was to evaluate factors affecting crescent formation in children with HSPN. Methods Demographic factors, clinical characteristics, and laboratory data of children with HSPN with or without crescents were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors of crescent formation in HSPN. Results A total of 191 children with HSPN were enrolled in the study. There were 107 (56%) males and 84 (44%) females, with a median age of 7 years (range: 2 years–15 years). International Study of Kidney Disease in Children (ISKDC) grading was used to divide subjects into two groups: those without glomerular crescent formation (ISKDC grades I–II, n = 146 cases) and those with glomerular crescent formation (ISKDC grades III–V, n = 45 cases). Logistic regression analysis showed that higher urinary white blood cell (WBC) count (OR = 3.300; 95% CI, 1.119–9.739; P = 0.0306) and higher urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) (OR = 25.053; 95% CI, 1.354–463.708; P = 0.0305) were independent risk factors for the formation of crescents in HSPN. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of urinary WBC and ACR were 0.753 and 0.698 respectively, with the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (P = 0.0669, P > 0.05). Conclusion These results suggest that higher urinary WBC count and ACR should be strictly monitored for children with HSPN. Adequate clinical intervention for these risk factors may limit or prevent renal crescent formation.

IntroductionIntestinal ischemia–reperfusion injury (I/R) can occur during pediatric intussusception, and any delay in diagnosis or treatment can lead to loss of intestinal viability that requires bowel resection. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA)–derived fragments (tRFs) can serve as candidate biomarkers for pediatric intussusception.Material and methodsUsing high-throughput sequencing technology, we identified differentially expressed tRFs, and ultimately selected three tRFs to establish a signature as a predictive biomarker of pediatric intussusception. Selection of these three upregulated genes was verified using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We conducted receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the selected genes for pediatric intussusception.ResultsWe detected 732 tRFs and tRNA-derived stress-induced RNA (tiRNAs), 1705 micro-RNAs (miRNAs), 52 differentially expressed miRNAs, and 34 differentially expressed tRFs and tiRNAs between patients and controls. Compared with controls, we found 33 upregulated miRNAs, 24 upregulated tRFs and tiRNAs, 19 downregulated miRNAs, and 10 downregulated tRFs and tiRNAs in children with intussusception. Using qPCR, the expression trends of tRF-Leu-TAA-006, tRF-Gln-TTG-033 and tRF-Lys-TTT-028 were consistent with the sequencing results. AUCs of tRF-Leu-TAA-006, tRF-Gln-TTG-033 and tRF-Lys-TTT-028 were 0.984, 0.970 and 0.837, respectively.ConclusionsCirculating tRF-Leu-TAA-006, tRF-Gln-TTG-033 and tRF-Lys-TTT-028 expression might be a novel potential biomarker for diagnosis of pediatric intussusception.

Pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) is routinely assessed by intraoperative cholangiography (IOC), whereas accompanying abnormalities in the hepatic artery are assessed by preoperative contrast multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT). We evaluated the efficiency of performing one-stop preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for delineating the anatomy of the pancreaticobiliary junction and the hepatic artery. The subjects of this prospective analysis were children who underwent Roux-en-Y surgery for PBM in our institution during a recent 3-year period. Preoperative one-stop MRI was conducted using 3.0-T MRI. The efficiency of one-stop MRI was compared with that of IOC for assessing the bile duct, and with contrast MSCT for assessing the blood vessels. Sixty-five children underwent one-stop preoperative MRI, which had a 100% concordance rate, versus IOC for assessing the bile duct type. Protein plugs or cholelithiasis were identified by IOC in 8 children and by one-stop MRI in 45 children (P = 0.0233). Cholangitis was not identified by IOC in any children but it was identified by one-stop MRI in 29 children. MSCT was also performed in 46 children and revealed a variant hepatic artery in 9 and cholangitis in 21. One-stop MRI had a 100% concordance rate versus MSCT. Preoperative one-stop MRI accurately delineates the bile duct anatomy as well as the hepatic artery, cholangitis, and protein plugs in children with PBM.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential in regulating various physiological functions. However, overproduction of ROS is implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. Antioxidant therapy has thus represented an effective strategy for the treatment of oxidative stress relevant inflammatory diseases. Conventional anti-oxidative agents showed limited in vivo effects owing to their non-specific distribution and low retention in disease sites. Over the past decades, significant achievements have been made in the development of antioxidant nanotherapies that exhibit multiple advantages such as excellent pharmacokinetics, stable anti-oxidative activity, and intrinsic ROS-scavenging properties. This review provides a comprehensive overview on recent advances in antioxidant nanotherapies, including ROS-scavenging inorganic nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles with intrinsic antioxidant activity, and drug-loaded anti-oxidant nanoparticles. We highlight the biomedical applications of antioxidant nanotherapies in the treatment of different inflammatory diseases, with an emphasis on inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, and brain diseases. Current challenges and future perspectives to promote clinical translation of antioxidant nanotherapies are also briefly discussed.

The decline of male fertility and its consequences on human populations are important public-health issues. However, there are limited choices for treatment of male infertility. In an attempt to identify a compound that could promote male fertility, we identified and characterized a library of small molecules from an ancient formulation Wuzi Yanzong-Pill, which was used as a folk medicine since the Tang dynasty of China. We found that SB enabled evident repairs in oligoasthenospermia-associated testicular tissue abnormality and in spermatogenesis disruption, resulting in significant improvements of sperm count, mobility, and reproductive ability in oligoasthenospermia mice. Furthermore, SB could alter substantial testicular genes (2033), among which, upregulation of Fst while downregulation of Inhba involved in reproductive signaling pathway could explain its role in enhancing spermatogenesis. The encouraging preclinical data with pharmacokinetics warranted a rapid development of this new class of therapeutic agent. Our finding provides a strong potent drug for treatment of male infertility.

This is a retrospective, single-center observational study to explore the predictors of chest drainage for neonatal pneumothorax. A total of 183 neonates (age ≤28 days) who presented to the Children's Hospital of Soochow University between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018 for pneumothorax or developed pneumothorax during a hospital stay were included. Demographic data, clinical presentation, and imaging characteristics of neonatal pneumothorax were collected and analyzed. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine significant predictors of chest drainage of pneumothorax in neonates. Pneumothorax occurred within 24 h after birth in 131 (71.6%) cases, between 24 and 48 h after birth in 41 (22.4%) cases, and 48 h after birth in 11 (6.0%) cases. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that lung collapse ≥1/3 on initial chest X-ray (OR 4.99, 95%CI 2.25-11.07), chest retractions (OR 8.12, 95%CI 2.88-22.89), cyanosis (OR 2.25, 95%CI 1.08-4.66), and frothing from mouth (OR 2.49, 95%CI 1.12-5.49) (P

Chao Sun,1 Jie Zhu,1 Bin Wu,1 Jianlei Chen,1 Zhenwei Zhu,1 Peng Cai,1 Wanliang Guo,2 Zhicheng Gu,1 Jian Wang,1 Shungen Huang1 1General Surgery Department, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215003, People’s Republic of China; 2Radiology Department, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215003, People’s Republic of China Background and aim: Several dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA); however, small sample sizes and invariable research designs are limitations, hindering a thorough analysis of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic tools for CCA. This study aimed to systematically summarize the clinical value of miRNAs in human CCA both for all available miRNAs and single miRNA with multiple researches. Methods: Pooled parameters included the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and hazard ratios (HRs) to separately determine overall diagnostic and prognostic performance. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed only in the event of heterogeneity. Thirty-four studies including 12 diagnostic studies and 22 prognostic studies were eligible for inclusion in this meta-analysis. Results: We observed that miR-21, miR-26, miR-483, miR-106a, miR-150, miR-192, and miR-194 were employed for distinguishing patients with CCA from healthy controls. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77–0.86), 0.83 (95% CI 0.75–0.89), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.85–0.91), respectively. Abnormal expression of miR-21, miR-26a, miR-192, miR-200c, miR-221, miR-29a, miR-191, miR-181c, miR-34a, miR-106a, miR-203, and miR-373 in patients was confirmed to associate with poor survival rate. Pooled HRs and 95% CIs were calculated using STATA, resulting in the pooled HR of 1.47 (95% CI 0.91–2.37) for overall survival (OS), 0.67 (95% CI 0.16–2.81) for disease-free survival (DFS), 2.31 (95% CI 1.59–3.36) for progression-free survival (PFS), and 2.68 (95% CI 0.88–8.15) for relapse-free survival (RFS). Thus, CCA patients with dysregulated miRNA expression were confirmed to have shorter OS, DFS, PFS, and RFS. Data regarding the diagnostic and prognostic roles of miR-21 suggested pooled diagnostic results of miR-21 for sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were 0.85 (95% CI 0.76–0.91), 0.92 (95% CI 0.81–0.97), and 0.93 (95% CI 0.91–0.95), respectively, suggesting better diagnostic performance of miR-21 compared with other miRNAs. Meanwhile, pooled prognostic result of miR-21 for HR was 1.88 (95% CI 1.41–2.51), indicating miR-21 could more appropriately predict shorter OS in patients with CCA. Conclusion: miRNAs may provide a new approach for clinical application, and miR-21 may be a promising biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of CCA. Keywords: microRNAs, miR-21, diagnosis, prognosis, cholangiocarcinoma, meta-analysisA Letter to the Editor has been received and published for this article.

With the increasing power demand and rapid depletion of conventional fossil fuel resources, hydroelectric power resource has caused great attention of the public. A multi reservoir system with multiple objectives including ecological water demand, hydropower generation, and water diversion in Lushui River basin in China is under consideration in this context. Aiming to improve the efficiency of the water resources utilization, a novel method called multi-objective Moth-flame optimization algorithm (MOMFA) has been applied into this problem. The proposed algorithm involves the effective properties of the original Moth-flame optimization algorithm and two efficient mechanisms named opposition-based learning and indicator-based selection have also been integrated into the algorithm with the purpose of assisting the algorithm to accelerate the convergence and maintain the diversity simultaneously. The performance of the proposed MOMFA tested on a series of benchmarks and the Lushui River Basin. The result indicated that the proposed algorithm is not only capable of obtaining the well pareto solutions on standard problem but also can find the best tradeoff of the components and simultaneously achieve a set of well distributed non-dominated solutions for the multi-objective water resources utilization problem. Compare with the results obtained by other algorithms, the superiority of the proposed MOMFA has also been verified.

Ling-Hui Dian,1,2,* Ying-Jie Hu,1,* Jia-Ye Lin,1 Jing-Ying Zhang,1 Yan Yan,1 Yi-Nuo Cui,1 Zhan-Bo Su,1 Wan-Liang Lu1 1State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 2School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: Oral chemotherapy using anticancer drugs would improve the clinical practice and the life quality of patients. The aim of the present study was to develop paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles for oral administration to treat resistant breast cancer. Methods: Evaluations were performed on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, drug-resistant breast cancer MCF-7/Adr cells, and in MCF-7/Adr-xenografted BALB/c nude mice. The nanomicelles were composed of the polymer soluplus, d-α-tocopheryl polyethyleneglycol 1000 succinate (TPGS1000), and dequalinium (DQA). The constructed paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles were ~65 nm in size. Results: The nanomicelles improved cellular uptake and anticancer efficacy in the resistant breast cancer cells and induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. The mechanism of the apoptosis-inducing effect was related to the co-localization of the nanomicelles with mitochondria; the activation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, cytochrome C, and apoptotic enzymes caspase 9 and 3; and the inhibition of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Mcl-1. Oral administration of paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles had the same anticancer efficacy as the intravenous injection of taxol in resistant breast cancer-bearing mice. The oral suitability of this formulation was associated with the nanostructure and the actions of TPGS1000 and DQA. Conclusion: The fabricated paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles could provide a promising oral formulation to treat drug-resistant breast cancer. Keywords: paclitaxel, nanomicelles, oral, drug-resistant breast cancer, mice

Pulmonary delivery of active drugs has been applied for the treatment of obstructive lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis, for several decades and has achieved progress in symptom management by bronchodilator inhalation. However, substantial progress in anti-inflammation, prevention of airway remodeling and disease progression is limited, since the majority of the formulation strategies focus only on particle deposition, which is insufficient for pulmonary delivery of the drugs. The lack of knowledge on lung absorption barriers in obstructive lung diseases and on pathogenesis impedes the development of functional formulations by rational design. In this review, we describe the physiological structure and biological functions of the barriers in various regions of the lung, review the pathogenesis and functional changes of barriers in obstructive lung diseases, and examine the interaction of these barriers with particles to influence drug delivery efficiency. Subsequently, we review rational particle design for overcoming lung barriers based on excipients selection, particle size and surface properties, release properties and targeting ability. Additionally, useful particle fabrication strategies and commonly used drug carriers for pulmonary delivery in obstructive lung diseases are proposed in this article.

ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to highlight some epidemiological aspects of intussusception cases younger than 48 months and to develop a forecasting model for the occurrence of intussusception in children younger than 48 months in Suzhou.DesignA retrospective study of intussusception cases that occurred between January 2007 and December 2017.SettingRetrospective chart reviews of intussusception paediatric patients in a large Children’s hospital in South-East China were performed.ParticipantsThe hospital records of 13 887 intussusception cases in patients younger than 48 months were included in this study.InterventionsThe modelling process was conducted using the appropriate module in SPSS V.23.0.MethodsThe Box-Jenkins approach was used to fit a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to the monthly recorded intussusception cases in patients younger than 48 months in Suzhou from 2007 to 2016.ResultsEpidemiological analysis revealed that intussusception younger than 48 months was reported continuously throughout the year, with peaks in the late spring and early summer months. The most affected age group was younger than 36 months. The time-series analysis showed that an ARIMA (1,0,1 1,1,1)12model offered the best fit for surveillance data of intussusception younger than 48 months. This model was used to predict intussusception younger than 48 months for the year 2017, and the fitted data showed considerable agreement with the actual data.ConclusionARIMA models are useful for monitoring intussusception in patients younger than 48 months and provide an estimate of the variability to be expected in future cases in Suzhou. The models are helpful for predicting intussusception cases in Suzhou and could be useful for developing early warning systems. They may also play a key role in early detection, timely treatment and prevention of serious complications in cases of intussusception.

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has emerged as an alternative treatment to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for unprotected left main (LM) coronary artery disease, but the results of both treatments are less clear in real-world practice. We aimed to assess the long-term outcomes of unprotected LM disease treated with CABG or PCI with stenting in high-risk population from a single center. Methods: We collected 478 consecutive patients with unprotected LM disease (PCI/CABG: 208/270; mean age: 70 ± 11 years; 85% male), and 252 patients were considered to be at high risk (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation ≥6). The median follow-up was 4.3 years (interquartile range: 2.7–6.5 years). Results: All-cause death (PCI/CABG: 27.4%/31.5%; p = 0.36) and all-cause death/myocardial infarction (MI)/stroke (PCI/CABG: 30.8%/35.9%; p = 0.49) were comparable between the two groups, whereas the repeat revascularization rate was significantly higher in the PCI group (PCI/CABG: 22.6%/11.0%; p

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to develop a mouse model and further assess the pathological changes associated with the expression of p38mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) in intussusception. METHODS Sixty-two adult Balb/C mice were used. A longitudinal incision was made in the middle rectus muscle in the body cavity. The ileum was intussuscepted into the colon. Measurements were taken at the onset of intussusception and at 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min. Mucosal impairment was assessed on microscopy. Ten of the intussuscepted mice were used as an ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) model. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess expression of p38MAPK in the I/R model and pediatric patients specimens of intussusception. RESULTS The intussusception model was successfully established in 46 mice. After 15 min, vascular compromise became visible in these 46 mice. Over time, vascular function worsened. There were significant differences in microscopy injury score in the intestinal mucosa between the 15 min and 30 min groups (P = 0.0006), 30 min and 60 min groups (P = 0.0046), and the 60 min and 120 min groups (P = 0.0050). There was no significant difference between the 5 min and 15 min groups (P = 0.0597). p38MAPK was expressed strongly in pediatric specimens of intussusception. Immunostained sections of intestinal epithelium had significantly higher mean quick score for p38MAPK in the intussusception I/R model group than in the intussusception group and controls (P = 0.0130). On each two-group comparison there was a significant difference between groups (all P < 0.01; Fig. ). CONCLUSIONS The present mouse model can be used to assess the dynamic pathological changes associated with intussusception. I/R is associated with upregulation of p38MAPK in intussusception.

Lei Liu,1,* Hong-Jun Xie,2,* Li-Min Mu,1 Rui Liu,1 Zhan-Bo Su,1 Yi-Nuo Cui,1 Ying Xie,1 Wan-Liang Lu1 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China; 2Department of Medicament, College of Medicine, Tibet University, Lhasa, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The existing chemo/radiotherapy fail to eliminate cancer cells due to the restriction of either drug resistance or radio tolerance. The predicament urges researchers to continuously explore alternative strategy for achieving a potent curative effect. Methods: Functional chlorin gold nanorods (Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP) were fabricated aiming at treating breast cancer by photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT). The nanostructure was developed by synthesizing Au nanorods as the photothermal conversion material, and by coating the pegylated mesoporous SiO2 as the shell for entrapping photosensitizer Ce6 and for linking the D-type cell penetrating peptide (d-CPP). The function of Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP was verified on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and MCF-7 cells xenografts in nude mice. Results: Under combinational treatment of PTT and PDT, Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP demonstrated a strong cytotoxicity and apoptosis inducing effects in breast cancer cells in vitro, and a robust treatment efficacy in breast cancer-bearing nude mice. The uptake mechanism involved the energy-consuming caveolin-mediated endocytosis, and Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP in PTT/PDT mode could induce apoptosis by multiple pathways in breast cancer cells. Conclusion: Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP demonstrated a robust efficacy in the treatment of breast cancer by photothermal/photodynamic therapy. Therefore, the present study could offer a new promising strategy to treat the refractory breast cancer. Keywords: functional chlorin gold nanorods, cell penetrating peptide, PTT/PDT, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, apoptosis

In view of the traditional BP neural network, high-dimensional complex data is prone to slow detection rate and low accuracy in network intrusion detection. To reduce data dimension and improve BP neural network performance, an intrusion detection method of KPCA-BP neural network is proposed. Firstly, the KPCA's good dimensionality reduction capability is used to reduce the dimension of network data. Then, by changing the initialization initial value method and loss function of traditional BP neural network, the learning performance of BP neural network is improved, and the learning effect of improved BP neural network is better. Experiments show that the KPCA-BP based intrusion detection method proposed in this paper has a better improvement effect on detection rate and accuracy.

The heterogeneity of breast cancer and the development of drug resistance are the relapse reasons of disease after chemotherapy. To address this issue, a combined therapeutic strategy was developed by building the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes. Investigations were performed on human breast cancer cells in vitro and xenografts in nude mice. The results indicated that dihydroartemisinin could significantly enhance the efficacy of epirubicin in killing different breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We found that the combined use of dihydroartemisinin with epirubicin could efficiently inhibit the activity of Bcl-2, facilitate release of Beclin 1, and further activate Bax. Besides, Bax activated apoptosis which led to the type I programmed death of breast cancer cells while Beclin 1 initiated the excessive autophagy that resulted in the type II programmed death of breast cancer cells. In addition, the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes prolonged circulation of drugs, and were beneficial for simultaneously delivering drugs into breast cancer tissues. Hence, the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes could provide a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of breast cancer.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate factors affecting the operating time for complete cyst excision and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy in paediatric cases of congenital choledochal malformation (CCM). Design A 3-year retrospective study was undertaken between January 2013 and December 2015 in four centres in China. Setting This involved a retrospective chart review of paediatric patients with CCM in four large hospitals in Southeast China. Participants Sixty-five paediatric patients with CCM were included in this study. We derived all available information on patient demographics, clinical characteristics, preoperative complications and surgical methods from the charts of all these patients. Interventions Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate factors significantly affecting the operating time for complete cyst excision and Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy in paediatric cases of CCM. Results Twenty-three of the 65 case surgeries were performed using laparoscopic technique, and 42 surgeries were performed by conventional open surgery. The median operating time was 215 min (range 120–430 min). The morphological subtype of CCM and the presence of cholecystitis or cholangitis were the only factors found to affect the operating time (p

For high dimensional and complex tasks, quantum optimization algorithms suffer from the problem of high computational cost. Distributed computing is an efficient way to solve such problems. Therefore, distributed optimization algorithms have become a hotspot for large scale optimization problems with the increasing volume of the data. In this paper, a novel Spark-based distributed quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (SDQPSO) was proposed. By submitting the task to a higher computing cluster in parallel, the SDQPSO algorithm can improve the convergence performance.

Delay/disruption tolerant network (DTN) is originated from the pioneer research into interplanetary internet and later, researchers found that DTN can also be applied to many challenged networks. Several DTN routing protocols have been presented to improve the routing performance, since message delivery is difficult in such networks due to the absence of stable end-to-end paths. However, the protocols ignore the fact that the nodes in DTN like satellites and other wireless devices usually have very limited resources like battery, bandwidth, and storage. In this paper, we introduce four existing routing algorithms and two new routing algorithms we propose, and compare their performances of delivery ratio and latency in the case of limited buffer size under both ground and space environment. We obtain the curves of the network throughput varying with the network load, and find it showing a congestion phenomenon, from which we can compare the congestion control capacities of the routing protocols. Simulation results show that our newly proposed routing protocols can successfully cope with the congestion caused by storage constraints.

Objectives: To conduct a meta-analysis and investigate the diagnostic value of 64-slice computed tomography (CT) angiography for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients. Methods: A comprehensive literature search from March 2005 to August 2014 was performed on the following databases: Cochrane Library; Medline; EmBase; PubMed; and BioMed Central database. As a reference standard, studies that assessed 64-slice CT angiography in detecting coronary artery stenosis (CAS) with invasive coronary angiography were included. Coronary artery stenosis was defined as ≥50% diameter stenosis. Diagnostic value was determined by pooling sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) values at segment-level analysis. Diagnostic accuracy was undertaken using area under the curve (AUC) value and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves. Publication bias was examined by Deek’s funnel plot asymmetry test. Results: Eight studies were included in the analysis, enrolling a total of 579 patients (7,407 segment coronary vessels). At segment-level, pooled sensitivity value was 90% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 83-95%), specificity was 91% (95% CI: 61-98%), PLR value was 9.7 (95% CI: 1.8-53.3), and NLR value was 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05-0.22) for CAS. Optimal cut-off point of sensitivity was 90%, and specificity under the SROC curve was 91%. The AUC value was 0.94. Conclusion: The 64-slice CT angiography is a reliable tool for detection of CAD when using a cut-off of more than or equal to 50% diameter stenosis in elderly population. Saudi Med J 2015; Vol. 36 (10): 1156-1162 doi: 10.15537/smj.2015.10.12415

Regular chemotherapy cannot eradicate invasive breast cancer cells and the residual cancer cells will form vasculogenic mimicry (VM) channels under hypoxic conditions to provide nutrients for cancer masses prior to angiogenesis. This phenomenon is a major reason for the recurrence of invasive breast cancer after treatment. In this study, a novel type of targeted liposomes was developed by modifying a mitochondria-tropic material, D-a-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate- triphenylphosphine conjugate (TPGS1000-TPP), to encapsulate sunitinib and vinorelbine separately and a combination of the two targeted drug liposomes was used to treat invasive breast cancer as well as VM channels. Evaluations were performed in breast cancer MCF-7 cells and highly invasive breast cancer MDA-MB-435S cells in vitro and in mice. The results determined that the functional material (TPGS1000-TPP) and suitable size of the liposomes (90-100 nm) resulted in prolonged blood circulation, an enhanced permeability retention (EPR) effect in cancer tissue, and a mitochondrial targeting effect. Targeted drug liposomes were internalized via cellular uptake and accumulated in the mitochondria of invasive breast cancer cells or VM channel-forming cancer cells to induce acute cytotoxic injury and apoptosis. Activated apoptotic enzymes caspase 9 and caspase 3 as well as down-regulated VM channel-forming indicators (MMP-9, EphA2, VE-Cadherin, FAK and HIF-1α) contributed to significantly enhanced efficacy. Therefore, a combination of targeted sunitinib liposomes and targeted vinorelbine liposomes may provide an effective strategy for treating invasive breast cancer and prevent relapse arising from VM channels.

Standard chemotherapy cannot eradicate triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) while the residual cancer cells readily form the vasculogenic mimicry (VM) channels, which lead to the relapse of cancer after treatment. In this study, the functional vincristine plus dasatinib liposomes, modified by a targeting molecule DSPE-PEG2000-c(RGDyK), were fabricated to address this issue. The investigations were performed on TNBC MDA-MB-231 cells and MDA-MB-231 xenografts in nude mice. The liposomes exhibited the superior performances in the following aspects: the enhancement of cellular uptake via targeted action; the induction of apoptosis via activation of caspase 8, 9, and 3, increased expression of Bax, decreased expression of Mcl-1, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); and the deletion of VM channels via inhibitions on the VM channel indicators, which consisted of vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-Cad), focal adhesion kinase (FAK), phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and matrix metallopeptidases (MMP-2, and MMP-9). Furthermore, the liposomes displayed the prolonged circulation time in the blood, the increased accumulation in tumor tissue, and the improved therapeutic efficacy along with deletion of VM channels in the TNBC-bearing mice. In conclusion, the nanostructured functional drug-loaded liposomes may provide a promising strategy for the treatment of invasive TNBC along with deletion of VM channels.

Recurrence of invasive breast cancer could arise from the residual cancer cells after comprehensive treatment. It is possible that residual invasive cancer cells are capable of forming highly patterned vasculogenic mimicry (VM) channels, leading to relapse and metastasis. In the present study, a new type of targeting epirubicin plus quinacrine liposomes was developed by modifying functional DSPE-PEG2000 with C(RGDfK), a cyclic peptide containing Arg-Gly-Asp. These liposomes could potentially eliminate invasive breast cancer and destroy VM channels. Evaluations were made in human invasive breast cancer cells and their xenografts in nude mice. The results showed that the targeting epirubicin plus quinacrine liposomes could enhance the accumulation and uptake of the drugs in cancer tissues, kill cancer cells directly, activate apoptotic enzymes, destroy the VM channels and downregulate the VM channel-forming marker molecules (EphA2, FAK, PI3K, MMP 9, MMP 14, VE-Cad and HIF-α), thereby exhibiting a strong overall anticancer efficacy. The targeting epirubicin plus quinacrine liposomes provided a promising strategy to treat invasive breast cancer and to prevent the relapse arising from VM channels after chemotherapy.

Multiple primary malignancies (MPM) are rare. In particular, synchronous gallbladder and gastric malignancies are extremely rare, are associated with a concealed onset and atypical symptoms, and are highly likely to be overlooked or misdiagnosed. The clinical data of two patients with synchronous gallbladder and gastric malignancies are herein reported and integrated with the relevant literature to retrospectively analyze and summarize the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of MPM. Case 1 was a male 46-year-old patient who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and succumbed to extensive tumor metastasis 2 months after the operation. Case 2 was an 80-year-old female patient who was treated with distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer, cholecystectomy, gastrojejunostomy and dissection of 5 suprapyloric, 6 subpyloric, 7 left gastric and 8 common hepatic artery lymph nodes, and succumbed to multiple organ failure induced by extensive tumor invasion within 1 week after the operation. Clinical physicians must pay closer attention to early symptoms of MPM in order to make an accurate diagnosis, perform timely radical surgical treatment and achieve favorable therapeutic outcomes, in terms of significantly increasing long-term patient survival rates.

Background: The metastasis of breast cancer is the leading cause of death, while lung metastasis is a major clinical phenomenon in patients with invasive breast cancer. The current treatment option comprising surgery, radiation, and standard chemotherapy cannot achieve a satisfactory effect on the treatment of lung metastasis of breast cancer. In this study, we report the potential of preventing lung metastasis of invasive breast cancer using the newly developed functional vincristine plus dasatinib liposomes. Methods: The investigations were performed on invasive breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro and in lung metastatic model of invasive breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells in nude mice. Results: The functional drug liposomes were able to induce cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, induce apoptosis, inhibit adhesion, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro, and prevent lung metastasis of breast cancer in nude mice. Conclusion: These findings indicate a potential clinical use of functional vincristine plus dasatinib liposomes for treating metastatic breast cancer.

// Jia-Shuan Wu 1 , Li-Min Mu 1 , Ying-Zi Bu 1 , Lei Liu 1 , Yan Yan 1 , Ying-Jie Hu 1 , Jing Bai 1 , Jing-Ying Zhang 1 , Weiyue Lu 1 and Wan-Liang Lu 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China Correspondence to: Wan-Liang Lu, email: luwl@bjmu.edu.cn Keywords: C-type natriuretic peptide, lipid vesicles, BBB, brain glioma, neovasculatures Received: February 07, 2017 Accepted: March 14, 2017 Published: March 29, 2017 ABSTRACT Chemotherapy of brain glioma faces a major obstacle owing to the inability of drug transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Besides, neovasculatures in brain glioma site result in a rapid infiltration, making complete surgical removal virtually impossible. Herein, we reported a novel kind of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) modified vinorelbine lipid vesicles for transferring drug across the BBB, and for treating brain glioma along with disrupting neovasculatures. The studies were performed on brain glioma U87-MG cells in vitro and on glioma-bearing nude mice in vivo . The results showed that the CNP-modified vinorelbine lipid vesicles could transport vinorelbine across the BBB, kill the brain glioma, and destroy neovasculatures effectively. The above mechanisms could be associated with the following aspects, namely, long circulation in the blood; drug transport across the BBB via natriuretic peptide receptor B (NPRB)-mediated transcytosis; elimination of brain glioma cells and disruption of neovasculatures by targeting uptake and cytotoxic injury. Besides, CNP-modified vinorelbine lipid vesicles could induce apoptosis of the glioma cells. The mechanisms could be related to the activations of caspase 8, caspase 3, p53, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and inhibition of survivin. Hence, CNP-modified lipid vesicles could be used as a carrier material for treating brain glioma and disabling glioma neovasculatures.

Most anticancer drugs are not able to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) effectively while surgery and radiation therapy cannot eradicate brain glioma cells and glioma stem cells (GSCs), hence resulting in poor prognosis with high recurrence rates. In the present study, a kind of multifunctional targeting daunorubicin plus quinacrine liposomes was developed for treating brain glioma and GSCs. Evaluations were performed on in-vitro BBB model, murine glioma cells, GSCs, and GSCs bearing mice. Results showed that the multifunctional targeting daunorubicin plus quinacrine liposomes exhibited evident capabilities in crossing the BBB, in killing glioma cells and GSCs and in diminishing brain glioma in mice. Action mechanism studies indicated that the enhanced efficacy of the multifunctional targeting drugs-loaded liposomes could be due to the following aspects: evading the rapid elimination from blood circulation; crossing the BBB effectively; improving drug uptake by glioma cells and GSCs; down-regulating the overexpressed ABC transporters; inducing apoptosis of GSCs via up-regulating apoptotic receptor/ligand (Fas/Fasl), activating apoptotic enzymes (caspases 8, 9 and 3), activating pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax and Bok), activating tumor suppressor protein (P53) and suppressing anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 and Mcl-1). In conclusion, the multifunctional targeting daunorubicin plus quinacrine liposomes could be used as a potential therapy for treating brain glioma and GSCs.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in humans and the multidrug resistance (MDR) is the major obstacle to successful chemotherapy of lung cancer. In this study, a d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate-triphenylphosphine conjugate (TPGS1000-TPP) was synthesized as the mitochondrial targeting molecule, and was incorporated onto the surface of paclitaxel liposomes to treat the drug-resistant lung cancer. Evaluations were performed on the human lung cancer A549 cells, the drug-resistant lung cancer A549/cDDP cells, and the drug-resistant lung cancer A549/cDDP cells xenografted nude mice. The yield of TPGS1000-TPP conjugate synthesized was about 50% and the particle size of targeting paclitaxel liposomes developed was approximately 80 nm. In comparison with taxol and regular paclitaxel liposomes, the targeting paclitaxel liposomes exhibited the strongest anticancer efficacy in vitro and in the drug-resistant A549/cDDP xenografted tumor model. The targeting paclitaxel liposomes could significantly enhance the cellular uptake, be selectively accumulated into the mitochondria, and cause the release of cytochrome C. This targeting delivery of drug initiated a cascade of caspase 9 and 3 reactions, activated the pro-apoptotic Bax and Bid proteins and suppressed the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein, thereby enhancing the apoptosis by acting on the mitochondrial signaling pathways. In conclusion, the targeting paclitaxel liposomes have the potential to treat drug-resistant lung cancer.

Even when faced with elimination, functional materials may offer new alternatives to expensive drugs. Once used to treat benign prostate hypertrophy, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the use of lonidamine due to the occurrence of liver problems arising from its poor pharmaceutical properties. The objectives of the present study were to develop targeting lonidamine liposomes in combination with targeting epirubicin liposomes to circumvent drug-resistant cancer. Evaluations were performed on A549 and drug-resistant A549cDDP lung cancer cells and drug-resistant A549cDDP xenografted BALB/c nude mice. A DQA-PEG(2000)-DSPE conjugate was incorporated onto the liposomes as a targeting molecule. The constructed targeting lonidamine liposomes and targeting epirubicin liposomes measured were approximately 80 nm. The targeting lonidamine liposomes significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of the targeting epirubicin liposomes in the drug-resistant A549cDDP cells in a lonidamine dose-dependent manner. Mechanism studies revealed that the targeting liposomes were selectively accumulated in the mitochondria, dissipating the mitochondrial membrane potential, opening the mitochondrial permeability transition pores, and releasing cytochrome C by translocation. This initiated a cascade of caspase 9 and 3 reactions and activated the pro-apoptotic Bax protein while suppressing the anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein, thereby enhancing the cytotoxic effect by acting on the mitochondrial signaling pathways. The efficacy in treating the drug-resistant A549cDDP xenografted tumor model after administration of the targeting lonidamine liposomes plus targeting epirubicin liposomes was the most significant compared with the administration of the controls at comparable doses. In conclusion, targeting lonidamine liposomes could be used as a potent co-therapy with an anticancer agent to enhance the efficacy of treating drug-resistant cancer by acting on the mitochondrial signaling pathways.

Purpose To examine the content of phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain (P-MLC20) and myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) in the common bile duct of pediatric patients with pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) accompanied by bile duct dilatation (BDD), and investigate their potential role in PBM accompanied by BDD. Methods Twenty-one specimens of the common bile duct from pediatric patients with PBM accompanied by BDD were collected. P-MLC20 was examined with immunohistochemistry. The expression of P-MLC20 and MLCK was also examined with Western blot. Twenty-one specimens of the common bile duct from pediatric patients without PBM and BDD were used as controls. Results The mean optical density (MOD), mean labeling intensity (MLI) and minimum qualifying scores (MQS) of P-MLC20 were 115.6856 ± 58.1634, 21.7125 % ± 9.6555 and 21.3531 ± 6.5255, respectively. In the control group, MOD, MLI and MQS were 96.5581 ± 9.7859, 11.1813 % ± 3.6208 and 10.7819 ± 3.5323, respectively. There was no significant difference in MOD between the two groups (P > 0.05), whereas there was a significant difference in MLI and MQS between the two groups (P

Background The aim of this study was to assess factors for delineating the pancreaticobiliary junction in the presence of pediatric congenital choledochal cysts (CCC) using Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Methods Retrospective review of medical records for 48 patients with CCC was conducted, including demographics, biliary amylase and MRCP findings if available. With univariate and multivariate logistic regression, we measured significant factors affecting pancreaticobiliary maljunction(PBM) diagnoses by MRCP. Results Of the subjects enrolled with CCC. Twenty-eight cases had PBM according to MRCP. Univariate analysis confirmed that age, cyst diameter > 30 mm and cysts that descended to the introitus pelvis affected junctional delineation and detection of PBM (P30 mm and descending cysts into the introitus pelvis affected junctional delineation of the pancreatic and bile duct in PBM with MRCP. Large cyst descension into the introitus pelvis was an independent factors affecting PBM detection.

This paper studied the schedule of lift-sliding stereo garages and proposed an effective schedule based on A* algorithm. The results show that the run time of the schedule based on A* algorithm is almost close to 0. It could effectively work in lift-sliding garages and is better than those full search methods such as simple depth-first search and so on. It solves some problems that exist in the management of stereo garages.

A technical plan for realizing user toolkit for innovation (UTI) is proposed to release the vast creative energy of users, and help to make users qualified for the subject of innovation work. The model discussed in this paper is mainly aiming at two key problems in user innovation: 1) the essentials and technical access for the innovaiton style in the non-professional background of the ordinary users; 2) mechanism for driving innovaiton and optimization through user’s evaluation message. Interactive genetic algorithms (IGA) is applied to plan the functions of UTI, and is improved in several aspects for the demands of user innovation: 1) designed a selection based interactive evaluation method; 2) introduced market data as a kind of evaluation information; 3)built an integral user innovation decision making system; 4) visualized the optimizaion process, which enriched user’s perceptive interaction with UTI during working. The model also made regulations to IGA’s inner process, which strengthened IGA’s analyzing and mining ability to user’s evaluation information through latent local optimal chart making, solution space down-sizing and continuity building for discrete space.

Adriamycin (ADM)-encapsulated thermosensitive liposomes (ts-lip-ADM) and common liposomes (lip-ADM) were developed and evaluated. The encapsulation efficiency of the two liposomes were above 99%, and the average sizes of liposomes were about 120 nm. Temperature-dependent drug release from loaded liposomes in vitro was investigated: more than 90% of loaded ADM was released from ts-lip-ADM within 30 min at 42°C, while less than 3% was released from lip-ADM at 42°C beyond 120 min. An in vitro model of blood brain barrier (BBB) was established and evaluated by permeability and transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). The model was employed to study the permeability of liposomes in vitro. The permeability of ts-lip-ADM could be increased significantly after the temperature was raised to 42°C, which was about 10-16, 22-38, 38-45, 50-105 fold to that of ts-lip-ADM (37°C), lip-ADM (42°C), lip-ADM (37°C) and free ADM, respectively. C6 glioma-bearing mice model was developed and used to evaluate body distribution and anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. Mice were IV injected at a drug dose of 10 mg/kg. After administration the heads of mice were heated in water bath at 42°C for 30 min. The maximum brain concentration of ts-lip-ADM was 6.4, 3.7 fold compared with that of ADM solution and lip-ADM, respectively. The survival time of mice administered ts-lip-ADM (44 d) was remarkably longer than that of other three groups. This study indicates that ADM-encapsulated thermosensitive liposomes combined hyperthermia could enhance ADM delivery across BBB and prolong survival time of glioma-bearing mice.

Introduction Introduction: The diagnostic value of colour Doppler sonography for the detection of blood flow in intussusception is questionable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plain radiography in the assessment of vascular compromise in children with intussusception. Material and methods The hospital notes of 1,119 paediatric cases of intussusception who presented between January 2007 and February 2008 were retrospectively analysed. Informed consent was given by the parents before the air enema and this study was approved by the hospital ethics committee. Overall, the plain abdominal X-rays of 190 cases were assessed independently by two experienced radiologists, and disagreements were settled by discussion. Symptom profiles, operative notes and pathological records were compared to plain radiography. SAS V8.1 was used for the analysis. Results Of the 190 patients, 30 cases had vascular compromise on plain films, as shown by the “coffee-bean” sign or “banana” sign. There was a paucity of gas in 36 cases, a quadrant-specific gas pattern in 51 cases, and the film showed a mass in 73 cases. Statistical analysis that compared signs on plain radiography signs and symptom onset showed a significant difference. Ninety-five cases were irreducible by air enema and required surgical intervention. The location of these intussusceptions were ileo-ileal-colic (n = 44), ileo-colic (n = 25), ileo-ileal (n = 14), ileo-caecal (n = 10), and ileo-colic-colic (n = 2). Eleven cases had intestinal necrosis and underwent resection of the necrotic bowel. Conclusions The signs of intussusception on plain radiography were significant during the clinical assessment of children with secondary ischaemic bowel. The radiological findings were shown to have a high concordance with pathology in the assessment of intussusception.The diagnostic value of colour Doppler sonography for the detection of blood flow in intussusception is questionable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plain radiography in the assessment of vascular compromise in children with intussusception.

Aminopeptidase N (APN), recognized by Asn-Gly-Arg (NGR) peptides, is expressed in the pericytes associated with the BBB, and the main objective of this study is to confirm the hypothesis that NGR-modified DSPE-PEG micelles containing paclitaxel (NGR-M-PTX) can bind to and kill brain tumor angiogenic blood vessels and penetrate into the brain tumor interstitial space, resulting in direct cell death. NGR-M-PTX is prepared by a thin-film hydration method. The in vitro targeting characteristics of NGR-modified micelles on BMEC (murine brain microvascular endothelial cells) were investigated. The effect of NGR-M-PTX on BMEC proliferation and the cytotoxicity of NGR-M-PTX in C6 glioma cells were also tested. The antitumor activity NGR-M-PTX was evaluated in C6 glioma tumor-bearing rats in vivo. The particle size of NGR-M-PTX was approximately 54.2 nm. The drug encapsulation efficiency of NGR-M-PTX was 82.11 ± 2.82%. The cellular coumarin-6 level of NGR-M-coumarin-6 in the BMEC was about 2.2-fold higher than that of M-coumarin-6. BMEC proliferation was significantly inhibited by NGR-M-PTX. NGR-M-PTX had a much lower IC(50) value than M-PTX and free drug. The growth of C6 glioma tumor was markedly inhibited by NGR-M-PTX compared with Taxol. In conclusion, our results show that antiangiogenic therapy using NGR-M-PTX exhibits potent in vivo antitumor activity in a C6 glioma-bearing animal model.

With the development of science technology, the purchase in market aren’t just product itself. As a more effective way, industry product service system (IPS2) offers an integration of tangible product and intangible service to meet users’ need as much as possible with minimal resource, there is much achievement on IPS2 in academe. In this paper, the software rental service system for hardware enterprise the information-based manufacturing, the system consists of eight function modules with the platform of IBOS/ASP, and integrates resources of users (hardware enterprise), telecom operator, and third-part software developer to provide customized service.

Double-workshop mixed chlor-alkali planned model production process is a multi-level multi-product multi-constraint mixed batch planning problem production line model, taking into account the actual production of joint production of dual-workshop mode of production to determine the products and materials at various workshops, various Plan period on the production quantity, at the end of each period to meet the delivery needs of the type and quantity simultaneously, during the product implementation plan the goal of profit maximization. It uses particle swarm algorithm to reach the answer, indicating the feasibility of the method and effectiveness through examples of the calculation.