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Background: Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (HAS) is an extremely rare and unique malignant gastric tumor with a significantly worse prognosis than non‐hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (non‐HAS). The present study explored the clinicopathological features of HAS and non‐HAS patients to provide insights into HAS treatment strategies. Methods: From December 26, 2023, we performed a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase.com databases for relevant studies. Two authors independently screened the studies, evaluated their quality, extracted data, and performed the analyses. This study was registered with PROSPERO on January 2, 2024. Results: Nine retrospective studies were included for analysis after screening 833 articles. A total of 350 and 924 patients were enrolled in the HAS and non‐HAS groups, respectively. While no significant differences were observed in age, sex, tumor size, T3 or T4 stage, and N2 or N3 stage between the two groups, the HAS group exhibited higher rates of lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.19–3.13, p = 0.007), liver metastasis (OR = 3.45, 95% CI: 2.26–5.28, p < 0.001), and vascular invasion (OR = 2.76, 95% CI: 2.05–3.71, p < 0.001). Additionally, the HAS group had lower 3‐year survival rates (HR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.70–3.25, p < 0.001) and 5‐year survival rates (HR = 3.63, 95% CI: 1.49–8.88, p = 0.005), but lower rates of lymphatic permeation (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.47–0.99, p = 0.040). Conclusion: Based on the current clinical evidence, patients with HAS present distinct clinicopathological features, greater invasiveness, and poorer prognosis than non‐HAS patients. Further research is warranted to develop optimal treatment strategies for HAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Minimally invasive radical hysterectomy has been reported to increase the risk of cancer relapse and death compared with open surgery in women with early‐stage cervical cancer. The use of a uterine manipulator is considered one of the risk factors. Objectives: To investigate whether women with early‐stage cervical cancer treated with minimally invasive radical hysterectomy without using uterine manipulator have oncological outcomes similar to those of open surgery. Search strategy: Searches were performed in MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL from their inception until 31 March 2022. Selection criteria: Inclusion criteria were: (1) randomised controlled trials or observational cohort studies published in English, (2) studies comparing minimally invasive radical hysterectomy without using a uterine manipulator with open radical hysterectomy in women with early‐stage cervical cancer, and (3) studies comparing survival outcomes. Data collection and analysis: Two authors independently conducted data extraction and assessed study quality. We calculated the hazard ratios (HR) and the 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the inverse variance approach for survival outcome. Main results: Six observational studies with 2150 women were included. The minimally invasive surgery group had a significantly higher risk of cancer relapse compared with open surgery group (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.15–2.10). Conclusions: Minimally invasive radical hysterectomy without using a uterine manipulator resulted in an inferior recurrence‐free survival compared with open radical hysterectomy in the treatment of women with early‐stage cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Splenectomy was traditionally performed to dissect the splenic hilar lymph nodes. Considering the important functions of spleen, whether splenectomy would bring beneficial to gastric cancer patients is debatable. This meta-analysis aimed to make an updated evaluation on the effectiveness and safety of splenectomy. Methods: Literature searches were performed to identify eligible RCTs concerning effectiveness or safety of splenectomy with gastrectomy from PubMed, MEDLINE, CBMdisc, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Two reviewers completed the study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment independently. The meta-analyses were performed by RevMan 5.3. Results: A total of 971 patients from four studies were included (485 in splenectomy group and 486 in spleen preservation group). Splenectomy did not increase 5-year overall survival rate (RR=1.05, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.16) or increase postoperative mortality (RR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.41, 3.54). However, the analysis demonstrated that gastrectomy with splenectomy had significantly higher incidence of postoperative complications (RR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.33, 2.45). No significant differences were found in terms of the number of resected lymph nodes and reoperation rate; however, splenectomy had a tendency to prolong the duration of surgery and hospital stays. Subgroup analyses indicated that splenectomy could not increase overall survival rate for either whole or proximal gastric cancer. Sensitivity analyses also found similar results compared to the primary analyses. Conclusions: Splenectomy cannot benefit the survival of patients with tumor located at lesser curvature, and it could instead increase postoperative morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Calcium (water) density (DCa(Wa)) of gemstone spectral imaging by spectral computed tomography (CT) is a new method of evaluating bone structures.Purpose: To investigate age-related change of DCa(Wa) of a chosen lumbar vertebra in adult women with spectral CT and the correlation between the DCa(Wa) and bone mineral density (BMD) of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).Material and Methods: A total of 305 adult women underwent spectral CT, 127 of whom simultaneously underwent DXA. All the patients were divided into 11 subgroups based on age. DCa(Wa) and BMD were measured at the second lumbar vertebra on the calcium (water)-based material decomposition images of spectral CT and DXA, respectively. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for the difference of the measurements among adjacent age subgroups. Pearson correlation was used to assess the association between age and DCa(Wa), age and BMD, as well as DCa(Wa) and BMD.Results: There was a significant negative correlation between DCa(Wa) and age (r = -0.719) as well as BMD and age(r = -0.851). The mean DCa(Wa) of L2 vertebral body was significantly different between the 40-44- and 45-49-, 45-49- and 50-54-, 55-59- and 60-64-, 65-69- and 70-74-year-old age subgroups. BMD was significantly different between the 35-39- and 40-44-, 45-49- and 50-54-, and 65-69- and 70-74-year-old age subgroups. There was a significant positive correlation between DCa(Wa) and BMD.Conclusions: The DCa(Wa) of lumbar vertebra by spectral CT demonstrated similar age distribution as BMD of DXA and could be used as a method of measuring the vertebral bone mineral density in adult women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eosinophils (EOS) quantity, active state, peroxidase activity (POX), and HLA-DR expression in bone marrow of 176 Auto-Immune-Related Hematocytopenia (AIRH) patients were analyzed. Immunofluorescent staining (IF) is performed to observe the expression of immunizing molecules on EOS. In serum of AIRH patients the levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17, and IFN-γwere increased but there was no significance on IL-2 level. In marrow of AIRH, activated EOS expressed POX, and other molecules, it played various cell-mediated immunity injury roles to hemocyte. EOS might be possessed with multiple immunological fuctions, it playes an important immune effect in AIRH autoimmune pathological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivation of medical students'research ability promotes in them high-quality career development. In addition to classroom instruction of the theoretical knowledge concerning research, the systematic training and practice of scientific research skills outside the classroom is also vitally important. We established the Volunteer Team of Gastric Cancer Surgery with the features of standardization, progressiveness, and practicality in order to cultivate the thinking skills concerning research and the research ability of medical students. Our team is supported by the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Taking clinical and basic research skills training as the focus of our work, we have organized systematic workshops focused on theoretical knowledge and research skills practice programs of divers forms. Our work helps improve the research ability of medical students, suggesting that research-oriented clubs play an active role in the cultivation of practical research ability of medical students and should be widely promoted., (Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

We carried out an experiment including nitrogen addition (N, 50 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 ), phosphorus addition (P, 25 kg P·hm -2 ·a -1 ) and both nitrogen and phosphorus addition (NP, 50 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 +25 kg P·hm -2 ·a -1 ) in a natural Korean pine broad-leaved mixed forest on Changbai Mountain to examine the effects of single and combined N and P additions on soil microbial community composition and amino sugar. The results showed that N and P addition significantly reduced total microbial biomass by 19.5% and 24.6% in the organic layer of soil, while P addition significantly reduced the biomass of bacteria and fungi by 23.8% and 19.3%, respectively. In the mineral layer, N, P and NP addition significantly increased total microbial biomass by 94.8%, 230.9%, and 115.0% respectively, while the biomass of bacteria and fungi were significantly increased under all the treatments. The fungi to bacteria ratio (F/B) was significantly increased in the organic layer by N addition, while was decreased in the mineral layer soil by NP addition. The Gram-positive bacteria to Gram-negative bacteria ratio showed positive response to N, P and NP addition. Soil amino sugars responded differently to different treatments. N, P and NP addition significantly decreased glucosamine content by 41.3%, 48.8% and 36.4% in the organic layer, while N and NP addition increased muramic acid content by 43.0% and 71.1%, respectively. The contents of glucosamine and muramic acid in the mineral layer did not change significantly in response to N addition but increased significantly in response to both P addition and NP addition. The glucosamine to muramic acid ratio in the organic layer significantly decreased under fertilization treatments, indicating that N and P addition increased the relative contribution of bacteria to soil organic carbon accumulation. The changes in soil amino sugar contents were closely related to the change in microbial community composition after N and P addition, both of which were affected by changes in soil chemical properties.

Objective: To investigate the biological effect of anti-leukemic cells induced by eosinophilic granulocyte (EOS) in bone marrow of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)., Methods: The BCR-ABL fusion gene as well as the expression of IL-12 and IL-17 mRNA were performed by RT-PCR. The serum concentrations of cytokine IL-12 and IL-17 were determined by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). Immunochemistry staining and cytochemistry staining were used to observe the peroxidase (POX) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR expression of EOS in bone marrow. Immunofluorescence staining was used to observe mannose receptor (MR), IL-12, IL-17A and IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) expression of EOS. The results between the CML patients and the healthy controls were compared., Result: Serum levels of IL-12 and IL-17 were higher in the 60 CML patients [(196.33 ± 21.79) ng/L and (36.55 ± 3.01) ng/L] than those in the controls [(96.60 ± 4.92) ng/L and (23.74 ± 1.36) ng/L]. In the 32 patients with activated EOS, the levels of IL-12 and IL-17 were (273.12 ± 17.16) ng/L and (40.11 ± 6.13) ng/L, which were significantly higher than those in the non-activated EOS [(126.16 ± 14.27) ng/L and (28.14 ± 5.29) ng/L] (P values < 0.01). IL-12 and IL-17 mRNA were expressed in activated EOS, while BCR-ABL fusion gene was not found. The amounts of EOS were increased abnormally in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of the CML patients with POX positive staining in the cytoplasm and weakly positive HLA-DR staining. It was observed easily by a microscope that EOS could attack leukemic cells in bone marrow through adhesion, capture and phagocytosis. Activated EOS could express IL-12, IL-17A and MR, which was related with the serum levels of these cytokines., Conclusions: Activated EOS in bone marrow of CML patients could express IL-12 and IL-17. Activated EOS could induce coup injury to leukemic cell by releasing POX and expressing IL-12 and IL-17. It can also capture or swallow target cells via the expression of MR on the membrane. EOS may play an important role in the anti-tumor immunologic function in bone marrow of CML patients.

Objective: To observe the pathological effects induced by eosinophils (EOS) in the process of cellular damage in immune-related hematocytopenia (IRH) and elucidate the immunologic mechanism and clinical significance of EOS., Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine the serum concentrations of interleukins (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-17 in 117 IRH patients from February 2008 to February 2012 in our hospital. Their quantity, activity, peroxidase (POX) and HLA-DR expression of EOS were observed and analyzed. Immunofluorescent staining was used for detecting anti-human immunoglobulin (IgG) on the surface of hematopoietic cell and the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), Fcγ receptor II (FcγRII), mannose receptor (MR), IL-5 receptor (IL-5R), IL-12, IL-12 receptor (IL-12R), IL-17A and IL-17 A receptor (IL-17RA) on EOS. TdR incorporation method was employed to determine the capability of antigen presentation and IL-17 mRNA expression examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)., Results: The serum levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-17 were (170.9 ± 14.7), (112.9 ± 8.2), (131.8 ± 13.8), (339.2 ± 26.1) and (42.5 ± 2.2) ng/L in patient group versus (60.3 ± 11.0), (34.1 ± 2.2), (91.0 ± 12.3), (94.0 ± 3.3) and (20.0 ± 1.1) ng/L in control group respectively. All incremental percentages of IL-5, IL-12 and IL-17 were 100% (117/117) and they were correlated with disease. Diastrophic EOS could be found in marrow of patient with decreased leucocyte with HLA-B27(+). Hematopoietic cells were adhered, captured and phagocytized actively by activated EOS. Activated EOS showed strongly positive POX while POX of neutrophils attacked by EOS became weakened. Activated EOS could express HLA-DR and played a role in antigen presentation. EOS could secrete cytokine IL-17 through a transcription of IL-17 mRNA. And EOS could also express ICAM-1, FcγRII, MR, IL-5R and IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17RA., Conclusions: Capable of expressing or secreting various cytokines and molecules, EOS have immunological functions of adhering, capturing and phagocytizing pathological hemocytes. It also participates in pathogenic process of IRH. Thus EOS is probably an important immune effector cell in the process of in situ marrow damage.

Objective: To observe the telomerase activity (TA) in bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMNC) at pre-therapy and post-therapy in patients with immune related hematocytopenia and immune related pancytopenia (IRH/IRP) so as to explore the relationship between TA and disease process., Methods: TA in BMMNC of 108 IRH/IRP patients was detected with telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP)-PCR-ELISA. The expressions of anti-human immunoglobulin IgG, FcγII receptor (FcγIIR), mannose receptor (MR) and interleukin 17A (IL-17A) located on membrane surface were observed by immunofluorescence (IF). A total of 30 iron deficiency anemia patients were selected as case control., Results: The TA of 108 IRH/IRP patients were 0.251 ± 0.021. And it increased as compared with the control group of 0.062 ± 0.031 at pre-therapy (P < 0.01). The HLA-B27(+) patients among them was 0.270 ± 0.020 while HLA-B27(-) patients 0.181 ± 0.013 (P < 0.05). And HLA-B27(+)IgG elevated IRP was 0.341 ± 0.016 and HLA-B27(-)IgG elevated 0.183 ± 0.010, the difference of TA was significant between two groups (P < 0.01). IgG antibody positive immature hemocyte could be observed in marrow of IRH/IRP patients, and FcγIIR was expressed highly on those activated macrophage (Mφ) in bone marrow. Both IL-17A and MR were expressed on activated dendritic cells and Mφ in marrow of HLA-B27(+) patients. After the therapy of glucocorticoids associated with cyclosporine A and other drugs, the patient's hemogram recovered and the telomerase in BMMNC were re-devitalized., Conclusions: The TA of the BMMNC in marrow of IRH/IRP patients is increased, and it shows a close relation between apoptotic degree of hematopoietic cell and the activation of immunocytes. In IRH/IRP, synchronism and equilibrium exist between BMMNC apoptosis and TA.