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To characterize and investigate PET/CT findings in the omentum in the differentiation of tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) and peritoneal carcinoma (PC).Thirty-nine patients with TBP and 113 patients with PC who underwent PET/CT were retrospectively enrolled. The omental uptake intensity, distribution characteristics, contracture, size and boundary of soft-tissue lesions, and CT patterns were reviewed.Absent and focal FDG uptake in the lesser omentum was more common in the PC patients (P = 0.034 and P = 0.017, respectively), and diffuse FDG uptake in the lesser omentum was more common in the TBP patients (P 0.001). An apron-like pattern in the greater omentum commonly occurred in the TBP patients (P = 0.004). Micronodules ( 5 mm) were more common in the TBP patients (P 0.001), and masses ( 3 cm) were more common in the PC patients (P = 0.001). Smudged and nodular patterns occurred more frequently in the TBP patients than in the PC patients (P 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively), and the caked pattern occurred more frequently in the PC patients (P 0.001). There was no significant difference in the FDG uptake intensity and the boundary of soft-tissue lesions between the TBP and PC patients (P = 0.191 and P = 0.061, respectively).Diffuse FDG uptake, an apron-like pattern, micronodules, and a smudged and nodular pattern might be significant differential features of TBP. Absent and/or focal FDG uptake, mass, and a caked pattern might be significant differential features of PC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Various imaging modalities provide important information about HCC for its clinical management. Since positron-emission tomography (PET) or PET-computed tomography was introduced to the oncologic setting, it has played crucial roles in detecting, distinguishing, accurately staging, and evaluating local, residual, and recurrent HCC. PET imaging visualizes tissue metabolic information that is closely associated with treatment. Dynamic PET imaging and dual-tracer have emerged as complementary techniques that aid in various aspects of HCC diagnosis. The advent of new radiotracers and the development of immuno-PET and PET-magnetic resonance imaging have improved the ability to detect lesions and have made great progress in treatment surveillance. The current PET diagnostic capabilities for HCC and the supplementary techniques are reviewed herein.

Acute alcoholism (AAI) is a common emergency. Currently, there is a lack of preventive and therapeutic drugs with superior safety and efficacy. Curcuma longa, Panax ginseng, Pueraria lobata, Pueraria flower, and Hovenia dulcis Thunb., which are the components of compound turmeric recipe (CTR), are, respectively, used in China as adjuvant therapeutic agents for AAI and alcoholic liver injury, respectively. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of traditional compound turmeric recipe in anti-inebriation treatment and to identify its underlying mechanisms. The mice were administered with CTR mixture, and ethanol was subsequently given to mice by gavage. The effects of CTR on the righting reflex, 24-hour survival, drunken behavior, blood ethanol concentration, and pathological changes of liver are depicted. The activities of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were detected. Besides, the activities of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), cytochrome P450 (P450), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver and the levels of β-endorphin (β-EP) and leucine enkephalin (LENK) in the brain were also measured. Our results demonstrated that CTR can increase the activities of ADH, ALDH, P450, and SOD and decrease the contents of TNF-α, IL-8, and MDA in the liver. In addition, it can decrease the activities of ALT, AST, and ALP in serum and β-EP and LENK activities in the brain. CTR showed effects on prevention of acute alcoholism, promoting wakefulness, and alleviating alcoholic liver injury, which were likely mediated by the above mechanisms.

Background: COVID-19 is a globally emerging infectious disease. As the global epidemic continues to spread, the risk of COVID-19 transmission and diffusion in the world will also remain. Currently, several studies describing its clinical characteristics have focused on the initial outbreak, but rarely to the later stage. Here we described clinical characteristics, risk factors for disease severity and in-hospital outcome in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia from Wuhan. Methods: Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from February 13 to March 8, 2020, were retrospectively enrolled. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for disease severity and in-hospital outcome and establish predictive models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive value of above models.Results: 106 (61.3%) of the patients were female. The mean age of study populations was 62.0 years, of whom 73 (42.2%) had underlying comorbidities mainly including hypertension (24.9%). The most common symptoms on admission were fever (67.6%) and cough (60.1%), digestive symptoms (22.0%) was also very common. Older age (OR: 3.420; 95%Cl: 1.415-8.266; P=0.006), diarrhea (OR: 0.143; 95%Cl: 0.033-0.611; P=0.009) and lymphopenia (OR: 4.769; 95%Cl: 2.019-11.266; P=0.000) were associated with severe illness on admission; the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of predictive model were 0.860 (95%CI: 0.802-0.918; P=0.000). Older age (OR: 0.309; 95%Cl: 0.142-0.674; P=0.003), leucopenia (OR: 0.165; 95%Cl: 0.034-0.793; P=0.025), increased lactic dehydrogenase (OR: 0.257; 95%Cl: 0.100-0.659; P=0.005) and interleukins-6 levels (OR: 0.294; 95%Cl: 0.099-0.872; P=0.027) were associated with poor in-hospital outcome; AUC of predictive model were 0.752 (95%CI: 0.681-0.824; P=0.000).Conclusion: Older patients with diarrhea and lymphopenia need early identification and timely intervention to prevent the progression to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. However, older patients with leucopenia, increased lactic dehydrogenase and interleukins-6 levels are at a high risk for poor in-hospital outcome.Trial registration: ChiCTR2000029549

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Long noncoding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) has been shown to be related to the pathogenesis of DCM. However, the mechanism by which PVT1 regulates DCM pathogenesis is unclear. High glucose level was employed to construct a DCM cell model in vitro. Cell viability was determined via cell counting kit-8 assay. The level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured with the corresponding kit. Expression levels of PVT1, miR-23a-3p, and caspase-10 (CASP10) messenger RNA were evaluated with a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry assay. Protein levels of B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X (Bax), cleaved-caspase-3 (cleaved-casp-3), and CASP10 were examined via western blot analysis. The relationship between PVT1 or CASP10 and miR-23a-3p was verified with dual-luciferase reporter assay. We observed that PVT1 and CASP10 were upregulated while miR-23a-3p was downregulated in high glucose-induced cardiomyocytes. High glucose levels repressed cardiomyocyte activity and induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, but this influence was antagonized by PVT1 knockdown or miR-23a-3p overexpression. Furthermore, PVT1 acted as a sponge for miR-23a-3p, and miR-23a-3p inhibition counterbalanced the influence of PVT1 silencing on viability and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes under high glucose level treatment. PVT1 could increase CASP10 expression via sponging miR-23a-3p. In conclusion, PVT1 acted as a deleterious lncRNA in DCM. PVT1 facilitated cardiomyocyte death by regulating the miR-23a-3p/CASP10, which offered a new mechanism to comprehend the pathogenesis of DCM.

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 4 (CPEB4) could be an important regulator in variety of cancers. However, the biological function and the underlying molecular mechanism of CPEB4 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the metastasis role of CPEB4 in NSCLC cells, we knocked down CPEB4 using siRNA. Transwell migration assay and cell invasion assay on Matrigel were presented, and cell migration was also determined by scratch-healing assay. ROS generation were determined by fluorescence probe DCFH2-DA. The protein expression was assessed by ELISA and Western blot analysis. LY294002 were used to inhibit PI3 K/Akt signaling. The data showed that knockdown of CPEB4 inhibited the migration and invasion of NSCLC. Moreover, silencing of CPEB4 reduced Snail and MMP-3 expression in vitro. We also indicated that CPEB4 knockdown increased the ROS expression. Furthermore, we found that silencing of CPEB4 decreased pAkt expression. Taken all together, our data demonstrated that silencing of CPEB4 induces ROS generation, thus suppressing the Akt expression, which finally prevents NSCLC cells invasion and migration. Therefore, CPEB4 may regard as a target to inhibit NSCLC invasion and metastasis through Akt pathway.

We investigated the diversity of H. pylori cagPAI genes in a region at high risk of gastric cancer in the study. Thirty-five H. pylori strains were isolated from patients with gastroduodenal diseases. cagPAI genes were determined by PCR, and randomly selected amplicons were sequenced to analyze the genotypes. The results showed that 100 % of the isolates were positive for cagI, cagL, cagM, cagT and cagX. Based on the phylogenetic trees, all cagPAI genes in the isolates could be placed into two major groups (East Asian-type and Western-type), and the cagPAI genes of most isolates were included in East Asian-type. East Asian-type cagPAI genes present at a lower frequency in chronic gastritis (71.4 %) than that of gastric ulcer (100 %), duodenal ulcer (100 %), and gastric cancer (100 %) (p < 0.01). We demonstrate that East Asian-type cagPAI genes are associated with severe clinical outcomes in the region at the high risk of gastric cancer.

Aim To assess whether glomerular hyperfiltration (GHF) could result in renal tubular damage in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods Reference value of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was determined in 248 healthy individuals based on serum CysC levels. GHF was defined as an eGFR exceeding the sex-specific 97.5th percentile in non-diabetic individuals. In the present study, 30 with GHF, 58 with norm-GFR T2DM, and 24 healthy controls were recruited. Tubular markers, such as urinary N-acetyl-β- d -glucosaminidase (NAG) and kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), as well as serum and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), were measured and compared. The correlation of these markers with eGFR was analyzed in the GHF group. Results The GHF group had higher urinary NGAL and KIM-1 levels but lower serum NGAL level than the norm-GFR and control groups. Slightly decreased serum NGAL and increased urinary NGAL levels were also noted in the norm-GFR group compared with those of the controls. There was no statistical difference in the urinary NAG values among the three groups. Correlation analysis showed that eGFR was positively related to fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, urinary NGAL, and KIM-1, but negatively with serum NGAL in the GHF group. Conclusion Higher urinary tubular damage markers were found in T2DM patients with GHF than the norm-GFR and control groups, probably a direct proof that GHF is a deleterious factor for diabetic nephropathy.

The various origins of obstructive jaundice make the diagnosis of the disease difficult. This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiating malignant from benign origins of obstructive jaundice and to quantify the added value of 18F-FDG PET/CT over conventional imaging (enhanced CT and/or MRI).Eighty-five patients with obstructive jaundice who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT within 2 weeks after enhanced CT and/or MRI were reviewed retrospectively. All 18F-FDG PET/CT images were independently evaluated by 2 nuclear medicine physicians who were unaware of other imaging data; differences were resolved by consensus of the physicians. All conventional imaging interpretations, according to the medical records, were reviewed by 2 radiologists to determine the potential value. Final diagnoses were based on histological or surgical findings.Sixty-six patients were diagnosed with malignancies, and 19 patients with benign lesions. The maximum standardized uptake values for malignant and benign lesions causing biliary obstruction were 8.2+/-4.4 and 4.0+/-5.0, respectively (P0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy for differentiating malignant from benign origins with 18F-FDG PET/CT were 86.4% (57/66), 73.7% (14/19), and 83.5% (71/85), respectively. 18F-FDG PET/CT in conjunction with conventional imaging changed the sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of conventional imaging alone from 75.8% (50/66) to 95.5% (63/66) (P0.05), 68.4% (13/19) to 57.9% (11/19) (P0.05), and 74.1% (63/85) to 87.1% (74/85) (P0.05), respectively.18F-FDG PET/CT is of great value in differentiating malignant from benign origins of obstructive jaundice and is a useful adjuvant to conventional imaging. 18F-FDG PET/CT should be recommended for further etiological clarification.

Objectives: Tuberculous peritonitis (TBP) mimics peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). We aimed to investigate the discriminative use of PET/CT findings in the parietal peritoneum. Materials and Methods: Parietal peritoneal PET/CT findings from 76 patients with TBP (n = 25) and PC (n = 51) were retrospectively reviewed. The lesion locations were noted as right subdiaphragmatic, left subdiaphragmatic, right paracolic gutters, left paracolic gutters, and pelvic regions. The distribution characteristic consisted of a dominant distribution in the pelvic and/or right subdiaphragmatic region (susceptible area for peritoneal implantation, SAPI) (SAPI distribution), a dominant distribution in the remaining regions (less-susceptible area for peritoneal implantation, LSAPI) (LSAPI distribution), or a uniform distribution. PET morphological patterns were classified as F18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in a long beaded line (string-of-beads 18F-FDG uptake) or in a cluster (clustered 18F-FDG uptake) or focal 18F-FDG uptake. CT patterns included smooth uniform thickening, irregular thickening, or nodules. Results: More common findings in the parietal peritoneum corresponding to TBP as opposed to PC were (a) ≥4 involved regions (80.0% vs 19.6%), (b) uniform distribution (72.0% vs 5.9%), (c) string-of-beads 18F-FDG uptake (76.0% vs 7.8%), and (d) smooth uniform thickening (60.0% vs 7.8%) (all P 0.05, P 0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Our data show that PET/CT findings in the parietal peritoneum are useful for differentiating between TBP and PC.

The duodenal ulcer promoting gene (dupA), located in the plasticity region of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), is predicted to form a type IV secretory system (T4SS) with vir genes around dupA. In the study, we investigated the association between the dupA cluster status and the virulence of H. pylori in a littoral region of Northeast China. Two hundred and sixty-two H. pylori strains isolated from the chronic gastritis were examined to evaluate the dupA cluster status, cag PAI genes and vacA genotype using PCR and Western blot. Histopathologic evaluations of biopsy specimens were performed to analysis the association between the dupA cluster and the inflammatory response. IL-8 productions in gastric mucosa and from GES-1 cells co-cultured with H. pylori were measured, respectively, to analysis the association between the dupA cluster status and IL-8 production. We found that gastric mucosal inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly higher in patients with dupA-positive H. pylori, including H. pylori with complete dupA cluster (2.71 ± 0.79) and incomplete dupA cluster (2.09 ± 0.61) than in patients with dupA-negative strain (1.73 ± 0.60, p

Summary Background and objective It is widely accepted that conventional 18 F-FDG PET/CT (whole-body static 18 F-FDG PET/CT, WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT) has a low detection rate for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We prospectively assessed the role of early dynamic 18 F-FDG PET/CT (ED 18 F-FDG PET/CT) and WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT in detecting HCC, and we quantified the added value of ED 18 F-FDG PET/CT to WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT. Methods Twenty-two patients with 37 HCC tumors (HCCs) who underwent both a liver ED 18 F-FDG PET/CT (performed simultaneously with a 5.5 MBq/kg 18 F-FDG bolus injection and continued for 240 s) and a WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT were enrolled in the study. Results The WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT and ED 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans were positive in 56.7% (21/37) and 78.4% (29/37) HCCs, respectively ( P 18 F-FDG PET/CT in conjunction with WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT (one-stop 18 F-FDG PET/CT) improved the positive detection rates of WB and ED 18 F-FDG PET/CT alone from 56.7% and 78.4% to 91.9% (34/37) ( P P > 0.05, respectively). Conclusion One-stop 18 F-FDG PET/CT appears to be useful to improve WB 18 F-FDG PET/CT for HCC detection.