As an essential part of daily life, the drastic fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices significantly impact producers’ motivation and consumers’ quality of life, further exacerbating market uncertainty and unsustainability. The ability to scientifically and effectively predict agricultural commodity prices is of great significance for the rational deployment of market mechanisms, the timely adjustment of supply chains, and the promotion of food policy adjustments. This paper proposes a sustainable hybrid model SV-PSO-BiLSTM which integrates Seasonal-Trend decomposition procedure based on Loess (STL), Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) neural networks. This innovative approach first performs seasonal decomposition of the original data using the STL method, then applies the VMD method for double decomposition of the residual components, reconstructs the data based on sample entropy, and finally predicts agricultural commodity market prices using the BiLSTM network model optimized by the PSO algorithm. This paper investigates the market price dynamics of four agricultural commodities (chili, garlic, ginger, and pork) and one agricultural financial derivative (soybean futures). The experimental results indicate that the proposed SV-PSO-BiLSTM hybrid model achieves average values of 0.2241 for root mean square error (RMSE), 0.1665 for mean absolute error (MAE), 0.0207 for mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and 0.9851 for the coefficient of determination (R2). These results surpass those of other comparative models, demonstrating stronger generalization, reliability, and stability. The research findings can provide effective guidance for the reasonable regulation of agricultural commodity market prices and further promote the healthy and sustainable development of the agricultural commodity industry.

Quantifying planting layouts during the seedling stage of mung beans (Vigna radiata L.) is crucial for assessing cultivation conditions and providing support for precise management. Traditional information extraction methods are often hindered by engineering workloads, time consumption, and labor costs. Applying deep-learning technologies for information extraction reduces these burdens and yields precise and reliable results, enabling a visual analysis of seedling distribution. In this work, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was employed to capture visible light images of mung bean seedlings in a field across three height gradients of 2 m, 5 m, and 7 m following a time series approach. To improve detection accuracy, a small target detection layer (p2) was integrated into the YOLOv8-obb model, facilitating the identification of mung bean seedlings. Image detection performance and seedling information were analyzed considering various dates, heights, and resolutions, and the K-means algorithm was utilized to cluster feature points and extract row information. Linear fitting was performed via the least squares method to calculate planting layout parameters. The results indicated that on the 13th day post seeding, a 2640 × 1978 image captured at 7 m above ground level exhibited optimal detection performance. Compared with YOLOv8, YOLOv8-obb, YOLOv9, and YOLOv10, the YOLOv8-obb-p2 model improved precision by 1.6%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 2%, respectively, and F1 scores improved by 2.8%, 0.5%, 0.5%, and 3%, respectively. This model extracts precise information, providing reliable data for quantifying planting layout parameters. These findings can be utilized for rapid and large-scale assessments of mung bean seedling growth and development, providing theoretical and technical support for seedling counting and planting layouts in hole-seeded crops.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the significant food crops in the world, and the number of wheat ears serves as a critical indicator of wheat yield. Accurate quantification of wheat ear counts is crucial for effective scientific management of wheat fields. To address the challenges of missed detections, false detections, and diminished detection accuracy arising from the dense distribution, small size, and high overlap of wheat ears in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery, we propose a lightweight model, PSDS-YOLOv8 (P2-SPD-DySample-SCAM-YOLOv8), on the basis of the improved YOLOv8 framework, for the accurate detection of wheat ears in UAV images. First, the high resolution micro-scale detection layer (P2) is introduced to enhance the model’s ability to recognize and localize small targets, while the large-scale detection layer (P5) is eliminated to minimize computational redundancy. Then, the Spatial Pyramid Dilated Convolution (SPD-Conv) module is employed to improve the ability of the network to learn features, thereby enhancing the representation of weak features of small targets and preventing information loss caused by low image resolution or small target sizes. Additionally, a lightweight dynamic upsampler, Dynamic Sample (DySample), is introduced to decrease computational complexity of the upsampling process by dynamically adjusting interpolation positions. Finally, the lightweight module Spatial Context-Aware Module (SCAM) is utilized to accurately map the connection between small targets and global features, enhancing the discrimination of small targets from the background. Experimental results demonstrate that the improved PSDS-YOLOv8 model achieves Mean Average Precision(mAP) 50 and mAP50:95 scores of 96.5% and 55.2%, which increases by 2.8% and 4.4%, while the number of parameters is reduced by 40.6% in comparison with the baseline YOLOv8 model. Compared to YOLOv5, YOLOv7, YOLOv9, YOLOv10, YOLOv11, Faster RCNN, SSD, and RetinaNet, the improved model demonstrates superior accuracy and fewer parameters, exhibiting the best overall performance. The methodology proposed in this study enhances model accuracy while concurrently reducing resource consumption and effectively addressing the issues of missed and false detections of wheat ears, thereby providing technical support and theoretical guidance for intelligent counting of wheat ears in UAV imagery.

As an important step in image processing, image segmentation can be used to determine the accuracy of object counts, and area and contour data. In addition, image segmentation is indispensable in seed testing research. Due to the uneven grey level of the original image, traditional watershed algorithms generate many incorrect edges, resulting in oversegmentation and undersegmentation, which affects the accuracy of obtaining seed phenotype information. The DMR-watershed algorithm, an improved watershed algorithm based on distance map reconstruction, is proposed in this paper. According to the grey distribution characteristics of the image, the grey reduction amplitude h was selected to generate the mask image with the same grey distribution trend as that of the original image. The original greyscale map was reconstructed with corresponding thresholds selected according to the false minima of different regions that are to be segmented, which generates an accurate distance map that eliminates the wrong edges. An adzuki bean (Vigna angularis L.) image was selected as the experimental material and the residual rate of the segmentation counting results of each algorithm was investigated in two cases of two-particle adhesion and multiparticle adhesion. The results of the proposed algorithm were compared with those of the traditional watershed algorithm, edge detection algorithm and concave point analysis algorithm which are commonly used for seed segmentation. In the case of two-particle adhesion, the residual rates of the watershed algorithm and edge detection algorithm were 0.233 and 0.275, respectively, while the residual rate of the concave point analysis algorithm was 0 which proved to be suitable for two-particle adhesion. In the case of multiparticle adhesion, the concave point analysis algorithm was not applicable because it would destroy the seed image. The residual rates of the watershed algorithm and edge detection algorithm were 0.063 and 0.188, respectively, while the residual rate of the proposed algorithm in the two-particle adhesion cases was 0 and the counting accuracy reached 100%, which proved the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The algorithm in this paper significantly improves the accuracy of image segmentation of adherent seeds, and provides a new reference for image segmentation processing in seed testing.

Objective:To analyze the long-term cumulative survival and tumor-free survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after liver transplantation, as well as the influencing factors.Methods:We conducted a retrospective study on 228 HCC patients receiving liver transplantation from May 1, 2000 to May 1, 2012 at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital. A total of 166 patients met the recruit criteria. The patients' perioperative data and follow-up data were collected. We analyzed the cumulative survival and tumor-free survival of the recipients, as well as the influencing factors.Results:The 1-, 5- and 10-year cumulative survival of the 166 HCC patients were 80.7%, 52.4% and 45.8%, respectively, while the 1-, 5- and 10-year tumor-free survival of these patients were 60.2%, 47.6% and 44.0%, respectively. Among these patients,a total of 96 recipients met the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria, whose 1-, 5- and 10-year cumulative survival were 83.3%, 66.7%, and 59.4%, respectively, and tumor-free survival were 74.0%, 62.5% and 57.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that beyond the UCSF criteria, alpha fetoprotein (AFP) ≥ 400 ng/ml before transplantation and poorly differentiated carcinoma were independent factors affecting cumulative survival and tumor-free survival ( P < 0.05). Conclusions:Liver transplantation is an effective treatment of HCC. Besides the size and the number of the tumors, AFP ≥ 400 ng/ml before transplantation and poorly differentiated tumors are independent factors affecting the long-term cumulative survival and tumor-free survival of HCC patients.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of PHPT in elderly patients, as well as the safety and effectiveness of surgical treatment.Methods:179 patients with PHPT treated from Jan. 2000 to Dec. 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. They were divided into elderly group ( n=51) and non-elderly group ( n=128) according to whether they were over 60 years old at the time of operation. The clinical data of symptoms, complications, preoperative and postoperative blood calcium, phosphorus, ALP, PTH, surgical cure rate and complication rate of the two groups were analyzed retrospectively. T-test was used for measurement data comparison. χ2 test was used for enumeration data comparison and single factor analysis. Logistic regression analysis (forward method) was used for multivariate analysis. Results:The proportion of non-specific symptoms in the elderly group, including fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite, memory decline, was higher than that in the non-elderly group (21.6% vs 8.6%, P=0.019) . Elderly patients had lower blood ALP level[ (163.4±229.8) U/L vs (325.9±449.2) U/L, P=0.016], higher proportion of preoperative hypertension (47.1% vs 21.1%, P=0.001) , diabetes (31.4% vs 10.9%, P=0.001) , coronary heart disease (13.7% vs 3.1%, P=0.013) and tumor (13.7% vs 3.9%, P=0.025) . High proportion of non-specific symptoms was related to higher blood calcium [ OR=4.936 (95% CI 1.126-21.637) , P=0.034] and lower blood phosphorus[ OR=0.011 (95% CI 0.000-0.650) , P=0.030]. Between the two groups there was no significant difference in cure rate (94.1% vs 96.1%, P=0.564) or complication rate (27.5% vs 44.5%, P=0.127) . Conclusions:The surgical treatment of elderly patients with PHPT also has high effectiveness and safety. More attention should be paid to surgical diagnosis and treatment of elderly patients.

研究一种光纤布拉格光栅传感的轴承异常状态识别方法,用以解决轴承状态精准识别难度过大的问题.使用光纤布拉格光栅传感器采集轴承运行时产生的振动信号,将这些信号频谱使用自适应补偿高斯噪声均匀处理,消除由于经验模态分解算法导致的混叠现象.使用隐半马尔科夫模型分类器对轴承转动初始阶段的振动信号实行训练,获得分类器参数;均匀处理后振动信号作为观测值输入到隐半马尔科夫模型转换动态贝叶斯网络分类器中,得到隐半马尔科夫模型参数,根据参数变化情况,判断轴承状态,实现轴承异常状态识别.结果 表明,该方法在识别轴承异常状态时具有时间快、识别率高以及误识别率较低等优势,具有良好的识别效果.

我国大部分医学院校在外科技能培训中,仍旧沿用理论授课和模仿操作的老方法.教学中缺乏批判性思维的应用,教学效果有待提高.本研究拟将批判性思维运用于外科技能培训中,探究批判性思维教学法对外科技能培训绩效的影响.通过对学生外科技能操作进行视频录制,并以视频回放的形式进行小组讨论,提出各自的操作不足后再进行针对性训练.结果显示实验组的操作考试成绩为(8.20±1.18)分,对照组为(7.48±1.43)分;实验组的教学满意度问卷调查评分为(9.10±0.91)分,对照组评分为(8.22±1.09)分.实验组的操作考试成绩及教学满意度均优于对照组.证实批判性思维教学法对外科技能培训的绩效优于传统教学方法,且学生满意度也明显提高.

Objective To investigate the relying on the information platform (teaching website),on the foundation of classical case database,CBL (case based learning,CBL) combined with PBL (problem based learning) teaching method application in clinical hepatobiliary surgery teaching effect.Methods 24 clinical trainees were randomly divided into the experimental group (CBL + PBL group,12) and the control group (traditional teaching group,12).Experimental group in the teaching website established classic case database,teaching process by the CBL began,students on the web site of classical case database to autonomous learning,a comprehensive understanding of the case from the pathogenesis,clinical manifestations to the complaints,symptoms,signs,history collection,diagnosis,laboratory examination,therapy.Teachers set up the problem of classic cases to discuss the case study under the guidance of teachers.The control group of teachers in theory teaching,teaching rounds and observe the operation etc..After the study of the two groups of theoretical knowledge and clinical operation to test.Students in the experimental group were surveyed by questionnaires to evaluate the teaching methods.Results The experimental group's theory test score (92.1± 0.95) points,better than the control group (87.5 ± 0.62),the difference was statistically significant (t =7.984,P ＜ 0.05).The clinical skills of the experimental group were (90.9 ± 0.95),which was better than the control group (86.3 ± 0.88),the difference was statistically significant (t =8.027,P ＜ 0.05).The results of the questionnaire showed that more than 90.0％ of the students thought that the teaching method could arouse the enthusiasm of study and improve the efficiency of study.Conclusions Relying on the information platform,CBL and PBL are organically combined,applied in hepatobiliary surgery teaching,stimulate the students' interest and improve the teaching effect.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical features and side effects, with regard to glucocorticoid-induced ocular hypertension, glaucoma or cataract in children with primary nephrotic syndrome.METHODSClinical data were collected and analyzed from 71 cases of primary nephrotic syndrome with glucocorticoid-induced ocular hypertension, glaucoma or cataract from Jun. 2014 to Jun. 2016. These children were hospitalized in Peking University First Hospital.RESULTSTotally 1 580 children with primary nephrotic syndrome were collected, glucocorticoid-induced complications in eyes were found in 71 cases, and the incidence was 4.5%. There were 66 cases with ocular hypertension, 2 cases with glucocorticoid glaucoma, 2 cases with glucocorticoid glaucoma combined with cataract, 1 case with high intraocular pressure combined with cataract. There were 41 boys and 30 girls with eye-related side effects caused by glucocorticoid. The average age of onset of glucocorticoid-induced eye adverse reactions in children with primary nephrotic syndrome in our research were 8 (2, 16) years. The average duration or interval time from glucocorticoid medication use to eye adverse effects was 157 (6, 420) days. No statistical significance was found in intraocular pressure between different genders, types of glucocorticoid, different route of glucocorticoid and whether methylprednisolone pulse treatment (P>0.05). There was no significant correlation between age, body mass index, blood pressure, cumulative dosage, duration time of glucocorticoid, mean daily dosage and glucocorticoid-induced ocular hypertension (P>0.05). The ocular hypertension was controlled after treatment.CONCLUSIONChildren with nephrotic syndrome after treatment of glucocorticoid are susceptible to ocular complications, and the occurrence of ocular hypertension is closely related to glucocorticoid susceptibility of the nephrotic children. Regular eye monitor is indispensable for the children suffering from primary nephrotic syndrome.

Objective To summarize manifestation,imaging characteristics,and treatment of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH).Methods From January 2007 to December 2016,the patients pathologically confirmed hepatic FNH were included in this study.The clinical features and imaging characteristics were analyzed retrospectively.Results Twenty-two cases were pathologically diagnosed as hepatic FNH with an age of (36.8± 11.2) years (range from 20 to 61 years).Ten were males and 12 were females.Three patients had abdominal pain and 19 patients had no symptoms.The diameter of the lesions was (4.16± 1.92) cm (range from 1.0 to 7.8 cm) and approximately 9 (40.9％) lesions were more than 5.0 cm.The diagnosis rates of CT and MRI were 64.70％ (11/17) and 84.21％ (16/19),respectively.All the patients underwent hepatectomy successfully and recovered without severe complications.No recurrence and metastasis happened during following-up of 1-103 months.Conclusions Hepatic FNH is more common in young patients and has no typical symptoms.MRI is useful in diagnosis of hepatic FNH.

目的:探讨胆囊腺肌症的诊断和治疗方法.方法:从北京大学人民医院病案数据库中检索2003年1月1日-2013年12月31日接受胆囊手术的患者资料,选取病理证实存在胆囊腺肌症的病例,回顾性分析各种影像学检查方法对胆囊腺肌症的正确诊断率、手术方式及效果.结果:在6 336例胆囊手术患者中,病理证实存在205例(3.2％)胆囊腺肌症,其中195例(95.1％)合并慢性胆囊炎,150例(73.2％)合并胆囊结石.B超、CT、MRI的正确诊断率分别为16.2％、26.5％和43.8％.病变类型以局限型最多,为164例(80.0％),弥漫型和节段型相对较少,分别为16例(7.8％)和25例(12.2％).178例(86.8％)接受了腹腔镜下胆囊切除手术,24例(11.7％)为传统开腹胆囊切除手术,未出现胆道损伤等并发症;3例接受了腹腔镜下胆囊部分切除手术.术后随访1年未发现胆囊腺肌症残留和复发病例.结论:胆囊腺肌症多合并胆囊结石和胆囊炎,容易漏诊,MRI检查正确诊断率较高.对于位于胆囊底部的局限型病例,可考虑选择腹腔镜下胆囊部分切除手术治疗.

目的:探讨环状RNA (circRNA)在肝细胞癌(HCC)与正常肝组织中表达谱的差异.方法:利用circRNA芯片技术检测3例HCC组织和癌旁肝组织circRNA的表达谱,经过对原始数据进行预处理、均一化后,找出差异表达的circRNA(与癌旁肝组织比较,HCC组织中1.5倍以上变化并且差异有统计学意义的circRNA定义为差异表达的circRNA).根据表达差异倍数较高和样本间一致性较好的原则筛选circRNA,借助生物信息学软件预测可能受其调控的miRNA,结合文献检索初步确定可能在HCC中具有重要作用的circRNA.结果:与癌旁肝组织比较,HCC组织中的circRNA表达谱发生了明显变化.HCC组织中,1.5倍以上变化的circRNA共82条,其中上调21条,下调61条;5倍以上变化的circRNA共3条,其中上调2条,下调1条.最终筛选出在HCC组织中明显上调的hsa-circ-0043278(8.15倍,P=0.002)、hsacirc-0006220(12.73倍,P=0.033)和明显下调的hsa-circ-0065214(6.28倍,P=0.019);生物信息学分析和文献检索显示,hsa-miR-520可能受hsa-circ-0043278和hsa-circ-0006220调控而影响HCC的发生和进展.结论:HCC组织circRNA表达谱发生了显著变化;hsa-circ-0043278和hsa-circ-0006220可能在HCC的发生和进展中发挥重要作用.

Objective To determine the expression of myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9) in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and its clinical significance.Methods Immunohistochemistry and tissue-array were used to determine MYH9 expression in human colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and matched adjacent tissues.A statistical analysis was performed to establish the potential correlation between MYH9 expression and the patients' clinicopathological characteristics,tumor progression,and prognosis.Results MYH9 is up-regulated in colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues compared with matched adjacent tissues (P =0.000),and it was shown that MYH9 expression is significantly correlated with age (P =0.050),clinical stage (P =0.000),lymph node (P=0.010) and distant (P =0.000) metastasis,but not with sex,primary sites,grade,infiltration,clinical stage (all P ＞ 0.05);it was also shown that MYH9 expression had a significant influence on prognosis (x2 =20.437,P =0.000).Multivariate analyses showed that high MYH9 expression is an independent poor prognostic factor for overall survival (P =0.013).Conclusions The up-regulation of MYH9 in colorectal adenocarcinoma closely correlates with age,clinical tumor stage,metastasis and patient's survival.

Objective To analyze the risk factors for pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy.Methods Clinical data of 351 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy in our hospital from Jan 2001 to Dec 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Results The overall incidence of pancreatic fistula was 20.2％ (71/351),with grade A in 34 (9.7％) patients,grade B in 25 (7.1％),and grade C in 12 (3.4％).Postoperative hospital stay was significantly prolonged in patients with grade B and C pancreatic fistula.Multivariate analysis using Logistic regression identified three variables as independent factors associated with pancreatic fistula,namely,BMI (OR =2.281),preoperative total bilirubin level (OR =2.180) and soft pancreatic texture (OR =3.653).Preoperative total bilirubin level (OR =2.684),soft pancreatic texture (OR =5.128) and postoperative hemorrhage (OR =9.030) were independent risk factors of grade B and C pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy.Conclusions The incidence of pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy is still high.Pancreatic fistula prolongs the postoperative hospital stay significantly.The incidence of grade B and C pancreatic fistula could be reduced by avoiding postoperative hemorrhage.

Objective To investigate the causes,diagnosis and treatment strategies for postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome (PGS) after pancreaticoduodenectomy.Methods The clinical data of 19 patients with PGS after pancreaticoduodenectomy who were admitted to the Peking University People' s Hospital from January 2010 to October 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Results PGS of these 19 patients occurred within 7-14 days after operation.All of the PGS patients were cured with 10 to72 days (mean 29.61 days) by conservative therapy.Pre-operative hypoproteinemia,intraoperative blood loss,operative time,and postoperative complications were risk factors of PGS.Conclusion PGS is a common complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy.Most patients can be cured by fasting,gastrointestinal decompression,nutritional support,gastrointestinal motility medicines and other conservative therapy.

本研究以测试强化学习(Test-Enhanced Learning,TEL)教学改革为例,研究了教学改革对八年制医学生心理压力的影响,发现TEL教学改革使学生HESI (the higher Education Stress Inventory)评分高于对照组,使学生担心学业负担的压力提高,但不影响学生在考试中能力的发挥,提示在教学中应制定合理的教学计划,使医学生能根据自身能力、特点来控制学业负担,以收到更好成效.

Background: Overexpression of G-protein coupled receptor 34 (GPR34) affects the progression and prognosis of human gastric adenocarcinoma, however, the role of GPR34 in gastric cancer development and progression has not been well-determined. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of GPR34 knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: The expression of GPR34 in gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 was detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. HGC-27 cells were employed to construct the stable GPR34 knockdown cell model in this study. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting were applied to validate the effect of short hairpin RNA (ShRNA) on the expression of GPR34 in HGC-27 gastric cells. The proliferation, migration of these cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 and transwell. We also measured expression profile of PI3K/PDK1/AKT and ERK using Western blotting. Results: The ShRNA directed against GPR34 effectively inhibited both endogenous mRNA and protein expression levels of GPR34, and significantly down-regulated the expression of PIK3CB (P < 0.01), PIK3CD (P < 0.01), PDK1 (P < 0.01), phosphorylation of PDK1 (P < 0.01), Akt (P < 0.01), and ERK (P < 0.01). Furthermore, GPR34 knockdown resulted in an obvious reduction in HGC-27 cancer cell proliferation and migration activity (P < 0.01). Conclusions: GPR34 knockdown impairs the proliferation and migration of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells in vitro and provides a potential implication for therapy of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:To evaluate short-term outcomes and long-term survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignancy in elderly Chinese patients (aged 70 years or older) compared with younger patients.METHODOLOGY:Between January 2005 and December 2013, 216 consecutive patients who underwent a PD with pancreatic cancer or periampullary cancers in our institution were recruited in this study. Sixty-eight patients aged 70 years or older when they underwent PD, while 148 patients younger than 70.RESULTS:There were no significant differences in postoperative mortality (p = 0.104), overall morbidity (p = 0.057) and surgical complications (p = 0.200) between the elderly patients and the younger patients. Elderly patients had a significantly higher incidence of cardiac events (p = 0.008) and pneumonia (p = 0.041) postoperatively. The postoperative hospital stay in the older age group was significantly longer (p = 0.013). The overall survival did not differ between the two age groups both when patients with pancreatic cancer were analyzed (p = 0.836) and when patients with periampullary cancers were analyzed (p = 0.817).CONCLUSIONS:Our results showed that pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignancy in Chinese patients over 70 years old could be performed safely. Age should not be considered as a contraindication to pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play an important role in liver fibrosis and portal hypertension. This study established a new rat HSC cell line LSC-1. Liver ex vivo perfusion with collagenase IV and density gradient centrifugation were used to isolate rat HSC. Cells have been maintained in culture for multiple passages. LSC-1 cell biological characteristics were studied. LSC-1 cell have been maintained in culture over 100 passages. This new HSC cell line express telomerase reverse transcriptase (TRT) and p53, suggesting that it is immortalized spontaneously. LSC-1 cells have a doubling time of 46 hours and their growth is serum-dependent. Karyotypic analysis revealed that LSC-1 cells possess normal chromosome phenotype. Moreover, LSC-1 cells do not grow in soft agar or induce tumors in nude mice, suggesting that they are not transformed. LSC-1 cells express desmin, glial fibrillary acidic proteins (GFAP), collagen type I and III, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), platelet derived growth factor B (PDGF-B) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). TGF-β1 stimulation increased collagen type I and III expression in LSC-1 cells. Additionally, LSC-1 cells proliferate in response to PDGF-BB, and contract in response to endothelin-1 (ET-1). In summary, LSC-1 cells exhibit activated HSC phenotype characteristics, and therefore are useful tool to study the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.