ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of sequential tenofovir alafenamide fumarate （TAF） therapy versus the regimen of entecavir （ETV） combined with TAF in chronic hepatitis B （CHB） patients experiencing low-level viremia （LLV） after ETV therapy， as well as their impact on virologic response， liver and renal function， and blood lipid levels. MethodsA total of 217 CHB patients with LLV after ETV treatment who were admitted to Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from May 2020 to December 2023 were enrolled， and according to the treatment regimen， they were divided into TAF group （180 patients receiving sequential TAF therapy） and combined group （37 patients receiving ETV+TAF therapy）. The propensity score matching （PSM） method was used to match the patients at a ratio of 1∶1， and finally 37 patients were included in each group to balance the baseline confounding factors. The two groups were compared in terms of hepatitis B virus DNA （HBV DNA） clearance rate， hepatitis B envelope antigen （HBeAg） clearance rate， liver and renal function parameters （liver stiffness measurement ［LSM］， platelet count ［PLT］， aspartate aminotransferase ［AST］， alanine aminotransferase ［ALT］， and creatinine ［Cr］）， blood lipid levels （total cholesterol ［TC］， triglyceride ［TG］， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ［HDL-C］， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ［LDL-C］）， and the incidence rate of adverse reactions. The independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the paired t-test was used for comparison within each group； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsAfter 48 weeks of treatment， compared with the TAF group， the combined group had significantly higher HBV DNA clearance rate （86.49% vs 59.46%， χ²=6.852， P=0.009） and HBeAg clearance rate （59.46% vs 35.14%， χ²=4.391， P=0.036）. After treatment， compared with the TAF group， the combined group had significantly lower levels of LSM （7.01±1.50 kPa vs 7.90±1.68 kPa， t=2.404， P=0.019）， AST （18.02±2.28 U/L vs 21.12±2.85 U/L， t=5.166， P<0.001）， and ALT （19.85±3.86 U/L vs 22.00±3.90 U/L， t=2.383， P=0.020） and significantly higher levels of PLT ［（218.35±42.60）×10⁹/L vs （192.82±44.13）×10⁹/L， t=2.532， P=0.014］ and Cr （70.92±6.54 μmoL/L vs 67.60±6.13 μmoL/L， t=2.253， P=0.027）. After treatment， there was a slight increase in the level of TC in both the TAF group （5.60±0.89 mmol/L vs 5.18±0.85 mmol/L， t=2.076， P=0.041） and the combined group （5.45±0.80 mmol/L vs 5.02±0.83 mmol/L， t=2.269， P=0.026）. There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of adverse reactions between the TAF group and the combined group （21.62% vs 18.92%， χ²=0.084， P=0.772）. ConclusionFor ETV-treated CHB patients experiencing LLV， compared with sequential TAF therapy， the ETV+TAF combined therapy can effectively increase virologic response rate， alleviate liver fibrosis， and improve liver function， whereas sequential TAF therapy has less impact on renal function. Sequential or combined therapy with TAF may induce a slight increase in the level of TC， which should be taken seriously in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES: Through the investigation of the microhardness and microstructure of permanent tooth enamel at various eruption stages during childhood, this research offers references for the early prevention of childhood dental caries. METHODS: Forty-five premolars extracted due to orthodontic reasons were collected and screened. These premolars were divided into three experimental groups according to the time since eruption: Group A (erupted for 0-1 year), Group B (erupted for 1-3 years), and Group C (erupted for 3-5 years). Additionally, the third molars that were extracted due to impaction and had not erupted were selected as the control group, with 15 teeth in each group. Samples were prepared, and the surface microhardness, microstructure, and elemental composition of the enamel were measured using Vickers microhardness tester, scanning electron microscope, and electron probe, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with that in the control group, the microhardness of enamel in groups A, B, and C increased with prolonged eruption time, the surface porosity structure decreased considerably, the contents of Na and Mg on the surface decreased, and that of F increased (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The microhardness and microstructure of enamel in permanent teeth at different stages vary. Permanent teeth are at a substantially higher risk of caries within one year after eruption, and early prevention should be emphasized.
Dental Enamel/ultrastructure* ; Humans ; Hardness ; Dental Caries/prevention & control* ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Tooth Eruption ; Bicuspid/chemistry* ; Dentition, Permanent ; Child ; Child, Preschool

Objective:To test the practical effect of the research projects outpatient strategy for application of the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) in a hospital of Chinese medicine.Methods:We compared the number and success rate of the National Natural Science Foundation of China grant awards before and after the implementation of the research projects outpatient strategy, and further analyzed the promotional effect of the research projects outpatient strategy on general programs and youth scientists funds through univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression.Results:Since the implementation of the research projects outpatient strategy, both the number of NSFC grant awards and the success rate continuously increased, indicating that the strategy played a positive role in improving the overall success rate of the hospital. However, this effect was primarily reflected in the assistance provided to applications for youth scientists funds. The main favorable factor for winning general programs was the applicant′s preliminary foundation. Applicants who have previously received NSFC funding had a higher success rate.Conclusions:The strategy of research projects outpatient can promote the winning of NSFC youth scientists funds.

Objective:To construct of a computed tomography (CT) based radiomics model for predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric neuroendocrine neoplasm (GNEN) and inves-tigate its application value.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinico-pathological data of 182 patients with GNEN who were admitted to 2 medical centers, including the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University of 124 cases and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University of 58 cases, from August 2011 to December 2020 were collected. There were 130 males and 52 females, aged 64(range, 56-70)years. Based on random number table, all 182 patients were divided into the training dataset of 128 cases and the validation dataset of 54 cases with a ratio of 7:3. All patients underwent enhanced CT examination. Observation indicators: (1) construction and validation of the radiomics prediction model; (2) analysis of prognostic factors for patients with GNEN in the training dataset; (3) construction and evaluation of the prediction model for prognosis of patients with GNEN. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and the chi-square test, corrected chi-square test or Fisher exact probability were used for comparison between groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and draw survival curve, and the Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. The COX regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. The R software (version 4.0.3) glmnet software package was used for least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-COX regression analysis. The rms software (version 4.0.3) was used to generate nomogram and calibration curve. The Hmisc software (version 4.0.3) was used to calculate C-index values. The dca.R software (version 4.0.3) was used for decision curve analysis. Results:(1) Construction and valida-tion of the radiomics prediction model. One thousand seven hundred and eighty-one radiomics features were finally extracted from the 182 patients. Based on the feature selection using intra-group correlation coefficient >0.75, and the reduce dimensionality using LASSO-COX regression analysis, 14 non zero coefficient radiomics features were finally selected from the 1 781 radiomics features. The radiomics prediction model was constructed based on the radiomics score (R-score) of these non zero coefficient radiomics features. According to the best cutoff value of the R-score as -0.494, 128 patients in the training dataset were divided into 64 cases with high risk and 64 cases with low risk, 54 patients in the validation dataset were divided into 35 cases with high risk and 19 cases with low risk. The area under curve (AUC) of radiomics prediction model in predicting 18-, 24-, 30-month overall survival rate of patients in the training dataset was 0.83[95% confidence interval ( CI ) as 0.76-0.87, P<0.05], 0.84(95% CI as 0.73-0.91, P<0.05), 0.91(95% CI as 0.78-0.95, P<0.05), respectively. The AUC of radiomics prediction model in predicting 18-, 24-, 30-month overall survival rate of patients in the validation dataset was 0.84(95% CI as 0.75-0.92, P<0.05), 0.84 (95% CI as 0.73-0.91, P<0.05), 0.86(95% CI as 0.82-0.94, P<0.05), respectively. (2) Analysis of prognostic factors for patients with GNEN in the training dataset. Results of multivariate analysis showed gender, age, treatment method, tumor boundary, tumor T staging, tumor N staging, tumor M staging, Ki-67 index, CD56 expression were independent factors influencing prognosis of patients with GNEN in the training dataset ( P<0.05). (3) Construction and evaluation of the prediction model for prognosis of patients with GNEN. The clinical prediction model was constructed based on the independent factors influen-cing prognosis of patients with GNEN including gender, age, treatment method, tumor boundary, tumor T staging, tumor N staging, tumor M staging, Ki-67 index, CD56 expression. The C-index value of clinical prediction model in the training dataset and the validation dataset was 0.86 (95% CI as 0.82-0.90) and 0.80(95% CI as 0.72-0.87), respectively. The C-index value of radiomics prediction model in the training dataset and the validation dataset was 0.80 (95% CI as 0.74-0.86, P<0.05) and 0.75(95% CI as 0.66-0.84, P<0.05), respectively. The C-index value of clinical-radiomics combined prediction model in the training dataset and the validation dataset was 0.88(95% CI as 0.85-0.92) and 0.83 (95% CI as 0.77-0.89), respectively. Results of calibration curve show that clinical prediction model, radiomics prediction model and clinical-radiomics combined prediction model had good predictive ability. Results of decision curve show that the clinical-radiomics combined prediction model is superior to the clinical prediction model, radiomics prediction model in evaluating the prognosis of patients with GNEN. Conclusions:The predection model for predicting the prognosis of patients with GNEN is constructed based on 14 radiomics features after selecting. The prediction model can predict the prognosis of patients with GNEN well, and the clinical-radiomics combined prediction model has a better prediction efficiency.

Molecular typing of leukemia is the basis of risk assessment and treatment options. NUTM1 gene (15q14) rearrangement is a novel molecular type of acute B lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), which is mainly found in children (≥1 year old) and infants (< 1 year old). The number of patients is slightly more in children than infants. However, in infantile ALL, NUTM1 rearrangement is the second most common molecular abnormality. These children respond well to conventional chemotherapy regimens and with a good prognosis. The number of leukemia patients with NUTM1 gene rearrangement is still small, and there is no relevant study or case report in China. NUT protein encoded by NUTM1 gene is a chromatin regulator, which is related to histone acetylation regulation and chromatin remodeling. This article aims to introduce the clinicopathological features, detection methods, possible tumorigenic mechanisms and therapeutic prospects of leukemia with NUTM1 gene rearrangement, to increase the understanding of this type of leukemia and provide reference for the precise molecular subtyping and treatment.

Objective:To explore the value of multiphasic CT-based radiomics signature in predicting the invasive behavior of pancreatic solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (pSPN).Methods:The multiphasic CT images of patients with pSPN confirmed by postoperative pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2012 to January 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 23 cases of invasiveness and 59 cases of non-invasiveness. The region of interest(ROI) was artificially delineated layer by layer in the plain scan, arterial-phase and venous-phase images, respectively. The 1 316 image features were extracted from each ROI. The data set was divided into training and validation sets with a ratio of 7∶3 by stratified random sampling, and synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) algorithm was used for oversampling in the training set to generate invasive and non-invasive balanced data for building the training model. The constructed model was validated in the validation set. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analysis was used to evaluate model performance and the Delong′s test was applied to compare the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of different predict models. The improvement for classification efficiency of each independent model or their combinations were also assessed by net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) indices.Results:After feature extraction, 2, 6 and 3 features were retained to construct plain-scanned model, arterial-phase and venous-phase models, respectively. Seven independent-phase and combined-phase models were established. Except the plain-scanned model, the AUC values of other models were greater than 0.800. The arterial-phase model had the best efficiency for classification among all independent-phase models. The AUC values of arterial-phase model in the SMOTE training and validation sets were 0.913 and 0.873, respectively. By combining the radiomics signature of the arterial-phase and venous-phase models, the AUC values of training and validation sets increased to 0.934 and 0.913 respectively. There were no significant differences of the AUC values between the scan-arterial venous-phase model and arterial venous-phase model in both training and validation sets (both P>0.05). The NRI and IDI indexes showed that the combined form of plain-scan model and arterial-venous-phase model could not significantly improve the classification efficiency in the validation set (both NRI and IDI<0). Conclusions:The arterial-phase CT-based radiomics model has a good predictive performance in the invasive behavior of pSPN, and the combination with a venous-phase radiomics model can further improve the model performance.

【Objective】 To analyze the metagenomics and microbiology of voluntary blood donors in China, so as to assess the potential threats of emerging infectious diseases to the safety of blood transfusion. 【Methods】 12 300 plasma samples (10 mL each) collected by central blood stations in Chongqing, Liuzhou, Urumqi, Mianyang, Wuhan, Nanjing, Mudanjiang, and Dehong Prefecture area from 2012 to 2018 were subjected to total DNA extraction after ultracentrifugation (32 000 rpm/min, centrifugal radius 91.9 mm) in minipools of 160 donations. The metagenomic library was constructed, and deep sequencing was conducted by Illumina Hiseq 4 500. By comparing with reference sequences of bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses, metagenomic data were analyzed, classification of microbes were identified, and potentially harmful pathogens were evaluated. 【Results】 A total of 632 GB clean data were obtained by deep sequencing, and the top three pathogens were Pseudomonas(0.561 1%), Burkholderia(0.468 7%) and Serratia(4.242 0%). Pathogens with potential threat which could be transmitted by blood transfusion or blood products were found, such as human parvovirus B19(0.126 6%), Leishmania spp(1.348 5%) and Toxoplasma gondii(0.615 8%). 【Conclusion】 Our study analyzed metagenomics of voluntary blood donors in parts of China and revealed pathogens that may cause potential harm to blood safety, which were helpful for targeted prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and the prognostic factors in pediatric hepatoblastoma according to the standard diagnostic and therapeutic regimen. Method: Eighty-four consecutive patients were enrolled in this study between June 2000 and June 2015. Diagnosis and staging was decided by the multi-disciplinary team including oncologists, surgeons, pathologists and sub-specialized radiologists refering to protocol of Children′s Oncology Group(COG) and International Society of Pediatric Oncology Liver Tumor Study Group (SIOPEL) in a case observational study. Univariate analysis was tested by the log-rank and multivariate analysis by COX regression. All consecutive cases were divided into low risk group and high risk group according to grouping criteria. Complete remission was defined as both imaging negative and α fetoprotein (AFP) normalization. Retrospective analysis was performed in clinical features, long-term outcomes and prognostic factors. Result: Ten patients were excluded because of giving up after less than or equal to three cycles of treatment. A total of 74 cases were included in this study; 45 males and 29 females. The median age at diagnosis was 1.7 years(range 0.2-14.8 years). Untill August 30, 2016, the median follow-up time was 24.2 months (range 4.1-135.3 months); 59 cases achieved complete remission.The estimated five years overall survival (OS) and event free survival(EFS) were 90%(68/74)and 72%(58/74). AFP could be normalized after 5 circles of treatment or 2 circles of postoperation.In univariate analysis , the five years OS and EFS in low risk group were both 100%(18/18), and those in high risk group were 88%(50/56)and 68%(40/56), respectively. The five years OS rates were 75%(15/19) and 95%(53/55) in patients with or without distant metastasis (P=0.016). After 3 cycles of chemotherapy post tumor resection, we divided these patients into 2 groups according to AFP recover or not, the five years OS were 100%(43/43)and 81%(22/26), respectively (P=0.011). Conclusion The result of this protocol is reasonable when comparing with other worldwide research. Except for staging, metastasis, pathological subtypes, postoperative AFP recover or not is a prognostic factor after 3 cycles of chemotherapy.

Objective · To investigate the difference in myocardial strain of left ventricle between obstructive hypertrophy cardiomyopathy (HCM) and nonobstructive HCM. Methods · Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam was performed on 48 sequential enrolled patients with HCM (18 with obstructive HCM, and 30 with nonobstructive HCM), whose left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) were over 50%. Twenty-five healthy volunteers were examined as normal controls. Global longitudinal strain (GLS), global radial strain (GRS), global circumferentialstrain (GCS), LVEF, left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricularmass (LVM), left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVI), and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were collected and compared. Radial strain, circumferential strain and peak radial displacement were also measured in medial segment of left ventricle according to American Heart Association (AHA) 17-segment model. Results · ① LVEF of the patients with obstructive HCM was bigger than those of nonobstructive HCM patients and control group (P<0.05). LVM and LVMI of the HCM groups were bigger than those of control group (P<0.01). ② Left ventricle GLS, GRS, and GCS significantly decreased in the patients with nonobstructive HCM compared to those with obstructive HCM (P<0.05). The three parameters of two HCM groups were significantly lower than those of healthy volunteers (P<0.05). ③ Compared with obstructive HCM patients,the segmental parameters of left ventricule, the medial segment circumferential strain and radial strain of nonobstructive HCM patients significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the two parameters of both HCM groups were lower than those in healthy volunteers. Compared with obstructive HCM patients and healthy volunteers, peak radial displacement of left ventricule medial segment in nonobstructive HCM witnessed a significant decrease, while no significant difference was observed between obstructive HCM patients and healthy volunteers. Conclusion · In the LVEF preserved HCM patients, the myocardial strain of left ventricle in nonobstructive HCM patients decrease significantly than that in obstructive HCM patients, which may result in the different clinical outcomes intwo types of HCM patients. It is suggested that the myocardial strain is more sensitive than ejection fraction in the evaluation of myocardial performance of HCM patients.

Objectives To analyze the clinical features and long-term follow-up results of neuroblastoma (NB) without chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and to provide evidence for further improvement of treatment. Methods The clinical data of children diagnosed with NB who received operation during January 2005 to December 2015 was retrospectively analyzed, and the long-term follow-up results were evaluated. Results In 57 cases of NB, 43 cases (81.1％) were in stage 1, 8 cases were in stage 2 and 2 cases were in stage 4S. The median age at diagnose was 7 months (11 days - 10 years and 11 months). There were 47/51 cases had the pathological type with a good prognosis (accounting for 92.2％). FISH was detected in 1/49 case which had the amplification at greater than 10 copies. 56/57 cases underwent surgical resection of the primary tumor, 50 cases of which were completely resected, and 3 cases had very good partial remission after tumor resection. The abdominal mass was found in the uterus in 1 case, and surgical operation was not performed and the imaging was regularly checked for follow-up , and the mass subsided completely at 7-month-old. The median follow-up time was 36 months (4 - 99 months). Five children were lost to follow-up and the median time of follow-up was 19 months (4 - 45 months). One child in stage 4S relapsed at 1 year of follow-up, 2 cases in stage 1 relapsed at 6 months of follow-up. Five years event free survival rates (EFS) in all patients were 94.6％, and overall survival rate (OS) of the 5 years was 100％. Conclusions Children younger than 18 months without MYCN amplification in the stages 1 and 2 are safe by surgical treatment alone with good prognosis. Simple surgical treatment can also be extended to all age groups of NB without MYCN amplification in the stages 1 or 2.