Objective To preliminary investigate fetal left heart function of fetuses in α-thalassemia using spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC).Methods 95 volumes from fetal hearts in singleton pregnancies at 20-28 weeks of gestation were collected.STIC datasets were frozen in end-systole and enddiastole.Ventricular volumes were measured using VOCAL,Inversion and SonoAVC.The stroke volume was calculated from these measurements.Results All data sets could be measured with all three techniques in this study.The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between techniques were all ＞ 0.90.The time necessary to measure the stroke volume was significantly shorter using SonoAVC than using VOCAL and Inversion.Bland-Altman plots showed no clinically significant mean percent differences between stroke volume measurements obtained from each ventricle using three techniques.The left ventricular end-systole volume(ESV),stroke volume(SV)and ejection fraction(EF)was significantly different than fetuses with normal heart (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions This study shows the feasibility of measuring left ventricular volumes during either systole or diastole and thereby calculating stroke volumes with all three techniques.And there was a high degree of reliability for all three techniques,as shown by excellent ICCs.There was good accuracy of STIC techniques in measuring fetal left ventricular volumes with cardiomegaly.

Objective To assess the value of tomographic ultrasound imaging (TUI) for prenatal analysis of the relative orientation of fetal heart and great arteries. Methods Volume datasets acquired from 12 patients of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and 13 normal fetal heart were evaluated offline with TUI. The aortic valves (AV) and pulmonary valves (PV) were respectively showed on the two parallel slices. According to the pivot point in the middle of the PV in one slice, the relative orientation of the AV on another slices were analyzed. Results In the 12 patients of TGA confirmed postnatally, 7 were concomitant with single ventricle anomaly, AV was on the anterior-right orientation of the PV in 5, and was relatively on the anterior and anterior-left orientation in other 2 of them.In the remained 5 with seeming normal 4 chamber view, AV was found on the anterior-right of the PV in 3, and was relatively on the anterior and upright orientation.in other 2 patients. In 13 normal fetuses, TUI showed that all AV located on the posterior-right orientation to the PV. Conclusion TUI can provide detailed spatial information of the great arteries both in normal and abnormal fetal heart. It may be a convenient and veracious tool for prenatal exploring the morphology of the great arteries.

Objective To investigate the expression profiles of microRNA in early esophageal squamous cancer and normal esophageal tissues and verify the significantly different expression miRNAs , further to study the effects on proliferation of EC109. Methods The microarray assay was performed to analyze miRNA expression profiles in three pairs of early esophageal squamous cancer and the corresponding normal esophageal tissues. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used in another 38 pairs samples to further verify the differentially expressed miRNAs . Three verified miRNAs ( miR-29a, miR-221 and miR-222) mimics were transfected into EC109 respectively and CCK8 method was used to study the effect of cell proliferation in each miRNA. Results Microarray technique selected 53 miRNAs that differentially expressed in early esophageal squamous cancer and normal esophageal tissues , 32 miRNAs were up-regulated and 21 miRNAs were down-regulated. qRT-PCR verified that miR-29a was significantly down-regulated (P < 0.05) and miR-221, miR-222 were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05) in early esophageal squamous cancer tissue. Over-expression of miR-29a could significantly inhibit the proliferation of EC109 (P < 0.05) whereas over-expression of miR-221 or miR-222 could both significantly promote the proliferation of EC109 (P < 0.05). Conclusion There was significant difference of miRNAs expression between early esophageal squamous cancer and normal esophageal tissues, and the differentially expressed miRNAs could be used as new biomarkers for early diagnosis of esophageal squamous cancer.

Objective The aim of the present study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Mandarin version of the PP (MPP) .Methods The first step in the establishment was to translate the original English version into mandarin version with the method of cross -culture translation .The reliability was performed with the internal consistency analysis and test -retest reliability .The validity was performed for the content validity and structure va-lidity .The samples were from 80 Chinese CI children ,and 43 parents answered this questionnaire again 1 month lat-er to evaluate the test -retest reliability .The average age at cochlear implantation were 26 ± 14 months ,ranging from 7 months to 68 months ,the average duration of CI use were 10 ± 7 months ,ranging from 0 month to 24 months .Results The reliability analysis indicates that the Cronbach'sαcoefficient was 0 .797 ,except for the well-being and happiness ,education ,whose coefficients are respectively 0 .303 ,and 0 .341 ,all of the other sundomainscoefficient were greater than 0 .5 ,indicating the internal consistency was good .Test -retest reliability of the scale Cronbach'sαwas satisfactory .All subdomains and total score of the scale coefficients were greater than 0 .70(P<0 .01) .The validity analysis indicated that the pearson correlation coefficients among the total scale and the 8 subdo-mains were 0 .395~0 .992 ,the correlation coefficients among each subdomains were 0 .09~0 .654 ,which confirmed with the psychological characteristics ,proving its good structure validity .Conclusion The Chinese version of the PP show s good reliability and validity and can be used to evaluation the quality of life in mandarin CI children.

Objective To investigate the security and efficacy of one stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by uniportal-video-assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) to cure patients with myasthenia gravis(MG).Methods A number of 131 patients with MG who underwent resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by VATS in one single center from February 2009 to December 2013 were selected in this retrospective study.76 patients underwent unilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by three portal VATS from February 2009 to March 2012 and 55 patients underwent one stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by small uniportal-VATS from April 2012 to December 2013.The time for operation,the bleeding volume during operation,the volume of postoperative drainage and drainage time,the improvement of symptoms,the postoperative pain,hospital stays and the occurrence of myasthenia gravis crisis were compared between the two groups.Results The general condition and pathological type did not have significant statistical differences between the two groups.The operating time in the uniportal-VATS group was significantly longer than that in three portal VATS group,but the pain was lighter,and the hospital stay was shorter.There were no significant differences between groups in terms of blood loss,postoperative drainage time,and volume of drainage.The follow-up was from 32 to 90 months,and 118 (90.08％)patients completed the follow up.94.5 ％ of the patients in uniportalVATS group acquired complete stable remission(CSR),while it was 84.2％ in three portal VATS group(P ＜ 0.05),and the uniportal-VATS group had lower rate of myasthenic crisis (P ＜0.05).Conclusion One stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by small uniportal-VATS is safe and effective with shorter hospital stay and less pain,and it can get higher CSR and less myasthenic crisis,its efficacy is superior to traditional three portal VATS.

Objective To research the application of "Z" chest drainage and modified incision and closure techniques for single-incision VATS.Methods 422 patients by uniportal VATS were divided into three groups:282 in experimental group("Z" Chest drainage with 16 F stomach tube),male 156,female 126,median age is 55 years old;100 in control group 1 (traditional chest drainage with 16 F stomach tube),male 58,female 42,median age is 53 years old;40 in control group 2 (traditional chest drainage with 34 F chest tube),male 24,female 16,median age is 52 years old.To compare the incidence rate of incision exudating、poor healing of incision and debridement between the 3 groups.Results The age,sex and surgical method of the three groups has no statistical significance.Incidence rate of incision exudating of experimental group,control group 1 and control group 2:5 (1.8％,5/282),5 (5.0％,5/100) and 6 (15.0％,6/40);Poor healing of incision of the three groups:0,1 (1.0％,1/100) and 3(7.5％,3/40);debridement of the three groups:0,0 and 3(7.5％,3/40).For the healing of incision,control group 1 was better than control group 2;and experimental group was better than control group 1.Conclusion "Z" chest drainage and modified incision and closure techniques decreased the incidence rate of incision exudate 、poor healing of incision and debridement,it could be useful to obtain a better cosmetic effect after single-incision VATS.

Objective:To evaluate the impact of metastatic site on the prognosis in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), and it′s value for modifying the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) criteria.Methods:The data of 218 patients pathologically diagnosed with mRCC were analyzed retrospectively in West China Hospital from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2019. Among all patients, 71.6%(156/218) were male, and 89.0% (194/218) underwent nephrectomy. Most of the patients were pathologically diagnosed with renal clear cell carcinoma (176 patients, 80.7%). Lung (137/218, 62.8%) was the most observed metastatic site, following by bone (47/218, 26.1%), lymph node (37/218, 17.0%) and liver (23/218, 10.6%). All patients were classified into favorable (26 patients, 11.9%), intermediate (126 patients, 57.8%) or poor (37 patients, 17.0%) risk group according to IMDC criteria. Endpoints of this study were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and tumor response. The impact of metastatic sites on patients’ prognosis was analyzed, and those that had significant relationship with prognosis were then added into IMDC criteria and a modifying IMDC model was established. Predictive value of this model was further evaluated by calculating concordance index (C-index).Results:In the whole cohort, median PFS and OS were 13.0 and 33.0 months. Survival analysis suggested that patients with bone ( P=0.004), brain ( P=0.042) and liver ( P=0.046) had significantly shorter OS. Thus, patients were divided into two groups: patients with bone/brain/liver metastasis (82 patients, 37.6%) and patients with other metastatic sites (136 patients, 62.4%). Compared with patients with other metastatic sites, those who with bone/brain/liver metastasis had inferior tumor response by TKIs treatment (disease control rate: 51.2% vs. 73.5%, P=0.004). Multivariate analysis suggested that bone/brain/liver metastasis had negative impact on OS (25.0 vs. 47.0 mo, P=0.039). Furthermore, bone/brain/liver metastasis also showed significant relationship with shorter OS in IMDC low (30.0 vs. 62.0 months, P=0.036), intermediate (31.0 vs. 48.0 months, P=0.048) or high (7.0 vs. 18.0 months, P=0.037) risk group, indicating that metastatic site had predictive value for prognosis of mRCC patients. Based on that, bone/brain/liver metastasis were added into the IMDC criteria, and weighting each parameter was weighted according to its coefficient to patients’ OS. Finally, a modified IMDC scoring system were established. C-index of this modified model was 0.669 (0.599 for current IMDC criteria). Conclusions:Bone/brain/liver metastasis in mRCC patients indicated a shorter OS duration. When adding bone/brain/liver metastasis as a predictive parameter for prognosis of mRCC patients into IMDC criteria, the modified IMDC criteria could offer more accurate prediction for patients’ survival.

Objective To determine the pollution sources that influence the level of exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the elderly,and calculate the quantitative contributions of difference sources.Methods Personal exposure PM samples were collected in the summer and winter of 2011 from 101 elderly men in a Tianjin community.Chemical species (elements,water-soluble ions and carbonaceous species) were analyzed in PM samples to determine PM2.5 concentrations and chemical compositions.The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model,which is recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency,was employed to quantitatively analyze the contribution of each potential sources to personal levels of PM2.5 exposure.Results In both summer and winter,the model identified the same six sources of personal exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly:fugitive dust (marker species:Si,Al,Ca,Mg,Fe etc.),coal combustion emissions (marker species:organic carbon (OC) and SO42-),vehicle exhausts (marker species:inorganic carbon and NO3),secondary sulfates and nitrates (marker species:NO3-,SO42-and NH4 +),industrial emissions (marker species:Mn,Ni,Cu,Zn,Pb etc.),and indoor sources (marker species:OC,K,Si,Al etc.).Among these six potential sources,vehicle exhausts (summer:33.6％,winter:24.2％),secondary sulfates and nitrates (summer:27.4％,winter:29.1％),as well as coal combustion emissions (summer:19.9％,winter:24.1％) were the greatest contributors.Conclusions Coal combustion and vehicle exhaust emissions were the major sources of personal exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly,suggesting that these two sources were the key contributors to the precursor gases of secondary sulfate and nitrate.Key Project of Chinese National Programs for Fundamental Research and Development (2011CB503801)

Objective To determine the pollution sources that influence the level of exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the elderly,and calculate the quantitative contributions of difference sources.Methods Personal exposure PM samples were collected in the summer and winter of 2011 from 101 elderly men in a Tianjin community.Chemical species (elements,water-soluble ions and carbonaceous species) were analyzed in PM samples to determine PM2.5 concentrations and chemical compositions.The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model,which is recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency,was employed to quantitatively analyze the contribution of each potential sources to personal levels of PM2.5 exposure.Results In both summer and winter,the model identified the same six sources of personal exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly:fugitive dust (marker species:Si,Al,Ca,Mg,Fe etc.),coal combustion emissions (marker species:organic carbon (OC) and SO42-),vehicle exhausts (marker species:inorganic carbon and NO3),secondary sulfates and nitrates (marker species:NO3-,SO42-and NH4 +),industrial emissions (marker species:Mn,Ni,Cu,Zn,Pb etc.),and indoor sources (marker species:OC,K,Si,Al etc.).Among these six potential sources,vehicle exhausts (summer:33.6％,winter:24.2％),secondary sulfates and nitrates (summer:27.4％,winter:29.1％),as well as coal combustion emissions (summer:19.9％,winter:24.1％) were the greatest contributors.Conclusions Coal combustion and vehicle exhaust emissions were the major sources of personal exposure to PM2.5 in the elderly,suggesting that these two sources were the key contributors to the precursor gases of secondary sulfate and nitrate.Key Project of Chinese National Programs for Fundamental Research and Development (2011CB503801)

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of intervention and management of the patients with dyslipidemia in some districts in Shenzhen and provide health economic basis for prevention and control of dyslipidemia. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive community intervention among patients for dyslipidemia management, enrolling 204 cases of dyslipidemia in the intervention group and 200 cases in the control group through multi-stage cluster random sampling. We collected baseline and intervention data, such as the cost of institutional intervention (labor costs, office expenses, material expenses, loss of low-value consumables, service costs, and depreciation of fixed assets), patient costs (direct and indirect medical costs), effect indicators (lipid control rate, lipid improvement rate, and lipid exacerbation rate) to analyze cost-effectiveness. Results: After 12 months of the comprehensive community intervention, the total cost for the intervention group was 1 321.62 yuan per capita; the cost per patient was 973.33 yuan; and per capita institutional cost was 348.29 yuan. Total cholesterol, triglyceide, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of intervention group decreased by 0.43 mmol/L, 0.16 mmol/L, and 0.42 mmol/L, respectively, after the intervention, and there was a significant difference before and after the intervention (P<0.05). After intervention, the intervention group lipid control rate was 17.6%, the lipid improvement rate was 48.0%, and the lipid exacerbation rate was 7.4%, whereas those of the control group were 10.5%, 22.5%, and 16.0%, respectively. The lipid control rate and improvement rate in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group, and the lipid exacerbation rate was lower than that of the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=43.774, P<0.001). Patients in the control group had a unit cost of 81.17 yuan for 1% of blood lipid control rate and 37.88 yuan for one unit of blood lipid improvement rate. The corresponding per capita cost of the intervention group was 74.87 yuan and 27.51 yuan, respectively. The intervention group's cost-effect ratio was lower than that of the control group and had good cost-effectiveness. Conclusions The comprehensive community intervention and management of patients with dyslipidemia was effective in terms of health economics and it is worth the long-term implementation and promotion in the community health service center.