Objective To understand the epidemic status quo and influencing factors of Kashin-Beck disease among children in mountain areas of Jilin Province.Methods Two hundred eighty-two severe endemic areas in 18 counties were selected and stratified by random cluster sampling method,and the status quo of KashinBeck disease prevalence was investigated among 7-12 year-old children according to the Diagnostic Criteria of Kashin-Beck Disease (WS/T 207-2010).In the meantime,the annual household income and the proportion of economic crops replanted,grain out-sourced,and returning farmlands to forests and grass were surveyed in the disease affected areas.Results A total of 14 162 children were investigated who had no clinical symptoms.Among them,28 cases were detected positive using X-ray with a detection rate of 1.98‰,while most of the cases were metaphysis positive.The annual household income (≥5 000 Yuan vs.＜ 5 000 Yuan) in the year 2009-2011 had a significant impact on the incidence of Kashin-Beck disease (1.47‰ vs.3.67‰,x2 =6.179,P ＜ 0.05),while the areas of returning farmland to forests and grass which accounted ＞ 1％ had no significant influence on the incidence compared with that ≤ 1％ (3.30‰ vs.1.57‰,x2 =3.876,P ＞ 0.05);the areas of economic crops replanting which accounted ＞ 10％ had no significant influence on the incidence compared with that ≤ 10％ (3.07‰ vs.1.65‰,x2 =2.565,P ＞ 0.05);the proportion of grain out-sourcing which accounted ＞ 50％ had no significant influence on the incidence compared with that ≤50％ (3.07‰ vs.1.65‰,x2 =2.565,P ＞ 0.05).Conehision Up to 2012,the disease among 7-12 year-old children of the mountain areas of Jilin Province have basically met the standard of Kashin-Beck disease elimination and the situation remains stable;furthermore,the household income has a significant impact on the incidence of Kashin-Beck disease.

BACKGROUND:Pedicle screw is the major instrumentation of surgery in thoracic spine. However, there have been few reports about pedicle morphology relevant to screw insertion tracts, and few reports comparing the normal adolescents and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. OBJECTIVE:To compare the morphologic characteristics of the thoracic pedicle with regard to safe thoracic pedicle screw placement in normal adolescents and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. METHODS: Thoracic pedicles of thirty-five normal adolescents and thirty-five adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients were measured with three-dimensional reconstruction CT images. Measured parameters include (1) critical distance: the shortest distance from an entry point to the ventral cortex of the lamina. (2) Safe distance: the distance from the entry point to the tangent of the spinal canal at the medial wal of the pedicle. (3) Pedicle screw length. (4) Pedicle width. (5) Pedicle transverse angle. The dangerous area was defined as the distance between the critical distance and the safe distance. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The mean critical distance was (9.2±1.0) mm for the normal adolescents, and (9.4±1.2) mm for the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. Safe distances were significantly less in normal adolescents (14.7±0.8) mm than that of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis group (15.4±1.4) mm (P < 0.001). The dangerous area was (5.4±0.7) mm for the normal adolescents, which was significantly less than that of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients (6.0±1.0) mm (P < 0.001). Pedicle screw length was (36.6±4.1) mm for the normal adolescents and (37.1±5.3) mm for the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. Pedicle width was (5.8±1.2) mm for the normal adolescents and (5.7±1.7) mm for the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. No significant difference in critical distance, pedicle screw length and pedicle width was found between the two groups (P=0.382, 0.135, 0.293). Pedicle transverse angle decreased gradualy from T1 to T12 in both groups. These results verify that pedicle morphology of many parameters is different between normal adolescents and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients, especialy in the apical area of the thoracic curve.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic and clinical significance of computerized tomography (CT) attenuation values (hounsfield unit,HU) in hydronephrosis with infection.Methods One hundred and eighty-five cases of upper urinary tract calculi with hydronephrosis from June 2014 to June 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 82 males and 103 females with a mean age of (52.3 ± 13.1)years old,ranging 18-80 years old.58 cases suffered hydronephrosis without infection,55 cases suffered acute pyelonephritis and 72 cases suffered pyonephrosis.The CT attenuation values of the renal pelvis urine in three groups were measured.Results The CT attenuation value of hydronephrosis without infection group was (5.61 ± 3.67) HU,95 ％ CI(4.64-6.57) H U.In acute pyelonephritis group,CT attenuation value was (8.35 ± 5.63) HU,95％ CI(6.83-9.87) HU.In pyonephrosis group,the CT attenuation value was (13.92 ± 6.21) HU,95％ CI (12.46-5.38) HU.The CT attenuation value of pyelonephritis compared with that of hydronephrosis without infection was significant different.(P ＜ 0.01).The CT attenuation value of the patients with pyonephrosis was significantly higher than that of patients without infection and with pyelonephritis (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The CT attenuation value of renal pelvis urine can predict intrarenal infection.Furthermore,The measurement of CT attenuation value has some clinical significance in preoperative evaluation of hydronephrosis with infection.

Objective:To investigate the treatment of Omalizumab for allergic asthma (AS) combined with atopic dermatitis (AD) in children.Methods:Five children who were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe AS combined with AD were admitted in the Department of Respiratory, Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from November 2018 to August 2020.All children were treated with standardized treatment of AS and Omalizumab.The efficacy and adverse reactions of Omalizumab treated for AD were observed.The scoring atopic dermatitis index (SCORAD), eczema area and severity index (EASI), the children′s dermatology life quality index (CDLQI) and numerical rating scale (NRS) were selected, the scales were used to evaluate the severity, area, itching and quality of life of AD children.Results:The AD-related evaluation indexes were remarkably decreased through the treatment of Omalizumab for 4 months, including SCORAD, EASI, CDLQI, and NRS(60.80±10.79 vs.40.30±15.62; 13.93±6.81 vs.6.18±2.70; 18.80±6.26 vs.13.20±4.82; 8.60±0.89 vs.6.00±1.87), the differences were statistically significant ( t=7.833, 4.106, 5.199, 5.099, all P<0.05). Two children administered the combination of Omalizumab and allergen specific immunotherapy, and no adverse reactions were observed in the process of immunotherapy.Totally, 104 hypodermic injections were accepted in all children, without adverse reactions being observed. Conclusions:This study suggested that the Omalizumab treatment can significantly reduce the severity and area of AD, and improve the quality of life for children with moderate-to-severe AS combined with AD.The application of Omalizumab before the allergen specific immunotherapy can improve the immunotolerance and security.There were mild adverse reactions in the treatment with the long-term hypodermic injection of Omalizumab that has higher security.Being taken together, Omalizumab is a potential novel target drug for the treatment of AD in children, and perhaps it is an adjuvant administration for allergen specific immunotherapy.

Objective:To explore the value of predicting new-onset heart failure events in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) using clinical and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) features based on machine learning algorithms.Methods:The study was a retrospective cohort study. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of HCM who underwent CMR examinations at Beijing Anzhen Hospital from May 2017 to March 2021 were selected and randomly divided into the training set and the validation set in a ratio of 7∶3. Clinical data and CMR parameters (including conventional parameters and radiomics features) were collected. The endpoint events were heart failure hospitalization and heart failure death, with follow-up ending in January 2023. Features with high stability and P value<0.05 in univariate Cox regression analysis were selected. Subsequently, three machine learning algorithms—random forest, decision tree, and XGBoost—were used to build heart failure event prediction models in the training set. The model performance was then evaluated using the independent validation set, with the performance assessed based on the concordance index. Results:A total of 462 patients were included, with a median age of 51 (39, 62) years, of whom 332 (71.9%) were male. There were 323 patients in the training set and 139 in the validation set. The median follow-up time was 42 (28, 52) months. A total of 44 patients (9.5% (44/462)) experienced endpoint events (8 cases of heart failure death and 36 cases of heart failure hospitalization), with 31 events in the training set and 13 in the validation set. Univariate Cox regression analysis identified 39 radiomic features, 4 conventional CMR parameters (left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, left ventricular end-systolic volume index, left ventricular ejection fraction, and late gadolinium enhancement ratio), and 1 clinical feature (history of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia) that could be included in the machine learning model. In the prediction models built with the training set, the concordance indices for the random forest, decision tree, and XGBoost models were 0.966 (95% CI 0.813-0.995), 0.956 (95% CI 0.796-0.992), and 0.973 (95% CI 0.823-0.996), respectively. In the validation set, the concordance indices for the random forest, decision tree, and XGBoost models were 0.854 (95% CI 0.557-0.964), 0.706 (95% CI 0.399-0.896), and 0.703 (95%CI 0.408-0.890), respectively. Conclusion:Integrating clinical and CMR features of HCM patients through machine learning aids in predicting heart failure events, with the random forest model showing superior performance.

Objective:To investigate the value of radiomics features derived from cardiac MR (CMR) cine images for predicting late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).Methods:Firstly, a total of 300 HCM patients with definite diagnosis who underwent CMR examination in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from May 2017 to August 2021 were retrospectively included, and were divided into a training set and a test set with a proportion of 7∶3 using random stratified sampling method. Then, a total of 89 HCM patients with definite diagnosis who underwent CMR examination in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2022 to May 2023 were included for external validation. The CVI42 software was used to obtain the cardiac function parameters. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Pearson correlation coefficient and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to select radiomics features. Finally, LASSO regression and three machine learning algorithms (including support vector machine, linear discriminant analysis and naive Bayes) were used to build prediction models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the prediction value of the model.Results:Totally 1 409 features were extracted from each patient, and 19 features were retained to build radiomics signature after dimension reduction. Although no significant differences among the four methods, the prediction performance and stability of LASSO regression were relatively good. The AUC was 0.795 (95%CI 0.735-0.855) in the training set, 0.765 (95%CI 0.668-0.862) in the test set and 0.721(95%CI 0.598-0.845) in the external validation set.Conclusions:The features extracted from CMR cine images can be used to predict LGE in HCM patients. LASSO regression is recommended for model construction.

Ulcerative colitis （UC） is a refractory disease of the digestive system characterized by diverse etiologies， complex pathogenesis， a prolonged course， and frequent relapses. In recent years， the incidence of UC has been increasing annually， severely impairing patients' quality of life， posing a risk of malignant transformation that may threaten patients' lives， and resulting in a substantial medical burden. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） compound formulas， with their advantages of multi-component and multi-target actions， have become a new therapeutic option for UC. The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome is a core component of innate immunity， and its aberrant activation is closely associated with the onset and progression of UC， involving multiple processes such as inflammation and oxidative stress， and exhibiting crosstalk with pathways including nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， and thioredoxin-interacting protein （TXNIP）. At present， NLRP3 has become one of the most intensely studied hotspots in UC-related research. Although increasing studies have focused on the regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by TCM compound formulas for UC treatment， challenges remain due to the complex pathogenesis of UC and the compositional diversity of TCM， hindering the realization of precision therapy. In this context， by reviewing literature from the past decade， this paper summarizes the activation process of NLRP3 and its relationship with UC， and elucidates the roles and mechanisms by which TCM compound formulas regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome and related signaling pathways， with a view to providing a reference for further research into the pathogenesis of UC， TCM treatment strategies， and their mechanisms of action.

Ulcerative colitis （UC） is a refractory disease of the digestive system characterized by diverse etiologies， complex pathogenesis， a prolonged course， and frequent relapses. In recent years， the incidence of UC has been increasing annually， severely impairing patients' quality of life， posing a risk of malignant transformation that may threaten patients' lives， and resulting in a substantial medical burden. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） compound formulas， with their advantages of multi-component and multi-target actions， have become a new therapeutic option for UC. The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome is a core component of innate immunity， and its aberrant activation is closely associated with the onset and progression of UC， involving multiple processes such as inflammation and oxidative stress， and exhibiting crosstalk with pathways including nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， and thioredoxin-interacting protein （TXNIP）. At present， NLRP3 has become one of the most intensely studied hotspots in UC-related research. Although increasing studies have focused on the regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by TCM compound formulas for UC treatment， challenges remain due to the complex pathogenesis of UC and the compositional diversity of TCM， hindering the realization of precision therapy. In this context， by reviewing literature from the past decade， this paper summarizes the activation process of NLRP3 and its relationship with UC， and elucidates the roles and mechanisms by which TCM compound formulas regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome and related signaling pathways， with a view to providing a reference for further research into the pathogenesis of UC， TCM treatment strategies， and their mechanisms of action.

Objective:To report the long-term outcomes of Chinese rectal cancer patients after adopting a Watch and Wait (W&W) strategy following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT).Methods:This multicenter, cross-sectional study was based on real-world data. The study cohort comprised rectal cancer patients who had achieved complete or near complete clinical responses (cCRs, near-cCRs) after NAT and were thereafter managed by a W&W approach, as well as a few patients who had achieved good responses after NAT and had then undergone local excision for confirmation of pathological complete response. All participants had been followed up for ≥2 years. Patients with distant metastases at baseline or who opted for observation while living with the tumor were excluded. Data of eligible patients were retrospectively collected from the Chinese Wait-and-Watch Data Collaboration Group database. These included baseline characteristics, type of NAT, pre-treatment imaging results, evaluation of post-NAT efficacy, salvage measures, and treatment outcomes. We herein report the long-term outcomes of Chinese rectal cancer patients after NAT and W&W and the differences between the cCR and near-cCR groups.Results:Clinical data of 318 rectal cancer patients who had undergone W&W for over 2 years and been followed up were collected from eight medical centers (Peking University Cancer Hospital, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Shanghai Changhai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Liaoning Cancer Hospital, the First Hospital of Jilin University, and Yunnan Cancer Hospital.) The participants comprised 221 men (69.4%) and 107 women (30.6%) of median age 60 (26-86) years. The median distance between tumor and anal verge was 3.4 (0-10.4) cm. Of these patients, 291 and 27 had achieved cCR or near-cCR, respectively, after NAT. The median duration of follow-up was 48.4 (10.2-110.3) months. The 5-year cumulative overall survival rate was 92.4% (95%CI: 86.8%-95.7%), 5-year cumulative disease-specific survival (CSS) rate 96.6% (95%CI: 92.2%-98.5%), 5-year cumulative organ-preserving disease-free survival rate 86.6% (95%CI: 81.0%-90.7%), and 5-year organ preservation rate 85.3% (95%CI: 80.3%-89.1%). The overall 5-year local recurrence and distant metastasis rates were 18.5% (95%CI: 14.9%-20.8%) and 8.2% (95%CI: 5.4%-12.5%), respectively. Most local recurrences (82.1%, 46/56) occurred within 2 years, and 91.0% (51/56) occurred within 3 years, the median time to recurrence being 11.7 (2.5-66.6) months. Most (91.1%, 51/56) local recurrences occurred within the intestinal lumen. Distant metastases developed in 23 patients; 60.9% (14/23) occurred within 2 years and 73.9% (17/23) within 3 years, the median time to distant metastasis being 21.9 (2.6-90.3) months. Common sites included lung (15/23, 65.2%), liver (6/23, 26.1%), and bone (7/23, 30.4%) The metastases involved single organs in 17 patients and multiple organs in six. There were no significant differences in overall, cumulative disease-specific, or organ-preserving disease-free survival or rate of metastases between the two groups (all P>0.05). The 5-year local recurrence rate was higher in the near-cCR than in the cCR group (41.6% vs. 16.4%, P<0.01), with a lower organ preservation rate (69.2% vs. 88.0%, P<0.001). The success rates of salvage after local recurrence and distant metastasis were 82.1% (46/56) and 13.0% (3/23), respectively. Conclusion:Rectal cancer patients who achieve cCR or near-cCR after NAT and undergo W&W have favorable oncological outcomes and a high rate of organ preservation. Local recurrence and distant metastasis during W&W follow certain patterns, with a relatively high salvage rate for local recurrence. Our findings highlight the importance of close follow-up and timely intervention during the W&W process.

Objective:To report the long-term outcomes of Chinese rectal cancer patients after adopting a Watch and Wait (W&W) strategy following neoadjuvant therapy (NAT).Methods:This multicenter, cross-sectional study was based on real-world data. The study cohort comprised rectal cancer patients who had achieved complete or near complete clinical responses (cCRs, near-cCRs) after NAT and were thereafter managed by a W&W approach, as well as a few patients who had achieved good responses after NAT and had then undergone local excision for confirmation of pathological complete response. All participants had been followed up for ≥2 years. Patients with distant metastases at baseline or who opted for observation while living with the tumor were excluded. Data of eligible patients were retrospectively collected from the Chinese Wait-and-Watch Data Collaboration Group database. These included baseline characteristics, type of NAT, pre-treatment imaging results, evaluation of post-NAT efficacy, salvage measures, and treatment outcomes. We herein report the long-term outcomes of Chinese rectal cancer patients after NAT and W&W and the differences between the cCR and near-cCR groups.Results:Clinical data of 318 rectal cancer patients who had undergone W&W for over 2 years and been followed up were collected from eight medical centers (Peking University Cancer Hospital, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Shanghai Changhai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Liaoning Cancer Hospital, the First Hospital of Jilin University, and Yunnan Cancer Hospital.) The participants comprised 221 men (69.4%) and 107 women (30.6%) of median age 60 (26-86) years. The median distance between tumor and anal verge was 3.4 (0-10.4) cm. Of these patients, 291 and 27 had achieved cCR or near-cCR, respectively, after NAT. The median duration of follow-up was 48.4 (10.2-110.3) months. The 5-year cumulative overall survival rate was 92.4% (95%CI: 86.8%-95.7%), 5-year cumulative disease-specific survival (CSS) rate 96.6% (95%CI: 92.2%-98.5%), 5-year cumulative organ-preserving disease-free survival rate 86.6% (95%CI: 81.0%-90.7%), and 5-year organ preservation rate 85.3% (95%CI: 80.3%-89.1%). The overall 5-year local recurrence and distant metastasis rates were 18.5% (95%CI: 14.9%-20.8%) and 8.2% (95%CI: 5.4%-12.5%), respectively. Most local recurrences (82.1%, 46/56) occurred within 2 years, and 91.0% (51/56) occurred within 3 years, the median time to recurrence being 11.7 (2.5-66.6) months. Most (91.1%, 51/56) local recurrences occurred within the intestinal lumen. Distant metastases developed in 23 patients; 60.9% (14/23) occurred within 2 years and 73.9% (17/23) within 3 years, the median time to distant metastasis being 21.9 (2.6-90.3) months. Common sites included lung (15/23, 65.2%), liver (6/23, 26.1%), and bone (7/23, 30.4%) The metastases involved single organs in 17 patients and multiple organs in six. There were no significant differences in overall, cumulative disease-specific, or organ-preserving disease-free survival or rate of metastases between the two groups (all P>0.05). The 5-year local recurrence rate was higher in the near-cCR than in the cCR group (41.6% vs. 16.4%, P<0.01), with a lower organ preservation rate (69.2% vs. 88.0%, P<0.001). The success rates of salvage after local recurrence and distant metastasis were 82.1% (46/56) and 13.0% (3/23), respectively. Conclusion:Rectal cancer patients who achieve cCR or near-cCR after NAT and undergo W&W have favorable oncological outcomes and a high rate of organ preservation. Local recurrence and distant metastasis during W&W follow certain patterns, with a relatively high salvage rate for local recurrence. Our findings highlight the importance of close follow-up and timely intervention during the W&W process.