OBJECTIVES: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is often diagnosed at a late stage due to its concealed location and exhibits marked regional clustering, posing a significant public health challenge in China. This study aims to analyze the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China using the latest 2021 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) database, providing epidemiological evidence for precise prevention and control of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: Age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), mortality rate, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate were used as indicators of disease burden. Stratified analyses were conducted by age, sex, socio-demographic index (SDI), and relevant risk factors. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) model were employed to project ASIR trends through 2050. RESULTS: In 2021, China's age-standardized incidence, mortality, and DALY rates of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were 3.4/100 000, 1.5/100 000, and 48.7/100 000, respectively, all higher than the global average. Across all age groups, Chinese males exhibited higher ASIR, mortality, and DALY rates than females. From 1990 to 2021, the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China decreased gradually with rising SDI. The proportion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma burden attributed to alcohol consumption, smoking, and occupational formaldehyde exposure in China exceeded global levels, especially among males. Projections from both models indicate a rising trend in ASIR for males, females, and the general population in China and globally from 2022 to 2050. CONCLUSIONS Over the past 30 years, the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China has decreased with the increasing SDI values but remains higher than the global average. Furthermore, ASIR is projected to increase over the next 30 years. It is imperative for China to enhance healthcare resource allocation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, particularly among high-risk male populations.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/mortality* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/mortality* ; Adult ; Incidence ; Global Burden of Disease ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Adolescent ; Databases, Factual ; Young Adult ; Cost of Illness ; Child ; Bayes Theorem

Myostatin gene (MSTN) encodes a negative regulator for controlling skeletal muscle growth in animals. In this study, MSTN^-/- homozygous mutants with "double muscle" phenotypic traits and stable inheritance were bred on the basis of MSTN gene editing rabbits, with the aim to establish a method for breeding homozygous progeny from primary MSTN biallelic mutant rabbits. MSTN^-/- primary mutant rabbits were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. The primary mutant rabbits were mated with wild type rabbits to produce F1 rabbits, whereas the F2 generation homozygous rabbits were bred by half-sibling mating or backcrossing with F1 generation rabbits of the same mutant strain. Sequence analysis of PCR products and its T vector cloning were used to screen homozygous rabbits. The MSTN mutant rabbits with 14-19 week-old were weighed and the difference of gluteus maximus tissue sections and muscle fiber cross-sectional area were calculated and analyzed. Five primary rabbits with MSTN gene mutation were obtained, among which three were used for homozygous breeding. A total of 15 homozygous rabbits (5 types of mutants) were obtained (M2-a: 3; M2-b: 2; M3-a: 2; M7-a: 6; M7-b: 2). The body weight of MSTN^-/- homozygous mutant rabbits aged 14-19 weeks were significantly higher than that of MSTN^+/+ wild-type rabbits of the same age ((2 718±120) g vs. (1 969±53) g, P < 0.01, a 38.0% increase). The mean cross sections of gluteus maximus muscle fiber in homozygous mutant rabbits were not only significantly higher than that of wild type rabbits ((3 512.2±439.2) μm² vs. (1 274.8±327.3) μm², P < 0.01), but also significantly higher than that of MSTN^+/- hemizygous rabbits ((3 512.2±439.2) μm² vs. (2 610.4±604.4) μm², P < 0.05). In summary, five homozygous mutants rabbits of MSTN^-/- gene were successfully bred, which showed a clear lean phenotype. The results showed that the primary breeds were non-chimeric mutant rabbits, and the mutant traits could be inherited from the offspring. MSTN^-/- homozygous mutant rabbits of F2 generation could be obtained from F1 hemizygous rabbits by inbreeding or backcrossing. The progenies of the primary biallelic mutant rabbits were separated into two single-allelic mutants, both of which showed a "double-muscle" phenotype. Thus, this study has made progress in breeding high-quality livestock breeds with gene editing technology.
Animals ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Mutation ; Myostatin/metabolism* ; Phenotype ; Rabbits

Background::As a non-invasive and effective diagnostic method for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), wild-use of breath test (BT) has demonstrated a high comorbidity rate in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) and SIBO. Patients overlapping with SIBO respond better to rifaximin therapy than those with IBS-D only. Gut microbiota plays a critical role in both of these two diseases. We aimed to determine the microbial difference between IBS-D overlapping with/without SIBO, and to study the underlying mechanism of its sensitivity to rifaximin.Methods::Patients with IBS-D were categorized as BT-negative (IBSN) and BT-positive (IBSP). Healthy volunteers (BT-negative) were enrolled as healthy control. The patients were clinically evaluated before and after rifaximin treatment (0.4 g bid, 4 weeks). Blood, intestine, and stool samples were collected for cytokine assessment and gut microbial analyses.Results::Clinical complaints and microbial abundance were significantly higher in IBSP than in IBSN. In contrast, severe systemic inflammation and more active bacterial invasion function that were associated with enrichment of opportunistic pathogens were seen in IBSN. The symptoms of IBSP patients were relieved in different degrees after therapy, but the symptoms of IBSN rarely changed. We also found that the presence of IBSN-enriched genera ( Enterobacter and Enterococcus) are unaffected by rifaximin therapy. Conclusions::IBS-D patients overlapping with SIBO showed noticeably different fecal microbial composition and function compared with IBS-D only. The better response to rifaximin in those comorbid patients might associate with their different gut microbiota, which suggests that BT is necessary before IBS-D diagnosis and use of rifaximin.Registration::Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800017911.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of remote injection device assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.Methods:Using retrospective research and analysis methods, 168 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures admitted to Heze Municipal Hospital from September 2019 to August 2020 were selected. A total of 139 cases were followed up, with a follow-up rate of 82.7%, including 22 males and 117 females, with an average age of 74.17 years. According to the different equipment used, they were divided into two groups. Seventy-two cases used remote injection device to assist percutaneous vertebroplasty (observation group), 67 cases used traditional puncture needle puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty (control group). All patients were completed follow-up at 3 months after surgery. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, bone cement injection volume, bone cement leakage rate, VAS score and ODI score of 1 day, 1 month and 3 months after operation were observed. Measurement data were expressed as ( Mean± SD), using t test, counting data were expressed as percentage [ n(%)], using χ2 test. Results:Both groups of patients successfully completed the operation without complications such as paraplegia, pulmonary embolism, or infection. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in operation time of two groups[(47.71±6.05) min vs (47.61±5.66) min, t=0.100, P=0.920]. The intraoperative blood loss of the two groups was no statistically significant difference [(7.08±3.00) mL vs (8.06±3.48) mL, t=1.782, P=0.079]. The difference between two groups of the amount of bone cement injected was statistically significant, [(6.44±1.03) mL vs (5.73±1.41) mL, t=3.369, P=0.001]. The bone cement leakage rate of the observation group was 27.78% (19/72), and the control group was 43.28% (29/67), and there was statistically significant( χ2=4.382, P=0.036). The preoperative VAS score of the observation group was (6.75±1.14) , and the control group was (6.64±1.08), and there was no significant difference between two groups( t=0.583, P=0.561) The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (1.28±0.75) and (1.21±0.77) respectively at 1 day after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.583, P=0.588). The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (0.89±0.76) and (1.09±0.67) respectively at 1 month after operation. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.641, P=0.103). The VAS scores of the observation group and the control group were (0.74±0.63) and (0.87±0.74) respectively at 3 months after operation. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.118, P=0.266). The preoperative ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (60.32±7.46) and (61.96±9.76) respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.121, P=0.264). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (14.93±6.01) and (15.10±6.43) respectively at 1 day after operation, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.161, P=0.872). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (10.54±4.24) and (11.31±3.71) respectively at 1 month after operation, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=1.136, P=0.258). The ODI scores of the observation group and the control group were (10.64±3.70) and (10.39±3.74) respectively at 3 months after operation, and there was no statistically significant difference between two groups( t=0.396, P=0.693). Conclusion:Compared with traditional puncture needle puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty, the remote injection device assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty has a definite clinical effect in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, and the bone cement leakage rate is low.

Objective:To summarize and compare the characteristics of oral microbiota in women during the preconception period and the third trimester.Methods:This retrospective cohort study involved 55 women who were recruited in the Preconceptional Offspring Trajectory Study (PLOTS) conducted by Fudan University and followed up to the third trimester in the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Jiading District of Shanghai from September 2016 to December 2019. A total of 110 unstimulated saliva samples were collected in the preconception period ( n=55) and the third trimester ( n=55). Features of oral microbiota in the samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing. Moreover, the related factors were also analyzed. Paired t test or Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test were used to analyze the differences in α-diversity during preconception and the third trimester; t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test for comparison between groups with different characteristics and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PerMANOVA) for β-diversity were used; Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe 1.0) was used to identify the iconic oral flora. Results:(1) The Ace index of oral microbiota was significantly lower in the third trimester than that in the preconception period [661.14(578.15-752.85) vs 730.64 (632.40-911.00), T=1 077.00, P=0.010]. There was also a significance difference in β-diversity ( F=12.539, R2=0.104, P=0.001). Some species such as Saccharibacteria_TM7_G3, Prevotella_7, Absconditabacteria_SR1_G1, Porphyromonas, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014, Prevotella, Peptostreptococcus, Prevotella_2, Alloprevotella, Parvimonas, Solobacterium and Eubacterium_nodatum_group in saliva were statistically more abundant in the third trimester than those in the preconception period (all P<0.05). (2) The third-trimester Shannon index was lower among those with lower income [5.44 (5.08-5.77) vs 5.75 (5.44-6.12), U=219.00, P=0.029] and those with gargle habit after meal or dessert [5.36 (4.91-5.48) vs 5.72 (5.44-6.05), U=374.00, P=0.046]. Conclusions:The features of oral microbiota vary in women during the preconception period and the third trimester. There is a significant increase in the abundance of oral pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria in the third trimester.

OBJECTIVE To review the clinical and image features of the patients with grade III-IV tracheal stenosis, and the surgical outcomes of tracheal sleeve resection and end-to-end anastomosis in the treatment of severe tracheal stenosis. METHODS Between July 2008 and July 2016, 20 patients with grade III-IV tracheal stenosis underwent tracheal sleeve resection and end-to-end anastomosis. RESULTS Postoperative decannulation was achieved in 17 patients(85.0％), and restenosis developed in 3 patients(15.0％). Postoperative complications were: 1 case wound infection, 4 cases subcutaneous emphysema, 3 cases temporary unilateral vocal fold palsy. Suture dehiscence, irreversible injury of the recurrent laryngeal nerves was not observed in our patients. No perioperative mortality occurred. CONCLUSION The tracheal sleeve resection and end-to-end anastomosis represent a viable treatment for severe tracheal stenosis. Long segment stenosis should not be considered as a contraindication. This surgical method should be considered cautiously in patients with diabetes.

Objective To explore the correlation of left ventricular systolic function calculated by automated cardiac motion quantification (aCMQ) and three-dimensional quantitative analysis (3DQA). Methods According to LVEF by 3DQA,patients were divided into abnormal cardiac function group(LVEF<50%)and normal cardiac function group(LVEF≥50%).Dynamic images from two chamber view(AP2), four chamber view(AP4)and three chamber view(AP3)of left ventricular long axis were acquired from 32 patients with abnormal cardiac function and 119 normal subjects.AP2 longitudinal strain (AP2LS),AP4 longitudinal strain (AP4LS) and AP3 longitudinal strain (AP3LS) as well as the left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) were measured by aCMQ. While left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV),left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV) and LVEF were derived through aCMQ automatically calculated region of interest (ROI) driven automation.The correlation of left ventricular systolic function indexes obtained by aCMQ and 3DQA were compared.Results No significant differences were found between the two groups in gender,body mass index(BMI) and age (P > 0.05).LVEF in abnormal group by 3QDA and aCMQ were much lower than those in normal group (P < 0.01).The absolute values of AP2LS,AP4LS,AP3LS and LVGLS in abnormal group were significantly lower than those in normal group (P < 0.01).LVEF by aCMQ in abnormal group was positively correlated with LVEF by 3QDA methods(r =0.91 ,P <0.01);LVEF by aCMQ in normal group was positively correlated with LVEF by 3QDA (r = 0.73,P < 0.01).The left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) measured by aCMQ was negatively correlated with LVEF by 3QDA(r = -0.815,P < 0.01).LVEF measured by aCMQ and 3DQA showed high inter-observer and intra-observer agreements in Bland-Altman charts.Conclusions aCMQ has preferable repeatability.Comparing with the traditional measurement method,LVEF measured by aCMQ has higher correlation with that measured by 3QDA.aCMQ can be a new and relatively accurate method to evaluate the left ventricular systolic function.

Objective To explore the value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in differential diagnosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods Fifty-two patients including 20 patients with ICC (ICC group) and 32 patients with HCC (HCC group) confirmed by histopathological examination were recruited in the study.All the patients were performed MR exams on a 1.5T scanner in a protocol containing the routine T1WI,T2WI,DWI and DTI.The values of ADC,fractional anisotropy (FA),diffusion coefficient (D) were blindly reviewed and analyzed by two experienced observers,and were compared between two groups.The ROC curve was used to evaluate the di agnostic efficiency.Results The border clear percentage of ICC group (9/20,45.00％) had no significant difference compared with that of HCC group (15/32,46.88％;x2 =0.02,P=0.90),the detection rate of bile duct expansion in ICC group (11/20,55.00％) was higher than that in HCC group (4/32,12.50％;x2=10.83,P=0.001).Theintraclasscor relation coefficient value of ADC,D and FA in the ICC group and HCC group were all more than 0.90.The mean FA of ICCgroup (0.45±0.16) were significantly higher than that of HCC group (0.30±0.13;P=0.001),while the mean ADC and D values in ICC and HCC groups had no significant difference (both P＞0.05).The area under the ROC curve of FA was 0.76.And when FA=0.31,there was a higher sensitivity (85.0％) in identifying ICC and HCC.Conclusion The FA of DTI shows a stronger capability than the ADC and D values in differentiating the ICC from HCC.

Objective To explore the relationship between the characteristics of dynamic contrastenhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and the stages of endometrial cancer.Methods A retrospective analysis of DCE-MRI manifestation in 55 patients with scratch-pathologically confirmed endometrial cancer was performed.All patients were divided into different groups according to differentiation,muscle layer infiltration,cervix involvement and metastasis.The enhanced rate,including the arterial phase relative signal increase ratio (ARSI％),the maximal relative signal increase ratio (MRSI％) and the signal enhancement ratio (SER％),was calculated at different time (i.e.16 s,32 s,48 s,64 s and 300 s),respectively.Time-intensity curves (TIC) of lesions were also obtained and divided into 4 subtypes.Two sample t test was performed to compare the MRSI％ among groups,and the Mann-Whitney U test was performed in ARSI％ and SER％ as well.Results The early phase enhanced rate of normal tissue was 894 ± 355,higher than that of tumor 716 ± 215 (t =-2.911,P ＜ 0.01).The delayed phase enhanced rate of normal tissue was 1111 ± 289,higher than that of tumor 803-± 289 (t =-4.926,P ＜ 0.01).ARSI％ of low differentiation group (n =16,M =1.07％) was higher than that of middle to high differentiation group (n =39,M=0.36％).ARSI％ of deep muscle layer infiltration group (n =19,M =0.76％) was higher than that of no muscle layer infiltration group (n =36,M =0.32％).ARSI％ of cervix involvement group (n =27,M =0.84％) was higher than that of no cervix involvement group (n =28,M =0.25％).SER％ of cervix involvement group (n =27,M =2.90％) was higher than that of no involvement group (n =28,M =1.40％) and SER％ of parauterine involvement and metastasis group (n =7,M =2.03％) was higher than that of uterine involvement group (n =48,M =1.60％).The differences between these groups were statistically significant (Z =-2.038,-2.260,-2.172,-2.695 and-2.621 respectively,P ＜ 0.05).Based on the TIC types,type Ⅰ occurred in 13 tumors (23.6％),type Ⅱ in 22 tumors (40％),type Ⅲ in 9 tumors (16.4％),and type Ⅳ in 11 tumors (20％).Conclusions Based on TIC curves,most of endometrial cancers showed significant enhancement which reflected of their rich blood supply.The parameters of DCE-MRI is helpful in staging of uterus tumors.

Objective To investigate the expression of DRAM in breast cancer cell line MCF-7 in radiation-induced autophagy. Methods GFP-LC3 transfection method was used to observe autophagy bubble.Real time-PCR was used to detect DRAM and MAPLC3 from transcriptional and translational level,respectively. The silencing vector from gene engineering was introduced by calcium phosphate transfection.Results Compared with the control group,GFP-LC3 increased significantly after 8 Gy irradiation by immunofluorescent assay,and the level of MAP-LC3 expression was higher than control group after 8 Gy irradiation by Western blot ( F =5.38,8.72,10.63,15.23,20.78 and 55.23,P ＜ 0.05 ).DRAM protein expression increased significantly at 2 h in the 8 Gy time-dose study,up to maximum at the 32 h( F =116.34,P ＜ 0.05 ).In DRAM model,the expression of LC3 and DRAM decreased significantly (F =20.36 and 40.35,P ＜ 0.05 ) and DRAM expression increased 8 Gy post-irradiation,but still lower than that in 8 Gy irradiation wild-type group.The LC3 expression also decreasaed 8 Gy post-irradiation(F =50.34,P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions DRAM plays an important role in irradiation-induced autophagy in breast cancer cell.DRAM might participate in the process and serve as a theoretical target for clinical treatment of breast cancer.