Objective · To investigate association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] level and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and explore its value in clinical practice for early screening and prevention of DPN. Methods · A total of 188 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, including 100cases with DPN and 88 cases without. Clinical data was collected and serum levels of 25(OH)D3, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood lipids and hepatic and renal functions were determined in all patients. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate relationship between each index and 25(OH)D3, and Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis of risk factors for DPN. Results · The median of serum 25(OH)D3 level was significantly lower in the patients with DPN (34.95 nmol/L) than that of the patients without DPN (52.6 nmol/L)(P<0.01). Spearmancorrelation analysis showed that there existed a negative correlation between the level of 25(OH)D3 and age, HbA1c and fasting blood glucose (r=-0.37, -0.53, and -0.29, respectively, P<0.01). The multiple Logistical regression analysis revealed that the 25(OH)D3 level was an independent risk factor for DPN. The odds ratio of serum 25(OH)D3 was 15.5 (OR=15.50, 95% CI=2.00 ~ 119.62) for the lowest quartile versus the highest quartile. Conclusion · The decreased level of 25(OH)D3 may increase risks for the occurrence of DPN in the elders with type 2 diabetes mellitus and monitoring the level of 25(OH)D3 contributes to early detection of DPN.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of Fascin and breast cancer prognosis. Methods Paraffin sections of breast cancer from 110 patients were investigated by immunohostochemistry with monoclonal anti-fascin antibody. Data of the Fascin expression and clinicopathological variables were analyzed for disease-free survival(DFS)and overall survival(OS)by Kaplan-miere and cox model. Results The expression of Fascin was significantly associated with ER negative,PR negative and lymph node metastasis,but not with age,HER2 status and tumor size. The patients with positive expression of Fascin had shorter disease free survival time than those without Fascin expression. Conclusion High expression of Fascin is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer. Fascin is an independent prognostic indicator of disease-free survival time.

Objective:To investigate the clinical incidence of the three mesial root canals of mandibular first molars. Methods: Incidence and morphology of the three mesial root canals of mandibular first molars were determined by probing the fissure or grooves between the mesiobuccal and mesiolingual root canal orifices and X-ray analysis. Results: Of the 222 mandibular first molars, 13 of the molars had three mesial root canals. The incidence rate was 5.85 %. Conclusion: Although the incidence rate of the three mesial root canals of mandibular first molars was very low, the dental operative microscope was helpful for the diagnosis.

A novel method based on cross sensitivity of cataluminescence (CTL) on nano-Ti3CeY2O11 was proposed for simultaneous determination of formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide in air.The relations between the concentrations of formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide and their CTL intensities were respectively ascertained at three wavelengths.The accurate concentrations of formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide can be calculated by superimposed total CTL intensities.The three analysis wavelengths are 420 nm, 535 nm and 680 nm.The surface temperature of the sensitive materials is 280℃.The carrier gas flow rate is 130 mL/min.The detection limits (3σ) are 0.04 mg/m3 for formaldehyde, 0.05 mg/m3 for benzene and 0.10 mg/m3 for sulfur dioxide, respectively.The linear ranges of CTL intensity versus analyte concentration are 0.08-75.60 mg/m3 for formaldehyde, 0.1-101.40 mg/m3 for benzene and 0.3 to 115.00 mg/m3 for sulfur dioxide.The recoveries of 12 testing standard samples by this method are 96.4%-103.7% for formaldehyde, 97.8%-102.5% for benzene and 97.2%-103.3% for sulfur dioxide.Common coexisting substances, such as acetaldehyde, toluene, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methanol, ethanol and carbon dioxide, do not disturb the determination.The relative deviation of CTL signals of continuous 200 h detection for gaseous mixture containing formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide is less than 2%, which shows the longevity of the nanometer composite oxide to formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide.This method makes full use of the cross sensitive phenomenon, and can realize the on-line analysis of formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide in air.

Frailty is an important geriatric syndrome and has gradually become one of the major focuses in geriatric research.Frailty is the result of interaction between multiple factors working on multiple systems,and is closely related to adverse health consequences.Therefore,early identification and assessment of frailty is very important for effective management of high risk individuals.This article reviews the current frailty assessment tools and examines their advantages and disadvantages.

Objective To establish a Real-time quantitative PCR method (qPCR) for the detection of diatom UPA barcoding genes and evaluate its application in the drowning diagnosis. Methods The homologous sequences of diatoms UPA gene was obtained by Blast from GeneBank, based on which the universal primers for diatoms were designed. DNA were extracted from 2 common human symbiotic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Bifidobacterium longum), 3 species of planktonic bacteria, 15 species of planktonic algae, tissue samples (lung, liver and kidney) from human cadavers (28 drowning victims, 1 victims by non-drowning in the water, 3 victims deaths on land) in 32 cases. The specificity, sensitivity and repeatability of the designed primers were tested. The positive rates of diatoms detection in the drowning cases were calculated. The results of the real-time quantitative method were evaluated comparatively by Microwave Digestion-Vacuum Filtration-Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy (MD-VF-Auto SEM) and PCR-Capillary Electrophoresis (PCR-CE). Results The results showed that the primers UPA99 had strong specificity for the diatomaceae (Synedra radians, Navicula sp., Melosira varians, Cyclotella sp. and Nitzschia sp.) DNA. The melting curve of the amplified product was smooth; the peak was narrow; the melting temperature was (87±1)℃. The sensitivity of qPCR method was 1.56×10-5ng/μL with the detection range of 1.56×102ng/mL~1.56×10-5ng/μL, in contrast with the PCR-CE method (1.56×10-3ng/μL). This real-time PCR method showed high repeatability and stability with the coefficient of variation less than 2%. The detection rate of lung, liver and kidney was 89.3%, 71.4% and 64.3% respectively. Conclusion The established qPCR method, based on the universal primers designed for diatom UPA gene, has high specificity, high sensitivity and good repeatability. With a promising prospect for application, qPCR is suitable for drowning diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the relationship between occupational noise exposure and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, as well as prediabetes diagnosed by HbA1c. Methods A total of 1 181 workers from a cigarette factory were selected as the research subjects using a judgment sampling method. Workers were divided into control, low-level noise exposure and high-level noise exposure groups, consisting of 236, 359, and 586 individuals, respectively. The blood sample was collected for HbA1c test and occupation noise exposure intensity in workplace was detected by an area-sampling method. Results There were no statistical significant differences in HbA1c levels and prediabetes prevalence among the three groups of workers (all P>0.05). After adjusting for potential confounding factors such as years of service, gender, smoking, pack-years of smoking, alcohol consumption, and body mass index, multiple linear regression analysis showed that the high-level noise exposure group had higher HbA1c level than the control group (P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis results showed that the high-level noise exposure group had higher risk of prediabetes compared with the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Occupational noise exposure could be a risk factor for the increased HbA1c levels and prediabetes incidence among the occupational population. More attention should be paid to the effects of occupational noise exposure on the HbA1c level in occupational health surveillance.

Objective:To develop and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic model for coronary artery disease based on facial photos.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Patients who were scheduled to undergo coronary angiography (CAG) at Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Daxing Hospital from August 2022 to November 2023 were included consecutively. Before CAG, facial photos were collected (including four angles: frontal view, left and right 60° profile, and top of the head). Photo datasets were randomly divided into a training set, a validation set (70%), and a testing set (30%). The model was constructed using Masked Autoencoder (MAE) and Vision Transformer (ViT) architectures. Firstly, the model base was pre-training using 2 million facial photos obtained from the publicly available VGGFace dataset, and fine-tuned by the training and validation sets; the model was validated in the test set. In addition, the ResNet architecture was used to process the dataset, and its outputs were compared with those of the models based on MAE and ViT. In the test set, the area under the operating characteristic curve ( AUC) of the AI model was calculated using CAG results as the gold standard. Results:A total of 5 974 participants aged 61 (54, 67) years were included, including 4 179 males (70.0%), with a total of 84 964 facial photos. There were 79 140 facial photos in the training and validation sets, with 3 822 patients with coronary artery disease; there were 5 824 facial photos in the test set, with 239 patients with coronary artery disease. The AUC value of the MAE and ViT model initialized with pre-training model weights was 0.841 and 0.824, respectively. The AUC of the ResNet model initialized with random weights was 0.810, while the AUC of the ResNet model initialized with pre-training model weights was 0.816. Conclusion:The AI model based on facial photos showes good diagnostic performance for coronary artery disease and holds promise for further application in early diagnosis.

Objective:To evaluate the early efficacy and safety of transnasal endoscopic decompression in the annulus of zinn (AZ) region for refractory dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) and to preliminarily analyze the correlated factors of postoperative visual function outcome.Methods:From July 2021 to January 2023, 35 patients (56 eyes) with DON who received AZ area decompression in Peking University Third Hospital were included retrospectively, including 9 males (13 eyes) and 26 females (43 eyes), aging (52.2±12.0) years. Among them, 35 eyes underwent two-wall (medial and inferior) orbital decompression using an endonasal endoscopic approach, while 21 eyes received three-wall (medial, lateral, and inferior) orbital decompression through a combined approach. Key parameters such as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), visual field (MD value), eyeball prominence, intraocular pressure, and complications were recorded. Postoperative data were collected one month after surgery. The statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test and Spearman correlation analysis. Results:Significant outcomes were observed post surgery in BCVA, visual field, intraocular pressure and proptosis ( t value was 8.37, 6.17, 4.50, and 9.20, respectively, all P<0.001). The reduction in proptosis was statistically significant between the 2-wall and 3-wall orbital decompression groups ( t=-2.82, P=0.007). Changes in BCVA, visual field, and intraocular pressure before and after surgery was greater in the 3-wall orbital decompression group compared to 2-wall orbital decompression group, although the difference was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). Change in postoperative visual acuity and visual field was significantly positively correlated with preoperative visual acuity and preoperative visual field (all P<0.001). Similarly, change in intraocular pressure and proptosis was positively correlated with preoperative intraocular pressure and preoperative protrusion (all P<0.001). Preoperative diplopia was reported in seven patients (20.0%), and two new cases (5.7%) were noted post-operation, which resolved within 3 months after surgery. Conclusions:Endoscopic endonasal decompression of the AZ area is a safe and effective surgical treatment for DON, with notable improvements in BCVA. Furthermore, three-orbital wall decompression seems to yield better outcomes in terms of eye retraction.

BACKGROUNDThe extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae has increasingly become a major contributor to nosocomial infections and can exhibit multiple antibiotic resistance. Previous studies have focused on the resistance genes in ESBL-producing strains, and the resistance-associated genetic environment of non-ESBL-producing strains has been ignored until now. Here, we investigated the occurrence and characteristics of non-ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae, which potentially carries unexpressed resistance genes.

METHODSK. pneumoniae strains were collected from five medical institutions in China from February 2010 to August 2013. The VITEK-2 ESBL detection system was used as a primary screen to identify the ESBL-producing phenotype, and the three primary types of ESBL-associated genes (CTX, SHV, and TEM) were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm the strains presenting with a non-ESBL-producing phenotype. mRNA expression in the non-ESBL-producing strains was further screened by reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) to validate their transcriptional efficiency.

RESULTSOut of 224 clinically isolated antibiotic-sensitive K. pneumoniae strains with a non-ESBL-producing phenotype, 5 (2.2%) were identified to carry inactivated ESBL blaSHV genes with intact upstream promoter regions and resistance gene sequences. Interestingly, three of the five antibiotic-sensitive K. pneumoniae strains containing ESBL blaSHV genes still exhibited mRNA transcription of blaSHV, while the other two exhibited no mRNA transcription.

CONCLUSIONThese findings suggest that inactivated ESBL genes exist in non-ESBL-producing antibiotic-sensitive K. pneumoniae strains, which have the potential to transform the strain into an ESBL phenotype if an inappropriate application or overdose of antibiotics is implemented during clinical management.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; China ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; genetics ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; drug effects ; enzymology ; genetics ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; beta-Lactamases ; genetics