AIM:Todiscusstherelationshipbetweensmallubiquitin-relatedmodifier4(SUMO4)expression and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).METHODS:The mRNA and protein levels of SUMO4 in PTC and normal thyroid tissues were determined by the methods of real-time PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry .The relationship be-tween SUMO4 expression and clinicopathologic parameters in PTC was evaluated .RESULTS:The results showed that both the mRNA and protein levels of SUMO 4 expression in PTC were obviously higher than those in normal thyroid tissues ( P<0.01).CONCLUSION:The high level of SUMO4 expression in PTC suggests that SUMO4 plays an important role in PTC development and it is probably a molecular mechanism of PTC .

Objective To study the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the diastolic heart failure in hypertensive patients. Methods 60 hypertensive patients with diastolic heart failure were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. Conventional therapies were given to patients of both groups. In addition, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was applied to those of treatment group. After 3 months, Doppler ultrasound recordings were obtained from all patients to determine the left ventricular diastolic function. Results The indexes of left ventricular diastolic function were im-proved after treatment in both groups(P < 0.01) ,and treatment group was better than control group(P < 0. 05). Conclusion For hypertensive patients with diastolic heart failure, hyperbaric oxygen can improve heart diastolic function.

Objective To study hyperbaric oxygen on left ventricular ejection fraction preserved by the influence of left ventricular remodeling in patients with heart failure. Methods A total of 110 patients with heart failure and normal ejection fraction were randomly allocated into the control group (n=55) and the HBO group (n=55). The control group were given the routine therapy, the HBO group were treated with hyperbaric oxygen on the basis of conventional drug. The application of color doppler ultrasound before and after treatment for 3 months left ventricular structure indicators. Results Left ventricular structure indicators were significantly decreased (LVDd、IVSD、LVPWD、LVMI)(P<0.01). Compared with the control group the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Follow-up of 3 months, The treatment group composite cardiovascular events was fewer than the control group and had significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can significantly improve left ventricular ejection fraction preserved by heart failure of left ventricular diastolic and systolic function and reverse left ventricular remodeling,And can reduce the happening of cardiovascular events.

Objective: To investigate the levels of vitamin D and the correlation between DPN and vitamin D in elderly patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DPN). Methods: A total of 849 patients aged 60 years and over admitted into endocrinology department from June 2016 to September 2017 were enrolled in this retrospective case-control study.According to DPN diagnostic criteria, patients were divided into the non-DPN group(n=542)and the DPN group(n=307). The 25(OH)-vitamin D[25(OH)D]level and blood biochemical parameters were determined and compared between the two groups.The risk factors for DPN were analyzed using logistic regression analysis and plotting receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves. Results: The mean of serum 25(OH)D level in the 849 patients was 43.9±19.4 nmol/L.Serum 25(OH)D level was lower in the DPN patients than in the non-DPN patients[(40.9±20.4)nmol/L vs.(45.7±18.6)nmol/L, P<0.05]. The incidence of 25(OH)D deficiency was higher in the DPN group than in the non-DPN group(72.3% or 222/307 vs. 64.6% or 350/542, P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that 25(OH)D was a protective factor for DPN(OR=0.980, 95% CI: 0.964~0.995, P<0.05)and the disease duration was a risk factor for DPN(OR=1.048, 95% CI: 1.027~1.070, P<0.001). ROC analysis indicated that the diagnostic cut-off value of serum 25(OH)D for predicting DPN was 37.5nmol/L, with a Youden index of 0.17, sensitivity of 0.65 and specificity of 0.52. Conclusions The 25(OH)D level is much lower in diabetic patients, especially in DPN patients.Higher 25(OH)VD level might be a protective factor for DPN, and vitamin D might be one of potential biomarkers for DPN in diabetic patients.

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. As the pathway between the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, brain-gut axis has become one of the research hotspots in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Intestinal flora imbalance may mediate or affect vascular risk factors such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, metabolic diseases, and ischemic stroke, and finally accelerate the occurrence and development of VCI. This article reviews the literature on intestinal flora and VCI as well as its main risk factors, in order to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of VCI.

Objective    To explore the application value of machine learning models in predicting postoperative survival of patients with thoracic squamous esophageal cancer. Methods    The clinical data of 369 patients with thoracic esophageal squamous carcinoma who underwent radical esophageal cancer surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from January 2014 to September 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 279 (75.6%) males and 90 (24.4%) females aged 41-78 years. The patients were randomly divided into a training set (259 patients) and a test set (110 patients) with a ratio of 7 : 3. Variable screening was performed by selecting the best subset of features. Six machine learning models were constructed on this basis and validated in an independent test set. The  performance of the models' predictions was evaluated by area under the curve (AUC), accuracy and logarithmic loss, and the fit of the models was reflected by calibration curves. The best model was selected as the final model. Risk stratification was performed using X-tile, and survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test. Results    The 5-year postoperative survival rate of the patients was 67.5%. All clinicopathological characteristics of patients between the two groups in the training and test sets were not statistically different (P>0.05). A total of seven variables, including hypertension, history of smoking, history of alcohol consumption, degree of tissue differentiation, pN stage, vascular invasion and nerve invasion, were included for modelling. The AUC values for each model in the independent test set were: decision tree (AUC=0.796), support vector machine (AUC=0.829), random forest (AUC=0.831), logistic regression (AUC=0.838), gradient boosting machine (AUC=0.846), and XGBoost (AUC=0.853). The XGBoost model was finally selected as the best model, and risk stratification was performed on the training and test sets. Patients in the training and test sets were divided into a low risk group, an intermediate risk group and a high risk group, respectively. In both data sets, the differences in surgical prognosis among three groups were statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion    Machine learning models have high value in predicting postoperative prognosis of thoracic squamous esophageal cancer. The XGBoost model outperforms common machine learning methods in predicting 5-year survival of patients with thoracic squamous esophageal cancer, and it has high utility and reliability.