Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and immunization history of pertussis cases in Yichang City, Hubei Province from 2018 to 2023. Methods Data on the incidence and immunization history of pertussis cases were collected in Yichang City from 2018 to 2023, and the epidemiological characteristics was analyzed and described. Results A total of 109 cases of pertussis were reported in Yichang from 2018 to 2023, and the annual average reported incidence rate was 0.45/100,000. The incidence rate reported in each year was between 0～1.58/100,000. The area with the highest annual reported incidence rate was Xiling District (1.19/100,000). There was a statistically significant difference in the incidence rate between different years (χ²=208.26, P < 0.001). The annual reported incidence rate showed a significant increasing trend (χ² trend =125.71, P < 0.001). The ratio of male to female cases was 1.22. There was no significant difference in the annual reported incidence rates between males and females (χ²=0.85, P=0.36). Children aged 3-9 years accounted for 60.55%. Students and scattered children accounted for 45.87% and 36.70%, respectively. Before the onset of the disease, 72.48% had a history of immunization with pertussis-containing vaccine, and 27.52% had no history of immunization. The shortest interval between the last dose of pertussis-containing vaccine and the onset of the disease was 8 days, the longest was 4057 days, and the median was 1882 days. Conclusion From 2018 to 2023, the reported incidence of pertussis in Yichang City has been on the rise, with the majority of cases occurring in children and students under the age of 9. It is recommended to strengthen pertussis disease monitoring.

Glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL, also known as glutamine synthetase) is a crucial enzyme that catalyzes ammonium and glutamate into glutamine in the ATP-dependent condensation. Although GLUL plays a critical role in multiple cancers, the expression and function of GLUL in gastric cancer remain unclear. In the present study, we have found that the expression level of GLUL was significantly lower in gastric cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, and correlated with N stage and TNM stage, and low GLUL expression predicted poor survival for gastric cancer patients. Knockdown of GLUL promoted the growth, migration, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, and vice versa, which was independent of its enzyme activity. Mechanistically, GLUL competed with β-Catenin to bind to N-Cadherin, increased the stability of N-Cadherin and decreased the stability of β-Catenin by alerting their ubiquitination. Furthermore, there were lower N-Cadherin and higher β-Catenin expression levels in gastric cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. GLUL protein expression was correlated with that of N-Cadherin, and could be the independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer. Our findings reveal that GLUL stabilizes N-Cadherin by antagonizing β-Catenin to inhibit the progress of gastric cancer.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between blood pressure variability (BPV) and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with Alzheimer′s disease (AD).Methods:In this retrospective cohort study, sixty-nine patients with AD from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, the Chinese Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Alzheimer′s Disease were consecutively collected from February 1 to August 31, 2023. The patients were divided into the BPSD group (50 patients) and the control group (19 patients) according to with or without BPSD. The patients′ general information were collected, such as age at enrolment, gender, duration of education, and history of hypertension, diabetes, cerebral infarction, hyperlipoidemia, smoking, alcohol consumption, and carrier status of apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele (APOE ε4). The 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring instruments were also used to collect the patients′ mean systolic blood pressure, mean diastolic blood pressure and 12 BPV indicators, which covered standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) of systolic and diastolic blood pressure throughout the day, daytime and nighttime. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used to assess their cognitive function, and the Activity of Daily Living (ADL)-14 items was used to assess their daily living abilities; hypothesis tests were used to compare the general information, MoCA scores, ADL-14 items scores, mean blood pressure and BPV indicators between the two groups; the multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the related factors of BPSD in AD patients; Spearman correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the total score of neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) and BPV indicators in AD patients with BPSD.Results:In the BPSD group, the incidence rate of hypertension and MoCA scores were both significantly lower than those in the control group [44.00% vs 73.70%, (9.72±5.60) vs (14.53±5.52) points], but ADL-14 items scores and nocturnal systolic blood pressure CV were both significantly higher [23.00 (17.00, 29.25) vs 14.00 (14.00, 17.00) points, 8.89%±2.26% vs 7.52%±2.30%] (all P<0.05). Elevated ADL-14 items scores ( OR=1.379, 95% CI: 1.131-1.681) and nocturnal systolic blood pressure CV ( OR=1.387, 95% CI: 1.003-1.918) were positive correlation factors for the risk of BPSD in AD patients (all P<0.05). The daytime systolic blood pressure SD ( r=0.375) and CV ( r=0.357) were both positively correlated with total NPI scores in AD patients with BPSD (all P<0.05). Conclusion:BPV is correlated with BPSD in AD patients. Nocturnal systolic blood pressure CV is a positive correlation factor for the risk of BPSD in AD patients, and the total scores of NPI in AD patients are positively correlated with daytime systolic blood pressure SD and CV. It suggests that controlling BPV is a potential therapeutic measure to improve the BPSD of AD patients.

The postdoctoral team is the driving force for hospital research work and it serves as an important reserve for the high-quality development of hospitals.Taking a tertiary public hospital in Shanghai as a research subject,this article exam-ined the postdoctoral recruitment,management,and research accomplishments of the hospital from 2013 to 2022.Additionally,this article investigated issues in postdoctoral training and made some suggests for improving management framework,recruitment and training and service mechanisms.

Objective:To explore the factors on malnutrition or risk of malnutrition in patients with Alzheimer′s disease (AD)-related cognitive impairment,and to further analyze the association between the severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) and nutritional status.Methods:The clinical data of 247 patients with AD-related cognitive impairment were collected continuously from the Chinese Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Alzheimer′s Disease (CIBL) cohort between June 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022. The patients were divided into well-nourished group ( n=128) and malnourished group ( n=119) according to the scores of Mini-Nutritional Assessment scale (MNA). The sociodemographic data (sex, age, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, education level), the medical history of olfactory dysfunction, combination with more than two chronic diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases, presenting BPSD, and the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Activity of Daily Living (ADL), Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) and Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) were compared between the two groups. The factors with statistically significant differences in hypothesis test and univariate Logistic regression analysis were enrolled in multivariate Logistic regression analysis to further identify independent factors associated with malnutrition in patients with AD-related cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the association between NPI scores and MNA scores was analyzed by Spearman′s rank correlation test. Results:Compared with those in the well-nourished group, patients in the malnourished group had higher age [(66.70±7.01) years vs (69.14±8.87) years, t=-2.39, P=0.018], lower body mass index [(24.68±2.84) kg/m 2vs (22.69±3.63) kg/m 2, t=4.78, P<0.001], and higher proportion of presenting BPSD [22.66% (29/128) vs 76.47% (91/119), χ 2=71.49, P<0.001]; lower scores of MMSE, MoCA, and DDS [24.27±4.69 vs 18.95±8.40, t=6.09; 20.29±5.18 vs 14.55±8.12, t=6.56; 8.00 (8.00, 9.00) vs 8.00 (7.00, 8.00), Z=-4.66; all P<0.001], and higher scores of NPI, ADL and CBI [1.00 (0, 6.00) vs 10.00 (2.00, 25.00), Z=-6.50; 20.00 (20.00, 22.00) vs 27.00 (20.00, 40.00), Z=-7.08; 1.00 (0, 14.75) vs 12.00 (2.00, 35.00), Z=-5.13; all P<0.001]. There were no statistically significant differences in the sex, waist-to-hip ratio, education level, and the medical history of olfactory dysfunction, combination with more than two chronic diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases between the two groups. The multiple Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the decreased body mass index ( OR=0.79, 95% CI 0.70-0.89, P<0.001), presenting BPSD ( OR=7.84, 95% CI 3.67-16.73, P<0.001), elevated ADL scores ( OR=1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.24, P<0.001) and CBI scores ( OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.97-1.00, P=0.026), and decreased scores of DDS ( OR=0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.84, P=0.001) were independently associated with malnutrition in patients with AD-related cognitive impairment. The MNA scores were significantly negatively associated with NPI scores ( r=-0.483,95% CI -0.58--0.38, P<0.001). Conclusions:The decreased body mass index, dietary diversity, and ability of daily living, and presenting BPSD and heavy burden of caregivers can independently contribute to the malnutrition in patients with AD-related cognitive impairment. The more serious the BPSD, the worse the nutritional status.

Objectives:To analyze the potential biomarkers of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with Alzheimer′s disease (AD) continuum.Methods:A prospective cohort study was consecutively conducted on 179 patients with AD continuum (135 presented with BPSD, 44 patients without BPSD as control) from Capital Medical University, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, the Chinese imaging biomarkers and lifestyle cohort between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022. Gender, age, body max index, education level, diagnosis, the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele (APOE ε4) carrier status, the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD-related pathological biomarkers (Aβ 42, Aβ 40, Aβ 42/40, tTau, pTau181), and blood biomarkers (white blood cell count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, platelet, total bilirubin, albumin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, homocysteine, vitamin B 12, folate) were compared between the two groups by using hypothesis testing and univariate logistic regression analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the potential biomarkers associated with BPSD in patients with AD. Results:Among the 179 patients with AD continuum in the final analysis, 77 patients were men, 102 cases were women; 35 patients were identified with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD and 144 patients with AD dementia stage, the mean age was (66.54±9.75) years. Compared with those in control group, patients with BPSD had lower cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ 40 and blood hemoglobin levels [7.08 (4.42, 15.42) vs 9.62 (6.45, 12.12) pg/L, (132.70±13.37) vs (138.80±14.38) g/L] ( U=-1.856, t=2.579, P<0.05). The levels of CSF Aβ 40 ( OR=0.030, 95% CI: 0.001-0.760) and blood hemoglobin ( OR=0.051, 95% CI: 0.004-0.670) were independently negatively associated with BPSD in patients with AD continuum (both P<0.05). Conclusion:The decreased levels of CSF Aβ 40 and blood hemoglobin could be considered as potential biomarkers in detecting BPSD in patients with AD continuum.

Objective:To observe the clinical characteristics of esophageal reflux after total gastrectomy (ERATG), and to explore the mechanism of occurrence.Methods:Fourteen gastric cancer patients who underwent total gastrectomy were prospectively enrolled in this study. The postoperative symptoms were observed and recorded and 24 h MII-pH with pH monitoring was performed to investigate the characteristics of postoperative reflux.Results:After total gastrectomy patients were with different degrees of ERATG as heartburn, appetite loss, chest tightness and belching. The overall nature of ERATG is mainly weak acid, with a pH between 4 and 7. ERATG involved esophageal-jejunal anastomosis and a length of esophagus 7 cm above the anastomosis. Patients with typical reflux symptoms had a lower pH minimum in the upright position than those without typical symptoms[(4.76±0.71) vs.(5.68±0.37), t=2.866, P<0.05]. Patients with typical reflux symptoms had a higher frequency of reflux of mixed liquid and liquid-air reflux than those without typical symptoms[liquid(31.25±29.76) vs.(4.50±9.14), t=0.011, P<0.05; liquid-air(19.50±12.99) vs.(2.00±2.61), t=0.004, P<0.05]. Conclusion:ERATG is mainly a upward reflux of weakly acidic gas, with typical symptoms of heartburn, appetite loss, chest tightness and belching. Patients with typical symptoms usually have lower pH in the upright position.

Objective:To determine the diagnostic value of tumor markers in peritoneal lavage fluid from colorectal cancer patients for tumor peritoneal metastasis.Methods:A total of 227 colorectal cancer patients who undergoing surgical treatment were included. 300 ml of peritoneal lavage fluid was irrigated immediately upon laparotomy for traditional cytology (PLC) testing, 134 patients were tested for tumor marker of peritoneal lavage fluid (pTM). Univariate analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for peritoneal metastasis; pTM ROC curve was used to determine the best cutoff value; paired chi-square test was used to compare the difference between PLC and pTM detection.Results:The positive rate of PLC was 12.3% (28/227). Age>65, stage T3 + , lymph node metastasis, mucinous adenocarcinoma and increased serum CA125, CA19-9 are related to peritoneal metastasis; The best cutoff value of pTM for peritoneal metastasis : pCEA 17.095 ng/dl, sensitivity 58.3%, specificity 93.9%; pCA19-9 4.515 U/ml, sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 80.0%; pCA125 303.2 U/ml, sensitivity 58.3%, specificity 95.7%; pCA-724 3.01 U/ml, sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 95.7%; The best cutoff value of pTM for peritoneal micrometastasis: pCA19-9 3.43 U/ml, sensitivity 100%, specificity 72.2%. The positive rate of pCA19-9 was 29.85%, which was higher than that of PLC (χ 2=2.00, P<0.05). Conclusion:Peritoneal metastasis of colorectal cancer is related to tumor T stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor pathological type, and increased serum CA125 and CA19-9; pTM has diagnostic value for peritoneal metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Objective:To investigate the role of indocyanine green(ICG) fluorescence imaging in laparoscopic anterior resection for rectal cancer.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 7 patients who had undergone laparoscopic anterior resection with the use of ICG fluorescence imaging at Peking University People′s Hospital between Oct 2018 and Mar 2019. The clinicopathological variables, surgical factors, short-term outcome and complications were analyzed.Results:The median operation time was 185 min. The median estimated blood loss was 50 ml. The median time from ICG injection to anastomotic perfusion was 45 s. One patient received extended proximal resection of bowel due to poor perfusion as suggested by ICG imaging. The median time to soft diet was 4 days, and the median hospital stay was 8 days. The median number of lymph nodes harvested was 16. There were no major complications in all these patients. No adverse events related to ICG were recorded.Conclusions:ICG fluorescence imaging was safe and effective in detecting insufficient blood supply around newly established bowel anastomsis, hence potentially reducing the anastomotic leakage rate.

Objective:To compare the postoperative functional prognosis of transanal mesorectal excision (taTME) and conventional total mesorectal excision (TME) in rectal cancer.Methods:Totally 49 patients underwent taTME and 478 patients underwent conventional TME at Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Peking University People′s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively collected. Propensity score matching method was used to perform 1 versus 1 matching between the taTME and conventional TME groups, and 36 pairs of patients were successfully matched. After matching, the median age of patients in taTME group and conventional TME group was 60.5 (16.0) years and 60.5 (13.0) years ( M( Q R)), respectively, and the proportion of male patients was 66.7% (24/36) and 55.6% (20/36) , respectively. EORTC QLQ-C30 scale was used to assess quality of life, low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) scale and Wexner constipation score were used to evaluate anal function, international prostate symptom score (IPSS) was used to evaluate urinary function,international index of erectile function (IIEF) -5 and female sexual function index (FSFI) score were used to evaluate male and female sexual function, respectively, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) scale were used to evaluate psych function. The t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, and Fisher exact test were used for comparison between groups, and Wilcoxon rank sum test or McNemar test was used for comparison between paired data. Results:There were no significant differences in surgery time, postoperative hospital stays, conversion rate, morbidity rate, surgery cost, and numbers of lymph node yield between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with the conventional TME group, the intraoperative blood loss in the taTME group was significantly higher (100 (100) ml vs. 80 (50) ml, U=424.5, P=0.010), the prophylactic stoma rate was significantly higher (96.9%(31/36) vs. 63.6%(21/36), χ 2=11.218, P<0.01), the total hospitalization cost was significantly lower (74 297.7 (16 746.4) CNY vs. 91 781.3 (26 228.4) CNY, U=413.0, P=0.008). There were no significant differences in anal and urinary function between the two groups (LARS scalescore: Z=-0.513, P=0.608, Wexner constipation score: Z=-0.992, P=0.321, IPSS: Z=-1.807, P=0.071). In terms of psych function, significant difference in GAD-7 scale was seen between the two groups ( Z=-2.311, P=0.021), patients with generalized anxiety disorder accounting for 26.7% (8/30) and 46.9% (15/32), respectively. Conclusions:Compared with conventional TME surgery, taTME has a significantly increased blood loss and prophylactic stoma rate. There are no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative anal, urinary, and sexual dysfunction between taTME and conventinal TME. taTME can alleviate the financial burden and general anxiety disorder to a certain extent.