AIM: To investigate the influence of pterygium thickness and area on corneal refractive status.METHODS: Prospective longitudinal study. A total of 60 cases(60 eyes)of pterygium patients admitted to our hospital from January 2024 to September 2024 were randomly selected. All patients underwent pterygium excision combined with pedicle conjunctival flap transplantation for treatment. Optical coherence tomography(OCT)was used to measure the preoperative thickness of patient's pterygium, and a digital slit lamp microscope was used to measure the area of pterygium. The corneal refractive status(degree of corneal astigmatism and average curvature)and changes in uncorrected visual acuity of patients before surgery, 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery were compared. The relationship between preoperative thickness and area of pterygium in patients and corneal refractive status indicators at different postoperative time points were analyzed, and Logistic regression was used to analyze the impact of pterygium thickness and area on postoperative visual improvement in patients.RESULTS: All patients completed follow-up after surgery for 3 mo. At 3 mo after surgery, visual acuity improved in 21 eyes(35%). The results of bivariate Pearson correlation analysis showed that the thickness and area of pterygium positively correlated with the degree of corneal astigmatism and uncorrected visual acuity before surgery and 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery(all P<0.05), and negatively correlated with the average corneal curvature before surgery and 1 d, 1, and 3 mo after surgery(all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the thickness and area of pterygium before surgery, high degree of corneal astigmatism, and low uncorrected visual acuity(large LogMAR value)were all risk factors for poor postoperative visual improvement in patients(OR>1, P<0.05). The large average corneal curvature before surgery was a protective factor for poor postoperative visual improvement in patients(OR<1, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The increase in thickness and area of pterygium can, to some extent, improve corneal astigmatism, reduce the average curvature of the cornea, and affect postoperative visual recovery.

Hypotension is a leading cause of age-related cognitive impairment. The available literature evidences that vascular factors are associated with dementia and that hypotension alters cerebral perfusion flow and can aggravate the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite the discovery of biomarkers and the recent progress made in neurovascular biology, epidemiology, and brain imaging, some key issues remain largely unresolved: the potential mechanisms underlying the neural deterioration observed in AD, the effect of cerebrovascular alterations on cognitive deficits, and the positive effects of hypotension treatment on cognition. Therefore, further well-designed studies are needed to unravel the potential association between hypotension and cognitive dysfunction and reveal the potential benefits of hypotension treatment for AD patients. Here, we review the current epidemiological, pathobiological, and treatment-related literature on neurovascular changes and hypotension-related cognitive dysfunction and highlight the unsettled but imminent issues that warrant future research endeavors.
Humans ; Hypotension/complications* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology* ; Alzheimer Disease/epidemiology* ; Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology* ; Cognition Disorders/etiology*

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a highly aggressive hematologic malignancy with a poor prognosis, despite advancements in treatment. Many patients struggle with relapse or refractory disease. Investigating the role of the super-enhancer (SE) regulated gene ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) in T-ALL could enhance targeted therapies and improve clinical outcomes. Analysis of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from six T-ALL cell lines and seven pediatric samples identified USP20 as an SE-regulated driver gene. Utilizing the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and BloodSpot databases, it was found that USP20 is specifically highly expressed in T-ALL. Knocking down USP20 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in T-ALL cells. In vivo studies showed that USP20 knockdown reduced tumor growth and improved survival. The USP20 inhibitor GSK2643943A demonstrated similar anti-tumor effects. Mass spectrometry, RNA-Seq, and immunoprecipitation revealed that USP20 interacted with hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) and stabilized it by deubiquitination. Cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) results indicated that USP20 co-localized with HIF1A, jointly modulating target genes in T-ALL. This study identifies USP20 as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and suggests GSK2643943A as a potential treatment strategy.

Previous studies have found associations between color discrimination deficits and cognitive impairments besides aging. However, investigations into the microstructural pathology of brain white matter (WM) associated with these deficits remain limited. This study aimed to examine the microstructural characteristics of WM in the non-demented population with abnormal color discrimination, utilizing Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), and to explore their correlations with cognitive functions and cognition-related plasma biomarkers. The tract-based spatial statistic analysis revealed significant differences in specific brain regions between the abnormal color discrimination group and the healthy controls, characterized by increased isotropic volume fraction and decreased neurite density index and orientation dispersion index. Further analysis of region-of-interest parameters revealed that the isotropic volume fraction in the bilateral anterior thalamic radiation, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum, and forceps minor was significantly correlated with poorer performance on neuropsychological assessments and to varying degrees various cognition-related plasma biomarkers. These findings provide neuroimaging evidence that WM microstructural abnormalities in non-demented individuals with abnormal color discrimination are associated with cognitive dysfunction, potentially serving as early markers for cognitive decline.
Humans ; White Matter/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Cognitive Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Color Perception/physiology* ; Brain/pathology* ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging

B-cell-specific moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1(BMI1)molecule is one of the members of the family of the Polycomb group(PcG)protein.As a crucial marker of stem cells,it maintains the normal physiological functions of the or-ganisms through regulating expression of the related genes transcriptionally.It was reported that BMI1 is also a crucial molecule which affects pathogenesis and progression of malignant tumors.Therefore,it plays an important role in regulating self-renewal,migration,invasion,drug-resistance,and as well as immune evasion of cancer stem cells(CSCs),which is associated with recurrence and metas-tasis of cancer.In this review,based on the research progresses during recent years,molecular structure and biological function of BMI1 were illustrated.Furthermore,regulation and its mechanisms of BMI1 molecule on the self-renewal,migration and invasion,drug-resistance and immune evasion of CSCs were also elaborated.It indicated that investigation of BMI1 molecule as a novel potential target in cancer immunotherapy would be much valuable and significant.

Objective:To establish a new classification system for distal clavicle fracture and evaluate its clinical effectiveness.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 101 patients with distal clavicle fracture admitted to First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2015 to March 2022, including 57 males and 44 females, aged 19-86 years [(53.8±14.0)years]. Before treatment, patients were routinely subjected to bilateral anteroposterior radiography of the shoulder joints to measure the length of the fractured fragments, coracoclavicular distance, and acromioclavicular distance. According to the correlation between the location of the fracture line and the insertion of the coracoclavicular ligament, distal clavicle fracture was divided into three types: type I, with the fracture line lateral to the coracoclavicular ligament region; type II, with the fracture line in the coracoclavicular ligament region; type III, with the fracture line medial to the coracoclavicular ligament region. According to the injury severity of the coracoclavicular ligament and acromioclavicular ligament, type I was further subdivided into type IA, IB, IC and ID, and type II fracture was further subdivided into type IIA, IIB, IIC, IID and IIE. All the 101 patients were classified and randomly reclassified at an interval of 3 months by 10 senior and 10 junior shoulder surgeons according to the new classification method. Kappa coefficients were used to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer consistency of the new classification. Fifty-two patients with stable fracture (types IA, IB, IIC, and IID) were treated non-surgically, while 49 patients with unstable fracture (types IC, ID, IIA, IIB, IIE, and III) were treated surgically, including 26 patients with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction, 9 with locking plate fixation, 8 with clavicle hook plate fixation, 4 with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction combined with locking plate fixation, and 2 with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction combined with tension screw fixation. The patients were assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Constant-Murley shoulder score before treatment and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment. The coracoclavicular distance and acromioclavicular distance on the anteroposterior radiographs of the healthy and affected shoulder joints were measured at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment, and fracture healing time and complications were observed.Results:The length of the fractured fragments was 12.9 (9.7, 17.6)mm in patients with type I fracture, 24.7 (21.8, 27.8)mm in patients with type II fracture, and 43.6 (41.2, 46.9)mm in patients with type III fracture ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the coracoclavicular distance and acromioclavicular distance of the affected and healthy shoulders among the patients with types IA, IB, IIC, IID, and III fracture ( P>0.05); For the patients with types IC, IIA, IIB and IIE fracture, the coracoclavicular distance of the affected shoulder was significantly increased compared with that of the healthy shoulder ( P<0.01), while there was no significant difference in the acromioclavicular distance of the affected and healthy shoulders ( P>0.05). Both of the inter- and intra-observer consistency of the new classification was good. The inter- and intra-observer Kappa values were 0.69 and 0.71 respectively among the senior shoulder surgeons, and 0.61 and 0.64 respectively among the junior shoulder surgeons. All the patients were followed up for 18-104 months [28(23, 32)months]. At 3, 6, 12 and 18 months after treatment, the VAS scores of non-surgical patients were 3(2, 3)points, 2(1, 2)points, 1(0, 1)points and 0(0, 1)points respectively, significantly decreased compared with 6(5, 6)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the VAS scores of surgical patients were 3(2, 3)points, 2(1, 2)points, 1(1, 1)points and 0(0, 1)points respectively, significantly decreased compared with 6(5, 7)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the Constant-Murley shoulder scores of non-surgical patients were (76.6±5.3)points, (84.3±5.0)points, (88.4±4.0)points and (91.9±3.8)points respectively, significantly higher than (42.7±5.2)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the Constant-Murley shoulder scores of surgical patients were (77.4±4.6)points, (84.4±4.7)points, (87.6±3.7)points and (91.7±4.0)points respectively, significantly higher than (42.8±5.3)points before treatment ( P<0.01). At 3, 6, 12 and 18 months after treatment, the coracoclavicular distance of the affected shoulder in non-surgical patients was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P>0.05), while the acromioclavicular distance of the affected shoulder in surgical patients was significantly reduced compared with that before treatment ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the coracoclavicular distance of the healthy shoulder or bilateral acromioclavicular distance in non-surgical and surgical patients at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment compared with those before treatment ( P>0.05). Fractures were healed within 12 months after treatment in all the patients, without dislocation or subluxation of the acromioclavicular joint, internal fixation failure or internal fixator breakage. Eight patients treated with clavicular hook plate fixation had shoulder pain associated with limited mobility after operation, and all underwent a second operation to remove the clavicular hook plate at 12 months after operation. Conclusions:The new classification system for distal clavicle fracture is established, which comprehensively considers the position of the fracture line, injury of the coracoclavicular and acromioclavicular ligaments, and fracture stability. The new classification system exhibits good inter- and intra- observer consistency, and the effectiveness of its preliminary clinical application is satisfactory.

Objective To explore the relationship between body mass index(BMI)and blood pressure(BP),blood lipids,waist-to-hip ratio(WHR),and hemoglobin(Hb)in the elderly.Methods A total of 10 978 elderly individuals aged≥65 years old in a community in Baoshan District,Shanghai from February 2023 to October 2023 were selected as the research subjects.Height,body mass,waist circumference(WC),hip circumference(HC),systolic blood pressure(SBP),diastolic blood pressure(DBP),total cholesterol(TC),high-density lipoprotein(HDL),low-density lipoprotein(LDL),Hb were measured,and BMI and WHR were calculated.According to the Chinese BMI reference standard,the elderly were divided into a lean group(BMI＜18.5 kg/m2,n= 310),a normal body mass group(18.5 kg/m2≤BMI＜24 kg/m2,n=4 692),a overweight group(24 kg/m2≤BMI＜28 kg/m2,n= 4 615),and an obese group(BMI≥28 kg/m2,n=1 361).The levels of BP,blood lipids,WHR,and Hb in the four groups were compared and correlation analysis was conducted.Results The levels of BMI,WC,HC,WHR,SBP,DBP,and Hb in elderly men were higher than those in elderly women(all P＜0.01),while the levels of TC,HDL,and LDL were lower than those in elderly women(all P＜0.01).The differences in SBP,DBP,TC,HDL,LDL,WHR,and Hb among the four groups were statistically significant(all P＜0.05),and BMI was positively correlated with SBP,DBP,TC,LDL,WHR,and Hb(r=0.109,0.064,0.041,0.042,0.108,0.089,all P＜0.01),and negatively correlated with HDL(r=﹣0.106,P＜0.01).The BMI of elderly men in the normal body mass group was higher than that of elderly women,while the BMI of elderly women in the obesity group was higher than that of elderly men(both P＜0.01).In the normal body mass group,the BMI of elderly people aged＜75 years old was higher than that of elderly people aged≥75 years old(P＜0.05).Conclusions BMI is closely related to the health of the elderly,and maintaining an ideal BMI is the foundation for health management and prevention of chronic diseases in the elderly.

Grading and staging are the most important prognostic factors for both non-invasive and invasive urothelial carcinomas, and are also one of the most common difficulties encountered by pathologists in the daily diagnostic practice of urothelial carcinoma. Recently, the International Society of Urological Pathology organized a survey and questionnaire conference on various issues related to the diagnosis, grading, and staging of urothelial carcinoma, and ultimately formed a series of consensus opinions. This article briefly summarizes the consensus opinions of this series, and combines them with the current pathological diagnosis status of urothelial carcinoma in China. It briefly comments on how to apply this series of consensus opinions in the daily diagnostic practice of pathologists, deeply understand relevant diagnostic problems, and carry out relevant clinical pathological research to further solve problems.

Objective:To compare the patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes between robotic-assisted and laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer.Methods:This single-center prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from October 2020 to August 2022. Patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who were to undergo radical gastrectomy were selected and randomly divided into two groups according to 1∶1, and received robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery, respectively. Patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes (including postoperative complications, surgical quality and postoperative short-term recovery) were compared between the two groups by independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, repeated ANOVA, generalized estimating equation, χ2 test and Fisher′s exact test. Results:A total of 237 patients were enrolled for modified intention-to-treat analysis (120 patients in the robotic group, 117 patients in the laparoscopic group). There were 180 males and 59 females, aged (63.0±10.2) years (range: 30 to 85 years). The incidence of postoperative complications was similar between the robotic group and laparoscopic group (16.7% (20/120) vs. 15.4% (18/117), χ2=0.072, P=0.788). The robotic group had higher patient-reported outcomes scores in general health status, emotional, and social domains compared to the laparoscopic group, differences in time effect, intervention effect, and interaction effect were statistically significant (general health status: χ2 value were 275.68, 3.91, 6.38, P value were <0.01, 0.048, 0.041; emotional: χ2 value were 77.79, 6.04, 6.15, P value were <0.01, 0.014, 0.046; social: χ2 value were 148.00, 7.57, 5.98, P value were <0.01, 0.006, 0.048). However, the financial burden of the robotic group was higher, the differences in time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect were statistically significant ( χ2 value were 156.24, 4.08, 36.56, P value were <0.01, 0.043,<0.01). Conclusion:Compared to the laparoscopic group, the robotic group could more effectively relieve postoperative negative emotions and improve recovery of social function in patients.