Objective To evaluate the image quality of abdominal dual-energy CT virtual monoenergetic imaging (VMI) in patients with early gastric cancer using titanium alloy clips and assess its effectiveness on reducing metal artifacts. Methods A retrospective study was conducted, including 31 patients with gastric cancer who underwent abdominal dual-energy CT scans with titanium clips inserted in the gastric cavity. Each scan was reconstructed into mixed images (simulated 120 kVp CT) and VMIs with energy levels ranging from 40 keV to 140 keV. Metal artifacts were quantitatively evaluated by measuring the noise values in the lesion and perigastric regions. The contrast-noise ratio (CNR) of the lesion and the corresponding liver tissue was calculated to assess the image quality. Two radiologists independently evaluated the images, considering overall quality, artifact severity, lesion conspicuity, perigastric clarity, and vascular contrast. Results Quantitative analysis revealed that metal artifacts in both the lesion and perigastric regions decreased as the energy level increased. VMIs at 80-140 keV (lesion site) and 90-140 keV (perigastric space) showed significantly fewer artifacts compared to mixed images (P＜0.05). The CNR of lesions remained stable across VMIs at 50-140 keV, while the CNR of normal liver tissue decreased significantly with increasing energy (P＜0.05). In the subjective assessment, VMIs at 80-140 keV had higher artifact scores than mixed images (P＜0.05). VMIs at 70-90 keV provided better lesion conspicuity and perigastric clarity, although vascular contrast decreased significantly with increasing energy (P＜0.05). VMIs at 70-90 keV showed better overall quality (P＜0.05), though not significantly different from mixed images. Conclusions VMIs at 80 keV and 90 keV improve the visibility of lesions and perigastric regions affected by metallic clips, which combined with mixed images can enhance radiologists’ diagnostic accuracy.

Objective To investigate the status and influencing factors of overweight and obesity among primary and secondary school students in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, and to provide reference for formulating obesity-related intervention strategies for school-age children. Methods Stratified cluster random sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among primary and secondary school students in Pudong New Area. The overweight and obesity rate was calculated according to the Chinese health industry standard, and the risk factors of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents of different school age groups were analyzed by logistic regression. Results The overweight and obesity rate (25.3%) of primary and secondary school students in Pudong New Area exceeded the national average level. In primary school group, male, sleep time ≥ 8h per day, water intake ≥ 1200 mL per day, and the presence of mobile food stalls around the school were the risk factors for overweight and obesity. Daily extracurricular exercise time of 30 minutes to 2 hours was a protective factor. In junior high school group, male and electronic product use time of ≥ 2h per day were the risk factors for overweight and obesity. The daily extracurricular exercise time of 1 to 2 hours was a protective factor. In high school group, drinking water ≥1200mL per day was a risk factor for overweight and obesity. Eating breakfast every day for the past week was a protective factor. Conclusion Group intervention targeting overweight and obese school-age children, while changing corresponding unhealthy habits according to different school age groups, is crucial for weight loss in school-age children.

Objective:To construct a nomogram prediction model for predicting the risk of death in patients with sepsis-associated thrombocytopenia (SAT) in intensive care unit (ICU) for early indentification and active intervention.Methods:Clinical data of SAT patients admitted to ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from December 2019 to August 2021 were retrospectively collected, including demographic data, laboratory indicators, etc. According to the prognosis at 28 days, the patients were divided into the death group and the survival group, and the differences of clinical variables between the two groups were compared. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the independent risk factors influencing mortality of patients within 28 days, then a nomogram predictive model was constructed and its performance was verified with internal data. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of the nomogram model, and the clinical applicability of this model was evaluated by clinical decision curve analysis (DCA).Results:A total of 275 patients were included, with 95 deaths at 28 days and a 28-day mortality of 34.5%. Compared with the survival group, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), lactic acid (Lac), platelet distribution width (PDW) on day 5 of ICU admission, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total bilirubin (TBIL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), C-reactive protein (CRP) of patients in the death group were higher, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) were longer, platelet count (PLT) on day 3 and day 5 of ICU admission, direct bilirubin (DBIL), fibrinogen (FIB) were lower, the history of chronic lung disease, mixed site infection, lung infection, bloodstream infection, Gram-negative bacterial infection and fungal infection accounted for a higher proportion, the history of diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infection and no pathogenic microorganisms cultured accounted for a lower proportion, and the proportion of the use of vasoactive drugs, mechanical ventilation (MV), continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), bleeding events and platelet transfusion were higher. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that APACHEⅡ score at the day of ICU admission [odds ratio ( OR) = 1.417, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.153-1.743, P = 0.001], chronic lung disease ( OR = 72.271, 95% CI was 4.475-1?167.126, P = 0.003), PLT on day 5 of ICU admission ( OR = 0.954, 95% CI was 0.922-0.987, P = 0.007), vasoactive drug ( OR = 622.943, 95% CI was 10.060-38?575.340, P = 0.002), MV ( OR = 91.818, 95% CI was 3.973-2?121.966, P = 0.005) were independent risk factors of mortality in SAT patients. The above independent risk factors were used to build a nomogram prediction model, and the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity were 0.979, 94.7% and 91.7%, respectively, suggesting that the model had good discrimination. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed a good calibration with P > 0.05. At the same time, DCA showed that the nomogram model had good clinical applicability. Conclusions:Patients with SAT has a higher risk of death. The nomogram model based on APACHEⅡ score at the day of ICU admission, chronic lung disease, PLT on day 5 of ICU admission, the use of vasoactive drug and MV has good clinical significance for the prediction of 28-day mortality, and the discrimination and calibration are good, however, further verification is needed.

There is still a lack of experience in the perioperative strategy for esophageal cancer patients in China during the epidemic of COVID-19. In December 2022, a 59-year-old male patient with esophageal cancer was admitted to our department. He received 2 cycles of neoadjuvant therapy before surgery, and developed COVID-19 perioperatively. After treatment, the infection symptoms of the patient were improved, and the postoperative recovery was satisfactory.

Background Previous research on chlorinated paraffins (CPs) in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has predominantly focused on short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs), and few studies could simultaneously determine short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs). Simultaneous extraction and determination of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5 could provide technical support for their environmental monitoring and human health risk assessment. Objective To establish a method based on QUEChERS pretreatment method in conjunction with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry for simultaneously determining the levels of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5. Methods The extraction solvents, extraction salts, and extraction steps of a QuEChERS method were optimized. The extraction efficiencies of the target substances were compared under 4 extraction solvents [acetonitrile, dichloromethane, and n-hexane solvents in sequence; acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 2 (v/v/v) mixed solvent; 1% acetic acid-acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 1 (v/v/v) mixed solvent; acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 1 (v/v/v) mixed solvent], 2 dehydrated salts (anhydrous MgSO₄+NaCl and anhydrous Na₂SO₄+NaCl), 2 purification salts (C18 and PSA), and 4 vortex time (5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 min) conditions. Then internal standard was utilized to estimate linear range and detection limit of the refined QuEChERS approach. Results The linearities of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs were good in the range of 10~1000 ng·mL⁻¹ with the correlation coefficients all greater than 0.96. The method detection limits (MDLs) ranged from 0.01 to 0.29 ng·m⁻³. The spiked recoveries of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs at the low, medium, and high concentrations were 77.38%-81.64%, 93.11%-99.78%, and 87.41%-101.39%, respectively, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 2.90%-12.84%. This method was used to determine the CPs levels in 11 PM_2.5 samples from Shijiazhuang. The positive rates of ∑SCCPs, ∑MCCPs, and ∑LCCPs were all 100%, the concentration ranges were 0.24-2.18 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.84 ng·m⁻³), 0.17-1.67 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.70 ng·m⁻³), and 0.01-0.16 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.04 ng·m⁻³), respectively, and the percentages to ΣCPs were 52.95%, 44.39%, and 2.66%, respectively. Conclusion The method established in this study is simple, time-saving, solvent saving, and can simultaneously detect SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5, which is suitable for the determination of PM_2.5 samples in large quantities, and can also provide a reference for the detection methods of other halogenated organic compounds in PM_2.5.

ObjectiveTo explore the evolution principles of symptoms including deficiency， phlegm and blood stasis， and of the functional near-infrared spectroscopy （fNIRS） cerebral hemodynamic characteristics at various stages in patients of Alzheimer's disease. MethodsA total of 497 patients with complaint of memory loss were included， and were divided into subjective cognitive decline （SCD） group （198 participants）， mild cognitive impairment （MCI） group （228 participants） and dementia （AD） group （71 participants）. Neuropsychological evaluation， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome investigation， and fNIRS data collection of prefrontal cortex were performed in each group. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of TCM syndromes and the difference of TCM syndrome scores in each group； logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of TCM syndromes on the incidence of the patients； association rules were used to analyze the TCM syndromes of the patients； the hemodynamic characteristics of fNIRS in the prefrontal cortex of each group were compared. ResultsKidney essence deficiency syndrome was the dominant syndrome in all stages of AD. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution frequency of kidney essence deficiency， phlegm turbidity obstructing orifices， blood stasis obstructing collaterals， qi and blood deficiency， heat toxin in the interior， and fu-organ stagnation and turbidity retention syndromes among the three groups （P＜0.01）， and the scores of kidney essence deficiency syndrome among the three groups were statistically significant （P＜0.01）. Logistic regression analysis showed that kidney essence deficiency， and qi and blood deficiency syndromes were the main risk factors for the SCD group （P＜0.05）， phlegm turbidity obstructing orifices syndrome was the main risk factor for the MCI group （P＜0.05）， and heat toxin in the interior， and fu-organ stagnation and turbidity retention syndromes were the main risk factors for the AD group （P＜0.05）. The association rule analysis showed that the combination of kidney essence deficiency plus phlegm turbidity obstructing orifices had the highest support （33.33%） in the SCD group， and the combination of kidney essence deficiency plus blood stasis obstructing collaterals had the highest support （32.90% and 52.13%） in both the MCI and AD group. The prefrontal fNIRS results showed that the mean ∆HbO₂ concentration in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex （LDLPFC） decreased sequentially among the three groups （P＜0.05）， and the mean ∆HbO₂ concentration in the LDLPFC was negatively correlated with the MoCA score among the three groups （r = -0.142， P＜0.05）. Further analysis showed that the mean ∆HbO₂ concentration in the LDLPFC of patients with kidney essence deficiency syndrome were statistically significant differences among the three groups （P＜0.05）. ConclusionKidney deficiency is the basis of the pathogenesis of AD， and the key brain area damaged is the LDLPFC. Turbid pathogens such as phlegm and blood stasis are the pathological factors that aggravate the disease， and the syndromes of AD show the evolution law of deficiency and excess as “kidney deficiency→phlegm turbidity→blood stasis→turbid toxin”. The changes in prefrontal hemodynamics based on fNIRS are consistent with the changes in the characteristics of symptoms， which can be used to assess the degree of cognitive impairment in AD patients.

BACKGROUND:In recent years,increasing studies have focused on the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of acinous cells in the meibomian gland,suggesting that this process is closely related to the occurrence and development of dry eye.Structural and functional abnormalities such as blockage of the lumen of the meibomian gland and atrophy of the glands can cause or exacerbate dry eye.Therefore,the study of changes in the meibomian glands in dry eyes is important for understanding the pathogenesis of dry eyes in depth and finding new targets for the treatment and prevention of dry eyes. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the changes of the meibomian gland in a mouse model of aqueous deficient dry eyes. METHODS:Thirty-two female C57/B6 mice at 6-8 weeks were selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups with 16 mice in each group.The mice in the experimental group were constructed by removing both the extra-orbital and intra-orbital lacrimal glands,while those in the control group were not treated.After 2 weeks of normal feeding,the corneal changes of both groups were observed under a slit lamp,and the tear secretion of both groups was measured.The meibomian glands of the two groups of mice were removed after decapitation.The changes in the gross morphology of the meibomian glands were observed and the meibomian glands were made into frozen sections.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the structure of the meibomian glands,oil red staining was used to evaluate the function of the meibomian glands,and immunofluorescence staining and RT-qPCR were used to observe the expression of cytokeratin 14,Ki67 and abnormally differentiated small proline-rich protein 1B in the meibomian glands of mice. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Two weeks after modeling,lamellar defects were seen in the corneas of the experimental mice,and neovascularization of the limbal corneal was generated and invaded the central cornea.(2)Tear secretion volume was significantly reduced in the experimental group compared with the control group(P<0.05).Microscopic findings showed that the ducts of the meibomian glands in the experimental group were interrupted and atrophied,and their arrangement was disorganized.Hematoxylin-eosin staining results showed a significant increase in lipid vacuoles in the meibomian glands of the experimental mice compared with the control group.Lipid deposition was seen in oil red staining in the experimental group.Immunofluorescence and RT-qPCR results showed a significant increase in the expression of cytokeratin 14,Ki67 and small proline-rich protein 1B in the meibomian glands of mice in the experimental group compared with the control group(P<0.05).To conclude,aqueous deficient dry eye can lead to compensatory hypertrophy,increased proliferation,and abnormal lipid metabolism in the meibomian gland,as well as abnormal differentiation of the meibomian gland.

OBJECTIVE To establish the ultra-high liquid chromatography （UPLC） characteristic spectrum of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis from different producing areas， to conduct chemical pattern recognition analysis， and to identify the medicinal materials of their different origins and counterfeit products. METHODS UPLC method was adopted to establish the characteristic spectra of 43 batches of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis from different origins； cluster analysis combined with principal component analysis were used to analyze their quality； Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis from different origins and counterfeit products were identified. RESULTS UPLC specific spectrum of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis was established， and 13 common peaks were calibrated； peak 2 was identified as catechin， peak 3 as chlorogenic acid， peak 4 as cryptochlorogenic acid， peak 7 as isochlorogenic acid B， peak 8 as isodehydroguotenine， peak 9 as isooguotenine， peak 10 as dehydroguotenine， peak 11 as isochlorogenic acid C， peak 12 as goutenine， and peak 13 as camptothecin. Through cluster analysis， the medicinal materials of 43 batches of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis could be divided into 5 categories according to their different origins. Further principal component analysis revealed that the principal component comprehensive scores of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis produced in Jiangxi and Hunan were relatively high， ranging from 0.264 to 2.904. The specific chromatogram could effectively distinguish among the different origins and their counterfeit products of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis. CONCLUSIONS The established UPLC specific chromatogram can be used for quality control of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis， and the study found that the quality of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis from Jiangxi and Hunan provinces is relatively good.

ABSTRACT:Objective To report the data of 4 cases of Trocar-assisted ureteroscopy in the treatment of transplanted renal ureteral stones,to analyze the effectiveness of this therapy,and provide a reference for the treatment of such patients.Methods Clinical data of 4 patients with ureteral stones of transplanted kidney treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University during Jan.2016 and Jul.2023 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients received auxiliary ureteral soft/rigid endoscopic combined with holmium laser lithotripsy after Trocar-assisted bladder fistula.Renal function was rechecked after surgery and all patients were followed up regularly.Results All 4 cases had upper ureteral stones.During the follow-up of 24-68(average 38)months,no residual or recurrent stones were observed.Renal function and creatinine level returned to normal(79.0 μmol,95.0 μmol,60.6 μmol,82.0 μmol,respectively).Conclusion The treatment of ureteral stones of transplanted kidney should be individualized.Bladder fistula with Trocar-assisted ureteroscopy can effectively protect the function of transplanted kidney,which is worthy of promotion and application.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of peritoneolaparoscopic single position nephreteral total length resection(PSPNTLR)and posterior laparoscopic subabdominal incision technique(PLSIT)in the treatment of upper urothelial carcinoma(UTUC).Methods A total of 82 UTUC patients treated in our hospital during Jan.2018 and Feb.2021 were divided into the observation group(n=41,treated with PSPNTLR)and control group(n=41,treated with PLSIT)according to the random number table method.Perioperative indicators,pain degree,inflammatory factors,bladder recurrence and distant metastasis were compared between the two groups.Results The operation time[(122.15±15.14)min vs.(160.88±17.26)min],hospitalization time[(10.07±2.14)d vs.(12.22±3.13)d]and postoperative exhaust time[(1.46±0.57)d vs.(3.10±0.88)d]were significantly shorter,the intraoperative blood loss[(42.85±4.88)mL vs.(78.22±8.17)mL]and drainage volume[(53.61±9.74)mL vs.(81.56±11.06)mL]were significantly less in the observation group than in the control group(P＜0.05).The visual analogue score(VAS)of the observation group at 6,12 and 24 h after operation was significantly lower than that of the control group(P＜0.05).The levels of interleukin-6(IL-6)and C-reactive protein(CRP)were increased in both groups one day after surgery,but the indexes were increased more significantly in the control group(P＜0.05).During the 2-year follow-up after surgery,there were no statistical difference in bladder recurrence(12.20％vs.14.63％)and distant metastasis(9.76％vs.4.88％)between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Both PSPNTLR and PLSIT have good therapeutic safety,but PSPNTLR is more effective in improving perioperative indicators,reducing postoperative pain,and inhibiting inflammatory factors.