Degenerative cervical myelopathy(DCM)is a group of diseases caused by cervical spine degeneration that compresses the spinal cord.It is a major cause of spinal cord dysfunction in adults,and its incidence is increasing globally.In the late stage,DCM could lead to paralysis due to spinal cord injury,which makes rapid,effective,and accurate medical diagnosis clinically significant.Deep learning(DL)technology can assist physicians in the rapid and accurate diagnosis of DCM by analyzing and processing a large amount of imaging data to extract features of the affected regions.In recent years,DL algorithm models have been leveraged for DCM-related research,which has become a focal point of intelligent medical development.In this review,domestic and international literature is surveyed,and the research progress and application of DL technology in the auxiliary diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of DCM are systematically summarized,aiming to provide a reference for intelligent diagnosis in clinical practice.

Objective:To explore the impact of different nutritional statuses on the prognosis of elderly patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF), and to provide a basis for early intervention of the nutritional status of elderly IPF patients.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 237 elderly patients clinically diagnosed with IPF who were admitted to the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2018 to May 2024.The GLIM criteria were applied to diagnose malnutrition and classify its severity.The patients were divided into two groups: those without nutritional risk(Group A)and those with nutritional risk(Group B). Group B was further subdivided into three subgroups: patients with only nutritional risk(Subgroup B1), those with moderate malnutrition(Subgroup B2), and those with severe malnutrition(Subgroup B3). The study observed the clinical characteristics of elderly IPF patients and the impact of nutritional factors on hospital admission frequency, activities of daily living(ADL), and all-cause mortality.Results:A total of 237 patients was included, with 129 patients(54.43%)in Group A and 108 patients(45.57%)in Group B. Among them, there were 34 patients(14.35%)in Subgroup B1, 57 patients(24.05%)in Subgroup B2, and 17 patients(7.17%)in Subgroup B3.The number of hospitalizations was significantly higher in both Group B and Subgroup B3 compared to Group A(both P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the number of hospitalizations between Subgroup B1 or Subgroup B2 and Group A. There was no significant difference in the reduction of ADL between Group B(including all its subgroups)and Group A. The risk of mortality significantly increased with the increase in the severity of malnutrition(all P<0.05). After adjusting for factors such as gender, age, polypharmacy, home oxygen therapy, self-care ability, days of hospital stay, number of hospitalizations, pulmonary function, and inflammatory factors, nutritional risk and the degree of malnutrition remained independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in elderly IPF patients. Conclusions:A significant proportion of elderly IPF patients were found to have nutritional risk or malnutrition.The number of hospitalizations was significantly correlated with the nutritional status of these patients.After adjusting for multiple relevant factors, nutritional risk and the severity of malnutrition remained independent risk factors for mortality in elderly IPF patients.Therefore, greater emphasis should be placed on nutritional assessment and early nutritional intervention in the management of elderly IPF patients, so as to prevent and reduce the occurrence of nutrition-related adverse events.

Objective:To evaluate the value of noninvasive assessment of the 13C-methacetin breath test (13C-MBT) based on infrared isotope spectrometry for liver function reserve in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods:A total of 120 NAFLD patients met the diagnostic criteria,who admitted to Department of Liver Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2023 to January 2024,were prospectively selected. Patients were divided into three groups based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) of FibroTouch:mild fibrosis group (LSM<7.0 kPa,n=40),moderate fibrosis group (7.0≤LSM<9.5 kPa) and severe fibrosis group (LSM≥9.5 kPa,n=40). Meanwhile,40 healthy subjects were selected as a healthy control group. All subjects underwent 13C-MBT and conventional liver function tests. The differences of 13C-MBT parameters and liver function indicators among various groups were compared,and the correlations between 13C-MBT parameters and the degree of liver fibrosis,and between liver function indexes and the degree of liver fibrosis were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the judgment ability of 13C-MBT parameters to the degree of liver fibrosis. Results:The 13C-MBT parameters in NAFLD patients were lower than those in healthy control group,and the differences were statistically significant (F=27.413,28.635,29.851,P<0.05). With the aggravation of liver fibrosis,13C-MBT parameters in NAFLD patients gradually decreased. The 13C-MBT parameters of severe fibrosis group were significantly lower than those in the mild and moderate fibrosis groups,with statistically significant differences (t=12.331,13.020,14.232,22.033,21.032,29.332,P<0.05),respectively. The 13C-MBT parameters were positively correlated with liver function indicators,and were negatively correlated with LSM,and the absolute values of the correlation coefficients were>0.5,all of them showed statistically significant differences (r=0.375,-0.875,P<0.05). The 13C-MBT parameters had higher sensitivity and specificity in judging the degree of liver fibrosis. Taking MVmax40 as an example,when the limit value was 9.5 kPa,the sensitivity was 86.3％,and the specificity was 83.8％,and the accuracy was 85.0％,and the area under curve (AUC) was 0.913. Conclusion:13C-MBT based on infrared isotope spectrometry is a non-invasive,safe,rapid and accurate detection method,which can reflect the liver function reserve and liver fibrosis degree of NAFLD patients,and has important clinical value for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD.

Objective:To explore the impact of different nutritional statuses on the prognosis of elderly patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF), and to provide a basis for early intervention of the nutritional status of elderly IPF patients.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 237 elderly patients clinically diagnosed with IPF who were admitted to the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2018 to May 2024.The GLIM criteria were applied to diagnose malnutrition and classify its severity.The patients were divided into two groups: those without nutritional risk(Group A)and those with nutritional risk(Group B). Group B was further subdivided into three subgroups: patients with only nutritional risk(Subgroup B1), those with moderate malnutrition(Subgroup B2), and those with severe malnutrition(Subgroup B3). The study observed the clinical characteristics of elderly IPF patients and the impact of nutritional factors on hospital admission frequency, activities of daily living(ADL), and all-cause mortality.Results:A total of 237 patients was included, with 129 patients(54.43%)in Group A and 108 patients(45.57%)in Group B. Among them, there were 34 patients(14.35%)in Subgroup B1, 57 patients(24.05%)in Subgroup B2, and 17 patients(7.17%)in Subgroup B3.The number of hospitalizations was significantly higher in both Group B and Subgroup B3 compared to Group A(both P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the number of hospitalizations between Subgroup B1 or Subgroup B2 and Group A. There was no significant difference in the reduction of ADL between Group B(including all its subgroups)and Group A. The risk of mortality significantly increased with the increase in the severity of malnutrition(all P<0.05). After adjusting for factors such as gender, age, polypharmacy, home oxygen therapy, self-care ability, days of hospital stay, number of hospitalizations, pulmonary function, and inflammatory factors, nutritional risk and the degree of malnutrition remained independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in elderly IPF patients. Conclusions:A significant proportion of elderly IPF patients were found to have nutritional risk or malnutrition.The number of hospitalizations was significantly correlated with the nutritional status of these patients.After adjusting for multiple relevant factors, nutritional risk and the severity of malnutrition remained independent risk factors for mortality in elderly IPF patients.Therefore, greater emphasis should be placed on nutritional assessment and early nutritional intervention in the management of elderly IPF patients, so as to prevent and reduce the occurrence of nutrition-related adverse events.

Objective:To evaluate the value of noninvasive assessment of the 13C-methacetin breath test (13C-MBT) based on infrared isotope spectrometry for liver function reserve in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods:A total of 120 NAFLD patients met the diagnostic criteria,who admitted to Department of Liver Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2023 to January 2024,were prospectively selected. Patients were divided into three groups based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) of FibroTouch:mild fibrosis group (LSM<7.0 kPa,n=40),moderate fibrosis group (7.0≤LSM<9.5 kPa) and severe fibrosis group (LSM≥9.5 kPa,n=40). Meanwhile,40 healthy subjects were selected as a healthy control group. All subjects underwent 13C-MBT and conventional liver function tests. The differences of 13C-MBT parameters and liver function indicators among various groups were compared,and the correlations between 13C-MBT parameters and the degree of liver fibrosis,and between liver function indexes and the degree of liver fibrosis were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the judgment ability of 13C-MBT parameters to the degree of liver fibrosis. Results:The 13C-MBT parameters in NAFLD patients were lower than those in healthy control group,and the differences were statistically significant (F=27.413,28.635,29.851,P<0.05). With the aggravation of liver fibrosis,13C-MBT parameters in NAFLD patients gradually decreased. The 13C-MBT parameters of severe fibrosis group were significantly lower than those in the mild and moderate fibrosis groups,with statistically significant differences (t=12.331,13.020,14.232,22.033,21.032,29.332,P<0.05),respectively. The 13C-MBT parameters were positively correlated with liver function indicators,and were negatively correlated with LSM,and the absolute values of the correlation coefficients were>0.5,all of them showed statistically significant differences (r=0.375,-0.875,P<0.05). The 13C-MBT parameters had higher sensitivity and specificity in judging the degree of liver fibrosis. Taking MVmax40 as an example,when the limit value was 9.5 kPa,the sensitivity was 86.3％,and the specificity was 83.8％,and the accuracy was 85.0％,and the area under curve (AUC) was 0.913. Conclusion:13C-MBT based on infrared isotope spectrometry is a non-invasive,safe,rapid and accurate detection method,which can reflect the liver function reserve and liver fibrosis degree of NAFLD patients,and has important clinical value for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD.

Tuberculosis(TB)is still a serious threat to global public health,causing millions of people infected ev-ery year.Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB)is the main pathogen causing TB.In recent years,MTB extracellular vesicles(MEVs)as important carriers for MTB-secreted Mycobacterium antigens have attracted the attention of re-searchers.MEVs enable MTB to secrete phospholipid,nucleic acid,lipopolysaccharide,and periplasmic component in a centralized protective mode,and interact with the host.Some progress has been made on the study of partial contents of MEVs,but the understanding of their biological mechanisms,functions,and roles in the immune re-sponses during MTB infection is still at its early stages.This article reviews the current progress in the biogenesis of MEVs,their roles in MTB infection and immune responses regulation,and discusses their applications in vaccine development and diagnostic techniques.

To analyze the prevalence, genomic characteristics and clinical relevance of carbapenem-resistant bacteria in untreated hospital wastewater, and to provide a reference basis for in-hospital assessment of public health situation and prevention of cross-infection. In March 2023, untreated wastewater in the wastewater treatment station of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and wastewater in the U-shaped wastewater pipes of the hand-washing sinks in 26 wards were collected, centrifuged and diluted, and the drug-resistant bacteria were isolated by using LB solid plates containing meropenem (2 μg/ml) for species identification, drug sensitivity analysis, carbapenenase gene PCR detection and whole genome sequencing. The genome sequence was identified for drug resistance genes. Retrospective research was used, combining multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, to compare their homology with clinical isolates of the same quarter. The results showed that 56 carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria were isolated from hospital wastewater, originating from 13 genera, of which 17 were isolated from the total hospital wastewater, with Aeromonas spp. as the most dominant genus (35.3%, 6/17), and 39 were isolated from the wastewater of 17 wards, with Pseudomonas spp. as the most dominant genus (30.8%, 12/39). All common wastewater isolates from our hospital were multidrug-resistant bacteria, with up to 100% resistant to some second-and third-generation cephalosporins. A total of 8 carbapenemase genes originated from wastewater isolates, including blaKPC, blaNDM, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaIND, blaOXA-58-like, blaOXA-48-like, and blaOXA-427-like. 39 wastewater isolates carried the carbapenemase genes, and the total wastewater of the hospital carried the highest isolation rate of blaKPC-2 bacteria (35.3%, 6/17) and the highest isolation rate of blaIMP-8 bacteria (31.8%, 7/22) were found in the wastewater from 26 wards. 14 wastewater isolates were found to carry both carbapenemase genes, with a total of 6 combinations. A new blaIMP-101 isoform was also identified for the first time. 4 wastewater isolates and 11 clinical isolates were screened for inclusion in the SNP analysis, in which only 15 SNPs differed between the two strains of ST11 Klebsiella pneumoniae of clinical and wastewater origin, which was highly homologous. In conclusion, the presence of multiple multi-drug resistant conditionally pathogenic bacteria in untreated hospital wastewater has the potential risk of spreading drug-resistant genes in the environment. The highly homologous Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from hospital wastewater and clinics indicates the close association between hospital wastewater and clinical infections. Hospitals need to strengthen the monitoring of drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant genes in the wastewater environment, to prevent the widespread dissemination of drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant genes in hospital wastewater and to prevent nosocomial infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria in wastewater.

To analyze the prevalence, genomic characteristics and clinical relevance of carbapenem-resistant bacteria in untreated hospital wastewater, and to provide a reference basis for in-hospital assessment of public health situation and prevention of cross-infection. In March 2023, untreated wastewater in the wastewater treatment station of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and wastewater in the U-shaped wastewater pipes of the hand-washing sinks in 26 wards were collected, centrifuged and diluted, and the drug-resistant bacteria were isolated by using LB solid plates containing meropenem (2 μg/ml) for species identification, drug sensitivity analysis, carbapenenase gene PCR detection and whole genome sequencing. The genome sequence was identified for drug resistance genes. Retrospective research was used, combining multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, to compare their homology with clinical isolates of the same quarter. The results showed that 56 carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria were isolated from hospital wastewater, originating from 13 genera, of which 17 were isolated from the total hospital wastewater, with Aeromonas spp. as the most dominant genus (35.3%, 6/17), and 39 were isolated from the wastewater of 17 wards, with Pseudomonas spp. as the most dominant genus (30.8%, 12/39). All common wastewater isolates from our hospital were multidrug-resistant bacteria, with up to 100% resistant to some second-and third-generation cephalosporins. A total of 8 carbapenemase genes originated from wastewater isolates, including blaKPC, blaNDM, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaIND, blaOXA-58-like, blaOXA-48-like, and blaOXA-427-like. 39 wastewater isolates carried the carbapenemase genes, and the total wastewater of the hospital carried the highest isolation rate of blaKPC-2 bacteria (35.3%, 6/17) and the highest isolation rate of blaIMP-8 bacteria (31.8%, 7/22) were found in the wastewater from 26 wards. 14 wastewater isolates were found to carry both carbapenemase genes, with a total of 6 combinations. A new blaIMP-101 isoform was also identified for the first time. 4 wastewater isolates and 11 clinical isolates were screened for inclusion in the SNP analysis, in which only 15 SNPs differed between the two strains of ST11 Klebsiella pneumoniae of clinical and wastewater origin, which was highly homologous. In conclusion, the presence of multiple multi-drug resistant conditionally pathogenic bacteria in untreated hospital wastewater has the potential risk of spreading drug-resistant genes in the environment. The highly homologous Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from hospital wastewater and clinics indicates the close association between hospital wastewater and clinical infections. Hospitals need to strengthen the monitoring of drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant genes in the wastewater environment, to prevent the widespread dissemination of drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant genes in hospital wastewater and to prevent nosocomial infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria in wastewater.

Objective To explore the effects of optimized nutrition intervention scheme on nutritional status and clinical outcome during transplantation in the patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Methods Seventy inpatients with allo-HSCT in this hospital from January to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the control group and intervention group by the random number table method,35 cases in each group.The control group conducted the conventional nutritional intervention and the intervention group conducted the optimized nutritional intervention.The nutri-tional indicators[body weight,patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA),energy and protein intake],levels of total protein (TP),albumin (ALB) and prealbumin (PA),hospitalization duration,hospitali-zation costs and adverse reactions occurrence were compared between the two groups.The differences in the nutritional status and clinical outcomes in the tow groups were comprehensively evaluated.Results Compared with the control group,the body weight decrease ranges in entering the laminar flow ward and on 60 d of transplantation in the intervention group were much less[3.10(1.10,4.80)kg vs. 4.30(3.10,6.70)kg;3.20 (1.00,5.50)kg vs. 4.15(3.33,7.88)kg],the PG-SGA score was lower[(10.43±3.25)points vs. (13.00±3.05) points],the PA level was higher[(189.63±51.29)mg/L vs. (163.83±48.03)mg/L],the energy and protein oral intakes were much more[(753.99±350.66)kcal vs. (539.96±247.65)kcal;(33.87±15.87)g vs. (20.43±12.57)g],the diarrhea occurrence rate was lower (14.3％ vs. 37.1％),and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).Conclusion Optimizing the nutritional intervention during allo-HSCT pe-riod is beneficial to improve the nutritional status of the patients,and reduce the incidence rate of adverse reac-tions.

Human brain banks use a standardized protocol to collect,process and store post-mortem human brains and related tissues,along with relevant clinical information,and to provide the tissue samples and data as a resource to foster neuroscience research according to a standardized operating protocols(SOP).Human brain bank serves as the foundation for neuroscience research and the diagnosis of neurological disorders,highlighting the crucial rule of ensuring the consistency of standardized quality for brain tissue samples.The first version of SOP in 2017 was published by the China Human Brain Bank Consortium.As members increases from different regions in China,a revised SOP was drafted by experts from the China Human Brain Bank Consortium to meet the growing demands for neuroscience research.The revised SOP places a strong emphasis on ethical standards,incorporates neuropathological evaluation of brain regions,and provides clarity on spinal cord sampling and pathological assessment.Notable enhancements in this updated version of the SOP include reinforced ethical guidelines,inclusion of matching controls in recruitment,and expansion of brain regions to be sampled for neuropathological evaluation.