This study aims to describe the population and regional distribution characteristics of smoking behavior among adult twins in the China Twin Registry (CNTR), as well as the concordance rates for smoking behavior in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, and estimate the heritability. The study population included adult twins in CNTR who had smoking questionnaire data. A random-effects regression model was used to describe the distribution of smoking behavior among different subgroups based on various characteristics. The concordance of smoking behavior between different zygosity groups was calculated, and heritability was estimated. A total of 28 444 twin pairs were included in this study, with an average age of (36.6±12.0) years. Among male twins, 41.2% were current smokers, while only 1.2% of females smoked. Higher smoking rates were observed among male smokers in the 50-59 age group ( z=23.0, P<0.001), northern regions ( z=2.9, P<0.01), rural areas ( z=-5.2, P<0.001), those who were divorced/widowed ( z=3.8, P<0.001), and first-born twins ( z=-4.3, P<0.001), while lower smoking rates were found in those with higher education ( z=-16.1, P<0.001) and unmarried individuals ( z=-16.0, P<0.001). The smoking concordance rate for male monozygotic twins was 69.6%, significantly higher than the 57.3% concordance rate for dizygotic twins ( χ 2=105.0, P<0.05). The heritability of smoking behavior in male twins was estimated at 28.9% (95% CI: 24.3%-33.4%). Stratified analyses showed differences in heritability across regions and age groups: the heritability in northern regions was 32.6% (95% CI: 27.3%-38.0%), higher than the 21.0% (95% CI: 12.4%-29.5%) observed in southern regions; the highest heritability of 35.1% (95% CI: 26.3%-43.9%) was found in the 18-29 age group, with heritability decreasing with age. In conclusion, the smoking rate and influencing factors in the twin population are similar to those in the general population, with unique characteristics, such as higher smoking rates in first-born twins. Genetic factors have a significant impact on smoking behavior.

Objective:To describe the distribution characteristics of alcohol consumption in adult twins in the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), and further explore the influence of genetic factors on alcohol consumption in adult twins.Methods:The subjects of the study were twins registered by CNTR in 11 project areas across China from 2010 to 2018. A total of 56 966 twins (28 483 pairs) aged 18 years and above who answered questions about drinking behavior were included, and the random effect model was used to describe the population and regional distribution characteristics of alcohol consumption. Intra-pair analysis was performed to calculate the concordance rate and heritability of their alcohol consumption.Results:The age of all subjects was (36.6±12.0) years, and current drinkers accounted for 16.6% (9 461/56 966) of all subjects. In men, those aged 50-59 years, those in northern China, those living in rural area, those with low education level and those with high BMI, the proportions of current drinkers were higher. After excluding 468 pairs of twins who had stopped alcohol use and 21 764 pairs of twins who had no drink or had small amount drink, an intra-pair analysis was conducted in 4 929 pairs of same-sex twins, and found that the concordance rate of alcohol consumption was 64.0% (2 059/3 215) in monozygotic twins, and 52.6% (902/1 714) in dizygotic twins, the difference was significant ( P<0.001), and the heritability of alcohol consumption was 24.1% (95% CI: 18.9%- 29.3%). The further stratified analysis found that in southern men, the heritability was highest in those aged 40-49 years (36.1%, 95% CI: 21.6%-50.7%), while in northern men, the heritability was highest in those aged 50-59 years (34.2%, 95% CI: 18.1%-50.3%). Conclusions:In adult twins in China, there were population and regional differences in the distribution of alcohol consumption behavior, and alcohol consumption was influenced by genetic factors, and gender, age and region had potential modifying effects.

This study aims to describe the population and regional distribution characteristics of smoking behavior among adult twins in the China Twin Registry (CNTR), as well as the concordance rates for smoking behavior in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, and estimate the heritability. The study population included adult twins in CNTR who had smoking questionnaire data. A random-effects regression model was used to describe the distribution of smoking behavior among different subgroups based on various characteristics. The concordance of smoking behavior between different zygosity groups was calculated, and heritability was estimated. A total of 28 444 twin pairs were included in this study, with an average age of (36.6±12.0) years. Among male twins, 41.2% were current smokers, while only 1.2% of females smoked. Higher smoking rates were observed among male smokers in the 50-59 age group ( z=23.0, P<0.001), northern regions ( z=2.9, P<0.01), rural areas ( z=-5.2, P<0.001), those who were divorced/widowed ( z=3.8, P<0.001), and first-born twins ( z=-4.3, P<0.001), while lower smoking rates were found in those with higher education ( z=-16.1, P<0.001) and unmarried individuals ( z=-16.0, P<0.001). The smoking concordance rate for male monozygotic twins was 69.6%, significantly higher than the 57.3% concordance rate for dizygotic twins ( χ 2=105.0, P<0.05). The heritability of smoking behavior in male twins was estimated at 28.9% (95% CI: 24.3%-33.4%). Stratified analyses showed differences in heritability across regions and age groups: the heritability in northern regions was 32.6% (95% CI: 27.3%-38.0%), higher than the 21.0% (95% CI: 12.4%-29.5%) observed in southern regions; the highest heritability of 35.1% (95% CI: 26.3%-43.9%) was found in the 18-29 age group, with heritability decreasing with age. In conclusion, the smoking rate and influencing factors in the twin population are similar to those in the general population, with unique characteristics, such as higher smoking rates in first-born twins. Genetic factors have a significant impact on smoking behavior.

Objective:To describe the distribution characteristics of alcohol consumption in adult twins in the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), and further explore the influence of genetic factors on alcohol consumption in adult twins.Methods:The subjects of the study were twins registered by CNTR in 11 project areas across China from 2010 to 2018. A total of 56 966 twins (28 483 pairs) aged 18 years and above who answered questions about drinking behavior were included, and the random effect model was used to describe the population and regional distribution characteristics of alcohol consumption. Intra-pair analysis was performed to calculate the concordance rate and heritability of their alcohol consumption.Results:The age of all subjects was (36.6±12.0) years, and current drinkers accounted for 16.6% (9 461/56 966) of all subjects. In men, those aged 50-59 years, those in northern China, those living in rural area, those with low education level and those with high BMI, the proportions of current drinkers were higher. After excluding 468 pairs of twins who had stopped alcohol use and 21 764 pairs of twins who had no drink or had small amount drink, an intra-pair analysis was conducted in 4 929 pairs of same-sex twins, and found that the concordance rate of alcohol consumption was 64.0% (2 059/3 215) in monozygotic twins, and 52.6% (902/1 714) in dizygotic twins, the difference was significant ( P<0.001), and the heritability of alcohol consumption was 24.1% (95% CI: 18.9%- 29.3%). The further stratified analysis found that in southern men, the heritability was highest in those aged 40-49 years (36.1%, 95% CI: 21.6%-50.7%), while in northern men, the heritability was highest in those aged 50-59 years (34.2%, 95% CI: 18.1%-50.3%). Conclusions:In adult twins in China, there were population and regional differences in the distribution of alcohol consumption behavior, and alcohol consumption was influenced by genetic factors, and gender, age and region had potential modifying effects.

Medical image is a powerful tool to assist doctors in the diagnosis and treatment planning.Nowadays,the segmentation of medical images is no longer limited to manual segmentation methods.Traditional methods and deep learning methods have been used to achieve more accurate results in medical image segmentation.Herein some innovative medical image segmentation methods in recent years are reviewed.By elaborating on the innovations of deep learning methods(SAM,SegNet,Mask R-CNN,and U-NET)and traditional methods(active contour model and threshold segmentation model),the differences and similarities between them are compared.The summary of medical image segmentation methods and the prospect is expected to help researchers better grasp and familiarize themselves with research status and development trend.

OBJECTIVES: Safe and effective anticoagulation is essential for hemodialysis patients who are at high risk of bleeding. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of two-stage regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) combined with sequential anticoagulation and standard calcium-containing dialysate in intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) treatment. METHODS: Patients at high risk of bleeding who underwent IHD from September 2019 to May 2021 were prospectively enrolled in 13 blood purification centers of nephrology departments, and were randomly divided into RCA group and saline flushing group. In the RCA group, 0.04 g/mL sodium citrate was infused from the start of the dialysis line during blood draining and at the venous expansion chamber. The sodium citrate was stopped after 3 h of dialysis, which was changed to sequential dialysis without anticoagulant. The hazard ratios for coagulation were according to baseline. RESULTS: A total of 159 patients and 208 sessions were enrolled, including RCA group (80 patients, 110 sessions) and saline flushing group (79 patients, 98 sessions). The incidence of severe coagulation events of extracorporeal circulation in the RCA group was significantly lower than that in the saline flushing group (3.64% vs. 20.41%, P<0.001). The survival time of the filter pipeline in the RCA group was significantly longer than that in the saline flushing group ((238.34±9.33) min vs. (221.73±34.10) min, P<0.001). The urea clearance index (Kt/V) in the RCA group was similar to that in the saline flushing group with no statistically significant difference (1.12±0.34 vs. 1.08±0.34, P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS Compared with saline flushing, the two-stage RCA combined with a sequential anticoagulation strategy significantly reduced extracorporeal circulation clotting events and prolonged the dialysis time without serious adverse events.
Humans ; Citric Acid/adverse effects* ; Prospective Studies ; Sodium Citrate ; Hemorrhage/chemically induced* ; Citrates/adverse effects* ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects* ; Renal Dialysis/adverse effects*

[Objective] To investigate the anatomical relation between manubrium sternum incisure(MSI)with the level of upper thoracic vertebrae(UTV)and to find out the basis of operative approach of UTV.[Method]Standing pan chest radiographs of 400 male and 400 female were equally divided into 4 year groups:≤19 years,20～39 years,40～59 years and ≥60 years and were used to observe the relationship between MSI with the level of UTV.On the basis of this relationship,a suitable UTV approach was advocated.There were fracture and dislocation of UTV 7 cases,UTV tumor 9 cases,tuberculosis of UTV 3 cases;OPLL ossification of UTV 2 cases.Diseases located at T1 6 cases,T2 7 cases,T3 2 cases,T4 3 cases,T1、2 2 cases,T2、3 1 case.Lower anterior cervical approach was performed for 7 cases including T1、2 one case and T2 one case,improved T3 1 case,and right subscapular transthoracic posterolateral approach was used for 5 cases.[Result]The number of UTV in relationship with the level of MSI was successively increased from T1 to T3 and was gradually decreased on T4,i.e.rate of cases of level of MST in relationship with T1、2 level was 1%,to T2 level 5.5%,to T2、3 level 15.87%,to T3 level 43.5%,to T3、4 level 20.75%,to T4 13.375%.No relationship was found in trend of distribution with the age and gender.The operative approach of UTV according its relationship with MSI was performed with the advantages of satisfactory exposure easily manipulation and satisfactory clinic results in most follow-up cases.One case died of metastasis of tumor in 9 months,3 cases were complicated with cerebrospinal fluid leakage and 3 cases with injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve.[Conclusion]Approach to UTV should be selected according to its relationship between MSI and diseased UTV preoperatively.The operative approach of UTV according to its relationship with MST has the advantages of satisfactory exposure,easily manipulation and satisfactory clinic results.

Objective To investigate the influence of experimental scotoma on multifocal visual evoked potential (mf-VEP). Methods The mf-VEP of 10 healthy individuals (20 eyes) was measured with VERIS Science 4.0. Every eye was measured for 3 times. The right eye was measured with full field stimulation and upper hemi-field or lower hemi-field masked. The left eye was measured with full field stimulation and central three-rings area or lower nasal field masked. The first slice responses of the second order in different field were analyzed and compared by VERIS software. Results The mf-VEP in masked area was undetectable or obviously decreased in all subjects. In most unmasked field, the amplitudes of mf-VEP were not changed, except that in some place decreased slightly with statistically significant difference in comparison to the full field stimulation mode. Conclusion mf-VEP is influenced with experimental scotoma. The mf-VEP changes are consistent with the visual field masked.

BACKGROUNDTo investigate the efficacy of combined hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX RT) plus accelerated HFX RT and concomitant chemotherapy (CHT) in stage IIIA or IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with HFX RT alone.

METHODSFrom August 1998 to December 2001, 56 patients with NSCLC were randomized into the following groups: HFX RT alone group (group I, n=28), HFX RT with 1.2 Gy twice daily to a total dose of 45.6 Gy, followed by accelerated HFX RT with 1.6 Gy twice daily, the total planned radiation dose was 68.0 Gy in tumour; HFX RT/CHT concomitant group (group II, n=28), same RT with CHT consisting of 20 mg/m² of cisplatin (DDP) on days 1 to 3 and 50 mg/m² of etoposide (VP 16) on days 1 to 3, repeated every two weeks during the RT course.

RESULTSThe overall response rate was 78.6% in group II, including 10 patients with complete response and 12 with partial response; 39.3% in group I, including 11 patients with partial response. Group II had a higher overall response rate compared to Group I (P=0.003). The median survival time was 16 months for group II, 13 months for group I. There was a significant difference in the median survival time between two groups (P= 0.000 3 ). Group II (57.1%) had a lower distant metastasis rate compared with group I (85.7%) (P= 0.018 ). Patients in group II showed a higher incidence of acute and/or late high-grade toxicity (hematologic toxicity, esophagitis, late lung toxicity) compared with group I patients, but no significant difference was observed between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONSThe HFX RT plus accelerated HFX RT and concomitant PDD/VP-16 CHT is tolerable and substantially increases the response rate and prolongs survival in IIIA/IIIB NSCLC patients.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma on visual evoked potential (VEP).

METHODSVEP of 63 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were tested before, at the end of, half a year, one year, 2 years and 3 years after their radiotherapy.

RESULTSWithin the male group, one year after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before and at the end of radiotherapy, while the amplitude was decreased significantly. Two years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed more than that before radiotherapy. However there was no significant difference among VEP at the end of, half a year and 3 years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, 2 years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before radiotherapy. Three years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before, at the end of, half a year and one year after radiotherapy. There was no significant difference in VEP amplitudes before and after radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONWithin the male group, the abnormal delay of VEP latency mostly happens one or two years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, the significant delay of VEP latency happens at the end of radiotherapy and lasts for 3 years, while the VEP amplitude does not change significantly during the 3 years after radiotherapy. The result indicates that the sustained radiation damage within the female visual nerve system starts at the end of radiotherapy, but to a lesser degree. It was shown that radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma certainly damages the visual nerve system, though there is sex difference in the impairment.

Adult ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; radiation effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors