Background::Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants.Methods::A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance.Results::All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex. Conclusions::The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values.

Objective:To design a new jaw-lifting auxiliary tool and explore its effect in painless bronchoscopy.Methods:From January to December 2023, convenience sampling was used to select 160 patients who underwent painless bronchoscopy at the Endoscopy Center of the First Hospital of Jiaxing as subjects. The subjects were divided into an experimental group ( n=80) and a control group ( n=80) using a random number table method. During painless bronchoscopy, the experimental group used a new jaw-lifting auxiliary tool to open the airway, while the control group used traditional manual methods to open the airway. Two groups were compared patient oxygen saturation at different time points, and bronchoscopy passage time through the glottis. Results:The number of cases in which blood oxygen saturation <95% occurred at different time points in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (all P<0.05). The time for bronchoscopy to pass through the glottis in the experimental group was shorter than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant [ (2.86±0.69) s vs. (3.20±0.96) s, P<0.05] . Conclusions:Using a new jaw-lifting auxiliary tool during painless bronchoscopy can reduce the decreased oxygen saturation in patients and shorten the time for bronchoscopy to pass through the glottis. It can be further promoted and applied in clinical practice.

Type B insulin resistance syndrome(TBIR)is a rare autoimmune disease caused by the presence of autoantibodies against insulin receptors in the human body,leading to severe refractory hyperglycemia or refractory hypoglycemia.This article reports a case of TBIR patient,summarizes and analyzes its epidemiological characteristics and diagnosis and treatment methods,providing a basis for clinical treatment.

Objective:To explore the deficits of facial expression recognition,theory of mind and empathy in patients with schizophrenia and to examine the association of facial expression recognition with theory of mind and empathy.Methods:Totally 47 patients with schizophrenia who met the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Sta-tistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fifth Edition(DSM-5)and 35 normal participants were selected.The Facial E-motion Identification Test(FEIT),Yoni task,and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy(QCAE)were used to measure expression recognition,theory of mind,and empathy.The main indicators were task accuracy and questionnaire scores.Results:Compared to normal controls,patient group showed significantly poorer perform-ance on facial expression recognition accuracy and the Yoni task,and lower scores on cognitive empathy and pe-ripheral responsivity subscale of the QCAE(Ps＜0.05).Regression analyses showed that performance on cognitive theory of mind(β=0.33,P＜0.01)and affective theory of mind(β=0.33,P＜0.01)of the Yoni task were posi-tively associated with accuracy in recognizing happy expressions.Cognitive empathy scores of the QCAE were neg-atively associated with accuracy in recognizing neutral expressions(β=-0.23,P＜0.05).Patients had lower af-fective theory of mind accuracy(β=-0.23,P＜0.05)and QCAE cognitive empathy scores(β=-0.34,P＜0.01).Conclusion:Patients with schizophrenia have deficits in expression recognition,theory of mind,and empa-thy,and that their abnormal expression recognition may be associated with deficits in theory of mind and empathy.

Objective:To investigate the plasma differential protein expressions between patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal controls, and to search plasma protein markers or protein combinations with screening or diagnostic significance.Methods:Plasma samples from 98 patients with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT), 102 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 101 normal controls (NC) were collected from Wuxi Mental Health Center and Shanghai Mental Health Center from 2016 to 2018.The expression levels of 50 kinds of plasma proteins in all plasma samples were detected by Milliplex MAP assays(xMAP).Analysis of variance, regression analysis, discriminant analysis, and ROC analysis on the data were performed using SPSS 20.0 software.Results:(1)Compared with the NC group, 26 plasma proteins were up-regulated and 4 proteins were down-regulated in DAT group, while 6 proteins were up-regulated and 4 proteins were down-regulated in MCI group(all P<0.05).Compared with the NC group, 6 proteins were upregulated in both MIC group and DAT group, which were clusterin(Clust) (613.41(278.89), 761.76(358.60), 473.01(321.73)), cystatin C(Cys C) (691.88(441.34), 852.28(551.75), 548.64(545.28)), transthyretin(TTR) (207.10(168.60), 220.95(151.20), 152.89(162.70)), complement factor H(Com FH) (331.67(218.37), 361.69(124.64), 225.79(236.82)), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1(sICAM1) (109.30(49.47), 137.21(50.36), 87.06(57.59), and apolipoprotein E(APOE) (79.33(78.13), 79.31(68.85), 54.88(67.34)).The serum amyloid P component(SAP) was downregulated in both DAT and MCI groups(121.23(311.31), 92.39(156.62), 125.00(242.82)) compared with NC group.(2)Three sets of protein combination were screened by differential analysis, regression analysis, and discriminant analysis, including 8 proteins, 9 proteins and 7 proteins, respectively.And SAP, angiotensin (AGT), osteopontin (OPN), and complement C4 (Com C4) were the compared with NC group most frequently selected protein.The screening correct rate of three protein combinations were respectively 67.4%-71.4% for AD, 82.4%-88.4% for DAT, and 60.6%-63.5% for MCI. Conclusions:A variety of plasma proteins such as Clust, Cys C, TTR, Com FH, sICAM1, APOE are upregulated, while SAP is downregulated in AD patients.These differential protein combinations can help with early diagnosis of dementia with Alzheimer type.SAP, AGT, OPN and Com C4 may be potential markers for early screening or diagnosis of AD.

Objective To retrieve,evaluate and summarize the best evidence on the management of ocular complications in intensive care patients ventilated in prone position,and to provide references for clinical practice.Methods Evidence on management of ocular complications in intensive care patients ventilated in prone position was systemically retrieved in the guideline websites,professional association websites and databases,such as the BMJ Best Practice,UpToDate,Cochrane Library,Joanna Briggs Institute,PubMed,Web of Science,Science Direct,Embase,CNKI,Wanfang and other databases,including guidelines,clinical decisions,evidence summaries,expert consensuses,group standards,systematic reviews and scoping reviews,published from January 2013 to June 2023.The guidelines were individually evaluated by 4 researchers,and the remaining literature was individually evaluated by 2 researchers.The literature that met the criteria was extracted and graded.Results A total of 15 articles were involved,including 6 guidelines,2 clinical decisions,2 evidence summaries,3 systematic reviews,1 scoping review and 1 group standard.Finally,6 evidence topics and 16 pieces of best evidence were formed,including organization and training,risk identification,eye assessment,eye protection,position management and regular observation.Conclusion This study summarized the best evidence on the management of ocular complications in intensive care patients ventilated in prone position.In the application,the best evidence should be selected according to the clinical situation,so as to reduce the incidence of ocular complications and improve the quality of life of patients.

Objective:To investigate the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT combined with conventional imaging modalities in the evaluation of the depth of tumor invasion, regional lymph node metastasis, distant organ and lymph node metastasis (TNM staging), and the adjacent structure invasion of rectal cancer. Methods:Fifty-four patients (28 males, 26 females, age (65.8±11.0) years) with pathologically confirmed rectal cancer admitted to the Affiliated Qingdao Central Hospital of Qingdao University between September 2019 and June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. 18F-FDG PET/CT examination, conventional imaging modalities including high-resolution MRI (HR-MRI), chest CT plain scan, upper abdominal MRI or CT plain scan+ enhanced examination were performed within 2 weeks before or after the rectal cancer being confirmed. The TNM staging and adjacent structural invasions including circumferential resection margin (CRM), extramural vascular invasion (EMVI), anal sphincter complex involvement were evaluated by 18F-FDG PET/CT and conventional imaging modalities separately or in combination, and those results based on imaging were compared with the pathological results or clinical follow-up results. χ2 test was used to compare the differences of diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy between the 18F-FDG PET/CT or conventional imaging modalities and combined examination. Results:The accuracy for T staging and the sensitivity and accuracy for N staging of the combined examination were 96.30%(52/54), 98.65%(73/74) and 93.91%(185/197), respectively, which were significantly higher than those of 18F-FDG PET/CT (85.19%(46/54), 66.22%(49/74), 81.73%(161/197); χ2 values: 3.97, 26.88, 13.66, all P<0.05). The specificity (91.06%, 112/123) and accuracy of the combined examination for N staging were higher than those of the conventional imaging modalities (77.24%(95/123), 83.76%(165/197); χ2 values: 8.81, 10.23, both P<0.05). The sensitivity and accuracy of the combined examination for M staging were higher than those of the conventional imaging modalities (97.01%(65/67) vs 73.13%(49/67), 95.95%(71/74) vs 68.92%(51/74); χ2 values: 15.05, 18.66, both P<0.001). The sensitivities of the combined examination in evaluating CRM and EMVI were 100%(22/22) and 95.00%(19/20), and the accuracies were 98.15%(53/54) and 96.30%(52/54), all of which were higher than those of 18F-FDG PET/CT (CRM: 54.55%(12/22), 74.07%(40/54); EVMI: 30.00%(6/20), 74.07%(40/54); χ2 values: 12.94, 13.08, 18.03, 10.56, all P<0.01). The accuracy of the combined examination in evaluating EMVI was higher than that of the conventional imaging modalities (85.19%(46/54); χ2=3.97, P=0.046). Conclusion:18F-FDG PET/CT combined with conventional imaging modalities can improve the diagnostic efficacy for TNM staging and assessment of adjacent structural invasion in rectal cancer.

Prepubertal-type testicular neuroendocrine tumor is a rare neoplasm of low malignant potential, which is classified as germ cell tumors unrelated to germ cell neoplasia in situ, and needs to be differentiated from metastatic neuroendocrine tumor, postpubertal-type testicular neuroendocrine tumor, and testicular seminoma. The clinicopathological and molecular features of a case of prepubertal-type testicular neuroendocrine tumor were reported. The tumour cells were uniform in size and arranged in nested and insular pattern. The tumor was positive for CgA and Syn, and the Ki-67 index was less than 2% by immunostaining. Next-generation sequencing identified no variants of pathogenicity, potential pathogenicity or uncertain significance. The patient was followed without evidence of recurrence and metastasis 56 months after surgery.

Objective:This study aimed to explore the clinical value of myostatin(MST) and follistatin(FST) as biological biomarkers in evaluating sarcopenia in elderly women.Methods:This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that enrolled 350 females aged 20-89 years who underwent physical examinations in Shanghai Huadong Hospital in 2021. Demographic characteristics, muscle mass, fat mass, bone mineral density, hand grip strength, gait speed, and serum indices of MST and FST were collected.Results:The serum levels of MST did not change significantly with age. However, the serum levels of FST increased with age. In women aged≥60 years, MST was positively correlated with total lean mass and appendicular skeletal muscle index(ASMI; r=0.236, P=0.041; r=0.289, P=0.014), while FST was negatively correlated with ASMI( r=-0.265, P=0.030). In multivariate stepwise regression analysis, after adjusting for age, body mass index, hip bone mineral density, and total fat mass, only FST was independently correlated with ASMI( β=-0.238, P=0.006), while MST was not correlated with ASMI. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted using muscle mass reduction as the state variable and serum FST level as the test variable. The area under the curve was 0.753. And when the FST cutoff value was 17.49 ng/mL, the maximum Jordan index was 0.46, with a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 68.7%. Women aged ≥60 years were divided into three groups based on serum FST levels. Compared to the upper third of the serum FST level group, the low third of the FST level group had a significantly reduced risk of suffering from sarcopenia( OR=0.098, P =0.036). Conclusions:Serum FST lever has a better correlation with muscle mass among elderly women, making it a promising biomarker for evaluating muscle mass.

Hypertension heightens the risk of cardiovascular and renal complications in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Optimal blood pressure (BP) management is crucial for preventing these complications. This review consolidates evidence from clinical trials and major BP management guidelines to shed light on key aspects of hypertension management in diabetes. It addresses BP thresholds to initiate antihypertensive treatment, optimal BP control targets, recommended first-line antihypertensive edications, and BP monitoring plan for the prevention of chronic complications in type 2 diabetes.