With the widespread adoption of low-dose CT screening and the extensive application of high-resolution CT, the detection rate of sub-centimeter lung nodules has significantly increased. How to scientifically manage these nodules while avoiding overtreatment and diagnostic delays has become an important clinical issue. Among them, lung nodules with a consolidation tumor ratio less than 0.25, dominated by ground-glass shadows, are particularly worthy of attention. The therapeutic challenge for this group is how to achieve precise and complete resection of nodules during surgery while maximizing the preservation of the patient's lung function. The "watershed topography map" is a new technology based on big data and artificial intelligence algorithms. This method uses Dicom data from conventional dose CT scans, combined with microscopic (22-24 levels) capillary network anatomical watershed features, to generate high-precision simulated natural segmentation planes of lung sub-segments through specific textures and forms. This technology forms fluorescent watershed boundaries on the lung surface, which highly fit the actual lung anatomical structure. By analyzing the adjacent relationship between the nodule and the watershed boundary, real-time, visually accurate positioning of the nodule can be achieved. This innovative technology provides a new solution for the intraoperative positioning and resection of lung nodules. This consensus was led by four major domestic societies, jointly with expert teams in related fields, oriented to clinical practical needs, referring to domestic and foreign guidelines and consensus, and finally formed after multiple rounds of consultation, discussion, and voting. The main content covers the theoretical basis of the "watershed topography map" technology, indications, operation procedures, surgical planning details, and postoperative evaluation standards, aiming to provide scientific guidance and exploration directions for clinical peers who are currently or plan to carry out lung nodule resection using the fluorescent microscope watershed analysis method.

Objective: To investigate the spatio-temporal clustering characteristics of influenza in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region from 2014 to 2023, so as to provide the basis for strengthening influenza prevention and control. Methods: Data pertaining to influenza cases reported in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region from 2014 to 2023 were retrieved from the Infectious Disease Surveillance System of the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System, including age, sex, current residence, onset date, and reporting date. The seasonal incidence of influenza was analyzed using seasonal index. The spatio-temporal clustering characteristics of influenza were identified using spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatio-temporal scan analysis. Results: A total of 20 377 influenza cases were reported in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region from 2014 to 2023, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.15∶1. The majority were children under 15 years, with 10 950 cases accounting for 53.74%. Influenza was highly prevalent in January, February, March, and December, with seasonal indices of 219.06%, 111.00%, 246.65%, and 366.24%, respectively. The average annual reported incidence was 29.55/100 000, among which Pengyang County, Jinfeng District, Dawukou District, Xiji County, and Litong District had higher average annual reported incidence, at 63.99/100 000, 55.71/100 000, 55.70/100 000, 49.49/100 000, and 49.04/100 000, respectively. Spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that in 2023, there was spatial clustering of influenza cases in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Moran's I=0.333, P<0.05), with a high-high cluster in Jingyuan County, while in other years, the distribution of influenza cases was random (all P>0.05). Spatio-temporal scan analysis showed that from 2014 to 2023, there were four space-time clusters in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, including one type Ⅰ cluster in Hongsibao District of Wuzhong City, with the clustering period from January 20 to 26, 2014; and three type Ⅱ clusters, mainly in January, February, March and December, covering one area in Shizuishan City, five areas in Guyuan City, one area in Zhongwei City, three areas in Wuzhong City, and four areas in Yinchuan City. Conclusions From 2014 to 2023, children under 15 years were the primary population affected by influenza in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with distinct spatio-temporal distribution characteristics. The peak incidence occurred during the winter and spring seasons, and the main clustering areas were in the southern regions.

OBJECTIVE: To explore effectiveness of TiRobot-assisted screw implantation in the treatment of coracoid process fractures of the scapula. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data from 24 patients with coracoid process fractures of the scapula admitted between September 2019 and January 2024 and met selection criteria. Among them, 12 patients underwent TiRobot-assisted screw implantation (robot group) and 12 underwent manual screw implantation (control group) during internal fixation. There was no significant difference ( P>0.05) in baseline data such as gender, age, body mass index, disease duration, cause of injury, coracoid process fracture classification, and proportion of patients with associated injuries between the two groups. The incision length, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, accuracy of screw placement, coracoid process fracture healing time, and complications were recorded and compared, as well as pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and Constant-Murley score at last follow-up. RESULTS: The intraoperative blood loss and incision length in the robot group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05); however, there was no significant difference in operation time and hospital stay between the two groups ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up 8-27 months (mean, 17.5 months), and the difference in follow-up time between the two groups was not significant ( P>0.05). At last follow-up, the VAS score for shoulder pain in the robot group was signifncatly lower compared to the control group, and the Constant-Murley score was significantly higher ( P<0.05). In the robot group, 16 screws were implanted intraoperatively, while 13 screws were implanted in the control group. Radiographic re-evaluation showed that the excellent and good rate of screw implantation was higher in the robot group (93.8%, 15/16) than in the control group (61.5%, 8/13), but the difference in the precision of screw implantation between the two groups was not significant ( P>0.05). Four patients in the robot group and 1 in the control group achieved double screws fixation; however, the difference in achieving double screws fixation between the two groups was not significant ( P>0.05). All fractures healed in both groups with 1 case of malunion in the control group. There was no significant difference in healing time between the two groups ( P>0.05). During follow-up, 1 patient in the control group experienced screw loosening and displacement. There was no significant difference in the incidence of screw loosening and fracture malunion between the two groups ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with manual screw implantation, TiRobot-assisted minimally invasive treatment of coracoid process fractures of the scapula can reduce intraoperative blood loss, shorten incision length, alleviate pain, and obtain better promote shoulder joint functional recovery.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/instrumentation* ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/instrumentation* ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Fractures, Bone/surgery* ; Bone Screws ; Coracoid Process/surgery* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Scapula/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Operative Time ; Young Adult ; Length of Stay ; Blood Loss, Surgical

Objective To develop a novel transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement device and test its performance. Methods The transcatheter tricuspid valve stent consisted of double-layer self-expanding nitinol stent, biotissue-derived bovine pericardial leaflets, and PTFE woven. The delivery system, mainly consisting of a handle control unit and a delivery sheath, was sent to the correct position via right atrium or jugular vein. The sheath had a visualization feature, and the handle control unit could realize the functions of stable release and partial recovery of the interventional valve. In addition, this study performed animal survival experiments on the basis of in vitro experiments. A large-white pig was used as the experimental animal. Cardiopulmonary bypass was established through median thoracotomy, then the right atrium was opened, and the interventional valve was released under direct vision without cardiac arrest. Approximately 1 month after interventional valve implantation, the maneuverability and stability of the interventional tricuspid device were evaluated by autopsy. Results Through the animal experiment, the interventional valve was successfully released, and the anchoring was satisfactory. Postoperative transthoracic echocardiography showed that the interventional valve opened and closed well, the flow rate of tricuspid valve was 0.6 m/s, and there was no obvious tricuspid regurgitation. One month after the operation, we dissected the large-white pig and found the interventional valve was not deformed or displaced, the leaflets were well aligned, and there was thrombus attachment in the groove between the inner and outer layers of the interventional valve. Conclusion Animal experiment shows that the novel device can stably and firmly attach to the tricuspid annulus, with good anchoring effect, and effectively reduce paravalvular leakage.

Objective To explore the safety of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with three-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparing the short-term outcomes between the 3-FL and the two-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL) in MIE. Methods The clinical data of patients with ESCC who underwent minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy in our hospital from July 2015 to March 2022 were collected retrospectively. Patients were divided into a 3-FL group and a 2-FL group according to lymph node dissection method. And the clinical outcomes and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 257 patients with ESCC were included in this study. There were 211 males and 46 females with an average age of 62.2±8.1 years. There were 109 patients in the 3-FL group and 148 patients in the 2-FL group. The operation time of the 3-FL group was about 20 minutes longer than that of the 2-FL group (P<0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the intraoperatve blood loss (P=0.376). More lymph nodes (P<0.001) and also more positive lymph nodes (P=0.003) were obtained in the 3-FL group than in the 2-FL group, and there was a statistical difference in the pathological N stage between the two groups (P<0.001). But there was no statistical difference in the incidence of anastomotic leak (P=0.667), chyle leak (P=0.421), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (P=0.081), pulmonary complications (P=0.601), pneumonia (P=0.061), cardiac complications (P=0.383), overall complications (P=0.147) or Clavien-Dindo grading (P=0.152) between the two groups. Conclusion MIE 3-FL can improve the efficiency of lymph node dissection and the accuracy of tumor lymph node staging, but it does not increase the postoperative complications, which is worthy of clinical application.

Objective:To explore the effect of different post-processing parameters of digital radiography (DR) on the quality of chest X-ray for pneumoconiosis diagnosis, and to provide suggestions on parameter setting suitable for this kind of DR machine.Methods:From January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, the chest films of 35 workers in the department of radiology of Hangzhou occupational disease prevention and treatment hospital were randomly selected and printed after setting different image post-processing parameters. The quality of chest film was evaluated by the measurement of optical densitometer and the combination of subjective and objective by professional physicians.Results:When the density is set to 2 and the contrast/detail contrast is 4.5, the optical density of each area of DR chest film meets the requirements of chest X-ray quality, and the qualified rate of physician quality evaluation is the highest.Conclusion:Reasonable setting of image post-processing parameters can improve the quality of chest radiograph.

Objective:To explore the effect of different post-processing parameters of digital radiography (DR) on the quality of chest X-ray for pneumoconiosis diagnosis, and to provide suggestions on parameter setting suitable for this kind of DR machine.Methods:From January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, the chest films of 35 workers in the department of radiology of Hangzhou occupational disease prevention and treatment hospital were randomly selected and printed after setting different image post-processing parameters. The quality of chest film was evaluated by the measurement of optical densitometer and the combination of subjective and objective by professional physicians.Results:When the density is set to 2 and the contrast/detail contrast is 4.5, the optical density of each area of DR chest film meets the requirements of chest X-ray quality, and the qualified rate of physician quality evaluation is the highest.Conclusion:Reasonable setting of image post-processing parameters can improve the quality of chest radiograph.

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) in repair of tendon injury in rats.Methods:The hUC-MSC were cultured and the surface markers were identified by flow cytometry. The cells were induced to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondroblasts and adipocytes using a specific media. Meanwhile, the exosomes were isolated from the cell supernatant using exosome separation columns, and were identified by transmission electron microscopy, PKH67 staining and Western blot. A total of 40 Wistar rats were used to establish the Achilles tendon injury model by surgical resection. The rats were divided into hUC-MSC group (Group A) (with 100 μg exosome injected at the injured site) and control group (Group B) (with 250 μl normal saline injected at the injured site) according to the random number table, with 20 rats per group. The expressions of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the tendon tissues of both groups were detected using q-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence assay at 4 weeks following injection. The expression of collagen III in the injured tissues of both groups was detected by immunohiestochemistry.Results:The isolated and cultured hUC-MSC presented fusiform under an inverted microscope. After osteogenic differentiation, the cells exhibited a cube nodular structure, and the Alizarin red staining was positive. After adipogenic differentiation, the fat was observed inside the cells, which was red by oil red O staining. After chondroblast differentiation, the cells secreted a large amount of glycosaminoglycans, and a strong positive was revealed by Alisin blue staining. The hUC-MSC-derived exosomes showed round disc shape with a depressed internal structure under a transmission electron microscope, which was verified via PKH67 staining. The Western blot analysis showed high expressions of motility-related protein-1 (CD9) and lysosomal associated membrane protein 3 (CD63). The q-PCR test revealed that the mRNA expressions of TGF-β (4.887±0.767), BMP-2 (3.079±0.150), VEGF (3.108±0.508) and FGF-2 (4.211±0.522) in Group A were markedly higher than those in Group B (1.000±0.062, 0.918±0.129, 1.004±0.103, 1.010±0.169, respectively) ( P<0.01), and that the mRNA expression of IL-1β (0.697±0.037) and TNF-α (0.793±0.021) in Group A was markedly lower than those in Group B (1.004±0.089 and 1.006±0.015, respectively) ( P<0.01). The Western blot analysis revealed that the protein expressions of TGF-β (1.434±0.041), BMP-2 (1.798±0.177), VEGF (1.552±0.113) and FGF-2 (1.357±0.039) in Group A were markedly higher than those in Group B (1.002±0.032, 0.992±0.068, 1.007±0.070, 0.994±0.051) ( P<0.01), and that the protein expressions of IL-1β (0.705±0.016) and TNF-α (0.840±0.045) in Group A was markedly lower than those in Group B (1.000±0.016, 1.003±0.040) ( P<0.01). The immunofluorescence revealed that the positive expression rates of TGF-β and VEGF in Group A were not significantly different from those in Group B ( P>0.05). However, the positive expression rates of BMP-2 (2.278±0.208) and FGF-2 (4.656±0.106) in Group A were markedly higher than those in Group B (0.315±0.101, 1.661±0.110) ( P<0.05 or 0.01), and the positive expression rates of IL-1β (1.677±0.947) and TNF-α (1.520±0.088) in Group A were greatly lower than those in Group B (4.296±0.291, 2.373±0.273, respectively) ( P<0.01). In Group A, the tendon collagen fibers were arranged regularly and tightly, with relatively significant expression of collagen III; while the tendon collagen fibers in Group B were distributed loosely, accompanying broken scarlike healing. Conclusion:The hUC-MSC-derived exosomes can prompt the repair of the injured tendon tissues, which may be associated with the function in up-regulating the expressions of growth factors including TGF-β, BMP-2, VEGF and FGF-2, enhancing the expression of collagen III and inhibiting the expression of the inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β and TNF-α.

Objective:To analyze the survival benefits and treatment related toxic effects of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-RT) for non-operative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.Methods:The data of 2 132 ESCC patients who were not suitable for surgery or rejected operation, and underwent radical radiotherapy from 2002 to 2016 in 10 hospitals of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG) were analyzed. Among them, 518 (24.3%) cases underwent SIB (SIB group) and 1 614 (75.7%) cases did not receive SIB (No-SIB group). The two groups were matched with 1∶2 according to propensity score matching (PSM) method (caliper value=0.02). After PSM, 515 patients in SIB group and 977 patients in No-SIB group were enrolled. Prognosis and treatment related adverse effects of these two groups were compared and the independent prognostic factor were analyzed.Results:The median follow-up time was 61.7 months. Prior to PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years overall survival (OS) rates of SIB group were 72.2%, 42.8%, 35.5%, while of No-SIB group were 74.3%, 41.4%, 31.9%, respectively ( P=0.549). After PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates of the two groups were 72.5%, 43.4%, 36.4% and 75.3%, 41.7%, 31.6%, respectively ( P=0.690). The univariate survival analysis of samples after PSM showed that the lesion location, length, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, gross tumor volume (GTV) and underwent SIB-RT or not were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed lesion location, TNM stage, GTV and simultaneous chemoradiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Stratified analysis showed that, in the patients whose GTV volume≤50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 34.7 and 30.3 months ( P=0.155), respectively. In the patients whose GTV volume>50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 16.1 and 20.1 months ( P=0.218). The incidence of radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis above Grade 3 in SIB group were 4.3% and 2.5%, significantly lower than 13.1% and 11% of No-SIB group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival benefit of SIB-RT in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma is not inferior to non-SIB-RT, but without more adverse reactions, and shortens the treatment time. SIB-RT can be used as one option of the radical radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Objective    To compare the clinical effects of segmentectomy and lobectomy for ≤2 cm lung adenocarcinoma with micropapillary and solid subtype negative by intraoperative frozen sections. Methods    The patients with adenocarcinoma who received segmentectomy or lobectomy in multicenter from June 2020 to March 2021 were included. They were divided into two groups according to a random number table, including a segmentectomy group (n=119, 44 males and 75 females with an average age of 56.6±8.9 years) and a lobectomy group (n=115, 43 males and 72 females with an average of 56.2±9.5 years). The clinical data of the patients were analyzed. Results    There was no significant difference in the baseline data between the two groups (P>0.05). No perioperative death was found. There was no statistical difference in the operation time (111.2±30.0 min vs. 107.3±34.3 min), blood loss (54.2±83.5 mL vs. 40.0±16.4 mL), drainage duration (2.8±0.6 d vs. 2.6±0.6 d), hospital stay time (3.9±2.3 d vs. 3.7±1.1 d) or pathology staging (P>0.05) between the two groups. The postoperative pulmonary function analysis revealed that the mean decreased values of forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second percent predicted in the segmentectomy group were significantly better than those in the lobectomy group (0.2±0.3 L vs. 0.4±0.3 L, P=0.005; 0.3%±8.1% vs. 2.9%±7.4%, P=0.041). Conclusion    Segmentectomy is effective in protecting lungs function, which is expected to improve life quality of patients.