Objective To investigatethe relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and clinicopathological characteristics, p53 expression, and survival of Chinese patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma. Methods A total of 3882 patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, 970 matched patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and 970 matched patients with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma were included to compare the incidence of GERD symptoms. Patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma were divided into two groups according to the presence and absence of GERD symptoms. The differences in clinicopathological characteristics and p53 expression between the two groups were compared by chi-square test, and the differences in survival between the two groups were compared by landmark analysis. Results The incidence of GERD symptoms increased successively in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma. In patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, the proportions of male, less than 65 years old, lower thoracic tumors, tumors without squamous cell carcinoma, poorly differentiation, early tumors (stage 0-I), and p53-positive tumors in the group with GERD symptoms were higher than those in the group without GERD symptoms; moreover, the long-term survival (≥15 years) was better. Conclusion GERD symptom is an important clinical sign of esophageal adenocarcinoma. It is closely related to specific clinicopathological characteristics, p53 overexpression, and good long-term prognosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a terminal disease of the lung. Its pathogenesis mechanism and pathogenesis evolution are very complex, which is closely related to epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT). Under the guidance of the theory of "deficient-qi induced stagnation", this article elaborated on the relationship between IPF, "deficient-qi induced stagnation", and EMT from the perspective of TCM and Western medicine. It is believed that "deficient-qi induced stagnation" is the macroscopic pathogenesis of IPF, and EMT is the microscopic mechanism of IPF. The micro-mechanism was to inhibit EMT as the treatment target to prevent epithelial cell injury and apoptosis, thus reducing the release of inflammatory factors, pro-fibrosis factors and other factors that damage lung tissue and the transformation of damaged epithelial cells into fibroblasts and produce a large number of ECM deposition; the occurrence and development process of IPF was summarized in the macro pathogenesis. It was highly condensed that IPF was based on "deficiency-qi", "stagnation" as the standard, and the basic pathogenesis characteristics of "stagnation" due to deficiency, as well as the pathogenesis development characteristics of the vicious cycle of "deficiency leads to stagnation, and from stagnation to deficiency". Based on the theory of "deficient-qi induced stagnation", it should be used to tonify deficiency and clear stagnation; tonifying deficiency includes replenishing lung qi, benefiting qi and nourishing yin, and mutual generation between metal and water; clearing stagnation includes circulating qi and blood, drying the wetness and eliminating phlegm, and promoting blood circulation for removing obstruction in collaterals, etc. In clinical application, attention should be paid to the fact that tonifying deficiency and clearing stagnation should be used in parallel.

Objective:To investigate the necessity of internal fixation of the fibular fracture in the treatment of degree Ⅱ ankle supination-external rotation injury by the Dias-Tachdjian classification in children.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the data of 69 children with ankle fracture (degree Ⅱ ankle supination-external rotation injury by the Dias-Tachdjian classification) who had been treated at Department of Orthopedic Trauma, The People's Hospital of Weifang and Department of Pediatric Orthopedics, Tianjin Hospital from January 2015 to October 2021. There were 41 males and 28 females with an age of (10.1±1.4) years, and 37 left and 32 right sides affected. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether internal fixation of the fibular fracture was performed. Group A consisted of 21 cases with fibular internal fixation and group B of 48 cases without fibular internal fixation. The preoperative data, operation time and operation expenses were recorded and compared between the 2 groups. At the last follow-up, the anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of bilateral full length lower limbs and ankle joints were taken; the lateral distal tibial angle (LDTA) and the anterior distal tibial angle (ADTA) on the affected side, and the disparity between bilateral ankle tibiotalar angles were measured; ankle function was assessed according to the ankle-hindfoot score of American Association of Foot and Ankle Surgery (AOFAS); the occurrence of premature physeal closure (PPC) was recorded.Results:There was no significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up for (19.5±4.1) months. At the last follow-up, the LDTA on the affected side was 89.6° (87.9°, 90.5°) in group A and 88.6°±1.9° in group B; the ADTA on the affected side was 80.9° (79.0°, 81.4°) in group A and 80.0° (78.6°, 81.2°) in group B; the disparity between bilateral ankle tibiotalar angles was 1.1°±0.5° in group A and 1.2°±0.5° in group B; the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score was (89.5±5.2) points in group A and 89.0 (87.0, 92.0) points in group B. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in the above items ( P>0.05). The incidence of PPC was, respectively, 14.3% (3/21) and 14.6% (7/48) in groups A and B, showing no statistically significant difference ( P>0.05). Conclusions:In the treatment of degree Ⅱ ankle supination-external rotation injury in children, internal fixation of the fibular fracture has no significant effect on the imaging angles or the function of the ankle joint. After anatomic reduction of the distal tibia, the fibular fracture can be treated without internal fixation to reduce operational trauma, shorten operation time and reduce operation expenses.

Objective: To investigate the preliminary screening results of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among the elderly in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province and analyze the influencing factors, so as to provide insights into prevention and control of AD in the elderly. Methods: A multi-stage stratified proportional sampling method was used to select the registered residents aged 60 years and older in Ningbo City as subjects. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, physical conditions and social activities of the subjects was evaluated with questionnaires. AD was screened using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: A total of 34 027 elderly residents were investigated, with an mean age of (71.71±6.89) years. There were 15 115 males (44.42%) and 18 912 females (55.58%), 16 146 residents living in rural areas (47.45%) and 17 881 residents living in urban areas (52.55%). The positive rate of AD preliminary screening was 7.28% (2 476 cases). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age (70 to 74 years, OR=1.357; 75 to 79 years, OR=1.807; 80 to 84 years, OR=2.782; 85 years and older, OR=4.907), gender (female, OR=1.118), residence (urban areas, OR=0.713), marital status (unmarried, OR=3.078; widowed/separated/divorced, OR=1.301), educational level (primary school, OR=0.629; junior high school and above, OR=0.609), occupation before retirement (others, OR=0.741), family genetic history (no, OR=0.651), household disposable monthly income (1 000 to 1 999 Yuan, OR=0.636; 2 000 to 2 999 Yuan, OR=0.569; 3 000 Yuan and above, OR=0.448), exercise (seldom, OR=0.855; regular, OR=0.780), number of chronic diseases (2~5, OR=1.328), hearing loss (no, OR=0.764), smell loss (no, OR=0.615), chronic constipation (no, OR=0.696), major negative life events (no, OR=0.804), subjective memory loss (no, OR=0.583), sleep quality (general, OR=0.640; good, OR=0.616), living style (living with spouse, OR=0.300; living alone, OR=0.315; living with children, OR=0.350) and social activities (2-3 times/week, OR=0.584; 4 times/week and more, OR=0.409) were factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening. Conclusions The positive rate of AD preliminary screening among the elderly in Ningbo City is relatively high. Age, gender, economic conditions, exercise, social activities and physical conditions were factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening.

Objective:To investigate the application of artificial intelligence based on the neural network radiation field in repair of soft tissue defects at lower limbs.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed of the 23 patients who had been admitted to Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from June 2020 to May 2022 for soft tissue defects at lower limbs. There were 14 males and 9 females, aged (38.6±6.7) years. Causes for soft tissue defects: traffic injury in 9 cases, benign or malignant primary soft tissue tumor in 6 cases, mechanical injury in 4 cases, crush injury in 2 cases, and chronic ulcer in 2 cases. Defect locations: the thigh in 3 cases, the lower leg in 7 cases, and the ankle and distal foot in 13 cases. The areas of soft tissue defect ranged from 6.0 cm×3.8 cm to 14.7 cm×12.8 cm. The defects were repaired and reconstructed by transplantation of an anterolateral femoral free flap in 7 cases and a pedicled flap in 16 cases with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on the neural network radiation field, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithm that can quickly construct and process three-dimensional model images through volume rendering under the radiation field. The flap survival rate, aesthetic satisfaction before and after treatment, time for skin flap harvesting and transplantation, functional recovery of lower limbs and incidence of complications were recorded.Results:All the 23 patients were followed up for 32(28, 36) weeks. All the flaps were harvested smoothly and survived. The time for flap harvesting and transplantation was 65.8(50.0, 76.0) min. The aesthetic satisfaction scored (2.3±0.7) points before treatment and (8.4±1.6) points 4 weeks after treatment, showing a statistically significant difference ( P<0.05). The skin flaps healed well with no complications such as hematoma or infection in all but one patient who suffered from superficial necrosis at the distal skin flap due to venous crisis but healed with a scar. On average, the functional recovery of lower limbs scored 23.7(22.0, 25.0) points at 12 weeks after operation according to the Enneking evaluation system, and the functional recovery of lower limbs was 79% (23.7/30.0). Conclusion:Application of artificial intelligence based on the neural network radiation field can achieve ideal results in repair of soft tissue defects at lower limbs, due to its advantages of rapid and accurate surgical procedures, limited damage to the donor site, and a short learning curve.

Animals ; Mice ; Motor Neurons/physiology* ; Spinal Cord

Objective: To investigate the incidence and trend of short-term outcomes among preterm infants born <34 weeks' gestation. Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the standardized database established by a multicenter cluster-randomized controlled study "reduction of infection in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) using the evidence-based practice for improving quality (REIN-EPIQ) study". This study was conducted in 25 tertiary NICU. A total of 27 192 infants with gestational age <34 weeks at birth and admitted to NICU within the first 7 days of life from May 2015 to April 2018 were enrolled. Infants with severe congenital malformation were excluded. Descriptive analyses were used to describe the mortality and major morbidities of preterm infants by gestational age groups and different admission year groups. Cochran-Armitage test and Jonckheere-Terpstra test were used to analyze the trend of incidences of mortality and morbidities in 3 study-years. Multiple Logistic regression model was constructed to analyze the differences of outcomes in 3 study-years adjusting for confounders. Results: A total of 27 192 preterm infants were enrolled with gestational age of (31.3±2.0) weeks at birth and weight of (1 617±415) g at birth. Overall, 9.5% (2 594/27 192) of infants were discharged against medical advice, and the overall mortality rate was 10.7% (2 907/27 192). Mortality for infants who received complete care was 4.7% (1 147/24 598), and mortality or any major morbidity was 26.2% (6 452/24 598). The incidences of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis, severe intraventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia, proven necrotizing enterocolitis, and severe retinopathy of prematurity were 16.0% (4 342/27 192), 11.9% (3 225/27 192), 6.8% (1 641/24 206), 3.6% (939/25 762) and 1.5% (214/13 868), respectively. There was a decreasing of the overall mortality (P<0.001) during the 3 years. Also, the incidences for sepsis and severe retinopathy of prematurity both decreased (both P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the major morbidity in preterm infants who received complete care during the 3-year study period (P=0.230). After adjusting for confounders, infants admitted during the third study year showed significantly lower risk of overall mortality (adjust OR=0.62, 95%CI 0.55-0.69, P<0.001), mortality or major morbidity, moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis and severe retinopathy of prematurity, compared to those admitted in the first study year (all P<0.05). Conclusions: From 2015 to 2018, the mortality and major morbidities among preterm infants in Chinese NICU decreased, but there is still space for further efforts. Further targeted quality improvement is needed to improve the overall outcome of preterm infants.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality/trends* ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Premature, Diseases/epidemiology* ; Patient Discharge ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology* ; Sepsis/epidemiology*

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of CT volume rendering technology in the assessment of the physeal bar in children.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the relevant CT data of 20 patients with physeal bar from January 2019 to December 2021, 13 boys and 7 girls, age 9.94±2.91 years. The etiology included 17 cases of trauma, 1 cases of tumor, and 2 cases of unknown. The affected sites included 9 cases of distal femur, 5 cases of proximal tibia, 3 cases of distal tibia, and 3 cases of distal radius. Evaluate using volume rendering technology and traditional surface reconstruction technology respectively and the index include the size and type of physeal bar.Results:All the children were successfully examined at one time, and none of them required sedation. The average exposure time was 3.81±0.83 s. During scanning, only low-dose radiation was performed on the affected joints, and routine radiation protection was performed. Using volume rendering technology to evaluate the proportion of the physeal bar, the results obtained by the three testers were 25.36%±15.36%, 24.75%±16.18%, 26.70%±17.72%, and the intraclass correlation coefficient value ( ICC) was 0.976, the three repeated measurements by one tester were 25.36%±15.36%, 25.41%±15.20%, 25.74%±16.00% ( ICC=0.990). Compared with the traditional curved planar reconstruction technical evaluation, the results obtained by the three testers were 28.36%±16.74%, 23.66%±19.87%, 35.25%±15.92% ( ICC=0.737), the three repeated measurement results by one tester were 28.36%±16.74%, 31.66%±13.06%, 30.89%±12.52% ( ICC=0.875). The volume rendering technology was better than the curved planar reconstruction technique. Paired t test was performed on the measurement results of three evaluators and the three repeated measurements of the same evaluator, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). The same results were acquired by using volume rendering technology to evaluate the type of phseal bar with three testers; but there were 18 cases had the same results by using curved planar reconstruction technology and 2 cases had differences, showing the volume rendering technology was more accurate. Conclusion:Low-dose CT scanning volume rendering technology is an effective method to evaluate the physeal bar in children. It can more intuitively and accurately evaluate the proportion and type of the bar while reducing the radiation exposure of children. The consistency with inter-group and intra-group is better than traditional curved planar reconstruction technique with good reproducibility and clinical significance.

Objective:Cushing′s disease(CD) is caused by the pituitary adrenocorticotroph hormone(ACTH) secreting adenomas, leading to increased serum cortisol levels and various abnormal metabolic processes. Untreated CD is linked to high mortality, thus it is critical to elucidate its pathogenesis. This study aims to explore the pathogenesis of pituitary ACTH adenomas using whole-genome sequencing analysis.Methods:Fresh tumor tissues and peripheral blood samples were collected in 9 confirmed cases of pituitary ACTH adenomas who underwent surgery. Whole genome sequencing was then performed, followed by analysis and verification of single nucleotide mutations, copy number variation(CNV) and chromosome structure variations.Results:Somatic USP8 mutations(p.Ser718del, p. Ser718Pro, p. Pro720Arg, p. Pro720Gln) were found in 5 patients, with a rate of 55.6%; CNV of USP8 was detected in 1 patient; TP53(p.Cys135Tyr), NF1(p.Val1049Glufs*11) and KMT2C(c.3323+ 1G>A) mutations were identified in 1 patient harboring wild-type USP8. CNV analysis showed a loss of heterozygosity in multiple chromosomes in a wild-type USP8 patient. Structural variations were found in 2 with unknown significance. No germline gene mutations were detected in this study.Conclusion:Somatic USP8 mutations, increased copy number of USP8, variations of tumor-related genes such as TP53 and extensive somatic CNV all contribute to pathogenesis of CD. Chromosomal structure variations may suggest high-risk pituitary ACTH adenomas, and call for frequent follow-up and aggressive treatment.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of MRI radiomics model in assessing the early response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:A total of 367 patients with pathologically proven locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage ⅡB-ⅣA) in Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute from January 2013 to June 2019 were retrospectively collected. The patients were unable to undergo surgery and received complete concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Pelvic plain MRI, DWI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI were performed within 2 weeks before treatment and at the end of the 4th week of treatment. Patients were divided into complete response (CR) group ( n=247) and non-CR group ( n=120) according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumors 1.1. The patients were divided into a training set ( n=256) and a validation set (n=111) via a randomized split method at a ratio of 7∶3. Two radiologists drew the region of interest on the DWI, T 2WI and contrast-enhanced T 1WI (delayed phase) images before treatment to form the volume of interest finally. Totally 1 906 radiomics features were extracted from 3 single sequence images, respectively. Feature correlation analysis and tree model were used for feature selection. Three classifier learning algorithms, namely logistic regression (LR), support vector machine and random forest, were used for machine learning and the best classifier was selected. Based on the best classifier, 3 single sequence radiomics models were built, and a multi-sequence combined model was obtained by multivariate LR analysis. The differences in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the 3 single sequence models and the multi-sequence combined model were compared by DeLong test. The clinical application value of the multi-sequence combined model was evaluated by decision analysis curve. Results:In the training set and validation set, the LR classifier model had the best performance. Based on the LR classifier, AUCs of DWI, T 2WI, contrast-enhanced T 1WI and combined sequences in the training set were 0.77, 0.74, 0.79 and 0.86, respectively, and AUCs in the validation set were 0.71, 0.66, 0.75 and 0.77, respectively. In the training set, the AUC of multi-sequence combined model was higher than those of DWI, T 2WI and contrast-enhanced T 1WI sequence models, and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.01, 3.56, 2.83; P=0.003, 0.001, 0.005). In the validation set, the AUC of multi-sequence combined model and T 2WI model had significant difference ( Z=2.46, P=0.015). The decision analysis curve showed that when the threshold probability was in the range of 0.44 to 0.88, the multi-sequence combined model yielded a net benefit. Conclusion:Based on the LR classifier, the combined model built by radiomics features of multi-sequence MRI images has predictive value for assessing the early response of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma.