AIM: To explore the efficacy and safety of repeated low-energy red light irradiation combined with visual training for the treatment of adolescent myopia based on vision and tear film function.METHODS: A total of 104 adolescent myopic patients(208 eyes)from the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2022 to July 2023 were selected and randomly divided into two groups by random number table method, with 52 cases(104 eyes)in the control group and 52 cases(104 eyes)in the study group. Both groups were treated with orthokeratology lenses, while the control group received visual training and the study group received repeated low-energy red light treatment on top of visual training. Follow-up for 1 a, the improvement of vision, changes in the choroid, tear film function, adverse events, and visual acuity growth after 1 a were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.RESULTS: The uncorrected visual acuity(LogMAR)and axial length of the study group were lower than those of the control group after 6 mo and 1 a of treatment(all P<0.05). The thickness of the choroid under the center recess and the density of choroidal capillary blood flow were higher in the study group than in the control group at 6 mo and 1 a after treatment(all P<0.05); there was no statistically significant difference in the thickness of tear film lipid layer and tear film break-up time between the two groups at different time points(all P>0.05); and the incidence of adverse events during the treatment period of the two groups was not statistically significant(P>0.05). After treatment for 1 a and removing the orthokeratology lens for 2 wk, there was no significant difference in the uncorrected visual acuity(LogMAR)between the study group and the control group before treatment(P>0.05), and the uncorrected visual acuity of the control group was better than that before treatment(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Repeated low-energy red light combined with visual training can effectively improve the choroid, control the axial length growth, effectively correct the vision of the cornea, and does not affect the tear film function, with high safety.

Objective: To construct an index system of public health risk assessment for air pollution emergency, so as to provide a tool of evaluating the public health risks of air pollution emergency. Methods: Index system of public health risk assessment for air pollution emergency was established through literature review and group discussions. The index system was determined through two rounds of Delphi expert consultations involving specialists in environmental health, toxicology, epidemiology, health emergency response, and atmospheric monitoring. The effectiveness of the consultation was evaluated by positive coefficient, authority coefficient and coordination coefficient. The weights of index were determined using a combination weighting method of the expert scoring method and the entropy weight method. Results: Fifteen experts participated in the consultation, including 11 males and 4 females. There were 8 experts with a doctor degree, 6 experts with a master degree, 1 experts with a bachelor degree. A total of 11 experts with senior professional titles, and 4 experts with associate senior professional titles. The average work experience was (23.73±10.48) years. The expert positive coefficients for the two rounds of consultations were 83.33% and 100%, respectively. The expert authority coefficients were 0.794 and 0.811, respectively. The coefficients of variation for the importance, feasibility, and sensitivity scores of each index in the two rounds of comsultations were 0.097 to 0.352, 0.078 to 0.478, 0.115 to 0.388, and 0.049 to 0.133, 0.052 to 0.153, 0.049 to 0.178, respectively. The Kendall's coefficients of concordance were 0.237 and 0.440 (both with P<0.05) for the two rounds of consultations. The constructed assessment index system included "likelihood" "hazard" "vulnerability" "controllability" with comprehensive weights of 0.206 7, 0.059 6, 0.378 1, and 0.355 5, respectively. Among the 13 second indicators, "monitoring capability" had the highest comprehensive weight of 0.192 6. Among the 40 tertiary indicators, "real-time monitoring of atmospheric pollutants" "retrospective evaluation of early forecasting results" "types, quantities, and combined effects of atmospheric pollutants" "exposure modes of the population to atmospheric pollutants" had relatively high comprehensive weights of 0.089 5, 0.043 1, 0.041 1 and 0.040 3, respectively. Conclusion The constructed index system of public health risk assessment for air pollution emergency can be applied to the public health risk assessment for air pollution emergencies.

Bioactive compounds derived from herbal medicinal plants modulate various therapeutic targets and signaling pathways associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the world's primary cause of death. Ginkgo biloba, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine with notable cardiovascular actions, has been used as a cardio- and cerebrovascular therapeutic drug and nutraceutical in Asian countries for centuries. Preclinical studies have shown that ginkgolide B, a bioactive component in Ginkgo biloba, can ameliorate atherosclerosis in cultured vascular cells and disease models. Of clinical relevance, several clinical trials are ongoing or being completed to examine the efficacy and safety of ginkgolide B-related drug preparations in the prevention of cerebrovascular diseases, such as ischemia stroke. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetic characteristics, and mechanisms of action of ginkgolide B in atherosclerosis prevention and therapy. We highlight new molecular targets of ginkgolide B, including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases (NADPH oxidase), lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), platelet-activating factor (PAF), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and others. Finally, we provide an overview and discussion of the therapeutic potential of ginkgolide B and highlight the future perspective of developing ginkgolide B as an effective therapeutic agent for treating atherosclerosis.

Background::Whether functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are associated with the long-term risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the prospective association of FGIDs with CKD and examine whether mental health mediated the association.Methods::About 416,258 participants without a prior CKD diagnosis enrolled in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 were included. Participants with FGIDs (including irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], dyspepsia, and other functional intestinal disorders [FIDs; mainly composed of constipation]) were the exposure group, and non-FGID participants were the non-exposure group. The primary outcome was incident CKD, ascertained from hospital admission and death registry records. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to investigate the association between FGIDs and CKD, and the mediation analysis was performed to investigate the mediation proportions of mental health.Results::At baseline, 33,156 (8.0%) participants were diagnosed with FGIDs, including 21,060 (5.1%), 8262 (2.0%), and 6437 (1.6%) cases of IBS, dyspepsia, and other FIDs, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 12.1 years, 11,001 (2.6%) participants developed CKD. FGIDs were significantly associated with a higher risk of incident CKD compared to the absence of FGIDs (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28–1.44). Similar results were observed for IBS (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.17–1.38), dyspepsia (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.17–1.44), and other FIDs (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.43–1.79). Mediation analyses suggested that the mental health score significantly mediated 9.05% of the association of FGIDs with incident CKD and 5.63–13.97% of the associations of FGID subtypes with CKD. Specifically, the positive associations of FGIDs and FGID subtypes with CKD were more pronounced in participants with a high genetic risk of CKD.Conclusion::Participants with FGIDs had a higher risk of incident CKD, which was partly explained by mental health scores and was more pronounced in those with high genetic susceptibility to CKD.

Objective To investigate the design of cuffed pediatric tracheal tubes and compare the effects of different tracheal intubation depth placement strategies on the position of the tracheal tube tip and cuff of 5 tracheal tube brands.Methods A total of 180 children who were admitted to Tianjin Children's Hospital from October 2020 to December 2021,with endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia,aged 1-6 years,were enrolled.The length of the subglottic airway was measured by electronic bronchoscopy.Dimensional data from 5 cuffed pediatric tracheal tube brands were recorded,including the length of the tracheal tube cuff,the distance from the tip of the tracheal tube to the upper edge of the cuff,and the tip of the tracheal tube to the lower edge of the tube glottis marker line the distance.Calculation of the required cuffed endotracheal tube internal diameter(ID)for 180 pediatric patients was performed based on the Motoyama formula,the positions of tracheal tube tip and upper cuff border were calculated for each of the 180 tracheas using depth mark to based tracheal tube placement,placement of the tracheal tube tip at 2 cm above the carina,and mid-tracheal tube placement.Results There were differences in the dimensional data of the 5 cuffed pediatric tracheal tube brands.Depth mark-based tracheal tube placement resulted in the incidence rate of tube tip to carina placement less than 1 cm was 3.9%-67.8%,and the highest incidence of bronchial intubation is Ruijing,up to 17.8%.The tracheal tube tip was placed 2 cm above the carina,and no improper placement of the tracheal tube cuff and tube tip was found in all brands.Mid-tracheal tube placement led to 100%subglottic and supraglottic tracheal tube cuff positions,except Weili.Conclusions There are differences in design between different brands of cuffed pediatric tracheal tube,and some of the design deficiencies may lead to the risk of airway complications.The method used to guide the insertion depth and the brand of cuffed tracheal tubes can affect the tracheal tube position.Placement of the tracheal tube tip at 2 cm above the carina allowed safe tracheal tube placement in children aged 1-6 years.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of serum ferritin(SF)in early gestation,pre-pregnancy body mass index(BMI)and gestational age for gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM).Methods A total of 260 pregnant women who had a routine prenatal examination in Wenzhou People's Hospital were collected from January 2021 to December 2022.Fasting venous blood was collected at the first prenatal examination(within 14 weeks'gestation)for SF.According to the results of 75 grams oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT)between 24 weeks and 28 weeks,they were divided into GDM group(n=62)and normal glucose tolerance(NGT)group(n=198).The general clinical data of the two groups were compared;Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the independent risk factors of GDM.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to further analyze the predictive value of SF in early gestation,pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age for GDM.Results Pregnant women in GDM group had higher SF,BMI and gestational age in early pregnancy than those of NGT group(P<0.05).Pre-pregnancy BMI,gestational age and SF increased in early pregnancy were independent risk factors for GDM(P<0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of SF in early pregnancy as well as pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age for predicting GDM were 0.612,0.691 and 0.664.The best tangent point values were 94.045ng/ml,21.125kg/m2 and 28.500 years old,respectively.The total AUC of ROC predicted GDM by SF in early gestation,pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age was 0.750,the sensitivity and specificity were 66.1%and 79.3%,respectively.Conclusion SF in early gestation,pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age are important factors in the development of GDM,the combined detection of SF in early pregnancy,pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational age has a certain predictive value for GDM.

Fetal heart rate plays an essential role in maternal and fetal monitoring and fetal health detection. In this study, a method based on Poincare Plot and LSTM is proposed to realize the high performance classification of abnormal fetal heart rate. Firstly, the original fetal heart rate signal of CTU-UHB database is preprocessed via interpolation, then the sequential fetal heart rate signal is converted into Poincare Plot to obtain nonlinear characteristics of the signals, and then SquenzeNet is used to extract the features of Poincare Plot. Finally, the features extracted by SqueezeNet are classified by LSTM. And the accuracy, the true positive rate and the false positive rate are 98.00%, 100.00%, 92.30% respectively on 2 000 test set data. Compared with the traditional fetal heart rate classification method, all respects are improved. The method proposed in this study has good performance in CTU-UHB fetal monitoring database and has certain practical value in the clinical diagnosis of auxiliary fetal heart rate detection.
Databases, Factual ; Female ; Fetal Monitoring ; Fetus ; Heart Rate, Fetal ; Humans ; Pregnancy

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of switch from prednisone (AA+ P) to dexamethasone (AA+ D) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients (mCRPC) progressing on abiraterone plus prednisone.Methods:Between November 2016 and December 2019, 46 mCRPC patients were switched to AA+ D after progression on AA+ P at Sun Yet-sen University Cancer center. Median age was 72 years(50 to 89 years), with median androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) duration 14.6 months(2.1 to 168.5 months). PSA level at the time of diagnosis, the initiation of AA+ P treatment, the time of switch were 258.9 ng/ml, 56.6 ng/ml, 25.1 ng/ml, respectively. 42 (91.3%), 12(26.1%), 7(15.2%) patients had bone metastasis, lymph node metastasis, visceral metastasis, respectively. 28 patients had Gleason score ≥8, and 11 patients had Gleason score<8. The primary endpoint was progression free-survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included PSA response rate of PSA decline ≥50% and ≥30% and safety. Patients were divided into different risk level groups according to PSA level at the time of switch and PFS on AA+ P.Results:The median follow-up of 46 patients was 4.9 months, 40 patients progressed at the last follow-up, the treatment was terminated in 1 patient because of cerebral infarction, 5 patients were still on the treatment of AA+ D. Median PFS on AA+ D of 46 patients was 3.7 (1.6-24.1) months. A total of 12 (26.1%) patients showed a PSA decline≥50% after treatment with AA+ D, and 21 (45.7%) patients showed a PSA decline ≥30%. The median PFS was 8.5 (2.7-24.1) and 3.0 (1.6-17.8) months for patients with PSA decline≥50% and PSA didn’t decline ≥50%, respectively. Four factors below were significantly associated with a longer PFS on AA+ D after steroid switch in univariate analysis: lower PSA level at the time of switch (<30 ng/ml, HR=0.30, 95% CI 0.14-0.64, P=0.002), longer ADT sensitivity duration (≥18 months, HR=0.55, 95% CI 0.28-1.06, P=0.045), longer AA+ P treatment PFS (≥8 months, HR=0.36, 95% CI 0.18-0.72, P=0.004), and greater PSA decline on AA+ D (≥50%, HR=0.30, 95% CI 0.17-0.75, P=0.007). The above mentioned factors were also independent prognostic factors associated with better PFS on AA+ D after steroid switch in multivariate analysis. Treatment with AA+ D was well tolerated in all patients, with no grade 3/4 toxicity reported. Conclusions:Switching from prednisone to dexamethasone is effective and safe in mCRPC patients progressing on abiraterone plus prednisone. Patients with lower PSA level at the time of switch, longer ADT sensitivity duration, longer AA+ P treatment PFS and greater PSA decline on AA+ D might gain better efficacy.

Objective:To investigate the microenvironment associated with tumorimmunity in regenerated lymph nodes treated with VEGF-C, which involves the lymphangiogenesis, chemokine as well as alteration of cell populations.Methods:A total of 10 nude mice were randomized to 2 groups. 5 mice in group A were treated with autologous lymph nodes fragmentary transplantation together with VEGF-C, 5 mice without any intervention in group B were served as control group. 4 weeks after surgeries, MDA-MB-231-Luc-GFP cells (5×10 6 cells/mouse, 100 μl of 40% matrigel solution) were injected subcutaneously in the thoracic flunk of nude mice in group A, the same number cells were implanted into the second mammary fat pad in group B as well. 4 weeks post inoculation, the tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) in both groups were harvested, and the microenvironment was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and multispectral immunofluorescence staining for LYVE-1, chemokine CCL21, programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1) and F4/80. Results:The specific markers were analyzed based on positive cell percentage between group A and group B. The LYVE-1 and F4/80 expression in the group A was significantly higher than that in group B[LYVE-1: group A 21.44 0(34.675)% vs group B 2.964 (4.160)%, P<0.001; F4/80: group A 5.396 (7.205)% vs group B 3.573 (2.670)%, P=0.020)], and there were no significant differences in the expression of CCL21 and PD-L1 between these two groups [CCL21: group A 21.470((29.145)% vs group B 16.430((29.145)%( P=0.166); PD-L1: group A10.000 (14.430)%vs group B 4.070 (26.740)%, P=0.091]. Additionally, the double positive expression of LYVE-1/CCL21 and LYVE-1/F4/80 had still statistically significant differences[LYVE-1/CCL21: group A 8.637 (13.150)% vs group B 1.571 (1.680)%, P<0.001; LYVE-1/F4/80: group A 6.181 (9.050)% vs group B 1.454 (0.830)%, P<0.001], whereas, the two groups did not differ from each other in the double positive expression of LYVE-1/PD-L1 [group A 3.617 (4.195)% vs group B 2.363 (3.900)%, P=0.266]. Conclusions:The renewed lymph nodes treated with VEGF-C demonstrate some more immune suppressive conditions such as lymphatic endothelial cells hyperplasia, myeloid-derived suppressor cells infiltration, enhanced expression of CCL21 and PD-L1.

Objective:To investigate the microenvironment associated with tumorimmunity in regenerated lymph nodes treated with VEGF-C, which involves the lymphangiogenesis, chemokine as well as alteration of cell populations.Methods:A total of 10 nude mice were randomized to 2 groups. 5 mice in group A were treated with autologous lymph nodes fragmentary transplantation together with VEGF-C, 5 mice without any intervention in group B were served as control group. 4 weeks after surgeries, MDA-MB-231-Luc-GFP cells (5×10 6 cells/mouse, 100 μl of 40% matrigel solution) were injected subcutaneously in the thoracic flunk of nude mice in group A, the same number cells were implanted into the second mammary fat pad in group B as well. 4 weeks post inoculation, the tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) in both groups were harvested, and the microenvironment was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and multispectral immunofluorescence staining for LYVE-1, chemokine CCL21, programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1) and F4/80. Results:The specific markers were analyzed based on positive cell percentage between group A and group B. The LYVE-1 and F4/80 expression in the group A was significantly higher than that in group B[LYVE-1: group A 21.44 0(34.675)% vs group B 2.964 (4.160)%, P<0.001; F4/80: group A 5.396 (7.205)% vs group B 3.573 (2.670)%, P=0.020)], and there were no significant differences in the expression of CCL21 and PD-L1 between these two groups [CCL21: group A 21.470((29.145)% vs group B 16.430((29.145)%( P=0.166); PD-L1: group A10.000 (14.430)%vs group B 4.070 (26.740)%, P=0.091]. Additionally, the double positive expression of LYVE-1/CCL21 and LYVE-1/F4/80 had still statistically significant differences[LYVE-1/CCL21: group A 8.637 (13.150)% vs group B 1.571 (1.680)%, P<0.001; LYVE-1/F4/80: group A 6.181 (9.050)% vs group B 1.454 (0.830)%, P<0.001], whereas, the two groups did not differ from each other in the double positive expression of LYVE-1/PD-L1 [group A 3.617 (4.195)% vs group B 2.363 (3.900)%, P=0.266]. Conclusions:The renewed lymph nodes treated with VEGF-C demonstrate some more immune suppressive conditions such as lymphatic endothelial cells hyperplasia, myeloid-derived suppressor cells infiltration, enhanced expression of CCL21 and PD-L1.