OBJECTIVES: To analyze sex and age distribution of global disease burden of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: CAVD data during 1990-2021 were obtained from the IHME website for Global Burden of Disease (GBD). The prevalence, mortality, years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were analyzed by gender and age groups. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC). RESULTS: In 2021, there were 13.32 million CAVD patients and 142 000 deaths caused by CAVD globally. Age-standardized prevalence was higher in males (193.2/10⁵) than that in females (128.9/10⁵). Patients in 65-<85 age group accounted for 64.0% of total cases, while those ≥85 years old accounted for 16.1%. From 1990 to 2021, prevalence increased in both sexes with an AAPC of 0.72% for males and 0.57% for females, respectively. Prevalence grew fastest from 2000 to 2010, slowed thereafter, and declined from 2015 to 2021. In <65 years old, the mortality of males was 2.4 times higher than that of females, while in ≥85 years old, mortality of females (117.3/10⁵) exceeded that of males (99.1/10⁵). YLD rates increased with age, and were higher in males for all age groups. DALY rates decreased overall but increased in ≥85 years old, with a greater increase in females. CONCLUSIONS There are significant gender and age disparities in global disease burden of CAVD, with the elderly, especially super-elderly females deserving particular attention. It is recommended to develop personalized intervention strategies for these populations.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Calcinosis/mortality* ; Prevalence ; Global Burden of Disease ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; Aortic Valve/pathology* ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/epidemiology* ; Age Distribution ; Adult ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Sex Distribution ; Global Health ; Aortic Valve Disease/epidemiology* ; Sex Factors

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the impairment of white matter (WM) tracts. The current study aimed to verify the utility of WM as the neuroimaging marker of AD with multisite diffusion tensor imaging datasets [321 patients with AD, 265 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 279 normal controls (NC)], a unified pipeline, and independent site cross-validation. Automated fiber quantification was used to extract diffusion profiles along tracts. Random-effects meta-analyses showed a reproducible degeneration pattern in which fractional anisotropy significantly decreased in the AD and MCI groups compared with NC. Machine learning models using tract-based features showed good generalizability among independent site cross-validation. The diffusion metrics of the altered regions and the AD probability predicted by the models were highly correlated with cognitive ability in the AD and MCI groups. We highlighted the reproducibility and generalizability of the degeneration pattern of WM tracts in AD.
Humans ; White Matter/diagnostic imaging* ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging/methods* ; Alzheimer Disease/complications* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Cognition ; Cognitive Dysfunction/complications* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging*

Trace amines(TAs)are metabolically related to catecholamine and associated with cancer and neuro-logical disorders.Comprehensive measurement of TAs is essential for understanding pathological pro-cesses and providing proper drug intervention.However,the trace amounts and chemical instability of TAs challenge quantification.Here,diisopropyl phosphite coupled with chip two-dimensional(2D)liquid chromatography tandem triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry(LC-QQQ/MS)was developed to simul-taneously determine TAs and associated metabolites.The results showed that the sensitivities of TAs increased up to 5520 times compared with those using nonderivatized LC-QQQ/MS.This sensitive method was utilized to investigate their alterations in hepatoma cells after treatment with sorafenib.The significantly altered TAs and associated metabolites suggested that phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolic pathways were related to sorafenib treatment in Hep3B cells.This sensitive method has great potential to elucidate the mechanism and diagnose diseases considering that an increasing number of physiological functions of TAs have been discovered in recent decades.

Corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19） has led to more than 500 million cases， including 6.19 million deaths. Mutated strains of SARS-CoV-2 （alpha， beta， gamma， delta and omicron） have successively emerged. Currently the omicron variant is gradually replacing the delta variant， driving a surge of cases in most countries including China， posing a great challenge to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. In the face of the severe pandemic situation， a large number of non-medical volunteers are fighting on the front lines of the war against the pandemic and are vulnerable to exposure due to lack of professional knowledge. This paper introduces the routine skills training of volunteers and emergency response， aiming to provide behavioral guidance for non-medical volunteers in designated isolation facilities.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma （NHL） is a malignant tumor that occurs in immune cells， including B， T and NK cells. Viral infection， such as infection with Epstein-Barr virus （EBV） and hepatitis virus， plays an important role in the development of NHL. The role and mechanism of hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma through gene integration， mutation， and viral replication have been researched in depth. Mutations induced by apolioprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide （APOBEC） family members are one of the major sources of HBV and host genetic variation， and APOBEC family members act as bridges between HBV-related chronic inflammation and the mutations of HBV and its host genome. Therefore， we suspect that HBV infection plays a significant role in the occurrence of HBV-associated NHL. This review summarizes the role and mechanism of HBV in the occurrence and development of NHL from the aspects of HBV infection， chronic inflammation and immunity， viral variation， signaling pathways， high-frequency mutant genes and epigenetic modification， hoping to provide a theoretical basis for HBV-associated NHL research.

Objective:To improve the multiple-link operation efficiency, effect and satisfaction of transaxillary dual-plane breast augmentation by optimizing and upgrading the configuration of auxiliary tools.Methods:From January 2019 to May 2021, breast augmentation was performed in 130 female patients (aged 32±8 years) in the Cosmetic and Plastic Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. The study was conducted among 63 patients who were eligible for the criteria of high configuration surgery. 67 patients underwent standard configuration surgery. The average operation time, intraoperative blood loss, drainage volume (24 hours after operation), postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and satisfaction were statistically analyzed.Results:The data of high configuration method and standard configuration method were compared as follows: average operation time was (78.6±12.2) min / (93.1±12.1) min ( t=15.73, P<0.05); the average intraoperative blood loss was (3.1±1.0) ml / (14.4±3.5) ml ( t=13.83, P<0.05); the drainage volume (24 hours after operation) was (37.2±8.2) ml / (61.4±10.9) ml ( t=20.82, P<0.05); the pain score on the first day after surgery was (6.1±1.7) points / (7.5±1.6) points ( t=8.57, P<0.05). The overall satisfaction rate was 97.1±1.6 / 95.6±2.0 ( t=5.58, P>0.001), at 6 months after operation. No severe complications were found during the follow-up period, such as capsular contracture, hematoma, infection and double bubble deformity. Conclusions:The use of ultrasonic knife with delivery bag is an effective optimization and upgrade of the endoscopic assisted transaxillary dual plane breast augmentation. The advantages of this method are obvious, highly efficient, safe, effective and satisfactory. It is worthy of clinical application and promotion.

Malignant tumors can be classified into three categories， rapidly progressing tumors， slowly progressing tumors， and "indolent" tumors. Rapidly progressing tumors （such as liver cancer， pancreatic cancer， and cholangiocarcinoma） have acute onset， shorter time duration from onset to death， and poorer treatment effects， which warrants primary prevention. Slowly progressing tumors （such as lung cancer， colorectal cancer， breast cancer， and gastric cancer） have slow onset， clear precancerous lesions， longer time duration from onset to death， and better therapeutic effects， which is accordingly suitable for secondary prevention. “Indolent” tumors （such as prostate and thyroid cancer） do not affect the life expectancy and are suitable for tertiary prevention. Early screening of “indolent” tumors may lead to overtreatment. Furthermore， early screening of rapidly progressing tumors is difficult to identify early cancers， which results in low cost-effectiveness. In contrast， for slowly progressing tumors suitable for secondary prevention， early screening may have cost-effectiveness， though there might be over-diagnosis. It is crucial to adopt appropriate prevention and treatment strategies for diverse types of tumors. Currently， large-scale cohort studies and randomized controlled clinical trials with complete follow-up may accurately evaluate the effect of cancer prevention strategies. This review discusses the significance of screening in precision prevention of tumors based on the characteristics of tumor progression and patients’ prognosis.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether xenotransplantation of human Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) reduces thioacetamide (TAA)-induced mouse liver fibrosis and the underlying molecular mechanism. METHODS: Recipient NOD/SCID mice were injected intraperitoneally with TAA twice weekly for 6 weeks before initial administration of WJ-MSCs. Expression of regenerative and pro-fibrogenic markers in mouse fibrotic livers were monitored post cytotherapy. A hepatic stallate cell line HSC-T6 and isolated WJ-MSCs were used for in vitro adhesion, migration and mechanistic studies. RESULTS: WJ-MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cords by an explant method and characterized by flow cytometry. A single infusion of WJ-MSCs to TAA-treated mice significantly reduced collagen deposition and ameliorated liver fibrosis after 2-week therapy. In addition to enhanced expression of hepatic regenerative factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and PCNA proliferative marker, WJ-MSC therapy significantly blunted pro-fibrogenic signals, including Smad2, RhoA, ERK. Intriguingly, reduction of plasma fibronectin (pFN) in fibrotic livers was noted in MSC-treated mice. In vitro studies further demonstrated that suspending MSCs triggered pFN degradation, soluble pFN conversely retarded adhesion of suspending MSCs onto type I collagen-coated surface, whereas pFN coating enhanced WJ-MSC migration across mimicked wound bed. Moreover, pretreatment with soluble pFN and conditioned medium from MSCs with pFN strikingly attenuated the response of HSC-T6 cells to TGF-b1-stimulation in Smad2 phosphorylation and RhoA upregulation. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that cytotherapy using WJ-MSCs may modulate hepatic pFN deposition for a better regenerative niche in the fibrotic livers and may constitute a useful anti-fibrogenic intervention in chronic liver diseases.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether xenotransplantation of human Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) reduces thioacetamide (TAA)-induced mouse liver fibrosis and the underlying molecular mechanism. METHODS: Recipient NOD/SCID mice were injected intraperitoneally with TAA twice weekly for 6 weeks before initial administration of WJ-MSCs. Expression of regenerative and pro-fibrogenic markers in mouse fibrotic livers were monitored post cytotherapy. A hepatic stallate cell line HSC-T6 and isolated WJ-MSCs were used for in vitro adhesion, migration and mechanistic studies. RESULTS: WJ-MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cords by an explant method and characterized by flow cytometry. A single infusion of WJ-MSCs to TAA-treated mice significantly reduced collagen deposition and ameliorated liver fibrosis after 2-week therapy. In addition to enhanced expression of hepatic regenerative factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and PCNA proliferative marker, WJ-MSC therapy significantly blunted pro-fibrogenic signals, including Smad2, RhoA, ERK. Intriguingly, reduction of plasma fibronectin (pFN) in fibrotic livers was noted in MSC-treated mice. In vitro studies further demonstrated that suspending MSCs triggered pFN degradation, soluble pFN conversely retarded adhesion of suspending MSCs onto type I collagen-coated surface, whereas pFN coating enhanced WJ-MSC migration across mimicked wound bed. Moreover, pretreatment with soluble pFN and conditioned medium from MSCs with pFN strikingly attenuated the response of HSC-T6 cells to TGF-b1-stimulation in Smad2 phosphorylation and RhoA upregulation. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that cytotherapy using WJ-MSCs may modulate hepatic pFN deposition for a better regenerative niche in the fibrotic livers and may constitute a useful anti-fibrogenic intervention in chronic liver diseases.

Objective: To determine the impact of low T3 syndrome on adverse cardiovascular events in adult patients with acute viral myocarditis. Methods: The study population consisted of 134 consecutive patients admitted between January 2002 and March 2018 with diagnoses of acute viral myocarditis (onset of symptoms<1 month,patients were divided into low serum free triiodothyronine (FT3, n=20) group and normal FT3 (n=114) group. General information, clinical presentation,electrocardiography at admission,laboratory tests,echocardiography features were analyzed. Low T3 syndrome was defined as a state with decreased FT3 and total triiodothyronine (TT3), normal or decreased free thyroxine (FT4) and total thyroxine (TT4) as well as normal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Composite adverse cardiovascular events included death, persistent ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) and cardiac arrest. Risk factors related with composite adverse cardiovascular events in adult patients with acute viral myocarditis were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results: Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower (P<0.01),while heart rate (P=0.004) and the prevalence of VT/VF were significantly higher (P=0.017) in low T3 group than in the normal T3 group. Level of white blood cell,C response protein,fasting glucose (all P<0.01) as well as creatinine (P=0.035) were significantly higher, while level of FT3 and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were significantly lower (both P<0.01) in low T3 group than in normal T3 group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that LVEF at admission less than 40% (OR=6.615,95%CI 1.186-36.907, P=0.031) and FT3 level less than 1.79 ng/L (OR=9.131, 95%CI 1.577-52.857, P=0.014) were independent risk factors of increased composite adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute viral myocarditis. Conclusion Low FT3 increases the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in adult patients with acute viral myocarditis.