Objective To compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1∶1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. Results A total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged ≥70-80 years and 75 patients aged ≥80-90 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. Conclusion Compared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged ≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the influence of the dimensional stability of 3D printed resin master model on the replication accuracy of implant replicas. METHODS: Ten digital impressions of patients undergoing continuous crowns or fixed bridge restoration supported by two implants were obtained, and resin models with implant replicas were 3D printed. Scanning rods were fixed on the replicas 3, 7, and 14 days after printing. The 3D, linear, and angular deviations of the scanning rods at different times were analyzed through Geomagic Wrap 2021 software. RESULTS: The position of the replicas shifted mesiolingually, in the same direction as the shrinkage of the model. From day 7 onward, the 3D, distance linear, and angular deviations of the replicas (scanning rod) significantly increased compared with those on the 3rd day (P<0.05). On the 14th day, the changes were even more pronounced, with the above deviations showing statistical significance (P<0.05) compared with those for the 3-day and 7-day groups. No statistical difference in height linear deviation was observed among the groups. CONCLUSIONS The insufficient dimensional stability of 3D printed resin models can lead to changes in the relative position and angle of the replicas, thereby affecting the accuracy of the replicas in recreating the implant's position. Complete manufacturing of prosthesis is recommended within 7 days after the model is printed.
Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Humans ; Dental Implants ; Models, Dental ; Dental Impression Technique ; Crowns

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of a self-developed extraoral scanning system based on four-camera stereophotogrammetric technology in the acquisition of three-dimensional positional information on dental implants and conduct a comparative study involving an intraoral scanning system. METHODS: With the use of an in vitro edentulous jaw model with implants, extraoral (experimental group) and intraoral (control group) scanning systems were employed to obtain STL (Standard Tessellation Language) datasets containing three-dimensional morphological and positional information on scan bodies. In addition, a dental model scanner was used to obtain reference data. The three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations between groups and reference data were analyzed using Geomagic Wrap 2021 software to compare trueness and precision. RESULTS: The extraoral scanning system demonstrated superior trueness in three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations compared with the intraoral scanning system, with statistically significant differences (P<0.001). The extraoral scanning system also showed a higher precision in three-dimensional morphological deviation (P<0.001). As the number of implants increased, the extraoral scanning system exhibited increased three-dimensional morphological and linear deviations (P<0.001) but maintained a stable angular deviation. The intraoral scanning system displayed significant increases in three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations with the increase in the number of implants (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The stereophotogrammetry-based extraoral scanning system outperforms intraoral scanning system in terms of the accuracy for multi-unit implant positioning and provides a novel approach for attaining a fully digital workflow for implant rehabilitation in edentulous jaws.
Jaw, Edentulous ; Humans ; Dental Impression Technique ; Dental Implants ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods* ; Photogrammetry/methods* ; Models, Dental

Objective:To construct a scientific and systematic indicator system for the ideological and political construction of medical professional courses in military medical universities, and to provide a reference for the teaching management department of military medical universities to guide and manage the ideological and political construction of courses, as well as for medical professional course instructors to carry out the ideological and political teaching of courses.Methods:On the basis of literature research and case studies, a framework of the indicator system was established for the ideological and political construction of medical professional courses in military medical universities, and six experts in the field of military medical education were invited for pre-consultation. A preliminary draft of the indicator system was formed after discussion within the research group. A total of 25 experts, who had intermediate or above professional titles and long-term experience in military medical education, teaching and management, military academy education management, and military ideological and political education in military academies, were invited to conduct two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, and a statistical analysis was performed for the consultation results to determine the indicator system for the ideological and political construction of medical professional courses in military medical universities. The percentage weight method and the product method were used to calculate the weight coefficient of each indicator and combined weight coefficient.Results:In the two rounds of expert consultation, the expert positivity coefficient was 100%, the expert authority coefficient was 0.883, and the Kendall harmony coefficients were 0.254 and 0.268, respectively ( P<0.05). Finally, an indicator system was established for the ideological and political construction of medical professional courses in military medical universities, which consisted of 5 primary indicators, 12 secondary indicators, and 31 tertiary indicators. The 5 primary indicators were the teaching objectives, teaching team, teaching resources, teaching implementation, and teaching effect of curriculum ideology and politics, with a weight coefficient of 0.210, 0.202, 0.197, 0.202, and 0.189, respectively. Conclusions:The indicator system constructed in this study is scientific, reliable, systematic, and comprehensive and has a certain guiding significance for the ideological and political construction of medical professional courses in military medical universities.

This paper mainly discusses the practical significance of the internal quality assurance system of graduate students in a military medical university based on training process management. The integrated internal quality assurance system follows the direction of three core steps—course learning, scientific research practice training, and dissertation writing, and highlights nine key points—learning foundation in admission education and training, knowledge acquisition in course learning, application ability in teaching and scientific research practice, innovation ability in academic activities and innovation competitions, topic selection quality in thesis proposal, training quality in mid-term assessment, paper quality in dissertation writing, output quality in thesis defense, and comprehensive quality in diploma awarding. Our exploration and practical experience is shared in this article.

Objective:To investigate the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 8 458 EC patients who were admitted to Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were collected. There were 6 923 males and 1 535 females, aged (64±9)years. There were 3 187 patients undergoing surgical treatment, and 5 271 cases undergoing non-surgical treatment. Observation indicators: (1) incidence of VTE in EC patients; (2) treatment and outcomes of patients with VTE. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was analyzed using the nonparameter rank sum test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the nonparameter rank sum test. Results:(1) Incidence of VTE in EC patients. Of 8 458 EC patients, 175 cases developed VTE, with an incidence rate of 2.069%(175/8 458). Among 175 VTE patients, there were 164 cases of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), 4 cases of pulmonary embolism (PE), 7 cases of DVT and PE. There were 59 surgical patients and 116 non-surgical patients. There was no significant difference in thrombus type between surgical and non-surgical EC patients with VTE ( χ2=1.95, P>0.05). Of 3 187 surgical patients, the incidence of VTE was 1.851%(59/3 187), including an incidence of 0.157%(5/3 187) of PE. PE accounted for 8.475%(5/59) of surgical patients with VTE. Of 5 271 non-surgical patients, the incidence of VTE was 2.201%(116/5 271), including an incidence of 0.114%(6/5 271) of PE. PE accounted for 5.172%(6/116) of non-surgical patients with VTE. There was no significant difference in the incidence of VTE or PE between surgical patients and non-surgical patients ( χ2=1.20, 0.05, P>0.05). (2) Treatment and outcomes of patients with VTE. Among 175 EC patients with VTE, 163 cases underwent drug treatment, and 12 cases did not receive treatment. Among 163 cases with drug therapy, 158 cases underwent anticoagulant therapy, 5 cases were treated with thrombolysis. All the 163 patients were improved and discharged from hospital. Conclusions:The incidence of VTE in patients with EC is relatively low, as 2.069%. There is no significant difference in the incidence of VTE or thrombus type between surgical EC patients and non-surgical EC patients.

The ideological and political construction of medical courses reveals the educational essence of "truth, goodness, and beauty" in medicine. Scientificity and humanity are the embodiment of "seeking truth" and "advocating goodness" in medicine, and the unity of their content and form reaches the highest level of "advocating beauty". Studying the ideological and political construction of medical courses plays an important role in implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, and carrying out the Healthy China initiative. In terms of teaching objectives, the goals of ideological and political education in medical courses should not only include the goals of basic literacy goals, such as political literacy, cultural literacy, legal literacy, and moral cultivation, but also include professional literacy goals, such as medical humanistic cultivation. Thus, a "five in one" model of ideological and political education in medical courses will be established. In the practical path, it is suggested to explore from five aspects that changing the educational concept and strengthening the educational awareness, establishing teaching objectives and clarifying education direction, digging deeply into the ideological and political elements and clearing teaching content, innovating teaching methods and improving teaching effectiveness, and constructing evaluation indicators and evaluating teaching effectiveness scientifically.

Objective:To explore the research hotspot and development trend of ideological and political education of medical courses , analyze the existing problem, and provide a reference for the future development of ideological and political education of medical courses.Methods:The CNKI database was searched for the literature on ideological and political education of medical courses included from 2017 to 2021. Excel and CiteSpace were used for visual analysis of the publication time, publication quantity, main authors, research institutions, keywords, and mutated words of 1 257 articles included in the study.Results:In recent five years, the number of articles on ideological and political education of medical courses was on the rise; Zhao Wenxing, Liu Ruiting, and Yang Hongmei published a relatively large number of papers, while Heze Medical College, Fujian Health College, and Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences published a relatively large number of papers. Keywords with high frequency included "teaching reform, "biochemistry", and "ideological and political education". The keywords with strong mediating centrality included "practical teaching", "ideological and political course", "medical English", and "humanistic quality". The keywords with high mutation intensity included ideological and political education, ideological and political curriculum, and professional quality.Conclusion:The ideological and political education is currently a hotspot of medical education. The current research topics include teaching reform and teaching practice. Clarifying the logic of curriculum ideological and political evaluation and gradually building the evaluation system and mechanism of curriculum ideological and political evaluation will be a hot research topic in the future.

Objective To explore the pharmacodynamic action of the extract from raw materials of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and Cortex Phellode ndri, a classic herb pair in traditional Chinese medicine, on mice with diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DNP). Methods The mice were administrated with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 30 mg/kg) and fed with high-fat diet to establish the DNP mouse model. One hundred and sixty male C57BL/6j mice were divided into normal group, model group, metfomin group(130 mg/kg), Xuezhikang group(200 mg/kg), high- and low-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group(360, 90 mg/kg) , high-and low-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group(135, 45 mg/kg), 20 mice in each group. The medication lasted for 24 weeks. On medication week 8, 16 and 24, the plasma levels of glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride(TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C) and insulin(INS) were determined respectively. On medication week 10, oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT)was carried out. On medication week 24, the plasma nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) activity and the plasma levels of transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and reduced glutathione(GSH) were detected. Results Five weeks after injection of STZ, the body mass of the model group was firstly increased and then decreased, and FBG was increased(P<0.05 compared with the normal group). Compared with the normal group, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C and INS levels were increased(P<0.01 or P<0.001), plasma NF-κB activity, TGF-β1 and SOD levels were enhanced, and GSH level was decreased in the model group, the difference being statistically significant (P<0.01 or P<0.001). Contrasted with the model group, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C and INS levels in high-and low-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group and in high-and low-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group were decreased to various degrees. After continuous medication, plasma NF-κB activity and TGF-β1 and SOD levels in high-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group and in high-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group were reduced(P<0.05 or P<0.001), and plasma GSH level was increased(P<0.01). Conclusion Extract from raw materials of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and Cortex Phellodendri has obvious hypoglycemic effect and protective effect on experimental mice with DPN.

Objective To study the effect of different approaches of Cage bone graft combined with pedicle screw fixation fusion in trea-ting lumbar spondylolisthesis. Methods From January 2011 to December 2012,120 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis in our hospital were randomly divided into anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) group(n=40),postero lateral fusion (PLF) group(n=40) and posteri-or lunbar interbody fusion (PLIF) group(n=40). The related index and body’s function were observed. Results In PLIF group,the opera-tion time was(82. 3 ± 12. 1) h,intraoperative bleeding volume was (60. 3 ± 9. 5) mL,postoperative ambulation time was (5. 5 ± 0. 7) d, NRS score was(1. 5 ± 0. 2),ODI score 3,6,9,12 months after operation were respectively (24. 1 ± 3. 4),(19. 4 ± 3. 1),(13. 5 ± 2. 5), (9. 8 ± 1. 6),which was significantly lower than ALIF group and PLF group;the intervertebral height(9. 3 ± 1. 2)mm were significantly high-er than those of ALIF group and PLF group. Conclusion PLIF has positive clinical value in treating lumbar spondylolisthesis as it can re-duce the operation wound,promote postoperative recovery,and improve the long-term function of body.