Objective: To analyze the association between alcohol consumption and lumbar disc herniation (LDH), so as to provide a reference for the development of prevention and treatment strategies for LDH. Methods: From May to July 2022, permanent residents aged ≥18 years from eight counties (cities/districts) in Gansu Province were selected using a multistage stratified random sampling method. Data on basic characteristics, alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were collected through questionnaire surveys. LDH was determined based on imaging findings, combined with disease history or clinical symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between alcohol consumption and LDH, with subgroup analyses conducted by gender, age, ethnicity, and altitude of residence. Propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized for sensitivity analysis. Results: A total of 4 545 individuals were surveyed. There were 2 026 (44.58%) males and 2 519 (55.42%) females. The mean age was (44.82±15.33) years. The study participants were predominantly of Han ethnicity, with 2 598 persons accounting for 57.17%. The altitude of residence was mainly above 3 500 m, with 1 941 persons accounting for 42.71%. There were 574 alcohol drinkers, accounting for 12.63%. LDH was detected in 1 035 cases, with a detection rate of 22.77%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for gender, age, physical activity, and hypertension, compared to non-drinking residents, alcohol-consuming residents exhibited a 27.6% reduction in the risk of LDH (OR=0.724, 95%CI: 0.544-0.963). No significant interaction effects on LDH risk were observed between alcohol consumption and gender, age, ethnicity, or altitude of residence (all Pfor interaction >0.05). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that compared to non-drinking residents, alcohol-consuming residents exhibited a 38.8% reduction in the risk of LDH (OR=0.612, 95%CI: 0.382-0.976). Conclusion Alcohol consumption was statistically associated with a lower risk of LDH.

Antibody (Ab) humanization is critical to reduce immunogenicity and enhance efficacy in the preclinical phase of the development of therapeutic Abs originated from animal models. Computational suggestions have long been desired, but available tools focused on immunogenicity calculation of whole Ab sequences and sequence segments, missing the individual residue sites. This study introduces Site-specific Immunogenicity for Therapeutic Antibody (SITA), a novel computational framework that predicts B-cell immunogenicity score for not only the overall antibody, but also individual residues, based on a comprehensive set of amino acid descriptors characterizing physicochemical and spatial features for antibody structures. A transfer-learning-inspired framework was purposely adopted to overcome the scarcity of Ab-Ab structural complexes. On an independent testing dataset derived from 13 Ab-Ab structural complexes, SITA successfully predicted the epitope sites for Ab-Ab structures with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-area unver the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.85 and a precision-recall (PR)-AUC of 0.305 at the residue level. Furthermore, the SITA score can significantly distinguish immunogenicity levels of whole human Abs, therapeutic Abs and non-human-derived Abs. More importantly, analysis of an additional 25 therapeutic Abs revealed that over 70% of them were detected with decreased immunogenicity after modification compared to their parent variants. Among these, nearly 66% Abs successfully identified actual modification sites from the top five sites with the highest SITA scores, suggesting the ability of SITA scores for guide the humanization of antibody. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of SITA in optimizing immunogenicity assessments during the process of therapeutic antibody design.

Objective:To investigate the value of transanal multipoint full-layer puncture biopsy (TMFP) in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy (nCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) and to establish a predictive model for providing clinical guidance regarding the treatment of LARC.Methods:In this multicenter, prospective, cohort study, we collected data on 110 LARC patients from four hospitals between April 2020 and March 2023: Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University (50 patients), Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University (41 patients), Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (16 patients), and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (three patients). The patients had all received TMFP after completing standard nCRT. The variables studied included (1) clinicopathological characteristics; (2) clinical complete remission (cCR) and efficacy of TMFP in determining pCR after NCRT in LARC patients; and (3) hospital attended, sex, age, clinical T- and N-stages, distance between the lower margin of the tumor and the anal verge, baseline and post-radiotherapy serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 concentrations, chemotherapy regimen, use of immunosuppressants with or without radiotherapy, radiation therapy dosage, interval between surgery and radiotherapy, surgical procedure, clinical T/N stage after radiotherapy, cCR, pathological results of TMFP, puncture method (endoscopic or percutaneous), and number and timing of punctures. Single-factor and multifactorial logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors affecting pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. A prediction model was constructed based on the results of multivariat analysis and the performance of this model evaluated by analyzing subject work characteristics (ROC), calibration, and clinical decision-making (DCA) curves. pCR was defined as complete absence of tumor cells on microscopic examination of the surgical specimens of rectal cancer (including lymph node dissection) after NCRT, that is, ypT0+N0. cCR was defined according to the Chinese Neoadjuvant Rectal Cancer Waiting Watch Database Study Collaborative Group criteria after treatment, which specify an absence of ulceration and nodules on endoscopy; negative rectal palpation; no tumor signals on rectal MRI T2 and DWI sequences; normal serum CEA concentrations, and no evidence of recurrence on pelvic computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging.Results:Of the 110 patients, 45 (40.9%) achieved pCR after nCRT, which was combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in 34 (30.9%). cCR was diagnosed before puncture in 38 (34.5%) patients, 43 (39.1%) of the punctures being endoscopic. There were no complications of puncture such as enterocutaneous fistulae, vaginal injury, prostatic injury, or presacral bleeding . Only one (2.3%) patient had a small amount of blood in the stools, which was relieved by anal pressure. cCR had a sensitivity of 57.8% (26/45) for determining pCR, specificity of 81.5% (53/65), accuracy of 71.8% (79/110), positive predictive value 68.4% (26/38), and negative predictive value of 73.6% (53/72). In contrast, the sensitivity of TMFP pathology in determining pCR was 100% (45/45), specificity 66.2% (43/65), accuracy 80.0% (88/110), positive predictive value 67.2% (45/67), and negative predictive value 100.0% (43/43). In this study, the sensitivity of TMFP for pCR (100.0% vs. 57.8%, χ 2=24.09, P<0.001) was significantly higher than that for cCR. However, the accuracy of pCR did not differ significantly (80.0% vs. 71.8%, χ 2=2.01, P=0.156). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that a ≥4 cm distance between the lower edge of the tumor and the anal verge (OR=7.84, 95%CI: 1.48-41.45, P=0.015), non-cCR (OR=4.81, 95%CI: 1.39-16.69, P=0.013), and pathological diagnosis by TMFP (OR=114.29, the 95%CI: 11.07-1180.28, P<0.001) were risk factors for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. Additionally, endoscopic puncture (OR=0.02, 95%CI: 0.05-0.77, P=0.020) was a protective factor for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. The area under the ROC curve of the established prediction model was 0.934 (95%CI: 0.892-0.977), suggesting that the model has good discrimination. The calibration curve was relatively close to the ideal 45° reference line, indicating that the predicted values of the model were in good agreement with the actual values. A decision-making curve showed that the model had a good net clinical benefit. Conclusion:Our predictive model, which incorporates TMFP, has considerable accuracy in predicting pCR after nCRT in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. This may provide a basis for more precisely selecting individualized therapy.

Objective:To explore the evaluation effect of ultrasonography and Pirani score on tarsal deformity, treatment effect and pseudo-correction of congenital clubfoot in infants and young children, and the correlation between the two methods.Methods:This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 26 children (40 feet) with congenital clubfoot who were evaluated by ultrasonography in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected. There were 16 males and 10 females. The age at the first ultrasound examination was ( M(IQR)) 9.0 (18.0) days (range: 1 to 46 days). All patients were treated with Ponseti method by the same physician. The Pirani scores before and after treatment and at the last examination, and the talonavicular angle, calcaneocuboid angle and tibiocalcaneal angle measured by ultrasound were collected, and the treatment and follow-up were recorded. Paired sample t test, repeated measures analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data comparison, and Spearman correlation analysis was used for correlation analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate the efficacy of ultrasound in evaluating different Pirani scores. Results:The number of plaster fixation in 26 children was 4.0 (1.0) times (range: 2 to 8 times). The medial talonavicular angle and posterior tibiocalcaneal angle were significantly improved after treatment and at the last follow-up compared with those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.01). There was no difference in lateral calcaneocuboid angle before and after treatment and at the last follow-up ( F=1.971, P>0.05). Pseudo-correction occurred in 2 cases (2 feet) during the treatment, with an incidence of 5%. Correlation analysis showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between talonavicular angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.480, P<0.01). There was no correlation between calcaneocuboid angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.114, P=0.105). There was a moderate negative correlation between tibial heel angle and Pirani hindfoot score ( r=-0.566, P<0.01). The cut-off point of Pirani midfoot score of 1.5 was 38.78°, the sensitivity was 0.90, the specificity was 0.56, and the area under the curve was 0.75. The cut-off value of angle was 27.51 °, the sensitivity was 0.16, the specificity was 0.92, and the area under the curve was 0.44.The cut-off points of Pirani midfoot score of 3.0 were 45.08°and 9.96°, the sensitivity was 0.94 and 0.91, the specificity was 0.37 and 0.42, and the area under the curve was 0.59 and 0.62, respectively. The cut-off values of Pirani hindfoot score of 2.0 and 3.0 were 167.46° and 160.15°, respectively. The sensitivity was 0.75 and 0.67, the specificity was 0.81 and 0.83, and the area under the curve was 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion:Ultrasound can complement with Pirani score, visually and dynamically observe the morphology and position changes of talonavicular joint, calcaneocuboid joint and tibiotalocalcaneal joint, monitor the recovery and pseudo-correction of tarsal bones, and better evaluate the therapeutic effect.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of domestically produced magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) for gastroesophageal reflux disease.Method:This study is a prospective cohort study. Patients with typical heartburn and reflux symptoms (at least partial response to proton pump inhibitors), abnormal esophageal acid exposure and normal esophageal peristalsis were included, prospectively in the Department of Gastroesophageal Surgery, Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center from June 2019 to September 2022. Patients with hiatal hernia >2 cm and severe esophagitis were excluded. The MSA was wrapped around the distal esophagus after esophageal hiatus repair by laparoscopy. A postoperative questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the relief of symptom, complications, the discontinuation rate of proton pump inhibitor, and surgical satisfaction. Gastroscopy, high-resolution esophageal pressure measurement, and pH value impedance monitoring were also reviewed. The pre- and postoperative rates were compared using the McNeinar χ2 test. Result:Currently, 23 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were enrolled and underwent MSA surgery. There were 20 males and 3 females, aged ( M (IQR)) 48 (14) years (range: 25 to 64 years). All cases were successfully implanted with MSA. Subjective indicators were followed for 17 (18) months (range: 14 to 53 months), while objective indicators were followed for 17 (1) months (range: 12 to 23 months). The postoperative gastrointestinal and extraesophageal symptom scores showed a significant decrease compared to preoperative levels as follows: the degree of subjective relief of overall digestive symptoms was 90 (20)% (range:0~100%), the degree of subjective relief of overall respiratory symptoms was 100(10)% (range: 10%~100%), the overall satisfaction rate was 83% (19/23), the proton pump inhibitor discontinuation rate was 70% (16/23). The proportion of esophagitis has decreased from 44% (10/23) to 9% (2/23) ( κ=0.169, P=0.039), The Hill grade of gastroesophageal valve morphology improved from 1 case of grade Ⅰ, 5 cases of grade Ⅱ, 10 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 7 cases of grade Ⅲ preoperative to 22, 1, 0, and 0 cases postoperative. The proportion of lower esophageal sphincter pressure below normal has decreased from 70% (16/23) to 35% (8/23) ( κ=0.170, P=0.012). There were 21 patients who restored normal esophageal acid exposure. Eleven patients had mild long-term dysphagia, but it didn′t affect their daily life. No postoperative device migration, erosion, or secondary surgical removal occurred. Conclusions:Laparoscopic implantation of the MSA device was safe and well tolerated. It can effectively control the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, reduce medication, restore normal cardia morphology and function, and esophageal acid exposure. The main postoperative complication was dysphagia, but it was relatively mild.

Objective To investigate the effects of total flavonoids from Vine tea on the intestinal flora of high-fat diet(HFD)induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)mice.Methods Twenty-eight mice were randomly divided into four groups:blank control group,model control group(HFD group),low-dose TF group(TF-L group),and high-dose TF group(TF-H group),with 7 mice in each group.Mice in the HFD group,TF-L group,and TF-H group were fed with high-fat diet(HFD)for 12 weeks,while those in the blank control group were fed a normal diet.After 12 weeks of high-fat diet feeding,mice in the TF-L group and TF-H group were orally administered TF solution at doses of 125 and 250 mg·kg-1·d-1 by gavage administration for 6 weeks of intervention.Pathological changes in the liver and intestine of mice were observed using hematoxylin-eosin(H&E)staining,and the expression levels of tight junction proteins between the epithelial cells of the colonic mucosa was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.ELISA kit was used to detect the level of serum inflammatory factors in mice.Changes of intestinal flora in mice were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing technology.Results Total flavonoids from Vine tea could effectively improve the pathological changes of liver and intestinal tract in mice,reduce the levels of serum inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α,and promote the expression of tight junction proteins Occludin,ZO-1 and Claudin 1 in the colon.There were significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three groups of mice.Total flavonoids from Vine tea significantly decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidota(P＜0.05),increased the abundance of Faecalibaculum,Ligilactobacillus and Lactobacillus,which resulted in the improvement of intestinal flora disorders.Conclusion Total flavonoids from Vine tea have certain ameliorative effects on high-fat diet-induced NAFLD,and the mechanism may be related to the promotion of intestinal barrier repair and the improvement of intestinal flora disorders.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and CT perfusion imaging (CTP) parameters for early neurological deterioration (END) in patients with mild stroke duo to anterior circulation large vessel occlusion.Methods:Patients with minor stroke duo to anterior circulation large vessel occlusion admitted to the First People's Hospital of Suqian from November 2021 to December 2023 were included. Minor stroke was defined as a baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≤ 5, and END was defined as an increase of ≥ 4 in NIHSS score within 24 hours of admission compared to the baseline. SIRI and SII were calculated based on the findings of blood routine examination. According to CTP at admission, the cerebral blood volume (CBV) index, infarct core volume, and early infarct growth rate (EIGR) were obtained. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent risk factors for END. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of each predictor on END. Results:A total of 132 patients were included, with 85 males (64.4%) and a median age of 68 years (interquartile range, 58-77 years). Thirty-nine patients (29.5%) experienced END. The baseline NIHSS score, fasting blood glucose, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, SIRI, SII, infarct core volume, and EIGR in the END group were significantly higher than those in the non-END group, while the CBV index was significantly lower than that in the non-END group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SIRI (odds ratio [ OR] 3.672, 95% confidence interval[ CI] 1.838-6.326; P<0.001), SII ( OR 4.824, 95% CI 2.057-7.135; P<0.001), CBV index ( OR 0.968, 95% CI 0.947-0.986; P<0.001), and EIGR ( OR 2.527, 95% CI 1.918-3.589; P<0.001) were the independent predictive factors of END. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curves of SIRI, SII, CBV index, and EIGR for predicting END were 0.780 (95% CI 0.692-0.863), 0.798 (95% CI 0.709-0.888), 0.775 (95% CI 0.697-0.853), and 0.772 (95% CI 0.732-0.829), respectively. Conclusion:SIRI, SII, CBV index, and EIGR are the independent predictive factors of END in patients with minor stroke duo to anterior circulation large vessel occlusion, and have certain predictive value for END.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of domestically produced magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) for gastroesophageal reflux disease.Method:This study is a prospective cohort study. Patients with typical heartburn and reflux symptoms (at least partial response to proton pump inhibitors), abnormal esophageal acid exposure and normal esophageal peristalsis were included, prospectively in the Department of Gastroesophageal Surgery, Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center from June 2019 to September 2022. Patients with hiatal hernia >2 cm and severe esophagitis were excluded. The MSA was wrapped around the distal esophagus after esophageal hiatus repair by laparoscopy. A postoperative questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the relief of symptom, complications, the discontinuation rate of proton pump inhibitor, and surgical satisfaction. Gastroscopy, high-resolution esophageal pressure measurement, and pH value impedance monitoring were also reviewed. The pre- and postoperative rates were compared using the McNeinar χ2 test. Result:Currently, 23 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were enrolled and underwent MSA surgery. There were 20 males and 3 females, aged ( M (IQR)) 48 (14) years (range: 25 to 64 years). All cases were successfully implanted with MSA. Subjective indicators were followed for 17 (18) months (range: 14 to 53 months), while objective indicators were followed for 17 (1) months (range: 12 to 23 months). The postoperative gastrointestinal and extraesophageal symptom scores showed a significant decrease compared to preoperative levels as follows: the degree of subjective relief of overall digestive symptoms was 90 (20)% (range:0~100%), the degree of subjective relief of overall respiratory symptoms was 100(10)% (range: 10%~100%), the overall satisfaction rate was 83% (19/23), the proton pump inhibitor discontinuation rate was 70% (16/23). The proportion of esophagitis has decreased from 44% (10/23) to 9% (2/23) ( κ=0.169, P=0.039), The Hill grade of gastroesophageal valve morphology improved from 1 case of grade Ⅰ, 5 cases of grade Ⅱ, 10 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 7 cases of grade Ⅲ preoperative to 22, 1, 0, and 0 cases postoperative. The proportion of lower esophageal sphincter pressure below normal has decreased from 70% (16/23) to 35% (8/23) ( κ=0.170, P=0.012). There were 21 patients who restored normal esophageal acid exposure. Eleven patients had mild long-term dysphagia, but it didn′t affect their daily life. No postoperative device migration, erosion, or secondary surgical removal occurred. Conclusions:Laparoscopic implantation of the MSA device was safe and well tolerated. It can effectively control the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, reduce medication, restore normal cardia morphology and function, and esophageal acid exposure. The main postoperative complication was dysphagia, but it was relatively mild.

Objective:To investigate the value of CT quantitative parameters of tumor and spleen in predicting the clinical stage of gastric cancer (Ⅰ/Ⅱ stage and Ⅲ/Ⅳ stage).Methods:This study was a case-control study. The data of 145 patients with gastric cancer confirmed by pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2019 to June 2021 were retrospectively collected, including 70 cases of Ⅰ/Ⅱ stage and 75 cases of Ⅲ/Ⅳ stage. On the baseline CT images, the tumor related parameters, including tumor thickness, length of tumor, CT attenuation of tumor unenhanced phase, CT attenuation of tumor arterial phase, CT attenuation of tumor venous phase were measured. The spleen related parameters, including splenic thickness, CT attenuation of splenic unenhanced phase, CT attenuation of splenic arterial phase, CT attenuation of splenic venous phase, and standard deviation of CT attenuation (CTsd) in splenic unenhanced phase were also measured. The independent sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the parameters between the Ⅰ/Ⅱ stage and Ⅲ/Ⅳ stage patients. The multi-factor logistic regression analysis was used to find the independent predictors of gastric cancer clinical stage, and establish the combined parameters. The efficiency to the diagnosis of gastric cancer stage of single and combined parameters was evaluated using the operating characteristic curve, and the DeLong test was used to compare the differences of area under the curve (AUC). Results:There were significant differences in tumor thickness, length of tumor, CT attenuation of tumor venous phase, CT attenuation of splenic unenhanced phase, CT attenuation of splenic venous phase, CTsd in splenic unenhanced phase between the Ⅰ/Ⅱ stage and Ⅲ/Ⅳ stage of gastric cancer ( P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor thickness ( OR=1.073, 95% CI 1.026-1.123, P=0.002), CT attenuation of splenic venous phase ( OR=1.040, 95% CI 1.011-1.070, P=0.006) and CTsd in splenic unenhanced phase ( OR=1.625, 95% CI 1.330-1.987, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for the clinical stage of gastric cancer and the combined parameters were established. The AUC values of tumor thickness, CT attenuation of splenic venous phase, CTsd in splenic unenhanced phase and combined parameters were 0.655, 0.614, 0.749 and 0.806, respectively. The AUC of combined parameters was higher than those of tumor thickness and CT attenuation of splenic venous phase, and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.37, 3.82, both P<0.001). Conclusion:Tumor thickness, CT attenuation of splenic venous phase and CTsd in splenic unenhanced phase are independent risk factors for the clinical stage of gastric cancer, and combined parameters can improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Objective To observe the value of clinical and CT radiomics features for predicting microsatellite instability-high(MSI-H)status of gastric cancer.Methods Totally 150 gastric cancer patients including 30 cases of MSI-H positive and 120 cases of MSI-H negative were enrolled and divided into training set(n=105)or validation set(n=45)at the ratio of 7∶3.Based on abdominal vein phase enhanced CT images,lesions radiomics features were extracted and screened,and radiomics scores(Radscore)was calculated.Clinical data and Radscores were compared between MSI-H positive and negative patients in training set and validation set.Based on clinical factors and Radscores being significant different between MSI-H positive and negative ones,clinical model,CT radiomics model and clinical-CT radiomics combination model were constructed,and their predictive value for MSI-H status of gastric cancer were observed.Results Significant differences of tumor location and Radscore were found between MSI-H positive and negative patients in both training and validation sets(all P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of clinical model,CT radiomics model and combination model for evaluating MSI-H status of gastric cancer in training set was 0.760,0.799 and 0.864,respectively,of that in validation set was 0.735,0.812 and 0.849,respectively.AUC of clinical-CT radiomics combination model was greater than that of the other 2 single models(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Clinical-CT radiomics combination model based on tumor location and Radscore could effectively predict MSI-H status of gastric cancer.