BACKGROUND: Without timely and effective rehabilitation, hearing loss may profoundly affect human life quality. China has a large population of hearing-impaired individuals, which imposes a heavy health burden on society. Moreover, this population is projected to increase rapidly owing to China's aging society. METHODS: We used data from a population-representative epidemiological investigation of hearing loss and ear diseases in four Chinese provinces. We estimated the national prevalence using multiple linear regression of the age-group proportions and prevalence in 31 provinces with clustering analysis. We used years lived with disability (YLDs) to analyze the disease burden and forecasted the prevalence of hearing loss by 2060 in China. RESULTS: An estimated 115 million people had moderate-to-complete hearing loss in 2015 across the 31 provinces of China (8.4% of 1.37 billion people). Of these, 85.7% were older than age 50 years (99 million people) and 2.4% were younger than 20 years old (2.8 million people). Of all YLDs attributable to hearing loss, 68.9% were attributable to moderate-to-complete cases. By 2060, a projected 242 million people in China will have moderate-to-complete hearing loss, a 110.0% increase from 2015. CONCLUSIONS The hearing loss prevalence in China is high. Population aging and socioeconomic factors substantially affect the prevalence and severity of hearing loss and the disease burden. The prevalence and severity of hearing loss are unevenly distributed across different provinces. Future public health policies should take these trends and regional variations into account.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Hearing Loss/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Infant ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cost of Illness

Objective To compare the benefits and drawbacks of primary patch expansion versus pericardial tube right ventricular-pulmonary artery connection in patients diagnosed with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA/VSD). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with PA/VSD who underwent primary right ventricular-pulmonary artery connection surgery at our center between 2010 and 2020. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the type of right ventricular-pulmonary artery connection: a pericardial tube group and a patch expansion group. Clinical data and imaging findings were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 51 patients were included in the study, comprising 31 males and 20 females, with a median age of 12.57 (4.57, 49.67) months. The pericardial tube group included 19 patients with a median age of 17.17 (7.33, 49.67) months, while the patch expansion group consisted of 32 patients with a median age of 8.58 (3.57, 52.72) months. In both groups, the diameter of pulmonary artery, McGoon index, and Nakata index significantly increased after treatment (P<0.001). However, the pericardial tube group exhibited a longer extracorporeal circulation time (P<0.001). The reoperation rate was notably high, with 74.51% of patients requiring further surgical intervention, including 26 (81.25%) patients in the patch expansion group and 12 (63.16%) patients in the pericardial tube group. No statistical differences were observed in long-term cure rates or mortality between the two groups (P＞0.005). Conclusion In patients with PA/VSD, both patch expansion and pericardial tube right ventricular-pulmonary artery connection serve as effective initial palliative treatment strategies that promote pulmonary vessel development and provide a favorable foundation for subsequent radical operations. However, compared to the pericardial tube approach, the patch expansion technique is simpler to perform and preserves some intrinsic potential for pulmonary artery development, making it the preferred procedure.

Aim To investigate the relationship between sleep deprivation and vascular aging,as well as the un-derlying mechanisms.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group,senescence group,sleep deprivation group,and sleep deprivation+senescence group,with 6 rats in each group.The modified level table method deprived rats of sleep duration.Senescence-associated β-galactosidase(SA-β-Gal)staining was used to detect the senes-cence status of rat vascular tissue.The mRNA and protein expression of tumor suppressor protein p53,silent information regulator 1(SIRT1)and clock gene cryptochrome 1(CRY1)was detected by real-time fluorescence quantification PCR(RT-qPCR),Western blot and immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the control group,the intensity of SA-β-Gal staining was increased in the vascular tissues of the senescence group rats,the expression level of p53 was elevat-ed,the expression level of SIRT1 was decreased.Similar changes were observed in the sleep deprivation group and the sleep deprivation+senescence group,including intensified SA-β-Gal staining,elevated p53 levels,and reduced SIRT1 lev-els in vascular tissues.Additionally,compared with the control group,the sleep deprivation group showed reduced CRY1 levels in vascular tissues,while only CRY1 mRNA levels were reduced in the sleep deprivation+senescence group.Fur-thermore,compared with the senescence group,the sleep deprivation+senescence group exhibited intensified SA-β-Gal staining,increased p53 level,decreased SIRT1 level,and reduced CRY1 mRNA level in vascular tissues.Conclusion Sleep deprivation may promote the expression of vascular aging-related factors,potentially through the inhibition of CRY1 expression in vascular tissues.

Aim To investigate the relationship between sleep deprivation and vascular aging,as well as the un-derlying mechanisms.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group,senescence group,sleep deprivation group,and sleep deprivation+senescence group,with 6 rats in each group.The modified level table method deprived rats of sleep duration.Senescence-associated β-galactosidase(SA-β-Gal)staining was used to detect the senes-cence status of rat vascular tissue.The mRNA and protein expression of tumor suppressor protein p53,silent information regulator 1(SIRT1)and clock gene cryptochrome 1(CRY1)was detected by real-time fluorescence quantification PCR(RT-qPCR),Western blot and immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the control group,the intensity of SA-β-Gal staining was increased in the vascular tissues of the senescence group rats,the expression level of p53 was elevat-ed,the expression level of SIRT1 was decreased.Similar changes were observed in the sleep deprivation group and the sleep deprivation+senescence group,including intensified SA-β-Gal staining,elevated p53 levels,and reduced SIRT1 lev-els in vascular tissues.Additionally,compared with the control group,the sleep deprivation group showed reduced CRY1 levels in vascular tissues,while only CRY1 mRNA levels were reduced in the sleep deprivation+senescence group.Fur-thermore,compared with the senescence group,the sleep deprivation+senescence group exhibited intensified SA-β-Gal staining,increased p53 level,decreased SIRT1 level,and reduced CRY1 mRNA level in vascular tissues.Conclusion Sleep deprivation may promote the expression of vascular aging-related factors,potentially through the inhibition of CRY1 expression in vascular tissues.

Objective:To investigate the clinical infection status and trends in drug resistance of a rare pathogen Kluyveromyces marxianus ( Candida kefyr), and to provide experience for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods:Morphological and molecular biological identification tests and in vitro microdilution drug susceptibility test were conducted on a Kluyveromyces marxianus strain recently isolated from the midstream urine sample of a patient with urinary calculus in the Fungal Laboratory, Changhai Hospital. The ultrastructural damage of the strain caused by different antifungal drugs was observed by scanning electron microscopy. A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical cases of Kluyveromyces marxianus infection in Changhai Hospital from 2009 to 2021. Results:The isolated strain formed smooth, soft, cheese-like yeast colonies on the Sabouraud′s agar medium, and ovoid or slender spores were observed under the microscope. Morphological analysis, mass spectrometry and sequencing analysis identified the strain as Kluyveromyces marxianus. The drug susceptibility test showed that minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, flucytosine, caspofungin, and micafungin were 0.5, 0.5, 0.03, ≤ 0.03, 0.06, 0.5, ≤ 0.016, and 0.06 μg/ml, respectively. Under the scanning electron microscope, the strain was ovoid to slender before antifungal drug treatment, with a size of (3.0 - 6.5) μm × (5.5 - 11.0) μm; after 24-hour treatment with antifungal drugs at the dose of 1 μg/ml, cell membrane shrinkage was more obvious under the treatment with posaconazole, which exhibited a stronger destructive effect on the strain compared with amphotericin B and voriconazole. From 2009 to 2021, 8 cases of Kluyveromyces marxianus infection were collected, including 6 males and 2 females; the Kluyveromyces marxianus strains were isolated from ascites in 3 cases, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in 1 case, sputum in 2 cases, and midstream urine samples in 2 cases. Conclusion:For suspected Kluyveromyces marxianus infection, it is crucial to determine the pathogenic species as early as possible using various identification methods, and to collect strain as well as evaluate drug susceptibility, which will be beneficial for targeted clinical treatment.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between moderate intensity aerobic exercise and cerebral blood flow regulation in patients with mild carotid artery stenosis.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to select 30 cases of patients with unilateral mild carotid artery stenosis and moderate intensity aerobic exercise for more than 1 year in the Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology from July 2022 to November 2023 as the exercise group (study group), and 30 cases of patients with unilateral mild carotid artery stenosis without exercise habits matched by age, gender and other factors as the non-exercise group (control group). Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) examination was performed in both groups, and the recumbent-upright-test, breath holding test and breath exchange test were performed to calculate the occurrence rate of "w" wave in recumbent-upright position, the slope of "w" wave in recubitus position, the change rate of pulse index (PI) before and after breath holding, resistance index (RI), breath holding index (BHI), and cerebral blood flow velocity before and after breath exchange. The blood pressure and heart rate difference in the recumbent-upright position were calculated, and the correlation between moderate intensity aerobic exercise and cerebral blood flow regulation function in patients with mild carotid artery stenosis was evaluated by statistical analysis. The correlation analysis between the exercise years and BHI in the study group was carried out to explore the relationship between the exercise years and cerebrovascular reactivity.Results:The occurrence rate and slope of "w" wave in the study group were higher than those in the control group: 93.3%(28/30) vs. 86.7%(26/30), 2.27 ± 1.14 vs. 1.28 ± 0.23, 2.67 ± 0.63 vs. 1.41 ± 0.69, there were statistically significant ( P<0.05). The change rates of PI and RI before and after breath holding and ventilation in the study group were higher than those in the control group: 21.23 ± 7.67 vs. 13.89 ± 9.67, 14.62 ± 6.63 vs. 11.17 ± 1.78 and 26.26 ± 12.46 vs. 18.36 ± 12.13, 14.91 ± 4.91 vs. 10.83 ± 2.35, and the average cerebral blood flow velocity before and after ventilation was higher than that in the control group: (31.26 ± 4.92) cm/s vs. (24.89 ± 6.34) cm/s, there were statistically significant ( P<0.01). The exercise years of the study group was negatively correlated with the breath holding index. Conclusions:Moderate intensity exercise is associated with cerebral blood flow regulation in patients with mild carotid artery stenosis. Exercise years are negatively correlated with cerebral blood flow regulation. Impaired cerebral blood flow regulation may be one of the potential mechanisms of poor prognosis of stroke in carotid artery stenosis population.

Purpose/Significance The processing links and key technologies of health care big data are deeply discussed to provide in-formation support and guarantee for further promoting the application of health care big data.Method/Process According to the scientific research paradigm driven by big data,and based on the process perspective,the paper introduces the sources and characteristics of health care big data,analyzes the processing links and key technologies of big data,and discusses the current challenges and future development directions of health care big data processing.Result/Conclusion Both China and foreign countries have achieved innovative development in technologies for health care big data processing.However,there are still some challenges in multi-dimensional data collection,multi-mo-dal data integration,large model data analysis,and data security.In the future,through building a comprehensive platform of big data pro-cessing,and developing or integrating targeted functional modules,the existing problems can be effectively addressed.

Purpose To explore the value of ultrasonography in distinguishing periductal mastitis(PDM)from granulomatous lobular mastitis(GLM)and summarize the sonographic features of non-puerperal mastitis(NPM).Materials and Methods The ultrasonographic findings of 134 NPM(84 PDM,50 GLM)patients treated in the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from July 2016 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.Comparing PDM and GLM sonograms,the difference of lesion number,lesion side,lesion orientation,distance from the nipple,long diameter,thick diameter,aspect ratio,boundary,edge,edge,shape,internal echo,peripheral high echo halo,rear echo,calcification,internal blood flow,ipsilateral axillary lymph node enlargement,and summarize the characteristics of NPM according to the lesion morphology and internal echo.Results There was no statistical difference between PDM and GLM(P＞0.05).But the probability of PDM combined with ipsilateral axillary lymph node enlargement was slightly higher than that of GLM(x2=4.209,P=0.040).The ultrasonography of 134 cases of NPM lesions was divided into 7 types according to the morphology and echo changes.The abscess type was more common in GLM than in PDM(x2=4.928,P=0.026).Conclusion There is no significant difference between PDM and GLM.In the case that PDM and GLM cannot be distinguished clinically and radiologically,it is recommended to perform puncture biopsy to determine the pathological type before treatment,which may be more conducive to obtaining the best prognosis for patients.In addition,the classification of NPM into 7 types is helpful for sonographers to grasp the ultrasonographic characteristics of NPM to diagnose NPM early.

Objective:To explore the application value of PAX1/JAM3 methylation detection by cervical self-collected specimen in cervical cancer screening and the management of premenopausal and postmenopausal women.Method:This study is a single center cross-sectional study. From January 2023 to November 2023, cervical self-collected and physician-collected specimens at the colposcopy clinic were detected the PAX1/JAM3 methylation (PAX1 m/JAM3 m) testing. The consistency between self-collected and physician-collected specimens for PAX1 m/JAM3 m detection were compared based on histopathology. In addition, the clinical efficacy of methylation detection with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), liquid-based cytology (LBC), and their combination for cervical cancer screening were compared in the study. Results:A total of 301 women were recruited to undergo referral colposcopy examination, and statistical analysis was conducted on 272 women with pathological and diagnostic information. Among them, 102 cases (37.5%) were diagnosed as normal cervical tissue or chronic cervicitis, 72 cases (26.4%) were cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1), 43 cases (15.8%) were CIN2, 29 cases (10.7%) were CIN3, and 26 cases (9.6%) were cervical cancer. According to the minimum quantity formula, they were divided into a consistency cohort of 81 participants and a validation cohort of 191 participants. The consistency between cervical self-collected and physician-collected specimens for detecting PAX1 m/JAM3 m. Results from spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the self-collected and physician-collected results of PAX1 m/JAM3 m detection, and the correlation coefficient R values are 0.858 ( P<0.001) and 0.828 ( P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of PAX1 m/JAM3 m detection for diagnosing CIN2 or more severe lesions (CIN2+) were 77.6% [95% confidence interval ( CI) 65.3%-86.4%] and 87.2% (95% CI 80.5%-91.9%), respectively. In clinical performance comparison, the sensitivity of PAX1 m/JAM3 m combined with HPV16/18 detection, 89.7% (95% CI 79.2%-95.2%), was the same as that of hrHPV detection in CIN2+and 96.0% (95% CI 80.4%-99.3%) in CIN3+, which is higher than 92.0% (95% CI 75.0%-97.8%) of hrHPV and 82.6% (95% CI 62.9%-93.0%) of LBC or the combination of sPAX1 m/JAM3 m and LBC low-grade and higher squamous intraepithelial lesion testing [87.0% (95% CI 67.9%-95.5%)]. Conclusions:Self-collected specimens by women for detection of PAX1 and JAM3 methylation as a promising screening tool for cervical cancer has operational and clinical feasibility. The methylation test can optimize the current cervical cancer screening plan, reduce the number of referral women with false positive diagnosis to colposcopy, and is of great significance for reducing fertility protection and preventing missed diagnosis in women of childbearing age.

Chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） is a common and intractable disease in the digestive system characterized by the reduction or disappearance of gastric mucosal glands. The intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia in CAG is called precancerous lesion， which greatly increases the risk of cancerization. Dysactivation of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammatory corpuscles can release a large number of inflammatory factors， induce inflammatory cascade reactions， and participate in the process of many diseases. As reported， the dysactivation of NLRP3 inflammatory corpuscles can cause long-term chronic inflammatory infiltration of gastric mucosa and induce the development of CAG. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the activation of NLRP3 inflammatory corpuscles. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species （ROS） produced by mitochondrial dysfunction is the key to activating NLRP3 inflammatory corpuscles. Professor LIU Youzhang put forward the theory of "spleen-mitochondrion correlation"， which holds that the spleen mainly transports water and grains， generates qi and blood， transports nutrients to the whole body， and supplies energy and materials needed by the body. Adenosine triphosphate （ATP） generated by mitochondria through the circulation of tricarboxylic acid is the main energy source of the human body. The view that both of them serve as human energy processing plants coincides in terms of physiology. Pathologically， spleen deficiency is associated with mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction. Pathological products such as dampness， turbidity， phlegm， and blood stasis due to failure in transportation because of spleen deficiency are consistent with metabolites generated by mitochondrial dysfunction. Based on the theory of "spleen-mitochondrion correlation"， this study discussed the pathogenesis of CAG in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， analyzed the relationship between NLRP3 inflammatory corpuscles and the pathogenesis of CAG， and proposed that the activation of NLRP3 inflammatory corpuscles by mitochondrial dysfunction was the modern biological basis of the pathogenesis of spleen deficiency in CAG. The spleen-strengthening method may be related to improving the mitochondrial function and inflammatory response of patients with CAG and alleviating the damage of gastric mucosa， providing a new idea for TCM in the prevention and treatment of CAG.