Objective:To investigate the differential impact of ultra-high-resolution photon-counting detector CT (UHR PCD-CT) and energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT) on image quality and calcified plaque-induced luminal stenosis in coronary CT angiography (CCTA).Methods:This retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent both EID-CT and UHR PCD-CT CCTA at the Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2021 and November 2024. A total of 141 patients were included in the study, within 46 patients having scans within a 12-month interval. Image quality of all coronary artery segments was subjectively evaluated. Patients with paired scans (interval≤12 months) were included for calcified plaque analysis. Subjective visualization of calcified plaques evaluated. The blooming artifact was calculated as an objective evaluation index for assessing the calcified plaques. Additionally, the degree of coronary artery lumen stenosis resulting from calcified plaques was assessed, along with the measurement of plaque volume and the Agatston score. Changes in lumen stenosis between the two scans were also evaluated. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the subjective scores of coronary artery image quality and calcified plaques between the two groups, and paired-sample t-tests were used to compare the blooming artifact and lumen stenosis degree. Results:The PCD-CT image quality score was significantly higher than that of EID-CT [PCD-CT : 5 (4,5), EID-CT: 4 (4,5); Z=-21.38, P<0.001]. Compared to EID-CT, PCD-CT reduced the blooming artifact (PCD-CT: 38.88%±9.09%, EID-CT: 50.11%±11.52%; t=-12.97, P<0.001), significantly improving the subjective score for visualization of calcified plaques [PCD-CT: 5 (4,5), EID-CT: 3 (2,3); Z=-9.68, P<0.001], and the measured lumen stenosis was notably lower in PCD-CT(PCD-CT:34.88%±18.20%, EID-CT:45.31%±23.42%; t=-9.93, P<0.001). Among 129 analyzed calcified plaques, luminal stenosis was reduced on PCD-CT in 110 plaques (85.3%) and increased in 19 (14.7%), including 4 plaques that had unclear boundaries with the adjacent lumen in EID-CT CCTA images, making the stenosis difficult to assess. Conclusion:Compared to EID-CT, UHR PCD-CT for CCTA significantly improves coronary artery image quality, provides clearer visualization of calcified plaques and adjacent lumen details, and it can reduce the overestimation of coronary artery caleified plaque stenosis.

Objective:To assess the efficacy and safety profile of antaitasvir phosphate combined with yiqibuvir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) of various genotypes, without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:394 cases with CHC from 22 centers were collected from October 2021 to April 2023. They were randomly assigned to receive either the experimental drugs (antaitasvir phosphate 100 mg+yiqibuvir 600 mg) or placebo treatment in a 3∶1 ratio. The patients were administered drugs once a day for 12 consecutive weeks, and then followed up for 24 weeks after treatment cessation. All subjects were unblinded at the four-week follow-up following drug discontinuation, with the experimental drug group continuing to complete subsequent post-discontinuation follow-up. The placebo group was switched to receive the experimental drugs for a repeated 12-week treatment period and followed up for another 24 weeks after discontinuation of the drug (placebo delayed treatment phase).The sustained virologic response rate (SVR12) was observed for subjects in the double-blind phase and the placebo delayed-treatment phase at 12 weeks after treatment cessation.Virological resistance analysis was performed on subjects who failed treatment. The primary efficacy endpoint was SVR12. The number and percentage of subjects who achieved "HCV RNA

Objective:To investigate the differential impact of ultra-high-resolution photon-counting detector CT (UHR PCD-CT) and energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT) on image quality and calcified plaque-induced luminal stenosis in coronary CT angiography (CCTA).Methods:This retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent both EID-CT and UHR PCD-CT CCTA at the Geriatric Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2021 and November 2024. A total of 141 patients were included in the study, within 46 patients having scans within a 12-month interval. Image quality of all coronary artery segments was subjectively evaluated. Patients with paired scans (interval≤12 months) were included for calcified plaque analysis. Subjective visualization of calcified plaques evaluated. The blooming artifact was calculated as an objective evaluation index for assessing the calcified plaques. Additionally, the degree of coronary artery lumen stenosis resulting from calcified plaques was assessed, along with the measurement of plaque volume and the Agatston score. Changes in lumen stenosis between the two scans were also evaluated. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the subjective scores of coronary artery image quality and calcified plaques between the two groups, and paired-sample t-tests were used to compare the blooming artifact and lumen stenosis degree. Results:The PCD-CT image quality score was significantly higher than that of EID-CT [PCD-CT : 5 (4,5), EID-CT: 4 (4,5); Z=-21.38, P<0.001]. Compared to EID-CT, PCD-CT reduced the blooming artifact (PCD-CT: 38.88%±9.09%, EID-CT: 50.11%±11.52%; t=-12.97, P<0.001), significantly improving the subjective score for visualization of calcified plaques [PCD-CT: 5 (4,5), EID-CT: 3 (2,3); Z=-9.68, P<0.001], and the measured lumen stenosis was notably lower in PCD-CT(PCD-CT:34.88%±18.20%, EID-CT:45.31%±23.42%; t=-9.93, P<0.001). Among 129 analyzed calcified plaques, luminal stenosis was reduced on PCD-CT in 110 plaques (85.3%) and increased in 19 (14.7%), including 4 plaques that had unclear boundaries with the adjacent lumen in EID-CT CCTA images, making the stenosis difficult to assess. Conclusion:Compared to EID-CT, UHR PCD-CT for CCTA significantly improves coronary artery image quality, provides clearer visualization of calcified plaques and adjacent lumen details, and it can reduce the overestimation of coronary artery caleified plaque stenosis.

Objective:To assess the efficacy and safety profile of antaitasvir phosphate combined with yiqibuvir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) of various genotypes, without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:394 cases with CHC from 22 centers were collected from October 2021 to April 2023. They were randomly assigned to receive either the experimental drugs (antaitasvir phosphate 100 mg+yiqibuvir 600 mg) or placebo treatment in a 3∶1 ratio. The patients were administered drugs once a day for 12 consecutive weeks, and then followed up for 24 weeks after treatment cessation. All subjects were unblinded at the four-week follow-up following drug discontinuation, with the experimental drug group continuing to complete subsequent post-discontinuation follow-up. The placebo group was switched to receive the experimental drugs for a repeated 12-week treatment period and followed up for another 24 weeks after discontinuation of the drug (placebo delayed treatment phase).The sustained virologic response rate (SVR12) was observed for subjects in the double-blind phase and the placebo delayed-treatment phase at 12 weeks after treatment cessation.Virological resistance analysis was performed on subjects who failed treatment. The primary efficacy endpoint was SVR12. The number and percentage of subjects who achieved "HCV RNA

A 14-year-old boy presented with coma and convulsion following a 3-day high fever of unknown origin was initially diagnosed with a central nervous system infection with uncertain pathogen. Direct microscopic examination of wet slides of cerebrospinal fluid cytology revealed active amoeboid trophozoites with different shapes. The amoeba trophozoite could be seen at high magnification after Wright′s-Giemsa staining. A diagnosis of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis was made according to the cellular morphology results of the cerebrospinal fluid, imaging data, and clinical symptoms. After high-throughput gene detection targeting the infection pathogen and specific PCR verification of amoeba species, it was confirmed that the infection was caused by Naegleria fowleri. Timely antiamoebic treatment and other related treatments were implemented, but the patient progressed to brain death after 50 days, leading to the discontinuation of treatment by the family.

Objective:To study the variational trend in disease characteristics of patients with hepatitis B-related primary liver cancer (HBV-HCC) in the past five years.Method:A single-center retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed to compare patients diagnosed with HBV-HCC from January 2012 to December 2016 (control group) and from January 2017 to December 2021 (observation group). The data of the study variables were extracted from the electronic medical record system of the hospital information system of the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University. The 1:2 propensity score matching was used to adjust potential confounding factors such as gender and age. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the factors affecting changes in disease characteristics of the HBV-HCC population in the observation group. GraphPad Prism 8.0 software was used to draw forest plots to intuitively display the effect size of the study variables in the logistic regression analysis.The t-test was used to compare normally distributed data between groups. The χ2 test was used for inter-group comparison. Results:A total of 1 717 eligible cases were collected, including 510 in the control group and 1 207 in the observation group. Compared with the control group, the number of newly diagnosed cases in the observation group increased by 2.36 times, and males were still the main onset population (83.3% vs. 82.7%). The median age of onset increased (51.9 vs. 53.5 years, P<0.001). 79.4% of HBV-HCC patients had not received antiviral therapy, and the proportion of HBeAg-negative patients increased (56.4%). The factors affecting HBV-HCC patients included family history of HBV ( OR=1.626, 95% CI: 1.181-2.238), family history of hepatocellular carcinoma ( OR=1.388, 95% CI: 1.013-1.901), hypoviremia ( OR=1.322, 95% CI: 1.046-1.671), abnormal alanine aminotransferase ( OR=1.545, 95% CI: 1.231-1.940), liver fibrosis ( OR=1.478, 95% CI: 1.153-1.894), liver cirrhosis ( OR=1.431, 95% CI: 1.128-1.815), and metabolic-related fatty liver disease ( OR=1.438, 95% CI: 1.116-1.815) after propensity score matching adjustment. The factors affecting HBeAg-positive patients were decreased ( OR=0.390, 95% CI: 0.389-0.617); however, the number of early HBV-HCC diagnoses was increased (12.7% vs. 19.3%, P=0.001). Conclusion:The characteristics of patient disease and occurrence of HBV-HCC are changing over the past five years. The risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in middle- to older male patients with chronic hepatitis B is increasing with familial history of HBV and hepatocellular carcinoma, HBeAg negativity, hypoviremia, abnormal alanine aminotransferase, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and metabolic-related fatty liver disease.

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 caused by 2019-nCoV Delta variant in Shangyu district, Shaoxing of Zhejiang province in 2021, and provide evidence for the improvement of COVID-19 control and prevention measures.Methods:The incidence data of COVID-19 in Shangyu from December 7 to 21, 2021 was obtained from Shangyu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The epidemiological characteristics of the cases, i.e. the population, time and space distributions, were analyzed, and the incubation period and time-varying reproduction numbers ( R t) were calculated. Results:From December 7 to 21, 2021, a total of 380 COVID-19 cases caused by 2019-nCoV Delta variant were detected in Shangyu, the median age of the cases was 52 years, M ( Q1，Q3: 38, 61). The male to female ratio of the cases was 1∶1.25, and the cases were mainly workers (36.58%) and farmers (27.63%). The epidemic affected 9 townships (or community) of Shangyu, especially Caoe and Baiguan communities with the cases accounting for 57.10% and 31.53% respectively. The median incubation period of cases was 4.00 days, M ( Q1，Q3: 3.00, 5.75). The basic reproduction number ( R0) was 4.06, and the R t was 5.62 in early phase of the outbreak (the highest) and continuously decreased to less than 1.00 within 10 days after the detection of the outbreak. The number of COVID-19 cases decreased to 0 within 14 days after the outbreak (December 7-21), and the main detection methods were screening in centralized isolation (55.53%) and home isolation (40.00%). The infection rates of close contacts and secondary close contacts were 2.06% and 0.46% respectively. Conclusion:The epidemic of COVID-19 in Shangyu characterized by short incubation period, large number of infected people, and case clustering, suggesting the strong transmission of Delta variant (B.1.617.2). Comprehensive prevention and control measures, such as management of close contacts and secondary close contacts, and high-risk area, are essential for the rapid control of the epidemic.

OBJECTIVES: Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with anhedonia tend to have a poor prognosis. The underlying imaging basis for anhedonia in MDD remains largely unknown. The relationship between nodal properties and anhedonia in MDD patients need to be further investigated. Herein, this study aims to explore differences of cerebral functional node characteristics in MDD patients with severe anhedonia (MDD-SA) and MDD patients with mild anhedonia (MDD-MA) before and after the antidepressant treatment. METHODS: Ninety participants with current MDD were recruited in this study. 24-Item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) and Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) were used to assess the severity of depression and anhedonia at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment. The MDD patients who scored above the 25th percentile on the SHAPS were assigned to an MDD-SA group (n=19), while those who scored below the 25th percentile were assigned to an MDD-MA group (n=18). All patients in the 2 groups received antidepressant treatment. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images of all the patients were collected at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment. Graph theory was applied to analyze the patients' cerebral functional nodal characteristics, which were measured by efficiency (e_i) and degree (k_i). RESULTS: Repeated measures 2-factor ANCOVA showed significant main effects on group on the e_i and k_i values of left superior frontal gyrus (LSFG) (P=0.003 and P=0.008, respectively), and on the e_i and k_i values of left medial orbital-frontal gyrus (LMOFG) (P=0.004 and P=0.008, respectively). Compared with the MDD-MA group, the significantly higher e_i and k_i values of the LSFG (P=0.015 and P=0.021, respectively), and the significantly higher e_i and k_i values of the LMOFG (P=0.015 and P=0.037, respectively) were observed in the MDD-SA group at baseline. Meanwhile, higher SHAPS scores could result in higher e_i and k_i values of LSFG (P=0.019 and P=0.026, respectively), and higher e_i value of LMOFG (P=0.040) at baseline; higher SHAPS scores could result in higher e_i values of LSFG (P=0.049) at the end of 6-months treatment. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that sex were negatively correlated with the e_i and k_i values of LSFG (r= -0.014, P=0.004; r=-1.153, P=0.001, respectively). The onset age of MDD was negatively correlated with the k_i value of LSFG (r=-0.420, P=0.034) at the end of 6-months treatment. We also found that SHAPS scores at baseline were positively correlated with the HAMD-24 scores (r=0.387, P=0.022) at the end of 6-months treatment. CONCLUSIONS There are obvious differences in nodal properties between the MDD-SA and the MDD-MA patients, such as the high e_i of LSFG in the MDD-SA patients, which may be associated with the severity of anhedonia. These nodal properties could be potential biomarkers for the prognosis of MDD. The increased e_i and k_i values in the LSFG of MDD-SA patients may underlie a compensatory mechanism or protective mechanism. The mechanism may be an important component of the pathological mechanism of MDD-SA. The poor prognosis in the MDD-SA patients suggests that anhedonia may predict a worse prognosis in MDD patients. Sex and onset age of MDD may affect the nodal properties of LSFG at baseline and the end of 6-months treatment.
Anhedonia ; Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Depressive Disorder, Major/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prefrontal Cortex

Objective:To investigate specificity of neurovascular compression in patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN) by three-dimension reconstruction and computational fluid dynamics.Methods:Clinical characteristics and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of 20 patients with both PTN and single artery compression (PTN group) and 10 patients without PTN but having neurovascular contact in MRI images (control group) in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2018 to December 2019 were collected and analyzed. After three-dimension reconstruction of the MRI images, curvature of the arterial loop, angle between the plane of arterial loop and the trigeminal nerve and location of the compression were observed. Then bidirectional structure-fluid coupling based on the optimized stereolithography models of arterial loop and nerve were processed by ANSYS 19.2 software. In the location of the compression of contact, equivalent stress (ES) of arterial loop on the nerve, shearing stress (SS) of the blood flow and local deformation of the nerve were iteratively computed. All parameters were analyzed and compared between the PTN group and the control group, and the correlation analysis was proceeded between the anatomical parameters and hemodynamical parameters.Results:The curvature of arterial loop [0.21(0.12) mm -1vs 0.13(0.07) mm -1, U=34.00, P<0.05], the angle between vascular loop and nerve [69.70(30.67)° vs 43.40(37.21)°, U=38.00, P<0.05] in the PTN group were significantly greater than those in the control group, and the location of compression was significantly closer to the root of nerve in the PTN group [PTN group: (4.23±1.29) mm vs control group: (5.54±1.85) mm, t=-2.26, P<0.05]. The average SS [15 952.48(5 365.56) Pa vs 12 501.97(6 355.26) Pa, U=53.00, P<0.05], ES [24 965.65(7 693.22) Pa vs 14 992.99(9 824.08) Pa, U=32.00, P<0.05] in the PTN group were significantly greater than those in the control group. The curvature of arterial loop was positively correlated with the SS ( r=0.931, P<0.05) and ES ( r=0.962, P<0.05), and the latter two ( r=0.787, P<0.05; r=0.853, P<0.05) were positively correlated with the local neural deformation. Conclusions:In patients with PTN, offending artery compresses the root of nerve by greater arterial curvature and angle between the arterial loop and nerve. These anatomical differences will cause significantly greater SS, ES and local neural deformation.

Retinal pigment epithelium(RPE)has essential functions,such as nourishing and sup-porting the neural retina,and is of vital importance in the pathogenesis of age-related retinal degen-eration.However,the exact molecular changes of RPE during aging remain poorly understood.Here,we isolated human primary RPE(hRPE)cells from 18 eye donors distributed over a wide age range(10-67 years old).A quantitative proteomic analysis was performed to analyze changes in their intracellular and secreted proteins.Age-group related subtypes and age-associated proteins were revealed and potential age-associated mechanisms were validated in ARPE-19 and hRPE cells.The results of proteomic data analysis and verifications suggest that RNF123-and RNF149-related protein ubiquitination plays an important role in protecting hRPE cells from oxidative damage dur-ing aging.In older hRPE cells,apoptotic signaling-related pathways were up-regulated,and endo-plasmic reticulum organization was down-regulated both in the intracellular and secreted proteomes.Our work paints a detailed molecular picture of hRPE cells during the aging process and provides new insights into the molecular characteristics of RPE during aging and under other related clinical retinal conditions.