INTRODUCTION: Albeit comprising a small portion of the hospital population, persistent high utilisers (PHUs) contribute disproportionately to healthcare expenditures. Amid rising healthcare costs and an ageing population, this study examines factors associated with PHUs among residents in eastern Singapore. METHOD: This is a retrospective study of eligible patients at Changi General Hospital in Singapore between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022. The study included Singapore citizens who utilised any services offered by CGH. Patients were classified as PHUs if their annual healthcare expenditure exceeded SGD3700 for 3 consecutive years. Demographics, healthcare utilisation patterns and clinical profiles were compared, and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with PHUs. RESULTS: There were 267,838 eligible patients identified, with 5316 (2%) classified as PHUs. PHUs accounted for 18.4% of the total healthcare expenditure, with the highest costs attributed to inpatient services, followed by outpatient services. PHUs were more likely to be older, male, non-Chinese and of lower socioeconomic status. Conditions with the strongest association with PHUs were mental health disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, asthma and renal diseases. Inpatient discharges from renal medicine, psychological medicine and general/geriatric medicine wards had the strongest association with PHUs. Utilisation of allied health services had the highest odds of being a PHU in outpatient care. CONCLUSION This study identified key factors associated with PHUs, providing invaluable insights into the planning of population health services within the hospital's geographical region. Targeted service development and process improvements of medical care can help mitigate persistent high utilisation.
Humans ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adult ; Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data* ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Population Health ; Aged, 80 and over ; Young Adult ; Adolescent

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of common cancer that seriously endangers human health.Designing methods for early,rapid,and accurate diagnosis of HCC has become the key point.Golgi protein 73(GP73),a novel potential biomarker for HCC,is crucial for diagnosis and treatment of HCC.In this study,a colorimetric sensor with rapidity,smplicity and high specificity was established for detection of GP73 based on peroxidase-like activity of hemin-reduced graphene oxide-manganese dioxide(H-rGO-MnO2).The H-rGO-MnO2-GP73Apt1 signal probe was synthesized by carboxyl of H-rGO-MnO2 nanozyme and amination of GP73 aptamer(GP73Apt1)though amide reaction.In the presence of GP73,the sulfhydryl-modifed GP73 aptamer(GP73Apt2),as the capture probe,and the signal probe both specifically recognized GP73,forming a sandwich structure(GP73Apt2-GP73-H-rGO-MnO2-GP73Apt1).This structure could catalyze the oxidation of H2O2 to produce hydroxyl radical(·OH),thereby oxidizing the colorless phthalenediamine(OPD)into the yellow 2,3-diaminophenazine(DPA).The quantitative detection of GP73 was achieved by measuring the characteristic absorbance of DPA at 450 nm.In the GP73 concentration range of 10-150 ng/mL,there was a good linear relationship between the DPA absorbance at 450 nm(A450 nm)and the GP73 concentration under optimal conditions.The linear equation was A450 nm=0.00321CGP73+0.8988,with the correlation coefficient(R2)of 0.9960 and the detection limit(LOD)of 5.38 ng/mL.The colorimetric sensor was applied to detection of GP73 in human serum samples,with recoveries of 88.4%?98.8%.This sensor showed high specificity,sensitivity,and stability,and had potential for clinical detection of GP73,providing a new approach for the early diagnosis of HCC.

Objective To analyze the correlation between the comorbidity of chronic diseases and concurrent traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)constitutions in the elderly in Guangzhou.Methods From the physical examination data of 3 communities in Guangzhou,3 078 elderly people were selected as the survey objects,and association analysis was performed for mining the association rules between the chronic disease comorbidity and concurrent TCM constitution types of the elderly with different demographic characteristics.Results The comorbidity rate of chronic diseases in the elderly of Guangzhou area was 76.54％(2 356/3 078).In the elderly population of Guangzhou area,the correlation of chronic disease comorbidity with the concurrent constitution of tendentious blood stasis constitution and phlegm-damp constitution had the highest confidence,which was 95.87％.The correlation of chronic disease comorbidity with the gender showed that the concurrent constitution was similar in the elderly with different genders.The correlation of chronic disease comorbidity with the concurrent constitution of phlegm-damp constitution and tendentious yin deficiency constitution in the male elderly had the confidence of 94.38％,and the correlation of chronic disease comorbidity with the concurrent constitution of phlegm-damp constitution and tendentious blood stasis constitution in the female elderly had the confidence of 97.46％.With the increase of the age,the biased constitution of the elderly with chronic diseases gradually developed into the concurrent constitution of phlegm blended with blood stasis,and the concurrent constitution of qi deficiency constitution and yang deficiency constitution became the predominated.Conclusion The comorbidity rate of chronic diseases in the elderly is high.The association patterns of the comorbidity of chronic diseases with concurrent constitution types vary in different age groups.Medical institutions can condition the concurrent constitution with Chinese medicine therapy according to the characteristics of the concurrent constitutions of the elderly,and then can improve the comorbidity of chronic diseases in the elderly.

To explore the effectiveness of "near peer learning" (NPL) in the electromyography(EMG)teaching module for neurology residents.

The biological clock(also known as the circadian rhythm)is the fundamental reliance for all organisms on Earth to adapt and survive in the Earth's rotation environment.Circadian rhythm is the most basic regulatory mechanism of life activities,and plays a key role in maintaining normal physiological and biochemical homeostasis,disease occurrence and treatment.Recent studies have shown that the biologi-cal clock plays an important role in the development of oral tissues and in the occurrence and treatment of oral diseases.Since there is cur-rently no guiding literature on the research methods of biological clock in stomatology,researchers mainly conduct research based on pub-lished references,which has led to controversy about the research methods of biological clock in stomatology,and there are many confusions about how to rationally apply the research methods of circadia rhythms.In view of this,this expert consensus summarizes the characteristics of the biological clock and analyzes the shortcomings of the current biological clock research in stomatology,and organizes relevant experts to summarize and recommend 10 principles as a reference for the rational implementation of the biological clock in stomatology research.

Objective To investigate the effects of microgravity environment on hibernating myoblasts.Methods Hibernating myoblasts were cultured under real and simulated microgravity conditions for 10 days.RNA-seq analysis and immunofluorescence are used to analysis the impact of microgravity environment on cell growth and gene expression of myoblasts.Results Under the microgravity conditions,genes associated with proliferation were upregulated.Under simulated microgravity,there were more and higher proportion of Ki67 positive cells compared to normal gravity conditions.Conclusion The microgravity environment promotes the proliferation of hibernating myoblasts.

OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Dianxianqing granules on the tau protein in P301S mice by regulating mitophagy. METHODS Totally 36 P301S mice were randomly divided into model group， Dianxianqing granule group （12.48 g/kg）， donepezil hydrochloride group （positive control， 1.3 mg/kg）， with 12 mice in each group； another 10 C57BL6 mice were selected as control group. Administration groups were given relevant drug solutions intragastrically， and control group and model group were given constant volume of water intragastrically. The gavage volume was 20 mL/kg， once a day， for consecutive 5 months. During the experiment， the general condition of mice was observed in each group. After the last medication， the learning and memory ability was determined by Y maze test and Morris water maze test； HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes in brain tissue， and Nissl staining was used to observe the structure of neural cells and the number of Nissl bodies in cerebral tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of phospho-tau serine 202/threonine 205 （abbreviated as AT8） in brain tissue. Western blot assay was used to determine the expressions of mitophagy-associated proteins [PTEN-induced putative kinase-1 （PINK1）， Parkin， microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B （LC3B）， p62]， synaptic-associated proteins [postsynaptic density protein-95 （PSD-95）， synaptophysin （SYP）， and growth-associated protein-43 （GAP-43）] and the phosphorylation of tau protein [expressed by the phosphorylation levels of serine 199 （Ser199） and Ser202] in brain tissue. RESULTS The mice in E-mail：lnzyxyqy2003@163.com model group showed symptoms such as white hair， decreased body mass， and lower limb paralysis， with incomplete hippocampal structures in their brain tissue， as well as incomplete cell membrane edges and cell structures； the spontaneous alternating response rate， the times of crossing platform， the number of Nissl bodies， the protein expressions of PINK1， Parkin， LC3B， SYP， GAP-43， and PSD-95 were decreased significantly， compared with control group； swimming latency （fourth and fifth day）， the protein expressions of AT8 and p62，the phosphorylation levels of Ser199 and Ser202 were increased or lengthened significantly， compared with control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the above symptoms and indexes of mice were improved significantly in administration groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS Dianxianqing granules can effectively improve cognitive impairment in P301S mice，the mechanism of which may be associated with inducing mitochondrial autophagy， reducing the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein， up-regulating the expression of synaptic-associated proteins in brain tissue，and repairing damaged neural cells.

Objective:To explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of thyroid nodules, the clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), respectively.Methods:Clinical data of 1 375 healthy people (1 031 males, 344 females, age: (43.5±10.6) years) who underwent routine physical examination (PE) and 1 450 patients (490 males, 960 females, age: (44.3±12.4) years) with medium-high risk DTC in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from April 2016 to July 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. PE and DTC patients were classified into underweight group (BMI<18.5 kg/m 2), normal weight group (18.5≤BMI<24.0 kg/m 2), overweight group (24.0≤BMI<28.0 kg/m 2) and obesity group (BMI≥28.0 kg/m 2) respectively. χ2 test was employed to analyze the relation between BMI and thyroid nodules (with/without), BMI and clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of DTC, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors for the occurrence of thyroid nodules and the aggressiveness of DTC. Results:Among PE, there were 779 cases with nodules, and 596 cases without nodules. Comparing with those without nodules, more overweight and obese were found in PE cases with nodules (42.1%(328/779) vs 37.2%(222/596), 24.5%(191/779) vs 20.5%(122/596); χ2=13.42, P=0.004). Higher risk of developing thyroid nodules was related with older age and lower thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level (odds ratio ( OR): 1.044, 0.919, 95% CI: 1.029-1.060, 0.845-0.999; P<0.001, P=0.046). People with high-risk nodules were more likely to be obese than those with intermediate and lower risk nodules (5/15 vs 24.3% (186/764); χ2=21.11, P<0.001). Among 1 450 DTC patients, comparing with patients with normal weight, patients in the overweight and obesity groups were more likely to have central regional lymph node metastasis ( OR: 1.418, 1.427, 95% CI: 1.075-1.870, 1.044-1.952; P values: 0.013, 0.026), and patients in obese group were with greater risk of lesions being bilateral ( OR=0.696, 95% CI: 0.519-0.934; P=0.016). BMI was not related with the efficacy evaluation of DTC ( χ2=9.13, P=0.425). Conclusions:The incidence of thyroid nodules in people with high BMI is higher. DTC patients with high BMI may have more aggressive incidence. But BMI has no correlation with the efficacy evaluation of DTC patients after treatment.

The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism of ligustilide, the main active constituent of essential oils of traditional Chinese medicine Angelicae Sinensis Radix, on alleviating oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion(OGD/R) injury in PC12 cells from the perspective of ferroptosis. OGD/R was induced in vitro, and 12 h after ligustilide addition during reperfusion, cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay. DCFH-DA staining was used to detect the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS). Western blot was employed to detect the expression of ferroptosis-related proteins, glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4), transferrin receptor 1(TFR1), and solute carrier family 7 member 11(SLC7A11), and ferritinophagy-related proteins, nuclear receptor coactivator 4(NCOA4), ferritin heavy chain 1(FTH1), and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3). The fluorescence intensity of LC3 protein was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. The content of glutathione(GSH), malondialdehyde(MDA), and Fe was detected by chemiluminescent immunoassay. The effect of ligustilide on ferroptosis was observed by overexpression of NCOA4 gene. The results showed that ligustilide increased the viability of PC12 cells damaged by OGD/R, inhibited the release of ROS, reduced the content of Fe and MDA and the expression of TFR1, NCOA4, and LC3, and improved the content of GSH and the expression of GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1 compared with OGD/R group. After overexpression of the key protein NCOA4 in ferritinophagy, the inhibitory effect of ligustilide on ferroptosis was partially reversed, indicating that ligustilide may alleviate OGD/R injury of PC12 cells by blocking ferritinophagy and then inhibiting ferroptosis. The mechanism by which ligustilide reduced OGD/R injury in PC12 cells is that it suppressed the ferroptosis involved in ferritinophagy.
Animals ; Rats ; PC12 Cells ; Ferroptosis/genetics* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Transcription Factors ; Glutathione