Objective:To investigate the prognostic factors of elderly patients with epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC),construct and validate a nomogram prediction model,and provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and treat-ment.Methods:A total of 13128 elderly patients pathologically diagnosed with EOC from 2010 to 2019 in the U.S.SEER database(version 8.4.1)were selected as internal validation data.They were randomly divided in a 7∶3 ratio,with 9138 cases in the training set and 3990 cases in the validation set.All factors were subjected to univari-ate Cox regression analysis;multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed for factors with P＜0.05 to ob-tain their independent prognostic risk factors,and a nomogram model for evaluating 1-,3-,and 5-year overall sur-vival rates was constructed,followed by internal validation.At the same time,the clinical data of 73 elderly EOC patients treated in the First Department of Gynecology at the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University from January 1,2016 to December 31,2022 were selected for external validation of the nomogram.After construc-ting the nomogram model,by obtaining the risk scores of each independent prognostic factor,the training set,vali-dation set,and external validation set were divided into low-and high-risk groups according to comparison of indi-vidual risk scores and the overall median,the K-M curves for different risk groups were plotted based on the medi-an survival time.Results:①Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that,age,marital status,histological type,International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics(FIGO)stage,differentiation degree,ser-um tumor carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125)level,unilateral of bilateral tumor,tumor size,positive lymph nodes,residual disease size after cytoreductive surgery,postoperative chemotherapy and surgical treatment were inde-pendent influencing factors for elderly women with EOC(P＜0.05).②According to the drawn column line dia-gram model,the C index values of the training set,the verification set and the external verification set were:0.750,0.732 and 0.798 respectively;the 5-year Area under the curve(AUC)in the Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC)curve of the external verification set in the three groups was 0.669,while the AUC values for 1-,3-,and 5-year(except the 5-year of external validation)were all greater than 0.700.③Based on the plotted K-M curves,the median survival time of the high-risk groups in the training set,validation set,and external validation set was 31,32 and 39 months respectively,and more than half of the patients in the low-risk group were still alive.The a-bove results all suggested that the column chart model had a high clinical application value for the prediction the 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival rates of elderly patients with EOC.Conclusions:The nomogram model in this study can accurately evaluate the overall survival rate of elderly with EOC,and provide a basis for individualized treatment.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), whose etiology is influenced by genetic and clinical risk factors, considerably impacts women's quality of life. However, the genetic underpinnings in non-European populations and comprehensive risk models integrating genetic and clinical factors remain underexplored. This study constructed the first polygenic risk score (PRS) for POP in the Chinese population by utilizing 20 disease-associated variants from the largest existing genome-wide association study. We analyzed a discovery cohort of 576 cases and 623 controls and a validation cohort of 264 cases and 200 controls. Results showed that the case group exhibited a significantly higher PRS than the control group. Moreover, the odds ratio of the top 10% risk group was 2.6 times higher than that of the bottom 10%. A high PRS was significantly correlated with POP occurrence in women older than 50 years old and in those with one or no childbirths. As far as we know, the integrated prediction model, which combined PRS and clinical risk factors, demonstrated better predictive accuracy than other existing PRS models. This combined risk assessment model serves as a robust tool for POP risk prediction and stratification, thereby offering insights into individualized preventive measures and treatment strategies in future clinical practice.
Humans ; Female ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; Risk Assessment/methods* ; China/epidemiology* ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Genetic Risk Score ; East Asian People

OBJECTIVE To standardize the main processes and related technical links of the clinical comprehensive evaluation of drugs， and provide guidance and reference for improving the quality of comprehensive evaluation evidence and its transformation and application value. METHODS The construction of Guideline for the Workflow of Clinical Comprehensive Evaluation of Drugs was based on the standard guideline formulation method of the World Health Organization （WHO）， strictly followed the latest definition of guidelines by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States， and conformed to the six major areas of the Guideline Research and Evaluation Tool Ⅱ. Delphi method was adopted to construct the research questions； research evidence was established by applying the research methods of evidence-based medicine. The evidence quality classification system of the Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Center was adopted for evidence classification and evaluation. The recommendation strength was determined by the recommendation strength classification standard formulated by the Oxford University Evidence-Based Medicine Center， and the recommendation opinions were formed through the expert consensus method. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS The Guideline for the Workflow of Clinical Comprehensive Evaluation of Drugs covers 4 major categories of research questions， including topic selection， evaluation implementation， evidence evaluation， and application and transformation of results. The formulation of this guideline has standardized the technical links of the entire process of clinical comprehensive evaluation of drugs， which can effectively guide the high-quality and high-efficient development of this work， enhance the standardized output and transformation application value of evaluation evidence， and provide high-quality evidence support for the scientific decision-making of health and the rationalization of clinical medication.

BACKGROUND: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is a major concern for medication safety as it may entail more harm than potential benefits for older adults. This study aimed to explore the prescribing rate, healthcare utilization, and expenditure of older adults using PIMs in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a national representative database of all medical insurance beneficiaries across China, extracting ambulatory visit records of adults aged 65 years and above between 2015 and 2017. Descriptive analysis was conducted to measure the rate of patients exposed to PIM, prescribing rate of each PIM, average annual outpatient visits per patient, average total medication costs for each visit, average annual cost of PIMs for each patient, and average annual medication costs for each patient. Generalized linear model with logit link function and binomial distribution was used to examine the adjusted associations between PIMs and independent variables. RESULTS: In total, 845,278 (33.2%) participants were identified to be exposed to at least one PIM. Patients aged 75-84 years (38.1%, 969,809/2,545,430) and ≥85 years (37.9%, 964,718/2,545,430) were more likely to be prescribed with PIMs. Beneficiaries of the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and living in eastern and southern regions were more frequently prescribed with PIMs. Compared with patients without PIM exposure (7.5 visits, drug cost of RMB 1545.0 Yuan), patients with PIM exposure showed higher adjusted average annual number of outpatient visits (10.7 visits, β = 3.228, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.196-3.261) and higher annual drug costs (RMB 2461.8 Yuan, Coef. = 916.864, 95% CI = RMB 906.292-927.436 Yuan). CONCLUSIONS The results showed that the use of PIM among older adults was common in China. This study suggests that the use of PIM could be considered as a clear target, pending multidimensional efforts, to promote rational prescribing for older adults.
Humans ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Aged, 80 and over ; Male ; Female ; China ; Inappropriate Prescribing/economics* ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Potentially Inappropriate Medication List/statistics & numerical data* ; Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data*

Objective:To explore the significance of any correlation between the cost of the rehabilitation provided to stroke survivors during their hospitalization and the functional levels attained, and to analyze factors influencing that correlation.Methods:The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Rehabilitation Set (ICF-RS) was used to evaluate the functioning of 304 stroke survivors on their days of hospital admission and discharge, as well as on their 10th day in hospital. The cost of their rehabilitation was computed, and demographic and clinical data were collected. A generalized estimation equation was used to analyze the changes in dysfunction with time and its risk factors. The relationship between functional levels and rehabilitation cost and its influencing factors were analyzed.Results:Length of stay, age≥60 and hemorrhagic stroke were significant risk factors for greater dysfunction among the stroke survivors. On the 10th day in hospital and the day before discharge (the 18th day), the frequency of severe dysfunction had decreased. The significant predictors of increased cost were severe or moderate dysfunction, the stage of stroke (sub-acute stage), and non-first rehabilitation.Conclusion:Functional level is a useful predictor of rehabilitation cost. It is influenced by the stage of stroke and non-first rehabilitation.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic factors of elderly patients with epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC),construct and validate a nomogram prediction model,and provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and treat-ment.Methods:A total of 13128 elderly patients pathologically diagnosed with EOC from 2010 to 2019 in the U.S.SEER database(version 8.4.1)were selected as internal validation data.They were randomly divided in a 7∶3 ratio,with 9138 cases in the training set and 3990 cases in the validation set.All factors were subjected to univari-ate Cox regression analysis;multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed for factors with P＜0.05 to ob-tain their independent prognostic risk factors,and a nomogram model for evaluating 1-,3-,and 5-year overall sur-vival rates was constructed,followed by internal validation.At the same time,the clinical data of 73 elderly EOC patients treated in the First Department of Gynecology at the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University from January 1,2016 to December 31,2022 were selected for external validation of the nomogram.After construc-ting the nomogram model,by obtaining the risk scores of each independent prognostic factor,the training set,vali-dation set,and external validation set were divided into low-and high-risk groups according to comparison of indi-vidual risk scores and the overall median,the K-M curves for different risk groups were plotted based on the medi-an survival time.Results:①Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that,age,marital status,histological type,International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics(FIGO)stage,differentiation degree,ser-um tumor carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125)level,unilateral of bilateral tumor,tumor size,positive lymph nodes,residual disease size after cytoreductive surgery,postoperative chemotherapy and surgical treatment were inde-pendent influencing factors for elderly women with EOC(P＜0.05).②According to the drawn column line dia-gram model,the C index values of the training set,the verification set and the external verification set were:0.750,0.732 and 0.798 respectively;the 5-year Area under the curve(AUC)in the Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC)curve of the external verification set in the three groups was 0.669,while the AUC values for 1-,3-,and 5-year(except the 5-year of external validation)were all greater than 0.700.③Based on the plotted K-M curves,the median survival time of the high-risk groups in the training set,validation set,and external validation set was 31,32 and 39 months respectively,and more than half of the patients in the low-risk group were still alive.The a-bove results all suggested that the column chart model had a high clinical application value for the prediction the 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival rates of elderly patients with EOC.Conclusions:The nomogram model in this study can accurately evaluate the overall survival rate of elderly with EOC,and provide a basis for individualized treatment.

Objective:To explore the significance of any correlation between the cost of the rehabilitation provided to stroke survivors during their hospitalization and the functional levels attained, and to analyze factors influencing that correlation.Methods:The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Rehabilitation Set (ICF-RS) was used to evaluate the functioning of 304 stroke survivors on their days of hospital admission and discharge, as well as on their 10th day in hospital. The cost of their rehabilitation was computed, and demographic and clinical data were collected. A generalized estimation equation was used to analyze the changes in dysfunction with time and its risk factors. The relationship between functional levels and rehabilitation cost and its influencing factors were analyzed.Results:Length of stay, age≥60 and hemorrhagic stroke were significant risk factors for greater dysfunction among the stroke survivors. On the 10th day in hospital and the day before discharge (the 18th day), the frequency of severe dysfunction had decreased. The significant predictors of increased cost were severe or moderate dysfunction, the stage of stroke (sub-acute stage), and non-first rehabilitation.Conclusion:Functional level is a useful predictor of rehabilitation cost. It is influenced by the stage of stroke and non-first rehabilitation.

ObjectiveTo explore the biological mechanism of drought improving the quality of Rhizoma Atractylodis Chinensis and establish a new method for the production of high-quality medicinal materials. MethodThe fresh roots of Atractylodes chinensis were soaked in 0 （control）， 5%， 10%， and 20% PEG-6000 solutions. The changes in reactive oxygen species （ROS） level， antioxidant enzyme activity， activities of key enzymes in primary metabolism and secondary metabolism， and content of secondary metabolites were compared. ResultCompared with the control group， the treatment with 20% PEG for 2 days elevated the levels of superoxide anion radicals （O2-·）， hydrogen peroxide （H₂O₂）， and malondialdehyde （MDA） by 172.5%， 56.9%， and 14.7%， respectively. The treatment did not change the activity of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， reduced the peroxidase （POD） activity， and increased the catalase （CAT） activity by 10.8%. It increased the activities of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase （HMGR）， phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase （PEPC）， and acetyl-CoA carboxylase （ACC） by 49.9%， 12.1%， and 19.0%， respectively. Furthermore， the content of atractylodin， β-eudesmol， atractylone， and atractylenolide Ⅱ was increased by 51.0%， 36.9%， 47.1%， and 91.5%， respectively. The simulated drought stress can cause the burst of ROS in the fresh roots of A. chinensis， induce the physiological state of plants under drought， change the antioxidant system， and promote the massive synthesis of secondary metabolites in a short time. ConclusionPEG-6000-simulated drought stress can greatly improve the quality of A. chinensis in cultivation.

Accumulating evidence has confirmed the links between transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications and tumor progression. The present study is the first to explore the role of tRNA methyltransferase 5 (TRMT5), which catalyzes the m1G37 modification of mitochondrial tRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. Here, based on bioinformatics and clinical analyses, we identified that TRMT5 expression was upregulated in HCC, which correlated with poor prognosis. Silencing TRMT5 attenuated HCC proliferation and metastasis both in vivo and in vitro, which may be partially explained by declined extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR). Mechanistically, we discovered that knockdown of TRMT5 inactivated the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway by preventing HIF-1α stability through the enhancement of cellular oxygen content. Moreover, our data indicated that inhibition of TRMT5 sensitized HCC to doxorubicin by adjusting HIF-‍1α. In conclusion, our study revealed that targeting TRMT5 could inhibit HCC progression and increase the susceptibility of tumor cells to chemotherapy drugs. Thus, TRMT5 might be a carcinogenesis candidate gene that could serve as a potential target for HCC therapy.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology* ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism* ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; tRNA Methyltransferases/metabolism*

Swertia patens Burk. is a commonly used herbal medicine of the Yi nationality in Yunnan, China. It is widely used in the treatment of children with spastic abdominal pain, cholecystitis, and other diseases, mainly containing iridoid glycosides and ketone compounds. The highest and most significant pharmacological activity, with antispasmodic, analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, liver-protecting, stomach-protecting, and other effects, is closely related to its effects of soothing the liver, clearing heat, and relieving stomach pain. As a very distinctive pediatric folk medicine, the related quality standards of Swertia patens Burk. have not been perfected, and the development of preparations is relatively lagging.