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

BACKGROUND: Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is indicated as a broad-spectrum medicine for a variety of diseases, including cancer and cardiac disease. While the role of ATO in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (HIRI) has not been reported. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the effects of ATO on HIRI. METHODS: In the present study, we established a 70% hepatic warm I/R injury and partial hepatectomy (30% resection) animal models in vivo and hepatocytes anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R) models in vitro with ATO pretreatment and further assessed liver function by histopathologic changes, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, cell counting kit-8, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) for extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 was transfected to evaluate the role of ERK1/2 pathway during HIRI, followed by ATO pretreatment. The dynamic process of autophagic flux and numbers of autophagosomes were detected by green fluorescent protein-monomeric red fluorescent protein-LC3 (GFP-mRFP-LC3) staining and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: A low dose of ATO (0.75 μmol/L in vitro and 1 mg/kg in vivo ) significantly reduced tissue necrosis, inflammatory infiltration, and hepatocyte apoptosis during the process of hepatic I/R. Meanwhile, ATO obviously promoted the ability of cell proliferation and liver regeneration. Mechanistically, in vitro  studies have shown that nontoxic concentrations of ATO can activate both ERK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-serine/threonine kinase (PI3K-AKT) pathways and further induce autophagy. The hepatoprotective mechanism of ATO, at least in part, relies on the effects of ATO on the activation of autophagy, which is ERK-dependent. CONCLUSION Low, non-toxic doses of ATO can activate ERK/PI3K-AKT pathways and induce ERK-dependent autophagy in hepatocytes, protecting liver against I/R injury and accelerating hepatocyte regeneration after partial hepatectomy.
Animals ; Arsenic Trioxide ; Autophagy/physiology* ; Reperfusion Injury/prevention & control* ; Mice ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/physiology* ; Arsenicals/therapeutic use* ; Oxides/therapeutic use* ; Liver/metabolism* ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment. The dysregulation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) signaling in T2D patients results in impaired adaptive responses to hypoxia, thereby accelerating the progression of complications. However, limited knowledge is available regarding its precise function in diabetes-associated cognitive impairment (DACI). Here, elevated HIF-1α levels were observed in brain endothelial cells (ECs) of db/db mice. Functionally, brain ECs-specific knockdown of H if1 a significantly ameliorated T2D-induced memory loss and neuronal damage. Glycolysis in brain ECs was inhibited in this process, as indicated by RNA-seq, leading to decreased hippocampal lactate production through reduced LDHA expression. Notably, T2D patients showed increased cerebrospinal fluid lactate levels, which were strongly associated with their cognitive dysfunction. Intrahippocampal injection of lactate accelerated cognitive dysfunction and impaired adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in db/db mice. Conversely, reducing hippocampal lactate levels through the intrahippocampal injection of oxamate delayed the onset of memory deficits. Furthermore, asiatic acid was discovered to protect db/db mice from cognitive impairment by decreasing brain endothelial HIF-1α expression and subsequently reducing hippocampal lactate-induced AHN damage. Overall, this study elucidates the inhibiting role played by endothelial HIF-1α-driven lactate in AHN and highlights a potential tactic of targeting HIF-1α in brain ECs for treating cognitive impairment.

Objective     To explore the correlation between the imaging features of peripheral ground-glass pulmonary nodules and the invasion degree of lung adenocarcinoma, and the high risk factors for infiltrating lung adenocarcinoma under thin-slice CT, which provides some reference for clinicians to plan the surgical methods of pulmonary nodules before operation and to better communicate with patients, and assists in building a clinical predictive model for invasive adenocarcinoma. Methods    Clinical data of the patients with peripheral ground-glass pulmonary nodules (diameter≤3 cm) in thin-slice chest CT in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2019 to January 2020 were continuously collected. All patients underwent thin-slice CT scan and thoracoscopic surgery in our center. According to the pathological examination results, they were divided into two groups: an adenocarcinoma lesions before infiltration group, and an invasive lung adenocarcinoma group. The thin-slice CT imaging parameters of pulmonary nodules were collected. The nodular diameter, mean CT value, consolidation tumor ratio (CTR), nodular shape, vacuolar sign, bronchial air sign, lobulation sign, burr sign, lesion boundary, pleural depression sign, vascular cluster sign and other clinical data were collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to analyze the independent risk factors for the infiltrating lung adenocarcinoma, and to analyze the threshold value and efficacy of each factor for the identification of infiltrating lung adenocarcinoma. Results     Finally 190 patients were enrolled. There were 110 patients in the adenocarcinoma lesions before infiltration group, including 21 males and 89 females with a mean age of 53.57±10.90 years, and 80 patients in the invasive lung adenocarcinoma group, including 31 males and 49 females with a mean age of 56.45±11.30 years. There was a statistical difference in the mean CT value, nodular diameter, CTR, gender, smoking, nodular type, nodular shape, vacuolar sign, lobulation sign, burr sign, lesion boundary, pleural depression sign, vascular cluster sign between the two groups (P<0.05). However, there was no statistical difference between the two groups in age (P=0.081), lesion site (P=0.675), and bronchial air sign (P=0.051). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that nodular diameter, mean CT value, CTR and lobulation sign were independent risk factors for differentiating preinvasive adenocarcinoma from invasive adenocarcinoma. At the same time, the threshold value was calculated by Youden index, indicating that the CTR was 0.45, the nodal diameter was 10.5 mm and the mean CT value was –452 Hu. Conclusion     In the peripheral ground-glass pulmonary nodules, according to the patient's CT imaging features, such as mixed ground-glass nodules, irregular shapes, vacuoles, short burrs, clear boundaries, pleural indentations, and vascular clusters, have a certain reference value in the discrimination of the invasion degree of ground-glass pulmonary nodules. At the same time, it is found in this research that peripheral ground-glass pulmonary nodules with diameter greater than 10.5 mm, CT value greater than –452 Hu, CTR greater than 0.45 and lobulation sign are more likely to be infiltrating lung adenocarcinoma.

To understand Helicobacter pylori's drug resistance,genetic diversity,and relationship with clinical diseases in the Guiyang and Qiannan minority areas of Guizhou Province,we collected samples through endoscopy,and isolated and cul-tured H.pylori.The drug resistance and genotype characteristics were determined.The differences in different regions and dis-ease types were compared,and the structural characteristics of H.pylori and mixed infections with different strains of H.py-lori in Qiannan Prefecture were analyzed.A difference in the composition ratio of EPYIA typing in the cagA variable region was observed between the two areas(P=0.012),and the composition ratio of the vacA genotype differed(P=0.000).A total of 94.6％(53/56)new sequences of H.pylori strains from two regions were obtained by MLST.The rate of infection by H.pylori mixed with different strains was 44.4％in Qiannan Pre-fecture,and no significant difference was observed in the com-position of H.pylori mixed infections among patients with dif-ferent clinical diseases(P=0.349).Differences in EPI YA typ-ing and the vacA genotype composition ratio in the cagA varia-ble region of H.pylori were observed between the Qiannan Prefecture and Guiyang City.

Objective:To explore the early differential diagnosis method by comparing the clinical characteristics of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients complicated with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and cryptococcus neoformans meningitis (CNM).Methods:The AIDS patients admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People′s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University from January 2011 to February 2022 and diagnosed with combined TBM and CNM after discharge respectively were included. A retrospective study was performed to analyze the clinical features of 21 AIDS patients complicated with TBM (TBM group) and 54 AIDS patients with CNM (CNM group) (all cases were confirmed by etiology). The data of meningitis-related symptoms and signs, blood routine test, CD4 + T lymphocyte counts, imaging characteristics and cerebrospinal fluid examination at admission were collected and analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed by using independent sample t test, rank sum test or chi-square test. Results:The age of patients in the TBM group was (44.6±12.9) years old, which was older than that of patients in the CNM ((37.6±12.6) years old), the difference was statistically significant ( t=-2.15, P=0.035). Forty-eight cases (88.89%) and seven cases (12.96%) in the CNM group experienced headaches and consciousness disorders respectively, with statistically significant differences compared to those in the TBM group (13 cases (61.90%) and nine cases (42.86%), respectively) ( χ2=7.25, P=0.007 and χ2=8.05, P=0.005, respectively). The proportion of leukopenia was 27.78%(15/54), and proportion of thrombocytopenia was 16.67%(9/54) in the CNM group, which were higher than those in the TBM group (4.76%(1/21) and 0(0/21), respectively), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=4.77, P=0.029 and χ2=3.98, P=0.042, respectively). The CD4 + T lymphocyte count in the TBM group was 74.0(92.0)/μL, which was higher than 19.5(56.5)/μL in the CNM group, and the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-2.87, P=0.009). The CNM group had 46 cases (85.19%) with cerebrospinal fluid pressure >180 mmH 2O(1 mmH 2O=0.009 8 kPa) and 24 cases (44.44%) with cerebrospinal fluid pressure >330 mmH 2O, which were significantly higher than those in the TBM group with seven cases (33.33%) and four cases (19.05%), respectively, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=19.61, P<0.001 and χ2=4.17, P=0.041, respectively). Fifty-two point three eight percent (11/21) of patients in the TBM group had a white blood cell counts>200×10 6/L in the cerebrospinal fluid, which was higher than that in the CNM group (1.85%(1/54)), with a statistically significant difference ( χ2=27.23, P<0.001). The white blood cell counts, protein and adenosine deaminase levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of TBM group were significantly higher than those in the CNM group (200.00(579.50)×10 6/L vs 17.50(66.25)×10 6/L, 1 863(2 858) mg/L vs 672 (513) mg/L and 6.60 (8.55) U/L vs 1.95(2.60) U/L, respectively), and the cerebrospinal fluid chloride level was lower than that in the CNM group ((107.71±8.22) mmol/L vs (115.99±6.55) mmol/L), and all the differences were statistically significant ( Z=4.11, P<0.001, Z=21.23, P=0.008, Z=2.09, P=0.040 and t=4.57, P<0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in cerebrospinal fluid glucose between the TBM group and the CNM group ((1.86±1.22) mmol/L vs (2.34±1.05) mmol/L, t=-1.72, P=0.090). The proportion of patients with bilateral lung lesions in the TBM group was higher than that in the CNM group, and the difference was statistically significant (100.00%(21/21) vs 40.74% (22/54), χ2=-6.53, P=0.011). Conclusions:Patients with AIDS complicated with TBM are more likely to have consciousness disorders, inflammatory response in the cerebrospinal fluid, and more bilateral lung lesions. In contrast, patients with AIDS complicated with CNM are more frequently to experience severe headache and significant elevation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, and lower peripheral blood CD4 + T lymphocyte counts.

Background::Clinical opportunistic screening is a cost-effective cancer screening modality. This study aimed to establish an easy-to-use diagnostic model serving as a risk stratification tool for identification of individuals with malignant gastric lesions for opportunistic screening.Methods::We developed a questionnaire-based diagnostic model using a joint dataset including two clinical cohorts from northern and southern China. The cohorts consisted of 17,360 outpatients who had undergone upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination in endoscopic clinics. The final model was derived based on unconditional logistic regression, and predictors were selected according to the Akaike information criterion. External validation was carried out with 32,614 participants from a community-based randomized controlled trial.Results::This questionnaire-based diagnostic model for malignant gastric lesions had eight predictors, including advanced age, male gender, family history of gastric cancer, low body mass index, unexplained weight loss, consumption of leftover food, consumption of preserved food, and epigastric pain. This model showed high discriminative power in the development set with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.791 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.750–0.831). External validation of the model in the general population generated an AUC of 0.696 (95% CI: 0.570–0.822). This model showed an ideal ability for enriching prevalent malignant gastric lesions when applied to various scenarios.Conclusion::This easy-to-use questionnaire-based model for diagnosis of prevalent malignant gastric lesions may serve as an effective prescreening tool in clinical opportunistic screening for gastric cancer.

Due to the limited reliability of traditional self-completed questionnaire, the accuracy of measurement of physical behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep) is not high. With the development of technology, wearable devices (e.g. accelerometer) can be used for more accurate measurement of physical behaviors and have great application potential in large-scale research. However, the data of objective measurement of physical behaviors from large-scale cohort research in Asian populations is still limited. Between August 2020 and December 2021, the 3 rd resurvey of China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) project used Axivity AX3 wrist triaxial accelerometer to collect the data of participants' daily activity and sleep status. A total of 20 370 participants from 10 study areas were included in the study, in whom 65.2% were women, and the age was (65.4±9.1) years. The participants' physical activity level varied greatly in different study areas. The objective measurement of participants' physical behaviors in CKB project has provided valuable resources for the description of 24-hour patterns of physical behaviors and evaluation of the health effect of physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep as well as their association with diseases in the elderly in China.

Objective:To describe the distribution of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels in non-arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) population in China and explore its influencing factors.Methods:This study was based on a nested case-control study in the CKB study measured plasma biomarkers. Lp(a) levels was measured using a polyclonal antibody-based turbidimetric assay certified by the reference laboratory and ≥75.0 nmol/L defined as high Lp(a). Multiple logistic regression model was used to examine the factors related to Lp(a) levels.Results:Among the 5 870 non-ASCVD population included in the analysis, Lp(a) levels showed a right-skewed distribution, with a M ( Q1, Q3) of 17.5 (8.8, 43.5) nmol/L. The multiple logistic regression analysis found that female was associated with high Lp(a) ( OR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.05-1.43). The risk of increased Lp(a) levels in subjects with abdominal obesity was significantly reduced ( OR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.89). As TC, LDL-C, apolipoprotein A1(Apo A1), and apolipoprotein B(Apo B) levels increased, the risk of high Lp(a) increased, with OR (95% CI) for each elevated group was 2.40 (1.76-3.24), 2.68 (1.36-4.93), 1.29 (1.03-1.61), and 1.65 (1.27-2.13), respectively. The risk of high Lp(a) was reduced in the HDL-C lowering group with an OR (95% CI) of 0.76 (0.61-0.94). In contrast, an increase in TG levels and the ratio of Apo A1/Apo B(Apo A1/B) was negatively correlated with the risk of high Lp(a), with OR (95% CI) of 0.73 (0.60-0.89) for elevated triglyceride group, and OR (95% CI) of 0.60 (0.50-0.72) for the Apo A1/B ratio increase group (linear trend test P≤0.001 except for Apo A1). However, no correlation was found between Lp(a) levels and lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, and physical activity. Conclusions:Lp(a) levels were associated with sex and abdominal obesity, but less with lifestyle behaviors.

Objective:To analyze the short-term clinical efficacy and safety of arsenic trioxide (ATO) combined with a modified N7 induction regimen in the treatment of children with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB).Methods:This study was a prospective, single-arm, multicenter phase Ⅱ clinical study. Sixty-seven high-risk NB children from eight units of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Wuhan Children′s Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Hainan General Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Kunming Children′s Hospital, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Guangdong Provincial Agricultural Reclamation Center Hospital were enrolled from January 2019 to August 2023 and were treated with ATO combined with a modified N7 induction regimen. The efficacy and adverse effects at the end of induction chemotherapy were assessed and analyzed, and the differences in the clinical characteristics were further compared between the treatment-responsive and treatment-unresponsive groups by using the Fisher′s exact test.Results:Among 67 high-risk NB children, there were 40 males (60%) and 27 females (40%), with the age of disease onset of 3.5 (2.6, 4.8) years. Primary NB sites were mostly in retroperitoneum (including adrenal gland) (56/67, 84%) and the common metastases sites at initial diagnosis were distant lymph node in 25 cases (37%),bone in 48 cases (72%),bone marrow in 56 cases (84%) and intracalvarium in 3 cases (4%). MYCN gene amplification were detected in 28 cases (42%). At the end of induction, 33 cases (49%) achieved complete remission, 29 cases (43%) achieved partial remission, 1 case (1%) with stable disease, and 4 cases (6%) were assessed as progressive disease (PD). The objective remission rate was 93% (62/67) and the disease control rate was 94% (63/67). The percentage of central system metastases at the initial diagnosis was higher in the treatment-unresponsive group than in the treatment-responsive group (2/5 vs. 2% (1/62), P=0.013), whereas the difference in MYCN gene amplification was not statistically significant between two groups (3/5 vs.40% (25/62), P=0.786). Grade Ⅲ or higher adverse reactions during the induction chemotherapy period were myelosuppression occurred in 60 cases (90%), gastrointestinal symptoms occurred in 33 cases (49%), infections occurred in 20 cases (30%), hepatotoxicity occurred in 4 cases (6%), and cardiovascular toxicity occurred in 1 case (2%). There were no chemotherapy-related deaths. Conclusion:ATO combined with N7-modified induction regimen had a superiority in efficacy and safety, which deserved further promotion in clinical practice.