Background/Aims: Liver transplantation (LT) following total hepatectomy is a life-saving treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The HCC recurrence after LT hinders the effectiveness of the procedure. The objective of this study is to develop a pre-operative risk stratification model based on a liquid biopsy. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive multi-omics study of 260 HCC patients from three centers, including clinical data, low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma, as well as whole-exome, single-nucleus RNA, and spatial transcriptomics from matched tumor and non-tumor tissues. Results: We identified cfDNA-derived copy number alteration (CNA) signatures associated with post-transplant recurrence. By integrating cfDNA-derived CNA profiles with single-cell transcriptomic data, we traced recurrence-associated cfDNA to a distinct subpopulation of malignant cells within the primary tumor. These cells were embedded in a pro-metastatic microenvironment of specialized endothelial subtypes and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Notably, most recurrence-associated lesions were detectable in cfDNA prior to liver transplantation (LT). Building on these insights, we developed the ZJU Criteria based on CNA fragments and tumor markers, a pre-LT risk prediction tool that integrates conventional clinical factors with cfDNA-derived CNA signatures, and validated it using internal and independent external cohorts. Conclusion Our findings suggest that post-transplant recurrence commonly originates from advanced subclones that emerge late during tumor evolution. The ZJU Criteria provides an accurate, non-invasive strategy that significantly improves pre-LT risk stratification and clinical decision-making for patients with HCC.

Objective To explore the prognostic value of plasma sST2 in the population of coronary heart disease(CHD)complicated with chronic kidney disease(CKD).Methods A total of 326 elderly patients with CHD or CKD undergoing physical examination in the Second Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from April 2021 to July 2022 were continuously enrolled,and according to whether having CHD or CKD,they were divided into a CHD-CKD comorbidity group(n=117),a CHD group(n=124),and a CKD group(n=85).Their baseline data were compared,and the plasma concentration of sST2 was detected using chemiluminescence assay.Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify the relevant factors of sST2.Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were applied to determine the impact of plasma sST2 on all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE).Results There were significant differences among the three groups in terms of age,sST2 and NT-proBNP levels,Log(NT-proBNP),eGFR,ratios of hyperuricemia,cerebral infarction,tumors,and using anti-platelet drugs and statins,PR interval,LVEF,and TC,TG,HDL-C and Hb levels(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the sST2 level was positively correlated with logNT-proBNP and negatively with Hb level in the comorbidity group(t=2.266,P=0.025;t=-2.235,P=0.021).Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis indicated that during a median fol-low-up of 31.5(22.0,32.2)months,the comorbidity group had a lower survival rate than the two single-disease groups(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and higher incidence of MACEs than the CKD group(P＜0.01).ROC curve analysis suggests that the AUC value of sST2 in predicting all-cause mor-tality in the comorbid group was 0.692.Cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that after adjustment for cofounders,sST2 was still an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in the comorbid patients(HR=4.461,95％CI:1.640-8.399,P=0.024),although this prognos-tic value may be influenced by NT-proBNP.Conclusion sST2 can independently predict the risk of mortality in elderly patients with CHD-CKD comorbidity.

[Purpose]To analyze the trends of incidence and age at onset of bone malignant tumors in cancer registration areas of Jiangsu Province from 2009 to 2019.[Methods]Incidence data of bone malignant tumors from 2009 to 2019 were collected from 16 consecutive and quality-con-trolled cancer registries in Jiangsu Province.The incidence rates,average age at onset,and inci-dence composition of bone malignant tumors were calculated.A birth cohort model was constructed to analyze the changes in the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the population born from 1929 to 2019.Joinpoint regression models were used to analyze the average annual percentage change(AAPC)in the incidence rates and the incidence composition of bone malignant tumors for each year in those aged 60 years old and above.A general linear regression model was used to ana-lyze the trend of the average age of onset.[Results]The crude incidence rate of bone malignant tumors in women in Jiangsu cancer registration areas decreased from 2009 to 2019,with an AAPC of-2.62％(P=0.025).After adjusting the population composition,except for urban areas,the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the whole province,men,women and rural areas all decreased significantly,with AAPC of-3.15％,-2.49％,-4.31％and-2.23％,respectively.The average age at onset of bone malignant tumors in the whole province,men and urban areas de-creased significantly yearly,with an average annual decrease of 0.365,0.504 and 0.469 years old,respectively.In the same period,the incidence of malignant bone tumors in the whole province,men,women and urban areas of age groups of 50～59,60～69 and 70～79 years old showed a decreasing trend,the AAPC ranged from-9.06％to-4.14％(all P＜0.05),and the inci-dence decreased gradually with the year of birth.The incidence of malignant bone tumors in men＜30 years old increased yearly with an AAPC of 4.30％(P＜0.05).Compared with 2009,the com-position of incidence in men aged 15～39 years old and in urban population increased in 2019,while the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the age group of 60～79 years old in the province generally decreased.After age structure adjustment,the incidence of bone malignant tumors in people over 60 years old in urban areas decreased with an AAPC of-1.42％(P＜0.05).[Conclu-sion]The incidence of bone malignant tumors in Jiangsu Province is decreasing and the age at on-set is moving forward,indicating that the prevention and control measures of bone malignant tu-mors should be adjusted accordingly.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of the Regulations on Medical Dispute Prevention and Resolution(hereafter referred to as the Regulations)and to provide evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the legal governance sys-tem of medical dispute management.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving physicians,nurses,techni-cians,clinical department directors,and head nurses.The investigation was conducted through literature review,questionnaire surveys,and expert interviews.Factor analysis and chi-square tests were employed for statistical analysis.Results Significant differences(P＜0.01)were observed among healthcare practitioners in Guangxi concerning their understanding of the Regula-tions,preferences for dispute resolution methods,implementation of informed consent,and risk intervention practices.However,no significant differences emerged in medical quality and safety evaluations or recommendations for surgical accident insurance.Conclusion This study suggests it is a need to refine the legal framework for medical dispute prevention and resolution.It is rec-ommended to strengthen medical personnel's compliance with informed consent obligations and deepen their understanding of rel-evant laws and regulations.Efforts should be intensified to promote third-party mediation mechanisms such as the Medical Dispute Mediation Committee(MedMC)and medical accident insurance coverage.Additionally,pre-dispute risk assessments should be enhanced,and a risk early intervention model integrating artificial intelligence,healthcare practices,and legal regulations should be established.

BACKGROUND:In recent years,functional near-infrared spectroscopy has shown extensive research significance and application potential in the fields of cognitive neuroscience,clinical medicine,and engineering technology due to its portability,low cost,non-invasiveness,and high temporal resolution.OBJECTIVE:To analyze the research progress,hot issues,and frontier trends of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in the past 10 years.METHODS:Web of Science database was searched for articles related to functional near-infrared spectroscopy published from January 1,2013 to November 30,2023.CiteSpace and VOSviewer software was used to conduct a visual analysis of publication statistics,journals,countries,institutions,authors,and keywords.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:This article included a total of 2 714 documents,showing an overall upward trend in the volume of literature concerning functional near-infrared spectroscopy over the past decade.The 2 714 documents selected for this article were authored by 9 171 researchers from 2 400 institutions across 68 countries in 495 kinds of journals.The United States and University College London are representative countries and institutions,while Ehlis and Fallgatter are two influential authors in this research field.The journal NeuroImage ranks first with the highest citation rate.Functional near-infrared spectroscopy research primarily comes from University College London in the UK,Beijing Normal University in China,and the University of Tübingen in Germany.The keyword co-occurrence network map generated using VOSviewer 1.6.20 reveals six research clusters.By analyzing the specific keywords of each cluster,we further understand the research hotspots in this field.The burst analysis of keywords uncovers the research frontiers and development trends,providing important guidance for future research directions of functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Objective To explore the effect of the preservation of infrapatellar fat pad on pain,incision healing and function recovery in patients with knee osteoarthritis after joint replacement.Methods The clinical data of 127 patients with knee osteoarthritis who underwent joint replacement in the hospital from June 2019 to September 2022 were retrospectively collected.According to the preservation of infrapatellar fat pad,the subjects were divided into a control group(removing infrapatellar fat pad,67 cases)and an observation group(preserving infrapatellar fat pad,60 cases).The changes in length of patellar tendon,pain,knee function and range of motion were analyzed.The occurrence of adverse reactions was statistically analyzed.Results At 12 months after surgery,the length of patellar tendon was reduced.The length of patellar tendon in observation group[(38.8±6.24)mm]was longer than that in control group[(36.2±6.71)mm](P＜0.05).Observation group of patellar tendon length rate is lower than the control group[(4.1±1.18)％vs(10.7±3.01)％],there was statistical significance between the two groups(P＜0.05).Pain in both groups was alleviated at 1 month,3 months,6 months and 12 months after surgery.The changes in observation group were greater than those in control group(P＜0.05).During follow-up,the incidence of adverse reactions in observation group(6.67％)was lower than that in control group(14.93％)(P＞0.05).The range of motion and function of knee joint were improved at 12 months after surgery,and the improvement in observation group was greater than that in control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Preserving infrapatellar fat pad is more beneficial to relieving postoperative pain and restoring knee function in patients with knee osteoarthritis after joint replacement.Therefore,the intact infrapatellar fat pad should be preserved as possible in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE To explore the serum growth hormone(GH)of the children with infectious pneumonia and analyze its association with blood biochemistry and body immunity.METHODS A total of 211 children with infec-tious pneumonia who were treated in Huaihe Hospital,Henan University from Jan.2023 to Jan.2024 were recrui-ted as the research subjects and were divided into the mild group with 156 cases and the severe group with 55 cases according to the severity of disease.The change of serum GH and the levels of blood biochemical indexes and im-munity indexes were observed and compared between the two groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed for the influencing factors,receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were drawn to analyze the predictive efficiencies.Linear regression analysis was performed to observe the relationship between the infectious pneumonia and the blood biochemistry and body immunity.RESULTS The GH level of the severe group was(18.34±4.33)μg/L,higher than(10.16±2.84)μg/L of the mild group(t=15.853,P＜0.001).There were sig-nificant differences in the blood biochemistry indexes,cellular and humoral immunity indexes between the severe group and the mild group(P＜0.05).The difference values of changes of C-reactive protein(CRP),CD4+and immunoglobulin(Ig)G were the most(t=16.023,87.639,111.957,all P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of CD23+was the highest,with the sensitivity 100.00％,the specificity 98.88％.The result of the linear regression analysis showed that the GH was only positively correlated with the cellular immunity index CD23+(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION The GH level of the children with infectious pneumonia is reduced;the chang of GH level is closely associated with the blood biochemical indexes CRP and the body im-munity of the children.

Objective:To explore the expressions of calcium-activated chloride channel protein 1(ANO1)and E-cadherin in colorectal cancer(CRC)tissue and their relationships with the clinicopathological characteristics of the CRC patients,and to clarify their clinical significances.Methods:The surgical tissue specimens from 77 patients with primary CRC were collected.Immunohistochemistry(IHC)method was used to detect the protein expressions of ANO1 and E-cadherin in CRC tissue;Spearman correlation analysis method was used to analyze the correlation between their expressions;PCR fluorescence probe method was used to detect the KRAS/NRAS mutations in CRC tissue;chi-square test or Fisher's exact probability method was used to analyze the relationships between the expressions of ANO1 and E-cadherin and clinicopathological characteristics of the CRC patients.Results:The IHC results showed that the positive expression rate of ANO1 in CRC tissue was 24.7％,and the positive expression rate of E-cadherin was 63.6％.The Spearman analysis results showed that the expressions of ANO1 and E-cadherin in CRC tissue were positively correlated(r=0.458,P<0.05).Compared with the patients with tumor located in rectum,the positive expression rate of ANO1 in cancer tissue of the CRC patients with tumor located in colon was significantly increased(χ2=5.499,P=0.019);compared with the patients with TNM stageⅢ-Ⅳ,the positive expression rate of ANO1 in cancer tissue of the CRC patients with TNM stageⅠ-Ⅱ was significantly increased(χ2=4.774,P=0.029);compared with the patients with lymphnode metastasis,the positive expression rate of ANO1 in the CRC patients without lymphnode metastasis was significantly increased(P=0.034).Compared with the CRC patients with T4 stage,the positive expression rate of E-cadherin in the CRC patients with T1-T3 stage was significantly increased(P=0.024).Compared with the CRC patients with p53 positive,Ki-67≥90％,PMS2 positive and KRAS wild-type,the positive expression rate of ANO1 in cancer tissue of the CRC patients with p53 negative,Ki-67<90％,PMS2 negative and KRAS mutant was significantly increased(P=0.031,P=0.036,P=0.048,P=0.028).Conclusion:The expressions of ANO1 and E-cadherin in primary CRC tissue of the patients are positively correlated;ANO1 and E-cadherin are associated with multiple clinicopathological characteristics of the patients;ANO1 and E-cadherin may be involved in the occurrence and progression of CRC.

Objective To investigate the value of serum tumor markers in the diagnosis of lung cancer.Methods A total of 138 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer patient(lung cancer group)and 52 patients with benign lung diseases(control group)in Anhui NO.2 Provincial People's Hospital from June 2020 to March 2024 were selected as the research objects.The clinical data and serum tumor markers[neuron-specific enolase(NSE),cytokeratin 19 fragment(CYFRA21-1),carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),Pro-gastrin-relea-sing peptide(ProGRP)and squamous cell carcinoma antigen(SCC)]of all groups were compared.Results There were significant differences in age and smoking history between the two groups(P＜0.05).The serum levels of NSE,CYFRA21-1,CEA,ProGRP and SCC in lung cancer group were significantly higher than those in control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The results of binary Logistic regression analysis showed that smoking history,age,CYFRA21-1 and CEA levels were all influen-cing factors for the occurrence of lung cancer(P＜0.05).Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analy-sis results showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of smoking history,age,CEA and CYFRA21-1 in the combined diagnosis of lung cancer was 0.906(95％CI:0.865-0.947),which was higher than the AUC for the individual diagnosis of each index.The levels of serum CYFR21-1 and CEA in the stage Ⅰ—Ⅱ group were significantly lower than those in the stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The results of binary Logistic regression analysis showed that CYFRA21-1 and CEA levels were influ-ential factors in the occurrence of lung cancer stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ(P＜0.05).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of CEA and CYFRA21-1 for the diagnosis of lung cancer stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ were 0.750(95％CI:0.667-0.832)and 0.771(95％CI:0.691-0.852),respectively.The AUC of combined diagnosis was 0.834(95％CI:0.765-0.902),the sensitivity was 58.9％,and the specificity was 95.3％.Conclusion Smoking history,age,CEA,and CYFRA21-1 may be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer,espe-cially CEA and CYFRA21-1,which are also of great significance for the staging of lung cancer from stage Ⅲ to stage Ⅳ.

Background: Developing and validating a modified parameter, the SYS-G angle (the angle between the lower endplate of the C2 and the upper endplate of C7 vertebrae), as a feasible substitute for the C2–C7 Cobb method in assessing cervical sagittal alignment and exploring its reference range through a large-scale retrospective study. Methods: The visibility of the C6, C7 upper, and C7 lower endplates was graded and compared. Baseline data such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), age, and sex were analyzed for their impact on the visibility of the C7 lower endplate. Values of C2-6 Cobb angle, SYS-G angle, and C2-7 Cobb angle were measured. The intra- and interobserver reliability, differences, and efficacy of evaluation on cervical lordosis of the parameters were compared, and the correlations among the parameters were analyzed. Furthermore, reference ranges for the SYS-G angle were established based on lateral cervical spine x-rays of 825 asymptomatic Chinese adults across different age groups and sexes. Results: The visibility of the C7 lower endplates was significantly reduced compared to the C6 lower and C7 upper endplates.Age, weight, BMI, and male sex were identified as factors negatively influencing the visibility of the C7 lower endplate. Both intraobserver and interobserver reliability demonstrated excellence for all tested parameters. The linear regression model unveiled a stronger association of the SYS-G angle with the C2-7 Cobb angle compared to the C2-6 Cobb angle. Furthermore, the SYS-G angle exhibited excellent efficacy in evaluating cervical lordosis. Age displayed a positive correlation with the SYS-G angle, and across every age bracket from 20 to 69 years, men exhibited a higher mean SYS-G angle compared to women. Conclusions The visibility of the C7 lower endplate diminishes with increasing age, weight, BMI, and male sex. In cases where the C7 lower endplate is unclear, the SYS-G angle emerges as a reliable method for estimating cervical sagittal morphology. Reference ranges for the SYS-G angle were established across various age groups and sexes among asymptomatic Chinese adults, offering a valuable resource to guide therapeutic interventions for cervical spine disorders and deformities.