Image 1.

Objective We improved the segmentation model TransUNet based on deep learning methods to construct a multitask model that can both segment regions of interest and predict classification,which made it possible to identify sensitive populations of patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.Methods The multitask model added classification structure on the basis of TransUNet,including the fully connected layer(input of 512,output of 256),the ReLU activation function,and the fully connected layer(input of 256,output of 3),to achieve the prediction of triple classification outcomes(stable disease(SD),partial response(PD),and complete response(CR)).The 3D MRI of 71 rectal cancer patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy admitted to the Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from 2015 to 2017 were extracted into 2D images as data for the study.Dice coefficient and Hausdorff distance were used to evaluate thesegmentation performance,and accuracy,micro-precision,micro-recall,and micro-F1 score were used for classification performance.Results The model was trained for 100 epochs,and the average Dice coefficient and average Hausdorff distance for the segmentation task on the test set were 0.851 and 10.806,respectively.For the classification task,the accuracy,micro-precision,micro-recall,and micro-F1 score on the test set were all 0.651 from the slicing perspective,and all four metrics were 0.857 from the patient perspective.Conclusion Our model works well in the segmentation task.Although the model performs poorly on the classification task at the slice level,the performance was acceptable at the patient level taking into account the tripartite classification results.The multitask model has the potential to be used in the clinic for assisted diagnosis.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the population of China has turned into a stage of negative growth, the fertility rate gradually declined, and the infertility rate gradually increased. The most effective treatment for infertility is assisted reproductive technology (ART), which has brought hope for fertility to many patients. However, the current promotion of the utilization of ART is still fraught with many obstacles. In this context, focusing on the realistic challenges of ART on its development in China, we will take a problem-oriented approach, utilize the relevant policies of ART in foreign countries as references, and put forward policy recommendations for the further implementation of ART, such as coordinating the balanced distribution of ART resources in the region, strengthening policy safeguards for ART, enhancing the institutional functioning of professional associations in medical ethics, and standardizing the application of ART treatments.

Objective:To investigate the effects of annulus fibrosus(AF)suture or not on the lumbar biome-chanics following microendoscopic discectomy(MED)through establishing finite element models(FEMs)of unsu-tured AF incision and sutured AF incision.Methods:A 27-year-old healthy young adult male volunteer was recruited and underwent lumbar CT to exclude spinal deformities,tumors,and other osseous pathologies.CT images of the L4/L5 segment were imported into the software Mimics for three-dimensional reconstruction and contour extraction.The resulting model was further processed using Geomagic,SolidWorks,and Workbench for solid modeling.An intact L4/5 segment model,an L4/5 model with an unsutured AF incision following MED(unsutured AF model),and an L4/5 model with a sutured AF incision following MED(sutured AF model)were established.Intervertebral range of motion(ROM),Von-Mises stress on the facet joints,and Von-Mises stress on the AF of the models were measured,and model validity was verified by comparison with previously pub-lished studies.After validation,the inferior end of the L5 vertebral body in all the three models was fixed.An axial load of 500N was applied to the superior end of the L4 vertebral body,and a bending moment of 7.5N·m was separately applied under six physiological loading conditions(flexion,extension,left/right lateral bending,and left/right axial rotation).The biomechanical properties of the three models at the L4/5 level,in-cluding intervertebral ROM and Von-Mises stress in facet joints,and Von-Mises stress on the AF were com-pared under different loading conditions.Results:No significant discrepancies were noted when data obtained under these six motion conditions were compared with the findings from prior literature,thus validating the models.Stress nephogram results revealed that under each motion condition,high-stress areas were located at the unsutured defect of the intervertebral disc AF and the surrounding facet joint processes.Compared with the intact model,the intervertebral ROM of the sutured AF model was 8.6802°,8.596°,4.8514°,5.0249°,2.2474°,and 1.9092°,respectively,under the six motions,while that of the unsutured AF model was 8.7475°,8.9453°,5.6441°,5.2546°,2.5886°,and 1.9487°,respectively.The ROM of the sutured AF model was 9％,19％,44％,38％,50％,and 40％higher than that of the intact model;Compared with the unsutured AF mod-el,it was reduced by 1％,4％,14％,4％,13％,and 2％respectively.For Von Mises stress on the AF under the six motion conditions,the stress of the sutured AF model was 2％,65％,21％,32％,51％,and 38％higher than that of the intact model,but 8％,48％,52％,10％,37％,and 48％lower than that of the unsu-tured AF model respectively.For Von-Mises stress in facet joints,the stress values of the sutured AF model were 12.109MPa,8.3601MPa,13.998MPa,12.969MPa,10.219MPa,and 10.074MPa respectively,while those of the unsutured AF model were 13.399MPa,9.6094MPa,18.175MPa,17.967MPa,12.409MPa,and 11.6384MPa respectively.The stress values of Von-Mises stress in facet joints of the sutured AF model was 5％,10％,32％,17％,31％,and 34％higher than that of the intact model;Compared with the unsutured AF model,it was decreased by 9％,13％,22％,27％,17％,and 13％respectively.Conclusions:Among the three con-structed L4/5 FEMs,the sutured AF model exhibits more favorable intervertebral ROM,and Von-Mises stress of facet joints and AF compared with the unsutured AF model.This indicates that AF suture contributes to enhancing intervertebral stability.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the population of China has turned into a stage of negative growth, the fertility rate gradually declined, and the infertility rate gradually increased. The most effective treatment for infertility is assisted reproductive technology (ART), which has brought hope for fertility to many patients. However, the current promotion of the utilization of ART is still fraught with many obstacles. In this context, focusing on the realistic challenges of ART on its development in China, we will take a problem-oriented approach, utilize the relevant policies of ART in foreign countries as references, and put forward policy recommendations for the further implementation of ART, such as coordinating the balanced distribution of ART resources in the region, strengthening policy safeguards for ART, enhancing the institutional functioning of professional associations in medical ethics, and standardizing the application of ART treatments.

Objective We improved the segmentation model TransUNet based on deep learning methods to construct a multitask model that can both segment regions of interest and predict classification,which made it possible to identify sensitive populations of patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.Methods The multitask model added classification structure on the basis of TransUNet,including the fully connected layer(input of 512,output of 256),the ReLU activation function,and the fully connected layer(input of 256,output of 3),to achieve the prediction of triple classification outcomes(stable disease(SD),partial response(PD),and complete response(CR)).The 3D MRI of 71 rectal cancer patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy admitted to the Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from 2015 to 2017 were extracted into 2D images as data for the study.Dice coefficient and Hausdorff distance were used to evaluate thesegmentation performance,and accuracy,micro-precision,micro-recall,and micro-F1 score were used for classification performance.Results The model was trained for 100 epochs,and the average Dice coefficient and average Hausdorff distance for the segmentation task on the test set were 0.851 and 10.806,respectively.For the classification task,the accuracy,micro-precision,micro-recall,and micro-F1 score on the test set were all 0.651 from the slicing perspective,and all four metrics were 0.857 from the patient perspective.Conclusion Our model works well in the segmentation task.Although the model performs poorly on the classification task at the slice level,the performance was acceptable at the patient level taking into account the tripartite classification results.The multitask model has the potential to be used in the clinic for assisted diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the effects of annulus fibrosus(AF)suture or not on the lumbar biome-chanics following microendoscopic discectomy(MED)through establishing finite element models(FEMs)of unsu-tured AF incision and sutured AF incision.Methods:A 27-year-old healthy young adult male volunteer was recruited and underwent lumbar CT to exclude spinal deformities,tumors,and other osseous pathologies.CT images of the L4/L5 segment were imported into the software Mimics for three-dimensional reconstruction and contour extraction.The resulting model was further processed using Geomagic,SolidWorks,and Workbench for solid modeling.An intact L4/5 segment model,an L4/5 model with an unsutured AF incision following MED(unsutured AF model),and an L4/5 model with a sutured AF incision following MED(sutured AF model)were established.Intervertebral range of motion(ROM),Von-Mises stress on the facet joints,and Von-Mises stress on the AF of the models were measured,and model validity was verified by comparison with previously pub-lished studies.After validation,the inferior end of the L5 vertebral body in all the three models was fixed.An axial load of 500N was applied to the superior end of the L4 vertebral body,and a bending moment of 7.5N·m was separately applied under six physiological loading conditions(flexion,extension,left/right lateral bending,and left/right axial rotation).The biomechanical properties of the three models at the L4/5 level,in-cluding intervertebral ROM and Von-Mises stress in facet joints,and Von-Mises stress on the AF were com-pared under different loading conditions.Results:No significant discrepancies were noted when data obtained under these six motion conditions were compared with the findings from prior literature,thus validating the models.Stress nephogram results revealed that under each motion condition,high-stress areas were located at the unsutured defect of the intervertebral disc AF and the surrounding facet joint processes.Compared with the intact model,the intervertebral ROM of the sutured AF model was 8.6802°,8.596°,4.8514°,5.0249°,2.2474°,and 1.9092°,respectively,under the six motions,while that of the unsutured AF model was 8.7475°,8.9453°,5.6441°,5.2546°,2.5886°,and 1.9487°,respectively.The ROM of the sutured AF model was 9％,19％,44％,38％,50％,and 40％higher than that of the intact model;Compared with the unsutured AF mod-el,it was reduced by 1％,4％,14％,4％,13％,and 2％respectively.For Von Mises stress on the AF under the six motion conditions,the stress of the sutured AF model was 2％,65％,21％,32％,51％,and 38％higher than that of the intact model,but 8％,48％,52％,10％,37％,and 48％lower than that of the unsu-tured AF model respectively.For Von-Mises stress in facet joints,the stress values of the sutured AF model were 12.109MPa,8.3601MPa,13.998MPa,12.969MPa,10.219MPa,and 10.074MPa respectively,while those of the unsutured AF model were 13.399MPa,9.6094MPa,18.175MPa,17.967MPa,12.409MPa,and 11.6384MPa respectively.The stress values of Von-Mises stress in facet joints of the sutured AF model was 5％,10％,32％,17％,31％,and 34％higher than that of the intact model;Compared with the unsutured AF model,it was decreased by 9％,13％,22％,27％,17％,and 13％respectively.Conclusions:Among the three con-structed L4/5 FEMs,the sutured AF model exhibits more favorable intervertebral ROM,and Von-Mises stress of facet joints and AF compared with the unsutured AF model.This indicates that AF suture contributes to enhancing intervertebral stability.

Objective The family reconstruction method was used to establish paternity index algorithm for uncle-nephew relationships between two full sibling uncles and one nephew.Methods According to Mendelian genetic law,the family of two known full-sib uncles and one nephew were reconstructed according to the relationship between uncle and nephew,and the test hypothesis was established between two full sibling uncles and one nephew as the uncle-nephew relationship and unrelated individuals,and the paternity index of the uncle-nephew relationship between two full sibling uncles and one nephew was calculated by using Excel.Results Among the 99 genotypic combinations between two full sibling uncles and one nephew,91 of which were consistent with the genetic rules of uncle-nephew relationships,while 8 of which were not.a stepwise mutation model was introduced in the situations that do not conform to the genetic laws of uncle-nephew relationships.The paternity index of uncle-nephew relationship between two full sibling uncles and one nephew can be calculated using Excel.Conclusion The uncle-nephew testing involved by two full sibling uncles makes use of the role of the assistant,and the paternity index of the obtained uncle-nephew relationship is higher than that between two known full-siblings alone and their nephew,which has a good practical value in helping the appraiser to draw a clear appraisal opinion.

Objective:To compare the consistency of preoperative frailty assessment in elderly colorectal cancer patients using Frailty Phenotype (FP), FRAIL Scale (FS), Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS), and their predictive performance in predicting the postoperative complication, so as to provide reference for nurses to choose appropriate frailty assessment tools.Methods:From December 2020 to October 2021, 207 elderly patients who underwent radical surgery for colorectal cancer at the General Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were selected as the study subject by convenience sampling. FP, FS, CFS, and EFS were used to assess patients' frailty. Taking postoperative complications as the outcome indicator, the predictive performance of four frailty assessment tools was compared using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Bayes discriminant analysis.Results:The frailty detection rates of FP, FS, CFS, and EFS in 207 elderly colorectal cancer patients were 19.8% (41/207), 11.6% (24/207), 22.2% (46/207), and 10.1% (21/207), respectively. The areas under the ROC curves of FP, FS, CFS, and EFS were 0.714, 0.643, 0.737, and 0.665, respectively, with statistically significant differences (all P<0.01). Pairwise comparison found that there were statistically significant differences in the area under the ROC curve between FP and FS, FS and CFS, CFS and EFS ( P<0.05). The cross validation accuracy of FP, FS, CFS and EFS in predicting the postoperative complication in elderly colorectal cancer patients was 78.7%, 68.6%, 76.3%, and 75.8%, respectively. Conclusions:FP and CFS have moderate predictive performance for postoperative complications in elderly colorectal cancer patients, and there is no difference in predictive performance between the two. Both CFS and FP can be used for the assessment of preoperative frailty in elderly colorectal cancer patients, but considering clinical applicability, CFS is recommended.

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), as an important pattern recognition receptor (PRR), dominates the innate and adaptive immunity regulating many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Atherosclerosis is proved as an inflammatory disease, and inflammatory events involved in the entire process of initiation and deterioration. However, the contribution of TLR3 to atherosclerosis remains unclear. Herein, we identified the clinical relevance of TLR3 upregulation and disease processes in human atherosclerosis. Besides, activation of TLR3 also directly led to significant expression of atherogenic chemokines and adhesion molecules. Conversely, silencing TLR3 inhibited the uptake of oxLDL by macrophages and significantly reduced foam cell formation. Given the aberrance in TLR3 functions on atherosclerosis progression, we hypothesized that TLR3 could serve as novel target for clinical atherosclerosis therapy. Therefore, we developed the novel ellipticine derivative SMU-CX24, which specifically inhibited TLR3 (IC₅₀ = 18.87 ± 2.21 nmol/L). In vivo, atherosclerotic burden was alleviated in Western diet fed ApoE^-/- mice in response to SMU-CX24 treatment, accompanying notable reductions in TLR3 expression and inflammation infiltration within atherosclerotic lesion. Thus, for the first time, we revealed that pharmacological downregulation of TLR3 with specific inhibitor regenerated inflammatory environment to counteract atherosclerosis progression, thereby proposing a new strategy and probe for atherosclerosis therapy.