Testicular histology based on testicular biopsy is an important factor for determining appropriate testicular sperm extraction surgery and predicting sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with azoospermia. Therefore, we developed a deep learning (DL) model to establish the associations between testicular grayscale ultrasound images and testicular histology. We retrospectively included two-dimensional testicular grayscale ultrasound from patients with azoospermia (353 men with 4357 images between July 2017 and December 2021 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China) to develop a DL model. We obtained testicular histology during conventional testicular sperm extraction. Our DL model was trained based on ultrasound images or fusion data (ultrasound images fused with the corresponding testicular volume) to distinguish spermatozoa presence in pathology (SPP) and spermatozoa absence in pathology (SAP) and to classify maturation arrest (MA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) in patients with SAP. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were used to analyze model performance. DL based on images achieved an AUC of 0.922 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.908-0.935), a sensitivity of 80.9%, a specificity of 84.6%, and an accuracy of 83.5% in predicting SPP (including normal spermatogenesis and hypospermatogenesis) and SAP (including MA and SCOS). In the identification of SCOS and MA, DL on fusion data yielded better diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.979 (95% CI: 0.969-0.989), a sensitivity of 89.7%, a specificity of 97.1%, and an accuracy of 92.1%. Our study provides a noninvasive method to predict testicular histology for patients with azoospermia, which would avoid unnecessary testicular biopsy.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/diagnostic imaging* ; Deep Learning ; Testis/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Ultrasonography/methods* ; Sperm Retrieval ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome/diagnostic imaging*

Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA), one of the most severe types of male infertility, etiology often remains unclear in most cases. Therefore, this study aimed to detect four biallelic detrimental variants (0.5%) in the minichromosome maintenance domain containing 2 ( MCMDC2 ) genes in 768 NOA patients by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) demonstrated that MCMDC2 deleterious variants caused meiotic arrest in three patients (c.1360G>T, c.1956G>T, and c.685C>T) and hypospermatogenesis in one patient (c.94G>T), as further confirmed through immunofluorescence (IF) staining. The single-cell RNA sequencing data indicated that MCMDC2 was substantially expressed during spermatogenesis. The variants were confirmed as deleterious and responsible for patient infertility through bioinformatics and in vitro experimental analyses. The results revealed four MCMDC2 variants related to NOA, which contributes to the current perception of the function of MCMDC2 in male fertility and presents new perspectives on the genetic etiology of NOA.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/genetics* ; Meiosis/genetics* ; Spermatogenesis/genetics* ; Adult ; Exome Sequencing ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics* ; Alleles ; Infertility, Male/genetics*

Objective:To understand the current situation of care needs for disabled elderly people, analyze the impact of the family environment and community services on the care needs and care pathways of older people with disabilities and to formulate effective interventions.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2022 to March 2023 in five tertiary-level hospitals in Tangshan city. The survey included 332 elderly people who were disabled before hospitalization and their primary caregivers, who were selected using a convenience sampling method. The survey investigated their general information, degree of disability, family members′ support, children′s filial piety and old age ethical level, family relationships, and the care needs of the elderly people who were disabled. SPSS 22.0 was used for one-way and correlation analyses as well as multiple linear regression analyses, and AMOS 22.0 was used for the development of structural equations for path analysis.Results:Among 332 disabled elderly individuals, there were 166 males and 166 females each. The care needs score for elderly people with disabilities was 101.54 ± 16.38. The care needs of this population can be influenced by several factors, including the level of disability, number of chronic conditions, presence of chronic pain, filial piety and old age ethical level of caregivers, family relationships, and the availability of care services in the community or village. These factors had direct effects of 0.468, 0.155, -0.083, -0.350, -0.094, and 0.104, respectively.Chronic diseases and chronic pain indirectly affected the demand for care through the degree of incapacity (with respective indirect effect values of 0.065 and 0.049). Additionally, the demand for care was indirectly influenced by the level of filial piety and ethics of the caregiver through the degree of incapacity and the family relationships (an indirect effect value of -0.162).Conclusions:The care needs of the disabled elderly are high, and the personal physiology, family environment and community support of the disabled elderly will directly or indirectly affect their care needs. Therefore, many factors should be considered comprehensively considered to improve the quality of care of the disabled elderly.

Objective:To compare clinical characteristics,treatment patterns and physiological indicators in bipolar disorder(BD)patients with different age of onset.Methods:Totally 380 patients with DSM-5 BD were se-lected in this study.Psychiatrists diagnosed the patients using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.The clinical information questionnaire and the Global Assessment of Functioning scale were utilized to collected clinical characteristics,treatment status,and physiological indicators.The onset age of BD was divided into 21 and 35 years as cut-off points.Multivariate logistic regression and linear regression were used to analyze related factors.Results:Among the 380 patients with BD,199 cases were early-onset group(52.4％),121 cases were middle-onset group(31.8％),and 60 cases were late-onset group(15.8％).There were 26.6％of patients in the early-onset group in-itially diagnosed as depression,23.1％in the middle-onset group,and 11.7％in the late-onset group.Multivariate analysis revealed that compared to the early-onset group of BD,the middle-onset(OR=2.22)and late-onset(OR=4.99)groups had more risk to experience depressive episodes,and the late-onset group(OR=6.74)had 6.74 times of risk to suffer from bipolar Ⅱ disorder.Additionally,patients in the middle-onset(β=-1.52)and late-on-set(β=-4.29)groups had shorter durations of delayed treatment,and those in the middle-onset(β=-1.62)and late-onset(β=-3.14)groups had fewer hospitalizations.Uric acid levels were lower in both the middle-onset(β=-28.39)and late-onset(β=-31.47)groups,and total cholesterol level was lower in the middle-onset group(β=-0.23).Conclusion:Patients with BD in different age of onset show significant differences in clinical charac-teristics,treatment conditions and physiological indicators.

177Lu-prostate specific membrane antigen(PSMA)radio-ligand therapy has been approved abroad for advanced prostate cancer and has been in several clinical trials in China.Based on domestic clinical practice and experimental data and referred to international experience and viewpoints,the expert group forms a consensus on the clinical application of 177Lu-PSMA radio-ligand therapy in prostate cancer to guide clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective:To investigate the postoperative renal function and oncologic outcomes of cystic renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy,and to compared the single-center data on surgical out-comes with the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results(SEER)database.Methods:This was a retrospective study that included the patients with cystic renal cell carcinoma who underwent partial ne-phrectomy in the Department of Urology,Peking University Third Hospital(PUTH)from 2010 to 2023.The clinical data and depicting baseline characteristics were collected.Renal dynamic imaging and the Chinese Coefficients for Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration(C-CKD-EPI)formulae were used to calculate the estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR).The renal function curves over time were then plotted,and the patients were followed-up to record their survival status.Cases of cystic renal cell carcinoma in the SEER database between 2000 and 2020 were included,propensity score matching(PSM)was performed to balance the differences between SEER cohort and PUTH cohort,and the cancer-specific survival(CSS)curves for both groups were plotted and statistical differences were calcu-lated by the Kaplan-Meier method.Results:A total of 38 and 385 patients were included in the PUTH cohort and SEER cohort,respectively,and 31 and 72 patients were screened in each cohort after PSM.Of the baseline characteristics,only tumor size(P=0.042)was found to differ statistically between the two groups.There was no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts in terms of CSS after PSM(P=0.556).The median follow-up time in the SEER cohort was 112.5(65,152)months and a 10-year survival rate of 97.2％,while the PUTH cohort had a median follow-up of 57.0(20,1 172)months and a 10-year survival rate of 100.0％.There was no statistically significant difference between eGFR determined by preoperative renal dynamic imaging and the results of the C-CKD-EPI formulae based on creatinine estimation(P=0.073).There was a statistically significant difference in eGFR among the preoperative,short-term postoperative,and long-term postoperative(P＜0.001),which was characterized by the presence of a decline in renal function in the short-term postoperative period and the recovery of renal function in the long-term period.Conclusion:Partial nephrectomy for cystic renal cell carcinoma is safe and feasible with favorable renal function and oncologic outcomes.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

{L-End}Objective To analyze the spectrum characteristics of noise hazards in the metal products industry. {L-End}Methods A total of six metal product industries were selected as research subjects using stratified sampling method. The noise intensity (A/C-weighted) and noise spectrum (Z-weighted) of workplaces and job positions were detected. The characteristics of the noise spectrum of each job position were analyzed using the difference between equivalent continuous C-weighted sound pressure level (L_Ceq)-equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level (L_Aeq), the dominant frequency of the noise spectrum, and cluster analysis methods. {L-End}Results The workplace noise and job position noise of 11 main noise positions in the metal products industry were exceeded national standard, with incidence of 69.2% and 78.1%, respectively. The average of normalization of equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level to a normal 40 hours working week exceeded the national standard in 100.0% of hydraulic workers, welders, and ultrasonic cleaning workers. The result of spectrum analysis showed that the noise in the metal product industry was mainly broadband. The noise of the collision welder position was classified as low-frequency broadband noise, while the noise of the painter position was classified as low-frequency narrowband noise. The noise spectrum characteristics of other positions were similar and classified into one category, all of which were broadband noise. Among them, numerical control lathe workers, welders, threaders, machinists, and cutters were exposed to high-frequency broadband noise, while press workers were exposed to mid-frequency broadband noise, and grinders, hydraulic workers, and ultrasonic cleaning workers were exposed to low-frequency broadband noise. The detection rate of binaural high-frequency hearing threshold improvement among workers was 61.7%, and there was no statistical correlation between the detection rate of binaural high-frequency hearing threshold improvement and the noise level intensity of each spectrum. {L-End}Conclusion The level of noise hazards in the metal products industry is severe. Effective engineering control measures and hearing protection measures should be implemented based on the spectral characteristics of noises.

Aim To investigate the molecular mechanisms of alcohol extracts of Euphorbia fischeriana steud. against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through a combination of network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation. Methods The active ingredients and targets of alcohol extracts of Euphorbia fischeriana steud. were determined through TCMSP, Swiss ADME, Swiss Target Prediction database and references. The databases DisGeNET and GeneCards were employed to screen potential HCC-related genes. Venny platform, STRING platform and Cytoscape software were applied to construct active ingredient-target-disease and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network maps. Gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using the DAVID database. To assess the effects of Euphorbia fischeriana steud. alcohol extracts on BEL-7402 cells, the proliferation and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8, EdU and flow cytometry assays, and the related protein levels of JAK2/STAT3 pathway were analyzed by Western blot. Additionally, H22 hepatocellular carcinoma mouse model was used to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of Euphorbia fischeriana steud. alcohol extracts. Results A total of 916 HCC targeted genes, 30 active ingredients containing the related 567 potential targeted genes, and 115 intersection targets of disease and compounds were obtained. KEGG enrichment analysis identified JAK2/STAT3 signaling as a critical pathway. In vitro experiments showed the alcohol extracts of Euphorbia fischeriana steud. could inhibit proliferation, promote apoptosis and suppress JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner in BEL-7402 cells. In addition, the alcohol extracts of Euphorbia fischeriana steud., either alone or in combination with sorafenib, dramatically blocked tumor growth in in vivo tests. Conclusions Euphorbia fischeriana steud. alcohol extracts have anti-cancer effects in HCC, and the molecular mechanisms may be connected to the regulation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.