Objective To compare the long-term survival of elderly patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with surgical versus non-surgical treatment. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of elderly patients aged ≥70 years with ESCC who underwent esophagectomy or radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to September 2017. Patients were divided into a surgical group (S group) and a non-surgical group (NS group) according to the treatment method. The propensity score matching method was used to match the two groups of patients at a ratio of 1∶1, and the survival of the two groups before and after matching was analyzed. Results A total of 726 elderly patients with ESCC were included, including 552 males and 174 females, with 651 patients aged ≥70-80 years and 75 patients aged ≥80-90 years. There were 515 patients in the S group and 211 patients in the NS group. The median follow-up time was 60.8 months, and the median overall survival of the S group was 41.9 months [95%CI (35.2, 48.5)], while that of the NS group was only 24.0 months [95%CI (19.8, 28.3)]. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the S group were 84%, 54%, and 40%, respectively, while those of the NS group were 72%, 40%, and 30%, respectively [HR=0.689, 95%CI (0.559, 0.849), P<0.001]. After matching, 138 patients were included in each group, and there was no statistical difference in the overall survival between the two groups [HR=0.871, 95%CI (0.649, 1.167), P=0.352]. Conclusion Compared with conservative treatment, there is no significant difference in the long-term survival of elderly patients aged ≥70 years who undergo esophagectomy for ESCC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery is still an important choice to potentially improve the survival of elderly patients with ESCC.

The clinical data of 10 patients with pathologically confirmed primary hepatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PHNENs) were retrospectively analyzed. The cohort included 8 males and 2 females, with a median age of 63 years. None presented with carcinoid syndrome. Three cases were detected incidentally during health check-ups, 2 presented with painless jaundice, and 5 reported abdominal distension or pain (1 with concurrent jaundice). Elevated tumor markers included carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in 4 cases, alpha-fetoprotein in 2 cases, and neuron-specific enolase in 1 case. All patients underwent surgical resection, including hepatectomy and hilar cholangiocarcinoma resection, combining with resection and reconstruction of right hepatic artery, resection of liver metastases and pancreaticoduodenectomy according to the extent of tumor invasion.Preoperative imaging failed to diagnose neuroendocrine neoplasms in all cases. Final pathological diagnoses were neuroendocrine tumor (NET) G2 in 5 cases, NET G3 in 1 case, and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) in 4 cases. During the follow-up, 4 patients died and 6 survived. The study demonstrates that PHNENs lack specific clinical or imaging features, and the diagnosis relies on pathological examination after excluding metastatic disease. Radical resection remains the primary treatment, with prognosis varying significantly by tumor grade.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Neuroendocrine Tumors/pathology* ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged ; Adult

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of macrophage-mediated inflammation and tissue injury in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). METHODS: Skin tissue samples were collected from patients with DFU and with non-DFU. A total of 79 272 high-quality cell transcriptomes were obtained using single-cell RNA sequencing. An unbiased clustering approach was employed to identify cell subpopulations. Seurat functions were used to identify differentially expressed genes between DFU and non-DFU groups, and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis was used to reveal gene function. Furthermore, cell-cell communication network construction and ligand-receptor interaction analysis were performed to reveal the mechanisms underlying cellular interactions and signaling regulation in the DFU microenvironment from multiple perspectives. RESULTS: The results revealed a significant expansion of myeloid cells in DFU tissues, alongside a marked reduction in structural cells such as endothelial cells, epithelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. Major cell types underwent functional reprogramming, characterized by immune activation and impaired tissue remodeling. Specifically, macrophages in DFU skin tissues exhibited a shift toward a pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype, with upregulation of genes associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Cell communication analysis further demonstrated that M1 macrophages served as both primary signal receivers and influencers in the COMPLEMENT pathway mediated communication network, and as key signal senders and mediators in the secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) pathway mediated communication network, actively shaping the inflammatory microenvironment. Key ligand-receptor interactions driving macrophage signaling were identified, including C3-(ITGAM+ITGB2) and SPP1-CD44. CONCLUSIONS This study establishes a comprehensive single-cell atlas of DFU, revealing the role of macrophage-driven cellular networks in chronic inflammation and impaired healing. These findings may offer potential novel therapeutic targets for DFU treatment.
Humans ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Diabetic Foot/pathology* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Transcriptome ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Inflammation ; Skin ; Cell Communication ; Signal Transduction ; Cellular Reprogramming

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the influence of the dimensional stability of 3D printed resin master model on the replication accuracy of implant replicas. METHODS: Ten digital impressions of patients undergoing continuous crowns or fixed bridge restoration supported by two implants were obtained, and resin models with implant replicas were 3D printed. Scanning rods were fixed on the replicas 3, 7, and 14 days after printing. The 3D, linear, and angular deviations of the scanning rods at different times were analyzed through Geomagic Wrap 2021 software. RESULTS: The position of the replicas shifted mesiolingually, in the same direction as the shrinkage of the model. From day 7 onward, the 3D, distance linear, and angular deviations of the replicas (scanning rod) significantly increased compared with those on the 3rd day (P<0.05). On the 14th day, the changes were even more pronounced, with the above deviations showing statistical significance (P<0.05) compared with those for the 3-day and 7-day groups. No statistical difference in height linear deviation was observed among the groups. CONCLUSIONS The insufficient dimensional stability of 3D printed resin models can lead to changes in the relative position and angle of the replicas, thereby affecting the accuracy of the replicas in recreating the implant's position. Complete manufacturing of prosthesis is recommended within 7 days after the model is printed.
Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Humans ; Dental Implants ; Models, Dental ; Dental Impression Technique ; Crowns

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of a self-developed extraoral scanning system based on four-camera stereophotogrammetric technology in the acquisition of three-dimensional positional information on dental implants and conduct a comparative study involving an intraoral scanning system. METHODS: With the use of an in vitro edentulous jaw model with implants, extraoral (experimental group) and intraoral (control group) scanning systems were employed to obtain STL (Standard Tessellation Language) datasets containing three-dimensional morphological and positional information on scan bodies. In addition, a dental model scanner was used to obtain reference data. The three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations between groups and reference data were analyzed using Geomagic Wrap 2021 software to compare trueness and precision. RESULTS: The extraoral scanning system demonstrated superior trueness in three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations compared with the intraoral scanning system, with statistically significant differences (P<0.001). The extraoral scanning system also showed a higher precision in three-dimensional morphological deviation (P<0.001). As the number of implants increased, the extraoral scanning system exhibited increased three-dimensional morphological and linear deviations (P<0.001) but maintained a stable angular deviation. The intraoral scanning system displayed significant increases in three-dimensional morphological, linear, and angular deviations with the increase in the number of implants (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The stereophotogrammetry-based extraoral scanning system outperforms intraoral scanning system in terms of the accuracy for multi-unit implant positioning and provides a novel approach for attaining a fully digital workflow for implant rehabilitation in edentulous jaws.
Jaw, Edentulous ; Humans ; Dental Impression Technique ; Dental Implants ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods* ; Photogrammetry/methods* ; Models, Dental

Background With the rapid development of the food delivery industry, take-away deliverymen become an essential component of urban logistics. However, high labor intensity, unstable income, and extended working hours place them at considerable risk of occupational burnout. Available studies have paid insufficient attention to the mental health of this population, and effective predictive or preventive approaches remain limited. Objective To understand the status of occupational burnout among take-away deliverymen, identify influencing factors based on restricted cubic spline analysis, and develop a predictive model to provide a theoretical basis for improving their mental health. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among full-time take-away deliverymen registered to the "Ele.me" and "Meituan" platforms in Hangzhou between September 1 and November 30, 2024, using both online and offline approaches. A questionnaire covered sociodemographic, household, and occupational information, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey were used in this survey. Univariate analyses and logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with burnout and to construct a predictive model. Model performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve. Furthermore, restricted cubic spline was used to further explore the relationship between age, working hours, and occupational burnout. Results Among the 1192 participants, 735 (61.66%) experienced occupational burnout. The logistic regression model indicated that older age (OR=1.021, P=0.010), educational attainment of college level or above compared to junior high school or below, (OR=2.837, P<0.001), and longer daily working hours (OR=1.081, P=0.001) were positively associated with occupational burnout. In contrast, work experience of 3−5 years (OR=0.666, P=0.016) and more than 5 years (OR=0.382, P<0.001) compared to those with <3 years, as well as providing three social insurances (OR=0.655, P=0.006) or five social insurances (OR=0.478, P<0.001) compared to those without any social insurances coverage, were negatively associated with occupational burnout. The predictive model based on these variables achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.783 (95% CI: 0.756~0.809), and good agreement between calibration curves. The restricted cubic spline analysis revealed that the risk of occupational burnout was highest among delivery workers aged 33−46 years. Those with daily working hours between 3.5 and 8.1 h had a lower risk, while the risk significantly increased when working hours exceeded 8.1 h per day. Conclusion The prevalence of reporting occupational burnout among take-away deliverymen in Hangzhou is high. The developed predictive model provides valuable insights for the prevention and control of burnout in this population. Measures such as optimizing social security systems, rational work schedule allocation, and enhancing psychological support may help reduce occupational burnout among take-away deliverymen.

Objective To analyze clinical characteristics of mesenchymal-subtype gastric cancer(Mes-GC)by integrating multi-omics data and explore the characteristics of tumor cells and microenvironment associated with the risk for recurrence.Methods Gastric tumor tissue samples were collected from the patients who visited Department of Gastroenterology of Army Medical Center of PLA from January 2022 to December 2023.Transcriptome and genome sequencing were applied for these tissue samples,including 19 cases of diffuse-type gastric cancer,22 cases of intestinal-type gastric cancer,and 23 cases of mixed-type gastric cancer patients.Bioinformatics analysis was employed to investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and tumor microenvironment between Mes-GC and non-mesenchymal-subtype gastric cancer(non-Mes-GC)by integrating data resources including The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA),Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO),and National Genomics Data Center(NGDC).Results Compared to non-Mes-GC patients,Mes-GC ones were characterized by later clinical stages,deeper tumor infiltration,and higher rates of lymph node metastasis.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis confirmed that Mes-GC patients were associated with shorter survival time,poor prognosis as well as increased risk of cancer recurrence(P<0.05).Single-cell RNA sequencing data revealed that tumor cells in Mes-GC showed higher expression levels of the genes related to stemness,metastasis(P<0.05),and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT).And in the tumor microenvironment,there were significant more myeloid cells,smooth muscle cells,endothelial cells and fibroblasts,with the most pronounced elevation in the proportion of fibroblasts(P<0.05).Moreover,the patients with larger proportion of fibroblasts were associated with poorer prognosis.Conclusion Mes-GC tumor cells exhibit higher stemness and EMT characteristics,and stromal cells such as myeloid cells,endothelial cells,and fibroblasts are enriched in the tumor microenvironment.These features may be key factors contributing to poor prognosis and high recurrence rate of Mes-GC.

Objective To explore the characteristics of changes in blood test indicators and the combined detection for the differential diagnosis value of early gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis.Methods A total of 44 patients with early gastric cancer admitted to the hospital from January 2023 to March 2024 were selected as the early gastric cancer group.Another 59 patients with atrophic gastritis who were admitted to the hospital during the same period were selected as the atrophic gastritis group.Analyze the characteristics of changes in blood test indicators of the two groups.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to eval-uate the clinical value of blood test indicators in differentiating early gastric cancer from atrophic gastritis.Re-sults The levels of white blood cell count(WBC),platelet count(PLT),C-reactive protein(CRP),pro-thrombin time(PT),fibrinogen(Fib),D-dimer(D-D),and carbohydrate antigen 199(CA199)in the early gastric cancer group were significantly higher than those in the atrophic gastritis group,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).The levels of red blood cells(RBC),hemoglobin(HGB),total pro-tein(TP),thrombin time(TT),and ferritin(Fer)in the early gastric cancer group were significantly lower than those in the atrophic gastritis group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The re-sults of the ROC curve analysis show that the area under the curve(AUC)for the individual detection and dif-ferential diagnosis of early gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis by WBC,RBC,HGB,PLT,CRP,TP,PT,TT,Fib,D-D,Fer and CA199 were 0.591,0.716,0.764,0.623,0.728,0.671,0.692,0.746,0.721,0.689,0.770 and 0.680,respectively.The AUC of the combined detection of RBC,HGB,CRP,TT,Fib and Fer for the dif-ferential diagnosis of early gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis was 0.857(95%CI:0.772-0.941),which was significantly higher than AUC of the individual detection.Conclusion The combined detection of blood test indicators such as RBC,HGB,CRP,TT,Fib and Fer has certain clinical value in the differential diagnosis of early gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis.

Objective:To explore the correlation between serum hepcidin antimicrobial peptide (HAMP), secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), and regulator of G protein signaling 2 (RGS2) levels and the clinical pathological characteristics of gastric cancer patients, and their predictive value for postoperative recurrence or metastasis.Methods:A total of 92 gastric cancer patients treated at Handan First Hospital from March 2021 to March 2023 were selected as the gastric cancer group, and 92 healthy individuals who underwent physical examinations during the same period were selected as the control group. The serum levels of HAMP, SPP1 and RGS2 were compared between the two groups. According to the mean levels of HAMP, SPP1, and RGS2 in the serum of gastric cancer patients, they were divided into HAMP high level group and HAMP low level group, SPP1 high level group and SPP1 low level group, RGS2 high level group and RGS2 low level group. The clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer patients with different levels of HAMP, SPP1 and RGS2 were compared respectively. After a median follow-up of 18 months, gastric cancer patients were divided into a non-recurrence or metastasis group ( n=59) and a recurrence and metastasis group ( n=33) based on whether the tumor recurred or metastasized. The serum levels of HAMP, SPP1, and RGS2 were compared between the two groups of patients. The predictive value of HAMP, SPP1 and RGS2 for postoperative recurrence or metastasis in patients with gastric cancer was analyzed by using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. Results:Compared with the control group, the gastric cancer group had higher levels of serum HAMP [ (52.28±5.44) ng/ml vs. (31.22±4.18) ng/ml] and SPP1 [ (55.96±6.43) ng/ml vs. (36.99±5.25) ng/ml] ( t=29.44, P<0.001; t=21.92, P<0.001), and lower level of RGS2 [ (3.72±0.66) mg/L vs. (5.11±0.87) mg/L) ] ( t=12.21, P<0.001). There were statistically significant differences in maximum tumor diameter ( χ2=13.07, P<0.001; χ2=6.71, P=0.010; χ2=10.56, P=0.001), TNM staging ( χ2=7.42, P=0.006; χ2=6.36, P=0.012; χ2=5.39, P=0.020), lymph node metastasis ( χ2=23.41, P<0.001; χ2=6.52, P=0.011; χ2=13.11, P<0.001), and differentiation degree ( χ2=9.01, P=0.003; χ2=7.97, P=0.005; χ2=15.29, P<0.001) between the gastric cancer patients in the HAMP high level group ( n=44) and the HAMP low level group ( n=48), the SPP1 high level group ( n=43) and the SPP1 low level group ( n=49), and the RGS2 high level group ( n=50) and the RGS2 low level group ( n=42). Compared with the non-recurrence or metastatic group, the recurrence and metastatic group had higher levels of serum HAMP [ (59.26±5.66) ng/ml vs. (48.37±4.28) ng/ml] and SPP1 [ (62.85±6.36) ng/ml vs. (52.11±5.38) ng/ml] level ( t=10.40, P<0.001; t=8.60, P<0.001), and lower level of RGS2 [ (3.01±0.48) mg/L vs. (4.12±0.69) mg/L] ( t=8.19, P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of serum HAMP, SPP1, and RGS2 levels alone for predicting postoperative recurrence or metastasis in gastric cancer patients were 0.777, 0.813, and 0.778, respectively. The AUC value of the combination of the three indicators for predicting postoperative recurrence or metastasis in gastric cancer patients was 0.871. The predictive efficacy of the combination of the three indicators for predicting postoperative recurrence or metastasis in gastric cancer patients was better than that alone ( Z=2.51, P=0.035; Z=2.61, P=0.032; Z=2.71, P=0.029) . Conclusions:The levels of HAMP and SPP1 in the serum of gastric cancer patients increase, while the level of RGS2 decreases, and the levels of the three are related to the maximum tumor diameter, TNM staging, lymph node metastasis and differentiation degree, and their combined detection has higher predictive value for postoperative recurrence or metastasis in gastric cancer patients.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of varicella outbreaks in primary and middle schools, and to establish a risk predictive model, so as to provide scientific guidance for the prevention of varicella outbreaks in schools. Methods: Based on a nested case-control study, primary and middle schools in 4 districts of Shanghai (Yangpu District and Jingan District) and Hangzhou (Xiaoshan District and Linping District) from January to December 2023 were selected to observe the status of varicella outbreaks. Associated factors of varicella outbreaks were investigated and used for establishing the predictive model, which was evaluated by the Hosmer-Lemeshow(H-L) goodness of fit test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, Calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: A total of 98 varicella outbreaks were included, with 195 schools without varicella outbreaks during the same period as controls. Eight factors, including the availability of warm water in restroom, availability of hand soap in restroom, average class size, duration of student attendance at school per day, presence of a fulltime school doctor, hesitancy of the school principal towards varicella vaccination, and rates of first and second doses of varicella vaccination, were identified as potential factors for school varicella outbreaks, with statistically significant differences (χ2/Z=10.01, 20.49, 17.43, 9.74, 32.17, 6.60, 2.20, 3.39, P<0.05). The 8 variables above were employed to construct a risk predictive model, and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test yielded a χ2 value of 5.863 (P>0.05); the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.846 (95%CI=0.799-0.893); Calibration curve analysis indicated good consistency between predicted and actual values of the model. DCA demonstrated favorable predictive performance of the model over a wide range. Conclusions The predictive model for school varicella outbreaks demonstrates satisfactory accuracy and efficacy. It suggested to make good use of this prediction model and take relevant measures to reduce the risk of varicella transmission in schools.