Objective:To evaluate the performance of an artificial intelligence-based endoscopic virtual ruler (EVR) for non-invasive measurement of esophageal varices (EV) diameter.Methods:Patients with liver cirrhosis and EV hospitalized at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between October 2022 and May 2023 were prospectively enrolled. EV diameter was measured using visual estimation, esophageal varix manometer (EVM), and EVR, with procedure times recorded. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the consistency of EV diameter measurement obtained from the three methods, and repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare differences in time measurements across three methods.Results:The study included 41 patients with liver cirrhosis and EV. Inter-observer ICC for visual estimation was 0.594, versus 0.840 for EVM and 0.884 for EVR. The ICC value between the EV diameters measured by EVR and EVM was higher than that of the visual assessment. The ICC value between EV diameter measurement by EVM and EVR was 0.991. Measurement times differed significantly across methods ( P<0.001): visual estimation 18.6±2.2 s (14.7-23.3 s), EVR 41.5±4.1 s (31.7-50.3 s), and EVM 170.8±26.4 s (129.3-229.3 s). Repeated measures analysis of variance (corrected using Greenhouse-Geisser) revealed significant differences in time across the three measurement methods [ F(1.033, 41.313)=1 233.800, P<0.001]. Subsequent Bonferroni post-hoc tests revealed significant differences in time between all method pairs ( P<0.001). Conclusion:EVR provides rapid, non-invasive EV diameter measurements with excellent agreement to EVM assessment, offering an efficient alternative to conventional techniques.

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma(PRP)combined with Xianling Gubao Capsule on rats with osteoarthritis(OA)and the changes in the levels of related factors.Methods:Anterior cruciate ligament transection was performed to establish a rat model of OA,and after modeling,the rats were randomly divided into control group,model group,Xianling Gubao Capsule group,PRP group,and Xianling Gubao Capsule+PRP group,with 10 rats in each group.After intervention,ELISA was used to measure the serum levels of IL-1β and TNF-α;knee articular cartilage was collected,and qPCR and Western blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression levels of MMP3,MMP13,Col2,Aggrecan,and p-p38;Micro-CT was used to assess the changes in bones around the knee joint;HE staining and SF staining were used to observe the changes in knee articular cartilage.Results:ELISA showed that PRP combined with Xianling Gubao Capsule significantly reduced the serum levels of the inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and TNF-α(P<0.05).The results of qPCR and Western blot showed that PRP combined with Xianling Gubao Capsule significantly reduced the expression levels of MMP3,MMP13,and p-p38 and increased the expression levels of Col2 and Ag-grecan in knee articular cartilage(P<0.05).Micro-CT,HE staining,and SF staining showed a certain degree of improvement in knee articular cartilage degeneration in the Xianling Gubao Capsule+PRP group(P<0.05).Conclusion:PRP combined with Xianling Gubao Capsule exerts a therapeutic effect on rats with OA,possibly by regulating the p38MAPK signaling pathway.

Objective:To evaluate the performance of an artificial intelligence-based endoscopic virtual ruler (EVR) for non-invasive measurement of esophageal varices (EV) diameter.Methods:Patients with liver cirrhosis and EV hospitalized at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between October 2022 and May 2023 were prospectively enrolled. EV diameter was measured using visual estimation, esophageal varix manometer (EVM), and EVR, with procedure times recorded. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the consistency of EV diameter measurement obtained from the three methods, and repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare differences in time measurements across three methods.Results:The study included 41 patients with liver cirrhosis and EV. Inter-observer ICC for visual estimation was 0.594, versus 0.840 for EVM and 0.884 for EVR. The ICC value between the EV diameters measured by EVR and EVM was higher than that of the visual assessment. The ICC value between EV diameter measurement by EVM and EVR was 0.991. Measurement times differed significantly across methods ( P<0.001): visual estimation 18.6±2.2 s (14.7-23.3 s), EVR 41.5±4.1 s (31.7-50.3 s), and EVM 170.8±26.4 s (129.3-229.3 s). Repeated measures analysis of variance (corrected using Greenhouse-Geisser) revealed significant differences in time across the three measurement methods [ F(1.033, 41.313)=1 233.800, P<0.001]. Subsequent Bonferroni post-hoc tests revealed significant differences in time between all method pairs ( P<0.001). Conclusion:EVR provides rapid, non-invasive EV diameter measurements with excellent agreement to EVM assessment, offering an efficient alternative to conventional techniques.

Objective To explore the metastasis rate and related risk factors of T1 stage colonic neuroendocrine tumor(C-NET),and to compare the long-term survival outcomes of patients with non-metastatic(T1N0M0 stage)C-NET after local excision(LE)or radical surgery(RS).Methods Clinical information of 433 patients diagnosed with C-NET in the SEER database from January 1,2004 to December 31,2015 were analyzed.Cox regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of metastasis of C-NET.The patients without metastasis were divided into LE group and RS group,and assigned in a 1∶1 ratio using propensity score matching(PSM)according to gender,age,tumor largest diameter,and infiltration depth,with a caliper value set to 0.02.Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze 5-year cancer-specific survival(CSS)and overall survival(OS)of patients.Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of metastasis on survival.Results Among 419 C-NET patients,19(4.52%)had distant metastases.Cox regression analysis showed that 11-20 mm of tumor large diameter(HR=9.264,95%CI 3.322-25.835,P＜0.001),right colon location(HR=0.116,95%CI 0.042-0.321,P＜0.001),and submucosal invasion(HR=5.842,95%CI 1.858-18.371,P=0.003)were independent risk factors for distant metastasis of T1 stage C-NET.The 5-year OS rates of non-metastatic and metastatic patients were 94.5%and 47.4%,respectively(χ2=79.762,P＜0.001),and their 5-year CSS rates were 99.5%and 55.7%,respectively(χ2=164.604,P＜0.001).Before PSM,the 5-year OS rates of non-metastatic C-NET patients after LE and RS were 95.8%and 90.1%(χ2=2.679,P=0.063),and the 5-year CSS rates were 100.0%and 97.2%(χ2=0.579,P=0.038);after PSM,the 5-year OS rates of non-metastatic patients after LE and RS were 96.8%and 92.1%(χ2=3.606,P=0.058),and the 5-year CSS rates were 100.0%and 98.5%(χ2=1.015,P=0.314).After PSM,there was no significant difference in the 5-year OS and CSS of patients with defferent tumor location,tumor large diameter,or submucosal invasion between the LE and RS groups.Conclusions 11-20 mm of tumor diameter,right colon location,and submucosal invasion might be independent risk factors for distant metastasis of T1 stage C-NET,and LE could be an appropriate treatment option for non-metastatic C-NET.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to analyze the applicability of the World Health Organization's exclusionary guidelines for Urinary creatinine (Ucr) in the general Chinese population, and to identify Ucr related factors. METHODS: We conduct a cross-sectional study using baseline data from 21,167 participants in the China National Human Biomonitoring Program. Mixed linear models and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to analyze the associations between explanatory variables and Ucr concentration. RESULTS: The geometric mean and median concentrations of Ucr in the general Chinese population were 0.90 g/L and 1.01 g/L, respectively. And 9.36% samples were outside 0.3-3.0 g/L, including 7.83% below the lower limit and 1.53% above the upper limit. Middle age, male, obesity, smoking, higher frequency of red meat consumption and chronic kidney disease were associated significantly with higher concentrations of Ucr. Results of the RCS showed Ucr was positively and linearly associated with body mass index, inversely and linearly associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides level, and glomerular filtration rate, and were non-linearly associated with triiodothyronine. CONCLUSION The age- and gender-specific cut-off values of Ucr that determine the validity of urine samples in the general Chinese population were recommended. To avoid introducing bias into epidemiologic associations, the potential predictors of Ucr observed in the current study should be considered when using Ucr to adjust for variations in urine dilution.
Middle Aged ; Male ; Humans ; Creatinine ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Asian People ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; China

Objective:To investigate the effects of preoperative nutritional status on postoperative functional prognosis in elderly patients with proximal humerus fracture.Methods:From January 2020 to December 2020, 103 elderly patients (≥65 years old) were treated for proximal humerus fractures by open reduction and internal fixation at Department of Traumatology, Honghui Hospital Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University. Upon admission, according to the Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI), they were assigned into a normal nutrition group (55 cases, with GNRI≥92) and a malnutrition group (48 cases, with GNRI<92). The baseline data, preoperative hemoglobin level, time from injury to operation, intraoperative blood transfusion, postoperative complications, 1-year mortality, and Neer shoulder functional scores at 3 months, 6 months and the last follow-up were compared between the 2 groups.Results:The 2 groups were comparable because there were no significant differences in gender, injury side, Neer fracture classification, injury cause, or American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grading ( P>0.05). The age of the malnutrition group was significant older than that of the normal nutrition group ( P<0.05). All patients were followed up for 9 to 16 months (mean, 13.6 months) after surgery. In the normal nutrition group and the malnutrition group, respectively, the preoperative hemoglobin level was (10.24±0.68) g/dL and (8.94±0.89) g/dL, the time from injury to operation (3.9±1.3) d and (5.8±1.2) d, the rate of intraoperative blood transfusion 14.5%(8/55) and 60.4%(29/48), the rate of postoperative complications 20.0%(11/55) and 39.6%(19/48), the 1-year mortality 1.8%(1/55)、4.2%(2/48), and the Neer shoulder function score (46.7±8.8) points and (43.2±5.6) points at 3 months after operation, (67.6±6.2) points and (76.3±5.5) points at 6 months after operation, and (80.4±5.0) points and (76.3±5.5) points at the last follow-up. Comparisons of all the above items showed significant differences between the 2 groups (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Preoperative malnutrition in elderly patients with proximal humerus fracture has adverse effects on preoperative waiting time, intraoperative blood transfusion, complications and postoperative shoulder function. Therefore, perioperatively, attention should be paid to the nutritional status of elderly patients to reduce their stress responses to fracture, surgery and anesthesia, and to improve their postoperative function and quality of life.

Cardiology ; China ; Consensus ; Heart Failure/therapy* ; Humans ; Self-Management ; United States

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

The vagina contains at least a billion microbial cells,dominated by lactobacilli.Here we perform metagenomic shotgun sequencing on cervical and fecal samples from a cohort of 516 Chinese women of reproductive age,as well as cervical,fecal,and salivary samples from a second cohort of 632 women.Factors such as pregnancy history,delivery history,cesarean section,and breastfeeding were all more important than menstrual cycle in shaping the microbiome,and such information would be necessary before trying to interpret differences between vagino-cervical micro-biome data.Greater proportion of Bifidobacterium breve was seen with older age at sexual debut.The relative abundance of lactobacilli especially Lactobacillus crispatus was negatively associated with pregnancy history.Potential markers for lack of menstrual regularity,heavy flow,dysmenor-rhea,and contraceptives were also identified.Lactobacilli were rare during breastfeeding or post-menopause.Other features such as mood fluctuations and facial speckles could potentially be predicted from the vagino-cervical microbiome.Gut and salivary microbiomes,plasma vitamins,metals,amino acids,and hormones showed associations with the vagino-cervical microbiome.Our results offer an unprecedented glimpse into the microbiota of the female reproductive tract and call for international collaborations to better understand its long-term health impact other than in the settings of infection or pre-term birth.

Objective: Total neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is one of the standard treatments for locally advanced rectal cancer. This study aims to investigate the safety and feasibility of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody combined with total neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer with high-risk factors. Methods: A descriptive cohort study was conducted. Clinicopathological data of 24 patients with locally advanced middle-low rectal cancer with high-risk factors receiving PD-1 antibody combined with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Unit III, Peking University Cancer Hospital between January 2019 and April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria: (1) rectal adenocarcinoma confirmed by pathology; patient age of ≥ 18 years and ≤ 80 years; (2) the distance from low margin of tumor to anal verge ≤ 10 cm under sigmoidoscopy; (3) ECOG performance status score 0-1; (4) clinical stage T3c, T3d, T4a or T4b, or extramural venous invasion (EMVI) (+) or mrN2 (+) or mesorectal fasciae (MRF) (+) based on MRI; (5) no evidence of distant metastases; (6) no prior pelvic radiation therapy, no prior chemotherapy or surgery for rectal cancer; (7) no systemic infection requiring antibiotic treatment and no immune system disease. Exclusion criteria: (1) anticipated unresectable tumor after neoadjuvant treatment; (2) patients with a history of a prior malignancy within the past 5 years, or with a history of any arterial thrombotic event within the past 6 months; (3) patients received other types of antitumor or experimental therapy; (4) women who were pregnant or breast-feeding; (5) patients with any other concurrent medical or psychiatric condition or disease; (6) patients received immunotherapy (PD-1 antibody). The neoadjuvant therapy consisted of three stages: PD-1 antibody (sintilimab 200 mg, IV, Q3W) combined with CapeOx regimen for three cycles; long-course intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with gross tumor volume (GTV) 50.6 Gy/CTV 41.8 Gy/22f; CapeOx regimen for two cycles after radiotherapy. After oncological evaluation following the end of the third stage of treatment, surgery or watch and wait would be carried out. Surgical safety, histopathological changes and short-term oncological outcome were analyzed. Results: There were 15 males and 9 females with a median age of 65 (47-78) years. Median distance from the lower margin of the tumor to the anal verge was 4 (3-7) cm. The median maximal diameter of the tumor was 5.1 (2.1-7.5) cm. Twenty patients were cT3, 4 were cT4, 8 were cN1, 5 were cN2a, 11 were cN2b. Ten cases were MRF (+) and 10 were EMVI (+). All the patients were mismatch repair proficient (pMMR). During the neoadjuvant treatment period, 6 patients (25.0%) developed grade 1-2 treatment-related adverse events, including 3 immune-related adverse events. As of April 30, 2021, 20 patients (83.3%, 20/24) had received surgical resection, including 19 R0 resections and 16 sphincter-preservation operations. Morbidity of postoperative complication was 25.0% (5/20), including 2 cases of Clavien-Dindo grade II (1 of anastomotic bleeding and 1 of pseudomembranous enteritis), 3 cases of grade I anastomotic stenosis. Pathological complete response (pCR) rate was 30.0% (6/20) and major pathological response rate was 20.0% (4/20). None of Ras/Raf mutants had pCR or cCR (0/5), while 6 of 17 Ras/Raf wild-type patients had pCR and 3 had cCR, which was significantly higher than that of Ras/Raf mutants (P<0.01). Nine of 16 patients with Ras/Raf wild-type and differentiated adenocarcinoma had pCR or cCR. Among other 4 patients without surgery, 3 patients preferred watch and wait strategy because their tumors were assessed as clinical complete response (cCR), while another one patient refused surgery as the tumor remained stable. After a median follow-up of 11 (6-24) months, only 1 patient with signet ring cell carcinoma had recurrence. Conclusions: PD-1 antibody combined with total neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer has quite good safety and histopathological regression results. Combination of histology and genetic testing is helpful to screen potential beneficiaries.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Apoptosis ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Rectal Neoplasms/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome