ObjectiveTo investigate the association of physical activity and balance ability with disability, and to further examine the mediating role of balance ability in the relationship between physical activity and disability. MethodsBased on data from 2021 to 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycle, a multivariable Logistic regression model was constructed to evaluate the independent association of physical activity and balance ability with disability, with covariates adjusted in four steps. An interaction model was further developed to assess the multiplicative interaction between physical activity and balance ability. Mediation analysis was performed using the Baron and Kenny three-step approach to examine the mediating role of balance ability, and the proportion of the mediation effect was calculated. The significance of the mediation effect was assessed using the Delta method, and robustness was verified through the Bootstrap method with a fixed random seed. Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure the stability of the results. ResultsA total of 3 902 participants were included, with a prevalence of disability of 17.7%. Multivariable regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for all covariates, both light-intensity physical activity (LIPA) (OR = 0.489, 95%CI 0.380 to 0.629, P < 0.001) and high-intensity physical activity (HIPA) (OR = 0.493, 95%CI 0.371 to 0.656, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with a reduced risk of disability, whereas impaired balance ability was significantly associated with an increased risk (OR = 1.579, 95%CI 1.266 to 1.970, P < 0.001). The interaction effect analysis showed that the interaction between physical activity and balance ability were not significant (P > 0.05), however, the main effect of LIPA remained robust (β = -0.597, SE = 0.221, OR = 0.550, P = 0.007), while impaired balance ability was significantly associated with an increased risk of disability (β = 0.577, SE = 0.231, OR = 1.780, P = 0.012). The mediation analysis further indicated that balance ability played a robust mediating role in the association between LIPA and disability, with a mediation proportion of 21.1%. The indirect effect (a × b) was statistically significant (P < 0.001), and the 95% confidence intervals derived from the bootstrap method did not include zero. ConclusionPhysical activity and balance ability are significantly associated with disability, and balance ability may mediate the relationship between physical activity and disability, highlighting its potential value in disability risk assessment and intervention strategies.

Sennoside A(SA),a typical prodrug,exerts its laxative effect only after its transformation into rhei-nanthrone catalyzed by gut microbial hydrolases and reductases.Hydrolases have been identified,but reductases remain unknown.By linking a photoreactive group to the SA scaffold,we synthesized a photoaffinity probe to covalently label SA reductases and identified SA reductases using activity-based protein profiling(ABPP).From lysates of an active strain,Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum(B.pseu-docatenulatum),397 proteins were enriched and subsequently identified using mass spectrometry(MS).Among these proteins,chromate reductase/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NADH)phosphate(NADPH)-dependent flavin mononucleotide(FMN)reductase/oxygen-insensitive NADPH nitroreductase(nfrA)was identified as a potent SA reductase through further bioinformatic analysis and The Universal Protein Resource(UniProt)database screening.We also determined that recombinant nfrA could reduce SA.Our study contributes to further illuminating mechanisms of SA transformation to rheinanthrone and simultaneously offers an effective method to identify gut bacterial reductases.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of digital PCR (dPCR) for the prenatal diagnosis of common fetal aneuploidies. METHODS: A dPCR-based assay was developed for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13. A retrospective analysis was carried out on 173 amniotic fluid samples collected by the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. By using chromosomal karyotyping as the gold standard, the diagnostic performance of the multiplex dPCR system was evaluated in a double-blind manner. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Taizhou Hospital (Ethics No. K20250339). RESULTS: Chromosomal karyotyping has identified 59 cases of trisomy 21, 5 cases of trisomy 18, 2 cases of trisomy 13, 6 cases with chromosomal structural abnormalities or mosaicisms, and 101 cases with a normal karyotype. The dPCR results (Z-score cutoff = 4.0, CI = 99.997%) showed full concordance with karyotyping (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, Kappa = 1). Among the 6 structurally abnormal or mosaicism samples, dPCR has accurately detected 4 cases, but mis-classified 2 cases of trisomy 21 with very low-level mosaicisms (3.3%, 6.9%, respectively) as normal. CONCLUSION The established multiplex dPCR system demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for common chromosomal aneuploidies, with results available within 24 hours. It can serve as an efficient supplementary tool to conventional chromosomal karyotyping, providing reliable support for time-sensitive clinical decision-making in prenatal diagnosis.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Aneuploidy ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods* ; Karyotyping ; Retrospective Studies ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Chromosome Disorders/genetics* ; Adult ; Trisomy 13 Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Trisomy 18 Syndrome/genetics* ; Down Syndrome/genetics*

Objective:To standardize the management of Investigator-Initiated Trials(IITs) and improve the quality of research projects, this study takes a tertiary hospital in Beijing as an example to analyze the key risk points in the implementation process of IITs and proposes countermeasures based on the issues identified during the management process.Methods:The study analyzed the IITs conducted at in the hospital from 2022 to 2023, focusing on 4 aspects: project classification evaluation and management (risk management), project implementation quality (process management), collaboration and support conditions(contract review and execution), and participant protection (medical ethics). It examined the key points and difficulties in project process management to standardize the quality management of IITs.Results:The implementation process management of IITs in medical institutions was an essential component for standardized clinical research management and an effective means to ensure the scientific nature of clinical research and the quality of data.Conclusions:Medical institutions should establish an effective and feasible IIT quality management system to comprehensively enhance the quality of IIT project, aiming to produce high-quality clinical research outcomes.

Objective:To assess the clinical value of digital PCR (dPCR) for the prenatal diagnosis of common fetal aneuploidies.Methods:A dPCR-based assay was developed for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13. A retrospective analysis was carried out on 173 amniotic fluid samples collected by the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. By using chromosomal karyotyping as the gold standard, the diagnostic performance of the multiplex dPCR system was evaluated in a double-blind manner. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Taizhou Hospital (Ethics No. K20250339).Results:Chromosomal karyotyping has identified 59 cases of trisomy 21, 5 cases of trisomy 18, 2 cases of trisomy 13, 6 cases with chromosomal structural abnormalities or mosaicisms, and 101 cases with a normal karyotype. The dPCR results ( Z-score cutoff = 4.0, CI = 99.997%) showed full concordance with karyotyping (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, Kappa = 1). Among the 6 structurally abnormal or mosaicism samples, dPCR has accurately detected 4 cases, but mis-classified 2 cases of trisomy 21 with very low-level mosaicisms (3.3%, 6.9%, respectively) as normal. Conclusion:The established multiplex dPCR system demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for common chromosomal aneuploidies, with results available within 24 hours. It can serve as an efficient supplementary tool to conventional chromosomal karyotyping, providing reliable support for time-sensitive clinical decision-making in prenatal diagnosis.

Objective:To learn about both the distribution of resources of radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic and the frequencies of radiological examinations to provide a basis for rational allocation of medical resources and standardize medical ionizing radiation.Methods:Based on the data on permanent resident population and the data reported by the Suzhou medical institutions in possesion of radiological equipment to the " Suzhou radiological health information management platform", a summary was made of the number of items of radiological equipment and the frequencies of radiological examinations in Suzhou medical institutions in 2022 and 2023.Results:In 2023, there were 368 medical institutions with radiological equipment in Suzhou, including 28 tertiary hospitals, 58 secondary hospitals, 159 primary hospitals and 123 unrated others. The total number of the items of radiological equipment was 1 688, with 39 items more than in 2022, about 1.30 units per 10 000 population. There were 5 187 medical radiation workers in total, with 339 more than in 2022. The frequencies of radiological procedures were 1 157.961/per thousand population, with 37.70% being from computed tomography in 2023.Conclusions:The number of items of radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic equipment and the frequencies of radiological procedures was at a relatively high level in China, but the distribution of medical resources were in a unbanlanced state. Efforts should be focused on optimization of the allocation of medical resources for the sake of reducing the public radiation dose and protecting public health.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) complicated with portal hypertension and evaluate the efficacy of ruxolitinib treatment.Methods:A total of 42 patients with MPN complicated with portal hypertension and 84 patients with MPN without portal hypertension who were admitted to the Department of Hematology of the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2018 to December 2023 were retrospectively included. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. The MPN combined with portal hypertension group was divided into the ruxolitinib group ( n=18) and the traditional treatment group ( n=24) according to different treatment methods. The baseline characteristics and therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared. Results:Compared with patients with MPN without portal hypertension, patients with MPN combined with portal hypertension were younger (median age 49 years vs 63 years), and were more common in females [54.76%(23/42) vs 41.67%(35/84)]. The proportion of JAK2V617F mutation was higher [88.09%(37/42) vs 70.23%(59/84)], and the incidence of portal vein thrombosis was higher [57.14%(24/42) vs 1.19%(1/84)]. The incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding was high [45.24%(19/42) vs 4.76%(4/84)], and the hemoglobin and platelet counts were lower (all P<0.05). In terms of MPN classification, the proportions of PrePMF (5/18) and Post-ET-MF (4/18) were relatively high in the ruxolitinib group, while the proportions of essential thrombocythemia (ET) [41.67%(10/24)] and polycythemia vera (PV) [25.00%(6/24)] were relatively high in the traditional treatment group. The distribution of driver genes showed that the JAK2V617F mutation rate in the ruxolitinib group was higher than that in the traditional treatment group (all P<0.05). The proportion of patients with spleen volume reduction ≥35%(SVR35) in the ruxolitinib group was 4/18, and that in the traditional treatment group was 8.33%(2/24), with no statistically significant difference ( P=0.21). The portal vein diameter in the ruxolitinib group decreased compared with the baseline [(14.2±2.1)mm vs (16.5±2.8)mm, P=0.02], while no improvement was observed in the traditional treatment group. Conclusions:Ruxolitinib can effectively improve the portal vein diameter of patients with MPN complicated with portal hypertension.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) complicated with portal hypertension and evaluate the efficacy of ruxolitinib treatment.Methods:A total of 42 patients with MPN complicated with portal hypertension and 84 patients with MPN without portal hypertension who were admitted to the Department of Hematology of the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2018 to December 2023 were retrospectively included. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. The MPN combined with portal hypertension group was divided into the ruxolitinib group ( n=18) and the traditional treatment group ( n=24) according to different treatment methods. The baseline characteristics and therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared. Results:Compared with patients with MPN without portal hypertension, patients with MPN combined with portal hypertension were younger (median age 49 years vs 63 years), and were more common in females [54.76%(23/42) vs 41.67%(35/84)]. The proportion of JAK2V617F mutation was higher [88.09%(37/42) vs 70.23%(59/84)], and the incidence of portal vein thrombosis was higher [57.14%(24/42) vs 1.19%(1/84)]. The incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding was high [45.24%(19/42) vs 4.76%(4/84)], and the hemoglobin and platelet counts were lower (all P<0.05). In terms of MPN classification, the proportions of PrePMF (5/18) and Post-ET-MF (4/18) were relatively high in the ruxolitinib group, while the proportions of essential thrombocythemia (ET) [41.67%(10/24)] and polycythemia vera (PV) [25.00%(6/24)] were relatively high in the traditional treatment group. The distribution of driver genes showed that the JAK2V617F mutation rate in the ruxolitinib group was higher than that in the traditional treatment group (all P<0.05). The proportion of patients with spleen volume reduction ≥35%(SVR35) in the ruxolitinib group was 4/18, and that in the traditional treatment group was 8.33%(2/24), with no statistically significant difference ( P=0.21). The portal vein diameter in the ruxolitinib group decreased compared with the baseline [(14.2±2.1)mm vs (16.5±2.8)mm, P=0.02], while no improvement was observed in the traditional treatment group. Conclusions:Ruxolitinib can effectively improve the portal vein diameter of patients with MPN complicated with portal hypertension.

Objective:To standardize the management of Investigator-Initiated Trials(IITs) and improve the quality of research projects, this study takes a tertiary hospital in Beijing as an example to analyze the key risk points in the implementation process of IITs and proposes countermeasures based on the issues identified during the management process.Methods:The study analyzed the IITs conducted at in the hospital from 2022 to 2023, focusing on 4 aspects: project classification evaluation and management (risk management), project implementation quality (process management), collaboration and support conditions(contract review and execution), and participant protection (medical ethics). It examined the key points and difficulties in project process management to standardize the quality management of IITs.Results:The implementation process management of IITs in medical institutions was an essential component for standardized clinical research management and an effective means to ensure the scientific nature of clinical research and the quality of data.Conclusions:Medical institutions should establish an effective and feasible IIT quality management system to comprehensively enhance the quality of IIT project, aiming to produce high-quality clinical research outcomes.