Objective To investigate the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infections in wild rodents in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, so as to provide insights into formulation of technical guidelines for monitoring of and the precise control strategy for S. japonicum infections in wild rodents during the elimination phase. Methods Two administrative villages where schistosomiasis was historically highly prevalent were selected each from Dongzhi County, Anhui Province, and Duchang County, Jiangxi Province as study villages. Wild rodents were captured from study villages with baited traps or cages at night in June and September, 2021. The number of rodents captured was recorded, and the rodent species was characterized based on morphologi-cal characteristics. Liver tissues were sampled from captured rodents for macroscopical observation of the presence of egg granu- lomas, and S. japonicum infection was detected simultaneously using liver tissue homogenate microscopy, examinations of mesenteric tissues for parasites, and modified Kato-Katz thick smear technique (Kato-Katz technique). A positive S. japonicum infection was defined as detection of S. japonicum eggs or adult worms by any of these methods. The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents were compared in different study villages and at different time periods, and the detection of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents was compared by different assays. Results The overall rate of wild ro- dent capture was 8.28% (237/2 861) in Dongzhi County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 9.24% (133/1 439) and 7.31% (104/1 422) in two study villages (χ² = 3.503, P = 0.061), and were 8.59% (121/1 409) and 7.99% (116/1 452) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.337, P = 0.561). The overall rate of wild rodent capture was 3.72% (77/2 072) in Duchang County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 6.91% (67/970) and 0.91% (10/1 102) in two study villages (χ² = 51.901, P < 0.001), and were 4.13% (39/945) and 3.37% (38/1 127) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.815, P = 0.365). Rattus norvegicus was the predominant rodent species captured in both counties, accounting for 70.04% (166/237) of all captured wild rodents in Dongzhi County and 88.31% (68/77) in Duchang County. No S. japonicum infection was detected in wild rodents captured in Duchang County. Nevertheless, the overall prevalence of S. japonicum infections was 51.05% (121/237) in wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, with prevalence rates of 50.38% (67/133) and 51.92% (54/104) in two study villages (χ² = 0.098, P = 0.755), and 54.31% (63/116) and 47.93% (58/121) in September and June, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.964, P = 0.326). Of 237 wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, there were 140 (59.07%) rodents with visible hepatic egg granulomas, 117 (49.47%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs by liver tissue homogenate microscopy, 34 (14.35%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with Kato-Katz technique; however, no adult S. japonicum worms were detected in mesenteric tissues. In addition, hepatic egg granulomas were found in all wild rodents tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with liver tissue homogenate microscopy. Conclusions The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents vary greatly in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, and the prevalence of S. japonicum infection is slightly higher in wild rodents captured in autumn than in summer. Liver tissue is recommended as the preferred sample for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents, and a combination of macroscopical observation of hepatic egg granulomas and liver tissue homogenate microscopy may be a standard method for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents.

BACKGROUND: Molecular subtyping is an essential complementarity after pathological analyses for targeted therapy. This study aimed to investigate the consistency of next-generation sequencing (NGS) results between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based and tissue-based in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and identify the patient characteristics that favor ctDNA testing. METHODS: Patients who diagnosed with NSCLC and received both ctDNA- and cancer tissue-based NGS before surgery or systemic treatment in Lung Cancer Center, Sichuan University West China Hospital between December 2017 and August 2022 were enrolled. A 425-cancer panel with a HiSeq 4000 NGS platform was used for NGS. The unweighted Cohen's kappa coefficient was employed to discriminate the high-concordance group from the low-concordance group with a cutoff value of 0.6. Six machine learning models were used to identify patient characteristics that relate to high concordance between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients were enrolled, of which 22.4% (19/85) had stage III disease and 56.5% (48/85) had stage IV disease. Forty-four patients (51.8%) showed consistent gene mutation types between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS, while one patient (1.2%) tested negative in both approaches. Patients with advanced diseases and metastases to other organs would be suitable for the ctDNA-based NGS, and the generalized linear model showed that T stage, M stage, and tumor mutation burden were the critical discriminators to predict the consistency of results between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS. CONCLUSION ctDNA-based NGS showed comparable detection performance in the targeted gene mutations compared with tissue-based NGS, and it could be considered in advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; Female ; Male ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Middle Aged ; Mutation/genetics* ; Aged ; Adult ; Aged, 80 and over

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) plays a crucial role in regulating sensory encoding, even at the earliest stages of visual processing, as evidenced by numerous studies. Orientation selectivity, a vital neural response, is essential for detecting objects through edge perception. Here, we demonstrate that somatostatin (SOM)-expressing and parvalbumin (PV)-expressing neurons in the TRN project to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and modulate orientation selectivity and the capacity for visual information processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). These findings show that SOM-positive and PV-positive neurons in the TRN are powerful modulators of visual information encoding in V1, revealing a novel role for this thalamic nucleus in influencing visual processing.
Animals ; Somatostatin/metabolism* ; Parvalbumins/metabolism* ; Neurons/physiology* ; Thalamic Nuclei/physiology* ; Visual Pathways/physiology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Visual Perception/physiology* ; Male ; Mice, Transgenic ; Visual Cortex/physiology* ; Primary Visual Cortex/cytology*

Objective To develop and assess the reliability and validity of an outpatient satisfaction questionnaire tailor-ed for enterprise-run hospitals.Methods The initial questionnaire was formulated using interviewing and literature review,fol-lowed by a satisfaction survey administered to 380 outpatients at an enterprise-run hospital in Guangxi.Item analysis,exploratory factor analysis,and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to finalize the evaluation questionnaire and evaluate its reliability and validity.Results The final questionnaire comprised 18 items with the item reliability of 0.438-0.856,composite reliabili-ty of 0.846-0.956,and convergence validity of 0.668-0.782.The correlation coefficients among the common factors were less than the square root of the convergent validity values.Conclusion The outpatient satisfaction evaluation questionnaire developed is characterized by robust reliability and validity.

Lung cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest incidence and mortality among the Chinese.Tumor node metastasis(TNM)staging established by the American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC)and International Union Against Cancer(UICC)is a commonly used criterion,but it still has limitations in judging the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients.With the advantages of real-time and convenient sampling,the immune score based on peripheral blood biomarkers have the ability to predict prognosis and efficacy of NSCLC patients,which have been developed and validated in clinical studies.However,clinical impleruentation of peripheral immune scores is still not widely in NSCLC patients.Therefore,this study introduces and evaluates the 6 peripheral immune scores and reviews the reseach progress of them in the treatment of NSCLC.

Objective:To evaluate the real-world safety of the domestic rotavirus attenuated live vaccine in China.Methods:Studies on the incidence of adverse event following immunization (AEFI) published from January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2023 were retrieved from National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), CQVIP, Wanfang Database, PubMed, Medline, and Embase. Surveillance data about AEFI reports related to the domestic rotavirus vaccine rotavirus were collected. A meta-analysis on the safety of the rotavirus vaccine after vaccination was conducted using R software, and subgroup analyses were conducted on the incidence of AEFI in different regions and time periods.Results:A total of 36 articles were included involving 25.332 million doses of vaccine. The incidence of AEFI associated with the domestic rotavirus vaccine was 19/100 000 doses [95%CI: 15/100 000-24/100 000 doses]; the incidence was 26/100 000 doses [95%CI: 17/100 000-39/100 000 doses] in the northern regions and 16/100 000 doses [95%CI: 11/100 000-23/100 000 doses] in the southern regions; it was 24/100 000 doses [95%CI: 12/100 000-45/100 000 doses] before 2017 and 27/100 000 doses [95%CI: 18/100 000-39/100 000 doses] after 2017.Conclusions:The incidence of AEFI related to the domestic rotavirus vaccine is within the expected range, and the safety of the vaccine is good based on the real-world data.

Objective:To evaluate trauma repair and reconstruction surgery mediated by near-infrared-Ⅱ (NIR-Ⅱ) imaging in practice of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) principles.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the data of 38 patients who had undergone trauma repair and reconstruction surgery mediated by near-infrared-Ⅱ (NIR-Ⅱ) imaging in practice of ERAS principles at Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Microsurgery, Zhongnan Hospital from May 2021 to December 2021. There were 22 males and 16 females with an age of (50.3±2.7) years. To implement ERAS, NIR-Ⅱ imaging was used for patency evaluation after vascular anastomosis in 14 cases, for skin flap harvesting and perfusion monitoring in 13 cases, and for evaluation of arterial/venous blood supply after finger replantation in 11 cases. Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores at 2, 7 and 14 days after surgery, length of hospital stay, patient satisfaction [by Chinese Hospital Patient Experience and Satisfaction Monitor (CHPESM)], limb function recovery (by Likert scale) and postoperative complications were recorded.Results:All patients were followed up for more than 14 days. All surgeries succeeded. The reconstructed limbs or flaps survived to recover basically normal shape and function. The VAS scores for all patients were (2.1±0.6) points, (1.6±0.6) points and (0.8±0.4) points on postoperative 2, 7 and 14 days, respectively. The length of hospital stay was (9.8±3.4) days, and the patient satisfaction was >95% at discharge. As for the recovery of limb function at the last follow-up evaluated by the Likert 5-point scale, 12 cases experienced no stiffness, 8 ones mild stiffness, 11 ones slightly severe stiffness, 3 ones moderate to severe stiffness, 2 ones severe stiffness, and 2 ones complete stiffness. Complications related to the surgery occurred in none of the patients.Conclusion:In practice of ERAS principles, application of NIR-Ⅱ imaging in trauma repair and reconstruction surgery can effectively alleviate pain, improve satisfaction, reduce hospital stay, and accelerate functional recovery for the patients.

Objective:To evaluate the correlation between the degree of posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) injury and various parameters of vertebral body injury in patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures.Methods:A total of 48 patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures were admitted to the Spine Surgery Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University between December 2022 and January 2024. The cohort consisted of 31 males and 17 females, with a mean age of 44.1±11.8 years (range, 18-65 years). Based on the PLL injury grading method proposed by Sun Zhaoyun, patients were classified into three groups: mild, moderate, and severe. However, due to an insufficient number of patients in the severe group ( n=3), the moderate and severe groups were combined for statistical analysis, resulting in two groups: mild, and moderate-to-severe. Patient demographic and clinical data were collected. Local kyphosis (LK), inversion angle (IA), horizontal rotation angle (HRA), increased interspinous distance (IISD), anterior vertebral body compression ratio (AVBCR), posterior vertebral body compression ratio (PVBCR), middle vertebral body compression ratio (MVBCR), the ratio of height of bone fragment (RHBF), the ratio of width of bone fragment (RWBF), and mid-sagittal canal diameter compression ratio (MSDCR) were measured. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0. Categorical variables were expressed as frequency (percentage) and analyzed using chi-square and Fisher exact tests. Continuous variables were tested for normality, with non-normally distributed data analyzed using the rank-sum test and expressed as median (interquartile range). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) to evaluate predictive performance. Results:Among the 48 patients, only 3 were found to have severe PLL injury, necessitating the combination of the moderate and severe groups for statistical purposes. Patients in the moderate-to-severe group demonstrated significantly higher AVBCR, PVBCR, RHBF, MVBCR, MSDCR, and IA compared to the mild group ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression identified AVBCR, PVBCR, MSDCR, and IA as independent risk factors for moderate-to-severe PLL injury ( OR>1, P<0.05). ROC curve analysis revealed that AVBCR, PVBCR, MSDCR, IA, and their combined index could effectively predict moderate-to-severe PLL injury ( P<0.05). Notably, the combined index showed superior predictive performance (AUC=0.970) compared to individual parameters. Threshold values were determined as follows: AVBCR>45.30%, PVBCR>12.17%, MSDCR>27.13%, IA>5.90°, and the combined index >0.61, indicating PLL damage. Conclusion:AVBCR, PVBCR, MSDCR, IA, and their combined index are significantly associated with moderate-to-severe PLL injury in thoracolumbar burst fractures. The combined index demonstrates superior predictive ability compared to single parameters, providing a reliable tool for assessing PLL integrity.

Objective:To assess the feasibility, efficacy, and therapeutic advantages of radioactive 125I seed implantation for the treatment of abdominal metastases. Methods:The clinical data of eight patients with abdominal metastases treated with radioactive 125I seed implantation were retrospectively analyzed. Results:Of the three pelvic metastasis cases, two patients with grade II pain had postoperative pain relief, and one patient with grade III pain had a gradual decrease in pain to grade I one week after surgery. One patient with lower extremity edema had complete disappearance of edema one month after surgery. The lumbar back pain disappeared after ureteral stent implantation in one patient with ureteral compression. In three patients with perineal drop sensation, the discomfort disappeared at the 2-month postoperative follow-up. In two patients with abdominal wall metastases, the pain disappeared one day after surgery, and the metastatic lesions gradually decreased in size. Postoperative re-evaluation of patients with multiple peripancreatic and retroperitoneal lymph node metastases showed the disappearance of lymph node enlargement.Conclusion:Radioactive 125I seed implantation can effectively improve the life quality of patients with abdominal metastases.

Objective:To explore the role and relationship between oxidative stress and immune infiltration in idiopathic pul-monary fibrosis(IPF),and to predict the relevant therapeutic herbal medicines and active ingredients.Methods:GSE10667 gene expression profiles were downloaded from GEO database to obtain differential expression genes,differential expression of oxidative stress genes(DEOSGs)were identified in combination with oxidative stress genes.GSEA was used to evaluate the pathways and biologi-cal processes in IPF,and GO,KEGG and PPI network analysis were performed on DEOSGs.Candidate central genes were derived from PPI results and CytoHubba,and GSE110147 was validated as an independent group to identify central genes;in addition,the immune microenvironment of samples was evaluated using CIBERSORTF,and correlation between central gene levels and relative proportion of immune cells was explored;finally,therapeutic herbal medicines and components were predicted by central genes,and mole-cular docking verification was carried out.Results:A total of 51 DEOSGs,four central genes(ICAM-1,APOE,MMP-1,TGF-β2)were obtained;DEOSGs were mainly related to oxidative stress,immune response,etc;four central gene levels were closely correlated with 8 relative proportions of immune cells;therapeutic herbal medicines included 4 flavors such as Huangqi and Chuanxiong,and the active ingredients included 8 kinds of β-carotene,etc,the molecular docking results were stable.Conclusion:Oxidative stress and immune firing are exist in IPF,and oxidative stress may be recognized by immune cells or directly activate immune cells.