Objective To analyze the difference of diseases between the coal mine workers and the general population inpatients by the disease spectrum in Datong City. Methods A total of 282 639 hospitalized patients in Datong City in 2023 were included as the study subjects. Participants were divided into a general population group and a coal mine workers group based on health insurance types, with 247 897 and 34 742 cases, respectively. The disease spectrum of participants in both groups was coded and analyzed according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10). The standardized constituent ratios of disease categories were calculated and compared between the two groups. Results Patients aged 60-<70 years had the largest standardized proportion in both cohorts (29.02% in the general population group and 33.08% in coal mine workers group). Circulatory system diseases had the highest standardized proportion in both groups. Within the top six disease categories ranked by standardized composition ratio in the coal mine workers, three demonstrated a higher burden, including neoplasms (C00-D48), symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical/laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), and factors influencing health status/contact with health services (Z00-Z99), compared with the general population (11.82% vs 10.44%, 12.99% vs 8.03%, and 6.17% vs 2.04%, respectively). In both groups, male workers had higher standardized constituent ratios of circulatory, respiratory, and digestive system diseases than females (coal mine workers group, 19.53% vs 14.31%, 13.56% vs 9.10%, 10.61% vs 8.43%; general population group, 26.15% vs 22.42%, 15.45% vs 11.87%, 11.52% vs 10.41%). Conversely, the ratios for conditions classified under symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical/laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99). and factors influencing health status/contact with health services (Z00-Z99) were higher in females than males (coal mine workers group, 13.31% vs 12.68%, 7.26% vs 5.13%; general population group, 8.91% vs 7.18%, 2.35% vs 1.74%). Mental and behavioral disorders (F00-F99) were most prevalent in the 22-<50-year age group in the general population (9.92%) and in the 50-<60-year age group in coal mine workers (8.58%). The standardized proportion of respiratory system diseases ranked first in≥80-year age workers in general population group and coal mine workers group (29.54% and 26.46%, respectively). Regarding specific malignancies, unspecified malignant neoplasm of the bronchus or lung was the most common cancer among males in both groups (3.44% and 3.62%). Among females, the standardized proportion of unspecified malignant neoplasm of breast was higher in coal mine workers group than in the general population group (2.60% vs 2.09%). Conclusion Neoplasms, abnormal symptoms, and mental health disorders should be prioritized in disease prevention strategies for coal mine workers. Greater attention should be paid to mental health screening in younger populations, and medical resource allocation should be optimized according to sex-specific high-incidence cancers.

Background High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a sensitive biomarker for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and can independently predict the risk of cardiovascular events. Although the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and CVD risk has been widely reported, studies on the association between hs-CRP and PFAS remain limited. Objective To investigate the association between PFAS and hs-CRP levels, to provide a scientific basis for early identification and prevention of environment-related cardiovascular events. Methods This study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2015–2018). Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 3219 participants were included for subsequent analysis. Five PFAS with detection rates exceeding 90% were selected as exposure factors and log-transformed (lnPFAS) for subsequent analysis, including perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). After selecting potential confounders through a change-in-estimate approach, logistic regression was employed to examine the effects of individual PFAS on serum hs-CRP level. Additionally, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were applied to assess the combined effects of PFAS mixtures on hs-CRP. Results The study included 3219 participants with a mean age of (50.4±17.6) years, of whom 1554 (48.28%) were male. The median concentrations of the five PFAS compounds were: 1.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFHxS), 0.50 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFNA), 1.50 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFOA), 5.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFOS), and 0.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFDA). The Wilcoxon rank-sum tests revealed statistically significant differences between the elevated serum hs-CRP (≥2 mg·L⁻¹) and normal (<2 mg·L⁻¹) groups for all five PFAS compounds (PFHxS: P=0.005; PFNA: P=0.009; PFOA: P<0.001; PFOS: P<0.001; PFDA: P<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the analysis of individual PFAS exposure demonstrated significant negative associations between serum hs-CRP levels and both ln-PFOS (OR: 0.87; 95%CI: 0.79, 0.96; P=0.0036) and lnPFDA (OR: 0.78; 95%CI: 0.71, 0.86; P < 0.001). The joint effect analysis using quantile g-computation revealed an overall inverse association between PFAS mixtures and hs-CRP, with lnPFDA emerging as a primary contributor; an similar association was observed in males, but not significant in females. Further evaluation through BKMR showed that when PFAS mixture concentrations reached or exceeded P₇₀, their combined effect on hs-CRP became significantly lower than when all PFAS concentrations were at P₅₀, establishing a clear negative dose-response relationship. Conclusion The mixed exposure to PFAS showed a significant negative joint effect on serum hs-CRP levels, with PFDA being the key component contributing to this combined effect. Future prospective cohort studies are warranted to further validate these findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved.

Hypoxia inducible factors(HIFs)are core molecules that enable the body to adapt to hypoxia environments.By sensing changes in intracellular oxygen pressure,HIFs regulate gene expression related to hypoxia adaptation,thereby enhancing the body's hypoxia tolerance at cellular,tissue and organ levels.On the other hand,HIFs promote the generation of red blood cells,angiogenesis,and regulate the body's energy metabolism,thereby improving its hypoxia tolerance.The enhancement of hypoxia tolerance is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of hypoxia-related diseases,upgrading of athletes'performance,enhancement of workers'efficiency at high-altitudes,and the improvement of individu-als'quality of life.This article reviews the relationships between HIFs and hypoxia tolerance as well as related mechanisms in order to provide strategies for enhancing hypoxia tolerance in the body.

Objective:To investigate the detection of bone marrow tumor cells in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients and their relationship with clinical features, treatment response and prognosis.Methods:A total of 113patients with newly diagnosed SCLC from January 2018 to October 2022 at Beijing Chest Hospital were prospectively enrolled. Before treatment, bone marrow was aspirated and separately submitted for tumor cells detection by liquid-based cytology and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) detection by the substrction enrichment and immunostaining fluorescence in situ hybridization (SE-iFISH) platform. The correlation between the detection results of the two methods with patients' clinical features and treatment response was evaluated by Chi-square. Kaplan-Meier method was applied to create survival curves and the Cox regression model was used for multivariate analysis.Results:The positive rate of bone marrow liquid-based cytology in SCLC was 15.93% (18/113). The liver and bone metastases rates were significantly higher (55.56% vs 11.58% for liver metastasis, P＜0.001; 77.78% vs 16.84% for bone metastasis, P＜0.001) and thrombocytopenia was more common (16.67% vs 2.11%, P=0.033) in patients with tumor cells detected in liquid-based cytology than those without detected tumor cells. As for SE-iFISH, DTCs were detected in 92.92% of patients (105/113), the liver and bone metastasis rates were significantly higher (37.93% vs 11.90% for liver metastasis, P=0.002; 44.83% vs 20.23 % for bone metastasis, P=0.010), and the incidence of thrombocytopenia was significantly increased (13.79% vs 1.19%, P=0.020) in patients with DTCs≥111 per 3 ml than those with DTCs＜111 per 3 ml. The positive rates of bone marrow liquid-based cytology in the disease control group and the disease progression group were 12.00% (12/100) and 46.15% (6/13), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.002). However, the result of SE-iFISH revealed the DTCs quantities of the above two groups were 29 (8,110) and 64 (15,257) per 3 ml, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups ( P=0.329). Univariate analysis depicted that the median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) of liquid-based cytology positive patients were significantly shorter than those of tumor cell negative patients (6.33 months vs 9.27 months for PFS, P=0.019; 8.03 months vs 19.50 months for OS, P=0.019, P=0.033). The median PFS and median OS in patients with DTCs≥111 per 3 ml decreased significantly than those with DTCs＜111 per 3 ml (6.83 months vs 9.50 months for PFS, P=0.004; 11.2 months vs 20.60 months for OS, P=0.019). Multivariate analysis showed that disease stage ( HR=2.806, 95% CI:1.499-5.251, P=0.001) and DTCs quantity detected by SE-iFISH ( HR=1.841, 95% CI:1.095-3.095, P=0.021) were independent factors of PFS, while disease stage was the independent factor of OS ( HR=2.538, 95% CI:1.169-5.512, P=0.019). Conclusions:Both bone marrow liquid-based cytology and SE-iFISH are clinically feasible. The positive detection of liquid-based cytology or DTCs≥111 per 3 ml was correlated with distant metastasis, and DTCs≥111 per 3 ml was an independent prognostic factor of decreased PFS in SCLC.

Background and objective Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma(PSC)is a rare subtype of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),which is featured by low incidence,high malignancy rate,robust aggressive behavior and inferior prognosis.To date,there is no standardized treatment.The aim of this study is to better understand and accumulate more clini-cal experience of the disease by summarizing the clinicopathological features,diagnosis methods,therapeutic regimen and prognostic factors of PSC.Methods A total of 39 patients with PSC who diagnosed and received treatment in Beijing Chest Hospital from December 2013 to December 2023 were retrospectively recruited,and information including demographic char-acteristics,clinicopathological features,tumor-node-metastasis(TNM)stage,diagnosis method and therapeutic regimen were carefully collected.Meanwhile,follow-up was conducted.Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the prognostic factors of the disease.Results The PSC patients in this study ranged in age from 45 to 76 years old,including 35 males and 4 females.There were no specific clinical manifestations of PSC at initial diagnosis.Among the 39 patients,20 underwent surgical resec-tion and 19 received palliative chemoradiation or symptomatic supportive treatment.The 1-year and 5-year survival rates were 61.90％and 35.20％respectively.Univariate analysis indicated that family history of carcinoma,primary tumor site,TNM stage,lymph node metastasis,distant metastasis,whether or not received surgical resection,surgical method,treatment regimens,tumor tissue programmed cell death ligand 1(PD-L1)expression＞1％and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor(MET)pathway abnormalities were correlated with the overall survival(OS)of patients(P＜0.05).In the subsequent multivariate analysis,lymph node metastasis emerged as the only independent prognosticator in predicting inferior OS(P=0.037).Conclu-sion PSC is rarely seen in clinical practice and commonly occurs in elder men with smoking history.Tumor tissue PD-L1 ex-pression＞1％and MET abnormalities may predict inferior prognosis of PSC and lymph node metastasis was determined as the independent prognosticator of PSC.Surgical resection along with adjuvant medical treatment is the cornerstone for early and locally advanced patients,and the clinical utility of molecular targeting therapy and immunotherapy in PSC needs to be further investigated.

Objective:To investigate the detection of bone marrow tumor cells in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients and their relationship with clinical features, treatment response and prognosis.Methods:A total of 113patients with newly diagnosed SCLC from January 2018 to October 2022 at Beijing Chest Hospital were prospectively enrolled. Before treatment, bone marrow was aspirated and separately submitted for tumor cells detection by liquid-based cytology and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) detection by the substrction enrichment and immunostaining fluorescence in situ hybridization (SE-iFISH) platform. The correlation between the detection results of the two methods with patients' clinical features and treatment response was evaluated by Chi-square. Kaplan-Meier method was applied to create survival curves and the Cox regression model was used for multivariate analysis.Results:The positive rate of bone marrow liquid-based cytology in SCLC was 15.93% (18/113). The liver and bone metastases rates were significantly higher (55.56% vs 11.58% for liver metastasis, P＜0.001; 77.78% vs 16.84% for bone metastasis, P＜0.001) and thrombocytopenia was more common (16.67% vs 2.11%, P=0.033) in patients with tumor cells detected in liquid-based cytology than those without detected tumor cells. As for SE-iFISH, DTCs were detected in 92.92% of patients (105/113), the liver and bone metastasis rates were significantly higher (37.93% vs 11.90% for liver metastasis, P=0.002; 44.83% vs 20.23 % for bone metastasis, P=0.010), and the incidence of thrombocytopenia was significantly increased (13.79% vs 1.19%, P=0.020) in patients with DTCs≥111 per 3 ml than those with DTCs＜111 per 3 ml. The positive rates of bone marrow liquid-based cytology in the disease control group and the disease progression group were 12.00% (12/100) and 46.15% (6/13), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.002). However, the result of SE-iFISH revealed the DTCs quantities of the above two groups were 29 (8,110) and 64 (15,257) per 3 ml, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups ( P=0.329). Univariate analysis depicted that the median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) of liquid-based cytology positive patients were significantly shorter than those of tumor cell negative patients (6.33 months vs 9.27 months for PFS, P=0.019; 8.03 months vs 19.50 months for OS, P=0.019, P=0.033). The median PFS and median OS in patients with DTCs≥111 per 3 ml decreased significantly than those with DTCs＜111 per 3 ml (6.83 months vs 9.50 months for PFS, P=0.004; 11.2 months vs 20.60 months for OS, P=0.019). Multivariate analysis showed that disease stage ( HR=2.806, 95% CI:1.499-5.251, P=0.001) and DTCs quantity detected by SE-iFISH ( HR=1.841, 95% CI:1.095-3.095, P=0.021) were independent factors of PFS, while disease stage was the independent factor of OS ( HR=2.538, 95% CI:1.169-5.512, P=0.019). Conclusions:Both bone marrow liquid-based cytology and SE-iFISH are clinically feasible. The positive detection of liquid-based cytology or DTCs≥111 per 3 ml was correlated with distant metastasis, and DTCs≥111 per 3 ml was an independent prognostic factor of decreased PFS in SCLC.

Pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a rare type of malignant neuroendocrine tumor with poor prognosis, with the median overall survival being around one year in advanced diseases. The prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer has been greatly improved with the application of molecular detecting techniques, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However, little progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of LCNEC with no unified standard of diagnosis and treatment protocol. The clinical molecular diagnosis and treatment of LCNEC is of great significance. Exploring the research progress related to the diagnosis and treatment of LCNEC can provide reference for improving the existing clinical diagnosis and treatment difficulties of LCNEC.

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy has been a standard treatment for the patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), however, reliable biomarkers for predicting the response remain unclear. This study explores the subpopulations of lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and combines clinical and laboratory examination indicators of NSCLC patients to identify potential biomarkers related to immunotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 82 patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC who underwent electronic bronchoscopy and received first-line immunotherapy at Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University between March 2020 and November 2022. Logistic regression and random forest models were employed to determine the correlation between immune cell subsets in BALF and response of immunotherapy. The predictive value was validated by the model. RESULTS: All patients enrolled received first-line immunotherapy, and the efficacy was evaluated according to clinical guidelines: among the 82 patients included, 48 patients got objective response and the other 34 did not achieve. The relationship between collected indicators and the best clinical treatment response was analyzed. The result shows that a higher percentage of total lymphocytes in BALF was associated with good response of first-line immunotherapy (P<0.05), while a higher percentage of T helper cells in BALF was associated with poor prognosis (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The proportions of total lymphocytes and T helper cells in BALF could be used as predictive biomarkers for first-line immunotherapy in late stage NSCLC. A multivariable model improves predictive accuracy.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Male ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Immunotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid/cytology* ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents from the roots of Curcuma longa. METHODS: The structures of the compounds were elucidated based on extensive spectral analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, MS, UV, and CD analysis. RESULTS: Two new sesquiterpene compounds (1S,2R,5R,7S,8R)-2,8-epoxy-5-hydroxybisabola-3,10-dioen-9-one ( 1), (1R,2R,5R,7S,8R)-2,8-epoxy-5-hydroxybisabola-3,10-dioen-9-one ( 2), and a new natural product 6-(4-Hydroxymethylphenyl)-2-methyl-hept-2-ene-4-one ( 3) together with three known compounds ar-turmerone ( 4), 2-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl-3-methyl)-2-hepten-4-one ( 5) and 2-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-hepten-4-one ( 6) were isolated from C. longa root extract with 95% ethanol. CONCLUSION In the study, three new compounds were isolated from C. longa, and their absolute configurations were determined.