Objective To establish and validate a risk model for predicting heart failure(HF)in patients with hypertension.Methods The clinical data of 1500 patients with hypertension in Department of Cardiology of Tianjin Union Medical Center from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively collected.The dataset was randomly partitioned into a training set(n=1050)and a valida-tion set(n=450)at a ratio of 7∶3.Then,the patients of training set were segmented into heart failure group(n=144)or non-heart failure group(n=906).The univariate Logistic regression,least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression model and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used for screening the risk factors and developing model.The R software was used to con-struct a nomogram.The discrimination ability of the model was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),the calibration degree was evaluated by the calibration plot and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.Decision curve analy-sis(DCA)was performed to assess the clinical utility.Results This study showed that age,coronary heart disease,uric acid(UA),red blood cell distribution width(RDW),blood urea nitrogen/albumin ratio(BAR)and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR)are inde-pendent predictors of the development of HF in patients with hypertension.A predictive model was constructed using the above six predic-tive factors.In the training set,the model had an AUC value of 0.864(95％CI;0.831-0.896),Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showedx2=10.29,P=0.25.In the validation set,the AUC value was 0.842(95％CI:0.794-0.891),Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showedx2=10.48,P=0.23.The clinical decision analysis also showed that the nomogram model had a better clinical perform-ance and could bring net clinical benefits to the patients.Conclusion This study successfully constructs a predictive model for the risk of HF in adults with hypertension and it can effectively identify patients at high risk of HF and formulate targeted intervention measures,thereby providing a basis for performing early prevention and treatment and improving prognosis.

Objective:To investigate the additional value of 99Tc m-hydrazinonicotinamide (HYNIC)-Tyr3-octreotide (TOC) SPECT/CT imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Methods:A total of 54 patients (28 males and 26 females, age: (52.6±11.7) years) who underwent enhanced CT (MR) and 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT in People′s Hospital of Zhengzhou University between December 2017 and June 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Surgical pathology or biopsy was the gold standard of patients′ diagnosis (primary tumors), and comprehensive evaluation based on pathology, imaging and follow-up results was used as the diagnostic criteria of lesions. McNemar χ2 test was used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of different imaging methods. Results:Pathological results showed that 43 of the 54 patients were with GEP-NETs and 11 were with non-neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The sensitivities of enhanced CT and enhanced MR in the diagnosis of patients with GEP-NETs were 65.1%(28/43) and 60.0%(15/25) respectively, which increased to 93.0%(40/43) and 92.0%(23/25) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 8.64, 4.90, P values: 0.002, 0.021). There were 22 and 15 patients showing atypical enhancement on enhanced CT and enhanced MR respectively. The sensitivities of these two methods for GEP-NETs in patients with atypical enhancement were 54.5%(12/22) and 8/15 respectively, which increased to 95.5%(21/22) and 14/15 with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 5.82, 4.17, P values: 0.012, 0.031). Compared with enhanced CT, the detection rates of liver and bone metastatic lesions were improved significantly from 90.8%(158/174) and 55.2%(32/58) to 96.6%(168/174) and 87.9%(51/58) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 5.79, 9.82, P values: 0.013, 0.001). Compared with enhanced MR, the detection rate of bone metastases was improved significantly from 56.0%(14/25) to 88.0%(22/25) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2=4.08, P=0.039). After 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging, stages were changed in 7.0%(3/43) of patients and a greater number or extent of metastases were detected in 11.6%(5/43) of patients. 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging detected additional recurrent or metastatic lesions in 40.0%(8/20) of patients during follow-up compared to enhanced CT. Conclusion:99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging can provide an added value for diagnosing GEP-NETs with atypically enhanced CT(MR), and in the detection of liver metastasis and early bone metastasis, thus helping the optimization of clinical treatment strategies.

Objective To establish and validate a risk model for predicting heart failure(HF)in patients with hypertension.Methods The clinical data of 1500 patients with hypertension in Department of Cardiology of Tianjin Union Medical Center from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively collected.The dataset was randomly partitioned into a training set(n=1050)and a valida-tion set(n=450)at a ratio of 7∶3.Then,the patients of training set were segmented into heart failure group(n=144)or non-heart failure group(n=906).The univariate Logistic regression,least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression model and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used for screening the risk factors and developing model.The R software was used to con-struct a nomogram.The discrimination ability of the model was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),the calibration degree was evaluated by the calibration plot and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.Decision curve analy-sis(DCA)was performed to assess the clinical utility.Results This study showed that age,coronary heart disease,uric acid(UA),red blood cell distribution width(RDW),blood urea nitrogen/albumin ratio(BAR)and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR)are inde-pendent predictors of the development of HF in patients with hypertension.A predictive model was constructed using the above six predic-tive factors.In the training set,the model had an AUC value of 0.864(95％CI;0.831-0.896),Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showedx2=10.29,P=0.25.In the validation set,the AUC value was 0.842(95％CI:0.794-0.891),Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showedx2=10.48,P=0.23.The clinical decision analysis also showed that the nomogram model had a better clinical perform-ance and could bring net clinical benefits to the patients.Conclusion This study successfully constructs a predictive model for the risk of HF in adults with hypertension and it can effectively identify patients at high risk of HF and formulate targeted intervention measures,thereby providing a basis for performing early prevention and treatment and improving prognosis.

Objective:To investigate the additional value of 99Tc m-hydrazinonicotinamide (HYNIC)-Tyr3-octreotide (TOC) SPECT/CT imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Methods:A total of 54 patients (28 males and 26 females, age: (52.6±11.7) years) who underwent enhanced CT (MR) and 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC SPECT/CT in People′s Hospital of Zhengzhou University between December 2017 and June 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Surgical pathology or biopsy was the gold standard of patients′ diagnosis (primary tumors), and comprehensive evaluation based on pathology, imaging and follow-up results was used as the diagnostic criteria of lesions. McNemar χ2 test was used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of different imaging methods. Results:Pathological results showed that 43 of the 54 patients were with GEP-NETs and 11 were with non-neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The sensitivities of enhanced CT and enhanced MR in the diagnosis of patients with GEP-NETs were 65.1%(28/43) and 60.0%(15/25) respectively, which increased to 93.0%(40/43) and 92.0%(23/25) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 8.64, 4.90, P values: 0.002, 0.021). There were 22 and 15 patients showing atypical enhancement on enhanced CT and enhanced MR respectively. The sensitivities of these two methods for GEP-NETs in patients with atypical enhancement were 54.5%(12/22) and 8/15 respectively, which increased to 95.5%(21/22) and 14/15 with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 5.82, 4.17, P values: 0.012, 0.031). Compared with enhanced CT, the detection rates of liver and bone metastatic lesions were improved significantly from 90.8%(158/174) and 55.2%(32/58) to 96.6%(168/174) and 87.9%(51/58) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2 values: 5.79, 9.82, P values: 0.013, 0.001). Compared with enhanced MR, the detection rate of bone metastases was improved significantly from 56.0%(14/25) to 88.0%(22/25) with the addition of 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging ( χ2=4.08, P=0.039). After 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging, stages were changed in 7.0%(3/43) of patients and a greater number or extent of metastases were detected in 11.6%(5/43) of patients. 99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging detected additional recurrent or metastatic lesions in 40.0%(8/20) of patients during follow-up compared to enhanced CT. Conclusion:99Tc m-HYNIC-TOC imaging can provide an added value for diagnosing GEP-NETs with atypically enhanced CT(MR), and in the detection of liver metastasis and early bone metastasis, thus helping the optimization of clinical treatment strategies.

Objective:To analyze the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with thrombocytosis (platelet count ≥350×10 9) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), and the effect of thrombocytosis on the prognosis of patients with HCC after TACE. Methods:Clinical data of 867 patients with HCC admitted to the Department of Interventional Radiology, the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2013 to May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. After propensity score matching, 99 patients were enrolled, including 70 males and 29 females, aged (60.1±12.1) years. Patients were divided into the groups with thrombocytosis ( n=33) and without thrombocytosis ( n=66). The gender, maximum tumor diameter, Barcelona clinical liver cancer (BCLC) stage, and total bilirubin were compared between the two groups. The association of thrombocytosis with the prognosis of HCC after TACE treatment were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Results:After propensity score matching, the male proportion, maximum tumor diameter, BCLC stage, and serum level of total bilirubin were comparable between the groups (all P>0.05). Before TACE treatment, the platelet count of patients with thrombocytosis was (394.4±54.5)×10 9/L, which was higher than that after TACE [(278.2±86.4)×10 9/L, t=7.63, P<0.001]. The progression-free survival rates after TACE in without thrombocytosis group were 83.3%, 24.2%, and 7.6% at 3, 6 and 9 months, respectively, better than those in thrombocytosis group (51.5%, 3.0%, and 3.0%, respectively; χ2=31.24, P<0.001). The overall survival rates after TACE in without thrombocytosis group were 81.8%, 30.3%, and 4.5% at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively, better than those in thrombocytosis group (15.2%, 9.1%, and 3.0%, respectively; χ2=27.89, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients of HCC with thrombocytosis had an increased risk of tumor progression ( HR=5.785, 95% CI: 3.291-10.168, P<0.001) and increased risk of death ( HR=4.090, 95% CI: 2.482-6.740, P<0.001) after TACE. Conclusion:The prognosis of TACE for HCC might be worse in patients with thrombocytosis. Thrombocytosis is a risk factor for cumulative survival and progression-free survival of HCC patients after TACE.

Objective To establish the methods of galvanic vestibular stimulation-vestibular evoked myogenic potentials(GVS-VEMPs)in healthy children and to obtain the normal value of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP in these children in China.Methods Twenty(3～14 years)healthy children and 24 healthy adults(18～30 years)were enrolled for conventional examinations of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP.Using the galvanic stimulation in-tensity under 3 mA/1 ms for children and 5 mA/1 ms for adults.The characteristics of elicitation and parameter re-sults of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP in children and adults,as well as the pain scores and the elicitation of differ-ent stimulus intensities in the two age groups were recorded.Results The elicitation of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP were both 100.0％in children and adult groups.The p1 latency,n1 latency and p1-n1 interval latency of GVS-cVEMP were 10.46±1.84 ms,16.98±2.12 ms and 6.52±1.42 ms respectively in children group,the n1 la-tency and p1-n1 interval latency were significantly shorter than the adult group(P＜0.05).The n1 latency,p1 la-tency and p1-n1 interval latency of GVS-oVEMP were 8.87±1.40 ms,12.25±1.80 ms and 3.39±1.07 ms re-spectively in children group with no significant difference between the two groups.The thresholds of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP in children group were significantly lower than adult group(P＜0.01),but no differences were found in adult group regarding on the amplitude and interaural amplitude asymmetry ratio.In addition,with the in-crease of the intensity of galvanic stimulation,the correlation between pain scores and the elicitation rates of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP also increased.Conclusion Using appropriate stimulus intensity and recording methods,GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP could be successfully assessed and detected in healthy children over 3 years old and adolescents.The latency of GVS-cVEMP in children is slightly shorter than that in adults,therefore we recommend selecting the matched age group for assessment in the children group.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and postoperative aortic changes of 3D printing-assisted stent with in-vitro pre-fenestration technique in the treatment of complex type B aortic dissection.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 28 patients with complex type B aortic dissection who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair(TEVAR)using stent with in-vitro pre-fenestration technique.The patients were divided into two groups based on the methods of stent with in-vitro pre-fenestration:the 3D printing-assisted stent pre-fenestration group(3D printing group)consisting of 13 patients and traditional stent pre-fenestration group(traditional group)consisting of 15 patients.Various parameters,including hospital duration,surgical duration,duration of stent pre-fenestration in vitro,dose of contrast agent,intraoperative blood loss,immediate postoperative internal leakage rate,30 d postoperative internal leakage rate,30 d postoperative mortality,and the change rate of true and false lumen diameter[the change rate of true and false lumen diameter=(postoperative true and false lumen diameter-preoperative true and false lumen diameter)/preoperative true and false lumen diameter× 100％],were compared between the two groups.Results Compared with the traditional group,the 3D printing group exhibited a considerable reduction in surgical duration[(148.46±27.20)min vs(175.46±22.04)min,P＜0.05].Additionally,the 30 d postoperative type Ⅰ internal leakage rate was lower in the 3D printing group(X2=4.044,P=0.044).Moreover,the change(dilation)rate of true lumen diameter in stent coverage section showed a notable increase in the 3D printing group(P＜0.05).Conclusion The use of 3D printing-assisted stent with in-vitro pre-fenestration has been proven to be safe and effective in the treatment of complex type B aortic dissection.It offers notable advantages,including the reduction of surgical duration,a lower risk of type Ⅰ internal leakage and significant redilation of the true aortic lumen after surgery.

ObjectiveTo study the relationship between the exposure to two kinds of phthalate esters （PAEs） ［Di-N-butyl phthalate，（DBP） and Di-（2-ethylhexyl）phthalate （DEHP）］ and estrogen homeostasis in pregnant women. MethodsIn 2021， we classified the Jiading District of Shanghai into five geographical areas， east， west， south， north and central. A total of 151 pregnant women from each area were selected for questionnaire survey， with random urine samples during first， second， and third trimesters collected. A DBP metabolite ［Mono-N-butyl phthalate （MBP）］ and two DEHP metabolites ［Mono（2-ethylhexyl） phthalate （MEHP）， Mono（2-ethyl5-oxohexyl） phthalate， （MEOHP）］ and three estrogens ［estrone （E₁）， 17β -estradiol （E₂）， and estriol （E₃）］ in urine were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. After a natural logarithmic transformation of PAEs metabolite levels and estrogen concentration， multivariable linear regression was used to control potential confounders and determine the relationship between PAEs metabolite levels and estrogen concentration. ResultsThe detection rates of three PAEs metabolites in urine of pregnant women were more than 98%. The median corrected concentrations of MBP， MEHP and MEOHP were 5.18， 0.59 and 4.23 mg·kg^-1， respectively. During the whole pregnancy， MEOHP was positively correlated with E₁ （β=0.450， 95%CI： 0.057‒0.844）， and MBP was positively correlated with E₃ （β=0.250， 95%CI： 0.034‒0.465）. Stratified by trimesters， MBP was positively correlated with E₃ in the first trimester （β=0.428， 95%CI： 0.103‒0.752）. MEOHP was positively correlated with E₁ in the second trimester （β=0.734， 95%CI： 0.130‒0.752）， and had a possitive trend with E₁ in the third trimester （β=0.744， 95%CI： -0.140‒1.629）. In addition， MEHP had a negative correlation with E₁ in the second trimester （β=-0.498， 95%CI： -1.063‒0.066）. MEOHP had a positive correlation trend with E₂ （β=0.628， 95%CI： -0.101‒1.356） in the third trimester. ConclusionPAEs exposure may interfere with estrogen homeostasis during pregnancy and differs by trimesters. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study， it warrants further study to validate the findings.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy is reported to have little effect in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with driver oncogenes. However, recent studies have shown that some patients with driver genes are still benefit from combination immunotherapy after tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) drug resistance. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of posterior line immunotherapy in NSCLC patients with epidermal growth factor (EGFR) sensitive mutation, and to evaluate the value of immunotherapy in posterior line therapy in patients with advanced EGFR mutation. METHODS: A total of 27 patients with EGFR mutation diagnosed in Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University from June 2018 to November 2020 were collected. After the progress of targeted therapy, they had received programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor combined with chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic drug therapy. RESULTS: Of the 27 advanced NSCLC patients, 19 cases (70.4%) did not have T790M mutation. There were 8 cases (29.6%) with T790M point mutation. The total objective response rate (ORR) was 40.7%. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference among different EGFR mutations (χ²=4.15, P=0.230). But progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer in patients without T790M mutation than in patients with T790M mutation (9.2 mon vs 3.3 mon, χ²=2.808, P=0.041), and the same trend was observed in patients with overall survival treated with the PD-1 inhibitor (12.2 mon vs 7.3 mon, χ²=3.22, P=0.062). ORR of patients without T790M was significantly better than that with T790M (52.63% vs 12.5%, P=0.045). CONCLUSIONS Patients with EGFR mutation can benefit from later-line combined immunotherapy. The patients with T790M mutation in the population of EGFR mutation had the worst effect of immunotherapy in the later line. Therefore, the follow-up treatment and whole-course management of these patients need to explore better treatment strategies to improve the benefit.

Orally administered drug entities have to survive the harsh gastrointestinal environment, penetrate the enteric epithelia and circumvent hepatic metabolism before reaching the systemic circulation. Whereas the gastrointestinal stability can be well maintained by taking proper measures, hepatic metabolism presents as a formidable barrier to drugs suffering from first-pass metabolism. The pharmaceutical academia and industries are seeking alternative pathways for drug transport to circumvent problems associated with the portal pathway. Intestinal lymphatic transport is emerging as a promising pathway to this end. In this review, we intend to provide an updated overview on the rationale, strategies, factors and applications involved in intestinal lymphatic transport. There are mainly two pathways for peroral lymphatic transport-the chylomicron and the microfold cell pathways. The underlying mechanisms are being unraveled gradually and nowadays witness increasing research input and applications.