Epilepsy is a common neurological disease,has the characteristics of recurrent attacks and long-term treatment,thus bringing great pressure to patients and their families.Therefore,it is particularly important to do a good job of disability assessment.In recent years,with the development of the discipline,academic organizations such as the International League Against Epilepsy(ILAE)and China Association Against Epilepsy(CAAE)have successively updated the definition and diagnostic criteria of epilepsy and seizures.However,some items of epilepsy in the current Criteria for Disability Rating of Military Personnel(Trial)issued by People's Liberation Army(PLA)in 2011 can no longer meet the latest guidelines at home and abroad.Therefore,we suggest that the items related to epilepsy in the Criteria for Disability Rating of Military Personnel(Trial)should be revised to ensure that the disability evaluation being completed fairly and successfully.

Objective To explore the characteristics of response to joint attention(RJA)under diverse guiding behaviors for pre-schoolers with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder(ASD). Methods From March to May,2023,21 children with moderate to severe ASD and 16 children with developmental de-lays matched the physiological ages were selected from Jiaxing Sunlight Rehabilitation Kindergarten,and 16 typ-ical developmental children matched the physiological ages were selected from the kindergartens nearby.They accepted a behavioral experiment on RJA.The number of RJA,frequence of RJA and the coefficient of variation of guiding behaviors needed to RJA were compared among the three groups. Results About half of the ASD group responded after guiding of head-turning,and the others required higher levels of guiding.The frequence of RJA after guiding of head-turning was less in the ASD group than in the typical devel-opment group(χ2>6.170,P<0.05),and the coefficient of variation of guiding behaviors was more(d=4.039,P<0.001). Conclusion Preschoolers with moderate to severe ASD are able to respond to joint attention,and this ability is poorer than typically developing children.The guiding behavior of the evaluator should be considered in assessing and intervening RJA in preschoolers with ASD.

Objective Explore effective strategies for hospitals to manage the National Natural Science Foundation of China.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the population characteristics of a certain tertiary comprehensive hospital's National Natural Science Foundation project application and approval from 2016 to 2022.Single factor analysis and bi-nary multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the factors that affect the approval of the National Natural Sci-ence Foundation project,and a function prediction model was established.Results A total of 1 098 applicants were collected in this study,including 653 young project applicants and 178 approved,445 general project applicants and 114 approved;Multi fac-tor logistic results show that in youth programs,the younger the age,the doctor's degree,scientific research posts,the experi-ence of studying abroad,the average impact factor of publishing SCI papers as the first/corresponding author is 3-5 points Appli-cants who have published SCI papers as the first/corresponding author with an average impact factor of more than 5 points,pub-lished SCI papers in four districts as the first/corresponding author,presided over national level and academic level topics are more likely to be approved by the Youth Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China;Among general programs,applicants who have doctoral degree,overseas study experience,published Zone 1and Zone 2 SCI essays,and presided over na-tional projects as the first/corresponding author are more likely to be approved as general programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.The area under the AUC curve of the youth project regression prediction model is 0.860,and the area under the AUC curve of the surface project regression prediction model is 0.838.The model has high predictive value.Conclusion Hospitals should strengthen policy guidance,increase economic investment,encourage applicants to carry out preliminary work layout,focus on talent cultivation,and comprehensively promote the effective management of the National Natural Science Foun-dation of the hospital.

Objective:To investigate the value of transanal multipoint full-layer puncture biopsy (TMFP) in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy (nCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) and to establish a predictive model for providing clinical guidance regarding the treatment of LARC.Methods:In this multicenter, prospective, cohort study, we collected data on 110 LARC patients from four hospitals between April 2020 and March 2023: Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University (50 patients), Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University (41 patients), Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (16 patients), and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (three patients). The patients had all received TMFP after completing standard nCRT. The variables studied included (1) clinicopathological characteristics; (2) clinical complete remission (cCR) and efficacy of TMFP in determining pCR after NCRT in LARC patients; and (3) hospital attended, sex, age, clinical T- and N-stages, distance between the lower margin of the tumor and the anal verge, baseline and post-radiotherapy serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 concentrations, chemotherapy regimen, use of immunosuppressants with or without radiotherapy, radiation therapy dosage, interval between surgery and radiotherapy, surgical procedure, clinical T/N stage after radiotherapy, cCR, pathological results of TMFP, puncture method (endoscopic or percutaneous), and number and timing of punctures. Single-factor and multifactorial logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors affecting pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. A prediction model was constructed based on the results of multivariat analysis and the performance of this model evaluated by analyzing subject work characteristics (ROC), calibration, and clinical decision-making (DCA) curves. pCR was defined as complete absence of tumor cells on microscopic examination of the surgical specimens of rectal cancer (including lymph node dissection) after NCRT, that is, ypT0+N0. cCR was defined according to the Chinese Neoadjuvant Rectal Cancer Waiting Watch Database Study Collaborative Group criteria after treatment, which specify an absence of ulceration and nodules on endoscopy; negative rectal palpation; no tumor signals on rectal MRI T2 and DWI sequences; normal serum CEA concentrations, and no evidence of recurrence on pelvic computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging.Results:Of the 110 patients, 45 (40.9%) achieved pCR after nCRT, which was combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in 34 (30.9%). cCR was diagnosed before puncture in 38 (34.5%) patients, 43 (39.1%) of the punctures being endoscopic. There were no complications of puncture such as enterocutaneous fistulae, vaginal injury, prostatic injury, or presacral bleeding . Only one (2.3%) patient had a small amount of blood in the stools, which was relieved by anal pressure. cCR had a sensitivity of 57.8% (26/45) for determining pCR, specificity of 81.5% (53/65), accuracy of 71.8% (79/110), positive predictive value 68.4% (26/38), and negative predictive value of 73.6% (53/72). In contrast, the sensitivity of TMFP pathology in determining pCR was 100% (45/45), specificity 66.2% (43/65), accuracy 80.0% (88/110), positive predictive value 67.2% (45/67), and negative predictive value 100.0% (43/43). In this study, the sensitivity of TMFP for pCR (100.0% vs. 57.8%, χ 2=24.09, P<0.001) was significantly higher than that for cCR. However, the accuracy of pCR did not differ significantly (80.0% vs. 71.8%, χ 2=2.01, P=0.156). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that a ≥4 cm distance between the lower edge of the tumor and the anal verge (OR=7.84, 95%CI: 1.48-41.45, P=0.015), non-cCR (OR=4.81, 95%CI: 1.39-16.69, P=0.013), and pathological diagnosis by TMFP (OR=114.29, the 95%CI: 11.07-1180.28, P<0.001) were risk factors for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. Additionally, endoscopic puncture (OR=0.02, 95%CI: 0.05-0.77, P=0.020) was a protective factor for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. The area under the ROC curve of the established prediction model was 0.934 (95%CI: 0.892-0.977), suggesting that the model has good discrimination. The calibration curve was relatively close to the ideal 45° reference line, indicating that the predicted values of the model were in good agreement with the actual values. A decision-making curve showed that the model had a good net clinical benefit. Conclusion:Our predictive model, which incorporates TMFP, has considerable accuracy in predicting pCR after nCRT in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. This may provide a basis for more precisely selecting individualized therapy.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HRMR-VWI) features for the etiology of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by intracranial large vessel occlusion (LVO).Methods:Patients diagnosed with AIS caused by LVO at the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from August 1, 2019 to August 1, 2022 were retrospectively collected. All patients underwent HRMR-VWI evaluation and endovascular treatment between 4.5 and 24 hours after onset. Complete recanalization of occluded vessels after direct aspiration first-pass was defined as embolic LVO, and those with residual stenosis >50% after the direct aspiration first-pass were classified as intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis related LVO (ICAS-LVO).Results:A total of 28 patients were included. Their age was 65.32±2.23 years, 20 (71.4%) were males. There were 22 patients (78.6%) in the embo-LVO group and 6 (21.4%) in the ICAS-LVO group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the remodeling index was an independent predictor of ICAS-LVO (odds ratio 1.081, 95% confidence interval 1.001-1.167; P=0.046). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of the remodeling index for predicting ICAS-LVO was 0.882 (95% confidence interval 0.724-1.00; P=0.003). The optimal cutoff value was 1.1, and the predictive sensitivity and specificity were 66.7% and 100.0%, respectively. Conclusions:The HRMR-VWI remodeling index is an independent predictor of ICAS-LVO, with a remodeling index ≥1.1 indicating ICAS-LVO. HRMR-VWI can help identify the etiology of patients with AIS caused by LVO, thereby guiding endovascular treatment.

Objective To investigate the value of predicting the pathological results of labial gland biopsy in Sj?gren's syndrome(SS)based on the labial gland MRI radiomics machine learning models.Methods The labial gland MRI data of 178 suspected SS patients were analyzed retrospectively,and the labial gland biopsy pathology results were positive in 97 cases and negative in 81 cases.The samples were divided into training set(143 cases)and test set(35 cases)using a randomized stratified sampling according to the ratio of 4:1.The region of interest(ROI)was manually outlined at the maximal level of the lower labial gland in T2WI water phase and radiomics features(104)were extracted.Feature screening was performed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO),and the selected features set was used to construct Extra Trees,LightGBM,and Gradient Boosting classifier models.The predictive efficacy of the models was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,and the DeLong test was used to compare the differences in the area under the curve(AUC)between the models.Decision curve analysis(DCA)was used to evaluate the clinical application value of the models in guiding biopsy.Results After LASSO screening,five optimal radiomics features were obtained.The AUC of Extra Trees,LightGBM,and Gradient Boosting models on the training and test sets were as follows 1.000,0.807,0.960 and 0.655,0.779,0.639,respectively.The DeLong test showed no statistically significant difference in AUC among the three models in the test set.DCA showed that the LightGBM model of guided biopsy had a higher clinical net benefit over a wider range of risk thresholds than other models.Conclusion Based on the radiomics features of the labial gland T2WI water phase,the LightGBM model has a high accuracy in predicting the pathological results of labial gland biopsy in SS,and guiding biopsy can obtain high clinical benefits,which has potential clinical application value.

Objective:To investigate the value of transanal multipoint full-layer puncture biopsy (TMFP) in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy (nCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) and to establish a predictive model for providing clinical guidance regarding the treatment of LARC.Methods:In this multicenter, prospective, cohort study, we collected data on 110 LARC patients from four hospitals between April 2020 and March 2023: Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University (50 patients), Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University (41 patients), Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (16 patients), and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (three patients). The patients had all received TMFP after completing standard nCRT. The variables studied included (1) clinicopathological characteristics; (2) clinical complete remission (cCR) and efficacy of TMFP in determining pCR after NCRT in LARC patients; and (3) hospital attended, sex, age, clinical T- and N-stages, distance between the lower margin of the tumor and the anal verge, baseline and post-radiotherapy serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9 concentrations, chemotherapy regimen, use of immunosuppressants with or without radiotherapy, radiation therapy dosage, interval between surgery and radiotherapy, surgical procedure, clinical T/N stage after radiotherapy, cCR, pathological results of TMFP, puncture method (endoscopic or percutaneous), and number and timing of punctures. Single-factor and multifactorial logistic regression analysis were used to determine the factors affecting pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. A prediction model was constructed based on the results of multivariat analysis and the performance of this model evaluated by analyzing subject work characteristics (ROC), calibration, and clinical decision-making (DCA) curves. pCR was defined as complete absence of tumor cells on microscopic examination of the surgical specimens of rectal cancer (including lymph node dissection) after NCRT, that is, ypT0+N0. cCR was defined according to the Chinese Neoadjuvant Rectal Cancer Waiting Watch Database Study Collaborative Group criteria after treatment, which specify an absence of ulceration and nodules on endoscopy; negative rectal palpation; no tumor signals on rectal MRI T2 and DWI sequences; normal serum CEA concentrations, and no evidence of recurrence on pelvic computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging.Results:Of the 110 patients, 45 (40.9%) achieved pCR after nCRT, which was combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in 34 (30.9%). cCR was diagnosed before puncture in 38 (34.5%) patients, 43 (39.1%) of the punctures being endoscopic. There were no complications of puncture such as enterocutaneous fistulae, vaginal injury, prostatic injury, or presacral bleeding . Only one (2.3%) patient had a small amount of blood in the stools, which was relieved by anal pressure. cCR had a sensitivity of 57.8% (26/45) for determining pCR, specificity of 81.5% (53/65), accuracy of 71.8% (79/110), positive predictive value 68.4% (26/38), and negative predictive value of 73.6% (53/72). In contrast, the sensitivity of TMFP pathology in determining pCR was 100% (45/45), specificity 66.2% (43/65), accuracy 80.0% (88/110), positive predictive value 67.2% (45/67), and negative predictive value 100.0% (43/43). In this study, the sensitivity of TMFP for pCR (100.0% vs. 57.8%, χ 2=24.09, P<0.001) was significantly higher than that for cCR. However, the accuracy of pCR did not differ significantly (80.0% vs. 71.8%, χ 2=2.01, P=0.156). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that a ≥4 cm distance between the lower edge of the tumor and the anal verge (OR=7.84, 95%CI: 1.48-41.45, P=0.015), non-cCR (OR=4.81, 95%CI: 1.39-16.69, P=0.013), and pathological diagnosis by TMFP (OR=114.29, the 95%CI: 11.07-1180.28, P<0.001) were risk factors for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. Additionally, endoscopic puncture (OR=0.02, 95%CI: 0.05-0.77, P=0.020) was a protective factor for pCR after NCRT in LARC patients. The area under the ROC curve of the established prediction model was 0.934 (95%CI: 0.892-0.977), suggesting that the model has good discrimination. The calibration curve was relatively close to the ideal 45° reference line, indicating that the predicted values of the model were in good agreement with the actual values. A decision-making curve showed that the model had a good net clinical benefit. Conclusion:Our predictive model, which incorporates TMFP, has considerable accuracy in predicting pCR after nCRT in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. This may provide a basis for more precisely selecting individualized therapy.

Objective To investigate the value of non-contrast CT(NCCT)-based radiomics for identifying acute unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)with negative hyperdense artery sign(HAS).Methods All 80 patients with acute unilateral MCAO confirmed by angiography(MR angiography[MRA]or CT angiography[CTA]or DSA)and presenting with negative NCCT presentation for HAS were enrolled from January 2015 to June 2023 in the Emergency Department of Stroke Center of Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou university.On the NCCT images,the occluded segment of the middle cerebral artery on the affected side of each case and the corresponding segment of the vessel on the normal side were used as the regions of interest,and a total of 108 radiomic features were extracted.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)was used to screen the key features,construct and calculate the radiomics score,and four imaging histology models,support vector machine(SVM),light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM),GradientBoosting and adaptive boosting(AdaBoost),were built respectively to predict MCAO.Predictive performance was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves,and comparisons between the modeled receiver operating characteristic curves were made using the Delong test.Finally,the value of the application of radiological modeling was assessed by clinical decision curve analysis(DCA).Results The NCCT images based on 160 vessels were finally screened for 6 key features,including skewness,energy,gray level size zone matrix(GLSZM)-gray uneven,GLSZM-low gray area emphasis,GLSZM-size area non-uniform standardization,GLSZM-area entropy.The area under the curve(AUC)of the SVM-test was 0.688(95％CI 0.497-0.878)with an accuracy of 0.688;the AUC of the LightGBM-test was 0.787(95％CI 0.620-0.955)with an accuracy of 0.781;the AUC of the GradientBoosting-test was 0.654(95％CI 0.457-0.852)with an accuracy of 0.688;the AUC of the AdaBoost-test was 0.707(95％CI 0.515-0.899)with an accuracy of 0.750.The Delong test showed a statistically significant difference between LightGBM-test and GradientBoosting-test(P=0.040),and no statistically significant difference in performance between the remaining models(all P＞0.05).DCA showed that the LightGBM-test performed better.Conclusion NCCT-based radiomics has good diagnostic efficacy for identifying acute unilateral MCAO with negative HAS,and this conclusion needs to be further verified by multi-center and large sample studies.

Objective:To investigate the changes of dynamic functional brain network connectivity in patients with Parkinson disease(PD) using Hidden Markov model(HMM), and to analyze the correlation between dynamic functional parameters and clinical parameters.Methods:Forty-eight PD patients(PD group) and thirty-three healthy controls(HC group) were included from 2019 to 2023. The cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), and motor status was assessed using the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale Ⅲ(UPDRS-Ⅲ) in PD group.HMM technique was used to analyze the dynamic functional brain network connectivity, and the dynamic higher-order index fractional occupancy(FO), switching rate(SR), and mean dwell time(MDT) were obtained. Two independent samples t-test was used to calculate the differences between groups of functional connectivity matrices in different states, and Mann-Whitney U test was used to calculate the differences between groups of dynamic higher-order indicators in different states. Spearman correlation analysis was used to calculate the correlation between dynamic higher-order parameters and clinical parameters in the PD group. Results:The HMM was used to construct 6 spatial states for all subjects.MDT was significantly higher in PD group(24.93(19.73)) in state 1 sparse junctions than that in HC group(17.63(14.80)) ( Z=-2.030, P=0.042), but significantly lower MDT was showed in PD group(6.00(3.00)) in state 5 tight junctions than that in HC group(9.75(7.70)) ( Z=-2.210, P=0.027).FO in state 3 was negatively correlated with MoCA score in PD group( r=-0.331, P=0.022).FO in state 5 was positively correlated with UPDRS-Ⅲ score in PD patients( r=0.412, P=0.004), and MDT in state 5 was positively correlated with UPDRS-Ⅲ score( r=0.448, P=0.001). Conclusion:HMM can capture the transient changes of dynamic brain network, which can provide some value for the study of dynamic brain network in patients with Parkinson disease.

BACKGROUND: Previous research demonstrated that a homozygous mutation of g.136372044G>A (S12N) in caspase recruitment domain family member 9 ( CARD9 ) is critical for producing Aspergillus fumigatus -induced ( Af -induced) T helper 2 (T H 2)-mediated responses in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). However, it remains unclear whether the CARD9S12N mutation, especially the heterozygous occurrence, predisposes the host to ABPA. METHODS: A total of 61 ABPA patients and 264 controls (including 156 healthy controls and 108 asthma patients) were recruited for sequencing the CARD9 locus to clarify whether patients with this heterozygous single-nucleotide polymorphisms are predisposed to the development of ABPA. A series of in vivo and in vitro experiments, such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and RNA isolation and quantification, were used to illuminate the involved mechanism of the disease. RESULTS: The presence of the p.S12N mutation was associated with a significant risk of ABPA in ABPA patients when compared with healthy controls and asthma patients, regardless of Aspergillus sensitivity. Relative to healthy controls without relevant allergies, the mutation of p.S12N was associated with a significant risk of ABPA (OR: 2.69 and 4.17 for GA and AA genotypes, P = 0.003 and 0.029, respectively). Compared with patients with asthma, ABPA patients had a significantly higher heterozygous mutation (GA genotype), indicating that p.S12N might be a significant ABPA-susceptibility locus ( aspergillus sensitized asthma: OR: 3.02, P = 0.009; aspergillus unsensitized asthma: OR: 2.94, P = 0.005). The mutant allele was preferentially expressed in ABPA patients with heterozygous CARD9S12N , which contributes to its functional alterations to facilitate Af -induced T H 2-mediated ABPA development. In terms of mechanism, Card9 wild-type ( Card9WT ) expression levels decreased significantly due to Af -induced decay of its messenger RNA compared to the heterozygous Card9S12N . In addition, ABPA patients with heterozygous CARD9S12N had increased Af -induced interleukin-5 production. CONCLUSION Our study provides the genetic evidence showing that the heterozygous mutation of CARD9S12N , followed by allele expression imbalance of CARD9S12N , facilitates the development of ABPA.
Humans ; Aspergillosis, Allergic Bronchopulmonary/complications* ; Aspergillus fumigatus/genetics* ; Asthma/genetics* ; Aspergillus ; Mutation/genetics* ; CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins/genetics*