Background::Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants.Methods::A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance.Results::All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex. Conclusions::The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values.

Menkes disease is a rare and fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with copper deficiency due to inactivation of the ATP7A copper transporter protein，which typically presents with severe neurodegeneration and connective tissue abnormalities and has an extremely poor prognosis.Menkes disease is not easily recognized early in the neonatal period due to its lack of neonatal specificity，and copper replacement therapy is less effective in children with frequent convulsions and neurodevelopmental regressions.Therefore，early diagnosis and timely implementation of copper replacement therapy are important for improving the prognosis of children with Menkes disease.This article reviews the progress of research on the etiology，pathophysiological mechanism，histologic features，main clinical manifestations，auxiliary examinations，treatment，prognosis and genetic counseling of Menkes disease，with the aim of improving clinicians' understanding of this disease.

Objective:To investigate the effects of different surgical approaches on the efficacy and safety of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma(PCNSL).Methods:The clinical data of 130 PCNSL patients admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Tecnology of China between July 2012 and May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were assigned into resection and biopsy groups according to the surgical approach.The safety and efficacy of the two groups were compared,including the objective re-sponse rate(ORR),overall survival(OS),and progression-free survival(PFS)after chemotherapy.Results:ORR and 2-year OS and PFS rates of the resection group were not significantly different from those of the biopsy group(ORR:63.2%vs.62.8%;2-year OS rate:68.6%vs.73.7%;2-year PFS rate:35.2%vs.40.7%,all P>0.05).The incidence of postoperative complications was significantly higher in the resection group than in the biopsy group(29.3%vs.11.4%,P=0.04).The difference in the length of hospitalization between the two groups was not statistic-ally significant.Treatment of the biopsy group was less expensive(P<0.01).Conclusions:In patients with PCNSL,biopsy and resection had comparable efficacy;however,the safety profile was better,and hospitalization was less costly in biopsy than in resection.

Objective To grasp the main environmental factors affecting the growth of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao;To predict the distribution of suitable areas of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao in Shanxi Province;To provide references for the rational distribution of the resources in Shanxi Province.Methods This study utilized the sample point longitude and latitude information collected in the"Fourth Survey of Chinese Materia Medica Resources"database in Shanxi Province.The data were supplemented by searching the China Digital Herbarium and retrieving related literature records.347 sample points distribution data and environmental factors were added to the MaxEnt model.The main environmental factors and contribution rates affecting the geographical distribution of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao were screened out.The ArcGIS software was used to divide the ecological suitable area of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao in Shanxi Province.Results The area under the ROC curve of the established MaxEnt model was 0.909,indicating that the model prediction results were accurate.The model screened 19 environmental factors.Among them,climate factor was the most important environmental factor,followed by biological factor and topographic factor,and soil factor had the least influence.The potential suitable areas of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao in Shanxi Province were mainly distributed in the northern mountainous areas,presenting a trend of gradually decreasing suitability levels from north to south.Under the current climate conditions,the most suitable area for Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao in Shanxi Province was 15 424 km2,the suitable area was 19 856 km2,the sub suitable area was 59 436 km2,and the unsuitable area was 61 894 km2.Conclusion Based on MaxEnt model and ArcGIS software,this study predicts the distribution of suitable areas of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao in Shanxi Province,which has certain reference value for the protection and rational distribution of Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch.)Bge.var.mongholicus(Bge.)Hsiao resources in Shanxi Province.

To enhance the learning stickiness, improve low completion rate of online teaching, and promote teaching quality has become the key to solve the contradiction in online teaching. In this paper, taking the teaching of biochemistry as example, based on the trigger mechanism, maintenance mechanism and migration mechanism of sticky learning, guided by the three-dimensional goal of "knowledge and skills, process and method, emotional attitude and values", the BOPPPS (bridge-in, objective, pre-assessment, participatory-learning, post-assessment, summary) teaching model was combined with online teaching. According to the interactive behavior in the course learning space, the Spearman rank correlation analysis was performed by SPSS 18.0 software to comprehensively evaluate the learning stickiness degree. The research has found that, due to its "micro but refined, compact structure and student-centered" characteristics, BOPPPS combining with online teaching can effectively make up for the time and space limitations of offline teaching and the excessively broad online teaching, bring benefits from the perspectives of "inclusion, attraction and production", promote students' active learning, and practically improve learning stickiness. The research provides a new idea for creating online "golden" courses.

Objective:To assess the combination of conventional ultrasound with contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)in the diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma(UC)of the renal pelvis in elderly patients.Methods:Sixty-seven elderly patients with a histopathologic diagnosis of UC of the renal pelvis and surgically treated at our hospital between April 2015 and March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Characteristics of regular preoperative 2D ultrasound, color Doppler flow imaging(CDFI)and CEUS were examined.Results:Of 67 patients, 49(73.13%)were found to have localized lesions in the renal pelvis and renal calyces.Lesions in 53 patients(79.10%)could be clearly identified by conventional ultrasound, with 46(86.79%)being isoechoic or hypoechoic, and 7(13.21%)being hyperechoic.Analysis of tumor blood flow by CDFI found 22 cases(41.51%)with avascular lesions, 21(39.62%)with hypovascular lesions and 10(18.87%)with hypervascular lesions.The average value of the resistance index(RI)was 0.64.Enhancement was seen in 62 lesions(92.54%)by CEUS after injection of SonoVue.Compared with the cortex of the ipsilateral kidney, a slow enhancement pattern was observed in 46(74.19%), 14(22.58%)showed simultaneous enhancement, and 2(3.23%)showed fast enhancement.At peak enhancement, 43 lesions(69.35%)had hypo-enhancement, 10(16.13%)had iso-enhancement, and 9(14.52%)had hyper-enhancement, compared with the cortex.Concerning the homogeneity of enhancement, 16(25.81%)displayed heterogeneous enhancement, with tumor necrosis or hemorrhage, and 46(74.19%)had homogeneous enhancement.When the contrast agent washout rate was assessed, a fast washout pattern was observed in 53(85.48%), synchronous washout in 6(9.68%), and slow washout in 3(4.84%).Conclusions:UC of the renal pelvis mostly shows isoechoic and hypoechoic lesions on conventional ultrasound, avascular or hypo-vascular lesions on CDFI, and slow-in, fast-out and hypo-enhancement on CEUS, compared with the cortex.Conventional ultrasound combined with CEUS can help improve the diagnostic accuracy of UC of the renal pelvis.

Objective:To solve international students' problems of learning difficulties and passive learning caused by language barriers in the process of biochemistry learning from the perspective of teachers in this specialty.Methods:Eighty international students were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. In the experimental group, the regional management mode was introduced in teaching, allowing students to speak mother tongues or English for group discussions on well-designed questions, and at the same time, classroom quizzes and stage tests were given, introducing formative evaluation to supervise students' learning and assess their learning performance. The control group received conventional teaching. The learning effects were assessed through a final exam and questionnaire survey. SPSS 25.0 was used to perform the Kruskal-Wallis H test and Nemenyi test. Results:Twenty-seven (75.00%) students believed that group discussion by region could deepen the discussion of questions; 27 (75.00%) no longer felt difficult, or even felt easy, to learn biochemistry; and nearly 90.00% of the students affirmed the formative evaluation mode, believing that it had positive effects on their learning attitude and behavior. In addition, the median exam score of the experimental group was 36.94% higher than that of the control class in the same year.Conclusions:Regional management combined with formative evaluation can promote international students' learning enthusiasm, improve their comprehensive achievement, and positively affect their learning behavior.

To explore the pharmacogenomic markers that affect the platinum-based chemotherapy response in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), we performed a two-cohort of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 34 for WES-based and 433 for microarray-based analyses, as well as two independent validation cohorts. After integrating the results of two studies, the genetic variations related to the platinum-based chemotherapy response were further determined by fine-mapping in 838 samples, and their potential functional impact were investigated by eQTL analysis and in vitro cell experiments. We found that a total of 68 variations were significant at P < 1 × 10^-3 in cohort 1 discovery stage, of which 3 SNPs were verified in 262 independent samples. A total of 541 SNPs were significant at P < 1 × 10^-4 in cohort 2 discovery stage, of which 8 SNPs were verified in 347 independent samples. Comparing the validated SNPs in two GWAS, ADCY1 gene was verified in both independent studies. The results of fine-mapping showed that the G allele carriers of ADCY1 rs2280496 and C allele carriers of rs189178649 were more likely to be resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. In conclusion, our study found that rs2280496 and rs189178649 in ADCY1 gene were associated the sensitivity of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Objective:To investigate the outcome and prognostic factors associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).Methods:PSC patients admitted to Xijing Hospital from May 2009 to May 2020 were included. Data of demographics, clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging tests, and ERCP consultations were collected to explore the population characteristics and clinical efficacy of ERCP treatment, and to follow up disease progression, transplant-free survival, and overall survival .Results:A total of 74 patients with PSC were included in this study, with a median age of 53 years, 54.1% (40/74) male. Patients combined with bile duct dominant stenosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and another autoimmune liver disease were 32.4% (24/74), 18.9% (14/74), and 17.6% (13/74), respectively, and those undergoing ERCP were 36.5% (27/74). Logistic regression analysis showed that high total bilirubin ( OR=12.33, 95% CI: 1.24-122.63, P=0.032) and bile duct dominant stenosis ( OR=24.67, 95% CI: 3.40-178.88, P=0.002) were independent high-risk factors for ERCP consultation. The operation and clinical success rates of ERCP were both 96.3% (26/27). As of the last follow-up, the proportions of patients progressing to cirrhosis, bile duct cancer, liver transplantation and death were 9.5% (7/74), 4.1% (3/74), 5.4% (4/74) and 18.9% (14/74), respectively. The five-year survival rate of the follow-up patients ( n=54) was 83.3%. The differences in transplant-free survival ( P=0.933) and overall survival ( P=0.608) between ERCP patients and non-ERCP patients were not statistically significant. Transplant-free survival of those who were companied with pruritus ( HR=5.30, 95% CI: 1.50-18.90, P=0.010) was shorter. Conclusion:PSC patients have higher proportion of IBD and less autoimmune liver disease. Higher proportion of patients with higher total bilirubin or bile duct dominant stenosis receive ERCP. While the short-term efficacy of ERCP is satisfactory, the long-term prognosis is still suboptimal. Patients with pruritus have a shorter transplant-free survival.

Objective: To identify the characteristics including clinical features and pulmonary computed tomography (CT) features of heart failure and novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19). Methods: This study was a retrospective study. A total of 7 patients with Heart failure and 12 patients with COVID-19 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between December 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020 were enrolled. The baseline clinical and imaging features of the two groups were statistically analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in age and sex between the two groups, but the incidence of epidemiological contact history, fever or respiratory symptoms in the COVID-19 group was significantly higher than that in the heart failure group (12/12 vs. 2/7, P=0.001; 12/12 vs. 4/7, P<0.001). While the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and impaired cardiac function was significantly less than that of the heart failure group(2/12 vs.7/7, P<0.001; 0/12 vs.7/7, P<0.001). For imaging features, both groups had ground-glass opacity and thickening of interlobular septum, but the ratio of central and gradient distribution was higher in patients with heart failure than that in patients with COVID-19 (4/7 vs. 1/12, P=0.04). In heart failure group, the ratio of the expansion of small pulmonary veins was also higher (3/7 vs. 0, P=0.013), and the lung lesions can be significantly improved after effective anti-heart failure treatment. Besides, there are more disease with rounded morphology in COVID-19 (9/12 vs. 2/7, P=0.048) . Conclusions More patients with COVID-19 have epidemiological history and fever or respiratory symptoms. There are significant differences in chest CT features, such as enlargement of pulmonary veins, lesions distribution and morphology between heart failure and COVID-19.