Background Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a serious occupational disease in China. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can serve as the "breath fingerprint" of internal pathological processes, which provides a theoretical basis for exhaled VOCs to be used as potential non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Objective To screen out the characteristic VOCs and important characteristic VOCs of exhaled air in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and to explore the potential of these VOCs as biomarkers for early non-invasive diagnosis of the disease. Methods In this study, 27 VOCs in the exhaled breath of 22 patients with stage I coal workers' pneumoconiosis, 77 workers exposed to dust, and 92 healthy controls were quantitatively detected by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Substances with P<0.05 in univariate analysis and variable importance projection (VIP) >1 in supervised orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model were selected as the characteristic VOCs for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Age was included in the LASSO regression model as a covariate to screen out important characteristic VOCs, and the diagnostic performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Spearman correlation was further used to explore the correlation between important characteristic VOCs and clinical lung function indicators. Results Through univariate analysis and OPLS-DA modeling, 8 VOCs were selected, including 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, methylcyclopentane, n-heptane, methylcyclohexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, in exhaled breath of patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The concentrations of 4 VOCs, including 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, showed a decreasing trend with the increase of dust exposure years. By LASSO regression, the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the dust exposure group were n-hexane, methylcyclohexane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the healthy group were 2-methyl-pentane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone. The ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of n-hexane, methylcyclohexane, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone were 0.969, 0.909, and 0.956, respectively, and the AUC of combined diagnosis was 0.988 and its Youden index was 0.961, suggesting that these results can serve as a valuable reference for further research on early diagnosis. The Correlation analysis found that there was a positive correlation between n-hexane and lung function indicators in the important characteristic VOCs, indicating that it could indirectly reflect the obstruction of lung function ventilation, further proving that important characteristic VOCs have the potential to monitor lung function decline. Conclusion Three important characteristic VOCs selected in this study have the potential to be used as non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and disease monitoring of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and are worthy of further study and verification.

OBJECTIVE To explore the expression changes of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathways in olfactory disorders.METHODS There were 40 healthy BALB/c mice who were divided into an observation group and a control group,with 20 mice in each group.Detection of Toll-like receptors(TLR4),myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88(MyD88)and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)in mice using quantitative reverse transcription PCR level;Detection of TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB by Western blot(WB)test protein content;Immunohistochemical detection of the expression of mouse olfactory marker protein(OMP).RESULTS There was no significant difference in foraging time between the two groups of mice before modeling(P>0.05),after modeling,the foraging time of the observation group mice was significantly longer than that of the control group(P<0.05);The relative mRNA expression level of TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB in the nasal epithelium of mice in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05);The protein expression of TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB in the nasal epithelium of mice in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05);The level of OMP protein in the nasal epithelium of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Expression reinforcement of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in a mouse model of olfactory dysfunction.

Surgical operation is the main treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors.Dysphagia is a common postoperative complication.Swal-lowing disorder can not only lead to mis-aspiration,malnutrition,aspiration pneumonia and other serious consequences,but also may cause psychological problems and social communication barriers,affecting the quality of life of the patients.At present,there is no systematic evalua-tion and rehabilitation management plan for the problem of swallowing disorder after oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery in China.Combining the characteristics of postoperative swallowing disorder in patients with oral and maxillofacial tumors,summarizing the clinical experience of ex-perts in the field of tumor and rehabilitation,reviewing and summarizing relevant literature at home and abroad,and through joint discussion and modification,a group of national experts reached this consensus including the core contents of the screening of swallowing disorders,the phased assessment of prognosis and complications,and the implementation plan of comprehensive management such as nutrition management,respiratory management,swallowing function recovery,psychology and nursing during rehabilitation treatment,in order to improve the evalua-tion and rehabilitation of swallowing disorder after oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery in clinic.

The composition and concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are closely related to human health and the analysis of VOCs by collecting human exhaled breath has been widely used in disease surveillance research. This article reviewed the collection, enrichment, and detection methods of exhaled VOCs, which can provide a reference for selecting appropriate technology for follow-up research. The exhaled breath collection devices mainly include sampling bags for mixed exhaled breath and biological volatile organic compound (Bio-VOC) samplers for alveolar air. The pre-enrichment equipment included thermal desorption (TD), solid-phase microextraction device (SPME), and needle trap device (NTD). The detection methods of exhaled VOCs include gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), selective ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), and electronic nose. At present, the collection and enrichment technology of exhaled breath is not mature yet, and its influence on the results of detection is lack of evaluation. In the future, the research on collection and enrichment technology of exhaled breath should be strengthened to further promote the application of exhaled breath in disease surveillance research.

Neck dissection(ND)is one of the main treatment methods for oral and maxillofacial malignancies.Although ND type is in con-stant improvement,but intraoperative peal-pull-push injury of the accessory nerve,muscle,muscle membrane,fascia and ligament induced shoulder syndrome(SS)is still a common postoperative complication,combined with the influence of radiochemotherapy,not only can cause pain,stiffness,numbness,limited dysfunction of shoulder neck and arm,but also may have serious impact on patient's life quality and phys-ical and mental health.At present,there is still a lack of a systematic evaluation and rehabilitation management program for postoperative SS of oral and maxillofacial malignant tumors.Based on the previous clinical practice and the current available evidence,refer to the relevant lit-erature at home and abroad,the experts in the field of maxillofacial tumor surgery and rehabilitation were invited to discuss,modify and reach a consenusus on the etiology,assessment diagnosis,differential diagnosis,rehabilitation strategy and prevention of SS,in order to provide clinical reference.

The incidence of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fracture (OTLVF) in the elderly is gradually increasing. The kyphotic deformity caused by various factors has become an important characteristic of OTLVF and has received increasing attention. Its clinical manifestations include pain, delayed nerve damage, sagittal imbalance, etc. Currently, the definition and diagnosis of OTLVF with kyphotic deformity in the elderly are still unclear. Although there are many treatment options, they are controversial. Existing guidelines or consensuses pay little attention to this type of fracture with kyphotic deformity. To this end, the Lumbar Education Working Group of the Spine Branch of the Chinese Medicine Education Association and Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized the experts in the relevant fields to jointly develop Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures with kyphotic deformity in the elderly ( version 2024), based on evidence-based medical advancements and the principles of scientificity, practicality, and advanced nature, which provided 18 recommendations to standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To analyze the dosimetric differences between gamma knife stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and linear accelerator-based SBRT for lung tumors by comparison to provide a theoretical basis for the selection of treatment strategies.Methods:Seven patients who underwent SBRT for lung tumors in the Cancer Center of Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University from January 2022 to May 2023 were enrolled. Plans of gamma knife SBRT (γ_SBRT) or linear accelerator-based SBRT plans (X_SBRT) were designed for the 13 lesions in the patients, with adjacent lesions in the same patient sharing one plan. As a result, 10 γ_SBRT plans and 10 X_SBRT plans were obtained. All lesions received 30-50 Gy of radiation in 5-10 fractions. Then, dosimetric parameters were analyzed and compared between γ_SBRT and X_SBRT plans, including the target coverage, gradient index (GI), conformity index (CI), maximum dose ( Dmax); mean dose ( Dmean), and minimum dose ( Dmin) of planning target volumes (PTVs); lung volumes receiving 20 Gy or more ( V20), 10 Gy or more ( V10), 5 Gy or more ( V5), 100% of the prescription dose ( V100%), and 50% of the prescription dose ( V50%); Dmean and the percentages of lung volume receiving doses of 20 Gy or more (Lung_ V20) and 5 Gy or more (Lung_ V5) of ipsilateral lung; Dmean and Lung_ V5 of contralateral lung; and Dmax values of the esophagus, spinal cord, and heart. Results:Compared to X_SBRT plans, γ_SBRT plans exhibited superior GI, V20, V10, V5, V50%, the Dmean, Lung_ V20, and Lung_ V5 of ipsilateral lung, the Dmean and Lung_ V5 of the contralateral lung, and the Dmax of esophageal and heart ( z = -2.81 to -1.99, P < 0.05), higher Dmax and Dmean of PTVs ( z = -2.80, -2.80, P < 0.05), and longer delivery time ( z=-2.70, P<0.05). Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in target coverage, CI, and Dmax of the spinal cord ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:Gamma knife SBRT plans can achieve sharper dose falloff outside target volumes than linear accelerator-based SBRT plans. Gamma knife radiosurgery is expected to reduce the radiation dose to low-dose areas around PTVs and normal lung tissue in SBRT for lung tumors. However, it significantly prolongs the delivery time.

Objective:To evaluate the residual risk (RR) of transfusion transmitted HIV (TT-HIV) after the implementation of nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) in blood screening test among blood centers in China.Methods:The data of blood donors and HIV infection markers from 2017 to 2020 were collected from 28 blood centers via the Platform of Comparison of blood establishments Practice in Chinese Mainland. The new infection rate/window period mathematical model was used for two types of blood screening strategies, namely, two rounds ELISA plus individual NAT take turn with pooling NAT (2ELISA+ ID-NAT/MP-NAT) and two ELISA plus one round pooling NAT (2ELISA+ MP-NAT), and the RR of HIV infection was estimated also based on first donors (FDs) and repeated donors (RDs) in different blood donation years. T-test analyses were conducted for comparing TT HIV RR among FDs and RDs in different blood donation years with two blood screening strategies, and the variation trend of RR in HIV test was observed.Results:From 2017 to 2020, the RR of FDs in 2ELISA+ ID-NAT/MP-NAT blood screening strategy was 2.869/10 6 person-year, 3.795/10 6 persons-year, 3.879/10 6 person-year, and 2.890/10 6 person-year respectively. The RR of RDs was 1.797/10 6 person-year, 1.502/10 6 person-year, 1.857/10 6 person-year, and 1.483/10 6 person-year respectively. Significant difference exists between RR of FDs and RDs, with F=9.898 and p<0.05. In 2ELISA+ MP-NAT strategy, the RR of FDs was 3.508/10 6 person-year, 1.868/10 6 person-year, 2.204/10 6 person-year, and 1.765/10 6 person-year respectively. The RR of RDs was 0.948/10 6 person-year, 0.926/10 6 person-year, 0.748/10 6 person-year, and 0.682/10 6 person-year respectively. Statistical difference existed between RR of FDs and RDs, with F=17.126 and P<0.05. There was no significant difference between the RR of FDs in these two strategies with F=3.493 and P>0.05, while there was a difference between the RR of RDs in these two strategies with F=24.516 and P<0.05, and a difference between the RR of total donors (TDs) in these two strategies F=20.216 and P<0.05. Conclusions:The RR of TT HIV significantly decreased after the introduction of NAT into blood test among blood centers in China. There were some differences in the RR of HIV testing among different blood screening strategies. There could be significant differences in the RR of HIV testing among different groups of blood donors. Compared with FDs, RDs is the low risk group for HIV.

The incidence of spinal infectious diseases is on the rise. The diagnosis and treatment of these diseases have always been challenging due to the special location, atypical symptoms, and poor test specificity. In this special issue of spinal infectious diseases, we, together with our colleagues, start from some hot and controversial topics in the current clinical practice, aiming to draw some reference suggestions for the pathogen tracking, imaging characteristics, diagnosis process and treatment methods.

Objective    To evaluate the effect of perioperative nebulization of ipratropium bromide on preoperative pulmonary function and incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications as well as safety in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who underwent lung resection in thoracic surgery. Methods    During November 18, 2013 to August 12, 2015, 192 COPD patients with a necessity of selective surgical procedures of lobectomy or right bilobectomy or segmentectomy under general anaesthesia in 10 centers were 1 : 1 randomized to an ipratropium bromide group (96 patients) and a placebo group (96 patients), to compare the effect on preoperative pulmonary function and incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications. The average age of treated patients was 62.90±6.50 years, with 168 male patients and 22 female patients. Results     The demographic and baseline characteristics were well-balanced between the two groups. The adjusted mean increase of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in the ipratropium bromide group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group (169.90±29.07 mL vs. 15.00±29.35 mL, P<0.05). The perioperative use of ipratropium bromide significantly decreased incidence of postoperative pneumonia (2.6% vs. 14.1%, P<0.05). There was no ipratropium bromide related adverse event (AE) observed in this trial. Conclusion    This trial indicates that perioperative nebulization of ipratropium bromide significantly improves preoperative lung function and reduces postoperative pneumonia in COPD patients undergoing lung resection in thoracic surgery, and has good safety profile.