Background The benchmark dose (BMD) method calculates the dose associated with a specific change in response based on a specific dose-response relationship. Compared with the traditional no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) method, the BMD method has many advantages, and the 95% lower confidence limit of benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL) is recommended to replace NOAEL in deriving biological exposure limits. No authority has yet published any health-based guideline for rare earth elements. Objective To evaluate genotoxicity threshold induced by acute exposure to neodymium nitrate in mice using BMD modeling through micronucleus test and comet assay. Methods SPF grade mice (n=90) were randomly divided into nine groups, including seven neodymium nitrate exposure groups, one control group (distilled water), and one positive control group (200 mg·kg⁻¹ ethyl methanesulfonate), 10 mice in each group, half male and half female. The seven dose groups were fed by gavage with different concentrations of neodymium nitrate solution (male: 14, 27, 39, 55, 77, 109, and 219 mg·kg⁻¹; female: 24, 49, 69, 97, 138, 195, and 389 mg·kg⁻¹) twice at an interval of 21 h. Three hours after the last exposure, the animals were neutralized by cervical dislocation. The bone marrow of mice femur was taken to calculate the micronucleus rate of bone marrow cells, and the liver and stomach were taken for comet test. Results The best fitting models for the increase of polychromatophil micronucleus rate in bone marrow of female and male mice induced by neodymium nitrate were the exponential 4 model and the hill model, respectively. The BMD and the BMDL of female mice were calculated to be 31.37 mg·kg⁻¹ and 21.90 mg·kg⁻¹, and those of male mice were calculated to be 58.62 mg·kg⁻¹ and 54.31 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively. The best fitting models for DNA damage induced by neodymium nitrate in female and male mouse hepatocytes were the exponential 5 model and the exponential 4 model, respectively, and the calculated BMD and BMDL were 27.15 mg·kg⁻¹ and 11.99 mg·kg⁻¹ for female mice, and 16.28 mg·kg⁻¹ and 10.47 mg·kg⁻¹ for male mice, respectively. The hill model was the best fitting model for DNA damage of gastric adenocytes in both female and male mice, and the calculated BMD and BMDL were 36.73 mg·kg⁻¹ and 19.92 mg·kg⁻¹ for female mice, and 24.74 mg·kg⁻¹ and 14.08 mg·kg⁻¹ for male mice, respectively. Conclusion Taken the micronucleus rate of bone marrow cells, DNA damage of liver cells and gastric gland cells as the end points of genotoxicity, the BMDL of neodymium nitrate is 10.47 mg·kg⁻¹, which can be used as the threshold of genotoxic effects induced by acute exposure to neodymium nitrate in mice.

Objective:To analyse the clinical significance of selective single embryo transfer by time-lapse mo-nitoring(TLM)or conventional morphology assessment(CMA)in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm in-jection and embryo transfer(IVF/ICSI-ET),and to initially explore the predictive value of Raman spectral analy-sis of embryo culture medium for clinical pregnancy rate.Methods:The study is a prospective randomized con-trolled clinical trial.We assigned 139 patients treated with IVF/ICSI-ET in Reproductive and Genetics Center of Suzhou Municipal Hospital from April 2019 to July 2020,which were randomly assigned to either the CMA or the TLM group.We performed selective single-embryo transfer(fresh cycle and FET)after selecting the optimal em-bryos with TLM or CMA respectively.If the patient's first embryo transfer was unsuccessful,a second one would be performed to compare the differences in the cumulative live birth rate of embryo transfer and other pregnancy outcomes between the two groups.Meanwhile,we collected 15 μl of embryo culture medium at day 3 after IVF/ISCI fertilization for Raman spectroscopy analysis.Results:There were no differences in cumulative live birth,cu-mulative clinical pregnancy,cumulative premature birth,cumulative early spontaneous abortion,cumulative ectopic pregnancy and LGA or SGA between TLM and CMA groups(P＞0.05).The Neonatal sex ratio in the TLM group was lower than that in the CMA group,but the difference was not significant(P＞0.05).Raman spectros-copy analysis of embryo culture medium predicted the clinical pregnancy rate with 67.21％accuracy.Conclu-sions:In young women with a good ovarian reserve,the advantage of using TLM to evaluate embryos is not obvi-ous,so we should remain vigilant that embryo selection based on morphokinetic parameters may affect the sex ratio.Raman spectroscopic analysis of embryo culture medium is not yet able to effectively predict the planting ability of embryos.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis(BIA)in measurement of appendicular skeletal muscle mass(ASM)of adults.Methods A total of 836 adults aged 18-42 years were recruited in Guangzhou using a convenient sampling method from April 2021 to September 2022.ASM was measured using BIA and Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry(DXA).Using DXA as the standard method,the consistency between the BIA and DXA measurements was evaluated by intra-class correlation coefficients(ICCs)and Bland-Altman analysis in logarithmically transformed data,in order to evaluate the accuracy of BIA in ASM measurement.Receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of BIA for screening low muscle mass.Results A total of 774 individuals were included for analysis finally.ICCs for ASM measured by BIA and DXA were 0.774 and 0.667 in males and females,respectively.Mean ratios(limits of Agreement)of ASM were 0.94(0.80-1.10)and 0.91(0.78-1.05)in males and females,respectively.Area under curve of BIA for screening low muscle mass were 0.91 and 0.94 in males and females,respectively.The optimal cut-off values of Z-score by BIA for males and females were-0.57 and-0.66,respectively.Sensitivity and specificity for males were 82.5%and 86.0%,while being 86.8%and 93.8%,for females.Conclusion BIA shows a moderate consistency with DXA for measuring ASM in adults.Furthermore,BIA yields a good diagnostic value in identifying low muscle mass in adults aged 18-42 years.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of the combination of rasagiline tablets and pramipexole tablets in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease.Methods The Parkinson's disease patients were randomly divided into treatment and control groups.The control group received pramipexole tablets,starting at a dose of 0.375 mg per day,with subsequent increases of 0.75 mg per time every 5-7 days,reaching a final dose of 1.5 mg per day.For patients with persistent poor disease control,the frequency of administration could be adjusted to twice a day,with a maximum daily dose of ≤ 4.5 mg.The treatment group received oral rasagiline in addition to the treatment in the control group,at a dose of 1.0 mg per day,once daily(qd).Both groups of patients were treated for 6 months.The clinical efficacy,inflammatory factors,serological indicators and related scales,as well as the occurrence of adverse drug reactions were compared between the two groups.Results The control group consisted of 67 participants,and the treatment group consisted of 68 participants,with no dropouts in either group.After treatment,the total effective rates of the treatment and control groups were 88.24％(60 cases/68 cases)and 74.63％(50 cases/67 cases)with significant difference(P＜0.05).After treatment,the levels of interferon-γ in treatment and control groups were(4.38±0.74)and(5.20±1.06)mg·L-1;the levels of interleukin-1 β were(0.33±0.05)and(0.59±0.12)ng·L-1;the levels of glutathione peroxidase were(108.24±11.30)and(92.88±9.79)U·μg-1;the modified Webster symptom scores were(7.26±1.05)and(13.15±3.25)points;the levels of γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)were(278.14±41.32)and(241.86±35.04)mmol·L-1;the levels of insulin growth factor-1(IGF-1)were(170.25±20.34)and(145.18±16.51)ng·L-1,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The main adverse drug reactions of 2 groups were nausea and vomiting,drowsiness and dizziness.The total incidences of adverse drug reactions in treatment and control groups were 11.76％and 8.96％without significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion The combination of rasagiline tablets and pramipexole tablets in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease has shown definite clinical efficacy.It can alleviate oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions,relieve motor symptoms,regulate the expression levels of serum GABA and IGF-1,and does not significantly increase the incidence of adverse drug reactions.

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.

Objective:To investigate the impact of age,various hormonal levels,and biochemical markers on penile cavernous body vascular function in patients with erectile dysfunction(ED).Me-thods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data from male patients with ED who underwent color duplex Doppler ultrasonography(CDDU)and intracavernosal injection test(ICI)at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Peking University Third Hospital from January 2020 to August 2023.Data were managed and processed using SPSS 29.0,and a multivariable Logistic regression analysis was conducted.Results:A total of 700 ED patients were included,with 380 showing negative ICI results and 320 positive.In the study,84 patients had a peak systolic velocity(PSV)＜25 cm/s,while 616 had PSV ≥ 25 cm/s;202 patients had end-diastolic velocity(EDV)＞5 cm/s,and 498 had EDV ≤5 cm/s.264 patients had ab-normal PSV and/or EDV results,and 436 had normal results for both.Patients with vascular ED had sig-nificantly lower estrogen levels(t=-3.546,P＜0.001),lower testosterone levels(t=-2.089,P=0.037),and a higher rate of hyperglycemia(x2=12.772,P=0.002)compared with those with non-vascular ED.The patients with arterial ED were older(t=3.953,P＜0.001),had a higher rate of hyperglycemia(x2=9.518,P=0.009),and a higher estrogen/testosterone ratio(t=2.330,P=0.020)compared with those with non-arterial ED.The patients with mixed arteriovenous ED had higher age(t=3.567,P＜0.001),lower testosterone levels(t=-2.288,P=0.022),a higher rate of hyperglycemia(x2=12.877,P=0.002),and a larger estrogen/testosterone ratio(t=2.096,P=0.037)compared with those with normal findings.Multifactorial Logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of estrogen were a protective factor for vascular ED(OR=1.009,95％CI:1.004-1.014),and glucose 7.0 mmol/L was a risk factor(OR=0.381,95％CI:0.219-0.661).Older age was a risk factor for arte-rial ED(OR=0.960,95％CI:0.938-0.982).Additionally,older age(OR=0.976,95％CI:0.958-0.993)and glucose levels of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L(OR=0.591,95％CI:0.399-0.876)were also risk fac-tors for mixed arterio-venous ED.Conclusion:Hyperglycemia and aging may impair penile cavernous body vascular function,while higher levels of estrogen may have a protective effect on it.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of children with hypodiploid B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia(BCP-ALL).Methods:The clinical data of 1 287 children with BCP-ALL admitted to five hospital in Fujian province from April 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.According to the results of chromosome karyotype,all the patients were grouped into hypodiploid subgroup and non-hypodiploid subgroup.The clinical characteristics,early treatment response[minimal residual disease(MRD)on middle stage of induction chemotherapy and end of induction chemotherapy]and long-term efficacy[overall survival(OS)and event-free survival(EFS)]were compared.The prognostic factors of hypodiploid BCP-ALL were further explored.Results:Among 1 287 BCP-ALL patients,28 patients(2.2％)were hypodiploid BCP-ALL.The proportion of patients with white blood cell count(WBC)≥50 x 109/L in the hypodiploid subgroup was significantly higher than that in the non-hypodiploid subgroup(P=0.004),while there was no statistically significant difference in gender ratio,age group at initial diagnosis,and early treatment response between the two groups(all P＞0.05).The 5-year EFS and OS rate of the hypodiploid subgroup were 75.0％(95％CI:66.8％-83.2％)and 77.8％(95％CI:69.8％-85.8％),respectively,which were lower than those of non-hypodiploid subgroup[EFS:79.6％(95％CI:78.4％-80.8％);OS:86.4％(95％CI:85.4％-87.5％)],but the difference was not statistically significant(all P＞0.05).Further subgroup analysis by risk stratification showed that the 5-year EFS and OS rates of the hypodiploid subgroup were significantly lower than those in the low-risk(LR)group[LR group EFS:91.4％(95％CI:88.4％-93.6％),P＜0.001;OS:94.7％(95％CI:92.1％-96.4％),P＜0.001];it was similar to that of BCP-ALL children stratified into intermediate-risk(IR)excluding hypodiploid[IR group EFS:79.4％(95％CI:74.9％-83.2％),P=0.343;OS:87.3％(95％CI:83.6％-90.2％),P=0.111];while was higher than that of EFS in HR group,but the difference was not statistically significant[HR group EFS:58.7％(95％CI:52.6％-64.8％),P=0.178.OS:69.9％(95％CI:63.5％-75.4％),P=0.417].Univariate analysis showed that gender,age,white blood cell count,and MRD on middle stage of induction chemotherapy had no significant impact on OS and EFS;chromosome count＜40 was a risk factor for lower OS(P=0.026),but has no significant effect on EFS;MRD≥0.01％after induction therapy was a risk factor for lower OS and EFS(P=0.002,and 0.001,respectively).Conclusion:Children with hypodiploid BCP-ALL have an intermediate prognosis,and MRD ≥0.01％after induction chemotherapy may be a risk factors for poor prognosis.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy and imaging results of uniportal interlaminar endoscopy(UIE)and unilateral biportal endoscopy(UBE)for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.Methods The clinical information for 50 patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation was collected,and treated by UIE endoscopic surgery and UBE endoscopic surgery in the The First People's Hospital of Hefei city from March 2021 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into two groups,UIE group and the UBE group.Perioperative indexes including incision length,operation time,intraoperative blood loss,and surgical complications,clinical efficacy indexes including VAS scores of low back pain and leg pain before surgery,3 days after surgery,3 months after surgery,6 months after surgery,and 12 months after surgery,ODI scores of dysfunc-tion index,and imaging results including spinal canal area,vertebral space height,before surgery and 1 year after surgery were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results Both groups completed the procedure and were followed up for 12～18 months,with an average of 15 months.1 case was dural injury,no nerve root injury,and no nerve root symptoms during the follow-up.The symptoms of lumbar and leg pain were all relieved in both groups after the procedure.The UBE groups hawed larger surgical incisions,more intraoperative blood loss,and shorter operative time compared to the UIE group(P＜0.05,respectively).Both groups had significant develop-ments in the VAS scores,ODI scores of back,and leg pain at 3 days,3 months,6 months,and 12 months after the operation(all P＜0.05).The UIE group showed significant developments in the VAS scores and ODI scores of back and leg pain at 3 days and 3 months after the operation,as compared to the UBE group(P＜0.05).The imaging analysis did not showed significant changes in the height of intervertebral space and the angle of lumbar lordosis,but a significantly larger increase in the dural sac area in both groups one year after the procedure,and the UBE group had even a larger increase than the UIE group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Both UIE and UBE have good clinical efficacy and imaging results in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation via interlaminal approach.However,the UIE group is superior to the UBE group in terms of the operation time,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative VAS score of low back pain as well as the decompression effectiveness.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Objective: To understand the performance of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection in screening of contacts of COVID-19 cases in same flights and provide evidence for the effective screening of persons at high risk for the infection in domestic flights. Methods: The information of passengers who took same domestic flights with COVID-19 cases in China from April 1, 2020 to April 30, 2022 were retrospectively collected,and χ² test was used to analyze positive nucleic acid detection rates in the passengers in different times before the onsets of the index cases, in different seat rows and in epidemic periods of different 2019-nCoV variants. Results: During the study period, a total of 433 index cases were identified among 23 548 passengers in 370 flights. Subsequently, 72 positive cases of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid were detected in the passengers, in whom 57 were accompanying persons of the index cases. Further analysis of the another 15 passengers who tested positive for the nucleic acid showed that 86.67% of them had onsets or positive detections within 3 days after the diagnosis of the index cases, and the boarding times were all within 4 days before the onsets of the index cases. The positive detection rate in the passengers who seated in first three rows before and after the index cases was 0.15% (95%CI: 0.08%-0.27%), significantly higher than in the passengers in other rows (0.04%, 95%CI: 0.02%-0.10%, P=0.007),and there was no significant difference in the positive detection rate among the passengers in each of the 3 rows before and after the index cases (P=0.577). No significant differences were found in the positive detection rate in the passengers, except the accompanying persons, among the epidemics caused by different 2019-nCoV variants (P=0.565). During the Omicron epidemic period, all the positive detections in the passengers, except the accompanying persons, were within 3 days before the onset of the index cases. Conclusions: The screening test of 2019-nCoV nucleic acid can be conducted in the passengers took the same flights within 4 days before the onsets of the index cases on board. Passengers who seated within 3 rows from the index cases can considered as the close contacts at high risk for 2019-nCoV, for whom screening should be conducted first and special managements are needed. The passengers in other rows can be classified as general risk persons for screening and management.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China ; Nucleic Acids