Objective    To predict the probability of lymph node metastasis after thoracoscopic surgery in patients with lung adenocarcinoma based on nomogram. Methods    We analyzed the clinical data of the patients with lung adenocarcinoma treated in the department of thoracic surgery of our hospital from June 2018 to May 2021. The patients were randomly divided into a training group and a validation group. The variables that may affect the lymph node metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma were screened out by univariate logistic regression, and then the clinical prediction model was constructed by multivariate logistic regression. The nomogram was used to show the model visually, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve and clinical decision curve to evaluate the calibration degree and practicability of the model. Results    Finally 249 patients were collected, including 117 males aged 53.15±13.95 years and 132 females aged 47.36±13.10 years. There were 180 patients in the training group, and 69 patients in the validation group. There was a significant correlation between the 6 clinicopathological characteristics and lymph node metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in the univariate logistic regression. The area under the ROC curve in the training group was 0.863, suggesting the ability to distinguish lymph node metastasis, which was confirmed in the validation group (area under the ROC curve was 0.847). The nomogram and clinical decision curve also performed well in the follow-up analysis, which proved its potential clinical value. Conclusion    This study provides a nomogram combined with clinicopathological characteristics, which can be used to predict the risk of lymph node metastasis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with a diameter≤3 cm.

Objective To explore the CT imaging features and independent risk factors for cystic pulmonary nodules and establish a malignant probability prediction model. Methods The patients with cystic pulmonary nodules admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Neijiang from January 2017 to February 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. They were divided into a malignant group and a benign group according to the pathological results. The clinical data and preoperative chest CT imaging features of the two groups were collected, and the independent risk factors for malignant cystic pulmonary nodules were screened out by logistic regression analysis, so as to establish a prediction model for benign and malignant cystic pulmonary nodules. Results A total of 107 patients were enrolled. There were 76 patients in the malignant group, including 36 males and 40 females, with an average age of 59.65±11.74 years. There were 31 patients in the benign group, including 16 males and 15 females, with an average age of 58.96±13.91 years. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the special CT imaging features such as cystic wall nodules [OR=3.538, 95%CI (1.231, 10.164), P=0.019], short burrs [OR=4.106, 95%CI (1.454, 11.598), P=0.008], cystic wall morphology [OR=6.978, 95%CI (2.374, 20.505), P<0.001], and the number of cysts [OR=4.179, 95%CI (1.438, 12.146), P=0.009] were independent risk factors for cystic lung cancer. A prediction model was established: P=ex/(1+ex), X=–2.453+1.264×cystic wall nodules+1.412×short burrs+1.943×cystic wall morphology+1.430×the number of cysts. The area under the receiver operating charateristic curve was 0.830, the sensitivity was 82.9%, and the specificity was 74.2%. Conclusion Cystic wall nodules, short burrs, cystic wall morphology, and the number of cysts are the independent risk factors for cystic lung cancer, and the established prediction model can be used as a screening method for cystic pulmonary nodules.

Objective:To analyze the external quality control assessment results of fluoride testing laboratories in endemic disease prevention and control institutions nationwide from 2006 to 2023, investigate the quality control capabilities of these laboratories in various provinces, prefectures, cities, and counties nationwide, and ensure the accuracy and reliability of surveillance data on endemic fluorosis nationwide.Methods:Using retrospective analysis, the external quality control assessment results of all participating fluoride testing laboratories of national endemic disease prevention and control institutions from 2006 to 2023 were summarized and analyzed. The assessment results from 2006 to 2008 were tested for outliers using Grubbs method, homogeneity of variance using Cochran method, excluding the assessment data of unqualified laboratories, calculating the total mean and total standard deviation, Z-score method was used to test the assessment of laboratories, and statistical analysis and judgment were done when the result of │Z│ < 3. The assessment results from 2009 - 2023 were obtained from all laboratories. In 2010, two tests were conducted in the first and second half of the year, and the Z-ratio scores of each laboratory were calculated using robust statistics. When │Z│≤2, the assessment was qualified; when 2 < │Z│ < 3, the assessment was basically qualified; when│Z│≥3, the assessment was unqualified, and the consensus value came from all participating laboratories in the assessment.Results:From the beginning of quality control operation in 2006 to 2023, the number of laboratories participated in external quality control assessments had significantly increased. The number of laboratories participated in water fluoride assessment increased from 30 in 2006 to 1 277 in 2023, and the number of laboratories participated in urine fluoride assessment increased from 29 to 497. The number of laboratories participated in the brick tea fluorine assessment had increased from 43 in 2014 to 193 in 2023. The assessment results showed that when │Z│ < 3, the total qualified rate of fluoride external quality control in fluoride testing laboratories of national endemic disease control institutions was 95.2%, with the lowest being 87.1% (27/31) in 2008 and the highest being 100.0% (394/394) in 2014. When │Z│≤2, the total feedback pass rate was 88.4%, with the lowest being 79.3% (288/363) in the first half of 2010 and the highest being 99.5% (392/394) in 2014. The assessment results showed that when │Z│ < 3, the total pass rate of urine fluoride external quality control in fluoride testing laboratories of national endemic disease control institutions was 98.0%, with the lowest being 86.2% (25/29) in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and the highest being 100.0% (68/68) in 2014. When │Z│≤2, the total qualification rate was 93.7%, with the lowest being 86.5% (64/74) in the second half of 2010 and the highest being 100.0% (68/68) in 2014. The assessment results showed that when│Z│ < 3, the total pass rate of extra-fluoride quality control of brick tea in fluoride testing laboratories of national endemic disease control institutions was 95.4%, with the lowest being 85.0% (164/193) in 2023, and the highest being 100.0% (43/43, 51/51, 79/79) in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. When │Z│≤2, the total pass rate was 89.2%, with the lowest being 72.7% (32/44) in 2017 and the highest being 100.0% (43/43) in 2014. From 2009 to 2023, there were a total of 21 provincial-level laboratories that passed the water fluoride detection assessment, including 3 provinces where all prefecture level and county-level laboratories were qualified. The assessment results of urinary fluorine showed that there were 11 qualified provincial-level laboratories and 1 prefecture-level laboratory. From 2014 to 2023, the assessment results of brick-tea fluorine showed that there were 5 provincial-level laboratories that passed the tea fluorine testing assessment and no prefecture-level laboratory.Conclusions:Conclusion: From 2006 to 2023, the number of fluoride testing laboratories participating in external quality control assessment has increased year by year, and most provincial, municipal and county-level laboratories have good fluoride testing capabilities, which can meet the testing needs of endemic disease prevention and monitoring. For some laboratories with problems, targeted rectification should be carried out to improve the quality of detection, in order to provide better technical support for the monitoring of endemic fluorosis areas.

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of norovirus outbreaks in schools in Xicheng District of Beijing from 2017 to 2022, so as to provide evidence for the prevention and control of norovirus outbreaks in schools. Methods: Data of norovirus outbreaks in schools in Xicheng District, Beijing during 2017 to 2022 were collected and analyzed by descriptive epidemiological methods. Realtime PCR was used to detect the nucleic acid of group GⅠand GⅡnorovirus, the positive norovirus nucleic acid samples were sent to Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention for molecular typing. Results: From 2017 to 2022, 185 norovirus outbreaks were reported in schools in Xicheng District, including 166 cluster outbreaks and 19 outbreaks. A total of 2 044 cases were reported, with a total attack rate of 13.92%. There were two peaks in the outbreak time, which were from March to June after the spring semester and from October to December after autumn semester. Primary schools were the most common place of occurrence (101 cases), followed by nursery institutions (68 cases) and secondary schools (16 cases). There were statistically significant differences in the incidence rates among different sites(12.37%, 22.78%, 8.47%, χ2=263.34, P<0.01). There were significant differences in the incidence of vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and stomachache among different students (χ2=263.33, 90.58, 20.42, 30.29, P<0.01). Vomiting was the main symptom in primary school and nursery school children (96.41%, 98.28%), and the diarrhea rate was higher in middle school students (68.22%). The outbreaks were mainly caused by type GⅡ norovirus. The genotype from 2017 to 2021 showed the characteristics of diversity, mainly GⅡ.2[P16], but there was no significant advantage for the GⅡ.2 [P16] during 2019 to 2021. Conclusions The norovirus outbreak in schools in Xicheng district of Beijing from 2017 to 2022 are mainly caused by GⅡ type genome. The main genotype is GⅡ.2[P16]. Norovirus infection mainly occurred in primary schools and kindergartens. For the vulnerable populations, it is necessary to improve the capacity to early identification, student infectious disease management, active infection control and prevention measures, and pathogen surveillance and sporadic case monitoring.

Objective:To develop and validate a risk model of postoperative 3-year all-cause mortality for the elderly patients with hip fracture.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 325 elderly patients with hip fracture who had been treated at The Fourth Medical Center, The General Hospital of PLA from January 2020 to December 2021. There were 90 men and 235 women with an age of (80.9±8.9) years, and 191 intertrochanteric fractures and 134 femoral neck fractures. The patients with hip fractures admitted from January 2020 to June 2021 were assigned to a modeling group (244 cases), and those admitted from July to December 2021 to a validation group (81 cases). Recorded were age, gender, fracture type, pre-injury disease, hematological indicators, time from injury to surgery, previous use of anticoagulant drugs, bone density, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grading, body mass index, and blood transfusion volume in the 2 groups of patients. The data in the modeling group were used to screen the independent risk factors for the postoperative 3-year all-cause mortality in the elderly patients with hip fracture through logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and consequently to construct a prediction model. The data in the validation group were used to analyze the predictive performance of the model through the ROC curve, and the fitting degree of the model was evaluated using the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.Results:Respectively, 75 cases in the modeling group and 29 cases in the validation group died 3 years after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline data between the 2 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). Logistic univariate analysis showed that gender, age, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease before injury, stroke before injury, pulmonary infection before injury, hemoglobin, albumin, high-density lipoprotein, body mass index, time from injury to surgery and ASA grade were related to the mortality of patients 3 years after surgery ( P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the variables with predictive ability included age, hemoglobin, albumin, body mass index, and time from injury to surgery. Logistic multivariate analysis showed male, age ≥ 83 years, pre-injury stroke, time from injury to surgery ≥ 4.5 days, ASA grade Ⅲ, and ASA grade Ⅳ were significantly related to the postoperative 3-year all-cause mortality in the elderly patients with hip fracture ( P<0.05). In the prediction model based on the above indicators, the area under the ROC curve was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.730 to 0.855, P<0.001), the cutoff value 0.459, sensitivity 56%, and specificity 90.5%, showing a good fit of the model ( χ2=5.818, P=0.668). Conclusions:Male, age ≥ 83 years, pre-injury stroke, time from injury to surgery ≥ 4.5 days, and ASA grades Ⅲ and Ⅳ are risk factors for postoperative 3-year all-cause mortality in the elderly patients with hip fracture. The risk prediction model based on these indicators demonstrates good predictive efficacy.

Objective:To analyze the clinical outcomes of initial radioactive iodine 131I therapy (RIT) for patients with familial differentiated thyroid cancer (FDTC) and sporadic differentiated thyroid cancer (SDTC), along with their influencing factors. Methods:The clinical data of 120 FDTC and 480 SDTC patients who received RIT at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from January 2016 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients, categorized into the FDTC and SDTC groups, were further divided into three subgroups based on their response to initial RIT: no evidence of disease (NED), biochemical persistence of disease (BPD), or structural/functional persistence of disease (S/FPD). For the NED subgroup, the disease-free survival (DFS) was analyzed. For the BPD and S/FPD subgroups, the progression-free survival (PFS) was investigated. Furthermore, risk factors for failure to reach the NED status were identified.Results:After initial RIT, 56 (46.7%), 50 (41.7%), 14 (11.6%) patients in the FDTC group reached the NED, BPD, and S/FPD statuses, respectively, while 284 (59.1%), 160 (33.3%), 36 (7.5%) and SDTC patients in the SDTC group were in the NED, BPD, and S/FPD statuses, respectively ( χ2 = 10.10, P = 0.013). The last follow-up revealed that 71 (59.1%), 36 (30.1%), 13 (10.8%) patients in the FDTC group were in the NED, BPD and S/FPD statuses, respectively, while 337 (70.2%), 114 (23.7%), 29 (6.1%) patients in the SDTC group reached the NED, BPD and S/FPD statuses, respectively ( χ2 = 8.99, P = 0.026). The F-NED and S-NED subgroups exhibited 5-year DFS rates of 92.4% and 97.4%, respectively, the F-BPD and S-BPD subgroups displayed 5-year PFS rates of 88.3% and 90.8%, respectively, while the F-S/FPD and S-S/FPD subgroups yielded in 5-year PFS rates of 78.2% and 79.6%, respectively. Univariate binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the maximum diameter of tumors, T stage, M stage, recurrence risk stratification, and postoperative stimulated thyroglobulin (p-sTg) were correlated with the achievement of the NED status ( χ2=6.37-13.10, P < 0.05). Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis showed that T stage and p-sTg were independent risk factors in the achievement of the NED status ( χ2=0.11-11.33, P < 0.05). Conclusions:The response to initial RIT assists in guiding the development of subsequent treatment and follow-up strategies for DTC patients. Given that the SDTC patients exhibited better outcomes than the FDTC patients, more alertness should be paid to the RIT for FDTC patients. For patients with higher p-sTg and T stage, the initial RIT dose and follow-up interval should be increased and reduced respectively as appropriate.

Objective:To investigate the changes of artemin protein expression in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and to explore the regulatory effect of human adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) exosomes on the change of artemin protein expression.Methods:This research was a prospective observational clinical research combined with experimental research. Thirteen DPN patients (9 males and 4 females, aged 32 to 68 years) who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University (hereinafter referred to as our hospital) from May 2022 to October 2023 and met the inclusion criteria were selected as DPN group, and 5 non-diabetes patients (4 males and 1 female, aged 29 to 61 years) who were admitted to our hospital in the same period of time and met the inclusion criteria were selected as control group. The toe nerve or sural nerve tissue in the abandoned tissue after debridement or amputation of patients in the two groups was collected. The pathological changes of nerve tissue were observed after hematoxylin-eosin staining; the protein expressions of S100β and artemin in nerve tissue were observed after immunofluorescence staining, and the artemin protein expression was quantified; the protein and mRNA expressions of artemin were detected by Western blotting and real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively (the sample number in DPN group and control group was 13 and 5, respectively). Twelve male C57BL/6 mice aged 3 to 5 days were collected to isolate Schwann cells, and the cells were divided into conventional culture group cultured routinely, high glucose alone group (cultured with high concentration of glucose solution only), and high glucose+exosome group (cultured with high concentration of glucose solution and extracted human ADSC exosomes). After 24 hours of culture, the cell proliferation activity was detected by cell counting kit 8 ( n=6). After 48 hours of culture, the protein expression of artemin was detected by Western blotting ( n=3). Results:Compared with those in control group, the neural supporting cells decreased and the inflammatory cells increased in the nerve tissue of patients in DPN group, showing typical manifestations of nerve injury. Immunofluorescence staining showed that compared with those in control group, the nuclei was more, and the protein expression of S100β was lower in nerve tissue of patients in DPN group. The protein expression of artemin in nerve tissue of patients in DPN group was 71±31, which was significantly lower than 1 729±62 in control group ( t=76.92, P<0.05). Western blotting detection showed that the protein expression of artemin in nerve tissue of patients in DPN group was 0.74±0.08, which was significantly lower than 0.97±0.06 in control group ( t=5.49, P<0.05). The artemin mRNA expression in nerve tissue of patients in DPN group was significantly lower than that in control group ( t=7.65, P<0.05). After 24 hours of culture, compared with that in conventional culture group, the proliferation activities of Schwann cells in high glucose alone group and high glucose+exosome group were significantly decreased ( P<0.05); compared with that in high glucose alone group, the proliferation activity of Schwann cells in high glucose+exosome group was significantly increased ( P<0.05). After 48 hours of culture, compared with those in conventional culture group, the protein expressions of artemin of Schwann cells in high glucose alone group and high glucose+exosome group were significantly decreased ( P<0.05); compared with that in high glucose alone group, the protein expression of artemin of Schwann cells in high glucose+exosome group was significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The protein expression of artemin in nerve tissue of DPN patients is lower than that in normal nerve tissue, which may be related to the reduction of proliferation activity of Schwann cells by high glucose. Human ADSC exosomes may improve the proliferation activity of Schwann cells by increasing artemin protein expression, thereby delaying the progression of DPN.

Objective:To study whether male was the risk factor for prognosis of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after 131I treatment based on propensity score matching (PSM) method. Methods:From April 2016 to January 2021, 1 677 patients (age: 11-84 (43.9±12.5) years) with DTC who underwent total thyroidectomy and received 131I treatment in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were retrospectively enrolled and patients were divided into male group ( n=546) and female group ( n=1 131). The evaluation results of patients were divided into excellent response (ER), indeterminate response (IDR), biochemical incomplete response (BIR) and structural incomplete response (SIR). Among them, ER and IDR were divided into good prognosis group, and BIR and SIR were divided into poor prognosis group. The PSM method was adopted to process all data to reduce the influence of data bias and confounding variables. χ2 test was used for data analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting prognosis, and ROC curve was used to analyze the relationship between stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) level and poor prognosis. Results:Before PSM, the proportion of male patients with poor prognosis was significantly higher than that of female patients (21.2%(116/546) vs 14.0%(158/1 131); χ2=17.53, P=0.001). After PSM, there was no difference in the proportion of poor prognosis between male and female groups (19.9%(107/537) vs 15.6%(84/537); χ2=5.43, P=0.143). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male (odds radio ( OR)=1.439 (95% CI: 1.016-2.038), P=0.040), high T stage(T3+ T4 stage)( OR=1.816 (95% CI: 1.273-2.590), P=0.001), N1b stage ( OR=1.766 (95% CI: 1.233-2.530), P=0.002), M1 stage ( OR=9.833 (95% CI: 3.190-30.309), P<0.001) and sTg level ( OR=1.035 (95% CI: 1.029-1.042), P<0.001) were risk factors for poor prognosis before PSM, while high T stage (T3+ T4 stage)( OR=1.870 (95% CI: 1.212-2.886), P=0.005), M1 stage ( OR=8.993 (95% CI: 2.434-33.225), P=0.001), sTg level ( OR=1.040 (95% CI: 1.030-1.049), P<0.001) were still risk factors, and N1b stage ( OR=1.459 (95% CI: 0.938-2.270), P=0.094), male ( OR=1.383 (95% CI: 0.912-2.096), P=0.127) were no longer risk factors for poor prognosis after PSM. ROC curve analysis showed that the cut-off value of sTg was 10.25 μg/L, with the sensitivity of 81.0%(222/274) and the specificity of 84.2%(1 181/1 403). Conclusions:After reduction of selection bias by PSM, male is no longer a risk factor for prognosis after 131I treatment of DTC. In addition, high T stage(T3+ T4 stage), M1 stage and sTg≥10.25 μg/L were risk factors for poor prognosis.

Objective:To explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of thyroid nodules, the clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), respectively.Methods:Clinical data of 1 375 healthy people (1 031 males, 344 females, age: (43.5±10.6) years) who underwent routine physical examination (PE) and 1 450 patients (490 males, 960 females, age: (44.3±12.4) years) with medium-high risk DTC in Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from April 2016 to July 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. PE and DTC patients were classified into underweight group (BMI<18.5 kg/m 2), normal weight group (18.5≤BMI<24.0 kg/m 2), overweight group (24.0≤BMI<28.0 kg/m 2) and obesity group (BMI≥28.0 kg/m 2) respectively. χ2 test was employed to analyze the relation between BMI and thyroid nodules (with/without), BMI and clinical characteristics and efficacy evaluation of DTC, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors for the occurrence of thyroid nodules and the aggressiveness of DTC. Results:Among PE, there were 779 cases with nodules, and 596 cases without nodules. Comparing with those without nodules, more overweight and obese were found in PE cases with nodules (42.1%(328/779) vs 37.2%(222/596), 24.5%(191/779) vs 20.5%(122/596); χ2=13.42, P=0.004). Higher risk of developing thyroid nodules was related with older age and lower thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level (odds ratio ( OR): 1.044, 0.919, 95% CI: 1.029-1.060, 0.845-0.999; P<0.001, P=0.046). People with high-risk nodules were more likely to be obese than those with intermediate and lower risk nodules (5/15 vs 24.3% (186/764); χ2=21.11, P<0.001). Among 1 450 DTC patients, comparing with patients with normal weight, patients in the overweight and obesity groups were more likely to have central regional lymph node metastasis ( OR: 1.418, 1.427, 95% CI: 1.075-1.870, 1.044-1.952; P values: 0.013, 0.026), and patients in obese group were with greater risk of lesions being bilateral ( OR=0.696, 95% CI: 0.519-0.934; P=0.016). BMI was not related with the efficacy evaluation of DTC ( χ2=9.13, P=0.425). Conclusions:The incidence of thyroid nodules in people with high BMI is higher. DTC patients with high BMI may have more aggressive incidence. But BMI has no correlation with the efficacy evaluation of DTC patients after treatment.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of bone cement leakage after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF).Methods:A multi-center, large-sample, case-control study was carried out to analyze the clinical data of 2 273 OVCF patients (2 689 vertebrae) undergone PVP at four hospitals between May 2018 and October 2021, including 994 males and 1 279 females, with the age of 52-91 years [(69.1±3.1)years]. Of all, 581 patients (604 vertebrae) were allocated to leakage group and 1 692 patients (2 085 vertebrae) to no leakage group according to the occurrence of bone cement leakage. The gender, age, fracture sites, vertebral compression degree, endplate integrity of fractured vertebrae, surgical segments, surgical approaches and bone cement injection volume were recorded. Univariate analysis was used to investigate the correlation between those indicators with bone cement leakage. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for bone cement leakage.Results:Univariate analysis showed that gender, age, fracture sites, vertebral compression degree, bone cement injection volume were related to bone cement leakage after PVP ( P<0.05 or 0.01), but no correlation was found in the endplate integrity of fractured vertebrae, surgical segments and surgical approaches (all P>0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that fracture sites ( OR=1.68, 95% CI 1.11-2.55, P<0.05), vertebral compression degree more than 40% ( OR=1.98, 95% CI 1.29-3.02, P<0.01), bone cement injection volume greater than or equal to 5.5 ml ( OR=1.55, 95% CI 1.07-2.26, P<0.05) were significantly associated with bone cement leakage after PVP. Conclusion:Thoracic vertebral fracture, vertebral compression degree more than 40% and bone cement injection volume greater than or equal to 5.5 ml are independent risk factors for bone cement leakage after PVP in OVCF.