Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of children with allergic diseases suffering from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant strains. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 43 pediatric patients with allergic diseases infected by SARS-CoV-2 from April 25, 2022 to June 8, 2022 in Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were selected as the allergic disease group, while 114 cases without underlying diseases and 16 cases with other underlying diseases were selected as control groups diagnosed at the same period. Clinical data including clinical features, laboratory tests, duration of hospitalization, and the time to negative turn of novel coronavirus nucleic acid were collected and analysed. Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi-square test or Fisher exact test were used for comparison among three groups. Results: Among the 43 patients with allergic diseases, 28 were males and 15 were females, with an age of 4.4 (2.1, 8.2) years on admission, including 32 mild cases and 11 common cases. The allergic disease group included 20 cases (46.5%) of atopic dermatitis and eczema, followed by 14 cases (32.6%) of rhinitis, 8 cases (18.6%) of food allergies, 7 cases (16.3%) of asthma, 4 cases (9.3%) of allergic conjunctivitis and 2 cases (4.7%) of drug allergy. Among the 114 cases without underlying diseases, 57 were males and 57 were females, with an age of 2.8 (1.2, 5.6) years on admission, including 93 mild cases and 21 common cases. Among the 16 cases with other underlying diseases, 9 were males and 7 were females, with an age of 3.0 (2.6, 10.8) years on admission, including 13 cases mild and 3 cases common cases. Children with allergic diseases had higher frequency of sore throat and vomiting than those without underlying diseases (10 cases (23.3%) vs.9 cases (7.9%), 14 cases (32.6%) vs. 11 cases (9.6%), χ²=6.93, 12.24, both P<0.05). The lymphocyte count of patients with allergic disease was lower than those without underlying disease (1.1 (0.7,1.7)×10⁹ vs. 1.6 (1.1,2.7)×10⁹/L, H=-28.00,P=0.005). There were no significant differences in age, gender, typing of SARS-CoV-2, the duration of hospitalization, cycle threshold values of SARS-CoV-2 and the time to negative turn of novel coronavirus nucleic acid among the three groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Children with allergic diseases may suffer from sore throat and vomiting more frequently when infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The combination of allergic diseases hardly influenced the disease course of SARS-CoV-2 in children.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 ; China/epidemiology* ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Pharyngitis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors for neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and establish a nomogram model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted with 613 cases of neonatal asphyxia treated in 20 cooperative hospitals in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture from January to December 2019 as the asphyxia group, and 988 randomly selected non-asphyxia neonates born and admitted to the neonatology department of these hospitals during the same period as the control group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors for neonatal asphyxia. R software (4.2.2) was used to establish a nomogram model. Receiver operator characteristic curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis were used to assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia, respectively. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that minority (Tujia), male sex, premature birth, congenital malformations, abnormal fetal position, intrauterine distress, maternal occupation as a farmer, education level below high school, fewer than 9 prenatal check-ups, threatened abortion, abnormal umbilical cord, abnormal amniotic fluid, placenta previa, abruptio placentae, emergency caesarean section, and assisted delivery were independent risk factors for neonatal asphyxia (P<0.05). The area under the curve of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia based on these risk factors was 0.748 (95%CI: 0.723-0.772). The calibration curve indicated high accuracy of the model for predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia. The decision curve analysis showed that the model could provide a higher net benefit for neonates at risk of asphyxia. CONCLUSIONS The risk factors for neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture are multifactorial, and the nomogram model based on these factors has good value in predicting the risk of neonatal asphyxia, which can help clinicians identify neonates at high risk of asphyxia early, and reduce the incidence of neonatal asphyxia.
Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Female ; Nomograms ; Retrospective Studies ; Cesarean Section ; Risk Factors ; Asphyxia Neonatorum/etiology*

Objective: To understand the characteristics and associated factors of viral nucleic acid conversion in children infected with Omicron variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in Shanghai. Methods: The clinical symptoms, laboratory results and other data of 177 children infected with SARS-CoV-2 who were hospitalized in Shanghai Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (designated hospital for SARS-CoV-2 infection in Shanghai) from April 25 to June 8, 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the chest imaging findings, the children were divided into mild and common type groups. According to their age, the unvaccinated children were divided into<3 years old group and 3-<18 years old group. According to the vaccination status, the children aged 3-<18 year were divided into non-vaccination group, 1-dose vaccination group and 2-dose vaccination group. Comparison between groups was performed by independent sample t-test and analysis of variance, and multivariate linear regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. Results: Among the 177 children infected with Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, 96 were males and 81 were females, aged 3 (1, 6) years. The time of viral nucleic acid negative conversion was (10.3±3.1) days. The 177 children were 138 cases of mild type and 39 cases of common type. Among the children aged 3-<18 years old, 55 cases were not vaccinated, 5 cases received 1-dose and 36 cases received 2-dose vaccination. Among the 36 children who received 2 doses of vaccination, the time of viral nucleic acid negative conversion was shorter in those vaccinated within 6 months than those over 6 months ((7.1±1.9) vs. (10.8±3.0) d, t=-3.23, P=0.004). Univariate analysis showed that the time of nucleic acid negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 was associated with age, underlying diseases, gastrointestinal symptoms, white blood cell count, proportion of neutrophils, proportion of lymphocytes, and the number of doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (t=3.87, 2.55, 2.04, 4.24, 3.51, 2.92, F=16.27, all P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that older age (β=-0.33, 95% CI -0.485--0.182, P<0.001) and more doses of vaccination (β=-0.79, 95% CI -1.463--0.120, P=0.021) were associated with shortened nucleic acid negative conversion time in children, while lower lymphocyte proportion (β=-0.02, 95% CI -0.044--0.002, P=0.031) and underlying diseases (β=1.52, 95% CI 0.363-2.672, P=0.010) were associated with prolonged nucleic acid negative conversion time in children. Conclusion: The children infected with Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 with reduced lymphocyte proportion and underlying diseases may have longer time of viral nucleic acid negative conversion,while children with older age and more doses of vaccination may have shorter time of viral nucleic acid negative conversion.
Child ; Female ; Male ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Nucleic Acids ; COVID-19 ; Retrospective Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Translocation, Genetic ; Hospitals, Pediatric

Objective:To study the effect of low-to-moderate dose glucocorticoid therapy on viral clearance in patients with COVID-19.Methods:A total of 72 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from January 19 to February 17, 2020 at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine were recruited. All patients received oral arbidol and combination of lopinavir/ritonavir or darunavir/cobistitat for antiviral therapy, and symptomatic supportive care. Among them, 51 patients received methylprednisolone (0.75-1.50 mg·kg -1·d -1) (glucocorticoid treatment group), and 21 patients did not use glucocorticoid (control group). The time of virologic negative conversion in sputum and the time of radiologic recovery in lung since onset were compared between the two groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test or Fisher exact test was used to compare the difference between groups. Results:The median ages of the glucocorticoid group and the control group were 52 (45, 62) and 46 (32, 56) years ( χ2=4.365, P<0.05). The clinical conditions at hospital admission were different between the two groups ( P<0.01). The severe cases accounted for 52.0%, while moderate cases in the control group accounted for 71.4%. The median times from the onset to virologic negative conversion in the two groups were 15 (13, 20) and 14 (12, 20) days ( P>0.05). The median times from onset to radiologic recovery were 13 (11, 15) and 13 (12, 17) days in the two groups ( P>0.05). In moderate cases, the median times from the onset to virologic conversion in sputum were 13 (11, 18) days in the glucocorticoid group and 13 (12, 15) days in the control group ( P>0.05). The median times from onset to radiologic recovery in lung were 12 (10, 15) and 13 (12, 17) days, respectively ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Low-to-moderate glucocorticoid treatment has no effect on the time of virus clearance in patients with different clinical types of COVID-19, and also no effect on accelerating radiologic recovery in lung, so it is not recommended.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mood disorder that affects almost 20% of the global population. In addition, much evidence has implicated altered function of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) system in the pathophysiology of depression. Recent research has indicated that GABA receptors (GABARs) are an emerging therapeutic target in the treatment of stress-related disorders such as MDD. However, which cell types with GABARs are involved in this process is unknown. As hippocampal dysfunction is implicated in MDD, we knocked down GABARs in the hippocampus and found that knocking down these receptors in astrocytes, but not in GABAergic or pyramidal neurons, caused a decrease in immobility in the forced swimming test (FST) without affecting other anxiety- and depression-related behaviors. We also generated astrocyte-specific GABAR-knockout mice and found decreased immobility in the FST in these mice. Furthermore, the conditional knockout of GABARs in astrocytes selectively increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein in hippocampal astrocytes, which controlled the decrease in immobility in the FST. Taken together, our findings contribute to the current understanding of which cell types expressing GABARs modulate antidepressant activity in the FST, and they may provide new insights into the pathological mechanisms and potential targets for the treatment of depression.