Objective To investigate the value of computer-assisted quantification of pulmonary embolism volume(PEV)in identifying mild-to-high-risk acute pulmonary embolism(APE).Methods We retrospectively enrolled 143 patients with suspected APE confirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography(CTPA)at Yan'an University Affiliated Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020.According to the 2018 Chinese Guidelines for Diagnosis,Treatment and Prevention of Pulmonary Thromboembolism,all the patients were divided into low-risk group(n=88)and mild-to-high-risk group(n=55).We collected the patients'basic demographic data,clinical manifestations,and serum levels of N-terminal-B type natriuretic peptide precursor(NT-proBNP)and D-dimer.Based on CTPA images,the degree of pulmonary thromboembolism was artificially evaluated to obtain the pulmonary artery occlusion index(PAOI).The thrombus was segmented using the pulmonary embolism detection tool based on digital lung,and PEV was calculated.We compared the differences in clinical and laboratory indicators and PAOI and PEV between the two risk groups.We analyzed the value of PAOI and PEV in identifying mild-to-high-risk APE using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,and used Logistic regression analysis to identify independent risk factors in predicting mild-to-high-risk APE.Different models were established.Results Compared with the low-risk group,APE patients in the mild-to-high-risk group were older(P＜0.05),had lower diastolic blood pressure(P＜0.05),higher levels of D-dimer and NT-proBNP(P＜0.05),lower levels of platelet count,arterial oxygen partial pressure and arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure(P＜0.05),and higher levels of PAOI and PEV(P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for PEV in identifying mild-to-high-risk APE was 0.809(95％CI:0.734-0.884),while that for PAOI was 0.753(95％CI:0.667-0.839).Logistic regression analysis showed that PEV and NT-proBNP were independent risk factors for mild-to-high-risk APE(P＜0.05).Conclusion PEV and NT-proBNP are independent risk factors for mild-to-high-risk APE.

Pan-vascular medicine is an emerging discipline focusing on atherosclerotic diseases,with the concept of multidisciplinary integration,emphasizing on exploring the mechanism of disease development from the whole of the organism's structure and function.At present,the basic mechanism system of pan-vascular diseases has yet to be perfected.The pan-vascular concept is highly compatible with the idea of Chinese medicine that focuses on the overall view.Deficiency of all qi is the root cause of pan-vascular diseases,while phlegm,blood stasis,and water-dampness and other tangible evils stagnate in the veins and channels as the symptoms of the disease,therefore,the disease mechanism can be highly summarized as"stagnation due to qi deficiency".Deficiency leads to the stagnation,blocking the veins and channels,and the deficiency worsens due to the stagnation and then damages the veins and channels,thus,it develops into a disease.Based on the theory of"stagnation due to qi deficiency",this paper takes endothelial cell dysfunction as the entry point of pan-vascular diseases,and considers that low endothelial cell immunity is the initiating factor of pan-vascular diseases,and that the widespread persistence of microinflammatory state is the key pathology to pan-vascular diseases.

Background/Aims: Low educational attainment is a well-established risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in developed areas. However, the association between educational attainment and the risk of NAFLD is less clear in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study including over 200,000 Chinese adults across mainland China was conducted. Information on education level and lifestyle factors were obtained through standard questionnaires, while NAFLD and advanced fibrosis were diagnosed using validated formulas. Outcomes included the risk of NAFLD in the general population and high probability of fibrosis among patients with NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis was employed to estimate the risk of NAFLD and fibrosis across education levels. A causal mediation model was used to explore the potential mediators. Results: Comparing with those receiving primary school education, the multi-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD were 1.28 (1.16 to 1.41) for men and 0.94 (0.89 to 0.99) for women with college education after accounting for body mass index. When considering waist circumference, the odds ratios (95% CIs) were 0.94 (0.86 to 1.04) for men and 0.88 (0.80 to 0.97) for women, respectively. The proportions mediated by general and central obesity were 51.00% and 68.04% for men, while for women the proportions were 48.58% and 32.58%, respectively. Furthermore, NAFLD patients with lower educational attainment showed an incremental increased risk of advanced fibrosis in both genders. Conclusions In China, a low education level was associated with a higher risk of prevalent NAFLD in women, as well as high probability of fibrosis in both genders.

Objective To screen the epithelial mesenchymal transformation(EMT)-related genes in lung adenocarcinoma,perform functional enrichment analysis and construct protein interaction network(PPI).Ac-cording to the competitive endogenous RNA(ceRNA)hypothesis and the effect of gene expression on the prognosis of patients,the ceRNA network was constructed.Methods The differentially expressed genes be-tween lung adenocarcinoma tissues and normal tissues were screened by gene expression map and tumor ge-nome map database,and the genes were imported into GenClip3 to obtain EMT-related genes.Metascape was used to perform gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of gene and genome enrichment analysis,and STRING database was used to construct PPI and obtain EMT key genes.The relationship between key genes and prog-nosis was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis.Analysis tools such as miRTarbase,miRNet database,and EN-CORI were used to construct ceRNA networks.Results In this study,156 lung adenocarcinoma EMT-related genes and their key genes cadherin 1,interleukin-6,matrix metalloproteinase-9,platelet endothelial cell adhe-sion molecule,cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A,α1-Ⅰcollagen gene,secreted phosphoprotein 1,TIMP in-hibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1,caveolin-1 and Zeste homologue enhance core 2(EZH2)-1 were identi-fied.The PPI of key genes was predicted,and the therapeutic drugs targeting these key genes including salvia miltiorrhiza,ginseng lu,ginseng leaf and ginseng flower were also predicted.The prognostic ceRNA regulatory network of EZH2/hsa-miR-101-3p/GSEC was constructed.Conclusion This study describes using bioinfor-matics methods system in the process of EMT gene interactions,according to the lung adenocarcinoma pa-tients clinical data to construct the prognosis of the EMT process related ceRNA network,for the treatment and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma judgment provides a new way of thinking.

Objective:To explore the value of biphasic quantitative CT on small airway disease and emphysema injury in patients with smoking combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods:A total of 186 male physical examination subjects who underwent biphasic CT and pulmonary function (PFT) examinations in the Affiliated Hospital of Yan′an University from July 2018 to September 2020 were enrolled in this retrospective study. These subjects were divided into 121 smokers with COPD (COPD group), aged 34 to 84 (64±8) years old and 65 smokers without COPD (non-COPD group) aged 34 to 72 (61±5) years old. According to the guidelines of the COPD global initiative, patients in COPD group were divided into Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (GOLD) Ⅰ-Ⅳ grades. The original DICOM data of CT were imported into the "Digital Lung" test and analysis platform. Quantitative parameters of functional small airway disease percentage (fSAD%) and emphysema area percentage (Emph%) of each lobe were calculated. The differences of CT quantitative parameters among non-COPD group and each grade in COPD group were analyzed by One-Way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis H test. The correlation between the smoking index and CT quantitative parameters was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:There were significant differences in fSAD% and Emph% of each lobe among non-COPD group and COPD group GOLD Ⅰ-Ⅳ ( P<0.001). Except that the Emph% in right middle lobe of GOLD grade Ⅰ was higher than that of GOLD grade Ⅱ in COPD group, the fSAD% and Emph% in other lobes increased gradually with the increase of GOLD grade in COPD group. The fSAD% and Emph% were larger in the right middle lobe and both upper lobes of COPD group GOLD Ⅰ-Ⅳ. The comparison among each lobe showed that the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.01), except for the fSAD% and Emph% of GOLD Ⅳ ( P=0.395, 0.840). The smoking index was positively correlated with fSAD% and Emph% in each lung lobe. Among them, smoking index was highly correlated with fSAD% in the lower right lobe and Emph% in the lower left lobe ( r=0.474, 0.619, P<0.001). Conclusion:The biphasic quantitative CT can early and sensitively reflect the degree of small airway disease and emphysema injury in smoking combined with COPD, which is of great significance for the early diagnosis and evolution of COPD.

To implement the fundamental task of the Ministry of Education on carrying out curriculum ideological and political education and promoting colleges and universities to implement the morality education, this study tried to carry out ideological and political education for medical students in "medical functional science experimental course", and organically integrated the ideological and political elements of "loving experimental animals and reverencing for life" into the teaching of this course. This paper explored the implementation process and effect evaluation of ideological and political courses from the aspects of teaching objects, design, objectives, in-class and off-class practical activities, and analyzed the current problems and future directions. In order to provide beneficial ideas for the ideological and political construction of college curriculum and help cultivate excellent and innovative medical talents with warmth and feelings.

BACKGROUND: Although ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation (KT) has been performed successfully, a standard preconditioning regimen has not been established. Based on the initial antidonor ABO antibody titers, an individualized preconditioning regimen is developed, and this study explored the efficacy and safety of the regimen. METHODS: From September 1, 2014, to September 1, 2020, we performed 1668 consecutive living-donor KTs, including 100 ABOi and 1568 ABO-compatible (ABOc) KTs. ABOi KT recipients (KTRs) with a lower antibody titer (≤1:8) were administered oral immunosuppressive drugs (OIs) before KT, while patients with a medium titer (1:16) received OIs plus antibody-removal therapy (plasma exchange/double-filtration plasmapheresis), patients with a higher titer (≥1:32) were in addition received rituximab (Rit). Competing risk analyses were conducted to estimate the cumulative incidence of infection, acute rejection (AR), graft loss, and patient death. RESULTS: After propensity score analyses, 100 ABOi KTRs and 200 matched ABOc KTRs were selected. There were no significant differences in graft and patient survival between the ABOi and ABOc groups (P  = 0.787, P  = 0.386, respectively). After using the individualized preconditioning regimen, ABOi KTRs showed a similar cumulative incidence of AR (10.0% υs . 10.5%, P  = 0.346). Among the ABOi KTRs, the Rit-free group had a similar cumulative incidence of AR ( P  = 0.714) compared to that of the Rit-treated group. Multivariate competing risk analyses revealed that a Rit-free regimen reduced the risk of infection (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.12-0.78, P  = 0.013). Notably, antibody titer rebound was more common in ABOi KTRs receiving a Rit-free preconditioning regimen ( P  = 0.013) than those receiving Rit. ABOi KTRs with antibody titer rebound had a 2.72-fold risk of AR (HR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.01-7.31, P  = 0.048). ABOi KTRs had similar serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate compared to those of ABOc KTRs after the first year. CONCLUSIONS An individualized preconditioning regimen can achieve comparable graft and patient survival rates in ABOi KT with ABOc KT. Rit-free preconditioning effectively prevented AR without increasing the risk of infectious events in those with lower initial titers; however, antibody titer rebound should be monitored.
Humans ; Kidney Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Living Donors ; Kidney ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; ABO Blood-Group System ; Graft Rejection ; Graft Survival

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is the most common thyroid dysfunction, and its relationship with blood pressure (BP) has been controversial. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between SCH and newly-diagnosed hypertension. Methods: Based on data from the Thyroid disease, Iodine nutrition and Diabetes Epidemiology (TIDE) study, 49,433 euthyroid individuals and 7,719 SCH patients aged ≥18 years were enrolled. Patients with a history of hypertension or thyroid disease were excluded. SCH was determined by manufacturer reference range. Overall hypertension and stage 1 and 2 hypertension were diagnosed according to the guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association in 2017. Results: The prevalence of overall hypertension (48.7%), including stage 1 (28.9%) and 2 (19.8%) hypertension, increased significantly in SCH patients compared with euthyroid subjects. With elevated serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level, the hypertension prevalence also increased significantly from the euthyroid to different SCH subgroups, which was more profound in females or subjects aged <65 years. The age- and sex-specific regression analysis further demonstrated the same trends in the general population and in the 1:1 propensity matched population. Similarly, several BP components (i.e., systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BP) were positively associated with TSH elevation, and regression analysis also confirmed that all BP components were closely related with SCH in female subjects aged <65 years. Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension increases for patients with SCH. SCH tends to be associated with hypertension and BP components in females younger than 65 years.

Objective:To investigate the effect of anterior or posterior debridement on infections of the lumbar vertebral fusion with cage and pedical screw system.Methods:A total of 10 cases (3 males and 7 females, age 49.80±13.29 years) with infections in the lumbar fusion device were admitted from January 2013 to December 2019. The cases were diagnosed with deep infections after the preview surgery at 10.80±13.24 months, including 10 cases with 12 cages infections and 8 cases with screw system infections. 7 cases were done with debridement and removal of the cages via the anterior approach. And another 3 cases underwent posterior debridement and removal of lumbar fusion cages. The changes in laboratory examination such as WBC count, ESR, CRP, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score were compared preoperatively, 2 months and 6 months postoperatively.Results:No patients were lost in the follow-up. The average follow-up time periods is 16.30±5.10 months (range 9-24 months). There was no significant difference in WBC count between 2 and 6 months after surgery compared with preoperation ( F=0.855, P=0.436). The ESR, CRP, VAS and ODI scores decreased in 2 months and 6 months after sugery, which has significant differences compared preoperation ( P<0.05). The abnormal signals in the lambar vertebral showed a gradual fading trend in the postoperative MRI. The completely fading time was 5.00±1.33 months (range 3-7 months). One-stage bone grafting was performed in 6 cases with 8 spaces via anterior approach, 5 cases with 7 spaces showed the intervertebral fusion after postoperative with 6.80±2.28 months (range 4-10 months), 1 case wirh 1 space was not fused. One-stage bone grafting was performed in 2 cases via posterior approach: 1 case was fused after postoperative and the other patient was not, which due to bone graft area infection. Postoperative bone graft displacement occurred with 1 case and 1 case with L 5 nerve root pulling injury during the operation. Conclusion:The fusion cage can be removed by debridement via posterior approach, but it is difficult to done the completely debridement, which the main reason is the obstruction of the posterior nerve and bone structure. Posterior approach also have risks of infection recurrence and nerve root injury. Cage removal via anterior approach was relatively easy and debridement was thoroughly, which has the risk of injury of important adjacent vessels.