[Progress and controversy in minimally invasive approach to radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer]

Surgical treatment is one of the most important forms of treatment in patients with gallbladder cancer. With the development of minimally invasive technology, the feasibility, safety and efficacy of minimally invasive approaches such as laparoscopic or robotic-assisted radical cholecystectomy for gallbladder cancer have received continuous attention.For patients with an early T-stage (Tis or T1a), laparoscopic simple cholecystectomy is safe and economical, with a good prognosis for postoperative patients, and it has been widely accepted and performed. Radical resection of advanced gallbladder cancer requires resection of the gallbladder, its liver bed, and other neighboring invaded organs, as well as clearance of regional lymph nodes, which requires experienced gallbladder cancer treatment teams to strictly grasp the indications, select appropriate patients, and formulate a good surgical strategy to ensure the therapeutic effect. Meanwhile, robot-assisted radical resection for gallbladder cancer has been performed in a few centers and shows good clinical potential, but more high-quality studies are needed to further evaluate its value in gallbladder cancer treatment.

[Genome-wide Mendelian randomization study of the pathogenic role of gut microbiota in benign biliary tract diseases]

Objective: To investigate the causal relationship between intestinal flora and benign biliary diseases by genome-wide Mendelian randomization. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study. The data from the genome-wide association study of the gut microbiota from 18 340 samples from the MiBioGen consortium were selected as the exposure group,and the data from the genome-wide association study of biliary tract diseases were obtained from the FinnGen consortium R8 as the outcome group. There were 1 491 cases of primary sclerosing cholangitis,32 894 cases of cholelithiasis,3 770 cases of acalculous cholecystitis,and 34 461 cases of cholecystitis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were screened as instrumental variables,and the Mendelian randomization method was used to infer the causal relationship between exposures and outcomes. The inverse variance weighting method (IVW) was used as the main basis, supplemented by heterogeneity,pleiotropy and sensitivity tests. Results: Coprococcus 2 was associated with a reduced risk of cholelithiasis (IVW OR=0.88,95%CI:0.80 to 0.97,P=0.012) and cholecystitis (IVW OR=0.88,95%CI:0.80 to 0.97,P=0.011). Coprococcus 3 was associated with cholelithiasis (IVW OR=1.15,95%CI:1.02 to 1.30,P=0.019) and acalculous cholecystitis(IVW OR=1.48, 95%CI: 1.08 to 2.04,P=0.016) and cholecystitis (IVW OR=1.17, 95%CI: 1.02 to 1.33, P=0.020). Peptococcus was associated with an increased risk of cholelithiasis (IVW OR=1.08, 95%CI:1.02 to 1.13, P=0.005) and cholecystitis (IVW CI=1.07, 95%CI:1.02 to 1.13,P=0.010). Clostridiumsensustricto 1 was associated with an increased risk of cholelithiasis (IVW OR=1.16,95%CI:1.02 to 1.31, P=0.020) and cholecystitis (IVW OR=1.16, 95%CI:1.03 to 1.30, P=0.015). Eubacterium hallii was associated with an increased risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (IVW OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.03 to 1.99, P=0.033). Eubacterium ruminantium (IVW OR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.76 to 1.00, P=0.043) and Methanobrevibacter (IVW OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.68 to 0.98, P=0.027) were associated with a reduced risk of acalculous cholecystitis. Conclusions: Eight intestinal bacterial genera maybe play pathogenic roles in benign biliary diseases. Eubacterium hallii can increase the risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis. Peptococcus and Clostridiumsensustricto 1 can increase the risk of cholelithiasis and generalized cholecystitis. Coprococcus 3 have multiple correlations with biliary stones and inflammation.

Quantitative Assessment of Hemodynamics Associated With Embolization Degree in Brain Arteriovenous Malformations

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Grading systems, including the novel brain arteriovenous malformation endovascular grading scale (NBAVMES) and arteriovenous malformation embocure score (AVMES), predict embolization outcomes based on arteriovenous malformation (AVM) morphological features. The influence of hemodynamics on embolization outcomes remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the relationship between hemodynamics and embolization outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of 99 consecutive patients who underwent transarterial embolization at our institution between 2012 and 2018. Hemodynamic features of AVMs were derived from pre-embolization digital subtraction angiography sequences using quantitative digital subtraction angiography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the significant factors associated with embolization outcomes.

RESULTS

Complete embolization (CE) was achieved in 17 (17.2%) patients, and near-complete embolization was achieved in 18 (18.2%) patients. A slower transnidal relative velocity (TRV, odds ratio [OR] = 0.71, P = .002) was significantly associated with CE. Moreover, higher stasis index of the drainage vein (OR = 16.53, P = .023), shorter transnidal time (OR = 0.15, P = .013), and slower TRV (OR = 0.9, P = .049) were significantly associated with complete or near-complete embolization (C/nCE). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting CE was 0.87 for TRV, 0.72 for NBAVMES scores (ρ = 0.287, P = .004), and 0.76 for AVMES scores. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting C/nCE was 0.77 for TRV, 0.61 for NBAVMES scores, and 0.75 for AVMES scores. Significant Spearman correlation was observed between TRV and NBAVMES scores and AVMES scores (ρ = 0.512, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Preoperative hemodynamic factors have the potential to predict the outcomes of AVM embolization. A higher stasis index of the drainage vein, slower TRV, and shorter transnidal time may indicate a moderate blood flow status or favorable AVM characteristics that can potentially facilitate embolization.

Pig-eRNAdb: a comprehensive enhancer and eRNA dataset of pigs

Enhancers and the enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) have been strongly implicated in regulations of transcriptions. Based the multi-omics data (ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq and RNA-seq) from public databases, Pig-eRNAdb is a dataset that comprehensively integrates enhancers and eRNAs for pigs using the machine learning strategy, which incorporates 82,399 enhancers and 37,803 eRNAs from 607 samples across 15 tissues of pigs. This user-friendly dataset covers a comprehensive depth of enhancers and eRNAs annotation for pigs. The coordinates of enhancers and the expression patterns of eRNAs are downloadable. Besides, thousands of regulators on eRNAs, the target genes of eRNAs, the tissue-specific eRNAs, and the housekeeping eRNAs are also accessible as well as the sequence similarity of eRNAs with humans. Moreover, the tissue-specific eRNA-trait associations encompass 652 traits are also provided. It will crucially facilitate investigations on enhancers and eRNAs with Pig-eRNAdb as a reference dataset in pigs.

PigBiobank: a valuable resource for understanding genetic and biological mechanisms of diverse complex traits in pigs

To fully unlock the potential of pigs as both agricultural species for animal-based protein food and biomedical models for human biology and disease, a comprehensive understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying various complex phenotypes in pigs and how the findings can be translated to other species, especially humans, are urgently needed. Here, within the Farm animal Genotype-Tissue Expression (FarmGTEx) project, we build the PigBiobank (http://pigbiobank.farmgtex.org) to systematically investigate the relationships among genomic variants, regulatory elements, genes, molecular networks, tissues and complex traits in pigs. This first version of the PigBiobank curates 71 885 pigs with both genotypes and phenotypes from over 100 pig breeds worldwide, covering 264 distinct complex traits. The PigBiobank has the following functions: (i) imputed sequence-based genotype-phenotype associations via a standardized and uniform pipeline, (ii) molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying trait-associations via integrating multi-omics data, (iii) cross-species gene mapping of complex traits via transcriptome-wide association studies, and (iv) high-quality results display and visualization. The PigBiobank will be updated timely with the development of the FarmGTEx-PigGTEx project, serving as an open-access and easy-to-use resource for genetically and biologically dissecting complex traits in pigs and translating the findings to other species.

Histogram analysis of diffusion kurtosis imaging of deep brain nuclei in Parkinson's disease with different motor subtypes

AIM

To evaluate the diagnostic and differential efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) histogram analysis for different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seventy PD patients including 40 with postural instability and gait disorder (PIGD) and 30 with tremor-dominant (TD) and 36 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled prospectively and underwent MRI examinations. The regions of interest (ROI) in the deep brain nuclei were delineated and features were extracted on the map of mean kurtosis (MK), axial kurtosis (Ka), and radial kurtosis (Kr), respectively. The differences in histogram features between PD patients and HC and between patients with PIGD and TD were compared. The areas under the curve (AUCs) were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of all histogram features. The correlations between histogram features and clinical indicators were evaluated.

RESULTS

Some DKI histogram features were significantly different between PD patients and HC, and also different between patients with PIGD and TD (all p<0.05). MK of the substantia nigra pars reticulate (SNprkurtosis), Ka of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) 50 percentile (SNpcP50), and Kr of SNpc 90th percentile showed the highest AUC for distinguishing patients with PIGD from HC. MK-SNpc 10th percentile, Ka-SNpc 25th percentile, and Kr of the head of the caudate nucleus (CN) 90th percentile had the highest AUC for distinguishing patients with TD from HC. MK of the putamen 10th percentile combined with Ka of the bilateral red nucleus RNkurtosis yielded the highest diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.762 for distinguishing patients with PIGD from TD. Certain DKI histogram features were correlated with Hoehn-Yahr (H&Y) stage, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, tremor score, and PIGD score (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

DKI histogram analysis was useful to diagnose and discriminate different motor subtypes of PD. Certain DKI histogram features correlated with clinical indicators.

Comprehensive Analysis of CircRNA Expression Profiles in Multiple Tissues of Pigs

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with diverse functions, and previous studies have reported that circRNAs are involved in the growth and development of pigs. However, studies about porcine circRNAs over the past few years have focused on a limited number of tissues. Based on 215 publicly available RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) samples, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of circRNAs in nine pig tissues, namely, the gallbladder, heart, liver, longissimus dorsi, lung, ovary, pituitary, skeletal muscle, and spleen. Here, we identified a total of 82,528 circRNAs and discovered 3818 novel circRNAs that were not reported in the CircAtlas database. Moreover, we obtained 492 housekeeping circRNAs and 3489 tissue-specific circRNAs. The housekeeping circRNAs were enriched in signaling pathways regulating basic biological tissue activities, such as chromatin remodeling, nuclear-transcribed mRNA catabolic process, and protein methylation. The tissue-specific circRNAs were enriched in signaling pathways related to tissue-specific functions, such as muscle system process in skeletal muscle, cilium organization in pituitary, and cortical cytoskeleton in ovary. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we identified 14 modules comprising 1377 hub circRNAs. Additionally, we explored circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks to elucidate the interaction relationships between tissue-specific circRNAs and tissue-specific genes. Furthermore, our conservation analysis revealed that 19.29% of circRNAs in pigs shared homologous positions with their counterparts in humans. In summary, this extensive profiling of housekeeping, tissue-specific, and co-expressed circRNAs provides valuable insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of pig transcriptional expression, ultimately deepening our understanding of genetic and biological processes.

Efficacy and safety of flow diverter combined with coil embolization and evidence-based antithrombotic regimen in the treatment of ruptured aneurysms

OBJECTIVE

The use of a flow diverter (FD) in the treatment of ruptured aneurysms is limited due to the increased risk of perioperative ischemia and hemorrhagic complications. Adjunctive coil embolization and an evidence-based antithrombotic regimen may improve therapeutic safety, although evidence from relevant clinical research is limited. The authors' aim was to further assess the perioperative safety and long-term efficacy of this strategy.

METHODS

Data on patients with FD insertion and coil embolization were collected retrospectively at two centers. The perioperative antithrombotic regimen consists of intraoperative tirofiban and continues for 24 hours postoperatively, with the initiation of an orally administered dual-antiplatelet regimen 4 hours prior to tirofiban cessation, rather than purposeful preoperative antiplatelet therapy. Perioperative cerebral ischemia and hemorrhagic complications and long-term aneurysm occlusion rates were recorded to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the procedure, respectively.

RESULTS

In total, 67 cases were screened and 41 cases were ultimately included in this study. A total of 2 cases (4.9%) of perioperative cerebral hemorrhagic events occurred, 1 of which (2.4%) was attributable to rerupture of the aneurysm. Cerebral ischemic events were reported in 3 patients, including 1 with cortical thromboembolism and 2 with perforator occlusion of the basilar artery. A median 8-month follow-up was attained in 25 patients (61.0%), with a 92% complete or near-complete occlusion rate.

CONCLUSIONS

FD insertion combined with coil embolization is a potentially safe and effective therapeutic strategy for ruptured aneurysms when accompanied with perioperative evidence-based antithrombotic therapy.

A non-linear relationship between lesion length and risk of recurrent cerebral ischemia after stenting for symptomatic intracranial stenosis with hemodynamic impairment

Background

Stent placement can be an effective treatment for patients with symptomatic intracranial stenosis (sICAS) and hemodynamic impairment (HI). However, the association between lesion length and the risk of recurrent cerebral ischemia (RCI) after stenting remains controversial. Exploring this association can help predict patients at higher risk for RCI and develop individualized follow-up schedules.

Method

In this study, we provided a post-hoc analysis of a prospective, multicenter registry study on stenting for sICAS with HI in China. Demographics, vascular risk factors, clinical variables, lesions, and procedure-specific variables were recorded. RCI includes ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), from month 1 after stenting to the end of the follow-up period. Smoothing curve fitting and segmented Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the threshold effect between lesion length and RCI in the overall group and subgroups of the stent type.

Results

The non-linear relationship between lesion length and RCI was observed in the overall population and subgroups; however, the non-linear relationship differed by subgroup of stent type. In the balloon-expandable stent (BES) subgroup, the risk of RCI increased 2.17-fold and 3.17-fold for each 1-mm increase in the lesion length when the lesion length was <7.70 mm and >9.00 mm, respectively. In the self-expanding stent (SES) subgroup, the risk of RCI increased 1.83-fold for each 1-mm increase in the lesion length when the length was <9.00 mm. Nevertheless, the risk of RCI did not increase with the length when the lesion length was >9.00mm.

Conclusion

A non-linear relationship exists between lesion length and RCI after stenting for sICAS with HI. The lesion length increases the overall risk of RCI for BES and for SES when the length was <9.00 mm, while no significant relationship was found when the length was >9.00 mm for SES.

Evaluation of the apposition in unruptured aneurysms treated with flow diverters by optical coherence tomography: Preliminary clinical experience

Background

The risk of perioperative stroke and the rate of occlusion of long-term aneurysms in the treatment of unruptured aneurysms with flow diverters (FDs) are affected by stent apposition. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) may be an optional technique in evaluating apposition.

Purpose

To explore the feasibility of the OCT imaging technique in evaluating stent apposition in the clinical application of the FD for unruptured aneurysms.

Methods

OCT and Vaso CT were used in patients with indications for surgery to treat unruptured aneurysms with the FDs, to evaluate the apposition of the FDs after fully released, and to analyze OCT images for FDs apposition and compare with corresponding Vaso CT images.

Results

A total of four patients were enrolled, and OCT found malapposition after FDs placement in all four patients, and the maximum gap between the stent and vascular wall ranged from 0.68 to 1.95 mm and the length of malapposition ranged from 1.80 to 7.40 mm. However, Vaso CT found malapposition only in two of the four patients and missed malapposition near aneurysm in all three patients treated by the FD combined with coiling and could not accurately evaluate the maximum gap and the length of the malapposition.

Conclusion

The optical coherence tomography technique is a possible approach to evaluate apposition after the treatment of unruptured aneurysms by the FDs.

[The value of CMR high-risk attributes in predicting ventricular remodeling in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction]

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of a multiparametric cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) approach for ventricular remodeling in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with mildly reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: This study is a prospective cohort study. STEMI patients with acute LVEF>40% after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from October 2019 to September 2021 were enrolled. All patients received acute (3-7 days) and follow-up (3 months) CMR post-PCI. According to absence or presence of ventricular remodeling, patients were divided into ventricular remodeling group and non-ventricular remodeling group. Basic clinical characteristics and CMR indicators were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to explore the predictive performance of CMR high-risk attributes for ventricular remodeling in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. The predictive value of combining multiple high-risk characteristics of CMR for ventricular remodeling was analyzed and compared with the traditional clinical risk factor model. Results: A total of 123 STEMI patients were enrolled (aged (57.1±11.1) years, 102 (82.9%) males). There were 97 cases (78.9%) patients in the non-ventricular remodeling group and 26 cases (21.1%) in the ventricular remodeling group. After adjustment for clinical risk factors, stroke volume<51.6 ml, global circumferential strain>-13.7%, infarct size>39.2%, microvascular obstruction>0.5%, and myocardial salvage index<43.9 were independently associated with ventricular remodeling in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. The incidence of ventricular remodeling increased with the increasing number of CMR high-risk attributes (P<0.01). The number of CMR high-risk attributes ≥3 was an independent predictor of adverse remodeling (adjusted OR=5.95, 95 CI%: 2.25-15.72, P<0.01) in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. Furthermore, the number of CMR high-risk attributes had incremental predictive value over baseline clinical risk factors (area under curve: 0.843 vs. 0.696, P<0.01). Conclusions: In STEMI patients with mild reduced or preserved LVEF, 5 CMR characteristics are associated with ventricular remodeling. The combination of ≥3 CMR high-risk characteristics is an independent predictor of ventricular remodeling, which has incremental predictive value beyond traditional risk factors in this patient cohort.

Benchmarking DNA Methylation Analysis of 14 Alignment Algorithms for Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing in Mammals

Whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) is an essential technique for methylome studies. Although a series of tools have been developed to overcome the mapping challenges caused by bisulfite treatment, the latest available tools have not been evaluated on the performance of reads mapping as well as on biological insights in multiple mammals. Herein, based on the real and simulated WGBS data of 14.77 billion reads, we undertook 936 mappings to benchmark and evaluate 14 wildly utilized alignment algorithms from reads mapping to biological interpretation in humans, cattle and pigs: Bwa-meth, BSBolt, BSMAP, Walt, Abismal, Batmeth2, Hisat_3n, Hisat_3n_repeat, Bismark-bwt2-e2e, Bismark-his2, BSSeeker2-bwt, BSSeeker2-soap2, BSSeeker2-bwt2-e2e and BSSeeker2-bwt2-local. Specifically, Bwa-meth, BSBolt, BSMAP, Bismark-bwt2-e2e and Walt exhibited higher uniquely mapped reads, mapped precision, recall and F1 score than other nine alignment algorithms, and the influences of distinct alignment algorithms on the methylomes varied considerably at the numbers and methylation levels of CpG sites, the calling of differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) and regions (DMRs). Moreover, we reported that BSMAP showed the highest accuracy at the detection of CpG coordinates and methylation levels, the calling of DMCs, DMRs, DMR-related genes and signaling pathways. These results suggested that careful selection of algorithms to profile the genome-wide DNA methylation is required, and our works provided investigators with useful information on the choice of alignment algorithms to effectively improve the DNA methylation detection accuracy in mammals.

Efficient Source of Shaped Single Photons Based on an Integrated Diamond Nanophotonic System

An efficient, scalable source of shaped single photons that can be directly integrated with optical fiber networks and quantum memories is at the heart of many protocols in quantum information science. We demonstrate a deterministic source of arbitrarily temporally shaped single-photon pulses with high efficiency [detection efficiency=14.9%] and purity [g^{(2)}(0)=0.0168] and streams of up to 11 consecutively detected single photons using a silicon-vacancy center in a highly directional fiber-integrated diamond nanophotonic cavity. Combined with previously demonstrated spin-photon entangling gates, this system enables on-demand generation of streams of correlated photons such as cluster states and could be used as a resource for robust transmission and processing of quantum information.

[Progress in clinical diagnosis and treatment of gallbladder cancer]

Due to the lack of effective early diagnosis and treatment, gallbladder cancer(GBC) remains a malignant tumor with extremely high malignancy and poor prognosis. Therefore, high quality studies are required to break through the bottleneck in GBC diagnosis and treatment. This article reviewed the domestic and foreign GBC research published in 2021, presenting a comprehensive summary of the important advances in the field of clinical diagnosis and treatment. Latest epidemiological data and risk factors, emerging diagnostic methods of peripheral blood laboratory tests and imaging, new pathologic classification system, hot topics and controversies of surgical treatment as well as the dynamics of systemic treatment of GBC are reviewed in the article. The present findings may contribute to a more efficient means of diagnosis and treatment for GBC and hold the promise of improved outcomes for patients with GBC.

[Multimorbidity in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome: insights from BleeMACS registry]

Objective: To assess the prevalence, pattern and outcome of multimorbidity in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: Secondary analysis was performed based on the data from the BleeMACS registry, which was conducted between 2003 and 2014. We stratified elderly patients (≥65 years) according to their multimorbidity. Multimorbidity was defined as two or more chronic diseases in the same individual. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate 1 year event rates for each endpoint, and comparisons between the study groups were performed using the log-rank test. The primary endpoint was net adverse clinical events (NACE), which is a composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, or bleeding. Results: Of 7 120 evaluable patients, 6 391 (89.8%) were with morbidity (1 594 with 1, 2 156 with 2, and 2 641 with ≥3 morbidity). Patients with morbidity were older, percent of female sex and non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes and implantation rate with drug-eluting stents and blood creatine level were higher compared to patients without morbidity. Compared with the patients without morbidity, the proportion of participants with oral anticoagulant increased in proportion to increased number of morbidities (5.8% vs. 6.4% with 1 morbidity, 7.3% with 2 morbidities, 9.0% with ≥3 morbidities, P trend<0.01) and the proportion of participants with clopidogrel prescription decreased in proportion to increased number of morbidity (91.9% vs. 89.7% with 1 morbidity, 87.9% with 2 morbidities, 88.6% with ≥3 morbidities, P trend = 0.01). During 1 year follow-up, compared with those with no morbidity, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of risk of NACE for those with 1, 2, and ≥ 3 morbidities was 1.18 (0.86-1.64), 1.49 (1.10-2.02), and 2.74 (2.06-3.66), respectively (P < 0.01). Multimorbidity was not associated with an increased risk of bleeding of various organs (P>0.05). Conclusion: Multimorbidity is common in elderly patients with ACS. These patients might benefit from coordinated and integrated multimorbidity management by multidisciplinary teams.

Factors Influencing the Outcome of Symptomatic Intracranial Artery Stenosis With Hemodynamic Impairment After Short and Long-Term Stent Placement

Objective

Stent placement is a feasible approach worldwidely for patients with symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis (sICAS) and hemodynamic impairment (HI) who are at high risk of recurrent stroke after medical treatment. Exploration of factors associated with poor outcomes after stent placement could help develop better individualized therapeutic strategies.

Methods

This study conducted a post-hoc analysis of a prospective, multicenter registry study of stent use for sICAS with HI in China. Patient and clinical demographics, and stenotic lesion images were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression to the time until any endpoints or the end of the follow-up period. The short-term endpoint included any transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke, or death within 1 month after stent placement. The long-term endpoints included the short-term endpoints and any TIA or stroke in the region of the affected artery that occurred more than 1 month after stent placement.

Results

Two hundred and ninety two patients were included, with 13 short-term and 39 long-term endpoints. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that lesions at the arterial origin or bifurcation (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 7.52; 95% CI, 1.89-29.82; p = 0.004) were significantly associated with higher short-term risk. Baseline renal insufficiency reduced the risk (HR = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.01-0.68; p = 0.021). Factors significantly associated with higher long-term risk included irregular or ulcerated plaques at the lesion (HR = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.07-4.33; p = 0.031). Subgroup analyses indicated that higher risk occurred in the older age group (age>59 years, HR = 3.73, 95% CI: 1.27-10.97, p = 0.017), and not in the younger group (age≤59 years, HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.42-3.03, p = 0.822).

Conclusion

Irregular or ulcerated plaques in older patients and lesions at the arterial opening or bifurcation were more likely to result in adverse endpoints for stent placement during long or short -term follow-up. Investigation of these factors might facilitate the development of individualized therapeutic strategies for this population.

Clinical Trial Registration

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT01968122.

Oral Microbiota Changes Contribute to Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mice

The oral microbiota has been implicated in various neurologic conditions, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a category of neurodevelopmental disorders defined by core behavioral impairments. Recent data propose the etiopathogenetic role of intestinal microbiota in ASD. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the oral microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of ASD. On the basis of microbial changes detected in the oral cavity of children with ASD, we transferred oral microbiota from donors with ASD and typical development (TD) into an antibiotic-mediated microbiota-depleted mouse model and found that the ASD microbiota is sufficient to induce ASD-like behaviors, such as impaired social behavior. Mice receiving oral microbiota from the ASD donor showed significantly different microbiota structures in their oral cavity and intestinal tract as compared with those receiving TD microbiota and those not receiving any bacterium. The prefrontal cortex of ASD microbiota recipient mice displayed an alternative transcriptional profile with significant upregulation of serotonin-related gene expression, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and TGF-β signaling pathway relative to that in TD microbiota recipient mice. The expression of serotonin-related genes was significantly increased in ASD microbiota recipient mice and was associated with selective autistic behaviors and changes in abundance of specific oral microbiota, including species of Bacteroidetes [G-7], Porphyromonas, and Tannerella. Machine learning based on the causal inference method confirmed a contributing role of Porphyromonas sp. HMT 930 in ASD. Taken together, the oral microbiota of children with ASD can lead to ASD-like behaviors, differences in microbial community structures, and altered neurosignaling activities in recipient mice; this highlights the mouth-microbial-brain connections in the development of neuropathology and provides a novel strategy to fully understand the etiologic mechanism of ASD.

Post-procedure anticoagulation in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Background

Post-procedural anticoagulation (PPAC) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) may prevent recurrent ischemic events but may increase the risk of bleeding. No consensus has been reached on PPAC use.

Methods

Using data from the CCC-ACS registry, conducted between 2014 and 2019, we stratified all STEMI patients who underwent pPCI according to the use of PPAC or not. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and Cox proportional hazards model with hospital as random effect were used to analyze differences in in-hospital clinical outcomes: the primary efficacy endpoint was mortality, and the primary safety endpoint was major bleeding.

Results

Of 34,826 evaluable patients 26,272 (75.4%) were treated with PPAC, and were on average younger, more stable at admission with lower bleeding risk score, more likely to have comorbidities and multivessel disease, and more often treated within 12 hours of symptom onset than those without PPAC. After IPTW adjustment for baseline differences, PPAC was associated with significantly reduced risk of in-hospital mortality (0.9% vs. 1.8%; hazard ratio (HR): 0.62 [95% confidence interval 0.43, 0.89]; p&lt;0.001) and a nonsignificant difference in risk of in-hospital major bleeding (2.5% vs. 2.2%; HR: 1.05 [0.83, 1.32]; p=0.14).

Conclusions

PPAC in STEMI patients after pPCI was associated with reduced mortality without increasing major bleeding complications. Dedicated randomized trials with contemporary STEMI management are needed to confirm these findings.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China – Acute Coronary Syndrome (CCC-ACS) project is a collaborative study of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Chinese Society of Cardiology (CSC). The AHA has been funded by Pfizer and AstraZeneca for quality improvement initiatives through an independent grant. In-hospital clinical outcomes

Endovascular recanalization for symptomatic intracranial internal carotid and middle cerebral artery occlusion lasting longer than 72 h: Experience in a single center

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the safety, feasibility, and outcomes of endovascular recanalization for symptomatic intracranial internal carotid and middle cerebral artery occlusion lasting longer than 72 h.

METHODS

Thirty-nine consecutive patients with symptomatic occlusion of the anterior circulation and failure of medical therapy underwent endovascular recanalization and were included in this retrospective study. Patient characteristics, atherosclerotic risk factors, successful recanalization rates, and angiographic data were collected.

RESULTS

Recanalization was successful in 37 cases (94.9%). The average residual stenosis immediately after intervention was 11.6 ± 4.3%. The patients who underwent balloon angioplasty alone had similar residual stenosis to those who also underwent stent placement (15.6 ± 7.3% vs. 9.0 ± 6.4%, P = 0.184). Intra- and perioperative complications occurred in three cases (7.69%). One patient (2.7%) developed severe in-stent restenosis with transient ischemic attack symptoms at 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Endovascular recanalization is feasible for symptomatic occlusion of the anterior circulation lasting longer than 72 h. Recanalization provides a higher success rate when performed within 6 months of the qualifying event.

[Impact of obstructive sleep apnea on the long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome]

Objective: To investigate the impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: This is a single-center, prospective cohort study. Between June 2015 to January 2020, consecutive ACS patients hospitalized at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University were enrolled. All patients underwent portable sleep breathing monitoring, and they were then divided into moderate/severe OSA group (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)≥15 events/hour) and no/mild OSA group (AHI<15 events/hour). The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, ischemia-driven revascularization and hospital admission for unstable angina or heart failure. MACCE were compared yearly by the log-rank test. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the independent predictors of MACCE. Results: A total of 1 927 patients with ACS were enrolled, including 1 629 males (84.5%), aged (56.4±10.5) years. Moderate/severe OSA was present in 1 014 (52.6%) patients. Compared with no/mild OSA group, moderate/severe OSA group exhibited a higher body mass index (P<0.05). Hypertension, prior PCI were more prevalent in moderate/severe OSA group (both P<0.05). The difference of ACS category between the two groups was statistically significant (P=0.021). The rate of patients who underwent PCI and the number of stents were higher in the moderate/severe OSA group. During a 5-year follow-up (median 2.9 years (IQR 1.5-3.6 years)), the cumulative incidence of MACCE was significantly higher in the moderate/severe OSA group than in the no/mild OSA group (34.0% vs. 24.0%, HR=1.346, 95%CI 1.100-1.646, log-rank P=0.004). The cumulative incidence of MACCE remained statistically higher at 4 and 5 year in the moderate/severe OSA group as compared to the no/mild OSA group (33.3% vs. 22.9%, HR=1.397, 95%CI 1.141-1.710, log-rank P=0.001; 34.0% vs. 24.0%, HR=1.341, 95%CI 1.096-1.640, log-rank P=0.004, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that moderate/severe OSA (HR=1.312, 95%CI 1.054-1.631, P=0.015) was an independent predictor of long-term MACCE in ACS patients. Conclusions: Moderate/severe OSA is observed in more than 52% ACS patients. Moderate/severe OSA is an independent predictor of long-term MACCE.

Superficial versus deep system single venous anastomosis in the radial forearm free flap: a meta-analysis

The selection of the superficial or deep drainage system for use with the radial forearm free flap (RFFF) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal drainage system for single venous anastomosis. A systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis was performed to assess superficial and deep system single venous anastomosis for use with the RFFF in postoperative reconstruction of the head and neck. This study included 1073 flaps (495 superficial system-based flaps, 578 deep system-based flaps) reported in six studies. The outcomes assessed in the studies selected for this meta-analysis included venous compromise, flap failure, and the salvage success rate. Venous compromise was more common in the superficial system group (odds ratio (OR) 2.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36-3.86, P=0.002). The rate of successful salvage was higher with the superficial system (OR 8.19, 95% CI 1.75-38.3, P=0.008). The rate of flap failure was lower in the superficial system group (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.04-2.48, P=0.27). Although the deep system showed a lower risk of venous compromise, the evidence provided by the meta-analysis was insufficient to determine which type of drainage system is more suitable for single venous anastomosis in RFFF. All included studies were cohort studies; therefore, findings must be interpreted with caution.

Risk factors associated with recurrence of ischemic stroke after intracranial stenting in china: a case-control study

Objectives: To investigate the factors affecting the risk of recurrent stroke after intracranial artery stenting.Methods: This is a subgroup analysis of a prospective single-arm registry study with 20 participating sites. Patients aged 18-85 years old with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis caused by 70-99% stenosis combined with poor collaterals were included in this study. The median follow-up in this study was 26.4 months.Results: A total of 260 patients were recruited in this study. Ischemic stroke related to target vessel occurred in 11 patients (4.2%) from 30 days to the last follow-up. The multivariate analysis revealed age ≥60 years old (OR: 11.991, 95% CI: 1.400-102.716; p = 0.023), no smoking (OR: 0.087, 95% CI: 0.010-0.787; p = 0.030), and Mori C type (OR: 5.129, 95% CI: 1.242-21.178; p = 0.024) retained significance in the model. There was no significant difference in the ischemic stroke based on medical history of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, baseline percent stenosis, length of stenosis, residual stenosis, and different stent types.Conclusions: Recurrence of ischemic stroke after intracranial stenting may be associated with elderly age, non-smoking, and Mori C type lesion. These factors will need to be monitored in future trials of intracranial stenting.Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01968122.

Ovary-derived circular RNAs profile analysis during the onset of puberty in gilts

Background

In mammals, the ovary is the essential system of female reproduction for the onset of puberty, and the abnormal puberty has negative outcomes on health. CircRNA is a non-coding RNA produced by non-canonical alternative splicing (AS). Several studies have reported that circRNA is involved in the gene regulation and plays an important role in some human diseases. However, the contribution of circRNA has received little known within the onset of puberty in ovary.

Results

Here, the profiles of ovarian circRNAs across pre-, in- and post-pubertal stages were established by RNA-sEq. In total, 972 circRNAs were identified, including 631 stage-specific circRNAs and 8 tissue-specific circRNAs. The biological functions of parental genes of circRNAs were enriched in steroid biosynthesis, autophagy-animal, MAPK signaling pathway, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation and ras signaling pathway. Moreover, 5 circRNAs derived from 4 puberty-related genes (ESR1, JAK2, NF1 and ARNT) were found in this study. The A3SS events were the most alternative splicing, but IR events were likely to be arose in post-pubertal ovaries. Besides, the circRNA-miRNA-gene networks were explored for 10 differentially expressed circRNAs. Furthermore, the head-to-tail exon as well as the expressions of 10 circRNAs were validated by the divergent RT-qPCR and sanger sequencing.

Conclusions

In summary, the profiles of ovarian circRNAs were provided during pubertal transition in gilts, and these results provided useful information for the investigation on the onset of puberty at the ovarian-circRNAs-level in mammals.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07786-w.

Alternative Splicing Dynamics of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovary Axis During Pubertal Transition in Gilts

The timing of puberty in mammals marks the point at which reproduction becomes possible. Abnormalities in the timing of puberty may exert a series of negative effects on subsequent health outcomes. Alternative splicing (AS) has not only emerged as a significant factor in the transcription of genes but it is also reported to play a role in the timing of puberty. However, to date, the changes and dynamics of AS during the onset of puberty is extremely seldom explored. In the present study, we used gilts as a research model to investigated the dynamics of AS and differentially expressed AS (DEAS) events within the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (HPO) axis across pre-, in-, and post-puberty. We detected 3,390, 6,098, and 9,085 DEAS events in the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovary when compared across pre-, in-, and post-pubertal stages, respectively. Within the entire HPO axis, we also identified 22,889, 22,857, and 21,055 DEAS events in the pre-, in-, and post-pubertal stages, respectively. Further analysis revealed that the differentially spliced genes (DSGs) associated with staged DEAS events were likely to be enriched in the oxytocin signaling pathway, thyroid hormone signaling pathway, GnRH signaling pathway, and oocyte meiosis signaling pathway. The DSGs associated with DEAS events across the entire HPO axis were enriched in endocytosis signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and the Rap1 signaling pathway. Moreover. the ASs of TAC1, TACR3, CYP19A1, ESR1, ESRRA, and FSHR were likely to regulate the functions of the certain HPO tissues during the onset of puberty. Collectively, the AS dynamics and DEAS events were comprehensively profiled in hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovary across the pre-, in-, and post-pubertal stages in pigs. These findings may enhance our knowledge of how puberty is regulated by AS and shed new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the timing of puberty in mammals.

ORAOV1-B Promotes OSCC Metastasis via the NF-κB-TNFα Loop

Metastasis, a powerful prognostic indicator of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is chiefly responsible for poor cancer outcomes. Despite an increasing number of studies examining the mechanisms underlying poor outcomes, the development of potent strategies is hindered by insufficient characterization of the crucial regulators. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been gaining interest as significant modulators of OSCC metastasis; however, the detailed mechanisms underlying lncRNA-mediated OSCC metastasis remain relatively uncharacterized. Here, we identified a novel alternative splice variant of oral cancer overexpressed 1 (ORAOV1), named as ORAOV1-B, which was subsequently validated as an lncRNA and correlated with OSCC lymph node metastasis; significantly increased invasion and migration were observed in ORAOV1-B-overexpressing OSCC cells. RNA pulldown and mass spectrometry identified Hsp90 as a direct target of ORAOV1-B, and cDNA microarrays suggested TNFα as a potential downstream target of ORAOV1-B. ORAOV1-B was shown to directly bind to and stabilize Hsp90, which maintains the function of client proteins, receptor-interaction protein, and IκB kinase beta, thus activating the NF-κB pathway and inducing TNFα. Additionally, TNFα reciprocally enhanced p-NF-κB-p65 and the downstream epithelial-mesenchymal transition. ORAOV1-B effects were reversed by a TNFα inhibitor, demonstrating that TNFα is essential for ORAOV1-B-regulated metastatic ability. Consistent epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the ORAOV1-B group was demonstrated via an orthotopic model. In the metastatic model, ORAOV1-B significantly contributed to OSCC-related lung metastasis. In summary, the novel splice variant ORAOV1-B is an lncRNA, which significantly potentiates OSCC invasion and metastasis by binding to Hsp90 and activating the NF-κB-TNFα loop. These findings demonstrate the versatile role of ORAOV1 family members and the significance of genes located within 11q13 in promoting OSCC. ORAOV1-B might serve as an attractive OSCC metastasis intervention target.

[Pathogens' distribution and changes of antimicrobial resistance in the bile of acute biliary tract infection patients]

Objective: To investigate the pathogens' distribution and antimicrobial resistance in the bile of acute biliary tract infection patients. Methods: The data of bile bacterial culture and drug sensitivity test of 223 acute biliary tract infection patients who underwent gallbladder puncture or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography drainage from July 2009 to July 2019 were analyzed retrospectively at Department of General Surgery,Xinhua Hospital,Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.There were 141 males and 82 females with age of 67.3 years(range:28 to 93 years).Three to five milliliter of bile was extracted from each patient and sent to the laboratory for bacterial culture,identification and drug sensitivity test.The patients were divided into two groups according to the visiting time: the former group (n=124) was admitted from July 2009 to July 2014,and the latter group(n=99) was admitted from August 2014 to July 2019.The distribution of pathogenic bacteria and the changing trend of drug resistance rate of common bacteria in the two groups were compared.The results of drug sensitivity test were analyzed by WHONET software provided by WHO bacterial surveillance network.The drug resistance rates in different time periods were compared by χ² test. Results: In this study,there were 147 cases of acute cholangitis and 76 cases of acute cholecystitis.A total of 376 strains of pathogenic bacteria were cultured.Among them,98 strains(26.1%) were gram-positive bacteria,269 strains(71.5%) were gram-negative bacteria and 9 strains(2.4%) were fungi.The top three gram-positive bacteria were Enterococcus faecium (49.0%,48/98),Enterococcus faecalis(20.4%,20/98),and Enterococcus luteus(7.1%,7/98).The top 5 gram-negative bacteria were Escherichia coli(33.5%,90/269),Klebsiella pneumoniae(13.8%,37/269),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(13.0%,35/269),Acinetobacter baumannii (12.6%,34/269),and Enterobacter cloacae(4.8%,13/269).From 2009 to 2019,there was no significant change in the proportion of gram-positive bacteria (former group vs. latter group: 25.3% vs. 28.2%) and gram-negative bacteria(former group vs.latter group: 74.7% vs. 71.8%) in the bile of patients with acute biliary tract infection.Gram-positive bacteria were mainly Enterococci(85.7%,84/98) and gram-negative bacteria were Escherichia coli(33.5%,90/269).Acinetobacter baumannii accounted for 7.8%(11/142) of gram-negative bacteria in the former group and 18.1%(23/127) in the latter group,an increase of 10.3% over previous five years.Pseudomonas aeruginosa had a downward trend,16.9% in the former group(24/142) and 8.7% in the latter group (11/127),the proportion decreased by 8.2%,and the other changes were not significant.The drug resistance rates of common gram-positive bacteria were relatively stable,and the drug resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to many antibiotics were higher than those of Enterococcus faecalis.The resistance rates of gram-negative bacteria to most antibiotics showed an upward trend,among which Klebsiella pneumoniae showed an upward trend to most of antibiotics(former group: 0/15－4/13, latter group: 55.0%－70.0%; χ²=3.996－16.942, P=0.000－0.046).The drug resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii was generally higher,but there were no significant changes in the drug resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii between the two groups.The drug resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to most antibiotics increased,and the overall drug resistance rates of Escherichia coli were stable and showed a slight upward trend. Conclusions: The main pathogens in bile of patients with acute biliary tract infection are gram-negative bacteria.The constituent ratio of various gram-negative bacteria had no significant change from 2009 to 2019,but the drug resistance rates shows an upward trend.Among the gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli is the most important pathogen,and the proportion has no significant change.The proportion of Acinetobacter baumannii in the former group was significantly higher than that in the former group.And the proportion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a decreased trend.

[Effects of occupational nickel exposure on glycemic parameters in workers]

Objective: To explore the effect of occupational nickel exposure on blood glucose related indicators of workers. Methods: In March 2019, five electroplating enterprises and one plastic hardware enterprise were selected by cluster sampling method. 159 nickel plating workers were selected as the contact group, and 66 administrative personnel of the same enterprise were selected as the control group. The serum nickel concentration, fasting blood glucose (FPG) , fasting insulin (FIns) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured in the contact group and the control group. The differences of blood glucose related indexes between the two groups were compared, and the risk factors of abnormal blood glucose indexes were analyzed. Results: Compared with the control group, the blood nickel concentration and detection rate of nickel in the contact group were higher, the levels of FIns were lower, and the proportion of HbA1c was higher in the contact group (P<0.05) . Stratified analysis showed that compared with the control group, the blood glucose index of men in the contact group changed significantly (P<0.05) ; logistic regression analysis showed that male was an independent influencing factor for decreased FIns (OR=8.264, P<0.05) . Conclusion: Long term exposure to nickel can affect the blood glucose related indexes such as fins and HbA1c.

[Investigation and analysis of occupational exposure factors in an enterprise processing waste electronic products]

Objective: To identify and to analyze occupational exposure factors generating from production process in an enterprise processing waste electronic products, to provide scientific evidences for protection measures. Methods: From June to October 2017, seven waste electrical and electronic product processing enterprises in a province were selected as the research objects. These seven enterprises all include refrigerator dismantling line, washing machine dismantling line, air conditioning dismantling line, TV/computer dismantling line, CRT cutting line. Some enterprises also have circuit board line, wet precious metal recycling line, plastic crushing line, plastic granulating line and other deep processing operations such as precious metal recycling of waste circuit board, waste plastic crushing and recycling. The data were collected by the methods of occupational health field investigation and occupational health testing, and the exposure level of occupational hazard factors was evaluated by combining the effect of the protective facilities of occupational health engineering. Results: the main occupational hazard factors of waste electrical and electronic products treatment enterprises were dust, noise, heavy metal, flame retardant, mercury, fluoride, cyanide, sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. 145 effective samples were obtained from heavy metal sampling, including 102 individual samples and 43 fixed-point long-term samples. Among them, 8 samples lead exceeded the standard, all occurred in the TV dismantling line. In addition to flame retardants, plasticizers, insecticides and other components can be detected by high-throughput qualitative analysis using liquid chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Finally, 123 effective 8-h equivalent sound level values were obtained by individual noise detection, 86 of which exceeded the standard, with a rate of 69.9%. Conclusion: there are potential occupational hazards in the process of dismantling waste electrical and electronic products.

Preconception use of pegvisomant alone or as combination therapy for acromegaly: a case series and review of the literature

PURPOSE

Pegvisomant (PEG) is an effective therapy for acromegaly. Its safety in women seeking fertility and during pregnancy has been scarcely reported.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed in three patients with acromegaly who received PEG while attempting to conceive. Published studies regarding this topic were analyzed.

RESULTS

Four pregnancies in three women with acromegaly are reported. In the first patient, PEG was withdrawn three days before embryo transfer in her first pregnancy and 2 weeks prior to transfer in the second pregnancy. Each transfer resulted in a healthy full-term newborn. In the second and third patients, PEG was withdrawn at diagnosis of pregnancy. No fetal complications occurred during gestations which resulted in three full-term newborns (one single and one twin pregnancy). No abnormalities in development were found in the five live births described. Few cases of pregnancies in women exposed to PEG have been reported and therefore safety cannot be clearly established. In this series, all four pregnancies had good outcomes with discontinuation of the drug before or at first knowledge of conception. A review of the literature reveals no evident drug-related abnormalities in the offspring, even in the few women with continued use of PEG throughout pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Preconception therapy with PEG resulted in successful fertility outcomes. Although few cases have been reported, these four pregnancies with PEG use prior to or at the time of conception were not associated with significant maternal or fetal complications. More studies are needed to establish the safety of PEG preconception.

[Analysis of treatment modalities and prognosis of patients with gallbladder cancer in China from 2010 to 2017]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of gallbladder cancer (GBC) patients in China. Methods: This retrospective multicenter cohort study enrolled 3 528 consecutive GBC patients diagnosed between January 2010 to December 2017 in 15 hospitals from 10 provinces. There were 1 345 (38.12%) males and 2 183 (61.88%) females.The age of diagnosis was (63.7±10.8) years old (range: 26 to 99 years old) .There were 213 patients (6.04%) in stage 0 to Ⅰ, whereas 1 059 (30.02%) in stage Ⅱ to Ⅲ, 1 874 (53.12%) in stage Ⅳ, and 382 (10.83%) unavailable. Surgery was performed on 2 255 patients (63.92%) . Three hundred and thirty-six patients received chemotherapy or radiotherapy (9.52%; of which 172 were palliative); 1 101 (31.21%) received only supportive treatment.The patient source, treatment and surgery, pathology, concomitant gallstone, and prognosis were analyzed. Results: Among the 3 528 GBC patients, 959 (27.18%) were from East China, 603 (17.09%) from East-North China, 1 533 (43.45%) from Central China, and 433(12.27%) from West China. Among the 1 578 resectable tumor, 665 (42.14%) underwent radical surgery, 913 (57.86%) underwent surgery that failed to follow the guidelines.Eight hundred and ninety-one (56.46%) patients were diagnosed before surgery, 254 (16.10%) during surgery, and 381 (24.14%) after surgery (time point of diagnosis couldn't be determined in 52 patients) .Among the 1 578 patients with resectable tumor, 759 (48.10%) had concomitant gallstone.Among the 665 patients underwent radical surgery, 69 (10.4%) showed positive resection margin, 510 (76.7%) showed negative resection margin, and 86 (12.9%) unreported margin status.The 5-year overall survival rate (5yOS) for the 3 528-patient cohort was 23.0%.The 5yOS for patients with resectable tumor was 39.6%, for patients with stage ⅣB tumor without surgery was 5.4%, and for patients with stage ⅣB tumor underwent palliative surgery was 4.7%. Conclusions: More than half GBC patients in China are diagnosed in stage Ⅳ.Curative intent surgery is valuable in improving prognosis of resectable GBC.The treatment of GBC needs further standardization.Effective comprehensive treatment for GBC is in urgent need.

The importance of proper and prompt treatment of ocular syphilis: a lesson from permanent vision loss in 52 eyes

BACKGROUND

Ocular involvement can occur at any stage of syphilis. Prompt diagnosis and proper treatment of ocular syphilis are vital to avoid long-term consequences.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the risk factors for ocular syphilis and clinical features of blindness caused by syphilis.

METHODS

We report risk factors for ocular syphilis amongst patients seen at the Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital between October 2009 and October 2017. We identify patients with ocular syphilis resulting in blindness and report the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings and treatment outcomes of these patients.

RESULTS

A total of 8310 new cases of syphilis were seen, of which 213 patients had ocular disease and 50 patients had blindness due to syphilis. Increasing age and higher RPR titres were associated with ocular involvement but there was no association with HIV status. Blindness in syphilis was restricted predominantly to patients with optic nerve involvement and not patients with isolated uveitis. Fifty patients (and a total of 67 eyes) met the WHO definition of blindness prior to treatment for syphilis. At the end of follow-up, vision had improved in 24 of 67 eyes (35.8%) after treatment. Successful treatment of uveitis was associated with the best improvement in visual acuity, whilst patient with underlying optic atrophy prior to treatment had the worst visual outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Ocular involvement is an important manifestation of syphilis which may result in blindness. Our data demonstrate outcomes for ocular syphilis are poor if detected late; early recognition and diagnosis is therefore vital to avoid permanent visual loss.

De novo transcriptome characterisation of two auxin-related genes associated with plant growth habit in Astragalus adsurgens Pall

Astragalus adsurgens Pall., a perennial legume native to China, is commonly used as a forage crop. And it has great value for sustainable development of grasslands in arid and semi arid regions. However, to date, little is known regarding the A. adsurgens genome, and no studies have determined whether it would be possible to improve the germplasm of A. adsurgens through genetic modification. In this study, we used an RNA-seq protocol to generate a de novo transcriptome including 151,516 unigenes of A. adsurgens. We compared the transcriptomes of A. adsurgens having different growth habits (prostrate/erect) and identified 14,133 single nucleotide polymorphism sites (SNP) in 8,139 unigenes. Differential expression gene (DEG) analysis suggested that 10,982 unigenes were up-regulated in the prostrate plant relative to the erect plant, while 10,607 unigenes were down-regulated. Of the 21,589 DEG, Unigene72782_All (LAX4) and CL12494.Contig3_All (TIR1), an auxin transporter gene and an auxin transport inhibitor gene, respectively, were predicted to influence the growth habit of A. adsurgens, which were verified by qRT-PCR in these phenotypes. These results suggest that auxin transport was more active in the prostrate plant than in the erect plant, resulting in asymmetric distribution of auxin that affects the growth habit of A. adsurgens. Overall, this study may provide a basis for future research on key genes in A. adsurgens and may deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating plant growth habit.

Piperine, a functional food alkaloid, exhibits inhibitory potential against TNBS-induced colitis via the inhibition of IκB-α/NF-κB and induces tight junction protein (claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1) signaling pathway in experimental mice

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic immunoinflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Piperine, an alkaloid, has been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antiulcer potential.

AIM

To elucidate the plausible mechanisms of action of piperine on experimental trinitrobenzenesufonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis by assessing various biochemical, molecular, histological, and ultrastructural modifications.

METHODS

Colitis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats via intrarectal instillation of TNBS. Then, the rats were treated with piperine (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg, p.o.) for 14 days.

RESULTS

TNBS induced significant (p < 0.05) colonic damage, which was assessed by disease activity index, macroscopic score, and stool consistency. The administration of piperine (20 and 40 mg/kg) significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) these damages. Treatments with piperine (20 and 40 mg/kg) notably inhibited (p < 0.05) the TNBS-induced elevation of oxido-nitrosative stress (superoxide dismutase, glutathione, malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide), 5-hydroxytryptamine, and hydroxyproline content in the colon. Furthermore, colonic inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, interferon-gamma, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions were upregulated after TNBS instillation and piperine (20 and 40 mg/kg) significantly attenuated (p < 0.05) these elevated mRNA expressions. TNBS decreased the expressions of tight junction (TJ) protein (claudin-1, occludin, and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1)) and increased the expressions of proapoptotic (caspase-1) protein. These expressions were markedly inhibited (p < 0.05) by piperine treatment. Histological and ultrastructural studies of transmission electron microscopy suggested that piperine significantly ameliorated (p < 0.05) TNBS-induced colonic aberrations.

CONCLUSION

Piperine ameliorated the progression of TNBS-induced colitis by modulating the nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-alpha/nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway, thus inhibiting the overexpression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL's), COX-2, iNOs, oxido-nitrosative stress, and proapoptotic proteins (caspase-1) that may improve the expression of TJ protein (claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1).

Estimation of invasion depth of early colorectal cancer using EUS and NBI-ME: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and narrow band imaging-magnifying endoscopy (NBI-ME) are often used as diagnostic tools to estimate the depth of invasion in early colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to compare NBI-ME with EUS in distinguishing between slight submucosal invasion (invasion depth < 1000 μm) and massive submucosal invasion in patients with early CRC, since slight submucosal invasion is currently considered as an indication for endoscopic resection.

METHODS

For this meta-analysis, relevant studies were identified from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and the Cochrane Library databases between January 1997 and September 2016. Data on the yield of tumors were extracted, pooled, and analyzed by stata12.0 software. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio in differentiating slight submucosal invasion from massive submucosal invasion were calculated for both diagnostic modalities.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies involving 2197 lesions were included: nine were studies on EUS and 7 were studies on NBI-ME. The pooled sensitivity of EUS was 0.902 (95% CI 0.863-0.930), the specificity was 0.877 (95% CI 0.810-0.922), the positive likelihood ratio was 7.314 (95% CI 4.551-11.755) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.112 (95% CI 0.076-0.164). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of NBI-ME were 0.981 (95% CI 0.949-0.993) and 0.651 (95% CI 0.600-0.699), respectively, the positive likelihood ratio was 2.815 (95% CI 2.432-3.258) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.029 (95% CI 0.010-0.080).

CONCLUSIONS

The sensitivity tended to be higher in ME-NBI than EUS for early CRC with slight submucosal invasion, whereas the specificity was significantly lower in NBI-ME than in EUS.

Clinical characteristics and treatments of patients with alpha-fetoprotein producing gastric carcinoma

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a well-known tumor marker of hepatic carcinoma and yolk sac tumor. Alpha-fetoprotein producing gastric carcinoma (AFPGC) is a rare type of gastric cancer with high malignancy and poor prognosis, which make it different from other types of gastric cancer. This rare gastric cancer patient subgroup is likely frequently misdiagnosed which may be related to lack of knowledge of the disease. The purpose of this article is to summarize the mechanism of AFP positive gastric cancer, classification, biological behavior and treatment, in order to assist clinical practitioners to detect AFPGC earlier and treat it better. Previous studies have showed that AFPGC has a complex pathophysiology mechanism. AFPGC is more aggressive and characterized by stronger proliferation, neovascularization, lymphatic invasion and distant metastasis. Furthermore, so far there has been no standard treatment for patients with AFPGC. Nevertheless, our present study summarizes some effective treatments based on previous research outcome. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the importance of detecting AFP routinely in serum and tissues in gastric cancer cases, which will greatly improve the diagnosis rate of AFPGC, and in regards to treatment, surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and interventional treatment may have positive impacts on AFPGC treatment outcome. However, further study with a larger sample is required to confirm the reliability and validity of these methods.

In-Plane Anisotropic Raman Response and Electrical Conductivity with Robust Electron-Photon and Electron-Phonon Interactions of Air Stable MoO2 Nanosheets

The monoclinic m-MoO₂ shows strong in-plane anisotropy that is essential to design anisotropic nanodevices. However, there is not yet detailed study on the anisotropy of m-MoO₂ nanostructures. Here, the in-plane anisotropic Raman spectra and electrical conductivity of single-crystal m-MoO₂ nanosheets were investigated systematically for the first time. Angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy (ARPRS) shows distinct dependence on the excitation laser wavelength and sample thickness, demonstrating the robust wavelength-dependent optical absorption, electron-photon/electron-phonon interactions, and anisotropic phonon polarization in m-MoO₂ nanosheets. Such results agree well with the semiclassical Placzek model. Moreover, the angle-dependent electrical conductivity of starburst-like m-MoO₂ nanosheet devices shows a strong anisotropy with a conductivity ratio (σ_max/σ_min) of up to 10.1, which is the largest value in the previously reported 2D materials. This work underscores the importance of understanding the in-plane anisotropic light-matter interactions for the application of m-MoO₂ nanosheets in anisotropic plasmonics and artificial synapse.

Downregulated vimentin and upregulated E-cadherin in T1 stage non-small-cell lung cancer: does it suggest a mesenchymal-epithelial transition?

Lung cancer has been a major threat to human health worldwide. Vimentin (VIM) and E-cadherin (E-cad) are molecular markers that play important roles in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which has been shown to be correlated with tumor progression. Herein, we investigated the associations between clinicopathological parameters and VIM/E-cad expression in primary T1 stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Real-time PCR was performed on RNA extracted from tumor tissue isolated from 54 patients with T1 stage NSCLC. Immunohistochemistry was used to measure the protein levels of VIM and E-cad. The paired-samples t-test, independent-samples t- test, Kappa test, and nonparametric test were used to perform statistical analyses. The expression of VIM were lower (P<0.001) and that of E-cad was higher (P<0.001) in tumor tissue when compared with the normal tissue at the transcriptional level. The RNA of VIM in adenocarcinomas was significantly higher than that found in squamous cell carcinomas (P<0.01). Moreover, the level of metastasis observed in the lymph node was significantly higher than that observed in metastasis outside of the lymph node (P<0.05). Vimentin protein had a lower profile in the tumor tissue, and the protein level of E-cad was higher in the tumor tissue. The IHC score of VIM in tumor tissue was found associated with both the pathological type and smoke index, and the score of E-cad was found to be related to visceral pleura involvement. In conclusions, VIM is downregulated and E-cad is upregulated in T1 stage NSCLC. Our study results suggest that a mesenchymal-epithelial transition may take place in the early-stage of tumor development, and that EMT occurs when the tumor develops into a certain stage.

[The role of anatomical hepatectomy in the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma]

Objective: To evaluate the role of anatomical hepatectomy in the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: The cases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who received curative surgery in two hospitals from 2010 to 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Among the 98 patients enrolled in this study, 55 were male and 43 were female. The median age was 61 years. According to receiving anatomical hepatectomy or not, the 98 cases were divided into two groups: non-anatomical hepatectomy(n=30) and anatomical hepatectomy(n=68). The surgical results were compared between the two groups.Survival curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. The influence of each prognostic factor identified by univariate analysis was multivariate analysis by Cox's proportional hazard regression. Results: The duration of surgery was significantly prolonged in the anatomical hepatectomy group((196.4±94.9)minutes vs. (166.2±65.7)minutes, P=0.027), while there was no significant difference in terms of other surgical results such as intraoperative blood transfusion, postoperative morbidity and mortality rate. Compared to non-anatomical hepatectomy, anatomical hepatectomy significantly improved long-term survival results(14 months vs. 11 months)(χ²=4.641, P=0.031). Single variable analysis indicated that tumor differentiation, tumor numbers, T stage, N stage, anatomical hepatectomy and adjuvant therapy significantly affected overall survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that tumor numbers(HR=0.522, 95% CI: 0.259-0.974, P=0.042) and anatomical hepatectomy(HR=1.858, 95%CI: 1.092-3.161, P=0.022) were two independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Conclusion: Compared to non-anatomical hepatectomy, anatomical hepatectomy performed for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is not only safe but also beneficial for long-term survival.

[Diagnosis and treatment for unexpected gallbladder carcinoma(a retrospective study of 45 cases)]

Objective: To investigate the rationale for appropriate diagnostic methods and treatment protocols for unexpected gallbladder carcinoma(UGC). Methods: The clinical and pathological data of 45 patients with UGC admitted at Department of General Surgery, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,from January 2008 to December 2017 were retrospectively collected and analyzed.There were 11 males(28.9%) and 34 females(71.1%),aged 68 years(range:27 to 68 years).And there were 20 cases who aged above 70 years. Twenty-four cases were diagnosed preoperatively as cholecystolithiasis plus chronic cholecystitis.Ten cases were diagnosed preoperatively as cholecystolithiasis plus actue cholecystitis.Six cases were diagnosed preoperatively as cholecystolithiasis plus choledocholith.Six cases were admitted because of gallbladder polyp and 1 case was admitted because of gallbladder adenomyomatosis. Results: Thirty-four patients with UGC received radical surgery.Among them,11 patients experienced postoperative complication and no posterative mortality occoured during hospital stay.Thirteen patients were diagnosed with T1b UGC, the harvested lymph node of Nx, N0, N1 and N2 was 2, 9, 1 and 1, respectively.In addition, 2 cases were identified to have local-regional tumor recurrence during our rescue radical surgery.The median overall survival time of the patients who did not receive radical surgery was 7 months(range:2-56 months).Nevertheless,the median overall survival time for patients diagnosed with T1, T2 and T3 tumors who received radical surgery, was 41 months(range: 19-82 months), 33.5 months(range: 31-36 months) and 17 months(range: 7-46 months), respectively. Conclusions: For patients with UGC, rescue radical surgery can achieve a better survival time.Furhtermore, our experience proved that rescue radical surgery for UGC is safe and feasible.Therefore,rescue radical surgery should be performed in patients with diagnose with UGC especially those T1b patients.

[Research progress of dyskeratosis congenita]

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a rare disease and a genetic heterogeneity of bone marrow failure, characterized by muco-cutaneous triad of mucosal leukoplakia, abnormal skin pigmentation, nails dystrophy and often involving multiple organs or systems. The inheritance patterns of DC include X-linked recessive, autosomal dominant and recessive patterns. However, the inheritance patterns in 30%-40% of DC patients remained unknown. Dyskeratosis congenita is difficult to diagnose because of its genetic and clinical heterogeneity. This article will review and discuss the state-of-the-art progresses in genetics, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of DC.

Intraoperative adjunctive techniques to reduce seroma formation in laparoscopic inguinal hernioplasty: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Seroma formation is the most common postoperative complication after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Recurrence and seroma formation may be difficult to distinguish. Many adjunctive techniques with which to reduce the incidence of seroma formation after laparoscopic inguinal repair have been described in the literature; however, the evidence for using intraoperative adjunctive techniques is limited. Therefore, the present systematic review was performed to evaluate the effects and limitations of adjunctive techniques used during laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair.

METHODS

Major databases (PubMed, Embase, Springer, and Cochrane Library) were searched using the terms "seroma," "laparoscopic inguinal hernia", "TAPP", "TEP", "inguinal hernia", "tack", "barbed suture", "drainage", "Endoloop technique", and "fibrin sealant". All studies involving adults undergoing laparoscopic/endoscopic inguinal hernioplasty with at least one intervention designed to reduce seroma formation were included.

RESULTS

Of the 965 studies identified, 8 met the inclusion criteria. Six adjunctive techniques were described in the literature. Transversalis fascia (TF) inversion with tacking: one prospective non-randomized controlled study revealed a lower incidence of postoperative seroma after TF inversion with tacking for direct inguinal hernias (4.17% vs. 14.29%, P < 0.05). Endoloop technique: one prospective study of 76 cases involving this technique revealed a low incidence of seroma formation (3.9% at 2 weeks) in direct hernias. Barbed suture closure of TF: one prospective study of 36 direct hernias reported only one clinical palpable seroma that resolved 1 month later. Surgical drains: three trials reported the results of drains, and the pooling results demonstrated significantly less seroma formation in patients with surgical drains (2.1 vs. 23.8%; odds ratio 0.12; 95% confidence interval 0.08-0.19; P < 0.0001). Fibrin sealant: one prospective clinical study of 40 patients with indirect inguinal hernias reported a lower volume (P < 0.001) and lower incidence (5% vs. 15%) of seroma formation in the fibrin group. Distal sac fixation technique: in one prospective study of six patients with large inguinoscrotal hernias, one patient developed a seroma on postoperative day 8.

CONCLUSION

Seroma formation is a natural process that cannot be completely prevented following laparoscopic inguinal hernioplasty, especially in patients with direct and large indirect inguinal hernias. Some intraoperative adjunctive techniques are effective in reducing clinically palpable seroma formation in select patients. More randomized controlled trials are needed for further evaluation.

[History, current situation and bottleneck of the diagnosis and treatment system of hepatic hilar cholangiocarcinoma in Japan]

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is one of the most difficult malignant tumors to treat in the biliary system. In Japan, 5-year survival rate of the disease has increased from 32.5% to 67.1% during the past 30 years. The impressive progress reflects the solid efforts in preoperative endoscopic diagnosis, innovation in surgery such as PTPE as well as hepato-pancreatoduodenectomy and perioperative treatment including replacement of the bile and synbiotic treatment, which have finally formed a set of standardized diagnosis and treatment systems. The present review intends to report the history, current status and remaining bottlenecks of the diagnosis and treatment system of hilar cholangiocarcinoma in Japan as follows.

[Association between hypothyroidism and sleep breathing disorders in patients with coronary heart disease]

Objective: To explore the association between hypothyroidism and sleep breathing disorders in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: A total of 784 patients with CHD were consecutively enrolled at the Emergency & Critical Care Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from June 2015 to May 2017. According to thyroid function test results, patients were divided into hypothyroidism group (79 cases) and non-hypothyroidism group (705 cases). All patients had undergone sleep monitoring. The sleep apnea status was compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression and linear regression models were used to analyze the association between hypothyroidism and sleep breathing disorders in patients with CHD. Results: The proportion of females, mean body weight and body mass index in the hypothyroidism group were higher than those in the non-hypothyroidism group [26.6% vs.16.2%, (78.6±11.6) kg vs. (75.7±12.0) kg, (27.7±3.2) kg/m(2) vs. (26.6±3.5) kg/m(2), all P<0.05]. Patients in hypothyroidism group had a decreased average oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) compared with patients in non-hypothyroidism group [ (93.2±2.9) % vs. (93.9±2.0) %, P=0.030]. In addition, events of hypoventilation in hypothyroidism group were significantly higher than those in non-hypothyroidism group[92.5 (45.8, 758.3) times vs. 68.0 (33.0, 125.0) times, P=0.013]. There were no significant differences in apnea hypopnea index, diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep breathing parameters between the two groups (P>0.05). A multiple linear regression analysis found that in patients with CHD, the correlation between hypothyroidism and average sleep SaO(2) was significant (β=-0.508, 95%CI -0.989--0.026, P=0.039). Conclusions: CHD patients with hypothyroidism had a lower sleep average SaO(2), and a higher sleep hypopnea events. There is a correlation between hypothyroidism and sleep hypoxia in patients with CHD. Clinical trial registration: clinicalTrials.gov, NCT03362385.