[Research progress of brain MRI in comitant strabismus]

Comitant strabismus is a common type of strabismus, the etiology and pathogenesis of which remain unclear. It is currently believed to be associated with various factors, including anatomy, refractive errors, accommodation, genetics, and neural factors. In recent years, with the improvement of MRI technology and analysis methods, multidimensional presentations of structural and functional changes in different brain regions related to comitant strabismus have been achieved. Undoubtedly, the application of MRI has the potential to contribute to the etiology of strabismus, particularly the study of central mechanisms. This review article summarizes the research progress on cranial MRI in comitant strabismus, with a focus on summarizing the changes and patterns in brain structures, functions, and interconnections in patients with comitant strabismus reported in previous studies. The aim is to provide new insights into the etiology and pathogenesis of comitant strabismus.

A tera-electron volt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have a tera-electron volt (TeV) afterglow, but the early onset of this has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons >0.2 TeV were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid ~650 seconds after the peak. We interpret the emission using a model of a relativistic jet with half-opening angle ~0.8°. This is consistent with the core of a structured jet and could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.

[AF4/FMR2 and IL-10 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms are correlated with disease susceptibility and immune infiltration in ankylosing spondylitis]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the correlation of polymorphisms of AF4/FMR2 family genes and IL-10 gene with genetic susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and identify the high-risk factors of AS.

METHODS

This case-control study was conducted among 207 AS patients and 321 healthy individuals. The tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs340630, rs241084, rs10865035, rs1698105, and rs1800896 of the AF4/FMR2 family gene and IL-10 gene of the AS patients were genotyped, and the distribution frequencies of the genotypes and alleles were analyzed to explore the relationship between different genetic models and AS and the gene-gene and gene-environment interactions.

RESULTS

Gender ratio, smoking history, drinking history, hypertension, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein differed significantly between the case group and the control group (P < 0.05). The dominant model and recessive model of AFF1 rs340630, the recessive model of AFF3 rs10865035, and the recessive model of IL-10 rs1800896 were significantly different between the two groups (P=0.031, 0.010, 0.031, and 0.019, respectively). Gene-environment interaction analysis suggested that the interaction model incorporating AFF1 rs340630, AFF2 rs241084, AFF3 rs10865035, AFF4 rs1698105, IL-10 rs1800896, smoking history and drinking history was the best model. The genes related with AF4/FMR2 and IL-10 were enriched in the biological processes of AF4 super extension complex, interleukin family signal transduction, cytokine stimulation and apoptosis. The expression levels of AF4/FMR2 and IL-10 were positively correlated with immune infiltration (r > 0).

CONCLUSION

The SNPs of AF4/FMR2 and IL-10 genes are associated with the susceptibility to AS, and the interactions of AF4/FMR2 and IL-10 genes with the environmental factors contributes causes AS through immune infiltration.

Correlation of pericoronary adipose tissue CT attenuation values of plaques and periplaques with plaque characteristics

AIM

To investigate the relationship between different plaque characteristics and pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) computed tomography (CT) attenuation values for plaques and periplaques.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The data from 188 eligible patients with stable coronary heart disease (280 lesions) who underwent coronary CT angiography between March 2021 and November 2021 were collected retrospectively. All PCAT CT attenuation values of plaques and periplaques (the area within 5 and 10 mm proximal and distal to the plaque) were calculated, and multiple linear regression was used to assess their correlation with different plaque characteristics.

RESULTS

PCAT CT attenuation of plaques and periplaques was higher in non-calcified plaques (-73.38 ± 10.41 HU, -76.77 ± 10.86 HU, 79.33 ± 11.13 HU, -75.67 ± 11.24 HU, -78.63 ± 12.09 HU) and mixed plaques (-76.83 ± 8.11 HU, -79 [-85, -68.5] HU, -78.55 ± 11 HU, -78.76 ± 9.9 HU, -78.79 ± 11.06 HU) than in calcified plaques (-86.96 ± 10 HU, -84 [-92, -76] HU, -84.14 ± 11.08 HU, -84.91 ± 11.41 HU, -84.59 ± 11.69 HU; all p<0.05) and higher in distal segment plaques than in proximal segment plaques (all p<0.05). Plaque PCAT CT attenuation was lower in plaques with minimal stenosis than in plaques with mild or moderate stenosis (p<0.05). The significant determinants of PCAT CT attenuation values of plaques and periplaques were non-calcified plaques, mixed plaques, and plaques located in the distal segment (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

PCAT CT attenuation values in both plaques and periplaques were related to plaque type and location.

Comparison of higher-order aberrations between implantable collamer lens V4c implantation and simulated spectacle correction in patients with high myopia

PURPOSE

To investigate the differences in higher-order aberrations between non-toric or toric implantable collamer lens (ICL or TICL) V4c implantation and simulated spectacle correction.

METHODS

Patients with high myopia who underwent ICL/TICL V4c implantation were enrolled. The "total no defocus" pattern of iTrace aberrometry to simulate the condition of spectacle correction was measured before ICL/TICL implantation, and higher-order aberrations in this condition were compared to those 3 months after surgery. Related factors with changes in coma were comprehensively analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 89 right eyes of 89 patients were included. Compared to simulated spectacle correction, total-eye coma (P<0.0001 ICL, P<0.0001 TICL) and internal coma (P<0.0001 ICL, P<0.001 TICL) decreased in the ICL- and TICL-treated groups after surgery. Total-eye secondary astigmatism (P<0.0001 ICL, P=0.007 TICL) and internal secondary astigmatism (P<0.0001 ICL, P=0.009 TICL) were also decreased in both groups postoperatively. Spherical error showed positive correlations with variation in total-eye coma (r=0.37, P=0.004 ICL; r=0.56, P=0.001 TICL) and internal coma (r=0.30, P=0.02 ICL and r=0.45, P=0.01 TICL). Axial length revealed negative correlations with changes in total-eye coma (r=-0.45, P<0.001 ICL; r=-0.39, P=0.03 TICL) and internal coma (r=-0.28, P=0.03 ICL and r=-0.42, P=0.02 TICL).

CONCLUSIONS

Both ICL- and TICL-treated groups demonstrated a decrease in coma and secondary astigmatism after 3 months, postoperatively. ICL/TICL may confer a compensatory effect on coma aberration and secondary astigmatism. Patients with a higher myopia achieved a greater improvement in coma and may benefit more from ICL/TICL implantation than from spectacle correction implantation than from spectacle correction.

Sex differences in glycolipidic disorders after exposure to maternal hyperglycemia during early development

PURPOSE

The aim of this review was to summarize sex differences in glycolipid metabolic phenotypes of human and animal models after exposure to maternal hyperglycemia and overview the underlying mechanisms, providing a new perspective on the maternal hyperglycemia-triggered risk of glycolipidic disorders in offspring.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search within PubMed was performed. Selected publications related to studies on offspring exposed to maternal hyperglycemia investigating the sex differences of glycolipid metabolism were reviewed.

RESULTS

Maternal hyperglycemia increases the risk of glycolipid metabolic disorders in offspring, such as obesity, glucose intolerance and diabetes. Whether with or without intervention, metabolic phenotypes have been shown to exhibit sex differences between male and female offspring in response to maternal hyperglycemia, which may be related to gonadal hormones, organic intrinsic differences, placenta, and epigenetic modifications.

CONCLUSION

Sex may play a role in the different incidences and pathogenesis of abnormal glycolipid metabolism. More studies investigating both sexes are needed to understand how and why environmental conditions in early life affect long-term health between male and female individuals.

[Clinical study of induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of FLT3-ITD(+) acute myeloid leukemia with normal karyotype]

Objective: To assess the efficacy of induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in the treatment of FLT3-ITD(+) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with normal karyotype. Methods: The clinical data of FLT3-ITD(+) AML patients with normal karyotype in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from Jan 2018 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The study included 49 patients with FLT3-ITD(+)AML, 31 males, and 18 females, with a median age of 46 (16-59) years old. All patients received induction chemotherapy, and 24 patients received sequential allo-HSCT (transplantation group) . The median follow-up time was 465 days, the one-year overall survival (OS) from diagnosis was (70.0 ± 7.4) %, and one-year disease-free survival (DFS) was (70.3±7.4) %. The one-year OS was significantly different between the transplantation group and the non-transplantation group [ (85.2 ± 7.9) % vs (52.6 ± 12.3) %, P=0.049]. but one-year DFS [ (84.7 ± 8.1) % vs (55.2 ± 11.9) %, P=0.061] was not. No significance was found in one-year OS between patients with low-frequency and high-frequency FLT3-ITD(+) (P>0.05) . There were 12 patients with high-frequency FLT3-ITD(+) in the transplantation and the non-transplantation groups, respectively. The one-year OS [ (68.8 ± 15.7) % in the transplantation group vs (26.2 ± 15.3) % in the non-transplantation group, P=0.027] and one-year DFS [ (45.5 ± 21.3) % in the transplantation group vs (27.8±15.8) % in the non-transplantation group, P=0.032] were significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Induction chemotherapy followed by allo-HSCT can enhance the prognosis of FLT3-ITD(+) patients, particularly those with FLT3-ITD high-frequency mutation.

A9 INTESTINAL ORGANOID TRANSPLANTATION REVERSED THE INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM DAMAGE IN EXPERIMENTAL NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS

NOT PUBLISHED AT AUTHOR’S REQUEST

[Publication and citation analyses of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control from 2011 to 2020]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the publications and citations of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control from 2011 to 2020, so as to provide insights into improving the journal quality and impact.

METHODS

All publications were retrieved from 60 issues of 10 volumes of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control from 2011 to 2020, and publication and citation analyses were performed using a bibliometric method.

RESULTS

A total of 1 867 articles were published in Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control from 2011 to 2020, with the largest number in 2012 (220 publications) and the lowest in 2020 (135 publications), and original article (36.48%), control experience (17.14%) and control study (10.34%) were the three most common article type. The overall proportion of grant-supported articles was 59.08% (1 103/1 867), and the number of grant per article was (2.34±1.58) grants. The mean duration from submission to publication was (173.48±105.84) days per article, and there was a significant difference in the mean duration from submission to publication among years (F = 30.883, P < 0.01). Jiangsu Province (492 publications, 26.35%), Shanghai Municipality (264 publications, 14.14%) and Hubei Province (230 publications, 12.32%) were the three most productive provinces where the first author lived, and disease control and prevention institutions were the predominant affiliations of the first author (67.22%), with Jiangsu Institute of Schistosomiasis Control, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Wannan Medical College as the three most productive affiliations. The number of authors was 5.94 authors per publication, and the proportion of co-authored publications was 95.45% in Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control from 2011 to 2020. Journal article was the predominant type of cited (89.97%), and the mean number of citations was (15.70±11.56) citations per publication, with a significant difference in the mean number of citations per publication among years (F = 2.205, P < 0.05). The impact factors of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control ranged from 0.877 to 1.676 during the period from 2011 to 2020, and the overall Price index was 47.59%.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the academic impact and national transmissibility of Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control appeared a tendency towards a rise from 2011 to 2020. Seeking high-quality contributions, increasing interdisciplinary integration, shortening the duration from submission to publication, expanding the coverage of publication services and enhancing impact are the future priorities of the journal.

[Prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium in captive-bred Mustela putorius furo in Jiangsu Province]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence and molecular features of Cryptosporidium in captive-bred Mustela putorius furo in Jiangsu Province.

METHODS

A total of 290 fresh stool samples were collected from a ferret farm in Jiangsu Province on May 2017, and the small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) gene of Cryptosporidium was amplified in stool samples using nested PCR assay. The actin, cowp and gp60 genes were amplified in positive samples and sequenced to characterize Cryptosporidium species/genotypes.

RESULTS

A total of 18 stool samples were tested positive for Cryptosporidium SSU rRNA gene, with a detection rate of 6.2%. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of SSU rRNA, actin and cowp genes characterized Cryptosporidium isolated from captive-bred ferrets as Cryptosporidium sp. ferret genotype. In addition, gp60 gene was amplified in 10 out of 18 stool samples tested positive for Cryptosporidium.

CONCLUSIONS

Cryptosporidium is widely prevalent in captive-bred ferrets in Jiangsu Province, and Cryptosporidium sp. ferret genotype is the only Cryptosporidium genotype in ferrets.

Radiomics signature based on CECT for non-invasive prediction of response to anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop a radiomics signature (RS) based on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and evaluate its potential predictive value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving anti-PD-1 therapy.

METHOD

CECT scans of 76 HCC patients who received anti-PD-1 therapy were obtained in this study (training group = 53 and validation group = 23). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to select radiomics features of primary and metastatic lesions and establish a RS to predict lesion-level response. Then, a nomogram combined the mean RS (MRS) and clinical variables with patient-level response as the end point.

RESULTS

In the lesion-level analysis, the area under the curves (AUCs) of RS in the training and validation groups were 0.751 (95% CI, 0.668-0.835) and 0.734 (95% CI, 0.604-0.864), respectively. In the patient-level analysis, the AUCs of the nomogram in the training and validation groups were 0.897 (95% CI, 0.798-0.996) and 0.889 (95% CI, 0.748-1.000), respectively. The nomogram stratified patients into low- and high-risk groups, which showed a significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The RS is a noninvasive biomarker for predicting anti-PD-1 therapy response in patients with HCC. The nomogram may be of clinical use for identifying high-risk patients and formulating individualised treatments.

Utility of navigation system-guided submandibular gland core needle biopsy in the diagnosis of immunoglobulin G4-related sialadenitis

Pathological diagnosis is important for the definite diagnosis of immunoglobulin G4-related sialadenitis (IgG4-RS). Core needle biopsy (CNB) is a scarless technique; however the pathological heterogeneity of IgG4-RS (a particular feature of this disease) could be the potential cause of the inferior diagnostic capability of submandibular gland CNB (SMG-CNB) for IgG4-RS. The aim of this study was to explore technical improvements in SMG-CNB and improve its diagnostic power in IgG4-RS diagnosis. Eighteen patients clinically suspected for IgG4-RS were enrolled and underwent both SMG-CNB and SMG surgical biopsy. A navigation system (Brainlab) was employed during SMG-CNB to obtain representative samples and avoid blood vessel injury. Histopathological and immunopathological findings for the SMG-CNB samples were in good concordance with SMG surgical biopsy. There was no statistically significant difference between SMG-CNB and SMG surgical biopsy in IgG-positive cell count (132.4 ± 59.3 vs 132.2 ± 47.5, P = 0.99), IgG4-positive cell count (102.2 ± 39.7 vs 97.2 ± 27.6, P = 0.67), or IgG4-positive/IgG-positive cell count ratio (78.6% ± 0.1% vs 75.2% ± 0.1%, P = 0.29). A moderate or strong significant correlation was found between SMG-CNB and SMG surgical biopsy for these cell counts and ratio (all P < 0.01). The diagnostic consistency of SMG-CNB and SMG surgical biopsy was 100%. The Brainlab navigation system may assist in collecting representative SMG-CNB samples from typical pathological lesions. Tissues obtained from SMG-CNB are sufficient for the pathological diagnosis of IgG4-RS. Standardized SMG-CNB is expected to replace SMG surgical biopsy for IgG4-RS diagnosis.

Constraints on Heavy Decaying Dark Matter from 570 Days of LHAASO Observations

The kilometer square array (KM2A) of the large high altitude air shower observatory (LHAASO) aims at surveying the northern γ-ray sky at energies above 10 TeV with unprecedented sensitivity. γ-ray observations have long been one of the most powerful tools for dark matter searches, as, e.g., high-energy γ rays could be produced by the decays of heavy dark matter particles. In this Letter, we present the first dark matter analysis with LHAASO-KM2A, using the first 340 days of data from 1/2-KM2A and 230 days of data from 3/4-KM2A. Several regions of interest are used to search for a signal and account for the residual cosmic-ray background after γ/hadron separation. We find no excess of dark matter signals, and thus place some of the strongest γ-ray constraints on the lifetime of heavy dark matter particles with mass between 10^{5} and 10^{9}  GeV. Our results with LHAASO are robust, and have important implications for dark matter interpretations of the diffuse astrophysical high-energy neutrino emission.

Functional hybrid factor regression model for handling heterogeneity in imaging studies

This paper develops a functional hybrid factor regression modelling framework to handle the heterogeneity of many large-scale imaging studies, such as the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative study. Despite the numerous successes of those imaging studies, such heterogeneity may be caused by the differences in study environment, population, design, protocols or other hidden factors, and it has posed major challenges in integrative analysis of imaging data collected from multicentres or multistudies. We propose both estimation and inference procedures for estimating unknown parameters and detecting unknown factors under our new model. The asymptotic properties of both estimation and inference procedures are systematically investigated. The finite-sample performance of our proposed procedures is assessed by using Monte Carlo simulations and a real data example on hippocampal surface data from the Alzheimer's disease study.

Associations of left renal vein entrapment with IgA nephropathy and Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis

Objectives

The aims of the study were to identify whether left renal vein (LRV) entrapment was more prevalent in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and Henoch–Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN) compared with other types of renal diseases, and the association of LRV entrapment with glomerular incidental IgA and galactose-deficient-IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) deposition.

Methods

A total of 797 patients with biopsy-proven kidney diseases have been screened for LRV entrapment by color Doppler ultrasound, and the prevalence of LRV entrapment in different types of renal diseases were then analyzed. Propensity score matching analysis was used to adjust for age, gender, and body mass index. Immunostaining of Gd-IgA1 with KM55 was performed in paraffin-embedded sections of renal biopsy specimens.

Results

LRV entrapment was diagnosed in 47 patients (6%) with several kinds of renal diseases in our cohort. A total of 32 (68%) LRV entrapments were combined with expanded IgAN (idiopathic IgAN and HSPN). The prevalence of LRV entrapment in expanded IgAN was significantly higher than that in non-expanded IgAN (17 vs. 2%, p < 0.001), even after adjustment for age, gender, and body mass index by propensity score matching analysis (13 vs. 2%, p < 0.001). Removing expanded IgAN and LN, glomerular incidental IgA deposition was observed to be significantly more common in patients with LRV entrapment compared with patients without it (43 vs. 9%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, in glomerular diseases with incidental IgA deposits, significantly much larger proportion of patients with LRV entrapment were positive for glomerular Gd-IgA1 in contrast to patients without LRV entrapment (5/5 vs. 5/17, p = 0.01).

Conclusions

LRV entrapment coexisted with several kinds of renal diseases, with a significantly higher prevalence in patients with idiopathic IgAN and HSPN. In patients of LN and IgAN-unrelated disease with LRV entrapment, glomerular IgA and Gd-IgA1 deposition was more common compared with patients without LRV entrapment.

[Related factors and prognosis analysis of esophagorespiratory fistula after esophageal cancer surgery]

Objective: To explore the factors associated with the development of esophagorespiratory fistula (ERF) after esophageal cancer surgery and its relationship with patient survival. Methods: A total of 241 patients with esophageal cancer after surgery, who received postoperative sputum suction through bronchoscope from West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January and December 2021 were included. The clinical data and airway features under bronchoscope of these patients were collected. Of the 241 patients, 203 were males (84.2%) and 38 were females (15.8%), aged (63.63±8.05) years. The related factors of ERF were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis, and Kaplan-meier was used to analyze the relationship between bronchoscopic specific manifestations, treatment modality and patient survival. Results: Of the 241 postoperative patients with esophageal cancer, 21 (8.7%) developed ERF. There were 39 (16.2%) patients with bronchoscopic specific manifestations, including 16 cases (6.6%) of hyperemia, 13 cases (5.4%) of congestion, and 15 cases (6.2%) of erosion. Bronchoscopic specific manifestations of tracheal mucosa (OR=13.734, 95%CI: 3.535-29.074, P<0.001) and thoracotomy (OR=9.121, 95%CI 1.843-44.237, P=0.007) were independent risk factors for the development of ERF, and preoperative chemotherapy (OR=0.128, 95%CI: 0.052-0.607, P=0.006) was a protective factor in the occurrence of ERF. The median survival time was 224 (95%CI: 95-353)d in the stent-treated group (14 patients) after the onset of ERF, and the median survival time of patients in the supportive care group (7 patients) was 29 (95%CI: 8-50)d, and the survival difference was statistically significant (χ²=5.69, P=0.017). Conclusions: Bronchoscopic specific manifestations are independent risk factors for the development of ERF in postoperative patients with esophageal cancer and are useful in assessing the risk of developing ERF. After the occurrence of postoperative ERF, timely intervention by insertion of tracheal stents to seal the fistula may prolong the survival time of the patients.