Depressive Symptoms and Ageism among Nursing Home Residents: The Role of Social Support

(1) Background: Ageism refers to the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against older individuals or groups based on their age. This study investigates the modifying role of social support in the relationship between depressive symptoms and ageism in China; (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 21 nursing homes in Jinan from March to June in 2019. The data were analyzed through a multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear model; (3) The analysis showed that older adults in nursing homes experienced moderate levels of ageism. There were significant interaction effects between depressive symptoms and social support on overall ageism and objective ageism after controlling for covariates (p < 0.05). As the level of social support increased, the predicted ageism greatly reduced among older adults without depressive symptoms when compared to those with depressive symptoms; (4) Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of identifying strategies to enhance social support and reduce depressive symptoms for nursing home residents. Having positive attitudes toward aging and overcoming negative age-related stereotypes may benefit older adults' physical and mental health, well-being, and help to promote an age-friendly society.

Integrative analysis of clinical health records, imaging and pathogen genomics identifies personalized predictors of disease prognosis in tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) afflicts over 10 million people every year and its global burden is projected to increase dramatically due to multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in reduced access to TB diagnosis and treatment, reversing decades of progress in disease management globally. It is thus crucial to analyze real-world multi-domain information from patient health records to determine personalized predictors of TB treatment outcome and drug resistance. We conduct a retrospective analysis on electronic health records of 5060 TB patients spanning 10 countries with high burden of MDR-TB including Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and India available on the NIAID-TB portals database. We analyze over 200 features across multiple host and pathogen modalities representing patient social demographics, disease presentations as seen in cChest X rays and CT scans, and genomic records with drug susceptibility features of the pathogen strain from each patient. Our machine learning model, built with diverse data modalities outperforms models built using each modality alone in predicting treatment outcomes, with an accuracy of 81% and AUC of 0.768. We determine robust predictors across countries that are associated with unsuccessful treatmentclinical outcomes, and validate our predictions on new patient data from TB Portals. Our analysis of drug regimens and drug interactions suggests that synergistic drug combinations and those containing the drugs Bedaquiline, Levofloxacin, Clofazimine and Amoxicillin see more success in treating MDR and XDR TB. Features identified via chest imaging such as percentage of abnormal volume, size of lung cavitation and bronchial obstruction are associated significantly with pathogen genomic attributes of drug resistance. Increased disease severity was also observed in patients with lower BMI and with comorbidities. Our integrated multi-modal analysis thus revealed significant associations between radiological, microbiological, therapeutic, and demographic data modalities, providing a deeper understanding of personalized responses to aid in the clinical management of TB.

Diagnostic Efficacy of CT Radiomic Features in Pulmonary Invasive Mucinous Adenocarcinoma

In order to solve the problem of the effect of CT images on the diagnosis of lungs, the authors proposed a method for the diagnosis of invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lungs based on CT radiomic features, and the modified method is found by reviewing past cases: among the 34 cases of primary pulmonary lymphoma, 12 cases were nodular mass type, 19 cases were nonnodular mass type, and 3 cases were mixed type; 13 cases involved bilateral lung lobes, 7 cases involved right lung, and 4 cases involved left lung example. There were 17 cases of tumor consolidation density shadow, 17 cases of mixed density shadow, the average CT value was about 32HU, 15 cases of cavitation sign, 6 cases of cavity, 9 cases of angiography sign, 30 cases of air bronchus sign, 22 cases of bronchiectasis, bronchial stenosis or amputation in 8 cases, pleural effusion in 12 cases, lymph node enlargement in 15 cases, and pleural metastasis in 2 cases. The final pathological results included 24 cases of membrane-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, 9 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and 1 case of T-cell lymphoma. The CT manifestations of primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) are diverse and do not have obvious specificity, the imaging manifestations are correlated with pathological types, and air bronchial signs, bronchiectasis, angiography signs, and other signs are used for the diagnosis of PPL. This is of great significance for the diagnosis of PPL.

Factors that Affect the Frequency of HIV Testing in College Men Who Have Sex with Men - Northeast China, 2017-2018

What is already known about this topic?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a critical tool in reducing HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM); young MSM frequently use mobile phone applications and participate in social hook-ups.

What is added by this report?

The prevalence of HIV testing-frequency (≥2) over the whole study period (15 months) was 38.6% among college MSM in Northeast China. MSM with more social contacts, recreational drug use, and prior HIV self-test experience (reported via mobile phone geo-social apps) were more likely to have higher offline HIV testing frequency.

What are the implications for public health practice?

A gay-oriented app provides opportunities for online interventions to promote HIV testing services.

Circulating tumor cells as a biomarker for precise management in lung cancer

e21018

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have potential utility in various clinical application for cancer management. In this study, we evaluated whether circulating tumor cells (CTCs) provide early diagnostic information and/or precisely indication of patient response to chemotherapy. Methods: 56 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer, 42 patients with nonmalignant pulmonary disease and 27 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. CTCs were measured at baseline in all eligible subjects and after two cycles of chemotherapy in 25 advanced lung cancer patients, with a strategy of negative enrichment combined with immunostaining-fluorescence in situ hybridization (imFISH). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the CTC detection for diagnosis. Kaplan-Meier curve and two-sided log-rank test were used for univariate survival analyses. Results: The number of CTCs was significantly increased in lung cancer patients, compared with benign lung disease patients and healthy controls. And it reached 87.5% sensitivity and 95.7% specificity at a cutoff value of 2 cells/3.2ml (AUC = 0.975, 95%CI, 0.953-0.998, p＜0.001).Moreover, the sensitivity of CTCs was much higher than individual or the combination of serum tumor markers, especially in the early detection of lung cancer. Twenty-five advanced lung cancer patients were subsequently followed for an average of 18.2 months (range 6-36 months) ， during which all patients experienced disease progression, and 16 patients died. A change in CTC count after two cycles of chemotherapy was highly predictive for PFS (13.5 v 8.5 months; p = 0.025) and OS (27.6 v 16.8 months; p = 0.009) in favor of a reduction in CTC number compared with an increase. Interestingly, among the patients whose post-treatment computed tomography(CT) results indicated stable disease(SD), PFS (14.0 v 8.7months; p = 0.033) and OS(25.8 v 15.9 months; p = 0.018) in patients whose CTC number decreased after two cycles of treatment were still significantly longer than those whose post-treatment CTCs number increased or unchanged. Conclusions: CTCs may act as precise biomarker for early detection and therapy monitoring that could compensate for imaging.

Intelligently design primary aromatic amines derived carbon dots for optical dual-mode and smartphone imaging detection of nitrite based on specific diazo coupling

Primary aromatic amines derived carbon dots (PAA-CDs) with the protonated amino groups and high quantum yield of 46% were favorably obtained by one-step solvothermal treatment of m-phenylenediamine (m-PDA) in acidic environment. The interaction between the PAA-CDs and nitrite (NO₂^-) was inherited the characteristic reaction of m-PDA (a primary aromatic amine) and NO₂^-, resulting in strong fluorescence quenching and obvious absorption variation of the PAA-CDs. Meanwhile, a chromogenic reaction of diazo coupling can cause significant color changes. Hence, the PAA-CDs were developed for an optical dual-mode and smartphone imaging sensor for NO₂^- detection in the range of 3.0 ~ 40.0 μM with high selectivity, good sensitivity, and excellent anti-interference capability. A limit of detection (LOD) of 0.024 μM and 0.16 μM was implemented by fluorometry and colorimetry, respectively. For smartphone imaging colorimetry, the LODs of 0.46 μM (visible color) and 0.99 μM (fluorescence color) were acquired. More importantly, the established sensor has been successfully applied for the dynamic detection of NO₂^- in various food samples with the satisfying results. A smartphone imaging colorimetry method based on the CDs was firstly proposed to visually and quantitatively detect NO₂^-, which will broaden the application range of the CDs in food safety inspection.

Evaluation of the Load Reduction Performance Via a Suspended Backpack With Adjustable Stiffness

Backpacks are essential for travel but carrying a load during a long journey can easily cause muscle fatigue and joint injuries. Previous studies have suggested that suspended backpacks can effectively reduce the energy cost while carrying loads. Researchers have found that adjusting the stiffness of a suspended backpack can optimize its performance. Therefore, this paper proposes a stiffness-adjustable suspended backpack; the system stiffness can be adjusted to suitable values at different speeds. The stiffness of the suspended backpack with a 5-kg load was designed to be 690 N/m for a speed of 4.5 km/h, and it was adjusted to 870 and 1050 N/m at speeds of 5.5 and 6.5 km/h, respectively. The goal of this study was to determine how carrying a stiffness-adjustable suspended backpack affected performance while carrying a load. Six healthy participants participated in experiments where they wore two backpacks under three conditions: the adjustable-stiffness suspended backpack condition (S_A), the unadjustable-stiffness suspended backpack condition (S_UA), and the ordinary backpack condition (ORB). Our results showed that the peak accelerations, muscle activities, and peak ground reaction forces in the S_A condition were reduced effectively by adjusting the stiffness to adapt to different walking speeds; this adjustment decreased the metabolic cost by 4.21 ± 1.21% and 2.68 ± 0.88% at 5.5 km/h and 4.27 ± 1.35% and 3.38 ± 1.31% at 6.5 km/h compared to the ORB and S_UA, respectively.

Four-Way Crossover Phase 1 Thorough QT Study to Assess Cardiac Safety of Domperidone and Consideration for Design and Conduct of QT/QTc Study in China

This study aimed to evaluate the QT prolongation potential of domperidone in healthy Chinese participants and explore the possibility of a thorough QT (TQT) study in China with a smaller sample size using concentration-QT (C-QT) modeling. Part 1 was a randomized, placebo- and positive-controlled, multiple-dose, 4-way crossover TQT study in healthy Chinese participants; 44 participants were randomized to either domperidone 10/20 mg or placebo 3 times daily, on days 1 to 3, followed by a single dose of either 10/20 mg domperidone/domperidone-placebo/domperidone-placebo plus 400 mg of moxifloxacin, on day 4. Twelve-lead electrocardiograms were recorded in triplicate at predefined time points with pharmacokinetic sampling. The results were that change from baseline in QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc) using the Fridericia formula (QTcF) between domperidone and placebo was 1.3 milliseconds and 2.7 milliseconds for 10 and 20 mg 3 times daily, and upper limits of 2-sided 90%CI for all time points were below regulatory threshold of 10 milliseconds. In part 2, resampling analysis using C-QT modeling for moxifloxacin showed false-negative rates of <5% with sample sizes ≥6. We could conclude that no clinically relevant effect on corrected QT interval or new safety signals was observed with domperidone. A dedicated TQT study with C-QT modeling could assess drug effects on QT/corrected QT intervals for novel drug development in China.

Efficacy of multi-groove silicone drains in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery and their effect on C-reactive protein: a single-center experience

Background

The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a multi-groove silicone drain in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery and its effect on postoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 122 surgical cases who underwent standard lobectomy and lymph node dissection for primary lung cancer between May 2020 and December 2020. A total of 62 patients received 19-F multi-groove silicone drains (experimental group) and 60 patients received 24-F conventional chest drains (control group). According to the different thoracic drainage approaches, the clinical efficacy in the perioperative period, postoperative complications, and postoperative serum CRP levels were compared between the 2 groups.

Results

In this study, thoracic drainage volume, the average visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores in incisions, the rate of primary healing at the site of incisions, and the pulmonary infection rate in the multi-groove silicone drain group were significantly lower than those in the conventional chest drain group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the average hospital stay time, arrhythmia rates, and chest tube removal time between the 2 groups. At postoperative day 1, the levels of serum CRP in the 2 groups were further increased (P>0.05), and the comparison between the 2 groups showed that the levels of serum CRP in the multi-groove silicone drain group at 72 h after the operation were significantly lower than those in the conventional drain group (P<0.05).

Conclusions

Our results showed that a multi-groove silicone drain is feasible and relatively safe in single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery for most patients. However we should take cautious in those patients with higher susceptibility of postoperative active bleeding. In patients undergoing lung cancer surgery in the clinical treatment process, the use of a multi-groove silicone drain can improve the quality of life of patients. Due to a small number of included studies and unclear bias, the above results should be verified by high-quality, large-sample randomized controlled studies.

Keywords

Video-assisted thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery; multi-groove silicone drains; conventional chest drains

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: An Update on Pathogenesis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, lethal fibrotic lung disease that occurs primarily in middle-aged and elderly adults. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. With an increase in life expectancy, the economic burden of IPF is expected to continuously rise in the near future. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanisms underlying IPF remain not known. Significant progress has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of this devastating disease in last decade. The current paradigm assumes that IPF results from sustained or repetitive lung epithelial injury and subsequent activation of fibroblasts and myofibroblast differentiation. Persistent myofibroblast phenotype contributes to excessive deposition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and aberrant lung repair, leading to tissue scar formation, distortion of the alveolar structure, and irreversible loss of lung function. Treatments of patients with IPF by pirfenidone and nintedanib have shown significant reduction of lung function decline and slowing of disease progression in patients with IPF. However, these drugs do not cure the disease. In this review, we discuss recent advances on the pathogenesis of IPF and highlight the development of novel therapeutic strategies against the disease.

Exploring the physicochemical role of Pd dopant in promoting Li-ion diffusion dynamics and storage performance of NbS2 at the atomic scale

The two-dimensional layered niobium disulfide (NbS2), as a kind of anode material for Li-ion batteries, has received great attention because of its excellent electronic conductivity and structural stability.

[Diagnosis and treatment status of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms: a multi-center study in Hubei Province]

Objective: To investigate the incidence and treatment of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in Hubei Province. Methods: The clinicopathological data of 7 474 patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in 62 hospitals in 15 cities (state) of Hubei Province in 2019 were collected in the form of network database. There were 4 749 males and 2 725 females. The median age of the patients was 62 years (range: 17 to 96 years). The hemoglobin value of the first time in hospital and the first day after operation was used as the criterion of preoperative anemia and postoperative anemia. Anemia was defined as male hemoglobin <120 g/L and female hemoglobin <110.0 g/L, mild anemia as 90 to normal, moderate anemia as 60 to <90 g/L, severe anemia as <60 g/L. The t test and χ² test were used for inter-group comparison. Results: The overall incidence of preoperative anemia was 38.60%(2 885/7 474), and the incidences of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 25.09%(1 875/7 474), 11.37%(850/7 474) and 2.14%(160/7 474), respectively. The overall incidence of postoperative anemia was 61.40%(4 589/7 474). The incidence of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 48.73%(3 642/7 474), 12.20%(912/7 474) and 0.47%(35/7 474), respectively. The proportion of preoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 26.86% (775/2 885), and the proportion of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 14.93% (685/4 589). The proportions of preoperative anemia patients in grade ⅢA, grade ⅢB, and grade ⅡA hospitals receiving treatment were 26.12% (649/2 485), 32.32% (85/263), and 29.93% (41/137), and the proportions of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment were 14.61% (592/4 052), 22.05% (73/331), and 9.71% (20/206). The proportion of intraoperative blood transfusion (16.74% (483/2 885) vs. 3.05% (140/4 589), χ²=434.555, P<0.01) and the incidence of postoperative complications (17.78% (513/2 885) vs. 14.08% (646/4 589), χ²=18.553, P<0.01) in the preoperative anemia group were higher than those in the non-anemia group, and the postoperative hospital stay in the preoperative anemia group was longer than that in the non-anemia group ((14.1±7.3) days vs. (13.3±6.2) days, t=5.202, P<0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms is high. Preoperative anemia can increase the demand for intraoperative blood transfusion and affect the short-term prognosis of patients. At present, the concept of standardized treatment of perioperative anemia among gastrointestinal surgeons in Hubei Province needs to be improved.

Unveiling the Role and Mechanism of Nb Doping and In Situ Carbon Coating on Improving Lithium-Ion Storage Characteristics of Rod-Like Morphology FeF3 ·0.33H2 O

Given the inherent characteristics of transition metal fluorides and open tunnel-type frameworks, intercalation-conversion-type FeF₃ ·0.33H₂ O has attracted widespread attention as a promising lithium-ion battery cathode material with high operating voltage and high energy density. However, its low electronic conductivity and poor structural stability impede its practical application in high-rate capacity and long-lifetime batteries. Herein, rod-like Nb-substituted FeF₃ ·0.33H₂ O (Nb-FeF₃ ·0.33H₂ O@C) nanocrystals with a carbon coating derived from in situ carbonization in an ionic liquid are deliberately designed and prepared. Based on first-principles calculations and electrochemical analysis, it is shown that substitution of Nb into a proportion of Fe sites can dramatically reduce the total energy of the system and the bandgap, thus boosting the structural stability and electronic conductivity of FeF₃ ·0.33H₂ O. Simultaneously, the combination of a surface conductive carbon coating and assembly of the nanoparticles into a rod-like mesoporous architecture can produce an omni-directional ion/electron transmission network and a robust 3D composite structure. The Nb-FeF₃ ·0.33H₂ O@C composite with 3% Nb-doping displays high capacity (583.2 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C), good rate capacity (187.8 mAh g^-1 at a high rate of 5.0 C), and excellent long-term cycle stability (160.4 mAh g^-1 after 300 long cycles).

Influence of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width on All-Cause Death in Critical Diabetic Patients with Acute Kidney Injury

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and all-cause death in critical diabetic patients with acute kidney injury (AKI).

METHODS

The clinical data of critical diabetic patients with AKI in MIMIC-III database were analyzed retrospectively. According to the survival status of 28-day after AKI and levels of RDW, patients were divided into survival and death groups, high RDW (RDW > 15.3%) and low RDW groups (RDW ≤ 15.3%). Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare the survival rates of diabetic patients with AKI in different RDW and AKI stages, and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors of 28-day all-cause death in critical diabetic patients with AKI.

RESULTS

A total of 5200 patients with critical diabetic patients with AKI were included in this study with the male to female ratio of 1.53:1. The mean follow-up time was 24.97 ± 7.14 days, and the 28-day all-cause mortality was 17.9% (931/5200). Age, RDW, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, lactic acid, proportion of AKI stage, sepsis and respiratory failure in the death group were higher than those in the survival group, while mean arterial pressure (MAP) and red blood cell count were lower than those in the survival group. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the 28-day survival rate of the high RDW group was significantly lower than that of the low RDW group (log-rank χ ² = 9.970, P = 0.002). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that advanced age (HR = 1.042, 95% CI = 1.021-1.063), decreased MAP (HR = 0.984, 95% CI = 0.969-0.998), stage 3 AKI (HR = 3.318, 95% CI = 1.598-6.890) and increased RDW (HR = 1.255, 95% CI = 1.123-1.403) were independent risk factors of 28-day all-cause death in critical diabetic patients with AKI (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

High level of RDW is an important risk factor of all-cause death in critical diabetic patients with AKI, and it may be used as a valuable index to classify the mortality.

A model for predicting ground reaction force and energetics of human locomotion with an elastically suspended backpack

This paper presents an actuated spring-loaded inverted pendulum model with a vertically constrained suspended load mass to predict the vertical GRF and energetics of walking and running. Experiments were performed to validate the model prediction accuracy of vertical GRF. The average correlation coefficient was greater than 0.97 during walking and 0.98 during running. The model's predictions of energy cost reduction were compared with experimental data from the literature, and the difference between the experimental and predicted results was less than 7%. The predicted results of characteristic forces and energy cost under different suspension stiffness and damping conditions showed a tradeoff when selecting the suspension parameters of elastically suspended backpacks.

[Analysis of the anatomical features of vestibular nerve canal based on 10 μm otology CT]

Objective: To analysis the anatomical features of normal vestibular nerve canal based on 10 μm otology CT. Methods: Sixty-seven patients (103 ears) underwent 10 μm otology CT examinations in Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University from September 2020 to March 2021 were retrospectively recruited. There were 24 males and 43 females, aged from 18 to 70 (40±17) years. According to the morphology of the inferior vestibular nerve canal, it can be divided into four types as follows: uniform straight type, curved type, ampullary type and direct connection. The anatomical variables of the superior vestibular nerve canal (external orifice, isthmus and internal orifice widths, canal length, angle with labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve) and inferior vestibular nerve canal (widths of the externaland internal orifice, canal length, angles with long axis of the vestibule and the modiolus) between the different sides, genders and canal morphologies were analyzed and compared, respectively. Results: 100% superior vestibular nerve canals and 75.7% (78/103) inferior vestibular nerve canals are clearly depicted by otology CT. The left-side ear presented with larger internal orifice diameter of the superior vestibular neve canal [(1.46±0.47) mm vs (1.31±0.41) mm], and a smaller angle between the inferior vestibular neve canal and the modiolus [(41.6±16.9)° vs (51.6±21.0)°] than the right-side ear (all P<0.05, respectively), respectively. Compared to females, males demonstrated larger internal orifice of the superior vestibular nerve canal [(1.55±0.37) mm vs (1.28±0.36) mm, P<0.05]. The uniform straight type of the inferior vestibular nerve canal was the most common type (62.1%, 64/103), followed by the direct connection (19.4%, 20/103), and the ampullary type was the least common type (4.9%, 5/103). There were significant differences in external diameter and angles with the long axis of the vestibule and the modiolus between the four morphologies of the superior vestibular nerve canal (all P<0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Ten μm otology CT is capable of depicting normal vestibular nerve canal clearly. Quantitative measurement of the normal vestibular nerve canal can provide references for the imaging diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of lesions in this area.

[Analysis of the imaging characteristics of otosclerosis based on 10 μm otology CT]

Objective: To evaluate the imaging features of otosclerosis based on10 μm otology CT. Methods: Data of 27 patients with otosclerosis (51 sides) in Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2020 to July 2021 were retrospectively collected, including 9 males and 18 females age ffrom 22 to 70 (42±12) years. All patients underwent 10 μm otology CT examination and surgical treatment. The types, amounts and involved sites of otosclerosis were analyzed and the sensitivity of 10 μm otology CT in diagnosing otosclerosis were evaluated. Results: Fenestral type accounted for 49.0% (25/51 sides), and diffuse type accounted for 51.0% (26/51 sides),and he retrofenestral type without fenestral lesion was not seen. Single lesions accounted for 45.1% (23/51 sides) and multiple lesions accounted for 54.9% (28/51 sides). The incidence of involvement of the fissula ante fenestram and annular ligaments were both 100%. The incidence of involvement of stapes footplate, vestibule, cochlea, round window, inner auditory canal wall, facial nerve canal, stapes muscle and semicircular canal was 60.8% (31 sides), 33.3% (17/51 sides), 21.6% (11/51 sides), 17.6% (9/51 sides), 13.7% (7/51 sides), 9.8% (5/51 sides), 7.8% (4/51 sides) and 5.9% (3/51 sides), respectively. The sensitivity of 10 μm otology CT in diagnosis of otosclerosis was 100%. Conclusion: 10 μm otology CT can fully display the imaging features of otosclerosis, and has the potential to be an effective routine method for otosclerosis.

[Study on the relationship between the morphology of the isthmus of the vestibular aqueduct and Meniere's disease based on 10 μm otology CT]

Objective: To evaluate the morphology of isthmus of the vestibular aqueduct (VA) and its relationship with the occurrence, course of Meniere's disease (MD) and the degree of hearing loss based on 10 μm otology CT. Methods: A total of 13 patients with MD in Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2020 to July 2021, including 4 males and 9 females, age from 16 to 77 (56±16) years, were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent 10 μm otology CT examination. The included lesion side was the MD affected group (14 sides), and the non-lesion side was the MD healthy group (12 sides). According to the 1∶2 side, 16 sex-and side matched cases (28 sides) without external and middle ear disease were included in the control group, including 4 males and 12 females, age from 16 to 77 (56±14) years. The horizontal semicircular canal showed on the largest plane was considered as the standard cross-section, and continuous observation was made on this image. According to the display type of isthmus of the VA, it was divided into Ⅰ to Ⅳ grades. Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare the morphological differences of VA isthmus among the affected group, the healthy group and the control group. The degree of hearing impairment was assessed by pure tone audiometry (PTA) results, which were divided into normal/mild/moderate/moderately severe/severe/extremely severe hearing impairment. Spearman correlation analysis was used to compare the correlation between the morphological rating of VA isthmus on the affected side and age, course of disease and the results of pure tone audiometry (PTA). Results: The proportions of VA isthmic morphology GRADE Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ in the MD affected group were 28.6% (4/14), 42.9% (6/14), 21.4% (3/14), 7.1% (1/14), those in the MD healthy group were 0 (0/12), 33.3% (4/12), 33.3% (4/12), 33.3% (4/12), and those in the control group were 0 (0/28), 7.1% (2/28), 64.2% (18/28), 28.6% (8/28). The VA isthmus scores [M (Q1, Q3)] of MD affected group was lower than that of MD healthy group [2 (1, 3) vs 3 (2, 4)] and control group [2 (1, 3) vs 3 (3, 4)] (all P<0.05, respectively). The morphology of the VA isthmus on the affected side of MD was negatively correlated with age (r=-0.81, P=0.002), and there was no correlation with the course of disease and degree of hearing impairment (r=-0.40, r=-0.26; all P>0.05, respectively). Conclusion: The stenosis of the VA isthmus in MD was a possible anatomical factor for the occurrence of MD.

Patient characteristics associated with different types of prison TB: an epidemiological analysis of 921 TB cases diagnosed at an Ethiopian prison

Background

Despite incarcerated population being at an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) and serving as a potential source of TB transmission for the general population, prison TB remains understudied. Given its adverse impact on progress towards TB elimination, World Health Organization (WHO) has identified prison TB research as a top priority to guide TB treatment/control interventions.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 921 notified TB cases that were diagnosed at Kality Federal Prison, Ethiopia during 2009–2017. To assess trends of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB (PTB), extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB), and TB-HIV co-infection, an ecological analysis of aggregated cases was used to report trends over time. Additionally, we used multivariable log binomial regression to identify patient characteristics associated with microbiologically confirmed PTB, EPTB, and TB-HIV co-infection.

Results

Microbiologically confirmed PTB proportion increased over time. Young age was identified as an important risk factor for EPTB (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.74, 95% CI 0.97, 3.13) while HIV coinfection was negatively associated with EPTB (aPR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.55, 0.97). While previous TB history was associated with a lower likelihood of EPTB (aPR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.25, 0.70), it was associated with an increased risk of TB-HIV coinfection (aPR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.10, 1.71). Clinically diagnosed PTB patients were more likely to have TB-HIV coinfection compared to microbiologically confirmed PTB patients (aPR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.02, 1.72).

Conclusions

Increasing proportion of microbiologically confirmed PTB may suggest delayed access to treatment, severe disease and increased risk of intramural transmission. Associations with clinical/demographic factors varied for different types of TB and were not always consistent with what has been previously reported for the general population, necessitating the need to refocus prison TB control/treatment strategies based on context specific epidemiological factors.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-021-01699-w.

Exosome-mediated transfer of SNHG7 enhances docetaxel resistance in lung adenocarcinoma

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 7 (SNHG7) has been widely reported in various cancers, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, it is largely unknown whether SNHG7 is involved in docetaxel resistance of LUAD. In the current study, we identified the high expression of SNHG7 in docetaxel-resistant cells. Through functional assays, we determined that silencing of SNHG7 decreased IC₅₀ value of LUAD cells to docetaxel and suppressed proliferation and autophagy in LUAD cells, and reversed M2 polarization in macrophages. Mechanistically, we uncovered that SNHG7 promoted autophagy via recruiting human antigen R (HuR) to stabilize autophagy-related genes autophagy related 5 (ATG5) and autophagy related 12 (ATG12). Moreover, exosomal SNHG7 was transmitted from docetaxel-resistant LUAD cells to parental LUAD cells and thus facilitated docetaxel resistance. Additionally, exosomal SNHG7 activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway to promote M2 polarization in macrophages via recruiting cullin 4A (CUL4A) to induce ubiquitination and degradation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Taken together, we concluded that exosomal SNHG7 enhances docetaxel resistance of LUAD cells through inducing autophagy and macrophage M2 polarization. All findings in the study suggested that SNHG7 may be a promising target for relieving docetaxel resistance in LUAD.

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens with Vaccine Potential Using a Machine Learning-Based Reverse Vaccinology Approach

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death of any single infectious agent, having led to 1.4 million deaths in 2019 alone. Moreover, an estimated one-quarter of the global population is latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), presenting a huge pool of potential future disease. Nonetheless, the only currently licensed TB vaccine fails to prevent the activation of latent TB infections (LTBI). These facts together illustrate the desperate need for a more effective TB vaccine strategy that can prevent both primary infection and the activation of LTBI. In this study, we employed a machine learning-based reverse vaccinology approach to predict the likelihood that each protein within the proteome of MTB laboratory reference strain H37Rv would be a protective antigen (PAg). The proteins predicted most likely to be a PAg were assessed for their belonging to a protein family of previously established PAgs, the relevance of their biological processes to MTB virulence and latency, and finally the immunogenic potential that they may provide in terms of the number of promiscuous epitopes within each. This study led to the identification of 16 proteins with the greatest vaccine potential for further in vitro and in vivo studies. It also demonstrates the value of computational methods in vaccine development.

Circulating irisin level in chronic kidney disease patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Irisin is not only a myokine but also an adipokine that is critical in many diseases including in the development of such diseases as obesity, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, and chronic inflammation. However, the association between irisin and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear. This systematic review aimed to assess circulating irisin levels in patients with CKD and compare them with those in non-CKD patients.

METHODS

PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, ISI Web of Science, and CNKI were searched to identify observational studies of circulating irisin levels in patients with CKD. Two reviewers independently searched the databases and screened studies according to the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted using a standardized collection form. Meta-analysis was performed to compare the differences in circulating irisin levels between CKD and non-CKD patients.

RESULTS

A total of 9 studies (6 cross-sectional and 3 case controls) involving 859 CKD patients and 393 non-CKD individuals were selected. The pooled data indicated that circulating irisin concentrations were significantly lower in CKD nondialysis patients (WMD = - 84.79, 95% CI - 170.23, 0.50; p < 0.05), peritoneal dialysis patients (WMD = - 235.81, 95% CI - 421.99, - 49.62; p = 0.01), and hemodialysis patients (WMD = - 217.46, 95% CI - 381.35, - 53.57; p = 0.009) than in healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirmed that irisin levels were decreased in patients with CKD. Moreover, circulating irisin levels were lower in dialysis patients than in nondialysis patients.

Protocol to produce high-titer retrovirus for transduction of mouse bone marrow cells

Regulating gene expression through retroviral infection has been widely used in mouse bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to test the capacity of self-renewal, as well as multi-lineage differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, it remains challenging to achieve high transduction efficiency in bone marrow cells as transduction of these cells subsequently leads to transplantation failure. Here, we present a modified protocol to overcome this issue, enabling reproducible and high-efficient retroviral transduction of HSPCs for BMT. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Yang et al. (2019).