Medical services provided on the 'Harmonious Mission-2017' Peace Ark from China

INTRODUCTION

The Chinese Naval ship Peace Ark provided humanitarian medical services to people in eight low-income countries in Africa and Asia during the 2017 "Harmonious Mission'. The expedition lasted 155 days. Our study aimed to analyse the details of the medical services provided including outpatient care, medical patrol, operations, examinations and medications.

METHOD

The patient demographic data and medical information were extracted from electronic medical records. The diagnoses and procedures aboard were coded by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). The sociodemographic data of the medical staff aboard were collected via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and statistical software (SAS, V.9.4) were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

In total, 115 Chinese military medical personnel participated in the mission, completing a total of 50 758 outpatient visits, 10 232 medical patrols and 252 operations. The five most frequently used outpatient departments were ophthalmology, general surgery, general internal medicine, orthopaedics and traditional Chinese medicine. The five most common operations were lipoma excision, cataract extraction, skin tissue removal (such as warts and cysts), pterygium transposition and herniorrhaphy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study revealed the medical services in demand during the 'Harmonious Mission-2017'. It is essential to report their experiences so that future ventures can provide medical services more effectively.

Financial toxicity in lung cancer: an assessment of magnitude, perception, and impact on quality of life

BACKGROUND

Advances in lung cancer therapy have resulted in improved clinical outcomes. Unfortunately, advances can come at a financial cost to patients and their families that poses a significant risk to overall quality of life (QoL). Financial distress has been shown to be associated with increased symptom burden and decreased treatment compliance but the magnitude of financial distress is not well characterized in lung cancer populations.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with stage II-IV newly diagnosed lung cancer and starting first-line therapy were recruited at a tertiary academic institution between July 2018 and April 2019. The comprehensive score for financial toxicity (COST) was used to assess financial toxicity and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) was used to assess QoL. Associations between financial toxicity and baseline variables were assessed using multivariable linear regression and correlations were assessed using the Pearson correlation.

RESULTS

In this study, 143 consecutive patients were approached and 91.6% agreed to participate (N = 131). The median age was 65 years (35-90); 52.7% were male (n = 69), and 75.6% were white (n = 99). The inability to afford basic necessities and having <1 month of savings was associated with increased financial toxicity (P < 0.001) after adjusting for other factors such as age, race, insurance, and income. There was also a trend toward increased financial toxicity among those who were employed but on sick leave (P = 0.06). Increased financial toxicity was correlated with a decrease in QoL (correlation coefficient 0.41, P < 0.001). Patients' anticipated out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses for the upcoming 6 months ranged from $0 to $50 000 (median $2150). However, there was no correlation between anticipated OOP expenses and either financial toxicity or QoL.

CONCLUSIONS

These data identify key factors for identifying at-risk patients and builds a framework for exploring the benefit of financial counseling interventions, which may improve QoL and oncologic outcomes.

Protective effects of Lactobacillus plantarum strain P1 against toxicity of the environmental oestrogen di-n-butyl phthalate in rats

Phthalates are contaminants widely distributed in the food-chain, and they are considered as important environmental oestrogens in our lives. In the present study, eight strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated for their ability to adsorb di-n-butyl-phthalate (DBP), and one of the strains, Lactobacillus plantarum strain P1, was selected for more detailed analyses of its phthalate adsorption capacity in vitro. This study also evaluated the in vivo protective effects of strain P1 against DBP toxicity in rats. Sixteen rats were divided into four groups, and animals received by oral gavage every other day for a period of one month saline with or without strain P1 at 2×10¹¹ cfu/kg followed by maize oil with or without DBP (50 mg/kg). Strain P1 could adsorb more DBP than saline alone, and the concentration of mono-n-butyl phthalate in urine was decreased in animals receiving P1. Furthermore, oestrogenic effects of the different treatments were assessed through counting of sperm and observation of testis, and strain P1 could protect the sexual organs of male rats. Our results suggested that P1 is effective against phthalate toxicity due to its ability to adsorb DBP in vivo and could be considered as a new dietary therapeutic strategy against environmental phtalate toxicity.

Small RNA sequencing reveals miRNAs important for hypoxic adaptation in the Tibetan chicken

1. The Tibetan chicken, which is an indigenous breed living on the Tibetan Plateau, exhibits hypoxic adaptations to its high-altitude environment. However, the molecular mechanism behind this hypoxic adaptation is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate differentially expressed miRNAs involved in hypoxic adaptation through high-throughput RNA sequencing. 2. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the differentially expressed miRNAs and their target genes in chicken embryonic heart tissues and fibroblasts. Luciferase reporter assays were performed to confirm the relationship between miRNAs and target genes. 3. The study identified 37 differentially expressed miRNAs in Tibetan chicken embryonic heart tissues, including 20 up- and 17 down-regulated miRNAs, compared to those found in lowland chickens. Differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly involved in biological processes, such as cell cycle arrest, toll-like receptor signalling pathways, and I-kappa B kinase/NF-kappa B signalling. The data showed that gga-miR-34 c-5p was significantly upregulated in Tibetan chicken tissues and hypoxic fibroblasts, while EHHADH, a target gene of gga-miR-34 c-5p, was downregulated. Moreover, gga-miR-34 c-5p dramatically decreased the luciferase activity of the wild EHHADH, whereas no effect on the mutational EHHADH was found. 4. This study identified miRNA expression profiles in the Tibetan chicken and suggested that miR-34 c-5p acts as a novel miRNA associated with hypoxic adaptation. This facilitates the understanding of molecular mechanisms that underlie long-term exposure to hypoxia.

Automatic Machine Learning to Differentiate Pediatric Posterior Fossa Tumors on Routine MR Imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Differentiating the types of pediatric posterior fossa tumors on routine imaging may help in preoperative evaluation and guide surgical resection planning. However, qualitative radiologic MR imaging review has limited performance. This study aimed to compare different machine learning approaches to classify pediatric posterior fossa tumors on routine MR imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included preoperative MR imaging of 288 patients with pediatric posterior fossa tumors, including medulloblastoma (n = 111), ependymoma (n = 70), and pilocytic astrocytoma (n = 107). Radiomics features were extracted from T2-weighted images, contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images, and ADC maps. Models generated by standard manual optimization by a machine learning expert were compared with automatic machine learning via the Tree-Based Pipeline Optimization Tool for performance evaluation.

RESULTS

For 3-way classification, the radiomics model by automatic machine learning with the Tree-Based Pipeline Optimization Tool achieved a test micro-averaged area under the curve of 0.91 with an accuracy of 0.83, while the most optimized model based on the feature-selection method χ2 score and the Generalized Linear Model classifier achieved a test micro-averaged area under the curve of 0.92 with an accuracy of 0.74. Tree-Based Pipeline Optimization Tool models achieved significantly higher accuracy than average qualitative expert MR imaging review (0.83 versus 0.54, P < .001). For binary classification, Tree-Based Pipeline Optimization Tool models achieved an area under the curve of 0.94 with an accuracy of 0.85 for medulloblastoma versus nonmedulloblastoma, an area under the curve of 0.84 with an accuracy of 0.80 for ependymoma versus nonependymoma, and an area under the curve of 0.94 with an accuracy of 0.88 for pilocytic astrocytoma versus non-pilocytic astrocytoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Automatic machine learning based on routine MR imaging classified pediatric posterior fossa tumors with high accuracy compared with manual expert pipeline optimization and qualitative expert MR imaging review.

Wnt/beta-Catenin Signaling Contributes to Vincristine-Induced Neuropathic Pain

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CNP) is the major dose-limiting factor in cancer chemotherapy. However, the mechanisms underlying CNP remain elusive. In the present study, CNP was induced by repeated intraperitoneal injection of vincristine (VCR) into male C57BL/6J mice. VCR administration caused significant activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, which led to the activation of astrocytes, microglia, the release of inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and the activation of subsequent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling pathway in CNP mice. Blocking Wnt/beta-catenin signaling by intrathecal administration of the inhibitors of Wnt response (IWR) effectively attenuated VCR-induced neuropathic pain. Furthermore, IWR inhibited the activation of astrocytes, microglia, TNF-alpha, MCP-1 and MAPK/ERK signaling in the spinal cord, which was triggered by VCR-induced Wnt/beta-catenin signaling upregulation. These results suggest that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling plays a critical role in VCR-induced neuropathic pain and provides evidence for potential interfering with Wnt/beta-catenin signaling to ameliorate VCR-induced neuropathic pain.

Spatial genetic structure and historical demography of East Asian wild boar

Pleistocene climatic fluctuations may have had a profound impact on the evolutionary history of many species. The geographical pattern of European wild boar (Sus scrofa) is clearly studied, and it was greatly influenced by ancient climatic events, especially the Last Glacial Maximum. Previous research on genetic variation has mainly focused on the origin and distribution histories of domestic pigs. However, some questions have not been answered, including those concerning the genetic diversity, geographical pattern and possible historic influence of climate on East Asian wild boar (EAWB). Employing the control region of mtDNA (511 bp), we investigated the contributions of historic climate, which possibly shaped the genetic pattern of wild boar. Given that the level of genetic diversity of wild boars is higher in East Asia than in Europe, 172 haplotypes were detected from 680 individuals. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the complex phylogeographic structure of EAWB. Mismatch analysis, neutrality tests and the Bayesian Skyline Plot results all retrieved signals of a rapid population expansion, which might have played an important role in driving the formation of complex spatial genetic structure. Genetic data and species distribution modelling showed that the Last Glacial Maximum had weak effect on the distribution of the EAWB. We suggest that, in shaping spatial genetic structure in East Asian, long-term gene flow and population history played more important roles than Pleistocene climate fluctuations.