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Malignant ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors belong to a specific type of ovarian epithelial carcinoma, and their prognosis is related to the kind of pathology. Unlike epithelial ovarian cancer, most malignant ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors are low-grade malignant and have a good prognosis. Still, they have a tendency to recur in the long term, and the mortality rate of patients after recurrence is high. Surgery is the preferred treatment for malignant ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors with chemotherapy, and other comprehensive treatments. Recurrent and metastatic malignant ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors usually require systemic adjuvant chemotherapy, and hormonal or targeted therapy may be attempted on an individualized basis in cases where chemotherapy fails., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to explore the value of real-time tissue elastography (RTE) in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer., Methods: A total of 60 patients with breast cancer who received NAC in our hospital were evaluated. According to the pathological results, 47 patients were included in the significant response group and 13 patients in the non-significant response group. The maximum diameter and strain ratio (B/A ratio) of lesions before and 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th week after NAC were recorded and compared. The RECEIVER OPERATION CHARACTERISTIC (ROC) curve of the lesion diameter and strain rate ratio (B/A value) were used to predict the value of NAC efficacy., Results: The lesions in the two groups showed a honeycomb-like reduction after NAC. The blue color in the elastic image gradually decreased, and the green color gradually increased. Repeated measurement ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) found that the maximum diameter and B/A value showed a downward trend within 6 weeks of NAC treatment. The maximum diameter and B/A value in the significant response group were significantly lower than the non-significant response group before and after the NAC. There was an interaction in the maximum diameter and B/A value between the significant response group and the non-significant response group. The above differences were statistically significant (all p<0.05). The AREA UNDER CURVE (AUC) of △B/A value at 2nd week of NAC was maximal (0.944), and the best diagnostic point was 5.64. The sensitivity was 92.31% and the specificity 87.23%., Conclusion: △B/A value at 2nd week of NAC is helpful in predicting the therapeutic effect of NAC in breast cancer.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal subclinical thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity with the risk for intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).Design is a systematic review and meta-analysis.A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane database. A combination of 2 key words was used to search for the eligible studies: one indexed thyroid dysfunction or antithyroid antibodies; and the other one indexed the adverse neonatal outcomes of pregnancy, such as IUGR, small for gestational age, fetal growth restriction, or low birth weight.Two reviewers selected the studies, and eligible studies met the following criteria: prospective cohort studies or case control studies, studies of maternal thyroid dysfunction and positive antithyroid antibodies as the exposure of interest, and studies of IUGR or small for gestational age as the outcome of interest.Data were recorded, including data from maternal thyroid disorders and IUGR, and compared with a reference group.There were 22 individual data from the 13 cohort articles. Among these, 7 were focused on subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), 4 on subclinical hyperthyroidism, 7 on positivity for thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), and 4 on isolated hypothyroxinemia. Meta-analysis showed that there was no effect of subclinical hyperthyroidism (odds ratio (OR) = 0.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.40-2.41), TPOAb positivity (OR = 1.57; 95% CI, 0.77-3.18), or isolated hypothyroxinemia (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.37-2.92) on IUGR. However, SCH is associated with IUGR (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.06-2.25).SCH is associated with IUGR; however, subclinical hyperthyroidism, TPOAb positivity, or isolated hypothyroxinemia do not affect the risk of IUGR.

Many models have been proposed to explain both the rapidity of China's fertility decline after the 1960s and the differential timing of the decline in different places. In particular, scholars argue over whether deliberate policies of fertility control, institutional changes, or general modernization factors contribute most to changes in fertility behavior. Here the authors adopt an ethnographically grounded behavioral-institutional approach to analyze qualitative and quantitative data from three different rural settings: Xiaoshan County in Zhejiang (East China), Ci County in Hebei, (North China), and Yingde County in Guangdong (South China). The authors show that no one set of factors explain differential timing by a combination of differences in social-cultural environments (e.g. spread of education, reproductive ideologies, and gender relations) and politico-economic conditions (e.g. economic development, birth planning campaigns, and collective systems of labor organization) during the early phases of the fertility decline.