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ObjectivePublic health emergencies pose a serious challenge to the ability of medical personnel to respond. We aimed to establish a scientific and effective resilience capability assessment scale for grassroots medical workers and explore the way to improve resilience.Research designDeveloped a resilience ability assessment scale and applied it on the medical personnel who worked in community health service centers for more than 1 year. Related indicators were identified through literature review and the Delphi method. The established scale was given weight using the attribute analytic hierarchy process, and the evaluation model was built through the grey correlation analysis.Principal findingsA three-level indicator scale was established, which included three first-level indicators [professional quality (weight 0.346), psychological capital (weight 0.614), and emergency attitude (weight 0.040)]. The second-level indicators had 13 contents and were further subdivided into 46 three-level indicators. The overall resilience ability assessment score of 347 medical workers in Guangzhou was only 0.787. However, steady scientific-exercise habits and relative training can help improve their public health emergency resilience ability (p

Abstract Research has shown that the concentration and composition of biological samples may change after long-term ultra-low temperature storage. Consequently, this study examined the effect of ultra-low temperature storage on serum sIgE detection by comparing sIgE concentrations at various durations from the time of sample storage to subsequent testing. We selected 40 serum samples from the Guangzhou Medical University Affiliated First Hospital Biobank, which had been tested for house dust mites, dog hair, tobacco mold, cockroaches, and cow milk allergen sIgE. Samples were categorized by storage duration: 14 samples stored for 10 years, 12 for 5 years, and 14 for 3 years. They were also classified by sIgE positive levels: 15 samples at levels 1–2, 15 at levels 3–4, and 10 at levels 5–6. The allergen sIgE of these samples was retested using the same technology. Regardless of the type of allergen or the level of positivity, the majority of sIgE concentrations measured at the time of storage were higher than the current measurements, but the difference was not statistically significant. The correlation between the sIgE results at the time of storage and the current results was high for samples stored for 10 years (rs = 0.991, P

Abstract This study aims to reduce the cost of allergen testing for Guangzhou, China by limiting the number of allergens for which patients are tested, and provide a testing panel to improve diagnostic and therapeutic efficiency. This retrospective study of real-world data from 2012 to 2019 included 39,570 patients with suspected allergies in Guangzhou, southern China. All the patients were tested for one or more of the following allergens serum specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE): Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, cat dander, dog dander, Artemisia vulgaris, Aspergillus fumigatus, Alternaria alternata, Blattella germanica, egg whites, milk, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, Cancer pagurus, and Penaeus monodon by PhadiaCAP 1000. Totally, only the positive rates of allergens sIgE in D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, milk, egg whites, B. germanica, C. pagurus, A. alternata, and P. monodon were > 10%, the other allergens were between 4–7%. Moreover, among the allergic diseases, dust mites exhibited the overall highest positive rate, followed by milk and B. germanica. In children, milk was the main allergen, whereas in adults, mites, cockroaches, shrimp, and crab allergens had higher positive rates. The optimal scale analysis shows that the multiple sensitization classification of patients can be divided into three categories: I D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus; II. C. pagurus, P. monodon, and B. germanica; III. Milk and egg whites. Generally, a panel including 4 allergens can detect > 90% of the potential allergy in this local population. In Guangzhou, southern China, D. farinae, milk, B. germanica, and A. alternata as a panel screening allergy for suspected allergic patients was suggested base on this study.

Abstract Introduction Hemodialysis (HD) has various effects on the body, including optimizing body fluid composition and volume, which may have an impact on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) in individuals with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). However, previous studies have produced conflicting results regarding the effect of HD on SCT in patients with ESKD. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the influence of HD on SCT. Methods A comprehensive search of relevant studies and bibliographies was conducted using Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases up to September 2022. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to summarize the SCT change. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed, and a random-effects model was employed for the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were also performed to evaluate the influence of factors such as diabetes mellitus (DM), the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR), diurnal variation adjustment, optical coherence tomography (OCT) types, and OCT scan modes. Results A total of 15 studies involving 1010 eyes were eligible for this meta-analysis, including 552 diabetic eyes, 230 non-diabetic eyes, and the remaining 228 eyes were uncategorized. The meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in SCT after HD (WMD = −13.66 μm; 95% CI −24.29 to −3.03 μm; z = −5.115, P

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), a parameter of relative stress-induced hyperglycemia, is an excellent predictive factor for all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, its association with pulmonary infection in patients with STEMI during hospitalization remains unclear. Methods Patients with STEMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were consecutively enrolled from 2010 to 2020. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of pulmonary infection during hospitalization, and the secondary endpoint was in-hospital MACEs, composed of all-cause mortality, stroke, target vessel revascularization, or recurrent myocardial infarction. Results A total of 2,841 patients were finally included, with 323 (11.4%) developing pulmonary infection and 165 (5.8%) developing in-hospital MACEs. The patients were divided into three groups according to SHR tertiles. A higher SHR was associated with a higher rate of pulmonary infection during hospitalization (8.1%, 9.9%, and 18.0%, P

Objectives To explore factors that influenced the health resource allocation and utilisation before and after COVID-19, and subsequently offer sensible recommendations for advancing the scientific distribution of health resources.Design A longitudinal survey using 2017–2020 data, which were collected for analysis.Setting The study was conducted based on data collected from the Health Commission of Guangdong Province’s website.Outcome measures Eight health resource indicators and four health resource utilisation indicators were included in the factor analysis. Four indices were calculated to measure the inequality in health resource allocation and utilisation. We analysed factors for the inequality indices using the recentred influence function index ordinary least squares decomposition method.Results The health resource inequality indices peaked in 2020 (Gini coefficient (Gini): 0.578, Absolute Gini coefficient (AGini): 1.136, Concentration Index (CI): 0.417, Absolute CI (ACI): 0.821), whereas the health resource utilisation inequality indices declined year by year, thus reaching their lowest point in that same year. The majority of inequality indices in the annual change of health resource allocation were at their lowest in 2020 (Gini: −1.672, AGini: 0.046, CI: −0.189, ACI: 0.005), while the use of health resources declined dramatically, showing a negative growth trend. The inequality indices of health resource allocation and utilisation in 2020 were affected by a number of variables, including the COVID-19 level, (p

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the causal association between unhealthy lifestyle factors and diabetic retinopathy (DR) risk and to determine better interventions targeting these modifiable unhealthy factors.DesignTwo-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed in this study. The inverse variance-weighted method was used as the primary method.MethodOur study included 687 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors as instrumental variables. Aggregated data on individual-level genetic information were obtained from the corresponding studies and consortia. A total of 292,622,3 cases and 739,241,18 variants from four large consortia (MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit [MRC-IEU], Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits [GIANT], GWAS & Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine Use [GSCAN], and Neale Lab) were included.ResultIn the MR analysis, a higher body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.42, 1.30–1.54; P < 0.001] and cigarettes per day (OR, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.05–1.28; P = 0.003) were genetically predicted to be causally associated with an increased risk of DR, while patients with higher hip circumference (HC) had a lower risk of DR (OR, 95% CI = 0.85, 0.76–0.95; P = 0.004). In the analysis of subtypes of DR, the results of BMI and HC were similar to those of DR, whereas cigarettes per day were only related to proliferative DR (PDR) (OR, 95% CI = 1.18, 1.04–1.33; P = 0.009). In the MR-PRESSO analysis, a higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was a risk factor for DR and PDR (OR, 95% CI = 1.24, 1.02–1.50, P = 0.041; OR, 95% CI = 1.32, 1.01–1.73, P = 0.049) after removing the outliers. Furthermore, no pleiotropy was observed in these exposures.ConclusionOur findings suggest that higher BMI, WHR, and smoking are likely to be causal factors in the development of DR, whereas genetically higher HC is associated with a lower risk of DR, providing insights into a better understanding of the etiology and prevention of DR.

Abstract Background Cow’s milk (CM) is the main food allergen for toddlers and infants. Presently, studies on CM specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) sensitization and positive distribution of CM components ALA-, CAS-, and BLG-sIgE are lacking in infants with respiratory allergic diseases, especially in southern China. This study therefore aimed to investigate the distribution of CM sensitization and the relation between its components α-lactalbumin (ALA), β-lactoglobulin (BLG) and casein (CAS) sIgE in children with respiratory allergic diseases in southern China. Methods A total of 1839 children (≤12 years) with respiratory diseases and detected CM-sIgE levels were included. Serum samples were collected from the Respiratory Diseases Bioresources Center of the National Center for Respiratory Diseases in southern China from August 2012 to July 2017. ALA-, BLG-, and CAS-sIgE were detected and questionnaires were completed in 103 children. Results A total of 36.7% children were positive for CM-sIgE. CM-sIgE levels were higher in asthmatic bronchitis (AB) group than in other allergic respiratory disease groups (all P

ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to explore the feasibility and safety of spontaneous ventilation video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (SV-VATS) for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with poor lung function.MethodsNSCLC patients with poor lung function who underwent SV-VATS or mechanical ventilation VATS (MV-VATS) from 2011 to 2018 were analyzed. 1:2 Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied, and the short- and long-term outcomes between the SV-VATS group and the MV-VATS group were compared.ResultsAnesthesia time (226.18 ± 64.89 min vs. 248.27 ± 76.07 min; P = 0.03), operative time (140.85 ± 76.07 min vs. 163.12 ± 69.37 min; P = 0.01), days of postoperative hospitalization (7.29 ± 3.35 days vs. 8.40 ± 7.89 days; P = 0.04), and days of chest tube use (4.15 ± 2.89 days vs. 5.15 ± 3.54 days; P = 0.01), the number of N1 station lymph node dissection (2.94 ± 3.24 vs. 4.34 ± 4.15; P = 0.005) and systemic immune-inflammation index (3855.43 ± 3618.61 vs. 2908.11 ± 2933.89; P = 0.04) were lower in SV-VATS group. Overall survival and disease-free survival were not significantly different between the two groups (OS: HR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.41–1.07, P = 0.09; DFS: HR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.42–1.45, P = 0.43).ConclusionsComparable short-term and long-term outcomes indicated that SV-VATS is a feasible and safe method and might be an alternative to MV-VATS when managing NSCLC patients with poor lung function.

With recent approval of the first dendritic cell (DC) vaccine for patient use, many other DC vaccine approaches are now being tested in clinical trials. Many of these DC vaccines employ tumor cell lysates (TL) generated from cells cultured in atmospheric oxygen (~20% O2) that greatly exceeds levels found in tumors in situ. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that TLs generated from tumor cells cultured under physiologic oxygen (~5% O2) would be more effective as a source for DC antigens. Gene expression patterns in primary glioma cultures established at 5% O2 more closely paralleled patient tumors in situ and known immunogenic antigens were more highly expressed. DCs treated with TLs generated from primary tumor cells maintained in 5% O2 took up and presented antigens to CD8 T cells more efficiently. Moreover, CD8 T cells primed in this manner exhibited superior tumoricidal activity against target cells cultured in either atmospheric 20% O2 or physiologic 5% O2. Together, these results establish a simple method to greatly improve the effectiveness of DC vaccines in stimulating the production of tumoricidal T cells, with broad implications for many of the DC-based cancer vaccines being developed for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]