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Background Hypertension and diabetes are two major chronic diseases affecting population health, and need to be controlled through chronic diseases follow-up. However, there is currently insufficient understanding of the impact of different chronic diseases follow-up forms and contents on disease control and healthy behaviors of patients. Objective To explore the impact of the chronic diseases follow-up on health behaviors and blood pressure/glucose control of patients with hypertension and diabetes in the context of treatment-prevention integration. Methods Yiyang County in Henan Province, Xianfeng County in Hubei Province and Yangqu County in Shanxi Province were selected as study sites to collect data from the basic public health information system from 2017-01-01 to 2022-06-30. Patient survey was conducted in July 2022 to collect information on basic public health follow-up receiving, health behaviors and disease control of patients. Finally, 102 769 patients with hypertension and 26 586 patients with diabetes were obtained from the basic public health information system, the data of 1 172 patients with hypertension and 456 patients with diabetes were obtained through patient surveys. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of the standard-reaching frequency of follow-up, follow-up forms and contents on health behaviors and disease control of patients. Results In 2021, the standard-reaching rates of follow-up frequency of patients with hypertension and diabetes were 90.83% (67 709/74 545) and 83.35% (13 390/16 065) , with frequency≥4 times/year as the standard. The follow-up forms included household follow-up〔25.74% (408/1 585) 〕, follow-up at institutional visits〔58.80% (932/1 585) 〕, telephone or network follow-up〔15.46% (245/1 585) 〕. The follow-up contents included blood pressure and blood glucose measurements〔91.15% (1 484/1 628) 〕, lifestyle guidance〔74.14% (1 207/1 628) 〕, disease inquiry〔70.02% (1 140/1 628) 〕, and drug use understanding〔69.29% (1 128/1 628) 〕. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that patients with higher standard-reaching rates of follow-up frequency had higher rates of blood pressure control (OR=1.09, P

Background The free training for rural order-oriented medical students has trained a large number of primary health personnel for the central and western regions of China. By the summer of 2021, the first order-oriented medical graduates had completed their compulsory service and face the choice of staying or leaving. The income is an important influencing factor of their choices, however, there are still few studies on the income of order-oriented medical graduates. Objective The panel data of order-oriented medical graduate cohort study was used to compare and analyze the change trend of the income of order-oriented medical graduates and general clinical graduates in the early career, and to explore the influencing factors of the change of income. Methods Qinghai University, Guangxi Medical University, Jiujiang Medical University and Gannan Medical University were selected to establish the order-oriented medical graduate cohort every year from 2015 to 2019, matching the general clinical graduates of the same grade as controls. The baseline survey was conducted, including basic information and family information. A total of four follow-up surveys were conducted in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020, including the status of standardized resident training (hereinafter referred to as "standardized training") , passing of medical licensing examination, working conditions and other information. Fixed effects model was used to explore the factors influencing the income of order-oriented medical graduates and general clinical graduates, and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to test the stability of the results. Results In the first two years after graduation, the income of order-oriented medical graduates was higher than general clinical graduates, and the difference was statistically significant (P

Purpose: By constructing a prediction model of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) based on ultrasound images, it can automatically and accurately diagnose CTS without measuring the median nerve cross‐sectional area (CSA). Methods: A total of 268 wrists ultrasound images of 101 patients diagnosed with CTS and 76 controls in Ningbo NO.2 Hospital from December 2021 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The radiomics method was used to construct the Logistic model through the steps of feature extraction, feature screening, reduction, and modeling. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was calculated to evaluate the performance of the model, and the diagnostic efficiency of the radiomics model was compared with two radiologists with different experience. Results: The 134 wrists in the CTS group included 65 mild CTS, 42 moderate CTS, and 17 severe CTS. In the CTS group, 28 wrists median nerve CSA were less than the cut‐off value, 17 wrists were missed by Dr. A, 26 wrists by Dr. B, and only 6 wrists were missed by radiomics model. A total of 335 radiomics features were extracted from each MN, of which 10 features were significantly different between compressed and normal nerves, and were used to construct the model. The area under curve (AUC) value, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the radiomics model in the training set and testing set were 0.939, 86.17%, 87.10%, 86.63%, and 0.891, 87.50%, 80.49%, and 83.95%, respectively. The AUC value, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two doctors in the diagnosis of CTS were 0.746, 75.37%, 73.88%, 74.63% and 0.679, 68.66%, 67.16%, and 67.91%, respectively. The radiomics model was superior to the two‐radiologist diagnosis, especially when there was no significant change in CSA. Conclusion: Radiomics based on ultrasound images can quantitatively analyze the subtle changes in the median nerve, and can automatically and accurately diagnose CTS without measuring CSA, especially when there was no significant change in CSA, which was better than radiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The ultrasound diagnosis of mild carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is challenging. Radiomics can identify image information that the human eye cannot recognize. The purpose of our study was to explore the value of ultrasound image‐based radiomics in the diagnosis of mild CTS. Methods: This retrospective study included 126 wrists in the CTS group and 88 wrists in the control group. The radiomics features were extracted from the cross‐sectional ultrasound images at the entrance of median nerve carpal tunnel, and the modeling was based on robust features. Two radiologists with different experiences diagnosed CTS according to two guidelines. The area under receiver (AUC) operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the two radiologists and the radiomics model. Results: According to guideline one, the AUC values of the two radiologists for CTS were 0.72 and 0.67, respectively; according to guideline two, the AUC were 0.73 and 0.68, respectively. The radiomics model achieved the best accuracy when 16 important robust features were selected. The AUC values of training set and test set were 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. Conclusions: The radiomics label based on ultrasound images had excellent diagnostic efficacy for mild CTS. It is expected to help radiologists to identify early CTS patients as soon as possible, especially for inexperienced doctors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been used to accurately diagnose musculoskeletal diseases. However, it is not known whether the particular regions of interest (ROI) delineation method would affect the performance of the AI algorithm. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of ROI delineation methods on model performance and observer consistency. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, ultrasound (US) measures of median nerves affected with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) were compared to median nerves in a control group without CTS. Two methods were used for delineation of the ROI: (1) the ROI along the hyperechoic medial edge of the median nerve but not including the epineurium (MN) (ROI1); and (2) the ROI including the hyperechoic epineurium (ROI2), respectively. The intra group correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to compare the observer consistency of ROI features (i.e. the corresponding radiomics parameters). Parameters α1 and α2 were obtained based on the ICC of ROI1 features and ROI2 features. The ROC analysis was used to determine the area under the curve (AUC) and evaluate the performance of the radiologists and network. In addition, four indices, namely sensitivity, specificity, positive prediction and negative prediction were analyzed too. Results: A total of 136 wrists of 77 CTS group and 136 wrists of 74 control group were included in the study. Control group was matched to CTS group according to the age and sex. The observer consistency of ROI features delineated by the two schemes was different, and the consistency of ROI1 features was higher (α1 ˃ α2). The intra‐observer consistency was higher than the inter‐observer consistency regardless of the scheme, and the intra‐observer consistency was higher when chose scheme one. The performances of models based on the two ROI features were different, although the AUC of each model was greater than 0.8.The model performed better when the MN epineurium was included in the ROI. Among five artificial intelligence algorithms, the Forest models (model1 achieved an AUC of 0.921 in training datasets and 0.830 in testing datasets; model2 achieved an AUC of 0.967 in training datasets and 0.872 in testing datasets.) obtained the highest performance, followed by the support vector machine (SVM) models and the Logistic models. The performances of the models were significantly better than the inexperienced radiologist (Dr. B. Z. achieved an AUC of 0.702). Conclusion: Different ROI delineation methods may affect the performance of the model and the consistency of observers. Model performance was better when the ROI contained the MN epineurium, and observer consistency was higher when the ROI was delineated along the hyperechoic medial border of the MN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of different storage methods and time on content of nutrients in biogas slurry of straw, two storage methods were carried out on biogas slurry between open storage and airtight storage conditions at normal atmospheric temperature. The contents of N, P, K, and organic matter in biogas slurry of straw were determined in different storage times. The results showed that; during the process of biogas slurry storage, little change occurred in the content of the organic matter while the total content of N. P. K significantly declined; up to 50 days, the total content of N. P. K reduced to nearly 80%-90%. Because the contents of N, P. K in biogas slurry reduced less in airtight storage conditions so that a better result was found on airtight storage methods than open storage methods in fertilizer field of biogas slurry of straw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of tuberculosis (TB) care for the whole course and assess factors that affect completing treatment., Design: This is an observational retrospective study using chart abstraction for the whole course of TB care conducted at two underserved provinces in China., Setting: The study was conducted from June 2021 to July 2021. All medical records (outpatient and inpatient) for the whole course (6-8 months) of patients with TB newly registered from July 2020 to December 2020 were reviewed and abstracted using predetermined checklists., Participants: A total of 268 outpatient medical records and 126 inpatient records were included., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: The primary outcome included diagnostic quality, treatment quality and management quality. The secondary outcome was completing treatment., Results: For diagnostic quality, 94.2% of the diagnosis were based on adequate evidence. For treatment quality, 240 (91.6%) outpatients and 100 (85.5%) inpatients took the standard chemotherapy regimens. 234 (87.3%) patients completed treatment. 85.1% of the inpatients prescribed with second-line drugs were inappropriate. For management quality, 128 (47.9%) patients received midterm assessments, but only 47 (19.7%) received sufficient services for the whole course. Patients with TB symptoms were 1.8 times more likely to complete treatment (p=0.011)., Conclusion: Patients with TB received high-quality diagnosis and treatment services, but low-quality whole-course management. Integration of medical and public health services should be strengthened to improve whole-course quality., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: The accurate diagnosis of superficial lymphadenopathy is challenging. We aim to explore a non-invasive and accurate machine-learning method for distinguishing benign lymph nodes, lymphoma, and metastatic lymph nodes., Methods: The clinical data and ultrasound images of 160 patients with superficial lymphadenopathy (58 benign lymph nodes, 62 lymphoma, 40 metastatic lymph nodes) admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to November 2022 were retrospectively studied. Patients were randomly divided into a training set and test set according to the ratio of 6:4. Firstly, the radiomics features of each lymph node were extracted, and then a series of statistical methods were used to avoid over-fitting. Then, the gradient boosting machine(GBM) was used to build the model. The area under receiver(AUC) operating characteristic curve, precision, recall rate and F1 value were calculated to evaluate the effectiveness of the model., Results: Ten robust features were selected to build the model. The AUC values of benign lymph nodes, lymphoma and metastatic lymph nodes in the training set were 1.00, 0.98 and 0.99, and the AUC values of the test set were 0.96, 0.84 and 0.90, respectively., Conclusion: It was a reliable and non-invasive method for the differential diagnosis of lymphadenopathy based on the model constructed by machine learning., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Purpose: To evaluate the value of preoperative ultrasound (US) radiomics nomogram of primary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) for predicting large-number cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM)., Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to collect the clinical and ultrasonic data of primary PTC. 645 patients were randomly divided into training and testing datasets according to the proportion of 7:3. Minimum redundancy-maximum relevance (mRMR) and least absolution shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to select features and establish radiomics signature. Multivariate logistic regression was used to establish a US radiomics nomogram containing radiomics signature and selected clinical characteristics. The efficiency of the nomogram was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve, and the clinical application value was assessed by decision curve analysis (DCA). Testing dataset was used to validate the model., Results: TG level, tumor size, aspect ratio, and radiomics signature were significantly correlated with large-number CLNM (all P< 0.05). The ROC curve and calibration curve of the US radiomics nomogram showed good predictive efficiency. In the training dataset, the AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.935, 0.897, 0.956, and 0.837, respectively, and in the testing dataset, the AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.782, 0.910, 0.533 and 0.943 respectively. DCA showed that the nomogram had some clinical benefits in predicting large-number CLNM., Conclusion: We have developed an easy-to-use and non-invasive US radiomics nomogram for predicting large-number CLNM with PTC, which combines radiomics signature and clinical risk factors. The nomogram has good predictive efficiency and potential clinical application value., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Zhang, Wei, Yang, Liu, Zhang and Lyu.)