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Objectives: This study aims to examine and explain the differences at city level in cumulative COVID-19 cases and time from first to last infection during the first 6 weeks of the epidemic in China. Methods: A quantitative study is conducted in China based on the multisource spatial data of 315 Chinese cities. Firstly, the spatial discrepancy of COVID-19 transmission was examined based on spatial autocorrelation analysis and hot pot analysis. Next, a comprehensive indicator framework was established by including a wide range of factors such as human mobility, geographical features, public health measures, and residents’ awareness. Finally, multivariate regression models using these variables were constructed to identify the determinants of COVID-19 transmission. Results: Significant spatial discrepancy of transmission was proved, and 10 determinants were identified. Conclusions: The transmission consequence (measured by the number of cumulative cases) was mostly correlated with the migration scale from Wuhan, followed by socioeconomic factors. Transmission duration (measured as the time from the first to last case within the city) was mostly determined by total migration scale and lockdown speed, which suggests that timely implementation of public health measures facilitated fast control of transmission. Residents’ attention to COVID-19 was proved to be not only helpful for reducing confirmed cases, but also in favor of rapid transmission control. Altitude produced slight but significant effect on transmission duration. These conclusions are expected to provide decision support for the local governments of China and other jurisdictions.

Objective To observe the clinical significance of miR-135b-5p in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and to conduct a bioinformatics analysis of its predicted target genes. Methods The expression levels of miR-135b-5p in OSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were compared using data from TCGA and GEO databases, and the correlations of miR-135b-5p expression level with clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed. Fresh tissues were collected in the clinic, and the expression of miR-135b-5p was verified by quantitative real-time PCR. The target genes with enriched pathways were analyzed by using bioinformatics methods. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed to screen hub genes. Results The expression levels of miR-135b-5p were significantly upregulated in OSCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001) and had a good diagnostic capability (AUC=0.960, P < 0.001). The expression level of miR-135b-5p was positively correlated with histopathological grading (P=0.011). Enrichment analyses revealed that the target genes of miR-135b-5p were significantly associated with tumor-related signaling pathways, such as the calcium signaling pathway, the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway and the cAMP signaling pathway. Ten core target genes were obtained by screening: DLG2, ANK3, ERBB4, SCN2B, NBEA, GABRB2, ATP2B2, SNTA1, CACNA1D, and SPTBN4. Conclusion miR-135b-5p may act as an oncogene miRNA in OSCC and has the potential value of acting as a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for OSCC.

Background: One in four labors are induced. The process of cervical ripening can be lengthy and pre‐labor hospitalization is required. Outpatient cervical ripening can be an attractive alternative. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of outpatient cervical ripening with a balloon catheter compared with inpatient balloon catheter or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Search Strategy: The PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from their inception to October 15, 2022. Selection Criteria: Randomized controlled trials comparing the outpatient balloon catheter with inpatient balloon catheter or inpatient PGE2 for term cervical ripening. Data Collection and Analysis: Bayesian network meta‐analysis was performed. The primary outcome was the cesarean delivery rate. The secondary outcomes included instrumental delivery, the time from intervention‐to‐birth, oxytocin augmentation, total hospital duration, and maternal/neonatal adverse events. Main Results: Twenty‐nine randomized controlled trials with a total of 6004 participants were identified. No difference in the cesarean delivery rate was revealed among the three interventions. Compared with inpatient balloon catheter, outpatient balloon catheter had shorter total hospital duration (mean difference −8.58, 95% confidence interval −17.02 to −1.10). No differences were revealed in the time from intervention‐to‐birth, instrumental delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, 5‐min Apgar score less than 7, umbilical cord arterial pH less than 7.1, and neonatal intensive care unit admission among the three interventions. Conclusions: Outpatient balloon catheter in low‐risk term pregnancies is an available option that could be considered for cervical ripening. The safety and effectiveness are comparable to inpatient cervical ripening methods. Synopsis: Outpatient balloon catheter had shorter total hospital duration compared with inpatient balloon catheter, and could be considered as an available option for cervical ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: New‐onset diabetes mellitus is a frequent and severe complication arising after liver transplantation (LT). We aimed to identify the risk factors for new‐onset diabetes mellitus after liver transplantation (NODALT) and to develop a risk prediction score system for relevant risks. Methods: We collected and analyzed data from all recipients who underwent liver transplantation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. The OR derived from a multiple logistic regression predicting the presence of NODALT was used to calculate the risk prediction score. The performance of the risk prediction score was externally validated in patients who were from the CLTR (China Liver Transplant Registry) database. Results: A total of 468 patients met the outlined criteria and finished the follow‐up. Overall, NODALT was diagnosed in 115 (24.6%) patients. Age, preoperative impaired fasting glucose (IFG), postoperative fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and the length of hospital stay were significantly associated with the presence of NODALT. The risk prediction score includes age, preoperative IFG, postoperative FPG, and the length of hospital stay. The risk prediction score of the area under the receiver operating curve was 0.785 (95% CI: 0.724–0.846) in the experimental population and 0.782 (95% CI: 0.708–0.856) in the validation population. Conclusions: Age at the time of transplantation, preoperative IFG, postoperative FPG, and length of hospital stay were independent predictive factors of NODALT. The use of a simple risk prediction score can identify the patients who have the highest risk of NODALT and interventions may start early. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of big data is breaking the spatial and time limitations of urban waterlogging scenario description. The scenario data of different dimensions (e.g., administrative levels, sectors, granularities, and time) have become highly integrated. Accordingly, a structural and systematic model is needed to represent waterlogging scenarios for more efficient waterlogging response decision-making. In this article, a full-view urban waterlogging scenario is first defined and described from four dimensions. Next a structured representation of scenario element is given based on knowledge unit method. The full-view scenario model is then constructed by extracting the scenario correlation structures between different dimensions (called scenario nesting), i.e., inheritance nesting, feedback nesting, aggregation nesting, and selection nesting. Finally, a real-world case study in Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, China is evaluated to verify the reasonability of the full-view model. The results show that the proposed model effectively integrates scenario data from different dimensions, which helps generate the complete key scenario information for urban waterlogging decision-making. The full-view scenario model is expected to be applicable for other disasters under big data environment.

Coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) is common in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Although the study of CMVD in modern medicine is ongoing, there is still no effective treatment for it. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has some clinical advantages based on syndrome differentiation and individualized treatment. In this review, we review the clinical significance, pathogenesis, and current treatments of CMVD and systematically summarize the clinical efficacy and potential action mechanisms of TCM for CMVD. In addition, the scientific problems that need to be solved urgently and the research strategy of TCM for CMVD are described. CMVD has great clinical significance, but there are still many gaps in the related research. This review aims to attract the attention of clinicians to CMVD and promote research on CMVD in TCM.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and it has become a public health concern worldwide. In addition to respiratory symptoms, some COVID‑19 patients also show various gastrointestinal symptoms and even consider gastrointestinal symptoms to be the first manifestation. A large amount of evidence has shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection could disrupt the gut microbiota balance, and disorders of the gut microbiota could aggravate the condition of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, maintaining the gut microbiota balance is expected to become a potential new therapeutic target for treating COVID-19. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has significant effects in all stages of the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. It can adjust the gut microbiota and is an ideal intestinal microecological regulator. This review summarizes the advantages and clinical efficacy of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19 and expounds on the relationship between TCM and the gut microbiota, the relationship between COVID-19 and the gut microbiota, the mechanism of gut microbiota disorders induced by SARS-CoV-2, the relationship between cytokine storms and the gut microbiota, and the role and mechanism of TCM in preventing and treating COVID-19 by regulating the gut microbiota to provide new research ideas for TCM in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

We propose a nested semiparametric model to analyze a case‐control study where genuine case status is missing for some individuals. The concept of a noncase is introduced to allow for the imputation of the missing genuine cases. The odds ratio parameter of the genuine cases compared to controls is of interest. The imputation procedure predicts the probability of being a genuine case compared to a noncase semiparametrically in a dimension reduction fashion. This procedure is flexible, and vastly generalizes the existing methods. We establish the root‐n$$ n $$ asymptotic normality of the odds ratio parameter estimator. Our method yields stable odds ratio parameter estimation owing to the application of an efficient semiparametric sufficient dimension reduction estimator. We conduct finite sample numerical simulations to illustrate the performance of our approach, and apply it to a dilated cardiomyopathy study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]