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Oscillometry is an emerging pulmonary function testing tool that is conducted during tidal breaths with minimal patient effort. It is highly sensitive to changes in lung mechanics. Oscillometry was recently shown to be highly associated with disease severity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The usefulness of oscillometry after single lung transplant in IPF patients is not well understood. Our study demonstrated that oscillometry can detect changes in the graft despite presence of a native fibrotic lung to provide useful information to complement spirometry.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate inpatient services in 49 tertiary comprehensive hospitals using indicators from the diagnosis related groups (DRG) payment system.MethodDRG data from 49 tertiary comprehensive hospitals were obtained from the quality monitoring platform for provincial hospitals, and relevant indicators were identified. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to compute the weight of each indicator. The rank sum ratio method was used to calculate the weight rank sum ratio (WRSR) value and the corresponding probit value of each hospital. The hospitals were divided into four grades based on the threshold value: excellent, good, fair, and poor.ResultsEight indicators of the 49 hospitals were scored, and the hospital rankings of indicators varied. The No. 1 hospital ranked first in the indicators of “total number of DRG”, “number of groups”, and “proportion of relative weights (RW) ≥ 2”. The WRSR value of the No.1 hospital was the largest (0.574), and the WRSR value of the No. 44 hospital was the smallest (0.139). The linear regression equation was established: WRSRpredicted =-0.141+0.088*Probit, and the regression model was well-fitted (F = 2066.672, p < 0.001). The cut-off values of the three WRSRspredicted by the four levels were 0.167, 0.299, and 0.431, respectively. The 49 hospitals were divided into four groups: excellent (4), good (21), average (21), and poor (3). There were significant differences in the average WRSR values of four categories of hospitals (p < 0.05).ConclusionThere were notable variances in the levels of inpatient services among 49 tertiary comprehensive hospitals, and hospitals of the same category also showed different service levels. The evaluation results contribute to the health administrative department and the hospital to optimize the allocation of resources, improve the DRG payment system, and enhance the quality and efficiency of inpatient services.

Abstract Angiogenesis inhibitors (AIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are new treatment options for advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of AIs plus ICIs in patients with advanced STS. A retrospective cohort study was performed on STS patients treated with AIs and ICIs at Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute between August 2020 and December 2021. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), and adverse events. Thirty-three patients were enrolled; 27 were evaluable for objective response. The ORR and DCR were 48.1% (95% CI 30.7–66.0%) and 85.2% (95% CI 67.5–94.1%). With a median follow-up of 7.6 months (range, 0.8–25.5), the median PFS for all 33 patients was 8.90 months (95% CI 5.98–11.82). The median OS was not reached. The most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade were hypertension (50.0%), ECG T-wave abnormality (30.0%), hypothyroidism (26.7%), elevated alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase (23.3%), elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (23.3%), and fatigue (16.7%). The most common grade 3–4 TRAE was hypertension (27.3%). Three serious TRAEs (two myocarditis and one rapid atrial fibrillation) were recorded. This study suggests that adding AIs to ICIs is beneficial in STS.

Abstract Using a symmetry-preserving regularisation of a vector $$\times $$ × vector contact interaction (SCI), we complete a systematic treatment of twelve semileptonic transitions with vector meson final states: $$D\rightarrow \rho $$ D → ρ , $$D_{(s)}\rightarrow K^*$$ D ( s ) → K ∗ , $$D_s\rightarrow \phi $$ D s → ϕ , $$B\rightarrow \rho $$ B → ρ , $$B_s\rightarrow K^*$$ B s → K ∗ , $$B_{(s)}\rightarrow D_{(s)}^*$$ B ( s ) → D ( s ) ∗ , $$B_c \rightarrow B_{(s)}^*, J/\psi , D^*$$ B c → B ( s ) ∗ , J / ψ , D ∗ ; and thereby finalise a unified analysis of semileptonic decays of heavy + heavy and heavy + light pseudoscalar mesons to both pseudoscalar and vector meson final states. The analysis is marked by algebraic simplicity, few parameters, and the ability to consistently describe systems from Nambu-Goldstone modes to heavy + heavy mesons. Regarding the behaviour of the transition form factors, the SCI results compare well wherever sound experimental or independent theory analyses are available; hence, the SCI branching fraction predictions should be a reasonable guide. Considering the ratios $$R(D_{(s)}^{(*)})$$ R ( D ( s ) ( ∗ ) ) , $$R(J/\psi )$$ R ( J / ψ ) , $$R(\eta _c)$$ R ( η c ) , whose values are key tests of lepton universality in weak interactions, the SCI values agree with Standard Model predictions. The $$B_{(s)}\rightarrow D_{(s)}^*$$ B ( s ) → D ( s ) ∗ transitions are used to predict the precursor functions that evolve into the universal Isgur–Wise function in the heavy-quark limit, with results that conform with those from other sources where such are available. The study also exposes effects on the transition form factors that flow from interference between emergent hadron mass from the strong interaction and Higgs boson couplings via current-quark masses, including flavour symmetry violation.

Abstract The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been identified as a reliable alternative biomarker of insulin resistance (IR). Recently, a considerable number of studies have provided robust statistical evidence suggesting that the TyG index is associated with the development and prognosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nevertheless, the application of the TyG index as a marker of CVD has not systemically been evaluated, and even less information exists regarding the underlying mechanisms associated with CVD. To this end, in this review, we summarize the history of the use of the TyG index as a surrogate marker for IR. We aimed to highlight the application value of the TyG index for a variety of CVD types and to explore the potential limitations of using this index as a predictor for cardiovascular events to improve its application value for CVD and provide more extensive and precise supporting evidence.

BackgroundThe disruption of intestinal barrier functions and the dysregulation of mucosal immune responses, mediated by aberrant purinergic metabolism, are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A novel mesenchymal-like endometrial regenerative cells (ERCs) has demonstrated a significant therapeutic effect on colitis. As a phenotypic marker of ERCs, CD73 has been largely neglected for its immunosuppressive function in regulating purinergic metabolism. Here, we have investigated whether CD73 expression on ERCs is a potential molecular exerting its therapeutic effect against colitis.MethodsERCs either unmodified or with CD73 knockout (CD73-/-ERCs), were intraperitoneally administered to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mice. Histopathological analysis, colon barrier function, the proportion of T cells, and maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) were investigated. The immunomodulatory effect of CD73-expressing ERCs was evaluated by co-culture with bone marrow-derived DCs under LPS stimulation. FACS determined DCs maturation. The function of DCs was detected by ELISA and CD4+ cell proliferation assays. Furthermore, the role of the STAT3 pathway in CD73-expressing ERCs-induced DC inhibition was also elucidated.ResultsCompared with untreated and CD73-/-ERCs-treated groups, CD73-expressing ERCs effectively attenuated body weight loss, bloody stool, shortening of colon length, and pathological damage characterized by epithelial hyperplasia, goblet cell depletion, the focal loss of crypts and ulceration, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Knockout of CD73 impaired ERCs-mediated colon protection. Surprisingly, CD73-expressing ERCs significantly decreased the populations of Th1 and Th17 cells but increased the proportions of Tregs in mouse mesenteric lymph nodes. Furthermore, CD73-expressing ERCs markedly reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) and increased anti-inflammatory factors (IL-10) levels in the colon. CD73-expressing ERCs inhibited the antigen presentation and stimulatory function of DCs associated with the STAT-3 pathway, which exerted a potent therapeutic effect against colitis.ConclusionsThe knockout of CD73 dramatically abrogates the therapeutic ability of ERCs for intestinal barrier dysfunctions and the dysregulation of mucosal immune responses. This study highlights the significance of CD73 mediates purinergic metabolism contributing to the therapeutic effects of human ERCs against colitis in mice.

Addressing the formidable challenges in spatial infrared dim target detection, this paper introduces an advanced detection approach based on the refinement of the YOLOv8 algorithm. In contrast to the conventional YOLOv8, our method achieves remarkable improvements in detection accuracy through several novel strategies. Notably, by incorporating a deformable convolutional module into the YOLOv8 backbone network, our method effectively captures more intricate image features, laying a solid foundation for subsequent feature fusion and detection head predictions. Furthermore, a dedicated small target detection layer, built upon the original model, significantly enhances the model's capability in recognizing infrared small targets, thereby boosting overall detection performance. Additionally, we utilize the WIoU-v3 as the localization regression loss function, effectively reducing sensitivity to positional errors and leveraging the advantages of multi-attention mechanisms. To enrich the quantity and quality of the spatial infrared dim target dataset, we employ image enhancement techniques to augment the original dataset. Extensive experiments demonstrate the exceptional performance of our method. Specifically, our approach achieves a precision of 95.6%, a recall rate of 94.7%, and a mean average precision (mAP) exceeding 97.4%, representing substantial improvements over the traditional YOLOv8 algorithm. Moreover, our detection speed reaches 59 frames/s, satisfying the requirements for real-time detection. This achievement not only validates the efficacy and superiority of our algorithm in spatial infrared dim target detection, but also offers novel insights and methodologies for research and applications in related fields, holding immense potential for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A symmetry-preserving regularisation of a vector $$\times $$ × vector contact interaction (SCI) is used to deliver a unified treatment of semileptonic transitions involving $$\pi $$ π , K, $$D_{(s)}$$ D ( s ) , $$B_{(s,c)}$$ B ( s , c ) initial states. The framework is characterised by algebraic simplicity, few parameters, and the ability to simultaneously treat systems from Nambu–Goldstone modes to heavy+heavy mesons. Although the SCI form factors are typically somewhat stiff, the results are comparable with experiment and rigorous theory results. Hence, predictions for the five unmeasured $$B_{s,c}$$ B s , c branching fractions should be a reasonable guide. The analysis provides insights into the effects of Higgs boson couplings via current-quark masses on the transition form factors; and results on $$B_{(s)}\rightarrow D_{(s)}$$ B ( s ) → D ( s ) transitions yield a prediction for the Isgur–Wise function in fair agreement with contemporary data.

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) always runs in the forefront of the global burden when it comes to infectious diseases. Tuberculosis, which can lead to impairment of quality of life, financial hardship, discrimination, marginalization, and social barriers, is a major public health problem. The assessment of TB burden and trend can provide crucial information for policy decision and planning, and help countries in the world to achieve the goal of sustainable development of ending the epidemic of TB in 2030.MethodsAll data are from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 (GBD 2019) database, which analyzed the burden trend of age-standardized incidence, DALYs, and deaths rate in TB and HIV/AIDS-infected TB over the past 30 years. Also, GBD 2019 not only analyzed the burden distribution of TB in 204 countries and main regions of the world but also analyzed the relationship between the burden of global TB and the socio–demographic Index (SDI).ResultsThe age-standardized incidence, age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and age-standardized deaths rate for HIV-negative TB were 10,671.45 (9,395.60–12,194.10), 59,042.45 (53,684.78–64,641.53), and 1,463.62 (1,339.24–1,602.71) (95% CI, per 100,000 person-years) in 2019, respectively. Age-standardized incidence, age-standardized DALYs, and age-standardized deaths rate of HIV/AIDS-XDR-TB (95% CI, per 1,000 person-years) were 2.10 (1.51–2.90), 64.23 (28.64–117.74), and 1.01 (0.42–1.86), respectively. We found that TB is inversely proportional to SDI, the age-standardized incidence, DALYs, and deaths rate low burden countries were in high SDI areas, while high burden countries were in low SDI areas. The global TB showed a slow decline trend, but the age-standardized incidence of HIV-positive TB was increasing, and mainly distributed in sub-Saharan Africa.ConclusionAge-standardized incidence, age-standardized DALYs, and age-standardized deaths rate of TB is related to SDI, and the burden of low SDI countries is lighter than that of high SDI countries. Without effective measures, it will be difficult for countries around the world to achieve the goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030. Effective control of the spread of TB requires concerted efforts from all countries in the world, especially in the countries with low SDI, which need to improve the diagnosis and preventive measures of TB and improve the control of HIV/AIDS-TB.

As a necessary supplement to social medical insurance, commercial health insurance is an important part of the Healthy China strategy. This study, based on the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data in 2017, uses the probit model to analyze and study the internal relationship between Internet use and commercial health insurance purchase of urban and rural residents. The research results show that the use of the Internet significantly promoted commercial health insurance purchases of residents, and the promotion effect for rural residents is apparently better than that among urban residents. In addition, the social level of residents is improved through the use of Internet, which can promote commercial health insurance purchases. It provides a significant reference value for the effective integration of Internet use and commercial health insurance, and the high-quality development of the modern insurance industry.

We systematically study the constructions of unextendible entangled bases with a fixed Schmidt number k (UEBk) in a bipartite system Cd⊗Cd′. Motivated by the methods of [J. Phys. A 52 : 375,303, 2019], we construct (dd’ − v)-member UEBks in Cd⊗Cd′ by using generalized weighing matrices and thus generalize the results of [arXiv: 1909.10043, 2020]. We also present the corresponding expressions of our constructions and graphically illustrate UEB3s in C5⊗C6 and C6⊗C6.

BackgroundThe latest incidence and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of major bacterial skin diseases (BSD) and their relationship with socioeconomic are not readily available.ObjectiveDescribe the global age-standardized incidence and DALYs rates of BSD and analyze their relationship with socioeconomic.MethodsAll data were obtained from Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 database. The correlation between BSD and socioeconomic development status was analyzed.ResultsThe age-standardized incidence and age-standardized DALYs rate of BSD are: 169.72 million [165.28–175.44] and 0.41 million [0.33–0.48]. Of the two main BSD, pyoderma cause significantly much heavier burden than cellulitis. The change of age-standardized incidence (7.38% [7.06–7.67]) and DALYs (−10.27% [−25.65 to 25.45]) rate of BSD presented an upward or downward trend from 1990 to 2019. The highest burden was in the low-middle sociodemographic index (SDI) area while the area with the lowest burden was recorded in the high-middle SDI area in 2019.LimitationsGBD 2019 data of BSD are derived from estimation and mathematical modeling.ConclusionThe burden of BSD is related to socioeconomic development status. The results based on GBD2019 data may benefit policymakers in guiding priority-setting decisions for the global burden of BSD.

Mitochondria are the key organelles that supply cellular energy. As the most active organ in the body, the energy required to maintain the mechanical function of the heart requires a high quantity of high-quality mitochondria in cardiomyocytes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded noncoding RNAs, approximately 22 nt in length, which play key roles in mediating post-transcriptional gene silencing. Numerous studies have confirmed that miRNAs can participate in the occurrence and development of cardiac diseases by regulating mitochondrial function-related genes and signaling pathways. Therefore, elucidating the crosstalk that occurs between miRNAs and mitochondria is important for the prevention and treatment of cardiac diseases. In this review, we discuss the biogenesis of miRNAs, the miRNA-mediated regulation of major genes involved in the maintenance of mitochondrial function, and the effects of miRNAs on mitochondrial function in cardiac diseases in order to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of cardiac disease and the development of new drugs.

Objective: Mitochondrial 13513G>A mutation presenting as isolated Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) without any extraocular pathology has not been reported in literature. We herein evaluate the clinical characteristics and heteroplasmy of m.13513G>A mutation manifesting as isolated LHON.Methods: Seven members of a Chinese family were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent detailed systemic and ophthalmic examinations. Mitochondrial DNA in their blood was assessed by targeted PCR amplifications, next generation sequencing (NGS), and pyrosequencing. One hundred of blood samples from ethnic-matched healthy volunteers were tested by NGS and pyrosequencing as normal controls.Results: Isolated LHON without any other ocular or extraocular pathology was identified in a 16 year old patient in this family. Heteroplasmic m.13513G>A mutation was detected by NGS of the full mtDNA genome in the patient with mutant load of 33.56%, and of 26% 3 months and 3 years after the onset of LHON, respectively. No m.13513G>A mutation was detected in all his relatives by NGS. Pyrosequencing revealed the mutant load of m.13513G>A mutation of the LHON patient, his mother, father and sister were 22.4, 1.9, 0, and 0%, respectively. None of 100 healthy control subjects was detected to harbor m.13513G>A mutation either by NGS or by pyrosequencing of the full mt DNA genome.Conclusions: We first report m.13513G>A mutation with low mutant load presenting as isolated LHON. NGS of the full mitochondrial DNA genome is highly recommended for LHON suspects when targeted PCR amplification for main primary point mutations of LHON was negative.

RNA regulatory elements (RREs) are important post-transcriptional control features but studying them requires disrupting their activity without disturbing cellular homeostasis. Here the authors present GenERA, a CRISPR-Cas9 screening platform of in situ analysis of native RREs.