A protocol of Chinese expert consensuses for the management of health risk in the general public.

Introduction: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent the leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Robust evidence has demonstrated that modifiable lifestyle factors such as unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity are the primary causes of NCDs. Although a series of guidelines for the management of NCDs have been published in China, these guidelines mainly focus on clinical practice targeting clinicians rather than the general population, and the evidence for NCD prevention based on modifiable lifestyle factors has been disorganized. Therefore, comprehensive and evidence-based guidance for the risk management of major NCDs for the general Chinese population is urgently needed. To achieve this overarching aim, we plan to develop a series of expert consensuses covering 15 major NCDs on health risk management for the general Chinese population. The objectives of these consensuses are (1) to identify and recommend suitable risk assessment methods for the Chinese population; and (2) to make recommendations for the prevention of major NCDs by integrating the current best evidence and experts' opinions. Methods and analysis: For each expert consensus, we will establish a consensus working group comprising 40-50 members. Consensus questions will be formulated by integrating literature reviews, expert opinions, and an online survey. Systematic reviews will be considered as the primary evidence sources. We will conduct new systematic reviews if there are no eligible systematic reviews, the methodological quality is low, or the existing systematic reviews have been published for more than 3 years. We will evaluate the quality of evidence and make recommendations according to the GRADE approach. The consensuses will be reported according to the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT).

Imaging-based assessment of body composition in patients with Crohn's disease: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Body composition changes in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) have received increasing attention in recent years. This review aims to describe the changes in body composition in patients with CD on imaging and to analyze and summarize the prognostic value of body composition. METHODS: We systematically searched Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Medline via OVID for literature published before November 2022, and two researchers independently evaluated the quality of the retrieved literature. RESULTS: A total of 39 publications (32 cohort studies and 7 cross-sectional studies) involving 4219 patients with CD were retrieved. Imaging methods for body composition assessment, including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were included in this review. The study found that patients with CD typically have more visceral adipose tissue and less skeletal muscle mass, and the prevalence of sarcopenia and visceral obesity was significantly different in different studies (sarcopenia: 16-100%; visceral obesity: 5.3-30.5%). Available studies suggest that changes in the body composition of CD patients are significantly related to inflammatory status, disease behavior, poor outcomes, and drug efficacy. CONCLUSION: Altered body composition can be a significant predictor of poor outcomes for CD patients. Therefore, the body composition of CD patients may serve as a potential therapeutic target to help optimize disease management strategies in clinical practice.

Assessment of Combined Karyotype Analysis and Chromosome Microarray Analysis in Prenatal Diagnosis: A Cohort Study of 3710 Pregnancies.

Objective: The current study aimed to compare the characteristics of chromosome abnormalities detected by conventional G-banding karyotyping, chromosome microarray analysis (CMA), or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)/CNVplex analysis and further explore the application value of combined karyotype analysis and CMA in prenatal diagnosis with a larger sample size. Methods: From March 2019 to March 2021, 3710 amniocentesis samples were retrospectively collected from women who accepted prenatal diagnosis at 16 to 22 + 6 weeks of pregnancy. The pregnant women underwent karyotype analysis and CMA. In the case of fetal chromosomal mosaicism, FISH or CNVplex analysis was utilized for validation. Results: In total, 3710 G-banding karyotype results and CMA results from invasive prenatal diagnosis were collected. Of these, 201 (5.41%) fetuses with an abnormal karyotype were observed. The CMA analysis showed that the abnormality rate was 9.14% (340/3710). The detection rate of CMA combined with karyotype analysis was 0.35% higher than that of CMA alone and 4.08% higher than that of karyotyping alone. Additionally, 12 cases had abnormal karyotype analysis, despite normal CMA results. To further detect the chromosome mosaicism, we used FISH analysis to correct the karyotype results of case 1. Correspondingly, a total of 157 cases showed abnormal CMA results but normal karyotype analysis. We also found chromosomal mosaicism in 4 cases using CMA. Moreover, CNVplex and CMA demonstrated that representative case 15 was mosaicism for trisomy 2. Conclusions: Conventional G-banding karyotyping and CMA have their own advantages and limitations. A combination of karyotype analysis and CMA can increase the detection rate of chromosome abnormalities and make up for the limitation of signal detection.

A cross-cultural comparison of psychology of working theory among U.S. and Korean college students.

The cross-cultural validity of a modified version of psychology of working theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016) was tested in samples of United States (n = 346) and Korean (n = 319) undergraduates. Participants completed measures of economic resources, work volition, career adaptability, occupational engagement, and future decent work perceptions. The results illustrated measurement invariance between the two samples. Thus, the hypothesized models were tested separately in the two samples and the results were compared regarding parameter significance, direction, and magnitude. Overall, the modified model generally fit well with both samples. However, there were notable cross-cultural differences: economic resources significantly predicted work volition, occupational engagement, and future decent work perceptions only in the United States sample and the future decent work perceptions and occupational engagement were negatively associated in the Korean sample. Explanations about the cross-cultural differences and invariances were provided and practical and research implications were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Preoperative assessment of stapes implantations of the vibrant SoundBridge for congenital aural atresia patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to retrospectively analyze the imaging characteristics of patients with congenital aural atresia who underwent Vibrant Soundbridge implantation, and to investigate the importance of preoperative evaluation of vibroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 16 patients with bilateral congenital aural atresia aged 6-25 years (mean age, 14.7 years). All patients underwent Vibrant Soundbridge implantations. RESULTS: Among the 16 patients, 15 successfully underwent stapes implantation. The average height of the stapes of these 15 patients was 2.93 mm, which was significantly different from that of the control group with normal hearing (p ≤ .001). The average distance between the tympanic segment of the facial nerve and the stapes was 1.41 mm in patients in whom the oval window was occluded by the displaced facial nerve. In the non-occluded group, the average distance was 2.00 mm. No significant difference was observed between the two groups (p = .08). CONCLUSION: The distance between the facial nerve and stapes, as well as the height of the stapes, could be important predictors of successful stapes implantation of Vibrant Soundbridge.

Assessing the tissue-imaging performance of confocal microscope architectures via Monte Carlo simulations.

Various confocal microscope architectures have been developed for in vivo tissue imaging, including single-axis confocal (SAC) and dual-axis confocal (DAC) configurations utilizing both point-scanning (PS) and line-scanning (LS) approaches. While it is known that these design variations lead to tradeoffs in imaging performance, a quantitative comparison of the imaging performance of these configurations in highly turbid media would be of value. Here, we perform Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the optical-sectioning capability of these various confocal microscope architectures in reflectance mode. In particular, we investigate the axial and transverse responses of these configurations to reflective targets at various depths within a homogenous scattering medium. We find that the DAC-PS configuration results in superior rejection of multiply scattered background light compared to all other configurations, followed in performance by the SAC-PS, the DAC-LS, and then the SAC-LS. Line scanning with both the DAC and SAC configurations leads to photon crosstalk between pixels. However, at shallow depths, the axial and transverse resolution of all configurations is maintained in a homogeneous scattering medium.

Water management challenges in the context of agricultural intensification and endemic fluorosis: the case of Yuanmou County.

Yuanmou County in Yunnan Province, China is situated in a dry hot valley where annual evaporation is almost six times the annual rainfall and thus the county suffers from chronic water shortages. Since the early 1980s the county has taken advantage of local warm climate and focused its economic development strategy on commercial vegetable plantations. This strategy successfully brings high income to the local government and farmers, but increases water consumption and adds an extra stressor to the already diminished water resources. Yuanmou County is one of the endemic fluorosis hotspots in China where both dental and skeletal fluorosis cases have been found among local villagers that were diagnosed as being water-borne. Despite measures to adapt to water shortages and control fluorosis taken by the local government and communities, new challenges are emerging. Herein, we describe the water management challenges facing the county as well as document the coping strategies adopted by the government and communities, analyze remaining and emerging challenges, and suggest an ecohealth framework for better management of water resources in Yuanmou.