Research status and prospect of immunotherapy in gastrointestinal stromal tumors / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) significantly reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis and prolong survival in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), but drug resistance is often inevitable. Immunotherapy has been proven effective in multiple solid tumors, but the efficacy in GIST is unclear. The efficacy of immunotherapy depends on the tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune checkpoints are important components of TME, which not only participate in the regulation of tumor immune response but are also the key target of immunotherapy. A comprehensive analysis of them can clarify the mechanism of tumor immune escape. This review found that there are abundant tumor-infiltrating immune cells in GIST, which play an important role in tumor immune surveillance and escape. Although early clinical studies have shown that patients with GIST have a good tolerance to immunotherapy, the curative effect is not satisfactory. Therefore, how to select the responders of immunotherapy and coordinate the relationship between immunotherapy and TKIs is the key issue to be explored. At the same time, the gradual deepening of basic research and large sample prospective clinical trials will certainly provide more strategies for the application of immunotherapy in GIST.

Cognition and reflection on the "lateral ligament of rectum" / 中华胃肠外科杂志

As total mesorectal excision (TME) for rectal cancer is widely carried out in China, lateral ligament of rectum, as an important anatomical structure of the lateral rectum with certain anatomical value and clinical significance, has been the focus of attention. In this paper, by comparing and analyzing the characteristics about ligaments of the abdomen and pelvis, reviewing the membrane anatomy and the theory of primitive gut rotation, and combining clinical observations and histological studies, the author came to a conclusion that lateral ligament of rectum does not exist, but is only a relatively dense space on the rectal side accompanied by numerous tiny nerve plexuses and small blood vessels penetrating through it.

Progress in intestinal adaptation after enterectomy / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Intestinal adaptation is a spontaneous compensation of the remanent bowel after extensive enterectomy, which improves the absorption capacity of the remanent bowel to energy, fluid and other nutrients. Intestinal adaptation mainly occurs within 2 years after enterectomy, including morphological changes, hyperfunction and hyperphagia. Intestinal adaptation is the key factor for patients with short bowel syndrome to weaning off parenteral nutrition dependence and mainly influenced by length of remanent bowel, type of surgery and colon continuity. In addition, multiple factors including enteral feeding, glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2), growth hormone, gut microbiota and its metabolites regulate intestinal adaptation via multi-biological pathways, such as proliferation and differentiation of stem cell, apoptosis, angiogenesis, nutrients transport related protein expression, gut endocrine etc. Phase III clinical trials have verified the safety and efficacy of teduglutide (long-acting GLP-2) and somatropin (recombinant human growth hormone) in improving intestinal adaptation, and both have been approved for clinical use. We aim to review the current knowledge about characteristics, mechanism, evaluation methods, key factors, clinical strategies of intestinal adaptation.

Mutational analysis of ATP7B gene of hepatolenticular degeneration in Xinjiang region / 中华肝脏病杂志

To understand the mutational characteristics of ATP7B gene of hepatolenticular degeneration in Xinjiang region. 24 cases were diagnosed as hepatolenticular degeneration and the exon of ATP7B gene was detected in some of their siblings and parents. A total of 45 ATP7B gene mutations (93.75%) were detected in 24 cases, of which 14 cases were homozygous mutations or compound heterozygous mutations, six cases were heterozygous mutations and four cases were no mutations. A total of 24 gene mutations and 14 SNPS were detected, including 8 new mutations: c.251C > A, c.121A > c, c.2945C > A, c.2194C > T, c.2947T > c, c.3626T > A, c.3662_3664del, c.3557G > T. The most common mutations were c.2621C > T (p.A874V) [16.7% (4/24)] and c.2333G > T (p.R778L) [12.5% ​​(3/24)]. A total of 4 cases were diagnosed as pre-symptomatic. In this study, the most common mutation in the ATP7B gene is A874V. The most common genetic mutations in Han and Uyghur patients were different. The most common mutation in Han and Uyghur patients is R778L and A874V. Exon 11 is the gene mutations hot spot for patients with hepatolenticular degeneration in Xinjiang region, and is one of the priority exons to be detected when screening patients with suspected hepatolenticular degeneration.

Introduction on 'assessing the risk of bias of individual studies' in systematic review of health-care intervention programs revised by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper summarizes the Risk of Bias of Individual Studies in Systematic Reviews of Health Care Interventions revised by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and introduces how to use Revman software make risk of bias graph or risk of bias summary. AHRQ tool can be used to evaluate following study designs: RCTs, cohort study, case-control study (including nested case-control), case series study and cross-sectional study. The tool evaluates the risk of bias of individual studies from selection bias, performance bias, attrition bias, detection bias and reporting bias. Each of the bias domains contains different items, and each item is available for the assessment of one or more study designs. It is worth noting that the appropriate items should be selected for evaluation different study designs instead of using all items to directly assess the risk of bias. AHRQ tool can be used to evaluate risk of bias individual studies when systematic reviews of health care interventions is including different study designs. Moreover, the tool items are relatively easy to understand and the assessment process is not complicated. AHRQ recommends the use of high, medium and low risk classification methods to assess the overall risk of bias of individual studies. However, AHRQ gives no recommendations on how to determine the overall bias grade. It is expected that future research will give corresponding recommendations.

National experts consensus on clinical diagnosis and treatment of inhalation injury (2018 version) / 中华烧伤杂志

Inhalation injury is caused by inhalation of heat, toxic or irritating gases which lead to respiratory and pulmonary parenchyma damage. At present, the clinical understanding about it is still limited and lack of effective diagnosis and treatment standard. Based on the experience of diagnosis and treatment of domestic inhalation injury, combined with reports of international researches, criteria (expert consensus) for inhalation injury were systematically discussed from pathological and pathophysiological changes, clinical diagnosis and evaluation, and clinical treatment, which provides reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients inflicted with inhalation injury.

Risk related to bias assessment: (4) Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for cluster-randomized control trials (RoB2.0) / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper introduced the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool RoB2.0 for cluster-randomized control trials (CRCT) and compared RoB2.0 of CRCT with individually randomized, parallel group trials, and illustrated the application of RoB2.0 for CRCT in a published CRCT. Special signal questions were designed for CRCT according to its specialty that different from individually randomized, parallel group trials in RoB2.0 and also providing information on risk of bias about CRCT in systematic reviews for the synthesis of evidence.

Prevalence of hyperuricemia in the elderly in 7 areas of China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia (HUA) in the elderly in China. Methods: A randomized stratified cluster sampling survey was conducted. And 5 376 residents aged ≥60 year in 7 Beijing, Xi'an and Harbin in northern China and Chengdu, Chongqing, Changsha and Shanghai in southern China were surveyed. A unified questionnaire was used to collect their basic information, and blood samples were taken from them to detect the level of plasma uric acid (UA). The differences in hyperuricemia prevalence among different groups were compared with χ(2) test. Results: The mean concentration of plasma UA was 302.8 μmol/L in the elderly surveyed, 329.5 μmol/L in males and 282.7 μmol/L in females, 272.4 μmol/L in rural residents and 315.5 μmol/L in urban residents. Our study showed the prevalence of hyperuricemia was 13.1% in the elderly surveyed. The prevalence of hyperuricemia in women (14.1%) was higher than that in men (12.0%) (P<0.05); and the prevalence of hyperuricemia was higher in urban residents (15.8%) than in rural residents (6.9%) (P<0.01); in southern area (16.0%) than in northern area (11.6%) (P<0.01). Both the plasma UA level and the prevalence of hyperuricemia increased with age in those aged ≥60 years. The average prevalence of hyperuricemia were 9.5%, 11.9%, 14.5%, 16.4% and 21.9% and the plasma UA levels were 287.7, 295.9, 308.1, 311.6 and 323.3 μmol/L respectively in age group ≥60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 years (P<0.01). Conclusion: The result showed that mean concentration of plasma UA was 302.8 μmol/L and the overall prevalence of hyperuricemia was 13.1% in the elderly surveyed in China. The prevalence of hyperuricemia in females was higher than in males, in urban residents than in rural residents and in southern area than in northern area. Both the UA level and prevalence of hyperuricemia increased with age.

Series of risk of bias assessment (5): Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I) / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper summaries the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I), a tool for evaluating risk of bias about Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions (NRSI), and introduces the application of ROBINS-I in a published NRSI. According to the characteristics of NRSI, evaluation field and signaling question were designed in ROBINS-I to provide essential information about risk of bias for NRSI included in systematic reviews. ROBINS-I is the tool in assessment of risk of bias in observational studies and quasi-randomised studies. Although the tool has been used in practice to some extent, but it still needs further improvement. Attention should be paid to its update and progress.

Risk on bias assessment: (6) A Revised Tool for the Quality Assessment on Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper introduced the Revised Tool for the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2), including the development and comparison with the original QUADAS, and illustrated the application of QUADAS-2 in a published paper related to the study on diagnostic accuracy which was included in systematic review and Meta-analysis. QUADAS-2 presented considerable improvement over the original tool. Confused items that included in QUADAS had disappeared and the quality assessment of the original study replaced by the rating of risk on bias and applicability. This was implemented through the description on the four main domains with minimal overlapping and answering the signal questions in each domain. The risk of bias and applicability with 'high','low' or 'unclear' was in line with the risk of bias assessment of intervention studies in Cochrane, so to replace the total score of quality assessment in QUADAS. Meanwhile, QUADAS-2 was also applicable to assess the diagnostic accuracy studies in which follow-up without prognosis was involved in golden standard. It was useful to assess the overall methodological quality of the study despite more time consuming than the original QUADAS. However, QUADAS-2 needs to be modified to apply in comparative studies on diagnostic accuracy and we hope the users would follow the updates and give their feedbacks on line.

Dairy product intake and influencing factors in residents of Shanghai / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To understand the dairy product intake in residents of Shanghai, its seasonal changes and the influencing factors. Methods: A group of representative residents was surveyed and followed up in four seasons in Shanghai during 2012-2014. Information of the dairy product intake was collected by food frequency questionnaire. Results: Liquid milk and yogurt were the main dairy products consumed by the residents of Shanghai. The annual dairy product intake rate was 41.8%, and the median of dairy intake of milk was 145.3 g/d, accounting for 48.4% of reference dietary intake value, and only 4.5% of people's diary product intake reached intake reference value. The area specific differences in intake rate of liquid milk, yogurt and total dairy product intake were significant in four seasons and in whole year (P<0.05). The area specific differences in total dairy product intake were significant (P<0.05) in spring, summer and winter. In general, it was shown that dairy product intake in urban area was higher than that in suburban area and in rural area. The data of Shanghai and urban area showed that the total dairy product intake was significant different among four seasons (P<0.05), but no significant difference was observed among four seasons in suburban and rural areas. The logistic regression analysis results showed that people with average household income higher than local average level or higher education levels were more likely to consume dairy products daily. People who reported to have good health status or sleep quality were more likely to drink milk compared to those who have worse health status or sleep quality (P<0.05). Conclusions: Even though dairy product intake rate and volume have been improved in residents in Shanghai, it is still stay at lower level, especially in rural area. To promote consumption of dairy products, it is necessary to control diary product price from macro perspective, and strengthen healthy education about the importance of dairy product intake and guide residents to select suitable dairy products.

Antibiotic use in emergency departments of class Ⅲ general hospitals in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the utilization of antibiotics in emergency departments (EDs) of class Ⅲ general hospitals in China. Methods: Data from a national monitoring network for rational use of drugs was used. The data included prescriptions of EDs from 114 class Ⅲ general hospitals in 30 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) of China. A total of 10 260 595 prescriptions from October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016 were extracted. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification/Defined Daily Dose (DDD) system was used for the classification of antibiotics and calculation of antibiotic use intensity. An auto-regression model was used to analyze the trend over time and seasonal variation of antibiotic use in EDs. Results: The rate of antibiotic prescriptions was 27.82% in EDs, among the antibiotics prescribed, 25.58% were for the combination therapy with 2 or more antibiotic agents, and injectable antibiotic prescriptions accounted for 60.59%. Besides, the number of DDDs per 100 patient visits was 81.84. Broad-spectrum agents were the most commonly used antibiotics, among which the second and third generation cephalosporins, quinolones and macrolides accounted for 23.83%, 21.68%, 19.17% and 7.89% of all prescribed antibiotics, respectively. The use of antibiotics, including prescription frequency and use intensity, in EDs had a slight but significant increase tendency (P<0.05), and the seasonal variation of antibiotic use in EDs was obvious, characterized by the highest frequency and intensity of antibiotic use in winter, the differences were significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The antibiotic prescription rate in EDs of classⅢ general hospitals in China was controlled at a low level, but the proportions of broad-spectrum antibiotics and injectable antibiotics were high, and a significant increase trend in antibiotic use in EDs was found.

Risk of bias assessment: (7) Assessing Bias in Studies of Prognostic Factors / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper introduces the tools related to Quality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) to assess the risk of bias in studies of prognostic factors and the relevant points of assessment and to illustrate the application of QUIPS in published prognostic research. The QUIPS tool identified 6 important areas to consider when evaluating validity and bias in studies of prognostic factors including participation, attrition, measurement on prognostic factors, outcomes, confounding factors, statistical analysis and reporting. It also provided a new method for evaluation on bias in the areas of prognostic research.

Risk of bias assessment: (8) Risk of Bias in Systematic Review (ROBIS) / 中华流行病学杂志

This paper introduces the Risk of Bias in Systematic Review (ROBIS), including: 1) the development of ROBIS, 2) three phases of ROBIS tool judging the overall risk of bias that related to systematic reviews, and 3) illustration on the application of ROBIS in a published systematic review. ROBIS is the first rigorously developed tool which is specifically designed to assess the risk of bias in systematic reviews. ROBIS will help improve the process of risk assessment on bias which appeared in overviews and guidelines.

Risk of bias assessment: (9) Application of the risk of bias assessment results / 中华流行病学杂志

In this last paper of the series about risk of bias assessment, we introduce the application of risk of bias assessment results. Risk of bias assessment is one of the key steps in the assessment of quality of evidence. The risk of bias assessment results could be the "diagnosis" of individual studies, which helps decision making related to the inclusion and exclusion of individual studies, as well as the data analysis in the systematic review process. This paper focuses on how to incorporate risk of bias assessment results in the GRADE assessment for quality of evidence, including the principles and the tips for the application.

National experts consensus on clinical diagnosis and treatment of inhalation injury (2018 version) / 中华烧伤杂志

Inhalation injury is caused by inhalation of heat, toxic or irritating gases which lead to respiratory and pulmonary parenchyma damage. At present, the clinical understanding about it is still limited and lack of effective diagnosis and treatment standard. Based on the experience of diagnosis and treatment of domestic inhalation injury, combined with reports of international researches, criteria (expert consensus) for inhalation injury were systematically discussed from pathological and pathophysiological changes, clinical diagnosis and evaluation, and clinical treatment, which provides reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients inflicted with inhalation injury.

Immune efficacy of OmpH and OmpA DNA vaccines against avian Pasteurella multocida

Avian Pasteurella multocida is an agent of fowl cholera. The protective effect achieved through orthodox vaccines is not ideal. The research on novel vaccines against avian Pasteurella multocida is imperative. In this study, the genes encoding outer membrane protein H and A [OmpH and OmpA] were cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1[+] and the recombinant plasmids, namely DNA vaccines [pOMPH and pOMPA] were obtained. Five groups of chickens [n=20 per group] were intramuscularly injected with the two recombinant plasmids, attenuated live vaccine, control vector pcDNA[3.1[+]] and PBS, respectively. The immune responses and protective efficacy were evaluated after immunization by serological and challenging. A significant increase in serum antibody levels was observed in chickens vaccinated with the attenuated live vaccine and the two DNA vaccines. Additionally, the lymphocyte proliferation [SI values] were higher in chickens immunized with the attenuated live vaccine and the two DNA vaccines than in those vaccinated with pcDNA[3.1[+]] and PBS [P<0.05]. Furthermore, the two DNA vaccines provided partial protection to the vaccinated chickens; however, the protective efficacy was inferior to that provided by the attenuated live vaccine

Dehydration rates and rehydration efficacy of water and sports drink during one hour of moderate intensity exercise in well-trained flatwater kayakers

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of water loss and percentage dehydration experienced during 1 hour of paddling on the kayak ergometer so as to help coaches and athletes tailor a suitable and adequate rehydration regime. Also, rehydration efficacy between water and a well established, commercially available sports drink (Gatorade, Quaker Oats company, USA) was investigated in this cross-over study.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>Ten national flatwater kayakers were monitored in a controlled setting while paddling the kayak ergometer for 1 hour at an intensity sustainable for long distance marathon. They rehydrated themselves ad libitum with provided beverage. Post-void towel-dried body mass was measured before and after the exercise with percentage dehydration calculated. Body core temperature (tympanic temperatures), ratings of perceived exertion and thirst index were monitored every 15 minutes. The amount of fluid consumed, urine output and urine specific gravity were obtained after exercise.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results [mean +/- standard deviation (SD)] showed that kayakers underwent 1.10 +/- 0.52% dehydration while rehydrating with water as compared to 0.72 +/- 0.38% while rehydrating with Gatorade. Also, athletes on water rehydration had higher rating of perceived exertion (RPE) at the 30th and 60th minute mark of the exercise. Overall, athletes undergoing water rehydration lost significantly more body mass (0.70 +/- 0.39 kg) as compared to rehydrating with Gatorade (0.46 +/- 0.27).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Although the hydration efficacy of Gatorade proved superior to that of water, the athletes' hydration habits with either fluids did not provide adequate hydration. It is recommended that specific strategies be developed to address dehydration and rehydration issues of kayakers in Singapore.</p>