Age-period-cohort analysis of incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life years of esophageal cancer in global, regional and national regions from 1990 to 2019.

OBJECTIVE: In view of the high incidence and mortality of esophageal cancer, the latest statistical data on the disease burden of esophageal cancer can provide strategies for cancer screening, early detection and treatment, and help to rationally allocate health resources. This study provides an analysis of the global disease burden and risk factors of esophageal cancer from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: Using the 2019 Global Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Factor (GBD) data, we present the incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) of esophageal cancer in 21 regions and 204 countries and different sociodemographic index (SDI) regions from 1990 to 2019. The age-period-cohort model was used to estimate the age, period, and cohort trend of esophageal cancer in different SDI regions. The estimated proportion of DALY attributable to each risk factor from 1990 to 2019. RESULTS: From 1990 to 2019, the number of new cases of esophageal cancer, the number of deaths and DALY increased by 67.07%, 55.97% and 42.13%, respectively, but age standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age standardized DALY rate (ASDR) decreased by 19.28%, 25.32% and 88.22%, respectively. Overall, the results of the age-period-cohort model showed that the incidence, mortality, and DALY rates in countries and regions with higher SDI levels showed a downward trend over time and with the passage of time. Conversely, there were no significant changes in incidence and mortality in countries and regions with low SDI levels. In the past 30 years, the incidence and death of esophageal cancer in the world has gradually changed to people over 80 years old, but the population aged 60-79 still accounts for the largest proportion. The global DALY in esophageal cancer is mainly attributable to smoking, followed by alcohol consumption and occupational exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Although ASIR, ASMR and ASDR have decreased significantly, esophageal cancer is still the main factor causing the disease burden worldwide. Public health administrators in low SDI and low-middle SDI countries are high-risk areas for esophageal cancer, and preventive control measures should be implemented to raise awareness, screening, and treatment of esophageal cancer in these areas. Tobacco and alcohol control and reduction of occupational hazards are key steps in reducing the burden of esophageal cancer.

Controllable 3D Flower-Like Ag-CF Electrodes as Flexible Marine Electric Field Sensors with High Stability.

Construction of three-dimensional (3D) flower-like nanostructures with controlled morphologies has emerged as an attractive tool by scientists in the marine electric field sensor research field due to their peculiar structural features. Herein, novel 3D flower-like Ag-CF capacitive composite electrodes have been created by an eco-friendly water-bath strategy via AgNO3 as a sliver source and subsequently compounded with carbon fibers (CFs) pretreated by thermal oxidation. A series of electrode samples with various morphologies obtained by modulating different reaction times and temperatures bring about the dominant formation mechanism of these nanostructures and the influence behavior on the CF electrode in detail. Especially, the 3D flower-like Ag-CF electrode shows a large surface area acquired under the conditions of 80 °C and 15 min, which can provide more electroactive sites in electrochemical analysis and exhibit a maximum areal specific capacitance of 619.75 mF·cm-2 at a scanning speed of 10 mV·s-1. This is mainly due to the synergistic behavior of the unique 3D flower-like morphology and the large specific surface area of CFs. Furthermore, a cylinder-shaped Ag-CF sensor is designed, which delivers a superior potential difference of 33.08 µV, a potential difference drift of 18.62 µV/24 h for 30 days, and a self-noise of 0.92 nV/rt (Hz)@1 Hz. In this work, the intriguing synthesis strategy can be a promising facile approach to manufacture the controllable 3D flower-like Ag-CF electrode for electric field sensor applications.

Femoral neck fracture after femoral head necrosis: a case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Pathological fractures of the femoral neck caused by necrosis of the femoral head are extremely rare. Here, we report a rare case of bilateral femoral head osteonecrosis extending to the femoral neck, with bilateral pathological fractures of the femoral neck occurring within a short period of time. CASE REPORT: A 65-year-old male with a 25-year history of daily consumption of 750 ml of liquor, presented with right hip pain after labor for 1 month. He subsequently sustained a right femoral neck fracture without trauma and underwent a right total hip arthroplasty. Two months later, he suffered a non-traumatic left femoral neck fracture and underwent a left total hip arthroplasty. Histopathological examination revealed osteonecrosis of the femoral head and neck, along with the presence of osteoclasts and granulomatous inflammation. Bone mineral density testing also showed osteoporosis. The bilateral femoral neck fractures were ruled out to be caused by any other pathological factors. DISCUSSION: This is the first report of pathological fractures of the bilateral femoral neck caused by femoral head necrosis. During the literature review process, we found that this case conforms to the histological characteristics of rapidly destructive hip disease and analyzed the etiology of femoral head necrosis and the pathogenesis of femoral neck fractures.

Redox-Responsive Transcription Factor 1 (RRFT1) Is Involved in Extracellular ATP-Regulated Arabidopsis thaliana Seedling Growth.

Extracellular adenosine triphosphate (eATP) is an apoplastic signaling molecule that plays an essential role in the growth and development of plants. Arabidopsis seedlings have been reported to respond to eATP; however, the downstream signaling components are still not well understood. In this study, we report that an ethylene-responsive factor, Redox-Responsive Transcription Factor 1 (RRTF1), is involved in eATP-regulated Arabidopsis thaliana seedling growth. Exogenous adenosine triphosphate inhibited green seedling root growth and induced hypocotyl bending of etiolated seedlings. RRTF1 loss-of-function mutant (rrtf1) seedlings showed decreased responses to eATP, while its complementation or overexpression led to recovered or increased eATP responsiveness. RRTF1 was expressed rapidly after eATP stimulation and then migrated into the nuclei of root tip cells. eATP-induced auxin accumulation in root tip or hypocotyl cells was impaired in rrtf1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput sequencing results indicated that eATP induced some genes related to cell growth and development in wild type but not in rrtf1 cells. These results suggest that RRTF1 may be involved in eATP signaling by regulating functional gene expression and cell metabolism in Arabidopsis seedlings.

Lacidipine attenuates apoptosis via a caspase-3 dependent pathway in human kidney cells.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in hospitalised patients and has a poor prognosis. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies are anticipated. Lacidipine, a novel third-generation dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, has been demonstrated effective for hypertension. However, its potential effect on renal injury remains unknown. In the present study, an in vitro model of renal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury was used to investigate the protective effect and underlying mechanisms of lacidipine on human kidney cell (HKC) apoptosis. METHODS: HKCs were subjected to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion and recovery (0.01 µM AA, depletion for 2 h and recovery for 30 min), with or without lacidipine (1 µM and 10 µM, 24 h), then cell viability and apoptosis were determined using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and Annexin V flow cytometry. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and cytochrome c (cyt c) was examined by western blot. RESULTS: Antimycin A (AA) was found to induce apoptosis of HKCs. The proportion of early apoptosis and activity of caspase-3 peaked at 30 min after ATP depletion and recovery and were attenuated by lacidipine. The expression of cyt c and Bax was decreased, while that of Bcl-2 was increased significantly in lacidipine treated group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that lacidipine protects HKCs against apoptosis induced by ATP depletion and recovery by regulating the caspase-3 pathway.

Nicorandil protects against ischaemia-reperfusion injury in newborn rat kidney.

Ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is the predominant cause of acute kidney injury. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. The current study investigated the effects of nicorandil on ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels and the potential signal transduction pathway(s) in a rat kidney IRI model and in cultured tubular HK-2 cells subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury. The standard procedure for IRI was performed in newborn rat kidneys. Pretreatment with nicorandil (10 mg/kg) 2 h prior to induction of IRI improved renal function, attenuated tubule damage, and prevented apoptosis of tubule cells, infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages, and production of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17 and tumour necrosis factor-α. Ischaemia-reperfusion-induced reduction of KIR6.2 was restored to normal levels by nicorandil. The activation of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt-nuclear factor (NF)-κB axis was detected in this rat kidney IRI model, which was blocked by nicorandil. The renoprotection of nicorandil against IRI was abolished by its inhibitor glibenclamide (1 mg/kg). Similar results were obtained in OGD/R-damaged HK-2 cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrated the specific renoprotective role of nicorandil in the newborn rat IRI kidney by decreasing the production of inflammatory cytokines, and restoring the expression of KIR6.2 potentially through the PI3K-Akt-NF-κB axis.

Surgical site infection in spinal surgery: a bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication in spinal surgery that can significantly affect the patient's prognosis. Despite advances in surgical techniques and infection control measures, SSI remains a considerable concern for healthcare providers and patients alike. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in studies related to SSI in spine surgery, leading to the publication of numerous informative articles. However, the current state and trends of research in the field of spinal SSI remain unclear. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of SSI-related articles in spine surgery to identify research status and trends. Meanwhile, we identify the top 100 most cited articles for further analysis. METHODS: We searched for all articles related to spinal SSI in the Web of Science Core Collection, recording the publication year, country, journal, institution, keywords, and citation frequency for further analysis. In addition, we identified and analyzed the top 100 most cited articles. RESULTS: A total of 307 articles related to spinal SSI were identified. All of these articles were published between 2008 and 2022, with the number of publications showing an increasing trend over the years. The related articles originated from 37 countries, with the USA contributing the most (n = 138). The institution with the highest number of publications and citations was Johns Hopkins University (14 articles; 835 citations). Among the journals, Spine had the highest number of articles (n = 47). The prevention of spinal SSI has been a research hotspot in recent years. Among the top 100 most cited articles, the most common research theme was the risk factors associated with spinal SSI. CONCLUSIONS: In recent years, research related to spinal SSI has attracted the attention of numerous clinicians and scholars. As the first bibliometric analysis of spinal SSI, our study aims to provide pragmatic guidance for clinicians to learn the research status and trends in this field and improve their vigilance toward SSI.

Bibliometric analysis of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: research status, trends, and future directions.

Purpose: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is a classic surgical procedure for posterior lumbar fusion. This study aims to analyze the TLIF field by bibliometric method and comprehensively summarize the research status and trends. Methods: All TLIF-related articles were retrieved from the Web of Science. The data were analyzed using R software and SPSS to calculate corresponding indicators. Visualizations were drawn using VOSviewer and Scimago Graphica, including country, institution, journal, author, and keywords. Results: A total of 919 articles were included. The annual publication volume of TLIF-related articles presented an exponential growth. North America, Europe, and Asia were the main sources of articles, with the USA and China being the main contributors and the USA being the global research center for TLIF. The level of the national economy was an important factor affecting TLIF-related research. The highest number of contributions in this field was made by Kern Singh among authors and by Rush University among institutions. The European Spine Journal was the most influential journal. The research focus has gradually shifted from perfecting the TLIF technique toward emphasizing the patient level. The improvement of minimally invasive techniques and how to improve clinical outcomes as well as accelerate postoperative rehabilitation of patients may be the hot spot of future research. Conclusions: With the advancement of medical technology and the popularization of minimally invasive concepts in recent years, TLIF and its derivative technologies have attracted increasing attention. Patient-centered minimally invasive surgery is a hot research topic in the field of TLIF currently and will continue to be so into the future.

Establishing a nomogram to predict refracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty by logistic regression.

Introduction: Several studies have examined the risk factors for post-percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) refractures and developed many clinical prognostic models. However, no prior research exists using the Random Forest (RF) model, a favored tool for model development, to predict the occurrence of new vertebral compression fractures (NVCFs). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of post-PKP fractures, compare the predictive performance of logistic regression and RF models in forecasting post-PKP fractures, and visualize the logistic regression model. Methods: We collected clinical data from 349 patients who underwent PKP treatment at our institution from January 2018 to December 2021. Lasso regression was employed to select risk factors associated with the occurrence of NVCFs. Subsequently, logistic regression and RF models were established, and their predictive capabilities were compared. Finally, a nomogram was created. Results: The variables selected using Lasso regression, including bone density, cement distribution, vertebral fracture location, preoperative vertebral height, and vertebral height restoration rate, were included in both the logistic regression and RF models. The area under the curves of the logistic regression and RF models were 0.868 and 0.786, respectively, in the training set and 0.786 and 0.599, respectively, in the validation set. Furthermore, the calibration curve of the logistic regression model also outperformed that of the RF model. Conclusion: The logistic regression model provided better predictive capabilities for identifying patients at risk for post-PKP vertebral fractures than the RF model.

A nomogram for predicting the risk of new vertebral compression fracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty.

BACKGROUND: New vertebral compression fractures (NVCFs) are common adverse events in percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP). The present study aimed to investigate the risk factors for NVCFs in patients after PKP and to construct a nomogram for the prediction of the risk of re-fracture. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients after PKP surgery between January 2017 and December 2020. Patients were divided into an NVCF group (n = 225) and a control group (n = 94) based on the presence or absence of NVCFs, respectively, at follow-up within 2 years after surgery. Lasso regression was used to screen for risk factors for re-fracture. Based on the results, a Lasso-logistic regression model was developed, and its prediction performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration, and decision curve analysis. The model was visualized, and a nomogram was constructed. RESULTS: A total of eight potential predictors were obtained from Lasso screening. Advanced age, low body mass index, low bone mineral density, lack of anti-osteoporosis treatment, low preoperative vertebral body height, vertebral body height recovery ≥ 2, cement leakage, and shape D (lack of simultaneous contact of bone cement with the upper and lower plates) were included in the logistic regression model. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram for predicting postoperative NVCF in PKP was developed and validated. This model can be used for rational assessment of the magnitude of the risk of developing NVCFs after PKP, and can help orthopedic surgeons make clinical decisions aimed at reducing the occurrence of NVCFs.

Microvascular changes after conbercept therapy in central retinal vein occlusion analyzed by optical coherence tomography angiography.

AIM: To investigate microvascular changes in eyes with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) complicated by macular edema before and after intravitreal conbercept injection and evaluate correlations between these changes and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retinal thickness. METHODS: Twenty-eight eyes of 28 patients with macular edema caused by CRVO were included in this retrospective study. All patients received a single intravitreal conbercept injection to treat macular edema. BCVA and the results of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) automatic measurements of the vessel density in the superficial (SCP) and deep retinal capillary plexus (DCP), the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, the FAZ perimeter (PERIM), the vessel density within a 300-µm wide ring surrounding the FAZ (FD-300), the acircularity index (AI), the choriocapillaris flow area, and retinal thickness were recorded before and at one month after treatment and compared with the results observed in age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. RESULTS: The vessel density in the SCP and DCP, the FD-300, and the flow area of the choriocapillaris were all significantly lower in CRVO eyes than in healthy eyes, while the AI and retinal thickness were significantly higher (all P<0.05). After treatment, retinal thickness was significantly decreased, and the mean BCVA had markedly improved from 20/167 to 20/65 (P=0.0092). The flow area of the choriocapillaris was also significantly improved, which may result from the reduction of shadowing effect caused by the attenuation of macular edema. However, there were no significant changes in SCP and DCP vessel density after treatment. The flow area of the choriocapillaris at baseline was negatively correlated with retinal thickness. CONCLUSION: OCTA enables the non-invasive, layer-specific and quantitative assessment of microvascular changes both before and after treatment, and can therefore be used as a valuable imaging tool for the evaluation of the follow-up in CRVO patients.

Selected patients can benefit more from the management of etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation-a retrospective analysis of 707 small cell lung cancer patients.

The management of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has reached a plateau. Etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy plus thoracic irradiation remain the standard treatment strategy for SCLC. Our study aims to assess the potential prognostic factors of patients treated with etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy and explore which group of patients can benefit more from standard treatment strategies. On univariate analysis, age>65 years, male patients, KPS (Karnofsky Performance Status)≤80 points, positive smoking history, anemia, lymphocyte counts≤1.65×109/L, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR)>3.18, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR)≤2.615, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)>216.5 U/L, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)>119.5 U/L, absence of surgery, absence of thoracic irradiation, chemotherapy cycles<4, metastatic sites≥2 and extensive disease were correlated with a poor prognosis. Gender, KPS, chemotherapy cycles, thoracic irradiation, metastatic sites, LDH and tumor stage held statistical significance on multivariate analysis (p<0.05). High LDH was closely correlated with extensive disease, metastatic sites≥2, anemia, low LMR, high NLR and ALP levels. Subgroup analysis showed patients with male gender, KPS≤80 points, LDH≤216.5U/L, extensive disease and metastatic sites<2 could benefit more from ≥4 chemotherapy cycles. Patients with male gender, KPS>80 points, LDH≤216.5U/L, limited disease and metastatic sites<2 could benefit more from thoracic irradiation (p<0.05 on uni- and multivariate analysis). In conclusion, female patients, KPS>80 points, chemotherapy cycles≥4, thoracic irradiation, metastatic sites<2, LDH≤216.5U/L and limited disease were independent positive prognostic factors for SCLC patients treated with etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy. Selected patients can benefit more from the management of ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation.

A cis-eQTL in AHI1 confers risk to schizophrenia in European populations.

Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder, with heritability as high as 80%. Although genome-wide association studies have identified multiple promising risk variants of schizophrenia, they could only explain a small portion of the disease heritability, and other variants with low to moderate effect remain to be identified. Abelson helper integration site 1 (AHI1) is highly expressed in mammals throughout the developing brain, with lower expression continuing into adulthood. Besides, previous evidence suggested that AHI1 expression was changed in schizophrenia patients. Furthermore, association signal between AHI1 variants and schizophrenia has been reported in several European samples. In the present study, we first analyzed two expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) datasets in healthy individuals and investigated the associations of eQTL of AHI1 with schizophrenia in independent European samples. We observed that a cis-eQTL of AHI1, rs11154801, showed significant association with AHI1 expression in both datasets (P<5E-05). Genetic evidence exhibited that rs11154801 was significantly associated with schizophrenia risk in both the discovery sample (9394 cases and 12462 controls, P=0.046, OR=0.958, 95% CI=0.918-0.999) and the replication sample (3240 cases and 14786 controls, P=0.024, OR=0.949, 95% CI=0.870-0.990). When the discovery and replication samples were pooled together, this association was further strengthened (P=0.004, OR=0.949, 95% CI=0.916-0.983). These results suggested that AHI1 is likely a risk gene for schizophrenia, at least in European populations.