Long-term Observations Research Articles

Long-term effect observation after 10 years of tonsillotomy （Histological analysis of one case of secondary operation）

Objective:To investigate the long-term effect of partial tonsillectomy in children with tonsil hypertrophy. Methods:A total of 146 children with obstructive sleep apnea（OSA） who received surgical treatment for tonsil hyperplasia from January 2010 to January 2013 were selected and divided into the observation group（n=69） and the control group（n=77）. The observation group was received tonsillotomy（TT）, and the control group was received total tonsillectomy（TE）. Parental satisfaction and OSA quality of life questionnaire for children（OSA-18） were surveyed. Residual tonsil size was measured, and polysomnography（PSG） was monitored after 10 years. HE and immunohistochemical analysis were performed on tonsil tissues of one patient who performed a second operation after TT in 2017 year. Results:The results of questionnaire survey showed that the symptoms of respiratory obstruction were significantly improved in both groups, and the satisfaction of TT group was higher than that in the TE group. No increase in the number of respiratory tract infections was observed in all patients. In the TT group, nine cases（13.04%） had tonsil hyperplasia toⅡ°, and the remaining patients had tonsil hyperplasia to Ⅰ°. In addition, one case hadtonsil suppurative infection at the 14th month after surgery, and no recurrence or reoperation was found after treatment. There were seven cases in the TT group and eight cases in the TE group with occasional snoring and mouth breathing after surgery, but the PSG examination of the patients did not meet the diagnosis of OSA. The main causes were obesity and allergic rhinitis. Compared with the first operation, the cicatricial obstruction and infection of tonsil tissue in the second operation were not significantly changed, and the immunohistochemical results also demonstrated that the expression of CD20 was not changed, and the expression of CD3 was decreased. Conclusion:Both TT and TE can effectively improve the symptoms of OSA obstruction in children. TT has less trauma, less postoperative pain, faster recovery and lower rate of hyperplasia, which can be used as one of the main methods for the treatment of tonsil hypertrophy in children.

A dataset of soil nutrients from long-term farmland observation plots at Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2006–2022)

A dataset of soil nutrients from long-term farmland observation plots at Huanjiang Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2006–2022)

Diagnostic Transitions of Cystic Fibrosis and CRMS Compared After 12 Years of Newborn Screening in California

To compare the long-term diagnostic transitions for cystic fibrosis (CF) and CF-Related Metabolic Syndrome (CRMS) side-by-side during follow-up since the onset of newborn screening in California. Using real-world data, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare long-term observations of CRMS and CF in California and the diagnostic transitions from one to the other using clinical and diagnostic metrics. The California Genetic Disease Screening Program (GDSP) newborn screening for CF employs an immunoreactive trypsinogen tier-1 laboratory test, followed by molecular testing. This approach captures CF and CRMS, a diagnosis of "watchful waiting" among infants at risk for CF but with signs and symptoms that may emerge outside the screening window. Waiting entails periodic diagnostic reviews that can continue for many years; GDSP routinely conducts five years of follow-up for each child identified with a disorder. We utilized categorial logistic regression to compare the transitions with CRMS. After screening 5,944,700 newborns between July 2007 and July 2019, 694 CF cases and 1,258 CRMS cases were identified. Of the 1,258 CRMS cases, 66 (5.2%, 95% CI=3.9%,6.4%) transitioned from CRMS to CF (CRMS2CF) at a mean age of 3.3 years (median=2.9 years). CRMS2CF cases had longer follow-up periods and were more likely later to develop positive sweat chloride and fecal elastase test results after 6 months of life than other CRMS cases. These results suggest that children who have a CRMS2CF transition are more likely to develop positive biochemical markers than other CRMS patients and have few clinical indications during the first five years of follow-up.

A dataset of soil water storage of typical ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas in China, 2005-2017

Soil water is one of the important components of the earth's water resources, and also the main source of water directly consumed by vegetation and crops. Therefore, the storage, recharge, consumption, renewal and balance of soil water are of great significance to agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, ecological environment and water resources balance, especially for the arid and semi-arid region of China. We collect and sort out the long-term observation data of soil moisture from eight ecosystem observation and research stations of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) located in the arid and semi-arid region of China during 2005 - 2017, and generates the corresponding soil water storage dataset through quality control, spatial and temporal normalization, statistical calculation, in order to provide long-term data support for understanding distribution and change of soil water storage in typical ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas of China.

Anisotropic structure at shallow depths across the Japan Trench

Anisotropic structures within the crust are frequently perceived to originate from stress-induced cracks, which have been mainly estimated on land through different wave speeds of orthogonally polarized S waves propagating in the anisotropic media. However, such estimations of crustal anisotropic structures in ocean areas, particularly for subduction zones around trenches, have not been investigated in detail due to the lack of long-term ocean bottom observations. In this study, we used ocean bottom seismometers of a permanent network deployed across the Japan Trench and the southern part of the Kuril Trench and applied the shear-wave splitting analysis to P-to-s converted waves extracted by receiver function analyses using teleseismic events. We estimated the anisotropic structures in marine sediments and oceanic crust for the incoming Pacific Plate and marine sediments for the overriding North American Plate. The obtained fast polarization directions for the incoming plate are mainly oriented to be parallel to the trench axis for the marine sediment and oceanic crust, which are formed by normal faults and cracks due to the upward plate bending in the outer-rise region, whereas results for marine sediments at the northern part of the Japan Trench are obliquely aligned to the trench axis. The oblique direction is consistent with the magnetic lineations of the incoming plate, indicating that ancient faults within the plate, which were formed in the shallow part of the crust during the creation of the oceanic plate at the ridge, are reactivated by the plate flexure. For the overriding plate, the fast polarization directions in the northern and southern parts of the study area are nearly normal to the trench axis. The central part shows two distinct features: the fast polarization directions parallel to the trench axis and small degrees of anisotropy. These patterns may reflect crack alignments associated with the lateral variation in postseismic crustal deformation after the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Our results suggest substantial lateral variations in the stress field at the tip of the overriding plate along the strike direction.Graphical

A 3-Year Experience with Tildrakizumab Treatment for Patients with Plaque Psoriasis in Clinical Practice.

The efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab for the treatment of plaque psoriasis were demonstrated by randomized clinical studies, but the reappraisal of prolonged experiences in the clinical practice helps to optimize the use of this biologic drug. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of tildrakizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis in the real world. This is a long-term retrospective observational study in a real-life setting. Overall, 136 adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and treated with tildrakizumab were included. One hundred percent reduction of Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI100) was reached by 21.7% of patients at 4 weeks of therapy and by 51.2% at week 16, and the proportion of patients with this improvement was between 66.9% and 64.5% from 36 weeks to 3 years. The mean PASI of the cohort progressively improved from 12.6 at baseline to 1.8 at week 36 and was stable at 1 year, 2 years and 3 years. We could not confirm a previous observation that patients naïve to biologic had a better response, but we observed that those with a short history of psoriasis had a higher probability of 90% PASI reduction (PASI90) or PASI 100 within 36 weeks, suggesting that early treatment could be useful. This long-term observation in the real life of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis receiving tildrakizumab 100 mg showed that PASI100 can be obtained in a high proportion of patients by week 36 and be maintained for up to 3 years.

Deep-learning-driven simulations of boundary layer clouds over the Southern Great Plains

Abstract. Based on long-term observations at the Southern Great Plains site by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program for training and validation, a deep-learning model is developed to simulate the daytime evolution of boundary layer clouds (BLCs) from the perspective of land–atmosphere coupling. The model takes ARM measurements (including early-morning soundings and diurnally varying surface meteorological conditions and heat fluxes) as inputs and predicts hourly estimates (including cloud occurrence, the positions of cloud boundaries, and the vertical profile of the cloud fraction) as outputs. The deep-learning model offers good agreement with the observed cloud fields, especially in the accuracy with which cloud occurrence and base height are reproduced. When the inputs are substituted by reanalysis data from ERA5 and MERRA-2, the outputs of the deep-learning model provide a better agreement with observation than the cloud fields extracted from ERA5 and MERRA-2 themselves. Thus, the deep-learning model shows great potential to serve as a diagnostic tool for the performance of physics-based models in simulating stratiform and cumulus clouds. By quantifying biases in clouds and attributing them to the simulated atmospheric state variables versus the model-parameterized cloud processes, this observation-based deep-learning model may offer insights into the directions needed to improve the simulation of BLCs in physics-based models for weather forecasting and climate prediction.

Variability of genetic diversity of spring barley by hordeincoding locus over a 40-year period of scientific breeding in the Krasnoyarsk Territory

The article discusses and summarizes the results of studies of polymorphism of hordeins (HRD) of spring barley by electrophoresis at the Krasnoyarsk Research Institute of Agriculture (KNIISH) for the period from 1988 to 2021. The analysis of the dynamics of the genetic diversity of barley varieties from the ecological and breeding nurseries of the KNIISKh, released and approved for use in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, showed a significant narrowing of the frequency of occurrence and the loss of a number of alleles characteristic of the conditions of the Yenisei Siberia, and the appearance of rare variants for the Siberian region. Based on long-term observations of the composition of hordeins of breeding samples (promising and rejection) created in different areas of breeding, a number of alleles were found to be associated with economically valuable traits.

Comparison of Titanium Mesh Cage, Nano-Hydroxyapatite/Polyamide Cage, and 3D-Printed Vertebral Body for Anterior Cervical Corpectomy and Fusion.

A prospective non-randomized controlled study. To compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF) using titanium mesh cages (TMC), nanohydroxyapatite/polyamide66 (n-HA/PA66) cages, and 3D-printed vertebral bodies (3d-VBs). Postoperative subsidence of TMCs in ACCF had been widely reported. Newer implants such as n-HA/PA66 cages and 3d-VBs using biocompatible titanium alloy powder (Ti6Al4V) had been introduced to address this issue, but their outcomes remain controversial. We enrolled 60 patients undergoing ACCF using TMCs, n-HA/PA66 cages, or 3d-VBs from January 2020 to November 2021. For each group, there were 20 patients. Follow-up was conducted for minimum two years. Clinical outcomes, including Japanese Orthopaedic Associationscores (JOA), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores and radiographic outcomes, including FSU height, fusion rate, and cervical alignment were collected pre-operatively and at each follow-up. A loss of FSU height equal or greater than 3mm was deemed implant subsidence. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons of mean values at different time points within the same group, with pairwise comparisons performed using the LSD method. The Mann-Whitney test was used for comparisons between groups. Categorical data such as gender, smoking status, implant subsidence and pathology level were analyzed using the chi-square test. Postoperative function of spinal unit (FSU) height loss at 2 years differed significantly among the TMC, n-HA/PA66, and 3d-VB groups, measuring 3.07±1.25mm, 2.11±0.73mm, and 1.46±0.71mm, respectively (P<0.001). The rates of implant subsidence were 45%, 20%, and 10%, respectively (P=0.031). All patients obtained solid fusion at 2-year follow-up. We observed statistically significant differences in VAS and JOA scores at 3 months postoperatively, and JOA scores at 2 years postoperatively among the three groups. At two-year follow-up, the n-HA/PA66 and the 3d-VBs groups exhibited less FSU height loss, lower subsidence rates and demonstrated better cervical lordosis than the TMC group. No severe postoperative complications were observed in any of the patients, and no patient required reoperation. At two-year follow-up after ACCF, the n-HA/PA66 and the 3d-VBs groups exhibited less FSU height loss, lower subsidence rates and demonstrated better cervical lordosis than the TMC group. Longer term observation of implant subsidence in ACCF using TMC, n-HA/PA66, and 3d-VB, is necessary. Therapeutic Level III.

Trends of peroxyacetyl nitrate and its impact on ozone over 2018–2022 in urban atmosphere

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is an important photochemical product and affects ozone (O3) formation in the troposphere. Yet, the long-term observation of PAN remains scarce, limiting the full understanding of its impacts on photochemical pollution. Here, we observed PAN from 2018 to 2022 in urban Fuzhou, Southeastern China. We found that, in contrast to upward trend of O3, PAN concentrations shown a significant decreasing trend at an average rate of −0.07 ppb/year. NO2, CO, UVB, and T contributed to the decreasing trend of PAN according to Machine learning analyses, while the effect of O3-represented atmospheric oxidation capacity on PAN was fluctuating from year to year. Chemical box model revealed active PA production and depletion in Fuzhou. Thus, despite the decreasing PAN concentration, PAN chemistry effectively promoted O3 formation by rising ROx levels, leading to increases of 2.18%–58.4% in net O3 production rate in different years. Our results provide valuable insights into the evolution of photochemical pollution in urban environments.

The impact of volcanic eruptions, pyrocumulonimbus plumes, and the Arctic polar vortex intrusions on aerosol loading over Tomsk (Western Siberia, Russia) as observed by lidar from 2018 to 2022

ABSTRACT Long-term ground-based lidar observations are important in estimating the contribution of different sources (mostly volcanic eruptions and wildfires) to aerosol loading of the atmosphere and in developing and improving various climate models. In this paper, we carefully analyse aerosol scattering ratio profiles and aerosol layers, observed with 532-nm lidar measurements at the Siberian Lidar Station in Tomsk (56.48°N, 85.05°E) over the period 2018–2022, and identify the layers’ potential sources. To compare aerosol loading over Tomsk for the last five years (2018–2022) with that for previous years, we also present and discuss time series of integrated aerosol backscatter coefficient (IABC) for three altitude ranges. The first range (15–30 km) reveals the pure stratospheric aerosol loading provided by volcanic eruptions, the second range (11–15 km) is responsible mainly for aftereffects of wildfire smoke plumes, and the third one (11–30 km) demonstrates aerosol contribution from both sources. In particular, we found for the period 2001–2022 that the annual average IABC reached its maximal values of 2.91 × 10−4 sr−1 (15–30 km) and 8.21 × 10−4 sr−1 (11–30 km) in 2022 due to the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption. The period 2020–2022 exhibited a significant increase in the relative aerosol content at altitudes of 11–15 km in the total aerosol loading at 11–30 km over Tomsk from 54.4% in 2020 to 64.8% in 2022, which indicates a shift of the main part of aerosol loading to altitudes of 11–15 km due to the increased wildfire activity in North America and north-eastern Asia. The Arctic polar vortex is also revealed to distort the real aerosol vertical distribution over Tomsk by replacing it with the aerosol distribution inside the vortex on measurement days when the vortex is over the lidar site.

Unique Variants of Megacalycosis on Magnetic Resonance Urography

To present a unique set of patients diagnosed with megacalycosis by magnetic resonance urography (MRU) to re-evaluate the definition of megacalycosis and provide a new perspective on diagnosis and treatment. A retrospective chart review of patients with megacalycosis as diagnosed by MRU was conducted. MRU was performed to determine the presence of obstruction, further visualize renal anatomy, and clarify the presence of megacalycosis. Patients who were asymptomatic and demonstrated no evidence of obstruction were managed with long-term observation through renal bladder ultrasonography, and symptomatic patients who showed evidence of obstruction (crossing vessels, abnormal renal transit time, or disparity in differential renal function of <40%) were treated surgically with a dismembered Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty. Thirteen cases of megacalycosis were identified as diagnosed by MRU at our institution between 2007 and 2020. In 7 patients (54%), MRU revealed the simultaneous occurrence of obstruction and megacalycosis. In patients with obstruction (N=7), surgical intervention was required to correct the obstruction via robotic pyeloplasty. In patients without obstruction (N=6), conservative management was performed to monitor megacalycosis through long-term follow-up via routine ultrasounds. While megacalycosis has historically referred to the non-obstructive dilatation of the renal calyces, our study presents 7 cases of obstruction occurring simultaneously with megacalycosis as diagnosed by MRU. By expanding the designation of megacalycosis to include patients with obstruction, surgical treatment can be explored to prevent future renal colic and/or renal deterioration in those patients.

Atmospheric observation and emission estimation of HFC-125 and HFC-32 in China from four representative cities

HFC-125 and HFC-32 are fluorinated greenhouse gases of great concern due to their high GWPs and increasing background atmospheric concentrations. Long-term atmospheric observations of HFC-125 and HFC-32 were carried out in four representative cities of China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Lanzhou) from January 2012 to October 2019. Overall, the annual mean atmospheric concentrations of HFC-125 and HFC-32 both showed increasing trends, with average rates of 4.8 ppt yr−1 and 7.9 ppt yr−1. The average concentrations of HFC-125 and HFC-32 in urban areas were significantly higher than those in suburban areas. Significant differences in atmospheric concentrations of the two HFCs were observed among the four cities. HFC-125 and HFC-32 emissions were estimated accordingly, averaging 6.2 Gg yr−1 (23.6 Mt. CO2-eq) and 5.7 Gg yr−1 (4.3 Mt. CO2-eq) during 2012 and 2019 and growing at rates of 0.8 Gg yr−1 (3.1 Mt. CO2-eq) and 0.8 Gg yr−1 (0.6 Mt. CO2-eq), respectively, with an increasing contribution to global radiative forcing. The bottom-up inventories of HFC-125 and HFC-32 in the four cities increased annually from 2012 to 2019, with the highest emissions in Beijing, while the top-down emissions fluctuated during the research period. SynopsisThe atmospheric concentrations of HFC-125 and HFC-32 were measured from 2012 to 2019 in four representative cities of China. Both HFC emissions at national and city levels were estimated using observation-based and inventory methods.

Converting PROMIS®-29 v2.0 profile data to SF-36 physical and mental component summary scores in patients with cardiovascular disorders

BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQL) has become an important outcome parameter in cardiology. The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the PROMIS-29 are two widely used generic measures providing composite HRQL scores. The domains of the SF-36, a well-established instrument utilized for several decades, can be aggregated to physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores. Alternative scoring algorithms for correlated component scores (PCSc and MCSc) have also been suggested. The PROMIS-29 is a newer but increasingly used HRQL measure. Analogous to the SF-36, physical and mental health summary scores can be derived from PROMIS-29 domain scores, based on a correlated factor solution. So far, scores from the PROMIS-29 are not directly comparable to SF-36 results, complicating the aggregation of research findings. Thus, our aim was to provide algorithms to convert PROMIS-29 data to well-established SF-36 component summary scores.MethodsData from n = 662 participants of the Berlin Long-term Observation of Vascular Events (BeLOVE) study were used to estimate linear regression models with either PROMIS-29 domain scores or aggregated PROMIS-29 physical/mental health summary scores as predictors and SF-36 physical/mental component summary scores as outcomes. Data from a subsequent assessment point (n = 259) were used to evaluate the agreement between empirical and predicted SF-36 scores.ResultsPROMIS-29 domain scores as well as PROMIS-29 health summary scores showed high predictive value for PCS, PCSc, and MCSc (R2 ≥ 70%), and moderate predictive value for MCS (R2 = 57% and R2 = 40%, respectively). After applying the regression coefficients to new data, empirical and predicted SF-36 component summary scores were highly correlated (r > 0.8) for most models. Mean differences between empirical and predicted scores were negligible (|SMD|<0.1).ConclusionsThis study provides easy-to-apply algorithms to convert PROMIS-29 data to well-established SF-36 physical and mental component summary scores in a cardiovascular population. Applied to new data, the agreement between empirical and predicted SF-36 scores was high. However, for SF-36 mental component summary scores, considerably better predictions were found under the correlated (MCSc) than under the original factor model (MCS). Additionally, as a pertinent byproduct, our study confirmed construct validity of the relatively new PROMIS-29 health summary scores in cardiology patients.

Return to activity and return to sports after total knee replacement

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most common and successful operations in the field of orthopaedics, with asteadily increasing number of patients. However, as the patient population becomes younger, expectations regarding the outcome of the surgery are also changing. In addition to pain reduction and improved mobility, the longevity of the implant and the recovery of (everyday) activity in general (return-to-activity, RtA) and sporting activity in particular (return-to-sports, RtS) are becoming increasingly important. RtS with atendency towards low-impact sports seems generally possible but is highly dependent on the individual characteristics of the patient. Despite comprehensive studies on treatment with TKA, there are no systematic studies and reliable conclusions on the key factors that enable patients to return to sports after TKA. Any recommendation by the responsible surgeons remains dependent on their subjective experience due to the lack of standardized implementation of an RtA/RtS assessment and the necessary long-term follow-up observation under control of patient-related confounding factors.

Evaluation of the efficiency of rehabilitation interventions in patients after unilateral biportal endoscopic discectomy

Background. Unilateral bi-portal endoscopic discectomy (UBED), as other surgical methods of treatment, may require the use of additional rehabilitation interventions in the recovery process of patients. Unfortunately, studies on the effectiveness of nonpharmacological methods in the postoperative period for these patients are insufficient. The study purposed to evaluate the effectiveness of a rehabilitation intervention program in the patients who have undergone UBED. Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Spine and Spinal Cord of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital in 2022–2023. The sample consisted of the main group (MG, n = 74) — patients who underwent removal of the hernia of the intervertebral disc used UBED and complex rehabilitation and control group (CG, n = 68) — UBED was performed without a rehabilitation course. Study methods: we used visual-analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry questionnaire before surgery and after it (in 1 day and 1, 6 and 12 months). Results. In the preoperative period, the back pain index was 5.3 ± 1.4 and 5.6 ± 1.1 cm in MG and CG, respectively. In the postoperative period the back pain index according to the VAS decreased to 1.5 ± 0.4 cm in one day after surgery in the MG with its positive dynamics during the year of observation. In CG this index also decreased to 1.4 ± 0.9 cm with a gradual improvement to 0.3 ± 0.1 cm in 12 months. At the 12 months after the surgery the Oswestry index demonstrated that quality of life was better in the subjects of MG compared to the CG (5.4 ± 3.2 and 17.4 ± 3.3 %, respectively). Conclusions. The use of physical ­exercises in combination with massage and hardware physiotherapy in patients who have UBED improved the quality of life of the patients in the long-term observation period, but did not affect the reduction of pain after the surgery in both short-term and long-term observation

Label-free spatiotemporal decoding of single-cell fate via acoustic driven 3D tomography

Label-free three-dimensional imaging plays a crucial role in unraveling the complexities of cellular functions and interactions in biomedical research. Conventional single-cell optical tomography techniques offer affordability and the convenience of bypassing laborious cell labelling protocols. However, these methods are encumbered by restricted illumination scanning ranges on abaxial plane, resulting in the loss of intricate cellular imaging details. The ability to fully control cellular rotation across all angles has emerged as an optimal solution for capturing comprehensive structural details of cells. Here, we introduce a label-free, cost-effective, and readily fabricated contactless acoustic-induced vibration system, specifically designed to enable multi-degree-of-freedom rotation of cells, ultimately attaining stable in-situ rotation. Furthermore, by integrating this system with advanced deep learning technologies, we perform 3D reconstruction and morphological analysis on diverse cell types, thus validating groups of high-precision cell identification. Notably, long-term observation of cells reveals distinct features associated with drug-induced apoptosis in both cancerous and normal cells populations. This methodology, based on deep learning-enabled cell 3D reconstruction, charts a novel trajectory for groups of real-time cellular visualization, offering promising advancements in the realms of drug screening and post-single-cell analysis, thereby addressing potential clinical requisites.

Development of a genotoxicity/carcinogenicity assessment method by DNA adductome analysis

Safety evaluation is essential for the development of chemical substances. Since in vivo safety evaluation tests, such as carcinogenesis tests, require long-term observation using large numbers of experimental animals, it is necessary to develop alternative methods that can predict genotoxicity/carcinogenicity in the short term, taking into account the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement). We established a prediction model of the hepatotoxicity of chemicals using a DNA adductome, which is a comprehensive analysis of DNA adducts that may be used as an indicator of DNA damage in the liver. An adductome was generated with LC-high-resolution accurate mass spectrometer (HRAM) on liver of rats exposed to various chemicals for 24 h, based on two independent experimental protocols. The resulting adductome dataset obtained from each independent experiment (experiments 1 and 2) and integrated dataset were analyzed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and found to correctly classify the chemicals into the following four categories: non-genotoxic/non-hepatocarcinogens (−/−), genotoxic/non-hepatocarcinogens (+/−), non-genotoxic/hepatocarcinogens (−/+), and genotoxic/hepatocarcinogens (+/+), based on their genotoxicity/carcinogenicity properties. A prototype model for predicting the genotoxicity/carcinogenicity of the chemicals was established using machine learning methods (using random forest algorithm). When the prototype genotoxicity/carcinogenicity prediction model was used to make predictions for experiments 1 and 2 as well as the integrated dataset, the correct response rates were 89 % (genotoxicity), 94 % (carcinogenicity) and 87 % (genotoxicity/carcinogenicity) for experiment 1, 47 % (genotoxicity), 62 % (carcinogenicity) and 42 % (genotoxicity/carcinogenicity) for experiment 2, and 52 % (genotoxicity), 62 % (carcinogenicity), and 48 % (genotoxicity/carcinogenicity) for the integrated dataset. To improve the accuracy of the toxicity prediction model, the toxicity label was reconstructed as follows; Pattern 1: when +/+ and −/− chemicals were used from the toxicity labels +/+, +/−, −/+ and −/−; and Pattern 2: when +/+, +/−, and −/+ other than −/− were replaced with the label "Others". As a result, chemicals with only +/+ and −/− toxicity labels were used and the correct response rates were approximately 100 % for the measured data in experiment 1, 53 %–66 % for the data in experiment 2, and 59–73 % for the integrated data, all of which were 10 %–30 % higher compared with the data before the label change. In contrast, when the toxicity labels were replaced with −/− and “Others”, they reached nearly 100 % in the measured data from experiment 1, 65 %–75 % in the data from experiment 2, and 70 %–78 % in the integrated data, all of which were 10 %–50 % higher compared with the data before the label change.

The effect of subjective postural vertical on forward flexed posture in Parkinson's disease

BackgroundWe developed a novel method to measure the angle of subjective postural vertical (SPV) and showed that the SPV may be related to the exacerbation of the forward flexed posture. ObjectivesThe present study prospectively tested the effects of the subjective postural vertical on the exacerbation of the forward flexion of trunk (FFT) through long-term observation of Parkinson's disease patients. MethodsEvaluation of the posture included measuring FFT, the angle of lateral flexion of trunk, and the angle at the position that the patient subjectively perceived as the vertical position at a stationary upright position immediately after standing up at the time of initial observation, 6 months later, and 1 year later. ResultsThe SPV angles worsened significantly at 6 months and 1 year compared to the first measurements (9.3 ± 6.7° vs. 10.8 ± 8.2° and 10.6 ± 7.8°, P < 0.05), and the FFT angles worsened significantly at one year compared to the first measurements (11.1 ± 8.1° vs. 12.2 ± 8.8°, P = 0.004). Furthermore, using a hierarchical multiple regression model, the difference in SPV from the first visit to the first half year was considered a factor contributing to annual FFT change (P = 0.002). ConclusionsThis longitudinal study of a large number of cases suggested that changes in SPV may precede changes in FFT.

Recurrent Pulmonary Tuberculosis in China, 2005 to 2021

Despite posing a significant challenge to global tuberculosis (TB) elimination efforts, recurrent TB remains understudied due to the challenges of long-term observation. To investigate the burden of recurrent TB using data from patients with pulmonary TB (PTB) in China. This retrospective cohort study included all bacteriologically confirmed or clinically diagnosed PTB cases reported to the Tuberculosis Information Management System with completed or successful treatment outcomes from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2021. Data were analyzed from July 15, 2022, to October 28, 2023. Newly diagnosed PTB was classified into primary, hematogenous disseminated, or secondary PTB. The primary outcome was the annual recurrence rate, stratified by disease classification, over the 17-year observation period. The recurrence rate for year n was calculated by dividing the number of patients with recurrent TB in year n by observed person-years in year n. The secondary outcome was the annual proportion of recurrent TB among reported cases and associated risk factors. Of 13 833 249 patients with TB reported to the Tuberculosis Information Management System, 10 482 271 with PTB met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 68.9% were male, 22.3% were 65 years or older, 89.6% were of Han ethnicity, and 68.4% were agricultural workers. A total of 413 936 patients experienced a recurrent TB episode after successful treatment, resulting in an overall recurrence rate of 0.47 (95% CI, 0.47-0.48) per 100 person-years. The recurrence rate for patients with primary PTB was 0.24 (95% CI, 0.22-0.26) per 100 person-years; for hematogenous disseminated PTB, 0.37 (95% CI, 0.36-0.38) per 100 person-years; and for secondary PTB, 0.48 (95% CI, 0.47-0.48) per 100 person-years. The cumulative proportion of recurrences within the first 2 years accounted for 48.9% of all recurrent cases. The proportion of recurrent cases among notified incident cases increased 1.9-fold from 4.7% in 2015 to 8.8% in 2021. Among other factors, ages 45 to 64 years (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.65-1.89]) and having completed treatment (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.14-1.18]) were identified as associated with recurrence. In this retrospective cohort study, the PTB recurrence rate was substantially higher than the incidence, and the proportion of recurrent cases increased. Almost half of the recurrence occurred within the first 2 years, suggesting that routine posttreatment follow-up may represent an important strategy for accelerating TB elimination.