BACKGROUND:As exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are one of the leading causes of hospitalization and are associated with significant mortality, it is particularly important to accurately assess the risk of exacerbations in COPD. Most of the current clinical biomarkers are related to inflammation and few consider how ion levels affect COPD. Chloride ion, the second most abundant serum electrolyte, has been shown to be associated with poor prognoses in several diseases, but their relationship with COPD remains unclear. METHODS:In total, 105 patients with acute exacerbations of COPD were recruited. Data on clinical characteristics, lung function, blood count, blood biochemistry, relevant scales including the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ), BODE (BMI, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, exercise capacity) index and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were collected from all patients for statistical analysis. RESULT:There were significant differences in lung function indicators and disease severity in the low chloride ion subgroup compared with the high chloride ion subgroup. On multiple logistic regression analysis, chloride ion was an independent factor affecting lung function in COPD patients (OR=0.808, 95% CI: 0.708 - 0.922, p=0.002). The sensitivity of chloride ion in predicting COPD severity was 78%, the specificity was 63%, and the area under the curve was 0.734 (p<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that chloride ion was a stronger predictor in male and smoking patients. CONCLUSIONS:Chloride ion was a novel prognostic biomarker for COPD, and low levels of chloride ion were independently associated with exacerbations in COPD patients.

Background: The virtual touch quantification (VTQ) using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) is a type of ARFI technology, which has been widely used against many diseases. The sensitivity and specificity of VTQ in differentiating immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) patients from healthy controls remain unestablished. Objectives: The present study aimed to measure the VTQ values of renal parenchyma in patients with IgAN and to evaluate the efficacy of these values in distinguishing IgAN patients from healthy individuals. Patients and Methods: Ultrasound examinations were performed for the experimental and control groups. All routine ultrasound data, including the renal parenchymal thickness, renal volume, resistive index (RI) of interlobar renal arteries, and peak velocity of interlobar renal arteries, were collected. The VTQ values were measured in the middle and lower renal parenchyma using the VTQ technique. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the efficacy of VTQ in differentiating IgAN patients from healthy individuals. Results: The VTQ values, RI values of interlobar arteries, and peak velocity of interlobar arteries were significantly different between patients with IgAN and the controls (2.14 ± 0.31 vs. 2.62 ± 0.24 m/s, 0.68 ± 0.05 vs. 0.63 ± 0.03 m/s, and 0.56 ± 0.59 vs. 0.60 ± 0.58 m/s; P < 0.05 for all). The VTQ values were associated with the renal parenchymal thickness, peak flow velocity of interlobular arteries, and Lee’s grade (P < 0.05 for all). The ROC curve analysis revealed that VTQ values might be used as a diagnostic method for differentiating IgAN patients (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.909) from healthy controls. Conclusion: The VTQ values significantly decreased in patients with IgAN and might play an important role in distinguishing IgAN patients from healthy individuals, with high sensitivity and specificity.

Abdominal B-ultrasound images of intrauterine pregnancy tissue residues were analyzed to discuss their diagnostic value. With the rapid development of computer technology and medical imaging technology, doctors are also faced with more and more medical image diagnosis tasks, and computer-aided diagnosis systems are especially important in order to reduce the work pressure of doctors. In recent years, deep learning has made rapid development and achieved great breakthroughs in various fields. In medical-aided diagnostic systems, deep learning has greatly improved the diagnostic efficiency, but there are no mature research results for abdominal B-ultrasound image recognition of intrauterine pregnancy tissue residues. Therefore, the study of liver ultrasound image classification based on deep learning has important practical application value. In this paper, we propose to give a CNN model optimization method based on grid search. Compared with the conventional CNN model design, this method saves time and effort by eliminating the need to manually adjust parameters based on experience and has an accuracy of more than 92% in classifying abdominal B-ultrasound images of intrauterine pregnancy tissue residues. The diagnosis of intrauterine pregnancy tissue residues by abdominal B-ultrasound can effectively improve the diagnosis and provide important reference for patients to receive treatment, which has high diagnostic value.

Objective:To evaluate the changes of pelvic floor tissue structure and function between pregnant and non-pregnant women from the view of transperineal pelvic floor ultrasound.Methods:Thirty-eight cases of women with a second singleton pregnancy and thirty-two cases of women with a first singleton pregnancy underwent transperineal pelvic floor ultrasound, and their results were compared with forty-two cases of healthy non-pregnant women.Results:The differences of bladder neck descent (BND), rectal ampulla distance and levator hiatus area (LHA) among the three groups were statistically significant (P<0.05), and the differences of BND, rectal ampulla distance, LHA between the women with a second singleton pregnancy group and non-pragnent group were statistically significant (P<0.05). The BND, retrovesical angle at rest (RVA-R) and retrovesical angle underwent Valsalva maneuver (RVA-V) in the group of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) during pregnancy were larger than those in non-SUI group, with significant difference (P<0.05), especially BND and RVA-V (P = 0.00).Conclusion:Transperineal pelvic floor ultrasound has a high resolution of pelvic floor structure and function changes during pregnancy, and can dynamically evaluate pelvic floor function, providing a theoretical basis for early diagnosis and prevention of female pelvic floor dysfunction (FPFD) in subsequent pregnancies.

Background Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has been a concern all over the world because of its high prevalence and mortality. The ratio of low-density-lipoprotein to lymphocyte (LLR) has been widely used to predict the prognosis of cerebral infarction, but its association with COPD is less known. We aim to explore the relationship between LLR and COPD and to investigate its indicative role in the severity and prognosis of COPD. Methods In this study, 279 participants (n = 138 with COPD and n = 138 age- and sex-matched health control) were recruited. COPD patients were divided into two groups according to the optimal cut-off value of LLR determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). We collected the clinical characteristics, pulmonary function, LLR, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and other data of all subjects. t-test, Pearson correlation test, logistic regression analysis and other statistical analysis were carried out. Results Compared with the healthy control group, COPD patients had a significantly higher LLR level (p < 0.001). The disease was more serious in the high LLR group, which was reflected by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) and BMI, airway obstruction, dyspnoea, severe exacerbations (BODE) index and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) index (p = 0.001, p = 0.013, p = 0.011, respectively). The forced expiration volume in 1 second (FEV₁) (p = 0.033) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second in percent of the predicted value (FEV₁%) (p = 0.009) in high LLR group were lower. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LLR was an independent factor affecting the severity of COPD patients (odds ratio [OR] = 2.599, 95% CI: 1.266-5.337, p = 0.009). Conclusion We found that LLR is a novel biomarker in predicting the severity of patients with COPD. Further studies with larger database were recommended to verify our findings.

Objective To assess the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) severity and bone mineral density (BMD) in the whole body and different body areas. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study included patients with COPD. Demographic and lung function data, COPD severity scales, BMD, and T scores were collected. Patients were grouped by high (>=-1) and low (<-1) T scores, and stratified by body mass index, airway obstruction, dyspnoea, and exercise capacity (BODE) index. The relationship between whole-body BMD and BODE was evaluated by Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficient. Risk factors associated with COPD severity were identified by univariate analyses. BMD as an independent predictor of severe COPD (BODE >= 5) was verified by multivariate logistic regression. BMD values in different body areas for predicting severe COPD were assessed by receiver operating characteristic curves. Results Of 88 patients with COPD, lung-function indicators and COPD severity were significantly different between those with high and low T scores. Whole-body BMD was inversely related to COPD severity scales, including BODE. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that BMD was independently associated with COPD severity. The area under the curve for pelvic BMD in predicting severe COPD was 0.728. Conclusion BMD may be a novel marker in predicting COPD severity, and pelvic BMD may have the strongest relative predictive power.

The study investigates the diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound combined with the molybdenum target mode in breast cancer staging and the relationship between blood flow parameters and the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and factor 2 (IGF-2) and prognosis. A total of 96 patients admitted to hospital from January 2020 to January 2021 are included in the breast cancer group, and 58 patients admitted to our hospital during the same period are included in the control group, who are diagnosed with benign breast lesions. All patients receive clinicopathological diagnosis, ultrasound detection, and X-ray molybdenum detection. Ultrasound detection, molybdenum target detection, ultrasound combined with the molybdenum target detection mode, and clinicopathological diagnosis results are compared. B-ultrasound combined with the molybdenum target detection mode has high efficiency in diagnosing breast cancer and differentiating pathological stages. Besides, blood flow parameters of patients are closely related to IGF-1 and IGF-2, and IGF-1 and IGF-2 expressions are closely related to the prognosis of patients. Subsequent diagnosis of the disease degree of breast cancer patients can be carried out by ultrasound combined with the molybdenum target detection mode. In addition, the expression of IGF-1 and IGF-2 in patients can be monitored to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment plan to improve the prognosis of patients, which has a high clinical application value and is worth promoting.

BF + LBM and weight were better than BMI in the connection with the disease severity of AECOPD patients represtented by GOLD. BF and LBM may have different or even opposite effects on patients with AECOPD.

Background We tend to find out whether BMI and weight have difference in the connection with the disease severity of AECOPD patients. Besides, we aim to explore the relationships between body fat (BF) and lean body mass (LBM) with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods Information like weight and body mass index (BMI) were recorded at hospital admission. BF and LBM were assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Logistic regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and other statistical analyses were performed. Results Weight and BF + LBM showed significant linkages with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) in multivariate logistic regression analysis (Model 3: OR = 0.932, p = 0.016; OR = 0.915, p = 0.006, respectively). And BMI did not show correlation with GOLD. In Stratification analysis, BF showed the predictive value for GOLD (AUC = 0.709, p = 0.004) while LBM showed the predictive ability for modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC) (AUC = 0.761, p Conclusion BF + LBM and weight were better than BMI in the connection with the disease severity of AECOPD patients represtented by GOLD. BF and LBM may have different or even opposite effects on patients with AECOPD.

Background:An increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer has been observed worldwide over the last few decades. Previous reports suggested that hay fever, a common allergic disease, may function in pancreatic cancer. Data on hay fever as a risk or protective factor for pancreatic cancer was controversial in several case-control reports. So, we here did a meta-analysis on published studies to evaluate the association of hay fever and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Methods:A comprehensive literature search was performed through public databases. The association between hay fever and pancreatic cancer was evaluated by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The Cochran's Q test and I(2)index were used to evaluate heterogeneity. Results:We included 8 population-based case-control studies involving 10,454 participants from 1986 to 2014. A history of hay fever was associated with a decreased risk of pancreatic cancer (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.50-0.64,P< 0.00001) through fixed effect model. Conclusion:The result of our study suggested that hay fever may significantly decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Fetal hydronephrosis (HY) is a frequent congenital condition, which may be detected by prenatal ultrasound. Society for Fetal Urology (SFU) and anterior-posterior diameter (APD) grading are two major grading systems based on ultrasonography. The present study aimed to assess the predictive value of the SFU and APD grades in patients with fetal HY. A total of 162 patients with 234 kidneys affected by HY were included in the present study. The SFU and APD grades were determined from the ultrasound images at 38 gestational weeks, and a 12-month follow-up was performed after birth. The associations of the SFU and APD grades with the outcome of fetal HY, including HY regression, and post-partum surgery were examined. In the present study, 16 patients with 17 kidneys were diagnosed with pathological HY, and stenosis at the ureteropelvic junction was demonstrated to be a leading cause of pathological HY. Among the 234 kidneys affected by HY, 161 kidneys were scored as SFU grade I, 57 as SFU grade II, 7 as SFU grade III and 9 kidneys as SFU grade IV. According to the APD grading system, 112 kidneys were determined as having low, 104 as having moderate and 18 as having severe HY. The SFU and APD grades were demonstrated to be independently associated with the occurrence of pathological HY by logistic regression analysis with a high diagnostic accuracy to distinguish pathological and physiological HY cases as evidenced by the results of ROC analysis. In addition, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that patients with spontaneous HY regression usually had low SFU and APD grades. Furthermore, the rate of surgery was increased in the group of patients with high SFU or APD grades, and these two systems were identified as independent predictors for the requirement of surgery by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Patients with pathological HY had high SFU and APD grades, and these two grading systems may be used as reliable predictors for the outcome of fetal HY, including HY regression, and post-partum surgery.