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ObjectiveTo identify causal factors of a case of severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia in Yangpu District and provide a scientific basis for effective prevention and control. MethodsBasic information and epidemiological data of the patient were collected through telephone interviews and field epidemiological surveys. Specimens from the patient， close contacts and the environment were collected for pathogen detection. Metagenomics next-generation sequencing （mNGS） was used to identify unknown pathogens. ResultsA 65-year-old male patient with a history of hypertension and diabetes was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of fatigue， poor appetite for a week， fever and cough for four days. A chest computer tomography （CT） scan showed scattered inflammation in the left lung with infiltration of multiple lobes. Blood gas analysis showed type I respiratory failure. The results of mNGS on the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the patient indicated that he was infected with Chlamydia psittaci. Epidemiological investigation showed a clear history of avian exposure， with an incubation period of 30 days. ConclusionThis serious pneumonia is a zoonotic disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci. A clear history of avian exposure and the use of mNGS technology can help in the timely diagnosis of this disease.
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ObjectiveTo determine the influence of COVID-19 prevention and control on the epidemic characteristics and dynamics of notifiable infectious diseases in the first quarters， Zhejiang Province， and to explore more effective countermeasures against infectious diseases. MethodsDescriptive epidemiology was conducted to determine the change in notifiable infectious diseases during the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Zhejiang Province by retrieving the data of notifiable infectious diseases from 2017 to 2022 in the Chinese information system for disease control and prevention. Cumulative reported new cases of notifiable infectious diseases in the first quarters of 2017‒2019 were compared with that of 2020‒2022. ResultsA total of 546 753 cases of notifiable infectious diseases were newly reported in the first quarters of 2017‒2019， with an average incidence of 321.92/105. In contrast， a total of 509 908 cases of notifiable infectious diseases were newly reported in the first quarters of 2020‒2022， during which the COVID-19 epidemic occurred， with an average incidence of 270.39/105. The incidence in 2020‒2022 significantly declined by 51.53/105， compared with that in 2017‒2019 （χ²=8 072.06， P<0.001）. In the first quarters of 2020‒2022， the average incidence of zoonotic diseases and vector-borne diseases decreased by more than 50%. In addition， the incidence of respiratory， enteric， blood-borne， and sexually transmitted diseases declined to certain degree. ConclusionThe decline in the newly reported cases of non-COVID-19 notifiable infectious diseases in the first quarters of 2020‒2022 indicates that the countermeasures against COVID-19 epidemic， such as multi-disease co-prevention， multi-sectoral collaboration， societal mobilization and personal hygiene and protection， may also decrease the incidence of multiple infectious diseases. It suggests the countermeasures are effective， which would provide evidence for routine prevention and control of infectious diseases in future.
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ObjectiveTo compare the annual and age trends of the age-standard incidence rate （ASIR） and the age-standard mortality rate （ASMR） of lung cancer in countries with different human development index （HDI） from 1990 to 2019. MethodsThe data were collected from the global burden of disease study and GLOBOCAN 2020. The average annual percentage change （AAPC） and age trends of ASIR and ASMR in lung cancer were analyzed by the Joinpoint regression model， and the comparison between the four groups was analyzed by Kruskale-Wallis analysis. ResultsIn 2020， the incidence and mortality of lung cancer gradually increased with age and HDI grade. From 1990 to 2019， the global ASIR and ASMR of lung cancer decreased， and the ASIR of lung cancer among male decreased， while the ASIR of lung cancer among female increased. The results showed that ASIR of lung cancer in female residents in countries with very high HDI increased significantly from 1996 to 2011， resulting in an overall upward trend in female ASIR， while the other groups showed a downward trend. It was found that ASIR and ASMR of lung cancer in China and India were on the rise， while ASIR and ASMR of lung cancer in Russia and the United States were on the decline. ConclusionAlthough very high/high HDI countries face a higher burden of lung cancer occurrence and death， the accumulation of lung cancer burden is completed in the transitioning period. Therefore， lung cancer prevention measures in countries in transition are critical for global lung cancer control.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a kind of primary liver cancer with a high mortality rate. In China, the incidence ratio in males to females with HCC is 2:1–5:1. The difference in sex hormone pathways between males and females and the interaction between androgen/androgen receptors and HBV can lead to an incidence difference between males and females with HCC. Hence, the androgen/androgen receptor oncogenic pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma has received considerable attention. This review mainly summarizes the recent research progress on the androgen/androgen receptor oncogenic pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.
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The continuous development of high-throughput and single-cell sequencing technologies and the emergence of spatial transcriptome sequencing have allowed the continuous discovery of temporal and spatial molecular events in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) to better understand its mechanism of malignant progression. Genetic variations (mutation of APC and P53, etc.) and mismatch repair of DNA, posttranscriptional regulation, such as epigenetic alteration, and dynamic alteration of complex molecular networks have their own special molecules that play key roles. Drug resistance and metastasis in the late stage of CRC progression are closely related to these key molecular events. This article reviews the research progress and explores key molecular events in the malignant progression of CRC to provide scientific basis and ideas for elucidating the regulatory mechanism of CRC and evaluating its prognosis prediction and treatment.
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Chronic diseases have become an important public health problem for people under 70 years of age worldwide， while also causing a great economic burden. The establishment of clinical prediction models can help to predict the risk of a disease or the prognostic effect of a study subject in advance by means of index testing at the early stage of chronic diseases， and plays an increasingly important role in clinical practice. This study introduces clinical diagnostic prediction models and clinical prognostic prediction models， and reviews clinical data processing， clinical prediction model building， visualization methods and model evaluation from the perspective of the application of clinical prediction models， which contribute to the correct and reasonable use of prediction models in clinical research.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） has emerged as a significant public health concern， posing a serious threat to the lives and health of residents in China. Furthermore， the incidence and mortality rates of HCC are notably higher in males than in females. Androgen receptors （AR） can contribute to the occurrence of male-specific cancers such as prostate cancer， suggesting a potential link to the increased susceptibility of males to HCC. Elucidating the cancer-promoting mechanism of AR and developing specific targeted interventions are effective ways to advance tertiary prevention of HCC and improve patient prognosis. This paper reviews the relevant evidence of AR’s role in promoting the occurrence and development of HCC， summarizes relevant mechanisms discovered to date， including promoting the stemness of HCC cells， altering the immune microenvironment， regulating key signaling pathways， inducing glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma， and synergizing with hepatitis B virus to promote HCC. Additionally， research directions for targeted interventions in HCC through AR-related signaling pathways are discussed.
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The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2） and its variants are still globally spreading. Vaccines can reduce the mortality， but cannot eliminate the risk of infection. The identification and protection of the high-risk susceptible population remains of great importance for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV2 and other coronavirus infections. Smoking is an important risk factor for many respiratory diseases， and therefore may also influence the risk of SARS-CoV2 infection and the disease progression after infection. This study reviewed the epidemiological and mechanistic evidence supporting the relationship between tobacco exposure and SARS-CoV2 infection， summarized the contributing effects of tobacco exposure to the infection risk， disease severity， and mortality of COVID-19， and analyzed the molecular mechanisms by which cigarette smoking affects COVID-19 through regulating inflammatory microenvironment and gene expression.
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When facing two or more choices， sound decision-making is critical. In the field of clinical medical practice and public health， more and more researchers use decision-making analysis as an important tool to assist in making the optimal choices. Public health emergencies have the characteristics of group cases， sudden and uncertain. In addition to causing serious damage to public health， they may also have varying degrees of impact on socio-economic， psychological and even social stability. At present， we have not seen the application of mature and sound decision analysis in public health emergency response. This paper reviewed the development of decision analysis in the medical field and the application of common decision-making models in clinical practice. Combined with the current situation of global infectious disease outbreaks and prevention and control， this paper puts forward the concepts and prospects of establishing an auxiliary decision-making system for public health emergencies， aiming to provide a scientific method for medical and health workers to respond to public health emergencies.
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To establish a disease risk prediction model based on genetic susceptibility genes and environmental risk factors， which can target high-risk population as early as possible， and intervene in the environmental risk factors in this population. Moreover， accurate screening of genetically susceptible populations can enhance the efficiency of health system. In recent years， with the maturation and cost reduction of high-throughput gene testing， gene testing has been widely used in individual clinical decision-making and will play a more important role in medical and health decision-making. The correlation between genetic testing and disease risk prediction is increasing， making it a prominent research topic in this field. This review summarizes the approaches for establishing and evaluating risk prediction models and discusses potential future challenges and opportunities.
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Clinical research reports serve as the presentation of scientific research findings and directly reflect the quality of the research. This article describes the writing of different types of clinical research reports， such as observational studies and randomized controlled trial studies， with a particular focus on randomized controlled trials. Each scientific research design has its reporting focus， and the writing of scientific research papers has uniform requirements and a specific writing format. Mastering the proper format of drafting research reports is of practical value and significant importance for conduction high-quality clinical research.
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Statistics plays an important role in medical research， and the selection of appropriate statistical methods is crucial for drawing reliable and valuable conclusions. This paper provides a brief introduction to commonly used statistical analysis methods for medical data， covering descriptive analysis， parametric test， nonparametric test， correlation analysis， regression analysis， and analysis of survival data. It focuses on discussing the assumptions of multiple linear regression， logistic regression and Cox proportional risk regression， as well as how to choose the appropriate statistical methods for analyzing and interpreting medical data based on different research objectives and data types.
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Upper respiratory tract is directly connected with the external environment， and its natural immune system is the first line of defense against pathogens. In antiviral infection， interferon （IFN） is the main component of the antiviral natural immune system and IFN-λ is a newly discovered immune effector molecule that is mainly produced in the mucosal barrier. IFN-λ exerts a biological role through Janus kinase （JAK） and signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT） signaling pathway， and plays an important part in regulating innate and acquired immunity of respiratory mucosa. IFN-λ principally expresses on the mucosal barrier with a long-lasting antiviral impact and controls immune-inflammatory damage， which is becoming a new focus of antiviral immunity research in the upper respiratory tract， especially in fighting against 2019 novel coronavirus diseases （COVID-19）. Thus， we summarize the research progress of IFN-λ antiviral immunity in the upper respiratory tract to provide new insight in the prevention and treatment of viral infection in the upper respiratory tract.
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COVID-19 has emerged around the world since December 2019 and rapidly evolves as a major global public health challenge. SARS-CoV-2 is a positive single-stranded RNA virus with a relatively high natural mutation rate. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is generally considered as the outcome of a “mutation-selection-adaption” process. The enzyme APOBECs that is activated in the inflammatory microenvironment may facilitate viral mutagenesis. Currently， the major SARS-CoV-2 variants that impose public health significance are B.1.1.7， B.1.351， P.1， B.1.6.7.2， B.1.1.529 and so on， with probably increasing transmissibility， decreasing reactivity to the neutralizing antibodies， immune escape， and enhancing disease severity and mortality. Consequently， it warrants up-to-date countermeasures against evolving SARS-CoV-2， including tracing viral mutagenesis， developing vaccines against major variants， and enhancing social distancing.
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In China, the survival rate of liver cancer remains low while the mortality rate is high. Effectively reducing the burden of liver cancer is still a major challenge in the field of public health and chronic disease prevention in the Chinese population. Optimizing screening strategies for liver cancer remains a profound approach to secondary prevention worthy of continuous explora-tion. This guideline was commissioned by the Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention of the National Health Commission. The National Cancer Center of China initiated the guideline develop-ment and convened a multidisciplinary expert panel and working group. Following the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development, this guideline integrated the most up-to-date evidence of liver cancer screening, China′s national conditions, and existing practical experience in liver cancer screening. Evidence-based recommendations on the target population, screening technologies, surveillance strategies, and other key points across the process of liver cancer screening and surveillance management were provided. This guideline would help to standardize the practice of liver cancer screening in China.
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Primary liver cancer (PLC) is the first leading cause of immature cancer death in China. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China accounts for 93.0% of PLC. Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) HCC contributes to 84.4% of HCC. During HBV-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, non-resolving inflammation facilitates viral and host genome mutations via the up-regulated expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase/APOBEC3s and decreases mutation repair via the down-regulated expression of uracil DNA glycosylase by proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6. The proinflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME) provides necessary conditions for the "mutation-selection-adaptation" evolutionary process of HBV and human hepatocytes and facilitates the retrodifferentiation of mutated hepatic cells. This evolutionary process has two prerequisites: driving somatic mutations and immune-suppressive TME. Cancer-promoting chromosome instability and viral mutations inhibit type I interferon signaling via activating the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase stimulator of interferon genes, induce immune-suppressive inflammation, and recruit immune-suppressive immune cells, including tumor-associated macrophages, regulatory T cells, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, to build immunosuppressive TME. In the TME, the rapid growth of tumor cell-caused hypoxia activates kynurenine metabolism in the HCC tissues by inducing the expression of immune-suppressive inflammatory factors to promote the expression of PD-1 on regulatory T cells for enhanced immunosuppression; it also inhibits the cytotoxicities of CD8+T and natural killer cells and facilitates angiogenesis. The theoretical update of "Cancer Evo-Dev" highlights the direction of cancer prophylaxis and treatment. The treatments targeting angiogenesis significantly inhibit the growth of HCC, increase anti-tumoral immunity, and enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. The combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy should be the major therapeutic option for the treatment of advanced liver cancer.
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In China, the survival rate of liver cancer remains low while the mortality rate is high. Effectively reducing the burden of liver cancer is still a major challenge in the field of public health and chronic disease prevention in the Chinese population. Optimizing screening strategies for liver cancer remains a profound approach to secondary prevention worthy of continuous exploration. To address this pressing issue, the Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention of the National Health Commission commissioned this guideline. The National Cancer Center of China initiated the guideline development and convened a multidisciplinary expert panel and working groups. Following the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development, this guideline integrated the most up-to-date evidence of liver cancer screening, China's national conditions, and existing practical experience in liver cancer screening. Evidence-based recommendations on the target population, screening technologies, surveillance strategies, and other key points across the process of liver cancer screening and surveillance management were provided. This guideline would help standardize the practice of liver cancer screening in China.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the epidemiological characteristics and analyze the incidence trend of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Shanghai， China， and compare with the characteristics of the infection in Jilin Province of China during the same period in 2022 and Wuhan at the beginning of 2020. MethodsInformation of new locally-transmitted confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases， imported confirmed COVID-19 cases， local asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers and imported asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers in Shanghai from March 1 to April 18， 2022 was collected for descriptive analysis. ResultsFrom March 1 to April 18， 2022， a total of 397 933 locally-transmitted SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported in Shanghai. Of those， 27 613 were clinically confirmed cases and 21 were severe cases. Ten deaths were related to COVID-19. The pathogen is Omicron variant BA.2 of SARS-CoV-2. The number of the infected subjects increased rapidly after March 24 and lead to a disease outbreak. Severe and deceased cases had severe comorbidity and were mostly unvaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers accounted for 93.06%， which is significantly higher than that in Jilin Province during the same period （48.07%， P<0.001）. Daily increase in the number of clinically confirmed COVID-19 cases in Shanghai in 2022 was much lower than that in Wuhan， Hubei Province， in 2020. Number of daily newly imported confirmed COVID-19 cases and imported asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers declined during this period. ConclusionThe Omicron variant in Shanghai 2022 is highly infectious and less pathogenic. Omicron variant BA.2 replicates rapidly in asymptomatic carriers， which makes the carriers the major source of infection. Full-term vaccination of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine might decrease the pathogenicity and fatality of SARS-CoV-2 variants. SARS-CoV-2 of the Omicron BA2 strain is likely transmitted through aerosols and droplets， which poses a great challenge to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in large cities with high population density and sophisticated public transportation.
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ObjectiveTo assess the effects of countermeasures against coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） in Shanghai from March to May 2022 in comparison with epidemiological trend of COVID-19 in New York City. MethodsDaily confirmed cases， asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers， and daily deaths were obtained in the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention （CDC） of the United States. Descriptive study was conducted by using these data. ResultsFrom March 1 to May 17， the number of daily asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in Shanghai was up to 58 times as large as that of daily confirmed cases； however， the number of daily confirmed cases in Shanghai was generally less than that in New York in the same time period. At the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic， the growth of daily attack rate in Shanghai was significantly lower than that in New York （P<0.05）. Moreover， the number of daily death was evidently less than that in New York. In addition， the vaccination rate in the elderly （aged ≥60 years） in Shanghai was evidently lower than that in New York （aged ≥65 years）. ConclusionThe COVID-19 epidemics in Shanghai from March to May 2022 and in New York after December 2021 were both caused by the Omicron variant. Compared with the Delta variant， the Omicron variant has stronger replication ability and infectivity， resulting in challenges to the containment of the epidemic in metropolis such as Shanghai and New York City. The epidemic in New York City remained crucial due to absence of effective countermeasures， while that in Shanghai has been effectively contained with strict countermeasures. The prevention and control strategies may be adjusted along with the continual evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and increasing trend of imported COVID-19 cases.
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Malignant tumors can be classified into three categories， rapidly progressing tumors， slowly progressing tumors， and "indolent" tumors. Rapidly progressing tumors （such as liver cancer， pancreatic cancer， and cholangiocarcinoma） have acute onset， shorter time duration from onset to death， and poorer treatment effects， which warrants primary prevention. Slowly progressing tumors （such as lung cancer， colorectal cancer， breast cancer， and gastric cancer） have slow onset， clear precancerous lesions， longer time duration from onset to death， and better therapeutic effects， which is accordingly suitable for secondary prevention. “Indolent” tumors （such as prostate and thyroid cancer） do not affect the life expectancy and are suitable for tertiary prevention. Early screening of “indolent” tumors may lead to overtreatment. Furthermore， early screening of rapidly progressing tumors is difficult to identify early cancers， which results in low cost-effectiveness. In contrast， for slowly progressing tumors suitable for secondary prevention， early screening may have cost-effectiveness， though there might be over-diagnosis. It is crucial to adopt appropriate prevention and treatment strategies for diverse types of tumors. Currently， large-scale cohort studies and randomized controlled clinical trials with complete follow-up may accurately evaluate the effect of cancer prevention strategies. This review discusses the significance of screening in precision prevention of tumors based on the characteristics of tumor progression and patients’ prognosis.