Analysis of influencing factors for the development of gallstone in population of Beijing / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors for the development of gall-stone in population of Beijing.Methods:The retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted. From November 2016 to September 2020, patients living in Beijing (registered residence in Beijing ≥12 months) who visited the biliary outpatient of Department of General Surgery of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences for the first time were recruited to participate as respondents. The survey was conducted by the questionnaire survey on correlation between dietary habits and incidence of gallstones, in which the information of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), gallstone status, metabolic indicators (hypercholesterolemia, history of diabetes mellitus, reproductive times for female, menopause status of female, duration of menopause for female, history of weight loss), dietary indicators (dietary mix of meat and vegetable dishes, times of coffee intake per month, times of alcohol consumption per month, times of greasy diet intake per month, times of breakfast skipping per week, average overnight fasting time of breakfast skipping, times of supper skipping per week, average overnight fasting time of supper skipping), family history of gallstones, lifestyle indicators (times of staying up late per month, average overnight fasting time when staying up late, daily sedentary time, weekly physical activity score). Observation indicators: (1) results of questionnaire survey; (2) analysis of influencing factors for the occurrence of gallstone. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were expressed as absolute numbers or percentages. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Logistic regression model. Results:(1) Results of questionnaire survey. A total of 1 036 questionnaires were distributed, and 1 004 complete questionnaires were recovered. Of the 1 004 patients who completed the questionnaire survey, there were 329 males and 675 females, aged (44±12)years. The BMI of 1 004 patients was (24±3)kg/m 2. Of the 1 004 patients, there were 659 cases with a history of cholecystolithiasis and 345 cases without. (2) Analysis of influencing factors for the occurrence of gallstone. Results of univariate analysis showed that age, history of diabetes mellitus, history of weight loss, times of coffee intake per month, times of greasy diet intake per month, family history of gallstone and daily sedentary time were related factors for the development of gallstone in 1 004 patients ( odds ratio=1.03, 2.26, 1.74, 1.01, 1.01, 2.22, 1.06, 95% confidence intervals as 1.02?1.05, 1.09?5.18, 1.22?2.53, 1.00?1.03, 1.00?1.01, 1.60?3.11, 1.01?1.11, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that age, history of diabetes mellitus, history of weight loss, times of greasy diet intake per month, family history of gallstone and daily sedentary time were independent influencing factors for the development of gallstone in 1 004 patients ( odds ratio=1.03, 2.26, 1.82, 1.01, 2.22, 1.06, 95% confidence intervals as 1.02?1.05, 1.11?5.13, 1.28?2.62, 1.00?1.02,1.60?3.09, 1.01?1.12, P<0.05). Conclusion:Age, history of diabetes mellitus, history of weight loss, times of greasy diet intake per month, family history of gallstone and daily sedentary time are independent influencing factors for the development of gallstone in population of Beijing.

The relationship between fasting blood glucose level and thromboembolism events in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the relationship between fasting blood glucose level and thromboembolism events in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Methods: This was an observational study based on data from a multicenter, prospective Chinese atrial fibrillation registry cohort, which included 18 703 consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in 31 hospitals in Beijing from August 2011 to December 2018. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to status of comorbid diabetes and fasting glucose levels at admission: normal blood glucose (normal glucose group), pre-diabetes group, strict glycemic control group, average glycemic control group and poor glycemic control group. Patients were followed up by telephone or outpatient service every 6 months. The primary follow-up endpoint was thromboembolic events, including ischemic stroke and systemic embolism. The secondary endpoint was the composite endpoint of cardiovascular death and thromboembolic events. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multifactorial Cox regression were used to analyze the correlation between fasting glucose levels and endpoint events. Results: The age of 18 703 patients with NVAF was (63.8±12.0) years, and there were 11 503 (61.5%) male patients. There were 11 877 patients (63.5%) in normal blood glucose group, 2 023 patients (10.8%)in pre-diabetes group, 1 131 patients (6.0%) in strict glycemic control group, 811 patients in average glycemic control group and 2 861 patients(4.3%) in poor glycemic control group. Of the 4 803 diabetic patients, 1 131 patients (23.5%) achieved strict glycemic control, of whom 328 (29.0%) were hypoglycemic (fasting blood glucose level<4.4 mmol/L at admission). During a mean follow-up of (51±23) months (up to 82 months), thromboembolic events were reported in 984 patients (5.3%). The survival curve analysis of Kaplan Meier showed that the incidence rates of thromboembolic events in normal glucose group, pre-diabetes group, strict glycemic control group, average glycemic control group and poor glycemic control group were 1.10/100, 1.41/100, 2.09/100, 1.46/100 and 1.71/100 person-years, respectively (χ²=53.0, log-rank P<0.001). The incidence rates of composite endpoint events were 1.86/100, 2.17/100, 4.08/100, 2.58/100, 3.16/100 person-years (χ²=72.3, log-rank P<0.001). The incidence of thromboembolic events and composite endpoint events in the other four groups were higher than that in the normal blood glucose group (P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that compared with normal glucose group, the risk of thromboembolism increased in pre-diabetes group(HR=1.23, 95%CI 1.00-1.51, P=0.049), strict glycemic control group(HR=1.32, 95%CI 1.06-1.65, P=0.013) and poor glycemic control group(HR=1.26, 95%CI 1.01-1.58, P=0.044). Conclusion: Both high or low fasting glucose may be an independent risk factor for thromboembolic events in patients with NVAF.

Survey of current radiological health capabililty of 16 disease control centers at prefecture-level in Shandong province / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To survey the current radiological health capability of 16 perferture-level disease control centers (CDCs) in Shandong province and analyze their shortcomings and disadvantages, in order to provide relevant reference basis for the radiological health capability building of such CDCs.Methods:Survey was carried out of radiology department, radiological health staff, equipment allocation, capabillity building and scientific research of these CDCs, together with the relevant data obtained being statistically analyzed.Results:In these CDCs of 16 cities in Shandong province, there were 70 staff engaged in radiological health, with 3 cities having independent radiological departments in place. There were statistically significant differences between independent departments and non-independent departments in the exclusive use of X-ray diagnostic examination equipment, medical electron accelerator examination equipment and on-site quality control testing work ( χ2=0.04, 0.01, 0.04, P<0.05). Between inland and coastal cities there was statistically significant difference in the capability dealing with nuclear and radiological emergency ( χ2=0.02, P<0.05). Conclusions:Independent departments are more conducive to the implement of government′s functional tasks than non-independent departments. There exist shortcomings and weaknesses in human resources, equipment allocation, in-food radioactivity testing, nuclear and radiological emergency in 16 prefectures and cities, so that the capability building needs to be further improved.

Prognostic value of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in elderly classical Hodgkin′s lymphoma / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in patients with elderly classical Hodgkin′s lymphoma (cHL). Methods:From April 2011 to April 2020, the pretreatment clinical and 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters of 42 elderly cHL patients (29 males and 13 females, median age 69 years) pathologically confirmed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were obtained with 41%SUV max as the threshold. ROC curve analysis was applied to obtain the best prognostic cut-off value of SUV max, MTV and TLG. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for univariate survival analysis, and Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for multivariate survival analysis. Results:SUV max, MTV and TLG of 42 elderly cHL patients were 16.49(12.24, 23.59), 79.29(26.29, 184.51) ml and 729.02(206.03, 2 073.98) g, respectively. ROC curve showed that the AUCs of SUV max, MTV and TLG were 0.425, 0.882 and 0.832, respectively, and the best prognostic cut-off values were 16.49, 82.38 ml and 556.26 g, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that age, B symptoms, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, Hb content, Ann Arbor stage, German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) score, MTV and TLG were relative factors affecting progression-free survival (PFS) rate ( χ2 values: 4.50-12.60, all P<0.05), and age, B symptoms, LDH level, Ann Arbor stage, GHSG score, MTV and TLG were relative factors affecting overall survival (OS) rate ( χ2 values: 5.20-11.17, all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that MTV (relative risk ( RR)=5.370, 95% CI: 1.697-16.277) and TLG ( RR=4.854, 95% CI: 1.228-23.352) were independent prognostic predictors of PFS rate (both P<0.05), and GHSG score ( RR=3.761, 95% CI: 1.092-12.955; RR=3.668, 95% CI: 1.068-12.571), MTV ( RR=6.173, 95% CI: 1.431-16.322) and TLG ( RR=5.162, 95% CI: 1.200-22.199) were independent prognostic predictors of OS rate (all P<0.05). Conclusion:MTV and TLG in pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT are independent prognostic factors for predicting PFS and OS in patients with elderly cHL patients, which have certainly reference value for prognosis.

Percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic lithotripsy versus open hepatectomy for treatment of complicated hepatolithiasis - a propensity score matching study / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To study minimally invasive treatment using percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic lithotripsy (PTCSL) to treat complicated hepatolithiasis.Methods:Patients with complicated hepatolithiasis who were treated at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from July 2017 to September 2021, were included into this study. There were 48 patients treated with PTCSL (the PTCSL group) and 150 patients treated with conventional open hepatectomy (the OH group). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match 40 patients in the PTCSL group with 40 patients in the OH group. There were 11 males and 29 females, aged 32 to 85 (59.3±12.7) years in the PTCSL group and 15 males and 25 females, aged 20 to 74 (55.4±10.9) years in the OH group. Theoperation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, hospitalization cost, incidences of major complications (including pleural effusion, biliary bleeding), residual stone rates and recurrence rates were analyzed.Results:Baseline data were comparable between groups after PSM. For the PTCSL group, the operation time was (135.8±42.6) minutes, intraoperative bleeding volume 32.5(20.0, 50.0) ml, hospitalization time 13.5(11.0, 18.0) days, and hospitalization expense 3.4(2.9, 5.0) wanyuan compared with the corresponding figures in the OH group with operation time (350.7±113.8) minutes, intraoperative bleeding volume 475.0(200.0, 900.0) ml, hospitalization time 24.0(17.3, 28.8) days, and hospitalization expense 6.6(5.0, 8.9) wanyuan. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The overall complication rate was 2.5%(1/40) in the PTCSL group and 22.5%(9/40) in the OH group (χ 2=7.31, P=0.007). The residual stone rate of 20.0%(8/40), stone recurrence rate of 17.5%(7/40), compared with the OH group with the stone residual rate of 27.5%(11/40), stone recurrence rate of 12.5%(5/40). There was no significant difference between the two groups in both the stone residual rates and stone recurrence rates (both P>0.05). Conclusion:In treatment of complex hepatolithiasis, the stone residual rate after repeated PTCSL was comparable to traditional open hepatectomy. PTCSL had the advantages of shorter operation time, less bleeding, lower hospitalization time, lower complication rate and lower hospitalization cost. PTCSL is worthy of wider application and popularization.

Initial results in the use magnetic compression anastomosis in laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To study our initial experience on feasibility and safety of magnetic compression anastomosis in laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy(LPD).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 7 patients who underwent LPD with laparoscopic magnetic compression choledochojejunostomy (LMC-CJ) or pancreaticojejunostomy (LMC-PJ) at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from May 2018 to September 2019. There were 6 males and 1 female. The median age of patients was 63 (56-83) years. Data analyzed included the model of the magnetic anastomosis device, operation time of the LMC-CJ or LMC-PJ, other operation-related parameters, postoperative complications, time to perform magnetic anastomosis, and time of discharge of the magnet from patients’ body.Results:All 7 patients completed LPD successfully, including 7 LMC-CJ and 2 LMC-PJ. The median operation time was 340 (310-450) minutes. The median diameter of the biliary-enteric magnetic anastomosis ring used was 10 (9-12) mm, and the median time of the biliary-enteric magnetic anastomosis was 11 (8-16) min. The diameter of the pancreaticojejunal magnetic anastomosis ring was 5 mm in the two anastomoses, and the times taken were 12 min and 15 min. Complications occurred in 4 patients, including 1 patient each for grade A and grade B pancreatic fistula, 2 patients with abdominal infection, 2 patients with postoperative gastric emptying disorder, and 1 patient with abdominal hemorrhage. All patients responded to conservative treatment. There was no biliary or pancreatic fistula at the magnetic anastomoses. Pancreaticojejunostomy functioned at 24 and 30 days after operation. The median time for the magnets to pass out from the body of all patients was 50 (40-170) days. The median follow-up was 11 (4-18) months. No biliary-enteric or pancreaticojejunostomy stenosis was detected.Conclusion:Magnetic compressive anastomosis was simple, feasible, and safe for choledochojejunostomy or pancreaticojejunostomy in LPD.

Technical points of 4K laparoscopic intersphincteric resection of low rectal cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

Intersphincteric resection (ISR) is a limited sphincter preserving surgery for low rectal cancer. The 4K laparoscopic system has the advantage of enhancing the accurate recognition of anatomical structures for operators. The authors investigate the imaging evaluation and technical standard of 4K laparoscopic ISR of low rectal cancer through surgical examples.

Clinical assessment of pterygoid and anterior implants in the atrophic edentulous maxilla: a retrospective study / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#This study aims to evaluate the short-term clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction of anterior and pterygoid implants in the rehabilitation of edentulous maxilla with posterior atrophy.@*METHODS@#Given a minimum follow-up of 1 year, 25 patients with fixed maxillary rehabilitation over anterior and pterygoid implants were enrolled in this retrospective study. The implant survival rates, peri-implant soft tissue status (including probing depth, modified sulcus bleeding index, and plaque index), marginal bone loss, and patient satisfaction were measured.@*RESULTS@#The survival rates for anterior and pterygoid implants at 1-year follow-up were 96.5% and 97.8%, respectively (@*CONCLUSIONS@#For the edentulous maxilla with posterior atrophy, full-arch fixed prostheses supported by anterior and pterygoid implants has an acceptable short-term clinical outcome and excellent patient satisfaction. It may be considered as a predictable and feasible method for maxillary rehabilitation.

Influencing factors for the number of lymph node harvested after Da Vinci robotic and laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a report of 1 396 cases / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors for the number of lymph node harvested after Da Vinci robotic and laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 396 patients who underwent Da Vinci robotic or laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from December 2014 to July 2019 were collected. There were 991 males and 405 females, aged (60±11) years. Surgery using Da Vinci robotic system or laparoscopic system was completed according to patients' wishes. Cases with early gastric cancer underwent D 1+ lymphadenectomy and cases with advanced gastric cancer underwent standard D 2 lymphadenectomy. Observation indicators: (1) intraoperative situations; (2) postoperative situations; (3) influencing factors for the number of lymph node harvested after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer; (4) follow-up and survival. Follow-up using outpatient examination or telephone interview was performed to detect survival of patients up to October 2020. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Univariate analysis was done using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Multivariate analysis was performed using Logistic regression model. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results:(1) Intraoperative situations: all the 1 396 patients underwent radical gastrectomy, including 415 cases undergoing Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy and 981 cases undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Thirty-five of the 1 396 patients were converted to open surgery, including 5 cases undergoing Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy and 30 cases undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Of the 1 396 patients, 983 cases underwent distal gastrectomy, 400 cases underwent total gastrectomy and 13 cases underwent proximal gastrectomy, among which 597 cases underwent Billroth Ⅰ anastomosis, 385 cases underwent Billroth Ⅱ anastomosis, 401 cases underwent Roux-en-Y anastomosis and 13 cases underwent residual stomach-esophagus anastomosis. The operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss and cases with intraoperative blood transfusion were (221±51)minutes, (201±81)mL, 24 of 415 cases undergoing Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy, and (196±42)minutes, (232±76)mL, 75 of 981 cases undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, respectively. (2) Postoperative situations: the time to postoperative first flatus, time to postoperative initial liquid food intake and duration of postoperative hospital stay of the 1 396 patients were (3.0±1.0) days, (4.2±1.5) days and (9.0±3.8) days, respectively. Two hundred and ten of the 1 396 patients had postoperative complications including 170 cases with grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ complications and 40 cases with grade Ⅲ-Ⅴ complications. Eight of the 210 patients with postoperative complications died of serious complica-tions and the other 202 cases were cured after symptomatic treatment. Results of postoperative histopathological examination showed that there were 958 cases of adenocarcinoma, 220 cases of mucinous adenocarcinoma, and 218 cases of signet ring cell carcinoma. The number of lymph node harvested and the number of positive lymph node of the 1 396 patients were 26.0±8.3 and 3.6±0.9, respectively, and cases with the number of lymph node harvested ≥16 or <16 were 1 312 and 84. (3) Influencing factors for the number of lymph node harvested after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer: results of univariate analysis showed that the operating surgeon, operation method, range of gastric resection, nerve invasion, degree of tumor invasion and tumor pathological N stage were related factors influencing the number of lymph node harvested after Da Vinci robotic and laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer ( χ2=13.167, 6.029, 15.686, 5.573, 9.402, 17.139, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that the operating surgeon, operation method, range of gastric resection and tumor pathological N stage were independent factors influencing the number of lymph node harvested after Da Vinci robotic and laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer ( odds ratio=1.589, 2.018, 1.787, 0.267, 95% confidence interval as 1.221?2.068, 1.140?3.570, 1.066?2.994, 0.103?0.689, P<0.05). (4) Follow-up and survival: of the 1 396 patients, 1 256 cases were followed up for 2 to 70 months, with a median follow-up time of 27 months. The 3-year cumulative survival rate of the 1 256 cases was 70.2%. Conclusion:The operating surgeon, operation method, range of gastric resection and tumor pathological N stage are independent factors influencing the number of lymph node harvested after Da Vinci robotic and laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Development of Liver Normothermic Machine Perfusion Repair and Assessment System / 中国医疗器械杂志

This paper introduced a liver normothermic machine perfusion repair and assessment system. This system consists of a liver normothermic machine perfusion device, a fluorescence imaging system and a tissue oxygen detector. The normothermic machine perfusion device can continuously perfuse the donor liver and monitor and control the perfusion parameters in real time. The fluorescence imaging system can detect the indocyanine green metabolized by the liver to evaluate the microcirculation and the metabolism function of hepatocytes. The tissue oxygen detector can monitor the change of oxygen partial pressure of liver tissue in real time to evaluate the state of cell oxygen consumption.

Regulation of RNA Binding Protein Mbnl1 on Development of Mouse Embryonic Hematopoietic Stem Cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the dynamic molecular expression characteristics of single cell RNA binding proteins (RBPs) in the development of mouse embryonic hematopoitic stem cells (HSCs), and obtain the functional research target RNA splicing factor--Mbnl1, to clarify the function of Mbnl1 involved in regulating mouse embryonic HSC development.@*METHODS@#Bioinformatics was used to analyze the single-cell transcriptome data of mouse embryos during HSC development, and the single-cell RBP dynamic molecular expression maps in HSC development was obtained. Mbnl1 was obtained by combining differential analysis and literature research screening. The Mbnl1-knockout mouse model was constructed by the CRISPER/Cas9 technology. Aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) and yolk sac (YS) tissue in two genotype embryos of Mbnl1@*RESULTS@#The in vitro CFU-C experiment of hematopoietic cells preliminarily indicated that there was no significant difference in the number of cell colonies in AGM region and YS transformed by the two genotypes of Mbnl1@*CONCLUSION@#Through functional experiments in vivo and in vitro, it has been confirmed that knockout of the RNA splicing factor--Mbnl1 does not affect the development of HSPC in AGM region of mouse embryo.

Exploring the mechanism of Buxue Yimu Pill on hemorrhagic anemia through molecular docking, network pharmacology and experimental validation / 中国天然药物

Buxue Yimu Pill (BYP) is a classic gynecological medicine in China, which is composed of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Leonurus japonicus Houtt, Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, Colla corii asini and Citrus reticulata Blanco. It has been widely used in clinical therapy with the function of enriching Blood, nourishing Qi, and removing blood stasis. The current study was designed to determine the bioactive molecules and therapeutic mechanism of BYP against hemorrhagic anemia. Herein, GC-MS and UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS were employed to identify the chemical compounds from BYP. The genecards database (https: //www.genecards.org/) was used to obtain the potential target proteins related to hemorrhagic anemia. Autodock/Vina was adopted to evaluate the binding ability of protein receptors and chemical ligands. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were conducted using the ClusterProfiler. As a result, a total of 62 candidate molecules were identified and 152 targets related to hemorrhagic anemia were obtained. Furthermore, 34 active molecules and 140 targets were obtained through the virtual screening experiment. The data of molecular-target (M-T), target-pathway (T-P), and molecular-target-pathway (M-T-P) network suggested that 32 active molecules enhanced hematopoiesis and activated the immune system by regulating 57 important targets. Pharmacological experiments showed that BYP significantly increased the counts of RBC, HGB, and HCT, and significantly down-regulated the expression of EPO, IL-6, CSF3, NOS2, VEGFA, PDGFRB, and TGFB1. The results also showed that leonurine, leonuriside B, leosibiricin, ononin, rutin, astragaloside I, riligustilide and levistolide A, were the active molecules closely related to enriching Blood. In conclusion, based on molecular docking, network pharmacology and validation experiment results, the enriching blood effect of BYP on hemorrhagic anemia may be associated with hematopoiesis, anti-inflammation, and immunity enhancement.

Effect of peritoneum reconstruction on postoperative complications after laparoscopic low anterior resection for rectal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective: To determine the effect of peritoneum reconstruction on postoperative complications after laparoscopic low anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer. Methods: Retrospective cohort study and propensity score matching were conducted. Case inclusion criteria: (1) pathologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma; (2) 18 to 80 years; (3) patients with middle to low rectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic LAR; (4) patients staging cT1-4aN0-2M0 or ycT1-4aN0-2M0 after neoadjuvant therapy; (5) the distance of 4-10 cm from tumor low margin to anal verge. Exclusion criteria: (1) abdominal surgery history (except appendicitis, cholecystitis, ectopic pregnancy); (2) anastomosis above the peritoneal reflection; (3) tumor distant metastasis or clinical staging of T4b during surgery; (4) conversion to open surgery; (5) severe incapacitating disease (American Society of Anesthesiologists classification IV or V, ASA). A total of 666 patients with middle to low rectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic LAR in The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from January 2017 to June 2020 were enrolled. There were 473 males and 193 females with the median age of 59 (18-80) years. Laparoscopic LAR with peritoneum reconstruction was performed in 188 cases (PR group), and laparoscopic LAR without peritoneum reconstruction was performed in 478 cases (NPR group). After 1:1 propensity score matching according to 1:1 based on age, gender, body mass index, TNM staging, ASA classification, intraoperative blood loss, distance from tumor low margin to anal edge, 153 cases were included in each group. Postoperative complications were classified according to Clavien-Dindo classification. Anastomotic leakage was defined and graded according to the International Study Group of Rectal Cancer (ISGRC) criteria. Results: After propensity score matching, there were no significant differences in baseline demographic characteristics between the 2 groups (all P>0.05), indicating that these two groups were comparable. (1) Operative conditions: All the patients in both groups completed operation successfully. Compared with the NPR group, the PR group had longer operation time [(181.3±60.3) minutes vs. (168.9±51.5) minutes, t=2.185, P=0.029], shorter postoperative median hospital stay [8 (7, 10) days vs. 9 (7, 11) days, Z=-2.282, P=0.022], and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). (2) Postoperative complications: The overall morbidity of postoperative complication in PR group and NPR group was 20.3% (31/153) and 24.2% (37/153) respectively, and the incidence of anastomotic leakage was 9.8% (15/153) and 11.1%(17/153) respectively, whose differences were not statistically significant (both P>0.05). Compared with NPR group, PR group had lower morbidity of grade III to IV complications [3.9% (6/153) vs. 11.1% (17/153), χ(2)=5.688, P=0.017] and lower secondary operation rate [1.3% (2/153) vs. 5.9% (9/153), χ(2)=4.621, P=0.032], the differences were statistically significant (both P<0.05). Though PR group had lower incidence of grade C anastomoic leakage [1.3% (2/153) vs. 3.9% (6/153), χ(2)=2.054, P=0.152], but the differences were not statistically significant. (3) Postoperative inflammation: The difference of the procalcitonin level of both PR and NPR groups at postoperative 1-d, 3-d, and 5-d was statistically significant (F=5.222, P=0.010) in time-dependent manner, while the difference was not significant in the interaction effect (P>0.05). No statistically significant differences in the C-reactive protein level between two groups at postoperative 1-d, 3-d, and 5-d were found (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Peritoneum reconstruction in laparoscopic LAR can decrease the morbidity of postoperative complication of grade III to IV and the reoperation rate, and plays an important role in controlling the inflammatory reaction, which has great clinical value.

Perioperative airway management based on enhanced recovery after surgery for improvement of preoperative pulmonary function in patients with aspirin intolerance triad / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To explore the effect of perioperative airway management based on the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) on the improvement of preoperative pulmonary function in patients with aspirin intolerance triad (AIT). Methods: Thirty patients with AIT (including 13 males and 17 females, aged from 29 to 75 years old) for sinus surgery from January 2018 to December 2019 were selected, 172 patients (including 105 males and 67 females, aged from 17 to 83 years old) with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) without lower airway disease were selected by random number table at the same period, and their clinical data and preoperative pulmonary function were analyzed and compared retrospectively. FEV1%pred<80% after bronchodilation test was considered as high risk for surgery. Preoperative evaluation and standardized drug intervention were applied in patients with pulmonary function abnormalities at risk for surgery, and improvement of preoperative pulmonary function and tolerability to general anesthesia surgery in the two groups were evaluated. All the statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0. Results: The main pulmonary function indexes (FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC%pred, FEF50%pred, FEF75%pred, MMEF%pred) in AIT group decreased significantly than those in CRSwNP group (t values were 10.882, 10.506, 9.141, 10.182, 9.099, respectively, all P<0.001). At admission 86.7% (26/30) patients in the AIT group and 11.6% (20/172) patients in CRSwNP group had high surgical risk for lung function, with significantly difference (χ2 = 81.788, P<0.05); after 3 days with individualized drug intervention, 57.7% (15/26) patients in AIT group reached the standard for surgery, which was significantly less than 90.0% (18/20) patients in CRSwNP group (χ²=4.335,P<0.05); and after 6 days with drug intervention, the patients who reached the standard for surgery in pulmonary function accounted for 92.3% (24/26) in the AIT group and 100% (20/20) in the CRSwNP group. FEV1%pred in the two groups before surgery were significantly improved compared with those at admission respectively ((90.00±6.32)% vs. (64.79±13.60)%,t value was 10.110 in AIT group; (91.65±11.86)% vs. (76.40±9.35)%, t value was 9.346 in CRSwNP group; all P<0.05), and also FEV1/FVC%pred, FEF50%pred, FEF75%pred and MMEF%pred were all significantly improved (all P<0.05). Surgery was completed successfully in the two groups of patients with lung function meeting the surgical standard, and no intraoperative or postoperative airway adverse events occurred. Conclusion: AIT patients have high airway risk for sinus surgery due to poor pulmonary function. Standardized airway management based on the concept of ERAS can improve the pulmonary function of patients, and decrease the incidence of perioperative airway adverse events.

Feasibility and safety of intracardiac ultrasound-assisted atrial septal puncture during radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the feasibility and safety of intracardiac ultrasound-assisted atrial septal puncture (ASP) during radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. Methods: We enrolled 241 consecutive patients scheduled to radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from July to September 2020. Inclusion criteria: patients aged over 18 years with a clear electrocardiogram record of atrial fibrillation. Patients were divided into 2 groups: ASP with ultrasound-assisted X-ray (ultrasound group, n=123), ASP under X-ray alone (X-ray group, n=118). Clinical features of patients including age, sex, percent of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and repeat ablation, CHA2DS2-VASc score and past history (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), valve diseases) and echocardiographic parameters (left atrial dimension, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic dimension) were obtained and compared. The first-pass rate, radiation exposure time, duration of ASP, and complications of ASP were also compared between the two groups. Results: The age of patients in this cohort was (62.5±8.0) years, and the proportion of males was 57.0% (n=138). Among them, the proportion of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was 56.0% (n=135), and the ratio of repeat ablation was 17.8% (n=43). Age, sex, percent of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus were similar between the two groups. The first-pass rate was significantly higher in the ultrasound group than in the X-ray group (94.3% (116/123) vs. 79.7% (94/118), P=0.001); the exposure time of X-ray was significantly shorter in the ultrasound group than in the X-ray group ((31.3±7.9) s vs. (124.8±35.7) s, P<0.001), while the duration of ASP was longer in the ultrasound group ((10.1±1.8) minutes vs. (8.2±1.3) minutes, P<0.001). In terms of complications, the incidence of puncture into the pericardium was lower in the ultrasound group (0 vs.3.4% (4/118), P=0.039); the rate of transient ST-segment elevation post ASP was similar between the ultrasound group and X-ray group (2.4% (3/123) vs. 1.7% (2/118), P=0.999). Conclusion: Intracardiac ultrasound-assisted atrial septal puncture can effectively improve the accuracy of atrial septal puncture, shorten the radiation exposure time, and reduce the complications related to atrial septal puncture.

Causes of death and influencing factors of atrial fibrillation patients undergoing anticoagulation therapy / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To investigate the causes of death and predictors in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing anticoagulation therapy. Methods: Consecutive anticoagulated nonvalvular AF patients were recruited from the China Atrial Fibrillation Registry (China-AF) Study from August 2011 to December 2018. After exclusion of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, or loss of follow-up within 1 year, 2 248 patients were included in this analysis. Enrolled patients were followed up were followed up for 3 and 6 months, and then every 6 months. The primary endpoint was death, including cardiovascular death, non-cardiovascular death and undetermined death. The patients were divided into survival group and death group according to the survival status after follow-up. Clinical information such as age and sex was collected. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to identify associated risk factors for all-cause mortality, and Fine-Gray competing risk model was used to identify associated risk factors for cardiovascular mortality. Results: A total of 2 248 patients with atrial fibrillation receiving anticoagulant therapy died over a mean follow-up of (42±24) months, mean age was (67±10) years old and 41.1% (923/2 248) patients were female. The mortality rate was 2.8 deaths per 100 patient-years. The most common cause of death was cardiovascular deaths, accounted for 55.0% (120/218). Worsening heart failure was the most common cause of cardiovascular deaths (18.3% (40/218)), followed by bleeding events (12.9% (28/218)) and ischemic stroke (8.7% (19/218)). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR = 1.05, 95%CI 1.04-1.07, P<0.001), anemia (HR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.02-3.18, P = 0.041), heart failure (HR=2.40, 95%CI 1.75-3.30, P<0.001), ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA)(HR = 1.59, 95%CI 1.21-2.13, P = 0.001) and myocardial infarction (HR = 2.93, 95%CI 1.79-4.81, P<0.001) were independently associated with all-cause death. Fine-Gray competing risk model showed that age (HR=1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08, P<0.001), heart failure (HR=2.81, 95%CI 1.79-4.39, P<0.001), ischemic stroke/TIA (HR=1.50, 95%CI 1.02-2.22, P=0.041) and myocardial infarction (HR=3.31, 95%CI 1.72-6.37, P<0.001) were independently associated with cardiovascular death. Conclusions: In anticoagulated nonvalvular AF patients, ischemic stroke represents only a small subset of deaths, whereas worsening heart failure is the most common cause of cardiovascular deaths. Heart failure, ischemic stroke/TIA, and myocardial infarction are associated with increased mortality.

Efficacy and safety of catheter ablation in patients with new-onset atrial arrhythmia after surgical excision of left atrial myxoma / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation in patients with new-onset atrial arrhythmia after surgical excision of left atrial myxoma. Methods: Nine patients with new onset atrial arrhythmia and a prior history of left atrial myxoma, who received surgical myxoma excision and catheter ablation between September 2014 and November 2019, were included in the present study. Baseline characteristics, procedural parameters during catheter ablation, severe perioperative adverse events, recurrence rate of arrhythmia and clinical prognosis were analyzed. Kaplan Meier survival analysis was used to define the maintenance rate of sinus rhythm after catheter ablation in this patient cohort. Results: Nine patients were included. The average age was (55.8 ± 9.1) years old (3 male), there were 3 patients (3/9) with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and 6 patients (6/9) with atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia (AFL or AT). Ablation was successful in all patients, there were no perioperative complications such as stroke, pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, vascular complications or massive hemorrhage. During a mean follow-up time of 40.0 (27.5, 55.5) months, sinus rhythm was maintained in six patients (6/9) after the initial catheter ablation. The overall sinus rhythm maintenance rate was 2/3. In addition, 1 out of the 3 AF patients (1/3) developed recurrence of AF at 3 month after ablation, and 2 out of the 6 AFL or AT patients (2/6) developed late recurrence of AF or AFL (19 months and 29 months after ablation), two out of three patients with recurrent AFs or AFL received repeated catheter ablation and one patient remained sinus rhythm post repeat ablation. Meanwhile, there was no recurrence of atrial myxoma, no death, stroke, acute myocardial infarction and other events during the entire follow-up period. Conclusions: Catheter ablation is a safe and feasible therapeutic option for patients with new-onset atrial arrhythmia after surgical excision of left atrial myxoma.

Effect of dexmedetomidine on excitability of fast-spiking interneurons in primary somatosensory cortex of mouse brain / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on the excitability of fast-spiking interneurons in the primary somatosensory cortex of mouse brain.Methods:Eleven healthy C57BL/6 mice of either sex, at postnatal days 15-21, were used.The acute brain slices of primary somatosensory cortex were prepared and incubated in artificial cerebrospinal fluid.The whole-cell patch-clamp was established on fast-spiking interneurons and excitatory neurons in primary somatosensory cortex layer 4 separately.The membrane potential and action potential threshold from fast-spiking interneurons and spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents from excitatory neurons were recorded before application of dexmedetomidine (10 μmol/L)and at 5 min after application of dexmedetomidine.Results:Compared with that before application of dexmedetomidine, no significant change was found in the membrane potential and action potential threshold of fast-spiking interneurons and frequency and amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents at 5 min after application of dexmedetomidine( P>0.05). Conclusion:The analgesic mechanism of dexmedetomidine may not be related to the excitability of fast-spiking interneurons in the primary somatosensory cortex of the mouse brain.

A comparative study on short-term outcomes of Da Vinci robotic versus laparoscopic and open surgery for locally advanced Siewert type Ⅱ and Ⅲ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the short-term outcomes of Da Vinci robotic versus laparoscopic and open surgery for locally advanced Siewert type Ⅱ and Ⅲ adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG).Methods:The propensity score matching and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 404 patients with locally advanced Siewert type Ⅱ and Ⅲ AEG who underwent radical gastrectomy in the First Hospital Affiliated to Army Medical University from January 2009 to April 2019 were collected. There were 331 males and 73 females, aged from 34 to 90 years, with a median age of 62 years. Of the 404 patients, 104 undergoing Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy were allocated into robotic group, 205 undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy were allocated into laparoscopic group, and 95 undergoing open radical gastrectomy were allocated into open group. Observation indicators: (1) the propensity score matching conditions and comparison of general data among the three groups after propensity score matching; (2) surgical situations; (3) intraoperative lymph node dissection; (4) postoperative situations; (5) postoperative complications; (6) follow-up. Patients were followed up at postoperative 1 month by outpatient examination and telephone interview to detect survival and severe complications up to June 2019. The propensity score matching was used to perform 1∶2∶1 nearest neighbor matching by SPSS 23.0 and R software 3.6.1 Matchit among the robotic group, laparoscopic group and open group. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison among groups was done using one-way ANOVA analysis. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M (range), and comparison was done using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were represented as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison among groups was done using the chi-square test. Results:(1) The propensity score matching conditions and comparison of general data among the three groups after propensity score matching: 312 of 404 patients had successful matching, including 78 in the robotic group, 156 in the laparoscopic group, and 78 in the open group. The age, cases in G1, G2, G3 (histopathological classification) and cases with proximal gastrectomy or total gastrectomy (surgical resection range) before matching were (62.2±1.0)years, 0, 37, 67, 13, 91 in the robotic group, (60.9±8.1)years, 0, 98, 107, 31, 174 in the laparoscopic group, and (58.5±9.8)years, 1, 32, 62, 27, 68 in the open group, showing significant differences among the three groups ( F=4.269, 6.356, χ2=10.416, P<0.05). The above indicators after matching were (61.2±10.8)years, 0, 28, 50, 12, 66 in the robotic group, (60.7±8.0)years, 0, 56, 100, 25, 131 in the laparoscopic group, and (60.7±8.4)years, 0, 25, 53, 18, 60 in the open group, showing no significant difference among the three groups ( F=0.074, 0.379, χ2=2.141, P>0.05). (2) Surgical situations: the surgical time, volume of intraoperative blood loss, length of surgical incision, length of proximal margin after matching were 300.0 minutes(range, 188.0-420.0 minutes), 137.5 mL(range, 50.0-400.0 mL), 6.0 cm(range, 3.0-12.0 cm), 2.5 cm(range, 1.5-5.5 cm) in the robotic group, 276.0 minutes(range, 180.0-400.0 minutes), 150.0 mL(range, 40.0-800.0 mL), 6.0 cm(range, 3.0-12.0 cm), 3.0 cm(range, 1.0-5.0 cm) in the laparoscopic group, and 244.5 minutes(range, 125.0-461.0 minutes), 200.0 mL(range, 55.0-800.0 mL), 20.0 cm(range, 18.0-25.0 cm), 2.0 cm(range, 1.0-5.5 cm) in the open group, showing significant differences among the three groups ( χ2=27.619, 30.069, 179.367, 11.560, P<0.05). (3) Intraoperative lymph node dissection: the number of lymph node dissected, the number of lymph node dissected in the first station, the number of diaphragmatic and periesophageal lymph node dissected were 30.5(range, 10.0-70.0), 18.0(range, 6.0-42.0), 4.0(range, 0-13.0) in the robotic group, 29.0(range, 12.0-79.0), 19.0(range, 6.0-47.0), 5.0(range, 0-15.0) in the laparoscopic group, and 29.0(range, 18.0-58.0), 18.0(range, 12.0-38.0), 5.0(range, 0-8.0) in the open group, showing no significant difference among the three groups ( χ2=3.676, 1.014, 0.827, P>0.05). The number of lymph node dissected in the second station, the number of lymph node dissected in the superior pancreatic region, the number of No.110 lymph node dissected, the number of No.111 lymph node dissected after matching were 9.0(range, 2.0-30.0), 9.0(range, 2.0-30.0), 1.0(range, 0-4.0), 0(range, 0-3.0) in the robotic group, 6.5(range, 0-25.0), 7.0(range, 0-25.0), 0(range, 0-3.0), 0(range, 0-4.0) in the laparoscopic group, and 6.5(range, 0-19.0), 6.5(range, 0-19.0), 0(range, 0-1.0), 0(range, 0-1.0) in the open group, showing significant differences among the three groups ( χ2=19.027, 24.368, 19.236, 11.147, P<0.05). (4) Postoperative situations: the time to first flatus, time to initial out-of-bed activities, duration of postoperative hospital stay, treatment expenses after matching were 3 days(range, 2-5 days), 2 days(range, 1-4 days), 9 days(range, 5-20 days), 10.6×10 4 yuan [range, (5.4-18.0)×10 4 yuan] in the robotic group, 3 days(range, 2-8 days), 2 days(range, 1-7 days), 9 days(range, 6-56 days), 8.6×10 4 yuan[range, (5.7-40.8)×10 4 yuan] in the laparoscopic group, and 4 days(range, 2-10 days), 4 days(range, 2-10 days), 11 days(range, 8-41 days), 8.4×10 4 yuan[range, (5.8-15.2)×10 4 yuan] in the open group, showing significant differences among the three groups ( χ2=28.487, 95.069, 39.443, 83.899, P<0.05). (5) Postoperative complications: the incidence of overall complications, incidence of severe complications (Clavien-Dindo classification ≥grade 3), incidence of gastrointestinal complications, incidence of incisional complications, incidence of respiratory complications, incidence of infection were 21.8%(17/78), 5.1%(4/78), 10.3%(8/78), 1.3%(1/78), 7.7%(6/78), 2.6%(2/78) in the robotic group, 21.8%(34/156), 7.1%(11/156), 5.1%(8/156), 1.3%(2/156), 11.5%(18/156), 3.8%(6/156) in the laparoscopic group, and 29.5%(23/78), 6.4%(5/78), 9.0%(7/78), 2.6%(2/78), 14.1%(11/78), 2.6%(2/78) in the open group, showing no significant difference among the three groups ( χ2=1.913, 0.321, 2.394, 0.866, 1.641, 0.335, P>0.05). (6) Follow-up: 312 patients after propensity score matching were follow up at postoperative 1 month. During the follow-up, 2 cases with severe complications died after discharge. No severe complication such as obstruction of input or output loop, dumping syndrome was found in the other 310 patients. Conclusions:The Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy is safe and feasible for locally advanced Siewert type Ⅱ and Ⅲ AEG. Compared with laparoscopic and open radical gastrectomy, Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy has more advantages in the number of lymph node dissected in the second station (especially in the superior pancreatic region).

Application value of enhanced recovery after surgery in totally Da Vinci robotic total gastrectomy / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the application value of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in totally Da Vinci robotic total gastrectomy.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 97 patients with gastric cancer who underwent totally Da Vinci robotic total gastrectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 2016 and February 2019 were collected.There were 57 males and 40 females, aged (59±10)years, with a range from 35 to 60 years. Of the 97 patients, 52 receiving perioperative management using ERAS were allocated into ERAS group, and 45 receiving traditional perioperative management were allocated into traditional group. Observation indicators: (1) intraoperative situations; (2) postoperative situations. Measurement data with normal distribution were expressed as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the t test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and the chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. Repeated measurement data were analyzed by ANOVA. Comparison of ordinal datas was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results:(1) Intraoperative situations: patients in the ERAS group and traditional group underwent totally Da Vinci robotic total gastrectomy for gastric cancer successfully. Cases with Roux-en-Y anastomosis or uncut Roux-en-Y anastomosis (methods of digestive reconstruction), operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss for the ERAS group were 25, 27, (205±28)minutes, (176±80)mL, respectively, versus 21, 24, (199±31)minutes, (182±81)mL for the traditional group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( χ2=0.02, t=1.00, 0.37, P>0.05). (2) Postoperative situations: time to first out-of-bed activities, time to first anal flatus, time to initial liquid food intake, time to abdominal drainage tube removal, cases with postoperative complications, the number of lymph node dissected, cases in stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ of postoperative tumor staging, duration of postoperative hospital stay, hospitalization expenses were (1.85±0.29)days, (2.90±0.47)days, (2.53±0.28)days, (5.72±0.95)days, 6, 28±8, 4, 25, 23, (6.43±0.52)days, (60 222±3 888)yuan in the ERAS group and (3.04±0.39)days, (3.82±0.36)days, (4.24±0.30)days, (6.75±0.48)days, 5, (27±6)days, 3, 20, 22, (8.47±0.69)days, (64 197±3 369)yuan in the traditional group, respectively. There were significant differences in the time to first out-of-bed activities, time to first anal flatus, time to initial liquid food intake, time to abdominal drainage tube removal, duration of postoperative hospital stay and hospitalization expenses between the two groups ( t=17.19, 10.69, 29.02, 6.58, 16.57, 5.34, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the postoperative complications, the number of lymph node dissected, or postoperative tumor staging between the two groups ( χ2=0.01, t=0.68, Z=-0.46, P>0.05). From 2 hours after anesthesia awakening to 48 hours after surgery, the visual analog pain scores were changed from 3.06±0.29 to 2.13±0.32 in the ERAS group, and from 4.11±0.74 to 3.26±0.42 in the traditional group, respectively, showing a significant difference in the changing trend between the two groups ( F=264.45, P<0.05). There was no death or readmission in the postoperative 30 days. Conclusions:ERAS applied in the totally Da Vinci robotic total gastrectomy is safe and effective, which is associated with faster gastrointestinal function recovery, shorter hospital stay, better pain control, and quicker recovery afer surgery.