Screening influencing factors of blood stasis constitution in traditional Chinese medicine

Objective To study the influencing factors of blood stasis constitution and provide a basis for treating blood stasis-related diseases by traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) constitution identification.Methods Data were collected using the self-developed TCM constitution identification platform based on B/S model by the project team. The obtained data were divided into blood stasis constitution and normal constitution groups. The differences of the categorical type influencing factors(gender, birth mode, feeding mode within four months of birth, family history, marital status, eating habits, sleeping habits, exercise habits, emotional state, stress situation, and living environment) and the quantitative type influencing factors(sleep time, age,and mother’s age at birth) on the constitution of the two groups were analyzed. In the singlefactor analysis, the Pearson’s chi-square test was selected for the categorical variable, and the independent sample t test and Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test were selected for the quantitative variables according to whether they conformed to the positive-terrestrial distribution;the binary logistic stepwise regression method was selected for the multi-factor analysis.Results The data of 318 cases were collected from the TCM composition identification platform, and 159 cases of blood stasis constitution were used as the experimental group and 159 cases of normal constitution were used as the control group. The Pearson’s chi-square test yielded significant differences(P < 0.05) in the effects of gender, pressure situation, family history, living environment, emotional state, exercise habits, and dietary habits on blood stasis constitution. The independent samples t test yielded differences in sleep duration between the blood stasis constitution and normal constitution populations(P < 0.05), which meant sleep duration of the blood stasis constitution population was less than that of the normal constitution population. The Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test results accepted the original hypothesis that there was no difference in the distribution of age and mother’s age at birth across constitution types(P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that gender, family history, marital status, living environment, exercise habits, and emotional state were risk factors for blood stasis constitution(P < 0.05).Conclusion Gender, family history, living environment, emotional state, and exercise habits were significant influencing factors of blood stasis constitution. Blood stasis constitution populations can pay more attention to these influencing factors in their daily life for the prevention and reconciliation of blood stasis constitution.

Simplified criteria for diagnosing superficial esophageal squamous neoplasms using Narrow Band Imaging magnifying endoscopy

AIM To simplify the diagnostic criteria for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(SESCC) on Narrow Band Imaging combined with magnifying endoscopy(NBI-ME).METHODS This study was based on the post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial. We performed NBI-ME for 147 patients with present or a history of squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck, or esophagus between January 2009 and June 2011. Two expert endoscopistsdetected 89 lesions that were suspicious for SESCC lesions, which had been prospectively evaluated for the following 6 NBI-ME findings in real time: "intervascular background coloration"; "proliferation of intrapapillary capillary loops(IPCL)"; and "dilation", "tortuosity", "change in caliber", and "various shapes(VS)" of IPCLs(i.e., Inoue's tetrad criteria). The histologic examination of specimens was defined as the gold standard for diagnosis. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify candidates for the simplified criteria from among the 6 NBI-ME findings for diagnosing SESCCs. We evaluated diagnostic performance of the simplified criteria compared with that of Inoue's criteria.RESULTS Fifty-four lesions(65%) were histologically diagnosed as SESCCs and the others as low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia or inflammation. In the univariate analysis, proliferation, tortuosity, change in caliber, and VS were significantly associated with SESCC(P < 0.01). The combination of VS and proliferation was statistically extracted from the 6 NBI-ME findings by using the stepwise logistic regression model. We defined the combination of VS and proliferation as simplified dyad criteria for SESCC. The areas under the curve of the simplified dyad criteria and Inoue's tetrad criteria were 0.70 and 0.73, respectively. No significant difference was shown between them. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of diagnosis for SESCC were 77.8%, 57.1%, 69.7% and 51.9%, 80.0%, 62.9% for the simplified dyad criteria and Inoue's tetrad criteria, respectively.CONCLUSION The combination of proliferation and VS may serve as simplified criteria for the diagnosis of SESCC using NBIME.

Study on the Ecological Degradation of Lashihai Area based on Potential Vegetation

Ecological degradation is a common problem around the world which has a profound impact on the sustainable development of mankind.This paper selects Lashihai basin as the study case,and uses Logistic stepwise regression to simulate the original ecology of the potential vegetation in the area as a reference system for the definition and analysis of the subsequent degree of ecological degradation and its distribution characteristics.The analysis yields four main results.(1)The strong human disturbance areas in the Lashihai region are concentrated in the Lashihai basin,and the main impact factors are roads,residential areas and cultivated lands.(2)Besides lake,there are eight potential vegetation types in Lashihai,among which evergreen coniferous forest is the dominant community,and the other seven planting types of potential vegetation include warm meadow,grass,beach grass,evergreen broad-leaved shrubbery,deciduous broad-leaved shrubbery,warm steppe and alpine grassland.(3)The elevation and average phosphorus content have significant effects on the distribution of potential vegetation,while the different vegetation types have differential sensitivities to environmental factors.(4)On the whole,the degree of ecological degradation in the basin is relatively light,in which the proportion of non-degraded areas accounts for nearly half,the area of mild degradation is about one-fourth,the moderately degraded area is concentrated in areas with strong human disturbance,accounting for only 18.64%,and the severe degradation is rare,occupying an area of only 3.17%.