In the treatment of hiccup in the elders by acupuncture plus ear-point embedding method, main acupoints Neiguan (PC 6), Zusanli (ST 36) and Tiantu (CV 22) were treated. Qihai (CV 6) and Taixi (KI 3) were added for those with weak constitution due to old age and severe illness, Zanzhu (BL 2) added for those with cerebrovascular disease, and Zhigou (TE 6) added for those with digestive disease and constipation, and Hegu (LI 4) added for those with respiratory disease. Ear-point embedding method on Diaphragm(MA), Stomach(MA), Ershenmen(MA-TF 1), Subcortes(MA-AT1) and Kidney(MA) were conducted. Results showed cure in 45 cases, improvement in 10 cases and the effective rate was 100%.

Objective To study the long-term effect of argon plasma coagulation (APC) combined with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) on Barrett esophagus (BE). Methods A total of 36 patients, histologically proven as having BE from 2004 to 2007, were enrolled to underwent a therapy of APC plus PPI. The patients were re-examined on endoscopy at 1, 6 and 12 months after first APC and once a year thereafter.Results A total of 48 APC sessions were given to 36 patients with a mean number at 1. 33 per patient. The effective rate of reversal of BE was 100%. The follow-up was accomplished for all patients in 14-51 months with a median of 36months. The total recurrence rate (RR) of BE reached 16. 7% (6/36). The 1-year and 2-year RRs were 2. 8% (1/36) and 11.1% (4/36), respectively. The logistic regression analysis suggested that 2-year and total RRs were related to APC sessions ( P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion The therapy of APC combined with PPI for BE is safe and of long-term effects.

Objective:To systematically review the severe risk in common chronic diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.Methods:PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, China Biology Medicine disc, medRxiv, SSRN and ChinaXiv were searched for clinical and epidemiological studies that reported chronic diseases in patients with COVID-19. Only studies of severe COVID-19 in comparison with non-severe controls were included. The prevalence rates of chronic diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes mellitus, hypertension, malignant tumor, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and chronic liver disease were estimated. Pooled odds ratio ( OR) with 95% confidence interval ( CI) between patients with severe COVID-19 and non-severe groups were calculated. R 3.6.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results:The search yielded 2 455 articles. A total of 19 eligible comparative studies with 4 792 patients were included in a quantitative analysis. Meta-analysis showed that there was a proportion of 55.0% (95% CI 40.0%-80.0%) male among patients with COVID-19, and the overall pooled prevalence of any chronic diseases in COVID-19 cases was 30.4% (95% CI 24.0%-37.0%). The most prevalent comorbidity was hypertension (16.9%(95% CI 14.0%-20.0%)), followed by diabetes mellitus (8.3%(95% CI 8.0%-9.0%)). The proportion of male patients with severe COVID-19 was higher than that of male patients with non-severe COVID-19 (64.4% vs 52.8%, OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.08-2.05, Z=4.63, P<0.01). The prevalence rates of COPD, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumor in severe COVID-19 patients were higher than those of non-severe patients ( OR=5.77, 95% CI 3.80-8.74; OR=4.47, 95% CI 2.71-7.38; OR=3.55, 95% CI 2.86-4.40; OR=3.05, 95% CI=1.76-5.28; OR=2.82, 95% CI=1.96-3.97; OR=2.39, 95% CI=1.77-3.23; OR=2.15, 95% CI 1.27-3.66, respectively, Z=8.37, 6.01, 11.60, 4.20, 5.46, 5.71, 3.12, all P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of chronic liver disease between severe and non-severe patients ( OR=1.35, 95% CI 0.84-2.17, P=0.11). Conclusion:COVID-19 patients with chronic diseases have higher risk of developing severe disease, and the ORs from high to low are COPD, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumor.

Objective:To establish the C57BL/6 mouse models of radiation-induced cardiopulmonary dysfunction.Methods:Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the control and irradiation groups. Mice in the irradiation group were irradiated with 20 Gy electron beam and bred for 6 months after irradiation. Cardiac function was assessed using ultrasonography. The partial pressure of oxygen was detected by blood gas analysis. Cell apoptosis was observed by Tunel assay. Myocardial and pulmonary fibrosis was assessed by Masson staining.Results:The LVEF in the irradiation group was (68.60±10.92)%, significantly less compared with (81.75±8.79)% in the control group ( P< 0.01). The apoptotic index of heart in the irraiation group was (23.90±6.60)%, considerably higher than (3.25±3.38)% in the control group ( P< 0.01). The CVF of heart in the irradiation group was (15.42±5.72)%, significantly higher than (1.45±0.64)% in the control group ( P< 0.01). The PaO 2 level in the irradiation group was (86.10±7.60) mmHg, significantly lower compared with (107.16±9.01) mmHg in the control group ( P< 0.01). The apoptotic index of lung in the irradiation group was (27.90±8.94)%, significantly higher than (2.50±3.55)% in the control group ( P<0.01). The CVF of lung in the irradiation group was (17.76±5.77)%, remarkably higher than (2.50±3.55)% in the control group ( P< 0.01). Conclusion:Radiation can induce cardiopulmonary apotosis and fibrosis remodeling, which leads to cardiopulmonary dysfunction, suggesting the successful establishment of C57BL/6 mouse model of radiation-induced cardiopulmonary dysfunction.

Objective:To investigate the regulatory effect of miR-26a in radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) mice.Methods:C57/BL6 mice were used to establish RIHD models. The cardiac function, fibrosis, the expression levels of collagen 1 (COL1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and miR-26a were detected in RIHD mice. Whether CTGF was the target gene of miR-26a was verified by dual luciferase kit. Moreover, cardiac fibroblasts were transfected with miR-26a up and miR-26a down lentivirus vectors to construct the miR-26a overexpression and underexpression cell models. The expression of CTGF, proliferation, and apoptosis of cardiac fibroblasts were detected.Results:In the RIHD mice, heart function was decreased, myocardial fibrosis was remodeled, the expression levels of COL1 and CTGF were up-regulated, and the expression level of miR-26a was down-regulated. Dual luciferase reporter assay confirmed that CTGF was the target gene regulated by miR-26a. Overexpression of miR-26a could inhibit the expression of CTGF, suppress the proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts, promote cell apoptosis and secrete collagen. Underexpression of miR-26a yielded the opposite results.Conclusion:MiR-26a affects the function of cardiac fibroblasts by targeting CTGF and probably mediates the process of radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis, which may become a new regulatory target of RIHD.

Objective:To investigate the regulatory role of microRNA in radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) in mice and provide a new strategy for its treatment.Methods:Based on the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE147241), which includes normal heart tissue and irradiation heart tissue, we conducted bioinformatics research and analysis to determine the differentially-expressed genes. Then, thirty male C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into the control group, irradiation group and miR-133a overexpression intervention group. The heart received single dose of X-ray 20 Gy in the irradiation group and miR-133a overexpression intervention group, but not in the control group, and then fed for 16 weeks. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography. Myocardial fibrosis was detected by Masson staining. The expression levels of miR-133a, CTGF, COL-1 and COL-3 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR. The expression levels of CTGF, COL-1 and COL-3 proteins were detected by western blot.Results:miR-133a was the differentially-expressed gene between the irradiation and control groups. Overexpression of miR-133a could mitigate the decrease in cardiac function and increase in myocardial collagen content ( P<0.01). Meantime, overexpression of miR-133a could down-regulate the expression levels of CTGF, COL-1, COL-3 mRNA and protein ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Radiation increases the synthesis of collagen and leads to myocardial fibrosis remodeling. Overexpression of miR-133a can alleviate the radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis.

Objective To explore the correlation between serum glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c),lym-phocyte activation gene-3(LAG-3)and thyroid nodules in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 120 T2DM patients with thyroid nodules admitted to the Third Hospital of Hebei Medi-cal University from July 2021 to July 2022 were included as the study group,and 100 simple T2DM patients(without thyroid nodules)were included as the control group during the same period.According to the patho-logical examination results of thyroid nodules,the study group was grouped into a benign nodule group(85 ca-ses)and a malignant nodule group(35 cases).Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was applied to detect the serum LAG-3 level of all study subjects.Fully automated glycated hemoglobin analyzer was applied to detect HbA1c level in all study subjects.Spearman method was applied to analyze the correlation between serum HbA1c,LAG-3,and thyroid imaging report and data system(TI-RADS)scores in patients with T2DM and thyroid nodules.Multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors of T2DM with thyroid nodules.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was applied to analyze the diagnostic value of HbA1c and LAG-3 levels in T2DM with thyroid nodules.Results Compared with the control group,the level of HbA1c in the study group was obviously higher(P<0.05),while the level of LAG-3 was obviously lower(P<0.05).Compared with the benign nodule group,the serum LAG-3 level in the malignant nodule group was obviously lower(P<0.05),while the level of LAG-3 was obviously lower(P<0.05).Spearman analysis showed a positive correlation between HbA1c level and TI-RADS score in T2DM patients with thyroid nod-ules(r=0.378,P<0.001),while the serum LAG-3 level was negatively correlated with TI-RADS score(r=-0.472,P<0.001).The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that HbA1c was a risk factor for the occurrence of thyroid nodules in T2DM patients(P<0.05),and LAG-3 was a protective factor for the occurrence of thyroid nodules in T2DM patients(P<0.05).The combination of HbA1c and LAG-3 in the diagnosis of T2DM with thyroid nodules was superior to their individual diagnosis(Zcombination-HbA1c=2.542,P=0.011;Zcombination-LAG-3=3.098,P=0.002).Conclusion Patients with T2DM combined with thyroid nodules have obviously lower serum LAG-3 level and higher HbA1c level,and the two are related to the malignancy of thyroid nodules.