OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose ilaprazole combined with amoxicillin for newly diagnosed elderly patients with Helicobacter pylori （Hp） infection， and analyze independent risk factors for failure of Hp infection eradication treatment. METHODS Totally 200 cases of newly diagnosed elderly patients with Hp infection in Xinxiang Central Hospital from August 1， 2021 to December 1， 2024 were selected and randomly divided into control group and study group， with 100 cases in each group. The control group was treated with classic quadruple therapy regimen （Amoxicillin capsules+ Clarithromycin tablets+Bismuth potassium citrate tablets+Ilaprazole enteric-coated tablets）. The study group was treated with high- dose Ilaprazole enteric-coated tablets+Amoxicillin capsules. All patients were administered medication for 2 weeks. Hp eradication rates in the two groups were compared using intention-to-treat （ITT） and per-protocol （PP） analyses. The incidence of adverse reactions in both groups was also recorded. The multiple-factor Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for failure of Hp infection eradication treatment. RESULTS In ITT and PP analyses， there was no significant difference of Hp eradication rates between the two groups （P＞0.05）. There was no significant difference in incidence of mild to moderate adverse reactions between the two groups （P＞0.05）. BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2， BMI ＞23.9 kg/m2， rural residence， concomitant diabetes and concomitant heart disease were identified as independent risk factors influencing the failure of Hp infection eradication treatment （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy and safety of high-dose ilaprazole combined with amoxicillin are comparable to classic quadruple therapy regimen in treating newly diagnosed elderly patients with Hp infection. Independent risk factors influencing the failure of Hp infection eradication treatment include BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2， BMI ＞23.9 kg/m2， rural residence， concomitant diabetes and concomitant heart disease.

Objective:To identify serum metabolic markers for early prediction and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted.The study subjects were from pregnant women enrolled in the Birth Cohort Study of the Women′s Hospital, Zhejiang University, from1 November 2018 to 30 March 2020.100 cases of GDM (GDM group, Age 36.03±3.91) and 150 non-GDM pregnant women matched for clinical information (control group, Age35.49±3.46) were retrospectively selected for the study. Fasting serum samples were collected at 15-20 weeks of gestation (prior to GDM diagnosis, T1 period) and 24-28 weeks of gestation (during GDM diagnosis, T2 period). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to quantify GDM-related serum metabolic small molecules, including 1, 5-anhydroglucitol, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, phenylalanine, and isoleucine. These molecules, along with basic clinical information (age, gestational week, BMI) and standard biochemical indicators (FPG), were used to develop predictive models for the early detection of GDM at T1 and the diagnosis of GDM at T2. Statistical analysis was performed using t-tests or Mann-Whitney U-tests.Result:The results of the targeted quantitative validation study indicate: At the T1 stage, the level of 1, 5-anhydroglucitol was found to be significantly lower ( P=0.001) in the GDM group compared to the control group. Conversely, the level of isoleucine was significantly higher ( P=0.027) in the GDM group. There were no significant differences in the levels of 3-hydroxybutyrate and phenylalanine between the two groups ( P>0.05). The combination of the 4 metabolites yielded the highest predictive value (AUC) for GDM at T1, with an AUC of 0.670 (95% CI: 0.602-0.739), P<0.001.At the T2 stage, the GDM group had significantly lower levels of 1, 5-anhydroglucitol ( P<0.05) and significantly higher levels of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and isoleucine ( P<0.05) than the control group, with no significant differences in phenylalanine levels ( P=0.626). The combination of the four metabolites had the highest diagnostic value (AUC) for GDM, 0.717 (95% CI 0.651-0.783), P<0.001.The analysis of seven different combinations of GDM prediction/diagnostic models created by combining four metabolites with basic clinical information and routine biochemical indicators showed: We found that the AUC value of the GDM diagnostic model built with FPG, BMI, pre-pregnancy BMI, age, gestational week, and the 4 metabolite indicators in T2 stage was the best, 0.794 (95% CI 0.736-0.851), P<0.001, with a sensitivity of 72%;The best AUC value for the GDM prediction model built with the same indicators at T1 was 0.711(95% CI 0.646-0.776), P<0.001, with a sensitivity of 77%. Conclusions:Four metabolic small molecules, 1, 5-anhydroxyglucitol, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, phenylalanine, and isoleucine, were integrated with clinical indicators (FPG) and clinical information (age, gestational week, BMI) to develop a predictive model for GDM at gestation (T1) and a diagnostic model for GDM at gestation (T2), demonstrating promising clinical prediction and diagnostic capabilities. 1, 5-Anhydroglucitol, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, phenylalanine, and isoleucine show potential as valuable markers for the prediction and diagnosis of GDM.

Guided by the concept of "blood-pulse-heart-spirit"， it is believed that stable angina combined with insomnia is caused by disturbance of blood vessels， which leads to loss of nourishment for the heart body and heart spirit， so the core treatment principle is to regulate the blood vessels and calm the mind. At the beginning of the disease， it shows as the liver fails to govern the free flow of qi， and disorders qi and blood； during the progress of the disease， it shows as spleen deficiency and phlegm stagnation， phlegm and blood stasis obstructing the vessels； the central mechanism of the disease shows as disturbance of blood vessels and insufficient heart yin. For the pattern of liver depression and blood stasis， pattern of phlegm and blood stasis blocking the vessels， and pattern of heart yin deficiency， it is recommended to treat by Wuzang Shenning Formula （五脏神宁方） to dredge the liver and regulate the vessels， Banxia Houpo Decoction （半夏厚朴汤） plus Gualou Xiebai Banxia Decoction （瓜蒌薤白半夏汤） to dissolve phlegm and regulate the vessels， and Yunpi Tiaoxin Decoction （运脾调心汤） to nourish the yin and regulate the vessels. Throughout the treatment， pattern differentiation and treatment is accompanied by the method of calming the mind with heavy sedatives and nourishing the blood to calm the mind， so as to achieve the purpose of regulating mind and heart together and treating the body and spirit at the same time.

As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Critical Illness ; Treatment Outcome

As a Chinese saying goes， "good Chinese medicinal material makes good medicine"， the quality of Chinese herbal medicines is related to the development prospect of Chinese medicine industry in China. With the rapid development of new technologies such as traceability methods and monitoring instruments， it is imperative to integrate and innovate traditional Chinese herbal medicines with new-generation information technology in view of the quality problems existing in the current production and circulation of Chinese herbal medicines， and it is of great significance for the construction of traceability system to ensure the quality and safety of Chinese herbal medicines and to promote the industry of Chinese herbal medicines to move towards high-quality development. This paper reviews the development history of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines in China， takes the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines as the entry point， and proposes that the construction of the traceability system should satisfy the traceability requirements of the characteristics of Chinese herbal medicines and their traditional medication experience. By analyzing the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， it is pointed out that focusing on the influencing factors to build a traceability system is of great significance for targeting the problematic links at a later stage and exploring the interrelationship between environmental factors and the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Based on the previous explorations， the author summarizes the system framework， functional modules and practical applications of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines， and looks forward to the development of a traceability system with risk early warning function and expert decision-making function in its functional development. Finally， based on the factors affecting the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， the author puts forward several thoughts on construction of the traceability system， and makes an in-depth analysis and puts forward a solution for the current situation that a unified， standardized and universal traceability system has not yet been built， with a view to providing ideas and references for the construction of traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical value of a capillary electrophoresis-based method for gene diagnosis of hyperphenylalaninemia.Methods:In this single-center prospective study, 40 newborns with suspected hyperphenylalaninemia detected by neonatal liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry screening at Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital from February 2021 to February 2023 were included, with 22 males, 18 females and a mean age at diagnosis of 21.93 days.Capillary electrophoresis was used to detect 85 variants of the phenylalanine hydroxylase ( PAH) gene in 40 newborns with suspected hyperphenylalaninemia.The PAH gene of undiagnosed patients was further analyzed by Sanger sequencing.The detection rate, sensitivity and specificity of capillary electrophoresis were calculated. Results:Among these 40 newborns with suspected hyperphenylalaninemia, 71 PAH variants were detected by capillary electrophoresis, 32 patients were clearly diagnosed, only 1 pathogenic variant was found in 5 patients, and no pathogenic variant was found in the last 3 patients.Therefore, the detection rate, sensitivity and specificity of capillary electrophoresis for analysis of the PAH gene were 80.00%, 88.75% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions:The capillary electrophoresis-based method can rapidly, efficiently and accurately detect PAH gene variants at lower cost and is a promising gene detection method for hyperphenylalaninemia in clinical practice.

Currently, the dominating treatment of corneal blindness is corneal transplantation, but the shortage of corneal donors has been a major problem in corneal transplantation.Compared with the traditional preparation method of artificial cornea, with the emergence of new materials, new technologies and new commercial activities, hydrogel provides a new possibility for the preparation of artificial cornea.Hydrogel is similar to the equivalent of extracellular matrix, with high biocompatibility, low immunogenicity and other characteristics, so it has been popularized and applied in many industries.As an important material of regenerative medicine, hydrogel has shown a strong application prospect in pharmaceutical research, 3D cell culture, stem cell research, 3D printing bio-ink and other fields.The main materials used for generating hydrogels are hyaluronic acid, gelatin, sodium alginate, etc.A lot of researches on using hydrogels as materials combined with different 3D printing technologies to prepare artificial corneas have been carried out and certain technical and theoretical breakthroughs have been made.This article briefly reviewed the research progress of hydrogel combined with 3D printing in the preparation of artificial cornea.

Objective To compare the accuracy of consolidation/tumor ratio(CTR)measured at different CT thresholds for the prediction of invasiveness in small lung cancer with diameter≤2 cm using artificial intelligence-assisted measurements,and to explore the CTR thresholds and the corresponding CT thresholds for predicting lung cancer invasiveness.Methods Clinical data from 59 lung cancer patients(78 lung nodules in total)treated at Wuwei Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to May 2023 were collected to analyze the prediction efficacy of CTR on invasiveness in small lung cancer with diameter≤2 cm measured at CT thresholds of-400,-350,-300,-250,-200,-150 HU.ROC curves were plotted to determine the optimal critical value for invasiveness prediction,followed by the corresponding CT threshold.Results The highest diagnostic efficacy for the invasiveness of lung nodules was achieved at a CT threshold of-250 HU,with an area under the curve of 0.931,sensitivity of 77.5％,specificity of 100％,and an optimal CTR threshold of 0.322.Conclusion For small lung cancers with a maximum diameter≤2 cm,CTR measured at a CT threshold of-250 HU can accurately predict lung cancer invasiveness.At CTR>0.322,the nodule is more likely to be microinvasive or invasive adenocarcinoma.

Objective To observe the effect of coronary reperfusion therapy on the differential ex-pression of plasma exosomal miRNAs in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Meth-ods Three elderly male AMI patients undergoing coronary reperfusion therapy in our hospital from October to November 2022 were recruited in this study.The venous blood samples were col-lected at admission and 2 and 24 h after recanalization.MiRNA-sequencing was used to screen the differentially expressed miRNAs which were commonly expressed in the plasma exosomes of the 3 patients.Bioinformatics analysis was performed on the target genes,and then the differentially expressed miR-499a-5p was verified by qPCR.Results Compared with the plasma exosomal miRNAs at admission,there were 418 up-regulated and 406 down-regulated miRNAs at 2 h after operation,and 320 up-regulated and 225 down-regulated miRNAs at 24 h after operation(P＜0.05);Compared with the miRNAs at 2 h after operation,there were 344 up-regulated and 350 down-regulated ones at 24 h after operation(P＜0.05).Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Ge-nomes enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed miRNAs were enriched in phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B,hypoxia-inducible factor 1,and vascular smooth muscle contraction pathways.Gene Ontology analysis indicated that the molecular functions of dif-ferentially expressed miRNA target genes were mainly enriched in protein binding and DNA bind-ing;cellular components were mainly enriched in cell membrane and cytoplasm;and biological processes were mainly enriched in signaling and transcription of DNA templates.The miR-499a-5p level was significantly lower at 2 h postoperatively than at admission[(0.577±0.020)vs(1.000± 0.023),P＜0.05],and at 24 h postoperatively than at 2 h postoperatively[(0.068±0.006)vs(0.577±0.020),P＜0.05].Conclusion Plasma exosomal miRNAs can be used as a biomarker for early diagnosis of elderly AMI patients and for predicting the efficacy of reperfusion therapy.

Objective To explore the influence of gender on the prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion(LAAO).Methods All non-valvular AF patients who were admitted in our hospital and underwent LAAO from August 2014 to August 2021 were enrolled and grouped according to gender.Their general information,including gender,age,comorbid underlying diseases,and results of transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)were collected.The incidences of device-related thrombosis(DRT),pericardial tamponade,stroke,bleeding,hospitalization for heart failure,and cardiac death were recorded during follow-up.The influence of gender on the prognosis of these patients was analyzed.Results There were totally 673 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled,including 366 males and 307 females,at a mean age of 68.2±9.4 years.When compared with the male patients,the female ones had a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score(P＜0.01),but smaller proportions of history of stroke,average compression ratio of occluders,and incidence of residual shunt(＜3 mm)after occlusion(P＜0.05).In 45～60 d after surgery,TEE revealed that there were 17 cases of DRT,including 8 males(2.2％)and 9 females(2.9％),though without statistical difference between the groups.Among the 17 DRT cases,1 experienced stroke,and the incidence of stroke was 5.9％in those with DRT and 0.5％without.There were 4 cases of postoperative pericardial tamponade,including 1 in the male group and 3 in the female group(no significant difference),and all of them were improved after pericardial puncture and fluid extraction.During the follow-up period of 40.2±20.5 months,no obvious differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of stroke,bleeding,hospitalization for heart failure,and cardiogenic death.Conclusion Gender shows no significant effect on the prognosis of patients with non-valvular AF after LAAO.