Arrhythmia is an important disease among cardiovascular diseases. Malignant arrhythmias often occur clinically and are induced by abnormal ion channels， electrical activity disorders， myocardial fibrosis， inflammation， dysfunctional mitochondrial biogenesis， mitochondrial calcium overload， out-of-balance energy metabolism， oxidative stress， sympathetic hyperactivity， and other pathological cardiac remodeling， and they are the main causes of sudden cardiac death. In traditional Chinese medicine， arrhythmias are considered to be palpitations， which are commonly caused by deficiency of Qi and Yin. It is often manifested as a deficiency of the spleen and stomach， resulting in malfunction of the Qi mechanism， followed by a particularly severe decline in cardiac function. Shengmaisan is a representative formula for nourishing Qi and Yin， consisting of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Ophiopogonis Radix， and Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus. In recent years， clinical studies have shown that Shengmaisan and its additions and subtractions are commonly used in the treatment of arrhythmias. In this article， the mechanisms of the active ingredients of Shengmaisan in the electrophysiology， biochemistry， structure， autonomic nervous system， and subcellular fraction of the heart are reviewed， and the multi-target， multi-system， and integrality of Shengmaisan in the treatment of arrhythmias of Qi and Yin deficiency are described. In addition， energy metabolism disorder is tightly juxtaposed with Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome. Mitochondria， as the center of myocardial energy metabolism， play a paramount role in cardiac remodeling， indicating that Shengmaisan will be a salient part of future research to ameliorate cardiac pathologic remodeling through energy metabolism of mitochondria， so as to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of these arrhythmias.

Objective To explore potential predictors of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MRMP)to severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(SMPP)in early stage.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 117 cases of MRMP that were hospitalized in the First People's Hospital of Huzhou between January 2023 and January 2024.The children were divided into severe group and mild group based on the severity of their disease.A comparison of the clinical characteristics between two groups was conducted,along with an analysis of the risk factors contributing to the occurrence of SMPP.Results Among 117 children with MRMP,there were 63 in severe group and 54 in mild group.The duration of fever,cough,white blood cell count,C-reactive protein(CRP),and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)in severe group were all higher than those in mild group(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the duration of fever,CRP,and LDH were independent risk factors for the development of SMPP from MRMP.Area under the curve of the three combined tests was 0.963(95％CI:0.935-0.991,P＜0.001).Conclusion The probability of MRMP developing into SMPP can be predicted based on the duration of fever,CRP,and LDH levels at the first visit of the patient,thereby achieving early diagnosis and treatment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.004.].

The passing of ethical review is a necessary conditions and prerequisite for the development of life science and medical research involving humans. At present, some medical and health institutions have no or insufficient ethical review capabilities. The lack of ethical review ability has become a bottleneck restricting the development of life science and medical research involving humans. According to documents such as Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Review and Approval System and Encouraging the Innovation of Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, Opinions on Strengthening the Ethical Governance of Science and Technology, institutions can entrust competent institutional ethics review committees or regional ethics review committees in writing to conduct ethical review. Entrustment ethical review provides a viable solution for institutions that need to carry out life science and medical research involving humans but do not have an ethics (review) committee or the ethics (review) committee is not competent to review. To conduct the entrustment ethical review, the entrustment between the principal and the trustee is required. According to The Measures for Ethical Review of Life Sciences and Medical Research Involving Humans, if medical and health institutions and their ethical review committees do not accept the formal entrustment to provide the ethical review opinions for other institutions, the local health authorities at or above the county level will impose administrative penalties and sanctions on the relevant institutions and personnel in accordance with the law. Signing the entrustment ethical review contract, implementing legal compliance entrusted ethical review to protect the rights and interests of the trustee and the principal, and protect the research participants.

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy, recurrence rate, and quality of life of elderly patients with Qi deficiency constipation treated with umbilical moxibustion combined with stone needle acupoint massage.Methods:Convenience sampling method was used to select 160 elderly patients with qi deficiency constipation who were hospitalised in the Department of Respiratory Medicine of Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from June 2021 to January 2023 as the study subjects. A total of 160 elderly patients with Qi deficiency constipation were randomly divided into four groups by using the method of randomisation of district groups, the control group ( n=40) received routine health education and nursing, the massage group ( n=40) was treated with needle stone acupoint massage, the umbilical moxibustion group ( n=40) received umbilical moxibustion with moxa and ginger, and the massage and umbilical moxibustion group ( n=40) was treated with needle stone acupoint massage combined with umbilical moxibustion. All patients were treated continuously for two weeks. This study compared the clinical efficacy, constipation symptom score, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score, score of Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) and the recurrence rate after three months of treatment among four groups of patients. Results:After treatment, compared with the other three groups, the massage and umbilical moxibustion group had the highest total clinical effective rate, with the lowest scores for constipation symptoms, traditional Chinese medicine syndromes, and PAC-QOL, with statistical differences ( P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate among the four groups ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Needle stone acupoint massage and umbilical moxibustion can both improve the clinical symptoms of elderly patients with Qi deficiency constipation, and combination of the two has a better effect, reducing recurrence rate, and improving quality of life.

The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) throughout the world has resulted in stressful healthcare burdens and global health crises. Developing an effective measure to protect people from infection is an urgent need. The blockage of interaction between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and S protein is considered an essential target for anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) drugs. A full-length ACE2 protein could be a potential drug to block early entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells. In this study, a therapeutic strategy was developed by using extracellular vesicles (EVs) with decoy receptor ACE2 for neutralization of SARS-CoV-2. The EVs embedded with engineered ACE2 (EVs-ACE2) were prepared; the EVs-ACE2 were derived from an engineered cell line with stable ACE2 expression. The potential effect of the EVs-ACE2 on anti-SARS-CoV-2 was demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo neutralization experiments using the pseudovirus with the S protein (S-pseudovirus). EVs-ACE2 can inhibit the infection of S-pseudovirus in various cells, and importantly, the mice treated with intranasal administration of EVs-ACE2 can suppress the entry of S-pseudovirus into the mucosal epithelium. Therefore, the intranasal EVs-ACE2 could be a preventive medicine to protect from SARS-CoV-2 infection. This EVs-based strategy offers a potential route to COVID-19 drug development.

The heparin polysaccharide nanoparticles block the interaction between heparan sulfate/S protein and inhibit the infection of both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and the mutated strains through pulmonary delivery.Image 1.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features of bronchiectasis in children after severe adenovirus pneumonia and to provide clinical clues for the early diagnosis of bronchiectasis in children after severe adenovirus pneumonia.Methods:A retrospective study was made to analyze the clinical data of 26 children with bronchiectasis after severe adenovirus pneumonia treated in Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University from May 2016 to May 2021.Results:A total of 26 cases were reported, including 18 males and 8 females.The median onset age of severe adenovirus pneumonia was 23.0 (15.0, 48.0) months.A total of 23 cases suffered concurrent infections, and bacterial co-infection was the most common (16 cases). High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) showed multiple lobar solids in the lung with/without pleural effusion.During the acute phase, most of the cases were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (21 cases), mechanical ventilation (20 cases), and systemic glucocorticoids (19 cases). The median age at diagnosis of bronchiectasis was 29.5 (21.0, 56.8) months, and the median time that the patients took to develop into acute adenovirus pneumonia was 6.0 (3.3, 13.0) months.Six cases suffered bronchiectasis alone, and 20 cases had bronchiectasis combined with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO). Of these 20 cases, 3 cases developed bronchiectasis and PIBO simultaneously, and the remaining 17 cases developed bronchiectasis after PIBO.In the included 26 cases, diffuse bronchiectasis predominated (24 cases), most frequently involving the left lower lobes (21 cases) and right lower lobes (21 cases). Cylindrical bronchiectasis was the most common type (23 cases). All the patients had recurrent cough and wheezing during follow-up, and only 3 cases coughed up pus sputum without hemoptysis.All children had acute exacerbations, which were mostly caused by bacteria (21 cases). Nineteen cases combined with PIBO and 1 case with only bronchiectasis were rehospitalized.There was no cases of surgical resection or death.Conclusions:Bronchiectasis after severe adenovirus pneumonia mostly occurs in patients with or without PIBO.Multiple lobe involvement and co-infection may be a risk factor for PIBO patients to develop bronchiectasis.The clinical manifestations are mostly recurrent cough and wheezing, while sputum and hemoptysis are less common.Pediatricians should promptly perform chest HRCT for early diagnosis of the disease.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Xiaoyu-Jiangzhi capsules on blood lipid, carotid artery atherosclerosis (CAA) and plaque in apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE -/-) mice. Methods:The ApoE -/- mice were fed with high-fat food to establish carotid atherosclerosis model. The ApoE -/- mice were randomly by weight divided into model group, Atorvastatin group, low- and high-dose Xiaoyu-Jiangzhi capsules group. The C57BL/6cnc mice were used as control group and fed with normal diet. The Atorvastatin group was given atorvastatin suspension 1.3 mg/kg, low and high dose groups were given Xiaoyu-Jiangzhi capsule suspension 325 and 975 mg/kg, and the control group and model group were given equal volume of distilled water. The mice were gavaged with 0.1 ml/10 g body weight, once a day, and the weight of mice was recorded weekly. After 12 weeks of continuous intragastric administration, the blood lipid and liver /body weight index of the mice were measured. Carotid arteries were sliced to conduct oil red O staining and VG staining for the pathological analysis. Results:After 12 weeks of drug administration, the weight of mice in the high-dose group was significantly lower than the model group. The level of TC (25.92 ± 4.21 mmol/L vs. 30.39 ± 4.67 mmol/L) and LDL-C (7.97 ± 2.14 mmol/L vs. 10.26 ± 1.97 mmol/L) in the high-dose group significantly decreased ( P<0.05), the level of HDL-C in the low and high-dose group significantly increased ( P<0.05). The pathological results showed that after 12 weeks of administration, the carotid artery lipid deposition blockage rate in the Atorvastatin group and the high dose group were significantly smaller than the model group( P<0.05), and no vascular plaque has been formed. Conclusion:The Xiaoyu-Jiangzhi capsules could reduce LDL-C, increase HDL-C levels, reduce the constriction of arterial stenosis and slow down the formation process of carotid plaque.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for a Chinese pedigree affected with non-syndromic cleft lip and cleft palate (NSCLP). METHODS: With informed consent obtained, members of the pedigree were subjected to clinical examination and history taking to exclude syndromic cleft lip and palate. One affected member was subjected to whole-exome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing and co-segregation analysis of her family members and 100 unrelated healthy individuals. RESULTS: Whole-exome sequencing and co-segregation analysis showed that all affected members of this pedigree have carried a heterozygous missense c.253A>G (p.Cys85Arg) variant in exon 4 of the IRF6 gene, which has co-segregated with the phenotype and was not found among the 100 unrelated healthy individuals. CONCLUSION The missense c.253A>G variant in exon 4 of the IRF6 gene probably underlay the NSCLP in this pedigree.
Brain/abnormalities* ; China ; Cleft Lip/genetics* ; Cleft Palate/genetics* ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon Regulatory Factors/genetics* ; Mutation, Missense ; Pedigree ; Whole Exome Sequencing