ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture in treatment of simple obesity patients and its effects on the metabolism-inflammation network. MethodsSeventy-two patients with simple obesity were randomly divided into a electroacupuncture group and a sham electroacupuncture group， with 36 patients in each group. In the electroacupuncture group， conventional acupuncture was applied at Zhongwan （CV 12）， bilateral Tianshu （ST 25）， bilateral Daheng （SP15）， Qihai （CV 6）， Guanyuan （CV 4）， bilateral Zusanli （ST 36） and Fenglong （ST 40）. The sham electroacupuncture group used placebo needle at same acupoints as the electroacupuncture group. Both groups were given sparse-dense waves with a frequency of 2/10 Hz， 30 minutes per session， 3 times a week， for a total of 8 weeks of treatment. The changes of human body parameters including body weight， body mass index （BMI）， waist circumference， and body fat percentage （BFP）， metabolic factors including serum fasting blood glucose （FBG）， triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high density lipoprotein （HDL）， low density lipoprotein （LDL）， leptin， and ghrelin， and inflammatory factors including interleukin-6 （IL-6） and tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α） were compared before and after treatment. Correlations between changes in leptin， ghrelin and inflammatory factors were further analyzed. ResultsWaist circumference was significantly reduced after treatment in both groups compared with baseline （P＜0.05）， and the post-treatment waist circumference was lower in the electroacupuncture group than in the sham electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）； body weight， BMI and BFP decreased significantly after treatment compared to pretreatment levels in the electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）. Serum leptin， IL-6 and TNF-α declined significantly after treatment in both groups versus baseline （P＜0.05）； the electroacupuncture group had lower post-treatment levels of leptin， IL-6 and TNF-α as well as larger pre-post changes than the sham group （P＜0.05）； ghrelin increased markedly after treatment in both groups （P＜0.05）， with higher post-treatment ghrelin and greater pre-post variation observed in the electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）. In the electroacupuncture group， changes in ghrelin were negatively correlated with IL-6 and positively correlated with TNF-α （P＜0.01）； in the sham electroacupuncture group， ghrelin changes were negatively correlated with both IL-6 and TNF-α， whereas leptin changes were positively correlated with the two inflammatory markers （P＜0.01）. ConclusionElectroacupuncture can effectively improve clinical manifestations， as well as regulate serum metabolic and pro-inflammatory factors in patients with simple obesity， and discrepant correlation patterns of metabolism-inflammation are observed between the two groups.

Objective:To quantitatively analyze right ventricular reverse remodeling in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation after transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, and to preliminarily evaluate the clinical efficacy of this procedure.Methods:This study was a prospective single-center cohort study. Patients diagnosed with severe tricuspid regurgitation at the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University from March 2021 to June 2023 were enrolled. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography before T-TEER, and transthoracic echocardiography at 30 days, 6 months, and 9 months after T-TEER. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, including death, stroke, myocardial infarction, reoperation, arrhythmia, and conduction block. Other clinical evaluation indicators included New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification and tricuspid regurgitation grade.Results:A total of 34 patients were enrolled, aged (67.9±9.3) years, and 71% (24/34) were female. The median follow-up duration was 9 months. All patients achieved a reduction of tricuspid regurgitation by ≥2 grades at 9 months after T-TEER, with 79% (27/34) of them having mild to moderate tricuspid regurgitation. Transthoracic echocardiography at 9 months after T-TEER showed that the vena contracta width of tricuspid regurgitation ((5.42±2.33) mm vs. (11.54±4.05) mm, P<0.001), effective regurgitant orifice area ((0.24±0.09) cm2 vs. (0.52±0.14) cm2, P<0.001), regurgitant jet area ((7.95±4.02) cm2 vs. (13.93±6.10) cm2, P<0.001), inferior vena cava diameter ((19.38±2.63) mm vs. (23.56±3.31) mm, P<0.001), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter ((28.03±6.26) mm vs. (33.21±8.24) mm, P=0.001), and tricuspid annular diameter ((36.47±4.40) mm vs. (41.44±7.08) mm, P<0.001) were all reduced compared with baseline; while the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion ((18.08±5.25) mm vs. (14.91±3.42) mm, P=0.005) and right ventricular fractional area change ((37.61±7.52)% vs. (30.79±9.06)%, P=0.004) were both increased compared with baseline. At 9 months after T-TEER, all patients had a NYHA functional classification of grade Ⅰ or Ⅱ, and no major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event occurred during the follow-up period. Conclusion:It is preliminarily confirmed that T-TEER is safe and effective in the treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation, with significant right ventricular reverse remodeling observed in patients at 9 months after T-TEER.

Objective:To quantitatively analyze right ventricular reverse remodeling in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation after transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, and to preliminarily evaluate the clinical efficacy of this procedure.Methods:This study was a prospective single-center cohort study. Patients diagnosed with severe tricuspid regurgitation at the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University from March 2021 to June 2023 were enrolled. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography before T-TEER, and transthoracic echocardiography at 30 days, 6 months, and 9 months after T-TEER. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, including death, stroke, myocardial infarction, reoperation, arrhythmia, and conduction block. Other clinical evaluation indicators included New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification and tricuspid regurgitation grade.Results:A total of 34 patients were enrolled, aged (67.9±9.3) years, and 71% (24/34) were female. The median follow-up duration was 9 months. All patients achieved a reduction of tricuspid regurgitation by ≥2 grades at 9 months after T-TEER, with 79% (27/34) of them having mild to moderate tricuspid regurgitation. Transthoracic echocardiography at 9 months after T-TEER showed that the vena contracta width of tricuspid regurgitation ((5.42±2.33) mm vs. (11.54±4.05) mm, P<0.001), effective regurgitant orifice area ((0.24±0.09) cm2 vs. (0.52±0.14) cm2, P<0.001), regurgitant jet area ((7.95±4.02) cm2 vs. (13.93±6.10) cm2, P<0.001), inferior vena cava diameter ((19.38±2.63) mm vs. (23.56±3.31) mm, P<0.001), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter ((28.03±6.26) mm vs. (33.21±8.24) mm, P=0.001), and tricuspid annular diameter ((36.47±4.40) mm vs. (41.44±7.08) mm, P<0.001) were all reduced compared with baseline; while the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion ((18.08±5.25) mm vs. (14.91±3.42) mm, P=0.005) and right ventricular fractional area change ((37.61±7.52)% vs. (30.79±9.06)%, P=0.004) were both increased compared with baseline. At 9 months after T-TEER, all patients had a NYHA functional classification of grade Ⅰ or Ⅱ, and no major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event occurred during the follow-up period. Conclusion:It is preliminarily confirmed that T-TEER is safe and effective in the treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation, with significant right ventricular reverse remodeling observed in patients at 9 months after T-TEER.

Twenty general practice residents who received training in Tongren Hospital from 2018 to 2020 were enrolled. The residents undertook rotation in chronic disease care clinic of the general medicine department, and a multi-disciplinary integrated teaching mode was applied. The theoretical knowledge test, skill assessment and self-evaluation were performed before and after rotation. The 360-degree evaluation was carried out when leaving the department (study group), the results were compared with that of internal medicine (control group) in the same period. The teaching effect was comprehensively evaluated. The scores of theoretical knowledge and skill assessment after rotation were significantly higher than those before rotation ( P<0.01). The self-evaluated ability was significantly higher than that at admission, especially in general practice thinking (7.85±0.88), doctor-patient communication (7.95±0.69), health education (7.80±0.70) and disease management (8.20±0.62) ( P<0.01). The 360-degree evaluation showed that the study group was better than the control group in interpersonal communication skills [(4.75±0.44) vs. (4.41±0.50)], system-based work ability[(4.75±0.44) vs. (4.31±0.47)], practice-based learning and improvement [(4.80±0.41) vs. (4.33±0.48)], patient care [(4.75±0.44) vs. (4.28±0.46)] and training mode satisfaction [(4.85±0.37) vs. (4.38±0.49)] (all P<0.05). The study indicates that the multi-disciplinary integrated teaching mode applied for rotation in the chronic disease care clinic of the general medicine department can improve the teaching effect and raise the teaching quality for general practice residency training.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between serum concentration of vasohibin-1 (VASH-1) and urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy.Methods:The clinical data of 196 patients with T2DM from February 2017 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. According to whether diabetic nephropathy (DN) was combined, 33 patients without DN of T2DM were divided into the control group,and 163 patients with DN of T2DM were divided into the case group, and the case group was divided into four groups:normal albuminuria group (groupⅠ, UACR <30 mg/g, 21 cases),microalbuminuria group (groupⅡ, UACR ≥30-≤300 mg/g, 50 cases), clinical albuminuria group (group Ⅲ, UACR>300 mg/g, 43 cases), and clinical albuminuria hypertensive group (groupⅣ, UACR >300 mg/g with hypertension, 49 cases). Serum levels of VASH-1,C-reactive protein(CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) with other biochemical indicators were measured. T-test was used for comparison between measurement data groups in accordance with normal distribution, one-way ANOVA was used for comparison between multiple groups, q-test was used for pairwise comparison, and χ2 test was used for comparison between counting data groups. The influencing factors were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between vash-1 and UACR. Results:UACR((1 175.9±120.4) mg/g), CRP((9.80±2.01) mg/L), ESR((20.61±2.20) mm/h),TGF-β1((16.75±2.05) μg/L), VASH-1((645.3±183.5) ng/L) in case group were higher than that in the control group((11.5±2.0) mg/g, (4.77±1.34) mg/L, (8.33±1.56) mm/h, (10.63±1.97) μg/L, (416.3±162.1) ng/L), and there were significant differences between the two groups ( t=123.39,13.76,30.54,15.75,6.66; all P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that VASH-1 ( OR=1.881,95% CI 1.146-3.089), UACR( OR=1.511,95% CI 1.064-2.146), TGF-β1( OR=1.846,95% CI 1.135-3.001)were all risk factors for DN of T2DM ( P values were 0.009, 0.022 and 0.012). Serum VASH-1 ((693.5±201.4), (709.8±214.7) ng/L] in group Ⅲ and group Ⅳ were higher than those in group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ ((585.3±162.1), (632.9±165.5) ng/L). There was significant difference between the two groups ( F=129.46, P<0.001). The CRP ((7.08±1.36), (8.99±3.72), (10.58±3.48), (11.64±3.50) mg/L), ESR ((17.36±1.76), (19.05±4.12), (21.45±5.74), (22.69±9.13) mm/h) and TGF- β1 ((14.75±1.97), (16.50±1.90), (17.06±1.23), (18.39±1.46) μg/L) of groupⅠ, groupⅡ, groupⅢ and groupⅣ increased gradually, and there were significant differences between the four groups ( F values were 73.48, 156.61, 25.83; all P<0.001). Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between VASH-1 and UACR ( r=0.532, P=0.008). Conclusion:The concentration of VASH-1 in serum of patients with T2DM complicated with DN increased with the increase of UACR. VASH-1 may become a new marker for predicting early DN of T2DM.

Objective:To quantitatively evaluate the left ventricular myocardial strains and global myocardial work indices in severe aortic stenosis(AS) patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) by using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) technology and pressure-strain loop (PSL).Methods:Twenty patients undergoing TAVI from January to November 2020 in Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University were selected as the TAVI group, and 20 healthy volunteers (with the matched gender, age) were selected as the control group at the same period. Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), endocardial, middle, epicardial myocardial longitudinal strain (LSendo, LSmid, LSepi) were measured by 2D-STI. The correlation between aortic pressure and the left ventricular systolic pressure invasively measured by cardiac catheterization, and blood pressure and the left ventricular systolic pressure non-invasively measured by peripheral brachial artery systolic blood pressure combined with Doppler-derived mean aortic gradient was separately compared. The non-invasive PSL was used to evaluate the global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW) and global work efficiency (GWE). The differences of the myocardial strains and myocardial work indices between the two groups, including controls, patients with preoperation, 1 week and 3 months after TAVI, were compared.Results:Compared with the control group, GLS, LSendo, LSmid and LSepi of the left ventricle in the TAVI preoperation group were decreased (all P<0.05), LSendo increased at 1 week after TAVI, and GLS, LSendo, LSmid, and LSepi increased at 3 months after TAVI (all P<0.05). In the TAVI preoperative, invasive aortic pressure was positively correlated with peripheral brachial artery systolic blood pressure, invasive left ventricular systolic pressure was positively correlated with non-invasive left ventricular systolic pressure ( r=0.658, 0.565; all P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the preoperative the GWE decreased and the GWW increased in the TAVI group (all P<0.05). Compared with the preoperation, the GWI and GCW decreased at 1 week after TAVI (all P<0.05). Compared with 1 week after TAVI, GWI, GCW, GWE increased and GWW decreased at 3 months after TAVI (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The application of 2D-STI and PSL can quantitatively evaluate the left ventricular myocardial systolic function before and after TAVI in AS patients, which can provide a more objective reference index for clinical evaluation of the efficacy of TAVI.

OBJECTIVE： To study the anti-gout effect of aqueous extract from the stems and leaves of Erythropalum scandens （ASLE）. METHODS： The mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， allopurinol group （positive control， 5 mg/kg）， ASLE low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （1 300， 2 600， 5 200 mg/kg， by raw material； similarity hereinafter）， with 10 mice in each group. Except for normal group， other groups were given potassium oxonate intragastrically to induce hyperuricemia model. One hour after modeling， normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically； administration group was given relevant medicine intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 7 d. One hour after last administration， the levels of serum uric acid （SUA） and serum creatinine （Scr） were detected by colorimetry assay. Another mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， indomethacin group （positive control， 7.5 mg/kg）， ASLE low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups， with 10 mice in each group. Normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically； administration group was given relevant medicine intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 7 d. After last administration， except for normal group， the mice were given sodium microcrystalline urate via toes to induce gouty arthritis model. Before and 1， 2， 4， 6， 8 h after modeling， the circumference of the same part of the inflamed limbs and toes of mice in each group was measured by wire binding method， and the degree of toe swelling was calculated. The number of white blood cell （WBC）， neutrophil （NEU） and lymphocyte （LYM） were detected by animal hematology analyzer. The levels of SUA and Scr were measured by colorimetry assay. The content of NO in toe tissue was determined by Griess method. RESULTS： The experimental results of hyperuricemia model showed that the levels of SUA and Scr in mice were significantly higher in model group than those in normal group （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， above indexes of mice were decreased significantly in administration group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The experimental results of gouty arthritis model showed that the level of SUA， the degree of toe swelling （2-8 h）， the number of WBC， NEU and LYM， NO content in model group were increased significantly， compared with normal group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the levels of SUA and Scr （ASLE groups）， the degree of toe swelling [indomethacin group， ASLE high-dose group （2-8 h）， ASLE low-dose group （2， 6 h）， ASLE medium-dose group （6 h）]， the number of WBC and NEU （administration groups）， the number of LYM （indomethacin group） and NO content （administration groups except for ASLE low-dose group） were decreased significantly in administration groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： The anti-gout effect of ASLE may be associated with promoting uric acid metabolism， anti-inflammatory and improving renal function.

Objective To investigate the value of MR diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)in assessment of the microstructural changes of the trigeminal nerve,and analyze it's correlation with the degree of vascular compression. Methods Thirty-four patients with trigeminal neuralgia from November 2015 to April 2017 were retrospectively analyzed in this study.And they were treated by microvascular decompression(MVD). There were 11 cases of gradeⅠ,16 cases of gradeⅡand 7 cases of gradeⅢaccording to the severity of the contact between nerves and vessels during the operation. All of them were scanned with three dimensional time-of-flight(3D-TOF)sequences, three dimensional fast imaging employing steady state acquisition(3D-FIESTA)sequences and DTI before undergoing surgical decompression. According to the preoperative MR scans,the trigeminal nerves were divided into the healthy side without neurovascular contact (25 cases) and the healthy side with a neurovascular contact (9 cases).The DTI parameters of the trigeminal nerve,including the anisotropic fraction(FA)and the ADC values were obtained.Comparison of the FA and ADC values of the trigeminal nerve between the different stages of the affected side was performed with single factor analysis of variance, and the paired samples t test was used to compare the difference of FA and ADC values of bilateral trigeminal nerve. The difference of FA and ADC values between the asymptomatic side with or without vascular contact was compared with independent sample t test. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between DTI parameters and the degree of compression. Results The FA values of patients with grades Ⅰ,ⅡandⅢwere 0.311±0.009, 0.308±0.007 and 0.299±0.009 respectively,and there was significant difference among different levels(F=5.269,P<0.05).The ADC values of the three grades were(2.298 ± 0.309)×10-3,(2.214 ± 0.175)×10-3and (2.259 ± 0.248)×10-3mm2/s respectively, showing no statistically significant difference(F=0.402,P>0.05). The FA values of bilateral trigeminal nerves in healthy side without neurovascular contact and in healthy side with neurovascular contact were statistically significant (t=-32.528,-25.178,P<0.05). There was significant difference in the ADC value of bilateral trigeminal nerves in the group without neurovascular contact(t=2.162,P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the ADC values of bilateral trigeminal nerves in the healthy side of the neurovascular contact group(P>0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the FA and ADC values between the two groups on the healthy side of the trigeminal nerve(P>0.05).The FA value was negatively correlated with the degree of vascular compression (r=-0.453,P<0.05),while the ADC value was not correlated with the degree of vascular compression(P>0.05). Conclusion DTI imaging can be used to evaluate the degree of trigeminal nerve injury. More obvious vascular compression leads to lower FA value.

Objective To discuss the relationships between regular pattern changes of plasma fibrinogen (Fib),D-dimer and fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) levels and the recent dissolution of thrombus in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) in 14 days after treatment.Methods A prospective study was conducted.PE patients admitted to Departments of Respiratory Disease in 4 hospitals from January 2015 to March 2016 were enrolled and all of them were treated with thrombolysis and/or anticoagulation after admission.The computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was examined pre-treatment and 14 days post-treatment in PE patients.The pulmonary artery obstruction index (PAOI) was assessed according to the Mastora scoring method to estimate the thrombus load.The plasma Fib,D-dimer and FDP levels were measured before and on 1,2,3,5,7 and 14 days after treatment,and the relationships between the change regularities of these parameters and PAOI were also analyzed.Results A total of 42 PE patients were enrolled.The curve change of coagulation-fibrinolytic system parameters in 14 days after treatment showed that the Fib level was raised to its peak on the 3rd day after treatment and then decreased (g/L:4.24 ± 1.45 vs.3.83 ± 1.56),representing that its curve change was in accordance with the quadratic model (P =0.095).After treatment,the D-dimer and FDP levels were kept declining,they were reached the valley on 14th day [D-dimer (mg/L):1.58 ± 1.38vs.8.84 ± 6.35,FDP (mg/L):4.23 ± 3.63 vs.23.41 ± 16.54],and their curve changes were in accordance with the cubic model (F was 32.190 and 34.326,respectively both P =0.000).The PAOI variation before and 14 days after treatment [(18.77 ± 14.22)％] was not correlated with Fib variation [(1.20 ± 0.93) g/L,r =-0.194,P =0.219],but was positively correlated with D-dimer variation [(7.29 ± 7.10) mg/L] and FDP variation [(19.29 ± 18.67) mg/L,r was 0.556 and 0.460,respectively;P was 0.020 and 0.002,respectively].Conclusions The D-dimer and FDP levels are kept falling in PE patients after treatment,suggesting that the pulmonary artery embolus is being dissolved.

Prior to the formation of new metastases,a large number of cancer cells released from the primary tumor enter the dormancy period.Once the dorruancy is broken,tumor cells will recover the capability of proliferation.In recent years,various hypotheses and mechanisms of tumor metastasis have been studied.Primary tumor resection is considered to be an important factor to break tumor dormancy state.It is recognized as an important reason to promote tumor metastasis.The improvement of surgical technique and further study on the mechanism of dormancy may provide new ideas for the treatment of metastatic tumor.