Height， as one of the crucial indicators for assessing children’s growth and development， has consistently been a global focus. With economic development and improvements in social living standards， the clinical management needs for children with short stature have been increasingly growing. While growth hormone brings hope to children with short stature， it also triggers ethical challenges such as medical standardization， expansion of indications， equitable accessibility， and informed consent. To avoid the ethical issues related to the use of pediatric growth hormone， multidimensional and comprehensive clinical management should be implemented for children with short stature， including strictly adhering to medical standards and ethical guidelines， enhancing public awareness， and promoting the standardized development of recombinant human growth hormone （rhGH） therapy and ethics.

Objective To understand the current status of health literacy among caregivers of patients with liver cancer and its influencing factors so as to provide a basis for improving the level of health literacy among caregivers of patients with liver cancer.Methods Using convenience sampling method,the caregivers of the liver cancer patients,who were admitted to the Department of Interventional Radiology of a certain grade ⅢA hospital in Changsha City,Hunan Province of China between April and October of 2022 and who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria,were selected as the research objects.The general information questionnaire,Health Literacy of Caregivers Scale-Cancer(HLCS-C),and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(SCSQ)were used to conduct the survey.Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the factors influencing the health literacy among caregivers of patients with liver cancer.Results A total of 204 valid questionnaires were collected.The score of health literacy of caregivers was(123.08±16.66)points.The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the residence location,the monthly income per capita of the family,the number of hospitalization times,the length of care,work/study status,and coping style were the main factors influencing the health literacy(P<0.001),which explained 81.9％of the total variance.Conclusion The health literacy among the caregivers of patients with liver cancer is at a moderate level.Clinical medical staff can implement individualized health education by evaluating caregivers with different characteristics,encourage caregivers to seek and grasp disease-related information,and help the caregivers to adopt positive coping styles,so as to improve their health literacy.

Objective:To explore the association between the intake and changes in various types of food and the changes in blood pressure in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.Methods:Mild to moderate hypertension participants with complete baseline and outcome data were included from DECIDE-Diet study, a multicenter, randomized controlled trial. Dietary records and blood pressure measurements at both 7-day run-in (baseline) and 28-day intervention phases were collected for enrolled participants. Blood pressure change was defined as the difference between blood pressure at the end of trial and the baseline blood pressure. Baseline intake of food was the average daily intake during the run-in period, and the intake increment was defined as the difference between the average intake during the trial period and the average intake during the run-in period. After adjusting for age, sex, study center, intervention groups, baseline body mass index (kg/m 2), antihypertension medication use, and baseline total calorie intake, a linear regression model was used to analyze the associations of the before-after-intervention change in blood pressure with baseline intake and intake increment of foods. Results:A total of 258 patients with mild to moderate hypertension were included, including 133 males, aged (56.5±9.9) years. (1) After adjusting for confounding factors, there was no significant association between baseline intake of food and baseline blood pressure (all P>0.05). The blood pressure change was negatively associated with baseline intakes of tubers, vegetables, and vegetable oils but positively with baseline intake of meats; and was negatively associated with intake increment of whole grains and fish (all P<0.05). (2) The multiple linear regression analysis showed that baseline intake of vegetables ( β=-0.021, P=0.004), vegetable oils ( β=-0.260, P=0.002), and increment in intake of fish ( β=-0.128, P=0.026) were all significantly associated with changes in systolic blood pressure; baseline intake of vegetables ( β=-0.017, P=0.002), vegetable oils ( β=-0.182, P=0.001), dairy products ( β=0.021, P=0.022), and increment in intake of fish ( β=-0.092, P=0.010) were all significantly associated with changes in diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion:Increasing the intake of whole grains, vegetables, vegetable oils, and fish and decreasing the intake of meat may be beneficial for blood pressure control in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.

Objective:To evaluate myocardial microcirculation perfusion with myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and to explore the prognostic value of different types of myocardial microcirculation perfusion.Methods:This is a prospective cohort study. Patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent successful PCI in Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University and Kanghua Hospital of Dongguan City from October 2019 to June 2021 were selected. All the enrolled patients completed MCE examination within 72 hours after PCI. According to the examination results, the patients were divided into normal microcirculation perfusion group, delayed microcirculation perfusion group, and blocked microcirculation perfusion group. Adverse cardiovascular events including all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and angina re-hospitalization were followed up, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) review results were collected at six months to one year after surgery. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to investigate the difference in the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in different myocardial perfusion groups, and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of myocardial perfusion on adverse cardiovascular events.Results:A total of 113 patients with acute myocardial infarction were included, aged (56.3±11.5) years, with 88(78%) males. There were 31 cases in the normal microcirculation perfusion group, 43 cases in the delayed microcirculation perfusion group and 39 cases in the blocked microcirculation perfusion group. LVEF was reviewed in 49 patients, and LVEF in the delayed microcirculation perfusion group was significantly improved compared with baseline at follow-up ((63.3±1.2) % vs. (58.6±1.8) %, P=0.043), and there was no statistically significant difference between the other two groups (all P>0.05). The median follow-up time was 473 days, during follow-up period 30 adverse cardiovascular events occurred. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events among the three groups ( Plog-rank=0.029). Cox regression analysis showed that abnormal microcirculation perfusion (defined as delayed and blocked microcirculation perfusion) was an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI ( HR=1.90, 95% CI1.16-3.12, P=0.011). Conclusions:Microcirculatory perfusion decrease or lost is common in patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI. Timely restoration of blood flow reconstruction can save heart function when microcirculatory perfusion decreases. Microcirculatory perfusion is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocardial infarction, and patients with poor myocardial perfusion are more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events.

Objective To investigate the impact of variations in RNA-binding motif protein 20(RBM20)and muscle-restricted coiled-coil(MURC)digenic heterozygosity variation on the structural and biological characteristics of human cardiomyocyte AC 16(an adult left ventricular myocardial cell line).Methods Cardiomyocyte AC 16 cell lines were constructed with control,negative scramble,wild-type,MURC single-gene mutant,RBM20 single-gene mutant,and RBM20 and MURC digenic mutant groups.The localization of RBM20 and MURC in cardiomyocytes,cell area,cytoskeletal arrangement,cytoskeleton-related proteins,cell polarity,and intracellular calcium concentration were observed using Western blotting,immunofluorescence staining,and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Myocardial apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry.Ki-67 staining and wound healing assays were performed to detect cardiomyo-cyte proliferation and migration,respectively.Results Digenic mutations had a more pronounced impact than single-gene mutations in RBM20 or MURC on the structural and biological characteristics of cardiomyocytes,manifested by increased cell area,upregulated mRNA expression of hypertrophy-related genes,such as myosin heavy chain 7 and alpha-actin,increased cytoskeleton disturbance,decreased flu-orescence intensity of cytoskeletal proteins β-tubulin and Vinculin(all P＜0.01);increased fluorescence intensity of the polarity protein Part 6(P＜0.05);and significantly elevated cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate,decreased proliferative activity,and elevated migration rate and intracellular calcium ion concentration(all P＜0.01).Conclusion The digenic heterozygous variation in RBM20 and MURC may induce changes in the morphological structure and biological characteristics of myocardial cells,including increased cell area,cytoskeleton dis-turbance,cell polarity,increased apoptosis rate and mobility,decreased cell proliferation activity,and calcium processing ability.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Babaodan （BBD） on the NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3/cysteine aspartate-specific protease-3 （NLRP3/Caspase-1） pathway proteins in mice with acetaminophen （APAP）-induced acute liver injury. MethodC57BL/6 mice were randomly grouped， and BBD （75， 150， 300 mg·kg^-1， ig） was administered twice a day for three days. After 2 hours of the last administration， the mice were treated with APAP （400 mg·kg^-1， ip）， and the eyeballs were removed to collect blood after 14 hours. Then they were sacrificed by cervical dislocation for sample collection. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the morphological changes of liver tissue cells， and biochemical methods were used to detect the activities of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA） and myeloperoxidase （MPO） in serum of mice in each group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was performed to determine the mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β） and IL-6， and Western blot was performed to determine the protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 （COX-2）， inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）， NLRP3， Caspase-1 and IL-18 in the liver of mice. ResultCompared with the conditions in normal group， the hepatic lobule structure of mice in the model group was partially destroyed， and the hepatic sinusoids were dilated. And the expression levels of ALT and AST in serum， the protein levels of NLRP3， Caspase-1， iNOS， IL-18 and COX-2 and the mRNA levels of IL-1β， IL-6 and TNF-α were increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the administration groups had improvement in liver cell rupture and hepatic sinusoidal compression， and a dose-dependent decrease in the levels of ALT and AST in serum as well as the protein levels of NLRP3， Caspase-1， iNOS， IL-18 and COX-2 and the the mRNA levels of IL-1β， IL-6 and TNF-α in liver tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionBBD can reduce APAP-induced acute liver injury in mice. The mechanism may be related to anti-oxidative stress， inhibition of NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway， and decreased expression levels of IL-1β， IL-18， TNF-α and IL-6.

ObjectiveTo identify the functions of the AP2/ERF family members in Pinellia ternata and promote the genetic improvement of P. ternata varieties. MethodWe identified and conducted a systematic bioinformatics analysis of the AP2/ERF family member genes in P. ternata based on the three generations of transcriptome data. Real-time polymerase Chain reaction　（Real-time） PCR was employed to determine the expression pattern of AP2/ERF genes in different tissues and under different stress conditions. ResultA total of eight full-length AP2/ERF family members were identified from the transcriptome data， which were classified into three sub-gene families： AP2， ERF， and DREB. The deduced AP2/ERF proteins in P. ternata had the length of 251-512 aa， the theoretical pI of 5.29-11.72， the instability index of 45.90-82.41， subcellular localization in the nucleus， and conserved domains and motifs. AP2/ERF genes were expressed in different tissues of P. ternata， with high expression levels in the leaf. The stress response experiments showed that PtERF1 mainly responded to NaCl stress. The expression of PtERF2 and PtERF4 was significantly up-regulated under low temperature and polyethylene glycol （PEG）-simulated stress. PtERF3 responded to both low temperature and NaCl stress. The expression of PtERF5 was induced by high temperature， low temperature， NaCl and PEG stress. The expression of PtERF7 was up-regulated under high temperature， while that of PtERF8 under low temperature. ConclusionThe AP2/ERF genes in P. ternata can respond to stress and have the potential functions of regulating photosynthesis and improving root stress resistance.

Objective:To study the effect of different hemostasis methods on postoperative pain and sex hormone levels in patients undergoing laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy.Methods:A total of 118 patients with ovarian cysts admitted to our hospital from Jun. 2018.6 to Aug. 2020 were collected and grouped by digital table method into electrocoagulation hemostasis group (59 cases, electrocoagulation hemostasis) and suture hemostasis group (59 cases, suture hemostasis). Pain at time points, serum inflammatory factors and sex hormone levels in the two groups were measured, and the incidence of complications was counted 12 weeks after surgery.Results:The VAS scores of suture hemostasis group at 6, 12 and 24 h after operation (3.33±0.93, 3.63±1.02, 3.01±0.94) were significantly lower than those of the electrocoagulation hemostasis group (4.16±1.05, 4.61±1.17, 3.72±1.05) ; there was no significant difference in serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels between the preoperative suture hemostasis group and the electrocoagulation hemostasis group. The serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the group (37.64±4.82ng/L, 39.67±4.71ng/L) were lower than those in the electrocoagulation hemostasis group (45.96±5.25ng/L, 48.96±5.14ng/L) ( P<0.05) .) ; there was no significant difference in serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E 2) or luteinizing hormone (LH) levels between preoperative electrocoagulation hemostasis group and suture hemostasis group ( P>0.05) ; There was no significant difference in the three indexes in the suture hemostasis group 3 months after operation compared with those before treatment ( P>0.05). The serum FSH and LH [ (6.59±0.91) mIU/ml, (5.24±0.77) mIU/ml] in the suture hemostasis group were lower than those in the electrocoagulation hemostasis group [ (7.39±1.02) mIU/m, (5.97±0.89) mIU/m], E 2 in suture hemostasis group [ (51.08±6.09) pg/ml] was higher than that in electrocoagulation hemostasis group [ (46.88±5.59) pg/ml] ( P<0.05). In terms of the complication rate at 3 months after operation, the suture hemostasis group (32.20%) was significantly lower than electrocoagulation hemostasis (13.56%) ( P<0.05). After 1 year of follow-up, the pregnancy success rate of the suture hemostasis group (72.88%) was significantly higher than that of the electrocoagulation hemostasis group (52.54%) ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes ( P>0.05) . Conclusions:Suture hemostasis in patients undergoing laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy is beneficial to relieve postoperative pain, improve postoperative inflammatory response, protect their ovarian function, avoid complications such as abnormal ovulation and excessive menstrual flow, and improve the success rate of pregnancy. The overall application effect is better than electrocoagulation hemostasis.

Objective:To investigate the factors affecting the accuracy of electronic portal imaging device (EPID)-based in vivo dose verification in radiotherapy for patients with lung and esophageal cancers, and to recommend the workflow and specifications for the application of the in vivo dose verification. Methods:This study randomly selected 32 patients who received radiotherapy for esophageal and lung cancers at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital from May to August 2022, including 14 lung cancer cases and 18 esophageal cancer cases. Using a uRT-linac 506c linear accelerator, these patients were treated according to the dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (dIMRT) and EPID-based In vivo dose verification ( In vivo EPID) plans developed with the uRT-TPOIS planning system. The In vivo dose verification performed during the treatment included 238 fractions of In vivo EPID and 80 fractions of image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for the lung cancer cases, as well as 414 fractions of In vivo EPID and 105 fractions of IGRT for the esophageal cancer cases. The 2D γ passing rate for each irradiation field was obtained according to the set threshold value. Furthermore, fractioned irradiation fields with γ-passing rates below the threshold value were analyzed, and primary factors decreasing the γ-passing rate were further analyzed by combining the online CT images and 3D reconstruction-derived dose. Results:For lung and esophageal cancers, the mean γ-passing rates were 95.1% ± 5.7% and 96.5% ± 4.5%, respectively at 3 mm/5%; 91.5% ± 8.4% and 92.2% ± 4.9%, respectively at 3 mm/3%, and 79.1% ± 14.7% and 83.7% ± 8.2%, respectively at 2 mm/2%, indicating no statistically significant differences between two cancers ( P > 0.05). The average γ passing rate for beam orientations near 0°/180° (Group A) was higher than those near 90°/270° (Group B) 3 mm/5%: Z = -25.4, P < 0.05; 3 mm/3%: Z = -26.8, P < 0.05). The IGRT correction of setup errors significantly improved the γ passing rates (96.3% ± 5.1% and 96.4% ± 4.9%, respectively at 3 mm/5%, Z = -5.50, P < 0.05; 92.3% ± 8.0% and 91.3% ± 7.7%, respectively at 3 mm/3%, Z = -9.54, P < 0.05). The results of In vivo dose verification were affected by changes in the volumes and motion of tumors and normal tissues, radiotherapy positioning, and adequacy of pre-treatment preparation. Conclusions:EPID-based In vivo dose verification during radiotherapy can avoid incorrect irradiation. However, it is necessary to standardize the workflow of the EPID-based In vivo dose verification to avoid the decrease in the γ passing rate caused by artificial factors.

Atherosclerosis （AS） is a chronic multifactorial vascular disease and a major pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases. It mainly occurs in the middle-aged and elderly and causes high mortality. Apoptosis is a form of spontaneous programmed death. Under pathological conditions， the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells （VECs）， vascular smooth muscle cells （VSMCs）， and macrophages is the key factor of the occurrence and development of AS. The apoptosis of VECs may be an early event that promotes the formation and progression of AS lesions， while the subsequent apoptosis of VSMCs and macrophages accelerates the formation of AS unstable plaques and plays a key role in the late stage of AS. Therefore， apoptosis may provide a new target for the treatment of AS. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that Chinese medicine plays a positive role in the treatment of AS by regulating apoptosis factors and apoptosis-associated signaling pathways. However， the studies about the treatment of AS with Chinese medicine from apoptosis have not been systematically reviewed. Therefore， we reviewed the relevant literature and systematically summarized the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis. Specifically， we focused on mitochondrial apoptosis pathway， death receptor apoptosis pathway， endoplasmic reticulum stress apoptosis pathway and explored the role of apoptosis in AS. Further， we reviewed the progress in the role and mechanism of Chinese medicine in regulating apoptosis against AS， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of AS and the development of drugs.