Chronic heart failure （CHF） is the final stage of cardiovascular diseases. It is a complex syndrome， with dyspnea and edema as the main clinical manifestations， and it is characterized by complex disease conditions， difficult cure， and high mortality. Ferroptosis， a new type of programmed cell death， is different from other types of programmed cell death. Ferroptosis is iron-dependent， accompanied by lipid peroxide accumulation and mitochondrial shrinkage， becoming a hot research topic. Studies have confirmed that ferroptosis plays a key role in the occurrence and development of CHF. The regulation of ferroptosis may become a potential target for the treatment of CHF in the future. The theory of Qi deficiency and stagnation refers to the pathological state of original Qi deficiency and abnormal transportation and distribution of Qi， blood， and body fluid， which has guiding significance for revealing the pathogenesis evolution of some chronic diseases. We believe that Qi deficiency and stagnation is a summary of the pathogenesis of ferroptosis in CHF. Deficiency of Qi （heart Qi） is the root cause of CHF， and stagnation （phlegm turbidity and blood stasis） is the branch of this disease. The two influence each other in a vicious circle to promote the development of this disease. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） plays an important role in the treatment of CHF， improving the prognosis and quality of life of CHF patients. This paper explores the correlation between the theory of Qi deficiency and stagnation and the mechanism of ferroptosis in CHF. Furthermore， this paper reviews the mechanism of Chinese medicines and compound prescriptions in preventing and treating CHF by regulating ferroptosis according to the principles of replenishing Qi and dredging to remove stagnation， aiming to provide new ideas and methods for the treatment of CHF with TCM.

Shengma Gegentang is one of the classic formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classic Prescriptions （Second Batch）. This study reviewed ancient and modern literature and used literature tracing and bibliometric methods to analyze the historical evolution， efficacy， indications， dosage decoctions， and modern clinical disease spectrum of Shengma Gegentang. The results indicated that the earliest record of Shengma Gegentang can be found in the Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang of the Song dynasty， but its origin can be traced back to the Shaoyao Siwu Jiejitang in the Beiji Qianjin Yaofang of the Tang dynasty. The composition dosage of Shengma Gegentang is 413 g of Cimicifugae Rhizoma， 619.5 g of Puerariae Lobatae Radix， 413 g of Paeoniae Radix Alba， and 413 g of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， which are ground into coarse powder. Each dose is 12.39 g， and the amount of water added is 300 mL. 100 mL of solution is decocted and taken at the right time. The four drugs in the formula play the role of relieving exterior syndrome， penetrating pathogenic factors， and detoxicating together. Its indications are widely involved in internal medicine， pediatrics， surgery， ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology， obstetrics and gynecology， sexually transmitted diseases， and other diseases， such as measles， sores， acne， spots， surgical gangrene， red eyes， toothache， chancre， and fetal poison. The epidemic diseases treated by Shengma Gegentang are complicated， including rash， pox， macula， numbness， summer diarrhea， dysentery， sha disease， febrile symptoms， spring warmth， winter warmth， and cold pestilence. At the same time， it is a plague prevention formula. Although Shengma Gegentang has a wide range of indications， it cannot be separated from the pathogenic mechanism of evil Qi blocking the muscle surface and heat in the lungs and stomach. The modern clinical disease spectrum of Shengma Gegentang involves the ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology system， nervous system， pediatric-related diseases and syndromes， skin system， hepatobiliary system， and digestive system. It plays a key role in the treatment of epidemic diseases such as measles， chronic hepatitis B， dysentery， and tetanus.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation, joint destruction, and functional impairment. Angiogenesis plays a key role in the pathological progression of RA with dysfunction of endothelial cells to promote synovial inflammation, sustain pannus formation, subsequently leading to joint damage. Colquhounia Root Tablets (CRT), a Chinese patent drug, has shown a satisfying clinical efficacy in treating RA, while the underlying mechanism by which CRT inhibits RA-associated angiogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we applied a research approach combining transcriptomic data analysis, bio-network mapping, and in vivo and in vitro experiments to explore the molecular mechanisms of CRT in suppressing angiogenesis in RA. Animal welfare and experimental procedures follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (ratification number: IBTCMCACMS21-2307-06). Network analysis identified that key genes such as nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2), SMAD family member 3 (SMAD3), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) significantly enriched in pathways related to NOD-like receptor signaling and VEGF signaling, indicating that CRT may inhibit angiogenesis by regulating vascular endothelial cell function with modulating angiogenesis-related pathways. In vivo data showed that CRT significantly reduced the positive expression of CD31 and VEGF in the ankle joint of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats. In vitro data further confirmed that CRT effectively inhibited VEGF-induced migration, invasion, and tube formation in HUVECs, while significantly reduced the expression of angiogenesis-related factors VEGF/CD31/Ang-1, as well as the positive expression of VEGF and CD31 in HUVECs. Furthermore, CRT markedly decreased the protein expression of NOD2, VEGFA, and SMAD3. In conclusion, these findings indicate that CRT may inhibit the RA-related angiogenesis by targeting the NOD2/SMAD3/VEGF signaling axis to improve endothelial cell function, enriching the scientific connotation of CRT in inhibiting pathological angiogenesis in RA and also offer new insights for clinical prevention and treatment of RA.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of leaflet augmentation technique to repair the recurrent mitral valve (MV) regurgitation after mitral repair in children. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of children who underwent redo MV repair for recurrent regurgitation after initial MV repair, using a leaflet augmentation technique combined with a standardized repair strategy at Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from 2018 to 2022. The pathological features of the MV, key intraoperative procedures, and short- to mid-term follow-up outcomes were analyzed. Results A total of 24 patients (12 male, 12 female) were included, with a median age of 37.6 (range, 16.5–120.0) months. The mean interval from the initial surgery was (24.9±17.0) months. All children had severe mitral regurgitation preoperatively. The cardiopulmonary bypass time was (150.1±49.5) min, and the aortic cross-clamp time was (94.0±24.2) min. There were no early postoperative deaths. During a mean follow-up of (20.3±9.1) months, 3 (12.5%) patients developed moderate or severe mitral regurgitation (2 severe, 1 moderate). One (4.2%) patient died during follow-up, and one (4.2%) patient underwent a second MV reoperation. The left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was significantly reduced postoperatively compared to preoperatively [ (43.5±8.6) mm vs. (35.8±7.8)mm, P<0.001]. Conclusion The leaflet augmentation technique combined with a standardized repair strategy can achieve satisfactory short- to mid-term outcomes for the redo mitral repair after previous MV repair. It can be considered a safe and feasible technical option for cases with complex valvular lesions and severe pathological changes.

Background::Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants.Methods::A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance.Results::All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex. Conclusions::The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values.

Tumor bioinformatics plays an important role in cancer research and precision medicine. The primary focus of traditional cancer research has been molecular and clinical studies of a number of fundamental pathways and genes. In recent years, driven by breakthroughs in high-throughput technologies, large-scale cancer omics data have accumulated rapidly. How to effectively utilize and share these data is particularly important. To address this crucial task, many computational tools and databases have been developed over the past few years. To help researchers quickly learn and understand the functions of these tools, in this review, we summarize publicly available bioinformatics tools and resources for pan-cancer multi-omics analysis, regulatory analysis of tumorigenesis, tumor treatment and prognosis, immune infiltration analysis, immune repertoire analysis, cancer driver gene and driver mutation analysis, and cancer single-cell analysis, which may further help researchers find more suitable tools for their research.

Objective CT scans combined with Mimics software were used to measure femoral offset(FO),rotation center height(RCH)and lower leg length discrepancy(LLD)following total hip arthroplasty(THA),and the relationship between FO,RCH and LLD after THA is discussed.Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on 40 patients with unilateral THA who met standard cases from October 2020 to June 2022.There were 21 males and 19 females,18 patients on the left side and 22 patients on the right side,aged range from 30 to 81 years old,with an average age of(58.90±14.13)years old,BMI ranged from 17.3 to 31.5 kg·m-2withan average of(25.3±3.4)kg·m-2.There were 30 cases of femoral head necrosis(Ficattype Ⅳ),2 cases of hip osteoarthritis(Tonnis type Ⅲ),2 cases of developmental hip dislocation combined with end-stage osteoarthritis(Crowe type Ⅲ),and 6 cases of femoral neck fracture(Garden type Ⅳ).Three-dimensional CT reconstruction of pelvis was taken preoperative and postoperative,and three-dimensional reconstruction model was established after processing by Mimics software.FO,RCH and LLD were measured on the model.The criteria for FO reconstruction were as follows:postoperative bi-lateral FO difference less than 5 mm;the standard for equal length of both lower limbs was as follows:postoperative LLD differ-ence less than 5 mm.Results Bilateral FO difference was positively correlated with LLD(r=0.744,P＜0.00l).Chi-square test was performed between the FO reconstructed group and the non-reconstructed eccentricity group:The results showed that the i-sometric ratio of lower limbs in the FO reconstructed group was significantly higher than that in the FO reconstructed group(x2=6.320,P=0.012).The bilateral RCH difference was significantly negatively correlated with LLD(r=-0.877,P＜0.001).There is a linear relationship between bilateral FO difference and bilateral RCH difference and postoperative LLD,and the lin-ear regression equation is satisfied:postoperative LLD=0.038x-0.099y+0.257(x:postoperative bilateral FO difference,y:post-operative bilateral RCH difference;Unit:cm),F=77.993,R2=0.808,P=0.009.Conclusion After THA,LLD increased with the increase of FO and decreased with the increase of RCH.The effect of lower limb isometric length can be obtained more easily by reconstruction of FO.There is a linear relationship between the bilateral FO difference and the bilateral RCH difference after THA and LLD,and the regression equation can provide a theoretical reference forjudging LLD.

Objective To assess the clinical short-term outcomes of implanting D-shant atrial shunt device(aSD)in a single center for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction(HFrEF).Methods From January 2022 to January 2023,a retrospective analysis was conducted on 12 patients with HFrEF who underwent percutaneous implantation of a D-shant aSD.We assessed cardiac chamber size and ventricular function using echocardiography,right heart catheterization measurements and patient clinical indicators were collected,follow up data of 12 months postoperative and pre-implantation D-shant were compared.The primary endpoint of the study was the cumulative occurrence of adverse cardiac,neurologic,or renal events during the follow-up period.Secondary endpoints were improvements in functional status included cardiac function,quality of life,and exercise capacity.Results All 12 patients underwent successful percutaneous inter-atrial shunting procedures using the D-shant.Postoperative immediately fluoroscopy and echocardiography confirmed accurate localization and patency of the atrial shunt devices in all cases.Postoperative hemodynamic assessment revealed a significant decrease in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure[(29.8±3.4)mmHg vs.(17.8±0.8)mmHg,P＜0.001].During 12 months follow-up,the cumulative adverse event rate was 8.3％(one patient received a heart transplant),a significant reduction in left atrial diameter from(65.8±6.5)mm to(48.0±4.5)mm(P＜0.001)was observed.Furthermore,there was notable improvement in clinical cardiac function indices quality of life,and exercise capacity of the patients.Conclusions This single-center retrospective study found that the use of a D-shant aSD to perform percutaneous interatrial shunting in patients with HFrEF is safe and effective.Short-term follow-up demonstrated sustained patency of the shunt and that the intervention was associated with improved functional status.

AIM:To observe the efficacy and safe-ty of combined lipid-lowering strategies in the ini-tial stage of treatment in"very high-risk ASCVD"pa-tients in cardiology outpatient clinics in a real-world prospective cohort study.METHODS:Pa-tients with"very high-risk ASCVD"from January to June 2021 were consecutively enrolled and divided into three groups according to the actual lipid-low-ering treatment strategies:Atorvastatin group;Atorvastatin combine with ezetimibe group;Atorv-astatin combine with evolocumab group.The pri-mary observation endpoints were the changes in LDL-C,Lp(a),and non-HDL-C after one month of treatment,and the secondary endpoints were the changes in TC,TG,HDL-C,Hs-CRP,and safety indica-tors.RESULTS:The efficacy of the combined lipid-lowering strategy in the initial stage of treatment was significantly better than that of the Atorvas-tatin group:LDL-C,Log[Lp(a)],non-HDL-C,TC sig-nificantly decreased(all P＜0.05).Compared with the Atorvastatin combine with Ezetimibe group,LDL-C and Log[Lp(a)]decreased significantly in the Atorvastatin combine with Evolocumab group(P＜0.05),and TC and TG had decreased insignifi-cantly(P＞0.05).When"LDL-C＜1.4mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L"is used as the standard for lipid-low-ering compliance,the LDL-C compliance rates of the two groups of combined lipid-lowering treat-ments are higher than those of the atorvastatin sin-gle-drug group.The differences were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05);the LDL-C compliance rate of the atorvastatin combined with evolocumab group was higher than that of the atorvastatin com-bined with ezetimibe group,and the differences were statistically significant(All P＜0.05).When the reduction rate of"LDL dropped by more than 50％"alone or in combination were used as the standard,no one in the three groups could reach the stan-dard.The liver aminotransferase levels had no signif-icant changes among the 3 groups after treatment(all P＞0.05).Myocardial enzyme isoenzyme(CK-MB)decreased among the 3 groups insignificantly(P＞0.05).Compared with the Atorvastatin group,the blood sugar(BS)of the two combined lipid-low-ering groups decreased significantly(P＜0.05);The BS of the Atorvastatin+ezetimibe group significant-ly decreased than that of Atorvastatin combine with Evolocumab group(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:The lipid-lowering effect and LDL-C compliance rate of patients with"very high-risk ASCVD"in the cardi-ology outpatient department after 1 month of com-bined lipid-lowering treatment were better than those of the atorvastatin monotherapy group.When LDL-C＜1.4 mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L is the lip-id-lowering target,the LDL-C compliance rate after 1 month of treatment in the atorvastatin combined with evolocumab group is higher than that of the combined atorvastatin and zetamibu group.When the"LDL drop by more than 50％"is used as the standard for lipid lowering,it is difficult to reach the standard within 1 month.Outpatient"very high-risk ASCVD"patients were treated with initial combined lipid-lowering therapy for 1 month with-out adverse reactions.The initial combined lipid-lowering strategy can be used for patients with"very high-risk ASCVD"in cardiology outpatient clinics who need to achieve LDL-C values early.Atorvastatin combined with evolocumab strategy can be recommended for those patients who re-quire LDL-C＜1.4 mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L within one month.

This study was aimed at investigating the pathogenic and molecular characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae(KP)in fecal samples of diarrhea cases in a district of Beijing.Fecal samples from diarrhea cases in an outpatient department in a district of Beijing from 2018 to 2021 were collected,and used for isolation and culture of KP.The KP strains isolated strains were subjected to drug resistance phenotype testing and whole-genome sequencing.Multilocus sequence typing and whole-genome phyletic evolution analysis were performed on the sequencing results.The cases'epidemiological and clinical characteristics were analyzed.From 2018 to 2021,1 103 fecal samples were collected and detected.The total detection rate of KP was 10.43％(115/1 103),and the infection rate of KP mixed with other diarrhea-causing pathogens was 42.61％(49/115).The positivity rate was slightly high(12.47％,61/489)a-mong females and was highest in young adults 16-45 years of age.Small peaks were observed in January,April to May,and August to September.The gastrointestinal symptoms in cases were mainly nausea and watery stool,and the suspicious food was unknown.Ampicillin,tetracycline,and sulfafurazole were the top three antibiotics to which these 115 KP strains showed resistance,and 29 strains were resistant to multiple antibiotics.The strains were divided into 72 sequence types,among which ST23 was dominant.According to the phylogenetic tree,the strains were divided into four main branches,among which 14 ST23 strains had a very close genetic relationship with the highly virulent NTUH-K2044 reference strain.KP infection persisted in fecal samples from diarrhea cases in the district of Beijing.Women and young adults were particularly susceptible.The drug resistance of KP strains in this region was very serious,and the ST types were diverse.Moreover,the ST23 pathogenic strains were closely related to high virulence strains.