Objective To assess the echogenicity of the ultrasound-guided catheter and its associated delivery system. Methods The study consisted of in vitro characterization experiments and animal studies. In the in vitro phase, the acoustic and mechanical properties of the ultrasound-guided catheter were compared with those of the traditional MPA2 catheter, including parameters such as echo intensity, recognizability, and angle dependence. In the animal experiments, a ventricular septal defect (VSD) model was established in miniature pigs to compare the procedural performance of the ultrasound-guided delivery system versus the conventional system. Evaluation indicators included the time required for the system to cross the VSD, the detection rate of the system within the right ventricle, and the occurrence of intraoperative complications. Results The ultrasound-guided catheter demonstrated a significantly higher mean echo intensity than the MPA2 catheter [(237.3±1.8) dB vs. (190.9±13.1) dB, P<0.001] and a markedly improved recognizability rate (82.3%±5.6% vs. 26.7%±3.2%, P<0.001), along with better angle independence and image quality. In animal experiments, the ultrasound-guided delivery system significantly reduced the time required to cross the VSD [(18.5±5.7) min vs. (30.3±4.5) min, P<0.001] and substantially increased the detection rate within the right ventricle (100.0% vs. 30.0%). No severe complications occurred in any experimental animal. Conclusion The ultrasound-guided catheter and its corresponding delivery system exhibite superior ultrasound visibility and operational performance in both in vitro and animal experiments, indicating strong potential for clinical application.

Objective:To understand the prevalence of frailty and the importance of its influencing factors in adult population in Shaanxi Province.Methods:The data were from Shaanxi baseline survey of natural population cohort study in northwest China during 2018-2019. The frailty index (FI) was constructed to evaluate the frailty status of the population, and XGboost model combined with Shapley method was used to analyze the importance of the sociodemographic and life behavior factors affecting the prevalence of frailty by gender and age.Results:A total of 25 079 subjects were included, in whom 964 (3.8%) had frailty, and there was no significant difference in the overall prevalence of frailty between women (3.9%) and men (3.8%) ( P=0.629), but there was a gender specific difference in the distribution of FI ( P<0.001), and the proportion of the pre-frailty in men was higher than that in women. The prevalence of frailty increased with age ( P<0.001), the prevalence of frailty were 1.3%, 2.5% and 7.8% in young, middle-aged and elderly women, respectively, and 1.9%, 2.7% and 5.5% in young, middle-aged and elderly men, respectively. Sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle patterns were both influencing factors for the prevalence of frailty, but their importance varied with gender and age. The top five contributing factors were education level, staying up late, annual family income level, sedentary time and marital status in young women, and staying up late, smoking, annual family income level, sedentary time and drinking in young men. The top five contributing factors were education level, annual family income level, passive exposure to smoking, staying up late, and sedentary time in middle-aged women, and annual family income level, education level, sedentary time, staying up late and drinking in middle-aged men. The top five contributing factors were annual family income level, passive exposure to smoking, sedentary time, marital status, and smartphone use in elderly women, and education level, annual family income level, smoking, smartphone use and sedentary time in elderly men. Conclusions:There are gender specific differences in the distribution of FI in Shaanxi. The prevalence of frailty increased with age, but young and middle-aged people also have frailty risk. The prevalence of frailty in young men was mainly related to unhealthy life behaviors, such as staying up late, smoking, sedentary behavior and drinking, while the prevalence of frailty in middle-aged and elderly men and women were more affected by sociodemographic factors, such as education level, economic status and marital status.

At present,with the development of new diagnostic technologies,the detection rate of aortic dissection has been increasing year by year,but its mortality rate still remains high.Cardiovascular disease is a chronic inflammato-ry disease,and vascular inflammation plays a major role in the progression of aortic dissection.Therefore,this article sys-tematically describes the specific roles and mechanisms of inflammatory cells,inflammatory factors,and inflammasomes in the development of aortic dissection.

Currently, transcatheter intervention is the preferred treatment for patients with anatomically suitable atrial septal defects. However, the use of nickel-titanium alloy occluders in interventional procedures results in lifelong presence of the implant in the body, leading to complications such as metal allergies and arrhythmias in some patients. To overcome the short-term and long-term complications associated with the presence of metal, and to avoid radiation exposure and metal toxicity, this paper reports a case of successful transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect in a pediatric patient with metal allergies using fully biodegradable occluder under ultrasound guidance, achieving excellent results by interventional therapy.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of schisandrin A(SA)on hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)-induced oxidative stress injury in renal tubular epithelial cells(HK-2).Methods HK-2 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into five groups:blank control group,model control group(treated with 600 μmol·L-1 H2O2 for 2 h),low-dose SA group(0.125 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2),medium-dose SA group(0.5 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2 O2),high-dose SA group(0.75 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2).The cell survival was assessed by CCK-8 assay;apoptosis level was tested by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining;cell cycle distribution was detected by propidium iodide staining;oxidative markers(ROS,SOD,MDA,GSH,LDH)was determined with commercial kits;and apoptosis-related proteins(Bax,Bcl-2,Caspase-3,Cytochrome C)was evaluated by Western blot.Results Compared with the blank control,the model group reduced in cell viability and increased in apoptosis(P＜0.01),elevated in the ratio of G0/G1-phase cells and decreased in S-phase cells(P＜0.05),decreased in SOD activity and GSH content(P＜0.01),and increased in the levels of ROS,LDH,and MDA levels(P＜0.01).In all SA dose,cell apoptosis reduced(P＜0.01).In medium/high dose groups,the G0/G1-phase arrest reduced(P＜0.05).In high dose group,the S-phase cells ratio increased(P＜0.05).And in medium/high dose groups,ROS(P＜0.01)decreased in a dose-dependent manner.The SOD activity increased non-significantly in all SA groups.In SA medium/high dose groups,the LDH activity decreased in a dose-dependent manner.In all SA groups,GSH increased(P＜0.01)and MDA decreased,both in a dose-dependent manner.The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio significantly decreased(P＜0.05)in all SA groups.The caspase-3 activity decreased in medium/high dose group(P＜0.05);and Cytochrome C reduced in all SA groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion SA protects HK-2 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative injury by modulating oxidative stress,inhibiting apoptosis,and ameliorating cell cycle arrest.

This article reports the first case of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale(PFO)using a biodegradable occluder under echocardiography guidance.The patient is a 43-year-old female diagnosed with PFO-related stroke.The procedure was successfully completed under echocardiography guidance without complications.During the 48-month follow-up period,the patient experienced no recurrent strokes,and the occluder was fully degraded.

At present,with the development of new diagnostic technologies,the detection rate of aortic dissection has been increasing year by year,but its mortality rate still remains high.Cardiovascular disease is a chronic inflammato-ry disease,and vascular inflammation plays a major role in the progression of aortic dissection.Therefore,this article sys-tematically describes the specific roles and mechanisms of inflammatory cells,inflammatory factors,and inflammasomes in the development of aortic dissection.

Objective:To understand the prevalence of frailty and the importance of its influencing factors in adult population in Shaanxi Province.Methods:The data were from Shaanxi baseline survey of natural population cohort study in northwest China during 2018-2019. The frailty index (FI) was constructed to evaluate the frailty status of the population, and XGboost model combined with Shapley method was used to analyze the importance of the sociodemographic and life behavior factors affecting the prevalence of frailty by gender and age.Results:A total of 25 079 subjects were included, in whom 964 (3.8%) had frailty, and there was no significant difference in the overall prevalence of frailty between women (3.9%) and men (3.8%) ( P=0.629), but there was a gender specific difference in the distribution of FI ( P<0.001), and the proportion of the pre-frailty in men was higher than that in women. The prevalence of frailty increased with age ( P<0.001), the prevalence of frailty were 1.3%, 2.5% and 7.8% in young, middle-aged and elderly women, respectively, and 1.9%, 2.7% and 5.5% in young, middle-aged and elderly men, respectively. Sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle patterns were both influencing factors for the prevalence of frailty, but their importance varied with gender and age. The top five contributing factors were education level, staying up late, annual family income level, sedentary time and marital status in young women, and staying up late, smoking, annual family income level, sedentary time and drinking in young men. The top five contributing factors were education level, annual family income level, passive exposure to smoking, staying up late, and sedentary time in middle-aged women, and annual family income level, education level, sedentary time, staying up late and drinking in middle-aged men. The top five contributing factors were annual family income level, passive exposure to smoking, sedentary time, marital status, and smartphone use in elderly women, and education level, annual family income level, smoking, smartphone use and sedentary time in elderly men. Conclusions:There are gender specific differences in the distribution of FI in Shaanxi. The prevalence of frailty increased with age, but young and middle-aged people also have frailty risk. The prevalence of frailty in young men was mainly related to unhealthy life behaviors, such as staying up late, smoking, sedentary behavior and drinking, while the prevalence of frailty in middle-aged and elderly men and women were more affected by sociodemographic factors, such as education level, economic status and marital status.

This article reports the first case of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale(PFO)using a biodegradable occluder under echocardiography guidance.The patient is a 43-year-old female diagnosed with PFO-related stroke.The procedure was successfully completed under echocardiography guidance without complications.During the 48-month follow-up period,the patient experienced no recurrent strokes,and the occluder was fully degraded.

OBJECTIVE To explore the epidemiological characteristics of common allergens among children with al-lergic rhinitis(AR)in a children's specialized hospital of Beijing.METHODS A total of 2120 children who met the diagnostic criteria of AR and were treated in otolaryngology department of Beijing Jingdu Children's Hospital from 2021 to 2023 were recruited as the research subjects.The specific immunoglobulin E(sIgE)of allergens was de-tected by western blot quantitative assay.The positive rates of the allergens were statistically analyzed according to the age,sex and years.The epidemiological characteristics and changing trends were observed.RESULTS The pos-itive rate of allergens was 47.78％among the 2120 children,in whom multiple allergies polysensitization were pre-dominant;the positive rate of allergens and polysensitization rate were the highest among the population aged be-tween 1 and 7 years old.The inhalational allergens were dominant,and the positive rate of the Candida group was highest.The positive rates of inhalant allergens and ingested allergens reached the peak at the age of 1-7 and then declined with age;milk and egg white were the two types of predominant ingested allergens in childhood.Among the 2120 children,there were significant differences in the positive rates of allergens between the male and the fe-male,and the positive rates of the male were higher than those of the female(P＜0.001).The positive rates of al-lergens generally showed upward trends during the 3 years,the positive rates of the inhalant allergens such as mugwort,cat hair and dog dandruff ascended by a large margin,and the positive rates of the ingested allergens such as milk,egg white and egg yolk showed remarkable rising trends.CONCLUSIONS The causes of AR are complicated.There are a variety of factors affecting the allergen test.The epidemiological characteristics of the al-lergens among the AR children are observed from multiple perspectives,which may provide references for preven-tion and treatment of the children with AR.