BACKGROUND:Rheumatoid arthritis is widely prevalent worldwide,with its high incidence and universality that considerably affects patients' quality of life.Previous studies have focused on a few immune cells or cytokines,whereas this study comprehensively provides a more complete view of the immune mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis.OBJECTIVE:To explore the causal relationship between 731 immune cell phenotypes and rheumatoid arthritis using the Mendelian randomization method,thereby providing evidence of causality.METHODS:The 731 immune cell phenotypes used in this study were sourced from the GWAScatalog database,jointly developed by the National Human Genome Research Institute(NHGRI)and the European Bioinformatics Institute(EBI).The rheumatoid arthritis data were from the Finngen database,developed by the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine(FIMM).The inverse variance weighting method was employed as the primary analytical approach.Additionally,multiple analytical methods,including MR-Egger,weighted mode,simple mode,and weighted median,were concurrently utilized to complement the final results.Sensitivity analyses(Cochran's Q test,MR-Egger regression,and MR-presso analysis)were also conducted to verify the stability and feasibility of the data.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After excluding results through heterogeneity testing,the inverse variance weighting analysis indicated that 10 absolute cell counts,15 median fluorescence intensities of surface antigen levels,1 morphological characteristic,and 9 relative cell counts had a causal relationship with the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis.(2)According to cell classification,this study found that seven types of B cells,seven types of classical dendritic cells,six types of mature T cells,four types of monocytes,three types of myeloid cells,three types of TBNK cells(lymphocyte subset T cells,B cells and natural killer cells),and five types of Tregs had a causal association with the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis.(3)Through comprehensive bidirectional two-sample MR analysis,we demonstrated the complex causal relationships between multiple immune phenotypes and rheumatoid arthritis,highlighting the intricate interaction patterns between the immune system and rheumatoid arthritis.These results provide new biomarkers for the early screening and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in China,and help to improve the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity.

BACKGROUND:Rheumatoid arthritis is widely prevalent worldwide,with its high incidence and universality that considerably affects patients' quality of life.Previous studies have focused on a few immune cells or cytokines,whereas this study comprehensively provides a more complete view of the immune mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis.OBJECTIVE:To explore the causal relationship between 731 immune cell phenotypes and rheumatoid arthritis using the Mendelian randomization method,thereby providing evidence of causality.METHODS:The 731 immune cell phenotypes used in this study were sourced from the GWAScatalog database,jointly developed by the National Human Genome Research Institute(NHGRI)and the European Bioinformatics Institute(EBI).The rheumatoid arthritis data were from the Finngen database,developed by the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine(FIMM).The inverse variance weighting method was employed as the primary analytical approach.Additionally,multiple analytical methods,including MR-Egger,weighted mode,simple mode,and weighted median,were concurrently utilized to complement the final results.Sensitivity analyses(Cochran's Q test,MR-Egger regression,and MR-presso analysis)were also conducted to verify the stability and feasibility of the data.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)After excluding results through heterogeneity testing,the inverse variance weighting analysis indicated that 10 absolute cell counts,15 median fluorescence intensities of surface antigen levels,1 morphological characteristic,and 9 relative cell counts had a causal relationship with the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis.(2)According to cell classification,this study found that seven types of B cells,seven types of classical dendritic cells,six types of mature T cells,four types of monocytes,three types of myeloid cells,three types of TBNK cells(lymphocyte subset T cells,B cells and natural killer cells),and five types of Tregs had a causal association with the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis.(3)Through comprehensive bidirectional two-sample MR analysis,we demonstrated the complex causal relationships between multiple immune phenotypes and rheumatoid arthritis,highlighting the intricate interaction patterns between the immune system and rheumatoid arthritis.These results provide new biomarkers for the early screening and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in China,and help to improve the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity.

Objective:To investigate the completion rate of tumor evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients in the national multicenter real-world database.Methods:The prospective real-world study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 074 patients who underwent surgical treatment for mid and low rectal cancer in 47 national medical institutions, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital et al, from May 12,2023 to May 11,2024 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (2) initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (3) initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (4) imaging evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were described as absoluter numbers and/or percentages. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 713 males and 361 females, aged 63(56,70)years. The body mass index of 1 074 patients was 24(21,26)kg/m 2.For American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, there were 147 cases of stage Ⅰ, 641 cases of stage Ⅱ, 157 cases of stage Ⅲ, 2 cases of stage Ⅳ, and there were 127 cases missing data. (2) Initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 787 cases (73.28%) undergoing complete colonoscopy, and there were only 197 cases (18.34%) undergoing immunohistochemical evaluation of all four mismatch repair proteins. (3) Initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 842(78.40%) patients completing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 914(85.10%) patients completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced computed tomography (CT) evaluation. In the 149 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 122 cases (81.88%) comple-ting T staging evaluation, and there were 81 cases (54.36%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 808 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 708 cases (87.62%) completing T staging evaluation, and there were 590 cases (73.02%) completing N staging evaluation. (4) Imaging evalua-tion after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 388 patients with neoadjuvant therapy, there were 332 patients (85.57%) completing MRI or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 327 patients (84.28%) completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced CT evalua-tion. In the 70 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 65 cases (92.86%) com-pleting T staging evaluation, and there were 49 cases (70.00%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 327 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 246 cases (75.23%) completing T staging, and there were 228 cases (69.72%) completing N staging evaluation. Conclusion:The com-pletion rate of tumor imaging evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients on a national scale is relatively good.

Objective To analyze the acupoint selection law of acupuncture and moxibustion for postherpetic neuralgia(PHN)with R language data mining technology.Methods The clinical research literature on acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN included in CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP and CBM from January 1,2010 to July 1,2023 was retrieved,and the database was established by Excel 2016.R language was used to statistically analyze the frequency of acupoint usage,meridians,locations,specific acupoints,etc.Through association rule analysis and clustering analysis,the characteristics and law of acupoint selection for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN were obtained.Results A total of 198 articles were included,including 83 acupoints,with a total frequency of 714 times.The high-frequency acupoints include Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint and Yanglingquan.The commonly used meridians were gallbladder meridian,spleen meridian and large intestine meridiam.The acupoints were mostly in the upper and lower limbs,with the Wushu acupoints,Yuan acupoints and Xiahe acupoints being the most common.The core acupoint was Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint,Hegu,Quchi,and 9 sets of association rules and 5 effective clusters were obtained.Conclusion The most commonly used acupoints for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN are Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint,Hegu and Quchi,which mainly follow the principle of combining local acupoint selection with distal acupoint selection.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS)is a common respiratory emergency,but current clinical treatment remains at the level of symptomatic support and there is a lack of effective targeted treatment measures.Our previous study confirmed that inhalation of hydrogen gas can reduce the acute lung injury of ARDS,but the application of hydrogen has flammable and explosive safety concerns.Drinking hydrogen-rich liquid or inhaling hydrogen gas has been shown to play an important role in scavenging reactive oxygen species and maintaining mitochondrial quality control balance,thus improving ARDS in patients and animal models.Coral calcium hydrogenation(CCH)is a new solid molecular hydrogen carrier prepared from coral calcium(CC).Whether and how CCH affects acute lung injury in ARDS re-mains unstudied.In this study,we observed the therapeutic effect of CCH on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced acute lung injury in ARDS mice.The survival rate of mice treated with CCH and hydrogen inhalation was found to be comparable,demonstrating a significant improvement compared to the untreated ARDS model group.CCH treatment significantly reduced pulmonary hemorrhage and edema,and improved pulmonary function and local microcirculation in ARDS mice.CCH promoted mitochon-drial peripheral division in the early course of ARDS by activating mitochondrial thioredoxin 2(Trx2),improved lung mitochondrial dysfunction induced by LPS,and reduced oxidative stress damage.The results indicate that CCH is a highly efficient hydrogen-rich agent that can attenuate acute lung injury of ARDS by improving the mitochondrial function through Trx2 activation.

Objective To analyze the acupoint selection law of acupuncture and moxibustion for postherpetic neuralgia(PHN)with R language data mining technology.Methods The clinical research literature on acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN included in CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP and CBM from January 1,2010 to July 1,2023 was retrieved,and the database was established by Excel 2016.R language was used to statistically analyze the frequency of acupoint usage,meridians,locations,specific acupoints,etc.Through association rule analysis and clustering analysis,the characteristics and law of acupoint selection for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN were obtained.Results A total of 198 articles were included,including 83 acupoints,with a total frequency of 714 times.The high-frequency acupoints include Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint and Yanglingquan.The commonly used meridians were gallbladder meridian,spleen meridian and large intestine meridiam.The acupoints were mostly in the upper and lower limbs,with the Wushu acupoints,Yuan acupoints and Xiahe acupoints being the most common.The core acupoint was Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint,Hegu,Quchi,and 9 sets of association rules and 5 effective clusters were obtained.Conclusion The most commonly used acupoints for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of PHN are Ashi acupoint,Jiaji acupoint,Hegu and Quchi,which mainly follow the principle of combining local acupoint selection with distal acupoint selection.

Objective:To develop an integrated health management system based on wearable devices for conducting health management to discharged patients,so as to improve the lifestyle and medication compliance of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,and control risk factors of disease,and maintain patients'safety.Methods:The wearable devices,mobile terminals,and hospital's medical information platform were systematically integrated to develop an integrated health management system.A total of 75 patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases(coronary heart disease and hypertension)who admitted to the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of The 940th Hospital of People's Liberation Army Joint Service Support Force during March 1 and April 1,2024 were selected,and they were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group using the random number table method,with 38 cases in the intervention group and 37 cases in the control group.During the 6 months of intervention observation period after discharge,patients in the intervention group used the integrated health management system for self-health management,while the patients of control group were managed with the conventional mode.The rate of medication compliance,changes of health behaviors,and changes of measurement data of body between the two groups were compared after the intervention.Results:The smoking rate of patients in the intervention group was 18.42%(7/38),which was lower than 43.24%(16/37)of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(x2=3.94,P<0.05).The average rate of medication compliance of patients in the intervention group was(89.00±2.39)%,which was higher than(84.8±2.37)%of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(t=2.15,P<0.05).The increase in diastolic blood pressure of patients in the intervention group was(1.76±2.06)mmHg,which was lower than(3.05±1.94)mmHg of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(t=2.49,P<0.05).Conclusion:The integrated health management system based on wearable devices is effective for the self-management of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,and it has a good effect in controlling the level of blood pressure,improving behavioral habits,and enhancing medication compliance of patients.

AIM To investigate the effects of Wenyang Jiedu Tongluo Recipe(WYJDTLR)on macrophage recruitment and polarization function in a mouse model of diabetic kidney disease(DKD).METHODS 50 db/db mice were randomly divided into the model group,the valsartan group(10.29 mg/kg)and the high-dose,medium-dose and low-dose WYJDTLR groups(26.52,13.26 and 6.63 g/kg),with 10 mice in each group,in contrast to another 10 db/m mice of the blank group.After 8 weeks of administration,the mice had their levels of fasting blood glucose,24-hour urinary protein quantity(24h-UTP),serum creatinine(Scr)and blood urea nitrogen(BUN)observed;their morphological changes of renal tissues observed by HE staining;their degree of renal glycogen deposition observed by PAS staining;their degree of renal fibrosis observed by Masson staining;their levels of MCP-1 and MCF-1 in serum and TNF-α and IL-1 β in renal tissue detected by ELISA;their renal protein expressions of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 detected by IHC and Western blot;and their renal expressions of CD86 and CD206 detected by IF.RESULTS Compared with the model group,the WYJDTLR groups displayed decreased levels of fasting blood glucose,24h-UTP,Scr and BUN(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);improved degree of glomerular hypertrophy,mild proliferation of mesangial cells,dilatation of renal tubular,vacuolar degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells,deposition of glomerular glycogen,and fibrosis of renal tissues(P＜0.01);decreased levels of MCP-1 and MCF-1 in serum and TNF-α and IL-1β in renal tissue(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);decreased renal protein expressions of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),thus reduced the recruitment of macrophages to the kidney;decreased renal CD86 protein expression(P＜0.01);and increased CD206 protein expression(P＜0.01),thus inhibited M1-type polarization of macrophages and promoted M2-type polarization of macrophages.CONCLUSION WYJDTLR can delay the DKD progression in mice by reducing the occurrence of inflammatory reactions through reducing the level of macrophage recruitment factor,inhibiting the M1-type polarization,and promoting the M2-type polarization.

Objective To summarize the experience in carotid endarterectomy(CEA)for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis,in order to decrease postoperative complications and enhance clinical efficacy.Methods The clinical data of 64 cases receiving surgical treatment for carotid artery stenosis from January 2022 to December 2024 were analyzed retrospectively.Clinical data including age,gender,condition of underlying diseases,degree of carotid artery stenosis,degree of coronary artery stenosis,cerebral blood flow before operation,characteristics of carotid plaques before operation,usage of antiplatelet drugs during perioperative period,usage of carotid shunt during operation,intraoperative carotid artery occlusion time,operation time,postoperative complications and follow-up results were collected.Results All 64 patients underwent CEA successfully.Among them,14 cases underwent shunt during operation,48 cases received single antiplatelet therapy during perioperative period and 16 cases received dual antiplatelet therapy.The median operation time was 161.50(138.00,186.50)min,the clamping time was(28.42±10.72)min.The incidence of postoperative complications included 1 case of incisional infection(1.56%),1 case of incisional hematoma(1.56%),1 case of internal carotid artery occlusion(1.56%),1 case of cerebral hypoperfusion(1.56%).There were no cerebral infarction,no cerebral hyperperfusion,no cardiac events and no brain nerve injury.There was no one case of postoperative complications in the patients who underwent shunt during operation.All patients were followed up for 3～38 months.Among them,there were 2 cases of stroke and there was no death during the fellow-up period.The clamping time was significantly shorter in shunting group than in non-shunting group[(18.43±6.64)min vs.(31.22±9.98)min,P<0.05)],there were no significant differences in remaining clinical data between two groups(P>0.05).The degree of carotid artery stenosis was more severe in the dual antiplatelet group than in the single antiplatelet group[on operation side(χ2=-2.377,P<0.05),on contralaternal side(χ2=-2.261,P<0.05)],there were no significant differences in remaining clinical data between two groups(P>0.05).Conclusions CEA is an effective treatment for carotid artery stenosis,shunting during CEA is safe.Meticulous perioperative management and operative procedures could help to reduce the rate of postoperative complications.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of triglyceride glucose-body mass index(TyG-BMI),serum triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio(TG/HDL-C),and metabolic score for insulin resistance(METS-IR)for fatty pancreatic disease(FPD).Methods A total of 240 patients with FPD treated in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to November 2023 were included as the case group,while 480 healthy subjects who underwent healthy checks in the same period were randomly selected as the control group.General clinical data and laboratory indicators were collected.The Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were used to compare non-normally distributed continuous variables,and categorical variables between groups,respectively.A binary logistic regression model was used to assess the relationship between TyG-BMI,TG/HDL-C,and METS-IR and FPD.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the predictive diagnostic value of those simplified insulin resistance indicators for FPD in the general population and different sex populations.Results Age,BMI,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,fasting plasma glucose,uric acid,alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,gamma-glutamyl transferase,total cholesterol,triglyceride,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol,TyG-BMI,TG/HDL-C,and METS-IR in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group(all P<0.05).The case group had significantly higher proportions of individuals with hypertension,diabetes,and fatty liver disease than the control group(all P<0.05).The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was significantly lower in the case group than in the control group(P<0.05).The multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for various influencing factors,TyG-BMI,TG/HDL-C,and METS-IR remained as independent risk factors for the development of FPD,with the odds ratios(95%confidence intervals)being 1.027(1.018-1.037),6.964(2.022-23.989),and 1.184(1.123-1.248),respectively.In the ROC curve analysis,the AUCs of METS-IR and TyG-BMI were 0.823 and 0.803,respectively,with their sensitivities being 76.3%and 75.8%,specificities being 74.6%and 71.7%,and optimal cut-off values being 34.86 and 196.70,respectively;the next were BMI(AUC=0.758)and TG/HDL-C(AUC=0.734);in the sex-stratified analysis,the AUC values of METS-IR were highest in both the male and female subgroups,which were 0.834 and 0.810,respectively.Conclusion TyG-BMI,TG/HDL-C,and METS-IR show good predictive value for the development of FPD,in which METS-IR is more excellent.