Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy（AIT） remains the only therapeutic approach with the potential to modify the natural course of allergic rhinitis（AR）. Nevertheless, considerable inter-individual variability exists in patients'responses to AIT. To facilitate more reliable assessment of treatment efficacy, the China Rhinopathy Research Cooperation Group（CRRCG） convened young and middle-aged nasal experts in China to formulate the present consensus. The recommended subjective outcome measures for AIT comprise symptom scores, medication scores, combined symptom and medication scores, quality-of-life assessments, evaluation of disease control, and assessment of comorbidities. Objective indicators may supplement these measures. Currently available objective approaches include skin prick testing, nasal provocation testing, and allergen exposure chambers. However, these methods remain constrained by practical limitations and are not yet appropriate for routine implementation in clinical efficacy evaluation. In addition, several biomarkers, including sIgE and the sIgE/tIgE ratio, sIgG4, serum IgE-blocking activity, IgA, cytokines and chemokines, as well as immune cell surface molecules and their functional activity, have been shown to have associations with AIT outcomes. While these biomarkers may complement subjective assessments, they are subject to significant limitations. Consequently, large-scale multicenter trials and real-world evidence are required to strengthen the evidence base. The present consensus underscores the necessity of integrating patients'subjective experiences with objective testing throughout the treatment process, thereby providing a more comprehensive and accurate framework for efficacy evaluation. Looking forward, future investigations should prioritize the incorporation of multi-omics data and artificial intelligence methodologies, which hold promise for overcoming current limitations in assessment strategies and for advancing both the standardization and personalization of AIT.
Humans ; Allergens/immunology* ; China ; Consensus ; Desensitization, Immunologic ; Immunoglobulin E ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis, Allergic/therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; East Asian People

Objective To propose a object detection method based on an improved YOLOv8 model to solve the problems of the inspection robot in low accuracy for recognizing pointer-type or obscured meters.Methods Firstly,a YOLOv8 model was chosen as the foundation object detection model,based on which the coordinate attention(CA)mechanism was introduced to enhance the model's understanding of the spatial structure of the input data over long distances;secondly,the original complete IoU(CIoU)loss function was replaced by an efficient IoU(EIoU)loss function to accelerate the convergence of the model's detection frame;finally,the soft non-maximum suppression(Soft-NMS)function took the place of the traditional NMS method to suppress the redundant bounding box smoothly and further improve the detection accuracy.The improved YOLOv8 model(YOLOv8nxt model)was compared with the YOLOv8n model to verify its efficacy for object detection.Results The YOLOv8nxt model with a size of 6.2 M had the position loss decreased by 1.3％,mAP_0.5∶0.95 increased by 1.7％,detection accuracy raised by 0.87％and detection time prolonged by only 0.2 ms when comparted with the YOLOv8n model.Conclusion The improved YOLOv8 model-based object detection method enhances the accuracy and speed of the inspection robot's recognition of meters during movement,and can effectively solve the problems of the inspection robot in the object detection stage.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(3):1-8]

Objective To construct machine learning models that can be used to predict AUC fold change(FC)using a database of existing pharmacokinetic(PK)and drug-drug interaction(DDI)information,which can be used to explore the possibility of predicting existing drug interactions and to provide certain rational recommendations for clinical drug use.Methods PK data of DDIs and AUC fold change data were extracted from FDA-approved drug labels.Peptide and pharmacodynamic(PD)information related to drug interactions were retrieved through DrugBank,and PPDT identification of relevant peptide IDs was performed using Protein Resource(UniProt),and a matrix normalization code was used to generate multidimensional vector data that were easy to analysis.The effect of PPDT on the AUC,and the resulting multiplicity change was used as the dependent variable for machine learning model construction.The model with the smallest root mean square error(RMES)value was used for model construction to train a bagged decision tree(Bagged)prediction model.The models were tested using the trained models for some of the drug tests.The models were evaluated by reviewing the available literature findings on detection of drug interaction pairs and analyzing and comparing the predicted values.Results A total of 16 pairs of model drug pairs were tested for the effects of 16 drugs on tacrolimus,and it was found that the accuracy of the prediction of the presence or absence of drug interactions was 81.25％;the prediction results were classified according to the FDA standard classification of the strong and weak for the strength of drug interactions,and the results showed that the prediction of the strength of drug interactions,with a large deviation from the larger prediction was less.Conclusion The evaluation of the model to predict the presence or absence of drug interactions was general;however,after classifying the strengths and weaknesses of drug interactions,the prediction of drug interactions was better,and the prediction results indicated that the model prediction performance has a certain reference value for potential DDI assessment before clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have demonstrated the benefit of complete multivessel revascularization versus culprit-only intervention in patients of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel coronary artery disease. However, only a few single-center retrospective studies were performed on small Chinese cohorts. Our study aims to demonstrate the advantage of multivessel percutaneous intervention (PCI) strategy on 30-day in-hospital outcomes to patients with STEMI and multivessel disease in larger Chinese population. METHODS: From the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Acute Coronary Syndrome (CCC-ACS) project, 5935 patients with STEMI and multivessel disease undergoing PCI and hospitalized for fewer than 30 days were analyzed. After 5: 1 propensity score matching, 3577 patients with culprit-only PCI and 877 with in-hospital multivessel PCI were included. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event (MACCE), defined as a composite of myocardial infarction, all-cause death, stent thrombosis, heart failure, and stroke. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that in-hospital multivessel PCI was associated with lower risk of 30-day MACCE (adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57-0.98, P = 0.032) than culprit-only PCI and conferred no increased risk of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke, or bleeding. Subgroup analysis showed that MACCE reduction was observed more often from patients with trans-femoral access (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.15-0.74) than with trans-radial access (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.66-1.16, P for interaction = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS The in-hospital multivessel PCI strategy was associated with a lower risk of 30-day MACCE than culprit-only PCI in patients with STEMI and multivessel coronary artery disease.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Sanhuang Tangshenkang on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the bone tissue of diabetic rats. MethodA high-sugar and high-fat diet was administered for 4 weeks， along with intraperitoneal injection of freshly prepared 2% streptozotocin （pH 4.5） at 30 mg·kg^-1 body weight to induce a diabetes model in rats. The rats with diabetes were randomly divided into model group， low- and high-dose Sanhuang Tangshenkang groups （12.8， 38.4 g·kg^-1）， and Gushukang group （1.8 g·kg^-1） according to the blood glucose level. Rats of the same age were fed on a regular diet and assigned to the control group. After 12 weeks of respective treatments with drugs or physiological saline， the fasting blood glucose （FBG） levels of the rats were measured using an automated biochemical analyzer. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect fasting serum insulin （FINS）， bone-specific alkaline phosphatase （BALP）， and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase （TRAP） levels. Micro-computed tomography （Micro-CT） was used to scan the femurs of rats to observe bone tissue microstructure and measure bone mineral density （BMD）. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and safranin O/fast green staining were performed to observe pathological changes in the femoral bone tissue. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） and Western blot were used to detect the expression of Wnt3a， low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 （LRP-5）， and β-catenin proteins. ResultCompared with the control group， the model group showed a significant increase in FBG， FINS， and TRAP levels （P<0.01）， a significant decrease in BALP level （P<0.01）， a significant decrease in BMD （P<0.01）， and disorganized， elongated， and sparse bone trabecular structures with fractures and increased lipid droplets. Additionally， the expression of Wnt3a， LRP-5， and β-catenin proteins decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the low- and high-dose Sanhuang Tangshenkang groups showed a reduction in FBG and an increase in BALP （P<0.05）. The low-dose Sanhuang Tangshenkang group also exhibited a decrease in FINS （P<0.05）. All treatment groups showed a significant decrease in TRAP （P<0.01）， varying degrees of improvement in BMD （P<0.05， P<0.01））， increased and denser bone trabeculae with more regular arrangements and reduced lipid droplets， and improved bone microstructure morphology. The average optical density values of Wnt3a， LRP-5， and β-catenin proteins were significantly increased in all drug-treated groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the expression of Wnt3a， LRP-5， and β-catenin proteins was elevated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionSanhuang Tangshenkang may regulate the imbalance of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by increasing the expression of Wnt3a， LRP-5， and β-catenin proteins in bone tissue， which may promote bone formation， reduce bone resorption， and lower blood glucose levels， thereby achieving the effect of preventing and treating diabetic osteoporosis.