OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high-dose ilaprazole combined with amoxicillin for newly diagnosed elderly patients with Helicobacter pylori （Hp） infection， and analyze independent risk factors for failure of Hp infection eradication treatment. METHODS Totally 200 cases of newly diagnosed elderly patients with Hp infection in Xinxiang Central Hospital from August 1， 2021 to December 1， 2024 were selected and randomly divided into control group and study group， with 100 cases in each group. The control group was treated with classic quadruple therapy regimen （Amoxicillin capsules+ Clarithromycin tablets+Bismuth potassium citrate tablets+Ilaprazole enteric-coated tablets）. The study group was treated with high- dose Ilaprazole enteric-coated tablets+Amoxicillin capsules. All patients were administered medication for 2 weeks. Hp eradication rates in the two groups were compared using intention-to-treat （ITT） and per-protocol （PP） analyses. The incidence of adverse reactions in both groups was also recorded. The multiple-factor Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for failure of Hp infection eradication treatment. RESULTS In ITT and PP analyses， there was no significant difference of Hp eradication rates between the two groups （P＞0.05）. There was no significant difference in incidence of mild to moderate adverse reactions between the two groups （P＞0.05）. BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2， BMI ＞23.9 kg/m2， rural residence， concomitant diabetes and concomitant heart disease were identified as independent risk factors influencing the failure of Hp infection eradication treatment （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy and safety of high-dose ilaprazole combined with amoxicillin are comparable to classic quadruple therapy regimen in treating newly diagnosed elderly patients with Hp infection. Independent risk factors influencing the failure of Hp infection eradication treatment include BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2， BMI ＞23.9 kg/m2， rural residence， concomitant diabetes and concomitant heart disease.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a series of complex challenges. COVID-19 in children and adolescents is generally less severe than in adults and the elderly; however, some children and adolescents may experience severe complications and adverse health effects even after mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. The article focuses on gathering the epidemic characteristics, health impact, risk factors, prevention and control measures, and vaccination status of children and adolescents with COVID-19 infection to provide recommendations for protecting children and adolescents in the post COVID-19 era.

Objective:To investigate the detection rate of pulmonary nodules (PN) by CT scan at different doses and the application value of artificial intelligence(AI) system assistance.Methods:From October 2019 to October 2021, 210 patients with PN in Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, were retrospectively selected, and they were divided into the study group (106 cases) and the control group (104 cases) by CT scan at different doses. The control group used the conventional average dose (169 mAs) CT scan, the study group used an average low-dose (54 mAs) CT scan. The PN detection rate of different gender, age, body mass index (BMI) between the two groups were compared. The morphological characteristics, radiation dose, CT image quality between the two groups were compared. The diagnostic efficiency of radiologists and AI system was compared.Results:The detection rate of PN in the study group and the control group had no significant difference: 73.58% (78/106) vs. 80.77%(84/104), χ2 = 1.54, P>0.05. The detection rate of PN with different gender, age group and BMI in the two groups had no significant differences ( P>0.05). The diameter of nodules and the rates of calcification, cavitation, bronchial sign, lobar sign, burr sign and pleural adhesion sign in the two groups had no significant differences ( P>0.05). The mean effective tubular bulb dose, length product of radiation dose, total tubular bulb dose, radiation volume dose index in the study group were higher than those in the control group: (46.15 ± 7.38) mAs vs. (104.39 ± 10.53) mAs, (169.24 ± 19.77) mGy·cm vs. (427.17 ± 43.58) mGy·cm, (972.65 ± 58.34) mAs vs. (2 861.26 ± 181.37) mAs, (3.55 ± 1.16) mGy vs. (8.95 ± 2.07) mGy, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). The excellent, good, acceptable, poor of 1.0 mm image quality in the study group were 26, 60, 18, 2, and in the control group were 32, 64, 8, 0, there was statistical difference ( u =1.71, P = 0.087). The excellent, good, acceptable, poor of maximum intensity projection (MIP) image quality in the study group were 58, 42, 6, 0 and in the control group were 70, 34, 0, 0, there was statistical difference ( u = 1.81, P = 0.070). The detection rate of PN by AI low-dose CT scan was higher than that of radiologists: 88.68%(94/106) vs. 73.58%(78/106), there was statistical difference ( χ2 = 7.89, P = 0.005). Conclusions:The low-dose CT chest scans for PN, the results of detection rate, morphological characteristics, CT image quality are basically the same as those of conventional-dose CT chest scans, and can greatly reduce the radiation dose, which is more suitable for PN screening, and combined with AI system can significantly improve the detection rate of PN.

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of radium-223 in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with and without homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutation.Methods:The clinical data of 27 patients with mCRPC bone metastases who received radium-223 therapy from April 2021 to November 2022 in Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. Among the 27 mCRPC patients, 18 patients carrying HRR gene mutations belonged to the HRD(+ ) group, and 9 patients without HRR gene mutation belonged to the HRD(-) group. The age of patients in HRD(+ ) group was 69.5 (63.8, 77.0) years old, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was 243.0 (82.8, 301.3) U/L, prostate specific antigen (PSA) was 71.6 (7.3, 329.8) ng/ml, pain score was 3.0 (1.0, 5.0) points. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score ranged from 0 to 1 points in 7 cases, and 2 points in 11 cases. In the HRD(-) group, the median age was 72.0 (64.5, 76.5) years old, ALP was 88.0 (67.5, 260.6) U/L, PSA was 19.1 (1.1, 117.8) ng/ml, and pain score was 2.0 (0, 4.5) points. The ECOG score ranged from 0 to 1 in 4 cases, and 2 in 5 cases in the HRD(-) group. There was no significant difference in the above general data between the two groups ( P>0.05). All patients received radium-223 treatment every 4 weeks, no more than 6 times. The changes of ALP, PSA, pain score and hematological adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results:In the HRD(+ ) group, the median number of radium-223 treatment was 4.5 (3.0, 5.3) couses, 4 patients (22.2%) completed 6 courses, and 6 patients died of prostate cancer during follow-up. In the HRD(-) group, the median number of radium treatment was 4.0 (2.5, 6.0) couses, 3 patients (33.3%) completed 6 courses, and 1 patient died of prostate cancer during follow-up. There was no significant difference in the number of radium treatment courses between the two groups ( P=0.320). ALP in HRD(+ ) group was 101.8 (61.3, 147.0) U/L after radium-223 treatment, which was significantly lower than that before treatment ( P=0.002). ALP in HRD(-) group was 73.0 (64.0, 113.5) U/L after radium-223 treatment, and it was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.327). The rate of ALP response (ALP decrease >10%) in HRD(+ ) group was significantly higher than that in HRD(-) group [83.3% (15/18) vs. 44.4% (4/9), P=0.037]. PSA was 105.9(5.2, 798.4) ng/ml in HRD (+ ) group after radium-223 treatment, and was 25.6(0.8, 1 031.0) ng/ml in HRD(-) group, and they were not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.145, P=0.386). There were no significant differences in the rate of PSA response (PSA decrease>10%) between HRD(+ ) group and HRD(-) group [38.9% (7/18) vs. 22.2% (2/9), P=0.386]. The median pain score of HRD(+ ) group was 3.0 (0, 4.0) points after treatment, which was significantly lower than that before treatment ( P=0.028). The pain score of HRD(-) group was 1.0(0, 3.0) points after treatment, and it was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.129). There was no significant difference in pain relief rate between HRD(+ ) group and HRD(-) group [66.7% (12/18) vs. 44.4% (4/9), P=0.411]. The incidence of at least one hematological adverse event during radium-223 treatment in the HRD(+ ) group was higher than that in the HRD(-) group [77.8% (14/18) vs. 33.3% (3/9), P=0.039]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of grade 1-2 hematological adverse events between the two groups [72.2%(13/18) vs. 33.3%(3/9), P=0.097]. Only 1 patient in the HRD(+ ) group experienced grade 3 anemia during treatment which was recovered after blood transfusion. Conclusions:Compared to mCRPC patients without HRR gene mutation, patients with HRR gene mutations had better ALP response and bone pain relief after radium-223 treatment. The overall incidence of adverse events in the HRD(+ ) group is higher than that in HRD(-) group, and there was no significant difference in grade 1-2 hematological adverse events between the two goups. It is necessary to expand the sample size to further verify the conclusion.

Objective:To investigate the overall clinical performance of nursing students and analyze its influencing factors to provide evidence for the improvement.Methods:A questionnaire survey was carried out among 288 nursing students from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University in March to May 2020. The survey included a general data questionnaire, Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool, Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale, Medical Student Safety Attitudes and Professionalism Survey of nursing students. The factors associated with overall clinical performance of nursing students were analyzed by t test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Results:The total score of Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool was 114.95 ± 22.91. The total score of Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale was 156.70 ± 26.98. The total score of Medical Student Safety Attitudes and Professionalism Survey was 123.65 ± 31.00. The influencing factors included social practice experience and clinical learning environment, which accounted for 28.0% of the total variation of overall clinical performance of nursing students.Conclusions:Educators and managers of nursing students' schools and internship hospitals should actively explore the educational reform practice to promote the improvement of clinical ability, so as to promote the improvement of the overall clinical ability of nursing students.

Objective: To analyze the trend of percentile changes in body composition among children and adolescents aged 7 to 18 by gender and age, and to provide a scientific basis for reference value. Methods: A stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 1 585 children and adolescents from September to December 2020. Use the GAMLSS to estimate the P 25 , P 50 and P 75 percentile value of gender, age specific body fat percentage (BF%), fat mass index (FMI) and fat free mass (FFM). Results: In different age groups, body fat percentage of boys with normal nutritional status peaked at around 10-year old, among them, body fat percentage of 10-year old P 25 , P 50 and P 75 were 22.2%, 26.1% and 30.1%, respectively. Body fat percentage of obese boys was at a high level. Among girls, body fat percentage under different nutritional status did not change. With the increase of age, fat mass index plateaued slightly in normal and overweight boys. However, in obese boys, with the increase of age, FMI gradually increased with the increase of percentile, while the value of FMI gradually decreased in girls. Whether in boys or girls, with the increase of age, fat free mass index shows an increasing trend, and boys increase faster. Conclusion Under different nutritional status, there are differences in the percentile value of body fat percentage, fat mass index and fat free mass by gender and age, which can provide a scientific basis for reference value of body composition in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze variation of ISL1 gene and explore its functional characteristics in relation with congenital heart defect (CHD). METHODS: Clinical data and peripheral blood samples of 194 CHD patients and 232 healthy controls were collected for the extraction of genomic DNA. The coding exons and flanking intronic regions of the ISL1 gene were sequenced. Expression plasmid for the wild-type ISL1 gene ISL1-pcDNA3.1 was constructed, and the corresponding variants were obtained by site-specific mutagenesis. The gene expression plasmid was transfected into CHO cells with liposome, and the functional characteristics of ISL1 variant were studied by double luciferase reporter gene analysis. RESULTS: A novel variant of the ISL1 gene c.499C>T (p.Q167X) was detected in a patient with sporadic CHD. Functional study showed that the variant has lost its transcriptional activation function for the MEF2C promoter. CONCLUSION A novel variant of the ISL1 gene related to CHD has been identified. The defect of ISL1 gene may underlay the pathogenesis for a proportion of CHD.

Stroke at the acute stage is a major cause of disability in adults, and is associated with dysfunction of brain networks. However, the mechanisms underlying changes in brain connectivity in stroke are far from fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated brain metabolism and metabolic connectivity in a rat ischemic stroke model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) at the acute stage using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Voxel-wise analysis showed decreased metabolism mainly in the ipsilesional hemisphere, and increased metabolism mainly in the contralesional cerebellum. We used further metabolic connectivity analysis to explore the brain metabolic network in MCAO. Compared to sham controls, rats with MCAO showed most significantly reduced nodal and local efficiency in the ipsilesional striatum. In addition, the MCAO group showed decreased metabolic central connection of the ipsilesional striatum with the ipsilesional cerebellum, ipsilesional hippocampus, and bilateral hypothalamus. Taken together, the present study demonstrated abnormal metabolic connectivity in rats at the acute stage of ischemic stroke, which might provide insight into clinical research.
Acute Disease ; Animals ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Brain Mapping ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Male ; Neural Pathways ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of brain-targeted rapamycin (T-Rap) in treatment of epilepsy in rats. METHODS: Rapamycin nanoparticles targeting brain were prepared. The epilepsy model was induced by injection of pilocarpine in rats. The rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy were treated with rapamycin (Rap group) or brain-targeted rapamycin (T-Rap group). Seizure activity was observed by electroencephalography; the effect on mTOR signaling pathway was detected by Western blot; neuronal death and moss fiber sprouting were analyzed by Fluoro-Jade B (FJB) and Timm's staining, respectively. RESULTS: Electroencephalography showed that both preparation of rapamycin significantly reduced the frequency of spontaneous seizures in rats, and the effect of T-Rap was stronger than that of conventional rapamycin (<0.05). Western blot showed that the phosphorylation levels of S6K and S6 in T-Rap group were lower than those in Rap group (all <0.05), indicating that T-Rap had a stronger inhibitory effect on mTOR signaling pathway. FJB staining showed that T-Rap significantly decreased neuronal death, but there was no significant difference as compared with Rap group. Timm's staining showed that both preparations of rapamycin significantly reduced the germination of mossy fibers, while the effect of T-Rap was more pronounced than Rap group (<0.05). The inhibition of body weight gain of T-Rap group was less than that of Rap group (<0.05). CONCLUSIONS T-Rap has a better therapeutic effect on epilepsy than conventional rapamycin with a less adverse effects in rats.
Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epilepsy ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Neurons ; drug effects ; Pilocarpine ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Sirolimus ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome