Objective To explore the association between the relative expression level of SNORD55 in peripheral blood and the outcomes of all-cause mortality and stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF),and to evaluate the predictive value of SNORD55 for prognosis.Methods A total of 133 patients with non-valvular AF admitted in Department of Cardiology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from January 2014 to December 2017 were enrolled in this study.Their baseline information was collected,and the relative expression level of plasma SNORD55 was detected.Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore the association between the relative expression level of SNORD55 in peripheral blood and all-cause mortality as well as stroke in the patients.The predictive performance of CHA2DS2-VASc score for all-cause mortality and stroke was compared with the score combined with the relative expression level of SNORD55 in the AF patients.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)was utilized to evaluate the discrimination,and the net reclassification index(NRI)and comprehensive discriminant improvement index(IDI)were calculated to evaluate the improvement of reclassification ability.Decision curve analysis(DCA)was applied to analyze the change in clinical net benefit.Results The results of multivariate Cox regression showed that high expression of SNORD55 in peripheral blood was an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality and stroke in the AF patients.In predicting the outcomes of all-cause mortality and stroke,the addition of relative expression SNORD55 level with the CHA2DS2-VASc score obtained higher AUC value[0.80(95％CI:0.67～0.93)vs 0.67(95％CI:0.53～0.81),P＜0.05].In predicting the outcome of all-cause death and stroke,combination of the relative expression level of SNORD55 with CHA2DS2-VASc score increased both NRI[54.3(95％CI:10.6～61.9)vs 31.9(95％CI:2.8～47.5),P＜0.05]and IDI[16.1(95％CI:2.4～27.0)vs 7.9(95％CI:0.5～14.8),P＜0.05].The results of DCA showed that our combination of CHA2DS2-VASc score relative expression level of SNORD55 had higher clinical net benefits than the foreign ABC score in the prediction of the outcomes.Conclusion Peripheral blood SNORD55 level is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality and stroke in AF patients,and has good predictive performance for all-cause mortality and stroke in the patients.

Objectives To explore the association of peripheral blood PIWI-interacting RNA,piR-hsa-2700592,with all-cause mortality and stroke outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF),and to determine whether piR-hsa-2700592 has the potential to be an AF biomarker.Methods A total of 127 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled,and the relative expression level of plasma piR-hsa-2700592 was detected.Cox proportional hazard regression was used to analyze the correlation between the expression of piR-hsa-2700592 and all-cause death as well as stroke outcome in the patients.Then the molecule expression level was combined with CHA2DS2-VASc score and ABC stroke(or death)score to establish 2 new prediction models,the improvement of the predictive performance was compared and analyzed.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis(area under the curve,AUC),net reclassification index(NRI),and comprehensive discriminant improvement index(IDI)were used to evaluate the predictive performance,and decision curve analysis(DCA)was employed to assess the clinical benefit.Results Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the patients with higher expression level of piR-hsa-2700592 in peripheral blood had a higher risk of stroke(HR:2.203,95%CI:1.120～4.332;P=0.022).In the stroke outcome,combination of plasma piR-hsa-2700592 expression level with CHA2DS2-VASc score and ABC stroke score obtained an AUC of 0.70(95%CI:0.55～0.85,P＜0.001)and 0.84(95%CI:0.73～0.96,P=0.02),respectively.But,no significant association was observed between high plasma piR-hsa-2700592 level and all-cause mortality in the AF patients(HR:1.997;95%CI:0.884～4.509;P=0.096).Combination of plasma piR-hsa-2700592 level improved the discriminative capability than the single CHA2DS2-VASc score and ABC stroke score models,with an NRI and IDI value of 44.20%(95%CI:3.40～59.90,P＜0.001)and 8.20%(95%CI:0.60～15.40,P＜0.001),respectively for the new CHA2DS2-VASc score model,and an NRI and IDI value of 44.20%(95%CI:9.80～58.90,P＜0.001)and 10.40%(95%CI:0.70～21.40,P＜0.001),respectively for the new ABC stroke score model.The DCA curve showed that both new prediction models obtained better net clinical benefits.Conclusion High peripheral blood expression of piR-hsa-2700592 is an independent risk factor for stroke in the AF patients,and the indicator has a good predictive value for prognosis of the patients.piR-hsa-2700592 might be used as a potential biomarker in the diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Objective:To investigate the impact of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as the predictive performance of RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors.Methods:This study was a single-center prospective cohort study. It included patients with AMI who underwent PCI at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2017 and November 2017. Baseline clinical data were collected, and plasma samples were obtained 6 hours after PCI to measure RIPK3 levels. Follow-up was conducted via outpatient visits or phone calls to record the occurrence of MACE, including cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and vascular events (recurrent AMI or stroke). The predictive performance of RIPK3, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their combination for MACE was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Patients were divided into low- and high-RIPK3 level groups based on the optimal cutoff value of RIPK3. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the impact of RIPK3 levels on MACE after PCI in AMI patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted, and the log-rank test was used to compare MACE incidence between the low-and high-RIPK3 groups.Results:A total of 103 AMI patients who underwent PCI were included, aged 63.0 (56.0, 69.0) years, and 83 (80.6%) were male. The follow-up time was 5.17 (2.81, 5.17) years, during which 44 patients (42.7%) experienced MACE. The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve ( AUC) for traditional cardiovascular risk factors was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.58-0.78), while the AUC for plasma RIPK3 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62-0.82). The combined AUC for traditional risk factors and RIPK3 was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.65-0.85). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that plasma RIPK3 level is greater than or equal to the optimal cutoff value of 440.9 μg/L ( HR=3.31, 95% CI: 1.53-8.30, P=0.005) was an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the high-RIPK3 group had a significantly higher risk of MACE after PCI compared to the low-RIPK3 group (log-rank P=0.006). Conclusions:Elevated plasma RIPK3 level is an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Plasma RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors can more effectively predict the occurrence of MACE in AMI patients after PCI. AMI patients with RIPK3≥440.9 μg/L have a higher risk of MACE after PCI.

Objective:To investigate the impact of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as well as the predictive performance of RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors.Methods:This study was a single-center prospective cohort study. It included patients with AMI who underwent PCI at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2017 and November 2017. Baseline clinical data were collected, and plasma samples were obtained 6 hours after PCI to measure RIPK3 levels. Follow-up was conducted via outpatient visits or phone calls to record the occurrence of MACE, including cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and vascular events (recurrent AMI or stroke). The predictive performance of RIPK3, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their combination for MACE was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Patients were divided into low- and high-RIPK3 level groups based on the optimal cutoff value of RIPK3. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the impact of RIPK3 levels on MACE after PCI in AMI patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted, and the log-rank test was used to compare MACE incidence between the low-and high-RIPK3 groups.Results:A total of 103 AMI patients who underwent PCI were included, aged 63.0 (56.0, 69.0) years, and 83 (80.6%) were male. The follow-up time was 5.17 (2.81, 5.17) years, during which 44 patients (42.7%) experienced MACE. The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve ( AUC) for traditional cardiovascular risk factors was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.58-0.78), while the AUC for plasma RIPK3 was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62-0.82). The combined AUC for traditional risk factors and RIPK3 was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.65-0.85). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that plasma RIPK3 level is greater than or equal to the optimal cutoff value of 440.9 μg/L ( HR=3.31, 95% CI: 1.53-8.30, P=0.005) was an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the high-RIPK3 group had a significantly higher risk of MACE after PCI compared to the low-RIPK3 group (log-rank P=0.006). Conclusions:Elevated plasma RIPK3 level is an independent risk factor for MACE in AMI patients after PCI. Plasma RIPK3 combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors can more effectively predict the occurrence of MACE in AMI patients after PCI. AMI patients with RIPK3≥440.9 μg/L have a higher risk of MACE after PCI.

Objective To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA),surfactant associated 1 pseudogene(SFTA1P)in lung squamous carcinoma and its effect on the biological functions of SFTA1P in lung squamous carcinoma cell lines.Methods Based on the cancer genome atlas(TCGA)database,the differential expression of SFTA1P in tumor and normal tissues were compared in patients diagnosed with lung squamous cell carcinoma.Then,the expression of SFTA1P was detected in human normal lung epithelial cell line BEAS-2B and lung squamous cell lines SK-MES-1 and H520 with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).SK-MES-1 and H520 cells with overexpression and/or knockdown of SFTA1P were constructed by transfecting the overexpression plasmids(pcDNA3.1-SFTA1P)and small interfering RNAs(si-SFTA1P-1 and si-SFTA1P-2).CCK-8 assay and Transwell assay were used to investigate the effect of SFTA1P on biological functions in lung squamous carcinoma cells.Differential gene expression analysis,correlation analysis and functional enrichment analysis were employed to explore the potential mechanism that SFTA1P may affect biological functions of lung squamous cells.Results Analysis of TCGA showed that the expression of SFTA1P was significantly lower in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissue than adjacent normal tissue(P＜0.05).RT-PCR results showed that the expression of SFTA1P was obviously lower in lung squamous carcinoma cells than the human normal lung epithelial cells(P＜0.05).And the expression level of SFTA1P was relatively lower in the SK-MES-1 cells than the H520 cells(P＜0.05).Overexpression of SFTA1P suppressed the proliferation,migration and invasion of lung squamous carcinoma cells(P＜0.05),while its knockdown promoted these abilities(P＜0.05).Differential gene expression analysis,correlation analysis and functional enrichment analysis indicated that SFTA1P may inhibit MYC,G2m checkpoints and E2f signaling pathways in lung squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusion SFTA1P shows anti-cancer function in lung squamous cell carcinoma,and it may affect the biological functions of lung squamous cell carcinoma cells through down-regulating MYC,G2m checkpoints and E2f signaling pathways.

Objective To investigate the results of ambulatory electrocardiographic(ECG)monitoring in a community-based homebound elderly population and to explore the applicability of wearable long-range ambulatory ECG monitor for them.Methods Elderly volunteers were recruited in Shuangbei Community,Shapingba District,Chongqing,from November 2021 to June 2023.A single-lead wearable ambulatory ECG recorder was applied to them to obtain ECG for 7 consecutive days.The adverse reactions,acceptability,monitoring duration,and arrhythmia detection rate during the wearing were described and recorded.Serious arrhythmic events included frequent atrial premature,atrial flutter,atrial fibrillation(AF),frequent ventricular premature,and RR intervals ≥5 s.Results There were 416 individuals enrolled,with a mean age of 71.2±6.6 years,and a male percentage of 36.1％(150 men).Finally,384(92.3％)participants completed the wearing of the ECG monitor for 7 d,with an average time of 159.2±29.4 h.There were 179 participants(48.5％)reporting no discomfort during wearing,and 175 ones(47.4％)feeling itchy at the wearing site.The monitoring results showed that the common arrhythmias were atrial premature contractions(97.1％),premature ventricular contractions(93.3％),atrial tachycardia(84.6％),bradycardia(46.6％),frequent atrial premature contractions(15.1％),ventricular tachycardia(13.2％),and long RR interval(11.8％).Among them,29.1％of the participants experienced serious arrhythmic events,and the detection rate of certain serious arrhythmic events was comparatively higher in the individuals≥70 years of age and those with history of previous cardiac disease.Conclusion The detection rate of common arrhythmias is quite high in the community-based homebound elderly population.A 7-day long-range ambulatory ECG monitoring may be appropriate.

Objective To analyze and construct systolic blood pressure(SBP)fluctuation trajectory in a community population with hypertension and to analyze the factors influencing different trajectories.Methods This is a community-based retrospective cohort study.A latent class trajectory model was used to identify and construct longitudinal trajectories of blood pressure change.Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associated factors of blood pressure trajectories by adjusting for different confounders.Potential confounding factors were identified using a directed acyclic graph based on a priori knowledge.Results A total of 793 patients with hypertension were enrolled in the analysis.They were divided into 3 groups by LCTM-fitted systolic blood pressure trajectories,namely stable low-level group(n=561,70.74％),declining group(n=170,21.44％)and rising group(n=62,7.82％).Significant differences were observed among the 3 trajectories groups in terms of age,frequency of exercise,ways of follow-up,salt intake,compliance behavior,and referral(P＜0.05).Compared to the stable low-level group and adjusting for corresponding confounding factors,the male patients and the patients with"outpatient follow-up"were more likely to be classified into"declining group",with OR and 95％CI of 1.436(1.016～2.030)and 1.702(1.202～2.410),respectively.The participants aged ≥ 65 years,who did not exercise or occasionally exercised,and had moderate and severe salt intake,were more likely to be classified into the"rising group"(OR=1.949,2.284,2.433,4.540,95％CI:1.145～3.317,1.305～3.998,1.272～4.654,1.291～15.963).Conclusion SBP trajectories in community-dwelling hypertensive population can be divided into stable low-level,declining and rising groups.Gender,age,salt intake,exercise frequency,and follow-up methods may be influencing factors for SBP blood pressure trajectory.

OBJECTIVE To establish the fingerprint of Huangqin decoction （HQD）， to separate the phase states and screen the active phase states of antidermatophytic activity so as to study the spectrum-effect relationship. METHODS HPLC method was adopted using baicalin as reference， the fingerprints of 10 batches of HQD were drawn and the similarity evaluation was carried out using the Similarity Evaluation System of Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM （2012 edition） to determine the common peak； the phase states of HQD were separated and characterized by high-speed centrifugation and membrane dialysis. The minimum inhibitory concentrations （MIC） of HQD and its different phase states against Trichophyton mentagrophytes were determined simultaneously. Using the peak area of 37 common peaks as independent variable， MIC as dependent variable， Pearson correlation analysis was performed by using SPSS 21.0 software. RESULTS A total of 37 common peaks were obtained in HPLC fingerprints of 10 batches of HQD， with the similarity higher than 0.99. Ten components were identified， such as albiflorin， paeoniflorin， liquiritin apioside， baicalin， melaleuca glycoside A， wogonoside， baicalein， glycyrrhizic acid， wogonin and oroxylin A. HQD was split into 3 phase states， such as precipitation phase （HQD-P）， solution phase （HQD-S） and nano phase （HQD-N）. The morphology of HQD-P was irregular granular， and the average particle size was 4.670-91.522 μm. The morphology of HQD-S was uniform flakes， and no particle size was detected. HQD-N was spherical in shape and the particle size was （129.0±12.9） nm. MIC values of each phase state of HQD against T. mentagrophytes in different phase states were HQD-N （4.64 mg/mL） ＜HQD （5.85 mg/mL） ＜HQD-P （7.37 mg/mL） ＜HQD-S （12.89 mg/mL） at the same dosage. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the peak area of 25 of the 37 common peaks （including identified components） was significantly negatively correlated with MIC （absolute values of correlation coefficient＞0.95 and P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The chemical composition of 10 batches of HQD is consistent； HQD-N is the active phase state of HQD. Ten components such as paeoniflorin， liquiritin apioside and baicalin may be the main active components of HQD. The antidermatophytic effect of HQD is closely related to its component content and physical phase state.

Background::The CHA 2DS 2–VASc score was initially applied to stratify stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and was found to be effective in predicting all-cause mortality outcomes. To date, it is still unclear whether circulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as emerging biomarkers, can improve the predictive power of the CHA 2DS 2–VASc score in stroke and all-cause mortality. Methods::Candidate lncRNAs were screened by searching the literature and analyzing previous RNA sequencing results. After preliminary verification in 29 patients with AF, the final selected lncRNAs were evaluated by Cox proportional hazards regression in 192 patients to determine whether their relative expression levels were associated with stroke and all-cause mortality. The c-statistic, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement of the patients were calculated to evaluate the discrimination and reclassification power for stroke and all-cause mortality when adding lncRNA expression levels to the CHA 2DS 2–VASc score model. Results::Five plasma lncRNAs associated with stroke and all-cause mortality in AF patients were selected in our screening process. Patients with elevated H19 levels were found to have a higher risk of stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 3.264, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.364–7.813, P = 0.008). Adding the H19 expression level to the CHA 2DS 2–VASc score significantly improved the discrimination and reclassification power of the CHA 2DS 2–VASc score for stroke in AF patients. In addition, the H19 level showed a marginally significant association with all-cause mortality (HR 2.263, 95% CI: 0.889–5.760, P = 0.087), although it appeared to have no significant improvement for the CHA 2DS 2–VASc model for predicting all-cause mortality. Conclusions::Plasma expression of H19 was associated with stroke risk in AF patients and improved the discriminatory power of the CHA 2DS 2–VASc score. Therefore, lncRNA H19 served as an emerging non-invasive biomarker for stroke risk prediction in patients with AF.

Objective:To explore the effects of endoscopic reprocessing on disinfection and its influential factors under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods:A total of 450 endoscopes cleaned and disinfected according to Technical Specifications for Cleaning and Disinfection of Endoscopes from November 2019 to January 2020, and 450 endoscopes cleaned and disinfected according to The recommended procedure for cleaning and disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes during COVID-19 epidemic by Chinese Society of Digestive Endoscopology from February to April 2020 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were enrolled in the control group and observation group respectively by random number method. Both the control group and the observation group contained 200 gastroscopes, 200 enteroscopes and 50 ultrasound endoscopes. ATP fluorescence detection method and pour plate technique were used to evaluate the disinfection effect of endoscopes. Single factor analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors for unqualified sterilization after endoscopic reprocessing. Results:The disinfection pass rates of gastroscopes, enteroscopes and ultrasound endoscopes in the observation group were not significantly different compared with those of the control group ( P>0.05). The sterilization pass rates and ATP test pass rates of gastroscopes, enteroscopes and ultrasound endoscopes in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that non-strict implementation of endoscopic reprocessing ( OR=7.96, 95% CI: 4.55-22.84, P<0.001), non-standard operation ( OR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.24-5.63, P<0.001), insufficient concentration of disinfectant ( OR=5.43, 95% CI: 2.52-9.02, P<0.001), insufficient concentration ratio of multi-enzyme solution ( OR=4.38, 95% CI: 1.95-8.61, P<0.001), non-timely cleaning ( OR=2.86, 95% CI: 1.33-6.42, P<0.001), incomplete cleaning ( OR=3.75, 95% CI: 1.61-7.49, P<0.001) and improper endoscopic preservation ( OR=2.12, 95% CI: 1.36-4.12, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for unqualified sterilization after endoscopic reprocessing. Conclusion:In COVID-19 pandemic, endoscope reprocessing can significantly improve the disinfection effect of endoscopes, worthy of further clinical promotion. The failure to strictly implement the reprocessing procedure is an important factor that may lead to unqualified sterilization.