OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

As artificial intelligence technology rapidly advances, its deployment within the medical sector presents substantial ethical challenges. Consequently, it becomes crucial to create a standardized, transparent, and secure framework for processing medical data. This includes setting the ethical boundaries for medical artificial intelligence and safeguarding both patient rights and data integrity. This consensus governs every facet of medical data handling through artificial intelligence, encompassing data gathering, processing, storage, transmission, utilization, and sharing. Its purpose is to ensure the management of medical data adheres to ethical standards and legal requirements, while safeguarding patient privacy and data security. Concurrently, the principles of compliance with the law, patient privacy respect, patient interest protection, and safety and reliability are underscored. Key issues such as informed consent, data usage, intellectual property protection, conflict of interest, and benefit sharing are examined in depth. The enactment of this expert consensus is intended to foster the profound integration and sustainable advancement of artificial intelligence within the medical domain, while simultaneously ensuring that artificial intelligence adheres strictly to the relevant ethical norms and legal frameworks during the processing of medical data.
Artificial Intelligence/legislation & jurisprudence* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Computer Security/standards* ; Confidentiality/ethics* ; Informed Consent/ethics*

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis incidence among adults aged 60 years and older. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study using the UK Biobank data to assess the relationship between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis in individuals aged 60 years and older. Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar J00105 hydraulic hand dynamometer. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were conducted to assess the association between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis. RESULTS: We included 157,097 UK Biobank participants (78,151 women and 78,946 men) in our study, with mean age of 64 ± 2.9 years. During a median follow-up of 8.1 (7.4-8.8) years, 1543 (1.0%) participants developed incident aortic stenosis. Compared with those with the lowest handgrip strength (tertile 1), the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of incident aortic stenosis in the middle (tertile 2) and the highest (tertile 3) were 0.86 (0.77-0.97) and 0.76 (0.67-0.87), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Higher handgrip strength was associated with lower risk of developing aortic stenosis in older adults. Future studies warrant preventive strategies for older adults with lower handgrip strength.

This study explored the molecular mechanism of acteoside against hepatoma 22(H22) tumor in mice through c-Jun N-terminal kinase(JNK) signaling pathway. H22 cells were subcutaneously inoculated in 50 male BALB/c mice, and then the model mice were classified into model group, low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose acteoside groups, and cisplatin group. The administration lasted 2 weeks for each group(5 consecutive days/week). The general conditions of mice in each group, such as mental status, diet intake, water intake, activity, and fur were observed. The body weight, tumor volume, tumor weight, and tumor-inhibiting rate were compared before and after administration. Morphological changes of liver cancer tissues were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining, and the expression of phosphorylated(p)-JNK, JNK, B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2), Beclin-1, and light chain 3(LC3) in each tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. qRT-PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression of JNK, Bcl-2, Beclin-1, and LC3. The general conditions of mice in model and low-dose acteoside groups were poor, while the general conditions of mice in the remaining three groups were improved. The body weight of mice in medium-dose acteoside group, high-dose acteoside group, and cisplatin group was smaller than that in model group(P<0.01). The tumor volume in model group was insignificantly different from that in low-dose acteoside group, and the volume in cisplatin group showed no significant difference from that in high-dose acteoside group. Tumor volume and weight in medium-dose and high-dose acteoside groups and cisplatin group were lower than those in the model group(P<0.001). The tumor-inhibiting rates were 10.72%, 40.32%, 53.79%, and 56.44% in the low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose acteoside groups and cisplatin group, respectively. HE staining showed gradual decrease in the count of hepatoma cells and increasing sign of cell necrosis in the acteoside and cisplatin groups, and the necrosis was particularly obvious in the high-dose acteoside group and cisplatin group. Immunohistochemical results suggested that the expression of Beclin-1, LC3, p-JNK, and JNK was up-regulated in acteoside and cisplatin groups(P<0.05). The results of immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and qRT-PCR indicated that the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated in the medium-dose and high-dose acteoside groups and cisplatin group(P<0.01). Western blot showed that the expression of Beclin-1, LC3, and p-JNK was up-regulated in acteoside and cisplatin groups(P<0.01), and there was no difference in the expression of JNK among groups. qRT-PCR results showed that the levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 mRNA were up-regulated in the acteoside and cisplatin groups(P<0.05), and the level of JNK mRNA was up-regulated in medium-dose and high-dose acteoside groups and cisplatin group(P<0.001). Acteoside promotes apoptosis and autophagy of H22 cells in mice hepatoma cells by up-regulating the JNK signaling pathway, thus inhibiting tumor growth.
Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Cisplatin/pharmacology* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Beclin-1 ; Apoptosis ; Liver Neoplasms/genetics* ; Necrosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Autophagy

Objective: To trace and characterize the whole genome of SARS-CoV-2 of confirmed cases in the outbreak of COVID-19 on July 31, 2021 in Henan Province. Method: Genome-wide sequencing and comparative analysis were performed on positive nucleic acid samples of SARS-CoV-2 from 167 local cases related to the epidemic on July 31, 2021, to analyze the consistency and evolution of the whole genome sequence of virus. Results: Through high-throughput sequencing, a total of 106 cases of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences were obtained. The results of genome analysis showed that the whole genome sequences of 106 cases belonged to the VOC/Delta variant strain (B.1.617.2 clade), and the whole genome sequences of 106 cases were shared with the genomes of 3 imported cases from Myanmar admitted to a hospital in Zhengzhou. On the basis of 45 nucleotide sites, 1-5 nucleotide variation sites were added, and the genome sequence was highly homologous. Conclusion: Combined with the comprehensive analysis of viral genomics, transmission path simulation experiments and epidemiology, it is determined that the local new epidemic in Henan Province is caused by imported cases in the nosocomial area, and the spillover has caused localized infection in the community. At the same time, it spills over to some provincial cities and results in localized clustered epidemics.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; SARS-CoV-2/genetics* ; Genome, Viral ; Epidemics ; Phylogeny

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects and mechanism of baicalin （BA） on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced acute lung injury in rats. MethodEighty healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， low-dose BA （BA-L） group， medium-dose BA （BA-M） group， high-dose BA （BA-H） group， dexamethasone （DEX） group， SB203580 group， and BA + SB203580 group， with 10 rats in each group. The rats in the BA-L， BA-M， and BA-H groups were injected intraperitoneally with different doses （10， 50， 100 mg·kg^-1） of BA solution， the ones in the DEX group with 5 mg·kg^-1 DEX solution， the ones in the SB203580 group with 0.5 mg·kg^-1 SB203580 solution， the ones in the BA + SB203580 group with 100 mg·kg^-1 BA solution and 0.5 mg·kg^-1 SB203580， and those in both the control group and model group with the same volume of normal saline， once per day， for seven successive days. One hour after the last administration， rats in all groups except for the control group were given 5 mg·kg^-1 LPS via intratracheal instillation for inducing the acute lung injury， whereas those in the control group received the same volume of normal saline solution. Twelve hours later， the lung tissues were sampled and stained with htoxylin-eosin （HE） for observing the pathological changes， followed by the counting of the total number of cells and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF）. The wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue and the contents of serum superoxide dismutase （SOD） and malondialdehyde （MDA） were measured. The activity of reactive oxygen species （ROS） in the lung tissue was detected by immunofluorescence and the levels of interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-18 （IL-18）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in BALF by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was conducted to determine the relative expression of p-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） and Western blotting was carried out to detect the protein expression levels of p-p38 MAPK， thioredoxin interacting protein （TXNIP）， NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3）， and cysteinyl aspartate specific protease-1 （Caspase-1） in the lung tissue. ResultCompared with the control group， the model group displayed inflammatory pathological changes in lung tissue， elevated wet/dry weight ratio， total number of cells and neutrophils in BALF， and ROS and MDA levels （P<0.01）， decreased SOD activity （P<0.01）， and up-regulated IL-1， IL-18， IL-6， TNF-α， p-p38 MAPK， NLRP3， and Caspase-1 expression （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， BA at different doses， SB203580， and BA + SB203580 all effectively alleviated the pathological changes in lung tissue induced by LPS， reduce the lung wet/dry weight ratio， the total number of cells and neutrophils in BALF， and ROS and MDA levels （P<0.05，P<0.01）， enhanced the activity of SOD （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and down-regulated the expression of IL-1β， IL-18， IL-6，TNF-α， p-p38 MAPK， NLRP3， and Caspase-1 in lung tissue （P<0.05，P<0.01）. ConclusionBA has a protective effect against LPS-induced acute lung injury， which may be related to its inhibition of p38MAPK/NLRP3 signaling pathway and the improvement of inflammatory response.

Objective:To investigate the care needs and influencing factors for caregivers of children with disabilities. Methods:From December, 2019 to January, 2020, and August to September, 2020, a total of 496 family caregivers of children with disabilities were surveyed in Shanghai. The Care Needs Assessment Tool for Children with Disabilities was used to measure the care needs rates and satisfaction, and multiple linear regression was performed to analyze the related factors. Results:The rate of total need was 71.8%, which was high in the information support (83.7%), spiritual support (75.9%) and financial support (74.1%), and was at an intermediate level in alternative service support (62.9%) and professional support (62.2%). The satisfaction of total need was 39.4%, which was at a intermediate level in the spiritual support (50.8%) and professional support (45.5%), and was at a low level in alternative service support (32.8%), financial support (32.3%) and information support (30.3%). The caregivers needed less support for thoses with higher public policy satisfaction (B = -3.252, 95%CI -5.370 to -1.134, P = 0.003) and the children with vision and speech disability, and undetermined disability (B_{vision disability}= -12.160, 95%CI -21.976 to -2.344, P = 0.015; B_{speech disability}= -12.754, 95%CI -22.583 to -2.925, P = 0.011; B_{undetermined disability}= -16.553, 95%CI -24.714 to -8.392, P < 0.001), while mothers (B = 9.071, 95%CI 4.293 to 13.848, P < 0.001) needed more support than grandparents. The caregivers with higher public policy satisfaction (B = 7.392, 95%CI 5.523 to 9.262, P < 0.001), the children with vision disability, hearing disability and speech disability (B_{vision disability}= 8.612, 95%CI 0.081 to 17.144, P = 0.048; B_{hearing disability}= 8.686, 95%CI 1.920 to 15.451, P=0.012; B_{speech disability}= 9.515, 95%CI 1.184 to 17.846, P = 0.025), lower barriers to social inclusion (B = 1.932, 95%CI 0.457 to 3.408, P = 0.010) and shorter average daily care hours (B = -4.123, 95%CI -6.247 to -1.999, P < 0.001) were more satisfactory for support. Conclusion:The care needs of children with disabilities are diverse, with the highest rate of need for information support and the lowest level of satisfaction. There is some variation in the care needs of children with different types of disabilities, family roles, average daily care hours and social environment characteristics.

Objective:To explore the current status of the quality of life of children with disabilities and its influencing factors. Methods:From December, 2019 to January, 2020, and August to September, 2020, a total of 285 family caregivers of children with disabilities were enrolled in Shanghai. The EuroQol-5 Dimension Questionnaire Youth Version (EQ-5D-Y) was used to measure the quality of life of 285 children with disabilities. The impact of individual factors, caregiver factors, and environmental factors (family factors and social factors) on children's quality of life were analyzed using multiple linear stepwise regression analysis. Results:The score of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was (71.66±22.33). The quality of life were poorer for children with physical disabilities (B = -13.623, 95%CI -25.282 to -1.965, P = 0.022) or multiple disabilities (B = -14.911, 95%CI -27.445 to -2.377, P = 0.020), combined diseases (B = -8.995, 95%CI -14.780 to -3.210, P = 0.002), emotional instability (B = -4.414, 95%CI -7.433 to -1.395, P = 0.004), poor partnerships (B = 4.965, 95%CI 1.748 to 8.181, P = 0.003), no pre-school education (B = -7.757, 95%CI -12.954 to -2.561, P = 0.004) and grandparents as the main caregiver (B = -7.999, 95%CI -14.288 to -1.710, P = 0.013). Conclusion:The quality of life for children with disabilities is relatively poor and influenced by multiple factors such as children's individual, caregivers, and environment. The main influencing factors are individual factors and caregiver factors.

Objective:To explore the quality of life of caregivers of children with disabilities and its influencing factors. Methods:From December, 2019 to January, 2020, and August to September, 2020, a total of 496 family caregivers of children with disabilities were surveyed in Shanghai. The 12-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-12) was used to measure the quality of life of 496 caregivers, and multiple linear regression was performed to analyze the related factors. Results:The score of physical component summary (PCS) of caregivers was (51.67±8.11), and the score of mental component summary (MCS) was (42.10±12.66). The scores of PCS were lower in caregivers with children aged 6 to 18 years (B = -1.783, 95%CI -3.279 to -0.287, P = 0.020), children with emotional instability (B = 2.719, 95%CI 1.254 to 4.184, P < 0.001), female caregivers (B = -3.765, 95%CI -6.578 to -0.953, P = 0.009), and caregivers who were relatively dissatisfied with the policy (B = 1.973, 95%CI 0.367 to 3.578, P = 0.016); and were higher in caregivers with children with speech disabilities (B = 3.463, 95%CI 0.053 to 6.873, P = 0.047). The types of disabilities of children (B_hearing = 9.465, 95%CI 5.107 to 13.823, P < 0.001; B_undetermined = 5.999, 95%CI 1.558 to 10.441, P = 0.008), playmates of children (B = 2.626, 95%CI 0.352 to 4.901, P = 0.024), education level of caregivers (B_{high middle school} = -4.701, 95%CI -8.028 to -1.374, P = 0.006; B_{high school} = -3.610, 95%CI -6.604 to -0.615, P = 0.018), family size (B = 2.616, 95%CI 0.479 to 4.753, P = 0.017) and per capita monthly income (B _{< 5000 Yuan}= -6.572, 95%CI -9.136 to -4.008, P < 0.001; B_{5000 to < 10000 Yuan} = -4.932, 95%CI -7.544 to -2.319, P < 0.001) were associated with the scores of MCS. Conclusion:The quality of life, especially the mental health, of caregivers of children with disabilities is poor. The influencing factors cover multiple dimensions such as caregivers, children, family and social environment.

Objective:To investigate the anxiety state and its influencing factors for caregivers of children with disabilities. Methods:From December, 2019 to January, 2020, and August to September, 2020, a total of 496 family caregivers of children with disabilities were surveyed in Shanghai. Crosstab was used to analyze the anxiety state and binary logistic regression analysis was used for identifying key factors. Results:There were 73.2% parents and 26.8% grandparents among 496 caregivers. Physical disabilities accounted most (26.0%) in the children. About 35.1% caregivers reported their anxiety state, and more than 10% reported moderate to severe anxiety. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that grandfather reported 0.318 times anxiety to mother (OR = 0.318, 95%CI 0.113 to 0.900, P = 0.031). Sleep problems (OR = 1.713, 95%CI 1.046 to 2.805, P = 0.032) and emotional functioning (OR_generally = 0.057, 95%CI 0.009 to 0.340, P = 0.002; OR_stable = 0.031, 95%CI 0.005 to 0.205, P < 0.001) of children were associated with the rate of caregiver-reported anxiety. Among family environment factors, monthly per capita household income (OR_{5000-< 10000 Yuan} = 0.463, 95%CI 0.236 to 0.909, P = 0.025; OR_{≥ 10,000 Yuan} = 0.325, 95%CI 0.160 to 0.660, P = 0.002) and housing status (OR = 0.356, 95%CI 0.208 to 0.608, P < 0.001) were associated with the rate of caregiver-reported anxiety. Among social environment factors, caregivers who were satisfied with current accessibility reported lower rate of anxiety (OR_satisfied = 0.136, 95%CI 0.031 to 0.602, P = 0.009). Conclusion:The anxiety state of caregivers of children with disabilities is higher than that of the general population. When caregivers are caring for a child with sleep problem or emotional issue, have low household income, or dissatisfied with the barrier-free environment, they may face higher risk of anxiety.