Objective: To analyze the trajectories of body mass index for age z-score (BAZ) and its influencing factors among children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) based on latent class growth modeling (LCGM), so as to provide the evidence for improving treatment measures and optimizing growth management among children with CH. Methods Children with CH aged 0 to 3 years from the Newborn Disease Screening Center of Shanxi Children's Hospital (Shanxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital) between 2017 and 2022 were selected as the research subjects. Basic information, height and weight data from 3 to 36 months of age, age at treatment initiation, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels at diagnosis, and family information were retrospectively collected. BAZ for children with CH at each month of age was calculated based on the WHO Child Growth Standards. The trajectories of BAZ were analyzed using LCGM, and factors affecting the trajectories of BAZ among children with CH were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model. Methods: Children with CH aged 0 to 3 years from the Newborn Disease Screening Center of Shanxi Children's Hospital (Shanxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital) between 2017 and 2022 were selected as the research subjects. Basic information, height and weight data from 3 to 36 months of age, age at treatment initiation, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels at diagnosis, and family information were retrospectively collected. BAZ for children with CH at each month of age was calculated based on the WHO Child Growth Standards. The trajectories of BAZ were analyzed using LCGM, and factors affecting the trajectories of BAZ among children with CH were analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model. Results: A total of 299 children with CH were included. There were 140 boys (46.82%) and 159 girls (53.18%). The median of BAZ was 0.50 (interquartile range, 1.68). The LCGM analysis categorized the subjects into three groups: the persistent high-growth pattern group with 24 cases (8.03%), the slow-growth pattern group with 39 cases (13.04%), and the appropriate-growth pattern group with 236 cases (78.93%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that compared to the children with CH in the appropriate-growth pattern group, those who started treatment at the age of 30 to 60 days (OR=0.109, 95%CI: 0.016-0.732; OR=0.166, 95%CI: 0.032-0.852) had a lower risk of persistent high-growth and slow-growth patterns; CH children with TSH levels of 50 to 150 mIU/L at diagnosis (OR=3.554, 95%CI: 1.201-10.514) and those whose paternal had a senior high school/technical secondary school education (OR=2.975, 95%CI: 1.003-8.823) exhibited a higher risk of the persistent high-growth pattern. Conversely, CH children whose paternal reproductive age was 30 to 35 years (OR=0.166, 95%CI: 0.034-0.806) had a lower risk of the persistent high-growth pattern. Conclusions The BAZ trajectory of children with CH aged 0 to 3 years exhibited three patterns: persistent high-growth, slow-growth, and appropriate-growth. The persistent high-growth and slow-growth patterns were associated with treatment timing, TSH levels at diagnosis, paternal reproductive age, and paternal education level. It is recommended to strengthen early treatment interventions and provide family follow-up guidance.

BACKGROUND: The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on right ventricular (RV) function during acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and RV dysfunction in patients with acute PE. METHODS: In this multicenter, case-control study, 89 cases and 176 controls matched for age were enrolled at three study centers (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Fuwai Hospital, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University) from January 2016 to December 2020. The cases were patients with acute PE with CAS, and the controls were patients with acute PE without CAS. Coronary artery assessment was performed using coronary computed tomographic angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between CAS and RV dysfunction. RESULTS: The percentages of RV dysfunction (19.1% [17/89] vs. 44.6% [78/176], P <0.001) and elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) (19.3% [17/89] vs. 39.5% [68/176], P = 0.001) were significantly lower in the case group than those in the control group. In the multivariable logistic regression model, CAS was independently and negatively associated with RV dysfunction (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.367; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.185-0.728; P = 0.004), and elevated sPAP (OR: 0.490; 95% CI: 0.252-0.980; P = 0.035), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Pre-existing CAS was significantly and negatively associated with RV dysfunction and elevated sPAP in patients with acute PE. This finding provides new insights into RV dysfunction in patients with acute PE with pre-existing CAS.
Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism/complications* ; Case-Control Studies ; Male ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/physiopathology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Coronary Stenosis/complications* ; Logistic Models ; Adult

Introduction::Observational studies have revealed an association between waist circumference (WC) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is difficult to infer a causal relationship from observational studies because the observed associations could be confounded by unknown risk factors. Therefore, the causal role of WC in AF is unclear. This study was designed to investigate the causal association between WC and AF using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.Methods::In our two-sample MR analysis, the genetic variation used as an instrumental variable for MR was acquired from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of WC (42 single nucleotide polymorphisms with a genetic significance of P <5 × 10 –8). The data of WC (from the Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits consortium, containing 232,101 participants) and the data of AF (from the European Bioinformatics Institute database, containing 55,114 AF cases and 482,295 controls) were used to assess the causal role of WC on AF. Three different approaches (inverse variance weighted [IVW], MR–Egger, and weighted median regression) were used to ensure that our results more reliable. Results::All three MR analyses provided evidence of a positive causal association between high WC and AF. High WC was suggested to increase the risk of AF based on the IVW method (odds ratio [OR] = 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–1.58, P = 2.51 × 10 -13). The results of MR–Egger and weighted median regression exhibited similar trends (MR–Egger OR = 1.40 [95% CI, 1.08–1.81], P = 1.61 × 10 -2; weighted median OR = 1.39 [95% CI, 1.21–1.61], P = 1.62 × 10 -6). MR–Egger intercepts and funnel plots showed no directional pleiotropic effects between high WC and AF. Conclusions::Our findings suggest that greater WC is associated with an increased risk of AF. Taking measures to reduce WC may help prevent the occurrence of AF.

OBJECTIVE To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of dapagliflozin in the treatment of heart failure with diabetes mellitus type 2. METHODS The clinical trials of dapagliflozin in the treatment of heart failure with diabetes mellitus type 2 were searched in Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, VIP, CNKI and Wanfang databases from the establishment of the database to March 18, 2022. The RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis, and the TSA 0.9 software was used for sequential analysis. RESULTS The 31 RCT studies meeting the criteria were finally included, involving 2 906 patients. Meta-analysis showed that compared with the control group, the experimental group significantly improved LVEF[MD=4.43, 95% CI(3.35, 5.50), P<0.000 01], total effective rate[MD=4.19, 95%CI(2.52, 6.99), P<0.000 01], and reduced NT-proBNP[MD=–451.84, 95%CI(–608.09, –295.60), P<0.000 01], LVEDD[MD=–2.74, 95%CI(–3.67, –1.82), P<0.000 01, Hb1ac[MD=–0.88, 95%CI(–1.19, –0.57), P<0.000 01], FPG[MD=–1.10, 95%CI(–1.45, –0.75), P<0.000 01], 2hPG[MD=–2.52, 95%CI(–3.37, –1.66), P<0.000 01] and the incidence of adverse reactions[MD=0.63, 95%CI(0.47, 0.83), P=0.001]. Sequential analysis showed that the effect of dapagliflozin on LVEF in patients with heart failure with type 2 diabetes was accurate, and the possibility of excluding false positive was possible. CONCLUSION The treatment of heart failure with diabetes mellitus type 2 with good efficacy and safety is achieved by dapagliflozin, but it still needs to be included in more high-quality RCT studies for further demonstration.

Background::The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and the elevation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) levels in patients with PE.Methods::In this multicenter, prospective case-control study, 88 cases and 163 controls matched for age, sex, and study center were enrolled. Cases were patients with PE with elevated hs-cTnI. Controls were patients with PE with normal hs-cTnI. Coronary artery assessment utilized coronary computed tomographic angiography or invasive coronary angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between CAS and hs-cTnI elevation.Results::The percentage of CAS was higher in the case group compared to the control group (44.3% [39/88] vs. 30.1% [49/163]; P = 0.024). In multivariable conditional logistic regression model 1, CAS (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.680; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.243–5.779), heart rate >75 beats/min (OR, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.056–5.036) and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >420 pg/mL (OR, 12.169; 95% CI, 4.792–30.900) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. In model 2, right CAS (OR, 3.615; 95% CI, 1.467–8.909) and NT-proBNP >420 pg/mL (OR, 13.890; 95% CI, 5.288–36.484) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. Conclusions::CAS was independently associated with myocardial injury in patients with PE. Vigilance towards CAS is warranted in patients with PE with elevated cardiac troponin levels.

This article reports one case of adult COVID-19-associated acute necrotizing encephalopathy(ANEC).The patient developed disturbance of consciousness and seizure on the 12th day after SARS-CoV-2 infection.Imaging showed significant swelling and signal changes in the bilateral thalamus,brainstem,cerebral hemisphere and cerebellar hemisphere,which were consistent with the characteristic images of Acute necrotizing encephalitis(ANE).Although methylprednisolone shock therapy and high-dose human immunoglobulin therapy were given early,the patient died.ANEC often starts quickly and progresses rapidly,unconsciousness and seizure are the main manifestations.Imaging features of thalamic and subtentorial symmetry and multifocal lesions are specific for diagnosis,but the treatment and prognosis still face challenges and need further study.

This study aims to observe the effect of Panax notoginseng extracts on inflammatory re-sponse in immunosuppressed broilers and to investigate the mechanism through network pharma-cology and molecular docking combined with in vivo animal tests.Based on the TCMSP database and GeneCard and other disease databases,we searched for targets related to Panax notoginseng and broiler inflammation,screened key compounds and targets by applying Cytoscape 3.7.1 and String databases,respectively,and constructed a network relationship diagram of traditional Chi-nese medicine(TCM)-key components-targets,and carried out GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses by using the DAVID platform.The GO functional enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were carried out by the DAVID platform,visual-ized by the Chiplot online website,and finally,the core clustered proteins were analyzed by Pymol software to obtain the core targets,and molecular docking technology was used to predict the de-gree of matching between the active ingredients and the core targets as well as the animal experi-ments to further explore the pharmacological mechanism of Panax notoginseng extracts.Sixty 1-day-old red-feathered broilers were randomly divided into three groups(LPS group,CON group,and PN group),and the test period was 35 days.The LPS and PN groups were injected intraperito-neally with 250 μg/kg body weight of LPS,and the CON group was injected with an equal amount of sterile physiological saline on the 12,14,33,and 35 d.The LPS and PN groups were injected with 250 μg/kg body weight of LPS,and the CON group was injected with an equal amount of sterile physiological saline.The effect of Panax notoginseng extract on inflammatory cytokines in serum was detected by ELISA,and the hormone content in serum was also detected in each group,and fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the effect of each group on the mRNA ex-pression levels of STAT3,IL-6,and CASP3.The results showed that the serum levels of IFN-γ,IL-6,iNOS,TNF-α,and TNF-β were significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the level of IL-10 was significantly decreased(P＜0.05)after LPS tapping at weeks 2 and 5.The serum levels of IFN-y,IL-6,iNOS,TNF-α,and TNF-β were significantly decreased(P＜0.05)and IL-10 was sig-nificantly increased(P＜0.05)by the addition of Panax ginseng extracts to the basal diet com-pared with the LPS group.Panax notoginseng extracts significantly decreased the serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)and corticosterone(CORT)(P＜0.05)and increased the levels of growth hormone(GH)(P＜0.05).A total of 8 active ingredients and 123 potential tar-gets for broiler inflammation were predicted by network pharmacology.The protective mechanism of Panax notoginseng against broiler inflammation may be related to the C-type lectin receptor(CLR)signaling pathway,Toll-like receptor(TLR)signaling pathway,MAPK signaling pathway,NOD-like receptor(NLR)signaling pathway,and FoxO signaling pathway.According to the pre-diction,the alleviation of inflammatory response in broiler chickens by Panax notoginseng may be related to the action on 12 key targets.Fluorescence quantitative PCR showed that Panax notogin-seng extract down-regulated the mRNA expression of IL-6 and CASP3(P＜0.05)and up-regula-ted that of STAT3(P＜0.05),and molecular docking results also showed that the active ingredi-ents in Panax notoginseng extracts could exert anti-inflammatory effects through IL-6 and CASP3.The results suggested that Panax quinquefolium extracts might alleviate the inflammatory response of immune-stressed broilers through multi-components,multi-targets,and multi-path-ways,and this study helps propose new therapeutic strategies and provides a theoretical basis for the development of feed additives based on Penthorum chinense Pursh extract.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Aconiti Coreani Radix and Typhonii Rhizoma on the urinary metabolites of gerbils with stroke by non-targeted metabolomics technique， and then to clarify the mechanism of the two， as well as their similarities and differences. MethodTwenty-four gerbils were randomly divided into control group（CG）， model group（MG）， Aconiti Coreani Radix group（RA） and Typhonii Rhizoma group（RT）. Except for the CG， ischemic stroke model was constructed using right unilateral ligation of gerbil carotid artery in the remaining groups. Except for the CG and MG， rats in the other groups received whole powder suspension（0.586 mg·g^-1） was administered for 14 days. The neurological deficit in each group was scored by Longa scoring on days 0， 3， 7 and 14. After the end of administration， the serum， brain tissue and urine of gerbils in each group were collected， and the rate of cerebral infarction was detected by 2，3，5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride（TTC）， and the levels of interleukin（IL）-6， tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α， malondialdehyde（MDA）， superoxide dismutase（SOD）， glutathione（GSH）， and nitric oxide（NO） in serum and brain tissue were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. The urine metabolomics of gerbils in each group was studied by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS）， and the data were processed by multivariate statistical analysis， and differential metabolites were screened based on value of variable importance in the projection（VIP） of the first principal component>1 and t-test P<0.05. Metabolic pathway analysis of the screened differential metabolites was performed using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database and Metaboanalyst 5.0. ResultCompared with the CG， the neurological deficit score was significantly increased in the MG（P<0.05）， compared with the MG， the neurological deficit scores in the RA and RT were significantly reduced after 7 d and 14 d（P<0.05）. Compared with the CG， the rate of cerebral infarction was significantly increased in the MG（P<0.05）， compared with the MG， the rates of cerebral infarction in the RA and RT were significantly reduced（P<0.05）. Compared with the CG， the levels of IL-6， TNF-α， and MDA in the serum and brain tissue of gerbils from the MG were significantly increased（P<0.05）， and the levels of SOD， GSH and NO were significantly reduced（P<0.05）. Compared with the MG， Aconiti Coreani Radix and Typhonii Rhizoma could down-regulate the levels of IL-6， TNF-α and MDA， and up-regulated the levels of SOD， GSH and NO. A total of 112 endogenous differential metabolites were screened by urine metabolomics， of which 16 and 26 metabolites were called back by Aconiti Coreani Radix and Typhonii Rhizoma， and could be used as potential biomarkers for both treatments in stroke gerbils， respectively. The results of the pathway analysis showed that both Aconiti Coreani Radix and Typhonii Rhizoma had regulatory effects on arginine and proline metabolism， pyrimidine metabolism， and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis. In addition， Aconiti Coreani Radix could also regulate riboflavin metabolism， Typhonii Rhizoma could also regulate purine metabolism， glycine， serine and threonine metabolism， arachidonic acid metabolism， biosynthesis of pantothenate and coenzyme A， and β-alanine metabolism. ConclusionBoth Aconiti Coreani Radix and Typhonii Rhizoma have better therapeutic effects on stroke， with Aconiti Coreani Radix having stronger effects. From the metabolomics results， the main metabolic pathways regulated by Aconiti Coreani Radix involve amino acid metabolism， oxidative stress and so on， while Typhonii Rhizoma mainly involve amino acid metabolism， lipid metabolism， energy metabolism， etc.

Objective:To investigate the application value of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in evaluating the efficacy of anti-PD-1 combined with neoadjuvant therapy for microsatellite stability (MSS)/proficient mismatch repair (pMMR) locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).Methods:The prospective single-arm phase Ⅱ study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 37 patients with MSS/pMMR LARC who were admitted to Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University from April 2021 to September 2022 were collected. All patients underwent anti-PD-1 combined with neoadjuvant therapy and radical total mesorectal excision. Observation indicators: (1) enrolled pati-ents; (2) MRI and pathological examination; (3) concordance analysis of MRI examination reading; (4) evaluation of MRI examination. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers or percentages. Linear weighted κ value was used to evaluate the concordance of radiologist assessment. Sensitivity, negative predictive value, accuracy, overstaging rate and understaging rate were used to evaluate the predictive value. Results:(1) Enrolled patients. A total of 37 eligible patients were screened out, including 21 males and 16 females, aged (61±11)years. MRI examination was performed before and after combined therapy, and pathological examination was performed after radical resection. (2) MRI and pathological examination of patients. Among the 37 patients, MRI before combined therapy showed 0, 0, 5, 24 and 8 cases in stage T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4, 10, 17 and 10 cases in stage N0, N1 and N2, 28 and 9 cases of positive and negative extramural vascular invasion (EMVI), 4 and 33 cases of positive and negative mesorectal fascia (MRF), respectively. MRI examination after combined therapy showed 15, 4, 7, 10 and 1 cases in stage T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4, 34, 2 and 1 cases in stage N0, N1 and N2, 9 and 28 cases of positive and negative EMVI, 1 and 36 cases of positive and negative MRF. There were 16, 13, 8 and 0 cases of tumor regression grading (TRG) 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Postoperative pathological examination showed 18, 4, 3, 11, 1 cases in stage T0, T1, T2, T3, T4, 33, 3, 1 cases in stage N0, N1, N2, positive and negative EMVI and unknown data in 1, 35, 1 cases, positive and negative circumferential margin in 0 and 37 cases, grade 0, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3 of American Joint Committee on Cancer TRG in 18, 9, 8, 2 cases, respectively. Pathological complete response rate was 48.6%(18/37) and approximate pathological complete response rate was 24.3%(9/37). (3)Concordance analysis of MRI examination reading. The κ value of T staging and N staging on MRI before combined therapy was 0.839 ( P<0.05) and 0.838 ( P<0.05), respectively. The κ value of T staging and N staging on MRI after combined therapy was 0.531 ( P<0.05) and 0.846 ( P<0.05), respectively. The κ value of EMVI and MRF was 0.708 ( P<0.05) and 0.680 ( P<0.05) before combined therapy, and they were 0.561 ( P<0.05) and 1.000 ( P<0.05) after combined therapy, respectively. The κ value of TRG 3-round reading for TRG was 0.448 ( P<0.05). (4) Evaluation of MRI examination. ① MRI evaluation of T and N staging. The accuracy of MRI examination after combined therapy for distinguishing stage T0 was 75.7%[28/37, 95% confidence interval ( CI) as 62.2%-89.2%], the understaging rate was 8.1%(3/37, 95% CI as 0-18.9%), the overstaging rate was 16.2%(6/37, 95% CI as 5.4%-29.7%). The accuracy of MRI examination for distinguishing stage T0-T2 was 86.5%(32/37, 95% CI as 73.0%-97.3%), its understaging rate and overstaging rate were 8.1%(3/37, 95% CI as 0-18.9%) and 5.4% (2/37, 95% CI as 0-13.5%), respectively. The accuracy of MRI examination for distinguishing N staging was 91.9%(34/37, 95% CI was 81.1%-100.0%), its understaging rate and overstaging rate were 5.4%(2/37, 95% CI as 0-13.5%) and 2.7%(1/37, 95% CI as 0-8.1%), respectively. Among 18 patients in pathological stage T0, the overstaging rate of MRI was 33.3%(6/18). All the 4 patients in pathological stage T1 and 3 pati-ents in pathological stage T2 had correct diagnosis. There were 3 cases with understaging among 12 patients in pathological stage T3-T4. Among the 37 patients in pathological stage N0-N2, 34 cases had correct diagnosis, 1 case was overstaged as stage N1 due to a round mesorectal lymph node with short diameter as 6 mm, and 2 cases were diagnosed as stage N0 due to the small lymph nodes with the maximum short diameter as 3 mm. ② MRI evaluation of EMVI and MRF. The accuracy, sensitivity and negative predictive value of MRI for evaluating EMVI were 86.5%(32/37, 95% CI as 75.0%-97.2%), 100.0% and 100.0%, respectively, and the overestimation rate of EMVI was 13.9%(5/36, 95% CI as 2.8%-25.0%), and no underestimation occurred. Of 35 pathologically negative EMVI patients, a rate of 14.3%(5/35) of patients were positive on MRI. The main reason for overestaging was that thickened fibrous tissue outside the rectal wall was mistaken for vascular invasion. The accuracy of MRI for evaluating MRF was 97.3%(36/37, 95% CI as 91.9%-100.0%), and 1 case (1/37, 2.7%, 95% CI as 0-8.1%) was overestimated as positive MRF due to misdiagnosis of pararectal MRF lymph nodes. The negative predictive value of MRI for assessing MRF was 100.0%. ③ MRI evaluation of TRG. The accuracy, understaging and overstaging rates of MRI for evaluating pathological TRG 0 were 78.4%(29/37, 95% CI as 64.9%-91.9%), 8.1%(3/37, 95% CI as 0-18.9%), 13.5%(5/37, 95% CI as 5.4%-27.0%), respectively. The accuracy, understaging and overstaging rates of MRI for evaluating pathological TRG 0-1 were 89.2%(33/37, 95% CI as 78.4%-97.3%), 8.1%(3/37, 95% CI as 0-18.9%), 2.7%(1/37, 95% CI as 0-8.1%), respectively. Of the 18 patients with pathologic complete response, 5 cases were diagnosed as pathological TRG 1 and 13 cases as pathological TRG 0. One near-pCR patient was assessed as pathological TRG 2. Two patients with pathological TRG 3 were incorrectly diagnosed on MRI. Conclusions:Anti-PD-1 combined with neoadjuvant therapy can downstage the LARC pati-ents with MSS/pMMR. MRI is effective in predicting T staging, N staging, EMVI, MRF and TRG. However, overstaging should be prevented.