Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy of valve surgeries for infective endocarditis and the affecting factors, and compare the early- and long-term postoperative outcomes of different surgery approaches. Methods The patients with infective endocarditis who underwent valve replacement/valvuloplasty in our hospital from 2010 to 2022 were retrospectively collected. The clinical data of the patients were analyzed. Results A total of 343 patients were enrolled, including 197 patients with mechanical valve replacement, 62 patients with bioprosthetic valve replacement, and 84 patients with valvuloplasty. There were 238 males and 105 females with an average age of (44.2±14.8) years. Single-valve endocarditis was present in 200 (58.3%) patients, and multivalve involvement was present in 143 (41.7%) patients. Sixty (17.5%) patients had suffered thrombosis before surgery, including cerebral embolisms in 32 patients. The mean follow-up time was (60.6±43.8) months. Early mortality within one month after the surgery occurred in 17 (5.0%) patients, while later mortality occurred in 19 (5.5%) patients. Eight (2.3%) patients underwent postoperative dialysis, 13 (3.8%) patients suffered postoperative stroke, 6 patients underwent reoperation, and 3 patients suffered recurrence of infective endocarditis. Smoking (P=0.002), preoperative embolisms (P=0.001), duration of surgery (P=0.001), and postoperative dialysis (P=0.001) were risk factors for early mortality, and left ventricular ejection fraction ≥60% (P=0.022) was protective factor for early mortality. New York Heart Association classification Ⅲ-Ⅳ (P=0.010) and ≥3 valve procedures (P=0.028) were risk factors for late mortality. The rate of composite endpoint events was significantly lower in the valvuloplasty group than that in the valve replacement group. Conclusion For patients with infective endocarditis, smoking and preoperative embolisms are associated with high postoperative mortality, multiple-valve surgery is associated with a poorer prognosis, and valvuloplasty has advantages over valve replacement and should be attempted in the surgical management of patients with infective endocarditis.

Objective:This study utilizes data from the 2021 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity and Happy Family Survey(CLHLS-HF)to examine the current status of Long-Term Care Insurance(LTCI)implementation and to identify the factors influencing whether disabled elderly individuals receive formal care services.The study aims to provide policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and equity of the system.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 1 447 older participants with dependency, residing in LTCI pilot areas and meeting the inclusion criteria from the 2021 CLHLS-HF, was selected.Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression analyses were employed to explore the factors influencing the receipt of formal care by dependent older individuals.Results:Among the 1 447 participants, there were 496 males with an average age of 92 years(SD 9)and 951 females with an average age of 95 years(SD 9). Of these, 701 received formal care.The logistic regression analysis revealed that factors influencing the receipt of formal care included urban residence( OR=2.237, 95% CI: 1.675-2.987, P<0.001), residing in the eastern region( OR=2.907, 95% CI: 1.747-4.837, P<0.001), living in the western region( OR=3.132, 95% CI: 1.816-5.501, P<0.001), having no children( OR=2.478, 95% CI: 1.108-5.540, P=0.027), and the degree of disability, with severe disability being more likely to receive care compared to mild( OR=0.497, 95% CI: 0.388-0.637, P<0.001)and moderate disabilities( OR=0.589, 95% CI: 0.433-0.801, P=0.001). Conclusions:Dependent older individuals in the eastern and western regions, particularly those without children or with severe disabilities, are more likely to receive formal care through the LTCI system.However, there are substantial inequities in LTCI coverage among individuals with varying degrees of disability.To enhance the effectiveness of the LTCI system, greater efforts should be directed towards economically disadvantaged regions and older individuals with mild to moderate disabilities, thereby ensuring better protection for the disabled population.

Objective:To evaluate the outcomes of intensive conservative treatment compared to conventional conservative treatment in patients with acute aortic syndrome(AAS).Methods:The study prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with AAS who were admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University, and Beijing Dawanglu Emergency Rescue Hospital from January 2024 to December 2024. These patients with surgical contraindications or refused surgery for various reasons opted for conservative treatment. A total of 282 patients were included, and 15 patients with missing data or those who died without any treatment were excluded. Finally, 267 patients were enrolled, of whom 94 received intensive conservative treatment, and 173 received conventional conservative treatment, the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to reduce the influence of confoundings. After adjusting of baseline datas via IPTW, the survival outcomes of the two groups were compared at 14 days, 30 days, and at the end of follow-up.Results:The results showed significant differences in acute phase survival rates between the enhanced conservative treatment group and the conventional conservative treatment group at 14 days(82.40%vs.53.20%, P<0.0001). Significant survival differences were also observed at 30 days and at 276-day mid-term follow-up (96.29% vs.51.60%, P<0.0001; 78.50% vs.48.50%, P<0.0001). In the subgroup analysis, for type A aortic dissection, the enhanced conservative treatment group had higher survival rates compared to the conventional conservative treatment group at 14, 30 and 276 days (63.46% vs.41.35%, P<0.05; 52.17% vs.37.90%, P<0.05; 50.00% vs. 31.97%, P<0.05). However, for type B aortic dissection, although the enhanced conservative treatment group had higher survival rates than the conventional conservative treatment group, no statistically significant differences were observed (96.29% vs. 80.00%, P=0.054; 95.65% vs.78.37%, P=0.067; 94.12% vs.74.20%, P=0.088). Conclusion:For patients diagnosed with AAS are forced to choose conservative treatment if emergency surgery is not possible in the first place, intensive conservative treatment strategies can significantly reduce the mortality in the acute phase compared with conventional conservative treatment. Mid-term follow-up, intensive conservative treatment still has a significant survival advantage.

OBJECTIVE Based on the Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose,to analyze the odor composition of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying,and to establish an effective and rapid identification method of raw and stir-frying Abutili Se-men based on odor.METHODS The decoction pieces of Abutili Semen were prepared by stir-frying method.An ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose method was established for the detection of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying,the odor spectrum was col-lected,and the possible odor components and chromatographic peak areas were obtained in combination with the AroChemBase data-base,and analyzed by chemometric model.RESULTS The odor fingerprints of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying were estab-lished,and 19 odor peaks were matched between Abutili Semen decoction pieces and stir-fried Abutili Semen.The peak areas of 7 odor components,hexanal,2-furanmethanol,2-methyl-2-propanol,2-methylbutanal,3-methylbutanal,2-methylpropanal,2,3,5-trim-ethylpyrazine,all increased after stir-frying,and the VIP values of the peaks were greater than 1(P<0.05),which were presumed to be the markers for the differences in the odors of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying.CONCLUSION The Heracles NEO ul-tra-fast gas phase electronic nose can quickly identify the odor components of Abutili Semen before and after frying,which can provide new ideas and methods for quality control of Abutili Semen.

OBJECTIVE To establish HPLC fingerprints of three drying processes(Atmospheric pressure drying,Decompression drying,Freeze-drying)of Danggui Buxue granules,and combine them with antioxidant tests to determine the optimal drying process and main active components of Danggui Buxue granules.METHODS The fingerprints of multiple batches of Danggui Buxue granules were established by HPLC;the"Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System of Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatogram"was used to evaluate the similarity;Hierarchical Cluster Analysis(HCA)and Principal Component Analysis(PCA)were used to characterize the different drying processes of Danggui Buxue granules;evaluate the antioxidant activity of Danggui Buxue granules in different drying processes using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy(DPPH)and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt(ABTS)free radical scavenging method;the spectrum-effect relationship between Danggui Buxue granules fingerprint and antioxi-dant activity was analyzed by grey correlation degree and Pearson,Spearman,Kendall's tau-b correlation analysis methods.RE-SULTS The results of fingerprint showed that there were 16 common peaks in 30 batches of Danggui Buxue granules,and 6 of them were identified by comparison.The results of Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis showed that 30 batches of Danggui buxue granules were divided into 3 categories,and the difference between the groups of atmospheric pressure drying was the least.The results of oxidation test showed that different drying processes of Danggui Buxue granules had good antioxidant activity,and the atmos-pheric pressure drying had the lowest IC50 and the strongest antioxidant activity.Finally,combining the results of gray correlation anal-ysis and correlation analysis,the compounds F2,F10,F13(calycosin),F15(formononetin),F16 might be important characteristic peaks reflecting the antioxidant activity of Danggui Buxue granules.CONCLUSION Compared with other drying processes,atmos-pheric pressure drying has higher batch consistency and stronger antioxidant activity,and can be used as the preferred drying process for Danggui Buxue granules,and components 2,10,13,15 and 16 are the main active ingredients for Danggui Buxue granules to exert antioxidant effects.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of curative esophagectomy versus definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer.Methods:The propensity score matching (PSM) and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinico-pathological data of 163 patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer who were admitted to Henan Provincial People′s Hospital from January 2014 to December 2020 were collected. There were 125 males and 38 females, aged (58.9±7.0)years. Of 163 patients, 124 cases undergoing curative transthoracic esophagectomy were allocated into the radical resection group, 39 cases undergoing dCRT were allocated into the dCRT group. Observation indicators:(1) PSM and compari-son of clinicopathological characteristics of patients between the two groups after matching; (2) complications in the radical resection group and treatment status in the dCRT group; (3) survival analysis; (4) analysis of factors influencing patients′ prognosis. Comparison of measurement data with normal distribution between groups was conducted using the Welch t test. Comparison of measurement data with skewed distribution between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Comparison of count data between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and plot survival curve, and Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. PSM was performed using the 2∶1 nearest neighbor matching method. The caliper value was set as 0.05. Results:(1) PSM and comparison of clinicopathological charac-teristics of patients between the two groups after matching. Of the 163 patients, 117 cases were successfully matched, with 78 cases in the radical resection group and 39 cases in the dCRT group. After PSM, the elimination of tumor differentiation degree confounding bias ensured comparability. (2) Complications in the radical resection group and treatment status in the dCRT group.Among the 78 patients in the curative esophagectomy group, 22 cases developed complications within 30 days after surgery. There was no death within 30 days after surgery. Among the 39 patients in the dCRT group, 25 cases received concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone, 8 cases received induction chemo-therapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy, 3 cases received sequential chemoradiotherapy, and 3 cases received radiotherapy alone. Among the 33 patients who received concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, 29 cases were treated with the XP regimen, and 4 cases with the FP regimen. Efficacy evaluation showed that 37 patients achieved complete remission, and 2 patients had residual lesions. Twenty-two patients developed treatment-related adverse reactions. (3) Survival analysis. After PSM, the follow-up duration was 58(range, 13-125)months in the radical resection group and 56(range, 10-129)months in the dCRT group. The postoperative 5-year overall survival rates were 95.7% and 97.1% in the radical resection group and dCRT group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.001, P>0.05). The postoperative 5-year disease-free progression survival rates were 88.2% and 94.2% in the radical resection group and dCRT group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.652, P>0.05). (4) Analysis of factors influencing patients prognosis. Age and pathological TNM stage were indepen-dent influencing factors for overall survival time in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer ( hazard ratio=1.312, 2.945, 95% confidence interval as 1.042-1.711, 2.204-5.517, P<0.05). Age and pathological TNM stage were independent influencing factors for disease-free survival time in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer ( hazard ratio=1.215, 3.301, 95% confidence interval as 1.012-1.699, 2.012-6.321, P<0.05). Conclusions:There is no significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival between patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer undergoing curative esophagectomy and dCRT. The treatment modality is not an independent prognostic factor.

OBJECTIVE To establish HPLC fingerprints of three drying processes(Atmospheric pressure drying,Decompression drying,Freeze-drying)of Danggui Buxue granules,and combine them with antioxidant tests to determine the optimal drying process and main active components of Danggui Buxue granules.METHODS The fingerprints of multiple batches of Danggui Buxue granules were established by HPLC;the"Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System of Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatogram"was used to evaluate the similarity;Hierarchical Cluster Analysis(HCA)and Principal Component Analysis(PCA)were used to characterize the different drying processes of Danggui Buxue granules;evaluate the antioxidant activity of Danggui Buxue granules in different drying processes using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy(DPPH)and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt(ABTS)free radical scavenging method;the spectrum-effect relationship between Danggui Buxue granules fingerprint and antioxi-dant activity was analyzed by grey correlation degree and Pearson,Spearman,Kendall's tau-b correlation analysis methods.RE-SULTS The results of fingerprint showed that there were 16 common peaks in 30 batches of Danggui Buxue granules,and 6 of them were identified by comparison.The results of Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis showed that 30 batches of Danggui buxue granules were divided into 3 categories,and the difference between the groups of atmospheric pressure drying was the least.The results of oxidation test showed that different drying processes of Danggui Buxue granules had good antioxidant activity,and the atmos-pheric pressure drying had the lowest IC50 and the strongest antioxidant activity.Finally,combining the results of gray correlation anal-ysis and correlation analysis,the compounds F2,F10,F13(calycosin),F15(formononetin),F16 might be important characteristic peaks reflecting the antioxidant activity of Danggui Buxue granules.CONCLUSION Compared with other drying processes,atmos-pheric pressure drying has higher batch consistency and stronger antioxidant activity,and can be used as the preferred drying process for Danggui Buxue granules,and components 2,10,13,15 and 16 are the main active ingredients for Danggui Buxue granules to exert antioxidant effects.

OBJECTIVE Based on the Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose,to analyze the odor composition of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying,and to establish an effective and rapid identification method of raw and stir-frying Abutili Se-men based on odor.METHODS The decoction pieces of Abutili Semen were prepared by stir-frying method.An ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose method was established for the detection of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying,the odor spectrum was col-lected,and the possible odor components and chromatographic peak areas were obtained in combination with the AroChemBase data-base,and analyzed by chemometric model.RESULTS The odor fingerprints of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying were estab-lished,and 19 odor peaks were matched between Abutili Semen decoction pieces and stir-fried Abutili Semen.The peak areas of 7 odor components,hexanal,2-furanmethanol,2-methyl-2-propanol,2-methylbutanal,3-methylbutanal,2-methylpropanal,2,3,5-trim-ethylpyrazine,all increased after stir-frying,and the VIP values of the peaks were greater than 1(P<0.05),which were presumed to be the markers for the differences in the odors of Abutili Semen before and after stir-frying.CONCLUSION The Heracles NEO ul-tra-fast gas phase electronic nose can quickly identify the odor components of Abutili Semen before and after frying,which can provide new ideas and methods for quality control of Abutili Semen.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of curative esophagectomy versus definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer.Methods:The propensity score matching (PSM) and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinico-pathological data of 163 patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer who were admitted to Henan Provincial People′s Hospital from January 2014 to December 2020 were collected. There were 125 males and 38 females, aged (58.9±7.0)years. Of 163 patients, 124 cases undergoing curative transthoracic esophagectomy were allocated into the radical resection group, 39 cases undergoing dCRT were allocated into the dCRT group. Observation indicators:(1) PSM and compari-son of clinicopathological characteristics of patients between the two groups after matching; (2) complications in the radical resection group and treatment status in the dCRT group; (3) survival analysis; (4) analysis of factors influencing patients′ prognosis. Comparison of measurement data with normal distribution between groups was conducted using the Welch t test. Comparison of measurement data with skewed distribution between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Comparison of count data between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and plot survival curve, and Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. PSM was performed using the 2∶1 nearest neighbor matching method. The caliper value was set as 0.05. Results:(1) PSM and comparison of clinicopathological charac-teristics of patients between the two groups after matching. Of the 163 patients, 117 cases were successfully matched, with 78 cases in the radical resection group and 39 cases in the dCRT group. After PSM, the elimination of tumor differentiation degree confounding bias ensured comparability. (2) Complications in the radical resection group and treatment status in the dCRT group.Among the 78 patients in the curative esophagectomy group, 22 cases developed complications within 30 days after surgery. There was no death within 30 days after surgery. Among the 39 patients in the dCRT group, 25 cases received concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone, 8 cases received induction chemo-therapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy, 3 cases received sequential chemoradiotherapy, and 3 cases received radiotherapy alone. Among the 33 patients who received concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, 29 cases were treated with the XP regimen, and 4 cases with the FP regimen. Efficacy evaluation showed that 37 patients achieved complete remission, and 2 patients had residual lesions. Twenty-two patients developed treatment-related adverse reactions. (3) Survival analysis. After PSM, the follow-up duration was 58(range, 13-125)months in the radical resection group and 56(range, 10-129)months in the dCRT group. The postoperative 5-year overall survival rates were 95.7% and 97.1% in the radical resection group and dCRT group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.001, P>0.05). The postoperative 5-year disease-free progression survival rates were 88.2% and 94.2% in the radical resection group and dCRT group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.652, P>0.05). (4) Analysis of factors influencing patients prognosis. Age and pathological TNM stage were indepen-dent influencing factors for overall survival time in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer ( hazard ratio=1.312, 2.945, 95% confidence interval as 1.042-1.711, 2.204-5.517, P<0.05). Age and pathological TNM stage were independent influencing factors for disease-free survival time in patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer ( hazard ratio=1.215, 3.301, 95% confidence interval as 1.012-1.699, 2.012-6.321, P<0.05). Conclusions:There is no significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival between patients with clinical T1bN0M0 thoracic esophageal cancer undergoing curative esophagectomy and dCRT. The treatment modality is not an independent prognostic factor.

Objective:This study utilizes data from the 2021 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity and Happy Family Survey(CLHLS-HF)to examine the current status of Long-Term Care Insurance(LTCI)implementation and to identify the factors influencing whether disabled elderly individuals receive formal care services.The study aims to provide policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and equity of the system.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 1 447 older participants with dependency, residing in LTCI pilot areas and meeting the inclusion criteria from the 2021 CLHLS-HF, was selected.Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression analyses were employed to explore the factors influencing the receipt of formal care by dependent older individuals.Results:Among the 1 447 participants, there were 496 males with an average age of 92 years(SD 9)and 951 females with an average age of 95 years(SD 9). Of these, 701 received formal care.The logistic regression analysis revealed that factors influencing the receipt of formal care included urban residence( OR=2.237, 95% CI: 1.675-2.987, P<0.001), residing in the eastern region( OR=2.907, 95% CI: 1.747-4.837, P<0.001), living in the western region( OR=3.132, 95% CI: 1.816-5.501, P<0.001), having no children( OR=2.478, 95% CI: 1.108-5.540, P=0.027), and the degree of disability, with severe disability being more likely to receive care compared to mild( OR=0.497, 95% CI: 0.388-0.637, P<0.001)and moderate disabilities( OR=0.589, 95% CI: 0.433-0.801, P=0.001). Conclusions:Dependent older individuals in the eastern and western regions, particularly those without children or with severe disabilities, are more likely to receive formal care through the LTCI system.However, there are substantial inequities in LTCI coverage among individuals with varying degrees of disability.To enhance the effectiveness of the LTCI system, greater efforts should be directed towards economically disadvantaged regions and older individuals with mild to moderate disabilities, thereby ensuring better protection for the disabled population.