Objective:To analyze the expression levels and clinical significance of interferon (IFN)-α/β in the renal cortex and serum of children with lupus nephritis (LN).Methods:A total of 32 children with LN diagnosed in the pediatric nephrology department of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from December 2017 to September 2020 were selected as the study subjects (LN group). The normal kidney control group consisted of 3 normal kidney transplant volunteers who underwent biopsy of kidney tissue (normal kidney control group), while 14 healthy children who underwent physical examination were collected as the normal control group. According to the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), LN patients were divided into mild activity group ( n=8), moderate activity group ( n=9), and severe activity group ( n=15). According to the International Society of Nephrology/Society of Nephrology (ISN/RPS) 2003 LN classification criteria, pathological classification was performed (3 cases in the mild pathological damage group, 8 cases in the moderate pathological damage group, and 11 cases in the severe pathological damage group); Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression and distribution of IFN-α/β in glomeruli and renal interstitium; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the concentration of IFN-α/β in serum samples and analyze its correlation with the pathological classification and disease activity of LN patients. Results:The serum and renal cortex IFN-α/β levels in the LN group were higher than those in the normal control group and normal kidney control group, respectively (all P<0.05). The average level of serum IFN-α/β in the heavy activity group was higher than that in the light and moderate activity groups (all P<0.05). The serum and renal cortex IFN-α/β levels in the severe pathological damage group were significantly higher than those in the mild and moderate pathological damage groups (all P<0.05). Conclusions:IFN-α/β in the renal cortex is closely related to renal injury in LN; Serum IFN-α/β can assist in evaluating the disease activity level of LN to a certain extent.

Currently,human health due to corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has been seriously threatened.The coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)spike(S)protein plays a crucial role in virus transmission and several S-based therapeutic approaches have been approved for the treatment of COVID-19.However,the efficacy is compromised by the SARS-CoV-2 evolvement and mutation.Here we report the SARS-CoV-2 S protein receptor-binding domain(RBD)inhibitor licorice-saponin A3(A3)could widely inhibit RBD of SARS-CoV-2 variants,including Beta,Delta,and Omicron BA.1,XBB and BQ1.1.Furthermore,A3 could potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus in Vero E6 cells,with EC50 of 1.016 pM.The mechanism was related to binding with Y453 of RBD deter-mined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry(HDX-MS)analysis combined with quan-tum mechanics/molecular mechanics(QM/MM)simulations.Interestingly,phosphoproteomics analysis and multi fluorescent immunohistochemistry(mIHC)respectively indicated that A3 also inhibits host inflammation by directly modulating the JNK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)path-ways and rebalancing the corresponding immune dysregulation.This work supports A3 as a promising broad-spectrum small molecule drug candidate for COVID-19.

Acute myocardial infraction(AMI)has now become a threat to human health worldwide.Therefore,it is urgent to construct the standardized platform of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine diagnosis and treatment for AMI.The Intensive Care Unit(ICU)team of the Second Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine(Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine)has taken up the mission of exploring the prevention and treatment of AMI with traditional Chinese medicine and promoting and the construction of the diagnosis and treatment system of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine for AMI.The team pioneered the trinity mode of'saving heart,treating heart and nourishing heart'for AMI,focusing on the construction of standardized platform of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine diagnosis and treatment for AMI,creating the key technology system of Yiqi Huoxue Huatan method(the therapy mainly for replenishing qi,activating blood and dissolving phlegm)for AMI and putting it into the practice,which highlighted the achievements in the construction of the standardized platform.

Objective:To identify the types of fear of progression in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) based on latent profile analysis, and to explore the influencing factors of different types.Methods:Cross-sectional survey method was used to select the patients with coronary heart disease and underwent PCI in Anhui Public Health Clinical Center from April to December 2023 as the research object. The general information questionnaire, Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form, Ruminative Response Scale and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire were used to investigate them. Mplus8.3 software was used to construct the latent profile model.Results:A total of 240 patients with complete data were enrolled, including 176 males and 64 females, aged 28-84 (62.94 ± 11.20) years. The results of latent profile analysis showed that the fear of progression of patients after PCI could be divided into three latent categories: There were 59 cases (24.6%) in the low fear group, 111 cases (46.3%) in the medium fear group, and 70 cases (29.1%) in the high fear-worried family group. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the low fear group, the probability of having primary school education or below was higher in the medium fear group ( OR=4.054, 95% CI 1.370-11.996) and the high fear-worry family group ( OR=5.996, 95% CI 1.562-23.014), secondary school was more likely in the moderate fear group ( OR=3.096, 95% CI 1.104-8.682, all P<0.05);Living in rural areas were more likely to be in the moderate fear group ( OR=2.587, 95% CI 1.187-5.637) and the high few-worry family group ( OR=6.958, 95% CI 2.567-18.856, all P<0.05); The probability of the first interventional therapy was higher in the moderate fear group ( OR=2.496, 95% CI 1.107-5.630) and the high fear-worry family group ( OR=4.924, 95% CI=1.809-13.402, all P<0.05). In addition, compared with the low fear group, patients with higher rumination were more likely to belong to the high few-worry family working group ( OR=1.130, 95% CI 1.055-1.210, P<0.05);Moderate fear group ( OR=1.181, 95% CI 1.046-1.334) and high fear family working group ( OR=1.349, 95% CI 1.164-1.562, all P<0.05) had a higher level of illness perception. Conclusions:There is significant heterogeneity in the fear of progression among patients after PCI. Medical staff can implement precise intervention according to the potential category characteristics of patients′ fear of progression, so as to reduce the level of fear of disease progression.

Objective To explore the effect of stereotactic hematoma puncture aspiration (SHPS) combined with edaravone in the treatment of patients with cerebral hemorrhage in the Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Methods A total of 98 patients with cerebral hemorrhage in NICU were divided into experimental group and control group by drawing lots, with 49 cases in each group. The control group was treated with SHPS and conventional therapy, while the experimental group was treated with edaravone on the basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, the quality of life[the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, the Ability of Daily Living (ADL) score and the China Stroke Scale (CSS) score], glucose and lipid metabolism indicators[jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO₂), arteriovenous lactate (A-VLac) and arteriovenous glucose (A-VGlu)], inflammatory factors[interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)]levels as well as incidence of complications were compared between the two groups. Results The total effective rate of the experimental group was 91.84%, which was significantly higher than 77.55% of the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the NIHSS score and CSS score of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group, while the ADL score was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the SjvO₂ level in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group, while the levels of A-VGlu and A-VLac were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the IL-8, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications in the experimental group was 12.24%, which was significantly lower than 30.61% in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion The combination of SHPS and edaravone can reinforce the clinical efficacy of patients with cerebral hemorrhage in NICU, improve neurological function, and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications.

Objective To analyze the influencing factors of oral frailty in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and construct a nomogram prediction model. Methods A total of 370 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes were selected as the research subjects, including 284 patients in the modeling group and 86 patients in the validation group. The Oral Frailty Index-8 (OF-8) Scale was used for oral frailty screening, and a score of ≥4 was considered positive for oral frailty. General information of the two groups was collected through a self-made questionnaire. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of oral frailty in patients with type 2 diabetes, and nomogram model was constructed. The goodness-of-fit and predictive performance of the model were verified using the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results The incidence of oral frailty among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes was 45.4% (129/284). Age, body mass index (BMI), appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), smoking, monthly income and subjective chewing difficulty were identified as influencing factors for oral frailty in elderly diabetic patients (P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC for internal and external validation were 0.887 (95%CI, 0.847 to 0.925) and 0.839 (95%CI, 0.755 to 0.923), respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that χ²=4.852, P=0.773, indicating good goodness-of-fit for the nomogram model. Conclusion Age, ASMI, BMI, smoking, monthly income and subjective chewing difficulty are influencing factors for oral frailty in elderly diabetic patients. The nomogram prediction model constructed based on these influencing factors demonstrates good performance.

Objective: To explore the percentage of in-use electronic sphygmomanometers independently validated clinically in China. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey and Beijing, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Datong, and Shihezi were selected according to the geographical location and economic level. In each site, one tertiary hospital, two community health centers, and 20 families with electronic sphygmomanometers in use were chosen. The information of electronic sphygmomanometers including brand, model, manufacturer and production date were obtained by the trained staff. Ten electronic sphygmomanometers from each hospital, five electronic sphygmomanometers from each community health center, and one electronic sphygmomanometer from each family were surveyed, and the user's subjective judgment results and judgment basis on the accuracy of the electronic sphygmomanometer measurement were collected. We searched six registration websites (Medaval, Stride BP, dabl Educational Trust, British and Irish Hypertension Society, American Medical Association and Hypertension Canada) and two research databases (PubMed and CNKI) for the clinical validation status of each electronic sphygmomanometer. Results: A total of 200 electronic sphygmomanometers were investigated in this study, of which only 29.0% (58/200) passed independent clinical validation. When stratified by users, the percentage of being clinical validated was 46.0% (23/50) for electronic sphygmomanometers in hospitals, 42.0% (21/50) for those in community health centers and 14.0% (14/100) for those in home use, respectively, and the proportions between the three groups were significantly difference (P<0.001). Doctors in tertiary hospitals and community health service centers judged the accuracy of electronic sphygmomanometers mainly on the basis of "regular correction" (41.0% (41/100)) and "comparison with other electronic sphygmomanometers" (20.0% (20/100)), while among home users, 41.0% (41/100) were not clear about the accuracy of electronic sphygmomanometers, and 40.0% (40/100) made the judgment by "comparison with the devices in hospitals". Conclusion: The clinical validation of in-use electronic sphygmomanometers in China is low. Most of users, including healthcare professionals, are not aware of clinical validation of electronic sphygmomanometers.
Humans ; Blood Pressure Determination ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Sphygmomanometers ; Hypertension/diagnosis* ; China ; Electronics ; Blood Pressure

This study aimed to explore the correlation between traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and reduced risk of readmission in patients having rheumatoid arthritis with hypoproteinemia(RA-H). A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 2 437 rheumatoid arthritis patients in the information system database of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from 2014 to 2021, and 476 of them were found to have hypoproteinemia. The patients were divided into TCM users and non-TCM users by propensity score matching. Exposure was defined as the use of oral Chinese patent medicine or herbal decoction for ≥1 month. Cox regression analysis was performed to explore the risk factors of clinical indicators of rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally, the use of TCM during hospitalization was analyzed, and analysis of association rules was conducted to investigate the correlation between TCM, improvement of indicators and readmission of patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted to compare the readmission rate of TCM users and non-TCM users. It was found the readmission rate of RA-H patients was significantly higher than that of RA patients. By propensity score matching, 232 RA-H patients were divided into TCM group(116 cases) and non-TCM group(116 cases). Compared with the conditions in the non-TCM group, the readmission rate of the TCM group was lowered(P<0.01), and the readmission rate of middle-aged and elderly patients was higher than that of young patients(P<0.01). Old age was a risk factor for readmission of RA-H patients, while TCM, albumin(ALB) and total protein(TP) were the protective factors. During hospitalization, the TCMs used for RA-H patients were mainly divided into types of activating blood and resolving stasis, relaxing sinew and dredging collaterals, clearing heat and detoxifying, and invigorating spleen and resolving dampness. The improvement of rheumatoid factor(RF), immunoglobulin G(IgG), erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR), C-reactive protein(CRP) and ALB was closely related to TCM. On the basis of western medicine treatment, the application of TCM could reduce the readmission rate of RA-H patients, and longer use of TCM indicated lower readmission rate.
Middle Aged ; Aged ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Patient Readmission ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Hypoproteinemia/drug therapy*

Ligustrum lucidum is a woody perennial plant of genus Ligustrum in family Oleaceae. Its dried fruit has high medicinal value. In this study, the authors evaluated the variability and species identification efficiency of three specific DAN barcodes(rbcL-accD, ycf1a, ycf1b) and four general DAN barcodes(matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, ITS2) for a rapid and accurate molecular identification of Ligustrum species. The results revealed that matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, ITS2 and ycf1a were inefficient for identifying the Ligustrum species, and a large number of insertions and deletions were observed in rbcL-accD sequence, which was thus unsuitable for development as specific barcode. The ycf1b-2 barcode had DNA barcoding gap and high success rate of PCR amplification and DNA sequencing, which was the most suitable DNA barcode for L. lucidum identification and achieved an accurate result. In addition, to optimize the DNA extraction experiment, the authors extracted and analyzed the DNA of the exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp and seed of L. lucidum fruit. It was found that seed was the most effective part for DNA extraction, where DNAs of high concentration and quality were obtained, meeting the needs of species identification. In this study, the experimental method for DNA extraction of L. lucidum was optimized, and the seed was determined as the optimal part for DNA extraction and ycf1b-2 was the specific DNA barcode for L. lucidum identification. This study laid a foundation for the market regulation of L. lucidum.
Ligustrum/genetics* ; Seeds ; Fruit ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Research Design

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome