Objective:To explore the current therapeutic status of rhythm control versus rate control in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)and the related factors that may influence treatment decisions.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on AF patients aged ≥75 years old who were hospitalized in the Healthcare Department of Beijing Hospital from January 2010 to May 2020.The patients were grouped and compared according to whether they underwent rhythm control or rate control.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the factors that may influence the treatment decision of rhythm control or rate control.Results:A total of 167 patients was included, with a median age of 90 years old.Among them, 21 patients(12.6%)received rhythm control, and 109 patients(65.3%)received rate control.Compared with the group not receiving rhythm control, the rhythm control group had a younger age, higher BMI, higher diastolic blood pressure, a higher proportion of multiple medication use, a lower proportion of chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above, and higher hemoglobin levels(all P<0.05). Compared with the group not receiving rate control, the rate control group had a lower proportion of paroxysmal AF, a faster resting ventricular rate, a higher proportion of smoking history, a higher proportion of multiple medication use, coronary heart disease, pacemaker treatment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or asthma, and a lower proportion of cognitive impairment(all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that multiple drug use( OR=11.578, 95% CI: 1.341-99.993, P=0.026)was positively associated with rhythm control therapy, while chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above( OR=0.248, 95% CI: 0.063-0.968, P=0.045)was negatively associated with rhythm control therapy.For rate control therapy, multiple drug use( OR=5.056, 95% CI: 2.253-11.347, P<0.001), resting ventricular rate( OR =1.033, 95% CI: 1.005-1.062, P=0.021), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and/or asthma( OR=2.739, 95% CI: 1.124-6.672, P=0.027)showed positive associations. Conclusions:The application rate of rhythm control therapy is low in elderly AF patients, and ventricular rate control is the main treatment.Complex clinical conditions are the main constraints, and it is urgent to optimize individualized strategies based on prospective studies and develop new treatment techniques to improve clinical practice.

The effect of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction on the intestinal flora of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Sixty rats were randomly divided into a normal group(10 rats) and a modeling group(50 rats). After one week of adaptive feeding, a high-fat diet + streptozotocin was given for modeling, and fasting blood glucose >16.7 mmol·L~(-1) was considered a sign of successful modeling. The modeling group was randomly divided into the model group, high-, medium-, and low-dose groups of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction, and metformin group. After seven days of intragastric treatment, the feces, colon, and pancreatic tissue of each group of rats were collected, and the pathological changes of the colon and pancreatic tissue of each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The changes in the intestinal flora structure of each group were observed by the 16S rRNA sequencing method. The results showed that compared with the model group, the high-, medium-, and low-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced fasting blood glucose levels to different degrees and showed no significant changes in body weight. The number of islet cells increased, and intestinal mucosal damage attenuated. Alpha diversity analysis revealed that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora in rats with T2DM; at the phylum level, low-and mediam-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced the abundance of Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, and Desulfobacterota and increased the abundance of Firmicute and Bacteroidota/Firmicutes, while the high-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota/Firmicutes ratio, and decreaseal the relative; abundance of Firmicute; at the genus level, Huanglian Jiedu Decoction increased the relative abundance of Allobaculum, Blautia, and Lactobacillus; LEfse analysis revealed that the biomarker of low-and medium-dose groups of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction was Lactobacillus, and the structure of the intestinal flora of the low-dose group of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction was highly similar to that of the metformin group. PICRUSt2 function prediction revealed that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction mainly affected carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways. It suggested that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction could reduce fasting blood glucose and increase the number of islet cells in rats with T2DM, and its mechanism of action may be related to increasing the abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing strains and Lactobacillus and affecting carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Rats ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans ; Bacteria/drug effects* ; Blood Glucose/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of children with non-Down-syndrome-related acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (non-DS-AMKL). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical data of 17 children with non-DS-AMKL who were admitted to Children's Hospital of The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2013 to December 2023, and their clinical features, treatment, and prognosis were summarized. RESULTS: Among the 17 children with non-DS-AMKL, there were 8 boys and 9 girls. Fourteen patients had an onset age of less than 36 months, with a median age of 21 months (range:13-145 months). Immunophenotyping results showed that 16 children were positive for CD61 and 13 were positive for CD41. The karyotype analysis was performed on 16 children, with normal karyotype in 6 children and abnormal karyotype in 9 children, among whom 5 had complex karyotype and 1 had no mitotic figure. Detected fusion genes included EVI1, NUP98-KDM5A, KDM5A-MIS18BP1, C22orf34-BRD1, WT1, and MLL-AF9. Genetic alterations included TET2, D7S486 deletion (suggesting 7q-), CSF1R deletion, and PIM1. All 17 children received chemotherapy, among whom 16 (94%) achieved complete remission after one course of induction therapy, and 1 child underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and remained alive and disease-free. Of all children, 7 experienced recurrence, among whom 1 child received HSCT and died of graft-versus-host disease. At the last follow-up, six patients remained alive and disease-free. CONCLUSIONS Non-DS-AMKL primarily occurs in children between 1 and 3 years of age. The patients with this disorder have a high incidence rate of chromosomal abnormalities, with complex karyotypes in most patients. Some patients harbor fusion genes or gene mutations. Although the initial remission rate is high, the long-term survival rate remains low.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Leukemia, Megakaryoblastic, Acute/etiology* ; Child, Preschool ; Infant ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Down Syndrome/complications*

OBJECTIVE: CRISPR-Cas protects bacteria from exogenous DNA invasion and is associated with bacterial biofilm formation and pathogenicity. METHODS: We analyzed the type I-F CRISPR-Cas system of Legionella pneumophila WX48, including Cas1, Cas2-Cas3, Csy1, Csy2, Csy3, and Cas6f, along with downstream CRISPR arrays. We explored the effects of the CRISPR-Cas system on the in vitro growth, biofilm-forming ability, and pathogenicity of L. pneumophila through constructing gene deletion mutants. RESULTS: The type I-F CRISPR-Cas system did not affect the in vitro growth of wild-type or mutant strains. The biofilm formation and intracellular proliferation of the mutant strains were weaker than those of the wild type owing to the regulation of type IV pili and Dot/Icm type IV secretion systems. In particular, Cas6f deletion strongly inhibited these processes. CONCLUSION The type I-F CRISPR-Cas system may reduce biofilm formation and intracellular proliferation in L. pneumophila.
Legionella pneumophila/pathogenicity* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Biofilms/growth & development* ; Phenotype ; Bacterial Proteins/metabolism* ; Gene Deletion

This review analyzes the application status and pros-pect of big data and artificial intelligence technology in the field of pharmacology in recent years.Big data and artificial intelli-gence technology is the inevitable result of the information age,which not only promotes the development of biomedicine,but al-so opens up new ways for the development of pharmacology.Mo-reover,artificial intelligence(AI)is a multifaceted and evolving field applied to pharmaceutical R&D,health management,and new drug R&D.Consequently,this review discusses the applica-tion of artificial intelligence in pharmacology at different stages,discusses the existing shortcomings,and finally makes an out-look.

This review analyzes the application status and pros-pect of big data and artificial intelligence technology in the field of pharmacology in recent years.Big data and artificial intelli-gence technology is the inevitable result of the information age,which not only promotes the development of biomedicine,but al-so opens up new ways for the development of pharmacology.Mo-reover,artificial intelligence(AI)is a multifaceted and evolving field applied to pharmaceutical R&D,health management,and new drug R&D.Consequently,this review discusses the applica-tion of artificial intelligence in pharmacology at different stages,discusses the existing shortcomings,and finally makes an out-look.

Objective:To explore the current therapeutic status of rhythm control versus rate control in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)and the related factors that may influence treatment decisions.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on AF patients aged ≥75 years old who were hospitalized in the Healthcare Department of Beijing Hospital from January 2010 to May 2020.The patients were grouped and compared according to whether they underwent rhythm control or rate control.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the factors that may influence the treatment decision of rhythm control or rate control.Results:A total of 167 patients was included, with a median age of 90 years old.Among them, 21 patients(12.6%)received rhythm control, and 109 patients(65.3%)received rate control.Compared with the group not receiving rhythm control, the rhythm control group had a younger age, higher BMI, higher diastolic blood pressure, a higher proportion of multiple medication use, a lower proportion of chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above, and higher hemoglobin levels(all P<0.05). Compared with the group not receiving rate control, the rate control group had a lower proportion of paroxysmal AF, a faster resting ventricular rate, a higher proportion of smoking history, a higher proportion of multiple medication use, coronary heart disease, pacemaker treatment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or asthma, and a lower proportion of cognitive impairment(all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that multiple drug use( OR=11.578, 95% CI: 1.341-99.993, P=0.026)was positively associated with rhythm control therapy, while chronic kidney disease stage 3 or above( OR=0.248, 95% CI: 0.063-0.968, P=0.045)was negatively associated with rhythm control therapy.For rate control therapy, multiple drug use( OR=5.056, 95% CI: 2.253-11.347, P<0.001), resting ventricular rate( OR =1.033, 95% CI: 1.005-1.062, P=0.021), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and/or asthma( OR=2.739, 95% CI: 1.124-6.672, P=0.027)showed positive associations. Conclusions:The application rate of rhythm control therapy is low in elderly AF patients, and ventricular rate control is the main treatment.Complex clinical conditions are the main constraints, and it is urgent to optimize individualized strategies based on prospective studies and develop new treatment techniques to improve clinical practice.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between urinary metals copper (Cu), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) and grip strength. Methods We used linear regression models, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the relationship between metals and grip strength.Results In the multimetal linear regression, Cu (β=-2.119), As (β=-1.318), Sr (β=-2.480), Ba (β=0.781), Fe (β= 1.130) and Mn (β=-0.404) were significantly correlated with grip strength (P < 0.05). The results of the quantile g-computation showed that the risk of occurrence of grip strength reduction was -1.007 (95％ confidence interval:-1.362, -0.652; P < 0.001) when each quartile of the mixture of the seven metals was increased. Bayesian kernel function regression model analysis showed that mixtures of the seven metals had a negative overall effect on grip strength, with Cu, As and Sr being negatively associated with grip strength levels. In the total population, potential interactions were observed between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn (Pinteractions of 0.003 and 0.018, respectively).Conclusion In summary, this study suggests that combined exposure to metal mixtures is negatively associated with grip strength. Cu, Sr and As were negatively correlated with grip strength levels, and there were potential interactions between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn.

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*