BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia in the elderly. This study aimed to evaluate urban-rural disparities in its prevalence and management in elderly Chinese. METHODS: Consecutive participants aged ≥ 65 years attending outpatient clinics were enrolled for AF screening using handheld single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) from April 2017 to December 2022. Each ECG rhythm strip was reviewed from the research team. AF or uninterpretable single-lead ECGs were referred for 12-lead ECG. Primary study outcome comparison was between rural and urban areas for the prevalence of AF. The Student's t-test was used to compare mean values of clinical characteristics between rural and urban participants, while the Pearson's chi-square test was used to compare between-group proportions. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between AF and various patient characteristics. RESULTS: The 29,166 study participants included 13,253 men (45.4%) and had a mean age of 72.2 years. The 7073 rural participants differed significantly (P ≤ 0.02) from the 22,093 urban participants in several major characteristics, such as older age, greater body mass index, and so on. The overall prevalence of AF was 4.6% (n = 1347). AF was more prevalent in 7073 rural participants than 22,093 urban participants (5.6% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.01), before and after adjustment for age, body mass index, blood pressure, pulse rate, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and prior medical history. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified overweight/obesity (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.17-1.54) in urban areas and cigarette smoking (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.20-2.17) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.04-1.93) in rural areas as specific risk factors for prevalent AF. In patients with known AF in urban areas (n = 781) and rural areas (n = 338), 60.6% and 45.9%, respectively, received AF treatment (P < 0.01), and only 22.4% and 17.2%, respectively, received anticoagulation therapy (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In China, there are urban-rural disparities in AF in the elderly, with a higher prevalence and worse management in rural areas than urban areas. Our study findings provide insight for health policymakers to consider urban-rural disparity in the prevention and treatment of AF.

Objective To determine the effects of hypoxia pre-treatment combined with radiation damage on the hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow of mice.Methods A total of 165 male C57BL/6 mice(10～12 weeks old,weighing 20～25 g)were randomly divided into 7 groups:normal control(Control,n=33),6 Gy irradiation(6-Gy,n=43),7 d hypoxia-6 Gy irradiation(Hy-7 d+6 Gy,n=43),7 Gy irradiation(7 Gy,n=12),7 d hypoxia-7 Gy irradiation(Hy-7 d+7 Gy,n=12),7 Gy continuous hypoxia treatment(Hy-7 d+7 Gy+Hy,n=12),and 6 Gy continuous hypoxia treatment(Hy-7 d+6 Gy+Hy,n=10).The mice of the hypoxia treatment groups were given 7-day hypoxic pretreatment(12%oxygen)in a normobaric hypoxic chamber,while those of the other groups were housed in normoxic condition.After pretreatment,the mice of the irradiation groups were exposed to a single 6 or 7 Gy of whole-body 60Co γ-irradiation in normoxia.The mice of the hypoxia and irradiation groups were kept in hypoxic condition in 24 h post-irradiation followed by being resumed to normoxia,while those of the continuous hypoxia treatment groups were remained in hypoxia.After bone marrow cell suspensions were prepared from the Control,6 Gy,and Hy-7 d+6 Gy groups,bone marrow nucleated cells(BMNCs)were counted via automated cell counter.HE staining was employed to observe pathologic changes in medullary cavity,and flow cytometry was used to assess Lin-Sca1?c-Kit?(LSK)hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells,myeloid progenitors(MPs),and mature T/B/myeloid cells.The mice of the 7 Gy,Hy-7 d+7 Gy,and Hy-7 d+7 Gy+Hy groups were monitored for 30-day survival after hypoxic pretreatment.The dynamic changes in the counts of red blood cells(RBC),white blood cells(WBC)and platelets(PLT),and hemoglobin(HGB)level were observed in the 6 Gy,Hy-7 d+6 Gy,and Hy-7 d+6 Gy+Hy groups with aid of a fully automatic blood analyzer.Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed on bone marrow cell suspension derived from the mice euthanized in 17 d after irradiation from the Control,6 Gy,and Hy-7 d+6 Gy groups.Results ①Compared to the Control group,the 6 Gy group showed significantly reduced BMNCs(P<0.01),dilated bone marrow sinusoids,and erythrocyte extravasation.The Hy-7 d+6 Gy group exhibited higher cellular density and attenuated BMNC loss than the 6 Gy group(P<0.01).②Flow cytometry revealed less LSK,MP,and mature T/B/myeloid cells in the 6 Gy group than the Control group(P<0.05),and the reduced counts of LSK and MP were mitigated in the Hy-7 d+6 Gy group(P<0.01).③The Hy-7 d+7 Gy group demonstrated improved 30-day survival than the 7 Gy group(P<0.01),while continuous hypoxia(Hy-7 d+7 Gy+Hy)failed to enhance the survival.No statistical difference was seen in the survival rate between the 2 groups(P=0.12),though the Hy-7 d+7 Gy group showing higher survival rate.④Routine blood test revealed that the Hy-7 d+6 Gy group showed faster WBC recovery(vs the 6 Gy and Hy-7 d+6 Gy+Hy groups,P<0.05),higher pre-irradiation RBC/HGB levels,and accelerated PLT restoration(P<0.05).⑤Single-cell RNA sequencing indicated that hypoxia pretreatment suppressed the numbers of long-term hematopoietic stem cells/short-term hematopoietic stem cells(LT-HSC/ST-HSC)depletion in the Hy-7 d+6 Gy group when compared with the 6 Gy group,which was consistent with the results of flow cytometry.Pseudotime trajectory aligned the Hy-7 d+6 Gy group,as the Control group,showed enriched undifferentiated LSKs.Differential gene analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)analysis revealed that oxidative phosphorylation pathway was strongly activated in the 6 Gy group,while the Hy-7 d+6 Gy group had enriched in chromatin remodeling and mRNA surveillance pathways.Conclusion Hypoxic preconditioning alleviates radiation-induced bone marrow injury,and post-irradiation normoxia restoration promotes hematopoietic recovery in acute radiation-exposed mice.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of Castor branching stent in treating Stanford type B aortic dissection(TBAD)involving aortic arch.Methods The clinical data of 18 patients with Stanford TBAD,who were treated with Castor branching stent at the Suining Municipal Central Hospital of China from January 2020 to January 2022,were retrospectively analyzed.Results The main bracket and branch bracket of Castor branching stent were successfully released in all the 18 patients with a surgical success rate of 100％,and no internal leakage occurred during operation.During the perioperative period,there were neither aorta-related deaths nor serious complications such as stroke,upper limb ischemia,internal leakage,or stent displacement.The patients were followed up for(14.7±8.3)months,no aorta-related death,stroke,upper limb ischemia,internal leakage,or stent displacement was observed,the blood flow of the left subclavian artery(LSA)was unobstructed,but there was thrombosis formation within the false lumen of the covered stent segment.Conclusion The Castor branching stent has the advantages of reasonable release mode,accurate positioning,effective isolation of the first rupture of Stanford TBAD and reconstruction of LSA,with no serious short-term complications.However,further follow-up observation is needed before its long-term efficacy can be clarified.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous closure of foramen ovale guided by transthoracic echocardio-graphy with simply delivery sheath.Methods The clinical data of patients with patent foramen ovale underwent interventional closure and percutaneous closure guided by transthoracic echocardiography with simply delivery sheath in our hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were analyzed retrospectively,the patients were divided into interventional closure group(40 cases)and simply delivery sheath group(39 cases).The operation time,incidence of surgical complications,and surgical success rates of patients in the two groups were compared.The closure effect were evaluated by ultrasound immediately after surgery.All the patients were followed up for 6 months after surgery to evaluate remission of the symptoms.Results The surgical success rate of simply delivery sheath group(100%)was higher than that of interventional closure group(90.0%),with statistically significant difference(P<0.05).The operation time of simply delivery sheath group was longer than that of interventional closure group,with statistically significant difference(P<0.05).One patient in the interventional closure group had small amount of pericardial effusion during the operation.Two patients had decreased blood pressure and slowed heart rate in simply delivery sheath group,and symptoms disappeared after treatment.There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups(P>0.05).After 6-month follow-up,all occluders were in good position and no residual leakage was found.The symptoms of headache or dizziness disappeared in 28 patients in interventional closure group,significantly relieved in 8 patients;the symptoms of headache or dizziness disappeared in 30 patients in simply delivery sheath group,and significantly relieved in 9 patients.Conclusion Percutaneous closure for patent foramen ovale under the guidence of transthoracic echocardiography with simply delivery sheath is safe and feasible with satisfactory efficacy and higher successful rate without radiation hazard.It is worthy of clinical promotion.

The incidence of digestive tract cancer is increasing and tends to be younger. With the proposed concept of precision medicine, molecular targeted therapy that kills tumor cells by specifically blocking signal transduction leads a new era of digestive tract cancer therapy. This review takes MET variant digestive tract cancer as the entry point, gives an overview of its clinical features and molecular mechanisms, and summarizes the progress of MET targeted therapy for digestive tract cancer.

Objective:To explore therapeutic effect of sacubitril valsartan sodium combined with Wenxin granule in the treatment of hypertension complicated with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation(AF)and its effect on cardiac electro-physiological structure.Methods:A total of 116 patients with hypertension and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation treated in our hospital from Oct 2021 to Nov 2022 were consecutively selected.According to random number table,they were divided into Wenxin granule group(received Wenxin granule treatment based on routine antihypertensive ther-apy)and combined treatment group(received sacubitril valsartan sodium combined Wenxin granule therapy based on routine antihypertensive therapy)with 58 cases in each group,and both groups were consecutively treated for six months.Clinical symptom score,AF burden,P wave duration,P wave dispersion,left atrial diameter(LAD),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDd)and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)were compared between two groups before and after treatment.Results:After treatment,compared with Wenxin granule group,there were significant reductions in clinical symptom score[(1.66±0.69)scores vs.(1.40±0.53)scores],AF burden[4.43(1.65)％vs.1.62(3.50)％],P wave duration[(112.17±6.46)ms vs.(109.29±8.59)ms],P wave dispersion[(32.47±8.11)ms vs.(29.02±7.49)ms]and LAD[(34.83±3.41)mm vs.(33.40±3.74)mm]in combined treatment group(P＜0.05 or＜0.01).There were no significant difference in LVEDd and LVEF between two groups,P＞0.05 both.Conclusion:Sacubitril valsartan sodium combined with Wenxin granule can significantly im-prove clinical symptoms and atrial fibrillation burden,reduce the susceptibility to atrial fibrillation,and inhibit atrial electrical remodeling and structural remodeling in patients with hypertension complicated with paroxysmal atrial fi-brillation.

Objective To analyze the health management situation of non-communicable chronic disease(NCD)in Chongqing City and Guizhou Province and its influencing factors.Methods A stratified random sampling method was used to select 16 representative primary medical and health institutions from Chongqing City and Guizhou Province as the research sites,and the data were collected through the combination method of qualitative and quantitative research.Results A total of 760 patients with NCD were surveyed,and the awareness rate,utilization rate and satisfaction rate of the NCD health management program all exceeded 84.2％,while the awareness rate,utilization rate and satisfaction rate of follow-up and categorical intervention were the lowest.The awareness rate of hypertension physical examination in the patients with＜60 years old was lower than that in the patients with 60-＜70 years old(OR=4.28,95％CI:1.43-12.81)and the pa-tients with ≥70 year sold(OR=3.16,95％CI:1.12-8.91);the utilization rate of diabetes screening in the patients with＜60 years-old was lower than that in the patients with ≥70 years old(OR=2.70,95％CI:1.08-6.76)and the awareness rate of hypertension physical examination was lower than that of the patients with 60-＜70 years old(OR=4.24,95％CI:1.01-17.75);the awareness rate of hypertension physical ex-amination in the patients in Chongqing City was higher than that in Guizhou Province(OR=0.15,95％CI:0.04-0.54)and the utilization situation was better than that in Guizhou Province(OR=0.13,95％CI:0.05-0.34).Conclusion The overall situation of NCD management services in Chongqing City and Guizhou Province is good,but the service quality of follow-up and classified intervention projects needs to be further improved.

Objective To analyze the interaction between voriconazole(VRC)and immunosuppressants such as tacrolimus and cyclosporine and the effect of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on the interaction and adverse reactions(ADR)based on the results of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism and therapeutic drug monitoring,so as to provide a basis for the development of individualized VRC combined with immunosuppressants.Methods Two-dimensional liquid chromatography and pyrosequencing was used to detect the concentration of VRC and the CYP2C19 gene pol-ymorphism,respectively.And the concentration of immunosuppressants was detected at the same time.The rela-tionship among CYP2C19 gene polymorphism,the concentration of VRC and immunosuppressant and ADR was an-alyzed.Results A total of 61 patients were enrolled in this study,and the mutation rates of CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 were 54.1％(33/61)and 9.84％(6/61),respectively.The concentrations of VRC in patients with extensive metabolism(EMs),intermediate metabolism(IMs)and poor metabolism(PMs)were(4.44±3.46),(3.62±3.02)and(10.05±1.46)μg/ml(P＜0.05),respectively.The concentration of tacrolimus af-ter combined with VRC significantly increased compared to tacrolimus alone[(13.4±9.2)ng/ml vs(6.5±3.6)ng/ml;P=0.002],and the concentration of tacrolimus increased along with an increasing of VRC concentration.The concentration of VRC in patients combined with tacrolimus was lower than that in patients without immunosup-pressants[(3.81±3.48)μg/ml vs(5.84±3.71)μg/ml;P=0.032].The concentration of VRC inpatients with cyclosporine significantly decreased(P＜0.01),while tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil had no signifi-cant effect on the concentration of VRC.45.90％(28/61)of the patients had adverse reactions,the concentration of VRC in patients with ADR was significantly higher than that in patients without ADR[(7.07±3.43)μg/ml vs(3.06±2.90)μg/ml;P＜0.001].And the concentration of VRC in patients with ADR was higher than patients without ADR with based on CYP2C19 genotype.Conclusion CYP2C19 gene polymorphism can significantly affect the concentration and adverse reactions of VRC,and VRC has significant interaction with immunosuppressants such as tacrolimus.CYP2C19 gene polymorphism combined with therapeutic drug monitoring can improve the individual-ized treatment of tacrolimus and voriconazole,and is expected to minimize toxicity and improve treatment effects.

Objective To observe the cage subsidence after oblique lateral interbody fusion(OLIF)for lumbar spondylo-sis,summarize the characteristics of the cage subsidence,analyze causes,and propose preventive measures.Methods The data of 144 patients of lumbar spine lesions admitted to our hospital from October 2015 to December 2018 were retrospectively ana-lyzed.There were 43 males and 101 females,and the age ranged from 20 to 81 years old,with an average of(60.90±10.06)years old.Disease types:17 patients of lumbar intervertebral disc degenerative disease,12 patients of giant lumbar disc hernia-tion,5 patients of discogenic low back pain,33 patients of lumbar spinal stenosis,26 patients of lumbar degenerative spondy-lolisthesis,28 patients of lumbar spondylolisthesis with spondylolisthesis,11 patients of adjacent vertebral disease after lumbar internal fixation,7 patients of primary spondylitis in the inflammatory outcome stage,and 5 patients of lumbar degenerative scoliosis.Preoperative dual-energy X-ray bone mineral density examination showed 57 patients of osteopenia or osteoporosis,and 87 patients of normal bone density.The number of fusion segments:124 patients of single-segment,11 patients of two-seg-ment,8 patients of three-segment,four-segment 1 patient.There were 40 patients treated by stand-alone OLIF,and 104 patients by OLIF combined with posterior pedicle screw.Observed the occurrence of fusion cage settlement after operation,conducted monofactor analysis on possible risk factors,and observed the influence of fusion cage settlement on clinical results.Results All operations were successfully completed,the median operation time was 99 min,and the median intraoperative blood loss was 106 ml.Intraoperative endplate injury occurred in 30 patients and vertebral fracture occurred in 5 patients.The mean follow-up was(14.57±7.14)months from 6 to 30 months.During the follow-up,except for the patients of primary lumbar interstitial in-flammation and some patients of lumbar spondylolisthesis with spondylolisthesis,the others all had different degrees of cage subsidence.Cage subsidence classification:119 patients were normal subsidence,and 25 patients were abnormal subsidence(23 patients were grade Ⅰ,and 2 patients were grade Ⅱ).There was no loosening or rupture of the pedicle screw system.The height of the intervertebral space recovered from the preoperative average(9.48±1.84)mm to the postoperative average(12.65±2.03)mm,and the average(10.51±1.81)mm at the last follow-up.There were statistical differences between postop-erative and preoperative,and between the last follow-up and postoperative.The interbody fusion rate was 94.4％.The low back pain VAS decreased from the preoperative average(6.55±2.2 9)to the last follow-up(1.40±0.82),and there was statistically significant different.The leg pain VAS decreased from the preoperative average(4.72±1.49)to the final follow-up(0.60± 0.03),and the difference was statistically significant(t=9.13,P＜0.000 1).The ODI index recovered from the preoperative av-erage(38.50±6.98)％to the latest follow-up(11.30±3.27)％,and there was statistically significant different.The complication rate was 31.3％(45/144),and the reoperation rate was 9.72％(14/144).Among them,8 patients were reoperated due to fusion cage subsidence or displacement,accounting for 57.14％(8/14)of reoperation.The fusion cage subsidence in this group had obvious characteristics.The monofactor analysis showed that the number of abnormal subsidence patients in the osteopenia or osteoporosis group,Stand-alone OLIF group,2 or more segments fusion group,and endplate injury group was higher than that in the normal bone mass group,OLIF combined with pedicle screw fixation group,single segment fusion group,and no endplate injury group,and the comparison had statistical differences.Conclusion Cage subsidence is a common phenomenon after 0-LIF surgery.Preoperative osteopenia or osteoporosis,Stand-alone OLIF,2 or more segments of fusion and intraoperative end-plate injury may be important factors for postoperative fusion cage subsidence.Although there is no significant correlation be-tween the degree of cage subsidence and clinical symptoms,there is a risk of cage migration,and prevention needs to be strengthened to reduce serious complications caused by fusion of cage subsidence,including reoperation.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine(TMP)on cognitive function in mice with post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD).Methods The mice were randomly divided into normal group,model group and experimental group.Except for the normal group,the PTSD mouse model was established by single prolonged stress(SPS).The experimental group was intraperitoneally injected with 10 mg·kg-1 TMP,and the normal group and the model group were intraperitoneally injected with an equal amount of 0.9％NaCl.The Morris water maze,open field and elevated plus maze tests were used to evaluate the cognitive behavior of the mice.The apoptosis of neurons was detected by Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL).The expression of ionized calcium binding adapter molecule-1(Iba-1)protein was detected by immunofluorescence(ICC).The content of oxidative stress inflammatory factors was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The escape latency of the normal group,model group,and TMP group were(56.50±9.89),(87.16±10.48)and(68.63±10.19)s,respectively;the corner residence time of the open field were(190.37±40.64),(260.39±40.54)and(218.63±38.27)s,respectively;the apoptosis rates were(18.28±2.35)％,(39.36±3.65)％and(30.74±3.58)％,respectively;the fluorescence intensities of Iba-1 were(8.01±2.23)％,(50.87±7.31)％and(7.49±1.41)％;malondialdehyde contents were(5.46±0.95),(12.98±2.06)and(8.31±1.28)nmol·mg-1,respectively;tumor necrosis factor-α contents were(53.59±9.91),(115.46±11.53)and(74.38±10.77)pg·mL-1,respectively.The above indexes in the normal group and the experimental group were statistically significant compared with the model group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion TMP can improve the cognitive function of PTSD mice,and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress.