Objective:To investigate the values of two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic parameters in predicting pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in chronic pulmonary thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).Methods:A total of 141 patients diagnosed with CTEPH in China-Japan Friendship Hospital from November 2015 to December 2022 were included. Two-dimensional echocardiographic indicators reflecting PVR were constructed according to the calculation formula of PVR: echocardiographic estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP Echo)/left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVIDd), echocardiographic estimated mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP Echo)/LVIDd. sPAP Echo/left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), sPAP Echo/left ventricular cardiac output (LVCO) were measured by three-dimensional echocardiography. The correlations between two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic ratios and invasive PVR were then analyzed using the Spearman correlation method. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, cut-off values for the ratios were generated to identify patients with PVR>1 000 dyn·s -1·cm -5. Pre- and postoperative hemodynamics and echocardiographic data were analyzed, as well as the correlation between the reduction rate of the echocardiographic index and PVR in 54 patients who underwent pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). Results:sPAP Echo/LVIDd, sPAP Echo/LVEDV and sPAP Echo/LVCO were moderately correlated with PVR( rs=0.62, 0.52, 0.63, both P<0.001). The ratio of sPAP Echo to LVEDV, when greater than or equal to 1.41, had a sensitivity of 0.800 and a specificity of 0.930 for determining PVR >1 000 dyn·s -1·cm -5 (AUC=0.860, P<0.001). Similarly, the ratio of sPAP Echo to LVIDd, when greater than or equal to 2.14, had a sensitivity of 0.647 and a specificity of 0.861 for determining PVR >1000 dyn·s -1·cm -5 (AUC=0.830, P<0.001). The sPAP Echo/LVIDd and mPAP Echo/LVIDd significantly decreased after PEA (both P<0.001). The sPAP Echo/LVIDd and mPAP Echo/LVIDd reduction rate (ΔsPAP Echo/LVIDd and ΔmPAP Echo/LVIDd) were significantly correlated with PVR reduction rate (ΔPVR), respectively ( rs=0.61, 0.63, both P<0.05). Conclusions:Two-dimensional ratio sPAP Echo/LVIDd and three-dimensional ratio sPAP Echo/LVEDV can be used to noninvasively estimate PVR in CTEPH patients. The conventional ratio sPAP Echo/LVIDd is convenient and reproducibly suitable for monitoring the improvement of PVR before and after treatment, and its ratio of 2.14 can predict the significant increase of PVR in CTEPH patients (>1 000 dyn·s -1·cm -5).

Background::Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a fatal cardiovascular disease, yet missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis often occur due to non-specific symptoms and signs. A simple, objective technique will help clinicians make a quick and precise diagnosis. In population studies, machine learning (ML) plays a critical role in characterizing cardiovascular risks, predicting outcomes, and identifying biomarkers. This work sought to develop an ML model for helping APE diagnosis and compare it against current clinical probability assessment models.Methods::This is a single-center retrospective study. Patients with suspected APE were continuously enrolled and randomly divided into two groups including training and testing sets. A total of 8 ML models, including random forest (RF), Na?ve Bayes, decision tree, K-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, multi-layer perceptron, support vector machine, and gradient boosting decision tree were developed based on the training set to diagnose APE. Thereafter, the model with the best diagnostic performance was selected and evaluated against the current clinical assessment strategies, including the Wells score, revised Geneva score, and Years algorithm. Eventually, the ML model was internally validated to assess the diagnostic performance using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Results::The ML models were constructed using eight clinical features, including D-dimer, cardiac troponin T (cTNT), arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate, chest pain, lower limb pain, hemoptysis, and chronic heart failure. Among eight ML models, the RF model achieved the best performance with the highest area under the curve (AUC) (AUC = 0.774). Compared to the current clinical assessment strategies, the RF model outperformed the Wells score ( P = 0.030) and was not inferior to any other clinical probability assessment strategy. The AUC of the RF model for diagnosing APE onset in internal validation set was 0.726. Conclusions::Based on RF algorithm, a novel prediction model was finally constructed for APE diagnosis. When compared to the current clinical assessment strategies, the RF model achieved better diagnostic efficacy and accuracy. Therefore, the ML algorithm can be a useful tool in assisting with the diagnosis of APE.

Objective To investigate the value of intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion weighted imaging(IVIM-DWI)in quantitatively evaluating the involved muscle in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies(IIM).Methods Totally,50 patients with clinically diagnosed IIM(IIM group)and 15 healthy controls(control group)were selected for bilateral thigh MRI examination,including IVIM-DWI sequences.The right quadriceps(vastus lateralis,vastus intermedius,vastus medialis,and rectus femoris)of all subjects were selected as region of interest(ROI).Single-exponential and double-exponential analysis were employed to quantitatively measure IVIM-DWI parameters,including apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC),D,f,and D*.Based on T1WI and T2WI fat-suppressed images of the right quadriceps,these muscles were divided into affected and unaffected groups.One-way analysis of variance was used to compare IVIM-DWI parameters between affected group,unaffected group,and control group.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was performed to analyze the differences in IVIM-DWI parameters among the above groups.Results The D and ADC values were significantly higher in the affected group compared to the unaffected group and the control group(P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis revealed that D and ADC values had moderate diagnostic significance with area under the curve(AUC)of 0.794 and 0.882,respec-tively.The cutoff values for D values and ADC values were 1.63×10-3 mm2/s and 1.44×10-3 mm2/s,respectively.Additionally,MRI follow-up performed one year after treatment in three patients with IIM showed significant resolution of inflammatory edema in thigh muscles,accompanied by a marked decrease in IVIM-DWI parameter values,particularly D values and ADC values.Conclusion The affected muscle in IIM show distinctive diffusion characteristics,and IVIM-DWI parameters,especially D values and ADC val-ues,show a higher diagnostic value for assessing muscle status in IIM.In addition,IVIM-DWI parameters also demonstrate a promis-ing value in the follow-up of IIM,which requires further confirmation in larger cohorts.

Atrial fibrillation(AF)is the most common cardiac arrhythmia.Many medical conditions,including hypertension,diabetes,obesity,sleep apnea,and heart failure(HF),increase the risk for AF.Car-diomyocytes have unique metabolic characteristics to maintain adenosine triphosphate production.Significant changes occur in myocardial metabolism in AF.Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists(GLP-1 RAs)have been used to control blood glucose fluctuations and weight in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and obesity.GLP-1 RAs have also been shown to reduce oxidative stress,inflammation,autonomic nervous system modulation,and mitochondrial function.This article reviews the changes in metabolic characteristics in cardiomyocytes in AF.Although the clinical trial outcomes are unsatisfactory,the findings demonstrate that GLP-1 RAs can improve myocardial metabolism in the presence of various risk factors,lowering the incidence of AF.

Objective:This paper summarized the practical experience in the construction of a scientific research platform in a large comprehensive hospital and discusses the innovative management model of the scientific research platform.Methods:This paper introduced the development history and construction status of a scientific research platform in a large comprehensive hospital, and analyzes the contradictions and difficulties existing in equipment sharing, resource allocation and other aspects during the development of the scientific research platform and its countermeasures.Results:Building a strong scientific research platform was of great significance to the hospital's discipline development, talent cultivation, and improvement of academic influence and core competitiveness. The hospital should continue to increase investment in the construction of scientific research platforms and strengthen system layout, cooperation, exchanges, and resource sharing.Conclusions:Large comprehensive hospitals need to build a highly open and efficient scientific research platform system to empower technological innovation.

Objective:To analyze the curative effect of sandwich cheiloplasty for the treatment of macrocheilia secondary to port-wine stain (PWS).Methods:A total of 43 patients, including 20 males and 23 females, aged 37.0 years (ranged from 4 to 69 years), who underwent sandwich cheiloplasty for the treatment of macrocheilia secondary to PWS from March 2008 to March 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. According to the location of the lesions, they were divided into two groups: upper lip group (21 cases) and lower lip group (22 cases). Pathological examinations were performed in all excised specimens. Postoperative attentions should be paid to keeping incisions locally clean, observing the blood supplying, and taking care of fluid accumulation or incision split. After discharge, the lip appearance and function were evaluated every six months in the outpatient department, and the long-term efficacy was further divided into three levels: grade Ⅰ (poor), grade Ⅱ (moderate), and grade Ⅲ (good). The comparison of grade data named long-term efficacy between the two groups was conducted by Mann-Whitney U test.Results:All 43 patients underwent sandwich cheiloplasty, of which 40 patients received one operation, whereas the other 3 received two due to recurrences. One-stage incision healing was achieved in 43 cases, whereas partial mucosal necrosis appeared in 2 cases, and slight incision dehiscence occurred in 1 case, which healed well after local dressing change. The pathological examination results of 43 excised tissue specimens all showed capillary malformations. After follow-up for 1 to 10 years, long-term efficacy evaluation was made up as follows: 36 cases were evaluated as grade Ⅲ, 7 cases as grade Ⅱ, and 0 case as grade Ⅰ. There were 18 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 3 cases of grade Ⅱ in group A, compared to 18 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 4 cases of grade Ⅱ in group B. By rank sum test, there was no significant difference in overal efficacy between the two groups ( Z=0.342, P>0.05). Conclusions:Sandwich cheiloplasty for the treatment of macrocheilia secondary to PWS effectively removes malformed vascular lesions, and consequently, it can achieve a good long-term therapeutic effect.

Objective:To explore the risk assessment and prevention management of hospital-associated venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE) in plateau area.Methods:This was a prospective observational study. A total of 200 patients hospitalized for acute medical diseases or surgery in the People′s Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region from May to June 2022 were consecutively enrolled. Padua score or Caprini risk assessment model was used for dynamic risk assessment and stratification of VTE in all patients. At the same time, bleeding risk was assessed according to age, complications, trauma history, drug therapy, invasive procedures and other factors. The implementation of mechanical and/or drug prophylaxis was dynamically recorded during hospitalization. The change of VTE risk and prevention during hospitalization were the primary outcome, and the occurrence of HA-VTE events and bleeding events during hospitalization or within 90 days after enrollment were the secondary outcome.Results:A total of 196 patients were enrolled in the study, including 130 (66.3%) in internal medicine and 66 (33.7%) in surgery. There were 64 (49.2 %) and 27 (40.9%) patients with high risk of VTE within 1 day after admission among medical and surgical patients, respectively. During hospitalization, 58 (44.6%) and 49 (74.2%) patients with high risk of VTE were re-evaluated among medical and surgical patients, respectively. There were 39 (30.0%) medical patients and 54 (81.8%) surgical patients who had an increased risk of VTE due to changes in their conditions. In terms of VTE prevention, 32 patients (16.3%) received VTE prophylaxis, only 17 medical patients (8.7%) with high risk of VTE received drug prophylaxis, and 2 patients (1.0%) with high risk of VTE developed HA-VTE events after drug prophylaxis. A total of 8 (4.1%) surgical patients received drug prophylaxis, of which 1 (0.5%) received mechanical prophylaxis at the same time, and no surgical patients experienced HA-VTE events after prophylaxis. HA-VTE events occurred in 11 patients (5.6%) during hospitalization or within 90 days after enrollment.Conclusion:Considering the complex and changeable risk factors of VTE, insufficient VTE prevention and high incidence of HA-VTE in hospitalized patients in plateau areas, Padua score and Caprini risk assessment model are recommended for early, dynamic and full VTE risk assessment of patients, so as to standardize the VTE prevention and improve the quality of health management of hospitalized patients in plateau areas.

Objective:To study the regulatory effect of miR-200a on mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) and its impact on the biological behavior of hepatoma carcinoma cells.Method:A luciferase reporter assay was used to determine miR-200a's regulatory impact on MET. Human hepatoma HepG2 cells were divided into a control group, a miR-200a group, a MET overexpression group, and a co-transfection group (miR-200a+MET). After culture, cell proliferation ability, cell migration ability, apoptosis, cell invasion ability, and the expression of MET and apoptosis-related (Bcl-2, Caspase-3, Bax) proteins were detected and observed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), scratch assay, Annexin V-FITC staining, transwell chambers, and western blotting. The two groups were compared using the independent sample t-test. The multiple groups were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA.Results:The luciferase experiment showed that miR-200a had target MET. The proliferation rate, number of invasions in cells (55.00 ± 7.21, 85.00 ± 7.94, 164.67 ± 19.22, 104.00± 12.29), scratch healing rate (28.33% ± 5.03%, 61.67% ± 4.04%, 74.67% ± 7.02%, 49.33% ± 9.02%), and expression levels of MET, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 proteins were lower in the miR-200a group than those in the control group, MET overexpression group, and co-transfection group, while the MET overexpression group had higher indexes than the other three groups, with statistically significant differences between the groups ( P <0.05). The apoptosis rate of HepG2 cells and the expression level of Bax protein were higher in the miR-200a group than those in the control group, MET overexpression group, and co-transfection group (19.25% ± 2.98%, 6.80% ± 1.15%, 3.42% ±0.76%, 9.90% ± 2.72%), while the levels of various indexes in the MIF overexpression group were lower than those in the other three groups. The control group and co-transfection group were between the two groups, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant ( P <0.05). Conclusion:HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell apoptosis induction can be inhibited by miR-200a, and the functional mechanism for this may be associated with the miR-200a target’s ability to down-regulate MET expression in HepG2 cells.

Objective:To understand the prevalence of other infectious diarrhea in Urumqi, Xinjiang from 2014 to 2018, to explore application of ARIMA model to predict other infectious diarrhea, and to provide a basis for scientific prevention and treatment.Methods:The epidemiological data of other perceptual diarrhea in a tertiary hospital from 2014 to 2018 and the data of laboratory test result in the " China Disease Prevention and Control Information System" were collected and sorted for descriptive epidemiological analysis, and SPSS software was used to predict the ARIMA model.Results:Other infectious diarrhea cases in a tertiary hospital from 2014 to 2018 were mainly concentrated in June to October (1 748 cases), accounting for 65.89% of the total cases in the whole year. Children under 10 years of age were the main population for other infectious diarrhea (1 699 cases), accounting for 49.26%. Rotavirus infection was the main cause of other infectious diarrhea (339 cases), accounting for 93.38% of all detected pathogens. ARIMA (0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1) 12 was the optimal model, which verified that the average relative error of the number of cases in Urumqi from January to December in 2018 was 20%, and the actual value was within the 95% confidence interval of the predicted value. Conclusions:Health education on the prevention of other infectious diarrhea should be strengthened for children under 10 years of age and their parents in Urumqi, focusing on rotavirus diarrhea, and the promotion and vaccination of rotavirus vaccine for children under 10 years old should be done well. ARIMA (0, 1, 2)(0, 1, 1) 12 has certain value in predicting the incidence of other infectious diarrhea.

New threats posed by the emerging circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 highlight the need to find conserved neutralizing epitopes for therapeutic antibodies and efficient vaccine design. Here, we identified a receptor-binding domain (RBD)-binding antibody, XG014, which potently neutralizes β-coronavirus lineage B (β-CoV-B), including SARS-CoV-2, its circulating variants, SARS-CoV and bat SARSr-CoV WIV1. Interestingly, antibody family members competing with XG014 binding show reduced levels of cross-reactivity and induce antibody-dependent SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein-mediated cell-cell fusion, suggesting a unique mode of recognition by XG014. Structural analyses reveal that XG014 recognizes a conserved epitope outside the ACE2 binding site and completely locks RBD in the non-functional "down" conformation, while its family member XG005 directly competes with ACE2 binding and position the RBD "up". Single administration of XG014 is effective in protection against and therapy of SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo. Our findings suggest the potential to develop XG014 as pan-β-CoV-B therapeutics and the importance of the XG014 conserved antigenic epitope for designing broadly protective vaccines against β-CoV-B and newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Antibodies, Viral ; COVID-19 ; Epitopes ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2/genetics* ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics*