Objective To evaluate cardiac involvement in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) using echocardiography combined with electrocardiography. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the detailed medical records of AAV patients treated in Jining First People’s Hospital between January 2020 and December 2024. Eighty patients were enrolled in the AAV group, and the risk of heart disease was compared between the AAV group and a control group with 80 subjects matched for age, sex, and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Results Electrocardiographic abnormalities were observed in 78.75% of patients in the AAV group, while significant electrocardiographic abnormalities only occurred in symptomatic patients in the control group. There were no differences in left atrial enlargement or interventricular septal thickening between the AAV group and the control group. The overall left ventricular systolic function in the AAV group was lower than that in the control group (8.75% vs. 0). The incidence of reduced diastolic function in the AAV group was significantly higher than that in the control group (37.5% vs. 15%). The incidence rates of tricuspid regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, aortic regurgitation, and pericardial effusion in the AAV group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Pericardial thickening, aortic stenosis, pulmonary hypertension, and rare periaortic granulomas were found in the AAV group, but not in the control group. Conclusion Echocardiography and electrocardiography are important examination methods for evaluating cardiac involvement in AAV. These methods have key roles in disease screening, diagnosis and treatment, follow-up, and prognosis judgment.

To explore screening tools for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which are convenient for primary hospitals, it can provide basic data for formulating ASD prevention policies. This was a cross-sectional study by cluster sampling. Huyi District and Xincheng District were extracted for investigation in Xi′an City. From July 2021 to September 2022, all children aged from 3 months to 36 months who live in the two districts were subjected to primary screening. The child care physician used the routine screening tool "warning signs checklist for screening psychological, behavioral and developmental problems of children" and cartoon pictures of "early high-risk warning signs of autism", the children who were positive in the initial screening were referred to the district level maternal and child health hospital for re-screening, and those who were positive in the re-screening were referred to Xi ′an Children′s Hospital for diagnosis. The results showed that a total of 17 905 children aged from 3 months to 36 months were initially screened in the two districts, including 10 588 children aged from 18 months to 36 months, 50 children who were positive in the initial screening and 50 children who were re-screened. 23 children (18 boys and 5 girls) were diagnosed with ASD. The prevalence rate of ASD in children was 2.17‰ (95% confidence interval:1.29‰-3.06‰). 42 children were positive for "warning signs checklist" at the preliminary screening, and 19 were confirmed as ASD. 27 children were positive for "cartoon pictures" in the preliminary screening, and 23 were confirmed with ASD. The "cartoon pictures" in the preliminary screening and diagnosis of consistent rate was higher than the "warning signs checklist", two kinds of screening methods comparison were statistically significant difference in the odds of consistent (χ 2=11.01, P=0.001). In conclusion, relying on the three-level network of maternal and child health care, it is conducive to the whole process management of screening and diagnosis of children with ASD, and to guide the formulation of prevention policies. The cartoon pictures of "early high-risk warning signs of autism" can assist the identification of children with ASD based on the "warning signs checklist", which is simple, effective and suitable for promotion in the community health care.

Objective:To analyze the blood differential metabolites of patients with intrahepatic cholestasis (IHC) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics technology so as to find potential metabolic target.Method:Serum samples were collected from thirty patients with intrahepatic cholestasis and thirty healthy individuals after metabolomics analysis. The differential metabolites were initially screened based on the multiple differences and significance. KEGG enrichment analysis was performed on the differential metabolites to determine the candidate targets. The potential clinical application value of these characteristic metabolites was analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic curve.Result:A total of thirty patients with intrahepatic cholestasis and thirty healthy adults were included. The age difference between the two groups was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The clinical condition was consistent with the statistically significant differences in liver biochemical indicators, blood routine, coagulation, and inflammatory indicators between the two groups ( P<0.05). Furthermore, a blood metabolomics screening analysis revealed 99 differentially expressed metabolites associated with intrahepatic cholestasis. Of these, 15 showed statistically significant differences. Glucose, lipid, and energy metabolisms were the various primary types of differential metabolites involved. The receiver operating characteristic curve>0.9 included the following twelve kinds of metabolites: 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde, 6-hydroxy-1H-indole-3-acetamide, phenylalanyl tryptophan, 1-methylguanosine, 2-ethoxy-5-methylpyrazine, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 5-(2-chlorophenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole, methylthioadenosine, alanylisoleucine, anabsinthin, N-acetyl-DL-histidine monohydrate, N-methylnicotinamide, and others. The fifteen metabolites that were previously identified and calculated according to the differential quantitative value of the metabolite corresponding ratio exhibited fold-changes in the upregulated and downregulated potential biomarkers (phenylalanine tryptophan, phenylalanine, 5'-methylthioadenosine, anabsinthin, and N-methylnicotinamide) in combination with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve>0.9. Conclusion:Phenylalanyl tryptophan, phenylalanylalanine, 5'-methylthioadenosine, anabsinthin, and N-methylnicotinamide may serve as potential metabolic markers to distinguish patients with cholestasis from healthy controls. N-methylnicotinamide, among them, is of great importance as a potential marker.

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum levels of NOD-like receptor family CARD domain containing 3 (NLRC3) and extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1) with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with sepsis. Methods A total of 133 patients with sepsis were enrolled in sepsis group, and 80 healthy individuals during the same period were included in control group. The sepsis group was further divided into ARDS group (52 cases) and non-ARDS group (81 cases) based on the presence or absence of ARDS. Serum levels of NLRC3 and ECM1 expression were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the development of ARDS in sepsis patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of serum NLRC3 and ECM1 levels for ARDS in sepsis patients. Results Compared with the control group, the sepsis group had significantly lower serum NLRC3 level and higher ECM1 level (P < 0.05). The incidence of ARDS in the 133 sepsis patients was 39.10% (52/133). Compared with the non-ARDS group, the ARDS group had significantly lower serum NLRC3 level and higher ECM1 level (P < 0.05). Independent risk factors for the development of ARDS in sepsis patients were increased Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, elevated blood lactate level and increased ECM1 level, while increased NLRC3 level was an independent protective factor (P < 0.05). The area under the curve for the combined prediction of serum NLRC3 and ECM1 expression in sepsis patients with ARDS was 0.887, which was greater than 0.811 and 0.792 predicted by serum NLRC3 and ECM1 expression alone (P < 0.05). Conclusion Decreased serum NLRC3 level and increased ECM1 level are closely associated with the development of ARDS in sepsis patients. The combined assessment of serum NLRC3 and ECM1 level has a high predictive value for ARDS in sepsis patients.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of conventional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with drug-eluting bead transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) in treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The data of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent hepatic artery chemoembolization at General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from July 2019 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Of 282 patients who were enrolled, there were 233 males and 49 females, aged (55.9±10.0) years. The groups were divided into the conventional TACE group ( n=179) and the DEB-TACE group ( n=103) based on the treatments. The efficacy of the two groups was compared according to the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors. Postoperative adverse effects and liver function between the two groups were compared. Results:The differences in comparing the preoperative and postoperative liver function indexes between the two groups were not statistically significant. Patients who died and were lost to follow-up at 6 months after surgery were excluded and 240 patients were excluded in the efficacy analysis, with 148 patients in the conventional TACE group and 92 patients in the DEB-TACE group. At 6 months after treatment in the conventional TACE group, there were 64 patients (43.2%) with complete remission, 18 patients (12.2%) with partial remission, 27 patients (18.2%) with stable disease, and 39 patients (26.4%) with disease progression. In the DEB-TACE group, the corresponding figures were 38 patients (41.3%), 17 patients (18.5%), 26 patients (28.3%), and 11 patients (12.0%), respectively. The efficacy of DEB-TACE was better than conventional TACE with statistically significant differences between the 2 groups (χ 2=8.96, P=0.030). The incidence of postoperative embolic syndrome was 53.1% (95/179) in the conventional TACE group, which was significantly higher than the 34.0% (35/103) in the DEB-TACE group (χ 2=7.34, P=0.007). Conclusion:The efficacy and safety of DEB-TACE for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma were superior to those of the conventional TACE group.

Panax ginseng(PG)and Panax notoginseng(PN)are highly valuable Chinese medicines(CM).Although both CMs have similar active constituents,their clinical applications are clearly different.Over the past decade,RNA sequencing(RNA-seq)analysis has been employed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of extracts or monomers.However,owing to the limited number of samples in standard RNA-seq,few studies have systematically compared the effects of PG and PN spanning multiple conditions at the transcriptomic level.Here,we developed an approach that simultaneously profiles transcriptome changes for multiplexed samples using RNA-seq(TCM-seq),a high-throughput,low-cost workflow to molecularly evaluate CM perturbations.A species-mixing experiment was conducted to illustrate the accuracy of sample multiplexing in TCM-seq.Transcriptomes from repeated samples were used to verify the robustness of TCM-seq.We then focused on the primary active components,Panax notoginseng sa-ponins(PNS)and Panax ginseng saponins(PGS)extracted from PN and PG,respectively.We also char-acterized the transcriptome changes of 10 cell lines,treated with four different doses of PNS and PGS,using TCM-seq to compare the differences in their perturbing effects on genes,functional pathways,gene modules,and molecular networks.The results of transcriptional data analysis showed that the tran-scriptional patterns of various cell lines were significantly distinct.PGS exhibited a stronger regulatory effect on genes involved in cardiovascular disease,whereas PNS resulted in a greater coagulation effect on vascular endothelial cells.This study proposes a paradigm to comprehensively explore the differences in mechanisms of action between CMs based on transcriptome readouts.

Objective:To investigate the medical students' general understanding of online teaching and online learning of medical courses during the COVID-19 epidemic, and to analyze the satisfaction with online medical curriculum and its influencing factors.Methods:A total of 188 medical students in Xiangya School of Medicine of Central South University were investigated anonymously with a self-designed questionnaire. SPSS 26.0 was used for analyzing the relevant data, t test or variance analysis was conducted for coparison between groups, with test level α= 0.05. Results:The 88.83% (167) of the students believed that online teaching was much necessary, and the greatest advantage of online teaching was that they could arrange their learning time freely. However, 59.57%(112) of the students thought that the learning consciousness was reduced, and 49.47% (93) of the teachers were inadaptable to the change of teaching platform and 59.57% (112) teachers could not adapt to the change of teaching may be the main reasons affecting the teaching quality.Conclusion:Students have a high degree of acceptance of online teaching during the epidemic, but there are some problems such as decreased self-discipline, insufficient interaction between teachers and students, dissatisfaction with the construction of online course platform, inability to visit the laboratory and practice in the hospital, and so on. The investigation is still helpful to revise the medical education model in the post-epidemic period and the future. Our results suggest that the combination of online and offline teaching mode can be adopted in medical theory class and PBL discussion class, and at the same time, the construction of online learning resources for clinical practice and medical experiments should be strengthened.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis of a patient with clinically suspected Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS). METHODS: A child who had presented at Beijing Anzhen Hospital in September 2018 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data and family history of the patient were collected, along with peripheral blood samples of the proband and his parents. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out through next-generation sequencing. RESULTS: Candidate variants were searched through bioinformatic analysis focusing on genes associated with hereditary aortic aneurysms. Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing. The patient was found to have cardiovascular abnormalities including early-onset aortic dilatation and coarctation, and LDS syndrome was suspected. WES revealed that he has harbored a heterozygous c.1526G>T missense variant of the TGFBR2 gene. The same variant was not found in either parent and was predicted as likely pathogenic (PM1+PM2_Supporting+ PM6+PP3+PP4) based on the guidelines from the American College for Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). CONCLUSION The TGFBR2 c.1526G>T variant probably underlay the LDS in this patient and was unreported previously in China. Above finding has enriched the mutational spectrum of the TGFBR2 gene associated with the LDS and provided a basis for the genetic counseling for the patient.
Child ; Humans ; Male ; China ; Computational Biology ; Family ; Loeys-Dietz Syndrome/genetics* ; Mutation ; Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II/genetics*

Objective To explore the effect of KCNQ1OT1 gene knockout combined with bruceine D on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Methods Cell Counting Kit-8, wound healing, and Transwell invasion assay were used to detect the effects of bruceine D and siKCNQ1OT1 on the viability, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Effect of bruceine D and siKCNQ1OT1 on the expression of KCNQ1OT1 in MDA-MB-231 cells was detected by qRT-PCR. Western blot was used to detect the effect of bruceine D and siKCNQ1OT1 on the expression of EMT-related proteins and CDC42, p-MKK7, MKK7 proteins in MDA-MB-231 cells. Results Bruceine D and siKCNQ1OT1 could significantly inhibit the viability, migration, and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells, and the inhibitory effect was enhanced when they were combined (all P < 0.05); bruceine D downregulated the expression of KCNQ1OT1 in MDA-MB-231 cells (all P < 0.05); bruceine D combined with siKCNQ1OT1 significantly decreased CDC42, p-MKK7, N-cadherin, and Vimentin expression in MDA-MB-231 cells and increased the expression of E-cadherin (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Bruceine D combined with siKCNQ1OT1 significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells, and its molecular mechanism may be related to the blocking of CDC42/MKK7 signaling pathway.

Hepatic cholesterol accumulation is an important contributor to hypercholesterolemia, which results in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) is a key lipogenic enzyme that converts cytosolic citrate derived from tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) to acetyl-CoA in the cytoplasm. Therefore, ACLY represents a link between mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation and cytosolic de novo lipogenesis. In this study, we developed the small molecule 326E with an enedioic acid structural moiety as a novel ACLY inhibitor, and its CoA-conjugated form 326E-CoA inhibited ACLY activity with an IC₅₀ = 5.31 ± 1.2 μmol/L in vitro. 326E treatment reduced de novo lipogenesis, and increased cholesterol efflux in vitro and in vivo. 326E was rapidly absorbed after oral administration, exhibited a higher blood exposure than that of the approved ACLY inhibitor bempedoic acid (BA) used for hypercholesterolemia. Chronic 326E treatment in hamsters and rhesus monkeys resulted in remarkable improvement of hyperlipidemia. Once daily oral administration of 326E for 24 weeks prevented the occurrence of atherosclerosis in ApoE^-/- mice to a greater extent than that of BA treatment. Taken together, our data suggest that inhibition of ACLY by 326E represents a promising strategy for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.