Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation, joint destruction, and functional impairment. Angiogenesis plays a key role in the pathological progression of RA with dysfunction of endothelial cells to promote synovial inflammation, sustain pannus formation, subsequently leading to joint damage. Colquhounia Root Tablets (CRT), a Chinese patent drug, has shown a satisfying clinical efficacy in treating RA, while the underlying mechanism by which CRT inhibits RA-associated angiogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we applied a research approach combining transcriptomic data analysis, bio-network mapping, and in vivo and in vitro experiments to explore the molecular mechanisms of CRT in suppressing angiogenesis in RA. Animal welfare and experimental procedures follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (ratification number: IBTCMCACMS21-2307-06). Network analysis identified that key genes such as nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2), SMAD family member 3 (SMAD3), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) significantly enriched in pathways related to NOD-like receptor signaling and VEGF signaling, indicating that CRT may inhibit angiogenesis by regulating vascular endothelial cell function with modulating angiogenesis-related pathways. In vivo data showed that CRT significantly reduced the positive expression of CD31 and VEGF in the ankle joint of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats. In vitro data further confirmed that CRT effectively inhibited VEGF-induced migration, invasion, and tube formation in HUVECs, while significantly reduced the expression of angiogenesis-related factors VEGF/CD31/Ang-1, as well as the positive expression of VEGF and CD31 in HUVECs. Furthermore, CRT markedly decreased the protein expression of NOD2, VEGFA, and SMAD3. In conclusion, these findings indicate that CRT may inhibit the RA-related angiogenesis by targeting the NOD2/SMAD3/VEGF signaling axis to improve endothelial cell function, enriching the scientific connotation of CRT in inhibiting pathological angiogenesis in RA and also offer new insights for clinical prevention and treatment of RA.

OBJECTIVE To construct an evaluation index system for the core competencies of ethics committee members of drug clinical trial institution， providing a basis for optimizing the training system for committee members， improving the quality of ethical review， and fully safeguarding the safety and rights of subjects. METHODS Using methods such as literature research and expert consultation， a preliminary core competency evaluation index system was constructed. The Delphi method was employed to revise and validate it， ultimately forming an evaluation index system for the core competencies of ethics committee members. Based on this system， a questionnaire survey was conducted among 90 ethics committee members from 29 drug clinical trial institutions nationwide， comparing their importance rating and self-assessment scores of the core competency indexes. RESULTS The evaluation system constructed included 4 primary indicators （ethics and professional knowledge， ethics review ability， communication and expression ability， moral integrity and work style） and 39 secondary indicators （familiarity with the content of clinical trial-related laws and regulations， ability to complete project ethics review and identify ethical defects in research protocols within a short period of time， ability to judge the scientific value of clinical research， etc.）. The results of questionnaire survey showed that the interviewed ethics committee members had significant capability gaps in dimensions such as regulatory knowledge， ethical norms， review efficiency， risk judgment， and problem analysis. The differences between the importance rating scores of corresponding secondary indicators and the self-assessment scores were all no less than 0.38. CONCLUSIONS This study has developed a quantifiable and stratified core competency assessment tool for ethics committee members. It can provide a scientific framework for committee member training， qualification certification， and standardized management of ethics committees.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of national bloodstream infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:During the study period，9 035 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were collected from 51 hospitals，of which 7 895（87.4%）were Enterobacteriaceae and 1 140（12.6%）were non-fermenting bacteria. The top 5 bacterial species were Escherichia coli（ n=4 510，49.9%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae（ n=2 340，25.9%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa（ n=534，5.9%）， Acinetobacter baumannii complex（ n=405，4.5%）and Enterobacter cloacae（ n=327，3.6%）. The ESBLs-producing rates in Escherichia coli， Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus spp. were 47.1%（2 095/4 452），21.0%（427/2 033）and 41.1%（58/141），respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli（CREC）and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（CRKP）were 1.3%（58/4 510）and 13.1%（307/2 340）；62.1%（36/58）and 9.8%（30/307）of CREC and CRKP were resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination，respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii（CRAB）complex was 59.5%（241/405），while less than 5% of Acinetobacter baumannii complex was resistant to tigecycline and polymyxin B. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa（CRPA）was 18.4%（98/534）. There were differences in the composition ratio of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections and the prevalence of main Gram-negative bacteria resistance among different regions，with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CRKP and CRPA（ χ2=20.489 and 20.252， P<0.001）. The prevalence of CREC，CRKP，CRPA，CRAB，ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were higher in provinicial hospitals than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=11.953，81.183，10.404，5.915，12.415 and 6.459， P<0.01 or <0.05），while the prevalence of CRPA was higher in economically developed regions（per capita GDP ≥ 92 059 Yuan）than that in economically less-developed regions（per capita GDP <92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=6.240， P=0.012）. Conclusions:The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections shows an increasing trend，and Escherichia coli is ranked in the top，while the trend of CRKP decreases continuously with time. Decreasing trends are noted in ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Low prevalence of carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli and high prevalence in CRAB complex have been observed. The composition ratio and antibacterial spectrum of bloodstream infections in different regions of China are slightly different，and the proportion of main drug resistant bacteria in provincial hospitals is higher than those in municipal hospitals.

Objective: To investigate the implementation of sex education and its influencing factors among preschool teachers in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, so as to provide insights into promoting the development of sex education, physical and mental health for preschool children. Methods: In January 2022, preschool teachers were sampled in 24 kindergartens in Longmatan District, Naxi District and Hejiang County of Luzhou City using the stratified random cluster sampling method. Demographic information, knowledge, attitudes, implementation of sex education, as well as difficulties, support, and needs in implementing sex education among preschool teachers were collected through questionnaire surveys. Factors affecting practice of sex education by preschool teachers were analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: A total of 461 preschool teachers were included, including 456 females (98.92%), and had a median age of 28.00 (interquartile range, 9.50) years. The proportions of preschool teachers with good and pass of knowledge about sex education for preschool children were 10.20% and 57.48%, respectively. The proportions of preschool teachers with positive and general attitudes towards sex education were 28.20% and 36.44%, respectively. A total of 343 preschool teachers had implemented sex education (74.40%). A lack of a relaxed social environment was the main difficulty in carrying out sex education for preschool children (76.14%), while support from parents of preschool children was the primary need for conducting sex education activities (75.27%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age (>30 years, OR=2.218, 95%CI: 1.256-3.917), kindergarten type (public, OR=2.101, 95%CI: 1.253-3.524), attitude towards sex education (positive, OR=2.083, 95%CI: 1.036-4.187), participation in activities related to sex education (OR=6.355, 95%CI: 3.362-12.015), and communication with parents about sex education (OR=5.399, 95%CI: 3.152-9.248) were influencing factors for practice of sex education by preschool teachers. Conclusions The main difficulty in the practice of sex education for preschool children by preschool teachers in Luzhou City is a lack of a relaxed social environment, and there is a high demand for support from parents. Age, kindergarten type, attitude towards sex education, participation in activities related to sex education, and communication with parents about sex education are associated factors.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

AIM:To observe the efficacy and safe-ty of combined lipid-lowering strategies in the ini-tial stage of treatment in"very high-risk ASCVD"pa-tients in cardiology outpatient clinics in a real-world prospective cohort study.METHODS:Pa-tients with"very high-risk ASCVD"from January to June 2021 were consecutively enrolled and divided into three groups according to the actual lipid-low-ering treatment strategies:Atorvastatin group;Atorvastatin combine with ezetimibe group;Atorv-astatin combine with evolocumab group.The pri-mary observation endpoints were the changes in LDL-C,Lp(a),and non-HDL-C after one month of treatment,and the secondary endpoints were the changes in TC,TG,HDL-C,Hs-CRP,and safety indica-tors.RESULTS:The efficacy of the combined lipid-lowering strategy in the initial stage of treatment was significantly better than that of the Atorvas-tatin group:LDL-C,Log[Lp(a)],non-HDL-C,TC sig-nificantly decreased(all P＜0.05).Compared with the Atorvastatin combine with Ezetimibe group,LDL-C and Log[Lp(a)]decreased significantly in the Atorvastatin combine with Evolocumab group(P＜0.05),and TC and TG had decreased insignifi-cantly(P＞0.05).When"LDL-C＜1.4mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L"is used as the standard for lipid-low-ering compliance,the LDL-C compliance rates of the two groups of combined lipid-lowering treat-ments are higher than those of the atorvastatin sin-gle-drug group.The differences were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05);the LDL-C compliance rate of the atorvastatin combined with evolocumab group was higher than that of the atorvastatin com-bined with ezetimibe group,and the differences were statistically significant(All P＜0.05).When the reduction rate of"LDL dropped by more than 50％"alone or in combination were used as the standard,no one in the three groups could reach the stan-dard.The liver aminotransferase levels had no signif-icant changes among the 3 groups after treatment(all P＞0.05).Myocardial enzyme isoenzyme(CK-MB)decreased among the 3 groups insignificantly(P＞0.05).Compared with the Atorvastatin group,the blood sugar(BS)of the two combined lipid-low-ering groups decreased significantly(P＜0.05);The BS of the Atorvastatin+ezetimibe group significant-ly decreased than that of Atorvastatin combine with Evolocumab group(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:The lipid-lowering effect and LDL-C compliance rate of patients with"very high-risk ASCVD"in the cardi-ology outpatient department after 1 month of com-bined lipid-lowering treatment were better than those of the atorvastatin monotherapy group.When LDL-C＜1.4 mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L is the lip-id-lowering target,the LDL-C compliance rate after 1 month of treatment in the atorvastatin combined with evolocumab group is higher than that of the combined atorvastatin and zetamibu group.When the"LDL drop by more than 50％"is used as the standard for lipid lowering,it is difficult to reach the standard within 1 month.Outpatient"very high-risk ASCVD"patients were treated with initial combined lipid-lowering therapy for 1 month with-out adverse reactions.The initial combined lipid-lowering strategy can be used for patients with"very high-risk ASCVD"in cardiology outpatient clinics who need to achieve LDL-C values early.Atorvastatin combined with evolocumab strategy can be recommended for those patients who re-quire LDL-C＜1.4 mmol/L or＜1.8 mmol/L within one month.

Objective To explore the relationship between serum microRNA-124(miR-124),CD146,angio-poietin-like protein 2(Angptl2)and the stability of carotid atherosclerosis(CAS)plaque in patients with a-cute cerebral infarction(ACI),and to provide reference for early prevention and treatment of patients with ACI.Methods A total of 191 patients with ACI admitted in Handan Central Hospital from January 2020 to February 2023 were selected as ACI group,and another 61 healthy volunteers who were underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as control group.The patients with ACI were divided into unstable plaque group(56 cases),stable plaque group(71 cases),and non plaque group(64 cases)based on carotid color doppler ultrasound results.The serum miR-124 expression levels of all subjects were detected by real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR),and the serum CD146 and Angptl2 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The influencing factors of the instabili-ty of CAS plaque in patients with ACI was analyzed by univariate and multivariate Logistic regression.The predictive value of serum miR-124,CD146 combined with Angptl2 for the instability of CAS plaque in patients with ACI was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results The serum CD146 and Angptl2 levels in ACI group were higher than those in control group(P＜0.05),and the miR-124 expression level was lower than that in control group(P＜0.05).Univariate analysis showed that the stability of CAS plaques in ACI patients was correlated with age,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,fibrinogen(FIB),serum C-reac-tive protein(CRP),serum cystatin C(CyC),CD146,Angptl2 and miR-124(P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the decrease of serum miR-124,the increase of CD146,the increase of Angptl2 and the combination of hyperlipidemia were risk factors for CAS plaque stability in ACI patients(P＜0.05).The area under ROC curve(AUC)of serum miR-124,CD146,Angptl2 and the combination of the three indi-cators to predict CAS plaque instability in ACI patients were 0.741,0.719,0.781 and 0.834,respectively.Conclusion The serum miR-124 expression level,CD146 and Angptl2 levels are the influencing factors of CAS plaque instability in ACI patients,which may be involved in the formation and development of CAS plaque in ACI patients.The combined detection of the three factors has a good predictive effect on CAS plaque instability in ACI patients.

AIM:This study examined the inhibitory effect of peiminine on the human colonic adenocarcino-ma cell line SW480 and explored the underlying mechanisms.METHODS:SW480 and human normal colonic epithelial CCD-841CoN cells were treated with different concentrations of peiminine and subjected to the CCK-8 assay to select the optimal treatment time and concentration of the compound.SW480 cell migration and invasion were evaluated by the wound-healing and Transwell assays.Cell cycle progression was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of cell cycle-related proteins were examined by Western blot.SW480 xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice to ex-amine the effect of peiminine on tumor growth and the expression of cell cycle-related proteins in vivo.RESULTS:Peimi-nine(110 mg/L)significantly inhibited the proliferation of SW480 cells compared with the control group(P<0.01),caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase,and significantly downregulated the expression of cyclin dependent kinase 2(CDK2),CDK4,CDK6,cyclin D1,p-Rb/Rb,E2F1,E2F3,and E2F4(P<0.05).Peiminine inhibited SW480 xenograft tumor growth,prolonged the survival of model mice,and affected the expression of CDK2,CDK4,CDK6,and cyclin D1 in tu-mor tissues.CONCLUSION:Peiminine promotes G1 phase arrest by down-regulating the expression of CDK2,CDK4,CDK6,and cyclin D1,thereby inhibiting the proliferation of SW480 cells.

Objective:In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with previous 96-week treatment with tenofovir amibufenamide (TMF) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), we investigated the safety profile of sequential TMF treatment from 96 to 144 weeks.Methods:Enrolled subjects that previously assigned (2:1) to receive either 25 mg TMF or 300 mg TDF with matching placebo for 96 weeks received extending or switching TMF treatment for 48 weeks. Safety profiles of kidney, bone, metabolism, body weight, and others were evaluated.Results:666 subjects from the initial TMF group and 336 subjects from TDF group with at least one dose of assigned treatment were included at week 144. The overall safety profile was favorable in each group and generally similar between extended or switched TMF treatments from week 96 to 144. In subjects switching from TDF to TMF, the non-indexed estimated glomerular filtration rate (by non-indexed CKD-EPI formula) and creatinine clearance (by Cockcroft-Gault formula) were both increased, which were (2.31±8.33) ml/min and (4.24±13.94) ml/min, respectively. These changes were also higher than those in subjects with extending TMF treatment [(0.91±8.06) ml/min and (1.30±13.94) ml/min]. Meanwhile, switching to TMF also led to an increase of the bone mineral density (BMD) by 0.75% in hip and 1.41% in spine. On the other side, a slight change in TC/HDL ratio by 0.16 (IQR: 0.00, 0.43) and an increase in body mass index (BMI) by (0.54±0.98) kg/m 2 were oberved with patients switched to TMF, which were significantly higher than that in TMF group. Conclusion:CHB patients receiving 144 weeks of TMF treatment showed favorable safety profile. After switching to TMF, the bone and renal safety was significantly improved in TDF group, though experienceing change in metabolic parameters and weight gain (NCT03903796).

Objective To develop a low-oxygen mixed gas generator to make up for the deficiencies of low-pressure chambers and load-resistant hypoxia trainers during pilot hypoxia tolerance testing.Methods The device prepared the low-oxygen gas with the principle of gas separation,which was composed of a Sunsource OLF1100D-220AF air compressor,a SMC IDG75SAM4-03 filter,a buffer tank,an AIR Products PA3010 integrated assembly,a control box,sensors and regulators.The sensors included the pressure sensor,flow sensor,concentration sensor and dew point temperature sensor,and the control box consisted of a main control board,a power supply module,a transmission module,a communication module,a display and a housing.The embedded control software of the device was developed with KEIL 5 and C++.Results The device developed prepared the low-oxygen gas with the volume fraction being 4％to 18％and the maximum error of volume fraction being 0.05％,and the main components of the prepared gas met the technical requirements of medical oxygen as stipulated in GB 8982-2009 Oxygen supplies for medicine and aircraft breathing.Conclusion The low-oxygen gas prepared by the device has its volume fraction precisely controlled and can be used for hypoxia tolerance testing and acclimation training for pilots.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(7):24-28]