Humans ; Amyloidosis ; Amyloid ; Cardiomyopathies

Background::The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and the elevation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) levels in patients with PE.Methods::In this multicenter, prospective case-control study, 88 cases and 163 controls matched for age, sex, and study center were enrolled. Cases were patients with PE with elevated hs-cTnI. Controls were patients with PE with normal hs-cTnI. Coronary artery assessment utilized coronary computed tomographic angiography or invasive coronary angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between CAS and hs-cTnI elevation.Results::The percentage of CAS was higher in the case group compared to the control group (44.3% [39/88] vs. 30.1% [49/163]; P = 0.024). In multivariable conditional logistic regression model 1, CAS (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.680; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.243–5.779), heart rate >75 beats/min (OR, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.056–5.036) and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >420 pg/mL (OR, 12.169; 95% CI, 4.792–30.900) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. In model 2, right CAS (OR, 3.615; 95% CI, 1.467–8.909) and NT-proBNP >420 pg/mL (OR, 13.890; 95% CI, 5.288–36.484) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. Conclusions::CAS was independently associated with myocardial injury in patients with PE. Vigilance towards CAS is warranted in patients with PE with elevated cardiac troponin levels.

Background: and Purpose The relationships among interleukin (IL)-10 levels, anxiety, and cognitive status after stroke remain controversial. We aimed to determine the associations of serum IL-10 levels with poststroke anxiety (PSA) and poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Methods: We recruited 350 patients with stroke, of whom only 151 completed a 1-month follow-up assessment. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to assess the cognitive status and anxiety, respectively. Serum IL-10 levels were measured within 24 hours of admission. Results: IL-10 levels were significantly lower in the PSA group than in the non-PSA group, and they were negatively associated with HAMA scores (r=-0.371, p<0.001). After adjusting for all potential confounders, IL-10 levels remained an independent predictor of PSA (odds ratio=0.471, 95% confidence interval=0.237–0.936, p=0.032). IL-10 levels were strongly correlated with behavior during interviews, psychic anxiety, and somatic anxiety. Patients without PSCI had higher IL-10 levels were higher in non-PSCI patients than in PSCI patients, and they were positively associated with MMSE scores in the bivariate correlation analysis (r=0.169, p=0.038), and also with memory capacity, naming ability, and copying capacity.However, IL-10 did not predict PSCI in the univariable or multivariable logistic regression. Conclusions Low IL-10 levels were associated with increased risks of PSA and PSCI at a 1-month follow-up after stroke. Serum IL-10 levels may therefore be helpful in predicting PSA.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.

DNA barcoding has been widely used for herb identification in recent decades,enabling safety and innovation in the field of herbal medicine.In this article,we summarize recent progress in DNA bar-coding for herbal medicine to provide ideas for the further development and application of this tech-nology.Most importantly,the standard DNA barcode has been extended in two ways.First,while conventional DNA barcodes have been widely promoted for their versatility in the identification of fresh or well-preserved samples,super-barcodes based on plastid genomes have rapidly developed and have shown advantages in species identification at low taxonomic levels.Second,mini-barcodes are attractive because they perform better in cases of degraded DNA from herbal materials.In addition,some mo-lecular techniques,such as high-throughput sequencing and isothermal amplification,are combined with DNA barcodes for species identification,which has expanded the applications of herb identification based on DNA barcoding and brought about the post-DNA-barcoding era.Furthermore,standard and high-species coverage DNA barcode reference libraries have been constructed to provide reference se-quences for species identification,which increases the accuracy and credibility of species discrimination based on DNA barcodes.In summary,DNA barcoding should play a key role in the quality control of traditional herbal medicine and in the international herb trade.

Objective:To compare the differences in the prevalence of mild micro-hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) among patients with cirrhosis by using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) and the Stroop smartphone application (Encephal App) test.Methods:This prospective, multi-center, real-world study was initiated by the National Clinical Medical Research Center for Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Alliance and registered with International ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05140837). 354 cases of cirrhosis were enrolled in 19 hospitals across the country. PHES (including digital connection tests A and B, digital symbol tests, trajectory drawing tests, and serial management tests) and the Stroop test were conducted in all of them. PHES was differentiated using standard diagnostic criteria established by the two studies in China and South Korea. The Stroop test was evaluated based on the criteria of the research and development team. The impact of different diagnostic standards or methods on the incidence of MHE in patients with cirrhosis was analyzed. Data between groups were differentiated using the t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and χ2 test. A kappa test was used to compare the consistency between groups. Results:After PHES, the prevalence of MHE among 354 cases of cirrhosis was 78.53% and 15.25%, respectively, based on Chinese research standards and Korean research normal value standards. However, the prevalence of MHE was 56.78% based on the Stroop test, and the differences in pairwise comparisons among the three groups were statistically significant (kappa = -0.064, P < 0.001). Stratified analysis revealed that the MHE prevalence in three groups of patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B, and C was 74.14%, 83.33%, and 88.24%, respectively, according to the normal value standards of Chinese researchers, while the MHE prevalence rates in three groups of patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B, and C were 8.29%, 23.53%, and 38.24%, respectively, according to the normal value standards of Korean researchers. Furthermore, the prevalence rates of MHE in the three groups of patients with Child-Pugh grades A, B, and C were 52.68%, 58.82%, and 73.53%, respectively, according to the Stroop test standard. However, among the results of each diagnostic standard, the prevalence of MHE showed an increasing trend with an increasing Child-Pugh grade. Further comparison demonstrated that the scores obtained by the number connection test A and the number symbol test were consistent according to the normal value standards of the two studies in China and South Korea ( Z = -0.982, -1.702; P = 0.326, 0.089), while the other three sub-tests had significant differences ( P < 0.001). Conclusion:The prevalence rate of MHE in the cirrhotic population is high, but the prevalence of MHE obtained by using different diagnostic criteria or methods varies greatly. Therefore, in line with the current changes in demographics and disease spectrum, it is necessary to enroll a larger sample size of a healthy population as a control. Moreover, the establishment of more reliable diagnostic scoring criteria will serve as a basis for obtaining accurate MHE incidence and formulating diagnosis and treatment strategies in cirrhotic populations.

Silicosis is a leading cause of occupational disease-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, but the molecular basis underlying its development remains unclear. An accumulating body of evidence supports gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis as a key component in the development of various pulmonary diseases. However, there is little experimental evidence connecting silicosis and GSDMD-driven pyroptosis. In this work, we investigated the role of GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis in silicosis. Single-cell RNA sequencing of healthy and silicosis human and murine lung tissues indicated that GSDMD-induced pyroptosis in macrophages was relevant to silicosis progression. Through microscopy we then observed morphological alterations of pyroptosis in macrophages treated with silica. Measurement of interleukin-1β release, lactic dehydrogenase activity, and real-time propidium iodide staining further revealed that silica induced pyroptosis of macrophages. Additionally, we verified that both canonical (caspase-1-mediated) and non-canonical (caspase-4/5/11-mediated) signaling pathways mediated silica-induced pyroptosis activation, in vivo and in vitro. Notably, Gsdmd knockout mice exhibited dramatically alleviated silicosis phenotypes, which highlighted the pivotal role of pyroptosis in this disease. Taken together, our results demonstrated that macrophages underwent GSDMD-dependent pyroptosis in silicosis and inhibition of this process could serve as a viable clinical strategy for mitigating silicosis.

This article explains the related concepts of cultural competence, summarizes the development and application research status of clinical nurses' cultural competence self-evaluation tools at home and abroad, and analyzes the development characteristics and existing problems of current evaluation tools, in order to provide a reference for the development of nurses' cultural competency evaluation tools suitable for China's national conditions.

Objective: To investigate the effects of deer play of Wu Qin Xi on cervical mobility, TCM symptoms and anxiety in elderly patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. Methods: Sixty patients with orthopaedic inpatients from June 2017 to June 2018 were enrolled. In the 6 to December 2017, 30 inpatients who met the criteria were selected as the control group, and 30 patients who met the criteria from January to June 20 were the intervention group. Two groups of patients were treated with conventional nursing, and the intervention group was treated with deer play on the basis of the control group. Cervical dysfunction index (NDI) was compared before intervention, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after intervention; clinical symptoms and signs and neck activity were compared before intervention and 2 weeks after intervention; anxiety scores were compared before intervention and after 4 weeks of intervention (GAD-7). Results: The NDI scores of the intervention group were 19.23±2.19 and 9.23±1.85 at 2 and 4 weeks respectively. The scores of the control group were 21.37±1.40 and 11.63±2.95, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (t=3.77-4.49, P<0.05). After 2 weeks of intervention, the clinical symptoms and signs and neck activity of the intervention group were 5.47±1.78, 19.17±1.26, 4.87±0.78, 11.50±1.46, the control group were 7.40±2.53, 16.23±1.87, 6.17±1.26, 13.17±1.56, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=-7.12-4.81, P<0.05). After 4 weeks of intervention, the GAD-7 score of the intervention group was 1.07±0.20, and the control group was 1.56±0.29. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=6.55, P<0.05). Conclusion Luxi can improve the symptoms of neck pain in elderly patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy, improve cervical function and relieve anxiety.

Objective To study the effect and mechanism of Shenshaoruangan Decoction on liver fibrosis in rats.Methods Seventy-two male Wistar rats were selected and normally fed for 1 week.Then they divided into the control group(n=12) and model constructing group(n=60).The model constructing group was subcutaneously and intraperitoneally injected by 40％ CCl4 olive oil for constructing fibrosis rat model.After successfully constructing model,which was divided into the model group(equivalent normal saline gavage),positive control group(colchicines 0.154 mg · kg-1 · d-1),low-dose group(2 mL per 100 g body mass,containing Shenshaoruangan Decoction crude drug 0.23 g/mL),medium-dose group(2 mL per 100 g body mass,containing Shenshaoruangan Decoction crude drug 0.46 g/mL) and high-dose group(100 g/2 mL,containing Shenshaoruangan Decoction crude drug 0.69 g/mL),12 cases in each group.The differences of related indicators rat hepatic fibrosis after 8-weeks treatment were observed.Results The control group was the stage 0 standard,the liver fibrosis degree in the positive control group was significantly better than that in the model group(P＜0.05);the liver fibrosis degree in the low-dose group,medium-dose group and high-dose group was gradually alleviated;the liver fibrosis degree in the high-dose group was significantly slighter than that in the model group and-dose group(P＜0.05).The detection values of PC-Ⅲ,LN,Ⅳ-C and HA in the model group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05),and the detection values of PC-Ⅲ,LN,Ⅳ-C and HA in the positive control group,lowdose group,medium-dose group and high-dose group were significantly lower than those in the model group(P＜0.05).Serum SOD detection value of the model group was significantly lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05),the serum MDA level in the model group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05);serum SOD level in the positive control group,low dose group,medium-dose group and high-dose group was significantly higher than that in the model group(P＜0.05),while serum MDA level in those group was significantly lower than that in the model group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Shenshaoruangan Decoction can effectively alleviate the liver fibrosis degree,and its mechanism is to reduce the levels of liver fibrosis indicators,inhibit the prodmotion of peroxides and alleviate the damage of free radicals on liver cells.