OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of Cistanches Herba polysaccharides （abbreviated as CDPS） on rats with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome （IBS-C）. METHODS SD rats were divided into control group （20 rats） and modeling group. The modeling group was given 2 mL of normal saline at 0-4 ℃ intragastrically （once a day， for 14 consecutive days） to induce IBS-C model. After modeling， model rats were grouped into model group， positive control group （mosapride citrate， 1.35 mg/kg）， CDPS low-dose group （50 mg/kg） and CDPS high-dose group （100 mg/kg）， with 20 rats in each group. Administration groups were given corresponding drug solution intragastrically， and control group and model group were given a constant volume of water intragastrically， once a day， for 28 consecutive days. The fecal water content， serum content of 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， and charcoal powder propulsion rate of rats were determined in each group；the pathological morphology of colon tissue was observed， and mRNA and protein expressions of nerve growth factor （NGF） and tropomyosin receptor kinase A （TrkA） in colon tissue were detected. RESULTS Compared with control group， the fecal water content and carbon powder propulsion rate in the model group were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； the rupture of mucosal muscle layer in colon tissue， significant infiltration of inflammatory cells and cellular edema were observed； the content of 5-HT in serum， and relative mRNA and protein expressions of NGF and TrkA were increased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group， the fecal water content and carbon powder propulsion rate of rats were increased significantly in administration groups （P＜0.05）， and pathological changes of colon tissue were relieved significantly， while the content of 5-HT in serum， the mRNA and protein expressions of NGF and TrkA in colon tissue were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； among them， the above indicators inthe positive control group and CDPS high-dose group were generally close to those in the control group （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS CDPS can alleviate the symptoms of IBS-C rats， which may be related to the inhibition of NGF/TrkA signaling pathway.

Objective:To explore the demand for suffocation prevention training for nursing staff in elderly care institutions and analyze its influencing factors to provide reference for improving training strategies.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, from December 2020 to January 2021, the caregivers from 43 elderly nursing institutions under China Geriatric Care Alliance were selected by convenient sampling. Self-made questionnaires were used to collect personal information of caregivers as well as related experience and training needs of suffocation prevention for the elderly. Totally 526 questionnaires were recovered, of which 412 were valid, with an effective rate of 78.33%.Results:Among the 412 caregivers, 53 (12.86%) were registered nurses and 359 (87.14%) were senior caregivers. They had a high demand for suffocation prevention, identification, and emergency treatment training. The top three most demanded are the common causes of suffocation, the risk factors of suffocation for special elderly people, and the identification of abnormal physical signs to detect suffocation in time. There were statistically significant differences in the scores of content requirements for suffocation prevention training between institutions which had and had not experienced suffocation and caregivers who knew or did not know the medication status or suffocation history of the care recipients ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Caregivers in elderly care institutions have a high demand for suffocation prevention training. It is recommended that elderly care institutions apply pre-prevention to the management of suffocation prevention for the elderly, and guide caregivers to fully understand the medication status, suffocation history, and swallowing function of the care recipients, and provide registered nurses and elderly caregivers with systematic training related to suffocation prevention.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine and abdominal adipose tissue in adult males.Methods:A total of 1 374 healthy male examinees in the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from June 2018 to September 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The age ranged from 30 to 75 (50.9±0.30) years. Height, weight and waist circumference was measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Quantitative CT (QCT) was used to measure the mean BMD value of L1 and L2. The abdominal subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and visceral fat area (VFA) at the level of L2 were measured as well. According to the BMD, the males were divided into three groups: normal group, osteopenic group and osteoporosis group. One-way ANOVA was applied to compare the age, BMI, VFA and SFA among three groups. LSD- t test was used for multiple comparisons, and Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between age, BMI, VFA, SFA and lumbar BMD. Results:Totally 807 healthy males were in normal group, 451 in osteopenic group and 116 in osteoporosis group. There were significant differences in age, BMI and VFA among normal group, osteopenic group and osteoporosis group ( F=237.939, 5.788, 4.919, P<0.001, 0.003, 0.007). Age and VFA was higher in osteopenic group compared with normal group, and BMI was lower in osteopenic group compared with normal group. Age was higher in osteoporosis group compared with normal group, and the BMI was lower in osteoporosis group compared with normal group. The age was higher in osteoporosis group compared with osteopenic group. The above differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Although there was no statistical difference in VFA and SFA between osteopenic group and osteoporosis group, the VFA and SFA was higher in osteopenic group compared with osteoporosis group. BMD of male lumbar spine was negatively correlated with age ( r=-0.542, P<0.001), VFA( r=-0.104, P<0.001), and positively correlated with BMI ( r=0.109, P<0.001). After controlling for age and BMI, BMD was still negatively correlated with VFA ( r=-0.129, P<0.05). Conclusions:Males with abdominal obesity is more likely to manifest as low bone mass. The lumbar BMD is possibly negatively correlated with visceral adipose tissue in male.

Objective: To determine the level of Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) in patients with heart failure(HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), and to explore its diagnostic and prognostic value in patients with HF and AF. Methods: A prospective cohort study was carried out to investigate the data of 185 HF patients who were hospitalized between January 2018 and June 2018 in department of cardiology or department of cardiac care unit in TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital. And according to whether they had atrial fibrillation before admission, we categorized patients into: HF with sinus rhythm (HF-SR, n=90) and HF with AF(HF-AF, n=95). Meanwhile, 40 healthy controls were collected. Baseline data of HF-SR and HF-AF groups and plasma sST2 levels in different ejection fraction groups were compared. Plasma sST2 level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Statistical methods such as nonparametric test and Spearman correlation analysis were used. The receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to evaluate the diagnostic value of sST2 in HF-SR and HF-AF groups. And by using the COX risk model, Multi-factor COX analysis was used to analyze the prognosis of patients. Results: Compared with healthy controls, the median (P₂₅, P₇₅) of Plasma sST2 levels in HF patients increased remarkably [32.93 (20.31-51.39) ng/mL vs 15.99(7.97-22.69) ng/mL, Z=-4.373, P<0.001]. Patients with HF-AF group had significantly higher test results [39.86 (27.20-59.21)] ng/mL than HF-SR group [24.74 (14.83-44.11)] ng/mL, Z=-6.783, P<0.001].In the HFmrEF and HFpEF subgroups, the plasma sST2 level of patients in the HF-AF group was higher than that in the HF-SR group (Z=-2.381, P=0.017; Z=-3.701, P<0.001).Spearman correlation analysis showed that, in HF-AF patients, plasma sST2 level was positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure, Hypertension, New York Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification Ⅲ to Ⅳ, white blood count(WBC), and the level of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Υ-glutamine transaminase (Υ-GT), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) (r>0, P<0.05).Also, there is a negative correlation between sST2, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) (r<0, P<0.05). At ROC analysis, sST2 showed predictive value in both HF-AF and HF-SR group, with an optimal cut-off value of 25.33 ng/mL(AUC 0.872, 95%CI: 0.805-0.935, P<0.001, sensitivity 81.1%, specificity 87.5%) and 23.34 ng/mL(AUC 0.665, 95%CI: 0.570-0.761, P<0.001, sensitivity 55.6%, specificity 77.5%).The AUC of BNP and sST2 in differential diagnosis of HF-SR and HF-AF was 0.604 and 0.699, respectively, and the AUC of sST2 was higher than that of BNP. Multi-factor COX analysis indicated that plasma sST2 level, BNP, NYHA cardiac function grading could be risk factors for cardiac events in HF patients. Plasma sST2, left atrial diameter (LA-D), and associated cardiomyopathy are risk factors for cardiac events in patients with HF-AF. The incidence of cardiac events in HF patients with sST2≥20.31 ng/mL was significantly higher than that of patients with sST2<20.31 ng/mL (χ²=7.625, P=0.006). The incidence of cardiac events in HF-AF patients with plasma sST2≥39.86 ng/mL was significantly higher than that in patients with sST2<39.86 ng/mL (χ²=4.287, P=0.038). Conclusions The plasma sST2 level in patients with HF-AF is significantly higher than that both in HF-SR and healthy controls. The diagnostic value of plasma sST2 in patients with HF-AF is higher than that in patients with HF-SR. It is suggested that sST2 are more valuable for the differential diagnosis of HF-SR, HF-AF than BNP. HF-AF Patients with plasma sST2 ≥ 39.86 ng/mL are prone to cardiovascular events.