ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of salt processing of Psoraleae Fructus （PF） through modern analytical techniques and biotechnology， focusing on its effects related to hepatotoxicity and anti-osteoporosis activity. MethodsThe zebrafish model was utilized to evaluate the impact of PF and salt-processed Psoraleae Fructus （SPF） on the hepatotoxicity （using 134.17 ， 178.89， 268.34 mg·L^-1 as low， medium， and high dose groups of PF， 135.04， 180.06， 270.08 mg·L^-1 as low， medium， and high dose groups of SPF， respectively） and anti-osteoporotic activity （using 33.54 ， 67.08 and 134.17 mg·L^-1 as low， medium， and high dose groups of PF， 33.76， 67.52， 135.04 mg·L^-1 as low， medium， and high dose groups of SPF， respectively）， which was using alizarin red skull staining of zebrafish as an indicator of different batches of PF. The specific dosage of a batch of PF was taken as an example. Then ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） analysis was employed to identify the chemical composition of PF before and after salt processing， and PCA， OPLS-DA， and independent sample t-test were used to elucidating the compositional changes associated with the effects of salt processing on hepatotoxicity and anti-osteoporosis activity. ResultsUnder specific conditions， PF induced notable hepatotoxicity in zebrafish while simultaneously demonstrating protective effect against prednisolone-induced osteoporosis. In comparison to PF， SPF showed alleviated hepatotoxicity while retaining significant anti-osteoporosis activity. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis revealed that after salt processing， the overall chemical composition of PF showed a downward trend， with 69 components showing a decrease in content， represented by psoralen， and 13 components showing an increase， represented by 4′-O-methyl psoralen B. Further multivariate statistical analysis revealed 11 key differential components before and after salt processing of PF， including psoralen and bakuchiol. ConclusionSalt processing effectively diminishes hepatotoxicity without impairing therapeutic efficacy against osteoporosis of PF， which may be related to the compositional changes before and after salt processing of PF and provides key evidence to reveal the scientific significance of salt processing of PF.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of intraoperative intravenous tirofiban versus preoperative loading dose dual antiplatelet therapy in the acute phase LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization treatment for ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms.Methods Patients with acutely ruptured,wide-neck intracranial aneurysms underwent LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization in the Department of Neurosurgery at Heze Municipal Hospital were retrospectively and consecutively enrolled from January 2017 to June 2023.According to the Chinese expert consensus on antiplatelet therapy for intracranial aneurysms,patients were divided into two groups based on the types of antiplatelet therapy they received:the loading-dose dual antiplatelet therapy(DAPT)group and the tirofiban group.Baseline and clinical data were collected and compared between the two groups,including age,sex,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,coronary artery disease,history of cerebral hemorrhage,preoperative Hunt-Hess grade,maximum aneurysm diameter,aneurysm neck width,and aneurysm location.Perioperative ischemic and hemorrhagic complications were collected and compared between the two groups.Perioperative ischemic complications included:intraoperative stent thrombosis(defined as filling defects in the parent artery,and,occlusion of the parent artery or stented branch during the procedure),and symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24 h postoperatively(confirmed by imaging with corresponding neurological deficits).Perioperative hemorrhagic complications included:intraoperative rupture of the target aneurysm(contrast extravasation or acute hemorrhage during embolization)and intracranial hemorrhage within 24 h postoperatively(new or worsened subarachnoid hemorrhage or intraparenchymal hemorrhage on CT).Clinical outcomes at 90 days were collected via telephone or outpatient follow-up,and evaluated using favorable prognosis defined as modified Rankin scale(mRS).A mRS score of 0-2 were defined as favorable prognosis and 3-6 as poor prognosis.Six-month postoperative imaging follow-up were collected,angiographic outcomes were categorized into four groups based on comparison with immediate post-embolization results:complete occlusion,total absence of contrast filling in the aneurysm sac;improved,reduced contrast filling;stable,unchanged contrast filling;and,recurrence,increased contrast filling.Results Totals of 108 patients with intracranial aneurysms treated by LVIS stent-assisted coiling were enrolled,with 30 males and 78females,aged32-75years(median age63[50,66]years).Among the108cases,55cases were assigned into the DAPT group,and 53 cases were included in the tirofiban group.(1)No statistically significant differences were observed between the tirofiban group and the DAPT group in baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).(2)All patients underwent successful LVIS stent-assisted coiling,with a technical success rate of 100%.The total perioperative ischemic complications were 12.0%(13/108),including 4.6%(5/108)intraoperative stent thrombosis and 7.4%(8/108)symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24h after surgery.The total perioperative hemorrhagic complications rate was 1.9%(2/108),including 1 case of intraoperative aneurysm rupture and 1 case of postoperative intracranial hemorrhage within24h.92.6%(100/108)of the patients exhibited favorable prognosis and 7.4%(8/108)showed poor prognosis at the 90-day follow-ups.78.7%(85/108)of the patients accomplished at 6-month imaging follow-ups,the complete occlusion ratio was 94.1%(80/85)and the recurrence ratio was 2.4%(2/85).(3)The overall perioperative ischemic complication rates were 13.2%(7/53)in the tirofiban group and 10.9%(6/55)in the DAPT group,with no statistically significant difference(P=0.720).Intraoperative stent thrombosis occurred more frequently in the DAPT group(9.1%[5/55]vs.0,P=0.025),while symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24 h post-procedure was lower in the DAPT group(1.8%[1/55]vs.13.2%[7/53],P=0.028).The hemorrhagic complications occurred only in the DAPT group,with a rate of 3.6%(2/55),while no events observed in the tirofiban group.At the 90-day follow-up,the proportion of patients with favorable outcomes was 94.3%(50/53)in the tirofiban group and 90.9%(50/55)in the DAPT group,with no statistically significant difference between the groups(P=0.754).Conclusions Both intraoperative intravenous tirofiban and preoperative loading-dose DAPT demonstrated comparable safety profile and favorable clinical efficacy in the acute-phase treatment of ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms with LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization.The results require further validation through large-scale prospective studies.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of electroacupuncture in mice with chronic obstructive pul-monary disease(COPD)and its underlying mechanisms.METHODS Forty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group,model group,electroacupuncture(EA)group,vagotomy group,and vagotomy+EA group,with 8 mice in each group.Except for the normal group,all groups were exposed to cigarette smoke for 12 weeks to establish a COPD model.After model establishment,the vagotomy group and the vagotomy+EA group underwent left cervical vagotomy before EA.EA treatment was performed at the Feishu(BL13)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints once daily for 20 minutes for a total of 14 days.After EA,the pulmonary ventilation function of the mice was detected by a pulmonary function analysis system;lung tissue pathology was observed by HE staining;the levels of inter-leukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),IL-10,and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)in lung tissue were detected by ELISA;the expression of CD86 and CD206 proteins in lung tissue was detected by Western blot;the distribution of F4/80+CD86+(M1 type)and F4/80+CD206+(M2 type)cells in lung tissue was determined by flow cytometry;the expression of CD86 and CD206 in lung tissue was observed by immunofluorescence.RESULTS Compared with the normal group,the model group showed significantly decreased lung function(P<0.01),obvious lung pathological damage,increased M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,CD86 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01),and decreased M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,CD206 content and expression(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the EA group showed varying degrees of improvement in lung function and pathology;the M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 were reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 were increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).The vagotomy group showed worsened lung function and pathology,increased IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01),and decreased IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01).Compared with the EA group,the vagotomy+EA group showed increased M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 content and expression(P<0.01),and decreased M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01).CONCLUSION EA at Feishu(BL13)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints can improve lung function and pulmonary inflammation in COPD mice,promoting the polarization of alveolar macrophages from M1 to M2,which is mediated by the vagus nerve.

Social robots play an important role in the field of medical companionship， providing services such as companion communication， drug monitoring， and rehabilitation guidance for the elderly and other subjects. However， social robots also pose the risk of deceiving medical users. Although certain forms of social robots’ deception can be used for therapeutic purposes， unethical deception can have adverse consequences for patients， doctors， and even society. These risks include causing patients to develop attachment disorders， violating their privacy， endangering their health， and even undermining the credibility of the healthcare system. Faced with the deception problem of social robots， starting from relational theory， medical artificial intelligence developers can conduct ethical regulation from the following two paths. First， social robots should be ethically programmed， including embedding programs for limiting benevolent lies， implementing informed consent principles， and ensuring information accuracy. Second， the deceptive behaviors of social robots should be controlled， requiring developers to take full-process supervision responsibility， design medical social robots that can supervise each other， and participate in formulating quality standards and evidence mechanisms for deception issues.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of serum advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) on stenosis after first autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: Patients with ESRD undergoing standard native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for the first time in the Department of Nephrology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University from February to June 2022 were prospectively enrolled. The preoperative general data, clinical examination results and ultrasound data of the operated limbs were collected. The patients with and without stenosis within 2 months after the operation were compared for preoperative serum AGEs levels detected using ELISA and the clinical parameters. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors of AVF stenosis, and the sensitivity and specificity of AGEs for predicting postoperative stenosis were analyzed using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Of the 94 patients enrolled, 34 had postoperative arteriovenous stenosis and 60 had no stenosis. The number of diabetic patients differed significantly between stenosis group and non-stenosis group (P<0.001). Serum AGEs levels, which were negatively correlated with serum phosphorus level (P<0.05), were significantly higher in stenosis group than in non-stenosis group (Z=-2.837, P=0.005). Serum AGE level was an independent risk factor for postoperative stenosis after AVF (OR=1.251, 95% CI:1.096-1.423, P<0.001). For predicting AVF stenosis, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of AGEs was 0.677 (P=0.007, 95% CI: 0.572-0.770), with a specificity of 90.00% and a sensitivity of 52.94% at the optimal cut-off value of 8.43 µg/mL; AGEs combined with fibrinogen had an AUC of 0.763 (P<0.001, 95% CI: 0.664-0.844), with a specificity of 73.33% and a sensitivity of 70.59% at the optimal cut-off value of 0.30. CONCLUSIONS Elevated serum AGEs level is an independent risk factor for postoperative AVF stenosis, and its combination with fibrinogen has a better efficacy for predicting postoperative AVF stenosis.
Humans ; Glycation End Products, Advanced/blood* ; Risk Factors ; Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical/adverse effects* ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/blood* ; Male ; Constriction, Pathologic/etiology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Renal Dialysis ; Aged ; Prospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Adult

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of intraoperative intravenous tirofiban versus preoperative loading dose dual antiplatelet therapy in the acute phase LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization treatment for ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms.Methods Patients with acutely ruptured,wide-neck intracranial aneurysms underwent LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization in the Department of Neurosurgery at Heze Municipal Hospital were retrospectively and consecutively enrolled from January 2017 to June 2023.According to the Chinese expert consensus on antiplatelet therapy for intracranial aneurysms,patients were divided into two groups based on the types of antiplatelet therapy they received:the loading-dose dual antiplatelet therapy(DAPT)group and the tirofiban group.Baseline and clinical data were collected and compared between the two groups,including age,sex,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,coronary artery disease,history of cerebral hemorrhage,preoperative Hunt-Hess grade,maximum aneurysm diameter,aneurysm neck width,and aneurysm location.Perioperative ischemic and hemorrhagic complications were collected and compared between the two groups.Perioperative ischemic complications included:intraoperative stent thrombosis(defined as filling defects in the parent artery,and,occlusion of the parent artery or stented branch during the procedure),and symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24 h postoperatively(confirmed by imaging with corresponding neurological deficits).Perioperative hemorrhagic complications included:intraoperative rupture of the target aneurysm(contrast extravasation or acute hemorrhage during embolization)and intracranial hemorrhage within 24 h postoperatively(new or worsened subarachnoid hemorrhage or intraparenchymal hemorrhage on CT).Clinical outcomes at 90 days were collected via telephone or outpatient follow-up,and evaluated using favorable prognosis defined as modified Rankin scale(mRS).A mRS score of 0-2 were defined as favorable prognosis and 3-6 as poor prognosis.Six-month postoperative imaging follow-up were collected,angiographic outcomes were categorized into four groups based on comparison with immediate post-embolization results:complete occlusion,total absence of contrast filling in the aneurysm sac;improved,reduced contrast filling;stable,unchanged contrast filling;and,recurrence,increased contrast filling.Results Totals of 108 patients with intracranial aneurysms treated by LVIS stent-assisted coiling were enrolled,with 30 males and 78females,aged32-75years(median age63[50,66]years).Among the108cases,55cases were assigned into the DAPT group,and 53 cases were included in the tirofiban group.(1)No statistically significant differences were observed between the tirofiban group and the DAPT group in baseline and clinical characteristics(all P＞0.05).(2)All patients underwent successful LVIS stent-assisted coiling,with a technical success rate of 100%.The total perioperative ischemic complications were 12.0%(13/108),including 4.6%(5/108)intraoperative stent thrombosis and 7.4%(8/108)symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24h after surgery.The total perioperative hemorrhagic complications rate was 1.9%(2/108),including 1 case of intraoperative aneurysm rupture and 1 case of postoperative intracranial hemorrhage within24h.92.6%(100/108)of the patients exhibited favorable prognosis and 7.4%(8/108)showed poor prognosis at the 90-day follow-ups.78.7%(85/108)of the patients accomplished at 6-month imaging follow-ups,the complete occlusion ratio was 94.1%(80/85)and the recurrence ratio was 2.4%(2/85).(3)The overall perioperative ischemic complication rates were 13.2%(7/53)in the tirofiban group and 10.9%(6/55)in the DAPT group,with no statistically significant difference(P=0.720).Intraoperative stent thrombosis occurred more frequently in the DAPT group(9.1%[5/55]vs.0,P=0.025),while symptomatic ischemic infarction within 24 h post-procedure was lower in the DAPT group(1.8%[1/55]vs.13.2%[7/53],P=0.028).The hemorrhagic complications occurred only in the DAPT group,with a rate of 3.6%(2/55),while no events observed in the tirofiban group.At the 90-day follow-up,the proportion of patients with favorable outcomes was 94.3%(50/53)in the tirofiban group and 90.9%(50/55)in the DAPT group,with no statistically significant difference between the groups(P=0.754).Conclusions Both intraoperative intravenous tirofiban and preoperative loading-dose DAPT demonstrated comparable safety profile and favorable clinical efficacy in the acute-phase treatment of ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms with LVIS stent-assisted coil embolization.The results require further validation through large-scale prospective studies.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of electroacupuncture in mice with chronic obstructive pul-monary disease(COPD)and its underlying mechanisms.METHODS Forty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group,model group,electroacupuncture(EA)group,vagotomy group,and vagotomy+EA group,with 8 mice in each group.Except for the normal group,all groups were exposed to cigarette smoke for 12 weeks to establish a COPD model.After model establishment,the vagotomy group and the vagotomy+EA group underwent left cervical vagotomy before EA.EA treatment was performed at the Feishu(BL13)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints once daily for 20 minutes for a total of 14 days.After EA,the pulmonary ventilation function of the mice was detected by a pulmonary function analysis system;lung tissue pathology was observed by HE staining;the levels of inter-leukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),IL-10,and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)in lung tissue were detected by ELISA;the expression of CD86 and CD206 proteins in lung tissue was detected by Western blot;the distribution of F4/80+CD86+(M1 type)and F4/80+CD206+(M2 type)cells in lung tissue was determined by flow cytometry;the expression of CD86 and CD206 in lung tissue was observed by immunofluorescence.RESULTS Compared with the normal group,the model group showed significantly decreased lung function(P<0.01),obvious lung pathological damage,increased M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,CD86 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01),and decreased M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,CD206 content and expression(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the EA group showed varying degrees of improvement in lung function and pathology;the M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 were reduced(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 were increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).The vagotomy group showed worsened lung function and pathology,increased IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01),and decreased IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01).Compared with the EA group,the vagotomy+EA group showed increased M1 proportion,IL-6,TNF-α,and CD86 content and expression(P<0.01),and decreased M2 proportion,IL-10,TGF-β,and CD206 content and expression(P<0.05,P<0.01).CONCLUSION EA at Feishu(BL13)and Zusanli(ST36)acupoints can improve lung function and pulmonary inflammation in COPD mice,promoting the polarization of alveolar macrophages from M1 to M2,which is mediated by the vagus nerve.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Ningxin decoction in treating patients with permanent atrial fibrillation(AF)of deficiency of both qi and yin type infected by coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods From February to August 2023,120 patients with permanent AF of deficiency of both qi and yin type infected by COVID-19 were collected from the outpatient clinic of Guang'anmen Hospital South Campus,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.Patients were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group using a random number table method,there were 60 cases in each group,and 1 case fell off in each group,leaving 59 cases in each group.The treatment group was given Ningxin decoction(drug composition:Cassia branch 15 g,Cornus officinalis 15 g,Rehmannia 15 g,Rhodiola rosea 15 g,Ginseng 6 g,Mulberry parasitica 10 g,Coptis coptis 3 g,Salvia miltiorrhiza 12 g,Ligusticum chuanxiong 10 g,Ophiopogon 12 g,and schisandra Vinegar 6 g)using formula granules to rinse with water,twice a day.The control group was given 10 mg of coenzyme Q10 twice a day,and both groups were treated continuously for 4 weeks.The improvements in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)symptoms,including chest pain,dizziness,fatigue,lethargy,palpitations,chest tightness and shortness of breath,insomnia,and excessive dreams before and after treatment in two groups,as well as changes in heart rate variability(HRV)and heart rate deceleration indicators were observed.Results The treatment group showed significant therapeutic effects in improving chest pain,fatigue,palpitations,chest tightness and shortness of breath,there were also improvements in lethargy,insomnia,and excessive dreaming,there was no significant therapeutic effect in improving dizziness.The control group showed significant therapeutic effects in improving palpitations,there were also improvements in chest pain,chest tightness and shortness of breath,while there was no significant therapeutic effect in other aspects.The treatment group showed significantly higher effective rates in improving chest pain,fatigue,lethargy,chest tightness and shortness of breath,insomnia,and excessive dreaming compared to the control group[chest pain:95.45%(42/44)vs.78.57%(33/42),fatigue:83.67%(41/49)vs.31.25%(15/48),lethargy:73.91%(34/46)vs.12.77%(6/47),chest tightness and shortness of breath:88.89%(48/54)vs.63.64%(35/55),insomnia:78.43%(40/51)vs.12.24%(6/49),excessive dreaming:76.09%(35/46)vs.43.75%(21/48),all P<0.05].The standard deviation of all normal to normal RR intervals(SDNN),root mean square of the difference between adjacent NN intervals(RMSSD),standard deviation of all 5-minute RR intervals(SDANN),and percent of NN50 in the total number of NN intervals(PNN50)in both groups after treatment were significantly increased compared to before treatment,and the RMSSD,SDANN,and PNN50 in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group after treatment[RMSSD(ms):28.96±3.59 vs.24.34±2.66,SDANN(ms):108.55±11.80 vs.100.44±13.58,PNN50:7%(6%,7%)vs.5%(5%,6%),all P<0.05].There was no statistically significant difference in heart rate deceleration between the two groups before and after treatment.Conclusion Ningxin decoction has a good effect on the improvement of TCM syndromes and heart rate variability in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation of deficiency of both qi and yin type after being infected by COVID-19.