The classic formula Mulisan is the 45th of the 93 formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classic Formulas （second batch） of Han medicine published by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It consists of Ostreae Concha， Astragali Radix， Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma， and wheat， with the effect of replenishing qi and stopping sweating. It is a common formula in the clinical treatment with traditional Chinese medicine. This study analyzes the historical evolution， composition， dosage， original plants and their processing methods， decocting method， efficacy， indications， and modern clinical application of Mulisan by tracing， comparative analysis， and bibliometric methods. The results showed that Mulisan firstly appeared in the Pulse Classic written by WANG Shuhe in the Western Jin Dynasty. The formulation idea can be traced back to the Important Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergency in the Tang Dynasty. The herb composition， dosage， efficacy， and indications of Mulisan were first recorded in the Treatise on Diseases， Patterns， and formulas Related to Unification of the Three Etiologies in the Southern Song dynasty. In terms of original plants and their processing methods， Ostreae Concha is the shell of Ostrea rivularis， which should be calcined before use. Astragali Radix and Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma are the dried roots of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus and Ephedra sinica， respectively， the raw material of which should be used. Wheat is the dried mature fruit of T. aestivum， which can be used without processing， while the stir-fried fruit， being thin and deflated， demonstrates better effect. The composition of Mulisan is Ostreae Concha 8.26 g， Astragali Radix 8.26 g， Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma 8.26 g， and wheat 7.92 g. The medicinal materials should be ground into coarse powder and decocted with 450 mL water to reach a volume of 240 mL， and the decoction should be taken warm. In modern clinical practice， Mulisan has a wide range of indications， including spontaneous sweating and night sweating caused by Yang deficiency or Qi deficiency. The clinical disease spectrum treated by Mulisan involves endocrine system diseases， neurological diseases， respiratory system diseases， and cancer. This formula plays a significant role in the treatment of internal medicine diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. This study aims to provide a scientific basis for the subsequent research， development， and clinical application of Mulisan.

The classic formula Mulisan is the 45th of the 93 formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classic Formulas （second batch） of Han medicine published by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It consists of Ostreae Concha， Astragali Radix， Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma， and wheat， with the effect of replenishing qi and stopping sweating. It is a common formula in the clinical treatment with traditional Chinese medicine. This study analyzes the historical evolution， composition， dosage， original plants and their processing methods， decocting method， efficacy， indications， and modern clinical application of Mulisan by tracing， comparative analysis， and bibliometric methods. The results showed that Mulisan firstly appeared in the Pulse Classic written by WANG Shuhe in the Western Jin Dynasty. The formulation idea can be traced back to the Important Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergency in the Tang Dynasty. The herb composition， dosage， efficacy， and indications of Mulisan were first recorded in the Treatise on Diseases， Patterns， and formulas Related to Unification of the Three Etiologies in the Southern Song dynasty. In terms of original plants and their processing methods， Ostreae Concha is the shell of Ostrea rivularis， which should be calcined before use. Astragali Radix and Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma are the dried roots of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus and Ephedra sinica， respectively， the raw material of which should be used. Wheat is the dried mature fruit of T. aestivum， which can be used without processing， while the stir-fried fruit， being thin and deflated， demonstrates better effect. The composition of Mulisan is Ostreae Concha 8.26 g， Astragali Radix 8.26 g， Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma 8.26 g， and wheat 7.92 g. The medicinal materials should be ground into coarse powder and decocted with 450 mL water to reach a volume of 240 mL， and the decoction should be taken warm. In modern clinical practice， Mulisan has a wide range of indications， including spontaneous sweating and night sweating caused by Yang deficiency or Qi deficiency. The clinical disease spectrum treated by Mulisan involves endocrine system diseases， neurological diseases， respiratory system diseases， and cancer. This formula plays a significant role in the treatment of internal medicine diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. This study aims to provide a scientific basis for the subsequent research， development， and clinical application of Mulisan.

Bispecific killer cell engagers (BiKEs) are a powerful tool to incite the killing power of natural killer (NK) cells. Here, we posited that the BiKE technology could be utilized to deplete activated immune cells expressing programmed death-1 (PD-1⁺ cells), and hence treat autoimmune diseases since these cells drive the disorders. We designed and generated PD-1 BiKE that targets an activating NK cell receptor, CD16, and PD-1. PD-1 BiKE showed specific binding to PD-1⁺ cells and engaged CD16 simultaneously. PD-1 BiKE enhanced NK cell-mediated apoptosis and depletion of PD-1⁺ Raji cells, but not PD-1^- Raji cells. Further, PD-1 BiKE induced apoptosis of primary PD-1⁺ T lymphocytes that are highly relevant to autoimmune disease progression. The BiKE depleted 42% of primary T cells that were stimulated in vitro. Importantly, those ablated primary T cells were activated cells. Meanwhile, naive T cells were spared by the BiKE treatment, supporting the crucial selectivity of PD-1 BiKE-directed cell depletion. Lastly, PD-1 BiKE is more effective than a conventional depleting antibody in the depletion of PD-1⁺ cells. The current work supports PD-1 BiKE is a selective, potent, and safe tool to deplete PD-1⁺ cells.

Ferroptosis of chondrocytes is a significant contributor to osteoarthritis (OA), for which there is still a lack of safe and effective therapeutic drugs targeting ferroptosis. Here, we screen for anti-ferroptotic drugs in Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug library via a high-throughput manner in chondrocytes. We identified a group of FDA-approved anti-ferroptotic drugs, among which vitamin K showed the most powerful protective effect. Further study demonstrated that vitamin K effectively inhibited ferroptosis and alleviated the extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in chondrocytes. Intra-articular injection of vitamin K inhibited ferroptosis and alleviated OA phenotype in destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) mouse model. Mechanistically, transcriptome sequencing and knockdown experiments revealed that the anti-ferroptotic effects of vitamin K depended on growth arrest-specific 6 (Gas6). Furthermore, exogenous expression of Gas6 was found to inhibit ferroptosis through the AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) axis. Together, we demonstrate that vitamin K inhibits ferroptosis and alleviates OA progression via enhancing Gas6 expression and its downstream pathway of AXL/PI3K/AKT axis, indicating vitamin K as well as Gas6 to serve as a potential therapeutic target for OA and other ferroptosis-related diseases.

BACKGROUND: Without timely and effective rehabilitation, hearing loss may profoundly affect human life quality. China has a large population of hearing-impaired individuals, which imposes a heavy health burden on society. Moreover, this population is projected to increase rapidly owing to China's aging society. METHODS: We used data from a population-representative epidemiological investigation of hearing loss and ear diseases in four Chinese provinces. We estimated the national prevalence using multiple linear regression of the age-group proportions and prevalence in 31 provinces with clustering analysis. We used years lived with disability (YLDs) to analyze the disease burden and forecasted the prevalence of hearing loss by 2060 in China. RESULTS: An estimated 115 million people had moderate-to-complete hearing loss in 2015 across the 31 provinces of China (8.4% of 1.37 billion people). Of these, 85.7% were older than age 50 years (99 million people) and 2.4% were younger than 20 years old (2.8 million people). Of all YLDs attributable to hearing loss, 68.9% were attributable to moderate-to-complete cases. By 2060, a projected 242 million people in China will have moderate-to-complete hearing loss, a 110.0% increase from 2015. CONCLUSIONS The hearing loss prevalence in China is high. Population aging and socioeconomic factors substantially affect the prevalence and severity of hearing loss and the disease burden. The prevalence and severity of hearing loss are unevenly distributed across different provinces. Future public health policies should take these trends and regional variations into account.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Hearing Loss/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Infant ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cost of Illness

Colorectal polyps are important early markers of colorectal cancer, and their early detection is crucial for cancer prevention. Although existing polyp segmentation models have achieved certain results, they still face challenges such as diverse polyp morphology, blurred boundaries, and insufficient feature extraction. To address these issues, this study proposes a parallel coordinate fusion network (PCFNet), aiming to improve the accuracy and robustness of polyp segmentation. PCFNet integrates parallel convolutional modules and a coordinate attention mechanism, enabling the preservation of global feature information while precisely capturing detailed features, thereby effectively segmenting polyps with complex boundaries. Experimental results on Kvasir-SEG and CVC-ClinicDB demonstrate the outstanding performance of PCFNet across multiple metrics. Specifically, on the Kvasir-SEG dataset, PCFNet achieved an F1-score of 0.897 4 and a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 0.835 8; on the CVC-ClinicDB dataset, it attained an F1-score of 0.939 8 and an mIoU of 0.892 3. Compared with other methods, PCFNet shows significant improvements across all performance metrics, particularly in multi-scale feature fusion and spatial information capture, demonstrating its innovativeness. The proposed method provides a more reliable AI-assisted diagnostic tool for early colorectal cancer screening.
Humans ; Colonic Polyps/diagnostic imaging* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Algorithms ; Early Detection of Cancer

Objective: To analyze the timeliness of antir-etroviral therapy (ART) and its influencing factors among newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province from 2016 to 2023, so as to provide a reference for improving the ART effect of HIV/AIDS cases. Methods: Newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Wenzhou City from 2016 to 2023 were selected as the research subjects. Demographic information, the situation of the first CD4+ T lymphocyte (CD4 cell) test, baseline CD4 cell count, and ART situation were collected through the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System. The timely rate of ART was analyzed, and the influencing factors for timely ART among HIV/AIDS cases were analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: A total of 4 500 newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Wenzhou City from 2016 to 2023 were included, among which 3 679 were males, accounting for 81.76%, and 821 were females, accounting for 18.24%. The median age was 46.24 (interquartile range, 26.23) years. Among these cases, 3 606 received timely ART, with a timely rate of 80.13%. The timely rate of ART increased from 57.54% in 2016 to 91.97% in 2023 (P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that unmarried/divorced/widowed (OR=0.769, 95%CI: 0.641-0.922), detainees (OR=0.492, 95%CI: 0.269-0.900), untimely first CD4 cell test (OR=0.278, 95%CI: 0.234-0.330), baseline CD4 cell count ≥200 cells/µL (OR=0.709, 95%CI: 0.595-0.843) or undetected (OR=0.131, 95%CI: 0.080-0.213) were associated with a lower timeliness for ART among HIV/AIDS cases. Conclusion From 2016 to 2023, the timely rate of ART among newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Wenzhou City showed an upward trend, which was mainly affected by marital status, case source, timeliness of the first CD4 cell test, and baseline CD4 cell count.

Nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF), predominantly affecting the elderly, can lead to intractable pain, vertebral collapse, progressive kyphotic deformity, and neurological impairment, significantly compromising patients′ quality of life. There exists considerable debate on diagnosis and management of OVF, encompassing key issues such as clinical diagnosis and staging criteria for nonunion, surgical indications and procedure selection, and postoperative rehabilitation planning. Currently, there lacks standardized clinical guideline and expert consensus on the diagnosis and management of OVF nonunion in China. To address this gap, Minimally Invasive Surgery Group of Chinese Orthopedic Association, Osteoporosis Committee of Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee for Osteoporosis of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine and Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Surgery Branch of China Association for Geriatric Care jointly organized domestic experts in spinal surgery, endocrinology, and rehabilitation to formulate the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment for nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures ( version 2025), based on existing literature and clinical experience and adhering to principles of scientific rigor and practicality. The guideline provided 13 evidence-based recommendations encompassing diagnosis and treatment of OVF nonunion, aiming to standardize its clinical management.

Objective:To evaluate the outcomes of stroke treatment in neurology and rehabilitation departments using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health′s Rehabilitation Set (ICF-RS).Method:The functional status of stroke survivors before and after treatment in the neurology and rehabilitation departments was evaluated using the ICF-RS (30 items). Each patient′s functioning was graded (normal, mild, moderate or severe dysfunction) by an experienced clinical evaluator and also by the intelligent evaluation model in the ICF-RS app. Medical expenditure data during hospitalization were extracted from the hospital′s case records. Rank sum tests compared the functional changes in a patient before and after their rehabilitation. Kappa coefficients were computed to evaluate the consistency of the functional grades assigned by the evaluators and the app.Results:Before the rehabilitation treatment, all 30 items of the ICF-RS were abnormal for all of the patients from the neurology and rehabilitation departments. After their rehabilitation treatment, 25 items had improved significantly for the neurology patients and 8 had improved significantly for those from the rehabilitation department. After their rehabilitation treatment, the average functional improvement among the neurology patients was 25%. For the rehabilitation patients it was 13%. The total expenditure for every 1% improvement in function was Y977 for the neurology patients (including Y143 for rehabilitation) and Y1, 481 for the rehabilitation patients (including Y862 of actual rehabilitation). The proportions of rehabilitation expenditure were thus 14% and 58% respectively. The kappa coefficients quantifying overall consistency were both greater than 0.8.Conclusion:The national standard ICF-RS can be used to evaluate functional changes, rehabilitation efficacy and the composition of stroke patients′ medical expenditures in the early stage of neurology and the recovery period in the rehabilitation department. The consistency of the functional level evaluations between the app and human evaluators is good.

Objective:To analyze the revision strategies for failed atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD) surgery.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 145 patients who underwent revision surgery for AAD at the General Hospital of Southern Theatre Command of PLA between September 2009 and December 2023. The cohort included 74 males and 71 females, with a mean age of 43±16 years (range, 6-72 years). The initial surgical approaches were: anterior 31 cases, posterior 114 cases. Based on imaging assessments of immediate postoperative reduction and fusion status prior to revision, the cases of failure were classified into reduction-nonfusion type (22 cases), nonreduction-fusion type (31 cases), and nonreduction-nonfusion type (92 cases). Among the nonreduction-nonfusion cases, 39 had initial surgery with internal fixation for reduction, while 53 had initial surgery with simple decompression (posterior arch resection, foramen magnum decompression) without reduction. In the nonreduction-fusion cases, 8 cases had spot fusion and 23 had extensive fusion. Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores were compared before and after revision, and complication rates were observed.Results:All patients successfully underwent surgery. The revision approaches included: anterior (anterior fixation and fusion 52 cases, anterior implant removal combined anterior fixation and fusion 4 cases, transoral odontoidectomies 16 cases, anterior implant removal combined transoral odontoidectomy 2 cases), posterior (posterior fixation and fusion 2 cases, posterior implant removal combined posterior fixation and fusion 22 cases), and combined anterior-posterior (posterior implant removal combined anterior fixation and fusion 18 cases, anterior implant removal combined posterior fixation and fusion 25 cases, posterior implant removal combined transoral odontoidectomy 5 cases). Operative time was 254.20±107.63 min (range, 90-660 min), and blood loss was 218.83±172.17 ml (range, 20-800 ml). Except for 3 patients who died due to postoperative complications, all patients were followed up for a duration of 12±11 months (range, 3-60 months). Six patients who failed to achieve bony fusion after the initial revision surgery underwent a second revision due to poor reduction (1 case), infection (1 case), suboptimal implant position (3 cases), and graft nonunion (1 case). All three patients with bony fusion after the initial revision surgery underwent a second revision due to poor reduction. Following the second revision surgery, none of the 9 patients exhibited graft nonunion or spinal cord compression. The 136 successful initial revision cases had a final follow-up JOA score of 14.75±2.00, significantly higher than the preoperative score of 11.93±2.92 ( t=-18.869, P<0.001). Conclusions:Revision surgery for AAD should take into account the immediate postoperative reduction status and fusion status prior to revision. An appropriate revision strategy should be selected to achieve satisfactory reduction and bony fusion.