This article systematically analyzed the historical evolution of the origin， scientific name， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing， and other aspects of Quisqualis Fructus by consulting the ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books， local literature and combining with the modern literature and standards， summarized and explored the development rules of its medicinal properties and efficacy along with their underlying causes， in order to provide support for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. According to the textual research， Shijunzi was first recorded as Liuqiuzi in Nanfang Caomuzhuang of the Jin dynasty， and the name of Shijunzi was first used in Kaibao Bencao of the Song dynasty， which has been consistently used throughout subsequent dynasties， and there were also aliases such as Junziren， Sijunzi， and Dujilizi. The mainstream source of Quisqualis Fructus used in the past dynasties has been the dried mature fruits of Quisqualis indica， a plant belonging to the family Combretaceae. In modern times， its variety Q. indica var. villosa has also been recorded as the medicinal material of Quisqualis Fructus. In 2007， the Flora of China（English edition） designated Q. indica var. villosa as a synonym of Q. indica. Today， the accepted name of Shijunzi is updated to Combretum indicum. According to ancient herbal records， the producing areas of Quisqualis Fructus were Guangdong， Hong Kong， Macao， Guangxi， Hainan， Sichuan and Fujian， and then gradually expanded to Yunnan， Taiwan， Jiangxi and Guizhou. Since the Song dynasty， two major production regions have gradually emerged in Sichuan， Chongqing and Fujian. Currently， it is primarily cultivated in Chongqing， Guangxi and other areas， with Chongqing yielding the highest output. Since modern times， superior quality has been defined by large size， a purple-black surface， plump grains， and a yellowish-white kernel. According to ancient herbal records， the harvesting period of Quisqualis Fructus was the July and August of the lunar calendar， mostly used raw after shelling or with the shell intact， it underwent processing methods such as cleaning， slicing， mixing， steaming， roasting， stewing， and frying. Currently， the harvesting period is autumn， followed by sun-drying or low-heat drying， with processing methods including cleaning， stir-frying， and stewing. In ancient and modern literature， the records of the properties， functions and indications of Quisqualis Fructus are basically the same， that is， sweet in taste， warm in nature， predominantly non-toxic， belonging to the spleen and stomach meridians. It possesses effects of insecticide， decontamination and invigorating spleen for ascariasis， enterobiasis， abdominal pain due to worm accumulation and infantile malnutrition.The contraindications for use primarily include avoiding consumption by individuals without parasitic infestations， limiting use for those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold， refraining from drinking hot tea during medication， and avoiding excessive intake. Based on the textual research， it is suggested that the dried mature fruits of Q. indica should be used as the medicinal material for the development of famous classical formulas containing Quisqualis Fructus. Processing methods may be chosen according to prescription requirements， and the raw products is recommended for medicinal use if not specified.

This article reports a case of multiple cranial nerve injury after gamma knife radiosurgery treated with acupuncture and moxibustion combined with rehabilitation therapy. The patient presented with weakness of facial and tongue muscles, hoarseness, choking on water, and swallowing difficulties. The syndrome was attributed to qi and blood deficiency, and blood stasis obstructing the collaterals. The treatment principle focused on replenishing qi and blood, promoting blood circulation and unblocking collaterals. Yintang (GV24⁺), Lianquan (CV23), Qihai (CV6), Guanyuan (CV4), and Cuanzhu (BL2), Yangbai (GB14), Jingming (BL1), Sizhukong (TE23), Yingxiang (LI20), Sibai (ST2), Juliao (ST3), Quanliao (SI18), Dicang (ST4), Jiache (ST6), Xiaguan (ST7), Taiyang (EX-HN5) on the affected side, bilateral Jinjin (EX-HN12), Yuye (EX-HN13), Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Tianshu (ST25) were selected. Among these, bilateral Jinjin (EX-HN12) and Yuye (EX-HN13) were treated with pricking, Dicang (ST4) and Jiache (ST6) on the affected side were connected to an electroacupuncture device, and warming acupuncture was applied at Guanyuan (CV4). Rehabilitation therapy and electromyographic biofeedback were also incorporated. The treatments were given 2-3 times a week. After 18 months of intermittent treatment, the patient reported significant improvement, House Brackmann (H-B) facial nerve function grade was Ⅳ, and Sunnybrook facial nerve rating scale score was 53 points. After 2-month of follow-up, the patient reported normal swallowing ability and restored social engagement.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Cranial Nerve Diseases/therapy*

This article reports a case of adult scoliosis with limb tremor treated with electroacupuncture. The patient presented with neck stiffness accompanied with limb tremor as the primary symptoms. The pattern was attributed to yang qi deficiency, and the treatment principle focused on unblocking the governor vessel, warming yang, and regulating qi. Acupuncture was applied to Dazhui (GV14), below the spinous processes of C₄-C₆ and bilateral C₄-C₆ Jiaji (EX-B2) points, Feishu (BL13), Xinshu (BL15), Pishu (BL20), Ganshu (BL18), Shenshu (BL23), Dachangshu (BL25). After achieving deqi sensation, bilateral C₄ Jiaji (EX-B2) and C₆ Jiaji (EX-B2) points were separately connected to an SDZ-Ⅴ electroacupuncture device, with continuous wave, 2 Hz of frequency, intensity should be within the tolerance of the patient, the needles were retained for 20 min. For the first 5 months, the treatment was 1-2 times a week, then reduced to 1-2 times a month thereafter. After 30 times of treatment, the patient's bilateral lower limb tremor resolved, the clinical rating scale for tremor (CRST) score was 13 points, the scoliosis showed improvement with about 10° reduction in Cobb angle. At 1-month follow-up, the condition remained stable without progression of scoliosis.
Adult ; Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Electroacupuncture ; Scoliosis/physiopathology* ; Tremor/complications*

This article reports 2 cases of urinary retention in Alzheimer's disease with agitation treated by acupuncture. Based on patients' clinical symptoms, the etiology and pathogenesis were determined, and acupuncture was applied to Baihui (GV20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), Shenting (GV24), and bilateral Ciliao (BL32), Zhongliao (BL33), Fengchi (GB20), Taiyang (EX-HN5), etc. to regulate the mind and promote water metabolism. The positive and negative electrodes of the SDZ-Ⅴ type electroacupuncture device were attached to ipsilateral Ciliao (BL32), Zhongliao (BL33) respectively, with continuous wave, at the frequency of 15 Hz, and the current of 3 to 10 mA, depending on patients' tolerance. The needles were retained for 20 min. The treatment was delivered once every other day, 3 interventions a week and 12 interventions as 1 course. Both patients reported the micturition desire after 1 intervention with acupuncture and the catheter was removed on the same day. The urination was ameliorated without dysuresia after 1-2 courses of treatment, and the agitated behavior was alleviated. It can be the reference for the clinical treatment of urinary retention in patients with Alzheimer's disease with agitation.
Humans ; Alzheimer Disease/psychology* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Urinary Retention/etiology* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Acupuncture Points ; Psychomotor Agitation/complications*

Purpose: Tamoxifen showed individual differences in efficacy under different CYP2D6*10 genotypes. Our study evaluated the prognosis of tamoxifen or toremifene in hormone receptor (HR)–positive breast cancer patients under different genotypes. Materials and Methods: CYP2D6*10 genotypes of HR-positive breast cancer patients were determined by Sanger sequencing, and all the patients were divided into tamoxifen group or toremifene group. Results: A total of 268 patients with HR-positive breast cancer were studied. The median follow-up time was 72.0 months (range, 5.0 to 88.0 months). Of these, 88 (32.9%), 114 (42.5%), and 66 (24.6%) patients had C/C, C/T, and T/T genotypes, respectively. Among patients who received tamoxifen (n=176), the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate in patients with C/C and C/T genotype was better than that in patients with T/T genotype, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001 and p=0.030, respectively). In patients receiving toremifene, CYP2D6*10 genotype was not significantly associated with DFS (p=0.325). Regardless of genotypes, the 5-year DFS rate was higher in patients treated with toremifene than in patients with tamoxifen (91.3% vs. 80.0%, p=0.011). Compared with tamoxifen, toremifene remained an independent prognostic marker of DFS in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 0.422; p=0.021). For all the 180 patients with CYP2D6*10 C/T and T/T genotypes, the 5-year DFS rate was significantly higher in the toremifene group than in the tamoxifen group (90.8% vs. 70.1%, p=0.003). Conclusion Toremifene may be an alternative adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with CYP2D6*10 mutant genotypes.

Objective To investigate the effect of 6-paradol on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cells and its mechanism. Methods Human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cell lines HCCC 9810 and HUCCT1 were treated with different concentrations of 6-paradol or an equal volume of DMSO (control group), and then CCK-8 assay, plate colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and Transwell assay were used to measure cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The bioinformatics software Swiss Target Prediction was used to predict the protein targets of 6-paradol, and Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of STAT3, p-STAT3, SRC, p-mTOR, p21, Bcl-2, and p53; Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS) assay was used to investigate the interaction between 6-paradol and STAT3. After cholangiocarcinoma HCCC 9810 and HUCCT1 cells were transfected with STAT3 overexpression plasmid or sh-p21 plasmid, quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression levels of STAT3 and p21, and Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of STAT3 and p21; CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, and Transwell assay were used to measure cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The t -test was used for comparison of data between two groups; an analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t -test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results Compared with the control group, the 6-paradol treatment groups had significant reductions in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ( P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the 6-paradol treatment groups had significant reductions in the expression levels of STAT3 and p-STAT3 (all P < 0.05) and a significant increase in the expression level of p21 (all P < 0.05), while there were no significant changes in the expression levels of Bcl-2, SRC, and p-mTOR (all P > 0.05). In the 6-paradol treatment groups, the proportion of STAT3 hydrolyzed by protease was reduced by 48.66% and 45.33%, respectively ( t =16.64 and 8.76, both P < 0.05); after transfection with STAT3 overexpression plasmid or p21-silencing plasmid in cholangiocarcinoma cells, there was a significant increase in the mRNA expression level of STAT3 ( t HCCC 9810 =2.82, t HUCCT1 =5.60, both P < 0.05) and a significant reduction in the mRNA expression level of p21 ( t HCCC 9810 =6.84, t HUCCT1 =3.91, both P < 0.05). CCK-8 assay showed that for HCCC 9810 and HUCCT1 cells treated with 6-paradol for 48 and 72 hours, the STAT3 overexpression group had a significantly higher proliferation rate than the single administration group, and the p21 silencing group also had a significantly higher proliferation rate than the single administration group ( P < 0.05). The wound healing assay showed that the HCCC 9810 and HUCCT1 cells with STAT3 overexpression or p21 silencing had a significantly higher wound healing rate than the single administration group (all P < 0.05). Transwell assay showed that the HCCC 9810 and HUCCT1 cells with STAT3 overexpression or p21 silencing had significant increases in migration rate and invasion rate compared with the single administration group (all P < 0.05). Conclusion 6-Paradol inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cholangiocarcinoma cells by targeting the STAT3-p21 pathway.

Objective To investigate the change of biological characteristics after stable knockdown of the coding gene of 3-methylcrotonyl-coenzyme A carboxylase β subunit (MCCC2) expression in DU145 by lentivirus shRNA. Methods Three groups were included in this study. shNC was the control group in which MCCC2 was negatively knocked down in DU145. shMCCC2 was the experimental group in which MCCC2 was knocked down. DU145 was the blank group without any treatment. The expression of MCCC2 was assessed by Western blot and qPCR. The proliferation of DU145 cells was detected by CCK8 assay. The migration ability of DU145 was detected by transwell. The apoptosis of DU145 cells was detected by flow cytometry. Results The expression level of MCCC2 in shMCCC2 group was significantly lower than that in shNC group (0.22 ± 0.02 vs 0.61 ± 0.06, P < 0.001). The proliferation (2.24 ± 0.04 vs 3.13 ± 0.15) and migration (23.96 ± 1.85 vs 49.73 ± 0.63) of DU145 cells in shMCCC2 group was significantly lower than that in shNC group, whereas the apoptosis (12.64 ± 0.30 vs 3.68 ± 0.02) of DU145 cells in shMCCC2 was significantly higher than that in shNC group. Conclusion MCCC2 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration, and induced apoptosis of DU145 cells, which indicated that the down-regulation of MCCC2 is correlated with the change of tumor biological characteristics of DU145 cell line and can be a potential target for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Diagnostics is one of the most important bridge courses for medical students from basic to clinical. Doctor-patient communication runs through the whole process of patient diagnosis and treatment. How to improve medical students' ability of doctor-patient communication? Our teaching team has carried out continuous reform and explored the scientific effective teaching mode. Recently, through the construction of "doctor-patient communication skills" quality online course, efforts have made to build an online and offline blended learning mode, which has gradually realize the integration with diagnostics teaching, and has achieved remarkable results. It also provides a scientific practical basis for the integration of doctor-patient communication and other clinical courses, which is worthy of promotion.

Circulating tumor cells are found in patients’ peripheral blood circulation, which are the key to tumor metastasis and recurrence. We can achieve early diagnosis and treatment of the tumor if we could detect circulating tumor cells through peripheral blood vessels. It is of great significance to improve the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients by studying the relationships between hepatocellular carcinoma and peripheral circulating tumor cells. Hence, this paper reviews the recent progress in the detection and clinical application of circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma in order to provide references for clinical and related studies.

Gradual distraction with an external fixator is a widely used treatment for severe postburn ankle contracture (SPAC). However, application of external fixators is complex, and conventional two-dimensional (2D) imaging-based surgical planning is not particularly helpful due to a lack of spatial geometry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surgical planning process for this procedure with patient-specific three-dimension-printed models (3DPMs). In this study, patients coming from two centers were divided into two cohorts (3DPM group vs. control group) depending on whether a 3DPM was used for preoperative surgical planning. Operation duration, improvement in metatarsal-tibial angle (MTA), range of motion (ROM), the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, complications, and patient-reported satisfaction were compared between two groups. The 3DPM group had significantly shorter operation duration than the control group ((2.0±0.3) h vs. (3.2±0.3) h,