ObjectiveTo characterize the quality differences among different germplasm and introduced varieties of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium roots（BSR）， and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms， providing a basis for high-quality production and quality control. MethodsWild BSR from Yulin（YLW） served as the quality reference， we conducted comparative analysis among YLW， locally domesticated wild germplasm in Yulin（YLC3）， Daqing germplasm introduced and cultivated in Yulin（YLDQC3）， and locally cultivated germplasm in Daqing（DQC3）. A combination of traditional pharmacognostic methods and modern multi-omics analyses was employed， including macroscopic traits（appearance， odor）， microscopic features（proportions of cork， phloem， xylem）， cell wall component contents（hemicellulose， cellulose， lignin）， carbohydrate contents（starch， water-soluble polysaccharides）， marker compound contents（ethanol-soluble extracts， total saponins， liposoluble extracts， and saikosaponins A， B₂， C， D）， metabolomics， and transcriptomics， in order to systematically characterize quality differences and investigate molecular mechanisms among these samples. ResultsMacroscopically， Yulin-produced BSR（YLW， YLC3， YLDQC3） exhibited significantly greater weight， length， and upper and middle diameters than Daqing-produced BSR（DQC3）. Odor-wise， YLW and YLC3 had a a fragrance taste， YLDQC3 had a rancid oil odor， and DQC3 had a sweet and fragrant taste. Microscopically， Yulin germplasm（YLW， YLC3） and Daqing germplasm（YLDQC3， DQC3） shared similar structural features， respectively. However， Yulin germplasm showed significantly higher proportions of cork and phloem， as well as stronger xylem vessel staining intensity compared to Daqing germplasm. Regarding various component contents， Yulin germplasm contained significantly higher levels of ethanol-soluble extracts， total saponins， and saikosaponins A， B₂， C， D， while Daqing germplasm had significantly higher levels of hemicellulose， starch， and liposoluble extracts. After introduction to Yulin， the Daqing germplasm（YLDQC3） showed increased starch， water-soluble polysaccharides and liposoluble extracts contents， decreased cell wall component content， but no significant difference in other component contents. Metabolomics revealed that saponins and terpenes accumulated significantly in Yulin germplasm， while alcohols and aldehydes accumulated predominantly in Daqing germplasm. Transcriptomics indicated similar gene expression patterns within the same germplasm but specificity between different germplasms. Integrative metabolomic-transcriptomic analysis identified 145 potential key genes associated with the saikosaponin biosynthesis pathway， including one acetyl-coenzyme A（CoA） acetyltransferase gene（ACAT）， one 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase gene（HMGS）， two hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA（HMG-CoA） reductase genes（HMG）， one phosphomevalonate kinase gene（PMK）， one 1-deoxy-D-xylose-5-phosphate synthase gene（CLA）， one hydroxymethylbuten-1-aldol synthase gene（HDR）， two farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase genes（FPPS）， one squalene synthase gene（SQS）， one β-amyrin synthase gene（BAS）， 102 cytochrome P450（CYP450） gene family members， and 32 uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase（UGT） gene family members. ConclusionAmong the three cultivated types， YLC3 most closely resembles YLW in appearance， microscopic features， contents of major bioactive constituents， metabolomic and transcriptomic profiles. Yulin germplasm exhibits superior saponin synthesis capability compared to Daqing germplasm， and Yulin region is more suitable for the growth of B. scorzonerifolium. Based on these findings， it is recommended that artificial cultivation in northern Shaanxi and similar regions utilize the local Yulin germplasm source cultivated for at least three years.

The medicinal use of Malvae Semen has a long history. In this paper， by consulting the ancient materia medica， prescription， agronomy， literature and other aspects of the classics， the name， origin， evolution of scientific name， quality， harvesting and processing， functions and indications and others of Malvae Semen were systematically sorted out and verified， so as to provide a basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. According to the textual research， Shennong Bencaojing began to use Dongkuizi as the correct name， which was used in the past dynasties， and there were also aliases such as Kuicaizi， Huacai， and Kuizi. Through the original research， it can be seen that Kuicai is the mainstream original plant of Malvae Semen， that is， Malva verticillata var. crispa， the Alcea rosea and M. cathayensis are also used. In modern times， the seeds of Abutilon theophrasti have been passed off as Malvae Semen， while the seeds of M. verticillata var. crispa have rarely been used in medicine. And Abutili Semen has been another medicinal material with different efficacy since the collection of Newly Revised Materia Medica in the Tang dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties， the cultivation of Kuicai has been decreasing， while A. theophrasti is more common and easy to obtain， and Abutili Semen and Malvae Semen are similar in morphology and confused， which should be corrected. In addition， Malvae Fructus is a Mongolian customary medicinal herb， which is different from the traditional use of seeds in traditional Chinese medicine. Kuicai， as an important vegetable in history， was widely cultivated and gradually shrunk after the Song dynasty， it is now mainly produced in southern provinces. The quality evaluation of Malvae Semen is better for those with dry bodies， full grain， grayish brown color， no mud， and no impurities. The harvesting is generally in the autumn and winter. After drying， it is seeded， sieved peel and impurities， mashed， or slightly stir-fried to yellow-white color with gentle fire. It is sweet， cold and slippery in nature and taste， with the main effects of laxation， diuresis， lactation and elimination of swelling. The efficacy of Abutili Semen is clearing heat and removing toxicity， promoting diuresis and removing nebula， the efficacy is quite different from that of Malvae Semen. Based on the results of textual research， it is suggested that M. verticillata var. crispa should be used as the medicinal source of Malvae Semen in the development of famous classical formulas， the corresponding processing methods should be selected according to the requirements of drug processing in the formulas， while the raw products are recommended to be used if the processing is not specified.

The medicinal use of Malvae Semen has a long history. In this paper， by consulting the ancient materia medica， prescription， agronomy， literature and other aspects of the classics， the name， origin， evolution of scientific name， quality， harvesting and processing， functions and indications and others of Malvae Semen were systematically sorted out and verified， so as to provide a basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. According to the textual research， Shennong Bencaojing began to use Dongkuizi as the correct name， which was used in the past dynasties， and there were also aliases such as Kuicaizi， Huacai， and Kuizi. Through the original research， it can be seen that Kuicai is the mainstream original plant of Malvae Semen， that is， Malva verticillata var. crispa， the Alcea rosea and M. cathayensis are also used. In modern times， the seeds of Abutilon theophrasti have been passed off as Malvae Semen， while the seeds of M. verticillata var. crispa have rarely been used in medicine. And Abutili Semen has been another medicinal material with different efficacy since the collection of Newly Revised Materia Medica in the Tang dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties， the cultivation of Kuicai has been decreasing， while A. theophrasti is more common and easy to obtain， and Abutili Semen and Malvae Semen are similar in morphology and confused， which should be corrected. In addition， Malvae Fructus is a Mongolian customary medicinal herb， which is different from the traditional use of seeds in traditional Chinese medicine. Kuicai， as an important vegetable in history， was widely cultivated and gradually shrunk after the Song dynasty， it is now mainly produced in southern provinces. The quality evaluation of Malvae Semen is better for those with dry bodies， full grain， grayish brown color， no mud， and no impurities. The harvesting is generally in the autumn and winter. After drying， it is seeded， sieved peel and impurities， mashed， or slightly stir-fried to yellow-white color with gentle fire. It is sweet， cold and slippery in nature and taste， with the main effects of laxation， diuresis， lactation and elimination of swelling. The efficacy of Abutili Semen is clearing heat and removing toxicity， promoting diuresis and removing nebula， the efficacy is quite different from that of Malvae Semen. Based on the results of textual research， it is suggested that M. verticillata var. crispa should be used as the medicinal source of Malvae Semen in the development of famous classical formulas， the corresponding processing methods should be selected according to the requirements of drug processing in the formulas， while the raw products are recommended to be used if the processing is not specified.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Huaban Jiedu Formulation （化斑解毒方， HJF） in treating psoriasis vulgaris with blood-heat syndrome. MethodsA randomized， double-blind， placebo-controlled study was conducted with 60 patients diagnosed with psoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome. Patients were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group， with 30 cases in each. The treatment group received HJF granules orally， one dose a day， combined with topical Qingshi Zhiyang Ointment （青石止痒软膏）， while the control group received placebo granules， one dose a day， combined with the same topical ointment. Both groups were topically treated twice daily of 28 days treatment cours. Psoriasis area and severity index （PASI）， visual analogue scale for pruritus （VAS）， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， dermatology life quality index （DLQI）， and psoriasis life stress inventory （PLSI） were assessed before treatment and on day 14 and day 28. Response rates for PASI 50 （≥50% reduction） and PASI 75 （≥75% reduction）， as well as overall clinical efficacy， were compared between groups. Serum levels of interleukin-6 （IL-6） and interleukin-17 （IL-17） were measured before and after 28 days of treatment. Adverse reactions during treatment were recorded. ResultsAfter 28 days of treatment， both groups showed significant reductions in PASI total score， lesion area score， erythema， scaling， and infiltration scores， pruritus VAS score， TCM syndrome score， DLQI， PLSI， and serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels （P＜0.05）. Compared to the control group， the treatment group had significantly greater improvements in PASI total score and erythema score， TCM syndrome score， serum IL-6 and IL-17 levels， and PASI 50 response rate after 28 days （P＜0.05）. Between-group comparisons of score differences before and after 28-day treatment revealed that the treatment group showed significantly better improvements in PASI total， lesion area score， erythema score， TCM syndrome score， DLQI， PLSI， and inflammatory markers （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The total effective rate on day 14 and day 28 was 40.00% （12/30） and 83.33% （25/30） in the treatment group， versus 6.90% （2/29） and 41.38% （12/29） in the control group， respectively. The clinical efficacy in the treatment group was significantly superior to that in the control group （P＜0.05）. Mild gastric discomfort occurred in 3 patients in the treatment group and 1 in the control group. ConclusionHJF can effectively improve skin lesions and TCM symptoms relieve pruritus， enhance quality of life， and reduce inflammatory markers IL-6 and IL-17， in patients with blood-heat syndrome of psoriasis vulgaris， with a good safety profile.

Objective: To explore the potential category patterns of risk prevention and control behaviors of HIV infection among young students who have sex with men (MSM) and their impact on HIV infection and late detection, aiming to optimize intervention strategies. Methods: From September 2017 to December 2024, a total of 1 637 MSM young students in Tianjin were recruited through both online and offline channels. Latent class analysis was applied to classify 11 HIV risk prevention and control behaviors [condom use during the most recent anal sex in the past 6 months, consistent condom use, use of water based lubricants, abstinence from recreational drugs, regular on site professional testing, fixed sexual partners, partner testing, awareness of partner s HIV testing results, testing before sexual activity, nucleic acid testing, and use of pre exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post exposure prophylaxis (PEP)]. Multivariate Logistic regression analyzed associations between demographic characteristics/intervention services factors and latent classes. Differences in HIV infection and late detection across behavior patterns were compared. Results: HIV risk prevention and control behaviors among MSM students were classified into three latent classes:condom dependent group (38.42%), low prevention group (27.73%), and comprehensive prevention group (33.85%). Students who received condom promotion/testing services were more likely to belong to the comprehensive prevention group ( OR =5.58), while those who received peer education were less likely to the comprehensive prevention group ( OR =0.43) (both P <0.01). Among the MSM student population, the HIV infection rate was 4.83%, with 2.26% of cases detected late. The HIV infection rate (1.45%) and late detection proportion (0.82%) in the comprehensive prevention group were lower than those in the low prevention group (7.89% and 3.83%, respectively) ( χ 2=16.20, 7.31, both P <0.01). Conclusions HIV risk prevention and control behaviors among MSM young students exhibit significant heterogeneity. Comprehensive prevention strategies can effectively reduce HIV infection and late detection risks. It is necessary to optimize peer education content and improve the accessibility of diversified prevention measures such as PrEP/PEP to enhance HIV prevention and control.

Perceptual decision making refers to the process by which individuals make choices and judgments based on sensory information, serving as a fundamental ability for human adaptation to complex environments. While traditional research has focused on perceptual decision making in isolated contexts, growing evidence highlights the profound influence of social contexts prevalent in real-world scenarios. As a crucial factor supporting individual survival and development, social context not only provides rich information sources but also shapes perceptual decision making through top-down processing mechanisms, prompting researchers to recognize the inherently social nature of human decisions. Empirical studies have demonstrated that social information, such as others’ choices or group norms, can systematically bias individuals’ perceptual decisions, often manifesting as conformity behaviors. Social influence can also facilitate performance under certain conditions, particularly when individuals can accurately identify and adopt high-quality social information. The impact of social context on perceptual decisions is modulated by a variety of external and internal factors, including group characteristics(e.g., group size, response consistency), attributes of peers (e.g., familiarity, social status, distinctions between human and artificial agents), as well as individual differences such as confidence, personality traits, and developmental stage. The motivations driving social influence encompass three primary mechanisms: improving decision accuracy through informational influence, gaining social acceptance through normative influence, and maintaining positive self-concept. Recent computational approaches have employed diverse theoretical frameworks to provide valuable insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying social influence in perceptual decision making. Reinforcement learning models demonstrate how social feedback shapes future choices through reward-based updating. Bayesian inference frameworks describe how individuals integrate personal beliefs with social information based on their respective reliabilities, dynamically updating beliefs to optimize decisions under uncertainty. Drift diffusion models offer powerful tools to decompose social influence into distinct cognitive components, allowing researchers to differentiate between changes in perceptual processing and shifts in decision criteria. Collectively, these models establish a comprehensive methodological foundation for disentangling the multiple pathways by which social context shapes perceptual decisions. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies provide converging evidence that social context influences perceptual decision making through multi-level neural mechanisms. At early perceptual processing stages, social influence modulates sensory evidence accumulation in parietal cortex and directly alters primary visual cortex activity, while guiding selective attention to stimulus features consistent with social norms through attentional alignment mechanisms. At higher cognitive levels, the reward system (ventral striatum, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) is activated during group-consistent decisions; emotion-processing networks (anterior cingulate cortex, insula, amygdala) regulate experiences of social acceptance and rejection; and mentalizing-related brain regions (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction) support inference of others’ mental states and social information integration. These neural circuits work synergistically to achieve top-down multi-level modulation of perceptual decision making. Understanding the mechanisms by which social context shapes perceptual decision making has broad theoretical and practical implications. These insights inform the optimization of collective decision-making, the design of socially adaptive human-computer interaction systems, and interventions for cognitive disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and anorexia nervosa. Future studies should combine computational modeling and neuroimaging approaches to systematically investigate the multi-level and dynamic nature of social influences on perceptual decision making.

Brain age prediction, as a significant approach for assessing brain health and early diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, has garnered widespread attention in recent years. Electroencephalogram (EEG), an non-invasive, convenient, and cost-effective neurophysiological signal, offers unique advantages for brain age prediction due to its high temporal resolution and strong correlation with brain functional states. Despite substantial progress in enhancing prediction accuracy and generalizability, challenges remain in data quality and model interpretability. This review comprehensively examined the advancements in EEG-based brain age prediction, detailing key aspects of data preprocessing, feature extraction, model construction, and result evaluation. It also summarized the current applications of machine learning and deep learning methods in this field, analyzed existing issues, and explored future directions to promote the widespread application of EEG-based brain age prediction in both clinical and research settings.
Humans ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Brain/physiology* ; Machine Learning ; Aging/physiology* ; Deep Learning ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Urinary incontinence is a common complication following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Urethral length has been identified as a factor affecting postoperative continence recovery. In this meta-analysis, we examined the association between use of the maximal urethral length preservation (MULP) technique and postoperative urinary continence in patients undergoing RARP. We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to December 31, 2023. The quality of the literature was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to synthesize data and calculate the odds ratio (OR) from eligible studies on continence and MULP. Six studies involving 1869 patients met the eligibility criteria. MULP was positively associated with both early continence (1 month after RARP; Z = 3.62, P = 0.003, OR = 3.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.68-5.73) and late continence (12 months after RARP; Z = 2.34, P = 0.019, OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.13-3.90). Oncological outcomes indicated that MULP did not increase the overall positive surgical margin rate or the positive surgical margin status at the prostate apex (both P > 0.05). In conclusion, the use of the MULP technique in RARP significantly improved both early and late postoperative continence outcomes without compromising oncological outcomes.
Humans ; Prostatectomy/adverse effects* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Male ; Urethra/surgery* ; Urinary Incontinence/prevention & control* ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Prostatic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Organ Sparing Treatments/methods*

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of single-balloon and double-balloon enteroscopy in diagnosing pediatric small bowel diseases and assess the diagnostic efficacy of computed tomography enterography (CTE) for small bowel diseases using enteroscopy as the reference standard. METHODS: Clinical data from 576 children who underwent enteroscopy at Hunan Children's Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023 were retrospectively collected. The children were categorized based on enteroscopy type into the single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) group (n=457) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) group (n=119), and the clinical data were compared between the two groups. The sensitivity and specificity of CTE for diagnosing small bowel diseases were evaluated using enteroscopy results as the standard. RESULTS: Among the 576 children, small bowel lesions were detected by enteroscopy in 274 children (47.6%).There was no significant difference in lesion detection rates or complication rates between the SBE and DBE groups (P>0.05), but the DBE group had deeper insertion, longer procedure time, and higher complete small bowel examination rate (P<0.05). The complication rate during enteroscopy was 4.3% (25/576), with 18 cases (3.1%) of mild complications and 7 cases (1.2%) of severe complications, which improved with symptomatic treatment, surgical, or endoscopic intervention. Among the 412 children who underwent CTE, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases were 44.4% and 71.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS SBE and DBE have similar diagnostic efficacy for pediatric small bowel diseases, but DBE is preferred for suspected deep small bowel lesions and comprehensive small bowel examination. Enteroscopy in children demonstrates relatively good overall safety. CTE demonstrates relatively low sensitivity but comparatively high specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases.
Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Single-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Operative Time ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/statistics & numerical data* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Intestine, Small/surgery* ; Intestinal Diseases/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in response evaluation and relapse monitoring for patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). METHODS: The clinical characteristics, efficacy and survival of 38 PMBCL patients in our hospital from January 2010 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ctDNA monitoring was conducted by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among the 38 patients, 26 cases were female, and 32 cases were diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage I-II. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 74.7% and 61.7%, respectively. Males and those with high aaIPI scores (3 points) had a relatively poor prognosis. The NGS results of 23 patients showed that STAT6 (65.2%), SOCS1 (56.5%), and TNFAIP3 (56.5%) were the most common mutated genes. Patients with stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) exhibited enrichment in cell cycle, FoxO, and TNF signaling pathways. A total of 29 patients underwent end-of-treatment PET/CT (EOT PET/CT), and 16 of them received ctDNA monitoring with 12 negative. Among 6 patients with EOT PET/CT positive (Deauville 4), 4 underwent ctDNA monitoring, and 3 of them were negative, being still in continuous remission without any subsequent anti-tumor therapy. CONCLUSION CtDNA may be combined with PET/CT to assess efficacy, monitor relapse, and guide treatment of PMBCL.
Humans ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; Female ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Mutation