The growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has coincided with more timely manuscript submissions and improved efficiency in scientific writing. While AI tools help authors produce clear and well-structured work, excessive or undisclosed reliance raises concerns about originality, authenticity, and the integrity of scholarly publications. Editors increasingly recognize AI-assisted writing and face the challenge of preserving rigorous standards. Emerging guidelines emphasize transparency in AI use, alongside the need to retain individual voice and diversity in scientific expression. This editorial highlights the balance between leveraging AI’s benefits and safeguarding ethical publication practices, while acknowledging contributors to the current issue.

BACKGROUND

Internationalization in medical education aims to align programs with global standards, foster intercultural competence, and expand academic collaboration. In private medical schools in Northern Luzon, clarifying how internationalization is conceptualized and enacted can enhance the medical curriculum.

To explore how private medical schools in Northern Luzon conceptualize and implement internationalization, identify associated challenges, and propose curriculum inputs to enhance delivery of the medical curriculum.

The qualitative study utilized a multiple case study design. The study was approved by the Saint Louis University Research Ethics Committee. Using purposive sampling, 45 participants from private institutions in Northern Luzon Philippines consented to engage in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews from February to April 2025. Data were analyzed through inductive content and thematic techniques.

Participants conceptualized internationalization as (1) alignment with international quality and practice standards; (2) global engagement and exchange encompassing knowledge, skills, culture, institutional networking, and collaboration; (3) inclusivity and multicultural responsiveness; and (4) pursuit of global recognition and accreditation. Implementation occurred via “internationalization at home” (embedding global perspectives in local learning environments), “internationalization abroad” (student/faculty mobility and external exposure), and alignment of philosophical and curricular frameworks. Reported challenges included institutional and curricular constraints, language and cultural barriers, sociocultural and financial limitations, and external/contextual pressures.

Addressing the identified barriers and scaling the documented practices can enhance the delivery of the medical curriculum. The study offers actionable curricular revisions that private institutions may adopt to strengthen internationalization in medical education.

Human ; Research ; Information Dissemination ; Reference Standards

Tujia ethnic group medicine Xuetong is derived from Kadsura heteroclita, the stem of which has the medicinal value for anti-rheumatoid arthritis, liver protection, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation effects, and has been widely used in Hunan and Guangdong in China. The selection of reliable and stable reference genes is the basis for subsequent molecular research on K. heteroclita. In this study, GAPDH, TUA, Actin, UBQ, EF-1α, 18S-rRNA, CYP, UBC, TUB, H2A, and RPL were selected as candidate reference genes in Kadsura heteroclita. The gene expression levels of the 11 candidate reference genes of K. heteroclita in its 6 different parts(stem-inside of the cambium, stem-outside of the cambium, fruit, flower, root, and leaf) and under different intervention conditions [drought stress, salt stress, and methyl jasmonate(MeJA) treatment] were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR). The expression stability of the 11 candidate reference genes was comprehensively analyzed and evaluated by geNorm, NormFinder, ΔCT algorithm, and RefFinder software. The results showed that the expression of UBC and RPL was relatively stable in 6 different parts, and UBC and GAPDH genes were relatively stable under different intervention conditions. To verify the reliability of reference genes for K. heteroclita, this study further examined the relative expression levels of KhFPS, KhIDI, KhCAS, KhSQE, KhSQS, KhSQS-2, KhHMGS, KhHMGR, KhMVD, KhMVK, KhDXR, KhDXS, KhPMVK, and KhGGPS in different parts and under different intervention conditions, which might relate to the synthesis of the main component(Xuetongsu) of K. heteroclita. The results showed that with UBC and RPL or UBC and GAPDH as the reference genes, the expression trends of these 14 genes were basically consistent in different parts or under different intervention conditions for K. heteroclita. In conclusion, UBC can be used as a reference gene of K. heteroclita for its different parts and different intervention conditions, which lays a foundation for further research on the biosynthetic pathway of main components in K. heteroclita.
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Reference Standards ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

The rapid development of high-speed railway in China has proposed higher requests for the comfort level of high-speed trains. However, there is no internationally unified evaluation criterion for high-speed train comfort currently, which therefore substantially affects the comparability and standardization of research results for high-speed train comfort. This paper systematically reviews the research literature about evaluation indicators and standards related to high-speed train comfort, and finds that there is currently no unified definition, evaluation indicators, as well as evaluation criterion for high-speed train comfort. Most current evaluation criteria are based on a single indicator. Some indicators are simultaneously developed by different apartments and differ between each other, and there is no comprehensive indicator or criteria for high-speed train comfort, restricting the comparison of high-speed train comfort across regions. It is recommended that the administrative department of high-speed railroad in China should organize experts to establish a unified definition of high-speed train comfort, comprehensive evaluation indicators and relevant judgment criteria for high-speed train comfort, in face of the rapid development and globalization of high-speed trains.
China ; Railroads ; Reference Standards

This study briefly introduces the tongue diagnostic equipment of traditional Chinese medicine. It analyzes and discusses the key points of technical evaluation of tongue diagnostic equipment from the aspects of product name, performance parameters, image processing functions, product use methods, clinical evaluation, etc. It analyzes the safety risks and effectiveness indicators of tongue diagnostic equipment, hoping to bring some help to the gradual standardization of tongue diagnostic equipment and the registration of enterprises.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Tongue ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Diagnostic Equipment ; Reference Standards

Fermented Chinese medicine has long been used. Amid the advance for preservation of experience, the connotation of fermented Chinese medicine has been enriched and improved. However, fermented Chinese medicine prescriptions generally contain a lot of medicinals. The fermentation process is complicated and the conventional fermentation conditions fail to be strictly controlled. In addition, the judgment of the fermentation end point is highly subjective. As a result, quality of fermented Chinese medicine is of great difference among regions and unstable. At the moment, the quality standards of fermented Chinese medicine are generally outdated and different among regions, with simple quality control methods and lacking objective safe fermentation-specific evaluation indictors. It is difficult to comprehensively evaluate and control the quality of fermented medicine. These problems have aroused concern in the industry and also affected the clinical application of fermented Chinese medicine. This article summarized and analyzed the application, quality standards, and the modernization of fermentation technology and quality control methods of fermented Chinese medicine and proposed suggestions for improving the quality standards of the medicine, with a view to improving the overall quality of it.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reference Standards ; Quality Control ; Fermentation

Standard drafting is an important part in the process of standard formulation and revision. By analyzing the status of the medical device industry standards drafting, thoughts and suggestions were proposed to further promote all relevant parties to actively participate in the standard drafting, effectively improve the quality of the standards, strengthen the technical support and promote the high-quality development of the industry. The statistical data of the participation of social organizations in the drafting and as the first unit drafting medical devices standards from 2017 to 2021 was researched, and the problems in the drafting of standards at this stage were analyzed. Based on the research and analyses, some thoughts and suggestions were proposed to strengthen the management of standard drafting units and promote the participation of all relevant parties in standard drafting. It is necessary to expand and enhance social participation in standard drafting further by innovating incentives, refining and strengthening normative requirements, and creating a positive social atmosphere.
Reference Standards ; China ; Industry

Medicinal plants or Chinese materia medica (CMM) are now attracting worldwide attention as they have increasingly prominent advantages over chemical drugs in disease treatment and healthcare. Since the 1990s, World Health Organization (WHO) and International Organization for Standardization established the Technical Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ISO/TC 249) have carried out the development of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively, and a considerable number of monographs and international standards have been published. Since the two international organizations adhere to different principles, the standards they develop naturally have different emphasis. Driven by market demand and international trade, ISO mainly takes quality, efficacy and safety into consideration when developing standards, while WHO pays more attention to clinical practice, quality control and medication guidance. Up to now, there is a lack of comparative analysis on the records, background, principles, basic content, and main requirements of quality standards on medicinal plants or CMMs respectively published by WHO and ISO. Therefore, based on international standards of CMM developed by ISO/TC 249 platform and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, this paper systematically compares the purposes, selected principles, standard-developing process, basic content, and main quality requirements to summarize their similarities and differences, and find their merits, aiming to serve as a reference to the development of international standards for CMMs that helps them go global.
Materia Medica/therapeutic use* ; Plants, Medicinal ; Commerce ; Internationality ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reference Standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; China

Humans ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Consensus ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Reference Standards ; Treatment Outcome ; Heart Valve Prosthesis