Radiotherapy is a crucial treatment modality for head and neck tumors. However, while effectively killing tumor cells, it significantly disrupts the homeostasis of the oral microecology, which is closely associated with various complications such as radiation-induced oral mucositis. Literature review indicates that as radiotherapy doses accumulate and treatment durations extend, the richness and diversity of the oral microbiota show a declining trend, with the genus Streptococcus decreasing most markedly. In contrast, radiotherapy selectively promotes the proliferation of bacterial phyla such as Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, which are rich in opportunistic pathogens. Mechanistically, radiotherapy activates the nuclear factor-kappa B pathway, triggering chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, damaging the epithelial barrier, suppressing local immunity, and causing damage to organs such as the salivary glands. It can also induce systemic diseases via the oral-gut axis, forming a multi-level, interconnected pathogenic network. In terms of interventions, treatment strategies including probiotics and prebiotics have shown promising efficacy against side effects such as radiation-induced oral mucositis. Saliva-based oral microbiota transplantation is an emerging strategy that is expected to become widely utilized for restoring oral microecological balance. Existing interventions provide preliminary pathways for clinical practice, but this field still faces several key scientific questions. The association between oral microecology and systemic diseases remains largely correlative, lacking causal evidence. Furthermore, critical parameters for oral microbiota transplantation, such as donor screening criteria, transplantation protocols, and long-term safety, are not yet well-defined. Therefore, future research should focus on conducting large-scale clinical trials to establish standardized protocols and safety evaluation systems for oral microecological interventions, and explore combined treatment therapies such as probiotics, prebiotics, and microbiota transplantation to advance the development of personalized precision modulation. These will enable more effective management of radiotherapy-induced oral microecological dysbiosis and improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients with head and neck tumors.

Objective:To summarize assessment tools for taste dysfunction in patients with head and neck cancer and provide a reference for clinical evaluation by healthcare professionals.Methods:A computer-based search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, China Biology Medicine disc, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and VIP for literature on taste dysfunction in head and neck cancer from database inception to May 10, 2025.Results:A total of 31 articles were included: five on tool development, three on tool validation, five on cross-cultural adaptation, and 18 on tool application.A total of 16 assessment tools were identified overall: ten subjective instruments and six objective instruments. Reliability and validity were most commonly examined using internal consistency reliability and criterion-related validity.Conclusions:A wide variety of tools exist for assessing taste dysfunction in patients with head and neck cancer. Tool selection should be based on clinical context and patient characteristics. Future work should develop disease-specific, locally adapted instruments aligned with the features of head and neck cancer.

Objective:To summarize assessment tools for taste dysfunction in patients with head and neck cancer and provide a reference for clinical evaluation by healthcare professionals.Methods:A computer-based search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, China Biology Medicine disc, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and VIP for literature on taste dysfunction in head and neck cancer from database inception to May 10, 2025.Results:A total of 31 articles were included: five on tool development, three on tool validation, five on cross-cultural adaptation, and 18 on tool application.A total of 16 assessment tools were identified overall: ten subjective instruments and six objective instruments. Reliability and validity were most commonly examined using internal consistency reliability and criterion-related validity.Conclusions:A wide variety of tools exist for assessing taste dysfunction in patients with head and neck cancer. Tool selection should be based on clinical context and patient characteristics. Future work should develop disease-specific, locally adapted instruments aligned with the features of head and neck cancer.

Objective:To explore the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation of nurses between empowering leadership and job performance, with the aim of providing a reference basis for managers to develop a scientific and effective intervention programme to improve nurses′ job performance.Methods:Convenience sampling method was used to select 1 213 clinical nurses from four tertiary general hospitals in Shandong Province, Henan Province, Yunnan Province, and Fujian Province from November to December 2023, and General Information Questionnaire, Empowering Leadership Scale, Intrinsic Motivation Scale, and Job Performance Scale were used to conduct a cross-sectional survey. AMOS26.0 software was used to test the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation of nurses between empowering leadership and job performance.Results:A total of 1 100 nurses completed the survey finally. Among them, there were 58 males and 1 042 females, 474 under 31 years old, 448 between 31-40 years old, and 178 over 40 years old.The total scores of the Empowering Leadership Scale, Intrinsic Motivation Scale, and Job Performance Scale were 49.44 ± 10.04, 82.35 ± 13.54 and 46.27 ± 6.20 in that order. Nurses' job performance were positive correlation with the empowered leadership and intrinsic motivation ( r=0.486, 0.703, both P<0.01), there was a positive correlation between nurse empowerment leadership and intrinsic motivation ( r=0.452, P<0.01). Nurses′ intrinsic motivation partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and job performance, accounting for 62.69% of the total effect. Conclusions:Intrinsic motivation of nurses is a mediating variable between empowered leadership and job performance. Nursing managers should focus on nurses' participation in autonomous decision-making to enhance nurses′ sense of competence and meaning at work, and mobilise their motivation to improve job performance.

Objective:To observe the changes in serum estradiol (E 2) levels in pregnant women of different gestational weeks and their predictive value for early intrauterine pregnancy outcomes. Methods:A retrospective study was conducted involving 375 pregnant women who were treated at the Affiliated Yangming Hospital of Ningbo University (Yuyao People's Hospital) from September 2021 to September 2023. The clinical data were categorized based on pregnancy outcomes into three groups: a normal pregnancy group ( n = 150), a threatened miscarriage with continued pregnancy group ( n = 150), and a miscarriage group ( n = 75). The serum estradiol (E 2) levels at different gestational weeks were compared among the three groups: 5 to < 6 weeks (35-41 days), 6 to < 7 weeks (42-48 days), and 7 to 8 weeks (49-55 days). The predictive value of serum E 2 levels for early intrauterine pregnancy outcomes across different gestational weeks was analyzed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. Results:In the normal pregnancy group, the serum E 2 levels at different gestational weeks were as follows: (1 691.87 ± 532.21) pmol/L for 5 to < 6 weeks, (2 376.64 ± 788.36) pmol/L for 6 to < 7 weeks, and (3 576.30 ± 1,190.06) pmol/L for 7 to 8 weeks. These values were significantly higher than those in the threatened miscarriage with continued pregnancy group [(1 409.28 ± 473.49) pmol/L, (1 893.13 ± 563.15) pmol/L, (2 035.79 ± 612.47) pmol/L, t = 5.15, 11.68, 6.60, all P < 0.05] and the miscarriage group [(906.49 ± 338.09) pmol/L, (923.63 ± 365.39) pmol/L, (950.27 ± 378.89) pmol/L, t = 16.19, 15.45, 21.50, all P < 0.05]. The serum E 2 levels at different gestational weeks in the threatened miscarriage with continued pregnancy group were significantly higher than those in the miscarriage group ( t = 7.48, 10.81, 8.89, all P < 0.05). Both the normal pregnancy group and the threatened miscarriage with continued pregnancy group showed an increasing trend in serum E 2 levels with advancing gestational weeks ( t = 6.74, 18.55, 7.58, 9.82, 11.81, 2.24, all P < 0.05). In contrast, the serum E 2 levels in the miscarriage group also increased with advancing gestational weeks, but the differences were not statistically significant ( P > 0.05). The results from the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the areas under the curve for predicting early intrauterine pregnancy outcomes based on serum E 2 levels at different gestational weeks were 0.857, 0.810, and 0.839, demonstrating excellent diagnostic efficacy. Conclusions:Dynamic monitoring of serum E 2 levels is beneficial for predicting early intrauterine pregnancy outcomes and providing guidance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To explore healthcare professionals′knowledge and experience regarding trismus exercises following oral cancer treatment, aiming to provide reference for developing standardized exercise protocols.Methods:A phenomenological qualitative research approach was employed. Using purposive sampling, 16 healthcare professionals from the Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Radiotherapy, and Rehabilitation Departments of the Ninth People′s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, were selected between June and October 2023. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data was analyzed using Colaizzi′s method.Results:Among the 16 research subjects, there were 7 males and 9 females, aged (43.63 ± 7.04) years. Four main themes emerged: methods for assessing trismus, including objective and subjective evaluations; types of trismus exercises, encompassing passive opening exercises, active opening exercises, and other oral movements; timing of trismus exercises, including when to start and when to end; factors influencing exercise effectiveness, including patient-specific factors and treatment-related factors.Conclusions:Rehabilitation for trismus following oral cancer treatment should combine objective and subjective assessments, primarily employing passive and active mouth opening exercises supplemented by other oral training methods. Exercises should begin as early as possible and be maintained long-term. When developing personalized exercise regimens, both individual patient characteristics and treatment factors should be considered.

Objective"Red butterfly sore","yin-yang toxin"and"Bi disease"are different Chinese medicine diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).It is not clear whether there are biological differences between these three types of Chinese medicine diagnoses.The aim of this study was to compare the different TCM diagnoses of SLE patients from the perspective of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines.Methods Patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital from June 1,2021 to December 1,2023 were retrospectively collected,and the differences of T cell subsets,NK cells,B lymphocytes and Th1,Th2 and Th17 cytokines among different groups were compared by one-way ANOVA or nonparametric test.As well as differences in laboratory test indicators such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),C-reactive protein(CRP),immunoglobulin,and complement,receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was used to analyze the value of these indexes in the differential diagnosis of different types of SLE.Results From June 1,2021 to December 1,2023,291 patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital for the first time were collected,and 104 cases meeting the exclusion criteria of this study were included,including 31 cases of red butterfly sores,30 cases of yin-yang toxin and 43 cases of BI disease.The absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,interleukin-10(IL-10)content and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)content were different among the three groups of SLE patients diagnosed by different Chinese medicine,and the absolute number of CD8+T cells in the red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in the yin-yang toxicities group(P=0.039)and the disease group(P=0.008).CD8+T cell percentage in red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in yin-yang toxin group(P=0.014)and disease group(P=0.004),IL-10 and TNF-α levels in red butterfly sore group were significantly lower than those in disease group(P=0.015,P=0.036),and ROC curve analysis showed that,the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from yin-yang toxins(AUC=0.65,AUC=0.61,P<0.05),and the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from diseases(AUC=0.68,AUC=0.66,P<0.01,AUC=0.67,AUC=0.64,P<0.05).Conclusion Immune lymphocyte subtypes,cytokines,especially the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α may play an important role in the identification of different TCM diagnosis of SLE.

Objective:To compare the clinical characteristics of patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) caused by Polygonum multiflorum and other drug-induced liver injuries (DILI).Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Clinical data of seventy-three cases confirmedly diagnosed with DILI caused by Polygonum multiflorum, 168 cases diagnosed with DILI caused by other traditional Chinese medicines, and 225 cases diagnosed with DILI caused by modern medicines admitted to Peking University First Hospital, the Fipth People's Hospital of Wuxi, Yantai Qishan Hospital, and Qinhuangdao Third Hospital from January 1995 to August 2019 were selected and collected as the research subjects. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of skewed distribution of continuous data between two groups. The Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test was used for comparison between three groups. The χ2 test was used for comparing count data between groups. Results:Among the 73 cases with DILI caused by Polygonum multiflorum, 11 (15.1%) took a single herb of Polygonum multiflorum (including its powder and boiled water), 37 (50.7%) took traditional Chinese patent medicines containing Polygonum multiflorum, and 25 (34.2%) took a traditional Chinese medicine formula containing Polygonum multiflorum. The age of the DILI group caused by Polygonum multiflorum was 48 years old, which was lower than the other two groups (the DILI group caused by other traditional Chinese medicines: 55 years old, the DILI group caused by modern medicines: 52 years old; P<0.01). The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase were all higher than the other two groups ( P<0.05). The proportion of patients with antinuclear antibody positivity rate and severity of liver damage grade 3 was higher in the DILI group induced by Polygonum multiflorum than those in the modern drug-induced DILI group ( P<0.05). The liver cell injury type accounted for 96.6% (57/59) in the DILI group caused by Polygonum multiflorum, which was higher than that in the modern drug-induced DILI group (69.3%, 156/225) ( P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference ( P>0.05) in gender, age, medication duration, and various biochemical indicators between patients with DILI caused by Polygonum multiflorum monotherapy and compound preparations in terms of compatibility. The ALT level in the DILI group caused by raw Polygonum multiflorum was higher than that in the DILI group caused by processed Polygonum multiflorum [the DILI group caused by raw Polygonum multiflorum: 1 289.0(921.8, 1 851.8)U/L, the DILI group caused by processed Polygonum multiflorum: 890.0(304.0,1 320.0)U/L; P<0.05] according to the comparison of processing methods. Conclusion:The degree of DILI caused by Polygonum multiflorum is more obvious than that caused by other drugs. There was no difference in the degree of DILI caused by the single and the compound formulation. However, the liver damage caused by raw Polygonum multiflorum was more severe than that caused by processed Polygonum multiflorum.

Objective:To investigate feedback on teaching effectiveness and optimization strategies for flipped classrooms in pediatric probation of eight-year clinical medicine programs, and to provide insights for enhancing the educational quality of pediatric probation.Methods:From June to September 2022, eight-year clinical medicine students from the class of 2018 undergoing pediatric probation were included in the study using purposive sampling. The subjects participated in one-on-one, offline, semi-structured, in-depth interviews to provide feedback on traditional lectures and flipped classroom teaching. The sample size was determined based on the principle of data saturation, with nine students participating in-depth interviews. NVivo 12 software was used for coding and classifying the interview data, which were then analyzed using thematic framework analysis to identify key themes.Results:Analysis of the interview data revealed three themes and ten sub-themes. Specifically, theme 1: The flipped classroom enhanced learning effectiveness but increased students' workload; theme 2: The current pediatric probation was scientifically designed but could be improved; theme 3: Several strategies exist for optimizing the flipped classroom teaching in pediatric probation.Conclusions:The flipped classroom in pediatric probation is in its early stages. While offering some benefits, further exploration and optimization are needed in curriculum design, student motivation, and supervision and evaluation methods.

Objective To explore the influencing factors of physical activity behavior change in lung cancer patients and provide a basis for developing targeted intervention programs.Methods A descriptive qualitative research method was employed.Using purposive sampling,18 lung cancer pa-tients and 10 healthcare professionals were selected for semi-structured interviews from October to De-cember 2023.The health action process approach(HAPA)theory was used as the framework,and directed content analysis was applied to analyze the data.Results The barriers to physical activity behavior change in lung cancer patients were distilled into six themes:insufficient risk perception,negative outcome expectations,self-doubt and behavior avoidance tendencies,challenges in persist-ence and risk of interruption,lack of behavioral intention and demand,and absence of action and coping plans.The facilitating factors were divided into six themes:perception of the potential hazards of insufficient physical activity,perception of the health benefits of physical activity,cultivation and development of self-efficacy,stimulation of motivation for activity,formulation of differentiated activity plans,and formulation of adaptive coping plans.Conclusion Physical activity behavior in lung cancer patients is influenced by multiple factors.Targeted intervention strategies can be developed based on the HAPA theory to promote physical activity behavior change and improve physical activity levels.