Esophagogastric variceal bleeding is a common complication and the leading cause of death in advanced liver cirrhosis， and endoscopic variceal ligation （EVL） and endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection （ECI） are commonly used treatment strategies. Thrombocytopenia is one of the most common hematological complications in liver cirrhosis， and patients with severe thrombocytopenia have the potential risk of bleeding， which may affect treatment decision-making by clinicians and endoscopists. This article reviews the evolution of guidelines and clinical research advances regarding EVL/ECI in China and globally， in order to provide a basis for decision making among clinicians.

Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) is a progressive and lethal condition with few effective treatment options. Improvements in quality of life for patients with PPF remain limited even while receiving treatment with approved antifibrotic drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the potential to improve cough, dyspnea and fatigue symptoms of patients with PPF. TCM treatments are typically diverse and individualized, requiring urgent development of efficient and precise design strategies to identify effective treatment options. We designed an innovative Bayesian adaptive two-stage trial, hoping to provide new ideas for the rapid evaluation of the effectiveness of TCM in PPF. An open-label, two-stage, adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial will be conducted in China. Based on Bayesian methods, the trial will employ response-adaptive randomization to allocate patients to study groups based on data collected over the course of the trial. The adaptive Bayesian trial design will employ a Bayesian hierarchical model with "stopping" and "continuation" criteria once a predetermined posterior probability of superiority or futility and a decision threshold are reached. The trial can be implemented more efficiently by sharing the master protocol and organizational management mechanisms of the sub-trial we have implemented. The primary patient-reported outcome is a change in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire score, reflecting an improvement in cough-specific quality of life. The adaptive Bayesian trial design may be a promising method to facilitate the rapid clinical evaluation of TCM effectiveness for PPF, and will provide an example for how to evaluate TCM effectiveness in rare and refractory diseases. However, due to the complexity of the trial implementation, sufficient simulation analysis by professional statistical analysts is required to construct a Bayesian response-adaptive randomization procedure for timely response. Moreover, detailed standard operating procedures need to be developed to ensure the feasibility of the trial implementation. Please cite this article as: Zhang C, Nie YS, Zhang CT, Yang HJ, Zhang HR, Xiao W, Cui GF, Li J, Li SJ, Huang QS, Yan SY. An adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial of traditional Chinese medicine in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: Rationale and study design. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(2): 138-145.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Bayes Theorem ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/therapy* ; Quality of Life ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Research Design ; Adaptive Clinical Trials as Topic

OBJECTIVE: Lipid oxidation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and may be contribute to the development of Ischemic stroke (IS). However, the lipid profiles associated with IS have been poorly studied. We conducted a pilot study to identify potential IS-related lipid molecules and pathways using lipidomic profiling. METHODS: Serum lipidomic profiling was performed using LC-MS in 20 patients with IS and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Univariate and multivariate analyses were simultaneously performed to identify the differential lipids. Multiple testing was controlled for using a false discovery rate (FDR) approach. Enrichment analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst software. RESULTS: Based on the 294 lipids assayed, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models were used to distinguish patients with IS from healthy controls. Fifty-six differential lipids were identified with an FDR-adjusted P less than 0.05 and variable influences in projection (VIP) greater than 1.0. These lipids were significantly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism (FDR-adjusted P = 0.009, impact score = 0.216). CONCLUSIONS Serum lipid profiles differed significantly between patients with IS and healthy controls. Thus, glycerophospholipid metabolism may be involved in the development of IS. These results provide initial evidence that lipid molecules and their related metabolites may serve as new biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for IS.
Humans ; Pilot Projects ; Lipidomics ; Male ; Female ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Middle Aged ; Ischemic Stroke/blood* ; Aged ; China ; Lipids/blood* ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; East Asian People

Objective To evaluate the role of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) testing in evaluating early hearing loss among noise-exposed workers. Methods A total of 174 noise-exposed workers in a metal shipbuilding enterprise were selected as the research subjects by the convenience sampling method. Pure tone audiometry (PTA), DPOAE and the level of noise exposure were conducted on the workers. The rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between DPOAE amplitude and PTA threshold. The multilevel model was used to analyze the effects of gender, age, noise exposure intensity, cumulative noise exposure (CNE), hearing loss classification and PTA threshold on DPOAE results. Results At the frequencies of 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00, 4.00, 6.00 and 8.00 kHz, the DPOAE amplitude was negatively correlated with the PTA threshold (rank correlation coefficients were -0.12, -0.48, -0.47, -0.18, -0.23, -0.44, -0.19, respectively, all P<0.01). At the most frequencies, DPOAE amplitude was negatively correlated with age and CNE (all P<0.05). The results of multilevel model analysis showed that there were significant differences in DPOAE amplitudes at certain frequencies across gender, age, noise intensity, CNE, and hearing loss classification (all P<0.05). Significant differences in DPOAE responses were found among different CNE and hearing loss groups (all P<0.01). Conclusion DPOAE testing can objectively reflect the hearing status of noise-exposed workers and could be considered for inclusion in routine hearing monitoring to facilitate early detection of noise-induced hearing loss.

Claudin 18 isoform 2(Claudin18.2,CLDN18.2)is a crucial structural protein involved in cell-cell tight junctions.While its expression is limit-ed in normal tissues,it is specifically overexpressed in malignant tumors such as gastric cancer,pancre-atic cancer,and esophageal cancer,making it a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment.Recent advances in CLDN18.2-targeted therapies have been encouraging,and studies suggest that CLDN18.2-positive gastric cancer may possess a unique immune microenvironment.This raises the potential for combining targeted therapies with im-mune activation to achieve synergistic effects,po-tentially improving treatment outcomes for pa-tients with advanced gastric cancer.This review will focus on the immune microenvironment character-istics of CLDN18.2-positive gastric cancer and sum-marize the current research and clinical trial prog-ress in targeted therapies combined with immune activation for this specific cancer type.

Objective:To investigate the repair effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)on interferon gamma(IFN-γ)induced ovarian granulosa cell immune injury.Methods:A model of IFN-γ-induced ovarian granulosa cell immune injury was estab-lished.KGN cells after modeling were co-cultured with human BMSCs(hBMSCs)and divided into three groups:negative control(NC)group,IFN-γ group,and BMSC group.After co-culture,cell proliferation was determined by a cell counting kit 8 assay for 3 consecu-tive days.Cell apoptosis was determined using an Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit and a CytoFLEX flow cytometer.The estra-diol level and the mRNA expression levels of aromatase CYP19A1 and FSHR were measured to evaluate the hormone synthesis ability.The level of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),mRNA expression levels of NLRP3,caspase-1(CASP1),and interleukin-1β,and protein expression levels of NLRP3,CASP1,and gasdermin-D were determined to evaluate cell pyroptosis.Results:The proliferation rate of granulosa cells in the IFN-γ group and the BMSC group was lower than that in the NC group at 24 h,48 h and 72 h,and that in the IFN-γ group was lower than that in the BMSC group(P<0.001).The number of apoptotic granulosa cells in the INF-γ group and the BMSC group was higher than that in the NC group,and that in the INF-γ group was higher than that in the BMSC group(P<0.001).The estradiol level in the INF-γ group and the BMSC group was lower than that in the NC group,and that in the INF-γ group was lower than that in the BMSC group(P<0.001).Compared with the IFN-γ group,the mRNA expression of CYP19A1 and FSHR in the BMSC group decreased(P<0.001).Compared with the IFN-γ group,the BMSC group had significantly decreased LDH level,mRNA expression levels of NLRP3 and CASP1,and protein expres-sion level of CASP1.Conclusion:hBMSCs repair the immune in-jury of KGN cells induced by IFN-γ by restoring cell proliferation,inhibiting cell apoptosis,repairing endocrine function,and reducing pyroptosis.

Three evaluation methods were recommended for the key properties of the intravascular catheter lubricating coating such as stability,lubricity and integrity,including insoluble particle test method,friction test procedure and appearance detection method.Fifteen batches of microcatheters produced by different manufacturers were selected for testing to clarify the three methods in test principle,step,result,characteristic.References were provided for the design,production,evaluation and regulation of intravascular catheters with lubricant coatings.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(1):66-72]

The exoskeleton robot for lower limb medical rehabilitation in foreign countries and China was introduced in terms of the research status,structure and working principle,and analysis was carried out over its key technologies.It's pointed out the exoskeleton robot for lower limb medical rehabilitation would be enhanced in energy endurance,safety and comfort,individualized and intelligent control,modularity and lightweight design.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(1):88-100]

Objective:To explore the interrelationship between brain functional networks and features in functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)of patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD),and to construct mixed-function networks(MFN),and apply them in machine learning classification models to improve the accuracy of AD classification.Methods:102 AD patients and 227 healthy subjects in the Alzheimer's Neuroimaging Initiative(ADNI)dataset were retrospectively analyzed.The partial correlation brain network of the blood oxygen level dependent(BOLD)signal was calculated and fused with low-frequency wave amplitude(ALFF),fractional low-frequency wave amplitude(fALFF)and local consistency(ReHo)features to construct MFN.Network topology parameters were extracted,and a variety of machine learning classification models were constructed based on MFN topological parameters,accuracy,precision,recall and area under the curve(AUC)were used to evaluate the predictive efficiency of the models.Results:By constructed MFN and calculated intra group to inter group ratio(IIGR),35 features could be obtained from ALFF,fALFF and ReHo feature topological parameter analysis,after rank sum test and FDR correction,there were statistical differences among 28 features(P＜0.05).The classification results show that,all the five classifiers have high classification performance on the test data set.The accuracy,precision and recall rates of random forest(RF),adaptive lifting algorithm(AdaBoost),guided aggregation algorithm(Bagging)and support vector machine(SVM)were all 99.7％,and the AUC values were up to 100％,99.5％,99.1％and 99.5％,respectively.The accuracy(98.5％),precision(98.5％),recall(98.5％),and AUC(99.1％)of the multi-layer perceptron(MLP)were slightly lower than other models,but remained excellent.It was worth noting that RF has the highest AUC value of all models at 100.0％,while Bagging has the lowest AUC value(99.1％)in the integrated approach.The results of performance comparison show that,MFN classification model can significantly improve the recognition and classification of AD disease,and greatly improve the performance of various indicators of the classifier.The results showed that,MFN classification model was superior to intelligent classification based fusion,DBN-based multitask learning,PVT-TSVM,unsupervised learning and clustering,SVM and SVM of degree 3 polynomial kernel function in key indicators such as accuracy(99.13％),AUC(99.42％),recall rate(99.46％)and specificity(99.42％)with plasma proteins,machine learning algorithms.It was further proved that MFN classification model has good generalization ability and robustness in AD disease classification.Conclusion:The AD classification model constructed based on brain mixed function network topology parameters and machine learning can improve the accuracy of AD classification.

Objective To verify the applicability of a pig STR multiplex amplification system for detecting processed foods containing pork and their digestive samples,and to evaluate its potential in food safety and forensic biological evidence analysis.Methods DNA profiles were obtained using the pig STR amplification system from food samples with different levels of processing(raw pork,boiled pork,fried pork,and sausage)and from digestive samples(rat gastric contents).The influence of processing methods on DNA integrity was assessed.The uniformity of large-scale processed ham products,the consistency of DNA profiles from different parts of the same sample,and the DNA degradation patterns after rat digestion were examined.Results STR profiling of pig DNA was successful in all tested samples.Short fragments showed high amplification stability,while long fragment signals weakened with increasing processing complexity.In processed ham products,DNA profiles were consistent across all sampled parts,with fragment drift within±0.5 bp.Analysis of rat gastric contents showed slight DNA degradation within 2 hours;after 3 hours,long fragment signals weakened,and after 4 hours,some loci signals were lost.Conclusion The pig STR multiplex amplification system exhibits excellent performance in detecting processed pork products and their digestive samples.It can meet the requirements of food traceability and forensic biological evidence analysis for processed pork,providing new insights for the advancement of forensic testing techniques in this field.