The comorbidity rate of gastroesophageal reflux disease （GERD） and sleep disorders is high， and the two form a vicious circle through the “brain-gut axis”， which seriously impacts the patients’ quality of life. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， guided by the core principles of “holistic concept” and “syndrome differentiation and treatment”， features multi-targeted therapeutic effects with minimal side effects， offering diverse intervention options for clinical practice. From the perspective of the “brain-gut axis”， this article reviews the relationship between the comorbidity of GERD and sleep disorders and systematically examines relevant research findings on how TCM regulates the “brain-gut axis” to intervene in this comorbid condition. The study reveals that the “brain-gut axis” may participate in the pathological progress of GERD accompanied by sleep disorders through pathways such as abnormalities in the secretion of brain-gut peptides （including gastrointestinal secretin）， as well as intestinal dysbiosis. By closely focusing on core pathogenic mechanisms such as “disharmony between the liver and stomach” and “insomnia due to stomach disharmony”， various approaches can be employed， including TCM formulas （e.g.， modified Sini powder combined with Zuojin pills）， external TCM therapies （e.g.， back-shu point digital acupressure）， and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatments （e.g.， modified Chaihu guizhi ganjiang decoction combined with proton pump inhibitors）. These methods can regulate the levels of neurotransmitters， gastrointestinal hormones， inflammatory factors， and the composition of intestinal microbiota associated with the “brain-gut axis”， thereby achieving simultaneous improvement in both GERD and sleep disorders.

Polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS）， a common reproductive endocrine disorder in women， is one of the leading causes of ovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age. Due to its heterogeneous etiology， complex symptoms， and challenging treatment， PCOS has become a focal point of research in gynecological and reproductive medicine globally. The pathogenesis of PCOS is complex and may involve regulatory mechanisms such as inflammatory responses， oxidative stress， and cellular autophagy. Crown-like structures （CLSs） refer to pro-inflammatory microenvironments formed by macrophages engulfing adipocytes. The inflammatory disorders induced by CLSs are one of the key factors contributing to the development of PCOS and its complications. Current studies have indicated that the obese status in PCOS accelerates the formation of CLSs， and the density of CLSs can predict the progression of metabolic disorders and influence the outcomes of various metabolic diseases. Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） offers the unique advantages of a holistic view， four diagnostic methods， and syndrome differentiation and treatment to ameliorate the symptoms and signs of PCOS through multiple levels， pathways， and targets. Although studies on the mechanisms of metabolic diseases and CLS formation have been reported in China and abroad， there is still a lack of literature on the correlation between CLSs and PCOS， as well as reviews on TCM interventions targeting CLSs for treating this disease. Therefore， this paper summarized the correlation between obese PCOS and CLSs and reviewed recent studies on TCM interventions based on CLS formation （adipose tissue-macrophage inflammatory crosstalk） in the treatment of obese PCOS， aiming to provide new research perspectives for the prevention and treatment of PCOS using TCM.

Polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS）， a common reproductive endocrine disorder in women， is one of the leading causes of ovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age. Due to its heterogeneous etiology， complex symptoms， and challenging treatment， PCOS has become a focal point of research in gynecological and reproductive medicine globally. The pathogenesis of PCOS is complex and may involve regulatory mechanisms such as inflammatory responses， oxidative stress， and cellular autophagy. Crown-like structures （CLSs） refer to pro-inflammatory microenvironments formed by macrophages engulfing adipocytes. The inflammatory disorders induced by CLSs are one of the key factors contributing to the development of PCOS and its complications. Current studies have indicated that the obese status in PCOS accelerates the formation of CLSs， and the density of CLSs can predict the progression of metabolic disorders and influence the outcomes of various metabolic diseases. Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） offers the unique advantages of a holistic view， four diagnostic methods， and syndrome differentiation and treatment to ameliorate the symptoms and signs of PCOS through multiple levels， pathways， and targets. Although studies on the mechanisms of metabolic diseases and CLS formation have been reported in China and abroad， there is still a lack of literature on the correlation between CLSs and PCOS， as well as reviews on TCM interventions targeting CLSs for treating this disease. Therefore， this paper summarized the correlation between obese PCOS and CLSs and reviewed recent studies on TCM interventions based on CLS formation （adipose tissue-macrophage inflammatory crosstalk） in the treatment of obese PCOS， aiming to provide new research perspectives for the prevention and treatment of PCOS using TCM.

Objective:In recent years,the economic operating risks of public hospitals are gradually increased.Conducting a scientific assessment of hospital debt risk is crucial to preventing hospitals from falling into financial distress.It aims to evaluate the debt risk of public hospitals in Shenzhen,with a particular focus on the impact of special bonds on debt risk.Methods:Based on the 2022-2023 financial reports and data on special bondsof public hospitals in Shenzhen,factor analysis was employed to assess the debt risk of public hospitals with and without special bonds.Results:Tertiary hospitals,municipal hospitals,specialized hospitals,and general hospitals generally exhibited lower debt risk.Factors related to debt risk primarily included cash flow variables such as medical service income,net assets,and debt repayment capacity indicators,including current ratio and cash ratio.When considering the impact of special bonds,the weight of cash flow indicators and long-term debt repayment capacity indicators increased.Debt risk for municipal hospitals shifted towards higher-risk levels,while district-level hospitals saw a shift towards lower-risk levels,particularly for district-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Conclusion:The debt risk of public hospitals in Shenzhen is significantly influenced by special bonds.It is recommended to strengthen the management of special bond funds,optimize hospital cash flow,and improve debt repayment capacity to reduce debt risk.

Objective:To construct a predictive model for urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture based on the random forest (RF) algorithm and evaluate its predictive performance.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 400 patients with cervical spine fracture admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University from October 2020 to February 2025, including 311 males and 89 females, aged 12-87 years [(48.5±14.8)years]. According to the occurrence of urinary tract infection during hospital stay, the patients were divided into urinary tract infection group ( n=57) and non-urinary tract infection group ( n=343). General information, disease-related data, and serological laboratory indicators during hospital stay were recorded in both groups. Viriables for urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture were analyzed and identified through univariate analysis and Lasso regression analysis. Using the bootstrap method with 500 resamples, the data were randomly allocated into the training set ( n=281) and test set ( n=119) at a ratio of 7∶3. An RF prediction model for urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture was constructed in the training set and the variable importance for the model was calculated. The constructed RF prediction model was validated in the test set, with the predictive accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) calculated to evaluate its predictive performance. Results:Univariate analysis showed that age, body mass index (BMI), length of hospital stay, concurrent hepatic impairment, concurrent benign prostatic hyperplasia, indwelling catheterization, duration of indwelling catheterization, immunosuppressant use, fracture site, cervical spinal cord injury, Frankel grade, time from injury to surgery, red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell count (WBC), albumin (Alb), globulin (GLO), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly associated with urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture ( P<0.05). Among them, 9 viriables screened through Lasso regression analysis were age, length of hospital stay, concurrent hepatic impairment, concurrent benign prostatic hyperplasia, indwelling catheterization, duration of indwelling catheterization, Frankel grade, time from injury to surgery, and RBC. Based on the 9 viriables, a predictive model for urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture was constructed using the RF algorithm. Based on the mean decrease in Gini coefficient in the RF model, the top 6 important variables were duration of indwelling catheterization, length of hospital stay, RBC, age, time from injury to surgery, and Frankel grade in sequence. In the test set, the model achieved a prediction accuracy of 87.4%, sensitivity of 88.2%, specificity of 82.4%, and AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.80, 0.93). Conclusion:The RF prediction model for urinary tract infection in patients with cervical spine fracture is constructed based on 9 predictors including duration of indwelling catheterization, length of hospital stay, RBC, age, time from injury to surgery, Frankel grade, concurrent hepatic impairment, concurrent benign prostatic hyperplasia, and indwelling catheterization, with the first 6 viriables ranked as the most important factors, and demonstrates favorable predictive performance.

Objective:To analyze the pathogen spectrum and epidemiological characteristics of acute respiratory infections in Yantai from 2024 to 2025.Methods:Influenza-like illness（ILI）and severe acute respiratory infection（SARI）patients were enrolled from the national sentinel hospitals for acute respiratory infectious diseases in Yantai between January 2024 and April 2025. Oropharyngeal swab samples were collected and 16 common respiratory pathogens were tested using real-time quantitative PCR. Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyze the detection results.Results:A total of 1 499 cases were included in the study，including 1 070 ILI cases and 429 SARI cases. The overall positive rate of respiratory pathogens was 52.57%（788/1 499）. All of the 16 targeted respiratory pathogens were detected，with influenza virus A（FluA），SARS-CoV-2， Haemophilus influenzae（ Hi），and human adenovirus（HAdV）being the predominant pathogens. The co-infection rate was 6.27%（94/1 499），with FluA combined with Hi infection being the predominant type. Statistically significant differences in the positive rates of influenza B virus and SARS-CoV-2 were observed between male and female patients（both P<0.05）. The overall positive rates varied significantly across different age groups（ P<0.001），with the highest rate（64.62%，84/130）observed in the 4-14 year age group. The overall positive rates also varied significantly among different months（ P<0.001），with the highest rate in December（69.93%，107/153）. The overall positive rate was 57.48%（615/1 070）in ILI cases and 40.33%（173/429）in SARI cases，with statistically significant difference between the two groups（ P<0.001）. Influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 were the predominant pathogens in ILI cases，whereas HAdV and Mycoplasma pneumoniae were more common in SARI cases. Conclusions:FluA，SARS-CoV-2， Hi，and HAdV are the predominant pathogens causing acute respiratory infections in Yantai from January 2024 to April 2025. The positive rates of respiratory pathogens varies across different gender and age groups，and shows distinct seasonal patterns. There are significant differences in pathogen spectra between ILI and SARI cases.

Epidural spinal cord stimulation (eSCS) represents an emerging neuromodulation technology that ameliorates motor dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, and stroke by activating sensory afferent fibers, enhancing spinal cord neural network integration, optimizing brain-spinal cord information transmission, and inducing neural plasticity. This article reviews the mechanism, electrode implantation, and stimulation parameter of eSCS, and application of eSCS in spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, and stroke, aiming to provide valuable insight for its clinical implementation.

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome （IBS-D） is a common digestive system disease with high prevalence and recurrence rates for years， high treatment costs， and serious impacts on patients' quality of life and economic burden. Therefore， it is important to explore new and safe treatment methods. The pathogenesis of IBS-D is complex， in which the gut-brain axis is a key factor. The gut-brain axis， a bidirectional signaling pathway connecting the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system， regulates gastrointestinal motility， secretion， and immune responses， playing a key role in the occurrence and development of IBS-D. Up to now， antidiarrheal agents， probiotics， and neurotransmitter modulators are the main methods for the clinical treatment of IBS-D. Although they can partially curb the progression of this disease， the therapeutic effects remain to be improved. Studies have confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has significant advantages in the treatment of IBS-D since it can regulate the gut-brain axis via multiple pathways and targets to improve the gastrointestinal motility and strengthen immune defenses. However， there is a lack of systematic reviews on the regulation of the gut-brain axis by TCM in the treatment of IBS-D. Based on the review of IBS-D-related articles published in recent years， this paper systematically summarized the relationship between the gut-brain axis and IBS-D and the role of TCM in the treatment， providing new ideas for the treatment of IBS-D.

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical effect and safety of nicorandil combined with different doses of tirofiban in the treatment of elderly patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction （STEMI）. METHODS A total of 162 elderly patients with STEMI admitted to our hospital from June 1， 2022 to June 1， 2024 were retrospectively enrolled. All patients received percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） and conventional treatment of STEMI， and used nicorandil （5 mg each time， tid） and tirofiban. According to the use of tirofiban， the patients were divided into conventional-dose group （n＝104） and half-dose group （n＝58）. Patients in the conventional-dose group received an intracoronary injection of 10 μg/kg tirofiban， followed by intravenous infusion of 0.1 μg/（kg·min） for 48 h； patients in the half-dose group received an intracoronary injection of 5 μg/kg tirofiban， followed by intravenous infusion of 0.05 μg/（kg·min） for 48 h. Related indexes of PCI （the proportion of patients with grade 3 of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction， no reflow in infarct related artery， percentage decrease in total ST-segment elevation ＞50% on electrocardiogram 2 hours after PCI）， cardiac function parameters before and after treatment （troponin I， N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide contents and left ventricular ejection fraction）， bleeding events during treatment （gingival bleeding， epistaxis， mucosal bleeding， gastrointestinal bleeding） and other adverse events （all-cause death， non-fatal reinfarction， hypotension， ventricular fibrillation， acute heart failure） were compared between 2 groups. RESULTS There were no significant differences in related parameters of PCI， cardiac function parameters after treatment， the incidences of gingival bleeding， epistaxis and gastrointestinal bleeding， the total incidence of bleeding events， or the incidence of other adverse events during treatment between 2 groups （P＞0.05）， but the incidence of mucosal bleeding in the conventional-dose group was significantly higher than the half-dose group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The clinical effect of nicorandil combined with half-dose tirofiban in the treatment of elderly patients with acute STEMI is comparable to that of nicorandil combined with conventional dose of tirofiban， but the mucosal bleeding risk of the former is lower than that of the latter. Therefore， patients at risk of mucosal bleeding are more suitable to use the previous regimen.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria. In addition to the manifestations of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and primary infection lesions， critical cases often have manifestations of organ hypoperfusion. The morbidity and mortality of sepsis have remained high in recent years， which seriously affect the quality of life of the patients. The pathogenesis of sepsis is complicated， in which uncontrollable inflammation is a key mechanism. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway plays a key role in mediating inflammation in sepsis. The available therapies of sepsis mainly include resuscitation， anti-infection， vasoactive drugs， intensive insulin therapy， and organ support， which show limited effects of reducing the mortality. Therefore， finding new therapeutic drugs is a key problem to be solved in the clinical treatment of sepsis. In recent years， studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can regulate the PI3K/Akt pathway via multiple pathways， multiple effects， and multiple targets to inhibit inflammation and curb the occurrence and development of sepsis， which has gradually become a hot spot in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. Moreover， studies have suggested that TCM has unique advantages in the treatment of sepsis. TCM can regulate the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to inhibit inflammation， reduce oxidative stress， and control apoptosis in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. Despite the research progress， a systematic review remains to be performed regarding the TCM treatment of sepsis by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. After reviewing relevant papers published in recent years， this study systematically summarizes the relationship between PI3K/Akt pathway and sepsis and the role of TCM in the treatment of sepsis， aiming to provide new ideas for the potential treatment of sepsis and the development of new drugs.