OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and mechanisms of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. in improving sleep. METHODS Network pharmacology was employed to identify the active components of L. ruthenicum and their associated disease targets， followed by enrichment analysis. A caffeine‑induced zebrafish model of sleep deprivation was established ， and the zebrafish were treated with L. ruthenicum Murr. extract （LRME） at concentrations of 0.1， 0.2 and 0.4 mg/mL， respectively； 24 h later， behavioral changes of zebrafish and pathological alterations in brain neurons were subsequently observed. The levels of inflammatory factors [interleukin-6 （IL-6）， IL-1β， IL-10， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）]， oxidative stress markers [superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）， catalase （CAT）]， and neurotransmitters [5- hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， γ-aminobutyric acid （GABA）， glutamic acid （Glu）， dopamine （DA）， and norepinephrine （NE）] were measured. The protein expression levels of protein kinase B1 （AKT1）， phosphorylated AKT1 （p-AKT1）， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）， sarcoma proto-oncogene，non-receptor tyrosine kinase （SRC）， and heat shock protein 90α family class A member 1 （HSP90AA1） in the zebrafish were also determined. RESULTS A total of 12 active components and 176 intersecting disease targets were identified through network pharmacology analysis. Among these， apigenin， naringenin and others were recognized as core active compounds， while AKT1， EGFR and others served as key targets； EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance signaling pathway was identified as the critical pathway. The sleep improvement rates in zebrafish of LRME low-， medium-， and high-dose groups were 54.60%， 69.03% and 77.97%， 开发。E-mail：hjp_yft@163.com respectively， while the inhibition ratios of locomotor distance were 0.57， 0.83 and 0.95， respectively. Compared with the model group， the number of resting counts， resting time and resting distance were significantly increased/extended in LRME medium- and high-dose groups （P＜0.05）. Neuronal damage in the brain was alleviated. Additionally， the levels of IL-6， IL-1β， TNF-α， MDA， Glu， DA and NE， as well as the protein expression levels of AKT1， p-AKT1， EGFR， SRC and HSP90AA1， were markedly reduced （P＜0.05）， while the levels of IL-10， SOD， GSH-Px， CAT， 5-HT and GABA， as well as Bcl-2 protein expression， were significantly elevated （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS L. ruthenicum Murr. demonstrates sleep-improving effects， and its specific mechanism may be related to the regulation of inflammatory responses， oxidative stress， neurotransmitter balance， and the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance signaling pathway.

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase （JNK） signaling pathway， a key member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） family， plays a central role in the pathogenesis and progression of central nervous system （CNS） diseases by regulating core biological processes such as apoptosis， inflammatory responses， synaptic plasticity， and autophagy. This article sorts out and analyzes relevant literature published domestically and internationally in recent years， summarizing the mechanisms of action of the JNK signaling pathway in common CNS diseases and the research progress in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） interventions in CNS diseases through the regulation of the JNK signaling pathway. Studies have shown that active components of TCM， such as berberine， paeoniflorin， and astragaloside Ⅳ， as well as compound formulations like Heixiaoyao san， Ditan tang， and Buyang huanwu tang， can exert neuroprotective effects in various CNS disorders， including Alzheimer’s disease， Parkinson’s disease， cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury， and epilepsy， by inhibiting the aberrant activation of the JNK signaling pathway， thereby alleviating neuroinflammation， oxidative stress， and neuronal apoptosis， while improving synaptic function and cognitive behavioral deficits， regulating autophagy， and maintaining blood-brain barrier integrity.

The Pharmacovigilance Guidelines for Clinical Application of Oral Chinese Patent Medicines （hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines） is first specialized in the field of drug safety for oral Chinese patent medicines （OCPMs） in China. Rooted in China's healthcare context， the Guidelines address the unique usage patterns and risk characteristics of OCPMs， filling a regulatory gap in the pharmacovigilance framework specific to this category. To facilitate accurate understanding and effective implementation of the Guidelines， and to promote the standardized development of pharmacovigilance practices for OCPMs， this study offered a systematic interpretation based on its three core components. In the domain of risk monitoring and reporting， the paper analyzed the rationale for multi-source information integration and clarified the criteria for identifying key products and target populations for intensive monitoring. Regarding risk assessment， the Guidelines were examined from three dimensions of formulation components， medication behaviors， and population to address complex safety issues arising from medicinal constituents， irrational use， and individual susceptibility. In the area of risk control， the analysis focused on context-based interventions and dynamic closed-loop management strategies， exploring practical pathways to shift from passive response to proactive risk mitigation. Furthermore， this paper evaluated the applied value of the Guidelines and identified implementation challenges， such as insufficient capacity at the primary-care level and limited digital infrastructure. In response， the study proposed optimization strategies including establishing a dynamic updating mechanism， strengthening training at the grassroots level， and incorporating artificial intelligence to enhance pharmacovigilance capacity. This interpretation aims to provide actionable insights for marketing authorization holders （including manufacturers）， pharmaceutical distributors， healthcare institutions， and research organizations， ultimately supporting the establishment and refinement of a full lifecycle pharmacovigilance system for OCPMs.

OBJECTIVE To provide medication reference for duloxetine use in clinical settings， particularly for patients with depression in primary medical institutions in Xinjiang that lack therapeutic drug monitoring conditions. METHODS The medical records of 281 depression inpatients taking duloxetine in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2022 to December 2023 were retrospectively collected. They were divided into training set （196 cases） and test set （85 cases） in the ratio of 7∶3. Feature selection was performed by encapsulating random forests （RF） with recursive feature elimination. Four machine learning algorithms， namely support vector machine， RF， extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） and artificial neural network， were used to construct duloxetine blood concentration prediction model. The prediction performance of the models was evaluated and compared by coefficient of determination （R2）， mean absolute error （MAE） and root mean squared error （RMSE）. The feature of the selected optimal model was explained by Shapley additive explanation method， and the importance ranking of the features and the influence on the prediction results of duloxetine blood concentration were determined. RESULTS A total of 29 characteristic variables were selected， including age， ethnicity， body mass index（BMI）， etc. XGBoost showed the highest R2 （0.808）， and the lowest MAE （7.644） and RMSE （10.808）. The ranking of feature importance for predicting the blood concentration of duloxetine was as follows： BMI＞age＞other 20 feature sets （including liver and kidney function and biochemical indicators）＞daily dosage＞comorbidities＞combination therapy＞ethnicity＞white blood cell count＞hemoglobin＞height. CONCLUSIONS XGBoost model possesses the best prediction performance of duloxetine blood concentration； BMI and age have a greater impact on the prediction of duloxetine blood concentration.

Objective: To analyze the change trends in the body shape indicators and proportions of students in Harbin from 2010 to 2024, and to investigate ergonomic compatibility of functional dimensions of school desks and chairs with current student shape indicators, so as to provide a reference for revising furniture standards of desks and chairs. Methods: Between September and November of both 2010 and 2024, a combination of convenience sampling and stratified cluster random sampling was conducted across three districts in Harbin, yielding samples of 6 590 and 6 252 students, respectively. Anthropometric shape indicators cluding height, sitting height, crus length, and thigh length-and their proportional changes were compared over the 15-year period. The 2024 data were compared with current standard functional dimensions of school furniture. The statistical analysis incorporated t-test and Mann-Whitney U- test. Results: From 2010 to 2024, average height increased by 1.8 cm for boys and 1.5 cm for girls; sitting height increased by 1.5 cm for both genders; crus length increased by 0.3 cm for boys and 0.4 cm for girls; and thigh length increased by 0.5 cm for both genders. The ratios of sitting height to height, and sitting height to leg length increased by less than 0.1 . The difference between desk chair height and 1/3 sitting height ranged from 0.4-0.8 cm. Among students matched with size 0 desks and chairs, 22.0% had a desk to chair height difference less than 0, indicating that the desk to chair height difference might be insufficient for taller students. The differences between seat height and fibular height ranged from -1.4 to 1.1 cm; and the differences between seat depth and buttock popliteal length ranged from -9.8 to 3.4 cm. Among obese students, the differences between seat width and 1/2 hip circumference ranged from -20.5 to -8.7 cm, while it ranged from -12.2 to -3.8 cm among non obese students. Conclusion Current furniture standards basically satisfy hygienic requirements; however, in the case of exceptionally tall and obese students, ergonomic accommodations such as adaptive seating allocation or personalized adjustments are recommended to meet hygienic requirements.

In today's society， depression is a kind of highly prevalent chronic mental illness. It leads to a high disability rate and a heavy economic burden. Depression is defined by fundamental symptoms of low mood and diminished pleasure. Its causes and mechanisms remain unclear， and it presents a broad spectrum of symptoms and a persistent nature that significantly impacts both physical and mental well-being. Treatment in Western medicine primarily focuses on alleviating symptoms， yet it entails numerous adverse effects and contraindications. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） treatment is based on resolving depression， which is often accompanied by soothing liver， and the key medicine is Bupleuri Radix. Bupleuri Radix associated prescriptions refer to a class of prescriptions using Bupleuri Radix as the sovereign medicinal or having a high dose of Bupleuri Radix， which are widely used in the field of anti-depression. Previous studies from animal experiments， clinical research， and modern pharmacological research have confirmed that Bupleuri Radix associated prescriptions have precise anti-depression efficacy in multiple ways and at multiple levels， but lack a comprehensive and systematic summarization. This paper summarized and analyzed the literature related to the clinical application and mechanism of action of Bupleuri Radix associated prescriptions in anti-depression treatment. The results showed that the anti-depression mechanism of the Bupleuri Radix associated prescriptions （such as Xiaochaihu Tang， Xiaoyao San， Sini San， Chaihu Shugan San， and Chaihu jia Longgu Muli San） was associated with the effects of regulating monoamine neurotransmitters， the brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）， intestinal flora， and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis， inhibiting inflammatory responses， and modulating related signaling pathways. Applying them in clinical practice can effectively alleviate patient symptoms， lower the TCM syndrome score and the severity of depression， and also reduce adverse reactions. This underscores advantages of TCM in depression treatment， which offers patients a secure， effective， and more individualized alternative treatment regimen. On this basis， the shortcomings of current studies and the future trend were analyzed. This study aimed to provide an evidence-based medicine basis for the research and development of novel antidepressant medications.

The changes in modern children’s lifestyles and dietary environments have led to children’s cold stagnation syndrome becoming one of the most common pediatric conditions. Traditional Chinese medicine attributes its internal causes primarily to lung-spleen deficiency and weak defensive functions， while external causes predominantly involve invasion by external pathogens such as wind or epidemic qi. The pathogenesis involves either initial food stagnation followed by external contraction or primary external contraction leading to secondary stagnation. Traditional Chinese medicine employs a syndrome differentiation and treatment system， utilizing targeted approaches such as internal therapies （Chinese herbal formulas or patent medicines， such as Youke shengjiang decoction， modified Dayuanyin formula， Huanghua shuangjie decoction， Sanyang qingjie decoction， Banxia xiexin decoction， Xiao’er chiqiao qingre granule， Baoji oral liquid， etc.）， external therapies （massage， acupuncture， acupoint applications）， combined therapies （integrating internal-external treatments or Chinese-Western medicine）， and preventive therapy at the pre-disease stage. These methods demonstrate unique advantages in alleviating clinical symptoms and improving treatment efficacy. However， limitations persist， including insufficient standardization in clinical research and a lack of in-depth mechanistic studies.

BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster infection and affects patients' quality of life. Acupuncture therapy is regarded as a competitive method of treatment for analgesia. OBJECTIVE: To summarize evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) and evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different acupuncture therapies for treating PHN. METHODS: Eight electronic databases were searched from their inception to August 5, 2022, including 4 international electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and 4 Chinese databases (Chinese Biomedical Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database and Wanfang Database). Methodological quality was assessed by A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2). The Risk of Bias in Systematic Review (ROBIS) tool was used to assess the risk of bias in SRs. Evidence level was assessed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: Totally, 7 SRs were included, including 128 studies and 9,792 patients. In AMSTAR 2, most of the SRs were of low or critically low levels since they had more than 1 critical deficiency. In ROBIS, 1 SR (14.29%) was rated as high risk, and the other 6 (85.71%) were rated as low risk. In the GRADE system, 9 outcomes (28.13%) were valued as high level, 5 (15.63%) as moderate level, 1 (3.13%) as low, and 17 (53.13%) as very low. In the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy, the group "moxibustion vs. original medical treatment" [mean difference (MD)=-1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.80 to -1.08, I²=99%, P<0.00001] was of the highest heterogeneity and the group "bloodletting vs. original medical treatment" (MD=-2.80, 95% CI: -3.14 to -2.46, I²=0, P<0.00001) was of the lowest heterogeneity. Six SRs have reported the safety of their studies and no serious events were shown in the treatment and control groups. CONCLUSIONS Acupuncture therapy seems to be effective in treating PHN. Despite the evidence that suggested the advantages of acupuncture therapy in relieving pain and promoting efficacy and safety, the methodological quality was quite low. Further studies should pay more attention to the quality of original studies and evidence for SRs to confirm these findings. (PROSPERO registration No. CRD42022344790).
Humans ; Neuralgia, Postherpetic/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of wet ear status and its impact on the efficacy of endoscopic type Ⅰ tympanoplasty. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted at the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army（PLA）Air Force Medical University, on 160 ears that underwent endoscopic type Ⅰ tympanoplasty; these were assigned to a dry-ear group （n= 118） and a wet-ear group （n= 42）.Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were used to identify risk factors for wet ear status. Postoperative outcomes, including tympanic meoombrane healing rate and hearing improvement across frequencies, were compared between groups. Results:①Significant intergroup differences were observed in age, residual tympanic membrane status, external auditory canal condition, mastoid pneumatization（MC0）, and middle ear ventilation dysfunction（P<0.05）; ②The degree of mastoid pneumatization being MC0 is an independent risk factor for wet ear（P<0.05）; ③No significant difference in tympanic membrane healing rates was found（P>0.05）; ④The wet ear group showed significantly higher pre-and postoperative air-conduction（AC） and bone-conduction（BC） thresholds at 2 kHz and 4 kHz compared to the dry ear group（P<0.05）, though the postoperative air-bone gap（ABG） improvement was comparable. Conclusion:Poor mastoid pneumatization is a risk factor for wet ears. The wet ear state has no effect on tympanic membrane healing and air-bone conduction gap, but patients in the wet ear group may have more severe inner ear or auditory nerve pathway damage.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Tympanoplasty/methods* ; Adult ; Risk Factors ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Endoscopy ; Adolescent ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Child ; Logistic Models ; Tympanic Membrane/surgery*

BACKGROUND: There is a gap in understanding the effects of different acupoints and treatment methods (acupuncture and moxibustion) on microcirculatory changes in the lumbar region. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the thermal effects of acupuncture at Weizhong (BL40), with acupuncture at Chize (LU5) and moxibustion at both acupoints as control interventions. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: In this randomized controlled trial, 140 healthy participants were equally divided into four groups: acupuncture at BL40 (Acu-BL40), acupuncture at LU5 (Acu-LU5), moxibustion at BL40 (Mox-BL40) and moxibustion at LU5 (Mox-LU5). Participants underwent a 30-minute session of their assigned treatment. Infrared thermal imaging was used to collect temperature data on the areas of interest for analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary measure was the change in average temperature of the observed area after the intervention. The secondary measures included periodic temperature changes every 5 min and the temperature changes of the Governor Vessel and Bladder Meridian in the observed area after the intervention. RESULTS: Significant interactions were observed between treatments and acupoints affecting temperature (P < 0.001). The Acu-BL40 group showed a notably higher increase in mean temperature after 30 min compared to the Acu-LU5 and Mox-BL40 groups, with increases of 0.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.17 to 0.41) and 0.24 (95% CI = 0.08 to 0.41) °C, respectively. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at BL40 acupoint can significantly increase the mean temperature in the observed area, highlighting the specific thermal effect of acupuncture compared to moxibustion in the lumbar area. This suggests a potential therapeutic benefit of acupuncture at BL40 for managing lumbar conditions. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05665426). Please cite this article as: Zheng SY, Wang XY, Lin LN, Liu S, Huang XX, Liu YY, Yu XS, Pan W, Fang JQ, Liang Y. Lumbar temperature change after acupuncture or moxibustion at Weizhong (BL40) or Chize (LU5) in healthy adults: A randomized controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(2): 145-151.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Young Adult ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Body Temperature ; Healthy Volunteers ; Lumbosacral Region/physiology* ; Moxibustion ; Adolescent