1.Current Status and Optimization Strategies for Setting Objective Performance Criteria in Clinical Trials of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Jiaqi LAI ; Qian HUANG ; Xueyin CHEN ; Shaonan LIU ; Lihong YANG ; MIMAZHUOGA ; DAWA ; Zhijian LI ; Tuerxun WUFUER ; Xinfeng GUO
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2026;67(13):1461-1464
Current formulation of objective performance criteria (OPC) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) faces methodological challenges, including poor reporting quality, insufficient standardization of methods, limited comparability of study populations, and inadequate consideration of the genetic and environment particularities of ethnic minority populations. In response to these issues, this paper proposes optimization strategies for setting OPC in TCM, with particular attention to ethnic minority medicine. These include improving methodological techniques and statistical descriptions, ensuring transparency in meta-analyses and data sources; standardizing the estimation of point estimates and confidence intervals, and incorporating multidisciplinary expert consensus for value determination; introducing local real-world data from the same period, especially cohort study evidence, to compensate for the lack of high-quality randomized controlled trial data. Through process transparency and dynamic updating mechanisms, the credibility of OPC method can be enhanced, thereby providing methodological support for strengthening evidence-based research capacity in this field.
2.Status quo and identification efficiency of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Yuejin CHEN ; Peigen SHEN ; Xinfeng HUANG ; Yanhui LU
Journal of Public Health and Preventive Medicine 2026;37(5):145-149
Objective To analyze the status quo and identification efficiency of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Methods A total of 407 patients with CHC who were admitted to the hospital between January 2022 and January 2025 were collected as study subjects. According to whether MAFLD was newly diagnosed during the study period, all enrolled patients were classified into two groups, including MAFLD group (CHC with MAFLD, n=143) and CHC group (CHC, n=264). The general data [gender, age, place of residence, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, course of chronic hepatitis C (CHC), history of diabetes mellitus], liver function indicators [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT)], glucose metabolism indicators [fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)], lipid metabolism indicators [total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)], serum specific protein markers {serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP), retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c)}were compared between both groups. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed for multivariate regression analysis. ROC curve was utilized to evaluate the identification value. Results The levels of ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, FBG, FINS, HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL-C, A-FABP, RBP4 and SREBP-1c in the MAFLD group were higher than those in the CHC group (P<0.05) while the levels of HDL-C and 25(OH)D were lower compared to the CHC group (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis results suggested that TG, 25(OH)D, RBP4, HbA1c and HOMA-IR were independent related factors influencing MAFLD occurrence (P<0.05). ROC curve analysis results revealed that the identification efficiency of combined prediction (AUC=0.854, 95% CI : 0.812-0.887)was better than that of TG (AUC=0.653, 95% CI: 0.607-0.720), 25(OH)D (AUC=0.685, 95% CI: 0.607-0.715), RBP4 (AUC=0.649, 95%CI: 0.633-0.741), HbA1c (AUC=0.718, 95% CI: 0.657-0.755) or HOMA-IR (AUC=0.726, 95% CI: 0.654-0.757), and combined prediction had the best identification efficiency (P<0.05). Conclusion CHC patients with MAFLD have significant metabolic disorders and changes in specific protein markers. TG, 25(OH)D, RBP4, HbA1c and HOMA-IR are independent related factors, and combined prediction model of multiple indicators exhibits good identification efficiency.
3.Effects of training modalities and training cycles on visceral and subcutaneous fat in recessively obese individuals
Xinfeng GUO ; Zhidong LIANG ; Huiyu CHEN ; Yang LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(11):2340-2346
BACKGROUND:Research suggests that exercise interventions may be more advantageous than pharmacologic treatments or dietary restriction alone for fat loss,but fewer studies have simultaneously examined the effects of training modalities and training cycles on visceral and subcutaneous fat in obese populations. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the impact of training modalities and training cycles on visceral and subcutaneous fat in recessive obesity female college students. METHODS:Sixty-three female college students with hidden obesity(body mass index<24 kg/m2 and body fat content percentage≥30%)were recruited from Zhengzhou College of Commerce and Industry,and were randomly divided into a high-intensity intermittent training group(n=32)and a moderate-intensity continuous training group(n=31)using the lottery method.Subjects in both groups performed exercise training of corresponding intensity on a running platform and ensured that the exercise volume of both groups was equal,3 times per week,every 4 weeks as one training cycle for 16 weeks.Before training and at the end of each training cycle,subjects'visceral fat,subcutaneous fat,and overall fat were measured using the corresponding test devices. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The repeated measures F results indicated that the main effects of training cycles on visceral fat area,visceral fat index,abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness,percentage of body fat and body mass index were significant,while the main effects of training modalities were significant for subcutaneous fat thickness in the triceps brachii and scapula regions.All the interaction effects between training modalities and training cycles were significant(P<0.05).Results from the simple effect tests revealed that the significant simple effects of training modalities at the 4th and 12th weeks for visceral fat area and visceral fat index,at the 8th and 12th weeks for subcutaneous fat thickness in the triceps brachii,scapula region,and abdominal regions,and at the 8th week for the percentage of body fat and body mass index.Simple effects of training cycles were significant for all measures within each group.(3)The results of multiple comparison tests indicated that in the high-intensity intermittent training group,visceral fat area,visceral fat index,percentage of body fat,body mass index and abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness decreased sequentially at the 4th,8th,12th,and 16th weeks,and subcutaneous fat thickness of the triceps brachii and scapula decreased sequentially at the 8th,12th,and 16th weeks(P<0.05).In the moderate-intensity continuous training group,visceral fat area,visceral fat index,subcutaneous fat thickness of the triceps brachii and scapula,percentage of body fat and body mass index decreased successively at the 8th,12th,and 16th weeks,while abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness decreased successively at the 4th,8th,12th,and 16th weeks(P<0.05).To conclude,both training modalities and training cycles are factors influencing visceral and subcutaneous fat in recessive obesity female college students.Training modality primarily affects subcutaneous fat in the triceps brachii and scapular region,but the fat loss effects may converge over a longer training cycle;training cycle primarily affects visceral fat area,visceral fat index,abdominal subcutaneous fat,body fat content,and body mass index.
4.Endovascular Treatment for Acute Posterior Circulation Tandem Lesions: Insights From the BASILAR and PERSIST Registries
Wei LI ; Mohamed F. DOHEIM ; Zhongming QIU ; Tan WANG ; Zhibin CHEN ; Wenjie ZI ; Qingwu YANG ; Haitao GUAN ; Hongyu QIAO ; Wenhua LIU ; Wei HU ; Xinfeng LIU ; Jinbo HUANG ; Zhongkui HAN ; Zhonglun CHEN ; Zhenqiang ZHAO ; Wen SUN ; Raul G. NOGUEIRA
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(1):75-84
Background:
and Purpose Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute posterior circulation tandem lesion (PCTL). This study aimed to explore the role of extracranial vertebral artery (VA) stenting in patients with PCTL stroke undergoing EVT.
Methods:
Individual patient data were pooled from the BASILAR (EVT for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Study) and PERSIST (Posterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke) registries. Patients with PCTLs who underwent EVT were included in the present cohort and divided into the stenting and nonstenting groups based on the placement of extracranial VA stents. The primary efficacy outcome was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at 90 days and 1 year. Safety outcomes included 24-hour symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and all-cause mortality at 90 days and 1 year post-surgery.
Results:
A combined dataset of 1,320 patients with posterior circulation artery occlusion, including 263 (19.9%) with tandem lesions, of whom 217 (median age, 65 years; 82.9% male) met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. The stenting group had 84 (38.7%) patients, while the non-stenting group had 133 (61.3%). After adjustment for the potential confounders, extracranial VA stenting was associated with favorable shifts in mRS scores at both 90 days (adjusted common odds ratio [OR], 2.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–4.28; P<0.01) and 1 year (adjusted OR [aOR], 2.04; 95% CI [1.05–3.97]; P=0.04), along with lower rate of mortality at both 90 days (aOR, 0.45; 95% CI [0.21–0.93]; P=0.01) and 1 year (aOR, 0.36; 95% CI [0.16–0.79]; P=0.01), with no significant difference in sICH incidence (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI [0.06–1.98]; P=0.24).
Conclusion
Extracranial VA stenting during EVT may improve functional outcomes and reduce mortality in patients with PCTL strokes.
5.Clinical significance of changes in serum complement C1q/ tumor necrosis factor-associated protein 3 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Ting ZENG ; Caiwen WEI ; Weixiang CHEN ; Lihua GU ; Yue QIAN ; Xinfeng ZHAO ; Yan SHEN
Chinese Journal of Rheumatology 2025;29(3):197-203
Objective:To investigate the changes of serum complement C1q/tumor necrosis factor-associated protein 3 (CTRP3) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its clinical significance.Methods:A total of 60 RA patients admitted to Chongming Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences (Chongming Branch of Xinhua Hospital) from January 2023 to February 2024 were collected.They were divided into a plaque group (38 cases) and a plaque free group (22 cases) according to the results of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) by carotid artery ultrasonography. ESR, CRP, blood lipid, HOMA-IR, RF, CCP antibody and CTRP3 levels were detected, and the relationship between CTRP3 levels and disease activity and atherosclerosis in RA patients was analyzed. The statistical analysis was carried out with independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis and logistic regression. Results:Serum CTRP3 level in RA patients was lower than that in healthy control group [(116±44)ng/ml and (184±63)ng/ml, t=-6.54, P=0.004]. The CTRP3 level in RA group with plaque was lower than that in RA group without plaque [(98±28) ng/ml and (123±38)ng/ml, t=-5.57, P=0.008]. Serum CTRP3 levels in RA patients were correlated with LDL-C ( r=-0.68, P=0.011), HOMA-IR ( r=-0.74, P=0.001), RF ( r=-0.46, P=0.042), anti-CCP antibody( r=-0.54, P=0.037), DAS28 ( r=-0.66, P=0.024) were negatively correlated with cIMT ( r=-0.76, P=0.001), and positively correlated with DMARDs duration ( r=0.51, P=0.040) and flow-mediated di latatiton ( r=0.70, P=0.004). The CTRP3 level [( OR(95% CI)=0.683(0.355, 0.807), P=0.023] was an independent correlation factor affecting cIMT. Conclusion:CTRP3 level in RA patients is significantly lower than that in healthy control group, and is negatively correlated with insulin resistance, autoantibody level and disease activity, and has a protective effect on early atherosclerosis in RA patients.
6.Construction of Core Outcome Set for Clinical Research on Uyghur Medicine in Treating Psoriasis
Ruifang YU ; Abuduwaiti JULAITI ; Shaonan LIU ; Genghang CHEN ; Qian HUANG ; Wufuer ZAITUGULI ; Upur TURSON ; Zhijian LI ; Xinfeng GUO
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(6):1334-1339
Objective To construct the core outcome set(COS)for clinical research on Uyghur medicine in treating psoriasis by using internationally-recognized research methods,thus to aid the researchers in choosing the standardized outcomes and to enhance the quality of evidence from research findings.Methods A systematic retrieval of Chinese and English databases was conducted to collect outcomes from clinical studies,systematic reviews,and registered protocols of Uyghur medicine for treating psoriasis.An outcome pool was constructed based on the results of literature review.The outcomes were supplemented after qualitative surveys of patients and physicians,and then an initial list of outcomes was formed.Two rounds of Delphi surveys on the initial list were conducted for obtaining Likert scale ratings from different stakeholder groups to evaluate the importance of outcomes.After that,a consensus meeting was held to finalize the COS for clinical research on Uyghur medicine in treating psoriasis.Results The COS for clinical research on Uyghur medicine in treating psoriasis comprises six domains,totaling 14 outcomes.The 14 outcomes were psoriasis symptoms(psoriasis area and area severity index),skin manifestations(erythema,scaling,infiltration,etc.),investigator global assessment,patient global assessment,treatment satisfaction,health-related quality of life,recurrence rate,adverse events,drug adverse reactions,blood routine,urine routine,liver and kidney function,Uyghur medicine symptom assessment,and fluid changes.Conclusion The COS for clinical research on Uyghur medicine in treating psoriasis has been constructed,and will provide a reference for the selection of efficacy-evaluation outcomes and for the reporting of outcomes in related studies.
7.Development of Core Outcome Set for Clinical Research on Vitiligo Treated with Uyghur Medicine
Qian HUANG ; Xinfeng GUO ; Lihong YANG ; Genghang CHEN ; Wufuer TUERSON ; Yiming Maimaiti TURSUNTAI ; Abuduwayiti JULAITI ; Zhijian LI ; Shaonan LIU
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(10):2595-2602
Objective To develop a core outcome set(COS)for treatment of progressive vitiligo in Uyghur medicine,and to standardize the selection and reporting of outcome measures in relevant studies.Methods Based on the existing core outcome domain set of randomized controlled trials for vitiligo,additional outcome indicators reflecting the advantages and characteristics of Uyghur medical treatment were developed.Specific indicators for Uyghur medical treatment of progressive vitiligo were collected through literature review and semi-structured questionnaire surveys,and then a list of indicators were formed.The Delphi survey and consensus meetings were used to select core indicators.Results A total of 54 studies were included,and 86 questionnaires were collected.Through literature review and questionnaire surveys,a list of 28 indicators were obtained.After two rounds of Delphi survey and one consensus meeting,12 outcome indicators in 7 domains were finally determined,including vitiligo lesion area,repigmentation,disease control time,maintenance of repigmentation,recurrence rate,immune indicators,psychological health,patients' quality of life,adverse events,adverse reaction incidence,liver and kidney function monitoring,and Uyghur medicine syndrome differentiation of mucus.Additionally,some measurement tools for certain indicators were recommended.Conclusion The development of the COS for vitiligo treatment in Uyghur medicine helps to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of Uyghur medicine,and will provide a model for establishing efficacy evaluation methods that conform to the characteristics of ethnic minority medicine.
8.Expression levels and clinical significance of microRNA-152-3p and sex determining region-box transcription factor 5 in gastric cancer tissues
Shuli GUO ; Chen YANG ; Dan LU ; Xiaomin GUO ; Shuhua GUO ; Xinfeng HAN
Journal of Clinical Medicine in Practice 2025;29(17):33-37
Objective To investigate the expression levels of microRNA-152-3p(miR-152-3p)and sex determining region-box transcription factor 5(SOX5)in gastric cancer(GC)tissues and their clinical significance.Methods A total of 120 GC patients were selected as study subjects.Re-al-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)was used to detect the expression levels of miR-152-3p and SOX5,and their relationships with the clinicopathological characteristics of GC pa-tients were analyzed.The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to draw survival curves,and the Cox re-gression model was used to screen the prognostic influencing factors of GC patients.Results The ex-pression level of miR-152-3p in GC tissues was lower than that in adjacent non-cancerous tissues,while the expression level of SOX5 was higher than that in adjacent non-cancerous tissues(P<0.05).The expressions of miR-152-3p and SOX5 in GC tissues were all associated with lymph node metastasis,degree of differentiation,and TNM stage(P<0.05).The expression level of miR-152-3p was negatively correlated with that of SOX5(r=-0.512,P<0.05),and there were targeted binding sites between miR-152-3p and SOX5.The 5-year specific survival rate of the low miR-152-3p expression group was lower than that of the high miR-152-3p expression group(60.53%versus 84.09%,x2=7.256,P<0.05).The 5-year specific survival rate of the high SOX5 expression group was 63.10%,which was lower than 83.33%of the low SOX5 expression group,with a statis-tically significant difference(x2=4.840,P<0.05).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the expression levels of miR-152-3p and SOX5,as well as the TNM stage,were all independent prog-nostic influencing factors for GC patients(P<0.05).Conclusion Low expressions of miR-152-3p and high expression of SOX5 are observed in GC tissues,and their expression levels are closely re-lated to clinicopathological characteristics such as TNM stage and patients' prognosis.
9.Endovascular Treatment for Acute Posterior Circulation Tandem Lesions: Insights From the BASILAR and PERSIST Registries
Wei LI ; Mohamed F. DOHEIM ; Zhongming QIU ; Tan WANG ; Zhibin CHEN ; Wenjie ZI ; Qingwu YANG ; Haitao GUAN ; Hongyu QIAO ; Wenhua LIU ; Wei HU ; Xinfeng LIU ; Jinbo HUANG ; Zhongkui HAN ; Zhonglun CHEN ; Zhenqiang ZHAO ; Wen SUN ; Raul G. NOGUEIRA
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(1):75-84
Background:
and Purpose Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute posterior circulation tandem lesion (PCTL). This study aimed to explore the role of extracranial vertebral artery (VA) stenting in patients with PCTL stroke undergoing EVT.
Methods:
Individual patient data were pooled from the BASILAR (EVT for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Study) and PERSIST (Posterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke) registries. Patients with PCTLs who underwent EVT were included in the present cohort and divided into the stenting and nonstenting groups based on the placement of extracranial VA stents. The primary efficacy outcome was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at 90 days and 1 year. Safety outcomes included 24-hour symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and all-cause mortality at 90 days and 1 year post-surgery.
Results:
A combined dataset of 1,320 patients with posterior circulation artery occlusion, including 263 (19.9%) with tandem lesions, of whom 217 (median age, 65 years; 82.9% male) met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. The stenting group had 84 (38.7%) patients, while the non-stenting group had 133 (61.3%). After adjustment for the potential confounders, extracranial VA stenting was associated with favorable shifts in mRS scores at both 90 days (adjusted common odds ratio [OR], 2.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–4.28; P<0.01) and 1 year (adjusted OR [aOR], 2.04; 95% CI [1.05–3.97]; P=0.04), along with lower rate of mortality at both 90 days (aOR, 0.45; 95% CI [0.21–0.93]; P=0.01) and 1 year (aOR, 0.36; 95% CI [0.16–0.79]; P=0.01), with no significant difference in sICH incidence (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI [0.06–1.98]; P=0.24).
Conclusion
Extracranial VA stenting during EVT may improve functional outcomes and reduce mortality in patients with PCTL strokes.
10.Application of three-dimensional U-shaped residual coordinated attention network in early detection of small intestinal polyps
Zijun GAO ; Xinfeng ZHANG ; Xiao CHEN ; Xiangsheng LI ; Xiaomin LIU
Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine 2025;59(10):1756-1762
Objective:To establish a three-dimensional U-shaped residual coordinated attention network (URCA-Net) based on enhanced CT images for small bowel polyp detection and analyze its application effectiveness in intelligent detection of small bowel polyps.Methods:Abdominal CT data of patients with small bowel polyps were collected from the Air Force Medical Center between June 2019 and July 2023. All patients underwent bowel preparation followed by thin-slice spiral CT scanning to obtain enhanced CT arterial phase images. The data were randomly divided into training, validation and test sets in an 8∶1∶1 ratio. The URCA-Net deep learning model was used for small bowel polyp segmentation. The training set was used for model parameter training, the validation set for hyperparameter adjustment and monitoring of model generalization performance and the test set for final unbiased evaluation of the model. An early intelligent detection model for small bowel polyps was constructed, and its performance was evaluated. Evaluation metrics included pixel-level metrics for the segmentation task [Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC)], as well as sensitivity and precision for polyp detection. A two-stage segmentation strategy was adopted: the first stage segmented the small bowel region to remove external interference, and the second stage performed polyp segmentation within the small bowel region.Results:A total of 78 subjects were included in the study, with an average age of (54±7) years. A total of 23 400 scan images were extracted, including 136 hyperplastic polyps, 298 hamartomatous polyps, 14 adenomatous polyps, and 4 cancerous polyps. On the test set, the average DSC for the first stage (small bowel segmentation) and the second stage (polyp segmentation) was 0.790 and 0.314, respectively. In the second stage task (polyp segmentation based on small bowel region), the polyp segmentation DSC increased to 0.701, with a precision of 0.836 (95% CI: 0.700-0.972) and a sensitivity of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.631-0.888) for polyp detection. Conclusion:The URCA-Net deep learning technique demonstrates good auxiliary diagnostic effectiveness in small bowel polyp detection and can provide a reference for screening and detection of small bowel polyps. The model is capable of generating high-quality segmentation results, which could facilitate evaluating polyp lesion morphology and provide support for downstream tasks such as preoperative navigation and risk prediction.


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