The purpose of this paper is to explore the decoction and dosing methods of rhubarb root and rhizome in classical prescriptions and to provide a reference basis for the clinical use of rhubarb root and rhizome. By collating the relevant classical prescriptions of rhubarb root and rhizome in Shanghan Lun and Jingui Yaolüe, the relationship between its decoction and dosing methods and the syndrome was analyzed. The decoction of rhubarb root and rhizome in classical prescriptions can be divided into three categories: simultaneous decoction, decoction later, and other methods (impregnation in Mafei decoction, decoction with water from the well spring first taken in the morning, and pills). If it enters the blood level or wants to slow down, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted at the same time with other drugs. If it enters the qi level and wants to speed up, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted later. If it wants to upwardly move, rhubarb root and rhizome should be immersed in Mafei decoction. If it wants to suppress liver yang, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted with water from the well spring first taken in the morning. If the disease is prolonged, rhubarb root and rhizome should be taken in pill form. The dosing methods of rhubarb root and rhizome can be divided into five categories: draught, twice, three times, before meals, and unspecified. For acute and serious illnesses with excess of pathogenic qi and adequate vital qi, we choose draught. For gastrointestinal diseases, we choose to take the medicine twice. For achieving a moderate and long-lasting effect, we choose to take the medicine three times. If the disease is located in the lower part of the heart and abdomen, we choose to take it before meals. The use of rhubarb root and rhizome in clinical practice requires the selection of the appropriate decoction and dosing methods according to the location of the disease, the severity of the disease, the patient′s constitution, and the condition after taking the medicine.

Probiotics have shown excellent application prospects in preventing and treating many diseases. However, their sensitivity to the harsh environment in vivo always leads to a massive loss of viability and insufficient therapeutic effect. Fortunately, modified probiotics have emerged and provide multiple possibilities for their use in various diseases. Modification not only endows probiotics with extra capacity to resist severe environments but also gives them exogenous characteristics, such as prolonged retention time and improved therapeutic effects. Modified probiotics could combine with other therapies, which has opened up new avenues to enhance the efficacy of probiotic-based therapy. In this review, we have summarized the current physicochemical and biological modification strategies of probiotics. In addition, the progress of research on probiotic-based combination therapy has also been extensively reviewed, which contributes to the enhanced delivery of probiotics or other active constituents and provides new ideas for disease treatment, bioimaging, and diagnosis.

Nuclear radiation exposure events and tumor radiotherapy are highly susceptible to a range of psychological, physiological and other health problems, which can seriously affect patients' quality of life. It has been shown that 87.5 % of tumor patients are exposed to varying degrees of radiation injury during radiotherapy. The treatment of radiation injury (RI) in modern medicine is limited to drug therapy, cell therapy, etc. Among them, the most chemical drugs cause many adverse reactions including fatigue, nausea, vomiting, etc., and there are very few drugs dedicated to the treatment of RI. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a rich natural medicinal resource, which has a wide range of pharmacological activities, multiple targets of action and minimal toxic side effects. Many studies have demonstrated that TCM and its compound preparations have enormous potential in the treatment of radiation induced comprehensive diseases. However, TCM is limited in clinical application due to its slow onset of action, complex active ingredients, and low bioavailability. Therefore, the article reviews the application, molecular mechanisms, and new dosage forms of TCM in the prevention and treatment of RI. On this basis, we will focus on discussing the development advantages and application prospects of the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine to achieve highly efficient treatment of RI. This review aims to provide scientific and effective drug delivery strategies and basic theoretical support for the clinical effective treatment of RI with TCM, and further promote the innovative development of TCM.

Objective To investigate the application effects of different myocardial protective solutions in total thoracoscopic minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgery.Methods The clinical data of 72 patients with total thoracoscopic minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgery in this hospital from May 2020 to January 2024 were analyzed retrospectively.The patients were divided into the St Thomas cardioplegia group(STH group,n=13),del Nido cardioplegia group(DN group,n=24),histidine tryptophan ketoglutar-ate solution group(HTK group,n=35)according to the different myocardial protective solutions.The levels of lactate(Lac)before and during surgery,the highest levels of myocardial creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB),high-sensitivity troponin T(TnT)and creatinine(Cr)before operation,on the operative day and after surgery as well as the duration of extracorporeal circulation,aortic cross-clamping time,maximum flow rate,minimum bladder temperature,cardioplegia perfusion times,number of defibrillation after aortic de-clamping,postoperative ventilator assisted time,ICU stay duration and postoperative hospitalization duration were com-pared among the three groups.Results Except for 1 case of HTK was discharged automatically after surgery,the other 71 cases recovered and discharged according to the doctor's advice.There were no statistically signif-icant differences in the age,body weight,extracorporeal circulation time,aortic blocking time,maximum flow volume of extracorporeal circulation,minimum bladder temperature of extracorporeal circulation,Lac before extracorporeal circulation,highest Lac during extracorporeal circulation,assistant time of postoperative venti-lator,ICU stay duration,postoperative hospitalization duration,serum Cr before operation,Cr on operative day,preoperative TnT,postoperative TnT on operative day,postoperative highest TnT,preoperative CK-MB,postoperative CK-MB on operative day and postoperative highest CK-MB among the three groups(P＞0.05).There were statistically significant differences in the defibrillation ratio after aortic de-clamping and perfusion frequency of myocardial protective solution(P＜0.05).There was statistically significant difference in the perfusion frequency of myocardial protective solution in pairwise comparison among groups(P＜0.05),and the defibrillation ratio after aortic de-clamping had statistical difference between the DN group and HTK group(P＜0.05).Conclusion DN,STH and HTK all have good myocardial protective effect in total thoraco-scopic minimally invasive aortic valve surgery.HTK has the advantages of less perfusion times and decreasing the operative procedures compared with DN and STH;DN has the advantage of lower use for electrical defib-rillation correcting arrhythmias after aortic opening over HTK.

OBJECTIVE To compare the cost-utility of eight programmed death 1(PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1(PD-L1) inhibitor combination regimens for first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) from the perspective of Chinese healthcare system. METHODS Relevant data were derived from a published network meta-analysis and randomized controlled trails, a three-state Markov model was established to analyze the cost-utility of eight immunotherapy combinations. The robustness of results were validated through sensitivity analyses and a series of scenario analyses was also conducted. RESULTS The incremental cost-utility ratio(ICUR) of the sintilizumab plus chemotherapy group and the tislelizumab plus chemotherapy group were ￥125143.88/quality adjusted life year(QALY) and ￥189609.64/QALY, respectively, which were less than the willingness-to-pay(WTP) threshold of ￥257094/QALY, and all the ICURs of other PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor combination regimens exceeded the WTP threshold and were not economical. Scenario analyses found that even if the medical insurance reimbursement ratio reached 80%, the different combinations of pembrolizumab, nivolumab and atezolizumab were not economical. CONCLUSION Compared with other PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor combination regimens, sintilizumab plus chemotherapy and tislelizumab plus chemotherapy have cost-utility advantages in the first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC, which can provide a certain reference for selecting a reasonable treatment plan for NSCLC patients.

Objective:To construct a prediction model for neurogenic shock in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury and validate its effectiveness.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted on the clinical data of 381 patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury admitted to the Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2017 to December 2022, including 311 males and 70 females, aged 12-86 years [(55.1±12.9)years]. A total of 121 patients (31.8%) were complicated with neurogenic shock. The patients were randomly divided into training set ( n=267) and validation set ( n=114) with a ratio of 7∶3. The training set was divided into neurogenic shock group ( n=81) and non-neurogenic shock group ( n=186) according to whether they were complicated with neurogenic shock. The general data, clinical data, laboratory indicators and imaging data of the patients were collected. Univariate analysis was used to determine differences in the aforementioned indicators between the neurogenic shock group and non-neurogenic shock group in the training set. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to screen the predictors for neurogenic shock in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury, and regression equation was constructed. A nomogram prediction model based on the regression equation was plotted with R programming language. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the training set and validation set were plotted, when the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to determine the discriminability of the model. The calibration of the model was assessed with calibration curves. The clinical applicability of the model was evaluated by the decision curve analysis (DCA). Results:The univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade, tracheal intubation, serum albumin concentration within 24 hours on admission, intramedullary lesion length (IMLL), maximum spinal cord compression (MSCC), increased signal intensity (ISI), and highest damaged segment between the neurogenic shock group and non-neurogenic shock group in the training set ( P<0.05). The multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that AISA grade (grade C vs. grade A: OR=0.13, 95% CI 0.03, 0.59, P<0.01; grade D vs.grade A: OR=0.04, 95% CI 0.01, 0.28, P<0.01), serum albumin concentration within 24 hours on admission ( OR=0.75, 95% CI 0.65, 0.86, P<0.01), IMLL ( OR=2.71, 95% CI 1.68, 4.38, P<0.01), ISI (grade 2 vs.grade 0: OR=5.62, 95% CI 1.07, 29.48, P<0.05), and highest damaged segment ( OR=0.49, 95% CI 0.29, 0.83, P<0.01) were predictors for neurogenic shock in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury. Based on the 5 forementioned variables, the regression equation was constructed as follows: Logit[ P/(1- P)]=10.99-1.06×＂AISA grade＂-0.29×＂serum albumin concentration within 24 hours on admission＂+1.04×＂IMLL＂+0.89×＂ISI＂-0.74×＂highest damaged segment＂. In the prediction model constructed based on the equation, the AUC values of the training set and validation set were 0.97 (95% CI 0.97, 0.99) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.91, 0.99). Calibration curves of the training set and validation set demonstrated the prediction curve roughly overlapped with the reference curve and the mean absolute errors of the two sets were 0.013 and 0.050. DCA results showed that the net benefit rate of patients was greater than 0 when the threshold probability ranged from 0% to 97% for the training set and from 0% to 100% for the validation set. Conclusion:The prediction model based on the AISA grade, serum albumin concentration within 24 hours on admission, IMLL, ISI, and highest damaged segment demonstrates good discriminability, calibration and clinical applicability in predicting neurogenic shock in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury.

Here,a styrene-based polymer monolithic column poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM)with reversed-phase/hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography(RPLC/HILIC)bifunctional separation mode was success-fully prepared for capillary electrochromatography by the in situ polymerization of sodium p-styrene sulfonate(VBS)with cross-linkers 3-(acryloyloxy)-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate(AHM)and 1,3,5-triacryloylhexahydro-1,3,5-triazine(TAT).The preparation conditions of the monolith were optimized.The morphology and formation of the poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM)monolith were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR).The separation perfor-mances of the monolith were evaluated systematically.It should be noted that the incorporation of VBS functional monomer can provide π-π interactions,hydrophilic interactions,and ion-exchange in-teractions.Hence,the prepared poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM)monolith can achieve efficient separation of thiourea compounds,benzene series,phenol compounds,aniline compounds and sulfonamides in RPLC or HILIC separation mode.The largest theoretical plate number for N,N'-dimethylthiourea reached 1.7×105 plates/m.In addition,the poly(VBS-co-TAT-co-AHM)monolithic column showed excellent reproducibility and stability.This novel monolithic column has great application value and potential in capillary electrochromatography(CEC).

Objective:To assess the relationship between appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and ankle brachial index (ABI) among patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, from July 2018 to March 2019, a total of 278 patients with type 2 diabetes treated in Zhongda Hospital were enrolled in this study, and there were 158 males and 120 females. General information and clinical biochemical parameters and ABI in the patients were collected. The appendicular muscle mass was quantitatively measured with body composition analyzer to achieve ASM. And the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and appendicular skeletal muscle mass/body mass index (ASM/BMI) were calculated respectively. Correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analyses with different adjustment models were conducted to analyze the correlation between ABI and above-mentioned indexes.Results:The Pearson correlation analysis showed that ABI had significant positive correlation with ASM, ASMI and ASM/BMI ( r=0.14, 0.13, 0.13, all P<0.05), but a marginal relation with SMI ( r=0.116, P=0.053). Multiple linear regression analysis suggested that ASMI ( β=0.053, 95% CI: 0.006-0.101, P=0.027) and AMI/ABI ( β=0.347, 95% CI: 0.040-0.654, P=0.027) were significantly related to ABI. Conclusion:ASM is positively associated with ABI in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background::Non-smokers account for a large proportion of lung cancer patients, especially in Asia, but the attention paid to them is limited compared with smokers. In non-smokers, males display a risk for lung cancer incidence distinct from the females—even after excluding the influence of smoking; but the knowledge regarding the factors causing the difference is sparse. Based on a large multicenter prospective cancer screening cohort in China, we aimed to elucidate the interpretable sex differences caused by known factors and provide clues for primary and secondary prevention.Methods::Risk factors including demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, family history of cancer, and baseline comorbidity were obtained from 796,283 Chinese non-smoking participants by the baseline risk assessment completed in 2013 to 2018. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the sex difference in the risk of lung cancer, and the hazard ratios (HRs) that were adjusted for different known factors were calculated and compared to determine the proportion of excess risk and to explain the existing risk factors.Results::With a median follow-up of 4.80 years, 3351 subjects who were diagnosed with lung cancer were selected in the analysis. The lung cancer risk of males was significantly higher than that of females; the HRs in all male non-smokers were 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-1.38) after adjusting for the age and 1.38 (95% CI: 1.28-1.50) after adjusting for all factors, which suggested that known factors could not explain the sex difference in the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers. Known factors were 7% (|1.29-1.38|/1.29) more harmful in women than in men. For adenocarcinoma, women showed excess risk higher than men, contrary to squamous cell carcinoma; after adjusting for all factors, 47% ([1.30-1.16]/[1.30-1]) and 4% ([7.02-6.75]/[7.02-1])) of the excess risk was explainable in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The main causes of gender differences in lung cancer risk were lifestyle factors, baseline comorbidity, and family history.Conclusions::Significant gender differences in the risk of lung cancer were discovered in China non-smokers. Existing risk factors did not explain the excess lung cancer risk of all non-smoking men, and the internal causes for the excess risk still need to be explored; most known risk factors were more harmful to non-smoking women; further exploring the causes of the sex difference would help to improve the prevention and screening programs and protect the non-smoking males from lung cancers.

Covalent organic frameworks(COFs)are a novel type of crystalline porous organic polymer materials recently developed.It has several advantages in chromatographic separation field,such as high thermal stability,porosity,structural regularity,and large specific surface area.Here,a novel spherical COF 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene(TAPB)and 2,5-bis(2-propyn-1-yloxy)-1,4-benzenedicarboxaldehyde(BPTA)was developed as an electrochromatographic stationary phase for capillary electro-chromatography separation.The COFTTAPB-BPTA modified capillary column was fabricated via a facile in situ growth method at room temperature.The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy(SEM),Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR)spectroscopy,and X-ray diffraction(XRD)confirmed that COF TAPB-BPTA were successfully modified onto the capillary inner surface.The electrochromatography separation performance of the COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary was investigated.The prepared column demonstrated outstanding separation performance toward alkylbenzenes,phenols,and chlorobenzenes compounds.Furthermore,the baseline separations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs)and parabens with good efficiency and high resolution were achieved.Also,the prepared column possessed satisfactory precision of the intra-day runs(n=5),inter-day runs(n=3),and parallel columns(n=3),and the relative standard deviations(RSDs)of the retention times of tested alkylbenzenes were all less than 2.58％.Thus,this new COF-based stationary phase shows tremendous application potential in chromatographic separation field.