This study aims to comprehensively analyze the material basis of toad visceral oil(hereafter referred to as toad oil), and explore the pharmacological effect of toad oil on atopic dermatitis(AD). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) were employed to comprehensively identify the chemical components in toad oil. The animal model of AD was prepared by the hapten stimulation method. The modeled animals were respectively administrated with positive drug(0.1% hydrocortisone butyrate cream) and low-and high-doses(1%, 10%) of toad oil by gavage. The effect of toad oil on AD was evaluated with the AD score, ear swelling rate, spleen index, and pathological section results as indicators. A total of 99 components were identified by UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS, including 14 bufadienolides, 7 fatty acids, 6 alkaloids, 10 ketones, 18 amides, and other compounds. After methylation of toad oil samples, a total of 20 compounds were identified by GC-MS. Compared with the model group, the low-and high-dose toad oil groups showed declined AD score, ear swelling rate, and spleen index, alleviated skin lesions, and reduced infiltrating mast cells. This study comprehensively analyzes the chemical composition and clarifies the material basis of toad oil. Meanwhile, this study proves that toad oil has a good therapeutic effect on AD and is a reserve resource of traditional Chinese medicine for external use in the treatment of AD.
Animals ; Dermatitis, Atopic/immunology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice ; Male ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; Bufonidae ; Oils/administration & dosage* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Female ; Mice, Inbred BALB C

Eucommiae Cortex, the dried bark of Eucommia ulmoides( Eucommiaceae), has both medicinal and edible values.Modern research has shown that Eucommiae Cortex contains various components such as flavonoids, lignans, iridoids, phenolic acids,terpenoids, and steroids, which have anti-osteoporosis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, blood glucose-lowering, and gastrointestinal tract-protecting effects. Eucommiae Cortex has applications in multiple fields such as healthcare, industry, and animal husbandry,demonstrating broad development prospects. This article reviews the chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and quality control status of Eucommiae Cortex. Furthermore, according to the concept of quality marker(Q-marker), this article predicts the Q-markers of Eucommiae Cortex from traditional medicinal properties, traditional medicinal effects, new medicinal effects, measurability of chemical components, compatibility, harvesting periods, and geographical origins. The components such as pinoresinol diglucoside,chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin, baicalein, baicalin, olivil, coniferyl ferulate, and kaempferol can be used as Q-markers for Eucommiae Cortex, which provide reference for establishing a systematic quality control system for Eucommiae Cortex.
Eucommiaceae/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Quality Control ; Humans ; Animals

OBJECTIVES: To report the development, validation, and findings of the Multi-dimensional Attention Rating Scale (MARS), a self-report tool crafted to evaluate six-dimension attention levels. METHODS: The MARS was developed based on Classical Test Theory (CTT). Totally 202 highly educated healthy adult participants were recruited for reliability and validity tests. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability. Structural validity was explored using principal component analysis. Criterion validity was analyzed by correlating MARS scores with the Toronto Hospital Alertness Test (THAT), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and the Attention Network Test (ANT). RESULTS: The MARS comprises 12 items spanning six distinct dimensions of attention: focused attention, sustained attention, shifting attention, selective attention, divided attention, and response inhibition.As assessed by six experts, the content validation index (CVI) was 0.95, the Cronbach's alpha for the MARS was 0.78, and the test-retest reliability was 0.81. Four factors were identified (cumulative variance contribution rate 68.79%). The total score of MARS was correlated positively with THAT (r = 0.60, P < 0.01) and ACS (r = 0.78, P < 0.01) and negatively with ANT's reaction time for alerting (r = -0.31, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS The MARS can reliably and validly assess six-dimension attention levels in real-world settings and is expected to be a new tool for assessing multi-dimensional attention impairments in different mental disorders.
Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Attention/physiology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Young Adult ; Psychometrics

The coinfection of respiratory viruses and bacteria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite the development of vaccines and powerful antibiotics. As a macromolecule that is difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract, a homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata (HCPM) has been reported to exhibit anti-complement properties and alleviate influenza A virus (H1N1)-induced lung injury; however, the effects of HCPM without in vitro antiviral and antibacterial activities on more complicated pulmonary diseases resulting from viral-bacterial coinfection remains unclear. This study established a representative coinfection murine pneumonia model infected with H1N1 (0.2 LD₅₀) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, 10⁷ CFU). HCPM significantly improved survival rate and weight loss, and ameliorated gut-lung damage and inflammatory cytokine production. Interestingly, the therapeutic effect of HCPM on intestinal damage preceded that in the lungs. Mechanistically, HCPM inhibited the overactivation of the intestinal complement (C3a and C5a) and suppressed the activation of the NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) pathway, which contributes to the regulation of the Treg/Th17 cell balance in the gut-lung axis. The results indicate the beneficial effects of an anti-complement polysaccharide against viral-bacterial coinfection pneumonia by modulating crosstalk between multiple immune regulatory networks.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the efficacy of DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy for management of cancer pain and provide reference for its standardized clinical application. Methods and. RESULTS: Recommendations were formulated based on literature review and expert group discussion, and consensus was reached following expert consultation. The consensus recommendations are comprehensive, covering the entire treatment procedures from preoperative assessment and preparation, surgical operation process, postoperative management and traditional Chinese medicine treatment to individualized treatment planning. The study results showed that the treatment plans combining traditional Chinese with Western medicine effectively alleviated cancer pain, reduced the use of opioid drugs, and significantly improved the quality of life and enhanced immune function of the patients. Postoperative follow-up suggested good treatment tolerance among the patients without serious complications. CONCLUSIONS The formulated consensus is comprehensive and can provide reference for clinicians to use DSA-guided intrathecal drug delivery system combined with Zi Wu Liu Zhu Acupoint Therapy. The combined treatment has a high clinical value with a good safety profile for management of cancer pain.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Cancer Pain/therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Pain Management/methods* ; China

OBJECTIVE: Varied acupoint selections represent a potential cause of the uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Skin temperature, a guiding factor for acupoint selection, may help to address this issue. This study explored thermal sensitization of acupoints used for the treatment of knee OA. METHODS: This cross-sectional case-control study enrolled cases aged 45-75 years with symptomatic knee OA and age- and gender-matched non-knee OA controls in a 1:1 ratio. All participants underwent infrared thermographic imaging. The primary outcome was the relative skin temperature of acupoint (STA), and the secondary outcome was the absolute STA of 11 acupoints. The Z test was used to compare the relative and absolute STAs between the groups. Principal component analysis was used to extract the common factors (CFs, acupoint cluster) in the STAs. A general linear model was used to identify factors affecting the STA in the knee OA cases. For the group comparisons of relative STA, P < 0.0045 (adjusted for 11 acupoints through Bonferroni correction) was considered to indicate statistical significance. For other analyses, P < 0.05 was used as the threshold for statistical significance. RESULTS: The analysis included 308 participants, consisting of 151 cases (mean age: [64.58 ± 6.67] years; male: 25.83%; mean body mass index: [25.70 ± 3.16] kg/m²) and 157 controls (mean age: [63.37 ± 5.96] years; male: 26.11%; mean body mass index: [24.47 ± 2.84] kg/m²). The relative STAs of ST34 (P = 0.0001), EX-LE2 (P < 0.0001), EX-LE5 (P = 0.0006), SP10 (P < 0.0001), BL40 (P = 0.0012) and GB39 (P = 0.0037) were higher in the knee OA group. No difference was found in the STAs of ST35, ST36, SP9, GB33 and GB34. Four CFs were identified for relative STA in both groups. The acupoints within each CF were consistent between the groups. The mean values of the relative STAs across each CF were higher in the knee OA group. In the knee OA cases, no factors were observed to affect the relative STA, while age and gender were found to affect the absolute STA. CONCLUSION Among patients with knee OA, thermal sensitization occurs in the acupoints of the lower extremity, exhibiting localized and regional thermal consistencies. The thermally sensitized acupoints that we identified in this study, ST34, SP10, EX-LE2, EX-LE5, GB39 and BL40, may be good choices for the acupuncture treatment of knee OA. Please cite this article as: Tu JF, Wang XZ, Yan SY, Wang YR, Yang JW, Shi GX, Zhang WZ, Jing LN, Yang LS, Liu DH, Wang LQ, Mi BH. Thermal sensitization of acupoints in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional case-control study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 289-296.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology* ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Acupuncture Points ; Case-Control Studies ; Aged ; Skin Temperature ; Acupuncture Therapy

Objective To study the mandibular characteristics of the modern population in Beijing region.Methods In this study,we examined 22 measurements and their sexual dimorphism index(SDI)of 193 adult mandibles(126 males,67 females)collected from the Beijing region.In addition,eight mandibular indexes were calculated.These mandibular dimensions of the Beijing population were compared with those of other modern and contemporary populations in Asia,as well as Neolithic-historical populations in Northern China.Results The predominant mandibular index in the contemporary Beijing population was dolichostenomandibular.The SDI of mandibular size exhibited a wide range of variation.It was noteworthy the minimum height of mandibular ramus,height of mandibular ramus,height of coronoid process and minimum breadth of mandibular ramus demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism(SDI≥10％).The mandibular size aligned with the variation range of modern and contemporary Asian populations,with the cluster analysis indicating an affiliation with Northern Mongoloids.But the Beijing population was far away from other Northern populations in China.The mandibular size was more gracile compared to ancient populations in Northern China,whereas the height of mandibular ramus was greater than those of the latter.Conclusion This study provides valuable insights into the physical characteristics of modern populations in Beijing region.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological factors and clinical significance of (micro)metastasis in No.12b lymph node in patients with gastric antrum cancer.Methods:This was a retrospective cohort study of data of 242 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma without distant metastasis, complete follow-up data, and no preoperative anti-tumor therapy or history of other malignancies. All study patients had undergone radical gastrectomy (at least D2 radical range) + No.12b lymph node dissection in the Department of Gastric Surgery of Liaoning Cancer Hospital from January 2007 to December 2012. Immunohistochemical staining with antibody CK8/18 was used to detect micrometastasis to lymph nodes. Patients with positive findings on hematoxylin and eosin stained specimens and/or CK8/18 positivity in No.12b lymph node were diagnosed as having No.12b (micro)metastasis and included in the No.12b positive group. All other patients were classified as 12b negative. We investigated the impact of No.12b (micro)metastasis by comparing the clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence free survival (RFS) of these two groups of patients and subjecting possible risk factors to statistical analysis.Results:Traditional hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that 15/242 patients were positive for No.12b lymph nodes and 227 were negative. A total of 241 negative No. 12b lymph nodes were detected. Immunohistochemical testing revealed that seven of these 241 No.12b lymph nodes (2.9%) were positive for micrometastasis. A further seven positive nodes were identified among the 227 nodes (3.1%) that had been evaluated as negative on hematoxylin–eosin-stained sections. Thus, 22 /242 patients' (9.1%) No.12b nodes were positive for micrometastases, the remaining 220 (90.9%) being negative. Factor analysis showed that No.12b lymph node (micro) metastasis is associated with more severe invasion of the gastric serosa (HR=3.873, 95%CI: 1.676-21.643, P=0.006), T3 stage (HR=1.615, 95%CI: 1.113-1.867, P=0.045), higher N stage (HR=1.768, 95%CI: 1.187-5.654, P=0.019), phase III of TNM stage (HR=2.129, 95%CI: 1.102-3.475, P=0.046), and lymph node metastasis in the No.1/No.8a/No.12a groups (HR=0.451, 95%CI: 0.121-0.552, P=0.035; HR=0.645, 95%CI:0.071-0.886, P=0.032; HR=1.512, 95%CI: 1.381-2.100, P=0.029, respectively). Survival analysis showed that the 5-year RFS of patients in the No.12b positive group was worse than that of those in the No.12b negative group (18.2% vs. 34.5%, P<0.001). Independent predictors of RFS were poorer differentiation of the primary tumor (HR=0.528, 95%CI:0.288-0.969, P=0.039), more severe serous invasion (HR=1.262, 95%CI:1.039-1.534, P=0.019), higher T/N/TNM stage (HR=4.880, 95%CI: 1.909-12.476, P<0.001; HR=2.332, 95%CI: 1.640-3.317, P<0.001; HR=0.139, 95%CI: 0.027-0.713, P=0.018, respectively), and lymph node metastasis in the No.12a/No.12b group(HR=0.698, 95%CI:0.518-0.941, P=0.018; HR=0.341, 95%CI:0.154-0.758, P=0.008, respectively). Conclusion:Detection of micrometastasis can improve the rate of positive lymph nodes. In patients with gastric antrum cancer, dissection of group No.12b lymph nodes may improve the prognosis of those with intraoperative evidence of tumor invasion into the serosa, more than two lymph node metastases, and suspicious lymph nodes in groups No.1 / No.8a / 12a.

Objective To investigate the influence of modified Shashen Maidong Decoction combined with Camrelizumab immunotherapy plus chemotherapy on the efficacy,survival status and serum cytokeratin 19 fragment(CYFRA21-1)and neuron-specific enolase(NSE)levels in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods Forty patients with advanced NSCLC of lung-stomach yin deficiency with intense heat-toxin type were randomly divided into a control group and a study group,with 20 patients in each group.The patients in the control group were given Camrelizumab immunotherapy plus chemotherapy,and the patients in the study group were given modified Shashen Maidong Decoction combined with Camrelizumab immunotherapy plus chemotherapy,with 21 days as a course of treatment and for a total of 4 courses of treatment.The changes of serum NSE and CYFRA21-1 levels in the two groups before and after treatment were observed,and the clinical efficacy,survival status and the incidence of toxic and side effects were compared between the two groups.Results(1)After 4 courses of treatment,the total effective rate of the study group was 70.00%(14/20),which was significantly higher than that of the control group(9/20,45.00%),but the intergroup comparison(tested by chi-square test)showed that the difference was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(2)After 2 years of follow-up,the overall survival(OS),time to progression(TTP),and progression-free survival(PFS)of the patients in the study group were significantly prolonged compared with those in the control group(P＜0.01).(3)After treatment,the serum NSE and CYFRA21-1 levels of the patients in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease of serum NSE and CYFRA21-1 levels in the study group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(4)The incidence of toxic and side effects in the study group was 25.00%(5/20),which was significantly lower than that of 65.00%(13/20)in the control group,and the intergroup comparison showed that the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Modified Shashen Maidong Decoction combined with Camrelizumab immunotherapy plus chemotherapy has satisfactory therapeutic effect on patients with advanced NSCLC,which can reduce the toxic and side effects of chemotherapy,lower the level of serum tumor markers,and prolong the survival period and time to progression(TTP)of the patients.