OBJECTIVE To study the ameliorative effect and mechanism of Forsythia suspensa-Lonicera japonica herb pair on acute lung injury （ALI） based on serum exosomal microRNA （miRNA）. METHODS The rats were randomly divided into a blank group （normal saline）， model group （nomal saline）， and F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair group （2.55 g/kg）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the blank group， the other groups were used to establish an ALI model by intratracheal dripping of 5 mg/ mL lipopolysaccharides. After modeling， each group was given relevant medicine/normal saline intragastrically， once a day， for 3 consecutive days. After the last medication， the pathological status of lung tissue was observed； lung wet-to-dry weight ratio and leukocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） were determined. The levels of inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， IL-10] in BALF were determined. Exosomes were isolated from rat serum， and high- throughput sequencing technology was employed to screen differentially expressed miRNA within the exosomes， followed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis. Based on the screened differentially expressed miRNA and the enriched KEGG pathways， in vitro cellular experiments were conducted for validation. RESULTS The animal experimental results demonstrated that after intervention with the F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair， the wet-to-dry weight ratio， the number of leukocytes in BALF， as well as the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in BALF of ALI rats were all significantly reduced （P＜0.01）， while the level of IL-10 was significantly increased （P＜0.01）. The results of high-throughput sequencing experiments revealed that the F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair could significantly up-regulate the expressions of miR-345-3p， miR-194-5p， miR-653-5p， and others in exosomes. Among them， the KEGG pathways involved in the target genes of differentially expressed miRNA included the hypoxia-inducible factor-1（HIF-1） signaling pathway， among others. The results of cellular E-mail：huang.haiying@126.com validation experiments showed that overexpressed miR-345-3p could significantly elevate the level of IL-10 in the cell supernatant （P＜0.01）， while significantly reducing the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the cell supernatant， as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of protein kinase B1， phosphatidylinositol 3- kinase， and HIF-1α （P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair can alleviate inflammatory responses and thereby exert a therapeutic effect in improving ALI by up-regulating the expression of miR-345-3p in serum exosomes and inhibiting the activity of the HIF-1 signaling pathway.

Diabetic nephropathy （DKD）， as a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus （DM）， is a major cause of end-stage renal disease （ESRD）. Its clinical manifestations include increased urinary protein excretion， thickening of the glomerular basement membrane， and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The pathogenesis of DKD is complex and involves multiple factors， including disordered glucose metabolism， hemodynamic alterations， and oxidative stress. Although modern medical approaches can alleviate certain symptoms， they still have limitations such as insufficient therapeutic targeting and prominent adverse effects. The transforming growth factor-β/Smad （TGF-β/Smad） signaling pathway is not only a tissue fibrosis pathway that has attracted considerable attention in recent years， but also regulates multiple protein molecules， including the glomerular podocyte slit diaphragm protein Podocin， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD）， thereby participating in various pathological processes and ultimately mediating renal injury. Flavonoid compounds， owing to their sustained pharmacological effects， broad spectrum of action， and high safety profile， have become ideal candidates for targeted therapy research in DKD. Existing studies have shown that these compounds can exert inhibitory effects on renal fibrosis， alleviate inflammatory responses， protect podocytes， and reduce oxidative stress by regulating the interactions between the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway and the aforementioned protein molecules， thereby maintaining renal structure and function， reducing proteinuria， and significantly improving DKD lesions. This review briefly outlines the composition and functions of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway， elucidates the mechanisms by which this pathway regulates DKD， and focuses on summarizing major studies from the past decade on flavonoid-based interventions in DKD through targeted inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Furthermore， it discusses the considerable therapeutic potential of flavonoids in the treatment of this disease， aiming to provide a scientific basis for future clinical prevention and treatment of DKD and to promote the development of targeted drugs.

ObjectiveTo study the chemical constituents of Bidens pilosa and the in vitro antiproliferative activity of some compounds against gastric cancer cells. MethodsThe chemical constituents were isolated and purified by methods such as silica gel column chromatography， preparative thin layer chromatography， medium pressure preparation chromatography， semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） and recrystallization， their structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical properties， spectral data and circular dichroism spectra. Thiazole blue（MTT） assay was used to determine the in vitro inhibitory activityies of some isolated compounds against human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells， and molecular docking was used to predict their potential targets. ResultsTwenty-five compounds were isolated from the petroleum ether fraction of B. pilosa and identified as bidpillignan A（1）， 5α， 8α-epidioxy-（22E， 24R）-ergosta-6， 22-diene-3β-ol（2）， 3β-hydroxysitost-5-en-7-one（3）， （20R）-6β-hydroxystigmasta-4， 22-dien-3-one（4）， 3β-hydroxylstigmasta-5， 22-dien-7-one（5）， （22E， 24S）-24-methyl-5α-choleata-7， 22-diene-3β， 5α， 6β-triol（6）， stigamast-5-ene-3β， 7α-diol（7）， stigmast-5， 22-diene-3β， 7α-diol（8）， 7β-hydroxysitosterol（9）， stigmasterol（10）， artabotrol（11）， cosmosoic acid（12）， ent-4（15）-eudesmene-1β， 6α-diol（13）， clovandiol（14）， 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde（15）， 6， 7-dimethoxycoumarin（16）， 3'， 4'-dimethoxyquercetin（17）， 8， 8'-bis-（dihydroconiferyl）-diferuloylate（18）， hydroxydihydrobovolide（19）， 2-deacetyl-11β， 13-dihydroxyxanthinin（20）， loliolide（21）， pubescone（22）， （+）-dehydrovomifoliol（23）， 2， 3-dihydroxypropyl palmitate（24） and n-hexadecane acid（25）. Among them， compound 1 was a new compound， compounds 3-9， 11-12， 18-20， 22-23 were first isolated from Bidens genus plants， and compounds 13 and 14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 17 and 18 showed good in vitro proliferation inhibitory activities against SGC-7901 cells with the half inhibitory concentrations（IC₅₀） of 3.11， 7.22 μmol·L^-1， respectively. Molecular docking results showed that the potential targets of the two exerting anti-gastric cancer activity might be vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2（VEGFR2） and poly（adenosine diphosphate-ribose） polymerase 7（PARP7）. ConclusionOne new compound， 14 genus first compounds， and 2 species first compounds were isolated from B. pilosa， among which compounds 17 and 18 processed anti-gastric cancer cell proliferation activity in vitro， and the targets may be VEGFR2 and PARP7.

RESULTS: Resveratrol significantly reduced cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling in aging hearts. In addition, resveratrol significantly ameliorated aging-induced mitochondrial dysfunction (e.g., decreased oxygen respiration and increased hydrogen peroxide emission) and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic signaling (the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening sensitivity, and cleaved caspase-3 protein levels).Resveratrol also significantly attenuated aging-induced apoptosis (determined via cleaved caspase-3 staining and TUNEL-positive myonuclei) in cardiac muscles. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that resveratrol treatment has a beneficial effect on aging-induced cardiac remodeling by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibiting mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in the heart.

Objective: The variety and efficacy of biomarkers available that may be used objectively to diagnose major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults are unclear. This systematic review aims to identify and evaluate the variety of objective markers used to diagnose MDD in adults. Methods: The search strategy was applied via PubMed and PsycINFO over the past 10 years (2013–2023) to capture the latest available evidence supporting the use of biomarkers to diagnose MDD. Data was reported through narrative synthesis. Results: Forty-two studies were included in the review. Findings were synthesised based on the following measures: blood, neuroimagingeurophysiology, urine, dermatological, auditory, vocal, cerebrospinal fluid and combinatory—and evaluated based on its sensitivity/specificity and area under the curve values. The best predictors of blood (MYT1 gene), neuroimagingeurophysiological (5-HT1A auto-receptor binding in the dorsal and median raphe), urinary (combined albumin, AMBP, HSPB, APOA1), cerebrospinal fluid-based (neuron specific enolase, microRNA) biomarkers were found to be closely linked to the pathophysiology of MDD. Conclusion A large variety of biomarkers were available to diagnose MDD, with the best performing biomarkers intrinsically related to the pathophysiology of MDD. Potential for future research lies in investigating the joint sensitivity of the best performing biomarkers identified via machine learning methods and establishing the causal effect between these biomarkers and MDD.

In this study, RAW264.7 cells were employed to investigate the effects of honey-processed Astragalus on their energy metabolism and polarization, and explore the scientific connotation of the enhanced efficacy of honey-processed Astragalus on invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi. The medicated sera were prepared by intragastric administration of rats with water extracts of crude and honey-processed Astragalus, and the composition changes of medicated sera of crude and honey-processed Astragalus were analyzed by using LC-MS technology. The cell survival rates were detected and the concentrations of medicated sera were screened through CCK-8 assay. The differences of cell phagocytic rates, ATP energy metabolism, and NO secretion between crude and honey-processed Astragalus were evaluated by using neutral red phagocytosis assay, ATP detection kit, and NO detection kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on TNF-α secretion of RAW264.7 cells were detected by employing ELISA kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on polarization of RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by utilizing flow cytometry. The differential metabolites related to glycolysis in cell lysates and culture media were screened by using LC-MS technology. The experiment was approved by the experimental animal ethics committee from Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine (No. AWE202407352). The results showed that the contents of betaine, amino acids, and ononin in the prepared medicated sera of rats treated by intragastric administration with water extracts of honey-processed Astragalus increased compared to those in crude one. The results of CCK-8 experiment showed that there were no cytotoxic effects on RAW264.7 cells in the medicated sera of crude and honey-processd Astragalus at different concentration. The phagocytic index and ATP yield both increased to varying degrees after administration of the medicated sera to cells. The secretion of NO in normal and inflammatory cells increased and decreased respectively, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. The results of ELISA kit showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote the secretion of TNF-α in a concentration-dependent manner, and the promoting effect of honey-processed Astragalus was stronger than that of crude one. The results of flow cytometry showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote M1-type polarization and inhibit M2-type polarization of RAW264.7 cells, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. Compared to crude Astragalus, the metabolites related to glycolysis in the cell lysates and culture media of the medicated sera of honey-processed Astragalus were generally on the rise, indicating that the effect on promoting glycolysis of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. In summary, honey-processed Astragalus can promote the polarization and energy metabolism of RAW264.7 cells, and participate in positive immune regulation, which is correlated with its enhanced effect of invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi.

ObjectiveExploring the formula rules of commonly used traditional Chinese medicines（TCMs） for epidemic treatment from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Qing dynasty through data mining， providing reference for the prevention and control of contemporary epidemics. MethodsThe articles on epidemic treatment in the electronic database of Chinese Medical Code V5.0 were systematically searched， and the contents such as source， dynasty， author， diagnosis， formula name， therapeutic method and efficacy， and composition of medicines from each article that met the inclusion criteria were extracted. Then， an Excel standardized database was established， and Python programs were used for data mining to summarize the frequency of commonly used medicines and perform hierarchical cluster analysis， Pearson correlation analysis， and association rule analysis. ResultsA total of 1 595 formulas were included， involving 558 TCMs. The efficacy of these medicines could be classified into two categories， namely， expeling pathogenic factors and reinforcing healthy Qi. According to the frequency deconstruction analysis， high-frequency medicines were mainly detoxification， Fu-organ dredging， aromatization and promoting blood circulation， followed by the medicines with the effect of treating the lungs， such as clearing the lungs and resolving phlegm， clearing heat and purging the lungs， relieving cough and asthma， and purging the lungs and relieving asthma. And the proportions of acrid-warm herbs and acrid-cold herbs varied in different periods. Hierarchical clustering and correlation analysis both suggested TCMs for expeling pathogenic factors and reinforcing healthy Qi often formed stable combinations with high association degrees. Association rule analysis showed that the core acrid-warm herb was mainly Ephedrae Herba， and the core acrid-cold herb was mainly Forsythiae Fructus， resulting in the core formulas of Maxing Shigantang and Yinqiaosan. ConclusionThroughout history， the prevention and control of epidemics have been based on the principle of "preserving healthy Qi and avoiding toxic Qi"， focusing on the treatment of the causes and characteristics of epidemics through detoxification， Fu-organ dredging， and aromatization， emphasizing the use of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and other herbs to dredge Fu-organ， eliminate toxins and pathogens， and playing the role of actively intervene with symptomatic medication. And based on the external manifestations of the body's struggle between evil and righteousness， diagnose and treatment according to syndrome differentiation was performed.

ObjectiveExploring the formula rules of commonly used traditional Chinese medicines（TCMs） for epidemic treatment from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Qing dynasty through data mining， providing reference for the prevention and control of contemporary epidemics. MethodsThe articles on epidemic treatment in the electronic database of Chinese Medical Code V5.0 were systematically searched， and the contents such as source， dynasty， author， diagnosis， formula name， therapeutic method and efficacy， and composition of medicines from each article that met the inclusion criteria were extracted. Then， an Excel standardized database was established， and Python programs were used for data mining to summarize the frequency of commonly used medicines and perform hierarchical cluster analysis， Pearson correlation analysis， and association rule analysis. ResultsA total of 1 595 formulas were included， involving 558 TCMs. The efficacy of these medicines could be classified into two categories， namely， expeling pathogenic factors and reinforcing healthy Qi. According to the frequency deconstruction analysis， high-frequency medicines were mainly detoxification， Fu-organ dredging， aromatization and promoting blood circulation， followed by the medicines with the effect of treating the lungs， such as clearing the lungs and resolving phlegm， clearing heat and purging the lungs， relieving cough and asthma， and purging the lungs and relieving asthma. And the proportions of acrid-warm herbs and acrid-cold herbs varied in different periods. Hierarchical clustering and correlation analysis both suggested TCMs for expeling pathogenic factors and reinforcing healthy Qi often formed stable combinations with high association degrees. Association rule analysis showed that the core acrid-warm herb was mainly Ephedrae Herba， and the core acrid-cold herb was mainly Forsythiae Fructus， resulting in the core formulas of Maxing Shigantang and Yinqiaosan. ConclusionThroughout history， the prevention and control of epidemics have been based on the principle of "preserving healthy Qi and avoiding toxic Qi"， focusing on the treatment of the causes and characteristics of epidemics through detoxification， Fu-organ dredging， and aromatization， emphasizing the use of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and other herbs to dredge Fu-organ， eliminate toxins and pathogens， and playing the role of actively intervene with symptomatic medication. And based on the external manifestations of the body's struggle between evil and righteousness， diagnose and treatment according to syndrome differentiation was performed.

Incidentally detected gallbladder polyps (GBPs) and gallbladder wall thickening (GBWT) are frequently encountered in clinical practice. However, characterizing GBPs and GBWT in asymptomatic patients can be challenging and may result in overtreatment, including unnecessary follow-ups or surgeries. The Korean Society of Abdominal Radiology (KSAR) Clinical Practice Guideline Committee has developed expert recommendations that focus on standardized imaging interpretation and follow-up strategies for both GBPs and GBWT, with support from the Korean Society of Radiology and KSAR. These guidelines, which address 24 key questions, aim to standardize the approach for the interpretation of imaging findings, reporting, imaging-based workups, and surveillance of incidentally detected GBPs and GBWT. This recommendation promotes evidence-based practice, facilitates communication between radiologists and referring physicians, and reduces unnecessary interventions.

Objective: To explore the feasibility of synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (syMRI) combined with clinicopathological characteristics for the pre-treatment prediction of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) response in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (ANPC). Materials and Methods: Patients with ANPC treated with CRT between September 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively enrolled and categorized into response group (RG, n = 95) and non RGs (NRG, n = 32) based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1. The quantitative parameters from pre-treatment syMRI (longitudinal [T1] and transverse [T2] relaxation times and proton density [PD]), diffusion-weighted imaging (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]), and clinicopathological characteristics were compared between RG and NRG. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify parameters independently associated with CRT response and to construct a multivariable model. The areas under the receiveroperating characteristic curve (AUC) for various diagnostic approaches were compared using the DeLong test. Results: The T1, T2, and PD values in the NRG were significantly lower than those in the RG (all P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed in the ADC values between these two groups. Clinicopathological characteristics (Epstein–Barr virus [EBV]-DNA level, lymph node extranodal extension, clinical stage, and Ki-67 expression) exhibited significant differences between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that T1, PD, EBV-DNA level, clinical stage, and Ki-67 expression had significant independent relationships with CRT response (all P < 0.05). The multivariable model incorporating these five variables yielded AUC, sensitivity, and specificity values of 0.974, 93.8% (30/32), and 91.6% (87/95), respectively. Conclusion SyMRI may be used for the pretreatment prediction of CRT response in ANPC. The multivariable model incorporating syMRI quantitative parameters and clinicopathological characteristics, which were independently associated with CRT response, may be a new tool for the pretreatment prediction of CRT response.