Bronchiectasis(BE) is the third major chronic airway disease, and its incidence rate shows a continuously increasing trend. Bronchiectasis is a highly heterogeneous chronic airway disease. Due to structural alterations, airflow limitation, and mucus hypersecretion, clinical treatment faces many challenges. Particularly, problems including Pseudomonas aeruginosa-dominant drug-resistant bacterial colonization, recurrent infections, airway mucus hypersecretion, and impaired lung function are the most urgent, requiring long-term and personalized treatment and management integrating traditional Chinese and western medicine to prevent the recurrence and continuous progression of the disease. In recent years, both traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine have made certain progress in pathogenesis theories, clinical studies, and basic research regarding the therapeutic challenges of bronchiectasis. Therefore, this paper summarized relevant research from the past 10 years and explored future directions and potential advantages of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine treatment, providing references for optimizing the clinical management strategies for bronchiectasis.
Bronchiectasis/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Animals

OBJECTIVES: To explore the underlying pharmacological mechanisms and its potential effects of Chinese medicine herbal formula Sini Powder (SNP) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The active components of SNP and their in vivo distribution were identified using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Construction of component-target-disease networks, protein-protein interaction network, Gene Ontology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, and molecular docking were employed to analyze the active components and anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP. Cell viability assay and wound healing assay were utilized to confirm the effect of SNP-containing serum (2.5%, 5.0%, 10%, 20%, and 40%), isoprenaline or propranolol (both 10, 100, and 1,000 µ mol/L) on proliferation and migration of HepG 2 or Huh7 cells. Meanwhile, the effect of isoprenaline or propranolol on the β 2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) mRNA expression on HepG2 cells were measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR). Mice with subcutaneous tumors were either subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS) followed by SNP administration (364 mg/mL) or directly treated with SNP (364 mg/mL). These two parallel experiments were performed to validate the effects of SNP on stress responses. Stress-related proteins and hormones were quantified using RT-qPCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to confirm the influence of SNP on the gut microbiota in the tumor-bearing CRS mice. RESULTS: The distribution of the 12 active components of SNP was confirmed in various tissues and feces. Network pharmacology analysis confirmed the anti-HCC effects of the 5 active components. The potential anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP may involve the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (SRC) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways. SNP-containing serum inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 and Huh7 cells at concentrations of 2.5% and 5.0%, respectively, after 24 h of treatment. Furthermore, SNP suppressed tumor progression in tumor-bearing mice exposed to CRS. SNP treatment also downregulated the expressions of stress-related proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines, primarily by modulating the gut microbiota. Specifically, the abundance of Alistipes and Prevotella, which belong to the phylum Bacteroidetes, increased in the SNP-treated group, whereas Lachnospira, in the phylum Firmicutes, decreased. CONCLUSION SNP can combat HCC by alleviating stress responses through the regulation of gut microbiota.
Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Liver Neoplasms/microbiology* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/microbiology* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Powders ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Mice ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Hep G2 Cells ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2/genetics* ; Stress, Physiological/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Male ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Mas

With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence(GAI)technologies,their widespread application in academic research and writing is continuously expanding the boundaries of sci-entific inquiry.However,this trend has also raised a series of ethical and regulatory challenges,inclu-ding issues related to authorship,content authenticity,citation accuracy,and accountability.In light of the growing involvement of AI in generating academic content,establishing an open,controllable,and trustworthy ethical governance framework has become a key task for safeguarding research integrity and maintaining trust within the academic community.This expert consensus outlines ethical requirements across key stages of AI-assisted academic writing-including topic selection,data management,citation practices,and authorship attribution.It aims to clarify the boundaries and ethical obligations surrounding AI use in academic writing,ensuring that technological tools enhance efficiency without compromising in-tegrity.The goal is to provide guidance and institutional support for building a responsible and sustainable research ecosystem.

With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence(GAI)technologies,their widespread application in academic research and writing is continuously expanding the boundaries of sci-entific inquiry.However,this trend has also raised a series of ethical and regulatory challenges,inclu-ding issues related to authorship,content authenticity,citation accuracy,and accountability.In light of the growing involvement of AI in generating academic content,establishing an open,controllable,and trustworthy ethical governance framework has become a key task for safeguarding research integrity and maintaining trust within the academic community.This expert consensus outlines ethical requirements across key stages of AI-assisted academic writing-including topic selection,data management,citation practices,and authorship attribution.It aims to clarify the boundaries and ethical obligations surrounding AI use in academic writing,ensuring that technological tools enhance efficiency without compromising in-tegrity.The goal is to provide guidance and institutional support for building a responsible and sustainable research ecosystem.

Surgical operation is the main treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors.Dysphagia is a common postoperative complication.Swal-lowing disorder can not only lead to mis-aspiration,malnutrition,aspiration pneumonia and other serious consequences,but also may cause psychological problems and social communication barriers,affecting the quality of life of the patients.At present,there is no systematic evalua-tion and rehabilitation management plan for the problem of swallowing disorder after oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery in China.Combining the characteristics of postoperative swallowing disorder in patients with oral and maxillofacial tumors,summarizing the clinical experience of ex-perts in the field of tumor and rehabilitation,reviewing and summarizing relevant literature at home and abroad,and through joint discussion and modification,a group of national experts reached this consensus including the core contents of the screening of swallowing disorders,the phased assessment of prognosis and complications,and the implementation plan of comprehensive management such as nutrition management,respiratory management,swallowing function recovery,psychology and nursing during rehabilitation treatment,in order to improve the evalua-tion and rehabilitation of swallowing disorder after oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery in clinic.

Three-dimensional ordered porous carbon materials exhibit potential application prospects as excellent drug supports in drug delivery systems due to their high specific surface area, tunable pore structure, and excellent biocompatibility. In this study, three-dimensional ordered porous carbon materials were prepared using Acanthopanax senticosus herbal residues as raw material and KOH as activating agent through a one-step pyrolysis method. The prepared carbon-based material was systematically characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, N₂ adsorption-desorption and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the three-dimensional ordered porous carbon materials prepared with KOH as the activator via pyrolysis possess abundant functional groups, high porosity, and high specific surface area, with a specific surface area of 1 471.6 m²·g^-1. The three-dimensional ordered porous carbon materials prepared at 800 ℃ exhibits a high drug loading capacity (78.0%) and drug release rate (86.8%) for 5-fluorouracil. Three-dimensional orderly porous carbon materials show significant application advantages in drug construction, and their high specific surface area and adjustable pore size structure significantly improve the drug load rate and drug release rate, providing a solid foundation for the development of efficient and accurate drug delivery system.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides in the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression.Methods An open,single-arm,multi-center design was adopted in our study.Adult patients with mild and moderate depression who had received acute treatment of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides were enrolled and continue to receive Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules for 24 weeks,the dose remained unchanged during continuation treatment.The remission rate,recurrence rate,recurrence time,and the change from baseline to endpoint of Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),Clinical Global Impression-Severity(CGI-S)and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale(ASEX)were evaluated.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was reported.Results The scores of HAMD-17 at baseline and after treatment were 6.60±1.87 and 5.85±4.18,scores of HAMA were 6.36±3.02 and 4.93±3.09,scores of CGI-S were 1.49±0.56 and 1.29±0.81,scores of ASEX were 15.92±4.72 and 15.57±5.26,with significant difference(P＜0.05).After continuation treatment,the remission rate was 54.59％(202 cases/370 cases),and the recurrence rate was 6.49％(24 cases/370 cases),the recurrence time was(64.67±42.47)days.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 15.35％(64 cases/417 cases).Conclusion Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules can be effectively used for the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression,and are well tolerated and safe.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and action mechanism of Jujing Decoction(JJD)in the treatment of as-thenoteratozoospermia(ATZ)by comparing JJD with combined administration of the antioxidant stress drug and sperm energy metabo-lism agent.Methods:According to the inclusion criteria,we enrolled 67 male patients with ATZ in this randomized controlled clini-cal study and treated them by oral administration of JJD(the JJD group,n=34)or natural vitamin E combined with L-carnitine solu-tion(the positive control group,n=33),both for 12 weeks.We collected the semen parameters,sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI),sperm mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP),seminal plasma reactive oxygen species(ROS)and superoxide dismutase(SOD)levels from the patients,observed the ultrastructure of sperm mitochondria under the transmission electron microscope(TEM)before and after treatment,and analyzed the clinical efficacy and action mechanism of JJD by comparing the data obtained between the two groups.Results:Treatment and follow-up were completed in 60 of the cases,30 in the JJD and 30 in the positive control group.The total rate of clinical effectiveness was significantly higher in the JJD than in the positive control group(76.8％vs 43.3％,P＜0.05).Compared with the baseline,the percentages of progressively motile sperm(PMS)and morphologically normal sperm(MNS),DFI and MMP were significantly improved(P＜0.05),the level of seminal plasma ROS decreased(P＞0.05),and that of SOD re-markably increased(P＜0.05)after treatment with JJD;PMS,MNS,DFI and MMP were also improved(P＞0.05),seminal plas-ma ROS decreased(P＞0.05)and SOD increased(P＜0.05)in the positive controls after medication.In comparison with the posi-tive controls,the patients treated with JJD showed even more significant improvement in PMS([29.37±14.56]％vs[42.68±15.86]％,P＜0.05),MNS([1.84±1.32]％vs[3.66±1.72％]％,P＜0.05),DFI([32.66±5.23]％vs[16.61±4.20]％,P＜0.05)and MMP([46.47±9.48]％vs[61.79±8.61]％,P＜0.05),ROS([7.08±0.51]vs[5.06±0.52]μmol/L,P＞0.05),and SOD([100.65±10.59]vs[139.05±14.71]U/ml,P＜0.05).TEM revealed significantly improved ultrastructure of sperm mitochondria after treatment with JJD.No serious adverse reactions were observed in either group dur-ing follow-up.Conclusion:JJD,superior to natural vitamin E and L-carnitine oral solution,can safely and effectively increase the percentages of PMS and MNS,MMP and the level of seminal plasma SOD,reduce sperm DFI and seminal plasma ROS,and improve the ultrastructure of sperm mitochondria in patients with ATZ.The underlying mechanism of action may be related to its ability of im-proving the structure and function of sperm mitochondria via antioxidant stress.

Objective:To observe the clinical and multimodal imaging features of eyes with acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods:A retrospective study. From December 20, 2022 to January 17, 2023, a total of 29 patients (58 eyes) with COVID-19-associated AMN admitted to Department of Ophthalmology of Eye and ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College were included in the study. All the affected eyes underwent the best corrected visual acuity, color fundus photography, infrared fundus photography (IR), short-wavelength autofluorescence (SW-AF), near-infrared autofluorescence (NIL-AF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCT angiography (OCTA). All patients were administered microcirculation-improving oral medication with 12 cases receiving adjunctive low-dose corticosteroid therapy. Follow-ups were conducted 1 to 3 months after the initial diagnosis, with a total of 19 cases (38 eyes) completing the one-month follow-up.Results:Out of the 29 cases, there were 9 males (18 eyes) and 20 females (40 eyes), all of whom experienced bilateral eye involvement. The age of the patients ranged from 12 to 47 years, with an average age of (29.9±9.5) years. The time from the onset of fever to the appearance of ocular symptoms was (2.52±2.01) days. Among the 58 affected eyes, there were 5 cases with retinal cotton wool spots, 2 cases with optic disc edema, and 1 case with parafoveal branch retinal vein occlusion. All affected eyes exhibited deep reddish-brown macular dark spots. IR revealed wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or "petaloid-like" dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. SW-AF examination showed no obvious abnormality in 39 eyes. Weak autofluorescence dark area were consistent with IR in 19 eyes. NIR-AF examination showed spot-like or flaky self-fluorescent dark areas. OCT examination showed strong reflex lesions spreading vertically upward from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in the macular area in the acute stage, showing typical "bean seedling" sign. OCTA revealed reduced blood flow density in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) of 50 eyes. Enface OCT displayed lesion areas that corresponded to the dark areas seen in IR. One month after the initial diagnosis, the condition improved in 18 eyes (47.4%, 18/38). Among the 5 eyes with cotton wool spots, regression of these spots was accompanied by loss of nerve fiber layer in 4 eyes. In cases with optic disc edema, the edema subsided. The "bean sprout" sign disappeared in all affected eyes, and the lesions became localized. The ellipsoid zone and/or interdigitation zone in the lesion areas were discontinuous.Conclusions:COVID-19-related AMN is characterized by distinctive features. IR fundus reveals wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or petaloid dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. OCT displays strongly reflective lesions with vertical spread above the RPE. OCTA shows reduced blood flow density in the DCP of the retina.

As one of the key components of clinical trials, blinding, if successfully implemented, can help to mitigate the risks of implementation bias and measurement bias, consequently improving the validity and reliability of the trial results. However, successful blinding in clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is hard to achieve, and the evaluation of blinding success through blinding assessment lacks established guidelines. Taking into account the challenges associated with blinding in the TCM field, here we present a framework for assessing blinding. Further, this study proposes a blinding assessment protocol for TCM clinical trials, building upon the framework and the existing methods. An assessment report checklist and an approach for evaluating the assessment results are presented based on the proposed protocol. It is anticipated that these improvements to blinding assessment will generate greater awareness among researchers, facilitate the standardization of blinding, and augment the blinding effectiveness. The use of this blinding assessment may further advance the quality and precision of TCM clinical trials and improve the accuracy of the trial results. The blinding assessment protocol will undergo continued optimization and refinement, drawing upon expert consensus and experience derived from clinical trials. Please cite this article as: Wang XC, Liu XY, Shi KL, Meng QG, Yu YF, Wang SY, Wang J, Qu C, Lei C, Yu XP. Blinding assessment in clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine: Exploratory principles and protocol. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(6): 528-536.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Outcome Assessment, Health Care ; Reference Standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; Research Design ; Clinical Trials as Topic