In 2012, a total of eight medical books were compiled from Tianhui medical bamboo slips unearthed in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, which for the first time, recorded bafa (ba technique) and acupuncture technique. Bafa is only found in Tianhui medical bamboo slips. Based on the records in medical bamboo slips, it is believed that the essential theory of bafa refers to an outlook of life for the harmony between form and spirit, meaning "the heart mind is the monarch of form". It is the initial view of physique centered on five-zang organs. In clinical application, bafa is used for prevention of diseases in four seasons, specially for wubi (five-bi disorders) and wufeng (five-wind disorders), covering a extensive parts of the body. Compared with the stone technique, "bafa must work on meridian points, while stone on meridians". Bafa is often used for deficiency syndrome, while stone technique is for excess syndrome. Hence, these two types of technique should be applied cautiously. It is speculated that bafa is an external therapeutic method based on the theory of meridian medicine in the Han Dynasty.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; China ; History, Ancient ; Meridians ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/history* ; Books/history* ; Acupuncture Points ; Medicine in Literature

In situ tumor vaccine has become an important strategy in cancer immunotherapy owing to its ability to induce immune responses locally and overcome tumor heterogeneity. However, the abnormal structure and mechanical properties of the tumor’s physical microenvironment significantly limit the efficiency of vaccine delivery and immune efficacy. In this review, the key factors in the tumor’s physical microenvironment, including solid pressure, interstitial fluid pressure, matrix stiffness, and tissue microstructure, are systematically discussed. Their obstructive roles in immune cell infiltration, antigen presentation, and immune activation are analyzed. The potential of approaches, such as radiotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, extracellular matrix degradation agents, nanomaterials, and hydrogel delivery platforms, in reshaping the tumor’s physical microenvironment is explored. This review aims to offer theoretical and practical guidance for optimizing in situ vaccine strategies through the regulation of the tumor’s physical microenvironment, ultimately advancing the precision and effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

The "body schema" of acupuncture and moxibustion is centered on the meridian system and represents a corporeal perspective of "heaven-connection", embodying the harmony between nature and humanity. It integrates the cyclic schema of the heavenly cycling, the meridian growth and decline schema of the guaqi theory, the twelve zodiac demarcation schema from astrological and astronomical studies, and the nine-palace and eight-trigrams schema of temporal and spatial locations. It presents the theoretical origins of the harmony between nature and humanity in acupuncture and moxibustion along with medical thoughts under the background of social concepts. The numerical arts of acupoint number and acupuncture-moxibustion quantity, those of acupuncture-moxibustion time and taboos, as well as the time-based acupuncture-moxibustion patterns, all of these thoroughly reflect the application of the body schema of acupuncture and moxibustion by early medical practitioners in ancient time. The study on the body philosophy in acupuncture and moxibustion should start from the original appearance of early classical acupuncture-moxibustion theory, trace the source of body philosophy of acupuncture and moxibustion, seek the truth of temporal body medicine, and perfect the body philosophy research of contemporary acupuncture and moxibustion, so as to improve the dual attributes of acupuncture and moxibustion in humanities and science.
Moxibustion/history* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/history* ; History, Ancient ; Meridians ; Astrology

This article explores the practical situation,construction significance,core points,and enhancement dimensions in constructing the discourse system of traditional Chinese medicine from a macro perspective.It also examines the ways linguistics can help alleviate the challenges in this process.The discourse system of traditional Chinese medicine has gone through three stages.The theory is currently unclear,and the discourse cannot be transmitted without fundamentally solving the problem of"aphasia."The discourse system of traditional Chinese medicine is an inevitable requirement for creating modern and international traditional Chinese medicine models.Its construction must form a subjective understanding of the discourse system,strengthen the advantage of originality,establish an expression paradigm of original system interpretation and new expressions of modern novel quality development,and build an influential international discourse system.The improvement dimension of the discourse system of traditional Chinese medicine should focus on domestic popularization and global dissemination.Strong strategic support should be provided using the epistemological and methodological frameworks of both traditional and modern linguistics.

The emerging and re-emerging arthropod-borne infectious diseases pose a serious threat to global public health security. Field and laboratory studies of arthropods of medical importance are essential and critical for the prevention and control of arthropod-borne infectious diseases. Various institutions or universities in China have been conducting research in the field or laboratory study of arthropods of medical importance, but up to 2023, it is still lacking detailed biosafety guidelines or recommendations that can guide the related work for arthropods of medical importance. In order to proactively address potential biosafety issues in the field or laboratory activities related to arthropods of medical importance, improve the standardization of arthropod biosafety classification, operations, and protection, and ensure the safety of practitioners, an expert consensus on the biosafety recommendation of arthropods of medical importance in field and laboratory has been developed, aiming to guide the future work of arthropods and ensure the national biosafety and biosecurity of China.

The five movements and six qi theory(hereinafter referred to as"movement qi theory")runs through Liu Wansu's med-ical theoretical system,which is mainly reflected in its influence on the theory of pathogenesis,the creation of fiery heat theory,and the influence of Liu Wansu's clinical diagnosis and treatment thoughts.The influence of movement qi theory on Liu Wansu's pathogen-esis theory includes three aspects:six qi alternation on pathogenesis,five movement hyperactivities on pathogenesis,and the root and branch of movement qi on pathogenesis.Liu's understanding of the pathogenesis of six qi and the philosophical thought of"water is good and fire is evil"mainly influenced the creation of Liu Wansu's"fire theory".The influence of movement qi theory on Liu Wansu's clinical diagnosis and treatment thoughts is mainly reflected in the classification of viscera,meridian and collateral diseases based on the theory of root and branch of middle qi,the diagnosis of pulses based on movement qi theory,the deduction of disease transmission and change using movement qi thinking,and the preparation of medicines based on qi.Liu Wansu initiated the innovation and debate of medical theory in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties,and had a profound impact on the rise of warm febrile diseases in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of multi-slice spiral CT(MSCT)perfusion imaging parameters in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant solitary pulmonary nodules(SPN).Methods:A total of 80 patients with SPN admitted to our hospital from Oct 2021 to Oct 2022 were selected.All patients underwent MSCT perfusion imaging and pathological examination after admission.According to the histopathological examination results,the patients were divided into benign nodule group and malignant nodule group.MSCT perfusion imaging parameters(blood volume,mean transit time,blood flow,surface permeability coefficient)of the two groups were compared.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the value of MSCT perfusion imaging parameters in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SPN.Results:Among the 80 patients with SPN,47 were diagnosed as malignant nodules and 33 as benign nodules by pathological examination.There was no significant difference in mean transit time between 2 groups(P＞0.05).The blood volume,blood flow and surface permeability coefficient in malignant nodule group were higher than those of benign nodule group(P＜0.05).The results of ROC curve showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of blood volume,blood flow and surface permeability coefficient separately and in combination were 0.823(95% CI:0.721-0.926),0.855(95% CI:0.761-0.949),0.850(95% CI:0.752-0.948)and 0.963(95% CI:0.924-1.000)for the diagnosis of benign and malignant SPN,all of which had certain diagnostic value.When blood volume,blood flow and surface permeability coefficient were 4.405 ml/100 g,51.325 ml/(min·100 g)and 21.115 ml/(min·100 g),respectively,the best diagnostic efficiency could be obtained,and the combined diagnosis value was higher.Conclusion:The combination of blood volume,blood flow and surface permeability coefficient of MSCT perfusion imaging parameters have high value in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant SPN,which can provide effective basis for the early diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant SPN.

Objective:To discuss the effect of downregulating microRNA-208a(miR-208a)on the resistance of the colorectal cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil(5-FU),and to clarify its related molecular mechanism.Methods:Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)method was used to detect the expression levels of miR-208a and secreted frizzled-related protein 1(SFRP1)mRNA in the 5-FU-resistant colorectal cancer cell line HT-29/5-FU and its parent HT-29 cells.The HT-29/5-FU cells were transfected with miR-208a inhibitor plasmid and its negative control plasmid(inhibitor-NC),and SFRP1 small interfering RNA(si-SFRP1)and its negative control plasmid(si-NC),either separately or in combination,followed by treatment with 5-FU.The cells were divided into inhibitor-NC group,miR-208a inhibitor group,miR-208a inhibitor+si-NC group,and miR-208a inhibitor+si-SFRP1 group.MTT assay was used to detect the proliferation activities of the cells and the resistance indexes were calculated;Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining and flow cytometry were used to detect the apoptotic rates of the cells after treated with different concentrations of 5-FU;Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of SFRP1,β-catenin,P-glycoprotein(P-gp),and ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1(ABCB1)proteins in the cells in various groups;dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to validate the targeting relationship between miR-208a and SFRP1.Results:Compared with HT-29 cells,the expression level of miR-208a in the HT-29/5-FU cells was increased(P＜0.05),and the expression level of SFRP1 mRNA was decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with inhibitor-NC group,the proliferation activity of the cells in miR-208a inhibitor group was decreased(P＜0.05),the resistance index was decreased,the apoptotic rate was increased(P＜0.05),and the expression levels of β-catenin,P-gp,and ABCB1 proteins in the cells were decreased(P＜0.05).The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results showed that SFRP1 was a target gene of miR-208a and miR-208a could negatively regulate the expression of SFRP1.Compared with miR-208a inhibitor+si-NC group,the proliferation activity of the cells in miR-208a inhibitor+si-SFRP1 group was increased(P＜0.05),the resistance index was increased,the apoptotic rate was decreased(P＜0.05),and the expression levels of β-catenin,P-gp,and ABCB1 proteins in the cells were increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion:Downregulation of miR-208a can improve the resistance of the HT-29/5-FU cells to 5-FU by targeting and upregulating the SFRP1 expression,thereby inhibiting the transmission of the Wnt signaling pathway.

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma associated with immunoglobulin M (IgM), due to its rarity in domestic and international reports, it is often overlooked in clinical treatment, and gradually progressing to end-stage renal disease and affecting patient's prognosis. In recent years, there has been an increase in treatment options for WM. This study reviewed the diagnosis and treatment of a patient with WM complicated by chronic renal failure, and analyzed the progress in diagnosis and treatment of this disease by reviewing relevant literatures from both domestic and international sources.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a type of malignant tumor that seriously threatens human health and life, and its treatment has always been a difficulty and hotspot in research. Herein, this study for the first time reports that antipsychotic aripiprazole (Ari) against the proliferation of CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo, but with less damage in normal colon cells. Mechanistically, the results showed that 5-hydroxytryptamine 2B receptor (HTR2B) and its coupling protein G protein subunit alpha q (Gαq) were highly distributed in CRC cells. Ari had a strong affinity with HTR2B and inhibited HTR2B downstream signaling. Blockade of HTR2B signaling suppressed the growth of CRC cells, but HTR2B was not found to have independent anticancer activity. Interestingly, the binding of Gαq to HTR2B was decreased after Ari treatment. Knockdown of Gαq not only restricted CRC cell growth, but also directly affected the anti-CRC efficacy of Ari. Moreover, an interaction between Ari and Gαq was found in that the mutation at amino acid 190 of Gαq reduced the efficacy of Ari. Thus, these results confirm that Gαq coupled to HTR2B was a potential target of Ari in mediating CRC proliferation. Collectively, this study provides a novel effective strategy for CRC therapy and favorable evidence for promoting Ari as an anticancer agent.