The therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) decoction is closely related to its decocting methods. A correct understanding of the scientific connotations of decocting methods in TCM is of great significance for guiding the application of decoctions and the development of modern TCM preparations based on decoctions. The decocting process is not only a hot water extraction process of chemical components but also accompanied by complex chemical and physical changes, forming a complex multiphase system and significantly affecting the absorption and therapeutic effect of TCM. This article reviews the research progress in scientific connotations of decocting methods in TCM from the perspectives of chemical composition changes, phase state differences,absorption behavior changes, and pharmacological and toxicological changes caused by decocting. This review is expected to provide implications for studying decocting methods and their scientific interpretation, boost the innovation and development of TCM decoctions,and promote the design and development of modern TCM preparations.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Animals

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of artificial hemi-knee prosthesis reconstruction for bone defects after resection of pediatric osteosarcoma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 18 children with osteosarcoma who met the selection criteria and were treated between January 2016 and December 2019. There were 11 males and 7 females, aged 6-10 years (mean, 8.9 years). Osteosarcoma located in the distal femur in 11 cases and the proximal tibia in 7 cases. Among them, 12 cases were conventional osteosarcoma and 6 cases were small cell osteosarcoma, with a disease duration of 1-9 months (mean, 3.1 months). All patients received 2 cycles of preoperative chemotherapy with doxorubicin, cisplatin, and ifosfamide. After en bloc tumor segment resection, bone defects were reconstructed using custom-made artificial hemi-knee prostheses. Rehabilitation training was initiated at 8 weeks postoperatively under the protection of a knee immobilizer brace, combined with 4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. During follow-up, lower limb growth length and limb shortening (compared with the healthy side) were measured, and limb function was evaluated using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society-93 (MSTS-93) scoring system. RESULTS: All surgeries were successfully completed, with an operation time of 2.0-3.1 hours (mean, 2.4 hours) and intraoperative blood loss of 180-320 mL (mean, 230.0 mL). Incisional edge necrosis occurred in 1 case at 10 days postoperatively, while the incisions of the remaining 17 patients healed by first intention. One case developed periprosthetic infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus at 1 week postoperatively, which was cured after symptomatic treatment. All 18 patients were followed up 60-96 months (mean, 74.2 months). No local tumor recurrence was observed during follow-up. Imaging examinations showed prosthesis loosening in 2 cases, while the prosthesis of other patients were well-positioned. At last follow-up, the knee joint range of motion was 80°-120° (mean, 106.7°). The MSTS-93 score was 16-29 (mean, 24.7), with 12 cases rated as excellent, 5 good, and 1 fair. The patients' height increased by 12.8-20.0 cm (mean, 15.5 cm), the lower limb growth length was 6.0-13.0 cm (mean, 9.7 cm), and limb shortening was 1.8-4.6 cm (mean, 3.1 cm). There was no significant difference in MSTS-93 scores, lower limb growth length, or limb shortening between the distal femur group and the proximal tibia group ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION Artificial hemi-knee prosthesis reconstruction can preserve the adjacent normal epiphysis of the knee joint, maximize limb growth potential, and reduce adult limb length discrepancy, making it a suitable reconstruction option for children with knee osteosarcoma.
Humans ; Osteosarcoma/surgery* ; Male ; Child ; Female ; Knee Prosthesis ; Retrospective Studies ; Bone Neoplasms/surgery* ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Tibia/surgery* ; Femur/surgery* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Femoral Neoplasms/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between ABO blood types and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. METHODS: A prospective birth cohort study was conducted. ABO blood types were determined using the slide method. GDM diagnosis was based on a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to the criteria of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups. Logistic regression was applied to calculate the odds ratios ( ORs) and 95% confidence intervals ( CIs) between ABO blood types and GDM risk. RESULTS: A total of 30,740 pregnant women with a mean age of 31.81 years were enrolled in this study. The ABO blood types distribution was: type O (30.99%), type A (26.58%), type B (32.20%), and type AB (10.23%). GDM was identified in 14.44% of participants. Using blood type O as a reference, GDM risk was not significantly higher for types A ( OR = 1.05) or B ( OR = 1.04). However, women with type AB had a 19% increased risk of GDM ( OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.34; P < 0.05), even after adjusting for various factors. This increased risk for type AB was consistent across subgroup and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION The ABO blood types may influence GDM risk, with type AB associated with a higher risk. Incorporating it-either as a single risk factor or in combination with other known factors-could help identify individuals at risk for GDM before or during early pregnancy.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Diabetes, Gestational/etiology* ; ABO Blood-Group System ; Adult ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Cell membrane-modified nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted widespread attention as a new approach for malignant brain tumors in recent years. This method can enhance the targeting, biocompatibility, and circulation time of NPs by preserving the characteristics of source cell membrane, thereby ensuring efficient drug delivery to intracranial lesions. This paper focuses on the research progress in this field, especially advantages of NPs penetrating the blood-brain barrier, immune evasion and drug delivery, as well as modified effect of different cell membrane on NPs, in order to provide help for treatment of malignant brain tumors.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between urinary metals copper (Cu), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) and grip strength. Methods We used linear regression models, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the relationship between metals and grip strength.Results In the multimetal linear regression, Cu (β=-2.119), As (β=-1.318), Sr (β=-2.480), Ba (β=0.781), Fe (β= 1.130) and Mn (β=-0.404) were significantly correlated with grip strength (P < 0.05). The results of the quantile g-computation showed that the risk of occurrence of grip strength reduction was -1.007 (95％ confidence interval:-1.362, -0.652; P < 0.001) when each quartile of the mixture of the seven metals was increased. Bayesian kernel function regression model analysis showed that mixtures of the seven metals had a negative overall effect on grip strength, with Cu, As and Sr being negatively associated with grip strength levels. In the total population, potential interactions were observed between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn (Pinteractions of 0.003 and 0.018, respectively).Conclusion In summary, this study suggests that combined exposure to metal mixtures is negatively associated with grip strength. Cu, Sr and As were negatively correlated with grip strength levels, and there were potential interactions between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn.

Objective:To investigate the early clinical characteristics of elderly patients with severe burns and the risk factors on prognosis.Methods:This study was a retrospective case series study. Clinical data of 124 elderly patients with severe burns who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the 12 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected, including 4 patients from the Fourth People's Hospital of Dalian, 5 patients from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 22 patients from Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University, 5 patients from Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital, 27 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 9 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 10 patients from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 9 patients from Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University & Wuhan Third Hospital, 12 patients from the 924 th Hospital of PLA, 6 patients from Zhangjiagang First People's Hospital, 4 patients from Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and 11 patients from Zhengzhou First People's Hospital. The patients' overall clinical characteristics, such as gender, age, body mass index, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, inhalation injury, causative factors, whether combined with underlying medical diseases, and admission time after injury were recorded. According to the survival outcome within 28 days after injury, the patients were divided into survival group (89 cases) and death group (35 cases). The following data of patients were compared between the two groups, including the basic data and injuries (the same as the overall clinical characteristics ahead); the coagulation indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time, D-dimer, fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), international normalized ratio (INR), and fibrinogen; the blood routine indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as white blood cell count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit; the organ function indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, urea, serum creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, globulin, blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, electrolyte indexes (potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in blood), uric acid, myoglobin, and brain natriuretic peptide; the infection and blood gas indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, pH value, oxygenation index, base excess, and lactate; treatment such as whether conducted with mechanical ventilation, whether conducted with continuous renal replacement therapy, whether conducted with anticoagulation therapy, whether applied with vasoactive drugs, and fluid resuscitation. The analysis was conducted to screen the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns. Results:Among 124 patients, there were 82 males and 42 females, aged 60-97 years, with body mass index of 23.44 (21.09, 25.95) kg/m 2, total burn area of 54.00% (42.00%, 75.00%) total body surface area (TBSA), and full-thickness burn area of 25.00% (10.00%, 40.00%) TBSA. The patients were mainly combined with moderate to severe inhalation injury and caused by flame burns. There were 43 cases with underlying medical diseases. The majority of patients were admitted to the hospital within 8 hours after injury. There were statistically significant differences between patients in the 2 groups in terms of age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and inhalation injury, and PT, APTT, D-dimer, FDP, INR, white blood cell count, platelet count, urea, serum creatinine, blood glucose, blood sodium, uric acid, myoglobin, and urine volume within the first 24 hours of injury (with Z values of 2.37, 5.49, 5.26, 5.97, 2.18, 1.95, 2.68, 2.68, 2.51, 2.82, 2.14, 3.40, 5.31, 3.41, 2.35, 3.81, 2.16, and -3.82, respectively, P<0.05); there were statistically significant differences between two groups of patients in whether conducted with mechanical ventilation and whether applied with vasoactive drugs (with χ2 values of 9.44 and 28.50, respectively, P<0.05). Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, serum creatinine within the first 24 hours of injury, and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury were the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns (with odds ratios of 1.17, 1.10, 1.10, 1.09, and 1.27, 95% confidence intervals of 1.03-1.40, 1.04-1.21, 1.05-1.19, 1.05-1.17, and 1.07-1.69, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions:The elderly patients with severe burns had the injuries mainly from flame burns, often accompanied by moderate to severe inhalation injury and enhanced inflammatory response, elevated blood glucose levels, activated fibrinolysis, and impaired organ function in the early stage, which are associated with their prognosis. Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and serum creatinine and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury are the independent risk factors for death within 28 days after injury in this population.

Ferroptosis is a novel form of cell death discovered in recent years, characterized by iron-dependent cell death featuring the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acid phospholipids. Recent studies have found that radiotherapy can induce ferroptosis in tumor cells through ionizing radiation, and the combination of radiotherapy with small molecule or nano-scale ferroptosis inducers can inhibit tumor growth and enhance radiosensitization. This review summarizes the mechanisms of ferroptosis and the pathways through which radiotherapy induces ferroptosis, and also explores the potential application prospects of small molecule drugs and nanomaterials in mediating ferroptosis for the radiosensitization of tumor treatment.

ObjectiveTo investigate the pharmacodynamic characteristics and explore the molecular mechanism of Honghua oral liquid （HOL） in relieving neuropathic pain （NP）. MethodHealthy male SD rats were randomly assigned into sham group， model group， low-， medium-， high-dose （0.5， 1.0， 2.0 mL·kg^-1·d^-1， respectively） HOL groups， and a positive drug （pregabalin， 25 mg·kg^-1·d^-1） group， with 6 rats in each group. Spinal nerve ligation （SNL） of L5 was conducted in other groups except the sham group. Drug administration was performed 3 days after the SNL surgery for 2 consecutive weeks， and samples were collected after the end of the administration. During the treatment period， the mechanical pain threshold and cold pain threshold were determined to measure the pain-relieving effect of HOL. Transcriptome sequencing was performed on hippocampal tissue samples from the sham， model， and high-dose HOL groups， and differentially expressed genes between the sham group and the model group as well as the model group and HOL high-dose group were obtained. After pathway enrichment analysis， we selected the targets which were closely related to neuroinflammation for validation， and predicted the specific binding sites of the major active components in HOL with the targets through molecular docking. In addition， the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-10 （IL-10） were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） to evaluate the effect of HOL on neuroinflammation in NP rats. ResultCompared with the sham group， SNL decreased the mechanical pain threshold and cold pain threshold （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， HOL recovered the mechanical pain threshold and cold pain threshold （P<0.05）. The transcriptome data showed that 376 differentially expressed genes （DEGs） were identified between the model group and the sham group， including 124 upregulated genes and 252 downregulated genes， and 194 DEGs between the model group and the high-dose HOL group， including 33 upregulated genes and 161 downregulated genes. Among them， insulin-like growth factor 1（IGF1）， matrix metallopeptidase-2 （MMP-2）， matrix metallopeptidase-14 （MMP-14）， erb-B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 （ERBB2）， and integrin subunit alpha 5 （ITGA5） associated with NP were selected for further validation. The Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） results showed that compared with the sham group， the modeling up-gurelated the mRNA levels of the above five molecules in the hippocampus （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， HOL down-regulated the mRNA levels of these molecules （P<0.01）. The molecular docking results showed that the main active components of safflower， hydroxysafflor yellow A， kaempferol， and quercetin， formed stable hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residues of IGF1， MMP-2， MMP-14， ERBB2， and ITGA5. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） results showed that compared with those in the sham group， the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-10 were out of balance in the model rats （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， HOL lowered the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α （P<0.01） and elevated that of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 （P<0.05）. ConclusionHOL exerts analgesic effect on SNL rats by inhibiting neuroinflammation.

Objective To explore the effect and safety of target controlled infusion mode based on precision anesthesia concept in cardiac surgery anesthesia.Methods A total of 100 patients underwent cardiac surgery in our hospital were selected as the research subjects,and they were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group,with 50 cases in each group.The surgical types,surgical related indicators,dosage of anesthetic drugs,and complications of the two groups were compared.Results There was no statistically significant difference in the proportions of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery,valve surgery,macrovascular surgery,artial septal defect repair surgery,or other types of surgery between the two groups(P>0.05).There were statistically significant differences in the surgical time,bleeding volume,infusion volume,proportion of cardiopulmonary bypass,times of postoperative analgesic drug use and mechanical ventilation duration between the two groups(P<0.05).The usage of various anesthetic drugs in the observation group was lower than that in the control group,with statistically significant difference(P<0.05).The incidence of complication in the observation group was lower than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion The target controlled infusion mode based on precision anesthesia concept can be used for cardiac surgery anesthesia to reduce the dosage of anesthetic drugs and postoperative complications,and improve the anesthesia effect and surgical safety.