Sophorae Flavescentis Radix is one of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicine in China, and a large amount of pharmaceutical residue generated during its processing and production is discarded as waste, which not only wastes resources but also pollutes the environment. Therefore, elucidating the chemical composition of the residue of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix and the differences between the residue and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix itself is of great significance for the comprehensive utilization of the residue. This study, based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technology combined with multivariate statistical methods, provides a thorough characterization, identification, and differential analysis of the overall components of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix and its residue. Firstly, 61 compounds in Sophorae Flavescentis Radix were rapidly identified based on their precise molecular weight, fragment ions, and compound abundance, using a self-constructed compound database. Among them, 41 compounds were found in the residue, mainly alkaloids and flavonoids. Secondly, through principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA), 15 key compounds differentiating Sophorae Flavescentis Radix from its residue were identified. These included highly polar alkaloids, such as oxymatrine and oxysophocarpine, which showed significantly reduced content in the residue, and less polar flavonoids, such as kurarinone and kuraridin, which were more abundant in the residue. In summary, this paper clarifies the overall composition, structure, and content differences between Sophorae Flavescentis Radix and its residue, suggesting that the residue of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix can be used as a raw material for the extraction of its high-activity components, with promising potential for development and application in cosmetics and daily care. This research provides a scientific basis for the future comprehensive utilization of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix and its residue.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Sophora/chemistry* ; Flavonoids/chemistry* ; Alkaloids/chemistry*

Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the impact of Diagnosis-Related-Groups(DRGs)payment on the average total cost,length of stay,service volume,effectiveness,and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)hospitals.Methods:A national medical center specializing in TCM was selected as the research subject.The Difference-in-Difference Model(DID)was utilized to analyze the differences in various indicators between insured patients(intervention group)and uninsured patients(control group)before and after the implementation of the payment reform policy.The reliability and stability of the model were verified through parallel trend tests and placebo tests.Results:The coefficients of DID interaction terms for eleven indicators including average total hospitalization cost,number of cases,length of stay,proportion of medical service revenue,and proportion of herbal medicine revenue were significant(P<0.05).The DID interaction term coefficients for four indicators including herbal medicine usage rate and proportion of non-pharmacological TCM therapy revenue were not significant(P>0.05).Conclusion:DRG payment significantly reduced the per-admission cost,with significant decreases in consumables and medical technology expenses,optimizing cost structure,and a slight decrease in the proportion of herbal medicine costs.It is necessary to further expand the sample size,track policy impacts,and comprehensively evaluate the effects of DRG payment on TCM hospitals in China.

Ophiopogonis Radix, a well-known Chinese herb, is dominantly cultivated in Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces, with the Zhejiang Ophiopogonis Radix acting as one of the eight Zhejiang-based traditional medical materials. Phytochemical studies have shown that Ophiopogonis Radix is rich in steroidal saponins, homoisoflavonoids, terpenoids, and polysaccharides, which collectively confer it with cardiovascular protection, anti-inflammation, anticancer, antioxidation, and immune regulation activities. Studies also show that Ophiopogonis Radix originated from Zhejiang and Sichuan is discriminated in both chemical components and clinical efficacy, while the existing reviews of Ophiopogonis Radix appear to pose a particular focus on Sichuan species, but not for Zhejiang origin. This article systematically summarizes the structures and bioactivities of the compounds sourced from Zhejiang Ophiopogonis Radix as well as its molecular pharmacognosy and it will set the stage for a comprehensive understanding of geo-authentic Ophiopogonis Radix.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Humans ; Animals ; Pharmacognosy ; Ophiopogon/chemistry* ; China

The fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) is an RNA demethylase required for catalytic demethylation of N ⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A); it is highly expressed and functions as an oncogene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, the overarching objective of targeting FTO is to precisely inhibit the catalytic activity. Meanwhile, whether FTO degradation also exerts antileukemic effects remains unknown. Herein, we designed the first FTO-targeting proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) degrader QP73 using our FTO inhibitor Dac85-which potently inhibits FTO demethylation in AML cell lines-as a warhead. Notably, QP73 significantly induced FTO degradation in a time-, dose-, and ubiquitin-proteasome system-dependent manner and had superior antiproliferative activities to the FTO inhibitor Dac85 in various AML cell lines. Moreover, QP73 treatment significantly increased m⁶A modification on mRNA, promoted myeloid differentiation, and induced apoptosis of AML cells. Quantitative proteomics analysis showed that QP73 induced complete FTO degradation, upregulating RARA and ASB2 abundance and downregulating CEBPA, MYC, PFKP, and LDHB levels in AML cells. Lastly, QP73 exhibited antileukemic activity by increasing m⁶A modification and decreasing FTO levels in xenograft AML tumors. This proof-of-concept study shows that FTO-targeting PROTAC degraders can regulate the FTO signaling pathway and have potential antileukemia applications.

Objective: To investigate the surgical indications and perioperative clinical outcomes of pelvic exenteration (PE) for locally advanced, recurrent pelvic malignancies and complex pelvic fistulas. Methods: This was a descriptive study.The indications for performing PE were: (1) locally advanced, recurrent pelvic malignancy or complex pelvic fistula diagnosed preoperatively by imaging and pathological examination of a biopsy; (2)preoperative agreement by a multi-disciplinary team that non-surgical and conventional surgical treatment had failed and PE was required; and (3) findings on intraoperative exploration confirming this conclusion.Contraindications to this surgical procedure comprised cardiac and respiratory dysfunction, poor nutritional status,and mental state too poor to tolerate the procedure.Clinical data of 141 patients who met the above criteria, had undergone PE in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2018 to September 2022, had complete perioperative clinical data, and had given written informed consent to the procedure were collected,and the operation,relevant perioperative variables, postoperative pathological findings (curative resection), and early postoperative complications were analyzed. Results: Of the 141 included patients, 43 (30.5%) had primary malignancies, 61 (43.3%) recurrent malignancies, 28 (19.9%) complex fistulas after radical resection of malignancies,and nine (6.4%)complex fistulas caused by benign disease. There were 79 cases (56.0%) of gastrointestinal tumors, 30 cases (21.3%) of reproductive tumors, 16 cases (11.3%) of urinary tumors, and 7 cases (5.0%) of other tumors such mesenchymal tissue tumors. Among the 104 patients with primary and recurrent malignancies, 15 patients with severe complications of pelvic perineum of advanced tumors were planned to undergo palliative PE surgery for symptom relief after preoperative assessment of multidisciplinary team; the other 89 patients were evaluated for radical PE surgery. All surgeries were successfully completed. Total PE was performed on 73 patients (51.8%),anterior PE on 22 (15.6%),and posterior PE in 46 (32.6%). The median operative time was 576 (453,679) minutes, median intraoperative blood loss 500 (200, 1 200) ml, and median hospital stay 17 (13.0,30.5)days.There were no intraoperative deaths. Of the 89 patients evaluated for radical PE surgery, the radical R0 resection was achieved in 64 (71.9%) of them, R1 resection in 23 (25.8%), and R2 resection in two (2.2%). One or more postoperative complications occurred in 85 cases (60.3%), 32 (22.7%)of which were Clavien-Dindo grade III and above.One patient (0.7%)died during the perioperative period. Conclusion: PE is a valid option for treating locally advanced or recurrent pelvic malignancies and complex pelvic fistulas.
Humans ; Pelvic Exenteration/methods* ; Pelvic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/surgery* ; Postoperative Complications

The latest epidemiological data suggests that the situation of adult diabetes in China is severe, and metabolic diseases have become significant chronic illnesses that have a serious impact on public health and social development. After more than six years of practice, the National Metabolic Management Center(MMC) has developed distinctive approaches to manage metabolic patients and has achieved a series of positive outcomes, continuously advancing the standardized diagnosis and treatment model. In order to further improve the efficiency, based on the first edition, the second edition guideline was composed by incorporating experience of the past six years in conjunction with the latest international and domestic guidelines.

COVID-19 has been prevalent for three years. The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is weaken as it mutates continuously. However, elderly patients, especially those with underlying diseases, are still at high risk of developing severe infections. With the continuous study of the molecular structure and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 have been successively marketed, and these anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs can effectively reduce the severe rate and mortality of elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanism, clinical medication regimens, drug interactions and adverse reactions of five small molecule antiviral drugs currently approved for marketing in China, so as to provide advice for the clinical rational use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly.