The purpose of this paper is to explore the decoction and dosing methods of rhubarb root and rhizome in classical prescriptions and to provide a reference basis for the clinical use of rhubarb root and rhizome. By collating the relevant classical prescriptions of rhubarb root and rhizome in Shanghan Lun and Jingui Yaolüe, the relationship between its decoction and dosing methods and the syndrome was analyzed. The decoction of rhubarb root and rhizome in classical prescriptions can be divided into three categories: simultaneous decoction, decoction later, and other methods (impregnation in Mafei decoction, decoction with water from the well spring first taken in the morning, and pills). If it enters the blood level or wants to slow down, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted at the same time with other drugs. If it enters the qi level and wants to speed up, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted later. If it wants to upwardly move, rhubarb root and rhizome should be immersed in Mafei decoction. If it wants to suppress liver yang, rhubarb root and rhizome should be decocted with water from the well spring first taken in the morning. If the disease is prolonged, rhubarb root and rhizome should be taken in pill form. The dosing methods of rhubarb root and rhizome can be divided into five categories: draught, twice, three times, before meals, and unspecified. For acute and serious illnesses with excess of pathogenic qi and adequate vital qi, we choose draught. For gastrointestinal diseases, we choose to take the medicine twice. For achieving a moderate and long-lasting effect, we choose to take the medicine three times. If the disease is located in the lower part of the heart and abdomen, we choose to take it before meals. The use of rhubarb root and rhizome in clinical practice requires the selection of the appropriate decoction and dosing methods according to the location of the disease, the severity of the disease, the patient′s constitution, and the condition after taking the medicine.

BACKGROUND: The available evidence regarding the benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on patients receiving dialysis with coronary artery disease (CAD) is limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PCI and clinical outcomes as compared with medical therapy alone in patients undergoing dialysis with CAD in China. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted in 30 tertiary medical centers across 12 provinces in China from January 2015 to June 2021 to include patients on dialysis with CAD. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke. Secondary outcomes included all-cause death, the individual components of MACE, and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium criteria types 2, 3, or 5 bleeding. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between PCI and outcomes. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to account for potential between-group differences. RESULTS: Of the 1146 patients on dialysis with significant CAD, 821 (71.6%) underwent PCI. After a median follow-up of 23.0 months, PCI was associated with a 43.0% significantly lower risk for MACE (33.9% [ n  = 278] vs . 43.7% [ n  = 142]; adjusted hazards ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.71), along with a slightly increased risk for bleeding outcomes that did not reach statistical significance (11.1% vs . 8.3%; adjusted hazards ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval, 0.82-2.11). Furthermore, PCI was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. Subgroup analysis did not modify the association of PCI with patient outcomes. These primary findings were consistent across IPTW, PSM, and competing risk analyses. CONCLUSION This study indicated that PCI in patients on dialysis with CAD was significantly associated with lower MACE and mortality when comparing with those with medical therapy alone, albeit with a slightly increased risk for bleeding events that did not reach statistical significance.
Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Renal Dialysis/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; China ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate correlation between preoperative C ₂ slope (C2S) and effectiveness at 2 years after short-segment anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), with the aim of providing reliable indicators for predicting effectiveness. METHODS: One hundred and eighteen patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy, who received short-segment ACDF between January 2018 and December 2022 and met the selection criteria, were enrolled in the study. There were 46 males and 72 females, aged from 26 to 80 years, with a mean age of 53.6 years. The operative duration was (127.6±33.46) minutes and the intraoperative blood loss was (34.75±30.40) mL. All patients were followed up 2 years. The pre- and post-operative Neck Disability Index (NDI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain were recorded. Based on the anteroposterior and lateral cervical X-ray films, the sagittal parameters of the cervical spine were measured [C ₂-C ₇ Cobb angle, C ₀-C ₂ Cobb angle, T ₁ slope, C2S, sagittal segmental angle (SSA) of the surgical segment, and average surgical disc height (ASDH) of the surgical segment]. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the differences in these indicators between pre- and post-operation, as well as the correlations between the preoperative C2S and the JOA score, NDI, and VAS score at 2 years after operation. The patients were allocated into group A (C2S >11.73°) and group B (C2S≤ 11.73°) according to the median value of the preoperative C2S (11.73°). The JOA score, NDI, and VAS score before operation and at 2 years after operation, as well as the differences between pre- and post-operative values (change values), were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The T ₁ slope, C ₂-C ₇ Cobb angle, C ₀-C ₂ Cobb angle, SSA, and ASDH at immediate after operation and JOA score, NDI, and VAS score at 2 years after operation significantly improved in 118 patients when compared with preoperative ones ( P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that preoperative C2S was not correlated with JOA score and NDI at 2 years after operation ( P>0.05), but negatively correlated with VAS score ( P<0.05). There were 59 patients with preoperative C2S>11.73° (group A) and 59 with C2S≤11.73° (group B). There was no significant difference in preoperative JOA score, NDI, and VAS score between the two groups ( P>0.05). There were significant differences in VAS score at 2 year after operation and the change value between the two groups ( P<0.05); there was no significant difference in the JOA score and NDI ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION Patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy and a higher preoperative C2S exhibited superior long-term pain relief and effectiveness following short-segment ACDF.
Humans ; Male ; Spinal Fusion/methods* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Cervical Vertebrae/diagnostic imaging* ; Diskectomy/methods* ; Aged ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Aged, 80 and over ; Spondylosis/diagnostic imaging* ; Pain Measurement ; Preoperative Period ; Follow-Up Studies

Objective To investigate the toxicokinetic differences of 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine(MDMA)and its metabolite 4,5-methylene dioxy amphetamine(MDA)in rats af-ter single and continuous administration of MDMA,providing reference data for the forensic identifica-tion of MDMA.Methods A total of 24 rats in the single administration group were randomly divided into 5,10 and 20 mg/kg experimental groups and the control group,with 6 rats in each group.The ex-perimental group was given intraperitoneal injection of MDMA,and the control group was given intraperi-toneal injection of the same volume of normal saline as the experimental group.The amount of 0.5 mL blood was collected from the medial canthus 5 min,30 min,1 h,1.5 h,2 h,4 h,6 h,8 h,10 h,12 h after administration.In the continuous administration group,24 rats were randomly divided into the experi-mental group(18 rats)and the control group(6 rats).The experimental group was given MDMA 7 d by continuous intraperitoneal injection in increments of 5,7,9,11,13,15,17 mg/kg per day,respectively,while the control group was given the same volume of normal saline as the experimental group by in-traperitoneal injection.On the eighth day,the experimental rats were randomly divided into 5,10 and 20 mg/kg dose groups,with 6 rats in each group.MDMA was injected intraperitoneally,and the con-trol group was injected intraperitoneally with the same volume of normal saline as the experimental group.On the eighth day,0.5 mL of blood was taken from the medial canthus 5 min,30 min,1 h,1.5 h,2 h,4 h,6 h,8 h,10 h,12 h after administration.Liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect MDMA and MDA levels,and statistical software was employed for data analysis.Results In the single-administration group,peak concentrations of MDMA and MDA were reached at 5 min and 1 h after administration,respectively,with the largest detection time limit of 12 h.In the continuous administration group,peak concentrations were reached at 30 min and 1.5 h af-ter administration,respectively,with the largest detection time limit of 10 h.Nonlinear fitting equations for the concentration ratio of MDMA and MDA in plasma and administration time in the single-administration group and continuous administration group were as follows:T=10.362C-1.183,R2=0.974 6;T=7.397 3C-0.694,R2=0.961 5(T:injection time;C:concentration ratio of MDMA to MDA in plasma).Conclusions The toxicokinetic data of MDMA and its metabolite MDA in rats,obtained through single and continuous administration,including peak concentration,peak time,detection time limit,and the relationship between concentration ratio and administration time,provide a theoretical and data foundation for relevant forensic identification.

Femoral intertrochanteric fracture is one of the common types of fractures in the elderly. With the general improvement of medical and living standards, the number of elderly people is increasing, and the problem of osteoporosis has also become relatively prominent. Therefore, low violence can usually cause fractures in this area of the elderly, which has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of elderly patients. With the further development of medical technology and internal fixation materials, the emergence of proximal femoral nail antirotation(PFNA) has greatly improved the treatment effect of femoral intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients. However, with the increasing number of patients treated, internal fixation failures have gradually been reported. In recent years, proximal femoral biomimetic intramedullary nail(PFBN) has been reported to have good clinical efficacy. Therefore, this article mainly elaborates on the theoretical basis, design characteristics, biomechanics, and clinical efficacy research of PFBN, providing more reference for the clinical treatment of femoral intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients in the future.

Objective:To assess the value of optical genome mapping (OGM) for the detection of chromosomal structural abnormalities including ring chromosomes, balanced translocations, and insertional translocations.Methods:Clinical data of four patients who underwent pre-implantation genetic testing concurrently with OGM and chromosomal microarray analysis at the Center of Reproductive Medicine of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January to October 2022 due to chromosomal structural abnormalities were selected as the study subjects. Some of the results were verified by multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization. Results:The OGM has successfully detected a balanced translocation and fine mapped the breakpoints in a patient. Among two patients with insertional translocations, OGM has provided more refined breakpoint locations than karyotyping analysis in a patient who had chromosome 3 inserted into chromosome 6 and determined the direction of the inserted fragment. However, OGM has failed to detect the chromosomal abnormalit in a patient with chromosome 8 inserted into the Y chromosome. It has also failed to detect circular signals in a patient with ring chromosome mosaicism.Conclusion:OGM has successfully detected chromosomal structural variations in the four patients and provided assistance for their diagnosis.

Objective To verify the safety and efficacy of a new portable extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)system(Xijing Advanced Life Support System JC-Ⅲ)in large animals.Methods A total of 10 healthy small fat-tail sheep underwent veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(VA-ECMO)support by carotid arterial-jugular catheterization to evaluate the performance of the JC-Ⅲ ECMO system.Systemic anticoagulation was achieved by continuous infusion of heparin.Active coagulation time(ACT)was recorded every 2 hours during the experiment,and the ACT was maintained between 200-250 s.Centrifugal pump speed is set at 3 000-3 500 r/min.The changes of hemoglobin,blood cell counts,hematocrit,liver and kidney function were monitored before and 24 h after ECMO initiation,respectively.After the experiment,the pump and oxygenator were dissected to probe the thrombosis.Results The success rate of VA-ECMO operation was 100％,and there was no hemolysis,pump thrombosis and oxygenator thrombosis after 24 h of ECMO.Before and after the operation,there were no significant changes in indicators such as hemoglobin content,white blood cell counts,platelet counts,alanine aminotransferase concentration,aspartate aminotransferase concentration,urea,creatinine,high-sensitivity troponin Ⅰ,and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(all P＞0.05).Conclusions This in vivo study confirms that Xijing Advanced Life support System JC-Ⅲ is safe and effective.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the most common tumor types and remains a major clinical challenge.Increasing evidence has revealed that mitophagy inhibitors can enhance the effect of chemotherapy on HCC.However,few mitophagy inhibitors have been approved for clinical use in humans.Pyrimethamine(Pyr)is used to treat infections caused by protozoan parasites.Recent studies have reported that Pyr may be beneficial in the treatment of various tumors.However,its mechanism of action is still not clearly defined.Here,we found that blocking mitophagy sensitized cells to Pyr-induced apoptosis.Mechanistically,Pyr potently induced the accumulation of autophagosomes by inhibiting autophagosome-lysosome fusion in human HCC cells.In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that Pyr blocked autophagosome-lysosome fusion by upregulating BNIP3 to inhibit synaptosomal-associated protein 29(SNAP29)-vesicle-associated membrane protein 8(VAMP8)interaction.Moreover,Pyr acted synergistically with sorafenib(Sora)to induce apoptosis and inhibit HCC proliferation in vitro and in vivo.Pyr enhances the sensitivity of HCC cells to Sora,a common chemotherapeutic,by inhibiting mitophagy.Thus,these results provide new insights into the mechanism of action of Pyr and imply that Pyr could potentially be further developed as a novel mitophagy inhibitor.Notably,Pyr and Sora combination therapy could be a promising treatment for malignant HCC.

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of using elastic intramedullary nail and plate to fix fibular frac-ture.Methods The 60 patients with tibiofibular fractures admitted from January 2015 to December 2022 were divided into two groups:intramedullary nail group and plate group,30 cases each,intramedullary nail group was treated with elastic in-tramedullary nail fixation group,plate group was treated with steel plate and screw fixation group.Intramedullary nail group,there were 18 males and 12 females,aged from 22 to 75 years old with an average of(39.4±9.8)years old,including 24 cases of traffic accidents injury,6 cases of falling injury,23 cases of closed fractures,7 cases of open fractures.Steel plate group,there were 15 males and 15 females,aged from 24 to 78 years old with an average of(38.6±10.2)years old.The 22 cases were injured by traffic accident,8 cases were injured by falling.The 24 cases were closed fractures and 6 cases were open fractures.The operation time,intraoperative bleeding,American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society(AOFAS)ankle and hind foot scores,clinical healing time of fibula and the incidence of wound complications were compared between the two groups.Re-sults The patients in both groups were followed up for 6 to 21 months,with an average of(14.0±2.8)months.Compared with plate group,intramedullary nail group had shorter operative time,less bleeding,shorter clinical healing time of fibula,and low-er infection rate of incision,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).There were 2 cases of delayed healing in intramedullary nail group,1 case of nonunion in plate group,and 2 cases of delayed healing in plate group,and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).In the last follow-up,according to the AOFAS scoring standard,the ankle function in intramedullary nail group was excellent in 17 cases,good in 12 cases,fair in 1 case,with an av-erage of(88.33±4.57)points,while in plate group,excellent in 16 cases,good in 10 cases,fair in 4 cases,with an average of(87.00±4.14)points;There was no statistical difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Elastic intramedullary nail has the advantages of short operation time,less intraoperative bleeding,short fracture healing time and less incision com-plications in the treatment of fibular fracture,which is worthy of clinical application.

Curettage is the main treatment method for oral maxillofacial cystic lesions,but simple curettage may easily damage surrounding structures such as adjacent teeth and nerves,leading to incomplete removal of the cyst and large jaw defects.The curettage assisted by endoscopy can provide a good surgical field for the surgeons,can clearly identify the important anatomical structure during the operation and can remove the cyst wall tissue as much as possible,thereby reducing the damage and reducing the recurrence rate of the lesion.This article combines the characteristics of maxillofacial surgery with clinical treatment experience,summarizes relevant literature from both domestic and international sources,and engages in discussions with experts in order to provide reference for the clinical treatment of jaw cystic lesions with endo-scope assisted curettage.