ObjectiveTo investigate the inhibitory effect of Biejia Decoction Pill on the proliferation， migration， and aerobic glycolysis of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） using cell experiments， as well as related mechanisms. MethodsHuman liver cancer cell line Huh7 was selected， and Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into blank serum group， inhibitor group， and high-， middle-， and low-dose Biejia Decoction Pill groups. Rat serum containing the drug was prepared for the incubation of Huh7 cells. CCK8 assay and scratch assay were used to explore the effect of Biejia Decoction Pill on the proliferation and migration of HCC cells； glycolytic rate-limiting enzymes and metabolites were measured to explore the effect of Biejia Decoction Pill on aerobic glycolysis of liver cancer cells； RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to explore the effect of Biejia Decoction Pill on the mRNA expression， related proteins， and phosphorylation of the protein kinase B （AKT）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） signaling pathway. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test or the Dunnett’s T3 test were used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the blank serum group， the Biejia Decoction Pill groups had significant reductions in OD value， migration rate during different periods of time， glycolytic rate-limiting enzymes （hexokinase， phosphofructokinase， pyruvate kinase）， and glycolytic metabolites （pyruvate， lactic acid， ATP） （all P<0.05）. RT-qPCR results showed that compared with the blank serum group， the high-， middle-， and low-dose Biejia Decoction Pill groups had a significant reduction in the mRNA expression level of mTOR， and the high- and low-dose Biejia Decoction Pill groups had a significant reduction in the mRNA expression level of AKT （all P<0.05）. Western blot results showed that compared with the blank serum group， the high-， middle-， and low-dose Biejia Decoction Pill groups had significant reductions in the expression levels of mTOR-related proteins and phosphorylated proteins， and the high- and middle-dose Biejia Decoction Pill groups had significant reductions in the expression levels of AKT-related proteins and phosphorylated proteins （all P<0.05）. ConclusionThis study preliminarily verifies that the serum containing Bijia Decoction Pill can inhibit the aerobic glycolysis of human hepatoma Huh7 cells， thereby inhibiting their proliferation and migration， possibly by inhibiting the expression of the proteins related to the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

[Objective] To compare the clinical efficacy of super pulse thulium laser enucleation of the prostate (SPThuLEP) with "open tunnel" and transurethral holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in order to provide reference for the treatment options of BPH. [Methods] The clinical data of 112 BPH patients treated in our hospital during Jan.2023 and Jul.2023 were retrospectively analyzed, including 65 treated with SPThuLEP with "open tunnel" and 57 with HoLEP.The operation time, postoperative hemoglobin decrease, postoperative bladder irrigation, catheter indwelling time, hospitalization time and complications were compared between the two groups.The changes of maximum urine flow rate (Qmax), international prostate symptom score (IPSS), quality of life score (QoL), postvoid residual (PVR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were compared between the two groups before operation and one month after operation. [Results] All operations were successful without conversion to open or transurethral plasmakinetic resection.The postoperative decrease of hemoglobin in SPThuLEP group was lower than that in HoLEP group [(13.12±6.72) g/L vs. (21.02±6.51) g/L], with statistical difference (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the operation time [(63.35±15.73) min vs.(61.02±17.55) min], postoperative bladder irrigation time [(1.07±0.45) d vs. (1.06±0.36) d], catheter indwelling time [(2.98±0.56) d vs. (3.01±0.63) d] and hospitalization time [(3.63±0.61) d vs.(3.79±0.76) d] between the two groups (P>0.05). No blood transfusion, secondary bleeding or unplanned hospitalization occurred, and there were no serious complications such as transurethral electroresection syndrome (TURS), urethral stricture and urinary incontinence.One month after operation, the Qmax, IPSS, QoL, PVR and PSA of the two groups were significantly improved compared with those before operation (P<0.05), but with no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). [Conclusion] SPThuLEP with "open tunnel" has comparable efficacy as HoLEP in the treatment of BPH.With advantages of small amount of bleeding and high safety, this minimally invasive technique can be widely popularized in clinical practice.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a globally life-threatening disease. Presently, few therapeutic medicines are available for treating IS, and rt-PA is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. In fact, many agents showing excellent neuroprotection but no blood flow-improving activity in animals have not achieved ideal clinical efficacy, while thrombolytic drugs only improving blood flow without neuroprotection have limited their wider application. To address these challenges and meet the huge unmet clinical need, we have designed and identified a novel compound AAPB with dual effects of neuroprotection and cerebral blood flow improvement. AAPB significantly reduced cerebral infarction and neural function deficit in tMCAO rats, pMCAO rats, and IS rhesus monkeys, as well as displayed exceptional safety profiles and excellent pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs. AAPB has now entered phase I of clinical trials fighting IS in China.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) published in Chinese between Jan 2021 and Sep 2022. METHODS: Chinese language CHM SRs were identified through literature searches across 3 international and 4 Chinese databases. Methodological quality was appraised using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and quality. RESULTS: Analyses of methodological quality found that among the 213 sampled SRs, 69.5% were of critically low quality, 30.5% were of low quality, and none achieved high or moderate quality. Common shortcomings included the failure to identify the studies excluded from the analysis, failure to disclose funding sources, and limited evaluation of the potential impact of bias on conclusions. Logistic regressions revealed that SRs led by corresponding authors affiliated with universities or academic institutions tended to be of lower quality than SRs led by authors affiliated with hospitals or clinical facilities. CONCLUSION Recent Chinese language CHM SRs exhibited limited methodological quality, making them unlikely to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. Urgent initiatives are needed to enhance training for researchers, peer-reviewers and editors involved in the preparation and publication of SRs. Adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines in Chinese language journals is crucial to improve the relevance of SRs for Chinese medicine development. Addressing deficiencies in methodology and reporting is essential for promoting evidence-based practices and informed clinical decisions in Chinese medicine. Please cite this article as: Jiang Y, Zhong CC, Wang BH, Xu SS, Ho FF, Kwong MH, Ho L, Zhou JHS, Lam KC, Liu JP, Zhang BT, Chung VCH. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on orally administered Chinese herbal medicine published in Chinese between 2021 and 2022: A cross-sectional study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):492-501.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic/standards* ; Humans ; China ; Administration, Oral ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatiotemporal patterns and socioeconomic factors influencing the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the Guangdong Province between 2010 and 2019. METHOD: Spatial and temporal variations in TB incidence were mapped using heat maps and hierarchical clustering. Socioenvironmental influencing factors were evaluated using a Bayesian spatiotemporal conditional autoregressive (ST-CAR) model. RESULTS: Annual incidence of TB in Guangdong decreased from 91.85/100,000 in 2010 to 53.06/100,000 in 2019. Spatial hotspots were found in northeastern Guangdong, particularly in Heyuan, Shanwei, and Shantou, while Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Foshan had the lowest rates in the Pearl River Delta. The ST-CAR model showed that the TB risk was lower with higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [Relative Risk ( RR), 0.91; 95% Confidence Interval ( CI): 0.86-0.98], more the ratio of licensed physicians and physician ( RR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.98), and higher per capita public expenditure ( RR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.97), with a marginal effect of population density ( RR, 0.86; 95% CI: 0.86-1.00). CONCLUSION The incidence of TB in Guangdong varies spatially and temporally. Areas with poor economic conditions and insufficient healthcare resources are at an increased risk of TB infection. Strategies focusing on equitable health resource distribution and economic development are the key to TB control.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Bayes Theorem ; Spatio-Temporal Analysis ; Tuberculosis/epidemiology* ; Socioeconomic Factors

Objective: We employed Mendelian randomization (MR) to test the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory of emotional pathogenesis concept and explore the causal relationship between negative emotions and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: Data of negative emotions, bronchitis, emphysema, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were downloaded from genome-wide association study (GWAS) public database for a two-sample MR analysis. Independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with negative emotions, bronchitis, and emphysema were selected as instrumental variables. Primary causal estimates were derived using inverse-variance weighting (IVW), supplemented by weighted median (WM), and simple mode (SM) methods. Sensitivity analyses included MR-Egger regression and MR-PRESSO to assess pleiotropy, Cochran’s Q test for heterogeneity, and multivariate MR to adjust for smoking. Mediation analysis evaluated the role of inflammatory markers. Reverse MR was tested for bidirectional causality. Weak instrument bias was mitigated via F-statistic thresholds (> 10). All analyses were conducted in RStudio. Results: MR analysis identified significant causal effects of several negative emotions on COPD. Genetically, the IVW analysis of seen doctors for nerves anxiety tension or depression [ORIVW = 1.006, 95% CI = (1.002, 1.010), P = 0.002], sensitivity/hurt feelings [ORIVW = 1.024, 95% CI = (1.004, 1.044), P = 0.017], and irritability [ORIVW = 1.019, 95% CI = (1.003, 1.035), P = 0.019 were robustly associated with increased risks of COPD. No heterogeneity was detected among the different instrumental variables (IVs) for depression (P = 0.655) and irritability (P = 0.163). MR-Egger regression intercepts for all emotional exposures were close to zero and statistically non-significant, indicating no evidence of directional pleiotropy. The horizontal pleiotropy results showed that except for worry (MR-PRESSO P = 0.006), other emotion exposures confirming no substantial pleiotropic bias. Multivariable MR demonstrated that anxiety remained independently associated with COPD after adjusting for smoking (P = 0.002), while associations with other negative emotions were attenuated post-adjustment. The mediation analysis revealed that CRP mediated 3.93% of the total effect of anxiety on COPD. However, reverse MR analysis found no evidence of reverse causality. Conclusion This study confirmed the causal effects of negative emotions on COPD through MR analysis and revealed that negative emotions may trigger CRP production, which plays an essential mediating role in this relationship. This study provides a reliable modern theoretical basis for emotion theory in TCM.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment methods of patients with small bowel obstruction secondary to mesenteric ischemia (MI).Methods:The clinical data of 24 patients with small intestinal obstruction secondary to MI from December 2021 to December 2024 in the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed, including the clinical characteristics and surgical treatment.Results:Among the 24 patients with small intestinal obstruction secondary to MI, 19 were male and 5 were female, with ages ranging from 21 to 65 years old, and the disease course was 0.5 (1.0, 5.5) months. There were 8 cases of deep vein thrombosis, 6 cases of hypertension, 6 cases of atrial fibrillation, 5 cases of short bowel syndrome, 4 cases of abdominal trauma and 23 cases with a history of abdominal surgery. There were 4 cases of acute onset, presenting with full abdominal pain, elevated D-dimer and hematogenous intestinal obstruction. There were 20 cases of chronic onset, presenting with recurrent abdominal pain, weight loss and mechanical intestinal obstruction. The pathogenic factors were superior mesenteric vein thrombosis in 7 cases, superior mesenteric arteriosclerosis in 6 cases, mesenteric injury repair in 4 cases, superior mesenteric artery embolism in 3 cases, superior mesenteric aneurysm in 2 cases, superior mesenteric artery dissection in 1 case, and ileocolic aneurysm in 1 case. Three patients underwent surgical operations after the failure of interventional surgeries, and 20 patients were directly treated with surgery. The small intestinal obstruction was completely relieved in all cases. Another case was treated conservatively, but the small intestinal obstruction was not completely relieved.Conclusions:Small bowel obstruction secondary to MI is often atypical. CT angiography should be performed to identify the cause of obstruction due to deep vein thrombosis, atrial fibrillation, abdominal trauma or abdominal surgery. Surgery is the preferred treatment.

Process analytical technology(PAT) is a key means for digital transformation and upgrading of the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) manufacturing process, serving as an important guarantee for consistent and controllable TCM product quality. Near-infrared(NIR) spectroscopy has become the core technology for measuring the TCM manufacturing process. By incorporating NIR spectroscopy into PAT and starting from the construction of a smart platform for the TCM manufacturing process, this paper systematically described the development history and innovative application of the combination of NIR spectroscopy with chemometrics in measuring the TCM manufacturing process by the research team over the past two decades. Additionally, it explored the application of a validation method based on accuracy profile(AP) in the practice of NIR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the software development progress driven by NIR spectroscopy supported by modeling technology was analyzed, and the prospect of integrating NIR spectroscopy in smart factory control platforms was exemplified with the construction practices of related platforms. By integrating with the smart platform, NIR spectroscopy could improve production efficiency and guarantee product quality. Finally, the prospect of the smart platform application in measuring the TCM manufacturing process was projected. It is believed that the software development for NIR spectroscopy and the smart manufacturing platform will provide strong technical support for TCM digitalization and industrialization.
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Software ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Quality Control

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a critical foundation for ensuring the stability of its efficacy, as well as the safety and effectiveness of its clinical use. The identification of critical quality attributes(CQAs) is one of the core components of TCM preparation quality control. This study focuses on Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets and explores their CQAs related to property and flavor from the perspective of taste receptor proteins. Three taste receptor proteins, T1R2, T1R3, and TRPV1, were selected, and a biosensor based on high-electron-mobility transistor(HEMT) was constructed to detect the interactions between Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets and taste receptor proteins. Simultaneously, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) technology was used to analyze the chemical composition of Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets. In examining the interaction strength, the results indicated that the interaction between Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets and TRPV1 protein was the strongest, followed by T1R3, with the interaction with T1R2 being relatively weaker. By combining biosensing technology with LC-MS, 16 chemical components were identified from Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets, among which six were selected as CQAs for sweetness and seven for pungency. Further validation experiments demonstrated that CQAs such as hesperidin and hesperetin had strong interactions with their corresponding taste receptor proteins. Through the combined use of multiple technological approaches, this study successfully determined the property and flavor-related CQAs of Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets. It provides novel ideas and approach for the identification of CQAs in TCM preparations and offers comprehensive theoretical support for TCM quality control, contributing to the improvement and development of TCM preparation quality control systems.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Biosensing Techniques/methods* ; TRPV Cation Channels/chemistry* ; Tablets/chemistry* ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/genetics* ; Quality Control ; Taste ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry