Pre-admission is a critical initiative to optimize medical service processes and alleviate the challenge of "difficult access to healthcare. "However, there is currently a lack of standardized protocols for pre-admission procedures. This study aims to systematically analyze key nodes and risk factors in pre-admission process design and propose optimization strategies, providing a foundation for policy formulation and hospital practices. By constructing a "forward-reverse" dual-process model of pre-admission and identifying risk points based on stakeholder theory (patients, hospitals, healthcare administration, and insurance), the study reveals that while pre-admission can reduce the average length of stay, improve bed turnover rates, and enhance patient satisfaction, it also presents risks such as cross-period financial settlement, challenges in insurance policy adaptability, demands for information system integration, and the need for defining medical safety boundaries. To optimize the pre-admission process and mitigate these risks, this study explores framework improvements in areas including eligibility criteria, mode selection, cost settlement, transition between pre-admission and inpatient status, and cancellation of pre-admission, offering practical guidance for public hospitals. The authors argue that pre-admission requires tripartite collaboration among hospitals, insurers, and healthcare administrations: hospitals should establish top-level design, continuously refine processes, and implement dynamic risk assessment mechanisms; insurance providers should support cross-period settlement policies; and healthcare administrations should issue guiding policies or standardized protocols. Through multi-department coordination and collaborative efforts, the optimization and innovation of pre-admission processes can be advanced, ultimately delivering more efficient and convenient healthcare experiences for patients.

The paper summarizes Professor YANG Jun's thoughts on clinical treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion. Professor YANG Jun puts forward the "refined mode for diagnosis and treatment of diseases with acupuncture and moxibustion", aiming to improve the capacity of diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice. He advocates that the diagnosis and treatment should be guided by the identification of etiologies, syndromes and meridians; in accordance with regulating the shape/form, balancing yin and yang, and harmonizing the mind; and by means of skillful techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion, simplified selection of acupoints and delicate manipulations. Besides, he stresses on the combination of multiple techniques of acupuncture (such as penetrating technique with long needle, stuck needling by lifting and pulling, and micro-acupuncture systems) with moxibustion techniques (moxibustion for resolving stasis and unblocking collaterals, pressing moxibustion, borneol moxibustion, moxibustion with medicinal plaster) in clinical practice, so as to enhance the therapeutic effects.
Moxibustion/methods* ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; China ; Acupuncture Points

Objective This study aimed to identify differentially methylated genes (DMGs) associated with natural killer cells in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT),focusing on the influence of varying water iodine exposure levels. Methods Participants were divided into categories based on median water iodine (MWI) concentrations:iodine-fortified areas (IFA,MWI<10 μg/L),iodine-adequate areas (IAA,40 ≤ MWI ≤ 100μg/L),and iodine-excessive areas (IEA,MWI>300 μg/L). A total of 176 matched AIT cases and controls were recruited and divided into 89,40,and 47 pairs for IFA,IAA,and IEA,respectively. DMGs were identified using 850K BeadChip analysis for 10/10 paired samples. Validation of DNA methylation and mRNA expression levels of the DMGs was conducted using MethylTarget? and QRT-PCR for 176/176 paired samples. Results KLRC1,KLRC3,and SH2D1B were identified as significant DMGs. Validation revealed that KLRC1 was hypomethylated and highly expressed,whereas KLRC3 was hypermethylated and highly expressed in individuals with AIT. Furthermore,KLRC1 was hypomethylated and highly expressed in both IFA and IEA. Conclusion The DNA methylation status of KLRC1 and KLRC3 may play crucial roles in AIT pathogenesis. Additionally,DNA methylation of KLRC1 seems to be influenced by different iodine concentrations in water.

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in clinical practice， and prolonged insomnia can significantly impact daily life and work. Currently， the clinical treatment of insomnia primarily relies on sedative and hypnotic drugs， which， although fast-acting， come with numerous adverse reactions. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） approaches the treatment of insomnia by employing syndrome differentiation and focusing on addressing the root cause of the disease. This approach is characterized by fewer adverse reactions， stable long-term effects， and better patient compliance. Huanglian Ejiaotang was first recorded in Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases（《伤寒杂病论》） during the Han dynasty. It has the effects of nourishing Yin， reducing fire， eliminating irritability， and calming the nerves. Clinical studies have shown that Huanglian Ejiaotang is frequently used to treat insomnia and， when combined with other classic prescriptions， Western medicine， or other therapies， it can have a synergistic effect， thereby enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Research indicates that the mechanism of action of Huanglian Ejiaotang in treating insomnia may be related to the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis， 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， norepinephrine （NE）， dopamine （DA）， central neurotransmitters， gut microbiota， and the inhibition of inflammatory factors. The active components of Huanglian Ejiaotang that are effective in treating insomnia include berberine， baicalin， baicalein， total glucosides of paeony， and collagen. This article discussed the treatment of insomnia with Huanglian Ejiaotang from several perspectives， including its theoretical foundation， clinical research， and mechanisms of action， and also summarized the latest research progress on Huanglian Ejiaotang for insomnia， with the aim of providing more comprehensive ideas for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of insomnia.

Objective: QL1604 is a highly selective, humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death protein 1. We assessed the efficacy and safety of QL1604 plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Patients with advanced cervical cancer and not previously treated with systemic chemotherapy were enrolled to receive QL1604 plus paclitaxel and cisplatin/carboplatin on day 1 of each 21-day cycle for up to 6 cycles, followed by QL1604 maintenance treatment. Results: Forty-six patients were enrolled and the median follow-up duration was 16.5 months. An 84.8% of patients had recurrent disease and 13.0% had stage IVB disease. The objective response rate (ORR) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Advanced Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 was 58.7% (27/46). The immune ORR per immune RECIST was 60.9% (28/46).The median duration of response was 9.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=5.5–not estimable). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months (95% CI=5.7–14.0). Fortyfive (97.8%) patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). The most common grade≥3 TRAEs (>30%) were neutrophil count decrease (50.0%), anemia (32.6%), and white blood cell count decrease (30.4%). Conclusion QL1604 plus paclitaxel-cisplatin/carboplatin showed promising antitumor activity and manageable safety profile as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy may be a potential treatment option for the patient population who have contraindications or can’t tolerate bevacizumab, which needs to be further verified in phase III confirmatory study.

Objective: QL1604 is a highly selective, humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death protein 1. We assessed the efficacy and safety of QL1604 plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Patients with advanced cervical cancer and not previously treated with systemic chemotherapy were enrolled to receive QL1604 plus paclitaxel and cisplatin/carboplatin on day 1 of each 21-day cycle for up to 6 cycles, followed by QL1604 maintenance treatment. Results: Forty-six patients were enrolled and the median follow-up duration was 16.5 months. An 84.8% of patients had recurrent disease and 13.0% had stage IVB disease. The objective response rate (ORR) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Advanced Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 was 58.7% (27/46). The immune ORR per immune RECIST was 60.9% (28/46).The median duration of response was 9.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=5.5–not estimable). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months (95% CI=5.7–14.0). Fortyfive (97.8%) patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). The most common grade≥3 TRAEs (>30%) were neutrophil count decrease (50.0%), anemia (32.6%), and white blood cell count decrease (30.4%). Conclusion QL1604 plus paclitaxel-cisplatin/carboplatin showed promising antitumor activity and manageable safety profile as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy may be a potential treatment option for the patient population who have contraindications or can’t tolerate bevacizumab, which needs to be further verified in phase III confirmatory study.

Objective: QL1604 is a highly selective, humanized monoclonal antibody against programmed death protein 1. We assessed the efficacy and safety of QL1604 plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Methods: This was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II study. Patients with advanced cervical cancer and not previously treated with systemic chemotherapy were enrolled to receive QL1604 plus paclitaxel and cisplatin/carboplatin on day 1 of each 21-day cycle for up to 6 cycles, followed by QL1604 maintenance treatment. Results: Forty-six patients were enrolled and the median follow-up duration was 16.5 months. An 84.8% of patients had recurrent disease and 13.0% had stage IVB disease. The objective response rate (ORR) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Advanced Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 was 58.7% (27/46). The immune ORR per immune RECIST was 60.9% (28/46).The median duration of response was 9.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]=5.5–not estimable). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months (95% CI=5.7–14.0). Fortyfive (97.8%) patients experienced treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). The most common grade≥3 TRAEs (>30%) were neutrophil count decrease (50.0%), anemia (32.6%), and white blood cell count decrease (30.4%). Conclusion QL1604 plus paclitaxel-cisplatin/carboplatin showed promising antitumor activity and manageable safety profile as first-line treatment in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor plus chemotherapy may be a potential treatment option for the patient population who have contraindications or can’t tolerate bevacizumab, which needs to be further verified in phase III confirmatory study.

Severe muscle injury is hard to heal and always results in a poor prognosis. Recent studies found that extracellular vesicle-based therapy has promising prospects for regeneration medicine, however, whether extracellular vesicles have therapeutic effects on severe muscle injury is still unknown. Herein, we extracted apoptotic extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs-ApoEVs) to treat cardiotoxin induced tibialis anterior (TA) injury and found that MSCs-ApoEVs promoted muscles regeneration and increased the proportion of multinucleated cells. Besides that, we also found that apoptosis was synchronized during myoblasts fusion and MSCs-ApoEVs promoted the apoptosis ratio as well as the fusion index of myoblasts. Furthermore, we revealed that MSCs-ApoEVs increased the relative level of creatine during myoblasts fusion, which was released via activated Pannexin 1 channel. Moreover, we also found that activated Pannexin 1 channel was highly expressed on the membrane of myoblasts-derived ApoEVs (Myo-ApoEVs) instead of apoptotic myoblasts, and creatine was the pivotal metabolite involved in myoblasts fusion. Collectively, our findings firstly revealed that MSCs-ApoEVs can promote muscle regeneration and elucidated that the new function of ApoEVs as passing inter-cell messages through releasing metabolites from activated Pannexin 1 channel, which will provide new evidence for extracellular vesicles-based therapy as well as improving the understanding of new functions of extracellular vesicles.
Creatine/metabolism* ; Extracellular Vesicles ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Myoblasts/metabolism* ; Regeneration ; Connexins/metabolism*

Aristolochic acid (AA), extracted from Aristolochiaceae plants, plays an essential role in traditional herbal medicines and is used for different diseases. However, AA has been found to be nephrotoxic and is known to cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN).AA-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome in AAN with a high morbidity that manifests mitochondrial damage as a key part of its pathological progression. Melatonin primarily serves as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant. However, its mitochondrial protective role in AA-induced AKI is barely reported. In this study, mice were administrated 2.5 mg/kg AA to induce AKI. Melatonin reduced the increase in Upro and Scr and attenuated the necrosis and atrophy of renal proximal tubules in mice exposed to AA. Melatonin suppressed ROS generation, MDA levels and iNOS expression and increased SOD activities in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, the in vivo study revealed that melatonin decreased mitochondrial fragmentation in renal proximal tubular cells and increased ATP levels in kidney tissues in response to AA. In vitro, melatonin restored the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in NRK-52E and HK-2 cells and led to an elevation in ATP levels. Confocal immunofluorescence data showed that puncta containing Mito-tracker and GFP-LC3A/B were reduced, thereby impeding the mitophagy of tubular epithelial cells. Furthermore, melatonin decreased LC3A/B-II expression and increased p62 expression. The apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells induced by AA was decreased. Therefore, our findings revealed that melatonin could prevent AA-induced AKI by attenuating mitochondrial damage, which may provide a potential therapeutic method for renal AA toxicity.

Objective: To observe the effects of acupoint sticking therapy of different dosages and durations on the subjective and objective sleep indicators in insomnia patients.Methods: Ninety-six patients with insomnia due to liver-Qi stagnation and spleen deficiency were divided into a high-dosage 7 d group (25 cases), a high-dosage 14 d group (22 cases), a low-dosage 7 d group (21 cases), and a low-dosage 14 d group (28 cases) using the random numbers generated in a stratified and stage-by-stage manner in combination with the visiting sequence. The four groups all received the same acupuncture treatment, but acupoint sticking therapy varied in dosage and duration. Before and after treatment, the actigraphic readings (total time in bed, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, number of wake bouts, length of wakes after asleep, and sleep latency), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score, and symptoms score of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) were observed. A correlation analysis was conducted among the subjective and objective indicators. Results: The PSQI score was positively correlated with the total time in bed and total sleep time (P<0.05). After treatment, the sleep latency, PSQI scores, and TCM symptoms scores changed significantly in the four groups (P<0.05). The total sleep time and sleep efficiency gained improvements after treatment in the high-dosage 14 d and low-dosage 14 d groups (P<0.05). The high-dosage acupoint sticking groups had longer total sleep time compared with the low-dosage groups of the same treatment duration (P<0.05). After treatment, the length of wakes after asleep, PSQI scores, and TCM symptoms scores were better in the 14 d groups than in the 7 d groups of the same acupoint sticking dosage (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the same acupuncture treatment, acupoint sticking therapy of different treatment durations produces different effects on the length of wakes after asleep, PSQI score, and TCM symptoms score in insomnia patients, and the 14-day acupoint sticking treatment is superior to the 7-day treatment.