Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among college students in Yangzhou from 2020 to 2024, so as to provide a scientific basis for developing prevention and control strategies. Methods: An epidemiological investigation was conducted among 162 college students with PTB, and 7 134 of their contacts were screened. Data were obtained from the tuberculosis information management system and on campus screening records. Using descriptive epidemiological methods, trends in incidence, seasonal distribution, and bacteriological characteristics were analyzed. Results: From 2020 to 2024, the annual average incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among college students in Yangzhou was 29.42 per 100 000, showing an overall fluctuating downward trend ( χ 2=12.36, P <0.01). Cases were mainly concentrated in summer and autumn, with the highest proportion in autumn (41.36%, 67/162), followed by summer (23.46%, 38/162). The proportion of etiologically positive cases increased from 37.21% in 2020 to 71.43% in 2024; among positive cases, the proportion of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) decreased from 66.67% (10/15) to 26.67% (4/15). The etiological positive rate was higher in females than in males ( χ 2= 11.76 , P <0.01). Comparison of screening methods showed that among index cases, the LTBI detection rate of the recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion protein skin test (C-TST) was higher than that of the tuberculin skin test (TST), but the difference was not statistically significant ( χ 2=0.65, P =0.42); among close contacts, the detection rate of TST was higher than that of C-TST (15.1%,10.1%; χ 2=5.23, P <0.05). Conclusion From 2020 to 2024, the annual average incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among college students in Yangzhou showed an overall fluctuating downward trend, with differences in TB infection screening methods and gender.

The plants of the genus Caragana Fabr. are desert plants of the Leguminosae family, which are widely used in traditional ethnomedicine, with the effects of nourishing Yin and nourishing blood, dispelling wind and removing dampness, clearing heat and detoxifying toxins. The anti-inflammatory effect of Caragana Fabr. has attracted much attention, the research on the related mechanism has made some progress, but it lacks systematic collation. By summarising the anti-inflammatory effects of the active ingredients of Caragana Fabr., the authors found that they have good anti-inflammatory activities on different inflammatory cell models in vitro, and have good improvement effects on rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, complex nephritis, and acute lung injury and other disease models. The anti-inflammatory effects of the active components of this genus mainly include the reduction of the levels of a variety of pro-inflammatory factors, and the signalling pathways involved mainly include TLR4/NF-κB, TLR4/MAPK, TLR4/NF-κB/IRF3, JAK/STAT-1, ERK/STAT-1 and so on. Therefore, the paper mainly reviews the research progress on the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of the Caragana Fabr. plants and their active components according to disease types, with a view to providing reference for the in-depth study of their anti-inflammatory activities and the development of new products with related functions.

OBJECTIVE To provide technical support for improving recognition rate of adverse drug events （ADEs） related to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） formula granules and decoction pieces among inpatient patients. METHODS By referencing the global trigger tool （GTT） whitepaper， literature on adverse reactions to TCM， and expert review opinions， ADE trigger items for TCM formula granules and decoction pieces used in the inpatients were established. GTT was applied to analyze ADEs in inpatients who had used TCM formula granules and decoction pieces in our hospital from August 2013 to August 2023， utilizing the Chinese Hospital Pharmacovigilance System. The effectiveness of GTT and the characteristics of these ADEs were analyzed. RESULTS A total of forty-eight triggers were established， including thirty-two laboratory test indexes， thirteen clinical symptoms， and three antidotes. Among the 1 682 patients included， GTT identified 652 potential ADEs， 284 true positive ADEs，with a trigger rate of 38.76% and a positive predictive value of 43.56%. After review by the auditor， 278 cases of ADEs were finally confirmed， with an incidence rate of 16.53%， significantly higher than the number of spontaneously reported ADEs during the same period （0）. The 278 cases of ADEs were mostly grade 1 （223 cases）， mainly involving hepatobiliary system， gastrointestinal system， blood- lymphatic system， etc；a total of 219 types of TCMs are involved，and the top five suspected TCMs used at a frequency higher than 1% were Poria cocos， Codonopsis pilosula， Atractylodes macrocephala， fried Glycyrrhiza uralensis， and Scutellaria baicalensis. CONCLUSIONS The established GTT can improve the recognition rate of ADEs for hospitalized patients using traditional Chinese medicine formula granules and decoction pieces.

Objective: The clinical presentation of depressive disorders might be influenced by age, and its diagnosis and treatment can be affected by ageism-related bias. A network analysis can reveal symptom patterns unrecognized by the reductionistic approach. Therefore, this study explores the network structure of depression and anxiety symptoms in older Asian patients with depressive disorders and examines age-related differences in the context of ageism. Methods: We used data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants, Phase 3 study and included 2,785 psychiatric patients from 11 Asian countries. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Network analyses were conducted to identify symptom interconnections and centrality among older (>65 years), middle-aged (35–64 years), and young (18–34 years) adult groups. The network structures were also compared using a network comparison test. Results: Depressed mood was the most central symptom across all age groups. Network comparisons revealed no significant structural differences among the three age groups, despite several variations in terms of global strength. The network structure of the older group was characterized by strong interconnections between somatic symptoms (insomnia-energy) and core depressive symptoms (little interest or pleasure-feelings of hopelessness). Conclusion This study reveals that the network structures of depression and anxiety symptoms have relatively consistent interconnections across age groups, despite subtle age-based differences. Specifically, older adults tend to present anxiety and depression symptoms as physical complaints. These findings challenge ageist stereotypes and advocate for inclusive, age-neutral approaches to treatment.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism by which the ethanol extract of Epimedium brevicornu （EEBM） intervenes in mesenchymal adipose-derived stem cells （ADSCs） to delay aging in castrated rats. MethodsForty-five 3-month-old SPF female SD rats were ovariectomized and randomly divided into model group， ADSCs treatment group， and ADSCs groups treated with low， medium， and high concentrations of EEBM （1， 50， 100 μg·L^-1）， referred to as the AE low， medium， and high concentration groups， with 9 rats in each group. After tail vein injection of 200 μL of the corresponding stem cell suspension， aging-related indicators including cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor （p21）， tumor suppressor gene （p53）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）， cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3 （Caspase-3）， and lipofuscin were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and Western blot. ResultsCompared with the model group， the IL-6 content in the AE low， medium， and high concentration groups was significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Lipofuscin， MDA， and IL-8 levels in the ADSCs treatment group and AE low， medium， and high concentration groups were significantly reduced （P<0.01）， while SOD content was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the ADSCs treatment group， lipofuscin and IL-8 levels in the AE low， medium， and high concentration groups were significantly reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The MDA content was significantly decreased in the AE medium concentration group （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， protein levels of p21， p53， Bax， and Caspase-3 in the ADSCs treatment group and AE low， medium， and high concentration groups were significantly reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the Bcl-2 protein level was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Compared with the ADSCs treatment group， protein levels of p21， p53， Bax， and Caspase-3 in the AE low， medium， and high concentration groups were significantly reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the Bcl-2 protein level in the AE low concentration group was significantly increased （P<0.01）. ConclusionThe results of this experiment show that EEBM-treated ADSCs or ADSCs may delay aging in castrated rats by inhibiting cell apoptosis， reducing cell cycle inhibitors and pro-inflammatory factors， enhancing antioxidant capacity， and reducing oxidative reactions. Moreover， EEBM-treated ADSCs demonstrate stronger anti-aging effects than ADSCs alone. This study provides experimental evidence supporting the clinical use of EEBM to intervene in ADSCs and delay aging.

Atopic dermatitis （AD） is a common pruritic and chronic inflammatory dermatosis in clinical practice and is one of the diseases responding specifically to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. With the launch of biological agents and small molecule drugs and the development and implementation of guidelines of diagnosis and treatment， clinical pathways of treatment of moderate to severe AD， and consensus on the whole-process management of AD， the clinical efficacy of moderate to severe AD has been significantly improved. However， there are still many unmet clinical needs that require more effective methods to meet. In response to the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Facilitating the Inheritance， Innovation， and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the spirit of the National Conference on TCM， the China Association of Chinese Medicine organized more than 20 experts in TCM dermatology， Western medicine dermatology， interdisciplinary fields， and industries to discuss the difficulties and advantages of TCM in the treatment of AD. TCM treatment for AD can not only improve rash and relieve itching but also solve many concomitant syndromes. The abundant external treatment methods of TCM have advantages for different special populations and rash characteristics. The concept of treating disease before its onset in TCM is in line with the chronic disease management mode of prevention and treatment of atopic march and prevention of recurrence. In addition， TCM therapy can reduce the use of topical glucocorticoids and has good safety. Regarding the comorbidity of AD， equal emphasis on TCM and Western medicine and multidisciplinary joint treatment should be advocated to achieve maximum benefit for patients. The exchange of TCM and Western medicine has clarified the positioning and advantages of TCM intervention in AD， providing guidance for clinical and scientific research.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly widespread sleep-breathing disordered disease, and is an independent risk factor for many high-risk chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, arrhythmias and diabetes, which is potentially fatal. The key to the prevention and treatment of OSA is early diagnosis and treatment, so the assessment and diagnostic technologies of OSA have become a research hotspot. This paper reviews the research progresses of severity assessment parameters and diagnostic technologies of OSA, and discusses their future development trends. In terms of severity assessment parameters of OSA, apnea hypopnea index (AHI), as the gold standard, together with the percentage of duration of apnea hypopnea (AH%), lowest oxygen saturation (LSpO₂), heart rate variability (HRV), oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and the emerging biomarkers, constitute a multi-dimensional evaluation system. Specifically, the AHI, which measures the frequency of sleep respiratory events per hour, does not fully reflect the patients’ overall sleep quality or the extent of their daytime functional impairments. To address this limitation, the AH%, which measures the proportion of the entire sleep cycle affected by apneas and hypopneas, deepens our understanding of the impact on sleep quality. The LSpO₂ plays a critical role in highlighting the potential severe hypoxic episodes during sleep, while the HRV offers a different perspective by analyzing the fluctuations in heart rate thereby revealing the activity of the autonomic nervous system. The ODI provides a direct and objective measure of patients’ nocturnal oxygenation stability by calculating the number of desaturation events per hour, and the biomarkers offers novel insights into the diagnosis and management of OSA, and fosters the development of more precise and tailored OSA therapeutic strategies. In terms of diagnostic techniques of OSA, the standardized questionnaire and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) is a simple and effective method for preliminary screening of OSA, and the polysomnography (PSG) which is based on recording multiple physiological signals stands for gold standard, but it has limitations of complex operations, high costs and inconvenience. As a convenient alternative, the home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) allows patients to monitor their sleep with simplified equipment in the comfort of their own homes, and the cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) offers a minimal version that simply analyzes the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. As an emerging diagnostic technology of OSA, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) adeptly pinpoint respiratory incidents and expose delicate physiological changes, thus casting new light on the diagnostic approach to OSA. In addition, imaging examination utilizes detailed visual representations of the airway’s structure and assists in recognizing structural abnormalities that may result in obstructed airways, while sound monitoring technology records and analyzes snoring and breathing sounds to detect the condition subtly, and thus further expands our medical diagnostic toolkit. As for the future development directions, it can be predicted that interdisciplinary integrated researches, the construction of personalized diagnosis and treatment models, and the popularization of high-tech in clinical applications will become the development trends in the field of OSA evaluation and diagnosis.