ObjectiveTo investigate the optimal termination time for acupuncture in treating patients with acute peripheral facial paralysis and its cost-effectiveness. MethodsA total of 120 eligible patients with acute-stage peri-pheral facial paralysis were randomly assigned to either the mild dysfunction termination group and the complete recovery termination group， with 60 patients in each group. Both groups received the standard acupuncture treatment protocol. Treatment in the mild dysfunction termination group was terminated when the Sunnybrook facial grade scale （SFGS） score first reached or exceeded 83 points， while that in the complete recovery termination group was terminated when the SFGS score first reached or exceeded 95 points. Assessments were conducted before treatment， 6 and 12 months after onset. SFGS， facial disability index （FDI） including physical function （FDIp） and social function （FDIs）， self-rating anxiety scale （SAS）， and self-rating depression scale （SDS） scores were assessed before treatment， and 6 and 12 months after onset. Any acupuncture-related adverse events during treatment were recorded for safety evaluation. Treatment sessions and medical costs including direct costs， indirect costs， insurance coverage， total societal costs， and patient out-of-pocket expenses were also recorded， and an economic evaluation was conducted including cost-effectiveness ratio （CER） and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio （ICER）. ResultsUltimately， 56 patients in the mild dysfunction termination group and 55 in the complete recovery termination group completed the follow-up. At 6 and 12 months after onset， SFGS and FDIp scores in both groups improved significantly while FDIs， SAS and SDS scores decreased （P＜0.05）. Comparison of scores between groups 6 months and 12 months after onset showed no statistically significant differences （P＞0.05）. During the trial， the incidence of adverse events was 13.3% （8/60） in the mild dysfunction termination group and 18.3% （11/60） in the complete recovery termination group， with no statistically significant difference （P＞0.05）. The number of treatment sessions， total social costs， and out-of-pocket expenses in the mild dysfunction termination group were significantly lower than those in the complete recovery termination group （P＜0.05）. The CER of the mild dysfunction termination group in SFGS， FDIp， FDIs， SAS， and SDS scores was lower than that of the complete recovery termination group. The ICER analysis showed that continuing treatment until full recovery incurred an additional cost of 573.30 CNY/point in SFGS improvement， whereas 1-point improvement in FDIp， FDIs， SAS， and SDS required 21,355.25 CNY， 1779.60 CNY， 3713.96 CNY， and 2755.52 CNY， respectively. ConclusionFor acupuncture in treating acute peripheral facial palsy， terminating treatment when mild dysfunction is achieved yields long-term efficacy comparable to that of continuing treatment until complete recovery， while significantly reducing medical costs and socioeconomic burden.

Objective: Establishment of a HPLC method for six chemical components in Saposhnikovia divaricata (prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, cimifugin, 5-O-methylvisamminoside, sec-O-glucosylhamaudol, psoralen, and imperatorin), comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the dual-standard linear calibration method and the relative retention time method, and investigation of the feasibility of the linear calibration using two reference substances for qualitative analysis of multiple components in Saposhnikovia divaricata.
Methods: A HPLC method was employed, using 21 different brands and models of C18 columns. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile (A) and 0.02% phosphoric acid aqueous solution (B), with gradient elution (0-20 min, 18%A; 20-45 min, 18%A-50%A; 45-60 min, 50%A). The column temperature was set at 30 ℃, the flow rate was 1 mL·min^-1, and the detection wavelength was 254 nm.
Results: The results predicted by the linear calibration using two reference substances were accurate and superior to those of the relative retention time method, and the six components exhibited good linear relationships within their respective ranges.
Conclusion: The established linear calibration using two reference substances accurately predicts the retention times of the target components. This method is stable and reliable, providing a reference for the establishment of digital standards in traditional Chinese medicine.

Purpose: Due to the preservation of the entire stomach after endoscopic resection, the occurrence of metachronous gastric cancer (MGC) remains a possibility. In this study, we investigated the incidence and risk factors for MGC in patients with early gastric cancer who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and successfully eradicatedHelicobacter pylori. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 1,191 patients who underwent ESD and successfully eradicated H. pylori at the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University. Endoscopic surveillance was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months post-resection, and annually thereafter. MGC was defined as the development of a new cancer at a site other than the primary gastric cancer site, at least 1 year after the initial endoscopic resection. Results: A total of 77 patients were diagnosed with MGC during a median follow-up of 41.5 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a 5-year cumulative incidence of MGC of 9.4% after successful H. pylori eradication. Multivariate analysis of the training set using Cox proportional hazards models identified male sex, severe atrophic gastritis, multiple gastric cancers before H. pylori eradication, and smoking history as independent risk factors for MGC.The nomogram exhibited favorable discrimination, with area under the curves of 0.767 and 0.822 in the training set and 0.724 and 0.745 in the testing set at 3 and 5 years, respectively. Conclusions Patients with gastric cancer who undergo endoscopic resection, even after successful H. pylori eradication, should undergo annual and continuous endoscopic surveillance for MGC.

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal cancers, and the overall survival rate of lung cancer patients is very low. With the increasing research on lung cancer, the critical role of intestinal flora in lung cancer treatment has been gradually discovered. Among the various therapeutic approaches targeting the intestinal flora, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is considered as a potential strategy to treat lung cancer by interfering with the homeostasis of the intestinal flora. FMT can improve the efficacy of lung cancer treatment and attenuate the side effects associated with immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy by remodeling the microbial composition, modulating the metabolites, and activating immune responses. The aim of this paper is to discuss the current status and potential mechanisms of FMT in lung cancer treatment, and to provide a new strategy for regulating the intestinal flora to enhance the prevention and treatment of lung cancer.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Jianpi Bushen Jiedu Prescription combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy and targeted therapy for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer patients with liver and kidney yin deficiency combined with spleen deficiency pattern.Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 72 hospitalized patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated at the Department of Oncology, Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from October 2022 to January 2024 were enrolled as study subjects. Using a random number table method, they were allocated into two groups, with 36 patients in each group. The control group received the mFOLFOX6/FOLFIRI combined with bevacizumab regimen, while the treatment group was administered additional oral Jianpi Bushen Jiedu Prescription on the basis of the control group. Two weeks was a cycle in both groups, with a total of 6 cycles of treatment. Serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199), and carbohydrate antigen 724 (CA724) were detected using electrochemiluminescence; the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scale was utilized to evaluate patients' functional status; vital signs were continuously monitored, and adverse reactions were recorded. The short-term efficacy and TCM syndrome efficacy of patients were evaluated.Results:The treatment group demonstrated higher objective response rate (ORR) [31.25% (10/32) vs. 21.88% (7/32), χ2=0.72] and disease control rate (DCR) [84.38% (27/32) vs. 71.88% (23/32), χ2=1.46] compared to the control group, without statistical significance ( P>0.05). Post-treatment levels of CEA [4.09 (3.31,8.57) μg/L vs. 10.07 (4.55,22.35) μg/L, Z=-2.10] and CA72-4 [4.54 (2.04,10.99) mU/L vs. 9.48 (4.34,18.95) mU/L, Z=-2.52] in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05). The total effective rate of TCM syndrome was significantly higher in the treatment group [78.13% (25/32)] compared with the control group [50.00% (16/32)], with statistical significance ( χ2=5.50, P=0.019). Post-treatment KPS scores in the treatment group [80.0 (80.0, 80.0) vs. 70.0 (62.5, 80.0), Z=-2.76] were significantly higher compared with the control group ( P<0.01). During the treatment period, the treatment group showed statistical significance compared with the control group in the incidence of hemoglobin decrease ( χ2=4.66), leukopenia decrease ( χ2=4.27), and peripheral neuropathy ( χ2=3.93), with statistical significance ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The addition of Jianpi Bushen Jiedu Prescription to 5-FU-based chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy demonstrates significant clinical benefits in advanced colorectal cancer patients, including reducing tumor marker levels, alleviating clinical symptoms, improving quality of life, and mitigating treatment-related toxicities, with a good safety.

Diannan Su's bone-setting school is one of the orthopedic schools of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),and Su Caichen,a famous bone-setting physician in Diannan,is the key figure of Diannan Su's bone-setting school.This paper systematically summarized Su Caichen's bone-setting academic thoughts of"adaptation","harmonization"and"recovery",presented his core bone-setting concepts of"original traumatic chamber","bone-setting prior to activating blood and vessles,bone-setting together with soothing tendons and then fracture healing naturally after the removal of stasis",and introduced his five kinds of bone-setting manipulations for treating the common upper limb fractures in detail,namely shaking and pushing manipulations for distal radius fracture,floating manipulations for fracture of both ulna and radius,five-step manipulations for supracondylar fractures of humerus,staging manipulations for humeral shaft fracture,and degloving manipulations for proximal humeral fractures complicated with shoulder dislocation.Su Caichen's bone-setting academic thoughts,bone-setting concepts and his specific TCM bone-setting manipulations have constructed the academic and theoretical system of Diannan Su's bone-setting school,which will provide an approach for TCM treatment of orthopedic diseases,and will promote the inheritance and development of the specific TCM orthopedic schools.

Objective Cheng's Juanbi Decoction(CSJBD)is a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula for treating rheumatoid arthritis(RA),exhibiting significant clinical efficacy,but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.We investigated whether CSJBD inhibited RA pathology by blocking the WTAP-Wnt7b-Wnt/β-catenin signaling axis using a collagen-induced arthritis(CIA)mouse model and fibroblast-like synoviocytes(FLSs)derived from RA patients(RA FLSs)and examined the underlying mechanisms.Methods We conducted in vivo experiments.Male C57BL/6 mice weighing 17 to 20 g were used to establish the CIA model.The mice were assigned to 6 groups,including the normal group,the model(CIA)group,the model+CSJBD-L(8.1 g/kg)group,the model+CSJBD-M(16.2 g/kg)group,the model+CSJBD-H(32.4 g/kg)group,and the model+leflunomide(LEF)(0.05 mg/10 g)group,with 10 mice in each group.CSJBD was administered twice daily via gastric gavage,while LEF was administered once daily via gastric gavage,for a duration of 28 days.We also conducted in vitro experiments.RA FLSs were assigned to 4 groups,including the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-L group receiving 10%CSJBDS-containing serum,the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-M group receiving 15%CSJBDS-containing serum,the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-H group receiving 20%CSJBDS-containing serum,and the RA FLSs+NC group(negative control).To study whether WTAP regulated Wnt7b,RA FLSs were divided into the RA FLSs group,the RA FLSs+si-WTAP#3 group,the RA FLSs+si-WTAP#3+Wnt7b-OE group,and the RA FLSs+si-WTAP#3+Wnt7b-NC group.To study the underlying mechanism by which CSJBT affected RA FLSs,RA FLSs were divided into the RA FLSs group,the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-M group,the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-M+Wnt7b-OE group,and the RA FLSs+CSJBDS-M+NC group.We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography(UPLC)to identify and quantify key monomer compounds from CSJBD as quality criteria for CSJBD preparation.Bioinformatics,CCK-8,RT-qPCR,Western blot,immunofluorescence,and related methods were employed to assess the therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanisms of CSJBD in treating RA.Results According to the UPLC analysis,ferulic acid,osthole,mulberroside A,notopterol,and gentiopicroside were identified as quality control standards for the preparation of CSJBD formula.CSJBD improved RA pathology in CIA mice,reduced the levels of interleukin(IL)-6,IL-1β,IL-8,and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in their serum,and decreased the expression of RA pathological genes MMP3 and fibronectin,with the difference between groups being statistically significant.Bioinformatics analysis suggested that CSJBD might inhibit RA pathology by suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway through Wnt7b.Experimental results showed that the expression of WTAP and Wnt7b was significantly increased in RA.After knocking down WTAP,the expression of Wnt7b was significantly reduced,and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was also inhibited,with the difference between groups being statistically significant(P<0.05),confirming that WTAP regulated the pathway via Wnt7b.According to experimental verification,CSJBD significantly inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the proliferation of RA FLSs.Wnt7b overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of CSJBD on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the proliferation of RA FLSs,indicating that Wnt7b is the direct target of CSJBD.Conclusion CSJBD inhibits RA pathology by blocking the WTAP-Wnt7b-Wnt/β-catenin signaling axis,with Wnt7b identified as a direct therapeutic target of CSJBD.

[Purpose]To analyze the trends of incidence and age at onset of leukemia in Jiangsu cancer registration areas from 2009 to 2019.[Methods]The continuous monitoring data of leukemia from 2009 to 2019 were collected from 16 cancer registries in Jiangsu Province.All datasets were checked and evaluated based on data quality control criteria and were included in the analysis.Crude incidence rate(CIR),age-standardized incidence rate by Chinese standard population(ASIRC),the average annual percentage change(AAPC),the standardized average age at onset,the changes in the age structure of incidence and the changes in the birth cohort by year were calculated.[Results]The incidence rate of leukemia significantly increased from 5.22/105 in 2009 to 7.88/105 in 2019,with a significant upward trend(for CIR,AAPC=4.95％,95％CI:3.82％～6.09％;for ASIRC,AAPC=2.97％,95％CI:1.52％～4.43％).The incidence rates were in-creased in all age groups and increased with the birth cohort by years.There was a tendency of backward shift for the age composition of the population,with the increasing of composition for those over 60 years old.The mean age at onset increased from 48.62 years old in 2009 to 57.96 years old in 2019,with a backward shift in the mean age(β=0.773,P＜0.001),and the mean age at onset increased with the year only in rural areas after standardization(β=0.428,P=0.017).[Conclusion]Leukemia incidence rate in Jiangsu Province increased from 2009 to 2019,and the age at onset has shifted backwards.It's important to strengthen the early prevention and control of leukemia.

[Purpose]To analyze the trends of brain tumor incidence and age of onset in cancer registration areas of Jiangsu Province from 2009 to 2019.[Methods]The incidence data of brain tumors from 2009 to 2019 were obtained from 16 national cancer registration areas of Jiangsu Province.The crude incidence rate,age-standardized incidence rate by Chinese standard popula-tion(ASIRC),average age of onset,standardized age-specific incidence rate,and annual average percentage change(AAPC)by sexes and regions were calculated.[Results]The incidence rate of brain tumor in Jiangsu Province from 2009 to 2019 showed an increasing trend(AAPC=4.12％,95％CI:3.31％～4.95％),and the increase in female(AAPC=5.79％,95％CI:4.44％～7.15％)was higher than that in male(AAPC=2.31％,95％CI:1.66％～2.97％);and the increase in urban areas(AAPC=4.84％,95％CI:3.52％～6.18％)was higher than that in rural areas(AAPC=3.04％,95％CI:2.12％～3.98％).The ASIRC also showed an increasing trend(AAPC=2.14％,95％CI:1.27％～3.02％).Birth cohort analysis showed that within the same age group,the incidence rate of brain tumors increased with increasing birth years.The average age of onset for crude incidence showed a delaying trend of 0.43 years old per year(t=7.09,P＜0.001);that for ASIRC was 0.20 years old per year(t=3.33,P=0.009).The proportion of patients in the age group of 60 years old and above increased from 35.79％in 2009 to 44.18％in 2019.[Conclusion]The incidence of brain tumor in cancer registration areas of Jiangsu Province showed an increasing trend from 2009 to 2019 with a delaying trend of average age of onset.

[Purpose]To analyze the trends of incidence and age at onset of bone malignant tumors in cancer registration areas of Jiangsu Province from 2009 to 2019.[Methods]Incidence data of bone malignant tumors from 2009 to 2019 were collected from 16 consecutive and quality-con-trolled cancer registries in Jiangsu Province.The incidence rates,average age at onset,and inci-dence composition of bone malignant tumors were calculated.A birth cohort model was constructed to analyze the changes in the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the population born from 1929 to 2019.Joinpoint regression models were used to analyze the average annual percentage change(AAPC)in the incidence rates and the incidence composition of bone malignant tumors for each year in those aged 60 years old and above.A general linear regression model was used to ana-lyze the trend of the average age of onset.[Results]The crude incidence rate of bone malignant tumors in women in Jiangsu cancer registration areas decreased from 2009 to 2019,with an AAPC of-2.62％(P=0.025).After adjusting the population composition,except for urban areas,the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the whole province,men,women and rural areas all decreased significantly,with AAPC of-3.15％,-2.49％,-4.31％and-2.23％,respectively.The average age at onset of bone malignant tumors in the whole province,men and urban areas de-creased significantly yearly,with an average annual decrease of 0.365,0.504 and 0.469 years old,respectively.In the same period,the incidence of malignant bone tumors in the whole province,men,women and urban areas of age groups of 50～59,60～69 and 70～79 years old showed a decreasing trend,the AAPC ranged from-9.06％to-4.14％(all P＜0.05),and the inci-dence decreased gradually with the year of birth.The incidence of malignant bone tumors in men＜30 years old increased yearly with an AAPC of 4.30％(P＜0.05).Compared with 2009,the com-position of incidence in men aged 15～39 years old and in urban population increased in 2019,while the incidence of bone malignant tumors in the age group of 60～79 years old in the province generally decreased.After age structure adjustment,the incidence of bone malignant tumors in people over 60 years old in urban areas decreased with an AAPC of-1.42％(P＜0.05).[Conclu-sion]The incidence of bone malignant tumors in Jiangsu Province is decreasing and the age at on-set is moving forward,indicating that the prevention and control measures of bone malignant tu-mors should be adjusted accordingly.