In a healthy human, the airway mucus forms a thin, protective liquid layer covering the surface of the respiratory tract. It comprises a complex blend of mucin, multiple antibacterial proteins, metabolic substances, water, and electrolytes. This mucus plays a pivotal role in the lungs' innate immune system by maintaining airway hydration and capturing airborne particles and pathogens. However, heightened mucus secretion in the airway can compromise ciliary clearance, obstruct the respiratory tract, and increase the risk of pathogen colonization and recurrent infections. Consequently, a thorough exploration of the mechanisms driving excessive airway mucus secretion is crucial for establishing a theoretical foundation for the eventual development of targeted drugs designed to reduce mucus production. Across a range of lung diseases, excessive airway mucus secretion manifests with unique characteristics and regulatory mechanisms, all intricately linked to mucin. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the characteristics and regulatory mechanisms associated with excessive airway mucus secretion in several prevalent lung diseases.
Humans ; Mucus/metabolism* ; Mucins/physiology* ; Lung Diseases/metabolism* ; Respiratory Mucosa/metabolism* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathology* ; Asthma/physiopathology* ; Cystic Fibrosis/physiopathology* ; Mucociliary Clearance/physiology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of Wenshen Chushi Decoction combined with low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by renal deficiency and phlegm-dampness syndrome. METHODS: One hundred and twenty ED patients were included from the Department of Andrology in the First Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The patients in control group were treated with Wenshen Chushi Decoction. While the patients in observation group were treated with Wenshen Chushi Decoction combined with LIPUS for 8 consecutive weeks. After the treatment, the efficacy was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) score, Penile Flow Index (PFI), Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score, Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score, and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score. Safety was also observed. And the efficacy was followed up 4 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-seven cases were enrolled into control group finally with 55 cases in the treatment group. After the treatment, all the patients in both of groups showed an improvement in IIEF-5 scores (P<0.01). Compared with the control group (19.09 ± 2.22), the IIEF-5 score in observation group (20.42 ± 2.39) increased significantly (P<0.01). After the treatment, the scores of PFI, TCM syndrome and SDS in both groups decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the control group (［3.77 ± 1.21］, ［9.91 ± 1.71］ and ［39.88 ± 2.63］ points), the observation group (［2.92 ± 1.08］, ［4.78 ± 1.45］, and ［34.51 ± 2.09］ points） showed a more significant decrease (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in total effective rate between the two groups (P>0.05). During follow-up, the IIEF-5 scores of both groups of patients were higher than those before (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the observation group score was higher than that in the control group (［17.15 ± 3.37］ vs ［13.63 ± 1.96］, P<0.01). No adverse reaction and abnormality of indicators occurred in both of two groups. CONCLUSION Wenshen Chushi Decoction has a significant therapeutic effect on ED caused by renal deficiency and phlegm-dampness syndrome. It can not only improve the quality of erection, but also improve the physical and mental symptoms associated with ED， which makes therapeutic effect lasting longer.
Humans ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Erectile Dysfunction/etiology* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Ultrasonic Therapy ; Phytotherapy

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or metal(loid)s individually has been associated with neural tube defects (NTDs). However, the impacts of PAH and metal(loid) co-exposure and potential interaction effects on NTD risk remain unclear. We conducted a case-control study in China among population with a high prevalence of NTDs to investigate the combined effects of PAH and metal(loid) exposures on the risk of NTD. METHODS: Cases included 80 women who gave birth to offspring with NTDs, whereas controls were 50 women who delivered infants with no congenital malformations. We analyzed the levels of placental PAHs using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, PAH-DNA adducts with ³²P-post-labeling method, and metal(loid)s with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Unconditional logistic regression was employed to estimate the associations between individual exposures and NTDs. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) penalized regression models were used to select a subset of exposures, while additive interaction models were used to identify interaction effects. RESULTS: In the single-exposure models, we found that eight PAHs, PAH-DNA adducts, and 28 metal(loid)s were associated with NTDs. Pyrene, selenium, molybdenum, cadmium, uranium, and rubidium were selected through LASSO regression and were statistically associated with NTDs in the multiple-exposure models. Women with high levels of pyrene and molybdenum or pyrene and selenium exhibited significantly increased risk of having offspring with NTDs, indicating that these combinations may have synergistic effects on the risk of NTDs. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that individual PAHs and metal(loid)s, as well as their interactions, may be associated with the risk of NTDs, which warrants further investigation.
Humans ; Neural Tube Defects/chemically induced* ; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/adverse effects* ; Female ; Case-Control Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Adult ; Pregnancy ; Environmental Pollutants ; Maternal Exposure/adverse effects* ; Metals/toxicity* ; Young Adult ; Risk Factors

Objective To observe the course and diameter of facial artery branches and its adjacent structures in nasolabial groove area and the positional relationship,so as to provide reference for clinicians to carry out facial cosmetic repair surgery.Methods A total of 40 adult head and neck specimens were dissected on the spot,and the course and position of the facial artery branches,facial vein and facial nerve in the nasolabial groove area were observed,their diameters were measured,and relevant data were recorded.Results There were 4 types of facial artery branches in the nasolabial groove area:type Ⅰ(upper lip type)accounted for 12.5%,type Ⅱ(nasal type)accounted for 62.5%,type Ⅲ(classical type)accounted for 20.0%,and type Ⅳ(double severe type)accounted for 5.0% .There were 4 kinds of positional relationship between the facial artery and the facial vein in the nasolabial groove area:42.5% of the orofacial artery was located on the medial side of the facial vein,32.5% of the orofacial artery was located on the lateral side of the facial vein,17.5% of the two were close to and wrapped in a fascial sheath,7.5% of the orofacial artery and the main trunk of the facial vein were crossed,and the vein was located in the deep surface of the artery.There were 3 kinds of positional relationship between the facial artery and the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve:87.5% of the facial artery was deep on the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve,7.5% of the facial artery was superficial on the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve,and 5.0% of the facial artery was held or surrounded by two branches of the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve on the superficial or deep surface.Conclusion The positional relationship among facial artery,facial vein and facial nerve in the nasolabial groove area is complicated.Familiarity with its positional relationship can avoid damaging blood vessels and nerves during the nasorabial groove surgery,reduce surgical complications and improve surgical safety.

Background/Aims: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a common manifestation in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Metabolic alterations in CHC are associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We aimed to elucidate whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication mitigates MASLD occurrence or resolution. Methods: We enrolled 5,840 CHC patients whose HCV was eradicated by direct-acting antivirals in a nationwide HCV registry. MASLD and the associated cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after HCV cure. Results: There were 2,147 (36.8%) patients with SLD, and 1,986 (34.0%) of them met the MASLD criteria before treatment. After treatment, HbA1c (6.0% vs. 5.9%, p<0.001) and BMI (24.8 kg/m2 vs. 24.7 kg/m2, p<0.001) decreased, whereas HDL-C (49.1 mg/dL vs. 51.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) and triglycerides (102.8 mg/dL vs. 111.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) increased significantly. The proportion of patients with SLD was 37.5% after HCV eradication, which did not change significantly compared with the pretreatment status. The percentage of the patients who had post-treatment MASLD was 34.8%, which did not differ significantly from the pretreatment status (p=0.17). Body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] 0.89; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.85–0.92; p<0.001) was the only factor associated with MASLD resolution. In contrast, unfavorable CMRFs, including BMI (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.06–1.14; p<0.001) and HbA1c (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.04–1.35; p=0.01), were independently associated with MASLD development after HCV cure. Conclusions HCV eradication mitigates MASLD in CHC patients. CMRF surveillance is mandatory for CHC patients with metabolic alterations, which are altered after HCV eradication and predict the evolution of MASLD.

This study aimed to explore the intervention effect of Chuanxiong-Chishao herb pair(CX-CS) on a myocardial infarction-atherosclerosis(MI-AS) mouse model and investigate its effect on the expression profile of circular RNAs(circRNAs)/long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs) in ischemic myocardium and aorta. Sixty male ApoE~(-/-) mice were randomly assigned to a model group, high-, medium-, and low-dose CX-CS groups(7.8, 3.9, and 1.95 g·kg~(-1)), and a positive drug group(metoprolol 26 mg·kg~(-1) and simvastatin 5.2 mg·kg~(-1)), with 12 mice in each group. Male C57BL/6J mice were assigned to the sham group. The mice in the model group and the groups with drug intervention were fed on a high-fat diet for 10 weeks, followed by anterior descending coronary artery ligation. After that, the mice were fed on a high-fat diet for another two weeks to induce the MI-AS model. The mice in the sham group received normal feed, followed by sham surgery without coronary artery ligation. Mice in the groups with drug intervention received CX-CS or positive drug by gavage for four weeks from the 9th week of high-fat feeding, and those in the model group and the sham group received an equal volume of normal saline. Whole transcriptome sequencing was performed on the heart and aorta tissues of the medium-dose CX-CS group, the model group, and the sham group after administration. The results showed that the medium-and high-dose CX-CS groups showed improved cardiac function and reduced myocardial fibrosis area, and the medium-dose CX-CS group showed significantly reduced plaque area. CX-CS treatment could reverse the expression of circRNA＿07227 and circRNA＿11464 in the aorta of AS model and circRNA expression(such as circRNA＿11505) in the heart of the MI model. Differentially expressed circRNAs between the CX-CS-treated mice and the model mice were mainly enriched in lipid synthesis, lipid metabolism, lipid transport, inflammation, and angiogenesis in the aorta, and in angiogenesis, blood pressure regulation, and other processes in the heart. CX-CS treatment could reverse the expression of lncRNAs such as ENSMUST00000162209 in the aorta of the AS model and TCONS＿00002123 in the heart of the MI model. Differentially expressed lncRNAs between the CX-CS-treated mice and model mice were mainly enriched in lipid metabolism, angiogenesis, autophagy, apoptosis, and iron death in the aorta, and in angiogenesis, autophagy, and iron death in the heart. In summary, CX-CS can regulate the expression of a variety of circRNAs and lncRNAs, and its intervention mechanism in coronary heart disease may be related to the regulation of angiogenesis and inflammation in ischemic myocardium, as well as lipid metabolism, lipid transport, inflammation, angiogenesis in AS aorta.
Animals ; Male ; Mice ; Atherosclerosis/genetics* ; Lipids ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Myocardial Infarction/genetics* ; RNA, Circular/genetics* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics*

Currently,the research or publications related to the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine are increasing,which attracts the broad attention of all circles. According to the completed clinical evaluation report on Chinese patent medicine,there are still practical problems and technical difficulties such as unclear responsibility of the evaluation organization,unclear evaluation subject,miscellaneous evaluation objects,and incomplete and nonstandard evaluation process. In terms of evaluation standards and specifications,there are different types of specifications or guidelines with different emphases issued by different academic groups or relevant institutions. The professional guideline is required to guide the standardized and efficient clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine and further improve the authority and quality of evaluation. In combination with the characteristics of Chinese patent medicine and the latest research achievement at home and abroad,the detailed specifications were formulated from six aspects including design,theme selection,content and index,outcome,application and appraisal,and quality control. The guideline was developed based on the guideline development requirements of China Assoication of Chinese medicine. After several rounds of expert consensus and public consultation,the current version of the guideline has been developed.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Consensus ; China ; Reference Standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

In this study, the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) were searched comprehensively for the literature about the research on Polygalae Radix. After manual screening, 1 207 Chinese articles and 263 English articles were included in this study. Excel was used to draw the line chart of the annual number of relevant publications. CiteSpace 6.1.R3 was used for the visual analysis of author cooperation, publishing institutions, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and bursts in the research on Polygalae Radix. The results showed that the number of articles published in Chinese and English increased linearly, which indicated the rising research popularity of Polygalae Radix. WANG J and LIU X were the authors publishing the most articles in Chinese and English, respectively. Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were the research institutions with the largest number of Chinese and English publications in this field, respectively. The institutions publishing the relevant articles in English formed a system with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences as the core. According to the keywords, the research hotspots of Polygalae Radix included variety selection and breeding, quality standard, extraction and identification of active chemical components, prescription compatibility, processing, clinical medication rules, and pharmacological mechanism. The research frontiers were the molecular mechanisms of Polygalae Radix and its active components in exerting the protective effect on brain nerve, regulating receptor pathways, alleviating anxiety and Alzheimer's disease, as well as data mining and clinical medication summary. This study has reference significance for the topic selection and frontier identification of the future research on Polygalae Radix.
Plant Breeding ; China ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Brain ; Publications

To evaluate the effectiveness of intervention plans developed by the evidence base multi-discipline critical strategies (EBPCS) on temperature and clinical outcomes in very preterm infants (VPIs) born at<32 weeks. Clinical data were collected from VPIs born in the delivery room/operating room of Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital from May 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, who required immediate temperature management and were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital. The study population was randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group based on the random number table method, with 108 cases in each group. The control group implemented the conventional temperature management recommended by domestic guidelines, while the intervention group adopted EBPCS interventions compared to the control group. The differences in body temperature and clinical outcomes between the two groups were compared after the implementation of different temperature management strategies. A total of 216 VPIs were included. The intervention group had a lower incidence of hypothermia (30.55% vs. 87.03%, P<0.001), higher mean body temperature admitted to the NICU [(36.56±0.31) ℃ vs. (35.77±0.53) ℃, P<0.001], a lower dose of pulmonary surfactant [(115.94±36.96) mg/kg vs. (151.41±54.68) mg/kg, P=0.014], shorter duration of mechanical ventilation [(5.77±1.26) days vs. (14.19±4.63) days, P=0.006], and lower incidence of intraventricular haemorrhage (12.04% vs. 23.15%, P=0.032). The implementation of temperature intervention strategies developed by the EBPCS for VPIs after birth could prevent and reduce the incidence of hypothermia and improve clinical outcomes.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Fever ; Hypothermia/prevention & control* ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Temperature

In December 2022, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a clinical guideline for point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The guideline outlined the development and current status of POCUS in the NICU, and summarized the key elements and implementation guidelines for successful implementation of POCUS in the NICU. This article provides an overview of the key points of the clinical guideline and analyzes the current status of POCUS in China, providing a reference for the implementation of POCUS in neonatal care in China.
Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; United States ; Child ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Point-of-Care Systems ; Ultrasonography ; China