OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism by which Qiaobai cold compress solution （QBCS） improves acne vulgaris （AV） based on transcriptomics and animal experiments. METHODS Rats were randomly divided into a blank control group （ n ＝6） and a modeling group （ n ＝30）. AV models were established in the modeling group by topical application of oleic acid to the inner surface of both ears， combined with subcutaneous injection of Cutibacterium acnes suspension into the auricle. Successfully modeled rats were further divided into the model group， positive control group （Tretinoin cream， 0.045 g/kg）， and QBCS low-， medium-， high-dose groups [3.55， 7.11， 14.22 g/kg （calculated by the amount of crude drug） ] ， with 6 rats in each group. Rats in each d rug group were treated with the corresponding drugs once daily for 14 consecutive days. After the final administration， changes in the appearance of the ears and histopathological changes in the ear tissues were observed， and serum levels of inflammatory factors， including tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6） and IL-1β， were measured. Auricular tissues from the blank control group， model group and QBCS medium-dose group were collected for transcriptome sequencing. Differential expressed genes （DEGs） were screened and subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis， followed by validation using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay. RESULTS Compared with the model group， rats in all QBCS groups showed alleviated auricular acne symptoms， with reduced epidermal thickening， sebaceous gland hyperplasia， and inflammatory cell infiltration. Serum levels of TNF-α （except for the QBCS low-dose group）， IL-6 （except for the QBCS low-dose group） and IL-1β were significantly decreased （ P ＜0.05）. A total of 590 DEGs were identified （blank control group vs. model group）， and 596 DEGs were identified （model group vs. QBCS medium-dose group）. Above DEGs （blank control group vs. model group） were mainly enriched in Toll-like receptor （TLR） and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathways， etc. Validation experiments showed that， compared with model group， low-， medium- and high-dose of QBCS reduced， to varying degrees， the mRNA expression of TNF-α， TLR2， interferon-γ and CXC chemokine ligand 8 in the auricular tissues of AV rats， increased the mRNA expression of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma and tumor protein 53， and inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 protein as well as the expressions of TLR2 and myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88（MyD88） （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS QBCS can alleviate auricular inflammation and skin lesions in AV rats. This effect may be related to inhibition of the TLR/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway， thereby suppressing the expression of downstream inflammatory factors such as TNF-α.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to investigate and evaluate the staged efficacy and safety of the representative empirical prescription of the “Zhu Ke Jiao” theory， Qijia Rougan prescription， combined with entecavir in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B. MethodsA multicenter randomized controlled clinical study was conducted， and 101 patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B-related hepatic fibrosis （CHB-HF） who met the diagnosis and inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to an observation group （Qijia Rougan prescription + entecavir） and a control group （entecavir）. The treatment duration was 24 weeks. Liver stiffness measurement （LSM）， fibrosis-4 index （FIB-4）， portal vein diameter， hepatitis B serology， biochemical indicators， hepatic fibrosis markers in serum ［hyaluronic acid （HA）， laminin （LN）， procollagen Ⅲ peptide （PⅢP）， and type Ⅳ collagen （Ⅳ-C）］， and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores were used as efficacy evaluation indicators. Efficacy assessments and explorations of different staged subgroups of Qijia Rougan prescription were conducted according to LSM values based on the Metavir pathological staging standard. ResultsA total of 98 cases were included for statistical analysis， with 49 cases in the observation group and 49 in the control group. The general data of the patients in both groups were comparable. Compared with the same group before treatment， the observation group showed a significant reduction in LSM and FIB-4 （P<0.01）， as well as notable improvements in LN， Ⅳ-C， and various TCM syndrome scores （P<0.05， P<0.01）. When compared to the control group after treatment， the observation group demonstrated significant improvements in LSM， FIB-4， and various TCM syndrome score indicators （P<0.05， P<0.01）， indicating that the observation group performed better than the control group. Subgroup analysis of the regression of hepatic fibrosis stages showed that compared to the same group before treatment， the observation group had better improvement in regression of stages F2 and F3 （P<0.05）. When compared to the control group after treatment， the observation group exhibited superior improvement in regression of stage F3 （P<0.05）. No adverse events occurred in either group during the treatment period. ConclusionCompared with entecavir alone， the combination of Qijia Rougan prescription and entecavir significantly improves the degree of hepatic fibrosis and clinical TCM symptoms in patients. The optimal intervention period is primarily during stage F3， which is a potential “interception” point of the “Zhu Ke Jiao” theory.

Pulmonary fibrosis（PF） is a progressive and life-threatening disease with limited therapeutic options， highlighting the urgent need for innovative drug discovery strategies. To address this challenge， the authors propose the formula-originated rational intelligent screening&translation（FIRST）， a systematic framework for developing anti-fibrotic monomers derived from classical traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. The strategy integrates three key dimensions， including tissue-oriented intelligent screening of active compounds， structural optimization based on drug-target spatial interactions and plant biosynthetic pathways， and cross-scale validation of drug. We further highlight its applications in discovering tissue-oriented novel drugs from clinically validated TCM， the development and mechanistic elucidation of anti-fibrotic therapeutics， as well as the clinical translation and secondary development of candidate drugs. This strategy paves the way for first-in-class， formula-derived monomeric drugs with defined structures， clarified mechanisms， and proven safety， offering a transformative avenue to meet the urgent therapeutic needs of PF and setting a new paradigm for TCM-based drug innovation.

Pulmonary fibrosis（PF） is a progressive and life-threatening disease with limited therapeutic options， highlighting the urgent need for innovative drug discovery strategies. To address this challenge， the authors propose the formula-originated rational intelligent screening&translation（FIRST）， a systematic framework for developing anti-fibrotic monomers derived from classical traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. The strategy integrates three key dimensions， including tissue-oriented intelligent screening of active compounds， structural optimization based on drug-target spatial interactions and plant biosynthetic pathways， and cross-scale validation of drug. We further highlight its applications in discovering tissue-oriented novel drugs from clinically validated TCM， the development and mechanistic elucidation of anti-fibrotic therapeutics， as well as the clinical translation and secondary development of candidate drugs. This strategy paves the way for first-in-class， formula-derived monomeric drugs with defined structures， clarified mechanisms， and proven safety， offering a transformative avenue to meet the urgent therapeutic needs of PF and setting a new paradigm for TCM-based drug innovation.

Objective: To compare the consistency between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA) in measuring body composition among Tibetan children and adolescents and to explore the applicability of BIA in plateau region, so as to provide scientific and convenient body composition measurement support among children and adolescents. Methods: From May to June, 2022, a total of 344 Tibetan children and adolescents aged 6-17 years were selected from Golmud Municipal National Middle School and Changjiangyuan Nationality Primary School in Qinghai Province by cluster sampling method, and their fat mass, fat mass percentage and lean mass were measured by DXA and BIA. The consistency and correlation between the two methods were assessed by using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Spearman correlation analysis, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: DXA measured fat mass and fat mass percentage were significantly higher than those obtained by BIA (6-12 years old: Z =9.91, 11.28; 13-17 years old: Z =9.02, 10.21), while lean mass and lean mass percentage were significantly lower than BIA results (6-12 years old: Z =-11.60, -11.30; 13-17 years old: Z =-10.77, -10.36) (all P < 0.05 ). The two methods showed strong correlations in fat mass and lean mass (all r >0.80, all ICC >0.90), but exhibited poor agreement in fat mass percentage and lean mass percentage (6-12 years old: Lin s CCC =0.64, 0.41; 13-17 years old: Lin s CCC = 0.79 , 0.35). Bland-Altman analysis showed that the difference between the two methods was negatively correlated with the average value in FM%(6-12 years old: r =-0.75, 13-17 years old: r =-0.79, both P <0.01). Conclusion BIA and DXA show high consistency in measuring body fat mass and lean body mass in Tibetan children and adolescents, although some bias is still present in certain individuals.

Objective: To explore the changes of mechanosensitive channels Piezos (Piezo 1 and Piezo 2) in neurogenic bladder (NB) of young rats and their effects，so as to provide reference for clinical search of new therapeutic targets. Methods: A total of 30 female young SD rats were divided into 5 groups based on random number table method：sham operation group (sham)，2-week nerve transection group (NB-2W)，6-week nerve transection group (NB-6W)，2-week nerve transection + Piezos inhibitor group (NB-P-2W) and 6-week nerve transection + Piezos inhibitor group (NB-P-6W)，with 6 rats in each group.The NB models were constructed by transecting the L6 and S1 spinal nerves of young rats.The NB-2W and NB-6W groups were not intervened after modeling，while the NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups were intraperitoneally injected with Piezos inhibitor GsMTx4 (10 mg/kg) every 2 days after modeling.Bladder cystometry and ultrasound were performed after 2 and 6 weeks of transection.The expressions of Piezos and fibrosis-related indexes (Collagen Ⅰ and α-smooth muscle actin) were detected in bladder tissues. Results: The results of bladder cystometry showed that the basal bladder pressure in NB-2W group was significantly increased，while it was slightly decreased but was still higher in NB-6W group than in the sham group (P<0.05).Basal bladder pressure was lower in NB-P-2W group than in NB-2W group，but was higher than that in the sham group; basal bladder pressure was lower in NB-P-6W group than in NB-6W group，but higher than that in the sham group (P<0.05).Compared with the sham group，the NB-2W and NB-6W groups had firstly increased and then decreased maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) (P<0.05).Compared with NB-2W group，NB-P-2W group had lower bladder leakage point pressure (BLPP)，but higher MCC and bladder compliance (BC) (P<0.05).Compared with NB-6W group，NB-P-6W group had significantly lower BLPP but higher MCC and BC (P<0.05).HE and MASSON staining and ultrasound results showed that，with the extension of nerve transection time，bladder fibrosis gradually worsened，the bladder wall became rough and thickened，calculi were visible inside，and hydronephrosis gradually appeared; the degree of fibrosis in NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups was less than that in NB-2W and NB-6W groups，and no hydronephrosis was observed in the upper urinary tract.In addition，Western blotting and immunohistochemical results showed that NB-2W and NB-6W groups had significantly higher relative expression levels of Piezos，Collagen Ⅰ and α-SMA than the sham group (P<0.01)，while NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups had lower relative expression levels of Piezos,Collagen Ⅰ and α-SMA than NB-2W and NB-6W groups (P<0.01). Conclusion: The increased expressions of mechanosensitive channels Piezos in NB young rats may be involved in the progression of bladder fibrosis，but its mechanism needs further study.

Background In recent years, the increasingly widespread application of nuclear and medical radiation technologies has resulted in a large number of occupational populations exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR). At present, there is no consistent conclusion on the effects of long-term exposure to LDIR on the metabolic health of the occupational population. Objective To explore the association between long-term exposure to LDIR and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among medical radiologists. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to enroll 6431 medical radiologists who ordered occupational health checkups from January 2022 to December 2023, and basic information such as demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, lifestyles, and dietary habits was collected through questionnaires. Physical examinations were conducted using a standardized protocol. Individual dose equivalents of occupational external exposure were monitored by dosimeters worn by medical radiologists. Logistic regression model was used for identifying influencing factors of MetS and sensitivity analysis, and restricted cubic spline model was used to explore the dose-response relationship between cumulative effective dose and MetS. Two-stage linear regression was used to evaluate threshold effect of association between cumulative effective dose and MetS. Results The positive rate of MetS was 13.6% (877/6431) among the enrolled 6431 study participants. The logistic regression showed that gender, age, monthly income, body mass index (BMI), cumulative effective dose, and smoking were influencing factors for MetS. The risk of MetS was higher in males (OR=1.511, 95%CI: 1.209, 1.888); using the < 30 years old group as reference, the risk of MetS was higher in the 30-39 years old (OR=1.509, 95%CI: 1.095, 2.079), 40-49 years old (OR=2.214, 95%CI: 1.551, 3.161), and ≥50 years old (OR=3.480, 95%CI: 2.338, 5.181) groups; using the <10000 yuan group as reference, the risk of MetS was lower in the group with a monthly income of 10000-14999 yuan (OR=0.715, 95%CI: 0.582, 0.878); the risk of MetS was higher in the BMI ≥ 24 kg·m⁻² group (OR=7.548, 95%CI: 6.223, 9.156); using the < 0.76 mSv group as reference, the risk of MetS was higher in the cumulative effective dose of 0.76-2.73 mSv group (OR=1.270, 95%CI: 1.017, 1.586); the risk of MetS was higher in the smoking group (OR=1.734, 95%CI: 1.428, 2.107). The results of restricted cubic spline showed that the cumulative effective dose was nonlinearly correlated with MetS (P _{non-linearity}=0.028), with an inflection point of 1.25 mSv. The risk of developing MetS increased by 34.1% for each unit increase in cumulative effective dose up to 1.25 mSv, whereas above 1.25 mSv, the statistical association was not significant. The sensitivity analysis results showed that after excluding the self-reported hypertensive and diabetic patients, the cumulative effective dose 0.76-2.73 mSv group still had an increased risk of developing MetS compared with the < 0.76 mSv group (P < 0.05), and the results were robust. Conclusion Among medical radiologists, male, age, BMI, and smoking are positively correlated with MetS, and monthly income is negatively correlated with MetS; cumulative effective dose is non-linearly correlated with MetS among medical radiologists.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint thread-embedding therapy of regulating governor vessel, dispersing lung, and suppressing reflux for gastroesophageal reflux cough (GERC). METHODS: A total of 120 GERC patients were randomly assigned to an observation group (60 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (60 cases, 1 case was eliminated). The observation group received acupoint thread-embedding treatment at positive response points of governor vessel. If no such points were detected, the following acupoints were used: Dazhui (GV14), Fenghu (Extra), Shendao (GV11), Lingtai (GV10), and Zhiyang (GV9). Treatment was administered once every two weeks. The control group received oral rabeprazole enteric capsules at 20 mg twice daily. All the treatment was given for 6 weeks. Clinical outcomes were assessed using cough symptom score, reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ) score, and Leicester cough questionnaire (LCQ) score before and after treatment in the two groups. Clinical efficacy was also compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, both groups showed decreased cough symptom scores and the each item scores and total scores of RDQ (P<0.001), and increased LCQ scores (P<0.001) compare with those before treatment. The observation group exhibited lower cough symptom score and chest pain, reflux and total score of RDQ, and higher LCQ score compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 94.9% (56/59), which was higher than 84.7% (50/59) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupoint thread-embedding therapy of regulating governor vessel, dispersing lung, and suppressing reflux could effectively alleviate cough and reflux symptoms in patients with GERC and improve their quality of life.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Gastroesophageal Reflux/physiopathology* ; Male ; Female ; Cough/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Lung/physiopathology* ; Meridians