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.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately 32%-38% of the adult population and posing a growing public health burden. MASLD represents a continuous disease spectrum ranging from simple steatosis to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), progressive hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The pathological core of MASLD lies in disruption of hepatic lipid metabolic homeostasis, characterized by an imbalance among de novo lipogenesis, fatty acid β-oxidation, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-mediated lipid export. This metabolic disequilibrium subsequently drives inflammatory injury and fibrotic progression. Among the multiple regulatory pathways involved, thyroid hormone (TH) signaling has emerged as a central regulator of hepatic metabolic homeostasis. The liver is a major peripheral target organ of TH action, where TH predominantly exerts its metabolic effects through thyroid hormone receptor β (TRβ). Large-scale epidemiological studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated that hypothyroidism is significantly associated with increased MASLD prevalence, more severe histological injury, and advanced hepatic fibrosis, suggesting that dysregulation of TH signaling may participate throughout the entire MASLD disease spectrum. At the molecular level, TH regulates hepatic lipid metabolism by coordinating suppression of lipogenesis, enhancement of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, and promotion of VLDL assembly and secretion through integrated genomic actions of the T3-TRβ axis and non-genomic signaling pathways. Across different stages of MASLD, TH signaling exerts stage-dependent protective effects. In the steatosis stage, TH improves metabolic flexibility by modulating insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, and lipid droplet clearance, thereby alleviating early lipotoxic stress. During progression to MASH, TH attenuates inflammatory amplification by improving mitochondrial homeostasis, suppressing activation of the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, and modulating the gut-liver axis microenvironment. In advanced stages, TH signaling influences hepatic stellate cell activation and extracellular matrix deposition, partly through interaction with the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/SMAD pathway, while alterations in intrahepatic TH availability, mediated by dynamic changes in iodothyronine deiodinase 1 (DIO1), contribute to fibrosis progression and hepatocellular dedifferentiation. In hepatocellular carcinoma, coordinated downregulation of TRβ and DIO1 establishes a tumor-associated hypothyroid state that promotes metabolic reprogramming and tumor progression. The clinical relevance of TH signaling in MASLD has been underscored by the recent approval of Resmetirom, a liver-targeted TRβ‑selective agonist, for the treatment of non-cirrhotic MASH with moderate-to-severe fibrosis (F2-F3). This approval represents a landmark transition from mechanistic understanding to metabolism-centered precision therapy in MASLD. Clinical trials have demonstrated that Resmetirom not only improves key histological endpoints, including MASH resolution and fibrosis regression, but also favorably modulates atherogenic lipid profiles, highlighting the therapeutic potential of selectively targeting hepatic TH pathways. This review systematically summarizes the multidimensional regulatory roles of TH across the MASLD disease spectrum and discusses emerging diagnostic and therapeutic implications of TH-based interventions, aiming to inform future mechanistic research and optimize clinical management strategies.

Background/Aims: Data from Asia regarding the short-term and long-term outcomes for acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) are limited. We assessed the outcomes of ASUC, identified the risk factors for colectomy, and compared colectomy rates between the pre-biologics and post-biologics eras in Taiwan. Methods: The patients with an ASUC diagnosis between January 2013 and March 2022 at 5 tertiary medical centers were retrospectively analyzed. Results: In total, 98 patients were enrolled, with 68.4% diagnosed in the post-biologics era. In 78.6% of the ASUC patients initially received intravenous steroid therapy, for which the success rate was 74.1%. As for rescue therapy, 15 patients (93.8%) received biologics and 1 (6.3%) received cyclosporin. Biologics rescue therapy had a 93.3% success rate. One (1%) mortality due to septic shock occurred. The colectomy rate for index ASUC admission was 11.2%. Patients receiving colectomy were predominantly male (P= 0.012) and at older age (P= 0.016). Higher C-reactive protein (P= 0.035), lower albumin (P= 0.017), and hemoglobin (P= 0.023) levels were associated with colectomy risk. During a median follow-up of 24 months, 13 patients (15.1%) had recurrent ASUC and 23.1% of patients received colectomy. The accumulated colectomy rate at 3 years did not differ between the pre- and post-biologics eras (16.1% vs. 13.4%, P= 0.270). Conclusions This is the first Asian study on ASUC to compare colectomy rates between the prebiologics and post-biologics eras, revealing no significant difference. The recurrent ASUC had a higher colectomy rate than the index ASUC.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association of the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome types of primary liver cancer （PLC） with clinical features and multimodal quantitative radiological features on computed tomography （CT） and magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）， and to provide a reference for the objectification of TCM syndrome differentiation and precise diagnosis and treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 312 patients who were diagnosed with PLC in The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine from March 2020 to June 2025， and according to the TCM syndrome type， they were divided into stagnation of liver Qi group with 40 patients， stagnation of liver Qi and spleen deficiency group with 109 patients， Qi stagnation and blood stasis group with 62 patients， dampness-heat toxin amassment group with 81 patients， and liver-kidney Yin deficiency group with 20 patients. Clinical features and multimodal quantitative radiological features were compared between the patients with different TCM syndrome types. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the Dunn’s multiple test was used for further comparison between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups， and the Bonferroni method was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the patients with different TCM syndrome types in China liver cancer staging （CNLC）， Child-Pugh class， alanine aminotransferase， aspartate aminotransferase， albumin， direct bilirubin， total bilirubin， prothrombin time， neutrophil， and albumin-bilirubin score （all P<0.05）. In the stagnation of liver Qi group， the patients with Child-Pugh class A accounted for 75.00%； among the patients with CNLC stage I PLC， the patients with stagnation of liver Qi accounted for 60.00%， and those with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome accounted for 59.68%， while among the patients with CNLC stage IV PLC， the distribution proportion of dampness-heat toxin amassment （27.16%） and liver-kidney Yin deficiency （30.00%） was significantly higher than that of stagnation of liver Qi （2.50%） （all P<0.05）. Radiological examination showed that there were significant differences between the patients with different TCM syndrome types in the number of tumors， ascites， venous tumor thrombus， maximum tumor diameter， intrahepatic metastasis， and lymph node metastasis in the hepatic hilar and retroperitoneal regions （all P<0.05）. Compared with the patients with stagnation of liver Qi， the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency or liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to develop intrahepatic metastasis； the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency， dampness-heat toxin amassment， or liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to develop lymph node metastasis in the hepatic hilar and retroperitoneal regions； the patients with liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to experience multiple tumors； the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency or dampness-heat toxin amassment were more likely to develop ascites （all P<0.05）. Compared with the patients with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome， the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency had a significantly longer maximum tumor diameter and a significantly higher proportion of patients with venous tumor thrombus （both P<0.05）. Furthermore， among the 184 patients with MRI diffusion-weighted imaging sequences， the patients with dampness-heat toxin amassment or Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome had significantly higher ADC values and relative ADC values than those with stagnation of liver Qi （all P<0.05）. ConclusionThere are significant differences in CT/MRI radiological features and clinical features between PLC patients with different TCM syndrome types， among whom the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency， dampness-heat toxin amassment， and liver-kidney Yin deficiency tend to exhibit progressive radiological features， and those with dampness-heat toxin amassment or Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome tend to have higher ADC values. These findings provide an objective basis for TCM syndrome differentiation in PLC.

Objective This study reports on the obligatory parasitism of water mites Arrenurus sp. on Anopheles messeae at the Manzhouli Port, Inner Mongolia, China. Methods Duing July 2024, a survey on the mosquito diversity was conducted at the Manzhouli Port. Captured mosquitoes and their ectoparasites were identified to species level. Results A total of 1840 adult mosquitoes were collected, representing species from three genera: Culex(Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens pallens), Aedes(Ae. dorsalis, Ae. flavidorsalis, Ae. flavescens), and Anopheles (An. messeae). Among all the mosqutioes specimens,3 out of 150 captured An. messeae were found to carry ectoparasitic mites, with number of 2,4,27 mites separately. Morphological and molecular identification reached the same result as water mites(Hydrachnidiae, Hydracrina). COI gene sequence showed 94% similarity with the closest species Arrenurus truncatellus. Conlusions Literature review suggests water mites are host-specific parasitism of mosquito species and herein with the first record of Arrenurus sp. parasiting on An. Messeae in the most high-latitude region globally.

Clinical practice guidelines represent the best recommendations for patient care. They are developed through systematically reviewing currently available clinical evidence and weighing the relative benefits and risks of various interventions. However, clinical practice guidelines have to go through a long translation cycle from development and revision to clinical promotion and application, facing problems such as scattered distribution, high duplication rate, and low actual utilization. At present, the clinical practice guideline information platform can directly or indirectly solve the problems related to the lengthy revision cycles, decentralized dissemination and limited application of clinical practice guidelines. Therefore, this paper systematically examines different types of clinical practice guideline information platforms and investigates their corresponding challenges and emerging trends in platform design, data integration, and practical implementation, with the aim of clarifying the current status of this field and providing valuable reference for future research on clinical practice guideline information platforms.

This consensus will introduce the characteristics of fillers used in the surgical cavities of domestic nasal surgery patients based on relevant literature and expert opinions. It will also provide recommendations for the selection of cavity fillers for different nasal diseases, with chronic sinusitis as a representative example.
Humans ; Nasal Cavity/surgery* ; Nasal Surgical Procedures ; China ; Consensus ; Sinusitis/surgery* ; Dermal Fillers

ObjectiveTo monitor the real-time changes in ammonia concentration in the laboratory animal facility environment before, during, and after the air conditioning system stops supplying air, so as to provide a basis and reference for developing emergency plans for the shutdown of the air conditioning system. MethodsThe laboratory animal facilities of the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products were used as the research object. Ammonia concentration detectors were used to monitor ammonia concentration continuously in the environment of conventional rabbit production facility, SPF hamster production facility, and SPF guinea pig experimental facility before and after the passive shutdown due to repairs and active maintenance shutdown of the air conditioning system, as well as the time for the ammonia concentration to return to daily levels after resuming air supply. ResultsUnder both shutdown modes of the air conditioning system, the trend of ammonia concentration changes in different laboratory animal facilities was consistent, showing a rapid increase after shutdown and a rapid decrease after resuming air supply. Under active maintenance shutdown, the maximum ammonia concentrations in the conventional rabbit production facilities, SPF hamster production facilities, and SPF guinea pig experimental facilities were 9.81 mg/m³, 14.27 mg/m³, and 6.98 mg/m³, respectively. Within 12 minutes after resuming air supply, ammonia concentration could return to normal daily levels. Under passive long-term shutdown, ammonia concentration value was positively correlated with the duration of air supply suspension. As the shutdown duration increased, ammonia concentration continued to increase. The maximum ammonia concentration values in the three facilities occurred at 88 minutes (38.06 mg/m³), 40 minutes (18.43 mg/m³), and 34 minutes (15.61 mg/m³) after air supply suspension, respectively.Within 11 minutes after resuming air supply, ammonia concentration could return to normal daily levels. ConclusionShutdown of the air conditioning system causes a rapid increase in ammonia concentration in laboratory animal facilities, and the rise in ammonia concentration is positively correlated with the duration of air supply suspension. Therefore, when an emergency shutdown of the air-conditioning system is required due to maintenance or other reasons, backup fans should be provided in accordance with the requirements of GB 50447-2008 "Architectural and Technical Code for Laboratory Animal Facilities". Older facilities should make adequate preparations and develop a scientifically sound emergency plan.

Objective To investigate the effects of low background radiation environments in deep underground settings on the biological behavior of NP69 human nasopharyngeal epithelial cells(NP69 cells)and the underlying molecular mechanisms.Methods A parallel control experimental design was adopted and NP69 cells were synchronously cultured in settings of three underground depths at the China in situ Deep-Underground Facility&Life Observatory(DeUFO)—ground level(DeUFO-0 m),1 000 m underground(DeUFO-1 000 m),and 1 500 m underground(DeUFO-1 500 m).Changes in cell proliferation and migration capabilities were assessed using the Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8)assay and scratch assay,respectively.High-throughput RNA sequencing(RNA-Seq)was performed to identify differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis of the DEGs were performed using the Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)databases.Results CCK-8 assay revealed that,after 72 h of culture,the absorbance value of the DeUFO-0 m group was 1.35 times and 1.27 times those of the those of the DeUFO-1 000 m and DeUFO-1 500 m groups,respectively(both P<0.000 1).After 96 h of culture,the absorbance value of the DeUFO-0 m group was 1.52 times and 1.41 times those of the DeUFO-1 000 m and DeUFO-1 500 m groups,respectively(both P<0.000 1).Colony formation assays revealed that the number of cell colonies in the DeUFO-0 m group was 1.59 times and 1.27 times those in the DeUFO-1 000 m group and DeUFO-1 500 m group,respectively(both P<0.001).The scratch assay revealed that the 36-hour wound healing rate of the DeUFO-0 m group was 2.22 times and 4.00 times those of the DeUFO-1 000 m group and DeUFO-1 500 m group,respectively(both P<0.000 1).Transwell assays revealed that the number of migrating cells in the DeUFO-0 m group was 2.08 times and 2.56 times those in the DeUFO-1 000 m group and DeUFO-1 500 m group,respectively(both P<0.000 1).Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed consistent upregulation of CELF2,CELF4,CGB8,GRHL2,and DMRTA2 genes in the DeUFO-1 000 m and DeUFO-1 500 m groups.Pathway enrichment analysis indicated significant enrichment of extracellular matrix(ECM)remodeling-associated pathways and gene expression regulation pathways in the experimental groups(false discovery rate[FDR]<0.05).Conclusion The low background radiation environment in deep underground settings suppresses the proliferation and migration activities of NP69 cells by mediating ECM remodeling and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms through the regulation of target genes such as the CELF family.This study provides experimental evidence for establishing a dose-response relationship between environmental radiation and cellular effects.

Objective To explore the methods of continuing education for advanced endoscope operations by diges-tive specialists through the establishment and teaching effect evaluation of the ERCP(endoscope retrograde cholan-giopancreatography)introductory training mode.Methods A total of 26 trainees from 3 sessions of the ERCP intro-ductory training courses at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from September 2023 to September 2024 were in-cluded.The teaching effects of the training courses and its 5 modules were subjectively and objectively evaluated by questionnaires,on-site tests and evaluations by senior ERCP operators.Results Through the ERCP introductory training courses,the trainees'self-evaluated proficiency in duodenoscope structure(pre-training:2.4±2.4,post-training:8.2±1.5,P＜0.001),duodenoscope operation(pre-training:1.2±2.2,post-training:6.6±1.8,P＜0.001),papillary cannulation(pre-training:0.5±1.3,post-training:5.4±1.8,P＜0.001),intra-bile duct operation(pre-training:0.2±0.6,post-training:4.9±2.1,P＜0.001),and identification of intra-bile duct lesions(pre-training:1.7±2.1,post-training:6.0±2.0,P＜0.001)was significantly improved.The accuracy rate of the trainees'theoretical tests and picture recognition before training was 37.2％and then increased up to 62.8％after training.Before training,all trainees were considered by senior operators as not ready to start ERCP training on real patients,while after training,69.2％(18/26)of the trainees were considered ready to start ERCP training on real patients.Conclusions The multi-module ERCP introductory training courses have a significant effect in terms of laying a foundation for trainees to start ERCP training on patients and of providing a reference for the con-tinuing education mode of advanced endoscope operations for digestive specialists in China.