ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of paeoniflorin （PF） on neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in the rat model of Alzheimer's disease （AD） and to clarify whether its mechanism is associated with regulation of the Janus kinase 2 （JAK2）/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） signaling pathway. MethodsGlycosides related to AD-associated neuroinflammation were screened through bibliometric analysis， and the potential targets of PF were predicted through network pharmacology and molecular docking. A rat model of AD was established by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose （100 mg·kg^-1·d^-1）. Rats were assigned into a control group， a model group， a PF （200 mg·kg^-1） group， and a donepezil （0.5 mg·kg^-1·d^-1） group， and drugs were administered by gavage for 21 days. The learning and memory abilities were evaluated by the Morris water maze （MWM）. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and Nissl staining were performed to observe hippocampal neuronal morphology. The mRNA levels of inflammatory factors were determined by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， and the protein levels of molecules in the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway were determined by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the control group， the model group showed prolonged escape latency and decreased platform crossings and time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.05， P<0.01）， accompanied by increased expression of interleukin-1β （IL-1β） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， as well as elevated ratios of phosphorylated （p）-JAK2/JAK2 and p-STAT3/STAT3 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the PF group and donepezil group exhibited shortened escape latency and increased platform crossings and time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.05， P<0.01）， decreased expression levels of IL-1β and TNF-α， upregulated mRNA levels of interleukin-4 （IL-4） and interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and reduced ratios of p-JAK2/JAK2 and p-STAT3/STAT3 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionPaeoniflorin can alleviate cognitive impairment and neuroinflammation in the rat model of AD by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

The thought of medicine and food homology and substances with both edible and medicinal values are an important part of China's excellent traditional culture and medicine treasure, playing an important role in human diet and health maintenance for thousands of years. Substances with both edible and medicinal values are a standardized name governed by existing regulations, and many substances with both edible and medicinal values in the list lack important information such as original plants and edible and medicinal parts. Some substances change as the relevant regulations change, which confuses the use and regulation. According to the definition and inclusion conditions of substances with both edible and medicinal values in the Regulation of Substances with Both Edible and Medicinal Values Catalogue, this paper comprehensively reviewed the first batch of 87 substances with both edible and medicinal values published in 2002 by collecting information and investigating the practical application. Some substances supplemented, deleted, and revised were analyzed and discussed, and a complete revised list was compiled, encompassing a total of 90 substances, which were when combined with the 19 substances of the last three batches(published in 2019, 2023, and 2024), amounted to a total of 109 substances. In addition, the substances not currently in the published list but have both edible and medicinal values according to the latest definition were summarized, which revealed at least 27 other substances. Therefore, there were at least 136 substances with both edible and medicinal values. Additionally, the potential substances that could be included in the list of substances with edible and medicinal values were prospected, providing a focus for future expansion of the list. This paper systematically reviewed and revised the list of substances with both edible and medicinal values to lay a foundation for the regulatory authorities to revise the catalog of these substances and provide basic information for promoting the new quality productive forces in the health field and boosting the orderly and rapid development of the big health industry.
China ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective To explore the effects of pretreatment with rehmannia glutinosa polysaccharide(RGP)and basic fibroblast growth factor(FGF-2)alone or in combination on the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)into cardiomyoid cells and the related mechanisms.Methods BMSCs pretreated with FGF-2 and RGP alone or in combination were cultured for 1,2,and 4 weeks.The expression levels of NKx2.5 and GATA-4 were detected by Real-time PCR.BMSCs pretreated with FGF-2 or RGP alone and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway inhibitor LY294002 were used to detect the expression levels of myocardial specific proteins and related pathway proteins by Western blotting.Results Compared with the blank control group,pretreatment with FGF-2 or RGP alone increased the expression rate of myocardial specific markers,and the effect of combined pretreatment with FGF-2 and RGP was more obvious(P＜0.05).Compared with pretreatment with FGF-2 or RGP alone,pretreatment with LY294002 combined with FGF-2 or RGP significantly down-regulated the expression of cardiac-specific proteins in BMSCs and inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt(P＜0.05).Conclusion Both FGF-2 and RGP can induce BMSCs to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway,and the combination of FGF-2 and RGP has a better inductive effect.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment. OBJECTIVE: This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022. INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES. RESULTS: This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs. CONCLUSION The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Placebo Effect ; Placebos ; Treatment Outcome

Body weight abnormalities, including overweight, obesity, and underweight, have become a dual public health challenge in Chinese adults: overweight and obesity lead to a variety of chronic complications, while underweight increases the risks of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and organ dysfunction. To systematically address these issues, multidisciplinary experts in endocrinology, sports science, nutrition, and psychiatry from various regions have held multiple weight management seminars. Based on the latest epidemiological data and clinical evidence, they expanded the guideline to include assessment and intervention strategies for underweight, in addition to the core content of obesity management. This guideline outlines the etiological mechanisms, evaluation methods, and multidimensional management strategies for overweight and obesity, covering key areas such as diagnosis and assessment, medical nutrition therapy, exercise prescription, pharmacological intervention, and psychological support. It is intended to provide a scientific and standardized approach to weight management across the adult population, aiming to curb the rising prevalence of obesity, mitigate complications associated with abnormal body weight, and improve nutritional status and overall quality of life.

Bovine rotavirus(BRV)is an important pathogen causing diarrhea in calves.To understand the genomic charac-teristics and genetic variations in bovine rotavirus,and to further enrich data on the biological characteristics of rotavirus,we aimed to amplify 11 gene segments of the isolated and cultured G6P[1]bovine rotavirus BLL strain,perform whole genome se-quencing,and analyze the molecular characteristics.MEGA7.0 and DNAMAN software were used for homology and typing a-nalysis,and the whole genome phylogenetic tree was constructed to analyze genetic evolution relationships.The complete geno-type of the BLL strain was G6-P[1]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A3-N2-T6-E2-H3.Phylogenetic analysis of the VP7 and VP4 genes of the BLL strain showed that the VP7 gene had the highest homology with RVA/Cow-wt/HB01/China/2021,and the VP4 gene of the BLL strain was in the same branch as RVA/Human-tc/ISR/Ro8059/1995.From the sequence alignment of VP8*amino acids,the sialic acid domain of the BLL strain was found to be similar to that in other P[1]strains,but different from those in other types of strains,except for residue 189,which was the same as that in Ro8059 but different from that in other strains.The results suggested that the BLL strain might potentially infect humans.Therefore,continued monitoring and study of the biological characteristics of this strain are necessary to provide more information and evidence supporting further research on the cross-species transmission of group A rotavirus in China.

The accumulation of uremic toxins such as urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, and uric acid of patients with renal failure in vivo would lead to aggravated kidney damage. In this study, coated aldehyde oxy-starch (CAO) was used as an adsorbent to investigate its in vitro adsorption performance on renal failure indexes for urea, indoxyl sulfate (INS), monomethylamine (MMA), dimethylamine (DMA), uric acid (UA), and creatinine (Cr). The effects of variables such as pH, temperature, concentration, dosage, and time on the adsorption capacity of CAO were systematically investigated, employing analytical techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). The results revealed that CAO exhibited a strong adsorption capacity for urea, INS, and MMA, alongside a moderate adsorption capacity for DMA, UA, and Cr. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO were fitted in pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherm aligned with the Freundlich adsorption model. The enthalpy change ΔH of urea in adsorption was in the range of 40 to 60 kJ·mol^-1, which demonstrated the presence of strong adsorption force due to the interactions of coordinating groups. The ΔH of UA was greater than 80 kJ·mol^-1, indicating the generation of chemical bonds during the adsorption. Both of them, Gibbs free energy ΔG was less than 0, within the range of -20 to 0 kJ·mol^-1, suggested that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO occurred spontaneously as physical adsorption process. The adsorption entropy ΔS of urea and UA was > 0, which indicated an increase in entropy throughout the adsorption. The infrared spectroscopygram showed the formation of a chemical bond, specifically the imine bond, following the adsorption of urea by CAO, thereby indicating a chemical reaction during the adsorption. This study elucidates the adsorption mechanism of CAO on various indexes of renal failure, providing a scientific basis for its clinical usage.

Due to patient compliance and convenience, oral medication is likely the most common and acceptable method of drug administration. However, traditional dosage forms such as tablets or capsules may lead to low drug bioavailability and poor therapeutic efficiency. Therefore, with advancements in material science and micro/nano manufacturing technology, various carriers have been developed to enhance drug absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. In this context, we initially discuss the key biological factors that hinder drug transport and absorption (including anatomical, physical, and biological factors). Building on this foundation, recent progress in both conventional and innovative oral drug delivery routes aimed at improving drug bioavailability and targeting is reviewed. Finally, we explore future prospects for oral drug delivery systems as well as potential challenges in clinical translation.