ObjectiveHistorically documented Zhejiang Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma（Baizhu） possesses premium characteristics such as phoenix-like head and crane-like neck， pronounced sweetness， and fragrant aroma. However， its current market circulation is low， and the processed products with Zhejiang-style characteristics are at the risk of being lost. This study aims to preserve the ancient Zhejiang-style processing techniques and evaluate them using modern scientific methods. MethodsMultidimensional intelligent sensory evaluation was used to digitally characterize the "quality-structure" of the external appearance of nine-steamed and nine-processed Baizhu medicinal materials（intermediate processed products） and the "odor-taste" of the internal quality of its decoction pieces（slices）， and the appearance parameters were digitally characterized by colorimeter， texture analyzer， electronic nose and electronic tongue， the chemical composition was analyzed via ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS）. Then， cluster analysis on the differences in odor between the medicinal materials（intermediate processed products） and decoction pieces（slices） of nine-steamed and nine-processed Baizhu was conducted， as well as the differences in taste between water-soluble and alcohol-soluble extracts of the decoction pieces（slices）， and the correlation analysis of chroma value-alcohol-soluble extract content-component response value. ResultsThe nine-steamed and nine-processed Baizhu had a dark brown to black epidermis， a brownish-yellow to brownish-gray cross-section， a slightly tough texture， a faint odor， and a slightly sweet， bitter and pungent taste. Texture analyzer measurements revealed minimal adhesion and maximum recovery in the middle section of the characteristic processed Baizhu， consistent with the processing endpoint of thorough steaming and cooking. The head section showed the highest internal hardness， elasticity and chewiness， indicating a denser texture in this area. The electronic nose sensor could clearly distinguish the difference between the medicinal materials and its decoction pieces， with a more significant clustering effect at 60 ℃ for 30 minutes compared to ambient temperature headspace for 2 hours， highlighting the significant impact of the baking degree before slicing on the quality. The electronic tongue taste signal map clearly distinguished the differences between water-soluble and alcohol-soluble extracts of nine-steamed and nine-processed Baizhu decoction pieces， and the addition of auxiliary materials during processing could enhance its alcohol-soluble extract content. A total of 82 chemical components were identified in the characteristic processed Baizhu. After processing， the contents of 58 components increased， while 24 components decreased. Correlation analysis revealed significant negative correlations（P<0.01） between ethanol-soluble extract content and colorimetric values of brightness（L^*）， yellow-bule value（b^*）， and total color difference（E^*_ab）. E^*_ab showed marked negative correlations（P<0.05） with the response values of isochlorogenic acid A and C. ConclusionThis study establishes a modern intelligent sensory evaluation model for multidimensional holographic characterization of nine-steamed and nine-processed Baizhu， clarifying the correlation between increased isochlorogenic acid content and the visual color appearance after different steaming cycles， as well as its intrinsic alcohol-soluble extracts. This provides a reference for quality evaluation and processing standards of the Zhejiang-style characteristic processed products.

Neurocritical care involves complex pathophysiological mechanisms, and its incidence is higher, injuries are more severe, and treatment is more challenging in high-altitude environments. This consensus, based on the latest domestic and international evidence-based medical data, establishes a standardized, goal-oriented framework for neurocritical care management applicable in high-altitude regions and nationwide. The consensus was developed following international standards for evidence quality assessment and underwent two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, resulting in 32 recommendation statements covering three parts: management systems, monitoring and assessment, and core strategies. Key updates include: advocating for the establishment of independent neurocritical care units and implementing precise tiered diagnosis and treatment based on the "Five Differences in Critical Care" concept; constructing a "trinity" multimodal brain monitoring system centered on cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygenation, and brain function, emphasizing routine bedside transcranial Doppler ultrasound, cerebral oximetry, and continuous electroencephalography monitoring; shifting management strategies from mild hypothermia therapy to targeted temperature management, and defining the "446" target management pathway for the supercritical stage; emphasizing the assessment of static and dynamic cerebrovascular autoregulation functions through multimodal methods to achieve individualized optimal mean arterial pressure management; elevating cerebrospinal fluid management goals to the level of "glymphatic system" function maintenance; implementing a multidisciplinary collaborative, whole-process management model focusing on patients' long-term neurological functional outcomes; de-escalation criteria include multidimensional indicators such as recovery of brain structure, restoration of cerebrovascular autoregulation, improvement in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and reduction in biomarker levels; and integrating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence into post-critical care management and rehabilitation planning. This consensus systematically integrates the entire process of neurocritical care management, reflecting the modern connotation of goal-oriented, dynamic, and multimodal integration in neurocritical care medicine. It aims to adapt to new trends such as deepening understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, the integration of medicine and engineering, and the empowerment of artificial intelligence, thereby further advancing the discipline of critical care medicine.

Thymoma is a malignant tumor originating from thymus epithelial cells, with an incidence of 1.3-2.6 per million. Due to its low incidence, lack of cells and animal models, there are relatively few studies on thymoma, and its diagnosis and treatment progress is relatively slow. The update of 5th edition of WHO Classification of Thoracic Tumors in 2021 and the NCCN( National Comprehensive Cancer Network) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Thymoma and Thymoma Cancer in 2024 put forward many new views and suggestions on the diagnosis and treatment strategy of thymoma. This article reviews the research and treatment of thymoma based on the latest research progress in recent years, aiming to improve the clinician's understanding of thymoma, provide reference for treatment, and promote the research of thymoma.

Plutonium isotopes(238Pu,239Pu,240Pu and 241Pu)in the environment are important"fingerprint"nuclides in the study of nuclear activity traceability.The content of plutonium isotopes in the environmental metrics is usually very low,and the measurement of these isotopes,especially 238Pu,using mass spectrometry is seriously interfered with by the coexisting 238U.The analysis of several plutonium isotopes in soil usually requires combination of multiple measurement techniques,which leads to a long analysis time and large uncertainty in the isotope ratio.In this work,the hydrous titanium oxide(HTiO)precipitated by the hydrolysis of titanium oxydichloride(TiOCl2)under near-neutral condition was used to preconcentrate plutonium from the soil digestion solution,and the highly efficient decontamination of 238U in the sample was achieved by TK200 resin column chromatography with a decontamination factor of 108.Simulation resuts of density functional theory(DFT)showed that NH3 was considered as a promising reaction gas to eliminate the interference of 238U from 238Pu measurement using mass spectrometry due to the significant discrepancy of the chemical reactivity of U+and Pu+with the reactive gas NH3.Experiments confirmed that by optimizing the flow rates of collision gas(He)and reaction gas(NH3),the interference of 238U could be effectively suppressed,and the decontamination factor of 238U was 104.Combined with chemical separation,the overall decontamination factor of 238U could reach 1012 by using the developed method.By combining chemical separation and tandem quadrupole inductively coupled plasmon-mass spectrometry(ICP-MS/MS)measurement,the simultaneous determination of four ultra-trace plutonium isotopes in soil was realized,and the detection limit of plutonium isotopes was at the femtogram level.Analysis of the international standard reference materials(NIST-SRM-4357 and IAEA-384)showed that the established method could be successfully used for the accurate analysis of ultra-trace four plutonium isotopes(238Pu,239Pu,240Pu and 241Pu)in soil samples.

Objective To establish a chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for detecting chlorfenapyr and its metabolite tralopyril in blood,and to investigate the toxicokinetics in rats.Methods Chlorfenapyr(8 mg/kg)was administered orally to rats,and blood samples were collected from rats'canthus vein at 5 min,15 min,30 min,1 h,3 h,6 h,12 h,24 h and 48 h after administration.The blood samples were extracted using 100 μL of 5%formic acid solution and 400 μL of acetonitrile.Chlorfena-pyr was qualitatively and quantitatively detected by triple quadrupole gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(GC-MS/MS)and tralopyril was detected by triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS).The DAS 3.0 software was used to fit the toxicokinetic equa-tions and calculate the toxicokinetic parameters.Results Chlorfenapyr was detectable from 5 min to 24 h with a peak time of 1 h.Tralopyril was detectable from 15 min to 48 h with a peak time of 3 h.The toxicokinetic process of chlorfenapyr in rat blood conformed to a first-order absorption one-compartment open model,with the toxicokinetic equation described as C=e-0.265t-e-0.175t.Tralopyril con-formed to the first-order absorption three-compartment model,and the toxicokinetic equation was C=47 361.069e-2.209t-35 404.962e-1.486t+11 956.363e-0.512t.In the equations,C stands for the concentration of the target substance in the blood,e is the natural constant(≈2.718 28),and t stands for time.Conclu-sion This study optimized the detection method for chlorfenapyr and its metabolite tralopyril in blood.The toxicokinetic equations and parameters of chlorfenapyr and tralopyril can provide a reference for the estimation of oral intake time of chlorfenapyr.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of off-label use of flow diverters (FDs) in aneurysms beyond the circle of Willis.Methods:Seventy-one patients with aneurysms beyond the circle of Willis treated with FDs from January 2016 to September 2023 at Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, Neurosurgery Center (Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University), Department of Neurosurgery (Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital), Department of Neurosurgery (First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University), and Department of Neurosurgery (Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University) were selected. The clinical and imaging data of these patients were analyzed retrospectively, and the clinical characteristics, aneurysm characteristics, endovascular treatments, perioperative complications, and clinical and imaging follow-up results were summarized and analyzed.Results:Among the 71 patients, 22 (31.0%) had ischemic stroke history and 43 (60.6%) had hypertension history. A total of 76 aneurysms were found, including 5 aneurysms (6.6%) at the anterior communicating artery, 10 (13.2%) at the anterior cerebral artery, 53 (69.7%) at the middle cerebral artery, and 8 (10.5%) at the posterior cerebral artery. The median aneurysm size (Inter Quartile Range) was 5.65 (3.63, 10.12) mm, and mean diameter of the parent artery was (2.70±0.57) mm. A total of 80 FDs were used, including 38 (47.5%) Pipeline embolization devices and 42 (52.5%) Tubridge embolization devices; the implantation success rate was 98.8% (79/80). Seven patients (9.9%) had perioperative complications, of which 2 (2.8%) were permanent (1 patient with visual field defect and 1 patient with intracranial hemorrhage). Seventy-one patients had clinical follow-up for (19.73±11.90) months, of which 68 patients (95.8%) had good outcome (modified Rankin scale score of 0-2), 10 patients (14.1%) had ischemic complications, and one patient (1.4%) had hemorrhage complications. Sixty-seven aneurysms (88.2%) underwent angiographic follow-up for 7 (6-12) months, of which 44 aneurysms (65.7%) were completely occluded and 10 (14.9%) had in-stent stenosis.Conclusion:The results of this study preliminarily confirm that off-label use of FDs is relatively safe and effective in aneurysms beyond the circle of Willis.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intrasaccular flow disruptor in wide-necked intracranial aneurysms.Methods:One hundred and seventeen patients with wide-necked intracranial aneurysms treated with intrasaccular flow disruptor were collected from Department of Neurointervention (First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University), Department of Neurosurgery (Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University), Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, Neurosurgery Center (Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University), and Department of Neurosurgery (First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University) from August 2022 to March 2024. Raymond-Roy Occlusion Classification (RROC) was employed to evaluate aneurysm embolization immediately after procedure; cranial CT or MRI within 48 hours of embolization were performed to identify any new intracranial hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or new symptomatic cerebral infarction related to the intracranial aneurysms. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) was used to assess the neurological function at discharge. Imaging follow-up and outpatient follow-up were performed at 6 months after embolization to evaluate the aneurysm occlusion degree and complications.Results:A total of 117 intrasaccular flow disruptors were implanted in 117 patients, with a technical success rate of 100%; 115 patients (98.3%) enjoyed successful one-time release of their disruptors, and 2 patients (1.7%) required retrieval and redirection of the disruptors before second successful attempt. Flow disruptor plus stent was performed in 13 patients (11.1%). Immediately after procedure, RROC grading I was noted in 3 patients, grading II in 51 patients and grading III in 63 patients. Cranial CT or MRI within 48 hours of embolization indicated no new intracranial hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or symptomatic cerebral infarction related to the intracranial aneurysms. All patients had mRS score of 0 at discharge. Eighty-three patients completed a 6-month follow-up (RROC grading I in 41 patients, grading II in 33 patients and grading III in 9 patients), without ischemic or hemorrhagic adverse events.Conclusion:The results of this study preliminarily suggest that intrasaccular flow disruptor is effective and safe in wide-necked intracranial aneurysms.

Objective To summarize the clinical features and prognosis of children suffered from malignant solid tumors of head and neck.Methods The clinical data of children with primary malignant solid tumors located in the head and neck was retrospectively analyzed from January 2007 to December 2021 in the Department of Oncology,Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University,and the clinical features,prognostic factors were summarized.Results A total of 234 children with malignant solid tumors of head and neck were included,with a male to female ratio of 1∶0.7,aged from 3 months to 17 years and 6 months(median age 51 months).173 cases(73.9％)were treated with local painless masses.Other symptoms included snoring and facial paralysis.The proportion of rhabdomyosarcoma(RMS)was the highest(145 cases,62.0％),followed by neuroblastoma(NB)(25 cases,10.7％),Ewing sarcoma(19 cases,8.1％),etc.A total of 47 cases(20.1％)had distant metastasis.The patients received surgery,chemotherapy and radiotherapy under the mode of multidisciplinary treatment(MDT).The 3-year and 5-year overall survival(OS)were 80.8％and 75.8％,respectively,and the 3-year and 5-year progression free survival(PFS)were 64.0％and 58.9％,respectively.Tumor survivors had abnormal appearance or facial motor function(49 cases,41.2％),developmental problems or abnormal tooth loss(18 cases,15.1％),and other long-term complications that may be related to the tumor or treatment.Conclusion There are various pathologic types of pediatric head and neck malignant solid tumors,RMS and NB are the most common.Local painless mass was the most common complaint.Distant metastasis is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of head and neck malignant solid tumors.Under the MDT model,the prognosis of malignant solid tumors of the head and neck in our center was generally good.In the treatment of the tumors,the side effects and sequelae should be controlled as small as possible under the premise of long-term survival.

Objective:To explore the predictive factors for extubation in the operating room after single lung transplantation without the assistance of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in adult patients with end-stage interstitial lung disease (ILD), as well as their short-term (1-year postoperative) prognosis.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 78 adult ILD recipients who underwent single lung transplantation without ECMO assistance at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from June 2018 to June 2023. Based on whether extubation was completed in the operating room (OR), patients were divided into the OR group (19 cases) and ICU group (59 cases). Baseline characteristics of donors and recipients, as well as intraoperative events, were compared between the two groups. Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify potential predictors, and variables with P<0.2 were included in multivariate logistic regression to determine independent predictors for OR extubation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to evaluate predictive performance. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze survival, and short-term prognosis between groups was compared. Results:The rate of OR extubation after single lung transplantation in ILD recipients was 24%(19/78). Compared with the ICU group, the OR group had shorter operation times, lower fluid volumes, reduced transfusions of red blood cells and plasma, less intraoperative bleeding, and lower lactate levels 15 minutes after pulmonary artery reperfusion (all P<0.05). Univariate logistic regression analysis identified the following factors as significantly associated with OR extubation: recipient age ( P=0.100), operative time ( P=0.001), fluid infusion volume ( P=0.005), red blood cell transfusion volume ( P=0.037), plasma transfusion volume ( P=0.039), blood loss ( P=0.004), oxygenation index at 15 minutes after reperfusion ( P=0.174), and blood lactate at 15 minutes after reperfusion ( P=0.041). Multivariate analysis revealed that intraoperative blood loss was an independent predictor of OR extubation ( OR=0.993, 95% CI: 0.986 - 0.999, P=0.026). ROC curve analysis showed that blood loss had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.822 in predicting OR extubation, with a sensitivity of 64.4% and specificity of 89.5%. Postoperatively, patients in the OR group had significantly shorter durations of mechanical ventilation [0 vs 5 (3,11) days, P<0.001], ICU stay [7(4,8) vs 9(6,20) days, P=0.012], and overall postoperative hospitalization [19 (15,23) vs 25 (19,39) days, P=0.015]. Within one year after surgery, 2 patients (11%) in the OR group and 19 patients (32%) in the ICU group had died, but the difference in 1-year survival rates between the two groups was not statistically significant. Conclusions:Intraoperative blood loss is an independent predictor of extubation in the operating room. Early extubation in non-ECMO-assisted single lung transplantation for ILD patients is associated with improved short-term outcomes.

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