1.Role of endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated DEAD-box helicase 3 X-linked in a mouse model of concanavalin A-induced immune-mediated liver injury
Zhenzhen PAN ; Ling XU ; Xianru ZHU ; Zihao FAN ; Yaling CAO ; Yinkang MO ; Sai YAN ; Feng REN
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(1):134-142
ObjectiveTo investigate the role of DEAD-box helicase 3 X-linked (DDX3X) in immune-mediated liver injury (ILI), and to clarify its mechanism by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-dependent apoptotic pathway and its association with the clinical progression of hepatitis B. MethodsMice were given injection of concanavalin A (ConA) via the caudal vein to establish a model of ILI, PBS (control group) and different concentrations of ConA were injected into the tail vein of hepatocyte-specific DDX3X-knockout mice (DDX3XΔHep and DDX3X-flox mice (DDX3Xfl/fl), respectively.. The log-rank survival analysis, measurement of the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and HE staining of liver tissue were performed to assess liver injury, and qRT-PCR and Western Blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), and DDX3X in liver tissue. Intraperitoneal injection of 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA, 100 mg/kg) was performed to inhibit ERS. Serum samples (n=30) and liver tissue samples (n=6) were collected from healthy controls, chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, and hepatitis B virus-associated liver failure (HBV-LF) patients; ELISA was used to measure the serum level of DDX3X, and qRT-PCR/Western Blot was used to analyze the expression of targets in liver tissue. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the control group of mice, the expression of DDX3X in the liver of mice induced by ConA was significantly increased after liver injury (P<0.05), and hepatocyte-specific DDX3X knockout increased the 72-hour survival rate of mice by 55% (compared with 20% in the DDX3Xfl/fl group), with significant reductions in the serum levels of ALT and AST (P<0.000 1) and the expression levels of the ERS markers GRP78 and CHOP (P<0.05). After ERS was inhibited by 4-PBA, there was alleviation of liver injury (with reductions in ALT and AST, P <0.001) and a reduction in DDX3X expression (P<0.01). The analysis of clinical samples showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of liver DDX3X in CHB patients and HBV-LF patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (all P<0.01), and there was a significant increase in the serum level of DDX3X in HBV-LF patients (P<0.000 1). ConclusionDDX3X exacerbates ILI by regulating the ERS-dependent apoptotic pathway (GRP78/CHOP), and its expression is associated with the progression of hepatitis B. Therefore, it can be used as a potential therapeutic target.
2.Expert Consensus on Clinical Application of Qidong Yixin Oral Liquid
Changkuan FU ; Xiaochang MA ; Mingjun ZHU ; Yue DENG ; Hongxu LIU ; Mingxue ZHANG ; Ying CHEN ; Yan ZHOU ; Ling ZHANG ; Jianhua FU ; Wei YANG ; Yu'er HU ; Ming CHEN ; Yanming XIE ; Yuanyuan LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(4):147-158
The prescription of Qidong Yixin oral liquid is derived from the experience of national medical master Ren Jixue in treating viral myocarditis (VMC). It has the functions of tonifying Qi, nourishing the heart,calming the mind, and relieving palpitations. It is used to treat VMC and angina pectoris of coronary heart disease caused by deficiency of both Qi and Yin. However,the understanding of its efficacy evidence, advantageous aspects, dosage and administration, and medication safety remains insufficient in clinical practice. Therefore,the development of the Expert Consensus on the Clinical Application of Qidong Yixin Oral Liquid (hereinafter referred to as consensus) was initiated. Consensus strictly followed the process and methods of the expert consensus on the clinical application of Chinese patent medicines of the China Association of Chinese Medicine,successively completing multiple tasks such as the consensus project initiation,determination of clinical problems,evidence search and evaluation,formation of recommendation opinions and consensus suggestions,solicitation of opinions,peer review, submission for review and release, and so on. Consensus formed a total of 10 recommendation opinions and 12 consensus suggestions,clarifying the clinical positioning,efficacy advantages,syndrome differentiation,dosage and administration,combination therapy,timing of medication,adverse reactions,contraindications, and precautions of Qidong Yixin oral liquid,indicating that it has good clinical advantages and safety in the treatment of VMC and angina pectoris of coronary heart disease,providing norms and references for physicians to safely and rationally apply Qidong Yixin oral liquid. Consensus was reviewed and approved for release by the Standardization Office of the China Association of Chinese Medicine on December 23, 2024. Standard number:GSCACM-376-2024.
3.Explainable Machine Learning Model for Predicting Prognosis in Patients with Malignant Tumors Complicated by Acute Respiratory Failure: Based on the eICU Collaborative Research Database in the United States
Zihan NAN ; Linan HAN ; Suwei LI ; Ziyi ZHU ; Qinqin ZHU ; Yan DUAN ; Xiaoting WANG ; Lixia LIU
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(1):98-108
To develop and validate a model for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality risk in patients with malignant tumors complicated by acute respiratory failure (ARF) based on an explainable machine learning framework. Clinical data of patients with malignant tumors and ARF were extracted from the eICU Collaborative Research Database in the United States, including demographic characteristics, comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory test indicators, and major interventions within the first 24 hours after ICU admission.The study outcome was ICU death.Enrolled patients were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set at a ratio of 7:3.Predictor variables were selected using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression.Five machine learning algorithms-extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM), Logistic regression, multilayer perceptron (MLP), and C5.0 Decision Tree-were employed to construct predictive models.Model performance was evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and other metrics.The optimal model was further interpreted using the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) algorithm. A total of 3196 patients with malignant tumors complicated by ARF were included.The training set comprised 2, 261 patients and the validation set 935 patients; 683 patients died during ICU stay, while 2513 survived.LASSO regression ultimately selected 12 variables closely associated with patient ICU outcomes, including sepsis comorbidity, use of vasoactive drugs, and within the first 24 hours after ICU admission: minimum mean arterial pressure, maximum heart rate, maximum respiratory rate, minimum oxygen saturation, minimum serum bicarbonate, minimum blood urea nitrogen, maximum white blood cell count, maximum mean corpuscular volume, maximum serum potassium, and maximum blood glucose.After model evaluation, the XGBoost model demonstrated the best performance.The AUCs for predicting ICU mortality risk in the training and validation sets were 0.940 and 0.763, respectively; accuracy was 88.3% and 81.2%;sensitivity was 98.5% and 95.9%.Its predictive performance also remained optimal in sensitivity analyses.SHAP analysis indicated that the top five variables contributing to the model's predictions were minimum oxygen saturation, minimum serum bicarbonate, minimum mean arterial pressure, use of vasoactive drugs, and maximum white blood cell count. This study successfully developed a mortality risk prediction model for ICU patients with malignant tumors complicated by ARF based on a large-scale dataset and performed explainability analysis.The model aids clinicians in early identification of high-risk patients and implementing individualized interventions.
4.Effects of oral non-peptidic thrombopoietin receptor agonists on hepatic enzyme in adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia:a meta-analysis
Tiantian LU ; Nan SHEN ; Suyue ZHU ; Jingjing YAN
China Pharmacy 2026;37(4):510-515
OBJECTIVE To systematically evaluate the effects of oral non-peptidic thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) on hepatic enzyme in adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang database and the Chinese Medical Association Journal Full-Text Database to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing oral non-peptidic TPO-RAs (intervention group) with placebo or conventional therapy (control group). All databases were searched from their inception to June 2025. After literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment of the included studies, meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4.1 software. RESULTS Twelve RCTs comprising 1 388 patients were included, with 971 in the intervention group and 417 in the control group. Meta-analysis results showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the incidence of hepatic enzyme elevation[OR=1.24, 95%CI (0.77, 1.99), P =0.37 ] , the incidence of hepatic enzyme elevation in patients treated for ≥6 weeks[OR=1.21, 95%CI (0.73, 1.99), P =0.46 ] , and the incidence of severe hepatic enzyme elevation[OR=1.39, 95%CI(0.46, 4.20), P =0.55 ] . Subgroup analysis showed that there were no significant differences in the incidence of hepatic enzyme elevation between the intervention group and control group among patients using eltrombopag[OR=1.57,95%CI(0.85,2.87), P =0.15 ] , avatrombopag[OR=0.88,95%CI (0.09,8.46), P =0.91 ] , and hetrombopag[OR=1.04,95%CI(0.30,3.65), P =0.95 ] , respectively. CONCLUSIONS Oral non-peptidic TPO-RAs do not significantly increase the risk of hepatic enzyme elevation in adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia, and show an overall favorable hepatic safety profile.
5.Measurement and simulation of secondary neutron energy spectra and doses in proton therapy
Yang YAN ; Changsong HOU ; Zhen ZHANG ; Weiguo ZHU
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health 2026;35(1):23-28
Objective To evaluate the radiation dose levels induced by secondary neutrons at different locations inside proton therapy treatment rooms, and analyze the distribution characteristics of neutron energy spectra by combining experimental measurements with simulations, and to provide a theoretical basis and technical support for radiation protection design and management in proton therapy. Methods Multiple representative measurement points were established in the treatment rooms of two hospital-based proton therapy centers. The DIAMON neutron spectrometer was employed to perform in-situ measurements of secondary neutron doses and energy spectra. Three-dimensional simulation models of treatment rooms were constructed using the FLUKA code to simulate the generation and transport of secondary neutrons. Results Measurements showed that the neutron dose was highest near the target region, reaching up to
6.Research on the current situation and development suggestions of centralized (cloud) prescription review center of the close-knit county-level medical consortium in a city
Lu HE ; Mingyang ZHU ; Xiaolei HU ; Yan QIAN
China Pharmacy 2026;37(5):578-583
OBJECTIVE To investigate the actual construction and operation status of established and under-construction centralized (cloud) prescription review centers (shortened for “prescription review center”) of close-knit county-level medical consortium in a certain city, so as to provide reference for improving the construction quality of the prescription review center. METHODS An online questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the data from 51 established and under-construction prescription review center in the city, covering basic information, funding sources, talent management, system construction, review rule maintenance, prescription review practices, prescription evaluation, data utilization, and current challenges. The collected data were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS A total of 51 valid questionnaires were retrieved, covering 32 established and 19 under-construction prescription review center. Among the 32 established prescription review centers, the main funding sources for their construction came from government financial allocations, accounting for 56.25%. Only 25.00% of prescription review center had review pharmacists who fully met national qualification requirements, and just 55.00% updated more than 10 review rule entries per month on average. Outpatient prescription verification realized full coverage, but 37.50% of prescription review centers only supported rationality verification of single prescriptions, and 50.00% could not retrieve laboratory and examination results to assist in prescription review. Additionally, 40.62% of prescription review center had not regularly conducted prescription evaluations for primary care institutions. The data from prescription review center was mainly used to support medication monitoring. Among the 19 prescription review centers currently in the planning stage, 63.16% had no identified funding sources. CONCLUSIONS The operation and construction of prescription review center in the city face challenges, such as funding shortages, absence of collaborative incentive mechanisms, and insufficient manpower.It is suggested that the state should issue a unified standard for the construction of the prescription review center as soon as possible, and local health administrative departments should formulate supporting policies and clarify assessment indicators in combination with the actual situation of the region.
7.Status of anemia and iron deficiency among primary and secondary school students in Rural Nutrition Improvement Program areas of Guizhou Province in 2023
ZHU Shu, GUO Hua, LI Hongbo, SHI Zhu, WU Shengnan, HUANG Yiyanwen, SUN Yan, LIU Yiya
Chinese Journal of School Health 2026;47(2):178-182
:
To analyze the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency among primary and secondary school students in Rural Nutrition Improvement Program areas of Guizhou Province in 2023, and to explore the related factors, so as to provide evidence for Rural Nutrition Improvement Program optimization.
Methods:
In September 2023, a stratified random cluster sampling strategy was used to select 40 rural compulsory education schools with rural nutrition improvement program in five counties of Guizhou Province. School level questionnaire was employed to collect information of basic characteristics and school meal implementation. A total of 7 826 primary and secondary school students aged 6-16 underwent anthropometry and hemoglobin (Hb) determination; serum ferritin (SF) was additionally measured in a random subsample of 1 795 pupils. Students in Grade 3 and above also completed a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, dietary behaviours and nutrition knowledge. Group comparisons were conducted by Chi square test or Fisher s exact test, and multivariable Logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors associated with anemia and iron deficiency.
Results:
The overall Hb level was (133.21±12.95)g/L, with an anemia prevalence of 7.17%. The overall SF level was (69.58±59.01)μg/L, with an iron deficiency prevalence of 2.73%. Multivariable analysis showed that stunting ( OR =1.88), school menus without nutrient calculation ( OR =1.61) and absence of menu planning software in the current semester ( OR =2.34) independently increased anemia risk, whereas obesity reduced it ( OR =0.54) (all P <0.05). Girls ( OR =4.16) and Grades 7-9 ( OR =5.93) increased iron deficiency risk (both P <0.05). Compared with rarely eating fresh vegetables, students with consuming <3 kinds per day ( OR =0.08) or exactly 3 kinds per day ( OR =0.06) had lower iron deficiency risks (both P <0.05).
Conclusions
Anemia and iron deficiency are prevalent among primary and secondary school students in Guizhou. Targeted intervention measures should be implemented for key populations to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition improvement program.
8.Correlation between Periostin, IL-33, and chronic cough after thoracoscopic lobectomy in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting combined with lung cancer: A prospective cohort study
Yujuan QI ; Yaobang BAI ; Yan JIAO ; Xiaolong ZHU ; Bo FU ; Zhenhua WU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2026;33(03):363-368
Objective To study the correlation between Periostin, interleukin-33 (IL-33), and chronic cough after thoracoscopic lobectomy in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) combined with lung cancer. Methods A total of 102 lung cancer and coronary heart disease patients at Tianjin Chest Hospital from January 2022 to January 2024 were prospectively enrolled, and they were divided into a chronic cough group (n=42) and a non-chronic cough group (n=60) based on whether chronic cough occurred after surgery. Serum levels of Periostin and IL-33 were measured on the 1st, 7th, and 14th days post-lobectomy. The Pearson method was employed to analyze the correlation between Periostin and IL-33 levels and the severity of cough. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing the occurrence of chronic cough. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized to assess the potential value of serum Periostin and IL-33 levels in predicting postoperative chronic cough. Results In patients with chronic cough, the peripheral blood Periostin and IL-33 levels measured on days 7 and 14 were significantly higher than those in patients with non-chronic cough, and the interactions between the two groups and at different time points were significant (P<0.001). The degree of cough was positively correlated with the levels of Periostin and IL-33 on days 7 and 14 (P<0.05), but had no significant correlation with the levels on day 1 (P>0.05). In patients with lung cancer, after thoracoscopic lobectomy, Periostin [OR=1.619, 95%CI (1.295, 2.025)] and IL-33 [OR=1.831, 95%CI (1.216, 2.758)] on day 7 and Periostin [OR=1.952, 95%CI (1.306, 2.918)] and IL-33 [OR=1.742, 95%CI (1.166, 2.603)] on day 14 were identified as risk factors for chronic cough. ROC curve analysis showed that the sensitivity of Periostin on day 7 was 69.05%, the specificity was 71.67%, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.756 [95%CI (0.616, 0.893)]. The sensitivity of Periostin on day 14 increased to 71.43% and the specificity was 76.67%, AUC was 0.762 [95%CI (0.633, 0.898)]. At the same time, the critical value of IL-33 on day 7 was 45.03 pg/mL, the sensitivity and specificity were both 83.33%, the AUC was 0.884 [95%CI (0.789, 0.980)], and the critical value of IL-33 on day 14 was 56.01 pg/mL, the sensitivity was 85.71%, the specificity was 80.00%, and the AUC was 0.899 [95%CI (0.799, 0.999)]. Joint logistic regression analysis of Periostin and IL-33 levels on days 7 and 14 showed showed that the sensitivity was 95.24%, the specificity was 95.00%, and the AUC reached 0.993 [95%CI (0.979, 1.000)]. Conclusion Periostin and IL-33 levels, measured at various time points, are abnormally elevated following thoracoscopic lobectomy in patients with combined CABG and lung cancer. These levels significantly correlate with cough severity. Given their predictive potential for chronic cough, these markers are deemed valuable biomarkers.
9.Changes and Trends in the microbiological-related standards in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025 Edition
FAN Yiling ; ZHU Ran ; YANG Yan ; JIANG Bo ; SONG Minghui ; WANG Jing ; LI Qiongqiong ; LI Gaomin ; WANG Shujuan ; SHAO Hong ; MA Shihong ; CAO Xiaoyun ; HU Changqin ; MA Shuangcheng, ; YANG Meicheng
Drug Standards of China 2025;26(1):093-098
Objective: To systematically analyze the revisions content and technological development trends of microbiological standards in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (ChP) 2025 Edition, and explore its novel requirements in risk-based pharmaceutical product lifecycle management.
Methods: A comprehensive review was conducted on 26 microbiological-related standards to summarize the revision directions and scientific implications from perspectives including the revision overview, international harmonization of microbiological standards, risk-based quality management system, and novel tools and methods with Chinese characteristics.
Results: The ChP 2025 edition demonstrates three prominent features in microbiological-related standards: enhanced international harmonization, introduced emerging molecular biological technologies, and established a risk-based microbiological quality control system.
Conclusion: The new edition of the Pharmacopoeia has systematically constructed a microbiological standard system, which significantly improves the scientificity, standardization and applicability of the standards, providing a crucial support for advancing the microbiological quality control in pharmaceutical industries of China.
10.Research on the standardization of “Indications”in package inserts for Chinese patent medicines
Meiwei ZHANG ; Keqian LI ; Keyu YAO ; Yan ZHU
China Pharmacy 2025;36(5):513-518
OBJECTIVE To promote the standardization of the “Indications” section in package inserts for Chinese patent medicines and ensure rational clinical and patient use. METHODS The “Function and Indications” information of package inserts for Chinese patent medicines was retrieved and collected from the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Volume Ⅰ) and various national and regional standards. Identification criteria were established for syndrome, pathogenesis, disease name, and symptom terminology in the “Indications” section. Microsoft Office Access 2021 was utilized to create query tables for manual extraction of terminological elements, followed by the construction of a three-tier classification system for “Indications” descriptions. A standardized template for “Indications” was developed through quantitative analysis. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS A total of 9 851 valid package inserts for Chinese patent medicines were included. Among these, the majority (7 991) contained symptom terminology, followed by disease names (5 867) and pathogenesis descriptions (5 167). Within disease name terminology, Western medical disease names predominated (4 446), followed by traditional Chinese medicine disease names (2 018). The “Function and Indications” content of 6 962 package inserts complied with existing requirements. Notably, the secondary classifications of “disease name”, as well as the tertiary classification of “disease name+symptoms” and “symptoms”, failed to meet established standards. Two standardized templates for “Indications” were formulated based on pathogenesis and syndrome:“pathogenesis+disease name+symptoms” and “disease name+syndrome+symptoms”. The “Indications”section should provide complete and accurate information, adhere to standardized formatting, and employ appropriate conjunctions and punctuation. For non-prescription patent medicines, package inserts should be categorized into professional and patient versions. These measures will facilitate the standardization of “Indications” descriptions and advance the overall package inserts for Chinese patent medicines documentation.


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