arcopenia is a systemic skeletal muscle disorder characterized by a decrease in skeletal muscle mass and progressive decline in function， with multiple signaling pathways involved in its occurrence and development. Among them， the AMP-activated protein kinase （AMPK） signaling pathway， as a key pathway regulating cellular energy homeostasis， plays an important role in the regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism and functional maintenance by improving abnormalities in glucose and lipid metabolism， balancing skeletal muscle protein synthesis and degradation， improving mitochondrial function， promoting autophagy， and inhibiting inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. This article reviews the research progress on how various traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） monomers， including polyphenols， flavonoids， and terpenoids； various traditional Chinese medicine extracts， such as those from Lycium barbarum ， Asini Corii Colla， and Panax quinquefolium ， and TCM compounds， such as Guiqi zhuangjin decoction， Jianpi qiangji granules， and Qigu capsules， intervene in sarcopenia by regulating the AMPK signaling pathway to promote muscle protein synthesis， inhibit protein degradation， improve mitochondrial function， and alleviate inflammation and oxidative stress. Additionally， their molecular mechanisms are explored. The aim is to deeply elucidate the basis of TCM in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia and to provide theoretical support for the development of related innovative drugs.

In this paper， by referring to ancient and modern literature， the textual research of Inulae Flos has been conducted to clarify the name， origin， production area， quality evaluation， harvesting， processing and others， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. After textual research， it could be verified that the medicinal use of Inulae Flos was first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing of the Han dynasty. In successive dynasties， Xuanfuhua has been taken as the official name， and it also has other alternative names such as Jinfeicao， Daogeng and Jinqianhua. The period before the Song and Yuan dynasties， the main origin of Inulae Flos was the Asteraceae plant Inula japonica， and from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the present， I. japonica and I. britannica are the primary source. In addition to the dominant basal species， there are also regional species such as I. linariifolia， I. helianthus-aquatili， and I. hupehensis. The earliest recorded production areas in ancient times were Henan， Hubei and other places， and the literature records that it has been distributed throughout the country since modern times. The medicinal part is its flower， the harvesting and processing method recorded in the past dynasties is mainly harvested in the fifth and ninth lunar months， and dried in the sun， and the modern harvesting is mostly harvested in summer and autumn when the flowers bloom， in order to remove impurities， dry in the shade or dry in the sun. In addition， the roots， whole herbs and aerial parts are used as medicinal materials. In ancient times， there were no records about the quality of Inulae Flos， and in modern times， it is generally believed that the quality of complete flower structure， small receptacles， large blooms， yellow petals， long filaments， many fluffs， no fragments， and no branches is better. Ancient processing methods primarily involved cleaning， steaming， and sun-drying， supplemented by techniques such as boiling， roasting， burning， simmering， stir-frying， and honey-processing. Modern processing focuses mainly on cleaning the stems and leaves before use. Regarding the medicinal properties， ancient texts describe it as salty and sweet in taste， slightly warm in nature， and mildly toxic. Modern studies characterize it as bitter， pungent， and salty in taste， with a slightly warm nature. Its therapeutic effects remain consistent across eras， including descending Qi， resolving phlegm， promoting diuresis， and stopping vomiting. Based on the research results， it is recommended that when developing famous classical formulas containing Inulae Flos， either I. japonica or I. britannica should be used as the medicinal source. Processing methods should follow formula requirements， where no processing instructions are specified， the raw products may be used after cleaning.

In this paper， by referring to ancient and modern literature， the textual research of Inulae Flos has been conducted to clarify the name， origin， production area， quality evaluation， harvesting， processing and others， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. After textual research， it could be verified that the medicinal use of Inulae Flos was first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing of the Han dynasty. In successive dynasties， Xuanfuhua has been taken as the official name， and it also has other alternative names such as Jinfeicao， Daogeng and Jinqianhua. The period before the Song and Yuan dynasties， the main origin of Inulae Flos was the Asteraceae plant Inula japonica， and from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the present， I. japonica and I. britannica are the primary source. In addition to the dominant basal species， there are also regional species such as I. linariifolia， I. helianthus-aquatili， and I. hupehensis. The earliest recorded production areas in ancient times were Henan， Hubei and other places， and the literature records that it has been distributed throughout the country since modern times. The medicinal part is its flower， the harvesting and processing method recorded in the past dynasties is mainly harvested in the fifth and ninth lunar months， and dried in the sun， and the modern harvesting is mostly harvested in summer and autumn when the flowers bloom， in order to remove impurities， dry in the shade or dry in the sun. In addition， the roots， whole herbs and aerial parts are used as medicinal materials. In ancient times， there were no records about the quality of Inulae Flos， and in modern times， it is generally believed that the quality of complete flower structure， small receptacles， large blooms， yellow petals， long filaments， many fluffs， no fragments， and no branches is better. Ancient processing methods primarily involved cleaning， steaming， and sun-drying， supplemented by techniques such as boiling， roasting， burning， simmering， stir-frying， and honey-processing. Modern processing focuses mainly on cleaning the stems and leaves before use. Regarding the medicinal properties， ancient texts describe it as salty and sweet in taste， slightly warm in nature， and mildly toxic. Modern studies characterize it as bitter， pungent， and salty in taste， with a slightly warm nature. Its therapeutic effects remain consistent across eras， including descending Qi， resolving phlegm， promoting diuresis， and stopping vomiting. Based on the research results， it is recommended that when developing famous classical formulas containing Inulae Flos， either I. japonica or I. britannica should be used as the medicinal source. Processing methods should follow formula requirements， where no processing instructions are specified， the raw products may be used after cleaning.

POEMS syndrome is a rare condition associated with plasma cell disorders， and it often involves multiple systems and has diverse clinical manifestations. This article reports two cases of POEMS syndrome with hepatosplenomegaly as the initial manifestation. During the course of the disease， the patients presented with lower limb weakness， hepatosplenomegaly， lymph node enlargement， ascites， hypothyroidism， positive M protein， and skin hyperpigmentation， and ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT imaging revealed bone lesions mainly characterized by osteolytic changes and plasma cell tumors. There was an increase in the serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor. The patients were finally diagnosed with POEMS syndrome， and the symptoms were relieved after immunomodulatory treatment.

Background: Aristolochic acid II (AAII), a major nephrotoxic and carcinogenic component of aristolochic acids (AAs), has been less studied compared with its well-characterized analog, aristolochic acid I (AAI). Although AAs are known to induce carcinogenesis via DNA adduct formation, the toxicity mechanisms, environmental prevalence, and long-term health impacts of AAII remain poorly understood. Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate AAII’s acute and chronic toxicity, carcinogenic mechanisms, and environmental exposure patterns using integrated murine models and phytochemical analyses to clarify its toxicological profile and associated health risks. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were used in the following experiments: (1) determination of AAII content in 3 commonly used Aristolochia medicinal materials via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry; (2) acute toxicity testing with single doses of 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg; and (3) chronic exposure with 1 or 10 mg/kg administered every other day for 24 weeks, followed by 21 to 40 weeks of postexposure monitoring. Histopathological examination, whole-exome sequencing, biochemical assays, and micronucleus tests were performed to assess multi-organ damage, tumorigenesis, genomic mutation signatures, and direct clastogenicity. Phytochemical analyses were used to evaluate environmental distribution. Results: (1) A single 40 mg/kg dose of AAII induced dose-dependent renal tubular degeneration without hepatotoxicity; (2) the 10 mg/kg group showed significant mortality (20%), tumor incidence (33.3%, primarily forestomach and bladder transitional cell carcinomas), persistent renal interstitial fibrosis, and subclinical hepatic injury. Chronic exposure to 1 mg/kg still induced 13.3% mortality and 15.5% tumor incidence over a 64-week period; (3) whole-exome sequencing revealed a predominance of C>T mutations and pathway enrichment in chemical carcinogenesis and cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism, indicating reactive metabolite-driven mechanisms distinct from classical AA-DNA adducts; and (4) no histopathological changes were observed in nontarget organs (brain, heart, and testes), and micronucleus assays confirmed the absence of direct clastogenicity. Conclusion: This study highlights the delayed carcinogenic risks of low-dose chronic AAII exposure and emphasizes the need to update regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe use of aristolochiaceae-containing herbal products.

Objective:Serum tumor markers(STMs)are important indicators associated with metastasis in patients with breast cancer(BC).This study focuses on predicting the risk of axillary lymph node metastasis(ALNM)in patients with invasive BC in Xinjiang by combining STMs and clinicopathological factors.Methods:Data from 3,360 patients diagnosed with invasive BC and treated at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between 2015 and 2019 were analyzed,focusing on 11 relevant demographic and clinical factors.Five ma-chine learning(ML)algorithms were used to develop predictive models for ALNM.Their performance was compared using metrics such as area under the curve(AUC),accuracy,Kappa value,and Brier score.The best-performing model was then compared with a nomogram based on Logistic regression(LR)to determine the final model.Shapley additive explanations(SHAP)values were used to rank the importance of factors contributing to ALNM.Results:Of the 3,266 patients studied,1,368(41.89%)developed ALNM.Among the five constructed ML models,eXtreme gradient boosting(XGBoost)demonstrated the best predictive performance with an AUC of 0.768,an accuracy of 0.735,and a Kappa value of 0.450.In both the training and validation sets,the XGBoost model outperformed the LR-based nomogram(training set AUC and Brier score:0.822(0.810～0.820)vs.0.742(0.721～0.763),0.170(0.163～0.177)vs.0.197(0.189～0.204);validation set AUC and Brier score:0.769(0.740～0.770)vs.0.747(0.716～0.779),0.190(0.178～0.202)vs.0.195(0.189～0.204)).Therefore,XGBoost was selec-ted as the final predictive model.SHAP analysis identified T stage,age,molecular subtype,and CEA level as the four most influential factors for ALNM prediction.Conclusions:The XGBoost model effectively predicts the risk of ALNM in patients with invasive BC based on STMs and clinicopathological features,outperforming traditional nomograms.SHAP analysis highlighted T stage as the most critical factor influencing ALNM.

Objective To evaluate the value of left ventricular(LV)systolic function impairment in patients with different activity levels of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)by applying automatic myocardial motion quantification(aCMQ)technique,and to explore the correlation between left ventricular strain parameters and clinical laboratory indexes,systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index(SLEDAI).Methods A total of 80 patients diagnosed with SLE from November 2023 to August 2024 in the First Afticiated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University were selected and divided into two groups:40 cases with SLEDAI＜10points were in mild lupus group,34 cases with SLEDAI ≥ 10points were in moderately severe lupus group.Forty healthy volunteers for physical examination at the same time were randomly selected as control group,relevant parameters were obtained by conventional echocardiography and aCMQ technique respectively.Results aCMQ technique related parameters were compared,and the differences in left ventricular global longitudinal strain(LVGLS),apical two-chamber longitudinal strain(AP2LS),apical three-chamber longitudinal strain(AP3LS),and apical four-chamber longitudinal strain(AP4LS)were statistically significant in all three groups(P＜0.05).The differences in left ventricular global circumferential strain(LVGCS)in lupus moderate-severe group were statistically significant when compared with other two groups(P＜0.05),Pearson correlation analysis showed LVGLS,AP2LS,AP3LS,AP4LS and LVGCS were positively correlated with complement 3 and complement 4,and negatively correlated with anticardiolipin antibody(ACA)IgA,IgG,IgM,and sedimentation,and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein,and the SLEDAI was correlated with LVGLS,AP2LS,AP3LS,AP4LS were negatively correlated,and there was no significant correlation with LVGCS.Conclusion aCMQ technique can detect changes in LV systolic function in SLE patients at an early stage,and the impairment of LV systolic function is more severe with higher disease activity.Better correlation between LV strain parameters and clinical laboratory indexes and SLED AI may help to better assess cardiac involvement in SLE patients.

Objective:To investigate the association between estimated cumulative low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) exposure and the severity of coronary artery disease and long-term adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods:The subjects were from the PROMISE study. This study was a prospective cohort study led by Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, with participation from eight regional tertiary hospitals as sub-centers, and enrolled 18 701 patients with confirmed coronary heart disease between January 2015 and May 2019. Among them, 8 429 patients with ACS were included in this study. The estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure was calculated by multiplying LDL-C by age. Participants were then divided into four groups based on quartiles. Baseline data and coronary angiography data were collected, and participants were followed for 2 years. The primary endpoint was MACCE, which was composed of all-cause death, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, revascularization, and stroke. Spearman correlation analysis was used to estimate the correlation between cumulative LDL-C exposure and the severity of coronary artery disease. The differences in MACCE among the four groups were compared, and multivariate Cox regression was used to divide the estimated cumulative exposure LDL-C into two groups, three groups, and four groups to analyze its relationship with MACCE.Results:The 8 429 ACS patients included in the study had an age of (60.9±11.4) years, with 1 951(23.1%) females. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure was positively associated with the preoperative SYNTAX score, three-vessel lesions disease, left main disease, and the number of target lesions (correlation coefficients r=0.14, 0.10, 0.04 and 0.03, respectively, with all P<0.05). The 2-year follow-up results indicated that the incidence rates of MACCE, all-cause death, cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and stroke in ACS patients grouped by different levels of estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The results of the Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that when the estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure was treated as a continuous variable and analyzed in two, three, and four groups, with the lowest group as the reference, the risk of MACCE occurrence in the high-value group increased by 21% (95% CI 1.08-1.37, P=0.002), 24% (95% CI 1.07-1.43, P=0.004), and 21% (95% CI 1.02-1.43, P=0.025) respectively. Conclusions:A positive correlation was found between estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure and severity of coronary artery disease. High estimated cumulative LDL-C exposure level is a risk factor for MACCE in ACS patients within 2 years.

Objective To investigate the association between plasma atherogenic index of plasma(AIP)and metabolism-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD),and to evaluate the potential value of AIP as a predictive marker for MASLD risk.Methods We enrolled a total of 4 850 health check-up participants from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between June 2021 and May 2023.The participants were divided into quartiles(Q1-Q4)according to their AIP level.Biochemical indicators and MASLD prevalence were compared across groups.Logistic regression,subgroup analysis,and restricted cubic splines(RCS)were used to explore the relationship between AIP and MASLD.Results Among the 4 850 participants,the prevalence of MASLD was 26.08％(1 265/4 850).MASLD prevalence increased across AIP quartiles:4.0％,13.8％,30.8％,and 55.6％in Q1-Q4,respectively(P＜0.001).Compared with Q1,Q2-Q4 groups showed higher proportions of males,BMI,smokers,overweight/obesity,central obesity,prediabetes,hypertension,serum uric acid,and fatty liver index(FLI)(all P＜0.001).Lipid profiles worsened with increased AIP:total cholesterol,triglycerides,and LDL-C increased,while HDL-C decreased(P＜0.001).RCS analysis demonstrated a significant linear relationship between AIP and MASLD risk.After adjusting for confounders,the participants in Q4 had an 8.71-fold higher risk of MASLD than those in Q1(OR:8.71,95％CI:6.20-12.23,P＜0.001).A composite model incorporating AIP,BMI,and FLI showed superior discriminative performance(AUC:0.883,95％CI:0.873-0.892).Interaction analysis suggested that AIP had significant interactions with BMI,hypertension,and prediabetes(P＜0.05).In individuals without these metabolic abnormalities,the association between AIP and MASLD was more pronounced.Conclusion Elevated AIP was significantly associated with an increased risk of MASLD,with a stronger association observed in individuals with normal BMI,blood pressure,and blood glucose levels,suggesting that AIP may serve as a potential indicator for early screening of MASLD.

Dampness-heat syndrome of the spleen and stomach refers to the evil dampness-heat invading the spleen and stomach,the abnormal rise and fall of the middle jiaoqi machinery,dampness-heat depression and steaming,the physiological dysfunction of the spleen and stomach,with abdominal distention and distention,nausea and lethargy of the limbs,poor loose stool,red tongue and yellow greasy fur,and slippery pulse as the main symptoms of the syndrome,most common in digestive system diseases,among which chronic gastritis is the first.This paper summarized the research results in the past decade and related fields.In the mode of combination of disease and syndrome,based on the principle of corresponding prescription and syndrome,combined with the etiology and pathogenesis evolution of spleen and stomach damp-heat syndrome,the biological connotation of spleen and stomach damp-heat syndrome was explained from various aspects such as inflammation and immune disorders,gastrointestinal motivity disorders,water and humidity loss,endoplasmic reticulum function,and micro-ecological disorders.Enrich the research of the essence of syndrome.