ObjectiveTo observe the short-term and long-term efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） surgical operations in treating mixed hemorrhoids. MethodsA multi-center retrospective cohort study was conducted， collecting clinical data from 17，831 mixed hemorrhoid surgery patients in 8 top-tier TCM hospitals in Jiangsu Province. Standardized and structured datasets were obtained through artificial intelligence models. Patients who underwent western surgical treatment were categorized into the western surgery group （11,646 cases）， and those receiving TCM surgical operations were categorized into the TCM surgery group （6185 cases）. Propensity score matching （1∶1 matching） was used to balance baseline data between groups. The primary outcome was the one-year recurrence rate， and secondary outcomes included the main symptoms （rectal bleeding， degree of prolapse） and secondary symptoms （anal distension， anal edema， wound secretion and exudation， anal stenosis， residual skin tags， perianal itching， and anal pain） measured on days 7， 28， and 60 after discharge. ResultsAfter matching， 2194 patients were included in each group. Symptom scores showed that at 28 days after discharge， the TCM surgical group had superior improvement in rectal bleeding ［OR=5.786， 95%CI （3.092，10.827）］， degree of prolapse ［OR=4.510， 95%CI （1.649，12.333）］， and anal edema ［OR=3.188， 95%CI （1.295，7.845）］ compared to the western surgical group. At 60 days post-discharge， the TCM group still showed advantages in improving rectal bleeding ［OR=5.237， 95%CI （1.077，25.464）］ and anal pain ［OR=11.697， 95%CI （1.186，115.336）］ （P＜0.05）. Long-term follow-up showed that the one-year recurrence rate in the TCM surgery group was 1.1% （8/726）， while that in the western surgery group was 2.3% （10/444）， with no statistically significant difference between the two groups （P＞0.05）. ConclusionBased on real-world data， TCM surgical treatment for mixed hemorrhoids shows significant short-term symptom improvement， particularly in terms of hemostasis， reducing swelling， and alleviating prolapse of anal masses.

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical application value of CIE 1976 L*a*b*（Lab） color space in the differential diagnosis of early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions. MethodsWe selected the endoscopic images of patients with esophageal lesions confirmed by pathology who underwent white light imaging endoscopy （WLI） and narrow band imaging endoscopy （NBI）. Five regions of interest （ROI） were selected respectively from the mucosa of the lesion area and the mucosa of the surrounding normal area for labeling. The Lab color space parameters were extracted and counted， and the color difference values（ΔE*）were calculated. ResultsA total of 213 eligible patients were included for analysis in the study. In WLI and NBI modes， there were differences in mucosal color between the early esophageal cancer group and the non-cancer group （P<0.05）. Compared with WLI mode， NBI mode could significantly increase the color difference between early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions （P<0.05）. The lightness component value （L* value） of the early esophageal cancer lesion area was lower than that of the non-cancerous lesion area， and this color difference was more significant in the NBI mode （P<0.05）. In WLI mode， there was no significant difference in yellow-blue component value （b* value） between the mucosa of early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions. However， in the NBI mode， the b* value of the mucosa in the non-cancerous lesion area was higher than that in the early esophageal cancer lesion area （P<0.05）. On the red-green axis， the mucosa of the early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions was red in WLI mode and green in NBI mode. There was no significant difference in red-green component value （a* value） between the two groups. ConclusionThere are color differences between early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions under WLI and NBI. The color of early esophageal cancer is darker under WLI， and the color of non-cancerous lesions is yellower under non-magnified NBI mode. Lab color space is helpful to identify early esophageal cancer and non-cancerous lesions.

Background: Adrenocortical hormones, particularly 11-oxygenated androgens, are pivotal in female reproductive health and fertility. Standardized detection kits and population-specific reference intervals are lacking in China, hindering related clinical applications. Methods: A HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) pipeline was developed, rigorously validated, and applied to simultaneously quantify corticosterone, cortisone, cortisol, 18-OH cortisol, androstenedione (A4), 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (11-OH A4), dehydroepiandrosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in serum samples from 455 reproductive-aged women (18–45 yrs) in Guangxi, China. Age-dependent concentration trends were analyzed, and reference intervals stratified by age (2.5th to 97.5th percentiles) were established. Correlations with body-composition metrics, ethnicity, and the menstrual cycle were investigated. Results: The HPLC-MS/MS method demonstrated high precision (intra- and inter-assay CVs < 15%), accuracy, and sensitivity. All eight hormones exhibited significant age-related declines (P < 0.001 for seven hormones; P = 0.001 for 11-OH A4). Notably, 11-OH A4 levels were significantly lower in the 35–45-yr (3.05 nmol/L) and 25–34-yr (3.09 nmol/L) age groups than in the 18–24-yr (3.57 nmol/L) age group, whereas no significant difference was observed between the 35–45-yr and 25–34-yr age groups. Weak negative correlations were observed between the body mass index and corticosterone and cortisone levels, whereas ethnicity and the menstrual cycle showed no significant associations with hormone levels. Conclusions We developed an HPLC-MS/MS-based method for simultaneously quantifying eight adrenocortical hormones, including 11-OH A4, and defined age-specific reference intervals for reproductive-aged Chinese women. These findings advance the clinical utility of adrenocortical hormones in diagnosing and managing reproductive disorders.

OBJECTIVE To construct a multimodal similarity model for Chinese drug names and design optimized display names，compare the potential confusion risk of display names of the same drug catalogue in different scenarios，so as to provide a quantitative basis for the management of drug display names.METHODS A total of 1 221 drug entries were extracted from the drug dictionary of a tertiary grade A hospital，forming 744 810 drug pairs. “Five rules” were summarized based on the confusion characteristics of candidate confusable drug pairs under the currently used in-hospital display names （Scenario 1） and standard display names （Scenario 2），to generate optimized display names （Scenario 3）. A multimodal similarity model integrating Pinyin，glyph，character sequence and rendered visual features was constructed. The same threshold （total similarity S total ≥0.70） was adopted to screen candidate confusable drug pairs. Confusion risk grading and transition，confusion characteristic labeling，confusion network clustering and residual cluster analysis were carried out. The naming mechanism of optimized display names was investigated through display morphology indicators and rule ablation，and the robustness of the comparison results among the three scenarios was evaluated through similarity threshold and fusion weight sensitivity analysis.RESULTS The numbers of candidate confusable drug pairs in the three scenarios were 156，269 and 83 respectively，among which the number of pairs at high risk and above was 109， 215 and 64 respectively. Compared with Scenario 1，Scenario 3 reduced the number of candidate confusable drug pairs by 46.8%，and the number of those at high risk or above decreased by 41.3%. Display morphology analysis showed that Scenario 3 had the lowest average ink density （0.057 3） and the largest average number of structural slots （2.99）. Rule ablation analysis showed that after disabling the rule of manufacturer characteristic abbreviation prompts，the number of candidate confusable drug pairs increased the most （+74 pairs），while disabling structured naming alone resulted in a net decrease of 9 pairs. The residual clusters mainly involved drugs with the same active ingredient but different specifications or subtypes，as well as series products from the same manufacturer with similar main name stems. Under the threshold setting of 0.60 to 0.80 with a step size of 0.025 and 11 different weight configurations （including the baseline value），the number of candidate confusable drug pairs always maintained the ranking of Scenario 3＜Scenario 1＜Scenario 2.CONCLUSIONS The multimodal similarity model can be used for quantitative screening of potential confusion of Chinese drug display names，and the ranking of the number of candidate confusable drug pairs among scenarios remains stable within the set parameter range. The optimized display names based on the “five rules” can reduce the number of candidate confusable drug pairs， and the number of those at high risk or above in the hospital’s drug catalogue，but their impact on actual identification behavior and clinical medication safety still needs further verification.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of loganin on inflammatory response and intestinal barrier damage in septic rats by regulating the Ras homolog gene family member A （RhoA）/Rho-associated coiled-coil forming protein kinase 1 （ROCK1） signaling pathway. METHODS A sepsis rat model was established by cecal ligation and puncture， and randomly divided into sepsis group， loganin low-dose group （50 mg/kg loganin， gavage）， loganin high-dose group （200 mg/kg loganin， gavage）， positive control group （0.2 mg/kg atorvastatin， intraperitoneal injection）， and loganin high-dose + lysophosphatidic acid （LPA） group （200 mg/kg loganin gavage and intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg RohA activator LPA）. An additional sham surgery group was established. Each group consisted of 10 rats， and medications were administered once every 6 hours for 4 times. After 24 hours of the last intervention， the levels of serum inflammatory factors interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and IL-1β were detected. The pathological changes of ileal tissue were observed and Chiu’s intestinal mucosal injury score was also performed. The levels of intestinal function-lactate dehydrogenase （D-lactate）， D-amino acid oxidase （DAO） and endotoxin， the percentages of zonula occludens-1 protein （ZO-1） and Occludin positive staining area， as well as protein expressions of RhoA， and ROCK1 were all detected. com RESULTS Compared with the sepsis group， the percentages of ZO-1 and Occludin positive areas increased significantly in loganin low-dose and high-dose groups； while the levels of IL-6， TNF-α， IL-1β， DAO， D-lactate and endotoxin， Chiu’s intestinal mucosal injury score as well as protein expressions of RhoA and ROCK1 decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； the destruction of rat ileal tissue was alleviated， and tissue edema and inflammatory infiltration were significantly reduced； moreover， the improvement effect in loganin high-dose group was superior to that in loganin low-dose group （P＜0.05）. Compared with loganin high-dose group， RhoA activator LPA reversed the trend of changes in the above indicators （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Loganin can alleviate inflammatory response and intestinal barrier damage in septic rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting RhoA/ROCK1 signaling pathway.

The paper summarizes Professor YANG Jun's experience in treatment of refractory facial paralysis with the refined mode of acupuncture and moxibustion, so as to provide new ideas and methods for the disease treated with acupuncture and moxibustion. Professor YANG Jun puts forward the refined mode of diagnosis and treatment of acupuncture and moxibustion for refractory facial paralysis. On the basis of syndrome/pattern differentiation of TCM, combined with meridian theory and modern anatomy, the symptom differentiation and meridian differentiation are performed accurately. By selecting local acupoints (e.g. Touwei [ST8], Sibai [ST2], Cuanzhu [BL2] and Yangbai [GB14]), distal acupoints (e.g. Zusanli [ST36], Hegu [LI4] and Jinsuo [GV8]), specific acupoints (e.g.Qianzheng [EX-HN16] and Touqiaoyin [GB11]) and the acupoints for regulating the mind (e.g. Dazhui [GV14] and Shuigou [GV26]), the prescription is composed. The different needling techniques are delivered at the acupoints (e.g. point-to-point needling with long needle, stuck needling by lifting and dragging, and balance needling on the healthy side). Besides, the facial rehabilitation is considered as the adjuvant treatment. This mode of treatment obtains the precise diagnosis and treatment to achieve the utmost therapeutic effects.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Acupuncture Therapy/history* ; Facial Paralysis/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points ; Male ; Meridians ; Female ; History, 21st Century ; History, 20th Century

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of acupuncture with Neiguan (PC6)-to-Waiguan (TE5) and esmolol on hemodynamics during anesthesia induction and postoperative nausea and vomiting. METHODS: A total of 100 patients undergoing elective laparoscopic hernia repair or gynecological surgery under general anesthesia were randomly divided into an acupuncture group (50 cases, 3 cases were eliminated) and an esmolol group (50 cases, 2 cases were eliminated). In the acupuncture group, before anesthesia induction, patients were applied to acupuncture with Neiguan (PC6)-to-Waiguan (TE5), and the needles were retained for 15 min on the right side and 30 min on the left side. Patients in the esmolol group were intravenously injected with 20 mg esmolol hydrochloride injection 5 min before anesthesia induction. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) of the two groups were recorded at 5 min after entering the operating room (T₀), before anesthesia induction (T₁), after anesthesia induction (T₂), before tracheal intubation (T₃) and 1 min after tracheal intubation (T₄). The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain and the incidence of nausea and vomiting in the two groups were observed at the time of entering postanesthesia care unit (PACU) (T₅), leaving PACU (T₆), 6 h after operation (T₇) and 24 h after operation (T₈). The dosage of anesthesia-related drugs in the two groups was counted. RESULTS: The SBP and HR of the two groups at T₂, T₃ and T₄ were lower than those at T₁ (P<0.05). SBP and HR at T₃ in the acupuncture group were higher than those in the esmolol group (P<0.05). Compared with the esmolol group, in the acupuncture group, the VAS scores of pain at T₆ and T₇ were decreased (P<0.05), the incidence of nausea and vomiting at T₇ and T₈ and the nausea and vomiting visual analogue scale (NVAS) scores were decreased (P<0.05). Compared with the esmolol group, the dosage of propofol in the acupuncture group was decreased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture with Neiguan (PC6)-to-Waiguan (TE5) can relieve hemodynamic fluctuations during anesthesia induction, reduce postoperative pain and nausea and vomiting, and reduce the dosage of propofol. The curative effect is better than that of esmolol.
Humans ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Points ; Male ; Hemodynamics ; Propanolamines/administration & dosage* ; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting/drug therapy* ; Young Adult ; Heart Rate ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Acupuncture Therapy

OBJECTIVE To construct a predictive model for timely medication retrieval of outpatients， accurately identify high-risk patients with delayed medication retrieval， and provide data support for the development of differentiated registration strategies and resource optimization allocation in smart pharmacies. METHODS Based on 680 568 valid outpatient prescription records from January to March 2025 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University， a dual-clustering analysis was conducted using K-means algorithm and Gaussian mixture model （GMM）. An adaptive threshold for medication retrieval time difference was determined by combining contour coefficients， and “timely medication retrieval” and “delayed medication retrieval” were divided to construct binary objective variables； six types of features were screened through a multi-method fusion strategy； the performance of 6 kinds of base learners and 4 kinds of ensemble learning models were evaluated from three dimensions： discrimination， overall performance， and calibration， and explanatory analysis of the models were conducted. RESULTS The results of the dual-clustering analysis showed that the silhouette coefficient of GMM was better than K-means （0.702 4 vs. 0.698 8）， and the final adaptive threshold was determined to be 49.82 min. Among the prescriptions included， 74.99% were for timely medication retrieval and 25.01% were for delayed medication retrieval. Among the 10 candidate models， the Stacking model performed the best， with an area under the test set curve of 0.954 4， F1 score of 0.942 4， accuracy of 0.911 5， Brier score of 0.066， and good discrimination and calibration. The explanatory analysis results of the model showed that its predictions were driven by multiple factors such as patient historical behavior， and diagnostic related characteristics. CONCLUSION This study constructed a timely medication retrieval prediction model for outpatients based on a two-stage adaptive threshold ensemble learning algorithm， which has high accuracy and stability， and can achieve dynamic judgment of patient medication retrieval behavior.