Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM）external treatment methods in alleviating skin pruritus caused by eczema through a Meta-analysis. Methods Randomized clinical trials investigating the use of TCM external treatment methods for skin pruritus caused by eczema were searched in databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）, VIP, Wanfang, Sinomed, PubMed, Embase, LILACS, and Cochrane, up to December 2024. Two reviewers independently screened and entered the statistical data, conducted bias risk assessment by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, version 5.1.0, and performed Meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4.1. Results Ultimately, 14 studies involving 1 788 patients were included. Compared to the control group, TCM external treatment methods （treatment group）showed better improvement in pruritus scores （Z=11.88, P<0.000 01）, better improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index （EASI） scores （Z=23.15, P<0.000 01）, higher overall clinical efficacy rate （Z=6.21, P<0.000 01）, better improvement in TCM symptoms （Z=5.49, P<0.000 01）, and lower clinical recurrence rate （Z=2.88, P=0.004）. Three of the included studies mentioned adverse reactions, with the treatment group showing lower adverse reactions than the control group. Conclusion The external treatment of TCM was more effective in treating skin pruritus caused by eczema compared to the control group. Given the biases and heterogeneity in the included literature, this conclusion needs to be further substantiated by more large-scale, multi-center, randomized, controlled, and double-blind studies.

OBJECTIVE: Paridis Rhizoma (Chonglou in Chinese), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been shown have strong anti-tumor effects. Paris saponin VII (PSVII), an active constituent isolated from Paridis Rhizoma, was demonstrated to significantly suppress the proliferation of BxPC-3 cells in our previous study. Here, we aimed to elucidate the anti-pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) effect of PSVII and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Cell viability was determined by CCK-8, colony formation, and cell migration assays. Cell apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were measured by flow cytometry with annexin V/propidine iodide (Annexin V/PI) and 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA), respectively. Pyroptosis was evaluated by morphological features, Hoechst 33342/PI staining assay, and release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). JC-1 fluorescent dye was employed to measure mitochondrial membrane potential. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to determine the levels of proteins or mRNAs. The effect in vivo was assessed by a xenograft tumor model. RESULTS: PSVII inhibited the viability of PDAC cells (BxPC-3, PANC-1, and Capan-2 cells) and induced gasdermin E (GSDME) cleavage, as well as the simultaneous cleavage of Caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP). Knockdown of GSDME shifted PSVII-induced pyroptosis to apoptosis. Additionally, the effect of PSVII was significantly attenuated by Z-Asp(OMe)-Glu(OMe)-Val-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone (Z-DEVD-FMK), on the induction of GSDME-dependent pyroptosis. PSVII also elevated intracellular ROS accumulation and stimulated Bax and Caspase-3/GSDME to conduct pyroptosis in PDAC cells. The ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) suppressed the release of LDH and inhibited Caspase-9, Caspase-3, and GSDME cleavage in PDAC cells, ultimately reversing PSVII-induced pyroptosis. Furthermore, in a xenograft tumor model, PSVII markedly suppressed the growth of PDAC tumors and induced pyroptosis. CONCLUSION These results demonstrated that PSVII exerts therapeutic effects through Caspase-3/GSDME-dependent pyroptosis and may constitute a novel strategy for preventing chemotherapeutic resistance in patients with PDAC in the future.

Objective To observe the clinical effect of Jiu-Wei-Yong-An granule combined with cetirizine in the treatment of damp-heat accumulation syndrome of eczema. Methods 108 eczema patients with syndrome of damp-heat accumulated in the skin, treated in the Department of Traditional Chinese Surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University from December 2021 to March 2023, were selected. They were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 54 cases in each. Both groups took cetirizine tablets orally for basic treatment. The observation group was given Jiu-Wei-Yong-An granules, and the control group was given placebos of the same. The clinical efficacy before and after treatment in the two groups was observed and compared, including TCM syndrome scores, eczema area and severity index （EASI）, visual analogue scale （VAS）, and adverse reactions. Results After treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group （88.9%） was higher than that of the control group （77.8%）, and the difference was statistically significant （P<0.05）. After treatment, the TCM syndrome score, EASI and VAS in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）, and the difference was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the total rate of adverse reactions between the two groups （P>0.05）. Conclusion The combination of Jiu-Wei-Yong-An granules and cetirizine tablets in the treatment of damp-heat eczema showed significantly better clinical outcomes in the observation group compared to the control. It effectively improved patient conditions, reduced skin lesion areas, and alleviated itching, with both safety and efficacy that merit clinical promotion.

Objective To prepare Xuanyang Jiedu cream and to study its pharmacodynamics.Methods The herbal decoction process of Xuanyang Jiedu cream was optimized by orthogonal design method.The prescription of the cream preparation was screened according to the external properties,malleability and stability of cream.Forty normal guinea pig were randomly divided into four groups(10 in each group):blank group,model group,ketoconazole cream group,and Xuanyang Jiedu cream group.The guinea pig model of tinea corporis was established to investigate the efficacy of Xuanyang Jiedu cream in the treatment of superficial fungal disease.Results The optimal extraction conditions were 3 extractions,water added for 20 times,and 1.5 h of extraction time.The number of extractions and the amount of water significantly affected on the extraction process of the liquid extract.The optimized Xuanyang Jiedu cream looked smooth and creamy,with moderate viscosity and good stabilities of centrifuge,cold and heat resistance.After 14 d treatment,there were still obvious erythema,scales and papules on the lesions in the model group.The scores of erythema,scales and papules in the Xuanyang Jiedu cream group and the ketoconazole cream group were lower than those in the model group(P<0.05).Conclusion Xuanyang Jiedu cream has antifungal activity and may be a new treatment for skin superficial mycosis.

Objective To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of bufalin regulating ferroptosis on extracellular matrix synthesis in renal tubular epithelial cells(RTECs)under high glucose(HG)conditions.Methods RTECs were cultured in vitro and exposed to HG.The experimental groups included:the control group,the HG group,the HG+dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO)group,the HG+bufalin group,the HG+ferrostatin-1(Fer-1)group,the HG+bufalin+DMSO group and HG+bufalin+erastin group.The expression levels of fibronectin(FN),type Ⅰ collagen(Col Ⅰ),acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4(ACSL4),solute carrier family 7 member 11(SLC7A11)and glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4)were detected using Western blot assay and quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).The potential molecular targets of bufalin were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction,and functional enrichment analysis was conducted using Metascape.FerrDb was employed to analyze ferroptosis-related gene sets.The levels of ferrous ions(Fe2+),malondialdehyde(MDA)and glutathione(GSH)were measured using micro-methods to evaluate the occurrence of ferroptosis.Results Compared with the control group,the mRNA and protein relative expression levels of FN,Col Ⅰand ACSL4 were increased in the HG group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the HG+DMSO group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of FN,Col Ⅰand ACSL4,as well as levels of Fe2+and MDA were decreased in the HG+bufalin group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11,and the level of GSH were increased(P＜0.05).In the HG+Fer-1 group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were increased,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of ACSL4,FN and Col Ⅰ were decreased(P＜0.05).The SwissTargetPrediction database and Metascape analysis function showed that the downstream functions of bufalin were closely related to lipid metabolism,inflammatory response,programmed cell death and ferroptosis-related pathways.The FerrDb analysis results indicated that the target sites of bufalin were closely related to ferroptosis markers.Compared with the HG+bufalin+DMSO group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were decreased in the HG+bufalin+Erastin group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of ACSL4,FN and Col Ⅰ were increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Bufalin attenuates extracellular matrix synthesis in HG-induced RTECs by inhibiting ferroptosis.

Objective To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of bufalin regulating ferroptosis on extracellular matrix synthesis in renal tubular epithelial cells(RTECs)under high glucose(HG)conditions.Methods RTECs were cultured in vitro and exposed to HG.The experimental groups included:the control group,the HG group,the HG+dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO)group,the HG+bufalin group,the HG+ferrostatin-1(Fer-1)group,the HG+bufalin+DMSO group and HG+bufalin+erastin group.The expression levels of fibronectin(FN),type Ⅰ collagen(Col Ⅰ),acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4(ACSL4),solute carrier family 7 member 11(SLC7A11)and glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4)were detected using Western blot assay and quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).The potential molecular targets of bufalin were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction,and functional enrichment analysis was conducted using Metascape.FerrDb was employed to analyze ferroptosis-related gene sets.The levels of ferrous ions(Fe2+),malondialdehyde(MDA)and glutathione(GSH)were measured using micro-methods to evaluate the occurrence of ferroptosis.Results Compared with the control group,the mRNA and protein relative expression levels of FN,Col Ⅰand ACSL4 were increased in the HG group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the HG+DMSO group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of FN,Col Ⅰand ACSL4,as well as levels of Fe2+and MDA were decreased in the HG+bufalin group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11,and the level of GSH were increased(P＜0.05).In the HG+Fer-1 group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were increased,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of ACSL4,FN and Col Ⅰ were decreased(P＜0.05).The SwissTargetPrediction database and Metascape analysis function showed that the downstream functions of bufalin were closely related to lipid metabolism,inflammatory response,programmed cell death and ferroptosis-related pathways.The FerrDb analysis results indicated that the target sites of bufalin were closely related to ferroptosis markers.Compared with the HG+bufalin+DMSO group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GPX4 and SLC7A11 were decreased in the HG+bufalin+Erastin group,while the mRNA and protein expression levels of ACSL4,FN and Col Ⅰ were increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Bufalin attenuates extracellular matrix synthesis in HG-induced RTECs by inhibiting ferroptosis.

Objective:To explore the application of the semi-flipped classroom combined with knowledge point auction learning method in the theoretical teaching among stomatological students and its effectiveness.Methods:Undergraduates from four classes at Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-Sen University were taken as research subjects. Students from two classes ( n=198) were taught using the semi-flipped classroom combined with the knowledge point auction learning method, while students from the other two classes ( n=172) were taught with the regular classroom teaching method as controls. Classroom quizzes were used to compare the two classes' mastery of important and difficult points, and a questionnaire was used to investigate students' feedback on the class outcomes. SPSS 22.0 was used for the independent samples t-test. Results:The mean test score of the experimental class was higher than that of the control class (88.51±11.02 vs. 80.40±8.53). The results of the questionnaire showed that students' interest in the course, comprehension and absorption of knowledge points, degree of satisfaction with the class, and mastery of the contents in sections in the experimental class were significantly higher than those in the control class (7.28±1.51 vs. 9.10±0.73, 6.92±1.44 vs. 8.69±1.62, 6.09±1.87 vs. 7.61±1.46, 6.40±1.04 vs. 7.70±0.86 ).Conclusions:The semi-flipped classroom combined with the knowledge point auction learning method is innovative and achieves good teaching outcomes. It holds promise for wider use in the theoretical teaching of various clinical subjects. To explore the application of the semi-flipped classroom combined with knowledge point auction learning method in the theoretical teaching among stomatological students and its effectiveness.

Objective To investigate the expression of FBXO43in various cancers and its relationship with immune cell infiltration and prognosis using bioinformatics.Methods Gene expression data for 33 cancers were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Genotype-Tissue Expression(GTEx)databases to analyze FBXO43expression.Clinical and survival data were sourced from the TCGA database.Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis(GEPIA)was used to assess the correlation between FBXO43expression and the clinical stage.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between FBXO43expression and prognosis.R lan-guage was used to analyze the associations between FBXO43expression and clinical stages,immune cell infiltration,immune checkpoint genes,tumor mutation burden(TMB),microsatellite instability(MSI),and mismatch repair(MMR)genes.The potential biological mech-anisms of FBXO43were explored using gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA).Moreover,qRT-PCR was performed to measure FBXO43 expression in normal gastric mucosal cells(GES-1),gastric cancer cells(HGC-27,MGC-803,and MKN-45),normal liver cells(LO-2),and liver cancer cells(SMMC-7721,HEPG2,HuH7,and MHCC97-H).Results Combined TCGA and GTEx database statistics revealed higher FBXO43expression in 26 types of cancer tissues,including adrenocortical carcinoma(ACC),bladder urothelial carcinoma,breast invasive carcinoma,cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma,cholangiocarcinoma,colon adenocarcinoma,and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma,than in normal tissues(P<0.05).However,FBXO43expression was lower in three types of cancer tissues:kidney chromophobe(KICH),testicular germ cell tumor(TGCT),and thyroid carcinoma(P<0.05).GEPIA data analysis showed that FBXO43expression positively correlated with the clinical stages of ACC,KICH,kidney renal clear cell carcinoma(KIRC),and kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma(KIRP)and negatively correlated with the clinical stages of ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma(OV)and TGCT(P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that abnormal FBXO43expression was associated with the prognosis of various cancers(P<0.05).Specifically,high FBXO43expression was a risk factor for ACC,KICH,KIRC,KIRP,low-grade glioma,liver hepato-cellular carcinoma,mesothelioma,and sarcoma,but protective in thymoma(THYM).The XCELL algorithm found that FBXO43expres-sion was negatively correlated with immune scores in nine types of cancer tissues,including glioblastoma multiforme,KIRP,acute myeloid leukemia,lung squamous cell carcinoma,and OV,and closely related to immune cell infiltration levels in 24 types of cancer tissues,espe-cially showing a significant negative correlation with most immune cells in SARC(P<0.01).Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between FBXO43and TMB,MSI,and MMR in all cancers.GSEA analysis indicated that FBXO43is involved in the cell cycle and immune-related functions in various tumors.qRT-PCR results showed that FBXO43expression was upregulated in liver cancer cells and downregulated in gastric cancer cells(all P<0.05).Conclusion Abnormal FBXO43expression is closely associated with the occur-rence and progression of multiple cancers.Thus,FBXO43may serve as a novel marker of immune cell infiltration and prognosis,thereby offering new directions for targeted cancer therapy.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of tinnitus in Sichuan and Chongqing. Methods: We designed a tinnitus epidemiological questionnaire. The multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling methods was applied to obtain study subjects in six areas (Nanchong, Jiangjin, Fengdu, Yunyang, Suining and Ya'an), which were selected for epidemiological investigation. Home visit completion of epidemiological questionnaires was conducted. The trained investigators guided the respondents to fill in the tinnitus epidemiological questionnaires, and the epidemiological status of six areas on prevalence and risk factor was investigated. SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: Sampling population were 10 289, in which 9 273 were valid questionnaires. There were 4 281 males and 4 992 females, with an average age of 47.3 years, among which 34.83% (3 230/9 273) had tinnitus. 3.99% (370/9 273) were diagnosed with bothersome tinnitus. In a multivariable logistic regression mod, the following factors were associated with onsetting of tinnitus: sleep disorder [Odds Ratio(OR)=3.74] and noise exposure(OR=1.99). The risk of disease was lowest in the age of 30-40 years old, while the risk of disease was higher for people under 30 and over 40. In another multivariable logistic regression mode, the following factors were associated with having bothersome tinnitus: older people were more likely to suffer from tinnitus, sleep disorders (OR=4.68) and noise exposure (OR=1.56). Conclusions: The prevalence of tinnitus in Sichuan and Chongqing is about 34.83%, but most of the tinnitus is short-lived and has low loudness, which will not affect the patients. Only a small number of patients with tinnitus (3.99%) persist and affect their health and need treatment. The occurrence and exacerbation of tinnitus may be related to sleep, age, and noise exposure.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tinnitus/epidemiology*

To investigate the inhibitory effect of sildenafil on Caco-2 cell proliferation and its anti-inflammatory effect on menadione-induced NCM460 cell inflammation model, MTT assay was used to determine cell proliferation. Intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)and nitric oxide(NO)levels were detected by fluorescent probe. Western blot was used to detect the expression of eNOS/ERK/JNK pathway related proteins in Caco-2 cells and correlated inflammatory cytokines in NCM460 cells. The effect of sildenafil on the growth of two probiotics was determined by spectrophotometry. Results showed that sildenafil signi-ficantly inhibited the proliferation of Caco-2 cells and enhanced the expression levels of eNOS, p-eNOS, p-JNK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 proteins in Caco-2 cells; while after adding NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME), the expression levels of eNOS, p-eNOS, p-JNK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 proteins were significantly lower than those of the sildenafil group. Compared with the menadione group, sildenafil significantly reduced ROS levels in NCM460 cells and inhibited the expression levels of IL-6, IL-1β, p62, and TNF-α. Moreover, high concentrations of sildenafil had no obvious toxic effects on Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Thus, the results indicated that sildenafil could effectively inhibit the intestinal inflammatory response without affecting the balance of the intestinal flora, and prevent colorectal cancer by reducing the oxidative stress responses in the intestinal cells.