ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and possible mechanism of Wei's Huoxue Tongluo Formula （韦氏活血通络方，WHTF） in treating atrophic-stage non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy （NAION） with qi deficiency and blood stasis. MethodsA total of 82 atrophic-stage NAION patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group， with 41 cases in each group. The treatment group was given oral administration of WHTF twice a day plus acupoint injection of distilled water 2 ml at Taiyang （EX-HN5） once daily， while the control group received injection of compound anisodine injection 2 ml at Taiyang （EX-HN5） once daily and oral administration of WHTF placebo twice a day. Both groups received treatment for a course of 14 days. The best-corrected visual acuity （BCVA）， optic disc perfusion density （PD）， flux index （FI）， macular superficial PD， vascular density （VD）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores were compared between groups before treatment and on day 7 and day 14 of treatment. Additionally， mean defect （MD） and mean sensitivity （MS） of visual fields were measured before treatment and on day 14， along with safety evaluation. ResultsAfter treatment， both groups showed significant improvement in BCVA， visual field MD and MS， and TCM syndrome scores （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. On day 14 of treatment， the TCM syndrome score in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group （P＜0.05）. There was no significant improvement in optic disc PD and FI， and macular superficial PD and VD after treatment in either group （P＞0.05） except that on day 7 the macular superficial foveal PD in the control group was significantly better than that in the treatment group （P＜0.05）. During the treatment period， no serious adverse events occurred in either group. ConclusionWHTF can improve the visual function indicators including visual acuity and visual field， as well as TCM syndrome scores in atrophic-stage NAION patients with qi deficiency and blood stasis. It shows clinical safety， although it does not appear to have a significant effect on optic disc or macular blood flow.

Objective To compare the performance of seasonal difference autoregressive moving average exogenous variable model (SARIMAX), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), long short-term memory network (LSTM), and various combination models in fitting and predicting the incidence of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), and to provide a reference for optimizing HFMD prediction and prevention and control decisions. Methods Taking the monthly HFMD incidence data in Changsha from 2010 to 2024 as the training set, and the monthly HFMD incidence data from January to August 2025 as the validation set, the single models, SARIMAX-BPNN, SARIMAX-LSTM and weight combination models were constructed respectively. The R², mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the model fitting and prediction performance. Results Based solely on MAPE, the LSTM model showed the best fitting and prediction performance. A comprehensive analysis of multiple indicators including R², MAPE, MAE, and RMSE indicated that the combination models had superior prediction performance. Compared with the LSTM, RMSE predicted by equal weight combination, different weight combination and SARIMAX-BPNN decreased by 40.97%, 37.50%, and 25.00%, respectively, while MAPE increased by 124.84%, 96.90%, and 89.69%, respectively. The fitting effect was as follows: LSTM > unequal weight combination > equal weight combination > SARIMAX-LSTM > SARIMAX-BPNN > BPNN > SARIMAX. The prediction performance was as follows: SARIMAX-BPNN > unequal weight combination > equal weight combination > LSTM > SARIMAX-LSTM > BPNN > SARIMAX. Conclusion SARIMAX-BPNN combination or weighted combination of multiple different models are two more robust combination strategies for predicting the incidence trend of hand, foot and mouth disease in Changsha.

Objective To develop a predictive model for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) following video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in lung cancer patients by integrating cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters and machine learning techniques. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer who underwent CPET and VATS at Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital between October 2021 and July 2023. Patients were divided into a PPC group and a non-PPC group. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select important features associated with PPC. Six machine learning algorithms were utilized to construct prediction models, including logistic regression, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, random forest, gradient boosting machine, and extreme gradient boosting. The optimal model was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Results A total of 325 patients were included, with an average age of 60.36 years, and 55.1% were male. Significant differences were observed between the PPC and non-PPC groups in age, diabetes, coronary heart disease, surgical approach, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FVC% predicted, peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2), anaerobic threshold (AT), and ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide slope (VE/VCO2 slope) (P<0.05). In the predictive model constructed by selecting 7 key features using LASSO regression, the random forest model demonstrated the best overall performance across various metrics, with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.930, an F1 score of 0.836, and a Brier score of 0.133 in the training set. It also exhibited good predictive ability and calibration in the test set. SHAP analysis ranked feature importance as follows: peak VO2, VE/VCO2 slope, age, FEV1, smoking history, diabetes, and surgical approach. Conclusion Integrating CPET parameters, the random forest model can effectively identify high-risk patients for PPC and has the potential for clinical application.

Tropical diseases, the transmission of which is affected by multiple natural and social factors, pose a great challenge to global public health, notably in African countries. During the past several decades, China and African countries have continuously collaborated for the control of neglected tropical diseases and malaria, which has become an important part of global South-to-South cooperation and global health governance. This article reviews the history of China-Africa cooperation for tropical diseases control, summarizes the experiences and achievements over the past decade, analyzes the current challenges in the coopera tion, and proposes future recommendations. The China-Africa cooperation has achieved significant progress in the control of tropical diseases, such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and filariasis, and established a China-Africa cooperation network for tropical diseases control. Through the "Three-Step" strategy of China-Africa cooperation, the effectiveness of China's integrated control strategies has been validated in Africa, and the application of China's tropical disease control technologies has been promoted in African disease-epidemic countries. Currently, China-Africa collaboration, however, still experiences multiple realistic challenges, such as insufficient resources, difficulty in technology transfer, and weak primary healthcare systems. In the future, both sides are recommended to further strengthen policy coordination, deepen technological cooperation, innovate cooperation models, aiming to continuously promote the high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation for tropical diseases control.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association of the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome types of primary liver cancer （PLC） with clinical features and multimodal quantitative radiological features on computed tomography （CT） and magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）， and to provide a reference for the objectification of TCM syndrome differentiation and precise diagnosis and treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 312 patients who were diagnosed with PLC in The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine from March 2020 to June 2025， and according to the TCM syndrome type， they were divided into stagnation of liver Qi group with 40 patients， stagnation of liver Qi and spleen deficiency group with 109 patients， Qi stagnation and blood stasis group with 62 patients， dampness-heat toxin amassment group with 81 patients， and liver-kidney Yin deficiency group with 20 patients. Clinical features and multimodal quantitative radiological features were compared between the patients with different TCM syndrome types. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the Dunn’s multiple test was used for further comparison between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups， and the Bonferroni method was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the patients with different TCM syndrome types in China liver cancer staging （CNLC）， Child-Pugh class， alanine aminotransferase， aspartate aminotransferase， albumin， direct bilirubin， total bilirubin， prothrombin time， neutrophil， and albumin-bilirubin score （all P<0.05）. In the stagnation of liver Qi group， the patients with Child-Pugh class A accounted for 75.00%； among the patients with CNLC stage I PLC， the patients with stagnation of liver Qi accounted for 60.00%， and those with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome accounted for 59.68%， while among the patients with CNLC stage IV PLC， the distribution proportion of dampness-heat toxin amassment （27.16%） and liver-kidney Yin deficiency （30.00%） was significantly higher than that of stagnation of liver Qi （2.50%） （all P<0.05）. Radiological examination showed that there were significant differences between the patients with different TCM syndrome types in the number of tumors， ascites， venous tumor thrombus， maximum tumor diameter， intrahepatic metastasis， and lymph node metastasis in the hepatic hilar and retroperitoneal regions （all P<0.05）. Compared with the patients with stagnation of liver Qi， the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency or liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to develop intrahepatic metastasis； the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency， dampness-heat toxin amassment， or liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to develop lymph node metastasis in the hepatic hilar and retroperitoneal regions； the patients with liver-kidney Yin deficiency were more likely to experience multiple tumors； the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency or dampness-heat toxin amassment were more likely to develop ascites （all P<0.05）. Compared with the patients with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome， the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency had a significantly longer maximum tumor diameter and a significantly higher proportion of patients with venous tumor thrombus （both P<0.05）. Furthermore， among the 184 patients with MRI diffusion-weighted imaging sequences， the patients with dampness-heat toxin amassment or Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome had significantly higher ADC values and relative ADC values than those with stagnation of liver Qi （all P<0.05）. ConclusionThere are significant differences in CT/MRI radiological features and clinical features between PLC patients with different TCM syndrome types， among whom the patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency， dampness-heat toxin amassment， and liver-kidney Yin deficiency tend to exhibit progressive radiological features， and those with dampness-heat toxin amassment or Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome tend to have higher ADC values. These findings provide an objective basis for TCM syndrome differentiation in PLC.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the Qishen Liuwei presoription for senile hypertension complicated with frailty （of Qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern， or deficiency of both spleen and kidney pattern）. MethodsA single-center， randomized controlled clinical trial design was employed in this study. Sixty-four eligible patients， treated at the Cardiology Outpatient Clinic of Dongfang Hospital， Beijing University of Chinese Medicine between June 2024 and February 2025， were randomly allocated into an observation group or a control group， with 32 patients in each group. Both groups received standard conventional antihypertensive therapy， while the observation group additionally received the Qishen Liuwei Formula （one dose per day， in separate servings in the morning and evening）. For both groups， a treatment course consisted of 4 weeks， followed by a 2-month follow-up period. Then， the primary indicator （Fried frailty phenotype scores）， along with secondary indicators including traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores and changes in blood pressure were observed before and after treatment. ResultsRegarding Fried frailty phenotype scores， the observation group exhibited significantly improved grip strength， 4.57 m walk time， the duration of weekly walks， ''effort required for any activity''， and ''inability to walk forward'' after treatment， while only the latter two indicators were significantly improved in the control group （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group， the observation group demonstrated significantly superior improvement in the duration of weekly walks， ''effort required for any activity''， and frailty （P<0.05）. For total TCM syndrome scores， both groups displayed significantly decreased total TCM syndrome scores （P<0.05） after treatment， and the decrease was more significant in the observation group （P<0.05）. Regarding office blood pressure， both groups showed significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure after treatment， while the observation group also showed significantly decreased systolic blood pressure （P<0.05）. During treatment， one case of facial rash occurred in the observation group， representing an adverse reaction rate of 3.13% （1/32）. The rash resolved one week after discontinuation of medication. No adverse reactions occurred in the control group during treatment. No statistically significant difference was observed in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups. ConclusionFor senile hypertension complicated with frailty， the Qishen Liuwei presoription effectively improves physical activity， muscle strength， frailty-related symptoms， and TCM syndrome remission. When combined with Western medicine， the Formula contributes to stable blood pressure control and demonstrates a favorable clinical safety profile， indicating its clinical application potential.

Aim To explore the role and mechanism of epimedokoreanin B(EKB)in HepaRG cell pyroptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress and NLRP1-me-diated pyroptosis pathway.Methods The effect of EKB on the viability of HepaRG cells at different con-centrations was determined by MTT assay,and the cell growth status was recorded by Incucyte.Four groups of HepaRG cells were set up.The control group was cul-tured with complete medium for 24 h;the drug admin-istration group was cultured with three concentration gradients of 6.25,12.5 and 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB for 24 h.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and pyroptosis-related proteins in the cells of each group.Results HepaRG cells showed cytotoxicity at a concentration of 6.25 μmol·L-1 for 24 h,and the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was 12.41 μmol·L-1.Incucyte recordings of the cell growth status showed that the cells in the control group were in good growth status,and the vesicular pyropto-sis cells appeared in the different concentrations of EKB and the cells swelled and ruptured after 24 h.Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins pERK,eIF-2α,ATF-4,GRP78,and CHOP significantly in-creased in HepaRG cells at 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB compared with the control group.The proteins of the classical pathway of cellular pyroptosis mediated by NLRP1,caspase-1,cleaved caspase-1,GSDMD,GS-DMD-N significantly increased in HepaRG cells.Con-clusion EKB administration induces HepaRG cell py-roptosis,and EKB activates HepaRG cells to undergo endoplasmic reticulum stress and activates the NLRP1/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis pathway.

Objective:To analyze the effect of meridian scraping combined with thunder fire moxibustion in improving the motor function and hemorheology of patients with shoulder hand syndrome (SHS) after ischemic stroke, in order to provide reference for clinical intervention of SHS patients after ischemic stroke.Methods:A prospective study was conducted using a simple random sampling method to select SHS patients after ischemic stroke admitted to Shijiazhuang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to June 2023, and were randomly divided into two groups. The thunder-fire moxibustion group were given routine nursing and thunder-fire moxibustion therapy, and the combined group were additionally given scraping therapy along meridians on the basis of thunder-fire moxibustion group. The Upper Limb Fugl-Meyer Motor Function Assessment Scale (U-FMA) score, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) score, shoulder joint activity score, hemorheological indicators (hematocrit, plasma viscosity, platelet adhesion rate) and activities of daily living (Barthel Index), etc. were compared between two groups before and after intervention.Results:Finally, 86 patients with SHS after ischemic stroke were included, with 42 patients in the thunder-fire moxibustion group, including 25 males and 17 females, aged (59.37 ± 7.64) years; 44 patients in the combined group, including 24 males and 20 females, aged (59.52 ± 7.61) years. Before intervention, there was no statistical significance in U-FMA score, VAS score, ARAT score, shoulder joint activity score, hemorheology index level and Barthel Index between two groups (all P>0.05). After intervention, the U-FMA score, ARAT score and Barthel Index in the combined group were (48.21 ± 4.85), (40.22 ± 4.64), (56.43 ± 9.76) points, respectively, which were higher than (44.56 ± 4.23), (35.98 ± 4.37), (51.97 ± 8.31) points in the thunder-fire moxibustion group, the differences were statistically significant ( t =3.71, 4.36, 2.28, all P<0.05). The VAS score, shoulder joint mobility score, blood cell volume, plasma viscosity and platelet adhesion rate in the combined group were (2.44 ± 0.87) points, (1.23 ± 0.25) points, 0.44 ± 0.02, (1.35 ± 0.32) mPa·s, (53.56 ± 5.71)%, respectively, which were lower than (3.05 ± 0.99) points, (1.58 ± 0.22) points, 0.46 ± 0.02, (1.72 ± 0.36) mPa·s, (62.53 ± 5.94)% in the thunder-fire moxibustion group, the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 3.04-7.14, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Scraping along meridians combined with thunder-fire moxibustion therapy can achieve good intervention effect in patients with SHS after ischemic stroke, improve the upper limb motor function and hemorheology of patients, and enhance the activities of daily living.

Aim To study the difference in hepatotox-icity of psoralen on normal rats and Yin-deficiency rats from the perspective of lipid metabolism,so as to help explain the mechanism of psoralen cautiously used in patients with Yin deficiency recorded in ancient books.Methods SD rats were randomly divided into the nor-mal control group(carboxymethyl cellulose-Na,CMC-Na),normal administration group(CMC-Na+psor-alen),Yin-deficiency control group(CMC-Na+thy-roxine)and Yin-deficiency administration group(CMC-Na+thyroxine+psoralen).The model of Yin-deficiency was established by thyroxine(1 mg·kg-1)for ten days,and then psoralen(200 mg·kg-1)was given for three days.The serum indexes related to liver injury were detected by automatic biochemical analy-zer,the morphological changes of liver tissue were ob-served using HE and oil red O staining,and the relative transcription levels of lipid metabolism related enzymes and mRNA of transporter and endoplasmic reticulum stress related factors were detected using Real-time PCR.Results After intragastric administration of psoralen for three days,compared with the normal group,the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate transaminase(AST),total bile acid(TBA)and triglyeride(TG)in Yin deficiency group increased more significantly,while TC,ALB and TP de-creased more significantly,and liver HE and oil red O staining showed more obvious lipid degeneration.TG synthesis factors adrenocortical carcinoma(ACC),fatty acid synthase(FASN)and sterolregulatory element binding protein-1(SREBP-1)were down-regulated more significantly,TG transport factors mili-total pro-tein(MTP)and lipoprotein pipase(LPL)were down-regulated more evidently,fatty acid β-oxidation related factors carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A(CPT1A),carnitine/organic cation transporter 2(OCTN2)and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors-alpha(PPARα)were down-regulated more apparently,TC transporter adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporter G8(ABCG8)and bile acid receptor farne-soid X receptor(FXR)were down-regulated more ob-viously,and endoplasmic reticulum stress factor activa-ting transcription factor 4(ATF4)was up-regulated more significantly.Conclusions Psoralen can cause more severe hepatotoxicity in Yin deficiency rats than that in normal administration group,and its mechanism may be related to the disorder of hepatic lipid metabo-lism,aggravation of hepatic cholestasis and steatosis,and activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress re-sponse.

BACKGROUND:With aging,the regenerative capacity and differentiation function of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells progressively decline,reducing bone tissue repair efficacy.Thus,identifying bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell subpopulations with enhanced osteogenic potential is of significant importance for advancing bone tissue engineering.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the osteogenic differentiation potential differences between STRO-1 positive and negative bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells under osteogenic induction conditions.METHODS:SD rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and cultured.The expression of CD29,CD45,CD90,and STRO-1 was identified via flow cytometry and immunofluorescence.Immunomagnetic cell sorting was used to separate STRO-1 positive and negative bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.The cells of two groups were subjected to osteogenic induction for 7 and 14 days.qRT-PCR and western blotting were performed to analyze differences in osteogenesis-related gene expression(Collagen I,Runt-related transcription factor 2,osteoprotegerin,and osteocalcin)and protein levels.Alizarin red staining and alkaline phosphatase staining were used to observe calcium nodule formation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Flow cytometry showed high expression levels of CD29 and CD90 and low expression of CD45,with a positive STRO-1 expression rate of 12.8％.Immunofluorescence results were consistent with those of flow cytometry.After magnetic cell sorting,STRO-1 positive cells demonstrated a higher colony formation rate than STRO-1 negative cells.On day 14,STRO-1 positive cells showed significantly higher osteogenic differentiation potential than on day 7,with significantly elevated osteogenesis-related marker levels compared to STRO-1 negative cells(P＜0.01).The findings indicate that STRO-1 positive bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells exhibit significant advantages in osteogenic potential,providing a theoretical basis for their selection as ideal seed cells in bone tissue engineering.In future applications,they may represent a promising therapeutic approach for bone defect repair.