This article systematically analyzed the historical evolution of the origin， scientific name， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing， and other aspects of Quisqualis Fructus by consulting the ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books， local literature and combining with the modern literature and standards， summarized and explored the development rules of its medicinal properties and efficacy along with their underlying causes， in order to provide support for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. According to the textual research， Shijunzi was first recorded as Liuqiuzi in Nanfang Caomuzhuang of the Jin dynasty， and the name of Shijunzi was first used in Kaibao Bencao of the Song dynasty， which has been consistently used throughout subsequent dynasties， and there were also aliases such as Junziren， Sijunzi， and Dujilizi. The mainstream source of Quisqualis Fructus used in the past dynasties has been the dried mature fruits of Quisqualis indica， a plant belonging to the family Combretaceae. In modern times， its variety Q. indica var. villosa has also been recorded as the medicinal material of Quisqualis Fructus. In 2007， the Flora of China（English edition） designated Q. indica var. villosa as a synonym of Q. indica. Today， the accepted name of Shijunzi is updated to Combretum indicum. According to ancient herbal records， the producing areas of Quisqualis Fructus were Guangdong， Hong Kong， Macao， Guangxi， Hainan， Sichuan and Fujian， and then gradually expanded to Yunnan， Taiwan， Jiangxi and Guizhou. Since the Song dynasty， two major production regions have gradually emerged in Sichuan， Chongqing and Fujian. Currently， it is primarily cultivated in Chongqing， Guangxi and other areas， with Chongqing yielding the highest output. Since modern times， superior quality has been defined by large size， a purple-black surface， plump grains， and a yellowish-white kernel. According to ancient herbal records， the harvesting period of Quisqualis Fructus was the July and August of the lunar calendar， mostly used raw after shelling or with the shell intact， it underwent processing methods such as cleaning， slicing， mixing， steaming， roasting， stewing， and frying. Currently， the harvesting period is autumn， followed by sun-drying or low-heat drying， with processing methods including cleaning， stir-frying， and stewing. In ancient and modern literature， the records of the properties， functions and indications of Quisqualis Fructus are basically the same， that is， sweet in taste， warm in nature， predominantly non-toxic， belonging to the spleen and stomach meridians. It possesses effects of insecticide， decontamination and invigorating spleen for ascariasis， enterobiasis， abdominal pain due to worm accumulation and infantile malnutrition.The contraindications for use primarily include avoiding consumption by individuals without parasitic infestations， limiting use for those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold， refraining from drinking hot tea during medication， and avoiding excessive intake. Based on the textual research， it is suggested that the dried mature fruits of Q. indica should be used as the medicinal material for the development of famous classical formulas containing Quisqualis Fructus. Processing methods may be chosen according to prescription requirements， and the raw products is recommended for medicinal use if not specified.

Acupotomy therapy demonstrates the definite clinical efficacy on knee osteoarthritis (KOA). After reviewing systematically the mechanism studies on acupotomy for KOA over the past 5 years, It is revealed that acupotomy synergistically intervenes in the pathological progression of KOA through multi-target approaches, such as regulating cartilage homeostasis, restoring skeletal muscle function, alleviating synovial inflammatory responses, remodeling subchondral bone, and neuromodulation. But the current research still limits to single-tissue phenotypic observation, and is insufficiency in the in-depth exploration of multi-tissue synergistic interactions and molecular upstream-downstream regulatory mechanisms. Future studies should focus on the inheritance and innovation of acupotomy theory, and integrating multi-omics analytical technologies, artificial intelligence, and novel biochemical detection methods. The mechanism research targets on the interaction mechanisms among tissues, direct effects of acupotomy, immune-inflammatory regulatory mechanisms, and analgesic mechanisms, so as to comprehensively elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of acupotomy for KOA.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/genetics* ; Animals

Purpose: Tamoxifen showed individual differences in efficacy under different CYP2D6*10 genotypes. Our study evaluated the prognosis of tamoxifen or toremifene in hormone receptor (HR)–positive breast cancer patients under different genotypes. Materials and Methods: CYP2D6*10 genotypes of HR-positive breast cancer patients were determined by Sanger sequencing, and all the patients were divided into tamoxifen group or toremifene group. Results: A total of 268 patients with HR-positive breast cancer were studied. The median follow-up time was 72.0 months (range, 5.0 to 88.0 months). Of these, 88 (32.9%), 114 (42.5%), and 66 (24.6%) patients had C/C, C/T, and T/T genotypes, respectively. Among patients who received tamoxifen (n=176), the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate in patients with C/C and C/T genotype was better than that in patients with T/T genotype, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001 and p=0.030, respectively). In patients receiving toremifene, CYP2D6*10 genotype was not significantly associated with DFS (p=0.325). Regardless of genotypes, the 5-year DFS rate was higher in patients treated with toremifene than in patients with tamoxifen (91.3% vs. 80.0%, p=0.011). Compared with tamoxifen, toremifene remained an independent prognostic marker of DFS in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 0.422; p=0.021). For all the 180 patients with CYP2D6*10 C/T and T/T genotypes, the 5-year DFS rate was significantly higher in the toremifene group than in the tamoxifen group (90.8% vs. 70.1%, p=0.003). Conclusion Toremifene may be an alternative adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with CYP2D6*10 mutant genotypes.

42 cases with gastroesophageal varices were prospectively included. The groups were treated with endoscopic band ligation or combined with tissue adhesive. The results showed that the left gastric vein internal diameter, average blood flow velocity and blood flow volume after the treatment of band ligation combined with tissue adhesive were significantly lower than that of the treatment of band ligation alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Spleen and portal vein internal diameter, blood flow and average velocity, the liver and spleen size, shear wave velocity and liver function grade of the two groups after treatment did not change significantly ( P > 0.05). The effective rate of band ligation combined with tissue adhesive in the treatment of esophageal and gastric varices (66.67%, 52.38%) were higher than that of band ligation alone (42.85%, 23.81%) ( P > 0.05), and the re-bleeding rate of the latter was higher (9.52% and 19.05%, P > 0.05). Hence, it is suggested that the combined therapy is safe and more effective, and has no apparent effect on liver function and portal hypertension.

Maffucci syndrome is characterized by multiple enchondromas and multiple hemangiomas. Here we report on a 24-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Maffucci syndrome. Our report reviews the literature and outlines of the treatment and management plans for patients with this rare and potentially dangerous disease.

Objective To optimize the process of ultrasonic extraction of polysaccharide in Anoectochilus roxburghii and to investigate the method of protein removal. Methods The extraction rate of polysaccharide was used as the detection index. On the basis of single factor investigation, Box-Behnken experimental design and response surface method were used to optimize the three factors of material-liquid ratio, ultrasonic time and ultrasonic extraction temperature. The five deproteinization methods including Sevage reagent method, TCA method, salt method (NaOH-CaCl₂ and NaOH-NaCl) and hydrochloric acid method were investigated with the retention rate of polysaccharide and protein removal rate. Results The optimal extraction conditions of polysaccharide from Anoectochilus roxburghii were as follows: liquid-to-solid ratio was 10∶1, extraction temperature was 48 ℃ and extraction time was 36 min with extraction 2 times, ultrasonic power was 300 W, the extraction rate was 13.13%. NaOH-CaCl₂ deproteinized methods∶ the loss rate of polysaccharide was 18.74%, and the removal rate of protein was 95.62%. Conclusion Ultrasonic extraction is easy to operate, and the optimized extraction method can achieve a high extraction rate. NaOH-CaCl₂ deproteinization methods can get high protein removal rate and polysaccharide retention rate. This method is suitable for the research and development of the active components of the polysaccharides from Anoectochilus roxburghii.

Transcriptome sequencing was performed for the first time on Anoectochilus roxburghii(AR)in different harvesting periods using RNA-seq high-throughput sequencing technique, and the results were verified and analyzed by Q-PCR and HPLC. A total of 51, 370 genes were obtained by transcriptome sequencing and annotated to the database of Nr, GO, Swiss-Prot, KEGG and KOG. The species that were sequenced according to the homology sequence were the same as AR monocotyledon plants. Through comparison of AR transcriptome in different periods, it was found that the differences were mainly in flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes. The expression levels of flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes(trans-cinnamate 4-monooxygenase, caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, chalcone synthase, flavonol synthase, shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase and flavonoid 3′, 5′-hydroxylase)were verified by Q-PCR, and the results were consistent with those of transcriptome sequencing. The contents of 6 flavonoids(rutin, isoquercitrin, narcissin, quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnrtin)were determined by HPLC. The results showed that the expression of flavonoid synthetic gene in AR increased with the growth time, and the variation trend of flavonoid compound content and gene expression were basically consistent. Combined with transcriptome data, the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoid content in AR was plotted. This study provides important genetic resources for the key genes of flavonoid synthesis in AR and the biosynthesis of flavonoids, as well as the basis for the development of its medicinal value.

In this study, a rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed for the determination of 10 major compounds (procyanidin B1, catechin, procyanidin B2, rutin, isoquercitrin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, astragalin, quercitrin, quercetin, and kaempferol) in Tetrastigma hemsleyanum by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. UPLC-MS/MS assay with negative ion mode was performed on a Waters CORTECS C18 (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.6 μm) with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% aqueous formic acid (B) in gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.25 mL · min(-1) and the column temperature was set at 45 °C. Under the optimized chromatographic conditions, good separation for 10 target compounds were obtained including chiral isomer procyanidins B1 and B2 were completely separated within 8.5 min. Satisfactory linearity was achieved with wide linear range and fine determination coefficient (r > 0.996 6), the overall recoveries were ranged from 95.44%-110.40% with the RSD ranging from 2.37%-8.69%. It is the first report about simultaneous analysis of 10 major flavonoids components in Tetrastigma hemsleyanum by using UPLC-MS/MS method, which affords highly sensitive, specific, speedy and efficient method for quality control of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum

Objectives To investigate the effects of glucose on apoptosis rate of cultured endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs). Methods The peripheral blood of healthy adults was isolated by density gradient centrifugation, and mononuclear cells (MNCs) were inducted to differentiate at cultured conditions.EPCs were identified by Dil-acLDL and FITC-UEA-1 as double fluorescent-positive cells. The effectsof glucose at different concentrations on apoptosis rate of the harvested EPCs were measured by fluorescent microscope and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) after staining with Annexin V-FITC and PI. Results No significant differences were observed in apoptosis rate between samples treatedwith 5.6mmol/l glucose and 11. 1 mmol/l. P ＞0. 05). 25.5 mmol/L glucose enhanced the EPCsapoptosis rate in a time-dependent manner( P ＜0. 05). Conclusion High concentration glucose can accelerate apoptosis rate of EPCs in a time-dependent manner.