Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) resources are the essential material foundation for the development of TCM. The national survey of TCM resources serves as a periodic summary of these resources, ensuring the continuity, prosperity, and development of TCM in China. Since 1949, four national surveys of TCM resources have been conducted. The fourth survey incorporated an investigation into traditional knowledge related to TCM resources, including the traditional medicinal knowledge of Chinese ethnic minorities, with the goal of systematically exploring, preserving, and inheriting this knowledge. This manuscript provides an overview of the basic findings from the first three national surveys of TCM resources, while also clarifying the concepts, categories, forms, carriers, and acquisition pathways of traditional knowledge related to TCM resources. A preliminary summary of the findings from traditional knowledge investigations reported in current literature is also presented. Based on the fourth survey, this manuscript emphasizes the urgency of developing public medical knowledge through empirically-based investigations, the excavation, and compilation of traditional knowledge. It also outlines the potential for conducting "precise" investigations based on first-hand data obtained from the survey, as well as facilitating the discovery and evaluation of new medicines using traditional knowledge related to ethnic minority medicinal practices. This manuscript is expected to provide valuable insights for promoting the health and industrial development of ethnic minority populations in the post-"survey" phase.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; China/ethnology* ; Minority Groups ; Ethnicity ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice/ethnology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The chemical constituents of the chloroform extract of the 90% methanol extract obtained from the dried branches and leaves of Croton lauioides were investigated. By using silica gel column chromatography, C_(18 )column chromatography, MCI column chromatography, and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), six compounds were isolated. Their structures were identified as lauioidine(1), 2α-methoxy-8α-hydroxy-6-oxogermacra-1(10),7(11)-dien-8,12-olide(2), myrrhanolide B(3), gossweilone(4), 6β,7β-epox-4α-hydroxyguaian-10-ene(5), and 4(15)-eudesmane-1β,5α-diol(6) by analyzing the HR-ESI-MS, IR, ECD, 1D NMR and 2D NMR data, as well as their physicochemical properties. All compounds were isolated from C. lauioides for the first time, among which compound 1 is a new nor-clerodane diterpenoid.
Croton/chemistry* ; Diterpenes, Clerodane/isolation & purification* ; Molecular Structure ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

In the context of Pharma 4.0, the design tools that support the pharmaceutical Quality by Design(QbD) are iterating fast toward intelligent or smart design. The conventional development methods for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) preparations have the limitations such as over dependence on experience, low dimensions for the designed experiment parameters, poor compatibility between the process and equipment, and high trial-and-error cost during process scale-up. Therefore, this paper innovatively proposed the intelligent co-design involving material, process, and equipment for manufacturing high-quality TCM preparations, and introduced the design philosophy, targets, tools, and applications with TCM oral solid dosage(OSD) as an example. In terms of design philosophy, the pharmaceutical design tetrahedron composed of critical material attributes, critical process parameters, critical equipment attributes, and critical quality attributes was developed. The design targets were put forward based on the product performance classification system. The design tools involve a design platform that contains several modules, such a as the iTCM material database, the processing route classification system, the system modeling and simulation, and reliability-based optimization. The roles of different modules in obtaining essential and universal design knowledge of the key common manufacturing units were introduced. At last, the applications of the co-design methodology involving material, process, and equipment in the high shear wet granulation process development and the improvement of the dissolving or dispersion capability of TCM formula granules are illustrated. The research on advanced pharmaceutical design theory and methodology will help enhance the efficiency and reliability of drug development, improve the product quality, and promote the innovation of high-end TCM products across the industry.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results ; Quality Control ; Computer Simulation ; Commerce ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

This study aimed to explore key quality control factors that affected the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in Chinese mainland over six years (2015-2020). The data for this study were from 31 provincial and municipal hospitals (3425 hospital ICUs) and included 2 110 685 ICU patients, for a total of 27 607 376 ICU hospitalization days. We found that 15 initially established quality control indicators were good predictors of patient prognosis, including percentage of ICU patients out of all inpatients (%), percentage of ICU bed occupancy of total inpatient bed occupancy (%), percentage of all ICU inpatients with an APACHE II score ⩾15 (%), three-hour (surviving sepsis campaign) SSC bundle compliance (%), six-hour SSC bundle compliance (%), rate of microbe detection before antibiotics (%), percentage of drug deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis (%), percentage of unplanned endotracheal extubations (%), percentage of patients reintubated within 48 hours (%), unplanned transfers to the ICU (%), 48-h ICU readmission rate (%), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (per 1000 ventilator days), catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) (per 1000 catheter days), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) (per 1000 catheter days), in-hospital mortality (%). When exploratory factor analysis was applied, the 15 indicators were divided into 6 core elements that varied in weight regarding quality evaluation: nosocomial infection management (21.35%), compliance with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines (17.97%), ICU resources (17.46%), airway management (15.53%), prevention of deep-vein thrombosis (14.07%), and severity of patient condition (13.61%). Based on the different weights of the core elements associated with the 15 indicators, we developed an integrated quality scoring system defined as F score=21.35%xnosocomial infection management + 17.97%xcompliance with SSC guidelines + 17.46%×ICU resources + 15.53%×airway management + 14.07%×DVT prevention + 13.61%×severity of patient condition. This evidence-based quality scoring system will help in assessing the key elements of quality management and establish a foundation for further optimization of the quality control indicator system.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross Infection/epidemiology* ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data* ; Quality Control ; Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; East Asian People/statistics & numerical data*

Humans ; Gemcitabine ; Neoplasms

Objective To assess the psychological status of staff at the centers for disease control and prevention(CDC) in Sichuan during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) and explore the influencing factors. Methods The staff at Sichuan provincial,municipal,and county(district)-level CDC were selected by convenience sampling.Their basic information,work status,training status,work difficulties,and support from the work group were collected from the self-filled questionnaires online.The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and the 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire were respectively employed to measure the anxiety and depression of the staff.The stepwise Logistic regression was carried out to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety and depression in CDC staff. Results Among the 653 staff,58.35% and 50.06% presented anxiety and depression,respectively.The regression results showed that age(OR=0.95,95%CI=0.92-0.97) and mental support from the work group(OR=0.61,95%CI=0.45-0.82) were the protective factors while physical fatigue(OR=1.82,95%CI=1.20-2.74),work pressure(OR=1.61,95%CI=1.21-2.12),and insufficient protective equipment(OR=1.92,95%CI=1.06-3.49) were the risk factors for depression of CDC staff.Age(OR=0.97,95%CI=0.94-0.99),length of sleep per day(OR=0.74,95%CI=0.56-0.96),and participation in technical training(OR=0.33,95%CI=0.12-0.95) were the protective factors while mental fatigue(OR=1.68,95%CI=1.18-2.41),work pressure(OR=2.94,95%CI=2.08-4.17),and unclear incentive system for overtime(OR=1.99,95%CI=1.23-3.23) were the risk factors for the anxiety of CDC staff. Conclusion The anxiety and depression status of CDC staff during the COVID-19 outbreak were worrying,which were mainly affected by age,sleep,supply of protective equipment,incentive system,fatigue,and work pressure.
Anxiety/epidemiology* ; COVID-19 ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; United States

Three sesquiterpenoids were isolated and purified from the 95% ethanol extract of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma by column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, ODS, and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Their chemical structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and physiochemical properties as(7Z)-8β,13-diacetoxy-eudesma-4(15),7(11)-diene(1), 7-oxo-7,8-secoeudesma-4(15),11-dien-8-oic acid(2), and guai-10(14)-en-11-ol(3). Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds and compound 3 was obtained from Compositae family for the first time. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 showed weak inhibitory activities against sterol regulatory element-binding proteins(SREBPs).
Atractylodes/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Sesquiterpenes, Eudesmane/pharmacology* ; Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors*

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, there have been concerns about the impact of vaccines on people's fertility, including the fertility of those who are currently preparing for pregnancy and those who might become pregnant in future. However, there is still a lack of research on the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility, and it is not surprising that couples and donors have concerns regarding vaccination. In this study, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine semen quality before and after receipt of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. There were no statistically significant changes in semen parameters (volume, sperm concentration, progressive motility, and total progressive motile count) after two doses of vaccine (all P > 0.05). In summary, our study updates the most recent studies on the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility, and the information from this study could be used to guide fertility recommendations for assisted reproductive technology (ART) patients and donors.
COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, Inactivated

Objective: To analyze the association of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the Chinese middle-aged and elderly population from four provinces. Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline data of the Community-based Cohort Study on Nervous System Disease 2018-2019. We selected 3 272 subjects aged 55 and above with completed information on demographics, lifestyle, disease history, cognitive test, psychological assessment, and bio-chemistries measurement, and who were capable of performing basic activities of daily living but without Alzheimer's disease during recruitment. A multivariate logistic regression model was employed to analyze the association between FPG and MCI. Results: Median level of FPG in the study population was 5.5 mmol/L. The prevalence of MCI was 24.8%, and those in groups of the FPG quintile were 19.4%, 22.2%, 29.2%, 26.6%, and 26.1%, respectively, which significantly increased the trend (P=0.002). After adjustment of confounders, multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the MCI risk of subjects in the Q₃,Q₄ and Q₅ groups was 1.641 (95%CI: 1.226-2.131), 1.373 (95%CI: 1.036-1.825), 1.402 (95%CI: 1.054-1.871) times as high as that in the Q₁ group, respectively. Conclusion: High FPG level might serve as a risk factor for MCI in the middle-aged and elderly population, suggesting the importance of monitoring and controlling plasma glucose even without diabetes.
Middle Aged ; Humans ; Aged ; Fasting ; Blood Glucose ; Activities of Daily Living ; Cohort Studies ; Cognitive Dysfunction/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology*