Background High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a sensitive biomarker for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and can independently predict the risk of cardiovascular events. Although the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and CVD risk has been widely reported, studies on the association between hs-CRP and PFAS remain limited. Objective To investigate the association between PFAS and hs-CRP levels, to provide a scientific basis for early identification and prevention of environment-related cardiovascular events. Methods This study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2015–2018). Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 3219 participants were included for subsequent analysis. Five PFAS with detection rates exceeding 90% were selected as exposure factors and log-transformed (lnPFAS) for subsequent analysis, including perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). After selecting potential confounders through a change-in-estimate approach, logistic regression was employed to examine the effects of individual PFAS on serum hs-CRP level. Additionally, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were applied to assess the combined effects of PFAS mixtures on hs-CRP. Results The study included 3219 participants with a mean age of (50.4±17.6) years, of whom 1554 (48.28%) were male. The median concentrations of the five PFAS compounds were: 1.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFHxS), 0.50 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFNA), 1.50 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFOA), 5.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFOS), and 0.20 ng·mL⁻¹ (PFDA). The Wilcoxon rank-sum tests revealed statistically significant differences between the elevated serum hs-CRP (≥2 mg·L⁻¹) and normal (<2 mg·L⁻¹) groups for all five PFAS compounds (PFHxS: P=0.005; PFNA: P=0.009; PFOA: P<0.001; PFOS: P<0.001; PFDA: P<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the analysis of individual PFAS exposure demonstrated significant negative associations between serum hs-CRP levels and both ln-PFOS (OR: 0.87; 95%CI: 0.79, 0.96; P=0.0036) and lnPFDA (OR: 0.78; 95%CI: 0.71, 0.86; P < 0.001). The joint effect analysis using quantile g-computation revealed an overall inverse association between PFAS mixtures and hs-CRP, with lnPFDA emerging as a primary contributor; an similar association was observed in males, but not significant in females. Further evaluation through BKMR showed that when PFAS mixture concentrations reached or exceeded P₇₀, their combined effect on hs-CRP became significantly lower than when all PFAS concentrations were at P₅₀, establishing a clear negative dose-response relationship. Conclusion The mixed exposure to PFAS showed a significant negative joint effect on serum hs-CRP levels, with PFDA being the key component contributing to this combined effect. Future prospective cohort studies are warranted to further validate these findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved.

Objective To analyze the status of persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the distribution of viral subtypes in the Zhengzhou region. Methods Clinical data of 55239 patients who underwent HPV-DNA genotyping tests from 2018 to 2024 were collected. On the basis of HPV follow-up results, patients were divided into three groups: 849 cases of infection with the same HPV type, 255 cases of persistent infection with different HPV types, and 857 cases of transient HPV infection. Results Among the 9232 initially-screened patients who were positive with HPV, the high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) positive rate was 84.6% (7813/9232), and predominant subtypes were HPV-16 (20.8%), HPV-52 (17.2%), and HPV-53 (9.6%). The low-risk HPV (LR-HPV) positive rate was 15.4% (1419/9232), mainly HPV-81 (28.1%) and HPV-42 (27.0%). Among the 1961 follow-up cases, the rates of persistent and non-persistent infections with the same HPV type were 35.7% (701/1961) and 7.5% (148/1961), respectively. The rates of persistent and non-persistent infections with different HPV types were 10.9% (214/1961) and 2.1% (41/1961), respectively. Meanwhile, 43.7% (857/1961) tested negative upon follow-up. Among the 701 cases of persistent infection with the same HPV type, HR-HPV accounted for 85.7% (601/701), and LR-HPV accounted for 14.3% (100/701). Among the 214 cases of persistent infection with different HPV types, 89.7% (192/214) were high-risk transitions, and 10.3% (22/214) were low-risk transitions. Regardless of HPV types, HR-HPV was more likely to cause persistent infection than LR-HPV. In addition, over 60% of HR-HPV persistent infections resolved within 18 months, 30% developed into persistent infections, and only 15% of patients had persistent infections that last more than 24 months. Conclusion Persistent HPV infections are predominantly high-risk types. Most patients clear the infection within 18 months, approximately 30% develop persistent infections, and about 15% of patients have persistent infections that last more than 24 months. However, the HR-HPV persistent infection rates across different age groups slightly differ.

Ulcerative colitis （UC）， a chronic， non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain， diarrhea， and bloody stools， demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan， first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract （Nei Ke Zhai Yao）， are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney， and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years， Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors， including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term， its side effects， high relapse rate， and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan， used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions， significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus， pus， and blood in stools， and persistent abdominal pain， reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate， and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen， isopsoralen， and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level， Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future， a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation， targeting， and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics， providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Objective To investigate the relationship between geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) and osteoporosis (OP) in elderly hypertensive population. Methods Elderly physical examination population who received dual-energy bone mineral density examination and bone metabolic marker test in the hospital were selected from January 2021 to December 2024. According to whether they had hypertension and dual-energy bone mineral density results, the enrolled patients were divided into hypertension OP group (142 cases ), hypertension non-OP group (173 cases), non-hypertension OP group (102 cases) and non-hypertension non-OP group (100 cases). GNRI of all study subjects was measured. The correlation of GNRI and the occurrence of OP was explored by logistic regression analysis. The predictive efficiency of GNRI on the occurrence of OP was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The BMD and GNRI in the hypertension group, and the non-hypertension OP group were significantly lower than those in the non-hypertension non-OP group (P<0.05). Compared with the hypertension non-OP group, the BMI, GNRI, BMD, and 25-OH Vit D in the hypertension OP group were significantly reduced (P<0.05) while the PTH level was significantly enhanced (P<0.05).logistic regression analysis showed that GNRI, 25-OH Vit D and PTH were closely related to OP in the elderly hypertensive population (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis manifested that the AUC value of GNRI alone in predicting OP in elderly hypertensive population was 0.802, which was higher than that of 25-OH Vit D (AUC=0.723) and PTH (AUC=0.643). The AUC, sensitivity and specificity of combination of GNRI, 25-OH Vit D and PTH in predicting OP in elderly hypertensive population were 0.837, 66.20% and 86.13% (P<0.05). Conclusion GNRI is closely related to the occurrence of OP in elderly hypertensive population, and GNRI can be used as a potential indicator to assess the risk of OP.

Ulcerative colitis （UC）， a chronic， non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain， diarrhea， and bloody stools， demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan， first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract （Nei Ke Zhai Yao）， are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney， and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years， Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors， including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term， its side effects， high relapse rate， and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan， used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions， significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus， pus， and blood in stools， and persistent abdominal pain， reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate， and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen， isopsoralen， and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level， Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future， a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation， targeting， and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics， providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on dynamic changes in Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and H₂O₂ flux following eccentric exercise-induced muscle injury. The total of 324 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group (C), eccentric exercise group (E), eccentric exercise with acupuncture group (EA), EA with TRP channel blocker group (EAT), EA with NOX2 blocker group (EAN) and EA with placebo group (EAP). Gastrocnemius muscles were subject to lengthening contractions with percutaneous electrical stimulation, followed by immediate pretreatment with blocking agents. After 30 min, acupuncture needling was administered to the gastrocnemius muscle, and real-time dynamic changes of Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and H₂O₂ flux were measured with non-invasive micro-test technique during the needle retention period, immediately, 3 h, 6 h, and 24 h post-extraction respectively. Results showed that compared with the E group, acupuncture significantly increased net Ca²⁺ efflux (P < 0.05), extended the period of net Na⁺ influx, and significantly decreased net H₂O₂ efflux (P < 0.05). However, these effects were significantly attenuated in the EAT and EAN groups, where excessive net H₂O₂ efflux was observed (P < 0.001). These findings indicate that acupuncture regulates the dynamic changes of Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and H₂O₂ flux by activating the TRP channels and interacting with NOX2 activity following eccentric exercise-induced skeletal muscle injury.
Animals ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Rats, Wistar ; Rats ; Male ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Hydrogen Peroxide/metabolism* ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Sodium/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; NADPH Oxidase 2

This study explored the drying kinetics of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma(SM), established the suitable models simulating the drying kinetics, and then analyzed the dynamic changes of active components during the drying processes with different methods, aiming to provide a basis for the establishment of suitable drying methods and the quality control of SM. The drying kinetics were studied based on the drying curve, drying rate, moisture effective diffusion coefficient, and drying activation energy, and the appropriate drying kinetics model of SM was established. The drying performance of different methods, such as hot air drying, infrared drying, and microwave drying of SM was evaluated, and the changes in the content of 10 salvianolic acids and 6 tanshinones during drying were analyzed by UPLC-TQ-MS. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution(TOPSIS) was employed to evaluate the quality of SM dried with different methods. The results showed that the drying rate and moisture effective diffusion coefficient of SM increased with the rise in drying temperature, and the maximum drying rates of different methods were in the order of microwave drying > infrared drying > hot air drying, slice > whole root. The drying rate decreased with the rise in temperature and the extension of drying time. The activation energy of hot air drying was higher than that of infrared drying in SM. The most suitable model for simulating the drying process of SM was the Page model. The TOPSIS results suggested infrared drying at 50 ℃ was the optimal drying method for SM. During the drying process, the content of salvianolic acids increased in different degrees with the loss of moisture, among which salvianolic acid B showed the largest increase of 44 times compared with that in the fresh medicinal material. Tanshinones also existed in the fresh herb of SM, and the content of tanshinone Ⅱ_A increased by 3 times after drying. The results provided a basis for the establishment of suitable drying methods and the quality control of SM.
Salvia miltiorrhiza/chemistry* ; Desiccation/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Kinetics ; Quality Control ; Abietanes

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the research on NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitors in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The NLRP3 inflammasome is integral to the innate immune response, and its abnormal activation can lead to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine, consequently facilitating the progression of various pathological conditions. Therefore, investigating the pharmacological inhibition pathway of the NLRP3 inflammasome represents a promising strategy for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has not approved drugs targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome for clinical use due to concerns regarding liver toxicity and gastrointestinal side effects associated with chemical small molecule inhibitors in clinical trials. Natural small molecule compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and alkaloids are ubiquitously found in animals, plants, and other natural substances exhibiting pharmacological activities. Their abundant sources, intricate and diverse structures, high biocompatibility, minimal adverse reactions, and superior biochemical potency in comparison to synthetic compounds have attracted the attention of extensive scholars. Currently, certain natural small molecule compounds have been demonstrated to impede the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome via various action mechanisms, so they are viewed as the innovative, feasible, and minimally toxic therapeutic agents for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the treatment of both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Hence, this study systematically examined the effects and potential mechanisms of natural small molecule compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine on the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes at their initiation, assembly, and activation stages. The objection is to furnish theoretical support and practical guidance for the effective clinical application of these natural small molecule inhibitors.
NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Biological Products/therapeutic use* ; Drug Discovery ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods*