This article systematically studied the moxibustion methods embedded in the 15 medical books of the Mawangdui medical literature. Starting from the origin of the medical moxibustion culture in Mawangdui， this paper comprehensively analyzed the records of moxibustion. By analyzing the Classic of Moxibustion to Eleven Foot-arm Channels （《足臂十一脉灸经》） and Classic of Moxibustion to Eleven Yin-yang Channels （《阴阳十一脉灸经》） as well as Formulas for Fifty-two Diseases （《五十二病方》）， which have relatively rich records of moxibustion， it is found that moxibustion involves more than 170 diseases and syndromes， covering 12 categories such as limb diseases related to meridians and collaterals， lung system diseases， and heart and brain diseases. In summary， the distinctive characte-ristics of moxibustion in Mawangdui medical books include primitive simplicity， combination of witch culture and medical practices， philosophical deduction， centripetal circulation， diverse moxibustion materials， extensive cove-rage of diseases and syndromes， taboos in moxibustion， and the integration of prevention and treatment. The ideas and applications of moxibustion mainly manifest in preventing diseases before they occur and preventing changes in existing diseases， distinguishing and treating each disease based on different causes， and combining treatment based on meridians， collaterals and comprehensive diseases.

Male infertility is a significant cause of psychosocial and marital distress in approximately 50% of couples who are unable to conceive, with male factors being the underlying cause. Guijiajiao (Colla Carapacis et Plastri, CCP) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine commonly used to treat male infertility. The present study aimed to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the preventive effects of CCP on male infertility. An infertile male rat model was established using cyclophosphamide (CTX), and CCP was administered for both treatment and prevention. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was also performed to explore the role of gut microbiota in the CCP-mediated prevention of male infertility in rats. Sperm motility and concentration were determined using a semi-automatic sperm classification analyzer. Subsequently, histopathological analysis using HE staining was performed to examine the changes in the small intestine and testis. Moreover, the serum levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and testosterone were measured by ELISA. In addition, immunohistochemistry was conducted to detect CD3 expression in the small intestine, while RT-qPCR was employed to assess the expressions of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL-10) in the small intestine and epididymis. Finally, gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. CCP improved sperm motility, number, and concentration in CTX-induced infertile male rats. CCP increased the serum testosterone level, inhibited the immune cell infiltration of the intestinal lamina propria, and promoted the aggregation of CD3⁺ T cells in CTX-induced male infertility rats. CCP also inhibited the expressions of MCP-1, CXCL-10, and IL-1β in the epididymis of male infertility rats. At the genus level, CTX led to a reduction in the abundance of Lactobacillus, Clostridia_UCG.014, and Romboutsia in the intestinal tract of rats. In contrast, CCP decreased the abundance of Ruminococcus and increased the abundance of Romboutsia in infertile male rats. Additionally, FMT experiments proved that the gut microbiota of CCP-treated rats facilitated testicular tissue recovery and spermatogenesis while also reducing the serum LPS level in infertile male rats. CCP improves the spermatogenic ability of infertile male rats by restoring gut microbiota diversity and inhibiting epididymal inflammation.
Humans ; Rats ; Male ; Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; Semen ; Sperm Motility ; Infertility, Male/prevention & control* ; Testosterone

The essence-qi-spirit theory is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine， whose steady state is the material and functional basis for the balance of yin and yang in the body， making the essence， qi and spirit integrated， and body and spirit harmonized. Based on this theory， it is proposed that essence and qi depletion， spirit dissipation and qi dispersion， disharmony between yin and yang is the main pathogenesis of sleep disorders. Therefore， the method of regulating and harmonzing yin and yang by essence gathering， qi nourishing and spirit storing can be used to treat sleep disorder. The biological clock system of the circadian rhythm of sleep is regulated by the molecular oscillation that is generated by the transcription of the biological clock gene， and is a clock gradually formed by orga-nisms constantly adapting to the laws of nature. As the material basis， power， and embodiment of sound and peaceful sleep， essence， qi and spirit can perceive and transmit natural signals， whose functions are similar to what is recognized by modern science that oscillation amplifies the rhythm signal， and synchronously regulates the expression signal of the biological clock gene， thereby forming a biological clock system with “input-oscillation-output” as the feedback cycle. It is believed that the regulation method of yin and yang by essence gathering， qi nourishing and spirit storing may comprehensively regulate the physiological activities through brain/ muscle aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like protein 1 （BMAL1）/circadian locomotor output cycles kaput （CLOCK）-period protein （PER）/ cryptochrome （CRY） transcriptional feedback loop， thereby adapting to the natural environment changes， playing an active role in the treatment of sleep disorders， and provideing a new idea for traditional Chinese medicine to reshape the molecular regulation system of the endogenous biological clock to prevent and treat sleep disorders.

The theory of Zang Xiang is the core of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine,and its content mostly comes from the comparison of images.Among them,the liver Zang of"main drainage"and"main blood storage"involves many systems such as nerve,digestion,circulation,hematopoiesis,reproduction and so on.It is difficult to find the corresponding anatomical organs or tissues in western medicine.The author analyzes and believes that the collection of the functional system of the liver system of traditional Chinese medicine,compares the physiological function and pathological changes of the liver system with the histamine receptor distributed in multiple systems of the whole body,as well as the main symptoms and adverse reactions of the drugs regulating the histamine receptor,and believes that the functional system composed of histamine receptors may carry the important functions of the liver system of traditional Chinese medicine.

OBJECTIVE Microgravity exerts several negative effects on the learning and memory of astro-nauts during space flight.Rg1 and Rb1,the key steroidal components of ginseng,have shown potent neuroprotec-tive effects with a high safety profile.The object of the current study is to investigate the influence of Rg1 and Rb1 on simulated microgravity-induced memory and learning dysfunction in the hindlimb suspension(HLS)rat model.METHODS The HLS rats were orally administered Rg1(30 and 60 μmol·kg-1)or Rb1(30 and 60 μmol·kg-1)for four weeks.The Morris water maze test(MWM)and reward operating conditioning reflex test(ROCR)were conducted to evaluate spatial and associative learning and memory.After the behavior tests,the serum and the prefrontal cortex(PFC)were dissected to measure the mechanism.RESULTS Rg1 and Rb1 treatment amelio-rated the cognitive deficits of HLS-exposure rats in MWM and ROCR,reduced reactive oxygen species generation and increased antioxidant enzyme activity.Rg1 and Rb1 also assisted in the recovery of mitochondrial complex Ⅰ(NADH dehydrogenase)activities and Mfn2,and decrea-sed Drp-1 expression.Furthermore,Rg1 and Rb1 reduced the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and the expression of cleaved-cas-pase 3,cytochrome c,increased the levels of SYN,PSD95 and activated BDNF-TrkB/PI3K-Akt pathway in the PFC.CONCLUSION Rg1 and Rb1 treatment attenuated cog-nitive deficits induced by HLS,mitigated mitochondrial dysfunction,attenuated oxidative stress,inhibited apopto-sis,and increased the synaptic plasticity,which was partly mediated by the modulation of the BDNF-TrkB/PI3K-Akt signaling.

Objective This study aimed to examine and propagate the medication experience and group formula of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Master XIONG Jibo in diagnosing and treating arthralgia syndrome (AS) through data mining. Methods Data of outpatient cases of Professor XIONG Jibo were collected from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2018, along with cases recorded in A Real Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor: XIONG Jibo's Clinical Medical Record 1, which was published in December 2019. The five variables collected from the patients’ data were TCM diagnostic information, TCM and western medicine diagnoses, syndrome, treatment, and prescription. A database was established for the collected data with Excel. Using the Python environment, a customized modified natural language processing (NLP) model for the diagnosis and treatment of AS by Professor XIONG Jibo was established to preprocess the data and to analyze the word cloud. Frequency analysis, association rule analysis, cluster analysis, and visual analysis of AS cases were performed based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Computing Platform (V3.0) and RStudio (V4.0.3). Results A total of 610 medical records of Professor XIONG Jibo were collected from the case database. A total of 103 medical records were included after data screening criteria, which comprised 187 times (45 kinds) of prescriptions and 1 506 times (125 kinds) of Chinese herbs. The main related meridians were the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians. The properties of Chinese herbs used most were mainly warm, flat, and cold, while the flavors of herbs were mainly bitter, pungent, and sweet. The main patterns of AS included the damp heat, phlegm stasis, and neck arthralgia. The most commonly used herbs for AS were Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix), Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex), Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Huangqi (Astragali Radix), and Chuanxiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma). The most common effect of the herbs was “promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis”, followed by “supplementing deficiency (Qi supplementing, blood supplementing, and Yang supplementing)”, and “dispelling wind and dampness”. The data were analyzed with the support ≥ 15% and confidence = 100%, and after de-duplication, five second-order association rules, 39 third-order association rules, 39 fourth-order association rules, and two fifth-order association rules were identified. The top-ranking association rules of each were “Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma) → Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex)” “Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma) + Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) → Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex)” “Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) + Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) + Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) → Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix)” and “Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix) + Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) +Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) + Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex) → Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix)”, respectively. Five clusters were obtained using cluster analysis of the top 30 herbs. The herbs were mainly drying dampness, supplementing Qi, and promoting blood circulation. The main prescriptions of AS were Ermiao San (二妙散), Gegen Jianghuang San (葛根姜黄散), and Huangqi Chongteng Yin (黄芪虫藤饮). The herbs of core prescription included Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Chuanniuxi (Cyathulae Radix), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma), Huangbo (Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex), Mugua (Chaenomelis Fructus), Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix), Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix), and Yiyiren (Coicis Semen). Conclusion Clearing heat and dampness, relieving collaterals and pain, and invigorating Qi and blood are the most commonly used therapies for the treatment of AS by Professor XIONG Jibo. Additionally, customized NLP model could improve the efficiency of data mining in TCM.

Objective: To observe the safety of the Song-Relaxing and Zhen-Vibrating abdomen manipulation in treating patients with prediabetes and its effects on blood glucose and lipid metabolism.Methods: One hundred and two patients with prediabetes were divided into a manipulation group and a control group according to the random number table method, with 51 cases in each group. All patients received the general behavioral intervention for prediabetes, with additional Song-Relaxing and Zhen-Vibrating abdomen manipulation in the manipulation group and oral metformin hydrochloride tablets in the control group. Both groups received the intervention for six months. Results: Fourteen patients dropped out during the treatment, and a total of 88 patients completed the trial, including 45 cases in the manipulation group and 43 cases in the control group. After the treatment, the prediabetes control rate was 93.3％ in the manipulation group and 74.4％ in the control group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05); no patient in the manipulation group progressed to diabetes, while the rate of conversion to diabetes in the control group was 6.9％, with a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). After the treatment, the body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postload plasma glucose (2hPG) level during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment-2 of insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) decreased in both groups versus baseline, with significant differences within the groups; the levels of all indicators were lower in the manipulation group than in the control group (P<0.05), and the differences between the two groups were more prominent at the sixth month (P<0.01). At the sixth month, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the manipulation group was increased, while there was no significant change in the control group. In the control group, three patients reported mild gastrointestinal reactions at the initial dosing, which improved after medication adjustment. No other adverse events were observed in either group. Conclusion: Both metformin hydrochloride tablets and the Song-Relaxing and Zhen-Vibrating abdomen manipulation can improve blood glucose and lipid metabolism and reduce insulin resistance and clinical discomfort in patients with prediabetes, but the Song-Relaxing and Zhen-Vibrating abdomen manipulation has higher efficacy and safety.

Guilu-Erxian Gum, a famous prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which could warm the kidney and benefit essence, tonify qi and nourishing the blood. It's main function is to treat chronic kidney deficiency, sour waist and soft knees, lack of essence and blood, spermatorrhea and impotence. This prescription has been changed and expanded in the dosage, preparation and efficacy of Chinese medicine included in the classics. Pharmacological studies have shown that it can strengthen the bone, play the role of anti-tumor, relieve bone marrow suppression, improve sperm quality and relieve post-traumatic stress disorder. The modern clinical application of this priscriptionhas been greatly expanded. It can be used in the treatment of adverse reactions after chemotherapy, liver cirrhosis, hypoproteinemia, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, AD and other diseases. It is often used in combination with other medicine or treatment methods, and could achieve good results.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Guilu Erxianjiao on improving reproductive injury in diabetic rats and its possible mechanism. MethodFifty-three SD male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups， with 1 group as the normal group and the other 4 groups as the modeling groups. Rats in the modeling groups were fed with a high-fat diet combined with 30 mg·kg^-1 streptozotocin （STZ） intraperitoneal injection to induce diabetes， with the random blood glucose >16.7 mmol·L^-1 for 3 consecutive times as the criteria for inclusion in the model of diabetic reproductive injury. The rats with diabetic reproductive injury were then randomly divided into a model group， a Guilu Erxianjiao group （2 g·kg^-1）， a Vitamin E group （0.03 g·kg^-1）， and a Wuzi Yanzong pill group （0.6 g·kg^-1） according to the blood glucose level. The rats were given the corresponding drug dose intragastric administration， once a day for 4 weeks， and their body weight and blood glucose were measured weekly. After 4 weeks， samples were collected for index determination. Morphological changes in testis and epididymis were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and apoptosis of testis cells was observed by in situ end labeling （TUNEL） staining. Sperm concentration and motility were detected by the semen analyzer. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， and testosterone （T） were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The content of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， propylene glycol （MDA）， reactive oxygen species （ROS）， and glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） in the testicular tissue was determined by ELISA. The expressions of nuclear respiratory factor-2 （Nrf2）， heme oxygenase 1 （HO-1）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax） in the testicular tissue were detected by Western blot. ResultAs compared with the normal group， testicular tissue atrophy， decreased spermatogenic tubules， epididymal wall hyperplasia， and lumen stenosis were observed in the model group. Sperm concentration and motility decreased （P<0.01）， and serum levels of T， FSH， and LH decreased （P<0.01） in the model group. The content of ROS and MDA in the testis increased （P<0.01）， while that of SOD and GSH-Px decreased （P<0.01） in the model group. The expression of Bax increased （P<0.01）， and the expressions of Nrf2， HO-1， and Bcl-2 decreased （P<0.01） in the model group. As compared with the model group， the pathological changes in the testis and epididymis in the Guilu Erxianjiao group were improved to some extent. Sperm concentration and motility increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In the Guilu Erxianjiao group， serum levels of T and LH increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while FSH levels showed no significant difference. The content of ROS and MDA in the testis decreased （P<0.01）， while that of SOD and GSH-Px increased （P<0.01） in the Guilu Erxianjiao group. The expression of Bax decreased （P<0.01）， and the expressions of Nrf2， HO-1， and Bcl-2 increased （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the Guilu Erxianjiao group. ConclusionGuilu Erxianjiao improves the reproductive injury and sperm quality of diabetic rats to a certain extent， and the mechanism may be related to the improvement of oxidative stress and anti-apoptosis.

Animals ; Materia Medica ; Rats ; Turtles