Sophora Flavescens is the dried root of the leguminous plant Sophora Flavescens Ait. It was first published in Shen Nong's Herbal Classic. Sophora Flavescens contains a variety of active ingredients, mainly including matrine and oxymatrine, with anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-arrhythmia, disease-resistant pathogenic microorganisms and other pharmacological effects. Clinically, the compound preparations of Sophora Flavescens include Compound KuShen injection and KuShen gel and so on, which can be used to treat many types of cancers and improve skin, mucous pruritus, pain and other symptoms. Due to the poor bioavailability, the structure of matrine needs to be reformed. MASM, matrine derivative, only needs a low concentration to have a good therapeutic effect on sepsis and liver fibrosis. In this article, the chemical composition, pharmacological effects, compound preparations and structural modification of matrine were mainly discussed, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Sophora Flavescens and the development of new drugs.

This paper analyzed the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medical understanding of coronary microvascular disease （CMVD） from the three dimensions of "disease-syndrome-symptom". In western medicine， by summarizing the suspected diagnosis and understanding of CMVD， it is believed that inflammatory responses and vascular endothelial damage are the key mechanisms of the pathogenesis. From the perspective of TCM， the disease location is at blood， vessels and heart， and the fundamental cause is spleen and kidney depletion， closely realted to phlegm， stasis， toxin， wind and qi. Integrating the understanding of both TCM and western medicine， clinical treatment advocates taking the CMVD pathology as the base， and the TCM understanding of pathogenesis as the main focus. The properties of Chinese herbal medicinals is used as the guidance for medication， and the pharmacological understanding as the assisstance of treatment， with the medical history and the severity of the condition are additionally considered. It is finally proposed that during the acute phase， the methods of nourishing yin and resolving toxins， softening hardness and dissipating masses， dispelling wind and unblocking collaterals should be applied to alleviate the emergency. In the subacute phase， the focus should be on raising and lifting qi promote its movement， with flexible use of medicinals that can unblock yang. In the remission phase， the method of tonifying spleen and fortifying kidney should be used to maintain the stability of the condition.

Ventriculostomy drainage is one of the commonly used surgical techniques in neurocritical care, which can relieve intracranial hypertension and facilitate postoperative cerebrospinal fluid and intracranial pressure monitoring. By placing a drainage tube in the ventricle, blood and fluid accumulation within the ventricle are drained out of the brain, reducing intracranial pressure and preventing brain tissue damage. Clinically, the speed of ventriculostomy drainage is often controlled by measuring the height difference between the drainage opening and the plane of the ventricle, ensuring the safe and effective reduction of intracranial pressure, facilitating the implementation of clinical management plans, and preventing complications. However, how to easily, safely, and effectively measure the height difference between the drainage opening and the ventricular plane remains a challenge in nursing management. Currently, clinical practice often uses a tape measure to measure the height of the ventriculostomy drainage, a process that is cumbersome and time-consuming and susceptible to human error, leading to inaccurate measurements. However, the challenge of easily, safely, and effectively detecting the height difference between the drainage opening and the ventricular plane remains a difficult problem in nursing management. To address this issue, the medical and nursing staff of the intensive care unit (ICU) at Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, jointly designed a novel ventriculostomy drainage height measurement device, which has been granted a national utility model patent (patent number: ZL 2022 2 1400920.9). This device can be easily and securely fixed to an infusion stand. Using a level within the horizontal measuring part and a rotational structure, the vertical measuring part of the device is adjusted to be perpendicular to the ground. After opening the limit clip, the horizontal part is manually guided down to the appropriate height. The front end of the horizontal measuring part is then extended towards the patient's head, and after confirming the position, the limit clip is closed. At this point, the horizontal height difference between the drainage opening and the ventricular plane can be accurately measured. When temporarily finishing the height measurement of the drainage tube, the device can be folded and stored by retracting the horizontal measuring part and rotating components. This measuring device has a simple operation process, which can improve the accuracy and reliability of the drainage height measurement, enhance treatment outcomes and patient safety, reduce the workload of nursing staff, and has certain clinical promotion and practical value.
Humans ; Ventriculostomy/methods* ; Drainage/instrumentation* ; Equipment Design ; Cerebral Ventricles

Astragali Radix (AR) and Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma (NR) are frequently employed in cardiovascular disease treatment. However, the efficacy of the AR-NR medicine pair (AN) in improving cardiac remodeling and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate AN's cardioprotective effect and potential mechanism on cardiac remodeling using transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in mice and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) and fibroblasts in vitro. High-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) characterized 23 main components of AN. AN significantly improved cardiac function in the TAC-induced mice. Furthermore, AN considerably reduced the serum levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), cardiac troponin T (CTn-T), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and mitigated inflammatory cell infiltration. Post-AN treatment, TAC-induced heart size approached normal. AN decreased cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area and attenuated the upregulation of cardiac hypertrophy marker genes (ANP, BNP, and MYH7) in vivo and in vitro. Concurrently, AN alleviated collagen deposition in TAC-induced mice. AN also reduced the expression of fibrosis-related indicators (COL1A1 and COL3A1) and inhibited the activation of the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (Smad3) pathway. Thus, AN improved TAC-induced cardiac remodeling. Moreover, AN downregulated p-dynamin-related protein (Drp1) (Ser616) expression and upregulated mitogen 2 (MFN-2) and optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) expression in vivo and in vitro, thereby restoring mitochondrial fusion and fission balance. In conclusion, AN improves cardiac remodeling by regulating mitochondrial dynamic balance, providing experimental data for the rational application of Chinese medicine prescriptions with AN as the main component in clinical practice.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Mice ; Rats ; Male ; Mitochondrial Dynamics/drug effects* ; Ventricular Remodeling/drug effects* ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Panax notoginseng/chemistry* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain/genetics* ; Humans ; Angiotensin II ; Astragalus propinquus

Background and objective Lung cancer is the cancer with the highest incidence and mortality rates in China,and non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)accounts for 80％-85％of all malignant lung tumors.Currently,surgical treat-ment remains the primary treatment modality for lung cancer.In recent years,the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibi-tors for NSCLC has become a consensus,and neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy(nICT)has shown promising efficacy and safety in early to intermediate stage NSCLC.However,there are fewer studies related to nICT for locally advanced NSCLC.This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nICT therapy in locally advanced resectable NSCLC.Methods 85 con-firmed resectable stage ⅢA and ⅢB patients treated in the Department of Thoracic Surgery,Second Hospital of Lanzhou University,from January 2021 to April 2024,were divided into the nICT group(n=32)and the surgery alone group(n=53).Clinical baseline data,perioperative indicators,postoperative complications,imaging response rate,pathological response rate,incidence of adverse events,and quality of life were compared between the two groups.Results There were no statisti-cally significant differences in clinical baseline data between the two groups(P＞0.05).Incidence of choosing thoracotomy was higher in the nICT group than in the surgery alone group(P=0.002).There were no significant differences in surgical time,intraoperative blood loss,number of dissected lymph nodes,duration of chest tube placement,postoperative hospital stay,and R0 resection rate between the two groups(P＞0.05).The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 31.25％in the nICT group and 22.64％in the surgery alone group,with no statistically significant difference(P=0.380).In the nICT group,the objective response rate(ORR)was 84.38％,with 5 cases of complete response(CR)(15.63％),22 cases of partial response(PR)(68.75％),15 cases of pathological response rate(pCR)(46.88％),and 11 cases of major pathological reaponse(MPR)(34.38％).During nICT treatment,12 cases(37.50％)experienced grade 3 treatment-related adverse events,no death induced by adverse events or immune related adverse events.Moreover,the symptoms of the patients were improved after nICT treat-ment.Conclusion Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy shows promising efficacy in locally advanced resectable NSCLC,with manageable treatment-related adverse events.It is a safe and feasible neoadjuvant treatment modality for locally advanced resectable NSCLC.

Objective To explore the clinical and imaging features of phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor(PMT).Methods The clinical presentations,laboratory examinations,and imaging manifestations of seven patients with PMT diagnosed by surgery and pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among the 7 patients,four patients had clinical presentations of long-term fatigue and bone pain.All patients showed preoperative blood phosphorus reduction in varying degrees.X-ray examination showed systemic osteomalacia and osteoporosis,accompanied by multiple pathological fractures.On CT,the primary tumor appeared as a soft tissue density mass or a ground glass high-density nodule with irregular calcification and local bone destruction.MRI showed long T1,long T2 signal intensity,and irregular low signal foci were scattered in the T2WI fat-suppressed sequence.The enhanced scans showed moderate to significant inhomogeneous enhancement.One patient who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT and two patients who underwent 18F-ALF-NOTA-Octreotide(18F-OC)PET/CT examinations showed varying degrees of radioactive concentration in the lesions.Conclusion The clinical presentations and laboratory examinations of patients with PMT have certain characteristics.Systemic osteomalacia with pseudofracture line,calcification matrix within the tumor,and significant inhomogeneous enhancement of the lesion are the key imaging features for diagnosing PMT.18F-OC PET/CT examination plays a crucial role in the systemic localization diagnosis of tumors.

Objective:To explore the relationship between ultrasound characteristics and invasiveness in the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC), and to integrate multiple ultrasound parameters for visual assessment of predictive outcomes by using Nomogram.Methods:A total of 312 FVPTC patients who were pathologically confirmed through surgery in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital and Zhejiang Provincial People′s Hospital from January 2013 to December 2023 were retrospectively collected.Based on defined criteria, FVPTC patients were categorized into high-invasion and low-invasion groups. The dataset was divided into a training set and a validation set in a ratio of 7 to 3. Clinical information and ultrasound feature parameters were collected. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed on the training set. A predictive model for FVPTC invasiveness was constructed based on ultrasound features. The model′s discriminative ability and calibration were evaluated in the validation set, and a nomogram was generated.Results:The training set included a total of 218 patients with FVPTC, among which 131 were classified as high invasive.The validation set consisted of 94 patients, with 53 cases of high invasive FVPTC patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis on the training set revealed that tumor multifocality ( OR=6.505, P=0.016), hypoechoic ( OR=3.235, P=0.103), shape ( OR=0.521, P=0.049), and microcalcifications ( OR=2.479, P=0.004) were independent influencing factors for predicting invasiveness in FVPTC. In the training set, the area under the curve (AUC) of the ultrasound predictive model was 0.704 (95% CI=0.634-0.771), and in the validation set, the AUC was 0.650 (95% CI=0.531-0.770), indicated good discriminative ability.The calibration curve showed good alignment with the ideal curve, demonstrating favorable calibration performance. Conclusions:Ultrasound features provide valuable information for assessing the invasiveness of FVPTC, and the model constructed by combining ultrasound features demonstrates good predictive efficacy for the invasiveness of FVPTC.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and practicality of the Jaundice color card (JCard) as a screening tool for neonatal jaundice.Methods:Following the standards for reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD) statement, a multicenter prospective study was conducted in 9 hospitals in China from October 2019 to September 2021. A total of 845 newborns who were admitted to the hospital or outpatient department for liver function testing due to their own diseases. The inclusion criteria were a gestational age of ≥35 weeks, a birth weight of ≥2 000 g, and an age of ≤28 days. The neonate′s parents used the JCard to measure jaundice at the neonate′s cheek. Within 2 hours of the JCard measurement, transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) was measured with a JH20-1B device and total serum bilirubin (TSB) was detected. The Pearson′s correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plots and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistic analysis.Results:Out of the 854 newborns, 445 were male and 409 were female; 46 were born at 35-36 weeks of gestational age and 808 were born at ≥37 weeks of gestational age. Additionally, 432 cases were aged 0-3 days, 236 cases were aged 4-7 days, and 186 cases were aged 8-28 days. The TSB level was (227.4±89.6) μmol/L, with a range of 23.7-717.0 μmol/L. The JCard level was (221.4±77.0) μmol/L and the TcB level was (252.5±76.0) μmol/L. Both the JCard and TcB values showed good correlation ( r=0.77 and 0.80, respectively) and agreements (96.0% (820/854) and 95.2% (813/854) of samples fell within the 95% limits of agreement, respectively) with TSB. The JCard value of 12 had a sensitivity of 0.93 and specificity of 0.75 for identifying a TSB ≥205.2?μmol/L, and a sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity of 0.35 for identifying a TSB ≥342.0?μmol/L. The TcB value of 205.2?μmol/L had a sensitivity of 0.97 and specificity of 0.60 for identifying TSB levels of 205.2 μmol/L, and a sensitivity of 1.00 and specificity of 0.26 for identifying TSB levels of 342.0 μmol/L. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of JCard for identifying TSB levels of 153.9, 205.2, 256.5, and 342.0 μmol/L were 0.96, 0.92, 0.83, and 0.83, respectively. The AUC of TcB were 0.94, 0.91, 0.86, and 0.87, respectively. There were both no significant differences between the AUC of JCard and TcB in identifying TSB levels of 153.9 and 205.2 μmol/L (both P>0.05). However, the AUC of JCard were both lower than those of TcB in identifying TSB levels of 256.5 and 342.0 μmol/L (both P<0.05). Conclusions:JCard can be used to classify different levels of bilirubin, but its diagnostic efficacy decreases with increasing bilirubin levels. When TSB level are ≤205.2 μmol/L, its diagnostic efficacy is equivalent to that of the JH20-1B. To prevent the misdiagnosis of severe jaundice, it is recommended that parents use a low JCard score, such as 12, to identify severe hyperbilirubinemia (TSB ≥342.0 μmol/L).

OBJECTIVE Exploring the TNC gene mutations in a family with hereditary hearing loss and their relationship with clinical phenotypes.METHODS Draw the family pedigree chart,analyze the inheritance pattern,and assess the clinical phenotypes of family members using audiologic,imaging,and vestibular function tests.Perform whole exome sequencing on six members of the family to identify candidate mutations potentially related to hearing loss,and validate the distribution of these candidate mutations within the family and in normal controls using Sanger sequencing.RESULTS A heterozygous mutation c.5110G>T(p.Ala1704Ser)in exon 17 of the TNC gene on chromosome 9 was identified in the family.This mutation is associated with hereditary hearing loss.Carriers of this gene mutation all presented with normal hearing at birth and hearing decline during childhood;imaging examinations showed no abnormalities in the middle ear or inner ear structures.CONCLUSION This study reports for the first time the association between the heterozygous mutation c.5110G>T(p.Ala1704Ser)in the TNC gene and hereditary hearing loss,providing new evidence for molecular diagnosis and genetic counseling in cases of hereditary hearing loss.

With the increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus in recent years， cardiomyopathy caused by diabetes mellitus has aroused wide concern and this disease is characterized by high insidiousness and high mortality. The early pathological changes of diabetic cardiomyopathy （DCM） are mitochondrial structural disorders and loss of myocardial metabolic flexibility. The turbulence of mitochondrial quality control （MQC） is a key mechanism leading to the accumulation of damaged mitochondria and loss of myocardial metabolic flexibility， which， together with elevated levels of oxidative stress and inflammation， trigger changes in myocardial structure and function. Qi deficiency and stagnation is caused by the loss of healthy Qi， and the dysfunction of Qi transformation results in the accumulation of pathogenic Qi， which further triggers injuries. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， DCM is rooted in Qi deficiency of the heart， spleen， and kidney. The dysfunction of Qi transformation leads to the generation and lingering of turbidity， stasis， and toxin in the nutrient-blood and vessels， ultimately damaging the heart. Therefore， Qi deficiency and stagnation is the basic pathologic mechanism of DCM. Mitochondria， similar to Qi in substance and function， are one of the microscopic manifestations of Qi. The role of MQC is consistent with the defense function of Qi. In the case of MQC turbulence， mitochondrial structure and function are impaired. As a result， Qi deficiency gradually emerges and triggers pathological changes， which make it difficult to remove the stagnant pathogenic factor and aggravates the MQC turbulence. Ultimately， DCM occurs. Targeting MQC to treat DCM has become the focus of current research， and TCM has the advantages of acting on multiple targets and pathways. According to the pathogenesis of Qi deficiency and stagnation in DCM and the modern medical understanding of MQC， the treatment should follow the principles of invigorating healthy Qi， tonifying deficiency， and regulating Qi movement. This paper aims to provide ideas for formulating prescriptions and clinical references for the TCM treatment of DCM by targeting MQC.