ObjectiveTo study on the different therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma（RH） before and after steaming with wine on constipation model mice. MethodsFifty-four male ICR mice were randomly divided into control group， model group， lactulose group（1.5 mg·kg^-1）， high， medium and low dose groups of RH and RH steaming with wine（PRH）（8， 4， 1 g·kg^-1）. Except for the control group， the constipation model was replicated by gavage of loperamide hydrochloride（6 mg·kg^-1） in the other groups. After 2 weeks of modeling， each administration group was gavaged with the corresponding dose of drug solution， and the control and model groups were given an equal volume of normal saline， 1 time/d for 2 consecutive weeks. After administration， the feces were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing， the levels of gastrin（GAS）， motilin（MTL）， interleukin-6（IL-6）， γ-interferon（IFN-γ） in the colonic tissue were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， the histopathological changes of colon were observed by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining， flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion changes of CD4⁺， CD8⁺ and regulatory T cell（Treg） in peripheral blood. ResultsCompared with the control group， the model group showed significantly decrease in fecal number in 24 h， fecal quality and fecal water rate（P<0.01）， the colon was seen to have necrotic shedding of mucosal epithelium， localized intestinal glands in the lamina propria were degenerated， necrotic and atrophied， a few lymphocytes were seen to infiltrate in the necrotic area in a scattered manner， the contents of GAS and MTL， the proportions of CD4⁺， CD8⁺ and Treg were significantly reduced（P<0.01）， the contents of IL-6 and IFN-γ were significantly elevated（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the fecal number in 24 h， fecal quality and fecal water rate of high-dose groups of RH and PRH were significantly increased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， the pathological damage of the colon was alleviated to varying degrees， the contents of GAS， MTL， IL-6 and IFN-γ were significantly regressed（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the proportions of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ were significantly increased（P<0.01）， although the proportion of Treg showed an upward trend， there was no significant difference. In addition， the results of intestinal flora showed that the number of amplicon sequence variant（ASV） and Alpha diversity were decreased in the model group compared with the control group， and there was a significant difference in Beta diversity， with a decrease in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and an increase in the relative abundances of Bacillus and Helicobacter. Compared with the model group， the ASV number and Alpha diversity were increased in the high-dose groups of RH and PRH， and there was a trend of regression of Beta diversity to the control group， the relative abundance of Lactobacillus increased， and the relative abundances of Bacillus and Helicobacter decreased. ConclusionRH and PRH can improve dysbacteriosis， promote immune system activation， inhibit the release of inflammatory factors for enhancing the gastrointestinal function， which may be one of the potential mechanisms of their therapeutic effect on constipation.

BACKGROUND:Changes in skeletal muscle mass have been indicated in studies addressing the effects of low-frequency pulsed magnetic fields on the structure and morphology of the skeletal muscle,but no relevant studies have been conducted on the morphologic changes that occur after chronic exposure to the low-frequency pulsed magnetic field. OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of chronic exposure to low-frequency pulsed magnetic fields on the maximal voluntary contraction and morphologic indicators of the quadriceps muscle of the leg,thereby providing a reference of muscle morphologic changes for the use of this technique as a strategy for muscle function improvement. METHODS:Seventy healthy subjects were recruited and randomly divided into a test group that received magnetic field stimulation and a control group that underwent sham treatment,with 35 subjects in each group,and the total duration of the trial was 4 weeks.The test group underwent low-frequency pulsed magnetic stimulation for 15 minutes every 48 hours,while the control group underwent sham treatment,with the same intervention interval and duration as the test group.After 4 weeks of intervention,changes in the maximum voluntary contraction value of the quadriceps muscle in different groups were observed,and B-mode ultrasonography was utilized as a means of assessment to observe changes in muscle thickness,muscle cross-sectional area,and pinnation angle indexes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After 4 weeks of chronic exposure to low-frequency pulsed magnetic fields,68 subjects completed the test.The maximum voluntary contraction value of the quadriceps muscle in the test group increased significantly(P=0.000),and the increment was significantly higher than that of the control group(P=0.008).Three indexes related to muscle morphology in the test group were significantly higher than the pre-test values(P=0.000),while in the control group,muscle thickness showed a significant reduction(P=0.020),there was no significant change in the pinnation angle,but a significant increase in the cross-sectional area(P=0.000).Intergroup comparisons revealed that the three indicators related to muscle morphology,including muscle thickness(P=0.012),pinnation angle(P=0.003),and cross-sectional area(P=0.049),were significantly higher in the test group than in the control group.The above data confirmed that the maximum voluntary contraction of the quadriceps muscle was significantly increased in healthy adults after 4 weeks of chronic exposure to the low-frequency pulsed magnetic field,and significant increases in the three muscle morphometric indices of muscle thickness,cross-sectional area,and pinnation angle were observed in the test group,providing a basis of muscle tissue morphology for the use of this technique as an exercise alternative and medical treatment strategy for muscle improvement.

ObjectiveTo explore the construction of a machine learning model for the diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes in chronic cough and the optimization of this model using the Voting ensemble algorithm. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted using clinical data from 921 patients with chronic cough treated at the Respiratory Department of Dongfang Hospital， Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. After standardized processing， 84 clinical features were extracted to determine TCM syndrome types. A specialized dataset for TCM syndrome diagnosis in chronic cough was formed by selecting syndrome types with more than 50 cases. The synthetic minority over-sampling technique （SMOTE） was employed to balance the dataset. Four base models， logistic regression （LR）， decision tree （dt）， multilayer perceptron （MLP）， and Bagging， were constructed and integrated using a hard voting strategy to form a Voting ensemble model. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy， recall， precision， F1-score， receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve， area under the curve （AUC）， and confusion matrix. ResultsAmong the 921 cases， six syndrome types had over 50 cases each， phlegm-heat obstructing the lung （294 cases）， wind pathogen latent in the lung （103 cases）， cold-phlegm obstructing the lung （102 cases）， damp-heat stagnating in the lung （64 cases）， lung yang deficiency （54 cases）， and phlegm-damp obstructing the lung （53 cases）， yielding a total of 670 cases in the specialized dataset. High-frequency symptoms among these patients included cough， expectoration， odor-induced cough， throat itchiness， itch-induced cough， and cough triggered by cold wind. Among the four base models， the MLP model showed the best diagnostic performance （test accuracy： 0.9104； AUC： 0.9828）. Compared with the base models， the Voting ensemble model achieved superior performance with an accuracy of 0.9289 on the training set and 0.9253 on the test set， showing a minimal overfitting gap of 0.0036. It also achieved the highest AUC （0.9836） in the test set， outperforming all base models. The model exhi-bited especially strong diagnostic performance for damp-heat stagnating in the lung （AUC： 0.9984） and wind pathogen latent in the lung （AUC： 0.9970）. ConclusionThe Voting ensemble algorithm effectively integrates the strengths of multiple machine learning models， resulting in an optimized diagnostic model for TCM syndromes in chronic cough with high accuracy and enhanced generalization ability.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to analyze the clinical characteristics and medication rationality of liver injury related to Epimedii Folium preparation （EP） and explore the possible risk factors of liver injury， so as to provide a reference for the safe clinical application of Epimedii Folium （EF）. MethodA retrospective analysis was conducted on liver injury cases related to EP from 2012 to 2016. ResultThe number of reported liver injury cases and the proportion of severe cases related to the use of EP show an increasing trend， indicating the objective existence of liver injury caused by EP. There are more cases of liver injury related to EP in women than in men， with an onset age range of 15-91 years old and a median onset age of 60 years old （median onset ages for men and women are 59 and 60 years old， respectively）. The time span from taking EP alone to the occurrence of liver injury is 1-386 days， with a median of 38 days. The time span from taking both EP and Western medicine to the occurrence of liver injury is 1-794 days， with a median of 34 days. EF-related liver injury preparations are mostly composed of traditional Chinese medicines that promote immunity and tonify the liver and kidney， indicating that immune stress in the body may be the mechanism of liver injury caused by the use of EP alone or in combination. There is no increasing trend of toxicity with time or dose in the liver injury caused by EP. By further exploring its risk factors， it is found that patients have unreasonable medication methods such as excessive dosage， repeated use， and multi-drug combination， which may also be one of the important risk factors for EF-related liver injury. ConclusionEP has a certain risk of liver injury and should be emphasized in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Immune stress may be the mechanism of liver injury caused by EP， and in clinical use， it is necessary to be vigilant about the risk of liver injury caused by unreasonable use and combined use with Western medicine.

Objective To investigate the effect of subanesthetic dose of esketamine on remifentanil-in-duced hyperalgesia after cesarean section under general anesthesia,and its effect on serum homocysteine(Hcy)level and postpartum depression.Methods A total of fifty patients undergoing cesarean section under general anesthesia were randomly divided into the esketamine group and the control group(25 cases in each group).The two groups were given esketamine 0.2 mg/kg and the same amount of normal saline by slow in-jection 10 min after fetal delivery.Then,the extubation time,visual analogue scale(VAS)score within two hours after operation,and consumption of morphine while in the post-anaesthesia care unit(PACU)were compared between the two groups.The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS)scores were compared at one day before surgery,one day,four days,and one month after surgery.Serum Hcy levels were measured at one day before surgery,one day and four days after surgery.Results There was no significant difference in extubation time between the two groups(P>0.05).Compared with the control group,it took a longer time for patients in the esketamine group to have a VAS score≥4 for the first time,but the time from morphine injection to a VAS score<4 was shortened(P<0.05).The amount of morphine used in the esketamine group was lower than that in the control group in PACU(P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the VAS scores of the esketamine group decreased at 15 min,30 min,45 min,one hour,and 90 min after surgery(P<0.05),while there was no statistical significance difference in VAS scores at two hours after surgery(P<0.05).EPDS scores in the esketamine group were lower than those in the control group at one day and four days after surgery(P>0.05),but there was no statistically significant between the two groups at one month after surgery(P>0.05).Serum Hcy level in the esketamine group was lower than that in the control group at one day and four days after surgery(P<0.05).Conclusion The subanesthetic dose of esketamine during caesarean section under general anesthesia can effectively relieve remifentanil-induced postoperative hy-peralgesia and prevent the occurrence of postpartum depression.

BACKGROUND:Muscle weakness is a common symptom after coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infection and affects the ability to perform daily activities in humans during recovery.Low-frequency pulsed magnetic field stimulation at a strength of 1.5 mT and a frequency of 3 300 Hz can enhance the maximal voluntary contraction and strength endurance of human skeletal muscle by inducing and activating classical transient receptor potential channel 1(TRPC1),which produces a series of pathological support effects on muscle tissue.It has not been studied whether this means will improve muscle weakness in patients recovering from COVID-19. OBJECTIVE:To select the low-frequency pulsed magnetic field for magnetic stimulation of lower limb muscle groups in patients with COVID-19,in order to observe the effect of this stimulation on the improvement of muscle weakness of lower limb muscle groups in patients with COVID-19 during the recovery period. METHODS:Fourteen patients infected with COVID-19(Omicron strain)positive for Innovita COVID-19 Ab Test(Colloidal Gold)and accompanied by muscle weakness were recruited and randomly divided into two groups:a test group receiving magnetic field stimulation and a control group receiving sham treatment,respectively.The total duration of the trial was 3 weeks.The test group was given low-frequency pulsed magnetic stimulation of the lower limbs every 48 hours and the control group was given the same intervention procedure as the test group but with sham stimulation.Patients in both groups were not informed whether the magnetic stimulation apparatus was running or not.Nine sessions were performed in both groups and the changes in the maximum voluntary contraction,explosive leg force and strength endurance of the local muscle groups of the lower limbs were subsequently observed in both groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Among the eight local muscle groups collected,seven local muscle groups in the test group showed an increase in the maximum voluntary contraction value after 3 weeks of low-frequency pulsed magnetic field stimulation.In the control group,there were only three muscle groups with improvement in the maximum voluntary contraction.The rate of improvement in the anterior and posterior muscle groups of the left leg in the test group was significantly higher than that in the control group.The longitudinal jump height and peak angular velocity of the knee joint in both groups were improved compared with the pre-test measurement,and the elevation rate of jumping height in the test group was higher than that in the control group.Under the fatigue condition,the decline rates of peak angular velocity of the knee joint and jumping height in the test group decreased significantly,while those in the control group did not change significantly.The above data confirmed that the low-frequency pulsed magnetic field stimulation with the intensity of 1.5 mT and frequency of 3 300 Hz could improve the muscle strength of more local muscle groups in the lower limbs of patients with COVID-19 during the recovery period compared with the human self-healing process,and the whole-body coordination ability and functional status based on explosive leg force of the legs could be significantly improved.Therefore,low-frequency pulsed magnetic field stimulation can be used as an effective,non-exercise rehabilitation tool to improve muscle weakness in the lower limbs of patients with COVID-19.

Elemene, derived from Curcuma wenyujin, one of the "8 famous genuine medicinal materials of Zhejiang province," exhibits remarkable antitumor activity. It has gained wide recognition in clinical practice for effectiveness on tumors. Dr. XIE Tian, introduced the innovative concept of "molecular compatibility theory" by combining Chinese medicine principles, specifically the "monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy" theory, with modern biomedical technology. This groundbreaking approach, along with a systematic analysis of Chinese medicine and modern biomedical knowledge, led to the development of elemene nanoliposome formulations. These novel formulations offer numerous advantages, including low toxicity, well-defined composition, synergistic effects on multiple targets, and excellent biocompatibility. Following the principles of the "molecular compatibility theory", further exploration of cancer treatment strategies and methods based on elemene was undertaken. This comprehensive review consolidates the current understanding of elemene's potential antitumor mechanisms, recent clinical investigations, advancements in drug delivery systems, and structural modifications. The ultimate goal of this review is to establish a solid theoretical foundation for researchers, empowering them to develop more effective antitumor drugs based on the principles of "molecular compatibility theory".
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Sesquiterpenes/therapeutic use*

Objective To propose a Kaczmarz algorithm-based fast reconstruction method of magnetic particle imaging to solve the problems of magnetic particle tomography in prolonged imaging time and computational complexity.Methods Firstly,the convergence speeds of the classical Kaczmarz algorithm and its variant algorithms were analyzed,and the number of iterations and computational time under arbitrary matrices were calculated.Secondly,the abilities of Euclidean distance and cosine distance in differentiating system data were compared,and the cosine distance-based K-means algorithm was employed to enhance the computational capability of block Kaczmarz algorithm,shorten the system matrix reconstruction time,and ultimately fast reconstruction of magnetic particle imaging was realized.The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm was verified through computer simulation.Results The proposed algorithm reduced greatly the reconstruction time and improved the spatial resolution and quality of the reconstructed images.Conclusion The proposed algorithm enables fast reconstruction of magnetic particle imaging and behaves well in reconstruction of data containing noise.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(1):9-14]

Objective:This study aimed to compare the audiological characteristics between children with unilateral auditory neuropathy (UAN) and single-sided deafness (SSD) to establish a valid basis for the differential diagnosis of children with UAN.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on audiological and imaging evaluations of children with UAN and SSD who were treated at Beijing Children′s Hospital of Capital Medical University between May 2015 and June 2023. There were 17 children with UAN, comprising 10 males and 7 females, with an average age of 4.7 years. Additionally, there were 43 children with SSD, consisting of 27 males and 16 females, with an average age of 6.5 years. Audiological assessments included Auditory brainstem response (ABR), Steady-state auditory evoked potential (ASSR), Behavioural audiometry, Cochlear microphonic potential (CM), Distortino-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), and acoustic immittance test. The results of the audiological assessment and imaging phenotypic between the two groups of children were compared and analyzed by applying SPSS 27.0 statistical software.Results:(1) The UAN group (77.8%) had a significantly higher rate of ABR wave III L than the SSD group (20.9%) ( P<0.01). The PA thresholds at 500 Hz and 1 000 Hz of children with SSD were higher than those of children with UAN, while the ASSR thresholds at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2 000 Hz, and 4 000 Hz of children with SSD were significantly higher than those of children with UAN ( P<0.05). (2) The degree of hearing loss in both UAN and SSD children was predominantly complete hearing loss. The percentage of complete hearing loss was significantly higher (χ2=4.353, P=0.037) in the SSD group (93.0%, 40/43) than in the UAN group (63.6%, 7/11). However, the percentage of profound hearing loss was significantly higher in the UAN group (27.3%, 3/11) than in the SSD group (2.3%, 1/43) ( Fisher′s exact test, P=0.023). In terms of hearing curve configuration, the percentage of flat type was significantly higher in the SSD group (76.7%, 33/43) than in the UAN group (36.4%, 4/11). The proportion of the UAN group (27.3%, 3/11) was significantly higher than that in the SSD group (2.3%, 1/43) in ascending type ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the hearing curves of the declining type and other types between the two groups ( P>0.05). (3) The proportion of imaging assessment without abnormality was significantly more common in the UAN group (81.8%) than in the SSD group (37.1%) (χ2=6.695, P=0.015). Conclusions:Compared to children with SSD, the occurrence of wave III L on the ABR test was significantly more common in children with UAN. The percentage of ascending hearing curves was significantly higher in children with UAN than in children with SSD. ASSR thresholds were significantly lower in children with UAN. The normal imaging phenotype was significantly more common in children with UAN than in children with SSD.

Objective:To investigate the value of 99Tc m-hydrazinonicotinamide (HYNIC)-prostate specific membrane antigen(PSMA) SPECT/CT imaging in biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer (PCa). Methods:From January 2018 to March 2023, 112 patients with biochemical recurrence of PCa (age (72.6±6.1) years) who underwent 99Tc m-HYNIC-PSMA SPECT/CT imaging in Henan Provincial People′s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA), patients were divided into 0.2 μg/L2 μg/L group. According to the Gleason score, patients were divided into Gleason score≥8 group and Gleason score <8 group. The detection rate between groups was analyzed by χ2 test, and the difference of the PSA level between groups was compared by Mann-Whitney U test. Results:PSMA imaging was positive in 77 cases and negative in 35 cases, with the detection rate of 68.8%(77/112). The detection rates of local recurrence, lymph node metastasis, bone metastasis and lung metastasis were 8.9%(10/112), 43.8%(49/112), 28.6%(32/112) and 0.9%(1/112), respectively. The detection rates of 0.2 μg/L2 μg/L groups were 44.7%(21/47), 8/12 and 90.6%(48/53), respectively ( χ2=24.44, P<0.001). The detection rates of Gleason score ≥8 group and <8 group were 76.4%(55/72) and 55.0%(22/40) ( χ2=5.47, P=0.032); the PSA level between the two groups was statistically different (3.11(0.75, 5.91) and 0.84(0.44, 2.92) μg/L; z=-2.99, P=0.003). Of the patients with PSMA positive imaging, 84.4%(65/77) changed their treatment regimen and 15.6%(12/77) continued to observe or maintain the original treatment plan. Of the patients with PSMA negative imaging, 40.0%(14/35) changed the treatment plan, 51.4%(18/35) continued to observe or maintain the original treatment plan, and 8.6%(3/35) discontinued the original treatment because no tumor metastasis was found. Conclusion:99Tc m-HYNIC-PSMA SPECT/CT imaging can provide reference for the lesion detection, treatment decision-making and follow-up observation of biochemical recurrence of PCa.