In this study, RAW264.7 cells were employed to investigate the effects of honey-processed Astragalus on their energy metabolism and polarization, and explore the scientific connotation of the enhanced efficacy of honey-processed Astragalus on invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi. The medicated sera were prepared by intragastric administration of rats with water extracts of crude and honey-processed Astragalus, and the composition changes of medicated sera of crude and honey-processed Astragalus were analyzed by using LC-MS technology. The cell survival rates were detected and the concentrations of medicated sera were screened through CCK-8 assay. The differences of cell phagocytic rates, ATP energy metabolism, and NO secretion between crude and honey-processed Astragalus were evaluated by using neutral red phagocytosis assay, ATP detection kit, and NO detection kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on TNF-α secretion of RAW264.7 cells were detected by employing ELISA kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on polarization of RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by utilizing flow cytometry. The differential metabolites related to glycolysis in cell lysates and culture media were screened by using LC-MS technology. The experiment was approved by the experimental animal ethics committee from Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine (No. AWE202407352). The results showed that the contents of betaine, amino acids, and ononin in the prepared medicated sera of rats treated by intragastric administration with water extracts of honey-processed Astragalus increased compared to those in crude one. The results of CCK-8 experiment showed that there were no cytotoxic effects on RAW264.7 cells in the medicated sera of crude and honey-processd Astragalus at different concentration. The phagocytic index and ATP yield both increased to varying degrees after administration of the medicated sera to cells. The secretion of NO in normal and inflammatory cells increased and decreased respectively, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. The results of ELISA kit showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote the secretion of TNF-α in a concentration-dependent manner, and the promoting effect of honey-processed Astragalus was stronger than that of crude one. The results of flow cytometry showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote M1-type polarization and inhibit M2-type polarization of RAW264.7 cells, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. Compared to crude Astragalus, the metabolites related to glycolysis in the cell lysates and culture media of the medicated sera of honey-processed Astragalus were generally on the rise, indicating that the effect on promoting glycolysis of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. In summary, honey-processed Astragalus can promote the polarization and energy metabolism of RAW264.7 cells, and participate in positive immune regulation, which is correlated with its enhanced effect of invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi.

Optical imaging is highly valued for its superior temporal and spatial resolution. This is particularly important in near-infrared II (NIR-II, 1 000-3 000 nm) imaging, which offers advantages such as reduced tissue absorption, minimal scattering, and low autofluorescence. These characteristics make NIR-II imaging especially suitable for deep tissue visualization, where high contrast and minimal background interference are critical for accurate diagnosis and monitoring. Currently, inorganic fluorescent probes—such as carbon nanotubes, rare earth nanoparticles, and quantum dots—offer high brightness and stability. However, they are hindered by ambiguous structures, larger sizes, and potential accumulation toxicity in vivo. In contrast, organic fluorescent probes, including small molecules and polymers, demonstrate higher biocompatibility but are limited by shorter emission wavelengths, lower quantum yields, and reduced stability. Recently, gold clusters have emerged as a promising class of nanomaterials with potential applications in biocatalysis, fluorescence sensing, biological imaging, and more. Water-soluble gold clusters are particularly attractive as fluorescent probes due to their remarkable optical properties, including strong photoluminescence, large Stokes shifts, and excellent photostability. Furthermore, their outstanding biocompatibility—attributed to good aqueous stability, ultra-small hydrodynamic size, and high renal clearance efficiency—makes them especially suitable for biomedical applications. Gold clusters hold significant potential for NIR-II fluorescence imaging. Atomic-precision gold clusters, typically composed of tens to hundreds of gold atoms and measuring only a few nanometers in diameter, possess well-defined three-dimensional structures and clear spatial coordination. This atomic-level precision enables fine-tuned structural regulation, further enhancing their fluorescence properties. Variations in cluster size, surface ligands, and alloying elements can result in distinct physicochemical characteristics. The incorporation of different atoms can modulate the atomic and electronic structures of gold clusters, while diverse ligands can influence surface polarity and steric hindrance. As such, strategies like alloying and ligand engineering are effective in enhancing both fluorescence and catalytic performance, thereby meeting a broader range of clinical needs. In recent years, gold clusters have attracted growing attention in the biomedical field. Their application in NIR-II imaging has led to significant progress in vascular, organ, and tumor imaging. The resulting high-resolution, high signal-to-noise imaging provides powerful tools for clinical diagnostics. Moreover, biologically active gold clusters can aid in drug delivery and disease diagnosis and treatment, offering new opportunities for clinical therapeutics. Despite the notable achievements in fundamental research and clinical translation, further studies are required to address challenges related to the standardized synthesis and complex metabolic behavior of gold clusters. Resolving these issues will help accelerate their clinical adoption and broaden their biomedical applications.

Ocular accommodation refers to the process by which the ciliary muscle creates a clear image of the object in the retina by changing the refractive power of the lens. When the accommodation ability of the eye is insufficient, the imaging focus falls on the region behind the retina and hyperopic defocus is easily formed, resulting in axial growth and leading to the development of myopia, and it is found that most myopic patients usually have some accommodation dysfunction. Myopia has become a public health problem in China, and the prevalence of adolescents has increased dramatically. How to prevent and stop the occurrence and development of myopia is a major challenge. Previous studies have found that ocular accommodation dysfunction is associated with the occurrence and development of myopia, and the measurement of parameters related to accommodation function has certain guiding significance for the prevention and control of myopia. The purpose of this paper is to review the correlation between myopia and ocular accommodation function, with a view to providing new ideas for the prevention, control and treatment of myopia.

【Objective】 To explore the expression of PCDH9 loss in regulating cell cycle and promoting tumor progression. 【Methods】 The clinical records of 127 cases of prostate cancer treated during 2018 and 2023 were collected, including 87 paraffin tissue samples from the G4-5 group and 40 from the G1-3 group. The expressions of PCDH9, p53, Rb and STAT3 were detected with immunohistochemical staining, and the relationship between their expressions and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. 【Results】 The expression deletion rate of PCDH9 in prostate cancer tissues in G4-5 group (44.8% vs.7.5%) was significantly higher than that in G1-3 group (P<0.001). The positive expression rates of p53 and STAT3 were 34.5% and 89.7%, respectively, and the expression loss rate of Rb was 27.6% in G4-5 group. The expression loss rates of PCDH9 and Rb were associated with neuroendocrine-like histological morphology, nerve invasion and vascular invasion (P<0.05). In G4-5 group of prostate cancer, PCDH9 expression was positively correlated with the expressions of p53 (r=0.345, P<0.05), Rb (r=0.503, P<0.05) and STAT3 (r=0.224, P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 PCDH9 is prone to loss of expression in high-group prostate cancer tissues, especially in cases with neuroendocrine-like histological morphology, which may regulate the cell cycle through the STAT3 signaling pathway, thereby promoting tumor progression.

Exploring the action targets (groups) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important proposition to promote the innovation and development of TCM, but it has attracted a lot of attention as to whether it is related to the efficacy or the disease. Our team found that the metabolomic signature molecules in the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) were significantly associated with the clinical efficacy of Yuquan Pill through a large clinical sample study. Taking this as a clue, our team intends to expand the information on the omics features of DM development, and discover the key targets (groups) and their lead compounds for the hypoglycemic effect of Yuquan Pill. The project includes: ① Based on the retrospective clinical trials, using omics technology integrated with generative artificial intelligence, mining the characteristic information of proteome and microbiome, forming driving factors together with metabolome characteristic molecules, and characterizing the molecular trajectories of diabetes evolution and their interference by Yuquan Pill; ② Taking the evolving molecular trajectories as a link and pointer, using anthropomorphic modeling and molecular biology techniques such as chemical proteomics to discover the key targets (groups) of Yuquan Pill's hypoglycemic effect, with the prospective clinical samples for validation; ③ Evaluate the overall response of key targets (groups) using graph neural network technology, and search for drug-derived/endogenous lead compounds with proven clinical pathologies and clear mechanisms of action, so as to provide a new paradigm and technology for the discovery of complex active ingredient targets (groups) of TCM that are related to their clinical efficacy, as well as for the discovery of innovative medicines.

Background::Oral anti-coagulants (OAC) are the intervention for the prevention of stroke, which consistently improve clinical outcomes and survival among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The main purpose of this study is to identify problems in OAC utilization among hospitalized patients with AF in China.Methods::Using data from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Atrial Fibrillation (CCC-AF) registry, guideline-recommended OAC use in eligible patients was assessed.Results::A total of 52,530 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled from February 2015 to December 2019, of whom 38,203 were at a high risk of stroke, 9717 were at a moderate risk, and 4610 were at a low risk. On admission, only 20.0% (6075/30,420) of patients with a diagnosed AF and a high risk of stroke were taking OAC. The use of pre-hospital OAC on admission was associated with a lower risk of new-onset ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack among the diagnosed AF population (adjusted odds ratio: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.43–0.68; P <0.001). At discharge, the prescription rate of OAC was 45.2% (16,757/37,087) in eligible patients with high stroke risk and 60.7% (2778/4578) in eligible patients with low stroke risk. OAC utilization in patients with high stroke risk on admission or at discharge both increased largely over time (all P <0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that OAC utilization at discharge was positively associated with in-hospital rhythm control strategies, including catheter ablation (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 11.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.04–13.47; P <0.001), electronic cardioversion (adjusted OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.65–3.51; P <0.001), and anti-arrhythmic drug use (adjusted OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.38–1.53; P <0.001). Conclusions::In hospitals participated in the CCC-AF project, >70% of AF patients were at a high risk of stroke. Although poor performance on guideline-recommended OAC use was found in this study, over time the CCC-AF project has made progress in stroke prevention in the Chinese AF population.Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02309398.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of iron overload on the transplant outcomes of pediatric patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 74 children with SAA who received allo-HSCT at the Hematology Department of Wuhan Children’s Hospital between January 2018 and August 2022. Children with iron overload (serum ferritin >1 000 μg/L) before transplantation had a longer disease course, received more red blood cell transfusions, and had a higher number of CD34 + cells infused. Moreover, iron overload significantly delayed the reconstitution of regulatory T cells after transplantation, increasing the incidence of hemorrhagic cystitis and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ acute graft-versus-host disease after transplantation. However, iron overload did not significantly affect the overall survival and failure-free survival rates of the children.

Background::Although overnight fasting is recommended prior to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the benefits and safety of high-carbohydrate fluid diet (CFD) intake 2 h before ERCP remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze whether high-CFD intake 2 h before ERCP can be safe and accelerate patients’ recovery.Methods::This prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial involved 15 tertiary ERCP centers. A total of 1330 patients were randomized into CFD group ( n = 665) and fasting group ( n = 665). The CFD group received 400 mL of maltodextrin orally 2 h before ERCP, while the control group abstained from food/water overnight (>6 h) before ERCP. All ERCP procedures were performed using deep sedation with intravenous propofol. The investigators were blinded but not the patients. The primary outcomes included postoperative fatigue and abdominal pain score, and the secondary outcomes included complications and changes in metabolic indicators. The outcomes were analyzed according to a modified intention-to-treat principle. Results::The post-ERCP fatigue scores were significantly lower at 4 h (4.1 ± 2.6 vs. 4.8 ± 2.8, t = 4.23, P <0.001) and 20 h (2.4 ± 2.1 vs. 3.4 ± 2.4, t= 7.94, P <0.001) in the CFD group, with least-squares mean differences of 0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26–0.71, P <0.001) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.57–0.95, P <0.001), respectively. The 4-h pain scores (2.1 ± 1.7 vs. 2.2 ± 1.7, t = 2.60, P = 0.009, with a least-squares mean difference of 0.21 [95% CI: 0.05–0.37]) and positive urine ketone levels (7.7% [39/509] vs. 15.4% [82/533], χ2 = 15.13, P <0.001) were lower in the CFD group. The CFD group had significantly less cholangitis (2.1% [13/634] vs. 4.0% [26/658], χ2 = 3.99, P = 0.046) but not pancreatitis (5.5% [35/634] vs. 6.5% [43/658], χ2 = 0.59, P = 0.444). Subgroup analysis revealed that CFD reduced the incidence of complications in patients with native papilla (odds ratio [OR]: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.39–0.95, P = 0.028) in the multivariable models. Conclusion::Ingesting 400 mL of CFD 2 h before ERCP is safe, with a reduction in post-ERCP fatigue, abdominal pain, and cholangitis during recovery.Trail Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT03075280.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the prospective association between physical activity (PA),independently or in conjunction with other contributing factors,and osteoporosis (OP) outcomes. Methods The Physical Activity in Osteoporosis Outcomes (PAOPO) study was a community-based cohort investigation. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the participants' sociodemographic characteristics. Bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed to assess OP outcomes,and the relationship between BMD and OP was evaluated within this cohort. Results From 2013 to 2014,8,471 participants aged 18 years and older were recruited from Tangshan,China's Jidong community. Based on their PA level,participants were categorized as inactive,moderately active,or very active. Men showed higher physical exercise levels than women across the activity groups. BMD was significantly higher in the very active group than in the moderately active and inactive groups. Individuals aged>50 years are at a higher risk of developing OP and osteopenia. Conclusion The PAOPO study offers promising insights into the relationship between PA and OP outcomes,encouraging the implementation of PA in preventing and managing OP.

With the increasing life expectancy and lifestyle changes of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), the significance of comorbidities of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in disease progression and health prognosis of CHB patients is gaining prominence. This study aims to explore the association between CHB and NCDs comorbidities, focusing on the impact of common metabolism-related diseases, such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes, on the health outcomes of CHB patients. We also summarize studies on integrating the management of comorbidities in CHB patients and provide relevant recommendations for effective management. The findings of this study serve as a foundation for understanding the clinical characteristics and prevalence trends, reducing the disease burden of comorbidities among CHB patients, and establishing a comprehensive and coordinated management system for comorbidities.