Objective: To explore the balance of peripheral blood T helper 17 cells/regulatory T cell (Th17/Treg) ratio and the polarization ratio of M1 and M2 macrophages in lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). Methods: A rat model of lower extremity ASO was established, and blood samples from patients with lower extremity ASO before and after surgery were obtained. ELISA was used to detect interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-10, and IL-17. Real-time RCR and Western blot analyses were used to detect Foxp3, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17 expression. Moreover, flow cytometry was applied to detect the Th17/Treg ratio and M1/M2 ratio. Results: Compared with the control group, the iliac artery wall of ASO rats showed significant hyperplasia, and the concentrations of cholesterol and triglyceride were significantly increased (P<0.01), indicating the successful establishment of ASO. Moreover, the levels of IL-6 and IL-17 in ASO rats were pronouncedly increased (P<0.05), while the IL-10 level was significantly decreased (P<0.05). In addition to increased IL-6 and IL-17 levels, the mRNA and protein levels of Foxp3 and IL-10 in ASO rats were significantly decreased compared with the control group. The Th17/Treg and M1/M2 ratios in the ASO group were markedly increased (P<0.05). These alternations were also observed in ASO patients. After endovascular surgery (such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and arterial stenting), all these changes were significantly improved (P<0.05). Conclusions: The Th17/Treg and M1/M2 ratios were significantly increased in ASO, and surgery can effectively improve the balance of Th17/Treg, and reduce the ratio of M1/M2, and the expression of inflammatory factors.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic transnasal surgery for sinonasal and skull base adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), and to analyze the prognostic factors. Methods: Data of 82 patients (43 females and 39 males, at a median age of 49 years old) with sinonasal and skull base ACC who were admitted to XuanWu Hospital, Capital Medical University between June 2007 and June 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were staged according to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition. The disease overall survival(OS) and disease-free survival(DFS) rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox regression model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis. Results: There were 4 patients with stage Ⅱ, 14 patients with stage Ⅲ, and 64 patients with stage Ⅳ. The treatment strategies included purely endoscopic surgery (n=42), endoscopic surgery plus radiotherapy (n=32) and endoscopic surgery plus radiochemotherapy (n=8). Followed up for 8 to 177 months, the 5-year OS and DFS rates was 63.0% and 51.6%, respectively. The 10-year OS and DFS rates was 51.2% and 31.8%, respectively. The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that late T stage and internal carotid artery (ICA) involvement were the independent prognostic factors for survival in sinonasal and skull base ACC (all P<0.05). The OS of patients who received surgery or surgery plus radiotherapy was significantly higher than that of patients who received surgery plus radiochemotherapy (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Endoscopic transonasal surgery or combing with radiotherapy is an effective procedure for the treatment of sinonasal and skull base ACC. Late T stage and ICA involvement indicate poor prognosis.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Skull Base/pathology* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Prognosis

In this study, the mechanism of Xiaoyan Lidan formula (XYLDF) against 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydro-2,4,6-collidine (DDC)-induced chronic intrahepatic cholestasis (CIHC) in mice was investigated based on metabolomics, molecular docking and pharmacological methods. In the pharmacodynamics study, a dosage of 5 g·kg^-1 (clinical equivalent) XYLDF was administered in DDC-induced mice, then the effect of XYLDF against CIHC was evaluated by measuring the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) as well as total bilirubin (TBIL) in serum and observing liver histopathological changes. All experiments were approved by the Ethical Committee Experimental Animal Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (ZYD-2021-001). The serum metabolites of mice in each group were detected and identified based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry, and the relevant biological pathways and molecular key targets were further enriched. Molecular docking technology was used to further evaluate the binding activity of the main active ingredients of XYLDF with potential targets. Subsequently, the in vitro experiment was conducted for the validation of the vital target. The results showed that compared with the model group, XYLDF significantly decreased the levels of ALT, AST, AKP and TBIL in the serum of CIHC mice, as well as alleviated inflammatory infiltration and hepatocyte necrosis in liver tissue. According to the metabonomic study, a total of 35 differential metabolites was identified as biomarkers associated with cholestasis, 12 of which were significantly recovered by XYLDF treatment. These biomarkers were involved in the pathways of primary bile acid biosynthesis and linoleic metabolism, which are closely related to the mechanism of XYLDF against CIHC. Protein-protein interaction network indicated that cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) are significant potential targets with good binding properties with six major active ingredients of XYLDF. Furthermore, it was found that 4-methoxy-5-hydroxycanthin-6-one, dehydroandrographolide and isodocarpin, three of the main active components in XYLDF, markedly induced the expression of CYP3A4 mRNA in vitro. This study revealed that XYLDF mainly mediates the biosynthesis of bile acids in CIHC mice to improve liver tissue lesions and bile efflux disorders, among which, CYP3A4 is the key target in the protection of XYLDF against CIHC. This research provides a reference for further elucidation of the pharmacological mechanism of XYLDF.

Imported medicinal materials are an important part of Chinese medicinal resources. To be specific, about 10% of the around 600 commonly used Chinese medicinal materials are from abroad, and the introduction of foreign medicinal materials has promoted the development of Chinese medicine. Amid the advancement of reform and opening up and the "Belt and Road" Initiative, major headway has been made in the cross-border trade in China, bringing opportunities for the import of medicinal materials from border ports. However, for a long time, there is a lack of systematic investigation on the types of exotic medicinal materials at border ports. In the fourth national census of traditional Chinese medicine resources, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, together with several organizations, investigated the nearly 40 border ports, Chinese medicinal material markets, and border trade markets in 6 provinces/autonomous regions in China for the first time and recorded the types, sources, circulation, and the transaction characteristics of imported medicinal materials. Moreover, they invited experts to identify the origins of the collected 237 medicinal materials. In addition, the status quo and the problems of the medicinal materials were summarized. This study is expected to lay a basis for clarifying the market and origins of imported medicinal materials as well as the scientific research on and supervision of them.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Materia Medica ; Records ; Censuses ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

This paper systematically combs and analyzes the existing research related to the textual research of famous classical formulas， summarizes the problems and deficiencies of the current research， and puts forward the key points and suggestions of the textual research of famous classical formulas， so as to provide reference for the research related to the textual research of famous classical formulas. This paper discusses from the perspectives of paying attention to the similarities and differences of ancient and modern drug textual research connotation， paying attention to the comprehensive utilization of multi-dimensional information， paying attention to the combing and textual research of different key links of drug historical evolution， paying attention to the combing of the evolution of modern scientific name textual research， paying attention to the textual research principle of respecting the ancient but not sticking to it， and paying attention to the basic knowledge of philology， and puts forward the current situation， problems and countermeasures of formula textual research to herbal textual research based on the in-depth summary and analysis of the results， absorbs the advantages of previous scholars， supplements the shortcomings of previous research， and forms a unique research system according to the characteristics of famous classical formulas. That is， pay attention to the context of historical changes and cross-sectional analysis. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the historical changes of different key links such as the origin， authentic production areas， medicinal parts and processing， the reasonable key information of famous classical formula drugs in different periods was given by fully absorbing the research results of modern times and combining the current productivity and cognitive level， laying a foundation for the development of famous classical formulas.

Based on the systematic retrieval and the reported components of Sojae Semen Nigrum and Sojae Semen Praeparatum, this study conducted in-depth analysis of conversion of components in the fermentation process, and discussed types and possible mec-hanisms of conversion of chemical components, so as to provide the basis for studying technology, medicinal ingredients and quality standards. According to the analysis, there is a certain degree of conversion of nutrients(like protein, sugar, lipid), bioactive substances(like isoflavones, saponins, γ-aminobutyric acid) and other substances(like nucleosides, melanoids, biamines, etc) in the process of fermentation.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Fermentation ; Isoflavones/analysis* ; Semen/chemistry* ; Soybeans

Objective:The chemical constituents in guarana （Paullinia cupana dried seeds） were systematically analyzed to provide a basis for further research， development and utilization of this plant. Method:The contents of crude protein， crude fat， crude polysaccharide and crude fiber in guarana were determined according to national standards and related documents， and the chemical constituents of guarana was qualitatively analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）， ACQUITY UPLC-HSS-T3 column （2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.8 μm） was used with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution （A）-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile solution （B） as mobile phase for gradient elution （0-5 min， 2%-10%B； 5-6 min， 10%-20%B； 6-9 min， 20%-30%B； 9-9.5 min， 30%-35%B； 9.5-10.5 min， 35%-45%B； 10.5~13 min， 45%-55%B； 13-15 min， 55%-80%B； 15-19 min， 80%-98%B； 19-20 min， 98%B； 20-20.3 min， 98%-2%B； 20.3-23 min， 2%B）， the electrospray ionization （ESI） was used for detection in positive and negative ion modes， the scanning range was m/z 50-1 500， and the structure was identified according to the relative molecular weight and fragment information combined with database matching and comparison of reference substances. Result:The contents crude protein， crude fat， crude polysaccharide and crude fiber in guarana were （0.63±0.03）%， （2.73±0.09）%， （3.23±0.12）% and （8.89±0.59）%， respectively. A total of 42 chemical constituents in guarana were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS， including 3 methylxanthines， 2 nucleosides， 1 amino acid， 3 organic acids， 33 flavonoids， 3 （L-tryptophan， epigallocatechin gallate， daidzein） of which were first discovered in guarana. Conclusion:Guarana is rich in nutrients and has good potential to be developed as a functional food. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technique provides a simple， rapid and accurate method for the identification of chemical constituents in guarana. Methylxanthines and proanthocyanidins are the main chemical constituents of guarana， which is meaningful for quality evaluation and material basis of guarana.

The historical evolution， fermentation technology and key links of Sojae Semen Praeparatum （SSP） were sorted out by consulting ancient books and modern literature， and the influencing factors and control methods of quality were analyzed and summarized in order to provide reference for the quality control of SSP. After analysis， it was found that in the fermentation process of SSP， fermentation strains， miscellaneous bacteria， temperature and humidity were all important factors affecting the quality of SSP. The condition control of "post fermentation" process has been paid more attention to in the past dynasties. In addition， the delicious SSP recognized in ancient times should be made from mold fermentation， and the breeding and application of fermented mold may be the key point to solve the quality problem of SSP. Therefore， based on the evaluation indexes of SSP in the past dynasties， it is of great significance to study and optimize the technological conditions such as strain， temperature and humidity in depth to improve the quality of SSP.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion therapies on post-stroke constipation based on the network Meta-analysis. METHODS: The randomized controlled trials of acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation were retrieved from the databases, starting from the time of establishment through to June, 2019, i.e. the PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP. The literature was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, the quality of literature was evaluated by bias risk assessment tool of Cochrane Review Manual 5.3 and the data was statistically analyzed by softwares of Stata 13.1 and R Language. RESULTS: A total of 28 trails were included, involving 9 intervention methods. The therapeutic effect was arranged from high to the low according to the surface under cumulative ranking area (SUCRA), i.e. acupuncture combined with medication (0.86), warm needling (0.83), electroacupuncture combined with medication (0.68), electroacupuncture (0.68), moxibustion (0.50), auricular point sticking (0.44), acupuncture (0.31), Chinese herbal medicine (0.12) and western medication (0.04). CONCLUSION Acupuncture- moxibustion therapies have superiority on treating post-stroke constipation, acupuncture combined with medication has the most optimum therapeutic effect and the therapeutic effect of acupuncture-moxibustion combined with medication is superior to the single treatment of medication.

Tubular dentin is of great significance in the process of tooth tissue and tooth regeneration, because it is not only the structural feature of primary dentin, but also can affect the tooth sensory function, affect the differentiation of dental pulp cells and provide strong mechanical support for teeth. Scaffold is one of the three elements of tissue engineering dentin regeneration. Most experiments on dentin regeneration involve the study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the scaffold. The microstructure and mechanical characteristics of scaffold materials have important effects on the differentiation and adhesion of odontoblast, it can directly affect the tissue structure of regenerated dentin.
Cell Differentiation ; Dental Pulp ; Dentin ; Odontoblasts ; Regeneration ; Tissue Engineering ; Tissue Scaffolds