Quality control is a key link in the modernization process of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Studies have shown that the effects of active components in TCM depend on not only their chemical composition but also their suitable physical forms and states. The physical phase structures, such as micelles, vesicles, gels, and nanoparticles, can improve the solubility, delivery efficiency, and targeting precision of active components. These structures significantly enhance the pharmacological activity while reducing the toxicity and side effects, demonstrating functional activity surpassing that of active components and highlighting the key effects of "structures" on "functions" of active components. Taking the physical phase structure as a breakthrough point, this paper outlines the common types of TCM physical phase structures. Furthermore, this paper explores how to realize the quality upgrading of TCM through the precise regulation of physical phase structures based on the current applications and potential of TCM physical phase structures in processing to increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity, compounding and decocting processes, drug delivery systems, and quality control, aiming to provide novel insights for the future quality control of TCM.
Quality Control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Drug Delivery Systems

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of Xuanshen Yishen Decoction (XYD) in the treatment of hypertension. METHODS: Hospital electronic medical records from 2019-2023 were utilized to emulate a randomized pragmatic clinical trial. Hypertensive participants were eligible if they were aged ⩾40 years with baseline systolic blood pressure (BP) ⩾140 mm Hg. Patients treated with XYD plus antihypertensive regimen were assigned to the treatment group, whereas those who followed only antihypertensive regimen were assigned to the control group. The primary outcome assessed was the attainment rate of intensive BP control at discharge, with the secondary outcome focusing on the 6-month all-cause readmission rate. RESULTS: The study included 3,302 patients, comprising 2,943 individuals in the control group and 359 in the treatment group. Compared with the control group, a higher proportion in the treatment group achieved the target BP for intensive BP control [8.09% vs. 17.5%; odds ratio (OR)=2.29, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.68 to 3.13; P<0.001], particularly in individuals with high homocysteine levels (OR=3.13; 95% CI=1.72 to 5.71; P<0.001; P for interaction=0.041). Furthermore, the 6-month all-cause readmission rate in the treatment group was lower than in the control group (hazard ratio=0.58; 95% CI=0.36 to 0.91; P=0.019), and the robustness of the results was confirmed by sensitivity analyse. CONCLUSIONS XYD could be a complementary therapy for intensive BP control. Our study offers real-world evidence and guides the choice of complementary and alternative therapies. (Registration No. ChiCTR2400086589).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Antihypertensive Agents/pharmacology* ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Hypertension/physiopathology* ; Patient Readmission ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To study the correlation between spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and increased intracranial pressure.Methods:Clinical data of patients with spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea treated in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Provincial Hospital of Shandong First Medical University from January 2019 to December 2023 and their epidemiology, clinical symptoms and signs, preoperative cerebrospinal fluid pressure, imaging data, leakage site, repair method and the presence or absebce of increased intracranial pressure were analysed. SPSS 23.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results:Of the 57 patients with cerebrospinal fluid nasolacrimal leakage, 84.2%(48/57) were females and 15.8%(9/57) were males; 80.7%(46/57) were between 40 and 60 years old; and overweight and obese patients accounted for 75.4%(43/57). Of 57 patients, 35 patients received cranial MRI+magnetic resonance venography, and among them, 12(34.3%) patients were clinically with headache symptoms; the incidences of empty pterygoid and venous sinus stenosis were 40.0%(14/35) and 51.4%(18/35), respectively; and 33 patients underwent preoperative lumbar puncture examination, of whom 25(75.8%) patients had the increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure and 1 patient had idiopathic intracranial hypertension. All 57 patients underwent dural repair of the skull base, the postoperative follow-up period ranged from 3 to 60 months, and the success rate of surgery was 94.7%. The success rate was 100% in female patients and 33.3%(3/9) in male patients, including one with surgical failure receiving reoperation and two with postoperative recurrence in other areas of the skull base, with significant difference in the success rate of surgery between males and females (χ 2=16.890, P<0.001). Conclusions:Most patients with spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea have the increased cerebrospinal fluid pressures, but very few fulfil the diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. The success rate of surgical repair alone is high, but some recurrences still exist, especially in male patients.

Objective To investigate the association of 13 single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)sites in 6 phalange-bone development related genes[fibroblast growth factor receptor 2(FGFR2),indian hedgehog signaling molecule(IHH),Msh homeobox 1(MSX1),Runx family transcription factor 2(RUNX2),SRY-box transcription factor 9(SOX9),Wnt family member 5A(WNT5A)]with human index-ring finger length ratio(2D∶4D).Methods Digital cameras were used to take frontal photographs of the hands of 731 college students(358 males and 373 females)in Ningxia,and image analysis software was used to mark anatomical points and measure finger lengths of index(2th)and ring(4th);genotyping of 13 SNP sites(rs1047057,rs755793,rs41258305,rs3731881,rs3100776,rs12532,rs3821949,rs45585135,rs3749863,rs1042667,rs12601701,rs1829556,rs3732750)for 6 genes by multiplex PCR;One-Way ANOVA or independent sample t-test indirectly assessed the association between 2D∶4D and 13 SNP sites.Results Both left and right hand 2D∶4D were significantly higher in females than males in Ningxia college students(all P<0.01);no statistically significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies of the 13 SNP sites among different sexes(all P>0.05);among different sexes,male left hand 2D∶4D was significantly associated with the genotype of SOX9 gene rs12601701 site(P<0.05)and right hand 2D∶4D was significantly associated with the genotype of WNT5A gene rs1829556 site(P<0.05);the female right hand 2D∶4D was significantly associated with the MSX1 gene rs12532(P<0.01)and rs3821949(P<0.05)sites genotypes.Conclusion SOX9(rs12601701),WNT5A(rs1829556)and MSX1(rs12532 and rs3821949)gene polymorphisms may be associated with the formation of 2D∶4D in Ningxia population.

Purpose::Cerebral edema (CE) is the main secondary injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by road traffic accidents (RTAs). It is challenging to be predicted timely. In this study, we aimed to develop a prediction model for CE by identifying its risk factors and comparing the timing of edema occurrence in TBI patients with varying levels of injuries.Methods::This case-control study included 218 patients with TBI caused by RTAs. The cohort was divided into CE and non-CE groups, according to CT results within 7 days. Demographic data, imaging data, and clinical data were collected and analyzed. Quantitative variables that follow normal distribution were presented as mean ± standard deviation, those that do not follow normal distribution were presented as median (Q 1, Q 3). Categorical variables were expressed as percentages. The Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to identify risk factors for CE. Logistic curve fitting was performed to predict the time to secondary CE in TBI patients with different levels of injuries. The efficacy of the model was evaluated using the receiver operator characteristic curve. Results::According to the study, almost half (47.3%) of the patients were found to have CE. The risk factors associated with CE were bilateral frontal lobe contusion, unilateral frontal lobe contusion, cerebral contusion, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and abbreviated injury scale (AIS). The odds ratio values for these factors were 7.27 (95% confidence interval ( CI): 2.08 -25.42, p = 0.002), 2.85 (95% CI: 1.11 -7.31, p = 0.030), 2.62 (95% CI: 1.12 -6.13, p = 0.027), 2.44 (95% CI: 1.25 -4.76, p = 0.009), and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.10 -2.04, p = 0.009), respectively. We also observed that patients with mild/moderate TBI (AIS ≤ 3) had a 50% probability of developing CE 19.7 h after injury (χ 2= 13.82, adjusted R2 = 0.51), while patients with severe TBI (AIS > 3) developed CE after 12.5 h (χ 2= 18.48, adjusted R2 = 0.54). Finally, we conducted a receiver operator characteristic curve analysis of CE time, which showed an area under the curve of 0.744 and 0.672 for severe and mild/moderate TBI, respectively. Conclusion::Our study found that the onset of CE in individuals with TBI resulting from RTAs was correlated with the severity of the injury. Specifically, those with more severe injuries experienced an earlier onset of CE. These findings suggest that there is a critical time window for clinical intervention in cases of CE secondary to TBI.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value immature granulocyte percentage(IG％)and other inflammatory indicators in the severity of acute appendicitis.Methods:A total of 201 pediatric patients undergoing appendicitis surgery admitted to Zhoukou Central Hospital from June 2022 to August 2023 were included.Patients with pathologically confirmed actue appendici-tis were divided two subgroups:actue simple appendicitis(ASA)group and actue complicated ap-pendicitis(ACA)group,The variables that included IG％,white blood cell(WBC)count,absolute neutrophil count(ANC),absolute lymphocyte count(ALC),neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR),pro-calcitonin(PCT),C-reactive protein(CRP),platelet to lymphocyte(PLR)and other indexes were ana-lyzed between ASA and ACA group.The logistic regression model for diagnosis of ACA was es-tablished,and the diagostic value of this model and other inflammtory indicators for ACA was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Results:The levels of IG％,WBC,ANC,ALC,NLR,PCT and PLR were higher and the level of ALC was lower in ACA group than those in ASA group(all P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that IG％,NLR and CRP were three diagnostic determinants of ACA(all P＜0.05).The AUC of the established logistic model and IG％,NLR,CRP were 0.868,0.821,0.691 and 0.790(all P＜0.001).The logistic model was vali-dated by independent cohorts,and the AUC was 0.872,the sensitivity was 90.0％and the speci-ficity was 75.6％.Conlusions:The IG％value can early indicator for pediatric ACA,and the es-tablished logistic regression model based on biomarkers including IG％,NLR and CRP has clinical value in diagnosing ACA in children.

Clinical researches including the Mayo Anesthesia Safety in Kids (MASK) study have found that children undergoing multiple anesthesia may have a higher risk of fine motor control difficulties. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), a microglial receptor associated with phagocytic activity, was significantly downregulated in the medial prefrontal cortex of young mice after multiple sevoflurane anesthesia exposure. Importantly, we found that the inhibited erythropoietin (EPO)/EPOR signaling axis led to microglial polarization, excessive excitatory synaptic pruning, and abnormal fine motor control skills in mice with multiple anesthesia exposure, and those above-mentioned situations were fully reversed by supplementing EPO-derived peptide ARA290 by intraperitoneal injection. Together, the microglial EPOR was identified as a key mediator regulating early synaptic development in this study, which impacted sevoflurane-induced fine motor dysfunction. Moreover, ARA290 might serve as a new treatment against neurotoxicity induced by general anesthesia in clinical practice by targeting the EPO/EPOR signaling pathway.
Animals ; Sevoflurane/toxicity* ; Microglia/drug effects* ; Anesthetics, Inhalation/adverse effects* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Receptors, Erythropoietin/metabolism* ; Neuronal Plasticity/drug effects* ; Male ; Prefrontal Cortex/drug effects* ; Erythropoietin/pharmacology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: The mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission via injection drug use (IDU) still exists, and the recent shift in IDU-related transmission of HIV infection is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the spatiotemporal sources and dynamics of HIV-1 transmission through IDU in Guangxi. METHODS: We performed a molecular epidemiological investigation of infections across Guangxi from 2009 to 2019. Phylogenetic and Bayesian time-geographic analyses of HIV-1 sequences were performed to confirm the characteristics of transmission between IDUs in combination with epidemiological data. RESULTS: Among the 535 subjects, CRF08_BC (57.4%), CRF01_AE (28.4%), and CRF07_BC (10.7%) were the top 3 HIV strains; 72.6% of infections were linked to other provinces in the transmission network; 93.6% of sequence-transmitted strains were locally endemic, with the rest coming from other provinces, predominantly Guangdong and Yunnan; 92.1% of the HIV transmission among people who inject drugs tended to be transmitted between HIV-positive IDUs. CONCLUSION HIV recombinants were high diversity, and circulating local strains were the transmission sources among IDUs in Guangxi. However, there were still cases of IDUs linked to other provinces. Coverage of traditional prevention strategies should be expanded, and inter-provincial collaboration between Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guangdong provinces should be strengthened.
Humans ; HIV-1/genetics* ; HIV Infections ; Drug Users ; Phylogeny ; Bayes Theorem ; China/epidemiology* ; Genotype

Objective: To investigate the genetic and genomic profiling of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) and factors affecting its survival rate. Methods: Clinical characteristics, cytogenetics, molecular biology results and survival status of children with 27 JMML cases admitted to the Hematology Department of Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics from December 2012 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, and the outcomes of the children were followed up. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Univariate analysis was used for analyzing factors affecting the overall survival (OS) rates of patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Log-Rank test was used for comparison of survival curves. Results: Among 27 JMML cases, there were 11 males and 16 females. The age of disease onset was 28 (11,52) months. There are 20 cases of normal karyotype, 4 cases of monosomy 7, 1 case of trisomy 8,1 case of 11q23 rearrangement and 1 case of complex karyotype. A total of 39 somatic mutations were detected.Those involved in RAS signal pathway were the highest (64%(25/39)), among which PTPN11 mutation was the most frequent (44% (11/25)). A total of 17 cases (63%) received HSCT, 8 cases (30%) did not receive HSCT, and 2 cases (7%) lost follow-up. For children receiving transplantation, the follow-up time after transplantation was 47 (11,57) months. The 1-year OS rate of high-risk transplantation group (17 cases) and high-risk non transplantation group (6 cases) was (88±8)% and (50±20)% respectively, with a statistically significant difference (χ²=5.01, P=0.025). The 5-year OS rate of the high-risk transplantation group was (75±11)%. The survival time of those who relapsed or progressed to acute myeloid leukemia after transplantation was significantly shorter than that of those who did not relapse (χ²=6.80, P=0.009). The OS rate of patients with or without PTPN11 mutation was (81±12) % and (67±19)% respectively (χ²=0.85, P=0.356). Conclusions: The main pathogenesis involved in JMML is gene mutation related to RAS signaling pathway, and the most common driver gene of mutation is PTPN11. Allogeneic HSCT can significantly improve the survival rate of high-risk JMML patients. The recurrence or progression after transplantation was related to poor prognosis.
Male ; Female ; Child ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Mutation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

OBJECTIVES: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of noninvasive high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (NHFOV) versus nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) as post-extubation respiratory support in preterm infants. METHODS: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, China Biology Medicine disc, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles on NHFOV and NIPPV as post-extubation respiratory support in preterm infants published up to August 31, 2022. RevMan 5.4 software and Stata 17.0 software were used for a Meta analysis to compare related indices between the NHFOV and NIPPV groups, including reintubation rate within 72 hours after extubation, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO₂) at 6-24 hours after switch to noninvasive assisted ventilation, and the incidence rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), air leak, nasal damage, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). RESULTS: A total of 9 randomized controlled trials were included. The Meta analysis showed that compared with the NIPPV group, the NHFOV group had significantly lower reintubation rate within 72 hours after extubation (RR=0.67, 95%CI: 0.52-0.88, P=0.003) and PCO₂ at 6-24 hours after switch to noninvasive assisted ventilation (MD=-4.12, 95%CI: -6.12 to -2.13, P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence rates of complications such as BPD, air leak, nasal damage, PVL, IVH, and ROP (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Compared with NIPPV, NHFOV can effectively remove CO₂ and reduce the risk of reintubation, without increasing the incidence of complications such as BPD, air leak, nasal damage, PVL, and IVH, and therefore, it can be used as a sequential respiratory support mode for preterm infants after extubation.
Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Infant, Premature ; Intermittent Positive-Pressure Ventilation ; Airway Extubation ; Noninvasive Ventilation ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; High-Frequency Ventilation ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/therapy* ; Continuous Positive Airway Pressure