This is the first reported case of a female with monkeypox infection in Kunming City,Yunnan Province.An epi-demiological investigation was conducted to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of monkeypox epidemics in China,especially for early detection in females in accordance with the"Monkeypox prevention and control program(2023 ver-sion)".Diagnosis was performed as described in the"Monkeypox Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines(2022 version)".Speci-mens were collected for laboratory testing.The epidemiological investigation determined that the female patient had sexual in-tercourse with her newly married husband once before disease onset and the husband hid his history of male homosexual sex.The laboratory test results of the woman and her husband were positive for the nucleic acid of the monkeypox virus.Both had typical clinical symptoms,including rash.The epidemiological investigation,clinical symptoms,laboratory test results,and previous epidemic data of monkeypox in Yunnan province confirmed the woman as the first female infected with monkeypox in Yunnan Province and her husband was the presumed source of infection.

Objective: To investigate the expression of programmed death protein-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in liver cancer stem-like cells (LCSLC) and its effect on the characteristics of tumor stem cells and tumor biological function, to explore the upstream signaling pathway regulating PD-L1 expression in LCSLC and the downstream molecular mechanism of PD-L1 regulating stem cell characteristics, also tumor biological functions. Methods: HepG2 was cultured by sphere-formating method to obtain LCSLC. The expressions of CD133 and other stemness markers were detected by flow cytometry, western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the expressions of stemness markers and PD-L1. The biological functions of the LCSLC were tested by cell function assays, to confirm that the LCSLC has the characteristics of tumor stem cells. LCSLC was treated with cell signaling pathway inhibitors to identify relevant upstream signaling pathways mediating PD-L1 expression changes. The expression of PD-L1 in LCSLC was down regulated by small interfering RNA (siRNA), the expression of stem cell markers, tumor biological functions of LCSLC, and the changes of cell signaling pathways were detected. Results: Compared with HepG2 cells, the expression rate of CD133 in LCSLC was upregulated [(92.78±6.91)% and (1.40±1.77)%, P<0.001], the expressions of CD133, Nanog, Oct4A and Snail in LCSLC were also higher than those in HepG2 cells (P<0.05), the number of sphere-formating cells increased on day 7 [(395.30±54.05) and (124.70±19.30), P=0.001], cell migration rate increased [(35.41±6.78)% and (10.89±4.34)%, P=0.006], the number of transmembrane cells increased [(75.77±10.85) and (20.00±7.94), P=0.002], the number of cloned cells increased [(120.00±29.51) and (62.67±16.77), P=0.043]. Cell cycle experiments showed that LCSLC had significantly more cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase than those in HepG2 [(54.89±3.27) and (32.36±1.50), P<0.001]. The tumor formation experiment of mice showed that the weight of transplanted tumor in LCSLC group was (1.32±0.17)g, the volume is (1 779.0±200.2) mm(3), were higher than those of HepG2 cell [(0.31±0.06)g and (645.6±154.9)mm(3), P<0.001]. The expression level of PD-L1 protein in LCSLC was 1.88±0.52 and mRNA expression level was 2.53±0.62, both of which were higher than those of HepG2 cells (P<0.05). The expression levels of phosphorylation signal transduction and transcription activation factor 3 (p-STAT3) and p-Akt in LCSLC were higher than those in HepG2 cells (P<0.05). After the expression of p-STAT3 and p-Akt was down-regulated by inhibitor treatment, the expression of PD-L1 was also down-regulated (P<0.05). In contrast, the expression level of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in LCSLC was lower than that in HepG2 cells (P<0.01), there was no significant change in PD-L1 expression after down-regulated by inhibitor treatment (P>0.05). After the expression of PD-L1 was knockdown by siRNA, the expressions of CD133, Nanog, Oct4A and Snail in LCSLC were decreased compared with those of siRNA-negative control (NC) group (P<0.05). The number of sphere-formating cells decreased [(45.33±12.01) and (282.00±29.21), P<0.001], the cell migration rate was lower than that in siRNA-NC group [(20.86±2.74)% and (46.73±15.43)%, P=0.046], the number of transmembrane cells decreased [(39.67±1.53) and (102.70±11.59), P=0.001], the number of cloned cells decreased [(57.67±14.57) and (120.70±15.04), P=0.007], the number of cells in G(0)/G(1) phase decreased [(37.68±2.51) and (57.27±0.92), P<0.001], the number of cells in S phase was more than that in siRNA-NC group [(30.78±0.52) and (15.52±0.83), P<0.001]. Tumor formation in mice showed that the tumor weight of shRNA-PD-L1 group was (0.47±0.12)g, the volume is (761.3±221.4)mm(3), were lower than those of shRNA-NC group [(1.57±0.45)g and (1 829.0±218.3)mm(3), P<0.001]. Meanwhile, the expression levels of p-STAT3 and p-Akt in siRNA-PD-L1 group were decreased (P<0.05), while the expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and β-catenin did not change significantly (P>0.05). Conclusion: Elevated PD-L1 expression in CD133(+) LCSLC is crucial to maintain stemness and promotes the tumor biological function of LCSLC.
Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism* ; Ligands ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism* ; Neoplastic Stem Cells/physiology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation

Objective To understand the real prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis infections in the freshwater fish in mainland China, so as to provide insights into clonorchiasis control and detection of freshwater fish. Methods All literatures reporting the prevalence of C. sinensis infections in the freshwater fish, the second intermediate host of the parasite, were jointly retrieved in Chinese and English electronic databases from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020, including Wanfang Data, CNKI, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library. All studies were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the quality of all enrolled literatures was evaluated. The pooled prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using the software Stata version 15.0, and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate the region-, season- and sample source-specific pooled prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish. In addition, the sensitivity and publication bias of all included studies were analyzed. Results A total of 40 eligible literatures were included in this study, including 37 Chinese literatures and 3 English literatures, and there were 10 high-quality literatures, 27 moderate-quality literatures and 3 low-quality literatures. A total of 53 species containing 37 959 freshwater fish were reported in these 40 studies, and 73.58% (39/53) of freshwater fish species were identified with C. sinensis infections. Meta-analysis showed 23.5% [95% CI: (0.19, 0.28)] pooled prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish in mainland China, and subgroup analyses higher prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish in northeastern China [35.7%, 95% CI: (0.22, 0.50)] than in central [25.9%, 95% CI: (0.04, 0.48)] and southern China [20.6%, 95% CI: (0.09, 0.32)], higher prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish sampled in spring [44.1%, 95% CI: (0.35, 0.53)] than in autumn [6.7%, 95% CI: (0.05, 0.08)] and summer [3.3%, 95% CI: (−0.01, 0.07)], and higher prevalence of C. sinensis infections in freshwater fish sampled from natural water [25.2%, 95% CI: (0.17, 0.33)] than from retail trades [22.2%, 95% CI: (0.17, 0.28)] and breeding chain [12.3%, 95% CI: (0.03, 0.22)]. However, all included studies had a publication bias with a low sensitivity. Conclusions The prevalence of C. sinensis infections is high in freshwater fish in mainland China, and there are still challenges for clonorchiasis control. Reinforcement of health education, diagnostics development and food safety supervision is recommended in future clonorchiasis control programs.

Rotundic acid(RA),an ursane-type pentacyclic triterpene acid isolated from the dried barks of Ilex rotunda Thunb.(Aquifoliaceae),possesses diverse bioactivities.To further study its pharmacokinetics,a simple and sensitive liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(LC-QqQ-MS/MS)method was developed and validated to quantify RA concentration in rat plasma and tissue using etofesalamide as an internal standard(IS).Plasma and tissue samples were subjected to one-step protein precipitation.Chromatographic separation was achieved on a ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 col-umn(4.6 mm×50 mm,5 μm)under gradient conditions with eluents of methanol:acetonitrile(1∶1,V/V)and 5mM ammonium formate:methanol(9∶1,V/V)at 0.5mL/min.Multiple reaction monitoring transitions were performed at m/z 487.30 → 437.30 for RA and m/z 256.10 → 227.10 for IS in the negative mode.The developed LC-QqQ-MS/MS method exhibited good linearity(2-500 ng/mL)and was fully validated in accordance with U.S.Food and Drug Administration bioanalytical guidelines.Dose proportionality and bioavailability in rats were determined by comparing pharmacokinetic data after single oral(10,20,and 40 mg/kg)and intravenous(10 mg/kg)administration of RA.Tissue distribution was studied following oral administration at 20 mg/kg.The results showed that the absolute bioavailability of RA after administration at different doses ranged from 16.1％to 19.4％.RA showed good dose proportionality over a dose range of 10-40 mg/kg.RA was rapidly absorbed in a dose-dependent manner and highly distributed in the liver.In conclusion,this study is the first to systematically elucidate the absorption and distribution characteristics of RA in rats,which can provide additional information for further development and evaluation of RA in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies.

This study systematically evaluated the effectiveness and safety of Dingkundan combined with conventional western medicine in the treatment of female infertility. Four Chinese databases，three English databases， and two clinical trial registration platforms were retrieved from inception to April 2021. Two researchers independently carried out literature screening，data extraction，risk assessment of bias，and grading of evidence quality. RevMan 5.4.1 was used for data analysis. A total of 216 research articles were retrieved and 21 randomized controlled trials （RCTs） were included，involving 2 172 cases. The risks of bias in the included RCTs were high. As unraveled by Meta-analysis results， Dingkundan combined with western medicine for ovulation stimulation was superior to western medicine for ovulation stimulation alone in improving pregnancy rate and progesterone level ［relative risk（RR）_{pregnancy rate}=1.67，95% confidence interval（CI）（1.44，1.93）；standardized mean difference （SMD）_progesterone=1.21，95% CI（0.82，1.60）］. Dingkundan combined with western medicine for improving the endometrium was superior to western medicine for improving the endometrium alone in improving the pregnancy rate ［RR_{pregnancy rate}=1.35，95% CI（1.23，1.48）］. Dingkundan combined with clomiphene was more effective than clomiphene alone in regulating endometrial thickness and reducing follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol levels ［MD_{endometrial thickness}=3.34，95% CI（3.27，3.41）， MD_{follicle-stimulating hormone}=-0.42，95% CI（-0.65，-0.19）， MD_estradiol=-4.33，95% CI （-8.18，-0.48）］. Dingkundan combined with letrozole was superior to letrozole alone in increasing the follicle-stimulating hormone level and reducing the estradiol level ［MD _{follicle-stimulating hormone}=1.14，95% CI（0.49，1.78）， MD_estradiol =-33.65，95% CI（-59.13，-8.17）］. The single-study results showed that Dingkundan combined with conventional western medicine had certain advantages in regulating endometrial thickness，reducing follicle-stimulating hormone，luteinizing hormone，and estradiol levels，and increasing progesterone levels. The Grading of Recommendations， Assessment， Development， and Evaluation（GRADE）system was used for the evaluation of outcome indicators. The results showed that the quality of the evidence was graded moderate or low. Based on the existing evidence，Dingkundan combined with western medicine for infertility treatment had certain advantages in increasing the pregnancy rate， improving endometrial thickness， regulating hormone levels， and reducing adverse reactions. However，affected by the quality of the included trials，the results may have limitations，and high-quality RCTs are needed for verification in the future.

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） health technology assessment （HTA） provides scientific information and decision-making basis for decision-makers at all levels to choose TCM health technology reasonably. However， it is still in its infancy. In the future， it is necessary to strengthen top-level design， improve cognition and attention， enhance talent training and cooperation， and speed up the development of evaluation criteria in line with the characteristics of TCM， so as to promote the development of HTA in TCM. Therefore， it is imperative to create a method system and tools suitable for TCM HTA. Evidence and value impact on decisionmaking （EVIDEM） framework is developed by EVIDEM collaboration. It combines evidence and value to form a relatively complete decision-making framework system， which can provide methodological support for medical insurance reimbursement， clinical practice decision-making， drug selection and so on. The introduction of EVIDEM framework into the field of TCM has methodological feasibility and practical operability， but it is still necessary to further integrate and optimize the TCM characteristics. On the basis of theoretical research， pilot studies are carried out with Chinese patent medicine as the breakthrough point， forming a preliminary framework and implementation path for the research of TCM HTA， in order to promote healthcare decision-making and achievement transformation.

Evidence and value：impact on DEcisionMaking （EVIDEM） framework was developed by EVIDEM collaboration. Its core is the combination of multiple criteria decision analysis （MCDA） model and standardized health technology assessment （HTA） report， which aims to evaluate the overall value of medical interventions. It has been tested and implemented in the real-world evaluation environments. After more than 10 years of development， EVIDEM framework has been updated to version 10， and the relevant operation manuals have been published. More than 40 countries have joined the collaboration and more than 20 countries have carried out relevant studies. The framework is constructed with patients， population and sustainability as the overall goals， combing the evidence and value， forming a relatively complete decision-making framework system composed of 2 levels， 7 dimensions and 20 criteria. The two levels include normative universal criteria and contextual criteria. The normative universal criteria， namely EVIDEM core model， is the quantitative evaluation， consisting of 5 dimensions and 13 criteria. Contextual criteria， namely contextual tools， are qualitative evaluation， consisting of 2 dimensions and 7 criteria. The specific operation steps of EVIDEM framework include selecting and constructing criteria， assigning weights， integrating and evaluating evidence， quantitative and qualitative evaluation of value， comprehensive value estimation and ranking based on value estimation. EVIDEM framework is applicable to disease diagnosis， treatment， management and other fields. Its application scope includes medical insurance reimbursement， clinical practice decision-making， drug selection and so on， which can provide a method for more systematic， transparent and scientific healthcare decision-making. At present， the framework has been introduced into the field of traditional Chinese medicine and can provide a scientific and feasible evaluation tool and methodology system for the clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine.

This study analyzed and reported the basic information and clinical evidence of Chinese patent medicines for digestive system diseases in children in a scoping review manner. Based on the drug instructions, the basic information of Chinese patent medicines for digestive system diseases in children was obtained by searching the three lists of national medicines. At the same time, the relevant clinical literatures from the first day of establishment to March 7, 2022 were obtained from Chinese and English databases. According to the screening criteria, 39 Chinese patent medicines were included, involving 8 dosage forms. Eight Chinese medicines including Crataegi Fructus, Poria, Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, Hordei Fructus Germinatus, Arecae Semen, Massa Medicata Fermentata, Dioscoreae Rhizoma, and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma were frequently used, and the main effects were invigorating spleen, checking diarrhea, promoting digestion, clearing heat, and harmonizing stomach. The indications for Chinese patent medicines were mainly diarrhea, anorexia, food accumulation, dyspepsia, and rotavirus enteritis in children. Among all drug instructions, only 4 mentioned adverse reactions and 6 mentioned contraindications. Ninety-two clinical studies were included ultimately, including 84 randomized controlled studies, 2 systematic reviews/Meta-analysis, 1 retrospective study, and 5 case series. The literatures only covered 21 kinds of Chinese patent medicines, with the most studies related to Xingpi Yanger Granules, accounting for 32.6% of the total literature volume. The sample size in the literatures was mainly focused on 51-200 cases, and 51-100 cases were selected by the most literatures, accounting for 34.45%. The interventions of the experimental group were mainly Chinese patent medicines or Chinese patent medicines combined with western medicines. The literatures with treatment course of 0-7 d accounted for the largest proportion(51.10%). The effective rate and symptom improvement time were used as the indexes to evaluate the results. The main adverse reactions were vomiting, constipation, nausea, rash, cold, diarrhea, redness of the skin around the umbilicus, or red itchy skin. The analysis of this study found that Chinese patent medicines have good curative effect and research prospects in the treatment of digestive system diseases in children. However, most clinical evidence has problems, such as limited indexes to evaluate the results, lack of traditional Chinese medicine characteristics, uneven quantity and low quality of Chinese patent medicine literatures, and insufficient specification of instructions. In the future, high-quality clinical studies on this field should be actively carried out, and economic studies and clinical comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicines should be strengthened to explore the characteristics and advantages of its treatment, so as to provide decision-making basis for finding the accurate clinical positioning and promoting the rational clinical application of Chinese patent medicines for treating digestive system diseases in children.
Child ; China ; Diarrhea/drug therapy* ; Digestive System Diseases/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies

This study evaluated and compared the efficacy, safety and economy of four Chinese patent medicines(CPMs) in the treatment of functional dyspepsia(FD) using the method of rapid health technology assessment. It aims to provide decision-makers with rapid decision-making information. The eight Chinese and English databases were comprehensively and systematically searched for the relevant clinical research. Studies were screened and evaluated. A total of 110 studies were identified, including 95 randomized controlled trials(RCTs), 7 controlled clinical trials(CCTs), 7 systematic review/Meta-analysis and 1 economic evaluation, among which 28 were Dalitong Granules, 49 were Zhizhu Kuanzhong Capsules, 3 were Biling Weitong Granules and 30 were Qizhi Weitong Granules(Tablets/Capsules). The quality of the included literature was generally low. The efficacy of four CPMs alone or combined with western medicine in the treatment of FD is different. Dalitong Granules was used to treat motility disorder in FD. Zhizhu Kuanzhong Capsules and Qizhi Weitong Granules(Tablets/Capsules) can treat FD patients with anxiety and depression. Qizhi Weitong Granules(Tablets/Capsules) were mainly used in FD for perimenopausal patients. There were no serious adverse reactions in the clinical study of four CPMs in the treatment of FD. Dalitong Granules has better effects than mosapride in the treatment of FD, but the cost is slightly higher. The cost-effectiveness ratio of Zhizhu Kuanzhong Capsules in the treatment of FD patients with anxiety and depression was lower than that of Domperidone. In terms of average daily price, Qizhi Weitong Tablets has the highest price(27.00 yuan per day), Qizhi Weitong Granules has the lowest price(5.04 yuan per day), Biling Weitong Granules has a relatively high price(15.53 yuan per day), followed by Dalitong Granules(13.03 yuan per day). The evidence of Dalitong Granules covered the efficacy, safety and economy, which is relatively complete compared with the other three drugs. It has effective potential in the treatment of motility disorder in FD. Further research in this field in the future is needed.
Capsules ; China ; Chlorobenzenes ; Domperidone/therapeutic use* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Nonprescription Drugs/therapeutic use* ; Stomach ; Sulfides ; Tablets ; Technology Assessment, Biomedical

Objective: To compare the application effect of the colonoscopy, fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and novel risk-adapted screening approach in colorectal cancer screening in Xuzhou population. Methods: From May 2018 to April 2019, 4 280 subjects aged 50-74 were recruited from Gulou district, Yunlong district and Quanshan district of Xuzhou. They were randomly assigned to the colonoscopy group (n=863), FIT group (n=1 723) and novel risk-adapted screening approach group (n=1 694) according to the ratio of 1∶2∶2. For the novel risk-adapted screening approach group, after the risk assessment, high-risk subjects were invited to undergo colonoscopy and low-risk subjects were invited to undergo FIT examination. All FIT positive subjects were invited to undergo colonoscopy. Colonoscopy participation rate [(the number of colonoscopies completed/the number of colonoscopies invited to participate)×100%], detection rate of colorectal lesions [(the number of diagnosed patients/the number of colonoscopies completed)×100%], colonoscopy resource load (the number of colonoscopies completed/the number of diagnosed advanced tumors) and FIT resource load in each group were calculated and compared. Results: The age of all subjects was (61±6) years old, including 1 816 males (42.43%). There was no statistically significant difference in the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects in different screening groups. The colonoscopy participation rate was 22.60% (195/863) in the colonoscopy group, 57.04% (77/135) in the FIT group, and 33.94% (149/439) in the novel risk-adapted screening approach group, respectively. The colonoscopy participation rate was higher in the FIT group than in the colonoscopy group and the novel risk-adapted screening approach group (P<0.001). The colonoscopy participation rate of novel risk-adapted screening group was significantly higher than the colonoscopy group (P<0.001). The detection rates of advanced tumors were 6.67% (13/195), 9.09% (7/77) and 8.72% (13/149), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The colonoscopy resource load (95%CI) was 15 (13-17) in the colonoscopy group, 11 (9-14) in the FIT group and 11 (10-13) in the novel risk-adapted screening approach group, respectively. Among them, the colonoscopy resource load of high-risk individuals in the novel risk-adapted screening approach group was 12 (9-15). FIT resource loads (95%CI) were 207 (196-218) and 88 (83-94) in the FIT group and the novel risk-adapted screening approach group. Conclusion: The combined application of risk-adapted screening approach and FIT may have a good application effect in colorectal cancer screening.
Aged ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Feces ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Occult Blood