Objective: To explore the mechanism of Buzhong Yiqi Decoction in modulating macrophage polarization and intervening in autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) mice. Methods: Using the random number table method, 48 SPF-grade NOD.H-2h4 mice were assigned to the normal, model, low-dose (4.10 g/kg), medium-dose (8.19 g/kg), high-dose group (16.38 g/kg) of Buzhong Yiqi Decoction, and selenium yeast tablet (0.026 mg/kg) groups, with eight mice in each group. All groups, except the normal group, were free to drink high iodine water (0.05% sodium iodide) to prepare AIT mouse models for 8 consecutive weeks. After the modeling was complete, each treatment group was orally administered with the corresponding medication, while the normal and model groups were orally administered with an equal volume of distilled water once a day for 8 consecutive weeks. High-performance liquid chromatography with an oscillometric refractive detector was used to analyze the content of Astragaloside Ⅳ in Buzhong Yiqi Decoction. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to observe the pathological morphology of mouse thyroid tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of serum thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab), thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). An immunofluorescence assay was used to detect the positive area percentage of M1 and M2 macrophages in mouse thyroid tissue. Flow cytometry assay was used to detect macrophage polarization in mouse spleen tissue. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing receptor 3 (NLRP3), nuclear factor kappa B inhibitory protein α (IκBα), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 in mouse spleen tissue. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of the phosphorylated IκBα (p-IκBα), phosphorylated NF-κB p65 (p-NF-κB p65), and NLRP3 protein in mouse spleen tissue. Results: The content of Astragaloside Ⅳ in Buzhong Yiqi Decoction was (7.09±0.06) g/L. Compared to the normal group, significant lymphocyte infiltration was observed in the thyroid tissue of mice in the model group. The levels of serum TPO-Ab, TgAb, IL-6, and TNF-α increased (P<0.05). The positive area percentage of M1 macrophages in thyroid tissue increased (P<0.05). The proportion of M1 macrophages and M1/M2 in spleen tissue increased (P<0.05). The relative expression levels of NF-κB p65 and NLRP3 mRNA in spleen tissue increased (P<0.05). The relative expression of p-IκBα, p-NF-κB p65, and NLRP3 proteins increased (P<0.05). Compared to the model group, the inflammation infiltration degree in the thyroid tissue of mice in each dose group of Buzhong Yiqi Decoction and selenium yeast tablet group was reduced, the serum TPO-Ab, TgAb, IL-6, TNF-α content was decreased, the spleen tissue M1/M2 was reduced, the expression of NF-κB p65 mRNA was reduced, and the relative expression levels of p-IκBα, p-NF-κB p65 protein were reduced (P<0.05). The Buzhong Yiqi Decoction high-dose and selenium yeast tablets groups showed an increase in IL-10 content, an increase in positive area percentage of M2 macrophages in thyroid tissue, an increase in M2 macrophages proportion in spleen tissue, and a decrease in NLRP3 mRNA and protein relative expression levels (P<0.05). Conclusion Buzhong Yiqi Decoction may regulate macrophage polarization by inhibiting the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway, thus improving the inflammatory damage in mice with AIT.

Objective To retrieve and extract the best evidence for preventing intracranial infections related to ex-ternal cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)drainage,and provide evidence-based support for reducing the incidence of intracra-nial infection caused by external CSF drainage.Methods Evidence-based care issues were determined according to PIPOST,and the best evidence on intracranial infection related to external CSF drainage tube was retrieved from top to bottom.The literature retrieval period was 2013-2023.Quality control of the literatures,as well as extraction and summary of the evidence were carried out by 2 trained graduate students.Results A total of 17 literatures were included in the analysis,including 3 guidelines,5 expert consensus,8 systematic reviews,and 1 randomized con-trolled trial.Management strategies from 3 dimensions(pre-catheterization,in-catheterization and post-catheteriza-tion)were obtained,including 20 pieces of evidence for preventing intracranial infection,such as preparation for ex-ternal CSF drainage tube,precautions during catheterization,and post-catheterization disposal.Conclusion There are differences in the management of external CSF drainage tube in clinical practice.It is necessary to develop uni-fied,standardized,and rational bundle strategies to prevent intracranial infection,so as to reduce the incidence of catheter-related intracranial infection.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy on hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) after stroke treated with electroacupuncture (EA) under different frequencies. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with HSP after stroke were randomly divided into a manual acupuncture group (35 cases, 2 cases dropped off), an EA continuous wave group (35 cases, 3 cases dropped off) and an EA disperse-dense wave group (35 cases). The conventional rehabilitation therapy was delivered in the three groups. Additionally, acupuncture was applied to Jianyu (LI 15), Jianzhen (SI 9), Jianliao (TE 14) and Jianqian (Extra) etc. on the affected side in the manual acupuncture group. In the EA continuous wave group and the EA disperse-dense wave group, besides the treatment as the manual acupuncture group, the electric stimulation was attached to two pairs of acupoints, i.e. Jianyu (LI 15) and Jianliao (TE 14), and Quchi (LI 11) and Shousanli (LI 10), with 15 Hz continuous wave, and 2 Hz/ 100 Hz disperse-dense wave, respectively. The treatment was given once daily, 5 times a week, for 4 weeks consecutively. The score of visual analogue scale (VAS) before treatment and after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, as well as the passive range of motion (PROM) of shoulder forward flexion and PROM of shoulder abduction, muscle strength of the upper limb, the score of modified Barthel index (MBI) and the score of Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) before and after treatment were observed in each group. RESULTS: Compared with before treatment, VAS scores were reduced after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment in each group (P<0.05); and VAS scores after 4 weeks of treatment were lower than those after 2 weeks of treatment (P<0.05). After 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, VAS score in either the EA continuous wave group or the EA disperse-dense wave group was lower compared with the manual acupuncture group (P<0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, VAS score in the EA disperse-dense wave was lower than that of the EA continuous wave group (P<0.05). Compared with before treatment, PROM of the shoulder forward flexion and abduction on the affected side after treatment was enlarged (P<0.05), the muscle strength of the upper limb was increased (P<0.05), and the scores of MBI and FMA were increased (P<0.05) in the patients of each group. After treatment, in the EA continuous wave group and the EA disperse-dense wave group, PROM of the shoulder forward flexion on the affected side was higher (P<0.05), the muscle strength of the upper limb was stronger (P<0.05) when compared with the manual acupuncture group; and the scores of MBI and FMA in the EA disperse-dense wave group were higher than those of the manual acupuncture group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture is superior to manual acupuncture in the analgesic effect and comprehensive rehabilitation effect in the patients with HSP after stroke. The therapeutic effect obtained by electroacupuncture with 2 Hz/100 Hz disperse-dense wave is better than that with 15 Hz continuous wave.
Humans ; Electroacupuncture ; Shoulder Pain/therapy* ; Hemiplegia/therapy* ; Stroke/complications* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Acupuncture Points

To evaluate the effectiveness of intervention plans developed by the evidence base multi-discipline critical strategies (EBPCS) on temperature and clinical outcomes in very preterm infants (VPIs) born at<32 weeks. Clinical data were collected from VPIs born in the delivery room/operating room of Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital from May 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, who required immediate temperature management and were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital. The study population was randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group based on the random number table method, with 108 cases in each group. The control group implemented the conventional temperature management recommended by domestic guidelines, while the intervention group adopted EBPCS interventions compared to the control group. The differences in body temperature and clinical outcomes between the two groups were compared after the implementation of different temperature management strategies. A total of 216 VPIs were included. The intervention group had a lower incidence of hypothermia (30.55% vs. 87.03%, P<0.001), higher mean body temperature admitted to the NICU [(36.56±0.31) ℃ vs. (35.77±0.53) ℃, P<0.001], a lower dose of pulmonary surfactant [(115.94±36.96) mg/kg vs. (151.41±54.68) mg/kg, P=0.014], shorter duration of mechanical ventilation [(5.77±1.26) days vs. (14.19±4.63) days, P=0.006], and lower incidence of intraventricular haemorrhage (12.04% vs. 23.15%, P=0.032). The implementation of temperature intervention strategies developed by the EBPCS for VPIs after birth could prevent and reduce the incidence of hypothermia and improve clinical outcomes.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Fever ; Hypothermia/prevention & control* ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Temperature

To evaluate the effectiveness of intervention plans developed by the evidence base multi-discipline critical strategies (EBPCS) on temperature and clinical outcomes in very preterm infants (VPIs) born at<32 weeks. Clinical data were collected from VPIs born in the delivery room/operating room of Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital from May 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, who required immediate temperature management and were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital. The study population was randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group based on the random number table method, with 108 cases in each group. The control group implemented the conventional temperature management recommended by domestic guidelines, while the intervention group adopted EBPCS interventions compared to the control group. The differences in body temperature and clinical outcomes between the two groups were compared after the implementation of different temperature management strategies. A total of 216 VPIs were included. The intervention group had a lower incidence of hypothermia (30.55% vs. 87.03%, P<0.001), higher mean body temperature admitted to the NICU [(36.56±0.31) ℃ vs. (35.77±0.53) ℃, P<0.001], a lower dose of pulmonary surfactant [(115.94±36.96) mg/kg vs. (151.41±54.68) mg/kg, P=0.014], shorter duration of mechanical ventilation [(5.77±1.26) days vs. (14.19±4.63) days, P=0.006], and lower incidence of intraventricular haemorrhage (12.04% vs. 23.15%, P=0.032). The implementation of temperature intervention strategies developed by the EBPCS for VPIs after birth could prevent and reduce the incidence of hypothermia and improve clinical outcomes.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Fever ; Hypothermia/prevention & control* ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Temperature

In this study, CiteSpace was used to conduct bibliometric statistics and visualization of the research papers on the exosomes in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and application status in CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and Web of Science. The authors, research institutions, and keywords of the relevant papers were analyzed to summarize the research status, hotspots, and development trends of TCM application of exosomes, thereby providing references for future research. A total of 340 Chinese papers and 9 English papers were included. In Chinese papers, GUO Hai-dong is the author with the largest amount of research papers, and his research interest is the mechanism of electroacupuncture in promoting functional recovery after sciatic nerve injury by regulating the release of exosomes. Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the research institution with the largest amount of papers, followed by Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. There was less cooperation among these research institutions, and cooperation between teams and agencies should be strengthened. The overall volume of publications in English was comparatively small, and the connections between the authors were weak. The publishing organizations were mostly distributed in medical schools, hospitals, comprehensive universities, and the cooperation between institutions was scattered. The main keywords in Chinese papers include microRNA, mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, mechanism of action, and extracellular vesicles. The research of exosomes in TCM is increasing in recent years. The research hotspot is that exosomes can both serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of certain diseases in TCM and drug carriers of Chinese medicine for targeted treatment of diseases. Keyword prominence suggested that exosomes derived from osteoblasts and macrophages in the treatment of diseases might still be a future research trend.
Bibliometrics ; China ; Exosomes ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Publications

Objective: To develop a nomogram model for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) category 4 nodules based on serum tumor specific protein 70 (SP70) and conventional laboratory indicators and validate its predictive efficacy. Methods: A case-control study design was used to retrospectively analyze the data of 429 female patients diagnosed with BI-RADS category 4 breast nodules by breast color doppler flow imaging at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2021 to April 2022 with an age range of 16 to 91 years and a median age of 50 years, and the patients were divided into a training cohort (314 patients) and a validation cohort (115 patients) according to the inclusion time successively. Using postoperative pathological findings as the"gold standard", univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the predictor variables used for the model. The nomogram, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves were drawn for the prediction model, and the discrimination and calibration of the model were evaluated using the consistency index (C-index) and calibration plots. Results: The postoperative pathological results showed that 286 (66.7%) were malignant nodules and 143 (33.3%) were benign nodules of 429 breast BI-RADS category 4 nodules. The serum SP70 (OR=1.227,95%CI: 1.033-1.458,P=0.020), NLR (OR=1.545,95%CI: 1.047-2.280,P=0.028), LDL-C (OR=2.215, 95%CI: 1.354-3.622, P=0.002), GLU (OR=2.050,95%CI:1.222-3.438,P=0.007), PT (OR=1.383,95%CI: 1.046-1.828,P=0.023), nodule diameter (OR=1.042, 95%CI: 1.008-1.076, P=0.015) and age (OR=1.062,95%CI: 1.011-1.116,P=0.016) were independent risk factors which could be used to distinguish benign and malignant breast BI-RADS category 4 nodules (P<0.05). The nomogram was plotted by the above seven independent variables, and the concordance index (C-index) for the training cohort and validation cohort were 0.842 (95%CI:0.786-0.898) and 0.787 (95%CI:0.687-0.886), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of using this model to identify benign and malignant breast BI-RADS category 4 nodules in the training and validation cohort were 83.5%, 72.5% and 79.2%, 73.6%, respectively. The calibration curves showed good agreement between the predicted and actual values in the nomogram. Conclusions: This study combined serum SP70, conventional laboratory indicators and breast color doppler flow imaging to develop a nomogram model for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast BI-RADS category 4 nodules. The model may have good predictive efficacy and may provide a basis for clinical treatment options, which is beneficial for guiding breast cancer screening and prevention.
Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Retrospective Studies ; Case-Control Studies ; Breast/pathology* ; Breast Neoplasms/pathology*

At present, the issues regarding multi-center clinical trials of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) remain: the lack of agreement on the content and scope of the ethical review among the ethics committee members of the center and the participating units results in repeated review, which leads to a time-consuming ethical review process. Moreover, the review capabilities of the ethics committees of various research centers are uneven, which is not necessarily beneficial to the protection of subjects' rights and safety. In view of the existing problems, to improve the efficiency of ethical review of multi-center clinical trials of new drugs of TCM and avoid repeated reviews, the TCM Clinical Evaluation Professional Committee of Chinese Pharmaceutical Association organized experts to formulate the "Consensus on collaborative ethical review of multi-center clinical trials of new drugs of TCM(version 1.0)"(hereinafter referred to as "Consensus"). The "Consensus" is formulated in accordance with the requirements of relevant documents such as but not limited to "the opinions on deepening the reform of the evaluation and approval system to encourage the innovation of pharmaceutical medical devices", "the regulations of ethical review of biomedical research involving human subjects". The "Consensus" covers the scope of application, formulation principles, conditions for the ethics committee of the center, sharing of ethical review resources, scope and procedure of collaborative review, rights and obligations, etc. The aims of the "Consensus" is to preliminarily explore and establish a scientific and operable ethical review procedure. Additionally, on the basis of fully protecting the rights and interests of the subjects, a collaborative ethical review agreement needs to be signed to clarify the ethical review responsibilities of all parties, to avoid repeated review, and to improve the efficiency and quality of ethical review in multi-center clinical trials of new drugs of TCM.
Biomedical Research ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Ethical Review ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this research was to develop a self-assembled micelle using biocompatible copoly-mers Pluronic F127 (F127) and Vitamin E d-α-Tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) to enhance the oral bio-availability and anti-cancer efficiency of honokiol (HK). METHODS The optimized prescription honokiol micelle (HK-M) was prepared by an ethanol solvent evaporation method. HK-M was characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and HPLC. The dialysis bag method was used to assesse the cumulative amount of HK released from the HK-M. Caco-2 cells were applied to measure the permeability of HK-M. The bioavailability and in vivo anti-tumor effect were also evaluated. RE-SULTS At the ratio of 4:1 (F127:TPGS), the HK-M was transparent and colourless with a small size (23.28 ± 2.01)nm and a spherical shape. The apparent solubility of HK in HK-M was dramatically increased to 4.76 mg/mL, suggesting that HK-M had good stability. Furthermore, encapsulation in micelles led to a sustained release of HK. HK-M enhances HK's per-meability across Caco-2 cell monolayer. Compared with free HK, there was a 1.17-fold increase in the relative oral bioavail-ability for HK-M. Moreover, HK-M achieved a higher inhibition rate on tumor volume (35.17％) than HK group (14.86％). CONCLUSION These findings present an oral HK micelle formulation containing F127 and TPGS, with improved solubility,increased oral bioavailability, and enhanced anti-cancer activity.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Acorus tatarinowii Schott and its active component 5- hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) on learning and memory and ERK/CREB signal in hippocampus of rats with exercise-induced fatigue. METHODS: SD rats were randomly divided into normal group (A), exercise group (B), exercise + HMF low, middle and high dose treatment group (C, D, E), exercise + acorus tatarinowii Schott low, middle and high dose treatment group (F, G, H), with ten rats in each group. The rats in group C, D and E were treated with HMF at the doses of 0.10, 1.00 and 3.00 mg. kg by ig. The rats in group F, G and H were treated with the extracts of Acorus tatarinowii Schott at the doses of 0.12, 1.20 and 4.80 g. kg by ig. Learning and memory of rats were tested by the method of water maze experiment, and the expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB protein in hippocampus of rats were tested by the method of Western blot in the end of the experiment. RESULTS: The escape latencies of E and H groups were lower than those of groups B, C, D, F and G; and the numbers of plateau crossing were more than those of groups B, C, D, F and G and the expression levels of p-ERK1/2, p-CREB protein were higher than those of groups B, C, D, F and G , respectively(P ＜ 0.01). There was no significant difference in the above indexes among groups A, E and H(P＞0.05) except that the expression levels of p-ERK2 protein in group E were lower than those in group A and H (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION Acorus tatarinowii and its active component- HMF can improve the learning and memory of rats with exercise-induced fatigue, and the mechanism is related to the up-regulation of ERK / CREB signal in hippocampus of rats with exercise-induced fatigue.
Acorus ; chemistry ; Animals ; Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein ; metabolism ; Fatigue ; drug therapy ; Furaldehyde ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Phytochemicals ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley