Discovery of mitochondrion-targeting copper(II)-plumbagin and -bipyridine complexes as chemodynamic therapy agents with enhanced antitumor activity.

Four copper(II)-plumbagin and -bipyridine complexes (Cu1-Cu4) were synthesized as chemodynamic therapy agents with enhanced antitumor activity. As lipophilic and positively charged compounds, Cu1-Cu4 were preferentially accumulated in mitochondria and activated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Mechanistic studies showed that Cu1-Cu4 reacted with GSH to reduce Cu2+ ions to Cu+ ions, catalyzed the formation of toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through a Fenton-like reaction, induced mitochondrial dysfunction, and activated caspase-9/3, which eventually led to apoptosis. Cu1-Cu4 arrested HeLa cells in the S phase and eventually killed cancer cells. Cu2 showed a favorable pharmacokinetic profile in mice. Moreover, Cu2 effectively inhibited the growth of HeLa xenografts in nude mice and showed low toxicity in vivo.

Jin-Gui-Shen-Qi Wan alleviates fibrosis in mouse diabetic nephropathy via MHC class II.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Jin-Gui-Shen-Qi Wan (JGSQW) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been traditionally used to alleviate urinary system ailments such as frequent urination and polyuria. Clinical studies have indicated that when combined with hypoglycaemic drugs, JGSQW exhibits a synergistic effect and can improve diabetic nephropathy (DN), yet its underlying mechanism and targets remain unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of JGSQW and its underlying mechanisms using a DN db/db mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was utilized to analyse the primary active compounds, blood levels, and pharmacokinetics of JGSQW. Additionally, the therapeutic effects of JGSQW and metformin on blood glucose levels, lipid levels, renal function, and renal pathology in diabetic nephropathy mice were investigated using a db/db mouse model. Proteomic analysis was carried out to identify the primary target of JGSQW in treating DN. The mechanism of action was verified by western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Then, molecular docking and molecular dynamics, transfection, drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) assay and cell thermal migration assay (CETSA) further validated the targeted binding effect. RESULTS: JGSQW combined with metformin significantly improved the blood glucose levels, blood lipids, renal function, and renal pathology of DN mice. JGSQW mainly exerted its therapeutic effect on DN by targeting major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC class II) molecules. Immunohistochemistry results showed that JGSQW inhibited the expression of collagen I, fibronectin, and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression. Immunofluorescence and Western blot results showed that JGSQW inhibited the expression of H2-Ab1 and H2-Aa, which are MHC class II molecules, thereby suppressing CD4+ T-cell infiltration and improving diabetic kidney fibrosis. The binding ability of paeoniflorin to H2-Aa was predicted and verified by molecular, DARTS, and CETSA assays. Treatment with 80 µM paeoniflorin effectively alleviated high glucose-induced injury in the MPC-5 injury model. H2-Aa was overexpressed at this model concentration, and Western blotting further confirmed that paeoniflorin reduced glomerular podocyte fibrosis by regulating H2-Aa. CONCLUSIONS: JGSQW combined with metformin may have a synergistic effect to alleviates renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy by downregulating immune complex MHC class II molecules and attenuating the antigen presentation effect of MHC class II on CD4.

Rhodium(III)-Picolinamide Complexes Act as Anticancer and Antimetastasis Agents via Inducing Apoptosis and Autophagy.

As a continuation of our endeavors in discovering metal-based drugs with cytotoxic and antimetastatic activities, herein, we reported the syntheses of 11 new rhodium(III)-picolinamide complexes and the exploration of their potential anticancer activities. These Rh(III) complexes showed high antiproliferative activity against the tested cancer cell lines in vitro. The mechanism study indicated that Rh1 ([Rh(3a)(CH3CN)Cl2]) and Rh2 ([Rh(3b)(CH3CN)Cl2]) inhibited cell proliferation by multiple modes of action via cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy and inhibited cell metastasis via FAK-regulated integrin ß1-mediated suppression of EGFR expression. Furthermore, Rh1 and Rh2 significantly inhibited bladder cancer growth and breast cancer metastasis in a xenograft model. These rhodium(III) complexes could be developed as potential anticancer agents with antitumor growth and antimetastasis activity.

Experimental Investigation of Solar-Driven Hollow Fiber Membrane Liquid Dehumidification System.

The hollow fiber membrane modules act as dehumidifiers and regenerators to avoid gas-liquid entrainment problems in direct-contact dehumidification systems. A solar-driven hollow fiber membrane dehumidification experimental rig was designed to investigate its performance from July to September in Guilin, China. The dehumidification, regeneration, and cooling performance of the system between 8:30 and 17:30 are analyzed. The energy utilization of the solar collector and system is investigated. The results show that solar radiation has a significant influence on the system. The hourly regeneration of the system has the same trend as the temperature of solar hot water, which ranges from 0.13 g/s to 0.36 g/s. The regeneration capacity of the dehumidification system is always larger than the dehumidification capacity after 10:30, which increases the solution concentration and the dehumidification performance. Further, it ensures stable system operation when the solar radiation is lower (15:30-17:50). In addition, the hourly dehumidification capacity and efficiency of the system ranges from 0.15 g/s to 0.23 g/s and 52.4 to 71.3%, respectively, with good dehumidification performance. The COP of the system and solar collector have the same trend, in which their maximum values are 0.874 and 0.634, respectively, with high energy utilization efficiency. The solar-driven hollow fiber membrane liquid dehumidification system performs better in regions with larger solar radiation.

Clinical efficacy and toxic effects of prophylactic cranial irradiation in non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To investigate the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by meta-analysis.Methods:Studies published from January 1, 1980 to August 30, 2021 were searched systematically in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Systematic Review database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database. The searching keywords included "non-small cell lung cancer", "randomized controlled trial", "prophylactic cranial irradiation" and "clinical trial". The data extracted from the above studies were analyzed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software. Outcomes included the development of brain metastases (BM), overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), toxicity, and quality of life (QoL).Results:Ten trials, including 2005 NSCLC patients, met the inclusion criteria. Patients who underwent PCI had a significantly lower risk of BM than those who did not ( OR=0.29, 95% CI: 0.22-0.40, P<0.001). Compared with non-PCI group, DFS in PCI group was significantly increased ( HR=0.75, 95% CI: 0.63-0.89, P=0.001). However, there was no significant difference in OS ( OR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.69-1.18, P=0.45). In addition, the incidence of fatigue was significantly increased in the PCI group ( OR=2.64, 95% CI: 1.58-4.40, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in cognitive impairment between the PCI and non-PCI groups ( OR=3.60, 95% CI: 0.97-13.32, P=0.06). Conclusions:PCI is the standard treatment for NSCLC. Compared with non-PCI, PCI significantly reduces the incidence of BM and prolongs the DFS of NSCLC patients. The effect of PCI-related toxicity on the QoL and long-term OS needs further study.

Improvement effect of diterpene ginkgolides on acute tMCAO rats and chronic tMCAO rats / 药学学报

To study the cognitive effects of diterpene ginkgolides (DG), transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO)-induced rats were established. tMCAO-rats induced by suture method were divided into sham operation group, solvent control group, NBP group, DG group. The animal experiments in the present study were performed in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Ethical Committee of Peking Union Medical College (00000646, 00000635). The effects of DG on tMCAO rats were evaluated by neurological severity score, cerebral infarction volume measurement, step-down and Morris water maze test. In the acute tMCAO rat model, 100 mg·kg-1 DG improved the neural score and infarction volume. In the chronic tMCAO rat model, DG 100 mg·kg-1 significantly improved the survival rate of tMCAO-induced rats. The Morris water maze results showed 100 mg·kg-1 DG decreased the latency of tMCAO-induced rats to find the platform, while the effect was weaker than the NBP. However, DG 30 mg·kg-1 did not show a significant effect. In conclusion, DG exerted a therapeutic effect on transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Different rapid maxillary expansion methods in the treatment of adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome / 中华口腔医学杂志

Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common sleep respiratory disorder characterized by upper respiratory collapse during sleep, with a high prevalence and potentially fatal complications. Currently, maxillary transverse deficiency are considered to be an important pathogenic factor of OSAHS. For patients with poor compliance with positive airway pressure therapy, rapid maxillary expansion can increase the volume and ventilation of the upper respiratory tract, which is an alternative treatment. This paper reviewed the current research on surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion, miniscrew assisted rapid palatal expansion, and distraction osteogenesis maxillary expansion in the treatment of adult OSAHS. By comparing the indications, contraindications, complications, efficacy and long-term stability of the three treatment methods, it provided reference for treatment of patients with OSAHS.

Effect of diosgenin on mTOR/FASN/HIF-1α/VEGFA expression in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease / 中国中药杂志

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of diosgenin on mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR), fatty acid synthase(FASN), hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA) expression in liver tissues of rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and explore the mechanism of diosgenin on lipogenesis and inflammation in NAFLD. Forty male SD rats were divided into a normal group(n=8) fed on the normal diet and an experimental group(n=32) fed on the high-fat diet(HFD) for the induction of the NAFLD model. After modeling, the rats in the experimental group were randomly divided into an HFD group, a low-dose diosgenin group(150 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), a high-dose diosgenin group(300 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), and a simvastatin group(4 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), with eight rats in each group. The drugs were continuously given by gavage for eight weeks. The levels of triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol(TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), alanine transaminase(ALT), and aspartate transaminase(AST) in the serum were detected by the biochemical method. The content of TG and TC in the liver was detected by the enzyme method. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure interleukin 1β(IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) in the serum. Lipid accumulation in the liver was detected by oil red O staining. Pathological changes of liver tissues were detected by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The mRNA and protein expression levels of mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA in the liver of rats were detected by real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and Western blot, respectively. Compared with the normal group, the HFD group showed elevated body weight and levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, ALT, AST, IL-1β, and TNF-α(P<0.01), increased lipid accumulation in the liver(P<0.01), obvious liver steatosis, up-regulated mRNA expression levels of mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA(P<0.01), and increased protein expression levels of p-mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA(P<0.01). Compared with the HFD group, the groups with drug treatment showed lowered body weight and levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, ALT, AST, IL-1β, and TNF-α(P<0.05, P<0.01), reduced lipid accumulation in the liver(P<0.01), improved liver steatosis, decreased mRNA expression levels of mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA(P<0.05, P<0.01), and declining protein expression levels of p-mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA(P<0.01). The therapeutic effect of the high-dose diosgenin group was superior to that of the low-dose diosgenin group and the simvastatin group. Diosgenin may reduce liver lipid synthesis and inflammation and potentiate by down-regulating the mTOR, FASN, HIF-1α, and VEGFA expression, playing an active role in preventing and treating NAFLD.

Multi-Effect Enhanced Raman Scattering Based on Au/ZnO Nanorods Structures.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was considered a potential spectroscopic technique for applications of molecular detection and has drawn great research interest during the past decade. So far, fabrications of cost-effective SERS substrates with high sensitivity and stability and the corresponding enhanced mechanisms are always among the list of research topics, although great progress has been made. In this work, Au particles were decorated on Si, ZnO film and ZnO nanorod arrays simultaneously by an economical method of ion sputtering, generating three kinds of SERS substrates for R6G detection. The morphology difference of Au particles on different samples and the consequent influence on Raman scattering were studied. The experiment results exhibited that substrates with Au particles decorated on ZnO nanorods had the highest Raman enhancement factor. Furthermore, multi-effect enhanced mechanisms summarized as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) filed coupling, electron transferring induced by LSPR of Au particles and whispering gallery mode (WGM) effect of the ZnO cavity were presented. This work provides a convenient and efficient method of fabricating SERS substrates and indicates that such proper metal/semiconductor composite structures are promising candidates for SERS applications.

The diel vertical distribution and carbon biomass of the zooplankton community in the Caroline Seamount area of the western tropical Pacific Ocean.

Zooplankton can affect and regulate the biological carbon pump in the biogeochemical cycles of marine ecosystems through diel vertical migration (DVM) behaviour. The diel vertical distribution and migration of a zooplankton community were studied at a continuous survey station in the Caroline Seamount area of the western tropical Pacific Ocean. Using a MultiNet sampling system, 346 zooplankton species/taxa were collected and identified. The vertical distribution patterns of abundance and composition of the zooplankton community differed between daytime and nighttime. The highest biodiversity index occurred in the 100-200-m ocean depth layer, but some zooplankton species remained in the deep-water layer below 300 m. The DVM patterns of the various dominant species differed, even when the species belonged to the same order or family. Dissolved oxygen and seawater temperature were the main environmental factors affecting the diel vertical distribution of the zooplankton community. The oxygen minimum zone was identified as performing the dual role of "ecological barrier" and "refuge" for zooplankton. The active carbon flux mediated by the zooplankton DVM in the Caroline Seamount area was 14.5 mg C/(m2·d). Our findings suggest that zooplankton DVM can affect and mediate the biological carbon pump in the Caroline Seamount area.

Evaluation of Regional Economic Innovation Ability Based on Neural Network.

In order to further improve regional economic innovation capability and governance level and solve the problems of lack of attention to evaluation indicators in traditional evaluation methods of regional economic innovation capability and easy to be affected by subjective factors, an evaluation model based on neural network algorithm is proposed. Through re-analysis of regional economic innovation capability evaluation indexes, the model defines the most reasonable combination of characteristics by combining information gain characteristic selection strategy and finally builds a scientific evaluation index system. By testing the prediction accuracy of the experimental discovery model and evaluation index, the neural network model improves by 41% compared with the traditional subjective evaluation method, and the accuracy increases by 20% compared with the GA-BP neural network model. The experiment proves the stability and good convergence effect of the evaluation model.

Effects of mesoscale eddies on intraseasonal variability of intermediate water east of Taiwan.

The intraseasonal variability of the intermediate water (IW) and its characteristics east of Taiwan are studied utilizing 17 months of long-term, continuous and synchronous measurements of temperature, salinity and current from mooring sites deployed at 122° E/23° N from January 2016 to May 2017. Direct measurements revealed water masses east of Taiwan alternately show complete South China Sea Intermediate Water or North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) characteristics, mostly in a mixed state, with NPIW dominating 70% of the time. For the first time, it is demonstrated that the variation of IW with periods of ~ 80 days is mainly related to mesoscale eddies. Anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies corresponding to an increase (decrease) in temperature and salinity in the intermediate layer. Further mechanism analysis indicates the vertical motion of the water mass inside the eddies is one of the reasons for the thermohaline change in the intermedaiter layer. In addition, the anticyclonic eddies may increase the salinity concentration gradient across the Luzon Strait, and the enhanced advection is favorable to the outflow of water masses in the South China Sea. When the cyclonic eddies acts on the eastern part of Taiwan, the influence of the northward advection is weakened and the southward flow on its left side is more favorable to the transport of NPIW.

Anticancer activity of ruthenium(II) plumbagin complexes with polypyridyl as ancillary ligands via inhibiting energy metabolism and GADD45A-mediated cell cycle arrest.

To study the antitumor activity and action mechanism of Ru(II) polypyridyl plumbagin (PLN) complexes, four complexes [Ru(PLN)(DMSO)2]Cl (Ru1), [Ru(bpy)2(PLN)](PF6) (bpy is bipyridine) (Ru2), [Ru(phen)2(PLN)](PF6) (phen is 1,10-phenanthroline) (Ru3), and [Ru(DIP)2(PLN)](PF6) (DIP is 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) (Ru4) were obtained and fully characterized. Lipophilicity, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of these Ru(II) complexes are in the order of: Ru1

Flexible composite film with artificial opal photonic crystals for efficient all-day passive radiative cooling.

All-day passive radiative cooling has recently attracted broader attention for its potential as a viable energy technology. Although tremendous progress has been achieved, the design and fabrication of low-cost high-efficiency radiators for all-day passive radiative cooling remains a challenge. Herein, we report a new type of flexible composite radiator film with built-in artificial opal-like structures for all-day passive radiative cooling. Using artificial opal structure concepts, the proposed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) radiator film with embedded polystyrene (PS) microsphere photonic crystals exhibits a sufficiently high solar reflectance of ∼92.7% when in a direct sunlight region, and a thermal emittance of ∼93.6% within the atmospheric window. Without the need for traditional reflectors like silver or aluminum foils, this composite film realizes subambient temperature reduction of ∼4.8 °C in direct sunlight and ∼8.5 °C during the night. This work provides a new fabrication approach for the low-cost production of structural polymer films for high performance and potential real word applications.

Pharmacodynamic study of chiral oxiracetam on neuroprotection and anti-dementia / 药学学报

To compare the neuroprotective and anti-dementia pharmacological effects of chiral oxiracetam, glutamate and calcium ions were used to establish neuronal injury models in vitro, and the protective effects of chiral oxiracetam on primary neurons were assayed by MTT. Permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2-VO)-induced rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group, galantamine 3 mg‧kg-1 group, oxiracetam groups (30, 100 and 200 mg‧kg-1), S-oxiracetam groups (30, 100 and 200 mg‧kg-1) and R-oxiracetam 200 mg‧kg-1 group. The animal experiments in the present study were performed in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Ethical Committee of Peking Union Medical College. Morris water maze and step-down test were applied to evaluate the cognitive dysfunction induced by cerebral hypoperfusion in rats. Oxiracetam, S-oxiracetam and R-oxiracetam exerted protective effects on primary neuronal damage caused by various stimuli, and oxiracetam and S-oxiracetam showed better neuro-protective effects. Morris water maze and step-down results showed that oxiracetam, S-oxiracetam and R-oxiracetam improved the cognition of 2-VO rats. In summary, S-oxiracetam exerted a better neuro-protective effect than oxiracetam and R-oxiracetam.

Clinical trials and evaluation of Chinese patent medicine for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中国中药杂志

The clinical randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) were reviewed and analyzed to provide references for clinical research, guideline development, policy formulation, and quality improvement of clinical evidence. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed, Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for COPD as a source of clinical evidence from database inception to December 31, 2019. The publication time, sample size, intervention and control measures, course of treatment, outcome indicators, and methodological quality of the trials were analyzed and evaluated. A total of 733 RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for COPD were included, among which 228 RCTs had a sample size higher than 100, accounting for 31.1% of total RCTs. Eighty-eight Chinese patent medicines were involved, including 40 oral medicines and 48 injections. A total of 327 RCTs mentioned intervention and control measures(Chinese patent medicine + conventional treatment vs conventional treatment), accounting for 43.0%. In addition, 94.40% of the RCTs reported the course of treatment, and 53.20% of the RCTs determined 8-14 d as the intervention course. The evaluation indicators adopted were numerous, among which physicochemical indicators(70.57%) and symptoms/signs(24.35%) were the most frequently employed. The operation of allocation concealment and blinding was not standard. Registration and the procedure related to ethics were mostly missing. The results indicate that there are prominent methodological problems in the clinical trials of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of COPD, affecting the reliability and practicability of the trials. It is necessary to further standardize the design, implementation, and quality control of clinical trials of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of COPD, highlight the clinical value of Chinese patent medicine for COPD, and improve the quality of evidence.

Clinical trials and evaluation of Chinese patent medicine for pneumonia / 中国中药杂志

The present study reviewed the clinical randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of Chinese patent medicine for pneumonia to provide references for clinical research, guideline development, and policy formulation, and promote the quality improvement of clinical evidence. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for pneumonia from database inception to December 31, 2019. A total of 1 245 RCTs were included, involving 84 Chinese patent medicines, including 45 oral medicines and 39 injections. Specifically, 85.9% of RCTs had treatment course not exceeding 14 d; 43.3% of RCTs had a sample size of more than 100 cases and 6.1% of RCTs more than 200 cases; 13 types of interventions/controls were included in the RCTs, with Chinese patent medicine + western medicine vs western medicine as the top one used(32.6%). In outcome indicators, symptoms/signs(3 285) and physicochemical detection(2 066) were the most frequently applied. In the methodological evaluation, "allocation concealment" was not clearly described or mentioned in 71.2% of RCTs, and "blinding" in 23.9% of RCTs met the normative standards. Registration and research ethics were not clearly reported. There are many methodological deficiencies in terms of design and implementation in included RCTs, which may impact the reliability and practicability of the results of RCTs. Additionally, key standards were unclear(such as disease classification methods and selection of core outcome indicators). In conclusion, RCTs should give priority to the preciseness and scientificity of the protocol, strengthening quality control of the processes and accelerating the standardized research of key links.

Clinical trials and evaluation of Chinese patent medicine for stroke / 中国中药杂志

To systematically collect and analyze clinical randomized controlled trial(RCT) of Chinese patent medicine treatment for stroke in 2020, in order to provide basic information for clinical decision-making and related research. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed, Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for stroke in 2020. The publication, sample size, intervention and control measures, course of treatment, outcome indicators, methodological quality and other contents were statistically analyzed.A total of 68 RCTs studies on Chinese patent medicine for stroke were included in 2020, of which 29(42.60%) were RCTs with sample size>100 cases. A total of 41 kinds of proprietary Chinese medicines were involved, including 23 kinds of oral proprietary Chinese medicines and 18 kinds of injections. A total of 18 intervention/control cases were included in RCTs, and 19 cases(Chinese patent medicine+Western medicine vs Western medicine) were applied in RCTs, accounting for 27.90%. The duration of treatment was reported in 91.18% of the studies, and the intervention duration was 8-14 days in 50.00% of the studies. Evaluation indexes were widely used, among which physical and chemical testing indexes(49.36%) were the most widely used. According to the methodological quality evaluation, the overall methodological quality of the study is not high, especially the implementation of the allocation hidden, blind method is not accurate, and the registration, ethics and other links are often missing. In conclusion, 2020 implementation of proprietary Chinese medicine in the treatment of stroke research methodology problems is outstanding, the similar function scale large range of optional, no specification selection criteria, reliability and practicability of the impact study, need to further standardize the proprietary Chinese medicine in the treatment of stroke study design, implementation and quality control, and highlight the value of proprietary Chinese medicine in the treatment of stroke and improve the quality of the evidence.

Clinical trials and evaluation of Chinese patent medicine for heart failure / 中国中药杂志

The present study systematically collected, analyzed, and evaluated randomized controlled trial(RCT) of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of heart failure to provide references for follow-up clinical research design, guideline update, and policy formulation, and promote the improvement of clinical evidence quality. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, SinoMed, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of heart failure from database inception to December 31, 2020. The di-sease type, publication time, sample size, intervention/control setting, course of treatment, evaluation indexes, and methodological quality were analyzed and evaluated. A total of 1 631 RCTs were included, including 1 622 in Chinese and 9 in English. It was first published in 1995, with the largest number of publications in 2016. There were only 56 RCTs(3.43%) with a sample size≥200. Seventy-eight types of Chinese patent medicines were involved, including 49 types of oral drugs and 29 types of injections. There were 34 intervention/control protocols, which were dominated by Chinese patent medicine+conventional treatment vs conventional treatment, accounting for 28.51%(n=465). About 94.0% of RCTs reported the course of treatment, mainly 14-56 days. The evaluation indexes were mainly physical and chemical tests and symptoms/signs, and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) was the most frequently used measurement index. In enumeration indexes, clinical efficacy(response rate) was used the most frequently. Methodologically, 92.0% of the research subjects were rated as high risk of blindness. There were only 13 RCTs(0.80%) reporting registered information. It is necessary to further standardize the design, implementation, and quality control of clinical studies in order to improve the quality of evidence and avoid research waste.

Clinical evidence analysis report of Chinese patent medicine in 2020 / 中国中药杂志

The present study collected, collated, analyzed, and evaluated randomized controlled trial(RCT) of Chinese patent medicine published in Chinese and English journals in 2020, and summarized clinical evidence of Chinese patent medicine in stages, providing references for follow-up clinical research and evidence transformation and application. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMbase were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine published in 2020, and their research characteristics and methodological quality were analyzed and evaluated. A total of 1 285 research papers on Chinese patent medicine(1 257 in Chinese/28 in English) were included, involving 146 054 patients and 639 Chinese patent medicines, including 526 oral drugs, 68 injections, and 45 external drugs. A total of 412 diseases in 23 types were involved, which were dominated by circulatory system diseases and respiratory system diseases, specifically, cerebral infarction and angina pectoris. The sample size ranged from 20 cases to 2 673 cases, and 57.67% of RCTs had samples sizes less than 100. Single-center trials were the main ones, and multi-center trials only accounted for 4.75%(n=61). In terms of methodological quality, 52.91% of the RCTs had unclear descriptions or incorrect application of randomization methods, and the implementation of allocation concealment and blinding methods has not been paid much attention. In conclusion, compared with the conditions in 2019, the number of RCTs published in 2020 has decreased, and the research interest in respiratory diseases has increased, while the quality control in the process of research design and implementation has not been improved. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the methodological training of researchers and promote the output of high-quality research evidence.