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Abstract Background and aim China has used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat diseases for more than 2000 years. Traditionally, TCMs in medicine cabinets are arranged alphabetically or on the basis of experience, but this arrangement greatly affects dispensing efficiency. However, owing to the unique properties and qualities of TCM, very few automatic approaches or systems have specifically addressed TCM dispensing problems. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a method of optimizing the traditional Chinese medicine placement scheme (TCMPS) via computer algorithms to improve the work efficiency of pharmacists. Methods A prescription dataset from a hospital in 2022 was obtained, and the association rule algorithm (ARA) was used to calculate the frequency of use for each type of TCM and the associations between different types of TCMs. On the basis of these association and frequency data, the optimal TCMPS was calculated using the simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) and then verified using the prescription dataset from 2023. Results A total of 10,601 prescriptions were collected in 2022, involving 360 different TCMs, and each prescription contained an average of 9.485 TCMs, with Danggui (3628) being the most frequently used. When the threshold of support was set to 0.05 and the confidence was set to 0.8, 78 couplet medicines used in orthopedics clinics were found through ARA. When the threshold value of support was set to 0, the confidence was set to 0, and the rule length was 2, a total of 129,240 rules were obtained, indicating support between all pairwise TCMs. The TCMPS, calculated using SAA, had a correlation sum of 14.183 and a distance sum of 3.292. The TCMPS was verified using a prescription dataset from 2023 and theoretically improved the dispensing efficiency of pharmacists by approximately 50%. Conclusions In this study, the ARA and SAA were successfully applied to pharmacies for the first time, and the optimal TCMPS was calculated. This approach not only significantly improves the dispensing efficiency of pharmacists and reduces patient waiting time but also enhances the quality of medical services and patient satisfaction, and provides a valuable reference for the development of smart medicine.

Platinum-based chemotherapy is one of the predominant strategies for treating ovarian cancer (OC), however, platinum resistance greatly influences the therapeutic effect. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to participate in the pathogenesis of platinum resistance. Our aim was to explore the involvement of circ_0078607 in OC cell cisplatin (DDP) resistance and its potential mechanisms. Circ_0078607, miR-196b-5p, and growth arrest-specific 7 (GAS7) levels were assessed by qPCR. Circ_0078607 stability was assessed by ribonuclease R digestion and actinomycin D treatment. Cell viability of various conic of DDP treatment was measured by CCK-8. The cell proliferation was determined by CCK-8 and colony formation assay. Western blotting was performed for determining GAS7, ABCB1, CyclinD1 and Bcl-2 protein levels. The direct binding between miR-196b-5p and circ_0078607 or GAS7 was validated by dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assay. DDP resistance in vivo was evaluated in nude mice. Immunohistochemistry staining for detecting Ki67 expression in xenograft tumours. Circ_0078607 and GAS7 was down-regulated, but miR-196b-5p was up-regulated in OC samples and DDP-resistant cells. Overexpression of circ_0078607 inhibited DDP resistance, cell growth and induced apoptosis in DDP-resistant OC cells. Mechanistically, circ_0078607 sequestered miR-196b-5p to up-regulate GAS7. MiR-196b-5p mimics reversed circ_0078607 or GAS7 overexpression-mediated enhanced sensitivity. Finally, circ_0078607 improved the sensitivity of DDP in vivo. Circ_0078607 attenuates DDP resistance via miR-196b-5p/GAS7 axis, which highlights the therapeutic potential of circ_0078607 to counter DDP resistance in OC.

Objective: Many studies have explored the effects of individual foods or nutrients on fluorosis, but no studies have focused on dietary patterns. This study examined the relationship between dietary patterns and coal-burning fluorosis in Guizhou, China.Methods: This 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted in Zhijin County of Guizhou province with a sample size of 200 cases of fluorosis and 200 age and gender matched controls. Habitual dietary intake was assessed by face-to-face interviews, using a validated 75-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and various covariates using structured questionnaires. The dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis.Results: The factor analysis identified three major dietary patterns which were labeled healthy, easy-to-roast and high protein. After adjusting for various confounding factors, a decreased risk for fluorosis was observed in the highest tertile of the healthy dietary pattern relative to the lowest tertile (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.27–0.84, P-trend = 0.003) and a positive association was observed between the easy-to-roast dietary pattern and fluorosis risk (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.15–3.66), with a significant linear trend (P = 0.017). We did not find an association between fluorosis risk and the high protein dietary pattern. The relationships remained significant when the analyses were stratified by gender and fluorosis subtypes.Conclusion: The healthy dietary pattern may lower coal-burning fluorosis risk; in contrast, the easy-to-roast dietary pattern significantly increases the risk of coal-burning fluorosis.

The complex sand-casting process combined with the interactions between process parameters makes it difficult to control the casting quality, resulting in a high scrap rate. A strategy based on a data-driven model was proposed to reduce casting defects and improve production efficiency, which includes the random forest (RF) classification model, the feature importance analysis, and the process parameters optimization with Monte Carlo simulation. The collected data includes four types of defects and corresponding process parameters were used to construct the RF model. Classification results show a recall rate above 90% for all categories. The Gini Index was used to assess the importance of the process parameters in the formation of various defects in the RF model. Finally, the classification model was applied to different production conditions for quality prediction. In the case of process parameters optimization for gas porosity defects, this model serves as an experimental process in the Monte Carlo method to estimate a better temperature distribution. The prediction model, when applied to the factory, greatly improved the efficiency of defect detection. Results show that the scrap rate decreased from 10.16% to 6.68%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with the development of head and neck cancers. In this study, we investigated whether the risk factors for head and neck cancer in relation to HPV infection are different from those in the absence of HPV infection and whether HPV detected in oral exfoliated cells is an independent predictor of head and neck cancer risk.Methods: We conducted a case-control study in 201 head and neck cancer case patients and 333 control subjects, frequency matched for age and sex. Oral exfoliated cells and tumor tissue were evaluated for HPV using polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing to type HPV. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for head and neck cancer with HPV infection and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for age, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption.Results: Oncogenic, or high-risk (HR), HPV types were detected in oral cells from 22.9% of case patients and 10.8% of control subjects. HPV16 was the most frequently detected type (19% versus 10% of case patients and control subjects, respectively). After adjusting for age, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption, the risk of head and neck cancer was statistically significantly greater in individuals with HPV-HR types (adjusted OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.5 to 4.2) but not in individuals with nononcogenic HPV types (adjusted OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.4 to 1.7) compared with HPV-negative individuals. Compared with individuals who were HPV-negative and did not use alcohol or tobacco, there was a statistically significant synergistic effect between detection of HPV-HR and heavy alcohol consumption (OR = 18.8, 95% CI = 5.1 to 69.5) but an additive effect between detection of HPV-HR and tobacco use (OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 2.1 to 14.1). HPV-HR types detected in oral exfoliated cells were predictive of HPV-HR types in tumor tissue.Conclusion: Infection of oral exfoliated cells with HPV-HR types is a risk factor for head and neck cancer, independent of alcohol and tobacco use, and acts synergistically with alcohol consumption. HPV testing of an oral rinse may be predictive of an HPV-related head and neck cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disorders in glucose and lipid metabolism are closely linked to chronic metabolic diseases, including obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver, hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Cereal dietary fiber, as a prebiotic, can lower blood sugar and lipid levels while promoting metabolic balance. Current research on cereal dietary fiber primarily focuses on its physicochemical properties and short-chain fatty acids metabolites. Recent studies suggest that dietary fiber intake regulates glucose and lipid homeostasis by modulating bile acid metabolism. This process is closely associated with gut microbiota. Therefore, this paper briefly reviewed the progress on the regulatory effects and mechanisms of glucose and lipid metabolism through the gut microbiota-bile acid pathway by grain dietary fiber, and provides examples of how dietary fiber from different grains (brown rice, wheat, oats, and other grains) regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. This review aims to elucidate the relationship between cereal dietary fiber, gut microbiota-bile acid interactions, and glucose and lipid metabolism. It provides new insights into how grain dietary fiber improves metabolic health and supports human well-being.

Many human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive high-grade lesions and cancers of the uterine cervix harbor integrated HPV genomes expressing the E6 and E7 oncogenes from chimeric virus-cell mRNAs, but less is known about HPV integration in head and neck cancer (HNC). Here we compared viral DNA status and E6-E7 mRNA sequences in HPV-16-positive HNC tumors to those in independent human keratinocyte cell clones derived from primary tonsillar or foreskin epithelia immortalized with HPV-16 genomes. Three of nine HNC tumors and epithelial clones containing unintegrated HPV-16 genomes expressed mRNAs spliced from HPV-16 SD880 to SA3358 and terminating at the viral early gene p(A) signal. In contrast, most integrated HPV genomes in six HNCs and a set of 31 keratinocyte clones expressed HPV-16 major early promoter (MEP)-initiated mRNAs spliced from viral SD880 directly to diverse cellular sequences, with a minority spliced to SA3358 followed by a cellular DNA junction. Sequence analysis of chimeric virus-cell mRNAs from HNC tumors and keratinocyte clones identified viral integration sites in a variety of chromosomes, with some located in or near growth control genes, including the c-myc protooncogene and the gene encoding FAP-1 phosphatase. Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that HPV integration in cancers is a stochastic process resulting in clonal selection of aggressively expanding cells with altered gene expression of integrated HPV genomes and potential perturbations of cellular genes at or near viral integration sites. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that this selection also takes place and can be studied in primary human keratinocytes in culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]