Objective To develop a predictive model for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) following video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in lung cancer patients by integrating cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters and machine learning techniques. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer who underwent CPET and VATS at Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital between October 2021 and July 2023. Patients were divided into a PPC group and a non-PPC group. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select important features associated with PPC. Six machine learning algorithms were utilized to construct prediction models, including logistic regression, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, random forest, gradient boosting machine, and extreme gradient boosting. The optimal model was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Results A total of 325 patients were included, with an average age of 60.36 years, and 55.1% were male. Significant differences were observed between the PPC and non-PPC groups in age, diabetes, coronary heart disease, surgical approach, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FVC% predicted, peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2), anaerobic threshold (AT), and ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide slope (VE/VCO2 slope) (P<0.05). In the predictive model constructed by selecting 7 key features using LASSO regression, the random forest model demonstrated the best overall performance across various metrics, with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.930, an F1 score of 0.836, and a Brier score of 0.133 in the training set. It also exhibited good predictive ability and calibration in the test set. SHAP analysis ranked feature importance as follows: peak VO2, VE/VCO2 slope, age, FEV1, smoking history, diabetes, and surgical approach. Conclusion Integrating CPET parameters, the random forest model can effectively identify high-risk patients for PPC and has the potential for clinical application.

Background Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is closely associated with cortical damage and neuroinflammation in offspring. The cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway is a key regulator of inflammation and may be subject to epigenetic regulation. Objective To investigate the role of cGAS-STING pathway activation in PM_2.5-induced cortical damage in offspring mice during pregnancy and the underlying epigenetic regulatory mechanisms. Methods Open field tests were used to assess depressive-like behavior in offspring mice. Morphological analysis was conducted to evaluate cortical damage and microglial activation in offspring brains. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot (WB) were performed to detect changes in the expression of key molecules in the cGAS-STING pathway in cortical tissue. A PM_2.5-induced microglial cell injury model was established in BV2 cells. Microglial activation was observed, cell viability was measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and key molecules in the cGAS-STING pathway were detected by RT-qPCR and WB. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore the epigenetic regulatory association between the STING signaling pathway and lysine-specific demethylase 5A (KDM5A). Changes in KDM5A mRNA and protein expression, as well as the protein level of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3), were detected in an in vitro PM_2.5 injury model. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology, the KDM5A gene was silenced in BV2 cells exposed to PM_2.5. The protein expression of H3K4me3 was detected to evaluate improvements in microglial activation, changes in inflammatory markers such as iNOS and mannose receptor (CD206), and alterations in the cGAS-STING pathway. Results Compared with the control group, the total distance of offspring mice in the PM_2.5 group was significantly reduced, and both the distance traveled and the time spent in the central area of the open field were significantly decreased (P<0.01, P<0.001), indicating depressive-like behavior in the offspring mice. Compared with the control group, the offspring mice in the PM_2.5 group exhibited disorganized cortical structure and significantly activated microglia (P<0.01), with significantly increased mRNA and protein levels of cGAS and STING (P<0.05, P<0.01, or P<0.001). The in vitro experiments demonstrated that the PM_2.5 treatment induced BV2 cells to polarize toward the M1 phenotype, exhibiting a distinct amoeboid morphology, with upregulated expression of the pro-inflammatory factor iNOS (P<0.05, P<0.01, or P<0.001) and activation of the cGAS-STING pathway (P<0.05, P<0.01). The analysis of RNA-seq data from KDM5A knockout cells revealed significantly downregulated STING expression, suggesting that KDM5A may activate the STING signaling pathway. The in vitro experiments further confirmed that the PM_2.5-treated BV2 cells exhibited significantly elevated mRNA and protein levels of KDM5A (P<0.01), while the H3K4me3 protein levels were markedly reduced (P<0.05). After silencing KDM5A in BV2 cells exposed to PM_2.5, compared with the PM_2.5+siNC group, the PM_2.5+siKDM5A group showed no obvious microglial activation and polarized toward the M2 phenotype, with significantly decreased expression levels of iNOS, cluster of differentiation 16 (CD16), and interleukin-1β (P<0.05, P<0.01), and significantly increased expression levels of anti-inflammatory factors CD206, YM1, and interleukin-10 (P<0.01, P<0.001). Meanwhile, the expression levels of cGAS and STING were also reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion KDM5A activates microglia through the cGAS-STING pathway, thereby contributing to PM_2.5-induced cortical damage in offspring mice during pregnancy.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） is a chronic respiratory disease that poses a significant threat to global health， exhibiting high morbidity， disability and mortality rate， with its prevention and treatment situation becoming increasingly critical. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex， and the underlying cellular and molecular biological mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Programmed cell death （PCD） is the process wherein cells actively undergo demise to maintain internal environmental stability in response to certain signals or specific stimuli. Contemporary medical research indicates that the dysregulation of PCD patterns such as apoptosis， necroptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， and ferroptosis is closely related to the onset and progression of COPD. Clarifying the molecular mechanisms of PCD in COPD may provide novel perspectives for in-depth understanding and prevention of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is characterized by holistic regulation. In recent years， extensive research has been conducted in the TCM field focusing on modulating apoptosis， necroptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， and ferroptosis for the treatment of COPD， yielding remarkable achievements. Therefore， this study systematically explored the molecular mechanism of PCD in COPD and reviewed the potential mechanisms and intervention status of TCM targeting PCD in COPD， aiming to provide insights and references for the clinical prevention， treatment and in-depth research of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） is a chronic respiratory disease that poses a significant threat to global health， exhibiting high morbidity， disability and mortality rate， with its prevention and treatment situation becoming increasingly critical. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex， and the underlying cellular and molecular biological mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Programmed cell death （PCD） is the process wherein cells actively undergo demise to maintain internal environmental stability in response to certain signals or specific stimuli. Contemporary medical research indicates that the dysregulation of PCD patterns such as apoptosis， necroptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， and ferroptosis is closely related to the onset and progression of COPD. Clarifying the molecular mechanisms of PCD in COPD may provide novel perspectives for in-depth understanding and prevention of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is characterized by holistic regulation. In recent years， extensive research has been conducted in the TCM field focusing on modulating apoptosis， necroptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， and ferroptosis for the treatment of COPD， yielding remarkable achievements. Therefore， this study systematically explored the molecular mechanism of PCD in COPD and reviewed the potential mechanisms and intervention status of TCM targeting PCD in COPD， aiming to provide insights and references for the clinical prevention， treatment and in-depth research of COPD.

ObjectiveTo establish the quality standards for Sennae Folium（Cassia angustifolia） dispensing granules based on standard decoctions. MethodsHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） specific chromatograms were established for 15 batches of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） standard decoctions and 10 of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） dispensing granules from different manufacturers， and the similarity evaluation， hierarchical cluster analysis（HCA） and principal component analysis（PCA） were performed. Linear calibration with two reference substances（LCTRS） and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single-marker（QAMS） were established for the common peaks in the specific chromatograms to determine the contents of main components in the decoction pieces， standard decoctions and dispensing granules， and to calculate their transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoctions and dispensing granules. ResultsThe similarities of specific chromatograms of 15 batches of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） standard decoctions and 10 batches of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） dispensing granules were all greater than 0.95， and a total of 8 characteristic peaks were calibrated， and five of them were identified， including kaempferol-3，7-O-diglucoside， apigenin-6，8-di-C-glucoside， quercetin-3-O-gentianoside， sennoside B and sennoside A. HCA and PCA results showed that there were certain differences in the composition of different batches of standard decoctions， but no clustering was observed in the production area. As the standard decoctions， the extract rate of 15 batches of samples was 26.54%-45.38%， the contents of kaempferol-3，7-O-diglucoside， apigenin-6，8-di-C-glucoside， quercetin-3-O-gentianoside， sennoside B and sennoside A were 12.16-19.26， 2.57-4.94， 3.27-5.11， 6.75-11.39， 4.69-7.79 mg·g^-1， and their transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoctions were 45.41%-79.02%， 29.12%-55.07%， 40.52%-67.90%， 24.72%-49.12%， 27.54%-49.34%， respectively. The extract rates of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） dispensing granules（C8-C10） were 38.10%-39.50%， the transfer rates of the above five components from decoction pieces to dispensing granules were 72.85%-73.58%， 53.43%-53.94%， 40.19%-40.74%， 24.62%-25.00%， 28.65%-29.11%， respectively， which were generally consistent with the transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoctions. ConclusionCompared with the relative retention time method， LCTRS has higher prediction accuracy and is more suitable for chromatographic columns. The established quality control standard of Sennae Folium（C. angustifolia） dispensing granules based on standard decoction is reasonable and reliable， and all indicators of samples from different manufacturers are within the range specified based on the standard decoction， which can provide reference for the quality control and process research of this dispensing granules.

ObjectiveTo establish the specific chromatogram of Chuanxiong Rhizoma dispensing granules（CRdg）， and to evaluate its quality by chemometrics and two reference substances for determination of multiple components（TRSDMC）. MethodsHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） specific chromatograms were established using 13 batches of CRdg from 7 manufacturers， and preliminary quality evaluation was performed by similarity evaluation and chemometrics analysis. Eight characteristic peaks in the specific chromatogram of CRdg were measured on 22 different types of C₁₈ columns， and the actual retention times were recorded. Taking chlorogenic acid（peak 1） and senkyunolide A（peak 8） as double standard compounds， the retention times of the eight characteristic peaks were predicted by linear calibration using two reference substances（LCTRS）， and the method was validated on three other columns of different brands. Taking chlorogenic acid as reference peak， the relative correction factor method（RCFM） was used to quantify cryptochlorogenic acid， caffeic acid， ferulic acid， senkyunolide I and senkyunolide A， and the results were compared with the external standard method（ESM）. ResultsThe similarities of specific chromatograms of 13 batches of CRdg were all >0.90， and a total of 8 characteristic peaks were calibrated， and six of them were identified， including chlorogenic acid（peak 1）， cryptochlorogenic acid（peak 2）， caffeic acid（peak 3）， ferulic acid（peak 5）， senkyunolide I（peak 6） and senkyunolide A（peak 8）. Through chemometric analysis， it was found that ferulic acid， chlorogenic acid， senkyunolide I and cryptochlorogenic acid were the main components causing quality difference in CRdg， and the accuracy of LCTRS in predicting the retention time of 8 characteristic peaks was superior to that of the relative retention time method（RRT）. Further comparison of the results obtained from RCFM and ESM showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods. ConclusionA quality evaluation method for CRdg based on HPLC specific chromatogram and TRSDMC is established， its qualitative accuracy is better than that of RRT， the quantitative accuracy is similar to that of ESM， and 4 quality-differentiated components among different manufacturers are found. This method is stable and reliable， and has reference value for the quality evaluation of other dispensing granules.

ObjectiveTo establish the specific chromatogram of Chuanxiong Rhizoma dispensing granules（CRdg）， and to evaluate its quality by chemometrics and two reference substances for determination of multiple components（TRSDMC）. MethodsHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） specific chromatograms were established using 13 batches of CRdg from 7 manufacturers， and preliminary quality evaluation was performed by similarity evaluation and chemometrics analysis. Eight characteristic peaks in the specific chromatogram of CRdg were measured on 22 different types of C₁₈ columns， and the actual retention times were recorded. Taking chlorogenic acid（peak 1） and senkyunolide A（peak 8） as double standard compounds， the retention times of the eight characteristic peaks were predicted by linear calibration using two reference substances（LCTRS）， and the method was validated on three other columns of different brands. Taking chlorogenic acid as reference peak， the relative correction factor method（RCFM） was used to quantify cryptochlorogenic acid， caffeic acid， ferulic acid， senkyunolide I and senkyunolide A， and the results were compared with the external standard method（ESM）. ResultsThe similarities of specific chromatograms of 13 batches of CRdg were all >0.90， and a total of 8 characteristic peaks were calibrated， and six of them were identified， including chlorogenic acid（peak 1）， cryptochlorogenic acid（peak 2）， caffeic acid（peak 3）， ferulic acid（peak 5）， senkyunolide I（peak 6） and senkyunolide A（peak 8）. Through chemometric analysis， it was found that ferulic acid， chlorogenic acid， senkyunolide I and cryptochlorogenic acid were the main components causing quality difference in CRdg， and the accuracy of LCTRS in predicting the retention time of 8 characteristic peaks was superior to that of the relative retention time method（RRT）. Further comparison of the results obtained from RCFM and ESM showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods. ConclusionA quality evaluation method for CRdg based on HPLC specific chromatogram and TRSDMC is established， its qualitative accuracy is better than that of RRT， the quantitative accuracy is similar to that of ESM， and 4 quality-differentiated components among different manufacturers are found. This method is stable and reliable， and has reference value for the quality evaluation of other dispensing granules.

Objective: To compare the changes in the concentration of relevant growth factors released from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) stored at -80℃ by cryopreservation and at 4℃ by refrigerated lyophilization over 2 years, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for prolonging PRP storage duration. Methods: PRP (n=15) was separated using a blood cell separator and stored under -80℃ cryopreservation (F-PRP group) and 4℃ refrigerated freeze-drying conditions (FD-PRP group). The contents of growth factors (PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB, EGF, TGF-β1, and VEGF) in both groups were measured by ELISA at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 months. Results: PDGF-AA and VEGF maintained good stability in both groups for up to 24 months. PDGF-BB and TGF-β1 showed high stability in the first 12 months but their stability decreased gradually from 12th to 24th months. EGF demonstrated good stability in the first 6 months, and its stability gradually decreased from the 9th to 24th months. Comparing the F-PRP and FD-PRP groups, the concentrations of the five growth factors in the FD-PRP group were either not statistically different or higher than those in the F-PRP group at all time points. Specifically, the concentrations of EGF were significantly higher in the FD-PRP group at all time points. Conclusion: Both -80℃ freezing and 4℃ freeze-drying enable long-term preservation of PRP. Freeze-drying imposes less stringent storage requirements and facilitates growth factor compared to frozen storage.

Objective To investigate the association between butyrate metabolism-related genes(BMRGs)and the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD),construct a prognostic model,and evaluate its predictive value.Methods Differentially expressed BMRGs(BMR-DEGs)were screened from the TCGA-LUAD dataset.Cox and LASSO regression analyses were employed to establish a risk scoring model,stratifying patients into low-and high-risk groups.The model's performance was assessed using Kaplan-Meier(K-M)and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,with external validation conducted using the GSE68465 dataset.In vitro experiments included RT-PCR and Western blotting to measure insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1(IGFBP1)expression.IGFBP1 was knocked down using siRNA,and its effects on cell proliferation,migration,and invasion were evaluated via CCK-8,colony formation,Transwell,and wound healing assays.Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA)was performed to explore IGFBP1-related regulatory mechanisms.Results We identified a total of 51 BMR-DEGs,primarily involved in biological processes such as cell proliferation,migration,and invasion,and associated with the PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways.The constructed 5-gene risk scoring model demonstrated that high-risk patients had significantly worse overall survival(OS)than low-risk patients(P＜0.05).IGFBP1 was highly expressed in LUAD tissues and correlated with poor prognosis.Knockdown of IGFBP1 significantly suppressed cancer cell proliferation,migration,and invasion(P＜0.05).GSEA revealed that IGFBP1 was linked to lipid metabolism-related pathways.Conclusion BMRGs are associated with LUAD prognosis,and the established risk scoring model exhibits strong predictive performance.High IGFBP1 expression correlates with unfavorable outcomes,and its knockdown inhibits cancer cell proliferation,migration,and invasion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of medium-chain fatty acids(MC-FAs)caprylic acid(C8∶0)on lipid metabolism of calf hepatocytes.Primary calf hepatocytes were extracted and cultured,and 1.2 mmol/L nonesterified fatty acids(NEFAs)were added to the hep-atocytes to construct a model of hepatic lipid deposition in primary calf hepatocytes,Five process-ing groups have been set up:Control group(Ctrl),NEFA added group(NEFA),C8∶0 1.2 mmol/L treatment group(C8∶0 1.2),NEFA+C8∶0 0.2 mmol/L treatment group(NEFA+C8∶00.2),C8∶0 0.2 mmol/L treatment group(C8∶0 0.2).Stimulate calf liver cells for 12 hours,and the levels of triglyceride(TG),lipid oxidation(MDA),hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)and total SOD activity were detected by biochemical kit,and FAS,a protein related to lipid synthesis,was detec-ted by Western blot.The results showed that compared with the control group,the concentrations of TG,MDA and H2O2 in NEFA group increased significantly(P＜0.01),and the activity of SOD decreased significantly(P＜0.05).The protein expression levels of FAS,ACC1,DGAT2 and SREBP-1C were significantly up-regulated(P＜0.01),while the expression level of CPT1A was significantly down-regulated(P＜0.01).Compared with the NEFA group,the protein expression levels of SREBP-1C and DGAT2 in the NEFA+C8∶0(concentration 0.2 mmol/L)group de-creased significantly(P＜0.05),and the protein expression level of fatty acid β-oxidation related molecule CPT1A was slightly higher than that in the NEFA group,but there was no statistical sig-nificance(P＞0.05),and the MDA level in hepatocytes decreased significantly(P＜0.05).In a word,the results of this study show that C8∶0 has antioxidant effect,which can effectively reduce the liver injury caused by oxidative stress,regulate the expression of liver fat gene,and then pro-tect liver injury.