ObjectiveTo explore the therapeutic mechanism of Buchong Tiaojing prescription for rats with diminished ovarian reserve （DOR） from the perspectives of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain （NOD）-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome and ferroptosis. MethodsA total of 48 female SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group， a model group， low， medium， and high dose groups of Buchong Tiaojing prescription， and an MCC950 group， with eight rats in each group. Except the normal group， all the other groups were injected subcutaneously on the back of the neck with D-galactose to prepare the DOR rat model. From the 15th day of modeling， the rats in the low， medium， and high dose groups of Buchong Tiaojing prescription were subjected to gavage daily at doses of 14.4， 28.8， 57.6 g·kg^-1， respectively. Rats in the MCC950 group were injected intraperitoneally with MCC950 at a dose of 10 mg·kg^-1， once every other day. The interventions of all the groups lasted for 4 weeks. The estrous cycle of the rats was observed with vaginal exfoliated cell smear. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe the development of follicles and corpus luteum in the ovary. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to detect the levels of serum sex hormones and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot assay were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3 inflammasome， acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 （ACSL4）， transferrin receptor 1 （TFR1）， and glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）， and oxidative stress kits were used to detect ovarian superoxide dismutase （SOD） and malondialdehyde （MDA） levels. ResultsDuring the experiment， one rat died in the high dose group of Buchong Tiaojing prescription， and a total of 47 rats were finally included in the index tests and statistics. Compared with those in the normal group， rats in the model group had significantly disturbed estrous cycles， increased number of atretic follicles， and significant disorder of serum sex hormones. The mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3 inflammasome， ACSL4， and TFR1 in ovarian tissue was up-regulated （P<0.01）， while that of GPX4 was significantly down-regulated （P<0.01）. The SOD content in the ovary was decreased significantly， while the MDA level was increased （P<0.01）. After drug intervention， the estrous cycle of rats was basically resumed， and the follicles at all levels were more structurally intact and significantly increased in number. Additionally， the levels of serum sex hormones and IL-1β were significantly improved. The mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3 inflammasome， ACSL4， and TFR1 were down-regulated， while that of GPX4 was significantly up-regulated， and the ovarian oxidative stress was alleviated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， especially in the high dose group of Buchong Tiaojing prescription and the MCC950 group. ConclusionInflammatory injury and ferroptosis occur in the ovaries of DOR rats， and the Buchong Tiaojing prescription is able to inhibit ovarian NLRP3 inflammasome， alleviate the degree of ovarian ferroptosis， and improve ovarian reserve.

Objective: To investigate the value of metagene next⁃generation sequencing ( mNGS) in the detection of pathogens in patients with pulmonary infection. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on clinical data from 434 patients with pulmonary infections admitted over the past four years. Based on the presence of underlying comorbidities , patients were divided into underlying disease group (n = 262) and non⁃underlying disease group (n = 172) . Pathogen detection was conducted using both mNGS and conventional tests. Clinical and laboratory parameters , radiographic findings , and pathogen detection results were systematically analyzed. The diagnostic performance of the two methods in identifying causative pathogens of pulmonary infections was compared. Results: The positive rate of mNGS in 434 patients was higher than that of conventional tests , and the difference was statisti⁃cally significant (P < 0. 05) . The efficacy of mNGS in detecting bacteria and viruses was significantly higher than that of conventional tests , and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0. 05) . Although the fungal detection rate of mNGS was higher than that of conventional tests , the difference was not statistically significant. Among them , the detection rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Mycoplasma pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , Strepto⁃ coccus pneumoniae , Streptococcus constellation , Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus fumigatus were significantly higher than those of conventional tests , and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0. 05) . Subgroup analy- sis showed that the proportion of males , hospital stay , smoking prevalence and average age in the underlying dis- ease group were higher than those in the non-underlying disease group , and the difference was statistically signifi- cant (P < 0. 05) , while there were no significant differences in antibiotic use and endotracheal intubation rate be- tween the two groups. The most common pathogens detected by mNGS in the underlying disease group were Myco⁃ bacterium tuberculosis , Haemophilus influenzae , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , human herpes⁃ virus type 4 and Aspergillus fumigatus , while the most common pathogens in the non-underlying disease group were Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Haemophilus influenzae , Streptococcus pneumoniae , Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Kleb⁃ siella pneumoniae. The positive rate of mNGS in the two groups was significantly higher than that of conventional tests , and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0. 05) , while the difference in the positive rate of mNGS between the two groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion mNGS has significant advantages over con- ventional tests of pathogen in lung infection , and is less affected by underlying diseases , which can provide an etio- logical basis for lung infection.

As the need for antibody production rises, there is an urgent need to lower the costs and enhance the efficiency of the separation process. Currently, the chromatographic media used for antibody separation and purification often focus on individual properties of antibodies, such as affinity, hydrophobicity, and charge, leading to issues like low purification efficiency or inadequate adsorption capacity. To address this, an electrostatically coupled polypeptide affinity medium (FD7-3, 5-diaminobenzoic acid n-sepharose, FD7-DA-Sepharose) was developed for rapid purification of antibodies from cell culture supernatant. This medium utilized 3, 5-diaminobenzoic acid as a spacer to attach the heptapeptide-affinity ligand (FYEILHD, FD7) to agarose microspheres. Antibodies could be adsorbed through charge interactions with the carboxyl functional group of the FD7-DA-Sepharose spacer, while FD7 enhanced electrostatic coupling and affinity adsorption through synergistic effects, significantly increasing the adsorption capacity while maintaining the affinity and specificity. The influences of pH and ionic strength on adsorption capacity were investigated with human immunoglobulin as a model protein. The static adsorption capacity (Q_m) of FD7-DA-Sepharose in the solution of pH 6.0 reached 67.73 mg/mL, representing a 52.68% increase compared with that (44.36 mg/mL) of the commercial Protein A affinity medium. Furthermore, the elution conditions for FD7-DA- Sepharose were mild (20 mmol/L PB, 0.5 mol/L NaCl, pH 6.0), in contrast to the harsh acidic elution (pH 2.7-3.6) typically associated with Protein A, which can damage antibody integrity. The FD7-DA-Sepharose medium was then employed to purify antibodies from cell culture supernatant, achieving the yield of 94.8% and the purity of 98.4%. The secondary structure of the purified antibody was determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that FD7-DA-Sepharose enabled efficient purification of antibodies from cell culture supernatant, which provided a cost-effective solution (approximately one-third the price of commercial Protein A affinity medium) with gentle elution conditions that preserve the natural conformation of antibodies. This approach paves a novel, economical, and efficient way for the separation and purification of antibodies from cell culture supernatant.
Chromatography, Affinity/methods* ; Static Electricity ; Humans ; Sepharose/analogs & derivatives* ; Peptides/chemistry* ; Adsorption ; Antibodies/isolation & purification*

Objective To investigate the application value of procalcitonin(PCT),neutrophil-to-lym-phocyte ratio(NLR)and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio(CAR)in the short-term prognosis of the pa-tients with severe community acquired pneumonia(SCAP).Methods A total of 225 patients with communi-ty-acquired pneumonia(CAP)treated in this hospital from July 2021 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the SCAP group and non-SCAP group.Then the patients with SCAP were di-vided into the survival group and death group according to their survival state in 28 d.The general data and re-lated laboratory indexes were collected.NLR and CAR were calculated.The binary logistic regression was a-dopted to analyze the risk factors of death on 28 d for the SCAP patients.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the predictive value of relevant indicators.Results The age,levels of PCT,NLR,CAR,WBC and NEU,and the proportion of cor-onary heart disease in the SCAP group were higher than those in the non-SCAP group,while the levels of LYM and ALB were lower than those in the non-SCAP group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The age,levels of PCT,NLR,CAR,WBC and NEU,and the proportion of COPD in the death group were higher than those in the survival group,while the levels of LYM and ALB were lower than those in the survival group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The binary logistic regres-sion analysis showed that the age(OR=1.069,95％CI:1.020-1.120),chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-ease(OR=5.633,95％CI:2.019-15.712),PCT(OR=1.045,95％CI:1.002-1.090)and CAR(OR=2.170,95％CI:1.616-2.915)were the independent influencing factor for the death on 28 d in the patients with SCAP.The ROC curve analysis indicated that AUC,sensitivity and specificity of PCT,NLR and CAR combined detection were superior to those of detection alone,having good predictive value.Conclusion PCT,NLR and CAR have a certain predictive value for death within 28 d in the patients with SCAP.The combined detection has better predictive efficiency.

Background In recent years, the rising number of e-cigarette users among adolescents and the surging cases of lung injury related to e-cigarette use have attracted the attention of researchers in various fields. Objective To identify the research hotspots and trends of e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury (EVALI) worldwide from 2013 to 2022 by bibliometric and visual analysis. Methods Web of Science Core Collection was selected to obtain literature related to EVALI from 2013 to 2022 across the world, statistics were calculated by country/region, institution, author, journal, cited literature, keyword, etc. CiteSpace 6.2.R1 was used for visual analysis to draw diagrams of publication trend, author cooperation network, co-citation clustering time distribution, and keyword cluster. Results A total of 888 EVALI-related papers published between 2013 and 2022 were retrieved. The number of publications was gradually increased, with a significant increase in 2020 and a decrease from 2021, but the number of citations was increased year by year. The most active country was the United States (631 articles). European and American countries cooperated closely and the centrality was prominent. Among the publishing institutions, the University of California system topped the list with 103 articles. Rahman I (27 articles) published the most articles and had a high degree of centrality; Goniewicz M L was the most cited author; and the network analysis diagram showed relatively weak collaboration between authors. The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine was the journal with the highest number of publications (94 articles). The top 5 cited articles were all cited more than 300 times. The leading high-frequency keywords of EVALI-related studies were nicotine (149 times), exposure (118 times), and oxidative stress (80 times). The cluster of key nodes in the co-citation network and the clustering time distribution diagram indicated youth e-cigarette addiction received widespread attention from society. From the top 25 keywords with the strongest bursts, the focus of research on the pathogenesis of EVALI gradually shifted from the oxidative stress damage associated with e-cigarette vapor to the oxidative effect of flavoring chemicals in the process of lung injury. The current research interests in this field were mainly the mechanisms of various chemicals in e-cigarettes and the heating elements that led to damage to the lungs. Conclusion EVALI is receiving continuous attention from researchers in government, medical institutions, and other organizations. A variety of e-cigarette ingredients such as flavoring chemicals may lead to varying degrees of cytotoxicity, inflammation, and lung damage. However, the pathophysiology of EVALI remains unclear. In the future, more Chinese scholars should be encouraged to participate in this field.

OBJECTIVE To establish a quantitative analysis model for the contents of tussilagone， moisture， ethanol-soluble extract and total ash in Farfarae Flos based on near-infrared spectroscopy （NIRS）， providing a new idea for the rapid quality evaluation of Farfarae Flos and its preparations. METHODS Referring to the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the contents of the main quality control indexes tussilagone， moisture， ethanol-soluble extract and total ash in 130 batches of Farfarae Flos from 19 producing areas were determined by HPLC， drying method， hot dip method and ash assay， respectively. The NIRS data information of the medicinal herbs of Farfarae Flos was collected， and then NIRS combined with the partial least squares method was used to establish the individual quantitative analysis models of the above quality control indexes in the samples， and the predictive model of the NIRS content was obtained after sample validation with validation set. RESULTS The range for the contents of tussilagone， moisture， ethanol-soluble extract and total ash in 130 batches of Farfarae Flos were 0.051 4%-0.103 5%， 7.75%-10.93%， 20.17%-31.12%， and 7.68%-12.10%， respectively. The internal cross-validation coefficients of determination （R2） of the established models for the quantitative analysis of tussilagone， moisture， ethanol-soluble extract and total ash in Farfarae Flos were 0.985 8， 0.968 4， 0.973 4， 0.988 0， respectively； the root mean square errors of calibration （RMSEC） were 0.001 54， 0.187， 0.478， 0.127， respectively； the root mean square errors of prediction （RMSEP） were 0.001 81， 0.212， 0.543， 0.149， respectively； RMSEP/RMSEC were 1.175 3， 1.133 7， 1.136 0 and 1.173 2， respectively， which were all within a reasonable range （1＜RMSEP/RMSEC≤1.2）. The mean absolute errors between the true and model-predicted values of the above four quality control indexes in the validation set of samples were －0.000 36， 0.061 43， 0.144 00， and 0.010 43， respectively，and the mean predicted recoveries were 99.65%， 100.72%，100.66%， and 100.15%， respectively. CONCLUSIONS The established NIRS quantitative analysis model has high stability and reliable results， which can be used for the rapid batch prediction of the content of relevant quality control indexes in Farfarae Flos.

Threatened abortion is a common disease of obstetrics and gynecology and one of the diseases responding specifically to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. The China Association of Chinese Medicine organized experts in TCM obstetrics and gynecology， Western medicine obstetrics and gynecology， and pharmacology to deeply discuss the advantages of TCM and integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment as well as the medication plans for threatened abortion. After discussion， the experts concluded that chromosome， endocrine， and immune abnormalities were the key factors for the occurrence of threatened abortion， and the Qi and blood disorders in thoroughfare and conception vessels were the core pathogenesis. In the treatment of threatened abortion， TCM has advantages in preventing miscarriages， alleviating clinical symptoms and TCM syndromes， relieving anxiety， regulating reproductive endocrine and immune abnormalities， personalized and diversified treatment， enhancing efficiency and reducing toxicity， and preventing the disease before occurrence. The difficulty in diagnosis and treatment of threatened abortion with traditional Chinese and Western medicine lies in identifying the predictors of abortion caused by maternal factors and the treatment of thrombophilia. Recurrent abortion is the breakthrough point of treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. It is urgent to carry out high-quality evidence-based medicine research in the future to improve the modern diagnosis and treatment of threatened abortion with TCM.

The placenta is the site of material exchange and barrier between mother and the offspring, plays a crucial role in the growth of fetus. Dysfunction of placenta is responsible for varies of adverse pregnancy outcome. Current in vitro experimental models of the placenta all have their limitations and are insufficient for research. Recently, organoid and organ-on-a-chip technology develop rapidly, and provide a potentially powerful approach to drug discovery and basic medical research. Organoids derived from human placenta closely resemble origin trophoblast in cell phenotype, genetic expression and so on. Placenta organ-on-a-chip mimics the placenta barrier and has been used in research of drug transport across the placenta. Establishment of placenta organoid-on-a-chip, or multi-organ chip contains placenta and endometrium cells can be a potential direction of research in the future.

The placenta is the site of material exchange and barrier between mother and the offspring, plays a crucial role in the growth of fetus. Dysfunction of placenta is responsible for varies of adverse pregnancy outcome. Current in vitro experimental models of the placenta all have their limitations and are insufficient for research. Recently, organoid and organ-on-a-chip technology develop rapidly, and provide a potentially powerful approach to drug discovery and basic medical research. Organoids derived from human placenta closely resemble origin trophoblast in cell phenotype, genetic expression and so on. Placenta organ-on-a-chip mimics the placenta barrier and has been used in research of drug transport across the placenta. Establishment of placenta organoid-on-a-chip, or multi-organ chip contains placenta and endometrium cells can be a potential direction of research in the future.

Immunotherapy is becoming an effective and less invasive strategy that can be applied to the treatment of various malignancies. Lentiviral vectors (LVs) have shown great potential in immunotherapy as they can stably integrate relatively large foreign DNA, and effectively transduce dividing and non-dividing cells. Clinical application needs high quality LVs, and therefore strict quality control of the final products is necessary to ensure their purity, efficacy and safety. The quantitative detection of LVs is among the key parts of product development and quality control. In this paper, the existing methods for quantitative detection of LVs are summarized, including fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS), P24 enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (P24 ELISA), real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), tunable resistive pulse sensing(TRPS) and virus counter(VC).Their advantages and disadvantages are listed, and future development and challenges are discussed.
Genetic Vectors/genetics* ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Lentivirus/genetics* ; Neoplasms ; Transduction, Genetic