ObjectiveTo explore the potential mechanism of Xiaoqinglong Decoction （小青龙汤， XD） in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. MethodsForty-five rats were randomly assigned to a control group， a model group， a loratadine group， low-， medium- and high-dose XD groups， and low-， medium- and high-dose Mahuang Decoction and Cang'erzi Powder （麻黄汤合苍耳子散， MDCP） groups. Except for the control group， rats were administered with ovalbumin （OVA） and aluminum hydroxide via intraperitoneal injection for 14 days to establish an allergic rhinitis model. After the 14th-day injection， nasal stimulation was continued with 20 μl of 10% OVA solution to maintain the model. Rats in the control group and the model group received 10 ml/（kg·d） of saline， whereas those in the loratadine group were administered with 0.9 mg/（kg·d） of loratadine. The low-， medium- and high-dose XD groups were administered XD at the dose of 2.7， 5.4， and 10.8 g/（kg·d）， respectively. The low-， medium- and high-dose MDCP groups were administered MDCP at the dose of 2.43， 4.86， and 9.72 g/（kg·d）， respectively. All treatments were administered by gavage once daily for 7 consecutive days. One hour after the final gavage， nasal symptom scores were recorded for all group of rats. The next day， serum levels of immunoglobulin E （IgE）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， and interleukin-13 （IL-13） were measured. HE staining was used to observe the pathological morphology of the nasal mucosal tissue. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR （RT-qPCR） and Western Blot were performed to assess mRNA and protein expression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin （TSLP） and OX40 ligand （OX40L） in the nasal mucosa. ResultsCompared to the control group， total nasal symptom score in the model group significantly increased （P＜0.01）. HE staining revealed disrupted and adhered cilia， thickened basement membranes， and extensive inflammatory cell infiltration in the nasal mucosa. Serum levels of total IgE， IL-4， and IL-13， as well as TSLP and OX40L mRNA and protein expression in the nasal mucosa， were significantly elevated in the model group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to the model group， the total nasal symptom scores in all drug intervention groups were significantly reduced； the serum total IgE levels in the loratadine group， the low- and medium-dose XD groups， and the low- and high-dose MDCP groups were significantly reduced； and the serum levels of IL-4 and IL-13 in the high-dose XD group and the high-dose MDCP group decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Nasal mucosal structure was improved. Except for the low-dose MDCP group， all other intervention groups showed a significant reduction in TSLP and OX40L mRNA expression in the nasal mucosa （P＜0.01）. All doses of XD and the medium- and high-dose MDCP groups significantly decreased the protein levels of TSLP and OX40L （P＜0.05）. The medium-dose XD group exhibited more improvement of nasal symptom scores and greater suppression of expression of TSLP and OX40L mRNA， and TSLP protein levels compared to the loratadine group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionXD may protect nasal mucosa of rats and alleviate allergic rhinitis by suppressing the TSLP/OX40L pathway， thereby attenuating Th2-mediated immune responses.

ObjectiveTo explore the potential mechanism of Xiaoqinglong Decoction （小青龙汤， XD） in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. MethodsForty-five rats were randomly assigned to a control group， a model group， a loratadine group， low-， medium- and high-dose XD groups， and low-， medium- and high-dose Mahuang Decoction and Cang'erzi Powder （麻黄汤合苍耳子散， MDCP） groups. Except for the control group， rats were administered with ovalbumin （OVA） and aluminum hydroxide via intraperitoneal injection for 14 days to establish an allergic rhinitis model. After the 14th-day injection， nasal stimulation was continued with 20 μl of 10% OVA solution to maintain the model. Rats in the control group and the model group received 10 ml/（kg·d） of saline， whereas those in the loratadine group were administered with 0.9 mg/（kg·d） of loratadine. The low-， medium- and high-dose XD groups were administered XD at the dose of 2.7， 5.4， and 10.8 g/（kg·d）， respectively. The low-， medium- and high-dose MDCP groups were administered MDCP at the dose of 2.43， 4.86， and 9.72 g/（kg·d）， respectively. All treatments were administered by gavage once daily for 7 consecutive days. One hour after the final gavage， nasal symptom scores were recorded for all group of rats. The next day， serum levels of immunoglobulin E （IgE）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， and interleukin-13 （IL-13） were measured. HE staining was used to observe the pathological morphology of the nasal mucosal tissue. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR （RT-qPCR） and Western Blot were performed to assess mRNA and protein expression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin （TSLP） and OX40 ligand （OX40L） in the nasal mucosa. ResultsCompared to the control group， total nasal symptom score in the model group significantly increased （P＜0.01）. HE staining revealed disrupted and adhered cilia， thickened basement membranes， and extensive inflammatory cell infiltration in the nasal mucosa. Serum levels of total IgE， IL-4， and IL-13， as well as TSLP and OX40L mRNA and protein expression in the nasal mucosa， were significantly elevated in the model group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to the model group， the total nasal symptom scores in all drug intervention groups were significantly reduced； the serum total IgE levels in the loratadine group， the low- and medium-dose XD groups， and the low- and high-dose MDCP groups were significantly reduced； and the serum levels of IL-4 and IL-13 in the high-dose XD group and the high-dose MDCP group decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Nasal mucosal structure was improved. Except for the low-dose MDCP group， all other intervention groups showed a significant reduction in TSLP and OX40L mRNA expression in the nasal mucosa （P＜0.01）. All doses of XD and the medium- and high-dose MDCP groups significantly decreased the protein levels of TSLP and OX40L （P＜0.05）. The medium-dose XD group exhibited more improvement of nasal symptom scores and greater suppression of expression of TSLP and OX40L mRNA， and TSLP protein levels compared to the loratadine group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionXD may protect nasal mucosa of rats and alleviate allergic rhinitis by suppressing the TSLP/OX40L pathway， thereby attenuating Th2-mediated immune responses.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of pharmaceutical services guided by root cause analysis （RCA） in a problem-oriented manner combined with knowledge-attitude-practice （KAP） theory on reducing the incidence of protocol violations of investigational medicinal products in pediatric clinical trials. METHODS A total of 617 participants from 69 drug clinical trial projects conducted in our hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were selected as the control group， and 868 participants from 72 drug clinical trial projects from January 2022 to December 2025 as the observation group. RCA was performed on the protocol violations of investigational medicinal product in the control group to identify the types and underlying causes. The control group received routine pharmaceutical services for drug clinical trials， while the observation group was provided with precision pharmaceutical services from the three dimensions of knowledge， attitude and practice on the basis of routine pharmaceutical services， according to the root causes identified by RCA. The occurrence of investigational medicinal products protocol violations was compared between the two groups. RESULTS The total incidence of protocol violations of investigational medicinal products， as well as the incidences of minor and major protocol violations， were all significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group （ P ＜0.001）. The main types of protocol violations in both groups included missed/under-/over-dosing of medications， non-adherence to administration time， failure to adjust dosage as required， and combined medication/vaccination in violation of the protocol. Regarding the responsible subjects of protocol violations， the incidences of protocol violations attributed to participants and their guardians as well as investigators and accidental factors were significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group （ P ＜0.001， P ＜0.001， P ＝0.025）. However， there were no statistically significant differences in the incidences of protocol violations caused by sponsor-related reasons between the two groups （ P ＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Pharmaceutical services led by pharmacists， based on problem-oriented RCA and combined with KAP theory， can effectively reduce the protocol violations of investigational medicinal products rate in pediatric clinical trials， thereby safeguarding the safety and rights of study participants.

BACKGROUND:Myocardial hypertrophy often leads to severe cardiovascular diseases and is difficult to diagnose due to its early stages being hard to detect.Circulating inflammatory proteins have been found to be significantly associated with cardiovascular diseases,yet the specific mechanisms linking them to myocardial hypertrophy remain unclear.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the relationship between circulating proteins and myocardial hypertrophy using multiple Mendelian randomization approaches.METHODS:Utilizing data from 91 circulating inflammatory proteins in the GWAS Catalog database and the latest myocardial hypertrophy data from the R11 FinnGen database,we employed bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization,multivariate Mendelian randomization,and Genome-Wide Association Studies co-localization to investigate the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory proteins and myocardial hypertrophy.The accuracy of the results was verified through sensitivity tests including MR-PRESSO,Cochran's Q test,MR-Egger intercept assessment,leave-one-out analysis,and funnel plot analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the results of two-sample Mendelian randomization,the primary method used for evaluation was the Inverse Variance Weighting(IVW)approach.It was found that the level of T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform(IVW:P=0.046,OR=0.74,95％Cl:0.66-1.00),level of slit chemokine(IVW:P=2.1×10-2,OR=0.74,95％CI:0.556-0.95),level of Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor(IVW:P=3.7×10-4,OR=0.66,95％CI:0.49-0.87),level of interleukin-2(IVW:P=3.8×103,OR=0.667,95％CI:0.50-0.88),and sulfotransferase 1A1(IVW:P=1.42×102,OR=0.80,95％CI:0.67-0.96)had a unidirectional causal effect on cardiac hypertrophy.(2)Among the findings in multivariate Mendelian randomization,the levels of the CD6 isoform of T-cell surface glycoprotein(IVW:P=1.39×102,OR=0.81,95％CI:0.69-0.96)and the levels of Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor(IVW:P=3.7×10-2,OR=0.73,95％CI:0.55-0.98)were positive,indicating that the results remained significant after excluding the effects of other circulating inflammatory proteins that had an impact on myocardial hypertrophy.(3)In colocalization,T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform levels had H3+H4=0.96,with the most significant single nucleotide polymorphism being rs59570070,suggesting an intrinsic link between T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform levels and myocardial hypertrophy.(4)Sensitivity results showed no abnormalities,indicating no heterogeneity or pleiotropic effects influencing the results.(5)These results verified that T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms,Slit chemokine,Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptors,interleukin-2,and sulfotransferase 1A1 had a unidirectional causal effect on myocardial hypertrophy.T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms and Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptors had the deepest impact,suggesting that there may be related pathways between T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms and myocardial hypertrophy.Mendelian randomization studies require large amounts of clinical data and therefore often use European samples from international databases for analysis.Since this analytical method has significant advantages in causal inference,precision medicine,and cross-population validation,its research results still hold great significance for the medical development in China.As Mendelian randomization research deepens,it also promotes the collection and analysis of clinical data in China to some extent.In the future,we can further analyze key protein mechanisms,combine multiomics and clinical validation,develop an inflammatory marker monitoring system and novel anti-inflammatory therapies,thereby promoting the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases and the development of personalized medicine.

BACKGROUND:Upper lumbar spinal stenosis is a multifactorial degenerative disorder of the spine.For narrowing of the spinal canal in the upper lumbar region(L1-L4),surgical decision-making is particularly complex.Existing minimally invasive surgeries each have their own advantages and limitations.Currently,there are few reports on biomechanical comparison and finite element analysis of different surgical methods for the treatment of high lumbar spinal stenosis.OBJECTIVE:To analyze the biomechanical impact of endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression,transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression,and cross-overtop decompression in the treatment of upper lumbar spinal stenosis using endoscopy,and to verify the reliability and effectiveness of these three surgical techniques in treating upper lumbar spinal stenosis,providing a biomechanical basis for clinical decision-making.METHODS:The CT images of the lumbar spine of a healthy volunteer were selected,and the finite element model M0 of the normal lumbar L1-L5 segments was established using Mimics,Geomagic,Solid works,and Ansys software.The L2-L3 segment,representing upper lumbar characteristics,was chosen.Based on this model,the surgical models for endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression(M1),transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression(M2),and cross-overtop decompression(M3)were established.Using software,the changes in the range of motion of the entire lumbar segment and the maximum Von Mises stress of the intervertebral discs were simulated and evaluated for each group of models under six loading conditions:flexion,extension,left lateral bending,right lateral bending,left rotation,and right rotation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with model MO,the range of motion in M1,M2,and M3 increased under all six conditions,with M1 showing a greater increase.(2)M1 and M2 demonstrated significant increases in range of motion under forward bending,extension,and right rotation,while the increase under other conditions remained below 7％.(3)Compared with model M3,model M1 exhibited slightly increased overall joint range of motion during extension and left bending,while no significant changes were observed in other aspects,and the L1-L5 lumbar segments did not reach an unstable state.(4)In model M1,the maximum Von Mises stress of the intervertebral discs increased most significantly under flexion and extension loading conditions.However,under left lateral bending,right lateral bending,left rotation,and right rotation loading conditions,the increase did not exceed 5％.(5)These findings suggest that due to the sagittal anatomical characteristics of the facet joints,the unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression technique,while decompressing,involves resection of more facet joints,which impacts overall segmental stability.The transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression technique is suitable for patients with foraminal stenosis but cannot achieve complete decompression for those with severe ventral central stenosis.The Cross-Overtop technique effectively enlarges the volume of the central canal and lateral recess,optimizing decompression,and shows unique advantages in treating upper lumbar spinal stenosis.

BACKGROUND:Myocardial hypertrophy often leads to severe cardiovascular diseases and is difficult to diagnose due to its early stages being hard to detect.Circulating inflammatory proteins have been found to be significantly associated with cardiovascular diseases,yet the specific mechanisms linking them to myocardial hypertrophy remain unclear.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the relationship between circulating proteins and myocardial hypertrophy using multiple Mendelian randomization approaches.METHODS:Utilizing data from 91 circulating inflammatory proteins in the GWAS Catalog database and the latest myocardial hypertrophy data from the R11 FinnGen database,we employed bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization,multivariate Mendelian randomization,and Genome-Wide Association Studies co-localization to investigate the causal relationship between circulating inflammatory proteins and myocardial hypertrophy.The accuracy of the results was verified through sensitivity tests including MR-PRESSO,Cochran's Q test,MR-Egger intercept assessment,leave-one-out analysis,and funnel plot analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the results of two-sample Mendelian randomization,the primary method used for evaluation was the Inverse Variance Weighting(IVW)approach.It was found that the level of T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform(IVW:P=0.046,OR=0.74,95％Cl:0.66-1.00),level of slit chemokine(IVW:P=2.1×10-2,OR=0.74,95％CI:0.556-0.95),level of Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor(IVW:P=3.7×10-4,OR=0.66,95％CI:0.49-0.87),level of interleukin-2(IVW:P=3.8×103,OR=0.667,95％CI:0.50-0.88),and sulfotransferase 1A1(IVW:P=1.42×102,OR=0.80,95％CI:0.67-0.96)had a unidirectional causal effect on cardiac hypertrophy.(2)Among the findings in multivariate Mendelian randomization,the levels of the CD6 isoform of T-cell surface glycoprotein(IVW:P=1.39×102,OR=0.81,95％CI:0.69-0.96)and the levels of Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor(IVW:P=3.7×10-2,OR=0.73,95％CI:0.55-0.98)were positive,indicating that the results remained significant after excluding the effects of other circulating inflammatory proteins that had an impact on myocardial hypertrophy.(3)In colocalization,T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform levels had H3+H4=0.96,with the most significant single nucleotide polymorphism being rs59570070,suggesting an intrinsic link between T-cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoform levels and myocardial hypertrophy.(4)Sensitivity results showed no abnormalities,indicating no heterogeneity or pleiotropic effects influencing the results.(5)These results verified that T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms,Slit chemokine,Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptors,interleukin-2,and sulfotransferase 1A1 had a unidirectional causal effect on myocardial hypertrophy.T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms and Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptors had the deepest impact,suggesting that there may be related pathways between T cell surface glycoprotein CD6 isoforms and myocardial hypertrophy.Mendelian randomization studies require large amounts of clinical data and therefore often use European samples from international databases for analysis.Since this analytical method has significant advantages in causal inference,precision medicine,and cross-population validation,its research results still hold great significance for the medical development in China.As Mendelian randomization research deepens,it also promotes the collection and analysis of clinical data in China to some extent.In the future,we can further analyze key protein mechanisms,combine multiomics and clinical validation,develop an inflammatory marker monitoring system and novel anti-inflammatory therapies,thereby promoting the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases and the development of personalized medicine.

BACKGROUND:Upper lumbar spinal stenosis is a multifactorial degenerative disorder of the spine.For narrowing of the spinal canal in the upper lumbar region(L1-L4),surgical decision-making is particularly complex.Existing minimally invasive surgeries each have their own advantages and limitations.Currently,there are few reports on biomechanical comparison and finite element analysis of different surgical methods for the treatment of high lumbar spinal stenosis.OBJECTIVE:To analyze the biomechanical impact of endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression,transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression,and cross-overtop decompression in the treatment of upper lumbar spinal stenosis using endoscopy,and to verify the reliability and effectiveness of these three surgical techniques in treating upper lumbar spinal stenosis,providing a biomechanical basis for clinical decision-making.METHODS:The CT images of the lumbar spine of a healthy volunteer were selected,and the finite element model M0 of the normal lumbar L1-L5 segments was established using Mimics,Geomagic,Solid works,and Ansys software.The L2-L3 segment,representing upper lumbar characteristics,was chosen.Based on this model,the surgical models for endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression(M1),transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression(M2),and cross-overtop decompression(M3)were established.Using software,the changes in the range of motion of the entire lumbar segment and the maximum Von Mises stress of the intervertebral discs were simulated and evaluated for each group of models under six loading conditions:flexion,extension,left lateral bending,right lateral bending,left rotation,and right rotation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with model MO,the range of motion in M1,M2,and M3 increased under all six conditions,with M1 showing a greater increase.(2)M1 and M2 demonstrated significant increases in range of motion under forward bending,extension,and right rotation,while the increase under other conditions remained below 7％.(3)Compared with model M3,model M1 exhibited slightly increased overall joint range of motion during extension and left bending,while no significant changes were observed in other aspects,and the L1-L5 lumbar segments did not reach an unstable state.(4)In model M1,the maximum Von Mises stress of the intervertebral discs increased most significantly under flexion and extension loading conditions.However,under left lateral bending,right lateral bending,left rotation,and right rotation loading conditions,the increase did not exceed 5％.(5)These findings suggest that due to the sagittal anatomical characteristics of the facet joints,the unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression technique,while decompressing,involves resection of more facet joints,which impacts overall segmental stability.The transforaminal endoscopic lumbar decompression technique is suitable for patients with foraminal stenosis but cannot achieve complete decompression for those with severe ventral central stenosis.The Cross-Overtop technique effectively enlarges the volume of the central canal and lateral recess,optimizing decompression,and shows unique advantages in treating upper lumbar spinal stenosis.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

In recent years, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of biology has witnessed remarkable advancements. Among these, the most notable achievements have emerged in the domain of protein structure prediction and design, with AlphaFold and related innovations earning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. These breakthroughs have transformed our ability to understand protein folding and molecular interactions, marking a pivotal milestone in computational biology. Looking ahead, it is foreseeable that the accurate prediction of various physicochemical properties of proteins—beyond static structure—will become the next critical frontier in this rapidly evolving field. One of the most important protein properties is thermodynamic stability, which refers to a protein’s ability to maintain its native conformation under physiological or stress conditions. Accurate prediction of protein stability, especially upon single-point mutations, plays a vital role in numerous scientific and industrial domains. These include understanding the molecular basis of disease, rational drug design, development of therapeutic proteins, design of more robust industrial enzymes, and engineering of biosensors. Consequently, the ability to reliably forecast the stability changes caused by mutations has broad and transformative implications across biomedical and biotechnological applications. Historically, protein stability was assessed via experimental methods such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and circular dichroism (CD), which, while precise, are time-consuming and resource-intensive. This prompted the development of computational approaches, including empirical energy functions and physics-based simulations. However, these traditional models often fall short in capturing the complex, high-dimensional nature of protein conformational landscapes and mutational effects. Recent advances in machine learning (ML) have significantly improved predictive performance in this area. Early ML models used handcrafted features derived from sequence and structure, whereas modern deep learning models leverage massive datasets and learn representations directly from data. Deep neural networks (DNNs), graph neural networks (GNNs), and attention-based architectures such as transformers have shown particular promise. GNNs, in particular, excel at modeling spatial and topological relationships in molecular structures, making them well-suited for protein modeling tasks. Furthermore, attention mechanisms enable models to dynamically weigh the contribution of specific residues or regions, capturing long-range interactions and allosteric effects. Nevertheless, several key challenges remain. These include the imbalance and scarcity of high-quality experimental datasets, particularly for rare or functionally significant mutations, which can lead to biased or overfitted models. Additionally, the inherently dynamic nature of proteins—their conformational flexibility and context-dependent behavior—is difficult to encode in static structural representations. Current models often rely on a single structure or average conformation, which may overlook important aspects of stability modulation. Efforts are ongoing to incorporate multi-conformational ensembles, molecular dynamics simulations, and physics-informed learning frameworks into predictive models. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the evolution of protein thermodynamic stability prediction techniques, with emphasis on the recent progress enabled by machine learning. It highlights representative datasets, modeling strategies, evaluation benchmarks, and the integration of structural and biochemical features. The aim is to provide researchers with a structured and up-to-date reference, guiding the development of more robust, generalizable, and interpretable models for predicting protein stability changes upon mutation. As the field moves forward, the synergy between data-driven AI methods and domain-specific biological knowledge will be key to unlocking deeper understanding and broader applications of protein engineering.

ObjectiveTo characterize the seasonal patterns of influenza in Kunming City, Yunnan Province before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide scientific evidence for optimizing influenza prevention and control strategies. MethodsInfluenza-like illness (ILI) and etiological surveillance data for influenza from the 14^th week of 2010 to the 13^th week of 2024 in Kunming City of Yunnan Province were collected. Harmonic regression models were constructed to analyze the epidemic characteristics and seasonal patterns of influenza before (2010/2011‒2019/2020 influenza seasons), during (2020/2021‒2022/2023 influenza seasons), and after (2023/2024 influenza season) the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza in Kunming City mainly exhibited an annual cyclic pattern without a significant semi-annual periodicity, peaking from December to February of the next year, with an epidemic duration of 20‒30 weeks. During the pandemic, influenza seasonality shifted, with an increase in semi-annual periodicity and an approximate one month delay in annual peaks. However, after the pandemic, the annual amplitude of influenza increased compared with that before the pandemic, and the epidemic duration extended by about one month. Although the annual peak largely reverted to the pre-pandemic levels, the annual peaks for different influenza subtypes/lineages had not fully recovered. ConclusionInfluenza seasonality in Kunming City underwent substantial alterations following the COVID-19 pandemic and has not yet fully reverted to pre-pandemic levels. Continuous surveillance on different subtypes/lineages of influenza viruses remains essential, and prevention and control strategies should be adjusted and optimized in a timely manner based on current epidemic trends.