ObjectiveTo compare the differences between the ultrafiltration method and the dextran gel filtration method during the purification of Tfn-modified PCL micelles by using purification efficiency and micelle purity as indicators. MethodsCoumarin-6 （C6） was used as a fluorescent probe and was loaded into HOOC-PEG-PCL to form PCL micelles by the film-dispersion method. Tfn was then conjugated to the surface of PCL micelles via an amidation reaction， resulting in two types of micelles： Tfn/PCL_H and Tfn/PCL_L. The pharmaceutical properties of the two types of micelles were characterized. The micelles were then purified through ultrafiltration method and dextran gel method respectively， and the efficiency of the two methods， along with the purity of the final micelles， was compared. The density of Tfn on the surface of PCL micelles was also calculated. ResultsThe hydrated diameter of PCL micelles was approximately 73 nm， and the C6 loading efficiency was around 0.046%. The size increased to 134 nm and 158 nm for Tfn/PCL_L and Tfn/PCL_H， respectively. The micelle population was monodisperse. The purification results showed that， for the ultrafiltration method， after two and one rounds of purification， the Tfn/C6 ratio stabilized at 23.6 and 3.4 for Tfn/PCL_H and Tfn/PCL_L， respectively. For the dextran gel filtration method， the Tfn/C6 ratio reached 23.7 for the Tfn/PCL_H group after two rounds of purification. However， for the Tfn/PCL_L group， the Tfn/C6 ratio increased during four rounds of dextran gel purification， and a significant difference （P = 0.042 4） was observed between the first and last filtrations. The density of Tfn in the final micelles were calculated. For the ultrafiltration method， the Tfn density of Tfn/PCL_H and Tfn/PCL_L were 94.9% and 13.8%， respectively. For the dextran gel filtration method， the density of the two micelles were 95.6% and 14.4%， respectively. For Tfn/PCL_L group， the density results revealing a statistically significant difference （P=0.000 2）. ConclusionThe purification efficiency of the two methods is comparable. However， the purity of the final micelles shows a significant difference， with the dextran gel filtration method resulting in higher purity， particularly for the Tfn/PCL_L micelles.

ObjectiveThrough qualitatively and quantitatively analysis of the differences in chemical composition between the combined decoction and single decoction of Huaganjian and comparison of their core efficacy， to explore the rationality of the flexible clinical application of Huaganjian compound preparations and single-flavored dispensing granules. MethodsUltra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS） was used to qualitatively analyze the combined decoction and single decoction samples of Huaganjian， and meanwhile， the contents of four index components（geniposide， paeoniflorin， hesperidin and paeonol） were quantitatively analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease（NAFLD） rat model induced by high-fat diet was applied to compare the efficacy of combined decoction and single decoction of Huaganjian. A total of 30 male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， lovastatin group（1.8 mg·kg^-1）， combined decoction group（1.26 g·kg^-1） and single decoction group（1.18 g·kg^-1）. After successful modeling， lovastatin group， combined decoction group and single decoction group were given corresponding doses of drugs by intragastric administration every day， and the control group and model group were given equal amounts of normal saline by intragastric administration， after 4 weeks of administration， the serum and liver tissues were collected， and the contents of alanine aminotransferase（ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase（AST）， total cholesterol（TC）， triglyceride（TG）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol（LDL-C） and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol（HDL-C） in serum of rats were detected， and the liver pathological examination was carried out by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and oil red O staining， so as to compare differences of their efficacy. ResultsSeventy chemical components were initially identified and attributed from the lyophilized powder of the combined decoction and single decoction samples of Huaganjian， and there was no obvious difference in composition between the two. Further quantitative analysis showed that the contents of geniposide， paeoniflorin， hesperidin and paeonol in the combined decoction samples were significantly increased when compared with those of the single decoction samples（P<0.01）. The pharmacodynamic results showed that compared with the model group， both the combined and single decoction groups of Huaganjian could improve the liver index of NAFLD rats， reduce the serum levels of AST， ALT， TC， TG and LDL-C， increase the serum level of HDL-C， and ameliorate the pathological changes of liver cell steatosis and fat accumulation. However， there was no significant difference in pharmacodynamic effects between the combined decoction group and the single decoction group. ConclusionThere is no significant difference between the combined decoction and single decoction of Huaganjian in terms of chemical composition， but the contents of the four index components show significantly difference. Both of them can significantly improve the fat accumulation and liver function in NAFLD rats. This study provides a reference basis for the rational clinical application and evaluation of famous classical formula compound preparations and single-flavored dispensing granules.

ObjectiveAutoimmune thyroiditis （AIT） is a complex and immune-mediated disorder， with no established treatment protocol. Both Western and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） focus on the pathogenesis and treatment of AIT. This study evaluated the clinical consistency of existing AIT animal models based on the diagnostic criteria of both Western and TCM， using a novel evaluation method. Additionally， it proposed recommendations and future prospects for improving these models. MethodsA comprehensive literature review was conducted on existing AIT animal models， using databases and the diagnostic criteria of both Western and TCM. Core and accompanying symptoms of these models were scored based on the diagnostic criteria of both Western and TCM， and clinical consistency was assessed. ResultsMice are the primary experimental animals used in AIT modeling. Modeling methods include vaccine immunization， iodine induction， heterologous thyroid antigen immunization， and a combination of high iodine water and antigen immunization. The average consistency of clinical syndromes based on TCM and Western medicine is 40%， 60%， 54%， and 63%， with the highest consistency observed in the combined high iodine water and antigen immunization model. Pathological models based on TCM are less common， with the liver-stagnation-spleen-deficiency rat model showing high clinical consistency. While most models are designed according to Western medical theory， meeting the surface and structural effectiveness criteria of Western medicine. However， there is a lack of fine-tuning and clear differentiation of TCM syndromes. ConclusionCurrent AIT syndrome-disease combination animal models primarily reflect the pathological features of Western medicine， with limited integration of TCM syndromes. Future research should aim to combine the syndrome characteristics of TCM with the pathological features of Western medicine， creating multi-factor and dynamic syndrome-disease models. Such models would better facilitate an experimental platform that conforms to the theories of TCM， providing more comprehensive support and guidance for the pathogenesis and treatment strategies of AIT.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of action of Cuscutae Semen-Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in the treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion （RSA） through network pharmacology， molecular docking， and cell experiment verification. MethodsThe Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and UniPort databases were used to screen and organize the active ingredients and corresponding targets of Cuscutae Semen-Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. The potential therapeutic targets of RSA were screened in Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， GeneCards database， DrugBank database， DisGeNET database， and Therapeutic Target Database （TTD）. The potential core targets of Cuscutae Semen-Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma for treating RSA were further screened by constructing a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network and topological analysis. Meanwhile， the Database for Annotation， Visualization and Integrated Discovery （DAVID） was chosen to perform enrichment analysis on intersection targets. On this basis， AutoDock software was used for molecular docking， and the data were imported into PyMOL software for visualization and composition. Finally， the cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） experiment， Transwell cell invasion assay， and Western blot were used to detect the effects of serum containing Cuscutae Semen-Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma on HTR-8/SVneo cells and observe the effects on the interleukin （IL）-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3） signaling pathway and related proteins. ResultsThrough network pharmacology analysis， a total of 69 active ingredients， 73 potential therapeutic targets， and 17 core targets， including IL-6， IL-10， and STAT3， were collected. The 73 common targets were enriched in 614 Gene Ontology （GO） entries and 57 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） signaling pathways. The molecular docking results indicated that IL-6 and STAT3 had good binding ability with the main active ingredients， including matrine， cryptotanshinone， and tanshinone Ⅱ_A. The cell experiment results showed that， compared with those of the control group， after 24 hours of treatment with the drug-containing serum， the survival and invasion rates of HTR-8/SVneo cells were significantly increased （P<0.05）， and the expression of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway and related proteins IL-10 and c-Myc was significantly elevated （P<0.05）. Moreover， the trend of action in the drug-containing serum group was consistent with that of pathway agonists. ConclusionCuscutae Semen-Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma may enhance the survival rate and invasive activity of HTR-8/SVneo cells to further prevent and treat RSA by activating the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway and upregulating the expression of downstream factors IL-10 and c-Myc in the pathway.

Ulcerative colitis （UC）， a chronic， non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain， diarrhea， and bloody stools， demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan， first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract （Nei Ke Zhai Yao）， are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney， and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years， Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors， including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term， its side effects， high relapse rate， and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan， used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions， significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus， pus， and blood in stools， and persistent abdominal pain， reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate， and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen， isopsoralen， and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level， Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future， a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation， targeting， and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics， providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Ulcerative colitis （UC）， a chronic， non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain， diarrhea， and bloody stools， demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan， first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract （Nei Ke Zhai Yao）， are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney， and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years， Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors， including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term， its side effects， high relapse rate， and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan， used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions， significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus， pus， and blood in stools， and persistent abdominal pain， reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate， and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen， isopsoralen， and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level， Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future， a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation， targeting， and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics， providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has historically played a pivotal role in the prevention and treatment of warm diseases, establishing a comprehensive theoretical framework that underpins its practices. The distinctive and indispensable contributions of aromatic Chinese herbs in dispelling harmful influences and mitigating the spread of these diseases are well recognized; however, further investigation is warranted to elucidate their systematic properties and regularities, and the theory of aromatic Chinese herbs in preventing and treating warm diseases still needs to be comprehensively summarized. This study employs the principles rooted in TCM, with particular emphasis on the framework for warm diseases. An analysis of the disease mechanisms, transmission dynamics, and preventive strategies is conducted during the early stage of infection, throughout the course of the disease, and in the post-illness phase. Furthermore, the characteristics and applications of aromatic Chinese herbs are integrated with insights drawn from modern pharmacological research to explore their specific roles in the prevention and management of warm diseases. The utilization of aromatic Chinese herbs manifests in a variety of therapeutic effects: aromatic medicinals purging filth and dispelling pathogens for preventing epidemic disease, aromatic medicinals regulation for relieving superficies syndrome and dispersing evils, aromatic medicinals ventilation the lung to relieve cough and asthma, aromatic medicinals resolving the dampness to awaken the spleen and stomach, aromatic medicinals opening the orifices to restore consciousness, aromatic and pungent medicinals to regulate qi, aromatic medicinals dredging the vessels to activate blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis, and aromatic medicinals clearing latent heat from the yin level. These properties facilitate tailored approaches to address the diverse manifestations of warm diseases and their associated symptoms, providing clear guidance for clinical application to achieve pre-disease prevention, active disease treatment, complication prevention, and post-recovery relapse avoidance. The use of aromatic Chinese herbs in preventing and treating warm diseases demonstrates theoretical, practical, systematic, and regular characteristics. The theory of the properties of aromatic Chinese herbs has been expanded and sublimated in clinical practice, and its scientific connotation has been expounded in modern research. Under the guidance of the theory of treatment based on syndrome differentiation, and by taking into account the distinct stages and pathologies of warm diseases, the rational selection of aromatic Chinese herbs can improve the clinical efficacy.

ObjectiveTo investigate the application of the novel inflammatory factor adsorption column CA280 combined with low-dose plasma exchange （LPE） in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure （ACLF）. MethodsA prospective cohort study was designed， and a total of 93 ACLF patients who were admitted to The Ninth Hospital of Nanchang from June 2023 to January 2025 were enrolled and randomly divided into DPMAS+LPE group with 50 patients and CA280+LPE group with 43 patients. In addition to comprehensive medical treatment， the patients in the DPMAS+LPE group received DPMAS and LPE treatment， and those in the CA280+LPE group received CA280 and LPE treatment. The two groups were observed in terms of routine blood test results， liver function parameters， renal function markers， electrolytes， coagulation function parameters， cytokines， adverse events， and 28-day prognosis before surgery （baseline）， during surgery （DPMAS or CA280）， and after surgery （after sequential LPE treatment）. The paired t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data before and after treatment within each group， and the independent-samples t test was used for comparison between groups； the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data before and after treatment within each group， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between groups. The chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups， and the Spearman test was used for correlation analysis. ResultsAfter CA280 treatment， the ACLF patients had significant reductions in the levels of cytokines （IL-6， IL-8， IL-10， TNF-α， and IFN-γ）， liver function parameters （ALT， AST， ALP， TBil， DBil， Alb， and glutathione reductase）， and the renal function marker urea nitrogen （all P<0.05）， and in terms of coagulation function parameters， there were significant increases in prothrombin time， activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT）， thrombin time， and international normalized ratio （INR） and significant reductions in prothrombin activity （PTA） and fibrinogen （FIB） （all P<0.05）. Compared with the DPMAS+LPE group， the CA280+LPE group showed better improvements in the serum cytokines IL-8 （Z=-2.63， P=0.009）， IL-10 （Z=-3.94， P<0.001）， and TNF-α （Z=-1.53， P=0.023）， and the two artificial liver support systems had a similar effect in improving liver function （ALT， AST， GGT， GR， TBil， and DBil） （all P >0.05）， but the CA280+LPE group showed a significantly greater reduction in Alb （Z=-2.08， P=0.037）. CA280+LPE was more effective in reducing uric acid （Z=-2.97， P=0.003）. Compared with DPMAS+LPE， CA280+LPE treatment resulted in a significant reduction in INR （Z=-4.01， P<0.001）， a significant increase in APTT （Z=-2.53， P=0.011）， and significant greater increases in PTA （Z=-6.28， P<0.001） and FIB （Z=-3.93， P<0.001）. There were no significant differences in the incidence rates of adverse reactions and the rate of improvement at discharge between the two groups （all P>0.05）. The Spearman correlation analysis showed that IL-6 was significantly correlated with WBC （r=0.22， P=0.042）， TBil （r=0.29， P=0.005）， and FIB （r=-0.33， P=0.003）； IL-8 was positively correlated with APTT （r=0.37， P<0.001） and INR （r=0.25， P=0.013）； TNF-α was significantly correlated with WBC （r=0.40， P<0.001） and TBil （r=0.34， P<0.001）. ConclusionCompared with DPMAS， CA280 combined with LPE can effectively clear proinflammatory cytokines and improve liver function in ACLF patients， but it has a certain impact on Alb and coagulation function. This regimen provides a new option for the individualized treatment of ACLF and can improve the short-term prognosis of patients， but further studies are needed to verify its long-term efficacy.

Objective To collect oral exhaled odor spectrum of patients of chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG)with yin deficiency syndrome and detect their gut microbiota;To elucidate the mechanism of odor changes from the perspective of gut microbiota changes;To provide a basic research for the objectification of TCM olfactory diagnosis in CAG.Methods Totally 110 patients with CAG,including 55 patients with CAG yin deficiency syndrome,55 patients with CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome,and 30 healthy individuals were collected.The electronic nose technology was used to collect the oral exhaled odor spectrum of all subjects,and an improved Transformer model was used to identify the breath odor spectrum of CAG yin deficiency syndrome patients and healthy individuals,CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome patients and healthy individuals,CAG yin deficiency syndrome patients and CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome patients.At the same time,16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing method was used to detect the gut microbiota of the subjects'fecal samples,and the correlation analysis between the odor spectrum characteristics of CAG yin deficiency syndrome and gut microbiota was conducted.Results ① Analysis and recognition of odor spectrum characteristic.Amplitude characteristics:The response curves A,C,D,G,H,I and J of the odor spectrum in the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group and the CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome group were all lower in amplitude than those in the healthy group(P<0.01,P<0.05).Slope characteristics:The slopes of response curves A,B,C,D,E,G,H,I and J in the odor spectrum of the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group and the CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome group were lower than those of the healthy group(P<0.01,P<0.05).Pattern recognition:The accuracy of pattern recognition between the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group and the healthy group reached 0.904,with an area under ROC curve(AUC)of 0.91;the accuracy of pattern recognition between the CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome group and the healthy group reached 0.885,AUC=0.89;the accuracy of pattern recognition between the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group and the CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome group reached 0.747,AUC=0.75.② Species composition:At the genus level,compared with the healthy group,the abundance of Actinomyces,Escherichia-Shigella and Tyzzerella in the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group increased(P<0.05),while the abundance of Prevotella,Sutterella and Subdoligranulum decreased(P<0.05);the abundance of[Ruminococcus]_gnavus_group and Escherichia-Shigella in the CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome group increased significantly(P<0.01),while the abundance of Prevotella and Subdoligranulum decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the CAG yin deficiency syndrome group,the non-yin deficiency syndrome group showed significant enrichment of the Dialister(P<0.05).③ Correlation analysis between odor spectrum characteristics and gut microbiota in CAG yin deficiency syndrome:This study identified 17 bacterial genera that showed positive and negative correlations with the amplitude and slope characteristics of the odor spectrum in CAG yin deficiency syndrome,namely Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group,Lachnospiraceae_ND3007_group,Faecalibacterium,UCG-002,UCG-005,Coprococcus,CAG-352,Parabacteroides,Actinomyces,Streptococcus,Anaerostipes,Blautia,Dorea,[Eubacterium]_hallii_group,Phascolarctobacterium,Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1,Enterobacter.The above-mentioned bacterial genera could be classified into the following bacterial families:Trichomonas,Clostridia,Porphyromonas,Actinobacteria,Ruminococcus,Streptococcus,Bacteroidetes,Clostridium,Veillonellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae.Conclusion The use of electronic nose technology can accurately identify the oral exhaled odor of patients with CAG yin deficiency syndrome,CAG non-yin deficiency syndrome,and healthy individuals;the odor spectrum characteristics of patients with CAG yin deficiency syndrome are correlated with multiple bacterial genera,and the changes in related metabolites and gases produced by the disruption of their gut microbiota may be one of the biological bases for the changes in oral exhaled odor in CAG yin deficiency syndrome.

Non-human primate animal models are core tools for the study of highly pathogenic microorganisms and are irreplaceable in the fields of pathology and drug discovery.However,anatomical sampling of non-human primate infection models in high-level biosafety laboratories carries potential risk and related risk assessment and control measures require clarification.Based on biosafety regulations and practical experience,we systematically discuss the risk control strategies of anatomical operations with respect to personal protection,instrument selection,anatomical specifications,documentation,and personnel training.Our review will help to improve the management of high-level biosafety laboratories,reduce the risk of pathogen escape and human infection,and provide support for the safe research of highly pathogenic microorganisms.