Aromatic immunity in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is the medical knowledge accumulated in the process of people's struggling with diseases. It plays an important role in plague prevention, disease treatment, health preservation, and rehabilitation, and has profound TCM basic theoretical support and abundant modern scientific evidence. With the in-depth promotion of the Healthy China initiative and the succession of health needs in the post-COVID-19 era, how to practice the health concept of aromatic immunity in TCM and develop its health service resources with high quality has become an important proposition to be discussed urgently. This paper summarizes the cognitive process, puts forward the basic concept, discusses the scientific connotation and clinical application value, and looks forward to the future development trend of aromatic immunity in TCM, aiming to provide guidance for the development of great health products and promote the application of aromatic immunity in TCM in serving people's health.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Humans ; COVID-19/immunology* ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; SARS-CoV-2

Objective To establish a stable,reliable,and clinically relevant porcine model of endotoxin-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).Methods Ten 8-month-old male Bama minipigs were deeply sedated,followed by invasive mechanical ventilation and electrocardiographic monitoring.Lipopolysaccharide(LPS)was intravenously pumped at 600 μg/(kg·h)for 3 hours,then maintained at 15 μg/(kg·h)thereafter.Dynamic monitoring was performed at five time points after LPS injection(LPS 0,1,3,5,and 8 h),including arterial blood gas analysis and chest computed tomography(CT)scans.Pathological examination of lung tissues obtained via bronchoscopic biopsy(HE staining and transmission electron microscopy)was conducted.These indicators were comprehensively used to evaluate the success of the animal model.Results At 5 hours after LPS administration,8 minipigs developed symptoms such as skin cyanosis,elevated body temperature,and respiratory distress.The oxygenation index decreased to<300 mmHg.Chest CT scans showed diffuse pulmonary infiltrates.Histopathology revealed alveolar edema and hyaline membrane formation.Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated disruption of pulmonary blood-air barrier,depletion of lamellar bodies in type Ⅱ pneumocytes,inflammatory cell infiltration,and exudation of plasma proteins and fibrin.Compared with LPS 0 h,at LPS 8 h,the oxygenation index and arterial blood pH were significantly decreased(P<0.001),while blood lactic acid and serum potassium were significantly increased(P<0.05);serum calcium and base excess were significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the lung injury score based on HE-stained lung sections was significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusion The porcine ARDS model established by continuous LPS injection can dynamically simulate the pathophysiological characteristics and typical pathological manifestations of clinical septic ARDS,making it an effective tool to study the pathogenesis,prevention,and treatment strategies of septic ARDS.

ObjectiveGlutathione (γ-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine, GSH) is the most abundant non-protein compound containing sulfhydryl (―SH) groups in cells. It serves as a source of reducing equivalents, effectively neutralizing harmful reactive substances, and playing a crucial role in maintaining cellular redox balance. Therefore, sensitive detection and accurate measurement of GSH levels in tissues are of great importance. In this work, we presents a novel method for GSH detection utilizing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. MethodsInitially, ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate acid)) solution was mixed with K₂S₂O₈ solution and reacted in the dark for 12 to 16 h to prepare ABTS·⁺ solution, which was then quantified using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Subsequently, the concentration of glutathione (GSH) was determined based on the changes in the EPR signal of ABTS·⁺. On this basis, the optimal reaction time and temperature were explored to establish a standard equation correlating the EPR signal intensity of ABTS·⁺ with GSH concentration. Finally, the derived standard curve was employed to quantitatively analyze the GSH concentration in whole blood from C57BL/6J mice, and the results were compared with those reported in the literature to verify the accuracy of the method. ResultsThe experimental results demonstrate that this method has a linear detection range from50 nmol/L to 15 μmol/L for GSH, spanning two orders of magnitude, with a limit of detection (LOD) at0.50 nmol/L. The measured GSH content in mouse whole blood is (10 660±706) nmol/g Hb, which agrees with the value of (11 200±237) nmol/g Hb as previously reported. Furthermore, a similar method was developed for detection of glutathione disulfide (GSSG) at higher reaction temperature. ConclusionThis article presents a novel assay for the rapid detection of GSH using the intensity of EPR signal from ABTS·⁺ as indicator. This method demonstrates enhanced detection sensitivity and a broader linear range compared to conventional colorimetric methods. Furthermore, we have extended the application of this method to detect GSH content in blood samples efficiently and accurately, offering valuable information for assessing tissue redox balance, thus holding significant potentials.

Objective:To determine incidence of seasonal influenza virus infection in the community and to analyze the factors influencing seasonal influenza virus infection.Methods:This study recruited residents aged 6-59 years to build a cohort in 15 villages/streets in Macheng city in November 2019. Meanwhile, a cross-sectional baseline survey was conducted immediately to collect sera, information on demographics and child protection knowledge, behaviors, as well as attitudes using a questionnaire from the participants enrolled in the cohort (i.e., before the influenza epidemic season). In July 2020, a cross-sectional follow-up survey was conducted to collect sera once again (i.e., after the influenza season). Paired sera from the two cross-sectional surveys were tested for influenza virus-specific antibodies by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test or micro-neutralization (MN) test using a circulating representative strain of each subtype/lineage of influenza virus as the test antigen. The infections with influenza virus subtype/lineage was confirmed if there was a four-fold or more increase in titers of antibodies against circulating representative strain of the subtype/lineage of influenza virus. Factors influencing infection with influenza A (H3N2) and B/Victoria viruses were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression.Results:In November 2019, 800 study participants were enrolled in the cohort, including 340 children aged 6-17 years and 460 adults aged 18-59 years; 605 study participants (including 224 children and 381 adults) were followed up in July 2020 and their paired sera were obtained before and after the influenza season. 25.3% (153/605) of the participants were confirmed to be infected with at least one subtype/lineage of seasonal influenza virus by HI and MN tests. The overall incidence of influenza viruses of all subtypes/lineages in children was 44.2% (95% CI: 37.6%-50.8%) which was significantly higher than the incidence of 14.1% in adults (95% CI: 10.7%-17.7%). Children had the highest incidence of influenza A (H3N2) virus infection, followed by B/Victoria. MN or HI antibody titers in A (H3N2)[ OR=0.88 (95% CI: 0.84-0.93)] and B/Victoria[ OR=0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99)] before the influenza season were significantly associated with whether children were infected with that subtype/lineage of influenza virus. Conclusions:The residents aged 6-59 years in Macheng city had a substantial incidence of seasonal influenza virus infection during the influenza season from winter 2019 to spring 2020. Notably, almost half of children aged 6-17 years have been infected with seasonal influenza virus. Higher titers of HI/MN antibodies against seasonal influenza virus before the influenza season would be likely to reduce the risk of infection with influenza A (H3N2) and B/Victoria.

Objective To quantitatively analyze the impact of environmental hygiene on the occurrence of health-care-associated infections(HAI).Methods Monitoring data of HAI and environmental hygiene from a tertiary first-class hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were collected,and the impact of environmental bacterial colony forming unit(CFU)on the occurrence of HAI was analyzed by a time-series generalized additive model.Results The single-contamination model showed a significant positive correlation between HAI and staff's hand bacterial CFU(β1=0.009,P=0.012).For an increase of 1 interquartile range(IQR)in the monthly mean CFU per dish(MCFU/Dish)of staffs'hand,the incidence of HAI increased by 13.28％(95％CI:2.82％-24.81％).Subgroup and lag effect analysis showed that when the monthly MCFU/Dish(after hand disinfection)of staffs'hand in-creased by one IQR,the excess risk(ER)of HAI for the month(lag0)was 16.26％(95％CI:15.45％-17.09％).In the multi-contamination model,the correlation between surface contamination and HAI was also statistically sig-nificant.Conclusion There is a significant correlation between hospital environmental hygiene and the occurrence of HAI.

Objective To investigate whether axillary lymph node dissection(ALND)can be exempted for young breast cancers with reference to the inclusion criteria of American College of Surgeons Oncology Group(ACOSOG)Z0011 trial.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 134 cases of young breast cancer patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University and the Affiliated Hospital of Jiujiang College from February 28,2013 to February 28,2018 who met the inclusion criteria of the ACOSOG Z0011 trial.Patients were divided into case group[n=63,with sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB)]and control group(n=71,with SLNB and ALND).General clinicopathologic data,including age,tumor TNM stage,pregnancy or breastfeeding status,estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR),human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2),Ki-67,vessel carcinoma embolus,and tumor Nottingham grade,were collected and compared between the two groups.The 5-year disease-free survival(DFS)and 5-year overall survival(OS)of the two groups were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank tests.A multifactorial Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the effect of SLNB implementation alone on the DFS and OS in young breast cancer.Results There were no statistically significant differences in age,pregnancy or breastfeeding status,tumor T classification,tumour molecular classification,tumor Nottingham grade and vessel carcinoma embolus between the two groups(P>0.05).The 5-year DFS rate for the 134 young breast cancer patients was 74.6%and the 5-year OS rate was 83.6%.A statistically significant difference was observed in the 5-year DSF rate between case and control groups(66.7%vs.81.7%,P=0.033),while there was no statistically significant difference in the 5-year OS rate(77.8%vs.88.7%,P=0.085).The multifactorial Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis showed that performing SLNB alone was an independent risk factor for DFS in young breast cancer patients(HR=2.261,95%CI 1.097-4.660,P=0.027),but not for OS(HR=1.976,95%CI 0.789-4.946,P=0.146).Conclusions Young breast cancers exempted from ALND according to the ACOSOG Z0011 trial inclusion criteria had a higher rate of local recurrence,but their OS was not significant affected.Therefore,whether young breast cancers can be exempted from ALND still requires further clinical trial validation.

We established an indirect ELISA method using Trichinella spiralis trehalase(TsTRE)protein expressed in prokaryotic cells.The TsTRE gene was amplified by RT-PCR and ligated into the pCold I plasmid,which was expressed in E.coli BL21 competent cells.The rTsTRE protein was purified through affinity column chromatography.The TsTRE protein was localized with immunofluorescence techniques,and the immunogenicity of rTsTRE was detected by westernblotting.Subse-quently,rTsTRE protein was used as a coating antigen to establish an indirect ELISA.We optimized the antigen-coating con-centration,serum dilution concentration,antigen-coating incubation time,type of blocking solution,blocking incubation time,HRP-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG serum dilution concentration,HRP-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG serum incubation time and response time of TMB.Subsequently,the critical value,repeatability,sensitivity,specificity and clinical detection rate of the ELISA were evaluated.Immunofluorescence indicated that trehalase was abundant in the rod-shaped body,tail and epidermis of Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae.Western-blot indicated that rTsTRE protein combined with the positive serum of mice infected with T.spiralis for 42 d;the band was approximately 60 kDa.The established indirect ELISA had a positive threshold of 0.384;the intra-run and inter-run coefficients of variation were 5.504％-7.630％ and 4.664％-9.929％,and did not exceed 10％.The lowest detectable titer was 1:1 280.No cross reaction was observed with antibodies to Clonorchissinensis,Schistosoma ja-ponicum,Ascaris suum,Toxocara gondii and Toxocara canis,and the clinical negative detection rate was 0％.Thus,we suc-cessfully expressed the rTsTRE protein.Moreover,the established indirect ELISA method using the TsTRE protein as the coating antigen had good repeatability,sensitivity,specificity and clinical detectability,and can be applied to the detection of clinical samples.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) are a group of structurally related polypeptides which constitute an elaborate signaling system with their receptors. Evidence accumulated in the years suggests that the FGF family plays a key role in the repair of central nervous system injury. The main protective mechanisms include activating the expression of PI3K-Akt, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) and other signals; inhibiting NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis; regulating neuronal differentiation and neuronal excitability as well as participating in protection of neurovascular units and nerve function repair. This paper comprehensively summarizes the latest research progress in FGF signaling related to diseases of the central nervous system such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and depression, aiming to provide scientific basis and reference for the development of innovative FGF drugs for the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases.
Humans ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Central Nervous System/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/physiology* ; Alzheimer Disease

Humans ; Female ; Deep Learning ; Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics* ; Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial/genetics* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; RNA

Aim To analyze the effects of berberine on the apoptosis of colon epithelial cells and polymorpho-nuclear neutrophils ( PMNs) in mice with ulcerative colitis ( UC ) by regulating JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Methods The UC mouse models were established by dextran sulfate sodium ( DSS) method and were randomly divided into control group, UC group, low-dose, middle-dose and high-dose berberine groups and positive drug group ( mesalazine enteric-coated tablet group) . In addition, the mice were randomly di¬vided into UC group, high-dose berberine group, AG490 group, and high-dose berberine + AG490 group. Levels of serum tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and colon epithelial cell apoptosis and PMN apoptosis were compared among the groups. Western blot was used to detect the expres¬sions of colon tissue apoptosis-related and JAK/STAT signaling pathway-related proteins. Results The lev¬els of serum TNF-α and IL-6, apoptosis rate of colon epithelial cell and protein expressions of Fas, FasL, Bax, caspase-3, p-JAK2/JAK2 and p-STAT3/STAT3 in each dose berberine group and positive drug group were significantly lower than those in UC group (P < 0.05), and the above indicators in berberine groups were reduced gradually (P <0.05) . The PMN apoptosis rate and Bcl-2 protein expression were significantly higher in each dose berberine group and positive drug group than those in UC group (P <0. 05) , and the two indicators increased gradually in berberine groups ( P < 0.05). AG490 could reverse the above effects of berberine ( P < 0. 05 ). Conclusions Berberine can inhibit the apoptosis of colon epithelial cell and promote the apoptosis of PMN in UC mice by regulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, and then play a role in the treatment of UC.