BACKGROUND:Degenerative scoliosis is defined as a condition that occurs in adulthood with a coronal cobb angle of the spine>10° accompanied by sagittal deformity and rotational subluxation,which often produces symptoms of spinal cord and nerve compression,such as lumbar pain,lower limb pain,numbness,weakness,and neurogenic claudication.The finite element method is a mechanical analysis technique for computer modelling,which can be used for spinal mechanics research by building digital models that can realistically restore the human spine model and design modifications. OBJECTIVE:To review the application of finite element method in the etiology and treatment of degenerative scoliosis. METHODS:The literature databases CNKI,PubMed,and Web of Science were searched for articles on the application of finite element method in degenerative scoliosis published before October 2023.Search terms were"finite element analysis,biomechanics,stress analysis,degenerative scoliosis,adult spinal deformity"in Chinese and English.Fifty-four papers were finally included. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The biomechanical findings from the degenerative scoliosis model constructed using the finite element method were identical to those from the in vivo experimental studies,which proves that the finite element method has a high practical value in degenerative scoliosis.(2)The study of the etiology and treatment of degenerative scoliosis by the finite element method is conducive to the prevention of the occurrence of the scoliosis,slowing down the progress of the scoliosis,the development of a more appropriate treatment plan,the reduction of complications,and the promotion of the patients'surgical operation.(3)The finite element method has gradually evolved from a single bony structure to the inclusion of soft tissues such as muscle ligaments,and the small sample content is increasingly unable to meet the research needs.(4)The finite element method has much room for exploration in degenerative scoliosis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the alleviating effect of calcium cyanamide （CaCN₂） soil fumigation on replanting problems of Rehmannia glutinosa. MethodsNewly soil （NP） was used as the control group， while three treatment groups were established： replanted soil （RP）， newly soil treated with CaCN₂ （120 g·m²， tillage depth 25 cm） （NPCC）， and replanted soil treated with CaCN₂ （RPCC）. R. glutinosa was cultivated in all groups. At harvest， the tuber agronomic traits （number of enlarged roots， maximum root diameter， fresh weight， dry weight） were measured. The content of catalpol and rehmannioside D was quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography （UPLC） to evaluate medicinal quality. Rhizosphere soil available nutrients and enzyme activities were analyzed by assay kits. The community structure and composition of fungi and bacteria in rhizosphere soil were assessed via internal transcribed spacer 2 （ITS2） sequencing and 16S rDNA sequencing， respectively. ResultsCompared with NP， the RP group showed obviously reduced in tuber agronomic traits and quality indicators （P0.05）. However， the RPCC group showed significant improvement in agronomic traits and a notable increase in rehmannioside D content compared to RP （P0.05）. The contents of available phosphorus and potassium in RPCC and NP groups were obviously lower than those in RP （P0.05）. The polyphenol oxidase soil （S-PPO） activity in RP was obviously lower than in NP （P0.05）， while sucrose soil （S-SC）， acid phosphatase soil （S-ACP）， and S-PPO activities in RPCC were obviously higher than in RP （P0.05）. Microbial richness and diversity in RP were obviously higher than in NP （P0.05）， whereas no significant differences were observed between the RPCC and NP. The relative abundances of fungal genera Nectria， Myrothecium， Tomentella， and bacterial genus Skermanella were obviousl lower in RPCC and NP than in RP （P0.05）. Correlation analysis that S-ACP activity was positively correlated with the content of rehmannioside D （P0.05）. Fungal genera Engyodontium and Alternaria， and bacterial genera Pir4 lineage， Pirellula， Methyloversatilis， Brevundimonas， Ralstonia， and Acidibacter were obviously positively correlated with tuber dry weight （P0.05）. Conversely， fungal genera Pseudaleuria， Nectria， Haematonectria， Ceratobasidium， and bacterial genera Streptomyces， Skermanella， RB41， Gemmatimonas， and Bacillus were obviously negatively correlated with dry weight （P0.05）. The fungal genus Alternaria and bacterial genera Brevundimonas， Ralstonia， Acidibacter， and Dongia showed positive correlations with medicinal quality of R.glutinosa tuber， while fungal genera Pseudaleuria， Nectria， Stachybotrys， Fusarium， Gibberella， Ceratobasidium， and bacterial genera Sphingomonas， Skermanella， RB41， Gemmatimonas， and Bacillus were obviously negatively correlated （P0.05）. ConclusionCaCN₂ soil fumigation can significantly improve enzyme activities in replanted Rehmannia rhizosphere soil， enhance the utilization of available nutrients， reshape microbial community structure of replanted R.glutinosa at the family and genus level， and notably improve tuber agronomic traits and medicinal quality. This study provides a novel approach to alleviating replanting problems and offers insights for the integrated development of standardized cultivation techniques， including soil disinfection， nutrient-targeted regulation， and microbial inoculant application.

Field effect transistor(FET)biochemical sensors show great potential in the fields of environmental monitoring,food safety,disease diagnosis and clinical treatment due to their low noise,low power consumption,label-free,easy integration and miniaturization characteristics.Two-dimensional(2D)materials,as a new generation of channel materials for FET biochemical sensors,have atomic-level thickness,high carrier mobility,high specific surface area and tunable bandgap,which can further improve the performance of FET biochemical sensors,extend their application areas,and promote the rapid development of FET biochemical sensors.This review focused on the development and latest progress of 2D material-based FET biochemical sensors,along with the challenges and prospects of 2D material-based FET biochemical sensors,which aimed to provide new device design conceptions and promote the further development of biochemical sensing technology.

ObjectiveTo explore host factors interacting with influenza virus nucleoprotein （NP） and study their effects on influenza virus replication， as well as the mechanism of gardenia jasminoides iridoid glycoside （IGE） in inhibiting influenza virus. MethodA yeast two-hybrid system was utilized to screen host factors that interacted with influenza virus NP. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D0 （HNRNPD）， glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase 1 （GNPDA1）， poly（rC）-binding protein 1 （PCBP1）， and protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT） protein 1 （PIAS1） were validated by immunoprecipitation assay. The effects of PIAS1 and HNRNPD on influenza virus replication were compared by a dual luciferase assay， and the effects of IGE on influenza virus replication were examined in the presence of transfected ribonucleoprotein （RNP） and knockdown of PIAS1. ICR mice were randomly divided into a normal group， model group， oseltamivir phosphate group， and high， medium， and low dose IGE groups， with 10 mice in each group. In addition to the normal group， each group was infected with the influenza A virus FM1 strain by nasal drip to establish a viral pneumonia model. The high， medium， and low dose IGE groups were given drugs of 50， 25， and 12.5 mg∙kg^-1 by gavage， and the oseltamivir phosphate group was given the drug of 27.5 mg∙kg^-1 by gavage. Equal amounts of distilled water were instilled in the normal and model groups for four consecutive days. Later， protein expression of PIAS1， NP， phosphorylated （p）-STAT3， STAT3， p-STAT1， and STAT1 were detected in the lung tissue by Western blot. ResultIn yeast two-hybrid assays， 16 potential host targets interacting with influenza virus NP were identified. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that HNRNPD and PIAS1 could interact with influenza virus NP. The dual luciferase reporter assays found that both PIAS1 knockdown and overexpression significantly affected IAV RNP activity （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the effect of HNRNPD on IAV RNP was not significant. Both high and low dose IGE groups reduced influenza virus replication （P<0.05） and reversed the increase in influenza virus replication caused by the knockdown of PIAS1（P<0.05， P<0.01）. The expressions of PIAS1， NP， p-STAT3， p-STAT1， and STAT1 in the lung tissue of infected mice were reduced to different degrees in each IGE group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionPIAS1 interacts with influenza virus NP and is able to inhibit influenza virus replication. IGE may exert antiviral effects by inhibiting the activity of IAV RNP through the PIAS1/STAT1 pathway.

Objectives:To investigate the effect of the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor associated protein (LDLR) on the vascular abnormalities in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its mechanisms.Methods:Based on the information of Oncomine Cancer GeneChip database, we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of LDLR and the expression level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CD31 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Lentiviral transfection of short hairpin RNA target genes was used to construct LDLR-knockdown MHCC-97H and HLE hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The differential genes and their expression level changes in LDLR-knockdown hepatocellular carcinoma cells were detected by transcriptome sequencing, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and protein immunoblotting. The gene-related signaling pathways that involve LDLR were clarified by enrichment analysis. The effect of LDLR on CEA was assessed by the detection of CEA content in conditioned medium of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Angiogenesis assay was used to detect the effect of LDLR on the angiogenic capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, as well as the role of CEA in the regulation of angiogenesis by LDLR. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression levels of LDLR in 176 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and CEA and CD31 in 146 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and analyze the correlations between the expression levels of LDLR, CEA, and CD31 in the tissues, serum CEA, and alanine transaminase (ALT).Results:Oncomine database analysis showed that the expressions of LDLR and CEA in the tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein metastasis were negatively correlated ( r=-0.64, P=0.001), whereas the expressions of CEA and CD31 in these tissues were positively correlated ( r=0.46, P=0.010). The transcriptome sequencing results showed that there were a total of 1 032 differentially expressed genes in the LDLR-knockdown group and the control group of MHCC-97H cells, of which 517 genes were up-regulated and 515 genes were down-regulated. The transcript expression level of CEACAM5 was significantly up-regulated in the cells of the LDLR-knockdown group. The Gene Ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis showed that the differential genes were most obviously enriched in the angiogenesis function. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis showed that the relevant pathways involved mainly included the cellular adhesion patch, the extracellular matrix receptor interactions, and the interactions with the extracellular matrix receptors. The CEA content in the conditioned medium of the LDLR-knockdown group was 43.75±8.43, which was higher than that of the control group (1.15±0.14, P＜0.001). The results of angiogenesis experiments showed that at 5 h, the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured with the conditioned medium of MHCC-97H cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 295.3±26.4, 552.5±63.8, and 2 239 781.0±13 8211.9 square pixels, which were higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 194.8±36.5, and 660 621.0±280 328.3 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01).The number of vascular major junctions, the number of major segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured in conditioned medium with HLE cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 245.3±42.4, 257.5±20.4, and 2 535 754.5±249 094.2 square pixels, respectively, which were all higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 114.3±12.2, and 1 565 456.5±219 259.7 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01). In the conditioned medium for the control group of MHCC-97H cells,the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by the addition of CEA to cultured HUVEC cells were 178.9±12.0, 286.9±12.3, and 1 966 990.0±126 249.5 spixels, which were higher than those in the control group (119.7±22.1, 202.7±33.7, and 1 421 191.0±189 837.8 square pixels, respectively). The expression of LDLR in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was not correlated with the expression of CEA, but was negatively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=-0.167, P=0.044), the level of serum CEA ( r=-0.061, P=0.032), and the level of serum ALT (r=-0.147, P=0.05). The expression of CEA in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was positively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=0.192, P=0.020). The level of serum CEA was positively correlated with the level of serum ALT ( r=0.164, P=0.029). Conclusion:Knocking down LDLR can promote vascular abnormalities in HCC by releasing CEA.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of Lutongning granules in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in animal models and study its mechanism of action， so as to provide laboratory data support for the clinical application of Lutongning granules and precise treatment. MethodMale SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， carbamazepine group （0.06 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， high-dose Lutongning group （2.70 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and low-dose Lutongning group （1.35 g·kg^-1·d^-1） according to the stratified basic mechanical pain thresholds， with 10 rats in each group. A trigeminal neuralgia model of rats was prepared by injecting 30% talc suspension into the infraorbital foramen area of the rat. The drug groups were administered 10 mL·kg^-1 of drugs by gavage after 2 h of modeling. The normal group and the model group were administered distilled water by gavage under the same conditions once a day for 10 consecutive days. Von Frey brushes were used to determine the mechanical pain threshold of rats. A fully automated blood and body fluid analyzer was employed to detect the blood routine of rats. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was utilized to detect the pathological changes in the trigeminal ganglion and medulla oblongata tissue. Transmission electron microscopy was used to scan the ultrastructure of the medulla oblongata tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin （IL）-1， IL-6， IL-8， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， neuropeptide substance P， and β-endorphins （β-EP） in the serum of rats， and Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of IL-1β， purinergic receptor P2X7 （P2X7R）， and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p-p38 MAPK）. ResultCompared with that in the normal group， the pain threshold of rats in the model group was significantly lower （P<0.01）. The absolute value of neutrophils （NEUT#） and the percentage of neutrophils （NEUT） were significantly improved， and the percentage of lymphocytes （LYMPH） was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. The serum levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α were significantly increased （P<0.01）. SP content in brain tissue was significantly increased， and β-EP content was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The relative protein expression of IL-1β， P2X7R， and p-p38 MAPK was significantly increased （P<0.05）. HE staining and transmission electron microscopy results of medulla oblongata tissue revealed neuronal degeneration， mild proliferation of microglial cells， reduction in the number of myelinated nerves， and obvious demyelination. The trigeminal nerve fibers of rats were disarranged， and some nerve fibers showed vacuolization. Axons were swollen， and Schwann cells proliferated. Demyelination was observed. Compared with the model group， each administration group significantly increased the pain threshold of rats （P<0.05， P<0.01）， reduced NEUT# and NEUT， and elevated LYMPH （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The administration group significantly decreased the levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α in serum and SP in brain tissue （P<0.01） and increased the level of β-EP （P<0.01）. They significantly down-regulated the protein expression of IL-1β， P2X7R， and p-p38 MAPK（P<0.05， P<0.01） and significantly ameliorated the pathological changes in medulla oblongata tissue and trigeminal nerves of rats. ConclusionLutongning Granules had significant therapeutic effects on trigeminal neuralgia induced by injection of talc into the infraorbital foramen of model rats， and the mechanism may be related to amelioration of P2X7R-mediated neuroinflammation and inhibition of demyelination of myelinated nerves.

Objective:To analyze the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination on virus mutation.Methods:The whole genome sequencing sequences of 2 659 local SARS-CoV-2 specimens from Jiangsu Province in 2023 were selected for analysis, and relevant information such as demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, and the effects of infection and vaccination on the genome-wide mutation rate and S gene′s selective pressure of the virus were analyzed by univariate and multivariate linear regression models.Results:The average age of these infected patients was 55.0 (31.0, 74.0) years, 1 150 cases (43.2%) in the age group of ≥60 years, 1 367 cases (51.4%) were males, 2 044 cases (76.9%) had a history of COVID-19 vaccination, and 1 629 cases (61.3%) had the first-time infection. The clinical symptoms of the infected patients were mainly mild, with a total of 2434 cases (91.5%), and 29 cases (1.1%) with severe symptoms or more. The average substitution rate of SARS-CoV-2 was 9.69 (9.38, 9.98)×10 -4 subs/site/year, and the dN/dS value of the S gene was 6.08 (5.56, 8.66), which was significantly greater than that of 1 ( P<0.001), indicating positive selection. The result of univariate and multivariate linear regression model analysis showed that the SARS-CoV-2 substitution rate was higher in those with vaccination history and reinfection, aged 20-30 years, ≥60 years, and the SARS-CoV-2 substitution rate was lower in males with moderate clinical symptoms and severe disease and above. Those with a history of vaccination and reinfection, aged 50-60 years old, ≥60 years old have smaller S gene dN/dS. Conclusions:Under the immune pressure exerted by vaccination and infection, the genome-wide mutation of SARS-COV-2 accelerated, but the non-synonymous mutation rate of the S gene decreased. The mechanism causing these phenomena needs further study.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Shufeng Jiedu capsule （SFJD）-containing serum on human lung epithelial cells infected by influenza A virus， and investigate the protective effect of the drug on the cells and the potential antiviral effect. MethodThe SFJD-containing serum was prepared and used to treat human lung epithelial cells （BEAS-2B） cultured in vitro. The viability of cells treated with different concentrations of SFJD-containing serum was measured by the cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）， and the optimal concentration of SFJD-containing serum was screened for subsequent experiments. BEAS-2B cells were classified into normal control， virus infection， and SFJD-containing serum groups， and the CCK-8 method was used to detect the survival rate of BEAS-2B cells after virus infection and drug administration. The expression of influenza virus nucleic acid in the cells of each group was determined， and the apoptosis of cells in different groups was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Real-time PCR was employed to determine the mRNA levels of influenza virus nucleoprotein （NP）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， and myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 （MyD88） in each group of cells. The immunofluorescence assay was used to detect the fluorescence intensities of TLR4， MyD88， and phosphorylated nuclear factor-κB （p-NF-κB） in lung epithelial cells. ResultCompared with that in the control group （normal serum）， the cell survival rates in the blank serum and the SFJD-containing serum （5%， 10%， and 20%） groups were 100.00%±0.00%， 89.05%±4.80%， 87.13%±5.90%， 93.83%±6.03%， and 99.33%±3.39%， respectively （P<0.01）. The SFJD-containing serum of 20% was selected as the optimal treatment for subsequent experiments. Compared with the normal control group， the virus infection group showed reduced cell survival rate （P<0.01）， and the reduction was increased by the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.01）. Compared with the virus infection group， SFJD-containing serum reduced the virus load （P<0.01） to decrease apoptosis. Compared with the normal control group， the virus infection group showed up-regulated mRNA levels of NP， TLR4， and MyD88 （P<0.01）， and the up-regulation was down-regulated by the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The fluorescence intensities of TLR4， MyD88， and p-NF-κB proteins in the cells increased after virus infection compared with those in the normal control （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and they were decreased after administration with the SFJD-containing serum （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe SFJD-containing serum can inhibit influenza virus in vitro by increasing the survival rate， reducing the apoptosis， and down-regulating the protein levels of TLR4， MyD88， and p-NF-κB in BEAS-2B cells.

In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of tilianin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. The cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The content of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The content of nitric oxide (NO) was assayed by Griess reagent method. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescent probe. The protein levels of Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (Myd88), nuclear factors κB p65 (NF-κB p65), phosphorylated nuclear factor κB p65 (p-NF-κB p65), nuclear factor κB inhibitory protein α (IκBα) and phosphorylation nuclear factor κB inhibitory protein α (p-IκBα) were detected by Western blot. The mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3, pro-IL-1β, pro-IL-18 and pro-caspase-1 were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. The effect of tilianin on the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway was further validated by using the TLR4 signaling inhibitor restatorvid (TAK242). The results showed that tilianin significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and NO in the supernatant of RAW264.7 cells and decreased the content of intracellular ROS. Tilianin reduced the levels of TLR4, Myd88, p-NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα protein and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Tilianin could reduce the protein levels of NLRP3, pro-IL-1β, pro-IL-18 and pro-caspase-1. Tilianin significantly inhibited the mRNA levels of NLRP3 and pro-IL-1β. The above research results indicated that tilianin could significantly alleviate the LPS-induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 cells and its mechanism might be related to downregulate the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome.

Objective To explore the incidence of long CO VID symptoms in patients infected with Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Methods According to the inclusion and exclu-sion criteria of literatures,relevant studies without language restrictions published up to 2024 were retrieved from both Chinese and English databases.The Chinese databases were China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Database,and VIP databases,and the foreign databases were PubMed,Embase,and Web of Science.Three-step screening was used to select literatures,and Stata 17.0 software was used for analysis.Results The incidence of at least one sequelae in patients infected with Omicron variant was 29.62％.The most common symptoms included fatigue(19.10％),joint or muscle pain(11.06％),memory loss(9.71％),brain fog(8.80％),cough(8.42％),headache(7.26％),and sore throat(6.68％).Subgroup analysis results showed that with the extension of follow-up(3 months vs 6 months),the incidence of smell or taste changes was significantly re-duced(7.22％vs 0.78％).The higher the proportion of women(＜50％vs 50％-65％vs＞65％),the higher the incidence of joint or muscle pain(1.09％vs 4.62％vs 19.53％);the greater the median age(≥45 years vs＜45 years),the higher the incidence of chest pain or chest distress(0.90％vs 3.86％),all with statistically significant differences(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Incidence of long COVID in Omicron-infected patients is high and can cause various symptoms.Follow-up time,median age and gender proportion have significant impacts on the incidence of some symptoms.