The etiology of premature ovarian failure (POF) is mainly related to inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and tumor radiotherapy and chemotherapy; however, its specific pathogenesis has not been clarified. Vitamin D (VD), a fat-soluble vitamin, is an essential steroid hormone in the human body. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are meshwork structures that are formed when neutrophils are stimulated by inflammation and other factors and are closely associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Notably, VD inhibits NET formation and intervenes in the development of POF in terms of inflammatory and immune responses, oxidative stress, and tissue fibrosis. Therefore, this study aimed to theorize the relationship between NETs, VD, and POF and provide new ideas and targets for the pathogenesis and clinical treatment of POF.

Background: To prove that serum vitamin D (VD) levels are strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) disease activity, the association between serum VD levels and key monitoring indicators of AS disease activity has been analyzed, such as the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods: Studies published in PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure by August 30, 2022 were searched, and 6 studies finally met the selection criteria. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), ESR, CRP levels, and correlation coefficients between serum VD and BASDAI, ESR, CRP in AS, and control in these studies were extracted for the meta-analysis. Results: When compared to controls, patients with AS had considerably lower blood 25(OH)D levels (MD = −7.53 ng/mL, 95% CI, −9.78 to −5.28, P < .001) and significantly higher ESR and CRP levels (ESR: MD = 11.75 mm/h, 95% CI, 4.20 to 19.31, P = .002; CRP: MD = 15.36 mg/L, 95% CI, 4.95 to 25.77, P = .004). Additionally, a negative correlation was discovered between serum VD levels and BASDAI, ESR, and CRP (Fisher’ Z = −0.34, −0.38, −0.35, respectively). Conclusion: The findings of our meta-analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between serum VD levels and the main monitoring indices of disease activity in patients with AS and verified that the differences in the continent and ethnicity may be one of the major contributors to this finding.

Dendrobium officinale is a valuable medicinal and edible homologous health food. It has immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and metabolism-regulating properties. However, its adulteration is widespread, seriously compromising product quality and safety. Traditional adulteration detection methods are complex, costly, and time-consuming, making it urgent to establish a rapid and non-destructive detection approach. This study developed a rapid identification and quantification method for adulterated D. officinale. The method combined near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with data-driven soft independent modeling of class analogy (DD-SIMCA) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models. PCA, PLS-DA, and OPLS-DA were first used to visualize sample clustering and group differences. DT, SVM, ANN, and NB were used for classification. DD-SIMCA and PLSR were used for one-class modeling and quantitative analysis. Raw spectral data were preprocessed using multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), the standard normal variate (SNV), the first derivative, and Savitzky–Golay smoothing. In the identification analysis, the DD-SIMCA model achieved 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the validation set. Its overall accuracy in the independent test set was 99.2%, demonstrating excellent discrimination performance. In addition, SVM combined with NIR also achieved good accuracy. In the quantitative analysis of adulteration, the PLSR model predicted different adulteration levels. Most calibration and validation sets showed R² values above 0.99 and RMSE values below 0.05, indicating excellent predictive performance. The results indicate that NIR combined with DD-SIMCA and PLSR can achieve rapid identification and accurate quantification of adulterated D. officinale samples. This approach provides strong support for quality control and regulatory supervision of high-value health foods.

Relinqing Granules (RLQ), a single-herb formulation derived from Polygonum capitatum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don (THL), possesses diverse pharmacological properties-including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities-which suggest their potential utility in treating pneumonia. This study seeks to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of RLQ to support its future clinical application in managing inflammatory lung diseases. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of RLQ on pneumonia and elucidate its underlying mechanisms, with a particular focus on the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mechanistic target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) signaling pathway. Pneumonia was induced in mice via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration, while A549 cells were similarly stimulated with LPS to establish an in vitro inflammation model. Mice received RLQ treatment by oral gavage for seven consecutive days. Subsequently, lung tissues were collected for hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blotting, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). In vitro, RLQ-treated A549 cells were evaluated through ELISA, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, Western blotting, and qPCR. To further elucidate the underlying mechanism, A549 cell models with mTOR knockdown and overexpression (OE) were constructed to assess the regulatory role of mTOR in inflammation and apoptosis. RLQ alleviated LPS-induced lung inflammation by shifting the regulatory T cell/T helper 17 cell (Treg/Th17) balance toward an immunoregulatory state and modulating pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, potentially through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In vitro, RLQ treatment reduced cytokine levels, improved cell viability, and inhibited apoptosis in LPS-injured A549 cells by regulating this pathway and its downstream apoptotic proteins. Furthermore, in mTOR knockdown and OE models, RLQ significantly mitigated LPS-induced cellular damage, enhanced cell viability, and suppressed apoptosis, which correlated with the downregulation of mTOR pathway activation. RLQ effectively protected against LPS-induced lung and alveolar epithelial cell injury by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway phosphorylation, restoring the Treg/Th17 immune balance, and suppressing apoptosis. These findings provide new mechanistic insights into the therapeutic potential of RLQ in the treatment of pneumonia.

Against the backdrop of rising multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR AB) threats, this study explores the in vitro antibacterial activity and mechanism of Senecio scandens (a Miao ethnic medicinal herb) crude extract. Using 10 clinical MDR AB strains, we reassessed antibiotic sensitivity and then applied microbroth dilution to determine MIC/MBC, time-kill curves for bactericidal kinetics, and SEM/TEM for structural changes. Proteomics identified downregulated proteins, cross-referenced with VFDB/CARD to target membrane-related proteins (msbA, lptD), while molecular docking validated the strong binding of linarin/hyperoside to these targets. qPCR confirmed lptD/msbA mRNA downregulation (p < 0.05) by linarin/hyperoside (MIC = 312.5 μmol/L). The extract showed concentration-dependent bactericidal effects (MIC = 640 μg/mL), disrupting cell wall/membrane integrity. This study first reveals that linarin and hyperoside inhibit MDR AB by downregulating lptD/msbA, compromising outer membrane integrity, offering novel therapeutic candidates.

The diagnosis and monitoring of malignant respiratory diseases are heavily reliant on imaging techniques and tissue biopsies. Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) is an advanced real-time imaging modality with high resolution, capable of visualizing the morphology and structure of pulmonary tissue in conjunction with conventional bronchoscopy. Within the realm of malignant respiratory diseases, it enables differentiation between normal and abnormal regions in the central airways, lung parenchyma, mediastinal lymph nodes, and pleura. Although CLE has not yet been integrated into routine clinical practice, it has the potential to guide biopsies, thereby enhancing diagnostic yield while mitigating the occurrence of associated complications. Moreover, this technology holds significant potential for elucidating disease pathogenesis, facilitating intraoperative assessment, and monitoring therapeutic efficacy. Looking towards the future, the integration of CLE with artificial intelligence represents a promising direction for the development of this technology. This review encapsulates the latest advancements of CLE in the context of malignant respiratory diseases, with a particular emphasis on its application in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.