The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted global respiratory virus epidemiology through widespread non-pharmaceutical interventions. Analysis of a tertiary hospital in Shenzhen (2021-2024) reveals profound alterations in seasonal patterns. Influenza A exhibited multiple atypical peaks including summer circulation, while influenza B showed delayed resurgence with sustained winter activity. Respiratory syncytial virus demonstrated altered seasonality with substantial warm-season transmission replacing traditional winter patterns. World Health Organization (WHO) global surveillance confirmed parallel worldwide trends. Influenza activity collapsed dramatically in 2021 before resurging with irregular timing and unprecedented intensity through 2025. Respiratory syncytial virus exhibited off-season epidemics across multiple regions before gradually re-establishing modified seasonal patterns at elevated baseline levels. These epidemiological shifts resulted from immunity gaps created by reduced viral exposure, staggered lifting of pandemic restrictions across regions, and viral competition dynamics. Emerging technologies including AI-driven prediction models, expanded wastewater surveillance systems, and universal vaccine development offer promising approaches for managing future respiratory disease dynamics in this evolving post-pandemic landscape.

Although maintaining a moist environment is important for wound healing, excess moisture can delay wound healing. Furthermore, recommended assessment methods for moist environments in the latest consensus guidelines are subjective. This scoping review aimed to map indicators to assess the moist environment in a wound and summarize the effectiveness of wound healing care in maintaining a moist environment, as assessed using these indicators. We searched four databases, the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System On-Line, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, and the Japan Medical Abstracts Society database, using a combination of chronic wound- and moisture-related terms. Independent researchers screening the articles based on the inclusion criteria and extracting relevant data afterward. After screening 2,727 articles, eight met the inclusion criteria: original articles/case studies, studies involving patients with chronic wounds, studies on care to maintain a moist wound environment, and studies assessing wound healing and moist wound environment. The articles included in this review demonstrated that dressings that absorb or hydrate exudates and care decisions based on the moisture content of the wound surface were effective care strategies for wound healing. Additional research is required to determine the best objective indicator for the assessment of a moist wound environment because despite the numerous existing indicators, only few reference values for healing have been reported.

Torreya grandis (T. grandis) is one of the evergreen tree species in China. The kernels of T. grandis have been used as traditional medicine and food for thousands of years in China. In recent years, it has also been developed as raw materials for cosmetics. T. grandis is rich in bioactive components, including unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, protein, amino acids, trace elements, minerals, polyphenols, squalene, phytosterol, terpenes, etc. Therefore, T. grandis possesses a wide range of biological activities such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, microbiota alteration, effects on blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids, neuroprotective effect, brightening, reducing uric acid (UA) level, ameliorating bone metabolism disorders, alleviating slow transit constipation, and antinociceptive activity. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of T. grandis on its active components and functions, and explores its existing and potential applications in food, medicine, and cosmetics.

A novel protein, G1H2GC2, was isolated from Arca subcrenata Lischke using homogenization and ammonium sulfate precipitation, and further purified by several column chromatography techniques including diethyl-aminoethanol (DEAE) Sepharose Fast Flow anion exchange, gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-25), Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B hydrophobic chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The purity of G1H2GC2 was over 97% in RP-HPLC, and its high purity was further verified by the appearance of a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The protein content of G1H2GC2 was found to be over 99% by Bradford assay. The molecular weight was determined as 25.6 kDa by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). The isoelectric point of G1H2GC2 was measured to be 7.71 by isoelectric focusing-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (IEF-PAGE). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS/MS) was employed to detect and identify the protein by mass fingerprinting coupled with fragmentation patterns. No matched protein was found, confirming that G1H2GC2 was a novel protein. An attempt was made to detect the N-terminal amino acid sequence of G1H2GC2 by Edman degradation, but the sequence of G1H2GC2 was found to be blocked. The scavenging percentage of G1H2GC2 at 15 mg/mL against 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS^•+) was 52.84%. The median effective concentration (EC₅₀) value of G1H2GC2 against ABTS^•+ was 17.67 mg/mL. The results showed that G1H2GC2 might be developed as a potential food additive agent.

Skin taurine is an indicator of dehydration and can be noninvasively collected through skin blotting. However, conventional taurine measurement using ninhydrin raises safety and specificity concerns, limiting its application in point-of-care testing. In this study, we propose a novel liquid-phase measurement of taurine collected via skin blotting. The aim of this study was to develop a method for liquid-phase measurement of skin taurine and to demonstrate its validity and reliability. This study consisted of (1) determining optimal recovery conditions, including the type and concentration of recovery solution and shaking method (mild, intense, or no shaking), (2) evaluating the specificity of taurine measurement, and (3) assessing the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the developed method for skin taurine measurement. Optimal recovery was achieved by intense shaking for 10 min with a 110 mM sodium chloride solution, and this method could measure taurine concentrations from 31.25 to 500 μM (r = 0.9983, p < 0.001), confirming its validity. Linear regression analysis showed that the addition of amino acids or skin lysates had little effect on taurine measurement. The developed method demonstrated high intra-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] (1,1) = 0.896, p < 0.001 for examiner A; ICC (1,1) = 0.755, p < 0.001 for examiner B), but inter-rater reliability was not significant (ICC (2,1) = 0.187, p = 0.15). The liquid-phase measurement of skin taurine demonstrated high sensitivity, specificity, and intra-rater reliability. Further studies are needed to improve inter-rater reliability for applying this method as a point-of-care tool for dehydration assessment.

The transient receptor potential channel 6 (TRPC6), a Ca²⁺-permeable, non-selective cation channel, is a potential drug target widely expressed in most human tissues. However, the role of TRPC6 in breast cancer remains largely unknown. We comprehensively investigated the relationships between TRPC6 and breast cancer using online databases, including TIMER, cBioPortal, UALCAN, the Kaplan-Meier plotter, the Human Protein Atlas, STRING, and the LinkedOmics, to evaluate the prognostic value of TRPC6. We also tentatively explored the effects of TRPC6 modulation on proliferation and metastasis potential in several breast cancer cell lines by MTT assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and scratch wound healing assay. The TCGA data showed lower TRPC6 gene expression in breast tumours versus normal breast tissues. The Human Protein Atlas revealed that the TRPC6 protein was generally expressed at low levels in both normal and breast carcinoma tissue. The Kaplan-Meier plotter showed that the low TRPC6 level is correlated with worse relapse-free survival probability in breast cancer. Moreover, the TRPC6 gene was linked to immune infiltration in breast cancer, and this relationship affected the prognosis of breast cancer. In contrast to published researches, we found that TRPC6 expression was negatively correlated with breast cancer cell proliferation and metastasis abilities, suggesting TRPC6 as a promising prognostic biomarker for breast cancer, where low expression of TRPC6 was related to worse prognoses. This research raises the necessity of rethinking the mechanism perspective and targetability of TRPC6 in breast cancer, which warrants further investigation.

Trichosporon asahii is a pathogenic fungus that causes severe deep-seated fungal infections in neutropenic patients. Ku70, a key component of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, influences gene-targeting efficiency in T. asahii MPU129 strain using electroporation, a gene transfer method. Although phenotypic traits such as morphology and biofilm formation vary among T. asahii strains, the impact of different gene transfer methods on gene-targeting efficiency remains poorly characterized. In this study, we compared the gene-targeting efficiency of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) and electroporation. In T. asahii JCM2466 (CBS2479), a strain with high hyphal-forming ability, the ku70 gene-deficient mutant exhibited a higher gene-targeting efficiency via ATMT than the wild-type strain when generating a cnb1 gene-deficient mutant. The cnb1 gene encodes the β-subunit of calcineurin. In contrast, in the ku70 gene-deficient background of T. asahii JCM2466, cnb1-deficient mutants could not be generated by electroporation. The gene-targeting efficiencies of ATMT and electroporation in the ku70 gene-deficient mutant of T. asahii JCM2466 were 18% and 0%, respectively. The cnb1 gene-deficient mutants exhibited sensitivity to high temperature and several stress-inducing compounds. These results suggest that ATMT is a suitable gene transfer method for generating gene-deficient mutants in the ku70-deficient T. asahii JCM2466 background. Therefore, the choice of gene transfer method should be carefully tailored to the genetic background and phenotypic characteristics of each T. asahii strain.

Lazertinib is a novel third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) developed for the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Reports on previous EGFR-TKIs have detailed significant associations between blood drug concentration and efficacy. In addition, significantly elevated blood concentrations of lazertinib have been observed in Asians compared to Caucasians, suggesting the influence of interethnic variability. In this study, we developed and validated a method to determine lazertinib concentrations in human plasma for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). Lazertinib and its internal standard, sotorasib, were extracted by solid-phase extraction using an Oasis hydrophilic lipophilic balance cartridge. Chromatographic separation was performed on a reversed-phase column with 0.5% KH₂PO₄ (pH 4.5) and acetonitrile (52:48, v/v) as the mobile phases in an isocratic elution mode with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 296 nm. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 25–2,000 ng/mL, with a coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.9997. The accuracy and precision of all validation experiments were within the criteria set by the Food and Drug Administration guidelines. This study represents the first development and validation of a method for quantifying lazertinib in human plasma. This study is expected to facilitate the widespread use of TDM in studies on lazertinib.

Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis is a zoonotic tapeworm transmitted to humans through consumption of raw or undercooked fish or wild meat. Between 2022 and 2023, Yamagata Prefecture reported an increase in cases compared with 2017–2021, when none were observed. We conducted a clinical and environmental investigation to clarify infection sources. Four confirmed and one suspected patient were identified, all presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. Exposures were linked to raw cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) in three cases and undercooked bear meat in one case. Praziquantel treatment (10–20 mg/kg) was effective, with eight worms (76–210 cm) recovered. Environmental surveillance detected D. nihonkaiensis in 33.3% of bear feces (20/60) and 21.8% of wild fish samples (17/78). Phylogenetic analysis showed close genetic relatedness among human, bear, and fish isolates, indicating a shared transmission cycle. These findings confirm zoonotic transmission of D. nihonkaiensis in Yamagata and highlight the need for food safety awareness and environmental monitoring.

Acromegaly is an endocrine disorder characterized by abnormal enlargement of the extremities and internal organs resulting from excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH) by the pituitary gland, which in turn leads to elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Approximately 45% of patients remain biochemically uncontrolled after surgery and require long-term treatment with injectable somatostatin analogs such as octreotide or lanreotide. These polypeptide drugs generally require monthly administration to maintain disease control; however, many patients experience recurrence of symptoms towards the end of the dosing interval. Moreover, injection-site pain and local reactions are common, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life. On September 25, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved paltusotine, the first once-daily oral, nonpeptide somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) agonist for the treatment of acromegaly. By enabling oral rather than injectable therapy, paltusotine reduces the treatment burden and enhances patient adherence. With its rapid onset and durable biochemical control, this novel agent has the potential to reshape the current paradigm of acromegaly pharmacotherapy and offer patients a more convenient and effective treatment option. Nevertheless, its long-term safety and efficacy warrant further evaluation in real-world clinical settings.