[Circadian rhythm and health: dialogue between traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine].

Circadian rhythm refers to the daily rhythmic variations in an organism. The irregular lifestyles of modern humans have led to a high incidence of chronic diseases, highlighting an inseparable relationship between disrupted circadian rhythm and disease development. TCM has long discussed rhythmic variations, with records dating back to the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon(Huang Di Nei Jing), which laid a rich theoretical foundation for the research on circadian rhythm. Modern medical research has provided a more comprehensive explanation of its molecular mechanisms. This article integrated the current understanding of circadian rhythm in both Chinese and western medicine, emphasizing the crucial relationship between rhythm regulation and disease treatment. By highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the two fields, it offers new directions for exploring the field of chronomedicine.

Tea consumption is associated with cognitive impairment in older Chinese adults.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between tea consumption and cognitive impairment (CoI). METHODS: 4579 adults (≥60 years) from the Weitang Geratric Diseases Study were assessed for characteristics of tea consumption and cognitive function by administering questionnaires and the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT), respectively. We divided the subjects into normal cognitive function group (AMT score ≥8) and CoI group (AMT score ≤7).   The association between tea consumption and risk of CoI was determined by logistic regression models. RESULTS: The least-squared means of the AMT scores for the subjects who seldom consumed tea were less favorable than those who habitually consumed tea. An inverse association was found between tea consumption (of any type) and prevalence of CoI (odds ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval = 0.57-0.98, P = 0.032). Interestingly, the protective correlation of tea was more obvious in never smokers (odds ratio = 0.63), but vanished in current/former smokers (odds ratio = 1.10). In never smokers, frequency of tea consumption was significantly associated with CoI (P for trend = 0.010). CONCLUSION: Habitual tea consumption is suggested to be associated with a decreased risk of CoI among elders in Suzhou, and a higher frequency of tea consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of CoI among never smokers.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on lipid metabolism in male and female obesity rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) on lipid metabolism in both sexes of obesity model rats. METHODS: A total of 30 male and 30 female SD rats were randomized into normal control, model and EA groups respectively, with 10 rats in each group. EA (2 Hz, 1-2 mA) was applied to the ipsilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36)-"Sanyin-jiao"(SP 6) and bilateral "Fenglong" (ST 40) for 30 min, once daily for 28 days. In addition,"Quchi" (LI 11),"Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Guanyuan" (CV 4) were punctured with filiform needles and stimulated by manipulating the needle for 1 min, separately. Obesity model was duplicated by subcutaneous injection of 15% glutamic sodium (0.2 mL/10 g) once daily for 5 days and by feeding the animal with high fat forage for 36 days. Lee's index was calculated, and plasma triglyeride (TG) concentration detected by glycerol-phosphoric acid oxidase-peroxydase method, total cholesterol (TC) detected by cholesterol oxidase method, and plasma low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) contents were assayed by one-step method, respectively. RESULTS: In both male and female rats, compared to their own normal groups, the Lee's index, plasma TG, TC and LDL-C contents were increased significantly and plasma HDL-C contents decreased obviously in the model groups (P<0.01), while compared to their own model groups, the Lee's index, plasma TG, TC and LDL-C levels in the EA groups were down-regulated considerably and plasma HDL-C contents up-regulated remarkably after the treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). The efficacies of the EA intervention were obviously better in reducing Lee's index for male rats, and in down-regulating plasma TG and TC contents in female rats (P<0.05). No significant differences were found between male and female rats in EA intervention for plasma LDL-C and HDL-C levels. CONCLUSION: EA intervention can effectively regulate obesity rats' Lee's index and plasma TG, TC, LDL-C and HDL-C levels. The effects are different in male and female rats.

Evolution of nutrient structure and phytoplankton composition in the Jiaozhou Bay ecosystem.

The inventories of nutrients in the surface water and large phytoplankton( > 69 microm) were analyzed from the data set of JERS ecological database about a typical coastal waters, the Jiaozhou Bay, China, from 1960s for N, P and from 1980s for Si. By examining long-term changes of nutrient concentration, calculating stoichiometric balance, and comparing diatom composition, Si limitation of diatom production was found to be more possible. The possibility of Si limitation was from 37% in 1980s to 50% in 1990s. Jiaozhou Bay ecosystem is becoming serious eutrophication, with notable increase of NO2-N, NO3-N and NH4-N from 0.1417 micromol/L, 0.5414 micromol/L, 1.7222 micromol/L in 1960s to 0.9551 micromol/L, 3.001 micromol/L, 8.0359 micromol/L in late 1990s respectively and prominent decrease of Si from 4.2614 micromol/L in 1980s to 1.5861 micromol/L in late 1990s; the nutrient structure is controlled by nitrogen; the main limiting nutrient is probably silicon; because of the Si limitation the phytoplankton community structure has changed drastically.