The Specificity and Accuracy of Echocardiography in Diagnosing Acute Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis evaluates the diagnostic value of echocardiography for Acute Heart Failure (AHF) and its utility in urgent clinical situations, emphasizing its significance for accurate and timely diagnosis in critical care. Methods: Relevant studies from databases like PubMed and Embase were selected using terms such as 'Ultrasound' and 'acute heart failure'. Inclusion criteria focused on studies evaluating echocardiographic diagnosis in adult patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of AHF. Quality assessment was performed using RevMan 5.3 and QUADAS. Key metrics like sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were analyzed using STATA 15.1. The types of echocardiography assessed included transthoracic and focused cardiac ultrasound. Results: Eighteen articles were included, indicating echocardiography's high sensitivity (0.92) and specificity (0.96) in diagnosing AHF. The combined positive likelihood ratio of 23.2 suggests that patients with AHF are over 23 times more likely to have a positive echocardiography result than those without AHF, greatly influencing clinical decision-making toward confirming the diagnosis. The AUC of the SROC curve was 0.98, indicating excellent overall accuracy. Conclusion: Echocardiography is highly accurate in diagnosing AHF, underscored by its critical role in early treatment decisions and potential integration into standard care protocols, thereby preventing adverse outcomes and improving patient management.

COVID-19: Post infection implications in different age groups, mechanism, diagnosis, effective prevention, treatment, and recommendations.

SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious pathogen that predominantly caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The persistent effects of COVID-19 are defined as an inflammatory or host response to the virus that begins four weeks after initial infection and persists for an undetermined length of time. Chronic effects are more harmful than acute ones thus, this review explored the long-term effects of the virus on various human organs, including the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neurological, reproductive, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, endocrine, and lymphoid systems and found that SARS-CoV-2 adversely affects these organs of older adults. Regarding diagnosis, the RT-PCR is a gold standard method of diagnosing COVID-19; however, it requires specialized equipment and personnel for performing assays and a long time for results production. Therefore, to overcome these limitations, artificial intelligence employed in imaging and microfluidics technologies is the most promising in diagnosing COVID-19. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies are the most effective treatment for reducing the persistent impacts of COVID-19 by providing immunity to post-COVID-19 patients by reducing cytokine release syndrome, improving the T cell response, and increasing the circulation of activated natural killer and CD8 T cells in blood and tissues, which ultimately reduces fever, nausea, fatigue, and muscle weakness and pain. Vaccines such as inactivated viral, live attenuated viral, protein subunit, viral vectored, mRNA, DNA, or nanoparticle vaccines significantly reduce the adverse long-term virus effects in post-COVID-19 patients; however, no vaccine was reported to provide lifetime protection against COVID-19; consequently, protective measures such as physical separation, mask use, and hand cleansing are promising strategies. This review provides a comprehensive knowledge of the persistent effects of COVID-19 on people of varying ages, as well as diagnosis, treatment, vaccination, and future preventative measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Gut microbiota in insulin resistance: a bibliometric analysis.

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is considered the pathogenic driver of diabetes, and can lead to obesity, hypertension, coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome, and other metabolic disorders. Accumulating evidence indicates that the connection between gut microbiota and IR. This bibliometric analysis aimed to summarize the knowledge structure of gut microbiota in IR. Methods: Articles and reviews related to gut microbiota in IR from 2013 to 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), and the bibliometric analysis and visualization were performed by Microsoft Excel, Origin, R package (bibliometrix), Citespace, and VOSviewer. Results: A total of 4 749 publications from WoSCC were retrieved, including 3 050 articles and 1 699 reviews. The majority of publications were from China and USA. The University Copenhagen and Shanghai Jiao Tong University were the most active institutions. The journal of Nutrients published the most papers, while Nature was the top 1 co-cited journal, and the major area of these publications was molecular, biology, and immunology. Nieuwdorp M published the highest number of papers, and Cani PD had the highest co-citations. Keyword analysis showed that the most frequently occurring keywords were "gut microbiota", "insulin-resistance", "obesity", and "inflammation". Trend topics and thematic maps showed that serum metabolome and natural products, such as resveratrol, flavonoids were the research hotspots in this field. Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis summarised the hotspots, frontiers, pathogenesis, and treatment strategies, providing a clear and comprehensive profile of gut microbiota in IR. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01342-x.

Genome-wide association study identifies 30 obsessive-compulsive disorder associated loci.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects ~1% of the population and exhibits a high SNP-heritability, yet previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have provided limited information on the genetic etiology and underlying biological mechanisms of the disorder. We conducted a GWAS meta-analysis combining 53,660 OCD cases and 2,044,417 controls from 28 European-ancestry cohorts revealing 30 independent genome-wide significant SNPs and a SNP-based heritability of 6.7%. Separate GWAS for clinical, biobank, comorbid, and self-report sub-groups found no evidence of sample ascertainment impacting our results. Functional and positional QTL gene-based approaches identified 249 significant candidate risk genes for OCD, of which 25 were identified as putatively causal, highlighting WDR6, DALRD3, CTNND1 and genes in the MHC region. Tissue and single-cell enrichment analyses highlighted hippocampal and cortical excitatory neurons, along with D1- and D2-type dopamine receptor-containing medium spiny neurons, as playing a role in OCD risk. OCD displayed significant genetic correlations with 65 out of 112 examined phenotypes. Notably, it showed positive genetic correlations with all included psychiatric phenotypes, in particular anxiety, depression, anorexia nervosa, and Tourette syndrome, and negative correlations with a subset of the included autoimmune disorders, educational attainment, and body mass index.. This study marks a significant step toward unraveling its genetic landscape and advances understanding of OCD genetics, providing a foundation for future interventions to address this debilitating disorder.

[Research progress on curcumin improving chronic low-grade inflammation and related diseases].

Chronic low-grade inflammation(CLGI), a relatively new concept without a clear definition, refers to a nonspecific, chronic, continuous, and low-grade inflammation state, and it is closely associated with various chronic diseases, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and tumors. Improvement of CLGI can slow down disease progression. Anti-inflammatory treatment is an important strategy for prevention and treatment of CLGI. However, there is currently no definitive drug treatment method. Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound extracted from the rhizome of zingiberaceae, with significant anti-inflammatory activity. Research has shown that curcumin can play an anti-inflammatory role by regulating NF-κB, JAK/STAT, PI3K/Akt, MAPK, NLRP3 inflammasome, Nrf2/ARE, and other inflammation-related pathways. This paper summarized the anti-inflammatory mechanisms, pharmacological effect, and clinical application of curcumin in improving CLGI and other diseases, so as to provide a reference for in-depth research and clinical application of curcumin in improving CLGI.

Effect of Different Drying Methods on the Quality of Oudemansiella raphanipes.

In this study, we used fresh Oudemansiella raphanipes as raw materials and pre-treated through hot air drying (HD), infrared radiation drying (ID), and vacuum freeze drying (VD) to investigate the effects of different drying methods on the rehydration rate, appearance quality, microstructure, and volatile flavor components of the dried products, as well as to determine the physicochemical properties and bioactivities of the polysaccharides in the dried O. raphanipes. The results showed that the VD O. raphanipes had the highest rehydration rate and the least shrinkage in appearance, and it better maintained the original color of the gills, but their aroma was not as strong as that of the HD samples. The scanning electron microscopy results indicate that VD maintains a good porous structure in the tissue, while HD and ID exhibit varying degrees of shrinkage and collapse. Seventy-five common volatile substances were detected in the three dried samples, mainly alkanes, alcohols, and esters. The polysaccharides (PS-H, PS-I, and PS-V) extracted from the dried samples of these three species of O. raphanipes had similar infrared spectral features, indicating that their structures are basically consistent. The highest yield was obtained for PS-V, and the polysaccharide content and glucuronic acid content of PS-I were higher than those of the remaining two polysaccharides. In addition, PS-V also showed better antioxidant activity and inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase as well as α-amylase. In conclusion, among the above three drying methods, the quality of O. raphanipes obtained by vacuum freeze drying is the best, and this experiment provides a theoretical basis for the selection of drying methods for O. raphanipes.

[Distribution of usual vitamin intake and prevalence of inadequate intake among Chinese adults in 2015].

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the usual vitamin intake and the prevalence of inadequate intakes among Chinese adults in 2015, and to provide a scientific basis for developing nutrition intervention strategies and measures for target populations. METHODS: Data was drawn from the Chinese Nutrition and Health Surveillance 2015-2017, a nationally representative cross-sectional study. The multistage stratified whole-group random sampling method was used to draw participants from 298 surveillance sites in 31 provinces(autonomous regions and municipalities). Participants with no available information or abnormal energy intake were excluded, and finally, a total of 72 231 participants aged 18 years and older were included in the current study. The dietary data of the participants were collected by the 24-hour dietary recall method combined with the condiment weighing method for three consecutive days. The National Cancer Institute method was used to estimate the distribution of the usual intake of vitamin B_1(thiamine), vitamin B_2(riboflavin), niacin, vitamin C(ascorbic acid), and vitamin E(tocopherol), and the prevalence of inadequate intake was evaluated based on estimated average requirement or adequate intake from the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes 2023. RESULTS: The usual intake of vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B_1, vitamin B_2 and niacin were 27.93 mg/d, 77.67 mg/d, 0.78 mg/d, 0.62 mg/d and 13.15 mg/d, respectively. The prevalence of inadequate intake was, in descending order, vitamin B_2(95.98%), vitamin B_1(86.73%), vitamin C(63.70%), niacin(39.81%), and vitamin E(21.17%). The prevalence of inadequate vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B_1 and niacin intake among females was higher than among males(P<0.01). Overall, the prevalence of inadequate vitamin intake increased with age. Rural residents had a higher prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin C, vitamin B_2 and niacin than urban residents(P<0.01). Except for vitamin E, the prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamins decreased with increasing education levels. The prevalence of inadequate intake of these five vitamins was higher among participants with lower income levels than those with middle or high income(P<0.01). Participants with normal weight had a higher prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin E than those with overweight or obesity and had a higher prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin C than those with obesity. However, participants with normal weight had a higher prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin E than those with overweight or obesity, with the differences being statistically significant(P<0.01). Except for vitamin E, the prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamins decreased with increasing physical activity intensity. CONCLUSION: In 2015, the usual intake of dietary vitamins of Chinese adults was low. There are differences in usual intakes of vitamins and prevalence of inadequate vitamin intake for adults aged 18 years and above in males and females, different age groups, urban and rural areas, education levels, household income levels, body mass index and physical activity intensity.

[Association between habitual tea consumption and 10-year cardiovascular risk among Chinese mid-aged and elderly].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between habitual tea consumption and 10-year cardiovascular disease risk among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. METHODS: China Nutrition and Health Surveillance 2015 applied a stratified, multistage, and random sampling method. The current study selected middle-aged and elderly participants aged 45 and older, and they were investigated by basic information survey, dietary survey based on the food frequency questionnaire, physical measurements including height, weight, and blood pressure, and a laboratory examination with fasting blood samples. Habitual tea consumption was defined by asking about the number of cups of tea usually consumed per day in the past 12 months, and the risk of cardiovascular disease incidence was calculated using the Framingham risk score over a 10-year period. The association between tea consumption and 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in this population was analyzed using multiple logistic regression, and further analyzed using gender as a stratification factor. RESULTS: A total of 42 704 Chinese middle-aged and elderly were included in this study, with an average age of(59.4±9.4) years, 20 104 males and 22 600 females, 17 194 in urban areas and 25 510 in rural areas. For tea drinking, there were 12 519(29.32%) tea drinkers in the included sample, of which 4153(9.73%) consumed 1-2 cups/d, 3336(7.81%) 3-4 cups/d, and 5030(11.78%) ≥5 cups/d. For 10-year cardiovascular risk, 28 267 participants(66.19%) were estimated to be low risk, while 14 437(33.81%) were in the high risk. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, place of residence, education, income, marital status, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, participation in medical examination within one year, DASH dietary score, energy intake and chronic disease status, the result showed a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease over a 10-year period among those who consumed 3-4 cups/d compared with those who did not consume tea(OR=0.820, 95%CI 0.719-0.934, P_(trend)=0.03). When stratified by gender, both gender showed participants who consumed 3-4 cups/d had a lower risk for cardiovascular disease than those who did not consume tea(males: OR=0.849, 95%CI 0.722-0.997; females: OR=0.697, 95%CI 0.527-0.922). And the result was more pronounced among females. CONCLUSION: Moderate habitual tea consumption could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease among middle-aged and elderly Chinese people, and its protective effect is more pronounced among females.

Prevalence of Diabetes by BMI: China Nutrition and Health Surveillance (2015-2017) and U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2018).

Introduction: The risk of diabetes begins at a lower BMI among Asian adults. This study compares the prevalence of diabetes between the U.S. and China by BMI. Methods: Data from the 2015-2017 China Nutrition and Health Surveillance (n=176,223) and the 2015-2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=4,464) were used. Diagnosed diabetes was self-reported. Undiagnosed diabetes was no report of diagnosed diabetes and fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL or HbA1c ≥6.5%. Predicted age-adjusted prevalence estimates by BMI were produced using sex- and country-specific logistic regression models. Results: In China, the age-adjusted prevalence of total diabetes was 7.8% (95% CI=7.4%, 8.3%), lower than the 14.6% (95% CI=13.1%, 16.3%) in the U.S. The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was also lower in China than in the U.S. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes between China and the U.S. The distribution of BMI in China was lower than in the U.S., and the predicted prevalence of total diabetes was similar between China and the U.S. when comparing adults with the same BMI. The predicted prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was higher in China than in the U.S. for both men and women, and this disparity increased with BMI. When comparing adults at the same BMI, there was little difference in the prevalence of total diabetes, but diagnosed diabetes was lower in China than in the U.S., and undiagnosed was higher. Conclusions: Although differences in BMI appear to explain nearly all of the differences in total diabetes prevalence in the 2 countries, not all factors that are associated with diabetes risk have been investigated.

The effect of sequential extraction on the physicochemical and rheological properties of Naematelia aurantialba polysaccharides.

To overcome the difficulty of separation and low rate of extraction caused by highly viscous polysaccharides from Naematelia aurantialba (NA), four N. aurantialba polysaccharides (NAPs) were sequentially extracted using water (enzyme-/ultrasound-assisted extraction), alkali (0.1 mol/L NaOH), and acid (0.1 mol/L HCl), and named E-NAP, U-NAP, Al-NAP, and Ac-NAP. The properties of four NAPs were different. The yields of NAPs were 26.05 % (Ac-NAP) > 20.33 % (Al-NAP) > 17.99 % (U-NAP) > 12.77 % (E-NAP), respectively. The monosaccharide composition of NAPs was composed primarily of mannose, xylose, glucose, glucuronic acid, and galactose. Sequential extraction improved the purity and solubility of NAPs, but decreased the particle size, thermal stability, water retention, and crystallinity. Two polysaccharides, U-NAP and Al-NAP, had a triple helix structure. All the NAPs were pseudoplastic fluids with concentration/frequency-dependent entangled structure. Al-NAP with the highest viscosity exhibited an elastic gel, while Ac-NAP with the lowest viscosity was a viscous gel. The behavior of NAPs differed from that predicted using the Cox-Merz rule, and in particular, E-NAP and U-NAP more significantly deviated from the rule. In this study, four NAPs with different properties were extracted sequentially, which provided a theoretical basis for the down-stream processing with high added-value and utilization of NA and NAP.

Genomes of Meniocus linifolius and Tetracme quadricornis reveal the ancestral karyotype and genomic features of core Brassicaceae.

Brassicaceae represents an important plant family from both a scientific and economic perspective. However, genomic features related to the early diversification of this family have not been fully characterized, especially upon the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, which was followed by increasing aridity in the Asian interior, intensifying monsoons in Eastern Asia, and significantly fluctuating daily temperatures. Here, we reveal the genomic architecture that accompanied early Brassicaceae diversification by analyzing two high-quality chromosome-level genomes for Meniocus linifolius (Arabodae; clade D) and Tetracme quadricornis (Hesperodae; clade E), together with genomes representing all major Brassicaceae clades and the basal Aethionemeae. We reconstructed an ancestral core Brassicaceae karyotype (CBK) containing 9 pseudochromosomes with 65 conserved syntenic genomic blocks and identified 9702 conserved genes in Brassicaceae. We detected pervasive conflicting phylogenomic signals accompanied by widespread ancient hybridization events, which correlate well with the early divergence of core Brassicaceae. We identified a successive Brassicaceae-specific expansion of the class I TREHALOSE-6-PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 (TPS1) gene family, which encodes enzymes with essential regulatory roles in flowering time and embryo development. The TPS1s were mainly randomly amplified, followed by expression divergence. Our results provide fresh insights into historical genomic features coupled with Brassicaceae evolution and offer a potential model for broad-scale studies of adaptive radiation under an ever-changing environment.

A community-based cross-sectional study of dietary composition and associated factors among tuberculosis patients in China.

To determine the dietary structure and its associated factors of tuberculosis (TB) patients in the community. This cross-sectional study analysed the dietary intake of 300 TB patients in two impoverished counties in China. Food intake was collected by using food frequency and two consecutive 24-h dietary review (24hdr) methods. The dietary composition and dietary structure of TB patients were compared with China's 2022 Dietary Reference Intake (DRIs) and the average reference value of dietary composition (ARC) in China in 2013. Binary logistic regression models were used to explore the factors associated with inadequate intake of animal food, insufficient protein and fat energy supply in patients with TB. The daily intake of various foods in TB patients was measured and the results were as follows: staple foods-median 372.12 g (interquartile range [IQR] 315.87 g); vegetables-median 200.00 g (IQR 205.55 g); fruits-median 20.22 g (IQR 36.82 g); animal foods-median 100.82 g (IQR 180.74 g); dairy products-median 0.00 g (IQR 0.00 g); nuts-median 17.10 g (IQR 29.75 g). The average daily intakes of vegetables, fruits, animal food, dairy products, soy and nuts were lower than those recommended by the DRIs (P < 0.01). Compared to women, men consumed more whole grains and mixed legumes, but less fruit. The dietary structures, including food and nutrient supply for energy, protein and fat, were significantly different in 300 patients compared with DRIs or ARC values. Inadequate rates of animal food intake were observed in 54.85% of men and 59.57% of women. Protein undersupply rates were 66.02% in men and 56.38% in women, while fat undersupply rates were 52.91% in men and 52.13% in women. The study revealed that being 18-49 years old, being the Han nationality, having less than 2 h of physical activity per day on average, and eating twice a day were risk factors for inadequate animal protein intake, protein energy deficiency and fat energy deficiency. TB patients from impoverished counties in China have inadequate intake of several food categories and insufficient protein and fat energy supply, correlating with multiple factors in socio-demographics, behavioral practices, and TB disease. To improve the nutritional status of TB patients, urgent public health actions, especially carrying out nutritional screening and evaluation once diagnosed, developing individualized nutritional support treatment plans, strengthening dietary nutritional health education and intervention, and advocating for enhanced nutritional support, should be taken.

Conformationally regulated "nanozyme-like" cerium oxide with multiple free radical scavenging activities for osteoimmunology modulation and vascularized osseointegration.

Given post-operative aseptic loosening in orthopedic disease treatment, osteointegration occurs at the bone-implant interface as a holistic process, including immunoregulation (e.g., macrophage polarization), angiogenesis and osteogenesis in sequence. In order to achieve early rapid and satisfactory osseointegration, different nano-shaped (nanocone, nanopolyhedron and nanoflower abbr. NC, NP & NF) cerium oxide (CeO2-x) coatings, endowed with "nanozyme-like" activities for multiple free radical elimination and osteoimmunology regulation, were hydrothermally synthesized on titanium alloy (TC4). In vitro cell experiments showed that nano-CeO2-x coated TC4 not only induced polarization of RAW264.7 cells toward M2 phenotype, but also promoted angiogenesis and vascularization of endothelial cells along with differentiation and mineralization of osteogenic precursor cells. Improvements in M2-polarized macrophage, angiogenesis, and bone regeneration were further confirmed in a rat femoral condyle model. Among the above three nano-morphologies, NF exhibited the best osseoinetegration. RNA sequencing and mechanism exploration suggested that the inhibition of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway was essential for immunomodulatory capacity of NF. In conclusion, it provided promising insights into the immunomodulatory exploitation of orthopedic implants.

Bean and Nut Intake Were Protective Factors for Comorbid Hypertension and Hyperuricemia in Chinese Adults: Results from China Nutrition and Health Surveillance (2015-2017).

This study aimed to describe the prevalence of comorbid hypertension and hyperuricemia (HH) and detected the dietary factors for HH in Chinese adults aged 18 to 64 years. All of the data were collected from the China Nutrition and Health Surveillance 2015-2017, with a stratified, multistage, random sampling method on a national scale. A total of 52,627 adult participants aged 18~64 years from the CNHS 2015-2017 were included in this study. HH was identified as SUA level cut-offs for males and females of 420 µmol/L and 360 µmol/L, respectively, with mean systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or mean diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg and/or received antihypertensive treatment within two weeks. The differences in HH prevalence between or among the subgroups were compared by the Rao-Scott chi-square test. The correlations between HH and covariates or metabolic factors were detected by a weighted two-level multivariate survey logistic regression. The total weighted sufficient intake ratios of beans and nuts, vegetables, and red meat were 59.1%, 46.6%, and 64.8%, respectively. The weighted prevalence of HH in the total participants was 4.7% (95% CI: 4.3-5.0%). The positive effects of bean and nut on HH were observed. The participants who had sufficient bean and nut intake showed lower risk for HH (for the total participants: OR = 0.734, 95% CI = 0.611-0.881). The prevalence of HH might have been a public health problem, and bean and nut intake might be a protective factor for HH in the Chinese population.

Unleashing the potential of tungsten disulfide: Current trends in biosensing and nanomedicine applications.

The discovery of graphene ignites a great deal of interest in the research and advancement of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials. Within it, semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are highly regarded due to their exceptional electrical and optoelectronic properties. Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is a TMDC with intriguing properties, such as biocompatibility, tunable bandgap, and outstanding photoelectric characteristics. These features make it a potential candidate for chemical sensing, biosensing, and tumor therapy. Despite the numerous reviews on the synthesis and application of TMDCs in the biomedical field, no comprehensive study still summarizes and unifies the research trends of WS2 from synthesis to biomedical applications. Therefore, this review aims to present a complete and thorough analysis of the current research trends in WS2 across several biomedical domains, including biosensing and nanomedicine, covering antibacterial applications, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and anticancer treatments. Finally, this review also discusses the potential opportunities and obstacles associated with WS2 to deliver a new outlook for advancing its progress in biomedical research.

Disruption of CFAP418 interaction with lipids causes widespread abnormal membrane-associated cellular processes in retinal degenerations.

Syndromic ciliopathies and retinal degenerations are large heterogeneous groups of genetic diseases. Pathogenic variants in the CFAP418 gene may cause both disorders, and its protein sequence is evolutionarily conserved. However, the disease mechanism underlying CFAP418 mutations has not been explored. Here, we apply quantitative lipidomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic profiling and affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry to address the molecular function of CFAP418 in the retina. We show that CFAP418 protein binds to the lipid metabolism precursor phosphatidic acid (PA) and mitochondrion-specific lipid cardiolipin but does not form a tight and static complex with proteins. Loss of Cfap418 in mice disturbs membrane lipid homeostasis and membrane-protein associations, which subsequently causes mitochondrial defects and membrane-remodeling abnormalities across multiple vesicular trafficking pathways in photoreceptors, especially the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) pathway. Ablation of Cfap418 also increases the activity of PA-binding protein kinase Cα in the retina. Overall, our results indicate that membrane lipid imbalance is a pathological mechanism underlying syndromic ciliopathies and retinal degenerations which is associated with other known causative genes of these diseases.

Porous Titanium Scaffolds with Mechanoelectrical Conversion and Photothermal Function: A Win-Win Strategy for Bone Reconstruction of Tumor-Resected Defects.

Bone metastases severely threaten the lives of patients. Although surgical treatment combined with adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improves the survival rate of patients, tumor recurrence, or metastasis after surgical resection and bone defects caused by surgical treatment remain major challenges for clinicians. Given the abovementioned clinical requirements, barium titanate-containing iron-coated porous titanium alloy scaffolds have been proposed to promote bone defect repair and inhibit tumor recurrence. Fortunately, in vitro and in vivo experimental research confirms that barium titanate containing iron-coated porous titanium alloy scaffolds promote osteogenesis and bone reconstruction in defect repair via mechanoelectric conversion and inhibit tumor recurrence via photothermal effects. Furthermore, the underlying and intricate mechanisms of bone defect repair and tumor recurrence prevention of barium titanate-containing iron-coated porous titanium alloy scaffolds are explored. A win-win strategy for mechanoelectrical conversion and photothermal functionalization provides promising insights into bone reconstruction of tumor-resected defects.

Emerging Health Risks of Crumb Rubber: Inhalation of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals via Saliva During Artificial Turf Activities.

Crumb rubber (CR) is a commonly used infill material in artificial turf worldwide. However, the potential health risk associated with exposure to CR containing environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) remains under investigation. Herein, we observed the widespread presence of CR particles in the range of 2.8-51.4 µg/m3 and EPFRs exceeding 6 × 1015 spins/g in the ambient air surrounding artificial turf fields. Notably, the abundance of these particles tended to increase with the number of operating years of the playing fields. Furthermore, by analyzing saliva samples from 200 participants, we established for the first time that EPFR-carrying CR could be found in saliva specimens, suggesting the potential for inhaling them through the oral cavity and their exposure to the human body. After 40 min of exercise on the turf, we detected a substantial presence of EPFRs, reaching as high as (1.15 ± 1.00) × 1016 spins of EPFR per 10 mL of saliva. Moreover, the presence of EPFRs considerably increased the oxidative potential of CR, leading to the inactivation of Ca2+, redox reactions, and changes in spatial binding of the α-1,4-chain of salivary amylase to Ca2+, all of which could influence human saliva health. Our study provides insights into a new pathway of human exposure to CR with EPFRs in artificial turf infill, indicating an increased human health risk of CR exposure.

Association of the Protective Dietary Pattern for Blood Pressure with Elevated Blood Pressure and Hypertension among Chinese Children and Adolescents Aged 6-17 Years Old: Data from China Nutrition and Health Surveillance (2015-2017).

Studies focused on the association between dietary patterns and elevated blood pressure (BP) and hypertension (HTN) among children and adolescents remain insufficient. This study aimed to explore a dietary pattern that could be helpful for the prevention of abnormal BP and to investigate the association between this dietary pattern and elevated BP and HTN among Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 52,080 Chinese children and adolescents aged 6~17 years old from the China Nutrition and Health Surveillance (CNHS) 2015-2017 were included in the current study. The reduced rank regression (RRR) method was applied to derive a dietary pattern that is associated with BP. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between dietary pattern (DP) and elevated BP and HTN. The Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score was also calculated for each participant as a comparative method to validate the dietary pattern derived with the RRR method. A protective dietary pattern (PDP) for BP among Chinese children and adolescents was derived, which was characterized by high intakes of dairy products, mushrooms/edible fungi, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, fresh eggs, aquatic products, mixed legumes, soybeans and related products, offal, dried fruits, and coarse cereals, with low intakes of refined grains. After multiple adjustments, there were significant inverse associations between PDP scores and the odds of elevated BP and HTN (elevated BP: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.849, 95%CI = 0.755-0.931, P-trend < 0.05; HTN: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.795, 95%CI = 0.694-0.911, P-trend < 0.05). The DASH diet was also observed to have protective effects on elevated BP in model I (Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.899, 95%CI = 0.828-0.975, P-trend < 0.05), but was not observed to have protective effects on HTN (HTN: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.958, 95%CI = 0.876-1.048, P-trend > 0.05). The current study suggested that greater adherence to the PDP for BP among Chinese children and adolescents might be associated with lower odds of elevated BP and HTN.

[Changes of sweet beverage and unhealthy food consumption among infant and young child aged 6-24 months old in China].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the change of sweet beverage and unhealthy food consumption among infant and young child aged 6-23 months in 2013, 2016-2017, China. METHODS: Data was from the China Nutrition and Health Surveillance among Children and Lactating Women in 2013, 2016-2017.9983, 20 423 children aged 6-23 months old were involved respectively. The sweet beverage and unhealthy food consumption was analyzed with WHO and UNICEF 2021 updated infant and young child feeding indicators. Data analyses were conducted using the complex weight based on national census from National Bureau of Statistics in 2010. Rao-Scott Chi-square was used test for statistical difference. RESULTS: The proportions of sweet beverage consumption among children aged 6-23 months was 20.2%(95%CI 16.0%-24.4%) in 2013; it was 29.6% in large cities, and 14.0% in poor rural areas, but there was no significant difference in different areas. Compared with 2013, the proportions of sweet beverage consumption increased significantly in 2016-2017, reaching 51.7%(95%CI 48.9%-54.4%); it was 54.1% in medium and small cities, and 44.3% in large cities. The proportions of unhealthy food consumption among children aged 6-23 months was 31.2%(95%CI 23.2%-39.3%) in 2013; it was 46.3% in medium and small cities, and 16.3% in poor rural areas. Compared with 2013, the proportions of unhealthy food consumption was 35.6%(95%CI 33.6%-39.3%) in 2016-2017, and no significant difference was observed(Rao-Scott χ~2=0.96, P=0.33); It was 38.6% in medium and small cities, and reached 30% in large cities and poor rural areas. For those 2 indicators at the same survey, no consistent differences were observed between boys and girls and there was significant difference in various months of age(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: In China, the proportion of sweet beverage consumption among children aged 6-23 months has increased significantly, and the intake of unhealthy food is relatively stable. Children aged over 12 months and in rural areas need to be concerned about.