Regulating Microstructure and Macroscopic Properties in Saturated Salt Solutions Containing Disordered Anions and Cations by Magnetic Field.

Saturated aqueous salt solutions have diverse applications in food production, mineral processing, pharmaceuticals, and environmental monitoring. However, the random and disordered arrangement of ions in these solutions poses limitations across different fields. In this study, we employ magnetic fields to regulate the disordered arrangement by a comprehensive methodology combining contact angle measurement, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and molecular dynamics simulations on saturated KCl solutions. Our findings reveal that weak magnetic fields impede the formation of K-Cl contact pairs and disrupt hydrogen bond networks, particularly DDAA and free OH types. However, they facilitate the interaction between water molecules and ions, leading to an increase in the number of K-O and Cl-H contact pairs, along with an expansion in ion hydration radius. These changes affect macroscopic properties, including the interaction with solid substrates and potential solubility increases. Our experimental and simulation results mutually validate each other, contributing to a theoretical framework for studying magnetic field-material interactions.

Intestinal Microbiota Is a Key Target for Load Swimming to Improve Anxiety Behavior and Muscle Strength in Shank 3-/- Rats.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social disorder and stereotypical behavior, and its incidence rate is increasing yearly. It is considered that acritical period for the prognosis of young children with ASD exists, thus early treatment is crucial. Swimming, due to its comforting effect, is often used to induce enthusiasm in young children for completing activities and has a good effect in the treatment of ASD, but the effective path of swimming has yet to be reported. The intestinal microbiota of ASD patients and animal models has been reported to be different from that of healthy controls, and these changes may affect the brain environment. Therefore, whether the intestinal microbiota is involved in the treatment of ASD by early swimming is our concern. In this study, we used 8-day old Shank3 gene knockout rats with 8 weeks of early load swimming training and conducted behavioral, small intestine morphology, and intestinal content sequencing after training. The results showed that early load swimming significantly reduced the stereotyped and anxious behaviors of Shank3-/- rats, increased their muscle strength, increased the length of intestinal villi and the width of the muscular layer after Shank3 knockout, and affected the abundance of intestinal microorganisms. The abundances with statistical significance were Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae, and Alloprevotella. To further confirm the role of intestinal microorganisms in it, we designed a 14-day intestinal stool transplantation experiment. Fecal microbiota transplantation demonstrated that load swimming can significantly reduce the anxiety behavior of Shank3 rats, increase their muscle strength, change the structure of the small intestine, and affect the abundance of intestinal contents. The abundance of Epsilonbateraeota, Prevotella, and Bacteroides significantly changed after transplantation. Our findings confirm the possibility of early load swimming therapy for individuals with ASD and explain that the intestinal microbiota is a key pathway for early exercise therapy for patients with ASD.

Exercise Changes Gut Microbiota: A New Idea to Explain that Exercise Improves Autism.

The effect of exercise interventions on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been demonstrated in many studies, and the discovery of a bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiome (GM) and the central nervous system (CNS) has led to the concept of the microbial gut-brain axis (MGBA) and has linked the abnormal GM to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, autism being one of them. Research on improving the GM through exercise is also starting to come into focus. However, there are currently few studies on exercise intervention in the GM of autism. The purpose of this review was to find evidence to explore the possible potential effects of exercise to improve the behavior of individuals with autism in the MGBA in this treatment, as well as the potential of GM as an exercise treatment for autism. We will explore (1) changes in GM components of ASD and their relationship to the pathophysiology of ASD; (2) the relationship between exercise and changes in GM components, and (3) the effect of exercise on GM in CNS disorders. Ultimately, we concluded that Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Bacteroides, and Blautia may be potential effectors through the MGBA network during exercise to ameliorate ASD targeting microbiotas. They deserve high attention in the follow-up studies.

Swimming exercise is a promising early intervention for autism-like behavior in Shank3 deletion rats.

INTRODUCTION: SHANK3 is an important excitatory postsynaptic scaffold protein, and its mutations lead to genetic cause of neurodevelopmental diseases including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Philan McDermid syndrome (PMS), and intellectual disability (ID). Early prevention and treatment are important for Shank3 gene mutation disease. Swimming has been proven to have a positive effect on neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS: Shank3 gene exon 11-21 knockout rats were intervened by a 40 min/day, 5 day/week for 8-week protocol. After the intervention, the rats were tested to behavioral measures such as learning and memory, and the volume and H-spectrum of the brain were measured using MRI; hippocampal dendritic spines were measured using Golgi staining and laser confocal. RESULTS: The results showed that Shank3-deficient rats had significant deficits in social memory, object recognition, and water maze learning decreased hippocampal volume and number of neurons, and lower levels of related scaffold proteins and receptor proteins were found in Shank3-deficient rats. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that early swimming exercise has a positive effect on Shank3 gene-deficient rats, which provides a new therapeutic strategy for the prevention and recovery of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Use of Aspect Markers by Mandarin-speaking Children with High-Functioning Autism Plus Language Impairment and Children with Developmental Language Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigates the comprehension and production of four typical Mandarin aspect markers zai-, -le, -zhe, and -guo by preschool children with high functioning autism plus language impairment (HFA-LI) and those with developmental language disorder (DLD), by comparing them with typically developing age-matched (TDA) children. METHODS: Twenty children with HFA-LI (M/F: 18/2; mean age: 5.20), 20 with DLD (M/F: 11/9; mean age: 5.25), and 20 TDA children (M/F:14/6; mean age:5.27) completed a picture-choice task and priming picture-description task. The results were analyzed using non-parametric methods. RESULTS: In the comprehension task, the HFA-LI and DLD groups achieved lower accuracy than the TDA group on zai-, -le, and -guo. The comprehension of aspect markers in the HFA-LI and DLD groups was affected by lexical aspect. In the production task, the HFA-LI and DLD groups produced fewer sentences with the target aspect marker for all four aspect markers than the TDA group. However, they produced more sentences with bare verb forms for zai- and -guo than the TDA group. Furthermore, all three groups tended to combine aspect markers with their semantically inherent types of verbs (e.g, zai-+Activity verbs). The HFA-LI group produced more sentences irrelevant to the task than the other two groups for -zhe and -guo, and some children in the HFA-LI group produced ungrammatical sentences in which both the progressive zai- and perfective -le were used. CONCLUSIONS: Children with HFA-LI and DLD demonstrate similarities in the comprehension and production of Mandarin aspect markers, given their poor comprehension of the aspect markers zai-, -le and -guo, and poor production of all four aspect markers compared to their TDA peers. Their performance was also impacted by lexical aspect.

MSTN is an important myokine for weight-bearing training to attenuate bone loss in ovariectomized rats

Weight-bearing training, as one of resistance exercises, is beneficial to bone health. Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and development. Animals lacking MSTN show increased bone mineral density (BMD). The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effect of weight-bearing training on bone loss in ovariectomized rats and whether it was related to MSTN. In this study, the rats were randomly assigned to three group: Sham-ovariectomized (Sham), ovariectomized (OVX), ovariectomized and weight-bearing training (OWT). The rats in the OWT group ran at 20-m/min bearing with 35% of their body weight for 6 days/week. After 10 weeks, compared with the OVX group, weight-bearing training increased the BMD of total femur and trabecular bone by 8.13% and 57.44%, respectively. The OVX-induced destruction of bone microarchitecture including the thickness and number of trabeculae and bone volume fraction was all significantly improved (9.26%, 47.68%, 63.03%) in the OWT group. The OVX-induced degradation of bone mechanical properties was significantly enhanced in the OWT group (maximum load increased by 35.46%, stiffness increased by 89.19%, energy absorption increased by 53.4%; elastic modulus increased by 26.3%). Ten-week weight-bearing training also significantly upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of Wnt1 and β-catenin, which is crucial in bone development. Compared with the Sham group, MSTN in serum and muscle increased in the OVX group, but it decreased in the OWT group compared with the OVX group. Its receptor ActRIIB and downstream molecules Smad2/3 in the OVX group were downregulated in bone by weight-bearing training. The results indicated that MSTN is an important myokine for weight-bearing training to attenuate bone loss in ovariectomized rats. (AU)

MSTN is an important myokine for weight-bearing training to attenuate bone loss in ovariectomized rats.

Weight-bearing training, as one of resistance exercises, is beneficial to bone health. Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and development. Animals lacking MSTN show increased bone mineral density (BMD). The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effect of weight-bearing training on bone loss in ovariectomized rats and whether it was related to MSTN. In this study, the rats were randomly assigned to three group: Sham-ovariectomized (Sham), ovariectomized (OVX), ovariectomized and weight-bearing training (OWT). The rats in the OWT group ran at 20-m/min bearing with 35% of their body weight for 6 days/week. After 10 weeks, compared with the OVX group, weight-bearing training increased the BMD of total femur and trabecular bone by 8.13% and 57.44%, respectively. The OVX-induced destruction of bone microarchitecture including the thickness and number of trabeculae and bone volume fraction was all significantly improved (9.26%, 47.68%, 63.03%) in the OWT group. The OVX-induced degradation of bone mechanical properties was significantly enhanced in the OWT group (maximum load increased by 35.46%, stiffness increased by 89.19%, energy absorption increased by 53.4%; elastic modulus increased by 26.3%). Ten-week weight-bearing training also significantly upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of Wnt1 and ß-catenin, which is crucial in bone development. Compared with the Sham group, MSTN in serum and muscle increased in the OVX group, but it decreased in the OWT group compared with the OVX group. Its receptor ActRIIB and downstream molecules Smad2/3 in the OVX group were downregulated in bone by weight-bearing training. The results indicated that MSTN is an important myokine for weight-bearing training to attenuate bone loss in ovariectomized rats.

Molecular and Metabolic Mechanism of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Improving Muscle Atrophy in Hindlimb Unloading Rats.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been proved to promote the proliferation of myoblast C2C12. However, whether LIPUS can effectively prevent muscle atrophy has not been clarified, and if so, what is the possible mechanism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of LIPUS on muscle atrophy in hindlimb unloading rats, and explore the mechanisms. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal control group (NC), hindlimb unloading group (UL), hindlimb unloading plus 30 mW/cm2 LIPUS irradiation group (UL + 30 mW/cm2), hindlimb unloading plus 80 mW/cm2 LIPUS irradiation group (UL + 80 mW/cm2). The tails of rats in hindlimb unloading group were suspended for 28 days. The rats in the LIPUS treated group were simultaneously irradiated with LIPUS on gastrocnemius muscle in both lower legs at the sound intensity of 30 mW/cm2 or 80 mW/cm2 for 20 min/d for 28 days. C2C12 cells were exposed to LIPUS at 30 or 80 mW/cm2 for 5 days. The results showed that LIPUS significantly promoted the proliferation and differentiation of myoblast C2C12, and prevented the decrease of cross-sectional area of muscle fiber and gastrocnemius mass in hindlimb unloading rats. LIPUS also significantly down regulated the expression of MSTN and its receptors ActRIIB, and up-regulated the expression of Akt and mTOR in gastrocnemius muscle of hindlimb unloading rats. In addition, three metabolic pathways (phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis; alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism; glycine, serine and threonine metabolism) were selected as important metabolic pathways for hindlimb unloading effect. However, LIPUS promoted the stability of alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism pathway. These results suggest that the key mechanism of LIPUS in preventing muscle atrophy induced by hindlimb unloading may be related to promoting protein synthesis through MSTN/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and stabilizing alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism.

MSTN is a key mediator for low-intensity pulsed ultrasound preventing bone loss in hindlimb-suspended rats.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been used to accelerate bone fracture healing. However, the issue whether LIPUS is effective in preventing osteoporosis has not been clarified, and if so, what possible mechanisms might be responsible. Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of muscle growth, and its absence will trigger a positive response to bone. In this study, we examined the effects of LIPUS on bone micro-structure, mechanical properties and damage healing of hindlimb-suspended rats, and investigated whether the inhibition of MSTN plays a role in this process. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: Normal control group (NC), Hind limb suspension group (HLS), Hind limb suspension and 80 mW/cm2 LIPUS irradiation group (HLS+ 80 mW/cm2), Hind limb suspension and 30 mW/cm2 LIPUS irradiation group (HLS+ 30 mW/cm2). The HLS+ 80 mW/cm2 rats were treated with LIPUS (1 MHz, 80 mW/cm2) and the HLS+ 30 mW/cm2 rats were treated with LIPUS (1 MHz, 30 mW/cm2) on the femur for 20 min/day for 28 days. MC3T3-E1 cells were respectively cultured with the serum of wild type mouse and MSTN knockout mouse at 1% concentration for 7 days. After 28 days, LIPUS effectively prevented the destruction of bone microstructure and the decline of mechanical properties, and promoted bone defect healing in the tail-suspended rats. In addition, LIPUS effectively reduced the MSTN content in the quadriceps and serum of the tail-suspended rats, inhibited its receptor and downstream signaling molecules and activated the Wnt signaling pathway in femurs. Growth of MC-3T3-E1 cell cultured with the serum of MSTN knockout mice was superior to that with wild mice serum on day 7. These results indicate that MSTN is a key mediator in LIPUS preventing bone loss caused by hindlimb-suspension.

Comprehension of the Presupposition Trigger Ye "Also" by Mandarin-Speaking Preschoolers With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been reported to be widely impaired in their understanding of linguistic expressions that rely on elements of the context or norms of communication. The accurate interpretation of sentences conveying presuppositions often relies on such content, however, little previous research has investigated the ASD population's understanding of these sentences. The present study attempts to remedy this by exploring the understanding that Mandarin-speaking preschoolers with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers have of sentence containing the presupposition trigger ye "also". We used a Picture Selection Task and found that Mandarin-speaking preschool children with ASD performed significantly worse than their TD peers with regard to their understanding of the presuppositional content of sentences containing this presupposition trigger. Additionally, in contrast with previous results, TD preschoolers' understanding of this presupposition trigger was found to be adult-like. We attribute this to an improved experimental design.

The Interpretation of Disjunction in the Scope of Dou in Child Mandarin.

A recent theory provides a unified cross-linguistic analysis of the interpretations that are assigned to expressions for disjunction, Negative Polarity Items, Free Choice Items, and the non-interrogative uses of wh-phrases in languages such as Mandarin Chinese. If this approach is on the right track, children should be expected to demonstrate similar patterns in the acquisition of these linguistic expressions. Previous research has found that, by age four, children have acquired the knowledge that both the existential indefinite renhe "any" and wh-words in Mandarin Chinese are interpreted as Negative Polarity Items when they are bound by downward entailing operators, but the same expressions are interpreted as Free Choice Items (with a conjunctive interpretation) when they are bound by deontic modals (Mandarin keyi) or by the Mandarin adverbial quantifier dou "all". The present study extends this line of research to the Mandarin disjunction word huozhe. A Truth Value Judgment Task was used to investigate the possibility that disjunction phrases that are bound by the adverbial quantifier dou generate a conjunctive interpretation in the grammars of Mandarin-speaking 4-year-old children. The findings confirmed this prediction. We discuss the implications of the findings for linguistic theory and for language learnability.

Association of Trajectory of Cardiovascular Health Score and Incident Cardiovascular Disease.

Importance: The American Heart Association 2020 Strategic Impact Goals target an improvement in overall cardiovascular health, as assessed by 7 health metrics (smoking, body weight, physical activity, diet, plasma glucose level, plasma cholesterol level, and blood pressure). Objective: To examine whether trajectories of overall cardiovascular health over time, as assessed by the cardiovascular health score (CHS) in 2006, 2008, and 2010, are associated with subsequent risk of CVD. Design, Setting, and Participants: The Kailuan study is a prospective, population-based study that began in 2006. The cohort included 74 701 Chinese adults free of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cancer in or before 2010. In the present study, CHS trajectories were developed from 2006 to 2010 to predict CVD risk from 2010 to 2015. Data analysis was performed from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2015. Exposures: The CHS trajectories during 2006-2010 were identified using latent mixture models. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incident CVD events (myocardial infarction and stroke) during 2010-2015 were confirmed by review of medical records. The CHS trajectories were determined using 7 cardiovascular health metrics scored as poor (0 points), intermediate (1 point), and ideal (2 points); total score ranges from 0 (worst) to 14 (best). Based on the baseline CHS and patterns over time, 5 trajectories were categorized (low-stable, moderate-increasing, moderate-decreasing, high-stable I, and high-stable II). Results: Of the 74 701 adults included in the study (mean [SD] age at baseline, 49.6 [11.8] years), 58 216 (77.9%) were men and 16 485 (22.1%) were women. Five CHS trajectories were identified from 2006 to 2010: low-stable (n = 4393; range, 4.6-5.2), moderate-increasing (n = 4643; mean increase from 5.4 to 7.8), moderate-decreasing (n = 14 853; mean decrease from 7.4 to 6.3), high-stable I (n = 36 352; range, 8.8-9.0), and high-stable II (n = 14 461; range, 10.9-11.0). During 5 years of follow-up, 1852 incident CVD cases were identified. Relative to the low-stable trajectory, the high-stable II trajectory was associated with a lower subsequent risk of CVD (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.16-0.26, after adjusting for age, sex, educational level, income, occupation, alcohol intake, and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration at baseline). Conclusions and Relevance: Cardiovascular health trajectories may be associated with subsequent CVD risk.

Effect of premature birth on long-term systolic blood pressure variability in women.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of premature birth (PTB) on long-term systolic blood pressure (SBP) variability (SBPV) in women. METHODS: A total of 1974 pregnant women were divided into PTB group and non-PTB (NPTB) group. The SBP standard deviation (SSD) was calculated by four annual SBP values measured in 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, and 2012-2013. SBP coefficient of variation (SCV) was calculated by dividing SSD with mean SBP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influence of PTB on long-time SSD and SCV in women. RESULTS: SSD and SCV of the PTB group (10.95 mm Hg and 9.05%, respectively) were higher than those of the NPTB group (9.81 mm Hg and 8.23%, respectively), but there were no significant differences (p>0.05). The number of patients with SSD >9.87 mm Hg and SCV >8.28% in the PTB and NPTB groups was 57 (51.40%) and 62 (55.90%) and 747 (40.10%) and 841 (45.10%), respectively. The number of patients with SSD >9.87 mm Hg and SCV >8.28% in the PTB group was significantly higher than that in the NPTB group (p<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting other risk factors, the PTB group was at a risk of SSD and SCV elevations with OR values of 1.60 (95% CI: 1.06-2.40) and 1.64 (95% CI: 1.10-2.45), respectively. CONCLUSION: PTB is a risk factor of long-time SBPV in women, which might be a potential reason for cardiovascular events. Pregnancy may be an important opportunity for early identification of women at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.

Relationship between systolic blood pressure and all-cause mortality: a prospective study in a cohort of Chinese adults.

BACKGROUND: The association between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and all-cause mortality in Chinese adults remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the relationship of SBP with all-cause mortality in Chinese men and women. METHODS: One hundred twenty-one thousand eighty-two employees of the Kailuan Group Corporation, aged 18 or older, who participated in physical examination from 2006 to 2007 or from 2008 to 2009, were enrolled and followed up for all-cause mortality. The information used to ascertain the outcome of death during follow-up was extracted from provincial vital statistics offices, hospitalization records from the 11 hospitals, or medical records from medical insurance companies. RESULTS: The average age was 50.06 ± 12.85 in the overall sample. Over 7 years of follow-up, 5945 participants, including 5520 men and 425 women had all-cause mortality. After multivariate adjustment, men in SBP group of <100, 120-139, 140-159, 160-179 and ≥180 mmHg had hazard ratios (HR) of 1.46 (1.14-1.86), 1.14 (1.04-1.26), 1.29 (1.16-1.44), 1.57 (1.38-1.79) and 2.07 (1.76-2.43), respectively, and displayed significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with SBP in the range of 100-119 mmHg. Compared with the group of 100-119 mmHg, women in SBP group of 140-159, 160-179 and ≥180 mmHg had significantly greater risk with HRs of 1.44 (95% CI, 1.01-2.07), 1.63 (95% CI, 1.04-2.55) and 2.31 (95% CI, 1.27-4.20). CONCLUSIONS: Either lower (<100 mmHg) or higher (>120 mmHg) SBP was associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk and a J-shaped relationship was observed between SBP and all-cause mortality in men. Only SBP exceeding 140 mmHg was related to a higher risk in women. The relationship between SBP and all-cause mortality among Chinese adults may differ by sex.

Cross-section analysis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis and higher brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity within Kailuan study.

BACKGROUND: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality. However, there is no related data on the association of baPWVwith coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). We explored the baPWV in subjects withCWP and the associated risk factors. METHODS: Thiscase-control study included 1,007 male CWP cases without a history of stroke and coronary heart disease and 1,007 matched controls from the Kailuan cohort study. All of the participants underwent assessment for baPWV and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The cumulative silica dust exposure (work history linked to a job-exposure matrix) was estimated for the CWP cases. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the CWP cases had higher baPWV (1762.0 ± 355 cm/s vs. 1718.6 ± 354 cm/s, P = 0.006) and a higher risk of increased baPWV (defined as more than the median baPWV of the population distribution; odds ratio 1.43, 95% confidence interval 1.11-1.83) after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Age ≥60 years, body mass index, heart rate, and hypertension were all significantly associated with increased baPWV in the CWP cases. Compared to non-CWP subjects without hypertension, the odds ratios for increased baPWV gradually increased (P for trend, 0.001) across the CWP subjects without hypertension (odds ratio 1.20, 95%confidence interval 0.90-1.61), subjects with hypertension alone (odds ratio 2.54, 95% confidence interval 1.95-3.30), and CWP subjects with hypertension (odds ratio 3.34, 95% confidence interval 2.56-4.37). We detected a significant positive exposure-response relationship between silica dust-exposure quartiles and increased baPWV in CWP cases (P for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with CWP, increased baPWV was associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors and long-term silica dust exposure.

Association of long-term blood pressure variability and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity: a retrospective study from the APAC cohort.

We investigated associations between long-term blood pressure variability (BPV) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Within the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community (APAC) study, we retrospectively collected long-term BPV and baPWV measures. Long-term BPV was calculated using the mean and standard deviation of systolic blood pressure (SBP) across 4 years based on annual values of SBP. In total, 3,994 subjects (2,284 men) were eligible for inclusion in this study. We stratified the study population into four SBP quartiles. Left and right baPWV was higher in participants with long-term SBPV in the fourth quartile compared with the first quartile (left: 1,725 ± 488 vs. 1,461 ± 340 [p < 0.001]; right: 1,722 ± 471 vs. 1,455 ± 341 [p < 0.001], respectively). We obtained the same result for total baPWV (fourth vs. first quartile: 1,772 ± 429 vs. 1,492 ± 350 [p < 0.001]). Furthermore, there was a trend for gradually increased baPWV (≥1,400 cm/s) with increased SBPV (p < 0.001). After multivariable adjustment, baPWV was positively correlated with long-term BPV (p < 0.001). In conclusion, long-term BPV is significantly associated with arterial stiffness as assessed by baPWV.

Positive changes in ideal CVH metrics reduce the incidence of stroke.

The American Heart Association defined 7 ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and the benefits of them in reducing the incidence of stroke are well established, but it is unclear whether changes in them alter stroke risk. We calculated the changes of 7 ideal CVH metrics from 2006 to 2008 among 64,373 participants in the Kailuan study. We tested whether changes in the numbers and total scores for the CVH metrics were associated with the incidence of stroke in the 4.89 person-years follow-up. Cox regression modeling was used to estimate the risk of stroke. By year 2008, CVH metrics number of 32.54% participants improved (change ≥+1); 31.90% deteriorated (≤-1); 35.56% stayed the same; In the follow-up,we identified1,182 incident stroke events. Each increase in CVH metrics and every 1-point increase in total CVH score from 2006 to 2008 were associated with reduced odds of total stroke (hazard ratio = 0.87; 95% confidence interval; 0.83-0.92 and 0.89[0.86-0.92] respectively), after adjusting for age, gender, educational level, income and scores for the metrics of ideal CVH at baseline. Positive changes in ideal CVH metrics reduce the incidence of stroke. Our results support the concept that achieving ideal CVH helps to prevent stroke.

[The impact of long- and short-time blood pressure variability on glomerular filtration rate in elderly population].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of long-time and short-time blood pressure variability (BPV) on glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in elderly population. METHODS: A total of 2 464 participants aged of ≥60 years old without history of stroke and coronary heart disease were selected with random sampling method from the individuals underwent health check up in Tangshan Kailuan Hospital, Kailuan Linxi Hospital, Kailuan Zhaogezhuang Hospital between 2006 and 2013. The study participants were asked to join a face-to-face interview every two years. Long-time BPV was defined as the standard deviation of all SBP values at the baseline visit and following visits, short-time BPV was defined as the standard deviation of day time blood pressure and night time blood pressure which was derived from 24 hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Multivariate linear regression models were used to test the impact of long- and short-time BPV on eGFR. RESULTS: The study included 3 participants groups including the long-time SBPV group (2 279 participants), the short-time SBPV group (1 636 participants) and the long- plus short-time SBPV group (1 632 participants). Participants were further sub grouped by median value (NO.1median value). eGFR in the long-time SBPV NO.1 and NO.2 group was 83.19 and 81.49 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) respectively, in the short time SBPV NO.1 and NO.2 group was 83.53 and 80.81ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) of the day time, and was 83.20 and 81.14 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) of the night time, respectively. eGFR in the long- plus short-time SBPV NO.1 and NO.2 group was 83.21 and 81.08 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) of the long-time SBPV, and was 83.53 and 80.75 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) of the day time, and was 83.18 and 81.11 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) of the night time. Significant linear relationship was found between higher day time SBPV and lower eGFR (P<0.05). After adjusting for confounding parameters including age, sex, body mass index, 1 mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) of day time SBPV increase was related 0.21 ml·min(-1)·1.73 m(-2) eGFR decrease (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The higher day time SBPV is associated with reduced eGFR in the elderly population.Clinical Trail Registry Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-TNC-11001489.

Relationship between cardiovascular health score and year-to-year blood pressure variability in China: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: On the basis of cardiovascular health factors and behaviours, the American Heart Association proposed the Cardiovascular Health Score (CHS). It has been widely used to estimate the cardiovascular health status of individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CHS and year-to-year blood pressure variability (BPV). DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTINGS: We stratified participants into two groups by gender: first group, female group; second group, male group. The relationship between CHS and year-to-year blood pressure variability were analysed. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 41,613 individuals met the inclusion criteria (no history of stroke, transient ischaemic attack, myocardial infarction, malignant tumour or atrial fibrillation) and had complete blood pressure data. RESULTS: The coefficient of the variation of systolic blood pressure (SCV) was 8.33% in the total population and 8.68% and 8.22% in female and male groups, respectively (p<0.05). Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that higher CHS was inversely associated with increasing year-to-year BPV, which persisted after adjusting for baseline systolic blood pressure and other risk factors. Each SD increase in CHS could lead to a 0.016SD decrease in SCV (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, CHS was inversely related to year-to-year BPV, which suggested that a healthy lifestyle may contribute to better blood pressure management.

Changes in cardiovascular health score and atherosclerosis progression in middle-aged and older persons in China: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The American Heart Association (AHA) proposed a definition of 4 cardiovascular health behaviours and 3 health factors. On the basis of the 7 metrics, the cardiovascular health score (CHS) was used to estimate individual-level changes in cardiovascular health status. The aim of this study was to investigate whether changes in CHS (⊿CHS) at different time-points are associated with atherosclerosis progression in middle-aged and older persons. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study in China. SETTINGS: We defined 8 groups (≤-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 and ≥ 3) according to ⊿CHS. The impact of ⊿CHS on the change of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (⊿baPWV) and atherosclerosis progression was analysed. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3951 individuals met the inclusion criteria (≥ 40 years old; no history of stroke, transient ischaemic attack or myocardial infarction) and had complete information. RESULTS: ⊿baPWV decreased gradually (126.46 ± 355.91, 78.4 ± 343.81, 69.6 ± 316.27, 49.59 ± 287.57, 57.07 ± 261.17, 40.45 ± 264.27, 37.45 ± 283.26 and 21.66 ± 264.17 cm/s, respectively) with increasing ⊿CHS (p for trend<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis suggested a negative relationship between these 2 variables, which persisted after adjustment for other risk factors. Each increase in CHS was associated with a reduced baPWV for 15.22 cm/s (B value -15.22, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ⊿CHS were negatively related to ⊿baPWV, which proved to be an independent predictor of the progression of atherosclerosis in middle-aged and older persons. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Kailuan study (ChiCTR-TNC-11001489).