Can irisin be developed as the molecular evolutionary clock based on the origin and functions?

Irisin, a myokine identified in 2012, has garnered research interest for its capacity to induce browning of adipocytes and improve metabolic parameters. As such, the potential therapeutic applications of this exercise-induced peptide continue to be explored. Though present across diverse animal species, sequence analysis has revealed subtle variation in the irisin protein. In this review, we consider the effects of irisin on disease states in light of its molecular evolution. We summarize current evidence for irisin's influence on pathologies and discuss how sequence changes may inform development of irisin-based therapies. Furthermore, we propose that the phylogenetic variations in irisin could potentially be leveraged as a molecular clock to elucidate evolutionary relationships.

3DOF displacement sensor based on the self-imaging effect of optical micro-gratings.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) measurement system with high performance and high integration. Here, we report a 3DOF displacement sensor based on the self-imaging effect of optical micro-gratings. The optical field distribution behind a micro-grating with a period of 3 µm is analyzed theoretically. The transmission properties of a double-grating structure are investigated in theory. In the experiment, 3DOF displacement measurement within a range of 1 mm is demonstrated. Using an interpolation circuit with a subdividing factor of 1000, displacement measurement with a theoretical resolution of 3 nm is realized. The experimental resolution is ∼8n m. An error within 2 µm is obtained experimentally within a range of 1 mm for 3DOF measurement. With a few optical components such as a beam splitter prism and beam expanders, the sensor shows potential in developing ultra-compact multi-DOF displacement measuring systems. Together with a nanometric resolution, the 3DOF displacement sensor has shown great potential in applications such as high-precision mechanical engineering and semiconductor processing.

De Novo Assembly and Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes of Two Pueraria montana Varieties.

Pueraria montana is a species with important medicinal value and a complex genetic background. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the mitochondrial (mt) genomes of two varieties of P. montana. The mt genome lengths of P. montana var. thomsonii and P. montana var. montana were 457,390 bp and 456,731 bp, respectively. Both P. montana mitogenomes showed a multi-branched structure consisting of two circular molecules, with 56 genes annotated, comprising 33 protein-coding genes, 18 tRNA genes (trnC-GCA and trnM-CAU are multi-copy genes), and 3 rRNA genes. Then, 207 pairs of long repeats and 96 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in the mt genomes of P. montana, and 484 potential RNA-editing sites were found across the 33 mitochondrial protein-coding genes of each variety. Additionally, a syntenic sequence analysis showed a high collinearity between the two mt genomes. This work is the first to analyze the mt genomes of P. montana. It can provide information that can be used to analyze the structure of mt genomes of higher plants and provide a foundation for future comparative genomic studies and evolutionary biology research in related species.

An Investigation into the Stability Source of Collagen Fiber Modified Using Cr(III): An Adsorption Isotherm Study.

The enhanced hydrothermal stability of leather, imparted by little Cr(III), has traditionally been ascribed to strong coordinate bonds. However, this explanation falls short when considering that the heat-induced shrinking of collagen fiber is predominantly driven by rupturing weak H-bonds. This study explored the stability source via adsorption thermodynamics using collagen fiber as an adsorbent. Eleven isotherm models were fitted with the equilibrium dataset. Nine of these models aptly described Cr(III) adsorption based on the physical interpretations of model parameters and error functions. The adsorption equilibrium constants from six models could be transformed into dimensionless thermodynamic equilibrium constants. Based on the higher R2 of the van't Hoff equation, thermodynamic parameters (∆G°, ∆H°, ∆S°) from the Fritz-Shluender isotherm model revealed that the adsorption process typifies endothermic and spontaneous chemisorption, emphasizing entropy increase as the primary driver of Cr(III) bonding with collagen. Thus, the release of bound H2O from collagen is identified as the stability source of collagen fiber modified by Cr(III). This research not only clarifies the selection and applicability of the isotherm model in a specific aqueous system but also identifies entropy, rather than enthalpy, as the principal stability source of Cr-leather. These insights facilitate the development of novel methods to obtain stable collagen-based material.

[Index of microcirculatory resistance is associated with left ventricular remodeling in patients with acute anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing emergency primary percutaneous coronary intervention].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) is associated with left ventricular (LV) remodeling in acute anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. The patients with first anterior STEMI who received PPCI from January 2014 to August 2017 in Peking University Third Hospital was enrolled. After PPCI, IMR was measured immediately by using pressure/temperature guidewire. The success rate of IMR measurement was 100%. Also we collected some related clinical data from the medical records and laboratory results. Infarct size [assessed as creatine kinase (CK) peak], echocardiography at baseline and 1 year follow-up were assessed. LV adverse remodeling (LVAR) was defined as ≥20% increase in LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV). RESULTS: A total of forty-three patients were enrolled, with an average age of (58.7±12.4) years.The patients were divided into two groups as IMR ≤25 and IMR>25 by normal values recommended by previous literature. Compared with IMR ≤25 group, IMR>25 group had a higher percentage of initial thrombolysis in myocardial infraction (TIMI) grade 0 (95.7% vs. 65.0%, P=0.029), higher serum CK peak value [4 090 (383, 15 833)vs. 1 580 (396, 5 583), P=0.004]. The IMR>25 group suffered higher rates of ventricular aneurysm (30.4% vs. 5.0%, P=0.021). There was no difference in LVEDV [(111.0±18.8) mL vs. (115.0±23.6) mL, P=0.503] between the two groups 1 day after MI, but after 1 year, LVEDV in IMR>25 group was significantly higher than in IMR≤25 group [(141.5±33.7) mL vs. (115.9±27.9) mL, P=0.018]. The incidence of LVAR was more significant in IMR>25 group (47.4% vs. 11.8%, P=0.024). Binary Logistics regression showed that IMR [B=0.079, exp(B) (95%CI)=1.082 (1.018－1.149), P=0.011] and serum triglyceride level [B=1.610, exp(B) (95%CI)=5.005 (1.380－18.152), P=0.014] were the predictors of LVAR 1 year after MI. IMR had a good predictive value for LVAR 1 year after MI [area under the curve (AUC)=0.749, P=0.019], IMR>29 was a good cutoff value with sensitivity 81.8% and specificity 68.0%. CONCLUSION: Our study elaborates that immediate measurement of IMR after PPCI in patients with STEMI can reflect the microvascular function.And IMR could be used as a quantitative biomarker to predict LVAR after STEMI.

Mechanistic insights into poly(C)-binding protein hnRNP K resolving i-motif DNA secondary structures.

I-motifs are four-strand noncanonical secondary structures formed by cytosine (C)-rich sequences in living cells. The structural dynamics of i-motifs play essential roles in many cellular processes, such as telomerase inhibition, DNA replication, and transcriptional regulation. In cells, the structural dynamics of the i-motif can be modulated by the interaction of poly(C)-binding proteins (PCBPs), and the interaction is closely related to human health, through modulating the transcription of oncogenes and telomere stability. Therefore, the mechanisms of how PCBPs interact with i-motif structures are fundamentally important. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. I-motif structures in the promoter of the c-MYC oncogene can be unfolded by heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K), a PCBP, to activate its transcription. Here, we selected this system as an example to comprehensively study the unfolding mechanisms. We found that the promoter sequence containing 5 C-runs preferred folding into type-1245 to type-1234 i-motif structures based on their folding stability, which was further confirmed by single-molecule FRET. In addition, we first revealed that the c-MYC i-motif structure was discretely resolved by hnRNP K through two intermediate states, which were assigned to the opposite hairpin and neighboring hairpin, as further confirmed by site mutations. Furthermore, we found all three KH (hnRNP K homology) domains of hnRNP K could unfold the c-MYC i-motif structure, and KH2 and KH3 were more active than KH1. In conclusion, this study may deepen our understanding of the interactions between i-motifs and PCBPs and may be helpful for drug development.

Anxiety is associated with coronary microvascular dysfunction: Results from the CAMADA study.

OBJECTIVE: Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) is an important component of ischemic heart disease. Here, we assessed the associations between anxiety/depression and CMD using coronary microvascular function indicators. METHODS: The study included 81 patients (26 males and 55 females) with nonobstructive coronary artery disease. The symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured with Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale. Coronary microvascular function was assessed using coronary flow reserve (CFR) measured by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS: The anxiety group had significantly lower CFR than that in the no-anxiety group (2.97 ± 0.63 vs. 3.40 ± 0.61, p = .029). In bivariate correlation analysis, anxiety was negatively associated with CFR (r = -.333, p = .002). In the multiple linear regression model, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking status, and family history of premature coronary heart disease, anxiety was negatively associated with CFR (ß = -.314, p = .008). When both anxiety and depression were included in the multiple linear regression model, anxiety was also negatively associated with CFR (ß = -.345, p = .012). CONCLUSION: Anxiety patients had lower CFR, anxiety was independently associated with CFR. Psychological disorders may play an important role in coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Size-Regulated Hole and Triplet Energy Transfer from CdSe Quantum Dots to Organic Acceptors for Enhancing Singlet Oxygen Generation.

Triplet energy transfer (TET) from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is an emerging strategy for sensitizing molecular triplets that have great potential in many applications. Here, CdSe QDs with varying sizes and 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid (PCA) are selected as the triplet donor and acceptor, respectively, to study the TET and charge transfer dynamics as well as enhanced singlet oxygen (1O2) generation properties. The results from static and transient spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that both the TET and hole transfer occur at the QDs-PCA interface. The observed significant drop in TET efficiency from 52 to 8% with increasing QD size results from the reduced TET driving force between the QDs and PCA, which is further confirmed by the more efficient sensitization of the anthracene derivative with a large TET driving force. In contrast, the hole transfer efficiency displays a small decrease with an increasing QD size due to a slight change in the hole driving force. The sensitized PCA triplets show a good ability of 1O2 generation, and the 1O2 formation rate increases 10-fold as the QD size decreases from 3.3 to 2.4 nm. These findings provide a profound understanding of the TET and hole transfer mechanism from QDs to molecules and are significant in designing efficient 1O2 generation systems based on semiconductor QDs and triplet molecules.

Heterostructured Mo and Co-based phosphides as high-performance bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Transitional metal phosphides are efficient and durable electrocatalysts for water splitting. In this work, Mo-CoP/Co2P/NF heterostructures are reported to exhibit bifunctional electrocatalyst properties in various electrolytes. The Co phosphides were found to be possessing a hydrogenase-like structure in these heterostructures with P as the proton-acceptor site and Co as the hydride-acceptor site, making them highly active during the HER process. Moreover, the electronic structure of Co ions could be modified, or the transfer of electrons could be accelerated due to the different valence states of Mo. Additionally, the Mo centers possessed superior adsorption properties toward hydrogen. Consequently, excellent performance for the electrocatalytic HER was exhibited by the Mo-CoP/Co2P/NF-300 heterostructure with small overpotentials of 86.6 mV and 48 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1.0 M KOH and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions, respectively. Furthermore, it also exhibited efficient OER activity in an alkaline solution with a low overpotential of 245 mV at 30 mA cm-2. Post-analysis revealed the changes in the surface and the formation of Co oxyhydroxide during the OER process, and the formation of Co-P-O during the HER process. The high HER and OER performances are attributed to these transformations of morphologies and compositions. Consequently, a two-electrode electrolyzer based on Mo-CoP/Co2P/NF-300 required voltages of 1.59 V and 1.703 V at 20 mA cm-2 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively, and maintained long-term stability.

Triplet generation at the CdTe quantum dot/anthracene interface mediated by hot and thermalized electron exchange for enhanced production of singlet oxygen.

Triplet energy transfer (TET) from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to molecular triplets has potential applications in photon up-conversion and singlet oxygen generation. Here, we have constructed a complex consisting of CdTe QDs as the donor and 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid (ACA) as the triplet acceptor, and studied the TET pathways and enhanced singlet oxygen generation properties. The results from steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy demonstrate efficient TET with a total efficiency of over 80% from photoexcited CdTe QDs to ACA. Dynamical analysis clearly indicates two distinctive TET channels - hot electron exchange and thermalized electron exchange - mediating the TET process in the CdTe QDs-ACA complex. The TET efficiencies from hot electron exchange at high energetic levels and thermalized electron exchange on the lowest exciton state can reach ∼27% and ∼85%, respectively, following 530 nm excitation. This efficient TET endows the CdTe QDs-ACA complex with a good capability of generating singlet oxygen species with a yield of up to ∼59%. These findings contribute further insights to the mechanisms of interfacial TET processes and are significant in designing efficient TET systems based on semiconductor nanoparticles and triplet molecules.

Highly efficient U(VI) capture from nuclear wastewater by an easily synthesized lignin-derived biochar: Adsorption performance and mechanism.

The efficient recycling of uranium (U) by adsorbents remains challenging due to the strong interference from coexisting impurities, insufficient desorption efficiency, and weak irradiation instability. In this work, a novel lignin-derived biochar (AL/BC) with high surface area and abundant functional groups was developed through a green and simple pyrolysis process, and an adsorbent for U(VI) capture was used. The optimist AL/BC-600 exhibited ultrahigh adsorption capacity for U(VI) of 4007 mg/g, possessing a wide pH range of 1-11, and powerful anti-interference ability when coexisting with various common cations and anions. In addition, AL/BC-600 showed high tolerance even under strong irradiation at a dose of 350 kGy. Most importantly, after the tenth round of the adsorption-desorption cyclic utilization, the adsorption efficiency and desorption rate of AL/BC-600 were actually over 95% and 80%, respectively. Hence, this study provides a green and simple process for synthesizing a novel adsorbent for highly efficient U(VI) capture, not only paving a path for alleviating the increasingly serious energy crisis, but also facilitating the low-carbon and circular development of lignin.

[Knowledge graph analysis of pyroptosis research in traditional Chinese medicine based on VOSviewer and CiteSpace].

To explore the research hotspots and frontier directions of pyroptosis in the field of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), the authors searched CNKI and Web of Science for literature related to pyroptosis in TCM, screened literature according to the search strategy and inclusion criteria, and analyzed the publication trend of the included literature. VOSviewer was used to draw author cooperation and keyword co-occurrence network diagrams, and CiteSpace was employed for keyword clustering, emergence, and timeline view. Finally, 507 Chinese literature and 464 English literature were included, and it was found that the number of Chinese and English literature was increasing rapidly year by year. The co-occurrence of the authors showed that in terms of Chinese literature, there was a representative research team composed of DU Guan-hua, WANG Shou-bao and FANG Lian-hua, and for English literature, the representative research team was composed of XIAO Xiao-he, BAI Zhao-fang and XU Guang. The network visualization of Chinese and English keywords revealed that inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, autophagy, organ damage, fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and ischemia-reperfusion injury were the primary research diseases and pathological processes in TCM; berberine, resveratrol, puerarin, na-ringenin, astragaloside Ⅳ, and baicalin were the representative active ingredients; NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD, TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3, and p38/MAPK signaling pathways were the main research pathways. Keyword clustering, emergence, and timeline analysis indicated that the pyroptosis research in TCM focused on the mechanism of TCM monomers and compounds intervening in diseases and pathological processes. Pyroptosis is a research hotspot in the area of TCM, and the current discussion mainly focuses on the mechanism of the therapeutic effect of TCM.

MetaCRS: unsupervised clustering of contigs with the recursive strategy of reducing metagenomic dataset's complexity.

BACKGROUND: Metagenomics technology can directly extract microbial genetic material from the environmental samples to obtain their sequencing reads, which can be further assembled into contigs through assembly tools. Clustering methods of contigs are subsequently applied to recover complete genomes from environmental samples. The main problems with current clustering methods are that they cannot recover more high-quality genes from complex environments. Firstly, there are multiple strains under the same species, resulting in assembly of chimeras. Secondly, different strains under the same species are difficult to be classified. Thirdly, it is difficult to determine the number of strains during the clustering process. RESULTS: In view of the shortcomings of current clustering methods, we propose an unsupervised clustering method which can improve the ability to recover genes from complex environments and a new method for selecting the number of sample's strains in clustering process. The sequence composition characteristics (tetranucleotide frequency) and co-abundance are combined to train the probability model for clustering. A new recursive method that can continuously reduce the complexity of the samples is proposed to improve the ability to recover genes from complex environments. The new clustering method was tested on both simulated and real metagenomic datasets, and compared with five state-of-the-art methods including CONCOCT, Maxbin2.0, MetaBAT, MyCC and COCACOLA. In terms of the number and quality of recovered genes from metagenomic datasets, the results show that our proposed method is more effective. CONCLUSIONS: A new contigs clustering method is proposed, which can recover more high-quality genes from complex environmental samples.

Angiographic quantitative flow ratio-guided coronary intervention (FAVOR III China): a multicentre, randomised, sham-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Compared with visual angiographic assessment, pressure wire-based physiological measurement more accurately identifies flow-limiting lesions in patients with coronary artery disease. Nonetheless, angiography remains the most widely used method to guide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In FAVOR III China, we aimed to establish whether clinical outcomes might be improved by lesion selection for PCI using the quantitative flow ratio (QFR), a novel angiography-based approach to estimate the fractional flow reserve. METHODS: FAVOR III China is a multicentre, blinded, randomised, sham-controlled trial done at 26 hospitals in China. Patients aged 18 years or older, with stable or unstable angina pectoris or patients who had a myocardial infarction at least 72 h before screening, who had at least one lesion with a diameter stenosis of 50-90% in a coronary artery with a reference vessel of at least 2·5 mm diameter by visual assessment were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned to a QFR-guided strategy (PCI performed only if QFR ≤0·80) or an angiography-guided strategy (PCI based on standard visual angiographic assessment). Participants and clinical assessors were masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was the 1-year rate of major adverse cardiac events, a composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or ischaemia-driven revascularisation. The primary analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03656848). FINDINGS: Between Dec 25, 2018, and Jan 19, 2020, 3847 patients were enrolled. After exclusion of 22 patients who elected not to undergo PCI or who were withdrawn by their physicians, 3825 participants were included in the intention-to-treat population (1913 in the QFR-guided group and 1912 in the angiography-guided group). The mean age was 62·7 years (SD 10·1), 2699 (70·6%) were men and 1126 (29·4%) were women, 1295 (33·9%) had diabetes, and 2428 (63·5%) presented with an acute coronary syndrome. The 1-year primary endpoint occurred in 110 (Kaplan-Meier estimated rate 5·8%) participants in the QFR-guided group and in 167 (8·8%) participants in the angiography-guided group (difference, -3·0% [95% CI -4·7 to -1·4]; hazard ratio 0·65 [95% CI 0·51 to 0·83]; p=0·0004), driven by fewer myocardial infarctions and ischaemia-driven revascularisations in the QFR-guided group than in the angiography-guided group. INTERPRETATION: In FAVOR III China, among patients undergoing PCI, a QFR-guided strategy of lesion selection improved 1-year clinical outcomes compared with standard angiography guidance. FUNDING: Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the National Clinical Research Centre for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital.

Switchable multi-functional broadband polarization converter in terahertz band.

In this work, we propose a multi-functional broadband terahertz polarization converter based on graphene-VO2 hybrid metamaterial, which can switch between transmissive linear-to-linear conversion and reflective linear-to-circular conversion. The function of the metamaterial can be controlled by both the temperature and the Fermi energy of the graphene. At 298K, the metamaterial converts the y-polarized wave into x-polarized wave in 0.39-1.22THz. In the meanwhile, changing the Fermi energy of graphene, the converted polarization angle can be tuned from 90° to 45°. Increasing the temperature to 358K, the incident linearly polarized wave is reflected into circularly polarized wave. On this condition, tuning the Fermi energy, the metamaterial can separately convert the linear polarization wave into left-circularly polarized wave in 1.57-2.74THz and right-circularly polarized wave in 1.13-1.59THz. Such a switchable multi-functional broadband polarization converter may achieve potential applications in compact terahertz devices and integrated terahertz circuits.

Function switchable broadband wave plate based on the Au-VO2 hybrid metasurface.

In recent years, the integration of active materials into a metasurface to achieve tunable devices has attracted much attention. Here, we design an Au-VO2 hybrid metasurface, which can switch between quarter-wave plate and half-wave plate due to the phase transition of VO2. At 298 K, the proposed structure acts as a quarter-wave plate in the 0.87-1.2 THz band, achieving the mutual conversion between linear polarization and circular polarization. Raising the temperature to 358 K, it works as a broadband half-wave plate in the range of 0.65-1.45 THz, with the reflective chirality preservation of circular polarization and the cross-polarization conversion of linear polarization. In the above cases, the response efficiencies are both above 90%. The switchable multifunction results from the tunable geometric phase of the metasurface, where the elaborately designed Au and VO2 blocks separately bring the phase of π/2. Furthermore, the electric field and current density distributions are employed to explain the physical mechanisms leading to the different functions. Such an active broadband metasurface is expected to find applications in tunable and multifunction devices manipulating the polarization and phase of terahertz waves.

Evaluate the Correlation between the TIMI Frame Count, IMR, and CFR in Coronary Microvascular Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between the TIMI frame count, IMR, and CFR in coronary microvascular disease (slow flow phenomenon). METHODS: TFC and IMR were recorded in the nitroglycerin and ATP administration states, and the relationship between TFC, IMR, and CFR in specific states was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients with baseline TFC >25 frames on coronary angiography were enrolled, and nitroglycerin reduced TFC by 50% from baseline in 24 (58.54%) patients; 16 of the remaining 17 patients were able to achieve a 50% reduction in TFC by further intracoronary ATP injection. 10 patients were further tested for IMR, and the results showed significant correlations between baseline TFC and IMR (r = 0.775, P=0.008), TFC and IMR after nitroglycerin (r = 0.875, P=0.001), and the minimal TFC and IMR that could be obtained with nitroglycerin or ATP administration (r = 0.890, P=0.001). There was also a significant correlation between the proportional improvement in TFC and CFR before and after nitroglycerin injection (r = 0.685, P=0.029). In addition, we observed a lower IMR measured after nitroglycerin than after ATP in three patients, suggesting that CMD may be dominated by NO-sensitive vascular such as prearterioles and that an extensive analysis of the target site of CMD may be achieved by stepwise drug administration. CONCLUSION: Induction of TFC in different states by a stepwise drug approach may serve as a potential primary screening method for coronary microcirculatory dysfunction, thereby reducing the need for further IMR or CFR testing.

The first feline immunodeficiency virus from Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in northeastern China.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) naturally infects more than 20 kinds of felines and poses a serious threat to their health, but there has been little research on FIV in tigers. In this study, 320 captive Siberian tigers (225 from Harbin, 55 from Hailin, and 40 from Shenyang) were tested for FIV by nested PCR, and three Siberian tigers from Hailin were FIV positive (5.45%). From these three animals, FIV gene fragments, gag-p26 (444 nt) from samples HD094 and HD1786 and pol-RT (576 nt) and pol-RNase (730 nt) from sample HD631, were sequenced and found to share more than 99% sequence identity with FIV subtype A from domestic cats. This is the first time FIV has been detected in Siberian tigers in China.

Validation of the nutrient-rich foods index estimated by 24-h dietary recall method among adults in Henan province of China.

OBJECTIVE: A family of nutrient-rich food (NRF) indices was validated against the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) and their associations with obesity were tested. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. NRF indices include nutrients to encourage ranging from 6-11 (protein; fibre; vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12; Ca; Fe; K; Mg; Zn) and two nutrients to limit (saturated fat and Na), described as NRFn.2 (where n 6-11), based on reference amount of 100 g or 100 kcal using the NRF index family of algorithms. The percentage of variation in MAR (R2) was the criteria of index performance. Logistic regression models were applied to predict the association between NRF index and obesity. SETTING: Three communities in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 656 adults were recruited from Henan as the subjects. RESULTS: The NRF9·2 index, based on nine beneficial nutrients and two nutrients to limit, using the algorithm based on sums and 100 kcal, had the higher R2 values (R2 = 0·232). The OR for overweight (defined by BMI) in the 4th quartile (Q4) v. the 1st quartile (Q1) of the NRF9·2 index was 0·61 (95 % CI = 0·37, 0·98) after multiple adjustments. CONCLUSION: NRF9·2 index using the algorithm based on sums and 100 kcal gave the best predicted model for diet quality. NRF9·2 index score was associated with overweight defined by BMI, but it was not associated with central obesity. The NRF9·2 index is a valid tool to assess the overall diet quality among adults in Henan province of China.

Alcohol consumption patterns and the risk of sarcopenia: a population-based cross-sectional study among chinese women and men from Henan province.

OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia is a clinically relevant syndrome with health, social, and economic implications. Alcohol consumption is one of the risk factors for sarcopenia, but it has not been fully investigated in Chinese populations. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns (including the volume and frequency of alcohol consumption) and sarcopenia or its elements among Chinese women and men from Henan Province. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was designed to collect information about nutrition and health in Henan Province, China, and a total of 680 individuals were studied. Sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria updated in 2019. Alcohol consumption was calculated in grams per day and divided into three groups. Drinking frequency was divided into four groups. We assessed the likelihood that sarcopenia was associated with drinking patterns using multiple logistic regression analysis by odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) after multiple adjustments. RESULTS: We found that men who consumed > 25 g of ethanol per day were approximately three times more likely to have low muscle mass (OR, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.10-17.05) or low grip strength (OR, 3.39; 95% CI, 1.33-9.92) than nondrinkers after multiple adjustments. In addition, males who consumed alcohol more than 4 times per week were approximately threefold to fivefold more likely to have low muscle mass (OR, 4.99; 95% CI, 1.24-25.55) or low grip strength (OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 1.40-8.74) than nondrinkers. Unfortunately, we did not find a relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and sarcopenia or gait speed among males, and there was no association between alcohol consumption patterns and sarcopenia or any elements. CONCLUSION: Heavy alcohol consumption and frequent drinking are important risk factors for low muscle mass and muscle strength in Chinese men from Henan province.