OBJECTIVE: Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects. METHODS: We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies. RESULTS: We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011-2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007-2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity. CONCLUSION GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Humans ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Linear Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Environmental Pollutants ; Body Mass Index

Objective To evaluate the value of pre-ascent 6-minute walking test performed at a high altitude in predicting the incidence of acute mountain sickness(AMS)induced by rapid ascent to a very high altitude.Methods After baseline information was collected,participants completed the 6-minute walking test at a high altitude of 2 900 m.Then,they rapidly ascended to a very high altitude of 5 000 m.The Lake Louise score was recorded to assess AMS.Results The AMS group showed a shorter pre-ascent 6-minute walking distance(6MWD)at the high altitude than the non-AMS group[480.00(450.00,521.75)m vs.546.00(516.50,568.50)m,P=0.006].No difference was observed regarding the pre-ascent heart rate or peripheral oxygen saturation(both P>0.05).The pre-ascent 6MWD at the high altitude was negatively correlated with the Lake Louise score assessed after rapid ascent to the very high altitude(r=-0.497,P=0.012).Logistic regression analysis confirmed that the pre-ascent 6MWD at the high altitude was associated with the risk of AMS induced by rapid ascent to the very high altitude(OR=0.971,95% CI=0.947-0.996,P=0.022).The results indicated that the pre-ascent 6MWD demonstrated ideal prediction performance(area under receiver operating characteristic curve=0.846,P=0.006).Conclusion The pre-ascent 6MWD recorded at the high altitude is a convenient and reliable predictor of the AMS induced by rapid ascent to the very high altitude.
Humans ; Altitude Sickness/diagnosis* ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; Acute Disease ; Walk Test ; Walking ; Altitude ; Exercise Test

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) combined with lower cervical fracture is often categorized into unstable fracture, with a high incidence of neurological injury and a high rate of disability and morbidity. As factors such as shoulder occlusion may affect the accuracy of X-ray imaging diagnosis, it is often easily misdiagnosed at the primary diagnosis. Non-operative treatment has complications such as bone nonunion and the possibility of secondary neurological damage, while the timing, access and choice of surgical treatment are still controversial. Currently, there are no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture with or without dislocation. To this end, the Spinal Trauma Group of Orthopedics Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts to formulate Clinical guidelines for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis combined with lower cervical fracture in adults ( version 2024) in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine, scientificity and practicality, in which 11 recommendations were put forward in terms of the diagnosis, imaging evaluation, typing and treatment, etc, to provide guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture.

This paper applied gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), network pharmacology and nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy (¹H NMR) metabolomics techniques to study the material basis and mechanism of action of Ning Shen Essential Oil in anti-insomnia. The main volatile components of Ning Shen Essential Oil were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the insomnia-related targets were predicted using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analytical Platform (TCMSP) and the databases of GeneCards, OMIM and Drugbank. The insomnia model of rats was replicated by intraperitoneal injection of 4-chloro-DL-phenylalanine (PCPA). Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Ethics No.: SDUTCM20221025010). The modulating effect of Compound Ning Shen Essential Oil on anxiety behavior of rats was evaluated by behavioral related indexes. The serum levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenotropic corticotropic hormone (ACTH) and melatonin (MT) were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Rat serum and hippocampus were taken for nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) metabolomics to detect the changes of endogenous metabolites in rat serum hippocampus, to designate the differential metabolites and to construct metabolic pathways. The results showed that the exercise distance in the open field experiment and the number of times and time to enter the open arm in the elevated cross maze experiment of the rats in the model group were significantly reduced (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The behavioral indexes of rats improved to different degrees after the administration of Ning Shen Essential Oil. The serum CRH and ACTH levels of rats in the model group increased significantly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and the MT level decreased significantly (P < 0.01); After the intervention, serum CRH and ACTH levels were reduced to different degrees, and MT levels could be regressed. ¹H NMR metabolomics screened 10 potential biomarkers related to insomnia, which involved in 6 potential metabolic pathways. A total of 35 components of Ning Shen Essential Oil were detected by GC-MS, the main component targets of Ning Shen Essential Oil and insomnia disease targets were intersected, a total of 172 intersecting genes were screened, and 26 core targets were identified. The study demonstrated that Ning Shen Essential Oil had protective effects against PCPA-induced insomnia in rats, which was probably correlated with regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) related hormones and metabolism of amino acids, lipids and choline.

Objective To investigate the effects of trigonelline combined with aerobic exercise on hyperlipidemia rats and its mechanism.Methods SD rats were randomly divided into control group(normal diet),model group(hyperlipidemia rat model was established by feeding high fat diet),experimental-L,-H groups(high fat diet+15,45 mg·kg-1 trigonelline)and combine group(high fat diet+45 mg·kg-1 trigonelline+aerobic exercise).Each group had 11 rats.Serum lipid metabolism related indexes were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer.Serum levels of 6 ketone prostaglandin F1a(6-keto-PGF1a);the levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase(GOT)in liver tissue were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay;the mRNA levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)in liver tissue were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR);Western blot assay was used to detect the expression of proprotein convertase subtilin/kexin 9 type(PCSK9)and low density lipoprotein receptor(LDLR)protein in liver tissue.Results The serum TC levels in control group,model group,experimental-L group,experimental-H group and combine group were(1.81±0.10),(6.68±0.77),(5.10±0.44),(3.57±0.47)and(2.40±0.35)mmol·L-1;the levels of 6-keto-PGF1a were(841.47±86.74),(536.03±36.50),(664.06±52.44),(759.19±52.30)and(824.45±67.62)pg·mL-1;GOT levels were(11.95±0.88),(18.20±1.81),(15.05±1.10),(13.32±0.98)and(12.47±0.83)U·L-1;IL-1β mRNA expression levels were 1.00±0.09,2.21±0.17,1.57±0.10,1.26±0.16 and 1.14±0.09;the expression of PCSK9 protein were 0.39±0.07,0.88±0.08,0.71±0.08,0.60±0.04 and 0.52±0.07;LDLR protein levels were 1.12±0.13,0.52±0.07,0.74±0.11,0.84±0.08 and 0.96±0.11,respectively.Model group was compared with the control group,experimental-L group and experimental-H group were compared with model group respectively,combine group was compared with the experimental-H group,the differences of the above indexes were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Trigonelline combined with aerobic exercise may inhibit the expression of PCSK9 and up-regulate the expression of LDLR to improve lipid metabolism,so as to play a lipid-lowering role in hyperlipidemia rats.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of rosuvastatin on liver injury induced by high fat diet in hyperlipidemia rats.Methods All rats were randomly divided into control group,model group and experimental group,with 10 rats in each group.Except the control group,hyperlipidiosis model rats were fed with high-fat diet combined with alcohol to construct hyperlipidiosis model rats.The experimental group was given 10 mg·kg-1 rosuvastatin by gavage,control group and model group were given gavage with 10 mL·kg-1 distilled water,once a day for 4 weeks.Serum lipids and liver function were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)was used to analyze the expression of microRNA(miR)-185-3p and mastermind like transcription coactivator 1(MAML1);the expression levels of MAML1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)were detected by Western blot.Results The liver tissue injury scores of control group,model group and experimental group were 0.32±0.15,4.03±1.62 and 2.36±1.14;the TG levels were(4.95±0.86),(6.75±1.42)and(5.51±0.91)mmol·L-1;the TC were(2.36±0.48),(5.11±2.05)and(3.24±1.39)mmol·L-1;the LDL-C were(0.67±0.16),(1.73±0.42)and(1.03±0.25)mmol·L-1;the HDL-C were(0.72±0.23),(0.51±0.14)and(0.64±0.11)mmol·L-1;the GOT were(158.31±32.46),(253.19±49.27)and(187.52±53.46)U·L-1;the GPT values were(53.17±6.81),(79.64±13.92)and(55.63±9.11)U·L-1.Compared with the control group,the expression of miR-185-3p in the model group was significantly down-regulated,the expression of MAML1 and iNOS was significantly increased.Compared with the model group,the expression of miR-185-3p in the liver tissue of experimental group was significantly up-regulated,while the expression of MAML1 and iNOS was significantly decreased(all P＜0.05).There were statistically significant differences in the above indexes between the control group and the model group(P＜0.05);the above data in the model group were statistically significant compared with the experimental group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Rosuvastatin inhibits the expression of MAML1 and iNOS by regulating miR-185-3p,thereby improving the liver injury induced by hyperlipidemia in rats.

Objective To investigate the effect of naringin on hyperlipidemia in mice and to elucidate its mechanism.Methods C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group,hyperlipidemia group and naringin group.Mice in hyperlipidemia group and naringin group were fed high-fat diet for 4 weeks,and hyperlipidemia model was established.The control group was fed normal diet.After successful modeling,naringin group mice were intragastric with 200 mg·kg-1 naringin per day,and mice in control group and hyperlipemia group were intragastric with 0.9％NaCl per day for 5 weeks.The blood of mice was collected for lipid detection.The activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and catalase(CAT)and the contents of malondialdehyde(MDA)and glutathione(GSH)were detected by biochemical method.Western blot was used to detect the protein expression.Results The activity of SOD in liver tissue of mice in control group,hyperlipidemia group and naringin group were(58.43±6.27),(37.16±4.10)and(51.23±4.81)U·mg prot-1,respectively;CAT activities were(176.11±13.59),(112.65±10.02)and(158.46±14.37)U·mg prot-1,respectively;the contents of MDA were(3.15±0.74),(12.62±2.07)and(5.76±1.83)U·mg prot-1;the contents of GSH were(91.52±11.47),(34.16±4.62)and(71.64±8.79)U·mg prot-1,respectively;the relative protein expression levels of induced nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)were 0.28±0.05,4.26±1.13 and 0.94±0.19;the relative protein expression levels of adenosine 5'-monophosphate activated protein kinase(AMPK)were 1.32±0.18,0.84±0.11 and 1.49±0.16,respectively;the relative protein expression levels of cholesterol regulatory element binding protein(SREBP)were 1.76±0.24,5.78±1.21 and 2.93±0.42;the relative protein expression levels of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase(HMGCR)were 1.69±0.18,6.13±1.38 and 3.26±0.43,respectively.The above indexes in the control group and the naringin group were significantly different from those in the hyperlipidemia group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01,P＜0.001).Conclusion Naringin can effectively regulate the level of blood lipids,inhibit oxidative stress and apoptosis in hyperlipidemia mice,and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of AMPK/HMGCR/SREBP signaling pathway.

Accurate receptor/ligand binding free energy calculations can greatly accelerate drug discovery by identifying highly potent ligands. By simulating the change from one compound structure to another, the relative binding free energy (RBFE) change can be calculated based on the theoretically rigorous free energy perturbation (FEP) method. However, existing FEP-RBFE approaches may face convergence challenges due to difficulties in simulating non-physical intermediate states, which can lead to increased computational costs to obtain the converged results. To fundamentally overcome these issues and accelerate drug discovery, a new combined-structure RBFE (CS-FEP) calculation strategy was proposed, which solved the existing issues by constructing a new alchemical pathway, smoothed the alchemical transformation, increased the phase-space overlap between adjacent states, and thus significantly increased the convergence and accelerated the relative binding free energy calculations. This method was extensively tested in a practical drug discovery effort by targeting phosphodiesterase-1 (PDE1). Starting from a PDE1 inhibitor (compound 9, IC₅₀ = 16.8 μmol/L), the CS-FEP guided hit-to-lead optimizations resulted in a promising lead (11b and its mesylate salt formulation 11b-Mesylate, IC₅₀ = 7.0 nmol/L), with ∼2400-fold improved inhibitory activity. Further experimental studies revealed that the lead showed reasonable metabolic stability and significant anti-fibrotic effects in vivo.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) combined with spinal fractures with thoracic and lumbar fracture as the most common type shows characteristics of unstable fracture, high incidence of nerve injury, high mortality and high disability rate. The diagnosis may be missed because it is mostly caused by low-energy injury, when spinal rigidity and osteoporosis have a great impact on the accuracy of imaging examination. At the same time, the treatment choices are controversial, with no relevant specifications. Non-operative treatments can easily lead to bone nonunion, pseudoarthrosis and delayed nerve injury, while surgeries may be failed due to internal fixation failure. At present, there are no evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of AS combined with thoracic and lumbar fracture. In this context, the Spinal Trauma Academic Group of Orthopedics Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts to formulate the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ankylosing spondylitis combined with thoracolumbar fracture ( version 2023) by following the principles of evidence-based medicine and systematically review related literatures. Ten recommendations on the diagnosis, imaging evaluation, classification and treatment of AS combined with thoracic and lumbar fracture were put forward, aiming to standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment of such disorder.

The acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults have a higher rate of neurological injury and early death compared with atlas or axial fractures alone. Currently, the diagnosis and treatment choices of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults are controversial because of the lack of standards for implementation. Non-operative treatments have a high incidence of bone nonunion and complications, while surgeries may easily lead to the injury of the vertebral artery, spinal cord and nerve root. At present, there are no evidence-based Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults. To provide orthopedic surgeons with the most up-to-date and effective information in treating acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults, the Spinal Trauma Group of Orthopedic Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts in the field of spinal trauma to develop the Evidence-based guideline for clinical diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults ( version 2023) by referring to the "Management of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults" published by American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) in 2013 and the relevant Chinese and English literatures. Ten recommendations were made concerning the radiological diagnosis, stability judgment, treatment rules, treatment options and complications based on medical evidence, aiming to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults.