Objective To investigate the effects and anti-atherosclerotic mechanism of rosiglitazone on the expression of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) in atherosclerotic rabbits. Methods Twelve rabbits were randomly divided into two groups (6 each): control group (only high cholesterol diet for 6 weeks), rosiglitazone group [high cholesterol diet plus rosiglitazone 0.5mg/(kg?d) for 6 weeks]. ABCA1 expression and [3H] cholesterol efflux rates were evaluated by flow cytometry and liquid scintillation spectrometry, respectively. Enzymatic methods were used to assay serum lipids levels and cholesterol contents in tissues, and the atherosclerotic area of aorta was calculated by professional image analysis software. Results For the rabbits of both control and rosiglitazone group, the serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (NHDL-C) and apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) significantly went up when they took their cholesterol rich diet for 6 weeks (P0.05). Compared with control group, the ABCA1 expressions in monocytes, peritoneal macrophages, adipocytes and hepatocytes, as well as the cholesterol efflux rates in peritoneal macrophages, adipocytes and hepatocytes increased significantly (P

Objective To investigate the association with death for serum parameters at the time of diagnosis and its value in predicting the death in infants with hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS).Methods A retrospective case-control study was conducted on 108 children with HPS who were admitted to our center between July 2005 and July 2012.For each patient,demographic,laboratory data and outcome information were collected.The patients were divided into death and surviving groups based on the follow-up results.The relation between serum markers and death was examined using the COX proportional hazards model and decision tree.Results Of 108 infants with HPS,33 died corresponding to a fatality rate of 30.6％ and 90.3％ of deaths occurred within 8 weeks after diagnosis.Following features were significantly associated with death:white blood cells (WBC) ＜5 x 109/L (HR =9.08,95％ CI 3.07 ～ 26.87),hemoglobin ＜80 g/L (HR =6.15,95％ CI 1.68 ～ 22.49),albumin ＜ 28 g/L (HR =4.63,95％ CI 1.12 ～ 7.39),serum ferritin ＞ 1 100 μg/L (HR =3.05,95％ CI 1.28 ～ 16.75),trigeminal ganglion ≥4 mmol/L (HR =2.88,95％ CI 1.51 ～ 8.60),and prothromin time ≥ 16 s (HR =3.60,95 ％ CI 1.28 ～ 7.24),and fever for more than 2 weeks (HR =5.39,95％ CI 1.97 ～ 14.66).Decision tree demonstrated that the probability of death was as high as 100％ for infants with WBC ＜5 x 109/L and hemoglobin ＜ 80 g/L.The odds of dying was still 66.7％ for infants who had WBC≥5 × 109/L but reported trigeminal ganglion ≥4 mmol/L after having fever for more than 2 weeks.Conclusion The first 8 weeks after the onset of HPS is the critical period of treatment.There are several easily available serum predictors of early mortality in HPS infants,particularly the WBC and hemoglobin level,which may help guide treatment decisions.

Objective:To evaluate the relationship between chemokine CXC-ligand 16 (CXCL16) and natural killer T cells during renal fibrosis in mice with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods:Twenty-four healthy male C57BL/6 mice, aged 8-10 weeks, weighing 20-30 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=6 each) using a random number table method: control group (group C), AKI group, control+ rCXCL16 group (group C-rCXCL16) and AKI+ rCXCL16 group.In AKI-rCXCL16 and AKI groups, folic acid 250 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected to induce AKI in anesthetized mice, and rCXCL16 0.1 mg/kg and the equal volume of solution were intraperitoneally injected, respectively, at 3, 6, 9 and 12 days after injection of folic acid.The equal volume of solution and rCXCL16 were intraperitoneally injected at the corresponding time points in group C and group C-rCXCL16, respectively.The orbital blood samples were taken on day 14 after injection of folic acid for determination of the serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) concentrations.The renal tissues were obtained for measurement of the renal fibrosis size (using Sirius red staining and Masson staining), for determination of the expression of fibronectin (FN), collagen-Ⅲ (Col-Ⅲ) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) (by immunofluorescence) and expression of interleukin-4 (IL-4), mannose receptor (CD206) and arginase 1 (Arg-1) mRNA (by real-time polymerase chain reaction), and for evaluation of the ratio of CD1d Tetramer + -IL-4 + cells (by flow cytometry). Results:Compared with group C, the serum BUN and Cr concentrations were significantly increased, the renal fibrosis size was increased, the expression of IL-4, CD206, Arg-1 mRNA, FN, Col-Ⅲ and α-SMA was up-regulated, and the ratio of CD1d Tetramer + -IL-4 + cells was increased in AKI and AKI-rCXCL16 groups ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group C-rCXCL16 ( P>0.05). Compared with group AKI, the serum BUN and Cr concentrations were significantly increased, the renal fibrosis size was increased, the expression of IL-4, CD206, Arg-1 mRNA, FN, Col-Ⅲ and α-SMA was up-regulated, and the ratio of CD1d Tetramer + -IL-4 + cells was increased in group AKI-rCXCL16 ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The mechanism by which CXCL16 is involved in the process of renal fibrosis is related to the recruitment of natural killer T cells secreting IL-4 which regulates macrophage M2 polarization in mice with AKI.

Objective The current study aimed to evaluate whether the induction of macrophage inflammatory cytokines by Ox-LDL is related to the expression of ABCA1 pathway. Methods After THP1/PMA macrophages were transfected with ABCA1 antisense oligonucleotides (100nmol/L) followed by treatment with Ox-LDL (30mg/L), the expressions of ABCA1, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 mRNA and protein were determined by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot or ELISA. Results Ox-LDL induced expressions of ABCA1, ICAM-1, and MCP-1 at both mRNA and protein levels from THP1/PMA macrophages. Transfection with ABCA1 antisense oligonucleotides reduced ABCA1 mRNA levels after 3 and 6 hours and protein levels after 12 and 24 hours. The expression of ICAM-1 and MCP-1 induced by Ox-LDL was also decreased after inhibition of ABCA1 protein expression by ABCA1 antisense oligonucleotide decreased. Conclusion The induction of macrophage inflammatory cytokines by Ox-LDL is partially dependent on expression of ABCA1. Our studies disclose new functions of ABCA1 in macrophages.

Radar uses electromagnetic waves to detect， track and locate objects at certain distances， which is widely used in military， meteorological， navigation and other fields. Radar emits electromagnetic waves outward and produces non-ionizing radiation， which may be considered as a physical occupational hazard. Epidemiological surveys found that long-term exposure to radar is associated with various adverse health effects， which may be correlated to transmitted power and frequency of radar， location of radar antenna， position of workers， and shielding effectiveness of cabins where work station is located. Based on radar frequency and electromagnetic radiation intensity， this study summarizes the health effects of radar on occupational population exposed to radar.

Background Immigrant health is an key node in achieving the goal of universal health coverage proposed by 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The shock of severe public health emergency may exacerbate the original health-related contradictions of this group and bring more negative health effects. Objective To identify academic research hotspots and directions of immigrant health, and to examine trends in research hotspots before and after the public health emergency, so as to provide references to study immigrant health and response to public health emergency in the future. Methods Articles (document type) included in Web of Science core collection from 2017-01-01 to 2022-12-31 were retrieved. Microsoft Excel 2019 was used for descriptive analysis of included papers. VOSviewer 1.6.19 and CiteSpace 6.1.R6 were combined to draw cooperation maps of authors, institutions, and countries/areas to understand their cooperation and communication, and to draw keywords co-occurrence map, keywords clusters map, and keywords burst map to examine the hotspots and trends of immigrant health research before and after public health emergency. Results A total of 5997 papers pertaining to immigrant health from 2017 to 2022 were included, and the number of publications every year were overall on the rise generating a group of productive core authors. Institutions from the United States, Canada, and Northern Europe not only tightly cooperated within their countries/areas, but also cooperated frequently among countries/areas, forming an international cooperation network with the United States as its core. The keywords co-occurrence map showed that from 2017 to 2022, the research hotspots of immigrant health mainly focused on target groups of women, children, and refugees, and the study topics of mental health, acculturation, and care. The results of cluster analysis and further extraction found that the research topics in this field were divided into five categories: maternal and child health care, acculturation and mental health, health services, health equity, and chronic disease. The keywords burst map revealed that the research hotspots shifted from ethnic group, risk behavior, and sexes to COVID-19, health equity, social isolation, and victimization under the impact of public health emergency. Conclusion The cooperation and communication among study teams, institutions, and countries/areas have promoted the development of immigrant health study. Public health emergency has exacerbated the existing vulnerability of immigrants, and the topics related to health equity and social isolation of immigrants have raised attention becoming the research forefront. It is suggested that under the impact of public health emergency, corresponding public health policies are needed to mitigate health inequities and social support is also required for immigrants to ensure their physical and mental health.

Objective To establish an ideal model of the mitral valve,including the left heart and blood,and study the motion characteristics of the mitral valve in blood flow using the fluid-structure interaction(FSI)simulation.Methods Based on anatomical parameters,models of the mitral valve,left heart,and blood were established.The finite-elements combined immersed boundary method was used for FSI to simulate the motion of the mitral valve using the LS-DYNA software.Morphological,mechanical,and hemodynamic parameters were compared with those obtained from structural simulations.Results The morphological results of the mitral valve from the two simulations differed significantly,and the FSI results matched the ultrasound images.The stress distributions of the leaflets in the FSI and structural simulations were consistent.The maximum first principal stresses calculated by FSI and structural simulations were 1.48 MPa and 1.53 MPa,respectively,with a relative error of 3.27％.The fluid field in the left heart was complex with vortex structures,and the maximum mitral flow velocity was 1.02 m/s during diastole,consistent with the physiological data of healthy humans(0.89±0.15 m/s).Conclusions The morphological results of the mitral valve obtained from the FSI simulation were closer to those in the physiological state.FSI simulations can provide flow patterns that are indispensable for clinical diagnosis.Structural simulations are more efficient for studying leaflet stress distribution.

Microplastics refer to plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm. Because of their wide distribution in the environment, it has gradually become one of the environmental hot issues of global concern in recent years. Microplastics are characterized by small particle size and strong adsorption. Existing studies have confirmed the biotoxic effects of microplastics in marine organisms and in experimental animals, suggesting their potential harm to human health. However, there have been few studies on the effects of microplastics on human health, and the research results have been inconsistent. Therefore, by summarizing the recent domestic and foreign studies about human exposure to microplastics as well as their potential effects on human body, this paper provides ideas and theoretical basis for further exploring the effects of microplastics on human health and related mechanisms.

Background The Belt and Road Initiative is promoting the growth of the cross-border population, and there is still a lack of study on modifiable factors associated with health-related preventive behaviors among resident aliens in China. Public health events may highlight the relevant factors. Objective To conduct a pilot study to preliminarily identify potential modifiable factors associated with preventive behaviors among resident aliens in China, and to explore possible mediating effects of positivity and self-efficacy on the relationship between satisfaction of health services and preventive behaviors, aiming to provide ideas for further research in this direction. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among foreigners in a city of East China by using snowball sampling in July 2023. Based on the protection motivation theory, the Self-Efficacy Scale, Positivity Scale, Preventive Behaviors Scale, and Satisfaction of Health Services Scale were adopted in the survey. Cronbach's α coefficient was used to evaluate scale reliability. A structural equation model was constructed for validity test and path analysis. Maximum likelihood method was used for parameter estimation, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method was used to verify mediating effect. Results A total of 187 resident aliens were approached and 180 of them returned valid questionnaires. The Cronbach's α coefficients of the Self-Efficacy Scale, Positivity Scale, and Preventive Behaviors Scale were 0.904, 0.784, and 0.821, respectively. The M (P₂₅, P₇₅) scores of self-efficacy, positivity, preventive behaviors, and satisfaction of health services were 32 (27, 35), 29 (25, 30), 17 (14, 20), and 4 (3, 5), respectively. Statistically significant differences in the scores of preventive behaviors were identified among the participants by religious belief, geographical location, and economy (P<0.05). The results of path analysis showed that satisfaction of health services, positivity, and self-efficacy had direct positive effects on preventive behaviors (P<0.05), and positivity and self-efficacy played multiple mediation roles in the relationship between satisfaction of health services and preventive behaviors. The results of mediating effect test showed that the indirect effects of the three identified paths mediated by positivity and self-efficacy were statistically significant, and the total size of indirect effect was 0.316 (95%CI: 0.180, 0.466) that accounted for 61.2% of the total effect size. The strongest mediating path was satisfaction of health services→positivity→preventive behaviors, with an indirect effect size of 0.167 (95%CI: 0.046, 0.335) that accounted for 32.4% of the total effect size. Conclusion Future studies and policy formulation on preventive behaviors of foreigners in China should focus on the social demographic factors such as geographical location of home country, religious belief, and cultural customs. At the same time, the study of path relationship of preventive behaviors should embrace environmental factors, emotional factors, and cognitive factors.

Background As traditional chemical and physical hazards as well as associated adverse health outcomes in workplace were wildly controlled in the past half century, the prevalence and disease burden of low back pain (LBP) have drawn more and more attention and become one of the important public health problems in the world. Objective To analyze the health loss and attributable disease burden of ergonomic risk factors for LBP in two major categories of occupations in China, aiming to provide evidence for formulating effective prevention and control policies of LBP in the workplace. Methods Based on the methodological framework of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), a meta-analysis was firstly applied to summarize relevant literature results and estimate the prevalence of LBP in two occupational groups (including technicians and associate professionals and machine operators and assemblers) by different age groups in China. Then important epidemiologic parameters (including disability weight, remission rate, and incidence) from GBD 2019 were used to estimate mean duration of disease and age at onset using DisMod II software, and to calculate health loss indexes in the selected occupational groups in China in 2013, such as years lived with disability (YLD) and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) of LBP and its attributable fractions by ergonomic risk factors, which were compared to the outcome of GBD 2013. Results After the adjustment by DisMod II, the prevalence rate of LBP was 13.00% in technicians and associate professionals (11.25% for males and 14.84% for females) and 14.80% in machine operators and assemblers (13.56% for males and 16.10% for females) in 2013, which increased with age. The DALY rate of LBP was 8.02‰ in technicians and associate professionals (7.68‰ for males and 8.33‰ for females) and 10.34‰ in machine operators and assemblers (10.30‰ for males and 10.44‰ for females), which also showed an overall increasing trend with age. In 2013, the population attributable fraction (PAF) of ergonomic risk factors to LBP was 11.42% in technicians and associate professionals and 29.17% in machine operators and assemblers. The DALY of LBP attributable to ergonomics risk factors was 4498 person-years (2108 person-years for males), with the highest DALY in the 45-49 year group (951 person-years), and the attributable DALY rate was 0.92‰ in technicians and associate professionals. The DALY of LBP attributable to ergonomics risk factors was 48529 person-years (33046 person-years for males), with the highest DALY in the 40-44 year group (10852 person-years), and the attributable DALY rate was 3.02‰ in machine operators and assemblers. Regarding LBP-associated DALY rate, in the 20 years of age and above group, both occupational groups (technicians and associate professionals: 8.06‰, machine operators and assemblers: 10.66‰) showed higher values than the general population (3.55‰). In the 20 years of age and above group, the DALY rates attributable to ergonomic risk factors with the order from high to low were machine operators and assemblers (3.11‰), general population (1.10‰) and technicians and associate professionals (0.92‰). Conclusion The LBP-associated disease burden is heavier in the two Chinese occupational groups than in general population. Reducing the disease burden of LBP by interventions targeting ergonomic risk factors in machine operators and assemblers is more effective than that in technicians and associate professionals as the results of attributable burden of disease suggest.