BACKGROUND:Age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis may share common pathophysiological mechanisms,but there is a lack of direct evidence regarding their relationship.Traditional studies are confounded by confounding factors and reverse causation.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis based on Mendelian randomization design.METHODS:Through a two-way Mendelian randomization analysis,single nucleotide polymorphisms of exposure and outcomes were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies,with deep vein thrombosis data from the FinnGen database in a European population with a sample size of 363 612 and 1 048 575 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In addition,we obtained data on age-related macular degeneration from the IEUOpenGWAS project,also from a European population sample of 105 248 cases covering 11 304 110 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In R4.4.1,we used the TwoSampleMR package(version 0.6.8)to explore the causal effects of exposure factors on outcomes.At the same time,we also conducted a sensitivity analysis via MR-Egger regression,weighted median,weighted model and simple model methods to ensure that the assessment results were robust and reliable.In addition,we used the"heterogeneity"function to test for heterogeneity,and the"horizontal pleiotropy"function and the MR-PRESSO test to further assess horizontal pleotropy.The Cochran's Q test was used to determine whether there was statistical heterogeneity between single nucleotide polymorphisms,and the leave-one-out method was used to assess whether single nucleotide polymorphisms would significantly interfere with Mendelian randomization analysis.Funnel plots were drawn to assess the potential bias of single nucleotide polymorphisms.Forest plots were plotted to show the effect estimates of single nucleotide polymorphisms on exposure and outcomes,and their confidence intervals were plotted.Scatter plots were plotted to evaluate the relationship between the potency of single nucleotide polymorphisms and their causal effect size on outcome estimates.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both forward and reverse studies showed that there was no causal association between age-related macular degeneration and the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis(P＞0.05).Sensitivity analysis showed that the main analysis results were reliable and robust,with no outliers,heterogeneity,and horizontal pleiotropy,and no single nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected the overall effect estimate.Although it is based on European population data,it has methodological reference value for Chinese biomedical research on complex disease associations.In this field,China can carry out multi-center large-sample studies,accurately analyze the internal links between Chinese population-related diseases,and provide a basis for prevention and treatment strategies and clinical practice.

BACKGROUND:Age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis may share common pathophysiological mechanisms,but there is a lack of direct evidence regarding their relationship.Traditional studies are confounded by confounding factors and reverse causation.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis based on Mendelian randomization design.METHODS:Through a two-way Mendelian randomization analysis,single nucleotide polymorphisms of exposure and outcomes were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies,with deep vein thrombosis data from the FinnGen database in a European population with a sample size of 363 612 and 1 048 575 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In addition,we obtained data on age-related macular degeneration from the IEUOpenGWAS project,also from a European population sample of 105 248 cases covering 11 304 110 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In R4.4.1,we used the TwoSampleMR package(version 0.6.8)to explore the causal effects of exposure factors on outcomes.At the same time,we also conducted a sensitivity analysis via MR-Egger regression,weighted median,weighted model and simple model methods to ensure that the assessment results were robust and reliable.In addition,we used the"heterogeneity"function to test for heterogeneity,and the"horizontal pleiotropy"function and the MR-PRESSO test to further assess horizontal pleotropy.The Cochran's Q test was used to determine whether there was statistical heterogeneity between single nucleotide polymorphisms,and the leave-one-out method was used to assess whether single nucleotide polymorphisms would significantly interfere with Mendelian randomization analysis.Funnel plots were drawn to assess the potential bias of single nucleotide polymorphisms.Forest plots were plotted to show the effect estimates of single nucleotide polymorphisms on exposure and outcomes,and their confidence intervals were plotted.Scatter plots were plotted to evaluate the relationship between the potency of single nucleotide polymorphisms and their causal effect size on outcome estimates.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both forward and reverse studies showed that there was no causal association between age-related macular degeneration and the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis(P＞0.05).Sensitivity analysis showed that the main analysis results were reliable and robust,with no outliers,heterogeneity,and horizontal pleiotropy,and no single nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected the overall effect estimate.Although it is based on European population data,it has methodological reference value for Chinese biomedical research on complex disease associations.In this field,China can carry out multi-center large-sample studies,accurately analyze the internal links between Chinese population-related diseases,and provide a basis for prevention and treatment strategies and clinical practice.

Objective: To investigate the association between brain and muscle Arnt like protein 1( BMAL 1) gene and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) parameters in college students, and to explore the influence of the interaction between the gene and weight status on the ABP levels, so as to provide reference for early prevention of chronic cardiovascular diseases related to hypertension. Methods: During September 2022 to June 2024, a total of 510 college students were recruited from a university in Changsha, China for on site questionnaire investigation, physical examination, ABP monitoring and genotyping testing. Multiple linear regression method was used to explore the association between the BMAL 1 gene and ABP indicators. An interaction term was included in the general linear model of multiple linear regression to analyze the interactive effects of BMAL 1 gene polymorphisms and weight status on ABP levels. Results: The prevalence of abnormal 24 hour blood pressure, abnormal daytime blood pressure, and abnormal nighttime blood pressure were 3.3%, 3.1%, and 3.9%, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the BMAL 1/rs7950226 polymorphism was positively correlated with the 24 hour diastolic blood pressure(DBP) and the daytime DBP level after adjusting for gender, age, and body mass index( β =0.87,0.99, both P <0.05). Also, interaction between BMAL 1/ rs 11022775 and weight status on the nighttime DBP level ( P interaction =0.03) was found. The CC genotype carriers had significantly higher nighttime DBP level ( β =3.52, P <0.05) among overweight/obesity college students, but no differences in nocturnal DBP levels were observed between CC genotype carriers and TT+CT genotype carriers among college students with normal body weight( P > 0.05). Conclusions The rs 7950226 polymorphism is associated with 24 hours DBP and daytime DBP levels. Significant interaction between rs 11022775 with weight status on the nighttime DBP level is found among college students.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Liuwei Dihuangwan on mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）-mediated synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex-hippocampus circuit in the rat model of valproic acid （VPA）-induced autism spectrum disorder （ASD） and to explore its potential mechanism for reducing behavioral abnormalities in ASD rats. MethodsThirteen SD pregnant rats were randomized into the VPA group （10 rats） and the control group （3 rats）. On gestational day 13， the VPA group was intraperitoneally injected with VPA solution （600 mg·kg^-1）， while the control group was injected with an equal volume of normal saline. Male pups of 21 days old from both groups underwent behavioral tests to screen the ASD model rats （32 rats）. These rats were then randomly assigned to the model （distilled water）， vitamin D （1 480 U·kg^-1）， low-dose （0.75 g·kg^-1） Liuwei Dihuangwan， and high-dose （1.5 g·kg^-1） Liuwei Dihuangwan groups， and normal male pups were selected as the blank group （distilled water）， with 8 rats in each group. Each group was treated with the corresponding drug or an equal volume of distilled water via gavage daily. After drug administration， behavioral tests were conducted again， followed by anesthesia and tissue collection. Nissl staining was carried out to observe the morphological changes of neurons in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe changes in hippocampal synaptic structure. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were employed to determine the expression of mTOR， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）， and protein kinase B （Akt） in the prefrontal cortex， as well as synaptophysin-1 （SYP-1）， postsynaptic density 95 （PSD95）， and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors （NMDARs） in the hippocampus. ResultsCompared with the control group， the model group exhibited severe growth retardation and developmental deformities， with abnormal behavioral performance and pathological damage to neurons and synapses in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Compared with the model group， all treatment groups showed reduced behavioral abnormalities and pathological damage to neurons and synapses in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus， with the most significant effects in the high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan group. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting results showed that compared with the control group， the model group exhibited significantly increased protein levels and phosphorylation ratios of p-mTOR， p-Akt， and p-PI3K in the prefrontal cortex （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and decreased protein levels of SYP-1 and PSD95 and increased protein level of NMDARs in the hippocampus （P<0.01）. Compared with those in the model group， the protein levels of p-mTOR， p-Akt， and p-PI3K in the prefrontal cortex decreased in the vitamin D and high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups （P<0.05）， and the p-mTOR/mTOR， p-Akt/Akt， and p-PI3K/PI3K ratios in the prefrontal cortex declined in the vitamin D group （P<0.05）. The high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan group showed a reduction in p-PI3K/PI3K ratio （P<0.05）. The protein level of SYP-1 and PSD95 in the hippocampus increased in the vitamin D， low-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan， and high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the protein level of NMDARs decreased in the vitamin D and high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups （P<0.01）. ConclusionLiuwei Dihuangwan significantly reduces VPA-induced ASD-like behaviors and enhances the regeneration and repair of neurons in the prefrontal cortex and synaptic structures in the hippocampus by downregulating of PI3K/Akt/mTOR expression in the prefrontal cortex， upregulating SYP-1 and PSD95 expression in the hippocampus， and inhibiting NMDARs expression.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） is currently the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide， and its disease spectrum encompasses simple steatosis， metabolic-associated steatohepatitis， hepatic fibrosis， liver cirrhosis， and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent studies have shown that hepatic macrophages play an important regulatory role in the development and progression of MAFLD. Hepatic macrophages mainly consist of resident Kupffer cells and monocyte-derived macrophages， which participate in the pathophysiological processes of the disease by regulating inflammatory response， lipid metabolism， fibrogenic process， and cell death pathways. This article summarizes the diversity and functional plasticity of hepatic macrophages in MAFLD， reviews their interactions with hepatocytes and gut microbiota， elaborates on the core mechanism of hepatic macrophages and related signaling pathways in the progression of MAFLD， and further discusses novel therapeutic strategies targeting hepatic macrophages. An in-depth understanding of the mechanism of action of hepatic macrophages in MAFLD may provide a crucial theoretical basis for developing precise therapeutic approaches for this disease.

To investigate the clinical features and peripheral blood immune cell subsets ofelderly (≥60 years old) onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA) patients.

OBJECTIVE: Observational studies have found associations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and vascular dementia (VD); however, these findings are inconsistent. It remains unclear whether these associations are causal. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis by systematically searching for observational studies on the association between IBD and dementia. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on summary genome-wide association studies (GWASs) was performed. Genetic correlation and Bayesian co-localization analyses were used to provide robust genetic evidence. RESULTS: Ten observational studies involving 80,565,688 participants were included in this meta-analysis. IBD was significantly associated with dementia (risk ratio [ RR] =1.36, 95% CI = 1.04-1.78; I ² = 84.8%) and VD ( RR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.18-5.70; only one study), but not with AD ( RR = 2.00, 95% CI = 0.96-4.13; I ² = 99.8%). MR analyses did not supported significant causal associations of IBD with dementia (dementia: odds ratio [ OR] = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.98-1.03; AD: OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.95-1.01; VD: OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.97-1.07). In addition, genetic correlation and co-localization analyses did not reveal any genetic associations between IBD and dementia. CONCLUSION Our study did not provide genetic evidence for a causal association between IBD and dementia risk. The increased risk of dementia observed in observational studies may be attributed to unobserved confounding factors or detection bias.
Humans ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/complications* ; Dementia/etiology* ; Observational Studies as Topic ; Genome-Wide Association Study

Objective:To investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and antibiotic resistance of neonatal sepsis（NS）caused by different Gram-staining pathogens.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on confirmed NS cases admitted to the Neonatal Ward of the Pediatric Department at The First Affiliated Hospital of Dali University，from June 1，2014，to May 31，2024.Patients were divided into Gram-positive and Gram-negative groups based on blood or cerebrospinal fluid（CSF）culture results.Clinical characteristics，pathogen distribution，and antibiotic resistance were compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 98 cases were included，with 81 in the Gram-positive group and 17 in the Gram-negative group.Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that NS cases with a high neutrophil percentage（ OR=0.933，95% CI：0.899-0.969）or hemorrhagic symptoms/signs（ OR=0.059，95% CI：0.008-0.458）were less likely to have Gram-positive pathogens detected in blood or CSF cultures（ P<0.05）.Common Gram-positive pathogens included Staphylococcus epidermidis with 35 strains（33.65%）and Staphylococcus hominis with 22 strains（21.15%）.The predominant Gram-negative pathogen was Escherichia coli with 14 strains（13.46%）.Gram-positive pathogens exhibited high resistance to oxacillin（91.30%），erythromycin（90.91%），and penicillin G（90.00%），but low resistance to tigecycline（0），linezolid（0），and vancomycin（0）.Gram-negative pathogens showed high resistance to ampicillin（92.31%），cefazolin（90.00%），and ampicillin/sulbactam（75.00%），but low resistance to amikacin（6.25%），latamoxef（0），and ertapenem（0）.The incidence of concurrent purulent meningitis was lower in the Gram-positive group than in the Gram-negative group（9.88% vs.47.06%， χ2=11.628， P<0.05），and there was significant difference. Conclusion:NS cases with high neutrophil percentages or hemorrhagic symptoms/signs are less likely to be caused by Gram-positive pathogens.Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus hominis are common Gram-positive pathogens，while Escherichia coli is the predominant Gram-negative pathogen in NS.Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens exhibit resistance to specific antibiotics.NS caused by Gram-positive pathogens is less likely to be complicated by purulent meningitis compared to those caused by Gram-negative pathogens.

Objective To investigate the effect of Dex on neurological function in PD rats through the receptor interacting protein kinase 1(RIPK1)/RIPK3/mixed lineage kinase domain-like pro-tein(MLKL)pathway.Methods After rat PD model was constructed,the PD rats were assigned into PD group,L-,M-and H-Dex groups(intraperitoneal injection of 25,50,and 100 μg/kg Dex,respectively),and Dex+recombinant RIPK1 protein(rRIPK1)group(intraperitoneal injection of 100 μg/kg Dex+8 μg/kg rRIPK1),with 6 animals in each group.Another 6 rats served as sham-operation(Sham)group.The rats from the Sham group and PD group were intragastrically ad-ministered and injected with an equal amount of normal saline solution once a day.After 21 con-secutive days,the rotational behavior was observed of in each group rats.HE staining was per-formed to detect the pathological changes in dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra.TUNEL staining was conducted to measure the apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons.ELISA was used to determine the levels of neurotransmitters[DA,HVA,3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid(DOPAC),5-hydroxytrptamine(5-HT)]and inflammatory factors(TNF-α,IL-1β)in the sub-stantia nigra.Western blotting was applied to detect the expression of RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL pathway related proteins in the substantia nigra tissues.Results Intact and well-arranged mor-phology and structure were observed in the neurons of the Sham group.The PD group presented prominently less neurons,in scattered arrangement,with obviously reduced volume,irregular nu-clear deformation,indicating notably neuronal damage.The severity of neuronal damage was at-tenuated sequentially in the L-Dex,M-Dex,and H-Dex groups,but the damage in the Dex+rRIPK1 group was further worsened.The PD group had significantly larger number of rotations,longer escape latency,higher apoptotic rate,increased TNF-α and IL-1β contents,and elevated lev-els of p-RIPK1/RIPK1(1.07±0.18 vs 0.36±0.11),p-RIPK3/RIPK3(1.32±0.21 vs 0.47±0.14),and p-MLKL/MLKL(0.79±0.11 vs 0.18±0.05),but lower DA,DOPAC,5-HT,and HVA con-tents than the Sham group(P＜0.05).Dex treatment of low,medium and high doses reserved all above changes induced by PD modeling(P＜0.05).The Dex+rRIPK1 group obtained larger num-ber of rotations,longer escape latency,higher apoptotic rate,increased TNF-α and IL-1β contents,and elevated levels of p-RIPK1/RIPK1(0.95±0.17 vs 0.41±0.12),p-RIPK3/RIPK3(1.14±0.20 vs 0.51±0.15),and p-MLKL/MLKL(0.72±0.09 vs 0.24±0.06),but decreased DA,DOPAC,5-HT,and HVA contents when compared with the H-Dex group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Dex protects the neurological function of PD rats by inhibiting the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL pathway.

A quadruplex RT-qPCR method was developed for rapid identification and diagnosis of transmissible gastroenteritis virus(TGEV)of swine,porcine epidemic diarrhea virus(PEDV),porcine deltacorona virus(PDCoV),and porcine rotavirus type A(PoRVA).The full-length sequences of PEDV(77 strains),TGEV(63 strains),PDCoV(17 strains)that are prevalent in China,as well as the 85 VP6 gene sequences of PoRVA,were downloaded from the NCBI database for homology analysis.Based on the relatively conserved sequences,the corresponding primers and probes for each virus were designed and used to establish the quadruplex RT-qPCR method.After optimization of the probes and the reaction conditions,the specificity,sensitivity,and repeatability were determined.Using the established method,109 clinical samples of diarrhea were tested and further compared with the results by standard method.The results showed that the quadruplex RT-qPCR method established in this experiment has good amplification effect,with the C,value linearly correlated with the copies of templates(R2＞0.99).Specificity assay demonstrated that the quadruplex RT-qPCR method can identify TGEV,PEDV,PDCoV,PRoVA strains,and do not de-tect African swine fever virus(ASFV),porcine circovirus type 2(PCV2),porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus(PRRSV),classical swine fever virus(CSFV),pseudorabies virus(PRV)and other epidemic viruses.Sensitivity assay showed that the detection limits for TGEV,PEDV,PDCoV and PoRVA were 10,20,20 and 50 copies/μL,respectively.The method exhibits excellent reproducibility,with coefficients of variation(Cv)for both intra-and inter-assay repli-cates being less than 1％.Detection of 109 samples of diarrhea by this method yielded the coinci-dence rate of 100％with the industry standard,indicating high practical applicability.The devel-oped method possesses the advantages of strong strain compatibility,high sensitivity,strong speci-ficity,good repeatability and stability.It is suitable for virus diagnosis and large-scale clinical sam-ple testing,providing technical support for disease prevention and control as well as epidemiologi-cal investigation.