BACKGROUND: Epidemiological data on chronic diarrhea in the Chinese population are lacking, and the association between obesity and chronic diarrhea in East Asian populations remains inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of chronic diarrhea and its association with obesity in a representative community-dwelling Chinese population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on a multistage, randomized cluster sampling involving 3503 residents aged 20-69 years from representative urban and rural communities in Beijing. Chronic diarrhea was assessed using the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS), and obesity was determined based on body mass index (BMI). Logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate the relationship between obesity and chronic diarrhea. RESULTS: The standardized prevalence of chronic diarrhea in the study population was 12.88%. The average BMI was 24.67 kg/m 2 . Of all the participants, 35.17% (1232/3503) of participants were classified as overweight and 16.13% (565/3503) as obese. After adjustment for potential confounders, individuals with obesity had an increased risk of chronic diarrhea as compared to normal weight individuals (odds ratio = 1.58, 95% confidence interval: 1.20-2.06). A nonlinear association between BMI and the risk of chronic diarrhea was observed in community residents of males and the overall participant group ( P  = 0.026 and 0.017, respectively). CONCLUSIONS This study presents initial findings on the prevalence of chronic diarrhea among residents of Chinese communities while offering substantiated evidence regarding the significant association between obesity and chronic diarrhea. These findings offer a novel perspective on gastrointestinal health management.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Chronic Disease/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diarrhea/epidemiology* ; Obesity/complications* ; Prevalence ; East Asian People/statistics & numerical data*

Objective To analyze the predictive value of serum Ficolin-3 and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9(PCSK9)for delayed cerebral ischemia(DCI)after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage(aSAH).Methods From January 2020 to November 2024,110 patients with aSAH who visited our hospital were used as the study group,and another 110 healthy individuals who underwent physical check-up at our hospital were used as the control group.Complying with the diagnostic criteria of DCI,patients were grouped into DCI group(n=41)and non DCI group(n=69).ELISA method was used to detect serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the occurrence of DCI in aSAH patients.ROC curves were used to analyze the predictive efficacy of serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9 for DCI in aSAH patients.Results Compared with the control group,the serum Ficolin-3 in the study group was prominently lower,and the PCSK9 was prominently higher(all P＜0.05).Compared with the non DCI group,the proportion of improved Fisher grading≥3,Hunt-Hess grading≥3,and serum PCSK9 were prominently higher in DCI group,while serum Ficolin-3 was prominently lower(all P＜0.05).Improved Fisher grading ≥ 3,Hunt-Hess grading ≥ 3,and elevated serum PCSK9 were all risk factors for DCI after aSAH(all P＜0.05),while elevated serum Ficolin-3 was a protective factor(P＜0.05).The area under curve(AUC)of serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9 in predicting DCI after aSAH was 0.796 and 0.828,respectively,the AUC of combined prediction was 0.908,the combined predictive performance of the two indicators was better than that of a single indicator(Zcombination-Ficolin-3=2.375,Zcombination-PCSK9=2.330;P=0.018,P=0.020).Conclusions Serum Ficolin-3 is decreased and PCSK9 is increased in aSAH patients with DCI.The combined application of the two index has a higher predictive performance for the occurrence of DCI after aSAH.

AIM:To investigate the effects of early high-fat diet(HFD)on cognitive function and hippocam-pal lipidomic profile in transgenic mice bearing five familial Alzheimer disease mutant genes(5×FAD).METHODS:Eight-week-old SPF grade female wild-type(WT)mice were used as the contorl group,and 5×FAD mice were randomly divided into model(5×FAD)group and 5×FAD+HFD group,with 10 mice in each group.The 5×FAD+HFD group was orally given high-fat chow and the remaining 2 groups were given control chow for 12 weeks,and the change in body weight of the mice were recorded.Y-maze and Morris water maze tests were performed to measure the learning memory ability of the mice.Serum total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)levels were measured using a biochemical analyzer.Immunohistochemistry was per-formed to visualize amyloid β-protein(Aβ)plaques in brain tissues.Hippocampal levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6,and Aβ were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Non-tar-geted lipidomic technology was used to measure the changes of hippocampal lipids.RESULTS:Compared with WT group,the mice in 5×FAD group lost significantly less weight(P<0.01)and spent significantly less time exploring the new arm of the Y-maze and the target quadrant of the water maze(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Brain Aβ plaques were significant-ly increased(P<0.01).Hippocampal levels of Aβ1-40,Aβ1-42,IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly elevated(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with the 5×FAD group,the mice in the 5×FAD+HFD group showed significant increase in body weight(P<0.01)and time spent exploring the new arm of the Y-maze and the target quadrant of the water maze(P<0.01).Biochmeical analysis showed serum TC,LDL-C,HDL-C levels and HDL/TC ratio were significantly increased(P<0.05).Brain Aβ plaques were significantly reduced(P<0.05)and hippocampal Aβ1-40,Aβ1-42 and IL-1β levels were sig-nificantly decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the WT group,27 lipids were increased and 9 lipids were decreased in the 5×FAD group,involving the pathways such as cholesterol metabolism,fat digestion and absorption,regulation of lipolysis processes in adipocytes,and glycerophospholipid metabolism.Eighteen lipids were increased and 47 lipids were de-creased in the 5×FAD+HFD group compared to the 5×FAD group.Cardiolipin and TG were important lipids for separating the lipid profiles of the WT and 5×FAD groups,and TG was an important lipid for separating the lipid profiles of the 5×FAD and 5×FAD+HFD groups.Differential lipid enrichment analysis showed significant increase in TG lipid in the 5×FAD group compared with the WT group and significant decrease in TG lipid in the 5×FAD+HFD group compared with the 5×FAD group.CONCLUSION:Early HFD ameliorates cognitive function in 5×FAD mice by modifying TG metabolic disorder and attenuating neuroinflammation.

Objective To analyze the predictive value of serum Ficolin-3 and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9(PCSK9)for delayed cerebral ischemia(DCI)after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage(aSAH).Methods From January 2020 to November 2024,110 patients with aSAH who visited our hospital were used as the study group,and another 110 healthy individuals who underwent physical check-up at our hospital were used as the control group.Complying with the diagnostic criteria of DCI,patients were grouped into DCI group(n=41)and non DCI group(n=69).ELISA method was used to detect serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the occurrence of DCI in aSAH patients.ROC curves were used to analyze the predictive efficacy of serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9 for DCI in aSAH patients.Results Compared with the control group,the serum Ficolin-3 in the study group was prominently lower,and the PCSK9 was prominently higher(all P＜0.05).Compared with the non DCI group,the proportion of improved Fisher grading≥3,Hunt-Hess grading≥3,and serum PCSK9 were prominently higher in DCI group,while serum Ficolin-3 was prominently lower(all P＜0.05).Improved Fisher grading ≥ 3,Hunt-Hess grading ≥ 3,and elevated serum PCSK9 were all risk factors for DCI after aSAH(all P＜0.05),while elevated serum Ficolin-3 was a protective factor(P＜0.05).The area under curve(AUC)of serum Ficolin-3 and PCSK9 in predicting DCI after aSAH was 0.796 and 0.828,respectively,the AUC of combined prediction was 0.908,the combined predictive performance of the two indicators was better than that of a single indicator(Zcombination-Ficolin-3=2.375,Zcombination-PCSK9=2.330;P=0.018,P=0.020).Conclusions Serum Ficolin-3 is decreased and PCSK9 is increased in aSAH patients with DCI.The combined application of the two index has a higher predictive performance for the occurrence of DCI after aSAH.

AIM:To investigate the effects of early high-fat diet(HFD)on cognitive function and hippocam-pal lipidomic profile in transgenic mice bearing five familial Alzheimer disease mutant genes(5×FAD).METHODS:Eight-week-old SPF grade female wild-type(WT)mice were used as the contorl group,and 5×FAD mice were randomly divided into model(5×FAD)group and 5×FAD+HFD group,with 10 mice in each group.The 5×FAD+HFD group was orally given high-fat chow and the remaining 2 groups were given control chow for 12 weeks,and the change in body weight of the mice were recorded.Y-maze and Morris water maze tests were performed to measure the learning memory ability of the mice.Serum total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)levels were measured using a biochemical analyzer.Immunohistochemistry was per-formed to visualize amyloid β-protein(Aβ)plaques in brain tissues.Hippocampal levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6,and Aβ were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Non-tar-geted lipidomic technology was used to measure the changes of hippocampal lipids.RESULTS:Compared with WT group,the mice in 5×FAD group lost significantly less weight(P<0.01)and spent significantly less time exploring the new arm of the Y-maze and the target quadrant of the water maze(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Brain Aβ plaques were significant-ly increased(P<0.01).Hippocampal levels of Aβ1-40,Aβ1-42,IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly elevated(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with the 5×FAD group,the mice in the 5×FAD+HFD group showed significant increase in body weight(P<0.01)and time spent exploring the new arm of the Y-maze and the target quadrant of the water maze(P<0.01).Biochmeical analysis showed serum TC,LDL-C,HDL-C levels and HDL/TC ratio were significantly increased(P<0.05).Brain Aβ plaques were significantly reduced(P<0.05)and hippocampal Aβ1-40,Aβ1-42 and IL-1β levels were sig-nificantly decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the WT group,27 lipids were increased and 9 lipids were decreased in the 5×FAD group,involving the pathways such as cholesterol metabolism,fat digestion and absorption,regulation of lipolysis processes in adipocytes,and glycerophospholipid metabolism.Eighteen lipids were increased and 47 lipids were de-creased in the 5×FAD+HFD group compared to the 5×FAD group.Cardiolipin and TG were important lipids for separating the lipid profiles of the WT and 5×FAD groups,and TG was an important lipid for separating the lipid profiles of the 5×FAD and 5×FAD+HFD groups.Differential lipid enrichment analysis showed significant increase in TG lipid in the 5×FAD group compared with the WT group and significant decrease in TG lipid in the 5×FAD+HFD group compared with the 5×FAD group.CONCLUSION:Early HFD ameliorates cognitive function in 5×FAD mice by modifying TG metabolic disorder and attenuating neuroinflammation.

The quality of Chinese materia medica(CMM)is a challenging and focused topic in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).A profound comprehension of the morphology,structure,active constituents,and dynamic changes during the whole process of CMM growth is essential,which needs highly precise contemporary techniques for in-depth elucidation.Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)is a cutting-edge tool integrating the benefits of both nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)spectroscopy and imaging technology.With real-time,non-destructive,and in situ detection capabilities,MRI has been previously used for monitoring internal and external structures of plants alongside compounds during physiological processes in vivo.Here,factors involved in the holistic quality evaluation of CMMs were investigated.Given the applications of MRI in various plants,several representative CMMs were used as examples to demonstrate a methodology of quality visualization by MRI,embodying holistically monitoring the real-time macroscopic morphology,mesoscopic structure,and microscopic metabolites non-destructively in situ.Taken together,the review not only presents a pioneering application mode for uti-lizing MRI for CMM quality visualization but also holds promise for advancing the quality control and evaluation of CMMs.

The quality of Chinese materia medica (CMM) is a challenging and focused topic in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A profound comprehension of the morphology, structure, active constituents, and dynamic changes during the whole process of CMM growth is essential, which needs highly precise contemporary techniques for in-depth elucidation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a cutting-edge tool integrating the benefits of both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging technology. With real-time, non-destructive, and in situ detection capabilities, MRI has been previously used for monitoring internal and external structures of plants alongside compounds during physiological processes in vivo. Here, factors involved in the holistic quality evaluation of CMMs were investigated. Given the applications of MRI in various plants, several representative CMMs were used as examples to demonstrate a methodology of quality visualization by MRI, embodying holistically monitoring the real-time macroscopic morphology, mesoscopic structure, and microscopic metabolites non-destructively in situ. Taken together, the review not only presents a pioneering application mode for utilizing MRI for CMM quality visualization but also holds promise for advancing the quality control and evaluation of CMMs.

Objective:To analyze the whole genome sequence and key site mutations of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in patients with different stages of disease progression, and to understand the relationship between HBV genetic characteristics and disease progression.Methods:Serum samples and basic information of hepatitis B patients with asymptomatic HBV carrier, chronic hepatitis B patients, cirrhosis patients and primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients were collected. Nested PCR was used to amplify the samples to obtain HBV whole gene sequences. Phylogenetic trees were constructed to determine the genotype of the samples, and gene mutations of the samples were analyzed combined with reference sequences of each type.Results:A total of 256 samples were successfully amplified, including 68 asymptomatic HBV carrier patients, 118 CHB patients, 15 LC patients and 55 HCC patients, and five genotypes (B, C, D, I and C/D) were detected. The result of comparative analysis showed that the mutation rate of 56 nucleotide sites was significantly different among the four groups ( P<0.05). In addition to the discovery of C105T, A1762T/G1764A and G1899A and other previously reported key site mutations, the mutation rates of T53A, C1485T and C1628T in newly diagnosed HCC group were significantly higher than those in other groups, and the mutation rates of T2150G and T2151C in asymptomatic HBV infection group were significantly higher than those in other groups. A total of 26 sequences were deleted, mainly distributed in the pre-C and pre-S regions. The deletion mutation rate in the HCC group was significantly higher than that in the other groups. Conclusions:The data of this study indicate that some nucleotide substitution mutations and deletion mutations may be closely related to the occurrence and development of HBV-related diseases, and HCC patients are more likely to have gene mutations than non-HCC patients. These result provide a reference for understanding the relationship between viral mutation and the progression of HBV infection-related diseases.

Objective To investigate the role and mechanism of circular RNA(circRNA)has_circ_0003304(circAZIN1)in regulating chondrocyte degeneration in osteoarthritis(OA).Methods Gene chip was used to detect the expression level of circRNA during the chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose-de-rived stem cells(hADSC).The circAZIN1 was further screened through the chondrocyte inflammation model constructed with interleukin-β(IL-β)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)from the top 10 circRNAs with the most differentiated expression detected by gene chip.Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain re-action PCR(qPCR)was used to detect the effect of circAZIN1 overexpression(transfected with pcDNA3.1-circAZIN1-EF1-ZsGreen plasmid)on the metabolism of chondrocyte extracellular matrix(ECM).RNA-Pull down test was conducted to detect the protein bound by circAZIN1,miRNA-circRNA Interactions predicted the microRNAs(miRNAs)and their sites that circAZIN1 may be sponge-adsorbed,further TargetMiner,miRDB and TargetScan databases were applied to predict miRNAs which circAZIN1 may sponge-adsorbed.circAZIN1,miRNA and downstream mRNA were detected to find whether there was mirror regulation phe-nomenon after overexpression of miRNA.Results CircAZIN1 had the most significant differential expression during the chondrogenic differentiation of hADSC(day 3 and day 21)and in the chondrocyty inflammation model constructed by IL-β,TNF-α(day 3 group vs.day 21 group,the conttrol group vs.the IL-β group,the control group vs.the TNF-α group).Overexpression of circAZIN1 could promote the ECM synthesis in chon-drocytes and inhibit its decomposition.RNA-Pull down test result showed that circAZIN1 obviously bound AGO2 protein,suggesting that circAZIN1 had a high possibility of sponge adsorbing miRNAs.Further data-base predicted that its downstream was hsa-miR-654-3p,and the downstream mRNA of hsa-miR-654-3p was CACNA1I.After the overexpression of hsa-miR-654-3p,qPCR test found that circAZIN1,hsa-miR-654-3p and CACNA1I had a mirror image regulation phenomenon.Conclusion circAZIN1 inhibits the silencing effect of CACNA1I through sponge adsorption of hsa-miR-654-3p and thus plays a role in inhibiting chondrocyte de-generation,which provides a reference for the study of the regulatory mechanism of circRNA in the develop-ment of OA.

Objective To analyze the correlation between acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and stress differentiation factors (GDF-15), catecholamines, and heat shock proteins (HSP-70). Methods A total of 40 patients with ACS were selected from the Emergency Department of the PLA General Hospital from September 10, 2016 to October 10, 2016. 40 healthy volunteers were selected as the control group. The information of age, gender, history of smoking, drinking, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes. Inspection indicators of blood biochemistry (Creation kinase Isoenzyme, Total cholesterol, Triglyceride, High-density lipoprotein, Blood glucose, Total bilirubin, Direct bilirubin), serum level of GDF-15, catecholamine (Adrenaline,norepinephrine,dopamine)and HSP-70 were collected. Evaluation of Coronary Stenosis used with Coronary Artery Lesions and Gensini Score. Statistical analysis using SPSS 17.0 statistical software, measurement data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (x±s),count data to the number of cases and percentage, measurement using t test, count data using chisquare test. Results Serum levels of GDF-15[(21.94±14.23) vs. (7.06±5.53), P=0.007],catecholami ne[(46592.15±30931.27) vs. (5507.14±2083.28), P<0.01], HSP-70 [(369.56±300.44) vs. (07.76±54.23),P<0.001],all higher than the control group. GDF-15 serum levels of Gensini scores> 40 compare with <20group was significantly higher [(324.27 ± 198.81) vs. (77.43 ± 699.22), P=0.035], serum catecholaminelevels of > 40 group compare with <20 group significantly increased [(18.71 ± 7.32) vs. (18.6±46.1),P=0.017], GDF-15 levels were significantly higher in the multi-vessel stenosis group than in the doublevessel stenosis group[ (618.40±434.42) vs. (292.07±219.65), P=0.033]. Conclusions GDF-15,catecholamine and HSP-70 are correlated with ACS, as well as the severity of coronary artery lesions.