ObjectiveTo screen for the patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） among the physical examination population， to observe the characteristics of MAFLD patients， and to compare the differences in lifestyle between the MAFLD population and the non-MAFLD population. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 6 206 individuals who underwent physical examination in a physical examination institution in Beijing from December 2015 to December 2019， and according to the new diagnostic criteria for MAFLD， the examination population was divided into MAFLD group and non-MAFLD group. Based on body mass index （BMI）， the MAFLD group was further divided into lean MAFLD group （BMI<24 kg/m²） and non-lean MAFLD group （BMI ≥24 kg/m²）. Related data were compared between groups， including demographic indicators， education level， work pressure， physical measurement indicators， and lifestyles such as sleep， diet， and exercise. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsOf all individuals in this study， 1 926 （31.1%） had MAFLD and 4 280 （68.9%） did not have MAFLD. Compared with the non-MAFLD group， the MAFLD group had significantly higher age （Z=-14.459， P<0.001）， proportion of male patients （χ²=72.004， P<0.001）， work pressure （χ²=7.744， P=0.005）， body weight （Z=-43.508， P<0.001）， BMI （Z=-47.621， P<0.001）， waist circumference （Z=-48.515， P<0.001）， hip circumference （Z=-42.121， P<0.001）， and waist-hip ratio （Z=-43.535， P<0.001）， as well as a significantly lower education level （χ²=33.583， P<0.001）. In terms of behavior， the MAFLD group had a significantly shorter sleep time （χ²=5.820， P=0.016） and a significantly faster eating speed （χ²=74.476， P<0.001）. In terms of diet， the patients in the MAFLD group consumed more high-sodium， high-sugar， and high-calorie diets （χ²=42.667， P<0.001） and low-fiber diet （χ²=4.367， P=0.008）. In terms of exercise， the MAFLD group had a significantly higher proportion of patients without exercise habits （χ²=10.278， P=0.001）. Further analysis showed that there were 202 individuals （10.5%） in the lean MAFLD group and 1 724 （89.5%） in the non-lean MAFLD group. Compared with the non-lean MAFLD group， the lean MAFLD group had significantly higher age （Z=3.368， P=0.001） and education level （χ²=9.647， P=0.002） and significantly lower proportion of male patients （χ²=27.664， P<0.001）， body weight （Z=-18.483， P<0.001）， BMI （Z=-23.286， P<0.001）， waist circumference （Z=-18.565， P<0.001）， and hip circumference （Z=-18.097， P<0.001）， and in terms of behavior， the non-lean MAFLD group had a significantly faster eating speed （χ²=4.549， P=0.033）. ConclusionThere is a relatively high prevalence rate of MAFLD among the physical examination population in Beijing， with a higher number of people with unhealthy lifestyles compared with the non-MAFLD population.

ObjectiveTo identify the patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） among the health check-up population， and to perform stratified management of patients with the low， medium， and high risk of advanced fibrosis based on noninvasive fibrosis scores. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 3 125 individuals who underwent physical examination in Beijing Physical Examination Center from December 2017 to December 2019， and they were divided into MAFLD group with 1 068 individuals and non-MAFLD group with 2 057 individuals. According to BMI， the MAFLD group was further divided into lean MAFLD group （125 individuals with BMI<24 kg/m²） and non-lean MAFLD group （943 individuals with BMI≥24 kg/m²）. Indicators including demographic data， past history， laboratory examination， and liver ultrasound were compared between groups. Fibrosis-4 （FIB-4） score， NAFLD fibrosis score （NFS）， aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index （APRI）， and BARD score were calculated for the patients in the MAFLD group to assess the risk of advanced fibrosis. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the influence of each indicator in MAFLD. ResultsCompared with the non-MAFLD group， the MAFLD group had significantly higher age （Z=-9.758， P<0.05）， proportion of male patients （χ²=137.555， P<0.05）， and levels of body weight （Z=-27.987， P<0.05）， BMI （Z=-32.714， P<0.05）， waist circumference （Z=-31.805， P<0.05）， hip circumference （Z=-26.342， P<0.05）， waist-hip ratio （Z=-28.554， P<0.05）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT） （Z=-25.820， P<0.05）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST） （Z=-16.894， P<0.05）， gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase （GGT） （Z=-25.069， P<0.05）， alkaline phosphatase （Z=-12.533， P<0.05）， triglyceride （Z=-27.559）， total cholesterol （Z=-7.833， P<0.05）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） （Z=-8.222， P<0.05）， and uric acid （UA） （Z=-20.024， P<0.05）， as well as a significantly higher proportion of patients with metabolic syndrome （MetS） （χ²=578.220， P<0.05）， significantly higher prevalence rates of hypertension （χ²=241.694， P<0.05）， type 2 diabetes （χ²=796.484， P<0.05）， and dyslipidemia （χ²=369.843， P<0.05）， and a significant reduction in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） （Z=23.153， P<0.001）. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male sex （odds ratio ［OR］=1.45， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.203‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.737）， ALT （OR=1.05， 95%CI： 1.046‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.062）， LDL-C （OR=1.23， 95%CI： 1.102‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.373）， and comorbidity with MetS （OR=5.97， 95%CI： 4.876‍ ‍—‍ ‍7.316） were independently associated with MAFLD. Compared with the non-lean MAFLD group， the lean MAFLD group had significantly higher age （Z=3.736， P<0.05） and HDL-C （Z=2.679， P<0.05） and significant reductions in the proportion of male patients （χ²=28.970， P<0.05）， body weight （Z=-14.230， P<0.05）， BMI （Z=-18.188， P<0.05）， waist circumference （Z=-13.451， P<0.05）， hip circumference （Z=-13.317， P<0.05）， ALT （Z=-4.519， P<0.05）， AST （Z=-2.258， P<0.05）， GGT （Z=-4.592， P<0.05）， UA （Z=-4.415， P<0.05）， the proportion of patients with moderate or severe fatty liver disease or MetS （χ²=42.564， P<0.05）， and the prevalence rates of hypertension （χ²=12.057， P<0.05） and type 2 diabetes （χ²=3.174， P<0.05）. Among the patients with MAFLD， 10 patients （0.9%） had an FIB-4 score of >2.67， 4 patients （0.4%） had an NFS score of >0.676， 8 patients （0.7%） had an APRI of >1， and 551 patients （51.6%） had a BARD score of ≥2. ConclusionThere is a relatively high prevalence rate of MAFLD among the health check-up population in Beijing， but with a relatively low number of patients with a high risk of advanced fibrosis， and such patients need to be referred to specialized hospitals for liver diseases.

ObjectiveCardiovascular diseases pose a major public health challenge in China. The burden of cardiovascular disease associated with high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） has increased steadily nationwide. A comprehensive analysis of secular trends in cardiovascular disease burden and its determinants is crucial for developing targeted interventions and evidence-based health policies. MethodsBased on data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021， we analyzed the trends in deaths， disability-adjusted life years （DALYs）， age-standardized mortality rates （ASMR）， and age-standardized DALY rates （ASDR） of cardiovascular diseases attributable to high LDL-C in China from 1990 to 2021 using Joinpoint regression analysis. An age-period-cohort model was applied to assess the contributions of age， period， and cohort effects to changes in the cardiovascular disease burden attributable to high LDL-C. Projections of the high LDL-C-attributable cardiovascular disease burden in China from 2022 to 2030 were generated using a Bayesian age-period-cohort model. ResultsBetween 1990 and 2021， China saw a substantial rise in both deaths and disability-adjusted life years （DALYs） from cardiovascular disease linked to high LDL-C. Joinpoint regression revealed key turning points in this trend： an overall increase continued until 2004， after which the burden began to fall starting in 2011. Throughout this period， age-standardized mortality and DALY rates were consistently higher in males than in females. Age-period-cohort analysis further indicated that mortality and DALY rates due to high LDL-C increased almost exponentially with age， while period and cohort risks generally decreased over time. Projections suggest a continued decline in age-standardized mortality rates from LDL-C-related cardiovascular disease for both Chinese men and women by 2030. ConclusionRapid population growth and accelerated ageing in China emerge as primary drivers of the escalating cardiovascular diseases burden linked to elevated LDL-C. The burden of cardiovascular diseases is higher in men compared to women. By 2030， the burden of cardiovascular disease caused by high LDL-C in China will remain severe. These findings underscore the critical need for gender-specific screening protocols， age-tailored interventions， and personalized management frameworks to mitigate this public health challenge.

Objective To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods Employed a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach,using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies(GWAS)to extract single nucleotide polymor-phisms(SNPs)associated with exposure and outcome as instrumental variables.Exposure instrumental varia-bles(P＜1×10-5)and outcome instrumental variables(P＜5×10-8)were selected based on the P-values of SNPs.Three different Mendelian randomization methods were used to analyze the relationship between gut microbiota and DLBCL,with sensitivity analyses including heterogeneity,pleiotropy,and leave-one-out tests.Results Bilophila(OR=2.043,95%CI:1.279-3.264),Coprobacter(OR=1.371,95%CI:1.035-1.816),Eubacterium eligens group(OR=1.996,95%CI:1.291-3.087)increased the risk of DLBCL.Alistipes(OR=0.588,95%CI:0.359-0.963),Eubacterium eligens group(OR=1.996,95%CI:1.291-3.087),Slackia(OR=0.688,95%CI:0.479-0.988)reduced the risk of DLBCL.Reverse Mendelian randomization a-nalysis failed to reveal any evidence of a causal relationship between DLBCL and the six gut microbiota.Con-clusion There is a causal association between gut microbiota and DLBCL.

Objective To investigate the role of circular RNAs(circRNA)in Alzheimer's disease(AD)and its potential mechanism.Methods Six-month-old APP/PS1 mouse model of AD and wild type(WT)mice were subjected and then randomly divided into WT group,WT+circ-Olfm1 knockout group,AD group(transgenic APP/PS1 mice),AD+circ-Olfm1 knockout group,AD+FOXO3a knockout group,with 3 mice in each group.① The total RNA of mouse brain was extracted,and the differential expression of circRNAs and mRNAs between the AD mice and WT mice was detected,and the obtained circRNAs and mRNAs were analyzed with gene ontology(GO)analysis.② RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of the top 10 up-regulated and down-regulated circRNAs,as well as the expression of circ-Olfm1 and miR-330-5p.③ Lentiviral vectors were prepared and stereotaxically injected into the cortex or hippocampus of WT and AD mice to knock out circ-Olfm1 gene.Water maze test was used to evaluate the effect of circ-Olfm1 knockout on cognitive function,and immunofluorescence assay was employed to observe the deposition of amyloid β(Aβ)plaque in the brain.④ The interaction between circ-Olfm1 and miR-330-5p was verified by double luciferase reporter gene analysis.⑤ The protein levels of AMPK and FOXO3a were detected by Western blotting.⑥ Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to observe the mitochondria of the hippocampus.⑦ The levels of inflammatory factors IL-6,IL-1β and TNF-α were detected by ELISA.Results There were totally 52 differentially expressed circRNAs identified between the AD and WT mice,including 28 up-regulated and 24 down-regulated(fold change>1.5,P<0.05).These differentially expressed genes are mainly involved in signal transduction,learning and memory and other functions.circ-Olfm1 was identified as the most significantly differentially expressed circRNA,which is highly expressed in the neurons and up-regulated in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the AD mice.Knockout of circ-Olfm1 reduced the number of Aβ plaques in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of AD mice(P<0.01).In starBase database,there are complementary sequences observed between circ-Olfm1 and miR-330-5p.Western blotting showed that the addition of Aβ42 significantly increased the expression of AMPK and FOXO3a in the neuronal cells(P<0.01).And silencing circ-Olfm1 led to decreased expression of AMPK and FOXO3a in neuronal cells+Aβ42(P<0.01).ELISA revealed that knockout of FOXO3a significantly increased the levels of inflammatory factors IL-6,IL-1β,and TNF-α(P<0.01).Transmission electron microscopy displayed that knocking FOXO3a out significantly aggravated mitochondrial damage(P<0.01).Conclusion circ-Olfm1 is up-regulated in the brain tissue and neurons+Aβ42 of AD rats,and the mechanism of cognitive impairment in AD rats may be through its regulating FOXO3a protein.

Objective To explore the role and mechanism of ferroptosis in vitamin D3(VD3)improving the cytotoxicity of keratinocytes(HaCaT cells)induced by nitrogen mustard(NM).Methods HaCaT cells were treated with gradient concentrations of NM(5,10,20,and 50 μmol/L)alone or in combination with ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 or liproxstatin-1(10 μmol/L),Nrf2-specific agonist tBHQ(10 μmol/L),and VD3(10 nmol/L),respectively.After co-culture for 24 h,cell viability was assessed,and the intracellular contents of glutathione(GSH)and malondialdehyde(MDA)were measured.Additionally,the expression levels of Nrf2,xCT,and GPX4 were detected.Results NM exerted inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner,and the cell viability was reduced to approximately 55%at an NM concentration of 20 μmol/L(P<0.05).Ferroptosis inhibitors significantly mitigated the cytotoxic damage induced by NM in HaCaT cells(P<0.05),but activation of nuclear factor E2 related factor 2(Nrf2)markedly attenuated NM-induced ferroptosis,as indicated by the restoration of intracellular GSH level and the decrease in MDA content(P<0.05).VD3 specifically targeted the Nrf2 signaling pathway,upregulated the expression of xCT and GPX4 protein,thereby inhibiting ferroptosis and reducing NM-induced cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells.Conclusion VD3 mitigates NM-induced cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells by inhibiting ferroptosis via Nrf2 activation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the intervention mechanism of Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid in mice with alcoholic hepatitis. MethodsA total of 70 healthy male C57BL/6J mice， aged 6-8 weeks， were randomly divided into normal group， model group， liquid feed control group， silybin group， and low-， middle-， and high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid groups， with 10 mice in each group. The mice in the normal group were given normal diet， and those in the other groups were given Lieber-DeCarli classic liquid diet for 8 weeks to induce alcoholic hepatitis. During modeling， the mice in the low-， middle-， and high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid groups were given Dendrobium liquid manufactured by Warmen Pharmaceutical， and the mice in all the other groups were given pure water； the mice in the normal group， the model group， and the liquid feed control group were given normal saline by gavage， those in the silybin group were given silybin 0.25 mL/10 g by gavage， and those in the low-， middle-， and high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid groups were given Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid at a dose of 0.125 mL/10 g， 0.250 mL/10 g， and 0.375 mL/10 g， respectively， by gavage， once a day. At week 8， chloral hydrate was injected intraperitoneally for anesthesia， and blood samples were collected from the eyeball. After serum was separated， the biochemical method was used to measure the levels of aspartate aminotransferase （AST） and alanine aminotransferase （ALT）； HE staining and oil red staining were used to observe liver histopathology and lipid accumulation in mice； multiplex Luminex assay was used to measure the serum levels of interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and CCL2； quantitative real-time PCR， Western blot， and immunofluorescence assay were used to measure the protein expression levels of NLRP3， caspase-1， caspase-11， gasdermin D （GSDMD）， N-terminal gasdermin D （GSDMD-N） in liver tissue. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group had significant increases in the serum levels of AST， ALT， IL-6， IL-1β， TNF-α， and CCL2 （all P<0.05）， and compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had significant reductions in the serum levels of AST， ALT， IL-6， IL-1β， TNF-α， and CCL2 （all P<0.05）. HE staining showed that the model group had disordered structure of hepatic lobules， with a large number of steatosis vacuoles and massive cell necrosis， and compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had alleviation of liver histopathological injury， intact structure of most hepatic lobules， and a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration. Oil red staining showed that the model group had accumulation of large and small lipid droplets in the liver and a significant increase in liver fat content， and compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had significant alleviation of hepatic steatosis， with the presence of sporadic small lipid droplets. Immunofluorescence assay of liver tissue showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had a significant increase in the ratio of GSDMD-positive staining area in hepatocyte cytoplasm （P<0.001）， and compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had a significant reduction in such ratio in hepatocyte cytoplasm （P<0.001）. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significant increases in the protein expression levels of NLRP3， caspase-1， caspase-11， GSDMD， GSDMD-N， interleukin-18 （IL-18）， and IL-1β in liver tissue （all P<0.05）， and compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had significant reductions in the protein expression levels of NLRP3， caspase-1， caspase-11， GSDMD， GSDMD-N， IL-18， and IL-1 （all P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose Dendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid group had significant reductions in the protein expression levels of caspase-1 and caspase-11 （both P<0.05）， with a relative expression level of caspase-1 of 1.757 （reduced by 26.6% compared with the model group） and a relative expression level of caspase-11 of 0.455 （reduced by 70.3% compared with the model group）， suggesting that caspase-11 showed a greater reduction than caspase-1. ConclusionDendrobium officinale leaf fermentation fluid can alleviate alcoholic hepatitis in mice， possibly by inhibiting the non-classical cell pyroptosis pathway mediated by caspase-11.

Objective To explore the possible mechanism of emodin in inhibiting proliferation,migration,and invasion of AGS cells and in suppressing the expressions of YAP1 and FOXD1.Methods Normal gastric cell GES-1 and gastric cancer cell AGS were cultured with different concentrations of emodin.CCK8 test,scratch test and Transwell assay were used to verify changes in the biological phenotype of AGS cells.TCGA database was applied to analyze expressions of HK2,YAP1 and FOXD1 in gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric tissues.Western blotting method was used to detect the impacts of emodin on HK2,YAP1 and FOXD1 proteins in AGS cells.Exogenous pyruvic acid was added to verify the changes in YAP1 and FOXD1.Results The IC50 of emodin was significantly higher in GES-1 cells than in AGS cells(P<0.05).CCK8 proliferation test,scratch test,and Transwell assay showed that emodin significantly inhibited the biological abilities of AGS(P<0.05 for comparisons).Analysis on the TCGA bioinformatics database found that the expression of key enzymes HK2 in the glycolysis pathway and oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1 was significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in normal gastric tissues(P<0.05 for comparisons).Emodin significantly inhibited the protein expressions of key glycolytic enzymes HK2 and oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1(P<0.05 for comparisons).With supplement of exogenous glycolytic metabolite pyruvate,the protein expressions of oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1 significantly increased(P<0.05 for comparisons).Conclusions Emodin has a significant pharmacological inhibitory effect on gastric cancer AGS cells,markedly suppressing their biological phenotype.Emodin not only significantly inhibits the key enzyme HK2 in glycolysis metabolism,but also the protein expressions of oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1.With the addition of exogenous pyruvate to enhance the glycolytic metabolic pathway,the protein expressions of oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1 significantly increased.The above results suggest a close association of YAP1 and FOXD1 with glycolytic metabolism.Emodin may inhibit oncogenes YAP1 and FOXD1 through the glycolytic metabolism of gastric cancer AGS cells.

Tuberous sclerosis complex(TSC)is a rare genetic disease that can lead to benign dysplasia in multiple organs such as the skin, brain, eyes, oral cavity, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and bones. Its main symptoms include epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, skin depigmentation, and facial angiofibromas, whilst incidence is approximately 1 in 10 000 to 1 in 6000 newborns. This case presents a middle-aged woman who initially manifested with epilepsy and nodular depigmentation. Later, she developed a lower abdominal mass, elevated creatinine, and severe anemia. Based on clinical features and whole exome sequencing, the primary diagnosis was confirmed as TSC. Laboratory and imaging examinations revealed that the lower abdominal mass originated from the uterus. CT-guided biopsy pathology and surgical pathology suggested a combination of leiomyoma and abscess. With the involvement of multiple organs and various complications beyond the main diagnosis, the diagnostic and therapeutic process for this patient highlights the importance of rigorous clinical thinking and multidisciplinary collaboration in the diagnosis and treatment of rare and challenging diseases.