[Objective] To investigate the factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities in multi-ethnic blood donors across five Zang autonomous prefectures in the plateau regions of Qinghai Province, and to provide evidence for ensuring blood safety and formulating screening strategies. [Methods] A retrospective analysis was performed on the ALT abnormal test results of blood donors in the Zang autonomous prefectures of Qinghai from 2022 to 2024. The correlations between ALT levels and factors including gender, age, altitude, and infectious markers were investigated. [Results] The overall ALT unqualified rate among blood donors in this region was 9.01%. Significant differences in ALT levels were observed across genders and age groups (P<0.05). Variations in ALT abnormality rates were also noted among different plateau regions (P<0.05). Overall, ALT values exhibited an increasing trend with rising altitude. The average ALT unqualified rates were 11.19% in Zang donors, 7.96% in Han donors, and 4.79% in donors from other ethnic groups (P<0.05). No statistically significant association was observed between ALT abnormality and the presence of HBV/HCV infectious markers (P>0.05). [Conclusion] In the plateau areas of Qinghai, multi-ethnic blood donors have a relatively high ALT levels and ALT unqualified rates, showing distinct regional characteristics. ALT elevation in voluntary blood donors is related to non-pathological factors such as gender, age, and dietary habits, but not to infectious indicators.

Objective To explore the application of plasma 7 microRNA (miR7) testing in the differential diagnosis of very early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods This study is a multicenter real-world study. Patients with single hepatic lesion (maximum diameter≤2 cm) who underwent plasma miR7 testing at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Anhui Provincial Hospital, and Peking University People’s Hospital between January 2019 and December 2024 were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were divided into very early-stage HCC group and non-HCC group, and the clinical pathological characteristics of the two groups were compared. The value of plasma miR7 levels, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) in the differential diagnosis of very early-stage HCC was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC). In patients with both negative AFP and DCP (AFP＜20 ng/mL, DCP＜40 mAU/mL), the diagnostic value of plasma miR7 for very early-stage HCC was analyzed. Results A total of 64 528 patients from 4 hospitals underwent miR7 testing, and 1 682 were finally included, of which 1 073 were diagnosed with very early-stage HCC and 609 were diagnosed with non-HCC. The positive rate of miR7 in HCC patients was significantly higher than that in non-HCC patients (67.9% vs 24.3%, P＜0.001). ROC curves showed that the AUCs for miR7, AFP, and DCP in distinguishing HCC patients from the non-HCC individuals were 0.718, 0.682, and 0.642, respectively. The sensitivities were 67.85%, 43.71%, and 44.45%, and the specificities were 75.70%, 92.78%, and 83.91%, respectively. The pairwise comparison of AUCs showed that the diagnostic efficacy of plasma miR7 detection was significantly better than that of AFP or DCP (P＜0.05). Although its specificity was slightly lower than AFP and DCP, the sensitivity was significantly higher. Among patients negative for both AFP and DCP, miR7 maintained an AUC of 0.728 for diagnosing very early-stage HCC, with 67.82% sensitivity and 77.73% specificity. Conclusions Plasma miR7 testing is a potential molecular marker with high sensitivity and specificity for the differential diagnosis of small hepatic nodules. In patients with very early-stage HCC lacking effective molecular markers (negative for both AFP and DCP), miR7 can serve as a novel and effective molecular marker to assist diagnosis.

This study aims to systematically review and evaluate the quality of clinical research on the treatment of adenomyosis(AM) with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in recent ten years, using evidence graphs. Computer searches were conducted on eight Chinese and English databases, commonly used guideline databases, and guideline-related websites, covering the period from January 1, 2014, to October 1, 2024. Two researchers independently screened, extracted information, and evaluated the quality of the evidence. The distribution and quality of the clinical research evidence were presented using both text and charts. A total of 565 articles were included in the study, comprising 523 intervention studies, 23 observational studies, 18 systematic reviews/Meta-analysis, and 1 guideline. The overall publication volume has shown a downward trend in past two years. The sample sizes of the intervention and observational studies primarily focused on 60 to 120 cases. The intervention schemes mainly involved multi-therapy combinations, including 33 classic prescriptions and 25 Chinese patent medicines. Among these, 48 studies related to 17 classic prescriptions and 45 studies related to 10 types of Chinese patent medicines involved TCM syndrome types. Randomized controlled trial(RCT) tended to focus on overall clinical efficacy and the degree of dysmenorrhea as key outcome measures. Methodological quality issues were found in 97 RCTs related to TCM decoctions and 131 RCTs related to Chinese patent medicines, primarily involving unclear explanations of some information. The AMSTAR scores for the 18 systematic reviews/Meta-analysis ranged from 1 to 8 points, with 16 studies suggesting "evidence of potential therapeutic efficacy". The recommended level for the one included guideline was B-level. TCM shows significant advantages in treating AM. Future clinical research should further standardize study designs, reference relevant reporting guidelines, improve the quality of clinical research, generate higher-level evidence-based results, and promote the high-quality development of clinical research on TCM for treating AM.
Humans ; Adenomyosis/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

Objective To screen key autophagy-related genes in alcoholic hepatitis (AH) and investigate potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AH. Methods Two AH gene chips in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and autophagy-related data sets obtained from MSigDB and GeneCards databases were used, and the key genes were verified and obtained by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The screened key genes were subject to gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), protein-protein interaction (PPI) and immune infiltration analyses. Messenger RNA (mRNA)- microRNA (miRNA) network was constructed to analyze the expression differences of key autophagy-related genes during different stages of AH, which were further validated by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in the liver tissues of AH patients and mice. Results Eleven autophagy-related genes were screened in AH (EEF1A2, CFTR, SOX4, TREM2, CTHRC1, HSPB8, TUBB3, PRKAA2, RNASE1, MTCL1 and HGF), all of which were up-regulated. In the liver tissues of AH patients and mice, the relative expression levels of SOX4, TREM2, HSPB8 and PRKAA2 in the AH group were higher than those in the control group. Conclusions SOX4, TREM2, HSPB8 and PRKAA2 may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AH.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the ameliorative effects and mechanism of Sanwei ganlu on hepatic fibrosis in rats. METHODS The rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， silibinin group （positive control， 50 mg/kg）， and Sanwei ganlu low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose groups （80， 250， 800 mg/kg）. Except for normal group， hepatic fibrosis rat models were established by intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 in the other groups of rats. Starting from the 6th week of modeling administration， they were given normal saline or corresponding drugs intragastrically at the same time. At the end of the ninth-week experiment， liver and spleen indexes of rats were calculated； the pathological structure and fibrosis changes of liver tissue were observed by HE， Masson and Sirus Red staining. The contents of alanine transaminase （ALT）， aspartate transaminase （AST）， procollagen type Ⅲ （PC Ⅲ）， collagen type Ⅳ （COL-Ⅳ）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and IL-1β in serum， and hyaluronic acid （HA） and laminin （LN） in liver tissue were all detected. RESULTS Compared with the model group， the liver injury and collagen fiber deposition of rats were improved to different extents in Sanwei ganlu groups and silibinin group； the contents of ALT， AST， PC Ⅲ， COL-Ⅳ， IL-6， TNF-α and IL-1β in serum as well as the contents of HA and LN in liver tissue significantly decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS Sanwei ganlu can alleviate the progression of hepatic fibrosis in rats， possibly by inhibiting the synthesis of collagen fiber， reducing transaminase content， down-regulating the levels of HA， LN， PC Ⅲ and COL-Ⅳ， and reducing the inflammatory response.

Objective: To analyze the association between latent class of health-risk behaviors and depressive symptoms among middle school students, so as to provide the evidence for the prevention and intervention of depressive symptoms among middle school students. Methods: Students in two junior high schools, two senior high schools and one vocational high school in Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, were selected using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. Demography and health-risk behaviors were collected using questionnaire surveys, depressive symptoms were investigated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression-10 Scale, and latent class analysis was conducted for health-risk behaviors. The association between different latent classes and depressive symptoms was analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: A total of 1 247 students were surveyed, including 641 boys (51.40%) and 606 girls (48.60%). There were 452 junior high school students (36.25%), 532 high school students (42.66%) and 263 vocational high school students (21.09%). Latent class analysis showed that health-risk behaviors in students were classified into three groups, namely healthy behavior group (52.93%), poor diet group (39.94%) and high-risk behavior group (7.14%), and the detection rates of depressive symptoms were 7.12%, 18.88% and 52.81%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between groups (P<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, gender, native place, only child and living on campus, the poor diet group (OR=3.107, 95%CI: 2.086-4.627) and high-risk behavior group (OR=15.401, 95%CI: 9.031-26.262) had higher risks of depressive symptoms compared with the healthy behavior group. Conclusion Having high-risk behaviors and poor diet may increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms among middle school students.

In vertebrate embryonic development, the segmentation clock controls the cyclic formation of somites through presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells. Somites are paired segmented structures along the anterior-posterior axis that eventually develop into vertebrae and ribs. Disruptions in the segmentation clock leads to defects in somitogenesis, resulting in congenital spinal diseases. The major patterning modules that are involved in segmentation clock is the clock and wavefront, which primarily relies on signaling gradients and cyclic oscillation. Mesodermal differentiation is regulated by combinatorial gradient system that involves the activity of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF), the Wnt/β-catenin, and the retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathways. The antagonistic gradients of these signals set a position of the determination front. In the tail bud and posterior mesoderm, FGF and Wnt signaling prevent cell maturation and the molecular oscillators start to express. The molecular oscillators rely on negative feedback loops to maintain their oscillatory expression patterns. As the cells move anteriorly, FGF signaling gradually decays and RA signaling began to strengthen. Meanwhile, the molecular oscillators propagate anteriorly with wave pattern. At the determination front, low levels of FGF signaling and high levels of RA signaling eliminate differentiation inhibition and initiate molecular oscillators to activate cyclic genes, such as Mesp2, leading to the formation of repetitive structures in somites. Advancements in live reporter and 2D culture systems have revealed that coupling delays in cell communication can maintain the synchronous segmentation clock between adjacent cells. Studies have shown that these coupling delays are controlled by Lfng gene, it can adjust coupling delays to fit in-phase oscillations by increasing the time required for intercellular DLL1-Notch signaling. To sum up, the dual homeostasis of opposing signaling gradients determines the segment boundaries, the distance traveled by a molecular oscillator in one oscillation cycle determines the somite size, and the delayed coupling in intercellular signaling regulates the synchronization of clock oscillations. These three factors interact with each other to form a segmentation clock network coordinating somitogenesis. Recent studies have revealed that the intercellular coupling delay mechanism is a major factor influencing the maintenance of oscillation synchronization. Intercellular coupling delay errors, such as increased or decreased delay time, can desynchronizing intercellular oscillations and resulting in somite fusion. However, the mechanisms governing how intercellular communication becomes involved in oscillation synchronization remains unclear. Congenital scoliosis (CS) is a result of anomalous development of the vertebrate which associate with somitogenesis malformation. We observed that deficiency or overdose of vitamin A intake in gestation may lead to CS. While the deep mechanism of how RA signaling regulates oscillation synchronization still need to be detected. With the rapid development of 3D culture systems, researchers have successfully recapitulated the formation of somite-like structures with antero-posterior identity and indicated that the rate of metabolism is directly proportional to that of development. In summary, deconstructing the segmentation clock in vitro facilitates the dissection of regulation networks of the segmentation clock and offers an excellent proxy for studying the metabolic regulation of somitogenesis speed across species and the mechanisms underlying the formation of bilateral symmetry. It also creates a platform for exploring dysregulation mechanisms involved in the development of pathological somite defects.

OBJECTIVE To clarify the components of volatile oil in branches and leaves of Rhododendron anthopogonoides, Rhododendron capitatum, Rhododendron thymifolium and Rhododendron przewalskii. METHODS The total volatile oil in leaves and branches of these plants were obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction. After that, the chemical composition of the total volatile oil was analyzed and identified by GC-MS, and the contents of different parts and varieties were compared. RESULTS The results showed that the highest oil yield of leaves was Rhododendron thymifolium(6.97%), and the highest oil yield of branches was Rhododendron anthopogonoides(20.53%). Thirty-five, eighty, fifty-eight and forty compounds were detected in the branch oil of Rhododendron anthopogonoides, Rhododendron capitatum, Rhododendron thymifolium and Rhododendron przewalskii respectively, among which Rhododendron capitatum was rich in compounds. Forty-eight, fifty-seven, sixty-two and fifty compounds were detected in the leaf oil, among which the compounds of Rhododendron anthopogonoides were the richest. Among the detected components, squalene(34.92%, 26.90%) was the highest content in the branches and leaves of Rhododendron anthopogonoides. 1-Eicosanol(26.79%) was the highest content in the branch oil of Rhododendron capitatum, and octadecyl acetate(42.32%) was the highest content in the leaf oil. The highest content of bisabola-3,10-diene-2-one(34.66%, 28.20%) was found in the branches and leaves of Rhododendron thymifolium, and 15-oxoETE(38.20%, 40.40%) was the highest content in the branches and leaves of Rhododendron przewalskii. The results showed that the contents of oil in branches and leaves of Rhododendron capitatum were quite different in different parts. In the comparison of different varieties, the compounds with the highest content of four rhododendrons were all different. CONCLUSION According to the difference of the content of active components of different rhododendrons and parts, the appropriate species and parts for purposeful development and utilization should be selected. The research results can provide scientific basis for rational development and utilization of Rhododendron resources.