Objective: To explore the influencing factors of anxiety symptoms and to construct a predictive model based on machine learning algorithms, so as to provide support for the prevention and management of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students. Methods: From April to May 2023, a stratified random cluster sampling method was adopted to select 8 176 junior high school students from Zhengzhou and Shangqiu citys. All participants completed the Adolescent Self rating Life Events Checklist, the 10item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the School Connectedness Scale, the Parent-Child Cohesion Questionnaire, and the 7 item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale. Logistic regression analysis identified the associated factors of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students. Predictive models were constructed using Logistic regression, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms, with SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis explaining the optimal model. Results: The detection rate of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students was 16.3%. Logistic regression analysis showed that junior high school students who were female ( OR =1.22), in the ninth grade ( OR =1.27), living in urban areas ( OR =1.37), having a father with a college education or above ( OR =1.26), having a mother with a senior high school education ( OR =1.26), and experiencing higher levels of negative life events ( OR =1.05) reported a higher risk of anxiety symptoms(all P <0.05). In contrast, those with moderate family economic status ( OR =0.71), moderate academic burden ( OR =0.59), low academic burden ( OR =0.54), moderate sleep quality ( OR =0.46), good sleep quality ( OR =0.26), excellent sleep quality ( OR =0.15), higher levels of psychological resilience ( OR =0.96), higher levels of school connectedness ( OR =0.96), and higher levels of parent-child cohesion ( OR =0.98) reported a lower risk of anxiety symptoms (all P <0.05). Three machine learning models demonstrated good predictive performance for anxiety symptoms among junior high school students (all AUC>0.8), with the XGBoost model achieving the best predictive performance. SHAP analysis revealed that negative life events, sleep quality, school connectedness, psychological resilience and parent-child cohesion were the top five relevant factors for predicting anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The detection rate of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students is relatively high. The XGBoost model is the optimal predictive model for anxiety symptoms in the population. Negative life events, sleep quality, school connectedness, psychological resilience, and parent-child cohesion are significant correlates of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students.

Objective To investigate the temporal changes in pathological damage and macrophage polarization in liver and spleen tissues of mice infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and to preliminarily unravel the peripheral immune responses during the early stage of A. cantonensis infection. Methods Forty female BALB/c mice at ages of 6 to 8 weeks were randomly divided into four groups, including the control group and 7-, 14-, and 21-day infection groups, with 10 mice in each group. Each mouse in the infection groups was inoculated with 30 third-stage (L3) larvae of A. cantonensis by oral gavage, and five mice were randomly selected from each infection group on days 7, 14, and 21 post-infection, while mice in the control group were given the same volume of physiological saline and five mice were randomly selected from the control group on the day of oral gavage. Mouse liver and spleen tissues were sampled. The histopathological changes of mouse liver and spleen tissues were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the percentage of positive staining area and the co-localization positive rates of the macrophage surface antigens F4/80, CD86, and CD206 were quantified in mouse liver and spleen tissues using immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining. In addition, five mice were collected from each infection group on days 7, 14, and 21 post-infection, and five mice were collected from the control group on the day of oral gavage. Mouse liver and spleen tissues were sampled for detection of macrophage markers CD86 and CD206 and macrophage phenotyping using flow cytometry, and the expression of M1 macrophage markers, including inducible nitric oxide synthase (Nos2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and M2 markers, including arginase 1 (Arg1), mannose receptor C-type 1 (Mrc1) and chitinase-like protein 3 (Chil3) was quantified in mouse liver and spleen tissues using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay. Results Proliferative lesions of the hepatocyte were observed in mouse liver tissues and the follicular structures of the mouse spleen white pulp were disrupted 21 days post-infection with A. cantonensis. Immunohistochemical staining showed that there were significant differences in the percentages of F4/80, CD86 and CD206 positive staining areas in the liver and spleen tissues among the four groups of mice (F = 242.40, 197.14, 183.19, 157.65, 242.35 and 146.24; all P values < 0.001), and the percentages of positive staining in the liver and spleen tissues of mice in the 14-day infection group [(4.45 ± 0.51)%, (3.74 ± 0.67)%, (8.32 ± 0.72)%, (16.56 ± 1.14)%, (11.62 ± 0.52)%, and (8.29 ± 0.72)%, respectively] and the 21-day infection group [(3.70 ± 0.11)%, (3.22 ± 0.43)%, (11.53 ± 1.03)%, (12.59 ± 1.05)%, (9.02 ± 0.83)%, and (11.67 ± 1.10)%, respectively] were higher than in the control group [(0.35 ± 0.16)%, (0.40 ± 0.02)%, (0.93 ± 0.05)%, (2.78 ± 0.26)%, (2.33 ± 0.20)%, and (1.85 ± 0.20)%, respectively] (all P values < 0.05). Immunofluorescence staining showed significant differences in the positive rates of F4/80 co-localization with CD86 and CD206 in mouse liver and spleen tissues among the four groups (F = 24.42, 25.28, 54.51 and 130.55; all P values < 0.001). Flow cytometry detected significant differences in the proportions of CD86⁺ and CD206⁺ macrophages in mouse liver and spleen tissues among the four groups (F = 67.98, 18.41, 29.77, 172.80; all P values < 0.001), and the proportions of CD206⁺ macrophages in the liver and spleen of the 21-day infection group were significantly higher than those in the control group [(9.25 ± 2.55)% vs (3.83 ± 0.72)%, and (4.22 ± 0.56)% vs (0.47 ± 0.18)%, respectively] (both P values < 0.05). In addition, RT-qPCR assay quantified significant differences in the relative mRNA expression of M1 macrophage markers (IL-1β, TNF-α and Nos2) and M2 macrophage markers (Arg1, Chil3 and Mrc1) in mouse liver and spleen tissues among the four groups (F = 41.30, 31.82, 199.33, 19.96, 62.01, 119.76, 23.67, 95.90, 72.27, 82.59, 123.41 and 29.75; all P values < 0.05). Conclusions A. cantonensis infection may cause progressive pathological damage in mouse liver and spleen tissues, accompanied by dynamic temporal changes in macrophage polarization. M1 macrophage polarization predominates at the early stage of A. cantonensis infection and shifts towards M2 polarization at the later stages, suggesting that M2 polarization may participate in immune regulation at late stages of A. cantonensis infection by suppressing excessive inflammatory responses and promoting tissue repair.

Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.

Objective To analyze the pollution characteristics of PM_2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the non-heating period, heating period, and haze period in Harbin, and infer their possible sources, and to evaluate their impact on population carcinogenesis. Methods From 2020 to 2022, sampling points were set up in different districts of Harbin. PM_2.5 samples were regularly collected every month to analyze the contents of 10 types of PM_2.5-bound 4-6 rings PAHs. The pollution characteristics of PAHs were analyzed during different monitoring periods (non-heating period, heating period, and haze period). The excess carcinogenesis risks of PM_2.5-bound PAHs were assessed according to the Technical Specifications for Health Risk Assessment of Ambient Air Pollution and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) risk assessment method. The characteristic ratio method and the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model were used to infer the sources of PAHs. Results The median mass concentrations of ambient PM_2.5-bound 4-6 rings PAHs (ΣPAHs) during the non-heating period, heating period, and haze period were 6.44 ng/m³, 37.85 ng/m³, and 106.79 ng/m³, respectively. During the heating season and haze period, the concentrations of benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, pyrene and fluoranthene were relatively high. The excess carcinogenic risks for ASF_>16, ASF_2-16 and ASF_<2 caused by exposure to PM_2.5-bound 4-6rings PAHs during the heating season were 2.34×10^-6, 1.82×10^-6, and 0.88×10^-6, respectively, while the excess carcinogenic risks for the whole population during the heating season and haze period were 5.05×10^-6 and 1.75×10^-6, respectively. The results of the two source methods showed that the main characteristic elements during the heating season were fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene. According to the emission source standards, it was determined that the sources were mainly coal and biomass combustion, accompanied by traffic source emissions. Conclusion In Harbin, the PM_2.5-bound 4-6 rings PAHs during the haze period is significantly higher than that during the heating period. The pollution is mainly from coal combustion emissions, accompanied by continuous traffic source pollution. The exposure to PAHs during the heating period poses a potential carcinogenic risk to the population.

Based on commonly used acupoints in the clinical acupuncture treatment of functional dyspepsia （FD）， this study systematically analyzes the therapeutic differences and synergistic effects between local and distal point selection. It also examines the suitability of primary acupoint selection for different FD subtypes， postprandial distress syndrome （PDS） and epigastric pain syndrome （EPS）. The findings suggest that a combination of local and distal acupoints may be more appropriate as primary points for PDS， whereas local acupoints alone may be more suitable for EPS. Additionally， the study explores the impact of various factors， such as stimulation techniques， needling order， intensity or stimulation parameters， and depth， on the efficacy of acupuncture. It concludes that the intrinsic properties of acupoints are the primary determinants of therapeutic direction. Other factors mainly influence the magnitude rather than the direction of the effect. Future research may further investigate how different acupoint combinations， local versus distal， affect the treatment outcomes of FD subtypes， providing new insights for clinical acupuncture prescriptions.

Background: The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants. Results: Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.38 to 1.96]), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta=7.6×10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1×10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P=0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals. Conclusion Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common condition among women that severely impairs quality of life. Pelvic floor proprioceptive training (PFPT) has attracted increasing attention for its potential to enhance pelvic floor muscle function and alleviate SUI symptoms. This study aims to observe and compare the clinical efficacy of PFPT combined with electroacupuncture, electrical stimulation, and biofeedback therapy versus conventional therapy consisting of electroacupuncture, electrical stimulation, and biofeedback alone in women with SUI, and to explore the role of PFPT in improving symptom and functional outcomes. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 72 women with mild to moderate SUI were recruited from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, between December 2021 and October 2023. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=36) or a control group (n=36). Both groups received health education. The control group underwent electroacupuncture combined with electrical stimulation and biofeedback therapy, while the experimental group additionally received PFPT 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF). Secondary outcomes included pelvic floor muscle strength, bladder neck mobility, and balance ability. The ICIQ-SF was reassessed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. RESULTS: Both groups showed statistically significant improvements in all parameters after treatment (all P<0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in most measures (all P>0.05). The experimental group demonstrated longer single-leg stance duration with eyes closed than the control group (left leg: P=0.026; right leg: P=0.006), with a significant increase from baseline (P<0.001). At 6 months post-treatment, the cure rate in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P=0.037). CONCLUSIONS Conventional therapy effectively improves SUI symptoms, but adding PFPT provides notable additional benefits, including enhanced balance ability and sustained mid-term cure rates. These findings suggest that PFPT is a valuable adjunct to standard SUI management strategies.
Humans ; Female ; Urinary Incontinence, Stress/physiopathology* ; Pelvic Floor/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Adult ; Exercise Therapy/methods* ; Proprioception ; Electroacupuncture/methods* ; Quality of Life ; Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Combined Modality Therapy

The coinfection of respiratory viruses and bacteria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite the development of vaccines and powerful antibiotics. As a macromolecule that is difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract, a homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata (HCPM) has been reported to exhibit anti-complement properties and alleviate influenza A virus (H1N1)-induced lung injury; however, the effects of HCPM without in vitro antiviral and antibacterial activities on more complicated pulmonary diseases resulting from viral-bacterial coinfection remains unclear. This study established a representative coinfection murine pneumonia model infected with H1N1 (0.2 LD₅₀) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, 10⁷ CFU). HCPM significantly improved survival rate and weight loss, and ameliorated gut-lung damage and inflammatory cytokine production. Interestingly, the therapeutic effect of HCPM on intestinal damage preceded that in the lungs. Mechanistically, HCPM inhibited the overactivation of the intestinal complement (C3a and C5a) and suppressed the activation of the NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) pathway, which contributes to the regulation of the Treg/Th17 cell balance in the gut-lung axis. The results indicate the beneficial effects of an anti-complement polysaccharide against viral-bacterial coinfection pneumonia by modulating crosstalk between multiple immune regulatory networks.

Oligodendrocyte lineage cells, including oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and oligodendrocytes (OLs), are essential in establishing and maintaining brain circuits. Autophagy is a conserved process that keeps the quality of organelles and proteostasis. The role of autophagy in oligodendrocyte lineage cells remains unclear. The present study shows that autophagy is required to maintain the number of OPCs/OLs and myelin integrity during brain aging. Inactivation of autophagy in oligodendrocyte lineage cells increases the number of OPCs/OLs in the developing brain while exaggerating the loss of OPCs/OLs with brain aging. Inactivation of autophagy in oligodendrocyte lineage cells impairs the turnover of myelin basic protein (MBP). It causes MBP to accumulate in the cytoplasm as multimeric aggregates and fails to be incorporated into integral myelin, which is associated with attenuated endocytic recycling. Inactivation of autophagy in oligodendrocyte lineage cells impairs myelin integrity and causes demyelination. Thus, this study shows autophagy is required to maintain myelin quality during aging by controlling the turnover of myelin components.
Animals ; Autophagy/physiology* ; Oligodendroglia/metabolism* ; Myelin Sheath/physiology* ; Aging/pathology* ; Myelin Basic Protein/metabolism* ; Cell Lineage/physiology* ; Mice ; Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Brain/cytology* ; Cells, Cultured ; Cell Count