Background Pulmonary heart disease (PHD) is a critical cardiopulmonary disease in high-altitude areas, with pulmonary hypertension (PH) as its central pathological basis. Cold and hypoxia are vital environmental characteristics of high-altitude regions; however, their joint effect on the hospitalization risk for PHD and the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Objective To evaluate the associations of cold, hypoxia, and their joint exposure with PHD hospitalization risk, and to investigate PH-related pathological changes induced by combined cold and hypoxic exposure and the intervention effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in rats. Methods Based on hospitalization data for 92986 PHD cases from 333 hospitals in Gansu Province (2018–2022), a generalized additive model (GAM) with a quasi-Poisson distribution was used to assess the associations between daily mean temperature, atmospheric oxygen content (AOC) and the daily number of PHD hospitalizations. Four joint exposure categories were constructed using the fifth percentile of temperature (P₅, −7.90℃) and AOC grades (high or low) to assess the associations between different exposure combinations and daily PHD hospital admissions. To further investigate PH-related pathological changes and the intervention effects of GABA, 24 specific-pathogen-free male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups (n=6): normal temperature and normoxia control group (NC), combined cold and hypoxia exposure group (CH), combined exposure plus low-dose GABA intervention group (CHL), and combined exposure plus high-dose GABA intervention group (CHH). After 5 weeks, pulmonary hemodynamics and vascular remodeling were evaluated. Gut microbiota and inflammatory cytokines in lung tissue were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Results Each 1 g·m⁻³ decrease in AOC and each 1 ℃ decrease in daily mean temperature were associated with 2.6% (RR=1.026, 95%CI: 1.024, 1.027) and 1.8% (RR=1.018, 95%CI: 1.015, 1.020) increases in PHD hospitalization risk, respectively. Compared with the non-low-temperature and high-AOC group, the low-temperature and low-AOC group had the highest risk estimate (RR=1.673, 95%CI: 1.567, 1.785). Animal experiments demonstrated that, compared with the NC group, rats in the CH group showed shortened pulmonary artery acceleration time (PAT) and increased mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP), right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI), pulmonary arterial wall thickness, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression (P<0.05). The Observed Species and Chao1 indices of the gut microbiota were significantly lower in the CH group than in the NC group (P<0.05), while levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) in lung tissue were elevated (P<0.05). GABA intervention improved selected hemodynamic, vascular remodeling, and inflammatory indices. Conclusion Decreases in daily mean temperature and AOC are associated with an increased risk of PHD hospitalization, with the highest risk estimate observed in the low-temperature and low-AOC group. Animal experiments suggest that combined cold and hypoxic exposure induce PH-related pathological changes accompanied by alterations in the gut microbiota and pulmonary inflammation. GABA may partially ameliorate these changes.

Aim To explore the mechanism of ligustil-ide(LIG)improving demyelination by inhibiting in-flammatory response in mice with distal middle cerebral artery occlusion(dMCAO)through AIM2/caspase-1 signal pathway.Methods Thirty C57BL/6N male mice were randomly divided into three groups:sham operation group(Sham group,n=10),model group(dMCAO group,n=10)and treatment group(LIG group,n=10).The dMCAO mouse model was estab-lished by electrocoagulation in dMCAO group and LIG group.The mice were scored by Longa after waking up,and the changes of cerebral blood flow were moni-tored by laser speckle blood flow imaging system after dMCAO.One hour after modeling,LIG(30 mg·kg-1·d-1)was injected intraperitoneally in LIG group,and the same amount of normal saline was injected in sham group and dMCAO group for one week until the end of the experiment.The mice in each group were stained with TTC,and the brain injury was observed pathologically.Fatigue turning bar test and open field test were used to evaluate the motor function and anxie-ty degree of mice,and then the brain tissues of mice were taken for black gold staining to compare the chan-ges of myelin sheath in each group.Immunofluores-cence staining was used to detect the average fluores-cence intensity of MBP,IBA1 and GFAP in CC,CPU and CX regions of mouse brains.ELISAwas used to de-tect the contents of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-1 β,IL-17A and BDNF in brain tissue proteins of mice.Western blot-ting was used to detect the protein expressions of AIM2,caspase-1 and ASC-in each group.Results Compared with the dMCAO group,the infarct area was reduced,the behavior was significantly improved and the demyelination was reduced in the LIG group.The expression of MBP protein in CC,CPU and CX regions increased(P＜0.05),the expression of IBA1 in CX decreased(P＜0.01),and the expression of GFAP in-creased in CC,CPU and CX regions(P＜0.01).The results of ELISA showed that the levels ofTNF-α(P＜0.01),IL-6(P＜0.01),IL-1β(P＜0.05)and IL-17A(P＜0.01)significantly decreased,while the ex-pression of BDNF increased(P＜0.05).The protein expression levels of AIM2,caspase-1 and ASC in mouse brain decreased after treatment(P＜0.01).Conclusion LIG has a protective effect on demyelina-tion in dMCAO mice,which may be related to the inhi-bition of AIM2/caspase-1 signaling pathway and in-flammation and to the promotion of BDNF secretion.

Objective:The predictive value of oxidized low density lipoprotein(ox-LDL)and electrocardiogram(ECG)ischaemia grade for major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)was assessed by a retrospective cohort study de-sign.Methods:A total of 336 STEMI patients admitted to Cangzhou People's Hospital between October 2019 and May 2022 were selected,and the medical record information was obtained through the hospital medical record sys-tem,and all patients received PCI and physician-recommended basic treatment.With occurrence of MACE with in 12-month follow-up as the evaluation index,they were divided into MACE group(n=65)and no MACE group(n=271).Multifactorial Logistic regression model was used to study the influencing factors of MACE after PCI in STEMI patients,and Spearman test for association of ox-LDL level,ECG ischaemia grade with MACE after PCI.ROC curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of ox-LDL,ECG ischaemia grade and their combination for MACE after PCI.Results:The overall MACE incidence was 19.35％.Compared with patients in no MACE group,those in MACE group had significant higher ox-LDL level[46.34(29.46,66.29)U/L vs.33.00(23.02,50.03)U/L]and proportion of ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia(64.62％vs.42.80％)(P＜0.01 all).Multifactorial Logistic re-gression analysis showed that ox-LDL(OR=1.022,95％CI 1.011～1.033,P=0.001)and ECG grade Ⅲ ischae-mia(OR=1.878,95％CI 1.007～3.504,P=0.048)were the independent risk factors of post-PCI MACE in STEMI patients.Spearman test showed that ox-LDL and ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia were positively correlated with post-PCI MACE(r=0.209,0.173,P＜0.001 all).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs of ox-LDL,ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia and their combination in predicting post-PCI MACE were respectively 0.653(95％CI 0.599～0.704),0.609(95％CI 0.555～0.662)and 0.758(95％CI 0.709～0.803),in which the predictive value of the combination of the two was significantly higher than any single detection(Z=2.030,3.097,P=0.042,0.002).Conclusion:ox-LDL combined with ECG ischaemia grading has a high predictive value for the occurrence of MACE with in 12 months after PCI in STEMI patients.

OBJECTIVE: Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects. METHODS: We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies. RESULTS: We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011-2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007-2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity. CONCLUSION GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Humans ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Linear Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Environmental Pollutants ; Body Mass Index

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Aim To explore the mechanism of ligustil-ide(LIG)improving demyelination by inhibiting in-flammatory response in mice with distal middle cerebral artery occlusion(dMCAO)through AIM2/caspase-1 signal pathway.Methods Thirty C57BL/6N male mice were randomly divided into three groups:sham operation group(Sham group,n=10),model group(dMCAO group,n=10)and treatment group(LIG group,n=10).The dMCAO mouse model was estab-lished by electrocoagulation in dMCAO group and LIG group.The mice were scored by Longa after waking up,and the changes of cerebral blood flow were moni-tored by laser speckle blood flow imaging system after dMCAO.One hour after modeling,LIG(30 mg·kg-1·d-1)was injected intraperitoneally in LIG group,and the same amount of normal saline was injected in sham group and dMCAO group for one week until the end of the experiment.The mice in each group were stained with TTC,and the brain injury was observed pathologically.Fatigue turning bar test and open field test were used to evaluate the motor function and anxie-ty degree of mice,and then the brain tissues of mice were taken for black gold staining to compare the chan-ges of myelin sheath in each group.Immunofluores-cence staining was used to detect the average fluores-cence intensity of MBP,IBA1 and GFAP in CC,CPU and CX regions of mouse brains.ELISAwas used to de-tect the contents of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-1 β,IL-17A and BDNF in brain tissue proteins of mice.Western blot-ting was used to detect the protein expressions of AIM2,caspase-1 and ASC-in each group.Results Compared with the dMCAO group,the infarct area was reduced,the behavior was significantly improved and the demyelination was reduced in the LIG group.The expression of MBP protein in CC,CPU and CX regions increased(P＜0.05),the expression of IBA1 in CX decreased(P＜0.01),and the expression of GFAP in-creased in CC,CPU and CX regions(P＜0.01).The results of ELISA showed that the levels ofTNF-α(P＜0.01),IL-6(P＜0.01),IL-1β(P＜0.05)and IL-17A(P＜0.01)significantly decreased,while the ex-pression of BDNF increased(P＜0.05).The protein expression levels of AIM2,caspase-1 and ASC in mouse brain decreased after treatment(P＜0.01).Conclusion LIG has a protective effect on demyelina-tion in dMCAO mice,which may be related to the inhi-bition of AIM2/caspase-1 signaling pathway and in-flammation and to the promotion of BDNF secretion.

Objective:The predictive value of oxidized low density lipoprotein(ox-LDL)and electrocardiogram(ECG)ischaemia grade for major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)was assessed by a retrospective cohort study de-sign.Methods:A total of 336 STEMI patients admitted to Cangzhou People's Hospital between October 2019 and May 2022 were selected,and the medical record information was obtained through the hospital medical record sys-tem,and all patients received PCI and physician-recommended basic treatment.With occurrence of MACE with in 12-month follow-up as the evaluation index,they were divided into MACE group(n=65)and no MACE group(n=271).Multifactorial Logistic regression model was used to study the influencing factors of MACE after PCI in STEMI patients,and Spearman test for association of ox-LDL level,ECG ischaemia grade with MACE after PCI.ROC curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of ox-LDL,ECG ischaemia grade and their combination for MACE after PCI.Results:The overall MACE incidence was 19.35％.Compared with patients in no MACE group,those in MACE group had significant higher ox-LDL level[46.34(29.46,66.29)U/L vs.33.00(23.02,50.03)U/L]and proportion of ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia(64.62％vs.42.80％)(P＜0.01 all).Multifactorial Logistic re-gression analysis showed that ox-LDL(OR=1.022,95％CI 1.011～1.033,P=0.001)and ECG grade Ⅲ ischae-mia(OR=1.878,95％CI 1.007～3.504,P=0.048)were the independent risk factors of post-PCI MACE in STEMI patients.Spearman test showed that ox-LDL and ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia were positively correlated with post-PCI MACE(r=0.209,0.173,P＜0.001 all).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs of ox-LDL,ECG grade Ⅲ ischaemia and their combination in predicting post-PCI MACE were respectively 0.653(95％CI 0.599～0.704),0.609(95％CI 0.555～0.662)and 0.758(95％CI 0.709～0.803),in which the predictive value of the combination of the two was significantly higher than any single detection(Z=2.030,3.097,P=0.042,0.002).Conclusion:ox-LDL combined with ECG ischaemia grading has a high predictive value for the occurrence of MACE with in 12 months after PCI in STEMI patients.

Objective:To observe the clinical effect of aripiprazole combined with non-convulsive electroshock(MECT)for children and adolescents with first episode schizophrenia.Methods:94 children and adolescents with first episode schizophrenia who were admitted to Yiling Kangning Mental Hospital of Yichang from August 2022 to August 2024 were divided into control group(received aripiprazole,n=47)and study group(received aripiprazole combined with MECT,n=47)by using random number table method.The clinical efficacy,dysfunction scale[Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(PANSS),Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale(MoCA),Wechsler Memory Scale(WMS)],glucose and lipid metabolism indexes[low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),glycated hemoglobin(HbAlc),total cholesterol(TC),fasting blood glucose(FBG),High density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),inflammatory factor indexes[interleukin-1β(IL-1β),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6)],neurocytokine levels[serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF),s100βprotein(s100β),homocysteine(Hcy)]and the occurrence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results:Compared with the control group after treatment,the clinical total effective rate,MoCA,WMS score,HDL-C,BDNF were higher,PANSS score,HbAlc,FBG,TC,LDL-C,TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,s100β and Hcy were lower in the study group(P＜0.05).There was no difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion:Aripiprazole combined with MECT in the treatment of in children and adolescents with first episode schizophrenia can reduce the degree of inflammation,regulate glucose and lipid metabolism,improve clinical symptoms and neurological function of children,with good safety.

Objective To explore the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.Methods Sixty-five case of pneumoconiosis were retrospectively enrolled.Chest high-resolution CT were independently analyzed by one associate chief physician,one attending physician and one resident physician,respectively.The stage of pneumoconiosis was judged,and the inter-observer consistency was observed.Taken the results of 5 experts using Delphi method as gold standard,the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage were analyzed.Results Among 65 cases,there were 42 cases of stage 1,16 cases of stage 2 and 7 cases of stage 3 pneumoconiosis.The inter-observer consistency of pneumoconiosis stage was relatively high(Kappa=0.653),of stage 3 pneumoconiosis was the best(Kappa=0.803),followed by stage 1(Kappa=0.661),while of stage 2 was the lowest(Kappa=0.518).Radiologist lack experience(OR=4.872),the lesions mainly located in the posterior upper area of lungs(OR=2.317),the present of r-type small shadows(OR=3.105)and high CT pulmonary emphysema index(OR=1.214)were all independent impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Both the experience of radiologist and lesions'heterogeneity were main impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.

Objective To assess the efficacy of a novel inguinal tourniquet in healthy individuals and to investigate the relationship between localized inguinal compression and femoral artery blood flow occlusion.Methods A self-controlled study was conducted.From November 9 to November 30,2024,11 volunteers were recruited at the Third Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital.Three compression methods--finger pressure,a novel groin tourniquet,and a SAM junction tourniquet(SJT)—were applied bilaterally to the inguinal region until distal blood flow signals disappeared.Each compression method was tested in 22 trials with a 5-minute interval between operations.Differences in hemostatic efficacy between bilateral inguinal regions and across compression methods were compared.Subsequently,the novel tourniquet was incrementally pressurized in 120 mmHg multiples using an integrated pressure device to analyze trends in popliteal artery blood flow velocity.Observational indicators included the internal pressure of the tourniquet pressurization device,peak systolic velocity(PSV)of popliteal artery,inguinal surface pressure magnitude,inguinal surface pressure distribution,and pain scores(assessed using a single-dimensional numerical rating scale).Results No statistically significant difference was observed in the minimum pressure required to occlude femoral artery blood flow bilaterally(P>0.05).The success rates of femoral artery blood flow occlusion at the inguinal region were 100%for the novel inguinal tourniquet,SJT,and finger pressure.The novel inguinal tourniquet induced the highest pain scores,ranging from 5 to 8.A significant reduction in PSV of popliteal artery was noted when the intra-tourniquet pressure reached 360 mmHg and 480 mmHg(P<0.05),with a 95%hemostasis efficacy observed within the range of 360-600 mmHg.No significant association was observed between the recovery of popliteal artery blood flow after limb movement and inguinal pressure distribution(P>0.05).The PSV of popliteal artery exhibited the strongest negative correlation with the average pressure within the inguinal compression area(r=-0.79,P<0.001),with a linear regression fitting line of y=69.69-0.13x(P<0.001,R2=0.58).Conclusions The novel inguinal tourniquet effectively occludes femoral artery blood flow within a pressure range of 360-600 mmHg,accompanied by moderate-to-severe pain.Its hemostatic mechanism mainly relies on increasing the mean pressure within the inguinal compression area.