Objective:To investigate the causal impact of maternal smoking around birth(MSAB)on off-spring's risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD),autism spectrum disorder(ASD),bipolar disorder(BD),and major depressive disorder(MDD).Methods:The datasets for MSAB and 4 psychiatric disorders were extracted from genome-wide association studies(GWAS).Mendelian randomization(MR)was employed,using in-verse variance weighting(IVW)as the primary analysis method.Sensitivity analyses and outlier correction were conducted using weighted median(WM),MR-Egger regression,and MR-PRESSO.The results were expressed as odds ratios(OR)and corrected for false discovery rate(FDR).Results:MR analysis showed significant causal re-lationships between MSAB and increased risk of ADHD(OR=5.36,95％CI=2.58-7.63,PFDR=0.003),MDD(OR=1.92,95％CI=1.29-2.88,PFDR=0.003),and BD(OR=6.33,95％CI=1.56-8.73,PFDR=0.013).However,no statistically significant association was found between MSAB and ASD(OR=1.66,95％CI=0.23-5.87,PFDR=0.616).Conclusion:This study suggests a potential causal link between maternal smoking around the time of birth and an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,bipolar disorder,and major depressive disorder in offspring.

Microglia, the resident immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS), rapidly transition from a resting to an active state in the acute phase of ischemic brain injury. This active state mediates a pro-inflammatory response that can exacerbate the injury. Targeting the pro-inflammatory response of microglia in the semi-dark band during this acute phase may effectively reduce brain injury. Shionone (SH), an active ingredient extracted from the dried roots and rhizomes of the genus Aster (Asteraceae), has been reported to regulate the inflammatory response of macrophages in sepsis-induced acute lung injury. However, its function in post-stroke neuroinflammation, particularly microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, remains uninvestigated. This study found that SH significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced elevation of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), in microglia in vitro. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that SH alleviated infarct volume and improved behavioral performance in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice, which may be attributed to the inhibition of the microglial inflammatory response induced by SH treatment. Mechanistically, SH potently inhibited the phosphorylation of serine-threonine protein kinase B (AKT), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). These findings suggest that SH may be a potential therapeutic agent for relieving ischemic stroke (IS) by alleviating microglia-associated neuroinflammation.
Animals ; Microglia/immunology* ; Mice ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Brain Ischemia/immunology* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/drug therapy* ; Neuroprotective Agents/administration & dosage* ; Interleukin-1beta/genetics* ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics* ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/immunology* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/genetics* ; Lipopolysaccharides

Objective:To explore the impact of residents′ health literacy on healthcare choices.Methods:This mixed cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2009, 2011, and 2015 waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), including adults aged≥18 years. Guided by Andersen′s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use and the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) framework, variables were collected across three dimensions-predisposing, enabling, and need factors-including gender, marital status, age, education level, employment status, urban/rural residence, health management awareness, income, health insurance coverage, self-rated health, and chronic disease status. A multinomial Logistic regression model was applied to assess the association between health literacy and healthcare choice. Bootstrap analysis was conducted to test the mediating effect of health management awareness.Results:After excluding cases with missing or invalid data, 4 736 valid observations were included. The proportions of choosing township-, county-, and city-level hospitals were 60.60%, 15.08%, and 24.32%, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, health literacy showed a significant effect on healthcare choice ( P<0.05): individuals with higher health literacy were more likely to choose county-level hospitals ( RR=1.035, P<0.05) and city-level hospitals ( RR=1.044, P<0.01). Health management awareness mediated the relationship between health literacy and healthcare choice ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Health literacy significantly influences healthcare choices; individuals with higher health literacy are more inclined to utilize higher-level medical institutions. Furthermore, health literacy affects healthcare choices partly through the mediating role of health management awareness.

To address the problem of data silos in dental specialties caused by equipment heterogeneity, this study developed an Intelligent Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled dental chair platform (hereinafter referred to as the intelligent platform) based on the concept of medical-engineering integration. The platform adopts a three-tier chair-domain interconnection architecture: the bottom tier integrates multi-source sensors and standardized interfaces for automated data acquisition and linkage with hospital information systems; the middle tier provides clinic-level management and remote teaching collaboration; and the top tier employs a blockchain-based secure cloud database for resource allocation and data management. Clinical validation at The Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Nanjing Medical University demonstrated that, compared with a control group from the same period in 2023, the trial group achieved a 38.0% increase in average daily patient visits (80.6±6.8 vs. 58.4±5.2, t=15.16, P<0.001), a 24.6% reduction in average treatment time [(36.1±6.3) min vs. (47.9±8.5) min, t=7.72, P<0.001], a 39.2% reduction in waiting time [23.3 (16.5, 30.1) min vs. 38.3 (28.3, 48.3) min, U=32.00, P<0.001], a 30.4% reduction in equipment idle rate [8.7% (5.1%, 12.3%) vs. 12.5% (7.4%, 17.6%), U=251.00, P=0.003], and an increase in patient satisfaction from 88.2% (1 519/1 723) to 94.3% (2 186/2 318) ( t=7.26, P<0.001). User research confirmed that the functions most favored by clinicians and patients were "dental chair parameter updating and clinical data integration" [74.7% (80/107)] and "chairside display of diagnostic images" [76.8% (119/155)], respectively. Looking forward, the intelligent platform has the potential to integrate artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and 5G-enabled multicenter collaboration to further expand its clinical applications and accelerate the digital transformation of dental healthcare.

To address the problem of data silos in dental specialties caused by equipment heterogeneity, this study developed an Intelligent Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled dental chair platform (hereinafter referred to as the intelligent platform) based on the concept of medical-engineering integration. The platform adopts a three-tier chair-domain interconnection architecture: the bottom tier integrates multi-source sensors and standardized interfaces for automated data acquisition and linkage with hospital information systems; the middle tier provides clinic-level management and remote teaching collaboration; and the top tier employs a blockchain-based secure cloud database for resource allocation and data management. Clinical validation at The Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Nanjing Medical University demonstrated that, compared with a control group from the same period in 2023, the trial group achieved a 38.0% increase in average daily patient visits (80.6±6.8 vs. 58.4±5.2, t=15.16, P<0.001), a 24.6% reduction in average treatment time [(36.1±6.3) min vs. (47.9±8.5) min, t=7.72, P<0.001], a 39.2% reduction in waiting time [23.3 (16.5, 30.1) min vs. 38.3 (28.3, 48.3) min, U=32.00, P<0.001], a 30.4% reduction in equipment idle rate [8.7% (5.1%, 12.3%) vs. 12.5% (7.4%, 17.6%), U=251.00, P=0.003], and an increase in patient satisfaction from 88.2% (1 519/1 723) to 94.3% (2 186/2 318) ( t=7.26, P<0.001). User research confirmed that the functions most favored by clinicians and patients were "dental chair parameter updating and clinical data integration" [74.7% (80/107)] and "chairside display of diagnostic images" [76.8% (119/155)], respectively. Looking forward, the intelligent platform has the potential to integrate artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and 5G-enabled multicenter collaboration to further expand its clinical applications and accelerate the digital transformation of dental healthcare.

Objective:To investigate the causal impact of maternal smoking around birth(MSAB)on off-spring's risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD),autism spectrum disorder(ASD),bipolar disorder(BD),and major depressive disorder(MDD).Methods:The datasets for MSAB and 4 psychiatric disorders were extracted from genome-wide association studies(GWAS).Mendelian randomization(MR)was employed,using in-verse variance weighting(IVW)as the primary analysis method.Sensitivity analyses and outlier correction were conducted using weighted median(WM),MR-Egger regression,and MR-PRESSO.The results were expressed as odds ratios(OR)and corrected for false discovery rate(FDR).Results:MR analysis showed significant causal re-lationships between MSAB and increased risk of ADHD(OR=5.36,95％CI=2.58-7.63,PFDR=0.003),MDD(OR=1.92,95％CI=1.29-2.88,PFDR=0.003),and BD(OR=6.33,95％CI=1.56-8.73,PFDR=0.013).However,no statistically significant association was found between MSAB and ASD(OR=1.66,95％CI=0.23-5.87,PFDR=0.616).Conclusion:This study suggests a potential causal link between maternal smoking around the time of birth and an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,bipolar disorder,and major depressive disorder in offspring.

Objective:To explore the impact of residents′ health literacy on healthcare choices.Methods:This mixed cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2009, 2011, and 2015 waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), including adults aged≥18 years. Guided by Andersen′s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use and the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) framework, variables were collected across three dimensions-predisposing, enabling, and need factors-including gender, marital status, age, education level, employment status, urban/rural residence, health management awareness, income, health insurance coverage, self-rated health, and chronic disease status. A multinomial Logistic regression model was applied to assess the association between health literacy and healthcare choice. Bootstrap analysis was conducted to test the mediating effect of health management awareness.Results:After excluding cases with missing or invalid data, 4 736 valid observations were included. The proportions of choosing township-, county-, and city-level hospitals were 60.60%, 15.08%, and 24.32%, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, health literacy showed a significant effect on healthcare choice ( P<0.05): individuals with higher health literacy were more likely to choose county-level hospitals ( RR=1.035, P<0.05) and city-level hospitals ( RR=1.044, P<0.01). Health management awareness mediated the relationship between health literacy and healthcare choice ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Health literacy significantly influences healthcare choices; individuals with higher health literacy are more inclined to utilize higher-level medical institutions. Furthermore, health literacy affects healthcare choices partly through the mediating role of health management awareness.

Objective:To investigate the risk of stroke in elderly hypertensive(HTN)patients with varying baseline triglyceride glucose(TYG)index, and to identify the risk factors associated with stroke in this population.Methods:This study was a prospective cohort study that included 459 elderly patients with hypertension who were admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2018 to January 2020.The patients were divided into four groups based on their quartile of TYG index: Q1 group(TYG index≤8.02, 114 cases), Q2 group(8.028.85, 115 cases). The study compared the baseline clinical data and incidence of stroke(hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke)after two years of follow-up among the four groups, and analyzed the risk factors of stroke using Cox regression analyses.Results:This study examined 459 elderly patients with hypertension, of which 251(54.7%)were male and 208(45.3%)were female, with an average age of(71.7 ± 6.2)years(65-79 years). The study found significant differences among the four groups in various factors( P<0.05 for all). The study followed up with patients for a median of 33 months, 55 cases were lost to follow-up.Out of the remaining patients, 10.9% experienced stroke, with 3.7% being hemorrhagic stroke and 7.2% being ischemic stroke.The occurrence of stroke was observed in 5.3%, 8.7%, 13.0%, and 16.2% of patients in the Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups, respectively.The results of Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the risk of stroke increased gradually as the quartile increased.Specifically, compared to the Q1 group, the risk of stroke increased by 1.016 times(95% CI: 0.933-1.106, P=0.715), 1.264 times(95% CI: 1.067-1.497, P=0.007), and 1.472 times(95% CI: 1.119-1.936, P=0.006)in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups, respectively.Notably, both Q3 and Q4 groups showed a significant increase in the risk of ischemic stroke( HR=1.313, 95% CI: 1.016-1.697, P=0.037; HR=1.509, 95% CI: 1.113-2.046, P=0.008), while the Q4 group showed a significant increase in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke( HR=1.132, 95% CI: 1.021-1.255, P=0.019). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that male( HR=1.336), smoking history( HR=1.485), hyperlipidemia( HR=1.216), previous stroke( HR=1.547), sleep apnea( HR=1.484), diastolic blood pressure( HR=1.114), hemoglobin( HR=0.962), albumin/creatinine ratio( HR=1.318), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol( HR=1.125), TYG index( HR=1.293), left ventricular mass index( HR=1.103), and anti-platelet therapy( HR=0.874)were all found to be independent risk factors for stroke. Conclusions:In elderly patients with hypertension, there is a significant positive correlation between TYG index and stroke risk, particularly ischemic stroke.This suggests that TYG index could be clinically valuable in improving cerebrovascular risk stratification.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Xiangshao granules on behavior and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and oligodendrocytes (OLs) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of post-stroke depression (PSD) mice.Methods:Eighty C57BL/6 mice were divided into sham-operated group, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) group, PSD+PBS group, and PSD+Xiangshao group ( n=20). PSD models were constructed using mild chronic unforeseeable stress (CUMS) and solitary feeding after MCAO. MCAO models were evaluated by laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), modified neurological severity score (mNSS) and TTC staining. PSD models were evaluated by body mass, sugar and water preference test and tail suspension test. After PSD modeling, mice in the sham-operated group, MCAO group, and PSD+PBS group were given 0.2 mL PBS, while mice in the PSD+Xiangshao group was given Xiangshao granules at dosage of 60 mg/kg (dissolved in 0.2 mL PBS); all were given via intragastric administration once a d for 28 d. Number of OPCs and OLs in mPFC was detected by immunofluorescence. Expressions of myelin basic protein (MBP) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine/threonine kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway proteins in mPFC were detected by Western blotting. Results:(1) Model verification results: LSCI showed obvious changes of cerebral blood flow in the middle cerebral artery supply area before, during and after MCAO; TTC staining showed typical red non-infarct area and white infarct area in MCAO group, PSD+PBS group and PSD+ Xiangshao group; mNSS scores in MCAO group, PSD+PBS group and PSD+ Xiangshao group were all >4, without significant differences ( P>0.05); the MCAO model was successfully constructed. After PSD and before treatment, the PSD+PBS group and PSD+Xiangshao group had significantly decreased body weight and sugar-water preference, and statistically prolonged tail suspension immobilization time compared with sham-operated group and MCAO group ( P<0.05); the PSD model was successfully constructed. (2) Results of mouse behavior experiment after treatment: significant differences in body weight, sugar-water preference and tail suspension time were noted in mice of the 4 groups 28 d after treatment ( P<0.05); PSD+Xiangshao group had significantly increased body weight and sugar-water preference and decreased tail suspension immobilization time compared with PSD+PBS group ( P<0.05). (3) Number of OPCs (Olig2 +PDGFRa +), proliferative OPCs (Ki-67 +PDGFRa +, EdU +PDGFRa +) and OLs (Olig2 +CC1 +), and relative MBP, p-PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR protein expressions in mPFC of the 4 groups were significantly different ( P<0.05); compared with those in PSD+PBS group, the above cell number and relative protein expressions in PSD+Xiangshao group were significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Xiangshao granules can promote the OPCs proliferation and OLs maturation by activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in mPFC, thus playing a role in PSD.

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion leads to white matter injury (WMI), which subsequently causes neurodegeneration and even cognitive impairment. However, due to the lack of treatment specifically for WMI, novel recognized and effective therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. In this study, we found that honokiol and magnolol, two compounds derived from Magnolia officinalis, significantly facilitated the differentiation of primary oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) into mature oligodendrocytes, with a more prominent effect of the former compound. Moreover, our results demonstrated that honokiol treatment improved myelin injury, induced mature oligodendrocyte protein expression, attenuated cognitive decline, promoted oligodendrocyte regeneration, and inhibited astrocytic activation in the bilateral carotid artery stenosis model. Mechanistically, honokiol increased the phosphorylation of serine/threonine kinase (Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by activating cannabinoid receptor 1 during OPC differentiation. Collectively, our study indicates that honokiol might serve as a potential treatment for WMI in chronic cerebral ischemia.
Magnolia ; White Matter ; Brain Ischemia/metabolism* ; Oligodendroglia/metabolism*