In recent years, the incidence of dry eye disease(DED)is increasing, positioning it as one of the most prevalent diseases affecting the ocular surface. Inflammatory response is the pathological basis of DED, involving various inflammatory mediators and inflammatory signaling pathways. Consequently, anti-inflammatory treatment emerges as a fundamental strategy for preventing and managing DED. This review summarizes the classic inflammatory factors involved in the development and progression of DED, including interleukins, tumor necrosis factor, matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, and cell adhesion molecules. It also discusses the relevant inflammatory signaling pathways: the MAPKs pathway, NF-κB pathway, Wnt pathway and TLR pathway. Additionally, this review addresses the mechanisms of action and alterations in relevant biomarkers associated with current first-line recommended anti-inflammatory therapies, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and traditional Chinese medicine approaches to inflammation management. This comprehensive overview aims to enhance understanding of the inflammatory mechanisms underlying DED while exploring future therapeutic prospects.

In recent years, the incidence of dry eye disease(DED)is increasing, positioning it as one of the most prevalent diseases affecting the ocular surface. Inflammatory response is the pathological basis of DED, involving various inflammatory mediators and inflammatory signaling pathways. Consequently, anti-inflammatory treatment emerges as a fundamental strategy for preventing and managing DED. This review summarizes the classic inflammatory factors involved in the development and progression of DED, including interleukins, tumor necrosis factor, matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, and cell adhesion molecules. It also discusses the relevant inflammatory signaling pathways: the MAPKs pathway, NF-κB pathway, Wnt pathway and TLR pathway. Additionally, this review addresses the mechanisms of action and alterations in relevant biomarkers associated with current first-line recommended anti-inflammatory therapies, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and traditional Chinese medicine approaches to inflammation management. This comprehensive overview aims to enhance understanding of the inflammatory mechanisms underlying DED while exploring future therapeutic prospects.

Laboratory animals are essential in scientific research and experimental teaching in colleges and universities. Disciplines such as life sciences, medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, and biomedical engineering heavily rely on animal experiments. The standardized barrier environmental facility for laboratory animals provides a fundamental platform for stable, scientific, and reliable animal experiment results. Rigorous access management for such facilities is a vital safeguard for maintaining standardized operations of facilities, controlling the quality and stability of laboratory animals, mitigating pathogen contamination risks among animals and laboratory staff, and preventing biosecurity incidents such as zoonotic disease outbreaks. Taking the small-scale barrier facilities for laboratory rats and mice at Nanjing University's Xianlin Campus, operational since 2019, as an example, this study focuses on the safety access management system of these facilities. Based on five years of operational data and accumulated experience in studying and optimizing the access management system, this study, from the perspectives of management system development and the formulation and implementation of standard operating procedures, reviews five aspects of access management: personnel access, animals access, material access, equipment access, and air circulation control. Furthermore, these aspects are systematically analyzed and summarized to serve as a reference for the construction and management of the laboratory animal facilities in universities, while also contributing to scientific research, public health security, and the well-being of experimental personnel.

Objective To understand the status of quality control in occupational medical examination (OME) institutions in Guizhou Province. Methods A total of 124 registered OME institutions actively conducting OME in Guizhou Province were selected as the study subjects using the judgment sampling method. The evaluation was conducted by on-site document reviews, practical skill assessments, and investigation of OME practices for quality evaluation and analyzing their quality control performance. Results The public institutions accounted for 71.0% with a 41.5% of OME workload, while private institutions accounted for 29.0% with a 58.5% of OME workload among these 124 OME institutions. The overall pass rate for quality evaluation of OME institutions was 16.9% (21/124), with a total of 1 296 items failed to pass the quality evaluation. Among the unqualified items, organizational structure, quality control management systems, OME quality control, and information reporting accounted for 15.2%, 21.7%, 52.8%, and 10.3%, respectively. The unqualified rate of quality assessment items of OME institutions was 24.5% (1 296/5 288), and the unqualified rate was lower in public institutions compared with private institutions (22.4% vs 29.3%, P<0.01). The rates of the three key unqualified items, including chest radiography conclusion evaluation, audiogram calculation and conclusion evaluation, and blood lead comparison were 9.8%, 74.8% and 71.4%, respectively. The rates of unqualified audiometry operation test and chief physician theory test were 74.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Conclusion The quality of OME institutions in Guizhou Province requires continuous improvement, particularly in enhancing the abilities of audiometry operation, calculating audiogram results and conducing right conclusion, and blood lead inter-laboratory comparision.

With the accelerating aging of world population, the prevalence and disease burden of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease is increasing annually. As one of the major risk factors for dementia, air pollution is still an urgent global concern. Studies on the association between ambient particulate matter (PM), one of the major air pollutants, and dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, are gaining attention. This paper reviewed the current evidence of relevant epidemiological and toxicological studies to illustrate the possible mechanisms underlying the effects of PM exposure on Alzheimer's disease through inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, excitatory neurotoxicity, glial cell activation, and intestinal flora disruption, which may provide clues for mitigating the health risks of air pollution and preventing Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis (EMS) is a common gynaecological disorder linked to metabolic disturbances. However, evidence on the associations between lipid accumulation product (LAP) and visceral adiposity index (VAI) with the risk of EMS remains limited. This study aimed to explore the potential associations between LAP, VAI and EMS. METHOD: Data were obtained from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), including a total of 2046 samples. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models and smoothed curve fitting were used to assess the associations between LAP, VAI and EMS. Additionally, subgroup analyses and interaction tests were conducted to evaluate intergroup differences in the associations between LAP, VAI and EMS. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted model, higher Log2 LAP (odds ratio [OR] 1.256, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.102-1.431, P=0.0014) and Log2 VAI (OR 1.287, 95% CI 1.105-1.498, P=0.0022) were significantly associated with increased EMS risk. Participants in the highest quartile of Log2 LAP (OR 1.983, P=0.0029) and Log2 VAI (OR 1.690, P=0.0486) had a higher risk of EMS. Subgroup analysis showed stronger associations among women with diabetes (Log2 LAP OR 3.681, P=0.009; Log2 VAI OR 4.849, P=0.041). CONCLUSION Elevated LAP and VAI were independently associated with an increased risk of EMS. LAP and VAI may serve as potential indicators for assessing EMS-related risk, suggesting that visceral obesity and lipid metabolic disturbances might play roles in the pathophysiological process of EMS. These findings underscore the potential of LAP and VAI as non-invasive markers for EMS risk, warranting further validation in clinical settings.
Humans ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Endometriosis/metabolism* ; Adult ; Nutrition Surveys ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Lipid Accumulation Product ; Middle Aged ; Obesity, Abdominal/complications* ; Adiposity ; Risk Factors ; Logistic Models

Objective To systematically evaluate and integrate the experiences of people living with HIV in peer support,and to provide references and suggestions for improving peer support for HIV patients in clinical practice.Methods The computer retrieval was performed in PubMed,CINAHL(EBSCO),Web of Science,ProQuest,CNKI and Wanfang Data from January 1,1996 to September 30,2022,to collect qualitative studies in the experience of people living with HIV participating in peer support.This qualitative systematic review was conducted under the Joanna Briggs Institute guideline.This paper was written according to the enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research(ENTREQ).Results A total of 7 qualitative studies were included,and 26 findings were extracted,which were summarized into 12 categories and integrated into 4 synthesized findings.Findings included that peer support provides patients with information and help them establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle;patients receive emotional support in peer support;patients receive instrumental support in peer support;the objective requirements and scenarios of peer support.Conclusion AIDS peer support has a positive effect on AIDS prevention and treatment,and it is important to address the practical needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.The practice of HIV peer support needs further theoretical support and scientific guidance.Building an HIV peer support model,providing systematic training and professional guidance to HIV peers is conducive to improving the accuracy of HIV peer support behaviors,the development of HIV peer support activities,and optimizing the effectiveness and sustainability of peer support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Objective:To assess the influence of extreme temperature events on the mortality risk of nervous system diseases in residents of Jiangsu Province and identify patients with nervous system diseases who are susceptible to extreme temperature events.Methods:Acase-crossover design was used to investigate the cumulative lagged effects of extreme temperature events on the mortality risk of nervous system disease in local residents by using the data on causes of death from nervous system diseases in Jiangsu from 2014 to 2020 with conditional logistic regression model. The final definition of extreme temperature events was established using Akaike information criterion. The heat wave was defined as 4 or more consecutive days with daily mean temperatures above the 92.5 th percentile of annual daily mean temperatures, and the cold spell was defined as 2 or more consecutive days with daily mean temperatures below the 10 th percentile of annual daily mean temperatures. Furthermore, stratified analyses was conducted to compare the effects of extreme temperature events on mortality risk in populations in different gender, age and marital status groups to identify susceptible populations to extreme temperature event. Results:Statistical results showed that the effect values of heat wave and cold spell on the mortality risk of nervous system diseases all peaked at the 7 th day of the cumulative lag, with OR of 1.60 (95% CI: 1.44-1.76) and 1.33 (95% CI: 1.13-1.56), respectively. Heat wave exposure increased mortality risk for individuals with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, while cold spell exposure increased the mortality risk for those with Alzheimer's disease. Stratified analyses showed that the mortality risk for nervous system disease and Alzheimer's disease was higher in partnerless population after heat wave exposure. Conclusions:Heat wave and cold spell were associated with increased mortality risks for nervous system disease, highlighting the need for improved early warning systems for extreme temperature event. In the context of heat wave, interventions to protect individuals with nervous system disease should prioritize partnerless population.

Background Cooking oil fumes are closely related to immune response, and adipose tissue also plays an important role in immune regulation. At present, the biological effect and mechanism of inflammation of adipose tissue induced by oil fume exposure are not clear yet. Objective To investigate the inflammatory effect of different exposure duration of cooking fumes on adipose tissue in mice and explore the role of Nod-like receptor pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3)/cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1 (Caspase 1)/interleukin (IL)-1β signaling pathway. Methods Forty 8-week-old female C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 3-day control group (CON₃ group), 7-day control group (CON₇ group), 3-day oil fume exposure group (COF₃ group), and 7-day oil fume exposure group (COF₇ group), with 10 mice in each group. The mice were exposed to oil fumes in a cooking oil fume formation and exposure equipment (COFFEE) for 20 min, followed by a 10-min pause, 1 h a day for consecutive 3 d or 7 d. General condition of mice was observed and body weight was measured every day. After exposure, blood was sampled from the eyeball. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-27, and IL-1β were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The adipose tissue of mice was collected and observed after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The percentages of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺T cells in adipose tissue were detected by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), NLRP3, Caspase 1, and IL-1β in adipose tissue. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase 1, and IL-1β in adipose. Results Compared with the corresponding control group, serum IL-6, IL-27, and IL-1β contents in the COF₃ group and the COF₇ group were significantly increased (P<0.05) except IL-6 in the COF₃ group, and the levels in the COF₇ group were significantly higher than those in the COF₃ group (P<0.05). Vacuolar lipid droplets in adipocytes decreased, cytoplasm shrank, and inflammatory cells infiltrated in the COF₇ group after HE staining. The flow cytometry results showed that the proportions of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺T cells in adipocytes of the COF₃ group and the COF₇ group were increased compared to the corresponding control group, with a significant increase in the COF₇ group (P<0.05), and the CD4⁺/CD8⁺T ratio also significantly increased progressively in the two groups (P<0.05). The results of RT-qPCR showed that compared with the corresponding control group, the mRNA expression levels of NF-κB, NLRP3, Caspase 1, and IL-1β in adipose tissue of mice in the COF₃ group and the COF₇ group were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The mRNA expression levels of mice in each exposure group gradually increased over time. The Western blot results showed that compared with the corresponding control group, the protein expressions of NLRP3 and Caspase 1 in the COF₃ group were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the expression of IL-1β protein also increased but without statistical significance. The protein expressions of NLRP3, Caspase 1, and IL-1β in the COF₇ group were significantly higher than those in the CON₇ group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion Acute exposure to cooking oil fumes can induce significant inflammatory response in adipose tissue, and the effect gradually increases with the extension of exposure time. The mechanism of action may be related to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway.

Background It is unclear if there is any combined effect of air pollutants and non-optimal temperature on metabolic syndrome, or any molecular mechanisms of related signaling pathways in the process, which requires urgent systematic research. Objective To observe the effects of combined exposure to PM_2.5 and non-optimal temperature on metabolic damage at gene and protein levels in mice, and elucidate the role of related signaling pathway in crucial organs. Methods A total of 60 six-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into six groups: a normal temperature-filter air group (T_N-FA), a normal temperature-concentrated PM_2.5 group (T_N-PM), a heat-filter air group (T_H-FA), a heat-concentrated PM_2.5 group (T_H-PM), a cold-filter air group (T_C-FA), and a cold-concentrated PM_2.5 group (T_C-PM). The Shanghai Meteorological and Environmental Animal Exposure System (Shanghai-METAS) was used to provide combined exposure settings of air types [concentrated PM_2.5 and filter air (FA)] and temperatures [normal (22°C), cold (4°C), and heat (30°C)] for 4 weeks. Skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue (WAT) of the mice were sampled at the end of exposure, and transcriptomics and Western blot (WB) assay were adopted to observe selected gene and protein expression levels in the samples respectively. Results The transcriptomics results indicated that the PM_2.5 exposure enhanced the number of differentially expressed genes. Specifically, 4820 genes were differentially expressed in the T_N-PM mice compared to the T_N-FA mice at normal temperature, and 1143 genes were differentially expressed in the Tc-PM mice compared to the Tc-FA mice in the cold environment. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway and the endoplasmic reticulum protein processing pathway were identified as the most significant pathways in metabolic injury resulting from combined exposure to PM_2.5 and non-optimal temperature exposure. The WB results showed that exposure to PM_2.5 in the normal temperature and the cold environments led to a significant increase in the expression of p-AKT in WAT (P<0.01, P<0.05) and a significant decrease in the expression of GLUT4 (P<0.05, P<0.01). In skeletal muscle, exposure to PM_2.5 led to a significant decrease in GLUT4 (P<0.05) in all environments, with a consistent trend of change as observed in WAT. Conclusion Cold/heat exposure might promote PM_2.5-induced metabolic disorder through suppression of the AKT/GLUT4 pathway, aggravating metabolic damage.