Objective: To investigate the status and associated factors of sports supplement usage among grade 9 students, so as to provide a scientific basis for targeted supervision and health education regarding sports supplement usage among junior high school students. Methods: From June to September 2025, a stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 2 261 grade 9 students from 10 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted on their sports supplement usage and related factors. The Chi square test was used to compare the usage rates of sports supplements among different groups of students, and binary Logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate the related factors of sports supplement usage among grade 9 students. Results: Totally 59.7% of the grade 9 students used sports supplements. The usage rate (62.5%) was higher among boys than girls (56.3%), higher among students from rural areas and towns/counties (66.5%, 66.2%) than those from urban districts (52.9%), higher among boarding students (65.2%) than non resident students (54.3%), higher among students whose parents occupations were businessmen and workers (fathers: 65.0%, 63.7%; mothers: 63.6%, 61.1%) than those whose parents were farmers and civil servants (fathers: 57.5%, 54.1%; mothers: 58.8%, 55.7%), higher among students with a monthly family income of 5 000- 10 000 yuan (66.3%) than those in other income groups, and higher among students in the high score zone for the entrance physical examination to senior high school (67.7%) than those in the medium and low score zones ( 56.3% , 56.5%) ( χ 2=8.99, 42.21, 27.98, 20.55, 8.20, 22.74, 24.70, respectively, all P <0.05). Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that boys ( OR =1.26), those from rural areas ( OR =1.59), boarding students ( OR =1.36), those with a monthly family income of 5 000- 10 000 yuan ( OR =1.41), and those in the high score zone for entrance physical examination to senior high school ( OR =1.34) were more likely to use sports supplements during the entrance physical examination to senior high school; the probability of sports supplement usage was lower among students whose fathers were civil servants ( OR =0.74) (all P <0.05). Conclusions The usage of sports supplements is relatively common among grade 9 students. Intervention measures should be targeted at specific populations to reduce the risk of misuse.

ObjectiveTo elucidate the effects of autonomic neuromodulators [calcium chloride (CaCl₂)-acetylcholine (ACh)] on atrial electrical remodeling and histopathological changes in rats, thereby providing evidence for further investigation into the pathological mechanisms by which autonomic imbalance induces atrial fibrillation (AF). MethodsTen 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, with 5 rats in each group. The experimental group received daily tail vein injections of a CaCl₂-ACh mixed solution for 28 days, while the control group received an equal volume of saline. Surface electrocardiograms were recorded before and after daily administration. On day 28 of administration, under isoflurane inhalation anesthesia, echocardiography was performed, and then the rats were euthanized by exsanguination under isoflurane anesthesia for tissue collection. Body weight and heart weight of rats were measured, and electrophysiological parameters including AF inducibility, conduction velocity, and conduction dispersion in isolated rat hearts were monitored using the MappingLab multichannel electrophysiological mapping system. HE staining was performed to evaluate atrial tissue architecture and inflammatory cell infiltration. The expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) were analyzed by Western blotting. Masson staining was used to quantitatively analyze the proportional distribution of collagen fibers and myocardial fibers, and to calculate the area of collagen deposition, thereby evaluating the degree of myocardial fibrosis. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) staining was used to evaluate morphological changes of cardiomyocytes. Dihydroethidium (DHE) staining was used to detect the level of oxidative stress in atrial myocytes. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used to detect atrial cell apoptosis. ResultsCompared with the control group, the experimental group showed obvious arrhythmias on electrocardiograms. Echocardiography after 28 days of administration revealed significant structural remodeling in the experimental group, with a marked increase in left atrial anteroposterior diameter (P < 0.05), and also showed cardiac dysfunction, with significant decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed a significantly increased heart weight-to-body weight ratio (P < 0.05), a markedly higher AF inducibility (P < 0.001), a significantly slowed atrial conduction velocity (P < 0.05), an uneven isochronal map with irregular directions, and a significantly increased conduction dispersion (P < 0.01). HE staining showed that atrial myocytes in the experimental group were disorganized, with slight inflammatory cell infiltration. Western blotting showed that the expression levels of MMP-9 and IL-1β in the atrial tissue of the experimental group were significantly upregulated (P < 0.05). Masson staining showed a significant increase in collagen deposition and a significant increase in fibrosis area in the atrial tissue of the experimental group (P < 0.001). WGA staining showed that cardiomyocytes in the experimental group were significantly hypertrophied compared with the control group (P < 0.05). DHE staining and TUNEL staining revealed that the level of oxidative stress in atrial myocytes (P < 0.001) and the apoptotic rate (P < 0.01) were both significantly increased. Conclusion Daily tail vein injections of the autonomic neuromodulator CaCl₂-ACh mixed solution for 28 days can successfully induce AF in rats, accompanied by significant atrial structural remodeling, electrical remodeling, and oxidative stress.

ObjectiveTo investigate the synergistic inhibitory effect of chidamide （CHI） combined with compound Kushen injection （CKI） on breast cancer MCF-7 cells and to elucidate the potential molecular mechanisms based on transcriptomics analysis. MethodsCell proliferation was detected by the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay， and the "one belt and one line" method was adopted to screen the optimal mass concentration for synergistic effect. According to the combination index （CI） values， cells were allocated into the blank， CHI （1.6 mg·L^-1）， CKI （0.4 g·L^-1）， and CHI+CKI （1.6 mg·L^-1+0.4 g·L^-1） groups. Transwell assay was employed to examine cell migration， and flow cytometry to measure cell cycle distribution and apoptosis rate. Transcriptome sequencing （RNA-seq） and weighted gene co-expression network analysis （WGCNA） were performed to screen the key modules highly correlated with the cell inhibition rate. Candidate genes were identified by intersecting module genes with differentially expressed genes （DEGs）， followed by functional enrichment analysis. Western blot was employed to quantify the protein levels of histone deacetylase 1 （HDAC1）， protein kinase A （PKA）， cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1 （p21）， cAMP response element-binding protein （CREB） and its phosphorylated form （p-CREB）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） in cells of each group. ResultsCompared with the blank group， both CHI and CKI monotherapies inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a mass concentration-dependent manner. Compared with the blank and monotherapy groups， CHI+CKI inhibited cell migration， increased the proportion of cells arrested in the G₀/G₁ phase， and elevated the apoptosis rate （P<0.01）. WGCNA identified the MEred module strongly correlated with the inhibition rate （r=0.90， P<0.01）， yielding 97 candidate genes upon intersection with DEGs. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） analysis indicated significant enrichment of the cAMP signaling pathway. Western blot results showed that compared with the blank group， all treatment groups down-regulated the expression of HDAC1， up-regulated the expression of PKA and p21， and increased the p-CREB/CREB and Bax/Bcl-2 ratios （P<0.01）. Compared with the monotherapy groups， CHI+CKI further up-regulated the PKA and p21 expression and increased the p-CREB/CREB and Bax/Bcl-2 ratios （P<0.01）. ConclusionThe combination of CHI and CKI exerts a significant synergistic anti-tumor effect. CHI exerts epigenetic regulation by inhibiting HDAC1， which， in combination with CKI， may further contribute to the activation of the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway， leading to up-regulation of p21 expression and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio， thereby promoting cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

ObjectiveTo explore the long-term dynamic trajectories of fasting blood glucose （FBG） and insulin resistance （IR） in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） and their influencing factors. MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included 1 896 T2DM patients registered at Tongren Hospital from May 2020 to May 2025. Based on longitudinal follow-up data of FBG and fasting insulin， joint latent class mixed models （JLMM） were applied to identify FBG-IR trajectories. Univariate and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine demographic characteristics， lifestyle， and clinical determinants of trajectory type. ResultsFour distinct FBG-IR trajectories were identified： stable FBG-IR （9.76%）， rising FBG-stable IR （5.01%）， stable FBG-elevated IR （75.90%）， and elevated FBG-IR （9.34%）. Compared with the stable FBG-IR group， age ≥60 years was protective against the elevated FBG-stable IR trajectory （OR=0.55， 95%CI：0.33-0.92， P=0.023）. Highereducation increased the risk of stable FBG-elevated IR （OR=1.40， 95%CI：1.01-1.94， P=0.046）. Abnormal blood pressure was associated with lower risks of stable FBG-elevated IR （OR=0.66， 95%CI：0.48-0.92， P=0.013） and elevated FBG-IR （OR=0.48， 95%CI：0.31-0.74， P=0.001）. Non-drinkers were less likely to belong to the stable FBG-elevated IR trajectory （OR=0.39， 95%CI：0.16-0.95， P=0.038）. ConclusionsThe evolution trajectory of FBG and IR in T2DM patients shows significant heterogeneity. The majority of patients have a deterioration of IR first. Age， education level， blood pressure， and alcohol consumption are the main influencing factors. Joint assessment of FBG and IR is helpful for early identification of high-risk individuals and guiding individualized intervention.

Objective To describe and analyze the epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province from 2006 to 2024 and explore the long-term incidence trend and distribution of high-risk areas, and to formulate targeted prevention and control strategies. Methods The scrub typhus case report data of Huai'an from 2006 to 2024 in the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System were extracted for descriptive analysis. Results A total of 898 cases of scrub typhus were reported in Huai'an, with an average annual incidence rate of 0.96 per 100 000 from 2006 to 2024. There was a turning point in the incidence trend of scrub typhus in 2011. From 2006 to 2011, the annual percentage change (APC) was 47.09% (95% CI: 7.53 - 859.39), and the upward trend was statistically significant (P < 0.05). From 2012 to 2024, the APC was -2.12% (95% CI: -29.09 - 3.75), and the downward trend was not statistically significant. October and November were the high-incidence months, and the total concentration from 2006 to 2024 was 0.93, indicating that scrub typhus had strict seasonality. The circular distribution method estimated that the peak period of the epidemic was from October 11th to November 25th, and the peak day of incidence was November 3rd. Jinhu County was a high-incidence area. The ratio of male to female cases was 1.03. The age group with the highest reported incidence was 40 to < 80 years old. The occupation with the highest proportion was farmers, accounting for 78.03%. Conclusion From 2006 to 2024, scrub typhus in Huai'an shows a peak every 3 - 4 years. Middle-aged and elderly farmers are the key population at risk, and Jinhu County is a key area. In the future, targeted health education should be carried out to effectively control the prevalence of scrub typhus.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which is primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, has recently rapidly spread across the world, which poses a huge threat to public health. Chikungunya fever (CHIKF), caused by CHIKV infection, typically manifests as acute febrile illness with severe polyarthralgia that may persist for months to years. A few severe CHIKF cases may be accompanied by serious neurological complications, even resulting in death. The accelerating global expansion of CHIKV is closely associated with genetic variations of the virus, and mutated genes in CHIKV may augment the virus adaptability to Aedes vectors and transmission efficiency. Currently, the diagnosis of the CHIKV infection primarily relies on molecular and serological assays; however, there are still multiple challenges for early and differential diagnosis of CHIKV infections due to co-infections with arboviruses and nonspecific early symptoms. The first prophylactic vaccine for CHIKF has been recently approved in the United States; however, the large-scale application still awaits further validations. More importantly, there are no licensed antiviral therapies against CHIKV until now. This review describes the structure and pathogenesis of CHIKV, summarizes the latest epidemiology and advances in the diagnosis of CHIKV infections, and depicts the current status and prospects of antiviral agents and vaccine development, so as to inform evidence-based prevention and control strategies.

OBJECTIVE: The results of limited studies on the relationship between environmental pollution and dementia have been contradictory. We analyzed the combined effects of PM _2.5 and smoking on the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in an elderly community-dwelling Chinese population. METHODS: We assessed 24,117 individuals along with the annual average PM _2.5 concentrations from 2012 to 2016. Dementia was confirmed in the baseline survey at a qualified clinical facility, and newly suspected dementia was assessed in 2017, after excluding cases of suspected dementia in 2015. National census data were used to weight the sample data to reflect the entire population in China, with multiple logistic regression performed to analyze the combined effects of PM _2.5 and smoking frequency on dementia and cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Individuals exposed to the highest PM _2.5 concentration and smoked daily were at higher risk of dementia than those in the lowest PM _2.5 concentration group ( OR, 1.603; 95% CI [1.626-1.635], P < 0.0001) and in the nonsmoking group ( OR, 1.248; 95% CI [1.244-1.252]; P < 0.0001). Moderate PM _2.5 exposure and occasional smoking together increased the short-term risk of cognitive impairment. High-level PM _2.5 exposure and smoking were associated with an increased risk of dementia, so more efforts are needed to reduce this risk through environmental protection and antismoking campaigns. CONCLUSION High-level PM _2.5 exposure and smoking were associated with an increased risk of dementia. Lowering the ambient PM _2.5, and smoking cessation are recommended to promote health.
Humans ; Dementia/etiology* ; Male ; Aged ; Female ; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Smoking/epidemiology* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Prevalence ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites with diverse subtypes of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. METHODS: A novel predicting risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs PREVENT equation was used to estimate the 10-year diverse subtypes of CVD risk, and their associations with PAH metabolites were analyzed using multiple logistic regression models, the weighted quantile sum (WQS) model, the quantile g-computation (qgcomp) model, and a stratified analysis of subgroups. RESULTS: For this study, six thousand seven hundred and forty-five participants were selected, and significant positive associations were observed between PAHs, naphthalene (NAP), and fluorene (FLU), and the risks of total CVD, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and heart failure (HF). NAP and FLU were the primary contributors to the effects of PAH mixtures, and their associations with total CVD, ASCVD, and HF risk were significant in younger participants (30 ≤ age < 50 years); however, the associations of phenanthrene (PHEN) with ASCVD, HF, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke were dominant in aging participants (age ≥ 50 years). Notably, pyrene (PYR) was negatively associated with the risk of ASCVD, HF, CHD, and stroke. Similarly, negative associations of PYR with the four CVD subtypes were noticeable in aging participants. CONCLUSION Different PAHs metabolites had different impacts on each CVD subtype among different age groups. Notably, the protective effects of PYR on ASCVD, HF, CHD, and stroke were noticeable in aging individuals.
Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases/chemically induced* ; Middle Aged ; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/metabolism* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; China/epidemiology*

Objective:To screen the Alzheimer's disease(AD)-related genes and construct its diagnostic model using bioinformatics technology and machine learning(ML)algorithms,to discuss the immunological characteristics of AD patients,and to provide novel biomarkers for AD diagnosis.Methods:The AD-related gene expression dataset GSE125583 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database.Differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified through differential analysis.Gene Ontology(GO)functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)signaling pathway enrichment analyses were performed to explore the biological functions and signaling pathways of DEGs.A protein-protein interaction(PPI)network was constructed,and hub genes were screened using Cytoscape software combined with three ML algorithms:Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator(LASSO),eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost),and Random Forest(RF).The screened hub genes were utilized to build an AD diagnostic model via RF,followed by feature importance ranking.The model's efficacy and key genes were evaluated using a test set.Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis(ssGSEA)was used for immune cell infiltration analysis between AD group and control group.Results:Differential analysis identified 1 287 DEGs.The GO functional enrichment analysis results revealed that DEGs were primarily involved in biological functions related to neural signaling,synapses,and vesicles.KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis indicated significant enrichment of DEGs in ion transport,neurotransmitter,and ligand-gated channel pathways.Nine overlapping hub genes were screened by the three ML algorithms.In the AD diagnostic model,the top four key genes with highest diagnostic performance were adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide 1(ADCYAP1),brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF),platelet-derived growth factor receptor β(PDGFRB),and C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4(CXCR4),with corresponding area under the curve(AUC)values of 0.852,0.795,0.820,and 0.756,respectively.The model achieved an AUC of 0.828,accuracy of 81.25%,sensitivity of 84.40%,and specificity of 71.43%.The immune cell infiltration analysis results demonstrated higher infiltration of macrophages,monocytes,natural killer(NK)cells,and lymphocytes in AD tissue.Among these,NK/natural killer T(NKT)cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells showed significant correlations with the four key genes(P<0.05).Conclusion:The feature genes screened based on bioinformatics and ML exhibit diagnostic potential for AD.Genes such as ADCYAP1 may serve as potential biomarkers for AD diagnosis,offering significant implications for early prevention and treatment.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of maximum tumor diameter and the peripheral blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) before radiotherapy for the occurrence of esophageal fistula after radiotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) .Methods:A total of 98 patients with ESCC who underwent radiotherapy in Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences from February 2017 to February 2021 were selected, and the patients were divided into esophageal fistula group (13 cases) and no esophageal fistula group (85 cases) according to whether esophageal fistula occurred during the follow-up process. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) , NLR, and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) were calculated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of esophageal fistula, and the predictive value of each indicator was evaluated by using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:There were no statistically significant differences in age, smoking history, diabetes mellitus history, gender, concurrent chemotherapy and alcohol history between the esophageal fistula group and the no esophageal fistula group (all P>0.05) , while there were statistically significant differences in PNI ( t=2.24, P=0.041) , NLR ( t=3.75, P=0.001) , SIRI ( t=2.68, P=0.015) . Univariate analysis showed that tumor length ( OR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.01-1.35, P=0.043) , maximum tumor diameter ( OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.11-2.39, P=0.012) , PNI ( OR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.71-0.98, P=0.023) , NLR ( OR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.20-3.12, P=0.007) and SIRI ( OR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.03-3.24, P=0.041) were related to esophageal fistula. Multivariate analysis showed that maximum tumor diameter ( OR=2.17, 95% CI: 1.02-4.94, P=0.033) and NLR ( OR=2.40, 95% CI: 1.89-6.59, P=0.018) were independent influencing factors for the development of esophageal fistula in patients with ESCC after radiotherapy. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of maximum tumor diameter before radiotherapy combined with NLR for predicting esophageal fistula in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radiotherapy was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.74-0.90) , which was greater than that of maximum tumor diameter before radiotherapy (0.71, 95% CI: 0.63-0.81, Z=1.80, P=0.039) and NLR (0.74, 95% CI: 0.67-0.85, Z=1.64, P=0.046) alone. Conclusions:The maximum tumor diameter before radiotherapy and NLR are closely related to the occurrence of esophageal fistula in ESCC after radiotherapy, and these factors are expected to serve as key predictors of the occurrence of esophageal fistula.