Objective To identify factors affecting and key environmental factors of the Oncomelania hupensis snail density in the Yangtze River Delta region using machine learning methods. Methods Administrative village-level O. hupensis snail survey data in the Yangtze River Delta (including Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province and Anhui Province) from 2011 to 2021 were retrieved from the Information Management System for Parasitic Disease Control of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Environmental factor data were captured from the Google Earth Engine platform, including elevation, slope, terrain, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), vegetation type, soil type, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), ammonium nitrogen, inorganic nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, pH of water, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and inorganic phosphorus, and climatic factor data in the study region were retrieved from the Copernicus Climate Data Store, including annual precipitation, aridity index and annual mean temperature (AMT). O. hupensis snail survey data in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2011 to 2021 were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a test set (30%), and five machine learning models were selected for machine learning model construction and comparative analysis of the O. hupensis snail density using the software R 4.3.0, including random forest (RF), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM), gradient boosting machine (GBM) and neural network (NN). The XGBoost model was employed to construct a predictive model for the O. hupensis snail density, and the impact of each environmental factor on O. hupensis snail distribution was quantified. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAPs) values were calculated to estimate the average contribution of each variable to the model prediction, and the core environmental factors affecting the O. hupensis snail population density were screened. Results Among the five machine learning models, the XGBoost model exhibited the optimal comprehensive performance, with the coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.855, mean squared error (MSE) of 0.188, root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.434 and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.155, respectively. Analysis of factors affecting the O. hupensis snail density with the XGBoost model showed that among the 16 environmental factors, the top four high-impact factors ranked by SHAPs values included annual precipitation, elevation, aridity index and NDVI, with cumulative SHAPs contributions of 75%, which was higher than that of other environmental factors. If NDVI was higher than 0.6, the O. hupensis snail density increased with NDVI and peaked if NDVI was 0.8 (1.60 snails/0.1 m²). The O. hupensis snail density increased with elevation if the elevation ranged from 14 to 40 m, and slowly rose if the annual precipitation ranged from 900 to 1 300 mm, and then increased rapidly to the peak (1.52 snails/0.1 m²) if the annual precipitation ranged from 1 300 to 1 500 mm. In addition, the O. hupensis snail density increased rapidly to the maximum (1.60 snails/0.1 m²) if the aridity index ranged from 0.8 to 1.1, and decreased gradually if the aridity index exceeded 1.1. Conclusions The XGBoost model shows excellent performance in prediction of the O. hupensis snail density and identification of key environmental factors in the Yangtze River Delta region. Annual precipitation, elevation, aridity index and NDVI are key environmental factors affecting the distribution and density of O. hupensis snails in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The frequent extreme climatic events post multifaceted impacts on the distribution of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in the context of global climate change. This article systematically reviews the effects of four types of extreme climatic events, including floods, droughts, heat waves, and cold waves, on the survival, reproduction, and distribution of Oncomelania hupensis. Floods may expand suitable snail habitats, and increase both emerging and re-emerging snail habitats; however, the impact of floods on O. hupensis density is characterized by a lag effect of a decline followed by a rise. Droughts may cause fragmentation of suitable O. hupensis snail habitats, reduced O. hupensis snail egg production rates, and increased O. hupensis snail mortality, and heat waves may cause an increase in O. hupensis snail mortality, a reduction in numbers of O. hupensis snail populations and shrinking of O. hupensis snail distribution, while cold waves may cause a reduction in O. hupensis snail density and a rise in O. hupensis snail mortality. Extreme climate events pose both shortand long-term effects on the distribution of O. hupensis. Intensified surveillance of O. hupensis snails is required in high-risk environments.

Objective: To explore the effects of personality and sleep quality with psychological distress of junior and senior high school stduents, so as to provide a reference basis for precise interventions of junior and senior high school students mental health. Methods: In October 2023, a convenience sampling method was used to select 9 034 students aged 12-17 from Shiyan City as the study subjects. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were used to collect information on sleep quality and psychological distress of junior and senior high school stduents. Between group comparison was conducted by using t-test and Chi-square test. Generalized linear models were employed to analyze the interaction and joint effects of personality and sleep quality on psychological distress. Results: The generalized linear model analysis showed that the interaction between personality and sleep quality on psychological distress was statistically significant of junior and senior high school students(effect size=0.80, P <0.01). The general linear model analysis indicated that, after adjusting for variables such as age, gender, screen time, and daily sitting time with the extroverted and good sleep quality group as the reference, the introverted and poor sleep quality group had the largest mean difference in psychological distress scores (difference=0.51, P <0.05). When stratified by sleep quality, psychological distress scores were higher in the introverted and neutral personality groups with both poor and good sleep quality compared to the extroverted group (poor sleep quality: introverted difference=3.71, neutral difference=1.14; good sleep quality: introverted difference=2.23, neutral difference=0.57, all P < 0.05). When stratified by personality, psychological distress scores were higher in the poor sleep quality groups for introverted, neutral, and extroverted individuals compared to their good sleep quality counterparts (differences=8.66, 7.83, 7.34, all P < 0.05 ). Conclusions Personality and sleep quality have interactive and joint effects on psychological distress of junior and senior high school stduents. Personalized psychological interventions should be developed based on personality and sleep quality.

Gout significantly impacts both physical health and quality of life,while current pharmacological treatments face notable limitations.TCM non-pharmacological therapies have shown promising potential in the management of gout,offering diverse approaches with favorable efficacy.This article summarized the characteristics,clinical efficacy and mechanisms of different TCM non-pharmacological therapies for treating gout.Recent studies suggest that these therapies may be applied across all clinical stages of gout.During the acute phase,they can rapidly reduce joint inflammation and relieve pain.In the intercritical phase,they help prevent recurrence,decrease the frequency of attacks,and shorten episode duration.In the chronic tophaceous phase,they alleviate persistent symptoms,improve joint function,and support minimally invasive tophi removal.TCM non-pharmacological therapies have their own characteristics and good safety,and can be combined for clinical use,providing TCM treatment strategies for gout.

Objective To explore the characteristics of gastric emptying in the whole process of drinking water for colonoscopy in the elderly,and to develop an elderly-friendly drinking water program,thereby improving the comfort and the quality of bowel preparation.Methods From April to September 2024,gastric ultrasound was used to monitor gastric emptying indicators in the whole process of drinking water for colonoscopy in the elderly,summa-rizing its physiological features.On this basis,in October 2024,through literature review and expert argumentation,a bowel preparation drinking water program that meets the characteristics of gastric emptying in the elderly was de-veloped.A convenience sample of 90 elderly patients scheduled for colonoscopy at 2 tertiary hospitals in Beijing was enrolled from November 2024 to January 2025.A non-concurrent controlled trial was conducted:an experimen-tal group from December 2024 to January 2025 received the new elderly-friendly drinking water program,while a control group in November 2024 followed the conventional program.Outcomes included drinking comfort assessed via Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),adverse events,total fluid intake volume and bowel preparation quality via Boston Bowel Preparation Scale(BBPS).Results The experimental group demonstrated superior VAS score(P＜0.05),bowel preparation quality(P＜0.05),total fluid intake(P＜0.05),and higher compliance with optimal stool consistency(P＜0.05),compared to the control group.The experimental group also exhibited a lower incidence of adverse events(P＜0.05).No significant difference was observed in total bowel preparation duration between 2 groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion The bowel preparation drinking water program based on the characteristics of gastric emptying in the elderly improved solution intake tolerance and bowel preparation quality,with practical implications for clinical implementation.

Cantharidin(CTD),a natural compound used to treat multiple tumors in the clinic setting,has been limited due to acute kidney injury(AKI).However,the major cause of AKI and its underlying mechanism remain to be elucidated.Serum creatinine(SCr)and blood urea nitrogen(BUN)were detected through pathological evaluation after CTD(1.5 mg/kg)oral gavage in mice in 3 days.Kidney lipidomics based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS)was used to investigate lipids disorder after CTD exposure in mice.Then,spatial metabolomics based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging(MALDI-MSI)was used to detect the kidney spatial distribution of lipids.Integrative analysis was performed to reveal the spatial lipid disorder mechanism and verify key lipids in vitro.The results showed that the levels of SCr and BUN were increased,and tubular necrosis was observed in mouse kidneys,resulting in acute tubular necrosis(ATN)in CTD-induced AKI.Then,lipidomics results revealed that after CTD exposure,232 differential lipid metabolites and 11 pathways including glycerophospholipid(GP)and sphingolipid(SL)metabolism were disrupted.Spatial metabolomics revealed that 55 spatial differential lipid metabolites and nine metabolic pathways were disturbed.Subsequently,integrative analysis found that GP metabolism was stimulated in the renal cortex and medulla,whereas SL metabolism was inhibited in the renal cortex.Up-regulated lysophosphatidylcholine(LysoPC)(18∶2(9Z,12Z)),LysoPC(16∶0/0∶0),glycerophosphocholine,and down-regulated sphingomyelin(SM)(d18∶0/16:0),SM(d 18∶1/24:0),and SM(d42∶1)were key differential lipids.Among them,LysoPC(16∶0/0∶0)was increased in the CTD group at 1.1196 μg/mL,which aggravated CTD-induced ATN in human kidney-2(HK-2)cells.LysoPC acyltransferase was inhibited and choline phos-photransferase 1(CEPT1)was activated after CTD intervention in mice and in HK-2 cells.CTD induces ATN,resulting in AKI,by activating GP metabolism and inhibiting SL metabolism in the renal cortex and medulla,LysoPC(16:0/0:0),LysoPC acyltransferase,and CEPT1 may be the therapeutic targets.

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the leading cause of dementia,and no effective treatment has been devel-oped for it thus far.Recently,the use of natural compounds in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases has garnered significant attention owing to their minimal adverse reactions.Accordingly,the potential therapeutic effect of pterostilbene(PTS)on AD has been demonstrated in multiple in vivo and in vitro experiments.In this study,we systematically reviewed and summarized the results of these studies investigating the use of PTS for treating AD.Analysis of the literature revealed that PTS may play a role in AD treatment through various mechanisms,including anti-oxidative damage,anti-neuroinflammation,anti-apoptosis,cholinesterase activity inhibition,attenuation of β-amyloid deposi-tion,and tau protein hyperphosphorylation.Moreover,PTS interferes with the progression of AD by regulating the activities of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha(PPAR-α),monoamine oxi-dase B(MAO-B),silent information regulator sirtuin 1(SIRT1),and phosphodiesterase 4A(PDE4A).Furthermore,to further elucidate the potential therapeutic mechanisms of PTS in AD,we employed network pharmacology and molecular docking technology to perform molecular docking of related proteins,and the obtained binding energies ranged from-2.83 to-5.14 kj/mol,indicating that these proteins exhibit good binding ability with PTS.Network pharmacology analysis revealed multiple po-tential mechanisms of action for PTS in AD.In summary,by systematically collating and summarizing the relevant studies on the role of PTS in treatment of AD,it is anticipated that this will serve as a reference for the precise targeted prevention and treatment of AD,either using PTS or other developed drug interventions.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features and genetic variants associated with Multiple mitochondrial dysfunction syndrome (MMDS) type 3 in two children. METHODS: Two children diagnosed with MMDS type 3 at Zhuhai Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in January 2021 were selected for this study. A retrospective analysis of their clinical data was carried out. Whole exome sequencing was conducted on the two children and their parents, followed by Sanger sequencing for candidate variants and bioinformatic analysis. Both children received comprehensive rehabilitative therapy and were followed up for 3 years. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhuhai Maternal and Child Health Hospital (Ethics No. 202380). RESULTS: The two MMDS type 3 children were monozygotic twin girls, aged 9 months, presenting with developmental regression, pyramidal signs, and other clinical manifestations. Cranial MRI revealed widespread abnormal signals and vacuolar changes in the white matter. Whole exome sequencing revealed that both children had harbored compound heterozygous variants of the IBA57 gene, namely c.286T>C (p.Tyr96His) and c.307C>T (p.Gln103Ter). Sanger sequencing confirmed that these variants were inherited from their father and mother, respectively. According to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) guidelines, both variants were classified as pathogenic (PM2_Supporting+PM3_Very Strong+PP3_Moderate; PVS1+PM2_Supporting+PM3). After treatment with vitamins, levocarnitine, ATP, coenzyme Q10, and other drugs, both children showed partial recovery of neurodevelopmental regression, with improvement in feeding and sleep. Over the 3-year follow-up, there was slow but progressive improvement in motor, language, and cognitive development. CONCLUSION The compound heterozygous variants c.286T>C (p.Tyr96His) and c.307C>T (p.Gln103Ter) of the IBA57 gene probably underlay the MMDS type 3 in the twin pair. Clinicians should be vigilant about the possibility of MMDS type 3 in children with neurodevelopmental regression and early cranial MRI findings indicating widespread white matter abnormalities with vacuolar changes, as these may be indicative of IBA57 gene variants.
Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Calcium-Binding Proteins/genetics* ; Exome Sequencing ; Genetic Testing/methods* ; Microfilament Proteins/genetics* ; Mitochondrial Diseases/genetics* ; Mutation ; Retrospective Studies ; Carrier Proteins

Objective To investigate the molecular mechanism by which HMGA2 participates in the TGF-β/Smad pathway in the regulation of the proliferation, aggression, and metastasis of laryngeal cancer. Methods shRNA transfection was used to construct the HMGA2 knockdown laryngeal cancer TU686 cell model, and subcutaneous transplantation tumor model and tail vein metastasis tumor model were established in nude mice. Western blot was conducted to detect the expression of HMGA2 and TGF-β/Smad pathway-related molecules in cells and tumor tissues. Results The proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of TU686 cells with HMGA2 knockdown decreased. The expression of TGF-β, Smad2, Smad3, and phosphorylated Smad2/3 protein also decreased. TGF-β1 stimulation of the TGF-β/Smad pathway could partially offset the antitumor effect caused by HMGA2 knockdown. Through in vitro experiments, we determined that low expression of HMGA2 significantly inhibited the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumors, and TGF-β1 stimulation of the TGF-β/Smad pathway reduced the tumor-inhibitory effect resulting from the low expression of HMGA2. In tail vein metastases of nude mice, E-cadherin expression was elevated but N-cadherin expression was reduced in the HMGA2 knockdown group, suggesting that HMGA2 could inhibit the progression of EMT. After TGF-β1 stimulated the TGF-β/Smad pathway, the EMT effect due to HMGA2 knockdown was lessened. Conclusion HMGA2 may promote the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of laryngeal cancer by upregulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

To understand the progress of, summarize the lessons learned from and analyze the challenges in the national schistosomiasis elimination program of China in 2024, this article presented the endemic situation of schistosomiasis and national schistosomiasis surveillance results in the People’s Republic of China in 2024. By the end of 2024, Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region continued to consolidate schistosomiasis elimination achievements, and 7 provinces of Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Jiangxi maintained the criteria of schistosomiasis transmission interruption. A total of 450 counties (cites, districts) were found to be endemic for schistosomiasis in China in 2024, including 26 061 endemic villages covering 73 630 500 residents at risk of infections. Among the 450 counties (cities, districts) endemic for schistosomiasis, 388 (86.22%) achieved the criteria of schistosomiasis elimination and 62 (13.78%) achieved the criteria of transmission interruption. In 2024, a total of 4 102 624 individuals received immunological tests for schistosomiasis in China, with 44 823 sero-positives identified (1.09% seroprevalence), and a total of 169 722 individuals received parasitological examinations, with 1 egg-positives detected. A total of 27 321 cases with advanced schistosomiasis were documented in China by the end of 2024. In 2024, a total of 575 686 bovines were raised in schistosomiasis-endemic villages of China, and 113 842 bovines received immunological tests, with 235 sero-positives detected (0.21% seroprevalence), while no egg-positives were identified among the 167 475 bovines receiving parasitological examinations. In 2024, snail survey was performed covering an area of 680 498.27 hm² in China, and 190 778.66 hm² snail habitats were identified, including 59.09 hm² emerging snail habitats and 704.23 hm² reemerging snail habitats. In 2024, a total of 19 665 schistosomiasis patients receiving chemotherapy with praziquantel in China, and expanded chemotherapy was given to humans at 571 722 person-times and to bovines at 306 740 herd-times. In addition, snail control with chemical treatment covered 117 111.37 hm² snail habitats across China in 2024, and the actual area of chemical treatment was 66 562.95 hm², while environmental improvements were performed in snail habitats covering an area of 1 374.26 hm². The national schistosomiasis surveillance results showed that the mean prevalence rates of Schistosoma japonicum infections were both 0 among humans and bovines in China in 2024, and no S. japonicum infection was detected in snails. These data demonstrated that the prevalence of schistosomiasis remained at a low level in China in 2024; however, the areas of snail habitats remained high and the number of fenced cattle showed a slight increase. To address these risks, it is imperative to maintain the integrated strategy with an emphasis on management of the source of S. japonicum infection and intensified snail control in high-risk areas, and to reinforce schistosomiasis surveillance and forecast and snail control in high-risk areas.