1.Association between different regional fat distribution and total body bone mineral density in children and adolescents
CHEN Jingran, CHEN Manman, HE Huiming, LI Menglong, SUN Mengyang, HU Yifei
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(7):1005-1008
Objective:
To analyze the association between each regional fat mass and total body bone mineral density (BMD) in children and adolescents aged 7-17 years in Beijing, so as to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for implementing interventions.
Methods:
From September to December 2020, a stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 1 423 children and adolescents aged 7-17 years in Tongzhou District, Beijing. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was employed to measure regional body composition and total body BMD. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the association between regional fat mass and total body BMD.
Results:
The median (interquartile range) fat mass values for total body, upper limbs, abdomen, hips, and thighs were 13.51(8.84, 19.21), 1.59(1.08, 2.23), 0.73(0.39, 1.29), 2.32(1.46, 3.26), 5.29(3.59, 7.21)kg, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, the results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that total body fat mass (β=0.010), abdominal fat mass (β=-0.100), and hip fat mass (β=0.104) were significant associations with total body BMD (all P<0.01). Sexstratified analysis revealed that in boys, total body fat mass (β=0.008) and hip fat mass (β=0.058) were positively associated with BMD, while thigh fat mass (β=-0.038) showed a negative association with total body BMD (all P<0.05). In girls, total body fat mass (β=0.013), hip fat mass (β=0.163), and thigh fat mass (β=0.023) were positively associated with total body BMD, whereas abdominal fat mass (β=-0.196) showed a negative association with total body BMD (all P<0.05). Among children and adolescents with body fat percentage below the standard range, within the standard range and above the standard range, total body fat masses were positively associated with total body BMD (β=0.021, 0.016, 0.015); among children and adolescents with body fat percentage within the standard range while upper limb (β=-0.042), abdominal (β=-0.067), and thigh fat mass (β=-0.018) showed negative associations with total body BMD, and hip fat mass demonstrated a positive association with total body BMD (β=0.082) (all P<0.05).
Conclusion
Regional fat distribution is associated with total body BMD in children and adolescents, with the nature of these associations varying by sex and body fat percentage.
2.An inductive learning-based method for predicting drug-gene interactions using a multi-relational drug-disease-gene graph.
Jian HE ; Yanling WU ; Linxi YUAN ; Jiangguo QIU ; Menglong LI ; Xuemei PU ; Yanzhi GUO
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(8):101347-101347
Computational analysis can accurately detect drug-gene interactions (DGIs) cost-effectively. However, transductive learning models are the hotspot to reveal the promising performance for unknown DGIs (both drugs and genes are present in the training model), without special attention to the unseen DGIs (both drugs and genes are absent in the training model). In view of this, this study, for the first time, proposed an inductive learning-based model for the precise identification of unseen DGIs. In our study, by integrating disease nodes to avoid data sparsity, a multi-relational drug-disease-gene (DDG) graph was constructed to achieve effective fusion of data on DDG intro-relationships and inter-actions. Following the extraction of graph features by utilizing graph embedding algorithms, our next step was the retrieval of the attributes of individual gene and drug nodes. In this way, a hybrid feature characterization was represented by integrating graph features and node attributes. Machine learning (ML) models were built, enabling the fulfillment of transductive predictions of unknown DGIs. To realize inductive learning, this study generated an innovative idea of transforming known node vectors derived from the DDG graph into representations of unseen nodes using node similarities as weights, enabling inductive predictions for the unseen DGIs. Consequently, the final model was superior to existing models, with significant improvement in predicting both external unknown and unseen DGIs. The practical feasibility of our model was further confirmed through case study and molecular docking. In summary, this study establishes an efficient data-driven approach through the proposed modeling, suggesting its value as a promising tool for accelerating drug discovery and repurposing.
3.ToxBERT: an explainable AI framework for enhancing prediction of adverse drug reactions and structural insights.
Yujie HE ; Xiang LV ; Wulin LONG ; Shengqiu ZHAI ; Menglong LI ; Zhining WEN
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(8):101387-101387
Accurate prediction of drug-induced adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is crucial for drug safety evaluation, as it directly impacts public health and safety. While various models have shown promising results in predicting ADRs, their accuracy still needs improvement. Additionally, many existing models often lack interpretability when linking molecular structures to specific ADRs and frequently rely on manually selected molecular fingerprints, which can introduce bias. To address these challenges, we propose ToxBERT, an efficient transformer encoder model that leverages attention and masking mechanisms for simplified molecular input line entry system (SMILES) representations. Our results demonstrate that ToxBERT achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) scores of 0.839, 0.759, and 0.664 for predicting drug-induced QT prolongation (DIQT), rhabdomyolysis, and liver injury, respectively, outperforming previous studies. Furthermore, ToxBERT can identify drug substructures that are closely associated with specific ADRs. These findings indicate that ToxBERT is not only a valuable tool for understanding the mechanisms underlying specific drug-induced ADRs but also for mitigating potential ADRs in the drug discovery pipeline.
4.Fast-adapting graph neural network with prior knowledge for drug response prediction across preclinical and clinical data.
Hui GUO ; Xiang LV ; Shenghao LI ; Daichuan MA ; Yizhou LI ; Menglong LI
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(10):101386-101386
Efficient drug response prediction is crucial for reducing drug development costs and time, but current computational models struggle with limited experimental data and out-of-distribution issues between in vitro and in vivo settings. To address this, we introduced drug response prediction meta-learner (metaDRP), a novel few-shot learning model designed to enhance predictive accuracy with limited sample sizes across diverse drug-tissue tasks. metaDRP achieves performance comparable to state-of-the-art models in both genomics of drug sensitivity in cancer (GDSC) drug screening and in vivo datasets, while effectively mitigating out-of-distribution problems, making it reliable for translating findings from controlled environments to clinical applications. Additionally, metaDRP's inherent interpretability offers reliable insights into drug mechanisms of action, such as elucidating the pathways and molecular targets of drugs like epothilone B and pemetrexed. This work provides a promising approach to overcoming data scarcity and out-of-distribution challenges in drug response prediction, while promoting the integration of few-shot learning in this field.
5.Sex differences in cardiovascular health among children aged 6-8 years in Beijing City
GUAN Mengying, JIANG Xiaofeng, SHU Wen, LI Menglong, XIAO Huidi, ASIHAER Yeerlin, HU Yifei
Chinese Journal of School Health 2024;45(1):36-40
Objective:
To explore sex difference in the cardiovascular health (CVH) status of 6-8 year old children in Beijing, so as to inform the early intervention of CVH related lifestyles.
Methods:
Based on the Beijing Children s Growth and Health Cohort (PROC), baseline physical examination, sequential questionnaire survey, and laboratory tests were conducted among 1 914 grade 1 students. Children s CVH and its subscales (health behaviors and health factors) scores were calculated according to the Life s Essential 8 (LE 8) index and categorized into high, moderate, and low CVH. CVH scores were reported as medians and interquartile ranges; sex differences were compared using the Chi square test and Wilcoxon test.
Results:
Among the 1 914 participants, the percentages of high, moderate, and low CVH were 35.7%, 63.5%, and 0.8%, respectively, and the percentages of high, moderate, and low health behavior scores were 25.9%, 67.5%, and 6.6%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences between sex ( χ 2=2.30, 0.07, P >0.05). The rates of high, moderate, and low health factor scores for boys and girls were 61.1%, 36.0%, 2.9% and 71.1%, 28.4%, 0.5%, respectively, with a statistically significant sex difference ( χ 2=31.88, P < 0.01). The overall CVH score was 76.0(70.0, 83.0), 76.0(69.0, 82.0) for boys, and 77.0(71.0, 83.0) for girls. Among the health behavior metrics, sleep scores were the best and physical activity scores were the worst[100.0(90.0,100.0), 40.0(20.0, 80.0 )]; among the health factor metrics, blood glucose scores were the best and lipid scores were the worst[100.0(100.0,100.0), 60.0(40.0,100.0)]. In respect to health factors, there were significant gender differences in body mass index, blood lipids, blood sugar, and blood pressure scores ( Z =-6.92, 3.01, -6.60, -2.30, <0.05), but there were no significant gender differences in diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, or sleep scores with regards to health behaviors ( Z =0.99, 0.88, -0.13, 0.36, P > 0.05 ). Compared to boys, girls in the low and moderate CVH groups had high health factor scores despite low health behavior scores.
Conclusion
Most 6 to 8-year-old children in Beijing were found to have relatively good CVH, and optimization of children s CVH status can be achieved by promoting healthier lifestyles and monitoring health factors, especially among boys.
6.Longitudinal associations between organophosphate esters exposure and blood pressure among school aged children in Beijing
Chinese Journal of School Health 2024;45(4):560-564
Objective:
To explore the longitudinal association between organophosphate esters (OPEs) exposure and blood pressure in children, so as to provide a reference for identifying the effects of OPEs exposure on child health.
Methods:
A total of 404 children from the Beijing Child Growth and Health Cohort (PROC) were enrolled using a case cohort study design, baseline physical examination, urine collection, questionnaires survey were administered in 2018 and follow up surveys in 2019-2020 and 2023. Participants were divided into case group ( n =140) and control group ( n =264) according to the observation of new onset of high blood pressure during the follow up period. High performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect diethyl phosphate (DEP),bis (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP),bis (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, (BCIPP), diphenyl phosphate(DPHP), dibutyl phosphate (DnBP), bis (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate(BDCIPP), bis(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate(BBOEP), bis (2-butoxyethyl) 2-hydroxyethyl phosphate (BBOEHEP), 4-hydroxyphenyl diphenyl phosphate (4-OH-TPHP). Generalized linear mixed models and Quantile g computation models were developed to analyze the longitudinal associations between OPEs individual/mixed exposure and blood pressure in children.
Results:
The detection range of 9 OPEs metabolites,including DEP, BCEP, BCIPP, DPHP, DnBP, BDCIPP, BBOEP, BBOEHEP and 4-OH-TPHP at three time points (baseline, first follow up and second follow up) were 27.7%-92.1%, 24.0%-99.3% and 39.2%-90.9% respectively. Without adjustment for covariates such as gender, age, body mass index, Tanner stage, parental education, and monthly household income, and family history of hypertension, the increase of BDCIPP concentration and mixed exposure of OPEs may reduce children s systolic blood pressure( β= -0.85,-2.40,95%CI=-1.69--0.01,-3.30--1.50,P <0.05). After adjusting for the covariates, the longitudinal association of individual OPEs or mixed exposure with pediatric BP was not statistically significant ( P >0.05).
Conclusion
Children are commonly exposed to OPEs, and although no significant longitudinal associations are observed between exposure to OPEs and blood pressure among school aged children in Beijing, it is recommended that child exposure should be minimized whenever possible.
7.Expression of C1GALT1 genes in gastric cancer and its effect on the biological behavior of BGC-823 cells in gastric cancer
Muchuan QIAO ; Junru LI ; Ling LUO ; Tong XIA ; Yanhua CHEN ; Menglong HU ; Hailong XIE
Chinese Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology 2024;40(6):603-608
Purpose To investigate the expression of C1GALT1 in gastric cancer and its effect on the biological be-havior of BGC-823 in gastric cancer cells.Methods The ex-pression of C1GALT1 mRNA and protein in gastric cancer tis-sues and normal gastric mucosa,gastric cancer cells and normal gastric mucosal cells was analyzed by bioinformatics,qRT-PCR and Western blot;the transient transfection of siRNA into BGC-823 cells was designed with C1GALT1 cDNA sequence as the target.Transwell assay was used to detect the effect of C1GALT1-siRNA on the migration and invasion ability of BGC-823 cells in gastric cancer.Western blot method detected the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)-related proteins in BGC-823 after transfection of C1GALT1-siRNA.Re-sults C1GALT1 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines BGC-823,SGC-7901 and MGC-803,and the ex-pression levels were positively correlated with gastric cancer pathological stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ(P<0.05).After interfering with C1GALT1 in BGC-823 cells,the ability of migration and inva-sion decreased(P<0.05),epithelial cell markers E-cadherin and Claudin-1 protein expression increased,while mesenchymal cell markers vimentin and Slug protein expression decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion C1GALT1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and cells,silencing of C1GALT1 can inhibit mi-gration and invasion ability of gastric cancer,the mechanism may be related to EMT.
8.A follow up study of body fat distribution and blood pressure among 6-9 years old children in Beijing
AMAERJIANG Nubiya, JIANG Xiaofeng, TANG Ruishu, LI Menglong, XIAO Huidi, ZUNONG Jiawulan, HU Yifei
Chinese Journal of School Health 2023;44(3):432-435
Objective:
To explore the association of body fat mass and distribution indices including fat mass percentage (FMP), visceral fat area (VFA) and percentage of trunk fat mass (%TFM) with blood pressure in children to inform early management of blood pressure in children.
Methods:
Based on the Beijing Child Growth and Health Cohort in Shunyi District, lifestyle questionnaire survey, baseline and follow up physical examination were conducted among children from October to November 2018 and September 2020. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to measure the body composition, and 1 098 participants with completed data were finally included.
Results:
Both body fat indices and blood pressure increased with age in boys and girls. For FMP, VFA, and %TFM, no significant differences presented between sex at baseline, while FMP, VFA, and %TFM were significantly higher in boys than girls at follow up ( t=2.73, 3.76, 3.41, P <0.01). Before and after adjusting for age, height and lifestyles or not, linear mixed effect models showed longitudinal associations existing between body fat indices and blood pressure in both boys and girls ( β=0.64-3.48, P <0.05). The association coefficients of body fat indices with systolic blood pressure were ranked as %TFM>FMP>VFA in both boys and girls. The association coefficients of body fat indices with diastolic blood pressure were ranked sequentially as FMP>%TFM>VFA in boys, and VFA>FMP>%TFM in girls.
Conclusion
Longitudinal associations are observed between body fat indices and blood pressure in children. Primordial prevention of high pressure should pay attention on body fat distribution.
9.Analysis of lipoprotein(a) level and related factors in healthy Tajik and Kazak adults in Xinjiang
Menglong JIN ; Mawusumu MAMUTE ; Hebali SHAPAERMAIMAITI ; Jianxin LI ; Jie CAO ; Fanhua MENG ; Qian ZHAO ; Huayin LI ; Hongyu JI ; Jialin ABUZHALIHAN ; Abuduhalike AIGAIXI ; Xiangfeng LU ; Zhenyan FU
Chinese Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2023;46(7):697-704
Objective:To investigate the distribution and related factors of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] level in healthy Tajik and Kazak adults in China.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to October 2021 and March to June 2022, and blood samples were collected from 2, 637 healthy Tajik adults [1 010 men, average age: (40.08±14.74) years; 1 627 women, average age: (38.27±12.90) years] in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County and 1 911 healthy Kazak adults [720 men, average age: (42.10±12.26) years; 1 191 women, average age: (38.27±12.90) years] in Fuyun County of Xinjiang. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), creatinine (Cr), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and Lp(a) were measured. The distribution of Lp(a) levels in different sex and age groups was compared. The Lp(a) level of Tajik and Kazakh ethnic groups was compared by Mann-Whitney U test, and correlation factors of Lp(a) level were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. Results:The distribution of Lp(a) level in Tajik and Kazak population was skewed. Lp(a) levels of Tajik and Kazak ranged from the lowest 0.40 mg/L and 0.62 mg/L to the highest 1 229.40 mg/L and 2 108.58 mg/L, respectively, and the median Lp(a) level was 78.90 (38.60, 190.20) mg/L and 103.30 (49.57, 234.27) mg/L, respectively. Median Lp(a) level of Kazak was significantly higher than that of Tjik ( P<0.001). The median Lp(a) levels of Tajik males and females were similar: 77.45 (39.80, 187.10) mg/L and 79.90 (38.60, 192.30) mg/L ( P=0.948). The median Lp(a) levels of Kazakh males and females were also similar: 109.42 (50.49, 230.38) mg/L and 99.01 (49.11, 237.25) mg/L, respectively ( P=0.578). After pooling the data of Tajik and Kazak and adjusting for age, sex, BMI, smoking, drinking, blood pressure, blood glucose and other factors, Lp(a) level was correlated with ethnic (standard partial regression coefficient 0.066, P=0.008) and LDL-C level (standard partial regression coefficient 0.136, P<0.001). Conclusions:Lp(a) level in healthy Tajik and Kazak adults varied greatly among individuals, and Kazak residents had a higher Lp(a) level than Tajik residents. There was no significant sex difference in Lp(a) level among Tajik and Kazakh, and LDL-C and ethnicity are independent factors related to Lp(a) level.
10.Evidence and acupoint combinations in acupuncture for functional dyspepsia: an overview of systematic review and data mining study
ZOU Menglong LIU ; HU Zhuoyu FANG ; LONG  ; Dan HE ; SUN Haoxian LI ; ZHU Ying ZHOU
Digital Chinese Medicine 2023;6(4):369-380
Objective:
To evaluate the methodological quality of papers that performed meta-analyzed and systematically reviewed acupoint selections for the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD) and to identify the ideal acupoint combinations for FD.
Methods:
Chinese databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), China Biology Medicine (CBM), and Wanfang Database, as well as English databases including PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched to retrieve papers about meta-analysis and systematic literature reviews on acupuncture for FD. The time span for the paper retrieval was set from the foundation of the databases to April 30, 2022. The Veritas scores of the papers based on their publication year, study type, Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2), Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), heterogeneity, and publication bias were rated to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Then, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were extracted from those meta-analysis papers or systematic literature reviews for analyzing acupoints frequency, meridian frequency, and association rules with the use of R software (V 4.3.1).
Results:
Eight meta-analysis papers were included in the study after screening. The mean Veritas scores of the papers based on publication year, type of study, AMSTAR2, PRISMA, heterogeneity, and publication bias were 4.50, 8.00, 4.63, 4.63, 4.50, and 6.13, respectively. The analysis of the scores revealed insufficiencies in the reviews pertaining to the methodology, comprehension of the research strategy, detailed list of excluded studies, sources of funding, assessment of potential bias risks impact on meta-analysis results in each study, explanation of heterogeneity, and identification of potential conflicts of interest. Furthermore, a total of 85 RCTs were obtained from the eight meta-analysis papers involving 85 acupuncture prescriptions and 67 acupoints for subsequent data mining. The most commonly used meridian was Stomach meridian of Foot-Yangming (ST). Zusanli (ST36), Neiguan (PC6), Zhongwan (CV12), Taichong (LR3), Tianshu (ST25), Gongsun (SP4), Weishu (BL21), Pishu (BL20), Neiting (ST44), and Yinlingquan (SP9) topped the list of frequently selected acupoints. Additionally, a total of 28 association rules were identified, including 10 second-order, 15 third-order, and 3 fourth-order association rules. The top-ranking association rules in each order were “Neiguan (PC6) → Zusanli (ST36)” “Zhongwan (CV12) + Neiguan (PC6) → Zusanli (ST36)” and “Zhongwan (CV12) + Taichong (LR3) + Neiguan (PC6) → Zusanli (ST36)”, respectively.
Conclusion
Acupuncture could alleviate the clinical symptoms of FD. However, the quality of methodology applied in the meta-analysis papers on the subject needs to be improved. Through data mining, a combination of Neiguan (PC6), Zusanli (ST36), Zhongwan (CV12), and Taichong (LR3) was identified as an essential acupoint combination for the treatment of FD.


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