Objective: To compare the consistency between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA) in measuring body composition among Tibetan children and adolescents and to explore the applicability of BIA in plateau region, so as to provide scientific and convenient body composition measurement support among children and adolescents. Methods: From May to June, 2022, a total of 344 Tibetan children and adolescents aged 6-17 years were selected from Golmud Municipal National Middle School and Changjiangyuan Nationality Primary School in Qinghai Province by cluster sampling method, and their fat mass, fat mass percentage and lean mass were measured by DXA and BIA. The consistency and correlation between the two methods were assessed by using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Spearman correlation analysis, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: DXA measured fat mass and fat mass percentage were significantly higher than those obtained by BIA (6-12 years old: Z =9.91, 11.28; 13-17 years old: Z =9.02, 10.21), while lean mass and lean mass percentage were significantly lower than BIA results (6-12 years old: Z =-11.60, -11.30; 13-17 years old: Z =-10.77, -10.36) (all P < 0.05 ). The two methods showed strong correlations in fat mass and lean mass (all r >0.80, all ICC >0.90), but exhibited poor agreement in fat mass percentage and lean mass percentage (6-12 years old: Lin s CCC =0.64, 0.41; 13-17 years old: Lin s CCC = 0.79 , 0.35). Bland-Altman analysis showed that the difference between the two methods was negatively correlated with the average value in FM%(6-12 years old: r =-0.75, 13-17 years old: r =-0.79, both P <0.01). Conclusion BIA and DXA show high consistency in measuring body fat mass and lean body mass in Tibetan children and adolescents, although some bias is still present in certain individuals.

Objective To investigate the lifestyle and cardiovascular disease in the elderly and analyze their association. Methods A simple random sampling method was used to select the elderly aged 60 years and above in a community of Xining from September 2022 to September 2023 as the study subjects. General demographic characteristics, prevalence of cardiovascular disease, living habits and activity status were collected by questionnaire. Demographic characteristics and life behavior habits were compared between the diseased and non-diseased groups, and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. Results A total of 784 subjects, 259 (33.04%) suffered from cardiovascular disease, with coronary heart disease and hypertension being the most common. In terms of disease risk, males were 1.378 times higher than females, non-income groups were 1.394 times higher than income groups, receiving health education/popular science < 1 time/month groups were 1.533 times higher than ≥ 2 times/month groups, combined diabetes or obesity groups were 1.490 times and 1.470 times higher than non-diabetes or obesity groups, salty fresh taste groups were 1.690 times higher than light taste groups, fresh fruit intake frequency ≤ 3 times/week groups were 1.492 times higher than ＞7 times/week groups, smoking ≥ 30 cigarettes/month groups were 2.257 times higher than non-smoking groups, drinking ≥ 2 liquors or 500 ml beer/day groups were 1.569 times higher than non-drinking groups, irregular physical examination habits groups were 1.619 times higher than regular physical examination habits groups, aerobic exercise did not reach the standard groups were 1.454 times higher than the standard groups. Conclusion Lifestyle is associated with cardiovascular disease in the elderly. It is important to carry out targeted health education and advocate healthy behavior lifestyle to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease.

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic intestinal inflammatory condition with chronic and relapsing manifestations and is characterized by a disturbance in the interplay between the intestinal microbiota, the gut, and the brain. The microbiota-gut-brain axis involves interactions among the nervous system, the neuroendocrine system, the gut microbiota, and the host immune system. Increasing published data indicate that psychological stress exacerbates the severity of IBD due to its negative effects on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, including alterations in the stress response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the balance between the sympathetic nervous system and vagus nerves, the homeostasis of the intestinal flora and metabolites, and normal intestinal immunity and permeability. Although the current evidence is insufficient, psychotropic agents, psychotherapies, and interventions targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis show the potential to improve symptoms and quality of life in IBD patients. Therefore, further studies that translate recent findings into therapeutic approaches that improve both physical and psychological well-being are needed.
Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/metabolism* ; Stress, Psychological/microbiology* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology* ; Brain/metabolism* ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; Animals

Objective To study the chemical constituents of Fallopia aubertii L.Henry Holub. Methods The chemical constituents of Fallopia aubertii L.Henry Holub. were separated and purified by online two-dimensional preparative liquid chromatography and identified by physical and chemical constants and spectral analysis. The inhibitory activities on xanthine oxidase were determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Results Ten compounds were isolated from the extract of Fallopia aubertii L.Henry Holub, including isotachioside（1）, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-（6'-O-galloyl）-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside（2）, 1-hydroxy-,4,5-1-O-[6'-O-（4''-carboxy-1'',3'',5'trihydrotrimethoxyphenylxy）-phenyl]-β-D-glucopyranoside（3）, myricetrin（4）, myricetin（5）, rutin（6）, quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside（7）, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside（8）, lyciumideA（9）, and N-trans-Feruloyltyramine（10）. The inhibitory activity test results showed that the IC₅₀ of compound 5 was 15.92 μmol/L, and the IC₅₀ of compound 6 was 87.36 μmol/L. Conclusion Compounds 1,2,3,4 and 8 were isolated from Medicago polymorpha for the first time. Compounds 5 and 6 had xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity.

Objective To establish a model of radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis in mice, and study the effect of TGF-β/SMAD pathway on radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis in mice and the protective effect of pirfenidone capsules (PFD) on radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis. Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group, irradiation group, and drug intervention groups (low-dose PFD + irradiation group and high-dose PFD + irradiation group). After radiation exposure, the control group and the irradiation group were given sodium carboxymethyl cellulose by gavage, while the low-dose PFD + irradiation group and the high-dose PFD + irradiation group were given PFD at 150 and 300 mg/kg daily by gavage for 12 consecutive weeks, respectively. The body weights of mice were measured and recorded weekly. The pathological changes of heart tissues in mice were observed by H&E and Masson’s trichrome staining. The expression levels of TGF-β, SMAD2, and SMAD3 mRNAs in mouse heart tissues were detected by RT-PCR. The expression levels of TGF-β, SMAD2, and SMAD3 proteins in mouse heart tissues were detected by Western blot. The expression levels of CK and CK-MB in mouse heart tissues were detected by blood biochemical tests. Results H&E and Masson’s trichrome staining showed severe myocardial fibrosis in the irradiation group compared with the control group. Compared with the irradiation group, the two groups with drug intervention showed reduced heart disease and myocardial fibrosis. RT-PCR and Western blot showed that the expression levels of TGF-β, SMAD2, and SMAD3 were up-regulated in the irradiation group compared with the other three groups (P < 0.05). The expression levels of TGF-β, SMAD2, and SMAD3 were down-regulated in the two groups treated with PFD compared with the irradiation group (P < 0.05). The expression levels of CK and CK-MB in mouse heart tissues were down-regulated in the two groups treated with PFD compared to irradiation group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Radiation has long-term effects on normal heart tissue, causing myocardial damage and promoting myocardial fibrosis. The up-regulation of TGF-β/SMAD pathway is related to the formation of radiation-induced myocardial fibrosis. PFD can mitigate the progression of myocardial fibrosis and protect heart tissue by down-regulating TGF-β/SMAD pathway.

The plants of the genus Caragana Fabr. are desert plants of the Leguminosae family, which are widely used in traditional ethnomedicine, with the effects of nourishing Yin and nourishing blood, dispelling wind and removing dampness, clearing heat and detoxifying toxins. The anti-inflammatory effect of Caragana Fabr. has attracted much attention, the research on the related mechanism has made some progress, but it lacks systematic collation. By summarising the anti-inflammatory effects of the active ingredients of Caragana Fabr., the authors found that they have good anti-inflammatory activities on different inflammatory cell models in vitro, and have good improvement effects on rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, complex nephritis, and acute lung injury and other disease models. The anti-inflammatory effects of the active components of this genus mainly include the reduction of the levels of a variety of pro-inflammatory factors, and the signalling pathways involved mainly include TLR4/NF-κB, TLR4/MAPK, TLR4/NF-κB/IRF3, JAK/STAT-1, ERK/STAT-1 and so on. Therefore, the paper mainly reviews the research progress on the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of the Caragana Fabr. plants and their active components according to disease types, with a view to providing reference for the in-depth study of their anti-inflammatory activities and the development of new products with related functions.

[Objective] To conduct a retrospective statistical comparison of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test values in blood donors prior to blood collection, aiming to analyze the objective characteristics of the population with elevated ALT levels (ALT>50 U/L) and provide reference data for adjusting the screening eligibility threshold for ALT. [Methods] The preliminary ALT screening data of 30 341 blood donor samples collected prior to blood donation from three smart blood donation sites at the Shenzhen Blood Center between 2022 and 2023 were extracted and compared with data from a health examination department of a tertiary hospital in Shenzhen (representing the general population, n=24 906). Both datasets were categorized and statistically described. A retrospective analysis was conducted to examine the associations between ALT test results and factors such as donors' gender, age, ethnicity, donation site, donation season, and frequency of blood donation. [Results] The ALT levels in both blood donors and the general population were non-normally distributed. The 95th percentile of ALT values was calculated as 61.4 U/L (male: 67.8 U/L, female: 39.3 U/L) for blood donors and 58.1 U/L (male: 63.7 U/L, female: 51.2 U/L) for the general population. The non-compliance rates (ALT>50 U/L) were 7.65% (2 321/30 341) in blood donors and 7.08% (1 763/24 906) in the general population. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the ALT failure rate among blood donors based on gender, age, and donation site, but no significant differences (P>0.05) during the blood donation season. There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the positive rates of four serological markers (HBsAg, anti HCV, HIV Ag/Ab, anti TP) for blood screening pathogens between ALT unqualified and qualified individuals (2.05% vs 1.5%). If the ALT qualification threshold was raised from 50 U/L to 90 U/L, the non qualification rates of male and female blood donors would decrease from 9.82% (2 074/21 125) to 2.23% (471/21 125) and from 2.70% (249/9 216) to 0.75% (69/9 216), respectively. Among the 154 blood donors who donated blood more than 3 times, 88.31% of the 248 ALT test results were in the range of 50-90 U/L. Among them, 9 cases had ALT>130 U/L, and ALT was converted to qualified in subsequent blood donations. [Conclusion] There are differences in the ALT failure rate among blood donors of different genders and ages, and different blood donation sites and operators can also affect the ALT detection values of blood donors. The vast majority of blood donors with ALT failure are caused by transient and non pathological factors. With the widespread use of blood virus nucleic acid testing, appropriately increasing the ALT qualification threshold for blood donors can expand the qualified population and alleviate the shortage of blood sources, and the risk of blood safety will not increase.