ObjectiveTo investigate the association of menopausal time and menopausal age with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD）， and to provide a basis for the early prevention and treatment of NAFLD in clinical practice. MethodsRelated data were collected from 373 postmenopausal women who attended the outpatient service of Department of Spleen， Stomach， Liver and Gallbladder Diseases， The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine， from January 2017 to December 2021， including general information， menopausal age， menopausal time， and presence or absence of NAFLD. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data； the independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups. A Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the association intensity and 95% confidence interval （95%CI） of menopausal time and menopausal age for the risk of NAFLD， and the restricted cubic spline （RCS） method was used to investigate the dose-response relationship between menopausal time/age and the risk of NAFLD. ResultsCompared with the women with normal menopause or late menopause， the women with early menopause had a higher prevalence rate of NAFLD and a higher degree of steatosis and fibrosis （all P<0.05）. After adjustment for the confounding factors such as age and age of menarche， the risk of NAFLD in women with a menopausal time of >3 years was 4.80 （95%CI： 1.93‍ ‍—‍‍ ‍11.95， P=0.001） times that in women with a menopausal time of ≤3 years， and the risk of NAFLD in women with early or late menopause was 8.14 times （95%CI： ‍1.77 ‍— ‍37.58， P=0.007） and 0.09 times （95%CI： 0.03 ‍— ‍0.32， P<0.001）， respectively， that in those with a normal menopausal age. There is a dose-response relationship between menopausal time/age and the risk of NAFLD. Menopausal time is positively correlated with the association intensity of NAFLD， while menopausal age is negatively correlated with the association intensity of NAFLD. ConclusionThe longer the menopause time and the earlier the menopause age， the ligher the risk of NAFLD.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease（NAFLD） is the most common chronic liver disease in the world. Because of its complex pathogenesis， high clinical prevalence and large population， it poses a great threat and challenge to public health in the world. Therefore， active intervention measures are needed. Currently， western medicine is effective in reducing weight， reducing liver fat content， improving glucose-lipid metabolism and insulin resistance. However， for patients with NAFLD-related fibrosis and cirrhosis， there is still a lack of sufficient histological evidence to support its benefits， and randomized controlled trials are still needed to clarify. Lifestyle intervention is an important cornerstone for the treatment of NAFLD， but there are many problems such as poor implementation and low compliance of patients， and the clinical efficacy is not ideal. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has the significant advantages of multiple pathways and multiple targets. Berberine， the active ingredient of TCM， can interfere with the production of NAFLD from multiple pathways， including increasing energy consumption， weight loss， improving glucose-lipid metabolism， improving insulin resistance， anti-inflammatory， anti-oxidation， regulating intestinal flora， restoring bile acid homeostasis， anti-fibrosis and so on， which can play a positive role in the treatment of NAFLD. At the same time， it was found that the combination of BBR with Chinese and western medicines had significant advantages in promoting drug absorption， improving oral bioavailability， increasing the highest biological distribution in the liver， enhancing the overall therapeutic effect of NAFLD， and reducing adverse drug reactions， which could provide reference for clinical medication.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role and mechanism of action of paeoniflorin （PF） in protecting HepG2 cells induced by palmitic acid （PA）. MethodsHepG2 cells were stimulated with PA at a concentration of 250 μmol/L to establish a NAFLD model. Compound C at a concentration of 10 μmol/L was used as an inhibitor， and PF at a concentration of 25 μmol/L was used for intervention. The experiment was divided into normal group （CON group） treated with complete culture medium， model group （MOD group） treated with PA， PF treatment group （MOD+PF group） treated with PA and PF， model+inhibitor group （MOD+COM group） treated with PA and Compound C， and model+inhibitor+PF group （MOD+COM+PF group） treated with PA， Compound C， and PF. Kits were used to measure lipid deposition indicators， liver function parameters， oxidative stress indicators， and inflammation indicators； oil red O staining was used to observe lipid deposition； Western Blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of AMPK， SIRT1， PGC-1α， mTOR， Beclin-1， LC3， and P62 in cells. The one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of quantitative data between groups， while the Tukey’s test was used for comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the MOD group， PF improved the levels of TC and TG （P<0.05）， reduced the levels of ALT， AST， CRP， TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 （P<0.05）， increased the activity of SOD and CAT and the level of GSH， and reduced the level of MDA in cells （all P<0.05）. Oil red O staining showed that PF alleviated lipid deposition in cells. Western blot results showed that compared with the MOD group， PF increased the protein expression levels of p-AMPK， SIRT1， PGC-1α， LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ， and Beclin-1 and reduced the protein expression levels of p-mTOR and P62 （all P<0.05）. ConclusionPF can inhibit PA-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in HepG2 cells， improve lipid deposition， and promote autophagy via the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α/mTOR signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between serum creatinine/cystatin C ratio （CCR） and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） based on the NHANES database， and to evaluate the potential significance of CCR as an indicator reflecting the metabolic status of the body. MethodsBased on the data from the NHANES database in 1999‍ ‍—‍ ‍2004， a total of 4 217 participants were enrolled and divided into NAFLD group with 1 726 participants and non-NAFLD group with 2 491 participants. CCR was compared between the two groups， and the association between CCR and NAFLD was analyzed. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between CCR and NAFLD； CCR was divided into 4 groups based on quartiles， and odds ratio （OR） and 95% confidence interval （CI） in the regression model was calculated with the first quartile as reference. In addition， the restricted cubic spline analysis was used to investigate whether there was a non-linear relationship between CCR and NAFLD， and interaction items were introduced into the Logistic regression model to perform an interaction analysis. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the stratification of variables to investigate the difference in the association between CCR and NAFLD in different populations. ResultsThe non-NAFLD group had a significantly higher CCR than the NAFLD group （Z=-4.76，P<0.01）. The Logistic regression analysis showed that in model 1 without adjustment of variables， CCR was negatively associated with NAFLD （OR=0.993，95%CI：0.989‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.996，P<0.01）， and in model 3 with adjustment of all variables， CCR was still negatively associated with NAFLD （OR=0.986，95%CI：0.981‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.991，P<0.01）. The analysis of CCR based on quartiles showed a significant association between the increase in CCR and the reduction in the risk of NAFLD. In model 3， compared with the individuals with the lowest quartile of CCR， the individuals with the highest quartile of CCR had a significantly lower risk of NAFLD （OR=0.426，95%CI：0.316‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.574，P<0.01）. Further interaction and subgroup analyses showed that the interaction between CCR and age/sex had a statistical significance （P_interaction<0.01 and P_interaction=0.04）. The subgroup analysis based on age showed a more significant association between CCR and NAFLD in the middle-aged population （≤60 years） （OR=0.982，95%CI：0.976‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.987）， and the subgroup analysis based on sex showed a stronger association between CCR and NAFLD in women （OR=0.979，95%CI：0.972‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.986）. ConclusionThis study shows a significant negative association between CCR and NAFLD， and such association is more significant in middle-aged individuals and women.

Epigenetic mechanisms play a crucial role in the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD）， especially among lean individuals. The research on related epigenetic mechanisms has provided new clues and directions for revealing the underlying causes and treatment strategies of NAFLD. This article introduces the role of epigenetics in the development and progression of NAFLD among lean individuals in recent years， analyzes the latest research advances in the epigenetics of NAFLD in this population， and briefly describes the basic concepts of epigenetics， including DNA methylation， histone modifications， and non-coding RNA regulation. This article also discusses how epigenetic alterations impact the pathogenesis， disease progression， and treatment strategies of NAFLD in lean individuals.

BACKGROUND:Bone mineral density is the clinical gold standard for determining bone strength,but bone mineral density is less sensitive to changes in bone mass,with large changes in bone mineral density only occurring when bone mass is significantly reduced,so bone mineral density has limited ability to predict changes in bone strength and fracture risk. OBJECTIVE:A model of the normal and osteoporotic hip joint was developed to analyze the stresses and deformation in the hip of normal and osteoporotic patients under single-leg standing conditions. METHODS:A healthy adult female volunteer at the age of 36 years was selected as the study subject.The CT data of the hip joint of this volunteer were obtained and saved in DICOM format.The hip joint model was reconstructed in three dimensions,and the material properties were assigned by the gray value assignment method to obtain the normal and osteoporotic hip joint models according to the empirical formula.The same boundary conditions and loads were set to simulate the stresses and deformation in the normal and osteoporotic hip joints in the single-leg standing position. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In the finite element model of the normal and osteoporotic hip,the stress distribution was more concentrated in the medial region of the femoral neck.(2)In the hip bone,the stress distribution was mainly concentrated in the upper part of the acetabulum.(3)The stress peaks in the medial femoral neck and upper acetabulum were larger in the normal hip model than in the osteoporotic hip model,probably due to the reduced bone strength of the osteoporotic bone.(4)The peak Von Mises of both normal and osteoporotic hip models were concentrated on the medial femoral neck,and the peak Von Mises of the hip bone was smaller,indicating that the overall effect of osteoporosis on hip bone stresses was relatively small.(5)In terms of deformation in the single-leg standing position,the maximum deformation in the normal hip model was located at the acetabulum and femoral head,and the maximum deformation was located at the upper part of the greater trochanter of the femur.(6)It is suggested that the finite element analysis method to model the values of parameters related to bone tissue in osteoporosis may improve clinical prediction of bone strength changes and fracture risk.It is explained from the biomechanical view that the intertrochanteric femur and femoral neck are good sites for osteoporotic hip fractures.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease in which a large amount of fat accumulates in hepatocytes due to lipid metabolism disorders. Conventional anti-inflammatory and transaminase-lowering treatment regimens often have an unsatisfactory therapeutic effect, and restoring the normal biosynthesis and metabolism of lipids is the key to the treatment of NAFLD. Studies have shown that brown adipose tissue can improve metabolic diseases by enhancing insulin sensitivity and regulating lipid metabolism, and the treatment of NAFLD by promoting white fat browning has attracted wide attention in the medical field. This article reviews the mechanism of white fat browning in improving NAFLD and summarizes the hepatokines that can promote white fat browning, so as to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of NAFLD.

Objective:To investigate the effect of 3D-printed customized flanged cup in hip revision with severe acetabular bone defects.Methods:Since February 2017, 10 cases of 3D-printed customized flanged cups were used in hip revision with severe acetabular bone defects, including 2 cases of Paprosky type IIIA and 8 cases of Paprosky type IIIB. There were 5 males and 5 females, mean age 73.6±8.1 yrs (range, 62-87 yrs), 5 left and 5 right cases. The preoperative thin-layer CT scan was preformed to reverse reconstruct digital pelvis. Five cases of one-piece flanged cups and 5 cases of decomposed flanged cups, including 3 cases of composite one-piece cups were designed by computer. The surgery was performed strictly according to the plan.Postoperative follow-up was performed to evaluate the Harris score. Operation time,intraoperative bleeding and other complications such as vascular and nerve injury, postoperative infection, and dislocation were counted. Pelvic X-ray was used to assess the height and horizontal position of the center of rotation and the stability of the prosthesis.Results:The surgical procedure was successful, with an average operative time of 147.9±48.3 min (range, 96-212 min) and an average intraoperative bleeding of 730.4±262.6 ml (range, 500-1 300 ml). The mean time of final follow-up was 40.8±18.7 months (range, 16-70 months) after surgery. At the last follow-up, the average Harris score was 83.80±6.73, with 4 cases excellent, 5 cases good, and 1 case fair. The excellent and good rate was 90%. The last Harris score was significantly higher than that before operation 28.60±8.40 ( t=16.84, P<0.001). The height of affected hip joint rotation center decreased from 46.24±7.74 mm before operation to 15.54±2.54 mm after operation with significant difference ( t=14.61, P<0.001). It was slightly higher than the opposite side (13.81±1.48 mm), which had no significant difference ( t=1.83, P=0.100). The horizontal distance of affected hip joint rotation center increased from 33.79±5.27 mm before operation to 40.53±4.50 mm after operation with significant difference ( t=3.62, P=0.006). It had no significant difference ( t=1.28, P=0.232) compared with the opposite side (38.54±3.46 mm). All incisions were healed in one stage without infection, vascular or nerve injury. During the following-up, all prostheses were in satisfied position without loosening, dislocation or screw breaks. Conclusion:Digitally assisted 3D-printed flanged cups can be used in hip revision with severe acetabular bone defect. It can not only improve hip joint function, but also restore the acetabular rotation center and the prosthesis stability, which can achieve good early and mid-term effect.

Objective To investigate the effect of Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription on the ultrastructure of hepatocyte mitochondria in a rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Methods A total of 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into blank group, model group, Yishanfu group, and Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription group, with 12 rats in each group. The rats in the model group and the drug groups were administered and modeled since week 2; the rats in the blank group were given normal diet, and those in the other three groups were given high-fat diet. Based on dose conversion between human and animal, the equivalent dose of Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription was 1.26 g/100 g body weight, and the equivalent dose of polyene phosphatidylcholine capsules (Yishanfu) was 0.014 18 g/100 g body weight. The rats in the model group were given 0.9% sodium chloride by gavage, those in the Yishanfu group were given polyene phosphatidylcholine suspension by gavage, and those in the traditional Chinese medicine group were given the granules of Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription by gavage, once a day for 10 consecutive weeks. A transmission electron microscope was used to observe liver ultrastructure and perform a quantitative analysis. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups; for further pairwise comparison, the least significant difference t -test was used for data with homogeneity of variance, and the Dunnett's T3 was used for data with heterogeneity of variance. Results The model group had a large number of lipid droplets accumulated in hepatocytes, changes in mitochondrial morphology and structure, and reductions in the number of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. The Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription group had a significant reduction in lipid droplets in hepatocytes and significant increases in the number of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum compared with the model group, with intact mitochondrial membrane and structure. The Yishanfu group had a reduction in lipid droplets in hepatocytes, an increase in the number of mitochondria, and a reduction in the number of endoplasmic reticulum, with relatively intact mitochondrial membrane and structure. The quantitative analysis showed that compared with the blank group, the model group had a significant increase in the area of lipid droplets and a significant reduction in mitochondria, with a significant difference in mitochondrial density between the two groups (all P < 0.01); after drug intervention, the Yishanfu group had a significant reduction in the area of lipid droplets and a significant increase in the number of mitochondria, with a significant difference in mitochondrial density between the Yishanfu group and the model group (all P < 0.01); compared with the Yishanfu group, the traditional Chinese medicine group had a significantly greater reduction in the area of lipid droplets and a significant increase in the number of mitochondria, with a significant difference in mitochondrial density between the two groups (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription can improve lipid accumulation, increase mitochondrial density, and protect mitochondrial structure and function, with a better clinical effect than Yishanfu.

Objective To investigate the effect of Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pyroptosis of RAW264.7 cells and its mechanism. Methods An in vitro cell model of LPS-induced activated RAW264.7 was established and divided into blank group, model group, high-, middle-, and low-dose Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription groups, and control group. The corresponding drug-containing serum intervention was performed for 24 hours. A scanning electron microscope was used to observe cell morphology, and immunofluorescence assay was used to perform quantitative localization of GSDMD-N. Results The cells in the blank group were round and regular in shape with smooth surface, and those in the control group were swollen, with folds on the surface and gaps in the capsule, which were consistent with the morphology of cell pyroptosis. The cells in the control group had bubbles on the surface with obvious pseudopodia and pores in cell membrane, and those in the high-dose group were not swollen and had a rough surface with pseudopodia, with no obvious pores in cell membrane. The cells in the low- and middle-dose groups were swollen and had a rough surface of cell membrane with pores and pseudopodia. Immunofluorescence assay showed that compared with the blank group, the model group had a significant increase in the positive staining intensity of GSDMD-N, and compared with the model group, the control group and the Traditional Chinese medicine group had a reduction in the positive staining intensity of GSDMD-N. Conclusion Huatan Qushi Huoxue prescription can improve the pyroptosis of macrophages and reduce the expression of GSDMD-N.