Childhood simple obesity has become a significant public health issue in China. Modern medicine primarily relies on lifestyle interventions and often suffers from poor long-term compliance， while pharmacological options are limited and associated with potential adverse effects. Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） has a long history in the prevention and management of this condition， demonstrating eight distinct advantages， including systematic theoretical foundation， diversified therapeutic approaches， definite therapeutic efficacy， high safety profile， good patient compliance， comprehensive intervention strategies， emphasis on prevention， and stepwise treatment protocols. Additionally， TCM is characterized by six distinctive features： the use of natural medicinal substances， non-invasive external therapies， integration of medicinal dietetics， simple exercise regimens， precise syndrome differentiation， and diverse dosage forms. By combining internal and external treatments， TCM facilitates individualized regimen adjustment and holistic regulation， demonstrating remarkable effects in improving obesity-related metabolic indicators， regulating constitutional imbalance， and promoting healthy behaviors. However， challenges remain， such as inconsistent operational standards， insufficient high-quality clinical evidence， and a gap between basic research and clinical application. Future efforts should focus on accelerating the standardization of TCM diagnosis and treatment， conducting multicenter randomized controlled trials， and fostering interdisciplinary integration， so as to enhance the scientific validity and international recognition of TCM in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a distinct subpopulation of cells characterized by self-renewal capacity, differentiation potential, and critical roles in driving tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, recurrence, and maintenance of the tumor microenvironment. Targeting CSCs has emerged as a pivotal direction in cancer research, offering novel strategies to overcome drug resistance and prevent metastasis and relapse. Lysosomes, traditionally recognized as central organelles for intracellular degradation and recycling, are indispensable for cellular homeostasis. Dysregulation of lysosomal function is intimately linked to various diseases, including cancer. In tumors, aberrant lysosomal activity can promote malignant progression through mechanisms such as altering metabolic pathways, enhancing lysosomal exocytosis, modulating drug resistance, and interfering with autophagy-lysosomal pathways. Recent studies have underscored the involvement of lysosomes in regulating CSC properties. This review synthesizes findings on lysosomal regulation of CSCs through the following aspects. (1) Lysosomes exert complex and critical bidirectional control over CSC stemness maintenance through three degradation pathways that are dependent on their degradative function. (i) The lysophagy pathway. This pathway exhibits dual roles. Activation can sustain CSC functions; for instance, in glioblastoma, hypoxia upregulates Gal-8 via the STAT3/HIF1α signaling axis to induce autophagy, supporting stem cell survival. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, degradation of GSK3β activates the Wnt pathway, enhancing stemness. Conversely, this pathway can suppress stemness by degrading stemness-related proteins such as BMI-1 and OCT4A, thereby impairing CSC self-renewal capacity. (ii) Mitophagy pathway. In non-small cell lung cancer stem cells, mitophagy-related mechanisms, such as the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) activating the TLR9-Notch1-AMPK signaling axis, have been shown to promote CSC proliferation. (iii) Autophagosome-dependent lysosomal degradation pathway. This pathway directly regulates stemness-related proteins in a bidirectional manner. Enhanced degradative function can promote CSC properties, exemplified by the degradation of NUMB to activate Notch signaling. Conversely, attenuated degradative function can also enhance stemness by stabilizing oncoproteins (e.g., protecting Frizzled-1 from degradation to sustain Wnt signaling) or preventing the degradation of tumor suppressors (e.g., inhibiting Notch degradation). (2) Constituent proteins of lysosomes, including membrane proteins and luminal acid hydrolases, participate in regulating CSC stemness. Regarding membrane proteins, LAMP2A facilitates chaperone-mediated autophagy to maintain stemness in glioblastoma and ovarian cancer. V-ATPase, by maintaining an acidic luminal environment, promotes proliferation and drug resistance in glioma stem cells. Among hydrolases, cathepsins B and L are highly expressed in pancreatic and ovarian cancers and correlate with poor prognosis. Furthermore, targeting lysosomes to induce lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) triggers lysosome-mediated cell death, presenting a potential therapeutic strategy for eradicating CSCs.(3) The acidic luminal environment, single-membrane structure, and the presence of transmembrane transporters (e.g., ABCA3) enable lysosomes to passively trap or actively uptake and sequester chemotherapeutic drugs. Subsequent drug extrusion via exocytosis confers drug resistance. In CSCs, this lysosome-mediated drug sequestration, often cooperating with autophagy, establishes multimodal drug resistance. Therefore, targeting lysosomal function represents a potential strategy to overcome therapy resistance. The central role of lysosomes in regulating CSC stemness and resistance positions them as highly promising therapeutic targets. Strategies aimed at disrupting lysosomal function to selectively eliminate CSCs include: inhibiting the lysosome-autophagy system using agents like IITZ or lovastatin; inducing lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) with compounds such as hexamethylene amiloride to compromise membrane stability; and disrupting the acidic luminal environment using drugs like siramesine or the K/H transport compound 2. In conclusion, lysosomes critically regulate CSC stemness maintenance and drug resistance through degradative pathways, membrane protein functions, luminal hydrolase activities, and drug sequestration mechanisms. This redefines the lysosome from a traditional “waste disposal unit” to a “signal integration center” in CSCs. The duality and context-dependency of lysosomal function in CSCs offer novel insights into the heterogeneity observed across different tumors. Targeting lysosomal vulnerabilities—such as inducing LMP, disrupting acidity, or blocking autophagic flux—provides a strategy to bypass canonical CSC resistance mechanisms and directly trigger cell death. This establishes the lysosome as a key target to overcome CSC-mediated therapy resistance, paving the way for developing diverse candidate drugs and innovative combination therapies in oncology.

Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.

Objective This study reports on the obligatory parasitism of water mites Arrenurus sp. on Anopheles messeae at the Manzhouli Port, Inner Mongolia, China. Methods Duing July 2024, a survey on the mosquito diversity was conducted at the Manzhouli Port. Captured mosquitoes and their ectoparasites were identified to species level. Results A total of 1840 adult mosquitoes were collected, representing species from three genera: Culex(Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens pallens), Aedes(Ae. dorsalis, Ae. flavidorsalis, Ae. flavescens), and Anopheles (An. messeae). Among all the mosqutioes specimens,3 out of 150 captured An. messeae were found to carry ectoparasitic mites, with number of 2,4,27 mites separately. Morphological and molecular identification reached the same result as water mites(Hydrachnidiae, Hydracrina). COI gene sequence showed 94% similarity with the closest species Arrenurus truncatellus. Conlusions Literature review suggests water mites are host-specific parasitism of mosquito species and herein with the first record of Arrenurus sp. parasiting on An. Messeae in the most high-latitude region globally.

ObjectiveMagnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive neuroimaging technique, meticulously captures the magnetic fields emanating from brain electrical activity. Compared with MEG based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID), MEG based on optically pump magnetometer (OPM) has the advantages of higher sensitivity, better spatial resolution and lower cost. However, most of the current studies are clinical studies, and there is a lack of animal studies on MEG based on OPM technology. Pain, a multifaceted sensory and emotional phenomenon, induces intricate alterations in brain activity, exhibiting notable sex differences. Despite clinical revelations of pain-related neuronal activity through MEG, specific properties remain elusive, and comprehensive laboratory studies on pain-associated brain activity alterations are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inflammatory pain (induced by Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)) on brain activity in a rat model using the MEG technique, to analysis changes in brain activity during pain perception, and to explore sex differences in pain-related MEG signaling. MethodsThis study utilized adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Inflammatory pain was induced via intraplantar injection of CFA (100 μl, 50% in saline) in the left hind paw, with control groups receiving saline. Pain behavior was assessed using von Frey filaments at baseline and 1 h post-injection. For MEG recording, anesthetized rats had an OPM positioned on their head within a magnetic shield, undergoing two 15-minute sessions: a 5-minute baseline followed by a 10-minute mechanical stimulation phase. Data analysis included artifact removal and time-frequency analysis of spontaneous brain activity using accumulated spectrograms, generating spectrograms focused on the 4-30 Hz frequency range. ResultsMEG recordings in anesthetized rats during resting states and hind paw mechanical stimulation were compared, before and after saline/CFA injections. Mechanical stimulation elevated alpha activity in both male and female rats pre- and post-saline/CFA injections. Saline/CFA injections augmented average power in both sexes compared to pre-injection states. Remarkably, female rats exhibited higher average spectral power 1 h after CFA injection than after saline injection during resting states. Furthermore, despite comparable pain thresholds measured by classical pain behavioral tests post-CFA treatment, female rats displayed higher average power than males in the resting state after CFA injection. ConclusionThese results imply an enhanced perception of inflammatory pain in female rats compared to their male counterparts. Our study exhibits sex differences in alpha activities following CFA injection, highlighting heightened brain alpha activity in female rats during acute inflammatory pain in the resting state. Our study provides a method for OPM-based MEG recordings to be used to study brain activity in anaesthetized animals. In addition, the findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of pain-related neural activity and pain sex differences.

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the 4C continuous care model in home enteral nutrition management for patients after gastric cancer surgery.Methods:A control group consisting of 40 gastric cancer patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Suzhou Ninth People's Hospital from January 2022 to June 2022 was chosen.This group received traditional nutritional management guidance,which included nutritional screening and assessment,nutritional monitoring,providing personalized nutritional guidance for each patient,and follow-ups via telephone and outpatient visits.An observation group consisting of 40 gastric cancer patients admitted between July 2022 and January 2023 received the same basic care as the control group,with the addition of the 4C continuous care plan based on an internet platform to improve their enteral nutrition status.The nutritional indicators of both groups were compared at 1 month,3 months,and 6 months post-intervention.Additionally,the results of the Nutritional Risk Screening(NRS 2002)and Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment(PG-SGA)at discharge and 6 months post-discharge were compared between the two groups.Results:At 1 month,3 months,and 6 months post-intervention,the observation group showed an increase in indicators such as albumin,prealbumin,hemoglobin,upper limb grip strength,and triceps skinfold thickness compared to the control group(P<0.05).At 6 months post-intervention,the PG-SGA and NRS 2002 scores in the observation group were improved compared to the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:The implementation of the 4C continuous care model on an internet platform significantly improves home enteral nutrition status for patients after gastric cancer surgery.

Fe/Mn/Gd polymetallic nanooxide(FMGN)were prepared by one-step solvent thermal reaction by using Fe(acac)3,Mn(acac)2 and Gd(acac)3 as reaction precursors.Next,hyaluronic acid(HA)was used to modify FMGN to fabricate tumor-targeting T 1-T 2 dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)contrast agent(HA-FMGN)for accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer.The structure and morphology of FMGN were observed by transmission electron microscope(TEM).It was found that FMGN exhibited a uniform nanocluster spherical structure when the feeding ratio of iron acetylacetonate,manganese acetylacetonate,and gadolinium acetylacetonate was 3:2:1.X-ray diffraction(XRD)analysis showed that FMGN had a typical inverse spinel structure of Mn doped Fe 3O 4,with Gd existing in the form of amorphous gadolinium oxide.The longitudinal relaxivity(r 1)and transverse relaxivity(r 2)of FMGN were 13.395 and 428.535 L/(mmol·s),respectively,measured by 0.5 T MRI analyzer,which proved that FMGN had excellent T 1-T 2 dual-mode MRI contrast capability.The cytotoxicity and hemolysis test found that HA-FMGN didn't damage red cells and induce toxicity for normal cells,indicating that HA-FMGN had excellent cell biocompatibility.The internalization efficacy of HA-FMGN was observed by CLSM,and the results showed that HA-FMGN possessed excellent prostate tumor-targeting ability.In vivo MRI experiment showed that HA-FMGN significantly enhanced T 1 and T 2 weighted MRI signal to noise ratio(SNR)of prostate tumor,which promoted the accurate diagnosis of orthotopic prostate cancer.

The continuous accumulation of plastic waste such as polyethylene in the environment has caused serious environmental pollution issues.Considering the high similarity in the molecular structure of petroleum and polyolefin,it is feasible to apply rare earth-zeolite catalysts in polyolefin plastic upcycling,which is commonly used in fluid catalytic cracking(FCC)in the field of petroleum refining.In this study,Ce-modified HY(Ce-HY)zeolites were synthesized and characterized by a series of analytical methods,such as high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy(HAADF-STEM),Fourier infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),etc.When introducing 5% Ce species into HY zeolites,the 5Ce-HY showed excellent catalytic performance in the catalytic cracking of low-density polyethylene(LDPE),which achieved 98.4% LDPE conversion with 91.5% selectivity of gaseous alkanes at 300℃,and 75.4% of them were isoparaffins.In addition,the effect of the location of rare earth species in Y zeolites on the catalytic performance was explored by fine X-ray diffraction(XRD)in the range of 11°-13°and in situ-Raman analyses.The Ce species located in the supercage of Y zeolites were more important,which enhanced the adsorption capacity and accessibility of substrate molecules,thus facilitating the entire catalytic cracking process.This method could be used to detect the location of rare earth elements in Y zeolites to understand the mechanism of rare earth catalysis.

Malonylation is an important post-translational modification of proteins.In this work,a comprehensive malonylation proteomics study on hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)tumorous and non-tumorous tissues using antibody enrichment combined with high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for discovery of early diagnostic biomarkers or potential new drug targets of HCC was performed.A total of 1299 malonylated peptides containing 1064 malonylated sites were identified from HCC tissues,corresponding to 511 malonylated proteins.Quantitative results showed that 56 and 80 malonylated proteins were up-regulated and down-regulated in HCC tissues,including 60 and 101 malonylated sites,respectively.Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis showed that these differentially modified proteins were involved in various important pathways such as metabolic pathways,fatty acid degradation,and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis.As a key enzyme in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis,phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1(PCK1)was malonylated at lysine 244(K244)and the malonylation was only detected in HCC tumorous tissues.More importantly,the K244 site served as a binding site for Mn2+and highly conserved across different species.Therefore,it could speculate that the malonylation of K244 would affect its activity and played a role in liver cancer by affecting its binding with Mn2+,which requied further verification through site mutation experiments.Western blot analysis by malonylation pan antibody showed that the malonylation level reduced markedly in HCC tumorous tissues compared with adjacent non-tumorous tissues,which was consistent with mass spectrometry data.In addition,the proliferation and invasion of PLC/PRF/5 cell was significantly inhibited and protein malonylation level was increased obviously when treated with sodium malonate.All the evidence indicated that protein malonylation played an important role in HCC pathogenesis,and its molecular mechanism deserved further investigation.Furthermore,the 136 differentially malonylated proteins provided rich source of candidate targets for further research on HCC pathogenesis.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent and intractable ocular disease induced by a variety of causes. Elevated sphingomyelin (SM) levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected on the ocular surface of DED patients, particularly in the meibomian glands. Sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2), one of the proteins involved in SM synthesis, would light a novel way of developing a DED therapy strategy. Herein, we report the design and optimization of a series of novel thiophene carboxamide derivatives to afford 14l with an improved highly potent inhibitory activity on SM synthesis (IC_{50, SMS2} = 28 nmol/L). Moreover, 14l exhibited a notable protective effect of anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis on human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) under TNF-α-hyperosmotic stress conditions in vitro, with an acceptable ocular specific distribution (corneas and meibomian glands) and pharmacokinetics (PK) profiles (t _{1/2, cornea} = 1.11 h; t _{1/2, meibomian glands} = 4.32 h) in rats. Furthermore, 14l alleviated the dry eye symptoms including corneal fluorescein staining scores and tear secretion in a dose-dependent manner in mice. Mechanically, 14l reduced the mRNA expression of Tnf-α, Il-1β and Mmp-9 in corneas, as well as the proportion of very long chain SM in meibomian glands. Our findings provide a new strategy for DED therapy based on selective SMS2 inhibitors.