ObjectiveTo develop a reliable and valid health self-management competence assessment questionnaire for primary and secondary school students in Shanghai, so as to provide an effective tool to evaluate and improve their health management competencies. MethodsBased on the theory and process of scale development, an initial item pool was formed. After two rounds of Delphi consultation with 22 experts in related fields, assessment indicators suitable for evaluating the health self-management ability of Shanghai primary and secondary school students were determined. A total of 666 students were selected using stratified cluster sampling method to carry out the survey. The questionnaire content was refined and items were screened for reliability and validity analyses. ResultsAfter the two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, the original three-dimensional structure (individual management behaviors, personal health cognition and self-management environment) was revised into four dimensions: self-health cognition, self-health skills, self-will quality and self-action level. The initial 50 items were reduced, merged, or newly created, yielding a final 30-item questionnaire. Expert response rates for the two rounds of Delphi consultation were 86.36% and 90.91%, respectively, with an expert authority coefficient of 0.91. The KMO value was 0.936 and Bartlett’s sphericity test yielded a P value of <0.001, indicating that the questionnaire demonstrated good construct validity. The results of internal consistency testing showed that the overall Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.932, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.920. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of each dimension ranged from 0.716 to 0.884, and the split-half reliability coefficient ranged from 0.733 to 0.900. Finally, an evaluation scale with 30 items across 4 dimensions was constructed. ConclusionThe health self-management competence evaluation scale for primary and secondary school students in Shanghai demonstrates good homogeneity and high reliability. It can be used as a tool for evaluating the health self-management competency of primary and secondary school students in Shanghai and provide theoretical support for targeted health interventions.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)is an important technique for detecting pesticide residues.However,many pesticides have small Raman scattering cross sections and low affinity for gold/silver enhancement substrates,resulting in low sensitivity for direct SERS detection.Indirect methods typically require complex surface modifications and have poor universality.Here,a dual functional composite Au@MnO2 combined with acetylcholinesterase(AChE)was proposed for SERS biosensing of pesticides.The Au@MnO2 with oxidase-like activity could oxidize 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine(TMB)into oxTMB with a large Raman scattering cross section,producing strong SERS signal using Au@MnO2 itself as enhancement substrate.In the presence of AChE,acetylthiocholine(ATCh)was catalytically hydrolyzed to produce thiocholine(TCh),and its reducibility could induce the decomposition of MnO2.Consequently,oxidase-like activity of Au@MnO2 was declined,less oxTMB was produced,and gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)detached from the MnO2 layer,resulting in a weakened SERS response.Organophosphorus pesticides(OPs),as inhibitors of AChE,prevented the production of TCh,thereby blocking the decomposition of MnO2 and leading to the recovery of Raman signals.Under optimized conditions,the Raman signal switching strategy was successfully used for detection of three OPs,i.e.,fenthion,chlorpyrifos,and methyl parathion,with detection limits of 4×10-11 mol/L,2×10-9 mol/L,and 3×10-9 mol/L,respectively.In actual spinach sample testing,the spiked recoveries of the three OPs ranged from 86.5%to 110.6%.This study provided a new strategy for detecting pesticide residues using SERS.

Objective:To evaluate the technical feasibility and perioperative safety of pyeloplasty assis-ted by the CarinaTM modular laparoscopic surgical robotic system in patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction(UPJO).Methods:From November to December 2024,five consecutive patients diagnosed with UPJO underwent robot-assisted pyeloplasty using the CarinaTM modular laparoscopic surgical system at Peking University First Hospital.Data on patient demographics,intraoperative parameters(including docking time,console time,and estimated blood loss),perioperative outcomes,follow-up results,and surgeons' subjective evaluations of system performance were prospectively collected.Descriptive statistics were used;continuous variables were presented as median(range),and categorical variables as frequen-cy and percentage.Results:The cohort included four females and one male.All the patients successfully completed the robotic procedure without conversion to open or conventional laparoscopic surgery.The me-dian age was 32 years(24-37 years),and the median body mass index was 21.6 kg/m2(15.8-27.3 kg/m2).The median docking time was 8 min(3-12 min),and the median console time was 91 min(71-125 min).Intraoperative blood loss was uniformly 20 mL.The median postoperative drainage du-ration was 3 d(0-4 d),and the median length of hospital stay was 4 d(4-9 d).No Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅲ or higher complications occurred.All the patients had their double-J stents removed at 2 months postoperatively,and pain in the ipsilateral flank,reported preoperatively by all the five patients,was al-leviated.The subjective surgical success rate was 100％.Surgeons reported stable system performance throughout all the procedures,with no instances of mechanical arm interference or visual drift affecting surgical fluency.Conclusion:Preliminary findings indicate that pyeloplasty using the domestically deve-loped CarinaTM modular laparoscopic robotic system is technically feasible and perioperatively safe for the treatment of UPJO.

Purpose To characterize the clinicopathological features of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors(GMTs)resected via endoscopic techniques.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 495 cases of endo-scopically resected GMTs.Clinical information,histomorphological findings,immunohistochemical profiles,and mo-lecular characteristics were reviewed.Results The cohort included 495 patients aged 20-78 years(median:53 years).The majority of tumors were located in the stomach(58.8％)and esophagus(36.8％).Histologically,most tumors consisted of spindle cells,with a minority composed of epithelioid cells;fibrocollagenous or myxoid stroma was occasionally observed.Immunohistochemically,leiomyomas showed diffuse positivity for α-SMA(98.8％)and desmin(99.3％),gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs)expressed CD117(99.4％),DOG1(97.6％),and CD34(97.0％),and schwannomas were positive for S-100(93.7％).The predominant tumor types were leiomyomas(54.1％)and GISTs(33.7％),while the remaining 12.2％comprised other rare types.Various endoscopic resection techniques were employed based on the tumors' anatomical depth,including endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD,40.5％),submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection(STER,17.1％),endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR,16.5％),endoscopic full-thickness resection(EFTR,13.9％),and endoscopic submucosal excavation(ESE,12.0％).EMR and ESD were primarily used for superficial lesions,while deeper tumors with were more often treated with STER,EFTR,and ESE.The rate of negative resection margins was lower in GISTs(72.2％)and other tumors with indistinct margins,compared to leiomyomas(92.6％)and those with well-defined boundaries.Conclusion Leiomyomas and GISTs are the most common gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors resected via endoscopy.A variety of resection techniques are applicable depending on tumor location and depth.Accurate pathological diagnosis should be based on HE morphology,supplemented by endoscopic findings,margin status,immunohistochemistry,and necessary molecular tests.

OBJECTIVE: To prepare clinical-grade human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) with high expression of hematopoietic supporting factors and evaluate their stem cell characteristics. METHODS: Fetal umbilical cord tissues were collected from healthy postpartum women during full-term cesarean section. Wharton's jelly was mechanically separated and hUC-MSCs were obtained by explant culture method and enzyme digestion method in an animal serum-free culture system with addition of human platelet lysate. The phenotypic characteristics of hUC-MSCs obtained by two methods were detected by flow cytometry. The differences in proliferation ability between the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified through CCK-8 assay and colony forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) assay. The differences in multilineage differentiation potential between the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified through induction of adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. The mRNA expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors such as SCF, IL-3, CXCL12, VCAM1 and ANGPT1 in the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified by real-time fluorescence quantiative PCR(RT-qPCR). RESULTS: The results of flow cytometry showed that hUC-MSCs obtained by the two methods both expressed high levels of CD73, CD90 and CD105, while lowly expressed CD31, CD45 and HLA-DR. The results of CCK-8 and CFU-F assay showed that the proliferation ability of hUC-MSCs obtained by explant culture method was better than those obtained by enzyme digestion method. The results of the triple lineage differentiation experiment showed that there was no significant difference in multilineage differentiation potential between the two grous of hUC-MSCs. The results of RT-qPCR showed that the mRNA expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors SCF, IL-3, CXCL12, VCAM1 and ANGPT1 in hUC-MSCs obtained by explant cultrue method were higher than those obtained by enzyme digestion method. CONCLUSION Clinical-grade hUC-MSCs with high expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors were successfully cultured in an animal serum-free culture system.
Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Umbilical Cord/cytology* ; Cell Differentiation ; Female ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CXCL12/metabolism* ; Angiopoietin-1/metabolism* ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1/metabolism* ; Stem Cell Factor/metabolism* ; Flow Cytometry ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic potential of pseudolaric acid B (PAB) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its underlying molecular mechanism in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice (n=32) were fed either a normal chow diet (NCD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. The HFD mice were divided into 3 groups according to a simple random method, including HFD, PAB low-dose [10 mg/(kg·d), PAB-L], and PAB high-dose [20 mg/(kg·d), PAB-H] groups. After 8 weeks of treatment, glucose metabolism and insulin resistance were assessed by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT). Biochemical assays were used to measure the serum and cellular levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). White adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT) and liver tissue were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining or Oil Red O staining to observe the alterations in adipose tissue and liver injury. PharmMapper and DisGeNet were used to predict the NAFLD-related PAB targets. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) pathway involvement was suggested by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and search tool Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) analyses. Luciferase reporter assay, cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), and drug affinity responsive target stability assay (DARTS) were conducted to confirm direct binding of PAB with PPARα. Molecular dynamics simulations were applied to further validate target engagement. RT-qPCR and Western blot were performed to assess the downstream genes and proteins expression, and validated by PPARα inhibitor MK886. RESULTS: PAB significantly reduced serum TC, TG, LDL-C, AST, and ALT levels, and increased HDL-C level in HFD mice (P<0.01). Target prediction analysis indicated a significant correlation between PAB and PPARα pathway. PAB direct target binding with PPARα was confirmed through luciferase reporter assay, CETSA, and DARTS (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The target engagement between PAB and PPARα protein was further confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations and the top 3 amino acid residues, LEU321, MET355, and PHE273 showed the most significant changes in mutational energy. Subsequently, PAB upregulated the genes expressions involved in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis downstream of PPARα (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Significantly, the PPARα inhibitor MK886 effectively reversed the lipid-lowering and PPARα activation properties of PAB (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION PAB mitigates lipid accumulation, ameliorates liver damage, and improves mitochondrial biogenesis by binding with PPARα, thus presenting a potential candidate for pharmaceutical development in the treatment of NAFLD.
Animals ; PPAR alpha/metabolism* ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/pathology* ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Lipid Metabolism/drug effects* ; Diterpenes/therapeutic use* ; Organelle Biogenesis ; Diet, High-Fat ; Humans ; Mice ; Liver/metabolism* ; Insulin Resistance ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Molecular Docking Simulation

The iridoid glycosides from Veronica anagallis-aquatica L. alleviate heart failure by modulating the gut microbiota and influencing the production of two metabolites with potential antihypertrophic effects, HVA and 2OH-VA.Image 1.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies seen in clinic and requires novel treatment options. Morin is a natural flavonoid extracted from the flower stalk of a highly valuable medicinal plant Prunella vulgaris L., which exhibits an anti-cancer effect in multiple types of tumors. However, the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of morin in treating GC remains elusive. The study aims to explore the therapeutic effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of morin in GC. METHODS: For in vitro experiments, the proliferation inhibition of morin was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay and colony formation assay in human GC cell line MKN45, human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line AGS, and human gastric epithelial cell line GES-1; for apoptosis analysis, microscopic photography, Western blotting, ubiquitination analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, flow cytometry, and RNA interference technology were employed. For in vivo studies, immunohistochemistry, biomedical analysis, and Western blotting were used to assess the efficacy and safety of morin in a xenograft mouse model of GC. RESULTS: Morin significantly inhibited the proliferation of GC cells MKN45 and AGS in a dose- and time-dependent manner, but did not inhibit human gastric epithelial cells GES-1. Only the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK was able to significantly reverse the inhibition of proliferation by morin in both GC cells, suggesting that apoptosis was the main type of cell death during the treatment. Morin induced intrinsic apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in GC cells, which mainly relied on B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) associated agonist of cell death (BAD) but not phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1. The upregulation of BAD by morin was due to blocking the ubiquitination degradation of BAD, rather than the transcription regulation and the phosphorylation of BAD. Furthermore, the combination of morin and BCL-2 inhibitor navitoclax (also known as ABT-737) produced a synergistic inhibitory effect in GC cells through amplifying apoptotic signals. In addition, morin treatment significantly suppressed the growth of GC in vivo by upregulating BAD and the subsequent activation of its downstream apoptosis pathway. CONCLUSION Morin suppressed GC by inducing apoptosis, which was mainly due to blocking the ubiquitination-based degradation of the pro-apoptotic protein BAD. The combination of morin and the BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-737 synergistically amplified apoptotic signals in GC cells, which may overcome the drug resistance of the BCL-2 inhibitor. These findings indicated that morin was a potent and promising agent for GC treatment. Please cite this article as: Wang Y, Sun XY, Ma FQ, Ren MM, Zhao RH, Qin MM, Zhu XH, Xu Y, Cao ND, Chen YY, Dong TG, Pan YF, Zhao AG. Morin inhibits ubiquitination degradation of BCL-2 associated agonist of cell death and synergizes with BCL-2 inhibitor in gastric cancer cells. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 320-332.
Humans ; Flavonoids/therapeutic use* ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Animals ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Ubiquitination/drug effects* ; Mice ; Drug Synergism ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; Flavones

OBJECTIVE: To explore and quantify the association of hot night exposure during the sperm development period (0-90 lag days) with semen quality. METHODS: A total of 6,640 male sperm donors from 6 human sperm banks in China during 2014-2020 were recruited in this multicenter study. Two indices (i.e., hot night excess [HNE] and hot night duration [HND]) were used to estimate the heat intensity and duration during nighttime. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association between hot nights and semen quality parameters. RESULTS: The exposure-response relationship revealed that HNE and HND during 0-90 days before semen collection had a significantly inverse association with sperm motility. Specifically, a 1 °C increase in HNE was associated with decreased sperm progressive motility of 0.0090 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: -0.0147, -0.0033) and decreased total motility of 0.0094 (95% CI: -0.0160, -0.0029). HND was significantly associated with reduced sperm progressive motility and total motility of 0.0021 (95% CI: -0.0040, -0.0003) and 0.0023 (95% CI: -0.0043, -0.0002), respectively. Consistent results were observed at different temperature thresholds on hot nights. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the need to mitigate nocturnal heat exposure during spermatogenesis to maintain optimal semen quality.
Humans ; Male ; Semen Analysis ; Adult ; Sperm Motility ; Hot Temperature/adverse effects* ; China ; Middle Aged ; Spermatozoa/physiology* ; Young Adult