China is currently in an accelerated stage of population aging, and brain diseases pose a significant threat to the health of the elderly. " Preventing brain aging and maintaining brain health" has become a high-level goal of healthy aging. During the process of aging, the physiological and psychological states of elderly people change, making them prone to nervousness and exhaustion, which can disturb the brain spirit, damage the brain collaterals, and severely endanger brain health. Starting from the holistic view of cultivating both body and spirit in traditional Chinese medicine, based on the physical and mental characteristics of the elderly, this paper applies the concept and method of " relaxation and tranquility" in the protection of elderly brain health, focusing on maintaining relaxation and tranquility in both physical and mental aspects. Specific measures include emphasizing subjective consciousness, relaxing the heart and calming down; utilizing the daoyin method, relaxing the body and calming down, combining relaxation and tranquility, cultivating both body and spirit to prevent diseases and protect the brain, which enables the elderly to have a healthy mind and body, a sense of happiness and fulfillment, and to age gracefully. Simultaneously, advocating for tranquility is also called " respect" for relaxation, following nature to understand constant changes, and improving one′s ability to think positively in old age, in order to expand ideas for the protection of elderly brain health.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the osteogenic performance differences of titanium surface coatings modified by dopamine or silanized graphene oxide, and to provide a more suitable modification scheme for titanium surface graphene oxide coatings. METHODS: Titanium was subjected to alkali-heat treatment and then modified with dopamine and silanization, respectively, followed by coating with graphene oxide. Control and experimental groups were designed as follows: pure titanium (Ti) group; titanium after alkali-heat treatment (Ti-NaOH) group; titanium after alkali-heat treatment and silanization modification (Ti-APTES) group; titanium after alkali-heat treatment and dopamine modification (Ti-DOPA) group; titanium with silanization-modified surface decorated with graphene oxide (Ti-APTES/GO) group; titanium with dopamine-modified surface decorated with graphene oxide (Ti-DOPA/GO) group. The physical and chemical properties of the material surfaces were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle goniometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectrometer. The proliferation and adhesion morphology of mouse embryonic osteoblast precursor cells MC3T3-E1 on the material surfaces were observed by cell viability detection and immunofluorescence staining followed by laser confocal microscopy. The effects on the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells were studied by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining, alizarin red staining and quantification, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: After modification with graphene oxide coating, a thin-film-like structure was observed on the surface under SEM. The hydrophilicity of all experimental groups was improved, among which the Ti-DOPA/GO group had the best hydrophilicity. XPS and Raman spectroscopy analysis showed that the modified materials exhibited typical D and G peaks, and XPS revealed the presence of a large number of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. CCK8 assay showed that all groups of materials had no cytotoxicity, and the proliferation level of the Ti-APTES/GO group was higher than that of the Ti-DOPA/GO group. Under the laser confocal microscope, the cells in the Ti-DOPA/GO and Ti-APTES/GO groups spread more fully. The Ti-DOPA/GO and Ti-APTES/GO groups had the deepest ALP staining, and the Ti-APTES/GO group had the most alizarin red-stained mineralized nodules and the highest quantitative result of alizarin red staining. In the Ti-DOPA/GO and Ti-APTES/GO groups, the expression of the early osteogenic-related gene RUNX2 reached a relatively high level, while in the expression of the late osteogenic-related genes OPN and OCN, the Ti-APTES/GO group performed better than the Ti-DOPA/GO group. CONCLUSIONS Ti-APTES/GO significantly outperformed Ti-DOPA/GO in promoting the adhesion, proliferation, and in vitro osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells.
Titanium/chemistry* ; Graphite/chemistry* ; Dopamine/chemistry* ; Animals ; Mice ; Osteogenesis ; Osteoblasts/cytology* ; Surface Properties ; Cell Proliferation ; Silanes/chemistry* ; Cell Adhesion ; Coated Materials, Biocompatible/chemistry* ; Cell Differentiation ; Alkaline Phosphatase/metabolism* ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning

Objective:To compare the differences in clinical characteristics among the patients at clinical high risk for bipolar disorder(CHR-BD),the patients with bipolar disorder(BD),and the healthy controls(HC)at low risk,and to provide the basis for the diognasis and treatment of CHR-BD.Methods:For the first time,the BD risk criteria and prospective structured assessment tools were jointly used in outpatients aged 16-30 years,and 43 CHR-BD patients were included to ensure the accuracy of the assessment.Meanwhile,33 BD patients and 32 HC subjects were also enrolled.The clinical symptoms,neurocognitive function,and global functional levels of the subjects in the three groups were evaluated using observer-rated and self-rated tools.The CHR-BD and BD groups were combined,and Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent influencing factors related to diagnostic status;Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations between the global functional levels and the symptoms or neurocognitive characteristics of the patients in CHR-BD and BD groups.Results:There were statistically significant differences in the scores of symptom and global functional level scales among HC,CHR-BD,and BD groups(P<0.05).Compared with HC group,the scores of mood symptoms(anxiety,depression,and mania/hypomania),psychotic symptoms,total affective temperament questionnaire scores,and some dimensions(cyclothymic,depressive,irritable,and anxious temperaments)in CHR-BD and BD groups were significantly increased(P<0.001),while the global functional levels were significantly decreased(P<0.001).Compared with BD group,the lowest global functional level score in the past year in CHR-BD group was significantly increased(P=0.022),while the current global functional level score was significantly decreased(P=0.005).No significant differences were observed in neurocognitive function scores among the three groups(P>0.05).The lowest global functional level score in the past year was an independent influencing factor for BD diagnosis[odds ratio(OR)=0.952,95%confidence interval(CI):0.917-0.988,P=0.010].In both CHR-BD and BD patients,the current global functional levels were negatively correlated with depressive(r=-0.417,P=0.005;r=-0.617,P<0.001)and anxiety symptoms(r=-0.360,P=0.018;r=-0.506,P=0.003).In BD patients,the current global functional level was negatively correlated with lifetime manic/hypomanic symptoms(r=-0.360,P=0.039),psychotic symptoms(r=-0.502,P=0.003),and affective temperament scores(r=-0.479,P=0.005),while the lowest global functional level in the past year was negatively correlated with lifetime manic/hypomanic symptoms(r=-0.391,P=0.024).Conclusion:CHR-BD patients share similar mood symptom characteristics with BD patients,and their global functional levels are negatively correlated with depressive and anxiety symptoms.BD patients exhibit worse lowest global functional levels in the past year,and their global functional levels are negatively correlated with manic/hypomanic symptoms.

Objective To explore the mediating effects of potential mediating factors on occur-rence of stroke-associated pneumonia(SAP)in patients with varying degrees of neurological deficit based on real-world case data.Methods A total of 902 hospitalized patients in the acute phase of stroke were selected as study subjects.Clinical characteristics were compared among patients with dif-ferent degrees of neurological deficit and those with SAP.R studio was employed to generate a correla-tion heatmap of potential mediating factors,enabling the identification of primary potential mediating factors.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of the degree of neurological deficit,potential mediating factors,and stroke-associated pneumonia.R studio was also used to analyze the interaction between the degree of neurological deficit and potential mediating factors,as well as the mediating role of potential mediating factors in the association between neurological deficit and SAP.Results Based on the results of the correlation heatmap,this study screened out five major potential mediating factors,namely consciousness level,neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),chlorine(Cl),fasting blood glucose(FBG)and albumin(ALB).Multivariate logistic re-gression analysis revealed that the degree of neurological deficit was significantly associated with the level of consciousness,NLR,Cl,FBG levels and the occurrence of SAP.Interaction analysis dem-onstrated an interaction between the degree of neurological deficit and FBG levels.Mediation analy-sis indicated that the total effect of the association between neurological deficit and SAP was 0.302.Both the level of consciousness and NLR exhibited partial mediating effects in the association be-tween neurological deficit and SAP,with mediating effect proportions of 25.92％and 15.15％,re-spectively.Conclusion Consciousness level and NLR have partial mediating effects in the occur-rence of SAP in patients with different neurological deficits.There is an interaction between the de-gree of neurological deficit and the level of FBG.

Objective:To compare the effects of gelatin(Gel)and polydopamine(PDA)modification of polycaprolactone(PCL)on the biological behaviour and osteogenic function of osteoblasts.Methods:PCL electrospun membranes were prepared by electrostatic spinning technique,PCL surface was modified by Gel and PDA respectively as G/PCL and D/PCL with chemical self-assembly tech-nique,and the physicochemical properties of the electrospun membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),Fourier infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscope(XPS)and contact angle measurement.The MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion morphology was observed by SEM,immunofluorescence staining followed by confocal microscopy(CLSM),cell proliferation at 1,3 and 5 d was tested by CCK-8 assay,alkaline phosphatase(ALP)staining,alizarin red staining and qRT-PCR were used to detect osteogenic gene expression of the cells.Results:A coating of PDA particles was observed on the surface of D/PCL film.FTIR and XPS showed that the characteristic peaks of Gel and PDA,and there was no obvious droplets on the surface of G/PCL and D/PCL ob-served by contact angle test.Cell density of G/PCL group was higher,the adhesion morphology was good and pseudopods were obvi-ous.CCK-8 assay showed the highest proliferation of the cells on G/PCL(P＜0.05).ALP and alizarin red staining of the cells were stronger in D/PCL group than in the other 2 groups.qRT-PCR results showed that the mRNA expression of ALP,COL-1,RUNX2 and OCN was higher in the D/PCL group than in the other 2 groups.Conclusion:Both Gel and PDA modification can enhance the cell adhesion,proliferation and osteogenic properties of PCL scaffolds,Gel modification may induce a more pronounced proliferative effect and PDA modification more pronounced osteogenic effect.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors of recurrence of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) within 1 year and establish a nomogram model for predicting the recurrence risk. METHODS: This study was conducted in two cohorts of AIS patients (≤7 days) hospitalized in Dongzhimen Hospital (modeling set) and Fangshan Hospital (validation set) from March, 2021 to March, 2022. Lasso regression analysis was used to identify the important predictive factors for AIS recurrence within 1 year, and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the independent factors affecting AIS recurrence. The recurrence risk prediction nomogram model was constructed using R studio, and its discriminating power and calibration were assessed using ROC curve analysis and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. RESULTS: The modeling and validation sets contained 28 cases (15.22%) and 21 cases (15.00%) of AIS recurrence, respectively. In the modeling set, compared with the non-relapse group, the recurrence group had higher proportions of patients with age >65 years, diabetes, arrhythmia, constipation after stroke, and FBG >7.5 and significantly higher levels of NLR, UREA, Cr, HbA1c, FIB and TT (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that an age >65 years, arrhythmia, constipation after stroke, FBG >7.5, NLR and Cr were all independent risk factors of AIS recurrence (P<0.05). Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and calibration curve analysis showed that the risk prediction model had good fitting between the modeling set and the verification set. The ROC curve showed that for predicting AIS recurrence within 1 year, the AUC of the predictive model was 0.857 (95%CI: 0.782-0.932) in the modeling set and 0.679 (95%CI: 0.563-0.794) in the validation set. CONCLUSIONS The nomogram model established based on age >65 years, arrhythmia, constipation after stroke, FBG >7.5, NLR and Cr has a good predictive value for AIS recurrence within 1 year.
Humans ; Nomograms ; Risk Factors ; Recurrence ; Ischemic Stroke/etiology* ; Female ; Male ; Logistic Models ; Aged ; ROC Curve ; Middle Aged ; Stroke/etiology*

Hepatocellular carcinoma has a low early diagnostic rate, and there is a lack of highly sensitive and specific tumor markers. In recent years, fluid biopsy technique, represented by circulating free DNA (cfDNA), has become an auxiliary method for the diagnosis of cancer and has attracted more and more attention due to its advantages of noninvasiveness, convenience, and repeatability. With reference to the recent studies in China and foreign countries, this article summarizes and analyzes the advances in cfDNA in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma from the aspects of biological characteristics, detection techniques, and clinical application, so as to provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics of pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess in acute stage of stroke involving meridian-collateral or involving zang-fu organs from the aspects of severity of neurological impairment, pattern distribution at different time points and duration of bowel excess.Methods The basic information,scores of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS), whether bowel qi being unobstructed or not,duration of bowel excess,and pattern distribution at different time points(onset for 1 d to 3 d,onset for 4 d to 7 d and onset for 8 d to 14 d)were inputted based on structured data by using retrospective analysis of medical records in 204 cases of pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess of stroke involving meridian-collateral(meridian-collateral group)and 217 cases of pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess of stroke involving zang-fu organs(zang-fu organ group).The clinical characteristics from the data were compared, analyzed and studied.Results The severity of neurological impairment except of conscious state was significantly higher in zang-fu organ group than that in meridian-collateral group(P<0.01).The average duration of unobstructed bowel qi was significantly longer in zang-fu organ group than that in meridian-collateral group(P<0.01), and the percentage of patients with throughout obstructed bowel qi was significantly higher in zang -fu organ group than that in meridian-collateral group in acute stage of stroke.The pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess showed a decline trend after stroke onset for 1 d to 14 d in meridian-collateral group, and showed an ascending trend after stroke onset for 1 d to 7 d and a decling trend after stroke onset for 8 d to 14 d in zang-fu organ group.The cases of pattern of qi deficiency with blood stasis or pattern of collaterals blocked by wind -phlegm and static blood were significantly higher in meridian-collateral group at 4-14 d than those at 1-3 d,and cases of pattern of wind stirring due to yin deficiency,pattern of phlegm heat and blood stasis or pattern of wind phlegm and blood stasis were significantly higher in zang-fu organ group at 8 -14 d than those at time point 1.Conclusion The duration of pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess is posi-tively correlated to the severity of stroke,that is,neurological impairment is more serious and duration is longer in patients with pattern of phlegm heat and bowel excess of stroke involving zang -fu organs.

Objective To analyze dynamic features of TCM syndrome elements according to the neuropsychological characteristics of cognitive function impairment after ischemic stroke.Methods The hospitalized cerebral infarction patients without dementia were evaluated dynamically with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (Beijing Version) after IQCODE screens at different phase points.And they were divided into groups according to the severity of cognitive function impairment.The occurring frequency of TCM syndrome elements at all phase points for diagnosis was compared.Results The phase points and TCM syndrome elements closely related with the cognitive function impairment after ischemic stroke were as following:the 3rd day with fire and yin deficiency,the 7th day with yin deficiency,the 1st month with fire,phlegm,and blood stasis,and the 3rd month with fire,phlegm,blood stasis,qi deficiency,and yin deficiency.Conclusion The neuropsychological characteristics of cognitive function impairment of ischemic stroke are closely related with TCM syndrome elements and their evolvement as well as their different combinations.