Objective: To analyze the associations of physical activity with overweight/obesity, depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence among junior and senior high school students, so as to provide reference for optimizing physical activity intervention strategies and promoting healthy lifestyles. Methods: From March to November 2023, a cross sectional survey was conducted among 90 457 junior and senior high school students aged 11-18 years in Zhejiang Province using a stratified cluster random sampling method. Data on physical activity and dietary behavior were collected through questionnaires, height and weight were measured. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The Chi-square test was used to examine differences, and Logistic regression was applied to evaluate the associations of physical activity characteristics with overweight/obesity, depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence. Additionally, the effectiveness of physical activity performed on rest days versus work days was examined. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity, depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence among junior and senior high school students were 25.1%, 27.9%, and 6.7%, respectively, with significant sex differences ( χ 2=2 005.3, 587.7, 99.6, all P <0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that students with insufficient physical activity had a higher risk of overweight/obesity compared with those with sufficient physical activity ( OR=1.12, 95%CI=1.06-1.17, P <0.01). Comparing to students who exercised 0-1 day per week, those who exercised 5-7 days per week were associated with a reduced risk of overweight/obesity and depressive symptoms ( OR=0.93, 95%CI =0.90-0.97; OR=0.95, 95%CI =0.91-0.99, both P <0.05). When total activity volume and frequency were held constant, students with sufficient rest day physical activity had lower risks of overweight/obesity, depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence than those with insufficient rest day activity (all P < 0.01). Conclusions Sufficient amount of physical activity and higher frequency of rest day physical activity are significantly associated with lower risks of overweight/obesity, depressive symptoms, and their co-occurrence in adolescents. Physical activity performed on rest days may confer greater health benefits than activity performed on work days.

Objective To explore the differences in heartbeat-evoked response (HER) under drug-related cues and neutral cues in individuals with heroin use disorder (HUD), and analyze the correlation between HER potentials and immediate cue-induced craving scores. Methods Fifty HUD participants were recruited from the Chang’an Compulsory Isolation Drug Rehabilitation Center in Shaanxi Province from June to September 2024. Simultaneous acquisition of 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiogram signals was performed. Twenty alternating segments of drug-related and neutral cue videos were presented, and participants rated their subjective craving after each segment using visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. Scalp EEG data were source analyzed to obtain cortical EEG signals and corresponding HER. Short-time Fourier transform was used to calculate the power spectral density (PSD) of EEG within a time window from 100 ms before the R-peak to 500 ms after it, using the R-peak as the time zero point. Cluster-based permutation testing was used to analyze PSD differences between drug-related and neutral cues in the HUD individuals. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the correlation between HER potentials and VAS scores. Results In the 350–420 ms time window, HER potentials in the left posterior parietal, temporal, and posterior cingulate cortices were significantly lower under drug-related cues compared to neutral cues (P＜0.01); in the 140–210 ms time window, HER potentials in the right prefrontal cortex were significantly higher under drug-related cues compared to neutral cues (P＜0.01). Correlation analysis showed that HER potentials in the left temporal and left posterior cingulate cortices were significantly negatively correlated with VAS scores (P＜0.05). Drug-related cues enhanced PSD of γ power (30–100 Hz) in salience network (fronto-insular), parietal and occipital regions (P＜0.05). PSD integrations of low-γ power (40–60 Hz) in parietal region (350–400 ms) and high-γ power (70–100 Hz) in left salience network (fronto-parietal) and occipital regions (300–350 ms) were positively correlated with VAS scores (P＜0.05). Conclusions Drug-related cues may modulate cortical activity related to heartbeat perception in HUD individuals, and such dynamic changes in both time and frequency domains are stably associated with subjective craving.

ObjectiveTo reveal the molecular mechanism by which the traditional Chinese medicine compound prescription Qiangjing tablets regulate the aging of the testicular tissue and Leydig cells in rats through the cyclin-dependent kinase 4 （CDK4）-early 2 factor （E2F） signaling pathway. MethodsFor the cell experiment， 2-month-old SPF-grade SD male rats were selected and randomly assigned into a blank control group （administrated with an equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride injection） and a Qiangjing tablets group （20 rats in each group） according to body weight. The Leydig cell model of aging was established by treatment of TM3 cells with 100 μmol·L^-1 H₂O₂， and the modeling performance was evaluated based on the levels of p16 and p21 determined by Western blot. The antioxidant NAC （1 mmol·L^-1） was used as the positive control for eliminating reactive oxygen species （ROS）. Cells were intervened with Qiangjing tablets-containing serum at low （2.5%）， medium （5%）， and high （10%） concentrations. The testosterone level in the cell supernatant was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the protein levels of CDK4， E2F1， and E2F2 were analyzed by Western blot. In the animal experiment， 19-month-old naturally aging rats were used as the model group， and 2-month-old rats as the young control group. The positive control group was subcutaneously injected with 5.21 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 testosterone propionate. Qiangjing tablets were administered by gavage at low， medium， and high doses of 0.72， 1.44， 2.88 g·kg^-1·d^-1， respectively. The general conditions of rats were observed， and the protein levels of CDK4， E2F1， and E2F2 in the testicular tissue were determined by Western blot. ResultsIn the cell experiment， compared with the blank control group， the model group showed upregulated expression of CDK4 and E2F1 （P<0.05） and slightly downregulated expression of E2F2. Compared with that in the model group， the expression of CDK4 was upregulated in the NAC group and the low-dose Qiangjing tablets group （P<0.05）， slightly upregulated in the medium-dose Qiangjing tablets group， and downregulated in the high-dose Qiangjing tablets group （P<0.05）. The NAC group showed downregulated expression of E2F1 （P<0.05） and E2F2， and the low-， medium-， and high-dose Qiangjing tablets groups showed downregulated expression of both E2F1 and E2F2 （P<0.05）. Compared with that in the NAC group， the expression of CDK4 was upregulated in the low-dose Qiangjing tablets group and downregulated in the medium-dose and high dose （P<0.05） groups. The expression of E2F1 was down-regulated in all the three dose groups， with statistically significance in the high dose group （P<0.05）， and that of E2F2 were downregulated in all the three dose groups （P<0.05）. In the animal experiment， compared with the young control group， the model group exhibited downregulated expression of CDK4 （P<0.05） and slightly upregulated expression of E2F1 and E2F2. Compared with that in the model group， the expression of CDK4 decreased in the testosterone propionate group and the low-dose Qiangjing tablets group （P<0.05） but increased in the medium-dose （P<0.05） and high-dose groups. In addition， the expression of E2F1 decreased （P<0.05）， and that of E2F2 was slightly elevated. Compared with that in the NAC group， CDK4 expression was elevated in the Qiangjing tablets groups， with statistical significance in the medium- and high-dose groups （P<0.05）. Similarly， the E2F1 expression was also upregulated in the Qiangjing tablets groups， with statistical significance in the medium-dose group （P<0.05）. The expression of E2F2 was downregulated in all the Qiangjing tablets groups. ConclusionQiangjing tablets delay the aging process of Leydig cells and testicular tissue by up-regulating the expression of CDK4 and lowering the levels of E2F1 and E2F2.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism by which Qiangjing tablets （QJT） alleviate the spermatogenic function damage caused by varicocele （VC） based on the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1）/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） signaling pathway-mediated oxidative stress. MethodsTen Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly assigned into a control group and a model group. Pathological examination confirmed the stability of the model. Thirty-six SD rats were randomized into control， model， low-dose （0.23 g·kg^-1） QJT， medium-dose （0.46 g·kg^-1） QJT， high-dose （0.92 g·kg^-1） QJT， and mazhilin （61.7 mg·kg^-1） groups， with 6 rats in each group. A rat model of experimental left varicocele （ELV） was established by partially ligating the left renal vein to simulate the human nutcracker syndrome. The rats were administrated with corresponding agents once a day for 28 consecutive days. The in vitro testicular culture model of rats was established through the Transwell chamber method and intervened with QJT-containing sera （2.3， 4.6， and 9.2 g·kg^-1）. Microscopic observation was carried out for the morphology of the left kidney. A micrometer was used to measure the diameter of the left spermatic vein （LSV）. The body weights of rats were recorded weekly， and the epididymis and testis weights were measured. The pathological changes of the testicular tissue was observed via hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The levels of testosterone （T） in the cell culture supernatant and reactive oxygen species （ROS） in the rat testicular tissue were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Flow cytometry was employed to determine the ROS content. Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to analyze Keap1， Nrf2， 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase （3β-Hsd）， GATA-binding protein-4 （Gata-4）， and proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase （C-kit）. The ultrastructure of the tissue was observed by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. Cell apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL） staining. The expression of Keap1， Nrf2， glutathione S-transferase α2 （Gsta2）， glutathione S-transferase μ1 （Gstm1）， heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， quinone oxidoreductase 1 （Nqo1）， and thioredoxin reductase 1 （Txnrd1） was quantified by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot. ResultsCompared with the control group， the ROS content and the percentage of apoptotic cells in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， the T concentration was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， the mRNA and protein expressions of Keap1 were significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf2， Gsta2， Gstm1， HO-1， Nqo1 and Txnrd1 were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the ROS content and the percentage of apoptotic cells in each dose group of the Qiangjing Tablets were significantly reduced （P<0.05）， and the mRNA and protein expressions of Keap1 were significantly decreased （P<0.05）， while the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf2， Gsta2， Gstm1， HO-1， Nqo1 and Txnrd1 were significantly increased （P<0.05）. ConclusionQJT improves sperm motility in the rat model of VC by modulating the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway and reducing oxidative stress injury.

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to investigate alterations in white matter microstructure and spontaneous neural activity in male college smokers, and to further explore their associations with nicotine dependence. Given that adolescence and early adulthood represent critical periods for brain maturation, particularly for white matter development, understanding the neural correlates of smoking behavior during this stage is of substantial importance for both neuroscience and public health. MethodsA total of 115 male undergraduate students were initially recruited for this study. After quality control and exclusion procedures, 52 male college smokers and 42 demographically matched healthy non-smokers were included in the final analysis. All participants underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). White matter fiber tracts were reconstructed using the automated fiber quantification (AFQ) method, which enables precise identification and quantification of major fiber bundles. Eighteen major white matter tracts were segmented for each participant. Along the core trajectory of each tract, 100 equidistant nodes were sampled. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated at each node to assess white matter microstructural integrity, while amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was computed to evaluate spontaneous neural activity within white matter tracts. Between-group differences in FA and ALFF were assessed using two-sample t-tests, with appropriate corrections applied for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between imaging-derived metrics (FA and ALFF values in regions showing significant group differences) and nicotine dependence severity, as measured by the Fagerström test for nicotine dependence (FTND). ResultsCompared with healthy non-smokers, male college smokers exhibited significantly increased FA values in several white matter tracts, including the left thalamic radiation, right corticospinal tract, forceps major of the corpus callosum, left uncinate fasciculus, and right arcuate fasciculus. These findings suggest altered microstructural organization or increased directional coherence within these pathways. In addition, smokers demonstrated significantly elevated ALFF values in the forceps major, right uncinate fasciculus, and left arcuate fasciculus, indicating enhanced spontaneous neural activity in these white matter regions. Correlation analyses revealed that FA values in the left thalamic radiation and right corticospinal tract were negatively correlated with FTND scores, suggesting that higher levels of nicotine dependence were associated with reduced microstructural integrity or altered fiber organization in these regions. In contrast, ALFF values in the forceps major and right uncinate fasciculus were positively correlated with FTND scores, indicating that greater nicotine dependence was associated with increased spontaneous neural activity in specific white matter pathways. ConclusionThe present study provides evidence that male college smokers exhibit distinct alterations in both white matter microstructure and functional activity. These abnormalities are not uniformly distributed but rather localized to specific fiber tracts implicated in sensorimotor processing, interhemispheric communication, and higher-order cognitive and emotional regulation. Importantly, the observed associations between imaging metrics and nicotine dependence severity suggest that these structural and functional alterations may reflect neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction. The combination of AFQ-based tract profiling and multimodal MRI offers a sensitive approach for detecting subtle changes along white matter pathways, highlighting its potential utility in identifying neuroimaging biomarkers of nicotine dependence. Overall, these findings indicate that smoking during early adulthood may disrupt ongoing white matter maturation, potentially leading to long-term consequences for brain function. This study provides novel insights into the neural basis of nicotine dependence and underscores the importance of early intervention and prevention strategies targeting young smokers.

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.

Electroencephalogram(EEG)refers to the electrical activity generated by neuronal discharges in the human brain,conventionallyrecorded on the scalp of the brain.EEG technology enables the non-invasive detection of electrophysiological activity in neuronal populations within the cerebral cortex,capturing millisecond-level changes in brain potentials with high temporal resolution.In recent years,lots of international researchers have leveraged EEG technology to investigate smoking addiction and further explore the millisecond-level electrophysiological changes in the brains of smokers.This review synthesizes recent advances in resting-state EEG and task-evoked event-related potential research among smokers,summarizing the electrophysiological activity changes associated with smoking addiction.Future researches will employ both longitudinal tracking and machine learning algorithms to further reveal the relationship between EEG signatures and smoking behaviors,thereby providing a scientific foundation for early intervention and treatment strategies targeting smoking addiction.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of action of circ-0058063 regulating ERK/MAPK signaling pathway on ferroptosis in esophageal cancer cells.Methods EC9706 cells were randomly divided into the Control group,the si-NC group,the si-circ-0058063 group,and the si-circ-0058063+ISO group.qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of circ-0058063 in esophageal cancer tissues and cells;CCK-8 and clone formation assay were used to detect the cell proliferation ability.The levels of Fe2+,malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH),and reactive oxygen species(ROS)in cells were detected.Western blot was used to detect the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway and the expression of ferroptosis-related protein in cells.Results The expression level of circ-0058063 in esophageal cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues(P<0.05);the expression level of circ-0058063 in human esophageal cancer cell EC9706 was significantly higher than that in human normal esophageal epithelial cell HEEC(P<0.05).Compared with the Control group,the expression level of circ-0058063 in cells,cell survival rate,number of cloned cells,GSH level,ratios of p-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 and p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK,as well as the expression levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein in the si-circ-0058063 group were significantly reduced(P<0.05),while the levels of Fe2+,MDA,and ROS in cells were significantly increased(P<0.05).Compared with the si-circ-0058063 group,the expression level of circ-0058063 in cells,cell survival rate,number of cloned cells,GSH level,ratios of p-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 and p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK,as well as the expression levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein in the si-circ-0058063+ISO group were significantly increased(P<0.05),while the levels of Fe2+,MDA,and ROS in cells were significantly decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion Knockdown of circ-0058063 can inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells and induce ferroptosis,and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of ERK/MAPK signaling pathway activation.

Objective To evaluate the transition rules of normal body mass index(BMI),overweight and metabolic syndrome(MetS)in patients with major depressive disorder(MDD).Methods Patients with MDD who had multiple admission records between Jan 2016 and Nov 2021 in Beijing Anding Hospital,Capital Medical University were included.Based on the overweight and metabolic syndrome status assessed at each admission,the patients were categorized into three states:normal BMI,overweight and metabolic syndrome.A multi-state Markov model was used to analyze the transition intensity and transition frequency between three states and the influence of covariates on transitions.Results A total of 892 records of 398 subjects were included,with a median age of 56 years old and 31.4% males.The median follow-up period was 40 months.The multi-state model showed that there were 494 transitions between the three states,of which 5.1% moved from normal BMI to overweight and 5.5% moved from overweight to MetS.The intensity of transition was the highest from overweight to MetS,9.52 times greater than overweight to normal BMI.After 48.53 months,MDD patients with normal BMI began to transition to MetS.For overweight MDD patients,the transition to MetS started after 8.77 months.MDD patients with normal BMI or overweight had 31.4% and 50.4% probabilities of developing Mets after 36 months.For MDD patients comorbid with MetS,the probability of staying at MetS was 51.2% after 36 months.Multivariate analysis showed that being unmarried was a risk factor against developing overweight in normal BMI MDD patients,while a higher level of education was a protective factor against developing MetS in overweight MDD patients.Conclusion MDD patients exhibited a higher intensity and risk of developing MetS,and it is not easy to reverse MetS,suggesting that BMI management and MetS intervention should be strengthened in MDD patients.