Background Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors may be associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic risk factor aggregation (CMRF≥ 2), and few studies have focused on the correlation between the two in occupational populations. Objective To investigate the current status of CMRF≥2 and the compliance of healthy lifestyle in male occupational personnel, explore the effect of lifestyle on cardiometabolic risk, and provide reference for formulating healthy behavior promotion strategies and reducing cardiometabolic risk in occupational populations. Methods The study subjects were selected from male workers who completed occupational health examinations at an occupational disease prevention and control hospital in Shanxi Province from May to December 2023, and 15125 study subjects aged 18−60 years were finally included according to pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. All subjects received a series of assessments including questionnaires (basic information, lifestyle habits, and occupational factors), physical examination, laboratory tests, and six cardiometabolic risk factors (central obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, low-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and hyperuricemia). A healthy lifestyle score was calculated based on six behavioral factors (smoking, drinking, physical activity, diet, sleep, sedentary behavior) and 1 point for one positive healthy behavior. The enrolled workers were then divided into three groups according to their total scores: 0−1 points (poor group), 2−3 points (moderate group), and 4−6 points (good group). Logistic regression models were used to analyze the statistical associations between lifestyle and CMRF≥2. Results The median age of the 15125 male study participants was 40 years, and the positive rate of CMRF≥2 was 53.5%. Adherence to moderate alcohol consumption was the most compliant healthy behavior (79.4%), followed by current non-smoking (41.7%), while adherence to adequate sedentary behavior (23.6%) and healthy eating (21.1%) were relatively low, and only 17.4% were able to adhere to four or more healthy lifestyle behaviors. After adjusting for confounders, when compared with the poor group high lifestyle score was found to be a protective factor for CMRF≥2 (moderate group: OR=0.70, 95%CI: 0.63, 0.77; good group: OR=0.66, 95%CI: 0.58, 0.75). In stratified analyses across different job types (coal miners, auxiliary workers, ground workers, and others), occupational stress (with or without), shift patterns (day shift, night shift, or rotating shift), dust exposure (with or without), and noise exposure (with or without), individuals with higher lifestyle scores exhibited a consistently lower risk of CMRF≥2. There was an interaction between shift pattern and lifestyle on CMRF≥2 (P_interaction<0.05). Conclusion This occupational group has a high positive rate of CMRF≥2 and a high prevalence of poor lifestyles with low adherence to some healthy behaviors. High healthy lifestyle scores are associated with a lower risk of aggregation of cardiometabolic risk factors, which may be reduced through lifestyle interventions.

The production of high-quality oocytes requires precisely orchestrated intercellular communication. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived nanoparticles that play a vital role in the transfer of bioactive molecules, which has gained much attention in the field of diagnosis and treatment. Over the past ten years, the participation of EVs in the reproductive processes of oocytes has been broadly studied and has shown great potential for elucidating the intricacies of female reproductive health. This review provides an extensive discussion of the influence of EVs on oocytes, emphasizing their involvement in normal physiology and altered cargo under pathological conditions. In addition, the positive impact of therapeutic EVs on oocyte quality and their role in alleviating ovarian pathological conditions are summarized.
Humans ; Extracellular Vesicles/physiology* ; Oocytes/cytology* ; Female ; Animals ; Cell Communication/physiology*

This study developed a core outcome set(COS) for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) interventions in diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DPN), standardizing evaluation metrics for TCM efficacy and providing a new framework for DPN treatment and management. A systematic search was conducted across databases, including CNKI, Wanfang, and PubMed, targeting clinical trial literature published between January 1, 2013, and January 1, 2023. The search focused on extracting outcome indicators and measurement tools used in TCM treatments for DPN. Retrospective data collection was performed from January 2018 to June 2023, involving 200 DPN patients hospitalized at the Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with inpatients, outpatients, their families, and nursing staff to further refine and enhance the list of outcome indicators. After two rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey and consensus meeting, a consensus was reached. The study initially retrieved 3 421 publications, of which 170 met the inclusion criteria after review. These publications, combined with retrospective analysis and semi-structured interviews, supplemented the list of indicators. After two rounds of Delphi surveys, experts agreed on 24 indicators and 6 measurement tools. The final COS determined by expert consensus meeting included 5 domains and 13 outcome indicators: neurological function signs, quality of life, TCM syndrome score, nerve conduction velocity, current perception threshold test, fasting blood glucose, 2 h postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, complete blood count, urinalysis, liver function test, kidney function test, and electrocardiogram.
Humans ; Diabetic Neuropathies/drug therapy* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Male ; Female

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical characteristics, efficacy, and prognosis of pediatric Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 72 children with newly diagnosed LCH. RESULTS: The median age of the 72 children was 5 years (range: 0-14 years), with skull involvement being the most common (56 cases, 77.8%). The BRAF-V600E mutation was not associated with clinical characteristics, efficacy, or prognosis (P>0.05). The 5-year overall survival rate was 91.6%±4.2%, and the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate was 67.5%±5.8%. The 6-week chemotherapy response rate and 5-year EFS rate were lower in the risk organ involvement group compared to the no risk organ involvement group (P<0.05). The five-year overall survival rates for the group with multi-system involvement and the group with platelet count ≥450×10⁹/L were respectively lower than those for the single-system involvement group and the group with platelet count <450×10⁹/L (P<0.05). Risk organ involvement is an independent risk factor for 5-year EFS (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Skull is the most commonly affected site in pediatric LCH. The BRAF-V600E mutation is not related to clinical characteristics, efficacy, or prognosis. Elevated platelet count, risk organ involvement, and multisystem involvement are associated with poor prognosis, with risk organ involvement being an independent risk factor for 5-year EFS.
Humans ; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell/therapy* ; Child, Preschool ; Child ; Male ; Infant ; Female ; Adolescent ; Retrospective Studies ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/genetics* ; Prognosis ; Infant, Newborn ; Mutation

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in response evaluation and relapse monitoring for patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). METHODS: The clinical characteristics, efficacy and survival of 38 PMBCL patients in our hospital from January 2010 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ctDNA monitoring was conducted by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among the 38 patients, 26 cases were female, and 32 cases were diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage I-II. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 74.7% and 61.7%, respectively. Males and those with high aaIPI scores (3 points) had a relatively poor prognosis. The NGS results of 23 patients showed that STAT6 (65.2%), SOCS1 (56.5%), and TNFAIP3 (56.5%) were the most common mutated genes. Patients with stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) exhibited enrichment in cell cycle, FoxO, and TNF signaling pathways. A total of 29 patients underwent end-of-treatment PET/CT (EOT PET/CT), and 16 of them received ctDNA monitoring with 12 negative. Among 6 patients with EOT PET/CT positive (Deauville 4), 4 underwent ctDNA monitoring, and 3 of them were negative, being still in continuous remission without any subsequent anti-tumor therapy. CONCLUSION CtDNA may be combined with PET/CT to assess efficacy, monitor relapse, and guide treatment of PMBCL.
Humans ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; Female ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Mutation

OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the role of dehydrocorydaline (DHC) in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 3 groups by using a random number table, including sham group (sham operation), CCI group [intrathecal injection of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)], and CCI+DHC group (intrathecal injection of DHC), 8 mice in each group. A CCI mouse model was conducted to induce neuropathic pain through ligating the right common sciatic nerve. On day 14 after CCI modeling or sham operation, mice were intrathecal injected with 5 µL of 10% DMSO or 10 mg/kg DHC (5 µL) into the 5th to 6th lumbar intervertebral space (L5-L6). Pregnant ICR mice were sacrificed for isolating primary spinal neurons on day 14 of embryo development for in vitro experiment. Pain behaviors were evaluated by measuring the paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) of mice. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the activation of astrocytes and microglia in mouse spinal cord. Protein expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), phosphorylation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 2B (p-NR2B), and NR2B in the spinal cord or primary spinal neurons were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: In CCI-induced neuropathic pain model, mice presented significantly decreased PWMT, activation of glial cells, overexpressions of iNOS, TNF-α, IL-6, and higher p-NR2B/NR2B ratio in the spinal cord (P<0.05 or P<0.01), which were all reversed by a single intrathecal injection of DHC (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The p-NR2B/NR2B ratio in primary spinal neurons were also inhibited after DHC treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION An intrathecal injection of DHC relieved CCI-induced neuropathic pain in mice by inhibiting the neuroinflammation and neuron hyperactivity.
Animals ; Neuralgia/etiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Analgesics/pharmacology* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/pathology* ; Constriction ; Male ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Microglia/pathology* ; Spinal Cord/drug effects* ; Female ; Mice ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Constriction, Pathologic/complications* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Astrocytes/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; Neurons/metabolism*

In protein engineering, while computational models are increasingly used to predict mutation effects, their evaluations primarily rely on high-throughput deep mutational scanning (DMS) experiments that use surrogate readouts, which may not adequately capture the complex biochemical properties of interest. Many proteins and their functions cannot be assessed through high-throughput methods due to technical limitations or the nature of the desired properties, and this is particularly true for the real industrial application scenario. Therefore, the desired testing datasets, will be small-size (∼10-100) experimental data for each protein, and involve as many proteins as possible and as many properties as possible, which is, however, lacking. Here, we present VenusMutHub, a comprehensive benchmark study using 905 small-scale experimental datasets curated from published literature and public databases, spanning 527 proteins across diverse functional properties including stability, activity, binding affinity, and selectivity. These datasets feature direct biochemical measurements rather than surrogate readouts, providing a more rigorous assessment of model performance in predicting mutations that affect specific molecular functions. We evaluate 23 computational models across various methodological paradigms, such as sequence-based, structure-informed and evolutionary approaches. This benchmark provides practical guidance for selecting appropriate prediction methods in protein engineering applications where accurate prediction of specific functional properties is crucial.

Ovulatory dysfunction (OD) is one of the main causes of infertility in women of childbearing age, which not only affects their reproductive ability, but also physical and mental health. Traditional treatment strategies have limited efficacies, and the emergence of biomedicines provides a promising alternative solution via the strategies of combining engineered design with modern advanced technology. This review explores the pathophysiological characteristics and related induction mechanisms of OD, and evaluates the current cutting-edge advances in its treatments. It emphasizes the potentials of biomedicines strategies such as hydrogels, nanoparticles and extracellular vesicles in improving therapeutic precision and efficacy. By mimicking natural physiological processes, and achieving controlled drug release, these advanced drug carriers are expected to address the challenges in ovarian microenvironment reprogramming, tissue repair, and metabolic and immune regulation. Despite the promising progress, there are still challenges in terms of biomedical complexity, differences between animal models and human physiology, and the demand for intelligent drug carriers in the therapy of OD. Future researches are mainly dedicated to developing precise personalized biomedicines in OD therapy through interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting the development of reproductive regenerative medicine.