ObjectiveTo investigate the association between the risk of increase in total cholesterol （TC） and the risk of cholelithiasis by using bidirectional Mendelian randomization （MR）. MethodsThe open gwas public database was used to obtain the single nucleotide polymorphism data associated with TC and cholelithiasis， and a secondary data analysis was performed for all summary data of genome-wide association studies. The genetic loci closely associated with TC or cholelithiasis were selected as exposure or outcome variables， and the bidirectional MR analysis was performed using the methods such as Egger regression， Weighted median， IVW random effects model， and IVW fixed effects model， with odds ratio （OR） values for evaluating the causal relationship between TC and cholelithiasis. ResultsWith TC as the exposure and cholelithiasis as the outcome， TC-cholelithiasis had an overall OR value of 0.91 （95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.85‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.97） before elimination of heterogeneity and 0.93 （95%CI： 0.89‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.97） after elimination of heterogeneity. With cholelithiasis as the exposure and TC as the outcome， TC-cholelithiasis had an overall OR value of 0.20 （95%CI： 0.06‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.65） before elimination of heterogeneity and 0.28 （95%CI： 0.10‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.83） after elimination of heterogeneity. There was a bidirectional causal relationship between genetically predicted TC and cholelithiasis. ConclusionThis study confirms the bidirectional causal relationship between TC and cholelithiasis. The risk of cholelithiasis decreases with the increase in alleles associated with the elevation of TC level； on the contrary， the risk of elevated TC level decreases with the increase in alleles associated with the onset of cholelithiasis.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the visceral adiposity index(VAI) and cognitive decline.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.Between October 2020 and March 2023, 483 elderly residents living in communities in Hefei were recruited and divided into four groups based on VAI scores, Q1(VAI ≤ 1.14), Q2(VAI>1.15 and ≤1.85), Q3(VAI>1.86 and ≤2.81) and Q4(VAI>2.82).General cognitive function was assessed by(MMSE)and(MoCA).Attention and working memory were tested by forward and backward digit span tasks.Logistic regression was utilized to analyze the relationship between different VAI scores and insulin resistance.The correlation between different VAI scores and cognitive function domains was analyzed by partial correlation.Results:The values of BMI, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, HOMA-IR and HOMA-β increased with increasing VAI scores(all P<0.01).VAI was significantly correlated with insulin sensitivity after adjusting for confounding factors including sex.The risk of insulin resistance in Q4 was 7.40 times that in Q1( OR=7.40, 95% CI: 4.30-12.74, P<0.05).In addition, the correlation coefficients between VAI and forward digital span and between VAI and backward digital span were -0.116 and -0.105, respectively(both P<0.05), but there was no correlation between VAI and MMSE or MoCA. Conclusions:VAI is closely related to insulin resistance and also associated with early cognitive decline in elderly people with visceral obesity.

The incidence of psycho-cardiological diseases， i.e.， cardiovascular diseases combined with psychological disorders， is increasing year by year. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） plays a role in the pathogenesis of such diseases. According to the theory of collateral diseases， our team innovates the concept of regulating mental activity by dredging collaterals in the treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases and summarizes the concepts of "heart of Qi and collaterals" and "heart of vessels and collaterals". We believe that obstructed collaterals and disturbed mental activity run through the whole course of psycho-cardiological diseases， being the core pathogenesis. BDNF closely related to the core pathogenesis can regulate nerve and vascular inflammation， alleviate oxidative stress， and mediate a variety of signaling pathways， thereby promoting the survival and repair of nerve cells and vascular endothelial cells to regulate emotion and protect the heart. Therefore， BDNF is one of the potential biomarkers for clinical treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases. Collateral obstruction caused by blood stasis is specifically manifested as collateral deficiency， blood stasis， and Qi stagnation in collaterals. It can easily lead to inflammation， free radical generation， and antioxidant system changes in the patients with psycho-cardiological diseases， which can cause oxidative stress damage， affect the BDNF level， and result in mental disorders， such as anxiety and depression. Disturbed mental activity is mainly caused by the disturbance in the heart of Qi and collaterals， which is specifically manifested as the disturbance of the mind and liver soul. It is prone to cause anxiety or depression symptoms， which is closely related to the BDNF-mediated abnormal activation of neural circuits， nerve injury， and inflammation. This article elaborates on the theoretical connotation and pathological mechanism of regulating mental activity by dredging collaterals in the treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases from the perspective of BDNF， aiming to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases and collateral diseases.

Objective:To explore mechanism of regulation of proliferation,migration,invasion and expressions of immune factors of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells by circSKA3/miR-3163/disintegrin-metalloproteinase 9(ADAM9)gene axis.Methods:qRT-PCR was used to detect circSKA3 and miR-3163 expressions in ovarian cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues.Western blot was used to detect ADAM9 protein level in tissues.SKOV3 cells were selected for cell experiment in vitro,and divided into sh-NC group,sh-circSKA3 group,miR-NC group,miR-3163 group,sh-circSKA3+anti-miR-3163 group,sh-circSKA3+pcDNA-ADAM9 group.circSKA3 and miR-3163 expressions in SKOV3 cells were detected by qRT-PCR.CCK-8,scratch test and Transwell were used to detect cell proliferation activity,migration and invasion ability.ELISA was used to detect expressions of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-10.Double luciferase report experiment verified targeting relationship between circSKA3 with miR-3163,miR-3163 and ADAM9.Western blot was used to detect levels of ADAM9,matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)and MMP-9 in SKOV3 cells.Results:Com-pared with paracancerous tissues,circ-SKA3 and ADAM9 expressions were increased,and miR-3163 expression was decreased in ovarian cancer tissues(P<0.05).Compared with sh-NC group/miR-NC group,sh-circSKA3 group/miR-3163 group showed decreased cell proliferative activity and healing rate,decreased number of invasive cells,MMP-2,MMP-9 proteins and TNF-α and IL-6 expres-sions were decreased,expression of IL-10 was increased(P<0.05).circSKA3 could targeting regulate expression of miR-3163,and miR-3163 could targeting bind to ADAM9(P<0.05).Compared with sh-circSKA3 group,cell proliferation activity and scratch healing rate in sh-circSKA3+anti-miR-3163 and sh-circSKA3+pcDNA-ADAM9 groups were increased,number of invasive cells was in-creased,MMP-2,MMP-9 protein and TNF-α,IL-6 expressions were increased,while expression of IL-10 was decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion:Silencing circSKA3 expression can reduce expression of ADAM9 by up-regulating miR-3163 expression,inhibit ovarian cancer cell proliferation,migration and invasion,and regulate immune factor expression.

Objective: To explore the changes in root volume and root resorption in incisor arteries from adult patients with skeletal class Ⅲ malocclusion before and after camouflaged orthodontic treatment and to provide a reference for the clinic. Methods : Thirty permanent dentition adult patients with skeletal class Ⅲ malocclusion were included from the Orthodontic Department. CBCT data of each patient at pretreatment and posttreatment were acquired, and 3D digital root models were reconstructed. The whole and segmented root volumes (cervical part, bodily part and apical part) of the right incisors were calculated. Results: The root volumes (whole, cervical part, bodily part and apical part) posttreatment were smaller than those pretreatment (P<0.001). Maxillary central incisors and lateral incisors showed similar resorption in the cervical root and bodily root and more changes in the apical root, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05). Mandibular central incisors and lateral incisors showed more root resorption in the apical root than in the cervical root and bodily root (P<0.01). The absorption ratio of all segmented roots in each incisor showed a significant difference (P<0.001), and apical absorption was the most obvious. There were no significant differences in root volume change amounts or the absorption ratio of the whole, cervical part and bodily part in all incisors (P>0.05). The absorption ratio showed a significant difference in the mandibular lateral incisors (P = 0.028). Conclusion After camouflaged orthodontic treatment of adult skeletal class Ⅲ malocclusion, incisor root resorption occurred mainly in the apical part, but the cervical and bodily parts should also be considered. There was a high risk of root resorption in the mandibular incisors.

Animals ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Macaca mulatta ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Antibodies, Viral ; Vaccines

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in gray matter volume in depressive-like mice and explore the possible mechanism. METHODS: Twenty-four 6-week-old C57 mice were randomized equally into control group and model group, and the mice in the model group were subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stimulation (CUMS) for 35 days. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to examine structural changes of the grey matter volume in depressive-like mice. The expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the grey matter of the mice was detected using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Compared with the control mice, the mice with CUMS showed significantly decreased central walking distance in the open field test (P < 0.05) and increased immobile time in forced swimming test (P < 0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the volume of the frontal cortex was significantly decreased in CUMS mice (P < 0.001, when the mass level was greater than or equal to 10 756, the FDRc was corrected with P=0.05). Western blotting showed that the expression of mature BDNF in the frontal cortex was significantly decreased in CUMS mice (P < 0.05), and its expression began to decrease after the exposure to CUMS as shown by immunofluorescence staining. The volume of different clusters obtained by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was correlated with the expression level of mature BDNF detected by Western blotting (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The decrease of frontal cortex volume after CUMS is related with the reduction of mature BDNF expression in the frontal cortex.
Animals ; Mice ; Blotting, Western ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Cerebral Cortex ; Depression/physiopathology* ; Frontal Lobe/pathology*

Objective:To investigate the effect of diabetes mellitus in the elderly on memory function in patients with mild cognitive impairment(MCI).Methods:Totally 449 community residents were selected for a 2-year follow-up survey.Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)and Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)were selected for overall cognitive function assessment.Fuld Object Memory(FOM)and Digital Span Test(DST)were used to evaluate delayed recall and instantaneous memory.Demographic data such as gender, age, education level, marital history, annual income, blood pressure, medical history etc.were collected.The glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting insulin, and carotid artery intima-media thickness were checked regularly.All subjects were grouped into non-diabetes mellitus normal cognitive group(NDM-NC group), non-diabetes mellitus mild cognitive impairment group(NDM-MCI group), diabetes mellitus normal cognitive group(DM-NC group)and diabetes mellitus mild cognitive impairment group(DM-MCI group).Results:In cross-sectional observation, the first, second, and last recall scores in the FOM showed a decreasing trend in the DM-MCI group, showed a word "U" -shaped fluctuation trend in the DM-NC group and the NDM-MCI group, and showed no significant change in the NDM-NC group.There were no significant differences in DST anterior-backward test scores between the DM-MCI group and NDM-MCI group(all P>0.05).Through longitudinal follow-up and two-by-two comparison with the other three groups, the average value of glycosylated hemoglobin in the DM-MCI group(6.78±0.60)% was the highest, and the differences were statistically significant( P<0.05).During follow-up, the average carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT)was higher in the DM-MCI group(1.03±0.20)mm than in NDM-NC group(0.89±0.20)mm( P<0.05), and the difference was statistically significant.Comparing with the other three longitudinal follow-up groups, the CIMT thickening speed in DM-MCI group was fastest. Conclusions:Elderly DM patient population have a higher prevalence of MCI, and their memory function fluctuates or declines significantly.Therefore, regular detection of memory function is conducive to delaying the progression of DM and MCI.

Objective:To investigate the expression of leucine zipper EF-hand domain transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1), sodium hydrogen exchange protein 1 (NHE-1) and adenylate cyclase related protein 2 (CAP2) in gastric cancer tissues and the predictive value for postoperative recurrence.Methods:The clinical data of 92 patients with early gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment from January 2017 to January 2020 in Jiangsu Haimen People′s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the recurrence condition 6 months after operation, the patients were divided into recurrence group (16 cases) and non recurrence group (76 cases). The expression levels of LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues were detected by real time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Multifactor Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related influencing factors of postoperative recurrence. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and the effectiveness of LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA in predicting recurrence was analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn, and the survival rate was analyzed in patients with different expression levels of LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA.Results:The LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissues (0.41±0.12 vs. 0.22±0.07, 0.85±0.27 vs. 0.49±0.15 and 0.31±0.10 vs. 0.19±0.06), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). The proportion of N 1 stage in recurrent group was significantly higher than that in non recurrent group: 9/16 vs. 22.37% (17/76), and there was statistical difference ( P<0.05); the LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA of cancer tissues in recurrent group were significantly higher than those in non recurrent group (0.61±0.20 vs. 0.37±0.13, 1.24±0.38 vs. 0.77±0.21 and 0.60±0.19 vs. 0.25±0.10), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). Multifactor Logistic regression analysis result showed that, after controlled N stages, the LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA were still independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence in patients with gastric cancer ( OR = 1.52, 3.11 and 1.21; 95% CI 1.26 to 1.82, 2.36 to 4.09 and 1.04 to 1.41; P<0.01). ROC curve analysis result showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA for predicting postoperative recurrence in patients with gastric cancer were 0.768, 0.802 and 0.850, respectively. The AUC of combination the indexes for predicting postoperative recurrence in patients with gastric cancer was 0.965. According to the cut-off value of ROC curve, the patients were divided into LETM1 mRNA high expression (>0.54, 30 cases) and low expression (≤0.54, 62 cases), NHE-1 mRNA high expression (>1.09, 35 cases) and low expression (≤1.09, 57 cases), CAP2 mRNA high expression (>0.49, 28 cases) and low expression (≤0.49, 64 cases). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis result showed that the survival rates in patients with high expression of LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA were significantly lower than those in patients with low expression (73.33% vs. 98.39%, 80.00% vs. 96.49% and 78.57% vs. 95.31%), and there were statistical differences ( χ2 = 15.08, 6.95 and 6.75, P<0.01). Conclusions:LETM1, NHE-1 and CAP2 mRNA are related to the recurrence of early gastric cancer after surgery. The detection of the 3 markers is expected to provide a new strategy for the prediction of postoperative recurrence.

Objective: To explore the epidemiological characteristics of elevated serum uric acid in college students and its association with glycolipid metabolism, providing reference for health care intervention and education of college students. Methods: From September 2020 to November 2021, a retrospective study was conducted among 989 college students in Taizhou area by stratified cluster random sampling method, and a questionnaire was issued to all college students. Serum uric acid (SUA), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting plasma glucose(FPG), 2 h postprandial blood glucose (2 hPG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) levels were detected by urease immunoassay and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Waist circumference, body mass index, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in higher serum uric acid group were higher than those in normal group ( t =21.72,5.74,5.45,12.23, P <0.05). The SUA, FPG, TG, 2 hPG, LDL and TC in serum uric acid increased group were higher than those in normal group, while HDL was lower than those in normal group ( t =13.85, 23.97, 10.24, 7.62, 34.91, 8.27, -8.15, P <0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of FPG, TG, 2 hPG, LDL and TC were positively correlated with SUA levels ( r =0.63, 0.72, 0.69, 0.16, 0.81, P <0.01). HDL was negatively correlated with SUA level ( r = -0.52, P <0.01). The glucolipid metabolism indexes were included into the binary Logistic regression model analysis, and the results showed that FPG, TG, LDL and TC were positively correlated with higher serum uric acid. HDL was negatively correlated with the incidence of higher serum uric acid ( P <0.05). Conclusion Male sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, and elevated blood pressure can contribute to higher serum uric acid, which has been found to be associated with glycolipid metabolism.