Objective To explore the mediating role of activities of daily living (ADL) in pain and depressive symptoms in the elderly in China. Methods Utilizing the data from 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, 4403 Chinese elderly individuals aged ≥ 60 years old were selected as the research subjects. Depression Scale (CES-D 10) of the Center for Epidemiological Survey and ADL scale were used in the study. The PROCESS4.1 macro was used to test the mediating effect of daily living activities between pain and depressive symptoms, and the Bootstrap method was applied for verification of the mediating variables. Results A total of 2368 cases of depressive symptoms were detected in the elderly in China, with a detection rate of 53.78%. Pain was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (r=0.27, P<0.01), and activities of daily living were negatively correlated with pain and depressive symptoms (r=-0.27, -0.337, P<0.01). The results showed that the total effect value of pain on depressive symptoms was 0.33, the direct effect value was 0.24, and the mediating effect value of daily living activities was 0.09, accounting for 27.27%. Conclusion Pain and activities of daily living are important factors influencing depressive symptoms in the elderly, and activities of daily living play a partial mediating role in the relationship between pain and depressive symptoms in the elderly.

Acute hypobaric hypoxic brain damage is a potentially fatal high-altitude sickness. Autophagy plays a critical role in ischemic brain injury, but its role in hypobaric hypoxia (HH) remains unknown. Here we used an HH chamber to demonstrate that acute HH exposure impairs autophagic activity in both the early and late stages of the mouse brain, and is partially responsible for HH-induced oxidative stress, neuronal loss, and brain damage. The autophagic agonist rapamycin only promotes the initiation of autophagy. By proteome analysis, a screen showed that protein dynamin2 (DNM2) potentially regulates autophagic flux. Overexpression of DNM2 significantly increased the formation of autolysosomes, thus maintaining autophagic flux in combination with rapamycin. Furthermore, the enhancement of autophagic activity attenuated oxidative stress and neurological deficits after HH exposure. These results contribute to evidence supporting the conclusion that DNM2-mediated autophagic flux represents a new therapeutic target in HH-induced brain damage.
Mice ; Animals ; Hypoxia ; Oxidative Stress ; Autophagy ; Cognition ; Sirolimus/therapeutic use*

Objective To investigate the changing trend and epidemiological characteristics of the incidence and mortality of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with age, period and birth cohort in Chinese population. Methods Based on the data of incidence and mortality of CKD in Chinese population aged 20-80 years from 1990 to 2019 in GHDx database, joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the incidence and mortality trend of CKD. An age-period-cohort model was constructed to analyze the effects of age, period, and birth cohort on the trend of CKD incidence and mortality. Results Joinpoint regression analysis showed that the standardized incidence rate of chronic kidney disease in Chinese population increased from 146.37/100 000 in 1990 to 161.52/100 000 in 2019, while the standardized mortality rate decreased from 12.98/100 000 in 1990 to 11.23/100 000 in 2019. The APC model analysis showed that the risk of CKD incidence and death in the Chinese population increased with age, while the risk of CKD incidence increased with the increase of period. The risk of death did not change significantly with the increase of period. The cohort born later had a lower risk of CKD incidence and death compared to the cohort born earlier. Conclusion At present, the age effect and period effect of the incidence and death risk of chronic kidney disease in China are dominant. It is important to take effective measures and intervene in a timely manner, especially to strengthen the protection of older high-risk groups born earlier.

Objective　To explore the mediating role of cognitive function in the association between literacy level and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and elderly people in China. Methods　 Using the fourth national follow-up data of the China Health and Elderly Care Tracking Survey 2018, 8 124 middle-aged and elderly people aged 45 years and above were included as the study subjects. The PROCESS 4.0 program was used to test the mediating effect of cognitive function between literacy level and depressive symptoms, and the Bootstrap method was used for the mediator variable validation. Results The detection rate of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly people in China was 38.10%. After controlling for gender, place of residence, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption, and exercise, literacy level was a negative predictor of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and elderly people (β =－0.480, t =－11.248, P<0.001). Cognitive function accounted for 58.75% of the amount of mediating effect between literacy level and depressive symptoms. Conclusion 　Literacy level and cognitive function are associated with depressive symptoms in middle-aged and elderly people. Literacy level can influence depressive symptoms directly or indirectly through the mediation of cognitive dysfunction.

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of compound Duzhong Jiangu granule on Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), and to provide a new alternative for the treatment of patients with KBD.Methods:According to the principle of random distribution, patients with KBD diagnosed clinically in Linyou County and Yongshou County of Shaanxi Province who meet the inclusion criteria were divided into a traditional Chinese medicine group and a Western medicine group, and they were treated with compound Duzhong Jiangu granule (Chinese medicine group) and ibuprofen sustained release capsule + 21 jinvita + chondroitin sulfate (Western medicine group), respectively, for a duration of one month. Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the clinical data of all survey respondents before and after medication by using the Joint Dysfunction Index Scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scales, for evaluation and analysis. The incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were recorded.Results:A total of 218 KBD patients that met the inclusion criteria were selected, including 167 patients in the Chinese medicine group and 51 patients in the Western medicine group. There were 94 males and 73 females in the Chinese medicine group, aged (62.93 ± 6.72) years. In the Western medicine group, there were 18 males and 33 females, aged (63.29 ± 7.02) years. There was no statistically significant difference in age between the two groups ( Z = - 0.24, P = 0.813). After taking the compound Duzhong Jiangu granules for treatment of KBD patients in the traditional Chinese medicine group, there were significant changes in the number of patients with joint rest pain, joint movement pain, morning stiffness, maximum walking distance and lower limb mobility in the Joint Dysfunction Scale compared to before treatment. The difference between before and after medication was statistically significant (χ 2 = 37.93, 29.64, 50.40, 13.57, 25.25, P < 0.001). After 1 month of medication, there were 13 cases of significant effect, 64 cases of effectiveness, and 90 cases of ineffectiveness in the traditional Chinese medicine group, with a total effective rate of 46.11%. There were 0 cases of significant improvement, 13 cases of effectiveness, and 38 cases of ineffectiveness in the Western medicine group, with a total effective rate of 25.49%. The difference in total effective rates between the two groups was statistically significant (χ 2 = 8.62, P = 0.013). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in the improvement of lower limb mobility (difficulty of daily activities) between the Chinese medicine group and the Western medicine group (χ 2 = 8.21, P = 0.017). After taking medication, the joint pain, stiffness, and difficulty of daily activities scores in the WOMAC scale of KBD patients in the Chinese medicine group and the Western medicine group were significantly reduced. The differences in scores before and after medication were statistically significant (Chinese medicine group, Z = - 7.60, - 7.74, - 9.75, P < 0.001; Western medicine group, Z = - 5.20, - 3.81, - 3.93, P < 0.001). There was a significant differences in the improvement degree of daily activity difficulty and total score between the Chinese medicine group and the Western medicine group ( Z = - 3.75, - 3.34, P < 0.01). During the medication period, the incidence of adverse reactions in the traditional Chinese medicine group was lower than that in the western medicine group (Chinese medicine group, 29.34%; Western medicine group, 45.09%, χ 2 = 4.38, P = 0.036). Conclusions:Compound Duzhong Jiangu granule has a good therapeutic effects on KBD, significantly improving joint dysfunction of patients. It has advantages in improving the activity ability of KBD patients and reducing the difficulty of daily activities, and has less adverse reactions else.

In order to mine candidate vaccine antigens against ticks and to control ticks safely and effectively,the aim of this study was to immunize rabbits with purified aquaporins(AQPs)rD-mAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3 of Dermacentor marginatus.Blood collections for Western blot and ELISA tests were performed.The anti-tick challenge was conducted.The optimal expression conditions of rDmAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3 were screened by SDS-PAGE gel electrophore-sis.The three recombinant proteins were purified by HisSepNi-NTA6FF purification column.Rab-bits were divided into four groups of three rabbits each,including a control group and three immu-nized groups.The three purified recombinant proteins were separately immunized to three groups of rabbits,and the rabbits were immunized once on the 0th,14th and 21st day.Blood samples were collected every 7 days to prepare polyclonal antibodies.The reactivity was detected by Western blot and the antibody titer was detected by ELISA.Tick challenge test was carried out after the anti-body titer increased.The results showed that the optimal expression conditions for rDmAQP1 were induced for 8 h at IPTG concentration of 1.0 mmol/L and 37 ℃;the optimal expression conditions for rDmAQP2 were induced for 7 h at IPTG concentration of 1.0 mmol/L and 37 ℃;and the opti-mal expression conditions for rDmAQP3 were induced for 5 h at IPTG concentration of 1.0 mmol/L and 37 ℃.Western blot results showed that rDmAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3 all had certain reactivity.The ELISA results showed that the antibody titers of rabbits immunized with rD-mAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3 were as follows:the total anti-tick effect of rDmAQP1 protein was 79.74％,and the inhibition rates on average full-blooded tick weight,average egg weight and average egg hatching rate were 9.43％,25.17％and 63.81％,respectively.The total anti-tick effect of rDmAQP2 protein was 78.78％,and the inhibition rates of average full-blooded tick weight,av-erage egg weight and average egg hatching rate of Dermacentor marginatus were 8.30％,20.14％and 68.26％,respectively.The total anti-tick effect of rDmAQP3 protein was 87.91％,and the inhi-bition rates of average full-blooded tick weight,average egg weight and average egg hatching rate were 3.23％,22.47％and 80.5％,respectively.Through serological test and anti-tick test,it has been found that rDmAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3 all have the potential of candidate antigens against ticks,among which rDmAQP3 has the best immune effect,which lays a foundation for the study of the function of rDmAQP1,rDmAQP2 and rDmAQP3.

Objective:To investigate the effect of levodopa and benserazide combined with pramipexole in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and its influence on cognitive function and oxidative stress indicators.Methods:From January 2021 to December 2023, the clinical datas of 110 PD patients in the Neurocritical Rehabilitation Center of Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital were selected for a prospective study. Based on the principle of balanced and comparable baseline features between groups, they were divided into single drug group (odd number, 55 cases, oral levodopa and benserazide, effective dose: 500-1 000 mg/d) and combined group (even number, 55 cases, pramipexole based on single drug group, effective dose: 0.375-4.500 mg/d) according to the simplified randomization method (odd-even number method). The therapeutic effect (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)), improvement status of symptoms, cognitive ability (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)), oxidative stress indicators (superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde) and brain injury indicators (central nervous system specific protein β (S100β), human Parkinson protein 7 (PARK7)) before and after treatment and adverse drug reactions were compared between groups of patients.Results:After treatment, the scores of UPDRS Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ dimensions in the two groups were significantly decreased, and the above scores with ((5.53±1.16, 20.43±3.98, 14.37±3.07) points) in combined group were significantly lower than ((7.06±1.64, 24.56±4.37, 17.32±3.83) points) in single drug group ( t values were 5.65, 5.18 and 4.46, respectively; all P<0.001). After treatment, the autonomic disorder and sensory disturbance were significantly improved in both groups, but the proportion of sensory disturbance after treatment in combined group (20.00%, 11/55) was significantly lower than that in single drug group (38.18%, 21/55), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=4.41, P=0.036). The MMSE score in the two groups after treatment was decreased significantly while the MoCA score was increased significantly, but the MMSE score in combined group with ((10.38±1.95) points) was significantly lower than ((12.27±2.26) points) in single drug group. The difference was statistically significant ( t=4.70, P<0.001) while the MoCA score with ((18.46±3.21) points) was significantly higher compared with ((16.84±3.07) points) in single drug group.The difference was statistically significant ( t=2.71, P=0.008). After treatment, SOD in the two groups was risen significantly while malondialdehyde was declined significantly, and SOD in combined group with ((82.53±10.63) U/L) was significantly higher than ((76.54±8.85) U/L) in single drug group, while malondialdehyde with ((4.64±0.85) μmol/L) was significantly lower than ((6.46±1.26) μmol/L) in single drug group. The difference is statistically significant ( t values were 3.21 and 8.88, respectively; P values were 0.002 and <0.001). The levels of S100β and PARK7 in both groups were reduced significantly after treatment, and the combined group ((73.64±5.72) ng/L, (78.04±6.93) μmol/L) had significantly lower levels than the single drug group ((15.73±3.25) ng/L, (22.23±3.84) μmol/L). The differences were statistically significant ( t-values were 3.63 and 9.58, respectively; both P<0.001). There was no statistical difference in incidence of adverse drug reactions between groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Levodopa and benserazide combined with pramipexole can enhance the cognitive function of PD patients and improve the oxidative stress indicators, with few adverse reactions, safe and effective, and is worthy of application.

Objective To explore the effective target and active ingredient prediction of premature ovarian insufficiency(POI)treated by Tiaojing decoction by ferroptosis pathway by network pharmacokogy and bioniformatics.Methods The active ingredients and target genes of Tiaojing decoction were obtained through traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP)and bioinformatics analysis tool for molecular mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine databases,disease targets for POI were obtained by using GeneCards,therapeutic target database and Drugbank,and intersection targets were obtained by Venn.Core target gene network of Tiaojing decoction in treatment of POI were constructed through the ferroptosis pathway by ferroptosis database,Cytoscape and STRING software.Then,the DAVID database was used to perform gene ontology and biological pathway enrichment analysis on the predicted targets related to ferroptosis of POI treated with Tiaojing decoction.Subsequently,differential genes in biology related to POI were obtained through the gene expression omnibus(GEO)database for further extraction of key targets,and the binding affinity of active small molecule drug components were verified through molecular docking.Results A total of 154 active ingredients,101 targets related to POI and 23 genes related to ferroptosis were selected from 13 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines in Tiaojing decoction.The enrichment analysis showed that the main involved pathways were phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt)signaling pathway and hypoxia inducible factor-1 signaling pathway.Through GEO database screening,the key targets of Tiaojing decoction in intervening POI through ferroptosis pathway were glycogen synthase kinase-3 β(GSK-3 β),caveolin-1(CAV1),mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)and protein kinase C alpha gene(PRKCA),all expression of which reduced in POI.The results of molecular docking showed that CAV1-quercetin and GSK-3β-luteolin had stable binding ability.Conclusion The network pharmacology results suggest that the ferroptosis pathway may be an important mechanism of Tiaojing decoction in treatment of POI,GSK-3β,CAV1,mTOR,PRKCA and other targets,as well as PI3K/Akt signaling pathway,may play important roles in them.

RBM46 is a germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein required for gametogenesis, but the targets and molecular functions of RBM46 remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that RBM46 binds at specific motifs in the 3'UTRs of mRNAs encoding multiple meiotic cohesin subunits and show that RBM46 is required for normal synaptonemal complex formation during meiosis initiation. Using a recently reported, high-resolution technique known as LACE-seq and working with low-input cells, we profiled the targets of RBM46 at single-nucleotide resolution in leptotene and zygotene stage gametes. We found that RBM46 preferentially binds target mRNAs containing GCCUAU/GUUCGA motifs in their 3'UTRs regions. In Rbm46 knockout mice, the RBM46-target cohesin subunits displayed unaltered mRNA levels but had reduced translation, resulting in the failed assembly of axial elements, synapsis disruption, and meiotic arrest. Our study thus provides mechanistic insights into the molecular functions of RBM46 in gametogenesis and illustrates the power of LACE-seq for investigations of RNA-binding protein functions when working with low-abundance input materials.
Animals ; Mice ; 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics* ; Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism* ; Gametogenesis/genetics* ; Meiosis/genetics* ; Nuclear Proteins/genetics* ; RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics*

In traditional Chinese medicine, premature ovarian failure is attributed to the menstrual diseases such as amenorrhea, infertility, premenopausal and postmenopausal syndromes. The Zhejiang TCM gynecology schools are good at dialectical treatment of the above menstrual diseases similar to premature ovarian failure, especially Gynecology of Xiaoshan Zhulin Temple, Gynecology of Haining Chen Mushan, Gynecology of Ningbo Song's Family and Gynecology of Hangzhou He's Family. This paper summarizes the characteristics and experience of the four Zhejiang TCM gynecology schools in the dialectical treatment of premature ovarian failure, which can be used for reference.