During orthodontic treatment, clinical monitoring of patients is a crucial factor in determining treatment success. It aids in timely problem detection and resolution, ensuring adherence to the intended treatment plan. In recent years, digital technology has increasingly permeated orthodontic clinical diagnosis and treatment, facilitating clinical decision-making, treatment planning, and follow-up monitoring. This review summarizes recent advancements in digital technology for monitoring orthodontic tooth movement, related complications, and appliance-wearing compliance. It aims to provide insights for researchers and clinicians to enhance the application of digital technology in orthodontics, improve treatment outcomes, and optimize patient experience. The digitization of diagnostic data and the visualization of dental models make chair-side follow-up monitoring more convenient, accurate, and efficient. At the same time, the emergence of remote monitoring technology allows orthodontists to promptly identify oral health issues in patients and take corresponding measures. Furthermore, the multimodal data fusion method offers valuable insights into the monitoring of the root-alveolar relationship. Artificial intelligence technology has made initial strides in automating the identification of orthodontic tooth movement, associated complications, and patient compliance evaluation. Sensors are effective tools for monitoring patient adherence and providing data-driven support for clinical decision-making. The application of digital technology in orthodontic monitoring holds great promise. However, challenges like technical bottlenecks, ethical considerations, and patient acceptance remain.

Objective To explore the potential mechanisms of hypoxic adaptive metabolic changes in the kidneys of plateau pikas at different altitudes using non-targeted metabolomics analysis via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole electrostatic field orbital trap-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QE-MS). Methods 10 plateau pikas were captured at an altitude of 4 360 m in Xingxiuhai area, Maduo County, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province (MD group), and 10 plateau pikas were captured at an altitude of 2 900 m in Menyuan area, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province (MY group). After anesthesia, serum samples were collected, and kidney samples were collected after euthanasia. General physiological and biochemical indicators were measured and metabolomics analysis was performed. Part of the serum samples was used for hematology analysis, another part for blood gas analysis, and the remaining part for biochemical indicator detection. Metabolites were extracted from the kidney tissue samples and then analyzed using UHPLC-QE-MS. Differential metabolites were analyzed using metabolomics principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), with screening criteria set as variable importance in projection (VIP)>1.5 and fold change (FC)>1.5, or VIP>1.5 and FC<1/1.5. Correlation analysis heatmaps, significance analysis volcano plots, signaling pathway recognition bubble charts, and rectangular graphs were used for the analysis of differential metabolites and related signaling pathways. Results The red blood cell count, glucose, urea nitrogen, uric acid, and homocysteine levels in the MD group plateau pikas were higher than those in the MY group, while hemoglobin, hematocrit, creatinine, and carbon dioxide combining power were lower than those in the MY group. This indicated a significant difference in the blood oxygen-carrying capacity of plateau pikas at different altitudes. The principal component pattern recognition analyses, and OPLS-DA permutation test showed that the kidney metabolites of the MD and MY groups of plateau pikas had distinct clustering distributions (R²Y=0.930, Q²=0.655). According to the screening criteria and database comparison, 46 differential metabolites were identified in the kidneys of plateau pikas at different altitudes. In the MD group of plateau pikas, the expression levels of bufadienolide, adenosine, adenine, diosgenin, berberine chloride, carnosol, and astaxanthin were significantly increased (VIP>1.5, P<0.05), while the levels of arachidonic acid, histamine, and coumarin were significantly decreased (VIP>1.5, P<0.05). The analysis of related signaling pathways showed that the biosynthetic pathways of valine, leucine, and isoleucine had the largest impact factors (P<0.05), while the biosynthetic pathways of pantothenate and coenzyme A showed the most significant enrichment (P<0.05). Conclusion The differential metabolites of amino acids, pantothenate, and coenzyme A pathways in the kidneys of plateau pikas at different altitudes may be involved in the metabolic mechanisms of plateau pikas' hypoxia adaptation in high-altitude environments.

ObjectiveTo analyze the changes in the degree of coordination of China's major epidemic prevention and control efforts before and after the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), so as to explore the impact of epidemic prevention and control measures on coordination dynamics. MethodsA total of 3 864 policy documents related to epidemic prevention and control from January 2000 to December 2020 across 31 provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities) in China were systematically collected. Contents specific to collaborative and cooperative efforts were extracted, and the extent of interdepartmental coordination were quantified to assess the effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control efforts. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was adopted to statistically analyze the differences between the indicators before and after the epidemic. ResultsThe average overall coordination level for major epidemic prevention and control in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities) increased from 43.06% to 97.62%, and the average coordination levels in the eastern, central, and western China soared from 42.29%, 37.50%, and 47.46%, to 98.81%, 96.20%, and 97.46%, respectively, with statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). In terms of department categorization, coordination levels in the professional departments and the key support departments peaked at 100.00%, while other support departments rose to 95.43%, with an increase of 77.15%, 181.85%, and 139.89%, respectively, exhibiting noteworthy statistically significant differences (all P<0.001). ConclusionThe scope of coordination departments of China’s major epidemic prevention and control exists a remarkable surge following the COVID-19 outbreak, notable heightened coordination is particularly observed among the key support departments. Future endeavors should prioritize the roles played by diverse departments in epidemic prevention and control, enhancing both the clarity of departmental responsibilities and the effectiveness of interdepartmental coordination.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality among adults globally, with continuously rising morbidity and mortality rates. Metabolic disorders are closely linked to various cardiovascular diseases and play a critical role in their pathogenesis and progression, involving multifaceted mechanisms such as altered substrate utilization, mitochondrial structural and functional dysfunction, and impaired ATP synthesis and transport. In recent years, the potential role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in cardiovascular diseases has garnered significant attention, particularly peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), which is recognized as a highly promising therapeutic target for CVD. PPARα regulates cardiovascular physiological and pathological processes through fatty acid metabolism. As a ligand-activated receptor within the nuclear hormone receptor family, PPARα is highly expressed in multiple organs, including skeletal muscle, liver, intestine, kidney, and heart, where it governs the metabolism of diverse substrates. Functioning as a key transcription factor in maintaining metabolic homeostasis and catalyzing or regulating biochemical reactions, PPARα exerts its cardioprotective effects through multiple pathways: modulating lipid metabolism, participating in cardiac energy metabolism, enhancing insulin sensitivity, suppressing inflammatory responses, improving vascular endothelial function, and inhibiting smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration. These mechanisms collectively reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease development. Thus, PPARα plays a pivotal role in various pathological processes via mechanisms such as lipid metabolism regulation, anti-inflammatory actions, and anti-apoptotic effects. PPARα is activated by binding to natural or synthetic lipophilic ligands, including endogenous fatty acids and their derivatives (e.g., linoleic acid, oleic acid, and arachidonic acid) as well as synthetic peroxisome proliferators. Upon ligand binding, PPARα activates the nuclear receptor retinoid X receptor (RXR), forming a PPARα-RXR heterodimer. This heterodimer, in conjunction with coactivators, undergoes further activation and subsequently binds to peroxisome proliferator response elements (PPREs), thereby regulating the transcription of target genes critical for lipid and glucose homeostasis. Key genes include fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36), diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT), carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT1), and glucose transporter (GLUT), which are primarily involved in fatty acid uptake, storage, oxidation, and glucose utilization processes. Advancing research on PPARα as a therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases has underscored its growing clinical significance. Currently, PPARα activators/agonists, such as fibrates (e.g., fenofibrate and bezafibrate) and thiazolidinediones, have been extensively studied in clinical trials for CVD prevention. Traditional PPARα agonists, including fenofibrate and bezafibrate, are widely used in clinical practice to treat hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. These fibrates enhance fatty acid metabolism in the liver and skeletal muscle by activating PPARα, and their cardioprotective effects have been validated in numerous clinical studies. Recent research highlights that fibrates improve insulin resistance, regulate lipid metabolism, correct energy metabolism imbalances, and inhibit the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, thereby ameliorating pathological remodeling of the cardiovascular system and reducing blood pressure. Given the substantial attention to PPARα-targeted interventions in both basic research and clinical applications, activating PPARα may serve as a key therapeutic strategy for managing cardiovascular conditions such as myocardial hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, ischemic cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. This review comprehensively examines the regulatory roles of PPARα in cardiovascular diseases and evaluates its clinical application value, aiming to provide a theoretical foundation for further development and utilization of PPARα-related therapies in CVD treatment.

italic>Salmonella has emerged as a promising tumor-targeting strategy in recent years due to its good tumor targeting ability and certain safety. In order to further optimize its therapeutic effect, scientists have tried to modify Salmonella, including its attenuation and drug loading. This paper summarizes the mechanism and research progress of Salmonella-mediated targeted tumor therapy, and introduces the strategies and related progress of its modification and optimization. At the same time, the advantages, current challenges and future development directions of Salmonella-mediated tumor therapy are summarized.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the global cancer-associated thromboembolism risk assessment tools based on evidence- based methods， and to provide methodological reference and evidence-based basis for constructing a specific tool in China. METHODS A comprehensive search was conducted on 6 databases， including CNKI， Wanfang data， VIP， CBM， PubMed， and Embase， as well as on the websites of NCCN， ASCO， ESMO and so on with a deadline of June 30， 2022. Furthermore， a supplementary search was conducted in January 2023. The essential characteristics and methodological quality of included risk assessment tools were described and analyzed qualitatively， focusing on comparing each assessment stratification ability. RESULTS Totally 14 risk assessment tools were included in the study， with a sample size of 208-18 956 cases and an average age distribution of 53.1-74.0 years. The applicable population included outpatient cancer student@sina.com patients， lymphoma patients， and multiple myeloma patients，etc. The common predictive factors were body mass index， venous thromboembolism history， and tumor site. All tools had undergone methodological validation， with 9 presented in a weighted scoring format. Only seven tools were used simultaneously for specificity， sensitivity， negative predictive value （NPV）， positive predictive value （PPV） and area under the curve （AUC） or C statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS The risk of bias in constructing existing tools is high， and the heterogeneity of tool validation results is significant. The overall methodological quality must be improved， and its risk stratification ability must also be investigated. There are still certain limitations in clinical practice in China.

Humans ; Nutrition Assessment ; Prognosis ; Silicosis/prevention & control* ; Occupational Diseases ; China/epidemiology* ; Occupational Exposure ; Silicon Dioxide

Medicinal plants are a valuable source of essential medicines and herbal products for healthcare and disease therapy. Compared with chemical synthesis and extraction, the biosynthesis of natural products is a very promising alternative for the successful conservation of medicinal plants, and its rapid development will greatly facilitate the conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. Here, we summarize the advances in strategies and methods concerning the biosynthesis and production of natural products of medicinal plants. The strategies and methods mainly include genetic engineering, plant cell culture engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology based on multiple "OMICS" technologies, with paradigms for the biosynthesis of terpenoids and alkaloids. We also highlight the biosynthetic approaches and discuss progress in the production of some valuable natural products, exemplifying compounds such as vindoline (alkaloid), artemisinin and paclitaxel (terpenoids), to illustrate the power of biotechnology in medicinal plants.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of membrane protein receptors, and Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) is a member of this family. As a membrane receptor, TGR5 is widely distributed in different parts of the human body and plays a vital role in regulating metabolism, including the processes of energy consumption, weight loss and blood glucose homeostasis. Recent studies have shown that TGR5 plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism disorders such as fatty liver, obesity and diabetes. With the global obesity situation becoming more and more serious, a comprehensive explanation of the mechanism of TGR5 and filling the gaps in knowledge concerning clinical ligand drugs are urgently needed. In this review, we mainly explain the anti-obesity mechanism of TGR5 to promote the further study of this target, and show the electron microscope structure of TGR5 and review recent studies on TGR5 ligands to illustrate the specific binding between TGR5 receptor binding sites and ligands, which can effectively provide new ideas for ligand research and promote drug research.

Conventional chemotherapy based on cytotoxic drugs is facing tough challenges recently following the advances of monoclonal antibodies and molecularly targeted drugs. It is critical to inspire new potential to remodel the value of this classical therapeutic strategy. Here, we fabricate bisphosphonate coordination lipid nanogranules (BC-LNPs) and load paclitaxel (PTX) to boost the chemo- and immuno-therapeutic synergism of cytotoxic drugs. Alendronate in BC-LNPs@PTX, a bisphosphonate to block mevalonate metabolism, works as both the structure and drug constituent in nanogranules, where alendronate coordinated with calcium ions to form the particle core. The synergy of alendronate enhances the efficacy of paclitaxel, suppresses tumor metastasis, and alters the cytotoxic mechanism. Differing from the paclitaxel-induced apoptosis, the involvement of alendronate inhibits the mevalonate metabolism, changes the mitochondrial morphology, disturbs the redox homeostasis, and causes the accumulation of mitochondrial ROS and lethal lipid peroxides (LPO). These factors finally trigger the ferroptosis of tumor cells, an immunogenic cell death mode, which remodels the suppressive tumor immune microenvironment and synergizes with immunotherapy. Therefore, by switching paclitaxel-induced apoptosis to mevalonate metabolism-triggered ferroptosis, BC-LNPs@PTX provides new insight into the development of cytotoxic drugs and highlights the potential of metabolism regulation in cancer therapy.