1.The Use of Speech in Screening for Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
Si-Wen WANG ; Xiao-Xiao YIN ; Lin-Lin GAO ; Wen-Jun GUI ; Qiao-Xia HU ; Qiong LOU ; Qin-Wen WANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(2):456-463
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that severely affects the health of the elderly, marked by its incurability, high prevalence, and extended latency period. The current approach to AD prevention and treatment emphasizes early detection and intervention, particularly during the pre-AD stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which provides an optimal “window of opportunity” for intervention. Clinical detection methods for MCI, such as cerebrospinal fluid monitoring, genetic testing, and imaging diagnostics, are invasive and costly, limiting their broad clinical application. Speech, as a vital cognitive output, offers a new perspective and tool for computer-assisted analysis and screening of cognitive decline. This is because elderly individuals with cognitive decline exhibit distinct characteristics in semantic and audio information, such as reduced lexical richness, decreased speech coherence and conciseness, and declines in speech rate, voice rhythm, and hesitation rates. The objective presence of these semantic and audio characteristics lays the groundwork for computer-based screening of cognitive decline. Speech information is primarily sourced from databases or collected through tasks involving spontaneous speech, semantic fluency, and reading, followed by analysis using computer models. Spontaneous language tasks include dialogues/interviews, event descriptions, narrative recall, and picture descriptions. Semantic fluency tasks assess controlled retrieval of vocabulary items, requiring participants to extract information at the word level during lexical search. Reading tasks involve participants reading a passage aloud. Summarizing past research, the speech characteristics of the elderly can be divided into two major categories: semantic information and audio information. Semantic information focuses on the meaning of speech across different tasks, highlighting differences in vocabulary and text content in cognitive impairment. Overall, discourse pragmatic disorders in AD can be studied along three dimensions: cohesion, coherence, and conciseness. Cohesion mainly examines the use of vocabulary by participants, with a reduction in the use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives in AD patients. Coherence assesses the ability of participants to maintain topics, with a decrease in the number of subordinate clauses in AD patients. Conciseness evaluates the information density of participants, with AD patients producing shorter texts with less information compared to normal elderly individuals. Audio information focuses on acoustic features that are difficult for the human ear to detect. There is a significant degradation in temporal parameters in the later stages of cognitive impairment; AD patients require more time to read the same paragraph, have longer vocalization times, and produce more pauses or silent parts in their spontaneous speech signals compared to normal individuals. Researchers have extracted audio and speech features, developing independent systems for each set of features, achieving an accuracy rate of 82% for both, which increases to 86% when both types of features are combined, demonstrating the advantage of integrating audio and speech information. Currently, deep learning and machine learning are the main methods used for information analysis. The overall diagnostic accuracy rate for AD exceeds 80%, and the diagnostic accuracy rate for MCI also exceeds 80%, indicating significant potential. Deep learning techniques require substantial data support, necessitating future expansion of database scale and continuous algorithm upgrades to transition from laboratory research to practical product implementation.
2.Role of SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complex in Tumor Drug Resistance
Gui-Zhen ZHU ; Qiao YE ; Yuan LUO ; Jie PENG ; Lu WANG ; Zhao-Ting YANG ; Feng-Sen DUAN ; Bing-Qian GUO ; Zhu-Song MEI ; Guang-Yun WANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):20-31
Tumor drug resistance is an important problem in the failure of chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy, which is a complex process involving chromatin remodeling. SWI/SNF is one of the most studied ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes in tumorigenesis, which plays an important role in the coordination of chromatin structural stability, gene expression, and post-translation modification. However, its mechanism in tumor drug resistance has not been systematically combed. SWI/SNF can be divided into 3 types according to its subunit composition: BAF, PBAF, and ncBAF. These 3 subtypes all contain two mutually exclusive ATPase catalytic subunits (SMARCA2 or SMARCA4), core subunits (SMARCC1 and SMARCD1), and regulatory subunits (ARID1A, PBRM1, and ACTB, etc.), which can control gene expression by regulating chromatin structure. The change of SWI/SNF complex subunits is one of the important factors of tumor drug resistance and progress. SMARCA4 and ARID1A are the most widely studied subunits in tumor drug resistance. Low expression of SMARCA4 can lead to the deletion of the transcription inhibitor of the BCL2L1 gene in mantle cell lymphoma, which will result in transcription up-regulation and significant resistance to the combination therapy of ibrutinib and venetoclax. Low expression of SMARCA4 and high expression of SMARCA2 can activate the FGFR1-pERK1/2 signaling pathway in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma cells, which induces the overexpression of anti-apoptosis gene BCL2 and results in carboplatin resistance. SMARCA4 deletion can up-regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by activating YAP1 gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer. It can also reduce the expression of Ca2+ channel IP3R3 in ovarian and lung cancer, resulting in the transfer of Ca2+ needed to induce apoptosis from endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria damage. Thus, these two tumors are resistant to cisplatin. It has been found that verteporfin can overcome the drug resistance induced by SMARCA4 deletion. However, this inhibitor has not been applied in clinical practice. Therefore, it is a promising research direction to develop SWI/SNF ATPase targeted drugs with high oral bioavailability to treat patients with tumor resistance induced by low expression or deletion of SMARCA4. ARID1A deletion can activate the expression of ANXA1 protein in HER2+ breast cancer cells or down-regulate the expression of progesterone receptor B protein in endometrial cancer cells. The drug resistance of these two tumor cells to trastuzumab or progesterone is induced by activating AKT pathway. ARID1A deletion in ovarian cancer can increase the expression of MRP2 protein and make it resistant to carboplatin and paclitaxel. ARID1A deletion also can up-regulate the phosphorylation levels of EGFR, ErbB2, and RAF1 oncogene proteins.The ErbB and VEGF pathway are activated and EMT is increased. As a result, lung adenocarcinoma is resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Although great progress has been made in the research on the mechanism of SWI/SNF complex inducing tumor drug resistance, most of the research is still at the protein level. It is necessary to comprehensively and deeply explore the detailed mechanism of drug resistance from gene, transcription, protein, and metabolite levels by using multi-omics techniques, which can provide sufficient theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of poor tumor prognosis caused by mutation or abnormal expression of SWI/SNF subunits in clinical practice.
3.Clinical observation of Kuntai capsule combined with Estradiol tablets/Estradiol dydrogesterone tablets in the treatment of diminished ovarian reserve
Xiuping WANG ; Xianwei QIAO ; Bing XU
China Pharmacy 2025;36(5):589-593
OBJECTIVE To observe the clinical efficacy, safety and recurrence of Kuntai capsules combined with Estradiol tablets/Estradiol dydrogesterone tablets in the treatment of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) as well as their effects on ovarian reserve function, sex hormones, and lymphocyte subsets. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 165 DOR patients in Nanyang First People’s Hospital. Among them, 80 patients who received Estradiol tablets/Estradiol dydrogesterone tablets (take one tablet per day according to the medication sequence on the instruction) were included in the control group, while 85 patients who additionally took Kuntai capsules (2.0 g per dose, three times daily) were included in the observation group. The treatment duration for both groups was three months. Clinical efficacy, the incidence of adverse drug reaction (ADR), recurrence rate, and changes in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, ovarian reserve function indicators [anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B (INHB), antral follicle count (AFC), endometrial thickness, and ovarian volume], sex hormones [follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol (E2)], and T lymphocyte subsets (CD3 +, CD4 +, CD8 +, and CD4 +/CD8 +) were compared before and after treatment. RESULTS The cure and significant improvement rate in the observation group was significantly higher than in the control group (82.35% vs. 65.00%, P<0.05). Compared to baseline levels, both groups showed significant reductions in TCM syndrome scores, FSH, LH, CD3+ and CD8+ levels after treatment, while AMH, INHB, E2, CD4 +, CD4 +/CD8 +, AFC, endometrial thickness, and ovarian volume significantly increased (P<0.05). The degree of improvement in these indicators was significantly greater in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the total incidence of ADR between the two groups(P> 0.05). However, the recurrence rate within six months post-treatment was significantly lower in the observation group compared to the control group (5.88% vs. 21.25%, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Kuntai capsules combined with Estradiol tablets/ Estradiol dydrogesterone tablets have a significant therapeutic effect on DOR, which can improve ovarian reserve function of the patient, regulate sex hormone levels and T lymphocyte subsets, and reduce recurrence rates, with a high safety profile.
4.Early visual quality and stereopsis after implantation of trifocal intraocular lenses
Kaifang WANG ; Kejiao ZHAO ; Chuanjing GAO ; Mingchao QIAO ; Juanjuan ZHENG ; Songsong QIAO ; Xiaoming WANG
International Eye Science 2025;25(4):656-660
AIM:To investigate the visual quality and stereopsis after the implantation of PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens(TFNT00).METHODS: A prospective clinical study was conducted. A total of 36 cataract patients(50 eyes)who underwent phacoemulsification combined with TFNT00 implantation in Jinan Mingshui Eye Hospital from November 2022 to April 2024 were selected. They were followed up until 3 mo after the operation. The uncorrected distance visual acuity(UCDVA), uncorrected intermediate visual acuity(UCIVA), uncorrected near visual acuity(UCNVA), objective scatter index(OSI), modulation transfer function cut off(MTF-cut-off), Strehl ratio(SR)and 100%, 20%, 9% contrast visual acuity(CVA)were observed. The binoptometer was used to collect the patients' far and near stereopsis acuities. The defocus curve was drawn after the operation; the Chinese version of the VF-14 Visual Function Index Scale was used to evaluate the visual quality and satisfaction after the operation.RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in the UCDVA, UCIVA and UCNVA of the patients at different time after the operation(all P<0.05). The transition of the defocus curve was gentle between +0.5--3.0 D after the operation. The OSI value at 3 mo postoperatively after the operation was significantly lower than that before the operation(P<0.01), and the MTF-cut-off, SR, 100% CVA, 20% CVA and 9% CVA were significantly improved than those before operation(all P<0.01). The far and near stereopsis acuities of 34 patients were abnormal before the operation. The far stereopsis acuities of the patients who underwent bilateral eye surgeries were all normal after the operation, and the near stereopsis acuity of 12 patients was normal. Among the patients who underwent unilateral eye surgeries, the far stereopsis acuities of 13 patients were normal, and the near stereopsis acuities of 11 patients were normal. The far and near stereopsis acuities of the patients who underwent bilateral eye surgeries were significantly better than those patients who underwent unilateral eye surgeries.CONCLUSION: The PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens can provide patients with good full-range visual acuity. The stereopsis of the patients with bilateral implants is better than that of the patients with unilateral implants. The overall visual quality and satisfaction of the patients after the operation are relatively high.
5.An alkyne and two phenylpropanoid derivants from Carthamus tinctorius L.
Lin-qing QIAO ; Ge-ge XIA ; Ying-jie LI ; Wen-xuan ZHAO ; Yan-zhi WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2025;60(1):185-190
The chemical constituents from the
6.Changes in the body shape and ergonomic compatibility for functional dimensions of desks and chairs for students in Harbin during 2010-2024
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(3):315-320
Objective:
To analyze the change trends in the body shape indicators and proportions of students in Harbin from 2010 to 2024, and to investigate ergonomic compatibility of functional dimensions of school desks and chairs with current student shape indicators, so as to provide a reference for revising furniture standards of desks and chairs.
Methods:
Between September and November of both 2010 and 2024, a combination of convenience sampling and stratified cluster random sampling was conducted across three districts in Harbin, yielding samples of 6 590 and 6 252 students, respectively. Anthropometric shape indicators cluding height, sitting height, crus length, and thigh length-and their proportional changes were compared over the 15-year period. The 2024 data were compared with current standard functional dimensions of school furniture. The statistical analysis incorporated t-test and Mann-Whitney U- test.
Results:
From 2010 to 2024, average height increased by 1.8 cm for boys and 1.5 cm for girls; sitting height increased by 1.5 cm for both genders; crus length increased by 0.3 cm for boys and 0.4 cm for girls; and thigh length increased by 0.5 cm for both genders. The ratios of sitting height to height, and sitting height to leg length increased by less than 0.1 . The difference between desk chair height and 1/3 sitting height ranged from 0.4-0.8 cm. Among students matched with size 0 desks and chairs, 22.0% had a desk to chair height difference less than 0, indicating that the desk to chair height difference might be insufficient for taller students. The differences between seat height and fibular height ranged from -1.4 to 1.1 cm; and the differences between seat depth and buttock popliteal length ranged from -9.8 to 3.4 cm. Among obese students, the differences between seat width and 1/2 hip circumference ranged from -20.5 to -8.7 cm, while it ranged from -12.2 to -3.8 cm among non obese students.
Conclusion
Current furniture standards basically satisfy hygienic requirements; however, in the case of exceptionally tall and obese students, ergonomic accommodations such as adaptive seating allocation or personalized adjustments are recommended to meet hygienic requirements.
7.Construction of evaluation index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(3):438-442
Objective:
To construct a scientific and perfect evaluation index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities, so as to provide reference tools for colleges and universities to effectively respond to infectious disease.
Methods:
The initial framework of the evaluation index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities was constructed by using literature analysis method. Experts familiar with infectious disease prevention and control or school health work were selected to conduct two rounds( n =16,18) of Delphi expert consultation for determining the evaluation index system. Analytical hierarchy process was used to calculate the index weights and combined weights. About 198 prevention and control personnel were conveniently selected from 3 universities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to comprehensively evaluate the evaluation indicators by using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method.
Results:
After two rounds of Delphi consultation questionnaire, the effective recovery rates were 80.0% and 90.0%, the expert authority levels were 0.89 and 0.86, the expert harmony coefficients for Kendall W were 0.166 and 0.310, and the variation coefficient of each index was <0.25. Finally, the evaluation index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability of colleges and universities included 4 first level indicators, 14 second level indicators and 75 third level indicators. The weights of prevention and monitoring and early warning, organizational system guarantee, emergency management, rehabilitation and summary were 0.176, 0.476, 0.268 and 0.080, respectively. The top 3 weights of the secondary indexes were 0.623 for infectious disease surveillance and early warning, 0.595 for loss assessment and 0.370 for emergency response. The score of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities was 79.148, suggesting a high level.
Conclusion
The established evaluation index system of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities is scientific and reasonable, which is conducive to provide tool reference for the evaluation of infectious disease prevention and control ability in colleges and universities.
8.Environmental contamination status of norovirus outbreaks in schools and nurseries in Linhai City
ZHENG Jianjun, WANG Xi,HONG Danyang, LI Yaling, XU Qiumeng, ZHANG Huili, HAN Qian, LU Da, ZHENG Qiao
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(4):601-603
Objective:
To investigate the environmental contamination of norovirus in nurseries and primary/secondary schools, so as to provide a scientific basis for effective prevention and control measures.
Methods:
A total of 483 external environmental samples were collected from 34 cluster outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis in kindergartens and primary/secondary schools in Linhai City from 2021 to 2024. Pathogen detection was conducted using a rapid nucleic acid extraction kit and realtime fluorescence RT-PCR, and the results were analyzed using the χ2 test or Fishers exact test.
Results:
Among the collected external environmental samples, the total positive rate of surface contamination was 13.66%. The positive rates in kindergartens and primary/secondary schools were 12.20% and 15.82%, respectively. In kindergartens, the five surfaces with the highest detection rates were desks/chairs (23.33%), toilet stool troughs (20.69%), urinal troughs (12.00%), washbasins/sinks (11.11%), and toilet mops (9.38%). In primary/secondary schools, the top five were toilet stool troughs (38.30%), urinal troughs (23.53%), toilet door handles (13.04%), toilet mops (12.50%), and drinking cups (11.11%). The difference in positive detection rates among different external environments in primary/secondary schools was statistically significant (Fishers exact probability test, P<0.01). The positive detection rate in sanitary toilets was higher than that in classroom environments (χ2=17.38), while the positive detection rate in classroom environments of kindergartens was higher than that in primary/secondary schools (χ2=5.42)(P<0.05).
Conclusions
Norovirus exhibits a high contamination rate in nurseries and schools, particularly in restroom areas. Strengthening sanitation and disinfection in highrisk environments, and improving hygiene awareness among children and staff, are essential for the effective prevent and control of norovirus.
9.Endovascular Treatment for Acute Posterior Circulation Tandem Lesions: Insights From the BASILAR and PERSIST Registries
Wei LI ; Mohamed F. DOHEIM ; Zhongming QIU ; Tan WANG ; Zhibin CHEN ; Wenjie ZI ; Qingwu YANG ; Haitao GUAN ; Hongyu QIAO ; Wenhua LIU ; Wei HU ; Xinfeng LIU ; Jinbo HUANG ; Zhongkui HAN ; Zhonglun CHEN ; Zhenqiang ZHAO ; Wen SUN ; Raul G. NOGUEIRA
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(1):75-84
Background:
and Purpose Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute posterior circulation tandem lesion (PCTL). This study aimed to explore the role of extracranial vertebral artery (VA) stenting in patients with PCTL stroke undergoing EVT.
Methods:
Individual patient data were pooled from the BASILAR (EVT for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion Study) and PERSIST (Posterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke) registries. Patients with PCTLs who underwent EVT were included in the present cohort and divided into the stenting and nonstenting groups based on the placement of extracranial VA stents. The primary efficacy outcome was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores at 90 days and 1 year. Safety outcomes included 24-hour symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and all-cause mortality at 90 days and 1 year post-surgery.
Results:
A combined dataset of 1,320 patients with posterior circulation artery occlusion, including 263 (19.9%) with tandem lesions, of whom 217 (median age, 65 years; 82.9% male) met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. The stenting group had 84 (38.7%) patients, while the non-stenting group had 133 (61.3%). After adjustment for the potential confounders, extracranial VA stenting was associated with favorable shifts in mRS scores at both 90 days (adjusted common odds ratio [OR], 2.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–4.28; P<0.01) and 1 year (adjusted OR [aOR], 2.04; 95% CI [1.05–3.97]; P=0.04), along with lower rate of mortality at both 90 days (aOR, 0.45; 95% CI [0.21–0.93]; P=0.01) and 1 year (aOR, 0.36; 95% CI [0.16–0.79]; P=0.01), with no significant difference in sICH incidence (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI [0.06–1.98]; P=0.24).
Conclusion
Extracranial VA stenting during EVT may improve functional outcomes and reduce mortality in patients with PCTL strokes.
10.Shionone Inhibits Glomerular Fibirosis by Suppressing NLRP3 Related Inflammasome though SESN2-NRF2/ HO-1 Pathway
Tian XIAO ; Hanzhen ZHAO ; Yucong WANG ; Mengyin CHEN ; Cong WANG ; Chen QIAO
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2025;49(1):34-48
Background:
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common and serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Shionone (SH), an important triterpenoid compound in the root extract of Aster, might exert a protective effect in DN mice and high glucose cultivated glomerular podocytes. The current study aimed to unravel the underlying mechanism by which SH mitigates DN. We postulate that SH stimulates the expression of sestrin-2 (SESN2), a pivotal stress-inducible protein in the anti-inflammasome machinery.
Methods:
We utilized high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (55 mg/kg intraperitoneal) for DN mice model, and high glucose (30 mM, 48 hours) cultured glomerular podocytes for DN cell model to evaluate the effect of SH. We also preformed experimentation on SESN2 deficiency models (SESN2 knockout mice and SESN2 siRNA in cells) to further prove our hypothesis.
Results:
The results demonstrated that SH effectively suppressed glomerular fibrosis, induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, and inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) activation. Furthermore, our findings revealed that SH exerted its anti-inflammatory effect through Sesn2-dependent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and subsequent activation of its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1).
Conclusion
In summary, our findings suggest that SH serves as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN-related glomerular fibrosis. SH enhances the expression of SESN2, attenuates α-smooth muscle actin accumulation, and suppresses NLRP3-related inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.


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