Background/Aims: Low educational attainment is a well-established risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in developed areas. However, the association between educational attainment and the risk of NAFLD is less clear in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study including over 200,000 Chinese adults across mainland China was conducted. Information on education level and lifestyle factors were obtained through standard questionnaires, while NAFLD and advanced fibrosis were diagnosed using validated formulas. Outcomes included the risk of NAFLD in the general population and high probability of fibrosis among patients with NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis was employed to estimate the risk of NAFLD and fibrosis across education levels. A causal mediation model was used to explore the potential mediators. Results: Comparing with those receiving primary school education, the multi-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD were 1.28 (1.16 to 1.41) for men and 0.94 (0.89 to 0.99) for women with college education after accounting for body mass index. When considering waist circumference, the odds ratios (95% CIs) were 0.94 (0.86 to 1.04) for men and 0.88 (0.80 to 0.97) for women, respectively. The proportions mediated by general and central obesity were 51.00% and 68.04% for men, while for women the proportions were 48.58% and 32.58%, respectively. Furthermore, NAFLD patients with lower educational attainment showed an incremental increased risk of advanced fibrosis in both genders. Conclusions In China, a low education level was associated with a higher risk of prevalent NAFLD in women, as well as high probability of fibrosis in both genders.

Breast cancer (BC) is most commonly diagnosed worldwide. Liquiritigenin is a flavonoid found in various species of the Glycyrrhiza genus, showing anti–tumor activity. This article was to explore the influences of liquiritigenin on the biological behaviors of BC cells and its underlying mechanism. BC cells were treated with liquiritigenin alone or transfected with oe-HSP90 before liquiritigenin treatment. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were employed to examine the levels of HSP90, Snail, E-cadherin, HSC70, and LAMP-2A. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated by performing MTT, colony formation, scratch, and Transwell assays, respectively. Liquiritigenin treatment reduced HSP90 and Snail levels and enhanced E-cadherin expression as well as inhibiting the proliferation, migration, and invasion of BC cells. Moreover, liquiritigenin treatment decreased the expression of HSC70 and LAMP-2A, proteins related to chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA). HSP90 overexpression promoted the CMA, invasion, and migration of BC cells under liquiritigenin treatment. Liquiritigenin inhibits HSP90-mediated CMA, thereby suppressing BC cell growth.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has stimulated tremendous efforts to develop therapeutic agents that target severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to control viral infection. So far, a few small-molecule antiviral drugs, including nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid), remdesivir, and molnupiravir have been marketed for the treatment of COVID-19. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir has been recommended by the World Health Organization as an early treatment for outpatients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. However, the existing treatment options have limitations, and effective treatment strategies that are cost-effective and convenient for tackling COVID-19 are still needed. To date, four domestically developed oral anti-COVID-19 drugs have been granted conditional market approval in China. These drugs include azvudine, simnotrelvir-ritonavir (Xiannuoxin), leritrelvir, and mindeudesivir (VV116). Preclinical and clinical studies have explored the efficacy and tolerability of mindeudesivir and supported its early use in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases at high risk for progression. In this review, we discuss the most recent findings regarding the pharmacological mechanism and therapeutic effects focusing on mindeudesivir and other small-molecule antiviral agents for COVID-19. These findings will expand our understanding and highlight the potential widespread application of China's homegrown anti-COVID-19 drugs.
Humans ; Ritonavir/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19 ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; China ; Nitriles ; Lactams ; Proline ; Adenosine/analogs & derivatives* ; Leucine

The acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults have a higher rate of neurological injury and early death compared with atlas or axial fractures alone. Currently, the diagnosis and treatment choices of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults are controversial because of the lack of standards for implementation. Non-operative treatments have a high incidence of bone nonunion and complications, while surgeries may easily lead to the injury of the vertebral artery, spinal cord and nerve root. At present, there are no evidence-based Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults. To provide orthopedic surgeons with the most up-to-date and effective information in treating acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults, the Spinal Trauma Group of Orthopedic Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts in the field of spinal trauma to develop the Evidence-based guideline for clinical diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults ( version 2023) by referring to the "Management of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults" published by American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) in 2013 and the relevant Chinese and English literatures. Ten recommendations were made concerning the radiological diagnosis, stability judgment, treatment rules, treatment options and complications based on medical evidence, aiming to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of acute combination fractures of the atlas and axis in adults.

The latest epidemiological data suggests that the situation of adult diabetes in China is severe, and metabolic diseases have become significant chronic illnesses that have a serious impact on public health and social development. After more than six years of practice, the National Metabolic Management Center(MMC) has developed distinctive approaches to manage metabolic patients and has achieved a series of positive outcomes, continuously advancing the standardized diagnosis and treatment model. In order to further improve the efficiency, based on the first edition, the second edition guideline was composed by incorporating experience of the past six years in conjunction with the latest international and domestic guidelines.

Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai is a well-known medicinal plant. However, the optimal harvest time for V. coloratum is unknown. Few studies were performed to analyze compound variation during storage and to improve post-harvest quality control. Our study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the quality of V. coloratum in different growth stages, and determine the dynamic variation of metabolites. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify 29 compounds in V. coloratum harvested in six growth periods, and the associated biosynthetic pathways were explored. The accumulation of different types of compounds were analyzed based on their synthesis pathways. Grey relational analysis was used to evaluate the quality of V. coloratum across different months. The compound variation during storage was analyzed by a high-temperature high-humidity accelerated test. The results showed that the quality of V. coloratum was the hightest in March, followed by November, and became the lowest in July. During storage, compounds in downstream steps of the biosynthesis pathway were first degraded to produce the upstream compounds and some low-molecular-weight organic acids, leading to an increase followed by a decrease in the content of some compounds, and resulted in a large gap during the degradation time course among different compounds. Due to the rapid rate and large degree of degradation, five compounds were tentatively designated as "early warning components" for quality control. This report provides reference for better understanding the biosynthesis and degradation of metabolites in V. coloratum and lays a theoretical foundation for rational application of V. coloratum and better quality control of V. coloratum during storage.
Viscum/chemistry* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Mass Spectrometry ; Metabolomics

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of Guanqiao Zhengqi holistic therapy in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis. Methods:A total of 200 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who received treatment in the Department of Otolaryngology, Shanxi Provincial Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine Hospital ( n = 72) and Shanxi Yishengtang Traditional Chinese Medicine Center ( n = 128) from January 2021 to January 2022 were included in this study. These patients were randomly assigned to undergo treatment either with mometasone furoate nasal spray and levocetirizine hydrochloride tablets (control group, n = 100) or Guanqiao Zhengqi holistic therapy combined with mometasone furoate nasal spray and levocetirizine hydrochloride tablets (observation group). All patients were treated for 4 weeks and followed up for 3 months. Clinical efficacy, modified Visual Analogue Scale score, Lund-Kennedy endoscopy scoring system score, and duration of glucocorticoid and anti-leukotriene use were compared between the two groups. Results:The total response rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [92.00% (92/100) vs. 73.00% (73/100), χ2 = 18.45, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the modified Visual Analogue Scale score between the two groups before treatment ( Z = 1.37, P = 0.170). There was a significant difference in the modified Visual Analogue Scale score between the two groups after treatment ( Z = -5.27, P < 0.001). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the Lund-Kennedy endoscopy scoring system score between the two groups ( Z = -1.65, P = 0.098) and the Lund-Kennedy endoscopy scoring system score differed significantly between the two groups after treatment ( Z = -6.03, P < 0.001). The duration of glucocorticoid and anti-leukotriene use in the observation group was significantly shorter than that in the control group [10.00 (10.00, 14.00) days vs. 42.00 (28.00, 70.00) days, 7.00 (7.00, 7.00) days vs. 21.00 (14.00, 26.25) days, Z = -11.27, P < 0.001, Z = -12.31, P < 0.001). Conclusion:Based on the conventional treatment with western medicine, Guanqiao Zhengqi holistic therapy for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis can effectively reduce clinical symptoms, reduce the dose of hormones and anti-leukotriene used, shorten the use cycle, and improve the therapeutic efficacy.

Background: and Purpose We investigated the causal relationships between the gut microbiota (GM), stroke, and potential metabolite mediators using Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods: We leveraged the summary statistics of GM (n=18,340 in the MiBioGen consortium), blood metabolites (n=115,078 in the UK Biobank), and stroke (cases n=60,176 and controls n=1,310,725 in the Global Biobank Meta-Analysis Initiative) from the largest genome-wide association studies to date. We performed bidirectional MR analyses to explore the causal relationships between the GM and stroke, and two mediation analyses, two-step MR and multivariable MR, to discover potential mediating metabolites. Results: Ten taxa were causally associated with stroke, and stroke led to changes in 27 taxa. In the two-step MR, Bifidobacteriales order, Bifidobacteriaceae family, Desulfovibrio genus, apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), phospholipids in high-density lipoprotein (HDL_PL), and the ratio of apolipoprotein B to ApoA1 (ApoB/ApoA1) were causally associated with stroke (all P<0.044). The causal associations between Bifidobacteriales order, Bifidobacteriaceae family and stroke were validated using the weighted median method in an independent cohort. The three GM taxa were all positively associated with ApoA1 and HDL_PL, whereas Desulfovibrio genus was negatively associated with ApoB/ApoA1 (all P<0.010). Additionally, the causal associations between the three GM taxa and ApoA1 remained significant after correcting for the false discovery rate (all q-values <0.027). Multivariable MR showed that the associations between Bifidobacteriales order, Bifidobacteriaceae family and stroke were mediated by ApoA1 and HDL_PL, each accounting for 6.5% (P=0.028) and 4.6% (P=0.033); the association between Desulfovibrio genus and stroke was mediated by ApoA1, HDL_PL, and ApoB/ApoA1, with mediated proportions of 7.6% (P=0.019), 4.2% (P=0.035), and 9.1% (P=0.013), respectively. Conclusion The current MR study provides evidence supporting the causal relationships between several specific GM taxa and stroke and potential mediating metabolites.

Objective:To evaluate the application effect of medical visual resources assisted nursing rounds in pediatric clinical nursing teaching.Methods:A total of 63 nursing students who entered the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University for internship in 2019 and 2020 were selected as research objects from May 2021 to May 2022 by the convenient sampling method. 33 nursing students who participated in the internship in 2019 were set as the control group, while 30 nursing students who participated in the internship in 2020 were set as the intervention group. The control group adopted traditional nursing rounds to organize teaching while the intervention group used medical visual resources to organize theoretical learning and nursing rounds. Before leaving the department, the case analysis ability, critical thinking ability and teaching effectiveness of nursing students were compared between two groups.Results:The score of case analysis ability of nursing students in the intervention group was (83.06±7.58), which was higher than (74.85±9.29) of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=3.750, P<0.001). At the time of enrollment, there was no statistically significant difference in the total score and scores of each dimension of critical thinking ability of nursing students between the two groups ( P>0.05). Before leaving the department, scores of analysis ability, systematic thinking ability and the total scores of nursing students in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Except for the dimension of teaching burden, the score of each dimension and the total score of teaching effectiveness for nursing students in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Medical visual resources assisted nursing rounds can help nursing students deeply understand and master clinical knowledge, cultivate their critical thinking ability and improve the effectiveness of clinical teaching.