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.

Objective: To improve the positivity rate and accuracy of MYD88 mutation detection in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) . Methods: MYD88 mutation status was retrospectively evaluated in 66 patients diagnosed with WM in Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from June 2017 to June 2021. The positivity rate and accuracy of the different methods and specimens for MYD88 mutation detection were analyzed. Results: MYD88 mutations were detected in 51 of 66 patients with WM, with an overall positivity rate of 77%. The positivity rate of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) or allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) was significantly higher than that of the first-generation Sanger sequencing (84% vs 71% vs 46%, P<0.05) . For the different specimens, the positivity rate for the lymph nodes or bone marrow was significantly higher than that of peripheral blood (79% vs 84% vs 52%, P<0.05) . The positivity rate of the MYD88 mutation in the lymph nodes, bone marrow, and peripheral blood determined by NGS was 86%, 90%, and 67%, respectively. The positivity rate in the lymph nodes, bone marrow, and peripheral blood detected by AS-PCR was 78%, 81%, and 53%, respectively. Thirty-nine patients with WM underwent ≥ 2 MYD88 mutation detections. The final MYD88 mutational status for each patient was used as the standard to determine the accuracy of the different methods and in different specimens. The accuracy of MYD88 mutation detection in the lymph nodes (n=18) and bone marrow (n=13) by NGS was significantly higher than that in the peripheral blood (n=4) (100% vs 100% vs 75%, P<0.05) . There was no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of MYD88 mutation detection by AS-PCR in the lymph nodes (n=15) , bone marrow (n=11) , or peripheral blood (n=16) (93% vs 91% vs 88%, P>0.05) . Conclusions: In the detection of the MYD88 mutation in patients diagnosed with WM, NGS or AS-PCR is more sensitive than Sanger sequencing. Lymph nodes and bone marrow specimens are better than peripheral blood specimens.
China ; Humans ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Mutation ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/metabolism* ; Retrospective Studies ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia/genetics*

Taking the Chinese city of Xiamen as an example, simulation and quantitative analysis were performed on the transmissions of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the influence of intervention combinations to assist policymakers in the preparation of targeted response measures. A machine learning model was built to estimate the effectiveness of interventions and simulate transmission in different scenarios. The comparison was conducted between simulated and real cases in Xiamen. A web interface with adjustable parameters, including choice of intervention measures, intervention weights, vaccination, and viral variants, was designed for users to run the simulation. The total case number was set as the outcome. The cumulative number was 4,614,641 without restrictions and 78 under the strictest intervention set. Simulation with the parameters closest to the real situation of the Xiamen outbreak was performed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the model. The simulation model generated a duration of 52 days before the daily cases dropped to zero and the final cumulative case number of 200, which were 25 more days and 36 fewer cases than the real situation, respectively. Targeted interventions could benefit the prevention and control of COVID-19 outbreak while safeguarding public health and mitigating impacts on people's livelihood.
COVID-19/prevention & control* ; China/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Machine Learning ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Policy ; Reproducibility of Results ; SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become one major threat to human population health. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) presents an ideal target of antivirals, whereas nucleoside analogs inhibitor is hindered by the proofreading activity of coronavirus. Herein, we report that corilagin (RAI-S-37) as a non-nucleoside inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp, binds directly to RdRp, effectively inhibits the polymerase activity in both cell-free and cell-based assays, fully resists the proofreading activity and potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection with a low 50% effective concentration (EC

Objective To establish simple screening models for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the adult Blang population. Methods Based on the survey data of metabolic diseases in the Blang people aged 18 years or above in 2017, 2993 respondents were stratified by sex and age (at an interval of 5 years) and then randomly divided into modeling group with 1497 respondents and validation group with 1496 respondents. Related information was collected, including demographic data, smoking, drinking, family history of diseases and personal medical history, body height, body weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure, and related markers were measured, including fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose or blood glucose at 2 hours after glucose loading, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to establish the screening model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were used to evaluate the screening performance of established models versus existing models in the study population, and the DeLong method was used for comparison of AUC. Results Three screening models for NAFLD were established based on physical and biochemical measurements, i.e., simple noninvasive model 1 (age, body mass index, and waist circumference), noninvasive model 2 with the addition of blood pressure, and model 3 with the combination of hematological parameters (diabetes and ALT/AST). In the modeling group, the three models had an AUC of 0.881 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.864-0.897), 0.892 (95% CI : 0.875-0.907), and 0.894 (95% CI : 0.877-0.909), respectively, and there was a significant difference between model 1 and models 2/3 ( P =0.004 0 and P < 0.001); in the validation group, the three models had an AUC of 0.891 (95% CI : 0.874-0.906), 0.892 (95% CI : 0.875-0.907), and 0.893 (95% CI : 0.876-0.908), respectively, and there was no significant difference between the three groups ( P > 0.05). Based on the overall consideration of screening performance, invasiveness, and cost, the simple noninvasive model 1 was considered the optimal screening model for NAFLD in this population. Model 1 had the highest Youden index at the cut-off value of 5 points, and when the score of ≥5 points was selected as the criteria for NAFLD, the model had a sensitivity of 86.5%, a specificity of 79.7%, a positive predictive value of 50.3%, and a negative predictive value of 96.1% in the modeling group and a sensitivity of 85.6%, a specificity of 80.6%, a positive predictive value of 51.7%, and a negative predictive value of 95.8% in the validation group. Conclusion The NAFLD screening models established for the adult Blang population based on age and obesity indicators have relatively higher sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value, and this tool is of important practical significance for the intervention of NAFLD and its closely related metabolic diseases in this population.

The present study was conducted to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo on university students. Forty healthy Chinese participants enrolled in this study to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo. The effects of visual stimulation using a pot both with and without a bamboo were recorded by measuring the student's blood pressure, EEG and STAI. We observed that viewing bamboo plants resulted in significantly lower systolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) and diastolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) blood pressures, but no changes in the pulse rate (female, P = 0.09; male, P = 0.07; P > 0.05) were observed. The results of the EEG analysis indicated brainwave variation (all P < 0.05) and lower anxiety scores (P < 0.01) after 3 min of viewing bamboo compared with the control. These findings indicate that visual stimulation with bamboo plants induced psychophysiological relaxation effects on adults.
Adult ; Bambusa ; Blood Pressure ; physiology ; Female ; Heart Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Relaxation

Objective To summarize and review the comparative results of the isotope dilution mass spectrometry in Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network (CRMLN)project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)of the United States in order to provide quality controls for determination of blood lipid.Methods The isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC/MS/MS)methods for determination of serum total cholesterol (TC)and triglycerides (TG)were developed to participate in the comparison of CRMLN.The survey was conducted every three months before 2016 and every half year from 2016.Four kinds of reference materials with two parallel tubes for each material and each tube in duplicate were determined in every survey.At least two certified reference materials used as quality control samples were analyzed simultaneously in each determination.Results In the 15 comparisons the CV of the TC determination method in our laboratory was 0.43％ while the CV of all the participated laboratories in CRMLN was 0.42％.The bias from the overall mean value in our laboratory was 0.22％ while the bias from the CDC target values was 0.58％.The CV of the TG determination method in 15 tests of our laboratory was 0.62％ and the bias was-0.98％ from the overall mean value and-0.80％ from the target values of CDC.Among the 60 results for comparison,98％ (59/60)of CV in the TC determination met with CDC requirement for precision (CV≤ 1％),and 70％ of bias (42/60) of the results met with CDC requirement for accuracy (bias ≤ 1％).For the 60 results in comparison of TG determination,92％ (55/60)of bias of the results met with the accuracy requirement of CDC (bias ≤2.55％).Conclusion In CRMLN comparison the results of TC and TG determined by ID-LC/MS/MS method were consistent with the values which were certified by CDC and determined by other network laboratories.The comparative surveys may play an important role in the standardization of lipid determination,and should be expected to provide experiences and technical supports in the comparative plan for reference measurement in our country.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect and safety of long-acting pegylated interferon-α-2b (Peg-IFN-α-2b) (Y shape, 40 kD) injection (180 μg/week) in the treatment of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, with standard-dose Peg-IFN-α-2a as positive control. Methods: This study was a multicenter, randomized, open-label, and positive-controlled phase III clinical trial. Eligible HBeAg-positive CHB patients were screened out and randomized to Peg-IFN-α-2b (Y shape, 40 kD) trial group and Peg-IFN-α-2a control group at a ratio of 2:1. The course of treatment was 48 weeks and the patients were followed up for 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Plasma samples were collected at screening, baseline, and 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 weeks for centralized detection. COBAS® Ampliprep/COBAS® TaqMan® HBV Test was used to measure HBV DNA level by quantitative real-time PCR. Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay with Elecsys kit was used to measure HBV markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe). Adverse events were recorded in detail. The primary outcome measure was HBeAg seroconversion rate after the 24-week follow-up, and non-inferiority was also tested. The difference in HBeAg seroconversion rate after treatment between the trial group and the control group and two-sided confidence interval (CI) were calculated, and non-inferiority was demonstrated if the lower limit of 95% CI was > -10%. The t-test, chi-square test, or rank sum test was used according to the types and features of data. Results: A total of 855 HBeAg-positive CHB patients were enrolled and 820 of them received treatment (538 in the trial group and 282 in the control group). The data of the full analysis set showed that HBeAg seroconversion rate at week 72 was 27.32% in the trial group and 22.70% in the control group with a rate difference of 4.63% (95% CI -1.54% to 10.80%, P = 0.1493). The data of the per-protocol set showed that HBeAg seroconversion rate at week 72 was 30.75% in the trial group and 27.14% in the control group with a rate difference of 3.61% (95% CI -3.87% to 11.09%, P = 0.3436). 95% CI met the non-inferiority criteria, and the trial group was non-inferior to the control group. The two groups had similar incidence rates of adverse events, serious adverse events, and common adverse events. Conclusion In Peg-IFN-α regimen for HBeAg-positive CHB patients, the new drug Peg-IFN-α-2b (Y shape, 40 kD) has comparable effect and safety to the control drug Peg-IFN-α-2a.

Objective To investigate the anti-tumor activities of cell-penetrating peptide ( CPP) - mediated trichosanthin ( TCS) , which is a recombinant protein obtained from Radix Trichosanthis. Methods Cysteine residue was introduced to the C-terminus of TCS by protein recombinant technique, and then with the newly-formed terminal as the modification site, TCS was coupled with CPP. As a target protein, CPP-mediated TCS was isolated and purified by affinity chromatography. The expression of the target protein and its responsiveness to reducing substances were detected by using the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The cellular uptake rate of CPP-mediated TCS was determined by using cell uptake test, and its anti-tumor activity was measured by using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Results The TCS-CPP compound had been successfully developed in this study, and showed certain reducing responsiveness. After modified with CPP, TCS had higher cellular uptake rate and stronger anti-tumor effect on HeLa and MCF-7 cells. Conclusion TCS modified by CPP can enhance the anti-tumor activities of TCS.