The nonlinear relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate and cardiovascular disease in US adults: a cross-sectional study from NHANES 2007-2018.

Background And Aim: Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a key indicator of kidney function and is associated with numerous health conditions. This study examines the association between eGFR and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in a representative cohort of the US adult population.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018.

Influence of dietary patterns and physical activity on bone mineral content and density, osteoporosis among children with stimulant use.

Aim: To examine the relationship between dietary patterns (DPs) and physical activity (PA) on bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), and osteoporosis in children with stimulant use.

Methods: A cross-sectional study collected information on participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) multistage stratified sampling. The baseline variables included the following: age, gender, the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) score, the Mediterranean diet (MD) score, and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010).

Identifying Rare Genetic Variants of Immune Mediators as Risk Factors for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects more than 1% of children, and there is no viable pharmacotherapeutic agent to treat the core symptoms of ASD. Studies have shown that children with ASD show changes in their levels of immune response molecules. Our previous studies have shown that ASD is more common in children with folate receptor autoantibodies.

Oxymatrine attenuates oxidized low‑density lipoprotein‑induced HUVEC injury by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome‑mediated pyroptosis via the activation of the SIRT1/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Oxymatrine, a quinolizidine alkaloid isolated from the traditional Chinese herb Aiton, has been demonstrated to exert anti‑inflammatory and atherosclerotic effects, but the molecular mechanism has yet to be elucidated. Accumulating evidence indicates an important role of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome‑mediated pyroptosis in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether oxymatrine attenuates oxidized low‑density lipoprotein (ox‑LDL)‑induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) injury, an cell model of atherosclerosis, by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome‑mediated pyroptosis, and elucidate the role of the sirtuin (SIRT)1/nuclear factor‑erythroid 2‑related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in this process.

Neuroprotective gain of Apelin/APJ system.

Apelin is an endogenous ligand of G protein-coupled receptor APJ. In recent years, many studies have shown that the apelin/APJ system has neuroprotective properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis, and regulating autophagy, blocking excitatory toxicity. Apelin/APJ system has been proven to play a role in various neurological diseases and may be a promising therapeutic target for nervous system diseases.

Virulence factor-related gut microbiota genes and immunoglobulin A levels as novel markers for machine learning-based classification of autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition for which early identification and intervention is crucial for optimum prognosis. Our previous work showed gut Immunoglobulin A (IgA) to be significantly elevated in the gut lumen of children with ASD compared to typically developing (TD) children. Gut microbiota variations have been reported in ASD, yet not much is known about virulence factor-related gut microbiota (VFGM) genes.

DeepBindPoc: a deep learning method to rank ligand binding pockets using molecular vector representation.

Accurate identification of ligand-binding pockets in a protein is important for structure-based drug design. In recent years, several deep learning models were developed to learn important physical-chemical and spatial information to predict ligand-binding pockets in a protein. However, ranking the native ligand binding pockets from a pool of predicted pockets is still a hard task for computational molecular biologists using a single web-based tool.

Alterations in Gut Glutamate Metabolism Associated with Changes in Gut Microbiota Composition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Changes in the gut microenvironment may influence the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here, we investigated the composition of the gut microbiota and metabolites in children with ASD. Ninety-two children with ASD and 42 age-matched children exhibiting typical development (TD) were enrolled in the two-stage study.

Mass spectrometry identification of potential biomarker proteins in the 150-kD electrophoretic band in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Diagnosing schizophrenia is primarily based on the presentation of defined signs and symptoms, none of which is pathognomonic for this group of syndromes. However, few significant genome-wide associations between schizophrenia and individual have detected. Protein profiling of candidate serum biomarkers in schizophrenia is therefore an area of great interest.

Aberrant white matter properties of the callosal tracts implicated in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Aberrant microstructure of the callosal tracts has been found in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear whether the previously identified white matter (WM) alterations in boys with ADHD are also present in girls with ADHD. Thus, we applied diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate WM alterations in the callosal tracts in girls with ADHD.

Alteration of gut microbiota-associated epitopes in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1% of children and has no cure. Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are common in children with ASD, and although gut microbiota is known to play an important role in ASD through the gut-brain axis, the specific mechanism is unknown. Recent evidence suggests that gut microbiota may participate in the pathogenesis of ASD through immune- and inflammation-mediated pathways.

Association of serum bilirubin in newborns affected by jaundice with gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Background And Aims: Breast milk jaundice (BMJ) is common and benign, but neonatal cholestasis (NC) is rare and not benign, so early differentiation between NC and non-NC jaundice is important and may facilitate diagnosis and treatment. Gut microbiota plays an important role in enterohepatic circulation, which in turn plays an important role in the secretion of bilirubin. We aimed to determine the composition of gut microbiota in patients with NC and BMJ, and to identify the gut microbiota composition associated with NC and BMJ.

[A multi-parameter resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study of brain intrinsic activity in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder children].

A great number of studies have demonstrated functional abnormalities in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although conflicting results have also been reported. And few studies analyzed homotopic functional connectivity between hemispheres. In this study, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were recorded from 45 medication-naïve ADHD children and 26 healthy controls.

A comparison of blood metal levels in autism spectrum disorder and unaffected children in Shenzhen of China and factors involved in bioaccumulation of metals.

The present study compared blood plasma metals in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with those in unaffected children in Shenzhen (China). Factors associated with the metal bioaccumulation were further investigated. Thirty-four blood samples of children with ASD were collected in a local hospital (Shenzhen Children's Hospital), while those of 38 unaffected children were from a local large public kindergarten, during March to April in 2016.

High prevalence of serum folate receptor autoantibodies in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Background: Supplementation of folic acid by pregnant mothers is thought to lower the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the offspring. Folic acid is taken up by cells via receptors with high affinity for folate and reduced folic acid derivatives. However, this is blocked by the presence of folate receptor autoantibodies (FRAA).

Increased stool immunoglobulin A level in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Background: There are currently no effective treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, alleviating gastrointestinal (GI) problems, which are prevalent in ASD patients, can significantly improve the core symptoms of autism. Previous studies have associated GI disorders in ASD patients with abnormal gut microbiota, although few disease-related microorganisms have been identified.

Copy number variations independently induce autism spectrum disorder.

The examination of copy number variation (CNV) is critical to understand the etiology of the CNV-related autism spectrum disorders (ASD). DNA samples were obtained from 64 ASD probands, which were genotyped on an Affymetrix CytoScan HD platform. qPCR or FISH were used as a validation for some novel recurrent CNVs.

Diversity of Gut Microbiota Metabolic Pathways in 10 Pairs of Chinese Infant Twins.

Early colonization of gut microbiota in human gut is a complex process. It remains unclear when gut microbiota colonization occurs and how it proceeds. In order to study gut microbiota composition in human early life, the present study recruited 10 healthy pairs of twins, including five monozygotic (MZ) and five dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs, whose age ranged from 0 to 6 years old.