Effects of population aging on quality of life and disease burden: a population-based study.

Background: As population aging intensifies, it becomes increasingly important to elucidate the casual relationship between aging and changes in population health. Therefore, our study proposed to develop a systematic attribution framework to comprehensively evaluate the health impacts of population aging.

Methods: We used health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) to measure quality of life and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) to quantify the burden of disease for the population of Guangzhou.

Effects on impulsivity and delay discounting of intermittent theta burst stimulation add-on to dialectical behavioral therapy in borderline personality disorder: a randomized, sham-controlled pilot trial.

Background: Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are both effective in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). Impulsivity and impaired decision-making are prominent features of BPD, and therapeutic interventions targeting these symptoms could lead to significant improvements.

Objective/hypothesis: We hypothesized that intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), a modified rTMS protocol that targets the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, would enhance the therapeutic effects of DBT, leading to greater improvements in impulsivity and decision-making compared with sham stimulation.

A new phase of China-ASEAN health cooperation: the China-ASEAN Beijing Declaration on Cooperation in Innovation of Health Products and Technologies.

Utilizing innovative methods to advance the research and development (R&D) of health products and enhance their accessibility has become crucial to achieving universal health coverage, addressing public health emergencies, and promoting population health and wellbeing. However, structural contradictions do exist in the supply and demand of health products in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). With the joint support of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Education, and the China-ASEAN Center, Peking University established the China-ASEAN Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Public Health in April 2023.

High clinical utility of long-read sequencing for precise diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia in 322 probands.

Background: The molecular genetic diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is very challenging due to the high homology between the CYP21A2 gene and its pseudogene CYP21A1P.

Methodology: This study aims to assess the clinical efficacy of targeted long-read sequencing (T-LRS) by comparing it with a control method based on the combined assay (NGS, Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and Sanger sequencing) and to introduce T-LRS as a first-tier diagnostic test for suspected CAH patients to improve the precise diagnosis of CAH.

Results: A large cohort of 562 participants including 322 probands and 240 family members was enrolled for the perspective (96 probands) and prospective study (226 probands).

Effective community engagement in one health research in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: The one health (OH) approach, linking human, animal, and environmental health, relies on effective community engagement (CE), education, stewardship, and effective regional and global partnerships. For real impact, communities should be at the centre of research agenda setting and program implementation. This review aimed at synthesizing empirical evidence on how communities are involved in one health research.

Pre-pregnancy obesity and weight gain during pregnancy: impact on newborn outcomes.

Background: Overweight and obesity are global issues, especially among women of childbearing age, linked to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. These risks vary by age, race, and ethnicity, with increasing rates among immigrant and minority women. This study compares overweight and obesity rates, pregnancy weight gain, and neonatal outcomes in Turkish and Syrian immigrant/refugee women.

Comparison of the safety of esophagojejunal overlap and π-shaped anastomosis in totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

Background: Globally, totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy is increasingly being accepted by surgeons for the treatment of gastric cancer. Overlap anastomosis and π-shaped anastomosis are the two most commonly used anastomosis methods in total laparoscopic surgery; however, their safety and suitability for the population are still unclear.

Methods: A total of 162 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent total laparoscopic total gastrectomy with overlap or π-shaped anastomosis were retrospectively analyzed.

An introduction to MyBFF@school, a school-based childhood obesity intervention program: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Obesity trend among Malaysian children is on the rise. Noting that the tendency for them to grow into obese adults and the relationship of obesity to many non-communicable diseases, the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at School (MyBFF@school program) was designed to combat obesity among the schoolchildren. The program was piloted in 2014 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Association of relative fat mass with asthma: inflammatory markers as potential mediators.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between relative fat mass (RFM) and asthma, as well as to explore the mediating role of Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII) and Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI).

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2018. Associations between RFM and asthma were tested using multivariable logistic regressions, restricted cubic splines, subgroup analyses, and interaction tests, with mediation analysis for SII and SIRI.

Effects of MyBFF@school, a multifaceted obesity intervention program, on anthropometry and body composition of overweight and obese primary schoolchildren.

Background: Recently, there has been an increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity in Malaysia, raising concerns about increased cardiometabolic morbidity. MyBFF@school is a multifaceted program comprising physical activity, nutritional education, and psychological empowerment introduced to combat childhood obesity in Malaysia. The efficacy of a six-month intervention on the body composition of overweight and obese primary schoolchildren was evaluated.

Distinct detection and discrimination sensitivities in visual processing of real versus unreal optic flow.

We examined the intricate mechanisms underlying visual processing of complex motion stimuli by measuring the detection sensitivity to contraction and expansion patterns and the discrimination sensitivity to the location of the center of motion (CoM) in various real and unreal optic flow stimuli. We conducted two experiments (N = 20 each) and compared responses to both "real" optic flow stimuli containing information about self-movement in a three-dimensional scene and "unreal" optic flow stimuli lacking such information. We found that detection sensitivity to contraction surpassed that to expansion patterns for unreal optic flow stimuli, whereas this trend was reversed for real optic flow stimuli.

Comparative metabolomic analysis of Haematococcus pluvialis during hyperaccumulation of astaxanthin under the high salinity and nitrogen deficiency conditions.

Revealing the differences of metabolite profiles of H. pluvialis during hyperaccumulation of astaxanthin under the high salinity and nitrogen deficiency conditions was the key issues of the present study. To investigate the optimum NaCl and NaNO concentration and the corresponding metabolic characteristic related to the astaxanthin accumulation in H.

Biomechanical analysis of a short femoral stem used in revision total hip replacement of a standard femoral stem.

Short-stem total hip arthroplasty (SHA) has become popular because it preserves femoral bone stock and enables the use of short femoral stems in revision total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, no study has evaluated whether a short stem in revision THA, replacing a standard stem, can provide adequate primary stability to facilitate osseous integration. In this biomechanical study, a metaphyseal anchoring SHA (Tri-Lock BPS) stem and a standard THA (Corail) stem were implanted into ten composite femurs and loaded dynamically from 300 to 1700 N with 1 Hz.

FBXO22 promotes HCC angiogenesis and metastasis via RPS5/AKT/HIF-1α/VEGF-A signaling axis.

The gene F-box only protein 22 (FBXO22) has been discovered to promote the development of liver cancer tumors. Nevertheless, there remains considerable ambiguity regarding the involvement of FBXO22 in the processes of angiogenesis and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our study has confirmed a significant upregulation of FBXO22 expression in both HCC samples and cellular models.

Solar-driven production of renewable chemicals via biomass hydrogenation with green methanol.

Solar-driven, selective biomass hydrogenation is recognized as a promising route to renewable chemicals production, but remains challenging. Here, we report a TiO supported Cu single-atom catalyst with a four-coordinated Cu-O structure, which can be universally applied for solar-driven production of various renewable chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass-derived platform molecules with good yields using green methanol as a hydrogen donor, to address this challenge. It is significant that the biomass upgrading driven by natural sunlight on a gram scale demonstrates the great practical potential.

Multi-environment field trials for wheat yield, stability and breeding progress in Germany.

Multi-environmental trials (MET) with temporal and spatial variance are crucial for understanding genotype-environment-management (GxExM) interactions in crops. Here, we present a MET dataset for winter wheat in Germany. The dataset encompasses MET spanning six years (2015-2020), six locations and nine crop management scenarios (consisting of combinations for three treatments, unbalanced in each location and year) comparing 228 cultivars released between 1963 and 2016, amounting to a total of 526,751 data points covering 24 traits.

Modeling bacterial interactions uncovers the importance of outliers in the coastal lignin-degrading consortium.

Lignin, as the abundant carbon polymer, is essential for carbon cycle and biorefinery. Microorganisms interact to form communities for lignin biodegradation, yet it is a challenge to understand such complex interactions. Here, we develop a coastal lignin-degrading bacterial consortium (LD), through "top-down" enrichment.

Construction of N-E bonds via Lewis acid-promoted functionalization of chromium-dinitrogen complexes.

Direct conversion of dinitrogen (N) into N-containing compounds beyond ammonia under ambient conditions remains a longstanding challenge. Herein, we present a Lewis acid-promoted strategy for diverse nitrogen-element bonds formation from N using chromium dinitrogen complex [Cp*(IPrMe)Cr(N)]K (1). With the help of Lewis acids AlMe and BF, we successfully trap a series of fleeting diazenido intermediates and synthesize value-added compounds containing N-B, N-Ge, and N-P bonds with 3 d metals, offering a method for isolating unstable intermediates.

Lattice defect engineering advances n-type PbSe thermoelectrics.

Te-free thermoelectrics have garnered significant interest due to their immense thermoelectric potential and low cost. However, most Te-free thermoelectrics have relatively low performance because of the strong electrical and thermal transport conflicts and unsatisfactory compatibility of interfaces between device materials. Here, we develop lattice defect engineering through Cu doping to realize a record-high figure of merit of ~1.

High-resolution gridded dataset of China's offshore wind potential and costs under technical change.

Assessing the dynamics of offshore wind potential and costs is essential for low-carbon energy policy decision-making and energy modeling, but no open-source, spatial explicit and technologically detailed dataset is available. This study addresses this gap by employing a consistent assessment framework that integrates GIS analysis, a wind reanalysis model, a component-based cost model and scenario analysis. It identifies suitable space for offshore wind deployment considering 12 technical and policy constraints, estimates hourly output curves, capacity factors, and technology cost dynamics by components across 5058 grid points with a 10 km resolution from 2020 to 2035 under three technical change scenarios.

Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality associated with occasional positive screens following cancer screenings.

Positive results from cancer screenings, like a cancer diagnosis, can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality due to heightened psychological stress. However, positive screening results may also serve as a teachable moment to encourage the adoption of a healthier lifestyle. Consequently, the overall association between positive screenings and CVD mortality risk remains unclear.

GGCX promotes Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza virus adaption to interspecies receptor binding.

The Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 swine influenza virus (SIV) possesses the capacity to instigate the next influenza pandemic, owing to its heightened affinity for the human-type α-2,6 sialic acid (SA) receptor. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying the switch in receptor binding preferences of EA H1N1 SIV remain elusive. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen utilizing EA H1N1 SIV in porcine kidney cells.

Two dimensional confinement induced discontinuous chain transitions for augmented electrocaloric cooling.

Overheating remains a major barrier to chip miniaturization, leading to device malfunction. Addressing the urgent need for thermal management promotes the development of solid-state electrocaloric cooling. However, enhancing passive heat dissipation through two-dimensional materials in electrocaloric polymers typically compromises the electrocaloric effect.

Selective utilization of medicinal polysaccharides by human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species.

Human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species play crucial roles in human health and are known for their capacity to utilize diverse polysaccharides. Understanding how these bacteria utilize medicinal polysaccharides is foundational for developing polysaccharides-based prebiotics and drugs. Here, we systematically mapped the utilization profiles of 20 different medicinal polysaccharides by 28 human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species.

Recent changes in ENSO's impacts on the summertime circumglobal teleconnection and mid-latitude extremes.

The boreal summer circumglobal teleconnection (CGT) provides a primary predictability source for mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere climate anomalies and extreme events. Here, we show that the CGT's circulation structure has been displaced westward by half a wavelength since the late 1970s, more severely impacting heatwaves and droughts over East Europe, East Asia, and southwestern North America. We present empirical and modelling evidence of the essential role of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in shaping this change.