Association between circadian syndrome and chronic diarrhea: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2005-2010 data.

Background: Circadian rhythms are reported to influence physiological processes in the gastrointestinal system, but associations between circadian syndrome (Circs) and chronic diarrhea (CD) remain unclear. Here, we explored such relationships to provide new insights into CD management. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective analysis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data between 2005 and 2010. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed on weighted data to explore associations between Circs and CD. Results: Results were presented using forest plots, odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Data with p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. In total, 5,661 US participants, of which 412 had CD (weighted percentage = 6.20%), were enrolled. In univariate logistic regression analyses, participants with Circs had a significantly higher risk of CD (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.15-1.99). After adjusting for covariates, model 2 (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.03-1.90) and model 3 (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.01-2.00) data were consistent with model 1 data. Additionally, the number of Circs components was positively associated with CD in all three models. Subgroup analyses revealed an association between CD and Circs in participants who had high blood pressure (OR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.48-4.11, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, we found that Circs is positively associated with the risk of CD in US adults, especially in those with high blood pressure. This association may provide new management strategies for CD.

The proteolytic activity in inflammatory bowel disease: insight from gut microbiota.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease caused by the destruction of the intestinal mucosal epithelium that affects a growing number of people worldwide. Although the etiology of IBD is complex and still elucidated, the role of dysbiosis and dysregulated proteolysis is well recognized. Various studies observed altered composition and diversity of gut microbiota, as well as increased proteolytic activity (PA) in serum, plasma, colonic mucosa, and fecal supernatant of IBD compared to healthy individuals. The imbalance of intestinal microecology and intestinal protein hydrolysis were gradually considered to be closely related to IBD. Notably, the pivotal role of intestinal microbiota in maintaining proteolytic balance received increasing attention. In summary, we have speculated a mesmerizing story, regarding the hidden role of PA and microbiota-derived PA hidden in IBD. Most importantly, we provided the diagnosis and therapeutic targets for IBD as well as the formulation of new treatment strategies for other digestive diseases and protease-related diseases.

Efficacy of extracellular vesicles as a cell-free therapy in colitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate inflammation, immune responses, gut barrier integrity, and intestinal homeostasis. Recently, the application of EVs in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been under intensive focus. Some studies have been conducted in animal models of colitis, while systematic reviews and meta-analyses are lacking. The current study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the efficacy of EVs on IBD. Methods: A systematic retrieval of all studies in PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library reported the effects of EVs in the colitis model up to 22 June 2023. The methodological quality was assessed based on SYRCLE's risk of bias (RoB) tool. Disease activity index (DAI), myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), histopathological score (HS), and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10) were extracted as analysis indicators by Web Plot Digitizer 4.5. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate the standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval using random-effect models by Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 14.0 software. Results: A total of 21 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Although the heterogeneity between studies and the potential publication bias limits confidence in the extent of the benefit, EV treatment was superior to the control in the colitis evaluation with reduced DAI, HS, MPO activity, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-1ß, and IL-6, while increasing the content of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis results supported the protective effect of EVs on colitis rodent models based on their potential role in IBD therapy and propelling the field toward clinical studies.

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in inflammatory bowel disease: insights from gut microbiota.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disease that affects more than 3.5 million people, with rising prevalence. It deeply affects patients' daily life, increasing the burden on patients, families, and society. Presently, the etiology of IBD remains incompletely clarified, while emerging evidence has demonstrated that altered gut microbiota and decreased aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) activity are closely associated with IBD. Furthermore, microbial metabolites are capable of AHR activation as AHR ligands, while the AHR, in turn, affects the microbiota through various pathways. In light of the complex connection among gut microbiota, the AHR, and IBD, it is urgent to review the latest research progress in this field. In this review, we describe the role of gut microbiota and AHR activation in IBD and discussed the crosstalk between gut microbiota and the AHR in the context of IBD. Taken as a whole, we propose new therapeutic strategies targeting the AHR-microbiota axis for IBD, even for other related diseases caused by AHR-microbiota dysbiosis.

Clinical research linking Traditional Chinese Medicine constitution types with diseases: a literature review of 1639 observational studies.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical studies on correlations between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution types and diseases published in the past 10 years, and to provide an evidence base to support the use of such correlations for health maintenance and disease prevention. METHODS: We searched five databases for the period April 2009 to December 2019: China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, PubMed and Embase. Three types of observational studies on correlation between constitution types and diseases were included: cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies. Descriptive statistical methods were employed for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1639 clinical studies were identified: 1452 (88.59%) cross-sectional studies, 115 (7.02%) case-control studies and 72 (4.39%) cohort studies covering 30 regions of China and five other countries (Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and France). The collection of studies comprised 19 disease categories and 333 different diseases. The 10 most commonly studied diseases were hypertension, diabetes, stroke, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAHD), sleep disorders, neoplasm of the breast, dysmenorrhea, fatty liver disease, chronic viral hepatitis B and dyslipidemia. We found high distributions for each biased constitution type in different patient populations as follows: Qi-deficiency constitution in stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and hypertension; Yang-deficiency constitution in female infertility, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, gonarthrosis and dysmenorrhea; Yin-deficiency constitution in hypertension, diabetes, constipation, female climacteric states and osteoporosis; phlegm- dampness constitution in hypertension, stroke, fatty liver disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome; damp-heat constitution in acne, chronic gastritis, chronic viral hepatitis B, human papillomavirus infection and hyperuricemia; blood-stasis constitution in CAHD, endometriosis and stroke; Qi-stagnation constitution in hyperplasia and neoplasms of the breast, insomnia, depression and thyroid nodules; and inherited-special constitution in asthma and allergic rhinitis. CONCLUSION: Eight biased TCM constitutions were closely related to specific diseases, and could be used to guide individualized prevention and treatment. More rigorously designed studies are recommended to further verify the constitution-disease relationship.

Association of serum uric acid with 2-hour postload glucose in Chinese with impaired fasting plasma glucose and/or HbA1c.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether serum uric acid (SUA) is associated with 2-hour postload glucose (2-h PG) in Chinese with impaired fasting plasma glucose (IFG) and/or HbA1c (IA1C). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Anthropometric and biochemical examinations, such as SUA concentration, were performed in 3763 individuals from all the villages in Baqiao County, China. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was conducted in 1197 Chinese with prediabetes as having IFG (110 ≤ fasting plasma glucose [FPG] <126 mg/dl and HbA1c <6.5%), IA1C (5.7% ≤ HbA1c <6.5% and FPG <126 mg/dl), or both. RESULTS: The present study included 1197 participants with IFG and/or IA1C (mean age 56.5 ± 10.3 years; 50.6% men). In multivariate linear regression, after adjustment for gender, age, smoking and drinking, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), lipid profiles, logarithmic transformed C-reactive protein (log-CRP), estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR), FPG and HbA1c, with a 1-mg/dl increment of SUA, 2-h PG increased by 5.04 ± 0.72 (P<0.001), 3.06 ± 1.08 (P = 0.001), 5.40 ± 1.26 (P<0.001), and 2.34 ± 2.16 mg/dl (P = 0.056) in all participants, in participants with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and with 2-h newly diagnosed diabetes (2-h NDM, with 2-h PG ≥ 200 mg/dl), respectively. In both men and women, 2-h PG increased progressively and significantly from the lower to the upper SUA tertiles (P<0.001). Moreover, in multivariate logistic regression, 1-standard deviation (SD; 1.53 mg/dl) increment of SUA was significantly associated with a 36% higher risk for 2-h NDM (Odds ratio [CI 95%]: 1.36 [1.09-1.99]; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: SUA is significantly associated with 2-h PG in Chinese with IFG and/or IA1C.

[Effects of temperature stress on physiological indices of Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) diapause larvae].

To understand the physiological mechanisms of temperature stress on the diapause larvae of rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis Walker at physiological and biochemical levels, determinations were made on the contents of water, lipid, total sugar and low molecular mass carbohydrates and the activities of SOD, POD, CAT in the larvae after series temperature stress (STS) and gradient temperature stress (GTS). With the decrease of temperature, the water content in the larvae decreased, and the decrement below 0 degrees C was significantly larger in treatment GTS than in treatment STS. The lipid content in the larvae decreased gradually, but no significant difference was observed between treatments STS and GTS. The total sugar content in the larvae in treatment STS increased after an initial decrease, but that in treatment GTS continued to decline. Four species of low molecular carbohydrates, i. e. , trehalose, glucose, glycerol and fructose were detected in the larvae. In treatment STS, the contents of glycose, glycerol and fructose in the larvae decreased after an initial increase, while the trehalose content was in adverse. In treatment GTS, the trehalose content decreased first and increased then, the glucose and glycerol were in adverse, but the fructose content had little change. In the range from 14 to -14 degrees C, the SOD and POD activities in the larvae in treatment STS were significantly lower than those in treatment GTS, but the CAT activity was in adverse. The changes of these indices reflected the physiological responses of C. suppressalis diapause larvae to different temperature stress.

One-step electrochemically deposited gold nanoparticles interface grafted with avidin for acetylcholinesterase biosensor design.

In this study, an interface embedded in situ gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and biotin in chitosan hydrogel was constructed by one-step electrochemical deposition in solution containing tetrachloroauric (III) acid, biotin and chitosan. This deposited interface acts as biosensing platforms and provides specific binding sites for avidin, which are further capable of attaching any biotinylated bimolecular for biosensor design. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), A.C. impedance and surface plasmon resonance were used to characterize this interface. The immobilized acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as a model, showed excellent activity to its substrate and provided a quantitative measurement of organophosphate pesticide. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the inhibition of dimethoate was proportional to its concentrations in the range of 0.05 to 15 microg mL(-1) with detection limit of 0.001 microg mL(-1). The simple method showed good fabrication reproducibility and acceptable stability, which provided a new avenue for electrochemical biosensor design.