Fang Liu

Purpose The relationship between dietary nutrient intake and metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to construct machine learning models to predict MHO based on dietary nutrient profiles and to identify the most influential nutrients contributing to this phenotype. Methods Data were derived from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2018. Forty-five dietary nutrients, along with demographic and lifestyle variables, were included in two predictive frameworks: a dietary-only model and a complete model. Feature preprocessing involved assessing mixture effects, removing multicollinear variables, addressing class imbalance, and selecting important predictors. Six machine learning algorithms—random forest (RF), light gradient-boosting machine, k-nearest neighbor, Naive Bayes, support vector machine, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost)—were developed and benchmarked to compare performance. Model interpretability was examined using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME). Results A total of 8914 participants, including 475 classified as having MHO, were analyzed. The Random Forest model exhibited the best predictive performance in the complete model, achieving training and validation AUCs of 0.986 and 0.991, respectively. In contrast, XGBoost demonstrated superior performance in the dietary-only model, with AUCs of 0.971 and 0.988. SHAP and LIME analyses revealed that added vitamin B12, lycopene, caffeine, theobromine, and lutein/zeaxanthin were the strongest positive predictors in the complete model. When only dietary factors were considered, lycopene, lutein/zeaxanthin, magnesium, potassium, and selenium emerged as the most influential nutrients. Conclusions RF and XGBoost models provided the highest predictive accuracy for MHO using complete and dietary feature sets, respectively. The consistent findings from SHAP and LIME analyses emphasized lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin as reliable and biologically relevant key predictors of metabolically healthy obesity. Level of Evidence: Level III, well-designed cohort or case–control analytic study.

The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is an objective assessment of liver function. Given that the liver plays a key role in obesity-related metabolic regulat

Objective: This report presents the inaugural case of Gaucher disease identified in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, the westernmost region of China. It emphasizes an analysis of the clinical characteristics, diagnostic challenges, and treatment strategies within the unique geographical, cultural, and ethnic contexts. The study aims to investigate potential associations between environmental factors, genetic backgrounds, and lifestyle in Kashgar Prefecture, as they relate to the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of Gaucher disease, with the goal of optimizing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in similar regions.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the patient's clinical data, employing advanced diagnostic methods in conjunction with multidisciplinary collaboration. The data encompassed clinical symptoms, laboratory tests, imaging examinations, genetic testing, diagnostic procedures, and individualized treatment plans.Results: A 12-year-old female patient from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, presented with chronic anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, recurrentepistaxis, and osseous pain. She was diagnosed with Gaucher disease type I through genetic testing and enzymatic examination. This case represents the first reported instance of this condition in the Xinjiang region. Notably, it exhibited unique clinical features, including the age of onset, severity of symptoms, and potential regional complications. Treatment with high-dose ambroxol and imiglucerase significantly alleviated the patient's symptoms, and continuous follow-up was conducted to assess long-term efficacy.Conclusion: This report underscores the critical importance of early diagnosis and timely intervention in the management of Gaucher disease, particularly in regions with limited medical resources such as Kashgar. The successful diagnosis and treatment of this case have facilitated communication and cooperation between primary healthcare units and external medical institutions. This has further driven interactions in various aspects such as academic exchanges, teleconsultations, and medical assistance. In turn, this has provided a solid foundation for safeguarding patients’ rights and improving medical services.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the predictive value of early neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for relapse and adverse prognosis within one year in children diagnosed with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS).Methods: This study included a total of 145 pediatric patients diagnosed with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) between January 2016 and December 2021. We collected early neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, along with relevant clinical data, and conducted a one-year follow-up of the patients. Based on the follow-up outcomes, the patients were categorized into two groups: those who experienced a relapse and those who did not. We assessed the diagnostic and predictive value of NLR and CRP for relapse within one year using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the Cox proportional hazards regression model.Results: After an average follow-up period of one year, 95 patients (65.52%) experienced relapse, while 50 patients (34.48%) did not. Significant differences were noted between the relapse and non-relapse groups regarding neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), 24-hour urinary protein levels, age at onset, and parental education level (P < 0.05). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis identified age at onset, NLR, CRP, and 24-hour urinary protein levels as significant risk factors for relapse in patients with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the combined prediction of relapse using NLR, CRP, and 24-hour urinary protein levels demonstrated good predictive value, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.858 (95% CI: 0.80–0.916, P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with elevated NLR (≥ 2.90) and CRP (≥ 25.30) exhibited the highest relapse rates and shorter survival times. Further Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that children in the high NLR and high CRP groups were at an increased risk of relapse, rehospitalization, infection, prolonged cumulative steroid use, renal insufficiency, secondary hypertension, and other adverse outcomes within one year.Conclusion: Early levels of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) demonstrate significant predictive value for relapse and adverse prognosis within one year in children with Steroid-Sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome (SSNS). These markers can serve as effective tools for auxiliary clinical assessment.

Objective: Childhood asthma is a chronic heterogeneous syndrome composed of distinct disease entities or phenotypes. This study was conducted to characterize regulatory factor X 7 (RFX7) in childhood asthma. Material and Methods: Two available transcriptome datasets (GSE65204 and GSE27011) were used to analyze regulatory factor X (RFX) family members in childhood asthma. Random forest, logistic regression, and linear support vector machine (SVM) analyses were performed to construct an RFX-based classification model. Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) were induced through platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) for an asthma in vitro model. RFX7 expression was measured through immunoblotting. RFX7 was knocked out by transfection of RFX7 small-interfering RNAs, and then airway remodeling and inflammation were assayed. Results: Among RFX family members, RFX3, RFX7, and RFX-associated protein displayed differential expression in childhood asthma versus healthy controls. Thus, SVM, logistic regression, and random forest-based machine learning models were built. The random forest model presented the best diagnostic efficacy (area under the curve [AUC] = 1 and 0.67 in discovery and verification sets). RFX7 was found to be effective in diagnosing childhood asthma (AUC = 0.724 and 0.775 in discovery and verification sets). In addition, RFX7 was overexpressed in PDGF-BB-stimulated ASMCs (^✶✶P < 0.01). Silencing RFX7 remarkably attenuated the proliferative and migrative capacities of ASMCs with PDGF-BB stimulation (^✶✶P < 0.01). In addition, RFX7 was positively related to neutrophil infiltration in childhood asthma, and its knockdown downregulated the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in PDGF-BB-stimulated ASMCs (^✶✶P < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that RFX7 is a novel molecule that is correlated with airway remodeling and inflammation in childhood asthma, providing insights into the mechanism underlying this disease and its potential clinical importance.

Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in antigen presentation and regulating adaptive immune responses in asthma pathophysiology. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. M... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Tech Science Press

Background: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) plays a vital role in the attainment and maintenance of bone mass throughout life and is closely related to the stature of children. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) is an intermediate of vitamin D (Vit D) metabolism and a key indicator of Vit D nutritional status. Multiple studies have revealed that IGF-1 levels undergo a non-significant increase after Vit D supplementation. Here, we analyzed the causal and reverse causal relationships between 25-OHD and IGF-1 levels using Mendelian randomization (MR).Methods: Two-sample MR was used to estimate an unconfounded bidirectional causal relationship between the level of IGF-1 and those of Vit D and 25-OHD. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were filtered from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) after a comprehensive search of the Integrative Epidemiology Unit GWAS database. Several MR methods were employed, including inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, and a sensitivity analysis was undertaken to detect whether pleiotropy or heterogeneity biased the MR results.Results: Genetically predicted IGF-1 was found to have a causal association with Vit D and serum 25-OHD levels, where Vit D and serum 25-OHD levels increased with increasing IGF-1 concentrations (Vit D: IVW β:0.021, 95% CI: 0.005–0.036, p = 7.74 × 10^–3; 25-OHD: IVW β: 0.041, 95% CI: 0.026–0.057, p = 2.50 × 10^–7). A reverse causal effect was also found, indicating Vit D and serum 25-OHD have a positive causal relationship with IGF-1 (Vit D: IVW β:0.182, 95% CI: 0.061–0.305, p = 3.25 × 10^–3; 25-OHD: IVW β: 0.057, 95% CI = 0.017–0.096, p = 4.73 × 10^–3). The sensitivity analysis showed that horizontal pleiotropy was unlikely to bias the causality in this study (MR-Egger: Vit D intercept p = 5.1 × 10^–5, 25-OHD intercept p = 6.4 × 10^–4 in forward analysis; Vit D intercept p = 6.6 × 10^–4, 25-OHD intercept p = 1.9 × 10^–3 in reverse analysis), and a leave-one-out analysis did not identify evidence of bias in the results.Conclusion: The results of the MR analysis provide evidence that IGF-1 has positive causal and reverse causal relationships with Vit D and serum 25-OHD, respectively, in European populations. Our findings also provide guidance for the prevention and treatment of short stature and other related diseases.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is the most common respiratory infection in young children and its incidence has increased worldwide. In this study, high expression of chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) was observed in the serum of MPP patients, and its expression was positively correlated to DNA of M. pneumoniae (MP-DNA). In vitro, M. pneumoniae (MP) infection to A549 cells induced the expression of CCL5, chemokines receptor 4 (CCR4), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) nuclear protein, and phosphorylation of NF-κB-p65 (p-NF-κB-p65), whereas NF-κB cytoplasmic protein was decreased. On the contrary, treatment of hyperoside counteracted the induction of MP infection and promoted the proliferation of MP-infected A549 cells. Similarly, MP-induced IL-8 and TNF-α production was also markedly reduced by hyperoside. And CCR4 inhibitor AZD2098 had a better effect than hyperoside. In addition, CCL5 recombinant protein inhibited the effect of hyperoside to promote IL-8 and TNF-α production and CCR4 expression. These results indicated that CCL5 may be involved in the progression of MPP, and hyperoside was beneficial for MPP probably through CCL5–CCR4 interactions, which may provide a potential effective therapy for MPP.