Articles in press have been peer-reviewed and accepted, which are not yet assigned to volumes /issues, but are citable by Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
Climate and weather significantly influence the duration, timing, and intensity of disease outbreaks, reshaping the global landscape of infectious diseases. Rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns driven by climate change can directly impact the survival and reproduction of pathogens and vector organisms. Moreover, climate change is expected to exacerbate extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, which can disrupt infrastructure and increase the risk of water- and foodborne diseases. There are potential shifts in the temporal and spatial patterns of infectious disease transmission owing to climate change. Furthermore, climate change may alter the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases. These climatic variations not only affect the ecological characteristics of pathogens and vectors but also indirectly influence human behaviors and socioeconomic conditions, further amplifying disease transmission risks. Addressing this challenge requires an interdisciplinary collaboration and comprehensive public health strategies. This review aims to synthesize the current evidence on the impact of climate change on climate-sensitive infectious diseases and elucidate the underlying mechanisms and transmission pathways. Additionally, we explored adaptive policy strategies to mitigate the public health burden of infectious diseases in the context of climate change, offering insights for global health governance and disease control efforts.
Human cardiac organoids have revolutionized the study of cardiac development, disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative therapies. This review systematically discusses strategies and progress in the construction of cardiac organoids, categorizing them into three main types: cardiac spheroids, self-organizing/assembloid organoids, and organoid-on-a-chip systems. This review uniquely integrates the advances in vascularization, organ-on-chip design, and environmental cardiotoxicity modeling within cardiac organoid platforms, offering a critical synthesis that is absent in the literature. In the context of escalating environmental threats to cardiovascular health, there is an urgent need for physiologically relevant models to accurately identify cardiac toxicants and elucidate their underlying mechanisms of action. This review highlights advances in cardiac organoid applications for disease modeling—including congenital heart defects and acquired cardiovascular diseases—drug development, toxicity screening, and the study of environmentally induced cardiovascular pathogenesis. In addition, it critically examines ongoing challenges and underscores opportunities brought by bioengineering approaches. Finally, we propose future directions for developing standardized cardiac organoid platforms with clinical predictability, aiming to expand the utility of this technology across broader research applications.
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) poses a significant risk of neural damage during pregnancy. As the most prevalent intrauterine infectious agent in low- and middle-income countries, HCMV disrupts the development of neural stem cells, leading to fetal malformations and abnormal structural and physiological functions in the fetal brain. This review summarizes the current understanding of how HCMV infection dysregulates the Wnt signaling pathway to induce fetal malformations and discusses current management strategies.
2025, 38(8): 891-892.
doi: 10.3967/bes2025.098
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their risk factors are exerting an increasingly significant impact on public health, and the incidence rate of CVD continues to rise. This article provides an interpretation of essentials from the newly published Annual Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China (2024), aiming to offer scientific evidence for CVD prevention, treatment, and the formulation of relevant policies.
Objective Lipid oxidation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and may be contribute to the development of Ischemic stroke (IS). However, the lipid profiles associated with IS have been poorly studied. We conducted a pilot study to identify potential IS-related lipid molecules and pathways using lipidomic profiling. Methods Serum lipidomic profiling was performed using LC-MS in 20 patients with IS and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Univariate and multivariate analyses were simultaneously performed to identify the differential lipids. Multiple testing was controlled for using a false discovery rate (FDR) approach. Enrichment analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst software. Results Based on the 294 lipids assayed, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models were used to distinguish patients with IS from healthy controls. Fifty-six differential lipids were identified with an FDR-adjusted P less than 0.05 and variable influences in projection (VIP) greater than 1.0. These lipids were significantly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism (FDR-adjusted P = 0.009, impact score = 0.216). Conclusions Serum lipid profiles differed significantly between patients with IS and healthy controls. Thus, glycerophospholipid metabolism may be involved in the development of IS. These results provide initial evidence that lipid molecules and their related metabolites may serve as new biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for IS.
Objective To investigate the association between long-term glycemic control and cerebral infarction risk in patients with diabetes through a large-scale cohort study. Methods This prospective, community-based cohort study included 12,054 patients with diabetes. From 2006 to 2012, 38,272 fasting blood glucose (FBG) measurements were obtained from these participants. FBG trajectory patterns were generated using latent mixture modelling. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to assess the subsequent risk of cerebral infarction associated with different FBG trajectory patterns. Results At baseline, the mean age of the participants was 55.2 years. Four distinct FBG trajectories were identified based on FBG concentrations and their changes over the 6-year follow-up period. After a median follow-up of 6.9 years, 786 cerebral infarction events were recorded. Different trajectory patterns were associated with significantly varied outcome risks (Log-Rank P < 0.001). Compared with the low-stability group, Hazard Ratio (HR) adjusted for potential confounders were 1.37 for the moderate-increasing group, 1.23 for the elevated-decreasing group, and 2.08 for the elevated-stable group. Conclusion Sustained high FBG levels were found to play a critical role in the development of ischemic stroke among patients with diabetes. Controlling FBG levels may reduce the risk of cerebral infarction.
Objective To identify the key features of facial and tongue images associated with anemia in female populations, establish anemia risk-screening models, and evaluate their performance. Methods A total of 533 female participants (anemic and healthy) were recruited from Shuguang Hospital. Facial and tongue images were collected using the TFDA-1 tongue and face diagnosis instrument. Color and texture features from various parts of facial and tongue images were extracted using Face Diagnosis Analysis System (FDAS) and Tongue Diagnosis Analysis System version 2.0 (TDAS v2.0). Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression was used for feature selection. Ten machine learning models and one deep learning model (ResNet50V2 + Conv1D) were developed and evaluated. Results Anemic women showed lower a-values, higher L- and b-values across all age groups. Texture features analysis showed that women aged 30–39 with anemia had higher angular second moment (ASM)and lower entropy (ENT) values in facial images, while those aged 40–49 had lower contrast (CON), ENT, and MEAN values in tongue images but higher ASM. Anemic women exhibited age-related trends similar to healthy women, with decreasing L-values and increasing a-, b-, and ASM-values. LASSO identified 19 key features from 62. Among classifiers, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model achieved the best performance [area under the curve (AUC): 0.849, accuracy: 0.781]. The ResNet50V2 model achieved comparable results [AUC: 0.846, accuracy: 0.818]. Conclusion Differences in facial and tongue images suggest that color and texture features can serve as potential TCM phenotype and auxiliary diagnostic indicators for female anemia.
Objective This study aimed to reexplore minimum iodine excretion and to build a dietary iodine recommendation for Chinese adults using the obligatory iodine loss hypothesis. Methods Data from 171 Chinese adults (19–21 years old) were collected and analyzed based on three balance studies in Shenzhen, Yinchuan, and Changzhi. The single exponential equation was accordingly used to simulate the trajectory of 24 h urinary iodine excretion as the low iodine experimental diets offered (iodine intake: 11−26 μg/day) and to further deduce the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for iodine, including estimated average requirement (EAR) and recommended nutrient intake (RNI). Results The minimum iodine excretion was estimated as 57, 58, and 51 μg/day in three balance studies, respectively. Moreover, it was further suggested as 57, 58, and 51 μg/day for iodine EAR, and 80, 81, and 71 μg/day for iodine RNI or expressed as 1.42, 1.41, and 1.20 μg/(day·kg) of body weight. Conclusion The iodine DRIs for Chinese adults were established based on the obligatory iodine loss hypothesis, which provides scientific support for the amendment of nutrient requirements.
Objective Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects. Methods We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies. Results We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011–2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007–2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity. Conclusion GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Objective To explore the correlation between chromosome 8 open reading frame 76 (C8orf76) and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and the potential predictive effect of C8orf76 and CDK4 on the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods We constructed a protein-protein interaction network of C8orf76-related genes and analyzed the prognostic signatures of C8orf76 and CDK4. Clinicopathological features of C8orf76 and CDK4 were visualized using a nomogram. Results C8orf76 and CDK4 levels were positively correlated in two independent human CRC cohorts (n = 83 and n = 597). A consistent positive correlation was observed between C8orf76 and CDK4 expression in the CRC cell lines. The nomogram included prognostic genes (C8orf76 and CDK4) and pathological N and M stages. The concordance index (C-index) in our cohort was 0.776, which suggests that the ability of the indicators to predict the overall survival of patients with CRC in our cohort was strong. Conclusion We found that C8orf76 was positively correlated with CDK4 in both the cohorts as well as in CRC cell lines. Therefore, C8orf76 and CDK4 can be used as potential biomarkers to predict the prognosis of CRC.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the leading cause of death globally. HCM can precipitate heart failure (HF) by causing the cardiac tissue to weaken and stretch, thereby impairing its pumping efficiency. Moreover, HCM increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, which in turn elevates the likelihood of thrombus formation and stroke. Given these significant clinical ramifications, research into the etiology and pathogenesis of HCM is intensifying at multiple levels. In this review, we discuss and synthesize the latest findings on HCM pathogenesis, drawing on key experimental studies conducted both in vitro and in vivo. We also offer our insights and perspectives on these mechanisms, while highlighting the limitations of current research. Advancing fundamental research in this area is essential for developing effective therapeutic interventions and enhancing the clinical management of HCM.
2015, 28(1): 57-71.
doi: 10.3967/bes2015.006
2022, 35(7): 573-603.
doi: 10.3967/bes2022.079
2018, 31(2): 87-96.
doi: 10.3967/bes2018.011
2023, 36(8): 669-701.
doi: 10.3967/bes2023.106
2012, 25(3): 317-324.
doi: 10.3967/0895-3988.2012.03.010
2019, 32(8): 559-570.
doi: 10.3967/bes2019.074
2014, 27(8): 606-613.
doi: 10.3967/bes2014.093
2018, 31(3): 208-214.
doi: 10.3967/bes2018.026
2003, 16(3): 246-255.
2019, 32(9): 659-672.
doi: 10.3967/bes2019.085
2022, 35(5): 381-392.
doi: 10.3967/bes2022.054
2016, 29(3): 212-218.
doi: 10.3967/bes2016.026
2022, 35(7): 648-651.
doi: 10.3967/bes2022.084
2018, 31(9): 637-644.
doi: 10.3967/bes2018.088
2019, 32(8): 578-591.
doi: 10.3967/bes2019.076
2019, 32(10): 769-778.
doi: 10.3967/bes2019.096
2017, 30(5): 384-389.
doi: 10.3967/bes2017.051
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