Lycium barbarum L. polysaccharide (LBP) is prepared from Lycium barbarum L. (L. barbarum), which is a traditional Chinese medicine. LPB has been shown to have hypoglycemic effects. In order to gain some mechanistic insights on the hypoglycemic effects of LBP, we investigated the uptake of LBP and its effect on glucose absorption in the human intestinal epithelial cell line Caco2 cell. The uptake of LBP through Caco2 cell monolayer was time-dependent and was inhibited by phloridzin, a competitive inhibitor of SGLT-1. LPB decreased the absorption of glucose in Caco2 cell, and down-regulated the expression of SGLT-1. These results suggest that LBP might be transported across the human intestinal epithelium through SGLT-1 and it inhibits glucose uptake via down-regulating SGLT-1.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are typically asymptomatic, and there is a high mortality rate associated with aneurysm rupture. AAA pathogenesis involves extracellular matrix degradation, vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype switching, inflammation, and oxidative stress. There is increasing evidence of excessive adipocyte accumulation in ruptured AAA walls. These excessive numbers of adipocytes in the vascular wall have been closely linked with AAA progression. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), a unique type of adipose tissue, can be involved in adipocyte accumulation in the AAA wall. PVAT produces various chemokines and adipocytokines around vessels to maintain vascular homeostasis through paracrine and autocrine mechanisms in normal physiological conditions. Nevertheless, PVAT loses its normal function and promotes the progression of vascular diseases in pathological conditions. There is evidence of significantly reduced AAA diameter in vessel walls of removed PVAT. There is a need to highlight the critical roles of cytokines, cells, and microRNA derived from PVAT in the regulation of AAA development. PVAT may constitute an important therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of AAAs. In this review, we discuss the relationship between PVAT and AAA development; we also highlight the potential for PVAT-derived factors to serve as a therapeutic target in the treatment of AAAs.

Nanoplastics (NPs) cause serious contamination of drinking water and potential damage to human health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NPs with different particle sizes and concentrations on the reproductive function of male mice. In this study, free drinking water exposure was used to expose male BALB/C mice to PS-NPs (20 nm, 200 nm, and 1000 nm) at 0.1 mg/L, 1 mg/L, and 5 mg/L for 4 months. The male reproductive function of the mice was assessed after NPs exposure, and fecal and blood samples were collected for macrogenomics and metabolomics. The results showed that PS-NPs resulted in mice with reduced testicular organ coefficients, decreased sperm quality, altered testicular tissue structure, disturbed sex hormone levels, and abnormal levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress. Furthermore, this study found that NP exposure affected the alteration of gut communities and metabolic pathways related to male reproduction, such as Clostridium and glutathione metabolism. Importantly, we found an effect of NP particle size on reproductive function. In the future, more attention should be paid to the smaller particle sizes of NPs.

Salvia miltiorrhiza (S. miltiorrhiza) Bunge is one of the most economically important medicinal crops in China. In traditional Chinese medicine, its root is used as an important ingredient in formulas for treatment of atherosclerosis-related disorders. The continuous cropping of S. miltiorrhiza increases the proportion of dried seedlings and decreases the biomass of the shoots and roots and the contents of active components. In this study, three field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of Glomus mosseae (G. mosseae) inoculation on the growth and contents of active ingredients and nutrients in continuously cropped S. miltiorrhiza. The results showed that inoculation with G. mosseae increased the shoot biomass of S. miltiorrhiza by 48.1% and the root biomass by 39.2%, and decreased the dried seedling rate by nearly 75%. Inoculation with G. mosseae also increased the salvianolic acid B concentration by 21.9% in the shoots and 9.2% in the roots of S. miltiorrhiza, and also significantly increased Mn concentration in the roots and shoots (by 65.1% and 93.4%, respectively) and Fe concentration in the roots (by 75%). The accumulation of salvianolic acid B, Mn, and Fe in G. mosseae inoculated S. miltiorrhiza may be a mechanism that imparts tolerance to continuous cropping. Inoculation of S. miltiorrhiza with G. mosseae can serve as an effective approach of biocontrol to improve the performance of continuously cropped S. miltiorrhiza.

Persistent low fertility in China poses critical socioeconomic challenges. Family functioning has been implicated in reproductive decisionmaking, yet its heterogeneity remain underexplored, particularly among young adults. This study employs Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify high and lowfunctioning family profiles among Chinese university students and their parents, and to quantify their associations with marriageandchildbearing attitudes and explicit fertility intentions. In a crosssectional survey of 484 student–parent pairs from two northwest Chinese universities, we administered a 68item questionnaire incorporating the 30item Chinese Family Assessment Device and standardized measures of fertility intentions and marriageandchildbearing views. LPA classified families into two profiles. Multinomial logistic regression (Models 1–3) tested the effect of family functioning on students’ ideal number of children (“0,” “1,” “≥ 2,” vs. “indifferent”), sequentially adjusting for student and parental sociodemographic covariates. LPA yielded two profiles: lowfunctining (57.0%) and highfunctoning (43.0%) families. In Model 1, lowfunctioning membership increased the odds of intending 0 children (R = 2.90, 95% CI 1.53–5.49, p < 0.01), 1 child (OR = 2.65, 1.51–4.63, p < 0.01), and ≥ 2 children (OR = 3.54, 2.28–5.49, p < 0.001) versus remaining indifferent. Adjusting for student factors (Model 2) attenuated the zerochild effect (p = 0.21) but retained significant associations for 1 child (OR = 2.22, 1.20–4.12, p < 0.05) and ≥ 2 children (OR = 3.08, 1.77–5.35, p < 0.001). In the fully adjusted model (Model 3), lowfunctioning status remained a predictor only of ≥ 2 children (OR = 2.57, 1.40–4.73, p < 0.01). Older parental age independently predicted zerochild intentions (OR = 1.20, 1.08–1.33, p < 0.001), while parental occupation moderated highintention outcomes. Low family functioning exerts a robust influence on both low and high fertility intentions, although its effect on zerochild plans is largely explained by student and parental characteristics. By uncovering multidimensional familyfunctioning profiles and their differential impacts, this study advances theoretical models of intergenerational value transmission and informs targeted familyeducation and policy interventions aimed at mitigating China’s lowfertility trajectory.

Background: The mechanism driving multiple pathophysiological alterations in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unclear. Thiamine deficiency, a well-known feature of AD, may contribute to these alterations. Methods: The expressions of four known genes associated with thiamine metabolism were studied in brain samples from patients with AD and other neurodegenerative disorders. The results were further demonstrated in AD and diabetic mouse and cellular models. The phenotypes of mice with conditional Thiamine pyrophosphokinase-1 ( Tpk ) knockout in brain excitatory neurons were investigated. The therapeutic effects of thiamine diphosphate supplement and Tpk delivery on cellular and mouse models were explored. Phase 2 clinical trial of benfotiamine, a thiamine derivative, plus donepezil was performed. Results: Only TPK expression was inhibited in brain samples of AD patients, while none of thiamine-associated genes were significantly changed in other neurodegenerative disorders. TPK inhibition in the brains and neurons was verified in AD and diabetic mouse and cellular models. Mice with Tpk deletion in neurons exhibited all major pathophysiological alterations of AD, including amyloid deposition, Tau hyperphosphorylation, and brain atrophy. TPK expression restoration and thiamine diphosphate supplement ameliorated the pathophysiological and behavioral phenotypes in mouse and cell models with Tpk insufficiency. Benfotiamine delayed cognitive decline in mild-to-moderate AD patients with a dose-effect relationship, particularly with a significant attenuation of the deterioration in moderate AD patients by post hoc analysis. Conclusions: TPK deficiency and hence thiamine diphosphate reduction in neurons are a decisive factor driving multiple pathophysiologic alterations of AD, unveiling a new direction for the disease mechanism and treatment.