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Objective: To study the relevant factors affecting the occurrence of adjacent vertebral fractures in women with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures after conservative treatments., Methods: A total of 98 elderly female patients diagnosed with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and treated from January 2020 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The average age was (73.05±7.38) years old. Based on the follow-up results after two years of injury, the patients were divided into the adjacent vertebral fracture group (24 cases) and the non-adjacent vertebral fracture group (74 cases). The following factors were recorded for each patient:age, initial bone density, follow-up bone density, bone density changes, initial VAS score, degree of fracture compression, presence of old fractures, use of zoledronic acid, use of parathyroid hormone analogs, occurrence of complications, and further compression of the affected vertebrae. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to analyze the associated risk factors., Results: Univariate analysis revealed that in elderly women undergoing conservative treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, the degree of fracture compression, follow-up bone density, changes in bone density, use of zoledronic acid, and use of parathyroid hormone analogs were statistically significant( P <0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the degree of fracture compression 95% CI (0.040, 0.571), P =0.005, OR =0.151, changes in bone density 95% CI (1.264, 1 360.732), P =0.036, OR =41.477, and use of parathyroid hormone analogs 95% CI (1.638, 31.625), P =0.009, OR =7.196 were risk factors affecting the occurrence of adjacent vertebral fractures following vertebral compression fractures in elderly women with osteoporosis., Conclusion: The degree of fracture compression, changes in bone density, and the use of parathyroid hormone analogs are factors influencing the occurrence of adjacent vertebral fractures following vertebral compression fractures in elderly women with osteoporosis. For patients with mild compression fractures (gradeⅠ), conservative treatment can be achieved by intensifying anti-osteoporosis therapy and using parathyroid hormone analogs.

Long wave infrared (LWIR) birefringent crystals are essential for infrared optical applications but such materials are rarely reported due to the requirements of large birefringence and wide infrared transmission range. This study proposes a facile route to create new LWIR birefringent crystal by oxygenation strategy in halides with cations containing lone pair electrons. Given the tendency of such cations to form holodirected geometry, a divalent oxygen was introduced to substitute the monovalent halogen to decrease the coordination number and activate the lone pair electrons. Our efforts in Rb + -Sb 3+ -Cl - system result three new structures, namely, Rb 13 Sb 8 Cl 37 , Rb 3 Sb 2 OCl 7 and Rb 2 Sb 2 OCl 6 . The holodirected SbCl 6 in Rb 13 Sb 8 Cl 37 has been successfully translated to hemidirected SbOCl 4 in Rb 3 Sb 2 OCl 7 and Rb 2 Sb 2 OCl 6 , which are the first examples in alkali metal antimony(III) oxyhalides. The birefringence of Rb 2 Sb 2 OCl 6 reached to 0.191@550 nm, which is 11.2 times that of Rb 13 Sb 8 Cl 37 (0.017@550 nm). Large-sized crystal of Rb 2 Sb 2 OCl 6 have been successfully grown (6×6×2 mm 3 ). It can exhibit good transmission performance in the range of 0.4-13.5 μm, indicating its potential as a promising LWIR birefringent crystal. Our research not only opens up a new material system - alkali metal antimony(III) oxyhalides, but also provides a new strategy to create LWIR birefringent crystals., (© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Nonlinear optical material is one of the core components for modern laser equipment. The second harmonic generation (SHG) intensity and optical band gap are two key indicators of such materials. Herein, a wide band gap germanate, Li 3 (OH)PbGeO 4 , with the largest SHG intensity has been created successfully by hypoxic strategy via traditional hydrothermal reactions. The cations in this structure all coordinate with oxygen anions at their lowest coordination number, forming polar PbO 3 triangular pyramid and noncentrosymmetric GeO 4 , LiO 4 tetrahedrons. Li 3 (OH)PbGeO 4 exhibits a remarkable SHG response of about 27×KH 2 PO 4 (KDP), 54 % higher than the previous record. The band gap of Li 3 (OH)PbGeO 4 can reach to 3.74 eV, exceeding most inorganic germanates with SHG intensity larger than 3×KDP. Structural analysis and PAWED calculations indicate that its strong SHG response is due to the synergistic effects from PbO 3 , GeO 4 and LiO 4 groups. Furthermore, Li 3 (OH)PbGeO 4 can also present compelling broadband white-light emission with a high color-rendering index of up to 93. Our work not only breaks the record of SHG intensity in germanates but also provides an effective strategy in exploring new inorganic optical functional crystals., (© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background & Aims: Current guidelines recommend a 2-step approach for risk stratification in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) with Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) followed by liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) or similar second-line tests. This study aimed to examine to prognostic performance of this approach., Methods: The VCTE-Prognosis Study was a longitudinal study of patients with MASLD who had undergone VCTE examinations at 16 centres from the US, Europe and Asia with subsequent follow-up for clinical events. The primary endpoint was incident liver-related events (LREs), defined as hepatic decompensation and/or hepatocellular carcinoma., Results: Of 12,950 patients (mean age 52 years, 41% female, 12.1% LSM >12 kPa), baseline FIB-4, at cut-offs of 1.3 (or 2.0 for age ≥65) and 2.67, classified 66.3% as low-risk and 9.8% as high-risk, leaving 23.9% in intermediate-risk zone. After classifying intermediate FIB-4 patients as low-risk if LSM was <8.0 kPa and high-risk if LSM was >12.0 kPa, 81.5%, 4.6%, and 13.9% of the full cohort were classified as low-, intermediate-, and high-risk respectively. At a median (IQR) follow-up of 47 (23-72) months, 248 (1.9%) patients developed LREs. The 5-year cumulative incidence of LREs was 0.5%, 1.0% and 10.8% in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups, respectively. Replacing LSM with Agile 3+, Agile 4, and FAST did not reduce the intermediate-risk zone or improve event prediction. Classifying intermediate FIB-4 patients by LSM <10 kPa (low-risk) and >15 kPa (high-risk) reduced the intermediate-risk zone while maintaining prediction performance., Conclusions: Non-invasive 2-step approach by FIB-4 followed by LSM is effective in classifying patients at different risks of LREs., Impact and Implications: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is emerging as one of the leading causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide, but only a minority of patients will develop these complications. Therefore, it is necessary to use non-invasive tests instead of liver biopsy for risk stratification. Additionally, as most patients with MASLD are seen in primary care instead of specialist settings, cost and availability of the tests should be taken into consideration. In this multicentre study, the use of Fibrosis-4 index followed by liver stiffness measurement by vibration-controlled transient elastography effectively identified patients who would later develop liver-related events. The results support current recommendations by various regional guidelines on a clinical care pathway based on non-invasive tests to diagnose advanced liver fibrosis., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pharmacogenomic landscapes and related databases are important for identifying the biomarkers of drug response and toxicity. However, these data are still lacking for the Chinese population. In this study, we constructed a pharmacogenomic landscape and an associated database using whole-genome sequencing data generated by non-invasive prenatal testing in 206,640 Chinese individuals. In total, 1,577,513 variants (including 331,610 novel variants) were identified among 3,538 pharmacogenes related to 2,086 drugs. We found that the variant spectrum in the Chinese population differed among the seven major regions. Regional differences also exist among provinces in China. The average numbers of drug enzyme, transporter, and receptor variants were 258, 557, and 632, respectively. Subsequent correlation analysis indicated that the pharmacogenes affecting multiple drugs had fewer variants. Among the 16 categories of drugs, we found that nervous system, cardiovascular system, and genitourinary system/sex hormone drugs were more likely to be affected by variants of pharmacogenes. Characteristics of the variants in the enzyme, transporter, and receptor subfamilies showed specificity. To explore the clinical utility of these data, a genetic association study was conducted on 1,019 lung cancer patients. Two novel variants, AKT2 chr19:40770621 C>G and SLC19A1 chr21:46934171 A>C, were identified as novel platinum response biomarkers. Finally, a pharmacogenomic database, named the Chinese Pharmacogenomic Knowledge Base (CNPKB: http://www.cnpkb.com.cn/), was constructed to collect all the data. In summary, a pharmacogenomic landscape and database for the Chinese population were constructed in this study, which could support personalized Chinese medicine in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025 The Authors.)

The importance of ferroptosis in the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis is gradually being recognized. The stimulatory G protein α subunit (Gsα) plays a crucial role in the physiology of endothelial cells (ECs). Our previous study showed that endothelial Gsα could regulate angiogenesis and preserve endothelial permeability. In this study, we investigated whether endothelial Gsα contributed to atherosclerosis through ferroptosis and oxidative stress. We generated endothelial Gsα-specific knockout mice in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE -/- ) background (ApoE -/- Gsα ECKO ), and found that the mice exhibited aggravated atherosclerotic lesions and signs of ferroptosis compared with their wild-type littermates (ApoE -/- Gsα fl/fl ). In human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), overexpression of Gsα reduced lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis, whereas Gsα knockdown exacerbated oxidative stress and ferroptosis. Further, Gsα overexpression in HAECs increased the expression of antioxidant genes nuclear factor erythroid 2-related 2 (NRF2) and its downstream genes. Gsα regulated the expression of NRF2 through CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF). In conclusion, this study has revealed that Gsα acts as a defense factor against endothelial ferroptosis and is a potential target for the treatment of atherosclerosis and associated ischemic heart disease. A model depicting the increase in the endothelial Gsα protein level in response to atherosclerotic stimuli. Gsα regulates NRF2 expression through cAMP/Epac/CTCF-mediated transcription and inhibits ferroptosis. Endothelial Gsα deficiency alleviates antioxidative stress and exacerbates atherosclerosis., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Pharmacological Society.)

Cirrhosis, the end-stage of liver disease, progresses through altered gut-liver axis and microbial change. Here we show that intestinal mucosal mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, which affects intestinal barrier worsens with cirrhosis progression. This is ameliorated with fecal microbiota transplantation.