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Background Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is more prevalent than non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), leading to the identification of a variety of metabolically complex fatty liver diseases. The serum uric acid/creatinine ratio (SUA/Cr) is a new biomarker discovered after renal function-normalized SUA. At present, there have been few studies on the relationship between SUA/Cr and MAFLD. Objective To explore the correlation of SUA/Cr with MAFLD, and its predictive value for MAFLD. Methods We enrolled 2 288 individuals who visited the Physical examination Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University in February to June 2023. Venous blood samples were collected for laboratory tests, and abdominal ultrasonography was used to examine the liver condition. Based on the results of abdominal ultrasonography and the diagnostic criteria for MAFLD, the subjects were divided into the MAFLD group (n=945) and non-MAFLD group (n=1 343). According to SUA/Cr quartiles, the subjects were divided into Q1 group (SUA/Cr≤4.13, n=574), Q2 group (4.135.72, n=571). Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between SUA/Cr and clinical data. Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to gradually explore the influencing factors of MAFLD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the predictive value of SUA/Cr for MAFLD. Results Compared to the non-MAFLD group, the MAFLD group had higher levels of male proportion, age, waist circumference (WC), BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), homocysteine (Hcy), serum uric acid (SUA), serum creatinine (Scr), and SUA/Cr ratio (P

In arid areas, water shortage has become a major bottleneck limiting the sustainable development of agriculture, necessitating improved water use efficiency and the full development of innovative water-saving irrigation management technologies to improve quality. In the present study, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro Tom) fruits were used as materials, and different irrigation frequencies were set during the fruit expansion stage. The normal treatment (CK) was irrigated every three days, while the water deficit treatments were irrigated at varying frequencies: once every 4 days (T1), 5 days (T2), 6 days (T3), 7 days (T4), and 8 days (T5). These corresponded to 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, and 40% of the maximum field moisture capacity (FMC), respectively, with CK maintaining full irrigation at 90% of the maximum FMC. The water deficit treatment T3, with less stress damage to plants and the most significant effect on fruit quality improvement, was selected based on plant growth indices, photosynthetic characteristics, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and fruit quality indices, and its effects on carotenoids, glycolic acid fractions, and volatile compounds during tomato fruit ripening were further investigated. The outcome indicated that moderate water deficit significantly increased the carotenoid components of the tomato fruits, and their lycopene, lutein, α-carotene, and β-carotene contents increased by 11.85%, 12.28%, 20.87%, and 63.89%, respectively, compared with the control fruits at the ripening stage. The contents of glucose and fructose increased with the development and ripening of the tomato fruits, and reached their maximum at the ripening stage. Compared to the control treatment, the moderate water deficit treatment significantly increased the glucose and fructose levels during ripening by 86.70% and 19.83%, respectively. Compared to the control conditions, water deficit conditions reduced the sucrose content in the tomato fruits by 27.14%, 18.03%, and 18.42% at the mature green, turning, and ripening stages, respectively. The moderate water deficit treatment significantly increased the contents of tartaric acid, malic acid, shikimic acid, alpha ketoglutaric acid, succinic acid, and ascorbic acid, and decreased the contents of oxalic acid and citric acid compared to the control. The contents of total soluble sugar and total organic acid and the sugar–acid ratio were significantly increased by 48.69%, 3.71%, and 43.09%, respectively, compared with the control at the ripening stage. The moderate water deficit treatment increased the fruit response values to each sensor of the electronic nose, especially W5S, which was increased by 28.40% compared to the control at the ripening stage. In conclusion, during the ripening process of tomato fruit, its nutritional quality and flavor quality contents can be significantly improved under moderate (MD) deficit irrigation treatment. The results of this experiment can lay the foundation for the research on the mechanism of water deficit aiming to promote the quality of tomato fruit, and, at the same time, provide a theoretical basis and reference for tomato water conservation and high-quality cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide sols-containing quaternary ammonium bromide compounds, including diallylmethyl dodecyl/tetradecyl/hexadecyl/octadecyl ammonium bromide, were synthesized from zinc acetate and quaternary ammonium bromide compounds via sol–gel process. Effects of alkyl chain length and double allyl of quaternary ammonium salts on the stability of the sols were investigated. The sols were characterized by X-ray diffraction. Morphologies of the sols were observed with transmission electron microscopy. The various zinc oxide sols were applied to cotton fabrics. Antibacterial activity, UV resistance, and mechanical properties of the treated fabrics were tested. It was verified that alkyl chain length and double allyl of quaternary ammonium salts had effects on the stability of the sols. Application results showed that UV resistance and antibacterial rate of the fabric finished by zinc oxide sols-containing quaternary ammonium salts first increased and then decreased with an increase in the alkyl chain length of quaternary ammonium salts. However, the sols had negative effects on breaking strength and elongation at break of the fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate the clinical syndromes of asthma in children based on the detection of key indicators. A total of 50 children with asthma were selected based on the asthma diagnostic methods categorised according to cough, wheezing, sputum and wheezing sound. The levels of D-dimer (DD) and fibrinogen (Fg) in plasma and blood gas analysis were also measured. The diagnostic symptoms were divided into TCM diagnostic statistics and western medicine diagnostic scores. The analysis showed male children to be affected much more than female children, and the age of 2-5 years was more common. Blood tests showed that the plasma levels of DD and Fg in children with acute asthma increased significantly. The onset of asthma in children was closely related to history of allergy and family inheritance. More than half of the children had a history of allergy. Respiratory tract infection caused by cold air was the most important cause of asthma in children. Most children with asthma were febrile with cough (moderate to severe) and sputum. The syndromes in this study included wind-heat syndrome, lung-qi deficiency syndrome and wind-cold syndrome, which could lay a foundation for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of asthma in children.