Relationships between Chronic Diseases and Depression among Middleaged and Elderly People in China: A Prospective Study from CHARLS

Given the rapid increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases in aging populations,this prospective study including 17707 adults aged≥45 years from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study was used to estimate the associations between chronic discase,multimorbidity,and depression among middle-aged and elderly adults in China,and explore the mediating factors.Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CES-D-10)questionnaire.Twelve chronic physical conditions,including hypertension,diabetes,dyslipidemia,cancer,chronic lung disease,liver disease,heart failure,stroke,kidney disease,arthritis or rheumatism,asthma,digestive disease were assessed.The prevalence rates for physical multimorbidity and depression(CES-D-10≥10)were 43.23%and 36.62%,respectively.Through multivariable logistic models and generalized estimating equation(GEE)models,we found all 12 chronic physical conditions,and multimorbidity were significantly associated with depression.Both mobility problems and chronic pain explained more than 30%of the association for all chronic conditions,with particularly high percentages for stroke(51.56%)and cancer(51.06%)in mobility problems and cancer(53.35%)in chronic pain.Limited activities of daily living(ADL)explained 34.60%of the stroke-cancer relationship,while sleep problems explained between 10.15%(stroke)and 14.89%(chronic lung disease)of the association.Individuals with chronic diseases or multimorbidity are significantly more likely to be depressed.Functional symptoms involving limitations of ADL and mobility difficulties mediated much of the association between chronic diseases and incident depression.These symptoms could be targeted for interventions to ameliorate the incidence of depression among individuals with chronic conditions.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of naringin and neohesperidin after oral administration of flavonoid glycosides from Aurantii Fructus Immaturus in normal and gastrointestinal motility disorders mice

Objective: To compare the pharmacokinetics of naringin and neohesperidin after oral administration of Zhishi total flavonoid glycosides(ZSTFG) extracted from Aurantii Fructus Immaturus in normal and gastrointestinal motility disorders(GMD) mice.Methods: ZSTFG was orally given to normal and GMD mice induced by atropine or dopamine. The plasma samples were incubated with β-glucuronidase/sulfatase, the total(free + conjugated) naringenin and hesperitin were extracted with acetonitrile. The validated HPLC-MS/MS method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study.Results: The results showed that, compared with the normal group, AUC0–∞, AUC0–tand Cmaxfor total naringenin and hesperitin were significantly higher(P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), while CLZ/F for total naringenin and hesperitin was significantly lower(P < 0.01) in the GMD group. Tmax, t1/2 z, MRT0-t, and MRT0-∞for naringenin were longer(P < 0.01) in the GMD group than those in the normal group.Conclusion: The results showed that there were significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters of naringenin and hesperitin between normal and GMD groups. It was suggested that the absorption of naringenin and hesperitin was increased, and the elimination processes of naringenin and hesperitin were slower in the GMD group than the normal group. The data are of value for further pharmacological studies of ZSTFG and would be useful to provide a reference for improving the therapeutic regimen of ZSTFG in clinical trials.

Progress in improving thermodynamics and kinetics of new hydrogen storage materials

Hydrogen storage material has been much developed recently because of its potential for proton exchange membrane （PEM） fuel cell applications. A successful solid-state reversible storage material should meet the requirements of high storage capacity, suitable thermodynamic properties, and fast adsorption and desorption kinetics. Complex hydrides, including boron hydride and alanate, ammonia borane, metal organic frameworks （MOFs）, covalent organic frameworks （COFs） and zeolitic imidazolate frameworks （ZIFs）, are remarkable hydrogen storage materials because of their advantages of high energy density and safety. This feature article focuses mainly on the thermodynamics and kinetics of these hydrogen storage materials in the past few years.

Microstructural evolution and age-hardening behavior of quasicrystal-reinforced Mg-Dy-Zn alloy

Microstructural evolution and age-hardening behavior of Mg-2 Dy-6 Zn(at%)alloy during solid-solution and aging treatment were investigated.The microstructure of as-cast alloy is composed of a-Mg,Mg3 DyZn6(Ⅰ)phase,Mg3 Dy2 Zn3(W)phase,Mg(Zn,Dy)phase and a small amount of Mg0.97Zn0.03 phases.After solid-solution treatment(480℃,12 h),all the I phases and most W phases dissolve into a-Mg matrix and the remainder W phases transform into Mg(Dy,Zn)phase and MgDy3 phase.During aging treatment,I phase and small amounts of W phases co-precipitate from α-Mg matrix,respectively.The alloy exhibits a peak hardness of HV 77.5 at 200 ℃ for 8 h.The excellent age-hardening behavior of alloy is mainly attributed to the co-precipitation strengthening of I and W phases.