Fatty liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction is of increasing concern in mainland China, the world's most populous country. The incidence of fatty liver disease is highest in China, surpassing the incidence in European countries and the USA. An international consensus panel recently published an influential report recommending a novel definition of fatty liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction. This recommendation includes a switch in name from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and adoption of a set of positive criteria for disease diagnosis that are independent of alcohol intake or other liver diseases. Given the unique importance of this proposal, the Chinese Society of Hepatology (CSH) invited leading hepatologists and gastroenterologists representing their respective provinces and cities to reach consensus on alternative definitions for fatty liver disease from a national perspective. The CSH endorses the proposed change from NAFLD to MAFLD (supported by 95.45% of participants). We expect that the new definition will result in substantial improvements in health care for patients and advance disease awareness, public health policy, and political, scientific and funding outcomes for MAFLD in China.

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The expression and localization of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the four parts (tip, upper, mid and base) of the red deer antler has been extensively investigated. We used reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR), in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and Western blot techniques to localize IGF-I messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and IGF-I peptide in the four parts of the antler. The specific sequence encoding IGF-I was detected by RT-PCR in all of the four specimens, and the 395 bp IGF-I sequence from the red deer antler was shown to have very high homology with human, goat and mouse IGF-I. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that the expression of IGF-I occurred in chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the tip and upper parts of the antler. However, IGF-I was only detectable in osteoblasts around the bone in the mid and base parts. There were significant differences in the intensity of the signal obtained with the IGF-I probe in the tip, upper, mid and base tissues. The Western blot analysis also provided evidence that IGF-I expression was localized differentially in the four parts of the deer antler. This study indicates that antler tissue is an essential part of the IGF system, which is involved in the regulation of the growth of red deer antlers. The specific expression of IGF-I in the four parts of the deer antler suggests that the IGF-I molecule is present at significantly different levels throughout the deer antler development and regeneration processes. Localization of IGF-I in chondrocytes and osteoblasts suggests that IGF-I may play an important role in cartilage and bone formation. In addition, it may have a variety of biophysical effects that influence the rapid growth of deer antlers.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a promising therapeutic target in obesity studies. Recently, MRI has been proposed for the mapping of BAT. However, because of the limitation of spatial resolution, similar to the existing positron emission tomography and computed tomography techniques for BAT detection, it fails to distinguish BAT cells when they are mixed with other cells. In this work, a new MRI method is proposed, combining intermolecular double-quantum coherence and the chemical shift-encoded Dixon method. Its contrast depends on the water to fat ratio at the cellular scale, which is smaller than the imaging voxel size. The feasibility of this MRI method was shown with computer simulations and phantoms, and preliminary imaging of BAT of rats at 7 T. Both computer simulations and experimental results are consistent with theoretical predictions. The method provides a novel contrast mechanism and can map BAT distribution exclusively. In particular, a mixture of BAT cells and white adipose tissue cells was detected in an older rat, which was undetectable by other noninvasive methods. This method may be applicable to a wide range of uses in BAT-related studies, including the formation and variation of BAT.

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