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Background: The involvement of quality of life as the UNAIDS fourth 90 target to monitor the global HIV response highlighted the development of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to help address the holistic needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) beyond viral suppression. This study developed and tested preliminary measurement properties of a new patient-reported outcome (PROHIV-OLD) measure designed specifically to capture influences of HIV on patients aged 50 and older in China. Methods: Ninety-three older people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were interviewed to solicit items and two rounds of patient cognitive interviews were conducted to modify the content and wording of the initial items. A validation study was then conducted to refine the initial instrument and evaluate measurement properties. Patients were recruited between February 2021 and November 2021, and followed six months later after the first investigation. Classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) were used to select items using the baseline data. The follow-up data were used to evaluate the measurement properties of the final instrument. Results: A total of 600 patients were recruited at the baseline. Of the 485 patients who completed the follow-up investigation, 483 were included in the validation sample. The final scale of PROHIV-OLD contained 25 items describing five dimensions (physical symptoms, mental status, illness perception, family relationship, and treatment). All the PROHIV-OLD dimensions had satisfactory reliability with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, McDonald's ω, and composite reliability of each dimension being all higher than 0.85. Most dimensions met the test-retest reliability standard except for the physical symptoms dimension (ICC = 0.64). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural validity of the final scale, and the model fit index satisfied the criterion. The correlations between dimensions of PROHIV-OLD and MOS-HIV met hypotheses in general. Significant differences on scores of the PROHIV-OLD were found between demographic and clinical subgroups, supporting known-groups validity. Conclusions: The PROHIV-OLD was found to have good feasibility, reliability and validity for evaluating health outcome of Chinese older PLWHA. Other measurement properties such as responsiveness and interpretability will be further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gynecologic cancers are among the most prevalent malignancies in China. Cervical and uterine cancer respectively account for the sixth and eighth highest incidence of cancer among Chinese women. Abdominal surgery is one of the important treatment methods for gynecological tumors. However, the tumor- and surgery-related symptom burden are not well studied owing to a lack of a standardized and validated assessment tool in the Chinese population. The study aimed to translate and validate the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for measuring perioperative symptom burden in gynecologic cancer patients (MDASI-PeriOp-GYN) and examine the utility of the Chinese version of MDASI-PeriOp-GYN.Methods: The MDASI-PeriOp-GYN was translated in a stepwise manner. First, two native speakers independently translated the 9 PeriOp-GYN symptom items. Then the nine items were translated back into English by two different bilingual translators. After discussion and revision, the four translators reached an agreement. Finally, the finalized Chinese version was administered to women with three common gynecologic cancer types (cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers) recruited from the gynecological oncology department of Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute between July and October 2019. The reliability and validity of the translated version were assessed.Results: Overall, 324 women with gynecologic cancers were enrolled. Cronbach's α values were 0.826 and 0.735 for the symptom severity and interference scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability values were 0.885, 0.873, and 0.914 for symptom severity, PeriOp-GYN, and interference scales. Significant correlations were found between the MDASI-PeriOp-GYN-C and EORTC QLQ-C30 along with the QLQ-OV28 module (- 0.608-0.871, P < 0.001). Known-group validity was supported by significant differences in the scores of the four scales grouped by time intervals, surgery type, and functional status (all P < 0.01).Conclusions: The MDASI-PeriOp-GYN-C is a valid and reliable tool for measuring symptoms in Chinese patients undergoing surgery for gynecologic cancers. The tool could be used in clinical practice and clinical trials to instantly gather patients' health and quality of life data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the year 2023, 1 958 310 new cancer cases and 609 820 cancer deaths are projected to occur in the United States, estimated by Cancer Statistics, published by American Cancer Society. An accelerated decline in mortality rate of cancer continues since it reached the peak in 1991. The treatment advance brought survival benefit to patients which mainly contribute to the decline along with tobacco control and screening. COVID-19 pandemic caused 350 831 mortality and ranked 3rd in cause of death in 2020, and the mortality had a significant increase in multiple causes of death including cancer. By comparing the data of China and the United States released by GLOBOCAN database in 2020, it is found that, although the influence of the pandemic on cancer has not been evaluated. Although the incidence and mortality of cancer differ between US and China, the experiences are worth learning. Improving the standardization of diagnosis and treatment, enhancing the accessibility of cancer health care, upgrading the coverage of screening and increasing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rate are proven to be effective ways to reduce the mortality of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Follow-up data of 6 737 patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer were collected based on hospital registration, and the 1-, 3- and 5-years observed overall survival (OS) rates and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were analyzed to provide real-world research evidence for the prevention and control of gastric cancer and policy making in China. Methods: A total of 6 737 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgical treatment at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer center from 2015 to 2020 were included in this study. Clinical information and the follow-up endpoint data were collected through medical records review, telephone visits and death registry data linkage. The last follow-up date was November 30, 2023. Kaplan-Meier method was applied in evaluating the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rate and DFS rate, and survival data were described by different subgroups including age group, gender, treatment period, tumor staging, and pathological characteristics. Results: With a median follow-up time of 50.99 months, the 5-year OS rate of surgically resected gastric cancer patients was 70.37%, and 5-year DFS rate in I-III stage cases was 69.46%. The 5-year OS rates of stage I, II, III and IV were 94.32%, 82.56%, 51.01% and 23.97%, respectively. The differences in survival among patients with different age, tumor location, gross classification, Borrmann classification and Lauren classification were significant. Conclusion: Staging is an important factor directly affecting the survival of gastric cancer patients. Screening and early diagnosis and treatment in large population, especially high-risk group, should be strengthened to further improve the patients' survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2006, canine distemper outbreaks have occurred in rhesus monkeys at a breeding farm in Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Approximately 10,000 animals were infected (25%-60% disease incidence); 5%-30% of infected animals died. The epidemic was controlled by vaccination. Amino acid sequence analysis of the virus indicated a unique strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural bioactive compounds (NBCs) are widely used in clinical treatment. For example, Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. is commonly known in China as Lei-Gong-Teng which means thunder god vine. This herb is widely distributed in Eastern and Southern China, Korea, and Japan. The natural bioactive compounds of this herb can be extracted and made into tripterygium glycoside tablets. It is one of the most commonly used and effective traditional Chinese herbal medicines against rheumatoid arthritis (RA), nephrotic syndrome (NS), autoimmune hepatis (AIH), and so on. However, many NBCs are difficult to reliably quantify in the serum due to the effects of matrix and RSD. In addition, the targeted compound's internal standard (IS) is rarely sold due to the complex isotope internal standard synthesis pathway. In this study, a new quantitation method for 18O labeling combined with off-line SPE was formulated. We contrasted the recoveries and matrix effects of various separation methods in order to choose the best method. Furthermore, we optimized the conditions for SPE loading and washing. An isotopic internal standard was prepared by the 16O/18O exchanging reaction in order to eliminate the matrix effects. The method's accuracy and precision met the requirements for method validation. The recovery of this method was close to 60%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the high-concentration sample was 2%, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 1 ng/mL. This method could be used to analyze the clinical serum concentration of demethylzeylasteral. Sixty samples were collected from 10 patients with diabetes nephropathy. The quantitation results of demethylzeylasteral in patients' serum obtained using this method exhibited a correlation between therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and decreased urinary protein. This work may have broad implications for the study of drug metabolism in vivo and the clinical application of low-abundance and difficult-to-quantify NBCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global to local environmental policy-making is increasingly evidenced-based. Knowledge exchange (KE) is increasingly used by environmental scientists and policymakers, to deliver evidence-based policy and practice. There is thus an urgent need to identify whether and how knowledge is exchanged between knowledge producers and users in environmental science fields. Frameworks to evaluate KE practice are emerging. Here we apply an assessment framework developed in social medicine to identify what forms of environmental knowledge are exchanged, and why and how they are exchanged. We focussed on China as international research to better manage Chinese ecosystem services is rapidly increasing, yet, how to best integrate this into political decision-making and the public realm remains a challenge. How KE is practiced in China is unknown. We addressed this through: 1) a systematic analysis of published KE research in China compared to global trends; 2) evaluating KE for environmental policy and management in China; 3) quantitative surveys of Chinese (n = 72) and British (n = 16) scientists researching Chinese environmental problems. China's contribution to the global KE database was low (6-7%) across all disciplines. The systematic review of two databases identified two key findings. One, there were no papers in the environmental sector examining the science-policy-practice interface in China out of 291 potentially relevant papers. Two, only 13 of 423 potentially relevant KE paper explicitly examined KE for environmental topics, notably for agriculture and information exchange (i.e. What). Most papers reported a one-way interaction between scientists and users (i.e. How), used to change practice (i.e. Why). Our quantitative survey showed significantly less awareness and use of KE methods (i.e. How) by Chinese scientists. The paucity of documented KE research and limited evidence for two-way interaction show KE at the environmental science-policy-practice interface in China is limited. Promotion of KE practice may benefit environmental decision-making in China. More broadly, our study shows how KE frameworks from social medicine are effective in understanding KE practice at the environmental science-policy-practice interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have explored the connection between follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the impact of FSH elevation on NAFLD remains a topic of debate. Hence, this investigation aimed to evaluate the potential correlation between FSH levels and NAFLD in the aging population. Methods: This was a retrospective observational cross-sectional study between July 2017 and August 2018 in our hospital. We used data obtained from 455 patients over 60 years old. Anthropometrics and laboratory tests were performed for each patient. NAFLD was diagnosed by sonographic features and the fatty liver index (LFI). Results: Of the 455 patients, 200 (43.96%) had NAFLD on their ultrasound and 169 (37.14%) had NAFLD according to the LFI. An intraclass correlation coefficient of the two methods was 80.4% (P < 0.001). People with NAFLD on their ultrasound showed lower FSH levels (52.68 vs. 61.39 IU/L) and more unfavorable metabolic profiles. FSH was negatively correlated with age, alanine aminotransferase, estradiol, testosterone, systolic blood pressure, waist, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, postload plasma glucose and positive associated with total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by Spearman correlation analysis (all P < 0.05). By controlling for all confounding factors, the odds ratios (OR) of FSH for NAFLD were determined in elderly individuals, both men and women, aged 60–70 years and over 70 years. These ORs were found to be 0.937, 0.982, 0.983, and 0.973, respectively, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 0.892–0.984 (P = 0.009), 0.971–0.993 (P = 0.002), 0.967–0.999 (P = 0.033), and 0.958–0.989 (P = 0.001). In addition, our findings demonstrated no significant correlation between FSH and advanced fibrosis when adjusting for potential covariates. The OR for advanced fibrosis was 0.979 (95% CI, 0.938–1.022, P = 0.339). Additionally, ROC curve analysis showed an optimal cut-off value of 66.91 for women and 15.25 for men for NAFLD diagnosis. Conclusions: There was an inverse relationship observed between levels of FSH in the blood serum and NAFLD in the elderly population. These findings suggest that reduced FSH levels might serve as a potential risk factor or biomarker for NAFLD in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) plays a pivotal role in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, it remains controversial whether PCI delayed beyond the recommended time window of 12 h after the onset of symptoms is applicable to STEMI.Objective: The acute myocardial infarction (AMI) registration study in Xinjiang, China, is a real-world clinical trial (retrospective cohort study) that includes hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to compare delayed PCI and medication therapy beyond the recommended time window of 12 h after the onset of symptoms on the outcomes of STEMI patients.Methods and Results: From May 2012 to December 2015, a total of 1072 STEMI patients received delayed PCI (n=594) or standard medication therapy (MT) (n=478) more than 12 h after the onset of symptoms. The number of all-cause deaths in the delayed PCI group and that in the MT group were 55 (9.3%) and 138 (28.9%), respectively, and a significant difference between the groups was indicated for this variable (P<0.001). The number of cardiac deaths in the delayed PCI group and that in the medication therapy group were 47 (7.9%) and 120 (25.1%), respectively, and a significant difference between the groups was indicated for this variable (P<0.001). We also found that the MACE incidence in the delayed PCI group was significantly higher than it was in the MT group (32.2% versus 43.5%, P<0.001). Propensity score matching (PSM) analyses remained significant differences between the delayed PCI group and the MT group, respectively, in all-cause deaths (9.3% versus 25.8%, P<0.001) and cardiac death (8.7% versus 21.6%, P<0.001).Conclusion: Compared to medication therapy, PCI for STEMI delayed beyond 12 h after the onset of symptoms can better reduce mortality and the incidence of MACEs.Trial Registration: This study is registered with the following: Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT02737956. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Poor nutritional status is a common finding in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), thiamin (VB-1) and riboflavin (VB-2) are coenzymes important for the activation of many enzymes involved in improving nutritional status. We aimed to investigate enzymatic activities and the associations between VB-1 and VB-2, and their relations to nutritional status in TB and TB+T2DM patients.Methods and Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study that prospectively enrolled TB 40 patients with or without T2DM respectively from the Chest Hospital of Qingdao and 76 healthy controls with similar age and gender distributions were recruited from the medical center of the affiliated hospital of Qingdao Medical College. The erythrocyte transketolase activation coefficient (ETKac, for VB-1 deficiency), the glutathione reductase activation coefficient (EGRac, for VB-2 deficiency), and metabolic enzyme activities were analyzed.Results: VB-1 and VB-2 deficiency rates were higher, and enzyme activities were lower in TB and TB+T2DM relative to control group. ETKac and EGRac were negatively correlated with enzyme activities, either with body mass index (BMI), while enzyme activities were positively associated with BMI.Conclusions: VB-1 and VB-2 concentrations were lower in TB patients with or without T2DM relative to controls, with concomitant reductions in the activity levels of key metabolic enzymes. Significant correlations were observed between VB-1 and VB-2 concentrations and the activity of these metabolic enzymes, they all correlated with nutrition status. VB-1 and VB-2 concentrations may thus impact metabolic enzyme activity and thereby influence nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the endophytic bacterial strain identified as Bacillius subtilis from the interior of the eggplant stem as an alternative tool to control vascular wilt disease caused by verticillium dahliae in Jiangsu Province, China. It notes that bacteria strain Jass ed1 was an internal colonizer within the eggplant without causing harmful side effects. The results show that the strain which produces antifungal substance had the biocontrol potential.

Background: Little is known about the prognostic advantage of sex for pulmonary adenocarcinoma among Chinese patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the true sex differences in prognosis by adjusting for confounders and to explore whether the differences were time‐varying. Methods: We identified 4438 lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgery at a regional Cancer Center of China from 2008 to 2016, retrospectively. Sex, age group, smoking history, year of diagnosis and pathological stage were collected. Time‐dependent Cox regression models with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) based on propensity score were used to assess the effect of sex and account for confounders. Landmark analyses were conducted to assess survival before, and after, five years. Results: Of these patients, 1761 (39.7%) were men and 2677 (60.3%) were women. Median follow‐up time was 52.6 months. After IPTW adjustment, women were found to have significantly better survival than men varying with time in both crude and IPTW models (hazard ratio [HR] [t] = 0.453*1.015t, where t is the length of time from treatment and its unit is month, p < 0.001). Women had significantly better survival than men within 0–5 years after surgery (HR = 0.763, 95% CI: 0.649–0.897, p = 0.001), whereas there was no difference after five years (HR = 1.135, 95% CI: 0.803–1.605, p = 0.472). In subgroup analysis, women in the 61–71+ age group, in the more than 20 year packs group, pathological stage 0–IB group, and 2013–2016 diagnosis period group revealed the same prognostic pattern. Conclusions: Compared with men, women had better survival after surgical resection of lung adenocarcinoma, especially those who were older and nonsmokers or heavy‐smokers and were pathological stage 0–IB in early years, while the advantage for women diminished with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Overt and occult hepatitis B infections among pregnant women were still prevalent during the transition period in China. • Separation of occult hepatitis B infection from "healthy" subjects tended to increase the effectiveness estimates of current neonatal vaccination against hepatitis B virus. • Pregnant women with overt hepatitis B infection primarily transmitted the virus, which resulted in an overt or occult infection in their infants. Intensive prenatal screening of hepatitis B surface antigen for pregnant women is essential. • A high rate of loss-to-follow-up could not be ignored in this study. Overt and occult hepatitis B infection (HBI) among mothers and infants were investigated, and the effectiveness of vaccination against HBI was evaluated based on transmission types. A hospital-based cohort was built with 2,734 mothers and 330 mother-infant pairs. Their demographic data were collected. Serological HBV markers, nested-PCR for HBV genes, viral load detection, and phylogenetic analysis were done. The overall prevalence of HBI among mothers was 12.1% (330/2,734), with 10.4% for the overt type and 1.8% for the occult type. In 330 out of 1,650 (20%) mother-infant pairs, the overall, type-I (from overt mother to overt infant), type-II (from overt mother to occult infant), and type-Ⅲ (from occult mother to occult infant) transmissions were 1.9% (1/54), 5.6% (3/54) and 0.0% (0/7). The refinement of HBI classification improved the estimate of vaccine effectiveness against HBI from 74.4%–80.9% to 94.4%, which was more prominent for type-II. One mother-infant pair with type-II transmission shared nearly identical complete sequences. However, the high rate of lost-to-follow-up could not be ignored. During the transition period, HBV is mainly transmitted from the overt type of HBI mother to infant. Intensive prenatal screening for mothers is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate the factors influencing brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in an apparently healthy Chinese population, especially the associations between baPWV and indices of blood pressure (BP). Methods. A total of 1123 participants with no history of hypertension were enrolled in this study, and the baPWV and BP of all four limbs were measured along with other covariates. Correlation analyses and multivariate linear regression models were used to identify factors associated with baPWV. Results. A total of 1123 participants (male 43.3%, mean age: 58.4 ± 13.9 years) were included. The average baPWV was 14.87 ± 3.21 m/s, and no difference was found between the sexes. Age was positively correlated with baPWV (r = 0.65 , p < 0.01), especially in females (r = 0.71 versus 0.56 in males). The correlation coefficient between age and baPWV increased markedly after the age of 65 years. In addition, the resting heart rate (RHR), waist-hip ratio, glomerular filtration rate, and plasma glucose level were significantly correlated with baPWV (r = 0.25 , 0.22, -0.43, and 0.25, respectively; p < 0.01). BP parameters were highly positively correlated with baPWV, especially systolic BP (SBP) and pulse pressure (PP). Multivariate regression revealed that age, BP parameters, and RHR were independently correlated with baPWV (p < 0.01) after adjusting for confounding factors. The standardized coefficients of SBP were greater than those of PP, followed by diastolic BP (DBP). Conclusion. BaPWV increased with age, especially after 65 years. Age, BP, and RHR were independent factors associated with baPWV. The effect of SBP on baPWV was more prominent than that of PP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the effectiveness and functional boundary of different types of industry policies and their mixes on the innovation performance of wind power enterprises (WPEs) is an important but unresolved key issue. This study, based on dual perspectives of regional innovation environment and enterprise ownership, empirically examines the impacts of different types of industry policies and their mixes on enterprise innovation. The results show that different types of policies have significantly different effects on innovation performance of WPEs; policy mixes have a significant synergy but may not be fully effective, and environmental-side policy and demand-side policy mixes still show significant inhibition. Taking into account boundary conditions, this study finds that policy mixes are implemented better in regions with weak innovation environments, especially in terms of the innovation performance of private-owned WPEs in the region. However, there is no significant impact for WPEs located in regions with strong innovation environments and state-owned enterprises in regions with weak innovation environments. This study expands an understanding of external boundaries for the effective implementation of different industry policies and their mixes, and has important implications for China in improving the applicability and matching ability of policies in the wind power industry. • The impact of different single policies and policy mixes on enterprise innovation is analyzed. • The synergistic effects of policy mixes have significant difference. • This study empirically tests the functional boundary of policy mixes on enterprise innovation. • Regional innovation environment and enterprise ownership significantly affect the effectiveness of policy mixes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To provide a comprehensive overview of temporal trends in cancer incidence during 1973-2010 in urban Shanghai.Methods: The estimated annual percent changes (EAPCs) for the whole period and for the time segments in age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) were evaluated with Joinpoint analysis. Age-period-cohort (APC) models were modeled to examine the effects of age, period and birth cohort on cancer incidence.Results: The overall ASR decreased slightly and significantly in males (EAPC of -0.41) but increased significantly in females (EAPC of 0.57) during 1973-2010 in urban Shanghai. The incidence trend was not linear and varied by time segments. During the most recent 10 years (2001-2010), the ASR in males decreased by 1.65% per year and stabilized in females. Incidence rates continued to decline during 1973-2010 for esophagus, stomach, and liver cancer in both sexes, as well as male lung cancer and cervix cancer. It should be noted that it was the first time to document a significant decline in lung cancer incidence among males during 1973-2010 with EAPC of -0.58%, and a notable upward for cervix cancer since 1996 with EAPC of 8.94%. Unfavorable trends in incidence were observed for the most common cancer sites in the 38 years period: colorectum, gallbladder & biliary tract, pancreas, kidney, bladder, brain & central nervous system (CNS), thyroid, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), prostate, female breast, corpus uteri, and ovary. APC analysis showed age, period and birth cohort yielded different effects by cancer sites.Conclusions: The observed trends primarily reflect dramatic changes in socioeconomic development and lifestyles in urban Shanghai over the past four decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We firstly reported the ore ages of the newly discovered Li-rich pegmatite in the NQT. • The newly discovered pegmatites have similar ages to the pegmatite in the MYK. • The pegmatites in the NQT may be formed in a continental collision setting. Lithium–(beryllium) are important strategic metals in modern industries. The Markam–Yajiang–Karakoram (MYK) giant Li ore belt (>14 Mt Li 2 O) is located in the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and is a world-class Li deposit belt. The reported pegmatite deposits in the belt are mainly found in the Tianshuihai–Songpan–Garzê Terrane (TSGT) and are generally considered to be related to Late Triassic S-type granites and flysch sedimentary rocks. Recently, abundant pegmatite veins have also been discovered in an adjacent terrane (i.e., the North Qaidam Terrane) to the north of the MYK belt, but it is unclear whether these newly discovered pegmatites are genetic related to the MYK belt. Here, we report high-precision columbite–tantalite (i.e., coltan) U–Pb ages and muscovite–lepidolite 40Ar/39Ar ages for the Li–(Be) rare-element pegmatites from the North Qaidam Terrane (NQT) in the Chakabeishan area of the Zongwulong orogenic belt. Coltan grains from three spodumene-bearing pegmatite samples yielded weighted-mean 207Pb-corrected U–Pb ages of 214.9 ± 1.7, 217.0 ± 2.3, and 215.0 ± 1.5 Ma. Muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating of two spodumene-bearing pegmatite samples and one barren pegmatite sample yielded plateau ages of 213.00 ± 0.97, 211.67 ± 0.35, and 211.78 ± 0.29 Ma, respectively. A lepidolite 40Ar/39Ar age for a lepidolite-bearing pegmatite is 216.62 ± 0.88 Ma. The subtle age differences obtained by the different methods are within reasonable error estimates or may be due to different closure temperatures. The ore-forming ages of the Chakabeishan Li–(Be) rare-element pegmatites are similar to those of Li–(Be) pegmatite deposits in the MYK belt. This and data from previous studies suggest that the Chakabeishan Li–(Be) rare-element pegmatites were also formed in a post-collisional setting after the closure of the Paleo-Tethys (Anyemaqen) Ocean. This study has important implications for understanding the origins of the MYK Li ore belt, indicating that the formation of these Li deposits was not solely associated with the Late Triassic S-type granites and flysch sedimentary rocks. Our results may also have implications for exploration, which extends the potential area of Li deposits from the Tianshuihai–Songpan–Garzê Terrane to the North Qaidam Terrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 20 susceptibility loci for breast cancer. A cumulative genetic risk score (GRS) was constructed from 10 variants with replicated associations among participants of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Genetics Study (Shanghai, China, 1996–1998 and 2002–2005). Interactions between the GRS and 11 breast cancer risk factors were evaluated. Among the 6,408 study participants, no evidence of effect modification was found with the GRS for age at menarche, age at menopause, age at first live birth/parity, total months of breastfeeding, family history of breast cancer, history of benign breast disease, hormone replacement therapy, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, or regular physical activity. The effect of the GRS was least homogeneous by duration of menstruation; further analysis indicated a nominally significant interaction with one genetic variant. The mitochondrial ribosomal protein S30 gene (MRPS30) rs10941679 was associated with breast cancer risk only among women with more than 30 years of menstruation (odds ratio = 1.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.26). Although this multiplicative interaction reached a nominal significance level (P = 0.037), it did not withstand correction for multiple comparisons. In conclusion, this study revealed no apparent interactions between genome-wide association study-identified genetic variants and breast cancer risk factors in the etiology of this common cancer.Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; GRS, genetic risk score; OR, odds ratio; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Etiologic differences between subtypes of breast cancer defined by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status are not well understood. The authors evaluated associations of hormone-related factors with breast cancer subtypes in a population-based case-control study involving 1,409 ER-positive (ER+)/PR-positive (PR+) cases, 712 ER-negative (ER−)/PR-negative (PR−) cases, 301 ER+/PR− cases, 254 ER−/PR+ cases, and 3,474 controls aged 20–70 years in Shanghai, China (phase I, 1996–1998; phase II, 2002–2005). Polytomous logistic regression and Wald tests for heterogeneity across subtypes were conducted. Breast cancer risks associated with age at menarche, age at menopause, breastfeeding, age at first livebirth, waist-to-hip ratio, and oral contraceptive use did not differ by hormone receptor status. Among postmenopausal women, higher parity (≥2 children vs. 1) was associated with reduced risk (odds ratio (OR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52, 0.91) and higher body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)2) with increased risk (highest quartile: OR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.65, 3.47) of the ER+/PR+ subtype but was unrelated to the ER−/PR− subtype (for parity, Pheterogeneity = 0.02; for BMI, Pheterogeneity < 0.01). Hormone replacement therapy (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.40, 3.62) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.51) appeared to be preferentially associated with the ER+/PR− subtype. These findings indicate that BMI, parity, hormone replacement therapy, and alcohol consumption may play different roles in subtypes of breast cancer. More research is needed to better understand the etiology of 2 relatively rare subtypes, ER+/PR− tumors and ER−/PR+ tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In previous studies among 1,144 cases and 1,256 controls recruited in stage 1 of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study (SBCS I; 1996–1998), 18 known or potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 16 genes were found to be associated with breast cancer risk. The authors evaluated these associations among 1,918 cases and 1,819 controls recruited in stage 2 of the SBCS (SBCS II; 2002–2005) using genetic effect models and subgroup analyses predetermined from SBCS I results. Five SNPs (AHR rs2066853, ATM rs1003623, ESR1 rs2234693, GSTP1 rs1695, and SHBG rs6259) showed generally consistent results in SBCS I and SBCS II and statistically significant associations with breast cancer risk in combined analyses, mostly in subgroups defined by age or menopausal status. Further, the relation between breast cancer risk and SHBG rs6259 was found to vary by body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) (P for interaction = 0.003). The strongest reduction in risk associated with SHBG rs6259 was found for lean (body mass index <23) postmenopausal minor allele carriers (odds ratio = 0.6, 95% confidence interval: 0.5, 0.8; P = 4.6 × 10−4). This biologically plausible and highly significant finding provides strong evidence for a true association among Asian women. This study also highlights the value of gene-environment interaction analyses in evaluating genetic factors for complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene (FGFR2) has been associated with the risk of breast cancer in multiple ethnic populations, and its effect has been suggested to be hormone-dependent. A large, 2-stage, population-based case-control study was conducted in urban Shanghai, China, during the periods of 1996–1998 and 2002–2005. Exposure and genotyping information from 2,073 patients with breast cancer and 2,084 age-matched population controls was available for evaluation of the interactions between FGFR2 polymorphisms and exogenous estrogen exposure in the development of breast cancer. A logistic regression model was used to compute adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Of 20 genotyped and 25 imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 22 were significantly associated with breast cancer. Three genotyped SNPs in close linkage disequilibrium, rs2303568, rs3135730, and rs1078806, and an imputed SNP of rs755793 in complete linkage disequilibrium with other 8 SNPs were observed to interact significantly with oral contraceptive (OC) use. The SNP-cancer association was evident only among OC users, and the OC use was only associated with the risk of breast cancer among carriers of these minor alleles at these loci. These findings suggest that genetic variants in FGFR2 may modify the role of OC use in causing breast cancer in Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]