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PCL-based biodegradable shape-memory polymers (SMPs) are limited in strength, which restricts their practical applications. In this study, a series of novel SMPs, composed of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), were synthesized and cross-linked using planar (benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid, BTC) or non-planar (glycerol, GC) cross-linkers via the one-pot method. The influence of different kinds of cross-linkers and hard segments of copolyesters on the thermal properties, crystallization behavior, mechanical properties, shape-memory performance, and degradability was investigated by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, DSC, DMA, TGA, XRD, tensile test, intrinsic viscosity measurement, and in vitro enzymatic degradation test. The results indicate that the tensile strength of the copolyester can be significantly improved from 27.8 to 53.2 MPa by partially replacing PET with PEN while maintaining its shape-memory characteristics. Moreover, a small amount of cross-linking modification leads to higher temperature sensitivity, improved shape recovery rate at third round (Rr(3) = 99.1%), and biodegradability in the cross-linked PET/PEN/PCL shape-memory polymers. By changing the crystallization morphology and cross-linking forms of the material, we have developed a shape-memory polymer with both high strength and a high shape recovery rate, which provides a new strategy for the development of shape-memory materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 45-year-old male presented with acute-onset left-sided weakness and slurred speech. Non-contrast-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed cortical and internal border-zone infarcts compatible with stroke. A survey of ischemic stroke risk factors in young adults excluded coagulopathy, vasculitis, and cardiac disease. Nevertheless, neck-computed tomography angiography revealed a long-segmental narrowing of the right internal carotid artery with wall thickening and a "string-of-beads" appearance suspicious for fibromuscular dysplasia, which was confirmed on further angiography. His clinical condition stabilized after intensive medical therapy. This case demonstrates cerebrovascular fibromuscular dysplasia as a possible cause of ischemic stroke in young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study tried to improve the operational efficiency and service quality of the community case management model for the High-Care Elderly in Communities in Taiwan. This study tried to assistant social workers in community care sites to establish individualized treatment planning, to empower them with flexibility to discover and utilize their own unique strengths, to reach the goal of developing community care capacity.Methods: A case consulting model was employed in this study by providing case by case supervision service. We collected all supervision meeting records and related data as our qualitative research materials, analyzed these materials and tried to define intervention effectiveness of the individualized supervision strategy under the strength perspective applied to the case management model of the high-care elderly in communities. To find out what helps these social workers the most, and how these social workers realize and recognize their process and key to improve their service quality and work efficiency, in the way of qualitative interpretation.Results: A supervision model under the perspective of strength was developed in this study, and was applied to clinical community care sites to help their social workers. The results proved that our supervision model provided an opportunity to empower and re-know themselves, re-establish their professional confidence and meaning of existence for their organization, and eventually produced positive effect to quality of service and service receiver's satisfaction improvement. The key feature that made this supervision model of the strength perspective work was to let social workers have the autonomy to interpret the challenges they face and to think possible alternative solutions creatively.Conclusions: This study showed that create a supervisee-friendly psycho-socio environment empowered these workers by increasing their resource network and taking advantage of what they still have and what they were good at, this could help these workers upgrade their level on ladders of empowerment, become an active and independent professional worker that have power and confidence to make treatment and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic, autoimmune, connective tissue disorder that results from the infiltration of exocrine glands, especially the lacrimal and salivary glands, by autoantibodies. Patients with Sjögren's syndrome commonly present with dry eyes (xerophthalmia) and dry mouth (xerostomia). However, the clinical manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome can be complicated and variable due to involvement of extraglandular organ systems, such as the nervous system. The neurological manifestations of this disorder often precede those of other exocrine gland symptoms. Hence, early diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome remains a challenge.Case Presentation: We report the case of a 63-year-old woman with primary Sjögren's syndrome who presented with acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN). Treatment with glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants partially improved her muscle weakness and paresthesia.Conclusions: This case demonstrates the importance of early recognition and diagnosis of AMSAN in association with primary Sjögren's syndrome to achieve a favorable clinical outcome. Primary Sjögren's syndrome may be underdiagnosed because of vague symptoms of the sicca complex. Comprehensive immunological testing to evaluate this condition may be performed in patients presenting with variants of Guillain-Barré syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An advanced bond coat has been developed for solid oxide fuel cell interconnector applications; a low thermal expansion superalloy has been selected as the substrate, and the newly developed bond coat is applied between the substrate and the LSM top coat. The bond coat composition is designed to be near thermodynamic equilibrium with the substrate to minimize interdiffusion with the substrate while providing oxidation protection for the substrate. The bond coat exhibits good oxidation resistance, a low area specific resistance, and a low thermal expansion coefficient at 800 °C; experimental results indicate that interdiffusion between the bond coat and the substrate can be hindered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food group intake in adolescents has many health implications. However, no study has been conducted to assess food group intake among Chinese adolescents. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate food group intakes among Chinese adolescents living in Guangzhou city and the proportion of adolescents surveyed meeting the Chinese dietary guidelines, and the Chinese food pagoda for a balanced diet 2007. Methods: A school-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Guangzhou city between October 2006 and April 2007. A random sample of 2977 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, was interviewed. A self-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate food group intakes of adolescents. Results: A high percentage of adolescents consumed too little plant foods including vegetables, fruit, and soybean products. Only 9%, 14% and 6% of adolescents surveyed reached the minimum daily recommended intake levels for vegetables, fruit, and soybean products and nuts. Nearly 70% of the studied adolescents consumed dairy less than the recommended daily intake and more than 20% adolescents reached the recommended amounts for cereals and eggs. More than one-third (35.6%) of adolescents did not meet any food group recommendations. And no adolescents reached all eight food group recommendations. An inadequate consumption of calcium and iron among adolescents was also found. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that most adolescents living in Guangzhou city are not meeting the current recommendations for intakes of the various food groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurogenic inflammation and central sensitization play a role in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. We explore the molecular effects of low-intensity shock wave therapy (Li-ESWT) on central sensitization in a capsaicin-induced prostatitis rat model. Male Sprague–Dawley rats underwent intraprostatic capsaicin (10 mM, 0.1 cm3) injections. After injection, the prostate received Li-ESWT twice, one day apart. The L6 dorsal root ganglion (DRG)/spinal cord was harvested for histology and Western blotting on days 3 and 7. The brain blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional images were evaluated using 9.4 T fMRI before the Li-ESWT and one day after. Intraprostatic capsaicin injection induced increased NGF-, BDNF-, and COX-2-positive neurons in the L6 DRG and increased COX-2, NGF, BDNF, receptor Trk-A, and TRPV1 protein expression in the L6 DRG and the dorsal horn of the L6 spinal cord, whose effects were significantly downregulated after Li-ESWT on the prostate. Intraprostatic capsaicin injection increased activity of BOLD fMRI responses in brain regions associated with pain-related responses, such as the caudate putamen, periaqueductal gray, and thalamus, whose BOLD signals were reduced after Li-ESWT. These findings suggest a potential mechanism of Li-ESWT on modulation of peripheral and central sensitization for treating CP/CPPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The specific microbiota and associated metabolites linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are still controversial. Thus, we aimed to understand how the core gut microbiota and metabolites impact NAFLD. Methods: The data for the discovery cohort were collected from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (GNHS) follow-up conducted between 2014 and 2018. We collected 272 metadata points from 1546 individuals. The metadata were input into four interpretable machine learning models to identify important gut microbiota associated with NAFLD. These models were subsequently applied to two validation cohorts [the internal validation cohort (n = 377), and the prospective validation cohort (n = 749)] to assess generalizability. We constructed an individual microbiome risk score (MRS) based on the identified gut microbiota and conducted animal faecal microbiome transplantation experiment using faecal samples from individuals with different levels of MRS to determine the relationship between MRS and NAFLD. Additionally, we conducted targeted metabolomic sequencing of faecal samples to analyse potential metabolites. Results: Among the four machine learning models used, the lightGBM algorithm achieved the best performance. A total of 12 taxa-related features of the microbiota were selected by the lightGBM algorithm and further used to calculate the MRS. Increased MRS was positively associated with the presence of NAFLD, with odds ratio (OR) of 1.86 (1.72, 2.02) per 1-unit increase in MRS. An elevated abundance of the faecal microbiota (f__veillonellaceae) was associated with increased NAFLD risk, whereas f__rikenellaceae, f__barnesiellaceae, and s__adolescentis were associated with a decreased presence of NAFLD. Higher levels of specific gut microbiota-derived metabolites of bile acids (taurocholic acid) might be positively associated with both a higher MRS and NAFLD risk. FMT in mice further confirmed a causal association between a higher MRS and the development of NAFLD. Conclusions: We confirmed that an alteration in the composition of the core gut microbiota might be biologically relevant to NAFLD development. Our work demonstrated the role of the microbiota in the development of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of circulatory proteomics in osteoporosis is unclear. Proteome‐wide profiling holds the potential to offer mechanistic insights into osteoporosis. Serum proteome with 413 proteins was profiled by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) at baseline, and the 2nd, and 3rd follow‐ups (7704 person‐tests) in the prospective Chinese cohorts with 9.8 follow‐up years: discovery cohort (n = 1785) and internal validation cohort (n = 1630). Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) at follow‐ups 1 through 3 at lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN). We used the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) to identify the osteoporosis (OP)‐related proteomic features. The relationships between serum proteins and BMD in the two cohorts were estimated by linear mixed‐effects model (LMM). Meta‐analysis was then performed to explore the combined associations. We identified 53 proteins associated with osteoporosis using LightGBM, and a meta‐analysis showed that 22 of these proteins illuminated a significant correlation with BMD (p < 0.05). The most common proteins among them were PHLD, SAMP, PEDF, HPTR, APOA1, SHBG, CO6, A2MG, CBPN, RAIN APOD, and THBG. The identified proteins were used to generate the biological age (BA) of bone. Each 1 SD‐year increase in KDM‐Proage was associated with higher risk of LS‐OP (hazard ratio [HR], 1.25; 95% CI, 1.14–1.36, p = 4.96 × 10−06), and FN‐OP (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.02–1.23, p = 9.71 × 10−03). The findings uncovered that the apolipoproteins, zymoproteins, complements, and binding proteins presented new mechanistic insights into osteoporosis. Serum proteomics could be a crucial indicator for evaluating bone aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the comparison of the characteristics in renal autoregulation in normotensive Sprague-Dawey and spontaneously hypertensive rats, relating to the application of biomedical engineering and applied biophysics. Information on mathematical methods; Other detailed information.

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a common indication for liver transplantation (LT). Alcohol relapse after LT is associated with graft loss and worse prognosis. Over the past 20 years, the number and prevalence of living donor liver transplantations (LDLTs) have increased in Taiwan. The aims of this retrospective study are to analyze the incidence and risk factors of alcohol relapse after LT at a single center in Taiwan. A total of 98 patients with ALD who underwent LT from January 2012 to December 2018 were retrospectively evaluated by chart review. Pre-transplant characteristics as well as psychosocial and alcoholic history were used to test the possible associations among the risk factors studied and post-LT alcohol relapse. The incidence of post-LT alcohol relapse was 16.3%. The median duration of alcohol relapse after liver transplantation was 28.1 months (range: 1–89.4 months). The cumulative incidence was 12% and 19% at 1 year and 3 years after LT, respectively. The most powerful risk factors were a pre-LT abstinence period less than 6 months and younger age of starting alcohol. For predicting alcohol relapse, the accuracy rate of abstinence less than 6 months was up to 83.7%. In summary, pre-abstinence period plays a role in predicting post-LT alcohol relapse. Post-LT interventions should be considered specifically for the patients with short abstinence period. Long-term follow-up, patient-centered counseling, and enhancement of healthy lifestyle are suggested to prevent alcohol relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The early life stage is critical for the gut microbiota establishment and development. We aimed to investigate the lifelong impact of famine exposure during early life on the adult gut microbial ecosystem and examine the association of famine-induced disturbance in gut microbiota with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We profiled the gut microbial composition among 11,513 adults (18–97 years) from three independent cohorts and examined the association of famine exposure during early life with alterations of adult gut microbial diversity and composition. We performed co-abundance network analyses to identify keystone taxa in the three cohorts and constructed an index with the shared keystone taxa across the three cohorts. Among each cohort, we used linear regression to examine the association of famine exposure during early life with the keystone taxa index and assessed the correlation between the keystone taxa index and type 2 diabetes using logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders. We combined the effect estimates from the three cohorts using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Compared with the no-exposed control group (born during 1962–1964), participants who were exposed to the famine during the first 1000 days of life (born in 1959) had consistently lower gut microbial alpha diversity and alterations in the gut microbial community during adulthood across the three cohorts. Compared with the no-exposed control group, participants who were exposed to famine during the first 1000 days of life were associated with consistently lower levels of keystone taxa index in the three cohorts (pooled beta − 0.29, 95% CI − 0.43, − 0.15). Per 1-standard deviation increment in the keystone taxa index was associated with a 13% lower risk of type 2 diabetes (pooled odds ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.80, 0.93), with consistent results across three individual cohorts. Conclusions: These findings reveal a potential role of the gut microbiota in the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, deepening our understanding about the etiology of type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of two kinds of surgical resection schemes, a conventional open surgical scheme and a thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy surgical scheme, on operation-related clinical indexes, inflammatory cytokines and complications in elderly patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: A total of 100 elderly patients with esophageal cancer seen in the Department of Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, from June 2014 to June 2016 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups, including a control group (50 patients) with a conventional open surgical scheme and an observation group (50 patients) with a thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy surgical scheme. The operation time, the amount of bleeding during the operation, the incision length, the number of lymph nodes dissected, the hospitalization time, the HAMA scores and HAMD scores before and after the operation, the PSQI scores, SF-36 scores and levels of PCT, CRP and IL-6 after the operation, the recurrence and metastasis rates and the mortality at follow-up and the incidence of related complications of both groups were compared. Results: The operation time, the amount of bleeding during the operation, the incision length and the hospitalization time in the observation group were significantly less than those in the control group (p<0.05). The number of lymph nodes dissected in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p<0.05). The HAMA scores and HAMD scores after the operation in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group and those before the operation (p<0.05). The PSQI scores and SF-36 scores after the operation in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group and those before the operation (p<0.05). The levels of PCT, CRP and IL-6 after the operation in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). The recurrence and metastasis rates at follow-up in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in mortality at follow-up between the two groups (p>0.05). The complication incidence after the operation in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with a conventional open surgical scheme, the thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy surgical scheme possesses advantages in the treatment of elderly patients with esophageal cancer, including being a minimally invasive, simple operation, having a shorter recovery time, effectively relieving negative emotions, improving the quality of life, reducing the levels of inflammatory molecules and reducing the risk of related complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method based on a dual-cavity fiber Fabry–Pérot interferometer (DCFFPI) for simultaneously measuring the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) and thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of a polymer. The polymer is, by nature, highly responsive to temperature (T) in that its size (length, L) and refractive index (RI, n) are highly dependent on the thermal effect. When the optical length of the polymer cavity changes with T, it is difficult to distinguish whether there is a change in L or n, or both. The variation rates of L and n with a change in T were the TOC and TEC, respectively. Therefore, there was a cross-sensitivity between TOC and TEC in the polymer-based interferometer. The proposed DCFFPI, which cascades a polymer and an air cavity, can solve the above problem. The expansion of the polymer cavity is equal to the compression of the air cavity with the increase in T. By analyzing the individual optical spectra of the polymer and air cavities, the parameters of TOC and TEC can be determined at the same time. The simultaneous measurement of TOC and TEC with small measured deviations of 6 × 10−6 (°C−1) and 3.67 × 10−5 (°C−1) for the polymer NOA61 and 7 × 10−6 (°C−1) and 1.46 × 10−4 (°C−1) for the NOA65 can be achieved. Experimental results regarding the measured accuracy for the class of adhesive-based polymer are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and verify the usefulness of the proposed DCFFPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbiome-gut-brain axis may be involved in the progression of age-related cognitive impairment and relevant brain structure changes, but evidence from large human cohorts is lacking. This study was aimed to investigate the associations of gut microbiome with cognitive impairment and brain structure based on multi-omics from three independent populations. Methods: We included 1430 participants from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (GNHS) with both gut microbiome and cognitive assessment data available as a discovery cohort, of whom 272 individuals provided fecal samples twice before cognitive assessment. We selected 208 individuals with baseline microbiome data for brain magnetic resonance imaging during the follow-up visit. Fecal 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, targeted serum metabolomics, and cytokine measurements were performed in the GNHS. The validation analyses were conducted in an Alzheimer's disease case–control study (replication study 1, n = 90) and another community-based cohort (replication study 2, n = 1300) with cross-sectional dataset. Results: We found protective associations of specific gut microbial genera (Odoribacter, Butyricimonas, and Bacteroides) with cognitive impairment in both the discovery cohort and the replication study 1. Result of Bacteroides was further validated in the replication study 2. Odoribacter was positively associated with hippocampal volume (β, 0.16; 95% CI 0.06–0.26, P = 0.002), which might be mediated by acetic acids. Increased intra-individual alterations in gut microbial composition were found in participants with cognitive impairment. We also identified several serum metabolites and inflammation-associated metagenomic species and pathways linked to impaired cognition. Conclusions: Our findings reveal that specific gut microbial features are closely associated with cognitive impairment and decreased hippocampal volume, which may play an important role in dementia development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) in the development of diabetes remains controversial, and prospective data are few. We aimed to investigate the association between serum TMAO and incident type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and older adults.Methods: This study was based on the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (GNHS), a community-based prospective cohort study in China. A total of 2088 diabetes-free participants aged 40-75 years were included from 2008 to 2010. Incident type 2 diabetes was ascertained during follow-up visits. Baseline serum TMAO was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with online electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for diabetes across tertiles of serum TMAO were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Prospective associations of serum TMAO with changes in glycemic traits (fasting glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR) over time were estimated using linear mixed-effects models (LMEMs).Results: We ascertained 254 incident type 2 diabetes cases during a median follow-up of 8.9 years. The median (interquartile range) of serum TMAO was 1.54 (0.86-2.91) μmol/L. From the first to the third tertile of serum TMAO, the multivariable-adjusted HRs for diabetes were 1.00 (reference), 1.17 (95% CI: 0.84-1.61), and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.03-1.96) (P-trend = 0.031). LMEMs showed that the estimated yearly change in fasting glucose was 0.011 (0.001-0.022) mmol/L/y in the highest tertile of serum TMAO, compared with the lowest tertile (P-interaction = 0.044). Serum TMAO was not associated with longitudinal changes in HbA1c, insulin or HOMA-IR.Conclusions: Our findings suggested that higher serum TMAO was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and an increase in fasting glucose among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.Trial Registration: NCT03179657. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03179657?term=NCT03179657&draw=2&rank=1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The temporal relationship between adiposity and gut microbiota was unexplored. Whether some gut microbes lie in the pathways from adiposity to insulin resistance is less clear. Our study aims to reveal the temporal relationship between adiposity and gut microbiota and investigate whether gut microbiota may mediate the association of adiposity with insulin resistance in a longitudinal human cohort study.Methods: We obtained repeated-measured gut shotgun metagenomic and anthropometric data from 426 Chinese participants over ~3 years of follow-up. Cross-lagged path analysis was used to examine the temporal relationship between BMI and gut microbial features. The associations between the gut microbes and insulin resistance-related phenotypes were examined using a linear mixed-effect model. We examined the mediation effect of gut microbes on the association between adiposity and insulin resistance-related phenotypes. Replication was performed in the HMP cohort.Results: Baseline BMI was prospectively associated with levels of ten gut microbial species. Among them, results of four species (Adlercreutzia equolifaciens, Parabacteroides unclassified, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 7 1 58FAA) were replicated in the independent HMP cohort. Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1 was inversely associated with HOMA-IR and fasting insulin. Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1 mediated the association of overweight/obesity with HOMA-IR (FDR<0.05). Furthermore, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1 was positively associated with the butyrate-producing pathway PWY-5022 (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Our study identified one potentially beneficial microbe Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3 1 57FAA CT1, which might mediate the effect of adiposity on insulin resistance. The identified microbes are helpful for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, as to mitigate the impact of adiposity on insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antibiotic resistance crisis underlies globally increasing failures in treating deadly bacterial infections, largely due to the selection of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) collection, known as the resistome, in human gut microbiota. So far, little is known about the relationship between gut antibiotic resistome and host metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, metagenomic landscape of gut antibiotic resistome is profiled in a large multiomics human cohort (n = 1210). There is a significant overall shift in gut antibiotic resistome structure among healthy, prediabetes, and T2D groups. It is found that larger ARG diversity is associated with a higher risk of T2D. The novel diabetes ARG score is positively associated with glycemic traits. Longitudinal validation analysis confirms that the ARG score is associated with T2D progression, characterized by the change of insulin resistance. Collectively, the data describe the profiles of gut antibiotic resistome and support its close relationship with T2D progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. It is controversial and unclear how N-stage would increase the risk of incidence of hypothyroidism (HT) for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after radiotherapy. Our study aimed to explore the correlation between cervical lymph node metastasis and the incidence of HT in NPC. Materials and Methods. A total of 206 patients with NPC treated at the Cancer Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and their clinical information were retrospectively collected. A series of univariate logistic regression models were performed to explore the association of clinical and lymph node indices with the development of HT. Significant features in univariate analysis were then used to construct three prediction models, for HT prediction using multivariate logistic regression based on Bayesian information criterion. Prediction performance of those models was measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) using 10-fold cross-validation. Results. A total of 111 patients developed HT, and the incidence of HT in N2–3 and N0–1 patients was 58.82% and 44.29%, respectively. Compared to Model 1 (consisted of pretreatment TSH concentration, thyroid volume, and N-stage) whose AUCs were 0.801 and 0.766 in training and validation sets, with N-stage be replaced by shortest distance from thyroid, Model 2 achieved more stable AUCs of 0.824 and 0.801. While with numbers of positive lymph nodes in Level IIb additionally added, Model 3 improved its AUCs to 0.841 and 0.813. Conclusion. The shortest distance between the lymph nodes and thyroid gland and the number of lymph nodes in IIb are better predictors of radiation-induced HT than the N-stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies suggested that the inter-individual differences in metabolizing isoflavone daidzein to equol or O-desmethylangolensin (ODMA) might explain the inconsistency of the soy/isoflavones efficacy on cardiovascular health. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the relationship between equol and ODMA phenotypes and cardiovascular risks with habitual isoflavone consumption in Chinese postmenopausal women. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study among 726 prehypertensive postmenopal women who were screened for a randomized controlled trial. 648 women returned a daidzein-challenged urine samples for determination of equol and O-DMA production. 595 attended clinic visits for assessment of cardiovascular risks including body composition, blood pressure (BP), serum lipids, uric acid, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fasting glucose and free fatty acid (FFA). Results: The prevalences of equol and O-DMA producers were 53.2% and 60.9% respectively. Equol producers had higher fat free mass (p = 0.001), lower systolic (p = 0.01) and diastolic (p = 0.01) BP, serum triglyceride (p = 0.023), hs-CRP (p = 0.015) and FFA (p = 0.001) than non-producers. O-DMA producers had lower body fat% (p = 0.032), SBP (p = 0.02), total cholesterol (p = 0.002) than non-producers. The significant differences remained after further adjustment for potential confounders. The habitual soy isoflavones intake had little relation to cardiovascular risk factors in either equol/O-DMA producer phenotypes. Conclusion: Equol/O-DMA producers had more favorable cardiovascular risk profiles than non-producers in prehypertensive postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have reported inverse associations between certain healthy lifestyle factors and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but limited evidence showed the synergistic effect of those lifestyles. This study examined the relationship of a combination of lifestyles, expressed as Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS), with NAFLD.Design: A community-based cross-sectional study. Questionnaires and body assessments were used to collect data on the six-item HLS (ranging from 0 to 6, where higher scores indicate better health). The HLS consists of non-smoking (no active or passive smoking), normal BMI (18·5-23·9 kg/m2), physical activity (moderate or vigorous physical activity ≥ 150 min/week), healthy diet pattern, good sleep (no insomnia or <6 months) and no anxiety (Self-rating Anxiety Scale < 50), one point each. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography.Setting: Guangzhou, China.Participants: Two thousand nine hundred and eighty-one participants aged 40-75 years.Results: The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 50·8 %. After adjusting for potential covariates, HLS was associated with lower presence of NAFLD. The OR of NAFLD for subjects with higher HLS (3, 4, 5-6 v. 0-1 points) were 0·68 (95 % CI 0·51, 0·91), 0·58 (95 % CI 0·43, 0·78) and 0·35 (95 % CI 0·25, 0·51), respectively (P-values < 0·05). Among the six items, BMI and physical activity were the strongest contributors. Sensitivity analyses showed that the association was more significant after weighting the HLS. The beneficial association remained after excluding any one of the six components or replacing BMI with waist circumference.Conclusions: Higher HLS was associated with lower presence of NAFLD, suggesting that a healthy lifestyle pattern might be beneficial to liver health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Stimuli-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) have been receiving much attention as a drug-delivery vehicle for therapeutic applications; once internalized into cells, the intracellular fate of NPs and their drug release behavior in response to local stimuli must be understood for efficient delivery of therapeutics. In this study, we prepared pH-responsive doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded NPs, made of N-palmitoyl chitosan bearing a Cy5 moiety (Cy5–NPCS), as an anticancer delivery device. The results of our molecular dynamic simulations showed that the ability of Cy5–NPCS to self-associate offered the close proximity between the donor (DOX) and the acceptor (Cy5) required for Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), while the pH-driven structure transition prescribed the on-to-off switch of the energy transfer. The caveolae-mediated pathway played a major role in the internalization of NPCS NPs. Using the concept of FRET, we found that the DOX fluorescence in the cytosol was first seen when NPCS NPs were present in the slightly acidic early endosomes. Following NPCS NPs trafficking into a more acidic organelle (late endosomes/lysosomes), a more evident release of DOX into the cytosol was observed; the released DOX was then gradually accumulated in the cell nuclei, leading to a significant cytotoxicity. Understanding the fate of NPs with respect to their intracellular localization and drug release behavior is crucial for the rational design of drug carriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The association between dietary fat intake during pregnancy and the risk of developing preeclampsia has been examined in many epidemiological studies, but the results remain inconsistent. The aim of this study was to clarify this association in pregnant Chinese women. After conducting 1:1 matching, 440 pairs consisting of pregnant women with preeclampsia and hospital-based, healthy pregnant women matched by gestational week (± 1 week) and age (± 3 years) were recruited. A 79-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire administered during face-to-face interviews was used to estimate the participants' dietary intake of fatty acids. We found that the intakes of arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were inversely associated with the risk of developing preeclampsia. Compared with the lowest quartile intake, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of the highest quartile intake were 0.42 (0.26–0.68, p-trend < 0.001) for EPA, 0.52 (0.3–0.83, p-trend = 0.005) for DHA, and 0.41 (0.19–0.88, p-trend = 0.007) for AA. However, we did not observe any significant associations between the intake of total fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, and mono-unsaturated fatty acids and the risk of developing preeclampsia. Our results showed that the dietary intake of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e., EPA, DHA, and AA) may protect pregnant Chinese women against the development of preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the core gut microbial features associated with type 2 diabetes risk and potential demographic, adiposity, and dietary factors associated with these features.Research Design and Methods: We used an interpretable machine learning framework to identify the type 2 diabetes-related gut microbiome features in the cross-sectional analyses of three Chinese cohorts: one discovery cohort (n = 1,832, 270 cases of type 2 diabetes) and two validation cohorts (cohort 1: n = 203, 48 cases; cohort 2: n = 7,009, 608 cases). We constructed a microbiome risk score (MRS) with the identified features. We examined the prospective association of the MRS with glucose increment in 249 participants without type 2 diabetes and assessed the correlation between the MRS and host blood metabolites (n = 1,016). We transferred human fecal samples with different MRS levels to germ-free mice to confirm the MRS-type 2 diabetes relationship. We then examined the prospective association of demographic, adiposity, and dietary factors with the MRS (n = 1,832).Results: The MRS (including 14 microbial features) consistently associated with type 2 diabetes, with risk ratio for per 1-unit change in MRS 1.28 (95% CI 1.23-1.33), 1.23 (1.13-1.34), and 1.12 (1.06-1.18) across three cohorts. The MRS was positively associated with future glucose increment (P < 0.05) and was correlated with a variety of gut microbiota-derived blood metabolites. Animal study further confirmed the MRS-type 2 diabetes relationship. Body fat distribution was found to be a key factor modulating the gut microbiome-type 2 diabetes relationship.Conclusions: Our results reveal a core set of gut microbiome features associated with type 2 diabetes risk and future glucose increment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the association of erythrocyte n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biomarkers with incident type 2 diabetes and explore the potential role of gut microbiota in the association.Research Design and Methods: We evaluated 2,731 participants without type 2 diabetes recruited between 2008 and 2013 in the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (Guangzhou, China). Case subjects with type 2 diabetes were identified with clinical and biochemical information collected at follow-up visits. Using stool samples collected during the follow-up in the subset (n = 1,591), 16S rRNA profiling was conducted. Using multivariable-adjusted Poisson or linear regression, we examined associations of erythrocyte n-6 PUFA biomarkers with incident type 2 diabetes and diversity and composition of gut microbiota.Results: Over 6.2 years of follow-up, 276 case subjects with type 2 diabetes were identified (risk 0.10). Higher levels of erythrocyte γ-linolenic acid (GLA), but not linoleic or arachidonic acid, were associated with higher type 2 diabetes incidence. Comparing the top to the bottom quartile groups of GLA levels, relative risk was 1.72 (95% CI 1.21, 2.44) adjusted for potential confounders. Baseline GLA was inversely associated with gut microbial richness and diversity (α-diversity, both P < 0.05) during follow-up and significantly associated with microbiota β-diversity (P = 0.002). α-Diversity acted as a potential mediator in the association between GLA and type 2 diabetes (P < 0.05). Seven genera (Butyrivibrio, Blautia, Oscillospira, Odoribacter, S24-7 other, Rikenellaceae other, and Clostridiales other) were enriched in quartile 1 of GLA and in participants without type 2 diabetes.Conclusions: Relative concentrations of erythrocyte GLA were positively associated with incident type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population and also with gut microbial profiles. These results highlight that gut microbiota may play an important role linking n-6 PUFA metabolism and type 2 diabetes etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The total and specific types of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) related to metabolic syndrome (MetS) remain inconsistent.Objective: We assessed the association of erythrocyte n-3 and n-6 PUFAs with MetS and the components of MetS in a cohort population.Methods: This prospective analysis included 2754 participants (aged 40-75 y) from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (2008-2019) in China. Erythrocyte PUFAs at baseline were measured using gas chromatography. MetS was assessed every 3 y according to the updated National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate HRs and 95% CIs.Results: We identified 716 incident cases of MetS. The primary analyses showed that the HRs (95% CIs) of MetS (tertile 3 versus 1) were 0.67 (0.56, 0.80) for n-3 PUFAs and 0.70 (0.58, 0.85) for n-6 PUFAs (all Ps trend <0.001). The secondary outcomes showed that, higher erythrocyte very-long-chain (VLC) PUFAs [20:3n-3, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (ARA), and 22:4n-6], but lower α-linolenic acid (ALA) and γ-linolenic acid (GLA), tended to be associated with lower incidences of MetS and its components; among individual MetS components, the associations of PUFAs were more pronounced for hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) and hypertension, followed by low high-density lipoproten (HDL) cholesterol. Significantly higher concentrations of n-3 PUFAs (total, DPA, and DHA) and n-6 PUFAs (total, ARA, and 22:4) were observed in participants with improved (versus progressed) status of MetS (all Ps trend ≤0.003).Conclusion: This study reveals that higher erythrocyte VLC n-3 and n-6 PUFAs, but lower 18-carbon PUFAs (ALA and GLA), are associated with lower risks of MetS components (HTG, hypertension, and low HDL cholesterol) and thereby lower MetS incidence in Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have shown that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet might contribute to managing risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but evidence is limited. We examined the association of DASH diet score (DASH-DS) with NAFLD, as well as the intermediary effects of serum retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4), serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum TAG, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and BMI.Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. Dietary data and lifestyle factors were assessed by face-to-face interviews and the DASH-DS was then calculated. We assessed serum RBP4, hs-CRP and TAG and calculated HOMA-IR. The presence and degree of NAFLD were determined by abdominal sonography.Setting: Guangzhou, China.Participants: Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study participants, aged 40-75 years at baseline (n 3051).Results: After adjusting for potential covariates, we found an inverse association between DASH-DS and the presence of NAFLD (Ptrend = 0·009). The OR (95 % CI) of NAFLD for quintiles 2-5 were 0·78 (0·62, 0·98), 0·74 (0·59, 0·94), 0·69 (0·55, 0·86) and 0·77 (0·61, 0·97), respectively. Path analyses indicated that a higher DASH-DS was associated with lower serum RBP4, hs-CRP, TAG, HOMA-IR and BMI, which were positively associated with the degree of NAFLD.Conclusions: Adherence to the DASH diet was independently associated with a marked lower prevalence of NAFLD in Chinese adults, especially in women and those without abdominal obesity, and might be mediated by reducing RBP4, hs-CRP, TAG, HOMA-IR and BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low energy shock wave (LESW) therapy on the changes of inflammatory molecules and pain reaction was studied in a capsaicin (10 mM, 0.1 cc) induced prostatitis model in rats. Intraprostatic capsaicin injection induced a pain reaction, including closing of the eyes, hypolocomotion, and tactile allodynia, which effects were ameliorated by LESW treatment. LESW therapy (2Hz, energy flux density of 0.12 mJ/mm2) at 200 and 300 shocks significantly decreased capsaicin-induced inflammatory reactions, reflected by a reduction of tissue edema and inflammatory cells, COX-2 and TNF-α stained positive cells, however, the therapeutic effects were not observed at 100 shocks treated group. Capsaicin-induced IL-1β, COX-2, IL-6, caspase-1, and NGF upregulation on day 3 and 7, while NALP1 and TNF-α upregulation was observed on day 7. LESW significantly suppressed the expression of IL-1β, COX-2, caspase-1, NGF on day 3 and IL-1β, TNF-α, COX-2, NALP1, caspase-1, NGF expression on day 7 in a dose-dependent fashion. LESW has no significant effect on IL-6 expression. Intraprostatic capsaicin injection activates inflammatory molecules and induces prostatic pain and hypersensitivity, which effects were suppressed by LESW. These findings might be the potential mechanisms of LESW therapy for nonbacterial prostatitis in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A few studies have suggested that the consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV) may benefit bone health, but limited data are available in Asian subjects. We examined the association between FV intake and bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis in Chinese adults. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study involved 2083 women and 1006 men aged 40–75 years in Guangzhou, China. Habitual dietary data was collected from a 79-item food frequency questionnaire by face-to-face interviews. The BMD was measured for the whole body (WB), lumbar spine (LS), total hip (TH) and femur neck (FN) with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: After adjustment for potential covariates, we observed dose-dependent associations between total FV intake and BMD and osteoporosis risk. The mean BMD was higher in tertile 3 vs. tertile 1 by 1.33% (TH) and 1.31% (FN) for FV, and 1.10% (WB), 1.57% (TH), and 2.05% (FN) for fruit (all P-trends < 0.05). Significant beneficial associations with BMD at some sites were also found in most fruit categories but not in total vegetables or their subgroups. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of osteoporosis (T-score ≤ −2.5) in tertile 3 (vs. 1) were 0.73 (0.58–0.92), 0.37 (0.22–0.60), and 0.71 (0.52–0.97) for FV; 0.82 (0.66–1.03), 0.48 (0.30–0.77) and 0.89 (0.61–1.12) for fruit; and 0.80 (0.64–1.01), 0.57 (0.35–0.92) and 0.76 (0.55–1.05) for vegetables at the LS, TH, and FN, respectively. The favorable association between FV intake and the occurrence of osteoporosis was evident only in subjects with lower BMI (<24.0 kg/m2, P-trends < 0.05). Conclusions: Greater intake of FV was independently associated with a higher BMD and a lower presence of osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly Chinese subjects with lower BMI. Fruit tended to have more contribution to the favorable association than vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Previous studies have suggested a positive link between serum uric acid (UA) and bone mineral density (BMD). In this study, we re-examined the association between UA and BMD and further explored whether this was mediated by skeletal muscle mass in a general Chinese population. Method: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 3079 (963 men and 2116 women) Chinese adults aged 40–75 years. Face-to-face interviews and laboratory analyses were performed to determine serum UA and various covariates. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess the BMD and appendicular skeletal muscle mass. The skeletal muscle mass index (SMI = ASM/Height2, kg/m2) for the total limbs, arms, and legs was then calculated. Results: The serum UA was graded and, in general, was significantly and positively associated with the BMD and muscle mass, after adjustment for multiple covariates in the total sample. Compared with participants in lowest quartile of UA, those participants in highest quartile showed a 2.3%(whole body), 4.1%(lumbar spine), 2.4%(total hip), and 2.0% (femoral neck) greater BMDs. The mean SMIs in the highest (vs. lowest) quartile increased by 2.7% (total), 2.5% (arm), 2.7% (leg) respectively. In addition, path analysis suggested that the favorable association between UA and BMD might be mediated by increasing SMI. Conclusion: The elevated serum UA was associated with a higher BMD and a greater muscle mass in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese population and the UA-BMD association was partly mediated by muscle mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between specific fish intake and colorectal cancer risk remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the association between specific fish intake and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population in a large case control study. During July 2010 to November 2014, 1189 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 1189 frequency-matched controls (age and sex) completed in-person interviews. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary intake. Multivariate logistical regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) after adjusting for various confounders. A strong inverse association was found between freshwater fish intake and colorectal cancer risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile intake showed a risk reduction of 53% (OR 0.47, 95% CI = 0.36-0.60, Ptrend < 0.01) after adjustment for various confounders. The inverse association were also observed for sea fish (OR 0.79, 95%CI = 0.62-0.99, Ptrend < 0.01) and fresh fish (OR 0.49, 95%CI = 0.38-0.62, Ptrend < 0.01). No statistically significant association was found between dried/salted fish and shellfish intake and colorectal cancer risk. These results indicate that higher consumption of freshwater fish, sea fish and fresh fish is associated with a lower risk of colorectal caner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have examined the association of choline and betaine intake with colorectal cancer risk, although they might play an important role in colorectal cancer development because of their role as methyl donors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between consumption of choline and betaine and colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. Methodology/Principal Findings: A case-control study was conducted between July 2010 and December 2013 in Guangzhou, China. Eight hundred and ninety consecutively recruited colorectal cancer cases were frequency matched to 890 controls by age (5-year interval) and sex. Dietary information was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire by face-to-face interviews. The logistic regression model was used to estimate multivariate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Total choline intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk after adjustment for various lifestyle and dietary factors. The multivariate-adjusted OR was 0.54 (95%CI = 0.37-0.80, Ptrend <0.01) comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. No significant associations were observed for betaine or total choline+betaine intakes. For choline-containing compounds, lower colorectal cancer risk was associated with higher intakes of choline from phosphatidylcholine, glycerophosphocholine and sphingomyelin but not for free choline and phosphocholine. The inverse association of total choline intake with colorectal cancer risk was observed in both men and women, colon and rectal cancer. These inverse associations were not modified by folate intake. Conclusions: These results indicate that high intake of total choline is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Previous studies have indicated that neck circumference is a valuable predictor for obesity and metabolic syndrome, but little evidence is available for fatty liver disease. We examined the association of neck circumference with fatty liver disease and evaluated its predictive value in Chinese adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 4053 participants (1617 women and 2436 men, aged 20-88) recruited from the Health Examination Center in Guangzhou, China between May 2009 and April 2010. Anthropometric measurements were taken, abdominal ultrasonography was conducted and blood biochemical parameters were measured. Covariance, logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were employed. Results: The mean neck circumference was greater in subjects with fatty liver disease than those without the disease in both women and men after adjusting for age (P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the age-adjusted ORs (95% CI) of fatty liver disease for quartile 4 (vs. quartile 1) of neck circumference were 7.70 (4.95-11.99) for women and 12.42 (9.22-16.74) for men. After further adjusting for other anthropometric indices, both individually and combined, the corresponding ORs remained significant (all P-trends<0.05) but were attenuated to 1.94-2.53 for women and 1.45-2.08 for men. An additive interaction existed between neck circumference and the other anthropometric measures (all P<0.05). A high neck circumference value was associated with a much greater prevalence of fatty liver disease in participants with both high and normal BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio values. Conclusions: Neck circumference was an independent predictor for fatty liver disease and provided an additional contribution when applied with other anthropometric measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The discriminatory capability of different adiposity indices for atherosclerosis and lipid abnormalities remains uncertain. This study aimed to identify the best adiposity index for predicting early atherosclerosis and abnormal lipid profiles among anthropometric parameters and body fat measures in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Method: A total of 2,063 women and 814 men (57.6±5.2 y) were recruited for this community-based cross-sectional study. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were assessed. Body fat mass and its percentage values for the whole body and trunk were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The intima-media thicknesses (IMTs) of the common carotid arteries (CCA), internal carotid arteries (ICA) and bifurcation (BIF) were determined via B-mode ultrasound. The fasting lipid profiles were assessed. Results: With per SD increase of adiposity indices, the magnitude of the changes of IMT values and lipid profiles was more substantial for WC, WHR and WHtR in both genders. A multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that WC, WHR and WHtR were more sensitive in predicting the presence of intima-media thickening at the three segments as well as the lipids disturbances in women and men. In general, BIA-derived measures have no added predictive value for IMT-thickening as opposed to those three traditional abdominal measures. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that abdominal anthropometric measures including WC, WHR and WHtR are sensitive for discriminating carotid atherosclerosis and lipids abnormalities. WC is the best index because of its simplicity in routine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reducing salt intake in communities is one of the most effective and affordable public health strategies to prevent hypertension, stroke and renal disease. The present study aimed to determine the sodium intake in Hong Kong Chinese postmenopausal women and identify the major food sources contributing to sodium intake and urine excretion. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 655 Chinese postmenopausal women with prehypertension who were screened for a randomized controlled trial. Data collection included 24 h urine collection for the measurement of sodium, potassium and creatinine, 3-day dietary records, anthropometric measures and questionnaire survey on demographic data and dietary habits. Results: The average salt intake estimated from urinary excretion was 7.8±3.2 g/d with 82.1% women above WHO recommendation of 5 g/day. Food groups as soup (21.6%), rice and noodles (13.5%), baked cereals (12.3%), salted/preserved foods (10.8%), Chinese dim sum (10.2%) and sea foods (10.1%) were the major contributors of non-discretionary salt. Discretionary salt use in cooking made a modest contribution to overall intake. Vegetable and fruit intake, age, sodium intake from salted foods, sea foods and soup were the independent determinants of urinary sodium excretion. Conclusions: Our data revealed a significant room for reduction of the sodium intake. Efforts to reduce sodium from diets in Hong Kong Chinese postmenopausal women should focus on both processed foods and discretionary salt during cooking. Sodium reduction in soup and increase in fruit intake would be potentially effective strategy for reducing sodium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Metabolic disturbances are well-known risk factors for atherosclerosis, but it remains unclear which cardiometabolic components are the predominant determinants. This study aimed to compare and identify the key determinants of carotid atherosclerosis in asymptomatic middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study including 3,162 apparently healthy residents aged 37–75 years was performed from July 2008 to June 2010 in Guangzhou, China. Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was assessed by B-mode ultrasound, and increased IMT was defined as IMT>1.00 mm. Obesity indices, blood pressure, fasting blood lipids, glucose and uric acid levels were determined. Principal components factor analysis was used to extract common factors underlying 11 metabolic factors. Results: Four common factors, defined as “adiposity,” “blood lipids,” “triglycerides/uric acid (TG/UA)” (in men) or “triglycerides/uric acid/glucose (TG/UA/Glu)” (in women), and “blood pressure,” were retained for both sexes. After adjustment for potential covariates, the “adiposity” factor showed the strongest positive association with increased IMT in men. Comparing the extreme quartiles, ORs (95% CI) of increased IMT were 4.64 (2.04–10.59) at the CCA and 2.37 (1.54–3.64) at the BIF), followed by “blood pressure”, the corresponding OR (95% CI) was 2.85 (1.37–5.90) at the CCA. Whereas, the four common factors showed comparable and weak relationship with increased IMTs, the ORs for quartile 4 vs. quartile 1 varied from 0.89 to 3.59 in women. Conclusions: Among the metabolic factors, “adiposity” and “blood pressure” play predominant roles in the presence of carotid atherosclerosis in men, but no key factor is identified in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a heterogeneous disease caused by mutations in PKD1 and PKD2. The genotype-phenotype correlations are not completely understood. We performed direct PCR-sequencing plus multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification for PKD1 and PKD2 in 46 unrelated patients. Disease-causing mutations were identified in 30 (65%) patients: 23 (77%) patients have mutations in PKD1 and 7 (23%) have mutations in PKD2. Nonsense, splicing or frame-shifting mutations were found in 18 patients, exon duplication in 1 and missense mutations in 11 patients. Two likely PKD1 hypomorphic alleles (p.Arg2477His and p.Arg3439Trp) segregated with mild disease in a family. A total of 34 mutations were identified and 17 (50%) of which are novel. The median age at onset of dialysis was significantly earlier in patients with PKD1 mutations (52 years) than in patients with PKD2 mutations (65.5 years) and those with an undetermined genotype (67 years) by survival analysis (log-rank test, P=0.014). Patients carrying PKD1-truncating mutations have a trend toward earlier initiation of dialysis compared with carriers of non-truncating mutations (52 years vs 57 years, P=0.061). A family history of dialysis before 55 years was more common in PKD1 patients than in others (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study identified novel mutations in PKD1 and PKD2 and demonstrated the presence of PKD1 hypomorphic alleles in Taiwanese patients. Patients carrying PKD1 mutations, especially those with truncating mutations, could have a more rapidly progressive disease than others. These results might have implications for diagnosis and risk stratification in patients with ADPKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although many adiposity indices may be used to predict obesity-related health risks, uncertainty remains over which of them performs best. Objective: This study compared the predictive capability of direct and indirect adiposity measures in identifying people at higher risk of metabolic abnormalities. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study recruited 2780 women and 1160 men. Body weight and height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) were measured and body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Body fat (and percentage of fat) over the whole body and the trunk were determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Blood pressure, fasting lipid profiles, and glucose and urine acid levels were assessed. Results: In women, the ROC and the multivariate logistic regression analyses both showed that WHtR consistently had the best performance in identifying hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, diabetes/IFG, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). In men, the ROC analysis showed that WHtR was the best predictor of hypertension, WHtR and WC were equally good predictors of dyslipidemia and MetS, and WHtR was the second-best predictor of hyperuricemia and diabetes/IFG. The multivariate logistic regression also found WHtR to be superior in discriminating between MetS, diabetes/IFG, and dyslipidemia while BMI performed better in predicting hypertension and hyperuricemia in men. The BIA-derived indices were the second-worst predictors for all of the endpoints, and HC was the worst. Conclusion: WHtR was the best predictor of various metabolic abnormalities. BMI may be used as an alternative measure of obesity for identifying hypertension in both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although it is well established that a higher body weight is protective against osteoporosis, the effects of body fat and fat distribution on bone mineral density (BMD) after adjustment for body weight remains uncertain. Objective: To examine the relationship between body fat and fat distribution and BMD beyond its weight-bearing effect in middle-aged Chinese adults. Method: The study had a community-based cross-sectional design and involved 1,767 women and 698 men aged 50–75 years. The BMD of the lumbar spine, total hip, and whole body, and the fat mass (FM) and percentage fat mass (%FM) of the total body and segments of the body were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. General information on the participants was collected using structured questionnaire interviews. Result: After adjusting for potential confounders, an analysis of covariance showed the weight-adjusted (WA-) total FM (or %FM) to be negatively associated with BMD in all of the studied sites (P<0.05) in both women and men. The unfavorable effects of WA-total FM were generally more substantial in men than in women, and the whole body was the most sensitive site related to FM, followed by the total hip and the lumbar spine, in both genders. The mean BMD of the lumbar spine, total hip, and whole body was 3.93%, 3.01%, and 3.65% (in women) and 5.02%, 5.57%, 6.03% (in men) lower in the highest quartile (vs. lowest quartile) according to the WA-total FM (all p<0.05). Similar results were noted among the groups for WA-total FM%. In women, abdominal fat had the most unfavorable association with BMD, whereas in men it was limb fat. Conclusion: FM (or %FM) is inversely associated with BMD beyond its weight-bearing effect. Abdominal fat in women and limb fat in men seems to have the greatest effect on BMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Fish is rich in nutrients that are favorable to bone health, but limited data are available regarding the relationship between fish intake and hip fractures. Our study examined the association between habitual fish intake and risk of hip fractures. Methods: A case-control study was performed between June 2009 and June 2012 in Guangdong Province, China. Five hundred and eighty-one hip fracture incident cases, aged 55 to 80 years (mean: 71 years), were enrolled from four hospitals. 1∶1 matched controls by gender and age (±3 years) were also recruited from communities and hospitals. Face-to-face interviews were used to obtain habitual dietary intake and information on various covariates. Results: Univariate conditional logistic regression analyses showed significantly dose-dependent inverse correlations between the risk of hip fractures and the intake of fresh-water fish, sea fish, mollusca, shellfish, and total fish in all of the subjects (p-trend: <0.001–0.016). After adjusting for covariates, the associations were slightly attenuated but remained significant for all (p-trend: <0.001–0.017) except for fresh-water fish (p = 0.553). The ORs (95%CI) of hip fractures for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile were 0.80 (0.48–1.31) for fresh-water fish, 0.31 (0.18–0.52) for sea fish, 0.55 (0.34–0.88) for mollusca and shellfish, and 0.47 (0.28–0.79) for total fish, respectively. Stratified and interaction analyses showed that the association was more significant in males than in females (p-interaction = 0.052). Conclusion: Higher intake of seafood is independently associated with lower risk of hip fractures in elderly Chinese. Increasing consumption of sea fish may benefit the prevention of hip fractures in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies showed an inconsistent association of fruit and vegetable consumption with bone health. We assessed the associations in Chinese adolescents, young and postmenopausal women.Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in China during July 2009 to May 2010.Setting: Bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC) at the whole body, lumbar spine and left hip were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Dietary intakes were assessed using an FFQ. All these values were separately standardized into Z-scores in each population subgroup.Subjects: One hundred and ten boys and 112 girls (11-14 years), 371 young women (20-34 years, postpartum within 2 weeks) and 333 postmenopausal women (50-70 years).Results: After adjustment for potential covariates, analysis of covariance showed a significantly positive association between fruit intake and BMD and BMC in all participants combined (P-trend: < 0.001 to 0.002). BMD Z-score increased by 0.25 (or 2.1 % of the mean), 0.22 (3.5 %), 0.23 (3.0 %) and 0.25 (3.5 %), and BMC Z-score increased by 0.33 (5.7 %), 0.25 (5.8 %), 0.34 (5.9 %) and 0.29 (4.7 %), at the total body, lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck in participants belonging to the top tertile compared with the bottom tertile of fruit intake (all P < 0.05), respectively. There was no significant association between vegetable intake and bone mass at all bone sites studied except for total body BMD (P = 0.030). Relatively more pronounced effects were observed in boys and postmenopausal women.Conclusion: Our findings add to the existing evidence that fruits and vegetables may have a bone sparing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary-side controlled universal-line flyback converter is widely used for its low-cost and low standby power advantages; however, conventional overpower protection schemes that feature primary-side control often experience inaccurate protection. In this paper, a novel scheme is presented, which achieves a very significant improvement in overpower accuracy while simultaneously meets a critical goal of adding no extra pin compared to conventional schemes when implemented in an IC. Experimental and simulation results verified the proposed strategy, and the scheme was implemented successfully in an IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The estimation of dietary intake in population-based studies is often assessed by the FFQ. The objective of our study is to evaluate the validity of an FFQ used to assess dietary fatty acid intake among middle-aged Chinese adults in Southern China.Design: The method of triads was applied to obtain the validity coefficients (VC) of the FFQ for specific fatty acids. A subsample was randomly selected from an earlier cross-sectional study. The FFQ and 3d dietary records were used for dietary assessment, and the fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes was determined as the biomarker.Results: The Spearman correlation coefficients between the FFQ and 3d dietary records were moderate to good (r = 0.28-0.66). The VC of the FFQ estimated by the method of triads were 0.72, 0.61, 0.65, 0.75 and 0.67 for MUFA, total n-6 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, EPA and DHA, respectively. The VC could not be calculated for SFA, PUFA and total n-3 fatty acids because of negative correlations among the three measurements. But, the correlations between the FFQ and the dietary records were moderate for these fatty acids.Conclusions: Our FFQ applied in Southern Chinese adults was valid to estimate their dietary fatty acid intake and was thus suitable for use in a large cohort study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In-situ forming hydrogels triggered by environmental stimuli have emerged as a promising injectable strategy targeted for various biomedical applications. However, several drawbacks associated with temperature-stimulated hydrogels have been reported. Employing a hydrophobically-modified chitosan (N-palmitoyl chitosan, NPCS), we developed a pH-triggered hydrogel system which showed a rapid nanostructure transformation within a narrow pH range (pH 6.5–7.0). NPCS in an aqueous environment was found to be a shear-thinning fluid and exhibited an instant recovery of its elastic properties after shear thinning, thereby making it an injectable material. Additionally, aqueous NPCS, an associating polyelectrolyte, can be rapidly transformed into hydrogel triggered simply by its environmental pH through a proper balance between charge repulsion and hydrophobic interaction. This in-situ hydrogel system was shown to be nontoxic. Subcutaneous injection of aqueous NPCS (pH 6.5) into a rat model resulted in rapid formation of a massive hydrogel at the location of injection. The implanted hydrogel was found to be degradable and was associated with an initial macrophage response which decreased with time as the degradation proceeded. These results suggested that the developed NPCS hydrogel may be used as an injectable drug/cell delivery system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Personality disorders (PDs) are grouped into clusters A, B, and C. However, whether the three clusters of PDs have differences in comorbid mental disorders or gender distribution is still lacking sufficient evidence. We aim to investigate the distribution pattern across the three clusters of PDs with a population-based cohort study. This study used the Taiwan national database between 1995 and 2013 to examine the data of patients with cluster A PDs, cluster B PDs, or cluster C PDs. We compared the differences of psychiatric comorbidities classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition across the three clusters of PDs. Moreover, we formed gender subgroups of the three PDs to observe the discrepancy between male and female. Among the 9845 patients, those with cluster A PDs had the highest proportion of neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia and neurocognitive disorders, those with cluster B PDs demonstrated the largest percentage of bipolar disorders, trauma and stressor disorders, feeding and eating disorders, and substance and addictive disorders, and those with cluster C PDs had the greatest proportion of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorders, somatic symptom disorders, and sleep–wake disorders. The gender subgroups revealed significant male predominance in neurodevelopmental disorders and female predominance in sleep–wake disorders across all three clusters of PDs. Our findings support that some psychiatric comorbidities are more prevalent in specified cluster PDs and that gender differences exist across the three clusters of PDs. These results are an important reference for clinicians who are developing services that target real-world patients with PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis linkage to 4q28–32 (PSORS9) was initially identified by our genome-wide scan in 61 Chinese families and subsequently supported by a meta-analysis of five genome-wide linkage scans of European populations. In this study, we performed a follow-up analysis of PSORS9 using an additional 90 families and improved marker coverage. Joint analysis of all 151 families obtained significant linkage evidence (HLOD=4.53, nonparametric linkage (NPL)=4.03 (P=0.000003)) at the marker interval D4S2997–D4S3033, and the same was obtained for the analysis of the independent new families (HLOD=4.33, NPL=3.15 (P=0.00004)). The linkage evidences from the whole families and the new families exceeded the genome-wide criteria for significant linkage. Furthermore, by performing an ordered subset analysis using mean age at onset as a covariate, we demonstrated that evidence for linkage to PSORS9 is concentrated in the early-onset families and suggested that further study of PSORS9 should focus on early-onset patients. This finding is contradictory to what was found in the Icelandic population and, together with other linkage results, suggests that Chinese and European populations are genetically different for linkage to PSORS9, which may partially explain the influence of ethnic factors on the varying prevalence of psoriasis.Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2007) 127, 312–318. doi:10.1038/sj.jid.5700506; published online 30 November 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the inter-relationship among fruit and vegetable intake, gut microbiota and metabolites, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in human prospective cohort study. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prospective association of fruit and vegetable intake with human gut microbiota and to examine the relationship between fruit and vegetable-related gut microbiota and their related metabolites with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk.Methods: This study included 1879 middle-age elderly Chinese adults from Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (GNHS). Baseline dietary information was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire (2008-2013). Fecal samples were collected at follow-up (2015-2019) and analyzed for 16S rRNA sequencing and targeted fecal metabolomics. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for glucose, insulin, and glycated hemoglobin. We used multivariable linear regression and logistic regression models to investigate the prospective associations of fruit and vegetable intake with gut microbiota and the association of the identified gut microbiota (fruit/vegetable-microbiota index) and their related fecal metabolites with T2D risk, respectively. Replications were performed in an independent cohort involving 6626 participants.Results: In the GNHS, dietary fruit intake, but not vegetable, was prospectively associated with gut microbiota diversity and composition. The fruit-microbiota index (FMI, created from 31 identified microbial features) was positively associated with fruit intake (p < 0.001) and inversely associated with T2D risk (odds ratio (OR) 0.83, 95%CI 0.71-0.97). The FMI-fruit association (p = 0.003) and the FMI-T2D association (OR 0.90, 95%CI 0.84-0.97) were both successfully replicated in the independent cohort. The FMI-positive associated metabolite sebacic acid was inversely associated with T2D risk (OR 0.67, 95%CI 0.51-0.86). The FMI-negative associated metabolites cholic acid (OR 1.35, 95%CI 1.13-1.62), 3-dehydrocholic acid (OR 1.30, 95%CI 1.09-1.54), oleylcarnitine (OR 1.77, 95%CI 1.45-2.20), linoleylcarnitine (OR 1.66, 95%CI 1.37-2.05), palmitoylcarnitine (OR 1.62, 95%CI 1.33-2.02), and 2-hydroglutaric acid (OR 1.47, 95%CI 1.25-1.72) were positively associated with T2D risk.Conclusions: Higher fruit intake-associated gut microbiota and metabolic alteration were associated with a lower risk of T2D, supporting the public dietary recommendation of adopting high fruit intake for the T2D prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body composition and bone strength are closely associated. How lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM) contribute to bone strength remains ambiguous. We investigated the associations of total body LM and FM with changes in predicted hip bone strength over a period of 3 years in 1,743 postmenopausal Chinese women from the communities of Guangzhou, China. The body compositions of the women were obtained with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We used the hip structure analysis program to obtain the bone parameters at the femoral neck region, including the bone mineral density (BMD), cross-sectional area (CSA), cortical thickness (CT), section modulus (SM) and buckling ratio (BR). We found the FM and LM were positive predictors for hip bone strength (β > 0, P < 0.05). The LM had a larger contribution to the BMD, CSA, CT, SM and/or their annual percent changes (βLM > βFM), while the contribution of FM to the BR and its annual percent change was higher than LM (|βFM| > |βLM|). Further analysis found that the associations of FM and LM with bone parameters were stronger in the underweight and normal weight participants (|βBMI1| > |βBMI2|). Overall, FM and LM had positive but differential effects on predicted hip bone strength, with a higher impact in the thinner participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]