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Background: While benefits of greenness exposure to health have been reported, findings specific to lung function are inconsistent. The purpose of this study is to assess the correlations of greenness exposure with multiple lung function indicators based on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) monitoring database from multiple cities of Anhui province in China. Methods: We assessed the greenness using the annual average of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) with a distance of 1000-meter buffer around each local community or village. Three types of lung function indicators were considered, namely indicators of obstructive ventilatory dysfunction (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEV1/FEV3); an indicator of large-airway dysfunction (PEF); indicators of small-airway dysfunction (FEF25%, FEF50%, FEF75%, MMEF, FEV3, FEV6, and FEV3/FVC). Linear mixed effects model was used to analyze associations of greenness exposure with lung function through adjusting age, sex, educational level, occupation, residence, smoking status, history of tuberculosis, family history of lung disease, indoor air pollution, occupational exposure, PM2.5, and body mass index. Results: A total of 2768 participants were recruited for the investigations. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in NDVI was associated with better FVC (153.33mL, 95%CI: 44.07mL, 262.59mL), FEV1 (109.09mL, 95%CI: 30.31mL, 187.88mL), FEV3 (138.04mL, 95%CI: 39.43mL, 236.65mL), FEV6 (145.42mL, 95%CI: 42.36mL, 248.47mL). However, there were no significant associations with PEF, FEF25%, FEF50%, FEF75%, MMEF, FEV1/FVC, FEV1/FEV6, FEV3/FVC. The stratified analysis displayed that an IQR increase in NDVI was related with improved lung function in less than 60 years, females, urban populations, nonsmokers, areas with medium concentrations of PM2.5 and individuals with BMI of less than 28 kg/m2. Sensitivity analyses based on another greenness indice (enhanced vegetation index, EVI) and annual maximum of NDVI remained consistent with the main analysis. Conclusions: Our findings supported that exposure to greenness was strongly related with improved lung function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among cancers, lung cancer is the most common cause of death in China. For the prevention and control of lung cancer, it is necessary to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of lung cancer mortality, as well as the changes in the trend and the affecting mechanism. Based on statistics and auto-correlation analysis, this paper studied the spatial and temporal distribution of lung cancer mortality in Yuhui District, Bengbu, Huaihe River Basin, from 2017 to 2020. In addition, Spearman's Rank Correlation Assessment Model and Geographic Detector Model were used to examine the relationship between environmental factors and lung cancer mortality to identify impact factors and their mechanisms. The findings indicated that: 1) from the characteristics of temporal distribution, the number of lung cancer deaths exhibited a linear growth tendency, with the highest mortality in winter; 2) from the characteristics of spatial distribution, lung cancer mortality showed a strong spatial agglomeration form, concentrating on two clustering areas, located in the old city and the central city of Bengbu, near the Huaihe River; 3) from the point of view of the whole research area, there were 15 impact factors with significant correlation in the built and natural environment factors. The significant impacting factors in the built environment included land use, road traffic, spatial form and blue-green space, which could indirectly affect lung cancer mortality, while air pollution and temperature constituted the significant impacting factors in the natural environment; 4) the influence of screened environmental factors on lung cancer mortality was different. Spatial stratified heterogeneity assessment, the interaction among environmental factors demonstrated statistical significance, it was found that the interaction between environmental factors in pairs had a significant enhancement effect on lung cancer mortality. To some extent, urban planning and policies could reduce lung cancer mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) is considered to be a convenient measurable indicator to assess the inter-individual variation of HbA1c. In the present study, we tested the relationship between HGI and risk of hypertension, and further explored the possible interacting influences of HGI with other such factors on hypertension risk among Chinese individuals.Methods: The eligible subjects were chosen from a community-based cross-sectional survey in China. We collected relevant data and clinical indicators for each participant. HGI was calculated as "measured HbA1c-predicted HbA1c" and divided into four categories according to quartile. The following indicators were used to assess interactive effects: (1) relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI); (2) attributable proportion due to interaction (AP); and (3) synergy index (SI). Statistical analysis was performed using R software.Results: Specifically, 1777 eligible participants were selected in this cross-sectional survey. There were 433 subjects who were identified to have hypertension (24.4%). A significant increase in the prevalence of hypertension from Q1 to Q4 of HGI was observed (p < 0.001). Multivariable logistic model demonstrated that subjects at the highest HGI group had a substantially increased risk of being hypertensive than subjects in the first quartile of HGI, as indicated by the OR value of 1.87 (95% CI 1.26-2.78). Moreover, a significant interaction between family history of hypertension and HGI on hypertension risk was detected (RERI: 1.36, 95% CI 0.11-2.63; AP: 0.43, 95% CI 0.17-0.69; and SI:2.68, 95% CI 1.10-6.48). The interactive effect between HGI and abdominal obesity was also found to be significant, as estimated by the value of RERI (1.04, 95% CI 0.24-1.85), AP (0.33, 95% CI 0.11-0.56) and SI (1.96, 95% CI 1.01-3.79). However, in the analysis of the interaction between HGI and general obesity, only the AP value (0.28, 95% CI 0.01-0.54) was observed to be significant.Conclusion: High HGI was independently associated with the risk of hypertension. Moreover, HGI significantly shared interactions with obesity and family history of hypertension that influenced the risk of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) significantly differs among individuals with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This analysis was carried out to find prognostic risk factors of DMFS and create a nomogram to predict DMFS for NPC patients who received Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT).During March 2008 to January 2010, 437 patients with confirmed NPC from First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were recruited into this study. We developed a nomogram for predicting DMFS according to Cox regression analysis. Nomogram performance was assessed by concordance index (C-index), bootstrap validation method, and operating characteristics curves (ROC), respectively.Four independent prognostic factors for distant metastasis were identified, including age, chemotherapy, N-stage and residual tumor. C-index of the nomogram for prediction of DMFS was 0.807 (95% confidence interval, 0.726 to 0.738), which was confirmed using bootstrap validation, indicating satisfactory predictive accuracy. The calibration curves also showed adequate agreement in predicting the 3 and 5-year DMFS. The 3 and 5-year area under the curve (AUC) of ROC for nomogram and TMN stage were 0.828 and 0.612, 0.809, and 0.571, respectively. Classifying risk subgroups based on optimal cut-off value contributes to the effective discrimination of distant metastasis.The nomogram developed for this study is useful for oncologists to accurately predict DMFS and facilitates individualized treatment for patients with NPC., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common head and neck cancer epidemic in southern China and southeast Asia. LeiGongTeng has been widely used for the treatment of cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacological mechanism of action of LeiGongTeng in the treatment of NPC using a network pharmacological approach. MATERIAL AND METHODS The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) database was used to identify active ingredients and associated target proteins for LeiGongTeng. Cytoscape was utilized to create a drug-disease network and topology analysis was conducted to analyze the degree of each ingredient. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) online tool was applied for the construction and analysis of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, while Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment and Gene Ontology (GO) functional analyses were utilized to determine drug-disease common genes. RESULTS 22 active ingredients including kaempferol, nobiletin, and beta-sitosterol, and 30 drug-disease common genes including VEGFA, CASP3, ESR1, and RELA were identified. GO analysis indicated that 94 biological processes, including RNA polymerase II, apoptotic process, response to drug, cell adhesion, and response to hypoxia, were found to be associated with NPC. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that 58 pathways, including the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, microRNAs in cancer, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway and pathways in cancer were found to be associated with NPC. CONCLUSIONS LeiGongTeng exerts its therapeutic effect through various biological processes and signaling pathways since it acts on several target genes. Systematic pharmacology can be used to predict the underlying function of LeiGongTeng and its mechanism of action in NPC.

In the present study, a total of 1102304 serum samples were collected to detected human brucellosis between the years 2012 and 2016 in Inner Mongolia. Overall, an average of 3.79% anti-Brucella positive in Inner Mongolia was presented but the range of positive rates were among 0.90 to 7.07% in 12 regions. Seroprevalence of human brucellosis increased gradually from 2012 to 2016. However, the incidence rate of human brucellosis showed a declining trend. One hundred and seven Brucella strains were isolated and identified as B. melitensis species, and B. melitensis biovar 3 was the predominant biovar. MLVA-11 genotypes 116 was predominant and had crucial epidemiology to the human population. All 107 strains tested were sorted into 75 MLVA-16 genotypes, with 54 single genotypes representing unique isolates. This result revealed that these Brucellosis cases had epidemiologically unrelated and sporadic characteristics. The remaining 21 shared genotypes among two to four strains, confirming the occurrence of cross-infection and multiple outbreaks. Extensive genotype-events were observed between strains from this study and Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Turkey, these countries were key members of the grassland silk road. Long-time trade in small ruminants (sheep) in these countries has possibly promoted the spread of Brucella spp . in these regions.

Aims: Lipid accumulation product (LAP) is put forward as a powerful marker showing the accumulation of visceral fat. The present study is aimed at (i) analyzing the predictive performances of LAP in the identification of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in Chinese population and (ii) exploring the potentially interactive effect between LAP and other factors on IFG risk., Methods: Analysis was conducted on the data obtained from a community-based cross-sectional survey in Chinese population, and all the participants enrolled were required to complete a face-to-face questionnaire survey and related health checks. Then, for the purpose of comparing predictive values between LAP and conventional obesity indices for IFG, relevant analysis was carried out on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The assessment of interactive effects was conducted by employing the three indicators as follows: (1) RERI (the relative excess risk due to interaction), (2) AP (attributable proportion due to interaction), and (3) SI (synergy index)., Results: A total of 1777 participants (748 males and 1029 females) were involved in the final analysis. It was finally obtained that the prevalence rate of IFG was 14.1% in total, 15.5% for males and 13.1% for females, respectively. In logistic regression analysis, individuals with LAP levels in the fourth quartile had a significant higher risk of getting IFG in comparison with that of the lowest quartile (crude OR: 4.58, 95% CI: 3.01-6.98; adjusted OR: 3.81, 95% CI: 2.33-6.23). In addition, it was indicated by the ROC curve analysis that LAP showed a better performance in discriminating IFG risk than BMI in both males ( Z = 2.20, P = 0.028) and females ( Z = 2.13, P = 0.033). However, LAP displayed a higher predictability in comparison with WC only in females ( Z = 2.07, P = 0.038), but not in males ( Z = 0.18, P = 0.860). Furthermore, LAP and family history of diabetes were able to impose significant synergistic interaction on the risk of IFG, which was indicated by all the parameters in females (RERI: 2.52, 95% CI: 0.19-4.84; AP: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.20-0.74; SI: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.17-4.87) and males (RERI: 2.18, 95% CI: 0.08-4.73; AP: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.07-0.79; SI: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.03-5.45). However, none of the indicators showed significant interaction between LAP and smoking on the risk of IFG in females (RERI: 0.92, 95% CI: -2.79-4.63; AP: 0.20, 95% CI: -0.50-0.92; SI: 1.37, 95% CI: 0.42-4.52). Meanwhile, there was also no significant interaction between LAP and smoking on the risk of IFG in males as indicated by the value of SI (2.22, 95% CI: 0.80-6.21)., Conclusion: It was concluded that LAP was significantly related to a higher risk of IFG in Chinese population, and its performance was superior to that of conventional obesity indices, especially in females. Apart from that, LAP with family history of diabetes may have an interactive effect that can impose a great influence on the development of IFG., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2019 Jian Song et al.)

Background: Individuals with prehypertension are at higher risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, while the interaction between factors may aggravate prehypertension risk. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the risk factors for prehypertension in Chinese middle-aged and elderly adults, and explore the potentially interactive effect of evaluated factors., Methods: All the participants that came from a community based cross-sectional survey were investigated in Bengbu, China, by being interviewed with a questionnaire. Body mass index (BMI), Waist circumference (WC) and lipid accumulation product (LAP) that reflect participants' obesity were also calculated. In addition, logistic regression model was applied to explore the risk factors of prehypertension, followed by the assessment of the interactive effects between risk factors on prehypertension by the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) and synergy index (SI)., Results: A total of 1777 participants were enrolled in this study, among which the prevalence of normtension, prehypertension and hypertension were 41.70%, 33.93% and 24.37% respectively. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, age (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.02), smoking (OR: 1.67, 95%CI: 1.22-2.29), family history of cardiovascular diseases (OR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.14-2.02), general obesity (OR: 1.51, 95%CI: 1.15-1.97) and LAP (OR: 2.58, 95%CI: 1.76-3.80) were all defined as the major factors that significantly related with the risk of prehypertension. When identifying prehypertension risk, the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves (AUC) analysis indicated that LAP performed better than BMI in males (Z = 2.05, P = 0.03) and females (Z = 2.12, P = 0.03), but was superior to WC only in females (Z = 2.43, P = 0.01). What is more, there were significant interactive effects of LAP with family history of cardiovascular diseases (RERI: 1.88, 95%CI: 0.25-3.51; AP: 0.44, 95%CI: 0.20-0.69; SI: 2.37, 95%CI: 1.22-4.60) and smoking (RERI: 1.99, 95%CI: 0.04-3.93; AP: 0.42, 95%CI: 0.17-0.67; SI: 2.16, 95%CI: 1.68-4.00) on prehypertension risk. The value of AP (0.40, 95%CI: 0.03-0.77) also indicated a significant interaction between family history of cardiovascular diseases and smoking on prehypertension., Conclusion: Prehypertension is currently prevalent in Chinese adults. This study indicated that age, family history of cardiovascular diseases, smoking, general obesity and LAP were significantly related with prehypertension risk. Furthermore, interactive effects on risk of prehypertension had been demonstrated in this study as well, which would help researchers to build strategy against prehypertension more comprehensively and scientifically.

Objectives: Lipid accumulation product (LAP) is a simple and effective indicator that reflects visceral obesity. This study aimed to compare the significance of LAP in predicting hypertension risk with other obesity indices, and to evaluate the interactive effects of LAP and smoking, family history of hypertension on hypertension risk in Chinese Han adults., Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was performed in Bengbu, China. Participants received face-to-face questionnaire survey, anthropometric tests and laboratory examinations. Relevant indicators that reflect obesity including BMI (body mass index), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and LAP were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to explore the association between LAP and hypertension risk. The area under the receiver-operating characteristics curves (AUC) of LAP, BMI, and WHtR were calculated and then compared. Interactive effect was evaluated by relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) and synergy index (SI)., Results: A total of 1777 participants were enrolled, and the prevalence of hypertension was 24.4% (n = 433). There was a significant increase in hypertension risk with LAP levels in the fourth quartile as compared with the bottom quartile (OR: 3.31, 95%CI: 1.76-6.25). The AUC of LAP was significantly different than that of BMI in males (Z = 2.158, p = 0.0309) and females (Z = 3.570, p = 0.0004), while only performed better in females as compared with that of WHtR (Z = 2.166, p = 0.0303). LAP was significantly interacted with family history of hypertension on hypertension risk both in males (RERI: 1.07, 95%CI: 0.09-2.05; AP: 0.33, 95%CI: 0.23-0.44; SI: 1.92, 95%CI: 1.53-2.41) and females (RERI: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.07-1.53; AP: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.11-0.39; SI: 1.59, 95%CI: 1.16-2.19). However, a significant interaction between LAP and smoking was only observed in males (RERI: 1.32, 95%CI: 0.15-2.75; AP: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.14-0.73)., Conclusion: Increased LAP was significantly associated with a higher risk of hypertension in Chinese Han adults. Moreover, the effect of LAP on predicting hypertension risk was better than that of other obesity indices. Our results also demonstrated interactive effects of LAP with smoking, family history of hypertension on hypertension risk., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Laser and other energy devices are emerging, minimally invasive treatments for scars. Among the various techniques, fractional microplasma radiofrequency technology (FMRT) has proven to be an effective treatment option for various types of scars and skin conditions such as rhytids, striae distensae, and hyperpigmentation., Objective: This prospective clinical trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FMRT for treating non-hypertrophic post-burn scars in the Asian population., Method: All patients underwent three to five treatment sessions at various intervals of 8-16 weeks. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scales (POSAS) [20] were used to evaluate changes in burn scars pre-and post-FMRT treatment., Results: A total of 95 patients completed the study. The overall response rate was 86.3% (82/95). The total POSAS scores before and after 6 months of treatment were 53.41 ± 6.28 and 46.35 ± 5.30, respectively. There was statistically significant improvement in scar color, thickness, and pliability. There was no improvement in vascularization, pain, or itching. Complications included prolonged post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, acne eruption, herpes simplex eruption, and abnormal hair growth. No severe adverse events, such as acute skin infection, hypertrophic scarring, or depigmentation, were observed., Conclusion: FMRT is an efficacious, safe treatment for non-hypertrophic burn scars in the Asian population. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:563-569, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)