Search

Background: Medium-chain triglyceride ketogenic diet (MCTKD) is previously less commonly used in China. This study was aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of the modified MCTKD in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in Chinese patients. Methods: Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy were enrolled to receive treatment with modified MCTKD in Guangdong Sanjiu Brain Hospital during December 2020 and September 2022. The modified MCTKD contained fat that provided 50–70% of the total energy, as well as proteins and carbohydrates that provided 20–30% and 20% of energy, respectively. The fat component was composed of 20–30% medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and 30–40% long-chain triglycerides. The efficacy and safety of the diet were assessed at 1, 3 and 6 months. Results: A total of 123 patients aged 2.5 to 65 years, were included in this study. The response rates at 1, 3 and 6 months were 49.6%, 43.1%, and 30.9%, respectively. The seizure freedom rates at 1, 3 and 6 months were 12.2%, 10.6%, and 6.5%, respectively. The retention rates at 1, 3 and 6 months were 98.4%, 65.0% and 33.3% respectively. Side effects occurred in 21.14% of patients, which were predominantly gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation, and most of them resolved after dietary adjustments. A total of 82 patients (66.7%) discontinued the treatment with the reason of refusing to eat (8.1%), poor efficacy (35.0%), poor compliance (4.9%), and inability to follow-up (9.8%). Only 4 patients (3.3%) withdrew the diet due to side effects. Conclusions: The modified MCTKD with MCTs providing 20–30% of energy has a good safety in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, but its effectiveness needs to be enhanced. Further modifications of MCTKD with an optimal energy ratio are required to achieve a better efficacy and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daqu is an important saccharifying starter in the fermentation of Nongxiangxing Baijiu in China. Vanillin is a health and flavor factor in Baijiu. However, only a few research studies on the vanillin content of Daqu are currently not systematic. In order to investigate the metabolic mechanism of vanillin in the fermentation process of Daqu, we analyzed the changes in microorganisms, influencing factors, and enzymes related to vanillin in Daqu. This research found that there were differences between bacterial and fungal genera in each sample, and the abundance of bacteria was greater than that of fungi. Among the microbial genera, Klebsiella, Escherichia, Acinetobacter, Saccharopolyspora, Aerococcus, and Puccinia were positively correlated with vanillin. Meanwhile, we also found that moisture and reducing sugar were the main physicochemical factors affecting the formation of vanillin. The functional annotation results indicate that carbohydrate metabolism and energy metabolism were important microbial metabolic pathways that impacted vanillin production in solid-state fermentation. The feruloyl-CoA hydratase/lyase (EC 4.1.2.61) and acylamidase (EC 3.5.1.4) were positively correlated with vanillin content (p ≤ 0.05) and promote the increase in vanillin content. These findings contribute to furthering our understanding of the functional microorganisms, physicochemical factors, and enzymes related to the change in vanillin content during the fermentation of Daqu and can help to further explore the flavor substances in Baijiu fermentation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a moderated mediation model that explores the relationship between principals' transformational leadership and older teachers' intention to delay retirement. We tested the model using a two-wave survey of data collected from a sample of 204 older teachers in primary and secondary schools in China. Our results indicate that principals' transformational leadership is positively related to older teachers' intention to delay retirement, where the relationship is mediated by organization-based self-esteem. We also found that life expectancy moderates the indirect relationship between transformational leadership, organization-based self-esteem, and older teachers' intention to delay retirement. Such an indirect relationship was stronger among old teachers with low life expectancy rather than high life expectancy. Findings enrich the literature on transformational leadership and retirement decision-making, and provide practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hu sheep is an excellent short fat-tailed breed in China. Fat deposition in Hu sheep tail affects carcass quality and consumes a lot of energy, leading to an increase in feed cost. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of HMGA1 polymorphism on tail fat weight in Hu sheep. Partial coding and non-coding sequences of HMGA1 were amplified with PCR and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of HMGA1 in 1163 Hu sheep were detected using DNA sequencing and KASPar technology. RT-qPCR analysis was performed to test HMGA1 expression in different tissues. The results showed that the expression of HMGA1 was higher in the duodenum, liver, spleen, kidney, and lung than in the heart, muscle, rumen, tail fat, and lymph. A mutation, g.5312 C > T, was detected in HMGA1; g.5312 C > T was significantly associated with tail fat weight, relative weight of tail fat (body weight), and relative weight of tail fat (carcass) (p < 0.05). The tail fat weight of the TT genotype was remarkably higher than that of the CC and TC genotypes. Therefore, HMGA1 can be used as a genetic marker for marker-assisted selection of tail fat weight in Hu sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an excellent local sheep breed in China, Hu sheep have the characteristics of producing more lambs and good motherhood. The purpose of this study was to identify the polymorphism of the mitogen-activated protein kinase 5 (MAP3K5) gene and determine whether it was associated with the body size traits (body height, body length, chest circumference, and cannon circumference) in Hu sheep. The polymorphism of MAP3K5 was identified by using PCR amplification, followed by Sanger sequencing, and KASPar (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) technology was used for genotyping subsequently. The results of the association analysis showed that MAP3K5 (g.205261 A > G) was significantly associated with body height at 80, 100, 140, 160, and 180 d; body length at 80 and 160 d; chest circumference at 100, 140, 160, and 180 d; and cannon circumference at 100 and 120 d, respectively. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression level of MAP3K5 in the heart was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in the other 10 tissues. In summary, the MAP3K5 mutation loci may be used as a candidate molecular marker for the body size traits of Hu sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims of this work are to present a classification of "complex fracture" and "simple fracture", to compare their features, treatments and prognosis in patients with giant cell tumour with pathologic fractures around the knee, and to determine the best surgical method for patients who have giant cell tumour around the knee with different degrees of fracture.Methods: Data from 130 patients with pathologic fractures from giant cell tumour around the knee who underwent surgical treatment from March 2000 to November 2015 at 6 institutes around China were collected and analysed. A multicentric study design was used to explore the epidemiological features and to compare differences in the surgical procedures and prognosis of the two fracture groups. The mean age at diagnosis was 37.1 years old (range, 13-77 years). The median follow-up was 126.5 months, ranging from 68 to 370 months.Results: The general clinical and imaging features of the groups of patients with simple and complex fractures, namely, sex, age, the lesion site, living or working environment, eccentric growth patterns, Campanacci grading system, and duration of symptoms before treatment, showed varying degrees of differences, but with no statistical significance (p > 0.05). The incidence rate of surrounding soft tissue mass was 35.2% (32/91) in the group with simple fractures, whereas it was 87.2% (34/39) in the group with complex fractures, which showed a significant difference (p < 0.05). Wide resection and reconstruction with joint replacement were performed more often in patients with complex fractures (61.5%, 24/39). Intralesional procedures were performed more often in patients with simple fractures (56.0%, 51/91). The difference showed significant differences (p < 0.05). The local recurrence rate was 17.6% (16/91) in the group with simple fractures, whereas it was 10.3% (4/39) in the complex fracture group, showing a significant difference (p < 0.05). A total of 2.3% of patients (n = 3,3/130) developed a skip lesion. The complication rates were 4.6% (4/87) and 14.7% (5/34), respectively, in the two groups with simple or complex fractures, showing a significant difference (p < 0.05). The mean MSTS and TESS scores with simple fractures were 26.6 (range, 13-30) and 84.1 (range, 29-100), respectively, whereas the mean scores in the group with complex fractures were 25.5 (range, 18-30) and 78.3 (range, 30-100), respectively, also showing a significant difference (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Our classification of "simple fracture" and "complex fracture" could guide decisions regarding the best surgical method for lesions in patients who have giant cell tumour around the knee with different degrees of fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geese play an important role in agricultural economics, with China producing the vast majority of goose meat consumed worldwide annually. The variations in the avian viruses and co‐infections result in substantial economic losses to the goose industry in China. To understand the evolutionary characteristics and co‐infections of viruses, a broad epidemiological investigation of epizootic viruses of goose was carried out in nine provinces of China during 2018–2021. Here, the results indicated that, among the 1970 clinical samples, 50.81% (1001/1970) were positive for goose astrovirus (GAstV), 18.22% (359/1970) for avian orthoreovirus, 12.74% (251/1970) for goose parvovirus, 11.02% (217/1970) for H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus, 4.01% (79/1970) for Newcastle disease virus, and 2.08% (41/1970) for fowl adenovirus. Among the six viruses, co‐infections comprised a large proportion (66.37%) in the field, of which the dual infection was more common. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis of GAstVs indicated that Chinese GAstVs had formed two distinct groups, that is, GAstV‐1 and GAstV‐2. GAstV‐2 sub‐genotype II‐c had arisen as the dominant genotype in the whole country. Notably, all the H9N2‐AIV isolated strains harboured the mammalian adaptation markers I155T, H183N, and Q226L (H3 numbering) in the HA gene, which promotes preferential binding to human‐like α2‐6‐linked sialic acid receptors. And beyond that, we determined that the goose‐origin Muscovy Duck Reovirus isolates, showing 51.7%–96% similarities to that of other waterfowl‐origin orthoreovirus isolates in sequence homology analysis of the representative part of σC, are a new variant of waterfowl‐origin orthoreovirus. These data provide valuable information about the prevalence of infectious diseases in geese on mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To characterize the quality of widely consumed pork in China, the chemical compositions and other indexes of five breeds of pork were compared. The results indicated that the moisture content, sensory flavor, and overall acceptability of Pipa pork (PPP) were superior to other breeds. The fat content and essential amino acids (EAA) of Yihao native pork (YNP) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in other breeds. The protein content, the total amount of amino acids, and perceptible flavor of Tibetan black pork (TBP) were higher than in other breeds. The protein nutrition profiles of manor black pork (MBP) and TBP were better than in others. The equivalent umami concentration (EUC) value of white pork (WP) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in others; however, the health risk of its fatty acid content was higher. There were unique protein and flavor chemicals in YNP, TBP, and PPP, which may be useful for distinguishing their authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relation between industrial structure and eco-environment was explored. • Industrial investment structure and eco-environmental state had the greatest effect. • The comprehensive level of eco-environment surpassed that of industrial structure. • The coupling degree of two systems kept in the process of continuous optimization. • The scissors difference of two systems tended to be stable. Tremendous economic growth creates increasing pressure on the eco-environment, and the industrial structure has an important influence on the eco-environment. To explore the relation between the industrial structure and the eco-environment, we established a new evaluation index system for both the industrial structure and the eco-environment; then, using data on Beijing from 1992 to 2016, we applied an integrated approach involving the combination weight method, the coupling coordination degree model, the dynamic coupling coordination degree model and the scissors difference model with the following results. (1) The industrial investment structure and the eco-environment status account for the largest proportion of the industrial structure and the eco-environment index systems, respectively. (2) The comprehensive level of the industrial structure is initially higher than that of the industrial structure system and then gradually slows and lags behind. (3) The coupling coordination degree between the industrial structure and the eco-environment in Beijing shifts from "barely coordinated development" stage to "superior coordinated development" stage. (4) The dynamic coupling coordination degree of the whole system presents an S-shaped curve evolving from the "low-grade symbiosis" stage to the "harmonious development" stage and approaching the "utmost development" stage. (5) The scissors difference presents a V-shaped curve, and the gap in the development trend between the industrial structure and the eco-environment diminishes. This study discusses the relationship between the industrial structure and the eco-environment of Beijing from 1992 to 2016, which should be beneficial in promoting the coordinated development between the industrial structure and the eco-environment of Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between defence spending, other components of public spending and economic growth for the 1952–2012 period in China using Granger causality tests and generalised impulse response functions based on vector error correction models. The empirical results reveal two long-run equilibrium relationships among the variables and also show that defence spending inversely and unidirectionally Granger impacts economic growth. Furthermore, empirical findings point to a trade-off relationship between defence spending and public expenditures in China. From a policy maker’s perspective, the findings reported herein imply that a decrease in defence spending may stimulate economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While questioning Hushi's theory of "Great liberation of genre," Xueheng School again proposed its idea of genre reform, which claimed "to use new material into the old rhyme. "The formation of Xueheng School's concept of "New Poetry" was, to some extent, originated from the tradition of "Differentiation Poetry. " First of all, Xueheng School stuck to the traditional belief that poetry has its own principles and believed that poetry styles contribute to determine poetry qualities. Xueheng School regarded the genre style as the primary feature of poetry. Secondly, the traditional poetic theories placed great emphasis on the differences between poetry and prose, the spirit of which was totally accepted by Xueheng School. Thirdly, the tradition of merging poetry and music together was also used as a critical weapon to criticise the "free style poetry" in New Literature school. Xueheng School believed that non-rhyme and non-meter meant losing the nature of poetry, and proposed that preserving rhyme and meter was the only hope of China's modern poetry. Finally, influenced by the tradition of "Differentiation Poetry," Xueheng School also discussed the differences between ancient poetry and modern poetry, as well as those between Chinese poetry and foreign poetry. They criticized that the "May Fourth new poets" had blindly copied foreign poetry which ignored the characteristics of the Chinese poetry and made new poems from the translated versions of foreign poems. They also specified the basic features of the "ideal New Poetry. "Between the choices of old and new, Xueheng School insisted that content of poetry should be constantly updated but the ancient style should remain. Additionally, Xueheng School also suggested that maintaining the old style did not mean rigid adherence to the rules of ancient poetry, and they claimed that appropriately changing the style and maintaining the nature of ancient poetry were two sides of the same coin. The reason for the decline of old-style poetry proposed by Xueheng School was the decayed content. Therefore, they think that the literature revolution should concentrate on the aspect of content. As far as cultural attitudes were concerned, Xueheng School was undeniably very conservative, which was embodied in its proposal of style reform. The old rhyming style is a genre, which is comprised of learnable conventions and symbol systems. The old rhyming is one of the carriers of cultural identity. To some extent, identifying with the old rhyming style is identifying with Chinese culture. The persistence of Xueheng School in keeping the old poetry style showed their identification with the tradition Chinese culture. As for how to reform literature, Xueheng School favored building up the concept of "New Poetry" on the basis of the old ones. The ideas of Xueheng School showed their full respect for the old literature traditions and the old literature principles. Nonetheless, the weakness of Xueheng School was also obvious, for example, they lacked innovation and constrained themselves by the old principles. The poetic ideas of Xueheng School appear to be stagnant. From the perspective of theory building, Xueheng School did not propose anything new, and from the perspective of poetry practices, Xueheng School did not contribute too much either. It is hence expected that there were no strong response to the call of Xueheng School. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of China's defense expenditure over the period 1960–1999, and two sub-samples before and after transition for 1960–1980 and 1981–1999, applying official Chinese data and SIPRI Yearbook data. An empirical econometric model is set up on the basis of standard neo-classical theory. The empirical results suggest that earlier defense expenditure, changes in the strategy environment, and GDP are major determinants of China's defense expenditure on the long run. For the split periods, the national security environment, economic factor, and earlier defense expenditure are the main determining factors prior to 1981, but earlier defense expenditure is the main determinant after 1981 (when official Chinese data are used). The impact of Taiwanese military spending on Mainland China's demand for defense expenditure was not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and haze pollution are often thought to have the same origin, the burning of fossil fuels. However, their relationship is not always synergistic and may even exhibit mutual constraints. Carbon-biased technological progress has emerged as a promising approach for simultaneously achieving three goals - to reduce CO2 emissions, alleviate the haze pressure, and keep economic growth. This study empirically investigates the impact and mechanisms of carbon-biased technological progress on carbon haze collaborative governance using data from 286 Chinese cities during 2006-2021. The results indicate that: (1) Carbon biased technological progress positively influences carbon haze collaborative governance. (2) This progress achieves coordination by enhancing element allocation efficiency, carbon efficiency, and responding to public environmental demands. (3) The facilitating role of carbon biased technological progress to carbon haze collaborative governance will work better if external conditions are met. Moreover, the effectiveness of carbon-biased technological progress in promoting coordination is contingent upon high levels of marketization, government intervention, environmental regulation, and technical advancements. Local and regional governments should foster conducive conditions for carbon dioxide and haze pollution coordination, optimize the allocation and flow of carbon resources, ensure harmonization between environmental regulation policies and other sectors, and bolster international cooperation and technical knowledge exchange to collectively address global environmental challenges., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Hypertension and frailty often coexist in older people. The present study aimed to evaluate the association of frailty status with overall survival in elderly hypertensive patients, using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey., Methods: A total of 10,493 elderly hypertensive patients were included in the present study (median age 87.0 years, 58.3% male). Frailty status was assessed according to a 36-item frailty index (FI), which divides elderly individuals into four groups: robustness (FI ≤ 0.10), pre-frailty (0.10 < FI ≤ 0.20), mild-frailty (0.20 < FI ≤ 0.30), and moderate-severe frailty (FI > 0.30). The study outcome was overall survival time. Accelerated failure time model was used to evaluate the association of frailty status with overall survival., Results: During a period of 44,616.6 person-years of follow-up, 7327 (69.8%) participants died. The overall survival time was decreased with the deterioration of frailty status. With the robust group as reference, adjusted time ratios (TRs) were 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.80-0.87) for the pre-frailty group, 0.68 (95% CI: 0.64-0.72) for the mild frailty group, and 0.52 (95% CI: 0.48-0.56) for the moderate-severe frailty group, respectively. In addition, restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a nearly linear relationship between FI and overall survival (p for non-linearity = 0.041), which indicated the overall survival time decreased by 17% with per standard deviation increase in FI (TR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.82-0.85). Stratified and sensitivity analyses suggested the robustness of the results., Conclusions: The overall survival time of elderly hypertensive patients decreased with the deterioration of frailty status. Given that frailty is a dynamic and even reversible process, early identification of frailty and active intervention may improve the prognosis of elderly hypertensive patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: Long-term cumulative blood pressure (BP) was associated with cardiovascular mortality in middle-aged to older people. Whether cumulative BP was associated with cardiovascular mortality is uncertain in Chinese older people., Design: Data were obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a nationwide, ongoing, prospective cohort study of community-dwelling Chinese older people., Setting, and Participants: A total of 3361 older participants from the CLHLS study were included (men: 46.68 %, age: ≥65 years, median age: 78.00 years [IQR: 71.0-86.00 years])., Methods: Cumulative BP, including systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP) and pulse pressure (PP), was determined by the area under the curve based on three measurements of BP (waves 2008, 2011, and 2014). The outcome was cardiovascular mortality, which was followed from wave 2014 to wave 2018., Results: During a median follow-up period of 3.98 years, 211 cardiovascular death were recorded. The higher cumulative SBP and PP tended to be positively linearly associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality. For each SD increment, the adjusted HRs of mortality risk was 1.28 (95 % CI: 1.11-1.47; p = 0.001) and 1.24 (95 % CI, 1.09-1.43; p = 0.002) for cumulative SBP and PP, respectively. While there was no association between cumulative DBP and cardiovascular mortality. In addition, multiple sensitivity analyses suggested robustness of the results., Conclusions/implications: Our results indicate that cumulative SBP and PP were associated with cardiovascular mortality in Chinese older people; however, there was no such association between cumulative DBP and mortality. Therefore, control of long-term SBP and PP may be required in those people., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Because of rapid economic growth and followed urban expansion in China, many people drinking natural water had to change their water sources to tap water. We aimed to test the unknown association that whether continued use of natural water for drinking is different from switching to tap water in all-cause mortality risks in elderly people., Methods: In total, based on Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, 26,688 elderly participants drinking natural water from childhood to young-old were included in the final analyses. Associations between whether changing drinking water sources or not and all-cause mortality risk were then estimated by Cox regression models with the use of multiple propensity score methods, and the primary analysis used propensity score matching, with other propensity score methods confirming the robustness of the results., Results: Baseline characteristics were fairly well balanced by the three post-randomization methods. During a median follow-up period of 3.00 (IQR: 1.52, 5.73) years, 21,379 deaths were recorded. The primary analysis showed people using natural water unchangeably was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality than those switching to tap water in later life (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91-0.97, p < 0.001). Other propensity score methods, as well as Cox regression analysis without using propensity score methods, showed similar results., Conclusions: Among elderly people depending on natural water for drinking from their childhood to young-old in China, continued use of natural water was associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk than conversion to tap water later. Further studies in different countries and populations are needed to verify our conclusions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Liu, Zheng, Ruan, Li, Zhao, Zhang, Duan and He.)

Background: Short-term, high altitude (HA) exposure raises pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and decreases left ventricular volumes. However, relatively little is known of the long-term cardiac consequences of prolonged exposure in Chinese Han lowlanders, a highly adapted HA population., Aims: We studied cardiac structure and function by echocardiography to investigate short-term adaptation and potential long-term cardiac remodeling., Methods: This study included 301 healthy subjects of short-term exposure (STE), acclimatized Chinese Han lowlanders (AL) at HA, native Tibetans (NT), and sea level residents (SLR) with 75, 77, 69, and 80 participants, respectively. All groups underwent standard echocardiography., Results: Compared with SLR, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate of STE and AL did not significantly increase following HA exposure, but SBP in STE was lower than AL. In lowlanders, HA exposure enlarged right heart and pulmonary artery (PA), reduced left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. This decrease in LV diastolic function increased with exposure time. Compared with SLR, ejection fraction did not change significantly in STE, but decreased in AL. Interventricular septal end-diastolic thickness (IVSd) increased both in STE and AL compared with SLR. Compared with NT, AL population had higher SBP and the greater diameter of PA., Conclusions: In Chinese Han lowlanders, exposure to HA enlarged right ventricle and decreased the diastolic function of LV. LV systolic function was preserved after short-term HA exposure but decreased after long-term HA exposure. It was possible to speculate that ethnicity contributed to the observed difference in heart., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Growth traits is a critical economic trait for animal husbandry. In this study, the SNPs of CTNNA3 and CAP2 genes were investigated to check whether they are associated with growth traits (body weight, body height, body length and chest circumference) in Hu sheep. The result of the association analysis indicated that the mutation in CTNNA3 (g.2018018 A > G) were associated significantly with body weight, body height, body length and chest circumference (P < 0.05), the mutation in CAP2 (g.8588 T > C) were associated significantly with body height at 140, 160, 180 days (P < 0.05), AA and CC of CTNNA3 and CAP2 were the dominant genotypes associated with growth traits in Hu sheep. Moreover, combined effect analyses indicated that the growth traits with combined genotypes AA CTNNA3 -CC CAP2 and AA CTNNA3 -CT CAP2 were higher than those with genotype GG CTNNA3 -CT CAP2 . RT-qPCR indicated that CTNNA3 expression levels were significantly higher in liver and lung than in other nine tissues (P < 0.05), CAP2 expression levels were significantly higher in bone, heart, liver, lung and duodenum than in other six tissues (P < 0.05). In conclusion, CTNNA3 and CAP2 polymorphisms could be used as genetic markers for improving growth traits in Hu sheep husbandry., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index is an emerging surrogate predictor of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study aimed to examine the association between TyG index and incident T2DM in a prospective Chinese cohort., Methods: The data were collected in 1992 and recollected in 2007 from the same group of 687 participants. The association between TyG index and T2DM was analysed., Results: During follow-up, 74 participants developed T2DM and the risk of T2DM increased with TyG index. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 3.36 (95% CI: 1.52-7.39, P < 0.001) comparing the top TyG quartile to the bottom quartile. Smooth curve fitting revealed a nonlinear association and threshold effect between TyG index and incident T2DM with a nadir of risk when TyG index was around 8.51. For TyG ≤ 8.51, the risk of incident T2DM tended to decrease with per SD increase in TyG but no statistical significance was achieved (adjusted HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.43-1.12, P = 0.133). For TyG > 8.51, the risk of incident T2DM significantly increased by 38% with per SD increase in TyG (adjusted HR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.14-1.67, P = 0.001). Time-dependent receiver operating curve suggested helpful discriminative power of TyG index for T2DM. It also significantly promoted the reclassification ability beyond the baseline risk model with net reclassification index of 0.159 (P = 0.020). Sensitivity analysis excluding participants with prediabetes demonstrated similar results., Conclusions: The TyG index was a significant and independent predictor for future T2DM development. The shape of relationship will require further studies.

Aim: We assessed the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for all-cause mortality in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods & results: A total of 354 HCM patients were enrolled. There were 44 all-cause mortality in total. Patients in the third tertile of NLR had the highest all-cause mortality rate of 5.2 per 100 person-years. Patients in tertile 3 had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality with adjusted hazard ratio of 2.4 (95% CI: 1.0-5.4; p = 0.040) when compared with that of patients in tertile 1. No significant interactions between NLR and other variables were observed during subgroup analysis. Conclusion: NLR was an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in HCM patients.

Presently, there is growing concern worldwide regarding the adulteration of meat products. However, no reports on determining meat authenticity have been reported in China. To verify labelling compliance and evaluate the existence of fraudulent practices, 250 sausage samples were purchased from local markets in Sichuan Province and analysed for the presence of chicken, pork, beef, duck and genetically modified soybean DNA using real-time and end-point PCR methods, providing a Chinese case study on the problem of world food safety. In total, 74.4% (186) of the samples were properly labelled, while the other 25.6% (64) were potentially adulterated samples, which involved three illicit practices: product removal, addition and substitution. The most common mislabelling was the illegal addition of, or contamination with, duck. Therefore, meat authenticity monitoring should be routinely conducted. Additionally, the strict implementation of the nation's food safety laws, along with regular surveillance, should be compulsory to alleviate and deter meat adulteration.

Background: This analysis was performed to describe the outcome of very elderly (≥ 80 years) patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) as there is no published data regarding these patients., Materials and Methods: One hundred forty-six very elderly patients with SCLC were identified from the Institutional Lung Cancer Database ranging in age from 80 to 92 years (median, 82 years). Of these, 47 (32%) patients had limited-stage SCLC (L-SCLC), and 99 (68%) had extensive-stage SCLC (E-SCLC). All were Caucasian, and the majority (64%) were female. Sixty-seven (46%) patients had Zubrod performance status (PS) of 0 to 1., Results: Of the 146 patients, 44 (30%) received no therapy, 65 (45%) received chemotherapy alone, 27 (19%) received chemotherapy plus local therapy (thoracic radiotherapy [TRT] or surgery), and 10 (7%) received local therapy alone. The median survival was 5.4 months. On univariable analysis, age (P = .019), stage (L-SCLC vs. E-SCLC; P = .0002), PS (P < .0001), and treatment option (P < .0001) were associated with survival. On multivariable analysis, stage (P = .011), PS (P = .029), and treatment option (P < .0001) maintained significance. For entire cohort, the median survival was 1.3 months without active therapy, 6 months with local therapy alone, 7.2 months with chemotherapy alone, and 14.4 months with chemotherapy plus local therapy (P < .0001, univariable and multivariable). Similar survival findings in response to treatment were found when the L-SCLC and E-SCLC cohorts were separately analyzed., Conclusions: The survival of very elderly patients with SCLC was associated with stage (L-SCLC vs. E-SCLC), PS, and treatment option. Very elderly patients with SCLC often have limited functional reserve required to tolerate aggressive multimodality therapy but appeared to benefit from it. Geriatric assessments, careful monitoring, and extra support are warranted in elderly patients. Care should be individualized based on the desires and needs of each patient., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Giant cell tumors of the distal radius are challenging for surgeons because they are associated with high recurrence rates and poor functional outcomes. Between June 2005 and October 2015, patients with primary giant cell tumors of the distal radius were recruited from seven orthopedic centers in China. The patients' clinical features and demographic characteristics were obtained from medical records and reviewed retrospectively. Overall, 48 cases of giant cell tumors of the distal radius were assessed in this study. These patients were more likely to be between 20 and 40 years of age, to have a Campanacci grade of III, and to undergo a surgical style of resection. The prevalence of pathological fractures was 12.5% overall (20.0% in men and 4.3% in women). The prevalence of local recurrence was 30.0% overall (38.1% in men and 21.1% in women) during the average follow-up period of 62.5 months, with a pulmonary metastasis rate of 5.0%. Giant cell tumors of the distal radius were predominant in men and were more likely to recur locally than around the knee. These findings suggest that it is crucial to evaluate the optimal surgical approach for balancing local recurrence control and functional outcomes to reduce the disease burden.