Search

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: Background: A large amount of cohort studies addressed coffee consumption and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and yielded inconsistent results. We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the pooling effects. Methods: We searched for all published English articles indexed in MEDLINE or PubMed from January 1966 to January 2008. Twenty-one independent prospective cohort studies, which tested CHD risk by coffee consumption, were identified. A general variance-based method was used to pool the relative risks (RR). 15,599 cases from 407,806 participants were included in pooling the overall effects. Results: As compared to the light coffee consumption (<1 cup/d in US or ≤2 cups/d in Europe), under the random-effects model, the pooled CHD RRs (95% CI) for all studies combined were 0.96 (0.87–1.06), 1.04 (0.92–1.17) and 1.07 (0.87–1.32) for the moderate (1–3 or 3–4 cups/d), heavy (4–5 or 5–6 cups/d) and very heavy (≥6 or ≥7 cups/d) categories of coffee consumption (all p >0.05); Moderate coffee consumption showed significantly lower CHD RR (95% CI) of 0.82 (0.73–0.92) (p <0.001) in women, and of 0.87 (0.80–0.86) (p =0.001) in men and women followed ≤10 years. Conclusion: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that coffee consumption increases the long-term risk of coronary heart disease. Habitual moderate coffee drinking was associated with a lower risk of CHD in women. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Abstract: Introduction: A number of RCTs have examined the role of soy isoflavones on bone mineral density (BMD) and yielded inconsistent results. This meta-analyses aims to assess the overall effect of soy isoflavones on BMD. Methods: We searched for all articles published in English from January 1990 to March, 2008. We included RCTs of soy isoflavone supplementation in women of at least one year duration. The main outcomes were BMD changes from baseline at the lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck. Results: We identified 10 eligible RCTs containing 896 women. A mean dose of 87 mg soy isoflavones for at least one year did not significantly affect BMD changes. The mean (95%CI) differences in BMD changes (in mg/cm2/year) were 4.1 (−1.6, 9.8) (0.4%) at the lumbar spine, −1.5 (−7.2, 4.3) (−0.3%) at the femoral neck under random-effects model, and 2.5 (−0.5, 5.4) (0.2%) at the total hip by fix-effects model, respectively. Similar results were obtained in subgroup analyses by isoflavone sources (soy protein vs. isoflavone extract), ethnic differences (Asian vs. Western). Larger dose (≥80 mg/d), but not lower dose (<80 mg/d), of isoflavone intervention tended to have a weak beneficial effect on spine BMD (p =0.08 vs. p =0.94). Conclusions: Soy isoflavone supplementation is unlikely to have significant favorable on BMD at the lumbar spine and hip in women. [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: Recent advances in proteomic profiling technologies, such as surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SELDI), have allowed preliminary profiling and identification of tumor markers in biological fluids in several cancer types and establishment of clinically useful diagnostic computational models. We developed a bioinformatics tool and used it to identify proteomic patterns in urine that distinguish transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) from noncancer.Methods: Proteomic spectra were generated by mass spectroscopy (surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization). A preliminary “training” set of spectra derived from analysis of urine from 46 TCC patients, 32 patients with benign urogenital diseases (BUD), and 40 age-matched unaffected healthy men were used to train and develop a decision tree classification algorithm that identified a fine-protein mass pattern that discriminated cancer from noncancer effectively. A blinded test set, including 38 new cases, was used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the classification system.Results: The algorithm identified a cluster pattern that, in the training set, segregated cancer from noncancer with sensitivity of 84.8% and specificity of 91.7%. The discriminatory pattern correctly identified. A sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 87.0% for the blinded test were obtained when comparing the TCC vs. noncancer.Conclusions: These findings justify a prospective population-based assessment of proteomic pattern technology as a screening tool for bladder cancer in high-risk and general populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Two conjugated polymers containing isoindigo (IIDG) or 3,3-(ethane-1,2-diylidene) bis (indolin-2-one) (EBI) with latent hydrogen bonding were synthesized and characterized. The tert -butyloxycarbonyl (t -Boc) side unit could be removed by facile thermal annealing treatment, generating the actual hydrogen-bonded, fully conjugated polymers. Despite the similar structure of IIDG and EBI , the hydrogen bonds formed in two polymers are different. The polymer based on IIDG possesses a "fixed" hydrogen bonding, which won't be dissociated before thermal degradation. On the contrary, the polymer based on EBI exhibits dynamic and thermoreversible hydrogen bonds upon heating and cooling cycles. The dynamic hydrogen bonding enables the investigation of these special conjugated polymers under the decoupling conditions of hydrogen bonding and other intermolecular interactions. Kinetic FTIR was applied to study the association/dissociation process of hydrogen bonds in the polymer. It is demonstrated that the ratio of hydrogen-bonded donor-acceptor units in the polymer thin film could be determined and its impact on optical properties and charge transport was investigated. The results also suggested that the hydrogen bonding driven molecular aggregation in the polymer thin film enhanced the charge transport mobility in the thin film transistor devices. Image 1 • Dynamic and thermoreversible hydrogen bonding on conjugated polymer was elucidated. • The strength and ratio of formed hydrogen bonds were quantified through kinetic FTIR. • Optical properties reveal the impact of molecular packing by dynamic hydrogen bonding. • Morphology manifests the capability of hydrogen bonding to construct aggregation. • Charge transport mobility was ameliorated via hydrogen bonding induced aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective laser melting (SLM) technology has broad prospects and important significance for developing high-performance and complex structural materials. Magnesium alloy, as one of the lightest structural materials, is well known to have high bio-compatibility, excellent specific strength and specific stiffness. Therefore, significant progress has been made on processing parameters and the structures of the SLM fabricated Mg alloys. We review the current state of research and progress from different perspectives of the SLM, SLM parameters, metallurgical process and microstructure evolution, metallurgical defects, and mechanical properties as well as corrosion properties in order to provide a basis for follow-on-research that leads to the development of high productivity. In addition, the problems in the research and future development of SLMed Mg alloys are also discussed in the final part. [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]

The dense ceramic substrate formed by a mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) material can be used as an oxygen transport membrane (OTM), enabling the transport of high flux oxygen with certain selectivity and gas separation at high temperatures (800 ~ 900 °C). In recent years, Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ (BSCF) has been reported to be a promising MIEC material for oxygen permeation due to its relatively high oxygen ion conductivity at high temperatures. However, the catalytic efficiency of BSCF is relatively low among the MIEC materials, resulting in the dramatic decrease of oxygen permeation at temperatures below 800 °C. In the present study, a composite MIEC ceramic consisting of a BSCF substrate and the catalytic La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3−δ (LSCF) layer has been proposed. A simple method of laser surface melting is executed to fabricate the composite oxygen transport membrane. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations show that LSCF powders can be well-adherent to the BSCF surface after laser scanning melting process. The oxygen permeation flux reaches 0.5 ml min −1 cm −2 for pure BSCF membrane with thickness of 420 µm, while the BSCF membrane substrate with laser scanning LSCF exhibits substantial improvement on oxygen permeation up to 60% at 700 °C. The result suggests that the composite MIEC ceramic has significant potential for intermediate temperature oxygen transport membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous reports on the association between retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between the serum RBP4 levels and occurrence of NAFLD in Chinese population. In total, 2938 participants aged 40-75 years were involved in this community-based cross-sectional study. General information, lifestyle factors, serum levels of RBP4 and the presence of NAFLD were determined. Patients with NAFLD had significantly higher concentrations of RBP4 (37.9 ± 6.8 μg/ml) than did non-NAFLD controls (35.0 ± 6.7 μg/ml) (P < 0.001). The odds ratios (ORs) of NAFLD for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile of RBP4 were 1.884 (95% CI: 1.391, 2.551) for females (P < 0.001), and 2.107 (95% CI: 1.357, 3.273) for male participants (P < 0.01) after adjusting for related factors. The serum RBP4 levels were positively associated with the prevalence of NAFLD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese people, and Homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), trunk fat, the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting insulin, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) might be implicated in the pathogenesis of RBP4 in NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have suggested that serum carotenoids may be inversely associated with liver injury, but limited data are available from population-based studies. We examined the relationship between serum carotenoid levels and the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Chinese adults. A total of 2935 participants aged 40-75 years were involved in this community-based cross-sectional study. General information, lifestyle factors, serum levels of carotenoid and the presence and degree of NAFLD were determined. After adjusting for potential covariates, we observed a dose-dependent inverse association between NAFLD risk and each individual serum carotenoid and total carotenoids (all p-values < 0.001). The ORs of NAFLD for the highest (vs. lowest) quartile were 0.44 (95% CI 0.35, 0.56) for α-carotene, 0.32 (95% CI 0.25, 0.41) for β-carotene, 0.62 (95% CI 0.49, 0.79) for β-cryptoxanthin, 0.54 (95% CI 0.42, 0.68) for lycopene, 0.56 (95% CI 0.44, 0.72) for lutein + zeaxanthin and 0.41 (95% CI 0.32, 0.53) for total carotenoids. Higher levels of α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein + zeaxanthin and total carotenoids were significantly associated with a decrease in the degree of NAFLD (p-trend: < 0.001 to 0.003). Serum carotenoids are inversely associated with prevalence of NAFLD in middle aged and elderly Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives:Many studies have shown a negative association between the consumption of soy products and the risk of some cancers, but little is known about the effect of soy consumption on nasopharyngeal carcinoma. We assessed the association between the consumption of soy products on nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in Chinese individuals. Methods:This case-control study included 600 (448 males and 152 females) incident cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and an equal number of controls, matched according to gender, age (± 3 y) and household type to the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases. All subjects were recruited from hospitals in Guangzhou, China. A face-to-face interview was conducted with each study individual to collect general information and habitual dietary intake using a 78-item quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated using conditional logistic regression analyses. Results:The median intakes of soy foods (in protein) were 0.5/0.5, 1.4/1.7, 2.7/3.3 and 6.1/7.7 (male/female) g/d in the quartiles 1 to 4. Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed no significant association between the consumption of soy proteins or soy isoflavones and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) between extreme quartiles were 0.97 (0.66-1.45) for soy proteins and 0.97 (0.66-1.42) for total isoflavones. Null associations were also observed between intake of the individual isoflavones daidzein, genistein and glycitein and NPC risk, with adjusted odds ratios for the extreme quartiles ranging between 0.73 and 1.23. Conclusion:Habitual consumption of soy products had no significant effect on the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Chinese adults with a relatively low intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]