Search

This paper evaluates the general equilibrium trade and welfare effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We estimate the partial trade effect of the BRI using the synthetic control method. By feeding the implied trade cost reduction into counterfactual equations, we simulate the general equilibrium trade and welfare effects of the BRI based on the structural gravity model. We find that the BRI has greatly increased China's and BRI members' trade and welfare, with little impact on non‐BRI members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer immune escape is associated with the metabolic reprogramming of the various infiltrating cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and combining metabolic targets with immunotherapy shows great promise for improving clinical outcomes. Among all metabolic processes, lipid metabolism, especially fatty acid metabolism (FAM), plays a major role in cancer cell survival, migration, and proliferation. However, the mechanisms and functions of FAM in the tumor immune microenvironment remain poorly understood. We screened 309 fatty acid metabolism-related genes (FMGs) for differential expression, identifying 121 differentially expressed genes. Univariate Cox regression models in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were then utilized to identify the 15 FMGs associated with overall survival. We systematically evaluated the correlation between FMGs' modification patterns and the TME, prognosis, and immunotherapy. The FMGsScore was constructed to quantify the FMG modification patterns using principal component analysis. Three clusters based on FMGs were demonstrated in breast cancer, with three patterns of distinct immune cell infiltration and biological behavior. An FMGsScore signature was constructed to reveal that patients with a low FMGsScore had higher immune checkpoint expression, higher immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) scores, increased immune microenvironment infiltration, better survival advantage, and were more sensitive to immunotherapy than those with a high FMGsScore. Finally, the expression and function of the signature key gene NDUFAB1 were examined by in vitro experiments. This study significantly demonstrates the substantial impact of FMGs on the immune microenvironment of breast cancer, and that FMGsScores can be used to guide the prediction of immunotherapy efficacy in breast cancer patients. In vitro experiments, knockdown of the NDUFAB1 gene resulted in reduced proliferation and migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Because the relationship between childhood obesity and periodontal diseases has rarely been studied, this study investigated the potential association between obesity and periodontitis among Chinese school-age children and its underlying mechanisms.Materials and Methods: The periodontal status of normal and obese Chinese children was examined and the expression of several inflammatory factors was compared between the normal and obese group. The periodontal status, including the sulcus bleeding index (SBI), plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing percentage (BOP%) and probing depth (PD) of normal and obese children was recorded. A correlation analysis between obesity degree and periodontitis was performed. The plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were examined using ELISA.Results: No obvious correlation was observed between obesity and the four clinical periodontal indices SBI, PI, SBI and BOP% was observed, which is in contrast to the contribution of obesity to periodontitis in adults. However, the concentration of serum TNF-α was significantly elevated in the obese group (219.91 ± 24.57 pg/ml, n = 30) when compared with the normal group (169.31 ± 23.62 pg/ml, n = 23) (t = 2.844, p < 0.05), indicating that obesity still reinforces the inflammation responses in the periodontium.Conclusion: Among the Chinese school-age children, obesity leads to the accumulation of TNF-α in the gingival crevicular fluid, which occurs much earlier than and may contribute to the development of periodontitis associated with obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]