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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between supplementation containing folic acid only (FAO) or multiple micronutrients containing folic acid and the risk for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP). Subjects and Methods: The retrospective cohort study was based on data from women who gave birth from 2016 to 2018 at Tongzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Beijing, China. The outcomes were HDP diagnosed after the 20th week of pregnancy, including gestational hypertension (GH), preeclampsia, and eclampsia. Associations between supplementation patterns and HDP were estimated by Poisson loglinear regression models. Sensitivity analyses were based on prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and maternal age. Results: Among the 25,866 women included in the study, periconceptional use of FA supplementation marginally reduced the risk for HDP (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73–1.04). Women who began FAO supplementation before conception had a lower risk for GH compared to those who began after conception (aRR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.45–0.78). The risk for HDP also reduced among FAO users who began supplementation before conception with a normal prepregnancy BMI (aRR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.49–0.84) and users ≥30 years old (aRR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58–0.98). Conclusions: Periconceptional FAO supplementation may reduce the risk for HDP, especially GH. The protective effects are greater among women with a normal prepregnancy BMI and those ≥30 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its determinants among pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, China.Methods: This study was performed on data collected in the routine work of the prenatal health care system from 27,119 pregnant women in the Tongzhou district of Beijing during 2013-2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the factors associated with GDM.Results: The overall prevalence of GDM was 24.24%, and it showed an increasing trend over the 6 years. A univariate analysis showed that the prevalence of GDM increased with age (p < .001). In multivariate analysis, it was found that women with a non-local household registration, as well as those without a local household registration but whose husbands had one, had a lower risk for GDM than both spouses who had local registration. Women who were overweight/obese had a higher risk for GDM than women with a normal pre-pregnancy body mass index. Multipara women had a lower likelihood of developing GDM.Conclusions: We found a slightly higher prevalence of GDM in the Tongzhou district of Beijing than has been found in other studies, and the prevalence rose over the 6 years of the study. Advanced age, pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity, and local household registration were important risk factors for GDM. Multiparity may be a protective factor against developing GDM. Intensive health education on related determinants should be strengthened for the prevention and control of GDM, especially in high-risk women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common gastrointestinal cancer with a high global mortality. Recent reports have suggested that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) are implicated in multiple aspects of GC, including pathogenesis, progression, and therapeutic response. Herein, we investigated the function of FOXD1‐AS1 in GC progression and chemoresistance. Expression of FOXD1‐AS1 was low in normal stomach tissues but was upregulated in GC cell lines. Silencing of FOXD1‐AS1 impaired GC cell proliferation and motility in vitro, and repressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Importantly, FOXD1‐AS1 upregulation increased the resistance of GC cells to cisplatin. Moreover, we found that FOXD1‐AS1 promoted FOXD1 protein translation through the eIF4G‐eIF4E‐eIF4A translational complex. We also demonstrated that FOXD1‐AS1 released eIF4E from phosphorylated 4E‐BP1 and thereby strengthened the interaction of eIF4E with eIF4G by activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was due to the post‐transcriptional upregulation of PIK3CA, in turn induced by FOXD1‐AS1‐mediated sequestering of microRNA (miR)‐466. Furthermore, we verified that FOXD1‐AS1 facilitated GC progression and cisplatin resistance in a FOXD1‐dependent manner. In conclusion, FOXD1‐AS1 aggravates GC progression and chemoresistance by promoting FOXD1 translation via PIK3CA/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. These findings highlight a novel target for treatment of patients GC, particularly patients with cisplatin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most prevalent carcinoma resulting in cancer-related deaths in the world, with differences among geographic areas. Although the incidence and mortality rates of GC in Asia are decreasing, the search for diverse and effective therapies of GC is still needed to be fully inquired. The present research explored the expression pattern, functional role and underlying mechanism of DLX6-AS1 in GC. Firstly, we measured DLX6-AS1 expression in GC and then found the elevated level of DLX6-AS1. To further inspect the function role of DLX6-AS1 involved in GC, we performed lost-of-function assays. The silencing of DLX6-AS1 suppressed cell proliferation, migration and EMT process of GC cells. Subsequently, we uncovered that MAP4K1 was also up-regulated in GC and could be positively regulated by DLX6-AS1. Moreover, MAP4K1 down-regulation similarly inhibited GC progression. In addition, DLX6-AS1 stabilized MAP4K1 via modulating FUS. In summary, DLX6-AS1 modulated GC progression through FUS-regulated MAP4K1. Our paper exposed the role and regulatory mechanism of DLX6-AS1 in GC, which suggested a novel and valid therapy for GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Serial measurements of sonographic fetal abdominal circumference (AC) are useful for monitoring fetal growth during pregnancy and are essential for predicting macrosomia. The study was aiming to compare the AC profiles of infants born to mothers with or without hyperglycemia in Chinese population.Subjects and methods: The "GDM Prevalence Study (GPS)" was a large study conducted in 22 hospitals in three large cities in China, which included 34,085 NGT (normal glucose tolerant) women, 8272 GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus) women and 729 DM (diabetes mellitus) women. A total of 116,740 scans and 103,377 valid AC measurements were performed for the NGT, GDM and DM groups at different gestational age. AC profiles and fetal growth rates at different stages of pregnancy were compared between different groups.Results: The overall AC growth rate (β) was higher in the macrosomia group than in the no macrosomia group in NGT (β =10.250 versus 9.541, p < .001), GDM (β = 10.572 versus 9.705, p < .001) and DM (β = 11.363 versus 9.924, p < .001) pregnancies. Significant differences were observed between NGT-macrosomia, GDM-macrosomia and DM-macrosomia. Significant differences were also noted between NGT-no macrosomia, GDM-no macrosomia and DM-no macrosomia women. Participants in NGT-macrosomia group exhibited larger AC values than NGT-no macrosomia group beginning at 21 gestational weeks, and GDM-macrosomia group exhibited larger AC values than GDM-no macrosomia group beginning at 22 gestational weeks. AC growth rate was higher in NGT-macrosomia and GDM-macrosomia groups than in the corresponding no macrosomia groups between 22 and 30 gestational weeks.Conclusions: The overall AC growth rates are higher in macrosomia group compared to the no macrosomia group in NGT, GDM as well as DM participants. The significant difference of AC growth rates in NGT-macrosomia and GDM-macrosomia indicate the possible differential underlying mechanisms in developing macrosomia with or without hyperglycemia exposure. Our study demonstrate that larger fetal AC measurements around 21-22 weeks are associated with subsequent diagnosis of macrosomia, suggesting that macrosomia management should be initiated much earlier than we thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ebselen is a seleno-organic compound that has been demonstrated to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A previous study determined that ebselen inhibits airway inflammation induced by inhalational lipopolysaccharide (LPS), however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated. The present study investigated the effect of ebselen on the glutathione peroxidase (GPX)‑reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and interleukin‑8 (IL‑8) expression induced by Helicobacter pylori LPS in gastric cancer (GC) cells. Cells were treated with 200 ng/ml H. pylori‑LPS in the presence or absence of ebselen for various durations and concentrations (µmol/l). The expression of toll‑like receptor 4 (TLR4), GPX2, GPX4, p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), phosphorylated‑p38 MAPK, ROS production and IL‑8 expression were detected with western blotting or ELISA. The present study revealed that TLR4 expression was upregulated; however, GPX2 and GPX4 expression was reduced following treatment with H. pylori LPS, which led to increased ROS production, subsequently altering the IL‑8 expression level in GC cells. Additionally, it was determined that ebselen prevented the reduction in GPX2/4 levels induced by H. pylori LPS, however, TLR4 expression was not affected. Ebselen may also block the expression of IL‑8 by inhibiting phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. These data suggest ebselen may inhibit ROS production triggered by H. pylori LPS treatment via GPX2/4 instead of TLR4 signaling and reduce phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, resulting in altered production of IL‑8. Ebselen may, therefore, be a potential therapeutic agent to mediate H. pylori LPS-induced cell damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor exposure to legacy and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) may cause potential risks to human health. Studies on seasonal variations of indoor PM 2.5 -bound BFRs are scant. This study comprehensively investigated the seasonal variations of PM 2.5 -bound polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and NBFRs in various indoor environments (i.e. activity room, dormitory, home and office) and outdoor PM 2.5 in Beijing, China over one year. The levels of PBDE (226 ± 108 pg m -3 ) were higher than that of NBFRs (27.0 ± 16.0 pg m -3 ) in all indoor environments. Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were the most abundant BFRs. Office showed the highest mean concentrations of Σ 15 PBDEs (251 ± 125 pg m -3 ) and Σ 9 NBFRs (33.0 ± 18.0 pg m -3 ), which may be related to the higher number density of indoor materials. The concentrations of Σ 9 NBFRs and Σ 15 PBDE in indoor PM 2.5 were found to be significantly higher than those in the corresponding outdoor PM 2.5 (p < 0.05). Two to twenty-fold seasonal variations were observed for levels of PM 2.5 -bound BFRs during one year, and indoor concentrations increased slightly during the central-heating period (November 2016-March 2017). Seasonal variations of BFRs could be affected by temperature, relative humidity and concentrations of particle matters. The PM 2.5 -bound BFRs concentrations in PM 2.5 were negatively correlated with temperature and relative humidity, while positively correlated with PM 2.5 concentrations (p < 0.05). Atmospheric haze pollution could possibly contribute to higher levels of indoor PM 2.5 -bound BFRs. Human daily intake of BFRs via PM 2.5 inhalation showed seasonal differences, and the highest exposure risk occurred in winter. Toddlers were assessed to be more vulnerable to indoor PM 2.5 -bound BFRs in all seasons. This study provided the first-hand measurements of seasonal concentrations and human exposure to PM 2.5 -bound BFRs in different indoor scenarios in Beijing., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)