Serum-based ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis for the diagnosis of pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease with an increasing prevalence that is causing worldwide concern. The pre-diabetes stage is the only reversible stage in the patho-physiological process towards DM. Due to the limitations of traditional methods, the diagnosis and detection of DM and pre-diabetes are complicated, expensive, and time-consuming. Therefore, it would be of great benefit to develop a simple, rapid and inexpensive diagnostic test. Herein, the infrared (IR) spectra of serum samples from 111 DM patients, 111 pre-diabetes patients and 333 healthy volunteers were collected using attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform IR (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and this was combined with the multivariate analysis of principal component analysis linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) to develop a discriminant model to verify the diagnostic potential of this approach. The study found that the accuracy of the test model established by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with PCA-LDA was 97%, and the sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 100% in the control group, 94% and 98% in the pre-diabetes group, and 91% and 98% in the DM group, respectively. This indicates that this method can effectively diagnose DM and pre-diabetes, which has far-reaching clinical significance.

Combined exposure of polystyrene microplastics and benzo[a]pyrene in rat: Study of the oxidative stress effects in the liver.

Microplastics (MPs) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) are prevalent environmental pollutants. Numerous studies have extensively reported their individual adverse effects on organisms. However, the combined effects and mechanisms of exposure in mammals remain unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate the potential effects of oral administration of 0.5µm polystyrene (PS) MPs (1 mg/mL or 5 mg/mL), B[a]P (1 mg/mL or 5 mg/mL) and combined (1 mg/mL or 5 mg/mL) on 64 male SD rats by gavage method over 6-weeks. The results demonstrate that the liver histopathological examination showed that the liver lobules in the combined (5 mg/kg) group had blurred and loose boundaries, liver cord morphological disorders, and significant steatosis. The levels of AST, ALT, TC, and TG in the combined dose groups were significantly higher than those in the other groups, the combined (5 mg/kg) group had the lowest levels of antioxidant enzymes and the highest levels of oxidants. The expression of Nrf2 was lowest and the expression of P38, NF-κB, and TNF-α was highest in the combined (5 mg/kg) group. In conclusion, these findings indicate that the combination of PSMPs and B[a]P can cause the highest levels of oxidative stress and elicit markedly enhanced toxic effects, which cause severe liver damage.

Adherence to dietary guide for elderly adults and health risks of older adults in ethnic minority areas in China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of dietary guidelines on health in ethnic minority regions needs to be further explored because of multiple sociocultural factors. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the association between adherence to dietary guidelines and health risks in an elderly population in an ethnic minority region. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 836 older adults in ethnic minority areas. They were asked to describe their daily dietary intake levels through a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The closeness coefficient for each study subject was calculated by using the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS), which measures the adherence to Dietary Guide for Elderly Adults (DGEA). Regression models were used to analyze the association between adherence and health risks. RESULTS: The daily food of the elderly in this area comprised cereals and vegetables. They had low intake of milk, dairy products, and water and high intake of salt. The closeness coefficient for the total population was 0.51, and the adherence of this population to dietary guidelines for the elderly was low. In both the crude model and the models adjusted for covariates, the closeness coefficient was not significantly associated with clinical indicators and health outcomes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: No association was found between adherence to large sample-based dietary guidelines and clinical indicators or health outcomes in ethnic minority populations. The applicability of dietary guidelines to ethnic minority areas and whether they yield the expected health benefits require further study.

Global, regional, and national mortality trends of female breast cancer by risk factor, 1990-2017.

BACKGROUND: Female breast cancer (FBC) is a malignancy involving multiple risk factors and has imposed heavy disease burden on women. We aim to analyze the secular trends of mortality rate of FBC according to its major risk factors. METHODS: Death data of FBC at the global, regional, and national levels were retrieved from the online database of Global Burden of Disease study 2017. Deaths of FBC attributable to alcohol use, high body-mass index (BMI), high fasting plasma glucose (FPG), low physical activity, and tobacco were collected. Estimated average percentage change (EAPC) was used to quantify the temporal trends of age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) of FBC in 1990-2017. RESULTS: Worldwide, the number of deaths from FBC increased from 344.9 thousand in 1990 to 600.7 thousand in 2017. The ASMR of FBC decreased by 0.59% (95% CI, 0.52, 0.66%) per year during the study period. This decrease was largely driven by the reduction in alcohol use- and tobacco-related FBC, of which the ASMR was decreased by 1.73 and 1.77% per year, respectively. In contrast, the ASMR of FBC attributable to high BMI and high FPG was increased by 1.26% (95% CI, 1.22, 1.30%) and 0.26% (95% CI, 0.23, 0.30%) per year between 1990 and 2017, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The mortality rate of FBC experienced a reduction over the last three decades, which was partly owing to the effective control for alcohol and tobacco use. However, more potent and tailored prevention strategies for obesity and diabetes are urgently warranted.

Whole transcriptome sequencing and competitive endogenous RNA regulation network construction analysis in benzo[a]pyrene-treated breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women worldwide, and environmental pollutants are considered to be risk factors. Currently, most studies into benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)-induced breast cancer focus on biological effects such as proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, DNA damage, estrogen receptor (ER)-related molecular mechanisms, oxidative damage, and other metabolic pathways. This study aims to provide insights into the role of B[a]P in breast cancer development through RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis and construction of a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network. By analyzing RNA-seq results, we identified 144 differentially-expressed circRNAs, 69 differentially-expressed lncRNAs, 20 differentially-expressed miRNAs, and 212 differentially-expressed mRNAs. Following on, we analyzed the gene ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment functions of the differentially-expressed RNAs. In addition, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was mapped for differentially-expressed mRNAs. Subsequently, we constructed ceRNA networks, one of which consisted of 45 dysregulated circRNAs, 11 miRNAs, and 9 mRNAs, and a second consisted of 40 lncRNAs, 11 miRNAs, and 9 mRNAs. Finally, 6 circRNAs, 4 lncRNAs, 1 miRNA, and 4 mRNAs were randomly selected for quantitative real-time PCR verification. PCR results were further verified by Western blotting assays. These results show that the expression level of differentially-expressed RNA was consistent with the sequencing data, and the Western blotting results were highly consistent with the PCR results, confirming that the sequencing result was very reliable. This study systematically explores the ceRNA atlas of differentially-expressed genes related to B[a]P exposure in breast cancer cells, providing new insights into mechanisms of environmental pollutants in breast cancer.

Effects of Gene and Plasma Tau on Cognitive Impairment in Rural Chinese Population.

BACKGROUND: Sufficient attention was not paid to the effects of microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and plasma tau protein on cognition. OBJECTIVE: A total of 3072 people in rural China were recruited. They were provided with questionnaires, and blood samples were obtained. METHODS: The MMSE score was used to divide the population into cognitive impairment group and control group. First, logistic regression analysis was used to explore the possible factors influencing cognitive function. Second, 1837 samples were selected for SNP detection through stratified sampling. Third, 288 samples were selected to test three plasma biomarkers (tau, phosphorylated tau, and Aß-42). RESULTS: For the MAPT rs242557, people with AG genotypes were 1.32 times more likely to develop cognitive impairment than those with AA genotypes, and people with GG genotypes were 1.47 times more likely to develop cognitive impairment than those with AG phenotypes. The plasma tau protein concentration was also increased in the population carrying G (P = 0.020). The plasma tau protein was negatively correlated with the MMSE score (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The mutation of MAPT rs242557 (A > G) increased the risk of cognitive impairment and the concentration of plasma tau protein.