Spine trabecular bone scores and bone mineral density of postmenopausal Taiwanese women.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to determine the mean trabecular bone score (TBS) of postmenopausal Taiwanese women and to analyze the value of TBS in predicting osteoporosis. METHODS: A total of 1,915 postmenopausal women with lumbar spine and hip bone mineral density (BMD) and spine TBS were enrolled from a single medical center into this study. The women's BMD and TBS were measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry (Discovery Wi; Hologic, Bedford, Mass) and iNsight software (Med-Imaps SASU, Merignac, France), respectively. The women's demographic characteristics; lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck BMD; and lumbar spine TBS were recorded, and correlations among the parameters were identified using a 2-tailed Pearson test, in which a P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We developed simple linear regression models to represent changes related to TBS and performed an analysis of variance on the selected variables. RESULTS: The average age of the women was 62.5 ± 9.1 years (range, 25.7-93.7 years). The mean TBS was 1.300 ± 0.086 (range, 1.015-1.596). The TBS was weakly and negatively correlated with body mass index ( r = -0.078) and moderately and positively correlated with the lumbar spine BMD ( r = 0.619). The patients' lowest BMD values among those measured at multiple sites revealed a higher rate of osteoporosis (32.5%) than those measured at individual sites. Degraded TBS were noted in 21.2% of the participants, and a combination of BMD and TBS results predicted more individuals (7.8%) at a high risk of fracture than did the BMD result only. The rates of both osteoporosis and degraded TBS increased with age. CONCLUSIONS: Bone mineral density and TBS can be used in combination to predict osteoporosis in a greater number of postmenopausal Taiwanese women. Because the incidence of osteoporosis is the highest among older women, clinicians should pay careful attention to TBS degradation among older patients without low BMD.

High-efficiency near-infrared enabled planar perovskite solar cells by embedding upconversion nanocrystals.

Integration of the upconversion effect in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is a facile approach towards extending the spectral absorption from the visible to the near infrared (NIR) range and reducing the non-absorption loss of solar photons. However, the big challenge for practical application of UCNCs in planar PSCs is the poor compatibility between UCNCs and the perovskite precursor. Herein, we have subtly overcome the tough compatibility issue using a ligand-exchange strategy. For the first time, ß-NaYF4:Yb,Er UCNCs have been embedded in situ into a CH3NH3PbI3 layer to fabricate NIR-enabled planar PSCs. The CH3NH3I-capped UCNCs generated from the ligand-exchange were mixed with the perovskite precursor and served as nucleation sites for the UCNC-mediated heteroepitaxial growth of perovskite; moreover, the in situ embedding of UCNCs into the perovskite layer was realized during a spin-coating process. The resulting UCNC-embedded perovskite layer attained a uniform pinhole-free morphology with enlarged crystal grains and enabled NIR absorption. It also contributed to the energy transfer from the UCNCs to the perovskite and electron transport to the collecting electrode surface. The device fabricated using the UCNC-embedded perovskite film achieved an average power-conversion efficiency of 18.60% (19.70% for the best) under AM 1.5G and 0.37% under 980 nm laser, corresponding to 54% and 740-fold increase as compared to that of its counterpart without UCNCs.

CNTNAP3 associated ATG16L1 expression and Crohn's disease.

Autophagy is a common physiological process in cell homeostasis and regulation. Autophagy-related gene mutations and autophagy disorders are important in Crohn's disease (CD). The nucleotide oligomerization domain 2-autophagy genes autophagy 16-like 1 (NOD2-ATG16L1) signaling axis disorder contributes to the dysfunction of autophagy. This paper is focused on the relationship between contactin associated protein-like 3 (CNTNAP3) and ATG16L1 expression in Crohn's disease. The results indicated that the expression of ATG16L1 is higher in some CD patients compared to normal controls. ATG16L1 was well correlated with the C-reactive protein (CRP) in some CD patients. In vitro study revealed that CNTNAP3 could upregulate the expression of ATG16L1 and increase autophagy vacuoles.

Prevalence and factors related to hepatitis B and C infection in inflammatory bowel disease patients in China: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this retrospective study were to assess the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in Chinese IBD patients, identify potential risk factors of the infection in this population, and discuss the prevalence of HBV and HCV in the general Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 714 IBD patients who had been investigated for HBV and/or HCV infection were consecutively enrolled in the study. Clinical and laboratory data on IBD and hepatitis infection were collected. A control group of 22,373 healthy individuals was also included in the study. RESULTS: Present and past HBV infection was found in 40.62% of IBD patients (ulcerative colitis: HBsAg+, 5.68%; anti-HBc+, 41.64%; Crohn's disease: HBsAg+, 5.29%; anti-HBc+, 39.80%;), and 27.58% of the non-IBD group (HBsAg+, 5.52%; anti-HBc+, 27.58% [P = 0.00]). HCV infection was found in 0.42% of IBD patients and 0.36% of the non-IBD group (P=0.80). One hundred and fifty-four of the IBD patients (21.57%) had been effectively vaccinated for HBV. In a multivariate analysis, age, family history of hepatitis B, and IBD-related admission were significantly related to HBV infection in IBD patients. Potential risk factors for HCV were not analyzed due to the limited number of HCV-positive patients in the study. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of HBV infection in IBD patients was higher than that in the non-IBD patients, whereas prevalence of HCV infection was similar to that of the non-IBD group. Effective vaccination for HBV was present in only a small proportion of IBD patients.

LncRNA DQ786243 affects Treg related CREB and Foxp3 expression in Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have different functions in cells. They work as signals, decoys, guides, and scaffolds. Altered lncRNA levels can affect the expression of gene products. There are seldom studies on the role of lncRNAs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). RESULTS: Quantitative RT-PCR showed that DQ786243 was significantly overexpressed in clinical active CD patients compared with clinical inactive CD patients (P = 0.0118) or healthy controls (P = 0.002). CREB was also more highly expressed in active CD than in inactive CD (P = 0.0034) or controls (P = 0.0241). Foxp3 was interestingly lower in inactive CD than in active CD (P = 0.0317) or controls (P = 0.0103), but there were no apparent differences between active CD and controls. CRP was well correlated with DQ786243 (r = 0.489, P = 0.034), CREB (r = 0.500, P = 0.029) and Foxp3 (r = 0.546, P = 0.016). At 48 hours after DQ786243 transfection, qRT-PCR showed both CREB (P = 0.017) and Foxp3 (P = 0.046) had an increased mRNA expression in Jurkat cells. Western blot showed the same pattern. After DQ786243 transfection, CREB phosphorylation ratio (p-CREB/t-CREB) was increased (P = 0.0043). CONCLUSION: DQ786243 can be related with severity of CD. It can affect the expression of CREB and Foxp3 through which regulates the function of Treg. CREB itself seems not the mediator of DQ786243 to up-regulate Foxp3. The phosphorylation of CREB might play a more important role in the process.

Gene expression of tumor necrosis factor receptor associated-factor (TRAF)-1 and TRAF-2 in inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the expression of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF)-1 and TRAF-2 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: Immunostaining, western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to detect the expression of TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 in colonic mucosa of IBD patients and control. Furthermore, serum protein levels of TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 were measured by ELISA and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine their diagnostic value. RESULTS: The expression of TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 was significantly higher in inflamed and non-inflamed tissues of IBD patients than those in control (P < 0.05). Moreover, inflamed tissues had higher TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 expression than non-inflamed tissues (P < 0.05). Both TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 were shown to have a fair to excellent value in the differentiation of control and IBD patients with the area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.680-1.000 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The activation of TRAF-1 and TRAF-2 may be early events in the pathogenesis of IBD and their functions are not quite the same.

Once-daily versus multiple-daily mesalamine for patients with ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the efficacy and safety of once-daily (OD) mesalamine for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) compared with multiple-daily (MD) mesalamine. METHODS: Electronic databases up to July 2011 were searched for related studies evaluating the efficacy of OD vs MD for treatment of UC. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered eligible. Remission rates or relapse rates were analyzed using intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analysis. Pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Publication bias was assessed with a funnel plot. RESULTS: Overall 10 RCTs including 9 full-text manuscripts and one abstract met the inclusion criteria. OD dosing of mesalamine was shown to be as effective as MD dosing for the maintenance of clinical remission in patients with quiescent UC (RR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.89-1.12) by ITT analysis. For active UC, a mild but significant benefit was achieved by OD dosing compared with MD dosing (RR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.64-0.99). Total adverse events were similar using OD and MD mesalamine in quiescent UC (RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.93-1.20). Compliance with OD was slightly better than with MD (RR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.82-1.03). CONCLUSIONS: OD mesalamine is as effective and has a comparable safety profile as MD regimens for the maintenance treatment of UC, and is even more effective for inducing remission in active UC.

Meta-analysis: circulating adiponectin levels and risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a systematic review with a meta-analysis for addressing the association between circulating adiponectin levels and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma. METHODS: Multiple electronic sources including MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Science Citation Index Expanded databases were searched to identify relevant studies for this systematic review. All existing observational studies that examined the relationship between circulating adiponectin and colorectal cancer or adenoma were included. Weighted mean difference and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated and pooled using meta-analysis methods. RESULTS: Overall 13 case control or nested case control studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 6175 participants and 3015 cases of colorectal cancer and adenoma were included in this meta-analysis. The weighted mean difference (95% CI) were -1.084 µg/mL (-1.836, -0.331), P = 0.005 in colorectal cancer and -1.43 µg/mL (-2.231, -0.628), P = 0.000 in adenoma. In men, a 2% decreased risk of colorectal neoplasm for a 1 µg/mL increment in adiponectin levels was observed (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99) whereas among women there is no evidence of such a trend (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.97-1.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with colorectal cancer and adenoma demonstrated markedly lower adiponectin values than controls, yet there was significant heterogeneity among studies. A negative dose response relationship between levels of adiponectin and the risk of colorectal neoplasm was observed in men.

Efficacy and safety of adalimumab in Crohn's disease: meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in inducing and maintaining remission of Crohn's disease. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched. Placebo-controlled trials of adalimumab used in patients with Crohn's disease were included. Data were analyzed with Review Manager 4.2. RESULTS: Four studies enrolling 1402 patients were confirmed as meeting our criteria. Remission rates of inducing and maintaining remission in patients with Crohn's disease were higher for adalimumab than placebo (P<0.05). Adalimumab significantly improves the quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease. No significant difference in total adverse events was found in maintaining remission. Moreover, there were significantly less serious adverse events from taking adalimumab than from taking the placebo in long-term treatment. Patients with increased baseline C-reactive protein may benefit more from adalimumab therapy than those without. CONCLUSIONS: Adalimumab is effective and safe in Crohn's disease. However, studies of a larger number of patients are still required for better assessing the safety profile of adalimumab.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of ebselen and its acyclic derivatives.

Five ebselen and three acyclic ebselen derivatives were synthesized. These compounds were screened for their glutathione peroxidase (GSH Px)-like activity and scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and peroxynitrite radical. All tested compounds displayed similar significant GSH Px-like activity, which are slightly higher than that of ebselen. The peroxynitrite scavenging activity showed that the acyclic allylseleno 4c was five times more potent than ebselen.