Association between air pollution and atopic dermatitis in Guangzhou, China: modification by age and season.

BACKGROUND: The short-term effect of ambient air pollution on atopic dermatitis (AD), along with its effect modifiers, has not been fully addressed. OBJECTIVES: To examine the short-term associations between air pollution and AD, and to identify effect modifications by age and season. METHODS: We used the generalized additive model to evaluate the short-term effect of ambient air pollution on daily hospital visits for AD, adjusting for potential confounders. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify potential effect modifications by season and age (< 18 years and ≥ 18 years). RESULTS: A total of 29 972 hospital visits for AD were recorded in Guangzhou, China, from 19 January 2013 to 31 December 2017. Among them, 72·8% were visits by children and 51·4% occurred in the cool season. Acute and delayed effects on AD hospital visits were significant for all air pollutants. Stronger effects were seen in the cool season (approximately 1·7-3·0 times higher than effects in the warm season). Stronger effects were also observed in children (approximately 1·3-1·8 times higher than effects in adults). Sensitivity analyses indicated the results were robust. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution might be an important trigger for AD in subtropical Guangzhou, China. Children are more vulnerable than adults, and the effects are stronger in the cool season.

[Prognostic value of KIT and other clonal genetic mutations in core-binding factor acute myeloid leukemia].

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic significance of clonal gene mutations using next-generation sequencing in patients with core-binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) who achieved first complete remission after induction chemotherapy. Methods: The study, which was conducted from July 2011 to August 2017 in First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, comprised 195 newly diagnosed patients with CBF-AML, including 190 patients who achieved first complete remission after induction chemotherapy. The cohort included 134 patients with RUNX1-RUNXIT1(+) AML and 56 patients with CBFß-MYH11(+) AML. The cohort age ranged from 15 to 64 years, with a median follow-up of 43.6 months. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were assessed by the log-rank test, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to determine the effects of clinical factors and genetic mutations on prognosis. Results: The most common genetic mutations were in KIT (47.6% ) , followed by NRAS (20.0% ) , FLT3 (18.4% ) , ASXL2 (14.3% ) , KRAS (10.7% ) , and ASXL1 (9.7% ) . The most common mutations involved genes affecting tyrosine kinase signaling (76.4% ) , followed by chromatin modifiers (29.7% ) . Among the patients receiving intensive consolidation therapy, the OS tended to be better in patients with CBFß-MYH11(+) AML than in those with RUNX1-RUNXIT1 (+) AML (P=0.062) . Gene mutations related to chromatin modification, which were detected only in patients with RUNX1-RUNXIT1(+) AML, did not affect DFS (P=0.557) . The patients with mutations in genes regulating chromatin conformation who received allo-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) achieved the best prognosis. Multivariate analysis identified KIT exon 17 mutations as an independent predictor of inferior DFS in patients with RUNX1-RUNXIT1(+) AML (P<0.001) , and allo-HSCT significantly prolonged DFS in these patients (P=0.010) . Conclusions: KIT exon 17 mutations might indicate poor prognosis in patients with RUNX1-RUNXIT1(+) AML. Allo-HSCT may improve prognosis in these patients, whereas allo-HSCT might also improve prognosis in patients with mutations in genes related to chromatin modifications.

Factors Affecting Direct and Transfer Entrants' Active Coping and Satisfaction with the University.

Psychological wellbeing is vital to public health. University students are the future backbone of the society. Direct and transfer entrants might encounter different adjustment issues in their transition from secondary school or community college to university studies. However, worldwide, the factors affecting their active coping and satisfaction with the university are currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to address this gap. Nine-hundred-and-seventy-eight direct entrants and 841 transfer entrants, recruited by convenience sampling, completed a cross-sectional survey study in 2018. A valid and reliable Hong Kong modified Laanan-Transfer Student Questionnaire (HKML-TSQ) was used to collect data. Multiple methods of quantitative data analysis were employed, including factor analyses, test of model fit, t-tests, correlations, and linear regression. The results showed that the transfer entrants had relatively less desirable experiences in their adjusting processes than did the direct entrants. There was evidence of both common and different factors affecting the two groups' active coping and satisfaction with the university. Different stakeholders from community colleges, universities, and student bodies should work collaboratively to improve students' transitional experiences before, during and after admission to the university.

Differences in study workload stress and its associated factors between transfer students and freshmen entrants in an Asian higher education context.

Unlike the studies of freshmen entrants, the learning experiences of community college transfer (CCT) students in the receiving university is a topic that has only started to gain attention in recent decades. Little is known about the differences between CCT and freshmen entrants with regard to their study workload stress and its relationship with their perceptions of the teaching and learning environment, approaches to learning, self-efficacy and generic skills. The purpose of our study was to address this gap. This was a cross-sectional survey study conducted from April 2018 to November 2018 in a university in Hong Kong. The HowULearn questionnaire was adapted to local usage and validated for data collection. In total, 841 CCT students and 978 freshmen entrants completed the survey. The respondents were aged between 19 and 52 years (mean = 21.6, SD = 1.92), and 66.0% were women. The HowULearn questionnaire was determined by factor analyses to have eight factors. The reliabilities of the eight factors were found to be acceptable (Cronbach alphas = 0.709-0.918). The CCT students scored significantly higher than the freshmen entrants for perceived study workload stress and surface approaches to learning, but lower on teaching for understanding & encouraging learning, peer support, and self-efficacy beliefs. The surface approach to learning, deep & organized studying, alignment & constructive feedback, and generic skills were found to be predictors of study workload stress in both groups of students, and in the overall student data. This study has shown that CCT students and freshmen entrants differed with regard to their study workload stress and learning experiences. Our findings provide a message, both for educators in higher education and policy makers in the government-there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to different student populations when it comes to enhancing their learning experiences.

The role of pro-inflammatory factors in mediating the effects on the fetus of prenatal undernutrition: implications for schizophrenia.

Exposure to prenatal undernutrition or malnutrition increases the risk of schizophrenia, although little is known about the mechanism. Pro-inflammatory factors are critical in brain development, and are believed to play an important role in neurodevelopmental disorders associated with prenatal exposure to infection, including schizophrenia. However it is not known whether pro-inflammatory factors also mediate the effects on the fetus of prenatal malnutrition or undernutrition. In this study, we established a new prenatal undernourished rat model induced by maternal exposure to a diet restricted to 50% of the low (6%) protein diet (RLP50). We observed the disappearance of maternal nest-building behavior in the RLP50 dams, increased levels of TNFA and IL6 in the placentas (P<0.001; P=0.879, respectively) and fetal livers (P<0.001; P<0.05, respectively), and a decrease in the fetal brains (P<0.05; P<0.01, respectively). Our results are similar to previous studies of maternal infection, which implies that a common pathway mediated by pro-inflammatory factors may contribute to the brain development, consequently increasing the risk of schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases programmed by varied maternal adversities. We also provide a new prenatal undernourished model for researching prenatal problems, which differs from previous malnourished model in terms of the maternal behavior of dams and of observed pro-inflammatory factor levels in fetal tissues.

A case of demyelinating disease with clinical and radiological features mimicking cerebral tumor.

Demyelinating disease may present with clinical and radiological features mimicking brain tumor. A 43-year-old man was admitted because of progressive right hemiparesis, facial weakness and dysarthria. Computed tomographic scans revealed two expansive lesions in the left frontal lobe and midbrain, respectively. A brain tumor or metastatic lesion was suspected. The patient underwent left frontal craniotomy and the surgical biopsy revealed a demyelinating process. The patient, however, had a poor response to steroid treatment and died two months later. The possible nature of demyelinating disease in this case is discussed.

Cryptococcal infection presenting with lumbosacral polyradiculopathy: report of a case.

Cryptococcal infection presenting primarily as lumbosacral polyradiculopathy is rare. We report on a 57-year-old man with lumbosacral polyradiculopathy, and in which a culture from the cerebrospinal fluid grew Cryptococcus neoformans. A serum cryptococcal antigen study showed a positive reaction. Biopsy specimens from the spinal nerve rootlet showed evidence of arachnoiditis and direct involvement of the nerve root by Cryptococcus neoformans. It is important to remember that localized lumbosacral polyradiculopathy can be the sole initial manifestation of cryptococcosis.

Decreased levels of apolipoprotein A-I in plasma of schizophrenic patients.

This study aims to identify the effects of antipsychotics on plasma proteins, and on the proteins associated with schizophrenia. We applied proteomics technology to screen protein aberrations in Sprague-Dawley rats treated with antipsychotics and schizophrenic patients undergoing medication. ApoA-I was found significantly increased in the chlorpromazine-treated rats and decreased in the patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, which suggest that decreased levels of apoA-I might be associated with the pathology of schizophrenia and that chlorpromazine increases apoA-I levels as part of its therapeutic action.