The effect of Internet use on nutritional intake and health outcomes: new evidence from rural China.

Introduction: Internet use is changing nutritional intake and health outcomes, but the results are mixed, and less attention is given to the rural developing regions. Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data from 2004 to 2015, this study seeks to better understand the effect of Internet use on nutritional intake and health outcomes. Methods: An instrumental variable estimation is used to address endogeneity problem. Results: The results show that Internet use improves the dietary knowledge of rural residents, and thus has a positive impact on dietary quality, such as healthy eating index (HEI) and dietary diversity score (DDS). The higher the dietary quality, the better the nutritional health status. However, results also show that Internet use increases the risk of overweight, and obesity among rural Chinese residents. Because Internet use has significantly reduced the physical activity of rural residents in China. Interestingly, we also find that the Internet increases the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but there is a positive causal relationship between Internet use and the self-assessment score of health. Discussion: Our findings suggest that there may be a serious lack of awareness of the health risks of chronic diseases among Chinese rural residents. Therefore, policymakers are suggested to consider the possible negative effects when promoting digital development.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0005939 Regulates UHRF1BP1L Expression by Targeting miR-4693-3p to Promote Colorectal Cancer Progression.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common and fatal cancer in China. circRNAs are different expressed between tumor and non-tumor tissues, and they are proved to be correlated with tumorigenesis and cancer progression. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore the biological and molecular function of hsa_circ_0005939 in CRC. METHODS: We collected and compared ten CRC tissues and four noncancerous tissues and performed circRNA sequencing. We investigated the hsa_circ_0005939 expression in fresh tissues from CRC and adjacent tissues by qPCR. Meanwhile, functional roles of hsa_circ_0005939 in CRC cells were explored by CCK-8, colony formation, wounding healing, cell apoptosis and western blot assays. RNA-FISH was used to confirm the cellular distribution of hsa_circ_0005939. Bioinformatic prediction and luciferase reporter assay were used to determine the mechanisms of hsa_circ_0005939. RESULTS: Our results indicated that hsa_circ_0005939 was up-regulated in CRC tissues and cells. Up-regulation of hsa_circ_0005939 was associated with the occurrence and the number of lymph node metastasis of CRC. Hsa_circ_0005939 down-regulation inhibited cell proliferation, increased cell apoptosis and caused G2 phase arrest of CRC cells. Mechanistically, luciferase assay revealed that hsa_circ_0005939 acts as a molecular sponge for miR-4693-3p and then enhanced Ubiquitin Like With PHD And Ring Finger Domains 1 binding protein 1 like (UHRF1BP1L) expression. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated an oncogenic role of hsa_circ_0005939 in CRC, and it enhanced malignant phenotypes of CRC cells through miR-4693-3p/UHRF1BP1L axis. Our study may offer promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CRC.