Identification of potential therapeutic targets for plaque vulnerability based on an integrated analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study aimed to explore potential hub genes and pathways of plaque vulnerability and to investigate possible therapeutic targets for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Four microarray datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), weighted gene coexpression networks (WGCNA) and immune cell infiltration analysis (IIA) were used to identify the genes for plaque vulnerability. Then, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment, Disease Ontology, Gene Ontology annotation and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were performed to explore the hub genes. Random forest and artificial neural networks were constructed for validation. Furthermore, the CMap and Herb databases were employed to explore possible therapeutic targets. A total of 168 DEGs with an adjusted P < 0.05 and approximately 1974 IIA genes were identified in GSE62646. Three modules were detected and associated with CAD-Class, including 891 genes that can be found in GSE90074. After removing duplicates, 114 hub genes were used for functional analysis. GO functions identified 157 items, and 6 pathways were enriched for the KEGG pathway at adjusted P < 0.05 (false discovery rate, FDR set at < 0.05). Random forest and artificial neural network models were built based on the GSE48060 and GSE34822 datasets, respectively, to validate the previous hub genes. Five genes (GZMA, GZMB, KLRB1, KLRD1 and TRPM6) were selected, and only two of them (GZMA and GZMB) were screened as therapeutic targets in the CMap and Herb databases. CONCLUSION: We performed a comprehensive analysis and validated GZMA and GZMB as a target for plaque vulnerability, which provides a therapeutic strategy for the prevention of ACS. However, whether it can be used as a predictor in blood samples requires further experimental verification.

Parental Migration and Early Childhood Development in Rural China.

Nearly one-quarter of all children under age 2 in China are left behind in the countryside as parents migrate to urban areas for work. We use a four-wave longitudinal survey following young children from 6 to 30 months of age to provide first evidence on the effects of parental migration on development, health, and nutritional outcomes in the critical first stages of life. We find that maternal migration has a negative effect on cognitive development: migration before children reach 12 months of age reduces cognitive development by 0.3 standard deviations at age 2. Possible mechanisms include reduced dietary diversity and engagement in stimulating activities, both known to be causally associated with skill development in early life. We find no effects on other dimensions of physical and social-emotional health.

MicroRNA-141 protects PC12 cells against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced injury via regulating Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway.

To understand the role of microRNA-141 (miR-141) in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced PC12 cell injury via modulation of Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway. PC12 cells were divided into Control, H/R, H/R + miR-141 mimics, H/R + NC, H/R + miR-141 inhibitor, H/R + siKeap1 and H/R + miR-141 inhibitors+siKeap1 groups. The expression of miR-141 and Keap1/Nrf2 pathway was measured by qRT-PCR and western blotting, cell viability evaluated by MTT assay while cell apoptosis tested by flow cytometry. Besides, MDA (malondialdehyde), SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase) and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) levels were determined. DCFH-DA and JC-1 staining were used to measure ROS and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) respectively. Compared with Controls, PC12 cells induced by H/R exhibited decreased cell viability and increased cell apoptosis rate, with elevated MDA, LDH and ROS and reduced SOD levels; and meanwhile, MMP and miR-141 expression were declined, whereas cytoplasmic Nrf2 levels were enhanced with the downregulated nuclear Nrf2 level (all P < 0.05). However, these cells treated with miR-141 mimics and siKeap1 showed obvious improvement in H/R-induced cell injury, while miR-141 inhibitors presented significantly aggravated cell injury (both P < 0.05). Besides, siKeap1 can reverse the effect of miRNA-141 inhibitors on aggravating H/R-induced PC12 cell injury. miR-141-mediated Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway to promote cell viability, inhibit cell apoptosis and reduce oxidative stress of PC12 cells, thereby alleviating H/R-induced cell injury.

Do Infant Feeding Practices Differ Between Grandmothers and Mothers in Rural China? Evidence From Rural Shaanxi Province.

The overall goal of this study is to examine whether infant feeding practices differ between mothers and grandmothers in rural China. We randomly sampled 1383 caregivers of infants aged 18 to 30 months living in 351 villages across 174 townships in nationally designated poverty counties in rural areas. Results show that a high fraction of caregivers of 18- to 30-month-old children living in low-income areas of rural China do not regularly engage in positive infant feeding practices. Only 30% of children in our sample achieved adequate dietary diversity. Only 49% of children in our sample were fed meat in the day prior to survey administration. Few caregivers reported giving any vitamin supplements (such as calcium or iron supplements) to their children. We find that 33% of the children were cared for by grandmothers rather than mothers, and that grandmothers feed a less diversified diet to children than do mothers. Most (84%) caregivers rely solely on their own experiences, friends, and family members in shaping their feeding behaviors. Overall infant feeding practices are poor in rural China. Grandmothers engage in poorer feeding practices than do mothers. Grandmothers have improved their feeding practices compared to when their own children were young. Our results suggest shortcomings in the quality of infant feeding practices, at least in part due to an absence of reliable information sources.

[Factors analysis on caregivers' compliance behaviors in nutrition packages feeding by PRECEDE theory in poor rural areas of Southern Shaanxi Province].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the main factors on caregivers' compliance behaviors in nutrition packages feeding in poor rural areas of Southern Shaanxi Province based on PRECEDE theory in terms of the predisposing factors( related knowledge and intentions of themselves), the enabling factors( social conditions and skills of behavior fulfillment) and the reinforcing factors( attitude of the important people around and rewards for persistent behavior). METHODS: The target villages were selected using multistages random sampling method( county-township-village) in the poor counties of Southern Shaanxi Province. Then we investigated all of the main caregivers whose family have an infant aged 6-12 months in these sampling villages. A follow-up investigation was conducted 6 months after the nutrition packages were given. A structured questionnaire was applied to collect data, which including the information about the nutrition packages feeding behavior of the caregivers and the related factors to their behaviors based on the PRECEDE theory, and the social demographic information of infants and their caregivers. Information about the questionnaire by the face-to-face interview at their home was collected. At the same time, we counted empty nutrition packages by the method of onsite enumeration, and checked with the questionnaire to obtain the information of caregivers' feeding behavior. Single factor analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors associated with caregivers 'compliance to feed their infants nutrition packages. RESULTS: A total of 910 samples were interviewed, and the rate of caregivers' compliance to feed their infants nutrition packages was 64. 0%. The willing of caregivers to feed their infants nutrition packages( OR = 1. 582, 95% CI1. 117-2. 242) was a favorable predisposing factor to promote caregivers feed their infants nutrition packages. The preference of infants to nutrition packages( OR = 5. 116, 95% CI4. 064-6. 441), villages' encouragement( OR = 1. 527, 95% CI 1. 094-2. 132) as well as infants' changes in health status( OR = 1. 615, 95% CI 1. 231-2. 118) were positive reinforcing factors of feeding nutrition packages compliance of caregivers. CONCLUSION: The compliance of caregivers feed nutrition packages to their infants is low. The reinforcing factors are the key factors that affected the feeding behavior of caregivers' nutrition packages.

The effect of a micronutrient powder home fortification program on anemia and cognitive outcomes among young children in rural China: a cluster randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Anemia early in life has been associated with delayed cognitive and motor development. The WHO recommends home fortification using multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) containing iron as a strategy to address anemia in children under two. We evaluated the effects of a program freely distributing MNP sachets to caregivers of infants in rural China. METHODS: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Shaanxi province, enrolling all children aged 6-11 months in target villages. Following a baseline survey, investigators randomly assigned each village/cluster to a control or treatment group. In the treatment group, caregivers were instructed to give MNPs daily. Follow-up was after 6, 12, and 18 months of intervention. Primary outcomes were hemoglobin concentrations and scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. RESULTS: One thousand, eight hundred and-two eligible children and their caregivers were enrolled. At baseline 48% (870) of children were anemic and 29% (529) were developmentally delayed. Six hundred and-ten children (117 villages) were assigned to the control group and 1192 children (234 villages) were assigned to the treatment group. Assignment to the treatment group was associated with an improvement in hemoglobin levels (marginal effect 1.77 g/L, 95% CI 0.017-3.520, p-value = 0.048) and cognitive development (marginal effect 2.23 points, 95% CI 0.061-4.399, p-value = 0.044) after 6 months but not thereafter. There were no significant effects on motor development. Zero effects after the first 6 months were not due to low compliance, low statistical power, or changes in feeding behavior. Hemoglobin concentrations improved in both the treatment and control groups over the course of the study; however, 22% (325) of children remained anemic at endline, and 48% (721) were cognitively delayed. CONCLUSIONS: Providing caregivers with MNP sachets modestly hastened improvement in hemoglobin levels that was occurring absent intervention; however, this improvement did not translate into improved developmental outcomes at endline. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN44149146 ; prospectively registered on 15th April 2013.

Impact of Text Message Reminders on Caregivers' Adherence to a Home Fortification Program Against Child Anemia in Rural Western China: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether text message reminders sent to caregivers improve the effectiveness of a home micronutrient fortification program in western China. METHODS: We carried out a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 351 villages (clusters) in Shaanxi Province in 2013 and 2014, enrolling children aged 6 to 12 months. We randomly assigned each village to 1 of 3 groups: free delivery group, text messaging group, or control group. We collected information on compliance with treatments and hemoglobin concentrations from all children at baseline and 6-month follow-up. We estimated the intent-to-treat effects on compliance and child anemia using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: There were 1393 eligible children. We found that assignment to the text messaging group led to an increase in full compliance (marginal effect = 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03, 0.16) compared with the free delivery group and decrease in the rate of anemia at end line relative to the control group (marginal effect = -0.07; 95% CI = -0.12, -0.01), but not relative to the free delivery group (marginal effect = -0.03; 95% CI = -0.09, 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Text messages improved compliance of caregivers to a home fortification program and children's nutrition.

[Evalation of Jingzhi Xiaoban Tablet in Improving Heart Function of Coronary Heart Disease Pa- tients by Doppler Tissue Imaging and Speckle Tracking Imaging Technology].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of Jiangzhi Xiaoban Tablet (JXT) in improving heartfunction of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle trackingimaging (STI) technology. METHODS: Recruited were 60 inpatients with confirmed CHD by coronary angiography at First Affiliated Hospital, Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from October 2013to November 2014. They were assigned to the treatment group (group A) and the control group (groupB) according to random digit table, 30 cases in each group. Patients in group A took JXT, 0.45 g/tablet,4 tablets each time, 3 times per day, while those in group B took Simvastatin Tablet, 20 mg/tablet, 1 tablet each time, once per evening. The therapeutic course for all was 8 weeks. The long axis view of theheart of 18 segments STI Peak strain LS and TDI peak systolic Sa parameters were performed in all patients before and after treatment. RESULTS: Before treatment segments of STI strain LS and TDI longitudinal peak systolic peak Sa were not statistically different between the two groups (P > 0.05). Each segment of STI peak longitudinal strain LS and TDI peak systolic Sa in the two groups were higher after treatment than before treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment each segment of STI parameters of LS and eachTDI segment parameters of Sa were significantly lower in group B than in group A (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: JXT could improve heart function of CHD patients to different degrees, and its curative effect was betterthan that of routine Western medicine (Simvastatin Tablets) treatment.

[Risk factors for anemia in infants aged 6-12 months from rural areas of southern Shaanxi Province, China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of anemia and related risk factors in infants aged 6-12 months from rural areas of southern Shaanxi Province. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was used to collect the basic information on infants aged 6-12 months and their families from rural areas of southern Shaanxi Province, China. The content of hemoglobin was measured in these infants. A multivariate logistic stepwise regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for the development of anemia in infants. RESULTS: A total of 1 802 infants and their families participated in the survey, and there were 1 770 valid samples. A total of 865 infants (865/1 770, 48.87%) were found to have anemia. The multivariate logistic stepwise regression analysis showed that breastfeeding after birth (lack of scientific supplementary food) increased the risk of anemia in infants (OR=1.768, P<0.01). Addition of supplementary food which met the criteria for minimum feeding frequency recommended by WHO (OR=0.779, P<0.05) and formula milk feeding (OR=0.658, P<0.01) were protective factors against anemia in infants. CONCLUSIONS: In the rural areas in southern Shaanxi Province, anemia in infants aged 6-12 months is still a serious public health problem. Improper feeding can increase the risk of anemia in infants, and scientific addition of supplementary food is the key to reducing anemia in infants.

An inversion method for calculating formation and borehole parameters in X-ray lithology density logging.

The use of X-ray sources in place of the 137Cs sources used in traditional lithology density logging methods has become a new trend in the development of nuclear logging techniques. How to eliminate the effects of drilling fluids or mudcake in the measurement process is a key question that determines the accuracy of measurement. In order to reduce the effects of mudcake and improve the accuracy of measurement of formation parameters, this paper presents an inversion method that can accurately calculate formation and borehole parameters and is suitable for X-ray lithology density logging. The general process of this inversion method is described below. First, a response model for broad-beam attenuation during X-ray lithology density logging is derived. Subsequently, the responses of four detectors under various formation and borehole conditions are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulation, and the energy spectra measured by each detector are divided into four energy windows (ranges) depending on the correlation with formation parameters. Finally, accurate values of formation and borehole parameters are obtained through iterative inversion using the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm. The results of this study show that compared with previously established analysis methods, the inversion method based on forward modeling can effectively improve the accuracy of measurement of formation density and lithology index during X-ray lithology density logging, reduce the influence of the borehole environment, and overcome the deficiencies of data processing techniques based on the spine and ribs plot.

Expression of yeast acyl-CoA-∆9 desaturase leads to accumulation of unusual monounsaturated fatty acids in soybean seeds.

An acyl-CoA-Δ9 desaturase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was expressed by subcellular-targeting in soybean (Glycine max) seeds with the goal of increasing palmitoleic acid (16:1Δ9), a high-valued fatty acid (FA), and simultaneously decreasing saturated FA in oil. The expression resulted in the conversion of palmitic acid (16:0) to 16:1Δ9 in soybean seeds. 16:1Δ9 and its elongation product cis-vaccenic acid (18:1Δ11) were increased to 17 % of the total fatty acids by plastid-targeted expression of the enzyme. Other lipid changes include the decrease of polyunsaturated FA and saturated FA, suggesting that a mechanism exists downstream in oil biosynthesis to compensate the FA alternation. This is the first time a cytosolic acyl-CoA-∆9 desaturase is functionally expressed in plastid and stronger activity was achieved than its cytosolic expression. The present study provides a new strategy for converting 16:0 to 16:1Δ9 by engineering acyl-CoA-Δ9 desaturase in commercialized oilseeds.

[Taxonomic status of Anopheles yatsushiroensis in Rongcheng City of Shandong Province].

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the taxonomic status of Anopheles yatsushiroensis in Rongcheng City of Shandong Province. METHODS: By the end of August 2009, Anopheles yatsushiroensis were collected in the western suburbs of Wangjia Village of Rongcheng City, and raised for the next generation of various types of adult mosquitoes. Through morphological identification of filial generation various types, mosquito feet of 1-2 mosquitoes of various types were taken for complete DNA extraction, and complete sequence analysis of rDNA-ITS2 alignment was made by PCR. Multiple sequnence comparison was carried out with those previously documented by DNAstar7.1, including An. yatsushiroensis in Shandong Province (YSD, AY306128), An. yatsushiroensis in Sichuan Province (YSC, AY170925), An. yatsushiroensis in Liaoning Province (YLN, AY170923) and An. yatsushiroensis from South Korea (YK, AF146749). RESULTS: 56 An. yatsushiroensis with blood meal were collected in Rongcheng City, of which 7 successfully laid eggs, and received 354 adult mosquitoes of filiar generation, including 240 An. yatsushiroensis (Y type), 8 An. pullus (P type) and 106 hybrid type (H). The rDNA-ITS2 sequence alignment homology between single-parent female offspring of adult mosquitoes and various types of An. yatsushiroensis segments (JN865249, JN865246, JN865247, JN865248) was 98.7-100%, and the rDNA-ITS2 sequence alignment homology to those from Sichuan (YSC), Liaoning (YLN) and Korea (YK) was 98.5%-99.3%, 98.7%-99.6% and 98.7 to 100%, respectively, while to the original An. yatsushiroensis from Rongcheng (YSD), it was only 67.1%-68.5%. CONCLUSION: There are Y, P and H types of An. yatsushiroensis in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, but the rDNA-ITS2 sequence is close to An. pullus. The local distribution of An. pullus is deduced.

Anemia in rural China's elementary schools: prevalence and correlates in Shaanxi province's poor counties.

Despite growing wealth in China, a significant share of children across rural China still have no access to iron-rich foods, vitamins, and other micronutrients. Such poor diets may result in high incidences of nutritional problems, including anemia. The objective of the study was to increase understanding of the extent of anemia, and identify structural correlates of anemia in poor Shaanxi province's primary schools. The article shows that the overall anemia rate is 21.5 percent when using a blood hemoglobin cutoff of 115 g/L (39 percent with a cutoff of 120 g/L). We find that those students that are boarding at school and eat lunch away from home are more likely to be anemic. Children with anemia are found to have lower height for age (HAZ) scores. If this part of Shaanxi province is representative of all poor counties in China, these findings mean millions of children in poor rural China may be anemic.

Breastfeeding and the Risk of Illness among Young Children in Rural China.

Poor rural areas in China exhibit the country's highest rates of child mortality, often stemming from preventable health conditions such as diarrhea and respiratory infection. In this study, we investigate the association between breastfeeding and disease among children aged 6⁻24 months in poor rural counties in China. To do this, we conducted a longitudinal, quantitative analysis of socioeconomic demographics, health outcomes, and breastfeeding practices for 1802 child⁻caregiver dyads across 11 nationally designated poverty counties in southern Shaanxi Province in 2013⁻2014. We found low rates of continued breastfeeding that decreased as children developed: from 58.2% at 6⁻12 months, to 21.6% at 12⁻18 months, and finally to 5.2% at 18⁻24 months. These suboptimal rates are lower than all but one other country in the Asia-Pacific region. We further found that only 18.3% of children 6⁻12 months old met the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended threshold for minimum dietary diversity, defined as consuming four or more of seven specific food groups. Breastfeeding was strongly associated with lower rates of both diarrhea and cough in bivariate and multivariate analyses. As the first analysis to use longitudinal data to examine the relationship between continued breastfeeding and child illness in China, our study confirms the need for programmatic interventions that promote continued breastfeeding in order to improve toddler health in the region.

Concurrent validity of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III in China.

Choosing a valid and feasible method to measure child developmental outcomes is key to addressing developmental delays, which have been shown to be associated with high levels of unemployment, participation in crime, and teen pregnancies. However, measuring early childhood development (ECD) with multi-dimensional diagnostic tests such as the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley-III) can be time-consuming and expensive; therefore, parental screening tools such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) are frequently an alternative measure of early childhood development in large-scale research. The ASQ is also becoming more frequently used as the first step to identify children at risk for developmental delays before conducting a diagnostic test to confirm. However, the effectiveness of the ASQ-3 is uncertain. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of the ASQ-3 as a screening measure for children at risk of developmental delay in rural China by age group. To do so, we administered the Bayley-III, widely considered to be the "gold standard" of ECD diagnostic tests, to a sample of 1,831 five to twenty-four month-old children and also administered the ASQ-3 to their caregivers. We then compared the outcomes of the ASQ-3 test to those of the Bayley-III. We find that the ASQ-3 was significantly though weakly correlated with the Bayley-III and that the strength of this correlation increased with child age and was stronger when the mother was the primary caregiver (as compared to the grandmother). We also find that the sensitivity and specificity of ASQ-3 ranged widely. The overall findings suggest that the ASQ-3 may not be a very accurate screening tool for identifying developmentally delayed children, especially for children under 13 months of age or children whose primary caregiver is not the mother.

Stimulation and Early Child Development in China: Caregiving at Arm's Length.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an empirical overview of the parenting landscape in rural China, focusing on 18- to 30-month-old children and their caregivers in rural Shaanxi province. METHODS: We collected unique data on 1442 caregiver-toddler dyads in rural areas of Shaanxi province and examined caregiver attitudes toward parenting, sources of information about parenting, and interactive parenting practices, and how each of these differed across generations. We measured how parenting attitudes and sources of information informed parenting practices. Finally, we measured levels of child development in our sample and the association between parenting practices and children's developmental outcomes. RESULTS: Most of the caregivers did not engage with children in a way that encouraged early development. Caregivers rarely told stories, sang, or used toys to play with their children. Grandmothers were more stressed by the children in their care and engaged significantly less than mothers did in the 3 stimulating interactions. Professional sources of information about parenting were underutilized by all caregivers. We found high rates of developmental delay in our sample and showed that these delays were associated with the lack of caregiver engagement. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the major economic and social shifts occurring in rural China have not led to a widespread prevalence of stimulative parenting practices. Although caregivers report positive attitudes toward child-rearing, reliable sources of scientific information are lacking. Our results show a troubling generational disconnect between the information-seeking behaviors and parenting practices of rural caregivers.

Caregiver Depression and Early Child Development: A Mixed-Methods Study From Rural China.

Half of rural toddlers aged 0-3 years in China's Qinling Mountainous region are cognitively delayed. While recent studies have linked poor child development measures to the absence of positive parenting behaviors, much less is known about the role that caregiver depression might play in shaping child development. In this paper, a mixed methods analysis is used to explore the prevalence of depression; measure the association between caregiver depression and children's developmental delays, correlates of depression, and the potential reasons for caregiver depression among women in rural China. The analysis brings together results from a large-scale survey of 1,787 caregivers across 118 villages in one northwestern province, as well as information from in-depth interviews with 55 female caregivers from these same study sites. Participants were asked to respond to the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) as well as a scale to measure children's social-emotional development, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ-SE). We also administered a test of early childhood development, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III), to all of the study household's infants and toddlers. The results show that the prevalence of depression may be as high as 23.5 percent among all female caregivers (defined as scoring in the mild or higher category of the DASS-21). Grandmothers have higher prevalence of depression than mother caregivers (p < 0.01). Caregiver depression also is significantly associated with a 0.53 SD worsening of children's social-emotional development (p < 0.01) and a 0.12 SD decrease in children's language development (p < 0.05). Our qualitative findings reveal six predominant reasons for caregiver depression: lack of social support from family and friends; the burden of caregiving; lack of control and agency within the household; within-family conflict; poverty; the perception of material wealth as a measure of self-worth. Our findings show a serious lack of understanding of mental health issues among rural women, and suggest that rural communities could benefit greatly from an educational program concerning mental health and its influence on child development. Our findings confirm the need for a comprehensive approach toward rural health, with particular attention paid to mental health awareness and support to elderly caregivers.

Using daily text messages to improve adherence to infant micronutrient powder (MNP) packets in rural western China: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of daily text messages as a means to improve caregivers' adherence to infant micronutrient powder (MNP) in rural Shaanxi Province of China. METHODOLOGY: 638 infants aged 6-11 months in 234 villages were involved in a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT). All caregivers were given free infant MNP packets at baseline in April 2013 and the follow-up survey was in July 2013. We randomly assigned 318 infants in 117 villages to treatment group (receiving daily text message) and 320 infants in the other 117 villages as control group. RESULTS: On average, daily text messages increased the number of MNP packets fed (marginal effect = 4.63; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.16, 9.10). The text message is more likely to increase the consumption of MNP packets if the primary caregiver was the mother (marginal effect = 12.19; 95% CI = 0.69, 23.68). Receiving the text message appears to significantly increase the likelihood of full adherence when the primary caregiver can either check (odds ratio = 2.93; 95% CI = 1.34, 6.40) or knows how to send (odds ratio = 3.26; 95% CI = 1.53, 6.97) text messages. CONCLUSION: Daily text messages improved the consumption of infant MNP packets. However, the impact was not large enough to increase the probability of caregivers being fully adherent to the feeding instruction, which is to feed 5-7 packets per week as recommended. In addition, when the mother is the caregiver and when the caregiver can check or knows how to send text messages there is greater adherence by the primary caregivers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN44149146.

[Metabolic engineering of edible plant oils].

Plant seed oil is the major source of many fatty acids for human nutrition, and also one of industrial feedstocks. Recent advances in understanding of the basic biochemistry of seed oil biosynthesis, coupled with cloning of the genes encoding the enzymes involved in fatty acid modification and oil accumulation, have set the stage for the metabolic engineering of oilseed crops that produce "designer" plant seed oils with the improved nutritional values for human being. In this review we provide an overview of seed oil biosynthesis/regulation and highlight the key enzymatic steps that are targets for gene manipulation. The strategies of metabolic engineering of fatty acids in oilseeds, including overexpression or suppression of genes encoding single or multi-step biosynthetic pathways and assembling the complete pathway for the synthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) are described in detail. The current "bottlenecks" in using common oilseeds as "bioreactors" for commercial production of high-value fatty acids are analyzed. It is also discussed that the future research focuses of oilseed metabolic engineering and the prospects in creating renewable sources and promoting the sustainable development of human society and economy.

Nutritional Deficiencies, the Absence of Information and Caregiver Shortcomings: A Qualitative Analysis of Infant Feeding Practices in Rural China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Development during the first two years of life is critical and has a lasting impact on a child's health. Poor infant and child nutrition can lead to deficiencies in essential micronutrients, which may cause a weakened immune system and lasting effects on children's growth and development. Recent studies in rural Shaanxi Province found an anemia prevalence of 54.3% among rural children aged six to twelve months. While new large-scale, quantitative research has begun to catalogue the extent of child malnutrition and anemia, no effort has yet been made to look more closely at the potential reasons for rural children's nutritional deficiencies through qualitative analysis. This study aims to elucidate some of the fundamental causes of poor complementary feeding practices that may lead to anemia among children in rural Shaanxi Province, China. METHODOLOGY: We interviewed sixty caregivers participating in a large survey on child health and nutrition. We conducted three waves of interviews with children's primary caregivers in seventeen rural villages within four nationally-designated poverty counties in the southern part of Shaanxi Province. RESULTS: The qualitative analysis reveals that poor complementary feeding practices are common across our sample. Information gathered from our interviews suggests that complementary feeding practices are impeded by two constraints: absence of understanding topics related to infant health and nutrition under caregivers, as well as inadequate sources of information on these topics. Poverty does not appear to constrain child feeding practices. CONCLUSION: Our results uncover lack of proper knowledge on infant and child nutrition among rural caregivers in China. This situation causes them to fail incorporating micronutrient rich foods in their children's diet. Age-appropriate complementary feeding can stimulate children's physical and cognitive development, but in its absence it leads to iron-deficiency anemia. We suggest that steps be taken to educate caregivers to improve complementary feeding of their infants and children.