Anaemia, iron deficiency, iron-deficiency anaemia and their associations with obesity among schoolchildren in Guangzhou, China.

OBJECTIVE: The association of Fe metabolism with obesity in children remains unclear. The present study aimed to assess the status of Fe metabolism parameters, the prevalence of anaemia, Fe deficiency (ID) and Fe-deficiency anaemia (IDA), and the associations of these variables with obesity in Chinese schoolchildren. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study conducted in 5295 schoolchildren aged 7-11 years in Guangzhou, China, 2014-2015. Full data of anthropometric and Fe metabolic parameters were collected to assess obesity, anaemia, ID and IDA. Logistic regression models were established to determine the possible associations of anaemia, ID and IDA with obesity. Two-tailed P values of <0·05 was considered statistically significant. SETTING: Guangzhou City, China. PARTICIPANTS: Schoolchildren aged 7-11 years (n 5295). RESULTS: In this sample, mean Hb concentration was 128·1 g/l and the prevalence of anaemia, ID and IDA was 6·6, 6·2 and 0·6 %, respectively. Of the participants, 14·0 % were overweight and 8·8 % were obese. Importantly, obesity was associated with lower anaemia risk (adjusted OR = 0·553; 95 % CI 0·316, 0·968) but higher ID risk (adjusted OR = 1·808; 95 % CI 1·146, 2·853) after adjustment for confounders. No significant relationship was found between obesity and IDA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirmed that anaemia and ID remain public health concerns among schoolchildren in Guangzhou, while IDA is remarkably less prevalent. Furthermore, obesity was associated with lower anaemia risk, but higher ID risk. More efforts should be made to prevent the onset of ID and obesity in the same individual, thus improving the health and fitness of children.

Effects of chocolate-based products intake on blood glucose, insulin and ghrelin levels and on satiety in young people: a cross-over experimental study.

This cross-over experimental study aimed to examine the effects of filled chocolate consumption on blood glucose, insulin and ghrelin levels in 20 volunteers. After a one-week run-in period, study participants consumed two chocolate-based products, the tested biscuit or water for 21 days as a morning snack. After a two-week wash-out period, participants consumed another tested food for another 21 days. Each participant consumed all four test foods within an 18-week period. The participants' blood insulin increased slowly after two chocolate-based products intakes on the first day and satiety levels after eating chocolate-based products and the tested biscuit were the same. Chocolate consumption for three weeks had no adverse effects on blood glucose, insulin or ghrelin levels. In conclusion, compared to eating the tested biscuit, 21-day consumption of the tested chocolate-based products had no adverse effects on the blood glucose, insulin and ghrelin levels. This trial is registered with chictr.org.cn: ChiCTR-IOR-16009525.

Serum betaine but not choline is inversely associated with breast cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

PURPOSE: Choline and betaine are important for DNA methylation and synthesis, and may affect tumor carcinogenesis. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the association between serum choline and betaine and breast cancer risk. This study aimed to examine whether serum choline and betaine were inversely associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women. METHODS: This hospital-based case-control study consecutively recruited 510 breast cancer cases and 518 frequency-matched (age and residence) controls, and blood samples were available for 500 cases and 500 controls. Serum choline and betaine were assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Multiple unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: An inverse association with breast cancer risk was observed for serum betaine (fourth vs first quartile adjusted OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.47-0.97) and for the ratio of serum betaine to choline (fourth vs first quartile adjusted OR 0.70, 95 % CI 0.48-1.00), but not for serum choline (fourth vs first quartile adjusted OR 0.80, 95 % CI 0.56-1.15). Serum betaine was inversely associated with breast cancer risk in subjects with below-median dietary folate intake (fourth vs first quartile adjusted OR 0.48, 95 % CI 0.30-0.77). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that serum betaine but not choline was inversely associated with breast cancer risk. This result needed to be further confirmed by the prospective studies.

Elevated serum apolipoprotein E is associated with metastasis and poor prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a factor involved in Alzheimer's disease, which recently attracted great attention as an important protein related to tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, serum ApoE levels and its diagnosis and prognosis value in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are still unknown. In 196 NSCLC patients and 203 healthy controls, serum ApoE was measured by turbidimetric immunoassay. The associations of serum ApoE levels with the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes of NSCLC patients were analyzed. Serum ApoE levels were obviously elevated in NSCLC patients compared with healthy controls (41.6 ± 11.63 vs. 33.8 ± 6.24 mg/L) and were associated with TNM stage, lymph node metastasis status, and distant metastasis status (all P < 0.0001). For NSCLC diagnosis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.71 at a specificity of 0.90 and sensitivity of 0.47. For lymph node metastasis predicting, the area under the ROC curve was 0.68 at a specificity of 0.56 and sensitivity of 0.73. From ROC/area under curve (AUC) analysis, we used 41.25 mg/L as the serum ApoE cut-off value, to divide NSCLC patients into two groups, the median survival was 11.0 weeks (95 % CI = 8.7 to 13.3) for patients in high serum ApoE group and 20.0 weeks (95 % CI = 15.0 to 25.0) in low serum ApoE group. Serum ApoE levels elevated in NSCLC patients, which also associated with TNM stages, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis, suggest that serum ApoE may act as a useful clinical serological biomarkers for evaluating the progress of NSCLC.

Serum levels of apolipoprotein E correlates with disease progression and poor prognosis in breast cancer.

ApoE has been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis and tumor progression. In this study, we explored the potential diagnostic and prognostic role of serum ApoE in breast cancer patients. Subject cohorts consisted of 152 normal healthy controls female and 257 breast cancer cases. Serum levels of ApoE were determined with turbidimetric immunoassay. The serum levels of ApoE were significantly elevated in breast cancer patients compared with normal healthy controls (45.82 ± 13.96 mg/L vs. 33.61 ± 6.44 mg/L, respectively, P < 0.0001) and also significantly associated with TNM stage and lymph nodes status (all P < 0.05). Area under receiver operating characteristic curve for serum ApoE discriminate breast cancer patients from controls was 0.786 with specificity of 0.974 and sensitivity of 0.541, the cut-off value of ApoE was 43.15 mg/L. Kaplan-Meier log rank analysis showed that the high serum ApoE group (serum ApoE ≥ 43.15 mg/L) had a poorer progression-free survival and overall survival compared with low serum ApoE group (serum ApoE < 43.15 mg/L) (all P < 0.05). In addition, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis displayed serum ApoE as an independent risk factor of breast cancer patients prognosis (all P < 0.05). Serum ApoE played a role as serological biomarkers that indicated diagnostic and prognostic evaluation in breast cancer patients.

Effects of dietary Bacillus licheniformis on growth performance, immunological parameters, intestinal morphology and resistance of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to challenge infections.

The effects of oral administration of Bacillus licheniformis on growth performance, immunity, intestinal morphology and disease resistance of juvenile tilapia were investigated. Six experimental diets supplemented with different concentrations of B. licheniformis (0%, 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08% and 0.1% of AlCare(®), containing live germ 2 × 10(10) CFU/g) were formulated, viz. control, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 30 fishes (3.83 ± 0.03 g). After 10 weeks of feeding trial, weight gain (WG), final body wet weight (FBW) and specific growth rate (SGR) increased significantly in groups T2, T3, T4 and T5 compared with control and T1 (p < 0.05). However, survival rate and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not found to be significantly affected (P > 0.05). Compared with control, dietary B. licheniformis supplementation increased the content of complement C3 in serum significantly (P < 0.05). The lysozyme activity was observed to be highest in T2 (P < 0.05) without differences among other groups. However, SOD activity was not affected by B. licheniformis supplementation (P > 0.05). When tilapia were challenged against Streptococcus iniae, survival rate improved significantly when tilapia fed with T2, T3, T4 and T5 (P < 0.05). Although there was no significant differences in villi length and muscular layer thickness of anterior intestinal among the treatments, intestinal villi of fish fed with higher concentrations of B. licheniformis (T2, T3, T4, T5) tended to be regularly arranged and exhibited less exfoliation, twist and fusion. These results indicated that dietary supplementation of B. licheniformis not only increased the growth, immune response and disease resistance of juvenile tilapia, but also influenced anterior intestinal development and integrity. Furthermore, in our study, the optimal concentration of B. licheniformis in diets for tilapia was greater than or equal to 4.4 × 10(6) CFU/g.

[Concentration changes of potassium and hypoxanthine in vitreous humor of swine and its application to postmortem interval estimation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between postmortem interval (PMI) and concentration changes of components in swine vitreous humor. METHODS: Ninety-six porcine eyes from swine dying from acute massive hemorrhage, being randomly divided into 24 groups, were stored in dark situation, at temperature of (15 +/- 2) degrees C and humidity of (50 +/- 5)% for 2-96 hours separately. The vitreous humor was collected. Concentrations of K+, Na+, Cl- and hypoxanthine (Hx) were analyzed by automatic biochemical analyzer and ultra performance liquid chromatograph (UPLC). The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software. RESULTS: Linear regression analysis showed that concentrations of vitreous K+ and Hx were positively correlated with PMI(R2=0.767 and R2 = 0.793, respectively). Binary linear regression showed a higher correlation for K+ and Hx with PMI estimation (R2 = 0.866). PMI was not significantly correlated with vitreous Na+ and Cl- concentrations. CONCLUSION: Vitreous K+ and Hx concentrations can be used as the objective markers for PMI estimation. The binary linear regression functions of vitreous K+ and Hx concentrations with PMI are more accurate for estimating the PMI.

Vitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D3) Improves Endothelial Progenitor Cells Function via Enhanced NO Secretion in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

It has been proven that vitamin D was decreased and function of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) was injured in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. However, the effect of vitamin D on the function of EPCs in vitro and its mechanism need further study. Therefore, we investigated whether vitamin D improved the function of EPCs in vitro. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the participants were isolated from SLE patients and control subjects and cultured to EPCs. After the EPCs were treated with vitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D3), we evaluated the number, migratory and proliferative activities, and nitric oxide (NO) production of EPCs in vitro and detected vascular endothelial function by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). We found that vitamin D in a dose-dependent manner improved number and migratory and proliferative activities of EPCs from SLE patients. Additionally, vitamin D upregulated NO production from EPCs in vitro. A significant correlation between the FMD and plasma NO level was found. There was also a correlation between number, migration, and proliferation of EPCs and NO production. Thus, the present findings indicated that vitamin D improved the function of EPCs from SLE patients via NO secretion.

Direct and indirect associations between dietary magnesium intake and breast cancer risk.

This study aimed to explore the effect of dietary magnesium intake on breast cancer risk both directly and indirectly via its effect on inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). This case-control study recruited 1050 case patients and 1229 control subjects. Inflammatory marker levels of 322 cases and 322 controls, randomly selected, were measured using ELISA, and data on dietary magnesium intake were collected using a food frequency questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), and path analysis was used to investigate the mediating effect. A higher magnesium intake was associated with a lower breast cancer risk (adjusted OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65, 0.99). A positive association was found between the CRP level and breast cancer risk (adjusted OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.02-2.01). However, IL-6 was not found to be associated with breast cancer risk. Path analysis revealed that dietary magnesium affected breast cancer risk both directly and indirectly by influencing the CRP level. The results indicate that a direct negative association and an indirect association through influencing the CRP level were observed between dietary magnesium intake and breast cancer risk.

Murrangatin suppresses angiogenesis induced by tumor cell-derived media and inhibits AKT activation in zebrafish and endothelial cells.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is a major cancer type and a leading cause of cancer-related death. Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in lung cancer pathogenesis and its inhibition is beneficial to patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Murrangatin, a natural product, can inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer cells, so herein we investigated its anti-angiogenic effects in transgenic zebrafish TG (fli1: EGFP) and in lung cancer cell-induced angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. RESULTS: We found that murrangatin strongly inhibited the growth of subintestinal vessels in zebrafish embryos and tumor conditioned media-induced angiogenic phenotypes including cell proliferation, cell invasion, cell migration, and tube formation. Additionally, murrangatin greatly attenuated conditioned medium-induced AKT phosphorylation, but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that murrangatin can inhibit tumor-induced angiogensis, at least in part through the regulation of AKT signaling pathways. Murrangatin may, therefore, be a potential candidate for the development of new anti-lung-cancer drugs.

27-Hydroxycholesterol Inhibits Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein 1 Activation and Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Although 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-HC) has been reported as a potent regulator of lipid homeostasis, its role in hepatic lipogenesis remains obscure. The present study was designed to investigate the impact of 27-HC on sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) and hepatic steatosis. METHODS: In this study, the 27-HC level in mice was upregulated by overexpressing CYP27A1 or treating primary hepatocytes with 27-HC, and then the hepatic lipid accumulation was detected. RESULTS: 27-HC inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation and decreased the levels of the mature active form of SREBP-1. The expression of lipogenic genes, including acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1, and glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, were also suppressed after 27-HC intervention. Furthermore, 27-HC induced expression of insulin-induced gene-2 (Insig-2), an endoplasmic reticulum protein that prevents SREBP activation, both in vivo and in vitro. The inhibitory effect of 27-HC on SREBP-1 activation was absent when Insig-2 was silenced. Finally, coimmunoprecipitation showed that 27-HC promoted the binding of Insig-2 to SREBP-1. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrated the suppressive effect of 27-HC on hepatic lipid accumulation and revealed a novel mechanism by which 27-HC regulates lipogenesis.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption Positively Associated with the Risks of Obesity and Hypertriglyceridemia Among Children Aged 7-18 Years in South China.

AIMS: Excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) may increase the prevalence of obesity and other metabolic risk factors. However, data regarding the relationship between SSB consumption and metabolic risk factors are insufficient in Chinese children. Hence, we aimed to explore the association between SSB consumption and cardio-metabolic risk factors in children aged 7-18 years living in South China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a total of 2,032 children aged 7-18 years were enrolled, including 1,013 boys and 1,019 girls. Based on a multistage cluster sampling, five elementary and four secondary schools in Guangzhou, China were included. Fasting blood glucose levels, lipid profiles, and anthropometric characteristics were evaluated. Information on demography, dietary, and physical activities were self-reported. RESULTS: Overall, 34.7% participants were non-drinkers and 21.6% consumed more than 120 mL/day SSB. The body mass index (19.43±0.18 kg/m2) and triglyceride concentration (0.96±0.03 mmol/L) were higher and high-density lipoprotein concentration (1.32±0.31 mmol/L) was lower in consumers than in non-consumers (all P＜0.001). Furthermore, in contrast to non-consumers, the adjusted odds ratio of SSB consumption more than 120 mL/day was 2.08 (95% CI: 1.21-3.54) for obesity, 1.83 (95% CI: 1.25-2.69) for abdominal obesity, and 1.70 (95% CI: 1.02-3.06) for hypertriglyceridemia in consumers. CONCLUSION: A positive association between SSB consumption and the risks of obesity and hypertriglyceridemia was observed in children living in South China, which suggests that high SSB consumption enhances the risk of cardio-metabolic risk factors and the consequent cardio-metabolic diseases.

Role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor during electrophysiological remodeling of left ventricular hypertrophic myocardium in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The objective was to investigate the role of angiotensin II type 2 receptor during electrophysiological remodeling of left ventricular hypertrophic myocardium in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). A total of 36, aged 10 weeks, male SHRs were divided into three groups: control, valsartan, and valsartan + PD123319 groups (n = 12 in each). The systolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass index, ventricular effective refractory period, and ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT) were also measured after 8 weeks. At the same time, INa, ICaL, Ito, and membrane capacitance were measured in left ventricular myocytes by whole-cell patch-clamp. The VFT of valsartan was higher than that of control (valsartan vs. CONTROL: 17.4 ± 0.6 mA vs. 15.8 ± 0.5 mA, P < .05). The VFT of valsartan was higher than that of valsartan + PD123319 (valsartan vs. valsartan + PD123319: 17.4 ± 0.6 mA vs. 16.6 ± 0.9 mA, P < .05). The density of Ito of valsartan was higher than that of control (valsartan vs. CONTROL: 14.7 ± 0.42 pA/pF vs. 11.2 ± 0.15 pA/pF, P < .05). The density of Ito of valsartan was higher than that of valsartan + PD123319 (valsartan vs. valsartan + PD123319: 14.7 ± 0.42 pA/pF vs. 13.6 ± 0.30 pA/pF, P < .05). The density of ICaL of valsartan was lower than that of control (valsartan vs. CONTROL: -4.6 ± 0.2 pA/pF vs. -6.9 ± 0.1 pA/pF, P < .05). The density of ICaL of valsartan was lower than that of valsartan + PD123319 (valsartan vs. valsartan + PD123319: -4.6 ± 0.2 pA/pF vs. -5.4 ± 0.1 pA/pF, P < .05). These results demonstrated that the stimulation of angiotensin II type 2 receptor improved electrophysiological remodeling of left ventricular hypertrophic myocardium in SHR.

Efficacy of Preoperative Transcatheter Arterial Embolization for Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma: A Comparative Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of preoperative transcatheter arterial embolization (pTAE) for treating nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (NPAF). METHODS: Seventy-four NPAF patients were hospitalized for elective surgical treatment with pTAE (pTAE group, n = 32) or surgical treatment alone (non-pTAE group, n = 42) between January 1990 and December 2013. The following outcome measures were retrospectively analyzed and compared: intraoperative bleeding volume, surgery time (ST), duration of postoperative hospital stay (PHS), and disease recurrence. RESULTS: Among Radkowski stage I patients, those in pTAE group had a slightly higher but not significant bleeding volume than patients in non-pTAE group (344 ± 407 vs. 248 ± 219 mL, P = 0.899); among stage II/III patients, however, patients in pTAE group showed a significantly lower bleeding volume than patients in non-pTAE group (stage II, 829 ± 519 vs. 1339 ± 767 mL, P = 0.035; stage III, 1267 ± 592 vs. 2125  ± 479 mL, P = 0.024). The two groups presented comparable OTs, PHSs, and rates of frontal recurrence (all P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: pTAE significantly reduces intraoperative bleeding in NPAF patients with Radkowski stage II/III disease, but offers no additional benefits regarding ST, PHS, or recurrence.

Plasma 7-ketocholesterol levels and the risk of incident cardiovascular events.

OBJECTIVE: 7-Ketocholesterol (7-KC), a major oxidation product of cholesterol, is found in human atherosclerotic plaque and more atherogenic than cholesterol in animal models. This study was designed to investigate the association of plasma 7-KC level with the incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in general population. METHODS: We measured plasma 7-KC concentrations at baseline in 1944 participants free from CVD in a community-based cohort study. The primary endpoint was incident of a major adverse cardiovascular event. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate the HRs with 95% CI. RESULTS: A total of 101 incident CVD events were recorded during the 5.2 year median follow-up. The baseline plasma 7-KC levels were associated with a higher risk of incident CVD events; compared with quartile 1, participants in quartile 4 had an unadjusted HR of 2.38 (2.03-2.85, p<0.001) and an adjusted HR of 1.70 (1.45-1.91, p=0.004) after adjusting for traditional risk factors. Plasma 7-KC levels improved all of the metrics of discrimination and reclassification when added to the intima-media thickness (C-statistic: p=0.002; net reclassification improvement (NRI): p<0.001; integrated discrimination improvement (IDI): p<0.001), family history of myocardial infarction (C-statistic: p=0.011; NRI: p=0.004; IDI: p=0.003) and elevated high-sensitivity C reactive protein (C-statistic: p=0.008; NRI: p=0.015; IDI: p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated plasma 7-KC levels are associated with the incident CVD events in a population-based cohort. Further studies are needed to confirm this observation.

Flashlight contamination and effectiveness of two disinfectants in a stomatology hospital.

AIM: This study aims to assess the infection risks of flashlight contamination in a stomatology hospital and compare the disinfection effectiveness of alcohol (75%) and disinfecting wipes. BACKGROUND: The flashlight is a basic non-critical medical device in oral and maxillofacial surgery wards. Wounds are mostly found in oral cavities; therefore, reusable flashlights may be a potential source of nosocomial infections (NIs). However, the microbial flora present in flashlights used in hospitals has not yet been explored. METHODS: This study investigated the microbial contamination of 41 flashlights used in a stomatology hospital in Guangzhou in March 2016. RESULTS: Results indicated that 75.6%(31/41) of the flashlights had microbial contamination. Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 72.7%(24/33)of the microbial groups contaminating the flashlights, and Gram-negative bacteria (21.2%, 7/33), and fungi (6.1%, 2/33) constituted the remaining contaminants. The predominantly isolated species was Staphyloccus (66.7%, 22/33), especially Staphylococcus aureus (24.2%, 8/33). Approximately 77.3% (17/22) of the types of bacteria detected in the hands were same as those in the corresponding flashlights. Both the bacterial overstandard and S. aureus detection rates of doctors' flashlights were higher than those of nurses' flashlights (16/17 vs. 14/23, 7/17 vs. 1/23, respectively) (P < 0.05). Moreover, both disinfectants performed excellently, and their eligibility rates were not significantly different (17/17 vs. 14/14) (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Flashlights are potential causes of NIs. Disinfecting flashlights could be an effective and practical infection control method.