Associations between body composition profile and hypertension in different fatty liver phenotypes.

Background: It is currently unclear whether and how the association between body composition and hypertension varies based on the presence and severity of fatty liver disease (FLD). Methods: FLD was diagnosed using ultrasonography among 6,358 participants. The association between body composition and hypertension was analyzed separately in the whole population, as well as in subgroups of non-FLD, mild FLD, and moderate/severe FLD populations, respectively. The mediation effect of FLD in their association was explored. Results: Fat-related anthropometric measurements and lipid metabolism indicators were positively associated with hypertension in both the whole population and the non-FLD subgroup. The strength of this association was slightly reduced in the mild FLD subgroup. Notably, only waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio showed significant associations with hypertension in the moderate/severe FLD subgroup. Furthermore, FLD accounted for 17.26% to 38.90% of the association between multiple body composition indicators and the risk of hypertension. Conclusions: The association between body composition and hypertension becomes gradually weaker as FLD becomes more severe. FLD plays a significant mediating role in their association.

Shift in prevalence and systemic inflammation levels from NAFLD to MAFLD: a population-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Variations in the prevalence and systemic inflammatory (SI) status between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and newly defined metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) have only been reported by few studies. Hence, this study aimed to compile data on the prevalence and the systemic inflammation levels of MAFLD and NAFLD in a general population from Southeast China was summarized to explore the potential effect of the transformation of disease definition. METHODS: A total of 6718 general population participants aged 35-75 were enrolled. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to examine the relationship between 15 SI indicators and NAFLD and MAFLD. The predicted values of MAFLD and NAFLD were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The prevalence of MAFLD and NAFLD was 34.7% and 32.4%, respectively. Their overlapping rate was 89.7%, while only 8.3% and 1.9% of participants were MAFLD-only and NAFLD-only. Among three FLD groups, the MAFLD-only group had the highest levels of 8 SI indicators, including CRP, WBC, LYMPH, NEUT, MONO, ALB, NLR, and SIRI. The non-FLD group had the lower levels of all 15 SI indicators compared with all FLD subgroups. The odds ratios (ORs) of 10 SI indicators were significant in both multivariable-adjusted logistic regression and RCS analyses of MAFLD or NAFLD, including CRP, WBC, LYMPH, NEUT, MONO, ALB, PLR, LMR, ALI and CA. ROC analysis showed that the AUC values of all SI were lower than 0.7 in both MAFLD and NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: MAFLD could cover more FLD than NAFLD, and the MAFLD-only group had a more severe inflammation status, whereas the NAFLD-only exhibited lower levels. Moreover, there was not a high AUC and a high sensitivity of SI indicators, suggesting that SI indicators are not good indicators to diagnose NAFLD/MAFLD.

A rare case of penetrating thoracic aortic injury.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Thoracic aortic injuries could be lethal events. Penetrating injuries to aortic are highly fatal, but these cases are rare in hospital. CASE PRESENTATION: A 54-year-old man presented with cough for half a month and cough up blood for half a day before he went into our hospital. No obvious positive sign was detected in physical examination. CLINICAL FINDINGS AND INVESTIGATIONS: Chest computed tomography (CT) showed positive foreign body in the mediastinum, which penetrated the left main bronchus from front to back and penetrated the thoracic aorta backwards. INTERVENTIONS AND OUTCOME: An endovascular stent graft was implanted to ensure that the penetrating aortic injury remains stable; then bronchoscopic evaluation was performed to remove the foreign body. The patient recovered uneventfully. No discomfort has been complained of during regular follow-up. RELEVANCE AND IMPACT: Endovascular stent repair is an effective lifesaving method for patients with penetrating aortic injury and with surgical contraindications.

Cancer situation in China: what does the China cancer map indicate from the first national death survey to the latest cancer registration?

BACKGROUND: Over the past four decades, the Chinese government has conducted three surveys on the distribution of causes of death and built cancer registration. In order to shine a new light on better cancer prevention strategies in China, we evaluated the profile of cancer mortality over the forty years and analyzed the policies that have been implemented. METHODS: We described spatial and temporal changes in both cancer mortality and the ranking of major cancer types in China based on the data collected from three national surveys during 1973-1975, 1990-1992, 2004-2005, and the latest cancer registration data published by National Central Cancer Registry of China. The mortality data were compared after conversion to age-standardized mortality rates based on the world standard population (Segi's population). The geographical distribution characteristics were explored by marking hot spots of different cancers on the map of China. RESULTS: From 1973 to 2016, China witnessed an evident decrease in mortality rate of stomach, esophageal, and cervical cancer, while a gradual increase was recorded in lung, colorectal, and female breast cancer. A slight decrease of mortality rate has been observed in liver cancer since 2004. Lung and liver cancer, however, have become the top two leading causes of cancer death for the last twenty years. From the three national surveys, similar profiles of leading causes of cancer death were observed among both urban and rural areas. Lower mortality rates from esophageal and stomach cancer, however, have been demonstrated in urban than in rural areas. Rural areas had similar mortality rates of the five leading causes of cancer death with the small urban areas in 1973-1975. Additionally, rural areas in 2016 also had approximate mortality rates of the five leading causes with urban areas in 2004-2005. Moreover, stomach, esophageal, and liver cancer showed specific geographical distributions. Although mortality rates have decreased at most of the hotspots of these cancers, they were still higher than the national average levels during the same time periods. CONCLUSIONS: Building up a strong primary public health system especially among rural areas may be one critical step to reduce cancer burden in China.

Association between electronic device usage and sperm quality parameters in healthy men screened as potential sperm donors.

Cell phone use and radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMF) are rapidly increasing and may be associated with lower semen quality, yet results from epidemiological studies are inconclusive. Information on electronic devices use was collected through standard questionnaires from 1454 men aged 22-45 years old. Semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, total motility, progressive motility, and normal morphology in repeated specimens were determined by trained clinical technicians. Percent changes [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] were estimated as (10ß-1) × 100 for electronic devices use associated with repeated sperm quality parameters in the linear mixed-effect models. After adjusting for multiple confounders, we found significant inverse associations of total duration of electronic devices use with sperm progressive motility and total motility, duration of cell phone and computer use with sperm concentration, progressive motility, and total motility (all P < 0.05). No significant association was found between cell phone/computer use alone and sperm quality parameters. Moreover, per hour increase of time spent on cell phone talking was associated with decreased sperm concentration and total count by an average of -8.0% (95% CI: -15.2%, -0.2%) and -12.7% (95% CI: -21.3%, -3.1%), respectively. Besides, daily calling time was associated with lower sperm progressive motility and total motility among those who used headsets during a call (P for interaction <0.05). In conclusion, our study suggested that more time spent on electronic devices use had a modest reduction effect on semen quality. Daily calling time was significantly associated with lower sperm concentration and total count, and using headsets during a call appeared to aggravate the negative association between daily calling time and sperm motility. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Hepatoprotective Activity of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Seedpod Extract Attenuated Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity.

The aim is to investigate the effect of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) seedpod extract (LSE) on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity. LSE is rich in polyphenols and has potent antioxidant capacity. APAP is a commonly used analgesic, while APAP overdose is the main reason for drug toxicity in the liver. Until now, there has been no in vitro test of LSE in drug-induced hepatotoxicity responses. LSEs were used to evaluate the effect on APAP-induced cytotoxicity, ROS level, apoptotic rate, and molecule mechanisms. The co-treatment of APAP and LSEs elevated the survival rate and decreased intracellular ROS levels on HepG2 cells. LSEs treatment could significantly reduce APAP-induced HepG2 apoptosis assessed by DAPI and Annexin V/PI. The further molecule mechanisms indicated that LSEs decreased Fas/FasL binding and reduced Bax and tBid to restore mitochondrial structure and subsequently suppress downstream apoptosis cascade activation. These declines in COX-2, NF-κB, and iNOS levels were observed in co-treatment APAP and LSEs, which indicated that LSEs could ameliorate APAP-induced inflammation. LSE protected APAP-induced apoptosis by preventing extrinsic, intrinsic, and JNK-mediated pathways. In addition, the restoration of mitochondria and inflammatory suppression in LSEs treatments indicated that LSEs could decrease oxidative stress induced by toxic APAP. Therefore, LSE could be a novel therapeutic option for an antidote against overdose of APAP.

High-flow nasal cannula therapy for adult patients.

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy has several physiological advantages over traditional oxygen therapy devices, including decreased nasopharyngeal resistance, washing out of the nasopharyngeal dead space, generation of positive pressure in the pharynx, increasing alveolar recruitment in the lungs, humidification of the airways, increased fraction of inspired oxygen and improved mucociliary clearance. Recently, the use of HFNC in treating adult critical illness patients has significantly increased, and it is now being used in many patients with a range of different disease conditions. However, there are no established guidelines to direct the safe and effective use of HFNC for these patients. This review article summarizes the available published literature on the positive physiological effects, mechanisms of action, and the clinical applications of HFNC, compared with traditional oxygen therapy devices. The available literature suggests that HFNC oxygen therapy is an effective modality for the early treatment of critically adult patients.

Double-stranded RNA-mediated interference of dumpy genes in Bursaphelenchus xylophilus by feeding on filamentous fungal transformants.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a valuable tool for studying gene function in vivo and provides a functional genomics platform in a wide variety of organisms. The pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a prominent invasive plant-parasitic nematode and has become a serious worldwide threat to forest ecosystems. Presently, the complete genome sequence of B. xylophilus has been published, and research involving genome-wide functional analyses is likely to increase. In this study, we describe the construction of an effective silencing vector, pDH-RH, which contains a transcriptional unit for a hairpin loop structure. Utilising this vector, double-stranded (ds)RNAs with sequences homologous to the target genes can be expressed in a transformed filamentous fungus via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation technology, and can subsequently induce the knockdown of target gene mRNA expression in B. xylophilus by allowing the nematode to feed on the fungal transformants. Four dumpy genes (Bx-dpy-2, 4, 10 and 11) were used as targets to detect RNAi efficiency. By allowing the nematode to feed on target gene-transformed Fusarium oxysporum strains, target transcripts were knocked down 34-87% compared with those feeding on the wild-type strain as determined by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Morphological RNAi phenotypes were observed, displaying obviously reduced body length; weak dumpy or small (short and thin) body size; or general abnormalities. Moreover, compensatory regulation and non-specific silencing of dpy genes were found in B. xylophilus. Our results indicate that RNAi delivery by feeding in B. xylophilus is a successful technique. This platform may provide a new opportunity for undertaking RNAi-based, genome-wide gene functional studies in vitro in B. xylophilus. Moreover, as B. xylophilus feeds on endophytic fungi when a host has died, RNAi feeding technology will offer the prospect for developing a novel control strategy for the nematode. Furthermore, this platform may also be applicable to other parasitic nematodes that have a facultative, fungivorous habit.

Both c-Myc and Ki-67 expression are predictive markers in patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type: a retrospective study in China.

Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) is an increasingly recognized disease entity of aggressive tumor progression. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical and prognostic significance of c-Myc and Ki-67 expression in ENKTL. Immunohistochemistry for c-Myc and Ki-67 was performed on tissue sections from 53 patients diagnosed with ENKTL, and their correlation with clinicopathologic variables was assessed. We also made a comparison between c-Myc positive and negative ENKTL on proliferation index (PI); and analyzed relationship between expression of c-Myc and Ki-67 index. The survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Positive expression of c-Myc was shown in 64.2% of the patients, and high expression of Ki-67 was found in 66%. The PI in c-Myc-positive tumor cell was significantly higher than that in c-Myc-negative ones (P=0.005). The positive correlation between c-Myc expression and Ki-67 index was also found (r=0.454, P=0.001). Patients of c-Myc expression were shown to be associated with unfavorable overall survival (OS) and decreased progression free survival (PFS) (P=0.000 and 0.013, respectively). High expression of Ki-67 was also shown to be correlated with worse OS and PFS (P=0.014 and 0.016, respectively). And patients expression of c-Myc+/Ki-67 high had the worst OS and PFS (P=0.002 and 0.027, respectively). c-Myc may play an important role in the carcinogenesis of NK/T cell lymphoma by promoting cell proliferation. Both c-Myc expression and Ki-67 high expression in ENKTL patients may be valuable indicators for predicting the survival of ENKTL patients.

[Mesoporous silica nanoparticles for cancer theranostic drug delivery].

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carrier have become the new hot point in the field of biomedical application in recent years. This review focuses on the more recent developments and achievements on experimental design aspect of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with cancer diagnosis and therapy. The key advances of functionalization strategies of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with controlled release, tumor targeting and overcoming multidrug resistance are discussed in particular. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles as unique delivery systems have the potential to provide significantly a sound platform for cancer theranostic application.

Absolute configurations of integracins A, B, and 15'-dehydroxy-integracin B.

Integracins A (1) and B (2), potent HIV-1 integrase inhibitors, and 15'-dehydroxy-integracin B (3) were isolated for the first time from Chinese mangrove plant Sonneratia hainanensis. Their absolute configurations were determined by the Mosher's method and specific rotation analysis of alcohols (6 and 7) obtained from integracin A in two steps and by chemical correlation. Integracin A (1) also exhibited significant cytotoxicity against the tumor cell lines HepG2 and NCI-H460 with both 100% inhibitions at 25 µg/ml.

Piperidine alkaloids from Chinese mangrove Sonneratia hainanensis.

A new diphenacyl-piperidine alkaloid, sonneratine A (2), identified as a piperidine ring bearing two phenacyl substitutes at C-2 and C-6, and a known related derivative, (+/-)1-(2-piperidyl)-4-( P-methoxyphenyl)-butanone-2 (3), were isolated from the leaves and stems of the Hainan mangrove Sonneratia hainanensis. The structure of the new compound was determined by extensive analysis of its spectroscopic data and by comparison of its NMR data with those reported in the literature.