Association Between Passive Smoking and Health Among Chinese Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to investigate the association between passive smoking and physical and psychological health in Chinese nurses. Participants of this cross-sectional study comprised 2,484 non-smoking nurses. Passive smoking and demographic information were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Physical, psychological, and overall health status of nurses were measured using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) health questionnaire. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for nurses' health were estimated by exposure to passive smoking using unconditional logistic regression models. A total of 1,219 nurses (49.07%) were exposed to passive smoking. Of these, 609 (24.52%), 160 (6.44%), and 587 (23.63%) nurses had poorer physical, mental, and overall health, respectively. After adjusting for other confounding factors, compared with the non-passive smoking group, passive smoking was associated with poor physical (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.25-1.83), mental (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.07-2.07), and overall (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.30-1.93) health of nurses, respectively. We also carried out subgroup analyses stratified by age, department, and professional title, which showed that most findings supported the main results. This study demonstrated that exposure to passive smoking was a risk factor for overall decreased physical and mental health status among Chinese nurses.

A Meta-Analysis of the Risk Factors of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborns.

Objective: To determine the risk factors of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn using a meta-analysis method and provide a reference for its clinical prevention and treatment. Methods: A meta-analysis was performed by searching the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine Disc, Wanfang, and Chinese VIP journal databases, as well as the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Results: A total of 22 references were included in the meta-analysis; the cumulative medical records comprised 7,937 cases, and 2,613,072 control cases were included. A total of 12 related risk factors were included (7 were associated with pregnant women and 5 were associated with newborns). Conclusion: Among the 12 associated risk factors included, the three most important and their combined odds ratio values and 95% CI were as follows: (1) pregnant women smoking, 4.85 (1.98-11.9) during pregnancy; (2) gestational weeks <37, 4.34 (1.64-11.5); (3) perinatal asphyxia, 3.9 (2.87-5.31).

Biochemical, molecular, and morphological variations of flight muscles before and after dispersal flight in a eusocial termite, Reticulitermes chinensis.

Swarming behavior facilitates pair formation, and therefore mating, in many eusocial termites. However, the physiological adjustments and morphological transformations of the flight muscles involved in flying and flightless insect forms are still unclear. Here, we found that the dispersal flight of the eusocial termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder led to a gradual decrease in adenosine triphosphate supply from oxidative phosphorylation, as well as a reduction in the activities of critical mitochondrial respiratory enzymes from preflight to dealation. Correspondingly, using three-dimensional reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the flight muscles were found to be gradually deteriorated during this process. In particular, two tergo-pleural muscles (IItpm5 and III-tpm5) necessary to adjust the rotation of wings for wing shedding behavior were present only in flying alates. These findings suggest that flight muscle systems vary in function and morphology to facilitate the swarming flight procedure, which sheds light on the important role of swarming in successful extension and fecundity of eusocial termites.

Synthesis of 2-aminoquinoline-3-carboamides and pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-4-ones through copper-catalyzed one-pot multicomponent reactions.

Pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolinones have attracted considerable interest from both chemical and medicinal scientists as these compounds display remarkable antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiallergy, analgesic, and antioxidant activities. The importance of pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolinones has stimulated enormous efforts to develop efficient methodologies for their synthesis. Herein, we disclose a novel synthetic protocol toward pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-4-ones through Cu(OAc)2 -catalyzed one-pot four-component reactions of 2-bromobenzaldehydes, aqueous ammonia, cyanoacetamides and aldehydes. The synthetic procedure combines amination/condensation/cyclization/dehydrogenation reactions in one pot, allowing synthesis of complex compounds in a simple and practical manner. Compared with literature procedures, the synthetic strategies developed herein showed advantages such as readily available and economically sustainable starting materials, structural diversity of products, good functional group tolerance, and a remarkably simple operation process.

Synthesis, crystal structure and spectral properties of a supramolecular trinuclear nickel(II) complex with 5-methoxy-4'-bromo-2,2'-[ethylenedioxybis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenol.

A novel trinuclear Ni(II) complex [{NiL(n-PrOH)(µ-OAc)}2Ni]·n-PrOH·H2O with an asymmetric Salamo-type ligand, 5-methoxy-4'-bromo-2,2'-[ethylenedioxybis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenol (H2L), has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectra and molar conductance measurement. The crystal structure of the Ni(II) complex has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Two acetate groups coordinating to three Ni(II) ions through NiOCONi bridges and four µ-phenoxo oxygen atoms from two [NiL(n-PrOH)] units also coordinating to Ni(II) ions. In the Ni(II) complex, two n-propanol molecules are coordinated to the two terminal Ni(II) ions having slightly distorted octahedral coordination geometries and form a trinuclear structure, There are also one non-coordinated n-propanol and one non-coordinated water molecule. In the crystal structure, the Ni(II) complex is linked by intermolecular hydrogen bonds into an infinite 1D supramolecular chain-like structure.

Effects of HLEC on the secreted proteins of epithelial ovarian cancer cells prone to metastasize to lymph nodes.

OBJECTIVE: To study explores the effect of HLEC on the secreted proteins of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells (SKOV3-PM4) with directional highly lymphatic metastasis. METHODS: Supernatants of four groups of cultured cells, namely, SKOV3 (A), SKOV3+HLEC (B), SKOV3-PM4 (C), SKOV3-PM4+HLEC (D), were collected, and their proteins were detected by antibody arrays and iTRAQ-2D-LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF/MS. Significantly differential proteins were further analyzed via bioinformatics and validated in human serums and cell media via ELISA. RESULTS: Results of antibody arrays and mass spectrometry demonstrated that GRN and VEGFA were upregulated in group C (compared with group A), whereas IGFBP7 and SPARC were downregulated in group D (compared with group C). Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis results showed that IGFBP7 and VEGFA were closely linked to each other. Further validation with serums showed statistical significance in VEGFA and IGFBP7 levels among groups of patients with ovarian cancers, benign tumors, and control groups. Two proteins were upegulated in the first group. VEGFA in the control group was downregulated. For IGFBP, upregulation in the control group and down-regulation in the first group were also observed. CONCLUSION: The HLEC microenvironment is closely associated with directional metastasis to lymph nodes and with differential proteins including cell stromal proteins and adhesion factors. The upregulation of VEGFA and GRN and the downregulation of SPARC and IGFBP7 are closely associated with directional metastasis to lymph nodes in EOC cells.

AEG-1 is associated with clinical outcome in neuroblastoma patients.

Astrocyte elevated gene 1 (AEG-1), a novel gene that was cloned in 2002, has emerged in recent years as a potentially crucial mediator of tumor malignancy and aberrant elevation of AEG-1 expression frequently occurs in several human cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer. However, whether AEG-1 deregulation also occurs in neuroblastoma remains unclear. In previous study we reported that AEG-1 was over expressed in neuroblastoma cell lines and knockdown of AEG-1 inhibits proliferation and enhancing chemo-sensitivity to cisplatin or doxorubicin in neuroblastoma cells. In this study, we investigated the expression of AEG-1 and evaluate its prognostic significance by correlating AEG-1 expression levels with clinic pathologic features and survival in 32 archived neuroblastoma patients We found that positive AEG-1 immunoreactivities were present in all neuroblastoma cases, 75% showed high expression of AEG-1. And high expression of AEG-1 was commonly seen in vascular endothelial cells and glandula in neuroblastoma samples. AEG-1 expression was strongly correlated with age at diagnosis (P=0.012), clinical stage (P=0.030) and tumor histology stage (P=0.041). However, our analyses did not show significant associations between AEG-1 expression and other clinical features including gender and primary tumor site. Importantly, our data presented in this report provide, for the first time, evidence that elevated expression of AEG-1 protein is correlated with poor prognosis and reduced survival of patients with neuroblastoma (P= 0.031). Overall, the data support the notion that AEG-1 might be used as a biomarker for neuroblastoma patients.

Heavy metal contamination in a typical mining town of a minority and mountain area, South China.

This study was conducted in Dachang, a small mining town in Gaungxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. A total of 23 farmland soil samples and two atmospheric samples of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM(10)) were collected in this town. ICP-MS was used to analyze for 20 elements in each of the samples. All of the samples contained some level of heavy metals. The most commonly detected heavy metals detected in the soil samples were: Cd (up to 29.0 mg kg(-1)), As (up to 776 mg kg(-1)), Sb (up to 36.8 mg kg(-1)), Pb (up to 582 mg kg(-1)), Zn (up to 1379 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (up to 156 mg kg(-1)), Mn (up to 1476 mg kg(-1)). The PM(10) content in air samples exceeded the Chinese standard by nearly ten-fold. The most commonly detected heavy metals detected in the PM(10) atmospheric samples were Cd (up to 210 mg kg(-1)), As (up to 15239 mg.kg(-1)), Sb (up to 445 mg kg(-1)), Pb (up to 8053 mg kg(-1)), Zn (up to 13151 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (up to 673 mg kg(-1)), Mn (up to 2826 mg kg(-1)), Mo (up to 120 mg kg(-1)). All of these heavy metals are associated with significant human health effects ranging from reduced intelligent quotients (IQs) in children (cf. Pb) to cancer (e.g., Cd and As). Müller Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) were used to assess the findings. The results to the two assessments showed the same ranking: Cd > As > Sb > Pb > Zn > Cu > Mn, which would imply that the particulate matter in ambient air was the source of the contamination in the soil. The correlation analysis supported this inference. Upon further examination, ore transportation through the town was identified as the most likely source of contamination. Therefore, steps should be taken to improve the management of the ore transportation in order to protect the farmland and the health of the residents.

Health risk evaluation for the inhabitants of a typical mining town in a mountain area, South China.

A previous study investigated metal contamination in farmland and the air in a typical mining town of Guangxi, South China. In this study, the health risks associated with exposure to this contamination that were evaluated for the following routes of exposure are reported: inhalation, dermal contact, ingestion of dust, and ingestion of homegrown vegetables. The findings demonstrated that the inhabitants were at high risk for noncancer effects posed by some of the metals. The total hazard index (THI) of all the pathways was 145 for adults and 560 for children, which were far higher than the normative level 1. The noncancer risk mainly came from air PM(10) pollution through inhalation and ingestion routes of exposure. However, vegetable ingestion also made a noticeable contribution to HI of about 7 for adults and 22 for children. The metals that posed the greatest noncancer risks were Mn for inhalation, and ingestion of dust and vegetables. The total cancer risks of the inhabitants were 1 x 10(-1) (adult) and 3 x 10(-1) (child), which far exceeded the acceptable carcinogen risk of 10(-4) approximately 10(-6) for regulatory purposes. The cancer risk in the village is mainly (97%) associated with As exposure by inhalation and ingestion of dust. However, consumption of vegetables is also associated with a significant cancer risk of up to 2 x 10(-3) for adults and 8 x 10(-3) for children. The cancers associated with this exposure are estimated to be lung cancer and skin cancer. Air particulate-matter pollution was the main source of noncancer risk and cancer risk and originated from vehicular transport of ore through the community. The risk could be tested by a specifically designed epidemiological study.