[Association of body fat distribution with depression and social anxiety in children and adolescents: A cross-sectional study based on dual-energy X-ray detection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of depression and social anxiety in children and adolescents, and to analyze the association between body fat distribution and depression, social anxiety in children and adolescents. METHODS: A total of 1 412 children aged 7 to 18 years in Beijing were included by stratified cluster random sampling method. Body fat distribution, including total body fat percentage (total BF%), Android BF%, Gynoid BF% and Android-to-Gynoid fat ratio (AOI), were obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorption method. Depression and social anxiety were evaluated by Children Depression Inventory and Social Anxiety Scale for Children. Multivariate linear regression and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to estimate the linear and non-linear correlation between body fat distribution and depression and social anxiety. RESULTS: 13.1% and 31.1% of the children and adolescents had depressive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms respectively, and the detection rate of depression and social anxiety in the boys and young groups was significantly lower than those in the girls and old groups. There was no significant linear correlation between total BF%, Android BF%, Gynoid BF%, AOI and depression and social anxiety in the children and adolescents. However, total BF% and Gynoid BF% had significant nonlinear correlation with depression, showing an inverted U-shaped curve relationship with the tangent points of 26.8% and 30.9%, respectively. In terms of the nonlinear association of total BF%, Android BF%, Gynoid BF% and AOI with depression and social anxiety, the change trends of the boys and girls, low age group and high age group were consistent. The overall anxiety risk HR of body fat distribution in the boys was significantly higher than that in the girls, and the risk HR of depression and social anxiety were significantly higher in the high age group than those in the low age group. CONCLUSION: There was no significant linear correlation between body fat distribution and depression and social anxiety in children and adolescents. Total BF% and depression showed an inverted U-shaped curve, mainly manifested in Gynoid BF%, and this trend was consistent in different genders and different age groups. Maintaining children and adolescents' body fat distribution at an appropriate level is the future direction of the prevention and control of depression and social anxiety in children and adolescents.

[Association between different growth patterns and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between different growth patterns and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years, and to provide suggestions for the prevention and control of metabolic syndrome in Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected from the research project "Development and Application of Technology and Related Standards for Prevention and Control of Major Diseases among Students" of public health industry in 2012. This project is a cross-sectional study design. A total of 65 347 students from 93 primary and secondary schools in 7 provinces including Guangdong were selected by stratified cluster random sampling method. Given the budget, 25% of the students were randomly selected to collect blood samples. In this study, 10 176 primary and middle school students aged 7 to 17 years with complete physical measurements and blood biochemical indicators were selected as research objects. Chi-square test was used to compare the distribution differences of growth patterns under different demographic characteristics. Birth weight, waist circumference and blood biochemical indexes were expressed in the form of mean ± standard deviation, and the differences among different groups were compared by variance analysis. Binary Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between different growth patterns and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents was 6.56%, 7.18% in boys and 5.97% in girls. The risk of metabolic syndrome was higher in the catch-down growth group than in the normal growth group (OR=1.417, 95%CI: 1.19-1.69), and lower in the catch-up growth group(OR=0.66, 95%CI: 0.53-0.82). After adjusting for gender, age and so on, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in the catch-down growth group was higher than that in the normal growth group (OR=1.25, 95%CI: 1.02-1.52), but there was no significant difference between the catch-up growth group and the normal growth group (OR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.62-1.01). Stratified analysis showed that the association between different growth patterns and metabolic syndrome was statistically significant in the 7-12 years group, urban population, and Han Chinese student population. CONCLUSION: There is a correlation between different growth patterns and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. The risk of developing metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents with catch-down growth is higher than that in the normal growth group, which suggests that attention should be paid to the growth and development of children and adolescents, timely correction of delayed growth and prevention of adverse health outcomes.

Identification of differently expressed genes in leukemia using multiple microarray datasets.

The purpose of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes and analyze biological processes related to leukemia. A meta-analysis was performed using the Rank Product package of Gene Expression Omnibus datasets for leukemia. Next, Gene Ontology-enrichment analysis and pathway analysis were performed using the Gene Ontology website and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the Cytoscape software. Using the Rank Product package for leukemia, we identified a total of 1294 differentially expressed genes, 357 of which were not involved in individual differentially expressed genes. Gene Ontology-enrichment analyses showed that these 357 genes were enriched in biological processes such as mRNA metabolism, RNA splicing, and mRNA processing. Pathway-enrichment analysis showed that the genes were involved in the intestinal immune network for IgA production, endocytosis, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. The protein-protein interaction network indicated that HRAS, CD44, STAT1, SMAD2, and COPS5 were important in many interactions. Our study revealed genes that were consistently differentially expressed in leukemia, as well as the biological pathways and protein-protein interaction network associated with these genes.

[Research on the association between ambient PM2.5 and its components and psychological distress among Chinese children and adolescents aged 9-18 years].

Objective: To analyze the association between exposure to ambient PM2.5 and its components [sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH4+), organic matter (OM), and black carbon (BC)] and psychological distress among school children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years in China. Methods: Based on data from the 2019 Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health, 130 808 children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years were included. Scoring and determination of higher psychological distress were based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and annual average exposure data for air pollution were matched by survey location and time. We used a restricted cubic spline approach based on logistic regression to fit the associations between PM2.5, SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, organic matter, black carbon concentrations, and psychological distress. Logistic regression models were used to analyse different age, gender, BMI and physical activity subgroups to estimate the association between exposure to high levels of pollution and high levels of psychological distress in different subgroups. Results: The proportion of children and adolescents with high levels of psychological distress in China was 30.4%, with girls being higher than boys at 31.6% and 29.1%, respectively (P<0.05). A non-linear positive association existed between exposure to PM2.5, SO42-, NO3- and organic matter concentrations and higher psychological distress. As PM2.5, NO3-, NH4+, organic matter, and black carbon concentrations continued to rise, the increase in the risk of higher psychological distress slowed, while SO42- showed little change in the OR of psychological distress at lower concentrations but continued to rise at higher concentrations. PM2.5 and its components were statistically associated with psychological distress in the physically inactive group but not in the physically active group. The association between high levels of pollutants and high psychological distress was stronger among students aged 9 to 12 years compared with students aged 13 to 15 years and 16 to 18 years. Conclusions: The ambient pollutant PM2.5 and its components are associated with psychological distress in children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years in China. High pollutant exposure is a risk factor for high psychological distress among physically inactive children and adolescents, and there are age differences in the association between PM2.5 and components and psychological distress.

Diversity and abundance of the rumen and fecal methanogens in Altay sheep native to Xinjiang and the influence of diversity on methane emissions.

This study aims to investigate the influence of diet roughage proportion on the methanogenic communities from the rumen and fecal samples in Altay local sheep native to Xinjiang and better understand the association of methanogenic diversity or abundance with methane emissions of the ruminants. In this study, the high roughage diet was found to cause more methane emissions for either maintenance or ad-lib group, but the total methanogenic abundance was not influenced by roughage proportion and showed no significant difference between groups. Furthermore, the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was conducted to reveal the difference in methanogenic diversity. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequences obtained were divided into three groups, affiliated to the genus of Methanobrevibacter, Methanocorpusculum and an unidentified methanogenic-like group. Of these sequences, the predominant diversity from the genus of Methanobrevibacter and the unidentified methanogenic-like archaeons in the rumen was found to be significantly induced by the high roughage diet, implying that the variation of diversity at the species or strain level might have an effect on methane emissions from the rumen. Further analysis showed that five methangenic sequences from the rumen were possibly associated with the differential methane emissions.

Effect of saturated fatty acid supplementation on production and metabolism indices in heat-stressed mid-lactation dairy cows.

Experimental objectives were to determine the effects of supplemental saturated fatty acids on production, body temperature indices, and some aspects of metabolism in mid-lactation dairy cows experiencing heat stress. Forty-eight heat-stressed Holstein cows were allocated into 3 groups (n=16/group) according to a completely randomized block design. Three treatment diets consisted of supplemental saturated fatty acids (SFA) at 0 (SFA0), 1.5 (SFA1.5), or 3.0% (SFA3) of dry matter (DM) for 10 wk. Diets were isonitrogenous (crude protein=16.8%) and contained 1.42, 1.46, and 1.49 Mcal of net energy for lactation/kg of DM for the SFA0, SFA1.5 and SFA3 diets, respectively. The average temperature-humidity index at 0700, 1400 and 2200 h was 72.2, 84.3, and 76.6, respectively. Rectal temperatures at 1400 h were decreased with fat supplementation. Treatment did not affect dry matter intake (20.1+/-0.02 kg/d), body condition score (2.72+/-0.04), body weight (627+/-16.1 kg), or calculated energy balance (1.32+/-0.83 Mcal/d). Saturated fatty acid supplementation increased milk yield, milk fat content, and total milk solids. Increasing fat supplementation decreased plasma nonesterified fatty acids (8%) but had no effect on other energetic metabolites or hormones. In summary, supplemental SFA improved milk yield and milk fat content and yield and reduced peak rectal temperatures in mid-lactation heat-stressed dairy cows. This demonstrates the remarkable amount of metabolic heat that is "saved" by energetically replacing fermentable carbohydrates with supplemental SFA.

Annual variation in semen characteristics of pigeons (Columba livia).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate annual semen characteristics of pigeons (Columba livia). Ten selected male pigeons, aged 2 to 5 yr were housed under natural environmental conditions, and semen collection was conducted via a digital massage twice weekly throughout the year. The success rate of semen collection in a total of 920 attempts was 40% (371/920) over the whole year. The highest success rate was 69% (55/80) in March followed by 66% (53/80) in November, whereas the lowest rates were in August (13%,10/80) and September (13%, 8/60) (P < 0.01). Volume of the ejaculate averaged 11.0 +/- 0.9 microL (mean +/- SEM). The greatest volume was obtained in November (13.5 +/- 1.0 microL), whereas the least was obtained in August (7.0 +/- 1.0 microL). The average sperm motility was 72 +/- 2% of all ejaculates, of which the highest motility (82 +/- 2%) was observed in March, whereas the least motility (48 +/- 3%) was in August. Sperm viability and sperm motility were positively correlated (r = 0.91; P < 0.01). Maximum sperm concentration was 4.9 +/- 0.4 x 10(9) sperm/mL noted in March, whereas the minimum was 3.8 +/- 0.2 x 10(9) sperm/mL observed in October. Donors generally exhibited susceptible (54%) or dull submission (43%), whereas resistance to handling was rarely observed (3%). During collections, a red (47%) or pink (44%) cloacal membrane was often observed, whereas during only 9% of the collections, the cloacal membrane was pale. When the ambient temperature decreased below 15 C, semen could not be obtained (0/80). A high amount of semen (>10 microL) was obtained when the temperature ranged between 19 and 24 C. Optimal sperm motility (approximately 80%) and viability (>85%) was observed when the temperature was between 18 and 24 C. At temperatures greater than 28 C, sperm motility and viability decreased. Sperm concentration was not significantly influenced by temperature fluctuations. In summary, annual variation in semen characteristics exhibited two peaks per year with mean motility and viability reaching peak annual values in March and November. Both of these months had mean ambient temperatures between 19 and 24 C, a range associated with maximal ejaculatory volumes.

The UNOS OPTN waiting list: 1988 to 1994. United Network for Organ Sharing. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

1. On November 30, 1994, the combined waiting list contained 37,138 registrations. This number represents an 11.4% annual increase in registrations from 33,352 registrations as of December 31, 1993. This percentage of annual increase in registrations is the lowest since 1988. Kidney registrations account for 73.2% of all registrations. It should be noted that the number of registrations increases every year, but the percentage of annual increase tended to decline. 2. In general, the median waiting times for kidney, kidney-pancreas, liver, heart, and lung registrants have increased since 1988. For pancreas registrants, the median waiting times tended to decrease. Overall, heart-lung registrants have the longest median waiting time, whereas liver registrants have the shortest median waiting time, among all registrants on the combined waiting list. Registrants waiting for a kidney-pancreas transplant have a shorter median waiting time than registrants waiting for a kidney or pancreas transplant alone. 3. Kidney, liver, heart, and lung registrants who were listed in 1992 with blood type O waited longer than those with other blood types. Of kidney-pancreas and pancreas registrants, those who had previous transplants waited longer than those who did not. Blacks on the kidney, kidney-pancreas, liver, and heart waiting lists waited longer than patients of other races. Median waiting times varied among different age groups, for different organs. 4. The reported deaths on the kidney waiting list increased each year since 1988, but the percentage of deaths among all kidney registrants in a selected year remained within a range of 3.3-3.8%. Similarly, the number of deaths on the liver, heart, and lung waiting lists increased yearly, whereas the percentage of deaths on these waiting lists remained static over the years. For liver, heart, and lung, the percentage rates of death were 8.5%, 13.7%, and 11.5%, respectively. 5. Among registrants removed from the waiting lists for transplantation, about 58% of the removals were for kidney transplants, 20% for liver transplants, and 16% for heart transplants. Kidney-pancreas and liver transplant rates were higher than those of other organs. Kidney-pancreas transplant rates were higher than those of kidney or pancreas alone. Heart transplant rates were lower than those of kidney-pancreas and liver, but higher than those of other organs. Note that the kidney-pancreas and liver transplant rates have declined over the years.