[The characteristics and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and psychological status in science and technologyists].

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and related factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and psychological problems in Chinese science and technology workers. Methods: The investigation was organized and conducted by the Innovative and Development Institute of China Association of Senior Scientists and Technologists and Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Anzhen Hospital, and included science and technology workers from research institutions and medical institutions in China by random sampling methods through face-to-face and online questionnaire investigation from July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021. Information including age, sex, work stress status, CVD history, sleep, depression, and anxiety were included in the questionnaire. Results: This survey included 14 552 subjects. Among them, 25.5% were suffered from CVD, 48.6% were with insomnia, 28.8% experienced depression/anxiety (including only depression, only anxiety, depression combined with anxiety), and 15.6% had CVD in combined with depression/anxiety. Taking those without CVD and depression/anxiety as reference group, multiple logistic regression analyses showed that work stress increased the risk of depression/anxiety in subjects without CVD (manageable work stress, OR=2.253, 95%CI 1.583-3.206, overwhelming work stress OR=7.899, 95%CI 5.094-12.250), and drinking increased the risk of CVD (OR=1.978, 95%CI 1.382-2.833). Moreover, overwhelming work stress (OR=4.012, 95%CI 2.515-6.399) and smoking (OR=2.342, 95%CI 1.603-3.421) increased the risk of depression/anxiety in subjects with CVD (all P<0.001). Conclusion: The high morbidities of depression/anxiety, CVD, and CVD in combination with depression/anxiety urge us to take actions to protect the heart and mental health of scientific and technological workers.

[Clinical features and prognosis of patients with different types of heart failure in relation to coronary artery disease].

Objective: To analyze whether there is a difference in the influence of coronary artery disease (CAD) on the clinical features and prognosis of three different types of heart failure patients. Methods: Complete clinical data of 1 520 hospitalized patients with heart failure from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and Tianjin Chest Hospital from March 2014 to February 2016 was retrospectively reviewed. According to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), the patients were divided into three groups: heart failure with reduced ejection fraction group (HFrEF), heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction group (HFmrEF)and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction group (HFpEF). Each group was further classified into two subgroups according to absence or presence of CAD (No CAD' and 'With CAD'). In the HFrEF group, 197 patients were categorized into 'No CAD' sub-group while 435 patients were into 'With CAD' sub-group. Likewise, 63 patients in HFmrEF group fell into 'No CAD' sub-group while 367 were into 'With CAD' sub-group. Seventy two patients in the HFpEF group were in the 'No CAD' sub-group with 386 in the 'With CAD' sub-group. Clinical features and 2-year prognosis between different subgroups were compared. Results: (1) The relationship between CAD and clinical features of different types of heart failure: the proportions of HFrEF, HFmrEF and HFpEF combined with CAD were 68.8%, 85.3% and 84.3%, respectively (P<0.05). Compared with the 'No CAD' subgroups, patients in the 'With CAD' subgroups were older, and had higher NT-proBNP levels, higher rates of hypertension and diabetes, and lower rates of atrial fibrillation. Also, there were more use of antiplatelet and nitrate drugs in the 'With CAD' sub-groups (P<0.05). (2) Risk of different types of heart failure combined with CAD: after multivariate adjustment, HFrEF had a lower risk of CAD (HFrEF vs HFmrEF: RR=0.389, 95%CI 0.281-0.540; HFrEF vs HFpEF: RR=0.408, 95%CI 0.298-0.560). (3)The influence of CAD on the prognosis of different types of heart failure: CAD increased the risk of mortality in the HFrEF group (HR=1.631, 95%CI 1.119-2.377), and cardiovascular events in all three types of heart failure (HR: HFrEF 1.725, 95%CI 1.325-2.246; HFmrEF 1.815, 95%CI 1.144-2.879; HFpEF 1.900, 95%CI 1.218-2.963). Conclusions: Patients with HFmrEF and HFpEF have a higher prevalence and risk of CAD than patients with HFrEF. CAD is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in all types of heart failure and increases the risk of all-cause mortality among HFrEF group. CAD is an important factor influencing the clinical features and prognosis of patients with all types of heart failure.

[Effect of clinical characteristics on relapse of alcohol dependence: a prospective cohort study].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether craving and demographic factors to predict relapse in alcohol dependence. METHODS: This study was a prospective cohort study. From August 2017 to August 2018, 158 Han male inpatients who met the diagnositic and statistical manual disorders-fourth version(DSM-IV) alcohol dependence diagnostic criteria were recruited from three mental hospitals in China. The participants were interviewed at baseline and followed up by telephone after 3 months for assessment. The baseline assessment after the acute withdrawal period included demographic data and alcohol-related data, clinical institute withdrawal assessment-advanced revised (CIWA-Ar), withdrawal and cue-induced craving on visual analog scale (VAS), Michigan alcoholism screening test (MAST), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS) and alcohol urge questionnaire (AUQ). According to the follow-up results, "relapse" was defined as the consumption of beverages containing ethanol at any time during the follow-up study, and "time to relapse" was defined as the number of days from the first drinking to the baseline. Whether relapse occurred and the time to relapse were the primary endpoints. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting the relapse of alcohol dependence. RESULTS: In the study, 158 alcohol dependence patients were finally included, age from 21 to 60 years, with the mean age of (40.31±9.14) years. The relapse rate was 63.7% three months after baseline assessment. According to Cox univariate analysis and multivariate analysis, the age (OR=0.975, P=0.030) and CIWA-Ar scores (OR=1.126, P=0.010) significantly predicted relapse. And there was no significant difference in education level, marital status, withdrawal and cue-induced craving on VAS, SAS and SDS between the relapse group and the non-relapse group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Age and severity of alcohol-dependent withdrawal symptoms during hospitalization are significantly related to relapse for alcohol in alcohol-dependent patients. To be exact, the older age is a protective factor, that is to say, the younger patients are prone to relapse, while the risk of relapse is raised by the higher severity of withdrawal symptoms. However, neither cue-induced nor withdrawal craving can predict relapse of alcohol-dependent patients.

Use of an expanded gold standard to estimate the accuracy of colposcopy and visual inspection with acetic acid.

We estimate the accuracy of colposcopy and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) while minimizing the effects of misclassification bias, and maximizing ascertainment of disease. VIA was performed by experienced physicians on a population-based sample of women aged 30 to 49 years in rural Shanxi province, China. Each woman received VIA, liquid-based cytology (LBC) and hybrid capture 2 (hc2, QIAGEN, Gaithersburg, MD; formerly Digene Corporation). Any woman who tested positive on any test had colposcopy, endocervical curettage (ECC) with directed biopsies as necessary and 4-quadrant random biopsies from normal-appearing areas of the cervix. A standard diagnosis based on colposcopy and directed biopsy, and an expanded diagnosis including ECC and 4-quadrant random biopsy were generated for each woman. In 1,839 women, use of the expanded versus the standard diagnostic criteria increased the prevalence of histologically confirmed high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer (CIN2+) from 3.2% (59/1,839) to 4.2% (77/1,839) and decreased the sensitivity of VIA for CIN2+ from 69.5% (95% CI: 56.8-79.8) to 58.4% (95% CI: 47.3-68.8%) with little change in specificity of approximately 89%. Compared with the expanded diagnostic criterion, the sensitivity of a visual diagnosis of high-grade CIN or cancer by a colposcopist was 49.4% (95% CI: 38.2-60.5). The use of an expanded diagnostic criterion in this study yielded more conservative estimates of the sensitivity of VIA and colposcopy.

Systematic review of HIV and HCV infection among drug users in China.

To determine the HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) geographical distribution among drug users in China, a systematic literature review of 40 peer-reviewed publications (comprising 15,565 drug users) was conducted. Of the total drug users, 10,724 were found to be injection drug users (IDUs) and 4841 were non-injection drug users (non-IDUs). Various studies identified that among IDUs and non-IDUs, the overall HIV prevalence rates were 12.55% and 1.05%, and the HCV prevalence rates were 66.97% and 18.30%, respectively. The HIV prevalence rate ranged from 0% (Anhui and Inner Mongolia) to 52.51% (Yunnan) among IDUs, and from 0% to 19.80% among non-IDUs correspondingly. The HCV prevalence rate ranged from 11.43% (Shannxi) to 90.77% (Hubei) among IDUs, and from 0% (Anhui) to 40.00% (Fujian) among non-IDUs. Based on the high prevalence of HIV and HCV among drug users, scaling-up harm reduction was required from 'heroin trafficking areas' to other areas in China.

Human papillomavirus type distribution in women from Asia: a meta-analysis.

The aim of this study was to determine human papillomavirus (HPV) type distribution in women with and without cervical neoplasia from Asia and to estimate the potential future impact of an HPV 16/18 prophylactic vaccine in this region. A meta-analysis was conducted including 79 studies using polymerase chain reaction to detect HPV types. A total of 5954, 1653, 958, and 16,803 women with invasive cervical cancer (ICC), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), and normal cytology or histology were included, respectively. Type-specific prevalence of HPV types 6, 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, 70, 73, and 82 were estimated and stratified by cervical lesion grade. Overall HPV prevalence was 85.9%, 81.0%, 72.9%, and 14.4%, respectively, in women with ICC, HSIL, LSIL, and normal cytology/histology. In ICC, HPV 16 was the predominant type (52.4%), followed by HPV 18, 58, 33, 52, 45, 31, and 35. The estimated HPV 16/18-positive fraction was 66.9%, 40.4%, 26.7%, and 3.3% in women with ICC, HSIL, LSIL, and normal cytology or histology, respectively. In ICC, the estimated HPV 16/18-positive fraction was about 70% in all Asian geographic regions, with the exception of Japan (51.3%). HPV 16/18 vaccines are estimated to provide about 67% protection against ICC in Asia. HPV 58 and 52 were among the five most common types in ICC in eastern and southeastern Asia but not in south central Asia. After HPV 16 and 18, the next most six common HPV types were 58, 33, 52, 45, 31, and 35 that accounted for additional 20% of cervical cancer cases in Asia. For optimal population coverage, these HPV carcinogenic types should be considered for second-generation HPV prophylactic vaccines.

Human papillomavirus type-distribution in the cervix of Chinese women: a meta-analysis.

The aim of the study was to determine human papillomavirus (HPV) type-distribution in the cervix of Chinese women, and to estimate the potential future impact of HPV prophylactic vaccines for cervical cancer prevention in China. A total of 32 studies using polymerase chain reaction for HPV detection were included in the meta-analysis, including 2844 invasive cervical cancer (ICC), 820 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), 432 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and 2902 women with normal cytology/histology. The overall and type-specific HPV prevalence of 18 HPV types (HPV 6, 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, 70, 73 and 82 of different cervical stages) were estimated. Overall HPV prevalence was 83.7%, 66.2%, 61.3% and 11.2% in ICC, HSIL, LSIL and normal, respectively. HPV 16 was the predominant type in all cervical stages. Estimated HPV 16/18 positive fractions in ICC, HSIL, LSIL and normal were 69.7%, 45.5%, 32.23% and 4.6%, respectively. HPV-16/18 vaccine has the 69.7% potential prevention in ICC. HPV 58 and 52 were the priority HPV types in Chinese women.

Intralobular differences in antioxidant enzyme expression and activity reflect the pattern of maternal arterial bloodflow within the human placenta.

The aim was to determine whether the activities and mRNA concentrations of antioxidant enzymes in human placental tissues reflect the prevailing oxygen tension or developmental maturity of the villi. Advantage was taken of contrasting gradients within lobules of the mature placenta. The central region is well-oxygenated compared to the periphery, owing to the direction of maternal blood flow. However, central villi are morphologically and enzymatically immature compared to peripheral villi. Activity of catalase (t=8.72, P< 0.001) and glutathione peroxidase (t=2.17,P< 0.05) was higher in central than peripheral villi, but no difference was detected for total superoxide dismutase (t=1.08, P> 0.05). The degree of change in catalase activity across the lobule correlated closely with the radius (r=-0.70, P< 0.01). The mRNA concentration was higher in the centre for catalase (t=2.81, P< 0.05) and for glutathione peroxidase (t=3.33, P< 0.05), but no differences were found for copper/zinc or manganese superoxide dismutase. In separate experiments, first trimester villi cultured under 10 per cent oxygen contained higher concentrations of catalase mRNA than controls maintained under 2.5 per cent oxygen. We conclude that the activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase reflect gradients established by the pattern of maternal intralobular bloodflow, and that oxygen tension is one regulatory factor in vitro.

Major origin of mutagenicity of chlorinated drinking water in China: humic acid or pollutants.

Since Loper and Glatz (J. Toxicol. Environ. Health, 4:919-938;1978) discovered the presence of the mutagenicity in drinking water after chlorination in 1978, humic acid (HA) has been considered as an important source. But our research results show that only 1/8 of observed direct frameshift mutagenicity in tap water originated from chlorination of HA isolated from raw water. Contamination from industrial waste and human settlement (night soil) are important potential sources of mutagenicity in chlorinated drinking water. The results show that mutagenicity from night soil after chlorination depended upon pH of sample. Production of mutagenicity at pH 6 is ten times of that at pH 8, and decomposition process is necessary condition for mutagenicity production. Season variation of mutagenicity of tap is also presented in the paper.

Biological effects of a nano red elemental selenium.

A novel selenium form, nano red elemental selenium (Nano-Se) was prepared by adding bovine serum albumin to the redox system of selenite and glutathione. Nano-Se has a 7-fold lower acute toxicity than sodium selenite in mice (LD(50) 113 and 15 mg Se/kg body weight respectively). In Se-deficient rat, both Nano-Se and selenite can increase tissue selenium and GPx activity. The biological activities of Nano-Se and selenite were compared in terms of cell proliferation, enzyme induction and protection against free racial-mediated damage in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Nano-Se and selenite are similarly cell growth inhibited and stimulated synthesis of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and thioredoxin reductase (TR). When HepG2 cells were co-treated with selenium and glutathione, Nano-Se showed less pro-oxidative effects than selenite, as measured by cell growth. These results demonstrate that Nano-Se has a similar bioavailability in the rat and antioxidant effects on cells.

Human papillomavirus infection in Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China: a population-based study.

To investigate the prevalence of, and risk factors for, cervical infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) in the rural province of Shanxi, People's Republic of China, which has relatively high cervical cancer mortality rates, we interviewed and obtained cervical cell samples from 662 women aged 15-59 years. A total of 24 different HPV types were identified using a GP5+/6+-based PCR assay able to detect 44 different HPV types. Human papillomavirus prevalence was 14.8% overall and 9.6% among women without cervical abnormalities (14.2 and 8.9%, respectively, age standardised to the world standard population). Multiple-type infections accounted for 30.6% of all infections. By far the most commonly found type was HPV16 (5.7% of all women and 38.8% of HPV-positive women), followed by HPV 58, 52, 33 and 18. Unlike most previous studies published, HPV prevalence was lower among women younger than 35 years (8.7%) than those older than 35 years (17.8%). High-risk HPV types predominated in all age groups. Although low-risk HPV types were rare in young women, they became more common with increasing age. 92.3% of women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 were infected with high-risk HPV types, but none with low-risk types only. No significant difference in HPV positivity was observed by educational level, sexual habits, reproductive history or use of contraceptive methods in this rural low-income Chinese population.

Onset of maternal arterial blood flow and placental oxidative stress. A possible factor in human early pregnancy failure.

The aim was to measure changes in the oxygen tension within the human placenta associated with onset of the maternal arterial circulation at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy, and the impact on placental tissues. Using a multiparameter probe we established that the oxygen tension rises steeply from <20 mmHg at 8 weeks of gestation to >50 mmHg at 12 weeks. This rise coincides with morphological changes in the uterine arteries that allow free flow of maternal blood into the placenta, and is associated with increases in the mRNA concentrations and activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and manganese and copper/zinc superoxide dismutase within placental tissues. Between 8 to 9 weeks there is a sharp peak of expression of the inducible form of heat shock protein 70, formation of nitrotyrosine residues, and derangement of the mitochondrial cristae within the syncytiotrophoblast. We conclude that a burst of oxidative stress occurs in the normal placenta as the maternal circulation is established. We speculate that this may serve a physiological role in stimulating normal placental differentiation, but may also be a factor in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and early pregnancy failure if antioxidant defenses are depleted.

Antioxidant effects of propofol in human hepatic microsomes: concentration effects and clinical relevance.

Propofol is known to possess antioxidant properties. There is controversy regarding the mechanisms by which the drug produces its antioxidant effects and the significance of these effects in relation to plasma concentrations of propofol in clinical practice. We studied the effects of increasing concentrations of Intralipid, propofol, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and a vitamin E analogue (Trolox C) in 0.9% saline on non-enzymic and enzymic lipid peroxidation in human hepatic microsomes, and on concentrations of antioxidant enzymes in a Hep G2 cell line. Propofol showed significant inhibition of lipid peroxidation, but was less potent than BHT or Trolox C. IC50 values for non-enzymic and enzymic lipid peroxidation were mean 9.47 (SD 0.86) and 7.39 (0.84) mumol litre-1 for propofol, 1.30 (0.57) and 0.32 (0.02) mumol litre-1 for BHT and 2.34 (0.68) and 0.35 (0.04) mumol litre-1 for Trolox C, respectively. The antioxidant activities of propofol were substantially retained in the presence of up to 30 g litre-1 of human serum albumin. Propofol at concentrations of up to 100 mumol litre-1 had no significant effect on the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Clinically relevant concentrations of propofol produced significant inhibition of both enzymic and non-enzymic lipid peroxidation in hepatic microsomal preparations, possibly as a result of accumulation in lipophilic environments. Measurement of antioxidant effects of drugs in aqueous media may have little relevance to their effects in protecting against lipid peroxidation in biological systems.