Nomogram for predicting the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in older adults in Qingdao, China: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and to establish a non-invasive tool for the screening of NAFLD in an older adult population. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A total of 131,161 participants were included in this cross-sectional study. Participants were randomly divided into training and validation sets (7:3). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method was used to screen risk factors. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to develop a nomogram, which was made available online. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis were used to validate the discrimination, calibration, and clinical practicability of the nomogram. Sex and age subgroup analyses were conducted to further validate the reliability of the model. RESULTS: Nine variables were identified for inclusion in the nomogram (age, sex, waist circumference, body mass index, exercise frequency, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, alanine aminotransferase, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values were 0.793 and 0.790 for the training set and the validation set, respectively. The calibration plots and decision curve analyses showed good calibration and clinical utility. Subgroup analyses demonstrated consistent discriminatory ability in different sex and age subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: This study established and validated a new nomogram model for evaluating the risk of NAFLD among older adults. The nomogram had good discriminatory performance and is a non-invasive and convenient tool for the screening of NAFLD in older adults.

Association between serum uric acid levels and clinical outcomes in patients with acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND: The effects of serum uric acid (SUA) on clinical outcomes in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of SUA levels with clinical outcomes of AKI patients. METHODS: The data of AKI patients hospitalized in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to assess the association between SUA levels and the clinical outcomes of AKI patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to assess the predictive ability of SUA levels for in-hospital mortality in patients with AKI. RESULTS: A total of 4,646 AKI patients were eligible for study inclusion. In multivariable analysis, after adjustment for various confounding factors in the fully adjusted model, a higher SUA level was found to be associated with increased in-hospital mortality of AKI patients with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.21-2.33, p = 0.005) for the SUA level >5.1-6.9 mg/dl group and 2.75 (95% CI, 1.78-4.26, p < 0.001) for the SUA level >6.9 mg/dl group compared with the reference group (SUA ≤3.6 mg/dl). In the ROC analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) of SUA was 0.65 with a sensitivity of 51% and a specificity of 73%. CONCLUSIONS: An elevated SUA level is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AKI, and it appears to be an independent prognostic marker for these patients.

Early-life exposure to the Chinese famine and risk of hyperuricaemia in adult females in Qingdao.

Two population-based cross-sectional surveys involving randomly selected Chinese adults aged 35-74 years were conducted in Qingdao, China in 2006 and 2009. Nine thousand fifty-five subjects from the two surveys were grouped into four birth groups of fetal/infant exposed (born between 1 January 1959 and 31 December 1962), childhood exposed (born between 1 January 1950 and 31 December 1958), adolescence exposed (born between 1 January 1942 and 31 December 1949) and the unexposed (born before 1941 and after 1963). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate the OR and 95 % CI of hyperuricaemia in different exposed groups. Overall, famine exposure in the fetal/infant period, childhood and adolescence was not associated with adulthood hyperuricaemia (all P > 0·05). In females, childhood exposed group (OR = 1·59, 95 % CI 1·25, 2·02) and adolescence exposed group (OR = 1·74, 95 % CI 1·30, 2·33) both had higher risks to have hyperuricaemia in adult. However, this difference was not found in fetal/infant exposed group. In males, no significant relation was observed in any famine exposed group (all P > 0·05). Exposure to famine in childhood and adolescence is associated with an increased risk of hyperuricaemia for adulthood of females, but not in males. Adequate nutrition during early life appears to be beneficial to prevent hyperuricaemia of adult females.

Associations between early thiamine administration and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

The effects of early thiamine use on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between early thiamine administration and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with AKI. The data of critically ill patients with AKI within 48 h after ICU admission were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. PSM was used to match patients early receiving thiamine treatment to those not early receiving thiamine treatment. The association between early thiamine use and in-hospital mortality due to AKI was determined using a logistic regression model. A total of 15 066 AKI patients were eligible for study inclusion. After propensity score matching (PSM), 734 pairs of patients who did and did not receive thiamine treatment in the early stage were established. Early thiamine use was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0·65; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·87; P < 0·001) and 90-d mortality (OR 0·58; 95 % CI 0·45, 0·74; P < 0·001), and it was also associated with the recovery of renal function (OR 1·26; 95 % CI 1·17, 1·36; P < 0·001). In the subgroup analysis, early thiamine administration was associated with lower in-hospital mortality in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI. Early thiamine use was associated with improved short-term survival in critically ill patients with AKI. It was possible beneficial role in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria.

Influence of the temperature-dependent dielectric constant on the photoacoustic effect of gold nanospheres.

Photoacoustic imaging techniques with gold nanoparticles as contrast agents have received a great deal of attention. The photoacoustic response of gold nanoparticles strongly depends on the far-field optical properties, which essentially depend on the dielectric constant of the material. The dielectric constant of gold not only varies with wavelength but is also affected by temperature. However, the effect of the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant on gold nanoparticles' photoacoustic response has not been fully investigated. In this work, the Drude-Lorentz model and Mie theory are used to calculate the dielectric constant and absorption efficiency of gold nanospheres in aqueous solution, respectively. Then, the finite element method is used to simulate the heat transfer process of gold nanospheres and surrounding water. Finally, the one-dimensional velocity-stress equation is solved by the finite-difference time-domain method to obtain the photoacoustic response of gold nanospheres. The results show that under the irradiation of a high-fluence nanosecond pulse laser, ignoring the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant will lead to large errors in the photothermal response and the nonlinear photoacoustic signals (it can even exceed 20% and 30%). The relative error of the photothermal and photoacoustic response caused by ignoring the temperature-dependent dielectric constant is determined from both the temperature dependence of absorption efficiency and the maximum temperature increase of gold nanospheres. This work provides a new perspective for the photothermal and photoacoustic effects of gold nanospheres, which is meaningful for the development of high-resolution photoacoustic detectors and nano/microscale temperature measurement techniques.

First principles studies on the electronic and contact properties of single layer 2H-MoS2/1T'-MX2 heterojunctions.

Constructed via in-plane heterojunction contacts between the semiconducting 2H phase (as the channel) and the metallic 1T' phase (as the electrode), two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) field-effect transistors (FETs) have received much recent attention because they significantly reduce contact resistance. In this paper, ab initio quantum transport simulation is done to study and predict the electronic states and contact properties of the 2H-MoS2/1T'-MX2 (WS2, TaSe2, NbSe2, MoSe2, TaS2, and NbS2) in-plane heterojunctions. It is found that the interfacial states are not obvious and the fluctuation of the average electron density at the 1T'/2H phase boundary is small for all 2H-MoS2/1T'-MX2 heterojunctions. The average electrostatic potential differences (ΔV) are all negative, which is beneficial to promote the charge transfer from 1T'-MX2 to 2H-MoS2. Moreover, the p-type Schottky contact of the 2H-MoS2/1T'-MX2 heterojunctions is formed and the ΦSB,P values are 0.609 eV, 0.625 eV, 0.641 eV, 0.617 eV, 0.469 eV and 0.477 eV for 1T'-WS2, 1T'-TaSe2, 1T'-NbSe2, 1T'-MoSe2, 1T'-TaS2, and 1T'-NbS2, respectively. The results provide theoretical guidance for designing two-dimensional material devices.

Individual and combined relationship of serum uric acid and alanine aminotransferase on metabolic syndrome in adults in Qingdao, China.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Associations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and serum uric acid (SUA) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) remain controversial. We aimed to explore individual and combined effects of ALT and SUA on MetS in community residents. METHODS AND RESULTS: A population-based cross-sectional survey involving randomly selected Chinese adults aged 35-74 years was conducted in 2009 in Qingdao, China, and 4642 participants were included in the current study. Based on a combination of SUA and ALT levels in the tertile, subjects were grouped into Group 1-9. The individual and combined relations of SUA and ALT to MetS were analyzed by logistic regression models. The prevalence of MetS was 28.50% in males and 22.30% in females. ALT and SUA were independently associated with MetS and ORs (95% CIs) were 1.55 (1.42-1.70) and 1.92 (1.72-2.14), respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders. With the elevation of ALT and SUA levels, the risk of developing MetS increased. Compared to Group 1, ORs (95% CIs) of combined ALT and SUA for MetS were 2.21 (1.70-2.88), 4.02 (3.10-5.21), 2.19 (1.62-2.97), 2.53 (1.91-3.34), 4.69 (3.60-6.12), 1.76 (1.17-2.64), 3.65 (2.63-5.06) and 7.15 (5.41-9.46) in Group 2-9, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ALT and SUA were both related to MetS independently. Combined elevation of ALT and SUA levels could increase the risk of MetS and its components than an elevation in SUA and ALT alone. Therefore, measures should be taken to lower SUA and ALT levels to reduce the risk of having MetS.

Pressure-induced phase transitions and superconductivity in a quasi-1-dimensional topological crystalline insulator α-Bi4Br4.

Great progress has been achieved in the research field of topological states of matter during the past decade. Recently, a quasi-1-dimensional bismuth bromide, Bi4Br4, has been predicted to be a rotational symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulator; it would also exhibit more exotic topological properties under pressure. Here, we report a thorough study of phase transitions and superconductivity in a quasihydrostatically pressurized α-Bi4Br4 crystal by performing detailed measurements of electrical resistance, alternating current magnetic susceptibility, and in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction together with first principles calculations. We find a pressure-induced insulator-metal transition between ∼3.0 and 3.8 GPa where valence and conduction bands cross the Fermi level to form a set of small pockets of holes and electrons. With further increase of pressure, 2 superconductive transitions emerge. One shows a sharp resistance drop to 0 near 6.8 K at 3.8 GPa; the transition temperature gradually lowers with increasing pressure and completely vanishes above 12.0 GPa. Another transition sets in around 9.0 K at 5.5 GPa and persists up to the highest pressure of 45.0 GPa studied in this work. Intriguingly, we find that the first superconducting phase might coexist with a nontrivial rotational symmetry-protected topology in the pressure range of ∼3.8 to 4.3 GPa; the second one is associated with a structural phase transition from monoclinic C2/m to triclinic P-1 symmetry.

Response of soil bacterial community structure and function under two salt-tolerant plants in a coastal saline soil area of eastern Hebei province of China.

The plants Feicai (Sedum aizoon L.) and dandelion(Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) have good salt tolerance, and can improve soil quality and the micro-ecological environment. Coastal saline-soil plots planted with S. aizoon and T. mongolicum and bare plots were used to explore their effects on the microbial community structure of coastal saline soil. The diversity and function of soil bacterial communities were analyzed using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the α-diversity of soil bacterial communities were higher in planted than in bare plots, in the following order: T. mongolicum plot > S. aizoon plot > bare plot. The soil bacterial communities also changed after planting S. aizoon and T. mongolicum. The LDA effect size analysis showed that there were 37 indicator species among the three plot types. Correlation analysis of environmental factors showed that EC, AP, and OM were the main factors influencing bacterial community composition in this coastal saline soil. The PICRUSt functional prediction showed that the numbers of metabolic functions of bacterial communities were in the following order: T. mongolicum plot > S. aizoon plot > bare plot. The results provide a theoretical basis and plant species for developing salt-tolerant bacterial resources and phytoremediation of coastal saline soil.

This study investigated the changes of soil bacterial α-diversity and community structures in coastal saline soil after planting the medicinal and edible plants coastal feicai (Sedum aizoon L.)and dandelion "Binpu No. 1" (Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.). It also identified the biomarkers and differential metabolic functions of soils among different plots. Our findings revealed that planting S. aizoon and T. mongolicum significantly improved bacterial diversity, and altered composition and metabolic function in coastal saline soils. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it offers an insight into novel strategies for vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction of saline soils.

Multiplexed Photonic Crystal Fiber Gas-Sensing Network Based on Intracavity Absorption.

A highly sensitive hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) gas-sensing network based on intracavity absorption is designed and experimentally verified. The capacity of the multichannel sensing network is expanded by time division multiplexing and wavelength division multiplexing technology. The voltage gradient method is employed in the wavelength scanning process of Fabry-Perot (F-P) filter to enhance the detection efficiency up to six times. The proposed sensing network has 16 sensing points. Experimental results show that the minimum detection limit (MDL) of this sensing system is 25.91 ppm and 26.85 ppm at the acetylene gas absorption peaks of 1530.371 nm and 1531.588 nm, respectively. As far as we know, it is the first time to obtain an intracavity sensing network via the application of an optical switch and DWDM at the same time. The sensing network can be used for high-capacity, low-concentration dangerous gas detection. It has great potential in environmental monitoring, industrial manufacturing, safety inspection and similar occasions.

Relationship between dietary patterns and prediabetes, undiagnosed or diagnosed diabetes mellitus among adults in Qingdao: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To identify the main dietary patterns of adults and investigate the cross-sectional associations of these dietary patterns with prediabetes and undiagnosed or diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) in Qingdao, China. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This study included 4,457 participants who were administered the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary patterns were identified through principal component analysis (PCA). Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the associations of each pattern with the risks of prediabetes and undiagnosed or diagnosed DM. RESULTS: PCA revealed two major dietary patterns. The Fruits-Vegetables and Poultry-Seafood patterns were not significantly associated with the risk of prediabetes in either crude or adjusted models (all p>0.05). The highest quartile of the Fruits-Vegetables pattern was significantly associated with decreased risks of undiagnosed DM (crude: OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.41-0.72; Model 1: OR=0.61, 95% CI: 0.46-0.81; Model 2: OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.42-0.77; Model 3: OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.41-0.76) and diagnosed DM (crude: OR=0.51, 95% Cl: 0.34-0.75; Model 1: OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.39-0.88; Model 2: OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.39-0.93; Model 3: OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.38-0.91) compared with the lowest quartile in crude and adjusted models. The Poultry-Seafood pattern was not significantly associated with the risk of undiagnosed or diagnosed DM in crude or adjusted models (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The Fruits-Vegetables pattern was associated with a decreased risk of undiagnosed or diagnosed DM.

Ambient climate determines the directional trend of community stability under warming and grazing.

Changes in ecological processes over time in ambient treatments are often larger than the responses to manipulative treatments in climate change experiments. However, the impacts of human-driven environmental changes on the stability of natural grasslands have been typically assessed by comparing differences between manipulative plots and reference plots. Little is known about whether or how ambient climate regulates the effects of manipulative treatments and their underlying mechanisms. We collected two datasets, one a 36-year long-term observational dataset from 1983 to 2018, and the other a 10-year manipulative asymmetric warming and grazing experiment using infrared heaters with moderate grazing from 2006 to 2015 in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The 36-year observational dataset shows that there was a nonlinear response of community stability to ambient temperature with a positive relationship between them due to an increase in ambient temperature in the first 25 years and then a decrease in ambient temperature thereafter. Warming and grazing decreased community stability with experiment duration through an increase in legume cover and a decrease in species asynchrony, which was due to the decreasing background temperature through time during the 10-year experiment period. Moreover, the temperature sensitivity of community stability was higher under the ambient treatment than under the manipulative treatments. Therefore, our results suggested that ambient climate may control the directional trend of community stability while manipulative treatments may determine the temperature sensitivity of the response of community stability to climate relative to the ambient treatment. Our study emphasizes the importance of the context dependency of the response of community stability to human-driven environmental changes.

Distinct tumour antigen-specific T-cell immune response profiles at different hepatocellular carcinoma stages.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) and tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) are frequently expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the role of tumour-antigen-specific T cell immunity in HCC progression is poorly defined. We characterized CTA- and TAA-specific T cell responses in different HCC stages and investigated their alterations during HCC progression. METHODS: Fifty-eight HCC patients, 15 liver cirrhosis patients, 15 chronic hepatitis B patients and 10 heathy controls were enrolled in total. IFN-γ ELSPOT using CTAs, including MAGE-A1, MAGE-A3, NY-ESO-1, and SSX2, and two TAAs, SALL4 and AFP, was performed to characterize the T-cell immune response in the enrolled individuals. The functional phenotype of T cells and the responsive T cell populations were analyzed using short-term T-cell culture. RESULTS: T cell responses against CTAs and TAAs were specific to HCC. In early-stage HCC patients, the SALL4-specific response was the strongest, followed by MAGE-A3, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A1 and SSX2. One-year recurrence-free survival after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization plus radiofrequency ablation treatment suggested the protective role of CTA-specific responses. The four CTA- and SALL4-specific T cell responses decreased with the progression of HCC, while the AFP-specific T cell response increased. A higher proportion of CD4+ T cells specific to CTA/SALL4 was observed than AFP-specific T cell responses. CONCLUSIONS: The IFN-γ ELISPOT assay characterized distinct profiles of tumour-antigen-specific T cell responses in HCC patients. CTA- and SALL4-specific T cell responses may be important for controlling HCC in the early stage, whereas AFP-specific T cell responses might be a signature of malignant tumour status in the advanced stage. The application of immunotherapy at an early stage of HCC development should be considered.

Association between retinol intake and hyperuricaemia in adults.

OBJECTIVE: Current evidences on the association between hyperuricaemia and retinol intake remain inconsistent. Furthermore, no known studies have investigated the relationship between hyperuricaemia and retinol intake from animal food and plant food separately. This study aimed to assess the relationship between different sources of retinol intake and risk of hyperuricaemia among US adults. DESIGN: Univariate and multivariate weighted logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess the associations of total, animal-derived and plant-derived retinol intakes with the risk of hyperuricaemia. Dietary retinol was measured through two 24-h dietary recall interviews. Hyperuricaemia was defined as serum uric acid level ≥7·0 and ≥6·0 mg/dl in men and women, respectively. SETTING: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2014 were used in this cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Overall, 12 869 participants aged ≥20 years were included. RESULTS: Compared with the lowest quintile, the multivariable OR of hyperuricaemia for the highest quintile intake of total, animal-derived and plant-derived retinol were 0·71 (95 % CI 0·52, 0·96), 0·76 (95 % CI 0·59, 0·96) and 0·92 (95 % CI 0·72, 1·17), respectively. The inverse association between dietary intake of total retinol and the risk of hyperuricaemia was observed in men. Dose-response analyses revealed a novel linear trend between the risk of hyperuricaemia and total, animal-derived retinol intake separately. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that intakes of total and animal-derived retinol were negatively associated with hyperuricaemia in US adults.

Pressure-induced phase transitions and superconductivity in a black phosphorus single crystal.

We report a thorough study of the transport properties of the normal and superconducting states of black phosphorus (BP) under magnetic field and high pressure with a large-volume apparatus that provides hydrostatic pressure to induce transitions from the layered A17 phase to the layered A7 phase and to the cubic phase of BP. Quantum oscillations can be observed at P ≥ 1 GPa in both resistivity and Hall voltage, and their evolutions with pressure in the A17 phase imply a continuous enlargement of Fermi surface. A significantly large magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures is observed in the A7 phase that becomes superconducting below a superconducting transition temperature Tc ∼ 6-13 K. Tc increases continuously with pressure on crossing the A7 to the cubic phase boundary. The strong MR effect can be fit by a modified Kohler's rule. A correlation between Tc and fitting parameters suggests that phonon-mediated interactions play dominant roles in driving the Cooper pairing, which is further supported by our density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The change of effective carrier mobility in the A17 phase under pressure derived from the MR effect is consistent with that obtained from the temperature dependence of the quantum oscillations. In situ single-crystal diffraction under high pressure indicates a total structural reconstruction instead of simple stretching of the A17 phase layers in the A17-to-A7-phase transition. This finding helps us to interpret transport properties on crossing the phase transition under high pressure.

Dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acid intakes and NAFLD: A cross-sectional study in the United States.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: PUFAs play critical roles in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study examined the associations between dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intake and NAFLD risk in a US population. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2014 was used in this cross-sectional study. Data on dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFAs were extracted through two 24-h dietary recall interviews, and the dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes were adjusted by weight. NAFLD was defined based on the US fatty liver index (FLI) value ≥30. Multivariable logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline models were applied to investigate the associations between dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes and NAFLD risk. RESULTS: Dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes were inversely associated with NAFLD risk. The multivariable-adjusted OR (95% CI) of NAFLD for the highest versus lowest quartile of dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes was 0.24 (0.17-0.35) and 0.18 (0.13-0.26), respectively. In stratified analyses by sex and age, the negative associations between dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes and NAFLD risk were significant in men, women, and individuals younger and older than 45 years. Dose-response analyses indicated that NAFLD risk was associated with dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes in a nonlinear manner. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA intakes were inversely associated with NAFLD risk in US adults.

Identification of key genes and pathways in type 2 diabetes mellitus and vitamin C metabolism through bioinformatics analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major global public health problem. Vitamin C (VC) can improve metabolic dysfunctions associated with T2DM. To establish an association between T2DM and VC metabolism, it is necessary to investigate the biological mechanisms of T2DM and VC. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the underlying pathways and co-expression networks in T2DM and VC using bioinformatics analysis. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Data on 15 microarrays about T2DM were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and analyzed for genes using the GEO2R online tool. VC- metabolism associated genes were obtained from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) about T2DM and VC metabolism were identified using the jvenn online software. GO annotation and KEGG pathways for DEGs were enriched using DAVID. STRING and Cytoscape were used to construct PPI network and to predict the interaction relationships between T2DM-associated and VC- metabolism associated DEGs. RESULTS: We identified 160 DEGs about T2DM and VC from the GEO and CTD. GO, KEGG and PPI network analysis suggested that DEGs might participate in crucial biological processes and pathways, such as negative regulation of apoptotic process, removal of superoxide radicals, and PERK-mediated unfolded protein response, insulin resistance, the TNF signaling pathway, and the FoxO signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: These findings could significantly improve the understanding of the mechanisms underlying impact of VC on T2DM. However, further research is needed to validate our findings.

Interferon-Induced Transmembrane Protein 3 Genetic Variant rs12252-C Associated With Disease Severity in Coronavirus Disease 2019.

A major unanswered question in the current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is why severe disease develops in a small minority of infected individuals. In the current article, we report that homozygosity for the C allele of rs12252 in the interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) gene is associated with more severe disease in an age-dependent manner. This supports a role for IFITM3 in disease pathogenesis and the opportunity for early targeted intervention in at-risk individuals.

A hierarchical testing approach for detecting safety signals in clinical trials.

Detecting safety signals in clinical trial safety data is known to be challenging due to high dimensionality, rare occurrence, weak signal, and complex dependence. We propose a new hierarchical testing approach for analyzing safety data from a typical randomized clinical trial. This approach accounts for the hierarchical structure of adverse events (AEs), that is, AEs are categorized by system organ class (SOC). Our approach contains two steps: the first step tests, for each SOC, whether any AEs within this SOC are differently distributed between treatment arms; and the second step identifies signal AEs from SOCs passing the first step tests. We show the superiority, in terms of power of detecting safety signals given controlled false discovery rate, of the new approach comparing with currently available approaches through simulation studies. We also demonstrate this approach with two real data examples.

Associations between anthropometric parameters (body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio) and newly diagnosed hyperuricemia in adults in Qingdao, China: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between anthropometric parameter of obesity and newly diagnosed hyperuricemia (HUA) in a general Chinese population. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A population- based cross-sectional survey included 9 615 participants (3777 men and 5838 women) aged 35-74 years in 2006 and 2009 in Qingdao, China. The multivariate linear regression was used to assess the linear associations between anthropometric parameter of obesity [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)] and serum uric acid. The logistic regression model was performed to estimate the associations between BMI, WC, WHR and newly diagnosed HUA. RESULTS: The prevalence of newly diagnosed HUA was higher in men than in women (19.46% vs 11.34%, p<0.05). Multivariate liner regression showed that BMI, WC and WHR were positively correlated with serum uric acid. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that being overweight [men, odds ratios (OR): 1.69, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 1.37-2.08; women, OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.34-2.09] and obese (men, OR: 3.01, 95% CI: 2.38-3.79; women, OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 2.31-3.67) were significantly associated with a higher risk of newly diagnosed HUA. Abdominal obesity (WC: men, OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.88-2.73; women, OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.61-2.39; WHR: men, OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.61-2.26; women, OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.16-1.67) were associated with an increased risk of newly diagnosed HUA. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that BMI, WC and WHR were positively correlated with serum uric acid in both genders. Meanwhile, overweight, obese and abdominal obesity were associated with increased risk of newly diagnosed HUA.