R-loop and diseases: the cell cycle matters.

The cell cycle is a crucial biological process that is involved in cell growth, development, and reproduction. It can be divided into G1, S, G2, and M phases, and each period is closely regulated to ensure the production of two similar daughter cells with the same genetic material. However, many obstacles influence the cell cycle, including the R-loop that is formed throughout this process. R-loop is a triple-stranded structure, composed of an RNA: DNA hybrid and a single DNA strand, which is ubiquitous in organisms from bacteria to mammals. The existence of the R-loop has important significance for the regulation of various physiological processes. However, aberrant accumulation of R-loop due to its limited resolving ability will be detrimental for cells. For example, DNA damage and genomic instability, caused by the R-loop, can activate checkpoints in the cell cycle, which in turn induce cell cycle arrest and cell death. At present, a growing number of factors have been proven to prevent or eliminate the accumulation of R-loop thereby avoiding DNA damage and mutations. Therefore, we need to gain detailed insight into the R-loop resolution factors at different stages of the cell cycle. In this review, we review the current knowledge of factors that play a role in resolving the R-loop at different stages of the cell cycle, as well as how mutations of these factors lead to the onset and progression of diseases.

Bone-Targeted Biomimetic Nanogels Re-Establish Osteoblast/Osteoclast Balance to Treat Postmenopausal Osteoporosis.

Insufficient bone formation and excessive bone resorption caused by estrogen deficiency are the major factors resulting in the incidence of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). The existing drugs usually fail to re-establish the osteoblast/osteoclast balance from both sides and generate side-effects owing to the lack of bone-targeting ability. Here, engineered cell-membrane-coated nanogels PNG@mR&C capable of scavenging receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and responsively releasing therapeutic PTH 1-34 in the bone microenvironment are prepared from RANK and CXCR4 overexpressed bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) membrane-coated chitosan biopolymers. The CXCR4 on the coated-membranes confer bone-targeting ability, and abundant RANK effectively absorb RANKL to inhibit osteoclastogenesis. Meanwhile, the release of PTH 1-34 triggered by osteoclast-mediated acid microenvironment promote osteogenesis. In addition, the dose and frequency are greatly reduced due to the smart release property, prolonged circulation time, and bone-specific accumulation. Thus, PNG@mR&C exhibits satisfactory therapeutic effects in the ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model. This study provides a new paradigm re-establishing the bone metabolic homeostasis from multitargets and shows great promise for the treatment of PMOP.

Fast and Robust Infrared Small Target Detection Using Weighted Local Difference Variance Measure.

Infrared (IR) small-target-detection performance restricts the development of infrared search and track (IRST) systems. Existing detection methods easily lead to missed detection and false alarms under complex backgrounds and interference, and only focus on the target position while ignoring the target shape features, which cannot further identify the category of IR targets. To address these issues and guarantee a certain runtime, a weighted local difference variance measure (WLDVM) algorithm is proposed. First, Gaussian filtering is used to preprocess the image by using the idea of a matched filter to purposefully enhance the target and suppress noise. Then, the target area is divided into a new tri-layer filtering window according to the distribution characteristics of the target area, and a window intensity level (WIL) is proposed to represent the complexity level of each layer of windows. Secondly, a local difference variance measure (LDVM) is proposed, which can eliminate the high-brightness background through the difference-form, and further use the local variance to make the target area appear brighter. The background estimation is then adopted to calculate the weighting function to determine the shape of the real small target. Finally, a simple adaptive threshold is used after obtaining the WLDVM saliency map (SM) to capture the true target. Experiments on nine groups of IR small-target datasets with complex backgrounds illustrate that the proposed method can effectively solve the above problems, and its detection performance is better than seven classic and widely used methods.

Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Representations Learning via Contrastive Learning with Condense Attention Fusion.

Multimodal sentiment analysis has gained popularity as a research field for its ability to predict users' emotional tendencies more comprehensively. The data fusion module is a critical component of multimodal sentiment analysis, as it allows for integrating information from multiple modalities. However, it is challenging to combine modalities and remove redundant information effectively. In our research, we address these challenges by proposing a multimodal sentiment analysis model based on supervised contrastive learning, which leads to more effective data representation and richer multimodal features. Specifically, we introduce the MLFC module, which utilizes a convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer to solve the redundancy problem of each modal feature and reduce irrelevant information. Moreover, our model employs supervised contrastive learning to enhance its ability to learn standard sentiment features from data. We evaluate our model on three widely-used datasets, namely MVSA-single, MVSA-multiple, and HFM, demonstrating that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art model. Finally, we conduct ablation experiments to validate the efficacy of our proposed method.

Impact of the Time-Weighted Average Glucose Concentration and Diabetes on In-Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients Older Than 75 Years: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of diabetes and hyperglycemia on in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients older than 75 years. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients older than 75 years in the first intensive care unit stay. The patients were divided into the following 4 groups: time-weighted average glucose (TWAG) <140 mg/dL without diabetes (group 1), TWAG ≥140 mg/dL without diabetes (group 2), TWAG <180 mg/dL with diabetes (group 3), and TWAG ≥180 mg/dL with diabetes (group 4). Clinical and laboratory data were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 6760 patients over 75 years of age were included, including 2089 patients previously diagnosed with diabetes. The patients in group 2 had the highest in-hospital mortality (27.4%). In the fully adjusted regression model, the risk of in-hospital mortality increased by 76% (odds ratio = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.49-2.08) in group 2 as compared with group 1. Those from groups 3 and 4 exhibited risks equivalent to the risks of those in group 1; similar results were observed in the subgroup analysis. A J-shaped curve relationship and threshold effect were observed in patients without diabetes. For those with diabetes, a flatter curve pattern with a small slope was observed. CONCLUSION: Stress hyperglycemia was more detrimental to short-term prognosis than diabetes status in these patients. Looser glucose control may be suitable for patients older than 75 years with diabetes but unnecessary for those without diabetes. Patients with diabetes may be more resistant to the detrimental effects of glucose variations.

A Novel Fluorescent Probe for Hydrogen Peroxide and Its Application in Bio-Imaging.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) plays an important role in the human body and monitoring its level is meaningful due to the relationship between its level and diseases. A fluorescent sensor (CMB) based on coumarin was designed and its ability for detecting hydrogen peroxide by fluorescence signals was also studied. The CMB showed an approximate 25-fold fluorescence enhancement after adding H2O2 due to the interaction between the CMB and H2O2 and had the potential for detecting physiological H2O2. It also showed good biocompatibility and permeability, allowing it to penetrate cell membranes and zebrafish tissues, thus it can perform fluorescence imaging of H2O2 in living cells and zebrafish. This probe is a promising tool for monitoring the level of H2O2 in related physiological and pathological research.

Link between community-acquired pneumonia and vitamin D levels in older patients.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH)D] and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in elderly patients. METHODS: A total of 163 older patients were chosen from those hospitalized between October 2011 and October 2012. Patients were divided into pneumonia and non-pneumonia groups, and the concentrations of 25-(OH)D (nmol/L) in serum were measured. Clinical data were then compared between the two groups and pneumonia-related risk factors were analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Among the 163 older hospitalized patients, 49 suffered from pneumonia. Levels of 25-(OH)D, total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were lower (P < 0.05) in the pneumonia group, while severe vitamin D (VitD) deficiency was higher in the pneumonia group (71.4 vs. 19.3%; P < 0.0001). Age and number of hospitalization days were higher in the pneumonia group (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that age and VitD levels were independent risk factors for pneumonia. No significant difference was observed in terms of gender, onset season, body mass index, or smoking and drinking history between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The older patients with CAP had a severe VitD deficiency, indicating that low levels of VitD might play an important role in the occurrence and development of CAP.

Diagnostic performance of neck circumference to identify overweight and obesity as defined by body mass index in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The neck circumference (NC) has been shown to be an accurate index for screening overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. AIM: To perform a meta-analysis to assess the performance of NC for the assessment of overweight and obesity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data sources were PubMed and EMBASE up to March 2016. Studies providing measures of diagnostic performance of NC and using body mass index as reference standard were included. RESULTS: Six eligible studies that evaluated 11 214 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years were included in the meta-analysis. NC showed pooled sensitivity to detect high body mass index of 0.780 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.765-0.794), specificity of 0.746 (95% CI = 0.736-0.756) and a diagnostic odds ratio of 17.343 (95% CI = 8.743-34.405). CONCLUSIONS: The NC had moderate diagnostic accuracy for identifying overweight and obesity in children and adolescents.

The performance of modified blood pressure-to-height ratio as a screening measure for identifying children with hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the accuracy of modified blood pressure-to-height ratio (MBPHR) for identifying hypertension in Han children aged 7-12 years. METHODS: In 2011, anthropometric measurements were assessed in a cross-sectional population-based study of 1352 Han children aged 7-12 years. Elevated blood pressure was defined according to the 2004 National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group definition (as gold standard). The following equations for MBPHR were used: modified systolic blood pressure to height ratio(MSBPHR) = SBP(mmHg)/(height(cm) + 7 × (13 - age(years))), modified diastolic blood pressure to height ratio (MDBPHR) = DBP(mmHg)/(height(cm) + 7 × (13 - age(years))). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to assess the accuracy of MSBPHR and MDBPHR as diagnostic tests for elevated SBP and DBP, respectively. RESULTS: The accuracy of MSBPHR and MDBPHR (assessed by area under the curve) for identifying elevated SBP and DBP were over 0.85 (0.953-1.000). When elevated blood pressure was defined by MBPHR (age-dependent cut-off point), the sensitivities were 99.1% in boys and 97.0% in girls and the specificities were 89.0% in boys and 92.3% in girls. When elevated blood pressure was defined by MBPHR (non-age-dependent cut-off point), the sensitivities were 96.4% in boys and 99.2% in girls and the specificities were 81.2% in boys and 75.5% in girls. CONCLUSIONS: MBPHR is an accurate index for screening hypertension in children, but is not superior to BPHR. Compared with age-dependent BPHR cutoff points, non-age-dependent MBPHR cut-off point is simple but increase the proportion of reexamination.

Acute bilateral uveitis and right macular edema induced by a single infusion of zoledronic acid for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis as a substitution for oral alendronate: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Zoledronic acid-induced uveitis (ZAIU) is rare but severe, and has been recently considered part of an acute phase reaction. Only 15 cases have been reported since 2005. Here we describe a case with macular edema, which is the first reported case observed after long-term alendronate tolerance. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old Asian woman received her first intravenous zoledronic acid treatment for the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis as a more convenient substitute for oral alendronate. Twenty-four hours later, bilateral eye irritations, periorbital swelling, blurred vision, and diplopia presented. The complete blood count and transaminase levels were normal, but the erythrocytic sedimentation, C-reactive protein, and serum C4 levels were elevated. On detailed ophthalmological examination, a diagnosis of bilateral acute uveitis and macular edema in the right eye was made. The ocular symptoms were not improved until administration of topical and oral steroids. Complete resolution was achieved. There was no rechallenge of bisphosphonates, and no recurrence at 6 months follow-up. Based on an extensive review, abnormal fundus is rarely reported, especially in cases of macular edema. Rechallenge with zoledronic acid in five cases induced no additional uveitis, and changing the medication to pamidronate in another patient was also tolerated. Interestingly, our patient suffered from uveitis soon after intravenous zoledronate exposure after a two-year tolerance to oral alendronate. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of zoledronic acid induced uveitis with macular edema after long-term alendronate tolerance. Prior oral alendronate may not entirely prevent ZAIU. Steroids are usually necessary in the treatment of ZAIU. Bisphosphonate rechallenge is not fully contraindicated, and prior steroid administration may be a more reasonable treatment choice according to the available evidence.

Hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio phenotype: association with atherogenic lipid profile in Han adolescents.

Hypertriglyceridemic waist (HW) phenotype was associated with an atherogenic lipid profile in adolescents. But unlike adults, the cutoffs of waist circumference are age- and gender-specific standards and are less feasible for non-professional use. The present study tested the hypothesis that simple variables, such as waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and serum triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations, could be used as screening tools for the identification of adolescents characterized by atherogenic lipid profile. In 2006, anthropometric and biochemical measurements were assessed in a cross-sectional population-based study of 3136 Han adolescents, aged 13-17 years. The hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio (HWHtR) phenotype was defined as serum TG concentrations ≥1.47 mmol/L and WHtR ≥0.48 for boys and ≥0.46 for girls. Hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol ≥5.18 mmol/L), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C ≥3.37 mmol/L), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C <1.03 mmol/L), and high non-HDL-C (≥3.76 mmol/L) were considered as atherogenic lipid profiles. After control for age and sex, adolescents with the HWHtR phenotype were more likely to have hypercholesterolemia (odds ratio (OR) = 7.8, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 3.5-17.3, P < 0.001), high LDL-C (OR = 9.4, 95 % CI = 2.8-31.2, P < 0.001), low HDL-C (OR = 10.8, 95 % CI = 6.9-17.0, P < 0.001), and high non-HDL-C (OR = 22.9, 95 % CI = 10.0-52.2, P < 0.001) than those adolescents with normal WHtR and normal serum TG concentrations. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that HWHtR phenotype is a simple marker for identifying adolescents with atherogenic lipid profile. Compared with HW phenotype, HWHtR phenotype is a non-age-dependent index with higher applicability to screen for cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents. WHAT IS KNOWN: • The hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype is represented by the simultaneous presence of elevated serum triacylglycerol and increased waist circumference. Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype can identify adolescents with metabolic syndrome. But the cutoffs of waist circumference are age- and gender-specific standards and are less feasible for non-professional use. WHAT IS NEW: • The present study demonstrates that hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio phenotype is a simple marker for identifying adolescents with atherogenic lipid profile. Compared with hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype, hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio phenotype is a non-age-dependent index with higher applicability to screen for cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents.

Dietary Zinc Intakes Are Associated With Skeletal Muscle Mass and Strength in Children and Adolescents: Zinc and Muscle in Children.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dietary zinc intakes and skeletal muscle mass and strength in children and adolescents. A retrospective study was conducted using data on United States adolescents aged 8 to 19 years. Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014 cycles. Subjects were divided into 3 groups based on the tertiles of dietary zinc intakes. The levels of appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by weight (ASM/Wt, %) and grip in subjects with the highest tertile were higher than those in subjects with the middle and lowest tertiles (P < .05). Dietary zinc intakes were positively correlated with ASM/Wt (r = .221, P < .001) and grip (r = 0.169, P < .001). After a multivariate analysis, dietary zinc intakes were still significantly associated with ASM/Wt (ß = 0.059, P < .001) and grip (ß = 0.245, P < .001). The present study demonstrates that dietary zinc intakes were positively associated with skeletal muscle mass and strength in children and adolescents.

Assessment in location of sciatic nerve between the ischial tuberosity and the greater trochanter of the femur: A cadaveric study.

Background: The location description of the sciatic nerve (SN) of adult between the ischial tuberosity (IT) and the greater trochanter of the femur (GT) is inconsistent in publications, this impels us to investigate and measure the distance relationship with SN between IT and GT. Methods: Thirty-one adult cadavers were dissected to investigate the distance relationship of SN with the posterior prominent position of the ischial tuberosity (ppIT), the medial edge of IT (mIT) and the lateral prominent position of GT (lGT). Results: SN passed through the point of the junction of medial one-third and middle one-third of a length from ppIT to lGT, and the midpoint of a length from mIT to lGT from the average data of the total studied cadavers. From average data of female and male, the left SN passed through the point of the junction of the medial two-fifths and the lateral three-fifths of the length between mIT and lGT. Between ppIT and lGT, SN located in a range of proportions from 0.1 to 0.6 from medial to lateral. Between mIT and lGT, SN located in a range of proportions from 0.2 to 0.7 from medial to lateral and all SN passed through the middle third of the length. Conclusions: Different bony landmarks draw different location descriptions of anatomic structure. In anatomic study and clinical practice, the utilized bony landmark should be clearly and accurately identified the reference point, inaccurate bony landmark can result in erroneous localization of the interested anatomic structure and lead to operation failure or iatrogenic injury.

Use of bone landmarks for assessing the safety of acupuncture on the posterior midline of the neck region.

OBJECTIVE: Many acupuncture acupoints are located on the posterior midline of the neck region. The needling depth for acupuncture is important for practitioners, and an unsafe needling depth increases the possibility of damage to the spinal cord and brainstem. Can the safety of acupuncture be assessed by examining bone structures? We focused on this aim to carry out this study. METHODS: The shortest distance from the posterior border of the foramen magnum to the line joining both upper ends of the posterior border of the mastoid process was measured on 29 skulls. Distances from the posterior border of the vertebral foramen to the tip of the spinous process and posterior tubercle of the atlas were measured and evaluated from 197 dry cervical vertebrae and 31 lateral cervical radiographs of patient subjects. The anatomic relationships of the vertebral canal with the external occipital protuberance, tip of the spinous process of the axis, tip of the posterior tubercle of the atlas, and upper end of the posterior border of the mastoid process were observed and evaluated via lateral cervical radiography. RESULTS: The shortest distance from the foramen magnum to the line between the mastoid processes was 4.65±1.75 mm, and the distance from the superior border of the vertebral foramen of the atlas to the posterior tubercle was less than the distance from the inferior border. The distance from the superior border of the vertebral canal to the tip of the spinous process in C2-C7 was greater than the distance from the inferior border. The mean lengths of the superior border of the C2 spinous process and the inferior border of the C7 spinous process were greater than 21 mm and 31 mm, respectively. The line from the upper end of the posterior border of the mastoid process to the tip of the C2 spinous process or 10 mm deep to the tip of the C2 spinous process was posterior to the vertebral canal. CONCLUSIONS: On the posterior midline of the neck region between the tip of spinous process of axis and external occipital protuberance, if the needle reaches the depth of the line between the upper end of posterior border of mastoid process and the tip of the spinous process of the axis, approximately 10 mm along the spinous process of the axis, the needle is in the safe region. The mean length of the C2-C7 spinous process is suitable to accommodate the needling depth of the adjacent acupoint. Bone structures can be used to effectively assess the safety of acupuncture on the posterior midline of the neck region.

Blood pressure-to-height ratio as a screening measure for identifying children with hypertension.

The present study evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of the blood pressure-to-height ratio (BPHR) and proposed the optimal thresholds of BPHR for identifying hypertension in Han children aged 7-12 years. In 2011, anthropometric measurements were assessed in a cross-sectional population-based study of 1,352 Han children aged 7-12 years. Hypertension was defined according to the 2004 National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group definition (as gold standard). The following equations for BPHR were used: systolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (SBPHR) = SBP (mmHg)/height (cm) and diastolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (DBPHR) = DBP (mmHg)/height (cm). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to assess the accuracy of SBPHR and DBPHR as diagnostic tests for elevated SBP and DBP, respectively. After the cutoff points were determined, hypertension was defined by SBPHR/DBPHR (new standard), and the sensitivity and specificity were calculated. The accuracy of SBPHR and DBPHR (assessed by area under the curve) for identifying elevated SBP and DBP was over 0.85 (0.946-1.000). SBPHR cutoff values for elevated SBP were calculated to be 0.76-0.88 mmHg/cm in boys and 0.78-0.90 mmHg/cm in girls. DBPHR cutoff values for elevated DBP were calculated to be 0.51-0.60 mmHg/cm in boys and 0.51-0.58 mmHg/cm in girls. When hypertension was defined by BPHR, the sensitivities were 100 % in boys and 95.0 % in girls. The specificity was 94.3 % in boys and 96.8 % in girls. BPHR is a simple, inexpensive, and accurate index for screening hypertension in Han children.

Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype, hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio phenotype and abnormal glucose metabolism in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HW) phenotype,hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio (HWHtR) phenotype and abnormal glucose metabolism in adolescents. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted on 2626 adolescents aged 12-19 years in United States. Abnormal glucose metabolism was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 5.6 mmol/L or oral glucose tolerance test 2-h plasma glucose ≥ 7.8 mmol/L or glycohemoglobin A1c ≥ 5.7% or a previous diagnosis of diabetes. The HW phenotype was defined as triglyceride(TG) concentrations ≥ 1.47 mmol/L and waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90th percentile. The HWHtR phenotype was defined as TG concentrations ≥ 1.47 mmol/L and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) ≥ 0.5. RESULTS: 621(23.6%) adolescents had abnormal glucose metabolism. The prevalences of abnormal glucose metabolism were 22.7% and 40.6% in adolescents without and with HW phenotype. The prevalences of abnormal glucose metabolism were 22.4% and 38.6% in adolescents without and with HWHtR phenotype. Adolescents with HWHtR phenotype were more likely to have abnormal glucose metabolism (OR = 1.548, P = 0.010). The levels of homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance and ß cell fuction index were higher in adolescents with HWHtR phenotype than in adolescents without HWHtR phenotype (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that HWHtR phenotype was closely associated with an increased risk of abnormal glucose metabolism in adolescents. Adolescents with HWHtR phenotype had worsen insulin resistance and increased insulin secretion as a result of compensation. IMPACT STATEMENT: The study provided a simple method, HWHtR phenotype, for evaluating the status of glucose metabolism in adolescents.

Relationship Between Hypertriglyceridemic Waist Phenotype and Disposition Index in Chinese Men With Normal Glucose Tolerance.

The relationship between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype, insulin sensitivity, and pancreatic ß-cell function remains still unclear in subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). The objective is to detect whether the disposition index (DI) could be used as a predictive indicator of insulin sensitivity and pancreatic ß-cell function in men with HTGW phenotype and NGT. A total of 180 men without diabetes were recruited in this study and underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to calculate DI based on the OGTT. Subjects were put into Group A (normal waist circumference [WC] and triglyceride [TG] concentrations), B (enlarged WC or elevated TG concentrations), and C (HTGW phenotype, both enlarged WC and elevated TG concentrations) (n = 60 for each group) according to WC and TG concentrations. The OGTT plasma glucose concentrations at 0.5 and 1 hr for patients in Groups B and C were higher than those in Group A (both p < .05). Group C patients had significantly lower 1/[fasting insulin] values and DI than those in Group A (p < .05), and the 1/[fasting insulin] values in Group C were significantly lower than those in Group B (p < .05). DI correlated positively with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < .05), which was independently associated with WC (p = .002) and TG (p = .009). The HTGW phenotype is associated with decreased DI among men with NGT, indicating decreased DI is a strong predictor of future impaired glucose tolerance, which can provide guidance and reference for screening patients with potential impaired glucose tolerance in Chinese community population.

Height-Corrected Definition of Metabolic Syndrome Is a Simple and Effective Method for Identifying Insulin Resistance and Low-Grade Inflammation in Adolescents: Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the height-corrected definition of metabolic syndrome(MetS) in adolescents. A retrospective study was conducted on US adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Waist-to-height ratio and blood pressure-to-height ratio were substituted for waist circumference and blood pressure when defining MetS in adolescents. The proportions of insulin resistance of adolescents with 1 (30.1%), 2 (50.7%), and ≥3 components (77.8%) of MetS were 2.578 (P < .001), 6.882 (P < .001), and 23.992 (P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (14.2%). The proportions of low-grade inflammation of adolescents with 1 (3.4%), 2 (5.3%), and ≥3 components (14.4%) of MetS were 2.050 (P = .106), 3.699 (P = .005), and 10.664 (P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (1.7%). This study demonstrates that height-corrected definition of MetS is a simple and accurate method for identifying insulin resistance and low-grade inflammation in adolescents.

Anisotropic Bi-Layer Hydrogel Actuator with pH-Responsive Color-Changing and Photothermal-Responsive Shape-Changing Bi-Functional Synergy.

Stimuli-responsive color-changing and shape-changing hydrogels are promising intelligent materials for visual detections and bio-inspired actuations, respectively. However, it is still an early stage to integrate the color-changing performance and shape-changing performance together to provide bi-functional synergistic biomimetic devices, which are difficult to design but will greatly expand further applications of intelligent hydrogels. Herein, we present an anisotropic bi-layer hydrogel by combining a pH-responsive rhodamine-B (RhB)-functionalized fluorescent hydrogel layer and a photothermal-responsive shape-changing melanin-added poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel layer with fluorescent color-changing and shape-changing bi-functional synergy. This bi-layer hydrogel can obtain fast and complex actuations under irradiation with 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) light due to both the melanin-composited PNIPAM hydrogel with high efficiency of photothermal conversion and the anisotropic structure of this bi-hydrogel. Furthermore, the RhB-functionalized fluorescent hydrogel layer can provide rapid pH-responsive fluorescent color change, which can be integrated with NIR-responsive shape change to achieve bi-functional synergy. As a result, this bi-layer hydrogel can be designed using various biomimetic devices, which can show the actuating process in the dark for real-time tracking and even mimetic starfish to synchronously change both the color and shape. This work provides a new bi-layer hydrogel biomimetic actuator with color-changing and shape-changing bi-functional synergy, which will inspire new strategies for other intelligent composite materials and high-level biomimetic devices.

The relationship between obesity and bone mineral density in children and adolescents: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Childhood and puberty are important period for the skeleton grows. Fat mass, especially visceral adipose tissue, was negatively correlated with areal bone mineral density in children and adolescents. The present study suggests that fat mass, especially visceral adipose tissue, has a slightly negative association with bone development in children and adolescents. PURPOSE: This study observed the relationship between fat mass and distribution, and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) in children and adolescents. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on US children and adolescents aged 8-19 years. Whole body (less head) aBMD was evaluated. Height (Ht) adjusted Z-scores for aBMD were calculated. RESULTS: After controlling for age, gender, race, and lean body mass index (LBMI) Z-score, there were significant negative associations between fat mass index (FMI) Z-score and aBMD Ht-Z-adjusted Z-score (ß = - 0.272, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.033). In the linear regression models with aBMD Ht-Z-adjusted Z-score as the dependent variable, the regression coefficients of android fat mass were - 0.241 (P < 0.05, R2 = 0.002), - 0.473 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.036), and - 0.474 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.038) for healthy weight, overweight, and obesity group, respectively. The regression coefficients of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass were - 0.218 (P > 0.05, R2 = 0.001), - 2.025 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.044), and - 1.826 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.039), and the regression coefficients of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) mass were - 0.467 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.004), - 0.339 (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.024), and - 0.347 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.018) for healthy weight, overweight, and obesity group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that fat mass has a slightly negative association with bone development in children and adolescents. Trunk fat accumulation, especially visceral adipose tissue, was correlated with the lower level of aBMD. This association was obvious in overweight and obese children.