Composition of breast milk from mothers of premature and full-term infants and its influence in Z-Scores for infant physical growth.

BACKGROUND: Breast milk contains various crucial nutrients and biologically active substances and is ideal for newborns. This study aimed to analyze the composition of breast milk from mothers of premature and full-term infants and its influences on the growth of infants. METHODS: Infant-mother dyads examined at our Hospital (March 2016 to May 2017) were included. Milk was collected at 0-1 month, 2-3 months, and 5-6 months and analyzed using a MIRIS human milk analyzer. Z-scores of weight-for-length (WLZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and length-for-age (LAZ) were calculated. RESULTS: This study included full-term (> 37 weeks of gestation, n = 177) and premature (< 37 weeks, n = 94) infant-mother dyads. The premature infants showed higher ΔWAZ, ΔLAZ, and ΔWLZ from infancy to toddlerhood for the physical growth speed, compared with term infants (P < 0.001). All proteins and true protein components of breast milk decreased with infants' age (P < 0.001). For premature and full-term infants, differences in ΔWAZ and ΔLAZ from birth to infancy and the difference in ΔLAZ, WAZ, and LAZ in toddlerhood were positively associated with non-protein nitrogen (NPN) (all P < 0.05), while the Z-score differences in ΔWLZ from birth to infancy were negatively associated with NPN (all P < 0.05). For premature babies, from birth to infancy stage, ΔWAZ was positively correlated with NPN and carbohydrates while negatively correlated with dry matter (all P < 0.05), and ΔLAZ correlated with NPN (ß = 0.428, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding helped premature infants compensatory growth when compared to term infants. Whileduring early infancy stage ΔWLZ gain was negatively associated with increased amounts of NPN in breast milk. This might mean although NPN increase the Z-scores of weight-for-age and length-for-age, with no rise in adipose tissue mass.

Development of a Prognostic App (iCanPredict) to Predict Survival for Chinese Women With Breast Cancer: Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate prediction of survival is crucial for both physicians and women with breast cancer to enable clinical decision making on appropriate treatments. The currently available survival prediction tools were developed based on demographic and clinical data obtained from specific populations and may underestimate or overestimate the survival of women with breast cancer in China. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop and validate a prognostic app to predict the overall survival of women with breast cancer in China. METHODS: Nine-year (January 2009-December 2017) clinical data of women with breast cancer who received surgery and adjuvant therapy from 2 hospitals in Xiamen were collected and matched against the death data from the Xiamen Center of Disease Control and Prevention. All samples were randomly divided (7:3 ratio) into a training set for model construction and a test set for model external validation. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to construct a survival prediction model. The model performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Brier score. Finally, by running the survival prediction model in the app background thread, the prognostic app, called iCanPredict, was developed for women with breast cancer in China. RESULTS: A total of 1592 samples were included for data analysis. The training set comprised 1114 individuals and the test set comprised 478 individuals. Age at diagnosis, clinical stage, molecular classification, operative type, axillary lymph node dissection, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy were incorporated into the model, where age at diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] 1.031, 95% CI 1.011-1.051; P=.002), clinical stage (HR 3.044, 95% CI 2.347-3.928; P<.001), and endocrine therapy (HR 0.592, 95% CI 0.384-0.914; P=.02) significantly influenced the survival of women with breast cancer. The operative type (P=.81) and the other 4 variables (molecular classification [P=.91], breast reconstruction [P=.36], axillary lymph node dissection [P=.32], and chemotherapy [P=.84]) were not significant. The ROC curve of the training set showed that the model exhibited good discrimination for predicting 1- (area under the curve [AUC] 0.802, 95% CI 0.713-0.892), 5- (AUC 0.813, 95% CI 0.760-0.865), and 10-year (AUC 0.740, 95% CI 0.672-0.808) overall survival. The Brier scores at 1, 5, and 10 years after diagnosis were 0.005, 0.055, and 0.103 in the training set, respectively, and were less than 0.25, indicating good predictive ability. The test set externally validated model discrimination and calibration. In the iCanPredict app, when physicians or women input women's clinical information and their choice of surgery and adjuvant therapy, the corresponding 10-year survival prediction will be presented. CONCLUSIONS: This survival prediction model provided good model discrimination and calibration. iCanPredict is the first tool of its kind in China to provide survival predictions to women with breast cancer. iCanPredict will increase women's awareness of the similar survival rate of different surgeries and the importance of adherence to endocrine therapy, ultimately helping women to make informed decisions regarding treatment for breast cancer.

Comparison of morphology and genetic diversity between broodstock and hybrid offspring of oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense based on morphological analysis and SNP markers.

Hybridization is an effective method for the genetic improvement of farmed species. In this study, three broodstock populations (Changjiang, CJ, Dongting, DT, and Dianshan, DS) of oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense were used, and DS was used as the female broodstock. Through three-line hybridization, two hybrid populations were finally obtained. The F3 generation of the broodstock population and the F1 generation of the hybrid population were cultured indoors for 3 months. Through morphological analysis (cluster analysis, discriminant analysis and path analysis) it was found that the hybrid population and the broodstock had some differences, but not enough to reach the subspecies level, and the dominant traits exhibited differentiation and reorganization. This study identified SNP genetic markers, carried out systematic evolution analysis and genetic diversity analysis and found that the nucleotide diversity π and heterozygosity Het of the hybrid population were higher than those of the broodstock. Among broodstocks, the differentiation index (Fst ) of SCD and SDC was smallest (0.055). This research provides some valuable reference for genetic breeding.

Comparison of growth performance and biochemical components between parent and hybrid offspring in the oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense.

Macrobrachium nipponense, as one of the large-yield farmed shrimp, is facing germplasm degradation. Genetic improvement through hybridization is one of the effective methods to solve this problem. In this study, using a three-line hybrid strategy, two-hybrid F1 populations were obtained using three local populations of M. nipponense as parents for crossbreeding. Five populations were then cultured for 3 months. Growth rate performance was measured by the hepatosomatic index, weight gain, body length growth rate and special growth rate. Biochemical components were also assessed. The results showed that the survival rate and growth performance of the hybrid progeny were better than those of the parents. The levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, glycogen and lactic acid of the hybrid population were higher than those of the parents. This was consistent with variation in the activity of four digestive enzymes. Compared with the results of the fatty acid and amino acid analysis, it was found that the contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid and eight essential amino acids in the hybrid populations were significantly higher than those of their parents, and the contents of flavor amino acids were higher. The expression level of molting genes related to the growth of the parent populations was lower than that of the hybrids. These results show that crossbreeding is effective for the genetic improvement of M. nipponense germplasm. Hybrids showed advantages in growth and nutrition and multigenerational breeding will be required to form a stable germplasm.

Assessment of Fallopian Tube Fimbria Patency With 4-Dimensional Hysterosalpingo-Contrast Sonography in Infertile Women.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of 4-dimensional (4D) hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyCoSy) for assessing fallopian tube fimbria patency in infertile women. METHODS: Seventy-seven infertile female patients with obstruction at the tubal fimbria or partial obstruction with pelvic adhesions were included. All of the patients underwent 4D HyCoSy enhanced by dynamic observation after a flush of normal saline and were followed with laparoscopic chromopertubation using methylene blue within 6 months. RESULTS: The overall accordance between 4D HyCoSy and laparoscopic chromopertubation was 92.9%. The sensitivity and specificity of 4D HyCoSy with laparoscopic chromopertubation as a reference standard were 93.8% and 92.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Four-dimensional HyCoSy can be the preferred method for assessment of tubal fimbria patency and pelvic adhesions surrounding the ovaries, with its advantages of accuracy, noninvasiveness, and a good safety profile.

Predictors of body image dissatisfaction among women at different stages of pregnancy:A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the levels and predictors of body image dissatisfaction among women at different stages of pregnancy. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study design. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 863 Chinese pregnant women were recruited from a tertiary hospital via a convenience sampling method. MEASUREMENT AND FINDINGS: Eligible participants completed a demographic questionnaire and self-reported measures of body image dissatisfaction, pregnancy-related anxiety, prenatal depression, and appearance comparison. Results showed no statistical difference in body image dissatisfaction levels among early-mid pregnancy (47.6 ± 6.17), late-mid pregnancy (47.3 ± 7.56), and late pregnancy stages (48.4 ± 6.22). The generalized linear model showed that gestational weight gain, pregnancy-related anxiety, own/family's perception of pregnancy weight, and current ideal weight change were predictors of body image dissatisfaction in the early-mid pregnancy stage. In addition, pre-pregnancy BMI, appearance comparison, own /family's perception of pregnancy weight, current ideal weight change, and overeating during pregnancy significantly predicted body image dissatisfaction in the late-mid pregnancy stage. Predictors of body image dissatisfaction in the late pregnancy stage comprised planned pregnancy, pre-pregnancy eating disorders, own perception of pregnancy weight, current ideal weight change, pregnancy-related anxiety, and prenatal depression. KEY CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: The findings suggest that predictors of body image dissatisfaction differed according to pregnancy stage. Self-perception of pregnancy weight was primary predictor of body image dissatisfaction. Healthcare professionals are recommended to provide prenatal health education to reduce own/family's negative perception of pregnancy weight, so as to alleviate the body image dissatisfaction level of pregnant women.

Preliminary experience on treatment of infantile hemangioma with low-dose propranolol in China.

UNLABELLED: We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of low-dose propranolol for treatment of infantile hemangiomas (IHs) in China. Our prospective study included data from 89 patients with IH, aged 1-12 months. Plasma renin activity, angiotensin II, and aldosterone were measured before initiation of propranolol therapy. Patients were administered propranolol (0.75-1 mg/kg/day) under close observation. The volume, texture, and color of lesions were used to evaluate efficacy. Safety endpoints included heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, thyroid function tests, and fasting blood glucose. Adverse effects were recorded. Mean plasma angiotensin II concentration in patients with IH was higher than that in age-matched healthy children, whereas mean plasma renin activity was lower. Mean aldosterone level was higher at 1-3 months but lower at 4-12 months, than values reported previously. After propranolol therapy for 6 months, IH regression was classed as grade IV in 44 patients (49.4 %), grade III in 21 patients (23.6 %), and grade II in 24 patients (27.0 %); none were grade I. Mild adverse effects, including diarrhea, restless sleep, nausea, cold extremities, and hypoglycemia, occurred in 12 patients (13.5 %). Slight decreases in heart rate and blood pressure occurred in all patients (p < 0.05). The IHs of four patients (4.5 %) relapsed after treatment cessation at 4-5 months. CONCLUSION: Low-dose propranolol is effective and safe for Chinese children with IH, and larger-scale studies are merited. Mechanisms underlying IH pathogenesis, and possible involvement of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, deserve study.

Relationships between screen viewing and sleep quality for infants and toddlers in China: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: Currently young children have more opportunity to access all kinds of media, while their sleep duration has been steadily decreasing. However, little is known about the relationships between screen viewing and sleep quality, and the reasons of screen viewing for children under three years old in China. This study aimed to describe the relationships between screen viewing and sleep quality of infants and toddlers in mainland China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Eight hundred twenty-seven children were recruited at a health care unit from a university affiliated hospital in China, and the questionnaires were completed by their parents. An extended Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire and a Screen Viewing Questionnaire were used to collect information on children's sleep quality and screen viewing. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess the relationships between screen viewing and sleep quality among infants and toddlers, adjusted for sociodemographic variables. Results: Of the 827 children, 26.9% of the infants and 61.4% of the toddlers did not comply with the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline on screen time. Even after adjusting for the sociodemographic covariates for both infants and toddlers, negative relationships between screen time and total sleep time (P < 0.001), and screen time and nighttime sleep (P < 0.001) existed. TV viewing time was negatively related to infants' total sleep time (ß = -0.15, P < 0.001) and toddlers' nighttime sleep (ß = -0.1, P < 0.05). Smartphone viewing time was negatively related to toddlers' total sleep time (ß = -0.12, P < 0.05) and daytime sleep (ß = -0.22, P < 0.05). Parents who offered screen media for children when they needed to do house chores were more likely to report that their children had less total sleep time (ß = -0.1, P < 0.05) and shorter longest sleep episode (ß = -0.1, P < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of toddlers did not meet the WHO guidelines on screen time in China. Screen time was negatively related to total sleep time and nighttime sleep among infants and toddlers. Practical strategies, such as education programs on children's screen viewing, more outdoor exercises and indoor parent-child activities, providing other educational materials instead of screening, early sleep, restricted use of TVs and smartphones, and screen co-viewing, are needed to improve young children's sleep quality and promote their development.

The Experience of Pregnant Women in the Health Management Model of Internet-Based Centering Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study.

Background: CenteringPregnancy Care is a promising group prenatal care innovation that combines assessment, education, and peer support. In China, it is not clear how best to integrate the CenteringPregnancy Care into existing maternal health care models. This qualitative study aimed to explore Chinese pregnant women's experience in the Internet-based CenteringPregnancy management model. Methods: The Internet-based CenteringPregnancy was applied in a tertiary hospital between 2018 and 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Through purposive sampling, a total of 9 pregnant women who had experienced Internet-based CenteringPregnancy were recruited. A semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data, and Colaizzi's 7-step method of phenomenological data analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Results: Three themes were extracted from the participants' interviews, including: 1) empowerment; 2) psychological and social support; 3) challenges of the Internet-based CenteringPregnancy. The Internet-based CenteringPregnancy management model retained advantages of CenteringPregnancy, emphasizing the pregnant woman as the subject of health care and promoting them to participate in health care. Participants believed that they could exchange pregnancy knowledge, help each other, and improve mood both timely and efficiently from the new model. However, it was found that there were challenges in seminar time arrangement, topic selection, and discussion management. Conclusion: The Internet-based CenteringPregnancy management model positively affected pregnant women's empowerment, psychological, and social support. It is recommended to improve the seminar's design in future studies.

Development of an adverse outcome pathway for nanoplastic toxicity in Daphnia pulex using proteomics.

Nanoplastics are a growing environmental and public health concern. However, the toxic mechanisms of nanoplastics are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of spherical polystyrene nanoplastics on reproduction of Daphnia pulex and analyzed the proteome of whole animals followed by molecular and biochemical analyses for the development of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) for these contaminants of emerging concern. Animals were exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/L) via water for 21 days. Nanoplastics negatively impacted cumulative offspring production. A total of 327 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in response to nanoplastics which were further validated from gene expression and enzyme activity data. Based on these results, we propose an AOP for nanoplastics, including radical oxygen species production and oxidative stress as the molecular initiating event (MIE); followed by changes in specific signaling pathways (Jak-STAT, mTOR and FoxO) and in the metabolism of glutathione, protein, lipids, and molting proteins; with an end result of growth inhibition and decrease reproductive output. This study serves as a foundation for the development of a mechanistic understanding of nanoplastic toxicity in crustaceans and perhaps other aquatic organisms.

Effects of nanoplastics on energy metabolism in the oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense).

Nanoplastics are common pollutants in aquatic environments and have attracted widespread research attention. However, few studies focus on the effects of nanoplastic exposure on energy metabolism in crustaceans. Accordingly, we exposed juvenile oriental river prawns (Macrobrachium nipponense) to different concentrations of 75-nm polystyrene nanoplastics (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/L) for 7, 14, 21, or 28 days. Thereafter, the effects of nanoplastic exposure on metabolite content, energy metabolism-related enzyme activity, and gene expression were evaluated. Our results showed that (1) with increasing nanoplastic concentration and exposure time, the survival rate decreased, while weight gain rate and molting number increased and then decreased; glycogen, triglyceride, and total cholesterol content all declined while lactic acid content increased with higher exposure to nanoplastic concentrations; (2) the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), hexokinase (HK), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1, pyruvate kinase (PK), lipase, and fatty acid synthase tended to decrease, while the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increased. In particular, the activity of 6-phosphofructokinase exposed to 5 mg/L nanoplastics increased significantly (P < 0.05). (3) Expression of the metabolism-related genes 6-phosphate glucokinase (G-6-Pase), HK, PK, ACC, Acetyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP), CPT-1, and fatty-acid-binding protein 10 (FABP 10) increased and then decreased, while expression of the LDH gene showed an upward trend. These results indicate that nanoplastics affect growth, enzyme activity, and the gene expression of energy metabolism in M. nipponense, and that high concentrations of nanoplastics have a negative impact on energy metabolism.

Polystyrene nanoplastic induces oxidative stress, immune defense, and glycometabolism change in Daphnia pulex: Application of transcriptome profiling in risk assessment of nanoplastics.

Aquatic environments are generally contaminated with nanoplastic material. As a result, molecular mechanisms for sensitive species like Daphnia are needed, given that mechanistic nanoplastic toxicity is largely unknown. Here, global transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed on D. pulex neonates to quantitatively measure the expression level of transcripts. A total of 208 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in response to nanoplastic exposure for 96 h, with 107 being up-regulated and 101 down-regulated. The gene functions and pathways for oxidative stress, immune defense, and glycometabolism were identified. In this study, D. pulex neonates provide some molecular insights into nanoplastic toxicity. However, more studies on DEGs are needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms that result as a response to nanoplastic toxicity in aquatic organisms.

Effects of reclamation methods and habitats on macrobenthic communities and ecological health in estuarine coastal wetlands.

This study compared the community structure of macrobenthos in bare tidal areas and vegetated regions under two reclamation patterns, fully enclosed and opened reclamation, in Yangtze wetland, China. Compared with fully enclosed reclamation areas, opened reclamation areas had higher water salinity, higher number of species and abundance, and less disturbed habitat health status. Compared with bare tidal areas, vegetated regions were more suitable for the survival of macrobenthos and its habitat health status was more stable. Salinity, pH and larger soil particle diameter were positively associated with macrobenthic diversity, while total nitrogen and total phosphorus were negatively associated. Overall, compared with fully enclosed reclamation and vegetated regions, opened reclamation and bare tidal areas had less negative effects upon macrobenthic community and habitat health. Opened reclamation is preferred for wetland reclamation, and planting indigenous plants and releasing species adapted to fresh water is beneficial to the restoration of macrobenthic communities.

Identification of hub genes correlated with the pathogenesis and prognosis in Pancreatic adenocarcinoma on bioinformatics methods.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PC), is a type of digestive tract cancer with the highest mortality all over the word, and its exact pathogenesis is not clear. Therefore, it is of great significance to search for genes related to PC and elucidate its molecular mechanism. METHODS: We integrated and analyzed 8 microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Comprehensive Database (GEO) and PC patient information from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on standardized annotation information. The overlapped DEGs both in the GEO and TCGA datasets were identified as key genes. Kaplan-Meier comprehensive expression scoring method was conducted to determine whether the key genes are related to the survival rate of PC. The expression of those key genes was analyzed by GEPIA and UALCAN. Lastly, Cox regression model was used to construct a gene prognosis signature. RESULTS: The TSPAN1 gene was identified that might be highly related to the pathogenesis of PC. Further analysis showed high expression of TSPAN1 was closely related to the stage 2, moderately differentiated (intermediate grade), and poorly differentiated (high grade) of PC. Finally, we build a four-gene prognosis signature (AIM2, B3GNT3, MATK and BEND4), which can be applied to predict overall survival (OS) effectively. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed promising genes that may participate in the pathophysiology of PC, and found available biomarkers for PC prognosis prediction, which were significant for researchers to further understand the molecular basis of PC and direct the synthesis medicine of PC.

Two sigma and two mu class genes of glutathione S-transferase in the waterflea Daphnia pulex: Molecular characterization and transcriptional response to nanoplastic exposure.

Two isoforms of Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) genes, belonging to mu (Dp-GSTm1 and Dp-GSTm2) and sigma (Dp-GSTs1 and Dp-GSTs2) classes, were cloned and characterised in the freshwater Daphnia pulex. No signal peptide was found in any of the four GST proteins, indicating that they were cytosolic GST. A highly conserved glutathione (GSH) binding site (G-site) occurred in the N-terminal sequence, and a substrate binding site (H-site), interacting non-specifically with the second hydrophobic substrate, was present in the C-terminal. A Tyr residue, for the stabilization of GSH, was found to be conserved in the analysed sequences. The secondary and tertiary structures indicated that these genes possess the typical cytosolic GST structure, including a conserved N-terminal domain with a ßαßαßßα motif. The µ loop (NVGPAPDYDR and NFIGAEWDR in Dp-GSTm1 and Dp-GSTm2, respectively) was identified between the ßαß (ß1α1ß2) and αßßα motifs (α2ß3ß4α3) in the N-terminal domain. The expressions of Dp-GSTs1, Dp-GSTs2, and Dp-GSTm1 were higher in other age groups compared to the newly-born neonates (1 d); however, the expression of Dp-GSTm2 first increased and then decreased with age. Gene expression was significantly reduced by high concentration (1 and 2 mg/L) of 75 nm polystyrene nanoplastic. However, nanoplastic exposure at the predicted environmental concentration (1 µg/L) had a low effect. Exposure of mothers to nanoplastic (1 µg/L) elevated the Dp-GSTs2 level in their neonates. These results improve our understanding on the response of different types of Daphnid GST to environmental contaminants, especially nanoplastic.