Effects of DASH diet with or without time-restricted eating in the management of stage 1 primary hypertension: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Time-restricted eating (TRE), a popular form of intermittent fasting, has shown benefits for improving metabolic diseases and cardiometabolic health. However, the effect of TRE in the regulation of blood pressure in primary hypertension remains unclear. METHODS: A 6-week randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which a total of 74 stage 1 primary hypertensive patients without high-risk were randomly assigned to Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) group (n = 37) or DASH + TRE group (n = 37). Participants in the DASH + TRE group were instructed to consume their food within an 8-h window. Scientific research platform in We Chat application was used to track participants. The primary outcome was blood pressure. The secondary outcomes included body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, inflammation-related parameters, urinary Na+ excretion, other clinical variables and safety outcomes. RESULTS: The reduction of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were 5.595 ± 4.072 and 5.351 ± 5.643 mm Hg in the DASH group and 8.459 ± 4.260 and 9.459 ± 4.375 mm Hg in the DASH + TRE group. DASH + TRE group improved blood pressure diurnal rhythm. Subjects in DASH + TRE group had decreased extracellular water and increased urinary Na+ excretion. Furthermore, the decrease in blood pressure was associated with a reduction of extracellular water or increase in urinary Na+ excretion. In addition, safety outcomes such as nighttime hunger were also reported. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that 8-h TRE + DASH diet caused a greater decrease in blood pressure in stage 1 primary hypertensive patients than DASH diet. This study may provide novel insights into the benefits of lifestyle modification in the treatment of primary hypertension. TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://www.chictr.org.cn/ (ChiCTR2300069393, registered on March 15, 2023).

Effect of dietary selenium intake on CVD: a retrospective cohort study based on China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the association between dietary Se intake and CVD risk in Chinese adults. DESIGN: This prospective cohort study included adults above 20 years old in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), and they were followed up from 1997 to 2015 (n 16 030). Dietary data were retrieved from CHNS, and a 3-d, 24-h recall of food intake was used to assess the cumulative average intake of dietary Se, which was divided into quartiles. The Cox proportional hazards model was adopted to analyse the association between dietary Se intake and incident CVD risk. SETTING: CHNS (1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015). RESULTS: A total of 663 respondents developed CVD after being followed up for a mean of 9·9 years (median 9 years). The incidence of CVD was 4·3, 3·7, 4·6 and 4·0 per 1000 person-years across the quartiles of cumulative Se intake. After adjusting all potential factors, no significant associations were found between cumulative Se intake and CVD risk. No interactions were found between Se intake and income, urbanisation, sex, region, weight, hypertension and CVD risk. CONCLUSION: We found no association between dietary Se and CVD.

Azonia-Naphthalene: A Cationic Hydrophilic Building Block for Stable N-Type Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors.

Conjugated polymers that can efficiently transport both ionic and electronic charges have broad applications in next-generation optoelectronic, bioelectronic, and energy storage devices. To date, almost all the conjugated polymers have hydrophobic backbones, which impedes efficient ion diffusion/transport in aqueous media. Here, we design and synthesize a novel hydrophilic polymer building block, 4a-azonia-naphthalene (AN), drawing inspiration from biological systems. Because of the strong electron-withdrawing ability of AN, the AN-based polymers show typical n-type charge transport behaviors. We find that cationic aromatics exhibit strong cation-π interactions, leading to smaller π-π stacking distance, interesting ion diffusion behavior, and good morphology stability. Additionally, AN enhances the hydrophilicity and ionic-electronic coupling of the polymer, which can help to improve ion diffusion/injection speed, and operational stability of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). The integration of cationic building blocks will undoubtedly enrich the material library for high-performance n-type conjugated polymers.

A hybrid model for hand-foot-mouth disease prediction based on ARIMA-EEMD-LSTM.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease that poses a serious threat to children all over the world. However, the current prediction models for HFMD still require improvement in accuracy. In this study, we proposed a hybrid model based on autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and long short-term memory (LSTM) to predict the trend of HFMD. METHODS: The data used in this study was sourced from the National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Chongqing, China. The daily reported incidence of HFMD from 1 January 2015 to 27 July 2023 was collected to develop an ARIMA-EEMD-LSTM hybrid model. ARIMA, LSTM, ARIMA-LSTM and EEMD-LSTM models were developed to compare with the proposed hybrid model. Root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and coefficient of determination (R2) were adopted to evaluate the performances of the prediction models. RESULTS: Overall, ARIMA-EEMD-LSTM model achieved the most accurate prediction for HFMD, with RMSE, MAPE and R2 of 4.37, 2.94 and 0.996, respectively. Performing EEMD on the residual sequence yields 11 intrinsic mode functions. EEMD-LSTM model is the second best, with RMSE, MAPE and R2 of 6.20, 3.98 and 0.996. CONCLUSION: Results showed the advantage of ARIMA-EEMD-LSTM model over the ARIMA model, the LSTM model, the ARIMA-LSTM model and the EEMD-LSTM model. For the prevention and control of epidemics, the proposed hybrid model may provide a more powerful help. Compared with other three models, the two integrated with EEMD method showed significant improvement in predictive capability, offering novel insights for modeling of disease time series.

Thrombospondin 2 is a novel biomarker of essential hypertension and associated with nocturnal Na+ excretion and insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND: Thrombospondins (TSPs) play important roles in several cardiovascular diseases. However, the association between circulating (plasma) thrombospondin 2 (TSP2) and essential hypertension remains unclear. The present study was aimed to investigate the association of circulating TSP2 with blood pressure and nocturnal urine Na+ excretion and evaluate the predictive value of circulating TSP2 in subjects with hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: 603 newly diagnosed essential hypertensive subjects and 508 healthy subjects were preliminarily screened, 47 healthy subjects and 40 newly diagnosed essential hypertensive subjects without any chronic diseases were recruited. The results showed that the levels of circulating TSP2 were elevated in essential hypertensive subjects. The levels of TSP2 positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and other clinical parameters, including homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, and serum triglycerides, but negatively associated with nocturnal urine Na+ concentration and excretion and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Results of multiple linear regressions showed that HOMA-IR and nocturnal Na+ excretion were independent factors related to circulating TSP2. Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test displayed linear relationships between TSP2 and SBP (χ2 = 35.737) and DBP (χ2 = 26.652). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of hypertension prediction was 0.901. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests for the first time that the circulating levels of TSP2 may be a novel potential biomarker for essential hypertension. The association between TSP2 and blood pressure may be, at least in part, related to the regulation of renal Na+ excretion, insulin resistance, and/or endothelial function.

The activity of daily living (ADL) subgroups and health impairment among Chinese elderly: a latent profile analysis.

BACKGROUND: Disability in aged people became one of the major challenges in China due to the acceleration of population aging. Nevertheless, there were limited methods to appropriately discriminate the degree of combined basic activity of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). The present study explored an empirical typology of the activity of daily living (ADL) and its association with health status among the elderly in China. METHODS: Data throughout the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) was retrieved and Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify the subgroups of ADL for included elderly subjects. Multinomial regression was performed to detect the effect of identified characteristics with ADL subgroups, and the restricted cubic spine was drawn to show the changes in the relationship between age-specific ADL disability and BMI. RESULTS: The overall participants (n=8108) were divided into three ADL classes by LPA - 'no BADL limitation-no IADL limitation' (Class one, n=6062, 75%), 'no BADL limitation- IADL impairment' (Class two, n=1526, 19%), and 'BADL impairment- IADL impairment' (Class three, n=520, 6%). Compared with the participants in Class one, the oldest-old, living without spouse, lacking of exercise, short in social activities, having experience of falls, having comorbidity of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, decreased cognitive function, depression symptom were highly associated with Class two and Class three. Additionally, malnutrition and asthma were associated with combined BADL/IADL impairment (Class three), while illiteracy was only associated with IADL impairment (Class two). Furthermore, a statistically significant U-shape association was detected between age and BADL/IADL disability (Class three vs. Class two) as well as BMI and BADL/IADL disability (Class three vs. Class one). The elderly aged 80-90 with IADL impairment were less likely to evolve into combined BADL/IADL impairment, and the elderly who were underweight or obese may have higher risk of combined BADL/IADL impairment. CONCLUSION: A novel functional assessment was explored based on LPA, by which elderly people could be classified into three distinct classes of combined BADL/IADL. The predictors identified with particular IADL/BADL classes could draw early attention to the onset of functional disability and enlighten targeted interventions to address consequent problems of aged people.

Current situation and progress toward the 2030 health-related Sustainable Development Goals in China: A systematic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations (UN) member states in 2015, established a set of bold and ambitious health-related targets to achieve by 2030. Understanding China's progress toward these targets is critical to improving population health for its 1.4 billion people. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016, national surveys and surveillance data from China, and qualitative data. Twenty-eight of the 37 indicators included in the GBD Study 2016 were analyzed. We developed an attainment index of health-related SDGs, a scale of 0-100 based on the values of indicators. The projection model is adjusted based on the one developed by the GBD Study 2016 SDG collaborators. We found that China has achieved several health-related SDG targets, including decreasing neonatal and under-5 mortality rates and the maternal mortality ratios and reducing wasting and stunting for children. However, China may only achieve 12 out of the 28 health-related SDG targets by 2030. The number of target indicators achieved varies among provinces and municipalities. In 2016, among the seven measured health domains, China performed best in child nutrition and maternal and child health and reproductive health, with the attainment index scores of 93.0 and 91.8, respectively, followed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (69.4), road injuries (63.6), infectious diseases (63.0), environmental health (62.9), and universal health coverage (UHC) (54.4). There are daunting challenges to achieve the targets for child overweight, infectious diseases, NCD risk factors, and environmental exposure factors. China will also have a formidable challenge in achieving UHC, particularly in ensuring access to essential healthcare for all and providing adequate financial protection. The attainment index of child nutrition is projected to drop to 80.5 by 2025 because of worsening child overweight. The index of NCD risk factors is projected to drop to 38.8 by 2025. Regional disparities are substantial, with eastern provinces generally performing better than central and western provinces. Sex disparities are clear, with men at higher risk of excess mortality than women. The primary limitations of this study are the limited data availability and quality for several indicators and the adoption of "business-as-usual" projection methods. CONCLUSION: The study found that China has made good progress in improving population health, but challenges lie ahead. China has substantially improved the health of children and women and will continue to make good progress, although geographic disparities remain a great challenge. Meanwhile, China faced challenges in NCDs, mental health, and some infectious diseases. Poor control of health risk factors and worsening environmental threats have posed difficulties in further health improvement. Meanwhile, an inefficient health system is a barrier to tackling these challenges among such a rapidly aging population. The eastern provinces are predicted to perform better than the central and western provinces, and women are predicted to be more likely than men to achieve these targets by 2030. In order to make good progress, China must take a series of concerted actions, including more investments in public goods and services for health and redressing the intracountry inequities.

The Protective Roles of Folic Acid in Preventing Diabetic Retinopathy Are Potentially Associated with Suppressions on Angiogenesis, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress.

This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of folic acid (FA) on diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a genetic mouse model of obese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). C57BL/KsJ-db/db (db/db) T2D mice were divided into control, FA, metformin (MET), and FA plus MET groups (n = 10/group). Serum levels of glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and insulin were determined weekly. The retinal thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 4 weeks after treatments. The retinal expression and serum levels of vascular formation, inflammation, and oxidative stress-associated molecules were examined. Our results demonstrated that FA, but not MET, played a protective role against retinal thinning in the early stage of DR in db/db mice, although FA did not exhibit antihyperglycemic effect. In addition, retinal expression and serum levels of a panel of molecules associated with angiogenesis (CD31 and VEGFR), inflammation (IL-1ß and NLRP3), and oxidative stress (3-NT, 4-HNE, Vav2, and NOX4) were significantly downregulated in FA-treated diabetic mice compared with those in saline-treated controls. Furthermore, the serum level of homocysteine was also markedly decreased following FA treatments. These findings suggest that through potential suppressions on angiogenesis, inflammation, and oxidative stress, FA may serve as a potential therapeutic agent against DR.

Investigation of the local dispersion change in anomalous dispersion microcavity and quantitative analysis of the phase-matching in Kerr comb generation.

We numerically simulate Kerr comb generation in an anomalous dispersion microcavity by modal expansion method and demonstrate that the initiation of comb generation is affected by the change of local dispersion possibly caused by avoided mode crossings. We also quantitatively analyze the instantaneous phase matching of different modes and reveal the characteristics of energy distribution in different modes in the dynamics of comb generation. We demonstrate that the local dispersion change can control the Kerr comb to transform between Type I and Type II combs. We also find that local dispersion is closely related to the stability of the power of Kerr comb lines, something that can change the dynamical state of the system near the Hamiltonian-Hopf bifurcation under an anomalous dispersion regime from a quasi-periodic oscillation state to a periodic state (Turing patterns).

Resilience in rural left-behind middle school students in Yunyang county of the Three Gorges area in China: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The number of left-behind children in China is gradually increasing. This study aimed to understand the mental health status and changes in resilience of rural, left-behind middle school students in Yunyang County of the Three Gorges area in China. METHODS: A prospective cohort study, including two follow-up surveys, with a frequency of once every 6 months was conducted among middle school students in Yunyang County. A self-designed questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic factors of participants, the Mental Health Test (MHT) scale was used to assess their mental health statuses, and resilience levels were collected using Resilience Youth Development Module (RYDM) scale at baseline and at the first and second follow-up investigations. RESULTS: Of the 1401 students who completed the baseline survey, 1322 students were eligible for the cohort study, of whom 1160 were investigated in the first follow-up survey. Ultimately, 1101 students completed the 1-year cohort. The detection rate of mental health problems for middle school students in the rural Three Gorges area was 5.64 %, and there was no significant difference between left-behind students (LBS) and non-left-behind students (NLBS) (χ (2) = 1.056, P = 0.304). The detection rates of medium resilience rose gradually (Z = 4.185, P = 0.000), while that of high resilience declined gradually (Z = 4.192, P = 0.000) in the baseline, first and second follow-up investigations. There was no significant difference between LBS and NLBS in resilience level (P > 0.05). The average RYDM scores were 2.990, 2.926, 2.904 among LBS in the baseline, first and second follow-up investigation, respectively, and the effect of time on the average RYDM scores was significant (F = 14.873, P = 0.000). The average MHT scores in LBS were 41.54, 39.79, 38.84 in the baseline, first and second follow-up investigations, respectively, and the detection rates of students who had psychological problems increased gradually (Z = 4.651, P = 0.000). The simple correlation coefficients between the RYDM and MHT scores were-0.227,-0.158, and-0.204 in the baseline, first and second follow-up survey, respectively (P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The detection rate of mental health problems for middle school students in the rural Three Gorges area is relatively low and most of the LBS in area have medium or high resilience. The mental health status of LBS positively correlated with their resilience levels. Resilience declined gradually as time went on, but further studies with longer follow-up durations are needed to confirm the variation of resilience.

Design of a polymer-filled silicon nitride strip/slot asymmetric hybrid waveguide for realizing both flat dispersion and athermal operation.

An asymmetric strip/slot hybrid silicon nitride waveguide is designed to simultaneously realize athermal operation and flat dispersion. The slot filling and upper cladding materials are negative thermal-optical coefficient (TOC), low refractive index polyurethane acrylate, while the left and right cladding layers are positive TOC, high refractive index silicon nitride. With suitable waveguide parameter selection, an optimum strip/slot hybrid silicon nitride waveguide exhibits an effective TOC of 1.263×10-7/K at 1550 nm, flattened dispersion in the wavelength range from 1200 to 1800 nm with the maximum dispersion of 30.51 ps/(nm·km), and a minimum of 10.89 ps/(nm·km). The proposed hybrid waveguide has great potential in building up broadband athermal microresonator optical frequency combs.

[Relevant factors of early puberty timing in urban primary schools in Chongqing].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of puberty timing and relevant factors of early puberty timing in children from grade one to four in urban primary schools of Chongqing. METHODS: According to the purposive sample method, four urban primary schools in Chongqing were selected and of which 1471 children from grade one to four who have obtained informed consent were recruited. Questionnaire survey on social-demographic characteristics and family environment (e.g., age, parents' relationship, diet and lifestyle, etc), and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) survey and physical examination (measurements of height, weight, pubertal development status, etc) were conducted. P25, P50, P75 ages of each important pubertal event were calculated by probit regression. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze relevant factors. RESULTS: The detection rate of early puberty timing was 17.7%, and the median ages of the onset of breast and testicular development were 10.77 and 11.48 years old, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that early puberty timing occurred more likely in girls than in boys (OR = 0.561, 95% CI 0.406-0.774), and bad relationship between parents (OR = 1.320, 95% CI 1.007-1.729) and hair-products-use (OR = 1.685, 95%, CI 1.028-2.762) were risk factors of early puberty timing. CONCLUSION: Early onset of puberty in urban Chongqing is still exist. Gender, parents' relationship, and hair-products-use have an essential impact on early puberty timing.

Association of estrogen receptor gene polymorphisms with human precocious puberty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study aims to estimate the association between ESR1 polymorphisms (PvuII and XbaI) and ESR2 polymorphisms (RsaI and AluI) with precocious puberty. Relevant studies published before March 2014 were retrieved by a electronic search among nine databases. Meta-analysis of the pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was calculated. Four eligible case-control studies including 491 precocious puberty patients and 370 healthy controls were identified. Three studies reported ESR1 PvuII and XbaI polymorphism and one study reported ESR2 RsaI and AluI polymorphism. Increment of precocious puberty risk was associated with PvuII polymorphism in the heterosis model ((CT) versus TT: OR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.05-1.91, p = 0.02). Risk of precocious puberty was associated with XbaI polymorphism in the dominant model (GG + GA versus AA: OR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.11-1.97, p = 0.007) and the heterosis model (GA versus AA: OR 1.68, 95% CI: 1.23-2.29, p = 0.001). This meta-analysis suggests that ESR1 XbaI and PvuII polymorphisms are associated with precocious puberty susceptibility, and the relationship between ESR2 RsaI and AluI polymorphism with precocious puberty remains to be further investigated. Well-designed studies with large sample size among different polymorphisms and ethnicities are in urgent need to provide and update reliable data for comprehensive and definite conclusion.

The Prognostic and Immune Significance of BZW2 in Pan-Cancer and its Relationship with Proliferation and Apoptosis of Cervical Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Basic leucine zipper and W2 domains 2 (BZW2), a member of the basic domain leucine zipper superfamily of transcription factors, has been implicated in the development and progression of various cancers. However, the precise biological role of BZW2 in pan-cancer datasets remains to be explored. This study aimed to assess the prognostic significance of BZW2 and its immune-related signatures in various tumors. METHODS: Our study investigated the expression, epigenetic modifications, and clinical prognostic relevance of BZW2 using multi-omics data in different cancer types. Additionally, the immunological characteristics, tumor stemness, drug sensitivity, and correlation of BZW2 with immunotherapy response were explored. Finally, in vitro experiments were conducted to assess the impact of BZW2 knockdown on Hela cells, a cell line derived from cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC). RESULTS: BZW2 exhibited elevated expression levels in various tumor tissues and significantly impacted the prognosis of different cancer types. BZW2 emerged as an independent prognostic factor in CESC. We found that copy number amplification and methylation levels of BZW2 were associated with its mRNA expression. Immunological analyses revealed that BZW2 shapes a non-inflamed immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment across multiple cancers. Furthermore, our cell experiments demonstrated that BZW2 knockdown reduced proliferation, migration, and apoptosis activities in CESC cells. CONCLUSIONS: BZW2 promotes cancer progression by shaping a non-inflamed immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Additionally, BZW2 was shown to significantly influence the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of CESC cells.

Ultrastable N-Type Semiconducting Fiber Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Highly Sensitive Biosensors.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have attracted increasing attention due to their merits of high transconductance, low operating voltage, and good biocompatibility, ideal for biosensors. However, further advances in their practical applications face challenges of low n-type performance and poor stability. Here, it is demonstrated that wet-spinning the commercially available n-type conjugated polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) into highly aligned and crystalline fibers enhances both OECT performance and stability. Although BBL is only soluble in high-boiling-point strong acids, it can be wet-spun into high-quality fibers with adjustable diameters. The BBL fiber OECTs exhibit a record-high area-normalized transconductance (gm,A) of 2.40 µS µm-2 and over 10 times higher figure-of-merit (µC*) than its thin-film counterparts. More importantly, these fiber OECTs exhibit remarkable stability with no noticeable performance attenuation after 1500 cycles over 4 h operation, outperforming all previously reported n-type OECTs. The superior performance and stability can be attributed to shorter π-π stacking distance and ordered molecular arrangement in the fibers, endowing the BBL fiber OECT-based biosensors with outstanding sensitivity while keeping a miniaturized form factor. This work demonstrates that, beyond new material development, developing new fabrication technology is also crucial for addressing the performance and stability issues in n-type OECTs.

Continuous production of ultratough semiconducting polymer fibers with high electronic performance.

Conjugated polymers have demonstrated promising optoelectronic properties, but their brittleness and poor mechanical characteristics have hindered their fabrication into durable fibers and textiles. Here, we report a universal approach to continuously producing highly strong, ultratough conjugated polymer fibers using a flow-enhanced crystallization (FLEX) method. These fibers exhibit one order of magnitude higher tensile strength (>200 megapascals) and toughness (>80 megajoules per cubic meter) than traditional semiconducting polymer fibers and films, outperforming many synthetic fibers, ready for scalable production. These fibers also exhibit unique strain-enhanced electronic properties and exceptional performance when used as stretchable conductors, thermoelectrics, transistors, and sensors. This work not only highlights the influence of fluid mechanical effects on the crystallization and mechanical properties of conjugated polymers but also opens up exciting possibilities for integrating these functional fibers into wearable electronics.

N-type semiconducting hydrogel.

Hydrogels are an attractive category of biointerfacing materials with adjustable mechanical properties, diverse biochemical functions, and good ionic conductivity. Despite these advantages, their application in electronics has been restricted because of their lack of semiconducting properties, and they have traditionally only served as insulators or conductors. We developed single- and multiple-network hydrogels based on a water-soluble n-type semiconducting polymer, endowing conventional hydrogels with semiconducting capabilities. These hydrogels show good electron mobilities and high on/off ratios, enabling the fabrication of complementary logic circuits and signal amplifiers with low power consumption and high gains. We demonstrate that hydrogel electronics with good bioadhesive and biocompatible interface can sense and amplify electrophysiological signals with enhanced signal-to-noise ratios.

Interleukin-10-1082A/G polymorphism and inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility: a meta-analysis based on 17,585 subjects.

A large number of studies have shown that the interleukin-10 (IL-10)-1082A/G polymorphism is implicated in susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the results are inconsistent. We performed this meta-analysis to estimate the association between -1082A/G polymorphism in the IL-10 gene and IBD susceptibility. A total number of 18 case-control studies including 17,585 subjects were identified. No association was found between -1082A/G polymorphism and ulcerative colitis (UC) susceptibility. However, increased risk of Crohn's disease (CD) was associated with -1082A/G polymorphism in the dominant genetic model (GG+GA vs. AA: OR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.02-1.46, P=0.028) and the heterozygote comparison (GA vs. AA: OR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.05-1.55, P=0.015). The results of this meta-analysis provide evidence for the association between IL-10-1082A/G polymorphism and susceptibility of CD. Due to several limitations in the present study, well-designed epidemiological studies with large sample size among different ethnicities should be performed in the future.

[Tumor necrosis factor alpha-238G/A polymorphism and tuberculosis susceptibility: a meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: A comprehensive meta-analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between TNF -238G/A polymorphism and tuberculosis susceptibility. METHODS: Tuberculosis, TB, mycobacteria, polymorphism, variant, mutation, susceptibility, tumor necrosis factor or, TNF, cytokine, and gene were used as key words both in Chinese and English to search all the published related articles in Pubmed, Embase, Web of science, Science Direct, Springer Link, EBSCO, Wanfang and Chinese Journal Full-text Database until October 2011. HWE test was performed in all the comparisons. Heterogeneity across studies was determined, and sensitivity analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Nine case-control studies were included. The meta-analysis indicated that there was no significant association between TNF -238G/A polymorphism and tuberculosis susceptibility (GA + AA vs GG model: OR = 1.00, 95%CI: 0.77 - 1.32; A vs G model: OR = 1.00, 95%CI: 0.77 - 1.30). No significant heterogeneity (Q was 5.04 and 5.82 respectively, P > 0.05) and publication bias (GA + AA vs GG model: Begg test Z = 0.73, Egger test t = 1.94, P > 0.05; A vs G model: Begg test Z = 0.52, Egger test t = 1.72, P > 0.05) were demonstrated. Sensitivity analyses further indicated the reliability of the study (OR were 0.94 - 1.10 respectively, all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study did not detect any association between TNF -238G/A polymorphism and tuberculosis susceptibility.

Therapeutic effect of folic acid combined with decitabine on diabetic mice.

AIM: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of folic acid combined with decitabine on diabetic mice. METHODS: The diabetic model of db/db mice were randomly divided into model group, folic acid group, decitabine group, folic acid combined with decitabine group, and C57 mice as normal control group. The density of retinal blood vessels and retinal thickness were detected by fundus photography and optical coherence tomography, respectively. Pathological changes of retina were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The homocysteine (Hcy) in serum was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) was used to detect apoptosis in retinal tissue. Evans blue dye was used to detect the permeability of retinal blood vessels. The platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) protein were detected by Western blot. The 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and 4-hydroxynonanine (4-HNE) were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The density of retinal blood vessels, retinal thickness, retinal vascular permeability and the proportion of apoptotic cells of retinal tissue in the model group increased significantly than control group (P<0.05). The Hcy in serum and the levels of CD31, VEGFR, 3-NT, and 4-HNE in retinal tissue increased significantly in the model group (P<0.01). Folic acid and decitabine both reversed these changes significantly, and the combination of the folic acid and decitabine worked best. CONCLUSION: The combination of folic acid and decitabine has a more significant protective effect on the retina in diabetic mice.