Validity of the modified versions of SARC-F+EBM for sarcopenia screening and diagnosis in China: the PPLSS study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is recommended by Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia to early identify people at risk for sarcopenia using simple screening tools like SARC-F. The modified version SARC-F+EBM showed higher diagnostic performance. However, this cut-off value of body mass index (BMI) remained uncertain to be used in Chinese population. In this study, we used appropriate BMI recommended for Chinese older population and further modified SARC-F+EBM by combining calf circumference. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Diagnostic tests were performed and the receiver operating characteristics analyses were conducted between the SARC-F, SARC-F+EBM (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 21 kg/m2), SARC-F+EBM (CN) (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 22 kg/m2), SARC-CalF and SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) (cut-off of BMI: ≤ 22 kg/m2) in 1660 community-dwelling participants aged ≥ 65 years from China. RESULTS: The participants had an average age of 71.7±5.1 years, of which 56.8% were women. All the modified models could enhance the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of original SARC-F (all p<0.001). The SARC-F+EBM (CN) also showed a significantly higher sensitivity of 47.4% (p<0.001) and an AUC of 0.809 (p=0.005) than SARC-F+EBM. SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) was validated to be of great diagnostic value of the highest AUC of 0.88 among these sarcopenia screening tools, including SARC-F, SARC-CalF and SARC-F+EBM (CN) (all p<0.001). Using this study population as a reference, the optimal cut-off value of SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) is ≥12 points, with a sensitivity of 79.3% and a specificity of 80.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The SARC-F+EBM (CN) and SARC-CalF+EBM (CN) could enhance the diagnostic performance of SARC-F and SARC-F+EBM and are suitable sarcopenia screening tools for Chinese population.

Application of 3.0 T multimodal MRI in FIGO staging of cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: In malignant tumours of the female reproductive system, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer, seriously threatening the health and safety of most women. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of 3.0 T multimodal nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics' (FIGO) staging of cervical cancer. METHODS: The clinical data of 30 patients with pathologically diagnosed cervical cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to August 2022 were analysed retrospectively. Before treatment, all patients were examined with conventional MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging and multi-directional contrast-enhanced imaging. RESULTS: The accuracy of multimodal MRI in the FIGO staging of cervical cancer (29/30, 96.7%) was significantly higher than the accuracy obtained in a control group (21/30, 70.0%), with a statistically significant difference (p= 0.013). In addition, there was good agreement between two observers applying multimodal imaging (kappa= 0.881) and moderate agreement between two observers in the control group (kappa= 0.538). CONCLUSION: Multimodal MRI can evaluate cervical cancer comprehensively and accurately to enable accurate FIGO staging, providing significant evidence for clinical operation planning and subsequent combined therapy.

The Association of the Triglyceride and Muscle to Fat Ratio During Early Pregnancy with the Development of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Objective: This study explored the association between metabolic factors and body composition during the first trimester of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: This prospective study recruited pregnant women in their first trimester. Clinical information and glucose and lipid measurements were collected, and body composition was assessed using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. GDM was diagnosed on the basis of an oral glucose tolerance test at 24-28 gestational week. Factors related to GDM were investigated using correlation, and risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs of potential risk factors with GDM were estimated using Poisson regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine predictive effects. Results: 59/302 women (19.5%) developed GDM. Older (RR 1.076, 95% CI 1.005-1.152), higher body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy (pre-BMI) (RR 1.012, 95% CI 1.005-1.063), triglycerides (RR 4.052, 95% CI 1.641-6.741), and lower skeletal muscle mass (SMM) to fat mass (FM) ratio (SMM/FM) (RR 0.213, 95% CI 0.051-0890) in the first trimester, and family history of type 2 diabetes (RR 1.496, 95% CI 1.014-2.667) significantly associated with the risk of GDM, but neither fasting plasma glucose nor glycated albumin was associated with GDM. The combined multivariate prediction model achieved good discrimination with an AUC of 0.806 (95% CI 0.737-0.895, P<0.001). According to ROC curve, the cut-off values of TG and SMM/FM were 0.925 mmol/L and 1.305. Conclusion: Reduced SMM/FM and elevated triglyceride (TG) levels in the first trimester are associated with GDM development, and should be screened in early pregnancy to identify high-risk subjects for GDM.

Effects of ozone concentration on the postharvest quality and microbial diversity of Muscat Hamburg grapes.

Grapevines are widely planted around the world. Although grapes have high nutritional value, they are highly perishable. To explore the effect of ozone concentration on the postharvest quality of Muscat Hamburg grapes, the ethylene production rate, respiratory intensity, soluble solids, titratable acidity, firmness, threshing rate, total yeast and mold counts, and the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase were determined, and the fungal metagenome on the grape surface was analyzed. Among the ozone treatment groups, 14.98 mg m-3 ozone showed a positive effect on grape preservation. After 80 days of storage, the contents of soluble solids and titratable acidity increased by 3.1% and 0.03%, respectively, compared with the control group. Over the same period, firmness increased by 4.22 N and the threshing rate decreased by 0.5%. During storage, the activity of polyphenol oxidase was inhibited and the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase were maintained, which delayed the senescence of grapes and maintained freshness. Ozone can reduce the number of fungi on the grape surface, change the colony structure, and reduce the occurrence of diseases. An ozone concentration of 14.98 mg m-3 can delay the senescence of Muscat Hamburg grapes and improve storage quality.

Effects of polymorphism in FABP2 Ala54Thr on serum lipids and glycemic control in low glycemic index diets are associated with gender among Han Chinese with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Low glycemic index (GI) diets may have beneficial effects on glycemic control and serum lipid levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, but whether its effect is affected by polymorphisms of genes associated with lipid metabolism remains unclear. This study investigated whether the effects of a low-GI diet on serum lipids and glycemic control in patients with diabetes are associated with polymorphisms of FABP2 Ala54Thr (rs1799883). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 165 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who participated in two completed trials. Parameters reflecting the glycemic control, inflammatory factors, and fasting plasma lipids before and after intervention were measured, and the polymorphism of rs1799883 for each participant was genotyped using a Mas-sARRAY. Differences between the genotypes of rs1799883 before or after the intervention were compared, and changes in the lipid profiles, glycemic control, inflammatory profiles, and dietary intake from baseline were analyzed using an analysis of covariance (generalized linear model). RESULTS: When the data were analyzed as a whole, after 4-5 weeks of similar low-GI diet intervention, we found that the decrease of triglycerides (TG) in the homozygous Ala54 carriers was more significant than that in the Thr54 allele carriers ([-0.58±1.24] vs [-0.14±1.08], P=0.015) with the adjustment for potential confounding factors; furthermore, compared with the Thr54 carriers, there was a significant trend in the decrease of total cholesterol (TC) in the homozygous Ala54 carriers (P=0.057). Subgroup analysis revealed that in women the homozygous Ala54 carriers exhibited a significant decrease of serum TG, TC, fasting blood glucose, and glycated albumin in women, but this was not noted in men. CONCLUSION: The effect of FABP2 Ala54Thr polymorphism on response to blood lipids and gly-cemic control in low-GI diets is associated with gender among Han Chinese patients with T2DM.

Sinomonas susongensis sp. nov., isolated from the surface of weathered biotite.

A novel actinomycete, designated strain A31(T), was isolated from the surface of weathered biotite in Susong, Anhui Province, China. The organism grew optimally at 30 °C, at pH 8.0 and with 1% (w/v) NaCl. Strain A31(T) had A3α as the cell-wall peptidoglycan type and galactose, mannose and rhamnose as whole-cell sugars. Anteiso-C(15 : 0) and anteiso-C(17 : 0) were the major cellular fatty acids and MK-9(H2) was the predominant respiratory quinone. In addition, the total polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine and four glycolipids. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain A31(T) was 70.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain A31(T) was related most closely to Sinomonas albida LC13(T) (98.3% similarity), Sinomonas atrocyanea DSM 20127(T) (98.2%), Sinomonas soli CW 59(T) (98.1%), Sinomonas flava CW 108(T) (97.8%), 'Sinomonas mesophila' MPKL 26 (97.3%), Sinomonas echigonensis LC10(T) (97.1%) and ' Sinomonas notoginsengisoli ' SYP-B575 (96.7%). DNA-DNA hybridization studies with the new isolate showed relatedness values of 16.0-56.6% with its six closest neighbours. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analysis, strain A31(T) represents a novel species of the genus Sinomonas , for which the name Sinomonas susongensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is A31(T) ( = DSM 28245(T) = CCTCC AB 2014068(T)).

Arthrobacter nanjingensis sp. nov., a mineral-weathering bacterium isolated from forest soil.

A Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, rod- or coccoid-shaped actinobacterium, designated strain A33(T), was isolated from a forest soil sample from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China. The strain grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.0 and with 3 % NaCl (w/v). Phylogenetic analysis of the strain, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, showed that it was most closely related to Arthrobacter woluwensis (98.4 % sequence similarity), Arthrobacter humicola (97.5 %), Arthrobacter globiformis (97.4 %), Arthrobacter oryzae (97.3 %) and Arthrobacter cupressi (97.0 %). The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0; MK-9(H2) was the predominant respiratory quinone. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and three glycolipids. Cell-wall analysis revealed that the peptidoglycan type was A3α, based on l-lysine-l-alanine; the cell-wall sugars were galactose and mannose. The genomic G+C content of strain A33(T) was 66.8 mol%. The low DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain A33(T) and recognized species of the genus Arthrobacter and many phenotypic properties supported the classification of strain A33(T) as a representative of a novel species of the genus Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter nanjingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is A33(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2014069(T) = DSM 28237(T)).

Cohnella nanjingensis sp. nov., an extracellular polysaccharide-producing bacterium isolated from soil.

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, strain D45(T), was isolated from soil in Nanjing, China. The organism grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.0 and with 0 % NaCl (w/v). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolate showed similarities lower than 97 % with respect to species of the genus Cohnella. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, with MK-6 present as a minor component; anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 were the major fatty acids. The polar lipids of strain D45(T) were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two aminophospholipids, four phospholipids, two glycolipids, one aminolipid and two lipids. The DNA G+C content was 59.5 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization of the isolate with two reference strains showed relatedness values of 33.4 % with Cohnella ginsengisoli DSM 18997(T) and 25.8 % with Cohnella thermotolerans DSM 17683(T). The phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data supported the classification of strain D45(T) as a representative of a novel species of the genus Cohnella, for which the name Cohnella nanjingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is D45(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2014067(T) = DSM 28246(T)).

Use of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine (TCAM) in children with cancer in Guatemala.

BACKGROUND: International surveys have demonstrated that use of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine (TCAM) is highly prevalent among children with cancer; however, little is known about its use among children with cancer in Latin America. As part of a regional initiative, we present the results of the first survey exploring use of TCAM among children with cancer residing in Latin America. PROCEDURE: A cross-sectional sample of 100 parents whose children received treatment in Guatemala City were interviewed from May 2008 to February 2010. Upon consent, an in-person interview was performed during a routine clinical visit. Information on the form, duration, cost, and satisfaction of TCAM was collected. Approval from the institutional review board was obtained. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 9.2 years with 63% undergoing treatment. Use of TCAM was reported by 90% of parents. Most often, more than one type of therapy was utilized. Most patients (67%) relied on TCAM for supportive care indications; however, a significant percentage (34%) used TCAM for curative purposes. The most commonly reported form was the use of oral supplements with the majority perceiving TCAM as effective for the intended purpose. CONCLUSIONS: Use of TCAM was highly prevalent among children with cancer residing in Guatemala. Most importantly, TCAM was used alongside conventional therapy for supportive care indications. These findings underscoring the need for open lines of communication between clinicians and families. Future research may consider exploring the role of TCAM within the scope of supportive care and its effect on existing supportive care interventions.

Cloning, expression and characterization of antimicrobial porcine ß defensin 1 in Escherichia coli.

Porcine ß defensin 1 (pBD1) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide with three pairs of disulfide bonds. When expressed in insect cells, two polypeptides of different length (pBD1(38) and pBD1(42)) accumulated, which differed by N-terminal truncation. However, only pBD1(42) was found in pigs. pBD1(42) had stronger antimicrobial activity than pBD1(38), and thus could be a good candidate as a bactericidal agent for pigs. In this study, pBD1(42) gene, obtained by RT-PCR using the tongue total RNA as a template, was cloned into pET30a expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) plysS. The recombinant pBD1(42) was expressed after induction by IPTG and purified by His tag affinity column with 90% purity. The recombinant pBD1(42) exhibited antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative E. coli including the multi-resistant E. coli. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of recombinant pBD1(42) against tested bacteria were 100 µg/mL for E. coli and 80 µg/mL for S. aureus. In addition, pBD1(42) showed low hemolytic activity and high thermal stability. These properties are relevant for the biotechnological applications of the peptide.

[Effect of adipose differentiation-related protein on the apoptosis of H9c2 cells by palmitic acid].

AIM: To construct a eukaryotic expression vector for expressing adipose differentiation-related protein(ADRP) protein and obtain a stable transfected H9c2 cell line. METHODS: (1)The full length DNA fragment of ADRP gene was amplified by PCR from the myocardium of adult SD rats and was inserted into pEGFP-C1 with T4 ligase. After the identification of digestion and sequencing on the recombinant pEGFP-C1-ADRP, the recombinant was transformed into E.coli strain DH5α.and the positive recombinant plasmid was selected. (2)The selected positive recombinant clones were amplified and transfected into H9c2 cells by lipofectamine(TM);2000. Cells containing stable transformants were selected by the ability of resistance to G418. The stable transfected cell line expressing high level of ADRP were obtained. Expression of green fluorescent protein gene was observed under fluorescence microscope and the expression of ADRP was identified by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. (3)The apoptotic percentage of H9c2 cells caused by PA was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: (1)Restriction map analysis and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that our target gene fragment was inserted into the expressing vector pEGFP-C1 successfully. (2)Green fluorescent was observed by fluorescence microscope on the cells which were transfected with pEGFP-C1 and pEGFP-C1-ADRP and did not disappear even at the twentieth passage of H9c2 cells. RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis showed that recombinant cells exhibit higher levers of mRNA and protein. (3)After treatment with different levels of PA, the apoptosis percentage of recombinant cells was lower than those of the other two cells. CONCLUSION: (1)The eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-C1-ADRP and stable transfected H9c2 cells were established successfully. (2)The overexpression of ADRP gene could prevent apoptosis of cells caused by PA, which indicated that ADRP might play a protective role in H9c2 cells.