Occurrence and distribution of Meloidogyne spp. in fields rotated with sweetpotato and host range of a North Carolina population of Meloidogyne enterolobii.

Root-knot nematodes (RKN, Meloidogyne spp.) are some of the most economically important and common plant parasitic nematodes in North Carolina (NC) cropping systems. Soil samples collected from fields planted with crops rotated with sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] in 39 NC counties in 2015-2018 were processed at the NC Nematode Assay Laboratory. The occurrence of second-stage juvenile (J2) RKN populations was examined based on collection year, month, county, and previous planted crop. The highest number of RKN positive samples originated from Cumberland (53%), Sampson (48%), and Johnston (48%) counties. The highest average RKN population density was detected in Sampson (147 J2/500 cm3 soil) and Nash (135 J2/500 cm3 soil) counties, while Wayne (7 J2/500 cm3 soil) and Greene (11 J2/500 cm3 soil) counties had the lowest average RKN population density. Meloidogyne enterolobii is a new invasive species that is impacting sweetpotato growers of NC. The host status of a NC population of M. enterolobii, the guava-root knot nematode, was determined by examining eggs per gram of fresh root (ER) and the final nematode egg population divided by the initial population egg count (reproductive factor, RF) in greenhouse experiments. This included eighteen vegetable, field, cover crops and weed species. The tomato 'Rutgers' was used as a susceptible control. Cabbage 'Stonehead', pepper 'Red bull', and watermelon 'Charleston gray' and 'Fascination' were hosts and had similar mean ER values to the positive control, ranging from 64 to 18,717. Among field crops, cotton, soybean 'P5018RX', and tobacco were hosts with ER values that ranged from 185 to 706. Members of the Poaceae family such as sweet corn (Zea mays) and sudangrass (Sorghum x drummondii) were non-hosts to M. enterolobii and the mean ER values ranged from 1.85 to 7. The peanut 'Tifguard' and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) also had lower ER values than the vegetable hosts. Growers should consider planting less susceptible or non-hosts such as peanut, sudangrass, sweet corn, and winter wheat in 2-3 year crop rotations to lower populations of this invasive nematode.

Differential age-specific associations of LDL cholesterol and body mass index with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and body mass index (BMI) are not always correlated and their relationship is probably dependent on age, indicating differential age-specific associations of these factors with health outcomes. We aim to discriminate the roles of LDLc and BMI in coronary heart disease (CHD) across different age groups. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of 368,274 participants aged 38-73 years and free of CHD at baseline. LDLc and BMI were measured at baseline, and incident CHD was the main outcome. Cox proportional hazards model and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression were used to estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of exposure on CHD. RESULTS: After a mean of 12 years of follow-up, similar relationships of LDLc and BMI with CHD risk were observed in the overall population but in differential age-specific patterns. Across the age groups of <50, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and ≥ 65 years, the LDLc-CHD association diminished with the adjusted HRs decreasing from 1.35, 1.26, 1.19, 1.11 to 1.08; while no declining trend was found in BMI-CHD relationship with the adjusted HRs of 1.15, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13 and 1.15, respectively. The interaction and mediation between LDLc and BMI on CHD risk were more pronounced at young-age groups. LDLc-CHD but not BMI-CHD association was dependent on sex, metabolic syndrome and lipid-lowering drugs use. CONCLUSIONS: There were differential age-specific associations of LDLc and BMI with the risk of developing CHD, calling for future efforts to discriminate the age-different benefits from lipids management or weight control on the primary prevention for CHD.

The ratio of systolic and diastolic pressure is associated with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis.

Background: Although the impact of hypertension on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques has been well established, its association with femoral IMT and plaques has not been extensively examined. In addition, the role of the ratio of systolic and diastolic pressure (SDR) in the subclinical atherosclerosis (AS) risk remains unknown. We assessed the relationship between SDR and carotid and femoral AS in a general population. Methods: A total of 7,263 participants aged 35-74 years enrolled from January 2019 to June 2021 in a southeast region of China were included in a cross-sectional study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were used to define SDR. Ultrasonography was applied to assess the AS, including thickened IMT (TIMT) and plaque in the carotid and femoral arteries. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were the main approaches. Results: The prevalence of TIMT, plaque, and AS were 17.3%, 12.4%, and 22.7% in the carotid artery; 15.2%, 10.7%, and 19.5% in the femoral artery; and 23.8%, 17.9% and 30.0% in either the carotid or femoral artery, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found a significant positive association between high-tertile SDR and the higher risk of overall TIMT (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10-1.49), plaques (OR = 1.36, 95%CI = 1.16-1.61), or AS (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.17-1.57), especially in the carotid artery. RCS analysis further revealed the observed positive associations were linear. Further analyses showed that as compared to the low-tertile SDR and non-hypertension group, high-tertile SDR was associated with increased risks of overall and carotid TIMT, plaques, or AS in both groups with or without hypertension. Conclusions: SDR is related to a higher risk of subclinical AS, regardless of hypertension or not, suggesting that as a readily obtainable index, SDR can contribute to providing additional predictive value for AS.

Quantifying the Relative Importance of Genetics and Environment on the Comorbidity between Mental- and Cardiometabolic Disorders: A Comprehensive Analysis of National Register Data from 17 million Scandinavians.

Mental disorders (MDs) are leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide, partly due to high comorbidity with cardiometabolic disorders (CMDs). Reasons for this comorbidity are still poorly understood. We leverage nation-wide health records and complete genealogies of Denmark and Sweden (n=17 million) to reveal the genetic and environmental contributions underlying the observed comorbidity between six MDs and 14 CMDs. Genetic factors contributed about 50% to the comorbidity of schizophrenia, affective disorders, and autism spectrum disorder with CMDs, whereas the comorbidity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anorexia with CMDs was mainly or fully driven by environmental factors. These findings provide causal insight to guide clinical and scientific initiatives directed at achieving mechanistic understanding as well as preventing and alleviating the consequences of these disorders.

Association of urinary and seminal plasma vanadium concentrations with semen quality: A repeated-measures study of 1135 healthy men.

Although animal studies have shown the reproductive toxicity of vanadium, less is known about its effects on semen quality in humans. Among 1135 healthy men who were screened as potential semen donors, we investigated the relationships of semen quality with urinary and seminal plasma vanadium levels via inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Spearman rank correlation tests and linear regression models were used to assess the correlations between average urinary and within-individual pooled seminal plasma vanadium concentrations (n = 1135). We utilized linear mixed-effects models to evaluate the associations of urinary and seminal plasma vanadium levels (n = 1135) with repeated sperm quality parameters (n = 5576). Seminal plasma vanadium concentrations were not significantly correlated with urinary vanadium concentrations (r = 0.03). After adjusting for possible confounders, we observed inverse relationships of within-individual pooled seminal plasma vanadium levels with total count, semen volume, and sperm concentration (all P values for trend < 0.05). Specifically, subjects in the highest (vs. lowest) tertile of seminal plasma vanadium concentrations had - 11.3% (-16.4%, -5.9%), - 11.1% (-19.1%, -2.4%), and - 20.9% (-29.0%, -11.8%) lower sperm volume, concentration, and total count, respectively; moreover, urinary vanadium levels appeared to be negatively associated with sperm motility. These relationships showed monotonically decreasing dose-response patterns in the restricted cubic spline analyses. Our results demonstrated a poor correlation between urinary and seminal plasma levels of vanadium, and elevated vanadium concentrations in urine and seminal plasma may be adversely related to male semen quality.

Disease clusters subsequent to anxiety and stress-related disorders and their genetic determinants.

Anxiety/stress-related disorders have been associated with multiple diseases, whereas a comprehensive assessment of the structure and interplay of subsequent associated diseases and their genetic underpinnings is lacking. Here, we first identify 136, out of 454 tested, medical conditions associated with incident anxiety/stress-related disorders attended in specialized care using a population-based cohort from the nationwide Swedish Patient Register, comprising 70,026 patients with anxiety/stress-related disorders and 1:10 birth year- and sex-matched unaffected individuals. By combining findings from the comorbidity network and disease trajectory analyses, we identify five robust disease clusters to be associated with a prior diagnosis of anxiety/stress-related disorders, featured by predominance of psychiatric disorders, eye diseases, ear diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and skin and genitourinary diseases. These five clusters and their featured diseases are largely validated in the UK Biobank. GWAS analyses based on the UK Biobank identify 3, 33, 40, 4, and 16 significantly independent single nucleotide polymorphisms for the link to the five disease clusters, respectively, which are mapped to several distinct risk genes and biological pathways. These findings motivate further mechanistic explorations and aid early risk assessment for cluster-based disease prevention among patients with newly diagnosed anxiety/stress-related disorders in specialized care.

Host genetic variants, Epstein-Barr virus subtypes, and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Assessment of interaction and mediation.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms are well-known risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the combined effects between HLA and EBV on the risk of NPC are unknown. We applied a causal inference framework to disentangle interaction and mediation effects between two host HLA SNPs, rs2860580 and rs2894207, and EBV variant 163364 with a population-based case-control study in NPC-endemic southern China. We discovered the strong interaction effects between the high-risk EBV subtype and both HLA SNPs on NPC risk (rs2860580, relative excess risk due to interaction [RERI] = 4.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.03-6.14; rs2894207, RERI = 3.37, 95% CI = 1.59-5.15), accounting for the majority of genetic risk effects. These results indicate that HLA genes and the high-risk EBV have joint effects on NPC risk. Prevention strategies targeting the high-risk EBV subtype would largely reduce NPC risk associated with EBV and host genetic susceptibility.

Ideal cardiovascular health and risk of death in a large Swedish cohort.

BACKGROUND: Ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) can be assessed by 7 metrics: smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diet, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, proposed by the American Heart Association. We examined the association of ideal CVH metrics with risk of all-cause, CVD and non-CVD death in a large cohort. METHODS: A total of 29,557 participants in the Swedish National March Cohort were included in this study. We ascertained 3,799 deaths during a median follow-up of 19 years. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of the association between CVH metrics with risk of death. Laplace regression was used to estimate 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles of age at death. RESULTS: Compared with those having 6-7 ideal CVH metrics, participants with 0-2 ideal metrics had 107% (95% CI = 46-192%) excess risk of all-cause, 224% (95% CI = 72-509%) excess risk of CVD and 108% (31-231%) excess risk of non-CVD death. The median age at death among those with 6-7 vs. 0-2 ideal metrics was extended by 4.2 years for all-causes, 5.8 years for CVD and 2.9 years for non-CVD, respectively. The observed associations were stronger among females than males. CONCLUSIONS: The strong inverse association between number of ideal CVH metrics and risk of death supports the application of the proposed seven metrics for individual risk assessment and general health promotion.

Nordic Nutrition Recommendations and risk of myocardial infarction and stroke: a prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: The Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) are developed to prevent diet-related diseases. This study aimed to examine adherence to the NNR and risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke among women and men in Sweden. METHODS: We followed 34,898 adults from 1997 to 2016. Dietary intake was assessed once at baseline using a food frequency questionnaire. Adherence scores corresponding to NNR-editions from 2023, 2012, 2004 and 1996 were calculated. Scores were categorized into low (reference category), moderate and high adherence. Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for potential confounders were used to estimate hazards ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We identified 1649 incident cases of MI and 2071 incident cases of stroke during follow-up (mean 17.9 years). For each 1-point increase in the NNR2023-score (range 0-9), the rate of MI decreased by 14% (HR: 0.86; 95% CI 0.78-0.95). High adherence was associated with a lower rate of MI (HR: 0.72; 95% CI 0.59-0.87) (p-trend = 0.01). Moderate adherence was associated with a lower rate of stroke (HR: 0.88; 95% CI 0.78-0.99) (p-trend = 0.31). Among women, a 23% lower rate of MI (HR: 0.77; 95% CI 0.67-0.89) was observed for each 1-point increase, and high adherence was associated with a lower rate of MI (HR: 0.59; 95% CI 0.45-0.78). No associations were found in men. The results were similar, though attenuated, for earlier NNR-editions. CONCLUSION: Adherence to the NNR was associated with a reduced risk of MI. This association was more pronounced among women than among men and in more recent NNR-editions. The findings for stroke need further investigation.

Short-term associations of particulate matter with different aerodynamic diameters with mortality due to mental disorders and dementia in Ningde, China.

Limited evidence is available regarding the impact of ambient inhalable particulate matter (PM) on mental disorder (MD) or dementia-related deaths, particularly PM1, PM1-2.5, and coarse particles (PM2.5-10). Moreover, individual confounders have rarely been considered. In addition, evidence from low-pollution areas is needed but is inadequate. Using death records from the Death Registration System during 2015-2021 in Ningde, a coastal city in southeast China, we combined a conditional quasi-Poisson model with a distributed lag nonlinear model to estimate the nonlinear and lagged associations of PM exposure with MD or dementia-related deaths in Ningde, China, comprehensively controlling for individual time-invariant confounders using a time-stratified case-crossover design. The attributable fraction and number were calculated to quantify the burden of MD or dementia-related deaths that were related to PMs. We found J-shaped relationships between MD or dementia-related deaths and PMs, with different thresholds of 13, 9, 19, 33 and 12 µg/m3 for PM1, PM1-2.5, PM2.5, PM10 and PM2.5-10. An inter-quartile range increase for PM1, PM1-2.5, PM2.5, PM10 and PM2.5-10 above the thresholds led to an increase of 31.8% (95% confidence interval, 14.3-51.9%), 53.7% (22.4-93.1%), 32.6% (15.0-53.0%), 35.1% (17.7-55.0%) and 25.9% (13.0-40.3%) in MD-related deaths at lag 0-3 days, respectively. The associations were significant in the cool season rather than in the warm season and were significantly greater among people aged 75-84 years than in others. The fractions of MD-related deaths attributable to PM1, PM1-2.5, PM2.5, PM10 and PM2.5-10 were 5.55%, 6.49%, 7.68%, 10.66%, and 15.11%, respectively; however, only some of them could be protected by the concentrations recommended by the World Health Organisation or China grade I standard. Smaller associations and similar patterns were observed between PMs and dementia-related death. These findings suggest stricter standards, and provide evidence for the development of relevant policies and measures.

The association of short and long sleep with mortality in men and women.

Both short (< 6 hr) and long (> 8 hr) sleep are associated with increased mortality. We here investigated whether the association between sleep duration and all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality differs between men and women. A cohort of 34,311 participants (mean age and standard deviation = 50.5 ± 15.5 years, 65% women), with detailed assessment of sleep at baseline and up to 20.5 years of follow-up (18 years for cause-specific mortality), was analysed using Cox proportional hazards model to estimate HRs with 95% confidence intervals. After adjustment for covariates, all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortalities were increased for both < 5 hr and ≥ 9 hr sleep durations (with 6 hr as reference). For all-cause mortality, women who slept < 5 hr had a hazard ratio = 1.54 (95% confidence interval = 1.32-1.80), while the corresponding hazard ratio was 1.05 (95% confidence interval = 0.88-1.27) for men, the interaction being significant (p < 0.05). For cardiovascular disease mortality, exclusion of the first 2 years of exposure, as well as competing risk analysis eliminated the originally significant interaction. Cancer mortality did not show any significant interaction. Survival analysis of the difference between the reference duration (6 hr) and the short duration (< 5 hr) during follow-up showed a gradually steeper reduction of survival time for women than for men for all-cause mortality. We also observed that the lowest cancer mortality appeared for the 5-hr sleep duration. In conclusion, the pattern of association between short sleep duration and all-cause mortality differed between women and men, and the difference between men and women increased with follow-up time.

Associations between body composition profile and hypertension in different fatty liver phenotypes.

Background: It is currently unclear whether and how the association between body composition and hypertension varies based on the presence and severity of fatty liver disease (FLD). Methods: FLD was diagnosed using ultrasonography among 6,358 participants. The association between body composition and hypertension was analyzed separately in the whole population, as well as in subgroups of non-FLD, mild FLD, and moderate/severe FLD populations, respectively. The mediation effect of FLD in their association was explored. Results: Fat-related anthropometric measurements and lipid metabolism indicators were positively associated with hypertension in both the whole population and the non-FLD subgroup. The strength of this association was slightly reduced in the mild FLD subgroup. Notably, only waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio showed significant associations with hypertension in the moderate/severe FLD subgroup. Furthermore, FLD accounted for 17.26% to 38.90% of the association between multiple body composition indicators and the risk of hypertension. Conclusions: The association between body composition and hypertension becomes gradually weaker as FLD becomes more severe. FLD plays a significant mediating role in their association.

The interaction and mediation effects between the host genetic factors and Epstein-Barr virus VCA-IgA in the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Previous studies have demonstrated strong associations between host genetic factors and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) VCA-IgA with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the specific interplay between host genetics and EBV VCA-IgA on NPC risk is not well understood. In this two-stage case-control study (N = 4804), we utilized interaction and mediation analysis to investigate the interplay between host genetics (genome-wide association study-derived polygenic risk score [PRS]) and EBV VCA-IgA antibody level in the NPC risk. We employed a four-way decomposition analysis to assess the extent to which the genetic effect on NPC risk is mediated by or interacts with EBV VCA-IgA. We consistently found a significant interaction between the PRS and EBV VCA-IgA on NPC risk (discovery population: synergy index [SI] = 2.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.85-3.10; replication population: SI = 3.10, 95% CI = 2.17-4.44; all pinteraction < 0.001). Moreover, the genetic variants included in the PRS demonstrated similar interactions with EBV VCA-IgA antibody. We also observed an obvious dose-response relationship between the PRS and EBV VCA-IgA antibody on NPC risk (all ptrend < 0.001). Furthermore, our decomposition analysis revealed that a substantial proportion (approximately 90%) of the genetic effects on NPC risk could be attributed to host genetic-EBV interaction, while the risk effects mediated by EBV VCA-IgA antibody were weak and statistically insignificant. Our study provides compelling evidence for an interaction between host genetics and EBV VCA-IgA antibody in the development of NPC. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing measures to control EBV infection as a crucial strategy for effectively preventing NPC, particularly in individuals at high genetic risk.

Apatinib potentiates the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-1 in locally advanced head and neck cancers.

OBJECTIVES: Antiangiogenic inhibitors have been shown to synergize with immune checkpoint blockade, but the underlying mechanisms of the synergistic response are not fully understood. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigate the impact of VEGFR2 inhibition on tumor-infiltrating immune cells in vivo and the activity of the combination of apatinib and anti-PD-1 in synergistic mouse model of HNSCC. A patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the left tongue with cervical lymph node were received with combined induction treatment of camrelizumab and apatinib to validate the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy before surgery. RESULTS: We found that apatinib increased the infiltration of CD8+ T cells and decreased the population of Tregs in a preclinical syngeneic mouse model. The proportions of CD8+ PD1+ T cells were significantly increased in apatinib-treated tumors. The combined treatment of apatinib and anti-PD-1 demonstrated better therapeutic benefit than each treatment alone. The patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the left tongue with cervical lymph node achieved major pathologic response (MPR) after two cycles of combined induction treatment. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that apatinib therapy synergized with an anti-PD-1 antibody in preclinical cancer models and in patient with advanced HNSCC. These results provide a new rationale for advancing this neoadjuvant immunotherapy in large scale of clinical trials of HNSCC.

Joint duration-cost-quality optimization model for complex product supply chains under contingency conditions.

The Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) and complex networks are used to simulate and analyse complex product supply chain networks based on the characteristics of complex product supply chain networks. And the traditional GERT is improved by constructing a grey parametric GERT network with restricted output results, taking into account the fact that the duration, product quality and product cost of each supplier in a complex product supply chain are interval values rather than definite values, and that customers have restrictions on the duration, product quality and product cost of the final product. The functional relationship between product quality, product cost and duration is analysed, and two satisfaction functions for duration and cost are constructed in order to quantify the multi-objective requirements of shortening duration, saving product cost and guaranteeing product quality for complex products under emergency situations. Then, a duration-cost-quality model for complex product supply chains in contingency situations is constructed to obtain the better duration, product cost and product quality of each supplier by optimising the indicator parameters in the network. Finally, the scientific validity and effectiveness of the model and method are verified by means of arithmetic example. The results show that the method is able to analyse the optimal duration, product quality and product cost of each supplier, and the main manufacturer can obtain an optimised combination of duration, cost and quality for a complex product supply chain in different contingency situation. To further promote the sustainable and secure development of complex product supply chains, this paper also suggests the integration of data sharing and blockchain technology with complex product supply chains to develop dynamic supply chain feedback management systems.

Inflammation as a Mediator of Microbiome Dysbiosis-Associated DNA Methylation Changes in Gastric Premalignant Lesions.

Evidence for the influence of chronic inflammation induced by microbial dysbiosis on aberrant DNA methylation supports a plausible connexion between disordered microbiota and precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC). Here, a comprehensive study including multi-omics data was performed to estimate the relationships amongst the gastric microbiome, inflammatory proteins and DNA methylation alterations and their roles in PLGC development. The results demonstrated that gastric dysbacteriosis increased the risk of PLGC and DNA methylation alterations in related tumour suppressor genes. Seven inflammatory biomarkers were identified for antrum and corpus tissues, respectively, amongst which the expression levels of several biomarkers were significantly correlated with the microbial dysbiosis index (MDI) and methylation status of specific tumour suppressor genes. Notably, mediation analysis revealed that microbial dysbiosis partially contributed to DNA methylation changes in the stomach via the inflammatory cytokines C-C motif chemokine 20 (CCL20) and tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9 (TNFRSF9). Overall, these results may provide new insights into the mechanisms that might link the gastric microbiome to PLGC. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43657-023-00118-w.

Shift in prevalence and systemic inflammation levels from NAFLD to MAFLD: a population-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Variations in the prevalence and systemic inflammatory (SI) status between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and newly defined metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) have only been reported by few studies. Hence, this study aimed to compile data on the prevalence and the systemic inflammation levels of MAFLD and NAFLD in a general population from Southeast China was summarized to explore the potential effect of the transformation of disease definition. METHODS: A total of 6718 general population participants aged 35-75 were enrolled. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to examine the relationship between 15 SI indicators and NAFLD and MAFLD. The predicted values of MAFLD and NAFLD were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The prevalence of MAFLD and NAFLD was 34.7% and 32.4%, respectively. Their overlapping rate was 89.7%, while only 8.3% and 1.9% of participants were MAFLD-only and NAFLD-only. Among three FLD groups, the MAFLD-only group had the highest levels of 8 SI indicators, including CRP, WBC, LYMPH, NEUT, MONO, ALB, NLR, and SIRI. The non-FLD group had the lower levels of all 15 SI indicators compared with all FLD subgroups. The odds ratios (ORs) of 10 SI indicators were significant in both multivariable-adjusted logistic regression and RCS analyses of MAFLD or NAFLD, including CRP, WBC, LYMPH, NEUT, MONO, ALB, PLR, LMR, ALI and CA. ROC analysis showed that the AUC values of all SI were lower than 0.7 in both MAFLD and NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: MAFLD could cover more FLD than NAFLD, and the MAFLD-only group had a more severe inflammation status, whereas the NAFLD-only exhibited lower levels. Moreover, there was not a high AUC and a high sensitivity of SI indicators, suggesting that SI indicators are not good indicators to diagnose NAFLD/MAFLD.

Oral fungal profiling and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Dysbiosis of the oral mycobiome has been linked to some diseases, including cancers. However, the role of oral fungal communities in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) carcinogenesis has not previously been investigated. METHODS: We characterized the oral salivary fungal mycobiome in 476 untreated incident NPC patients and 537 population-based controls using fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 sequencing. The relationship between oral fungal mycobiome and the risk of NPC was assessed through bioinformatic and biostatistical analyses. FINDINGS: We found that lower fungal alpha diversity was associated with an increased odds of NPC [lower vs. higher: observed features (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 5.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.60-9.38); Simpson diversity (1.53, 1.03-2.29); Shannon diversity (2.03, 1.35-3.04)]. We also observed a significant difference in global fungal community patterns between cases and controls based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity (P < 0.001). Carriage of oral fungal species, specifically, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida tropicalis, Lodderomyces elongisporus, Candida albicans, and Fusarium poae, was associated with significantly higher odds of NPC, with ORs ranging from 1.56 to 4.66. Individuals with both low fungal and low bacterial alpha diversity had a profoundly elevated risk of NPC. INTERPRETATION: Our results suggest that dysbiosis in the oral mycobiome, characterized by a loss of fungal community diversity and overgrowth of several fungal organisms, is associated with a substantially increased risk of NPC. FUNDING: This work was funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Swedish Research Council, the High-level Talents Research Start-up Project of Fujian Medical University, and the China Scholarship Council.

Interactive association between insomnia symptoms and sleep duration for the risk of dementia-a prospective study in the Swedish National March Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Given the importance of sleep in maintaining neurocognitive health, both sleep duration and quality might be component causes of dementia. However, the possible role of insomnia symptoms as risk factors for dementia remain uncertain. METHODS: We prospectively studied 22,078 participants in the Swedish National March Cohort who were free from dementia and stroke at baseline. Occurrence of dementia was documented by national registers during a median follow-up period of 19.2 years. Insomnia symptoms and sleep duration were ascertained by Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Compared to participants without insomnia at baseline, those who reported any insomnia symptom experienced a greater incidence of dementia during follow-up (HR 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.35). Difficulty initiating sleep versus non-insomnia (HR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.52), but not difficulty maintaining sleep or early morning awakening was associated with an increased risk of dementia. Short sleep duration was associated with increased risk of dementia (6 h vs. 8 h, HR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.51; 5 h vs. 8 h, HR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.00-1.57). Stratified analyses suggested that insomnia symptoms increased the risk of dementia only amongst participants with ≥7 h sleep (vs. non-insomnia HR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.00-1.54, P = 0.05), but not amongst short sleepers (<7 h). Short sleep duration also did not further inflate the risk of dementia amongst insomniacs. CONCLUSION: Insomnia and short sleep duration increase the risk of dementia amongst middle-aged to older adults.