Short-term effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases among young children in Wuhan city, China.

BACKGROUND: The high risks for childhood respiratory diseases are associated with exposure to ambient air pollution. However, there are few studies that have explored the association between air pollution exposure and respiratory diseases among young children (particularly aged 0-2 years) based on the entire population in a megalopolis. METHODS: Daily hospital admission records were obtained from 54 municipal hospitals in Wuhan city, China. We included all children (aged 0-2 years) hospitalized with respiratory diseases between January 2017 and December 2018. Individual air pollution exposure assessment was used in Land Use Regression model and inverse distance weighted. Case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models were adopted to estimate the hospitalization risk associated with air pollutants. RESULTS: We identified 62,425 hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases, of which 36,295 were pneumonia. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were significantly associated with respiratory diseases and pneumonia. ORs of pneumonia were 1.0179 (95% CI 1.0097-1.0260) for PM2.5 and 1.0131 (95% CI 1.0042-1.0220) for NO2 at lag 0-7 days. Subgroup analysis suggested that NO2, Ozone (O3) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) only showed effects on pneumonia hospitalizations on male patients, but PM2.5 had effects on patients of both genders. Except O3, all pollutants were strongly associated with pneumonia in cold season. In addition, children who aged elder months and who were in central urban areas had a higher hospitalization risk. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution is associated with higher hospitalization risk for respiratory diseases, especially pneumonia, among young children, and the risk is related to gender, month age, season and residential location.

Effect of ambient fine particulates (PM2.5) on hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: Positive associations between ambient PM2.5 and cardiorespiratory disease have been well demonstrated during the past decade. However, few studies have examined the adverse effects of PM2.5 based on an entire population of a megalopolis. In addition, most studies in China have used averaged data, which results in variations between monitoring and personal exposure values, creating an inherent and unavoidable type of measurement error. METHODS: This study was conducted in Wuhan, a megacity in central China with about 10.9 million people. Daily hospital admission records, from October 2016 to December 2018, were obtained from the Wuhan Information center of Health and Family Planning, which administrates all hospitals in Wuhan. Daily air pollution concentrations and weather variables in Wuhan during the study period were collected. We developed a land use regression model (LUR) to assess individual PM2.5 exposure. Time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models were adopted to estimate cardiorespiratory hospitalization risks associated with short-term exposure to PM2.5. We also conducted stratification analyses by age, sex, and season. RESULTS: A total of 2,806,115 hospital admissions records were collected during the study period, from which we identified 332,090 cardiovascular disease admissions and 159,365 respiratory disease admissions. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an increased risk of a cardiorespiratory hospital admission. A 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 (lag0-2 days) was associated with an increase in hospital admissions of 1.23% (95% CI 1.01-1.45%) and 1.95% (95% CI 1.63-2.27%) for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, respectively. The elderly were at higher PM-induced risk. The associations appeared to be more evident in the cold season than in the warm season. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes evidence of short-term effects of PM2.5 on cardiorespiratory hospital admissions, which may be helpful for air pollution control and disease prevention in Wuhan.

The Association between Preterm Birth and Ambient Air Pollution Exposure in Shiyan, China, 2015-2017.

Shortening of the gestational duration has been found associated with ambient air pollution exposure. However, the critical exposure windows of ambient air pollution for gestational duration remain inconsistent, and the association between ambient air pollution and early term births (ETB, 37 to 38 weeks) has rarely been studied relative to preterm births (PTB, 28-37 weeks). A time-series study was conducted in Shiyan, a medium-sized city in China. Birth information was collected from the Shiyan Maternity and Child Health Hospital, and 13,111 pregnant women who gave birth between 2015 and 2017 were included. Data of the concentrations of air pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 and meteorological data, were collected in the corresponding gestational period. The Cox regression analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and the risk of preterm birth after controlling the confounders, including maternal age, education, Gravidity, parity, fetal gender, and delivery mode. Very preterm birth (VPTB, 28-32 weeks) as a subtype of PTB was also incorporated in this study. The risk of VPTB and ETB was positively associated with maternal ambient air pollution exposure, and the correlation of gaseous pollutants was stronger than particulate matter. With respect to exposure windows, the critical trimester of air pollutants for different adverse pregnancy outcomes was different. The exposure windows of PM10, PM2.5, and SO2 for ETB were found in the third trimester, with HRs (hazard ratios) of 1.06 (95%CI: 1.04, 1.09), 1.07 (95%CI: 1.04, 1.11), and 1.28 (95%CI: 1.20, 1.35), respectively. However, for NO2, the second and third trimesters exhibited similar results, the HRs reaching 1.10 (95%CI: 1.03, 6.17) and 1.09 (95%CI: 1.03,1.15), respectively. This study extends and strengthen the evidence for a significant correlation between the ambient air pollution exposure during pregnancy and the risk of not only PTB but, also, ETB. Moreover, our findings suggest that the exposure windows during pregnancy vary with different air pollutants and pregnancy outcomes.

Genomic insight into diet adaptation in the biological control agent Cryptolaemus montrouzieri.

BACKGROUND: The ladybird beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is used worldwide as a biological control agent. It is a predator of various mealybug pests, but it also feeds on alternative prey and can be reared on artificial diets. Relatively little is known about the underlying genetic adaptations of its feeding habits. RESULTS: We report the first high-quality genome sequence for C. montrouzieri. We found that the gene families encoding chemosensors and digestive and detoxifying enzymes among others were significantly expanded or contracted in C. montrouzieri in comparison to published genomes of other beetles. Comparisons of diet-specific larval development, survival and transcriptome profiling demonstrated that differentially expressed genes on unnatural diets as compared to natural prey were enriched in pathways of nutrient metabolism, indicating that the lower performance on the tested diets was caused by nutritional deficiencies. Remarkably, the C. montrouzieri genome also showed a significant expansion in an immune effector gene family. Some of the immune effector genes were dramatically downregulated when larvae were fed unnatural diets. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the evolution of genes related to chemosensing, digestion, and detoxification but also immunity might be associated with diet adaptation of an insect predator. These findings help explain why this predatory ladybird has become a successful biological control agent and will enable the optimization of its mass rearing and use in biological control programs.

[Tolerance Mechanism and Cadmium Enrichment Abilities in Two Brassica napus L. Cultivars].

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to explore the differences in growth status and Cd accumulation characteristics of two Brassica napus L. cultivars (QY-1 and SYH) under different concentrations of cadmium (Cd) stress (0, 2, and 5 mg·L-1). The Cd subcellular compartmentalization and antioxidant enzyme activities were determined to elucidate the intrinsic mechanism of the differences in the Cd accumulation capacity between the two cultivars of Brassica napus L. Furthermore, field trials were conducted to further verify the differences in phytoremediation of the two cultivars. Results show that neither of the cultivars exhibited obvious growth inhibition under Cd stress. Under the 2 mg·L-1 Cd condition, there were no significant differences in shoot Cd concentrations between the two cultivars. Under 5 mg·L-1 Cd condition, however, the Cd concentrations in both shoot and root of SYH were significantly higher than that of QY-1, which increased by 32.05% and 99.57%, respectively. In addition, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of the root in SYH is significantly higher than that of QY-1. The subcellular Cd distribution in leaves of the two cultivars of Brassica napus L. showed that, with an increase of Cd stress, Cd concentrations of heat stable protein (HSP) and metal-rich granule (MRG) fractions in leaves significantly increased by 143.69% and 118.91% for QY-1, and by 63.34% and 118.91% for SYH. Thus, the segregation of Cd in HSP and MRG, which was reported to be biological detoxified metal fractions (BDM), might play an important role in the detoxification of Brassica napus L. at a subcellular level under Cd stress. Moreover, the distribution of Cd in the cellular debris fraction might be another important factor contributing to the differences in Cd accumulation of the two Brassica napus L. cultivars, which was 4.41 times higher in SYH than in QY-1 under Cd stress. The results of the antioxidant enzyme activities of two Brassica napus L. cultivars showed that, under the 5 mg·L-1 Cd condition, the antioxidant enzyme system may represent an important detoxification mechanism for QY-1 to cope with stress induced by high concentrations of Cd, while SYH is more effective in reducing the toxicity of Cd by separation of Cd into BDM fractions. The results of the field trial confirmed that the Cd concentrations in the above- and underground parts of SYH were 2.34 and 1.43 times higher than in QY-1, respectively. Therefore, SYH possess a higher Cd phytoextraction capacity than QY-1, and might be a good candidate for the remediation of moderate and mildly Cd-contaminated farmland.

Maternal PM2.5 exposure triggers preterm birth: a cross-sectional study in Wuhan, China.

Background: Most of the studies regarding air pollution and preterm birth (PTB) in highly polluted areas have estimated the exposure level based on fixed-site monitoring. However, exposure assessment methods relying on monitors have the potential to cause exposure misclassification due to a lack of spatial variation. In this study, we utilized a land use regression (LUR) model to assess individual exposure, and explored the association between PM2.5 exposure during each time window and the risk of preterm birth in Wuhan city, China. Methods: Information on 2101 singleton births, which were ≥ 20 weeks of gestation and born between November 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014; between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2015, was obtained from the Obstetrics Department in one 3A hospital in Wuhan. Air quality index (AQI) data were accessed from the Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau website. Individual exposure during pregnancy was assessed by LUR models and Kriging interpolation. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between women exposure to PM2.5 and the risk of different subtypes of PTB. Results: During the study period, the average individual exposure concentration of PM2.5 during the entire pregnancy was 84.54 µg/m3. A 10 µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure in the first trimester (OR: 1.169; 95% CI: 1.077, 1.262), the second trimester (OR: 1.056; 95% CI: 1.015, 1.097), the third trimester (OR: 1.052; 95% CI: 1.002, 1.101), and the entire pregnancy (OR: 1.263; 95% CI: 1.158, 1.368) was significantly associated with an increased risk of PTB. For the PTB subgroup, the hazard of PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy was stronger for very preterm births (VPTB) than moderate preterm births (MPTB). The first trimester was the most susceptible exposure window. Moreover, women who had less than 9 years of education or who conceived during the cold season tended to be more susceptible to the PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy. Conclusions: Maternal exposure to PM2.5 increased the risk of PTB, and this risk was stronger for VPTB than for MPTB, especially during the first trimester.

Haplogroup Structure and Genetic Variation Analyses of 60 Mitochondrial DNA Markers in Southern Shaanxi Han Population.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been widely employed as one tool for the studies of human migration and phylogenetic evolution owing to the characteristics of its lack of recombination and matrilineal inheritance. In this study, we analyze genetic distributions of 60 mtDNA markers in 126 unrelated individuals of Southern Shaanxi Han population and classify their haplogroups. Genetic distribution comparisons between Southern Shaanxi Han and other populations from different continents are conducted based on the same mtDNA markers. The majority of 60 mtDNA markers are polymorphic in Southern Shaanxi Han population. The most common haplogroups observed in Southern Shaanxi Han population are B5, followed by D5, A, D4e, and N9a1'3. Obtained matching probability for these 60 mtDNA markers indicates that the panel could be used as a valuable tool in forensic caseworks. Results of genetic distances (Fst) and multidimensional scaling analysis show that Southern Shaanxi Han population has relatively close genetic relationships with other Han populations in different regions. In conclusion, the panel comprising 60 mtDNA markers could be utilized for forensic applications in Southern Shaanxi Han population.

AtLHT1 Transporter Can Facilitate the Uptake and Translocation of a Glycinergic-Chlorantraniliprole Conjugate in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Understanding of the transporters involved in the uptake and translocation of agrochemicals in plants could provide an opportunity to guide pesticide to the site of insect feeding. The product of Arabidopsis thaliana gene AtLHT1 makes a major contribution to the uptake into the roots of free amino acids and some of their derivatives. Here, a chlorantraniliprole-glycine conjugate (CAP-Gly-1) was tested for its affinity to AtLHT1 both in planta and in vitro. Seedlings deficient in AtLHT1 exhibited a reduction with respect to both the uptake and root-to-shoot transfer of CAP-Gly-1; plants in which AtLHT1 was constitutively expressed were more effective than wild type in term of their root uptake of CAP-Gly-1. Protoplast patch clamping showed that the presence in the external medium of CAP-Gly-1 was able to induce AtLHT1 genotype-dependent inward currents. An electrophysiology-based experiment carried out in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing AtLHT1 showed that AtLHT1 had a high in vitro affinity for CAP-Gly-1. The observations supported the possibility of exploiting AtLHT1 as a critical component of a novel delivery system for amino acid-based pesticide conjugates.

Constituents from solid-cultured Antrodia camphorata.

Antrodia camphorata is a rare and precious traditional food and medicine for improving health-related conditions in Taiwan. The phytochemical research of the mushroom led to the isolation of a new naphthalenecarboxaldehyde, named as 1-Naphthalenecarboxaldehyde,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydro-2-(hydroxymethyl)-5,5,8a-trimethyl (1). Meanwhile, seven other known compounds of nerolidol (2), cadinol (3), herbarulide (4), 3ß-Hydroxy-5a,8a-epidioxyergosta-6,22-diene (5), ergosta-7,22-diene-3,6-dione (6) 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-p-benzoquinone (7) and ß-sitosterol (8) were also obtained from A. camphorata for the first time except compound (8). The new compound was elucidated by 2D NMR techniques (COSY, HMBC, HSQC, NOESY) and HRMS while those known compounds deduced by comparing 1H NMR and 13C NMR data with other literatures. Then, the hepG2 cell toxicity screening was conducted and the results demonstrated that only compound 7 and 8 exhibited significant toxicity to hepG2 cell at the concentration of 50 µg/mL.

Surface Energy and Surface Stability of Ag Nanocrystals at Elevated Temperatures and Their Dominance in Sublimation-Induced Shape Evolution.

The surface energy and surface stability of Ag nanocrystals (NCs) are under debate because the measurable values of the surface energy are very inconsistent, and the indices of the observed thermally stable surfaces are apparently in conflict. To clarify this issue, a transmission electron microscope is used to investigate these problems in situ with elaborately designed carbon-shell-capsulated Ag NCs. It is demonstrated that the {111} surfaces are still thermally stable at elevated temperatures, and the victory of the formation of {110} surfaces over {111} surfaces on the Ag NCs during sublimation is due to the special crystal geometry. It is found that the Ag NCs behave as quasiliquids during sublimation, and the cubic NCs represent a featured shape evolution, which is codetermined by both the wetting equilibrium at the Ag-C interface and the relaxation of the system surface energy. Small Ag NCs (≈10 nm) no longer maintain the wetting equilibrium observed in larger Ag NCs, and the crystal orientations of ultrafine Ag NCs (≈6 nm) can rotate to achieve further shape relaxation. Using sublimation kinetics, the mean surface energy of Ag NCs at 1073 K is calculated to be 1.1-1.3 J m-2 .

Risk factors and pain status due to diabetic neuropathy in chronic long-term diabetic patients in a Chinese urban population.

BACKGROUND: With economic growth and urbanization there have been significant changes in the life style and diet of urban residents in large cities of China, which is experiencing a rapid increase in the prevalence of diabetes. While high prevalence of diabetes has been reported, little is known of the long-term effects of diabetes in such a large population. The aim of this study was to estimate the morbidity rate of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in a Chinese urban diabetic population with more than 10 years' disease duration, and evaluate the relevant risk factors. The clinical manifestation of DPN and pain status was also assessed. METHODS: Five hundred and sixty-five diabetes patients were recruited into the study. Symptoms and examination helped diagnose neuropathy. The clinical manifestation of DPN was assessed with a visual analog pain score (VAS). Diabetic complication status was determined from medical records. Serum lipids and lipoproteins, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and the urinary albumin excretion rate were measured. RESULTS: The morbidity rate of DPN was 46.6%. HbA1c, hyperlipidemia, and retinopathy were significantly associated with neuropathy, and these risk factors were correlated with other diabetic micro and/or macrovascular complications. The average VAS pain score of the DPN patients was 4.12 ± 2.07. Severe and moderate pain was experienced by 11.4% and 40.5% respectively of DPN patients. About 3.7% of diabetic subjects had lower limb ulcer or amputation. CONCLUSIONS: The morbidity rate of DPN for diabetic patients with > 10 years duration is very high compared to the range reported for other populations in the world. The risk factors for DPN include HbA1c, hyperlipidemia, and retinopathy. In long-standing diabetic patients, DPN was not associated with diabetic duration, and half of the DPN patients experienced considerable daily suffering.

[Presurgical nasoalveolar molding in infants with cleft lip and palate: analysis of 29 cases].

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to treat the cleft lip and alveolus, nasal deformity with presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM), to elucidate the problems and treatment methods, which may be helpful for the use of PNAM in clinic. METHODS: Twenty nine infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP) were treated with PNAM in our center. There were 19 unilateral and 10 bilateral CLP patients. The initial visit time was 3 to 150 days after birth. Treatment time ranged from 2.5 to 3 months. The appliance was modified at 2-week interval. RESULTS: According to the evaluation standards, 17 infants were treated successfully with the closure of cleft lip and alveolar processes, reposition of the deformed nasal cartilages, and increased length of columella. The lip and nasal deformities of 9 infants were corrected partly, which were helpful for surgery. There were 3 infants giving up PNAM. CONCLUSIONS: There were five important facts for the successful treatment, including initial visit time, impression of the intraoral cleft defect, modification of the plate and the nasal stent, and use of nasal splints. Orthodontics and plastic surgeons should have the same views for PNAM in infants, which will advance the treatment level for cleft lip and palate.

[Sterilizing effect and mechanism of electrolyzed water].

OBJECTIVE: To study the sterilizing effect and mechanism of electrolyzed-oxidizing water (EOW) and electrolyzed-reductive water (ERW) for Bacillus subtilis var. niger (ATCC9372) and Escherichia coli (8099). METHODS: The generations of EOW and ERW were made in the ion membrane electrolysis cell. The sterilization manner was the suspension quantitative germicidal test. RESULTS: The killing rate of EOW for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 99.59% in 30 minutes and the killing logarithm value was 2.38 log cfu/ml; the killing rate of ERW for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 94.62% in 60 minutes and the killing logarithm value was 1.27 log cfu/ml; the killing rate of ERW for Escherichia coli was 100% in 30 minutes and the killing logarithm value was 8.26 log cfu/ml. When the available chlorine content (ACC) value in EOW was 74.90 mg/L and killing time was 30 minutes, the killing rate for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 99.89% and the killing logarithm value was 2.67 log cfu/ml. When the ACC value was 6.82 mg/L, the killing rate for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 83.30% and the killing logarithm value was 0. 78 log cfu/ml under the same time. When the oxidizing-reductive potential (ORP) and pH values of EOW were 1138 mV and 2.24 respectively, the killing rate for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 99.99%. When the ORP and pH values of EOW were 883 mV and 5. 43 respectively, the killing rate of Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 99.73%. When the ORP value of ERW is -918 mV, the sterilizing rate for Bacillus subtilis var. niger was 94.62%; when the ORP value is -155 mV, the sterilizing ratio was only 40.19%. CONCLUSION: It indicates that the sterilizing mechanism of EOW is mainly chemical processes (ACC), while the physical factors are auxiliary. The sterilizing mechanism of ERW is physics sterilizing that the mainly factor is ORP.

[Expression and significance of APC, beta-catenin, C-myc, and Cyclin D1 proteins in colorectal carcinoma].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: The abnormal oncogenes and antioncogenes in Wnt signaling transduction pathway activate downstream specific target genes, and may play important roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. This study was to examine the expression of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), beta-catenin, C-myc, and Cyclin D1 in different colorectal tissues, and investigate their possible roles in the carcinogenesis of colorectal carcinoma. METHODS: The expression of APC, beta-catenin, C-myc, and Cyclin D1 in 30 specimens of normal colorectal mucosa, 30 specimens of colorectal adenoma, 10 specimens of colorectal adenoma with malignancy, and 50 specimens of colorectal carcinoma was examined by immunohistochemistry. The expression of beta-catenin on cell membrane was regarded as normal, and its expression in cytoplasm and nuclei was defined as ectopic expression. RESULTS: The positive rate of APC was significantly lower in colorectal carcinoma and colorectal adenoma with malignancy than in colorectal adenoma and normal colorectal mucosa (44.0% and 40.0% vs. 86.7% and 100.0%, P<0.01). The ectopic expression rate of beta-catenin was significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma, colorectal adenoma with malignancy, and colorectal adenoma than in normal colorectal mucosa (62.0%, 50.0%, and 30.0% vs. 0%, P<0.01), and significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma than in colorectal adenoma (P<0.01). The positive rate of C-myc was significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma, colorectal adenoma with malignancy, and colorectal adenoma than in normal colorectal mucosa (56.0%, 60.0%, and 46.7% vs. 0%, P<0.01). The positive rate of Cyclin D1 was significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma, colorectal adenoma with malignancy, and colorectal adenoma than in normal colorectal mucosa (66.0%, 60.0%, and 30.0% vs. 0%,P<0.01), and significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma than in colorectal adenoma (P<0.01). The ectopic expression of beta-catenin was positively correlated to the expression of C-myc and Cyclin D1 (r=0.63,P<0.01; r=0.57, P<0.01), and negatively correlated to the expression of APC (r=-0.39, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The reduced expression of APC, ectopic expression of beta-catenin, overexpression of C-myc and Cyclin D1 exist in colorectal carcinoma, which may play important roles in the carcinogenesis of colorectal carcinoma.

[Observation on therapeutic effect of pulse magnetic acupuncture at scalp acupoints on acute cerebral infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To apply pulse magnetic acupuncture at scalp acupoints to treat acute cerebral infarction and to explore the mechanism. METHODS: A pulse magnetic acupuncture group, a routine acupuncture group and a static magnetic acupuncture group were set up, 30 cases in each group. Their clinical therapeutic effects were observed. RESULTS: The cured-markedly effective rate was 80.0% in the pulse magnetic acupuncture group and 70.3% in the routine acupuncture group with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05), which were significant difference with 36.6% in the static magnetic acupuncture group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Pulse magnetic acupuncture and routine acupuncture at scalp acupoints have same therapeutic effect on acute cerebral infarction, which is superior to that of static magnetic acupuncture.