Correlation between inflammatory marker and lipid metabolism in patients with uterine leiomyomas.

Introduction: Obesity is a risk factor for the development of uterine leiomyoma (UL), and the inflammatory response plays a key role in the pathogenesis of UL. Our objective was to assess whether there was an independent relationship between inflammatory markers and triglycerides (TG) in patients with UL. Methods: 1,477 UL participants who were hospitalized at the Jining Medical University between January 2016 and December 2022 were included in this cross-sectional study. The independent and dependent variables measured at baseline were inflammatory markers and TG levels, respectively. The covariates were age, body mass index (BMI), UL and menstrual status. Based on the number of fibroids, the study population was divided into Single-group and Multiple-group. Results: Univariate and multiple regression analyses and stratified analyses revealed significant positive correlations between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and systemic immune inflammation index and TG, and significant negative correlations between monocyte-lymphocyte ratio and TG. Conclusion: The findings show a significant correlation between the inflammatory response and lipid metabolism levels in UL patients. This provides direction for further research into the pathophysiology of UL and also helps to formulate hypotheses for predictive models of UL.

Inflammatory Markers in Women with Infertility: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: Infertility is highly correlated with inflammation. We sought to evaluate the independent relationships between each inflammatory marker in women with infertility. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1028 infertile patients who were hospitalized at Jining Medical University between January 2016 and December 2022. NLR and PLR were the independent and dependent variables measured at baseline, respectively. Age, body mass index (BMI), and menstrual status were covariates. Based on BMI, the study population was split into two groups: Low-BMI and High-BMI. Results: A stratified analysis revealed that the overweight group had significantly higher levels of WBC, platelet count, lymphocyte count, neutrophil count and NLR. Comparing the overweight group to the normal weight group, the levels were noticeably higher in the overweight group. Significantly positive correlations between NLR and PLR were found in both univariate and multiple regression analyses. Conclusion: There was a significant positive correlation between NLR and PLR in infertility patients. These results will help in the search for biomarkers of infertility and in the development of infertility prediction models.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Bupleurum spp. Basing Agronomic Traits, Medicinal Components and ISSR Markers.

Radix bupleuri is one of the bulk medicinal materials in China and it is widely adopted in clinical applications and drug discovery. The investigation of agronomic traits, active component content and genetic diversity in diverse Radix bupleuri germplasms may provide evidence to promote the selection of better strains. In this research, 13 germplasms from various sources were used to investigate the variations between different Radix bupleuri germplasms. Nine biological characteristics were noted in the field, and the levels of the two primary active ingredients were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, the molecular marker technique of inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) were employed to evaluate the molecular genetic diversity. The findings showed that there was a wide range of variation among the many varieties of Radix bupleuri, with coefficients of variation for agronomic traits and active component content ranging from 7.62% to 41.54% and 36.47% to 53.70%, respectively. Moreover, there are different degrees of relationship between the two. Since there was a significant correlation between root weight and saikosaponin content, it was possible to classify a plant based on its weight and anticipate its saikosaponin content. The 13 species were divided into four groups based on their germplasm by genetic markers-based cluster analysis. This indicated the possibility that the component content would not necessarily be related to germplasm and might easily be influenced by environmental factors. The use of ISSR marker technology made it possible to precisely identify the various Radix bupleuri provenances and its counterfeit products. There may be a way to prevent the misunderstandings caused by the appearance and composition of Chinese medicinal substances. In our study, the germplasm of Radix bupleuri that was widely circulated in the market was comprehensively evaluated in terms of agronomic traits, active components and molecular level, and identified by simple means, to provide a theoretical basis for the evaluation and screening of fine germplasms of Radix bupleuri.

Formal finance and household enterprise performance in Ghana: The gender dimension.

In this study, we empirically examine the gender dimension of the effect of formal finance on enterprise performance. While the literature suggests that formal finance, in general, improves firm performance, this effect may differ across firms headed by male and female entrepreneurs since the latter are faced with more severe social, economic, and financial constraints, which undermine their firm performance. Consequently, the effect of finance on firm performance is expected to be weaker in female-headed enterprises. So far, there is little evidence as to whether a gender gap exists regarding the effect of formal finance on firm performance, especially among small household enterprises. To fill the gap in the literature, we use the Ghana Living Standards Survey 2016/2017 and study the effect of formal credit on the productivity of male-headed and female-headed non-farm household enterprises in Ghana. Our results show that a positive effect of formal credit on labor productivity is only found in male-headed enterprises, but not in female-headed ones. We suspect that this result may be explained by women's relatively less endowment in conditional factors, such as skills, knowledge, experiences, and capabilities.

Correlation Between Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Uterine Leiomyoma: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The inflammatory reaction has been proven to be a key factor in the pathogenesis of uterine leiomyoma. The platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are inexpensive and reliable inflammatory biomarkers. However, evidence of the relationship between PLR and NLR in patients with uterine leiomyoma is limited. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PLR and NLR in patients with incident uterine leiomyoma. This cross-sectional study included 763 patients with uterine leiomyoma who were first diagnosed in our hospital between January 2016 and December 2016. Patient characteristics were collected for univariate analysis, smooth curve fitting, and multivariate piecewise linear regression. Overall, 722 patients with an average age of 40.16 ± 5.99 years were included. The average PLR was 161.22 ± 65.33. Univariate analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between PLR and NLR (P < 0.0001). In addition, the non-linear relationship between the PLR and NLR was tested using smooth curve fitting after adjusting for potential confounding factors. The multivariate piecewise linear regression model showed that there was a significant positive correlation between PLR and NLR in both PLR <226.45 (ß 0.01, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.01;P < 0.0001) and >226.45 (ß 0.00, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.00; P=0.0026). In conclusion, PLR and NLR are positively correlated in patients with uterine leiomyoma. This result clarifies the promoting role of inflammation in the occurrence of uterine leiomyoma.

Advances in Mechanism Research on Polygonatum in Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus is a fast-growing disease with a major influence on people's quality of life. Oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin are currently the main effective drugs in the treatment of diabetes, but chronic consumption of these drugs has certain side effects. Polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, and phenolics are the primary secondary metabolites isolated from the rhizomes of Polygonatum sibiricum Redouté [Asparagaceae], Polygonatum kingianum Collett & Hemsl [Asparagaceae], or Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua [Asparagaceae], which have attracted much more attention owing to their unique therapeutic role in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. However, the research on the mechanism of these three Polygonatum spp. in diabetes has not been reviewed. This review provides a summary of the research progress of three Polygonatum spp. on diabetes and its complications, reveals the potential antidiabetic mechanism of three Polygonatum spp., and discusses the effect of different processed products of three Polygonatum spp. in treating diabetes, for the sake of a thorough understanding of its effects on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and diabetes complications.

Vitamin D Status and Risk of Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes: A Retrospective Single Center Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) affects up to half of the people with cystic fibrosis (CF) by adulthood. CFRD is primarily caused by pancreatic dysfunction that leads to insufficient insulin release and/or insulin resistance. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in people with CF is associated with fat-soluble vitamin malabsorption, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. This study examined the relationship between vitamin D status, assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and the development of CF-related diabetes (CFRD) in adults with CF. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of adults seen at a single CF center. The data were extracted from the electronic medical records and the Emory Clinical Data Warehouse, a data repository of health information from patients seen at Emory Healthcare. We collected age, race, the first recorded serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration, body mass index (BMI), and onset of diabetes diagnosis. Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) tests were used to compare the relative risk of CFRD onset in the subjects with stratified vitamin D status and weight status. A sub-group analysis using chi-square tests assessed the independence between vitamin D deficiency and CFRD risk factors, including gender and CF mutation types (homozygous or heterozygous for F508del, or others). Unpaired t-tests were also used to compare the BMI values and serum 25(OH)D between the CF adults based on the CFRD development. RESULTS: This study included 253 subjects with a mean age of 27.1 years (±9.0), a mean follow-up time period of 1917.1 (±1394.5) days, and a mean serum 25(OH)D concentration of 31.8 ng/mL (±14.0). The majority (52.6%) of the subjects developed CFRD during the study period. Vitamin D deficiency (defined as 25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL) was present in 25.3% of the subjects. Close to two thirds (64.1%) of the subjects with vitamin D deficiency developed CFRD during the study. Vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of developing CFRD (chi-square, p = 0.03) during the course of the study. The time to the onset of CFRD stratified by vitamin D status was also significant (25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL vs. 25(OH)D ≥ 20 ng/mL) (95% CI: 1.2, 2.7, p < 0.0078). CONCLUSION: Our findings support the hypothesis that adults with CF and vitamin D deficiency are at a higher risk of developing CFRD and are at risk for earlier CFRD onset. The maintenance of a serum 25(OH)D concentration above 20 ng/mL may decrease the risk of progression to CFRD.

Fan-Shaped Body Neurons in the Drosophila Brain Regulate Both Innate and Conditioned Nociceptive Avoidance.

Multiple brain regions respond to harmful nociceptive stimuli. However, it remains unclear as to whether behavioral avoidance of such stimuli can be modulated within the same or distinct brain networks. Here, we found subgroups of neurons localized within a well-defined brain region capable of mediating both innate and conditioned nociceptive avoidance in Drosophila. Neurons in the ventral, but not the dorsal, of the multiple-layer organized fan-shaped body (FB) are responsive to electric shock (ES). Silencing ES-responsive neurons, but not non-responsive neurons, leads to reduced avoidance of harmful stimuli, including ES and heat shock. Activating these neurons consistently triggers avoidance and can serve as an unconditional stimulus in an aversive classical conditioning task. Among the three groups of responsive neurons identified, two also have reduced activity in ES-conditioned odor avoidance. These results demonstrate that both innate and conditioned nociceptive avoidance might be represented within neurons confined to a single brain region.

Discovery of novel 2-substituted-4-phenoxypyridine derivatives as potential antitumor agents.

A series of 2-substituted-4-phenoxypyridine derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against 4 cancer cell lines (A549, HT-29, H460, and U87MG) in vitro. Most compounds showed moderate to excellent potency. Nine tyrosine kinases (c-Met, Flt-3, ALK, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, PDGFR-α, PDGFR-ß, c-Kit, and EGFR) were used to evaluate the inhibitory activities with the most promising analogue 39, which showed the Flt-3/c-Met IC50 values of 2.18/2.61 nM. Structure-activity relationship studies indicated that n-Pr served as R1 group showed a higher preference, and stronger mono-EWGs on the phenyl ring (such as R2 = 4-F) was benefited to the potency.

[Situation of impaired glucose regulation and metabolic syndrome in overweight or obesity adolescent students in Dongguan city].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the occurrence and development of adolescent students' type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by researching the characteristics of the adolescent students' impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) effected by overweight or obesity. METHODS: From May to November 2007, 3856 middle school students aged 11 to 18 years old in Dongguan city were enrolled in the study. Overweight or obesity (b/Ob) depended on three indexes: the national unified school-age children and adolescent students' body mass index (BMI) and the temporary screening classification standard II established by the Working Group on Obesity in China, BP > or = 140/90 mm Hg (1mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) and fasting capillary whole glucose which was greater than or equal to 5.6 mmol/L. The fasting capillary whole glucose was screened by blood glucose meter from fingertips. Students who had any abnormal indexes were brought into this study. On basis of voluntary principle, blood lipid, fasting blood glucose (FPG) and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2 h PG), fasting insulin (FIns) of 368 male and 326 female students who conformed to these conditions were measured using their venous blood. By temporary BMI standard II, they were divided into overweight group (b) and obesity group (Ob). Data of different age groups (11 to 14; 15 to 18 years old) was analyzed. RESULTS: The BMI, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), insulin resistance index (IR), IFG and IGT of the same age stage in two groups were compared. The BMI value was (22.1 +/- 2.4) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.38 +/- 0.65) mmol/L, IR was 1.15 +/- 0.58 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 3.5% and 1.4% respectively in female students aged 11 to 14 years old in b group. In Ob group, BMI value was (24.4 +/- 3.9) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.70 +/- 0.73) mmol/L, IR was 1.36 +/- 0.67 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 14.6% and 6.3% respectively. t or chi2 values of two groups which were compared were 4.83, 2.45, 2.10, 7.41 and 7.99 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). BMI value was (25.8 +/- 3.1) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.35 +/- 0.62) mmol/L, IR was 1.14 +/- 0.64 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 3.1% and 4.1% respectively in 15 to 18 years old in b group. In Ob group, BMI value was (28.0 +/- 4.3) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.69 +/- 0.69) mmol/L, IR was 1.43 +/- 0.84 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 12.8% and 15.4% respectively. t or chi2 values of two groups which were compared were 3.33, 2.79, 1.87, 4.75 and 5.17 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). BMI value was (22.4 +/- 2.3) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.36 +/- 0.67) mmol/L, IR was 1.19 +/- 0.65 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 3.6% and 1.8% respectively in male students of 11 to 14 years old in b group. In Ob group, BMI value was (24.6 +/- 4.2) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.68 +/- 0.71) mmol/L, IR was 1.44 +/- 0.89 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 13.3% and 9.4% respectively. t or chi2 values of two groups which were compared were 4.85, 2.72, 2.19, 6.75 and 6.76 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). BMI value was (26.4 +/- 2.8) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.35 +/- 0.70) mmol/L, IR was 1.24 +/- 0.68 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 4.7% and 5.6% respectively in 15 to 18 years old in b group. In Ob group, BMI value was (28.2 +/- 4.8) kg/m2, LDL-C was (2.71 +/- 0.73) mmol/L, IR was 1.50 +/- 0.95 and the detection rates of IFG and IGT were 17.9% and 17.9% respectively. t or chi2 values of two groups which were compared were 2.80, 2.69, 1.84, 6.68 and 6.27 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). The male students' FPG of 11 to 14 years old in b group was (4.88 +/- 0.76) mmol/L and FPG of Ob group was (5.09 +/- 0.80) mmol/L. Two groups were compared and t = 1.84 (P < 0.05). The statistical differences were all observed. We compared different age stages and found that the male students' 2-hour PG of 11 to 14 years old in Ob group was (5.13 +/- 1.18) mmol/L and the 2-hour PG of 15 to 18 years old was (5.36 +/- 1.24) mmol/L. Two groups were compared and t = 1.78 (P < 0.05) near the adults value. Male students' IGT of 11 to 14 years old (b/Ob) had 8 positive cases and the positive detection rate was 3.6%. IGT of 15 to 18 years old (b/Ob) had 13 positive cases and the positive detection rate was 8.9%. Two age stages were compared and chi2 = 6.86 (P < 0.01). Female students' IGT of 11 to 14 years old (b/Ob) had 5 positive cases and the positive detection rate was 2.6%. IGT of 15 to 18 years old (b/Ob) had 10 positive cases and the positive detection rate was 7.4%. Two age stages were compared and chi2 = 4.02 (P < 0.05). All had statistical significance. The high IGT incidence rate of b/Ob group's male and female students was in the stage of 15 - 18 years old. Male students were more obvious. CONCLUSION: T2DM prevention among adolescent students should start with body overweight control. Meanwhile, the adolescent students with high risk factors should be screened regularly and early measures should be taken to prevent the impaired glucose regulation (IFG, IGT) transforming into T2DM.