Association between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Risk of Dyslipidemia in University Staff: A Cross-Sectional Study and a ROC Curve Analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the relationship between dyslipidemia (DL) risk and health-related physical fitness (HPF) and evaluated the prognostic value of HPF for risk of DL. METHODS: A total of 776 university staff members were recruited, of which 407 were females, and 369 males. Blood samples and HPF tests were collected from all participants after 12 h fasting. RESULTS: The prevalence of DL was 41.77% and 51.49% in female and male university staff members, respectively, and there was no significant difference between genders (χ2 = 2.687, p = 0.101). According to the logistic regression analysis, age, male sex, GLU, hypertension, BMI, BF, WHtR, and LAP were significant risk factors for DL (p < 0.05), VCI and, SAR were significant protective factors for DL (p < 0.05), and SMI, GS, and VG were not significantly associated with the risk of DL. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) analysis indicated that, LAP (AUC: 0.730, 95CI%: 0.697-0.762), WHtR (AUC: 0.626, 95CI%: 0.590-0.660), and BMI (AUC: 0.599, 95CI%: 0.563-0.634) are valid predictors of DL, and LAP and WHtR perform better than BMI (Z = 8.074, p < 0.001) in predicting DL in male and female university staff members. CONCLUSION: The risk of DL is significantly related to body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and flexibility. LAP and WHtR perform better than BMI in predicting risk of DL in male and female university staff members.

The Effects of a Trace Amount of Manganese and the Homogenization on the Recrystallization of Al-7Mg-0.15Ti Alloys.

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of Manganese addition and homogenization treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the Al-7Mg-0.15Ti (B535.0) alloy. The optical microscopy, electrical conductivity measurements, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM + EBSD), as well as Rockwell hardness and tensile tests, were exploited for this purpose. The main objectives are to refine the grain size, inhibit grain growth in the annealed state, and enhance the mechanical strength of the alloy. The results show that the addition of manganese to the Al-7Mg-0.15Ti alloys refined the as-cast and recrystallized grains of the alloys. During the homogenization process, Al4Mn high-temperature stable dispersoids were precipitated in the aluminum matrix. After annealing, the Al4Mn particles blocked the movement of grain boundaries during the growth of the recrystallized grains and inhibited grain growth. Consequently, the annealed alloys showed grain refinement and dispersion strengthening. The Al4Mn dispersoids of the alloys with manganese added were smaller and denser after a two-stage homogenization process compared to those that underwent a one-stage homogenization process. By contrast, for the alloys without the addition of manganese, the recrystallized grains showed normal growth after annealing, and different homogenization processes had no significantly different effects.

Effects of survivin antisense oligonucleotides on survivin and Smac gene expression in ovarian cancer cells / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of survivin antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) on survivin and Smac gene expression in ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells and explore the role of survivin and Smac genes in ASODN-induced ovarian cancer cell cycle alteration and apoptosis and its molecular mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Survivin ASODN was introduced via Lipofectamine(TM)2000 into SKOV3 cells, whose growth activity was detected subsequently with MTT assay. The apoptosis index, cell cycle and changes in survivn and Smac protein expression were determined using flow cytometry. The changes in survivn and Smac mRNA expression were detected by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In comparison with the control cells, cells transfected with difference concentrations of survivin ASODN exhibited significantly inhibited growth, and 48 h after the transfection, the IC(50) was about 600 nmol/L. After a 48-hour transfection of the cells with 600 nmol/L ASODN, the apoptosis index significantly decreased (t=6.3671, P<0.05), and the cell percentage in (1)/G(0) phase increased (t=10.3832, P<0.01), resulting also in significantly down-regulated survivin mRNA and protein expressions (t=3.5031, P<0.05; t=7.8146, P<0.01) and up-regulated Smac mRNA and protein expressions (t= 2.8011, P<0.05; t= 11.3917, P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ASODN against survivin can induce apoptosis of ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and results cell growth arrest in G(1)/G(0) phase by up-regulating Smac and down-regulating survivin expression. Survivin and Smac are closely correlated in their action on SKOV3 cell cycle and apoptosis, which is one of the important mechanisms of ovarian cancer development.</p>