Celastrol inhibits mouse B16-F10 melanoma cell survival by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and repressing HIF-1α expression.

OBJECTIVE: Melanoma, with its high degree of malignancy, stands as one of the most dangerous skin cancers and remains the primary cause of death from skin cancer. With studies demonstrating the potential of traditional Chinese medicine to intervene and treat melanoma, we turned our attention to celastrol. Celastrol is a triterpene compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine derived from Tripterygium wilfordii. Previous studies have shown that celastrol exerts inhibitory effects on various malignant tumors, including melanoma. Hence, our goal was to clarify the impact of celastrol on cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle progression by elucidating its effects on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. METHODS: CCK-8 and wound healing assays were used to determine the effect of celastrol on the viability and migration of B16-F10 cells. Changes in cell apoptosis, cell cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential were detected by flow cytometry. PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway proteins and HIF-α mRNA expression in B16-F10 cells were detected by western blotting and qPCR. Moreover, the addition of a PI3K activator demonstrated that celastrol could inhibit the function of B16-F10 cells via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. RESULTS: Celastrol inhibited the viability and migration of B16-F10 cells. Through the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway down-regulates the expression of HIF-α mRNA, thereby causing an increase of ROS in cells and a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential to promote cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. The inhibitory effect of celastrol on B16-F10 cells was further demonstrated by co-culturing with a PI3K activator. CONCLUSION: Celastrol inhibits the function of B16-F10 cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR cellular pathway and regulating the expression of downstream HIF-α mRNA.

PEEK for Oral Applications: Recent Advances in Mechanical and Adhesive Properties.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic material widely used in engineering applications due to its good biomechanical properties and high temperature stability. Compared to traditional metal and ceramic dental materials, PEEK dental implants exhibit less stress shielding, thus better matching the mechanical properties of bone. As a promising medical material, PEEK can be used as implant abutments, removable and fixed prostheses, and maxillofacial prostheses. It can be blended with materials such as fibers and ceramics to improve its mechanical strength for better clinical dental applications. Compared to conventional pressed and CAD/CAM milling fabrication, 3D-printed PEEK exhibits excellent flexural and tensile strength and parameters such as printing temperature and speed can affect its mechanical properties. However, the bioinert nature of PEEK can make adhesive bonding difficult. The bond strength can be improved by roughening or introducing functional groups on the PEEK surface by sandblasting, acid etching, plasma treatment, laser treatment, and adhesive systems. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the research progress on the mechanical properties of PEEK for dental applications in the context of specific applications, composites, and their preparation processes. In addition, the research on the adhesive properties of PEEK over the past few years is highlighted. Thus, this review aims to build a conceptual and practical toolkit for the study of the mechanical and adhesive properties of PEEK materials. More importantly, it provides a rationale and a general new basis for the application of PEEK in the dental field.

A scenario analysis-based optimal management of water resources supply and demand balance: A case study of Chengdu, China.

Water resources scarcity has threatened the coordinative development of demographics, society and economy. As a typical rapidly urbanizing area and an emerging megacity in China, Chengdu is confronting the pressure of inadequate water supply. The present study divides the macroeconomic factors that affect the water resource supply and demand balance into six major subsystems: water resources supply, water demand, water drainage, population, ecological environment and economy. The combining variable interaction description and predictive simulation models are applied to simulate the water supply and demand ratio (S:D) from 2005 to 2035. Further, this study designs different development scenarios to simulate the change of S:D ratios by altering the parameter values of driving factors. The results show that: (1) the S:D ratio will decline if the current development scenario continues, implying the serious water resources shortage and the severe water supply-demand conflict in Chengdu; (2) socio-economic water demand and wastewater/rainwater reuse are the key driving parameters of S:D ratio, especially the water consumption per ten thousand yuan of industrial value-added; (3) the S:D ratio will increase from 0.92 in the current baseline scenario to 1.06 in the integrated optimization scenario in 2025, and the long-term planning brings 2035 from 0.71 to 1.03, with the proportion of unconventional water supply rise to 38% and 61%, respectively. This study can provide a decision-making tool for policy-makers to explore plausible policy scenarios necessary for bridging the gap between the water supply and demand in megacities.

Lifestyle pattern of middle school students in Guangzhou / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To identify the lifestyle pattern of adolescents in Guangzhou and to provide a scientific basis for targeted and individualized interventions for adolescents with different lifestyle pattern.@*Methods@#A survey was conducted by questionnaire among 12 540 students from 27 middle schools in the urban area of Guangzhou using a convenient sampling method. The latent class model (LCM) was used to identify lifestyle patterns of adolescents, and further analyses were conducted to compare differences in dietary habits and willingness to exercise among the different classes.@*Results@#Three lifestyle patterns were identified based on the latent class model: "high sweet snacks/excessive screen time, sleep and exercise deficiency group", 3 797 people, accounting for 30.3%; "low nutrition diet/severe sleep and exercise deficiency group", 2 745 people, accounting for 21.9%; "general diet/sleep and exercise deficiency group", 5 998 people, accounting for 47.8%. Adolescents of different classes had different perceptions of their eating habits and different degrees of willingness to participate in physical exercise, these differences were statistically significant(χ 2=671.54, Z=153.16, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The results of the latent class model showed that the three classes of adolescents had their own unique characteristics. It is necessary to inform them of their needs, provide guidance and implement targeted interventions according to the unique characteristics of the different lifestyle patterns in empirical work.

Influence of birthweight and delivery mode on obesity among primary school students in Guangzhou / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the influence of birthweight and delivery mode on overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity in primary school students, and to provide evidence for childhood obesity prevention.@*Methods@#After physical examination, questionnaire survey was conducted among 3 361 students and their parents from 3 primary schools in Guangzhou selected through stratified clustering sampling. Information about birthweight and delivery mode was collected. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of birthweight and delivery mode with overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity. The multiplicative interaction term and the Delta method was used to explore the potential interaction.@*Results@#The prevalence rate of overweight and obesity for primary school students was 21.33%, and the rate of abdominal obesity was 12.08%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that delivery by cesarean section was associated with 44% increased risk of overweight/obesity(OR=1.44, 95%CI=1.16-1.80), as compared to vaginal delivery. Higher birthweight was linked to increased risk of overweight/obesity(OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.09-2.42). There was no significant association of birth weight and delivery mode with abdominal obesity in multivariate analysis(P>0.05). Additionally, a positive additive interaction was seen between delivery mode and parental obesity for students risk of overweight/obesity(RERI=0.33, 95%CI=0.02-0.65), as well as for the risk of abdominal obesity(RERI=0.39, 95%CI=0.12-0.65).@*Conclusion@#Cesarean section delivery and higher birthweight are linked to increased risk of overweight and obesity in primary school students. The synergistic effect of cesarean section and parental obesity may increase the risk of childhood obesity.

Effects of cigarette smoking and biomass fuel on lung function and respiratory symptoms in middle-aged adults and the elderly in Guangdong province, China: A cross-sectional study.

We sought to investigate the association between active cigarette smoking (ex- and current smokers) with or without exposure to biomass fuels and respiratory symptoms/lung function in middle-aged adults and the elderly. In the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance conducted in six cities of Guangdong province, China, we surveyed 1986 residents aged 40-93 years. We recorded respiratory symptoms, smoking status, use of biomass fuel, and other covariates by using a structured questionnaire. All models were adjusted for second-hand smoking. Active smoking with or without exposure to biomass fuels was significantly associated with wheezing, chronic cough, and phlegm (all P < .05). Active smoking alone with or without exposure to biomass fuels was associated with 2.5% and 0.6% reduction in the mean forced vital capacity predicted, 6.8% and 4.2% reduction in the mean forced expiratory volume in one second predicted, and 9.0% and 4.7% reduction in the mean maximal mid-expiratory flow predicted compared with the exposure to neither smoking nor biomass fuels, respectively. However, exposure to biomass fuel alone was associated with neither greater lung function impairment nor respiratory symptoms except for chronic cough. Efforts should be made to protect home owners and their family from adverse effects of indoor air pollution.

Meta-analysis of effects on mobile health intervention in children and adolescents obesity / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To evaluate effects of mobile health intervention on vegetables and fruits intakes, screen time, body mass index, BMI Z score and waist circumference in children and adolescents.@*Methods@#The literature search was performed to find articles published up to December 2018 in the databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang. The articles focusing on the keywords of "prevention" "children" "adolescents" "obesity" "weight loss" "m-Health" "mobile phone" "mobile application" "mobile techonology" "cell phone" "smartphone" "mobile apps" for the delivery of children and adolescents obesity interventions were included. Stata 13.0 software was used for Meta-analysis.@*Results@#A total of 15 studies were included, and mobile health had an effect on the vegetables and fruits intakes and screen time for children and adolescents. Mobile health was more effective in the intervention participants compared to controls, the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95%CI were 0.54 (95%CI=0.27-0.81) and -0.32(95%CI=-0.47--0.18),respectively. However, no statistical differences in the BMI, BMI Z score and waist circumference were found between intervention and control groups.@*Conclusion@#The effect of mobile health intervention on obesity in children and adolescents needs more long-term follow-up and larger sample size studies to clarify.