[Evaluation of Performance of an Aminated Rosin-based Resin for Adsorption of Norfloxacin from Aqueous Solutions].

An aminated rosin-based resin (ARBR) was synthesized as a novel environmentally-friendly adsorbent for removal of Norfloxacin (NOR) from aqueous solutions. Its features were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and surface area measurements (BET). The effects of resin dosage, pH, and ionic strength on the ARBR adsorption properties of NOR were investigated by batch experiments. Results showed that the NOR adsorption amounts increased with pH in the range from 2.0 to 6.0, but decreased at higher pH (8-10). The adsorption process of NOR followed a pseudo-second rate model and could be fitted to the Langmuir isotherm, with calculated maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 30.29 mg·g-1 at pH 6.0 and 20℃. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the adsorption of NOR was a spontaneous and endothermic process and could be attributed to a combination of electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, the adsorbed NOR on ARBR could be efficiently desorbed by 0.1 mol·L-1 HCl to regenerate the resin. After five adsorption-desorption recycles, ARBR had a stable adsorption performance and could be recycled. The adsorption performance is better than that of various commercial resins, and these research results contribute to the development of applications of rosin derivatives and their utilization in the environmental control of micro pollutants.

Reanalysis and External Validation of a Decision Tree Model for Detecting Unrecognized Diabetes in Rural Chinese Individuals.

We reanalyzed previous data to develop a more simplified decision tree model as a screening tool for unrecognized diabetes, using basic information in Beijing community health records. Then, the model was validated in another rural town. Only three non-laboratory-based risk factors (age, BMI, and presence of hypertension) with fewer branches were used in the new model. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the curve (AUC) for detecting diabetes were calculated. The AUC values in internal and external validation groups were 0.708 and 0.629, respectively. Subjects with high risk of diabetes had significantly higher HOMA-IR, but no significant difference in HOMA-B was observed. This simple tool will help general practitioners and residents assess the risk of diabetes quickly and easily. This study also validates the strong associations of insulin resistance and early stage of diabetes, suggesting that more attention should be paid to the current model in rural Chinese adult populations.

Effects of electromagnetic pulse exposure on gelatinase of blood-brain barrier in vitro.

The biological effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on the brain have been focused on for years. It was reported that gelatinase played an important role in maintaining brain function through regulating permeability in the blood-brain barrier (BBB). To investigate the effects of EMP on gelatinase of BBB, an in vitro BBB model was established using primary cultured rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVEC), astrocytes and half-contact culture of these cells in a transwell chamber. Cultured supernatant and cells were collected at different time points after exposure to EMP (peak intensity 400 kV/m, rise time 10 ns, pulse width 350 ns, 0.5 pps and 200 pulses). Protein levels of cellular gelatinase MMP-2 and MMP-9, and endogenous inhibitor TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were detected by Western blot. The activity of gelatinase in culture supernatant was detected by gelatin zymography. It was found that compared with the sham-exposed group, the protein level of MMP-2 was significantly increased at 6 h (p < 0.05), and the protein level of its endogenous inhibitor TIMP-2 did not change after EMP exposure. In addition, the protein levels of MMP-9 and its endogenous inhibitor TIMP-1 did not change after EMP exposure. Gelatin zymography results showed that the activity of MMP-2 in the inner pool and the outer pool of the transwell chamber was significantly increased at 6 h after EMP exposure compared with that of the sham group. These results suggested that EMP exposure could affect the expression and activity of MMP-2 in the BBB model.

Maternal inheritance of severe hypertriglyceridemia impairs glucose metabolism in offspring.

Maternally inherited familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) impairs glucose metabolism and increases cardiovascular risks in the offspring to a greater degree than paternal inherited FH. However, it remains unknown whether hypertriglyceridemia affects glucose metabolism via inheritance. In this study, we sought to compare the impact of maternally and paternally inherited hypertriglyceridemia on glucose and lipid metabolism in mice. ApoCIII transgenic mice with severe hypertriglyceridemia were mated with non-transgenic control mice to obtain 4 types of offspring: maternal non-transgenic control and maternal transgenic offspring, and paternal control and paternal transgenic offspring. Plasma triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FINS) were measured. ApoCIII overexpression caused severe hypertriglyceridemia, but the transgenic female mice had unaltered fertility with normal pregnancy and birth of pups. The 4 groups of offspring had similar birth weight and growth rate. The plasma TG of maternal and paternal transgenic offspring were nearly 40-fold higher than maternal and paternal control mice, but there was no difference in plasma TG between maternal and paternal transgenic offspring. Although the FPG of the 4 groups of animals had no difference, the maternal transgenic mice showed impaired glucose tolerance, increased FINS levels and higher homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) than the other 3 groups. In conclusion, maternally inherited hypertriglyceridemia in ApoCIII transgenic mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia and increased HOMA-R, while paternally inherited hypertriglyceridemia did not have such impacts.

Identifying obesity indicators which best correlate with type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been shown to be a prognostic indicator of type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the power of different obesity indicators in the detection of T2D remains controversial. This study evaluates the detecting power of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) for the presence of T2D in undiagnosed diabetics among the Chinese population. METHODS: Individuals were selected from an ongoing large-scale population-based Beijing Community Pre-Diabetes (BCPD) study cohort. The oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed to diagnose diabetes. A total of 220 new cases of T2D and 1,868 normal blood glucose subjects were analyzed. ROC curve analyses were used to compare the association of different obesity indicators with T2D and determine the optimal cut-off points of the best predictor for identifying T2D in men and women. RESULTS: All indicators positively correlated with presence of T2D in both men and women. In women, WC, WHR and WHTR were similar, but were better in identifying T2D when compared to BMI (P < 0.0001, P=0.0016 and P=0.0001, respectively). In men, WC, WHTR and BMI were similar, but WC and WHTR were better than WHR (P=0.0234, P=0.0101, respectively). For women, 86 cm was the optimal WC cut-off point, and its sensitivity and specificity were 0.714 and 0.616; for men, the optimal cut-off point was 90 cm, and its sensitivity and specificity were 0.722 and 0.571. CONCLUSION: Compared with BMI, WHR and WHTR, WC is a simple and accurate measure for predicting T2D in the Chinese population.

Interactions among related genes of renin-angiotensin system associated with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between epistasis among related genes of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Gene polymorphisms were genotyped in 394 type 2 diabetic patients and 418 healthy control subjects in this case-control study. We used the multifactor dimensionality reduction method to identify gene-gene interactions. RESULTS: No single locus was associated with type 2 diabetes, except for the insert/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene in female subjects. In multi-locus analyses, in male subjects the model of rs2106809 (ACE2), rs220721 (Mas), rs699 (AGT), and I/D (ACE) was significant (P = 0.043). This combination was associated with a 4.00 times (95% CI 2.51-6.38; P < 0.0001) greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes. In female subjects, the model of rs2106809 (ACE2), I/D (ACE), and rs1403543 (AGTR2) was significant (P = 0.012). This three-locus combination was associated with a 2.76 times (1.91-3.97; P < 0.0001) greater prevalence of type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Interactions among RAS-related genes were associated with type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population.

A simple tool detected diabetes and prediabetes in rural Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a simple tool, using data collected in a rural Chinese general practice, to identify those at high risk of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and prediabetes (PDM). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A total of 2,261 rural Chinese participants without known diabetes were used to derive and validate the models of T2DM and T2DM plus PDM. Logistic regression and classification tree analysis were used to build models. RESULTS: The significant risk factors included in the logistic regression method were age, body mass index, waist/hip ratio (WHR), duration of hypertension, family history of diabetes, and history of hypertension for T2DM and T2DM plus PDM. In the classification tree analysis, WHR and duration of hypertension were the most important determining factors in the T2DM and T2DM plus PDM model. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and receiver operating characteristic area for detecting T2DM were 74.6%, 71.6%, 23.6%, 96.0%, and 0.731, respectively. For PDM plus T2DM, the results were 65.3%, 72.5%, 33.2%, 90.7%, and 0.689, respectively. CONCLUSION: The classification tree model is a simple and accurate tool to identify those at high risk of T2DM and PDM. Central obesity strongly associates with T2DM in rural Chinese.

A case-control study on the relationship between HDL2b and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). HDL2b, a major subfraction of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), is more significantly correlated with coronary heart disease (CHD) compared with total HDL. In this study, we analysed HDL2b in a cohort of Chinese T2DM subjects with or without NAFLD. METHODS: A highly sensitive and reliable microfluidic chip method was adopted to measure HDL2b. In total, 48 T2DM patients with NAFLD diagnosed by a B-ultrasound were enrolled from our Beijing Community Pre-Diabetes (BCPD) study cohort. A total of 48 age and gender matched diabetic controls without NAFLD were selected from the same population. RESULTS: Clinical characteristics and serum biochemical analyses demonstrated a significantly increased body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistant index (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the NAFLD group. However, the concentrations of HDL2b and its ratio to total HDL in NAFLD patients was decreased, compared with controls (p<0.01). Significantly increased concentrations of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (p<0.01) were also found. Multifactor logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and TG were the predominant risk factors for fatty liver, while HDL2b was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: T2DM patients with NAFLD have characteristics including obesity, marked insulin resistance, high TG, high hs-CRP, low HDL2b and a low HDL2b ratio to total HDL. These factors may increase the incidence of atherosclerosis as well as the risk of CHD.

High prevalence of impaired fasting glucose in Chinese children and adolescents with prehypertension/hypertension.

AIM: To assess the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose among Chinese children and adolescents with prehypertension/hypertension (PHP/HP), overweight/obesity (OW/OB) or both in the general population. METHODS: In total, 3409 children and adolescents among the age group of 10-18 years were enrolled. These subjects were then divided into four groups: OW/OB, PHP/HP, OW/OB + PHP/HP and a control group. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and lipid levels were measured in children with a body mass index > or =85th percentile and/or blood pressure > or =90th percentile and in 100 subjects randomly selected from the control group. The oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all the subjects with fasting glucose > or =5.6 mmol/L. RESULTS: Eighty-one impaired fasting glucose subjects and one girl with type 2 diabetes were identified. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose in PHP/HP (7.03%) was not significantly different from that in the OW/OB + PHP/HP group (8.59%), but was higher than that in the OW/OB group (3.31%). CONCLUSION: Although the American Diabetes Association does not recommend the FPG test for children and adolescents with PHP/HP, in this study, we found that children and adolescents with PHP/HP have a higher prevalence of impaired fasting glucose than those with OW/OB. Further validation of these findings is warranted and a type 2 diabetes screening protocol for Chinese children and adolescents needs to be established.