[Biological Effect of Microplastics with Different Functional Groups on the Bacterial Communities and Metabolic Functions of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos].

To investigate the influences of functional groups on the biological effects caused by microplastics, the accumulation of three polystyrene microplastics (PS, PS-NH2, and PS-COOH) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were analyzed, and then the responses of metabolic functions and microbial communities in zebrafish larvae were revealed using the combination of the microbiome and metabolome methods. The results showed that all microplastics could accumulate in zebrafish with concentrations ranging from 143 to 175 µg·g-1, and there were no significant differences in the accumulation potentials among different PS treatments. Exposure to plain PS significantly affected the metabolic capacity of aminoglycosides in zebrafish larvae, whereas the metabolic processes of amino acids were affected by PS-NH2. In the PS-COOH treatment, the metabolic pathways of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acids, and glycolysis in zebrafish were markedly altered. The metabolic functions of zebrafish larvae were changed by all PS microplastics, resulting in toxic effects on zebrafish, and the functional group modification of microplastics may have further enhanced these toxicities. Compared to that in the control, exposure to PS-NH2 significantly reduced the diversity of microbial communities in zebrafish larvae and increased the proportion of Proteobacteria in the composition, leading to an imbalance of the bacterial community in zebrafish and thus disrupting the metabolic functions in the fish. Therefore, the functional modifications of microplastics may significantly alter the related stresses on aquatic organisms, leading to unpredictable ecological risks.

Dose-Dependent Associations between Wine Drinking and Breast Cancer Risk - Meta-Analysis Findings.

PURPOSE: To investigate any potential association between wine and breast cancer risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We quantitatively assessed associations by conducting a meta-analysis based on evidence from observational studies. In May 2014, we performed electronic searches in PubMed, EmBase and the Cochrane Library to identify studies examining the effect of wine drinking on breast cancer incidence. The relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR) were used to measure any such association. RESULTS: The analysis was further stratified by confounding factors that could influence the results. A total of twenty-six studies (eight case-control and eighteen cohort studies) involving 21,149 cases were included in our meta-analysis. Our study demonstrated that wine drinking was associated with breast cancer risk. A 36% increase in breast cancer risk was observed across overall studies based on the highest versus lowest model, with a combined RR of 1.0059 (95%CI 0.97-1.05) in dose-response analysis. However, 5 g/d ethanol from wine seemed to have protective value from our non-linear model. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that wine drinking is associated with breast cancer risk in a dose-dependent manner. High consumption of wine contributes to breast cancer risk with protection exerted by low doses. Further investigations are needed for clarification.

Factors affecting prognosis of patients with intracranial anaplastic oligodendrogliomas: a single institutional review of 70 patients.

Anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) is an uncommon intracranial tumor and prognosis is poor. In this study, we assessed the factors affecting the prognosis of AO patients. Seventy AO patients were recruited from 2001 to 2006 in Shanghai Huashan Hospital of Fudan University; all were treated surgically. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the prognostic effects of 14 different factors, which were selected from clinical, radiological, pathological, and treatment variables. The results showed that chemotherapy, age, primary or secondary tumors, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) scores, the presence of epilepsy at initial presentation, radiological contrast infusion, and neurological parameters all correlated with the prognosis of the patients. Furthermore, Cox multivariate analysis also showed that the age (P < 0.048), primary or secondary tumors (P < 0.010), and chemotherapy (P < 0.010) were significantly correlated with the prognosis of the patients. Age and chemotherapy correlated with the prognosis of AO. The patients younger than 50 years old and who received regular chemotherapy were likely to achieve a good outcome. Moreover, individualized treatment after molecular biological typing of AO may improve the prognosis of AO.