The relationship between anthropometric indicators and health-related quality of life in a community-based adult population: A cross-sectional study in Southern China.

Background: This study was designed to analyze the relationship of waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), relative fat mass (RFM), lipid accumulation product (LAP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the community-dwelling population of southern China and to explore the independent contribution of socio-demographic characteristics, number of chronic diseases and anthropometric indicators to HRQoL in that population. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional survey studied 2,663 adults aged 18 years and older. HRQoL was assessed by the 3-level EuroQol 5-dimensional scale (EQ-5D-3L), and HRQoL were calculated using the Chinese EQ-5D-3L value set. The outcome variable was the EQ-5D-3L score (HRQoL). Cluster regression was used to analyse the independent contribution of each obesity indicator to HRQoL. Results: A total of 2,663 people participated in this study, and their mean EQ-5D-3L score was 0.938 ± 0.072. In this study, according to the results of the one-way ANOVA, HRQoL was significantly different between the groups of WHtR, WHR, RFM and LAP, respectively. The independent contributions of socio-demographic factors, number of chronic diseases and anthropometric measures to HRQoL in the whole population accounted for 76.2, 7.9, and 15.9% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusion: RFM and LAP were found to have a previously unreported negative impact on HRQoL in a community-dwelling population. In future studies, RFM and LAP could be used as new indicators of obesity to predict quality of life in humans.

Correlation of Sexual Behavior Change, Family Function, and Male-Female Intimacy Among Adults Aged 18-44 Years During COVID-19 Epidemic.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. In this unprecedented situation, the intimate relationship, sexual behavior, and family functions of partners have also undergone unique changes. There are few reports on whether sexual behavior and family function affect intimate relationships between partners, especially among people aged 18 to 44 years. AIM: To analyze the influence of sociodemographic characteristics, family function, and changes in sexual behavior on male-female intimacy, the independent contributions of the aforementioned factors in this population group are required to be further investigated. METHODS: In the present study, 284 Chinese citizens aged 18-44 years completed the online questionnaire. The univariate analysis and cluster multiple linear regression were used to analyze the associations between sociodemographic factors, sexual-behavior changes, family function, and male-female intimacy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Family adaptation, partnership, growth, affection, resolve (APGAR) Scale and Relationship Assessment Scale were used to evaluate participants' family function and their intimacy. Details of the participants (sociodemographic and sexual factors) were obtained. RESULTS: The summary scores, with Relationship Assessment Scale and APGAR scales, were 27.19 ± 4.49 and 6.76 ± 2.28, respectively. About 43.3% of participants reported a decrease in sexual frequency. There were considerable differences among age, education level, sexual desire, sexual satisfaction, quality of sexual life, family function with male-female intimacy (P < .05). The sexual satisfaction and intimacy demonstrated a significant positive correlation (P < .05) by cluster multiple linear regression analysis. Compared with those who had a sexual life of mediocre quality, respondents who experienced a good quality sexual life had relatively higher scores in intimacy. The independent contributions of sociodemographic factors, sexual behavior factors, and family function in male-female intimacy were 13.0%, 38.2%, and 48.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual behavior factors and family function were important independent determinants of partner intimacy among people aged 18-44 years. It can provide supportive information for health care to develop intervention plans and services to promote the harmonious development of intimate relationship. Feng Y-J, Fan Y-J, Su Z-Z, et al. Correlation of Sexual Behavior Change, Family Function, and Male-Female Intimacy Among Adults Aged 18-44 Years During COVID-19 Epidemic. Sex Med 2021;9:100301.

Retraction: Activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress promotes autophagy and apoptosis and reverses chemoresistance of human small cell lung cancer cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.12718.].

Activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress promotes autophagy and apoptosis and reverses chemoresistance of human small cell lung cancer cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the effects of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) on autophagy, apoptosis and chemoresistance of human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. RESULTS: The expressions of ERS-related proteins (PEAK, eIF2α and CHOP) up-regulated, autophagy-related proteins (LC3, LC3-II and Beclin1) and apoptosis-related proteins (Bax and procaspase-3) down-regulated in NCI-H446 and H69 cells after tunicamycin treatment for 24 h. Compared with the blank group, the tunicamycin, BEZ235 and tunicamycin + BEZ235 groups exhibited decreased expressions of p-PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR, and increased expressions of autophagy-related proteins (LC3, LC3-II and Beclin1) and apoptosis proteins (Bax and procaspase-3), and the most obvious changes were observed in the tunicamycin + BEZ235 group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CCK-8 assay was applied to select the best cell line from five SCLC cell lines (NCI-H446, H69, H526, H146 and H209). Finally, NCI-H446 and H69 cells were selected for further experiments. NCI-H446/CDDP and H69/CDDP were selected and divided into the blank group, tunicamycin (an ESR inducer) group, BEZ235 (inhibitors of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway) group and tunicamycin + BEZ235 group. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Autophagy was observed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of ERS-related proteins, autophagy-related proteins, apoptosis-related proteins and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related proteins. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that the activation of ERS could promote autophagy and apoptosis and reverse chemoresistance of human SCLC cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.