Occurrence of microplastics and disturbance of gut microbiota: a pilot study of preschool children in Xiamen, China.

BACKGROUND: Microplastics (MPs) have garnered widespread attention because of their presence in human placenta, stool, and even blood. Ingestion is considered the major route of human exposure to MPs. It has been found that the consumption of food and water is associated with more MP abundance in human stools. The usage of plastic containers, particularly feeding bottles, may be a major contributor to MP contamination. However, human exposure to MPs and potential factors that influence exposure, especially for preschoolers, remains largely unknown. When exposed to MPs, mice exhibited gut microbiota dysbiosis, including alterations in diversity indices, a decreased relative abundance of probiotics and an increased abundance of pathogenic bacteria. Such results have also been observed in human gut in vitro models, however, the actual association between MP exposure and human intestinal microbiota remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate MP concentrations in preschoolers' stools, explore possible dietary factors that influence preschooler exposure to MPs, and investigate their potential association with the gut microbiota. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Xiamen, China in October 2022. We investigated the feeding behaviours and dietary habits of preschool children. A total of 69 couples of stool samples were collected and analyzed for MPs test and gut microbiota analysis. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was used for quantifying 11 types of MPs. The gut microbiota composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. FINDINGS: The results showed that only polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polyamide 6 (PA6) were detected in 85.5% stool samples, with concentrations of 317.4 (152.0, 491.9) µg/g dw, 299.0 (196.1, 619.9) µg/g dw, 206.2 (154.1, 240.3) µg/g dw, and 17.9 (13.4, 18.6) µg/g dw, respectively. The median estimated daily intake (EDI) for preschoolers was 425.9 (272.5, 762.3) µg/kg-bw/d. Dairy intake may influence MP concentration in preschoolers' stools, and the usage of feeding bottles may be a specific source of MP contamination. Moreover, higher PVC concentrations were observed in the stools when the children took more time to eat a meal. MP exposure was inversely associated with alpha indices and possibly affected certain probiotic taxa, such as Parabacteroides and Alistipes, in preschool children. INTERPRETATION: Our data provided baseline evidence for MP exposure doses and potential dietary factors that may influence MP exposure in preschoolers. These findings supported the perspective that MP exposure might be associated with the disturbance of gut microbiota. Further studies focusing on sensitive populations with larger sample sizes are needed. FUNDING: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 82003412), the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (grant number: 20214Y0019), and the Project of Shanghai Municipal Financial Professional foundation (Food Safety Risk Assessment) (grant number: RA-2022-06).

Associations of Morphological Changes in Skeletal Muscles of Preschool Children in China Following Physical Activity.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) is likely to be the most important modifiable factor in skeletal muscle development. However, the influence of PA on the skeletal muscle of preschool children has not been thoroughly investigated. The main objective of this study was to quantitatively measure PA, and then, to assess whether associations exist between site-specific muscle changes and PA in relation to sex and weight statuses in preschool children aged 3 to 4 years. METHODS: A total of 86 healthy preschool children, aged 3-4 years, were instructed to wear an accelerometer for seven consecutive days. The number of steps taken daily, and minutes spent in moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA (TPA) were recorded. Muscle thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasonography using a 5-18 MHz scanning head. Muscle thickness was measured at seven sites: the lateral forearm, upper arm, abdomen, anterior and posterior thigh, and anterior and posterior lower leg. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between boys and girls in terms of MVPA and TPA on weekdays and weekends. According to the linear regression models, after adjusting for daylight duration, the muscle of the posterior thigh was significantly positively associated (p < 0.05) with daily steps and MVPA on weekdays for boys and girls, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the muscle thickness of the posterior thigh in preschool children was significantly positively associated with PA, as measured by daily steps and MVPA. We suggest that for the overall health and well-being of preschool children, the levels of PA should be maintained and/or increased, and preferably transformed into a regular part of daily living.

Qualitative study of the association between psychosocial health and physical activity/sleep quality in toddlers.

Physical activity and sleep are important factors of mental and physical health in children, with some reports indicating that their effects can persist into adulthood. However, there is limited research on the qualitative aspects of physical activity and sleep in preschool children, particularly in those aged < 3 years. Therefore, to elucidate the association between psychosocial health and physical activity/sleep in early childhood in terms of qualitative aspects, we conducted a retrospective cohort study in 2985 3-year-old children (37.2 ± 0.75 months) in Shanghai, China. An analysis using structural equation modeling indicated that current physical activity had a direct and moderate impact on current psychosocial health evaluated using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. In particular, past physical activity had an indirect and mild effect on current psychosocial health via current physical activity in girls. However, regardless of sex, past sleep quality had slight impact on current psychosocial health, not only indirectly via current sleep quality, but also directly. These findings highlight the importance of considering the qualitative aspects of physical activity and sleep quality as significant factors influencing the current and future psychosocial health of children, even at a very early age (< 3 years).

Relationship between Skeletal Muscle Thickness and Physical Activity in 4- to 6-Year-Olds in Japan.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) is widely recognized as a key factor in promoting skeletal muscle growth, though little is known about the specific impact of PA on the skeletal muscle development of preschool children. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between PA levels and skeletal muscle thickness in preschoolers. By exploring this relationship, we hope to gain a better understanding of how PA can be used to promote healthy skeletal muscle development in preschoolers. METHODS: In this study, a total of 275 healthy Japanese preschoolers, aged 4-6 years, from seven nursery schools in the town of Togo were recruited. Participants were asked to wear an accelerometer for four consecutive days to record their daily steps and the amount of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA and t total physical activity. Muscle thickness (MTs) was measured using B-mode ultrasonography at four sites: the anterior and posterior thigh (AT and PT, respectively) and the anterior and posterior lower leg (AL and PL, respectively). RESULTS: On weekdays, boys were found to be more physically active and engaged in significantly higher levels of total physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous PA than girls. Both boys and girls recorded more physical activity, daily steps, and higher levels of total physical activity and MVPA on weekdays compared to weekends. After adjusting for daylight duration, multivariable regression analyses revealed that increased total physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous PA were positively associated with greater muscle thickness size in the anterior tibialis (AT) and posterior lower leg (PL) muscles (ß = 1.11 and ß = 1.37 for AT, ß = 1.18 and ß = 0.94 for PL, p < 0.05) in Japanese preschoolers. CONCLUSIONS: The time spent involved in most of the different categories of moderate-to-vigorous PA was significantly higher for boys than for girls on the weekdays and weekends. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA and greater development of skeletal muscle in the lower body.

Compartmental analysis of three-dimensional choroidal vascularity and thickness of myopic eyes in young adults using SS-OCTA.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the change of three-dimensional (3D) choroidal thickness (ChT), choroidal vessel volume (CVV), and choroidal vessel index (CVI) in young myopic adults using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) and compare the difference of these indicators in different quadrants of the macula and optic disc. Methods: A total of 248 eye samples from 135 participants were used in this cross-sectional study. Each participant underwent detailed history taking and ocular examinations. Based on axial length (AL), patients were divided into the emmetropia (EM) group, mild-myopia (MIM) group, moderate-myopia (MOM) group, and high-myopia (HM) group. 6 mm × 6 mm (1,024 × 1024 B-scans) SS-OCTA scans were performed centered on the fovea and optic disc. 3D ChT, CVV, and CVI were measured based on a built-in deep learning algorithm. Differences in ChT, CVV, and CVI were analyzed in different regions and different myopic groups. Results: Significant reduction in the global CVV were found in the HM group (1.930 ± 0.865) in comparison with the EM (3.486 ± 0.992), MIM (3.238 ± 1.033), and MOM (2.589 ± 1.083) groups (p < 0.001). The global CVI was also lower in the HM group (0.258 ± 0.061) than in the EM (0.320 ± 0.055), MIM (0.320 ± 0.051), and MOM (0.286 ± 0.066) groups (p < 0.001). The ChT was thinner in eyes with HM (242.753 ± 65.641) than in eyes with EM (377.532 ± 80.593), MIM (348.367 ± 78.191), or MOM (300.197 ± 87.175) (p < 0.001). Compartmental analysis revealed that ChT, CVV, and CVI in the nasal quadrant of the macula and temporal and inferior quadrants of the optic disc were much lower than those in other quadrants (p < 0.05). Correlation analyses found that ChT, CVV, and CVI were negatively correlated with AL and spherical equivalence. Conclusion: 3D ChT, CVV, and CVI gradually decreased as the degree of myopia increased. The changes were more dramatic on the nasal side of the macula and the temporal and inferior sides of the optic disc. These findings demonstrated the 3D choroidal change and highlighted the papillo-macular bundle as a sensitive region in myopic development.

Field-based physical fitness assessment in preschool children: A scoping review.

Physical fitness, which can be measured using various health- and skill-related components, is an important indicator of child development and health status. This study undertakes a scoping review on physical fitness assessment methods in preschool children to summarize the most widely used field-based physical fitness batteries and specific test items for preschool children. A search of the literature in English was undertaken using two major electronics databases, which yielded 76 literatures that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These literatures took the quantitative indicators of physical fitness as the outcome variables in 3-6-year-old children. This review found that of these 76 literatures analyzed, 71.1% came from Europe and 89.5% were published after 2010. The results showed six physical fitness test batteries, with the assessing FITness in PREschoolers (PREFIT) battery is the most widely used, and specific test items such as body mass index (BMI), standing long jump, handgrip, one-leg stance, sit and reach, 20 m shuttle run test (SRT)-PREFIT, and 4 × 10 m SRT are widely used in corresponding components. Therefore, we recommend that an international standard for some specific test items should be developed for preschool children to facilitate more widespread adoption and promote physical fitness assessment for preschool children.

Study of the Reliability of Field Test Methods for Physical Fitness in Children Aged 2-3 Years.

Physical fitness measures overall physical health. It is the ability of the body to work effectively and stay healthy during leisure and emergencies. Given the progressive integration of 2-3-year-olds into preschool, physical fitness testing of these children has become increasingly important. We aimed to develop and test the reliability of an appropriate field test method for physical fitness in 2-3-year-olds children. One hundred and three children (44 boys and 59 girls) volunteered for this study. Their height and weight were tested, and the same tester conducted the test twice for handgrip strength, 3 m balance walking, stair climbing, 5 m run, and kicking a ball at one-minute intervals. Pearson correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used for reliability testing. The reliability of this field test method for physical fitness was high in the repetitive tests of Chinese 2-3-year-olds for the four items of handgrip strength, 3 m balance walking, stair climbing and 5 m run, and the reliability was moderate for the kicking the ball item. This study indicates that these field-based physical fitness test methods have good reliability and are simple, feasible, safe, and easy to be accepted and understood by 2-3-year-old children; thus, it may be used as a reference for professionals in China and abroad.

Clinical Features and Vitreous Biomarkers of Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Complicated with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose: To compare the clinical features and vitreous biomarkers of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) between patients with early-onset and late-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: This case-control study analyzed the clinical data of 74 patients with PDR who underwent vitrectomy. The patients were divided into the early-onset (T2DM diagnosis age ≤ 40 years, n = 39) and late-onset (T2DM diagnosis age > 40 years, n = 35) groups. Thirty-six specimens were collected, and the liquid chip technology was used to detect the content of 27 types of cytokines in the vitreous. Differences in clinical features and cytokine levels between the two groups were evaluated. Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple comparisons. Results: Compared with the late-onset group, the levels of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and total cholesterol were significantly higher in the early-onset group (P < 0.001 and P = 0.009, respectively). Patients with early-onset T2DM PDR had worse visual prognoses and a higher rate of postoperative recurrent vitreous hemorrhage. The results of cytokine detection showed that the levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-8, IL-9, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-γ, interferon-inducible 10 kDa, monocyte chemotactic protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and MIP-1ß in the early-onset group were significantly higher than those in the late-onset group (p < 0.0026). Age at diabetes diagnosis and HbA1c, IL-4, and regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted levels were independent risk factors for visual acuity after undergoing vitrectomy. Conclusion: Early-onset T2DM PDR patients had poor blood glucose and lipid metabolism, higher levels of inflammatory factors, and worse visual prognosis. Stricter metabolic management and earlier anti-inflammatory interventions may be required for patients with early-onset T2DM.

Cost Early-Warning Model System of Large-Scale Construction Project.

China's construction industry has been suffering from high cost, high efficiency, and maladjustment of management. The traditional management mode makes the construction project face the risk of cost overruns and delays, which cannot achieve the effect of cost control. Therefore, by summarizing the characteristics of construction projects and the classification of costs, this paper analyzes the foundation of earned value management method in construction and combines it with cost management; in addition, the actual development of Company A is taken as an example, where a cost early-warning system suitable for construction projects is constructed, including the design of the organizational structure, operation platform, and early-warning model of this system, which can improve the cost management level of construction enterprises to a certain extent.

Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 on Ocular Surface of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Using One-Step Reverse-Transcription Droplet Digital PCR.

PURPOSE: This study detects SARS-CoV-2 in the ocular surface through one-step reverse-transcription droplet digital PCR (one-step RT-ddPCR) and evaluates the possibility of the ocular surface as a possible transmission route. METHODS: A single-center prospective observational study was designed to investigate the viral loads in ocular surface. Specimens including the conjunctival swabs, nasopharyngeal swabs and blood were synchronously collected at a single time point for all COVID-19 patients. SARS-CoV-2 loads in nasopharyngeal swabs were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR); the blood samples and conjunctival swabs were tested by real-time PCR and one-step RT-ddPCR. RESULTS: Sixty-eight COVID-19 patients confirmed by nasopharyngeal real-time PCR were recruited. In the single time point test, 40 cases showed positive SARS-CoV-2 detection in either the blood, tears, or nasopharynx, of which four cases were triple-positive, 10 were dual-positive, and 26 were single-positive. The positive rate of nasopharyngeal swab real-time PCR test was 22.1% (15/68). The positive rate of blood and conjunctival swabs by one-step RT-ddPCR was 38.2% (26/68) and 25% (17/68), respectively, whereas real-time PCR was all negative. Positive conjunctival swabs were significantly correlated with positive nasopharyngeal swabs (P = 0.028). The sampling lags from illness onset to sampling day in 3 out of 4 triple-positive patients and in 9 out of 10 dual-positive patients were respectively less than 9 days and less than 20 days. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 on the ocular surface is much higher than expected. Transmission possibility through the ocular surface may be greatly underestimated.

Identification of key molecular markers in epithelial ovarian cancer by integrated bioinformatics analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The current research was aimed to identify candidate genes associated with development and progression of epithelial ovarian carcinoma using bioinformatics analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We screened and validated candidate genes associated with carcinogenesis and development of epithelial ovarian carcinoma via bioinformatic analysis in three microarray datasets (GSE14407, GSE29450, and GSE54388) downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. RESULTS: Our bioinformatic analysis identified 514 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and nine candidate hub genes (CCNB1, CDK1, BUB1, CDC20, CCNA2, BUB1B, AURKA, RRM2, and TTK). Survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier plotter showed that high expression levels of seven candidate genes (CCNB1, RRM2, BUB1, CCNA2, AURKA, CDK1, and BUB1B) were associated with poor overall survival (OS). Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) revealed a higher expression level of these seven candidate genes in ovarian carcinoma samples than in normal ovarian samples. Immunostaining results from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database suggested that the protein expression levels of CCNB1, CCNA2, AURKA, and CDK1 were increased in ovarian cancer tissues. No difference was observed in RRM2 protein expression level between normal ovarian and ovarian cancer samples. Oncomine analysis revealed an association between the expression patterns of BUB1B, CCNA2, AURKA, CCNB1, CDK1, and BUB1 and patient clinicopathological information. Finally, six genes, namely CCNB1, CCNA2, AURKA, BUB1, BUB1B, and CDK1, were identified as hub genes and a transcription factor (TF)-gene regulatory network was constructed to identify TFs, including POLR2A, ZBTB11, KLF9, and ELF1, that were implicated in regulating these hub genes. CONCLUSION: Six significant hub DEGs associated with a poor prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer were identified. These could be potential biomarkers for ovarian cancer patients.

Chronological and Skeletal Age in Relation to Physical Fitness Performance in Preschool Children.

Introduction: Physical fitness is an adaptive state that varies with an individual's growth and maturity status. Considering that the difference in skeletal maturity already existed among preschool children, this study was designed to determine the influence of skeletal age and chronological age on preschoolers' physical fitness performance. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 945 healthy preschoolers (509 males, 436 females) aged between 3.0 and 6.0 years in Shanghai, China. We used the method of TW3-C RUS to determine skeletal age. Chronological age was measured by subtracting the date of birth from the test date. Sit and reach, 2 × 10 m shuttle run test, standing long jump, tennis ball throw, 5 m jump on both feet, and balance beam walk were considered for physical fitness performance. Correlation coefficients and partial correlations adjusting height and weight were used to determine the relationships among the variables of skeletal age/ relative skeletal age, chronological age/relative chronological age, and physical fitness items. Results: Skill-related physical fitness was weakly to moderately associated with skeletal age (the absolute value of r: 0.225-0.508, p < 0.01) and was moderately to strongly associated with chronological age (the absolute value of r: 0.405-0.659, p < 0.01). Health-related physical fitness items (BMI and sit and reach) showed a fairly weak to no correlation with skeletal age and chronological age. After adjusting the height and weight, an extremely weak to no correlation was observed between skeletal age and both health- and skill-related physical fitness, and weak-moderate correlations were noted between chronological age and skill-related physical fitness (the absolute value of r: 0.220-0.419, p < 0.01). In children in Grade 1, skill-related physical fitness (except for balance beam walk) showed a weak to moderate correlation with relative chronological age (the absolute value of r: 0.227-0.464, p < 0.05). Conclusion: (1) both skeletal age and chronological age are associated with skill-related rather than health-related physical fitness performance, and after adjusting height and weight, chronological age, rather than skeletal age, is associated with skill-related physical fitness performance; (2) for preschool children, skill-related physical fitness performance is influenced by relative chronological age rather than individual differences in skeletal maturation, especially in the lower grades.

Dietary Tomato Consumption and the Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Several epidemiological studies have linked tomato products consumption with prostate cancer risk; however, the findings yielded inconsistent results. The aim of the present meta-analysis is to summary the evidence on this association based on eligible cohort studies. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search of articles was performed in March 2021 using PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus databases. A random-effects model was used to calculate the combined relative risks (RRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity across studies was assessed using Cochran's Q statistic and the I 2 score. Results: A total of 10 prospective studies were finally included in our meta-analysis. There was no evidence of a significant association between tomato products consumption and prostate cancer risk (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.79-1.03, P = 0.138). Subgroup meta-analyses were performed by tomato types, geographical region, publication year, study quality and number of cases. No significant associations were observed in any subgroups (all P > 0.05). No significant publication bias was observed using Begg's test (P = 0.602) or Egger's test (P = 0.957). Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis indicated that tomato consumption was not related with the risk of prostate cancer. Further prospective large-scale cohort studies are still warranted to verify our findings.

Modes of Transport to School and Their Associations with Weight Status: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Students in Shanghai, China.

Background: Over the past two decades, both transport modes as well as overweight/obesity have changed dramatically among students in China, but their relationships are not clear. This study aimed to investigate modes of transport to school and their associations with the weight status of Chinese students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with non-resident students aged 6 to 17 years from all 16 districts across Shanghai, China in October and November 2019. Information about sociodemographic characteristics and the models of travel to school among students was investigated using an online, self-administered, structured questionnaire (or those assisted by their parents). Weight and height were measured by school health workers, and the Chinese standard age adjusted BMI (weight/height2) was used to classify students' weight status. Cumulative logistic regression modelling was used to examine the relationships. Results: The main mode of transport to school was an active mode (46.5%, defined as walking, bicycling, or public transport), followed by an inactive mode of transport (30.5%, defined as a car or bicycle as a passenger), and a combination of both modes (23%). About one-third of the students were overweight or obese and 5% were underweight. No statistically significant association between transport modes and weight status was found in this study. Conclusions: In Shanghai, close to one-third of children travel to school by an inactive mode of transport. The findings of this study did not support the notion that an active mode to school could be beneficial for preventing overweight/obesity in students in China.

Cold-induced RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) regulates the expression of Src-associated during mitosis of 68 kDa (Sam68) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) during heat stress-induced testicular injury.

In this study, the ability of cold-induced RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) to regulate the expression of Src-associated during mitosis of 68 kDa (Sam68) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) in the mouse testis and mouse primary spermatocytes (GC-2spd cell line) before and after heat stress was examined to explore the molecular mechanism by which CIRBP decreases testicular injury. A mouse testicular hyperthermia model, a mouse primary spermatocyte hyperthermia model and a low CIRBP gene-expression cell model were constructed and their relevant parameters were analysed. The mRNA and protein levels of CIRBP and Sam68 were significantly decreased in the 3-h and 12-h testicular heat-stress groups, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) protein expression was not significantly affected but phospho-ERK1/2 protein levels were significantly decreased. GC-2spd cellular heat-stress results showed that the mRNA and protein concentrations of CIRBP and Sam68 were reduced 48h after heat stress. In the low CIRBP gene-expression cell model, CIRBP protein expression was significantly decreased. Sam68 mRNA expression was significantly decreased only at the maximum transfection concentration of 50nM and Sam68 protein expression was not significantly affected. These findings suggest that CIRBP may regulate the expression of Sam68 at the transcriptional level and the expression of phospho-ERK1/2 protein, both of which protect against heat-stress-induced testicular injury in mice.

Accelerated skeletal maturation is associated with overweight and obesity as early as preschool age: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) and skeletal age (SA) are important indicators of individual growth and maturation. Although the results have not been unified, most studies indicated that accelerated skeletal maturation is associated with overweight/obesity. However, there have so far been insufficient studies about the association between accelerated skeletal maturation and overweight/obesity in preschoolers, particularly Asian children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on Chinese children to verify the association between accelerated skeletal maturation and overweight/obesity at preschool age. METHODS: The study involved 1330 participants aged 3.1-6.6 years old (730 males and 600 females) in Shanghai, China. The skeletal age was determined according to the method of TW3-C RUS. Accelerated skeletal maturation was defined as relative SA (SA minus chronological age [CA]) ≥1.0 years. BMI was classified as thinness, normal weight, overweight, and obesity according to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) BMI cut-offs. The Chi-square was performed to determine the statistically significant difference in the frequency of accelerated skeletal maturation in BMI and age categories. The logistic regression model analyzed the association between accelerated skeletal maturation and overweight/obesity. RESULTS: The percentage of accelerated skeletal maturation increased with BMI (7.8% of children in thinness group had accelerated skeletal maturation; the percentage increased to 30.8% in obese group. x2 = 89.442, df = 3, P < 0.01) and age group (at age 3.5, 3.5% of participants had accelerated skeletal maturation; at age 6.0 years, this increased to 27.8%. x2 = 43.417, df = 5, P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that children with overweight and obesity are more likely to have accelerated skeletal maturation than children with normal weight after adjusting for gender and age (Overweight, odds ratio [OR] = 3.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.20-4.87; Obese, OR = 4.73, 95% CI: 2.99-7.48). CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between accelerated skeletal maturation and overweight/obesity among preschool children. This study suggests that accelerated skeletal maturation might coexist with overweight/obesity in preschool children, and interventions, such as dietary modifications and increasing levels of physical activity, should be employed to prevent both accelerated skeletal maturation and overweight/obesity as early as preschool age.

Effect of transient scrotal hyperthermia on human sperm: an iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Through this prospective study, we aimed to explore the change of molecular modification after the transient scrotal hyperthermia on human sperm. METHODS: Ten healthy subjects selected with strict screening criteria underwent testicular warming in a 43 °C water bath for 30 min a day for 10 consecutive days. Semen samples were collected 2 weeks before the first heat treatment and 6 weeks after the first heat treatment. Proteins from the samples were labeled with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation and analyzed by two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: In contrast to the control, of the 3446 proteins identified, 61 proteins were deregulated: 28 were up-regulated and 33 were down-regulated. Approximately 95% of the differentially expressed proteins were found to participate in spermatogenesis, fertilization, or other aspects of reproduction. In particular, the expression of sperm motility and energy metabolism-related proteins AKAP4, SPESP1, ODF1, ODF2, GAPDHS, and ACTRT2, validated by western blotting of the proteins obtained from human and mouse samples, tended to be reduced under scrotal hyperthermia. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the proteins AKAP4, ODF1, ODF2, GAPDHS, SPESP1, and ACTRT2, play an important role in the heat-induced reversible reduction in sperm concentration and motility and have the potential to be the biomarkers and clinical targets for scrotal heat treatment induced male infertility.

Polymorphism of the PPARD Gene and Dynamic Balance Performance in Han Chinese Children.

BACKGROUND: Athletic performances are complex traits with heritability of ~66%. Dynamic balance is one of the most important athletic performances, and there has been little studies for it in sports genomics. The candidate PPARD gene was reported to be able to affect muscle development for balance predisposition and influence the athletic performance including skiing triumph in the Caucasian population. This study aims to investigate whether the PPARD gene is a susceptibility gene for dynamic balance performance in Han Chinese children. RESULTS: A total 2244 children were recruited and their balance beam performances were measured. Five polymorphisms in the PPARD gene were genotyped through the MassARRAY Sequenom platform. Rs2016520 exerted significant association with dynamic balance performance (minor allele C, P = 0.015, Pcorrected < 0.05) and was affirmed in a meta-analysis by combining previously reported Caucasian cohorts (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = [1.30, 1.91], P < 10 -5) . Another polymorphism, rs2267668, was also significantly associated with dynamic balance performance (minor allele G, P = 0.015, Pcorrected < 0.05). In the dichotomous study, 321 cases (61% boys and 39% girls) and 370 controls (49% boys and 51% girls) in our samples were selected as representatives, and the thresholds were the mean velocity (0.737 m/s) ± standard deviation (0.264 m/s), in which rs2016520-C and rs2267668-G still remained significant (CI =1.41 [1.11~1.79], P = 0.004, Pcorrected < 0.016; CI =1.45 [1.14~1.86], P = 0.002, Pcorrected < 0.016). In different genders, consistent OR direction was observed for each variant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that the PPARD gene is associated with dynamic balance performance of human being, and further studies to reveal its etiology is strongly suggested.

Effects of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein on the proliferation and apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in vitro following heat stress.

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) is reduced by scrotal hyperthermia in cryptorchidism, varicocoele and heat treatment, but there is no direct evidence clarifying the relationship between CIRBP and spermatogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of CIRBP in GC2-spd cells (a mouse spermatocyte cell line) before and after heat treatment, and to determine the effects of the downregulation or overexpression of CIRBP on spermatocyte cell proliferation and apoptosis. GC2-spd cells overexpressing CIRBP and GC2-spd cells in CIRBP was knocked down were constructed to investigate the function of CIRBP in cell proliferation and apoptosis using a cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry respectively. In addition, proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated in GC2-spd cells that had been heated for 30 or 60min, and were analysed 12, 24, and 48h after heat treatment. Heat treatment clearly suppressed the proliferation of GC2-spd cells, and upregulation of CIRBP expression in GC2-spd cells promoted cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis before and after heat stress; in contrast, downregulation of CIRBP expression inhibited cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. These findings suggest that CIRBP exerts a protective effect against spermatogenic injury caused by heat stress.

ACTN3 is associated with children's physical fitness in Han Chinese.

The ACTN3 gene locates on 11q13-q14 and encodes the α-actinin-3 protein, which is only expressed in human skeletal muscle and influenced muscle function and metabolism. The previous studies reported that SNP rs1815739 is associated with elite power athletes' performance. In this study, we investigated the association between five SNPs within the ACTN3 gene and Chinese children physical fitness. We recruited 2244 Han Chinese children participants, and measured their 25-m run, stand broad jump, 10-m shuttle run, handgrip, BMI (calculated by weight and height) data. SNPs rs1671064, rs2275998, rs2290463, rs10791881, and rs1815739 of ACTN3 gene were genotyped and analyzed in five physical fitness data. QTL analysis on genotype and physical fitness data was carried out in all samples. Furthermore, a dichotomous division of samples into an overweight group (543) and a normal group (1701) was used for an association study of overweight. In the QTL analysis, we found rs2290463 was significantly associated with stand broad jump (corrected P value = 0.009, beta = 2.692). After added age and gender as covariates in the regression test, the association became more significant (P value = 5.80 × 10- 5, corrected P value = 4.06 × 10- 4); when we used BMI as a covariate, the association still existed (P value = 4.65 × 10- 4, corrected P value = 0.001). In the association study of overweight, rs2275998 was found to be significant (OR, 95% CI = 0.733 [0.6-0.895]; Pallele = 0.011, Pgenotype = 0.024) after the Bonferroni correction, and the association did not change much after a further correction for gender, age, and stand broad jump performance. Our results showed that common variants in ACTN3 are significantly associated with both stand broad jump performance and overweight in Han Chinese children.