Continuous Strain Regulation of Palladium-Gold at the Atomic Level.

Revealing the effect of surface structure changes on the electrocatalytic performance is beneficial to the development of highly efficient catalysts. However, precise regulation of the catalyst surface at the atomic level remains challenging. Here, we present a continuous strain regulation of palladium (Pd) on gold (Au) via a mechanically controllable surface strain (MCSS) setup. It is found that the structural changes induced by the strain setup can accelerate electron transfer at the solid-liquid interface, thus achieving a significantly improved performance toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments further confirm that the enhanced activity is attributed to the increased interplanar spacing resulting from the applied strain. Theoretical calculations reveal that the tensile strain modulates the electronic structure of the Pd active sites and facilitates the desorption of the hydrogen intermediates. This work provides an effective approach for revealing the relationships between the electrocatalyst surface structure and catalytic activity.

Breakfast preferences and consumption location among children at a median age of 7 in Shenzhen: Implications for managing overweight and obesity.

BACKGROUND: Breakfast is commonly described as the most important meal of the day; however, we have little information regarding its relevance for childhood overweight and obesity in southern mainland China. This study aimed to assess the association between breakfast preferences, consumption location and overweight and obesity for children in Shenzhen. METHODS: Among 6126 children (median age 7.2 years) at primary schools, 3504 were finally included after a questionnaire survey and physical examination. Ten commonly consumed foods/beverages for breakfast in southern China were exposure variables, and consumption location, total energy demographic and other dietary characteristics were covariates in logistic regression to determine the effect of breakfast preferences on overweight and obesity, estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Probability of overweight/general obesity was inversely associated with children eating plain congee for breakfast (adjusted OR 0.689, 95% CI 0.566-0.838), restricted to boys after stratification. Probability of overweight/general obesity and central obesity was positively associated with usually eating steamed rice roll for breakfast (OR 1.309, 95% CI 1.090-1.571 and OR 1.351, 95% CI 1.064-1.717, respectively), but the effect on overweight/obesity remained statistically significant for only boys after stratification. Eating steamed rice roll for breakfast and eating out for breakfast had an additive interaction on overweight/obesity. Additionally, eating bread for breakfast had a mild favorable effect on overweight/obesity but only for girls. CONCLUSIONS: Keeping a healthy weight might benefit children who eat plain congee or bread for breakfast in China. However, frequent consumption of steamed rice roll for breakfast and especially eating out could contribute to overweight and obesity. Thus, we need to promote a healthier breakfast pattern among children in southern China to reduce the odds of obesity.

Efficacy of antifungal drugs in the treatment of oral candidiasis: A Bayesian network meta-analysis.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The comparative efficacy of antifungal drugs on oral candidiasis remains unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Bayesian network meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy of antifungal drugs on oral candidiasis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Databases, including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, were accessed from the dates of their establishment to October, 2018, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of different antifungal drugs for oral candidiasis. A network meta-analysis was then conducted by using R and Stata 12.0 software programs. RESULTS: A total of 31 RCTs involving 4042 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that, in the treatment of oral candidiasis in reducing the mycological cure rate, itraconazole capsules, itraconazole oral solution, miconazole buccal tablets, miconazole oral gel, clotrimazole, fluconazole, ketoconazole, nystatin, and amphotericin B were better than a placebo. Miconazole oral gel, fluconazole, and ketoconazole were better than nystatin. The network meta-analysis also showed that the effects of antifungal drugs in reducing the mycological cure rate in oral candidiasis were better than those of a placebo: itraconazole capsule (OR=1.20, 95% CrI: 1.07-1.34), itraconazole oral solution (OR=1.50, 95% CrI: 1.14-1.86), miconazole buccal tablet (OR=2.80, 95% CrI: 1.20-4.50), miconazole oral gel (OR=2.90, 95% CrI: 1.70-4.30), clotrimazole (OR=3.80, 95% CrI: 1.65-5.95), fluconazole (OR=2.40, 95% CrI: 1.10-3.80), ketoconazole (OR=3.40, 95% CrI: 1.76-7.04), nystatin (OR=2.50, 95% CrI: 1.43-3.57), and amphotericin B (OR=2.60, 95% CrI: 1.91-3.29). The SUCRA values for each antifungal drug were as follows: placebo (6.80%), itraconazole capsule (51.2%), itraconazole oral solution (75.2%), miconazole buccal tablet (34.4%), miconazole oral gel (76.9%), clotrimazole (64.8%), fluconazole (79.3%), ketoconazole (50.7%), nystatin (15.7%), and amphotericin B (44.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Antifungal drugs have efficacy in the treatment of oral candidiasis. The effect of fluconazole in reducing the risk of the mycological cure rate in oral candidiasis was better than that of other drugs.

Diagnostic performance of individual characteristics and anthropometric measurements in detecting elevated serum alanine aminotransferase among children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Screening for elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) can help identifying individuals at the risks of chronic and metabolic diseases, but blood collection is invasive and cannot be widely used for investigations. Considered as simple and inexpensive screening indices, individual characteristics and anthropometric measurements can be measured in a large crowd and may be important surrogate markers for ALAT levels. This study aimed to examine the diagnostic performance of individual characteristics and anthropometric parameters as predictive factors for discerning an elevated ALAT activity among Shenzhen children and adolescents. METHODS: A school-based screening study was performed from 9 high schools in Shenzhen during February 2017 and June 2018. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to examine the diagnostic performance of each variable for detecting elevated ALAT. RESULTS: Altogether 7271 students aged 9-17 years were involved. The proportion of elevated ALAT greatly increased with increasing classification of BMI-z. By the sex-specific cut-offs for elevated ALAT (30 U/L boys; 19 U/L girls), BMI showed the highest area under the curve of 0.789 (95% CI 0.765-0.812) and followed by weight (0.779 [0.755-0.802]), BMI-z (0.747 [0.722-0.772]), height (0.622 [0.597-0.647]), and age (0.608 [0.584-0.632]), while height-z was not capable. With the cut-off of 67.8 kg for weight and 22.6 kg/m2 for BMI, the accuracy to identify elevated ALAT was 87.1% for weight and 82.9% for BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of elevated ALAT was more common in overweight or obese children and adolescents. BMI and weight had the superiority of detecting elevated ALAT, followed by BMI-z, height, and age.

Years of life lost with premature death due to ambient temperatures in a southwest plateau region of China: a cause-specific and individual characteristics stratified mortality study.

We aimed to explore whether there were cold and heat temperature adverse effects on years of life lost (YLL) for non-accidental mortality in Yuxi, a southwest plateau region of China. From data for 89,467 non-accidental deaths over an 8-year study period, we used a general linear regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model to assess the burden of disease non-accidental mortality due to ambient temperature with the YLL indicator. We estimated the mean YLL change per 1 °C decrease from the 25th to 1st percentile mean temperature as the cold effect and per 1 °C increase from the 75th to 99th percentile as the heat effect. The 95% empirical confidence intervals (eCIs) were calculated by using a bootstrap simulation method. The exposure-response curve between average temperature and YLL was U-shaped. The cold effect peaked at the first day after exposure and disappeared at 2 weeks, and the heat effect only lasted for the first 3 days. A per 1 °C decrease from the 25th to 1st mean temperature percentile was associated with an increase of 15.6 (95% eCI: 2.4, 22.9) in YLL for non-accidental diseases, and the cumulative effects due to cold were stronger in contrast to that attributed by heat. Cold temperature had a significant impact on YLL among the subgroups, with higher YLL in cardiovascular disease, stroke, males, Han nationality, married, and those engaged in agriculture than their corresponding categories. An increasing death burden of non-accidental in Yuxi of China due to cold temperature was demonstrated, and the association was also modified by specific disease causes and individual features.

Mortality risk and burden associated with temperature variability in China, United Kingdom and United States: Comparative analysis of daily and hourly exposure metrics.

BACKGROUND: Temperature variability (TV) is closely associated with climate change, but there is no unified TV definition worldwide. Two novel composite TV indexes were developed recently by calculating the standard deviations of several days' daily maximum and minimum temperatures (TVdaily), or hourly mean temperatures (TVhourly). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the mortality risks and burden associated with TVdaily and TVhourly using large time-series datasets collected from multiple locations in China, United Kingdom and United States. METHODS: We collected daily mortality and hourly temperature data through 1987 to 2012 from 63 locations in China (8 communities, 2006-2012), United Kingdom (10 regions, 1990-2012), and USA (45 cities, 1987-2000). TV-mortality associations were investigated using a three-stage analytic approach separately for China, UK, and USA. First, we applied a time-series regression for each location to derive location-specific TV-mortality curves. A second-stage meta-analysis was then performed to pool these estimated associations for each country. Finally, we calculated mortality fraction attributable to TV based on above-described location-specific and pooled estimates. RESULTS: Our dataset totally consisted of 23, 089, 328 all-cause death cases, including 93, 750 from China, 7,573,716 from UK and 15, 421, 862 from USA, respectively. In despite of a relatively wide uncertainty in China, approximately linear relationships were consistently identified for TVdaily and TVhourly. In the three countries, generally similar lag patterns of TV effects were consistently observed for TVdaily and TVhourly. A 1 °C rise in TVdaily and TVhourly at lag 0-7 days was associated with mortality increases of 0.93% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12, 1.74) and 0.97% (0.18, 1.77) in China, 0.33% (0.15, 0.51) and 0.41% (0.21, 0.60) in UK, and 0.55% (0.41, 0.70) and 0.51% (0.35, 0.66) in USA, respectively. Larger attributable fractions were estimated using TVdaily than those using TVhourly, with estimates at 0-10 days of 3.69% (0.51, 6.75) vs. 2.59% (0.10, 5.01) in China, 1.14% (0.54, 1.74) vs. 0.98% (0.55, 1.42) in UK, and 2.57% (1.97, 3.16) vs. 1.67% (1.15, 2.18) in USA, respectively. Our meta-regression analyses indicated higher vulnerability to TV-induced mortality risks in warmer locations. CONCLUSIONS: Our study added multi-country evidence for increased mortality risk associated with short-term exposure to large temperature variability. Daily and hourly TV exposure metrics produced generally comparable risk effects, but the attributable mortality burden tended to be higher using TVdaily instead of TVhourly.

Association of cold temperature and mortality and effect modification in the subtropical plateau monsoon climate of Yuxi, China.

BACKGROUND: Consistent evidence has shown excess mortality associated with cold temperature, but some important details of the cold-mortality association (e.g. slope and threshold) have not been adequately investigated and few studies focused on the cold effect in high-altitude areas of developing countries. We attempted to quantify the cold effect on mortality, identify the details, and evaluate effect modification in the distinct subtropical plateau monsoon climate of Yuxi, a high plateau region in southwest China. METHODS: From daily mortality and meteorological data during 2009-2014, we used a quasi-Poisson model combined with a "natural cubic spline-natural cubic spline" distributed lag non-linear model to estimate the temperature-mortality relationship and then a simpler "hockey-stick" model to investigate the cold effect and details. RESULTS: Cold temperature was associated with increased mortality, and the relative risk of cold effect (1st relative to 10th temperature percentile) on non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality for lag 0-21 days was 1.40 (95% confidence interval: 1.19-1.66), 1.61 (1.28-2.02), and 1.13 (0.78-1.64), respectively. A 1°C decrease below a cold threshold of 9.1°C (8th percentile) for lags 0-21 was associated with a 7.35% (3.75-11.09%) increase in non-accidental mortality. The cold-mortality association was not significantly affected by cause-specific mortality, gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, occupation, or previous history of hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: There is an adverse impact of cold on mortality in Yuxi, China, and a temperature of 9.1°C is an important cut-off for cold-related mortality for residents.

Long-term ambient ozone exposure and incident cardiovascular diseases: National cohort evidence in China.

BACKGROUND: Long-term ozone (O3) exposure has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in mounting cohort evidence, yet its relationship with incident CVD was poorly understood, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experiencing high ambient air pollution. METHODS: We carried out a nationwide perspective cohort study from 2010 through 2018 by dynamically enrolling 36948 participants across Chinese mainland. Warm-season (April-September) O3 concentrations were estimated using satellite-based machine-learning models with national coverage. Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying exposures was employed to evaluate the association of long-term O3 exposure with incident CVD (overall CVD, hypertension, stroke, and coronary heart disease [CHD]). Assuming causality, a counterfactual framework was employed to estimate O3-attributable CVD burden based on the exposure-response (E-R) relationship obtained from this study. Decomposition analysis was utilized to quantify the contributions of four key direct driving factors (O3 exposure, population size, age structure, and incidence rate) to the net change of O3-related CVD cases between 2010 and 2018. RESULTS: A total of 4428 CVD, 2600 hypertension, 1174 stroke, and 337 CHD events were reported during 9-year follow-up. Each 10-µg/m³ increase in warm-season O3 was associated with an incident risk of 1.078 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.050-1.106) for overall CVD, 1.098 (95% CI: 1.062-1.135) for hypertension, 1.073 (95% CI: 1.019-1.131) for stroke, and 1.150 (95% CI: 1.038-1.274) for CHD, respectively. We observed no departure from linear E-R relationships of O3 exposure with overall CVD (Pnonlinear= 0.22), hypertension (Pnonlinear= 0.19), stroke (Pnonlinear= 0.70), and CHD (Pnonlinear= 0.44) at a broad concentration range of 60-160 µg/m3. Compared with rural dwellers, those residing in urban areas were at significantly greater O3-associated incident risks of overall CVD, hypertension, and stroke. We estimated 1.22 million (10.6% of overall CVD in 2018) incident CVD cases could be attributable to ambient O3 pollution in 2018, representing an overall 40.9% growth (0.36 million) compared to 2010 (0.87 million, 9.7% of overall CVD in 2010). This remarkable rise in O3-attributable CVD cases was primary driven by population aging (+24.0%), followed by increase in O3 concentration (+10.5%) and population size (+6.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term O3 exposure was associated with an elevated risk and burden of incident CVD in Chinese adults, especially among urban dwellers. Our findings underscored policy priorities of implementing joint control measures for fine particulate matter and O3 in the context of accelerated urbanization and population aging in China.

Prevalence of prediabetes by the fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c screening criteria among the children and adolescents of Shenzhen, China.

Background: Prediabetes is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. Rare research in China has evaluated the prevalence of prediabetes among children and adolescents using the HbA1c criterion or the combined FPG-or-HbA1c diagnostic criterion, and researchers paid no attention to the distributions of blood glucose in Shenzhen, especially for juveniles. Methods: We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study based on the first-year students from 17 primary, middle, and high schools. Prediabetes was defined as FPG of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L or HbA1c of 5.7%-6.4%. The crude and standardized prevalence of prediabetes with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was estimated. Results: A total of 7519 participants, aged 6 to 17 years, were included. For all subjects, the crude prevalence (95% CI) of prediabetes was 1.49% (1.21-1.77), 8.72% (8.08-9.36), and 9.80% (9.13-10.47) by the FPG-only, HbA1c-only, and FPG-or-HbA1c criteria, respectively. Based on the 2010 Shenzhen census population, the standardized prevalence was 1.56% (males 1.85%, females 1.19%), 11.05% (males 11.47%, females 10.53%), and 12.19% (males 13.01%, females 11.15%) by the corresponding criteria. The proportion of prediabetes was higher for males than females, and the prevalence decreased with grade for males but increased for females. The association of BMI and prediabetes was U-shaped curve, indicating higher rates of prediabetes for underweight and obesity people. Conclusion: The blood glucose status of children and adolescents in Shenzhen is worrisome, and the early detection and management of prediabetes are imperative.

The nonlinear association between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and bortezomib-related peripheral neurotoxicity (PN): A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Previous evidence on the association of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN) is limited. As a result, in this single-center retrospective cohort analysis, the link between RDW and BIPN was investigated. Methods: This study4 comprised 376 patients with primary multiple myeloma (MM) who attended the Department of Haematology at Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital between 2013 and 2021. RDW and the occurrence of BIPN were the exposure and outcome variables, respectively. Demographic characteristics, pharmacological agents, co-morbidities, and MM-related indicators were all included as covariates. To investigate the relationship between RDW and BIPN, binary logistic regression and two-piecewise linear regression were utilized. Results: The relationship between RDW and BIPN was found to be non-linear. RDW was not significantly associated with the risk of BIPN (odds ratio (OR): 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.95 to 1.02; p-value: 0.4810) to the left of the inflection point (RDW = 72.3); to the right of the inflection point, each 1 ft increase in RDW was associated with an 7% increase in the risk of BIPN (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.15; p-value: 0.046). Conclusion: The relationship between RDW and the risk of BIPN demonstrated a threshold effect, with RDW exceeding 72.3 fl, indicating a relatively significant risk of BIPN.

Nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among pregnant females in 2020 Shenzhen China: A cross-sectional study.

The theory of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) can well explain the whole process of pregnant females' practice to obtain balanced nutrition. However, the process of KAP works very differently in populations with different sociodemography. This study aims to investigate the sociodemographic determinants associated with pregnant females' nutritional KAP and find a way to locate the vulnerable pregnant females who would benefit most from intervention. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pregnant females' KAP regarding food nutrition at the University of Chinese Academy of Science Shenzhen Hospital from December 2020 to February 2021. A total of 310 pregnant females aged 18-40 years were interviewed. And we assessed the influence of sociodemographic factors on KAP and built a model for screening the vulnerable group who would benefit most from intervention. The results showed that on nutritional knowledge and practice, only 15.2% and 47.3% were above 0.6 respectively, while 91% were above 0.75 on attitude. Age, Husband's Education Degree, Monthly Income of Family, Nutritional Knowledge and Nutritional Attitude were statistically significant predictors of the vulnerable group. There was a gap between knowledge (3.8% were good or above) and attitude (91% were good or above), attitude and practice (16.8% were good or above). Age, household registry, education level, monthly income, and nutrition knowledge were associated with nutrition practices. This study highlights that nutritional education interventions targeting certain populations may improve the conversion rate of nutrition practices, and presents a predictive model to locate the vulnerable group.

Therapeutic effect of Biyuan tongqiao granules combined with mometasone furoate nasal spray on clinical symptoms of children with allergic rhinitis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical benefits of Biyuan Tongqiao granules (BTG) combined with mometasone furoate nasal spray (MFNS) on the symptoms of children with allergic rhinitis (AR). METHODS: Seventy-eight children with AR who visited the Pediatric Department of our hospital from May 2019 to May 2020 were selected and randomly divided into the BTG group (treated with BTG alone), MFNS group (treated with MFNS alone), and combined group (children with the combined use of BTG and MFNS), with 26 cases in each group. The nasal symptoms and oculonasal symptoms were evaluated and observed at baseline and 2 months after treatment. RESULTS: Children in the combination group had significantly lower total nasal symptom score (TNSS), total non-nasal symptom score (TNNSS) scores, and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores than those with BTG alone and MFNS alone (P<0.05). The overall response rate was 69.23% in children with BTG alone, 80.77% in children with MFNS alone, and 92.31% in children with the combined treatment. CONCLUSION: BTG combined with MFNS can improve the symptoms of sneezing and nasal congestion, which is better than single drug treatment.

Effect of apparent temperature on hospitalization from a spectrum of cardiovascular diseases in rural residents in Fujian, China.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading threat to global public health. Although associations between temperature and CVD hospitalization have been suggested for developed countries, limited evidence is available for developing countries or rural residents. Moreover, the effect of apparent temperature (AT) on the spectrum of cause-specific CVDs remains unknown. Based on 2,024,147 CVD hospitalizations for rural residents from eight regions in Fujian Province, China, during 2010-2016, a quasi-Poisson regression with distributed lag non-linear model was fitted to estimate the AT effect on daily CVD hospitalization for each region, and then pooled in a meta-regression that included regional indicators related to rural residents. Stratified analyses were performed according to the cause of hospitalization, sex and age groups. Finally, we calculated the fraction of CVD hospitalizations attributable to AT, as a reflection of the burden associated with AT. The heat effect appeared at lag 0-1 days, with 19% (95% CI, 11-26%) increased risk of CVD hospitalization, which was worse for ischemic heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias and ischemic stroke. The decreased AT was associated with increase of hemorrhagic stroke at lag 0-28 days. People aged 65 and above suffered more from the heat effect on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Regions with a lower gross value of agricultural production, rural residents' per capita net income, number of air conditioners and water heaters were more susceptible. A large number of hospitalizations were attributable to heat for most subcategories. High AT level increased CVD hospitalization, and the subcategories had different susceptibilities. The effects were modified by individual and regional characteristics. These findings have important implications for the development of targeted interventions and for hospital service planning.

Effect of Exposure to Paternal Smoking on Overweight and Obesity in Children: Findings from the Children Lifeway Cohort in Shenzhen, Southern China.

INTRODUCTION: Paternal smoking associated with childhood overweight and obesity has been a concern, but studies have not investigated smoking exposure and smoking details. We investigated the association of exposures from paternal smoking as well as smoking details on offspring overweight/obesity. METHODS: A total of 4,513 children (aged 7-8 years) in Shenzhen were enrolled. Four different exposures from paternal smoking as well as smoking quantity, duration of smoking, and age of starting smoking details were the exposure variables and demographic characteristics, and circumstances of birth, dietary intake, lifestyle, and nonpaternal-smoking exposure were covariates in the logistic regression analysis to determine the effect of paternal smoking on childhood overweight/obesity, estimating odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Paternal smoking was positively associated with childhood overweight/obesity (p < 0.05). Moreover, only preconception exposure, and both pre- and postconception exposure were significantly associated with childhood overweight/obesity (OR 1.54 [95% CI: 1.14-2.08] and OR 1.73 [95% CI: 1.14-2.61], respectively), restricted to boys but not girls. Furthermore, for children with only preconception paternal-smoking exposure, the dose-response relation was positive between smoking quantity, duration of smoking, age at starting, and overweight/obesity for boy offspring (p trend <0.001). We did not find any significant association between only postnatal exposure to paternal smoking and childhood overweight/obesity (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that paternal smoking is associated with boys' overweight/obesity, and this association may be due to the paternal-smoking exposure before conception rather than the postnatal exposure to paternal smoking. Reducing paternal-smoking exposure before conception might help reduce overweight/obesity in boys.

Assessing PM2.5-associated risk of hospitalization for COPD: an application of daily excessive concentration hours.

Existing PM2.5-morbidity studies using daily mean concentration as exposure metric may fail to capture intra-day variations of PM2.5 concentrations, resulting in underestimated health impacts to some extent. This study introduced a novel indicator, daily excessive concentration hours (DECH), defined as sums of per-hourly excessive concentrations of PM2.5 against a specific threshold within a day. PM2.5 DECHs were separately calculated as daily concentration-hours >8, 10, 15, 20, and 25 µg/m3 (abbreviations: DECH-8, DECH-10, DECH-15, DECH-20, and DECH-25). We adopted a time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression models to compare risks of hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with PM2.5 mean and DECHs in Shenzhen, China. We observed highly comparable PM2.5-COPD associations using exposure metrics of daily mean and DECHs with above-defined thresholds. For instance, PM2.5 mean and DECHs showed similar increases in risks of COPD hospitalization for an interquartile range rise in exposure, with odds ratio estimates of 1.26 (95% confidence interval: 1.06-1.50) for PM2.5 mean, 1.24 (1.05-1.46) for DECH-10 and 1.21 (1.06-1.39) for DECH-25, respectively. Findings remained robust after further adjusting for gaseous pollutants (e.g., SO2, NO2, CO, and O3) and meteorologic factors (e.g., wind speed and air pressure). Our study strengthened the evidence that DECHs could come be as a novel exposure metric in health risk assessments associated with short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5.

SNAI1 is a prognostic biomarker and correlated with immune infiltrates in gastrointestinal cancers.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes play an important role in immunosuppression. However, the correlations of EMT-related genes to prognosis and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in different cancers remain unclear. TCGA, GEO databases were used to analyze the expression, prognosis, and immune infiltration of EMT markers in cancer. RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot were used to analysis the expression and prognosis of SNAI1 in gastrointestinal cancers. High SNAI1 expression was closely related with poorer overall survival in gastrointestinal cancers in TCGA cohort. High SNAI1 expression was closely related with poorer overall survival in gastrointestinal cancers, and was validated in GEO database. Simultaneously, high expression of SNAI1 correlates with clinical relevance of gastric cancer. Moreover, SNAI1 expression was associated with tumor-infiltrating immune cells in gastrointestinal cancers. In addition, RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot showed SNAI1 expression was higher in gastrointestinal cancers compared to the normal tissues. Finally, high SNAI1 expression was closely related with poorer overall survival and correlates with clinical relevance of gastrointestinal cancers in an independent validation cohort. In summary, the results approaches to suggest that SNAI1 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for determining prognosis and immune infiltration in gastrointestinal cancers.

Association of body mass index with serum alanine aminotransferase in Chinese adolescents: a school-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that high body mass index (BMI) is related to elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) among adults, but little is known about the association regarding adolescents, especially in China. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between BMI and ALT activity among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was performed among nine high schools in Shenzhen, China between February 2017 and June 2018. A generalized linear-regression model adjusting for age and gender was conducted, and bivariate correlation analysis between ALT and BMI was also performed. RESULTS: A total of 7,271 adolescents aged from 9 years to 17 years were enrolled. Height, weight, BMI, and ALT were higher among boys than among girls (all P < 0.001). The mean (standard deviation) of serum ALT levels was 14.26 (14.77) U/L. In the entire BMI range, the BMI-ALT correlation was stronger for boys (Spearman's r = 0.396, P < 0.001) and adolescents of 14 years-17 years (r = 0.356, P < 0.001) than for girls (r = 0.203, P < 0.001) and adolescents of 9 years-13 years (r = 0.221, P < 0.001), respectively. Serum ALT increased rapidly and followed a linear pattern from the point of BMI ≥20.5 kg/m2, and each increase of 1 kg/m2 in BMI range above 20.5 kg/m2 was averagely correlated with an increase of 2.71 U/L in ALT levels (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant BMI-ALT relationship. BMI at 20.5 kg/m2 may be a cut-off for evaluating serum ALT. BMIs ≥27.1 kg/m2 for boys and ≥24.9 kg/m2 for girls were linked to an elevated ALT activity for Shenzhen adolescents.

Prevalence of Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase by Diagnostic Criterion, Age, and Gender among Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was measured not only to detect liver disease, but also to monitor overall health. The purpose of this study was to obtain the prevalence of elevated ALT levels among adolescents. METHODS: In a school-based cross-sectional study, a representative sample was analyzed from 9 middle and high schools in Shenzhen, China, during 2017 to 2018. Elevated ALT was defined as diagnostic criterion I (>30 U/L for boys and >19 U/L for girls) and diagnostic criterion II (>40 U/L). RESULTS: From the adolescent population, a total of 7281 students (boys, 4014, and girls, 3267) aged from 10 to 17 years were collected. The prevalence of elevated ALT was 7.11% (6.88% for boys and 7.41% for girls) by criterion I and 2.72% (3.96% for boys and 1.19% for girls) by criterion II. Based on the Shenzhen census and Chinese national census population, the adjusted prevalence of elevated ALT was 7.65% (boys 7.19% and girls 8.21%) and 6.79% (boys 6.07% and girls 7.56%) by criterion I and 2.85% (boys 4.20% and girls 1.16%) and 2.43% (boys 3.49% and girls 1.29%) by criterion II. For age, the overall trends were increasing progressively, regardless of the use of diagnostic criteria for an elevated ALT activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study supplements the gap that the prevalence of elevated ALT levels differed in gender, age, and criteria among adolescents of Shenzhen. We should take the prevalence as a predictor and continue to play a warning and preventive role in preparation for further intervention.

Age- and season-specific effects of ambient particles (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10) on daily emergency department visits among two Chinese metropolitan populations.

BACKGROUND: Ambient PM2.5 has been identified as the top leading cause of risk-attributable deaths worldwide, particularly in China. Evidence suggested that PM1 contributed the most majority of PM2.5 concentrations in Chinese cities. However, epidemiologic knowledge to date is of wide lack regarding PM1-associated health effects. METHODS: We collected daily records of all-cause emergency department visits (EDVs) and ground measurements of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China, 2015-2016. Case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models were used to comparatively assess the short-term effects of ambient PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 on EDVs. Stratified analyses by gender, age and season were performed to identify vulnerable groups and periods. RESULTS: PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were all significantly associated with increased EDVs in both cities. Population risks for EDVs increased by 2.2% [95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 2.6] in Guangzhou and 1.7% [1.0 to 2.4] in Shenzhen, for a 10 µg/m3 rise in PM1 at lag 0-1 days and lag 0-4 days, respectively. Relatively lower risks were found to be associated with PM2.5 and PM10. PM-EDVs associations exhibited no gender differences, but varied across age groups. Compared with adults and the elderly, children under 14 years-of-age suffered higher PM-induced risks. Results from both cities suggested greatly significant effect modification by season, with consistently stronger PM-EDVs associations during cold months. CONCLUSIONS: Our study added comparative evidence for increased EDVs risks associated with short-term exposures to ambient PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. Besides, PM-associated effects were significantly stronger among children and during cold months.

Short-term effects of ambient PM1 and PM2.5 air pollution on hospital admission for respiratory diseases: Case-crossover evidence from Shenzhen, China.

BACKGROUND: Ambient PM1 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤1 µm) is an important contribution of PM2.5 mass. However, little is known worldwide regarding the PM1-associated health effects due to a wide lack of ground-based PM1 measurements from air monitoring stations. METHODS: We collected daily records of hospital admission for respiratory diseases and station-based measurements of air pollution and weather conditions in Shenzhen, China, 2015-2016. Time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models were adopted to estimate hospitalization risks associated with short-term exposures to PM1 and PM2.5. RESULTS: PM1 and PM2.5 showed significant adverse effects on respiratory disease hospitalizations, while no evident associations with PM1-2.5 were identified. Admission risks for total respiratory diseases were 1.09 (95% confidence interval: 1.04 to 1.14) and 1.06 (1.02 to 1.10), corresponding to per 10 µg/m3 rise in exposure to PM1 and PM2.5 at lag 0-2 days, respectively. Both PM1 and PM2.5 were strongly associated with increased admission for pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, but exhibited no effects on asthma and upper respiratory tract infection. Largely comparable risk estimates were observed between male and female patients. Groups aged 0-14 years and 45-74 years were significantly affected by PM1- and PM2.5-associated risks. PM-hospitalization associations exhibited a clear seasonal pattern, with significantly larger risks in cold season than those in warm season among some subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that PM1 rather than PM1-2.5 contributed to PM2.5-induced risks of hospitalization for respiratory diseases and effects of PM1 and PM2.5 mainly occurred in cold season.