Oxidative stress and the insulin-resistant state are thought to be key components in the pathogenesis of pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Heme oxygenase (HO) is important in the ...defense against oxidative stress. This study aimed to assess the association of HO-1 gene promoter polymorphism and insulin resistance with NAFLD among obese children.
A total of 101 obese children aged 6-17 years were recruited. Anthropometric, serum biochemical variables and biomarkers for glucose and insulin metabolism were measured. We screened the allelic frequencies of (GT)n repeats in the HO-1 gene promoter among these obese children. NAFLD was determined through liver ultrasonography. Because the distribution of numbers of (GT)n repeats was bimodal, we divided the alleles into two classes: class S included shorter (27) repeats, and class L included longer (⩾27) repeats. We assessed the effects of the length of (GT)n repeats in HO-1 gene promoter on pediatric NAFLD.
Of the 101 obese subjects, 27 (26.7%) had NAFLD. The alanine aminotransferase level was higher in patients carrying L alleles (L/L and L/S) than patients with S alleles (S/S) (46.2±49.3 IU|(-1) versus 30.2±20.1 IU|(-1); P=0.027). The significant risk factors for pediatric NAFLD were patients carrying L alleles (L/L and L/S) (odds ratio (OR)=18.84; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.45-245.22; P=0.025), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (OR=1.40; 95% CI: 1.07-1.83; P=0.014) and age (OR=1.24; 95% CI: 1.03-1.50; P=0.025).
In this hospital-based study, the obese children with longer GT repeats in the HO-1 gene promoter and insulin resistance were susceptible to NAFLD.
Abstract Objective Liver transplantation for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is notorious for rapid recurrence with poor survival rate postoperatively and has therefore been discontinued in most ...centers. The purpose of this study is to distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from cholangiocarcinoma in pretransplantation imaging evaluation by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Materials and Methods From January 2014 to September 2015, 19 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 62.8 years. All subjects underwent pretransplantation DCE-MRI and surgical excision or core biopsy. The DCE-MRI parameters were measured using the Tofts model 1999. Statistical analysis included nonparametric tests and area under the curve for the receiver operating characteristic. Results Fourteen HCCs and 5 cholangiocarcinomas were diagnosed by surgical pathology. The mean size of tumor was 6.4 cm (range, 1.5 cm to 13.7 cm). All DCE-MRI parameters were calculated as the ratio between the tumor and normal liver parenchyma and Ktrans (1/min) was used as a distinguishing parameter between the two tumors. Ktrans was higher in the cholangiocarcinoma group (1.89 ± 1.13) than in the HCC group (0.46 ± 0.35). Univariate analysis revealed that Ktrans has a high significant difference ( P = .001). The optimal Ktrans value cutoffs were 1 or more (area under the curve = 0.971) for detection of HCCs or cholangiocarcinomas. Conclusion The analysis of DCE-MRI with the kinetic model (Tofts, 1999) presents a new and practical approach indiscrimination of HCC from cholangiocarcinoma for pretransplantation imaging evaluation.
Summary
Calcitonin may relieve pain by modulating central serotonin activity. Calcitonin partly reversed the hypersensitivity to pain induced by ovariectomy. This suggests that the anti-nociceptive ...effects of calcitonin in the treatment of osteoporosis may be mediated by alterations in neural serotonin transporter (SERT) activity.
Introduction
This study used a rat model of osteoporosis to evaluate the role of the cerebral serotonin system in the anti-nociceptive effect of calcitonin, a drug used to treat post-menopausal osteoporosis.
Methods
Osteoporosis was induced in rats by ovariectomy (OVX). Rats were then randomized to the following four groups: sham operation, OVX, OVX plus calcitonin, or OVX plus alendronate.
Results
OVX led to alterations in bone micro-architecture; alendronate strongly reversed this effect, and calcitonin moderately reversed this effect. OVX increased hyperalgesia (determined as the time for hind paw withdrawal from a heat source); calcitonin reduced this effect, but alendronate had no effect. OVX increased the expression of c-Fos (a neuronal marker of pain) in the thalamus; calcitonin strongly reversed this effect, and alendronate moderately reversed this effect. OVX also reduced SERT but increased 5-HT1A receptor expression and activity; calcitonin aggravated this effect, but alendronate had no effect on recovery of SERT/5-HT1A activity and expression.
Conclusions
Our study of a rat model of osteoporosis suggests that OVX-induced enhancement of the serotonergic system may protect against hyperalgesia. However, the anti-nociceptive effects of calcitonin in osteoporosis may be mediated by decreased neural SERT activity and increased activation of 5-HT1 receptors in the thalamus.
Time-density curve analysis of DSA provides useful blood flow information. However, manually selecting the ROI is time-consuming. We developed an automatic technique to provide arterial, capillary, ...and venous vasculatures with corresponding time-density curves. This study retrospectively analyzed the data of 36 patients with unilateral carotid stenosis. We found that the full width at half maximum of the time-density curve for the automatically segmented capillary vasculature is a suitable representation of the cerebral circulation time.
Pleated electret HVAC filters are often used in residence to mitigate the particles that originate both indoors and outdoors. These filters are usually tested with particles larger than 300 nm. ...However, residential particles can contain a significant amount of nanoparticles with size below 50 nm due to cooking, smoking, cleaning, wood burning, and outdoor infiltration. In order to characterize the nanoparticle removal by electret HVAC filters, penetrations of 3-50 nm silver nanoparticles through five different flat sheet electret media used in commercial residential HVAC filters were tested with face velocities of 0.05, 0.5, and 1.0 m s
-1
. Experimental results showed that all media had significantly high penetrations with 0.35-0.8 at the most penetrating particle sizes (MPPSs) for all three velocities, which were in the sizes of 10-30 nm. A model based on single fiber theory for particle penetration predictions was used and compared with the experimental data. Results showed that the model predicted the nanoparticle penetrations very well for all media and all face velocities tested. According to the model, for enhancing the nanoparticle efficiency of the current commercial HVAC filters, the fiber diameter should be reduced or the number of pleats should be increased. However, by doing these, pressure drop and cost may be largely increased. On the other hand, this study found the existing commercial mechanical HVAC filters were much capable for sub-50 nm nanoparticle removal when their minimum efficiency reporting values (MERVs) were larger than 13 and it is concluded mechanical HVAC filters can do a better job than electret ones. However, the quality factor analysis showed electret filters could be regarded as the best filter media for removing particles smaller than 300 nm.
Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research
A precision measurement of the nitrogen flux with rigidity (momentum per unit charge) from 2.2 GV to 3.3 TV based on 2.2×10^{6} events is presented. The detailed rigidity dependence of the nitrogen ...flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index rapidly hardens at high rigidities and becomes identical to the spectral indices of primary He, C, and O cosmic rays above ∼700 GV. We observed that the nitrogen flux Φ_{N} can be presented as the sum of its primary component Φ_{N}^{P} and secondary component Φ_{N}^{S}, Φ_{N}=Φ_{N}^{P}+Φ_{N}^{S}, and we found Φ_{N} is well described by the weighted sum of the oxygen flux Φ_{O} (primary cosmic rays) and the boron flux Φ_{B} (secondary cosmic rays), with Φ_{N}^{P}=(0.090±0.002)×Φ_{O} and Φ_{N}^{S}=(0.62±0.02)×Φ_{B} over the entire rigidity range. This corresponds to a change of the contribution of the secondary cosmic ray component in the nitrogen flux from 70% at a few GV to <30% above 1 TV.
Abstract
Background
The study employed machine learning methods to explore age trajectories of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) disability in a representative cohort of middle- and ...older-aged individuals. This is crucial for understanding the impact of disability onset on healthy life expectancy (HLE) across sub-populations.
Methods
We utilized data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging, which included 5,334 individuals aged 50 and over from 1996 to 2011. To investigate the change in physical functions, we focused on the 6 IADL items assessed over five waves of surveys. Each IADL item was dichotomised and summed to calculate a disability score ranging from 0 to 6 based on its difficulty level. We used K-means clustering to identify IADL disability trajectories and applied 10-fold cross-validation, repeated ten times, to select the optimal classification. We transformed the identified groups into age trajectories based on the mean IADL score at each age within each group. The age trajectories were then smoothed using locally estimated scatterplot smoothing and generalized additive models.
Results
We identified four trajectory groups based on changes in IADL scores over 15 years: (1) individuals who remained consistently able, (2) individuals with persistent and slower decline, (3) individuals with persistent and faster decline, and (4) individuals with persistent disability. The proportions of the four groups were 56.1%, 20.0%, 16.1% and 7.8%, respectively. The average posterior probabilities for all groups were above 83.3%. The results of this study were comparable to those of traditional regression-based models. We also analyzed the associations between trajectory group membership and participants’ characteristics at baseline.
Conclusions
This machine learning approach based on K-means clustering is valuable for investigating diverse disability trajectories within the population and can inform future research to explore factors that may enhance HLE.
Key messages
• Machine learning enables investigating disability trajectories across sub-populations.
• The study identified four distinct disability trajectory groups using K-means clustering, providing insights into factors for enhancing healthy life expectancy.
Alkali-heat treatment (AHT) is an effective surface treatment technology for improving the bioactivity of medical metal biomaterials. However, the effects of AHT on the biocompatibility of the ...original material are not yet fully clear. Accordingly, in the present study, tantalum (Ta) coatings are deposited on Ti6Al4V substrates using a vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) technique and the coatings are then processed using either alkali treatment (AT) or AHT using 0.5 M and 1.0 M NaOH aqueous solution. In vitro bioactivity tests are performed in simulated body fluid for 3~14 days. It is shown that the surface of the AHT sample treated with 0.5 M NaOH (0.5 M AHT) has excellent bioactivity, irrespective of whether or not ultrasonic cleaning (UC) is performed following the heat treatment process. The surface of the AHT sample processed with 1.0 M NaOH (1.0 M AHT) contains a large number of irregular block-shaped compounds, which hinder the bioactivity of the coating. However, following UC treatment, the block-shaped compounds are removed, and the bioactivity of the AHT-UC sample is similar to that of the 0.5 M AHT sample. In in vitro biocompatibility tests for 1–7 days, the Ta coating and 0.5 M AHT-UC coating exhibited significantly better cellular attachment, growth, spreading, and viability of osteoblast-like osteosarcoma MG-63 cells than the 1.0 M AHT-UC coating. It is speculated that this is due to the presence of excess amorphous sodium tantalate on the surface of the 1.0 M AHT-UC coating. Overall, the present results show that AHT treatment performed with an appropriate NaOH concentration yields a significant improvement in both the bioactivity and the biocompatibility of VPS Ta coatings.
•VPS Ta-coatings treated with AH, AHT and AHT-UC using 0.5 M NaOH have excellent in vitro bioactivity.•For 1.0 M NaOH, the VPS Ta-coatings treated with AHT-UC alone have excellent in vitro bioactivity.•The cell density in the 0.5 M AHT-UC coating was about 6 times higher than the 1.0 M AHT-UC coating.•VPS Ta-coatings on Ti6Al4V substrates have good potential for implant applications.
The organic content of municipal solid waste has long been an attractive source of renewable energy, mainly as a solid fuel in waste-to-energy plants. This study focuses on the potential to use ...microbial fuel cells to convert municipal solid waste organics into energy using various operational conditions. The results showed that two-chamber microbial fuel cells with carbon felt and carbon felt allocation had a higher maximal power density (20.12 and 30.47 mW m-2 for 1.5 and 4 L, respectively) than those of other electrode plate allocations. Most two-chamber microbial fuel cells (1.5 and 4 L) had a higher maximal power density than single-chamber ones with corresponding electrode plate allocations. Municipal solid waste with alkali hydrolysis pre-treatment and K3Fe(CN)6 as an electron acceptor improved the maximal power density to 1817.88 mW m-2 (~0.49% coulomb efficiency, from 0.05–0.49%). The maximal power density from experiments using individual 1.5 and 4 L two-chamber microbial fuel cells, and serial and parallel connections of 1.5 and 4 L two-chamber microbial fuel cells, was found to be in the order of individual 4 L (30.47 mW m-2) > serial connection of 1.5 and 4 L (27.75) > individual 1.5 L (20.12) > parallel connection of 1.5 and 4 L (17.04) two-chamber microbial fuel cells . The power density using municipal solid waste microbial fuel cells was compared with information in the literature and discussed.
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