In this paper, the variation and trend of haze pollution in eastern China for winter of 1960–2012 were analyzed. With the overall increasing number of winter haze days in this period, the 5 decades ...were divided into three sub-periods based on the changes of winter haze days (WHD) in central North China (30–40° N) and eastern South China (south of 30° N) for east of 109° E mainland China. Results show that WHD kept gradually increasing during 1960–1979, remained stable overall during 1980–1999, and increased fast during 2000–2012. The author identified the major climate forcing factors besides total energy consumption. Among all the possible climate factors, variability of the autumn Arctic sea ice extent, local precipitation and surface wind during winter is most influential to the haze pollution change. The joint effect of fast increase of total energy consumption, rapid decline of Arctic sea ice extent and reduced precipitation and surface winds intensified the haze pollution in central North China after 2000. There is a similar conclusion for haze pollution in eastern South China after 2000, with the precipitation effect being smaller and spatially inconsistent.
Scope
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common chronic recurrent inflammatory bowel disease. This study attempts to reveal the improvement mechanism of floral mushroom polysaccharide (FMPS) on UC from the ...perspective of coordinated interaction between intestinal microbes and intestinal helper T cell 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cell (Treg) balance.
Methods and results
Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis mice model is used for the experiment. The results suggest that FMPS up‐regulated the expression of occludin, ZO‐1, and MUC2, and down‐regulated the secretion of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and IL‐6 in colitis mice. Importantly, FMPS restores intestinal Th17/Treg balance. Meanwhile, FMPS can regulate intestinal microorganisms and improve the level of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in colitis mice. Intestinal microbial depletion and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments reveal that FMPS ameliorated UC is mediated by intestinal microbiome. Flow cytometry further proves that FMPS restores intestinal Th17/Treg balance in a microbial‐dependent manner.
Conclusion
These results indicate that FMPS has the potential to improve UC, and its mechanism depends on the restoration of Th17/Treg balance mediated by intestinal microorganisms. Therefore, it is suggested that FMPS dietary supplement can be potentially used to intervene UC.
FMPS has the potential to improve UC, and its mechanism depends on the restoration of Th17/Treg balance mediated by intestinal microorganisms.
Neurons suffer detrimental effects from β-amyloid toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease. The exercise hormone, irisin, is found to induce a neuroprotective gene program and facilitates the beneficial ...effects on cognitive function. But no effort is made to test its direct protective effects on neurons against the Aβ-induced cell toxicity so far. In the present study, we investigated whether irisin could protect neurons against Aβ- (25–35) induced cell damage and explored the possible underlying mechanisms. Primary cell cultures of astrocytes and neurons were established. Conditioned medium from astrocyte was collected for the treatment and biochemistry assay study. To explore the protein expression changes, Western blot and ELISA assays were used in these in vitro cell culture models. Exposure of hippocampal neurons to 10 μM Aβ (25–35) caused significant reduction on cell viability, and the toxic effect was not significantly reduced by the coadministration of irisin. However, pretreated astrocyte-conditioned medium with irisin for 12 hours notably protected the neurons from the toxicity of Aβ. Also, we found that irisin could attenuate the release of IL-6 and IL-1β from cultured astrocytes and decrease the expression level of COX-2 and phosphorylation of AKT. Last, we found that irisin could reduce NFκB activation in astrocyte exposed to Aβ by preventing the phosphorylation and the loss of IκBα. Our finding may provide novel evidence for the future application of irisin in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and the memory dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.
This paper analyzes the air pollution situation in China, particularly the severe intensifying tendency in central North China. Five major comments on the air pollution issue in China are proposed, ...emphasizing the scientific understanding on the mechanisms of air pollution formation processes, the interannual variability, the relative roles of climate change and pollutant emissions, the interaction between climate change and atmospheric chemical processes, and the seasonal prediction of air pollution. The viewpoints have significance for air pollution management in China and around the world.
Introduction The prevalence of obesity in Chinese adults increased from 1991 to 2000; however, recent changes in this trend are unclear. This study aims to estimate the current prevalence of obesity ...and to assess trends in obesity and BMI distribution in Chinese adults from 1991 through 2011. Methods Height and weight measurements of 12,249 Chinese adults from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed (in 2013) together with China Health and Nutrition Survey data for 1991−2009. Obesity was defined as BMI≥28.0 kg/m2 based on the Working Group on Obesity in China criteria. Results In the 2011 survey, the age-adjusted mean BMI was 23.8 (95% CI=23.7, 23.9) for men and 23.4 (95% CI=23.2, 23.5) for women. The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 11.3% (95% CI=10.8%, 11.9%) overall, 11.8% (95% CI=10.8%, 12.6%) among men, and 11.0% (95% CI=10.3%, 11.8%) among women. Estimates of age-adjusted obesity prevalence among the Chinese population were significantly lower than those of the U.S. population (all p <0.05). Over the 20-year period, the prevalence of obesity increased from 2.88% to 11.8% among men (age-adjusted annual change in OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.07, 1.09, p <0.001) and from 4.55% to 11.0% among women (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.05, 1.06, p <0.001). Similar significant findings were observed for both men and women based on WHO recommendations. Conclusions The prevalence of obesity among both Chinese men and women increased significantly from 1991 through 2011, particularly among men.
Background: The prevalence of overweight is increasing dramatically worldwide. The aim of our study was to investigate the association of plain water intake (PWI) with the risk of new-onset ...overweight risk among Chinese adults. Methods: A total of 3,200 adults aged 18–65 who were free of overweight at baseline were enrolled from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) cohort study in 2006–2011. The risk of new-onset overweight with different amounts of PWI per day was analyzed in this 5-year cohort. A multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the association of PWI and the risk of new-onset overweight and adjust for potential confounders. Moreover, dose-response models were developed to estimate the linear relationship. Results: During 5 years of follow-up, 1,018 incident cases were identified. Our analysis indicated an inverse association of more than 4 cups of PWI per day and the risk of new-onset overweight among normal weight individuals. Compared with participants who drank 2 to 3 cups PWI, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) of overweight were 0.741 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.599–0.916) in participants who drank 4 to 5 cups PWI, and 0.547 (95% CI, 0.435–0.687) in participants who drank more than 6 cups PWI. The dose-response analysis showed that every cup of PWI was associated with a 6.5% and 8.4% decrease in the risk of new-onset overweight among men and women, respectively. The interactions of PWI and covariates on the risk of overweight were not found. Conclusion: Drinking more than 4 cups (≈1 liter) per day of plain water is associated with decrease in the risk of new-onset overweight among normal-weight individuals.
Background: The diagnosis of hypertension should be based on the mean of two or more properly measured BP readings on each of two visits for clinical practice, but a one-visit strategy was applied in ...most epidemiological surveys. The impact of hypertension definition based on two visits on estimates of hypertension burden is unknown. This study aims to assess the impact of hypertension diagnosis based on a two-visit strategy for estimating hypertension burden in China. Methods: The one-visit and two-visit strategies were applied to investigate the incidence of hypertension in a cohort study based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1989–2011. Additionally the prevalence of hypertension was investigated in a cross-sectional study based on the CHNS 2006–2009/2011 and the hypertension burden in China was estimated with data from the 2012–2015 China hypertension survey. Results: Overall, the age-adjusted incidence of hypertension based on the two-visit strategy (1.82%; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.74–1.90%) was 62.1% lower than estimation based on the one-visit strategy (4.80%; 95% CI, 4.68–4.93%). Similar results were found in the prevalence of hypertension (one-visit: 18.13% 95% CI, 17.34–18.92%; two-visit: 9.47% 95% CI, 8.87–10.07%). When the two-visit strategy was applied to the 2012–2015 China hypertension survey, the hypertension burden was predicted to be overestimated by 25.5–47.8% (based on JNC 7) and 23.5–48.2% (based on the 2017 ACC/AHA). Conclusion: The hypertension burden would decrease from 244.5 million persons to 127.5–182.3 million persons in China if the two-visit strategy was applied.
The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of abdominal obesity from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey ...(CHNS) and compare the data with other countries.
Waist circumference (WC) of 12,326 Chinese adults (aged 20 years or older) from the 2011 CHNS were analyzed by age group and region. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for Asians.
In 2011, the age-adjusted mean WC was 85.9 cm (95% confidence interval CI, 85.6–86.2 cm) for men and 80.7 cm (95% CI, 80.4–80.9 cm) for women. Based on the WHO recommendations, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity was 44.0% (95% CI, 43.1%–44.8%) overall, 35.3% (95% CI, 34.1%–36.6%) in men, and 51.7% (95% CI, 50.5%–52.9%) in women. Moreover, the age-adjusted prevalence was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.7%–45.2%) in rural populations, 42.5% (95% CI, 40.7%–44.2%) in urban populations, and 45.2% (95% CI, 43.5%–46.9%) in megacity populations. The prevalence in China (35.3% for men and 51.7% for women) was lower than in Japan (50.8% for men) and the United States (43.5% for men and 64.7% for women). Similar results were observed when applying the criteria suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China.
In 2011, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity in China was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women.
•In 2011, the mean waist circumference in China was 85.9 cm (men) and 80.7 cm (women).•In 2011, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women.•The prevalence in China was lower than in Japan and the United States.
•A polysaccharide fraction (FMPS) was extracted from Huangshan floral mushroom for the first time.•The primary structure and advanced structure of FMPS was studied.•Investigated the antioxidant ...activity of FMPS by different manners.
In this paper, a polysaccharide fraction (FMPS) was purified from the floral mushroom cultivated in Huangshan Mountain for the first time. Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of FMPS were investigated. FMPS had an average molecular weight of 7.2×105Da and was composed of glucose. On the basis of FT-IR, NMR and methylation analysis, the repeating unit of FMPS was established as (1→3)-linked β-d-glucopyranosyl backbone with 1-linked β-d-glucopyranosyl branches substituted at O-6 position of (1→3)-linked β-d-glucopyranosyl residues. The advanced structure studies indicated that FMPS was a triple-helical polysaccharide. The main hydrodynamic radius (Rh) of FMPS was 23.4nm and it could form a stable system with water in 1.2×10−2g/mL solutions. In addition, FMPS exhibited high DPPH radical scavenging activities (79.46% at 5mg/mL) and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities (74.18% at 5mg/mL), as well as Fe2+chelating activities and ABTS radical scavenging activities to some extent.
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