To determine whether exposure to the Chinese famine during fetal life and early childhood was associated with a greater risk of metabolic syndrome in later life.
We used data of adults from the 2008 ...annual physical examinations in Public Health Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in Chongqing. To minimize misclassification of the famine exposure periods, subjects born in 1959 and 1962 were excluded. Totally, 5040 participants were enrolled and categorized into control (1963-1964), fetally exposed (1960-1961) and postnatally exposed (1957-1958) group. We adopted the definition of metabolic syndrome recommended by the Chinese Diabetes Society in 2004.
Women in fetally and postnatally exposed groups had significantly higher prevalences of metabolic syndrome than in control group (7.3% and 8.6% vs 4.0%, P<0.05, respectively). Women in fetally and postnatally exposed groups had a significantly higher risk of metabolic syndrome, as compared with control women (odds ratio (OR) 1.87 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-3.04, P=0.012), OR 1.50 (95% CI 1.20-1.87, P=0.0003), respectively). Similar association was not observed among men. The prevalences of metabolic syndrome among men in control, fetally and postnatally exposed groups were 20.1%, 22.5% and 18.8%, respectively, but there was no significant difference of prevalences among the three groups.
We found that exposure to the Chinese famine in early life period was associated with higher risk of metabolic syndrome in adulthood of women, but not men. This gender difference might be due to the mortality selection and son preference hypothesis.
Summary
The marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are highly abundant in the global oceans, as are the cyanophage with which they co‐evolve. While genomic analyses have been ...relatively extensive for cyanomyoviruses, only three cyanopodoviruses isolated on marine cyanobacteria have been sequenced. Here we present nine new cyanopodovirus genomes, and analyse them in the context of the broader group. The genomes range from 42.2 to 47.7 kb, with G+C contents consistent with those of their hosts. They share 12 core genes, and the pan‐genome is not close to being fully sampled. The genomes contain three variable island regions, with the most hypervariable genes concentrated at one end of the genome. Concatenated core‐gene phylogeny clusters all but one of the phage into three distinct groups (MPP‐A and two discrete clades within MPP‐B). The outlier, P‐RSP2, has the smallest genome and lacks RNA polymerase, a hallmark of the Autographivirinae subfamily. The phage in group MPP‐B contain photosynthesis and carbon metabolism associated genes, while group MPP‐A and the outlier P‐RSP2 do not, suggesting different constraints on their lytic cycles. Four of the phage encode integrases and three have a host integration signature. Metagenomic analyses reveal that cyanopodoviruses may be more abundant in the oceans than previously thought.
Summary
Background Staphylococcus aureus has a peculiar ability to colonize the skin of patients with eczema and atopic dermatitis (AD), and is consistently found in eczematous skin lesions in these ...patients. A correlation between the severity of the eczema and colonization with S. aureus has been demonstrated, and it has been determined that bacterial colonization is an important factor aggravating skin lesions. Patients colonized with S. aureus have been treated with antibiotics in several open and double‐blind placebo‐controlled studies, with conflicting results.
Objectives To investigate the colonizing features of S. aureus in the lesional and nonlesional skin of patients with eczema and AD in China and to compare the therapeutic effect of mupirocin plus hydrocortisone butyrate with vehicle ointment plus hydrocortisone butyrate.
Methods A multicentre, double‐blind randomized trial was conducted. Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) scores were evaluated before the start of the trial and on the 7th, 14th and 28th day of treatment. Swabs for bacterial isolation were taken from lesional skin before the start of the trial and on the 7th, 14th and 28th day of treatment, and from nonlesional skin only before the start of the trial. A combination topical therapy with mupirocin plus hydrocortisone butyrate ointment was used in the experimental group, with vehicle ointment plus hydrocortisone butyrate ointment as a control.
Results Of 327 patients enrolled in the study, 208 had eczema and 119 had AD. Bacteria were isolated from 70·2% of lesional and 32·7% of nonlesional skin samples from patients with eczema, of which S. aureus accounted for 47·3% and 27·9%, respectively. Bacteria were isolated from 74·8% of lesional and 34·5% of nonlesional skin samples from patients with AD, of which S. aureus accounted for 79·8% and 80·5%, respectively. The colonization density of S. aureus was markedly higher in lesional than in nonlesional skin, both in patients with eczema and with AD (P < 0·01, P < 0·05), and was positively correlated with lesion severity. Considering the EASI scores before and after treatment and the final effective rate, good therapeutic effects were obtained in both the combination experimental groups and the control groups (P < 0·01), and there were no differences in the global therapeutic effect between the two groups in patients with eczema and with AD (P > 0·05). However, in patients with eczema with a clinical score of > 8 or in patients with AD with a clinical score of > 7, the therapeutic effect in the experimental groups was superior to that in the control groups (P < 0·05) on the 7th day of treatment. There were no differences between the two groups on the 14th and 28th days of treatment (P > 0·05). Following the improvement of symptoms and signs of eczema and AD, the positive rates of bacteria and S. aureus were reduced on the 7th day of treatment.
Conclusions This study confirmed that lesional skin of patients with eczema and AD was more frequently colonized with S. aureus than was nonlesional skin. The more severe the eczema, the higher the colonization rate of S. aureus, and S. aureus was also more often present in lesional and nonlesional skin in patients with AD than in those with eczema. Staphylococcus aureus infection is related to the pathogenesis of eczema and AD. An antibiotic–corticosteroid combination and corticosteroid alone both gave good therapeutic effect in eczema and in AD, and both reduced colonization by S. aureus. Early combined topical therapy is beneficial to patients with moderate to severe eczema and AD, and it is unnecessary to use antibiotics at later stages of disease or in mild eczema or AD.
Summary
Innate immune and inflammatory responses are involved in myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Interleukin (IL)‐37 is a newly identified member of the IL‐1 family, and functions as a ...fundamental inhibitor of innate immunity and inflammation. However, its role in myocardial I/R injury remains unknown. I/R or sham operations were performed on male C57BL/6J mice. I/R mice received an injection of recombinant human IL‐37 or vehicle, immediately before reperfusion. Compared with vehicle treatment, mice treated with IL‐37 showed an obvious amelioration of the I/R injury, as demonstrated by reduced infarct size, decreased cardiac troponin T level and improved cardiac function. This protective effect was associated with the ability of IL‐37 to suppress production of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and neutrophil infiltration, which together contributed to a decrease in cardiomyocyte apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In addition, we found that IL‐37 inhibited the up‐regulation of Toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐4 expression and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐kB) activation after I/R, while increasing the anti‐inflammatory IL‐10 level. Moreover, the administration of anti‐IL‐10R antibody abolished the protective effects of IL‐37 in I/R injury. In‐vitro experiments further demonstrated that IL‐37 protected cardiomyocytes from apoptosis under I/R condition, and suppressed the migration ability of neutrophils towards the chemokine LIX. In conclusion, IL‐37 plays a protective role against mouse myocardial I/R injury, offering a promising therapeutic medium for myocardial I/R injury.
Abstract
X-ray bursts are among the brightest stellar objects frequently observed in the sky by space-based telescopes. A type-I X-ray burst is understood as a violent thermonuclear explosion on the ...surface of a neutron star, accreting matter from a companion star in a binary system. The bursts are powered by a nuclear reaction sequence known as the rapid proton capture process (rp process), which involves hundreds of exotic neutron-deficient nuclides. At so-called waiting-point nuclides, the process stalls until a slower β
+
decay enables a bypass. One of the handful of rp process waiting-point nuclides is
64
Ge, which plays a decisive role in matter flow and therefore the produced X-ray flux. Here we report precision measurements of the masses of
63
Ge,
64,65
As and
66,67
Se—the relevant nuclear masses around the waiting-point
64
Ge—and use them as inputs for X-ray burst model calculations. We obtain the X-ray burst light curve to constrain the neutron-star compactness, and suggest that the distance to the X-ray burster GS 1826–24 needs to be increased by about 6.5% to match astronomical observations. The nucleosynthesis results affect the thermal structure of accreting neutron stars, which will subsequently modify the calculations of associated observables.
A new high-gain cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with a large bandwidth is proposed. A cylindrical dielectric resonator, an intermediate layer and a metallic cylinder are used to obtain ...a large bandwidth and a high gain. The intermediate layer structure can suppress surface wave propagation, which results in a gain improvement, and the cavity formed by the metallic cylinder provides a further higher gain. The measured results demonstrate that the proposed DRA achieves a large bandwidth of 23% from 5.4 to 6.8 GHz with a voltage standing wave ratio of < 2 and a high gain of around 11 dBi.
To characterize and identify a novel Huperzine A (HupA)-producing fungal strain Slf14 isolated from Huperzia serrata (Thunb. ex Murray) Trev. in China. The isolation, identification and ...characterization of a novel endophytic fungus producing HupA specifically and consistently from the leaves of H. serrata were investigated. The fungus was identified as Shiraia sp. Slf14 by molecular and morphological methods. The HupA produced by this endophytic fungus was shown to be identical to authentic HupA analysed by thin layer chromatographic, High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), LC-MS, ¹H NMR and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity in vitro. The amount of HupA produced by Shiraia sp. Slf14 was quantified to be 327·8 μg l⁻¹ by HPLC, which was far higher than that of the reported endophytic fungi, Acremonium sp., Blastomyces sp. and Botrytis sp. The production of HupA by endophyte Shiraia sp. Slf14 is an enigmatic observation. It would be interesting to further study the HupA production and regulation by the cultured endophyte in H. serrata and in axenic cultures. Although the current accumulation of HupA by the endophyte is not very high, it could provide a promising alterative approach for large-scale production of HupA. However, further strain improvement and the fermentation process optimization are required to result in the consistent and dependable production.
As a rapid, accurate and efficient analytical technique, gas chromatography is widely used in the detection of volatile organic compounds and inorganic small molecule toxins, and it is the main ...analytical method in the national testing standards for occupational health. The existing effective national standards of gas chromatography for the detection of some substances have low column efficiency, high toxicity of reagents, poor correlation of the standard curve and low desorption efficiency and other problems, some of which can be solved through method improvement. At the same time, with the use of new materials and new processes, new types of toxic substances are emerging, and there are still many occupational disease hazards of limited value without supporting detection methods, gas chromatography can be applied to the detection of some toxic substances to better complement the vacancy of China's occupational health detection methods. This paper analyzes the current situation of the application of gas chrom
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary graded raw potato starch (RPS) levels on growth performance, plasma cytokines concentration, ileal barrier function, and ...cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentration in meat ducks from 1 to 35 D of age. This study included 2 experiments. In experiment (Exp.) 1, sixteen 35-day-old meat ducks were used to evaluate the AME of RPS by orogastric administration. Results showed the AME value of RPS on ducks is 2.76 kcal/g. In Exp. 2, a total of 600 one-day-old ducklings were randomly assigned to 5 isonitrogenous and isoenergetic dietary treatments that included 0 (control), 6, 12, 18, and 24% RPS, respectively. Samples were collected at both of 14 and 35 D. Neither growth performance nor ileal parameters (length, weight, and pH) at both of 14 and 35 D was affected by dietary RPS. However, the mucosal thickness (14 D), villus height (except for 18% RPS at 14 D), and the villus height: crypt depth ratio (14 and 35 D) of the ileum were increased in the 12 and 18% RPS diets when compared to 0% RPS diet. Meanwhile, proinflammatory factors such as plasma interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 (14 D) reduced in 12% RPS diet and tumor necrosis factor α decreased in 12% (except for 14 D) and 18% RPS groups. When compared with the control group, diets with 18% RPS significantly increased mucin 2 gene expression at 14 D, and 12% RPS elevated the mRNA expression of tight junction proteins including Zonula occludens-1 and Claudin 1 (except for 14 D) in the ileal mucosa of birds. Furthermore, ducks fed 12% RPS diet had higher concentrations of acetate, propionate, and butyrate in cecal digesta than other groups. These findings indicated that diets with 12 and/or 18% RPS increased the cecal SCFA concentration, which subsequently enhanced the barrier function and improved intestinal health in the ileum for 14 and 35-day-old meat ducks.
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different varieties of rapeseed meal (RSM) with different concentrations of glucosinolates (Gls) and erucic acid (EA) on performance and egg ...quality of laying ducks. A total of 576 twenty eight-wk-old laying ducks were randomly allocated to 4 treatments. Each treatment had 8 replicates of 18 laying ducks raised in 6 adjacent cages with 3 laying ducks per cage. The control diet was corn soybean meal based without RSM. Three varieties of RSM varying in Gls concentrations were supplemented to the base diet at 10% by substituting soybean meal to formulate the three RSM diets. The experiment lasted 12 wk. Diets with 10% RSM decreased average egg weight (P < 0.01) and feed intake (P = 0.07) compared with the control diet, but there was no significant difference in laying performance among the 3 RSM diets. RSM increased color value (P < 0.05) and crude protein (CP) content (P < 0.05) of yolk compared with the control diet, but had no significant effects on the other egg quality indexes including eggshell strength, albumen height, Haugh unit, and the composition ratio of eggshell, albumen and yolk. RSM decreased total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (P < 0.01) and increased total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (P < 0.01) of yolk, but total saturated fatty acids (SFA) proportions and UFA/SFA ratio of egg yolk were not significantly affected by RSM. RSM increased deposition of trimethylamine (TMA) and 5-vinyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2-thione (5-VOT) in yolk (P < 0.01); moreover, the high Gls RSM increased deposition of TMA (P < 0.01) and 5-VOT in yolk (P < 0.01) compared with the RSM varieties low in Gls. These results suggested that dietary inclusion of 10% RSM decreased egg weight of laying ducks, and affected yolk quality especially yolk color, fatty acid profile, CP, TMA, and 5-VOT content of yolk. Moreover, RSM with higher Gls concentration resulted in higher deposition of TMA and 5-VOT in egg yolk.
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