Preterm birth is a complex disease with etiologic influences from a variety of social, environmental, hormonal, genetic, and other factors. The purpose of this study was to utilize a large ...population-based birth registry to estimate the independent effect of county-level poverty on preterm birth risk. To accomplish this, we used a multilevel logistic regression approach to account for multiple co-existent individual-level variables and county-level poverty rate.
Population-based study utilizing Missouri's birth certificate database (1989-1997). We conducted a multilevel logistic regression analysis to estimate the effect of county-level poverty on PTB risk. Of 634,994 births nested within 115 counties in Missouri, two levels were considered. Individual-level variables included demographics factors, prenatal care, health-related behavioral risk factors, and medical risk factors. The area-level variable included the percentage of the population within each county living below the poverty line (US census data, 1990). Counties were divided into quartiles of poverty; the first quartile (lowest rate of poverty) was the reference group.
PTB < 35 weeks occurred in 24,490 pregnancies (3.9%). The rate of PTB < 35 weeks was 2.8% in counties within the lowest quartile of poverty and increased through the 4th quartile (4.9%), p < 0.0001. High county-level poverty was significantly associated with PTB risk. PTB risk (< 35 weeks) was increased for women who resided in counties within the highest quartile of poverty, adjusted odds ratio (adj OR) 1.18 (95% CI 1.03, 1.35), with a similar effect at earlier gestational ages (< 32 weeks), adj OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.06, 1.52).
Women residing in socioeconomically deprived areas are at increased risk of preterm birth, above other underlying risk factors. Although the risk increase is modest, it affects a large number of pregnancies.
Abstract
Background
A range of near-real-time online/mobile mapping dashboards and applications have been used to track the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic worldwide; however, small ...area-based spatiotemporal patterns of COVID-19 in the United States remain unknown.
Methods
We obtained county-based counts of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the United States from 22 January to 13 May 2020 (N = 1 386 050). We characterized the dynamics of the COVID-19 epidemic through detecting weekly hotspots of newly confirmed cases using Spatial and Space-Time Scan Statistics and quantifying the trends of incidence of COVID-19 by county characteristics using the Joinpoint analysis.
Results
Along with the national plateau reached in early April, COVID-19 incidence significantly decreased in the Northeast (estimated weekly percentage change EWPC: −16.6%) but continued increasing in the Midwest, South, and West (EWPCs: 13.2%, 5.6%, and 5.7%, respectively). Higher risks of clustering and incidence of COVID-19 were consistently observed in metropolitan versus rural counties, counties closest to core airports, the most populous counties, and counties with the highest proportion of racial/ethnic minorities. However, geographic differences in incidence have shrunk since early April, driven by a significant decrease in the incidence in these counties (EWPC range: −2.0%, −4.2%) and a consistent increase in other areas (EWPC range: 1.5–20.3%).
Conclusions
To substantially decrease the nationwide incidence of COVID-19, strict social-distancing measures should be continuously implemented, especially in geographic areas with increasing risks, including rural areas. Spatiotemporal characteristics and trends of COVID-19 should be considered in decision making on the timeline of re-opening for states and localities.
After early April, COVID-19 incidence decreased in metropolitan areas, counties closest to airports, most populous counties, and counties with highest the proportion of racial/ethnic minorities but consistently increased in other areas. Spatiotemporal trends should be considered in decision making on local re-opening.
By analyzing the phylogenetic structure of plant community, the response of species to environmental changes in tree layer, shrub layer, and herbaceous layer can be explored. Carpinus turczaninowii ...community in Taxus chinensis Nature Reserve in Lingchuan, Shanxi province were surveyed and compared. The net relatedness index(NRI) and nearest taxon index(NTI) of Carpinus turczaninowii community from different spatial scale and different sloping directions were studied by the method of sampling analysis. The phylogenetic structure characteristics of Carpinus turczaninowii community formed along the spatial scale gradient were discussed and the historical process of the construction of Carpinus turczaninowii community was analyzed. The results showed that:(1) the phylogenetic tree of Carpinus turczaninowii community in these reserve arbor layer(26 species), shrub layer(32 species), and herbaceous layer(39 species) could be divided into 5 groups, 5 groups, and 4 groups, respectively. Arbor layer(86.67% of the plot
Objectives
The recommended treatment for limited‐stage small‐cell lung cancer (LS‐SCLC) is a combination of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) and etoposide plus cisplatin (EP) chemotherapy, typically ...administered over 4–6 cycles. Nonetheless, the optimal duration of chemotherapy is still not determined. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients with LS‐SCLC who received either 6 cycles or 4–5 cycles of EP chemotherapy combined with TRT.
Materials and Methods
In this retrospective analysis, we utilized data from our prior prospective trial to analyze the outcomes of 265 LS‐SCLC patients who received 4–6 courses of EP combined with concurrent accelerated hyperfractionated TRT between 2002 and 2017. Patients were categorized into two groups depending on their number of chemotherapy cycles: 6 or 4–5 cycles. To assess overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS), we employed the Kaplan–Meier method after conducting propensity score matching (PSM).
Results
Among the 265 LS‐SCLC patients, 60 (22.6%) received 6 cycles of EP chemotherapy, while 205 (77.4%) underwent 4–5 cycles. Following PSM (53 patients for each group), the patients in the 6 cycles group exhibited a significant improvement in OS and PFS in comparison to those in the 4–5 cycles group median OS: 29.8 months (95% confidence interval CI, 23.6–53.1 months) vs. 22.7 months (95% CI, 20.8–29.1 months), respectively, p = 0.019; median PFS: 17.9 months (95% CI, 13.7–30.5 months) vs. 12.0 months (95% CI, 9.8–14.2 months), respectively, p = 0.006. The two‐year and five‐year OS rates were 60.38% and 29.87% in the 6 cycles group, whereas 47.17% and 15.72% in the 4–5 cycles group, respectively.
Conclusion
Patients diagnosed with LS‐SCLC who were treated with EP regimen chemotherapy combined with TRT exhibited notably enhanced survival when administered 6 cycles of chemotherapy, as compared to those who underwent only 4–5 cycles.
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•The results of extraction experiment indicated the rank of extraction lithium was: N523 > TBP > DIBK > EA > MIBK > BA.•The stoichiometry of the formed extracted complexes was ...determined and the mechanisms were revealed.•DIBK can be treated as synergist adding to TBP or N523 extraction system to avoid a third phase.
Lithium, as one of the most important green energy, its exploitation and application attract great attention. Solvent extraction has been the most popular method among the techniques of extracting lithium in recent years. In this paper, many kinds of organic extractants, including EA, BA, MIBK, DIBK, N523 and TBP, were selected as organic extractants to investigate the influence on the lithium extraction from high mass ratio of Mg/Li aqueous solution. The results of extraction experiment indicated N523 and TBP were superior to the others on lithium extraction efficiency. Through the investigation of extraction equilibrium, the stoichiometry of the formed extracted complexes was determined. The Raman spectrum showed the FeCl4− formed in the extraction process. The FT-IR results presented the extraction reaction made the functional group of organic extractant shifting to lower wavenumbers, suggesting the new chemical bond form. Further, their solubility was investigated considering the application of organic extractants.
ObjectiveA close relationship between gut microbiota and some chronic liver disorders has recently been described. Herein, we systematically performed a comparative analysis of the gut microbiome in ...primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and healthy controls.DesignWe first conducted a cross-sectional study of 60 ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment-naïve patients with PBC and 80 matched healthy controls. Second, an independent cohort composed of 19 treatment-naïve patients and 34 controls was used to validate the results. Finally, a prospective study was performed in a subgroup of 37 patients with PBC who underwent analysis before and after 6 months of UDCA treatment. Faecal samples were collected, and microbiomes were analysed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing.ResultsA significant reduction of within-individual microbial diversity was noted in PBC (p=0.03). A signature defined by decreased abundance of four genera and increased abundance of eight genera strongly correlated with PBC (area under curve=0.86, 0.84 in exploration and validation data, respectively). Notably, the abundance of six PBC-associated genera was reversed after 6 months of UDCA treatment. In particular, Faecalibacterium, enriched in controls, was further decreased in gp210-positive than gp210-negative patients (p=0.002). Of interest was the finding that the increased capacity for the inferred pathway, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells in PBC, highly correlated with the abundance of bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae.ConclusionsThis study presents a comprehensive landscape of gut microbiota in PBC. Dysbiosis was found in the gut microbiome in PBC and partially relieved by UDCA. Our study suggests that gut microbiota is a potential therapeutic target and diagnostic biomarker for PBC.
ObjectiveThe significance of the liver-microbiome axis has been increasingly recognised as a major modulator of autoimmunity. The aim of this study was to take advantage of a large well-defined ...corticosteroids treatment-naïve group of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) to rigorously characterise gut dysbiosis compared with healthy controls.DesignWe performed a cross-sectional study of individuals with AIH (n=91) and matched healthy controls (n=98) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. An independent cohort of 28 patients and 34 controls was analysed to validate the results. All the patients were collected before corticosteroids therapy.ResultsThe gut microbiome of steroid treatment-naïve AIH was characterised with lower alpha-diversity (Shannon and observed operational taxonomic units, both p<0.01) and distinct overall microbial composition compared with healthy controls (p=0.002). Depletion of obligate anaerobes and expansion of potential pathobionts including Veillonella were associated with disease status. Of note, Veillonella dispar, the most strongly disease-associated taxa (p=8.85E–8), positively correlated with serum level of aspartate aminotransferase and liver inflammation. Furthermore, the combination of four patients with AIH-associated genera distinguished AIH from controls with an area under curves of approximately 0.8 in both exploration and validation cohorts. In addition, multiple predicted functional modules were altered in the AIH gut microbiome, including lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis as well as metabolism of amino acids that can be processed by bacteria to produce immunomodulatory metabolites.ConclusionOur study establishes compositional and functional alterations of gut microbiome in AIH and suggests the potential for using gut microbiota as non-invasive biomarkers to assess disease activity.
Dietary lipids play an important role in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through alternation of liver innate immune response.
The present study was to investigate the ...effect of lipid on Kupffer cells phenotype and function in vivo and in vitro. And further to investigate the impact of lipid on ability of Kupffer cell lipid antigen presentation to activate NKT cells.
Wild type male C57BL/6 mice were fed either normal or high-fat diet. Hepatic steatosis, Kupffer cell abundance, NKT cell number and cytokine gene expression were evaluated. Antigen presentation assay was performed with Kupffer cells treated with certain fatty acids in vitro and co-cultured with NKT cells.
High-fat diet induced hepatosteatosis, significantly increased Kupffer cells and decreased hepatic NKT cells. Lipid treatment in vivo or in vitro induced increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines gene expression and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in Kupffer cells. Kupffer cells expressed high levels of CD1d on cell surface and only presented exogenous lipid antigen to activate NKT cells. Ability of Kupffer cells to present antigen and activate NKT cells was enhanced after lipid treatment. In addition, pro-inflammatory activated Kupffer cells by lipid treatment induced hepatic NKT cells activation-induced apoptosis and necrosis.
High-fat diet increase Kupffer cells number and induce their pro-inflammatory status. Pro-inflammatory activated Kupfffer cells by lipid promote hepatic NKT cell over-activation and cell death, which lead to further hepatic NKT cell deficiency in the development of NAFLD.
No previous prospective US study has examined whether the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is disproportionately high in low socioeconomic status (SES) populations of both men and women. This ...study examined the relationship between both individual and area-level SES and CRC incidence, overall and by tumor location.
Data were obtained from the ongoing prospective National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study of persons (50-71 years old) who resided in 6 US states and 2 metropolitan areas at baseline in 1995-1996. Incident CRCs were ascertained from tumor registries through December 2006. SES was measured by self-reported education and census-tract socioeconomic deprivation. Baseline and follow-up questionnaires collected detailed information on individual-level CRC risk factors including family history and health behaviors.
Among 506,488 participants analyzed, 7676 were diagnosed with primary invasive colorectal adenocarcinomas: 44.6% corrected in the right colon, 26.7% in the left colon, and 25.9% in the rectum. The overall incidence of CRC was significantly higher among people who had low educational level or lived in low-SES neighborhoods, relative to respective highest-SES groups, even after accounting for other risk factors. These associations were stronger in the rectum than in left or right colon. In the right colon, there were no significant SES differences by either SES measure after accounting for covariates.
SES, assessed by either individual-level education or neighborhood measures, was associated with risk of CRC even after accounting for other risk factors. The relationship between SES and CRC was strongest in the rectum and weakest in the right colon.
Rice is a major food crop that sustains approximately half of the world population. Recent worldwide improvements in the standard of living have increased the demand for high-quality rice. Accurate ...identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for rice grain quality traits will facilitate rice quality breeding and improvement. In the present study, we performed high-resolution QTL mapping for rice grain quality traits using a genotyping-by-sequencing approach. An F
population derived from a cross between an elite
variety, Koshihikari, and an
variety, Nona Bokra, was used to construct a high-density genetic map. A total of 3,830 single nucleotide polymorphism markers were mapped to 12 linkage groups spanning a total length of 2,456.4 cM, with an average genetic distance of 0.82 cM. Seven grain quality traits-the percentage of whole grain, percentage of head rice, percentage of area of head rice, transparency, percentage of chalky rice, percentage of chalkiness area, and degree of chalkiness-of the F
population were investigated. In total, 15 QTLs with logarithm of the odds (LOD) scores >4 were identified, which mapped to chromosomes 6, 7, and 9. These loci include four QTLs for transparency, four for percentage of chalky rice, four for percentage of chalkiness area, and three for degree of chalkiness, accounting for 0.01%-61.64% of the total phenotypic variation. Of these QTLs, only one overlapped with previously reported QTLs, and the others were novel. By comparing the major QTL regions in the rice genome, several key candidate genes reported to play crucial roles in grain quality traits were identified. These findings will expedite the fine mapping of these QTLs and QTL pyramiding, which will facilitate the genetic improvement of rice grain quality.
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