Central obesity is known to be associated with diabetes. Increasing lower extremity circumference was hypothesized in association with lower risk of diabetes.
This study determined which ...anthropometric patterns correlates the best with pre-diabetic and diabetic status among healthy adults.
Cross-sectional study with nationwide population sampling of participants was designed.
In total, 1,358 ethnic Chinese adult participants were recruited from the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan 2013-2016; the whole-body composition was measured through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Fat and lean mass in whole and specific parts of body among heathy Asian adults with normal glycemic, pre-diabetic, and diabetic states were measured, separately.
The generalized linear model was used to investigate the association between body composition (lean and fat mass) and hyperglycemic status. The reduced rank regression (RRR) was used to confirm the correlation between glycemic status and predicting factors (body composition parameters).
Trunk fat positively correlated with the fasting glucose level (r = 0.327, P < 0.001) and HbA1c (r = 0.329, P < 0.001), whereas limb fat negatively correlated with the fasting glucose level (r = -0.325, P < 0.001) and HbA1c (ρ = -0.342, P < 0.001), respectively. In RRR analyses, fasting glucose and HbA1c exhibited a high positive association on fat amount per lean mass of the trunk (factor loading = 0.5319 and 0.5599, respectively) and of android area (0.6422 and 0.6104) and a high negative association fat amount per lean mass of the legs (-0.3863 and -0.3083) and gynoid area (-0.3414 and -0.3725).
For healthy community participants, increasing trunk fat had a greater risk of hyperglycemic status. Increasing lower extremity mass may confer lower risk of diabetes.
Plant ARGONAUTES (AGOs) play a significant role in the defense against viral infection. Previously, we have demonstrated that AGO5s encoded in
subsp.
(PaAGO5s) took an indispensable part in defense ...against major viruses. To understand the underlying defense mechanism, we cloned PaAGO5s promoters (
PaAGO5s) and analyzed their activity in transgenic
using β-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene. GUS activity analyses revealed that during
(CymMV) and
(ORSV) infections,
PaAGO5b activity was significantly increased compared to
PaAGO5a and
PaAGO5c. Analysis of
PaAGO5b 5'-deletion revealed that
PaAGO5b_941 has higher activity during virus infection. Further, yeast one-hybrid analysis showed that the transcription factor NbMYB30 physically interacted with
PaAGO5b_941 to enhance its activity. Overexpression and silencing of
resulted in up- and downregulation of
expression, respectively. Exogenous application and endogenous measurement of phytohormones have shown that methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid respond to viral infections. NbMYB30 overexpression and its closest related protein, PaMYB30, in
subsp.
reduced CymMV accumulation in
subsp.
. Based on these discoveries, this study uncovers the interaction between virus-responsive promoter and the corresponding transcription factor in plants.
Scope
This study aims to investigate whether S‐allylcysteine (SAC) exerts chemoprophylactic effects on foodborne carcinogenicity caused by 2‐amino‐1‐methyl‐6‐phenylimidazo4,5‐bpyridine (PhIP) in ...normal human colonic mucosal epithelial cells.
Methods and results
Cellular thermal shift assays show that SAC has an affinity for the Kelch‐like ECH‐associated protein 1 (Keap1) protein. Moreover, SAC may also dampen the binding of Keap1 and NF‐E2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) by inhibiting p‐p38 and increasing the phosphorylation of extracellular signal regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) and protein kinase B (AKT), thereby inducing Nrf2/heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) signaling and upregulating the ratio of glutathione (GSH) to GSH/GSSG (oxidized glutathione), which inhibits PhIP‐induced oxidative stress and DNA damage. In addition, SAC significantly downregulates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway, suggesting that SAC may potentially impede the metabolic transformation of carcinogens.
Conclusion
Collectively, these findings suggest that SAC protects against PhIP‐induced reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage by modulating the Nrf2/AhR signaling pathway, which may have significant potential as a novel chemopreventive agent.
Proposed mechanism for the chemopreventive effect of SAC which can inhibit PhIP‐induced DNA damage via upregulating Nrf‐2 and downregulating AhR signaling pathways in NCM460 cells.
Iron overload is related to leukemia transformation in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. Siderophores help to transport iron. Type 2-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH2) is a rate-limiting ...factor in the biogenesis of siderophores. Using qRT-PCR, we analyze
mRNA expression in the bone marrow (BM) of 187 MDS patients, 119 de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, and 43 lymphoma patients with normal BM. Elevated
mRNA expression in BM is observed in MDS patients (
= 187 vs. 43, normal BM;
= 0.009), and this is related to ferritin levels. Patients with higher
expression show a greater risk of leukemia progression (15.25% vs. 3.77%, lower expression;
= 0.017) and shorter leukemia-free-survival (medium LFS, 9 years vs. 7 years;
= 0.024), as do patients with a ferritin level ≥350 ng/mL. Additionally, we investigate the mechanisms related to the prognostic ability of BDH2 by using BDH2-KD THP1. The cell cycle analysis, surface markers, and special stain studies indicate that BDH2-KD induces differentiation and decreases the growth rate of THP1 cells, which is associated with the retardation of the cell cycle. Moreover, many genes, including genes related to mitochondrial catabolism, oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and genes related to cell differentiation and proliferation influence BDH2-KD THP1 cells. Herein, we demonstrate that BDH2 is involved in cell cycle arrest and the inhibition of differentiation in malignant cells. Furthermore, the high BDH2 expression in MDS patients could be suggestive of a poor prognostic factor. This study provides a foundation for further research on the roles of BDH2 and iron metabolism in the pathogenesis of MDS.
A hybrid of (TiB+TiC) reinforced Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) matrix composite was produced by solution ball milling and spark plasma sintering process. The reinforcements were uniformly dispersed into the β ...grain boundary of the TC4 matrix. The size of β-grain is markedly reduced from more than 300 μm to about 23 μm after adding 9.5 vol % reinforcements to the matrix. The room-temperature tensile test results show that yield strength of the composites was enhanced and eventually saturated with the addition of reinforcements. Among all the strengthening mechanisms, grain-refinement effect plays the most important role and contributes 58.5–76.3% increment of the room-temperature yield strength. TiC-particles contribute 15.9–32.2% and TiB-whiskers share the rest contribution. However, the existence of TiBw clusters weakens the load-bearing effect of TiB. The high-temperature yield strength of the composites was improved with increasing volume fraction of the reinforcements and decreased with increasing test temperature. The grain-refinement strengthening efficiency decreases with increasing temperature, while by contrast, the strengthening efficiency of TiC particles goes up. Owing to the combination effect of matrix softening and dynamic recovery process, no saturation of high-temperature yield strength is observed even when the maximum volume fraction of reinforcements (9.5 vol %) were added to the composites.
•(TiB+TiC) reinforced TC4 matrix composites were produced by SPS.•Grain-refinement effect contributes 59–76% increment of the yield strength at RT.•TiC contributes 16–32% and TiB-whiskers share the rest contribution at RT.•Grain-refinement strengthening efficiency decreases with increasing temperature.•The effect of TiC particles enhanced with the increasing of test temperature.
Scope
S‐Allylcysteine (SAC) is the most abundant organosulfur molecule derived from aged garlic. The effects ofSAC on improving Aging in naturally aged C57BL/6J male mice and mitochondrial dynamics ...in Caenorhabditis elegans and its underlying mechanisms is evaluated.
Methods and Results
When mice have attained reproductive senescence at 60 weeks of age, SAC is supplemented to 0.05% and 0.2% into their normal diet for 12 weeks. The results show that SAC could significantly improve the level of hepatic optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) mRNA, which is a key factor for mitochondrial fusion, and consequently elevated the mitochondrial biogenesis‐related proteins sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐gamma coactivator‐1 alpha (PGC‐1α), thus ameliorating oxidative stress, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver and 8‐hydroxy‐2'‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) in urine. Among the biochemical markers of aging, SAC significantly reduces liver galactosidase β1 (GLB1) and senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐βgal), which are induced by replicative senescence. The mitochondria with green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐tagged transgenic strain SJ4103 C. elegans is incubated with 5 or 50 µM SAC, and SAC treated groups maintain the linear morphology of mitochondria.
Conclusion
SAC regulates mitochondrial dynamics and ameliorated aging to a significant degree. This study also confirms that mitochondrial dynamics are a promising target for screening materials to combat aging and as a direction for anti‐aging product development.
S‐Allylcysteine dietary supplementation attenuate aging by improving mitochondrial fusion and biosynthetic efficiency, thus dampening oxidative stress. With the rebalancing of mitochondrial dynamics, aged mice extend their healthspan, with better phenotypic traits and biochemical status being observed.
Abstract
Background
We aimed to assess the impact of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on the risk of infection after total hip arthroplasty (THA).
Methods
We identified patients undergoing primary ...THA (1996–2013) in Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Patients were then divided into the SLE and control groups according to the diagnosis of SLE. We used 1:1 propensity score to match the control to the SLE group by age, sex, and comorbidities. The primary outcome was infection, including early and late superficial wound infection and periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The secondary outcome was in-hospital complications.
Results
We enrolled 325 patients in each group. In the primary outcome, the incidence of early superficial wound infection and PJI was comparable between the SLE and matched-control group. However, the incidence of late superficial wound infection and PJI in the SLE group was higher than that in matched-control group (11.4% vs. 5.5%,
P
= 0.01; 5.2% vs 2.2%,
P
= 0.04, respectively). Furthermore, the SLE group had a higher risk for late superficial wound infection and PJI (hazard ratio = 2.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35–4.16; HR = 2.74, 95% CI 1.14–6.64, respectively) than the matched-control. Complications other than infection and in-hospital mortality cannot be compared because of very low incidence.
Conclusions
SLE is a risk factor for developing late superficial wound infection and PJI, but not for early postoperative complications following THA. Clinical presentations should be monitored to avoid misdiagnosis of PJI in SLE patients after THA.
In this study, we propose a novel high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) cell by considering both the light leakage characteristics of the Fresnel-lens-based solar cell modules and the performance ...issues arising from cloud shading in practical use. We use our self-constructed systems to conduct field measurements for up to half a year under various environmental conditions. According to the acquired results, it was surprising to know that in the area other than the focusing area, the so-called light leakage region, there always bears illuminance of about 20,000-40,000 lx whether it is a sunny day or a cloudy day with different cloud conditions. Such an interesting result is caused by the light scattering of the clouds and the inherent leakage characteristic of a Fresnel lens. To prove this important finding, we simulated the illuminance of the Fresnel lens structure used in the measurement with apertures of different sizes to determine the detected area. In the laboratory, the diffuse plates were used to mimic the situation of varying cloud layer thicknesses. The trend of calculated and measured results fitted well with the field measurements. Also, the experimental and simulation results show that the round angle and draft facet of the Fresnel lens were responsible for light leakage. This finding prompted us to propose a hybrid high-concentration solar module in which more cost-effective polycrystalline silicon solar cells are placed around the high-efficiency wafer of HCPV to capture the dissipated light leakage and convert it into usable electricity.
Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death, and boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is one of the promising radiotherapy techniques for patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, we ...evaluated the biological effectiveness of BNCT at multicellular levels using in vitro and in silico models. To recapture the phenotypic characteristic of pancreatic tumors, we developed a cell self-assembly approach with human pancreatic cancer cells Panc-1 and BxPC-3 cocultured with MRC-5 fibroblasts. On substrate with physiological stiffness, tumor cells self-assembled into 3D spheroids, and the cocultured fibroblasts further facilitated the assembly process, which recapture the influence of tumor stroma. Interestingly, after 1.2 MW neutron irradiation, lower survival rates and higher apoptosis (increasing by 4-fold for Panc-1 and 1.5-fold for BxPC-3) were observed in 3D spheroids, instead of in 2D monolayers. The unexpected low tolerance of 3D spheroids to BNCT highlights the unique characteristics of BNCT over conventional radiotherapy. The uptake of boron-containing compound boronophenylalanine (BPA) and the alteration of E-cadherin can partially contribute to the observed susceptibility. In addition to biological effects, the probability of induced α-particle exposure correlated to the multicellular organization was speculated to affect the cellular responses to BNCT. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation was also established to further interpret the observed survival. Intracellular boron distribution in the multicellular structure and related treatment resistance were reconstructed in silico. Simulation results demonstrated that the physical architecture is one of the essential factors for biological effectiveness in BNCT, which supports our in vitro findings. In summary, we developed in vitro and in silico self-assembly 3D models to evaluate the effectiveness of BNCT on pancreatic tumors. Considering the easy-access of this 3D cell-assembly platform, this study may not only contribute to the current understanding of BNCT but is also expected to be applied to evaluate the BNCT efficacy for individualized treatment plans in the future.
Tumor cells have long been observed to share several biological characteristics with normal stem/progenitor cells; however, the oncogenic mechanisms underlying the lung stem/progenitor cell signaling ...remain elusive. Here, we report that SOX2, a self‐renewal factor in lung stem/progenitor cells, is highly expressed in a subclass of lung cancer cells, the proliferation, survival, and chemoresistance of which are dependent on SOX2 signaling. Overexpression of SOX2 promotes oncogenic phenotypes in lung cancer cells; knockdown of SOX2 attenuated cell proliferation. We observed that SOX2 increased the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and EGFR activation further upregulated SOX2 levels, forming a positive feedback loop. SOX2 expression promoted chemoresistance, and silencing of SOX2 perturbed mitochondrial function, causing marked apoptosis and autophagy. SOX2 induced BCL2L1, the ectopic expression of which rescued the effects of SOX2 silencing on apoptosis, autophagy, and mitochondrial function. SOX2 promoted tumor formation, along with increased cell proliferation in a xenograft mouse model. SOX2 expression is associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients; moreover, SOX2, EGFR, and BCL2L1 expression levels were significantly correlated in lung tumors. Our findings support the emerging role of SOX2 in cell proliferation and survival by eliciting oncogenic EGFR and BCL2L1 signaling with potential applications as a prognosis marker and a therapeutic target in lung cancer. Stem Cells 2013;31:2607–2619
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