MicroRNAs were discovered more than 2 decades ago and have profound impact on diverse biological processes. Specific microRNAs have important roles in modulating the innate immune response and their ...dysregulation has been demonstrated to contribute to inflammatory diseases. MiR‐223 in particular, is very highly expressed and tightly regulated in hematopoietic cells. It functions as key modulator for the differentiation and activation of myeloid cells. The central role of miR‐223 in myeloid cells, especially neutrophil and macrophage differentiation and activation has been studied extensively. MiR‐223 contributes to myeloid differentiation by enhancing granulopoiesis while inhibiting macrophage differentiation. Uncontrolled myeloid activation has detrimental consequences in inflammatory disease. MiR‐223 serves as a negative feedback mechanism controlling excessive innate immune responses in the maintenance of myeloid cell homeostasis. This review summarizes several topics covering the function of miR‐223 in myeloid differentiation, neutrophil and macrophage functions, as well as in inflammatory diseases including acute respiratory distress syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, nonmyeloid functions of miR‐223 are also discussed in this review. Therapeutic enhancement of miR‐223 to dampen inflammatory targets is also highlighted as potential treatment to control excessive innate immune responses during mucosal inflammation.
MiR‐223 is important in regulating innate immune responses and recent studies highlight the therapeutic potential of enhancing miR‐223 as a treatment for inflammatory diseases.
The magnetic resonance imaging–estimated proton density fat fraction (MRI‐PDFF) is a novel imaging‐based biomarker that allows fat mapping of the entire liver, whereas the magnetic resonance ...spectroscopy–measured proton density fat fraction (MRS‐PDFF) provides a biochemical measure of liver fat in small regions of interest. Cross‐sectional studies have shown that MRI‐PDFF correlates with MRS‐PDFF. The aim of this study was to show the utility of MRI‐PDFF in assessing quantitative changes in liver fat through a three‐way comparison of MRI‐PDFF and MRS‐PDFF with the liver histology–determined steatosis grade at two time points in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Fifty patients with biopsy‐proven NAFLD who participated in a randomized trial underwent a paired evaluation with liver biopsy, MRI‐PDFF, and MRS‐PDFF at the baseline and 24 weeks. The mean age and body mass index were 47.8 ± 11.7 years and 30.7 ± 6.5 kg/m2, respectively. MRI‐PDFF showed a robust correlation with MRS‐PDFF both at week 0 and at week 24 (r = 0.98, P < 0.0001 for both). Cross‐sectionally, MRI‐PDFF and MRS‐PDFF increased with increases in the histology‐determined steatosis grade both at week 0 and at week 24 (P < 0.05 for all). Longitudinally, patients who had a decrease (≥1%) or increase (≥1%) in MRI‐PDFF (confirmed by MRS‐PDFF) showed a parallel decrease or increase in their body weight and serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels at week 24 (P < 0.05). This small increase or decrease in liver fat could not be quantified with histology. Conclusion: In this longitudinal study, MRI‐PDFF correlated well with MRS‐PDFF and was more sensitive than the histology‐determined steatosis grade in quantifying increases or decreases in the liver fat content. Therefore, it could be used to quantify changes in liver fat in future clinical trials. (Hepatology 2013; 58:1930–1940)
Both macroplastic and microplastic contamination levels were assessed for the first time in a tropical river estuary system, i.e. the Saigon River, that traverses a developing South East Asian ...megacity, i.e. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The analysis of floating debris collected daily on the Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe canal by the municipal waste management service shows that the plastic mass percentage represents 11–43%, and the land-based plastic debris entering the river was estimated from 0.96 to 19.91 g inhabitant−1 d−1, namely 350 to 7270 g inhabitant−1 yr−1. Microplastics were assessed in the Saigon River and in four urban canals by sampling bulk water for anthropogenic fiber analysis and 300 μm mesh size plankton net exposition for fragment analysis. Fibers and fragments are highly concentrated in this system, respectively 172,000 to 519,000 items m−3 and 10 to 223 items m−3. They were found in various colors and shapes with smallest size and surface classes being predominant. The macroplastics and fragments were mainly made of polyethylene and polypropylene while the anthropogenic fibers were mainly made of polyester. The relation between macroplastic and microplastic concentrations, waste management, population density and water treatment are further discussed.
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•Both macro and microplastic assessments were made in a tropical river canal system.•About 4.4 g inhabitant−1 d−1 land-based plastic waste entering the river was estimated.•High microplastic concentrations were found for both fibers and fragments.•Characterization was carried out for macroplastics and microplastic.
Macro and microplastic assessment of surface waters in a tropical river crossing a developing South East Asian megacity presents high contamination of both fragments (21 fragments m−3 on median) and fibers (391,000 fibers m−3 on median).
Bile acid sequestrants (BAS) lower plasma low density lipoprotein levels and improve glycemic control. Colestimide, a BAS, has been claimed by computed tomography to reduce liver fat. Therefore, we ...examined the efficacy of colesevelam, a potent BAS, to decrease liver fat in patients with biopsy‐proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Liver fat was measured by a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, the proton‐density‐fat‐fraction (PDFF), as well as by conventional MR spectroscopy (MRS). Fifty patients with biopsy‐proven NASH were randomly assigned to either colesevelam 3.75 g/day orally or placebo for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was change in liver fat as measured by MRI‐PDFF in colocalized regions of interest within each of the nine liver segments. Compared with placebo, colesevelam increased liver fat by MRI‐PDFF in all nine segments of the liver with a mean difference of 5.6% (P = 0.002). We cross‐validated the MRI‐PDFF‐determined fat content with that assessed by colocalized MRS; the latter showed a mean difference of 4.9% (P = 0.014) in liver fat between the colesevelam and the placebo arms. MRI‐PDFF correlated strongly with MRS‐determined hepatic fat content (r2 = 0.96, P < 0.0001). Liver biopsy assessment of steatosis, cellular injury, and lobular inflammation did not detect any effect of treatment. Conclusion: Colesevelam increases liver fat in patients with NASH as assessed by MRI as well as MRS without significant changes seen on histology. Thus, MRI and MRS may be better than histology to detect longitudinal changes in hepatic fat in NASH. Underlying mechanisms and whether the small MR‐detected increase in liver fat has clinical consequences is not known. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;56:922–932)
Identifying determinants of smoking cessation is critical for developing optimal cessation treatments and interventions. Machine learning (ML) is becoming more prevalent for smoking cessation success ...prediction in treatment programs. However, only individuals with an intention to quit smoking cigarettes participate in such programs, which limits the generalizability of the results. This study applies data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH), a United States longitudinal nationally representative survey, to select primary determinants of smoking cessation and to train ML classification models for predicting smoking cessation among the general population. An analytical sample of 9,281 adult current established smokers from the PATH survey wave 1 was used to develop classification models to predict smoking cessation by wave 2. Random forest and gradient boosting machines were applied for variable selection, and the SHapley Additive explanation method was used to show the effect direction of the top-ranked variables. The final model predicted wave 2 smoking cessation for current established smokers in wave 1 with an accuracy of 72% in the test dataset. The validation results showed that a similar model could predict wave 3 smoking cessation of wave 2 smokers with an accuracy of 70%. Our analysis indicated that more past 30 days e-cigarette use at the time of quitting, fewer past 30 days cigarette use before quitting, ages older than 18 at smoking initiation, fewer years of smoking, poly tobacco past 30-days use before quitting, and higher BMI resulted in higher chances of cigarette cessation for adult smokers in the US.
The conclusions on how tax and price increases affect smoking behaviors are mixed. This work is devoted to re-evaluating the relationship between cigarette prices and taxes and smoking behaviors.
...Using 2000-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, we employed linear mixed-effect models to re-examine the impact of cigarette prices and taxes on smoking prevalence and the proportion of current smokers having tried to quit smoking in the past 12 months. All the analyses were conducted for the general population, then by age group, gender, race/ethnicity, and income level.
The results indicate that higher cigarette prices and taxes were associated with a decrease in smoking prevalence and an increased likelihood of quitting smoking. Cigarette tax and price increases produced the most powerful impact on the smoking prevalence of 18- to 24-year-olds. The estimates also show that males tended to be more price-sensitive than females. Raising cigarette prices and taxes was estimated to be more effective in reducing the smoking prevalence among non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics when compared to non-Hispanic whites. Cigarette price and tax changes were likely to have a smaller effect on individuals with annual income under $25,000 relative to individuals with higher income levels.
Increases in cigarette prices and taxes are significantly associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence and an increased likelihood of quitting smoking among adults across different demographic and socioeconomic groups. However, as cigarette price and tax changes disproportionately affect low-income individuals, raising cigarette prices and taxes may deepen income disparities.
Savannahs and woodlands are among the most important biomes in Africa: they cover half of sub-Saharan Africa, provide vital ecosystem services to the rural communities, and play a major part in the ...carbon budget. Despite their importance and their fragility, they are much less studied than other ecosystems like rainforests. In particular, the distribution and amount of the above-ground woody biomass (AGB) is largely unknown. In this paper, we produce the first continental map of the AGB of African savannahs and woodlands at a resolution of 25 m. The map is built from the 2010 L-band PALSAR mosaic produced by JAXA, along the following steps: a) stratification into wet/dry season areas in order to account for seasonal effects, b) development of a direct model relating the PALSAR backscatter to AGB, with the help of in situ and ancillary data, c) Bayesian inversion of the direct model. A value of AGB and its uncertainty has been assigned to each pixel. This approach allows estimating AGB until 85 Mg·ha− 1 approximately, while dense forests and non-vegetated areas are masked out using the ESA CCI Land Cover dataset. The resulting map is visually compared with existing AGB maps and is validated using a cross-validation approach and a comparison with AGB estimates obtained from LiDAR datasets, leading to an RMSD of 8 to 17 Mg·ha− 1. Finally, carbon stocks for savannahs in Africa and in 50 countries are estimated and compared with estimates by FAO and from AGB maps available over Africa.
The benefits of mammography screening have been controversial, with conflicting findings from various studies. We hypothesize that unmeasured heterogeneity in tumor aggressiveness underlies these ...conflicting results. Based on published data from the Canadian National Breast Screening Study (CNBSS), we develop and parameterize an individual-based mechanistic model for breast cancer incidence and mortality that tracks five stages of breast cancer progression and incorporates the effects of age on breast cancer incidence and all-cause mortality. The model accurately reproduces the reported outcomes of the CNBSS. By varying parameters, we predict that the benefits of mammography depend on the effectiveness of cancer treatment and tumor aggressiveness. In particular, patients with the most rapidly growing or potentially largest tumors have the highest benefit and least harm from the screening, with only a relatively small effect of age. However, the model predicts that confining mammography to populations with a high risk of acquiring breast cancer increases the screening benefit only slightly compared with the full population.
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