Summary
Background
Recent studies suggest that Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin sensitization is a risk factor for asthma. However, there is a paucity of epidemiologic evidence on adult‐onset asthma ...in community‐based populations.
Objective
We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and the clinical significance of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in community‐based adult populations.
Methods
The present analyses were performed using the baseline data set of Korean adult population surveys, consisting of 1080 adults (mean age = 60.2 years) recruited from an urban and a rural community. Questionnaires, methacholine challenge tests, and allergen skin tests were performed for defining clinical phenotypes. Sera were analysed for total IgE and enterotoxin‐specific IgE using ImmunoCAP.
Results
Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization (≥ 0.35 kU/L) had a prevalence of 27.0%. Risk factors were identified as male sex, current smoking, advanced age (≥ 61 years), and inhalant allergen sensitization. Current asthma was mostly adult onset (≥ 18 years old) and showed independent associations with high enterotoxin‐specific IgE levels in multivariate logistic regression tests. In multivariate linear regressions, staphylococcal enterotoxin‐specific IgE level was identified as the major determinant factor for total IgE level.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization was independently associated with adult‐onset asthma in adult community populations. Strong correlations between the enterotoxin‐specific IgE and total IgE levels support the clinical significance. The present findings warrant further studies for the precise roles of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in the asthma pathogenesis.
Metastasis is a life-threatening feature of cancer and is primarily responsible for cancer patient mortality. Cross talk between tumor cells and endothelium is important for tumor progression and ...metastasis. However, very little is known about the mechanisms by which endothelial cells (ECs) that are close to tumor cells, respond to the tumor cells during tumor progression and metastasis. In this study, we exploited the use of EC-specific signal transducer activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) knockout mice to investigate the role of STAT3 in ECs in tumor progression and metastasis. We found that the loss of STAT3 in ECs did not affect primary Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor growth, but it reduced in vivo LLC metastasis in experimental and spontaneous metastasis models. Mechanistically, STAT3 activation upregulated cell adhesion molecule expression, including E-selectin and P-selectin, in murine endothelial MS-1 cells treated with tumor cell-conditioned media in vitro and in pre-metastatic lungs of tumor-bearing mice in vivo. We also found that both E-selectin and P-selectin were, at least in part, responsible for STAT3-induced adhesion and invasion of LLC cells through an EC monolayer. However, tumor cell-conditioned media from B16F10 melanoma cells did not activate STAT3 in MS-1 cells. As a result, EC STAT3 knockout did not affect B16F10 melanoma cell metastasis. In addition, various human cancer cells activated STAT3 in human ECs (HUVECs), resulting in increased cell adhesion molecule expression. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that STAT3 activation in ECs promotes tumor metastasis through the induction of cell adhesion molecules, demonstrating a role for ECs in response to tumor cells during tumor metastasis.
Macroscopic grasp of agricultural carbon emissions status, spatial-temporal characteristics as well as driving factors are the basic premise in further research on China’s agricultural carbon ...emissions. Based on 23 kinds of major carbon emission sources including agricultural materials inputs, paddy ifeld, soil and livestock breeding, this paper ifrstly calculated agricultural carbon emissions from 1995 to 2010, as well as 31 provinces and cities in 2010 in China. We then made a decomposed analysis to the driving factors of carbon emissions with logarithmic mean Divisia index （LMDI） model. The results show：（1） The amount of agricultural carbon emissions is 291.1691 million t in 2010. Compared with 249.5239 million t in 1995, it increased by 16.69%, in which, agricultural materials inputs, paddy ifeld, soil, enteric fermentation, and manure management accounted for 33.59, 22.03, 7.46, 17.53 and 19.39%of total agricultural carbon emissions, respectively. Although the amount exist ups and downs, it shows an overall trend of cyclical rise; （2） There is an obvious difference among regions：the amount of agricultural carbon emissions from top ten zones account for 56.68%, while 9.84%from last 10 zones. The traditional agricultural provinces, especially the major crop production areas are the main source regions. Based on the differences of carbon emission rations, 31 provinces and cities are divided into ifve types, namely agricultural materials dominant type, paddy ifeld dominant type, enteric fermentation dominant type, composite factors dominant type and balanced type. The agricultural carbon emissions intensity in west of China is the highest, followed by the central region, and the east zone is the lowest; （3） Compared with 1995, efifciency, labor and structure factors cut down carbon emissions by 65.78, 27.51 and 3.19%, respectively;while economy factor increase carbon emissions by 113.16%.
Large-scale crop monocultures facilitate the proliferation and increasing prevalence of diseases and pest insects. Many studies highlight the impacts of plant diversification upon pathogens, and the ...population dynamics of insects and beneficial organism in agricultural ecosystems. These studies provide evidence that habitat manipulation techniques such as intercropping, relay, and rotation can significantly improve disease and pest management. This review introduces the concept of crop diversity, considers recent insights and mechanisms underlying crop diversity, and discusses its potential for improving sustainable agricultural practices. Recently, the phytobiomes resulting from increased crop diversity are increasingly recognized for their contribution to disease and pest control. Further, understanding the interactions between pathogens or pests with their host phytobiome may lead to novel options for the prevention of pests. Recent advances in the agricultural systems include: (i) a better understanding of the mechanisms of interactions between crop species and genotypes; (ii) ecological progress including a better understanding of the context-dependency of those interactions; and (iii) the role of microtopographic variation in agricultural systems for priming basal resistance to multiple pests and pathogens by intercropped crops. We also highlight recent progress in China and the potential options for habitat management and design that enhance the ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems.
The Chinese residents' travel demand has been increasing dramatically. As a result, emissions from motor vehicles have been found as one main source of air pollution in China, which consequently ...influences the residents' health. To better understand the environmental deterioration and health losses caused by the transport sector in China, in current circumstances, one must know how the changes in residents' travel demand and alternative transport modes affect environment and health co-benefits in China. We first of all calculate the demand from nearly all the residents' travel means, including road, rail, water, and air transport. Besides, based on the results, this paper further makes projections for a business-as-usual scenario for 2050 with several alternative transport scenarios to reduce harmful emissions and improve the welfare of the residents' health in China. Our integrated framework includes the harmful emissions models, the fixed box model and the exposure-response models, to link transport demand with possible environmental and health outcomes. The findings suggest that significant environment and health co-benefits are possible if alternative transport replaces. This research, to the best of our knowledge, is the first attempt to estimate the total resident's travel demand under different scenarios and the consequent environment and health co-benefits in the transitional China.
•The changes in travel demand affect both environment and health in China.•Integrated framework is proposed to analyze environment and health co-benefits.•Travel demand here includes all travel means: road, rail, water, and air transport.•Counter-factual scenarios are proposed to estimate environment and health impacts.
Pure and Ag doped TiO
2 powders were prepared by the sol-gel process. The effect of Ag doping on TiO
2 anatase to rutile phase transformation was investigated by means of XRD, TEM, SEM, DSC-TG, and ...surface morphological characterization. It is found that the Ag doping promotes the phase transformation but has a depression effect on the anatase grain growth. The mechanism is proposed. With a suitable amount (ca. 2–6 mol%), the Ag dopant reduces anatasegrain size and increases the specific surface area of TiO
2 powder, which exhibits a great potential in improving the TiO
2 photocatalytic activity.
Fusarium wilt of banana, which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 （Foc TR4）, is a serious soil-borne fungal disease. Now, the epigenetic molecular pathogenic basis is ...elusive. In this study, with methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism （MSAP） technique, DNA methylation was compared between the leaves inoculated with Foc TR4 and the mock-inoculated leaves at different pathogenic stages. With 25 pairs of primers, 1 144 and 1 255 fragments were amplified from the infected and mock-inoculated leaves, respectively. DNA methylation was both changed and the average methylated CCGG sequences were 34.81 and 29.26% for the infected and the mock-inoculated leaves. And DNA hypermethylation and hypomethylation were induced by pathogen infection during all pathogenic stages. Further, 69 polymorphic fragments were sequenced and 29 of them showed sequence similarity to genes with known functions. And RT-PCR results of four genes indicated that their expression patterns were consistent with their methylation patterns. Our results suggest that DNA methylation plays important roles in pathogenic response to Foc TR4 for banana.
Abstract Aim As serum beta-2-microglobulin (B2M) levels are usually elevated in patients with renal failure, they have been suggested as a surrogate marker of cardiovascular mortality for patients ...with chronic kidney disease. Glycation of B2M is cytotoxic and may contribute to the risk of diabetic complications in patients with diabetes. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between B2M and diabetic complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and normal kidney function. Methods A total of 366 patients with T2D and preserved renal function with no clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease were enrolled consecutively into this study. High B2M was defined as a median serum B2M level ≥ 1.8 mg/L. Subclinical atherosclerosis was defined as a carotid artery intima–media thickness (C-IMT) ≥ 0.9 mm or the presence of carotid plaque. The definition of diabetic nephropathy was based on the presence of albuminuria (≥ 30 mg/g creatinine). Results Patients with high B2M were older, and had diabetes of longer duration, higher serum creatinine, microalbuminuria, and increased vascular stiffness and C-IMT compared with patients with low B2M. B2M levels were positively correlated with C-IMT and vascular stiffness, and these associations remained constant after adjusting for age. In addition, after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, serum creatinine, hypertension, smoking and alcohol consumption, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for atherosclerosis was 2.01 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–3.94 per 1 mg/L increase in B2M. The prevalences of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy were significantly higher with a high B2M than with a low B2M. The multiple adjusted OR for diabetic nephropathy was 2.29 (95% CI: 1.11–4.72) per 1 mg/L increase of B2M. Conclusion Higher serum B2M was an independent risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis and diabetic nephropathy in patients with T2D without renal impairment.
Delayed sowing mitigates lodging in wheat. However, the mechanism underlying the enhanced lodging resistance in wheat has yet to be fully elucidated. Field experiments were conducted to investigate ...the effects of sowing date on lignin and cellulose metabolism, stem morphological characteristics, lodging resistance, and grain yield. Seeds of Tainong 18, a winter wheat variety, were sown on October 8 (normal sowing) and October 22 (late sowing) during both of the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 growing seasons. The results showed that late sowing enhanced the lodging resistance of wheat by improving the biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin and cellulose. Under late sowing, the expression levels of key genes (TaPAL, TaCCR, TaCOMT, TaCAD, and TaCesA1, 3, 4, 7, and 8) and enzyme activities (TaPAL and TaCAD) related to lignin and cellulose biosynthesis peaked 4–12 days earlier, and except for the TaPAL, TaCCR, and TaCesA1 genes and TaPAL, in most cases they were significantly higher than under normal sowing. As a result, lignin and cellulose accumulated quickly during the stem elongation stage. The mean and maximum accumulation rates of lignin and cellulose increased, the maximum accumulation contents of lignin and cellulose were higher, and the cellulose accumulation duration was prolonged. Consequently, the lignin/cellulose ratio and lignin content were increased from 0 day and the cellulose content was increased from 11 days after jointing onward. Our main finding is that the improved biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin and cellulose were responsible for increasing the stem-filling degree, breaking strength, and lodging resistance. The major functional genes enhancing lodging resistance in wheat that are induced by delayed sowing need to be determined.
The Indian subcontinent has an origin geologically different from Eurasia, but many terrestrial animal and plant species on it have congeneric or sister species in other parts of Asia, especially in ...the Southeast. This faunal and floral similarity between India and Southeast Asia is explained by either of the two biogeographic scenarios, 'into-India' or 'out-of-India'. Phylogenies based on complete mitochondrial genomes and five nuclear genes were undertaken for ricefishes (Adrianichthyidae) to examine which of these two biogeographic scenarios fits better. We found that
, the only adrianichthyid distributed in and endemic to the Western Ghats, a mountain range running parallel to the western coast of the Indian subcontinent, is sister to all other adrianichthyids from eastern India and Southeast-East Asia. Divergence time estimates and ancestral area reconstructions reveal that this western Indian species diverged in the late Mesozoic during the northward drift of the Indian subcontinent. These findings indicate that adrianichthyids dispersed eastward 'out-of-India' after the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Eurasia, and subsequently diversified in Southeast-East Asia. A review of geographic distributions of 'out-of-India' taxa reveals that they may have largely fuelled or modified the biodiversity of Eurasia.
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