Summary
This meta-analysis included 16 studies, involving seven cohort studies and nine case-control studies, and the results indicated that tea consumption may be associated with a reduced the risk ...of fractures.
Introduction
Regarding relationship of tea consumption with the risk of fractures remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to elucidate the association between tea consumption and the risk of fractures.
Methods
Relevant articles were identified up to March 2019 by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases. The pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed utilizing fixed or random effects model based on heterogeneity.
Results
Altogether 16 studies (seven cohort and nine case-control studies) were included in this meta-analysis, involving 772,707 participants with 37,166 fracture cases. The RRs (95% CIs) of fracture for the highest versus lowest category of tea consumption were 0.86 (0.78–0.94). Subgroup analysis indicated significant associations in cohort studies (0.90 (0.86–0.94)) and case-control studies (0.77 (0.69–0.85)).
Conclusions
The current meta-analysis indicates that tea consumption may be associated with a reduced the risk of fractures.
Upper digestive endoscopy with biopsy and histopathological evaluation of the biopsy material is the standard method for diagnosing gastric cancer (GC). However, this procedure may not be widely ...available for screening in the developing world, whereas in developed countries endoscopy is frequently used without major clinical gain. There is a high demand for a simple and non-invasive test for selecting the individuals at increased risk that should undergo the endoscopic examination. Here, we studied the feasibility of a nanomaterial-based breath test for identifying GC among patients with gastric complaints.
Alveolar exhaled breath samples from 130 patients with gastric complaints (37 GC/32 ulcers / 61 less severe conditions) that underwent endoscopy/biopsy were analyzed using nanomaterial-based sensors. Predictive models were built employing discriminant factor analysis (DFA) pattern recognition, and their stability against possible confounding factors (alcohol/tobacco consumption; Helicobacter pylori) was tested. Classification success was determined (i) using leave-one-out cross-validation and (ii) by randomly blinding 25% of the samples as a validation set. Complementary chemical analysis of the breath samples was performed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
Three DFA models were developed that achieved excellent discrimination between the subpopulations: (i) GC vs benign gastric conditions, among all the patients (89% sensitivity; 90% specificity); (ii) early stage GC (I and II) vs late stage (III and IV), among GC patients (89% sensitivity; 94% specificity); and (iii) ulcer vs less severe, among benign conditions (84% sensitivity; 87% specificity). The models were insensitive against the tested confounding factors. Chemical analysis found that five volatile organic compounds (2-propenenitrile, 2-butoxy-ethanol, furfural, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one and isoprene) were significantly elevated in patients with GC and/or peptic ulcer, as compared with less severe gastric conditions. The concentrations both in the room air and in the breath samples were in the single p.p.b.v range, except in the case of isoprene.
The preliminary results of this pilot study could open a new and promising avenue to diagnose GC and distinguish it from other gastric diseases. It should be noted that the applied methods are complementary and the potential marker compounds identified by gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry are not necessarily responsible for the differences in the sensor responses. Although this pilot study does not allow drawing far-reaching conclusions, the encouraging preliminary results presented here have initiated a large multicentre clinical trial to confirm the observed patterns for GC and benign gastric conditions.
Breast cancer incidence rates are increasing among Asian women, likely due to the changes in risk factors caused by globalization. Trends in breast cancer rates among Chinese women may differ from ...other Asian regions due to the implementation of a nationwide family planning program and resulting changes in women's reproductive practices. Appraisal of cancer trends can direct cancer control and public health planning, but relevant studies in China are scarce due to a lack of long-term data. We sought to evaluate secular time trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality using 40 years of cancer registry data for women in urban Shanghai.
Data on invasive breast cancer incidence and mortality were collected by the Shanghai Cancer Registry. Age-standardized rates (ASRs) for incidence and mortality were calculated using the Segi/Doll 1960 world standard population. Age, period, and birth cohort effects were evaluated using age–period–cohort (APC) Poisson regression models. Overall linear trends, interpreted as the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC), were derived from the net drift in age–drift models.
A total of 53 885 breast cancer cases and 17 235 breast cancer-specific deaths were documented among women in urban Shanghai between 1 January 1973 and 31 December 2012. Breast cancer incidence and mortality ASRs increased by 141.2% and 26.6%, respectively. Significant age, cohort, and period effects were identified in both incidence and mortality APC models; cohort effects were pronounced. Overall, a substantial increase in breast cancer incidence (EAPC = 2.96%/year) and a moderate increase in breast cancer mortality (EAPC = 0.87%/year) was observed. A notable downward trend in mortality was identified among younger women born after 1960.
Forty years of cancer registry data document a tremendous increase in incidence and a slight increase in mortality for breast cancer among women in Shanghai. Effective, appropriate, and affordable breast cancer prevention and control strategies are urgently needed in China.
Atypical femur fracture (AFF) is an uncommon complication of long-term bisphosphonate use, but the risk declines substantially after treatment cessation. We report a case of a 70-year-old woman with ...osteopenia treated with alendronate for 9 years who presented with right mid-thigh pain and radiographic findings of focal lateral cortical thickening in the right mid-femur and lateral cortex irregularity in the proximal-mid left femur. Alendronate was discontinued, but she remained on estrogen for menopausal symptoms. Four years later, a horizontal linear translucent defect was seen in the right mid-femur area of cortical hypertrophy, consistent with an incomplete AFF. The patient underwent prophylactic intramedullary rodding of the right femur and estrogen was discontinued. Three years later (7 years after initial presentation), the cortical irregularities in the left femur were more prominent and three small horizontal linear translucent defects were now evident, consistent with early incomplete atypical fracture development. The patient also suffered a wrist fracture. She was treated with teriparatide for 1.5 years with resolution of the translucent defects in the left but not the right femur, although abnormal thickening of the lateral cortex persisted in both femurs. Our case demonstrates incomplete atypical femur fracture progression in a patient with long-term bisphosphonate exposure, even after treatment cessation. These findings highlight the importance of follow-up for patients who develop diaphyseal femur stress fractures and the potential for early healing with anabolic therapy. This case also demonstrates the challenge in managing older patients with incomplete AFF at risk for progression to complete AFF and osteoporotic fracture.
Summary
This study aimed to investigate the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and smectite on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood parameters of broilers that were fed diets ...contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). A total of 480 newly hatched male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly allocated into four groups with six replicates of 20 chicks each. The broilers were fed diets with the AFB1 (40 μg/kg) challenge or without (control) it and supplemented with smectite (3.0 g/kg) or LAB (4.0 × 1010 CFU/kg) based on the AFB1 diet. The trial lasted for 42 days. The results showed that during days 1–42 of AFB1 challenge, the feed intake (FI) and body weight gain (BWG) were depressed (p < .05). The inclusion of LAB and smectite increased (p < .05) the BWG by 71.58 and 41.89 g/bird, respectively, which reached the level of the control diet (p ≥ .05), but there were no differences (p ≥ .05) in performance between LAB and smectite. LAB and smectite also increased (p < .05) the apparent total tract digestibility of the crude protein. Regarding the blood parameters, AFB1 decreased (p < .05) the levels of red blood cell count, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, haemoglobin, albumin and total protein. In the meantime, the AFB1 increased (p < .05) leucocyte counts, urea nitrogen, cholesterol, total bilirubin, creatinine, glutamic‐pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase. By contrast, LAB and smectite affected (p < .05) these parameters in the opposite direction. It can be concluded that after the AFB1 challenge, LAB and smectite have similar effects on the growth and health of the broilers, suggesting that LAB could be an alternative against AFB1 in commercial animal feeds.
The etiological factors, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment strategies, and prognosis of multiple primary malignant neoplasms (MPMNs) were investigated in order to improve its diagnosis ...and therapy. Clinical data of 170 patients with MPMN who were admitted to the Oncology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2004 to April 2010 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. The overall incidence of MPMNs was 2.25%. There were 167 cases with duplex primary cancers, 2 cases with triple primary cancers, 1 case with quadruple primary cancer, 46 synchronous MPMNs (SMPMNs), and 124 metachronous MPMNs (MMPMNs). There were 344 malignant neoplasms in the 170 MPMN patients, of which 161 were in the alimentary system, 48 in the respiratory system, 63 in mammary glands, 30 in the genital system, 7 in the urinary system, 23 in the head and neck, and the other 12 were in the brain, hematological system, and soft tissue. There were 22 cases of bilateral primary breast cancer and 41 cases of digestive MPMN. With a median survival time of 24 months, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative survival rates in the 170 patients were 68.8, 39.1, and 25.2%, respectively. The most common locations of MPMN were the alimentary system, mammary gland, and respiratory system. MPMN usually occurred in distinct organs of identical systems, conjugate organs, or identical organs. The survival rate of SMPMN was similar to that of MMPMN. There were differences in principles of treatment and diagnosis between MPMN and metastasis or recurrent cancers.
Abstract Articular cartilages and menisci are generally considered to be elastic in the published human knee models, and thus the fluid-flow dependent response of the knee has not been explored using ...finite element analysis. In the present study, the fluid pressure and site-specific collagen fiber orientation in the cartilages and menisci were implemented into a finite element model of the knee using fibril-reinforced modeling previously proposed for articular cartilage. The geometry of the knee was obtained from magnetic resonance imaging of a healthy young male. The bones were considered to be elastic due to their greater stiffness compared to that of the cartilages and menisci. The displacements obtained for fast ramp compression were essentially same as those for instantaneous compression of equal magnitude with the fluid being trapped in the tissues, which was expected. However, a clearly different pattern of displacements was predicted by an elastic model using a greater Young's modulus and a Poisson's ratio for nearly incompressible material. The results indicated the influence of fluid pressure and fiber orientation on the deformation of articular cartilage in the knee. The fluid pressurization in the femoral cartilage was somehow affected by the site-specific fiber directions. The peak fluid pressure in the femoral condyles was reduced by three quarters when no fibril reinforcement was assumed. The present study indicates the necessity of implementing the fluid pressure and anisotropic fibril reinforcement in articular cartilage for a more accurate understanding of the mechanics of the knee.
The purpose of this ambispective study was to investigate whether deep learning-based automatic segmentation and landmark detection, the SkullEngine, could be used for orthognathic surgical planning. ...Sixty-one sets of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were automatically inferred for midface, mandible, upper and lower teeth, and 68 landmarks. The experimental group included automatic segmentation and landmarks, while the control group included manual ones that were previously used to plan orthognathic surgery. The qualitative analysis of segmentation showed that all of the automatic results could be used for computer-aided surgical simulation. Among these, 98.4% of midface, 70.5% of mandible, 98.4% of upper teeth, and 93.4% of lower teeth could be directly used without manual revision. The Dice similarity coefficient was 96% and the average symmetric surface distance was 0.1 mm for all four structures. With SkullEngine, it took 4 minutes to complete the automatic segmentation and an additional 10 minutes for a manual touchup. The results also showed the overall mean difference between the two groups was 2.3 mm for the midface and 2.4 mm for the mandible. In summary, the authors believe that automatic segmentation using SkullEngine is ready for daily practice. However, the accuracy of automatic landmark digitization needs to be improved.
The grinding process for maintaining the railroad rails can affect their performance. A rail grinding friction testing apparatus was developed to investigate the effects of rotational speed of ...grinding stone on removal behavior of rail material. The rail-grinding stone contact consists of a round, flat grinding stone and two test specimens made from Mn–steel rails that are pressed against the face of the stone. The effects of grinding wheel rotational speed on the abrasive removal mechanism of rail material are explored in detail. The results indicate that as the grinding wheel rotational speed increases, the friction coefficient, the surface roughness of rail specimens and the width of the wear grooves decrease. The grinding wear volume, the microindentation hardness of the rail specimens and the surface temperature-rise all increase as the number of grinding cycles increase. Wear debris collected during the test is composed of round particles and curled cutting chips. The debris is mainly composed of Fe3O4, FeO and Fe. As grinding rotational speed increases, the content of Fe3O4 and FeO increases but the width of the cutting chips decreases.
•The grinding contact consists of a grinding stone and two rail specimens.•With an increase of grinding speed, the friction coefficients decrease.•The rail material is removed by the abrasive grains during the cutting stage.•The wear debris is composed of round particles and curled cutting chips.
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