Synergistic Association of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Plasma Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Load on Distant Metastasis in Patients With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Importance: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reportedly increases the risk of distant metastasis among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the associated potential interaction and changes in hazard ratios (HRs) between HBsAg and different plasma Epstein-Barr (EBV) DNA levels are unknown. Moreover, the potential HBsAg-positive-associated NPC metastatic mechanism remains unclear.

Systematic construction and external validation of an immune-related prognostic model for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: We attempted to identify the most reliable immune-related index for predicting nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) prognosis and to reveal its precise and integrated relationship with NPC progression.

Method: One thousand seven hundred and six patients with newly diagnosed NPC (1320 from the primary cohort and 386 from the validated cohort) from January 2010 to March 2014 were enrolled. Clinical features and 12 immune-related variables were analyzed.

Exercise retards ongoing adipose tissue fibrosis in diet-induced obese mice.

Exercise has been recommended as an important strategy to improve glucose metabolism in obesity. Adipose tissue fibrosis is associated with inflammation and is implicated in glucose metabolism disturbance and insulin resistance in obesity. However, the effect of exercise on the progression of adipose tissue fibrosis is still unknown.

Grading and prognosis of weight loss before and after treatment with optimal cutoff values in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objectives: Weight loss has been validated as a prognostic predictor of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, no global unitary indicator and criteria exist for the definition of weight loss as a prognostic factor. The aim of this study was to determine the most effective indicator for weight loss, evaluate its effect on the prognosis of NPC, and further propose a cutoff value to identify patients in need of nutritional care.

Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis with a median follow-up of 62.

Trends in urban/rural inequalities in physical growth among Chinese children over three decades of urbanization in Guangzhou: 1985-2015.

Background: Great growth inequalities between urban and rural areas have been reported in China over the past years. By examining urban/rural inequalities in physical growth among children < 7 years old over the past three decades from 1985 to 2015 in Guangzhou, we analyzed altering trends of anthropometric data in children and their association with economic development during the period of rapid urbanization in Guangzhou.

Methods: The height, body weight and nutrition status of children under 7 years old were obtained from two successive cross-sectional surveys and one health surveillance system.

Impact of quercetin on systemic levels of inflammation: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled human trials.

Knowledge regarding the anti-inflammatory capability of quercetin remains inconclusive and controversial due to the heterogeneous methods and inconsistent results of RCTs. We performed a series of meta-analyses of RCTs to evaluate the impact of quercetin supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers. Three cytokines (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α) with enough eligible studies ( = 6, 5 and 4, respectively) were selected for further meta-analyses.

Apoptotic cell induction of miR-10b in macrophages contributes to advanced atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- mice.

Aims: We previously found that miR-10b inhibits cholesterol efflux from thioglycollate-elicited mouse peritoneal macrophages through repressing ATP binding cassette transporter (ABCA1). Herein, we deciphered the mechanism underlying macrophage miR-10b expression and the role of miR-10b in atherosclerosis.

Methods And Results: MiR-10b expression was increased in the arteries with advanced but not early atherosclerotic plaques of ApoE-/- mice.

Quercetin protects against atherosclerosis by inhibiting dendritic cell activation.

Scope: Quercetin is a typical flavonol with atheroprotective effects, but the effect of quercetin on dendritic cell (DC) maturation in relation to atherosclerosis has not yet been clearly defined. Thus, we investigated whether quercetin can inhibit DC maturation and evaluated its potential value in atherosclerosis progression in ApoE mice.

Methods And Results: Quercetin consumption inhibited DC activation, inflammatory response and suppressed the progression of atherosclerosis in ApoE mice.

Influence of Intestinal Microbiota on the Catabolism of Flavonoids in Mice.

Although in vitro studies have shown that flavonoids are metabolized into phenolic acids by the gut microbiota, the biotransformation of flavonoids by intestinal microbiota is seldom studied in vivo. In this study, we investigated the impact of the gut microbiota on the biotransformation of 3 subclasses of flavonoids (flavonols, flavones, and flavanones). The ability of intestinal microbiota to convert flavonoids was confirmed with an in vitro fermentation model using mouse gut microflora.

Established atherosclerosis might be a prerequisite for chicory and its constituent protocatechuic acid to promote endothelium-dependent vasodilation in mice.

Scope: Chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum, Belgian endive), a typical Mediterranean vegetable, and its constituent protocatechuic acid (PCA) can inhibit established atherosclerosis progression.

Chicory, a typical vegetable in Mediterranean diet, exerts a therapeutic role in established atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Scope: Since protocatechuic acid exerts an atheroprotective role, we investigated how chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum, Belgian endive) rich in protocatechuic acid, a typical vegetable in Mediterranean diet, affects preestablished atherosclerosis progression.