GDF15 is a major determinant of ketogenic diet-induced weight loss.

A ketogenic diet (KD) has been promoted as an obesity management diet, yet its underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we show that KD reduces energy intake and body weight in humans, pigs, and mice, accompanied by elevated circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15). In GDF15- or its receptor GFRAL-deficient mice, these effects of KD disappeared, demonstrating an essential role of GDF15-GFRAL signaling in KD-mediated weight loss.

The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapies for depression in China in comparison with the rest of the world: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: There is consistent evidence that cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) are effective interventions for adult depression. While some evidence has compared these effects in different countries, no prior systematic review and meta-analysis has compared the efficacy of CBTs between Chinese and people from the rest of the world. The current meta-analysis addressed this gap by a systematic review of eligible studies from Chinese and worldwide databases.

Association between Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy and Cardiac Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: The purpose of this research was to assess the relationship between the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and indexes of left ventricle (LV) structure and function in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 790 patients with T2DM and preserved LV ejection fraction. Retinopathy stages were classified as no DR, early nonproliferative DR, moderate to severe nonproliferative DR, or proliferative DR.

Effects of starch nanospheres solution on hemodynamic values in rats with hemorrhagic shock: a preliminary study in hemorrhagic shock resuscitation.

Background: The objective of the present study was to explore the resuscitation effects of starch nanospheres solution on hemodynamics in rats with hemorrhagic shock.

Methods: A total of 20 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: resuscitation group 1 (infusion with Ringer's solution) and resuscitation group 2 (infusion with starch nanospheres solution) with 10 rats per group. The rats in resuscitation groups 1 and 2 were subjected to hemorrhagic shock, and resuscitation was performed with Ringer's solution and starch nanospheres solution.

Intrinsic and extrinsic effects of mafG deficiency on hematopoietic recovery following bone marrow transplant.

Objective: MafG is the small subunit of the transcription factor NF-E2 that controls terminal megakaryocyte maturation and platelet release. Studies were conducted to evaluate the intrinsic and extrinsic effects of mafG deficiency on bone marrow engraftment kinetics.

Materials And Methods: We used mafG knockout mice either as donors or recipients in bone marrow transplantations with wild-type mice and compared the engraftment kinetics to transplantations using wild-type donors and recipients.

[Study on the relationship among lifestyle, self-esteem and life satisfaction in Chinese adolescents].

Objective: To explore the relationship between lifestyle, self-esteem and life satisfaction among Chinese adolescents.

Methods: 10 899 adolescents in middle schools and colleges from 9 provinces in China were investigated by using Chinese Adolescent Lifestyle Scale (CALS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES).

Results: The distribution of adolescents in the four groups divided by lifestyle and life satisfaction scores were different regarding the area and grade of these students(chi(2)=248.

[Association of urinary albumin excretion rate and hyperuricemia with macrovascular atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetic patients].

Objective: To investigate the association of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and hyperuricemia with macrovascular atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: Ninety-seven type 2 diabetic patients were divided into two groups according to the UAER, namely group A with UAER between 20 and 200 microg/min (n=63) and group B with UAER > or = 200 microg/min (n=34); the patients were also classified into hyperuricemia group (group C, n=59) and normal blood uric acid (BUA) group (group D, n=38). The disease course, BUA, fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), UAER and arteria carotis intima-media thickness (IMT) were determined in these patients.

High levels of acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake and low tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin and epidermal growth factor homology domains-2 (Tie2) promoter activity distinguish sinusoids from other vessel types in murine bone marrow.

Background: The bone marrow contains a variety of blood vessels that have different functions in bone marrow maintenance and hematopoiesis. Arterioles control the flow of blood into bone marrow compartments, and sinusoids serve as a conduit to the bloodstream and as niches for megakaryocyte development. Most studies of bone marrow vasculature, including studies quantifying changes in the marrow vascular by microvascular density, do not differentiate between different types of marrow vessels.

Bone marrow sinusoidal endothelial cells undergo nonapoptotic cell death and are replaced by proliferating sinusoidal cells in situ to maintain the vascular niche following lethal irradiation.

Objective: Bone marrow sinusoids remain predominantly host-derived following bone marrow transplantation. Systematic analysis was conducted at the cellular level to investigate how the host sinusoidal structures survived after lethal irradiation.

Materials And Methods: Apoptosis and cell proliferation assays were performed on bone marrow sections at various time points during the first 2 weeks postirradiation to study the extent of damage to sinusoidal endothelial cells from lethal irradiation and to determine whether cell proliferation contributes to the recovery of the sinusoidal system.

Sites and kinetics of donor thrombopoiesis following transplantation of whole bone marrow and progenitor subsets.

Introduction: Little is known about the sites and kinetics of thrombopoiesis following bone marrow transplant. The spleen is a site of hematopoiesis in a healthy mouse, and hematopoietic activity increases in response to stress. We hypothesized that the spleen is a major site of early post-transplant thrombopoiesis.

The role of the donor in the repair of the marrow vascular niche following hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Bone marrow sinusoids maintain homeostasis between developing hematopoietic cells and the circulation, and they provide niches for hematopoietic progenitors. Sinusoids are damaged by chemotherapy and radiation. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have been shown to produce endothelial progenitor cells that contribute to the repair of damaged blood vessels.

Umbilical cord blood produces small megakaryocytes after transplantation.

Delayed platelet engraftment is a major complication of umbilical cord blood (CB) transplantation. Megakaryocytes derived from CB in vitro are smaller than megakaryocytes derived from bone marrow (BM) or mobilized peripheral blood from adults. Small megakaryocyte size may contribute to delayed platelet engraftment.

Developmental differences in megakaryocyte maturation are determined by the microenvironment.

Historically, physicians have attributed delayed platelet engraftment following umbilical cord blood transplant to decreased numbers of stem cells in cord blood compared with adult bone marrow. However, recent studies suggest that delayed platelet engraftment may be caused by an intrinsic inability of neonatal stem cells to produce mature, polyploid megakaryocytes. We tested this hypothesis by transplanting adult bone marrow and newborn liver hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein into myeloablated wild-type recipients and comparing the size and ploidy levels of megakaryocytes that developed in adult transplant recipients.