Frailty and neurocognitive impairments in Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of frailty and the association between frailty and neurocognitive impairments among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Methods: A total of 185 survivors of childhood cancer were recruited from a long-term follow-up clinic in Hong Kong (response rate: 94.4%; 48.

Impact of Body Image Perception on Behavioral Outcomes in Chinese Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Sarcoma.

Purpose: To identify the prevalence and predictive factors of body image dissatisfaction among Chinese adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of sarcoma and to evaluate its associations with behavioral outcomes.

Methods: In total, 116 AYA survivors (response rate: 88%; 48.3% female; mean age 28.

EX527, a sirtuins 1 inhibitor, sensitizes T-cell leukemia to death receptor-mediated apoptosis by downregulating cellular FLICE inhibitory protein.

Death receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptosis system had been developed as a promising therapeutic strategy in clinical oncology, such as TRAIL therapy. However, multiple studies have demonstrated that TRAIL resistance is the biggest problem for disappointing clinical trials despite preclinical success. Targeting cellular FLICE inhibitory protein (cFLIP) is one strategy of combinatorial therapies to overcome resistance to DR-mediated apoptosis due to its negative regulator of extrinsic apoptosis.

A novel nanodrug for the sensitization of photothermal chemotherapy for breast cancer .

Owing to the complexity of tumor treatment, clinical tumor treatment has evolved from a single treatment mode to multiple combined treatment modes. Reducing the tolerance of tumors to heat and the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs to the body, as well as increasing the sensitivity of tumors to photothermal therapy and chemotherapy drugs, are key issues that urgently need to be addressed in the current cancer treatment. In this work, polylactic acid-based drug nanoparticles (PLA@DOX/GA/ICG) were synthesized with good photothermal conversion ability by encapsulating the water-soluble anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), photothermal conversion agent indocyanine green (ICG) and liposoluble drug gambogic acid (GA) using a double emulsion method.

Carbon Quantum Dots: Properties, Preparation, and Applications.

Carbon quantum dots are a novel form of carbon material. They offer numerous benefits including particle size adjustability, light resistance, ease of functionalization, low toxicity, excellent biocompatibility, and high-water solubility, as well as their easy accessibility of raw materials. Carbon quantum dots have been widely used in various fields.

The relationship between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and early renal injury in population with/without hypertension: analysis of the National health and nutrition examination survey 2001-2002.

Background: Inflammation plays a crucial role in occurrence of kidney injury, and specific dietary patterns can influence systemic inflammation levels. However, the relationship between dietary inflammatory potential and early-stage kidney damage remains unclear.

Method: 2,108 participants was recruited from 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Association of dietary inflammatory index with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in hyperuricemia population: A cohort study from NHANES 2001 to 2010.

Dietary management is a crucial component of non-pharmacological treatment for hyperuricemia, yet there is a paucity of research on the impact of dietary habits on the survival outcomes of individuals with hyperuricemia. The objective of this study is to examine the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in individuals with hyperuricemia. This study included 3093 adult participants from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2010.

Effect of dietary protein intake on cognitive function in the elderly with chronic kidney disease: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is prevalent among the elderly diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Low protein diets are used for retarding the progression of CKD in clinical practice. Nonetheless, the impact of dietary protein consumption on cognitive function in this population remains uncertain.

Tracking nitrite's deviation from Stokes-Einstein predictions with pulsed field gradient N NMR spectroscopy.

Predicting the behavior of oxyanions in radioactive waste stored at the Department of Energy legacy nuclear sites requires the development of novel analytical methods. This work demonstrates N pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to quantify the diffusivity of nitrite. Experimental results, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, indicate that the diffusivity of free hydrated nitrite exceeds that of free hydrated sodium despite the greater hydrodynamic radius of nitrite.

Cation coordination polyhedra lead to multiple lengthscale organization in aqueous electrolytes.

Understanding multiple lengthscale correlations in the pair distribution functions (PDFs) of aq. electrolytes is a persistent challenge. Here, the coordination chemistry of polyoxoanions supports an ion-network of cation-coordination polyhedra in NaNO and NaNO that induce long-range solution structure.

96-Channel on-chip reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer for multidimensional multiplexing systems.

The multi-dimensional multiplexing technology is very promising for further increasing the link capacity of optical interconnects. A 96-channel silicon-based on-chip reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) is proposed and demonstrated for the first time to satisfy the demands in hybrid mode/polarization/wavelengthdivision-multiplexing systems. The present ROADM consists of a six-channel mode/polarization de-multiplexer, a 6 × 16 array of microring-resonator (MRR)-based wavelength-selective switches, and a six-channel mode/polarization multiplexer.

Evolution of physicochemical properties and bacterial community in aerobic composting of swine manure based on a patent compost tray.

The objective of this study was to explore the changes in physicochemical properties and bacterial community during swine manure composting with a new compost tray (CT). The results showed that the organic matter (OM), moisture content (MC), and C/N decreased. The total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), PO, KO and humic acids (HAs) contents of the compost increased.

Isolation and screening of multifunctional phosphate solubilizing bacteria and its growth-promoting effect on Chinese fir seedlings.

Phosphorus-solubilizing microorganisms is a microbial fertilizer with broad application potential. In this study, 7 endophytic phosphate solubilizing bacteria were screened out from Chinese fir, and were characterized for plant growth-promoting traits. Based on morphological and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the endophytes were distributed into 5 genera of which belong to Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Paraburkholderia, Novosphingobium, and Ochrobactrum.

Association between bariatric surgery and risks of cancer among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: To examine risks of cancers, obesity-related cancers (eg, cancers in digestive organs, breast, ovary, kidney, thyroid, and myeloma), cancer-related mortality, and all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity who underwent bariatric surgery.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 1944 T2DM patients with obesity (345 bariatric surgery patients and 1599 matched controls) who were free of cancer from 2006 to 2017 was assembled. One-to-five propensity score matching followed by propensity score trimming was used to balance baseline covariates.

Prevalence and prognostic impact of comorbidities and peripheral blood indices in sarcomas.

Background: The prognostic impact of comorbidities in patients with sarcomas is not well defined. The aims of this study were to examine the implications of comorbidities and abnormal peripheral blood indices in patients with sarcomas.

Methods: A population-based database was assembled to extract patients with sarcoma in Hong Kong between January 2004 and March 2018.

Improvement in patient-reported outcomes in Chinese adults after bariatric surgery: 1-year follow-up of a prospective cohort.

Background: Impaired health-related quality of life is commonly observed in patients with obesity who are scheduled for bariatric surgery. However, bariatric surgery tends to improve quality of life physically, with no final conclusion regarding mental domains.

Objective: To assess changes of patient-reported outcomes in terms of health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety status, and physical activity (PA) after bariatric surgery among patients with obesity.

The mitohormetic response as part of the cytoprotection mechanism of berberine : Berberine induces mitohormesis and mechanisms.

It was well-known that Berberine, a major bioactive compound extracted from natural plants Coptis chinensis, has anti-diabetic effects for decades in china. Other types of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, and anti-cancer effects, have also been examined. At cellular level, these pharmacological activities were mostly an inhibitory effect.

Organochlorine pesticides exposure may disturb homocysteine metabolism in pregnant women.

Maternal exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) has an adverse impact on maternal and fetal health, and excessive homocysteine is related to a variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Biomimetic studies suggest that OCPs interfere with folate-dependent pathways, but little evidence is available from studies with human subjects. This study explored whether exposure to OCPs interferes with the metabolism of homocysteine, which is folate dependent.

Levels of uranium and thorium in maternal scalp hair and risk of orofacial clefts in offspring.

Uranium and thorium are common radioactive elements that exist in the environment. However, few environmental epidemiological studies have focused on their possible effects on congenital malformations. Here, we explored the association between uranium and thorium concentrations in maternal scalp hair grown from 3 months before to 3 months after conception, namely during the periconceptional period and the risk of orofacial clefts (OFCs) in offspring.

Combination of Berberine with Resveratrol Improves the Lipid-Lowering Efficacy.

The natural compound berberine has been reported to exhibit anti-diabetic activity and to improve disordered lipid metabolism. In our previous study, we found that such compounds upregulate expression of sirtuin 1-a key molecule in caloric restriction, it is, therefore, of great interest to examine the lipid-lowering activity of berberine in combination with a sirtuin 1 activator resveratrol. Our results showed that combination of berberine with resveratrol had enhanced hypolipidemic effects in high fat diet-induced mice and was able to decrease the lipid accumulation in adipocytes to a level significantly lower than that in monotherapies.

Higher concentration of selenium in placental tissues is associated with reduced risk for orofacial clefts.

Background & Aims: Growing evidence suggests that essential trace element imbalance during pregnancy may contribute to fetal malformations, but the role of essential trace elements in the occurrence of orofacial clefts (OFCs) is unknown. We aimed to examine the association between concentrations of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), and nickel (Ni) in placental tissues and the risk for OFCs in offspring in a rural population in northern China with a high prevalence of OFCs.

Methods: The case-control study subjects were 103 OFC infants and 206 non-malformed infants.

Concentrations of selected heavy metals in placental tissues and risk for neonatal orofacial clefts.

Orofacial clefts (OFCs) have multifactorial etiologies. Prenatal exposure to heavy metals can induce OFCs in animal models, but evidence from studies of human subjects is scarce. We examined whether concentrations of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) in placental tissues are associated with risk for OFCs in offspring.