RESUMEN

Background: The impact of COVID-19 has most likely increased the prevalence of stunting. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of stunting among kindergarten children in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Longgang District, Shenzhen, China, and its risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify children from 11 sub districts of 481 kindergartens in the Longgang District of Shenzhen City from May to July 2021. In the context of COVID-19, an online survey was conducted to gather demographic information, height, birth information, and lifestyle. The prevalence of stunting was calculated, and the risk factors were analyzed using binary logistic regression with three stepwise models. Results: A total of 118,404 subjects were included from May to July 2021, with a response and questionnaire effective rates of 85.75% and 95.03%, respectively. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting were 3.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Model 3 showed that risk factors for stunting were male sex [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07], low birth weight (OR = 2.02), insufficient sleep time (OR = 1.08), less food intake than their peers (OR = 1.66), slower eating than their peers (OR = 1.16), accompanied by grandparents alone or non-lineal relatives (reference: parents accompanying) (OR = 1.23, 1.51), and children induced to eat (OR = 1.17). Protective factors included only-child status (OR = 0.66), reported high activity (OR = 0.37, 0.26, 0.23), parents with high education levels (father: OR = 0.87, 0.69; mother: OR = 0.69, 0.58), high monthly income per capita of the family (OR = 0.88, 0.74, 0.68), and allowing children to make food choices (OR = 0.82). Conclusion: The stunting rate of children in kindergartens in Longgang District is 3.3%, close to the level of developed countries but higher than the average level of developed cities in China. The relatively high stunting rate in children under 3 years old in 2021 may be associated with the influence of COVID-19. Appropriate policies should be formulated for individuals and families with children to help children establish good living habits and reduce stunting.

RESUMEN

The intestinal flora plays an important role in the inflammatory response to the systemic or local infections in the host. A high-calorie diet has been shown to aggravate pneumonia and delay recovery, especially in children. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Our previous studies demonstrated that a high-calorie diet and LPS atomization synergistically promoted lung inflammation injury in juvenile rats. In this study, specific pathogen-free juvenile rats were placed in a routine environment, and subjected to a high-calorie diet or LPS atomization in isolation as well as combination. Our data revealed that LPS nebulization combined with a high-calorie diet resulted in significant changes in rats, such as slow weight gain, increased lung index, and aggravated lung inflammatory damage. Meanwhile, we found that the aggravation of LPS-induced pneumonia by a high-calorie diet disturbs the balance of Th17/Treg cells. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing of intestinal contents revealed that a high-calorie diet changed the gut microbiome composition, decreased microbial diversity, and particularly reduced the abundance of the intestinal microbiota associated with the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in rats. Consequently, the levels of SCFAs, especially acetate, propionate, and butyrate, were significantly decreased following the intervention of a high-calorie diet. More critically, the effects of a high-calorie diet were shown to be transmissible among pneumonia rats through cohousing microbiota transplantation. Taken together, we provide evidence to support that a high-calorie diet can potentially reset the gut microbiome and metabolites, disrupt Th17/Treg cell balance and immune homeostasis, and aggravate LPS-induced lung inflammatory damage, which may provide a new perspective on the pathogenesis of lung inflammation injury, and suggest a novel microbiota-targeting therapy for inflammatory lung diseases.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one type of the malignant tumors with high morbidity and mortality. The molecular mechanism of LUAD is still unclear. Studies demonstrate that lncRNAs play crucial roles in LUAD tumorigenesis and can be used as prognosis biomarkers. Thus, in this study, to identify more robust biomarkers of LUAD, we firstly constructed LUAD-related lncRNA-TF network and performed topological analyses for the network. Results showed that the network was a scale-free network, and some hub genes with high clinical values were identified, such as lncRNA RP11-173A16 and TF ZBTB37. Module analysis on the network revealed one close lncRNA module, which had good prognosis performance in LUAD. Furthermore, through integrating ceRNAs strategy and TF regulatory information, we identified some lncRNA-TF positive feedback loops. Prognostic analysis revealed that ELK4- and BDP1-related feedback loops were significant. Secondly, we constructed the lncRNA-m6A regulator network by merging all the high correlated lncRNA-m6A regulator pairs. Based on the network analysis results, some key m6A-related lncRNAs were identified, such as MIR497HG, FENDRR, and RP1-199J3. We also investigated the relationships between these lncRNAs and immune cell infiltration. Results showed that these m6A-related lncRNAs were high correlated with tumor immunity. All these results provide a new perspective for the diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target identification of LUAD.

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely integrated into cancer care in China. An overview in 2011 identified 2384 randomized and non-randomized controlled trials (RCTs, non-RCTs) on TCM for cancer published in the Chinese literature. This article summarizes updated evidence of RCTs on TCM for cancer care. METHODS: We searched 4 main Chinese databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, SinoMed, and Wanfang. RCTs on TCM used in cancer care were analyzed in this bibliometric study. RESULTS: Of 5834 RCTs (477 157 cancer patients), only 62 RCTs were indexed in MEDLINE. The top 3 cancers treated were lung, stomach, and breast cancer. About 4752 RCTs (81.45%) tested TCM combined with conventional treatment, and 1082 RCTs (18.55%) used TCM alone for treating symptoms and side-effects. Herbal medicine was the most frequently used TCM modality (5087 RCTs; 87.20%). The most frequently reported outcome was symptom improvement (3712 RCTs; 63.63%) followed by quality of life (2725 RCTs; 46.71%), and biomarkers (2384 RCTs; 40.86%). The majority of RCTs (4051; 69.44%) concluded there were beneficial effects using either TCM alone or TCM plus conventional treatment compared with conventional treatment. CONCLUSION: Substantial randomized trials demonstrated different types/stages of cancer were treated by various TCM modalities, alone or in combination with conventional medicine. Further evaluation on the effects and safety of TCM modalities focusing on outcomes such as quality of life is required.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Atmospheric proteinaceous matter is characterized by ubiquity and potential bioavailability. However, little is known about the origins, secondary production processes, and biogeochemical role of proteinaceous matter in wet deposition. Precipitation samples were collected in suburban Guiyang (southwestern China) over a 1 year period to investigate their chemical components, mainly including dissolved combined amino acids (DCAAs), dissolved free AAs (DFAAs), and nonleachable particulate AAs (PAAs). Glycine was most abundant in the DFAAs, while the dominant species in DCAAs and PAAs was glutamic acid (including deaminated glutamine). The total DCAA, DFAA, and PAA concentrations peaked on average in spring (min. in summer). On average, the contribution of DCAA-nitrogen (median of 3.44%) to dissolved organic nitrogen was 5-fold higher than that of DFAA-nitrogen (median of 0.60%). Correlation analyses of AAs with ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and the quantitative degradation index suggest that DC(/F)AAs are linked with both abiotic and biological degradation of proteinaceous matter. Moreover, the high FAA scavenging ratios indicate the presence of postdepositional degradation of atmospheric proteinaceous matter. Further, the positive matrix factorization results suggest that the degradation of atmospheric proteinaceous matter markedly contributes to DCAAs and DFAAs in precipitation. Overall, the results suggest that the secondary processes involved in the degradation of atmospheric proteinaceous matter significantly promote direct bioavailability of AA-nitrogen.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP", with a history of 30 years in China, was included in the first part of the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and is widely used in the treatment for pediatric diseases in clinical application. Its main indications include the accumulation of heat caused by food stagnation in children, which has the effect of digestive stagnation and purge heat to relax the bowels. AIM OF THE STUDY: High-calorie diet, closely related to the occurrence and development of multiple diseases, is an unhealthy status of life. However, there is no effective intervention in clinic. Thus, based on animal experiments and bioinformatics, this study aims to explore the potential mechanisms of action of Chinese patent medicine- "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP" in the intervention of high-calorie diet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A high-calorie diet model was prepared by 3-week-old rats. The defecation and intestinal mucosal morphology were observed after intragastric administration of "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP". The components of "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP" were obtained by chromatography-mass spectrometry, with the corresponding targets obtained by database and target fishing. The key effects substances were obtained by molecular docking, with the obtaining of the ore pathway of "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP" in intervention of high-calorie diet based on the enrichment analysis. RESULTS: "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP" can actively interfere with defecation and intestinal mucosal structures in high-calorie diet animals. A total of 37 substances were identified in the pediatric digestion solution, and 356 target proteins were mapped, 25 of which were associated with a high-calorie diet. Overall, the analysis shows that the highest degree of integration was quercetin and PON1 protein, with the highest enrichment of insulin resistance pathway. CONCLUSION: "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP" can intervene in the health status of high-calorie diet animals. Integration of quercetin and PON1 protein can regulate lipid levels, which may be the key mechanisms of action in "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP". The mechanisms, more specifically, may be related to the regulation of pancreas islet function, thus providing a reference for the clinical application of "Xiaoerhuashi Pill, XP", clinical intervention of high-calorie diet and new drug development.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Moss (as a reference material) and camphor (Cinnamomum Camphora) leaf, branch bark and bark samples were systematically collected across an urban-rural gradient in Guiyang (SW China) to determine the efficacy of using these bio-indicators to evaluate nitrogen (N) pollution. The tissue N concentrations (0.13%-2.70%) and δ15N values (-7.5‰ to +9.3‰) of all of these bio-indicators exhibited large spatial variations, as they recorded higher values in urban areas that quickly decreased with distance from the city center; moreover, both soil N concentrations and soil δ15N values were found no significant differences within each 6 km from the urban to the rural area. This not only suggests that the different N uptake strategies and variety of N responses of these bio-indicators can be reflected by their different susceptibilities to variations in N deposition but also reveals that they are able to indicate that urban N deposition is mostly from traffic and industry (NOx-N), whereas rural N deposition is mainly from agriculture (NHx-N). Compared to previously collected urban moss and camphor leaf samples, the significantly increased δ15N values in current urban moss and camphor leaf samples further indicate a greater contribution of NOx-N than NHx-N to urban N deposition. The feasibility of using the N concentrations and δ15N values of branch bark and bark as biomarkers of N deposition thus was further confirmed through the comparative use of these bio-indicators. It can be concluded that vascular plant leaves, branch bark and bark can be used as useful biomonitoring tools for evaluating atmospheric N pollution. For further study, quantitative criteria for the practical use of these bio-indicators in response to N deposition should be developed and the differences in the δ15N values of different plant parts should also be considered, particularly in urban environments that are severely disrupted by atmospheric pollution.

Asunto(s)