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To assess the vitamin D status in healthy 6‐month‐old infants, as well as vitamin D supplementation and feeding patterns in Guangzhou, China, serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations of 202 infants were measured at birth (cord blood) and at 6 months of age in Guangzhou, China. Questionnaires acquiring demographic characteristics, maternal and infantile vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and first 6 months after birth, and feeding patterns during the first 6 months were completed by participating mothers. Physical examinations and blood sampling were carried out among infants at 6 months of age. The majority of infants (93.6%) were supplemented with vitamin D during the first 6 months of life on a voluntary basis. The M ± SD of cord serum 25OHD concentration was 46.2 ± 16.4 nmol/L, whereas the M ± SD of 25OHD concentration at 6 months was 82.9 ± 24.9 nmol/L. Serum 25OHD concentrations <30 nmol/L were seen in 34 (16.8%) infants at birth but only one (0.5%) at 6 months. Only 11 (5.4%) infants had concentrations >75 nmol/L at birth, whereas the majority of infants (n = 131, 64.9%) had concentrations >75 nmol/L at 6 months. The main predictors of 25OHD levels at 6 months included season, vitamin D supplementation, parental education level, and feeding patterns. To conclude, serum 25OHD concentrations were low at birth in a southern Chinese population, and infantile supplementation is an effective way to improve 25OHD status. Exclusively breastfed infants might need greater vitamin D supplementation, and individualized vitamin D supplementation plans might be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor that affects fetal growth in experimental studies. Bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS), which have been substituted for BPA in some consumer products, have also shown endocrine-disrupting effects in experimental models. However, the effects of BPF and BPS on fetal growth in humans are unknown OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to investigate trimester-specific associations of urinary concentrations of BPA, BPF, and BPS with size at birth METHODS: The present study included 845 pregnant women from Wuhan, China (2013–2015), who provided one urine sample in each of the first, second, and third trimesters. Linear regressions with generalized estimating equations were applied to estimate trimester-specific associations of urinary bisphenol concentrations with birth weight, birth length, and ponderal index. Linear mixed-effects models were used to identify potential critical windows of susceptibility to bisphenols by comparing the exposure patterns of newborns in the 10th percentile of each birth anthropometric measurement to that of those in the 90th percentile. RESULTS: Medians (25th–75th percentiles) of urinary concentrations of BPA, BPF, and BPS were 1.40 (0.19–3.85), 0.65 (0.34–1.39), and 0.38 (0.13– 1.11) ng/mL, respectively. Urinary BPA concentrations in different trimesters were inversely, but not significantly, associated with birth weight and ponderal index. Urinary concentrations of BPF and BPS during some trimesters were associated with significantly lower birth weight, birth length, or ponderal index, with significant trend p-values (p,trend < 0.05) across quartiles of BPF and BPS concentrations. The observed associations were unchanged after additionally adjusting for other bisphenols. In addition, newborns in the 10th percentile of each birth anthropometry measure had higher BPF and BPS exposures during pregnancy than newborns in the 90th percentile of each outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to BPF and BPS was inversely associated with size at birth in this cohort. Replication in other populations is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between alterations in thyroid function and cognitive deficits has been investigated in several previous studies. Hypo-or hyperthyroidism and, to a lesser extent, subclinical thyroid dysfunction can negatively affect cognitive performance. However, limited data are available on the potential association of thyroid function with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the elderly Chinese population. Methods: In the present study focusing on a population of elderly Chinese individuals ≥ 50 years of age, 77 cognitively normal controls, 64 patients with MCI, and 154 patients diagnosed with AD underwent assessment of thyroid status using thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels as variables. Cognitive function was evaluated with the aid of comprehensive neuropsychological tests, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Memory and Executive Screening (MES). Results: Overall, 88.1 % of the subjects displayed normal thyroid function, 4.7 % were diagnosed with clinical hypothyroidism, 3.1 % with subclinical hypothyroidism, and 4.1 % with subclinical hyperthyroidism. After adjusting for covariates (age, sex, education years and body mass index), no association was evident between mild cognitive impairment or AD and thyroid dysfunction. However, lower serum TSH was correlated with risk of AD (odds ratio [OR]: 2.78, 95 % confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.11-6.99). Conclusion: Neither hypothyroidism nor subclinical hyperthyroidism was associated with AD and MCI in this population-based elderly Chinese cohort. Our findings need to be confirmed in a longitudinal study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating the perspectives of psychological contract and sex differences, this study examines how organizational decision to reduce labour costs influences employees' perceived psychological contract breach and their commitment to their organizations. Using two experiments, we found three-way interaction effects among the decision to reduce labour costs, employee sex, and the managerial control over the decision. The decision of labour costs reduction leads to stronger feelings of psychological contract breach for females when the decision is in low than in high levels of managerial control, but the same decision leads to stronger psychological contract breach for males when the decision is in high than in low levels of managerial control. Furthermore, the indirect effect of labour costs reduction on employees' organizational commitment through psychological contract breach is also contingent upon the interaction between employee sex and managerial control. Our findings expand the literature of psychological contract and shed light on timely practical issues of management's decisions regarding labour costs reduction. Practitioner points Labour costs reductions in economic downturns lead to different responses from employees, and managers are advised to plan their actions bearing in mind such differences., Management in crisis or difficulties calls for more delicate considerations of employees' psychological feelings towards the organization., Nuanced empirical evidence informs us about the different needs and responses of a diverse group of employees and how their responses contradict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the hypothesis that burning mouth syndrome (BMS) probably is a neuropathic pain condition, thermal and mechanical sensory and pain thresholds were tested and compared with age- and gender-matched control participants using a standardized battery of psychophysical techniques. Methods: Twenty-five BMS patients (men: 8, women: 17, age: 49.5 ± 11.4 years) and 19 age- and gender-matched healthy control participants were included. The cold detection threshold (CDT), warm detection threshold (WDT), cold pain threshold (CPT), heat pain threshold (HPT), mechanical detection threshold (MDT) and mechanical pain threshold (MPT), in accordance with the German Network of Neuropathic Pain guidelines, were measured at the following four sites: the dorsum of the left hand (hand), the skin at the mental foramen (chin), on the tip of the tongue (tongue), and the mucosa of the lower lip (lip). Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA with repeated measures to compare the means within and between groups. Furthermore, Z-score profiles were generated, and exploratory correlation analyses between QST and clinical variables were performed. Two-tailed tests with a significance level of 5 % were used throughout. Results: CDTs ( P < 0.02) were significantly lower (less sensitivity) and HPTs ( P < 0.001) were significantly higher (less sensitivity) at the tongue and lip in BMS patients compared to control participants. WDT ( P = 0.007) was also significantly higher at the tongue in BMS patients compared to control subjects . There were no significant differences in MDT and MPT between the BMS patients and healthy subjects at any of the four test sites. Z-scores showed that significant loss of function can be identified for CDT (Z-scores = −0.9±1.1) and HPT (Z-scores = 1.5±0.4). There were no significant correlations between QST and clinical variables (pain intensity, duration, depressions scores). Conclusion: BMS patients had a significant loss of thermal function but not mechanical function, supporting the hypothesis that BMS may be a probable neuropathic pain condition. Further studies including e.g. electrophysiological or imaging techniques are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms of BMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The nicotine dependence (ND) has negative and smoking abstinence self-efficacy (SASE) has positive effects on successful smoking cessation, but scant data is now available for what is the mediating role of SASE on the relationship between ND and successful smoking cessation. The aim of this study was to assess the abovementioned mediation. Methods: A case-control study was conducted with 642 successful spontaneous quitters as the cases, and 700 failed spontaneous quitters as the controls. ND and SASE were evaluated by Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scale and SASE scale, respectively. Propensity score as covariate in the regression model was used to adjust for potential confounders of age, age of smoking initiation, occupation, educational level and marital status. Total effect was decomposed into direct and indirect (mediating) effect using logistic regression based on the KHB method proposed by Holm et al. Results: After adjusting for the aforementioned potential confounders, the mediating effects among the total effect of ND on successful spontaneous smoking cessation were 32.90%, 12.14%, 35.64% and 83.03% for the total score of SASE and its three context-specific situation scores, i.e. positive/social situation, negative/affective situation and habit/addictive situation, respectively. Conclusions: This study indicates that SASE has a partial mediating effect on the association of ND with successful spontaneous smoking cessation. To boost the smokers' SASE could increase the probability of successful smoking cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have shown that depression is a precursor / prodrome or susceptible state for the development of dementia. This study aimed to examine the relationship between late-onset depression and subsequent cognitive and functional decline in a cohort of non-demented older Chinese persons at their 2-year follow-up and investigate for possible predictors of cognitive decline. Methods: A total of 81 depressed subjects and 468 non-depressed community controls were recruited. Results: Subjects with late-onset depression showed significantly more incident Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale decline (odds ratio = 3.87,95% confidence interval = 2.23-6.70) and dementia (odds ratio = 3.44, 95% confidence interval = 1.75-6.77) than those without depression. A higher proportion of depressed CDR 0 subjects had CDR and functional decline than their non-depressed counterparts. Depressed CDR 0.5 subjects had significantly higher rates of functional decline and lower rates of improvement in CDR than their non-depressed counterparts. Conclusion: Diagnosis of depression was a robust predictor of incident very mild dementia (i.e. CDR of 0.5) and depression severity was a predictor of progression to dementia from CDR of 0.5. The association between depression and the risk of CDR decline and dementia was observed in non-demented Chinese subjects. Depression was also associated with persistent mild cognitive deficits in CDR 0.5 subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To investigate the six-week influence of acupuncture on sleep quality and daytime functioning in primary insomnia. Methods. The study was a double-dummy, single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 180 patients with primary insomnia were randomly assigned to 3 groups: verum group underwent verum acupuncture plus placebo; estazolam group underwent estazolam plus sham acupuncture; sham group underwent sham acupuncture plus placebo. The outcome was measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). Results. The three groups showed significant improvement compared with the pretreatment baseline. Compared with the other two groups, the verum group reported improved sleep quality (SQ) and vitality (VT), decreased daytime dysfunction (DD) and sleepiness (ESS score). The differences were kept from the treatment period to the end of the trial. Discussion. Verum acupuncture appeared to be more effective in increasing sleep quality and daytime functioning than sham acupuncture and estazolam. Trial Registration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the optimal screening interval among the individuals who received a negative Epstein-Barr virus immunoglobulin A antibodies against viral capsid antigen (VCA-IgA) serum test result and who comprised the majority of the population screened for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Screening was performed in Sihui, Guangdong, China, offering a repeated screening for participants with an initial negative test either after 4-5 years in one centre (short interval centre), or 9-10 years in another (long interval centre). The characteristics and incidence rates (IRs) of interval NPCs (defined as cases diagnosed outside the screening protocol while within the screening interval) were compared between these two centres. Standard incidence ratios (SIRs) were also calculated using the general Sihui population as the reference. Results: Seven interval NPCs were detected in the short interval centre (IR: 17.8/105 person-years) and 20 in the long interval centre (IR: 20.8/105 person-years during the first four years and 43.5/105 person-years during the remaining years). The SIR in the short interval centre was 0.43 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.89); SIR in the long interval centre was 0.47 (95% CI: 0.17- 1.02) during the first four years and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.49-1.51) during the remaining years. No aggressive interval NPC was observed in the short interval centre; four were identified in the long interval centre. Conclusions: The incidence of NPC, especially aggressive NPC, was low during the first few years after a negative screening; the incidence increased to the general population level afterwards. A screening interval of 4-5 years may therefore be more suitable than 9-10 years after a negative VCA-IgA test in NPC screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Lithium has attracted much attention as a neuroregenerative agent for spinal cord injury in animal models. We hypothesized that the lithium can be beneficial to patients with spinal cord injury. The safety and pharmacokinetics of lithium has been studied in our earlier phase I clinical trial, indicating its safety. This is a phase II clinical trial to evaluate its efficacy on chronic spinal cord injury patients.Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of lithium on chronic spinal cord injury patients.Setting:A major spinal cord injury rehabilitation center in Beijing, China.Methods:Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week parallel treatment arms with lithium carbonate and with placebo. A total of 40 chronic spinal cord injury subjects were recruited. Oral lithium carbonate was titrated or placebo was simulated to maintain the serum lithium level of 0.6-1.2 mmol l−1 for 6 weeks, followed by a 6-month follow-up. The functional outcomes and the neurological classifications, as well as the safety parameters, adverse events and pharmacokinetic data were carefully collected and monitored.Results:No significant changes in the functional outcomes and the neurological classifications were found. The only significant differences were in the pain assessments using visual analog scale comparing the lithium and the placebo group. No severe adverse event was documented in the study.Conclusion:The lithium treatment did not change the neurological outcomes of patients with chronic spinal cord injury. It is worth to investigate whether lithium is effective in the treatment of neuropathic pain in chronic spinal cord injury.Sponsorship:China Spinal Cord Injury Network Company Limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curvilinear relationships between role stress and innovative performance were explored in a study conducted in Taiwan and mainland China. Results showed that when perceived support for innovation was low, role conflict showed a U-shaped relationship with both self-rated and supervisor-rated innovative performance, which contrasts sharply with the well known inverted U-shaped relationship between challenge stress and performance. Role ambiguity showed a similar but weaker pattern with regard to supervisor-rated innovative performance. When perceived support for innovation was high, role conflict showed a generally positive relationship with both self-rated and supervisor-rated innovative performance, but role ambiguity showed no significant relationship with supervisor-rated innovative performance. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous studies among 1,144 cases and 1,256 controls recruited in stage 1 of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study (SBCS I; 1996–1998), 18 known or potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 16 genes were found to be associated with breast cancer risk. The authors evaluated these associations among 1,918 cases and 1,819 controls recruited in stage 2 of the SBCS (SBCS II; 2002–2005) using genetic effect models and subgroup analyses predetermined from SBCS I results. Five SNPs (AHR rs2066853, ATM rs1003623, ESR1 rs2234693, GSTP1 rs1695, and SHBG rs6259) showed generally consistent results in SBCS I and SBCS II and statistically significant associations with breast cancer risk in combined analyses, mostly in subgroups defined by age or menopausal status. Further, the relation between breast cancer risk and SHBG rs6259 was found to vary by body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) (P for interaction = 0.003). The strongest reduction in risk associated with SHBG rs6259 was found for lean (body mass index <23) postmenopausal minor allele carriers (odds ratio = 0.6, 95% confidence interval: 0.5, 0.8; P = 4.6 × 10−4). This biologically plausible and highly significant finding provides strong evidence for a true association among Asian women. This study also highlights the value of gene-environment interaction analyses in evaluating genetic factors for complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Long‐term trend of total cloud cover (TCC) had been studied based on 51 meteorological stations across South China during the period 1960–2012. TCC reduction mainly happened over the past 53 years, and the value of climatic trend rate (CTR) averaged in all stations was − 0.625%·10a−1. The primary cause of the significant reduction of TCC was the temperature (LT) and relative humidity (LRH) in the low troposphere in the context of global warming. Correlation coefficients between TCC and LRH in annual and seasonal mean had all passed 99% significance test, and strong positive correlations indicate that LRH plays a much more important role in the change of TCC in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]