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Background: With the rapid advancement of cell biology, the evaluation of a given protein's synthesis and release in cells becomes critical. However, up to now there has been no technique available to morphologically visualize and measure a newly synthesized protein in cells, nor can we measure the protein's release from the cells. Results: In this study, we developed a set of assays combining pulse chase amino acid substitution, non-radioactive labeling, and immunofluorescence co-localization to visualize newly synthesized proteins in individual cells and then to detect their release using modified ELISA. We demonstrated the synthesis and release of Bcl-2, MMP-9, and immunoglobulin G (IgG) in a human trophoblast cell line, of which the last finding has not been reported previously. Conclusions: This new technique offers a powerful tool to evaluate the dynamics of the synthesis and release of target proteins in individual cultured cells with wide applications in genetic and protein analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elevated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels have been indicated as a strong and modifiable risk factor of ischemic stroke; the previous studies have shown that exposure to Hcy activates cultured microglia. However, whether neurotoxicity of Hcy involves microglia activation following brain ischemia and the underlying mechanisms remains incompletely understood.Methods: The cerebral damage was evaluated by staining with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride, hematoxylin-eosin, and Fluoro Jade B. The activation state of microglia was assessed via immunoreaction using the microglial markers Iba1 and OX-42. Then, the inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) were examined by Western blot analysis and fluorescence immunohistochemistry.Results: Elevated Hcy level augmented brain damage and neural cell toxicity in the brain cortex and the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. Meanwhile, Hcy activated microglia and induced the expression of the inflammatory factors such as TNF-α and IL-6. Moreover, Hcy caused an increase in pSTAT3 expression which occurs in microglial cells. AG490, a JAK2-STAT3 inhibitor, effectively inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT3, microglial cell activation and the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α raised by Hcy treatment.Conclusions: STAT3 signaling pathway located in microglia plays a critical role in mediating Hcy-induced activation of microglia and neuroinflammation in rat MCAO model. This suggests the feasibility of targeting the JAK2/STAT3 pathway as an effective therapeutic strategy to alleviate the progression of Hcy-associated ischemia stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lack of physical activity is a growing problem in China, due to the fast economic development and changing living environment over the past two decades. The aim of this review is to summarize the factors related to physical activity in Chinese children and adolescents during this distinct period of development. Methods: A systematic search was finished on Jan 10th, 2017, and identified 2200 hits through PubMed and Web of Science. English-language published studies were included if they reported statistical associations between factors and physical activity. Adapted criteria from the Strengthening The Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and evaluation of the quality of prognosis studies in systematic reviews (QUIPS) were used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies. Related factors that were reported in at least three studies were summarized separately for children and adolescents using a semi-quantitative method. Results: Forty two papers (published 2002-2016) were included. Most designs were cross-sectional (79%), and most studies used questionnaires to assess physical activity. Sample size was above 1000 in 18 papers (43%). Thirty seven studies (88%) showed acceptable quality by methodological quality assessment. Most studies reported a low level of physical activity. Boys were consistently more active than girls, the parental physical activity was positively associated with children and adolescents' physical activity, children in suburban/rural regions showed less activity than in urban regions, and, specifically in adolescents, self-efficacy was positively associated with physical activity. Family socioeconomic status and parental education were not associated with physical activity in children and adolescents. Conclusions: The studies included in this review were large but mostly of low quality in terms of study design (cross-sectional) and methods (questionnaires). Parental physical activity and self-efficacy are promising targets for future physical activity promotion programmes. The low level of physical activity raises concern, especially in suburban/rural regions. Future research is required to enhance our understanding of other influences, such as the physical environment, especially in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High lipid levels may constitute a more important risk factor for cognitive health in previous studies. However, the association of plasma lipids with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among elderly people had not been studied exactly. This study aims to explore the relationship between plasma lipids/lipoproteins and the risk of MCI in elderly Chinese individuals. Methods: CSI-MCI study was a preliminary case-control study of the association of plasma lipids/lipoproteins with MCI in 112 MCI cases and 115 cognitively normal controls. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) levels were measured in fasting blood samples. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the potential association between MCI and these factors. Statistical models were adjusted for multiple demographic and biological covariates. Results: The subjects with MCI were significantly older, higher percentage of females and less educated than controls (P <0.05). As expected, subjects with MCI had lower MMSE score compared with controls (P <0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher plasma TC level was associated with the risk of MCI in models adjusting for age, sex and education. However, This association was attenuated after adjusting for BMI, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease and hypertension. Plasma TG level was negatively associated with the risk of MCI. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of MCI was significantly reduced for the highest quartile of plasma TG level (OR: 0.76, 95 % CI: 0.48-0.97), but not for the second or third quartile, compared with the lowest quartile (adjusted models). Plasma HDL level was significantly negatively associated with the risk of MCI. There was no association between plasma LDL level and the risk of MCI, adjustment for demographics, vascular disorders did not change this relation. Conclusions: Plasma TC was significantly higher in MCI subjects compared to cognitively normal controls, Elevated plasma HDL and triglyceride were associated with the occurrence of MCI. These findings need to be confirmed in further longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visceral fat area (VFA), a novel sex-specific index for visceral fat obesity (VFO) might play a major role in the development of vitamin D deficiency. However, the association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in Chinese population is less clear. The aim of this study was to explore the population-level association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among Chinese men and women. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1105 adults aged 20-70 years living in Tianjin who were randomly selected and medically examined. All subjects underwent the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method to estimate the VFA. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH) D3) level was assayed by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method and defined insufficiency and deficiency following recommended cutoffs. The association between VFA and vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was estimated using binary regression analysis. Results: The total prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH) D3: 20-29 ug/L) and deficiency (25(OH) D3 < 20 ug/L) were 26.60 % and 24.89 %, respectively. Significant negative association was observed for VFA with serum 25(OH) D3 levels in men and pre-menopausal women (P < 0.05), not in post-menopausal women (P > 0.05). Moreover, increased VFA was observed to be associated with higher vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency risk with a positive dose-response trend (P for trend < 0.001). As compared to individuals with the lowest VFA, those who had the highest VFA were at 4.9-fold risk of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency [95 % confidence interval (95 % CI): 1.792-13.365] in men and 1.8-fold risk of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency (95 % CI: 1.051-3.210) in pre-menopausal women, but not in post-menopausal women [odds ratio (OR) (95 % CI): 2.326(0.903-5.991)]. Conclusions: These results suggest that higher VFA increases the risk of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in men and pre-menopausal women, but not in post-menopausal women. VFA is a better and convenience surrogate marker for visceral adipose measurement and could be used in identifying the risk of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in routine health examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The increase in childhood obesity is a serious public health concern. Several studies have indicated that breastfed children have a lower risk of childhood obesity than those who were not breastfed, while other studies have provided conflicting evidence. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the association between breastfeeding and the risk of childhood obesity. Methods The PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL Plus with Full Text databases were systematically searched from start date to 1st August 2014. Based on the meta-analysis, pooled adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. I2 statistic was used to evaluate the between-study heterogeneity. Funnel plots and Fail-safe N were used to assess publication bias and reliability of results, and results from both Egger test and Begg test were reported. Results Twenty-five studies with a total of 226,508 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The studies' publication dates ranged from 1997 to 2014, and they examined the population of 12 countries. Results showed that breastfeeding was associated with a significantly reduced risk of obesity in children (AOR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.81). Categorical analysis of 17 studies revealed a dose-response effect between breastfeeding duration and reduced risk of childhood obesity. Conclusion Results of our meta-analysis suggest that breastfeeding is a significant protective factor against obesity in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previous epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between uric acid and hypertension. Our objective was to conduct a prospective cohort study with a nested randomised controlled trial (RCT in cohort) that aims to identify the association of hyperuricemia with the development of hypertension and to examine the efficacy of dietary intervention in lowering uric acid level and prevention of hypertension. Methods Participants were considered eligible to enrol for this cohort study if they were not diagnosed with hypertension until their last routine health examination. The characteristics of the eligible participants were analyzed. After enrolment, participants with prehypertension and hyperuricemia simultaneously were randomly distributed to either the intervention group or the control group. An education package of dietary intervention for lowering uric acid was delivered to the intervention group. The primary evaluation criterion was the first manifestation of hypertension. Discussion Based on the results of their health examination in 2010, 19, 724 subjects met the inclusion criteria and this source population guaranteed the required minimum sample size for this study. The baseline characteristics of the study cohort showed that hyperuricemia was associated with prehypertension, and was independent of age, body mass index (BMI), and abdominal obesity in females; however, in males it was contrary. The impact of lowering uric acid on the prevention of hypertension is still inconclusive. This RCT in cohort study provides important data on the prevention of hypertension, especially in patients with a high risk for hypertension development. Results are expected to be available in 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because human diets are composed of a wide variety of nutrients that may work synergistically to prevent or promote disease, assessing dietary nutrient intake status may be informative. The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary nutrient intake status of Chinese adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to evaluate its possible role in MetS. Methods: This case-control study was conducted from March 2010 to January 2011. A total of 123 patients with MetS and 135 controls participated in this study at the Health Examination Center of Heping District in Tianjin, China. Dietary intake was estimated by 24-h dietary recalls. We used principal component factor analysis to derive nutrient groups from 17 major nutrients. We examined the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression models to test the relationship between tertiles of dietary nutrient pattern and MetS. Results: There were 4 major dietary nutrient patterns in this study: "vitamin B group", "protein and lipids", "vitamin E and minerals", and "antioxidant vitamins". After adjustment for potential confounders, the highest tertile of the nutrient pattern factor score for the "vitamin B group" (odds ratio: 0.16; 95% confidence interval: 0.05-0.47) was negatively associated with MetS compared with the lowest tertiles. No relationships were found between other dietary nutrient patterns and MetS. Conclusions: The "vitamin B group" pattern was inversely associated with MetS in Chinese adults. This finding supports the hypothesis that the "vitamin B group" pattern may have a potentially beneficial effect on the prevention of MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypertriglycedemic-waist (HTGW) phenotype is a simple and inexpensive screening parameter to identify people at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. We evaluated whether the HTGW phenotype predicts prediabetes and diabetes in Chinese urban adults. Methods: Two thousand nine hundred and eight (2908) subjects including 1957 men and 951 women, aged 20 years and older, free of prediabetes and diabetes at baseline were enrolled in 2008 and followed for 3 years. Meanwhile, new cases of prediabetes and diabetes were identified via annual physical examination. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association of HTGW phenotype with the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes. Results: One thousand five hundred and thirty-three (1533) new prediabetes and 90 new diabetes cases were diagnosed during the follow-up period. The accumulated incidence of prediabetes and diabetes was 52.7% and 3.1%, respectively. Compared with the normal waist normal triglyceride (NWNT) group, those in the HTGW group had higher incidence of prediabetes and diabetes for both men and women. The hazard ratio (HR) for developing prediabetes in the presence of HTGW phenotype at baseline was 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI] =1.04-2.19) in women, not in men (HR=1.01; 95% CI = 0.82-1.24), after adjusting for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol. The HR for developing diabetes were 4.46 (95% CI = 1.88-10.60) in men and 4.64 (95% CI = 1.20-17.97) in women for people who were HTGW phenotype at baseline, after adjusting for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low density lipoproteincholesterol. Conclusions: The HTGW phenotype can be used as a simple screening approach to predict diabetes. By using this approach, it is possible to identify individuals at high-risk for diabetes, which is of great significance in reducing the incidence of diabetes among Chinese urban adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]