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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) are suspected to be associated with breast cancer risk, but the results are controversial. This study was performed to evaluate the associations between adipose tissue PCB, DDT, and DDE concentrations and breast cancer risk. Two hundred and nine pathologically diagnosed breast cancer cases and 165 controls were recruited from three local hospitals in Shantou city, China, from 2014 to 2016. Concentrations of 7 PCB congeners, p,p′-DDT, and p,p′-DDE were measured in adipose tissues obtained from the breast for cases and the breast/abdomen for controls during surgery. Clinicopathologic information and demographic characteristics were collected from medical records. PCBs, p,p′-DDT, and p,p′-DDE concentrations in adipose tissues were compared between cases and controls. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the risk of breast cancer by PCBs, p,p′-DDT, and p,p′-DDE concentrations in adipose tissues. Breast cancer cases have relatively higher menarche age, higher breastfeeding and postmenopausal proportion than controls. Levels of PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-180, total PCBs (∑PCBs), and p,p′-DDE were relatively higher in breast cancer cases than controls. Breast cancer risk was increased in the third tertile of PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-180, ∑PCBs, and p,p′-DDE as compared with the first tertile in both adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression models (odds ratios [ORs] were from 1.58 to 7.88); and increased linearly across categories of PCB-118 and p,p′-DDE in unadjusted model, and PCB-118 and PCB-153 in the adjusted model with trend (all P

Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent findings on the association between the V Leiden G1691A mutation and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in Italian population. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify this association. PubMed, Embase, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched up to April 1, 2015. We used STATA12.0 to calculate summary odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Four studies including 958 patients were identified. Pooled data showed no significant association between V Leiden G1691A mutation and risk of SSNHL in Italian population: A vs. G (OR = 1.660, 95 % CI 0.428-6.446, P OR = 0.464) and AG vs. GG (OR = 1.680, 95 % CI 0.422-6.688, P OR = 0.462). The present meta-analysis suggests that V Leiden G1691A mutation is not significantly associated with increased risk of SSNHL disease in Italian population. Further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm this association.

Cortisol is the main end product of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal gland (HPA axis), and melatonin (MT) has a regulating effect on HPA axis, and both are closely related to individual behavior and cognitive function. We aimed to evaluate cortisol and MT roles on children dyslexia in this study. A total of 72 dyslexic children and 72 controls were recruited in this study. Saliva samples were collected in the morning, afternoon, and night, respectively. The levels of saliva cortisol and MT were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Differences of cortisol and MT levels between dyslexic and normal children were compared, and the variation trend was also analyzed by dynamic monitoring in 3 time points. The levels of salivary cortisol and MT in children with dyslexia were all lower than those in normal children whether in the morning (7:30-8:30 am ), at afternoon (15:30-16:30 pm ) or at night (21:30-22:30 pm ) (all P

To evaluate the associations between Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)(-238G>A) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6)(-174G>C) polymorphism and risk of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). Correlated case-control studies were collected by computer retrieval. A meta-analysis was conducted by Stata 12.0 software to analysis the strength of association between polymorphism of TNF-α -238G>A and IL-6 -174G>C and URSA. Twenty-one articles with twenty-two studies were included, of which 12 and 10 studies were respectively related to mutation of TNF-α -238G>A, IL-6 -174G>C and URSA. The integrated results showed that the TNF-α-238G>A gene mutation was significantly correlated with the risk of URSA under homozygote model (AA vs GG;OR 1.533,95% CI 1.022–2.301) and recessive model (AA vs GG+AG;OR 1.571,95%CI 1.050–2.350)(P A under heterozygote model (AG vs GG;OR 0.963,95% CI 0.816–1.137), dominant model (AA+AG vs GG; OR 1.031,95%CI 0.880–1.209) and additive model (A vs G;OR 1.046,95%CI 0.909–1.203)(P > .05). The results of subgroup analysis based on ethnicity showed that -238G>A was significantly correlated with the risk of URSA in Asians under all gene models except for heterozygote model (AG vs GG; OR 1.129,95% CI 0.857–1.487) (P C and URSA under all gene models (P .05), which is identical to subgroup analysis based on ethnicity. It is of great guiding significance for screening out and preventing URSA among high-risk women to test on TNF-α -238G>A and IL-6 -174G>C under gene models mentioned above which are highly associated with the risk of URSA, which can act as biological markers for URSA.

Purpose Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent findings on the association between the prothrombin G20210A mutation and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in European population. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify the association of this polymorphism with SSNHL in European population. Methods PubMed, Embase, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched up to August 1, 2014. We used STATA12.0 to calculate summary odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Eight studies including 1972 patients were identified. Pooled data showed no significant association between the prothrombin G20210A mutation and risk of SSNHL in European population : A vs. G (OR = 1.645, 95% CI:0.78-3.49,POR = 0.194); AG vs.GG (OR = 1.660, 95% CI:0.77-3.60,POR = 0.199). Conclusions The present meta-analysis suggests that the prothrombin G20210A mutation is not significantly associated with an increased risk of SSNHL in European population.

The prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is poor with disease progression. Cadmium exposure is a risk factor for NPC. We aimed to investigate the effect of cadmium exposure, by measuring cadmium level, and clinicopathologic factors on NPC disease progression and prognosis. A total of 134 NPC cases were analyzed and venous blood samples were collected. Blood cadmium level was analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Clinical data were collected at baseline for patients and tumor characteristics from medical records. Progression-free survival (PFS) was analyzed during follow-up. The effect of cadmium exposure and clinical factors on PFS was analyzed by the Kaplan&ndash, Meier method and Cox regression models. Blood cadmium level was associated with history of disease and smoking history and pack-years. On Kaplan&ndash, Meier analysis, a high blood cadmium level, male sex, smoking history and increasing pack-years, as well as advanced clinical stage were all associated with short PFS. On multivariate analysis, blood cadmium level was an independent risk factor and predictor of NPC prognosis and disease progression. Cadmium exposure and related clinical factors can affect the prognosis of NPC, which merits further study to clarify.

A variety of epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T polymorphism and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but the results were inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify more accurately the association of this polymorphism with SSNHL. A systematic literature search of the associated studies up to May 1, 2014, was conducted using the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Medline, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Statistical analyses were performed by STATA12.0 software, with odds ratios (ORs) and their 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Six eligible studies including covering 1,271 objects were identified. A pooled analysis of these studies showed no significant association between C677T polymorphism and risk of SSNHL: T vs. C (OR = 1.334, POR = 0.105); TT vs. CC (OR = 1.580, POR = 0.231); CT vs. CC (OR = 1.500, POR = 0.123); TT vs. CC + CT (OR = 1.326, POR = 0.293); and TT + CT vs. CC (OR = 1.540, POR = 0.102). But in subgroup analysis, a significant association was found in European populations (T vs. C, OR = 1.542, 95 % CI 1.008–2.359, P = 0.046; TT vs. CT + CC, OR = 1.856, 95 % CI 1.245–2.767, P = 0.002). There was no significant association in any model in the Asian populations. The present meta-analysis suggests that MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism is significantly associated with increased risk of SSNHL disease in European populations, but no statistically significant association was found between the MTHFR C677T gene mutation and SSNHL in Asian. Further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm this association.

A joint-coding method based on STBC (space time block code) and pre-coding in coordinated multi-point distributed system is proposed in this paper so as to improve spectrum utilization and edge user's receptivity. Pre-coding rules are adopted correspondingly by each RAU (remote antenna units) to preprocess users' data according to channel state information, and the processed data is transmitted by using STBC. A MRC (maxima-ratio combining) approach is used to calculate the received signals which are transmitted jointly by each coordinated RAU in this system. Simulation experiment results show that the proposed method can effectively improve not only the BER(bit error rate), but also the transmission reliability.