The impact of maternal prenatal smoking on the development of childhood overweight in school-aged children

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

Maternal smoking during pregnancy likely increase the risk of childhood overweight. Childhood overweight is influenced by socioeconomic characteristics of mothers. Characteristics of child at birth determine the likelihood of overweight.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

Children of mothers who smoked 1 year before birth (including pregnancy) were likely to be overweight during school ages than those of mothers who never smoked. Confirmation that socioeconomic characteristics of mothers influence the likelihood of childhood overweight during school age. Smoking cessation should be targeted at mothers 1 year before birth to improve their health status and that of offspring.

OBJECTIVES

To examine associations between maternal smoking and overweight among school-aged children and also identify mothers and offspring characteristics that affect children's weight.

METHODS

We used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCY). Childhood overweight was defined as having Body Mass Index (BMI) of 85th percentile or above. Smoking patterns among mothers were assessed by questioning smoking behaviour 1 year before birth of the target child: never or ever smoking. Standardized procedures were used to measure height and weight. Descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used for the analysis.

RESULTS

Descriptive results showed that children of mothers who smoked anytime within 1 year before birth were more likely to be overweight and have higher BMI percentile averages. GEE results showed that children of mothers who were ever smokers 1 year before birth were more likely to be overweight (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.94) and have higher BMI percentile averages (β = 4.46, P = 0.036) from grades 1 through 6 than those of mothers who were never smokers. Additionally, the level of mother's education and birth weight were significantly associated with childhood overweight.

CONCLUSIONS

Confirmed relationships between maternal smoking and overweight among school-aged children have important implications for public health policy because this evidence can be used to enhance smoking cessation 1 year before birth to improve the health status of mothers and offspring.

Effects of rectal administration of taurocholic acid on glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY secretion in healthy humans

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY), secreted by enteroendocrine L-cells located most densely in the colon and rectum, are of fundamental importance in blood glucose and appetite regulation. In animal models, colonic administration of bile acids can stimulate GLP-1 and PYY by TGR5 receptor activation. We evaluated the effects of taurocholic acid (TCA), administered as an enema, on plasma GLP-1 and PYY, as well as gastrointestinal sensations in 10 healthy male subjects, and observed that rectal administration of TCA promptly stimulated secretion of both GLP-1 and PYY, and increased fullness, in a dose-dependent manner. These observations confirm that topical application of bile acids to the distal gut may have potential for the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity.

15-PGDH inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth through 15-keto-PGE2/PPARγ-mediated activation of p21WAF1/Cip1

15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) is a key enzyme in prostaglandin metabolism. This study provides important evidence for inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth by 15-PGDH through the 15-keto-PGE₂/PPARγ/p21^WAF1/Cip1 signaling pathway. Forced overexpression of 15-PGDH inhibited HCC cell growth in vitro, whereas knockdown of 15-PGDH enhanced tumor growth parameters. In a tumor xenograft model in SCID mice, inoculation of human HCC cells (Huh7) with overexpression of 15-PGDH led to significant inhibition of tumor growth, while knockdown of 15-PGDH enhanced tumor growth. In a separate tumor xenograft model in which mouse HCC cells (Hepa1-6) were inoculated into syngeneic C57BL/6 mice, intratumoral injection of adenovirus vector expressing 15-PGDH (pAd-15-PGDH) significantly inhibited xenograft tumor growth. The anti-tumor effect of 15-PGDH is mediated through its enzymatic product, 15-keto-PGE₂, which serves as an endogenous PPARγ ligand. Activation of PPARγ by 15-PGDH-derived 15-keto-PGE₂ enhanced the association of PPARγ with the p21^WAF1/Cip1 promoter and increased p21 expression and association with CDK2, CDK4 and PCNA. Depletion of p21 by shRNA reversed 15-PGDH-induced inhibition of HCC cell growth; overexpression of p21 prevented 15-PGDH knockdown-induced tumor cell growth. These results demonstrate a key 15-PGDH/15-keto-PGE₂-mediated activation of PPARγ and p21^WAF1/Cip1 signaling cascade that regulates hepatocarcinogenesis and tumor progression.

Shenqi fuzheng injection improves cvb3-induced myocarditis via inhibiting traf6 expression

Viral myocarditis is a main cause of heart failure in young adults, which characterized by cardiac inflammation and caused by Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. However, efficient therapies targeting inflammation and inflammatory response pathway are still elusive. Shenqi Fuzheng injection (SQFZI) is extensively applied in the cardiovascular diseases. But whether SQFZI may affect cardiac inflammation during acute viral myocarditis remains to be elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the potential protective effect of SQFZI on CVB3-induced myocarditis. Total of 120 mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with CVB3 to establish acute viral myocarditis model. For the CVB3-infected mice model, the body weight, mortality was observed. RT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry methods were selected to detect the TRAF6 expression in myocardial tissues. We found that the expression of TRAF6 mRNA and protein were markedly and persistently increased during the progression of CVB3-induced myocarditis. The serum enzymes activity, including CK, CK-MB, LDH, AST, were also enhanced in CVB3-induced myocardial tissues. Notably, injection with SQFZI remarkably reduced CVB3-induced TRAF6 production and alleviated the severity of myocarditis. This study demonstrates the protective role of SQFZI against CVB3-induced myocarditis, which may explore a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of viral myocarditis.

Anomalous exchange bias at collinear/noncollinear spin interface

We report on the interfacial magnetic coupling in manganite bilayers of collinear ferromagnetic La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ and noncollinear multiferroic TbMnO₃. Exchange bias is observed at the Néel temperature of TbMnO₃ (~41 K) due to the onset of long-range antiferromagnetic ordering in the Mn spin sublattice. Interestingly, an anomalous plateau of exchange bias emerges at the ordering temperature of Tb spins (~10 K), and we ascribe this unique feature to the strong coupling between Tb and Mn spin sublattices in TbMnO₃, which in turn influences the magnetic coupling across the interface. On the other hand, the enhancement of coercivity in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃/TbMnO₃ shows monotonous temperature dependence. Our results illustrate a strong interfacial magnetic interaction at the La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃/TbMnO₃ interface, highlighting the roles of competing spin orders, magnetic frustration, and coupling between multiple spin sublattices in artificial collinear/noncollinear spin heterostructures.

Automated quantification of zebrafish somites based on PDE method

With the availability of high-throughput imaging machines and a large number of zebrafish embryos, zebrafish are clearly among the most cost-effective vertebrate systems for high-throughput or high-content screens with applications in drug discovery and biological pathway analysis. With the tremendous volume of images generated from large numbers of zebrafish screens, computerized image analysis for accurate and efficient data interpretation becomes essential. This paper presents an automated algorithm for a high-throughput screening pipeline for quantification of zebrafish somite. First, the main body is segmented using the level set method; then the head is removed; after that, the body is aligned and a coherence-enhancing filter is carried out so as to facilitate the somite detection. Finally, the somites can be easily extracted. Preliminary evaluation results are reported to demonstrate the good performance of the algorithm.

Variables associated with corneal confocal microscopy parameters in healthy volunteers: implications for diabetic neuropathy screening

AIM

Corneal confocal microscopy is a promising screening method for diabetic neuropathy. Although much research in this field has been accomplished, we aimed to determine and confirm the known clinical and eyewear variables associated with the parameters of corneal confocal microscopy specifically in healthy volunteers, in particular associations with corneal nerve fibre length.

METHODS

Clinical characteristics, electrophysiological examination and a general clinical eye history were collected from 64 healthy volunteers. Corneal confocal microscopy was performed to determine corneal nerve fibre length, corneal nerve branch density, corneal nerve fibre density and tortuosity coefficient. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis was used to determine clinical variables associated with corneal nerve fibre length parameters.

RESULTS

We observed that corneal nerve fibre length has a broad distribution in healthy volunteers (18 ± 4 mm/mm(2), 95% confidence interval, 12.3-25.7 mm/mm(2)). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that HbA(1c) was the only independent clinical factor to account for variations in corneal nerve fibre length, independent of age and status of contact lens wear.

CONCLUSIONS

This study does not provide convincing evidence that corneal nerve fibre length is independently associated with age or the wearing of contact lenses, and that these factors are therefore unlikely to hinder valid screening for polyneuropathies such as diabetic neuropathy. Furthermore, the strong inverse association of corneal nerve fibre length with glycaemic exposure may support the use of this parameter to detect subclinical pre-diabetic nerve injury.

Doppler spectrum analysis

It is difficult to determine the safe timing of weight-bearing or reconstructive surgery in patients with Charcot arthropathy of the foot and ankle. In this study the Doppler spectrum of the first dorsal metatarsal artery was used to monitor the activity of the disease activity and served as a guideline for management. A total of 15 patients (seven men and eight women) with acute diabetic Charcot arthropathy of the foot and ankle were immobilised in a non-weight-bearing cast. They were followed at two-week intervals and bilateral Doppler spectra of the first dorsal metatarsal arteries were obtained using a 10 MHz linear ultrasound probe. The patients were allowed to start weight-bearing or undergo surgery after the Doppler spectrum had returned to normal pattern. The Doppler spectra in the unaffected limbs were triphasic in pattern, whereas those in limbs with active Charcot arthropathy showed monophasic forward flow. They returned to normal after a mean of 13.6 weeks (6 to 20) of immobilisation. Three patients underwent pan-talar arthrodesis to correct gross instability and deformity.

Doppler spectrum analysis of the foot may reflect the activity of the disease in patients with Charcot arthropathy, and may be used as a guide to begin weight-bearing or undergo reconstructive surgery.

Optimally enhanced optical emission in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy by combining spatial confinement and dual-pulse irradiation

In laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), a pair of aluminum-plate walls were used to spatially confine the plasmas produced in air by a first laser pulse (KrF excimer laser) from chromium (Cr) targets with a second laser pulse (Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm, 360 mJ/pulse) introduced parallel to the sample surface to re-excite the plasmas. Optical emission enhancement was achieved by combing the spatial confinement and dual-pulse LIBS (DP-LIBS), and then optimized by adjusting the distance between the two walls and the interpulse delay time between both laser pulses. A significant enhancement factor of 168.6 for the emission intensity of the Cr lines was obtained at an excimer laser fluence of 5.6 J/cm(2) using the combined spatial confinement and DP-LIBS, as compared with an enhancement factor of 106.1 was obtained with DP-LIBS only. The enhancement mechanisms based on shock wave theory and reheating in DP-LIBS are discussed.