Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its risk factors in Inner Mongolia, China

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its risk factors, Mongolian people from Inner Mongolia were studied.

METHODS AND RESULTS

2536 participants aged 20 years or above from Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia were selected for a cross-sectional study. Lifestyle risk factors, body weight, height, waistline, hipline, fasting plasma glucose, blood lipids, and C-reactive protein (CRP), were investigated in all participants. They were divided into metabolic syndrome and non-metabolic syndrome groups. Risk factors were graded from two to four. The standardized prevalence rate of the metabolic syndrome was 17.1%, lower in men (11.4%) than in women (21.6%) (P < 0.001). In men, with multivariate logistic regression, total cholesterol in the highest grade, hip circumference in the highest grade, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index were associated with the metabolic syndrome. In women, LDL-cholesterol, C-reactive protein in the highest grade, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index were associated with the metabolic syndrome. There is no relationship between cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and metabolic syndrome in men or women.

CONCLUSION

In Mongolian people of agricultural and pasturing areas in Inner Mongolia, China, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is higher in women than in men. Hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index are significantly associated with the metabolic syndrome.

In vitro and in vivo anti-leukemia activity of CHR-2845, a cell-targeted HDAC inhibitor for use in monocytic leukemia

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Background: Histone deacetylase inhibitors alter gene expression and induce apoptosis in a wide range of cancer cells including those derived from human leukemias. CHR-2845 is a novel hydroxamic acid derivative histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) which is a selective substrate for the intracellular carboxylesterase hCE-1, whose expression is restricted to cells of the monocyte- macrophage lineage. Methods: We studied the in vitro and in vivo anti-leukemia activity of CHR-2845 using cell proliferation assay, annexin V binding assay, cell cycle analysis, western blot and in vitro primary leukemia cell culture. Results: Both U937 and THP1 cells express high levels of hCE-1 whereas the myeloid cell line, HL60, does not. In comparison to vorinostat, CHR-2845 showed increased anti-proliferative potency (IC50) against monocytic cell lines (THP1, 30 nM vs 700 nM and U937, 30 nM vs 475 nM), compared to a myeloid cell line (HL60, 700nM vs 470 nM). In a broad panel of leukemic cell lines, the potency of CHR-2845 over vorinostat correlated completely with hCE-1 expression. In monocytic cell lines, CHR-2845 induced more apoptosis than vorinostat (THP1: 45±5% vs 11±1% and U937: 23±14% vs 6±1%), as measured by flow cytometry using Annexin V. Biochemical assessment of histone H3 and H4 protein acetylation by Western blot also indicateed that CHR-2845 is at least 10 times more potent than vorinostat in monocytic cell lines but not in HL-60 cells. This increase in histone acetylation was associated with increased phosphohistone H2AX, indicating formation of double-strand DNA breaks induced by this compound. These data for CHR-2845 and vorinostat on apoptosis and histone acetylation in THP1 and U937 versus HL60 cells, confirmed the selectivity of this novel compound for cells of the monocytic lineage. We also studied the anti-leukemia activity of CHR-2845 in primary leukemia cells from 8 patients with acute or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. CHR-2845 decreased proliferation and induced apoptosis more than an equivalent dose of vorinostat in some of the patients we studied. Conclusions: These results indicated that CHR-2845 has potential to be efficacious in the treatment of patients with monocytic leukemia.

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Treatment and outcomes of elderly versus younger patients with advanced NSCLC at Mayo Clinic Arizona (MCA)

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Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is predominantly a disease of the elderly. Most patients (pts) present with incurable advanced disease, but chemotherapy for good performance status (PS) pts improves quality and quantity of life. Despite good PS, many elderly pts with metastatic NSCLC do not receive chemotherapy. This study compared treatment, outcomes, and survival in elderly vs younger pts with stage IV NSCLC. Methods: All analytic MCA Cancer Registry pts with stage IV NSCLC from 1998–2007 were retrospectively reviewed for type of therapy and outcome. Pts were analyzed by age: <75 vs ≥75 years old. Categorical variables were compared using chi-squared tests and survival was compared by Cox regression. Results: 344 pts with stage IV NSCLC were identified. 234 (68%) pts were <75 years old, and 110 pts (32%) were ≥75 years old. Median survival for all pts was 7 months. Among 302 pts with treatment data available, 60.8% of pts <75 years old received some form of systemic therapy (chemotherapy/targeted therapy) compared to only 32% of pts ≥ 75 years old (p <0.0001). Among pts with PS 0–1, pts <75 years old more frequently received systemic therapy than elderly patients (88.5% vs 32.1%, p<0.0001); whereas a difference was not evident in pts with PS 2–4 (34.1% vs 41.7%, p=0.49). Median survival in the <75 age group was 7 months vs. 3.4 months in the ≥75 age group (p=0.048). In the <75 age group, median survival was 12 months in pts who received chemotherapy vs. 2 months in the other or no treatment group (p<0.0001). In the elderly group, median survival was 10 months in the chemotherapy group vs. 2 months in the pts who received other or no treatment (p=0.0003). Thus, the median survival was significantly improved among the pts who received systemic therapy independent of age. Statistical significance persisted when stratifying by PS. Conclusions: Pts with stage IV NSCLC have improved survival with systemic therapy independent of age. Our results confirm that despite an improvement in survival similar to younger pts, elderly patients with metastatic NSCLC are often undertreated. Prospective trials should be designed to include metastatic NSCLC patients without age discrimination

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Admission blood glucose and in-hospital clinical outcome among patients with acute stroke in Inner Mongolia, China

Purpose: There is still controversy about the association between admission blood glucose concentration and outcome of acute stroke. We studied the association between admission blood glucose and in-hospital death / dependency among acute stroke patients in Inner Mongolia, China. Methods: 2,178 acute ischemic and 1,760 hemorrhagic stroke patients in six hospitals were included in the study. Blood glucose and other study variables were collected within the first 24-hr of hospital admission. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by neurologists during hospitalization. The associations between admission blood glucose and the risk of in-hospital death/dependency were analyzed using a multiple logistic model. Results: There were associations between admission blood glucose and in-hospital death/dependency among patients with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Compared with patients with blood glucose < 6.1mmol/L, multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of death/dependency were 0.53 (0.23, 1.27), 2.22 (1.21, 4.11), 1.92 (1.12, 3.33) and 1.91 (1.00, 3.64) for ischemic stroke patients, and 0.93 (0.44, 1.96), 1.42 (0.65, 3.10), 1.98 (1.10, 3.55) and 2.93 (1.40, 6.11) for hemorrhagic stroke patients, with blood glucose 6.1-6.9, 7.0-7.7, 7.8-11.0 and ?11.1mmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: Increased admission blood glucose was associated with death/dependency among patients with acute hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke.

Relationship between admission pulse pressure and clinical outcome during hospitalization among acute stroke patients

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There are currently no data on the relationship between admission pulse pressure (PP) level and short term clinical outcome among acute stroke patients in the Chinese population. We studied the association between admission PP and in-hospital death or dependency among acute stroke patients in Inner Mongolia, China.

METHODS

A total of 2,178 acute ischemic stroke, 1,604 intracerebral hemorrhage and 156 subarachnoid hemorrhage patients were included in the present study. Blood pressure and other study variables were collected within the first 24-hours of admission. Study outcome (death or dependency) was evaluated by trained neurologists during hospitalization. The associations between admission PP and study outcome were analyzed by using multiple logistic model.

RESULTS

PP at admission was not significantly associated with study outcome in acute ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. On the other hand, PP was significantly and positively associated with odds of study outcome in acute intracerebral hemorrhage. Compared to those with PP < 50 mmHg, multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of study outcome was 1.545 (1.111-2.148) among intracerebral hemorrhage patients with PP > or = 70 mmHg (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Increased PP was significantly and positively associated with poor clinical outcome among patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage, but not acute ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage, in Inner Mongolia, China.

The prevalence of lymphogranuloma venereum infection in men who have sex with men: results of a multicentre case finding study

Objective:

To determine the prevalence of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) and non-LGV associated serovars of urethral and rectal Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in men who have sex with men (MSM).

Design:

Multicentre cross-sectional survey.

Setting:

Four genitourinary medicine clinics in the United Kingdom from 2006–7.

Subjects:

4825 urethral and 6778 rectal samples from consecutive MSM attending for sexual health screening.

Methods:

Urethral swabs or urine and rectal swabs were tested for CT using standard nucleic acid amplification tests. Chlamydia-positive specimens were sent to the reference laboratory for serovar determination.

Main outcome:

Positivity for both LGV and non-LGV associated CT serovars; proportion of cases that were symptomatic.

Results:

The positivity (with 95% confidence intervals) in rectal samples was 6.06% (5.51% to 6.66%) for non-LGV CT and 0.90% (0.69% to 1.16%) for LGV; for urethral samples 3.21% (2.74% to 3.76%) for non-LGV CT and 0.04% (0.01% to 0.16%) for LGV. The majority of LGV was symptomatic (95% of rectal, one of two urethral cases); non-LGV chlamydia was mostly symptomatic in the urethra (68%) but not in the rectum (16%).

Conclusions:

Chlamydial infections are common in MSM attending for sexual health screening, and the majority are non-LGV associated serovars. We did not identify a large reservoir of asymptomatic LGV in the rectum or urethra. Testing for chlamydia from the rectum and urethra should be included for MSM requesting a sexual health screen, but serovar-typing is not indicated in the absence of symptoms. We have yet to identify the source of most cases of LGV in the UK.

Stabilized soliton self-frequency shift and 0.1- PHz sideband generation in a photonic-crystal fiber with an air-hole-modified core

Fiber dispersion and nonlinearity management strategy based on a modification of a photonic-crystal fiber (PCF) core with an air hole is shown to facilitate optimization of PCF components for a stable soliton frequency shift and subpetahertz sideband generation through four-wave mixing. Spectral recoil of an optical soliton by a red-shifted dispersive wave, generated through a soliton instability induced by high-order fiber dispersion, is shown to stabilize the soliton self-frequency shift in a highly nonlinear PCF with an air-hole-modified core relative to pump power variations. A fiber with a 2.3-microm-diameter core modified with a 0.9-microm-diameter air hole is used to demonstrate a robust soliton self-frequency shift of unamplified 50-fs Ti: sapphire laser pulses to a central wavelength of about 960 nm, which remains insensitive to variations in the pump pulse energy within the range from 60 to at least 100 pJ. In this regime of frequency shifting, intense high- and low-frequency branches of dispersive wave radiation are simultaneously observed in the spectrum of PCF output. An air-hole-modified-core PCF with appropriate dispersion and nonlinearity parameters is shown to provide efficient four-wave mixing, giving rise to Stokes and anti-Stokes sidebands whose frequency shift relative to the pump wavelength falls within the subpetahertz range, thus offering an attractive source for nonlinear Raman microspectroscopy.

Comparison of cardiovascular risk factors between prehypertension and hypertension in a Mongolian population, Inner Mongolia, China

BACKGROUND

There is little knowledge on comparisons of cardiovascular risk factors between prehypertension and hypertension in Mongolian populations, Inner Mongolia, China.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 2,589 Mongolians aged 20 years and over were recruited as study participants. Demographic data, lifestyle factors, family history of hypertension, blood pressure measurements, physical examination and blood samples were obtained and analyzed for all individuals. Prehypertensives and hypertensives accounted for 38.39% and 37.39%, respectively, in all participants. Multivariate logistic regression using proportional odds model showed that hypertension was significantly associated with age (odds ratio was 5.79, 8.84, 30.05 and 32.28 for age 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-, respectively), family history of hypertension (7.12), alcohol drinking (2.03), overweight (4.69) and hyperlipidemia (3.49), and prehypertension significantly associated with age (3.65 for age 70-84), hyperlipidemia (1.80) in males. In females, hypertension was significantly associated with age (8.58, 14.40, 33.00, 63.67 for age 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-, respectively), family history of hypertension (5.65), overweight (3.16) and high C-reactive protein (> or = 10.356 mg/L), and prehypertension significantly associated with age (1.72, 2.00, 2.74 and 6.67 for age 40-, 50-, 60- and 70-, respectively) and overweight (1.68).

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors and number of risk factors in hypertensives were higher than that in prehypertensives.

Assembly of polymeric micelles into hollow microcapsules with extraordinary stability against extreme pH conditions

Hollow microcapsules containing polymeric micelles in their walls were fabricated by alternating assembly of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrene- b-acrylic acid) (PS- b-PAA) micelles on MnCO(3) microparticles followed by sacrificing the templates in acid solution. The successful formation of PAH/micelle multilayers on both planar and curved substrates was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and xi-potential measurements. The PS- b-PAA micelles retained their structure during the whole assembly process. The as-prepared microcapsules showed extraordinary stability against concentrated HCl (37%) and 0.1 M NaOH solutions. No variation in capsule size or shape was observed in acidic solution, while slight swelling and distortion of the capsules took place in alkaline solution. However, these capsules completely recovered their original size and morphology after being incubated in acidic solution again. The microcapsules, in which large voids exist between the micelle grains on the walls, were totally permeable to fluorescein-tagged dextran with an M(w) of 2000 kDa. Assembly of additional PAH/poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) multilayers could substantially reduce the permeation of the same molecules. These multicompartmental capsules combine polymeric micelles with multilayer polyelectrolyte microcapsules and could possibly be imparted with multifunctions, thus possibly finding diverse applications in the fields of drug delivery, biosensing, and nanobiotechnology.

Activity of tyrosine kinase inhibitors against human NUP214-ABL1-positive T cell malignancies

Amplification of the NUP214-ABL1 oncogene can be detected in patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We screened 29 patients with T cell malignancies for the expression of NUP214-ABL1 by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). NUP214-ABL1 was detected in three (10%) patients. These results were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques. We also studied the activity of imatinib, nilotinib and dasatinib against the human NUP214-ABL1-positive cell lines PEER and BE-13. All three tyrosine kinase inhibitors decreased the viability of PEER and BE-13 cells, but nilotinib and dasatinib had >1-log lower IC(50) values than imatinib (P<0.001). In contrast, the NUP214-ABL-negative T-ALL cell line Jurkat, was remarkably resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibition. The inhibition of cellular proliferation was associated with time-dependent induction of apoptosis and inhibition of ABL, CrKL and STAT5 phosphorylation. Moreover, dasatinib was active in a NUP214-ABL1-positive leukemia xenograft murine model and in marrow lymphoblasts from a patient with NUP214-ABL1-positive T-ALL. On the basis of these results, ABL1 kinase inhibitors warrant clinical investigation in patients with NUP214-ABL1-positive T-cell malignancies.

A phase II study of 5-azacitidine for patients with primary and post-essential thrombocythemia/polycythemia vera myelofibrosis

Myelofibrosis (MF; primary or post-essential thrombocythemia/polycythemia vera) is incurable clonal myeloproliferative disorder, with no effective treatment. Epigenetic changes play an important role in cancer pathogenesis through transcriptional silencing of critical tumor suppressor genes. We conducted a phase-II study to evaluate the activity of DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-azacitidine, in patients with MF. Thirty-four patients (76% previously treated) received 5-azacitidine at 75 mg/m(2) subcutaneously daily for 7 days, every 4 weeks. Twelve (35%) patients had abnormal cytogenetics and 19 (70%) of 27 evaluable patients had JAK2(V617F) mutation. Responses occurred in 8 (24%) patients after a median of 5 months (range, 3-10). Partial response occurred in 1 (3%) patient (duration 22+ months) and clinical improvement in 7 (21%) patients (median duration 4 months; range, 2-8.5). Myelosuppression was the major adverse effect, with grade 3-4 neutropenia in 10 (29%) patients. Global DNA methylation assessed by the long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE) bisulfite/pyrosequencing assay decreased from 53% pretherapy to 44% on day 14 (P=0.0014) and returned to 50% at the end of the first 28-day cycle (P=0.016). 5-azacitidine is relatively well tolerated and results in induction of global hypomethylation in patients with MF, but results in limited clinical activity.

Pathogen burden in essential hypertension

BACKGROUND

Associations between pathogens and hypertension (HT) has been reported, but few studies have focused on the relationship between aggregate pathogens and HT. The present study explored whether the risk of HT is associated with each pathogen (defined as Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniaee), mycoplasma pneumoniae (m. pneumoniae), helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) and coxsackie virus) or with aggregate pathogens in chinese mongolians.

METHODS AND RESULTS

One thousand and thirty Chinese Mongolians aged 30 years or more were recruited, including 488 hypertensive and 942 normotensive subjects. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect IgG antibodies for C. pneumoniaee, M. pneumoniae, H. pylori and Coxsackie virus. The seroprevalence of Coxsackie virus was significantly associated with HT (odds ratio (OR) 3.7 after adjustment for risk factors), but no significant association was found for C. pneumoniae, M. pneumoniae and H. pylori (OR 1.32, 0.75 and 1.19, respectively). The results also showed that the risk of HT was associated with the aggregate pathogens: it increased with the increasing number of pathogens, and the ORs were 1.629, 2.653, 2.129, and 5.146 for 1, 2, 3 and 4 pathogens, respectively, after controlling for risk factors.

CONCLUSION

The risk of HT is associated with Coxsackie virus and aggregate pathogen load. The mechanism(s) underlying the associations remain to be elucidated further.

Computational prediction of binding hotspots

We combine side-chain modeling, energy minimization and binding free energy calculation to predict point mutations with significant impacts on binding affinities (binding hotspots). Our method achieves high accuracy for two datasets (alanine-scanning mutations in ASEdb and 570 mutations on protease-inhibitor complexes). In particular, we can predict mutations that lead to improved binding with success. We discuss various factors that may contribute the prediction accuracy, including the amino acid to mutate to, and the position of the mutation.

Clustering protein-protein docking predictions

We describe a clustering algorithm for improving protein-protein docking predictions. The algorithm was applied to two sets of predictions for 36 test cases, one set generated with a rigid-body docking algorithm ZDOCK, and the other set with ZDOCK followed by a refinement algorithm RDOCK, and consistent improvement was observed.

Identification and characterization of a novel p42.3 gene as tumor-specific and mitosis phase-dependent expression in gastric cancer

Multiple genetic alterations are attributed to gastric cancer (GC); however, only a few critical genes have been identified so far. In this study, we isolated and characterized a novel gene p42.3, represented as tumor-specific and mitosis phase-dependent expression protein in GC cell line BGC823. Our data showed that the expression of p42.3 was cell cycle-dependent in GC cell lines. Moreover, p42.3 was specifically expressed in primary GC tissues but not in the matched normal mucosa of stomach, and this gene was expressed in diverse embryonic tissues. Furthermore, significant suppression of cell proliferation and tumorigenicity were detected and G(2)/M phase arrest was observed in cell line BGC823 depleted of p42.3 expression by RNAi technique, and we confirmed the expression changes of cyclin B1 and Chk2 following the silence of p42.3. Taken together, we cloned and characterized p42.3 gene that was specifically expressed in GC tumors but not in normal gastric mucosa, and the gene was associated with M-phase regulation. Moreover, p42.3 might be involved in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis; therefore, this gene might have potential applications in the diagnosis or treatment of GC.

Low-loss all-solid photonic bandgap fiber

We report the fabrication and characterization of a new type all-solid photonic bandgap fiber. By introducing an index depressed layer around the high-index rod in the unit cell of photonic crystal cladding, transmission loss as low as 2 dB/km within the first bandgap is realized for the all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with a bandwidth of over 700 nm. The bend loss experiment shows that the photonic bandgap fiber is much less bend sensitive than single-mode fiber.