Protective effect of breastfeeding against childhood leukemia in Zhejiang Province, P. R. China: a retrospective case-control study

Hair Dye Ingredients and Potential Health Risks from Exposure to Hair Dyeing

Given the worldwide popularity of hair dyeing, there is an urgent need to understand the toxicities and risks associated with exposure to chemicals found in hair dye formulations. Hair dyes are categorized as oxidative and nonoxidative in terms of their chemical composition and ingredients. For several decades, the expert panel's Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) has assessed the safety of many of the chemicals used in hair dyes; however, a comprehensive review of hair dye ingredients and the risk of exposure to hair dyeing has not been documented. Herein, we review the safety of the various chemicals in oxidative and nonoxidative hair dyes, toxicities associated with hair dyeing, and the carcinogenic risks related to hair dyeing. While many compounds are considered safe for users at the concentrations in hair dyes, there are conflicting data about a large number of hair dye formulations. The CIR expert panel has ratified a number of coloring ingredients for hair dyes and banned a series of chemicals as carcinogenic to animals and unsafe for this application. The use of these chemicals as raw materials for producing hair dyes may result in the synthesis of other contaminants with potential toxicities and increased risk of carcinogenesis. It is an open question whether personal or occupational hair dyeing increases the risk of cancer; however, in specific subpopulations, a positive association between hair dye use and cancer occurrence has been reported. To address this question, a better understanding of the chemical and mechanistic basis of the reported toxicities of hair dye mixtures and individual hair dye ingredients is needed. It is anticipated that in-depth chemical and systems toxicology studies harnessing modern and emerging techniques can shed light on this public health concern in the future.

Breastfeeding Experiences During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the United Kingdom: An Exploratory Study Into Maternal Opinions and Emotional States

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted upon people's psychological and physical wellbeing; however, the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on mothers of young children, with particular regard to breastfeeding, are unknown.

RESEARCH AIMS

To explore: (1) Sources of advice and support available to breastfeeding mothers during and prior to the COVID-19 lockdown; (2) Mothers' opinions on statements and recommendations made by the World Health Organization on the importance of breastfeeding and breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Maternal emotional states (i.e., anxiety and depression symptoms) experienced by breastfeeding mothers during the COVID-19 lockdown; and (4) influence of breastfeeding duration and number of children on breastfeeding opinions and emotional states.

METHODS

Mothers of children aged 0-36 months (N = 4018) took part in an online survey. The survey included demographic questions, as well as the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire. Mothers were further probed on opinions regarding breastfeeding practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Participants strongly agreed with the importance of breastfeeding, even if a mother showed symptoms of COVID-19. Differences in opinions on breastfeeding practices (e.g., the use of donor human milk and relactation), were found between participants in relation to breastfeeding duration and number of children. Participants with more than one child showed higher negative emotional states, namely anxiety symptoms. Except for Internet usage, participants indicated a decline in all sources of advice and support for breastfeeding during the COVID-19 lockdown.

CONCLUSIONS

Health bodies and professionals should consider maternal viewpoints and opinions regarding breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions are urgently needed in order to support breastfeeding mothers and prevent the development of mental health issues.

Creating a Lactation-Friendly Learning Environment for Medical Students and Residents: A Northern Canadian Perspective

Background: Lactation is a normal postpartum physiological process that can continue in excess of 3 years and is often the sole nutritional source for infants in the first 6 months of life. Breastfeeding not only provides infant nutrition, but also facilitates maternal-infantile bonding. Lactating mothers separated from their children face multiple challenges in finding and accessing appropriate spaces and time for milk expression. Maternal employment is a great barrier to breastfeeding and accordingly has led to multiple advancements in the area of breastfeeding policy. One example of a policy is the Baby-Friendly Initiative. This initiative focused on breastfeeding promotion, support, and protection. However, the impact of such campaigns on lactating medical students and residents is thought to be low. Furthermore, breastfeeding rates differ vastly according to geographic locations in North America. Trends indicate decreased rates of breastfeeding in northern rural areas in comparison with southern urban counterparts. This highlights the need for increased protection, support, and creation of safe-lactation spaces for all working mothers including medical students and residents, and especially those in rural areas. Goals: To review challenges of breastfeeding as a medical trainee and delineate the creation of a lactation policy for medical learners and residents. Methodology: We conducted a literature review of breastfeeding policy and experiences of breastfeeding while in the learning environment. Results: Challenges of breastfeeding in medical school and residency include the complex, high-paced medical working environment where taking breaks or time off is often difficult. Few medical schools across North America have any breastfeeding policy. Conclusion: The Northern Ontario School of Medicine's lactation policy serves as a possible solution to the barriers medical students and residents face when breastfeeding in the academic environment. This policy creates lactation-friendly medical learning spaces through the entitlement of dedicated space and time for milk expression.

Breastfeeding History, Preschool Children's Sleep, and Obesity

Breastfeeding and sleep are both considered medically and physiologically protective factors for child health. Most existing research studied their impact on child health outcomes, respectively. Few studies examined the two factors collectively to explore any potential associations among a history of breastfeeding and quantity of sleep in children and child health. This study sought to uncover the association among breastfeeding history, the amount of sleep, and obesity in preschool-aged children to provide additional insights into their protective physical and psychological effects on health outcomes. As part of a larger study examining obesity in preschool children, the current investigation explored the association among obesity, a history of breastfeeding, and the total number of hours of preschool children's sleep, as reported by parents. Actual heights and weights were collected on a total of 1,693 children 3-5 years of age enrolled in licensed child care facilities in Mississippi. Descriptive analyses of the demographic and parent survey variables were conducted to explore the status related to breastfeeding in Mississippi. To understand the relationships between breastfeeding and covariates, bivariate analyses such as chi-square independent tests, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel chi-square tests, and Fisher's exact tests were performed. Obesity was negatively correlated to breastfeeding, and Caucasian mothers were significantly more likely to breastfeed than African American mothers. Obesity was also negatively correlated to the amount of sleep, and African American children reportedly slept significantly less than Caucasian children. The average amount of time of sleep reported for children with a history of being breastfed was significantly higher than for those who were not breastfed, suggesting that breastfeeding could have a significant positive association with preschool children's sleep, serving as an additional protective factor obesity. The interaction between breastfeeding and subsequent sleep as children mature is an important area for future research to fully explore their foundational impact in family health practices that combat obesity in children and promote other subsequent health outcomes.

miR-188-5p Promotes Tumor Growth by Targeting CD2AP Through PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling in Children with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

PURPOSE

Pediatric acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) accounts for 10% of pediatric acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) case and is accompanied by a tendency to hemorrhage. miR-188-5p plays an important role in adult AML. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of miR-188-5p on cell proliferation and apoptosis and tumor growth, and its mechanism in pediatric APL patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Survival-associated miRNAs or mRNAs from TCGA database associated with AML were identified via using the "survival R" package in R language. CCK8, clone formation, flow cytometry, RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western blot assays were used to detect the viability, proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and related gene expression in APL cell lines. The prognostic value of miR-188-5p was evaluated using a ROC curve. The tumorigenic ability of APL cell lines was determined using a nude mouse transplantation tumor experiment. Tumor cell apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay in vivo. The target genes of miR-188-5p were predicted using the miRDB, miRTarBase, and TargetScan databases. A PPI network was constructed using STRING database and the hub gene was identified using the MCODE plug-in of the Cytoscape software. The DAVID database was used to perform GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. A luciferase reporter assay was used to demonstrate the binding of miR-188-5p to CD2AP.

RESULTS

miR-188-5p overexpression or CD2 associated protein (CD2AP) inhibition was significantly associated with poor survival in pediatric APL patients. Upregulation of miR-188-5p was identified in the blood of pediatric APL patients and cell lines. Increased expression of miR-188-5p also promoted the viability, proliferation, and cell cycle progression, and reduced the apoptosis of APL cells. Additionally, upregulation of miR-188-5p regulated the expressions of cyclinD1, p53, Bax, Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of miR-188-5p was 0.661. miR-188-5p overexpression increased the tumorigenic ability of APL and Ki67 expression, and reduced cell apoptosis in vivo. CD2AP was identified as the only overlapping gene from the list of miR-188-5p target genes and survival-related mRNAs of the TCGA database. It was mainly enriched in the "biological process (BP)" and "cellular component (CC)" terms, and was downregulated in the blood of pediatric APL patients and cell lines. The luciferase reporter, RT-PCR, and Western blot assays demonstrated that the binding of miR-188-5p to CD2AP. CD2AP inhibition promoted the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of APL cells. Rescue experiments showed that inhibition of miR-188-5p inhibited cell proliferation, activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, induced G0/G1 phase arrest, regulated gene expression, and promoted cell apoptosis, which were reversed by CD2AP inhibition.

CONCLUSION

miR-188-5p, an oncogene, promoted tumor growth and progression of pediatric APL in vitro and in vivo via targeting CD2AP and activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Breastmilk feeding for mothers and infants with opioid exposure: What is best?

With rare exception, breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed infants, and has special benefits for women and infants with perinatal opioid exposure. Infants breastfed and/or fed their mother's own breastmilk experience less severe opioid withdrawal symptoms, have shorter hospital stays, and are less likely to be treated with medication for withdrawal. The specific impact of mothers' milk feeding on opioid withdrawal may be related to the act of breastfeeding and associated skin-to-skin contact, qualities of breastmilk, healthier microbiome, small amounts of opioid drug in breastmilk, or a combination of these. Women with opioid use disorder face significant breastfeeding obstacles, including psychosocial, behavioral, concomitant medications, and tobacco use and thus may require high levels of support to achieve their breastfeeding goals. They often don't receive information to make informed infant feeding decisions. Hospital practices such as prenatal education, rooming-in and having a policy that minimizes barriers to breastfeeding are associated with increased breastfeeding rates.