DEHP and DBP, common phthalates, induce glucose metabolism disorders in rats via oxidative damage of PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 signaling

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are environmental endocrine disruptors thought to interfere with glucose metabolism in humans. Most of the related research has focused on population epidemiological studies, with the underlying mechanisms remaining unresolved. Using an in vivo animal model, we examined the effects of oral administration of two commonly used PAEs [di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP)] on glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion. DEHP (750 mg/kg, 1/40 LD50), DBP (500 mg/kg, 1/40 LD50), and DEHP (750 mg/kg) + DBP (500 mg/kg) exert an influence on glucose metabolism and elicit a reduction in insulin sensitivity in rats. Furthermore, these substances induce detrimental effects on the structure and functionality of pancreatic β-cells. DEHP and/or DBP triggered an increase in plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduction in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity; a reduction in the phosphorylation of phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase (PI3K) and phospho-protein kinase B (p-Akt473) proteins; an increase in the relative expression of Bax, Caspase-8, cleaved-Caspase-9, and cleaved-Caspase-3; and a reduction in the relative expression of Bcl-2-related Bax in pancreatic tissue and of gastrocnemius glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in the gastrocnemius muscle. Based on these findings, these PAEs can disrupt glucose metabolism, possibly via oxidative damage of the PI3K/Akt/GLUT4 pathway; this damage induces pancreatic β-cell apoptosis, affects pancreatic β-cell function, and affects glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in rats. To the best of our knowledge, this study was the first to show that the combined effect of the two PAEs affects glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in rats that is significantly higher than the effects of each PAE. Thus, safety standards and studies do not consider this effect as a significant oversight when blending PAEs. We assert that this must be addressed and corrected for establishing more impactful and safer standards.

[Comparative analysis of the clinical application of two femtosecond laser-assisted cataract operation platforms]

Objective: To evaluate the operability and clinical application effects of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery systems of LenSx and LenSAR. Methods: This was a randomized controlled study. A total of 86 patients (90 eyes) who underwent femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in Wuhan Aier Eye Hospital from April 2018 to November 2018 were enrolled and divided into two groups randomly, including 44 patients (45 eyes) in the LenSx group and 42 patients (45 eyes) in the LenSAR group. During the operation, the following observation indexes were obtained. Operational indicators included the number of docking attempts, anterior capsulotomy time, nucleus pre-treatment time, total femtosecond laser emission time, and total vacuum suction duration. Clinical outcome indicators included changes in the patient's intraocular pressure during femtosecond laser surgery, the rate of subconjunctival hemorrhage, capsulotomy integrity (yes/no), roundness and centricity of the anterior capsule opening (yes/no), the rate of anterior capsule opening tear, and the rate of posterior capsule rupture. The t-test, rank-sum test or chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results: There were no significant differences between groups in the age and the lens density (both P>0.05). The number of docking attempts in the LenSx group was 1 (1 to 4) and in the LenSAR group was 1 (1 to 2); there was statistically significant difference (Z =-2.23, P<0.05). The difference in the anterior capsulotomy time between the two groups was statistically significant [13.00 (10.00 to 22.00) s compared with 3.00 (1.00 to 3.00) s, Z=-8.71, P<0.05]. The femtosecond laser pre-nucleation time and total femtosecond laser emission time of the LenSx group were (16.67±3.36) s and (30.49±3.53) s, and those of the LenSAR group were (12.38±4.36) s and (15.36±4.29) s, respectively; the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (t=-5.23, -18.26; both P<0.05). The total vacuum suction duration in the LenSx group was (97.23±19.96) s, shorter than that in the LenSAR group [(123.76±16.81) s] (t=6.82, P<0.05). The intraocular pressure after femtosecond laser surgery in both groups was higher than that before surgery. The increase of intraocular pressure in the LenSAR group was (5.64±5.42) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), higher than that in the LenSx group [(2.99±4.66) mmHg] (t=-2.49, P<0.05). The rate of subconjunctival hemorrhage in the LenSx group was 33.3% (15/45), while it was 8.9% (4/45) in the LenSAR group; the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=6.67, P<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in capsulotomy integrity, roundness and centricity of the anterior capsule opening, the rate of anterior capsule opening tear, and the rate of posterior capsule rupture (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The docking process of the LenSAR system is convenient, and there is less subconjunctival hemorrhage; the total vacuum suction duration of LenSx is short, and the increase of intraocular pressure is low. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56: 530-535).

Many Analysts, One Data Set: Making Transparent How Variations in Analytic Choices Affect Results

Twenty-nine teams involving 61 analysts used the same data set to address the same research question: whether soccer referees are more likely to give red cards to dark-skin-toned players than to light-skin-toned players. Analytic approaches varied widely across the teams, and the estimated effect sizes ranged from 0.89 to 2.93 ( Mdn = 1.31) in odds-ratio units. Twenty teams (69%) found a statistically significant positive effect, and 9 teams (31%) did not observe a significant relationship. Overall, the 29 different analyses used 21 unique combinations of covariates. Neither analysts’ prior beliefs about the effect of interest nor their level of expertise readily explained the variation in the outcomes of the analyses. Peer ratings of the quality of the analyses also did not account for the variability. These findings suggest that significant variation in the results of analyses of complex data may be difficult to avoid, even by experts with honest intentions. Crowdsourcing data analysis, a strategy in which numerous research teams are recruited to simultaneously investigate the same research question, makes transparent how defensible, yet subjective, analytic choices influence research results.

The microRNA-182-PDK4 axis regulates lung tumorigenesis by modulating pyruvate dehydrogenase and lipogenesis

Reprogrammed metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer. The dysregulation of glycolysis in cancer has been heavily studied. However, it remains largely unclear how other metabolic processes are regulated in cancer cells. Here we show that microRNA-182 (miR-182) suppresses pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) kinase 4 (PDK4) and promotes lung tumorigenesis. miR-182 is dysregulated and inversely correlated with PDK4 in human lung adenocarcinomas. The miR-182-PDK4 axis regulates lung cancer cell growth by modulating the activity of PDH, the gatekeeping enzyme of pyruvate flux into acetyl-CoA, and subsequently de novo lipogenesis of cancer cells. Suppression of lipogenesis by silencing ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) or by chemical inhibitors diminishes the effects of miR-182-PDK4 in tumor growth. Alteration of de novo lipogenesis also affects reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the downstream JNK signaling pathway. Hence, our work suggests that the miR-182-PDK4 axis is a crucial regulator of cancer cell metabolism and a potential target for antitumor therapy.

Acetic acid recovery from a hybrid biological-hydrothermal treatment process of sewage sludge - a pilot plant study

A two-stage process consisting of anaerobic fermentation followed by sub-critical wet oxidation was used to generate acetic acid from sewage sludge at pilot scale. Volatile fatty acids, dominated by propionic acid, were produced over 4-6 days in the 2,000 L fermentation reactor, which also achieved 31% solids reduction. Approximately 96% of the carbon was retained in solution over the fermentation stage. Using a 200 L wet oxidation reactor operating in batch mode, the second stage achieved 98% volatile suspended solids (VSS) destruction and 67% total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) destruction. Acetic acid produced in this stage was recalcitrant to further degradation and was retained in solution. The gross yield from VSS was 16% for acetic acid and 21% for volatile fatty acids across the process, higher than reported yields for wet oxidation alone. The pilot plant results showed that 72% of the incoming phosphorus was retained in the solids, 94% of the nitrogen became concentrated in solution and 41% of the carbon was converted to a soluble state, in a more degradable form. Acetic acid produced from the process has the potential to be used to offset ethanol requirements in biological nutrient removal plants.

Polymorphisms in the interleukin 3 gene show strong association with susceptibility to Graves' disease in Chinese population

Graves' disease (GD) is a common organ-specific autoimmune disorder, which is multifactorial and develops in genetically susceptible individuals. We had earlier mapped a susceptibility locus for GD to chromosome 5q31-33 in a linkage study. Here we used tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to search for genetic variants associated with GD, and examined 19 functional candidate genes in this chromosomal region. We identified 192 polymorphisms by re-sequencing the candidate genes, and selected 51 tagSNPs to genotype in a case-control collection of 1118 south Han Chinese subjects (428 cases and 690 controls). Initial analysis suggested that a non-synonymous SNP rs40401 (P27S) of interleukin 3 (IL3) was associated with GD, and further fine-mapping showed that rs40401, or its perfect proxy SNP rs31480 in the 5' flanking region of IL3, fully accounted for the association signal at this locus. We replicated significant association of rs40401 with GD in an independent sample collection of 839 north Han Chinese subjects. A combined analysis revealed strong validation of this association (odds ratio (OR(common))=1.63, combined P (P(comb))=4 x 10(-6) in the Recessive disease model). This study provides convincing evidence that the IL3 gene is a susceptibility locus for GD in the Chinese population.

[Synthesis and evaluation of ethylstyrene-divinylbenzene-coated titania for high performance liquid chromatography]

Ethylstyrene-divinylbenzene-coated TiO2 (ES-DVB-TiO2) was synthesized by at first bonding of vinyltriethoxysilane with hydroxyl group on titania and secondly by addition polymerization of vinyltriethoxysilane and ethylstyrene-divinylbenzene. The hydrophobic selectivity, absolute mobile phase sensitivity, and stability of the stationary phase were evaluated. Finally, several kinds of practical separations were tested on ES-DVB-TiO2. These examples showed that ES-DVB-TiO2 synthesized in our laboratory was a good reversed-phase stationary phase.

[Correlation between gene expression of CCK-A receptor and gallbladder emptying in gallstone patients]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression of CCK-A receptor and its relation with gallbladder hypomotility in patients with gallstone.

METHODS

20 patients with gallstone and 10 normal subjects were studied and gallbladder emptying function was measured by B ultrasonography. The other 8 patients without gallstone who died of accident were selected as controls for measuring mRNA expression of CCK-A receptor of gallbladder; RT-PCR was used to explore gene expression of CCK-A receptor of gallbladder.

RESULTS

The gallbladder motility was significantly impaired in gallstone patients. The patients had lower mRNA expression of CCK-A receptor than control subjects (0.633 +/- 0.167 vs. 0.944 +/- 0.230, P < 0.01), and so did patients with impaired gallbladder motility then those with normal motility (0.544 +/- 0.124 vs. 0.768 +/- 0.131, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the change of expression of CCK-A receptors was markedly correlated with gallbladder emptying (r = 0.925, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

mRNA expression of CCK-A receptor in gallstone patients decreases, which was related to gallbladder hypomotility. The down-regulation of gene expression of CCK-A receptor plays an important role in gallbladder hypomotility in patients with gallstone.

[Spiral shaped bacteria in the human gastric biopsy]

Biopsy specimens from the gastric mucosa of 149 patients who underwent gastroduodenal endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal complaints were studied by light microscopy and culture. Spiral shaped bacteria were detected in four of the specimens by smears with Gram stain. The positive rate was 2.68%, but these bacteria and HP did not grow in culture. The characteristic helical morphology of the bacteria appears to be similar to that of the bacteria found in the stomach of cats and dogs. And what of significance in these cases is the presence of spiral shaped bacteria in association with chronic gastritis.