[Analysis on occupational dust or harmful gas exposure and protection in people aged 40 and above in China, 2019-2020]

Objective: To understand the current status of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gases and occupational protection in people aged ≥40 years in China, and provide data support for the prevention and control of occupational dust or harmful gas exposure. Methods: The data were obtained from the surveillance for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults aged ≥40 years selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) during 2014-2015 and 2019-2020, and relevant information about occupational dust or harmful gas exposure and protection measures were collected through face-to-face interviews. Occupational dust or harmful gas exposure rate and occupational protection rate were estimated by using weighting complex sampling methods, and then the results were compared. Results: From 2014 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2020, a total of 71 061 and 71 023 individuals aged ≥40 years were surveyed, respectively. The rate of occupational exposure to dust or hazardous gas was 33.8% (95%CI: 29.9%-37.7%) during 2019-2020. The occupational exposure rate was higher in men than in women and in rural residents than in urban residents. With the increase of education level, the rate of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gas showed a downward trend. The protection rate against occupational dust or hazardous gas exposure was 47.9% (95%CI: 43.2%-52.6%) during 2019-2020. Compared with 2014-2015, the rate of occupational exposure to dust or hazardous gas decreased by 10.7 percentage points in different gender, area and occupational groups and the occupational protection rate increased by 21.9 percentage points during 2019-2020. The decrease in occupational exposure rate was higher in western China than in eastern and central China, and the increase in occupational protection rate was higher in western China than in eastern and central China. Conclusions: The rate of occupational exposure to dust or harmful gas decreased and the rate of occupational protection against dust or harmful gas exposure increased in China during 2019-2020. However, about one-third of the population still suffer from the occupational exposure, and less than half of them take protection measures. It is necessary to pay more attention to the key populations, such as workers with lower cultural level and rural migrant workers, in occupational health practice.

[Analysis on passive smoking exposure in adults aged 40 years and above in China, 2019-2020]

Objective: To understand the passive smoking exposure status in adults aged ≥40 years in China. Methods: Local residents aged ≥40 years were enrolled as study subjects from 125 areas of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) surveillance during 2014-2015 and 2019-2020 in 31 provinces of China. A total of 74 559 adults aged ≥40 years were selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling for a face to face questionnaire survey and the data from 64 142 study subjects were used for the analysis. The passive smoking exposure rate, the proportions of the adults reporting passive smoking exposure at four types of places and the proportion of the adults living with daily smokers were described by using complicated sampling weighting method, the related factors were analyzed and the results were compared with the data of COPD surveillance during 2014-2015. Results: The passive smoking exposure rate in the adults aged ≥40 years was 46.4% (95%CI: 44.1%-48.8%) in China during 2019-2020, and the rate was higher in women (47.2%, 95%CI:44.8%-49.7%) than in men (44.8%, 95%CI:42.0%-47.6%) and lower in the older people. The office workers had the highest passive smoking exposure rate. The proportions of those reporting passive smoking exposure at homes, workplaces, restaurants, and public transports were 24.3% (95%CI:22.2%-26.4%)、23.3% (95%CI:21.1%-25.5%)、6.6% (95%CI:5.3%-7.9%) and 2.2% (95%CI:1.6%-2.7%). The higher education level the adults had, the less passive smoking exposure at home they reported. The proportions of those living with daily smokers before 14 years old and since 14 years old were 56.4% and 59.2%. Compared with the data during 2014-2015, the overall passive smoking exposure rate in the adults aged ≥40 years during 2019-2020 showed an increase, and the difference was not significant (P=0.356); The passive smoking exposure rate at homes declined, but the exposure rate at workplaces increased, with the biggest increase found in those being engaged in farming, forestry, husbandry, fishery and water conservancy. Multivariate analysis indicated that the factors influencing the passive smoking exposure and the exposure proportions at different places included gender, age, occupation, and education level. Conclusions: The passive smoking exposure rate in China is still high, especially in those being engaged in farming, forestry, husbandry, fishery and water conservancy. It is necessary to strengthen supervision of the enforcement of current smoking bans in public places and promote the legislation of ban smoking in public places. More attention should be paid to smoking ban and protection against passive smoking exposure in women, people with lower education level and people being engaged in in farming, forestry, husbandry, fishery and water conservancy.

Detection of neonicotinoids in agricultural products using magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers-surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

In this paper, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers-surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (MMIPs-SERS) for rapidly analyzing acetamiprid and thiacloprid in agricultural products has been firstly developed. The magnetic imprinted polymers were obtained by polymerizing the imprinted layers on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles. The polymers were detailed characterized by using series of analytical techniques, and their adsorption and recognition performance were validated by adsorption tests. The results showed that the magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers possessed typically core-shell structure and exhibited class-specific recognition, fast adsorption saturation (only 1 min), and good magnetic separation performance towards targets. The adsorption and desorption conditions for MMIPs-SERS detection system were carefully investigated. Under optimum conditions, the good linear detection range of 1∼20 μg/g with LODs of 23.7-68.8 ng/g for acetamiprid and thiacloprid in peach and pear samples was obtained. Through the reusable and spiked experiments, the developed MMIPs-SERS method based on Au NPs as enhanced substrate was validated to be highly sensitive, accurate, efficient and applicable in analyzing neonicotinoids from pear and peach samples. This study provided a rapid and simple detection method for neonicotinoids with effective separation and detection properties based on the synergistic effect of imprinted polymers and SERS. More importantly, this developed method have good application potential in rapid analyzing field for neonicotinoids due to the amazing rapid adsorption time for extracting targets from complex food matrix (only 1 min).

[Prevalence of exposure to household cooking oil fumes in women aged 40 years and older in China, 2019]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of exposure to household cooking oil fumes in women ≥40 years old. Methods: The data were from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Surveillance in China during 2019-2020, which selected permanent residents ≥40 years old from 125 counties (districts) in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country by multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method. The relevant demographic information and cooking oil fumes were collected by face-to-face interview. Our study served 37 164 women with complete cooking practice information as the subject. After complex sample weighting, we analyzed the prevalence of cooking oil fumes exposure in women from cooking time, kitchen characteristics, and Self-reported cooking oil fumes exposure. Results: In 2019, 83.9% (95%CI: 82.1%-85.7%) and 4.5% (95%CI: 3.8%-5.2%) of Chinese women ≥40 years old cooked daily and often, respectively. The average daily cooking duration is 1.8 hours/day, 31.1% of women who cooked daily more than 2.0 hours, and the average cumulative cooking years of cooking women were 32.8 years. 79.3% of cooking women used ventilation devices, and 3.2% cooked in the living room. 8.9% and 7.2% of cooking women in south China and northwest China cooked in the living room, significantly higher than in other regions (P=0.036). The self-reported exposure rate to cooking oil fumes was 81.0% (95%CI: 79.3%-82.7%). Rural, older, lower education level and women engaged in agriculture had a higher proportion of cooking daily, average daily cooking duration, cumulative cooking years, the proportion of cooking in the living room, and rate of self-reported cooking oil fumes exposure, but a lower proportion of using ventilation devices during cooking (P<0.001). Conclusions: The exposure to household cooking oil fumes was serious in Chinese women, and some women still did not take any ventilation measures when cooking. More attention should be paid to the exposure to home cooking oil fumes and its health hazards in women, especially those with lower socioeconomic status.

Network pharmacology and molecular docking to explore the potential mechanism of urolithin A in combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome

This research used network pharmacology, molecular docking, in vivo studies, and other techniques to investigate the biological activity and mechanism of action of urolithin A (UA) in treating combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS). Urolithin A and potential related targets of allergic rhinitis and asthma were searched from the public databases. Then, bioinformatics analyses were given to protein-protein interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Subsequently, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation were performed, aiming at predicting the binding of the active compound to the core target. Finally, in vivo experiment was conducted for further validation. A total of 45 common targets of allergic rhinitis and urolithin A and 62 common targets of asthma and urolithin A were identified, among which six common core targets were screened with Cytoscape. Molecular docking indicated that these core targets had good binding activity to urolithin A, which was further confirmed by molecular dynamics simulation. In the CARAS mouse model, urolithin A showed anti-inflammatory properties. The biological activity and regulatory network of UA on CARAS were revealed, and the anti-inflammatory effect of UA was clarified, which could be associated with the equilibrium of the immune system's Th1/Th2 cells.

[Performance of pulmonary function test in people aged 40 years and above in China, 2019-2020]

Objective: To understand the performance of pulmonary function tests in people aged ≥40 years and its changes in China, and provide evidence for the evaluation of the effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevention and control in China. Methods: The subjects of the survey were from COPD surveillance during 2014-2015 and during 2019-2020, which covered 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China. The survey used multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method, the trained investigators conducted face-to-face interview to know whether subjects had previous pulmonary function testing or not. Complex sampling weighting was used to estimate the rate of pulmonary function testing in people aged ≥40 years, and the pulmonary function testing rates of the two COPD surveillance periods were compared. Results: A total of 148 427 persons were included in the analysis, including 74 591 persons during 2014-2015 and 73 836 persons during 2019-2020. In 2019-2020, the pulmonary function testing rate in Chinese residents aged ≥40 years was 6.7% (95%CI: 5.2%-8.2%), the rate in men (8.1%, 95%CI: 6.7%-9.6%) was higher than that in women (5.4%, 95%CI: 3.7%- 7.0%), and the rate in urban residents (8.3%, 95%CI: 6.1%-10.5%) was higher than that in rural residents (4.4%, 95%CI: 3.8%-5.1%). The rate of pulmonary function testing increased with the increase of education level. During 2019-2020, the residents with history of chronic respiratory diseases had the highest rate of pulmonary function testing (21.2%, 95%CI: 16.8%-25.7%), followed by the residents with respiratory symptoms (15.1%, 95%CI: 11.8%-18.4%) , the pulmonary function testing rate in those who knew the name of chronic respiratory disease was higher than that in those who did not knew the name of respiratory disease, and the pulmonary function testing rate in former smokers was higher than that in current smokers and non-smokers. Those exposed to occupational dust and/or harmful gases had a higher rate of pulmonary function testing compared with those who were not exposed, and those who used polluted fuels indoors had a lower rate of pulmonary function testing than those who did not use polluted fuels indoors (all P<0.05). Compared with 2014-2015, the pulmonary function testing rate in residents aged ≥40 years in China increased by 1.9 percentage points during 2019-2020, and the rate of pulmonary function testing in groups with different characteristics all increased, and the rates of pulmonary function testing increased by 7.4 percentage points and 7.1 percentage points in residents with respiratory symptoms and in those with history of chronic respiratory diseases (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Compared with 2014-2015, the rate of pulmonary function testing increased in China during 2019-2020 and the increase in residents with history of chronic respiratory diseases and respiratory symptoms was relatively obvious, but the overall pulmonary function testing rate was still at a low level. Effective measures should be taken to further increase the rate of pulmonary function testing.

[Prevalence of smoking in adults aged 40 years and above in China, 2019-2020]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of smoking and its change in adults aged ≥40 years in China and provide evidence for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevention and control strategies. Methods: The data of this study were obtained from COPD surveillance in China during 2014-2015 and during 2019-2020. The surveillance covered 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). A multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling were used to select residents aged ≥40 years, and face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect the information about their tobacco use. After complex sampling weighting of the samples, the current smoking rate, average age to start smoking and average daily cigarette consumption of people with different characteristics during 2019-2020 were estimated, and the changes in the current smoking rate and average daily cigarette consumption were analyzed from 2014-2015 to 2019-2020. Results: During 2019-2020, the current smoking rate in adults aged ≥40 years was 27.2%, and the rate was much higher in men (52.1%) than in women (2.5%).The average age of the smokers to start smoking was 20.0 years old, and men usually started smoking at younger age (19.6 years) compared with women (27.9 years). The average daily cigarette consumption of daily smokers was 18.0 sticks, and the consumption of men (18.3 cigarettes) was higher than that of women (11.1 cigarettes). Compared with the surveillance results during 2014-2015, the current smoking rate had decreased by 2.8 percentage points in the general population, 4.1 percentage points in males, 1.6 percentage points in females, and the urban and rural areas fell by 3.1 percentage points and 2.5 percentage points, respectively. The average daily cigarette consumption decreased by 0.6 sticks. Conclusions: In recent years, the current smoking rate and average daily cigarette consumption in adults aged ≥40 years decreased in China, but smoking is still common in more than quarter of this population and more than half of men aged ≥40 years. It is necessary to take targeted tobacco control measures based on population and regional characteristics to further reduce the smoking level of the population.

Multicolor colorimetric visual detection of Staphylococcus aureus based on Fe3O4-Ag-MnO2 composites nano-oxidative mimetic enzyme

Novel Fe₃O₄-Ag-MnO₂ composites were successfully synthesized. It was noteworthy that the obtained Fe₃O₄-Ag-MnO₂ composites were found to possess three types of enzyme-mimicking activities, including peroxidase-like, catalase-like and oxidase-like activities. Taking advantage of the oxidase properties of Fe₃O₄-Ag-MnO₂, the direct oxidation of TMB could be catalyzed to generate blue oxidation products without H₂O₂. The oxidase-like activity of Fe₃O₄-Ag-MnO₂ were carefully studied. Based on the Fe₃O₄-Ag-MnO₂-TMB system, a fast, sensitive and intuitive multicolor colorimetric method for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) detection was established under the optimized conditions. The proposed method allows the detection of S. aureus with a detection limit of 3.7 cfu mL^-1 and a linear range of 10-10⁶ cfu mL^-1. This new colorimetric method has been successfully proved to be applicable to the detection S. aureus of food samples.

Rapid Feedback Stabilization of Quantum Systems With Application to Preparation of Multiqubit Entangled States

For stochastic quantum systems with measurement feedback, this article proposes a rapid switching control scheme based on state space partition and realizes the rapid stabilization of an eigenstate of an observable operator. Meanwhile, we apply the proposed scheme to the preparation of typical entangled states in multiqubit systems. In view of the convergence obstacle caused by the symmetric structure of the state space, especially in the case with degenerate observable operators, we first partition the state space into a subset containing the target state and its complement to distinguish the target state from its antipodal points, and then design the corresponding control laws in these two subsets, respectively, by using different Lyapunov functions. The interaction Hamiltonians are also constructed to drive the system state to the desired subset first, and further to the target state. In particular, the control law designed in the undesired subset guarantees the strictly monotonic descent of the corresponding Lyapunov function, which makes the system trajectory switch between the two subsets at most twice and has the potential to speed up the convergence process. We also prove the stability of the closed-loop system with the proposed switching control law based on the stochastic Lyapunov stability theory. By applying the proposed switching control scheme to a three-qubit system, we achieve the preparation of a GHZ state and a W state.

An all-round AI-Chemist with a scientific mind

The realization of automated chemical experiments by robots unveiled the prelude to an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory. Several AI-based systems or robots with specific chemical skills have been demonstrated, but conducting all-round scientific research remains challenging. Here, we present an all-round AI-Chemist equipped with scientific data intelligence that is capable of performing basic tasks generally required in chemical research. Based on a service platform, the AI-Chemist is able to automatically read the literatures from a cloud database and propose experimental plans accordingly. It can control a mobile robot in-house or online to automatically execute the complete experimental process on 14 workstations, including synthesis, characterization and performance tests. The experimental data can be simultaneously analysed by the computational brain of the AI-Chemist through machine learning and Bayesian optimization, allowing a new hypothesis for the next iteration to be proposed. The competence of the AI-Chemist has been scrutinized by three different chemical tasks. In the future, the more advanced all-round AI-Chemists equipped with scientific data intelligence may cause changes to the landscape of the chemical laboratory.

Characteristics of Mussels-Derived Carbon Dots and Their Applications in Bio-Imaging and Detection of Riboflavin

A simple and green strategy has been demonstrated for the synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) from mussels. The chemical structure and optical properties of mussels-derived CDs prepared at different reaction temperatures (140, 160, and 180 °C) were evaluated. The average size of synthesized fluorescent CDs decreased from 2.06 to 1.30 nm as reaction temperatures increased from 140 to 180 °C. The fluorescence quantum yield of CDs could reach up to 15.20%. The surface of CDs was rich in functional groups such as -OH, -NH₂, and -COOH, providing CDs with good water solubility and biocompatibility. Furthermore, the mussel-derived CDs have been successfully applied in bio-imaging for onion endothelium cells, HepG2 cells, and zebrafish. In addition, CDs could be employed as a biosensor for riboflavin detection. Therefore, mussels are a promising carbon resource for preparing N-doped CDs for bio-imaging and monitoring riboflavin.

The Modified Longitudinal Capsulotomy by Outside-In Approach in Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroplasty and Acetabular Labrum Repair-A Cohort Study

Hip arthroscopy is difficult to perform due to the limited arthroscopic view. To solve this problem, the capsulotomy is an important technique. However, the existing capsulotomy approaches were not perfect in the surgical practice. Thus, this study aimed to propose a modified longitudinal capsulotomy by outside-in approach and demonstrate its feasibility and efficacy in arthroscopic femoroplasty and acetabular labrum repair. A retrospective cohort study was performed and twenty-two postoperative patients who underwent hip arthroscopy in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were involved in this study. The patients (14 females and 8 males) had a mean age of 38.26 ± 12.82 years old. All patients were diagnosed cam deformity and labrum tear in the operation and underwent arthroscopic femoroplasty and labrum repair by the modified longitudinal capsulotomy. The mean follow-up time was 10.4 months with a range of 6−12 months. There were no major complications, including infection, neurapraxias, hip instability or revision in any patients. The average mHHS were 74.4 ± 15.2, 78.2 ± 13.7 and 85.7 ± 14.5 in 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after surgery, respectively, which were all better than that before surgery (44.9 ± 8.6) (p < 0.05). The average VAS were 2.8 ± 1.2, 1.5 ± 0.6 and 1.2 ± 0.7 in 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after surgery, respectively, which were all lower than that before surgery (5.5 ± 2.0) (p < 0.05). The modified longitudinal capsulotomy by outside-in approach is proved to be a safe and feasible method for hip arthroscopy considering to the feasibility, efficacy and security. The arthroscopic femoroplasty and labrum repair can be performed conveniently by this approach and the patient reported outcomes after surgery were better that before surgery in short-term follow-up. This new method is promising and suggested to be widely used clinically.

Deep Learning Method for Grasping Novel Objects Using Dexterous Hands

Robotic grasping ability lags far behind human skills and poses a significant challenge in the robotics research area. According to the grasping part of an object, humans can select the appropriate grasping postures of their fingers. When humans grasp the same part of an object, different poses of the palm will cause them to select different grasping postures. Inspired by these human skills, in this article, we propose new grasping posture prediction networks (GPPNs) with multiple inputs, which acquire information from the object image and the palm pose of the dexterous hand to predict appropriate grasping postures. The GPPNs are further combined with grasping rectangle detection networks (GRDNs) to construct multilevel convolutional neural networks (ML-CNNs). In this study, a force-closure index was designed to analyze the grasping quality, and force-closure grasping postures were generated in the GraspIt! environment. Depth images of objects were captured in the Gazebo environment to construct the dataset for the GPPNs. Herein, we describe simulation experiments conducted in the GraspIt! environment, and present our study of the influences of the image input and the palm pose input on the GPPNs using a variable-controlling approach. In addition, the ML-CNNs were compared with the existing grasp detection methods. The simulation results verify that the ML-CNNs have a high grasping quality. The grasping experiments were implemented on the Shadow hand platform, and the results show that the ML-CNNs can accurately complete grasping of novel objects with good performance.

[Prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and dyspnea and related factors in residents in China]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of chronic cough, chronic expectoration and dyspnea and related factors in residents aged ≥40 years in China, and provide basic data for the prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases. Methods: Data were from 2014-2015 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance in China. The information about chronic respiratory symptoms were collected by face-to-face interview. The prevalence rates of chronic cough, chronic expectoration, dyspnea and chronic respiratory symptoms and their 95%CI were estimated with complex sampling weights. Results: A total of 75 082 subjects were included in the analysis. The prevalence rates of chronic cough, chronic expectoration, dyspnea and chronic respiratory symptoms in the Chinese aged ≥40 years were 3.75% (95%CI: 3.38%-4.11%), 5.83% (95%CI: 5.40%-6.26%), 2.45% (95%CI: 2.02%-2.87%) and 8.93% (95%CI: 8.25%-9.62%), respectively. The prevalence rates of chronic cough, chronic expectoration, dyspnea and chronic respiratory symptoms in patients with chronic respiratory diseases were relatively higher, which were 10.27%, 13.85%, 6.43%, 20.72% respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, region, education level, occupation, BMI, family history of respiratory diseases, history of severe respiratory infections in childhood, exposure to dust or chemicals in workplace and smoking status affected the prevalence of chronic cough, chronic expectoration and dyspnea. The prevalence of the three types of chronic respiratory symptoms increased significantly with age, which were higher in western region, smokers and underweight/obese subjects. The three prevalence rates mentioned above were higher in those with a history of severe respiratory infection in childhood, those exposed to biomass fuel in household, and those exposed to dust or chemicals in workplace. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of chronic respiratory symptoms was high in residents aged ≥40 years in China. Many factors affected the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms. Comprehensive prevention and control measures targeting risk factors should be taken to reduce the burden of chronic respiratory diseases.

Synthesis of metal-organic framework @molecularly imprinted polymer adsorbents for solid phase extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from agricultural products

The novel core-shell structural zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 @molecularly imprinted polymers were successfully synthesized by surface imprinting technique and used as adsorbents for solid-phase extraction of organophosphorus pesticides. The obtained hybrid composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared, and their adsorbing and recognition performance were evaluated by binding experiments. The results showed that zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 @molecularly imprinted polymers presented a typically core-shell structure with molecularly imprinted shell (about 50 nm) homogeneously polymerized on the surface of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 core, and exhibited specific recognition towards organophosphorus pesticides with fast adsorption capacity. The adsorption and desorption conditions including sample loading solvent, sample pH, washing and elution solvent were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the solid-phase extraction based on zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 @molecularly imprinted polymers combined with high liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for determining organophosphorus pesticides was established and exhibited good linearity (R² ≥ 0.9927) in the range of 1-200 µg/L. With spiked at three different concentration levels in agricultural products (cauliflower, radish, pear, muskmelon), the recoveries ranged from 82.5% to 123.0% with relative standard deviations lower than 8.24%. The developed method was sensitive, convenient and efficient. More importantly, this study could provide a promising strategy for designing new adsorbents with extremely fast mass transfer rate for other potential trace contaminants.

Preparation of flower-like molybdenum disulfide for solid-phase extraction of N-nitrosoamines in environmental water samples

In this paper, a flower-like molybdenum disulfide material was prepared by hydrothermal method and was first used as adsorbents in the solid-phase extraction process for enriching N-nitrosoamines. Molybdenum disulfide exhibited three-dimensional petal-like microspheres with about 500 nm in diameter. The relevant analyte extraction and elution parameters (sample volumes, solution pH, washing solvents, elution solvents, and elution volumes) were optimized to improve the solid-phase extraction efficiency. The solid-phase extraction process coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for determining N-nitrosoamines in environmental water samples was established. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.01-0.05 ng/mL. The satisfactory recoveries (68.9-106.1%) were obtained at three different spiked concentrations (2, 5, and 8 ng/mL) in water samples, and the relative standard deviations were between 1.96 and 8.38%. This proposed method not only showed high sensitivity and good reusability but also provided a new adsorbent for enriching trace N-nitrosoamines in environmental water samples.

Carbon dots from roasted chicken accumulate in lysosomes and induce lysosome-dependent cell death

Thermal processing may generate toxicants. Carbon dots (CDs) from baked foods are toxic to cells; however, their molecular mechanism is still unexplored to date. The present study investigated the effects of CDs from roasted chicken breasts on normal rat kidney (NRK) and Caco-2 cells. The average size of CDs heated at 200 °C and 300 °C was about 2.8 nm and 1.2 nm, respectively. The element and surface groups of CDs were analyzed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. It was confirmed that the CDs were internalized in lysosomes and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, Z-VAD-FMK did not decrease the rate of apoptosis. The acquired data further confirmed that these internalized CDs enlarged lysosomes, decreased the lysosomal enzyme degradation activity and increased the lysosomal pH value. An increase in the co-localization of RIPK3 in lysosomes in the CD-treated groups was observed. The CD treatment increased the protein level of receptor interaction protein 1 (RIPK1) and receptor interaction protein 3 (RIPK3). Overall, CDs from the baked chicken breast induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization and initiated lysosome-dependent cell death and necroptosis. Our results elucidated the toxic mechanism of CDs from baked chicken breast and implied that food thermal processing at a lower temperature is beneficial to human health.

[Tobacco dependence status and influencing factors among smokers aged 40 or older in China]

Objective: To understanding tobacco dependence and its influencing factors among smokers aged 40 or older in China and provide scientific data for the implementation of smoking cessation intervention. Methods: The data of this study were collected from 125 surveillance sites in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) surveillance in China (2014 and 2015). The relevant variables of smoking status and tobacco dependence among people aged 40 or older were collected by face-to-face interview. The weighted proportion of tobacco dependence and its 95%CI and influencing factors among current smokers and daily smokers aged 40 or older in China were estimated with complex sampling weights. Results: A total of 22 380 current smokers and 19 999 daily smokers were included in the analysis. The proportion of high tobacco dependence of current smokers aged 40 or older was 31.1% (29.3%-32.9%). The proportion of high tobacco dependence was higher in men than in women, and higher in rural smokers than urban smokers. The proportion was 33.3% (31.3%-35.2%) in 40 to 59 years old smokers, which was higher than older age group. The proportion of high tobacco dependence among daily smokers aged 40 or older was 35.0% (33.0%-37.0%), and was 35.8% (33.8%-37.8%) in men and 22.0% (16.8%-27.2%) in women. Among current smokers and daily smokers, with the decrease of education level, the proportion of high tobacco dependence increased. The proportion of high tobacco dependence of smokers who started smoking before 18 years old was significantly higher than those who started smoking after 18 years old. The ratio of high tobacco dependence of smokers with chronic respiratory symptoms was higher than that of asymptomatic smokers. There was no significant difference in the tobacco dependence between patients with chronic diseases or chronic respiratory diseases and non patients (P>0.05). Smokers with diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and hypertension had a slightly lower proportion of high tobacco dependence than smokers without above diseases (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that men, central and eastern regions, 40-59 age group, engaged in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery industry, water conservancy, manufacture, transportation and commercial services occupation, low education level and smoking onset age less than 18 years old had a high risk of high tobacco dependence. Conclusions: The proportion of high tobacco dependence among current smokers aged 40 or older is high in China, so there is a huge demand for smoking cessation interventions. Effective measures should be taken to promote smoking cessation intervention in China.

Evaluation of Cam Deformity on 3-Dimensional Computed Tomography With the Best-Fit Sphere Technique and the Alpha Angle Marking Method

BACKGROUND

Three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) is commonly used for the evaluation of cam deformity; however, it does not display the cam border directly.

PURPOSE

To compare the efficacy of the best-fit sphere (BFS) method and the alpha angle marking (AAM) method in 3D-CT evaluation for the cam border.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study (Diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

Twenty-six cases of cam deformity, confirmed during hip arthroscopy, were included in this study. All patients underwent a CT scan before surgery. Using multiplanar reconstruction, we obtained reformatted CT images of oblique axial, oblique coronal, and radial views. The alpha angle and femoral head-neck offset ratio (hnoR) were measured on the reformatted CT images. The cam area on 3D-CT was displayed in 4 different ways: by importing the markers from the reformatted CT images of the oblique axial view (cam-oa), the oblique coronal view (cam-oc), or the radial view (cam-r) using the AAM method, or by using the BFS method (cam-bfs). The sizes and locations of the displayed cams were compared.

RESULTS

All hips in this study had an alpha angle greater than 60° and an hnoR smaller than 0.17. The radial view measured a larger alpha angle and smaller hnoR than the oblique axial and coronal views (P < .05). The areas of cam-oa, cam-oc, cam-r, and cam-bfs were 161.47 ± 27.96, 89.78 ± 19.23, 241.73 ± 34.55, and 329.75 ± 42.73 mm², respectively, and their medial-to-lateral ranges along the acetabulum (clockface referents) were 12:30 to 03:00, 11:30 to 01:30, 11:30 to 03:00, and 11:00 to 03:30, respectively. Among the 4 displays, cam-bfs had the largest area and medial-to-lateral range (P < .05), and cam-r had the second largest area and range (P < .05). No significant difference in the mean distances from the acetabular rim to the superior border was detected among the 4 displays (P > .05).

CONCLUSION

The cam area displayed by the BFS method on 3D-CT was larger than those evaluated by the AAM method. In the reformatted CT, the sizes and locations of cam deformity differed among the oblique axial, oblique coronal, and radial views, with the radial view showing the greatest area.

Fluorescence nanoparticles from instant coffee accumulated in lysosome and induced lysosome-dependent cell death via necroptosis-like pathway

Fluorescence nanoparticles (FNs) are a type of nano-dots generated during baking process, and their safety on organism is unclear and little is known to their cytotoxicity. In this study, the FNs from instant coffee were purified and characterized. The FNs with an average size about 2.08 nm emitted bright blue fluorescence with lifetime about 2.74 ns. The element and functional groups were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that these FNs were internalized in lysosomes and induced apoptosis of normal rat kidney (NRK) and Caco-2 cells. While, the pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK didn't decrease the rate of apoptosis and cell death of the FNs-treated NRK and Caco-2 cells. These internalized FNs enlarged lysosomes, decreased lysosomal enzyme degradation activity and increased lysosomal pH value. Partial co-localization of receptor-interacting serine-threonine kinase 3 (RIPK3) to lysosomes in FNs-treated cells was observed, and the amount of RIPK1 and RIPK3 increased after treatment with FNs. The results demonstrated that the FNs from instant coffee induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization and initiated necroptosis.

[The Breast Cancer Cohort Study in Chinese Women: the methodology of population-based cohort and baseline characteristics]

Objective: Breast cancer has been the first cancer among women with the incidence increasing gradually. In September 2016, the Breast Cancer Cohort Study in Chinese Women (BCCS-CW) was initiated, aiming to establish a standardized and sharable breast cancer-specific cohort by integrating the existing cohort resource and improving the quality of follow-up. The BCCS-CW may provide a research basis and platform for the precision prevention and treatment of breast cancer in etiology identification, prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction. Methods: We conducted a population-based perspective cohort by questionnaire interview, anthropometry, biological specimens, breast ultrasound and mammography. The cohort was followed by using regional health surveillance and ad hoc survey. Results: Finally, BCCS-CW included 112 118 women, in which 55 419 women completed the standardized investigation and blood specimens were collected from 54 304 women. The mean age of participants was 51.7 years old, 62.7% were overweight or obese, and 48.9% were menopausal. Conclusion: The BCCS-CW will provide population-based cohort resource and research platform for the precise prevention and treatment of breast cancer in Chinese women.

Molecular interaction of fluorescent carbon dots from mature vinegar with human hemoglobin: Insights from spectroscopy, thermodynamics and AFM

Foodborne nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest due to their distinctive fluorescence and physicochemical properties. The discovery of vinegar carbon dots (VCDs) has drawn our attention to study their effect on human plasma protein. Herein, spectral, constructional, morphological, and enzymatic activity assessments were carried out to investigate the interaction of VCDs with human hemoglobin (HHb). The intrinsic fluorescence of HHb was quenched significantly by the VCDs through a static quenching process. Furthermore, binding constants and important thermodynamic parameters were calculated, the negative enthalpy and entropy changes were accompanied by a negative Gibbs energy, which proposed the binding between VCDs with HHb was spontaneous. Moreover, negative enthalpy and entropy change corroborated the involvement of van der Waals force and hydrogen bonds in the binding process. Results from FTIR, atomic force microscopy and circular dichroism revealed change of HHB after binding with VCDs although their essential morphological features were unaffected. The esterase activity of HHb decreased after VCDs treatment in a dose-dependent manner, which further confirmed the effect of VCDs on HHb. The results offered detailed information about the interaction between VCDs and HHb.

Location of the Suture Anchor in Hill-Sachs Lesion Could Influence Glenohumeral Cartilage Quality and Limit Range of Motion After Arthroscopic Bankart Repair and Remplissage

BACKGROUND

No study has reported clinical evidence for cartilage change in the glenohumeral joint or the cause of loss in range of motion (ROM) after arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage technique (BR).

PURPOSE

To investigate the postoperative features of glenohumeral joint cartilage, ROM, and anchor placement for remplissage at a minimum of 2 years of follow-up after BR and to analyze the correlations.

STUDY DESIGN

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

A total of 21 patients who underwent BR received follow-up for a minimum of 2 years. At both preoperative assessment and final follow-up, passive shoulder ROM, Oxford Shoulder Instability Score, Simple Shoulder Test score, and Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation score were assessed. All patients underwent 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination at final follow-up. The clinical outcomes, glenohumeral cartilage or Hill-Sachs lesion-related MRI parameters, and their potential correlations were analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up was 55.0 months (range, 24-119 months). Compared with preoperative assessment, all functional scores significantly improved (P < .001). At the final follow-up, a significant ROM loss (>15°) of external rotation (ER) at the side (ER₀) was found in 12 patients, among whom 8 patients had significant ROM loss of ER at 90° of abduction as well. Further, 12 patients with decreased ER had significantly higher signal intensity of cartilage on the anterior, middle, and posterior humeral head (anterior, P = .002; middle, P < .001; posterior, P < .001) than 9 patients with normal ER. The ratio of the width of the remplissage anchor to the diameter of the humeral head (w:d ratio) was significantly greater (P = .031) in the decreased ER group than in the normal ER group. Correlation analysis showed that signal intensity on the posterior humeral head and ER₀ loss (ΔER₀) had a significantly positive correlation (r = 0.516; P = .034), while the w:d ratio and ΔER₀ had a significantly positive correlation (r = 0.519; P = .039).

CONCLUSION

At a minimum of 2 years of follow-up, patients who underwent BR showed significant clinical improvement compared with preoperative assessment, except for limitations in ER. The glenohumeral cartilage degeneration (higher signal intensity) after BR had a significantly positive correlation with the postoperative ER loss, which was found to be associated with a relatively medial placement of the remplissage anchor.

[Smoking cessation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients aged 40 years or older in China, 2014-2015]

Objective: To understand the smoking cessation behaviors in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients aged 40 years or older in China and provide evidence for COPD control and prevention. Methods: COPD patients with post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC<70% were selected from COPD surveillance (2014-2015) of China, in which 5 791 current or former smokers defined by questionnaire survey were included in the study. The smoking cessation rate/ratio and the successful smoking cessation rate in COPD patients, the successful smoking cessation rate in COPD patients who ever smoked daily and the rate of attempting to quit smoking in current smokers with COPD were estimated using data adjusted by complicated sampling method. Results: The smoking cessation rate was 25.0% and the successful smoking cessation rate was 19.1% in COPD patients aged 40 years or older who ever smoked. The smoking cessation ratio was 23.1% and the successful smoking cessation ratio was 17.6% in COPD patients who ever smoked daily. The rate and ratio were higher in urban area than rural area (P<0.05) and increased with age (P<0.05). Patients who were aware of smoking being a risk factor for COPD had higher rate and ratio than patients who were not aware (P<0.05). Patients with more severe airflow limitation and patients smoking less had higher rate and ratio (P<0.05). Conclusions: The smoking cessation rate and ratio were low in COPD patients in China. More health education for COPD patients about smoking cessation needs to be strengthened. It is suggested for healthcare workers to actively advise smoking cessation and suggest smoking cessation ways for patients who smoke in their routine clinical service to increase the successful smoking cessation rate/ratio in COPD patients.

[Analysis on awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status and related knowledge in patients with COPD in China, 2014-2015]

Objective: To understand the awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status and awareness of COPD-related knowledge and its influencing factors in COPD patients aged ≥40 years in China in 2014-2015. Methods: The study subjects were selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 COPD surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China. The number of the subjects was 75 107. The relevant variables about COPD diagnosis and COPD-related knowledge awareness were collected by electronic questionnaire in face to face interviews. A total of 9 134 participates with post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC<70% were diagnosed with COPD. Based on the complex sampling design, the awareness rate of COPD status and related knowledge were estimated, and the influencing factors were analyzed. Results: A total of 9 132 COPD patients were included in the analysis. Among COPD patients aged ≥40 years in China, 0.9% were aware of their COPD status (95%CI: 0.6%-1.1%), and 5.7% were aware of COPD related knowledge (95%CI: 4.8%-6.6%), and 3.4% were aware of pulmonary function test (95%CI: 2.8%-4.0%). The COPD status awareness rate was 3.9% in the patients with history of chronic respiratory disease (95%CI: 2.9%-4.8%), 2.4% in the patients with respiratory symptoms (95%CI: 1.7%-3.1%), and 7.1% in the patients with COPD related knowledge awareness (95%CI: 4.5%-9.8%) respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that chronic respiratory disease history, respiratory symptoms, occupational dust and/or harmful gas exposure and COPD related knowledge awareness had influences on the awareness rate of COPD status. Educational level and chronic respiratory disease history had influences on the awareness rate of COPD related knowledge. And ethnic groups, educational level and history of chronic respiratory diseases had influences on the awareness rate of pulmonary function test. Conclusions: The awareness rates of COPD status, COPD-related knowledge and pulmonary function test in COPD patients in China were low. The comprehensive intervention of COPD should be carried out to improve the level of diagnosis and the awareness COPD status of COPD patients.

[Analysis on respiratory rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease aged 40 years or older in China, 2014-2015]

Objective: To understand the situation of respiratory rehabilitation and oxygen inhalation therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients aged 40 years or older in China, and provide basic information for the development of pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods: The data were from 2014-2015 COPD surveillance in China. Chinese residents aged 40 years or older were recruited through a complex multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 COPD surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities). Standardized face to face electronic questionnaires were used to collect information about respiratory rehabilitation and oxygen inhalation therapy of the patients. Spirometry was performed on all participants, and patients with post- bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC<70% were diagnosed with COPD. The number of defined COPD patients was 9 134. Based on the complex sampling design, the respiratory rehabilitation treatment rate and oxygen inhalation therapy rate of COPD patients aged 40 years old or older in China were estimated, and the influencing factors were analyzed. Results: A total of 9 118 COPD patients aged 40 years or older were included in the analysis. The rate of respiratory rehabilitation was 0.8% (95CI: 0.6%-1.0%), and the rate of oxygen inhalation therapy was 2.5% (95%CI: 2.0%-2.9%). Among patients with severe symptoms or high risk of acute exacerbation (combined COPD assessment groups B, C, D), the rate of respiratory rehabilitation was 1.4% (95%CI: 0.9%-1.9%), and the rate of oxygen inhalation therapy was 5.4% (95%CI: 4.4%-6.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that urban or rural residences, geographic area, awareness of COPD, history of acute exacerbation and severity of airflow restriction had influences on the respiratory rehabilitation rate in the COPD patients. Gender, geographic area, awareness of COPD, history of acute exacerbation, mMRC scores and severity of airflow restriction had influences on the patients' oxygen inhalation therapy rate. Conclusions: The rate of respiratory rehabilitation and oxygen inhalation therapy in COPD patients aged 40 years or older was relatively low in China. It is necessary to explore an effective model of pulmonary rehabilitation and COPD management, so that more COPD patients may have access to scientific pulmonary rehabilitation treatment.

A Synthetic Graft With Multilayered Co-Electrospinning Nanoscaffolds for Bridging Massive Rotator Cuff Tear in a Rat Model

BACKGROUND

Graft bridging is used in massive rotator cuff tear (MRCT); however, the integration of graft-tendon and graft-bone is still a challenge.

HYPOTHESIS

A co-electrospinning nanoscaffold of polycaprolactone (PCL) with an "enthesis-mimicking" (EM) structure could bridge MRCT, facilitate tendon regeneration, and improve graft-bone healing.

STUDY DESIGN

Controlled laboratory study.

METHODS

First, we analyzed the cytocompatibility of the electrospinning nanoscaffolds, including aligned PCL (aPCL), nonaligned PCL (nPCL), aPCL-collagen I, nPCL-collagen II, and nPCL-nanohydroxyapatite (nHA). Second, for the EM condition, nPCL-collagen II and nPCL-nHA were electrospun layer by layer at one end of the aPCL-collagen I; for the control condition, the nPCL was electrospun on the aPCL. In 40 mature male rats, resection of both the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons was performed to create MRCT, and the animals were divided randomly into EM and control groups. In both groups, one end of the layered structure was fixed on the footprint of the rotator cuff, whereas the other end of the layered structure was sutured with the tendon stump. The animals were euthanized for harvesting of tissues for histologic and biomechanical analysis at 4 weeks or 8 weeks postoperatively.

RESULTS

All scaffolds showed good cytocompatibility in vitro. The graft-tendon tissue in the EM group had more regularly arranged cells, denser tissue, a significantly higher tendon maturing score, and more birefringence compared with the control group at 8 weeks after operation. Newly formed fibrocartilage could be observed at the graft-bone interface in both groups by 8 weeks, but the EM group had a higher graft-bone healing score and significantly more newly formed fibrocartilage than the control group. An enthesis-like structure with transitional layers was observed in the EM group at 8 weeks. Biomechanically, the values for maximum failure load and stiffness of the tendon-graft-bone complex were significantly higher in the EM group than in the control group at 8 weeks.

CONCLUSION

The co-electrospinning nanoscaffold of aPCL-collagen I could be used as a bridging graft to improve early graft-tendon healing for MRCT in a rat model and enhance early enthesis reconstruction in combination with a multilayered structure of nPCL-collagen II and nPCL-nHA.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

We constructed a graft to bridge MRCT, enhance graft-tendon healing and graft-bone healing, and reconstruct the enthesis structure.

[Analysis in medication treatment and its related factors among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease aged 40 years or older in China, 2014-2015]

Objective: To understand the medication treatment rate and its associated factors among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients aged ≥40 years in China, and to provide basic data for targeted interventions to improve the diagnosis and treatment of COPD patients. Methods: Data were from COPD surveillance of Chinese residents in 2014-2015. Questionnaire and pre-bronchodilator and post-bronchodilator spirometry were performed on all respondents. Individuals with post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC<70% were diagnosed as COPD patients. A total of 9 120 COPD patients were included in the analysis. Based on the complex sampling design, the medication treatment rate and 95%CI among COPD patients were estimated, and the associated factors were analyzed. Results: The medication treatment rate for COPD patients aged ≥40 years was 11.7% (95%CI: 10.2%-13.0%), the treatment rate with inhaled medication was 3.4% (95%CI: 2.9%-4.0%), and the treatment rate with oral or intravenous medication was 10.4% (95%CI: 9.0%-12.0%). All treatment rates were higher in patients who knew that they had COPD before the investigation. The rate of medication treatment in patients aged ≥60 years was higher than that in patients aged <60 years. Medication treatment rate, and oral or intravenous medication treatment rate among women were higher than those among men. These two treatment rates in patients with harmful occupational exposure were higher than those in patients without exposure. The medication treatment rate, and oral or intravenous medication treatment rate in former smokers were higher than those in current smokers and never smokers. Patients who knew that they had COPD before the investigation had higher rates of three treatments than those who were not aware of their disease conditions. Those with respiratory symptoms had higher three treatments rates than those without symptoms. Conclusion: In China, the rate of medication treatment for COPD patients aged ≥40 years old, especially the rate of inhaled medication treatment was very low. Being aware of their own COPD status and the emergence of respiratory symptoms were important factors associated with COPD medication treatment. Early diagnosis of COPD should be strengthened and the level of standardized treatment for patients should be improved.

[Analyses of the rate of spirometry examination and its related factors in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseasepatients aged 40 years or older in China, 2014-2015]

Objective: To understand the rate of spirometry examination and its related factors among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients aged ≥40 years in China from 2014 to 2015, and provide evidence for diagnosis, treatment and management of COPD patients normatively. Methods: Data were obtained from 2014-2015 COPD surveillance, China. The previous lung function examination status and other information of the subjects were collected by face-to-face survey. We defined COPD as a post-bronchodilator FEV(1): FVC less than 70%. A total of 9 130 COPD patients were included in the analysis of this study. The rate of spirometry examination and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated in COPD patients aged ≥40 years with complicated sampling weights. Meanwhile, the spirometry examination related factors were analyzed. Results: The estimated rate of spirometry examination among COPD patients was 5.9% (95%CI: 4.9%-6.9%), 6.1% (95%CI: 5.2%-7.1%) for men and 5.3% (95%CI: 4.0%-6.6%) for women. The rate was significantly higher in urban population than in rural (P<0.001). With the increase of education level, the rate of spirometry examination among COPD patients increased gradually (P<0.001). The rate of spirometry examination was 4.0% (95%CI: 3.1%-4.9%) among COPD patients in agricultural industry. The rate of spirometry examination among COPD patients with awareness of pulmonary function test was 32.3% (95%CI: 26.4%-38.1%). The rate of spirometry examination among COPD patients with previous chronic respiratory disease and respiratory symptoms were 13.7%(95%CI:11.5%-15.9%), 8.8%(95%CI:7.2%-10.4%), respectively. The rate of spirometry examination among COPD patients exposed to occupational dust and/or harmful gases was 5.7% (95%CI: 4.6%-6.9%). The rate of spirometry examination in former smokers among COPD patients was 10.2% (95%CI: 8.0%-12.4%), higher than those in current smokers (4.2%, 95%CI: 3.3%-5.1%) and non-smokers (6.3%, 95%CI: 5.1%-7.6%). Conclusion: The rate of spirometry examination is extremely low among COPD patients aged ≥40 in China, and the standardized diagnosis, treatment and management of COPD patients need to be improved urgently.

The role of let-7 and HMGA2 in the occurrence and development of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prognostic role of microRNA let-7 in lung cancer and the relationship between the expression of HMGA2 and clinical significance of lung cancer by meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The studies on the correlation between the low expression of let-7 and the prognosis of lung cancer, and between the expression of HMGA2 and the occurrence and development of NSCLC were identified by searching PubMed, Web of the Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CNKI, CBM, and VIP databases. The StataSE12.0 software was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 10 studies correlating the low expression of let-7 with the lung cancer prognosis were analyzed. The results suggest that the low expression of let-7 indicates a poor overall survival rate, with a hazard ratio value of 1.55 (95%CI:1.16-2.09, p<0.05). Furthermore, nine case-control studies of HMGA2 expression in NSCLC tissues were evaluated. The results showed that the expression of HMGA2 in lung cancer is significantly higher than in normal paraneoplastic tissues. High expression of HMAG2 has been observed in patients with late TNM stages and lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

Low expression of let-7 is closely related to the poor prognosis of lung cancer patients. The higher expression of HMGA2 in lung tissues correlates positively with the occurrence and invasiveness of lung cancer. Among malignant tumors, lung cancer is the leading cause of mortality. Early diagnosis and accurate prognosis are the keys to improving the survival rate of patients with this disease.

Fluorescent nanoparticles in the popular pizza: properties, biodistribution and cytotoxicity

Food-borne nanoparticles that are generated during the thermal processing of various consumed foods are of great concern due to their unique properties. In this study, the presence of fluorescent nanoparticles (FNPs) in pizza, their biodistribution and cytotoxicity were investigated. The spherical FNPs have a diameter of about 3.33 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that they contained 68.21% C, 27.44% O, 2.75% N and 1.60% S, and the functional groups on their surface included -OH, -COOH, C[double bond, length as m-dash]C, -NH2 and C[double bond, length as m-dash]O. In vitro and in vivo biodistribution of pizza FNPs was evaluated using normal rat kidney (NRK) cells, onion epidermal cells, Caenorhabditis elegans and mice. The fluorescence microscopy images clearly indicate that the pizza FNPs appear to be localized within the cytoplasm. However, the FNPs remained restricted to the extracellular space of the onion epithelium and did not enter the onion cell cytoplasm because of the cell wall. The FNPs were swallowed by the Caenorhabditis elegans worms when exposed to food OP50 and distributed within the pharynx, intestine and anus. Obvious fluorescence of the FNPs in the stomach, intestine, liver, lung and kidney was observed for the FNPs in mouse organs, but not the brain, heart, and spleen. Furthermore, the produced FNPs were found to cause cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase in NRK cells, and resulted in cell apoptosis at high doses. The outcome of this research offers an important insight into the nature of thermal processing-induced nanoparticles and their in vivo and in vitro biological effects.

State Transfer via On-Line State Estimation and Lyapunov-Based Feedback Control for a N-Qubit System

In this paper, we propose a Lyapunov-based state feedback control for state transfer based on the on-line quantum state estimation (OQSE). The OQSE is designed based on continuous weak measurements and compressed sensing. The controlled system is described by quantum master equation for open quantum systems, and the continuous measurement operators are derived according to the dynamic equation of system. The feedback control law is designed based on the Lyapunov stability theorem, and a strict proof of proposed control laws are given. At each sampling time, the state is estimated on-line, which is used to design the control law. The simulation experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed feedback control strategy.

An Efficient and Fast Quantum State Estimator With Sparse Disturbance

A pure or nearly pure quantum state can be described as a low-rank density matrix, which is a positive semidefinite and unit-trace Hermitian. We consider the problem of recovering such a low-rank density matrix contaminated by sparse components, from a small set of linear measurements. This quantum state estimation task can be formulated as a robust principal component analysis (RPCA) problem subject to positive semidefinite and unit-trace Hermitian constraints. We propose an efficient and fast inexact alternating direction method of multipliers (I-ADMM), in which the subproblems are solved inexactly and hence have closed-form solutions. We prove global convergence of the proposed I-ADMM, and the theoretical result provides a guideline for parameter setting. Numerical experiments show that the proposed I-ADMM can recover state density matrices of 5 qubits on a laptop in 0.69 s, with 6 ×10^-4 accuracy (99.38% fidelity) using 30% compressive sensing measurements, which outperforms existing algorithms.

[The impact of five-year Chinese rural area cervical cancer screening program on screening rate]

Objective: To assess the impact of Chinese Cervical Cancer Screening Program for Rural Area (NACCSPRA) on population-based screening rates. Methods: The subjects were selected from 2013-2014 Chinese Chronic Diseases and Risk Factors Surveillance (CDRFS2013), which adopting multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 31 provinces. A total of 169 632 participants aged 18 years and older in 297 surveillance points were interviewed, of whom 65 476 women aged 35-64 years were included in the analysis. The surveillance points in CDRFS 2013 were divided into the screening areas and the control areas by matching points in CDRFS2014 with counties in NACCSPRA. The difference in socioeconomic status between areas was compared. The screening rates and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were estimated by Tylar series variance method. The Propensity Score was evaluated for individuals by multivariate logistic regression and the greedy matching method based on propensity score value was used to conduct 1∶1 matching sample for the screening areas and the control areas. After matching, multivariate conditional logistic regression model was fitted to assess the impact of national cervical cancer screening intervention on the likelihood of undergoing cervical cancer screening at population level. Results: Among 65 476 subjects, 48.6% (n=31 794) was in the screening areas. Before matching, in the rural area the screening rate in the screening areas (24.0% (4 763/19 838), 95%CI: 21.8%-26.3%) was higher than that in the control areas (15.6% (2 331/14 942), 95%CI: 13.4%-17.8%); whereas in the urban area the screening rate in the screening areas (28.5% (3 413/11 956), 95%CI: 26.1%-31.0%) was similar to that in the control areas (26.3% (4 923/18 740), 95%CI: 24.1%-28.4%). After matching, in rural area the screening rate in the screening areas (23.2% (3 454/14 875), 95% CI: 20.9%-25.5%) was higher than that in the control areas (15.6% (2 315/14 875), 95% CI: 13.3%-17.8%); in urban area the screening rate in the screening areas (28.7% (3 202/11 146), 95% CI: 26.2%-31.2%) was higher than that in the control areas (23.1% (2 571/11 146), 95%CI: 20.9%-25.3%). Multivariate conditional logistic regression model showed that the cervical cancer screening rates in intervention areas significantly increased among women aged 35-64 years both in urban areas (OR=1.44, 95%CI: 1.34-1.54) and rural areas (OR=1.78, 95%CI: 1.67-1.90) as compared with those in control areas. Conclusion: The implementation of Chinese cervical cancer screening program during the five years substantially increased the population-based screening rates both in urban and rural areas.

Interactions of carbon quantum dots from roasted fish with digestive protease and dopamine

The carbon quantum dots from roasted fish interacted with digestive protease and dopamine.

[Analysis on passive smoking exposure in adults aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: To describe and analyze the passive smoking exposure level in adults aged ≥40 years in China. Methods: A total of 75 107 adults from 125 sites of COPD surveillance points in China were surveyed by electronic questionnaire during face to face interviews. After comprehensive weighting of the samples, the passive smoking exposure level was analyzed. Results: The passive smoking exposure rate of the adults aged ≥40 years was 44.9% (95%CI: 42.3%-47.5%). The exposure rate was highest in those aged from 40 to 49 years (51.0%, 95%CI: 47.9%-54.1%) in term of age groups, in those with senior high school education level and above (48.6%, 95%CI: 44.9%-52.2%) in term of education level, and in office workers (57.7%, 95%CI: 51.8%-63.7%) in term of occupation. The adults reporting passive smoking exposure every days in a week accounted for 27.7% (95%CI: 25.5%-29.8%), and those reporting household passive smoking exposure accounted for 28.3% (95%CI: 26.2%-30.5%). Logistic regression analysis showed that the passive smoking exposure level was different in different age groups and occupation groups. Conclusion: The passive smoking exposure level is still high in adults in China. Age and occupation are the influencing factors of passive smoking exposure level.

[Survey of smoking prevalence in adults aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: Smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD. Understanding the smoking rate, current smoking rate, average age to start smoking and average daily consumption of cigarettes among people aged ≥40 years in China can provide scientific evidence for the effective control and prevention of COPD. Methods: Data were from COPD surveillance in China (2014 to 2015) which covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. A total of 75 107 adults aged ≥40 years selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 surveillance sites (county/district) were surveyed by electronic questionnaire during face to face interviews. The smoking rate and other smoking index were estimated by using weighting complex sampling design. Results: The smoking rate and current smoking rate were 40.0% (95%CI: 38.5%-42.0%) and 31.0% (95%CI: 29.7%-32.0%), respectively, among the Chinese aged ≥40 years in 2014. The smoking rate and current smoking rate in males (74.1% and 57.6%) were much higher than those in females (5.4% and 4.0%). And the two rates were significantly higher in rural area (41.2% and 32.4%) than in urban area (38.8% and 29.5%). The mean age of smokers to start smoking was 20.1 (95%CI: 19.7-20.5) years. The younger the smokers were, the earlier their average age to start smoking was (The ages to start smoking for smokers aged 40-, 50-, 60-, ≥70 years were 18.3, 19.2, 20.9 and 23.1 years, respectively). Average daily cigarette consumption of current daily smokers was 18.9 (95%CI: 18.1-19.7) cigarettes, and the daily cigarette consumption was higher in males (19.3 cigarettes) than in females (12.5 cigarettes). Conclusion: The smoking rate in males aged ≥40 years is high in China. Compared with urban area, the smoking rate in rural area is higher, posing a big challenge for COPD control and prevention.

[Survey and analyses of rate of spirometry examination in adults aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: To understand the performance of spirometry examination in adults aged ≥40 years and provide evidence for the improvement of comprehensive prevention and control of COPD and the evaluation on the effects of current prevention and control measures. Methods: The study subjects were those included in national COPD surveillance in China during 2014-2015. The surveillance used a multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling strategy and a total of 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces were covered. A total of 75 107 adults aged ≥40 years received a questionnaire survey in face to face interviews to collect the information about their acceptance of spirometry examination in previous years. The estimated rate (95%CI) of spirometry examination was calculated based on complex sampling weight design. Results: A total of 74 591 subjects were included in the analyses. The estimated rate of spirometry examination was 4.5% (95%CI: 3.7%-5.2%), and it was significantly higher in men than in women (P<0.001), in urban population than in rural population (P<0.001). The rate of spirometry examination increased with the increase of education level (P<0.001). The rate of spirometry examination was highest in retirees (10.8%, 95%CI: 8.2%-13.3%), and lowest in those working in the industry of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy (2.4%, 95%CI: 2.0%-2.9%). The rate of spirometry examination was high in those with previous chronic respiratory diseases and respiratory symptoms, i.e. 13.4% (95%CI: 10.5%-16.4%) and 15.0% (95%CI: 10.5%-19.4%) respectively. The rate of spirometry examination in former smokers was 7.4% (95%CI: 6.0%-8.8%), slightly higher than those in current smokers and never smokers, 4.7% (95%CI: 3.9%-5.5%) and 3.9% (95%CI: 3.0%-4.7%), respectively. In different population groups, the rate of spirometry examination was lowest in rural population who had received no formal education (1.8%, 95%CI: 1.2%-2.3%) and highest in urban population with respiratory symptoms (20.2%, 95%CI: 12.6%-27.8%). Conclusion: The rate of spirometry examination is extremely low in adults aged ≥40 years in China, therefore effective measures should be taken to increase the rate of spirometry examination in adults in China.

[A summary of item and method of national chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance in China]

COPD refers to a group of chronic respiratory diseases which seriously influence the people's health and life quality. The national COPD surveillance in China has been implemented since 2014 with the goal of monitoring the prevalence and trend of COPD and related risk factors in China. The paper summarizes the item and method of national COPD surveillance in China.

[Survey and analyses of population at high risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China, 2014]

Objective: To understand the distribution and characteristics of people aged ≥40 years who are at high risk of COPD in China and provide evidence for COPD prevention and control. Methods: The survey was conducted among the subjects selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China for 2014-2015 national chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance. A total of 75 107 people aged ≥40 years in 125 surveillance points were surveyed in face to face interviews. Subjects who met at least one of the following conditions, including chronic respiratory symptoms, exposure to risk factors, medical history of respiratory diseases, and family history, were defined as population at high risk. The weighted proportion of the population at high risk of COPD and 95%CI were estimated by using complex sampling design. Results: Among eligible 74 296 subjects, the proportion of population at high risk of COPD was 89.5% (95%CI: 87.8%-91.2%). The proportion significantly increased with age (P<0.001). The proportion of the population at high risk was significantly higher in men than in women (P<0.001), and in rural area than in urban area (P<0.001). The highest proportion of population at high risk was observed in men in rural area in western China. The proportion of population at high risk of COPD who met at least two conditions was 32.0% (95%CI:29.7%-34.2%), the proportion of those who met at least three conditions was 7.4% (95%CI: 6.6%- 8.3%), and the proportion of those who met all the conditions was 1.5% (95%CI: 1.2%-1.8%). Among population at high risk of COPD, those who only had exposure to one risk factor accounted for 61.7% (95%CI: 59.8%-63.7%). Conclusion: About 90% of people aged ≥40 years in China are at high risk for COPD. It is necessary to conduct population-based screening for COPD and take comprehensive measures to reduce prevalence of risk factors.

[Prevalence of biomass fuel exposure in women aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of biomass fuel exposure in women aged ≥40 years in China during 2014-2015, and provide evidence for the prevention and control of bio-fuel exposure. Methods: All participants were selected from a national representative cross-sectional survey during 2014-2015 in the mainland of China. A multi-stage stratified cluster sampling strategy was used. A total of 37 795 women aged ≥40 years received a face-to-face questionnaire survey at 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces. The level of biomass fuel exposure was analyzed after complex sample weighting to represent the overall Chinese women aged ≥40 years. Results: A total of 37 777 women were included in the analysis. With complex weighting, the rate of biomass fuel exposure in Chinese women aged ≥40 years was 35.8% (95%CI: 29.6%-42.1%), the exposure rate was higher in rural women than in urban women (P<0.001). The biomass fuel exposure rate was highest in northeastern and lowest in northern areas of China (χ(2)=17.03, P=0.009). The estimated biomass fuel exposure rate decreased with the increase of educational level (P<0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of biomass fuel exposure is high in women aged ≥40 years in China, especially in those in rural areas. The exposure level differs with age and area. Appropriate measures should be taken to reduce the level of biomass fuel exposure in Chinese women.

[Analysis on occupational exposure to dust and harmful gas and corresponding protection in adults aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: To understand the current status of dust and/or harmful gas exposure in adults aged ≥40 years and corresponding protection in China, and provide evidence for strengthening the occupational protection against dust and harmful gas exposure. Methods: The data were obtained from 2014-2015 COPD surveillance in China. A total of 75 107 adults aged ≥40 years selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) were surveyed in face to face interviews. Occupational exposure was defined as occupational exposure to dust and/or harmful gas for more than 1 year. The weighted percentages of exposure were estimated by using complex sampling design. Results: Among eligible 71 061 participants, the exposure rate of dust and/or harmful gas was 46.3%. The exposure rate in rural area (51.7%) was significantly higher than that in urban area (40.3%), and the exposure rate in the western area was higher than those in the eastern and central areas (P<0.001). Among the groups with different education level, the exposure rate in those with education level of primary school and below was highest (49.7%, P<0.001). The exposure protection rate was 26.7%, and the exposure protection rate was highest in the eastern area (29.9%), followed by that in the central area (27.0%) and that in the western area (22.9%) The exposure protection rate in urban area was significantly higher than that in rural area, and the exposure protection rate was lowest in those with education level of primary school and below. The regular exposure protection was taken by only 50.7% of the adults surveyed. Conclusion: The exposure rate of dust and/or harmful gas is high in China, while the exposure protection rate is very low. Health education, occupational protection and supervision should be strengthened among those with low education level, and those living in rural area and in the western area.

[Awareness of knowledge about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related factors in residents aged 40 years and older in China, 2014]

Objective: To understand the awareness of knowledge about COPD and related factors in residents aged ≥40 years in China. Methods: Through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling, residents aged ≥40 years were selected from 125 sites of COPD surveillance (2014-2015) in 31 provinces of China for a face to face questionnaire survey. The demographic characteristics and awareness rate of knowledge about COPD among 75 082 subjects were described as frequency and percentage. The awareness rate of knowledge about COPD and its 95% confidence interval (CI) among the residents aged ≥40 years were estimated with complicated sampling weights. Meanwhile, the knowledge awareness related factors were screened in complicated sampling data. Results: The awareness rate of COPD was 9.2%. The awareness rate of pulmonary function test was 3.6% and the awareness rate of COPD-related knowledge was 5.8%. All of the awareness rates were associated with gender, age, education level and occupation. Besides, the awareness rate of pulmonary function test and COPD-related knowledge were related with living area. Compared with females, the ORs of the three awareness rates among males were 0.88, 0.81 and 0.78. Compared with the residents aged ≥70 years, the ORs of the three awareness rates among those aged 60-69 years were 1.28, 1.08 and 1.51. Compared with the residents with education level of primary school or below, the ORs of the three awareness rates among those with college degree or above were 2.28, 3.43 and 3.14. The OR of the awareness rate of pulmonary function test among the residents in the eastern area was 1.77 compared with those in the central area. The ORs of the awareness rate of COPD-related knowledge among the residents in the eastern and western areas were 1.95 and 2.16 compared with those in the central area(all above P<0.05). Among COPD symptoms, the awareness rate of dyspnea was highest (67.9%), and among the risk factors for COPD, the awareness rate of smoking was highest (81.3%). The source of awareness of COPD for most residents was television program (38.2%). Conclusion: The awareness rate of knowledge about COPD was low in residents aged ≥40 years in China in 2014. It is necessary to strengthen the health education about COPD to improve the prevention and control of the disease.

Extracellular matrix deposited by Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells enhances cell expansion and tissue specific lineage potential

This article aims to explore whether Wharton's jelly (WJ) derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (WJ-MSCs) decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) can rejuvenate MSCs during in vitro expansion. Passage 10 synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SDSCs) and WJ-MSCs were expanded on plastic flasks (PL) or dECMs derived from SDSCs and WJ-MSCs. Flow cytometry was applied to evaluate surface phenotypes and proliferation capacity. Early (7 days) and late (21 days) chondrogenic potentials were assessed using histology, immunohistochemistry, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Western blot analysis was applied to evaluate the potential involvement of MAPK and Wnts signals during the proliferation and chondrogenic processes. Cells were further evaluated for their osteogenic potential using alkaline phosphatase staining and RT-PCR and adipogenic potential using oil red O staining and RT-PCR. Compared to PL expanded cells, dECMs yielded expanded cells with better proliferation capacity as well as decreased percentage of HLA-DR positive SDSCs. Meanwhile, a decrease in CD105 median fluorescence intensity of WJ-MSCs groups were observed compared to the corresponding SDSCs groups. Moreover, both SDSCs and WJ-MSCs acquired better chondrogenic potential after dECM treatment, as evidenced by increased pellet sizes and increased expression of chondrogenic marker genes. WJ-MSCs dECM was inferior to SDSCs dECM in enhancing early stage chondrogenic differentiation, which was compensated during late stage chondrogenesis, despite causing an increased type X collagen accumulation. p-JNK and p-38 were implicated in the expansion and late chondrogenic differentiation stages, respectively. However, dECM preconditioning did not enhance either osteogenic or adipogenic potential of SDSCs and WJ-MSCs. WJ-MSCs dECM is superior to SDSCs dECM on enhancing proliferation, lowering immunogenicity and promoting late stage chondrogenesis.