Association of Visit-to-Visit Variability of Blood Pressure with Cardiovascular Disease among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Cohort Study

Zhe-Bin Yu,Die Li,Xue-Yu Chen,Pei-Wen Zheng,Hong-Bo Lin,Meng-Ling Tang,Ming-Juan Jin,Jian-Bing Wang,Kun Chen 대한당뇨병학회 2019 Diabetes and Metabolism Journal Vol.43 No.3

Background: Increasing evidence has shown that visit-to-visit variability (VVV) of blood pressure (BP) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of VVV of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) on the risk of CVD among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 10,163 T2DM patients who were not previously diagnosed with CVD from January 2008 to December 2012 in Ningbo, China. The VVV of BP was calculated using five metrics, including standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), variation independent of mean, average real variability, and successive variability (SV) of measurements, obtained over a 24-month measurement period. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression models for the associations of variability in BP with risk of CVD. Results: A total of 894 CVD events were observed during a median follow-up of 49.5 months. The hazard ratio in the highest quintile of SD of SBP was 1.24 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.52) compared with patients in the lowest quintile. The association between higher VVV of DBP and risk of CVD was not consistent across different metrics and sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Higher VVV of SBP was associated with an increased risk of CVD, irrespective of the mean SBP level. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Saponins from Rubus parvifolius L. Induce Apoptosis in Human Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells through AMPK Activation and STAT3 Inhibition

Ge, Yu-Qing,Xu, Xiao-Feng,Yang, Bo,Chen, Zhe,Cheng, Ru-Bin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.13

Background: Saponins are a major active component for the traditional Chinese medicine, Rubus parvifolius L., which has shown clear antitumor activities. However, the specific effects and mechanisms of saponins of Rubus parvifolius L. (SRP) remain unclear with regard to human chronic myeloid leukemia cells. The aim of this study was to investigate inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis induction effects of SRP in K562 cells and further elucidate its regulatory mechanisms. Materials and Methods: K562 cells were treated with different concentrations of SRP and MTT assays were performed to determine cell viability. Apoptosis induction by SRP was determined with FACS and DAPI staining analysis. Western blotting was used to detect expression of apoptosis and survival related genes. Specific inhibitors were added to confirm roles of STAT3 and AMPK pathways in SRP induction of apoptosis. Results: Our results indicated that SRP exhibited obvious inhibitory effects on the growth of K562 cells, and significantly induced apoptosis. Cleavage of pro-apoptotic proteins was dramatically increased after SRP exposure. SRP treatment also increased the activities of AMPK and JNK pathways, and inhibited the phosphorylation expression level of STAT3 in K562 cells. Inhibition of the AMPK pathway blocked the activation of JNK by SRP, indicating that SRP regulated the expression of JNK dependent oon the AMPK pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of the latter significantly conferred resistance to SRP pro-apoptotic activity, suggesting involvement of the AMPK pathway in induction of apoptosis. Pretreatment with a STAT3 inhibitor also augmented SRP induced growth inhibition and cell apoptosis, further confirming roles of the STAT3 pathway after SRP treatment. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that SRP induce cell apoptosis through AMPK activation and STAT3 inhibition in K562 cells. This suggests the possibility of further developing SRP as an alternative treatment option, or perhaps using it as adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent for chronic myeloid leukemia therapy.

Non-conservative Characteristics of Seawater Calcium Ion in Offshore Aquaculture Areas: A Case Study in the Muping Marine Ranch, Yantai, China

Zhang Zhe,Bian Hai-Zhen,Hu Yu-Bin 한국해양과학기술원 2023 Ocean science journal Vol.58 No.3

Calcium ( Ca2+) is a major ion in the ocean, and its ratio to salinity is generally considered to be relatively constant. However, its conservativeness is often compromised in offshore waters, particularly in marine shellfish cultured areas, where the Ca2+ concentration could be affected by biological activities. Therefore, a deviation might occur in evaluating ocean acidification in an aquaculture area when the aragonite saturation (Ωarag) is calculated based on the Ca2+ concentration via the calciumsalinity ratio. This study measured the Ca2+ concentration, and explored the distribution of Ca2+ and the causes of excess calcium ( Ca2+ excess) as well as the degree of acidification based on a field survey from 2020 to 2021 in the Muping Marine Ranch, Yantai. The results showed that the Ca2+ concentrations in both surface and bottom seawater and vertical differences were higher in summer than in other seasons. The measured Ca2+ concentrations in seawater were on average 0.372 mmol/ kg higher than those calculated by the calcium-salinity ratio. The riverine input was the leading cause for the formation of Ca2+ excess, which was reduced to some extent by the activity of cultured calcifying organisms. The Ωarag obtained from the measured Ca2+ was on average 0.10 higher than that derived from the calculated Ca2+ via the calcium-salinity ratio, indicating that the ocean acidification level might be somewhat overestimated if Ωarag is derived from the calculated Ca2+ in coastal areas, especially in estuarine environments that are heavily influenced by riverine input. Therefore, the investigation of the non-conservative characteristics of Ca2+ in offshore seawater should help to accurately assess the acidification level of aquaculture areas.

Prognostic Value of Chemotherapy-Induced Amenorrhea in Breast Cancer: a Meta-Analysis

Zha, Quan-Bin,Tang, Jin-Hai,Li, Xiu-Juan,Xia, Lei,Zhang, Zhe,Ren, Zhao-Jun,Xu, Xin-Yu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.14

Background: There is still a great deal of controversy with regard to the prognostic role of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) in breast cancer patients. To confirm whether CIA can serve as a useful factor in predicting clinical effects of systemic adjuvant chemotherapy, we performed this meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Relevant studies were identified using PubMed, and Embase databases. Eligible study results were pooled and summary hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analyses and an assessment of publication bias were also conducted. Results: A total of 8,333 patients from 11 published studies were identified through searching the databases. The pooled HRs for disease-free survival (DFS) suggested that CIA was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of recurrence, especially in patients with hormone receptor-positive lesions (overall HR=0.65, 95%CI 0.53-0.80, $I^2=41.3%$). When the five studies reporting the HR for overall survival (OS) were pooled (n=4193), a favorable trend was found (HR=0.69, 95%CI 0.52-0.91, $I^2=51.6%$). No publication bias was observed in this study. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that CIA predicts a better outcome in premenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients.

Prolyl endopeptidase remodels macrophage function as a novel transcriptional coregulator and inhibits fibrosis

Lin Shuang-Zhe,Wu Wei-Jie,Cheng Yu-Qing,Zhang Jian-Bin,Jiang Dai-Xi,Ren Tian-Yi,Ding Wen-Jin,Liu Mingxi,Chen Yuan-Wen,Fan Jian-Gao 생화학분자생물학회 2023 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.55 No.-

Macrophages are immune cells crucial for host defense and homeostasis maintenance, and their dysregulation is involved in multiple pathological conditions, such as liver fibrosis. The transcriptional regulation in macrophage is indispensable for fine-tuning of macrophage functions, but the details have not been fully elucidated. Prolyl endopeptidase (PREP) is a dipeptidyl peptidase with both proteolytic and non-proteolytic functions. In this study, we found that Prep knockout significantly contributed to transcriptomic alterations in quiescent and M1/M2-polarized bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), as well as aggravated fibrosis in an experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model. Mechanistically, PREP predominantly localized to the macrophage nuclei and functioned as a transcriptional coregulator. Using CUT&Tag and co-immunoprecipitation, we found that PREP was mainly distributed in active cis-regulatory genomic regions and physically interacted with the transcription factor PU.1. Among PREP-regulated downstream genes, genes encoding profibrotic cathepsin B and D were overexpressed in BMDMs and fibrotic liver tissue. Our results indicate that PREP in macrophages functions as a transcriptional coregulator that finely tunes macrophage functions, and plays a protective role against liver fibrosis pathogenesis.

Lack of Prognostic Value of Human Epidermal Growth Factor- Like Receptor 2 Status in Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC): a Meta-analysis

Li, Xiu-Juan,Zha, Quan-Bin,Xu, Xin-Yu,Xia, Lei,Zhang, Zhe,Ren, Zhao-Jun,Tang, Jin-Hai Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.22

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare, aggressive form of breast cancer which is more likely to be her-2/neu amplified. While the her-2/neu status has been utilised to predict prognosis, the published data are inconsistent. The present meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether the her-2/neu status predicts outcomes. Papers were selected from the PubMed database based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Parameters such as total patients, follow-up time and outcome statistics (i.e. overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS) were collected. The analysis included 6 studies with 2,838 IBC patients. The summary hazards ratio (HR) estimating the association of OS with HER-2-positive disease was 0.96 (95% confidence interval (95%CI: 0.85-1.10)), with similar findings for RFS (HR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.61-1.09). No obvious statistical heterogeneity was detected. This meta-analysis suggests that HER-2-positive status is not an independent adverse prognostic factor for survival among IBC patient cases.

Mechanical behavior of rock-coal-rock specimens with different coal thicknesses

Guo, Wei-Yao,Tan, Yun-Liang,Yu, Feng-Hai,Zhao, Tong-Bin,Hu, Shan-Chao,Huang, Dong-Mei,Qin, Zhe Techno-Press 2018 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.15 No.4

To explore the influence of coal thickness on the mechanical behavior and the failure characteristics of rock-coal-rock (RCR) mass, the experimental investigation of uniaxial compressive tests was conducted first and then a systematic numerical simulation by particle flow code (PFC2D) was performed to deeply analyze the failure mechanical behavior of RCR specimens with different coal thicknesses in conventional compression tests. The overall elastic modulus and peak stress of RCR specimens lie between the rock and the coal. Inter-particle properties were calibrated to match the physical sample strength and the stiffness response. Numerical simulation results show that the deformation and strength behaviors of RCR specimens depend not only on the coal thickness, but also on the confining pressure. Under low confining pressures, the overall failure mechanism of RCR specimen is the serious damage of coal section when the coal thickness is smaller than 30 mm, but it is shear failure of coal section when the coal thickness is larger than 30 mm. Whereas under high confining pressures, obvious shear bands exist in both the coal section and the rock section when the coal thickness is larger than 30 mm, but when the coal thickness is smaller than 30mm, the failure mechanism is serious damage of coal section and shear failure of rock section.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) Alleviates Experimental Colitis in Mice by Gut Microbiota Regulation

Zhang Wanying,Zou Guiling,Li Bin,Du Xuefei,Sun Zhe,Sun Yu,Jiang Xiaofeng 한국미생물·생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.8

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an increasing global burden and a predisposing factor to colorectal cancer. Although a number of treatment options are available, the side effects could be considerable. Studies on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as an IBD intervention protocol require further validation as the underlying mechanisms for its attenuating effects remain unclear. This study aims to demonstrate the ameliorative role of FMT in an ulcerative colitis (UC) model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and elucidate its relative mechanisms in a mouse model. It was shown that FMT intervention decreased disease activity index (DAI) levels and increased the body weight, colon weight and colon length of experimental animals. It also alleviated histopathological changes, reduced key cytokine expression and oxidative status in the colon. A down-regulated expression level of genes associated with NF-κB signaling pathway was also observed. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that FMT intervention restored the gut microbiota to the pattern of the control group by increasing the relative abundance of Firmicutes and decreasing the abundances of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. The relative abundances of the genera Lactobacillus, Butyricicoccus, Lachnoclostridium, Olsenella and Odoribacter were upregulated but Helicobacter, Bacteroides and Clostridium were reduced after FMT administration. Furthermore, FMT administration elevated the concentrations of SCFAs in the colon. In conclusion, FMT intervention could be suitable for UC control, but further validations via clinical trials are recommended.