Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study

Objective: To investigate the association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all cause mortality. Design: Prospective population based study. Setting: UK Biobank. Participants: 263 450 participants (106 674 (52%) women; mean age 52.6), recruited from 22 sites across the UK. The exposure variable was the mode of transport used (walking, cycling, mixed mode v non-active (car or public transport)) to commute to and from work on a typical day. Main outcome measures: Incident (fatal and non-fatal) CVD and cancer, and deaths from CVD, cancer, or any causes. Results: 2430 participants died (496 were related to CVD and 1126 to cancer) over a median of 5.0 years (interquartile range 4.3-5.5) follow-up. There were 3748 cancer and 1110 CVD events. In maximally adjusted models, commuting by cycle and by mixed mode including cycling were associated with lower risk of all cause mortality (cycling hazard ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.42 to 0.83, P=0.002; mixed mode cycling 0.76, 0.58 to 1.00, P<0.05), cancer incidence (cycling 0.55, 0.44 to 0.69, P<0.001; mixed mode cycling 0.64, 0.45 to 0.91, P=0.01), and cancer mortality (cycling 0.60, 0.40 to 0.90, P=0.01; mixed mode cycling 0.68, 0.57 to 0.81, P<0.001). Commuting by cycling and walking were associated with a lower risk of CVD incidence (cycling 0.54, 0.33 to 0.88, P=0.01; walking 0.73, 0.54 to 0.99, P=0.04) and CVD mortality (cycling 0.48, 0.25 to 0.92, P=0.03; walking 0.64, 0.45 to 0.91, P=0.01). No statistically significant associations were observed for walking commuting and all cause mortality or cancer outcomes. Mixed mode commuting including walking was not noticeably associated with any of the measured outcomes. Conclusions: Cycle commuting was associated with a lower risk of CVD, cancer, and all cause mortality. Walking commuting was associated with a lower risk of CVD independent of major measured confounding factors. Initiatives to encourage and support active commuting could reduce risk of death and the burden of important chronic conditions

Characteristic Analysis of Mixed Traffic Flow of Regular and Autonomous Vehicles Using Cellular Automata

The technology of autonomous vehicles is expected to revolutionize the operation of road transport systems. The penetration rate of autonomous vehicles will be low at the early stage of their deployment. It is a challenge to explore the effects of autonomous vehicles and their penetration on heterogeneous traffic flow dynamics. This paper aims to investigate this issue. An improved cellular automaton was employed as the modeling platform for our study. In particular, two sets of rules for lane changing were designed to address mild and aggressive lane changing behavior. With extensive simulation studies, we obtained some promising results. First, the introduction of autonomous vehicles to road traffic could considerably improve traffic flow, particularly the road capacity and free-flow speed. And the level of improvement increases with the penetration rate. Second, the lane-changing frequency between neighboring lanes evolves with traffic density along a fundamental-diagram-like curve. Third, the impacts of autonomous vehicles on the collective traffic flow characteristics are mainly related to their smart maneuvers in lane changing and car following, and it seems that the car-following impact is more pronounced. Document type: Articl

Sleep characteristics modify the association between genetic predisposition to obesity and anthropometric measurements in 119,679 UK Biobank participants

Background - Obesity is a multifactorial condition influenced by genetics, lifestyle and environment. Objective - To investigate whether the association between a validated genetic profile risk score for obesity (GPRS-obesity) with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) was modified by sleep characteristics. Design - This study included cross-sectional data from 119,859 white European adults, aged 37-73 years, participating on the UK Biobank. Interactions between GPRS-obesity, and sleep characteristics (sleep duration, chronotype, day napping, and shift work) in their effects on BMI and WC were investigated. Results - The GPRS-obesity was associated with BMI (β:0.57 kg.m-2 per standard deviation (SD) increase in GPRS, [95%CI:0.55, 0.60]; P=6.3x10-207) and WC (β:1.21 cm, [1.15, 1.28]; P=4.2x10-289). There were significant interactions between GPRS-obesity and a variety of sleep characteristics in their relationship with BMI (P-interaction <0.05). In participants who slept <7 hrs or >9 hrs daily, the effect of GPRS-obesity on BMI was stronger (β:0.60 [0.54, 0.65] and 0.73 [0.49, 0.97] kg.m-2 per SD increase in GPRS, respectively) than in normal length sleepers (7-9 hours; β:0.52 [0.49, 0.55] kg.m-2 per SD). A similar pattern was observed for shiftworkers (β:0.68 [0.59, 0.77] versus 0.54 [0.51, 0.58] kg.m-2 for non-shiftworkers) and for night-shiftworkers (β:0.69 [0.56, 0.82] versus 0.55 [0.51, 0.58] kg.m-2 for non-night- shiftworkers), for those taking naps during the day (β:0.65 [0.52, 0.78] versus 0.51 [0.48, 0.55] kg.m-2 for those who never/rarely had naps) and for those with a self-reported evening chronotype (β:0.72 [0.61, 0.82] versus β:0.52 [0.47, 0.57] kg.m-2 for morning chronotype). Similar findings were obtained using WC as the outcome. Conclusions – This study shows that the association between genetic risk for obesity and phenotypic adiposity measures is exacerbated by adverse sleeping characteristics

Dietary fat and total energy intake modifies the association of genetic profile risk score on obesity: evidence from 48 170 UK Biobank participants

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial condition influenced by both genetics and lifestyle. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the association between a validated genetic profile risk score for obesity (GPRS-obesity) and body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) was modified by macronutrient intake in a large general population study. Methods: This study included cross-sectional data from 48 170 white European adults, aged 37–73 years, participating on the UK Biobank. Interactions between GPRS-obesity, and macronutrient intake (including total energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and dietary fibre intake) and its effects on BMI and WC were investigated. Results: The 93-SNPs genetic profile risk score was associated with a higher BMI (β:0.57 kg.m−2 per standard deviation (s.d.) increase in GPRS, [95%CI:0.53–0.60]; P=1.9 × 10−183) independent of major confounding factors. There was a significant interaction between GPRS and total fat intake (P[interaction]=0.007). Among high fat intake individuals, BMI was higher by 0.60 [0.52, 0.67] kg.m−2 per s.d. increase in GPRS-obesity; the change in BMI with GPRS was lower among low fat intake individuals (β:0.50 [0.44, 0.57] kg.m-2). Significant interactions with similar patterns were observed for saturated fat intake (High β:0.66 [0.59, 0.73] versus Low β:0.49 [0.42, 0.55] kg.m-2, P-interaction=2 × 10-4), and total energy intake (High β:0.58 [0.51, 0.64] versus Low β:0.49 [0.42, 0.56] kg.m−2, P-interaction=0.019), but not for protein intake, carbohydrate intake and fiber intake (P-interaction >0.05). The findings were broadly similar using WC as the outcome. Conclusions: These data suggest that the benefits of reducing the intake of fats and total energy intake, may be more important in individuals with high genetic risk for obesity

Body Parts Features Based Pedestrian Detection for Active Pedestrian Protection System

A novel pedestrian detection system based on vision in urban traffic situations is presented to help the driver perceive the pedestrian ahead of vehicle. To enhance the accuracy and to decrease the time consumption of pedestrian detection in such complicated situations, the pedestrian is detected by dividing it into several parts according to their corresponding features in the image. The candidate pedestrian leg is segmented based on the gentle Adaboost algorithm by training the optimized histogram of gradient features. The candidate pedestrian head is located by matching the pedestrian head and shoulder model above the region of the candidate leg. Then the candidate leg, head and shoulder are combined by parts constraint and threshold adjustment to verify the existence of pedestrian. Experiments in real urban traffic circumstances were conducted finally. Results show that the proposed pedestrian detection method can achieve a pedestrian detection rate of 92.1% with less time consumption

Improving the storage quality and suppressing off-flavor generation of winter jujube by precise micro-perforated MAP

IntroductionTraditional modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) cannot meet the preservation requirements of winter jujube, and the high respiration rate characteristics of winter jujube will produce an atmosphere component with high CO2 concentration in traditional MAP. Micro-perforated MAP is suitable for the preservation of winter jujube due to its high permeability, which can effectively remove excess CO2 and supply O2. In this study, a microporous film preservation system that can be quickly applied to winter jujube was developed, namely PMP-MAP (precise micro-perforated modified atmosphere packaging). An experiment was designed to store winter jujube in PMP-MAP at 20°C and 2°C, respectively. The quality, aroma and antioxidant capacity, etc. of winter jujube at the storage time were determined.MethodsIn this study, the optimal micropore area required for microporous film packaging at different temperatures is first determined. To ensure the best perforation effect, the effects of various factors on perforation efficiency were studied. The gas composition within the package was predicted using the gas prediction equation to ensure that the gas composition of the perforated package achieved the desired target. Finally, storage experiments were designed to determine the quality index of winter jujube, including firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acid, reddening, and decay incidence. In addition, sensory evaluation, aroma and antioxidant capacity were also determined. Finally, the preservation effect of PMP-MAP for winter jujube was evaluated by combining the above indicators.Results and discussionAt the end of storage, PMP-MAP reduced the respiration rate of winter jujube, which contributed to the preservation of high total soluble solids and titratable acid levels, and delayed the reddening and decay rate of winter jujube. In addition, PMP-MAP maintained the antioxidant capacity and flavor of winter jujube while inhibiting the occurrence of alcoholic fermentation and off-flavors. This can be attributed to the effective gas exchange facilitated by PMP-MAP, thereby preventing anaerobic stress and quality degradation. Therefore, the PMP-MAP approach is an efficient method for the storage of winter jujube

Identification of novel urine proteomic biomarkers for high stamina in high-altitude adaptation

Introduction: We aimed to identify urine biomarkers for screening individuals with adaptability to high-altitude hypoxia with high stamina levels. Although most non-high-altitude natives experience rapid decline in physical ability when ascending to high altitudes, some individuals with high-altitude adaptability continue to maintain high endurance levels.Methods: We divided the study population into two groups: the LC group (low change in endurance from low to high altitude) and HC group (high change in endurance from low to high altitude). We performed blood biochemistry testing for individuals at high altitudes and sea level. We used urine peptidome profiling to compare the HH (high-altitude with high stamina) and HL (high-altitude with low stamina) groups and the LC and HC groups to identify urine biomarkers.Results: Routine blood tests revealed that the concentration of white blood cells, lymphocytes and platelets were significantly higher in the HH group than in the HL group. Urine peptidome profiling showed that the proteins ITIH1, PDCD1LG2, NME1-NME2, and CSPG4 were significantly differentially expressed between the HH and HL groups, which was tested using ELISA. Urine proteomic analysis showed that LRG1, NID1, VASN, GPX3, ACP2, and PRSS8 were urine proteomic biomarkers of high stamina during high-altitude adaptation.Conclusion: This study provides a novel approach for identifying potential biomarkers for screening individuals who can adapt to high altitudes with high stamina

Epitope-optimization creates highly immunogenic alpha fetoprotein antigen to break immune tolerance and potently activates CD8 T cells to prevents autochthonous hepatocellular carcinoma

In this study, we investigated whether mouse alpha fetoprotein (mAFP), the shared self/tumor antigen of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), could be rationally engineered to create effective vaccine to break tolerance and potently activate CD8 T cells to prevent clinically-relevant carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC. We found that the computer-guided epitope-optimization created optimized opt-mAFP and that immunization with lentivector (lv) expressing opt-mAFP, but not wt-mAFP, potently activated CD8 cells specific for three novel H-2b restricted CD8 epitopes, which cross-recognized wt-mAFP epitopes naturally processed and presented by wt-mAFP+ tumor cells. Immunization with opt-mAFP-lv, but not wt-mAFP-lv, completely protected mice from wt-mAFP+ tumor challenge and effectively prevented carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC. Prime-boost with opt-mAFP-lv and vaccinia vector opt-mAFP-vv significantly increased the wt-mAFP-specific CD8 T cells that were highly responsive to emerging HCC tumor cells in the liver, enhancing prevention of autochthonous HCC. Our data demonstrate that epitope-optimization creates immunogenic opt-mAFP that is able to break tolerance and activate potent CD8 responses, which can cross-recognize wt-mAFP peptides, but also recognize and kill mAFP+ tumor cells. Our study provides a practical roadmap to develop effective human vaccines that should have a better chance of success than the current human HCC vaccines based on native wt-AFP

Phage vB_PaeS-PAJD-1 Rescues Murine Mastitis Infected With Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes a variety of infections in humans and animals. Due to the inappropriate use of antibiotics, multi-drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa strains have emerged and are prevailing. In recent years, cow mastitis caused by MDR P. aeruginosa has attracted attention. In this study, a microbial community analysis revealed that P. aeruginosa could be a cause of pathogen-induced cow mastitis. Five MDR P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from milk diagnosed as mastitis positive. To seek an alternative antibacterial agent against MDR, P. aeruginosa, a lytic phage, designated vB_PaeS_PAJD-1 (PAJD-1), was isolated from dairy farm sewage. PAJD-1 was morphologically classified as Siphoviridae and was estimated to be about 57.9 kb. Phage PAJD-1 showed broad host ranges and a strong lytic ability. A one-step growth curve analysis showed a relatively short latency period (20 min) and a relatively high burst size (223 PFU per infected cell). Phage PAJD-1 remained stable over wide temperature and pH ranges. Intramammary-administered PAJD-1 reduced bacterial concentrations and repaired mammary glands in mice with mastitis induced by MDR P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, the cell wall hydrolase (termed endolysin) from phage PAJD-1 exhibited a strong bacteriolytic and a wide antibacterial spectrum against MDR P. aeruginosa. These findings present phage PAJD-1 as a candidate for phagotherapy against MDR P. aeruginosa infection

Secreted glucose regulated protein78 ameliorates DSS-induced mouse colitis

The secreted form of 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (sGRP78) has been widely reported for its property in aiding resolution of inflammatory. However, little is known on its potential in the treatment of colitis. To investigate the expression pattern and functional outcome of GRP78 in ulcerative colitis, its expression was measured in human and murine colitis samples. It was found that GRP78 was spontaneously secreted to a high level in gut, which is a physiological site of immune tolerance. During the active phase of DSS-induced colitis, the sGRP78 level was significantly reduced but rebounded quickly during resolving phase, making it a potential candidate for the treatment of colitis. In the following experiments, the administration of sGRP78 was proved to decrease susceptibility to experimental colitis, as indicated by an overall improvement of intestinal symptoms, restoration of TJ integrity, decreased infiltration of immune cells and impaired production of inflammatory cytokines. And specific cleavage of endogenous sGRP78 could aggravate DSS colitis. Adoptive transfer of sGRP78-conditioned BMDMs reduced inflammation in the gut. We linked sGRP78 treatment with altered macrophage biology and skewed macrophage polarization by inhibiting the TLR4-dependent MAP-kinases and NF-κB pathways. Based on these studies, as a naturally occurring immunomodulatory molecule, sGRP78 might be an attractive novel therapeutic agent for acute intestinal inflammation