Sectional Distribution Patterns of Cd, Ni, Zn, and Cu in the North Pacific Ocean: Relationships to Nutrients and Importance of Scavenging

The North Pacific Ocean is located at the end of the thermohaline circulation of deep water. This study reports on basin-scale full-depth sectional distributions of total dissolvable (td), dissolved (d), and labile particulate (lp) Cd, Ni, Zn, and Cu along three transects: the GEOTRACES transects GP18 (165°E) and GP02 (47°N), and along 160°W. We find that scavenging is an important factor that significantly affects the distributions of dZn, dNi, and dCu, of which the magnitude of influence increases in the order of Cd 800 m deep, which is in the range of the phytoplankton Cd/P ratio. This is indicative of the dominant effect of water circulation and biological processes on dCd distribution. The dissolved metals (dMs) to PO₄ ratios of other examined metals were either partially or completely outside the range of typical biomass ratios. They generally increased with depth in waters >800 m deep; the magnitude of increase was the highest for Cu and moderate for Ni and Zn. Below 800 m, an increase in the apparent oxygen utilization from 150 to 300 μmol/kg was concurrent with a decrease in the dMs/PO4 ratios: 4 ± 3% for Cd, 21 ± 4% for Zn, 21 ± 3% for Ni, and 69 ± 7% for Cu

Effect of Influenza Vaccination on Mortality and Risk of Hospitalization in Elderly Individuals with and without Disabilities: A Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study

Purpose: The effects of influenza vaccines are unclear for elderly individuals with disabilities. We use a population-based cohort study to estimate the effects of influenza vaccines in elderly individuals with and without disabilities. Methods: Data were taken from the National Health Insurance Research Database and Disabled Population Profile of Taiwan. A total of 2,741,403 adults aged 65 or older were identified and 394,490 were people with a disability. These two groups were further divided into those who had or had not received an influenza vaccine. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to compare the relative risks (RRs) of death and hospitalization across the four groups. Results: 30.78% elderly individuals without a disability and 34.59% elderly individuals with a disability had vaccinated for influenza. Compared to the unvaccinated elderly without a disability, the vaccinated elderly without a disability had significantly lower risks in all-cause mortality (RR = 0.64) and hospitalization for any of the influenza-related diseases (RR = 0.91). Both the unvaccinated and vaccinated elderly with a disability had significantly higher risks in all-cause mortality (RR = 1.81 and 1.18, respectively) and hospitalization for any of the influenza-related diseases (RR = 1.73 and 1.59, respectively). Conclusions: The elderly with a disability had higher risks in mortality and hospitalization than those without a disability; however, receiving influenza vaccinations could still generate more protection to the disabled elderl

Conditional fault hamiltonian connectivity of the complete graph

A path in G is a hamiltonian path if it contains all vertices of G. A graph G is hamiltonian connected if there exists a hamiltonian path between any two distinct vertices of G. The degree of a vertex u in G is the number of vertices of G adjacent to u. We denote by is defined as the maximum integer k such that G is k edge-fault tolerant conditional hamiltonian connected if G is hamiltonian connected and is undefined otherwise. Let n 4. We use K n to denote the complete graph with n vertices. In this paper, we show tha

RNA-seq profiling of Fugacium kawagutii reveals strong responses in metabolic processes and symbiosis potential to deficiencies of iron and other trace metals

Abstract(#br)A healthy symbiotic relationship between corals and Symbiodiniaceae relies on suitable temperature and adequate nutrients including trace metals. Besides global warming, trace metal deficiency has been shown to cause coral bleaching, a phenomenon responsible for extensive coral reef degradation around the world. How trace metal deficiency impacts Symbiodiniaceae and coral symbiosis is poorly understood, however. In this study, we applied RNA-seq to investigate how Fugacium kawagutii responds to the deficiency of five trace metals (Fe 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cu 2+ , Mn 2+ , Ni 2+ ). We identified 685 to 2805 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from these trace metal deficiency conditions, among which 372 were commonly regulated by all the five trace metals and were significantly enriched in energy metabolism (e.g. fatty acid synthesis). Furthermore, genes associated with extracellular matrix (ECM), cell surface structure and cell adhesion were impacted, suggesting that the ability of recognition and adhesion of F. kawagutii may be altered by trace metal deficiencies. In addition, among the five metals, Fe 2+ deficiency exhibited the strongest influence, with Fe-rich redox elements and many antioxidant synthesis genes being markedly down-regulated, indicative of adaptive reduction of Fe demand but a compromised ability to combat oxidative stress. Overall, deficiency of trace metals (especially Fe) seems to repress growth and ability of ROS scavenging, elevate energy metabolism and innate immunity, and alter cell adhesion capability, with implications in symbiosis disruption and coral bleaching

Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan

Background/PurposeOccupational dermatitis among cement workers is a major occupational health concern. The two most important occupational hazards for cement workers are irritant and allergic cement contact dermatitis. The objective of this study was to investigate the severity of occupational cement contact dermatitis and the common allergens among cement workers in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 97 cement workers from the Cement Workers’ Association of Tainan City and County participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the demographic data and work-related activities of these cement workers. A complete skin examination was conducted, and skin manifestations were assessed by a dermatologist. Allergens from European Standard Tray (Chemotechnique Diagnostic AB, Sweden) with a total of 25 substances were used for patch testing.ResultsOur results showed that 65 out of 97 cement workers were suffering from occupational cement hand contact dermatitis. The most affected skin area was the hand. Thickening of the dorsal surface of the hand, especially around the metacarpophalangeal joint area, and hyperkeratosis of the palm were the major skin manifestations. The results of the patch test showed that 24 out of 97 were allergic to potassium dichromate, nine were allergic to thiuram mix, nine were allergic to fragrance mix and seven were allergic to cobalt chloride. The final diagnosis, based on the results of the skin examination and the patch test, showed that 43 of 97 cement workers had irritant cement contact dermatitis and 22 had allergic cement contact dermatitis.ConclusionWe conclude that occupational cement hand dermatitis among cement workers is an important and severe issue in Taiwan, and the most common allergens among cement workers are potassium dichromate, thiuram mix, fragrance mix and cobalt chloride. The high positive rate of chromium hypersensitivity among cement workers reflects the urgency to regulate the addition of ferrous sulfate to cement in Taiwan

Association of Genetic Variants Related to Combined Exposure to Higher Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Hip Ratio on Lifelong Cardiovascular Risk in UK Biobank

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the individual and combined association of body mass index (BMI) and 7 waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk using genetic scores of the 8 obesity measurements as proxies. DESIGN: A 2×2 factorial analysis approach was applied, with participants divided into four groups of lifetime exposure to low BMI and WHR, high BMI, high WHR, and high BMI and WHR based on weighted genetic risk scores. The difference in CVD risk across groups was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. SETTING: Cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 408,003 participants were included from the prospective observational UK Biobank study. RESULTS: A total of 58,429 of CVD events were recorded. Compared to the low BMI and WHR genetic scores group, higher BMI or higher WHR genetic scores were associated with an increase in CVD risk (high BMI: odds ratio (OR), 1.07; 95%CI, 1.04-1.10; high WHR: OR, 1.12; 95%CI, 1.09-1.16). A weak additive effect on CVD risk was found between BMI and WHR (high BMI and WHR: OR, 1.16; 95%CI, 1.12-1.19). Subgroup analysis showed similar patterns between different sex, age (<65, ≥65 years old), smoking status, Townsend deprivation index, fasting glucose level and medication uses, but lower systolic blood pressure was associated with higher CVD risk in obese participants. CONCLUSIONS: High BMI or WHR were associated with increased CVD risk, and their effects are weakly additive. Even though there were overlapping of effect, both BMI and WHR are important in assessing the CVD risk in the general population

Herbal Medicine in Uterine Fibroid

Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyoma is the most common benign tumor of the uterus found in women of reproductive age. Uterine fibroids are the cause of major quality-of-life issues for approximately 25% of all women who suffer from clinically significant symptoms of uterine fibroid. Despite the prevalence of fibroid, currently, there are no effective treatment options for fibroid. The lack of understanding of the etiology of fibroid contributes to the scarcity of medical therapies available. Sex steroid hormones, dysregulation of cell signaling pathways, miRNA expression, and cytogenetic abnormalities may all implicate in fibroid etiology. Several herbal medicines have been used as anti-inflammation and antitumor agents. All of them have a common capability to inhibit expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, proliferative genes, and pro-angiogenetic genes. Exploring herbal medicines as remedies lighten the hope of treatment. In the current review article, we discuss signal transduction pathways activated herbal medicines. We also address the possibility of using herbal medicines for uterine fibroid treatment

Insights on Distinct Left Atrial Remodeling Between Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

BACKGROUND: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly coexist with overlapping pathophysiology like left atrial (LA) remodeling, which might differ given different underlying mechanisms. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the different patterns of LA wall remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF. METHODS: We compared LA wall characteristics including wall volume (LAWV), wall thickness (LAWT), and wall thickness heterogeneity (LAWT[SD]) and LA structure, function among the controls (without AF or HFpEF, n = 115), HFpEF alone (n = 59), AF alone (n = 37), and HFpEF+AF (n = 38) groups using multi-detector computed tomography and echocardiography. RESULTS: LA wall remodeling was most predominant and peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) was worst in HFpEF+AF patients as compared to the rest. Despite lower E/e' (9.8 ± 3.8 vs. 13.4 ± 6.4) yet comparable LA volume, LAWT and PALS in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone, LAWV [12.6 (11.6–15.3) vs. 12.0 (10.2–13.7); p = 0.01] and LAWT(SD) [0.68 (0.61–0.71) vs. 0.60 (0.56–0.65); p < 0.001] were significantly greater in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone even after multi-variate adjustment and propensity matching. After excluding the HFpEF+AF group, both LAWV and LAWT [SD] provided incremental values when added to PALS or LAVi (all p for net reclassification improvement <0.05) in discriminating AF alone, with LAWT[SD] yielding the largest C-statistic (0.78, 95% CI: 0.70–0.86) among all LA wall indices. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a similar extent of LA enlargement and dysfunction in HFpEF vs. AF alone, larger LAWV and LAWT [SD] can distinguish AF from HFpEF alone, suggesting the distinct underlying pathophysiological mechanism of LA remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF