Characteristics of Chinese patients with cough in primary care centre

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cough is one of the most common respiratory symptoms and is well characterized in specialized cough clinics with high success rates of diagnosis and treatment. However, there is a paucity of data regarding cough in primary care settings. The present study aimed at investigating clinical epidemiology of cough through a national study of two questionnaire surveys sent to primary care physicians in China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Approximately 18,000 subjects recruited were having daytime or night symptoms of cough and diagnoses of respiratory disease from February 2005 to April 2006 as Survey 1 and from June 2007 to December 2007 as Survey 2. Patients suffering from respiratory malignancy, hyperthyroidism, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, severe hypohepatia or renal dysfunction, pregnancy, possible pregnancy or lactation, neutropenia were not eligible. Information regarding demography, history of allergies, symptomatic profile, treatment and curative effects for cough was elicited.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>8216 questionnaires were collected in Survey 1 and 9711 in Survey 2. The mean values of ages were 25.7 and 22.3 years old, respectively. Symptoms included expectoration (74% and 76%), wheeze (59% and 74%), breathlessness (22% and 26%), chest pain (9% and 13%) and fever (15% and 18%). About 15% and 23% patients had hypersusceptibility, of whom 6% to 17% had a family history. More than 50% of the cases had histories of allergic rhinitis, asthma, conjunctivitis or atopic dermatitis. Asthma, COPD, and bronchitis were dominant etiologies of cough. Procaterol or the combination of antibiotics and steroids were used as the treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Causes and outcomes of cough differed with ages and time in this particular national study, while successful and precise diagnosis and management of cough in primary care settings need to be further improved in China.</p

Zfra affects TNF-mediated cell death by interacting with death domain protein TRADD and negatively regulates the activation of NF-κB, JNK1, p53 and WOX1 during stress response

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Zfra is a 31-amino-acid zinc finger-like protein, which is known to regulate cell death by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and overexpressed TNF receptor- or Fas-associated death domain proteins (TRADD and FADD). In addition, Zfra undergoes self-association and interacts with c-Jun <it>N</it>-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) in response to stress stimuli. To further delineate the functional properties of Zfra, here we investigated Zfra regulation of the activation of p53, WOX1 (WWOX or FOR), NF-κB, and JNK1 under apoptotic stress.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transiently overexpressed Zfra caused growth suppression and apoptotic death of many but not all types of cells. Zfra either enhanced or blocked cell death caused by TRADD, FADD, or receptor-interacting protein (RIP) in a dose-related manner. This modulation is related with Zfra binding with TRADD, NF-κB, JNK1 and WOX1, as determined by GST pull-down analysis, co-immunoprecipitation, and mapping by yeast two-hybrid analysis. Functionally, transiently overexpressed Zfra sequestered NF-κB (p65), WOX1, p53 and phospho-ERK (extracellular signal-activated kinase) in the cytoplasm, and TNF or UV light could not effectively induce nuclear translocation of these proteins. Zfra counteracted the apoptotic functions of Tyr33-phosphorylated WOX1 and Ser46-phosphorylated p53. Alteration of Ser8 to Gly abolished the apoptotic function of Zfra and its regulation of WOX1 and p53.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In response to TNF, Zfra is upregulated and modulates TNF-mediated cell death via interacting with TRADD, FADD and RIP (death-inducing signaling complex) at the receptor level, and downstream effectors NF-κB, p53, WOX1, and JNK1.</p

Association of diet and outdoor time with inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter case-control study using propensity matching analysis in China

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between dietary and some other environmental factors and the risk of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in Chinese population.Materials and methodsA multicenter case-control study was conducted involving 11 hospitals across China. A total of 1,230 subjects were enrolled consecutively, and diet and environmental factor questionnaires were collected. IBD patients were matched with healthy controls (HC) using propensity-score matching (PSM) at a 1:1 ratio with a caliper value of 0.02. Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between diet, environmental factors, and IBD.ResultsModerate alcohol and milk consumption, as well as daily intake of fresh fruit, were protective factors for both Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Conversely, the consumption of eggs and chocolate increased the risk of IBD. Outdoor time for more than 25% of the day was a protective factor only for CD. In eastern regions of China, CD patients had higher egg consumption and less outdoor time, while UC patients consumed more chocolate. IBD patients from urban areas or with higher per capita monthly income consumed more fruit, eggs, and chocolate.ConclusionsThis study reveals an association between specific foods, outdoor time, and the emergence of IBD in the Chinese population. The findings emphasize the importance of a balanced diet, sufficient outdoor time and activities, and tailored prevention strategies considering regional variations

Complement C1q Activates Tumor Suppressor WWOX to Induce Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND:Tissue exudates contain low levels of serum complement proteins, and their regulatory effects on prostate cancer progression are largely unknown. We examined specific serum complement components in coordinating the activation of tumor suppressors p53 and WWOX (also named FOR or WOX1) and kinases ERK, JNK1 and STAT3 in human prostate DU145 cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:DU145 cells were cultured overnight in 1% normal human serum, or in human serum depleted of an indicated complement protein. Under complement C1q- or C6-free conditions, WOX1 and ERK were mainly present in the cytoplasm without phosphorylation, whereas phosphorylated JNK1 was greatly accumulated in the nuclei. Exogenous C1q rapidly restored the WOX1 activation (with Tyr33 phosphorylation) in less than 2 hr. Without serum complement C9, p53 became activated, and hyaluronan (HA) reversed the effect. Under C6-free conditions, HA induced activation of STAT3, an enhancer of metastasis. Notably, exogenous C1q significantly induced apoptosis of WOX1-overexpressing DU145 cells, but not vehicle-expressing cells. A dominant negative and Y33R mutant of WOX1 blocked the apoptotic effect. C1q did not enhance p53-mediated apoptosis. By total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, it was determined that C1q destabilized adherence of WOX1-expressing DU145 cells by partial detaching and inducing formation of clustered microvilli for focal adhesion particularly in between cells. These cells then underwent shrinkage, membrane blebbing and death. Remarkably, as determined by immunostaining, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer were shown to have a significantly reduced expression of tissue C1q, compared to age-matched normal prostate tissues. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We conclude that complement C1q may induce apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by activating WOX1 and destabilizing cell adhesion. Downregulation of C1q enhances prostate hyperplasia and cancerous formation due to failure of WOX1 activation

Triadin/Junctin Double Null Mouse Reveals a Differential Role for Triadin and Junctin in Anchoring CASQ to the jSR and Regulating Ca2+ Homeostasis

Triadin (Tdn) and Junctin (Jct) are structurally related transmembrane proteins thought to be key mediators of structural and functional interactions between calsequestrin (CASQ) and ryanodine receptor (RyRs) at the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (jSR). However, the specific contribution of each protein to the jSR architecture and to excitation-contraction (e-c) coupling has not been fully established. Here, using mouse models lacking either Tdn (Tdn-null), Jct (Jct-null) or both (Tdn/Jct-null), we identify Tdn as the main component of periodically located anchors connecting CASQ to the RyR-bearing jSR membrane. Both proteins proved to be important for the structural organization of jSR cisternae and retention of CASQ within them, but with different degrees of impact. Our results also suggest that the presence of CASQ is responsible for the wide lumen of the jSR cisternae. Using Ca2+ imaging and Ca2+ selective microelectrodes we found that changes in e-c coupling, SR Ca2+content and resting [Ca2+] in Jct, Tdn and Tdn/Jct-null muscles are directly correlated to the effect of each deletion on CASQ content and its organization within the jSR. These data suggest that in skeletal muscle the disruption of Tdn/CASQ link has a more profound effect on jSR architecture and myoplasmic Ca2+ regulation than Jct/CASQ association

On the divisibility of power LCM matrices by power GCD matrices

summary:Let $S=\lbrace x_1,\dots ,x_n\rbrace$ be a set of $n$ distinct positive integers and $e\ge 1$ an integer. Denote the $n\times n$ power GCD (resp. power LCM) matrix on $S$ having the $e$-th power of the greatest common divisor $(x_i,x_j)$ (resp. the $e$-th power of the least common multiple $[x_i,x_j]$) as the $(i,j)$-entry of the matrix by $((x_i, x_j)^e)$ (resp. $([x_i, x_j]^e))$. We call the set $S$ an odd gcd closed (resp. odd lcm closed) set if every element in $S$ is an odd number and $(x_i,x_j)\in S$ (resp. $[x_i, x_j]\in S$) for all $1\le i,j \le n$. In studying the divisibility of the power LCM and power GCD matrices, Hong conjectured in 2004 that for any integer $e\ge 1$, the $n\times n$ power GCD matrix $((x_i, x_j)^e)$ defined on an odd-gcd-closed (resp. odd-lcm-closed) set $S$ divides the $n\times n$ power LCM matrix $([x_i, x_j]^e)$ defined on $S$ in the ring $M_n({\mathbb Z})$ of $n\times n$ matrices over integers. In this paper, we use Hong’s method developed in his previous papers [J. Algebra 218 (1999) 216–228; 281 (2004) 1–14, Acta Arith. 111 (2004), 165–177 and J. Number Theory 113 (2005), 1–9] to investigate Hong’s conjectures. We show that the conjectures of Hong are true for $n\le 3$ but they are both not true for $n\ge 4$

掺氮介孔炭作为双功能材料用于氧还原与超级电容器

以壳聚糖为含氮碳源，正硅酸乙酯为软模板，硝酸镍为催化剂，通过简单的低温水热法及后续炭化，成功合成出掺氮介孔炭材料（NMC-1）. NMC-1含有多孔结构以及氮氧等杂原子，能提高其电催化性能、双电层电容与赝电容.由于NMC-1在碱液中表现出显著的催化氧还原反应活性和具有较高的超级电容器比电容（在0.2 A/g时为252 F/g）及好的循环稳定性，因此，它有可能作为一种可再生、环保的双功能材料同时应用于燃料电池与超级电容器领域