Association between Nine Types of TCM Constitution and Five Chronic Diseases: A Correspondence Analysis Based on a Sample of 2,660 Participants

Objective. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of nine types of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution with the five chronic diseases: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and obesity. Methods. Chi-squared test was performed to investigate the distribution characteristics of TCM constitutions in the participants with the five chronic diseases in questionnaire. Correspondence analysis was used to explore the correlation between them. Results. A total of 2,660 participants (1,400 males; 1,260 females) were included in this study. The mean age was 52.54 ± 13.92. Of them, 600 were of gentleness type accounting for 22.56%. Proportions of gentleness type in the chronic diseases (16.00%~23.70%) were less than that in general population (32.14%). The gentleness type and yin-deficiency type were significantly correlated with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, qi-deficiency type was correlated with heart disease, phlegm-dampness type was associated with obesity, and dampness-heat type was correlated with hyperlipidemia. Conclusions. The correlations between TCM constitution types and the five chronic diseases were different. This may have a significant implication for TCM practice, and even the people with gentleness type should not be ignored in health management

Involvement of Caveolin-1 in Repair of DNA Damage through Both Homologous Recombination and Non-Homologous End Joining

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the major component of caveolae, is a 21-24 kDa integral membrane protein that interacts with a number of signaling molecules. By acting as a scaffolding protein, Cav-1 plays crucial roles in the regulation of various physiologic and patho-physiologic processes including oncogenic transformation and tumorigenesis, and tumor invasion and metastasis.In the present study we sought to explore the role of Cav-1 in response to DNA damage and the mechanism involved. We found that the level of Cav-1 was up-regulated rapidly in cells treated with ionizing radiation. The up-regulation of Cav-1 following DNA damage occurred only in cells expressing endogenous Cav-1, and was associated with the activation of DNA damage response pathways. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the expression of Cav-1 protected cells against DNA damage through modulating the activities of both the homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair systems, as evidenced by the inhibitory effects of the Cav-1-targeted siRNA on cell survival, HR frequency, phosphorylation of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), and nuclear translocation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) following DNA damage, and by the stimulatory effect of the forced expression of Cav-1 on NHEJ frequency.Our results indicate that Cav-1 may play a critical role in sensing genotoxic stress and in orchestrating the response of cells to DNA damage through regulating the important molecules involved in maintaining genomic integrity

Current situation and factors influencing elderly care in community day care centers: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe latest census data show that people over 60 years of age account for about 18.7% of the total population in China, and the aging of the population has become an irreversible trend in the 21st century. This study aimed to investigate the current status and factors influencing the care of the elderly in community day care centers in order to lay the foundation for the development of better services in community day care centers.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling in Nanjing, China. The survey instrument was the Day care and Elderly Care Service Needs Questionnaire, which included the Ability of Daily Living Assessment (ADL), the Xiao Shuiyuan Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Day care Elderly Care Service Needs Survey Form, and a general information survey.ResultsA total of 450 elderly people in day care centers were surveyed. The elderly had different levels of demand for day care services, especially regarding daily care. Correlation analyses indicated that age (r = 0.619), education level (r = 0.616), source of income (r = 0.582), caregiver (r = 0.557), satisfaction with care service (r = 0.603), and degree of ADL (r = 0.629) were correlated with the need for elderly day care services (all p < 0.05). The factors influencing the demand for day care services encompassed age, education level, income source, caregiver, satisfaction with service, and ADL (all p < 0.05).ConclusionElderly care services in community day care centers are mainly based on daily and spiritual comfort, and the needs of the elderly are influenced by many factors. Timely nursing care policies and measures that target these factors are needed to improve elderly care

CatNorth: An Improved Gaia DR3 Quasar Candidate Catalog with Pan-STARRS1 and CatWISE

A complete and pure sample of quasars with accurate redshifts is crucial for quasar studies and cosmology. In this paper, we present CatNorth, an improved Gaia DR3 quasar candidate catalog with more than 1.5 million sources in the 3$\pi$ sky built with data from Gaia, Pan-STARRS1, and CatWISE2020. The XGBoost algorithm is used to reclassify the original Gaia DR3 quasar candidates as stars, galaxies, and quasars. To construct training/validation datasets for the classification, we carefully built two different master stellar samples in addition to the spectroscopic galaxy and quasar samples. An ensemble classification model is obtained by averaging two XGBoost classifiers trained with different master stellar samples. Using a probability threshold of $p_{\mathrm{QSO\_mean}}>0.95$ in our ensemble classification model and an additional cut on the logarithmic probability density of zero proper motion, we retrieved 1,545,514 reliable quasar candidates from the parent Gaia DR3 quasar candidate catalog. We provide photometric redshifts for all candidates with an ensemble regression model. For a subset of 89,100 candidates, accurate spectroscopic redshifts are estimated with the Convolutional Neural Network from the Gaia BP/RP spectra. The CatNorth catalog has a high purity of > 90% while maintaining high completeness, which is an ideal sample to understand the quasar population and its statistical properties. The CatNorth catalog is used as the main source of input catalog for the LAMOST phase III quasar survey, which is expected to build a highly complete sample of bright quasars with $i < 19.5$.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, submitted to AAS journals. Table 4 (The CatNorth quasar candidate catalog) is available at https://nadc.china-vo.org/res/r101313

A haplotype variation affecting the mitochondrial transportation of hMYH protein could be a risk factor for colorectal cancer in Chinese

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human MutY homolog (<it>hMYH</it>), a DNA glycolsylase involved in the excision repair of oxidative DNA damage, is currently studied in colorectal cancer (CRC). We previously demonstrated a haplotype variant c.53C>T/c.74G>A of <it>hMYH </it>(T/A) increasing the risk for gastric cancer in Chinese. However, most investigations on correlation between <it>hMYH </it>and CRC are conducted in Western countries and the underlying mechanism has been poorly understood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To determine whether the haplotype T/A variant of <it>hMYH </it>was related to colorectal carcinogenesis, we performed a case-control study in 138 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 343 healthy controls in a Chinese population. Furthermore, the C/G for wild-type, C/A or T/G for single base variant and T/A for haplotype variant <it>hMYH </it>cDNAs with a flag epitope tag were cloned into pcDNA3.1+ vector and transfected into cos-7 cell line. Their subcellular localizations were determined by immunofluorescence assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>It was found that the frequency of haplotype variant allele was statistically higher in CRC patients than that in controls (<it>P </it>= 0.02, odds ratio = 5.06, 95% confidence interval = 1.26 – 20.4). Similarly, significant difference of heterozygote frequency was indicated between the two groups (<it>P </it>= 0.019), while no homozygote was found. In addition, immunofluorescence analysis showed that hMYH protein with haplotype T/A variation presented in both nucleus and mitochondria, in contrast to the wild-type protein only converging in mitochondria. However, neither of the single missense mutations alone changed the protein subcelluar localization.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although preliminarily, these results suggest that: the haplotype variant allele of <it>hMYH </it>leads to a missense protein, which partly affects the protein mitochondrial transportation and results as nuclear localization. This observation might be responsible for the increased susceptibility to cancers, including CRC, in Chinese.</p

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Nanoreactor Design Based on Self-Assembling Protein Nanocages

Self-assembling proteins that form diverse architectures are widely used in material science and nanobiotechnology. One class belongs to protein nanocages, which are compartments with nanosized internal spaces. Because of the precise nanoscale structures, proteinaceous compartments are ideal materials for use as general platforms to create distinct microenvironments within confined cellular environments. This spatial organization strategy brings several advantages including the protection of catalyst cargo, faster turnover rates, and avoiding side reactions. Inspired by diverse molecular machines in nature, bioengineers have developed a variety of self-assembling supramolecular protein cages for use as biosynthetic nanoreactors that mimic natural systems. In this mini-review, we summarize current progress and ongoing efforts creating self-assembling protein based nanoreactors and their use in biocatalysis and synthetic biology. We also highlight the prospects for future research on these versatile nanomaterials

Properties of a Steel Slag–Permeable Asphalt Mixture and the Reaction of the Steel Slag–Asphalt Interface

Steel slag is an industrial solid waste with the largest output in the world. It has the characteristics of wear resistance, good particle shape, large porosity, etc. At the same time, it has good adhesion characteristics with asphalt. If steel slag is used in asphalt pavement, it not only solves the problem of insufficient quality aggregates in asphalt concrete, but can also give full play to the high hardness and high wear resistance of steel slag to improve the performance of asphalt pavement. In this study, a steel slag aggregate was mixed with road petroleum asphalt to prepare a permeable steel slag&ndash;asphalt mixture, which was then compared with the permeable limestone&ndash;asphalt mixture. According to the Technical Regulations for Permeable Asphalt Pavement (CJJT 190-2012), the permeability, water stability, and Marshall stability of the prepared asphalt mixtures were tested and analyzed. In addition, the high-temperature stability and expansibility were analyzed according to the Experimental Regulations for Highway Engineering Asphalt and Asphalt Mixture (JTG E20-2011). The chemical composition of the steel slag was tested and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF). The mineral composition of the steel slag was tested and analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The asphalt was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that the steel slag asphalt permeable mixture had good permeability, water stability, and Marshall stability, as well as good high-temperature stability and a low expansion rate. The main mineral composition was ferroferric oxide, the RO phase (RO phase is a broad solid solution formed by melting FeO, MgO, and other divalent metal oxides such as MnO), dicalcium silicate, and tricalcium silicate. In the main chemical composition of steel slag, there was no chemical reaction between aluminum oxide, calcium oxide, silicon dioxide, and asphalt, while ferric oxide chemically reacted with asphalt and formed new organosilicon compounds. The main mineral composition of the steel slag (i.e., triiron tetroxide, dicalcium silicate, and tricalcium silicate) reacted chemically with the asphalt and produced new substances. There was no chemical reaction between the RO phase and asphalt

Thaumasite form of sulfate attack in ettringite rich-ternary systems: Effects of limestone filler, etching solutions and exposure temperature

This study aims to investigate the effect of limestone filler, sulfate concentration and temperature on the thaumasite sulfate attack (TSA) in Portland cement (PC)-calcium aluminate cement (CAC)-gypsum ternary system. The compressive strength of mortar was tested, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to analyze the deteriorated products. The results indicate that the ternary system with limestone filler is susceptible to TSA. The higher the limestone content, the higher the TSA is in systems with MgSO4 solution of less than 5%. When the limestone filler content is 10% or 20%, the sulfate attack is mainly presented as gypsum sulfate attack. When the concentration of MgSO4 solution increases, the corrosion is diminished. The ternary system exposed to low concentration MgSO4 solution of 5% is prone to form thaumasite. The lower the temperature, the more vulnerable the system is to TSA. The mortar at 5 °C under 5% MgSO4 solution is rarely damaged and thaumasite could easily be detected