Risk of cardiovascular disease in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross sectional study based on hospital medical records in 10 years

Objective: Though the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been established in Western population, little is known about the risk in Chinese people with RA. Our objective was to estimate the risk of CVD in Chinese people with RA using hospital medical records data. Methods The inpatients medical record database 2005‐2015 of Sichuan provincial people’s hospital was examined. All individuals with a primary diagnosis of RA were included as cases, and those of osteoarthritis (OA) were included as controls, which consisted of the unmatched dataset. Then, RA cases and OA controls were matched by sex and age at 1:1 ratio, forming the matched dataset. The morbidity of CVD (including ischemia heart disease (IHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), et al), stroke and arthrosclerosis were extracted from the database, so as the demographic data and comorbidities related to CVD. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the risk of CVD in RA adjusted for demographics and comorbidities using the unmatched dataset. Sensitivity analysis was conducted 1) considering interaction terms between RA and comorbidities, and 2) using multivariable conditional logistic regression for the matched dataset. Results: The unmatched data set comprised of 1824RA cases and 1995 OA controls and the matched dataset comprised of 1022 pairs of sex and age matched RA and OA patients. RA exhibited increased odds of prevalent CVD compared with OA, and the adjusted ORs (95%CIs) for CVD, stroke, IHD, CHF, and atherosclerosis were1.86(1.42‐2.43), 1.11(0.71‐1.74), 1.47(0.97‐2.24), 2.09(1.03‐4.22), and 2.49 (1.97‐3.13), respectively, and was 2.26 (1.29‐3.96) for IHD further adjusted for interaction term. The matched dataset analysis found similar results. Conclusions: Chinese people with RA were approximated 2 times more 1 likely to have CVD, IHD, CHF and atherosclerosis compared with those with OA. The findings justified the need of further longitudinal study to establish the causal‐relationship between RA and CVD and to estimate the precise risk in this population

Garlic Oil Alleviates MAPKs- and IL-6-mediated Diabetes-related Cardiac Hypertrophy in STZ-induced DM Rats

Garlic oil has been reported to protect the cardiovascular system; however, the effects and mechanisms behind the cardioprotection of garlic oil on diabetes-induced cardiaomyopathy are unclear. In this study, we used streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats to investigate whether garlic oil could protect the heart from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy. Wistar STZ-induced diabetic rats received garlic oil (0, 10, 50 or 100 mg kg_1 body weight) by gastric gavage every 2 days for 16 days. Normal rats without diabetes were used as control. Cardiac contractile dysfunction and cardiac pathologic hypertrophy responses were observed in diabetic rat hearts. Cardiac function was examined using echocardiography. In addition to cardiac hypertrophy-related mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways (e.g., p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and extracellularly responsive kinase (ERK1/2)), the IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathway was greatly activated in the diabetic rat hearts, which contributes to the up-regulation of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and leads to cardiac contractile dysfunction. Garlic oil treatment significantly inhibited the up-regulation in MAPK (e.g., p38, JNK and ERK1/2) and IL-6/MEK5/ERK5 signaling pathways in the diabetic rat hearts, reducing the levels of cardiac pathologic hypertrophy markers such as ANP and BNP, and improving the cardiac contractile function. Collectively, data from these studies demonstrate that garlic oil shows the potential cardioprotective effects for protecting heart from diabetic cardiomyopathy

Risk of cardiovascular disease in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross sectional study based on hospital medical records in 10 years

Objective: Though the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been established in Western population, little is known about the risk in Chinese people with RA. Our objective was to estimate the risk of CVD in Chinese people with RA using hospital medical records data.MethodsThe inpatients medical record database 2005‐2015 of Sichuan provincial people’s hospital was examined. All individuals with a primary diagnosis of RA were included as cases, and those of osteoarthritis (OA) were included as controls, which consisted of the unmatched dataset. Then, RA cases and OA controls were matched by sex and age at 1:1 ratio, forming the matched dataset. The morbidity of CVD (including ischemia heart disease (IHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), et al), stroke and arthrosclerosis were extracted from the database, so as the demographic data and comorbidities related to CVD. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the risk of CVD in RA adjusted for demographics and comorbidities using the unmatched dataset. Sensitivity analysis was conducted 1) considering interaction terms between RA and comorbidities, and 2) using multivariable conditional logistic regression for the matched dataset.Results: The unmatched data set comprised of 1824RA cases and 1995 OA controls and the matched dataset comprised of 1022 pairs of sex and age matched RA and OA patients. RA exhibited increased odds of prevalent CVD compared with OA, and the adjusted ORs (95%CIs) for CVD, stroke, IHD, CHF, and atherosclerosis were1.86(1.42‐2.43), 1.11(0.71‐1.74), 1.47(0.97‐2.24), 2.09(1.03‐4.22), and 2.49 (1.97‐3.13), respectively, and was 2.26 (1.29‐3.96) for IHD further adjusted for interaction term. The matched dataset analysis found similar results.Conclusions: Chinese people with RA were approximated 2 times more 1 likely to have CVD, IHD, CHF and atherosclerosis compared with those with OA. The findings justified the need of further longitudinal study to establish the causal‐relationship between RA and CVD and to estimate the precise risk in this population

Measuring Technical Efficiency and Returns to Scale in Taiwan’s Baking Industry―A Case Study of the 85 °C Company

[[abstract]]Under an intense internationally competitive business environment, it is important to understand the production efficiency of the baking industry, where efficient management is becoming increasingly important to ensure the sustainable development of the company. Thus, this study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to appraise the performance of a well-known baking company (85 °C) and uses input and output constructs to measure its technical efficiency and scale efficiency scores to understand the major reasons for efficiency losses from 2011 to 2016. The empirical results indicate that low technical efficiency is the major reason for lower pure technical efficiency, since the scale efficiency is higher than pure technical efficiency. This means 85 °C is still improving overall operating efficiency and space efficiency. Moreover, the results also show that the III-generation operations style is more technically efficient and pure-technically efficient compared to those of I-generation and II-generation. Furthermore, the company’s financial performance is dependent upon the producer’s ability to stay on the production frontier due to the result of a positive relationship between return on assets (ROA) and technical efficiency. Last but not least, this study shows that 85 °C can gain higher performance and efficiency by enhancing technical efficiency and reinforcing strategic alignments with business goals.[[notice]]補正完

High myopia at high altitudes

Background: Optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) increases significantly at high altitudes, and is associated with the presence and severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS). Exposure to hypobaria, hypoxia, and coldness when hiking also impacts intraocular pressure (IOP). To date, little is known about ocular physiological responses in trekkers with myopia at high altitudes. This study aimed to determine changes in the ONSD and IOP between participants with and without high myopia (HM) during hiking and to test whether these changes could predict symptoms of AMS.Methods: Nine participants with HM and 18 without HM participated in a 3-day trek of Xue Mountain. The ONSD, IOP, and questionnaires were examined before and during the trek of Xue Mountain.Results: The ONSD values increased significantly in both HM (p = 0.005) and non-HM trekkers (p = 0.018) at an altitude of 1,700 m. In the HM group, IOP levels were greater than those in the non-HM group (p = 0.034) on the first day of trekking (altitude: 3,150 m). No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups for the values of ONSD. Fractional changes in ONSD at an altitude of 1,700 m were related to the development of AMS (rpb = 0.448, p = 0.019) and the presence of headache symptoms (rpb = 0.542, p = 0.004). The area under the ROC curve for the diagnostic performance of ONSD fractional changes at an altitude of 1,700 m was 0.859 for predicting the development of AMS and 0.803 for predicting the presence of headache symptoms.Conclusion: Analysis of changes in ONSD at moderate altitude could predict AMS symptoms before an ascent to high altitude. Myopia may impact physiological accommodation at high altitudes, and HM trekkers potentially demonstrate suboptimal regulation of aqueous humor in such environments

Tau PET With 18F-THK-5351 Taiwan Patients With Familial Alzheimer's Disease With the APP p.D678H Mutation

Background: Brain 18F-AV-45 amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) in Taiwanese patients with familial Alzheimer's disease with the amyloid precursor protein (APP) p.D678H mutation tends to involve occipital and cerebellar cortical areas. However, tau pathology in patients with this specific Taiwan mutation remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to study the Tau PET images in these patients.Methods: Clinical features, brain magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography (MRI/CT), and brain 18F-THK-5351 PET were recorded in five patients with the APP p.D678H mutation and correlated with brain 18F-AV-45 PET images. We also compared the tau deposition patterns among five patients with familial mild cognitive impairment (fMCI), six patients with sporadic amnestic mild cognitive impairment (sMCI), nine patients with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 12 healthy controls (HCs). All of the subjects also received brain 18F-AV-45 PET.Results: The nine patients with sAD and six patients with sMCI had a positive brain AV-45 PET scans, while the 12 HCs had negative brain AV-45 PET scans. All five patients with fMCI received a tau PET scan with the age at onset ranging from 46 to 53 years, in whom increased standard uptake value ratio (SUVR) of 18F-THK-5351 was noted in all seven brain cortical areas compared with the HCs. In addition, the SUVRs of 18F-THK-5351 were increased in the frontal, medial parietal, lateral parietal, lateral temporal, and occipital areas (P < 0.001) in the patients with sAD compared with the HCs. The patients with fMCI had a significant higher SUVR of 18F-THK-5351 in the cerebellar cortex compared to the patients with sMCI. The correlations between regional SUVR and Mini-Mental State Examination score and between regional SUVR and clinical dementia rating (sum box) scores within volumes of interest of Braak stage were statistically significant.Conclusion: Tau deposition was increased in the patients with fMCI compared to the HCs. Increased regional SUVR in the cerebellar cortical area was a characteristic finding in the patients with fMCI. As compared between amyloid and tau PET, the amyloid deposition is diffuse, but tau deposition is limited to the temporal lobe in the patients with fMCI

Star Poly( N

New star poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (PNIPAm-b-POSS) copolymers were synthesized from octa-azido functionalized POSS (N3-POSS) and alkyne-PNIPAm, which was prepared using an alkyne-functionalized atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator (propargyl 2-bromo-2-methylpropionamide), via click chemistry. These star PNIPAm-b-POSS copolymers undergo a sharp coil-globule transition in water at above 32°C changing from a hydrophilic state below this temperature to a hydrophobic state above it, which is similar to linear PNIPAm homopolymers. More interestingly, we found that these star polymers exhibited strong blue photoluminescence in water above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). This photoluminescence was likely due to the constrained geometric freedom and relatively rigid structure caused by intramolecular hydrogen bonding within the star PNIPAm polymers, which exhibit an intrinsic fluorescent behavior

Detection of Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Current methods for diagnosing early stage osteoarthritis (OA) based on the magnetic resonance imaging and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods are specific, but require specialized laboratory facilities and highly trained personal to obtain a definitive result. In this work, a user friendly and non-invasive quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) immunosensor method has been developed to detect Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein (COMP) for early stage OA diagnosis. This QCM immunosensor was fabricated to immobilize COMP antibodies utilizing the self-assembled monolayer technique. The surface properties of the immunosensor were characterized by its FTIR and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). The feasibility study was based on urine samples obtained from 41 volunteers. Experiments were carried out in a flow system and the reproducibility of the electrodes was evaluated by the impedance measured by EIS. Its potential dynamically monitored the immunoreaction processes and could increase the efficiency and sensitivity of COMP detection in laboratory-cultured preparations and clinical samples. The frequency responses of the QCM immunosensor changed from 6 kHz when testing 50 ng/mL COMP concentration. The linear regression equation of frequency shift and COMP concentration was determined as: y = 0.0872 x + 1.2138 (R2 = 0.9957). The COMP in urine was also determined by both QCM and EIS for comparison. A highly sensitive, user friendly and cost effective analytical method for the early stage OA diagnosis has thus been successfully developed