Evaluation of the Biogenic Amines and Microbial Contribution in Traditional Chinese Sausages

Biogenic amines (BAs) in sausages represent a health risk for consumers, and thus investigating the BAs accumulation mechanism is important to control the BAs. In this study, the BAs profiles of 16 typical Chinese sausage samples were evaluated, and 8 kinds of common BAs were detected from different samples. As a whole, the BAs contents of the majority of Chinese sausage samples were within the safe dosage range, except that the total BAs and histamine concentrations of sample HBBD were above the toxic dosage levels. Furthermore, the bacterial and fungal communities of the Chinese sausage samples were investigated by high-throughput sequencing analysis, and Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Debaryomyces, and Aspergillus were identified as the predominant genera. Accordingly, 13 representative strains were selected from the dominant genera, and their BAs formation and degradation properties were evaluated. Finally, the results of fermented meats model experiment indicated that the Staphylococcus isolates including Staphylococcus pasteuri Sp, Staphylococcus epidermidis Se, Staphylococcus carnosus Sc1, Staphylococcus carnosus Sc2, and Staphylococcus simulans Ss could significantly reduce BAs, possessing the potential as the starter cultures to control the BAs in fermented meat products. The present study not only helped to explain the BAs accumulation mechanism in Chinese sausage, but also developed the candidates for potential BAs control in fermented meat products

Identification of Pharmacokinetic Markers for Guanxin Danshen Drop Pills in Rats by Combination of Pharmacokinetics, Systems Pharmacology, and Pharmacodynamic Assays

This paper reported a feasibility study strategy of identifying pharmacokinetic (PK) markers for a cardiovascular herbal medicine, Guanxin Danshen drop pill (GDDP). First, quantification analysis revealed the constituent composition in the preparation by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Subsequently, physiochemical property calculation predicted the solubility and intestinal permeability of the constituents in the preparation. Furthermore, HPLC–MS analysis ascertained the absorbable ingredients and their PK properties in rat plasma. The main effective substances from the ingredients absorbed into blood and their cardiovascular effects were also predicted by systems pharmacology study, and were further confirmed by in vivo protective effects on isoprenaline-induced myocardial injury in mice. Finally, the ingredients with high content, representative structure feature, favorable PK properties, high relevant degree to myocardial ischemia (MI) issues, and validated therapeutic effects were considered as the PK markers for the preparation. Ginsenosides Rg1, Rb1, and tanshinone (TS) IIA were identified originally as PK markers for representing PK properties of GDDP. In addition, integrated PK studies were carried out according to previous reports, viz. drug concentration sum method and the AUC weighting method, to understand the in vivo process of GDDP comprehensively. The present study maybe provide a reference approach to identify PK markers for cardiovascular herbal medicines

The 2011 Survey on Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) in China:Prevalence, Risk Factors, Complications, Pregnancy and Perinatal Outcomes

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a group of medical complications in pregnancy and also a risk factor for severe pregnancy outcomes, but it lacks a large-scale epidemiological investigation in recent years. This survey represents a multicenter cross-sectional retrospective study to estimate the prevalence and analyze the risk factors for HDP among the pregnant women who had referred for delivery between January 1st 2011 and December 31st 2011 in China Mainland. A total of 112,386 pregnant women were investigated from 38 secondary and tertiary specialized or general hospitals randomly selected across the country, of which 5,869 had HDP, accounting for 5.22% of all pregnancies. There were significant differences in the prevalence of HDP between geographical regions, in which the North China showed the highest (7.44%) and Central China showed the lowest (1.23%). Of six subtypes of HDP, severe preeclampsia accounted for 39.96%, gestational hypertension for 31.40%, mild preeclampsia for 15.13%, chronic hypertension in pregnancy for 6.00%, preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension for 3.68% and eclampsia for 0.89%. A number of risk factors for HDP were identified, including twin pregnancy, age of >35 years, overweight and obesity, primipara, history of hypertension as well as family history of hypertension and diabetes. The prevalence of pre-term birth, placental abruption and postpartum hemorrhage were significantly higher in women with HDP than those without HDP. The possible risk factors confirmed in this study may be useful for the development of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of HDP

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Association of changes in frailty status with the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death in older people: results from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS)

Abstract Background Few studies have investigated the association between changes in frailty status and all-cause mortality, inconsistent results were reported. What’s more, studies that evaluated the effect of changes of frailty on cardiovascular death in older population are scanty. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the association of such changes with the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death in older people, using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Methods A total of 2805 older participants from two consecutive waves (i.e. 2011 and 2014) of the CLHLS were included for analysis. Based on the changes in frailty status from wave 2011 to wave 2014, participants were categorized into 4 subgroups, including sustained pre/frailty, robustness to pre/frailty, pre/frailty to robustness and sustained robustness. Study outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death, and Cox regression analysis examined the association of changes in frailty status with outcomes. Results From wave 2011 to wave 2014, 33.2% of the participants had frailty transitions. From wave 2014 to wave 2018, there were 952 all-cause mortalities and 170 cardiovascular deaths during a follow-up of 9530.1 person-years, and Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that cumulative incidences of the two outcomes were significantly lower in more robust participants (all log-rank p < 0.001). Compared with the subgroup of sustained pre/frailty, the fully adjusted HRs of all-cause mortality were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.51–0.73, p < 0.001), 0.51 (95% CI: 0.42–0.63, p < 0.001) and 0.41 (0.34–0.49, p < 0.001) in the subgroup of robustness to pre/frailty, the subgroup of pre/frailty to robustness, and the subgroup of sustained robustness, respectively. The fully adjusted HRs of cardiovascular death were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.52–1.19, p = 0.256) in the subgroup of robustness to pre/frailty, 0.45 (95% CI: 0.26–0.76, p = 0.003) in the subgroup of pre/frailty to robustness and 0.51 (0.33–0.78, p = 0.002) in the subgroup of sustained robustness when comparing to the subgroup of sustained pre/frailty, respectively. Stratified analysis and extensive sensitivity analyses revealed similar results. Conclusions Frailty is a dynamic process, and improved frailty and remaining robust are significantly associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death in older people

Caesarean deliveries in China

Background: The caesarean section rate has risen rapidly in China. The purpose of this retrospective study was to estimate caesarean section rates and indications by hospital facility level in Mainland China to investigate reasons contributing to the high rate. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study collected data from 39 hospitals in three geographical regions in China, covering 14 different provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, including 20 tertiary health hospitals and 19 secondary hospitals. Data from all women who gave birth at these hospitals during 2011 were included. Results: A total of 112,138 women who gave birth after 24 weeks of gestation were surveyed. Of these pregnancies, 54.5% (61,084 cases) resulted in caesarean section, non-indicated caesarean section accounted for 38.4% of caesarean sections. Overall caesarean section rates were higher at the tertiary level hospitals (55.9%) compared to the secondary level hospitals (50.9%). The secondary level hospitals had higher rates of non-indicated caesarean section (48.9% of caesarean sections) compared to tertiary level hospitals (34.5% of caesarean sections). The rate of caesarean section on maternal request was higher in the secondary hospitals (16.6%) than in the tertiary hospitals (10%) (P < 0.001), as well as the caesarean section rate for CPD prior to labour. Operative vaginal deliveries were overall rare (1.2%) with 90.9% (1200/1320 cases) performed in the tertiary hospitals. Conclusions: Caesarean section on maternal request accounts for a large portion of China’s high caesarean section rate, especially in the secondary hospitals. The first step to reduced caesarean section rates is to decrease the number of non-indicated caesarean sections

Cross sectional study of mode of delivery and maternal and perinatal outcomes in mainland China

Background: Cesarean delivery (CD) rates have risen globally with nearly 50% of the non-indicated CDs worldwide in China and Brazil. In China’s One Child Policy era (1979–2015) most deliveries were women having their only child. Family size is a major determinant of the safety of medically non-indicated CD or CD on maternal request. The goal of this study is to document CD rates, indications, and analyze the relative safety of non-indicated CD compared to SVD and intrapartum CD. Methods: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of the association between mode of delivery and short-term maternal and perinatal outcomes were performed on a cross-section of all deliveries at 39 hospitals in 14 provinces of China in 2011, presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 99% confidence intervals (CI). Findings: Among 108,847 deliveries, 59,415 were CD (54.6%) with 20.8% of deliveries or 38.2% of all cesareans were non-indicated CD. Compared to SVD, antepartum non-indicated CD was associated with a decreased likelihood of post-partum hemorrhage (PPH) (aOR = 0.80, CI = 0.69–0.92) and was not associated with maternal death or combined severe outcomes (maternal death, transfusion, or hysterectomy). Intrapartum indicated CD was associated with an increased risk of PPH (aOR = 1.68, CI = 1.50–1.89) compared to SVD. Compared to SVD, antepartum non-indicated CD was associated with lower likelihood of neonatal death (aOR = 0.14, CI = 0.06–0.34), neonatal ICU admission (aOR = 0.50, CI = 0.36–0.69), 5-minute Apgar<4 (aOR = 0.06, CI = 0.10–0.36), and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (aOR = 0.31, CI = 0.16–0.58), but not significantly associated with changes in rates of infection, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIEE), birth trauma or meconium aspiration rates. Conclusions: In 2011 when 81% of deliveries were women having their first child antepartum non-indicated CD had short-term maternal and perinatal outcomes as safe as SVD. Now that all Chinese women can have a second child the safety profile may change