Smoking family, paternal smoking at home and saliva cotinine levels of young children in Hong Kong

Conference Theme: Tobacco and Non-Communicable DiseasesPoster Discussion 25. Smoke-Free Environments and Second-Hand Smoke: Changing the Norm: no. PD-890-20BACKGROUND: Prevalence of smoking in Hong Kong (all 10.7%, male 19.1%, female 3.1%) is among the lowest in the world. Home is a main source of children’s secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in densely populated Hong Kong. We investigated paternal smoking places at home and distance from children with children’s cotinine levels. DESIGN/METHODS: 773 children (response rate 66.0%, mean age 6.2±5.6, 51.6% boys) were recruited in 4 Maternal and Children Health Centers in Hong Kong. Information on SHS exposure at and outside home, paternal smoking behaviours, socio-demographic characteristics was reported …published_or_final_versio

Glycated hemoglobin and incident type 2 diabetes in singaporean Chinese adults: The Singapore Chinese Health Study

Background: The American Diabetes Association recently included glycated hemoglobin in the diagnostic criteria for diabetes, but research on the utility of this biomarker in Southeast Asians is scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between percent HbA1c and incident diabetes in an Asian population of adult men and women without reported diabetes. Methods: Data analysis of 5,770 men and women enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study who provided a blood sample at the follow-up I visit (1999-2004) and had no cancer and no reported history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease events. Diabetes was defined as self-report of physician diagnosis, identified at the follow-up II visit (2006-2010). Results: Hazard ratios (and 95%confidence intervals) for incident diabetes by 5 categories of HbA1c were estimated with Cox regression models and continuous HbA1c with cubic spline analysis. Compared to individuals with an HbA1c ≤ 5.7% (≤39 mmol/mol), individuals with HbA1c 5.8-5.9% (40-41 mmol/mol), 6.0-6.1% (42-43 mmol/mol), 6.2-6.4% (44-47 mmol/mol), and ≥ 6.5% (≥48 mmol/mol) had significantly increased risk for incident diabetes during followup. In cubic spline analysis, levels below 5.7% HbA1c were not significantly associated with incident diabetes. Conclusions: Our study found a strong and graded association with HbA1c 5.8% and above with incident diabetes in Chinese men and women

Comparisons of Protein and Peptide Complexity in Poneroid and Formicoid Ant Venoms

© 2016 American Chemical Society. Animal venom peptides are currently being developed as novel drugs and bioinsecticides. Because ants use venoms for defense and predation, venomous ants represent an untapped source of potential bioactive toxins. This study compared the protein and peptide components of the poneroid ants Neoponera commutata, Neoponera apicalis, and Odontomachus hastatus and the formicoid ants Ectatomma tuberculatum, Ectatomma brunneum, and Myrmecia gulosa. 1D and 2D PAGE revealed venom proteins in the mass range 250 kDa. NanoLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS analysis of tryptic peptides revealed the presence of common venom proteins and also many undescribed proteins. RP-HPLC separation followed by MALDI-TOF MS of the venom peptides also revealed considerable heterogeneity. It was found that the venoms contained between 144 and 1032 peptides with 5-95% of peptides in the ranges 1-4 and 1-8 kDa for poneroid and formicoid ants, respectively. By employing the reducing MALDI matrix 1,5-diaminonapthalene, up to 28 disulfide-bonded peptides were also identified in each of the venoms. In particular, the mass range of peptides from poneroid ants is lower than peptides from other venoms, indicating possible novel structures and pharmacologies. These results indicate that ant venoms represent an enormous, untapped source of novel therapeutic and bioinsecticide leads

What is Normalization? The Strategies Employed in Top-Down and Bottom-Up Proteome Analysis Workflows.

The accurate quantification of changes in the abundance of proteins is one of the main applications of proteomics. The maintenance of accuracy can be affected by bias and error that can occur at many points in the experimental process, and normalization strategies are crucial to attempt to overcome this bias and return the sample to its regular biological condition, or normal state. Much work has been published on performing normalization on data post-acquisition with many algorithms and statistical processes available. However, there are many other sources of bias that can occur during experimental design and sample handling that are currently unaddressed. This article aims to cast light on the potential sources of bias and where normalization could be applied to return the sample to its normal state. Throughout we suggest solutions where possible but, in some cases, solutions are not available. Thus, we see this article as a starting point for discussion of the definition of and the issues surrounding the concept of normalization as it applies to the proteomic analysis of biological samples. Specifically, we discuss a wide range of different normalization techniques that can occur at each stage of the sample preparation and analysis process

Early growth response 2 (EGR2) is a novel regulator of the senescence programme.

Senescence, a state of stable growth arrest, plays an important role in ageing and age-related diseases in vivo. Although the INK4/ARF locus is known to be essential for senescence programmes, the key regulators driving p16 and ARF transcription remain largely underexplored. Using siRNA screening for modulators of the p16/pRB and ARF/p53/p21 pathways in deeply senescent human mammary epithelial cells (DS HMECs) and fibroblasts (DS HMFs), we identified EGR2 as a novel regulator of senescence. EGR2 expression is up-regulated during senescence, and its ablation by siRNA in DS HMECs and HMFs transiently reverses the senescent phenotype. We demonstrate that EGR2 activates the ARF and p16 promoters and directly binds to both the ARF and p16 promoters. Loss of EGR2 down-regulates p16 levels and increases the pool of p16- p21- 'reversed' cells in the population. Moreover, EGR2 overexpression is sufficient to induce senescence. Our data suggest that EGR2 is a direct transcriptional activator of the p16/pRB and ARF/p53/p21 pathways in senescence and a novel marker of senescence

Paternal smoking and maternal protective behaviors at home on infant’s saliva cotinine levels

BackgroundWe investigated the association between paternal smoking, avoidance behaviors and maternal protective actions and smoke-free home rules with infant's saliva cotinine in Hong Kong.MethodsSix hundred and seventy-five non-smoking mothers (mean age 32.6 years) who attended the maternal-child health clinics with their newborns aged ≤18 months completed a questionnaire about paternal smoking and avoidance behaviors, maternal protective actions, smoke-free rules at home, and infant's second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure. Three hundred and eighty-nine infants provided saliva sample and its cotinine was tested.ResultsThe geometric mean of infant's saliva cotinine was 1.07 ng/ml (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.98, 1.16). Infants living in smoking families with SHS exposure had significantly higher cotinine level than in non-smoking families (adjusted β=0.25, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.33). Paternal smoking near infants (within 1.5 m) was associated with higher cotinine level (adjusted β=0.60, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.98), which was not reduced by avoidance behaviors (e.g., smoking in kitchen or balcony). Even fathers smoking ≥3 m away from infants was associated with higher cotinine level than non-smoking families (adjusted β=0. 09, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.16). Maternal protective actions and smoke-free home rules were not significantly associated with reduced cotinine level.ConclusionPaternal smoking avoidance, maternal protective actions, and smoke-free policy at home did not reduce infant's saliva cotinine.Pediatric Research advance online publication, 13 December 2017; doi:10.1038/pr.2017.279

Patient perspectives of managing fatigue in ankylosing spondylitis, and views on potential interventions: a qualitative study

<p>Background: Fatigue is a major component of living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), though it has been largely over-looked, and currently there are no specific agreed management strategies.</p> <p>Methods: This qualitative exploratory study involved participants who are members of an existing population-based ankylosing spondylitis (PAS) cohort. Participants residing in South West Wales were invited to participate in a focus group to discuss; (1) effects of fatigue, (2) self-management strategies and (3) potential future interventions. The focus groups were audio-recorded and the transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.</p> <p>Results: Participants consisted of 3 males/4 females (group 1) and 4 males/3 females (group 2), aged between 35 and 73 years (mean age 53 years). Three main themes were identified: (1) The effects of fatigue were multi-dimensional with participants expressing feelings of being ‘drained’ (physical), ‘upset’ (emotional) and experiencing ‘low-mood’ (psychological); (2) The most commonly reported self-management strategy for fatigue was a balanced combination of activity (exercise) and rest. Medication was reluctantly taken due to side-effects and worries over dependency; (3) Participants expressed a preference for psychological therapies rather than pharmacological for managing fatigue. Information on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was received with interest, with recommendations for delivery in a group format with the option of distance-based delivery for people who were not able to attend a group course.</p> <p>Conclusions: Patients frequently try and manage their fatigue without any formal guidance or support. Our research indicates there is a need for future research to focus on psychological interventions to address the multi-faceted aspects of fatigue in AS.</p&gt

Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Is Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in peripheral blood is associated with increased risk of several cancers. However, data from prospective studies on mtDNA copy number and breast cancer risk are lacking. We evaluated the association between mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood and breast cancer risk in a nested case-control study of 183 breast cancer cases with pre-diagnostic blood samples and 529 individually matched controls among participants of the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The mtDNA copy number was measured using real time PCR. Conditional logistic regression analyses showed that there was an overall positive association between mtDNA copy number and breast cancer risk (Ptrend = 0.01). The elevated risk for higher mtDNA copy numbers was primarily seen for women with <3 years between blood draw and cancer diagnosis; ORs (95% CIs) for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th quintile of mtDNA copy number were 1.52 (0.61, 3.82), 2.52 (1.03, 6.12), 3.12 (1.31, 7.43), and 3.06 (1.25, 7.47), respectively, compared with the 1st quintile (Ptrend = 0.004). There was no association between mtDNA copy number and breast cancer risk among women who donated a blood sample ≥3 years before breast cancer diagnosis (Ptrend = 0.41). This study supports a prospective association between increased mtDNA copy number and breast cancer risk that is dependent on the time interval between blood collection and breast cancer diagnosis. Future studies are warranted to confirm these findings and to elucidate the biological role of mtDNA copy number in breast cancer risk. © 2013 Thyagarajan et al

Cigarettes and alcohol in relation to colorectal cancer: the Singapore Chinese Health Study

The relations were examined between colorectal cancer and cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption within the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based, prospective cohort of 63 257 middle-aged and older Chinese men and women enrolled between 1993 and 1998, from whom baseline data on cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption were collected through in-person interviews. By 31 December 2004, 845 cohort participants had developed colorectal cancer (516 colon cancer, 329 rectal cancer). Compared with nondrinkers, subjects who drank seven or more alcoholic drinks per week had a statistically significant, 72% increase in risk of colorectal cancer hazard ratio (HR)=1.72; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.33–2.22). Cigarette smoking was associated with an increased risk of rectal cancer only. Compared with nonsmokers, HRs (95% CIs) for rectal cancer were 1.43 (1.10–1.87) for light smokers and 2.64 (1.77–3.96) for heavy smokers. Our data indicate that cigarette smoking and alcohol use interact in the Chinese population in an additive manner in affecting risk of rectal cancer, thus suggesting that these two exposures may share a common etiologic pathway in rectal carcinogenesis

Optimal-Foraging Predator Favors Commensalistic Batesian Mimicry

BACKGROUND:Mimicry, in which one prey species (the Mimic) imitates the aposematic signals of another prey (the Model) to deceive their predators, has attracted the general interest of evolutionary biologists. Predator psychology, especially how the predator learns and forgets, has recently been recognized as an important factor in a predator-prey system. This idea is supported by both theoretical and experimental evidence, but is also the source of a good deal of controversy because of its novel prediction that in a Model/Mimic relationship even a moderately unpalatable Mimic increases the risk of the Model (quasi-Batesian mimicry). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We developed a psychology-based Monte Carlo model simulation of mimicry that incorporates a "Pavlovian" predator that practices an optimal foraging strategy, and examined how various ecological and psychological factors affect the relationships between a Model prey species and its Mimic. The behavior of the predator in our model is consistent with that reported by experimental studies, but our simulation's predictions differed markedly from those of previous models of mimicry because a more abundant Mimic did not increase the predation risk of the Model when alternative prey were abundant. Moreover, a quasi-Batesian relationship emerges only when no or very few alternative prey items were available. Therefore, the availability of alternative prey rather than the precise method of predator learning critically determines the relationship between Model and Mimic. Moreover, the predation risk to the Model and Mimic is determined by the absolute density of the Model rather than by its density relative to that of the Mimic. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Although these predictions are counterintuitive, they can explain various kinds of data that have been offered in support of competitive theories. Our model results suggest that to understand mimicry in nature it is important to consider the likely presence of alternative prey and the possibility that predation pressure is not constant