Childhood body mass index and wheezing disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: It has been claimed that overweight/obesity are associated with childhood asthma and wheezing disorders, although the results of observational studies have remained inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate this. METHODS: An online search of published papers linking childhood asthma and wheezing with overweight/obesity up to May 2014 using EMBASE and Medline medical research databases was carried out. Summary odds ratios (OR) were estimated using random-effects models. Sub-group meta-analyses were performed to assess the robustness of risk associations and between-study heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 38 studies comprising 1,411,335 participants were included in our meta-analysis. The summary ORs of underweight (85th to <95th percentile), and obesity (≥95th percentile) were 0.85 (95% CI: 0.75 to 0.97; P=0.02), 1.23 (95% CI: 1.17 to 1.29; p<0.001), and 1.46, (95% CI: 1.36 to 1.57, P<0.001) respectively. Heterogeneity was significant and substantial in all three weight categories, and not accounted for by predefined study characteristics. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that underweight is associated with a reduced risk of childhood asthma, and overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma. Although our findings assert that overweight/obesity and childhood asthma are associated, the causal pathway and temporal aspects of this relationship remain unanswered and deserve further epidemiological investigation

Deactylase inhibition in myeloproliferative neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are clonal haemopoietic progenitor cell disorders characterized by the proliferation of one or more of the haemopoietic lineages (myeloid, erythroid and/or megakaryocytic). The MPNs include eight haematological disorders: chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), primary myelofibrosis (PMF), systemic mastocytosis (SM), chronic eosinophilic leukemia, not otherwise specified (CEL, NOS), chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL), and unclassifiable MPN (MPN, U). Therapeutic interventions for MPNs include the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for BCR-ABL1+ CML and JAK2 inhibitors for PV, ET and PMF. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are a novel class of drugs capable of altering the acetylation status of both histone and non-histone proteins, thereby affecting a repertoire of cellular functions in neoplastic cells including proliferation, differentiation, immune responses, angiogenesis and survival. Preliminary studies indicate that HDACi when used in combination with tyrosine kinase or JAK2 inhibitors may overcome resistance to the latter agents and enhance the pro-apoptotic effects on MPN cells. This review provides a review of pre-clinical and clinical studies that have explored the use of HDACi as potential therapeutics for MPNs

Endogenous interleukin-22 prevents cardiac rupture after myocardial infarction in mice.

Myocardial infarction (MI) can result in fatal myocardial rupture or heart failure due to adverse remodeling and dysfunction of the left ventricle. Although recent studies have shown that exogenous interleukin (IL)-22 shows cardioprotective effect after MI, the pathophysiological significance of endogenous IL-22 is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of endogenous IL-22 in a mouse model of MI. We produced MI model by permanent ligation of the left coronary artery in wild-type (WT) and IL-22 knock-out (KO) mice. The post-MI survival rate was significantly worse in IL-22KO mice than in WT mice due to a higher rate of cardiac rupture. Although IL-22KO mice exhibited a significantly greater infarct size than WT mice, there was no significant difference in left ventricular geometry or function between WT and IL-22KO mice. IL-22KO mice showed increase in infiltrating macrophages and myofibroblasts, and altered expression pattern of inflammation- and extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes after MI. While IL-22KO mice showed no obvious changes in cardiac morphology or function before MI, expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were increased, whereas that of tissue inhibitor of MMPs (TIMP)-3 was decreased in cardiac tissue. Protein expression of IL-22 receptor complex, IL-22 receptor alpha 1 (IL-22R1) and IL-10 receptor beta (IL-10RB), were increased in cardiac tissue 3 days after MI, regardless of the genotype. We propose that endogenous IL-22 plays an important role in preventing cardiac rupture after MI, possibly by regulating inflammation and ECM metabolism

Carotid artery intima-media thickness, HDL cholesterol levels, and gender associated with poor visual acuity in patients with branch retinal artery occlusion.

PurposeTo investigate factors associated with poor visual acuity (VA) in branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO).MethodsThis was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 72 eyes with BRAO of 72 patients. For statistical comparison, we divided the patients into worse-VA (decimal VA = 0.5) groups. We examined the association of clinical findings, including blood biochemical test data and carotid artery ultrasound parameters, with poor VA.ResultsMedian age, hematocrit, hemoglobin and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) differed significantly between the groups (P = 0.018, P ConclusionsWe found that increased IMT-Bmax, decreased HDL, and female sex were associated with poor VA in BRAO patients. Our findings might suggest novel risk factors for visual dysfunction in BRAO and may provide new insights into the pathomechanisms underlying BRAO

Decision-making at technological systems structure upgrade

 The method based on use of expert ratings of variants of upgrade of structure of technological system with result application of the theory of fuzzy sets is considered. The suggested way of a choice of optimum decisions from alternative variants of structure of technological systems under unsympathetic target conditions, will allow to minimize economic and social consequences of its upgrade. Results of research can be used at the initial stages of complex technical systems designing at insufficient volume  on absence of the necessary statistical data.  Рассмотрен метод использования экспертных оценок вариантов модернизации структуры технологической системы с применением результатов теории нечетких множеств. Предложен способ выбора оптимальных решений из альтернативных вариантов структуры технологических систем при нечетких входных условиях, который позволит минимизировать экономические и социальные последствия ее модернизации. Приведены результаты исследования, которые можно применять на начальных этапах проектирования сложных технических систем при недостаточном объеме или отсутствии необходимых статистических данных. Розглянуто метод використання експертних оцінок варіантів модернізації структури технологічної системі з застосуванням результатів теорії нечітких множин. Запропоновано спосіб вибору оптимальних рішень з альтернативних варіантів структури технологічних систем при нечітких вхідних умовах, який дозволить мінімізувати економічні та соціальні наслідки її модернізації. Наведено результати дослідження, які можна використати на початкових етапах проектування складних технічних систем при недостатньому обсязі або відсутності необхідних статистичних даних