Serum Sestrin2 and PlGF levels in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and their correlations with the severity of the disease: A case-control study

Purpose: Sestrin2, a metabolic regulator with antioxidant activity, might have some certain predictability for the occurrence and severity of pre-eclampsia (PE). The purpose of this work was to explore the levels of serum Sestrin2 and PlGF in pregnant women with PE and their correlation with the severity index of the disease.Methods:This was a retrospective case-control study of pregnant women with PE who planned to give birth in our hospital from 05/2017 to 05/2019. Pearson correlation was used to analyze Sestrin2 and PlGF levels with PE severity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the predictive value of Sestrin2 and PlGF for PE.Results: There were 52 women in the control group, 46 in the mild PE group, and 36 in the severe PE group. As the severity of PE increased, the median levels of Sestrin2 increased (8.1, 9.8, and 11.8 ng/ml), and the levels of PlGF decreased (156, 117, and 67 pg/ml) in the three groups of women (all P<0.05).The levels of Sestrin2 and PlGF were strongly correlated with mean arterial pressure,proteinuria, newborn birth weight and gestational weeks at delivery (all P<0.001). Sestrin2 and PlGF had high efficiency of diagnosing PE (cut-off: 8.90 ng/ml, Area Under Curve [AUC]=0.979; cut-off: 122.50 pg/ml, AUC=0.963). Additionally, Sestrin2 and PlGF showed high value of severity prediction (cut-off: 11.15 ng/ml, AUC=0.857; cut-off: 68.50 pg/ml, AUC=0.837).Conclusion: Sestrin2 and PlGF are correlated with the severity of PE. Both Sestrin2 and PlGF had high value for PE diagnosis and severity prediction. Keywords: pre-eclampsia; Sestrin2; placental growth factor; oxidative stress; severity&nbsp

Projected Urbanization Impacts on Surface Climate and Energy Budgets in the Pearl River Delta of China

The climate impacts of future urbanization in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in China were simulated with the Dynamics of Land Systems (DLS) model and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in this study. The land use and land cover data in 2000 and 2020 were simulated with the DLS model based on the regional development planning. Then the spatial and temporal changes of surface air temperature, ground heat flux, and regional precipitation in 2020 were quantified and analyzed through comparing simulation results by WRF. Results show that the built-up land will become the dominant land use type in the PRD in 2020. Besides, the near-surface air temperature shows an increasing trend on the whole region in both summer and winter, but with some seasonal variation. The urban temperature rise is more apparent in summer than it is in winter. In addition, there is some difference between the spatial pattern of precipitation in summer and winter in 2020; the spatial variation of precipitation is a bit greater in summer than it is in winter. Results can provide significant reference for the land use management to alleviate the climate change

Effect of microwave treatment on the physicochemical properties of potato starch granules

BACKGROUND: The degree of polymerization of amylose starch in potato was so large that the gel was hardness after gelatinization. Therefore, it is one of the most important ways that the microwave treatment was used to change the physicochemical properties of starch gel to make it suitable for the preparation of instant food. RESULTS: The effect of microwave treatment on the physicochemical properties including morphology, crystalline structure, molecular weight distribution and rheological properties of potato starch granules was evaluated by treating time of varying duration (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 s) at 2450 MHz and 750 W. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of potato starch granules showed flaws or fractures on the surface after 5 to 10s of microwaving and collapse after 15 to 20 s. Polarized light microscopy (PLM) indicated that microwave treating damaged the crystalline structure of potato starch, such that the birefringence of starch granules gradually decreased after 5 to 10s and even disappeared after microwaving from 15 to 20 s. The molecular weight (Mw) values of potato starch and the proportion of large M(W) fraction were considerably reduced with increasing the microwave treating time from 0 to 20s. The molecular weight slowly decreased over 5 ~ 15 s microwave treating but decreased abruptly at the time of 20s microwave treating. The apparent viscosity decreased as shear rate increased and presented shear-thinning behavior. The magnitudes of the storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G”) obtained at each shear rate increased with duration of microwave treating from 0 to 15 s but decreased from 15 to 20 s. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that the morphology and crystalline structure was damaged by microwave treatment. The high molecular weight of potato starch above 2 × 10(8) Da was so sensitive to the vibrational motion of the polar molecules due to the application microwave energy and broke easily for longer dextran chains. The fracture of starch granules, molecular chains leached from the starch granules and degradation of dextran chains contributing to the development of rheological properties

Gender-specific association of decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate and left vertical geometry in the general population from rural Northeast China

Abstract Background Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is common and associated with cardiovascular outcomes among patients with known chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the link between decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and left ventricular (LV) geometry remains poorly explored in general population. In this study, we examined the gender-specific association between eGFR and LVH in the general population from rural Northeast China. Methods This survey was conducted from July 2012 to August 2013. A total of 10907 participants (5,013 men and 5,894 women) from the rural Northeast China were randomly selected and examined. LV mass index (LVMI) was used to define LVH (LVMI\u2009>\u200946.7\ua0g/m 2.7 in women; > 49.2\ua0g/m 2.7 in men). LV geometry was defined as normal, or with concentric remodeling, eccentric or concentric hypertrophy, according to relative wall thickness (RWT) and LVMI. Mildly decreased eGFR was defined as eGFR\u2009\u2265\u200960 and\u2009<\u200990\ua0ml/min/1.73\ua0m 2 , and moderate-severely decreased eGFR was defined as eGFR\u2009<\u200960\ua0ml/min/1.73\ua0m 2 . Results As eGFR decreased, LVH showed a gradual increase in the entire study population. Multivariate analysis revealed a gender-specific relationship between eGFR and LV geometry. Only in men, mildly decreased eGFR was associated with concentric remodeling [odds ratio (OR): =1.58; 95% CI: 1.14\u20132.20; P \u2009<\u20090.01] and concentric LVH OR \u2009=\u20091.63; 95% CI: 1.15\u20132.31; P \u2009<\u20090.01). And only in men, moderate-severely decreased eGFR was a risk factor for concentric LVH ( OR \u2009=\u20094.56; 95% CI: 2.14\u20139.73; P \u2009<\u20090.001) after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusions These findings suggested that decreased eGFR was a risk factor for LV geometry in men, and a gender-specific difference should be taken into account in clinical practice

Comparison of broiler performance, carcass yields and intestinal microflora when fed diets containing transgenic (Mon-40-3-2) and conventional soybean meal

This study was conducted to analyze the effects of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant soybeans on the performance, carcass yields and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens. Three hundred and sixty oneday- old Abor Aerec broilers were randomly divided into two dietary treatments, adding genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant soybean meal or conventional soybean meal, respectively. Broiler body weight and feed intake were recorded at regular intervals (day 0, 21 and 42). Chickens were slaughtered at day 42 for carcass yield measurement and sampling. Diversity of the ileum and cecum microflora was determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique and DNA sequencing. No treatment differences (P &gt; 0.05) were detected among dietary treatments for any measured performance and carcass parameters. The microbial population in ileum and cecum also had no significant difference between the two treatments (P&gt;0.05). The similarity of the total ileum and cecum microflora between the two treatments was about 62 and 58%, respectively. The DNA-DGGE electrophoresis pattern bands of intestine microbe were divided into two groups because of the different diet. Fifteen DGGE DNA bands were identified, of which five of them were identified as known bacteria. The current study showed that there were no adverse effects of the transgenic soybean meal on the intestinal microflora of broilers.Key words: Broiler, glyphosate-tolerant soybean meal, intestinal microbiota, feed safety

Ecotourism, past, current and future perspectives : a bibliometric review between 2001 to 2018

Abstract: Ecotourism is natural based travel that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local communities, and involves environmental interpretation and education. A number of literature reviews have been published focusing on specific aspects of the ecotourism market segmentation, ecological impacts of wildlife viewing, and community-based ecotourism, but there has been minimal attention to critical areas such as quality control, the industry, external environments or institutions. In order to further promote related studies, it is important to conduct a comprehensive review on ecotourism so that recent research progresses can be summarized and future research directions can be identified. Accordungly, this paper aims to conduct a bibliometric review on ecotourism to glean the past, current and future perspectives on ecotourism. Based on 1,889 articles published from 2001 to 2018 and searched from Web of Science, a systematic method combining bibliometric analysis and network analysis is applied to uncover the dynamic trends, academic collaboration and research hotspots. Results show that the overall publication quantity had been gradually improved. The key journals include Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Conservation Biology and Biological Conservation. Authors from USA have the most publications and international co-authorships, followed by Australia and England, while the most influential institution is the Chinese Academy of Science followed by Griffith University. Moreover, research keywords have been identified, including ecotourism, management, biodiversity, national park, sustainability and sustainable tourism. In order to further improve research in this field, it is crucial to combine different methods so that more innovative perspectives can be presented. Research findings from this study will provide limitations, and suggestions for future research