A decade of change in breastfeeding in China's far north-west

BACKGROUND: There have been considerable changes in breastfeeding practices in China over the past forty years. However China is a very large country, and breastfeeding rates in different parts of China vary considerably. The objective of this paper is to identify and compare breastfeeding types and rates between 1994–1996 and 2003–2004 in Shihezi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, PR China. METHODS: In 1994–1996, a study of breastfeeding (n = 2197) was undertaken in Shihezi, Xinjiang, PR China. A decade later in 2003–2004, a longitudinal study (n = 545) of infant feeding practices was undertaken in the same area. RESULTS: The 'any breastfeeding' rates at 1, 4 and 6 months were 94%, 82% and 78% respectively in the early 1990s. A decade later, breastfeeding at 1 month was lower, but rates at 4 and 6 months remained the same. In 2004 the 'full breastfeeding' rate at one month was significantly higher (57%) than a decade earlier (38%), but after 3 months there was a rapid decline. This reflected a shift in the way complementary foods are introduced: the initial introduction was later, but by a higher proportion of mothers. CONCLUSION: The rate of breastfeeding at one month is significantly lower in 2003–2004 when compared to 1994–1996. The 'full breastfeeding' rates were initially higher, but after 3 months were then lower. The Chinese national breastfeeding targets were not reached in either period of the study. These studies show the need to further promote full or exclusive breastfeeding and further longitudinal studies are necessary to provide the detailed knowledge about risk factors required for health promotion programs

Ginsenoside Rb1 Prevents H2O2-Induced HUVEC Senescence by Stimulating Sirtuin-1 Pathway

We have previously reported that Ginsenoside Rb1 may effectively prevent HUVECs from senescence, however, the detailed mechanism has not demonstrated up to now. Recent studies have shown that sirtuin-1 (Sirt1) plays an important role in the development of endothelial senescence. The purpose of this study was to explore whether Sirt1 is involved in the action of Ginsenoside Rb1 regarding protection against H2O2-induced HUVEC Senescence.Senescence induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was examined by analyzing plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression, cell morphology, and senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. The results revealed that 42% of control-treated HUVECs were SA-β-gal positive after treatment by 60 µmol/L H2O2, however, this particular effect of H2O2 was decreased more than 2-fold (19%) in the HUVECs when pretreated with Rb1 (20 µmol/L) for 30 min. Additionally, Rb1 decreased eNOS acetylation, as well as promoted more NO production that was accompanied by an increase in Sirt1 expression. Furthermore, upon knocking down Sirt1, the effect of Rb1 on HUVEC senescence was blunted.The present study indicated that Ginsenoside Rb1 acts through stimulating Sirt1 in order to protect against endothelial senescence and dysfunction. As such, Sirt1 appears to be of particular importance in maintaining endothelial functions and delaying vascular aging

The prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born children aged 0–3 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

PurposePrevious studies reported a higher risk of food allergy for cesarean-born children than vaginal-born children. This study aims to systematically compare the prevalence of food allergy among cesarean-born and vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years.MethodsThree English and two Chinese databases were searched using terms related to food allergies and cesarean sections. Cohort studies that reported the prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born and vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years were included. Two reviewers performed study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction. The pooled prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born and vaginal-born children was compared by meta-analysis.ResultsNine eligible studies, with 9,650 cesarean-born children and 20,418 vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years, were included. Of them, 645 cesarean-born children and 991 vaginal-born children were identified as having food allergies. The pooled prevalence of food allergy was higher in cesarean-born children (7.8%) than in vaginal-born children (5.9%). Cesarean section was associated with an increased risk of food allergy [odds ratio (OR): 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–2.05] and cow's milk allergy (OR: 3.31; 95% CI: 1.98–5.53). Additionally, cesarean-born children with a parental history of allergy had an increased risk of food allergy (OR: 2.60; 95% CI: 1.28–5.27).ConclusionThis study suggests that cesarean sections was associated with an increased risk of food and cow's milk allergies in children aged 0–3 years. Cesarean-born children with a parental history of allergy demonstrated a higher risk for food allergy than did vaginal-born children. These results indicate that caregivers should be aware of the risks of food allergies in cesarean-born children, reducing the risk of potentially fatal allergic events. Further research is needed to identify the specific factors affecting food allergies in young children.Systematic Review Registrationhttp://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (NO. CRD42019140748)

Alteration of hepatic structure and oxidative stress induced by intravenous nanoceria.

Beyond the traditional use of ceria as an abrasive, the scope of nanoceria applications now extends into fuel cell manufacturing, diesel fuel additives, and for therapeutic intervention as a putative antioxidant. However, the biological effects of nanoceria exposure have yet to be fully defined, which gave us the impetus to examine its systemic biodistribution and biological responses. An extensively characterized nanoceria (5 nm) dispersion was vascularly infused into rats, which were terminated 1 h, 20 h or 30 days later. Light and electron microscopic tissue characterization was conducted and hepatic oxidative stress parameters determined. We observed acute ceria nanoparticle sequestration by Kupffer cells with subsequent bioretention in parenchymal cells as well. The internalized ceria nanoparticles appeared as spherical agglomerates of varying dimension without specific organelle penetration. In hepatocytes, the agglomerated nanoceria frequently localized to the plasma membrane facing bile canaliculi. Hepatic stellate cells also sequestered nanoceria. Within the sinusoids, sustained nanoceria bioretention was associated with granuloma formations comprised of Kupffer cells and intermingling CD3 + T cells. A statistically significant elevation of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level was seen at 1 and 20 h, but subsided by 30 days after ceria administration. Further, elevated apoptosis was observed on day 30. These findings, together with increased hepatic protein carbonyl levels on day 30, indicate ceria-induced hepatic injury and oxidative stress, respectively. Such observations suggest a single vascular infusion of nanoceria can lead to persistent hepatic retention of particles with possible implications for occupational and therapeutic exposures

Directional Selection from Host Plants Is a Major Force Driving Host Specificity in Magnaporthe Species

One major threat to global food security that requires immediate attention, is the increasing incidence of host shift and host expansion in growing number of pathogenic fungi and emergence of new pathogens. The threat is more alarming because, yield quality and quantity improvement efforts are encouraging the cultivation of uniform plants with low genetic diversity that are increasingly susceptible to emerging pathogens. However, the influence of host genome differentiation on pathogen genome differentiation and its contribution to emergence and adaptability is still obscure. Here, we compared genome sequence of 6 isolates of Magnaporthe species obtained from three different host plants. We demonstrated the evolutionary relationship between Magnaporthe species and the influence of host differentiation on pathogens. Phylogenetic analysis showed that evolution of pathogen directly corresponds with host divergence, suggesting that host-pathogen interaction has led to co-evolution. Furthermore, we identified an asymmetric selection pressure on Magnaporthe species. Oryza sativa-infecting isolates showed higher directional selection from host and subsequently tends to lower the genetic diversity in its genome. We concluded that, frequent gene loss or gain, new transposon acquisition and sequence divergence are host adaptability mechanisms for Magnaporthe species, and this coevolution processes is greatly driven by directional selection from host plants

Assessing the Impact of Digital Finance on the Total Factor Productivity of Commercial Banks: An Empirical Analysis of China

With the development of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, digital technology and finance are becoming increasingly intertwined. At present, digital finance has altered the competitive environment of commercial banks, and the traditional competitive edges in service scenarios and channels, customer information, and capital have been challenged. Based on perfect competition and technology spillover effects, this study attempted to measure the impact of digital finance on commercial banks’ total factor productivity (TFP) and its mediating and moderating mechanisms. We have used the data envelopment analysis-based Malmquist productivity index to measure the total factor productivity of 132 commercial banks in China between 2011 and 2019. The results show that (a) digital finance significantly enhances the TFP of commercial banks; (b) risk taking partially mediates the relationship between digital finance and TFP. The study further tests the effect of the nature of property rights and the moderating effect of diversification. The findings suggest that digital finance significantly improves the TFP of non-state-owned commercial banks but has no significant effect on the TFP of state-owned commercial banks. Additionally, the implementation of diversification can strengthen the effect of digital finance on TFP