Randomized controlled trial of the effect of phytosterols-enriched low-fat milk on lipid profile in Chinese

published_or_final_versio

Brief intervention to promote smoking cessation and improve glycemic control in smokers with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial

published_or_final_versio

An SU(N) Mott insulator of an atomic Fermi gas realized by large-spin Pomeranchuk cooling

The Hubbard model, containing only the minimum ingredients of nearest neighbor hopping and on-site interaction for correlated electrons, has succeeded in accounting for diverse phenomena observed in solid-state materials. One of the interesting extensions is to enlarge its spin symmetry to SU(N>2), which is closely related to systems with orbital degeneracy. Here we report a successful formation of the SU(6) symmetric Mott insulator state with an atomic Fermi gas of ytterbium (173Yb) in a three-dimensional optical lattice. Besides the suppression of compressibility and the existence of charge excitation gap which characterize a Mott insulating phase, we reveal an important difference between the cases of SU(6) and SU(2) in the achievable temperature as the consequence of different entropy carried by an isolated spin. This is analogous to Pomeranchuk cooling in solid 3He and will be helpful for investigating exotic quantum phases of SU(N) Hubbard system at extremely low temperatures.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Nature Physic

Prevalence and characteristics of e-cigarette users among Malaysian current and ex-smokers

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are new devices that have been accepted widely by both smokers and non-smokers. However, the evidence on EC used in Malaysia is scarce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of EC use and the socio-demographic and smoking characteristics associated with current EC use among Malaysian current and ex-smokers. Methods: This was a sub-analysis of data from a cross-sectional, national-population- based EC study conducted from May to June in 2016 in Malaysia. A detailed description of the sampling methods can be found in the National E-cigarette Survey (NECS) 2016 report. Briefly, data were obtained from 1396 individuals who had ever been smokers, i.e., 957 (68.6%) current smokers and 439 (31.4%) ex-smokers. Results: Current EC use was found predominantly among current smokers (8.0%) as compared with ex-smokers (4.3%). Among current smokers, the main reasons given for smoking ECs were wanting to try it (44.7%), followed by intention to quit tobacco smoking (15.8%) and to reduce tobacco smoking (10.5%). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that among current smokers, current EC users were more likely to be younger, i.e., 18-44 years (aOR= 4.83, 95% CI= 1.97-11.86, p=0.001), urban residents (aOR= 1.89, 95% CI= 1.15-3.11, p=0.012), single/ divorced/ widowed (aOR= 2.11, 95% CI= 1.24-3.61, p=0.006) and students (aOR= 2.25, 95% CI= 1.01-5.01, p=0.048). Among ex- smokers, only younger respondents (18-44 years old) was reported as being more likely to be current EC users (aOR= 3.81, 95% CI= 1.14-12.76, p=0.030). Conclusion: This study showed that currently using and ever having used ECs were more prevalent among current smokers. The reasons given for initiating EC use among current smokers were mainly wanting to try it, followed by intention to quit and to reduce tobacco smoking. Current EC use appears to be common among current smokers who are younger, urban residents, single/divorced/widowed and students. Therefore, EC cessation intervention strategies and policies should target these high-prevalence groups

Perception of harms and benefits of electronic cigarettes among adult Malaysian men: a comparison by electronic cigarette use and smoking status

Little is known about the perceptions of harm and benefit associated with the use of e-cigarettes in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative sample comprising 1987 males (≥18 years of age). Current, former, and never users of conventional cigarettes and/or e-cigarettes participated in a questionnaire study conducted via face-to-face interviews. The relationship between participant characteristics and perceptions of harm and benefit of e-cigarettes were determined with multivariable logistic regression. There were 950 current, 377 former, and 660 never users of e-cigarettes. Government employees (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-2.66, P = .001), private sector employees (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.27-2.18, P = .001), and the self-employed people (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.312.17, P = .001) were more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as more harmful than conventional cigarettes compared with respondents who were not wage earners. All current users in the form of e-cigarette users (OR = 7.87, 95% CI = 3.23-19.18), conventional cigarette smokers (OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.39-2.33), and dual users (OR = 8.59, 95% CI = 4.76-15.52) were more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as useful in quitting conventional cigarette smoking compared with former and never users. Our findings constitute an important snapshot into the perceptions of e-cigarette harms and benefits, which could inform targeted public health messaging strategies

Illness perceptions and explanatory models of viral hepatitis B & C among immigrants and refugees: a narrative systematic review.

© 2015 Owiti et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B and C (HBV, HCV) infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many countries with traditionally low prevalence (such as UK) are now planning interventions (screening, vaccination, and treatment) of high-risk immigrants from countries with high prevalence. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on immigrants' knowledge of HBV and HCV that might influence the uptake of clinical interventions. The review was also used to inform the design and successful delivery of a randomised controlled trial of targeted screening and treatment. METHODS: Five databases (PubMed, CINHAL, SOCIOFILE, PsycINFO & Web of Science) were systematically searched, supplemented by reference tracking, searches of selected journals, and of relevant websites. We aimed to identify qualitative and quantitative studies that investigated knowledge of HBV and HCV among immigrants from high endemic areas to low endemic areas. Evidence, extracted according to a conceptual framework of Kleinman's explanatory model, was subjected to narrative synthesis. We adapted the PEN-3 model to categorise and analyse themes, and recommend strategies for interventions to influence help-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: We identified 51 publications including quantitative (n = 39), qualitative (n = 11), and mixed methods (n = 1) designs. Most of the quantitative studies included small samples and had heterogeneous methods and outcomes. The studies mainly concentrated on hepatitis B and ethnic groups of South East Asian immigrants residing in USA, Canada, and Australia. Many immigrants lacked adequate knowledge of aetiology, symptoms, transmission risk factors, prevention strategies, and treatment, of hepatitis HBV and HCV. Ethnicity, gender, better education, higher income, and English proficiency influenced variations in levels and forms of knowledge. CONCLUSION: Immigrants are vulnerable to HBV and HCV, and risk life-threatening complications from these infections because of poor knowledge and help-seeking behaviour. Primary studies in this area are extremely diverse and of variable quality precluding meta-analysis. Further research is needed outside North America and Australia

The effect of arm training on thermoregulatory responses and calf volume during upper body exercise

The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2842-9.PURPOSE: The smaller muscle mass of the upper body compared to the lower body may elicit a smaller thermoregulatory stimulus during exercise and thus produce novel training-induced thermoregulatory adaptations. Therefore, the principal aim of the study was to examine the effect of arm training on thermoregulatory responses during submaximal exercise. METHODS: Thirteen healthy male participants (Mean ± SD age 27.8 ± 5.0 years, body mass 74.8 ± 9.5 kg) took part in 8 weeks of arm crank ergometry training. Thermoregulatory and calf blood flow responses were measured during 30 min of arm cranking at 60% peak power (W peak) pre-, and post-training and post-training at the same absolute intensity as pre-training. Core temperature and skin temperatures were measured, along with heat flow at the calf, thigh, upper arm and chest. Calf blood flow using venous occlusion plethysmography was performed pre- and post-exercise and calf volume was determined during exercise. RESULTS: The upper body training reduced aural temperature (0.1 ± 0.3 °C) and heat storage (0.3 ± 0.2 J g(-1)) at a given power output as a result of increased whole body sweating and heat flow. Arm crank training produced a smaller change in calf volume post-training at the same absolute exercise intensity (-1.2 ± 0.8% compared to -2.2 ± 0.9% pre-training; P < 0.05) suggesting reduced leg vasoconstriction. CONCLUSION: Training improved the main markers of aerobic fitness. However, the results of this study suggest arm crank training additionally elicits physiological responses specific to the lower body which may aid thermoregulation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Genomic and epigenomic EBF1 alterations modulate TERT expression in gastric cancer

Transcriptional reactivation of telomerase catalytic subunit (TERT) is a frequent hallmark of cancer, occurring in 90% of human malignancies. However, specific mechanisms driving TERT reactivation remain obscure for many tumor types and in particular gastric cancer (GC), a leading cause of global cancer mortality. Here, through comprehensive genomic and epigenomic analysis of primary GCs and GC cell lines, we identified the transcription factor early B cell factor 1 (EBF1) as a TERT transcriptional repressor and inactivation of EBF1 function as a major cause of TERT upregulation. Abolishment of EBF1 function occurs through 3 distinct (epi)genomic mechanisms. First, EBF1 is epigenetically silenced via DNA methyltransferase, polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and histone deacetylase activity in GCs. Second, recurrent, somatic, and heterozygous EBF1 DNA–binding domain mutations result in the production of dominant-negative EBF1 isoforms. Third, more rarely, genomic deletions and rearrangements proximal to the TERT promoter remobilize or abolish EBF1-binding sites, derepressing TERT and leading to high TERT expression. EBF1 is also functionally required for various malignant phenotypes in vitro and in vivo, highlighting its importance for GC development. These results indicate that multimodal genomic and epigenomic alterations underpin TERT reactivation in GC, converging on transcriptional repressors such as EBF1

Nanoparticles that communicate in vivo to amplify tumour targeting

Author Manuscript: 2012 May 29Nanomedicines have enormous potential to improve the precision of cancer therapy, yet our ability to efficiently home these materials to regions of disease in vivo remains very limited. Inspired by the ability of communication to improve targeting in biological systems, such as inflammatory-cell recruitment to sites of disease, we construct systems where synthetic biological and nanotechnological components communicate to amplify disease targeting in vivo. These systems are composed of ‘signalling’ modules (nanoparticles or engineered proteins) that target tumours and then locally activate the coagulation cascade to broadcast tumour location to clot-targeted ‘receiving’ nanoparticles in circulation that carry a diagnostic or therapeutic cargo, thereby amplifying their delivery. We show that communicating nanoparticle systems can be composed of multiple types of signalling and receiving modules, can transmit information through multiple molecular pathways in coagulation, can operate autonomously and can target over 40 times higher doses of chemotherapeutics to tumours than non-communicating controls.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (SBMRI Cancer Center Support Grant 5 P30 CA30199-28)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (MIT CCNE Grant U54 CA119349)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Bioengineering Research Partnership Grant 5-R01-CA124427)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (UCSD CCNE Grant U54 CA 119335)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Whitaker Graduate Fellowship

Effective Inhibition of Xenografts of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HepG2) by Rapamycin and Bevacizumab in an Intrahepatic Model

10.1007/s11307-009-0213-4Molecular Imaging and Biology115334-342CPIM