Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of idiopathic central precocious puberty in girls

Introduction: Prior studies have found inconsistent results regarding the relationship between vitamin D status and Idiopathic Central Precocious Puberty (ICPP). Objective: To assess the role of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 [OH]D) levels in ICPP development. Method: The authors retrospectively collected data from 221 girls with ICPP and 144 healthy girls between January 2017 and December 2019. The participants’ serum 25(OH)D levels were measured using an automatic chemiluminescence method, and the association between serum 25(OH)D levels and the risk of ICPP was assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Odds Ratios (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI) were calculated as effect estimates. Results: Serum 25(OH)D levels in the ICPP group were significantly lower than those in healthy controls (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that girls with insufficient vitamin D levels (OR = 0.201; 95% CI 0.094–0.428; p < 0.001) and sufficient vitamin D levels (OR = 0.141; 95% CI 0.053–0.375; p < 0.001) both had a lower risk of ICPP than girls with vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, the authors found that the height (p = 0.014), weight (p = 0.014), breast stage (p = 0.010), mother's height (p < 0.001), and luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio (p = 0.010) in girls with ICPP could be associated with levels of vitamin D. Conclusion: This study found that a low serum 25(OH)D level is an independent risk factor for ICPP, and several characteristics of girls with ICPP could be affected by their vitamin D status.

Diphenyl­methyl isothio­cyanate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C14H11NS, contains two mol­ecules in which the dihedral angles between the phenyl rings are 77.23 (7) and 86.30 (7)°. No aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions are observed

2′-Fluoro-3′,5′-dimethoxy­acetanilide

Mol­ecules of the title compound, C10H12FNO3, are nearly planar considering all non-H atoms with a mean deviation of 0.0288 Å. Mol­ecules are linked through inter­molecular N—H⋯O and N—H⋯F hydrogen bonds

Expanded CURB-65: A new score system predicts severity of community-acquired pneumonia with superior efficiency

Aim of this study was to develop a new simpler and more effective severity score for communityacquired pneumonia (CAP) patients. A total of 1640 consecutive hospitalized CAP patients in Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University were included. The effectiveness of different pneumonia severity scores to predict mortality was compared, and the performance of the new score was validated on an external cohort of 1164 patients with pneumonia admitted to a teaching hospital in Italy. Using age≥ 65 years, LDH>230u/L, albumin<3.5g/dL, platelet count<100×109/L, confusion, urea>7mmol/L, respiratory rate≥30/min, low blood pressure, we assembled a new severity score named as expanded-CURB-65. The 30-day mortality and length of stay were increased along with increased risk score. The AUCs in the prediction of 30-day mortality in the main cohort were 0.826 (95%CI, 0.807–0.844), 0.801 (95%CI, 0.781–0.820), 0.756 (95%CI, 0.735–0.777), 0.793 (95%CI, 0.773–0.813) and 0.759 (95%CI, 0.737–0.779) for the expanded-CURB-65, PSI, CURB-65, SMART-COP and A-DROP, respectively. The performance of this bedside score was confirmed in CAP patients of the validation cohort although calibration was not successful in patients with health care-associated pneumonia (HCAP). The expanded CURB-65 is objective, simpler and more accurate scoring system for evaluation of CAP severity, and the predictive efficiency was better than other score systems

OR-037 The Effect of Exercise on Inflammatory Factors in Breast Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis

Objective Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors that threaten the physical and mental health and even life-threatening of women worldwide.Chronic inflammation plays a key role in the occurrence, progression and recurrence of cancer.Several sources of evidence indicate that exercise during and after breast cancer could positively modulate the tumor microenvironment.&nbsp;The purpose of this meta-analysis is to determine the impact of exercise training on inflammatory factors in breast cancer patients. Methods We systematically searched the relevant randomized controlled trials published from January 1990 to June 2017 and analyzed them by Pubmed、Embase、Web of Science and Cochrane Library.The combination of Breast Cancer and Exercise is used for retrieval.The search term used for Pub Med is:（Exercise[Me SH] OR Physical Activity[Text Word] OR Training [Text Word] OR Activity [Text Word] OR Sport[Text Word] AND Breast Cancer[Text Word] OR Breast Tumor [Text Word] OR Breast Neoplasm [Text Word] OR Mammary Cancer [Text Word] OR Malignant Neoplasm of Breast [Text Word] OR Breast Carcinoma [Text Word] AND Interleukins [Text Word] OR IL [Text Word]）.And manually check the references in the article to identify additional articles. Examination of titles and abstracts of papers based on pre-set inclusion criteria.Eleven high-quality trials were included. Results Pooled analyses revealed compared with the control group, the exercise group significantly improved the serum concentration of IL-8(Z=0.07,SMD=-0.02, 95%CI:[-0.47,-0.44],p=0.946)and TNF-α(Z=2.10, SMD=-0.60,95%CI:[-1.16,-0.04],p=0.036). No significant differences were found in the serum concentrations of IL-2(Z=1.96,SMD=-0.69,95%CI:[-1.37,0.00],p=0.05),IL-6(Z=0.40,SMD=-0.12, 95%CI: [-0.69,0.45],p=0.686),IL-10 (Z=1.73,SMD=-0.45,95%CI:[-0.95,0.06],p=0.084)or C-reactive protein(Z=0.18, SMD=-0.03,95%CI:[-0.35,0.41],p=0.861). Conclusions Exercise training can effectively improve some inflammatory factors in breast cancer patients and may affect tumor microenvironment. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the promotion of sports in this population

Two CYP82D Enzymes Function as Flavone Hydroxylases in the Biosynthesis of Root-Specific 4′-Deoxyflavones in Scutellaria baicalensis

Baicalein, wogonin, and their glycosides are major bioactive compounds found in the medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. These flavones can induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cell lines but have no effect on normal cells. Furthermore, they have many additional benefits for human health, such as anti-oxidant, antiviral, and liver-protective properties. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of two CYP450 enzymes, SbCYP82D1.1 and SbCYP82D2, which function as the flavone 6-hydroxylase (F6H) and flavone 8-hydroxylase (F8H), respectively, in S. baicalensis. SbCYP82D1.1 has broad substrate specificity for flavones such as chrysin and apigenin and is responsible for biosynthesis of baicalein and scutellarein in roots and aerial parts of S. baicalensis, respectively. When the expression of SbCYP82D1.1 is knocked down, baicalin and baicalein levels are reduced significantly while chrysin glycosides accumulate in hairy roots. SbCYP82D2 is an F8H with high substrate specificity, accepting only chrysin as its substrate to produce norwogonin, although minor 6-hydroxylation activity can also be detected. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that SbCYP82D2 might have evolved from SbCYP82D1.1 via gene duplication followed by neofunctionalization, whereby the ancestral F6H activity is partially retained in the derived SbCYP82D2. We report the characterization of two CYP450 enzymes, which 6- and 8-hydroxylate chrysin to form the 4′-deoxyflavone bioactives in roots of Scutellaria baicalensis. Like the main 4′-deoxyflavone enzymes, these decorating enzymes have evolved their functionalities by convergence with the more ubiquitous 4′-hydroxyflavone pathway enzymes. Key words: Scutellaria baicalensis; Huangqin; baicalein; wogonin; flavone 6-hydroxylase; flavone 8-hydroxylas