Objective To establish diagnosis model and explore related metabolic pathways by analyzing the serum metabolic profile of patients with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) through metabolomics.Methods Thirty PNS patients hospitalized in Huai'an First People's Hospital between December 2010 and April 2012 were enrolled.High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was employed to detect metabolites in the serum of 30 PNS patients and 30 healthy controls.Metabolic fingerprint profiling and multivariate pattern recognition analysis were combined to establish disease-specific metabolic diagnosis model,and metabolic pathway analysis was performed.Results PNS group and control group could be well separated by principal component analysis (PCA) model as well as partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model with Q2 of 0.300.There was well interpretation in PLA-DA model (R2X=0.581,R2Y=0.452).Compared with healthy controls,PNS patients had decreased cholestane 3,7,12,15 alcohol,acyl glycerine,phytosphingosine and tryptophan,and increased sphingomyelin,arginine and glutamic acid (all VIP ＞ 1,P ＜ 0.05).The metabolic disorders pathways of PNS patients included sphingolipid metabolism,arginine and proline metabolism,linoleic acid metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism (all impact ＞0.10 and P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Metabolomics combined with multivariate pattern recognition analysis may be a new tool for diagnosis and monitoring of PNS.

Objective To analyze the projects on the infectious disease epidemiology sponsored by the National Natural Sci?ence Foundation of China(NSFC),explore the hotspot and development trend,and offer a reference for researchers in this field. Methods Based on the NSFC database,the projects on the infectious disease epidemiology(H2609)sponsored from 1987 to 2014 were analyzed. The changes of fund numbers,amounts and research fields were described. Results During the study period,NSFC sponsored 373 projects,including 228 general projects(61.1%),78 youth projects(20.9%)and 67 other projects(18.0%). The average amount of the grant was 358.2 thousand Yuan(20 thousand?8 million). The main sponsored re?search fields were mechanisms of pathogen and immunity(36.2%)and population?based epidemiological studies(33.0%). The top three diseases were hepatitis,HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Conclusion The amount of funding on researches of infectious disease epidemiology has increased continuously,which has played an important role in training scientific talents in the field of prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Thirdhand smoke (THS) is defined as residual tobacco components that remain on indoor surfaces after tobacco has been smoked, such as walls furniture, and dust particles, which are re-emitted into the air. THS also includes secondary pollutants generated from the reaction of surface residual smoke compounds with reactive indoor air pollutants. THS is a new hidden health hazard, with infants and children being most at risk of higher exposure. This article summarized the aging process of secondhand smoke and the mechanism of generation of THS; reviewed the current status of research on THS regarding its chemical constituents, physical and chemical properties, biological toxicity, as well as degree of pollution in China and other countries; and finally provided the perspectives on the future study of THS.
Adolescent ; Air Pollution, Indoor ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Dust ; Environmental Exposure ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Research ; Smoke ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution

OBJECTIVETo investigate thirdhand smoke (THS) pollution in certain places of Nanjing, as well as to analyze its distribution characteristics.

METHODSFrom March to May, 2014, we selected 3 types of places (residencies, public places and transportation vehicles) that were close to people's living in Jianye,Yuhua,Jiangning,Xuanwu,Gulou and Pukou districts of Nanjing city.For each of the above 3 types of places, 2-3 smoking and non-smoking (smoking ban) locations were investigated, totally 51 locations, 9-10 samples were collected each location, totally 477 samples. The surface wipe sampling method in conjunction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was utilized to quantify the levels of nicotine that served as the tracer of THS pollution.One-way ANOVA and t-tests were employed to compare the levels of nicotine collected at different places and locations.

RESULTSTotally 477 samples were collected in this study, of which 27.0% was from residencies (129/477), 61.0% (291/477) from public places and 11.9% (57/477) from transportations. The levels of indoor surface nicotine in smoking residences, public places and transportations were (214 ± 55),(1 408 ± 177) and (1 511 ± 785) µg/m(2), respectively, which were all higher than those in the corresponding non-smoking places ((23 ± 9),(62 ± 11), and (46 ± 15) µg/m(2); t values were 13.79, 13.15, 3.45, respectively. P values were <0.001, <0.001 and 0.006, respectively).In the smoking places, the levels of surface nicotine on walls, desks, sofas, cabinets, door backsides and air conditioning openings were (171 ± 62),(232 ± 38),(373 ± 151),(903 ± 239), (978 ± 212), (1 721 ± 517) µg/m(2) (F = 7.06, P = 0.009).In the smoking condition, the levels of surface nicotine collected from public places were higher (F = 9.25, P = 0.024), while under non-smoking (smoking ban) conditions, the levels of surface nicotine collected from residences were lower (F = 7.88, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONTHS pollution was widespread in public places, residences and transportations in Nanjing city, which was more serious in the smoking environments than non-smoking (smoking ban) environments; the contamination was less serious in non-smoking (smoking ban) private residences; in the smoking condition, the levels of surface nicotine were relatively high at locations close to air conditioning openings, door backsides and cabinets.

Air Conditioning ; China ; Housing ; Humans ; Nicotine ; Public Facilities ; Smoking ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; Transportation

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between maternal tea consumption and birth outcomes. Methods: From January 2005 to December 2010, pregnant women were recruited from Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Hospital. The basic information and the situation of tea consumption during pregnancy were investigated using questionnaire and the birth outcomes of newborns were followed up. Finally, 500 pairs of mothers and infants with complete and standard-compliant data were included in the analysis. The differences of birth outcomes between the tea consumption group and the non tea consumption group were compared and the associations between tea consumption and birth outcomes were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Mother's tea consumption rate was 32.8% (164 cases) during pregnancy. The rate of low birth weight in the tea consumption group was (5.5%, 9 cases) and higher than that in the non-tea consumption group (2.1%, 7 cases) (P=0.042). There was no significant difference in the rate of premature birth, small for gestational age, fetal distress, and macrosomia between the two groups After the adjustment of maternal age, education level, family income, weight gain during pregnancy, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, neonatal gender and gestational age, compared with non-tea consumption group, there was a positive effect on low birth weight, OR(95%CI) was 4.76 (1.06-21.48). The OR (95%CI) value of the low birth weight risk of the tea group was 5.30 (1.04-26.92) compared with the non-tea consumption group after the adjustment of additional factors such as passive smoking, coffee consumption, folic acid supplement, mineral supplement, carbonated beverage consumption. Simultaneously, compared with non-tea consumption group, there was no statistically significant association between tea consumption during pregnancy and premature birth, small for gestational age, fetal distress and macrosomia (P>0.05). Conclusion Tea consumption during pregnancy was a risk factor for low birth weight in offspring.

Large-scale cohort study has unique advantages in the field of etiology research for its large sample size a multi-time point data, but it also brings great difficulty in data management and quality control at the same time. Recently, China has initiated a number of large-scale population cohort studies, posing enormous challenges to the management and quality control of related cohort data. This paper summarizes the existing experience and consensus in the field of cohort study in China from the characteristics of the cohort data, aiming at the types and main forms of the four main sources of questionnaire data, clinical diagnosis and treatment data, biological sample detection data and observation outcome data, from the data storage, circulation and transmission work.The contents and methods of queue data management are comprehensively summarized. Corresponding data quality control strategies are advised in the questionnaire evaluation, data logic verification, survey object sampling and multi-database review, etc. The goal of this review is to provide guidance for the management of data and the formulation of quality control strategies in the cohort study in China.

Obesity has become one of the most serious issues threatening the health of humankind, and we conducted this study to examine whether and how celastrol protects against obesity.

We fed male Sprague-Dawley rats a high-fat diet and administered celastrol to obese rats for 3 weeks. By recording body weight (BW) and other measures, we identified the effective dose of celastrol for obesity treatment. Feces were collected to perform 16S rRNA sequencing, and hypothalami were extracted for transcriptome sequencing. We then treated leptin knockout rats with celastrol and explored the changes in energy metabolism. Male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were used to test the acute toxicity of celastrol.

We observed that celastrol reduced BW and promoted energy expenditure at a dose of 500 µg/kg BW but that food intake was not changed after administration. The diversity of the gut microbiota was improved, with an increased ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes, and the gut microbiota played an important role in the anti-obesity effects of celastrol. Hypothalamic transcriptome analysis showed a significant enrichment of the leptin signaling pathway, and we found that celastrol significantly enhanced energy expenditure, which was mediated by the leptin signaling pathway. Acute lethal toxicity of celastrol was not observed at doses ranging from 0 to 62.5 mg/kg BW.

Our study revealed that celastrol decreased the BW of obese rats by enhancing energy expenditure but not by suppressing food intake and that this effect was mediated by the improvement of the gut microbiota and the activation of the hypothalamic leptin signaling pathway.

Due to the advancement of 16S rRNA sequencing technology, the lower respiratory tract microbiota, which was considered non-existent, has been revealed. The correlation between these microorganisms and diseases such as tumor has been a hot topic in recent years. As the bacteria in the surrounding can infiltrate the tumors, researchers have also begun to pay attention to the biological behavior of tumor bacteria and their interaction with tumors. In this review, we present the characteristic of the lower respiratory tract bacteria and summarize recent research findings on the relationship between these microbiota and lung cancer. On top of that, we also summarize the basic feature of bacteria in tumors and focus on the characteristic of the bacteria in lung cancer. The relationship between bacteria in lung cancer and tumor development is also been discussed. Finally, we review the potential clinical applications of bacterial communities in the lower respiratory tract and lung cancer, and summarize key points of sample collection, sequencing, and contamination control, hoping to provide new ideas for the screening and treatment of tumors.
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Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics* ; Bacteria/genetics* ; Microbiota ; Respiratory System ; Lung/microbiology*