Low Group Research Articles

Effects of perinatal dioxin exposure on mirror neuron activity in 9-year-old children living in a hot spot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam

BackgroundFor 8 years, we have followed up a birth cohort comprising 241 mother-and-infant pairs living around the Da Nang airbase, a hot spot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam, and have reported the impacts of perinatal dioxin exposure on the neurodevelopment of children at various ages. In the present study, 9 years after birth, we investigated the effects of perinatal dioxin exposure on mu and theta rhythms by analyzing EEG power during the execution and observation of hand movements, which indicate mirror neuron system activity. MethodsOne hundred fifty-five 9-year-old children (86 boys and 69 girls) from the Da Nang birth cohort participated in the EEG examination with free viewing of hand movements. The dioxin levels in their mothers’ breast milk, measured 1 month after birth, were used as perinatal dioxin exposure markers. A log transform of the ratio of EEG power during execution or observation of the hand movements relative to the power during observation of a bouncing ball for theta and mu rhythms was used to evaluate mirror neuron activity. ResultsIn both brain hemispheres, the log power ratio in the theta band was significantly higher (i.e., less reduction of power) during observation of hand movements in girls exposed to high levels of TCDD. In boys, however, dioxin congeners other than TCDD, including HxCDDs and several PCDF congeners, contributed to increased log power ratios in the theta band. Particularly for PCDF congeners, the log power ratios in the lowest group among 4 exposure groups were lowest and significantly increased (i.e., decreasing reduction of power) with increasing dose. ConclusionPerinatal TCDD exposure may influence the mirror neuron system of the brain, which plays an important role for social-emotional behavior in children, particularly in girls living in a hot spot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam.

Palliative Care in Latin America: Are We Making Any Progress? Assessing Development Over Time Using Macro Indicators

BackgroundMonitoring and reporting palliative care development serves to identify progress as well as remaining challenges for improvement. AimTo report on the updated status of palliative care development in Latin America, develop and apply a new index to measure progress, and enable cross-country comparisons. MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of the data collected for the first (2012) and second (2020) editions of the Atlas of Palliative Care in Latin America using indicators on Policy, Education, Access to Medicines and Service Provision. The ALCP indicators were reviewed and the ALCP Index-II was constructed adding the z-score for each indicator and used to rank the countries’ development as High, Moderate or Low. Setting/ParticipantsSeventeen Latin American countries. ResultsThe number of countries with a national palliative care plan increased from 5 (29%) to 10 (59%); Percentage of medical schools with palliative care as an independent subject at the undergraduate level grew from 4.2 to 15.4%; Distributed Opioid Morphine Equivalence increased from 6.6 to 7.1 mg/capita; and Number of services increased from 1.5 to 2.6/million. The number of palliative care services was correlated to the proportion of medical schools which included palliative care (Rs1=0.3; Rs2=0.31); and with morphine equivalence/capita (Rs1=0.61; Rs2=0.72), and with the existence of a national plan (p2=0.005). With the standardization of the indicators, three groups ranked by development were identified Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina Panama, and Brazil ranked the highest while the other ranked in the middle or lowest groups. According to the ALCP Index-II, Uruguay registered the highest score (7.5), Honduras the lowest (-3.7). The dispersal in the values was larger than the one registered in 2012, showing more heterogeneity. ConclusionSignificant advances in palliative care development in Latin America have been achieved. The ALCP-II Index is useful for assessing and comparing palliative care development across countries.

The Impact of Simulation Based Training on the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery Performance Examination.

To determine if simulation training is required to pass the FES skills test and assess the relationship between simulation training, clinical training, and FES skills test performance. The ABS began requiring completion of the Flexible Endoscopy Curriculum for all applicants beginning in 2018. The role of simulation-based training in FES skills test performance after this requirement has not been evaluated. De-identified data from the initial FES skills tests after the Flexible Endoscopy Curriculum requirement was reviewed, and 731 unique participants with reported simulation experience demographics were identified. Self-reported data included sex, upper (UE) and lower (LE) endoscopy experience, and simulator training hours (SE). Final FES skills exam scores and pass/fail designations for each participant were reported by the FES program staff. There was a statistically discernible difference in mean FES total scores between those reporting no SE and more experienced groups ( P = 0.002), and between less and more experienced UE and LE groups ( P < 0.001). There was no statistically discernible difference in FES skills exam pass rates between SE groups ( P = 0.2), but there was a strong relationship between clinical experience (UE & LE) and pass rate ( P < 0.001). Finally, on logistic regression analysis, LE was a discernible predictor of passing [odds ratio (OR) = 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.8, P = 0.02], while UE [odds ratio (OR) = 1, 95% CI 0.8-1.3, P = 0.9] and SE (OR = 1,95% CI 0.9- 1.3, P = 0.7) were not. There is no threat to the validity of the FES skills test from a need for simulation training to pass the FES skills test. Similarly, the amount of simulation practice is not predictive of passing, but can improve performance on certain FES tasks.

Abstract 749: Plasma insulin-like growth factor 1-related biomarkers and risk of lethal prostate cancer

Abstract Background Experimental and epidemiologic evidence supports the role of plasma IGF-1 and risk of prostate cancer. About 5% of IGF-1 circulates in a free or bioavailable form, and is only weakly correlated with total IGF-1; we hypothesized that higher levels of free IGF-1 would be associated with risk of lethal prostate cancer. Methods Lethal prostate cancer was defined as fatal prostate cancer plus metastatic prostate cancer. Non-lethal prostate cancer was defined as cases in which the men remained free of known metastases for at least eight years. Using prospectively collected samples in a nested design, we identified 434 lethal cases and 524 men with non-lethal prostate cancer in two prospective cohorts: the Physicians' Health Study (mean years of follow-up 33.2) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (mean years of follow-up 18.5). Circulating levels in prediagnostic plasma samples were assayed for IGF-1-related biomarkers, including free and total IGF-1, acid labile subunit (ALS), pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A, a protease that cleaves the IGF complex), intact IGF binding protein 4 (IGFBP-4), and total IGFBP-4, with risk of lethal prostate cancer. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between IGF-1-related biomarkers (in quartiles) and lethal prostate cancer using unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for age, height, weight, and body mass index. Subgroup analyses were conducted by time from blood draw to diagnosis, and tumor biomarkers, ERG as a marker of the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) loss, and IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R) protein expression. Results We observed no significant association between free IGF-1 and lethal prostate cancer (pooled adjusted OR for the highest versus lowest group 0.93, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.35) after adjusting for potential covariates. However, men in the highest quartile of PAPP-A levels had 43% higher odds of developing lethal prostate cancer (pooled adjusted OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.95) compared to men in the lowest three quartiles. The positive association between PAPP-A and lethal prostate cancer was present among men without PTEN loss, but not among those with (P for interaction = 0.002). There were no significant differences across the two cohorts (P for heterogeneity &amp;gt; 0.05 for all) and no significant associations were observed between other plasma biomarkers and lethal prostate cancer. Conclusions We found no significant association between free IGF-1 and lethal prostate cancer, but provide suggestive evidence that higher PAPP-A levels are associated with an increased risk of developing lethal prostate cancer. This observation merits testing in other cohorts. Citation Format: Chaoran Ma, Ye Wang, Lorelei A. Mucci, Meir J. Stampfer, Michael Pollak, Kathryn L. Penney. Plasma insulin-like growth factor 1-related biomarkers and risk of lethal prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 749.

Mediterranean Diet Score, Dietary Patterns, and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the REGARDS Study.

BackgroundSudden cardiac death (SCD) is a common cause of death in the United States. Few previous studies have investigated the associations of diet scores and dietary patterns with risk of SCD. We investigated the associations of the Mediterranean diet score and various dietary patterns with risk of SCD in participants in the REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study cohort.Methods and ResultsDiet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline in REGARDS. The Mediterranean diet score was derived based on the consumption of specific food groups considered beneficial or detrimental components of that diet. Dietary patterns were derived previously using factor analysis, and adherence to each pattern was scored. SCD events were ascertained through regular contacts. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the risk of SCD events associated with the Mediterranean diet score and adherence to each of the 5 dietary patterns overall and stratifying on history of coronary heart disease at baseline. The analytic sample included 21 069 participants with a mean 9.8±3.8 years of follow‐up. The Mediterranean diet score showed a trend toward an inverse association with risk of SCD after multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio [HR] comparing highest with lowest group, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55–1.01; P trend=0.07). There was a trend toward a positive association of the Southern dietary pattern with risk of SCD (HR comparing highest with lowest quartile of adherence, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.02–2.10; P trend=0.06).ConclusionsIn REGARDS participants, we identified trends toward an inverse association of the Mediterranean diet score and a positive association of adherence to the Southern dietary pattern with risk of SCD.

Prolonged parent-child separation and pain in adolescence: The role of HPA-axis genetic variations

BackgroundIncreasing evidence has demonstrated that childhood adversity was a predictor of pain and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis genetic variation is associated with pain risk. This study aims to explore possible effects of prolonged childhood separation from parents and HPA polygenic risk score (PRS) on pain among adolescents in rural China. MethodWe used data from 219 adolescents in rural area of Fuyang city, Anhui province, China. Parent-child separation was collected through interview and pain intensity was reported using the 11-point Numerical Rating Scale. SNP genotyping was performed using an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction (iMLDR) technique. The PRS was computed based on 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2 genes (FKBP5 and NR3C1) related to HPA-axis stress reactivity. ResultsPain among adolescents separated from both parents scored higher compared to those without parent-child separation, however, this association was only observed in adolescents with moderate to high tertiles of PRS groups (parent-child separation in moderate group vs. no parent-child separation in moderate group: 3.07 vs. 1.57, P < 0.001; parent-child separation in highest group vs. no parent-child separation in highest group: 3.02 vs. 1.26, P < 0.001; parent-child separation in lowest group vs. no parent-child separation in lowest group: 2.34 vs. 1.25, P = 0.225). After controlled for demographic characteristics, psychopathological symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, parental warmth, prolonged childhood parent-child separation increased pain scores by 1.52 points (95% CI:0.72, 2.33) and 1.72 points (95% CI:1.13, 2.31) in moderate and high PRS groups, respectively. ConclusionOur findings suggest that adolescents separated from both parents while carrying more risk alleles related to HPA-axis stress reactivity are at heightened risk of pain.

412-P: Increased Peripheral Neutrophil Count Is Closely Associated with the Incidence and Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease in Older Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Preventing and managing chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the primary task of the overall management of T2DM. An increasing number of studies has indicated that low-grade chronic inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of CKD. A total of 3345 subjects were recruited in this study of whom 1257 derived from one centre and served as case-controls and 2088 with T2DM derived from two other centres and were followed up annually for 4 years and entered into a retrospective cohort study. In the case-control study, neutrophil count performed best as an independent risk factor for CKD even after 1:1 case-control matching for age, gender, and history of high blood pressure (HBP). Spline regression revealed a significant linear association between CKD incidence and continuous neutrophil count in excess of 3.6 × 109/L. In the cohort study, subjects were grouped based on tertile of neutrophil count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), respectively. COX regression analysis showed that only neutrophil count demonstrated an increased HR for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reduction greater than 30% (the highest group vs. the lowest group, 1.604 (1.029 - 2.501), P &amp;lt; 0.05) after fully adjusting for potential confounders. The cumulative incidence of CKD in T2DM patients gradually increased with increasing neutrophil count. This study suggested that neutrophil count is associated with the incidence and progression of CKD in T2DM patients. Disclosure R. Zhang: None. Funding Medical Key Faculty Foundation of Shanghai (ZK2019B15)

320 Effect of accumulated unhealthy behaviors on insomnia―lifestyle-related disease differences in a Japanese community population

Abstract Introduction Some studies reported that health behaviors and lifestyles are related to sleep disorder; obesity, drinking, smoking and lack of physical exercise are risk factors for insomnia. However, it’s unclear the association between accumulated unhealthy behaviors and insomnia in consideration of lifestyle-related diseases. Therefore, this study was to examine the effect of accumulated unhealthy behaviors on insomnia in a Japanese community population. Methods The subjects included 1,1002 participants aged 35–74 years. Sleep quality was assessed by the Athens Insomnia Scale. Unhealthy behaviors were classified into smoking, drinking, no habit of exercising, obesity, and skipping breakfast. We examined the impact of unhealthy behaviors accumulation, which was stratified into three categories, i.e., 0-1,2-3,4 or more, on insomnia. The association between accumulated unhealthy behaviors and insomnia was estimated by logistic regression analysis. Further analysis after stratification by lifestyle-related diseases was also performed. Results The overall prevalence of insomnia was 14.6% for men and19.3% for women. Men with unhealthy behaviors were more likely to have insomnia after adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the least unhealthy groups (trend p=0.017). Women with 4 or more unhealthy behavior factors were more likely to have the suspected insomnia, compared with the lowest groups (ORs 1.176 95% CI 1.079–1.282). Then, we analyzed to stratify by lifestyle-related disease. Insomnia has an association with unhealthy behaviors among men with the absence of diabetes (trend p=0.015) and dyslipidemia (trend p=0.032). Women without hypertension were more likely to have the suspected insomnia, compared with the lowest groups (ORs 1.215 95% CI 1.102–1.340), but the odd for those with the hypertension was 1.031(95%CI 0.855–1.243). Conclusion Accumulated unhealthy behaviors were associated with increased rates of insomnia in the Japanese community population. According to stratification by lifestyle-related disease, men showed the associations by the presence or absence of diabetes. Women showed the associations by the absence of hypertension. These associations were nearly similar regardless of the presence or absence of lifestyle-related disease. Support (if any) This research was supported by research funds from the Yamagata Prefectural Government and the city of Tsuruoka and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (JP24390168, JP15H04778 and JP19K19441) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Palliative Care in Latin America: Are We Making Any Progress? Assessing Development Over Time Using Macro Indicators.

Monitoring and reporting palliative care development serves to identify progress as well as remaining challenges for improvement. To report on the updated status of palliative care development in Latin America, develop and apply a new index to measure progress, and enable cross-country comparisons. We conducted a secondary analysis of the data collected for the 1st (2012) and 2nd (2020) editions of the Atlas of Palliative Care in Latin America using indicators on Policy, Education, Access to Medicines and Service Provision. The ALCP indicators were reviewed and the ALCP Index-II was constructed adding the z-score for each indicator and used to rank the countries' development as High, Moderate or Low. Seventeen Latin American countries. The number of countries with a national palliative care plan increased from five (29%) to nine (53%); Percentage of medical schools with palliative care as an independent subject at the undergraduate level grew from 4.2% to 17.1%; Distributed Opioid Morphine Equivalence increased from 6.6 to 7.1 mg/capita; and Number of services increased from 1.5 to 2.6/million. The number of palliative care services was correlated to the proportion of medical schools which included palliative care (Rs1=0.48; Rs2=0.34); and with morphine equivalence/capita (Rs1=0.61; Rs2=0.72), but not associated with the existence of a national plan (p1=0.234; p2=0. 074). Using the ALCP Index-II, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, and Argentina ranked the highest while the other ranked in the middle or lowest groups. Uruguay registered the highest score (7.5), Honduras the lowest (-3.59). The dispersal in the values was larger than the one registered in 2012, showing more heterogeneity. Significant advances in palliative care development in Latin America have been achieved. The ALCP-II Index is useful for assessing and comparing palliative care development across countries.

Development of a highly sensitive chemiluminescence immunoassay for quantification of aggrecanase-generated ARGS aggrecan fragments in serum

ObjectiveCartilage degradation is a hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA). Aggrecan, a major proteoglycan of articular cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM), is degraded by ADAMTS-5 resulting in the release of ARGS-G2 fragments to synovial fluid and circulation. The aim was to quantify ARGS-G2 in the serum of OA patients using the huARGS immunoassay. MethodsThe immunoassay was produced under GMP conditions and the technical performance was assessed. The biological relevance of the immunoassay was assessed in the conditioned media from a bovine full-depth cartilage explant (BEX) model. The diurnal and inter-day variations of ARGS levels were evaluated in OA patients’ serum. Post-hoc analysis of huARGS was conducted in a sub-cohort of a phase III OA trial testing the safety and efficacy of oral salmon calcitonin. ResultsTechnical performance: huARGS demonstrated good technical performance. Biological relevance: ARGS release was induced by inflamatory facotrs stimulation compared to the vehicle group, reaching a peak at day 3 and gradually decreasing to base level at day 12. The ARGS release was suppressed by the addition of the ADAMTS-4/-5 activation inhibitor. Biological variation: No significant diurnal or inter-day effect was found. Phase III clinical trial: The participants in the lowest group (Q1) of baseline huARGS levels were more likely to progress radiographically than the highest group (Q4): OR 3.38[0.81-14.02]. ConclusionsThe huARGS shows good technical performance and low biological variation. It has the potential to aid drug development in various stages, both as a PD biomarker and identifying progressors who might be likely to respond to an OA drug.

The Association between Teeth Loss and Oral Health Problems

Background: The teeth play various functional roles, from the most basic functions to more subtle functions.One of the most tragic events that can happen to the teeth are loss it, as a result trauma or dental diseases.Tooth loss has esthetic, functional, positional and psychological impacts on the life of individuals.Objectives: To investigate the association between tooth loss and oral health problems among partiallyand completely edentulous patients. Method: (Questionnaire and Clinical Examination). Self-administeredquestionnaire was distributed to the patients to collect information relating to demography and cause oftooth loss, in addition to mastication and speech state after tooth loss. Four clinical conditions includingsupra-eruption, drifting teeth, temporomandibular disorders and bone resorption were used to recognize theeffects of missing teeth. Patients seeking dental treatment at General Hospital, Morzuk, Libya were recruitedfor the study. Criteria included age of 16 years and above with one or more missing teeth except for thirdmolars. Results: altogether 58 participants, 31 (53.4 %) were males while 27 (46.6%) were females. Theparticipants were aged 16–&gt;45 years, among them, 44 patients (75.9%) are partially edentulous, and 14patients (24.1%) were completely edentulous. The patients with complete teeth loss and the patients withmissing both the anterior and posterior teeth are most groups suffer problems among patients who involvedin the study. patients who loss posterior teeth are the lowest group had, suffer of health problems due to lossof teeth among all of them.The general relationship between tooth loss and the oral health problems was positive and strong. Conclusions:there are statistically significant relationship between tooth loss and oral health problems, where the strongvalue of this relationship (0.614) and significance within less than (0.05).

The Influence of Eating at Home on Dietary Diversity and Airway Inflammation in Portuguese School-Aged Children.

Considering the negative impact of a lack of dietary diversity on children’s nutritional status, we aimed to describe dietary variety according to eating at home frequency and assessed its association with respiratory outcomes in school-aged children. This cross-sectional study included 590 children (49% girls) aged 7 to 12 years from 20 public schools located in city of Porto, Portugal. Daily frequency of eating at home groups were calculated and dietary diversity was calculated using a 10-food group score from a 24 h recall questionnaire. Spirometry and exhaled nitric oxide levels (eNO; <35 and ≥35 ppb) were assessed. The comparison of diet diversity according to the groups was performed by ANOVA and ANCOVA. The association between dietary diversity and respiratory outcomes was examined using regression models. In multivariate analysis, children in the highest group of eating at home episodes (≥4 occasions) obtained the lowest dietary diversity mean score, while the lowest group (<2) had the highest mean score (p-value 0.026). After adjustment for confounders, higher diet diversity (≥5 food groups) significantly decreased the odds of having an eNO ≥35. Diet diversity might decrease the chance of airway inflammation among children. However, having more eating episodes at home could be a barrier to a more diverse diet.

QT Interval Dispersion as a Predictor of Clinical Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose: QT dispersion (QTd) abnormalities are widely documented in stroke patients. This study aims to investigate the association between QTd and clinical outcomes in IS patients.Methods: IS patients registered in the Blood Pressure and Clinical Outcome in transient ischemic attack (TIA) or IS (BOSS) registry between 2012 and 2014 within 24 h of onset were analyzed. In this prospective observational study, we identified 1,522 IS cases with adequate electrocardiographic evaluations to assess QTd after the index stroke. Patients were classified into four groups based on the quartile of QTd, with the lowest group as the reference. The primary stroke outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score ≥3 at 1-year. Multiple logistic regressions were utilized to investigate the association between QTd and outcome events.Results: The mean QTd across all cases was 57 ms (40–83). Functional dependency or death was documented in 214 (14.98%) cases at 1 year. After adjusting for confounders, the prevalence of death and major disability (mRS ≥ 3) showed significant differences according to the quartile of QTd, with the risk of death and major disability (mRS ≥ 3) at 1 year being significantly higher for patients in Q4 than for those in Q1 (adjusted OR = 1.626, 95% CI:1.033–2.560). However, there were no significant correlation between QTd and the event outcomes at 1 year.Conclusions: QTd was associated with poor functional outcomes at 1 year. QTd is a useful surrogate marker for adverse functional prognosis, which might help to stratify risk in patients with acute IS.

The Association between Teeth Loss and Oral Health Problems

Background: The teeth play various functional roles, from the most basic functions to more subtle functions.One of the most tragic events that can happen to the teeth are loss it, as a result trauma or dental diseases.Tooth loss has esthetic, functional, positional and psychological impacts on the life of individuals.Objectives: To investigate the association between tooth loss and oral health problems among partiallyand completely edentulous patients. Method: (Questionnaire and Clinical Examination). Self-administeredquestionnaire was distributed to the patients to collect information relating to demography and cause oftooth loss, in addition to mastication and speech state after tooth loss. Four clinical conditions includingsupra-eruption, drifting teeth, temporomandibular disorders and bone resorption were used to recognize theeffects of missing teeth. Patients seeking dental treatment at General Hospital, Morzuk, Libya were recruitedfor the study. Criteria included age of 16 years and above with one or more missing teeth except for thirdmolars. Results: altogether 58 participants, 31 (53.4 %) were males while 27 (46.6%) were females. Theparticipants were aged 16–&gt;45 years, among them, 44 patients (75.9%) are partially edentulous, and 14patients (24.1%) were completely edentulous. The patients with complete teeth loss and the patients withmissing both the anterior and posterior teeth are most groups suffer problems among patients who involvedin the study. patients who loss posterior teeth are the lowest group had, suffer of health problems due to lossof teeth among all of them.The general relationship between tooth loss and the oral health problems was positive and strong. Conclusions:there are statistically significant relationship between tooth loss and oral health problems, where the strongvalue of this relationship (0.614) and significance within less than (0.05).

Exercise profile and effect on growth traits, carcass yield, meat quality, and tibial strength in Chinese Wannan chickens

The aim of the study was to understand the dynamic changes in daily step counts (DSC) during the development of chickens and to further explore the effects of exercise on the growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and tibial strength of cocks. A total of 600 (half male and half female) 1-day-old Wannan chickens with similar hatching weights were raised under the same rearing conditions. All birds were wing banded and housed in identical cages for from 1 to 8 wk in the experimental poultry house. The dimensions of the cages were 70 × 70 × 40 cm (length × width × height). At the age of 9 to 16 wk, these birds were reared in indoor pens (2 m × 2 m, 1,000 cm2 per bird). In addition, they also had a free-range grass paddock (20 m × 30 m, 1 m2 per bird). The DSC of male and female Wannan chicks were recorded from 70 to 112 d by using a pedometer. At 112 d of age, based on the average DSC, birds were divided into groups representing the highest (HS), medium, and lowest (LS) number of step groups. Fifteen cocks from each group were selected for subsequent experiments. Compared with the LS group, the HS group displayed higher tibial strength (P = 0.025) and lower BW, cooking loss (P = 0.014), shear force (P = 0.023), and drip loss (P = 0.008). The DSC had no effects on the female BW or male carcass parameters. There was no significant change in the DSC of all birds from 70 to 112 d. However, male chickens took more steps than females at 15 (P = 0.025) and 16 (P = 0.012) week of age. In conclusion, the effects of the DSC on the BW of Wannan chickens depend on sex, and enhanced exercise could improve the meat quality and tibial strength of cocks.

Associations between serum uric acid and hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancer: A cohort study.

BACKGROUNDUric acid is the end product of purine metabolism. Previous studies have found that serum uric acid (SUA) levels are associated with the total cancer risk. However, due to the dual effect of uric acid on cancer, the relationship between the SUA levels and most specific-site cancer remains unclear.AIMTo investigate the associations between the SUA levels and incidence of hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancer.METHODSIn this prospective cohort study, 444462 participants free of cancer from the UK Biobank were included. The SUA levels were measured at baseline, and the incidence of hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancer was determined by contacting the cancer registry. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between the SUA levels and hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancer were investigated using multiple adjusted Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounders.RESULTSIn total, 920 participants developed liver, gallbladder, biliary tract or pancreatic cancer during a median of 6.6 yrs of follow-up. We found that the HR of pancreatic cancer in the highest SUA group was 1.77 (95%CI: 1.29-2.42) compared with that in the lowest group. After stratifying by gender, we further found that SUA was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer only among the females (highest quartile vs lowest quartile HR 2.04, 95%CI: 1.35-3.08). Among the males, the SUA levels were positively associated with the gallbladder cancer risk (highest quartile vs lowest quartile HR 3.09, 95%CI: 1.28-7.46), but a U-shaped association with the liver cancer risk was observed (P-nonlinear = 0.03).CONCLUSIONSUA is likely to have gender-specific effects on hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancer. High SUA levels are a risk factor for pancreatic cancer in females and gallbladder cancer in males. A U-shaped association with the liver cancer risk was identified.

Discharge heart rate and clinical outcomes in hospitalized heart failure patients with coexisted atrial fibrillation

Abstract Background Whether discharge heart rate for hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients with coexisted atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with long-term clinical outcomes and whether this association differs between patients with and without beta-blockers have not been well studied. Purpose We investigated the associations between discharge heart rate and clinical outcomes in hospitalized HF patients with coexisted AF, while stratified to beta-blockers at discharge. Methods The study cohort included 1631 HF patients hospitalized primarily with AF, which was from the China PEACE Prospective Heart Failure Study. Clinical outcome was 1-year combined all-cause mortality and HF hospitalization after discharge. We analyzed association between outcome and heart rate at discharge with restricted cubic spline and Cox proportional hazard ratios (HR). Results The median age was 68 (IQR: 60- 77) years, 41.9% were women, discharge heart rate was (median (IQR)) 75 (69- 84) beats per minute (bpm), and 60.2% received beta-blockers at discharge. According to the result of restricted cubic spline plot, the relationship between discharge heart rate and clinical outcome may be nonlinear (P&amp;lt;0.01). Based on above result, these patients were divided into 3 groups: lowest &amp;lt;65 bpm, middle 65–86 bpm and highest ≥87 bpm, clinical outcomes occurred in 128 (64.32%), 624 (53.42%) and 156 (59.32%) patients in the lowest, middle, and highest groups respectively. In the Cox proportional hazard analysis, the lowest and highest groups were associated with increased risks of clinical outcome compared with the middle group (HR: 1.289, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.056 - 1.573, p=0.013; HR: 1.276, 95% CI: 1.06 - 1.537, p=0.01, respectively). And a significant interaction between discharge heart rate and beta-blocker use was observed (P&amp;lt;0.001 for interaction). Stratified analysis showed the lowest group was associated with increased risks of clinical outcomes in patients with beta-blockers (HR: 1.584, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.215–2.066, p=0.001). Conclusion There may be a U-curve relationship between discharge heart rate and clinical outcomes in hospitalized HF patients with coexisted AF. They may have the best clinical outcomes with heart rates of 65 - 86 bpm. And strict heart rate control (&amp;lt;65 bpm) may be avoided for patients who discharge with beta-blockers. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2017YFC1310803) from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China; the CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science (2017-I2M-B&amp;R-02); the 111 Project from the Ministry of Education of China (B16005).

Heart-type fatty acid binding protein predicts cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a prospective cohort study.

BackgroundHeart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) has been reported to be a prognostic predictor for cardiovascular outcome in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, its prognostic utility in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been well established. The aim of this study was to assess the association between H-FABP with the severity of coronary disease and cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients with stable CAD.MethodsA total of 4,370 angiography-proven CAD patients were consecutively enrolled. The severity of CAD was assessed by Gensini Score (GS) and the numbers of diseased vessels. The CVEs included cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke and coronary revascularization. Cox regression analysis with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate the relation of H-FABP to CVEs in this cohort.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 51 months, 353 CVEs occurred. Overall, patients in the highest levels of H-FABP group had increased rate of multi-vessel stenosis and higher GS compared with those in the lowest group (P<0.05, respectively). Moreover, H-FABP levels were significantly higher in patients with events compared to those without (P<0.001). In Cox regression analysis, elevated H-FABP levels were found to be independently associated with a high risk of CVEs [adjusted HRs: 1.453; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.040–2.029, P=0.028], especially with cardiovascular death (adjusted HRs: 2.865; 95% CI: 1.315–6.243, P=0.008).ConclusionsOur results demonstrated that H-FABP was also a useful predictor for CVEs in patients with stable CAD, which needed to be verified by further studies.

Association between plasma levels of homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12, and dietary folate intake and hypertension in a cross-sectional study

There are few studies examining the association between homocysteine (Hcy) level and the risk of hypertension with consideration for folate and vitamin B12 as related to Hcy level. We simultaneously examined the associations of plasma levels of Hcy, folate, and vitamin B12, and dietary folate intake with the prevalence of hypertension. Participants included 1046 men and 1033 women (mean age ± standard deviation: 56.0 ± 8.9 years) in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study. Dietary folate intake was estimated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Hypertension was defined based on measured blood pressure and use of antihypertensive medication. A total of 734 participants (35.3%) had hypertension. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios of hypertension for the highest quartile group of Hcy were 2.36 (95% CI 1.41–3.96) in men and 1.86 (95% CI 1.11–3.11) in women, as compared with the lowest group (P for trend = 0.014 and 0.005, respectively). Dietary folate intake was not correlated with hypertension in both men and women (P for trend = 0.099 and 0.703, respectively). Plasma vitamin B12 was positively associated with hypertension only in women (P for trend = 0.027). Plasma Hcy level was positively linked with hypertension after controlling for covariates, including folate and vitamin B12.

Effects of socioeconomic status on mortality after Parkinson's disease: A nationwide population-based matched cohort study in Korean populations

IntroductionTo evaluate the mortality rate and impact of SES on mortality in PD using a nationwide cohort in Korea. MethodsWe selected patients diagnosed with PD (ICD-10 code: G20) and registration code for PD (V124) in the program for rare intractable diseases between 2004 and 2015. After that, atypical parkinsonism was excluded. A matched cohort of individuals without PD were enrolled by randomly matching patients by sex, age, and year of diagnosis to the PD group with a ratio of 1:9. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify the effects of SES on mortality using Hazard Ratios and 95% confidence intervals. ResultsIn total, 26,570 participants were enrolled. The mortality rate was 30.37% in PD cohort and 16.69% in the comparison cohort. According to income level, PD patients in low-middle group revealed significantly decreased HRs of 0.704 (95% CI, 0.533–0.930) compared to those in the lowest group. The medical aid group showed an increased mortality rate (HR = 1.552, 95% CI, 1.191–2.021) compared to the national health insurance group. In the subgroup analyses, medical aid was associated with mortality only in PD with female (HR = 1.740, 95% CI, 1.242–2.438) or aged 60–79 years (HR = 1.434, 95% CI 1.005–2.045). There was no significant difference in mortality rate according to residential area in PD. ConclusionsIn Korea, individual level low SES including income level and insurance type were significantly associated with increased mortality, whereas regional level SES (residential area) was not related with mortality on PD.