The combined effects of developmental lead and ethanol exposure on hippocampus dependent spatial learning and memory in rats: Role of oxidative stress

Either developmental lead or ethanol exposure can impair learning and memory via induction of oxidative stress, which results in neuronal damage. we examined the effect of combined exposure with lead and ethanol on spatial learning and memory in offspring and oxidative stress in hippocampus. Rats were exposed to lead (0.2% in drinking water) or ethanol (4 g/kg) either individually or in combination in 5th day gestation through weaning. On postnatal days (PD) 30, rats were trained with six trials per day for 6 consecutive days in the water maze. On day 37, a probe test was done. Also, oxidative stress markers in the hippocampus were also evaluated. Results demonstrated that lead + ethanol co-exposed rats exhibited higher escape latency during training trials and reduced time spent in target quadrant, higher escape location latency and average proximity in probe trial test. There was significant decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in hippocampus of animals co-exposed to lead and ethanol compared with their individual exposures. We suggest that maternal consumption of ethanol during lead exposure has pronounced detrimental effects on memory, which may be mediated by oxidative stress.     

Landscape of dietary factors associated with risk of gastric cancer: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

BackgroundThe associations between dietary factors and gastric cancer risk have been analysed by many studies, but with inconclusive results. We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective studies to systematically investigate the associations.MethodsRelevant studies were identified through searching Medline, Embase, and Web of Science up to June 30, 2015. We included prospective cohort studies of intake of dietary factors with risk estimates and 95% confidence intervals for gastric cancer.ResultsSeventy-six prospective cohort studies were eligible and included in the analysis. We ascertained 32,758 gastric cancer cases out of 6,316,385 participants in relations to intake of 67 dietary factors, covering a wide ranging of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, salt, alcohol, tea, coffee, and nutrients, during 3.3 to 30 years of follow-up. Evidence from this study indicates that consumption of total fruit and white vegetables, but not total vegetables, was inversely associated with gastric cancer risk. Both fruit and white vegetables are rich sources of vitamin C, which showed significant protective effect against gastric cancer by our analysis too. Furthermore, we found concordant positive associations between high-salt foods and gastric cancer risk. In addition, a strong effect of alcohol consumption, particularly beer and liquor but not wine, on gastric cancer risk was observed compared with nondrinkers. Dose-response analysis indicated that risk of gastric cancer was increased by 12% per 5 g/day increment of dietary salt intake or 5% per 10 g/day increment of alcohol consumption, and that a 100 g/day increment of fruit consumption was inversely associated with 5% reduction of risk.ConclusionThis study provides comprehensive and strong evidence that there are a number of protective and risk factors for gastric cancer in diet. Our findings may have significant public health implications with regard to prevention of gastric cancer and provide insights into future cohort studies and the design of related clinical trials.     

A two-generation reproduction study with transgenic Bt rice TT51 in Wistar rats

TT51 is a transgenic Bt rice created by fusion a synthetic CryAb/CryAc gene into rice MingHui63. A significant number of animal feeding studies with transgenic crops have been carried out with the rapid development of transgenic crops. However, the evidence is far from identifying whether certain novel transgenic crops possess potential danger for human or animal health after long-term consumption. Rice-based diets, containing 60% ordinary grocery rice, MingHui63 rice or TT51 rice by weight, were fed to two generations of male and female rats in order to determine the potential reproductive effects of TT51. In this study, both clinical performance variables and histopathological responses were examined and compared between groups. There were no significant differences between groups on body weights, food consumption, reproductive data and relative organ/body weights. There were some statistically significant differences in hematology and serum chemistry parameters, but no histological abnormalities were seen in the brain, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, small intestine, thymus, ovaries, uterus, testes and epididymides. Based on the results, under the circumstance of this study TT51 show no significant differences on reproduction performance of rats compared with MingHui63 and the control.     

Dietary patterns as compared with physical activity in relation to metabolic syndrome among Chinese adults

AimsTo examine the nationally-representative dietary patterns and their joint effects with physical activity on the likelihood of metabolic syndrome (MS) among 20,827 Chinese adults.Methods and resultsCNNHS was a nationally representative cross-sectional observational study. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the Joint Interim Statement definition. The “Green Water” dietary pattern, characterized by high intakes of rice and vegetables and moderate intakes in animal foods was related to the lowest prevalence of MS (15.9%). Compared to the “Green Water” dietary pattern, the “Yellow Earth” dietary pattern, characterized by high intakes of refined cereal products, tubers, cooking salt and salted vegetable was associated with a significantly elevated odds of MS (odds ratio 1.66, 95%CI: 1.40–1.96), after adjustment of age, sex, socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors. The “Western/new affluence” dietary pattern characterized by higher consumption of beef/lamb, fruit, eggs, poultry and seafood also significantly associated with MS (odds ratio: 1.37, 95%CI: 1.13–1.67). Physical activity showed significant interactions with the dietary patterns in relation to MS risk (P for interaction = 0.008). In the joint analysis, participants with the combination of sedentary activity with the “Yellow Earth” dietary pattern or the “Western/new affluence” dietary pattern both had more than three times (95%CI: 2.8–6.1) higher odds of MS than those with active activity and the “Green Water” dietary pattern.ConclusionsOur findings from the large Chinese national representative data indicate that dietary patterns affect the likelihood of MS. Combining healthy dietary pattern with active lifestyle may benefit more in prevention of MS.     

tccP2基因在临床分离肠致病性大肠埃希菌中的特征分析

目的 分析2001 - 2003年某省儿童医院分离的268株大肠埃希菌 tccP2 基因的携带情况及该基因的分子特征。 方法 PCR方法筛查临床分离的268株大肠埃希菌中EHEC、EPEC菌株;再筛查 tccP2 基因的携带情况,克隆阳性菌株 tccP2 基因,并进行核苷酸测序,同时与GenBank数据库进行比对。 结果 2001 - 2003年临床分离的菌株共检测到7株EPEC菌株,其中有2株菌 tccP2 基因阳性,长度分别为1458 bp,核苷酸和氨基酸的一致性为100%,与国际上公布的str.11128(O111 ∶ H-)菌株的 tccP2 基因比对发现核苷酸一致性为61.3%;氨基酸序列比对,发现其N-端与str.11128(O111 ∶ H-)菌株具有完全相同的特异的87个核苷酸序列,脯氨酸富集重复片段序列几乎一致,较str.11128(O111 ∶ H-)菌株多4个重复片段。 结论 在中国临床分离的菌株中也存在具有 tccP2 基因的EPEC菌株,应进一步加大临床标本中该类菌株的分离与监测。     

2010年太原市普通人群血清中多溴联苯醚负荷水平

目的 研究太原市普通人群血清中多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)负荷水平.方法 2010年在太原市共采集了42份普通人群血清样品,用固相萃取-气相色谱-负化学源-质谱法测定了样品中溴代联苯醚(BDE)-17、BDE-28、BDE-47、BDE-66、BDE-99、BDE-100、BDE-153、BDE-154、BDE-183 和...     

Evaluation of short-term and subchronic toxicity of magnolia bark extract in rats

Magnolia bark has been traditionally used in Chinese and Japanese medicines, and its extract is a constituent of currently marketed dietary supplements and cosmetic products. The safety of magnolia bark extract (MBE) was assessed in short-term and subchronic studies. In a 21-day pilot study, rats were administered MBE at levels of 0, 60, 120, 240 or 480 mg/kg body weight (bw)/day in the diet. There were no treatment-related effects in clinical observations, macroscopic or microscopic findings, hematological, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, or organ weight measurements, and there were no deaths or significant differences in body weight and weight gain. In the 90-day study, rats were administered 0, 60, 120 or 240 mg MBE/kg bw/day in the diet. No mortality, ophthalmic abnormalities or treatment-related findings in clinical observations, hematology, coagulation or organ weight measurements were observed. There were no treatment-related macroscopic or microscopic findings. Differences between treated and control groups in body weight, weight gain, food consumption and utilization, clinical chemistry and urinalysis parameters were not considered toxicologically significant as they were not dose-related and/or because values remained within historical control ranges. These results support the safety of MBE for oral consumption.     

Report on Childhood Obesity in China (10): Association of Sleep Duration with Obesity

Objective To explore the association of sleep duration with obesity among children in urban areas of China.Methods A total of 6 576 children (3 293 boys and 3 283 girls) aged 7-11 years were randomly selected from 36 primary schools in 6 metropolitan cities in China.A 7-day Physical Activity Recall was used to assess the sleep duration and physical activity level.The height,weight,waist circumference (WC)and percentage of body fat (％BF,as determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis technique) were measured by following the standardized operation procedures.The information on demography,lifestyle and eating habits was collected with a self-administered questionnaire from participants and their parents.Results The average sleep duration per night in the children was 9.7 h with the decreasing trends along with the increase of age (P＜0.05).The sleep duration was negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) and WC in both boys and girls after adjustment for confounders (β value -0.23 and -0.82 for boys,-0.24 and -0.91 for girls,respectively,P＜0.01).However,no significant association of sleep duration with ％BF was found.Children who slept less than 9.0 h per night had a higher risk for overweight and obesity (0R=1.29,95％ CI:1.01,1.64) and abdominal obesity (OR=1.38,95％ CI:1.04,1.83) as compared with those who slept for 10.0-10.9 h.Conclusions Short sleep duration is associated with obesity.It is important to ensure adequate sleep duration of children and foster their healthy lifestyle at an early stage of life.