Discrete choice experiment with duration versus time trade-off: a comparison of test–retest reliability of health utility elicitation approaches in SF-6Dv2 valuation

Quality of Life Research - To evaluate and compare the test–retest reliability of discrete choice experiments with duration (DCETTO) and time trade-off (TTO) in the Chinese SF-6Dv2 valuation...     

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives in the United States and China: The Need for Professional Public Space

Health Care Analysis - Pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) are one of the most frequently used drug information sources for physicians in both the United States and China. During...     

痛泻要方水煎液化学成分的UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS分析

目的：采用超高效液相色谱-线性离子阱-静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法(UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS)快速鉴定痛泻要方水煎液中的化学成分。方法：色谱条件为ACQUITY UPLC BEH C₁₈色谱柱(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7μm),流动相0.1%甲酸水溶液(A)-乙腈(B)梯度洗脱(0～4 min,5%～15%B;4～10 min,15%～25%B;10～15 min,25%～60%B;15～20 min,60%～90%B;20～25 min,90%～100%B;25～27 min,100%B;27～30 min,100%～5%B;30～32 min,5%B),流速0.3 m L·min^-1,进样量3μL,柱温35℃。质谱条件为电喷雾离子源(ESI),扫描范围m/z 100～1 250,正、负离子模式下分别采集MS、MS/MS数据。结合对照品、数据库和文献信息,运用Trace Finder 4.1和Xcalibur 2.1软件对痛泻要方水煎液进行化学成分鉴定。结果：在正、负离子模式下,从痛泻要方水煎液中共鉴定出90个化合物,主...     

基于转录组数据的半夏AP2/ERF基因家族鉴定及逆境响应分析

目的：鉴定并研究半夏AP2/ERF转录因子的功能,为推进半夏品种的遗传改良提供理论依据。方法：该文基于半夏三代转录组数据鉴定了半夏中AP2/ERF家族成员,并对其进行系统的生物信息学分析,同时利用实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应（Real-time PCR）检测半夏AP2/ERF在不同组织及不同胁迫条件下的表达情况。结果：通过转录组数据共筛选出8个全长AP2/ERF转录因子家族成员,归为AP2、ERF和DREB 3个亚家族;半夏AP2/ERF的氨基酸数目为251～512个,等电点为5.29～11.72,不稳定指数为45.90～82.41,且主要定位于细胞核中;半夏AP2/ERF基因的结构域和Motifs相对保守。组织特异性表达模式分析显示,半夏AP2/ERF基因在不同组织部位中具有不同的表达模式,且主要在叶中表达。逆境胁迫应答分析表明,PtERF1主要响应NaCl的胁迫诱导;PtERF2和PtERF4在低温和聚乙二醇（PEG）胁迫下表达量均有较大幅度的上调;PtERF3同时响应低温和NaCl两种逆境的诱导;PtERF5同时响应高温、低温、NaCl、PEG胁迫诱导;PtERF7在高温胁迫下表达...     

Associations between Circulating Markers of Cholesterol Homeostasis and Macrovascular Events among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Current strategies targeting serum cholesterol bring limited benefits to mortality and macrovascular events prevention among hemodialysis patients. Direct measurements and analysis on circulating markers of cholesterol homeostasis could be promising solutions to this bottleneck. We prospectively enrolled 90 maintenance hemodialysis patients and 9 healthy controls in 2019 for 1 year. We measured circulating desmosterol and lathosterol as markers for cholesterol synthesis and campesterol and sitosterol for cholesterol absorption. At baseline, hemodialysis patients showed higher levels of campesterol (p = 0.023) compared to healthy controls. During follow-up, we identified 14 (15.4%) patients who experienced macrovascular events. Comparisons of cholesterol homeostasis markers between cohorts with and without macrovascular events showed no significant differences in markers of cholesterol synthesis or absorption. Using logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio was not statistically significant for the prediction of macrovascular events after full-adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, serum albumin, cholesterol, and triglyceride. We concluded that hemodialysis patients demonstrated higher level of cholesterols absorption, indicated by circulating campesterol compared to healthy subjects. Markers for cholesterol homeostasis were not significantly associated with macrovascular events during a 1-year follow-up. Our results shed light on the novel therapeutic target of modulating cholesterol absorption in HD patients.     

Less Is Better: How Nutrition and Low-Carbon Labels Jointly Backfire on the Evaluation of Food Products

(1) Background: Labeling is one of the significant strategies to guide sustainable consumption behaviors. Nowadays, multi labels being displayed on the front-of-pack of food products is a common phenomenon. However, labels seldom operate solo, and competition or complement effects may be exerted on different labels. Therefore, the research objective is to explore the interaction effect when nutrition and low-carbon labels appear simultaneously; (2) Methods: Across four scenario-based experiments, including ice cream, yogurt, steak, and toast, this study manipulated the separate and joint occurrences of low-carbon and nutrition labels, the interaction effect of joint labels was tested, and the serial mediation model, which includes resource allocation and anticipated enjoyment of food consumption, was verified; (3) Results: Results show that people have a positive preference for the nutrition label and the carbon label, respectively, while these two labels working simultaneously attenuate the positive effect of the single label. When facing nutrition and carbon labels simultaneously, people would infer partial resources are allocated to healthy and environmental aspects so they have a lower anticipated enjoyment from food consumption. Thus, these two labels working simultaneously attenuate the positive effect of the single label, and consumers have a lower evaluation of food products. In addition, the joint backfire on the effect is only exerted on people with a higher level of zero-sum bias and only when joint labels have a high consistency of labels; (4) Conclusions: This study solved the contradictory problem of the joint effect of positive labels. The findings in this research contribute to promote sustainable food consumption. We suggest that similar labels should be avoided in the same front-of-pack of food, and manufacturers need to use ads to bring down consumers’ zero-sum bias.     

Identification and Validation of Nutrient State-Dependent Serum Protein Mediators of Human CD4+ T Cell Responsiveness

Intermittent fasting and fasting mimetic diets ameliorate inflammation. Similarly, serum extracted from fasted healthy and asthmatic subjects’ blunt inflammation in vitro, implicating serum components in this immunomodulation. To identify the proteins orchestrating these effects, SOMAScan technology was employed to evaluate serum protein levels in healthy subjects following an overnight, 24-h fast and 3 h after refeeding. Partial least square discriminant analysis identified several serum proteins as potential candidates to confer feeding status immunomodulation. The characterization of recombinant IGFBP1 (elevated following 24 h of fasting) and PYY (elevated following refeeding) in primary human CD4⁺ T cells found that they blunted and induced immune activation, respectively. Furthermore, integrated univariate serum protein analysis compared to RNA-seq analysis from peripheral blood mononuclear cells identified the induction of IL1RL1 and MFGE8 levels in refeeding compared to the 24-h fasting in the same study. Subsequent quantitation of these candidate proteins in lean versus obese individuals identified an inverse regulation of serum levels in the fasted subjects compared to the obese subjects. In parallel, IL1RL1 and MFGE8 supplementation promoted increased CD4⁺ T responsiveness to T cell receptor activation. Together, these data show that caloric load-linked conditions evoke serological protein changes, which in turn confer biological effects on circulating CD4⁺ T cell immune responsiveness.     

Association between Reduced Serum Zinc and Diastolic Dysfunction in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Diastolic dysfunction is an emerging challenge among hemodialysis (HD) patients, and the associations between serum zinc with echocardiographic parameters and diastolic function remain uncertain. A total of 185 maintenance HD patients were stratified by the tertiles of serum zinc level to compare their clinical characteristics and echocardiography. Correlations of serum zinc levels with echocardiographic parameters were examined using Pearson’s analysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the determinants of E/e’ ratio >15 and left atrial volume index (LAVI) > 34 mL/m², both indicators of diastolic dysfunction. Patients belonging to the first tertile of serum zinc level had a significantly higher E/e’ ratio and LAVI. Serum zinc levels were negatively correlated with E (r = −0.204, p = 0.005), E/e’ ratio (r = −0.217, p = 0.003), and LAVI (r = −0.197, p = 0.007). In a multivariate analysis, older age, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and lower serum zinc levels (OR = 0.974, 95% CI = 0.950–0.999, p = 0.039) were significantly associated with E/e’ ratio >15. Furthermore, diabetes and lower serum zinc levels (OR = 0.978, 95% CI = 0.958–0.999, p = 0.041) were significantly associated with LAVI >34 mL/m². Reduced serum zinc level was significantly associated with diastolic dysfunction among HD patients. Further prospective studies are warranted to investigate whether zinc supplementation can attenuate cardiac dysfunction in maintenance HD patients.     

The Design and Development of a Food Composition Database for an Electronic Tool to Assess Food Intake in New Caledonian Families

The food environment in New Caledonia is undergoing a transition, with movement away from traditional diets towards processed and discretionary foods and beverages. This study aimed to develop an up-to-date food composition database that could be used to analyze food and nutritional intake data of New Caledonian children and adults. Development of this database occurred in three phases: Phase 1, updating and expanding the number of food items to represent current food supply; Phase 2, refining the database items and naming and assigning portion size images for food items; Phase 3, ensuring comprehensive nutrient values for all foods, including saturated fat and total sugar. The final New Caledonian database comprised a total of 972 food items, with 40 associated food categories and 25 nutrient values and 615 items with portion size images. To improve the searchability of the database, the names of 593 food items were shortened and synonyms or alternate spelling were included for 462 foods. Once integrated into a mobile app-based multiple-pass 24-h recall tool, named iRecall.24, this country-specific food composition database would support the assessment of food and nutritional intakes of families in New Caledonia, in a cross-sectional and longitudinal manner, and with translational opportunities for use across the wider Pacific region.