[Survey on self-esteem condition and influencing factors of college students in Shandong Province].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the self-esteem condition and influencing factors of college students in Shandong province. METHODS: Adopting the method of stratified stochastic cluster sampling, 1500 students from seven universities in Shandong province were surveyed by The Self-esteem Scale of College Students and The Basic Status Questionnaire. RESULTS: The self-esteem of college students had an average score of( 138. 49 ± 16. 56), it was in intermediate level. Significant difference in different grades( F = 10. 715, P < 0. 01) and genders( F = 5. 588, P < 0. 05) had been found. There was no significant difference in professions and residences on the self-esteem. The selfesteem of the singleton was higher than the non-singleton( F = 3. 114, P < 0. 01), and the college students live together with parents was higher than the single families' students( F= 5. 925, P < 0. 01). The self-esteem of the students who had high score( F = 6. 379, P< 0. 01) or were class leader( F = 5. 732, P < 0. 05) or take an active part in club( F =13. 446, P < 0. 01) or had healthy life-styles( P < 0. 05) was high. CONCLUSION: The self-esteem of university students have significant difference in genders, grades, singleton, family types, school scores and life-styles. There are no differences between different professions, residences or family finances on the self-esteem.

FTO gene variant and risk of hypertension: a meta-analysis of 57,464 hypertensive cases and 41,256 controls.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have suggested that fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) may predispose individuals to develop hypertension. However, the results have been inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship of FTO gene variant with risk of hypertension and influence of body mass index (BMI) on this risk. MATERIALS/METHODS: A systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase and ISI web of science databases was performed to identify eligible published literatures. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS: A total of seven studies comprising 57,464 hypertensive cases and 41,256 controls met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The FTO gene variant(s) showed significant association with the risk of hypertension (OR=1.16, 95% CI=1.07-1.25, P<0.001) which disappeared on adjustment for BMI (OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.98-1.10, P=0.162). In addition, stratified analysis demonstrated a significant association of the FTO variant with the risk of hypertension in obese subjects (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.01-1.19, P=0.032) but not in non-obese individuals (OR=1.00, 95% CI=0.97-1.03, P=0.832). Subgroup analysis based on ethnicity showed significant association between FTO variant and hypertension in both European (OR=1.07, 95% CI=1.01-1.14, P=0.028) and Asian populations (OR=1.37, 95% CI=1.23-1.53, P<0.001). However, the association remained significant only in Asians (OR=1.17, 95% CI=1.01-1.35, P=0.035) but not in the Europeans (OR=1.02, 95% CI=0.97-1.07, P=0.390) on adjustment for BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis confirms that FTO genotype mediates obesity-related hypertension.

Quantitative assessment of the associations between four polymorphisms (FokI, ApaI, BsmI, TaqI) of vitamin D receptor gene and risk of diabetes mellitus.

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms have been suggested to be involved in the development of diabetes mellitus, including type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the associations. Literature was retrieved from PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Chinese databases. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random or fixed effect model. 79 studies (FokI: 22 studies; BsmI: 25 studies; ApaI: 17 studies; TaqI: 15 studies) on T1DM and 44 studies (FokI: 10 studies; BsmI: 10 studies; ApaI: 14 studies; TaqI: 10 studies) on T2DM were included. The results indicated that BsmI polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of T1DM (B vs. b: OR 1.31, 95 % CI 1.10-1.55, P = 0.002), especially in East Asians (B vs. b: OR 2.57, 95 % CI: 1.55-4.24, P < 0.001); FokI polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of T2DM (f vs. F: OR 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.17-1.45, P < 0.001), especially in East Asians (f vs. F: OR 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.21-1.54, P < 0.001). However, no significant association was observed between ApaI or TaqI polymorphism and diabetes risk with the exception of significant association between ApaI polymorphism and T1DM risk in East Asians. Thus, the authors found BsmI polymorphism in the VDR gene may increase the risk of T1DM in East Asians and the FokI polymorphism may increase the risk of T2DM in East Asians.

Short sleep duration is associated with hypertension risk among adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A number of studies have reported that sleep duration might have an important role in the development of hypertension. However, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to clarify the association between sleep duration and hypertension risk. PubMed, Embase and ISI web of science databases updated on 28 October 2011 were searched for eligible publications. Pooled odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated using a random- or fixed-effect model. Six prospective (N=9959) and seventeen cross-sectional (N=105432) studies were identified for the data analysis on sleep duration. The results indicated that short sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of prevalent hypertension (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.09-1.32, P<0.001), especially among subjects younger than 65 years and females. In addition, short sleep duration was also associated with an increased risk of incident hypertension among subjects younger than 65 years (RR=1.33, 95% CI: 1.11-1.61, P=0.002). Overall, there was a significant association between long sleep duration and the risk of prevalent hypertension (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.05-1.17, P<0.001). Further subgroup analysis also suggested a significant association between long sleep duration and the risk of prevalent hypertension among subjects younger than 65 years (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.06-1.19, P<0.001). The present meta-analysis indicated that short sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of hypertension in the overall polulation and incident hypertension among subjects younger than 65 years. In addition, long sleep duration might be associated with a risk of prevalent hypertension, especially among subjects younger than 65 years.

Pesticide exposure during pregnancy and low birth weight.

BACKGROUND: Limited epidemiologic studies have investigated the effects of pesticide exposure during pregnancy on low birth weight in offspring in rural China. METHODS: A survey of a total of 503 women was conducted in Ling county of Shandong Province of China following delivery from 1 November 2009 to 8 February 2010. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding and compared with no pesticide exposure, multiple logistic regression showed a non-significant increased likelihood of low birth weight for both children of mothers exposed to pesticides when not pregnant (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 0.62, 5.22) and mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy (OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 0.73, 8.08); multiple linear regression showed a non-significant reduced birth weight for both children of mothers exposed to pesticides when not pregnant (ß=-0.59, p=0.28) and mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy (ß=-0.89, p=0.15). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to pesticides during pregnancy was associated with a non-significant increase in low birth weight in this rural Chinese population. Future studies using larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted.

GABBR1 gene polymorphism(G1465A)isassociated with temporal lobe epilepsy.

PURPOSE: γ-Aminobutyric acid B receptor 1(GABBR1) gene G1465A polymorphism has been considered as a potential risk factor for the development of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, the results were inconsistent. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the association between GABBR1 G1465A polymorphism and the risk of TLE. METHODS: Biomedical literature databases including PubMed, ISI web of science and Embase were searched. The studies evaluating the association between GABBR1 G1465A polymorphism and TLE were included. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95%CI confidence interval (CI) were calculated using fixed- or random-effects model. KEY FINDINGS: Seven studies (1011 cases and 2184 controls) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The overall result showed that the association between GABBR1 G1465A polymorphism was statistically significant (OR=5.381, 95%CI: 1.726, 16.776, P=0.004). Subgroup analysis showed that the effect estimate was higher in the studies with high quality score (OR=14.220, 95%CI: 6.933, 29.169, P=0.000) than that in the studies with low quality score (OR=1.158, 95%CI: 0.325, 4.123, P=0.821). SIGNIFICANCE: The present meta-analysis suggests that GABBR1 G1465A polymorphism is associated with the risk of TLE. The role of GABBR1 G1465A polymorphism in the development of TLE merits further investigation.

Integrin beta3 down-regulates invasive features of ovarian cancer cells in SKOV3 cell subclones.

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of integrin beta3 in invasive features of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells, by comparing different metastatic subclones. METHODS: In the present study, two cell subclones, termed as S1 and S21, which possessed high and low metastatic potential, respectively, were isolated and established from human ovarian cancer parental cell line SKOV3 by the limited dilution method. The expressions of integrin alphav, integrin alphavbeta3, integrin beta3, E-cadherin, FAK and ILK in the two cell subclones were compared by means of real-time RT-PCR or flow cytometry. Subsequently, S21 was transfected with siRNA for integrin beta3 and the effects of transfection were examined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, colony formation assay, Matrigel invasion assay and cell migration assay. RESULTS: The expressions of integrin alphavbeta3, integrin beta3 and E-cadherin were markedly down-regulated in S1; however, there were no significant differences in the expressions of integrin alphav, FAK and ILK beta. Of note, more than 70% knockdown of integrin beta3 expression was obtained by siRNA technique. The integrin beta3-siRNA-transfected cells showed significant increases in cell proliferation, cell migration and invasive activity in contrast with the mock-transfected cells. The expressions of integrin alphavbeta3 and E-cadherin were lower in the integrin beta3-siRNA-transfected cells compared to the mock control. CONCLUSION: Integrin beta3, like E-cadherin, may be also a suppressor gene down-regulating invasive features of ovarian cancer cells in SKOV3 cell subclones.