Establishment of a Risk Prediction Model for Metabolic Syndrome in High Altitude Areas in Qinghai Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing worldwide, and early prediction of MetS risk is highly beneficial for health outcomes. This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict MetS risk in Qinghai Province, China, and it provides a methodological reference for MetS prevention and control in Qinghai Province, China. Patients and Methods: A total of 3073 participants living between 1900 and 3710 meters above sea level in Qinghai Province participated in this study between March 2014 and March 2016. We omitted 12 subjects who were missing diagnostic component data for MetS, ultimately resulting in 3061 research subjects, 70% of the subjects were assigned randomly to the training set, and the remaining subjects were assigned to the validation set. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis method was used for variable selection via running cyclic coordinate descent with 10-fold cross-validation. Multivariable logistic regression was then performed to develop a predictive model and nomogram. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used for model evaluation, and calibration plot and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used for model validation. Results: Of 24 variables studied, 6 risk predictors were identified by LASSO regression analysis: hyperlipidaemia, hyperglycemia, abdominal obesity, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and body mass index (BMI). A prediction model including these 6 risk factors was constructed and displayed good predictability with an area under the ROC curve of 0.914 for the training set and 0.930 for the validation set. DCA revealed that if the threshold probability of MetS is less than 82%, the application of this nomogram is more beneficial than both the treat-all or treat-none strategies. Conclusion: The nomogram developed in our study demonstrated strong discriminative power and clinical applicability, making it a valuable reference for meets prevention and control in the plateau areas of Qinghai Province.

[Distribution and bioavailability of seven heavy metals in mangrove wetland sediments in Dongzhai Harbor, Hainan Island, China].

In this study, total and available contents of seven typical heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb) were determined in mangrove wetland sediments in Dongzhai Harbor, and the distribution characteristics and bioavailability of these heavy metals in sediment were analyzed. The results showed that all the metals contents in this area were higher than in mangrove wetlands in Yalong Bay and Sanya Bay, but lower than the average level in mangrove wetlands in South China and other areas in the world, which was at a moderate to low level. The contents of heavy metals in surface layer of sediment significantly differed among barren shoal, the edge and inside of forest. All the metals were obviously accompanyingly deposited in the columnar sediments, which indicated a strong homogeneous source. The available contents of seven heavy metals in the surface sediments were extracted by EDTA, which had the order of Cu>Cr>Zn>Ni>As>Pb>Cd. All the maximum ratios of available to total content of elements appeared in surface or -middle to upper layers, except Ni. There was significant positive correlation between available and total contents of target metals.

[Determination of Main Active Components and Metal Elements of Hainan Alpinia Katsumadai by Spectral Analysis].

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were employed to analyze Alpinia Katsumadai harvested from Hainan Baisha and Bawangling. The results from FT-IR indicated that the emergence of several characteristic absorption peaks around 1 051, 1 390，2 976 and 3 300 cm-1 belong to flavonoids. In light of second derivative spectra, two similar peaks around 2 977.72 and 2 899.94 cm-1 and evident differences peaks around 1 922.36 and 1 650.87 cm-1 were observed, which was obvious to identify and distinguish Hainan Alpinia Katsumadai from different geographical regions. The method of UV spectroscopy were used to determine the different characteristic spectra of Alpinia Katsumadai harvested from Hainan Baisha and Bawangling. An UV-quantitative analysis method for alpinetin and cardamonin in Alpinia Katsumadai was established according to the relevant absorption principle. The results from fluorescence experiments revealed that both ethanol extracts of Alpinia katsumadai Hayata harvestd from Baisha and Bawangling have the similar fluorescence emission spectra and excitation spectra. The difference of fluorescence intensity once again demonstrated the concentration of ethanol extracts of Alpinia katsumadai Hayata harvestd from Baisha was bigger than that of Bawangling. The good relative recovery was in the range of 84.28%～117.41% with the RSDs (n=3) of 0.42%～0.29%. The content of alpinetin and cardamomin in Alpinia katsumadai from various habitats are 4.23% and 3.83% for Baisha, 3.72% and 3.34% for Baiwangling, respectively. Seventeen kinds of metal elements including K, Ca, Mg, Na, Al，Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn et al were determined by using microwave digestion-ICP-MS. Therefore, FT-IR combined with second derivative spectra was an express and comprehensive to analyze and evaluate the subtle difference among different habitats. It was also indicated that the method of UV-absorption spectroscopy was simple and reliable for identifing Alpinia katsumadai from differern geographical regions and cultivation batches, and determining qualitatively and quantitatively their main active components. The determination results of metal elements according to ICP-MS experiments will provide a theoretical foundation for the further development and utilization Alpinia katsumadai and enhancing the food danger consciousness.

Expression of aquaporin 8 and its relationship with melanosis coli.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between melanosis coli (MC) and aquaporin 8 (AQP8) has not yet been elucidated. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between the expression of AQP8 and the pathological mechanism of MC. METHODS: Expression of AQP8 was detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 37 MC colon tissues and 13 control colon tissues. Global gene expression analysis was also used to identify differently expressed genes. Its relationship with MC was analyzed by SPSS 11.5 statistical software. RESULTS: The positive rate of AQP8 expression detected by immunohistochemistry in the MC group was 24.3% (9/37), significantly lower than the 69.2% (9/13) in the control group (P < 0.05). The relative expression level of AQP8 in MC group was 0.639 ± 0.160, lower than 0.921 ± 0.148 of controls (P < 0.05). Global gene expression analysis showed that AQP8 mRNA expression was downregulated in MC patients. CONCLUSIONS: The decreased AQP8 expression in MC patients indicates that chronic use of laxatives containing anthraquinone may cause reduced water absorption. The expression of AQP8 may be related to MC.

[Climatope change and its relations with city development of Haikou City in 1961-2007].

Based on the 1961-2007 meteorological data of Haikou City and its urbanization level in 1989-2007, this paper studied the climatope change and its relations with city development of the City. In 1995-2007, the mean annual air temperature in Haikou had an obvious increase, with an increment of 0.93 degrees C x a(-1), while the mean annual relative humidity decreased obviously, with a decrement of 3% per year, compared with those in 1961-1990. Both the mean annual air temperature and the mean annual relative humidity had significant correlations with the urbanization level of Haikou, suggesting that urbanization could better explain the recent 20 years variation of climate elements in Haikou. The city development of Haikou not only changed the climatope elements, but also affected the air quality, making the frequency of acid rain increased, and the mean annual acid rain pH value decreased.

Synthesis of 1-(3-phthalimido-2-oxobutyl)-4-substituted- phenylpiperazines and their anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity.

AIM: Synthesis of 1-(3-phthalimido-2-oxobutyl)-4-substituted- phenylpiperazines (5-15). METHODS: The starting material nitrogen mustard hydrochloride (16), reacted with the corresponding substituted anilines to afford piperazine hydrochlorides (17-27), which were then coupled with 1-bromo-3-phthalimidobutan-2-one (4) to give the target compounds. RESULTS: Eleven target compounds (5-15) were synthesized, which were characterized by 1HNMR, IR and elemental analysis. CONCLUSION: Anti-HIV-1 RT using HIV reverse transcriptase P-66 protein test showed that compounds 11, 14, 10 and 13 possessed inhibitory effects against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT), with IC50 29.80, 35.20, 43.77 and 63.76 mumol.L-1, respectively.