Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background The relationships between the dietary inflammatory index (DII), body mass index (BMI), and waist‒to-hip ratio (WtHR) and both diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DDM) and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (UDDM), as well as the contributions of these factors, have not yet been comprehensively evaluated. This study aimed to investigate this association and elucidate the roles of DII, BMI, and the WtHR in the development of diabetes. Methods This was a cross-sectional study involving 3687 participants aged 18 to 69 years were selected from the China National Nutrition and Health Survey (CNNHS 2010 to 2013) and the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (CACDNS 2015) in Guangxi. DII scores were calculated from a 3-day, 24-hour (3d 24 h) dietary survey combined with the weighing method. Unconditional logistic regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS), and weighted quantile sum (WQS) models were utilized to assess the associations between DII, BMI, WtHR, and both DDM and UDDM. Results The overall prevalence of TDM was 6.6%, comprising 40.6% DDM and 59.4% UDDM cases. Compared with Q1 (the lowest proinflammatory group), subjects in Q4 and Q5 exhibited significantly higher TDM risk, with ORs (95% CI) of 1.65 (1.06, 2.56) and 1.88 (1.21, 2.92), respectively. This association was particularly pronounced in UDDM, where a significant dose-response relationship emerged (P-trend = 0.006), with Q5 demonstrating the highest diabetes risk which OR (95% CI) was 1.98 (1.16, 3.40). DII scores and the risks of TDM and UDDM were linear (all P values < 0.05) but no association between the DII and DDM risk. There is a nonlinear relationship between BMI and DDM risk, a linear relationship with UDDM risk, and significant positive correlations between the WtHR and both DDM and UDDM risk. WtHR emerged as the primary contributor (weight = 0.69) in participants with DDM. For participants with UDDM, DII emerged as the primary determinant, outweighing BMI (weight = 0.37 vs. 0.35) and the WtHR (weight = 0.28). Conclusions A high-proinflammatory diet is significantly linked to increased risks of both DDM and UDDM. BMI and the WtHR also exert substantial yet differential influences.

Background Group Model Building (GMB) is a participatory system dynamics method increasingly used to address complex public health issues like obesity. GMB represents a set of well-defined steps to engage key stakeholders to identify shared drivers and solutions of a given problem. However, GMB has not yet been applied specifically to develop multi-duty interventions that address multiple inter-related issues such as malnutrition in all its forms (MIAIF). Moreover, a recent systematic review of empirical applications of a systems approach to developing obesity interventions found no published work from non-western, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this paper we describe adaptations and innovations to a common GMB process to co-develop systemic MIAIF interventions with Chinese decision-makers. Methods We developed, piloted and implemented multiple cultural adaptations and two methodological innovations to the commonly used GMB process in Fang Cheng Gang city, China. We included formal, ceremonial and policy maker engagement events before and between GMB workshops, and incorporated culturally tailored arrangements during participant recruitment (officials of the same seniority level joined the same workshop) and workshop activities (e.g., use of individual scoring activities and hand boards). We made changes to the commonly used GMB activities which enabled mapping of shared drivers of multiple health issues (in our case MIAIF) in a single causal loop diagram. We developed and used a ‘hybrid’ GMB format combining online and in person facilitation to reduce travel and associated climate impact. Results Our innovative GMB process led to high engagement and support from decision-makers representing diverse governmental departments across the whole food systems. We co-identified and prioritised systemic drivers and intervention themes of MIAIF. The city government established an official Local Action Group for long-term, inter-departmental implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the co-developed interventions. The ‘hybrid’ GMB format enabled great interactions while reducing international travel and mitigating limitations of fully online GMB process. Conclusions Cultural and methodological adaptations to the common GMB process for an Asian LMIC setting were successful. The ‘hybrid’ GMB format is feasible, cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly. These cultural adaptations could be considered for other Asian settings and beyond to address inter-related, complex issues such as MIAIF.

Background Mitotic catastrophe is well-known as a major pathway of endogenous tumor death, but the prognostic significance of its heterogeneity regarding bladder cancer (BLCA) remains unclear. Methods Our study focused on digging deeper into the TCGA and GEO databases. Through differential expression analysis as well as Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), we identified dysregulated mitotic catastrophe-associated genes, followed by univariate cox regression as well as ten machine learning algorithms to construct robust prognostic models. Based on prognostic stratification, we revealed intergroup differences by enrichment analysis, immune infiltration assessment, and genomic variant analysis. Subsequently by multivariate cox regression as well as survshap(t) model we screened core prognostic gene and identified it by Mendelian randomization. Integration of qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and single-cell analysis explored the core gene expression landscape. In addition, we explored the ceRNA axis containing upstream non-coding RNAs after detailed analysis of pathway activation, immunoregulation, and methylation functions of the core genes. Finally, we performed drug screening and molecular docking experiments based on the core gene in the DSigDB database. Results Our efforts culminated in the establishment of an accurate prognostic model containing 16 genes based on Coxboost as well as the Random Survival Forest (RSF) algorithm. Detailed analysis from multiple perspectives revealed a strong link between model scores and many key indicators: pathway activation, immune infiltration landscape, genomic variant landscape, and personalized treatment. Subsequently ANLN was identified as the core of the model, and prognostic analysis revealed that it portends a poor prognosis, further corroborated by Mendelian randomization analysis. Interestingly, ANLN expression was significantly upregulated in cancer cells and specifically clustered in epithelial cells and provided multiple pathways to mediate cell division. In addition, ANLN regulated immune infiltration patterns and was also inseparable from overall methylation levels. Further analysis revealed potential regulation of the MIR4435-2HG, hsa-miR-15a-5p, ANLN axis and highlighted a range of potential therapeutic agents including Phytoestrogens. Conclusion The model we developed was a powerful predictive tool for BLCA prognosis and revealed the impact of mitotic catastrophe heterogeneity on BLCA in multiple dimensions, which then guided clinical decision-making. Furthermore, we highlighted the potential of ANLN as a BLCA target.

Increasing popularity in gig employment has enabled the use of an at-will workforce of self-contracted couriers to participate in many service industries serving urban areas. This gig workforce has come to play a particularly important role in the growing meal delivery service industry. Hiring at-will couriers for delivery job fulfillment can decrease the costs of satisfying nonstationary demand. However, at-will workers can show up for work at their will and without notice. Thus, this puts the service performance of the delivery company that relies on effective workforce management to ensure timely delivery of orders at risk. This work investigates the tradeoffs between using such an at-will workforce of couriers in place of a fixed fleet of drivers in servicing a meal delivery environment. A stochastic DES with tabu search heuristic and embedded ejection chain approach for optimal delivery job bundling, routing, and assignment was developed and run within a rolling horizon framework to replicate the dynamics of the meal delivery setting. Condition Value at Risk (CVaR) is adopted to measure the risk of late delivery due to uncertainty in workforce availability. Results from a numerical case study with 25 restaurants and 613 orders arriving over a 14-h period show tradeoffs from using at-will couriers in place of a comparable fixed fleet of drivers in terms of delivery resource utilization, efficiency risk of failing to satisfying orders and risk of significantly late delivery. Results indicate that using at-will couriers for meal delivery can enable more efficient use of delivery resources, but at the cost of a higher risk of late delivery, and sometimes intolerably late delivery, as compared to using a fixed fleet of drivers to fulfill orders.

The present study investigated the effect of dietary astaxanthin (AX) on the growth performance, antioxidant parameters, and repair of hepatopancreas damage in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). To evaluate the hepatopancreas protective function of AX in shrimps, we compared the effect of five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets under oxidized fish oil conditions with varying AX levels during the 50-day experimental period. The formulated diets were as follows: (i) OFO (oxidized fish oil); (ii) OFO/AX150 (oxidized fish oil + AX150 mg/kg); (iii) OFO/AX250 (oxidized fish oil + AX250 mg/kg); (iv) OFO/AX450 (oxidized fish oil + AX450 mg/kg); and, (v) control group (fresh fish oil). Results showed that the oxidized fish oil with 275.2 meq/kg peroxide value (POV) resulted in a substantial decrease in the final body weight of L. vannamei (P > 0.05) and induced some visible histopathological alterations in the hepatopancreas. Growth performance was significantly higher in shrimps fed with the OFO/AX450 diet than those fed with the OFO diet (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed when the OFO/AX450 diet was compared to the control diet containing fresh fish oil (p > 0.05). Moreover, shrimps under the OFO/AX450 diet displayed a significant improvement in hepatopancreatic health and showed a reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) compared to those under the OFO diet (p < 0.05). Dietary AX improved the antioxidant capacity of L. vannamei by increasing the catalase (CAT) activity in the hemolymph. Acute salinity change test showed a higher shrimp survival rate under OFO/AX450 diet than the OFO diet (p < 0.05), suggesting that AX can contribute to enhanced stress tolerance. In conclusion, our data suggest that AX confers dose-dependent protection against OFO-induced oxidative insults and hepatopancreatic damage in shrimp.

Background Regulatory actions are increasingly used to tackle issues such as excessive alcohol or sugar intake, but such actions to reduce sedentary behaviour remain scarce. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on sedentary behaviour call for system-wide policies. The Chinese government introduced the world’s first nation-wide multi-setting regulation on multiple types of sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents in July 2021. This regulation restricts when (and for how long) online gaming businesses can provide access to pupils; the amount of homework teachers can assign to pupils according to their year groups; and when tutoring businesses can provide lessons to pupils. We evaluated the effect of this regulation on sedentary behaviour safeguarding pupils. Methods With a natural experiment evaluation design, we used representative surveillance data from 9- to 18-year-old pupils before and after the introduction of the regulation, for longitudinal ( n  = 7,054, matched individuals, primary analysis) and repeated cross-sectional ( n  = 99,947, exploratory analysis) analyses. We analysed pre-post differences for self-reported sedentary behaviour outcomes (total sedentary behaviour time, screen viewing time, electronic device use time, homework time, and out-of-campus learning time) using multilevel models, and explored differences by sex, education stage, residency, and baseline weight status. Results Longitudinal analyses indicated that pupils had reduced their mean total daily sedentary behaviour time by 13.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -15.9 to -11.7%, approximately 46 min) and were 1.20 times as likely to meet international daily screen time recommendations (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.32) one month after the introduction of the regulation compared to the reference group (before its introduction). They were on average 2.79 times as likely to meet the regulatory requirement on homework time (95% CI: 2.47 to 3.14) than the reference group and reduced their daily total screen-viewing time by 6.4% (95% CI: -9.6 to -3.3%, approximately 10 min). The positive effects were more pronounced among high-risk groups (secondary school and urban pupils who generally spend more time in sedentary behaviour) than in low-risk groups (primary school and rural pupils who generally spend less time in sedentary behaviour). The exploratory analyses showed comparable findings. Conclusions This regulatory intervention has been effective in reducing total and specific types of sedentary behaviour among Chinese children and adolescents, with the potential to reduce health inequalities. International researchers and policy makers may explore the feasibility and acceptability of implementing regulatory interventions on sedentary behaviour elsewhere.

Background Crotonylation, a post-translational modification, is implicated in cancer progression, but its prognostic significance in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unclear. This study aimed to demystify crotonylation heterogeneity and establish a robust prognostic model for ccRCC. Methods Using multi-omics approaches, we analyzed transcriptomic data from TCGA-KIRC and GEO cohorts (GSE40435, GSE167573, GSE29609). Crotonylation scores were calculated via ssGSEA, with related gene modules identified through WGCNA. We integrated 10 machine learning algorithms to develop a prognostic model. Immune microenvironment was profiled using Cibersort, mutation landscapes via maftools, and drug sensitivity through oncoPredict. Spatial transcriptomics and single-cell data were analyzed for expression patterns, validated by qRT-PCR in 786-O and HK-2 cell lines. Results Dysregulation of 16/18 crotonylation-related genes was observed in ccRCC. WGCNA revealed crotonylation related modules significantly enriched in angiogenesis, calcium/Ras signaling, and cancer stemness pathways. A 5-gene prognostic model (PLCL1, DNASE1L3, CD248, CDH13, PDGFD) demonstrated robust stratification: High-risk patients showed poorer overall survival, higher Treg infiltration, elevated tumor mutation burden and increased sensitivity to several chemotherapy approaches like Cisplatin. Molecular docking identified diacetylmorphine as a potential therapeutic agent (binding energy: -7.278 kcal/mol with DNASE1L3). Spatial/single-cell analyses confirmed cell-type-specific gene expression and the diffferential expression between tumor and normal cell lines was validated by qRT-PCR. Conclusion This study establishes a crotonylation-based prognostic model that effectively stratifies ccRCC risk and elucidates key mechanisms linking crotonylation heterogeneity to immune evasion, mutational burden, and metabolic reprogramming. The model offers clinical utility for personalized therapy selection.

Purpose: To investigate the structural covariance network disruption in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and explore the functional alterations of disrupted structural covariance network. Methods: A cohort of 100 PD patients and 70 healthy participants underwent structural and functional magnetic resonance scanning. Independent component analysis (ICA) was applied separately to both deformation-based morphometry maps and functional maps with the same calculating parameters (both decomposed into 20 ICs and computed 20 times Infomax algorithm in ICASSO). Disrupted structural covariance network in PD patients was identified, and then, we performed goodness of fit analysis to obtain the functional network that showed highest spatial overlap with it. We investigated the relationship between structural covariance network and functional network alterations. Finally, to further understand the structural and functional alterations over time, we performed a longitudinal subgroup analysis (51 patients were followed up for two years) with the same procedures. Results: In cross-sectional analysis, PD patients showed decreased structural covariance between anterior and posterior cingulate subnetworks. The functional components showed best overlap with anterior and posterior cingulate structural subnetworks were selected as anterior and posterior cingulate functional subnetworks. The functional connectivity between them was significantly increased (assessed by Functional Network Connectivity toolbox). And the increased functional connectivity was negatively correlated with cingulate structural covariance network integrity. Longitudinal subgroup analysis showed cingulate structural covariance network disruption was worser at follow-up, while the functional connectivity between anterior and posterior cingulate network was increased at baseline and decreased at follow. Conclusion: This study indicated that cingulate structural covariance network displayed a high susceptibility in PD patients. This study indicated that cingulate structural covariance network displayed a high susceptibility in PD patients. Considering that disrupted structural covariance network coexisted with enhanced/remained functional activity during disease development, enhanced functional activity underlying the disrupted cingulate structural covariance network might represents a temporal compensation for maintaining clinical performance.

(1) Background: An increasing amount of research has supported the role of radiomics for predicting pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemoradiation treatment (nCRT) in order to provide better management of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients. However, the lack of validation from prospective trials has hindered the clinical adoption of such studies. The purpose of this study is to validate a radiomics model for pCR assessment in a prospective trial to provide informative insight into radiomics validation. (2) Methods: This study involved a retrospective cohort of 147 consecutive patients for the development/validation of a radiomics model, and a prospective cohort of 77 patients from two institutions to test its generalization. The model was constructed using T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI to understand the associations with pCR. The consistency of physicians’ evaluations and agreement on pathological complete response prediction were also evaluated, with and without the aid of the radiomics model. (3) Results: The radiomics model outperformed both physicians’ visual assessments in the prospective test cohort, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 (95% confidence interval of 0.70–0.94). With the aid of the radiomics model, a junior physician could achieve comparable performance as a senior oncologist. (4) Conclusion: We have built and validated a radiomics model with pretreatment MRI for pCR prediction of LARC patients undergoing nCRT.