Season of Birth and Morningness: Comparison Between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

The present study explored the possible role of the photoperiod at birth on morningness by collecting data in the northern (Italy) and southern (Australia) hemispheres. To assess circadian typology, the Composite Scale of Morningness (CS) was administered to a sample of 1734 university students (977 Italian and 757 Australian; 1099 females and 635 males; age 24.79?±?7.45 yrs [mean?±?SD]). Consistent with the literature, females reported higher CS scores (morningness) than males, and Australian participants reported higher CS scores than Italian participants. Allowing for the fact the seasons are reversed between the hemispheres, the results are in line with previous studies. The authors found more evening types were born during the seasons associated with longer photoperiod (spring and summer), and more morning types were born during the seasons associated with shorter photoperiod (autumn and winter), indirectly supporting an imprinting-like phenomenon played by the photoperiod at birth. (Author correspondence: vincenzo.natale@.unibo.it)     

Season of Birth and Lung Fibrosis among Workers Exposed to Asbestos

The season of birth has been suggested to influence the development of some diseases, but its role in lung fibrosis seems to not have been studied previously. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the season of birth and fibrotic abnormalities as detected radiologically in high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) among workers exposed to asbestos. The HRCT examination was performed on 528 study subjects. Multiple ordinal regression analysis adjusting for covariates was used to study the relations between birth month or season and radiological fibrosis signs. Subjects born in autumn or winter had more extensive fibrotic changes than those born in spring or summer. This applied to all fibrotic changes, apart from subpleural nodules, but only the overall fibrosis score, septal lines, and honeycombing showed statistically significantly higher values in comparison to spring births. The highest scores were detected among those born in autumn and winter months (September–February). These results suggest that there are differences in fibrotic radiological abnormalities according to the season of birth in adults exposed to asbestos. Several hypotheses could explain the observed findings, including the effects of early respiratory infections, cold temperature, and differences in air pollution levels, as well as some metabolic and hormonal effects.     

microRNA对肺癌化疗耐药性影响的研究进展

化疗耐药性是肺癌治疗的主要挑战之一,导致许多患者的化疗方案无效,并延误了接受合适治疗的时机。因此,研究肺癌化疗耐药性的机制是至关重要的。microRNA (miRNA)作为小分子片段RNA,参与了许多生命过程的调节,并在细胞耐药性产生过程中发挥重要的作用。研究表明,在化疗过程中,miRNAs可以通过降低多种药物耐药性相关基因的表达或促进细胞逃逸凋亡,参与耐药性的调节。然而,对于miRNAs介导的化疗耐药性产生机制的研究还不完善。现有研究表明,特定miRNAs的改变可能与多种癌症的获得性耐药相关,并调节肺癌细胞对化疗药物的敏感性。对miRNAs在肺癌耐药性中的作用及研究进展进行系统阐述。     

Season of Birth and Sleep-Timing Preferences in Adolescents

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between season of birth and sleep-timing preferences in adolescence. To this end, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (MEQ-CA) was administered to 1912 adolescents (1058 females and 854 males), ranging in age between 10 and 17 yrs. To assess preferred sleep habits, the authors considered the answers to the open-ended questions of the MEQ-CA (items 1 and 2), regarding the preferred arising time and the preferred going to bed time. Combining the answers to these two questions, the authors also indirectly computed the preferred sleep duration and preferred midpoint of sleep. Season of birth did not significantly modulate the overall MEQ-CA score; however, spring-born participants preferred to go to bed and reached the preferred midpoint of sleep later than those born in autumn. Agreeing with a previous study on young adults, the present data point to a significant season-of-birth effect on the two parameters of the sleep-timing preferences in adolescents. (Author correspondence: lorenzo.tonetti2@unibo.it)     

Genetic polymorphisms involved in the inflammatory response and lung cancer risk: A case-control study in Japan

Evidence is accumulating that chronic inflammation may have an important mechanism for the development and progression of lung cancer. Therefore, genetic polymorphisms in genes that involved in the inflammatory response may be associated with lung cancer risk. We evaluated the role of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFA) rs1799724, interleukin 1β (IL1B) rs16944, IL6 rs1800796, myeloperoxidase (MPO) rs2333227 and C-reactive protein (CRP) rs2794520 in a case-control study comprised of 462 lung cancer cases and 379 controls in a Japanese population. Unconditional logistic regression was used to assess the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). CRP rs2794520 (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.19–2.26) and IL6 rs1800796 (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.02–1.96) were associated with lung cancer risk. In addition, we assessed interactions between the polymorphisms and smoking. The polymorphisms did not significantly modify the association between smoking and lung cancer. As TNFA triggers a cytokine cascade, the modifying effect of the TNFA rs1799724 genotypes on the association of any of the remaining polymorphisms with lung cancer risk was also examined. There was a significant interaction between TNFA rs1799724 and MPO rs2333227 (P_interaction = 0.058). Future studies involving larger control and case populations will undoubtedly lead to a more thorough understanding of the role of the polymorphisms involved in the inflammation pathway in lung cancer.     

Exposure to Tobacco Smoking Induces a subset of Activated Tumor-resident Tregs in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Tobacco smoking is the major cause of non-small-cell-lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it is barely known how smoking impact the tumor immune environment (TIME) of lung cancer.We integrated single-cell RNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq data from several studies to systematically study the impact of smoking on T cells in treatment naïve NSCLC patients. We defined a set of smoking-induced differentially expressed genes (SIDEGs) in different cells in TIME.. Specifically, we defined a smoking-related tumor-specific Treg subset, ADAM12⁺ CTLA4⁺ Tregs according to the trajectory analysis and highly express genes in cell adhesion pathways and lipid metabolism. Using independent datasets from treatment naïve patients, we found that the fraction of ADAM12⁺ CTLA4⁺ Tregs are significantly increased in patients with smoking history. Moreover, the fraction of ADAM12⁺ CTLA4⁺ Tregs are positively correlated with the fraction of exhausted T cells. Additionally, we reconstructed the spatial organization of the tumor immune microenvironment and found that ADAM12⁺ CTLA4⁺ Tregs more actively communicate with LAYN⁺CD8⁺ exhausted T cells compared with ADAM12⁻CTLA4⁺ Tregs.Our data demonstrate that smoking induced a unique subset of tumor-specific activated Tregs which interact with exhausted T cells in the TIME. Our findings not only explained how smoking impact the TIME but also provide new targets and biomarkers for precision immunotherapy of lung cancer.     

肺癌生存质量量表在晚期肺癌中使用的研究进展

近几年来,肺癌的发病率呈现逐年上升的趋势,成为癌症中的头号杀手。临床上针对不同类型肺癌有不同的治疗策略,由于临床上大部分病人在确诊为肺癌时已经为晚期,对于常规治疗方法难以达到效果时,关注肺癌患者的生存质量就显地尤为必要。肺癌生存质量量表可以反映病人临床治疗后的生存质量状况,达到反馈治疗效果的目的。在临床实验中使用肺癌生存质量量表可以帮助临床医师制定最优化的治疗方案。国际上的研究大多不是以生存质量为主要终点的研究,生存质量也不能全面的反映病人预后的状况,希望在今后的研究中,肺癌生存质量量表能够在临床中的使用更加普及、更加全面。本文就肺癌生存质量量表在晚期肺癌中使用的研究进展作一综述,以期更加促进我们对于晚期肺癌患者生存质量的思考与关注,更有利于适合我国国情的生存质量量表的研究和发展。     

肺癌患者营养不良风险与癌因性疲乏和生活质量的相关性研究

摘要 目的：探讨肺癌患者营养不良风险与癌因性疲乏和生活质量的相关性,并分析营养不良风险的影响因素。方法：选取2019年7月~2020年7月期间我院收治的肺癌患者98例作为研究对象,采用营养风险筛查表2002（NRS-2002）、癌因性疲乏量表（CRF）、生活质量评定量表（QLQ-C30）评估所有研究对象的营养状况、癌因性疲乏程度及生活质量。采用Pearson相关性分析NRS-2002评分与CRF评分、QLQ-C30评分的相关性,采用单因素及多因素Logistic回归分析肺癌患者营养不良风险的影响因素。结果：24例无营养不良风险（NRS-2002评分0~2分）的患者纳为无营养不良风险组,74例有营养不良风险（NRS-2002评分3~7分）的患者纳为营养不良风险组,纳入对象营养不良风险率为75.51%（74/98）。营养不良风险组的情感疲乏、躯体疲乏、认知疲乏、QLQ-C30评分均高于无营养不良风险组（P<0.05）。Pearson相关性分析结果显示,NRS-2002评分与CRF评分和QLQ-C30评分均呈正相关（P<0.05）。由单因素分析结果可知,无营养不良风险组和营养不良风险组在家庭月收入、年龄、临床分期、营养管理、居住地方面对比差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示：临床分期为Ⅳ期、家庭月收入<5000元、年龄>40岁、无营养管理、居住地为农村均是肺癌患者营养不良风险的危险因素（P＜0.05）。结论：肺癌患者营养不良风险较高,其营养不良风险与癌因性疲乏和生活质量均具有一定相关性,且有关营养不良风险的影响因素较多,临床工作中应针对这些因素制定相关的干预措施。     

Seasonality of Retinal Detachment Incidence and Its Associations With Climate: An 11-Year Nationwide Population-Based Study

This study aimed to examine the seasonal variability of retinal detachment (RD) in Taiwan by using an 11-yr nationwide population database. This study also investigated the association of weather conditions, i.e., ambient temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, monthly hours of sunshine, and atmospheric pressure, with RD. Data were retrospectively collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The study sample included 23 718 RD hospitalizations between January 1999 and December 2009. The incidence rate of RD/100 000 people over the 132 months was computed according to sex and age groupings of <20, 20–39, 40–59, and ≥60 yrs. Then, the association between climatic factors and the monthly RD incidence rate was examined. The ARIMA (autoregressive integrated moving average) method was also employed to test the seasonality of RD incidence rates and their association with climatic factors. The annual RD incidence rates were between 7.8 and 10.8 cases/100 000 people during the study period. A fairly similar seasonal pattern of monthly RD incidence rates was apparent for males and females and males and females combined. Rates were highest August through October, decreasing in November, and lowest in February. After adjusting for time, trend, and month, the ARIMA regression models for the male, female, and males and females combined consistently revealed the monthly RD incidence rate was significantly and positively associated with ambient temperature, but negatively associated with atmospheric pressure. The authors conclude that the monthly RD incidence rates were significantly associated with seasonality. The monthly RD incidence rates were positively associated with ambient temperature and negatively associated with atmospheric pressure. (Author correspondence: henry11111@tmu.edu.tw)     

Associations of Pet Ownership with Wheezing and Lung Function in Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort

Background

Asthma is a heterogeneous condition and differential effects of pet ownership on non-atopic versus atopic asthma have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate whether pet ownership during pregnancy and early childhood was associated with wheezing from birth to age 7 years and with lung function at age 8 years in a UK population-based birth cohort.

Methods

Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used to investigate associations of pet ownership at six time-points from pregnancy to age 7 years with concurrent episodes of wheezing, wheezing trajectories (phenotypes) and lung function at age 8 years using logistic regression models adjusted for child’s sex, maternal history of asthma/atopy, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and family adversity.

Results

4,706 children had complete data on pet ownership and wheezing. From birth to age 7 years, cat ownership was associated with an overall 6% lower odds of wheezing (OR=0.94 (0.89-0.99)). Rabbit and rodent ownership was associated with 21% (OR=1.21 (1.12-1.31)) and 11% (OR=1.11 (1.02–1.21)) higher odds of wheezing, respectively, with strongest effects evident during infancy. Rabbit and rodent ownership was positively associated with a ‘persistent wheeze’ phenotype. Pet ownership was not associated with lung function at age 8 years, with the exception of positive associations of rodent and bird ownership with better lung function.

Conclusions

Cat ownership was associated with reduced risk, and rabbit and rodent ownership with increased risk, of wheezing during childhood. The mechanisms behind these differential effects warrant further investigation.     

肺癌住院患者营养不良风险调查及其影响因素分析

摘要 目的：肺癌住院患者营养不良风险调查及其影响因素分析。方法：选择2015年2月至2020年1月期间我院诊治的125例肺癌住院患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析。根据患者的营养状态评估结果将其分为81例营养不良组和44例营养良好组。比较两组患者的人口学资料和临床资料,采用多因素Logistic回归分析营养不良发生的影响因素。结果：营养不良患者占比64.80%（81/125）。与营养良好组相比,营养不良组年收入≥50000元患者比例明显下降（P<0.05）,营养不良组体质量指数（BMI）≤22 kg/m²患者比例、肿瘤分期III~Ⅳ期+广泛期患者比例以及肿瘤低分化患者比例明显升高,血清白蛋白水平和淋巴细胞绝对值（LYM）明显下降（P<0.05）。经多因素Logistic回归分析显示肿瘤分期III~Ⅳ期+广泛期以及肿瘤低分化是肺癌住院患者营养不良的危险因素（OR=1.743、1.812,P<0.05）,年收入≥50000元、BMI>22kg/m²、白蛋白水平≥29.55 g/L和LYM≥2.47×10⁹/L是肺癌住院患者营养不良的保护因素（OR=0.487、0.502、0.453、0.731,P<0.05）。结论：肺癌住院患者营养不良风险较高,年收入情况、BMI、肿瘤分期、分化程度、白蛋白水平以及LYM均是肺癌住院患者营养不良风险的影响因素,对上述指标进行监测有利于提前预测营养不良的发生,从而为预防肺癌住院患者营养不良的发生提供指导。     

Further Evidence for the Influence of Photoperiod at Birth on Chronotype in a Sample of German Adolescents

Individuals differ in their circadian preferences (chronotype). There is evidence in the literature to support a season-of-birth effect on chronotype but the evidence is not convincing. In part, the relationship is obscured by a number of methodological differences between studies, including the measures used to define morningness, the way in which the seasons were categorized, and the sample size. This study adds to the literature in several ways. First, we adopt a new approach to categorizing the photoperiod rather than the calendar season; thus we prefer to use the term photoperiod at birth. Second, we used two measures of morningness. Third, we used a large and homogeneous German sample. The results show that adolescents (n?=?2905) born during the increasing photoperiod (Feb–Apr) had a significantly later midpoint of sleep (MSFsc) than those born during the decreasing photoperiod (Aug–Oct). A similar pattern was found for the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM). Furthermore, both measures of chronotype demonstrated a significant quadratic function over a 1-yr cycle. When looking at each of six consecutive years separately, the Composite Scale of Morningness suggests a cosine rhythm linked to increasing and decreasing photoperiods that becomes weaker in amplitude with increasing age. Despite the strengths in our study, the effect of photoperiod at birth on chronotype remains small. Future studies may require larger sample sizes, may need to explore how neonatal light exposure modulates chronotype, and may need to track how puberty and adolescent lifestyle habits mask the photoperiod effect. (Author correspondence: vollmer@ph-heidelberg.de)     

肺癌动物模型的制备与应用

肺癌动物模型在研究人类肺癌的诊断和治疗等方面发挥着非常重要的作用。根据制备方法及研究目的的不同,肺癌动物模型可分为自发性、诱发性、移植性和转基因动物模型,每种动物模型都有其特征和应用特点。本文旨在介绍肺癌动物模型的制备方法、应用以及近年来的研究进展。     

以VEGF/VEGFR 为靶点的肺癌治疗药物研究进展

目的:论述以血管内皮生成因子(VEGF)及其受体VEGFR为靶点的肺癌的研究现状,探讨VEGF及VEGFR与肺癌发生及发展的关系,为肺癌抗血管生成的治疗提供新的药物作用途径。方法:依据近年国内外的相关文献,进行归纳和分析,对VEGF及肺癌发生相关系统进行研究,并在此基础上,提出肺癌抗血管治疗的新思路。结果:研究发现,在肺癌的发生及发展过程中,VEGF出现过量表达。为达到抑制其促血管生成的作用,以VEGF/VEGFR为靶点,研制抑制VEGF活性的药物或干扰VEGFR的药物,可在一定程度上实现通过抑制相关抗血管生成治疗肺癌的目的。结论:利用新的抗血管途径有望在肺癌治疗中研发出新药,提高肺癌治疗效果。     

肺癌诊断方法的比较与研究进展

近年来,随着周围环境的恶化,肺癌的发病率最高并且呈现逐年上升的趋势,且其早期表现隐匿,很容易被忽视,很多患者确诊时已属晚期,丧失去了治疗的最佳时机。.本文主要总结和比较了几种传统的肺癌诊断方法如X线片、CT、MRI、PET-CT,并介绍了几种肺癌的最新的诊断技术,比如肺泡灌洗液或血清肿瘤标记物的联合检测、呼出气中的有机化合物的构成分析以及纤维支气管镜镜检技术等。上述方法诊断肺癌的敏感性和特异性各有优势,临床医生在临床工作中应合理应用上述检测方法,必要时联用多种检测手段,尤其要重视支气管肺泡灌洗液癌胚抗原如Cyfra21-1和CEA的联合检测,利用其较高的敏感性以提早发现和诊断肺癌。     

不同剂量右美托咪定对肺癌根治术后认知功能的影响

目的：探讨不同剂量右美托咪定麻醉对肺癌根治术患者术后认知功能的影响。方法：选取我院收治的肺癌根治术患者60 例,根据不同剂量的右美托咪定分为A 组（高剂量）、B组（低剂量组）及C 组（不加右美托咪定）,每组各20 例。比较三组患者治疗 前后超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、丙二醛（MDA）、苏醒时间、拔管时间以及认知功能。结果：三组患者的基线资料及术中情况比较 无差异,P＞0.05;术后SOD 水平呈先降低后升高的趋势,MDA呈先升高后降低的趋势。A组在第三天时SOD值较其他两组高, MDA在第1天与第3 天时较其他两组低,P＜0.05;术后1 天认知程度比较,A 组认知功能较其他两组高,P＜0.05;三组苏醒时间 和拔管时间相比较,A 组明显优于其他两组,P＜0.05。结论：右美托咪定麻醉能够降低氧化应激损伤,影响肺癌根治术患者术后认 知功能,缩短苏醒时间、拔管时间。     

肺癌转移与中医脏象理论相关性分析

目的:分析肺癌转移与中医脏象理论的相关性。方法:回顾性选择我院收治的102例晚期肺癌转移患者为研究对象,统计患者的转移灶所属部位,并参照《中医内科学》对患者的中医临床证候进行判定。分别统计各证型患者肺癌转移的单器官及首发转移器官的分布、肺癌转移各单器官及首发转移器官的证型分布情况。结果:各证型患者肺癌转移的单器官及首发转移器官分布率比较,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。同时,肺癌转移各单器官及首发转移器官的证型分布率比较,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:根据肺癌患者的中医临床证候可判断其病灶转移方向,同时,根据肺癌患者的转移灶所属部位可判断其中医临床证型。     

肺癌发病及骨转移相关因素分析

目的:探讨肺癌发病的可能相关因素。方法:选择87例确诊为肺癌的患者,收集患者的一般资料,临床信息以及诊断和治疗信息,其中伴骨转移者39例。结果:发病年龄平均67.8岁;6例(35.3%)女性患者为吸烟者,58例(97.7%)男性患者有吸烟史。女性吸烟人数及吸烟量增多;咳嗽为最常见的症状;病理组织学男性患者多为鳞癌,女性腺癌多见;Ⅲ和Ⅳ期明显多于Ⅰ期和Ⅱ期。虽然外科手术治疗后可以提高患者生存时间,接受外科手术患者仍较少。骨转移与性别、年龄和放化疗与否无关,与病理类型有关。结论:年龄、吸烟与肺癌发病密切相关,多数患者就诊时为中晚期,多只能接受姑息治疗,早期诊断及其重要。腺癌患者需警惕骨转移。     

肺癌早期诊断的研究进展

大多数肺癌患者在确诊时已属中晚期,5年生存率极低,早期诊断是改善其预后和提高生存率的关键。目前常用的肺癌早期诊断方法包括影像学、内镜和分子生物学技术等。除传统的X线胸片、磁共振（Magnetic Resonance Imaging,MRI）、正电子发射断层显像（Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography,PET-CT）等方法外,近年来逐步应用的高分辨CT（High-ResolutionComputed Tomography,HRCT）、低剂量CT（Low Dose Computed Tomography,LDCT）、自荧光纤维支气管镜（AutomaticFluorescence Bronchoscopy,AFB）、超声支气管内镜（Endo-Bronchial Ultra-Sound,EBUS）、荧光共聚焦显微镜支气管镜（FiberedConfocal Fluorescence Microscopy,FCFM）、细胞内镜（Endocytoscopy,EC）、电磁导航支气管镜（Electromagnetic NavigationBronchoscopy,ENB）、经支气管针吸活检术（Transbronchial Needle Aspiration,TBNA）、呼出气体分析和肿瘤标记物联合检测等,对于肺癌的早期诊断起到了重要作用,明显改善预后。本文就肺癌早期诊断的研究进展进行综述。     

Alcohol consumption and lung cancer risk: A pooled analysis from the International Lung Cancer Consortium and the SYNERGY study

BackgroundThere is inadequate evidence to determine whether there is an effect of alcohol consumption on lung cancer risk. We conducted a pooled analysis of data from the International Lung Cancer Consortium and the SYNERGY study to investigate this possible association by type of beverage with adjustment for other potential confounders.MethodsTwenty one case-control studies and one cohort study with alcohol-intake data obtained from questionnaires were included in this pooled analysis (19,149 cases and 362,340 controls). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) or hazard ratios (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for each measure of alcohol consumption. Effect estimates were combined using random or fixed-effects models where appropriate. Associations were examined for overall lung cancer and by histological type.ResultsWe observed an inverse association between overall risk of lung cancer and consumption of alcoholic beverages compared to non-drinkers, but the association was not monotonic. The lowest risk was observed for persons who consumed 10–19.9 g/day ethanol (OR vs. non-drinkers = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.91), where 1 drink is approximately 12–15 g. This J-shaped association was most prominent for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The association with all lung cancer varied little by type of alcoholic beverage, but there were notable differences for SCC. We observed an association with beer intake (OR for ≥20 g/day vs nondrinker = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.90).ConclusionsWhether the non-monotonic associations we observed or the positive association between beer drinking and squamous cell carcinoma reflect real effects await future analyses and insights about possible biological mechanisms.