Impact of Smoking on the Risk of Pancreatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and objective

Cigarette smoking may increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, although its impact on pancreatitis has only been discerned in recent years. However, the results of previous studies differ. We performed a meta-analysis to provide a quantitative pooled risk estimate of the association of cigarette smoking with pancreatitis.

Method

A literature search of the MEDLINE and Embase databases was conducted, and studies were selected that investigated the association of cigarette smoking with pancreatitis. Summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using a random-effects model.

Results

Twenty-two studies were included. The summary RRs (95% CI) associated with ever, current and former smokers for acute and chronic pancreatitis (AP/CP) were as follows: 1.51 (1.10, 2.07)/3.00 (1.46, 6.17), 1.42 (1.08, 1.87)/2.72 (1.74, 4.24), and 1.22 (0.99, 1.52)/1.27 (1.00, 1.62), respectively. Moreover, studies that analyzed both AP and CP were also summarized: 1.73 (1.18, 2.54) for ever smokers, 1.67 (1.03, 2.68) for current smokers and 1.56 (1.16, 2.11) for former smokers, respectively. There was no evidence of publication bias across the studies.

Conclusion

The evidence suggests a positive association of cigarette smoking with the development of pancreatitis. It is possible that smoking cessation may be a useful strategy for the management of pancreatitis.     

Comprehensive Comparison of Three Different Immunosuppressive Regimens for Liver Transplant Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Steroid-Free Immunosuppression,Induction Immunosuppression and Standard Immunosuppression

The different choices of immunosuppression (IS) regimens influenced the outcomes of liver transplantation. Steroid was applied as a standard IS to prevent and treat rejections. However, steroid-related complications were increasingly prominent. This study compared the efficacy and safety of standard IS regimens with the efficacy and safety of steroid-free IS regimen and induction IS regimen in Chinese liver transplantation recipients for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 329 patients who underwent liver transplantation from January 2008 to December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Three different groups of patients received standard triple-drug IS regimen of steroid, tacrolimus (TAC) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (triple-drug regimen group; n=57), induction-contained IS regimen of basiliximab, steroid, TAC and MMF (BS group; n=241), and induction-contained and steroid-free regimen of basiliximab, TAC and MMF (SF group; n=31), respectively. There were no significant differences in terms of patient, tumor-free and graft survival rates. The acute rejection rate and rejection time were equivalent in different groups. But compared with BS group, higher incidences of biliary complications (11.52% vs. 30.77%, p=0.013) and graft dysfunction (0.48% vs. 13.64%, p=0.003) were observed in SF group. Furthermore, compared with the two groups, incidence of pleural effusion was also higher in SF group (15.79%, 11.96% vs. 45.45%, respectively, both p<0.01). And a trend towards less proportion of De novo diabetes was revealed in SF group. Although it was found that patient, tumor-free and graft survival rates were equivalent among three IS regimens, higher incidences of complications were demonstrated in steroid-free regimen in patients for HCC. These findings suggested that steroid-free IS regimen has no clear advantages in comparison with standard IS regimens for liver transplant recipients with HCC and the postoperative complications should be treated with concentrated attention.     

A Neural Network Model for K(λ) Retrieval and Application to Global K par Monitoring

Accurate estimation of diffuse attenuation coefficients in the visible wavelengths K _d(λ) from remotely sensed data is particularly challenging in global oceanic and coastal waters. The objectives of the present study are to evaluate the applicability of a semi-analytical K _d(λ) retrieval model (SAKM) and Jamet’s neural network model (JNNM), and then develop a new neural network K _d(λ) retrieval model (NNKM). Based on the comparison of K _d(λ) predicted by these models with in situ measurements taken from the global oceanic and coastal waters, all of the NNKM, SAKM, and JNNM models work well in K _d(λ) retrievals, but the NNKM model works more stable and accurate than both SAKM and JNNM models. The near-infrared band-based and shortwave infrared band-based combined model is used to remove the atmospheric effects on MODIS data. The K _d(λ) data was determined from the atmospheric corrected MODIS data using the NNKM, JNNM, and SAKM models. The results show that the NNKM model produces <30% uncertainty in deriving K _d(λ) from global oceanic and coastal waters, which is 4.88-17.18% more accurate than SAKM and JNNM models. Furthermore, we employ an empirical approach to calculate K _par from the NNKM model-derived diffuse attenuation coefficient at visible bands (443, 488, 555, and 667 nm). The results show that our model presents a satisfactory performance in deriving K _par from the global oceanic and coastal waters with 20.2% uncertainty. The K _par are quantified from MODIS data atmospheric correction using our model. Comparing with field measurements, our model produces ~31.0% uncertainty in deriving K _par from Bohai Sea. Finally, the applicability of our model for general oceanographic studies is briefly illuminated by applying it to climatological monthly mean remote sensing reflectance for time ranging from July, 2002- July 2014 at the global scale. The results indicate that the high K _d(λ) and K _par values are usually found around the coastal zones in the high latitude regions, while low K _d(λ) and K _par values are usually found in the open oceans around the low-latitude regions. These results could improve our knowledge about the light field under waters at either the global or basin scales, and be potentially used into general circulation models to estimate the heat flux between atmosphere and ocean.     

HIF-1α Contributes to Proliferation and Invasiveness of Neuroblastoma Cells via SHH Signaling

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) on the proliferation, migration and invasion of neuroblastoma (NB) cells and the mechanisms involved. We here initially used the real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect the expression of HIF-1α and components of the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway in NB cells and human specimens. Subsequently, cell proliferation, migration and invasion were analyzed using the cell counting assay, wound healing assay and Transwell system in two types of human NB cell lines, SH-SY5Y and IMR32. In addition, the role of HIF-1α in NB cells growth was determined in a xenograft nude mouse model. We found that the level of HIF-1α was significantly upregulated during NB progression and was associated with the expression of two components of SHH signaling, SHH and GLI1. We next indicated that the proliferation, migration and invasiveness of SH-SY5Y and IMR32 cells were significantly inhibited by HIF-1α knockdown, which was mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting against its mRNA. Furthermore, the growth of NB cells in vivo was also suppressed by HIF-1α inhibition. Finally, the pro-migration and proliferative effects of HIF-1α could be reversed by disrupting SHH signaling. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that upregulation of HIF-1α in NB promotes proliferation, migration and invasiveness via SHH signaling.     

海南尖峰岭热带山地雨林60ha动态监测样地群落结构特征

热带山地雨林是海南岛最占优势的植被类型,以往对热带山地雨林的研究通常基于小尺度,缺乏大尺度上的长期固定样地监测。作者基于海南岛尖峰岭地区60 ha(1,000 m×600 m)植被动态监测大样地,详细描述了该样地所属典型热带山地雨林的群落结构特征,以期为更深入地揭示我国热带雨林地区的物种多样性及其维持机制提供背景资料。尖峰岭大样地20 m×20 m样方水平上海拔和坡度分别在866.3–1,016.7 m和1.7°–49.3°间变化。大样地内共记录到439,676株存活的胸径≥1.0 cm的乔灌木植株,除61个植株未确定种名外,其他分属于62科155属290种。单位面积植株密度为0.7328株/m2(含萌条和分枝),20 m×20 m尺度上单位面积物种数量为32–120种,平均80种。植物属区系成分以热带性质为主,共有136属,占总属数的88.3%;另有鼠李科鼠李属(Rhamnus)为世界分布,木兰科拟单性木兰属(Parakmeria)为中国特有分布。按物种重要值排序,大样地内最具优势(重要值大于2.0)的6个种分别为:大叶蒲葵(Livistona saribus)、白颜树(Gironniera subaequalis)、厚壳桂(Cryptocarya chinensis)、油丹(Alseodaphne hainanensis)、四蕊三角瓣花(Prismatomeris tetrandra)和海南韶子(Nephelium topengii)。优势科为樟科、壳斗科、茜草科和棕榈科,重要值均超过了5.0。取样面积达到7.5 ha或取样数量达到2万株时,计数到的物种数量达到261种,占总物种数量的90.0%。大样地内稀有种和偶见种各占所有物种的20.7%和37.6%。样地内所有个体平均胸径5.22 cm,植株径级分布呈明显的倒"J"形。本文为后续尖峰岭大样地的研究提供了背景资料,尖峰岭大样地的建立也为热带地区生物多样性长期变化监测提供了一个基础平台。     

The microRNA miR-17 regulates lung FoxA1 expression during lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe pulmonary disease that causes a high number of fatalities worldwide. Studies have shown that FoxA1 expression is upregulated during ALI and may play an important role in ALI by promoting the apoptosis of alveolar type II epithelial cells. However, the mechanism of FoxA1 overexpression in ALI is unclear. In this study, an in vivo murine model of ALI and alveolar type II epithelial cells injury was induced using lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS upregulated FoxA1 in the lung tissue of the in vivo ALI model and in LPS-challenged type II epithelial cells. In contrast, miR-17 was significantly downregulated in these models. After miR-17 antagomir injection, the expression of FoxA1 was significantly increased in ALI mice. MiR-17 mimics could significantly inhibit FoxA1 mRNA and protein expression, whereas the miR-17 inhibitor could significantly increase FoxA1 mRNA and protein expression in LPS-induced type II epithelial cells. Thus, our results suggest that the downregulation of miR-17 expression could lead to FoxA1 overexpression in ALI.     

Conservation and development through medicinal plants: a case study from Ludian (Northwest Yunnan,China) and presentation of a general model

A model for community-based conservation and development is presented, potentially applicable wherever communities rely on locally collected medicinal plants. The motivational foundation for conservation offered by these plants relates to people’s interests in health support, financial income and cultural identity. The model is based on experiences in the Medicinal Plants Conservation Initiative, a four-year programme (2005–2008) of Plantlife International with national partners, involving 14 projects in 8 countries in East Africa and the Himalayas. All projects provide evidence on the question “How best can communities conserve their medicinal plants?”. One of the projects (in China) is described to illustrate the types of evidence offered by the projects. The model consists of three social elements (community groups, project teams, policy makers), the relationships between them, and types of activity suggested for each group. Not all types of activity are relevant in all contexts. It is suggested that faith-based organisations, women’s associations and indigenous people’s groups are often well placed to take the model forward in terms of practical application at the landscape scale. The (on-going) project in China is at Ludian, a Naxi community in Northwest Yunnan. There is a secondary project site at Yongzhi, a Tibetan and Lisu village. The Ludian project is notable within the modern Chinese context for establishment of the first community group concerned specifically with the conservation of medicinal plants and the first community protected areas for medicinal plants.     

淡紫拟青霉胞外多糖的分离、纯化及结构分析

淡紫拟青霉NH-PL-03菌株的胞外多糖粗提物对枯萎病病原菌-尖孢镰刀菌具有较好的抑制效果,文中对淡紫拟青霉胞外多糖进行了分离纯化和结构分析,以期为其构效关系研究奠定基础。采用乙醇沉淀法从淡紫拟青霉发酵液中提取粗多糖,经Sevage法脱蛋白后,过Superdex-G75凝胶层析柱分离得到胞外多糖EP-1。紫外分光法和Sephacryl S-200 HR凝胶层析柱检测EP-1为均一多糖,Sephacryl S-200柱层析测得EP-1的分子量为35.2 kDa,完全酸水解后纸层析检测EP-1的单糖组成中仅有葡萄糖,红外光谱、高碘酸氧化和Smith降解结果表明EP-1的化学结构是以β-(1,3)糖苷键连接而成的无分枝的葡聚糖。刚果红络合试验表明EP-1在稀的碱溶液中以3股螺旋构象存在。     

先天性尿道下裂的矫治(附1 000例报告)

目的:总结先天性尿道下裂的矫治经验.方法:尿道下裂患者1000例,年龄1～26岁,平均4岁.冠状沟型118例,阴茎体型593例.阴茎阴囊型189例,会阴型100例.791例采用尿道板切开卷管成形法(TIP),117例采用Duckett+Duplay术,92例采用二期手术,一期行阴茎伸直及皮辩转移,二期行尿道成形术(TIP).术中遵循微创原则,使用显微器械,尽量保留原有的正常组织结构.结果:随访6月至2年,TIP术741例手术一次成功,Duckett+Duplay术99例一次成功,分期手术二期成功86例.并发尿道皮肤瘘51例,尿道狭窄17例,尿道憩室6例,均经再次手术治愈.结论:尿道下裂矫治手术中,首先保留尿道板手术,并发症少,成功率高,值得推广,阴茎严重弯曲者或重度尿道下裂患者可选Duckett+Duplay术或者分期手术.