Activity

Whether leptin and adiponectin are independently associated with regional body fat distribution was investigated in a prospective study of Japanese Americans.

Nondiabetic participants 39 to 79 years of age were followed for 5 years to assess change in body composition. Leptin and adiponectin concentrations were evaluated at baseline and by single-slice computed tomography measurements of intra-abdominal fat (IAF), abdominal subcutaneous fat (SCF), and thigh SCF cross-sectional areas at baseline and at 5 years.

Ninety-six men and ninety-five women without diabetes had the following baseline mean (SD) values age 45.7 (3.5) years and 46.4 (3.9) years, IAF 78.7 (38.6) cm

and 62.1 (39.0) cm

, leptin concentration 4.5 (2.3) μg/L and 10.2 (5.2) μg/L, and adiponectin concentration 7.4 (3.2) μg/mL and 10.8 (4.7) μg/mL, respectively. Baseline leptin (β = 1.7722, P = 0.014) and adiponectin concentrations (β = -0.4162, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with IAF change over 5 years in multivariable models adjusting for age, sex, diabetes family history, weight change over 5 years, and baseline measurements of BMI, IAF, abdominal SCF, waist circumference, thigh fat, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance.

In nondiabetic Japanese Americans, a higher concentration of leptin was associated with greater accumulation of IAF and a higher concentration of adiponectin with lesser accumulation of IAF over 5 years.

In nondiabetic Japanese Americans, a higher concentration of leptin was associated with greater accumulation of IAF and a higher concentration of adiponectin with lesser accumulation of IAF over 5 years.Liver fibrogenesis is a complex scar-forming process in the liver. We suggested that the liver first responded to chronic injuries with gradual changes, then reached the critical state and ultimately resulted in cirrhosis rapidly. This study aimed to identify the tipping point and key molecules driving liver fibrosis progression. Mice model of liver fibrosis was induced by thioacetamide (TAA), and liver tissues were collected at different time-points post-TAA administration. By dynamic network biomarker (DNB) analysis on the time series of liver transcriptomes, the week 9 post-TAA treatment (pathologically relevant to bridging fibrosis) was identified as the tipping point just before the significant fibrosis transition, with 153 DNB genes as key driving factors. The DNB genes were functionally enriched in fibrosis-associated pathways, in particular, in the top-ranked DNB genes, Tgfb3 negatively regulated Mmp13 in the interaction path and they formed a bistable switching system from a dynamical perspective. In the in vitro study, Tgfb3 promoted fibrogenic genes and down-regulate Mmp13 gene transcription in an immortalized mouse HSC line JS1 and a human HSC line LX-2. The presence of a tipping point during liver fibrogenesis driven by DNB genes marks not only the initiation of significant fibrogenesis but also the repression of the scar resolution.

To assess the relationship between MOV10 rs2932538 polymorphism and susceptibility to preeclampsia (PE) in the Chinese Han population and to investigate whether the placental expression of MOV10 have association with PE.

We enrolled 1021 pregnant women with PE and 1594 normotensive pregnant women to analyze genotyping of MOV10 rs2932538. Clinical data and related test results of all subjects were collected and analyzed. For volunteers providing placentas, real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry were applied to assess the expression level of MOV10.

There was significant statistical difference between preeclamptic patients and healthy subjects in genotype distributions and alleles. AS1517499 order The frequencies of genotypes TT+CT were significantly associated with the increased risk of preeclampsia. Besides, T alleles were found to be related to a higher risk of PE. Significant statistical difference was also observed on distributions of genotype in PE without/with severe features group compared or early onset/late onset versus controls. The placental expression of MOV10 was lower in preeclamptic women, however, no relationship was found between MOV10 expression level and MOV10 rs2932538 genotypes.

This study suggests that MOV10 rs2932538 polymorphism may be associated with PE susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. The placental expression of MOV10 decrease in PE but have no relationship with rs2932538 polymorphism.

This study suggests that MOV10 rs2932538 polymorphism may be associated with PE susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. The placental expression of MOV10 decrease in PE but have no relationship with rs2932538 polymorphism.

We evaluated how the Severe Acute Respiratory disease from Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic impacted transfusion services, transfusion support required by Covid-19 patients and their clinical outcome.

In Italy, the first confirmed case of SARS-CoV-2 infection was registered on 21 February 2020. As of 20 April, about 250 000 cases were registered, 1143 of which were in the province of Pescara.

We compared transfusion services provided by the blood centre of Pescara between 1 March and 20 April 2019 and between 1 March and 20 April 2020. We assessed the number and type of blood components donated, those transfused in the various hospital departments and those transfused to Covid-19 patients.

Compared to 2019, we documented a decrease of 32% in the number of donations. The number of transfusions increased by 139% in the infectious diseases department (IDD), dedicated to Covid-19 patients, and by 76% in the intensive care unit (ICU), whereas it markedly decreased in the other departments. Of 299 patients with Covid-19, 60 were transfused (20.1%). Transfused patients in the ICU were significantly younger than those in IDD and had a lower number of lymphocytes, lower post-transfusion increment of haemoglobin levels and higher D-dimer and C reactive protein values. Mortality rate was 60.7% among transfused patients in the ICU and 39.0% among those in the IDD (p = 0.02).

The Covid-19 epidemic had a profound impact on transfusion activities. The important blood demand for Covid-19 patients was satisfied because of the reduction in activities in other hospital wards. Covid-19-positive transfused patients showed a very poor prognosis.

The Covid-19 epidemic had a profound impact on transfusion activities. The important blood demand for Covid-19 patients was satisfied because of the reduction in activities in other hospital wards. Covid-19-positive transfused patients showed a very poor prognosis.