No relevant studies have yet been conducted to explore which measurement can best predict the survival time of patients with cancer cachexia. This study aimed to identify an anthropometric measurement that could predict the 1-year survival of patients with cancer cachexia. We conducted a nested case–control study using data from a multicentre clinical investigation of cancer from 2013 to 2020. Cachexia was defined using the Fearon criteria. A total of 262 patients who survived less than 1 year and 262 patients who survived more than 1 year were included in this study. Six candidate variables were selected based on clinical experience and previous studies. Five variables, BMI, mid-arm circumference, mid-arm muscle circumference, calf circumference and triceps skin fold (TSF), were selected for inclusion in the multivariable model. In the conditional logistic regression analysis, TSF (P = 0·014) was identified as a significant independent protective factor. A similar result was observed in all patients with cancer cachexia (n 3084). In addition, a significantly stronger positive association between TSF and the 1-year survival of patients with cancer cachexia was observed in participants aged > 65 years (OR: 0·94; 95 % CI 0·89, 0·99) than in those aged ≤ 65 years (OR: 0·96; 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99; Pinteraction = 0·013) and in participants with no chronic disease (OR: 0·92; 95 % CI 0·87, 0·97) than in those with chronic disease (OR: 0·97; 95 % CI 0·94, 1·00; Pinteraction = 0·049). According to this study, TSF might be a good anthropometric measurement for predicting 1-year survival in patients with cancer cachexia.

A carbohydrate-rich diet results in hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia; it may further induce the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer. However, epidemiological evidence among Chinese population is quite limited. The aim of this study was to investigate total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, total fibre, starch, dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) in relation to colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population. A case–control study was conducted from July 2010 to April 2017, recruiting 1944 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 2027 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Dietary information was collected by using a validated FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. There was no clear association between total carbohydrate intake and colorectal cancer risk. The adjusted OR was 0·85 (95 % CI 0·70, 1·03, Ptrend=0·08) comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. Total fibre was related to a 53 % reduction in colorectal cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 0·47; 95 % CI 0·39, 0·58). However, dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, with an adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 of 3·10 (95 % CI 2·51, 3·85). No significant association was found between the intakes of non-fibre carbohydrate, starch and dietary GL and colorectal cancer risk. This study indicated that dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, but no evidence supported that total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, starch or high dietary GL intake were related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

In north-central China, subsistence practices transitioned from hunting and gathering to millet-based agriculture between the early and middle Holocene. To better understand how ancient environmental changes influenced this shift in subsistence strategies and human activities at regional to local levels, we conducted palynological and lithologic analyses on radiocarbon-dated sediment cores from the Luoyang Basin, western Henan Province. Our palynological results suggest that vegetation shifted from broad-leaved deciduous forest (9230–8850 cal yr BP) to steppe-meadow vegetation (8850–7550 cal yr BP), and then to steppe with sparse trees (7550–6920 cal yr BP). Lithologic analyses also indicate that the stabilization of the Luoyang Basin’s floodplain after ~8370 cal yr BP might have attracted people to move into the basin, promoting the emergence of millet-based agriculture during the Peiligang culture period (8500–7000 cal yr BP). Once agricultural practices emerged, the climatic optimum after ~7550 cal yr BP likely facilitated the expansion of the Yangshao culture (7000–5000 cal yr BP) in north-central China. As agriculture intensified, pollen taxa related to human disturbance, such as Urtica, increased in abundance.

We investigate the cytoprotective effects and the molecular mechanism of genistein in oxidative stress-induced injury using an endothelial cell line (EA.hy926). An oxidative stress model was established by incubating endothelial cells with H2O2. According to the present results, genistein pretreatment protected endothelial cells against H2O2-induced decreases in cell viability and increases in apoptosis. Genistein also prevented the inhibition of B-cell lymphoma 2 and the activation of caspase-3 induced by H2O2. Genistein increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) levels and attenuated the decrease in these antioxidants during oxidative stress. We also found that genistein induced the promoter activity of both nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and PPARγ. Additionally, genistein induced the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and PPARγ. While genistein caused the up-regulation of both Nrf2 and PPARγ, it also activated and up-regulated the protein expression and transcription of a downstream protein, haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Moreover, the use of Nrf2 small interfering RNA transfection and HO-1- or PPARγ-specific antagonists (Znpp and GW9662, respectively) blocked the protective effects of genistein on endothelial cell viability during oxidative stress. Therefore, we conclude that oxidative stress-induced endothelial cell injury can be attenuated by treatment with genistein, which functions via the regulation of the Nrf2 and PPARγ signalling pathway. Additionally, the endogenous antioxidants SOD, CAT and GSH appear to play a role in the antioxidant activity of genistein. The present findings suggest that the beneficial effects of genistein involving the activation of cytoprotective antioxidant genes may represent a novel strategy in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular endothelial damage.

There is increasing evidence to show that 2-cell stage mouse blastomeres have differing developmental properties. Additionally, it has been suggested that such a difference might be due to their distribution of mRNA and/or protein asymmetry. However, to date, the exact genes that are involved in the orientation and order of blastomere division are not known. In this study, some differentially expressed transcripts were identified. Axin1, cell division cycle 25 homolog C (Cdc25c) and cyclin-dependent inhibitor 2D (Cdkn2d) were selected for validation by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on published data. Our real-time PCR results demonstrated that Axin1, Cdc25c and Cdkn2d genes had different levels of expression among blastomeres of the mouse 2-cell embryo i.e. the level of Axin1 mRNA was significantly higher in one blastomere when compared with the other blastomeres of the 2-cell embryo (p < 0.05). The variation in Cdc25c (p < 0.05) and Cdkn2d (p < 0.01) mRNA expression followed a similar trend to that of Axin1. In addition, the highest levels of expression of these three genes were detected in the same blastomere in the 2-cell embryo. We confirmed that there was an asymmetrical distribution pattern for Axin1, Cdc25c and Cdkn2d transcripts in 2-cell embryos. In conclusion, this study demonstrated clearly that there is embryonic asymmetry at the 2-cell stage and that these differentially expressed genes may result in differentiation in expression in embryo development.

After seven generations of self-crossing assisted by β-glucuronidase (GUS) detection, 26 homozygous transgenic rice lines were obtained. Transgene effects on iron content, agronomic traits, rice quality and stress tolerance were studied. The results indicated that the average iron content in the milled grain of the transgenic (pea ferritin, Fer) rice (Oryza sativa) was 10.37 μg/g among all the homozygous lines, and only four lines (Fer34, Fer36, Fer39 and Fer65) had significantly higher iron contents than that of the control, Xiushui11 (6.46 μg/g). Significant differences in main agronomic traits, such as days from sowing to heading, plant height, main panicle length, total grains of main panicle, seed setting rate, 1000-grain weight, and yield per plant were observed among some homozygous lines, but similar flag leaf length and number of panicles per plant were found. This showed that insertion of the foreign gene (Fer) had a slight impact on the main agronomic traits, but that the transgene had no negative effects. The quality traits of homozygous rice lines, such as the percentage of brown rice, milled rice and full milled rice, grain length, grain width, ratio of grain length and width, and amylose content were all similar to those of the control. However, variations were noticed in chalkiness, translucency, alkali spreading value and gel consistency among partial homozygous lines. Responses of homozygous lines to low and high temperatures were not significantly correlated with the iron contents, and resistance to rice blast (Pyricularia oryzae), bacterial blight (Xanthomonas oryzae) and brown planthopper (Niaparvata lugens) were enhanced with increased iron contents.

To increase our understanding of the relationships of trunk fat mass (FMtrunk) and four anthropometric indices in Chinese males, 1090 males aged 20–40 years were randomly recruited from the city of Changsha, China. Waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured using standardized equipment, and three other anthropometric indices of BMI, waist:hip ratio (WHR) and conicity index (CoI) were calculated using weight, height, HC and WC. FMtrunk (in kg) was measured using a Hologic QDR 4500 W dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanner. There was an increasing trend of FMtrunk, %FMtrunk (percentage of FMtrunk) and BMI, WC, WHR, CoI in successively older age groups (e.g. the mean FMtrunk values were 4·63 (sd 2·58), 5·39 (sd 2·74), 5·93 (sd 2·82), 6·57 (sd 2·94) in four 5-year age groups, respectively). FMtrunk and %FMtrunk were significantly correlated with four anthropometric indices with the Pearson's correlation coefficients ranging from 0·25 to 0·86. Principal component analysis was performed to form three principal components that interpreted over 99·5% of the total variation of four related anthropometric indices in all age groups, with over 65% of the total variation accounted by principal component 1. Multiple regression analyses showed that three principal components explained a greater variance (R2 70·0–80·1%) in FMtrunk than did BMI or WC alone (R2 57·8–74·1%). The present results suggest that there is an increasing trend of FMtrunk and four anthropometric indices in successively older age groups; that age has important effects on the relationships of FMtrunk and studied anthropometric indices; and that the accuracy of predicting FMtrunk using four anthropometric indices is higher than using BMI or WC alone.