[Epidemiological investigation of iron deficiency among preschool children in 10 provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities in China]

Objective: To understand the current status of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron-deficiency anemia among preschool children in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a multi-stage stratified sampling method to select 150 streets or townships from 10 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities (East: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hainan; Central: Henan; West: Chongqing, Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Xinjiang; Northeast: Liaoning). From May 2022 to April 2023, a total of 21 470 children, including community-based children aged 0.5 to<3.0 years receiving child health care and kindergarten-based children aged 3.0 to<7.0 years, were surveyed. They were divided into 3 age groups: infants (0.5 to<1.0 year), toddlers (1.0 to<3.0 years), and preschoolers (3.0 to<7.0 years). Basic information such as sex and date of birth of the children was collected, and peripheral blood samples were obtained for routine blood tests and serum ferritin measurement. The prevalence rates of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron-deficiency anemia were analyzed, and the prevalence rate differences were compared among different ages, sex, urban and rural areas, and regions using the chi-square test. Results: A total of 21 460 valid responses were collected, including 10 780 boys (50.2%). The number of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were 2 645 (12.3%), 6 244 (29.1%), and 12 571 (58.6%), respectively. The hemoglobin level was (126.7±14.8) g/L, and the serum ferritin level was 32.3 (18.5, 50.1) μg/L. The overall rates of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron-deficiency anemia were 10.4% (2 230/21 460), 28.3% (6 070/21 460), and 3.9% (845/21 460), respectively. The prevalence rate of anemia was higher for boys than for girls (10.9% (1 173/10 780) vs. 9.9% (1 057/10 680), χ2=5.58, P=0.018), with statistically significant differences in the rates for infants, toddlers and preschoolers (18.0% (475/2 645), 10.6% (662/6 244), and 8.7% (1 093/12 571), respectively, χ2=201.81, P<0.01), and the rate was significantly higher for children in rural than that in urban area (11.8% (1 516/12 883) vs. 8.3% (714/8 577), χ2=65.54, P<0.01), with statistically significant differences in the rates by region (χ2=126.60, P<0.01), with the highest rate of 15.8% (343/2 173) for children in Central region, and the lowest rate of 5.3% (108/2 053) in Northeastern region. The prevalence rates of iron deficiency were 33.8% (895/2 645), 32.2% (2 011/6 244), and 25.2% (3 164/12 571) in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, respectively, and 30.0% (3 229/10 780) in boys vs. 26.6% (2 841/10 680) in girls, 21.7% (1 913/8 821), 40.0% (870/2 173), 27.1% (2 283/8 413), 48.9% (1 004/2 053) in Eastern, Central, Western, and Northeastern regions, respectively, and each between-group showed a significant statistical difference (χ2=147.71, 29.73, 773.02, all P<0.01). The prevalence rate of iron-deficiency anemia showed a significant statistical difference between urban and rural areas, 2.9% (251/8 577) vs. 4.6% (594/12 883) (χ2=38.62, P<0.01), while the difference in iron deficiency prevalence was not significant (χ2=0.51, P=0.476). Conclusions: There has been a notable improvement in iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia among preschool children in China, but the situation remains concerning. Particular attention should be paid to the prevention and control of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia, especially among infants and children in the Central, Western, and Northeastern regions of China.

Tp47-Induced Monocyte-Derived Microvesicles Promote the Adherence of THP-1 Cells to Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells via an ERK1/2-NF-κB Signaling Cascade

The Treponema pallidum membrane protein Tp47 induces immunocyte adherence to vascular cells and contributes to vascular inflammation. However, it is unclear whether microvesicles are functional inflammatory mediators between vascular cells and immunocytes. Microvesicles that were isolated from Tp47-treated THP-1 cells using differential centrifugation were subjected to adherence assays to determine the adhesion-promoting effect on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) levels in Tp47-induced microvesicle (Tp47-microvesicle)-treated HUVECs were measured, and the related intracellular signaling pathways of Tp47-microvesicle-induced monocyte adhesion were investigated. Tp47-microvesicles promoted THP-1 cell adhesion to HUVECs (P < 0.01) and upregulated ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression in HUVECs (P < 0.001). The adhesion of THP-1 cells to HUVECs was inhibited by anti-ICAM-1 and anti-VCAM-1 neutralizing antibodies. Tp47-microvesicle treatment of HUVECs activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and NF-κB signaling pathways, whereas ERK1/2 and NF-κB inhibition suppressed the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and significantly decreased the adhesion of THP-1 cells to HUVECs. IMPORTANCE Tp47-microvesicles promote the adhesion of THP-1 cells to HUVECs through the upregulation of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression, which is mediated by the activation of the ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways. These findings provide insight into the pathophysiology of syphilitic vascular inflammation.

[Phonological processes in initial consonants of Putonghua in children in Jiangsu urban areas]

Objective: To explore the phonological processes in initial consonants of Putonghua-speaking children in Jiangsu urban areas. Methods: A status survey was applied. From December 2014 to September 2015, a stratified random sampling method was used to select 958 children aged 1 to 6 years with Putonghua as their mother tongue in the urban area of Nanjing, Changzhou, Yangzhou and Xuzhou to examine their phonological performance. Speech samples were collected by the method of picture naming. The children were divided into 9 age groups (1.5-<2.0, 2.0-<2.5, 2.5-<3.0, 2.5-<3.0, 3.0-<3.5, 3.5-<4.0, 4.0-<4.5, 5.0-<6.0, 6.0-<7.0 years). Descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the phonological processes in initial consonants at different age groups. Results: Among the 958 children, there were 482 boys and 476 girls. The age of the children was (3.8±1.4) years. The number of children in the 9 age groups (1.5-<2.0, 2.0-<2.5, 2.5-<3.0, 2.5-<3.0, 3.0-<3.5, 3.5-<4.0, 4.0-<4.5, 5.0-<6.0, 6.0-<7.0 years) is 100, 110, 110, 114, 114, 114, 111, 119, and 66, separately. The process of substitution was found in the speech of 701 children (73.2%), syllable structure simplification was found in 194 children (20.3%), distortion was found in 41 children (4.3%), and assimilation was found in 17 children (1.8%). Among these 4 types of processes, the occurrence of substitution was highest in all the age groups, ranging from 30.3% (20/66) to 94.5% (104/110). The occurrence of syllable structure simplification ranged from 27.3% (30/110) to 91.0% (91/100) in the age groups of 1.5-<3.0 years and 0.9% (1/114) to 7.9% (9/114) in the age groups of 3.0-<7.0 years. The occurrence of distortion ranged from 7.3% (8/110) to 19.1% (21/110) in the age groups of 1.5-<3.0 years and 0 (0/114) to 2.7% (3/111) in the age groups of 3.0-<7.0 years. The occurrence of assimilation was very low in all age groups, ranging from 0 (0/114) to 3.0% (3/100) among all age groups. For substitution, the occurrence order of mainly individual processes from high to low was listed as follows: retroflexion 35.4% (339/958), deretroflexion 31.6% (303/958), lateralization 27.9% (267/958), stopping 17.8% (171/958), backing 14.2% (136/958), palatalization 10.9% (104/958), fronting 10.6% (102/958), and nasalization 5.8% (56/958). From the 4.0-<4.5 years of age group onwards, the phonological processes in initial consonants all met suppression criteria (the occurrence of processes was reduced to<10%) except retroflexion, deretroflexion, and lateralization. Conclusions: The processes of syllable structure simplification and distortion mainly appears in the early stage of speech sound development, while substitution is the major form of phonological pattern in initial consonants found in developmental speech errors. By 4 years of age, phonological processes in initial consonants almost disappear. The remaining processes that persisted for a longer period of time are retroflexion, deretroflexion, and lateralization.

[Survey on the stunting of children under seven years of age in nine cities of China]

Objective: To survey the children under 7 years of age in nine cities of China for a better understanding of the current situation of childhood stunting. Methods: According to a stratified cluster sampling design, a cross-sectional survey on children under 7 years of age was carried out in 9 cities (Beijing, Harbin and Xi'an in northern China; Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan in central China; and Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Kunming in southern China) from June to November in 2016. A total of 110 499 children were recruited. Height of children was evaluated using the growth standards for Chinese children (2009 edition) .Children with height less than the 3rd percentile of the growth standards were considered as stunting, and children with height between the 3rd and 10th percentiles of the growth standards were considered as relatively short stature. Chi-square test was used for comparison between data of boys and girls, urban and suburban, as well as among different ages and regions. Results: Totally 113 084 children under 7 years of age should be investigated and actually 110 499 children were investigated, with a rate of 97.7%. The prevalence of stunting was 1.9% (2 141/110 499) among all the children. The prevalence of stunting in urban children (1.6%, 904/55 524) was lower than that in suburban children (2.3%, 1 237/54 975, χ(2)=56.246, P<0.01). The gender difference in stunting prevalence was not statistically significant (1.9% (1 121/57 921) in boys and 1.9% (1 020/52 578) in girls, χ(2)=0.003, P=0.965). The prevalence of stunting decreased with age for children younger than 3 years, from 1.8% (312/17 080) in 0-<1 year of age group to 1.2% (168/13 740) in 2-<3 years of age group, but increased to 2.2% (240/11 073) at 6-<7 years group. Comparison among different regions showed that the stunting prevalence in southern region was higher than those in the central and northern regions (0.9% (193/20 374) in northern urban, 0.8% (154/18 486) in central urban, and 3.3% (557/16 664) in southern urban children), showing a statistical significance (χ(2)=437.736, P<0.01); 1.1% (241/21 924) in northern suburban, 1.4% (227/16 775) in central suburban and 4.7% (769/16 276) in southern suburban children, showing a statistical significance (χ(2)=646.533, P<0.01). In urban areas, the difference between the central and northern regions showed no statistical significance (χ(2)=1.429, P=0.232) and the stunting prevalence of central Chinese children was slightly higher than that of northern Chinese children in suburban areas (χ(2)=5.130, P=0.024). Among the nine cities, the stunting prevalence of Guangzhou (6.1%, 613/10 019) was higher than those of other cities (χ(2)=1 559.64, P<0.01). Among the stunting children, 78.4% (1 679/2 141) were classified as borderline or mild and only 7.2% (154/2 141) were classified as severe. The prevalence of relatively short stature was 5.2% (5 721/110 499). Conclusions: The prevalence of stunting among children under 7 years of age in nine cities of China is low and most of the stunting children were classified as mild; the prevalence of stunting in suburban children is higher than that in urban children; the gender difference show no statistical significance; and the prevalence of stunting in southern Chinese children is higher than those in central and northern Chinese children.

Over-expression of NYGGF4 (PID1) inhibits glucose transport in skeletal myotubes by blocking the IRS1/PI3K/AKT insulin pathway

INTRODUCTION

Defects in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in muscle are the important early events in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. NYGGF4 (also named PID1) is a recently discovered gene which is suggested to be associated with obesity-associated insulin resistance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of NYGGF4 on glucose uptake and insulin signaling in rat skeletal muscle cells.

METHODS

Rat L6 myoblasts were transfected with either an empty vector or an NYGGF4-expressing vector and induced to differentiate into mature L6 skeletal myotubes. Glucose uptake was determined by measuring uptake of 2-deoxy-d-[(3)H] glucose. Immunoblotting was performed to detect the translocation of insulin-sensitive glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). Immunoblotting was also used to measure phosphorylation and total protein levels of the insulin signaling proteins including insulin receptor (IR), insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), p38, and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK).

RESULTS

NYGGF4 over-expression in L6 skeletal myotubes reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and impaired insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. It also diminished insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS1 and serine phosphorylation of Akt without affecting the phosphorylation of IR, ERK1/2, p38, or JNK.

CONCLUSIONS

Over-expression of NYGGF4 inhibits glucose transport in skeletal myotubes by blocking the IRS1/PI3K/AKT insulin pathway. These observations highlight the potential role of NYGGF4 in glucose homeostasis and the development of insulin resistance in obesity.

Toward designed assembly of microporous coordination networks constructed from silver(I)-hexamethylenetetramine layers

Eight interesting microporous networks based on 2-D [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)] (hmt = hexamethylenetetramine) layers were obtained via rational synthetic strategies. Out of these products isolated and structurally characterized, six present a metal-to-hmt molar ratio of 1:1 and contain 2-D coordination layers assembled by 2-D Ag(I)-hmt networks with aromatic monocarboxylates, which are [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(p-nba)].2.5H(2)O (1), [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(m-nba)].2.5H(2)O (2), [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(dnba)] (3), [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(alpha-hna)](EtOH) (4), [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(beta-hna)](EtOH) (5), and [Ag(mu(3)-hmt)(noa)](H(2)O)(EtOH) (6) (p-nba = 4-nitrobenzoate, m-nba = 3-nitrobenzoate, dnba = 3,5-dinitrobenzoate, alpha-hna = 1-hydroxy-2-naphthate, beta-hna = 3-hydroxy-2-naphthate, and noa = 2-naphthoxyacetate), and two present a metal-to-hmt molar ratio of 2:1 and contain 3-D microporous networks constructed from the 2-D Ag-hmt layers and linear dicarboxylates as molecular pillars, which are [Ag(2)(mu(3)-hmt)(2)(fa)].4H(2)O (7) and [Ag(2)(mu(3)-hmt)(2)(adp)].8H(2)O (8) (fa = fumarate and adp = adipate). The result shows that the pore sizes may be tuned with different carboxylates. Gas adsorption measurements were performed to confirm the microporosity of these coordination open frameworks.

Self-assembly of two- and three-dimensional coordination networks with hexamethylenetetramine and different silver(I) salts

Interesting two-dimensional networks with square or hexagonal cavities, and three-dimensional networks with different channels, have been obtained by varying the counterions, the molar ratio of metal to hmt (hmt = hexamethylenetetramine) and the pH values of the initial solutions. Among the eleven products isolated and structurally characterized, two have a metal-to-hmt molar ratio of 2:1 and are the first examples of Ag-hmt square networks, namely [Ag2(mu4-hmt)(NO2)2] (1) and [Ag2(mu4-hmt)(SO4)(H2O)].4H2O (2), two have a metal-to-hmt molar ratio of 1:1 and are 2-D networks with hexagonal cavities, namely [Ag(micro3-hmt)(NO2)] (3) and [Ag2(micro3-hmt)2](S2O6).2H2O (4), and seven present the metal-to-hmt molar ratios of 3:1, 2:1, 3:2, or 4:3 and are 3-D networks of novel topologies and with different channels, namely [Ag2(mu4-hmt)(micro4-ox)] (5), [Ag3(micro4-hmt)2(H2O)2](SO4)(HSO4). 2H2O (6), [Ag2(mu4-hmt)(mu2-O2CMe)](MeCO2).4.5 H2O (7), [Ag2(mu4-hmt)(mu3-maleate)].5H2O (8), [Ag3(mu4-hmt)(mu2-O2CPh)3] (9), [Ag4(mu4-hmt)3(H2O)](SO4)(NO3)2.3H2O (10), and [Ag12(mu4-hmt)6(mu3-HPO4)(mu2-H2PO4)3(H2PO4)7(H2O)](H3PO4).10.5H2O (11).

Inclusion of 4,4'-Bipyridine (γbpy) in Its Copper(II) Aqua Perchlorato Complex. Crystal Structure of [Cu( γbpy )(H2O)2(ClO4)2]n.( γbpy )n

An example of a 4,4'-bipyridine ( γbpy ) clathrate in its copper(II) complex has been established. The compound, [Cu( γbpy )(H2O)2(ClO4)2]n.( γbpy )n, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a 16.651(3), b 11.089(2), c 14.360(3) Ǻ, β 116.45(3)°, V 2373.9(8)Ǻ3. The crystal structure comprises γbpy -bridged linear polymeric [Cu( γbpy )(H2O)2(ClO4)2]n chains, where the copper atom, located on a crystallographic twofold axis, is coordinated in an elongated octahedral environment by two nitrogen atoms of the bridging γbpy ligands (Cu-N 1.998(4)Ǻ) and two water molecules (Cu-O 1.968(3)Ǻ) at the equatorial positions, and two perchlorate oxygen atoms at the axial positions (Cu-O 2.414(4)Ǻ). The chains are interconnected by hydrogen bonds between the aqua ligands and the uncoordinated perchlorate oxygen atoms to form two-dimensional layers with cavities each enclosing a γbpy molecule. Hydrogen bonding between the aqua ligands and the nitrogen atoms of the solvate γbpy molecules further extends the structure into a three-dimensional network in the solid.