Subcutaneous fat thickness and abdominal depth are risk factors for surgical site infection after gastric cancer surgery

BACKGROUND Surgical site infection(SSI)is one of the most common complications after gastric cancer(GC)surgery.The occurrence of SSI can lead to a prolonged postoperative hospital stay and increased medical expenses,and it can also affect postoperative rehabilitation and the quality of life of patients.Subcutaneous fat thickness(SFT)and abdominal depth(AD)can be used as predictors of SSI in patients undergoing radical resection of GC.AIM To explore the potential relationship between SFT or AD and SSI in patients undergoing elective radical resection of GC.METHODS Demographic,clinical,and pre-and intraoperative information of 355 patients who had undergone elective radical resection of GC were retrospectively collected from hospital electronic medical records.Univariate analysis was performed to screen out the significant parameters,which were subsequently analyzed using binary logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis.RESULTS The prevalence of SSI was 11.27%(40/355).Multivariate analyses revealed that SFT[odds ratio(OR)=1.150;95%confidence interval(95%CI):1.090-1.214;P<0.001],AD(OR=1.024;95%CI:1.009-1.040;P=0.002),laparoscopic-assisted surgery(OR=0.286;95%CI:0.030-0.797;P=0.017),and operation time(OR=1.008;95%CI:1.001-1.015;P=0.030)were independently associated with the incidence of SSI after elective radical resection of GC.In addition,the product of SFT and AD was a better potential predictor of SSI in these patients than either SFT or AD alone.CONCLUSION SFT and AD are independent risk factors and can be used as predictors of SSI in patients undergoing radical resection of GC.

Evaluation of Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat by Ultrasound and Its Relationship with Clinical and Metabolic Parameters of Insulin Resistance and Subclinical Atherosclerosis

Objective: this study set out to investigate the association between abdominal obesity ultrasound measurements, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome (MS) components and subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods: sixty patients were recruited and divided equally into two groups, according to the presence of MS. All subjects had an ultrasound examination for measurement of visceral and subcutaneous fat thickness and carotid IMT. Results: the values of visceral fat thickness, preperitoneal circumference and carotid IMT were higher in patients with MS than in control subjects. Visceral fat thickness showed significant correlations with many cardiovascular risk factors (waist circumference, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, HDL and LDL cholesterol). All abdominal obesity measurements were correlated with BMI. Carotid IMT showed correlations with age, visceral fat and preperitoneal circumference. Visceral fat was independently associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures and fasting plasma glucose. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and BMI were independent determinants of carotid IMT. Conclusion: visceral fat thickness showed the best correlation with MS components, suggesting that it could be a useful parameter in cardiovascular risk assessment. Age, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and BMI were independent determinants of subclinical atherosclerosis. MS was associated with a higher carotid IMT.

Morphometry of subcutaneous fat lobules of the abdomen and its implication in obesity

Aim:The subcutaneous fat in the lower abdomen(LA)is more resistant to resorption as compared to the upper abdomen(UA).Males and females have variability in fat deposition and resorption in the abdominal region.Hence,there could be a difference in morphology of fat cells of these regions.The present study aims to identify the differences in morphology of subcutaneous fat lobules of upper and LA.Methods:Subcutaneous fat samples were collected from upper and LA of 40 cadavers(33 males and 7 females).The shape,the arrangement,and the color of superficial and deep subcutaneous fat lobules were observed.The height and width were recorded for larger fat lobules.Results:There was a difference in the color,shape,size,and arrangement of the fat lobules between the two locations.Height(P=0.042)and width(P=0.008)of deep subcutaneous fat of LA were significantly larger than the UA in males while the height of superficial fat(P=0.016)was significantly larger in LA than the UA in females.Height of the deep fat of UA(P=0.018)and width of deep fat of the LA(P=0.020)were significantly larger in females as compared to males.Conclusion:There was a significant difference in the morphology of the superficial and deep subcutaneous fat based on location and gender of the patient.

Subcutaneous and intramuscular fat transcriptomes show large differences in network organization and associations with adipose traits in pigs

Subcutaneous fat(SCF)and intramuscular fat(IMF)deposition is relevant to health in humans,as well as meat production and quality in pigs.In this study,we generated RNA sequence data for 122 SCF,120 IMF,and 87 longissimus dorsi muscle(LDM)samples using 155 F6 pigs from a specially designed heterogeneous population generated by intercrossing four highly selected European commercial breeds and four indigenous Chinese pig breeds.The phenotypes including waist back fat thickness and intramuscular fat content were also measured in the 155 F6 pigs.We found that the genes in SCF and IMF differed largely in both expression levels and network connectivity,and highlighted network modules that exhibited strongest gain of connectivity in SCF and IMF,containing genes that were associated with the immune process and DNA double-strand repair,respectively.We identified 215 SCF genes related to kinase inhibitor activity,mitochondrial fission,and angiogenesis,and 90 IMF genes related to lipolysis and fat cell differentiation,displayed a tissue-specific association with back fat thickness and IMF content,respectively.We found that cis-expression QTL for trait-associated genes in the two adipose tissues tended to have tissuedependent predictability for the two adipose traits.Alternative splicing of genes was also found to be associated with SCF or IMF deposition,but the association was much less extensive than that based on expression levels.This study provides a better understanding of SCF and IMF gene transcription and network organization and identified critical genes and network modules that displayed tissue-specific associations with subcutaneous and intramuscular fat deposition.These features are helpful for designing breeding programs to genetically improve the two adipose traits in a balanced way.

Association of Various Anthropometric Indices with Sudomotor Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Aim: To investigate the relationship between sudomotor dysfunction and various body composition analysis indices in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: Between January 2016 and April 2021, 136 diabetic participants who had undergone body composition analysis (BCA) were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Sudomotor functions were assessed using SUDOSCAN, and participants were grouped into patients with normal (Group 1, n = 51), mildly reduced (Group 2, n = 46) and severely reduced (Group 3, n = 39) foot electrochemical skin conductance (FESC) levels. Results: The mean age was 60.4 ± 10.1 years, median diabetes duration was 12 (6 - 19) years, and 52.2% of participants were males. Among BCA parameters, the significant differences were found in total fat (TF) (p = 0.023), percentage of TF (%TF) (p = 0.025), percentage of android fat (%AF) (p = 0.048), fat mass (FM) in arms (p = 0.016), FM in legs (p = 0.002), appendicular fat mass (aFM) (p = 0.002), appendicular fat mass/body mass index (aFM/BMI) ratio (p = 0.009) between three groups. In Spearman correlation analysis, FESC was correlated with RBC, ESR and homocysteine (r = 0.171, r = &#8722;0.190, r = &#8722;0.192, p β =0.161, 0.155, 0.165, 0.185, p Conclusion: The progressive decline of sudomotor function is positively associated with loss of subcutaneous fat in arms and legs, suggesting that subcutaneous fat of extremities may be necessary to prevent DPN progression in type 2 diabetic patients.

Tissue engineering in burn scar reconstruction

Nowadays,most patients with severe burns will survive their injury.This evolution is accompanied by the challenge to cover a large percentage of total body surface area burned.Consequently,more and more patients have to deal with the sequelae of burn scars and require(multiple)reconstructions.This review provides a gross overview of developments in the field of tissue engineering for permanent burn wound coverage and reconstructive burn surgery,focusing on usage and clinical effectiveness.Not only skin substitutes will be discussed but also the replacement of subcutaneous fat tissue and cartilage.