A Scan of Obesogenic Environments and a Spatial Inference of Obesity Prevalence in Chinese Children and Adolescents: Based on the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 Data

Objective To identify the characteristics of Chinese obesogenic environments at a provincial level, infer a spatial distribution map of obesity prevalence in 31 provinces, and provide a foundation for development of policy to reduce obesity in children and adolescents. Methods After scanning obesity data on subjects aged 7-17 years from 12 provinces in the China Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 and environmental data on 31 provinces from the China Statistical Yearbook 2011 and other sources, we selected 12 predictors. We used the 12 surveyed provinces as a training sample to fit an analytical model with partial least squares regression and prioritized the 12 predictors using variable importance in projection. We also fitted a predictive model with Bayesian analysis. Results We identified characteristics of obesogenic environments. We fitted the predictive model with a deviance information criterion of 61.96 and with statistically significant（P 〈 0.05） parameter estimates of intercept [95% confidence interval（CI）： 329.10, 963.11], log（oil）（CI： 13.11, 20.30）, log（GDP）（CI： 3.05, 6.93）, log（media）（CI：-234.95,-89.61）, and log（washing-machine）（CI： 0.92, 5.07）. The total inferred average obesity prevalence among those aged 7-17 was 9.69% in 31 Chinese provinces in 2011. We also found obvious clustering in occurrences of obesity in northern and eastern provinces in the predicted map. Conclusion Given complexity of obesity in children and adolescents, concerted efforts are needed to reduce consumption of edible oils, increase consumption of vegetables, and strengthen nutrition, health, and physical activity education in Chinese schools. The northern and eastern regions are the key areas requiring intervention.

Lack of correlation between aristolochic acid exposure and hepatocellular carcinoma

Besides upper tract urothelial cell carcinoma(UTUCs),a recent study published in Science Translational Medicine has indicated that liver cancer may be associated with the exposure of aristolochic acids and similar derivatives(collectively,AA).However,according to our research,this study needs more number of samples for further verification which should be sampled from a wider range of people.

DICER1 mutations in twelve Chinese patients with pleuropulmonary blastoma

Our aim is to examine the impact of DICER1 mutations on the pathogenesis of pleuropulmonary blastoma(PPB) by evaluating the mutation frequency and investigating the family history of Chinese patients with PPB. The family histories of 12 children with PPB recruited consecutively were surveyed. Blood samples from patients and their first-degree relatives were tested for DICER1 mutations. Whole-genome sequencing of blood samples and formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded(FFPE) tumor tissue was performed in one family with twins. Twelve patients with PPB included six type II and six type III cases. Seven of the12 patients harbored DICER1 mutations, six of which were frameshift or nonsense mutations. Another case carried a germline DICER1 mutation affecting the splice site. FFPE sample had a nonsense mutation in TDG and missense mutations in DICER1.In addition, two cases with DICER1 mutations were found to have lung cysts preceding the diagnosis of PPB. Furthermore, one patient had a family history remarkable for thyroid diseases. Our results indicate that the germline mutation frequency in Chinese patients with PPB is similar to the ones reported for patients from USA, UK, and Japan. Moreover, our study strongly suggests that investigating the family history and detecting germline DICER1 mutations might be of benefit to increasing awareness and improving the accuracy of the differential diagnosis of PPB from non-malignant lung cysts.