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This study conducted a content analysis of 639 news articles about e-cigarettes in China from 2004-2019 to examine longitudinal changes in media frames and media tones about e-cigarettes in Chinese newspapers. Results indicated that policy frame was the most frequently used frame, followed by human impact frame, information frame, and uncertainty frame. Dividing the time period of 2004-2019 into four phases (i.e., 2004-2006, 2007-2010, 2011-2017 and 2018-2019), the study found that the frequency of the information frame significantly decreased over time, while the policy frame and uncertainty frame significantly increased, with the policy frame being the dominant frame in recent years. In contrast, the use of the economic frame and morality frame fluctuated, both reaching peaks in the phase of 2007-2010 and decreasing in the most recent phase. Overall, the tone of the large majority of news articles was unfavorable, and the turning point occurred in the phase of 2007-2010 when the percentage of news articles with negative tone exceeded those with positive tone for the first time. Framing of e-cigarette news articles in China demonstrated the pivotal role of policy makers in defining the e-cigarette issue, and the influence of the international public health community, as an important and reliable information source, on defining the health risk of e-cigarettes, which has implication for not only e-cigarette control, but tobacco control in China in general.

Collective gardens are increasingly considered a tool to promote health and well-being.

In this systematic review, we critically appraise quantitative studies exploring the potential health benefits of urban collective garden participation.

Articles published between January 2000 and August 2020 were used.

All original research studies reporting at least 1 health outcomes associated with urban collective gardening in free-living adults from Western and other high-income countries were included. Of 1261 articles identified, 15 were included in the systematic review. Methodological quality was assessed by applying the criteria of the Quantitative Study Quality Assessment Tool.

A wide range of health indicators was used. Collective gardening was associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption than was nongardening. Mixed results were found for physical activity and physiological health. A positive association was found in most studies with mental health and social health. However, the vast majority of included studies were cross-sectional and presented selection bias (n = 13 of 15 for both) and very few used objective measurement methods (n = 3 of 15).

Longitudinal studies allowing the exploration of causal relationships are needed before the health benefits of collective garden participation suggested by existing studies can be confirmed.

Longitudinal studies allowing the exploration of causal relationships are needed before the health benefits of collective garden participation suggested by existing studies can be confirmed.Cisplatin (Cis) can cause chronic kidney disease (CKD) and promote renal fibrosis, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. see more Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) can promote renal fibrosis in some kidney diseases, but its role in Cis-induced CKD is still unknown. Notch-1 is a recognized molecule that promotes renal fibrosis under pathological circumstances, and evidence shows that HIF-1α and Notch-1 are closely related to each other. In the present study, mice with HIF-1α gene knockout in proximal tubular cells (PTCs) (PT-HIF-1α-KO) were generated and treated with Cis to induce CKD. A human proximal tubular cell line (HK-2) and primary mouse PTCs were used for in vitro studies. The results showed that HIF-1α was increased in the kidneys of Cis-treated wild-type mice, accompanied by elevated Notch-1, Notch-1 intracellular domain (N1ICD), Hes-1 and renal fibrosis. However, these alterations were partially reversed in PT-HIF-1α-KO mice. Similar results were observed in HK-2 cells and primary mouse PTCs. In addition, treating the cells with Cis induced a marked interaction of HIF-1α and N1ICD. Further inhibiting Notch-1 significantly reduced cellular fibrogenesis but did not affect HIF-1α expression. The data suggested that HIF-1α could promote renal fibrosis in Cis-induced CKD by activating Notch-1 both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally and that HIF-1α may serve as a potential therapeutic target for Cis-induced CKD.

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is the recommended first-tier test for suspected Cushing syndrome (CS). Missed dexamethasone intake or insufficient dexamethasone serum exposure may yield false positive results. Quantification of serum dexamethasone in DST samples may therefore improve test performance.

Simultaneous quantification of dexamethasone and cortisol by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 400 DST serum samples (100 overt CS, 200 excluded CS, 100 adrenal incidentalomas with (possible) autonomous cortisol secretion, AI-ACS) randomly selected within the indication groups. The 2.5th percentile of dexamethasone in patients with excluded CS was considered the lower limit of normal (LLN).

Serum dexamethasone varied from undetectable to 20.2 ng/mL with a median of 4.8 ng/mL (95% CI 4.5-5.1 ng/mL). Dexamethasone was undetectable in only 16 patients (4%), suggesting non-compliance. The dexamethasone LLN was 1.8 ng/mL (4.6 nmol/L). Decreased glomerular filtration rate and diabetes mellitus were associated with higher serum dexamethasone concentration, while body mass index, sex, age, nicotine, and oral contraceptives had no significant effect. By excluding the 27 samples with dexamethasone <LLN and applying the method-specific cortisol cutoff of 2.4 µg/dL (66 nmol/L) to samples with suspected CS, the clinical specificity for CS increased from 67.5% to 92.4% while preserving 100% clinical sensitivity. Among 100 AI-ACS samples (defined by immunoassay), 4 samples had dexamethasone <1.8 ng/mL and 14 samples had cortisol <2.4 µg/dL, which excluded autonomous cortisol secretion.

Quantification of dexamethasone and method-specific cortisol cutoffs in DST samples may reduce the false positive rate and lower the proportion of patients requiring further workup.

Quantification of dexamethasone and method-specific cortisol cutoffs in DST samples may reduce the false positive rate and lower the proportion of patients requiring further workup.