The dietary habits, occupational exposures, use of tobacco and alcohol, and medical history were compared among 100 patients with histologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Tianjin City, People's Republic of China, and 300 neighborhood controls who were individually matched to the patients with regard to age (within 5 yr), sex, and race (Han). Exposure to salted fish was significantly associated with an increased risk of NPC. Four characteristics of exposure to salted fish independently contributed to the increased risk: (a) earlier age at first exposure, (b) increasing duration of consumption, (c) increasing frequency of consumption, and (d) cooking the fish by steaming it rather than frying, grilling, or boiling it. In addition, significant associations were observed for consumption in childhood of salted shrimp paste (increased risk) and carrots (reduced risk), and the three dietary effects (i.e., those from consumption of salted fish, salted shrimp paste, and carrots) were independent of each other. None of the non-dietary factors studied were significantly associated with NPC risk.

Objectives:To investigate whether intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) could improve clinical outcomes compared with angiography-guided PCI in the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis (ULMCA) in the elderly.Methods:This controlled study was carried out between October 2009 and September 2012, in Qinhuangdao First Hospital, Hebei Province, China. One hundred and twenty-three consecutive patients with ULMCA, aged 70 or older, were randomized to an IVUS-guided group and a control group. The occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE): death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularizations) were recorded after 2 years of follow-up.Results:The IVUS-guided group had a lower rate of 2-year MACE than the control group (13.1% versus 29.3%, p=0.031). The incidence of target lesion revascularization was lower in the IVUS-guided group than in the control group (9.1% versus 24%, p=0.045). However, there were no differences in death and myocardial infarction in the 2 groups. On Cox proportional hazard analysis, distal lesion was the independent predictor of MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.99, confidence interval [CI]: 1.129-2.367; p=0.043); IVUS guidance was independent factor of survival free of MACE (HR: 0.414, CI: 0.129-0.867; p=0.033).Conclusion:The use of IVUS could reduce MACE in elderly patients undergoing ULMCA intervention.

Type 2 diabetic patients have increased cancer risk. We developed and validated an all-site cancer risk score in a prospective cohort of 7374 Chinese type 2 diabetic patients free of known history of cancer at enrolment, using split-half validation. Spline Cox model was used to detect common risk factors of cancer and to guide linear transformation of non-linear risk factors. After a median follow-up period of 5.45 years, 365 patients (4.95%) developed cancer. Body mass index (BMI; !24.0 or R27.6 kg/m 2 ), triglyceride (R0.81 to !1.41 mmol/l), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (!0.9 or R1.8 mmol/l), total cholesterol (!4.3 mmol/l) and white blood cell (WBC) count (!5.8!10 9 count per litre) were associated with increased cancer risks and exhibited non-linear relationships. We further linear transformed these terms for selection using backward Cox regression (P!0.05 for stay) in the training dataset. In the test dataset, calibration was checked using Hosmer-Lemeshow test and discrimination checked using area under receiver operating characteristic curve. In addition to age and current smoking, only linear-transformed total cholesterol and WBC count were selected. The risk score was 0.0488!age (years)K0.5810!total cholesterol (mmol/l, coded to 4.3 if O4.3)K0.3596!WBC count (10 9 counts/l, 5.8 if O5.8)C0.6390!current smoking status (1 if yes). The 5-year probability of cancer was 1K0.9590 EXP(0.9382!(RISK SCOREC1.5903)) .The predicted cancer probability was not significantly different from the observed cancer probability during the 5-year follow-up. The adjusted area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.712. In conclusion, BMI, lipids and WBC count have predicting values for cancer.

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An anonymous cross-sectional survey interviewed 192 infertile couples consulting a family planning clinic in rural China. Of them, over 30% believed that childless couples could not live well, 80% desired to have a child very badly, over 60% pressured themselves or spouse due to infertility, and over 50% felt pressured when having sex. Furthermore, 19.8% of men and 37.5% of women felt that infertility is humiliating for women. A multivariate analyses showed that a lower income, a worsened spousal relationship, infertility related perceptions, pressuring oneself or spouse due to infertility, and a strong desire for children were significantly associated with a lowered quality of life. Gender differences were also observed.

Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) are a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that can automatically learn from data and can perform tasks such as predictions and decisionmaking. Interdisciplinary studies combining ML/DL with chemical health and safety have demonstrated their unparalleled advantages in identifying trend and prediction assistance, which can greatly save manpower, material resources, and financial resources. In this Review, commonly used ML/DL tools and concepts as well as popular ML/DL algorithms are introduced and discussed. More than 100 papers have been categorized and summarized to present the current development of ML/DL-based research in the area of chemical health and safety. In addition, the limitation of current studies and prospects of ML/DL-based study are also discussed. This Review can serve as useful guidance for researchers who are interested in implementing ML/DL into chemical health and safety research and for readers who try to learn more information about novel ML/DL techniques and applications.

Among patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI, ticagrelor reduces the incidence of MACCE and the composite end point of cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, and stroke compared with clopidogrel. Ticagrelor also reduces the need for GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors. However, no significant difference was observed in the risk of bleeding between the 2 groups.

Hydroxylamine (NH(2)OH) is an unstable compound at room temperature, and it has been involved in two tragic industrial incidents. Although experimental studies have been carried out to study the thermal stability of hydroxylamine, the detailed decomposition mechanism is still in debate. In this work, several density functional and ab initio methods were used in conjunction with several basis sets to investigate the initial thermal decomposition steps of hydroxylamine, including both unimolecular and bimolecular reaction pathways. The theoretical investigation shows that simple bond dissociations and unimolecular reactions are unlikely to occur. The energetically favorable initial step of decomposition pathways was determined as a bimolecular isomerization of hydroxylamine into ammonia oxide with an activation barrier of approximately 25 kcal/mol at the MPW1K level of theory. Because hydroxylamine is available only in aqueous solutions, solvent effects on the initial decomposition pathways were also studied using water cluster methods and the polarizable continuum model (PCM). In water, the activation barrier of the bimolecular isomerization reaction decreases to approximately 16 kcal/mol. The results indicate that the bimolecular isomerization pathway of hydroxylamine is more favorable in aqueous solutions. However, the bimolecular nature of this reaction means that more dilute aqueous solution will be more stable.