Danmin Miao

Fish Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Fish consumption may protect against colorectal cancer, but results from observational studies are inconsistent; therefore, a systematic review with a meta-analysis was conducted. METHODS Relevant studies were identified by a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to May 2011, with no restrictions. Reference lists from retrieved articles also were reviewed. Studies that reported odds ratio (OR) or relative risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between the consumption of fish and the risk of colorectal, colon, or rectal cancer were included. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed study quality. The risk estimate (hazard ratio, relative risk, or OR) of the highest and lowest reported categories of fish intake were extracted from each study and analyzed using a random-effects model. RESULTS Twenty-two prospective cohort and 19 case-control studies on fish consumption and colorectal cancer risk met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Our analysis found that fish consumption decreased the risk of colorectal cancer by 12% (summary OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80-0.95). The pooled ORs of colorectal cancer for the highest versus lowest fish consumption in case-control studies and cohort studies were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.72-0.95) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.86-1.01), respectively. There was heterogeneity among case-control studies (P<.001) but not among cohort studies. A significant inverse association was found between fish intake and rectal cancer (summary OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.97), and there was a modest trend seen between fish consumption and colon cancer (summary OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.81-1.14). This study had no publication bias. CONCLUSION Our findings from this meta-analysis suggest that fish consumption is inversely associated with colorectal cancer.

How can core self-evaluations influence job burnout? The key roles of organizational commitment and job satisfaction

This study aimed to explore how core self-evaluations influenced job burnout and mainly focused on the confirmation of the mediator roles of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. A total of 583 female nurses accomplished the Core Self-Evaluation Scale, Organizational Commitment Scale, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey. The results revealed that core self-evaluations, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and job burnout were significantly correlated with each other. Structural equation modeling indicated that core self-evaluations can significantly influence job burnout and are completely mediated by organizational commitment and job satisfaction.

Fish consumption and the risk of gastric cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundGastric cancer is the fourth most frequently occurring malignancy after lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, and the second most common cause of death from cancer worldwide. Epidemiologic studies have examined the possible association between fish consumption and gastric cancer, but the results were inconclusive. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association between fish intake and the risk of gastric cancer.MethodsPubMed was searched for studies published in English-language journals from 1991 through 2009. We identified 17 epidemiologic studies (15 case-control and 2 cohort studies) that included relative risks (RRs) or odds ratios (ORs) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the relationship between gastric cancer and fish consumption. Data were extracted using standardized data forms. Summary RRs or ORs for the highest versus non/lowest fish consumption levels were calculated using random-effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was examined using Q and I2 statistics.ResultsIn this study, 5,323 cases of gastric cancer and over 130,000 non-cases were included. The combined results from all studies indicated that the association between high fish consumption and reduced gastric cancer risk was not statistically insignificant (RR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.71-1.07).ConclusionsCurrent evidence indicated that the association between fish consumption and risk of gastric cancer remains unclear.

Distinct inter-hemispheric dysconnectivity in schizophrenia patients with and without auditory verbal hallucinations

Evidence from behavioral, electrophysiological and diffusion-weighted imaging studies suggest that schizophrenia patients suffer from deficiencies in bilateral brain communication, and this disruption may be related to the occurrence of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). To increase our understanding of aberrant inter-hemispheric communication in relation to AVH, we recruited two groups of first-episode schizophrenia patients: one group with AVH (N = 18 AVH patients) and one without hallucinations (N = 18 Non-AVH patients), and 20 healthy controls. All participants received T1 structural imaging and resting-state fMRI scanning. We adopted a newly developed index, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), to quantitatively describe bilateral functional connectivity. The whole-brain VMHC measure was compared among the three groups and correlation analyses were conducted between symptomology scores and neurological measures. Our findings suggest all patients shared abnormalities in parahippocampus and striatum. Aberrant bilateral connectivity of default mode network (DMN), inferior frontal gyrus and cerebellum only showed in AVH patients, whereas aberrances in superior temporal gyrus and precentral gyrus were specific to Non-AVH patients. Meanwhile, inter-hemispheric connectivity of DMN correlated with patients’ symptomatology scores. This study corroborates that schizophrenia is characterized by inter-hemispheric dysconnectivity, and suggests the localization of such abnormalities may be crucial to whether auditory verbal hallucinations develop.

Effects of person-vocation fit and core self-evaluation on career commitment of medical university students: the mediator roles of anxiety and career satisfaction

BackgroundHow the career commitment of medical university students can be improved is an underinvestigated topic.AimThis experimental study aims to explore the factors that influence career commitment of medical university students.MethodsOne hundred eighty-two medical university students completed the vocational value questionnaire, state anxiety scale, core self-evaluation scale, Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire, and the Chinese career commitment questionnaire.Results(1) A mismatch was found between the vocational value and the medical career of medical university students, primarily in their self-development; (2) Core self-evaluation can significantly predict the continued commitment of medical university students; (3) Vocational value, career fit, and core self-evaluation can significantly predict the affective commitment and normative commitment of medical university students, while state anxiety and vocational satisfaction play significant mediating roles.ConclusionsBoth person–vocation fit and core self-evaluation can affect the career commitment of medical university students, while job satisfaction and state anxiety play mediating roles.

Differences in simulated doctor and patient medical decision making: a construal level perspective.

Background Patients are often confronted with diverse medical decisions. Often lacking relevant medical knowledge, patients fail to independently make medical decisions and instead generally rely on the advice of doctors. Objective This study investigated the characteristics of and differences in doctor–patient medical decision making on the basis of construal level theory. Methods A total of 420 undergraduates majoring in clinical medicine were randomly assigned to six groups. Their decisions to opt for radiotherapy and surgery were investigated, with the choices described in a positive/neutral/negative frame × decision making for self/others. Results Compared with participants giving medical advice to patients, participants deciding for themselves were more likely to select radiotherapy (F1, 404 = 13.92, p = 011). Participants from positive or neutral frames exhibited a higher tendency to choose surgery than did those from negative frames (F2, 404 = 22.53, p<.001). The effect of framing on independent decision making was nonsignificant (F2, 404 = 1.07, p = 35); however the effect of framing on the provision of advice to patients was significant (F2, 404 = 12.95, p<.001). The effect of construal level was significant in the positive frame (F1, 404 = 8.06, p = 005) and marginally significant in the neutral frame (F2, 404 = 3.31, p = 07) but nonsignificant in the negative frame (F2, 404 = .29, p = 59). Conclusion Both social distance and framing depiction significantly affected medical decision making and exhibited a significant interaction. Differences in medical decision making between doctors and patients need further investigation.

Decreased bilateral thalamic gray matter volume in first-episode schizophrenia with prominent hallucinatory symptoms: A volumetric MRI study.

Studies comparing gray matter (GM) volume of schizophrenic patients with or without auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) to that of normal controls remain controversial. This project aims to investigate changes of GM volumes of drug-naïve schizophrenic patients with and without AVHs. Eighteen first episode schizophrenic (FES) patients with AVHs, 18 FES patients without AVHs, and 18 healthy controls were scanned using structural MRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was conducted to investigate changes of GM volume among the three groups. Patients with and without AVHs exhibited reduced GM volumes relative to normal controls in the left superior temporal gyrus, frontal regions, cerebellum and caudate. Further analysis of the GM of subcortical structures found that patients with AVHs had reduced thalamic volume than healthy controls. No significant difference was found between patients with and without AVHs. Significant correlation was found between the total scores of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and bilateral thalamic volume. ROC analysis of thalamic volumes of the patients with AVHs and normal controls showed that the area under the curve was 0.698 (P = 0.043). The decreased thalamic volumes might serve as a biomarker for discriminating FES AVHs patients from normals.

Altered Regional Homogeneity with Short-term Simulated Microgravity and Its Relationship with Changed Performance in Mental Transformation

In order to further the insight into the explanation of changed performance in mental transformation under microgravity, we discuss the change of performance in mental transformation and its relationship with altered regional homogeneity (ReHo) in resting-state brain by using simulated weightlessness model. Twelve male subjects with age between 24 and 31 received resting-state fMRI scan and mental transformation test both in normal condition and immediately after 72 hours −6° head down tilt (HDT). A paired sample t-test was used to test the difference of behavior performance and brain activity between these two conditions. Compare with normal condition, subjects showed a changed performance in mental transformation with short term simulated microgravity and appeared to be falling. Meanwhile, decreased ReHo were found in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) after 72 hours −6° HDT, while increased ReHo were found in bilateral medial frontal gyrus (MFG) and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) (P<0.05, corrected). Particularly, there was a significant correlation between ReHo values in left IPL and velocity index of mental transformation. Our findings indicate that gravity change may disrupt the function of right IFG and left IPL in the resting-state, among of which functional change in left IPL may contribute to changed abilities of mental transformation. In addition, the enhanced activity of the bilateral MFG and decreased activity of right IFG found in the current study maybe reflect a complementation effect on inhibitory control process.

Mental fatigue impairs pre-attentive processing: A MMN study

Individuals frequently experience mental fatigue during or after prolonged periods of cognitive activity. We investigated the effects of mental fatigue on the ability to detect minor changes in the pre-attentive stage of information processing by recoding MMN of ERP components. The equal probable paradigm was employed to elicit pure memory-comparison-based MMN component. Mental fatigue was induced by the continuous performance for 2h of mental arithmetic tasks. MMN amplitudes at fronto-central electrode sites were significantly decreased in subjects with mental fatigue than in subjects under control conditions, whereas temporal MMN was not affected by mental fatigue. These results suggest that mental fatigue impairs pre-attentive processing.

Bifactor item response theory model of acute stress response.

Background Better understanding of acute stress responses is important for revision of DSM-5. However, the latent structure and relationship between different aspects of acute stress responses haven’t been clarified comprehensively. Bifactor item response model may help resolve this problem. Objective The purpose of this study is to develop a statistical model of acute stress responses, based on data from earthquake rescuers using Acute Stress Response Scale (ASRS). Through this model, we could better understand acute stress responses comprehensively, and provide preliminary information for computerized adaptive testing of stress responses. Methods Acute stress responses of earthquake rescuers were evaluated using ASRS, and state/trait anxiety were assessed using State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A hierarchical item response model (bifactor model) was used to analyze the data. Additionally, we tested this hierarchical model with model fit comparisons with one-dimensional and five-dimensional models. The correlations among acute stress responses and state/trait anxiety were compared, based on both the five-dimensional and bifactor models. Results Model fit comparisons showed bifactor model fit the data best. Item loadings on general and specific factors varied greatly between different aspects of stress responses. Many symptoms (40%) of physiological responses had positive loadings on general factor, and negative loadings on specific factor of physiological responses, while other stress responses had positive loadings on both general and specific factors. After extracting general factor of stress responses using bifactor analysis, significant positive correlations between physiological responses and state/trait anxiety (r = 0.185/0.112, p<0.01) changed into negative ones (r = −0.177/−0.38, p<0.01). Conclusion Our results demonstrated bifactor structure of acute stress responses, and positive and negative correlations between physiological responses and stress responses suggested physiological responses could have negative feedback on severity of stress responses. This finding has not been convincingly demonstrated in previous research.