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Cureus Dec 2021The term "Mongolian Spot" rather than the preferred descriptive name congenital dermal melanocytosis (CDM) continues to be used despite compelling objections to the...
The term "Mongolian Spot" rather than the preferred descriptive name congenital dermal melanocytosis (CDM) continues to be used despite compelling objections to the contrary. Terms that stigmatize a culture, region, people, country, communities, and ethnic group should be replaced by their more descriptive counterparts. Herein, we clarify terminology, discuss the historical significance, and provide a recommendation about naming this disease.
PubMed: 35036226
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.20396 -
RNA Biology Jan 2023Cancer is a multi-factor systemic malignant disease, which has seriously threatened human health and created a heavy burden on the world economy. Metabolic... (Review)
Review
Cancer is a multi-factor systemic malignant disease, which has seriously threatened human health and created a heavy burden on the world economy. Metabolic reprogramming, one of the important signs of malignant tumours, provides necessary nutrition for tumorigenesis and cancer development; thus, it has recently become a research hot spot, even though the metabolic mechanism is quite intricate. Circular RNA (circRNA) affects cancer cell metabolism through various molecular mechanisms, playing an important role in promoting or suppressing cancer. Because of the structure characteristics, circRNA is quite stable, and can be utilized as biomarkers. In this review, we analysed and summarized the characteristics and biological functions of circRNA and comprehensively reviewed and discussed the important role of circRNA in cancer metabolic reprogramming. This review will provide new ideas for developing new anti-cancer therapeutic targets, mining cancer diagnostic and prognostic markers, and will provide guidance for other researchers to design circRNA-related experiments and develop anti-tumour drugs.
Topics: Humans; RNA, Circular; Neoplasms; Carcinogenesis; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic
PubMed: 37599427
DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2023.2247877 -
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Mar 2023As an emerging pollutant, microplastics have attracted widespread concern around the world. Research on microplastics was first conducted in oceans, and in recent years,... (Review)
Review
As an emerging pollutant, microplastics have attracted widespread concern around the world. Research on microplastics was first conducted in oceans, and in recent years, inland water, especially lakes, has gradually become a hot spot. This paper systematically reviews the sampling, separation, purification, and identification technologies used to assess microplastics in lakes and summarizes the occurrence of lake microplastics worldwide. The results show that microplastics are widespread in lake water and sediment. There are obvious geographical differences in the occurrence of microplastics. The abundance of microplastics in different lakes varies greatly. The forms are mostly fibrous and fragments, and the main polymers are polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Previous papers have failed to comment in as much detail on the microplastic sampling techniques employed within lake systems. The sampling and analysis methods are critical to accurately evaluating contamination results. Due to the widespread presence of microplastics and the lack of uniform standards, there are various sampling methods. Trawls and grabs are most widely used in the sampling of lake water bodies and sediment, and sodium chloride and hydrogen peroxide are the most widely used media for flotation and digestion, respectively. In the future, it will be critical to establish unified standards for lake microplastic sampling and analysis technology, further explore the migration mechanism of microplastics in lake systems, and pay attention to the impact of microplastics on lake ecosystems.
Topics: Microplastics; Plastics; Lakes; Ecosystem; Environmental Monitoring; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Geologic Sediments; Water
PubMed: 36933078
DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11043-w -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Sep 2023Pesticide exposure is a major health problem that cannot be ignored, and children are particularly vulnerable and sensitive. As a result, the study of health damage in... (Review)
Review
Pesticide exposure is a major health problem that cannot be ignored, and children are particularly vulnerable and sensitive. As a result, the study of health damage in children caused by pesticide exposure has gradually developed into an important cross-disciplinary research topic. In this study, we reviewed the current state, characteristics, and trends of existing research findings and summarized them comprehensively and systematically through bibliometrics. We collected and examined a large number of studies using Citespace and Vosviewer, employing a clustering method to analyze the effects of pesticide exposure on children and to highlight the hot keywords in the research field. Through an analysis of the active time of high-frequency keywords, we found that the research field is in a hot spot, and the occurrence value of keywords was used to judge the innovation of the research results, thereby highlighting the frontier and key directions of future research in this field. We conclude that in addition to core pesticides, children, exposure, and other malaria and polychlorinated biphenyls also appear as high-frequency keywords in the research field of pesticide exposure effects on children. The core issues of concern in this field include occupational pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia, history of pesticide exposure during pregnancy and childhood leukemia, environmental factors and dietary intake and organophosphorus pesticide exposure in children, and pyrethroid pesticide exposure and neurobehavioral development in children. Future research may focus on how to control the safe use of pesticides, quantitative research on pesticide hazards, and potential effects on children's health.
Topics: Female; Pregnancy; Humans; Child; Pesticides; Environmental Exposure; Organophosphorus Compounds; Leukemia; Bibliometrics
PubMed: 37648921
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29457-x -
Italian Journal of Dermatology and... Dec 2021
Topics: Cafe-au-Lait Spots; Humans; Mongolian Spot; Neurofibromatosis 1; Skin Neoplasms
PubMed: 32129589
DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8671.20.06538-4 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2022Medicinal plant diversity (MPD) is an important component of plant diversity. Over-collection based on medicinal and economic value has the potential to damage the...
Medicinal plant diversity (MPD) is an important component of plant diversity. Over-collection based on medicinal and economic value has the potential to damage the stability of the regional ecosystem. It is important to understand the current distribution of MPD and the factors influencing it. However, it is still unclear whether environmental and socioeconomic conditions have an impact on their distribution. We selected the Inner Mongolia as a representative study area which covers a wide area, accounting for 12.29% of China's national land area and 0.79% of the world's land area. At the same time, the region is a long-standing traditional medicinal area for Mongolians in China. Therefore, the region is significantly influenced by changes in environmental factors and socio-economic factors. We used 9-years field survey of the distribution of medicinal plants in Inner Mongolia for assessing the distribution of MPD as influenced by environmental and socioeconomic activities by combining spatial analyses, species distribution models, and generalized additive models. The results from the spatial analysis show that the western region of Inner Mongolia is the main cold spot area of the MPD, and the central-eastern and northeastern regions of Inner Mongolia are the main hot spot areas of the MPD. At the same time, the distribution of cold spots and hot spots of MPD is more obvious at large spatial scales, and with the refinement of spatial scales, the cold spots in scattered areas are gradually revealed, which is indicative for the conservation and development of MPD at different spatial scales. Under the future climate change of shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP), areas with high habitat suitability for medicinal plants remain mainly dominated by the Yellow River, Yin Mountains, and Greater Khingan Range. Notably, the SSP245 development pathway remains the most significant concern in either long- or short-term development. The nonlinear relationship between the driving factors of MPD at different spatial scales shows that temperature, precipitation and socioeconomic development do have complex effects on MPD. The presence of a certain temperature, altitude, and precipitation range has an optimal facilitation effect on MPD, rather than a single facilitation effect. This complex nonlinear correlation provides a reference for further studies on plant diversity and sustainable development and management. In this study, the spatial distribution of medicinal plant resources and the extent to which they are driven by ecological and socioeconomic factors were analyzed through a macroscopic approach. This provides a reference for larger-scale studies on the environmental and socioeconomic influences on the distribution of plant resources.
PubMed: 36339592
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.979890 -
Pediatric Dermatology Sep 2019"Mongolian spot" is a term still commonly used today and found in many dermatology textbooks. This article examines historic literature to understand the social and...
"Mongolian spot" is a term still commonly used today and found in many dermatology textbooks. This article examines historic literature to understand the social and political climate at the time of its coining. By doing so, this article critically examines the choice of words in pediatric dermatology and how we can use medical terminology to gain the trust and respect of our patients.
Topics: History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; Humans; Mongolian Spot; Skin Neoplasms
PubMed: 31141213
DOI: 10.1111/pde.13858 -
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment Dec 2023Q-switched neodymium-yttrium aluminum-garnet (Q-switched Nd:YAG) laser has been reported as an effective treatment for nevus of Ota and acquired bilateral nevus of...
Q-switched neodymium-yttrium aluminum-garnet (Q-switched Nd:YAG) laser has been reported as an effective treatment for nevus of Ota and acquired bilateral nevus of Ota-like macules (ABNOM). Data on ectopic Mongolian spots have rarely been reported.The present study was performed to investigate the treatment efficacy of a high-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser without tissue whitening in ectopic Mongolian spots.We included 61 patients with ectopic Mongolian spots, and 70 lesions were examined. Thirty-three lesions were treated with a high-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, and 38 lesions were observed without treatment. The results were assessed using a 5-quantile grading scale and melanin index using a Mexameter®.Mean follow-up duration was 14.1 ± 6.8 months for the treatment group and 17.8 ± 10.0 months for the observation group. Mean 5-quintile grading scale at final follow-up was statistically different ( < 0.001) between the two groups (treatment: 2.85 ± 1.00, observation: 0.49 ± 0.73). There was a significant difference ( < 0.001) in the Δ melanin index (initial melanin index - final melanin index) between the observation (7.1 ± 62.7) and treatment (156.7 ± 78.4) groups.High-fluence Q-switched Nd:YAG laser without tissue whitening showed good results and was well-tolerated in treating ectopic Mongolian spots.
Topics: Humans; Lasers, Solid-State; Mongolian Spot; Nevus of Ota; Melanins; Treatment Outcome; Skin Neoplasms
PubMed: 37781886
DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2023.2255057