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Purpose To analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and clustering of the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) rate of liver cancer in 1990 and 2017 in China based on provincial administrative divisions, and to explore its possible influencing factors, in order to provide a new scientific perspective for the prevention and control of liver cancer.Methods The DALY rate data of liver cancer at the provincial level in China were collected, the DALY rate of thematic map was segmented by natural discontinuity method, the global autocorrelation of the DALY rate was analyzed by Moran's I, the local autocorrelation of the DALY rate was analyzed by Getis-Ord-Gi*, and the influencing factors related to the DALY rate were analyzed by the least squares regression model.Results The DALY rate of liver cancer in China generally showed an increasing trend. The DALY rate of liver cancer in China increased from 649.16/100,000 in 1990 to 789.61/100,000 in 2017, increasing by 21.64%. The DALY rate increased in 22 provinces and decreased in 9 provinces. In 2017, the distribution of DALY rate in all provinces showed heterogeneity, with the highest DALY rate in Guangxi (1,363.37/100,000) and the lowest in Beijing (315.78/100,000). In 2017, the DALY rate of liver cancer in China was more extensive. The low and low clustering were mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia and Hebei. The low and high clustering in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong were surrounded by the high clustering in neighboring provinces, and the high clustering was mainly concentrated in Hunan and Jiangxi. The results of the least square regression model showed that the per capita years of education, hepatitis B incidence and the proportion of population over 65 years old had an impact on the DALY rate of liver cancer (P 0.05).Conclusion The DALY rate of liver cancer in China showed an overall increasing trend. In 2017, the DALY rate of liver cancer in China had a spatial aggregation in the whole country, and the per capita years of education, the incidence of hepatitis B and the proportion of population over 65 years old had an impact on the DALY rate of liver cancer in space.

Selenium can inhibit cervical cancers, but the specific mechanism of anti-cervical cancer is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of sodium selenite (SS) on cervical cancer cell lines HeLa and SiHa and examined the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway to reveal the mechanism of SS against cervical cancer. We detected cell viability by MTT [3-(4, 5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay, and apoptosis by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. The levels of PI3K, AKT, phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K), and phosphorylated Akt (p-AKT) were measured by Western Blot. The results showed that SS reduced the viability and increased apoptosis of HeLa and SiHa cells and suppressed the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. To verify the role of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in this, we treated HeLa and SiHa cells with LY294002 (LY, a specific PI3K inhibitor) and established control, LY-treated, SS-treated, and combined LY + SS-treated groups. The results showed that the combined LY + SS treatment group enhanced the inhibitory effect of SS on the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which further inhibiting cervical cancer cell viability and increasing apoptosis. In conclusion, SS exerted its anti-cervical cancer effects by inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis, and inhibiting PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Rapidly and accurately identifying glioma margins during neurosurgery has significance in reducing the recurrence rate and improving perioperative safety. The purpose of our study is to assess the clinical performance of the DiveScope, a novel handheld histopathologic microscope in rapidly differentiating glioma from normal brain tissue during neurosurgery. Prior to the application of the DiveScope to neurosurgery, we first dissected 3 experimental pigs' brains and observed them under the DiveScope in vivo. Subsequently, 32 ex-vivo specimens from 18 patients were included in the present study. The excised suspicious tissue was sequentially stained with sodium fluorescein and methylene blue and scanned with DiveScope during surgery. The adjacent tissue was sent to the department of pathology for frozen section examination. They would eventually be sent to the pathology department later for hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining for final confirmation. The positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of the device were calculated. In addition, we compared the difference in time consumption between DiveScope and frozen sections for the initial judgment. We also provided a typical case to elucidate the clinical application of the DiveScope in neurosurgery. When HE-stained sections were used as the gold standard, the sensitivity and the specificity of the DiveScope was 88.29% (95% CI: 70.8% − 97.6%) and 100% (95% CI: 39.8% − 100.0%), respectively. In contrast, the sensitivity and specificity of the frozen sections were 100% (95% CI: 87.7% − 100%) and 75% (95% CI: 19.4% − 99.4%), respectively. The AUC of the DiveScope and the frozen sections were 0.946 and 0.875 respectively, with no statistical difference(P = 0.578). Concerning time consumption, in tumorous samples with ≥ 0.8 cm in diameter, the Divescope cost 10.7 minutes on average while frozen pathology cost 41.9 minutes (p

BackgroundNo spatial analysis of hair selenium and Keshan disease (KD) on a nationwide county-level has been performed. Selenium deficiency is a recognized environmental risk factor for KD. Hair selenium is one of the recognized biomarkers of selenium nutrition. This study aimed to perform a geographically precise and visualized assessment of the achievement of KD prevention and control at the level of selenium nutrition in terms of etiology.MethodsA spatial ecological study was conducted. The hair selenium content of the residents was assayed using an atomic fluorescence spectrometer. The spatial analysis was performed using ArcGIS.ResultsThe median of the hair selenium levels of the 3,028 participants in the 1,174 counties was 0.38 mg/kg, and the content of inhabitants in KD endemic counties was significantly lower than that in KD non-endemic counties (0.34 vs. 0.39 mg/kg, z = −10.03, P < 0.0001). The proportion of Se-deficient and Se-marginal counties in KD endemic counties was significantly higher than that in KD non-endemic counties (59.4 vs. 29.0%, z = −7.45, P < 0.0001). The global autocorrelation analysis was not statistically significant (Moran's I = 0.0005, P = 0.68). Local autocorrelation analysis identified 174 low-low clusters of hair selenium levels, 83 (47.7%) of which are KD endemic counties located in KD endemic provinces of Henan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. The hair selenium featured a positive correlation with per capita GDP (rs = 0.20, P < 0.0001).ConclusionThe median of the hair selenium levels of inhabitants living in KD endemic counties was significantly lower than that in KD non-endemic counties. All the 83 KD endemic counties with low-low clusters of hair selenium levels should be prioritized in KD precision prevention and control. These findings are geographically precise and visualized evidence of the assessment of the effectiveness of KD prevention and control at the level of selenium nutrition in terms of etiology.

Few nationwide investigations on hair selenium (Se) and Keshan disease (KD) have been conducted. KD is closely associated with Se deficiency. Hair Se is an important biomarker for selenium nutrition. This research aimed to provide evidence for assessment of KD prevention, control, and elimination at the molecular level from the etiological perspective of selenium nutrition. The hair Se of the residents living in the KD endemic and non-endemic areas were determined through atomic fluorescence spectrometer. The median of the hair Se levels of the inhabitants living in KD endemic counties was significantly lower than that in KD non-endemic counties (0.34 vs 0.39 mg/kg, U = -10.03, P0.0001). The proportion of Se-deficient or Se-marginal residents in KD endemic counties was significantly higher than that in KD non-endemic counties (56.9% vs 36.6%, U = -9.57, P0.0001). The medians of the hair Se levels in KD endemic provinces of Shannxi, Heilongjiang, and Gansu were the lowest (0.35mg/kg), and in the category of Se-marginal status. The hair Se level featured a positive Spearman correlation with per capita disposable income (r

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) comprises the interface between blood, brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Its primary function, which is mainly carried out by tight junctions, is to stabilize the tightly controlled microenvironment of the brain. To study the development and maintenance of the BBB, as well as various roles their intrinsic mechanisms that play in neurological disorders, suitable measurements are required to demonstrate integrity and functional changes at the interfaces between the blood and brain tissue. Markers and plasma proteins with different molecular weight (MW) are used to measure the permeability of BBB. In addition, the expression changes of tight-junction proteins form the basic structure of BBB, and imaging modalities are available to study the disruption of BBB. In the present review, above mentioned methods are depicted in details, together with the pros and cons as well as the differences between these methods, which maybe benefit research studies focused on the detection of BBB breakdown.

Few researchers have studied the national prevalence of Keshan disease (KD) in China using spatial epidemiological methods. This study aimed to provide geographically precise and visualized evidence for the strategies for KD prevention and control.We surveyed and analyzed 237,000 people in 280 out of 328 KD-endemic counties (85.4%) in mainland China using a design of key investigation based on case-searching in 2015-2016. ArcGIS version 9.0 was used for spatial autocorrelation analysis, spatial interpolation analysis and spatial regression analysis.Global autocorrelation analysis showed that global clustering of latent Keshan disease (LKD) prevalence was noted (Moran'siI/i= 0.22,iZ/i= 7.06, andiP/ilt; 0.0001), no global clustering of chronic Keshan disease (CKD) prevalence (Moran'siI/i= 0.03,iZ/i= 1.10, andiP/i= 0.27) was observed. Spatial regression analysis showed that LKD prevalence was negatively correlated with per capita disposable income (it/i= -4.36,iP/ilt; 0.0001). Local autocorrelation analysis at the county level effectively identified the cluster areas of LKD prevalence in the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin. The high-high cluster areas should be given priority for precision prevention and control of Keshan disease.This spatial epidemiological study revealed that LKD prevention and control should be strengthened in areas with high values of clustering. Our findings provided spatially, geographically precise and visualized evidence for prioritizing KD prevention and control.

Selenium is a trace element that has been shown to inhibit the growth of various cancer cell types. However, its role in cervical cancer and its underlying mechanisms remains largely unknown. Herein, we explored the anti-cervical cancer effect of selenium and its potential mechanisms through xenograft and in vitro experiments. HeLa cell xenografts in female nude mice showed tumor growth retardation, with no obvious liver and kidney toxicity, after being intraperitoneally injected with 3 mg/kg sodium selenite (SS) for 14 days. Compared to the control group, selenium levels in the tumor tissue increased significantly after SS treatment. In vitro experiments, SS inhibited the viability of HeLa and SiHa cells, blocked the cell cycle at the S phase, and enhanced apoptosis. RNA-sequencing, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis showed that forkhead box protein O (FOXO) was a key regulatory signaling pathway for SS to exhibit anticancer effects. Gene Ontology analysis filtered multiple terms associated with apoptosis, anti-proliferation, and cell cycle arrest. Further research revealed that SS increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired mitochondrial function, which activated adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) via phosphorylation at Thr172, resulting in activation of FOXO3a and its downstream growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible alpha (GADD45a). In summary, SS exhibited anti-cervical cancer effects, and their mechanisms may be that SS is involved in inducing cell cycle arrest and potentiating cell apoptosis caused by ROS-dependent activation of the AMPK/FOXO3a/GADD45a axis.

There has been public concern about children's intellectual performance at high levels of fluoride exposure, but few studies provide data directly to the question of whether low fluoride exposure levels less than 3.0 mg/L in drinking water adversely associated with children's intelligence. In this survey, we investigated the effects of low fluoride exposure on children's intelligence and dental fluorosis. 331 children aged from 7 to 14 were randomly recruited from four sites in Hulunbuir City, China. Intelligence was assessed using Combined Raven Test-The Rural in China while dental fluorosis was diagnosed with Dean's index. Mean value of fluoride in drinking water was 1.31±1.05 mg/L (range 0.24-2.84). Urine fluoride was inversely associated with IQ in the multiple linear regression model when children's age as a covariate variable was taken into account (P

The health financing schemes is the foundation for the nation¡¯s health care system, and the health insurance is a main one of some options for financing health care. This article compares two health care financing schemes in urban areas before and after the health reform, and targets at the impacts facing coverage groups, the financing methods, decision-making power or financial management (i.e. the distribution of responsibility and rights between the central government and local governments), payment arrangement and cost containment of health care financing mechanisms. Prior to reform, the equal access and universal coverage of health care services were implemented through the employment-based health insurance in a state-controlled economy with guaranteed full employment and central control in general. The decentralization reforms of fiscal system and tax sharing reforms disrupts the past economic foundation, the rebuilding health insurance system which still benefits the employed bring the limited coverage. The next trend is to make transition from health insurance covering only part of the employed population to what are in effect national health services covering the whole population in urban areas.