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Objective: To evaluate the utility of trio-based prenatal exome sequencing (pES), incorporating splice-site and mitochondrial genome assessment, in the prenatal diagnosis of fetuses with ultrasound anomalies and normal copy-number variant sequencing (CNV-seq) results.Methods: This was a prospective study of 90 ongoing pregnancies with ultrasound anomalies that underwent trio-based pES after receiving normal CNV-seq results, from September 2020 to November 2021, in a single center in China. By using pES with a panel encompassing exome coding and splicing regions as well as mitochondrial genome for fetuses and parents, we identified the underlying genetic causes of fetal anomalies, incidental fetal findings and parental carrier status. Information on pregnancy outcome and the impact of pES findings on parental decision-making was collected.Results: Of the 90 pregnancies included, 28 (31.1%) received a diagnostic result that could explain the fetal ultrasound anomalies. The highest diagnostic yield was noted for brain abnormalities (3/6 (50.0%)), followed by hydrops (4/9 (44.4%)) and skeletal abnormalities (13/34 (38.2%)). Collectively, 34 variants of 20 genes were detected in the 28 diagnosed cases, with 55.9% (19/34) occurring de novo. Variants of uncertain significance (VUS) associated with fetal phenotypes were detected in six (6.7%) fetuses. Interestingly, fetal (n = 4) and parental (n = 3) incidental findings (IFs) were detected in seven (7.8%) cases. These included two fetuses carrying a de-novo likely pathogenic (LP) variant of the CIC and FBXO11 genes, respectively, associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, and one fetus with a LP variant in a mitochondrial gene. The remaining fetus presented with unilateral renal dysplasia and was incidentally found to carry a pathogenic PKD1 gene variant resulting in adult-onset polycystic kidney, which was later confirmed to be inherited from the mother. In addition, parental heterozygous variants associated with autosomal recessive diseases were detected in three families, including one with additional fetal diagnostic findings. Diagnostic results or fetal IFs contributed to parental decision-making about termination of the pregnancy in 26 families (26/72 (36.1%)), while negative pES results or identification of VUS encouraged 40 families (40/72 (55.6%)) to continue their pregnancy, which ended in a live birth in all cases.Conclusion: Trio-based pES can provide additional genetic information for pregnancies with fetal ultrasound anomalies without a CNV-seq diagnosis. The incidental findings and parental carrier status reported by trio-based pES with splice-site and mitochondrial genome analysis extend its clinical application, but careful genetic counseling is warranted. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Introduction: b Zanubrutinib is an irreversible, potent, next-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor designed to maximize BTK occupancy and minimize off-target inhibition. A favorable safety profile was also observed in pts from China with zanubrutinib compared with ibrutinib, with lower rates of treatment discontinuations and serious AEs in patients with R/R CLL/SLL. [Extracted from the article]

Aim: To develop and test the first causal model of thriving at work in Chinese nurses. Background: Nurses' ability to thrive at their work is critical to retain qualified nurses and meet the needs of a constantly changing health environment. However, this is a poorly researched area. Introduction: Thriving at work refers to the feeling of vitality and learning at work, which are evidenced to be solidly associated with nurses' development. Only a few factors have been explored regarding the effects of thriving at work. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was undertaken using stratified random sampling. This involved 565 nurses from five general hospitals in Dali city, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Data were collected from April to September 2019 using seven instruments. The model was constructed and tested using the Analysis of Moment Structure program and reported using the STROBE checklist. Results: All model variables provided direct and indirect effects to the outcome. The final model fitted the empirical data with acceptable indices. Discussion: Predicting variables of workplace mindfulness, authentic leadership, workplace violence, organizational justice and years of experience were found to affect thriving at work directly and indirectly. Psychological capital and perceived organizational support mediated the effects between predicting variables to the outcome. Conclusion and Implications for nursing and health policy: Recommendations for nursing and health leaders are provided to improve nurses' thriving at work by building fair, supportive, and safe working environments, improving head nurses' authentic leadership and cultivating nurses' mindfulness. Policies need to be promulgated to improve and regulate the nurse–patient ratio and to eliminate violence against Chinese nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reactivity occurs when research participants alter their behaviours due to the awareness of being monitored, which is a concern with using wearable devices to measure physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine reactivity to accelerometer measurement among youth with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities (ID). Methods: A sample of 175 youth with ID (108 with moderate and 67 with severe ID) was recruited from residential centres in China. Demographic data were measured using a parent‐reported questionnaire, and light physical activity (LPA) and moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using the ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers. Data were analysed using an analysis of covariances where Day 1 LPA/MVPA, Day 2–6 LPA/MVPA, and Day 7 LPA/MVPA were repeated measures. Results: Youth with moderate ID had significantly higher LPA (8.01%) and MVPA (10.30%) on Day 1 than Day 2–6. Similarly, youth with severe ID had significantly higher LPA (21.69%) and MVPA (19.48%) on Day 1 than Day 2–6. An inverse reactivity was also found on Day 7 among youth with severe ID for LPA (−10.65%) and MVPA (−14.82%). Conclusions: Reactivity to accelerometer measurement was found for youth with moderate and severe ID. Findings support the utilisation of a 1‐day familiarisation period, as well as discounting the final day of measurement, when examining physical activity behaviours among youth with moderate and severe ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices related to physical restraint in tertiary hospitals and identify the factors that influence physical restraint use. Background: Physical restraint is used to maintain patient safety. Nurses play an important role in the restraint process. It is important to identify their understanding, feelings and approach regarding the use of physical restraint. Introduction: Physical restraint is widely practiced in hospitals in China. However, it results in a range of serious negative consequences. This article provides a clear description of nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices related to physical restraint. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire examining their knowledge, attitudes and practices related to physical restraint use. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed in four tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province, China between August and October 2014. Results: The nurses' responses indicated a good level of knowledge regarding physical restraint use. However, they held some misconceptions. The nurses' attitudes towards physical restraint tended to be neutral. The nurses were well experienced in the use of physical restraint. Nurses who had received on‐the‐job training performed better than those who had received no training related to knowledge and practices regarding physical restraint use. Conclusions and implication for nursing/health policy: In‐service training is highly recommended for nursing managers to improve nurses' physical restraint related knowledge and practices. Regulations regarding the use of restraints should be established as soon as possible by healthcare administration system. Implications for nursing: Nurses should be open to evaluate and improve their views and attitudes regarding effective physical restraint use via multidimensional interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Sustainable agricultural management practices improve soil processes, prevent soil erosion and consequently enhance crop productivity. The integrated agricultural practice (IP) developed in northeast China, by altering row spacing of planting, adopting no‐tillage and returning all crop residues, showed great benefit in sustaining crop yield. However, its effect on the soil microbiome remains largely elusive. This study evaluated the effect of 12‐year integrated agricultural practice on the structure and activity of the soil microbial community at different soil depths in China's Mollisols zone. The experiment consisted of integrated agricultural practice and conventional practice (CP) treatments in a split‐plot arrangement. The soil microbial community was characterized by MiSeq sequencing. The results showed that agricultural practices affected 12 phyla, 24 classes, 32 orders and 75 families in the bacterial community and one phyla, four classes, 12 orders and 18 families in the fungal community. Integrated agricultural practice resulted in greater bacterial richness and diversity, and increased the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Verrucomicrobia and Ascomycota, but reduced Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Basidiomycota in the dominant bacterial and fungal phyla. These findings suggested that integrated agricultural practice modified the soil physiochemical properties and consequently altered microbial community structure and diversity, which in turn affected soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities. These changes under integrated agricultural practice could have contributed to the enhanced crop yield, suggesting that IP is a sustainable agricultural practice. Highlights: How does soil microbial community change in the IP and CP soils? IP affected the soil microbial community and activity. Bacterial and fungal community structure correlated significantly with soil physiochemical properties. IP is a promising sustainable agricultural practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes are variably distributed among populations from distinct geographic areas and ethnic origins. We describe, for the first time, KIR gene diversity in 152 unrelated and healthy Drung individuals, as measured by sequence-specific polymerase chain reaction. All 16 known KIR genes were detected. Of these, the framework genes KIR2DL4, 3DL2, 3DL3, and 3DP1 were present in all individuals as expected, along with the non-framework genes KIR2DL1, 2DL3, and 2DP1. In contrast, KIR2DL2, 2DS2, and 2DS5 were unusually rare, suggesting that KIR gene distribution was relatively concentrated. Ten different KIR genotypes were found, of which the most common consisted of nine genes ( KIR2DL1, 2DL3, 2DL4, 2DS4, 3DL1, 3DL2, 3DL3, 2DP1, and 3DP1) and accounted for 66.4% of participants. There were eight different haplotypes present, of which the A haplotype was the most common (81.9%). Principal components and dendrogram analysis confirmed that the Drung Chinese are most closely related to the Japanese, the Zhejiang Han, and the Yunnan Han. In conclusion, distinctive frequencies of KIR genes, haplotypes, and genotypes are observed in Chinese Drung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The cotton-melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, is a major insect pest worldwide. The wasp Lysiphlebia japonica (Ashmead) is the predominant parasitoid of cotton-melon aphids in north China. Parasitization has been reported to affect host lipids in several systems, but the lipid synthesis-related genes and transcription changes in the cotton-melon aphid-parasitoid interaction are not clear. In this study, 36 lipid synthesis-related genes were cloned and their transcription changes in parasitized aphids were studied by quantitative real-time PCR. In parasitized cotton-melon aphids, almost all key genes in the glycerolipid synthesis pathway were up-regulated, the rate-limiting enzyme diacylglycerol o-acyltransferase by 3.24-fold. The rate-limiting enzyme of the glycolytic pathway, pyruvate kinase, and the pace-making enzyme in citrate synthesis were 1.69-fold and 1.75-fold less in parasitized aphids than in unparasitized aphids, respectively. These results suggest increased glycerolipid synthesis in parasitized aphids but that citrate production from sucrose was decreased. Aconitate hydratase (aco), in the pathway that converts amino acids into citrate, was up-regulated. The number of fragments per kilobase per million mapped reads of the mitochondrial aco2 gene was only 4.6, whereas that of the cytoplasmic aco1 was 41.5, indicating that the citrate comes from amino acids in the cytoplasm of parasitized cotton-melon aphids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, samples of the Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum) displaying yellowing symptoms were collected from a grove in Tai'an, Shandong Province, China. The association of phytoplasma with yellowing disease was ascertained using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the 16S rRNA gene by using the phytoplasma-specific universal primer pair P1/P7, followed by R16F2n/R16R2 as nested primers, and rp genes primed using rpL2F3/rp(I)R1A followed by rp(III)-FN/rp(I)R1A. The sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and rp genes revealed that the phytoplasma associated with the Chinese tallow tree belonged to the 16SrIII group (the X-disease group). Computer-simulated and gel-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses revealed that the RFLP patterns were different from the reference patterns of all previously established 16SrIII subgroups, with the maximum similarity coefficient exceeding the threshold for delineation of a new subgroup RFLP pattern type within the 16SrIII group. Thus, the phytoplasma associated with the Chinese tallow tree yellowing disease, designated as 'CTTY', represents a new subgroup (16SrIII-Y). This study shows the Chinese tallow tree as a new host of phytoplasma belonging to the 16SrIII group in China and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American ShadAlosa sapidissimawas introduced into China for aquaculture in 2003. The histological characteristics of the digestive tract of American Shad larvae were examined from hatching to 33 d after hatching (DAH) with the aim of cultivating the larvae efficiently. The fertilized American Shad eggs were imported from Oregon and incubated in barrels with spring water maintained at 20.3–21.9°C in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, China. The larvae were transferred to cement pools (water temperature at 24.0–25.0°C) at 13 DAH. Larvae were fedArtemianauplii starting at 3 DAH,Artemianauplii supplemented with gradually increasing proportions of commercial formulated feed after 18 DAH, and then only the formulated feed by 30 DAH. Based on the source of nutrition and structural changes in the digestive tract, larval development was divided into three stages: (1) lecitotrophic (0–2 DAH), (2) lecitoexotrophic (3 DAH), and (3) exotrophic (4–33 DAH). At 0 DAH of the lecitotrophic stage, the digestive system was undifferentiated and contained a large acidophilic yolk sac. By 1 DAH, the mouth and anus opened, the liver appeared, and the buccopharynx and intestine began to differentiate. The lecitoexotrophic stage began at the start of exogenous feeding, which led to the disappearance of the yolk sac. During the exotrophic stage, the esophagus could be differentiated into two different regions by 4 DAH. The intestinal tract developed quickly and differentiated into an obvious foregut and hindgut by 11 DAH. The primary stomach formed by 8 DAH and completely developed by 19 DAH with the presence of a few gastric glands. By 25 DAH, many gastric glands and a number of pyloric ceca were observed. The results of the study show the quick development of the digestive system in American Shad and we suggest initiating the weaning process at 23–25 DAH in the larvae. Received January 3, 2012; accepted December 17, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhu XL, Meng HX, Zhang L, Xu L, Chen ZB, Shi D, Feng XH, Zhang X. Association analysis between the −2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism and generalized aggressive periodontitis in a Chinese population. J Periodont Res 2012; 47: 286-292. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S Background and Objective: It has been suggested that aggressive periodontitis has a genetic basis. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) plays a critical role in the recruitment of monocytes and the development of periodontitis. The −2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism has been implicated as a risk or susceptibility factor for a variety of autoimmune conditions and inflammatory diseases. The intent of this investigation was to study whether the −2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism is associated with generalized aggressive periodontitis in the Chinese population. Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis and 94 healthy subjects were included in this case-control study. Genomic DNA was isolated from a peripheral blood sample obtained from each subject. Gene polymorphisms of −2518MCP-1(A/G) were analyzed by a standard polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. A logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between the −2518MCP-1(A/G) genotype (alleles) and generalized aggressive periodontitis with adjustment of the major covariates (gender, age and smoking status). Results: There was no significant association of the −2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism with generalized aggressive periodontitis in the unstratified subjects. However, when patients were stratified by gender, the frequency of the G+ genotype was significantly lower in female patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis compared with female controls ( p = 0.036, adjusted odds ratio = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1-0.9). In female patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis, the probing pocket depth was larger in subjects with the AA genotype than in subjects with the G+ genotype (5.07 mm vs. 4.30 mm; Z = −2.470, p = 0.014). Conclusion: The polymorphisms of −2518MCP-1 may play an important role in determining generalized aggressive periodontitis susceptibility in this cohort of Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in 191 farm-bred and 83 house-bred geese ( Anser domestica) were assessed for the prevalence of T. gondii infection in southern China with the modified agglutination test. Antibodies to T. gondii (MAT ≥ 1 : 5) were found in 27 (14.14%) of farm-bred geese and 14 (16.87%) of house-bred geese. Geese infected with T. gondii may be a source of T. gondii infection for humans and cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese chestnut trees ( Castanea mollissima BL.) planted in a suburb of Beijing, China developed symptoms including yellowing, leaf crinkling, little leaf, shortened internodes, and empty burrs. Transmission electron microscopy revealed presence of phytoplasma cells in phloem sieve elements of the symptomatic chestnut trees. Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of PCR-amplified near-full length 16S rRNA gene indicated that the phytoplasma associated with the Chinese chestnut yellow crinkle disease is closely related to Japanese chestnut witches'-broom phytoplasma. This is the first report of a phytoplasmal disease in Chinese chestnut trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the tuf gene sequence of the phytoplasma specific to paulownia witches’-broom from Nanyang, China (hereby designated PaWB-Ny). The PaWB-Ny tuf gene was 1185 nucleotides in length and confirmed that the phytoplasma belongs to subgroup 16SrI-D of aster yellows. Three characteristic GTP-binding protein motifs were identified based on the peptide deduced from the tuf gene sequence. Results suggested that the elongation factor EF-Tu was localized in the cytoplasm and lacked hydrophobic transmembrane domains. Antibodies against PaWB-Ny EF-Tu were prepared by rabbit immunization with glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-tagged EF-Tu fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli. EF-Tu exhibited a molecular weight of ∼43 kDa and was detected in PaWB-infected paulownia plants by western blot analysis. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and dot blotting analyses were performed with freezing and thawing treatments during antigen preparation. Dilution of extracts to an appropriate scale significantly reduced non-specific reactions. The resultant PaWB EF-Tu antibody reacted with antigens from plants infected with periwinkle virescence and chinaberry tree witches’-broom phytoplasmas, but not those infected with jujube witches’-broom or bishopwood witches’-broom phytoplasma. The EF-Tu was characteristically localized within the phytoplasmal cytoplasm of infected plant phloem tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of anti- Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG in stray and household cats in Guangzhou, China was determined by ELISA on serum samples from 206 cats (117 strays and 89 households) and the overall infection rate was 25.24%. The infection rate in stray cats (30.77%) was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than in household cats (17.98%). The rate of infection between male and female cats of both groups was not significantly different ( P ≥ 0.05), 28.13% versus 32.61% for male and female in stray cats, respectively, and 18% versus 17.95% in household cats. The present investigation demonstrated that the prevalence of T. gondii infection in cats in Guangzhou was high, especially in stray cats, which are probably the main source of T. gondii infection in this area. Integrated control strategies and measures should be implemented to prevent and control T. gondii infection in both stray and household cats, which will have significant implications for the control of human infection with T. gondii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Streptococcus Iniae strains isolated from diseased fish in China and its identification and genetic characterization. It determines the fishes' genetic diversity by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. It mentions that mortalities due to streptococcal infections occurred in seawater cage cultured fish including tilapia. It studies the anatomy of the diseased fishes including the brain, spleen and kidney tissues. It conducts bacterial identification using biochemical and phenotypical tests.

Background and purpose: Prion protein (PrP) predominantly localized at synapses can modulate neuronal excitability. The prion protein gene ( PRNP) has been considered one of the candidate genes that play a role in seizure susceptibility. A recent study demonstrated that the 129V allele in the PRNP gene was associated with susceptibility to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in female patients in an Italian population. We screened variations in the open-reading frame (ORF) of the PRNP gene and also replicated the association of the M129V polymorphism with TLE in a Han Chinese population. Methods: The M129V polymorphism was genotyped in 320 MTLE patients and 558 non-epilepsy controls. All subjects were Han Chinese. Results: No novel polymorphism in the ORF of the PRNP gene was detected. Differences in the genotype distributions and allele frequencies of this polymorphism between cases and controls were insignificant ( P = 0.24). Further analysis with stratification of the results by gender or age and analysis of clinical features in relation to M129V genotypes also yielded negative findings. Conclusions: The present study provides evidence that the M129V polymorphism in the PRNP gene is not associated with MTLE in a Han Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete genomic sequence of a Chinese Potato virus X isolate FX21 (PVX-FX21) was determined from three overlapping cDNA clones. The genome of PVX-FX21 is 6435 nucleotides in length excluding the poly(A) tail and contains five open reading frames (ORFs). Its entire genomic sequence shares 95.2–96.3% identities with Asian and European isolates, and 77.3–77.8% with American isolates. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genomic sequence reveals two groups: the Eurasian group and the American group. PVX-FX21 belongs to the Eurasian group and forms a separate sub-branch with three Asian isolates. Similar analyses of the coat protein genes of 37 PVX isolates also reveal two major groups. All PVX isolates from Asia are clustered to group I, whereas isolates from Europe and America are clustered to both groups. Nucleotide sequence diversity analyses show that there is no geographical differentiation between PVX isolates and that constraint on the ORF encoding RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is much higher than those on the other four ORFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, rose plants ( Rosa rugosa cv. ‘Plena’) exhibiting typical phytoplasma disease symptoms of stunting, yellowing, witches’-broom and dieback were observed in Pingyin, Shandong Province, China. The disease, rose witches’-broom (RoWB), is progressively destructive and can be graft-transmitted. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing of PCR products and electron microscopy were used to investigate the possible association of phytoplasma with RoWB. All results indicated that presence of phytoplasma in the symptomatic rose plants. Sequence alignment of 16S rRNA gene, tuf gene and rp gene confirmed that the phytoplasma associated with RoWB is the causal agent of Paulownia witches’-broom disease, which might be transmitted from the paulownia tree that is several meters away. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the molecular characterization of phytoplasma infecting rose in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Host genetic factors and environment factors including hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes are widely studied for the different outcomes of HBV infection. Recent studies suggest that tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) plays a pivotal role in the viral clearance and host immune response to HBV, and the capacity for TNF-alpha production in individuals is influenced by a major genetic component. In this study, we aimed to explore whether the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TNF-alpha promoter are associated with the outcomes of HBV infection in the Chinese Han population. One hundred and forty-three spontaneously recovered HBV subjects and 196 chronic hepatitis B patients were recruited in this case–control study in the Beijing area of China. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequence-specific primer-PCR (SSP-PCR) were used to detect the SNPs of five sites in the TNF-alpha promoter (−238G/A, −308G/A, −857C/T, −863C/A, −1031T/C). The frequency distributions of genotypes and haplotypes in two groups were analysed by EPI and EH programs. The presence of the −238GG genotype was significantly correlated with persistence of HBV infection (OR = 4.08, P = 0.02), and −857TT genotype appeared in relation to the spontaneous clearance of HBV (OR = 0.47, P = 0.03). Frequency of haplotype GGCCT (−238/−308/−857/−863/−1031) in the chronic HB group was significantly lower than that in spontaneously recovered group ( P = 0.03), and frequencies of haplotypes GGCAT and GGTAT in the chronic HB group were significantly higher than those in the spontaneously recovered group ( P = 0.0001, P = 0.0004). In conclusion, TNF-alpha promoter polymorphisms are independently associated with different outcomes of HBV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HLA-C*07:477 has one nonsynonymous nucleotide change from HLA-C*07:02:01:01 in codon 176, exon 3 (AAG>GAG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Beet mosaic virus (BtMV) which infects vegetables, particularly lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in China. Accordingly, BtMV is widespread and mainly infects the plants belonging to the Chenopodiaceae, Solanaceae and Fabaceae. In 2004 and 2006, a series of field surveys were conducted to investigate such virus in Shandong Province, China. It mentions that lactuca sativa has shown symptoms of mosaic, puckering and severe stunting with an incidence of 30-40 %. Several tests were conducted and results indicate that the virus is BtMV.

This article is the first report of the occurrence of Monilinia fructicola on stone fruit in China. In 2003 and 2004, peach and nectarine fruit showing typical brown rot symptoms were found in an orchard in a suburb of Beijing, China. The pathogen was identified as Monilinia fructicola based on morphological and molecular approaches. Pathogenicity was tested by inoculating surface sterilized, mature nectarine fruit with a droplet of conidial suspension Brown rot of stone fruit is commonly caused by one of the three Monilinia species. It is still not clear which is the major causal pathogen in stone fruit in China.

In this multicentre, real-world study, we aimed to identify the clinical outcomes and safety of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL). A total of 130 Ann Arbor stage III or IV T-LBL patients (>16 years) treated with allo-HSCT across five transplant centres were enrolled. The 2-year cumulative incidence of disease progression, the probabilities of progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) after allo-HSCT were 21.0%, 69.8%, 79.5% and 9.2% respectively. Patients with central nervous system (CNS) involvement had a higher cumulative incidence of disease progression compared with those without CNS involvement (57.1% vs. 18.9%, HR 3.78, p = 0.014). Patients receiving allo-HSCT in non-remission (NR) had a poorer PFS compared with those receiving allo-HSCT in complete remission (CR) or partial remission (49.2% vs. 72.7%, HR 2.21, p = 0.041). Particularly for patients with bone marrow involvement and achieving CR before allo-HSCT, measurable residual disease (MRD) positivity before allo-HSCT was associated with a poorer PFS compared with MRD negativity (62.7% vs. 86.8%, HR 1.94, p = 0.036). On multivariate analysis, CNS involvement at diagnosis and receiving allo-HSCT in NR were associated with disease progression. Thus, our real-world data suggested that allo-HSCT appeared to be an effective therapy for adult T-LBL patients with Ann Arbor stage III or IV disease., (© 2024 British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: To assess the population attributable fractions (PAFs) for modifiable risk factors for microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in China., Materials and Methods: Data collected from the China National HbA1c Surveillance System from 2009 to 2013 were used. The PAFs of four predefined risk factors, including an HbA1c of 7% or higher, blood pressure (BP) of 130/80 mmHg or higher, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) of 1.8 mmol/L or higher and body mass index (BMI) of 24 kg/m 2 or higher, were calculated for diabetic microvascular complications, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN). PAFs were further adjusted for age, sex and duration of diabetes., Results: In total, there were 998 379 participants with T2D from nationwide mainland China included in this analysis. As for DR, an HbA1c of 7% or higher, BP of 130/80 mmHg or higher, LDL-C of 1.8 mmol/L or higher and BMI of 24 kg/m 2 or higher conferred PAFs of 16.2%, 15.2%, 5.8% and 2.8%, respectively. In the case of DKD, BP of 130/80 mmHg or higher provided a PAF of 25.2%, followed by an HbA1c of 7% or higher (13.9%), BMI of 24 kg/m 2 or higher (8.0%) and LDL-C of 1.8 mmol/L or higher (5.6%). As for DSPN, an HbA1c of 7% or higher, BP of 130/80 mmHg or higher, LDL-C of 1.8 mmol/L or higher and BMI of 24 kg/m 2 or higher contributed to PAFs of 14.2%, 11.7%, 5.9% and 5.8%, respectively. PAFs for diabetic microvascular complications were mildly to moderately reduced after adjusting for participants' age, sex and duration of diabetes., Conclusions: Suboptimal glycaemic and BP control were the main contributors to diabetic microvascular complications, while the PAFs of unmet LDL-C and BMI control targets were quite limited for diabetic microvascular complications. In addition to glycaemic control, BP control should be especially prioritized in the management of diabetic microvascular complications to further reduce the disease burden., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: The pharmacokinetics (PK) of hetrombopag were found to be nonlinear across evaluated dose ranges. The aim of this study was to develop a mechanism-based population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PopPK/PD) model and to provide a reasonable expected therapeutic dose for a future confirmatory clinical study of hetrombopag., Methods: Nonlinear mixed-effects modelling was performed using pooled 2168 hetrombopag concentrations and 1526 platelet counts from 72 healthy subjects and 32 chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) patients from two phase I studies and one phase II study. The final model was evaluated via goodness-of-fit plots, visual predictive check and nonparametric bootstrap. Simulations from the validated PopPK/PD model were used to devise an expected therapeutic dose for later confirmatory clinical study., Results: The pharmacokinetic data of hetrombopag were well described by a modified target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) model with dual sequential first-order absorption. Mean parameter estimates (interindividual variability) were CL/F 7.66 L/h (63.5%), V c /F 30.0 L (77.2%) and K deg 0.693/h (87.1%). The pharmacodynamic profile was well described by a five-compartment lifespan model with four-transit and one-platelet compartments. Simulation results suggested that chronic ITP patients following 10 mg once-daily hetrombopag would able to achieve an ideal platelet count level (50-200 × 10 9 /L)., Conclusion: TMDD was the primary reason leading to nonlinear PK profile of hetrombopag. Our PK/PD modelling and simulation results support 10 mg once-daily as the recommended therapeutic dose for chronic ITP patients in subsequent confirmatory clinical study of hetrombopag., (© 2021 British Pharmacological Society.)

Objective: To evaluate the association between the vaginal microenvironment and fecundability among women., Design: Register-based nationwide cohort study., Setting: Chinese National Free Pre-conception Check-up Project from 2015 to 2018., Population: Our study included a total of 3 388 554 eligible women who were attempting to become pregnant., Method: We assessed the vaginal microenvironment at baseline by considering four indices: vaginal pH, clue cell examination, whiff test and vaginal cleanliness grading. If any of these indicators was abnormal, the vaginal microenvironment was defined as poor. Propensity score matching was used to control for potential confounders and reduce bias. Logistic models were used to estimate the fecundability odds ratios (FORs) after adjustment for covariates., Main Outcome Measures: Achievement of a pregnancy within 1 year., Results: Of the total study population, 379 718 women (11.2%) had a poor vaginal microenvironment and their pregnancy rate after 1 year was significantly lower than the group with a normal microenvironment (71.8% versus 76.1%, P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the women with a poor vaginal microenvironment were associated with a 9% reduction in fecundability compared with the normal microenvironment group (FOR 0.91, 95% CI 0.90-0.92). The adverse effects of a poor vaginal microenvironment were stronger among multipara (FOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.87-0.90) or women with irregular menstruation (FOR 0.86, 95% CI 0.84-0.89)., Conclusion: There was a negative association between a poor vaginal microenvironment and the fecundability of women. These findings highlight the significance of assessing the vaginal microenvironment during pre-pregnancy health examinations., Tweetable Abstract: Women with a poor vaginal microenvironment were associated with a reduction in fecundability., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The primary objective of this study was to identify the metabolic pattern in the brains of betel quid dependent (BQD) individuals using 18 F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography ( 18 F-FDG-PET). A total of 42 individuals (16 BQD individuals and 26 healthy controls, HCs) enrolled at the Department of Nuclear Medicine of Xiangya Hospital underwent brain 18 F-FDG-PET. Group comparisons using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) were performed to identify the 18 F-FDG-PET patterns. Standardized uptake value ratios of anterior cingulate, frontal, thalamus, parietal, occipital, temporal and cerebellum were calculated by SPM. The characteristics of abnormal metabolism in brain regions were quantified using the xjView toolbox, and a 3-D brain map was drawn using BrainNet Viewer. We found significant metabolic reduction in the bilateral middle prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the left orbital frontal gyrus (OFC). In contrast, hypermetabolism was observed in the inferior cerebellum, fusiform, superior cerebellum, parahippocampal, vermis, lingual and thalamus. However, we found no significant difference between the BQD and HC group in the anterior cingulate, thalamus, cerebellum and frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. In summary, we found abnormal 18 F-FDG-PET metabolic pattern in BQD individuals, and this pattern may help the treatment of BQD., (© 2021 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Purpose: Early detection of ocular abnormalities in newborns is essential for timely diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to assess the 1-year result of a multicentre prospective neonatal eye examination programme with wide-field digital imaging system in China., Methods: A multicentre collaborative prospective study group for neonatal eye screening was established in nine hospitals, including eight Maternal and Children's Hospitals, and one general hospital across China from July 2016 to June 2017. Ocular examinations were performed on newborns within 28 days after birth using a wide-field digital imaging system. Data were reviewed and analysed. The primary outcome was the prevalence of ocular abnormalities in neonates., Results: We detected 13 514 (20.91%) abnormal cases in 64 632 newborns. The most frequent abnormality was retinal haemorrhage (RH; 11.83%). Most of mild RH resolved spontaneously. Among those who were beyond retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening criteria of China (gestational age ≥32 w and birthweight ≥2000 g), the total number of neonates with ocular abnormality was 12 218/62 799(19.45%). 59.44% of neonatal ocular abnormalities detected (accounting for 11.56% of all the screened population) needed further interference or observation. Among them, 258 patients (0.41% of all the screened population) needed immediate or timely intervention, including congenital cataract, retinal detachment, retinoblastoma and other ocular abnormalities. One thousand and ninety-eight patients (1.75% of all the screened neonates) should be followed up closely and needed further diagnosis or intervention if necessary, such as ROP or ROP-like retinopathy, familial exudative vitreoretinopathy and persistent hyperplasia of primary vitreous. Five thousand nine hundred and six patients (9.4%) with minor clinical significance needed short-term follow-up., Conclusions: This prospective multicentre study of newborn ocular examination showed a relatively high prevalence of ocular abnormalities. There are a relatively high percentage of congenital eye pathology that required further referral and treatment in those neonates who were not screened routinely. According to the benefits and risks associated with neonatal eye examinations, neonatal ocular screening programme can detect ocular abnormalities at the very early stage and may play a positive role in promoting paediatric eye health., (© 2020 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.)

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence, causes and risk factors of bilateral visual impairment in rural areas of Tianjin, China., Methods: A large population-based, cross-sectional study. A stratified random cluster sampling method was used to investigate 12 233 participants in all age groups living in rural Tianjin. Participants completed questionnaires and received professional ophthalmology examinations., Results: According to World Health Organization best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria, the crude prevalence of bilateral visual impairment (BCVA < 20/63), bilateral low vision (BCVA < 20/63 to ≥20/400) and bilateral blindness (BCVA < 20/400) was 2.53%, 2.40% and 0.14% (age- and gender-standardized prevalence was 1.86%, 1.76% and 0.11%). The prevalence increased with age and was higher in women than men. The most common causes of bilateral visual impairment in the total population were cataract (48.39%), refractive error/amblyopia (17.74%), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (10.00%), diabetic retinopathy (5.81%) and glaucoma (3.87%). For participants younger than 50 years, refractive error/amblyopia was the leading cause of low vision and blindness, while cataract was the major cause in the participants over 50. Female gender, older age and self-reported diabetes were associated with increased risks of visual impairment., Conclusion: The age- and gender-standardized prevalence of low vision, especially in the older group (50+), was higher in this study compared with previous studies in China. Refractive error/amblyopia was the leading cause of bilateral visual impairment in younger group, while cataract was the primary cause in the older group. These findings will provide useful information for planning comprehensive eye healthcare programmes in China., (© 2020 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics, and tolerability of janagliflozin, a novel sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, in Chinese people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)., Materials and Methods: In this study, 36 people with T2DM were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive janagliflozin 25 mg, janagliflozin 50 mg, dapagliflozin 10 mg or placebo. Participants received a single dose on day 1, and were treated once daily from day 4 to day 17., Results: Following oral administration, janagliflozin was rapidly absorbed, reaching C max at 2 hours. The mean half-life (t 1/2 ) at steady state was approximately 21 to 23 hours. There was no significant accumulation with multiple doses (accumulation factor < 2). In participants treated with janagliflozin 25 mg, janagliflozin 50 mg, dapagliflozin 10 mg or placebo, change in mean 24-hour urinary glucose excretion from baseline was 92.35, 94.17, 87.61 and 6.26 g after multiple doses, and change in mean fasting plasma glucose level from baseline to day 17 was -2.18, -2.66, -2.79 and 1.70%, respectively. Most adverse events (AEs) were mild or moderate with no deaths, serious AEs, or discontinuations due to AEs., Conclusions: Single and multiple oral administration (14 days) of janagliflozin 25 mg and 50 mg exhibited favourable PK, PD and tolerability profiles in Chinese people with T2DM, which were comparable to those of dapagliflozin 10 mg. Janagliflozin 25 mg and 50 mg are recommended for further clinical investigation., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Recently, functional studies have demonstrated that legumain (LGMN) cleaves both amyloid β-protein precursor and tau, promoting senile plaques and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, which may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the genetic role of LGMN in AD has not been clearly elucidated. Here, we used Sanger sequencing to investigate the single independent (single-variant association test) and cumulative (gene-based association test) effects of variants in the LGMN gene as potential susceptibility factors for AD, in a cohort comprising 676 AD cases and 365 elderly controls from the Han population of South China. In single-variant association analysis, none of the common variants in LGMN were statistically significant. In gene-based analysis, the LGMN gene also showed no association with AD. The results of our replication study in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort also showed no association between LGMN and AD. These findings suggest that the LGMN gene may not be a critical factor for AD development., (© 2020 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics of rongliflozin in a cohort of healthy Chinese people and people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)., Materials and Methods: We examined the effects of a single ascending dose (SAD) of rongliflozin (10-200 mg) in combination with food (20 mg) in 50 healthy people, and a multiple ascending dose (MAD) of rongliflozin (10-50 mg once daily for 12 days) in 36 people with T2DM., Results: No serious adverse events (AEs) or discontinuations as a result of AEs (related to rongliflozin) occurred in either study. In healthy participants and those with T2DM, rongliflozin was rapidly absorbed, with a time to maximum plasma concentration of 0.63 to 1.75 hours. Systemic exposure (maximum observed serum concentration and area under the curve) to rongliflozin and its inactive major metabolites (T1444, T1454 and T1830) increased in proportion to dose. In the SAD and MAD studies, there was a dose-related increase in urinary glucose excretion (UGE) ranging from 10 to 50 mg rongliflozin. This increase in UGE was associated with dose-related decreases in serum glucose values in people with T2DM in the MAD group. In the SAD group, UGE plateaued at 50 to 200 mg., Conclusions: Rongliflozin was well tolerated in all participants. The PK and PD measurements obtained for rongliflozin demonstrate a dose-response relationship when the drug is administered at doses ranging from 10 to 50 mg in healthy people and in people with T2DM., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The cotton-melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, is a worldwide-spreading species, and pesticide-resistant populations are increasing rapidly. In this study, investigations were performed based on Illumina HiSeq sequencing of the 16S rDNA V4 region for the bacterial communities embodied as intracellular symbionts under natural and in pesticide-treated populations of A. gossypii. The results revealed that more than 82% of bacterial communities belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria in which the maximum proportion (53.24%) was of the genus Arsenophonus; Hamiltonella composed 22.31; and 1.37% was of the genus Acinetobacter. The relative abundance of Hamiltonella was obvious, vertically transmitted, divided into two groups, and its infection influenced the bacterial communities in A. gossypii. Symbiont density and composition were changed in samples tested on different days. Azadirachtin and phoxim influenced on the composition of bacterial communities. Different biomarkers were used for pesticide-treated samples with LEfSe results. These findings will increase awareness regarding bacterial communities in naturally occurring populations of A. gossypii and pave the way to study the relationship between symbionts and pesticide resistance., (© 2018 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a complex and severe mental disorder with highly heritability (80%). Several large genome-wide association studies have identified that the transcription factor 4 (TCF4) polymorphisms were strongly associated with SCZ. Therefore, the present study was to replicate the potential relationships between the TCF4 polymorphisms and SCZ. Furthermore, the study also investigated whether other variants were associated with SCZ in the Han Chinese. We conducted a case-control study including 499 patients and 500 healthy controls. Five SNPs were successfully genotyped and evaluated the association with SCZ by using χ 2 test and genetic model analysis. We found that the genotype "AG" of rs9320010 and "GA" of rs7235757 decreased SCZ risk (OR = 0.70, 95%CI = 0.50-0.99, P = 0.041; OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.49-0.97, P = 0.034, respectively). In the genetic model analysis, we also observed that the allele "A" of rs9320010 and "G" of rs7235757 were inversely related with the risk of SCZ in the dominant model (OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.52-0.98, P = 0.039; OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.50-0.96, P = 0.025, respectively). Further interaction and stratification analysis suggested that rs1452787 was notably correlated with increased SCZ risk in males (OR = 2.77, 95%CI = 1.43-5.35, P = 0.002). Our study indicated that rs9320010, rs7235757, and rs1452787 were prominently associated with SCZ. Further studies are required to verify our findings and focus on determining the biological functions of the SNPs. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Erythromelanosis follicularis faciei (EFF) is clinically characterized by well-demarcated erythema, hyperpigmentation and follicular papules. No satisfactory therapy has been widely accepted., Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the efficiency and complications of a dual-wavelength laser system in the treatment of EFF in Chinese population., Methods: Twelve Chinese patients with EFF were enrolled in this study. One side of the face was randomized to receive five successions of treatments at intervals of 6-8 weeks, with the other side spared as control. The parameters were set as follows: energy densities of 6.5-7.5 J/cm(2) with pulsed dye laser (PDL) and 35-50 J/cm(2) with Nd:YAG; pulse duration of 0.5 ms with PDL and 15 ms with Nd:YAG; a delay time of 100 ms between delivery of the two wavelengths. The efficacy was evaluated using subjective assessment and non-invasive measurement., Results: After five sessions of treatment, over 40% patients achieved more than 50% (moderate or significant) improvement. The efficacy maintained at 3-month follow-up. The values of erythema index and melanin index on treated side were significantly less than those on untreated side after sessions of treatments. Adverse effects of treated side were limited., Conclusion: Using this split-face module, dual-wavelength laser system treatment is proved to be suitable for Chinese EFF. Adverse effects were minimal., (© 2013 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.)

Background: The epidemiologic profiles of chronic urticaria (CU) vary considerably among regions, and few such data are available from China., Methods: We performed a multicenter open questionnaire investigation about the clinical and laboratory features of CU, defined as recurrent wheals with/without angioedema lasting for ≥6 weeks, among 3027 patients., Results: Female preponderance was observed (female/male ratio, 1.46 : 1). The mean age at diagnosis was 34.7 ± 13.8 years, and the mean disease duration was 18.5 ± 46.1 months (range, 1.5-127 months). Patients were classified as having chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU, 61.0% of patients), physical urticaria (PU, 26.2%), or other urticaria types (OU, 2.3%). Nocturnal attacks were reported by 60% of cases. The Urticaria Activity Score (UAS) in patients with CSU was 3.8 ± 1.4. The mean Dermatology Life Quality Index was 7.3 ± 3.4 (range 0-30). Induction or exacerbation of wheals with alcohol drinking was reported by 55.7% of patients. Chronic hepatitis B was less prevalent in our CU patients compared with the general Chinese population (2.7% vs 7%). Positive autologous serum skin tests (ASSTs) were observed in 66.9% of patients. Patients with positive ASST had higher UAS, greater angioedema frequencies, longer disease durations, and poorer QoL compared with patients with negative ASST (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: In this Chinese population, CU usually affected youth, and CSU was the most common subtype. Autoreactivity and alcohol consumption were the top two triggers for CU, whereas latent infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases were not as common as in previous reports., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence, epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic features of patients with pemphigus vulgaris in China. We retrospectively investigated a total of 221 patients with pemphigus vulgaris. The parameters including age at diagnosis/onset, sex, diagnostic methods, hospitalizations, side-effects with different treatments, pemphigus vulgaris-associated diseases, the therapeutic features and duration of follow up were evaluated. The male : female ratio was 1:1.40. The incidence rate was obviously higher in two age groups, 31-40 years and 41-50 years. The mean age at onset was 44.19 ± 21.45 years. The majority of patients (56.56%) presented the mucocutaneous type. In addition, we found that various doses of corticosteroids (including the mean initial dose, maximum control dose, total dose before reducing and hospitalized total dose) exhibited statistical differences between only corticosteroids and corticosteroids-immunosuppressant groups in mild, moderate and severe pemphigus vulgaris (P < 0.05). Our survey suggested that pemphigus vulgaris most frequently occurred in the 41-50-year age group in China and the majority of patients manifested mucocutaneous lesions. Importantly, the incidence rate in females was higher than in males. The patients who needed combined immunosuppressant treatment, usually needed higher doses of corticosteroids initially, to control the disease and over the total course of treatment., (© 2013 Japanese Dermatological Association.)

Background: The resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to antibiotics is increasing worldwide, lowering its efficacy in current eradication therapies. This study evaluated H. pylori resistance to antibiotics in the southeast coastal region of China and suggests appropriate alternatives., Materials and Methods: Seventeen thousand seven hundred and thirty one H. pylori strains were collected from eight areas of two provinces in coastal southeast China from 2010 to 2012. The resistance of these strains to six antibiotics was tested using the agar dilution method., Results: The resistance rates to clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin, amoxicillin, gentamicin and furazolidone were 21.5, 95.4, 20.6, 0.1, 0.1 and 0.1%, respectively. Double, triple and quadruple antibacterial resistant percentages were 25.5, 7.5 and 0.1%, respectively. A positive association between the resistance to levofloxacin and to clarithromycin was found, but there was a negative correlation in the resistances to levofloxacin and to metronidazole., Conclusions: The prevalence of H. pylori resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin and multiple antibiotics in coastal southeast China is high. Choice of therapy should be individualized based on a susceptibility test in this region of the country., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background and Objective: It has been suggested that aggressive periodontitis has a genetic basis. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) plays a critical role in the recruitment of monocytes and the development of periodontitis. The -2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism has been implicated as a risk or susceptibility factor for a variety of autoimmune conditions and inflammatory diseases. The intent of this investigation was to study whether the -2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism is associated with generalized aggressive periodontitis in the Chinese population., Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis and 94 healthy subjects were included in this case-control study. Genomic DNA was isolated from a peripheral blood sample obtained from each subject. Gene polymorphisms of -2518MCP-1(A/G) were analyzed by a standard polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. A logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between the -2518MCP-1(A/G) genotype (alleles) and generalized aggressive periodontitis with adjustment of the major covariates (gender, age and smoking status)., Results: There was no significant association of the -2518MCP-1(A/G) polymorphism with generalized aggressive periodontitis in the unstratified subjects. However, when patients were stratified by gender, the frequency of the G(+) genotype was significantly lower in female patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis compared with female controls (p = 0.036, adjusted odds ratio = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1-0.9). In female patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis, the probing pocket depth was larger in subjects with the AA genotype than in subjects with the G(+) genotype (5.07 mm vs. 4.30 mm; Z = -2.470, p = 0.014)., Conclusion: The polymorphisms of -2518MCP-1 may play an important role in determining generalized aggressive periodontitis susceptibility in this cohort of Chinese women., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Objectives: The primary aim examined whether coping deficits, a greater tendency to utilize maladaptive as opposed to adaptive coping strategies, was associated with increases in depressive symptoms following negative events. The secondary goals examined: the common vulnerability hypothesis, sex differences, and the cross-cultural generalizability., Design: Following the initial assessment, Canadian adolescents completed three follow-up assessments every 6 weeks. The Chinese adolescents completed an initial assessment and six follow-up assessments occurring monthly., Methods: At Time 1, 150 Canadian and 397 Chinese adolescents completed self-report measures assessing depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, negative events, and coping. During each of the follow-up assessments, participants completed self-report measures assessing depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and negative events., Results: In both samples, higher levels of coping deficits were associated with increases in depressive, but not anxious, symptoms following negative events. Gender differences did not emerge., Conclusions: The present study provides a theoretically driven model to examine the impact of broad-based coping on the development of depressive symptoms.

This his article reports the findings of a study conducted to investigate the personality types of Chinese dental school applicants. The Chinese version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Form G) was used to assess the personality styles of 332 dental school applicants from the mainland of China. The results of the MBTI for Chinese dental school applicants were compared with a previous study of applicants from the U.K. A higher percentage of this group of Chinese applicants scored higher for Introversion (I) than Extroversion (E); both Chinese and English applicants preferred Judging (J) to Perceiving (P). The dominant personality types in Chinese applicants were ISTJ, ESTJ, and ISFP. The findings suggest that the personality types of Chinese dental students may be somewhat different from the personality profiles exhibited by dental students from other nations. The findings may be of value to individuals who desire to investigate personality type differences among dental students with different cultural backgrounds.

S100A8, the light subunit of calprotectin, has been known to be associated with periodontal inflammation. The present study looked to detect whether three polymorphisms in the upstream region of the S100A8 gene are correlated with periodontitis. Three hundred and twenty one subjects, including chronic periodontitis (CP) patients, aggressive periodontitis (AgP) patients and periodontally healthy controls, were recruited. The SNPs rs3795391, rs3806232 and rs3885688 were analyzed by PCR-RFLP analysis. No person carried the rs3885688 polymorphism in this cohort. For the other two polymorphisms, the combined effects of genotype/allele and gender were shown to be associated with the risk of periodontitis using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The G+ genotype/G allele may be considered to exert a significant protective effect in males against AgP (Genotype: rs3795391: P= 0.032, rs3806232: P= 0.017; Allele: rs3795391: P= 0.024, rs3806232: P= 0.013). Although the combined effects of genotype and gender on CP susceptibility were not observed for these two polymorphisms, there does seem to be increased risk of CP in males with allele A compared to females with allele A (rs3795391: P= 0.008; rs3806232: P= 0.009). Hence we found an important association between polymorphisms in the S100A8 gene and periodontitis in a Chinese population.

Objective: Dyslipidemia correlating to insulin resistance is one of the key features in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recent studies have demonstrated that apolipoprotein M (apoM) is important for the formation of prebeta-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and cholesterol (CHO) efflux in macrophages to HDL. In the present study, we investigated the potential association of apoM genetic variation with the development of T2D., Methods: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) C-1065A, T-855C and T-778C in the proximal promoter region of apoM gene were validated to represent in Han Chinese. Further genotyping experiments in 170 T2D patients and 156 non-diabetic control subjects were performed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)., Results: Single marker analysis for SNP T-778C indicated that T2D patients had increased frequency of C allele in comparison with non-diabetic controls (10.6% versus 5.8%, P = 0.026, OR = 1.934). In non-diabetic controls, the carriers with CT and CC genotypes had higher plasma CHO (221.7 versus 204.2 mg/dL, P = 0.033) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (92.6 versus 89.7 mg/dL, P = 0.041) levels than the subjects with TT genotype. Further analysis with adjustment for age, BMI, SBP, DBP, CHO and TG demonstrated that this SNP was strongly associated with T2D (P = 0.013, OR = 2.287). Haplotype analysis for those three SNPs, however, indicated that the common haplotypes were less informative than studying the role of the T-778C variant independently of the haplotype context., Conclusion: The present study provided the first evidence that SNP T-778C in the proximal promoter region of apoM gene was associated with the levels of plasma CHO and FPG and also conferred the risk in the development of T2D among Han Chinese.

Aim: To compare the efficacy, safety and tolerability of adapalene gel 0.1% vs. tretinoingel 0.025% in a Chinese patient population., Background: Although acne vulgaris is a common problem among Asians and Asian-Americans, little has been published on the specific manifestations, sequelae, and treatment-responsiveness of this disorder in Asian skin types. Since Asian skin types tend to be more highly pigmented than those of white people of European descent, many Asians share the predisposition toward postinflammatory hyperpigmentation seen in Africans, African-Americans and other dark-skinned peoples. It is generally assumed that the efficacy and safety of topical retinoids is the same in Asians as in white people. Tretinoin has been available in China for decades; adapalene became available in 1998., Methods: A total of 150 patients with grade II-III acne vulgaris seen at three dermatology clinics were randomized to 8 weeks of daily treatment with either adapalene gel 0.1% or tretinoin gel 0.025%. Counts of total lesions, inflammatory lesions and non-inflammatory lesions were made at baseline and again at treatment weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8. Global assessment ratings, based on percent lesion reduction from baseline were also made. Erythema, burning, pruritus, scaling and dryness were rated on a 0-3 severity scale., Results: A total of 139 patients completed the efficacy evaluation, and 144 patients completed the safety evaluation. Both adapalene and tretinoin produce dramatic reductions in total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts, in the range of 69-74% on average. More than 70% of patients in both groups had complete clearance or marked improvement. In general, irritation was mild, but was both more common and more severe in the tretinoin group vs. the adapalene group. No systemic side effects were seen., Conclusions: Adapalene offers comparable efficacy to tretinoin, but is less irritating. It represents a good alternative for the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris in Chinese patients.