Search

HIV incidence in sub-Saharan Africa declined substantially between 2000 and 2015. In this analysis, we consider the relative associations of nine structural and individual determinants with this decline. A linear mixed effects model of logged HIV incidence rates versus determinants was used. The data were from mathematical modelling as part of the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study in 43 sub-Saharan African countries. We used forwards selection to determine a single final model of HIV incidence rate. The association of economic variables and HIV knowledge with incidence was found to be driven by education, while ART coverage had the largest impact on other determinants’ coefficients. In the final model, education years per capita contributed the most to explaining variation in HIV incidence rates; a 1-year increase in mean education years was associated with a 0.39 (− 0.56; − 0.2, t = − 4.48 p

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of supranutritional selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on immune and antioxidant capacity in rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups and given intragastric administration of SeNPs at doses of 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mg Se/kg BW, respectively, for 2 weeks. Serum immune parameters, serum and organic tissues (liver, heart, kidney) antioxidant indices, and liver mRNA expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) were examined. The results showed that supranutritional doses of 0.4 and 0.8 mg Se/kg BW SeNPs promoted the immune responses in serum. SeNPs administration improved antioxidant capacity in the liver and kidney, and the best improvement on antioxidant capacity was found in the kidney. Furthermore, intragastric administration of SeNPs upregulated mRNA expression of GPx1 and GPx4 in the liver. The results obtained indicated that SeNPs administration at supranutritional levels had beneficial effects on immune and antioxidant capacity and supplemental SeNPs at dose of 0.4 mg Se/kg BW exhibited the best response in SD rats.

Summary Background Vision loss is an important public health issue in China, but a detailed understanding of national and regional trends in its prevalence and causes, which could inform health policy, has not been available. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, causes, and regional distribution of vision impairment and blindness in China in 1990 and 2019. Methods Data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 were used to estimate the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment and blindness in China and compare with other Group of 20 (G20) countries. We used GBD methodology to systematically analyse all available demographic and epidemiological data at the provincial level in China. We compared the age-standardised prevalences across provinces, and the changes in proportion of vision loss attributable to various eye diseases in 1990 and 2019. We used two different counterfactual scenarios with respect to population structure and age-specific prevalence to assess the contribution of population growth and ageing to trends in vision loss. Findings In 2019, the age-standardised prevalence was 2·57% (uncertainty interval [UI] 2·28–2·86) for moderate vision impairment, 0·25% (0·22–0·29) for severe vision impairment, and 0·48% (0·43–0·54) for blindness in China, which were all below the global average, but the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment had increased more rapidly than in other G20 countries from 1990 to 2019. The prevalence of vision loss increased with age, and the main causes of vision loss varied across age groups. The leading causes of vision impairment in China were uncorrected refractive error, cataract, and macular degeneration in both 1990 and 2019 in the overall population. From 1990 to 2019, the number of people with moderate vision impairment increased by 133·67% (from 19·65 to 45·92 million), those with severe vision impairment increased by 147·14% (from 1·89 to 4·67 million), and those with blindness increased by 64·35% (from 5·29 to 8·69 million); in each case, 20·16% of the increase could be explained by population growth. The contributions to these changes by population ageing were 87·22% for moderate vision impairment, 116·06% for severe vision impairment, and 99·22% for blindness, and the contributions by age-specific prevalence were 26·29% for moderate vision impairment, 10·91% for severe vision impairment, and −55·04% for blindness. The prevalence and specific causes of vision loss differed across provinces. Interpretation Although a comprehensive national policy to prevent blindness is in place, public awareness of visual health needs improving, and reducing the prevalence of moderate and severe vision impairment should be prioritised in future work. Funding China National Key Research and Development Programme and Beijing Municipal Special Funds for Medical Research on Public Welfare Development and Reform.

Studies have found that N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (Ndrg2) is involved in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, the specific mechanism still remains unclear. Gene expression profiles in the tibial joints of the collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis model were obtained using Gene Expression Omnibus database. Western blot and real-time PCR were respectively performed to determine the expression of Ndrg2 and gene messenger RNA. Cell viability was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) method, and cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. Cell scratch assays were carried out to detect migration. The binding ability of miR-130a to Ndrg2-3'-UTR was predicted by TargetScan website and confirmed by dual luciferase assay. A collagen-induced arthritis rat model was constructed to observe the effects of miR-130a on arthritis index, hind limb swelling, volume of rat hind paw, and inflammation. Ndrg2 was found downregulated in RA tissues, and knockdown of Ndrg2 promoted fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) proliferation and inflammation, while overexpressed Ndrg2 produced opposite results. Ndrg2 was predicted as a target gene for miR-130a, and miR-130a mimic promoted FLS proliferation, while miR-130a inhibitor suppressed FLS proliferation. Moreover, we found that miR-130a antagomir could significantly reduce the arthritis index, swelling degree, foot volume, and inflammatory factor levels; inhibit the expression of miR-130a; and promote the expression of Ndrg2. The miR-130a/Ndrg2 axis signaling pathway is involved in the progression of RA. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of RA.

Summary Background Air pollution is an important public health concern in China, with high levels of exposure to both ambient and household air pollution. To inform action at provincial levels in China, we estimated the exposure to air pollution and its effect on deaths, disease burden, and loss of life expectancy across all provinces in China from 1990 to 2017. Methods In all 33 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions in China, we estimated exposure to air pollution, including ambient particulate matter pollution (defined as the annual gridded concentration of PM2·5), household air pollution (defined as the percentage of households using solid cooking fuels and the corresponding exposure to PM2·5), and ozone pollution (defined as average gridded ozone concentrations). We used the methods of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 to estimate deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to air pollution, and what the life expectancy would have been if air pollution levels had been less than the minimum level causing health loss. Findings The average annual population-weighted PM2·5 exposure in China was 52·7 μg/m3 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 41·0–62·8) in 2017, which is 9% lower than in 1990 (57·8 μg/m3, 45·0–67·0). We estimated that 1·24 million (95% UI 1·08–1·40) deaths in China were attributable to air pollution in 2017, including 851 660 (712 002–990 271) from ambient PM2·5 pollution, 271 089 (209 882–346 561) from household air pollution from solid fuels, and 178 187 (67 650–286 229) from ambient ozone pollution. The age-standardised DALY rate attributable to air pollution was 1513·1 per 100 000 in China in 2017, and was higher in males (1839·8 per 100 000) than in females (1198·3 per 100 000). The age-standardised death rate attributable to air pollution decreased by 60·6% (55·7–63·7) for China overall between 1990 and 2017, driven by an 85·4% (83·2–87·3) decline in household air pollution and a 12·0% (1·4–22·1) decline in ambient PM2·5 pollution. 40·0% of DALYs for COPD were attributable to air pollution, as were 35·6% of DALYs for lower respiratory infections, 26·1% for diabetes, 25·8% for lung cancer, 19·5% for ischaemic heart disease, and 12·8% for stroke. We estimated that if the air pollution level in China was below the minimum causing health loss, the average life expectancy would have been 1·25 years greater. The DALY rate per 100 000 attributable to air pollution varied across provinces, ranging from 482·3 (371·1–604·1) in Hong Kong to 1725·6 (720·4–2653·1) in Xinjiang for ambient pollution, and from 18·7 (9·1–34·0) in Shanghai to 1804·5 (1339·5–2270·1) in Tibet for household pollution. Although the overall mortality attributable to air pollution decreased in China between 1990 and 2017, 12 provinces showed an increasing trend during the past 27 years. Interpretation Pollution from ambient PM2·5 and household burning of solid fuels decreased markedly in recent years in China, after extensive efforts to control emissions. However, PM2·5 concentrations still exceed the WHO Air Quality Guideline for the entire population of China, with 81% living in regions exceeding the WHO Interim Target 1, and air pollution remains an important risk factor. Sustainable development policies should be implemented and enforced to reduce the impact of air pollution on long-term economic development and population health. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and China National Key Research and Development Program.

Multiple lines of evidence have shown that neuroinflammation and autophagy are highly involved in the process of depression. Nobiletin (NOB) displays neuroprotective effects and anti-depressant-like effects. Given the evidence that NOB exerts anti-inflammatory effects and regulates autophagy, we investigate the anti-neuroinflammatory properties and the effect of regulating the autophagy of NOB and subsequently uncover the potential anti-depressant mechanisms of NOB. The behavioral changes of rats were observed after prolonged lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment and NOB administration. Rat hippocampus and BV2 cells treated by LPS and NOB were evaluated. The methods of real-time PCR analysis, Western blot, immunostaining, and adenovirus transfection were employed to determine neuroinflammation, autophagic markers, and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) activation. Our study showed LPS enhanced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome activation but inhibited autophagy in both rat hippocampus and BV2 cells. NOB significantly improved the behavioral deficits and ameliorated the neuroinflammation induced by LPS in rats. Furthermore, NOB promoted autophagy and attenuated NLRP3 inflammasome activation induced by LPS, involving in the process the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Neuroprotective and anti-depressant actions of NOB relied on its effects of promoting autophagy and suppressing the activation of NLRP3, in which process of AMPK pathway may be involved.

Renal fibrosis leads to end-stage renal disease, but antifibrotic drugs are difficult to develop. Chronic kidney disease often results in muscle wasting, and thereby increases morbidity and mortality. In this work, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated overexpressing miR-29a was hypothesized to counteract renal fibrosis and muscle wasting through muscle–kidney crosstalk in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mice. miR-29a level was downregulated in the kidney and skeletal muscle of UUO mice. The secretion of exosome-encapsulated miR-29a increased in cultured skeletal muscle satellite cells and HEK293 renal cells after stimulation with serum from UUO mice. This result was confirmed by qPCR and microRNA deep sequencing in the serum exosomes of mice with obstructed ureters. A recombinant AAV-miR-29a was generated to overexpress miR-29a and injected into the tibialis anterior muscle of the mice 2 weeks before UUO surgery. AAV-miR-29a abrogated the UUO-induced upregulation of YY1 and myostatin in skeletal muscles. Renal fibrosis was also partially improved in the UUO mice with intramuscular AAV-miR-29a transduction. AAV-miR-29a overexpression reversed the increase in transforming growth factor β, fibronectin, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and collagen 1A1 and 4A1 levels in the kidney of UUO mice. AAV-green fluorescent protein was applied to trace the AAV route in vivo, and fluorescence was significantly visible in the injected/uninjected muscles and in the kidneys. In conclusion, intramuscular AAV-miR-29a injection attenuates muscle wasting and ameliorates renal fibrosis by downregulating several fibrotic-related proteins in UUO mice.

Background China has more than 18% of the global population and over 770 million workers. However, the burden of disease attributable to occupational risks is unavailable in China. We aimed to estimate the burden of disease attributable to occupational exposures at provincial levels from 1990 to 2017. Methods We estimated the summary exposure values (SEVs), deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to occupational risk factors in China from 1990 to 2017, based on Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017. There were 18 occupational risks, 22 related causes, and 35 risk-outcome pairs included in this study. Meanwhile, we compared age-standardized death rates attributable to occupational risk factors in provinces of China by socio-demographic index (SDI). Results The SEVs of most occupational risks increased from 1990 to 2017. There were 323,833 (95% UI 283,780 - 369,061) deaths and 14,060,210 (12,022,974 - 16,125,763) DALYs attributable to total occupational risks in China, which were 27.9 and 22.1% of corresponding global levels, respectively. For attributable deaths, major risks came from occupational particulate matter, gases, and fumes (PGFs), and for the attributable DALYs, from occupational injuries. The attributable burden was higher in males than in females. Compared with high SDI provinces, low SDI provinces, especially Western China, had higher death rates attributable to total occupational risks, occupational PGFs, and occupational injuries. Conclusion Occupational risks contribute to a huge disease burden in China. The attributable burden is higher in males, and in less developed provinces of Western China, reflecting differences in risk exposure, socioeconomic conditions, and type of jobs. Our study highlights the need for further research and focused policy interventions on the health of workers especially for less developed provinces in China to reduce occupational health losses effectively.

Usutu virus (USUV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are closely related mosquito-borne flaviviruses that are mainly transmitted between bird hosts by vector mosquitoes. Infections in humans are incidental but can cause severe disease. USUV is endemic in large parts of Europe, while WNV mainly circulates in Southern Europe. In recent years, WNV is also frequently detected in Northern Europe, thereby expanding the area where both viruses co-circulate. However, it remains unclear how USUV may affect the future spread of WNV and the likelihood of human co-infection. Here we investigated whether co-infections with both viruses in cell lines and their primary mosquito vector, Culex pipiens, affect virus replication and transmission dynamics. We show that USUV is outcompeted by WNV in mammalian, avian and mosquito cells during co-infection. Mosquitoes that were exposed to both viruses simultaneously via infectious blood meal displayed significantly reduced USUV transmission compared to mosquitoes that were only exposed to USUV (from 15% to 3%), while the infection and transmission of WNV was unaffected. In contrast, when mosquitoes were pre-infected with USUV via infectious blood meal, WNV transmission was significantly reduced (from 44% to 17%). Injection experiments established the involvement of the midgut in the observed USUV-mediated WNV inhibition. The competition between USUV and WNV during co-infection clearly indicates that the chance of concurrent USUV and WNV transmission via a single mosquito bite is low. The competitive relation between USUV and WNV may impact virus transmission dynamics in the field and affect the epidemiology of WNV in Europe.

Connected consciousness refers to the state when external stimuli can enter into the stream of our consciousness experience. Emerging evidence suggests that although patients may not respond behaviorally to external stimuli during anesthesia, they may be aware of their surroundings. In this work, we investigated whether EEG based brain decoding could be used for detecting connected consciousness in the absence of behavioral responses during propofol infusion. A total of 14 subjects participated in our experiment. Subjects were asked to discriminate two types of auditory stimuli with a finger press during an ultraslow propofol infusion. We trained an EEG based brain decoding model using data collected in the awakened state using the same auditory stimuli and tested the model on data collected during the propofol infusion. The model provided a correct classification rate (CCR) of [Formula: see text]% when subjects were able to respond to the stimuli during the propofol infusion. The CCR dropped to [Formula: see text]% when subjects ceased responding and further decreased to [Formula: see text]% when we increased the propofol concentration by another 0.2 [Formula: see text]g/ml. After terminating the propofol infusion, we observed that the CCR rebounded to [Formula: see text]% before the subjects regained consciousness. With the classification results, we provided evidence that loss of consciousness is a gradual process and may progress from full consciousness to connected consciousness and then to disconnected consciousness.

Background Infectious blood meal experiments have been frequently performed with different virus-vector combinations to assess the transmission potential of arthropod-borne (arbo)viruses. A wide variety of host blood sources have been used to deliver arboviruses to their arthropod vectors in laboratory studies. The type of blood used during vector competence experiments does not always reflect the blood from the viremic vertebrate hosts in the field, but little is known about the effect of blood source on the experimental outcome of vector competence studies. Here we investigated the effect of avian versus human blood on the infection and transmission rates of the zoonotic Usutu virus (USUV) in its primary mosquito vector Culex pipiens. Methods Cx. pipiens biotypes (pipiens and molestus) were orally infected with USUV through infectious blood meals containing either chicken or human whole blood. The USUV infection and transmission rates were determined by checking mosquito bodies and saliva for USUV presence after 14 days of incubation at 28 °C. In addition, viral titers were determined for USUV-positive mosquito bodies and saliva. Results Human and chicken blood lead to similar USUV transmission rates for Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens (18% and 15%, respectively), while human blood moderately but not significantly increased the transmission rate (30%) compared to chicken blood (17%) for biotype molestus. USUV infection rates with human blood were consistently higher in both Cx. pipiens biotypes compared to chicken blood. In virus-positive mosquitoes, USUV body and saliva titers did not differ between mosquitoes taking either human or chicken blood. Importantly, biotype molestus had much lower USUV saliva titers compared to biotype pipiens, regardless of which blood was offered. Conclusions Infection of mosquitoes with human blood led to higher USUV infection rates as compared to chicken blood. However, the blood source had no effect on the vector competence for USUV. Interestingly, biotype molestus is less likely to transmit USUV compared to biotype pipiens due to very low virus titers in the saliva. Graphical Abstract

Thyroid storm is a syndrome related to acute exacerbation of thyrotoxicosis for which timely diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Importance of antithyroid drug therapy in thyroid storm patients has been emphasised in clinical treatments for a long time. These patients should receive definitive therapy for their underlying hyperthyroidism to avoid recurrence after controlling thyroid storm. However, the curative effect of antithyroid medication is sometimes limited because of rare or serious side effects or failure to control disease progression, resulting in few treatment alternatives. We present a case of an old woman with thyroid storm and antithyroid drug intolerance, which was successfully managed using a combination of plasma exchange and thyroidectomy. It confirms the significant benefits of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) when clinical conditions do not allow routine treatment of thyroid storm. This procedure is safe and effective when performed preoperatively as a rescue measure for thyroid storm patients. Key Words: Thyroid storm, Drug intolerance, Plasma exchange, Total Thyroidectomy.

Summary Background Public health is a priority for the Chinese Government. Evidence-based decision making for health at the province level in China, which is home to a fifth of the global population, is of paramount importance. This analysis uses data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to help inform decision making and monitor progress on health at the province level. Methods We used the methods in GBD 2017 to analyse health patterns in the 34 province-level administrative units in China from 1990 to 2017. We estimated all-cause and cause-specific mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), summary exposure values (SEVs), and attributable risk. We compared the observed results with expected values estimated based on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Stroke and ischaemic heart disease were the leading causes of death and DALYs at the national level in China in 2017. Age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population decreased by 33·1% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 29·8 to 37·4) for stroke and increased by 4·6% (–3·3 to 10·7) for ischaemic heart disease from 1990 to 2017. Age-standardised stroke, ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and liver cancer were the five leading causes of YLLs in 2017. Musculoskeletal disorders, mental health disorders, and sense organ diseases were the three leading causes of YLDs in 2017, and high systolic blood pressure, smoking, high-sodium diet, and ambient particulate matter pollution were among the leading four risk factors contributing to deaths and DALYs. All provinces had higher than expected DALYs per 100 000 population for liver cancer, with the observed to expected ratio ranging from 2·04 to 6·88. The all-cause age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population were lower than expected in all provinces in 2017, and among the top 20 level 3 causes were lower than expected for ischaemic heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, headache disorder, and low back pain. The largest percentage change at the national level in age-standardised SEVs among the top ten leading risk factors was in high body-mass index (185%, 95% UI 113·1 to 247·7]), followed by ambient particulate matter pollution (88·5%, 66·4 to 116·4). Interpretation China has made substantial progress in reducing the burden of many diseases and disabilities. Strategies targeting chronic diseases, particularly in the elderly, should be prioritised in the expanding Chinese health-care system. Funding China National Key Research and Development Program and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Summary Background Injuries and violence account for a substantial proportion of the global burden of disease in adolescents, especially among low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to compare the prevalence of unintentional injuries and violence among young adolescents in LMICs. Methods We did a secondary analysis of data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) for adolescents aged 12–15 years from LMICs collected between 2009 and 2015. Survey data was collected using a standardised questionnaire. We used survey data to calculate the overall prevalence of serious injuries and violence (eg, physical attack, physical fighting) and bullying per country. We did a random-effects meta-analysis to calculate pooled overall and regional estimates. We also did subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age (12–13 years vs 14–15 years), and time period (2009–11 vs 2012–15). Logistic regression models adjusted for sex, weights, stratum, and primary sampling unit were used to analyse the differences in prevalence of serious injuries, violence, and bullying. Findings We included data from 68 LMICs, including 164 633 young adolescents (77 707 [47·2%] boys; 86 926 [52·8%] girls). The overall prevalence of physical attack, physical fighting, and serious injuries during the past 12 months were 35·6% (95% CI 30·7–40·5), 36·4% (29·9–42·9), and 42·9% (39·0–46·9), respectively. Prevalence varied by WHO region and was higher among boys than girls for injuries (47·8% vs 37·5%, p=0·00094), physical attack (41·0% vs 29·4%, p=0·001), and physical fighting (45·5% vs 26·9%, p Interpretation The prevalence of unintentional injuries and violence remain high among young adolescents in LMICs. These countries should prioritise the development of anti-violence and anti-injury programmes to improve health in their young adolescent populations. Funding National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key R&D Program of China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen, K.C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University, and Ningbo Scientific Innovation Team for Environmental Hazardous Factor Control and Prevention.

Background How to maximally improve the drainage of intracranial and upper body venous and to reduce neurological complications during thoracic tumor‐causedsuperior vena cava replacement are still clinical problems to be solved. Methods We have innovatively used the bilateral jugular vein‐left femoral vein ECMO shunting to perform mediastinal tumor resection and superior vena cava replacement in a 50‐year‐old woman. Results During the operation, this technique maintained the patient's hemodynamic stability, improved the cerebral oxygen saturation and reduced the cerebral ischemia, hypoxia as well as the neurological complications. Conclusion It is indicated for patients with superior vena cava replacement who are unable to perform venous bypass (such as innominate vein to right atrial bypass) or venous shunting (such as differential pressure drainage from internal jugular vein to femoral vein).

Uremic cardiomyopathy and muscle atrophy are associated with insulin resistance and contribute to chronic kidney disease (CKD)-induced morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that restoration of miR-26a levels would enhance exosome-mediated microRNA transfer to improve muscle wasting and cardiomyopathy that occur in CKD. Methods: Using next generation sequencing and qPCR, we found that CKD mice had a decreased level of miR-26a in heart and skeletal muscle. We engineered an exosome vector that contained Lamp2b, an exosomal membrane protein gene fused with a muscle-specific surface peptide that targets muscle delivery. We transfected this vector into muscle satellite cells and then transduced these cells with adenovirus that expresses miR-26a to produce exosomes encapsulated miR-26a (Exo/miR-26a). Exo/miR-26a was injected once per week for 8 weeks into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of 5/6 nephrectomized CKD mice. Results: Treatment with Exo/miR-26a resulted in increased expression of miR-26a in skeletal muscle and heart. Overexpression of miR-26a increased the skeletal muscle cross-sectional area, decreased the upregulation of FBXO32/atrogin-1 and TRIM63/MuRF1 and depressed cardiac fibrosis lesions. In the hearts of CKD mice, FoxO1 was activated, and connective tissue growth factor, fibronectin and collagen type I alpha 1 were increased. These responses were blunted by injection of Exo/miR-26a. Echocardiograms showed that cardiac function was improved in CKD mice treated with Exo/miR-26a. Conclusion: Overexpression of miR-26a in muscle prevented CKD-induced muscle wasting and attenuated cardiomyopathy via exosome-mediated miR-26a transfer. These results suggest possible therapeutic strategies for using exosome delivery of miR-26a to treat complications of CKD.

Our previous study showed that miR-29 attenuates muscle wasting in chronic kidney disease. Other studies found that miR-29 has anti-fibrosis activity. We hypothesized that intramuscular injection of exosome-encapsulated miR-29 would counteract unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)-induced muscle wasting and renal fibrosis. We used an engineered exosome vector, which contains an exosomal membrane protein gene Lamp2b that was fused with the targeting peptide RVG (rabies viral glycoprotein peptide). RVG directs exosomes to organs that express the acetylcholine receptor, such as kidney. The intervention of Exo/miR29 increased muscle cross-sectional area and decreased UUO-induced upregulation of TRIM63/MuRF1 and FBXO32/atrogin-1. Interestingly, renal fibrosis was partially depressed in the UUO mice with intramuscular injection of Exo/miR29. This was confirmed by decreased TGF-β, alpha-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and collagen 1A1 in the kidney of UUO mice. When we used fluorescently labeled Exo/miR29 to trace the Exo/miR route in vivo and found that fluorescence was visible in un-injected muscle and in kidneys. We found that miR-29 directly inhibits YY1 and TGF-β3, which provided a possible mechanism for inhibition of muscle atrophy and renal fibrosis by Exo/miR29. We conclude that Exo/miR29 ameliorates skeletal muscle atrophy and attenuates kidney fibrosis by downregulating YY1 and TGF-β pathway proteins.

Background Pigmentation is controlled by complex mechanisms. Evidence suggests that miRNAs can regulate pigmentation. However, the mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Objective In this study, we revealed a novel mechanism that regulates pigmentation involving exosomes, miRNAs and the crosstalk between keratinocytes and melanocytes. Methods The expression and localization of exosome specific marker TSG101 in keratinocytes and melanocytes; Changes of melanin content in melanocytes after co-culture of exosome and melanocytes; Expression changes of target gene TYR and its related genes and inhibitory effect of miR-330-5p on pigmentation were studied by using various molecular biological techniques. Results In this experiment, we used miR-330-5p in keratinocytes to verify the effect of keratinocyte derived exosome on melanocyte pigmentation. First, we found that keratinocytes secrete exosomes carrying miR-330-5p; moreover, greater miR-330-5p expression was found in exosomes derived from keratinocytes that overexpressed miR-330-5p. Second, we found that exosomes derived from keratinocytes with overexpression of miR-330-5p caused a significant increase in miR-330-5p in melanocytes. Finally, exosomes derived from keratinocytes that overexpressed miR-330-5p induced a significant decrease in the production of melanin and expression of TYR in melanocytes. Meanwhile, we overexpressed miR-330-5p in melanocytes, which also proved the inhibitory effect of miR-330-5p on pigmentation. Conclusion These findings suggest that keratinocytes crosstalk with melanocytes in the epidermal melanin unit via exosomal miRNAs. These studies reveal an important role of exosomes in melanocyte pigmentation, which opens a new pathway of melanogenesis.

Establishing reasonable water and fertilizer inputs is of great importance to improve crop yield and water and fertilizer use efficiency in greenhouses. This experiment was conducted in 2013 to investigate the effects of different levels of irrigation and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on the yield, fruit quality, and water and nitrogen use efficiency of cucumbers under fertigation systems in a greenhouse in China. The least square method and multiple regression analysis were used to select the largest single target and multi-objective optimum in this study. The treatments comprised three drip irrigation levels (with ET0 as the reference crop evapotranspiration, W1: 60% ET0; W2: 80% ET0 and W3: 100% ET0) and four N fertilizer levels (N0: 0 kg/ha; N1: 180 kg/ha; N2: 360 kg/ha and N3: 540 kg/ha). The results revealed that the single factors of irrigation and N had an extremely significant effect on the yield. The fruit yield increased with the amount of irrigation water and reached 55.9 t/ha and 51.6 t/ha with the use of N 540 kg/ha and 360 kg/ha, respectively. The yield of 49.6 t/ha, the highest water use efficiency (WUE) of 55.8 kg/m3 and vitamin C of 128.4 mg/kg were obtained from conditions involving medium irrigation levels (80% ET0) with the application of 360 kg/ha N. The highest soluble sugar content at 2.8% was achieved when the irrigation level was 60% ET0 and the application of N was 360 kg/ha. The nitrogen production efficiency (NPE) and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) decreased with the increase in the nitrogen application rate. The highest NPE and PFPN of 263.4 kg/kg and 265.9 kg/kg were obtained from irrigation levels of 80% ET0 and 100% ET0, respectively. The yield response factor ky of the cucumbers was 0.94. Taking into account the yield, quality, and water and nitrogen use efficiency, the irrigation level of 80% ET0 with the nitrogen level of 360 kg/ha were the best fertigation strategy. Within a 90% confidence interval, it was concluded that when the irrigation interval was 124–151 mm and the nitrogen interval was 318–504 kg/ha, the yield, WUE, and Vitamin C reached ≥90% of their maximum values at the same time. The determination of this region is of great significance to the management of water and fertilizer in greenhouse cucumis sativus.

Summary Background Plasmodium vivax exacts a significant toll on health worldwide, yet few efforts to date have quantified the extent and temporal trends of its global distribution. Given the challenges associated with the proper diagnosis and treatment of P vivax , national malaria programmes—particularly those pursuing malaria elimination strategies—require up to date assessments of P vivax endemicity and disease impact. This study presents the first global maps of P vivax clinical burden from 2000 to 2017. Methods In this spatial and temporal modelling study, we adjusted routine malariometric surveillance data for known biases and used socioeconomic indicators to generate time series of the clinical burden of P vivax . These data informed Bayesian geospatial models, which produced fine-scale predictions of P vivax clinical incidence and infection prevalence over time. Within sub-Saharan Africa, where routine surveillance for P vivax is not standard practice, we combined predicted surfaces of Plasmodium falciparum with country-specific ratios of P vivax to P falciparum . These results were combined with surveillance-based outputs outside of Africa to generate global maps. Findings We present the first high-resolution maps of P vivax burden. These results are combined with those for P falciparum (published separately) to form the malaria estimates for the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study. The burden of P vivax malaria decreased by 41·6%, from 24·5 million cases (95% uncertainty interval 22·5–27·0) in 2000 to 14·3 million cases (13·7–15·0) in 2017. The Americas had a reduction of 56·8% (47·6–67·0) in total cases since 2000, while South-East Asia recorded declines of 50·5% (50·3–50·6) and the Western Pacific regions recorded declines of 51·3% (48·0–55·4). Europe achieved zero P vivax cases during the study period. Nonetheless, rates of decline have stalled in the past five years for many countries, with particular increases noted in regions affected by political and economic instability. Interpretation Our study highlights important spatial and temporal patterns in the clinical burden and prevalence of P vivax . Amid substantial progress worldwide, plateauing gains and areas of increased burden signal the potential for challenges that are greater than expected on the road to malaria elimination. These results support global monitoring systems and can inform the optimisation of diagnosis and treatment where P vivax has most impact. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

The aberrant orchestration between the triple networks has been suggested as a backbone for some cognitive and clinical features of schizophrenia. The salience network (SN) plays a general role in switching between the central executive network (CEN) and the default mode network (DMN) mediated by dopamine activity. Whether the disease state and dopamine associated gene, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), has an interactive effect on the function and structure of the triple network has not been understood. To this end, independent component analysis was used to identify the triple network. Then, cortical thickness and inter-regional resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the triple network was investigated in 55 first episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and 53 age-, gender-, and education- matched healthy controls. Finally, we investigated if there exist interactive effect between disease and COMT gene variation on the abnormal brain structure and function. Our results show that patients with FES exhibited significantly increased RSFC between anterior cingulate cortex and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) compared with healthy controls. The cortical thickness of the left DLPFC was thinner in FES patients. Significant interaction effect between COMT and disease was found in cortical thickness of the left DLPFC. Specifically, cortical thinning in this region was evident with the val homozygotes group of the COMT gene in FES. This findings suggest abnormal RSFC between CEN and SN and thinker cortical thickness in FES. And the val homozygotes of COMT may contribute to further cortical thinning in FES patients.

A number of studies have implicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the role of miR-657 in GDM remains vague up to date. We aim to investigate the modifying effect of miR-657 on GDM, which will provide new insight into the pathogenesis of GDM and may help to identify new diagnostic or therapeutic targets for GDM. Increased expression of miR-657 but decreased expression of interleukin-37 (IL-37) was observed in patients with GDM. Besides, negative association between miR-657 and IL-37 was demonstrated in this study. miR-657 could targetedly regulate IL-37 and enhance the proliferation of mononuclear macrophages. Moreover, miR-657 promoted the generation of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) and activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in lipopolysaccharide-induced mononuclear macrophages, while its effect was significantly inhibited when exogenous recombinant IL-37 was administrated into cells. Accordingly, dysregulation of miR-657 contributes to the pathogenesis of GDM via IL-37/NF-κB signaling axis.

Background There is a lack of national report of the labour neuraxial analgesia (NA) rates in China in recent years, especially after the national promotion policy. The adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with NA in China are also unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate the trends of NA rates from 2012 to 2019, to evaluate the effect of national policy on promoting NA and to identify the association between NA and adverse outcomes in China. Methods We used the individual data from China’s National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System (NMNMSS) between 2012 and 2019, covering 438 hospitals from 326 urban districts or rural counties in 30 provinces across China. The analysis was restricted to singleton pregnant women who underwent vaginal delivery at or after 28 completed weeks of gestation. We estimate the trends of NA rates between 2012 and 2019, both at the national and provincial levels using Bayesian multilevel model. We also estimated the effect of the national pilot policy launched in 2018 using interrupted time-series analysis and identified the association between NA and adverse outcomes using modified Poisson regression combined with propensity score analysis. Results Over the study period, 620,851 of 6,023,046 women underwent vaginal delivery with NA. The estimated national NA rates increased from 8.4% in 2012 to 16.7% in 2019. Most provinces experienced the same rapid rise during this period. The national pilot policy accelerated the rise of the rates. No differences were observed between women with NA and without any analgesia in the incidence of uterine atony, placental retention, intrapartum stillbirths and 1- and 5-min Apgar scores lower than 7. However, women with NA had higher incidences of genital tract trauma (adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–2.26) and maternal near miss (aRR 1.35, 95% CI 1.08–1.69), only in hospitals which were not covered by the national pilot policy and usually lack of sufficient equipment and personnel. Conclusions The national policy can effectively increase the NA rate. However, as genital tract trauma and maternal near miss may increase in low-resource hospitals, but not in high-resource hospitals, further study is required to identify the reasons.

Altered placental development and function lead to placental diseases such as preeclampsia (PE) which is mainly characterized by insufficient trophoblast invasion and abnormally invasive placenta disorders. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely reported to function as crucial players in the pathogenesis of PE. The present investigation clarified the role of lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) in PE. RT-qPCR was used to measure gene expression. The proliferation of trophoblast cells was examined using CCK-8 and EdU assays. Trophoblast migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing and transwell assays. The apoptosis was estimated by flow cytometry. Luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms in trophoblast cells. We found that SNHG16 was downregulated in placenta from patients with PE. Moreover, SNHG16 depletion significantly inhibited trophoblast cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and stimulated apoptosis, while SNHG16 overexpression exerted an opposite effect. Subsequently, we confirmed that SNHG16 acted as a competing RNA (ceRNA) of miR-218-5p that was verified to directly target LASP1. Both miR-218-5p depletion and LASP1 upregulation antagonized the effect of SNHG16 knockdown on HTR-8/SVneo cell functions. In conclusion, SNHG16 facilitates trophoblast cell migration and invasion by the miR-218-5p/LASP1 axis.

Objectives. To establish a novel animal model of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) in rats and to investigate the effect of 17β-estradiol (E2) intervention in this model. Methods. This study was divided into two parts: animal model (four groups: Sham, ovariectomy (OVX), Puncture, and OVX+Puncture; three-time points: 4, 8, and 12 weeks; three female rats/group/time point) and drug intervention (Sham, OVX+Puncture+corn oil, and OVX+Puncture+E2; three female rats/group). The rats were analyzed by micromagnetic resonance imaging (MRI), hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and safranin-O staining. Results. MRI and histological scores significantly differed among the four groups at the three-time points (all P < 0.05 ). IVDD progressed with time in the OVX, Puncture, and OVX+Puncture groups (all P < 0.05 ). The changes were the most obvious in the OVX+Puncture group. In the E2 intervention part, the Veh group had the worst MRI signals and histological scores ( P < 0.05 ). The MRI scores in the E2 group were less obvious compared to the Sham group ( P > 0.05 ). Also, the histological scores were significantly different between the Sham and E2 groups ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusions. The combination of ovariectomy and needle puncture can synergically induce IVDD in rat coccygeal discs. Estrogen treatment can effectively ameliorate IVDD progression in the newly established IVDD models.

In order to encourage innovative medicine to address Chinese unmet medical needs, China has changed its drug regulatory landscape to speed up access to new medicines. In order to understand the fast‐changing landscape and to enable planning of more global drug development programs and study designs in China, we reviewed 15 published clinical pharmacology‐related guidances by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and compared them with reference guidances from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH), to understand the similarities and differences, especially any China‐specific requirements, such as ethnic sensitivity analysis. Overall, by reviewing these clinical pharmacology‐related NMPA guidances, it is clear that NMPA guidances are very similar to FDA, EMA, and ICH guidances. There are no relevant differences in the major principles, but some differences in structure, contents, and focus were noted. The NMPA is adapting flexibility statements into newly published guidances. Ethnic sensitivity analysis needs to be implemented early in drug development plans. The NMPA encourages sponsors to conduct early clinical trials in China or include China early in multiregional clinical trials, and to obtain safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic data for ethnic sensitivity analysis. Depending on the stage of development, ethnic sensitivity analysis can be conducted using in vitro or literature data, other Asian clinical data, or Chinese clinical data.

Background The early diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer is of great significance to the prognosis of patients. However, traditional histopathology and imaging screening have certain limitations. Therefore, new diagnostical methods are urgently needed for the current clinical diagnosis. In this study we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of CanPatrol™ technology for the detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods CTCs in the peripheral blood of 98 patients with NSCLC and 38 patients with benign pulmonary diseases were collected by the latest typing of CanPatrol™ detection technology. A 3-year follow-up was performed to observe their recurrence and metastasis. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare multiple groups of data, Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare data between the two groups, and ROC curve analysis was used to obtain the critical value. The COX risk regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were performed in the 63 NSCLC patients who were effectively followed up. Results The epithelial, epithelial-mesenchymal, and total CTCs were significantly higher in NSCLC patients than that in patients with benign lung disease (P P = 0.013). The AUC of the ROC curve of the total CTCs was 0.837 (95% CI: 0.76-0.914), and the cut-off value corresponding to the most approximate index was 0.5 CTCs/5 ml, at which point the sensitivity was 81.6% and the specificity was 86.8%. COX regression analysis revealed that the clinical stage was correlated with patient survival (P = 0.006), while gender, age, and smoking were not (P > 0.05). After excluding the confounders of staging, surgery, and chemotherapy, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients in stage IIIA with CTCs ≥0.5 had significantly lower DFS than those with CTCs P = 0.022). Conclusions CTC positive can well predict the recurrence of NSCLC patients. CanPatrol™ technology has good sensitivity and specificity in detecting CTCs in peripheral blood of NSCLC patients and has a certain value for clinical prognosis evaluation.

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) and depression cause great burden to society and frequently co-occur. The exact mechanisms of this comorbidity are unclear. FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51) is correlated with cardiovascular disease and depression. The aim of this study was to determine the role of the seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of FKBP5 that code FKBP51, namely, rs1360780 (C>T), rs2817032 (T>C), rs2817035 (G>A), rs9296158 (G>A), rs9470079 (G>A), rs4713902 (T>C), and rs3800373 (C>T) in a patient’s susceptibility to comorbid CAD and depression. Methods We enrolled 271 Northern Chinese Han patients with CAD, including 123 patients with depression and 147 patients without depression. We also included 113 healthy controls that match the patients’ sex and age. Genomic DNA from whole blood was extracted, and seven SNPs were assessed using MassArray method. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was applied to access the depression. Results The GA genotype for rs9470079 was associated with a significantly decreased risk of CAD (odds ratio = 0.506, 95% confidence interval = 0.316–0.810, P = 0.005) when the GG genotype was used as reference. A statistically significant difference was observed among females but not among males in the rs9470079 genotype and allele frequency. Patients with CAD were further divided into CAD+D and CAD-D groups according to the presence of comorbid depression and were compared with the controls. Significant differences were found regarding the genotype and allele frequency of rs2817035 and rs9470079 in CAD+H groups compared with the control subjects in all groups and the female groups (P Conclusions The current study found a remarkable association between FKBP5 gene variations and the risk of comorbid CAD and depression in a north Chinese population. rs9470079 may be a potential gene locus for the incidence of comorbid CAD and depression.

Multidrug resistance is a major obstacle to the effective treatment of esophageal carcinoma. It occurs more readily in hypoxia and acidosis microenvironment. TTLL6 is one of Tubulin tyrosine ligase-like family members. In this study, the effect of TTLL6 on the regulation of cisplatin (CDDP) sensitivity was evaluated in CDDP-resistant esophageal carcinoma (EC) cells both in vitro and in vivo. In hypoxia/acidosis condition, overexpression of TTLL6 in EC109/CDDP cells significantly lowered the IC50 of CDDP and increased the CDDP-induced apoptosis; while knockdown of TTLL6 expression in EC109/CDDP cells exhibited the opposite effects. Further study showed that, mechanistically, TTLL6 was inversely correlated with ERBB2 and TOPOIIA, and positively correlated with apoptosis-associated factor Caspase 9. Furthermore, animal model confirmed that TTLL6 negatively regulated the growth of xenograft tumor after chemotherapy. Alternated expression of TTLL6 also regulated the expression of ERBB2, TOPOIIA and Caspase 9 in EC109/CDDP cells in vivo. In conclusion, our results suggest that TTLL6 could reverse the drug resistant of EC109/CDDP cells, it might provide a potential treatment strategy for the clinical reversing the chemotherapy resistance.

INTRODUCTION: Leptin (LEP) is a peptide hormone that acts via leptin receptor (LEPR) binding. Genetic evidence from different human populations has implicated LEP/LEPR in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD), and suggests that certain LEP/LEPR gene polymorphisms may increase the risk of CAD. The aim of this study was to assess two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in LEP genes (rs2167270 and rs7799039) and two in LEPR genes (rs6588147, rs1137100) for association with CAD. METHODS: We enrolled 271 North Chinese Han CAD patients, and 113 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood, and the four SNPs were assessed using a MassArray system. RESULTS: The G allele frequency at rs2167270 was significantly higher among CAD cases than among controls. The AG genotype at rs7799039 was associated with a significantly decreased risk of CAD unlike the AA genotype used as the reference. The A allele was significantly associated with the CAD patient group. Interestingly, statistically significant differences in genotype and allele frequency at LEP rs2167270 and rs7799039 existed among females but not among males. CONCLUSIONS: The current study detected a significant association between genetic variations at LEP rs7799039 and rs2167270 and the risk of CAD in a north Chinese population, and revealed that LEP rs2167270 and rs7799039 gene polymorphisms might act as predisposing factors for CAD.

Objective We investigated whether pre-anesthesia dynamic frontal-parietal functional connectivity was correlated with the observed interindividual differences in propofol susceptibility. Methods Three resting-state EEG datasets were used in the study (N = 29, N = 21 and N = 20). We estimated the pre-anesthesia strength and fluctuations of frontal-parietal functional connectivity by using sliding-window analysis. Propofol served as the sole anesthetic drug, and it was administered by using a target-controlled infusion system. Individual susceptibility to propofol was assessed by the induction time, from infusion onset until a bispectral index value of 60 was reached, for subjects in dataset-1 and dataset-2, and susceptibility was assessed by behavioral data for subjects in the external dataset. Results We observed in the three datasets that subjects with high susceptibility to propofol had lower pre-anesthesia strength and lower fluctuation of frontal-parietal functional connectivity than the low-susceptibility group at alpha band. Moreover, the induction time was significantly correlated with the estimated pre-anesthesia frontal-parietal functional connectivity measures. We also validated the robustness of these findings by using different window lengths in sliding-window analysis. Conclusions Subjects with weaker pre-anesthesia dynamic frontal-parietal communication are more likely to be anesthetized. Significance These observations suggest that the titration procedure for propofol should consider the pre-anesthesia brain functional state.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Background Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) involves all people receiving the health services they need, of high quality, without experiencing financial hardship. Making progress towards UHC is a policy priority for both countries and global institutions, as highlighted by the agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Measuring effective coverage at the health-system level is important for understanding whether health services are aligned with countries' health profiles and are of sufficient quality to produce health gains for populations of all ages. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we assessed UHC effective coverage for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Drawing from a measurement framework developed through WHO's GPW13 consultation, we mapped 23 effective coverage indicators to a matrix representing health service types (eg, promotion, prevention, and treatment) and five population-age groups spanning from reproductive and newborn to older adults (>= 65 years). Effective coverage indicators were based on intervention coverage or outcome-based measures such as mortality-to-incidence ratios to approximate access to quality care; outcome-based measures were transformed to values on a scale of 0-100 based on the 2.5th and 97.5th percentile of location-year values. We constructed the UHC effective coverage index by weighting each effective coverage indicator relative to its associated potential health gains, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years for each location-year and population-age group. For three tests of validity (content, known-groups, and convergent), UHC effective coverage index performance was generally better than that of other UHC service coverage indices from WHO (ie, the current metric for SDG indicator 3.8.1 on UHC service coverage), the World Bank, and GBD 2017. We quantified frontiers of UHC effective coverage performance on the basis of pooled health spending per capita, representing UHC effective coverage index levels achieved in 2019 relative to country-level government health spending, prepaid private expenditures, and development assistance for health. To assess current trajectories towards the GPW13 UHC billion target-1 billion more people benefiting from UHC by 2023-we estimated additional population equivalents with UHC effective coverage from 2018 to 2023. Findings Globally, performance on the UHC effective coverage index improved from 45.8 (95% uncertainty interval 44.2-47.5) in 1990 to 60.3 (58.7-61.9) in 2019, yet country-level UHC effective coverage in 2019 still spanned from 95 or higher in Japan and Iceland to lower than 25 in Somalia and the Central African Republic. Since 2010, sub-Saharan Africa showed accelerated gains on the UHC effective coverage index (at an average increase of 2.6% [1.9-3.3] per year up to 2019); by contrast, most other GBD super-regions had slowed rates of progress in 2010-2019 relative to 1990-2010. Many countries showed lagging performance on effective coverage indicators for non-communicable diseases relative to those for communicable diseases and maternal and child health, despite non-communicable diseases accounting for a greater proportion of potential health gains in 2019, suggesting that many health systems are not keeping pace with the rising non-communicable disease burden and associated population health needs. In 2019, the UHC effective coverage index was associated with pooled health spending per capita (r=0.79), although countries across the development spectrum had much lower UHC effective coverage than is potentially achievable relative to their health spending. Under maximum efficiency of translating health spending into UHC effective coverage performance, countries would need to reach $1398 pooled health spending per capita (US$ adjusted for purchasing power parity) in order to achieve 80 on the UHC effective coverage index. From 2018 to 2023, an estimated 388.9 million (358.6-421.3) more population equivalents would have UHC effective coverage, falling well short of the GPW13 target of 1 billion more people benefiting from UHC during this time. Current projections point to an estimated 3.1 billion (3.0-3.2) population equivalents still lacking UHC effective coverage in 2023, with nearly a third (968.1 million [903.5-1040.3]) residing in south Asia. Interpretation The present study demonstrates the utility of measuring effective coverage and its role in supporting improved health outcomes for all people-the ultimate goal of UHC and its achievement. Global ambitions to accelerate progress on UHC service coverage are increasingly unlikely unless concerted action on non-communicable diseases occurs and countries can better translate health spending into improved performance. Focusing on effective coverage and accounting for the world's evolving health needs lays the groundwork for better understanding how close-or how far-all populations are in benefiting from UHC., Lucas Guimaraes Abreu acknowledges support from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior -Brasil (Capes) -Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) and Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). Olatunji O Adetokunboh acknowledges South African Department of Science & Innovation, and National Research Foundation. Anurag Agrawal acknowledges support from the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship IA/CPHS/14/1/501489. Rufus Olusola Akinyemi acknowledges Grant U01HG010273 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the H3Africa Consortium. Rufus Olusola Akinyemi is further supported by the FLAIR fellowship funded by the UK Royal Society and the African Academy of Sciences. Syed Mohamed Aljunid acknowledges the Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Public Health, Kuwait University and International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia for the approval and support to participate in this research project. Marcel Ausloos, Claudiu Herteliu, and Adrian Pana acknowledge partial support by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNDSUEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0084. Till Winfried Barnighausen acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through the Alexander von Humboldt Professor award, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Juan J Carrero was supported by the Swedish Research Council (2019-01059). Felix Carvalho acknowledges UID/MULTI/04378/2019 and UID/QUI/50006/2019 support with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. Vera Marisa Costa acknowledges support from grant (SFRH/BHD/110001/2015), received by Portuguese national funds through Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma TransitA3ria DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006. Jan-Walter De Neve acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Kebede Deribe acknowledges support by Wellcome Trust grant number 201900/Z/16/Z as part of his International Intermediate Fellowship. Claudiu Herteliu acknowledges partial support by a grant co-funded by European Fund for Regional Development through Operational Program for Competitiveness, Project ID P_40_382. Praveen Hoogar acknowledges the Centre for Bio Cultural Studies (CBiCS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE), Manipal and Centre for Holistic Development and Research (CHDR), Kalghatgi. Bing-Fang Hwang acknowledges support from China Medical University (CMU108-MF-95), Taichung, Taiwan. Mihajlo Jakovljevic acknowledges the Serbian part of this GBD contribution was co-funded through the Grant OI175014 of the Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Aruna M Kamath acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health T32 grant (T32GM086270). Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi acknowledges funding from the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12017/13 & MC_UU_12017/15), Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU13 & SPHSU15) and an NRS Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02). Yun Jin Kim acknowledges support from the Research Management Centre, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUMRF/2018-C2/ITCM/0001). Kewal Krishan acknowledges support from the DST PURSE grant and UGC Center of Advanced Study (CAS II) awarded to the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. Manasi Kumar acknowledges support from K43 TW010716 Fogarty International Center/NIMH. Ben Lacey acknowledges support from the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Oxford. Ivan Landires is a member of the Sistema Nacional de InvestigaciA3n (SNI), which is supported by the Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia Tecnologia e Innovacion (SENACYT), Panama. Jeffrey V Lazarus acknowledges support by a Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Miguel Servet grant (Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ESF, European Union [CP18/00074]). Peter T N Memiah acknowledges CODESRIA; HISTP. Subas Neupane acknowledges partial support from the Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility area of Tampere University Hospital. Shuhei Nomura acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (18K10082). Alberto Ortiz acknowledges support by ISCIII PI19/00815, DTS18/00032, ISCIII-RETIC REDinREN RD016/0009 Fondos FEDER, FRIAT, Comunidad de Madrid B2017/BMD-3686 CIFRA2-CM. These funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit it for publication. George C Patton acknowledges support from a National Health & Medical Research Council Fellowship. Marina Pinheiro acknowledges support from FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016 -Norma transitA3ria. Alberto Raggi, David Sattin, and Silvia Schiavolin acknowledge support by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico C Besta, Linea 4 -Outcome Research: dagli Indicatori alle Raccomandazioni Cliniche). Daniel Cury Ribeiro acknowledges support from the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship -Health Research Council of New Zealand (18/111). Perminder S Sachdev acknowledges funding from the NHMRC Australia. Abdallah M Samy acknowledges support from a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program. Milena M Santric-Milicevic acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 175087). Rodrigo Sarmiento-Suarez acknowledges institutional support from University of Applied and Environmental Sciences in Bogota, Colombia, and Carlos III Institute of Health in Madrid, Spain. Maria Ines Schmidt acknowledges grants from the Foundation for the Support of Research of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (IATS and PrInt) and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam acknowledges a fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Deakin University. Aziz Sheikh acknowledges support from Health Data Research UK. Kenji Shibuya acknowledges Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Joan B Soriano acknowledges support by Centro de Investigacion en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. Rafael Tabares-Seisdedos acknowledges partial support from grant PI17/00719 from ISCIII-FEDER. Santosh Kumar Tadakamadla acknowledges support from the National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship, Australia. Marcello Tonelli acknowledges the David Freeze Chair in Health Services Research at the University of Calgary, AB, Canada., "Peer Reviewed"

Background The Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus is invading Europe and was first discovered in Lelystad, the Netherlands in 2013, where it has established a permanent population. In this study, we investigated the vector competence of Ae. japonicus from the Netherlands for the emerging Zika virus (ZIKV) and zoonotic Usutu virus (USUV). ZIKV causes severe congenital microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in humans. USUV is closely related to West Nile virus, has recently spread throughout Europe and is causing mass mortality of birds. USUV infection in humans can result in clinical manifestations ranging from mild disease to severe neurological impairments. Methodology/Principal findings In our study, field-collected Ae. japonicus females received an infectious blood meal with ZIKV or USUV by droplet feeding. After 14 days at 28°C, 3% of the ZIKV-blood fed mosquitoes and 13% of the USUV-blood fed mosquitoes showed virus-positive saliva, indicating that Ae. japonicus can transmit both viruses. To investigate the effect of the mosquito midgut barrier on virus transmission, female mosquitoes were intrathoracically injected with ZIKV or USUV. Of the injected mosquitoes, 96% (ZIKV) and 88% (USUV) showed virus-positive saliva after 14 days at 28°C. This indicates that ZIKV and USUV can efficiently replicate in Ae. japonicus but that a strong midgut barrier is normally restricting virus dissemination. Small RNA deep sequencing of orally infected mosquitoes confirmed active replication of ZIKV and USUV, as demonstrated by potent small interfering RNA responses against both viruses. Additionally, de novo small RNA assembly revealed the presence of a novel narnavirus in Ae. japonicus. Conclusions/Significance Given that Ae. japonicus can experimentally transmit arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) like ZIKV and USUV and is currently expanding its territories, we should consider this mosquito as a potential vector for arboviral diseases in Europe., Author summary Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) cause a high disease burden in humans and animals. Zika virus (ZIKV) causes microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in humans, whereas Usutu virus (USUV) induces high mortality in birds and neurological disease in humans. The spread of arboviruses such as ZIKV and USUV is determined by the presence of mosquitoes that can transmit these viruses from one vertebrate host to the next. Here, we investigate the risk of transmission of ZIKV and USUV by the Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus. This mosquito is invading Europe and is currently present in the Netherlands. We found that field-collected Ae. japonicus mosquitoes can experimentally transmit ZIKV and USUV. Of the orally infected mosquitoes, 3% (ZIKV) and 13% (USUV) showed virus-positive saliva after 14 days at 28°C. We also found that ZIKV and USUV activated the antiviral RNA interference immune response of Ae. japonicus. Moreover, a strong barrier in the mosquito midgut restricted virus dissemination, since 96% (ZIKV) and 88% (USUV) of the mosquitoes injected with ZIKV or USUV showed virus-positive saliva. Additionally, we discovered a narnavirus in Ae. japonicus. Given that Ae. japonicus can transmit ZIKV and USUV, we should consider this mosquito as a potential vector for arboviral diseases in Europe.

Accumulating studies suggest the potential association between epilepsy and vitamin D (VD) in recent years. Vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) is the main VD carrier and can affect the availability of VD and its metabolites. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association between VDBP polymorphisms and VD level on epilepsy. A total of 220 epilepsy patients and 210 health controls were enrolled and polymorphisms of VDBP (rs4588, rs7041, rs2298849, and rs2282679) genotype were detected using the PCR–ligase detection reaction method. The circulating status of VD metabolites, 25(OH)D and 24,25(OH)2D, was detected by a validated high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method, and the VD metabolite ratio (VMR), 24,25(OH)2D:25(OH)D, was then calculated. The frequency of rs4588(C>A) and rs2282679(A>C) genotype with AC was significantly lower among the patients relative to the controls [odds ratio, OR = 0.597, 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.401–0.890, p = 0.011 for rs4588(...

The underlying molecular mechanism of lung cancer drug resistance is poorly understood. The mediator of endoplasmic reticulum stress CHOP (DNA damage inducible transcript 3) promotes stress-induced apoptosis and appears to function as a transcription factor in multiple diseases. However, its potential contributions to multidrug resistance in solid tumors is unknown. Here, we investigated CHOP expression in tumor tissues form 69 lung cancer patients, finding that deficient CHOP expression is associated with poor prognosis. Cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cells exhibited lower expression of CHOP compared to that in sensitive lung cancer cells, and silencing or augmenting CHOP expression enhanced or impaired cisplatin resistance, respectively. Mechanistic investigations revealed that CHOP is directly associated with the regulation of autophagy or apoptosis-regulatory genes including LC3-II, death receptor 5 (DR5), and telomere repeat-binding factor 3. Notably, CHOP was identified as a target of miR-146a, and increased miR-146a expression in lung cancer cells was suggested to be responsible for CHOP mRNA down-regulation. Further, animal models confirmed that abnormally expressed miR-146a in lung cancer cells does not affect growth, but rather alters chemotherapy sensitivity. Together, CHOP is a useful prognostic marker and miR-146a is a potential therapeutic target for multidrug-resistant lung cancer.

Background The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations (UN) member states in 2015, established a set of bold and ambitious health-related targets to achieve by 2030. Understanding China’s progress toward these targets is critical to improving population health for its 1.4 billion people. Methods and findings We used estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016, national surveys and surveillance data from China, and qualitative data. Twenty-eight of the 37 indicators included in the GBD Study 2016 were analyzed. We developed an attainment index of health-related SDGs, a scale of 0–100 based on the values of indicators. The projection model is adjusted based on the one developed by the GBD Study 2016 SDG collaborators. We found that China has achieved several health-related SDG targets, including decreasing neonatal and under-5 mortality rates and the maternal mortality ratios and reducing wasting and stunting for children. However, China may only achieve 12 out of the 28 health-related SDG targets by 2030. The number of target indicators achieved varies among provinces and municipalities. In 2016, among the seven measured health domains, China performed best in child nutrition and maternal and child health and reproductive health, with the attainment index scores of 93.0 and 91.8, respectively, followed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (69.4), road injuries (63.6), infectious diseases (63.0), environmental health (62.9), and universal health coverage (UHC) (54.4). There are daunting challenges to achieve the targets for child overweight, infectious diseases, NCD risk factors, and environmental exposure factors. China will also have a formidable challenge in achieving UHC, particularly in ensuring access to essential healthcare for all and providing adequate financial protection. The attainment index of child nutrition is projected to drop to 80.5 by 2025 because of worsening child overweight. The index of NCD risk factors is projected to drop to 38.8 by 2025. Regional disparities are substantial, with eastern provinces generally performing better than central and western provinces. Sex disparities are clear, with men at higher risk of excess mortality than women. The primary limitations of this study are the limited data availability and quality for several indicators and the adoption of "business-as-usual" projection methods. Conclusion The study found that China has made good progress in improving population health, but challenges lie ahead. China has substantially improved the health of children and women and will continue to make good progress, although geographic disparities remain a great challenge. Meanwhile, China faced challenges in NCDs, mental health, and some infectious diseases. Poor control of health risk factors and worsening environmental threats have posed difficulties in further health improvement. Meanwhile, an inefficient health system is a barrier to tackling these challenges among such a rapidly aging population. The eastern provinces are predicted to perform better than the central and western provinces, and women are predicted to be more likely than men to achieve these targets by 2030. In order to make good progress, China must take a series of concerted actions, including more investments in public goods and services for health and redressing the intracountry inequities., Shenglan Tang and colleagues report China's current situation and projected achievement of the health related sustainable development goals by 2030., Author summary Why was the study done? China has made impressive progress in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era, which ended in 2015. Despite China’s success in achieving the MDGs, it faces formidable challenges in achieving many targets in the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have a 2030 target date. Understanding China’s current situation and progress toward achieving these goals is critical to the development of practical solutions for improving population health for its 1.4 billion people in the SDG era. What did the researchers do and find? We conducted an analysis of progress toward the health-related SDGs using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016, national surveys, surveillance data from China, and qualitative study results. We developed an index of the attainment of the health-related SDGs, using a scale of 0–100 based on the absolute values of indicators. We adjusted the projection model developed by the GBD 2016 SDG collaborators to produce sex-specific estimates, stratified by province, and explore sex and regional disparities. Around 120 key informants were purposively approached for thematic interviews. This research found that China has achieved several health-related SDG targets, especially on child nutrition and maternal and child health and reproductive health. Nevertheless, China may only achieve 12 out of the 28 selected health-related SDG targets by 2030. There are daunting challenges ahead for China in achieving the targets for child overweight, infectious diseases, noncommunicable disease risk factors, environmental exposure factors, and universal health coverage. Regional disparities were substantial, with eastern coastal provinces generally performing better than central and western provinces in most of the indicators. Sex disparities were clear, with men at higher risk of excess mortality than women. What do these findings mean? To achieve the targets of the health-related SDGs, China must take a series of concerted actions, including increased investment in public goods and services for health, addressing the regional inequities, and tackling the emerging new health challenges to ensure that no one is left behind. In those areas where China has already achieved the SDG targets, the government should synthesize the experiences and good practices that can be applied to the regions/provinces that need to catch up to the level of health development witnessed in developed regions/provinces. The Chinese government needs to examine the root causes of the challenges in achieving the health-related SDGs and develop an action plan to address these causes. The plan should prioritize key policy interventions for target populations and mobilize adequate resources to tackle these health challenges. It is important to address common problems by tackling cross-cutting issues in advancing the health-related SDGs, such as strengthening the enforcement of laws and regulations, establishing effective organizational structures, and human resources development.

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations., A high-resolution, global atlas of mortality of children under five years of age between 2000 and 2017 highlights subnational geographical inequalities in the distribution, rates and absolute counts of child deaths by age.

Kidney fibrosis occurs in almost every type of chronic kidney disease. We found that microRNA (miR)-26a was decreased in the kidney, muscle, and exosomes of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mice. We hypothesized that exogenous miR-26 could suppresses renal fibrosis and muscle wasting in obstructive kidney disease. For this purpose, we generated exosomes that encapsulated miR-26, then injected these into skeletal muscle of UUO mice. The expression of miR-26a was elevated in serum exosomes from UUO mice following exosome–miR-26a injection. In these mice, muscle wasting has been ameliorated as evidenced by increased muscle weights. In addition, a muscle atrophy marker, myostatin, is increased in UUO muscle; provision of miR-26a abolished this increase. We detected a remote effect of exosomes containing miR-26a in UUO-induced renal fibrosis. The intervention of miR-26a attenuated UUO-induced renal fibrosis as determined by immunohistological assessment of α-smooth muscle actin and Masson’s trichrome staining. Furthermore, exogenous miR-26a decreased the protein levels of 2 profibrosis proteins, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and TGF-β1, in UUO kidney. Our data showed that exosomes containing miR-26a prevented muscle atrophy by inhibiting the transcription factor forkhead box O1. Likewise, the exosome-carried miR-26a limited renal fibrosis by directly suppressing CTGF. Our findings provide an experimental basis for exosome-mediated therapy of muscle atrophy and renal fibrosis.—Zhang, A., Wang, H., Wang, B., Yuan, Y., Klein, J. D., Wang, X. H. Exogenous miR-26a suppresses muscle wasting and renal fibrosis in obstructive kidney disease.

Purpose: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be the clinical transition stage between patients with cognitively intact geriatrics and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). When observed longitudinally, however, a certain proportion of patients with MCI are expected to revert to a cognitively intact state (MCI_R) while others either remain in the MCI state (MCI_S) or deteriorate into AD (MCI_P). It is worthwhile to investigate the divergence in the brain activities of these MCI groups with different post hoc labels. Methods: In this study, we employed the regional homogeneity (ReHo) measure to explore the characteristics of local brain activity in these MCI groups. Results: Compared to age-matched normal controls, our results exhibited that (1) in MCI_R group, ReHo index showed an increase in the left insula and a decrease in the left superior temporal gyrus; (2) in MCI_S group, ReHo index increased in the left orbital part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG_orb) and decreased in the left inferior parietal lobe; and (3) in MCI_P group, ReHo index elevated in the left IFG_orb and decreased in the left putamen. Conclusions: The distinct ReHo changes in the individual MCI groups indicated a potential evidence for differentially active interventions for a specific patient with MCI.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) often leads to chemotherapy failure of lung cancer and has been linking to the cellular expression of several DNA transcription‐ and repair‐related genes such as Trps1 and MGMT. However, their roles in the formation of MDR are largely unknown. In this study, overexpression/knockdown, luciferase assay and ChIP assay were performed to study the relationship between Trps1 and MGMT, as well as their roles in MDR formation. Our results demonstrated that Trps1 and MGMT expression both increased in drug‐resistant lung cancer cell line (H446/CDDP). Silencing of Trps1 resulted in downregulation of MGMT expression and decrease in the multidrug sensitivity of H446/CDDP cells, while Trps1 overexpression exhibited the opposite effects in H446 cells. Ectopic expression of MGMT had no effect on Trps1 expression, but enhanced the IC50 values of H446 cells or rescued the IC50 values of Trps1‐silenced H446/CDDP cells in treatment of multidrug. Our data further showed that, mechanistically, Trps1 acted as a transcription activator that directly induced MGMT transcription by binding to the MGMT promoter. Taken together, we consider that upregulation of Trps1 induces MGMT transcription contributing to the formation of MDR in lung cancer cells. Our findings proved potential targets for reversing MDR in clinical chemotherapy of lung cancer.

Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) can cause a systemic infection, resulting in mortality in both Apis and Bombus spp. bees. However, little is known about the virus infection dynamics within bee tissues. Here, we established systemic IAPV infections in reared bumblebee Bombus terrestris workers through feeding and injection and investigated the mortality, tissue tropism and viral localization. Injection of approximately 500 IAPV (IAPVinj stock) particles resulted in acute infection, viral loads within tissues that were relatively stable from bee to bee, and a distinctive tissue tropism, making this method suitable for studying systemic IAPV infection in bumblebees. Feeding with approximately 1 × 106 particles of the same virus stock did not result in systemic infection. A high-concentration stock of IAPV (IAPVfed stock) allowed us to feed bumblebees with approximately 1 × 109 viral particles, which induced both chronic and acute infection. We also observed a higher variability in viral titers within tissues and less clear tissue tropism during systemic infection, making feeding with IAPVfed stock less optimal for studying IAPV systemic infection. Strikingly, both infection methods and stocks with different viral loads gave a similar viral localization pattern in the brain and midgut of bumblebees with an acute infection. The implications of these findings in the study of the local immunity in bees and barriers to oral transmission are discussed. Our data provide useful information on the establishment of a systemic viral infection in bees.

Background: Pulmonary sequestration (PS) is a rare congenital pulmonary malformation. In this study, we aimed to retrospect and evaluate the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of PS in 28 patients at our institute. Methods: The files of 28 patients with PS who were treated with surgery (21 cases) or endovascular intervention (7 cases) between May 2005 and June 2016 from a single institute were retrospectively reviewed. The following data of all patients were analyzed: age, sex, clinical symptoms, diagnostic methods, operative techniques, and treatment outcomes. Results: Twenty-eight patients, 15 male and 13 female, with a median age of 42.5 underwent operative intervention for PS. Twenty-one patients showed preoperative symptoms including cough, expectoration, hemoptysis, chest and/or back pain, and fever. General chest computed tomography (CT) scanning; percutaneous needle biopsy, bronchoscopy, enhanced CT scanning, and CT angiography (CTA) were used as diagnostic methods. Twenty-one patients were diagnosed preoperatively by enhanced CT scanning and CTA; seven patients were confirmed by surgery. Twenty-one patients underwent surgery (15 cases via thoracotomy and 6 cases via video-assisted thoracic surgery), seven patients underwent interventional therapy (three cases via endovascular embolization and four cases via thoracic aortic endovascular stent-graft exclusion). Three patients had a complication in surgery group (intraoperative hemorrhage in two patients and postoperative hydropneumothorax in one patient) and two patients had post-embolization syndrome in interventional group (fever and pain at embolism site). During the follow-up period ranging from 6 to 84 months, no recurrences or further complications were observed in two groups. Conclusions: Enhanced CT or CTA may be a potential approach for the diagnosis of PS. Surgical resection for PS is the major treatment approach. Endovascular embolization of PS could be considered when pulmonary lesion is small-sized. Endovascular exclusion could be used to treat combined arterial aneurysm and dissection of PS.

The Single von Willebrand factor C-domain proteins (SVCs) are a group of short proteins mainly found in arthropods. They are proposed to be responsive in relation to environmental challenges including the nutritional status, bacterial and viral infections. The SVC protein Vago acts as a cross-talk molecule between the small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway and the Jak/STAT pathway upon viral infection in Drosophila melanogaster and Culex mosquito cells. Unlike flies and mosquitoes that possess diverse SVCs, most bee species only have one of which the function remains unclear. Here we investigated whether this single SVC within the genome of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris is also involved in the host antiviral immunity and whether links with other immune pathways can be found. We can show the presence of two key characteristics of Vago linked with the single SVC in B. terrestris (BtSVC). The antiviral character is proven by silencing BtSVC, which lead to increased Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) levels in the fat body. Second, the silencing of BtDicer-2 resulted in a lower expression of BtSVC and increased IAPV levels, confirming the link between Dicer-2 and BtSVC. We were, however, unable to demonstrate a third known role of Vago in the activation of the Jak/STAT pathway. This is probably because we lack good markers for this pathway in bumblebees. Interestingly, we found that BtSVC contributes to the basal expression levels of four antimicrobial peptide (AMP)-coding genes in the fat body of the bumblebees. Therefore, the single SVC gene in bumblebees may be involved in both host antiviral immunity and basal AMPs expression.

In this meta-analysis, we evaluated the usefulness of serum thymidine kinase 1 concentration (STK1c) for monitoring the outcome of extensive open surgery in patients with lung cancer. We also compared STK1c between a healthy population and patients with benign and malignant lung tumors to assess its potential value for early detection of lung cancer and for distinguishing between benign lung disease and malignant cancer.Related studies were retrieved from publications in PubMed, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang databases, and Internet searches. Correlation was evaluated using weighted mean difference. Fixed or random effect models were selected for data analyses based on heterogeneity tested with the chi-square test. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger's test.Twenty studies were selected for analysis, which showed that STK1c was significantly (p 0.00001) reduced by 41.7% 1 month after extensive open surgery, approximately corresponding to an STK1c half-life of 1 month. STK1c levels were significantly higher in lung cancer patients than in healthy persons (p 0.00001) or in patients with benign lung disease (p 0.00001). There was also a significant difference in STK1c between patients with benign and malignant lung disease (p 0.0001).The half-life of STK1c may be an important tool in the clinical evaluation of surgical response in patients with lung cancer. STK1c may also be beneficial in the early detection of lung cancer.

Background The role of neoadjuvant therapy combined with surgery for treating esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. We performed a network meta-analysis to synthesize direct and indirect evidence to identify the optimal therapeutic method for ESCC. Methods We identified 15 randomized controlled trials that compared any of the following 4 therapeutic measures: surgery alone (S), preoperative chemotherapy followed by surgery (CTS), preoperative radiotherapy followed by surgery (RTS), and preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery (CRTS). The main outcomes were 5-year survival, rate of radical resection, operative mortality and postoperative complications. Results Network meta-analysis showed that CRTS was associated with improved survival as compared with S (OR = 1.50 [95% CI 1.21 to 1.97]) and decreased occurrence of complications as compared with RTS (OR = 0.50 [95% CI 0.22 to 0.99]). Direct evidence revealed CRTS associated with improved survival (OR = 1.61 [95% CI 1.01 to 2.57]) and radical resection (OR = 4.01 [95% CI 1.66 to 9.69]) as compared with S. In terms of radical resection, CTS was more effective than S (OR = 1.73 [95% CI 1.09 to 2.76]). Findings for CTS and RTS did not differ for 5-year survival, operative mortality and postoperative complications. Conclusions Overall, CRTS might be the best choice for resectable ESCC because it could increase the radical resection rate and lower the occurrence of complications, thereby prolonging survival time.

Background The trends of COPD mortality and prevalence over the past 2 decades across all provinces remain unknown in China. We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) to estimate the mortality and prevalence of COPD during 1990 to 2013 at a provincial level. Methods Following the general analytic strategy used in GBD 2013, we analyzed the age- sex- and province-specific mortality and prevalence of COPD in China. Levels of and trends in COPD mortality and prevalence were assessed for 33 province-level administrative units during 1990 to 2013. Results In 2013, there were 910,809 deaths from COPD in China, accounting for 31.1% of the total deaths from COPD in the world. From 1990 to 2013, the age-standardized COPD mortality rate decreased in all provinces, with the highest reduction in Heilongjiang (70.2%) and Jilin (70.0%) and the lowest reduction in Guizhou (26.8%). In 2013, the death rate per 100,000 was highest in Guizhou (196.0) and lowest in Tianjin (34.0) among men and highest in Gansu (141.1) and lowest in Beijing (23.7) among women. The number of COPD cases increased dramatically from 32.4 million in 1990 to 54.8 million in 2013. The age-standardized prevalence rate of COPD remained stable overall and varied little for all provinces. Conclusions COPD remains a huge health burden in many western provinces in China. The substantial increase in COPD cases represents an ongoing challenge given the rapidly aging Chinese population. A targeted control and prevention strategy should be developed at a provincial level to reduce the burden caused by COPD.

Summary Background Child and maternal health outcomes have notably improved in Mexico since 1990, whereas rising adult mortality rates defy traditional epidemiological transition models in which decreased death rates occur across all ages. These trends suggest Mexico is experiencing a more complex, dissonant health transition than historically observed. Enduring inequalities between states further emphasise the need for more detailed health assessments over time. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2013 (GBD 2013) provides the comprehensive, comparable framework through which such national and subnational analyses can occur. This study offers a state-level quantification of disease burden and risk factor attribution in Mexico for the first time. Methods We extracted data from GBD 2013 to assess mortality, causes of death, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and healthy life expectancy (HALE) in Mexico and its 32 states, along with eight comparator countries in the Americas. States were grouped by Marginalisation Index scores to compare subnational burden along a socioeconomic dimension. We split extracted data by state and applied GBD methods to generate estimates of burden, and attributable burden due to behavioural, metabolic, and environmental or occupational risks. We present results for 306 causes, 2337 sequelae, and 79 risk factors. Findings From 1990 to 2013, life expectancy from birth in Mexico increased by 3·4 years (95% uncertainty interval 3·1–3·8), from 72·1 years (71·8–72·3) to 75·5 years (75·3–75·7), and these gains were more pronounced in states with high marginalisation. Nationally, age-standardised death rates fell 13·3% (11·9–14·6%) since 1990, but state-level reductions for all-cause mortality varied and gaps between life expectancy and years lived in full health, as measured by HALE, widened in several states. Progress in women's life expectancy exceeded that of men, in whom negligible improvements were observed since 2000. For many states, this trend corresponded with rising YLL rates from interpersonal violence and chronic kidney disease. Nationally, age-standardised YLL rates for diarrhoeal diseases and protein-energy malnutrition markedly decreased, ranking Mexico well above comparator countries. However, amid Mexico's progress against communicable diseases, chronic kidney disease burden rapidly climbed, with age-standardised YLL and DALY rates increasing more than 130% by 2013. For women, DALY rates from breast cancer also increased since 1990, rising 12·1% (4·6–23·1%). In 2013, the leading five causes of DALYs were diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, chronic kidney disease, low back and neck pain, and depressive disorders; the latter three were not among the leading five causes in 1990, further underscoring Mexico's rapid epidemiological transition. Leading risk factors for disease burden in 1990, such as undernutrition, were replaced by high fasting plasma glucose and high body-mass index by 2013. Attributable burden due to dietary risks also increased, accounting for more than 10% of DALYs in 2013. Interpretation Mexico achieved sizeable reductions in burden due to several causes, such as diarrhoeal diseases, and risks factors, such as undernutrition and poor sanitation, which were mainly associated with maternal and child health interventions. Yet rising adult mortality rates from chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cirrhosis, and, since 2000, interpersonal violence drove deteriorating health outcomes, particularly in men. Although state inequalities from communicable diseases narrowed over time, non-communicable diseases and injury burdens varied markedly at local levels. The dissonance with which Mexico and its 32 states are experiencing epidemiological transitions might strain health-system responsiveness and performance, which stresses the importance of timely, evidence-informed health policies and programmes linked to the health needs of each state. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica.

Introduction. To investigate whether the membrane-associated transporter protein SLC45A2 is differentially expressed in the skin of sheep with different coat colors and to determine its correlation with coat color establishment in sheep. Material and methods. The expression of SLC45A2 in sheep skin samples with different coat colors was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by PCR amplification, RT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. Results. A 193-bp SLC45A2 CDS sequence was successfully amplified from sheep skin samples with diverse coat colors. RT-PCR analysis revealed that SLC45A2 mRNA was expressed in all sheep skin samples tested, with relative expression levels of 512.74 ± 121.51 in black skin, 143.38 ± 119.31 and 1.36 ± 0.09 in black dots and white dots of piebald skin, respectively, and 1.02 ± 0.23 in white skin (p < 0.01**). Positive SLC45A2 protein bands were also detected in all skin samples by Western blot analysis, with relative expression levels of 0.85 ± ± 0.17** in black skin, 0.60 ± 0.05** and 0.34 ± 0.07 in black dots and white dots of piebald skin, respectively, and 0.20 ± 0.05 in white skin (p < 0.01**). Immunohistochemical assays revealed that SLC45A2 was expressed in the hair follicle matrix, the inner and outer root sheath, and the dermal papilla in the skin tissues with different coat colors. These patterns were quantified by optical density (OD) analysis, which yielded relative expression levels of 0.23 ± 0.11 in black skin, 0.19 ± 0.09 and 0.10 ± 0.03 in black dots and white dots of piebald skin, respectively, and 0.08 ± 0.01 in white skin (p < 0.05*). Conclusion. SLC45A2 is detectably expressed in sheep skin of all coat colors, though at significantly different levels. SLC45A2 may participate in the establishment of coat color by regulating the synthesis and trafficking of melanin.

// Bin Wang 1,* , Lilu Lin 2,* , Haidong Wang 3 , Honglei Guo 2 , Yong Gu 2 and Wei Ding 2 1 Division of Nephrology, Huashan Hospital and Institute of Nephrology, Fudan University, Xuhui, Shanghai, P.R. China 2 Division of Nephrology, The Fifth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China 3 College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi, P.R. China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Wei Ding, email: // Keywords : tubular cell, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, apoptosis, aldosterone, Pathology Section Received : June 30, 2016 Accepted : September 28, 2016 Published : October 06, 2016 Abstract The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is overactivated in patients with chronic kidney disease. Oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) are two major mechanisms responsible for aldosterone-induced kidney injury. Cyclophilin (CYP) B is a chaperone protein that accelerates the rate of protein folding through its peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity. We report that overexpression of wild-type CYPB attenuated aldosterone-induced oxidative stress (evidenced by reduced production of reactive oxygen species and improved mitochondrial dysfunction), ERS (indicated by reduced expression of the ERS markers glucose-regulated protein 78 [GRP78] and C/-EBP homologous protein [CHOP]), and tubular cell apoptosis in comparison with aldosterone-induced human kidney-2 (HK-2) cells. The in vivo study also yielded similar results. Hence, CYPB performs a crucial function in protecting cells against aldosterone-induced oxidative stress, ERS, and tubular cell injury via its PPIase activity.

Aim Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) plays a profibrotic role in renal fibrosis. Neutrophils produce MMP9 in many pathologic models. However, the effect of neutrophil on the progression of renal fibrosis and the relationship of MMP9 to the infiltration of neutrophils into the kidney remain unknown. Methods The surgery of unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO) was performed in male C57BL/6 mice. Kidneys were collected for analyses on days 0, 1, 3, 5 or 7 following surgery. The inflammatory cells were analysed by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein levels of renal fibrosis factor and inflammatory factor were measured by qRT-PCR, immumofluorescence and western blot analysis. Results In a mouse kidney model of UUO, neutrophil infiltration significantly increased and neutrophil accumulation reached the highest level at 5 days after the injury. In the obstructed kidney, depleting neutrophils decreased the expression of inflammatory factors, inhibited the accumulation of macrophages including type 2 macrophages and suppressed renal fibrosis. Almost all neutrophils produced MMP9 at the early stage of kidney obstruction. MMP9 attracted neutrophils and inflammatory cells because inhibiting MMP9 suppressed the infiltration of neutrophils and other inflammatory cells and reduced renal fibrosis, regardless of using MMP9 neutralizing antibody or MMP9 inhibitor or different intervening periods of days (0-6, 0-3 or 3-6 were applied after kidney obstruction). Conclusion MMP9 promotes neutrophil infiltration by increasing the inflammatory level, macrophage accumulation and renal fibrosis in the obstructed kidney. Inhibiting MMP9 or depleting neutrophils in the early stage of acute kidney injury can relieve the progression of kidney fibrosis.