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Objectives: Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) is a serious global health problem. We sought to investigate SMA behaviors and risk factors among Chinese university students, and further explore the association between SMA practices and adverse drug events (ADEs). Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: An online survey was conducted at Jiangsu University (JSU) in eastern China in July 2011 using a pretested questionnaire. Results: Out of 2608 website visitors, 1086 participated in the survey (response rate: 41.6%), 426 respondents were excluded for not being a JSU student or repeat participation, 660 (2.2% of JSU students) were included in analysis, and 316 students (47.9%) had a lifetime history of SMA. Among self-treated students, 43.5% believed that antibiotic was suitable for viral infections, 65.9% had more than one SMA episode in the previous year, 73.5% selfmedicated with at least two different antibiotics, 57.1% and 64.4% changed antibiotic dosage and antibiotics during the course, respectively. Female gender, older age, and prior knowledge of antibiotics (PKA) were identified as independent risk factors of SMA. There was no difference between students with and without PKA regarding SMA frequency, use of polyantibiotics, and switching antibiotic dosage or antibiotics. ADEs happened to 13.3% of self-medicated students. Frequent change of dosage and simultaneous use of the same antibiotic with different names were independent risk practices associated with an ADE. Conclusions: Our findings substantiate high SMA prevalence among Chinese university students. Older age and PKA are independent SMA risk factors common to Chinese university students and female gender is exclusive SMA risk factor for JSU students. Poor SMA practices are associated with ADEs. Strict regulations on antibiotic sales and public education reinforced by further health care reform are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

National-level data on the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in different regions of China is insufficient. This study aimed to compare ROP incidences and care practices in different regions of China and their relationship with regional gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Retrospective cohort study. All infants born at <32 weeks gestational age (GA) and admitted to 70 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020, were enrolled. Hospitals were categorised into three regional groups according to geographical locations and GDP per capita from high to low: Eastern, Central, and Western China. The incidence of death or ROP, and care practices were compared among the groups. A total of 18,579 infants were enrolled. Median GA was 29.9 (interquartile range 28.4–31.0) weeks and birth weight was 1318.1 (317.2) g. The percentage of GA <28 weeks, complete administration of antenatal steroids, and weight gain velocity during NICU stay were highest in Eastern China and lowest in Western China (all P < 0.01). In Eastern, Central, and Western China, the rates of death or any stage of ROP were 33.3%, 38.5%, and 39.2%, respectively (P < 0.01). There were considerable regional disparities in ROP incidence in preterm infants with GA <32 weeks in China. The incidence of death or ROP ranged from high to low in Western, Central, and Eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background DNA repair genes can be used as prognostic biomarkers in many types of cancer. We aimed to identify prognostic DNA repair genes in patients with gastric cancer (GC) by systematically bioinformatic approaches using web-based database. Methods Global gene expression profiles from altogether 1,325 GC patients' samples from six independent datasets were included in the study. Clustering analysis was performed to screen potentially abnormal DNA repair genes related to the prognosis of GC, followed by unsupervised clustering analysis to identify molecular subtypes of GC. Characteristics and prognosis differences were analyzed among these molecular subtypes, and modular key genes in molecular subtypes were identified based on changes in expression correlation. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to find the independent prognostic gene. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test was used to estimate correlations of key DNA repair genes with GC patients'overall survival. Results There were 57 key genes significantly associated to GC patients' prognosis, and patients were stratified into three molecular clusters based on their expression profiles, in which patients in Cluster 3 showed the best survival (P < 0.05). After a three-phase training, test and validation process, the expression profile of 13 independent key DNA repair genes were identified can classify the prognostic risk of patients. Compared with patients with low-risk score, patients with high risk score in the training set had shorter overall survival (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, we verified equivalent findings by these key DNA repair genes in the test set (P < 0.0001) and the independent validation set (P = 0.0024). Conclusions Our results suggest a great potential for the use of DNA repair gene profiling as a powerful marker in prognostication and inform treatment decisions for GC patients. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81602081, 81602078). Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To explore the characteristics of Helicobacter pylori resistance in China and the association between antibiotic resistance and several clinical factors. Methods H. pylori strains were collected from patients in 13 provinces or cities in China between 2010 and 2016. Demographic data including type of disease, geographic area, age, gender and isolation year were collected to analyse their association with antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance was detected using the Etest test and the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results H. pylori were successfully cultured from 1117 patients. The prevalence of metronidazole, clarithromycin (CLA), azithromycin, levofloxacin (LEV), moxifloxacin, amoxicillin (AMO), tetracycline and rifampicin resistance was 78.2, 22.1, 23.3, 19.2, 17.2, 3.4, 1.9 and 1.5%, respectively. No resistance to furazolidone was observed. The resistance rates to LEV and moxifloxacin were higher in strains isolated from patients with gastritis compared to those with duodenal ulcer and among women. Compared to patients ≥40 years old, younger patients exhibited lower resistance rates to CLA, azithromycin, LEV and moxifloxacin. The resistance rates to CLA and AMO were higher in strains isolated more recently, and we also found that the prevalence of resistance to metronidazole, CLA, azithromycin and AMO were significantly different among different regions of China. Conclusions The resistance rates to metronidazole, CLA and LEV were high in China. Patient age, gender, disease and location were associated with the resistance of H. pylori to some antibiotics. Furazolidone, AMO and tetracycline are better choices for H. pylori treatment in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]