Search

Objective Hypertension (HTN) is an important public health issue worldwide, associated with the rapid economic development and urbanisation over the last decades. This is especially the case in Shenzhen, which has benefited greatly from the reform and opening-up policies. However, there is limited information on the epidemiology of HTN in this region. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of HTN and the associated factors among adult residents in Shenzhen, China.Design Population-based, cross-sectional study.Participants Through the multistage stratified random sampling method, a representative sample of 10 043 urban population aged ≥18 years were selected. Three consecutive blood pressure (BP) readings were measured after resting for a 5 min seat by trained staff and HTN was defined as mean systolic BP ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mm Hg and/or self-reported current use of antihypertensive drugs. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric details, BP, blood and urine samples were also collected.Primary outcome measure Prevalence of HTN.Results Overall, the weighted prevalence of HTN among residents in Shenzhen was 19.2% (95% CI 18.5 to 20.0). Among patients with HTN, 55.0% (95% CI 52.9 to 57.1) were aware of their condition and 44.9% (95% CI 42.8 to 47.1) were taking antihypertensive medications, but only 21.7% (95% CI 20.0 to 23.5) achieved BP control. Among those who knew their HTN, 81.7% (95% CI 79.3 to 83.8) were under treatment and 48.3% (95% CI 45.1 to 51.5) were controlled among those with treated HTN. Male, older age, lower educational level, overweight and obesity, family history of HTN, tobacco smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia and high uric acid were associated with HTN.Conclusions HTN is a major public health concern in Shenzhen, which has low awareness, treatment and control rates, and is associated with several risk factors. Effective multifaceted implementation strategies are highly needed to combat the emerging burden of HTN.

In the engineering of aerospace and nuclear power engineering, the safety and reliability of small pipe（Outer diameter less than 2-inch, about 50 mm） has become one of the main factors restricting the safe operation. However, in the existing design codes, there is a lack of detailed technical requirements and evaluation criteria for small pipeline. In this paper, based on the experimental and FEA analysis, the fatigue and final fracture of pipeline components are discussed. The results show that the results of the fatigue crack propagation by experimental and FEA method are same, and they account about 3 % of the fatigue life in the study case. The critical failure mode is the plastic collapse, so it is to increase the critical crack size by increasing the tensile strength.

As the most populous country in the world, China has made strides in health promotion in the past few decades. With the aging population, the burden of cancer in China continues to grow. Changes in risk factors for cancer, especially diet, obesity, diabetes, and air pollution, continue to fuel the shift of cancer transition in China. The burden of upper gastrointestinal cancer in China is decreasing, but still heavy. The rising burden of colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers is also significant. Lung cancer became the top cause of cancer-related deaths, together with smoking as the most important contributor to cancer deaths. The Chinese government has taken several approaches to control cancer and cancer-related risk factors. Many achievements have been made, but some challenges remain. Health China 2030 is ambitious and depicts a bright vision of the future for cancer control in China. The decrease in the cancer burden in China will require cross-sector collaboration and coordinated efforts on primary and secondary preventions by governments, public health organizations, and individuals. In this review, we describe the trends of cancer burden and discuss cancer-related risk factors in China, identifying strategies to reduce the burden of cancer in China.

The development of specific anti-cytokine/chemokine therapeutic strategies for atherosclerotic disease is challenging. Here, the authors have designed a peptide-based ectodomain mimic of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 that selectively targets MIF but not CXCL12 and blocks experimental atherosclerosis in vivo.

Abstract Background Serum miRNA was once found as potential disease survival index,thus we investigated the role of miRNA in predicting prognosis in loco-regionally advanced NPC patients treated with CCRT. Methods This study included two phases: (i) We enrolled 3 NPC patients with recurrence or distant metastasis (experimental group, EG) and 3 NPC patients in clinical remission (control group, CG),who were treated with CCRT within 5 years. The paired serum was collected before and after treatment and biomarkers were discovered by LNA-TaqMan Human MicroRNA Arrays. (ii) we used the bioinformatic analysis, marker selection and an independent validation by qRT-PCR to analyse the serums of 29 NPC patients with recurrent disease or distant metastasis and 19 NPC patients in clinical remission treated with CCRT. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test and Cox regression model to estimate the accuracy of the miRNAs to predict PFS and OS, and identified factors significantly associated with prognosis, respectively. Results Using fold change≥2.0 or ≤ 0.5 and p ≤ 0.05 as cutoff levels, we identified 1 up-regulated and 6 down-regulated miRNAs, 1 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated miRNAs in EG versus CG before and after CCRT, respectively. After these down-regulated miRNAs were dealed with bioinformatics analysis and normalization, only 5 different miRNAs were significantly reduced, which there were no significant difference in the expression of miRNA-26b, miRNA-29a and miRNA-125b before CCRT, and the expression of miRNA-143 and miRNA-29b after CCRT in the serum samples of 48 NPC patients. Based on this, we calculated a risk score with the expression of miRNA-26b、miRNA-29a、miRNA-125b、miRNA-29b、miRNA-143 and then classified patients as high or low risk group. Cox regression model suggested that combining miRNA-29a and miRNA-125b before CCRT with miRNA-26b after CCRT was independent prognostic factors for PFS (HR = 3.149, 95%CI:1.018–9.115, p = 0.034), whereas combining the former two is independent for OS (HR = 5.146, 95%CI:1.674–15.817, p = 0.04). Conclusions For loco-regionally advanced NPC patients treated with CCRT, especially high-risk patients- serum miRNAs, such as miRNA-29a, miRNA-125b and miRNA-26b etc., play an important role in predicting prognosis factors of PFS and OS, which will contribute to the strategic direction for future research.

To demonstrate the trends of hypercholesterolemia change in Shenzhen, China from 1997 to 2018. Participants were residents aged 18 to 69 years in Shenzhen, China, and were recruited using multi-stage cluster sampling. All participants were surveyed about their socio-demographics, lifestyle, occupation, mental health, and social support. Physical measurements and blood samples for subsequent measurements were collected according to a standardized protocol. A total of 26,621 individuals participated in the three surveys with 8,266 in 1997, 8,599 in 2009, and 9,756 in 2018. In both women and men, there was a significant downward linear trend in age-adjusted mean high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) from 1997 to 2018 (women: 0.17 ± 0.06, p = 0.008 vs. men: 0.21 ± 0.04, p < 0.001). In contrast, the age-adjusted total triglycerides and total cholesterol in both sexes have demonstrated an increasing trend in the past two decades. However, no significant changes in age-adjusted low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in both men and women between 2009 and 2018 were found (women: 0.00 ± 0.02, p = 0.85 vs. men 0.02 ± 0.03, p = 0.34). The age-adjusted prevalence of hypercholesterolemia observed a rapid rise from 1997 to 2009 and appeared to be stabilized in 2018, which was similar to the trend of the prevalence of high total triglycerides in women. Changes in trends were varied by different types of lipids traits. Over the observed decades, there was a clear increasing trend of prevalence of low HDL-C (

Activation of intravesical PAR4 receptors leads to bladder hyperalgesia (BHA) through release of urothelial macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and urothelial high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). MIF deficiency and/or MIF antagonism at the bladder block BHA in mice yet the mechanisms are not clear. Since oxidative stress and ERK phosphorylation are involved in MIF signaling we hypothesized that oxidative stress and/or ERK signaling, activated by MIF release, promote intravesical HMGB1 release to induce BHA. We induced BHA by intravesical PAR4 infusion in female C57BL/6 mice. Mechanical sensitivity was evaluated by measuring abdominal von Frey (VF) 50% thresholds before (baseline) and 24 h post-infusion. Intravesical pre-treatment (10 min infusion prior to PAR4) with N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA; reactive-oxygen species scavenger; 3 mg in 50 μl), FR180204 (selective ERK1/2 inhibitor; 200 μg in 50 μl), ethyl pyruvate (EP; HMGB1 release inhibitor; 600 μg in 50 μl), or diluent controls (50 μl) tested the effects of pre-treatment on PAR4-induced BHA. Intravesical fluid was collected after each treatment and HMGB1 concentration was measured using ELISA. Awake micturition parameters (volume and frequency) were assessed at the end of the experiments. Bladders were collected and examined for histological signs of edema and inflammation. Pre-treatment with PBS followed by PAR4 induced BHA in mice but PBS followed by scrambled peptide did not. Pre-treatment with NACA or EP partially blocked PAR4-induced BHA while FR180204 had no effect. A significant correlation between intravesical HMGB1 levels and 50% VF thresholds was observed. All PAR4 treated groups had increased levels of HMGB1 in the intravesical fluid compared to PBS-Scrambled group although not statistically significant. No significant effects were noted on awake micturition volume, micturition frequency or histological evidence of bladder edema or inflammation. Our results show that intravesical antagonism of bladder reactive-oxygen species accumulation was effective in reducing PAR4-induced bladder pain. The correlation between intravesical levels of HMGB1 and bladder pain indicates that released HMGB1 is pivotal to bladder pain. Thus, modulating events in the MIF signaling cascade triggered by PAR4 activation (including bladder oxidative stress and HMGB1 release) warrant further investigation as possible therapeutic strategies.

microRNAs (miRNAs), non-coding RNAs about 22 nt long, regulate the post-transcription expression of genes to influence many cellular processes. The expression of host miRNAs is affected by virus invasion, which also affects virus replication. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that miRNA influences RNA virus multiplication by binding directly to the RNA virus genome. Here, the knowledge relating to miRNAs’ relationships between host miRNAs and RNA viruses are discussed.

PurposeTo compare the impact of anterior capsule polishing (ACP) during cataract surgery on the rate of neodymium: YAG (Nd: YAG) laser capsulotomy in pseudophakic eyes with two multifocal intraocular lenses (MIOLs).MethodsData were collected on patients who underwent cataract surgery and implanted segmental refractive MIOLs (SBL-3, Lenstec) or diffracted MIOLs (AT LISA tri 839MP, Carl Zeiss Meditec). The participants were divided into ACP and non-ACP groups based on whether the anterior capsule was polished. The primary outcome measure was whether Nd: YAG capsulotomy was performed during the 3 years follow-up. We used Kaplan–Meier survival curves to determine the time from IOL implantation to Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy.ResultsACP and non-ACP groups comprised 70 and 60 eyes, respectively. One year postoperatively, 7.14% of ACP group eyes and 8.33% of non-ACP group required Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy (P > 0.99). After 2 years, it was 24.29 and 18.33%, respectively (P = 0.52), while after 3 years, it reached 30.0 and 28.33% (P = 0.85). No distinct difference existed in the probability of using Nd: YAG laser in both groups evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves (P = 0.81). Patients with diffractive MIOLs (AT LISA tri 839MP) implantation were more likely to require Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy (P < 0.01).ConclusionPolishing the anterior capsule had no remarkable effect on reducing the rate of Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy following phacoemulsification in MIOLs. Patients with diffractive MIOLs implantation had a high probability of requiring Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy.

Creative self-efficacy (CSE) is a core influencer of creative behavior and has a positive impact on well-being and development. However, the positive psychological processes that help to promote CSE in foreign-language learning (FLL) remain under-studied. Focusing specifically on FLL students, the present study examined the associations among optimism, hope, empathy, and CSE and investigated the possible mediating roles of hope and empathy in the relationship between optimism and CSE. A sample of 330 FLL students from two Chinese universities participated in this study. The results showed that (i) optimism, hope, and empathy were all positively related to CSE and that (ii) optimism did not directly predict CSE but indirectly and positively predicted CSE through hope and empathy. These findings suggest that optimism, empathy, and hope potentially play positive roles in facilitating CSE in FLL students. Based on the present results, some practical approaches are discussed that could help improve the CSE of FLL students, paying particular attention to the effects that potentially motivate their positivity.

Activation of intravesical protease activated receptors-4 (PAR4) results in bladder pain through the release of urothelial macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). We aimed to identify HMGB1 downstream signaling events at the bladder that mediate HMGB1-induced bladder pain in MIF-deficient mice to exclude any MIF-related effects. We studied whether oxidative stress and ERK activation are involved by examining bladder tissue in mice treated with intravesical disulfide HMGB1 for 1 h and analyzed with Western blot and immunohistochemistry. HMGB1 intravesical treatment increased urothelium 4HNE and phospho-ERK1/2 staining, suggesting that HMGB1 increased urothelial oxidative stress and ERK activation. Furthermore, we examined the functional roles of these events. We evaluated lower abdominal mechanical thresholds (an index of bladder pain) before and 24 h after intravesical PAR4 or disulfide HMGB1. Intravesical pre-treatments (10 min prior) included: N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA, reactive oxygen species scavenger) and FR180204 (FR, selective ERK1/2 inhibitor). Awake micturition parameters (voided volume; frequency) were assessed at 24 h after treatment. Bladders were collected for histology at the end of the experiment. Pre-treatment with NACA or FR significantly prevented HMGB1-induced bladder pain. No significant effects were noted on micturition volume, frequency, inflammation, or edema. Thus, HMGB1 activates downstream urothelial oxidative stress production and ERK1/2 activation to mediate bladder pain. Further dissection of HMGB1 downstream signaling pathway may lead to novel potential therapeutic strategies to treat bladder pain.

ObjectiveDespite the high efficiency of glucocorticoids (GCs), ~18–34% patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) may experience relapses of the disease. Here, we aim to identify clinical factors related to relapses during steroid tapering or after withdrawal in MG patients who were well-managed on steroid monotherapy.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study on 125 MG patients from the Xuanwu Hospital MG Trial Database. Patients were treated with corticosteroids and achieved minimal manifestation status (MMS) or better. Patients were divided into steroid reduction subset (N = 74) and steroid withdrawal subset (N = 51). Clinical characteristics and therapeutic data were compared between patients with disease relapse and those who maintained clinical remission at the last follow-ups. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify risk factors of relapse in each subset.ResultsThirty-seven (29.6%) patients experienced relapses during the follow-up periods. Relapse during the steroid reduction was significantly associated with drug reducing duration (HR = 0.81, 95%CI 0.74–0.89, P < 0.001). Risk of relapse was augmented if the drug reducing duration was

BackgroundPatients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) were invited to receive ultrasound and alpha-protein examination directly in China. However, not all HBV carriers need to be subjected to further tests. This study aimed to develop a feasible primary screening method to narrow down potential high-risk individuals of liver cancer among populations with HBV.MethodsBased on a prospective community-based cohort, potential risk factors were selected as the predictors, including age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, liver cancer family history, liver diseases in mothers, source of water, body mass index (BMI), and psychological trauma. Cox proportional regression model was applied to predict the 3-year absolute risk of liver cancer and derive risk scores. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and calibration plot were used to assess the performance of the model. Bootstrap resampling was used for internal validation.ResultsAge, sex, BMI, alcohol consumption, liver diseases in mothers, and psychological trauma were independent risks of liver cancer. The 1- to 3-year AUROC of the prediction model was 71.15% (95% CI, 66.88–75.42), 71.16% (95% CI, 67.42–74.90), and 72.95% (95% CI, 64.20–81.70), respectively. The predicted risk was calibrated well with the observed liver cancer risk. Bootstrap resampling showed that C-index was 0.70 (0.67–0.74). A 32-point risk score was also developed and a score over 5 was identified for patients at extremely high risk.ConclusionsA user-friendly primary screening method was created that could estimate the 3-year absolute risk of liver cancer and identify extremely high-risk individuals among the population with HBV.

Purpose: To evaluate the repeatability of a multispectral-based refractor in central and peripheral refraction measurement, and to assess the agreement of such measurements with objective refraction (OR) and subjective refraction (SR) in patients with myopia.Methods: A total of 60 subjects were recruited in this prospective research. Patients were divided into three groups according to the refractive error. Next, the central and peripheral refraction parameters were measured using multispectral refractive tomography (MRT) before and after cycloplegia. In addition, OR and SR measurements were also performed. The intraobserver repeatability was analyzed using within-subject standard deviation (Sw), test–retest repeatability (TRT), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Agreement was evaluated using Bland-Altman plot and 95% limits of agreement (LoA).Results: The ICC value of central and peripheral refraction were all higher than 0.97 with or without cycloplegia. The peripheral refraction in the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior quadrants was slightly worse than other parameters, with the largest error interval being 1.43 D. The 95% LoA of the central refraction and OR or SR ranged from −0.89 to 0.88 D and −1.24 to 1.16 D without cycloplegia, respectively, and from −0.80 to 0.42 D and −1.39 to −0.84 D under cycloplegia, respectively.Conclusions: The novel multispectral refraction topography demonstrated good repeatability in central and peripheral refraction. However, the refraction in the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior quadrants were not as good as that of central and circle peripheral refraction.

Background: Selenoprotein N-related myopathies (SEPN1-RMs) are a subset of congenital myopathies caused by mutations of Selenoprotein N gene (SELENON or SEPN1). Clinical phenotype is considered as highly consistent and little attention has been given to the extramuscular abnormalities.Methods: We reported clinical, histopathological, and genetic features of four Chinese patients with SEPN1-RM and performed literature review on delayed respiratory insufficiency and extramuscular involvement.Results: A total of four patients exhibited both the typical and atypical clinical features of SEPN1-RM. The classical manifestations included axial and limb girdle weakness, spinal rigidity, scoliosis, respiratory insufficiency, and multiminicore morphological lesions. However, high interindividual variability was noticed on disease severity, especially the onset of respiratory involvement. Two adult patients postponed respiratory insufficiency to the third decade of life, while two juvenile patients manifested early hypoventilation with puberty exacerbation. As atypical features, extramuscular involvement of weight gain, subcutaneous adipose tissue accumulation, intellectual disability, and mild cardiac changes were observed. Molecular findings revealed three novel mutations of SELENON such as c.1286_1288 del CCT, c.1078_1086dupGGCTACATA, and c.785 G>C. Ten cases with delayed respiratory insufficiency were identified from previous publications. A total of 18 studies described extramuscular abnormalities including joint contractures, alterations of body mass index (BMI), mild cardiac changes, and insulin resistance. Intellectual impairment was extremely rare.Conclusion: SEPN1-RM should be considered as a differential diagnosis in adult patients with delayed respiratory involvement. Extramuscular involvement such as body composition alterations deserves more clinical attention. The novel mutations of SELENON widened the genetic spectrum of patients with SEPN1-RM.