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Background Through the comparison of the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of hospital human influenza (influenza A (H1N1) pdm09, H3N2, and B)-related and hospitalized avian-origin influenza A (H7N9)-related viral pneumonia patients, find the different between them. Methods A retrospective study was conducted in hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients. Results Human influenza A-related patients in the 35–49-year-old group were more than those with B pneumonia patients (p = 0.027), and relatively less in the ≥ 65-year-old group than B pneumonia patients (p = 0.079). The proportion of comorbid condition to human influenza A pneumonia was 58%, lower than B pneumonia and H7N9 pneumonia patients (78% vs. 77.8%; p = 0.013). The proportion of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), lymphocytopenia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase to hospitalized human influenza A-related viral pneumonia patients was higher than B pneumonia patients (p 10,000/mm3 (OR: 7.22; 95% CI 1.47–35.58; p = 0.015) and positive bacterial culture(blood or sputum) (OR: 6.27; 95% CI 1.36–28.85; p = 0.018) were independently associated with death in the three types hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients. Conclusions Hospital influenza B-related viral pneumonia mainly affects the elderly and people with underlying diseases, while human influenza A pneumonia mainly affects the young adults; however, the mortality was similar. The hospitalized human influenza A-related viral pneumonia patients was severer than B pneumonia patients, but milder than H7N9 pneumonia patients. Pulmonary consolidation and positive bacterial culture (sputum) were independently associated with IMV, while shock, white blood cell count > 10,000/mm3, and positive bacterial culture (blood or sputum) were independently associated with death to three types hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients.

Jingxia Wang,1,2,&ast; Qiangqiang Xiang,1,2,&ast; Silan Gu,1,&ast; Yudan Gu,3 Mingfei Yao,1 Weixin Huang,4,5 Wang Gao,4 Ling-Ling Tang1,2 1State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Shuren University, Shulan International Medical College, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 5Shaoxing Tongchuang Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shaoxing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ling-Ling Tang, Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Shuren University, Shulan International Medical College, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, Email lingling.tang@shulan.comBackground: Antibiotics are the first line of treatment for infectious diseases. However, their overuse can increase the spread of drug-resistant bacteria. The present study analyzed the impact of different types of antibiotics on the gut microbiome and cytokines level of mice.Methods: A total of five groups of 8-week-old male BALB/c mice (n = 35) were treated with piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP), ceftriaxone (CRO), tigecycline (TGC), levofloxacin (LEV) or normal saline (Ctrl), respectively, for up to 4 weeks. Fecal samples were analyzed by bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing for bacterial identification. Blood samples were used for the determination of 23 serum cytokines using multiplex immunoassay.Results: Exposure to antibiotics was shown to affect the normal weight gain of mice. Significant changes in gut composition caused by TZP, CRO and TGC treatment included the decreased abundance of Bacteroidetes (p < 0.01), Muribaculaceae (p < 0.01) and Lachnospiraceae (p < 0.01), and the increased abundance of Proteobacteria (p < 0.05), Enterobacteriaceae (including Klebsiella and Enterobacter) (p < 0.01) and Enterococcaceae (including Enterococcus) (p < 0.01). After 4-week treatment, the TZP, CRO and LEV groups had significantly lower concentrations of several serum cytokines. Correlation analysis of the top 30 bacterial genera and cytokines showed that Enterococcus and Klebsiella were strongly positively correlated with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukins (IL) IL-12p70 and IL-1β. Desulfovibrio, Candidatus Saccharimonas, norank_f__norank_o__Clostridia_UCG-014, Lactobacillus, and Roseburia were strongly negatively correlated with these cytokines.Conclusion: This study demonstrates the effects of various antibiotics on the intestinal microflora and immune status of mice. Compared with TZP, CRO and TGC, LEV had minimal impact on the gut microbiota. In addition to TGC, long-term TZP, CRO and LEV intervention can lead to a decrease in serum cytokine levels, which may depend on the intestinal microflora, antibiotic used and the duration of treatment.Keywords: gut microbiota, piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftriaxone, tigecycline, levofloxacin, cytokine, immunity

To compare the shaping ability of 4 nickel-titanium rotary instruments in preparation of curved root canals.Forty extracted human maxillary first or second molars with mesiobuccal root canal curvature ranging from 20°-40° were selected. The teeth were randomly equally divided into 4 groups(n=10). Mesial root canals were separately prepared using Protaper Universal, Protaper Next, TF, and S3 nickel-titanium instruments. A series of preoperative and postoperative images were taken by Micro-CT． Mimics 17.0 software was used to analyze the following parameters: canal transportation, centering ratio values, root canal volume, volume of removed dentin, and canal/root width ratio. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS 20.0 software package.In terms of canal transportation after preparation at 1, 3 and 5 mm from the apex, Protaper Universal was more than the other three groups(P＜0.05). The centering ratio value of Protaper Universal was significantly smaller than that of the other three groups at 1 mm from the apex(P＜0.05). The amount of dentin removal was significantly different after instrumentation with the four test systems(P＜0.05). Protaper Universal had the highest mean volume of removed dentin. After preparation, all root canals had a diameter that was not larger than 39% of the root diameter at the coronal and middle segments.Under the conditions of this study, Protaper Next, TF, S3 systems seem to be better choices than Protaper Universal system in preparing curved root canals.

Background Antibiotics play an important role in the treatment of infectious diseases. However, the overuse of antibiotics increases the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and causes dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. Few studies have addressed the longitudinal effects of antibiotics on the microbiome and host immunity. Materials and methods In this study, the short-term effect of fluoroquinolone (levofloxacin) and β-lactam antibiotics (meropenem, cefoperazone/sulbactam, and aztreonam) on the gut microbiota of mice was evaluated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The susceptibility of Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus lactis, Enterococcus faecium, and Clostridium butyricum to these antimicrobial agents was assessed using the disc diffusion method. Results Our results showed that 4-day antibiotic exposure significantly reduced the alpha and beta diversity of gut bacteria and increased serum inflammatory cytokines, and these changes persisted long after antibiotic withdrawal and did not return to pre-treatment levels. Nonetheless, the bacterial community composition tended to return to pre-treatment levels after discontinuing treatment. The tested probiotic strains were resistant to aztreonam but were sensitive to meropenem and cefoperazone/sulbactam. Conclusion Short-term antibiotic treatment led to significant changes in the intestinal flora with a tendency to recover. The antibiotics had different effects on the intestinal microbial community and probiotic strains. This study provides guidance for the concomitant use of probiotics and antibiotics, and the results emphasize the importance of using broad-spectrum antibiotics responsibly to prevent the long-term disruption of the native microbiota.

Background In recent years, disasters occurred frequently all over the world, and the role of nurses in public health emergencies and disaster emergencies was highlighted under the background of the covid19 epidemic. However, there was a lack of education and evaluation. Our study aims to cross-cultural adapt the Nurses' Perceptions of Disaster Core Competencies Scale (NPDCC) and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version. Methods We translated the scale following the translation-integration-back translation-expert review procedure, adapted according to Chinese culture. We evaluated the reliability and validity of the scale, and a total sample of 911 nurse data from the Yangtze River Delta Regional Nursing Alliance Hospital was gathered. Results The Chinese version of NPDCC included 45 items, 5 factors (critical thinking skills, special diagnostic skills, general diagnostic skills, technical skills, and communication skills) were extracted from the analysis, which could explain the 68.289% of the total variance. The content validity index was 0.925. The Cronbach's α of the total NPDCC score was 0.978, and 0.884-0.945 for every factor. The split-half for the scale was 0.930, and every factor was 0.861-0.894. Conclusions The Chinese version of NPDCC has excellent reliability and validity, and it is suitable to measure nurses' perceptions of disaster core competencies in China. The next step is to promote the application in a large scale.

Serum chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) is a potential biomarker for fibrosis assessment. We aimed to evaluate serum CHI3L1 as a noninvasive diagnostic marker for chronic hepatitis B virus-related fibrosis.Serum CHI3L1 levels were measured by ELISA in 134 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Significant fibrosis was defined as a liver stiffness 9.7 kPa. The performance of CHI3L1 was assessed and compared to that of other noninvasive tests by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Serum CHI3L1 levels were significantly higher in CHB patients with significant hepatic fibrosis (≥ F2, 81.9 ng/mL) than in those without significant hepatic fibrosis ( F2, 56.5 ng/mL) (P 0.001). In CHB patients, the specificity and sensitivity of CHI3L1 for predicting significant fibrosis were 75.6% and 59.1%, respectively, with a cut-off of 76.0 ng/mL and an area under the ROC curve of 0.728 (95% CI: 0.637-0.820).Serum CHI3L1 levels could be an effective new serological biomarker for the diagnosis of liver. Moreover, CHI3L1 is feasible in monitoring disease progression.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), the most common head and neck cancer, is characterized by distinct geographic distribution and familial aggregation. Multiple risk factors, including host genetics, environmental factor and EBV infection, have been linked to the development of NPC, particularly in the familial clustering cases. However, the cause of NPC endemicity remains enigmatic due possibly to the complicated interplay between these risk factors. Recently, positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA loads at nasopharyngeal (NP) cavity has been found to reflect NPC development and applied in NPC screening. To examine whether the increased NP EBV loads could aggregate in the families and be affected by host genetics and environmental factor, EBV loads were obtained by 510 NP brushing samples from eligible unaffected individuals, who have 2 or more relatives affected with NPC, in 116 high-risk NPC families. The correlation of relative pairs was estimated using S.A.G.E. (version 6.4, 2016), and host heritability of NP EBV loads was calculated with variance component models using SOLAR (version 8.4.2, 2019). In result, significant correlations of EBV loads were observed between parent-offspring pairs and sibling-sibling pairs (P

Background Pneumonia is a common complication of influenza and closely related to mortality in influenza patients. The present study examines cytokines as predictors of the prognosis of influenza-associated pneumonia. Methods This study included 101 inpatients with influenza (64 pneumonia and 37 non-pneumonia patients). 48 cytokines were detected in the serum samples of the patients and the clinical characteristics were analyzed. The correlation between them was analyzed to identify predictive biomarkers for the prognosis of influenza-associated pneumonia. Results Seventeen patients had poor prognosis and developed pneumonia. Among patients with influenza-associated pneumonia, the levels of 8 cytokines were significantly higher in those who had a poor prognosis: interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-3, Interleukin-2 receptor subunit alpha and Hepatocyte growth factor. Correlation analysis showed that the IL-6, G-CSF, M-CSF, IFN-γ, and MCP-1 levels had positive correlations with the severity of pneumonia. IL-6 and G-CSF showed a strong and positive correlation with poor prognosis in influenza-associated pneumonia patients. The combined effect of the two cytokines resulted in the largest area (0.926) under the receiver-operating characteristic curve. Conclusion The results indicate that the probability of poor prognosis in influenza patients with pneumonia is significantly increased. IL-6, G-CSF, M-CSF, IFN-γ, and MCP-1 levels had a positive correlation with the severity of pneumonia. Importantly, IL-6 and G-CSF were identified as significant predictors of the severity of influenza-associated pneumonia.

Depression has been reported to be prevalent in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Moreover, several clinical symptoms of PTB and depression overlap, such as loss of appetite and malnutrition. However, the association between depression and malnutrition in TB patients has not been fully elucidated.To explore the association between depression and malnutrition in patients with PTB.This hospital-based cross-sectional study included patients with PTB in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University from April 2019 to July 2019. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale was used to evaluate depre-ssion. The cut-off value was set at 10, and the nutritional state was determined by the body mass index (BMI). In addition, the Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases was employed to establish the quality of life (QOL). Univariable analysis and multivariable analysis (forward mode) were implemented to identify the independent factors associated with depression.A total of 328 PTB patients were screened for analysis. Eight were excluded for missing demographic data, four excluded for missing nutrition status, and sixteen for missing QOL data. Finally, 300 PTB patients were subjected to analysis. We found that depressive state was present in 225 PTB patients (75%). The ratio of malnutrition in the depressive PTB patients was 45.33%. Our results revealed significantly lower BMI, hemoglobin, and prealbumin in the depression group than in the control group (Malnutrition and poor social function are significantly associated with depressive symptoms in PTB patients. A prospective large-scale study is needed to confirm these findings.

Liver fibrosis (LF) is a continuous wound healing process caused by numerous chronic hepatic diseases and poses a major threat to human health. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a critical event in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are involved in HSC activation, participate in the development of LF and are likely to be therapeutic targets for LF. In the present review, the cellular signaling pathways of LF with respect to HSCs were discussed. In particular, this present review highlighted the current knowledge on the role of lncRNAs in activating or inhibiting LF, revealing lncRNAs that are likely to be biomarkers or therapeutic targets for LF. Additional studies should be performed to elucidate the potential of lncRNAs in the diagnosis and prognosis of LF and to provide novel therapeutic approaches for the reversion of LF.

Background: Liver fibrosis is a serious health problem that may lead to a lot of liver diseases, such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver fibrosis are composed mainly by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Methods: To explore the effects of vitamin D in HSC activation and assess the relationships between vitamin D and glutamine metabolism in HSC activation and liver fibrosis in mice. We extracted HSCs from C57BL/6J mice which were activated by glutamine and glucose for 7 days with or without inhibitors or vitamin D. The expression of HSC activation related proteins, HSC proliferation, the acetylation of β-catenin, and the metabolites were measured by western blot or commercial kits. Findings: Glutamine activated HSCs and promoted the expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), glutaminase-1 (GLS1), Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), citrate lyase (ACLY), citrate, acetyl-coenzyme (Ac-CoA), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and, lactic acid (Lac), and promoted β-catenin acetylation. however, glucose may reverse the phenomenon. The inhibitors of GLS1 and ACLY also reached the same conclusions with glutamine. In vitro, vitamin D depressed the HSC activation and cell viability by inhibiting glutamine metabolism, and reduced β-catenin acetylation. In vivo, vitamin D significantly inhibited liver fibrosis levels, β-catenin acetylation, and glutamine metabolites. Interpretation: Vitamin D suppressed HSC activation and alleviated mouse liver fibrosis by inhibiting the Gln/β-catenin metabolism. Funding: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Program (Grant No. 81872672). Declaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: All animal experiments were in accordance with the National Institute of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animal with approval of the First Affiliated Hospital at Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou.

Objective. The aim of this study was to perform molecular characterization for and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Clostridium difficile collected from hospitals during a 4-year period (2009–2013) in China. Methods. Strains of toxigenic C. difficile were isolated from patients with diarrhoea, and this was followed by typing using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and testing for susceptibility to 10 antimicrobials by using the E-test. The mechanisms of resistance to moxifloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin and tetracycline were investigated by PCR. Results. A total of 405 non-duplicate toxigenic C. difficile isolates were identified, while 31 sequence types (STs) were identified. A predominant type, ST-54, accounted for 20.2 % of the STs, followed by ST-35 (16.3 %) and ST-37 (13.6 %). We found that 6.2 % of the isolates were binary toxin genes-positive, and 83.7 % of these belonged to ST-5. All of the isolates demonstrated 100 % susceptibility to first-line Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) therapies (i.e. metronidazole and vancomycin), while the resistance rates varied for the other antibiotics tested. Two hundred and ninety three (72.3 %) isolates were susceptible to moxifloxacin. All 112 moxifloxacin-resistant isolates had mutations resulting in an amino acid substitution in gryA and/or gyrB. The ermB gene was detected in 86.7 % (241/278) of the erythromycin- and clindamycin-resistant isolates, while the tetM gene was present in 97.1 % (85/87) of the tetracycline-resistant isolates. Conclusion. MLST typing revealed a wide variety of STs causing CDI, while ST-54 was the most common ST. All of the isolates were susceptible to metronidazole and vancomycin, while the resistance rates varied for the other antibiotics tested. There were no changes in the trends for the STs and antibiotic susceptibility profiles over 4 years.

BACKGROUND: Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is a hyper‐accumulator of fluoride (F). To understand F uptake and distribution in living plants, we visually evaluated the real‐time transport of F absorbed by roots and leaves using a positron‐emitting (¹⁸F) fluoride tracer and a positron‐emitting tracer imaging system. RESULTS: F arrived at an aerial plant part about 1.5 h after absorption by roots, suggesting that tea roots had a retention effect on F, and then was transported upward mainly via the xylem and little via the phloem along the tea stem, but no F was observed in the leaves within the initial 8 h. F absorbed via a cut petiole (leaf 4) was mainly transported downward along the stem within the initial 2 h. Although F was first detected in the top and ipsilateral leaves, it was not detected in tea roots by the end of the monitoring. During the monitoring time, F principally accumulated in the node. CONCLUSION: F uptake by the petiole of excised leaf and root system was realized in different ways. The nodes indicated that they may play pivotal roles in the transport of F in tea plants. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

// Jiawen Huang 1 , Xiaoqi Liu 2 , Ling-Ling Tang 3 , Jian-Ting Long 4 , Jinhong Zhu 5 , Rui-Xi Hua 4 and Jufeng Li 1 1 Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong, China 2 Department of Pharmacy, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China 3 School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, Guangdong, China 4 Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China 5 Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150040, Heilongjiang, China Correspondence to: Jufeng Li, email: lijufenghq@163.com Keywords: XPG , polymorphism, cancer, meta-analysis Received: January 09, 2017 Accepted: February 15, 2017 Published: March 13, 2017 ABSTRACT Xeroderma pigmentosum group G (XPG) is a single-strand-specific DNA endonuclease that functions in the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Genetic variations in XPG gene can alter the DNA repair capacity of this enzyme. We evaluated the associations between six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in XPG (rs1047768 T>C, rs2296147 T>C, rs2227869 G>C, rs2094258 C>T, rs751402 C>T, and rs873601 G>A) and cancer risk. Forty-seven studies were identified in searches of the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a fixed or random effects model. We found that rs873601 G>A was associated with an increased overall cancer risk (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06–1.24; GA/AA vs. GG: OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02–1.15; A vs. G: OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02–1.10). In a stratified analysis, rs1047768 T>C was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, rs2227869 G>C was associated with a decreased risk of cancer in population-based studies, and rs751402 C>T and rs873601 G>A were associated with the risk of gastric cancer. Our data indicate that rs873601 G>A is associated with cancer susceptibility.

Chinese enterprises are thinking about how to avoid risks of going global, and becoming a global corporate citizenship, in particular with a context of One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategy. The questions include how to cope with the challenges, seize the opportunities and how Chinese enterprises implement OBOR strategy effectively. This article aims to review the connotation of OBOR and development of Chinese enterprises going global, and analyze the reasons why Chinese enterprises going global lack of social responsibility. The article finally puts forward relevant policy proposals combined with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development.

Background: To investigate the potential protective effects of 3,4-oxo-isopropylidene-shikimic acid (ISA) on brain ischemic injury in rats. Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8, flow cytometry, and TUNEL were used to evaluate the cell viability and the apoptosis rate in vitro and in situ. Reactive oxygen species generation was determined by DCFH-DA assay. qPCR and Western blot were used to test the molecular mechanisms related to the anti-apoptosis effects. Result: Protective effect of pre-conditioning of ISA on the brain injury caused by ischemia was observed. ISA treatment showed anti-apoptosis effects on isolated primary astrocytes and neurons. ROS generation was also significantly scavenged by treatment of ISA. The treatment with ISA protected astrocytes from hypoxic condition-induced apoptosis and ischemic injury. The underlying mechanisms revealed by qPCR and WB showed that the level of mRNA and protein expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 were significantly down-regulated by ISA treatment (P < 0.05). Pre-conditioning with ISA is beneficial in reducing the neuronal damage caused by brain ischemia. Conclusion: Treatment with ISA reduces apoptosis and ROS over-generation caused by ischemic injury. Pre-conditioning with ISA resulted in significantly protective effects on brain under ischemic condition.

Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) on cerebral infarction after transient focal ischemia in rats. Methods: Focal ischemia (1·5 hours) was created in male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-280 g) by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Some rats were treated with 20 mg/kg tetrahydrobiopterin by intraperitoneal injection 30 minutes before reperfusion. At 2, 6, and 12 hours of reperfusion, the brains were harvested for the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) level assays. At 12 hours of reperfusion, the brains were harvested for infarct size measurement. Results: NOS activity and NO level were all augmented after reperfusion. BH4 treatment significantly further increased NOS activity and NO level. Cerebral infarct size was significantly bigger in BH4 treatment group compared to that in no treatment group. Conclusions: The data indicate that BH4 enhances cerebral infarction after transient focal ischemia in rats, through NOS and NO pathway.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy with an extraordinarily skewed geographic distribution worldwide. Although decreasing trends in incidence and mortality of NPC have been sporadically reported in some high-risk areas, no comprehensive description of the global trends has ever been made. We accessed incidence (1970-2007) and mortality (1970-2013) data from multiple sources, with the main ones being the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5) series and the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer mortality database. During the entire period studied, age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) of NPC decreased significantly in southern and eastern Asia, north America and Nordic countries with average annual percent changes (AAPCs) of -0.9% to -5.4% in males and -1.1% to -4.1% in females. Declines in age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) are even more remarkable and extensive, with AAPCs varying from -0.9% and -0.8% to -3.7% and -6.5% in males and females, respectively. Decreasing trends in NPC incidence are probably due to tobacco control, changes in diets and economic development. Declines in mortality rates are the results of advancements in diagnostic and radiotherapy techniques, as well as decreased incidence rates.

A new feeding form is designed as a discontinued T-shaped in this paper. This paper also models a function with restrict conditions, a set of data is educed by optimizing nonlinear function, which is transformed through adding penalty function. At last, when the two-set coaxial impedance matching apparatus is fixed on the antenna, a comparison of simulator between the impedance and without it indicates that the matching results are satisfactory.

The expression of β-catenin at the level of mRNA and protein in the apical papilla and dental pulp tissues of human permanent teeth were compared to explore the possible relationship between β-catenin and the development of pulp-dentin complex.Forty-eight healthy permanent teeth in need of extraction for orthodontic treatment were obtained. The apical papilla and dental pulp tissues were isolated immediately when the teeth were extracted. All the samples were divided into 3 groups: group1, apical papilla of immature permanent teeth; group 2, dental pulp tissues of immature permanent teeth; group 3, dental pulp tissues of mature permanent teeth. RT-PCR and Western blot techniques were used to examine the expression of β-catenin at the level of mRNA and protein respectively. Meta Morph software was used to measure the gray value of the positively expressed bands. Two-sample t test was performed to analyze the expression intensity (gray value) of β-catenin by use of SPSS 11.0 software package.β-catenin was positively expressed at both mRNA level and protein level in all the samples investigated. The expression intensity of β-catenin in the dental pulp tissues of human immature permanent teeth was higher than that in the apical papillary tissues and that in the dental pulp tissues of human mature permanent teeth as well. The differences were statistically significant (P0.05).β-catenin was expressed in both the apical papilla and dental pulp tissues of immature and mature permanent teeth, but the expression intensity was different. It indicated that β-catenin may play an important role in the development of pulp-dentin complex and in the reparative process after the dental pulp injury.

Data compression has been playing an important role in the areas of data transmission. Many great contributions have been made in this area, such as Huffman coding, LZW algorithm, run length coding, and so on. These methods only focus on the data compression. On the other hand, it is very important for us to encrypt our data to against malicious theft and attack during transmission. A novel algorithm named Swapped Huffman code Table (SHT algorithm) which joints compression and encryption based on the Huffman coding is proposed in this paper. This algorithm is a enhanced Huffman coding with encryption for wireless data broadcasting system. The application example and evaluation results show its feasibility and efficiency.

The present study investigated the therapeutic effects and indications of keyhole transsylvian approach (KTA) in the treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH). Clinical data of 65 cases of HICH were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated by open surgical evacuation either through KTA (KTA group) or through conventional craniotomy approach (CCA group). The operative time, intraoperative bleeding quantity, the length of hospitalization, mortality, and favorable outcome were compared between the 2 groups. Compared with the CCA group, the KTA group had smaller bleeding quantity and shorter length of hospitalization. Favorable outcome at 3 months after admission was higher in the KTA group than that in the CCA group. The present study suggests that treatment of HICH through KTA is a practical and effective surgical procedure.

Objective: This study is aimed at developing a simple and easy way to generate dendritic cells (DCs) from human peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) in vitro. Methods: PBMCs were isolated directly from white blood cell rather than whole blood and purified by patching methods (collecting the attached cell and removing the suspension cell). DCs were then generated by culturing PBMCs for six days with 30 ng/ml recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) and 20 ng/ml recombinant human interleukin-4 (rhIL-4) in vitro. On the sixth day, TNF-alpha (TNFα) 30 ng/ml was added into some DC cultures, which were then incubated for two additional days. The morphology was monitored by light microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy, and the phenotypes were determined by flow cytometry. Autologous mixed leukocyte reactions (MLR) were used to characterize DC function after TNFα or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulations for 24 h. Results: After six days of culture, the monocytes developed significant dendritic morphology and a portion of cells expressed CD1a, CD80 and CD86, features of DCs. TNFα treatment induced DCs maturation and up-regulation of CD80, CD86 and CD83. Autologous MLR demonstrated that these DCs possess potent T-cell stimulatory capacity. Conclusion: This study developed a simple and easy way to generate DCs from PBMCs exposed to rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4. The DCs produced by this method acquired morphologic and antigenic characteristics of DCs.

To investigate the relation of changes of fetal bile acid and morphologic ultrastructure of human placental syncytial cells in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).Total bile acid of cord venous blood was measured by cycle enzyme method between intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and control groups after birth. The ultrastructure of human placental syncytial cell was analyzed by morphologic study in two groups.(1) The total bile acid of cord venous blood in ICP group was significantly higher than in control group [(8.6 +/- 3.2) micromol/L vs (4.6 +/- 1.5) micromol/L] (P0.05). (2) The amount and number density of syncytial microvilli ultrastructure reduced significantly in ICP group [respectively (21 +/- 12) e/Es, (1.9 +/- 1.3) microm(-3)], compared with control group [respectively (35 +/- 11) e/Es, (4.1 +/- 3.2) microm(-3)] (P0.05). The average volume and surface area density of placental syncytial cell in ICP group [respectively (0.1200 +/- 0.0050) microm(3), (2.500 +/- 0.600) microm(2)/microm(3)] were statistically increased compared with that in control group [respectively (0.0500 +/- 0.0010) microm(3), (1.300 +/- 0.400) microm(2)/microm(3)] (P0.05). But no significant difference in the volume density of placental syncytial microvilli was observed between two groups (P0.05). The average volume, surface area density and volume density of mitochondrion in ICP group [respectively (0.0200 +/- 0.0020) microm(3), (0.600 +/- 0.010) microm(2)/microm(3), (0.0800 +/- 0.0090) microm(3)/microm(3)] were significantly enlarged than in control group [respectively (0.0100 +/- 0.0050) microm(3), (0.500 +/- 0.030) microm(2)/microm(3), (0.0500 +/- 0.0020) microm(3)/microm(3)] (P0.05). The average volume, surface area density and volume density of endoplasmic reticulum in ICP group [respectively (0.0200 +/- 0.0010) microm(3), (0.900 +/- 0.010) microm(2)/microm(3), (0.0900 +/- 0.0050) microm(3)/microm(3)] were significantly larger than in control group [respectively (0.0100 +/- 0.0030) microm(3), (0.500 +/- 0.030) microm(2)/microm(3), (0.0500 +/- 0.0010) microm(3)/microm(3)] (P0.05). No significant difference in number density of mitochondrion and endoplasmic reticulum between two groups was found (P0.05).In ICP, high levels of bile acids may impair cellular organelle, resulting in abnormality of physiological function of syncytial cells, and affecting the synthesis and transportation functions of placenta.

Gene transfer of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in rodent models of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been shown to protect against neurodegeneration either prior to or immediately after neurotoxin-induced lesions; however, the nigrostriatal pathway was largely intact when gene delivery was completed in these models, which may not accurately reflect the clinical situation encountered with Parkinson's patients. In this study, replication-incompetent adenoviral vectors encoding the rat GDNF gene were administered into the striatum 4 weeks following 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) injection in the unilateral striatum, more closely resembling fully developed PD. Apomorphine-induced rotational behavior testing was performed every week following 6-OHDA injection. At the 10th week after gene transfer, the striatal dopamine concentrations were measured by HPLC with an electrochemical detector and the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) was determined by immunohistochemistry. Injection of 6-OHDA into the striatum produced stable increases in rotation, which reached a plateau between 4 and 5 weeks post-injection. The number of TH-positive neuron in the SN and dopamine levels in the striatum was significantly lower in the 6-OHDA group compared to the normal group. Gene transfer of GDNF, but not beta-galactosidase, significantly increased the number of TH-positive neurons and dopamine levels, with a subsequent behavioral recovery between 5 and 10 weeks following GDNF transduction. These findings demonstrate that adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of GDNF is efficacious even in the late stages of 6-OHDA-induced PD rats. They also provide further evidence on the effectiveness of GDNF-based gene therapy for experimental Parkinson's disease.

Nucleic acid vaccine or DNA vaccine is a hopeful vaccine to prevent and treat viral hepatitis. Problems exist in different DNA vaccines for HBV or HCV. Optimal animal model should be established study vaccine against hepatitis. Apart from the strategy to enhance the efficiency of DNA vaccine, combined use of cytokines or chemokines, different routes of inoculation, design of optimal vector, ISS insertion in the plasmid vectors, etc to enhance the efficiency of DNA vaccine are reviewed.

Background Epidemiological studies show that cigarette smoking increase the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), however, whether other common, potentially adverse household inhalants increase NPC risk remains uncertain. Methods We conducted a large case-control study to explore the effects of household inhalants, such as incense, mosquito coil, cooking fumes, and wood combustion, on NPC risk. We recruited 1,845 cases and 2,275 controls from Guangdong province, a high-risk area for NPC in China, to obtain the demographic data and relevant exposure information through face-to-face interviews. Results We found that incense burning was associated with NPC risk by comparing frequent incense use with never using incense [OR and 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.73, (1.43, 2.09)]. Wood fuel use was also associated with NPC risk compared with non-wood fire use [OR and 95 % CI = 1.95, (1.65, 2.31)]. More intriguingly, we observed a significant addictive interaction between frequent incense burning and heavy cigarette smoking on NPC risk [synergistic index (SI) = 1.67; 95 % CI: 1.01, 2.76]. We also found a significant joint effect between wood fuel use and NPC family history for NPC risk (SI = 1.77; 95 % CI: 1.06, 2.96). However, neither mosquito oil nor cooking fumes were associated with NPC risk. Conclusions Our study shows that incense smoke is not only the potential independent risk factor but also co-contributes with cigarette smoking to NPC risk. Moreover, wood combustion is another potential environmental risk factor and exerts a joint effect with NPC family history on NPC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-2035-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) play an important role in maintaining immunological tolerance to self and foreign antigens. T cell receptors (TCR) reflect the composition and function of T cells. It is not universally agreed that there is a relationship between CD4+CD25+ Treg frequency and the severity of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The repertoire of TCR beta chain variable (TCRBV) regions of peripheral Tregs in ACLF patients is not well understood. Methods Human PBMCs were separated and sorted into CD4+CD25+ Treg subsets using density gradient centrifugation and magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS). The CD4+CD25high Treg frequency in peripheral blood of ACLF and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients was measured by flow cytometry. The molecular profiles of TCRBV CDR3 were determined using gene melting spectral pattern (GMSP) analysis. TCRBV gene families were cloned and sequenced when the GMSP profiles showed a single-peak. Results CD4+CD25high Treg prevalence in peripheral blood of ACLF patients is increased significantly compared to healthy donors (HDs) (P P +CD25high Tregs in ACLF or CHB patients is positively correlated with HBV DNA load. The TCRBV11, BV13.1, BV18, BV20 are the most prevalent TCRBV in CD4+CD25+ Tregs in ACLF and CHB patients. In addition, the CDR3 motifs were relatively conserved in these four TCRBV gene families. Conclusions The CD4+CD25high Tregs prevalence in peripheral blood is indicative of disease severity in ACLF or CHB patients. The relatively conserved TCRBV20 CDR3 motif “TGTGHSPLH” and TCRBV11 CDR3 motif “VYNEQ” may be used in helping diagnosis and treat patients with ACLF.