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Objectives. To assess the extent of interaction between body mass index (BMI) and triglyceride (TG) level and its effects on blood pressure (BP) in elderly individuals in China. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Data were taken from a cross-sectional study called the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants. The analytic sample included 3629 subjects aged 45 to 96 years. Main Outcome Measurements. Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which is a cross-sectional study. Age-adjusted partial Pearson’s correlation test was used to compare various characteristics and BP. Adjusted associations were first used as linear regression models, as appropriate. Then, general linear models adjusted for related potential confounders were used to examine the synergistic effects of BMI and TG level on BP. Finally, a binary logistic regression model adjusted for confounding factors was used to examine the association between BMI or TG level and hypertension. Results. Age-adjusted partial Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that the TG level was positively correlated with both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in both men and women with BMI < 24.0 kg/m2; however, TG level was positively correlated with DBP in women with BMI ≥ 24.0 kg/m2 but not with DBP in men with BMI ≥ 24.0 kg/m2. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that BMI level was significantly and positively associated with both SBP and DBP in men and women with BMI < 24.0 kg/m2, and TG level was significantly and positively associated with SBP in women with BMI < 24.0 kg/m2, independent of other confounding factors. A general linear model analysis with adjustment for confounding factors (age, educational level, marital status, current residence, smoking, eating habits, taking activities, antidiabetic medication, antihypertensive therapy, fasting plasma glucose [FPG], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], and serum uric acid [SUA]) showed no interaction between BMI and TG level and SBP (men, β = 0.572, P = 0.845; women, β = 0.122, P = 0.923) and DBP (men, β = -0.373, P = 0.810; women, β = 0.272, P = 0.828). A binary logistic regression model analysis with adjustment for confounding factors (age, educational level, marital status, current residence, smoking, drinking, eating habits, taking activities, major accidental injury, physical activity, history of cardiovascular disease, history of liver disease, antilipidemic medication, antidiabetic medication, antihypertensive therapy, FPG, LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], eGFR, and SUA) showed that overweight and obese men and women were more likely to have hypertension (men: odds ratio [OR] = 1.781, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.393–2.277; women: OR = 1.653, 95% CI = 1.330–2.055) and women with high TG were more likely to have hypertension (OR = 1.558, 95% CI = 1.219–1.992). Conclusion. An interactive effect of BMI and TG level on BP was not observed in either men or women; however, independent effects of BMI on BP were observed in both men and women, and an association between TG level and hypertension was observed in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an acute infectious disease characterized by neurological and respiratory symptoms. In order to have a better understanding of the current prevalence of PRV in northeastern China, a strain of PRV was isolated by us. Then, protein structure analysis and pathogenicity testing of the virus were performed to give insight into the characterization of the isolated PRV strains. In this study, the PRV strain named CH/HLJPRVJ/2023 was isolated and identified. Genome-wide phylogenetic analysis shows CH/HLJPRVJ/2023 and HeN1 have higher homology. The CH/HLJPRVJ/2023 strain had the highest homology with HeN1 strain (97.3%) and the lowest homology with Bartha-K61 (89.2%). Recombinant evolution analysis shows CH/HLJPRVJ/2023 shows many variants in OBP, AN, UL21, UL17, VP11/12, and VP1/2 fragments, which predict its unique genetically. VP1/2, an effector protein of capsid transport and neuroinvasion, has mutations and deletions in its amino acids, which cause changes in the protein conformation of CH/HLJPRVJ/2023. Besides the typical neurologic and respiratory lesions, infection with highly pathogenic CH/HLJPRVJ/2023 can lead to damage to the colonic villi and colonic barrier in piglets. This study will provide a basis for knowledge about the prevalence, genetic evolution, and vaccine optimization of endemic PRV strains in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous challenge of existing vaccine systems by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) variant strains in recent years, it caused significant economic losses in the global swine industry. A PEDV virulent strain CH/HLJBQL/2022 was successfully isolated in China in this study. A genome-wide based phylogenetic analysis suggests that CH/HLJBQL/2022 belongs to the GII subtype, and 96.3%–99.6% homology existed in the whole genomes of other strains. For the first time, simultaneous mutations of four amino acids were found in the highly conserved membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins, as well as five amino acid mutations that differed from the vast majority of strains in the spike (S) protein. Mutations in the M and S proteins were found to produce coils with different angles by building 2D and 3D structural models. Epitope analysis indicated that the isolates produced specific changes and that the transmembrane function of the M protein had not been affected. In addition, typing markers exist during strain evolution, but isolates are using the fusion of specific amino acids from multiple variant strains to add additional features, as also demonstrated by protein alignments and 3D models of numerous subtype strains. These results suggest that aa mutations in the M and S proteins may have changed the structure and antigenic epitope of the isolates and PEDV is evolving again on the basis of variants that have been found to counteract the immune network of the new vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) variant strains cause great economic losses to the global swine industry. However, vaccines do not provide sufficient protection against currently circulating strains due to viral mutations. This study traced the molecular characteristics of the most recent isolates in China and aimed to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of PEDV. Methods: We obtained samples from a Chinese diarrheal swine farm in 2022. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence were used to determine the etiology, and the full-length PEDV genome was sequenced. Nucleotide similarity was calculated using MEGA to construct a phylogenetic tree and DNASTAR. Mutant amino acids were aligned using DNAMAN and modeled by SWISS-MODEL, Phyre2 and FirstGlance in JMOL for protein tertiary structure simulation. Additionally, TMHMM was used for protein function prediction. Results: A PEDV virulent strain CH/HLJJS/2022 was successfully isolated in China. A genome-wide based phylogenetic analysis suggests that it belongs to the GII subtype, and 96.1–98.9% homology existed in the whole genomes of other strains. For the first time, simultaneous mutations of four amino acids were found in the highly conserved membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins, as well as eight amino acid mutations that differed from the vast majority of strains in the spike (S) protein. Three of the mutations alter the S-protein spatial structure. In addition, typing markers exist during strain evolution, but isolates are using the fusion of specific amino acids from multiple variant strains to add additional features, as also demonstrated by protein alignments and 3D models of numerous subtype strains. Conclusion: The newly isolated prevalent strain CH/HLJJS/2022 belonged to the GII subtype, and thirteen mutations different from other strains were found, including mutations in the highly conserved m and N proteins, and in the S1° and COE neutralizing epitopes of the S protein. PEDV is breaking through original cognitions and moving on a more complex path. Surveillance for PEDV now and in the future and improvements derived from mutant strain vaccines are highly warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The quality of reporting in systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of diagnostic tests published by authors in China has not been evaluated. The aims of present study are to evaluate the quality of reporting in diagnostic SRs/MAs using the PRISMA statement and determine the changes in the quality of reporting over time. Methods: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we searched five databases including Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of knowledge, to identify SRs/MAs on diagnostic tests. The searches were conducted on July 14, 2012 and the cut off for inclusion of the SRs/MAs was December 31st 2011. The PRISMA statement was used to assess the quality of reporting. Analysis was performed using Excel 2003, RevMan 5. Results: A total of 312 studies were included. Fifteen diseases systems were covered. According to the PRISMA checklist, there had been serious reporting flaws in following items: structured summary (item 2, 22.4%), objectives (item 4, 18.9%), protocol and registration (item 5, 2.6%), risk of bias across studies (item 15, 26.3%), funding (item 27, 28.8%). The subgroup analysis showed that there had been some statistically significant improvement in total compliance for 9 PRISMA items after the PRISMA was released, 6 items were statistically improved regarding funded articles, 3 items were statistically improved for CSCD articles, and there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of reviews reporting on 22 items for SCI articles (P<0.050). Conclusion: The numbers of diagnostic SRs/MAs is increasing annually. The quality of reporting has measurably been improved over the previous years. Unfortunately, there are still many deficiencies in the reporting including protocol and registration, search, risk of bias across studies, and funding. Future Chinese reviewers should address issues on these aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A modified two-dimensional Eulerian air quality model was used to simulate both the gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations during October 21-24, 2004 in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China. The most significant improvement to the model is the added capability to predict the secondary organic aerosols (SOA) concentrations because of the inclusion of the SOA formation chemistry. The meteorological input data were prepared using the CALMET meteorological model. The concentrations of aerosol-bound species such as NO3-, NH4+, SO42-, and SOA were calculated in the fine particle size range (<2.5 μm). The results of the two-dimensional model were compared to the measurements at the ground level during the PRD Intensive Monitoring Campaign. Overall, there were good agreements between the measured and modeled concentrations of inorganic aerosol components and O3. Both the measured and the modeled results indicated that the maximum hourly O3 concentrations exceeded the China National Air Quality Standard. The predicted 24-h average SOA concentrations were in reasonable agreement with those predicted by the method of minimum OC/EC ratio. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study examines the concentrations of air pollutants in passenger carriages on a number of lines of the Beijing railway transit system differentiating between services with and without air conditioning. In-train air quality monitoring found PM10 concentrations are extremely high compared with other cities. Integrated factor assessment results show that the in-train air quality in the ground railway transit system where there is air conditioning is more acceptable than in the underground system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]