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Senecaviurs A (SVA) infection, an emerging infectious disease in pig populations, is characterized by vesicular lesions predominantly affecting the mouth, snout, and hooves of infected pigs, similar to the symptoms of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV). This disease first spread into China in 2015, causing great panic in the pig breeding industry. To determine the prevalence of SVA in pig herds in China from 2018 to 2021, a total of 4,901 pig tissue samples were collected from 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities (P.A.M.s) for epidemiological investigation, virus isolation and genetic analysis. In 2021, the individual positive rates (IPRs) from the perspective of spatial distribution in East China, South China, Central China, North China, Southwest China, Northwest China, and Northeast China were 0, 0, 1.69, 0.94, 11.70, 3.31 and 2.21%, respectively. The herd positive rates (HPRs) were 0, 0, 9.52, 9.09, 50.00, 7.69 and 23.08%. From the perspective of temporal distribution, the IPR showed an overall downwards trend from 2018 to 2021, with only a slight increase in 2020. Moreover, the HPR decreased from 36.63 to 10.07%. From the perspective of population distribution in 2021, the IPR (2.62%) and HPR (12.00%) in apparently healthy pig herds (slaughterhouses) were greater than those in non-healthy pig herds (2.10 and 5.13%, respectively), consistent with the results in 2019. To characterize the prevalent strains, 10 SVA strains isolated from positive samples in 2019 were clustered in Clades I and VII; SVA-FJ039-2019, SVA-HuN032-2019, SVA-GX011-2019, SVA-FJ036-2019, SVA-GXF011-2019 and SVA-GXF053-2019 were clustered in Clade I; and SVAFJ018-2019, SVA-SD069-2019, SVA-SD072-2019, and SVA-SD074-2019 were clustered in Clade VII. In conclusion, until 2021, the prevalence of SVA in pig herds in China was still relatively high, the contaminated area was still large, and there were a number of hidden infections. In the future, the epidemic status of SVA in pig herds in China must be closely monitored and the prevention and control measures must be adjusted in a timely manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (Omicron BA.5) LVRNA012 given as the booster in immunized but SARS-CoV-2 infection-free adults in China. Methods: This is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial enrolling healthy adult participants (≥18 years) who had completed two or three doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines at least 6 months before, in Bengbu, Anhui province, China. Eligible participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive a booster intramuscular vaccination with an LVRNA012 vaccine (100ug) or placebo. The primary endpoint was the protective efficacyof a boosterdose of the LVRNA012vaccineor placeboagainst symptomatic COVID-19 of any severity 14 days after vaccination. Laboratory-confirmed COVID- 19 infections were identified from14 days to 180 days after intervention, with active surveillance for symptomatic illness 8 times permonth between 7 to 90 days and at least once per month between 90 to 180 days after intervention. Results: 2615 participants were recruited and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the vaccine group (1308) or the placebo group (1307). A total of 141 individuals (46 in the LVRNA012 group and 95 in the placebo group) developed symptomatic COVID-19 infection 14 days after the booster immunization, showing a vaccine efficacy of 51.9% (95% CI, 31.3% to 66.4%). Most infections were detected 90 days after intervention during a period when XBB was prevalent in the community. Adverse reactions were reported by 64% of participants after the LVRNA012 vaccination, but most of them were mild or moderate. The booster vaccination with the LVRNA012 mRNA vaccine could significantly enhance neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant XBB.1.5 (GMT 132.3 99.8, 175.4]) than did those in the placebo group (GMT 12.5 [8.4, 18.7]) at day 14 for the previously immunized individuals. Conclusion: The LVRNA012 mRNA vaccine is immunogenic, and shows robust efficacy in preventing COVID-19 during the omicron-predominate period. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05745545. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Cardioneuroablation (CNA) has shown encouraging results in patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS). However, data on different subtypes was scarce. METHODS This observational study retrospectively enrolled 141 patients [mean age: 40 ± 18 years, 51 males (36.2%)] with the diagnosis of VVS. The characteristics among different types of VVS and the outcomes after CNA were analyzed. RESULTS After a mean follow-up of 4.3 ± 1.5 years, 41 patients (29.1%) experienced syncope/pre-syncope events after CNA. Syncope/pre-syncope recurrence significantly differed in each subtype (P = 0.04). The cardioinhibitory type of VVS had the lowest recurrence rate after the procedure (n = 6, 16.7%), followed by mixed (n = 26, 30.6%) and vasodepressive (n = 9, 45.0%). Additionally, a significant difference was observed in the analyses of the Kaplan-Meier survival curve (P = 0.02). Syncope/pre-syncope burden was significantly reduced after CNA in the vasodepressive type (P < 0.01). Vasodepressive types with recurrent syncope/pre-syncope after CNA have a lower baseline deceleration capacity (DC) level than those without (7.4 ± 1.0 ms vs. 9.0 ± 1.6 ms, P = 0.01). Patients with DC < 8.4 ms had an 8.1 (HR = 8.1, 95% CI: 2.2-30.0, P = 0.02) times risk of syncope/pre-syncope recurrence after CNA compared to patients with DC = 8.4 ms, and this association still existed after adjusting for age and sex (HR = 8.1, 95% CI: 2.2-30.1, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Different subtypes exhibit different event-free rates. The vasodepressive type exhibited the lowest event-free rate, but those patients with DC = 8.4 ms might benefit from CNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic efficacy of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for rapid diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB) and detection of rifampicin (RIF) resistance in patients suspected of having EPTB, assessing it against traditional culture and drug susceptibility test (DST) by proportional method, and the ability to predict multidrug resistance TB by Xpert MTB/RIF assay. In this study, the Xpert MTB/RIF assay was applied to 1,614 extrapulmonary specimens. Compared with TB culture and Composite Reference Standard (CRS), the Xpert MTB/RIF assay had a high sensitivity and specificity for detection of EPTB. Depending on the culture method or CRS as the standard, sensitivity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay for detection of MTB in pleural effusion, cerebrospinal fluid, thoracic drainage fluid and throat swabs specimens were lower than that of other specimens. According to the experimental results, we have reason to believe that Xpert MTB/RIF assay is a rapid and simple technique with high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing EPTB and detecting drug resistance in variety of specimens. Xpert MTB/RIF assay combined with DST maybe identify more cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Author summary: Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most deadly infectious disease after COVID-19. Improving the accessibility of WHO recommended rapid molecular diagnostic tests to achieve earlier and more accurate diagnosis of TB is an important part of strengthening TB laboratory work in the strategy of ending the epidemic of tuberculosis. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) accounts for 15% of all tuberculosis cases. Due to the unique biological samples of different classified EPTB and the occult nature of their onset, their diagnosis is more challenging. Smear microscopy is often insensitive and culture methods are prolonged. With the introduction of Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Cepheid Inc.), this has changed TB diagnostics by providing a rapid accessible platform to diagnose TB and identify rifampicin(RIF) resistance within 2h. Xpert MTB/RIF assay is a suite of semi-nested real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR in vitro diagnostic technologies with good detection efficiency. In recent years, WHO has limited recommended Xpert MTB/RIF assay to detect various types of samples other than sputum for preliminary diagnosis of EPTB. The purpose of this paper is to systematically evaluate the practical application effect of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in the clinical diagnosis of EPTB, and provide scientific guidance for clinicians.ű [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an uncommon heterogeneous subtype of B cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, and clinical features in MCL appear regional characteristics. MCL treatment opinions are not uniform between countries or regions within Asia and China, and Asian patient‐specific data for MCL treatment are fewer. The study aims to explore the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and prognosis of MCL patients in China. Methods: A total of 805 patients diagnosed with MCL between April 1999 and December 2019 at 19 comprehensive hospitals in China were included in this retrospective analysis. Kaplan‐Meier method coupled with the log‐rank test was used for univariate analysis, and COX proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis (MVA). p < 0.05 was consided statistically significant. All outputs were produced using R version 4.1.0. Results: The median age of the cohort was 60.0 years with a male‐to‐female ratio of 3.36:1. Five‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 30.9% and 65.0%, respectively. High‐intermediate/high‐risk group according to MIPI‐c, without high‐dose cytarabine, lack of Auto‐SCT as consolidation and maintenance treatment and SD/PD in initial treatment remained statistically relevant to poor PFS on MVA, and ki67 ≥50%, B symptoms, high‐intermediate/high risk group according to MIPI‐c, without high‐dose cytarabine, lack of maintenance treatment, SD/PD in initial treatment and relapse/refractory state were independently associated with poorer OS on MVA. Conclusions: First‐line high dose cytarabine exposure, auto‐SCT as consolidation therapy obtained survival benefits in Chinese population. Our study further confirmed the value of maintenance treatment and explored the application of new drug treatment and bendamustine in R/R MCL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acupuncture has been extensively applied to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in clinical practice in China. Some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated their efficacy, but it has rarely been compared with first-line antispasmodics to verify their effectiveness. Therefore, we compare acupuncture with antispasmodics in the treatment of IBS by using an adjusted indirect treatment comparison meta-analysis. Methods: Embase, OVID Medline, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched from inception to 14 March 2022, with no language restrictions. RCTs comparing antispasmodics or acupuncturewith placebo or one of the antispasmodics were enrolled. The primary outcome of interest was the improvement of abdominal pain. And the secondary outcomes of interest were the relief of global IBS symptoms and adverse events. The random-effects model was utilized to pool data. The effect size was measured by standardized mean difference (SMD) or relative ratio, and the effectiveness of acupuncture and different antispasmodics were ranked by P-scores. Results: Thirty-five RCTs (n = 5,190) were included. The analysis showed that cimetropium, drotaverine, acupuncture, and pinarverium were superior over placebo in relieving abdominal pain; cimetropium (SMD, -3.00 [95% CI, -4.47 to -1.53], P-score = 0.99) ranked the most effective. In pairwise comparisons, acupuncture had a greater improvement than most antispasmodics except cimetropium and drotaverine in relieving abdominal pain, although the between-group difference was statistically insignificant. In the analysis of continuous outcome in the relief of global IBS symptoms, the result showed that pinaverium was more effective (SMD, 1.72 [95%CI, 0.53 to 2.92], P-score = 0.90) than placebo. Trimebutine and acupuncture had greater improvements than placebo, but no significant difference was shown between groups. In pairwise comparisons, acupuncture was more effective than pinaverium (SMD, -1.11 [95%CI, -1.94 to -0.28]) in relieving global IBS symptoms. In the analysis of adverse events, acupuncture had a lower adverse event rate than most of the other antispasmodics. Conclusion: Cimetropium, drotaverine, and acupuncture were all better than placebo in improving abdominal pain. Acupuncture was preferred over pinaverium in relieving global IBS symptoms, and acupuncture had lower adverse events than most antispasmodics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's national cultural characteristics are diverse, and each national culture has its own characteristics and its own development history, which is a highlight of our country. However, in the wave of development of the times, the cultures of many ethnic minorities have gradually merged and degraded. The interaction among heterogeneous cultures is a common phenomenon in human society, and the exchange and collision of different regional cultures is an important factor for culture to thrive. This article is based on a cross-cultural perspective, combined with the special geographical location and diverse geographical environment of Panxi, China, and in-depth discussion, which is the process of cultural change of ethnic minorities in Panxi region of China. The ethnic culture of the Panxi region and the fascinating natural ecology complement each other, creating a unique place where the Tibetan, Qiang, Yi, Naxi, Lisu, and other diverse cultures converge in the ethnic minority areas of China. After the foundation of New China, the social system in Panxi region has undergone earth-shaking changes, and its national culture has undergone drastic changes. With the development of modernization, industrialization, and urbanization, the national culture of Panxi region of China has been constantly changing in the process of cross-cultural interaction, and new characteristics have continuously formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using export data with 6-digit HS categories for 1995-2018, we decompose China's export growth into three margins: extensive (EM), price (PM), and quantity (QM). Our estimations suggest that over the 23-year period, QM is a main driving force of China's export boom, accounting for 62% of total contributions, while PM and EM also make significant contributes (26% and 12%, respectively). Dynamic analyses based on four sub-periods suggest informative patterns of export upgrading due to external and internal shocks. In 1995-2001, PM and EM are overwhelming drivers, and QM is even negative. The trade liberalization as China's entering World Trade Organization in 2001 seems to trigger a dominant role of QM in China's explosive export growth in 2001-2013, with slight negative PM in the same two sub-periods. The contribution of EM is negligible in 2001-2008, and negative in 2008-2013 due to falling world demand as a result of the global financial crisis. In more recent years (2013-2018), China's export growth depends more on PM (39% of contributions) and EM (33%), less on QM (28%), suggesting a significant export upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study elucidates drought characteristics in China during 1980-2015 using two commonly used meteorological drought indices: standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The results show that SPEI characterizes an overall increase in drought severity, area, and frequency during 1998-2015 compared with those during 1980-97, mainly due to the increasing potential evapotranspiration. By contrast, SPI does not reveal this phenomenon since precipitation does not exhibit a significant change overall. We further identify individual drought events using the threedimensional (i.e., longitude, latitude, and time) clustering algorithm and apply the severity-area-duration (SAD) method to examine the drought spatiotemporal dynamics. Compared to SPI, SPEI identifies a lower drought frequency but with larger total drought areas overall. Additionally, SPEI identifies a greater number of severe drought events but a smaller number of slight drought events than the SPI. Approximately 30% of SPI-detected drought grids are not identified as drought by SPEI, and 40% of SPEI-detected drought grids are not recognized as drought by SPI. Both indices can roughly capture the major drought events, but SPEIdetected drought events are overall more severe than SPI. From the SAD analysis, SPI tends to identify drought as more severe over small areas within 1 million km² and short durations less than 2 months, whereas SPEI tends to delineate drought as more severe across expansive areas larger than 3 million km² and periods longer than 3 months. Given the fact that potential evapotranspiration increases in a warming climate, this study suggests SPEI may be more suitable than SPI in monitoring droughts under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) is controversial. In this article, we report the protocol for a randomized controlled trial aiming to evaluate the long-term effect of acupuncture for CTTH, in comparison with superficial acupuncture.Design: A two-armed, parallel-design, patient-assessor blind, randomized controlled trial is underway in China. A total of 218 participants with CTTH will be randomly assigned to the treatment group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the treatment group and control group will receive acupuncture or superficial acupuncture treatments in a fixed prescription of acupoints respectively, for a total of 20 sessions over 8 weeks. The posttreatment follow-up period will be 24 weeks. The primary outcome will be the proportion of responders assessed at week 16 after randomization. The secondary outcomes will include the number of headache days, the mean intensity of headache, the reduction of medication intake, results from the 36-item short form health survey, the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the number of participants with adverse events, the expectation value of acupuncture treatment, and the intensity of deqi sensation. The first five secondary outcomes will be assessed or calculated at baseline, and at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32 weeks after randomization. Moreover, the expectation value will be collected at baseline and at week 8 after randomization, the intensity of deqi sensation will be assessed at 5 minutes after each treatment and adverse events will be summarized at the end of the follow-up period.Discussion: Results from this trial will provide evidence for the long-term effect of acupuncture for CTTH with a long follow-up period.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT03133884 . Registered on 25 April 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The presence and the prognostic significance of perigastric tumor deposits (TDs) in primary gastric cancer have not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance perigastric TDs in primary gastric cancer.Methods: From 2005 to 2010, 1250 patients underwent R0 gastrectomy at the Department of Gastric Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China. Out of 1250 patients, 132 patients with perigastric TDs were identified. Additionally, 132 patients with staged matched gastric cancer without tumor deposits were selected as a control group.Results: Perigastric TDs were observed in 132 (10.5%) of the 1250 patients with gastric cancer who underwent R0 gastrectomy. There were 94 males (71.21%) and 38 females (28.79%) (2.47:1). The mean age was 57.21 years. Clinicopathologic characteristics between the two groups matched well. There was a significant difference in the overall survival of those with and without TDs by univariate (p<0.05) and multivariate (p < 0.05) survival analysis. The 1-, 3-and 5-year overall survival rates of patients with TDswere69.6%, 39.3%, and 24.2%, respectively, and were significantly poorer than those of the staged matched control group. There was no correlation between the number of TDs and patient survival in patients with gastric cancer (p>0.05); however, when comparing each pT tumor group with the perigastric TD group, the stage T4 survival rate was very similar to that observed in patients with TDs.Conclusions: Perigastric TDs are an independent predictive prognostic factor for gastric cancer and may be appropriately considered a form of serosal invasion. We suggest that TDs should be included in TNM staging system for better outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevention policy has been evaluated through nationally representative serologic surveys conducted in 1992 and 2006. We report results of a 2014 serologic survey and reanalysis of the 1992 and 2006 surveys in the context of program policy. The 2014 survey used a 2-stage sample strategy in which townships were selected from 160 longstanding, nationally representative, county-level disease surveillance points, and persons 1-29 years of age were invited to participate. The 2014 sample size was 31,713; the response rate was 83.3%. Compared with the 1992 pre-recombinant vaccine survey, HBV surface antigen prevalence declined 46% by 2006 and by 52% by 2014. Among children <5 years of age, the decline was 97%. China's HBV prevention program, targeted toward interrupting perinatal transmission, has been highly successful and increasingly effective. However, this progress must be sustained for decades to come, and elimination of HBV transmission will require augmented strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China reduced hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection by 90% among children under 5 years old with safe and effective hepatitis B vaccines (HepB). In December 2013, this success was threatened by widespread media reports of infant deaths following HepB administration. Seventeen deaths and one case of anaphylactic shock following HBV vaccination had been reported.Methods: We conducted a telephone survey to measure parental confidence in HepB in eleven provinces at four points in time; reviewed maternal HBV status and use of HepB for newborns in birth hospitals in eight provinces before and after the event; and monitored coverage with hepatitis B vaccine and other programme vaccines in ten provinces.Results: HepB from the implicated company was suspended during the investigation, which showed that the deaths were not caused by HepB vaccination. Before the event, 85% respondents regarded domestic vaccines as safe, decreasing to 26.7% during the event. During the height of the crisis, 30% of parents reported being hesitant to vaccinate and 18.4% reported they would refuse HepB. Use of HepB in the monitored provinces decreased by 18.6%, from 53 653 doses the week before the event to 43 688 doses during the week that Biokangtai HepB was suspended. Use of HepB within the first day of life decreased by 10% among infants born to HBsAg-negative mothers, and by 6% among infants born to HBsAg-positive mothers. Vaccine refusal and HepB birth dose rates returned to baseline within 2 months; confidence increased, but remained below baseline.Conclusions: The HBV vaccine event resulted in the suspension of a safe vaccine, which was associated with a decline of parental confidence, and refusal of vaccination. Suspension of a vaccine can lead to loss of confidence that is difficult to recover. Timely and credible investigation, accompanied by proactive outreach to stakeholders and the media, may help mitigate negative impact of future coincidental adverse events following immunization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new triterpenoids, 2α,3β,16α,19α,23-pentahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (1) and 2α,3α,11α,21α,23-pentahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (2), were isolated from the aerial parts ofCallicarpa kwangtungensis. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D analyses, as well as MS and IR spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: To investigate the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with HBV carrier state during treatment of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and the use of antiviral prophylaxis in real-world clinical practice. Methods: Consecutive RA patients with HBV carrier state were included. Clinical data including liver evaluation, HBV infection evaluation and the use of antiviral prophylaxis were recorded. Results: Fifty-three RA patients with HBV carrier state were screened and 36 patients were qualified for analysis. Thirty-six percentage of patients developed HBV reactivation and 17% developed HBV hepatitis together with reactivation, one of which developed decompensate cirrhosis. Only 50% of patients accepted lamivudine although all patients were recommended antiviral prophylaxis with entecavir or tenofovir and only 31% continued during DMARDs therapy. Seventy-one percentage of patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis developed HBV reactivation 3 ~ 21 months after discontinuation. Logistic regression analyses showed discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis (OR: 66, p = 0.027), leflunomide (OR: 64, p = 0.011) and past history of hepatitis (OR: 56, p = 0.013) were risk factors of HBV reactivation. Past history of hepatitis (OR: 10, p = 0.021) was also risk factor of HBV hepatitis together with reactivation. Conclusion: Our results suggest poor patient acceptance and discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis should not be ignored for Chinese RA patients with HBV carrier state in real-world clinical practice. Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis, past history of hepatitis and LEF might increase risk of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Several studies using acupuncture to treat essential hypertension have been carried out. However, whether acupuncture is efficacious for hypertension is still controversial. Therefore, this trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for patients with mild hypertension. Methods/Design This is a large scale, open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial with four parallel arms. We will recruit 428 hypertensive patients with systolic blood pressure (SBP) between 140 and 159 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between 90 and 99 mmHg. The participants will be randomly assigned to four different groups (three acupuncture groups and one waiting list group) (1).The affected meridian acupuncture group (n = 107) is treated with acupoints on the affected meridians (2).The non-affected meridian acupuncture group (n = 107) is treated with acupoints on the non-affected meridians (3).The invasive sham acupuncture group (n = 107) is provided with sham acupoints treatment (4).The waiting-list group (n = 107) is not offered any intervention until they complete the trial. Each patient allocated to acupuncture groups will receive 18 sessions of acupuncture treatment over 6 weeks. This trial will be conducted in 11 hospitals in China. The primary endpoint is the change in average 24-hSBP before and 6 weeks after randomization. The secondary endpoints are average SBP and average DBP during the daytime and night-time, and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), and so on. Discussion This is the first large scale, multicenter, randomized, sham controlled trial of acupuncture for essential hypertension in China. It may clarify the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for mild hypertension. Trials registration Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01701726. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new flavan glycosides, (2S)-5,7,4′-trihydroxyflavan-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1) and (2S)-5,7,4′-trihydroxyflavan-5-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), and a new neolignan, (7S,8S)-3-methoxyl-3′-O-β-d-glucopyrannosyl-4′:8,5′:7-diepoxyneolignan-4,9′-diol (3), were isolated from the leaves ofLiquidambar formosanaHance. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data and chemical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Gastric cancer is a common malignancy worldwide and a common cause of death from cancer. Despite recent advances in multimodality treatment and targeted therapy, complete resection remains the only treatment that can lead to cure. This study was devised to investigate the technical feasibility, safety and oncologic efficacy of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer without serosa invasion. Methods: A retrospective matched cohort study was performed in south China comparing laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy and open gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer without serosa invasion. Eighty-three patients with advanced gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy between January 2008 and December 2010 were enrolled. These patients were compared with 83 patients with advanced gastric cancer undergoing open gastrectomy during the same period. Results: There was no significant difference in clinicopathologic characteristics between the two groups. Regarding perioperative characteristics, the operation time and time to ground activities did not differ between the two groups, whereas the blood loss, transfused patient number, time to first flatus, time to resumption of diet, and postoperative hospital stay were significantly less in laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy than in open gastrectomy (P <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative morbidity and mortality. No significant difference in the number of lymph nodes dissected was observed between these two groups. There was no significant difference in the cumulative survival rate between the two groups. Conclusion: Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy is a safe and feasible procedure for advanced gastric cancer without serosa invasion. To be accepted as a choice treatment for advanced gastric cancer, well-designed randomized controlled trials comparing short-term and long-term outcomes between laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy and open gastrectomy in a larger number of patients are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate different types of acupuncture treatment for migraine in China from the perspective of health economics, particularly the comparison between treatment of specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridians and penetrating sham acupoints treatment. Methods: Data were obtained from a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of acupuncture treatment in patients with migraine. Four-hundred eighty migraineurs were randomly assigned to 3 arms of treatment with genuine acupoints and 1 arm of penetrating sham acupoints. The primary outcome measurement was the cost effectiveness ratio (C/E), expressed as cost per 1 day reduction of headache days from baseline to week 16. Cost-comparison analyses, differences in the migraine-specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ), and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were taken as secondary outcome measurements. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted. Results: The total cost per patient was ¥1273.2 (95% CI 1171.3-1375.1) in the Shaoyang specific group, ¥1427.7 (95% CI 1311.8-1543.6) in the Shaoyang non-specific group, ¥1490.8 (95% CI 1327.1-1654.6) in the Yangming specific group, and ¥1470.1 (95% CI 1358.8-1581.3) in the sham acupuncture group. The reduced days with migraine were 3.972 ± 2.7, 3.555 ± 2.8, 3.793 ± 3.6, and 2.155 ± 3.7 in these 4 groups (P<0.05 for each genuine acupoints group vs the sham group), respectively, at week 16. The C/Es of the 4 groups were 320.5, 401.6, 393.1, and 682.2, respectively. Results of the sensitivity analysis were consistent with that of the cost-effectiveness analysis. The Shaoyang specific group significantly improved in all 3 MSQ domains compared with the sham acupuncture group. Conclusions: Treatment of specific acupoints in Shaoyang meridians is more cost-effective than that of nonacupoints, representing a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of people with migraine and a significant reduction in cost. Compared with the other 3 groups, Shaoyang-specific acupuncture is a relatively cost-effective treatment for migraine prophylaxis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CUACE/Aero, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment for aerosols, is a comprehensive numerical aerosol module incorporating emissions, gaseous chemistry and size-segregated multi-component aerosol algorithm. On-line coupled into a meso-scale weather forecast model (MM5), its performance and improvements for aerosol chemical and optical simulations have been evaluated using the observations data of aerosols/gases from the intensive observations and from the CMA Atmosphere Watch network, plus aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from CMA Aerosol Remote Sensing network (CARSNET) and from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Targeting Beijing and North China region from July 13 to 31, 2008, when a heavy hazy weather system occurred, the model captured the general variations of PM10 with most of the data within a factor of 2 from the observations and a combined correlation coefficient (r) of 0.38 (significance level = 0.05). The correlation coefficients are better at rural than at urban sites, and better at daytime than at nighttime. Chemically, the correlation coefficients between the daily-averaged modelled and observed concentrations range from 0.34 for black carbon (BC) to 0.09 for nitrates with sulphate, ammonium and organic carbon (OC) in between. Like the PM10, the values of chemical species are higher for the daytime than those for the nighttime. On average, the sulphate, ammonium, nitrate and OC are underestimated by about 60, 70, 96.0 and 10.8%, respectively. Black carbon is overestimated by about 120%. A new size distribution for the primary particle emissions was constructed for most of the anthropogenic aerosols such as BC, OC, sulphate, nitrate and ammonium from the observed size distribution of atmospheric aerosols in Beijing. This not only improves the correlation between the modelled and observed AOD, but also reduces the overestimation of AOD simulated by the original model size distributions of primary aerosols. The normalised mean error has been reduced to 62% with the CARSNET observations and 76% with MODIS, from the original 111% and 143%, respectively. The factors resulting in the underestimation of aerosol concentrations and other discrepancies in the model are explored, and improvements in enhancing the model performance are proposed from the analysis. It is found that the accuracy in meteorological predictions plays a critical role on the simulation of the occurrence and accumulation of heavy pollution episode, especially the circulation winds and the treatment of Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In order to evaluate the safety of acupuncture in China objectively, we investigated the adverse events associated with acupuncture based on three multicentre randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the safety of acupuncture, identifying the common types of acupuncture adverse events, and analysing the related risk factors for their occurrence. Methods: This observational study included patients who received acupuncture from three multicentre RCTs respectively for migraine, functional dyspepsia and Bell's palsy. The 1968 patients and their acupuncturists documented adverse events associated with acupuncture after treatment. We collected data about adverse events due to acupuncture treatment from their case report forms. We analysed the incidence and details of the adverse effects, and studied the risk factors for acupuncture adverse events with non-conditional logistic regression analysis. Results: Among the 1968 patients, 74 patients (3.76%) suffered at least one adverse event throughout the treatment period. We did not observe the occurrence of serious adverse events. 73 patients with adverse events recovered within 2 weeks through effective treatment such as physiotherapy or self-treatment. A total of 3 patients withdrew because of adverse events. There were 9 types of adverse events related to acupuncture, including subcutaneous haematoma, bleeding, skin bruising and needle site pain. Subcutaneous haematoma and haemorrhage in the needling points were the most common adverse events. Age and gender were related to the occurrence of acupuncture adverse events. The older the patients were, the higher the risk of adverse events was. In addition, male patients had slightly higher risk of an adverse event than female patients. Conclusions: Acupuncture is a safe therapy with low risk of adverse events in clinical practice. The risk factors for adverse events (AEs) were related to the patients' gender and age and the local anatomical structure of the acupoints. AEs could be reduced and mitigated by improving the medical environment, ensuring a high technical level of the acupuncture practitioners and establishing a good relationship of mutual trust between doctor and patient. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00599586, NCT00599677, NCT00608660 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as an adjunctive method to standard therapy for patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CHM to treat DFU were searched in the following electronic databases: MEDLINE®; EMBASE; Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); Allied & Complementary Medicine Resources (AMED); and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Two (2) researchers independently assessed the quality and validity of included trials and extracted outcome data for synthesis. Results: Six (6) trials were included for analysis. Compared to using standard therapy alone, CHM combined with standard therapy significantly increased the number of patients whose ulcers healed (risk ratio [ RR], 0.62, [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.39–0.97]) and number of patients with at least a 30% reduction in the ulcer area ( RR, 0.81 [95%CI, 0.71–0.92]). In addition, the two therapies combined significantly decreased the number of patients without any improvement ( RR, 0.34 [95%CI, 0.21–0.53]). However, with respect to blood flow volume in the dorsal artery of the foot, no significant difference between the two therapies was observed (standardized mean difference, 1.71 [95% CI −1.25–4.67]), but the result favored the CHM combined with standard therapy group. Only 2 of 6 trials reported adverse events, which included nausea, epigastric pain, and dry mouth. Conclusions: CHM may be effective and safe as an adjunctive therapy for treating DFU. However, a firm conclusion could not be reached because of the poor quality of the included trials. Further trials with higher quality are justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Endemic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious health problem in China. Hepatitis B vaccination of infants was introduced in 1992 and was progressively expanded during the subsequent 15 years. Methods. We conducted a national serosurvey, with participants selected by multiple-stage random sampling. Demographic characteristics and hepatitis B vaccination history were collected by a questionnaire and a review of vaccination records, and serum specimens were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and hepatitis B surface antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. Hepatitis B vaccine coverage (3 doses) increased from 30.0% for children born in 1992 to 93.4% for children born in 2005. Receipt of a timely birth dose increased from 22.2% to 82.6% for children born during this interval. Multivariate analysis showed that older age, western and rural residence, birth at home, and certain ethnicities were risk factors for undervaccination with both full vaccine series and timely birth dose. The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen was reduced to 2.1% among all children and 1.0% among children born after 1999. The efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination with a timely birth dose was 88.3%. Conclusions. Hepatitis B vaccine has been successfully integrated into routine infant immunization in China, now reaching most infants within 24 h after birth, and the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen has been greatly reduced among children born after 1992. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper directly measures the causal effects of sex-selective abortions on the sex ratio at birth by exploiting the exogenous county-level variation in the availability of B-ultrasound machines. Using data from the 1990 Census of Fujian Province and local records on the introduction time of B-ultrasound machines, we find that the availability of B-ultrasound machines increases the sex ratio at birth by 0.025 in rural areas and 0.117 in urban areas. The rise of sex ratio is especially significant for second births in rural areas when the first birth is a girl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the results of research which was conducted in an effort to examine patterns of mortality among climbers on Mount Everest over an 86 year period. Researchers conducted research on mortalities that were seen on climbing expeditions that had been attempted or completed on the mountain between 1921 and 2006. They found that debilitating symptoms consistent with high altitude cerebral edema commonly presented during descent from the summit of Mount Everest and that profound fatigue and late times in reaching the summit were early features associated with subsequent death.

Solar radiation is one of the most important factors affecting climate and the environment. Routine measurements of irradiance are valuable for climate change research because of long time series and areal coverage. In this study, a set of quality assessment (QA) algorithms is used to test the quality of daily solar global, direct, and diffuse radiation measurements taken at 122 observatories in China during 1957–2000. The QA algorithms include a physical threshold test (QA1), a global radiation sunshine duration test (QA2), and a standard deviation test applied to time series of annually averaged solar global radiation (QA3). The results show that the percentages of global, direct, and diffuse solar radiation data that fail to pass QA1 are 3.07%, 0.01%, and 2.52%, respectively; the percentages of global solar radiation data that fail to pass the QA2 and QA3 are 0.77% and 0.49%, respectively. The method implemented by the Global Energy Balance Archive is also applied to check the data quality of solar radiation in China. Of the 84 stations with a time series longer that 20 yr, suspect data at 35 of the sites were found. Based on data that passed the QA tests, trends in ground solar radiation and the effect of the data quality assessment on the trends are analyzed. There is a decrease in ground solar global and direct radiation in China over the years under study. Although the quality assessment process has significant effects on the data from individual stations and/or time periods, it does not affect the long-term trends in the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to obtain biologic control agents for grey mildew of tomato, a total of 628 bacterial strains were isolated from agricultural soil samples in Beijing, China, and screened for in vitro antibiosis toward Botrytis cinerea. Strain P94 exhibited the most obvious antagonistic activity. It P94 had no pathogenicity and was identified as Pseudomonas corrugata by the Biolog identification system combined with 16S rDNA sequence analysis and biochemical and physiologic characteristics. The specific products of polymerase chain reaction with two pairs of specific primers indicated that P94 belonged to P. corrugata genomic group II. Strain P94 inhibited the growth of a number of phytopathogenic fungal and bacterial species and showed inhibition activity to tomato grey mildew by tomato leaf testing in vitro. Strain P94 showed a positive reaction for HCN, protease, phosphatase, and indole acetic acid tests and a negative reaction for siderophore-, chitinase-, and cellulase-production tests. Therefore, the secondary metabolites producing novel P. corrugata strain P94 exhibited an innate potential of biocontrol activities in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is the secondmost common cause of cancer death worldwide. It is estimated that 5-10% of gastric cancer cases have a familial association; however, knowledge concerning the clinical, pathological features and prognosis to familial gastric cancer is currently limited. To our best knowledge, this is the largest number of single center patients reported in southern China. Our research can help these rare families to obtain optimal treatment in the future. Our work is supported by Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using one year of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite and particular matter (PM) contents measured at eleven sites located mostly in the eastern China in 2007, the relationship between columnar AOD and hourly and daily average (DA) PM were established. The peak AOD observed from MODIS was generally consistent with the surface PM measurements in eastern China, where Zhengzhou had the maximum annual mean PM10 of 182.1 μg m−3, while Longfengshan had the minimum annual mean of 38.1 μg m−3. Ground level observations indicated that PM concentration varies widely across different regions, which was mainly due to the difference in weather conditions and anthropogenic emissions. The coarse particles accounted for the main air pollution in Zhengzhou and Benxi whiles the fine particles, however, were the main constituents in other sites. Results showed that MODIS AOD (averaged over the box of 5 × 5 and 3 × 3 pixels) had a better positive correlation with the coincident hourly average (HA) PM concentration than with DA due to diurnal variation in PM mass measurements. After correcting AOD for relative humidity (RH), the correlation did not improve significantly, suggesting that the RH was not the main factor affecting the correlation of PM with AOD. The statistical regression analysis between MODIS AOD and PM mass suggested that the satellite-derived AOD is a useful tool for mapping PM distribution over large spatial domains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with multiple malignancies, including pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (pLELC), a particular subtype of primary lung cancer. However, the genomic characteristics of EBV related to pLELC remain unclear. Here, we obtained the whole-genome data set of EBV isolated from 78 pLELC patients and 37 healthy controls using EBV-captured sequencing. Compared with the reference genome (NC_007605), a total of 3,995 variations were detected across pLELC-derived EBV sequences, with the mutational hot spots located in latent genes. Combined with 180 published EBV sequences derived from healthy people in Southern China, we performed a genome-wide association study and identified 32 variations significantly related to pLELC (P < 2.56 × 10-05, Bonferroni correction), with the top signal of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) coordinate T7327C (OR = 1.22, P = 2.39 × 10-15) locating in the origin of plasmid replication (OriP). The results of population structure analysis of EBV isolates in East Asian showed the EBV strains derived from pLELC were more similar to those from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) than other EBV-associated diseases. In addition, typical latency type-II infection were recognized for EBV of pLELC at both transcription and methylation levels. Taken together, we defined the global view of EBV genomic profiles in pLELC patients for the first time, providing new insights to deepening our understanding of this rare EBV-associated primary lung carcinoma. IMPORTANCE Pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (pLELC) is a rare, distinctive subtype of primary lung cancer closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Here, we gave the first overview of pLELC-derived EBV at the level of genome, methylation and transcription. We obtained the EBV sequences data set from 78 primary pLELC patients, and revealed the sequences diversity across EBV genome and detected variability in known immune epitopes. Genome-wide association analysis combining 217 healthy controls identifies significant variations related to the risk of pLELC. Meanwhile, we characterized the integration landscapes of EBV at the genome-wide level. These results provided new insight for understanding EBV's role in pLELC tumorigenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiative forcing caused by aerosol-cloud interaction (ACI) is one of the most critical factors that lead to climate research uncertainty. In East China and the adjacent sea areas, the severe air pollution makes the ACI effect stronger than in other regions, but few observational studies focus on the effect of different aerosol components. This study estimated the shortwave radiation effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) caused by the interaction between the increased aerosol and the warm liquid cloud in East China and the East China Sea by applying the multiple linear regression into two ACI effect calculating methods proposed by Quaas et al. (2008; Method 1) and Chen et al. (2014; Method 2). Four aerosol components, black carbon (BC), dust (DU), organic carbon (OC), and sulfate (SU), are included in this research. The total ACI radiation effect of the four aerosol components is −12.08 ± 4.63 W m−2 in Method 1 and − 9.25 ± 10.44 W m−2 in Method 2, respectively, indicating a cooling effect to the planet. The divergence in the two methods is probably because the higher aerosol loading increases the cloud property retrieval deviation, and the cloud droplet spectral dispersion is neglected in Method 1. The effect of different aerosol components has significant diversity, with OC and SU have a cooling effect, DU has a heating effect, and BC shows an obvious geographical distinction. Further analysis suggests that under a similar aerosol optical depth (AOD), the areas with high relative humidity (RH) and low-tropospheric stability (LTS) have a more significant cooling effect due to the suppression of droplet evaporation and entrainment. Regions with higher average cloud top height also have a stronger cooling effect, especially for BC and SU. The possible reason is that high cloud altitude reduces the aerosol concentration within the cloud, further alleviates the heating effect of absorbing aerosols, and reduces the cloud droplet evaporation caused by the over much cloud condensation nuclei. This research contributes to a better understanding of the aerosol-cloud radiative effect and its mechanism in East China and the East China Sea. • The increasing atmospheric pollution in East China and the East China Sea has a robust affect on the ACI effect. • High relative humidity and low-tropospheric stability enhance the negative aerosol-cloud radiative effect. • Negative aerosol-cloud radiative effect of black carbon and sulfate is stronger in areas with high cloud top height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is now a serious problem in China and elsewhere, makes a significant impact on human life. Air quality prediction is one of the research fields in environmental protection, which helps people to plan their lives reasonably and avoid pollution exposure. Considering that the atmospheric pollutants and meteorological data are ultimate time-series data, this paper proposed a prediction model based on LSTM which has low implementation complexity and an open cost of production. We selected atmospheric pollutants (SO2, PM10, O3, etc.), as well as meteorological parameters (temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, etc.) as input of training model, these factors from the first few hours are used to forecast PM2.5 concentration in the next few hours. We evaluated our model on a large dataset of air pollution records and grid meteorological data in Qingdao. The results show that the proposed Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network generally has the marginal error compared with baselines, which indicates that the proposed LSTM network approach for PM2.5 forecast is effective and robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is one of the most widely used meteorological remote sensing instruments. Its Dark Target aerosol optical depth (AOD) product has been widely used in environment and meteorology researches, such as model evaluation and data assimilation. However, this product has a low coverage under conditions of heavy haze in China. This is because the haze can be misidentified as snow under some circumstances by the algorithm and therefore rejected, leading to large-scale data omission. In the most polluted regions, misidentified snow cover exceeded 8%. Regarding this issue, a new method combining the snow mask derived from the MODIS cloud mask product and Fisher discrimination analysis was developed to give a more accurate identification of snow and ice cover. Applying this new method increases the AOD data coverage significantly. Comparisons with AOD values from ground-based observations showed that the newly produced data under haze conditions had a similar accuracy with the original data in the MODIS AOD product. Because the newly supplemented data are more distributed at the seriously polluted regions, the average AOD increased significantly after data filling in many regions. In winter, AOD in the most severely polluted regions (average air quality index >130) increased by 0.2–0.3 after improvement, about 30–50% of the original value. In 49 haze cases with large-scale pollution, the increase reached 0.3–0.6, about 50%–70% of the original value. During the haze episodes, the data omission led to an underestimation of the regional average AOD by 19–40%. The improvement in AOD coverage helps to provide a better reflection of the air pollution condition in East China through the perspective of AOD. • Misidentification of snow cover exists in MODIS AOD retrieval algorithm in East China. • A new snow cover recognition method was established and MODIS AOD coverage was increased significantly. • Average AOD increased significantly after data filling, especially in severe polluted regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Live, attenuated and inactivated hepatitis A vaccines are both immunogenic and show long-term duration of protection. • Live, attenuated and inactivated hepatitis A vaccines have similar per-dose safety profiles. • Use of either vaccine results in similar population immunity and low incidence of hepatitis A. In 2008, China introduced live, attenuated hepatitis A vaccine (L-HepA, licensed in 1992) and inactivated hepatitis A vaccine (I-HepA, licensed in 2002) nationwide, and is currently the only country using L-HepA in routine immunization. We assessed seropositivity and its duration following vaccination, safety, and association with hepatitis A incidence and population seroprevalence for I-HepA and L-HepA. We obtained seroprevalence data from two nationwide serosurveys (in 1992 and 2014), vaccination status from the 2014 serosurvey, and vaccine safety and disease incidence data from the national surveillance system. We compared long-term HAV seropositivity among vaccine recipients and described safety profiles of both vaccines. We categorized the 31 provinces into those predominately using I-HepA and achieving high coverage (n = 4), those predominately using L-HepA achieving high coverage (n = 4), and those predominately using L-HepA achieving lower coverage (n = 23). We compared population HAV seropositivity, coverage, and disease incidence among the three groups. One year after vaccination, seropositivity from I-HepA was significantly higher than from L-HepA (97.8% vs 90.7%), and seropositivity declined to 73.5% for L-HepA and 75.4% for I-HepA after 10 years – not significantly different by vaccine. The annual incidence of serious AEFI was <0.5/100 000 for both vaccines. Prior to licensure of either HepA vaccine, provinces that would go on to predominantly use I-HepA had lower incidences of hepatitis A and lower seropositivity levels to HAV than provinces that would go on to use L-HepA. By 2014, these differences were significantly diminished. Regardless of vaccine selection, all three province groups had lower immunity to HAV among individuals born during the 10 years prior to nationwide vaccine introduction – individuals who were 10 to 24 years old in 2014. Evidence of good immunogenicity, safety, and impact on incidence supports continued use of both I-HepA and L-HepA in the EPI system. These results may be useful for countries considering integrating HepA vaccines into their routine programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By employing visibility observation, PM10, SO2 and NO2 concentration, MODIS AOD at 550 nm, CARSNET AOD at 440 nm, CALIPSO extinction coefficient at 532 nm, we studied the air pollution condition of a severe haze episode occurred on 6–16 January 2013 over eastern China. The study found that this severe pollution episode of large area haze was accompanied with low visibility, high PM10 and AOD in eastern China. The most polluted regions is the Jing-Jin-Ji and its near southern neighboring region including central and south Hebei, west Shandong and north Henan province in the whole China Mainland. The haze pollutants were spread to the offshore area of 125°E to the east of China, and even affected to the west of 140°E. The PM10 variation trend shows a strong linkage among the big cities in Jing-Jin-Ji and their near surrounding cities, indicating the possible inter-transport and influence among them. The suburb area of megacity suffered the similar serious pollution with urban region during this kind of severe haze episode. Most aerosol pollutants concentrated in boundary layer below 1500 m vertical height, in particular, the vertical heights of 100–800 m above the ground are peaks of the aerosol pollutants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dysmenorrhea is a prevalent problem in menstruating women. As a nonpharmacologic and free of relevant side effects intervention, moxibustion is considered as a safe treatment and has long been recommended for dysmenorrhea in China. However, the exact effects of moxibustion in PD have not been fully understood. Therefore we designed this random clinical trial aiming to (1) investigate whether moxibustion is safe and effective for pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pain-killers and (2) assess the acceptability and side effects associated with moxibustion. The results of this trial will contribute to a better understanding of the different effects of moxibustion in pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pharmacologic pain treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes TOMS AOD at 500 nm (1980–2001), along with MODIS data (2000–2008) at 550 nm to investigate variations at one-degree grid over eight typical regions in China and the trends in AODs, temporally and spatially. In contrast to recently reported global decrease in AOD over global ocean beginning around 1990, we find there virtually exists no apparent AOD transition in China for that: firstly no notable upward tendencies in AOD during 1980–1992 for the relative low value (+0.001/decade), then during 1996–2001 a discernible ascending tendency with larger magnitude at 0.01/decade, and finally, since 2000, a weak upward trend with +0.004/decade. The large increases during 1996–2001 are presumably consequences of large increases in industrial activities and bear a strong resemblance to the long-term decreasing observations of incident solar radiation and cloud cover in China. Specifically, in late 1990’s, only in Taklimakan Desert a negative trend with a maximum magnitude of −0.04/decade is detected. However, over regions such as Jingjinji and Pearl River Delta influenced by industrial activities, positive tendencies at +0.01/decade are observed. Seasonal patterns in the AOD regional long-term trend are evident. AODs exhibit generally similar seasonality and the summer dominates higher AOD value than the autumn. In particular, during the period 1980–2001, all the eight regions except Taklimakan Desert witness the maximum aerosols in winter while there is not such seasonality during the period 2000–2008. Geographically, we also document spatial patterns of AOD variations over China. Results reveal that no apparent upward trends in AOD (about 15% per decade) are observed in 1980’s, while beginning 1990 till 2008, both data (TOMS and MODIS) are indicative of a significant AOD increase across China, especially in 1990’s it is indeed the case, roughly in accordance with the overall trends at regional scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To determine the projected burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in China, the intervention strategies that can eliminate mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) by 2030 or earlier and the measurable parameters that can be used to monitor progress towards this target., Methods: We developed a dynamic, sex- and age-stratified model of the HBV epidemic in China, calibrated using hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and e antigen (HBeAg) prevalence data from sequential national serosurveys (1979-2014) and the numbers of HBV-related cancer deaths (2012). We determined whether China can achieve elimination of MTCT of HBV by 2030 under current prevention interventions. We modelled various intervention scenarios to represent different coverage levels of birth-dose HBV vaccination, hepatitis B immunoglobulin to newborns of HBsAg-positive mothers and antiviral therapy (tenofovir) to HBeAg-positive pregnant women., Findings: We project that, if current levels of prevention interventions are maintained, China will achieve the elimination target by 2029. By modelling various intervention scenarios, we found that this can be brought forward to 2025 by increasing coverage of birth-dose vaccination, or to 2024 by the administration of tenofovir to HBeAg-positive pregnant women. We found that achievement of the target by 2025 would be predicted by a measurement of less than 2% MTCT in 2020., Conclusion: Our results highlight how high-quality national data can be combined with modelling in monitoring the elimination of MTCT of HBV. By demonstrating the impact of increased interventions on target achievement dates, we anticipate that other high-burden countries will be motivated to strengthen HBV prevention policies., ((c) World Health Organization (WHO) 2021. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study sought to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and the risk of gastric cancer as well as clinical pathological parameters and prognosis., Methods: Gastric cancer patient data were collected from January 1995 to January 2012 at Jilin Cancer Hospital, and the blood group information of the blood donors at Jilin City Blood Center was recorded. The relationships between ABO blood group and both clinicopathological parameters and the risk of gastric cancer were analyzed retrospectively. The impact of ABO blood type on the 5-year survival rate of patients with gastric cancer was evaluated through outpatient and telephone interviews., Results: (1) Compared with the healthy population, the frequency distribution of gastric cancer patients with the A blood group was significantly increased (χ 2  = 4.708, P = 0.000), whereas the frequency distribution of gastric cancer patients with the AB blood group was significantly decreased (χ 2  = 9.630, P = 0.002). However, there was no significant difference in the distributions of the B blood group and O blood group (P > 0.05). (2) The risk of gastric cancer in people with the A blood group was higher, whereas the risk of gastric cancer in people with the AB blood group was lower. There was no significant difference in the risk of gastric cancer between type B and type O patients (P > 0.05). (3) The ABO blood group was not related to pathological factors, including the size of the gastric tumor or the T stage or N stage of the disease (P > 0.05). (4) Univariate analysis results showed that the degree of differentiation, tumor size, T stage, lymph node metastasis, and type O blood were factors affecting the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis results showed that tumor size, T stage, lymph node metastasis, and O blood group were independent prognostic factors. The 5-year survival rate for gastric cancer was significantly better in patients with type O blood (hazard ratio = 0.97, 95% confidence interval = 1.67-3.92)., Conclusion: (1) The risk of gastric cancer was higher in patients with the A blood group and lower in those with the AB blood group. (2) The ABO blood group showed no significant effect on the clinicopathological parameters of gastric cancer. (3) The O blood group may be a prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients.

Background: Postoperative delirium is one of the most common complications in the elderly surgical population. However, its long-term outcomes remain largely to be determined. Therefore a prospective cohort study was conducted to determine the association between postoperative delirium and long-term decline in activities of daily living and postoperative mortality. The hypothesis in the present study was that postoperative delirium was associated with a greater decline in activities of daily living and higher mortality within 24 to 36 months after anesthesia and surgery., Methods: The participants (at least 65 yr old) having the surgeries of (1) proximal femoral nail, (2) hip replacement, or (3) open reduction and internal fixation under general anesthesia were enrolled. The Confusion Assessment Method algorithm was administered to diagnose delirium before and on the first, second, and fourth days after the surgery. Activities of daily living were evaluated by using the Chinese version of the activities of daily living scale (range, 14 to 56 points), and preoperative cognitive function was assessed by using the Chinese Mini-Mental State Examination (range, 0 to 30 points). The follow-up assessments, including activities of daily living and mortality, were conducted between 24 and 36 months after anesthesia and surgery., Results: Of 130 participants (80 ± 6 yr, 24% male), 34 (26%) developed postoperative delirium during the hospitalization. There were 32% of the participants who were lost to follow-up, resulting in 88 participants who were finally included in the data analysis. The participants with postoperative delirium had a greater decline in activities of daily living (16 ± 15 vs. 9 ± 15, P = 0.037) and higher 36-month mortality (8 of 28, 29% vs. 7 of 75, 9%; P = 0.009) as compared with the participants without postoperative delirium., Conclusions: Postoperative delirium was associated with long-term detrimental outcomes, including greater decline in activities of daily living and a higher rate of postoperative mortality.

Four new triterpenoids which were identifed as 2α,3β,6β,19α-tetrahydroxy- oleanolic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-3α,19α-di-hydroxyoleanolic acid (2), 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-3α,19α-dihydroxyursolic acid (3), 2α,3α,6β,19α-tetrahydroxyursolic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), were isolated from the aerial parts of Callicarpa kwangtungensis together with three known triterpenoids identified as 2α,3β,21β-trihydroxyursolic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), 2α,3α,19α,23-tetrahydroxyoleanolic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), 2α,3α,19α,23-tetrahydroxyursolic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7). Their structures were elucidated by the combination of mass spectrometry (MS), one and two-dimensional NMR experiments.

Aim: To report the incidence and potential risk factors of small-volume chylous ascites (SVCA) following laparoscopic radical gastrectomy (LAG)., Methods: A total of 1366 consecutive gastric cancer patients who underwent LAG from January 2008 to June 2011 were enrolled in this study. We analyzed the patients based on the presence or absence of SVCA., Results: SVCA was detected in 57 (4.17%) patients, as determined by the small-volume drainage (range, 30-100 mL/24 h) of triglyceride-rich fluid. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the total number of resected lymph nodes (LNs), No. 8 or No. 9 LN metastasis and N stage were independent risk factors for SVCA following LAG (P<0.05). Regarding hospital stay, there was a significant difference between the groups with and without SVCA (P<0.001). The 3-year disease-free and overall survival rates of the patients with SVCA were 47.4% and 56.1%, respectively, which were similar to those of the patients without SVCA (P>0.05)., Conclusion: SVCA following LAG developed significantly more frequently in the patients with ≥32 harvested LNs, ≥3 metastatic LNs, or No. 8 or No. 9 LN metastasis. SVCA, which was successfully treated with conservative management, was associated with a prolonged hospital stay but was not associated with the prognosis.

We used a new conceptual framework that integrates tenets from health economics, social epidemiology, and health behavior to analyze the impact of socioeconomic forces on the temporal changes in the socioeconomic status (SES) gap in childhood overweight and obesity in China. In data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey for 1991 to 2006, we found increased prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity across all SES groups, but a greater increase among higher-SES children, especially after 1997, when income inequality dramatically increased. Our findings suggest that for China, the increasing SES gap in purchasing power for obesogenic goods, associated with rising income inequality, played a prominent role in the country's increasing SES gap in childhood obesity and overweight.

Objective: The prenatal genetic diagnosis and counseling of oculocutaneous albinism type II (OCA2) by detecting mutations in the OCA2 gene, Methods: DNA samples were extracted from peripheral whole blood and amniocentesis-derived cells. Polymerase chain reaction and automatic sequence analysis were used to screen the OCA2 gene., Results: Case 1: Two novel heterozygous mutations (p.N476D and p.Y827H) in the P gene were detected in the proband. Molecular prenatal diagnosis on fetal DNA revealed N476D. The pregnancy progressed uneventfully to a normal outcome. Case 2: Mutation analysis of the DNA of family 2 revealed compound heterozygosities for two novel P gene mutations (p.N476D and p.G775R). The pregnant female and the fetus each presented with a single P gene mutation (p.V443I and G775R, respectively). The pregnancy was continued., Conclusion: This is the first report of prenatal diagnosis performed in families with oculocutaneous albinism type II (OCA2). Also, this report reveals three novel mutations of the P gene., ((c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Gastric carcinoma is one of the most frequently occurring cancers. The aim of this research was to increase the detection efficiency of anti-p53 antibodies in the sera of patients with gastric carcinoma and to improve the diagnosis for patients with gastric carcinoma., Methods: We prepared phage-displayed peptide DO7 and established an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method to detect the anti-p53 antibodies. We detected the anti-p53 antibodies of 61 patients with gastric carcinoma using the method and our previous ELISA method assisted by the recombinant wild-type human p53 protein to detect the anti-p53 antibodies. We studied the correlation between the anti-p53 antibodies and the clinicopathological data including sex, age, carcinoembryonic antigen, tumor size, tumor TNM staging, and lymph-node status., Results: The anti-p53 antibodies positive rate for patients with gastric carcinoma was increased (31.1%, 19/61) through the combination of p53-ELISA and phage-ELISA. We found that the positive anti-p53 antibodies correlated significantly with tumor size (P=0.047). The combination of the anti-p53 antibodies and carcinoembryonic antigen could improve the diagnosis for patients with gastric carcinoma., Conclusions: This approach indicated an increased anti-p53 antibodies positive rate for patients with gastric carcinoma and provided a useful marker for clinical diagnosis for patients with gastric carcinoma.

Breast cancer has been the most common malignant tumor among women in many large cities of China. The aim of this study was to clarify the prognostic significance of serum anti-p53 antibodies (p53 Abs) in Chinese patients of breast cancer. One hundred and forty-four patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of breast were involved in this study. The expressions of ER, PR, c-erbB-2 and p53 were immunostained in tumor tissues and serum p53 Abs were assayed using ELISA method. The correlations between p53 Abs and other clinical and biological markers were analyzed. Among 144 patients, 31 (21.5%) had positive p53 Abs, which was associated with several poor prognostic parameters including higher clinical stage (p = 0.0233), lymph nodes metastasis (p = 0.0033), negative ER expression (p = 0.0250) and positive c-erbB-2 status (p = 0.0227). There was also a strong correlation between p53 Abs and tumor p53 positivity (p < 0.0001). These results indicated that the presence of p53 Abs is probably triggered by the accumulation of tumor p53 protein, and it could be a useful marker to complement routine prognostic factors in breast cancer patients.