Search

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is widely acknowledged as a significant zoonotic pathogen in Southeast Asia and China, which has led to a substantial number of fatalities in both swine and humans. Despite the prevalent use of mice as the primary animal model to study S. suis pathogenesis, the substantial differences in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) between humans and mice underscore the ongoing exploration for a more suitable and effective animal model. In this study, humanized transgenic HLA-A11/DR1 genotypes mice were used to evaluate the differences between humanized HLA and murine H2 in S. suis infection. Following intravenous administration of S. suis suspensions, we investigated bacterial load, cytokine profiles, pathological alterations, and immune cell recruitment in both Wild-type (WT) and humanized mice across different post-infection time points. Relative to WT mice, humanized mice exhibited heightened pro-inflammatory cytokines, exacerbated tissue damage, increased granulocyte recruitment with impaired resolution, notably more pronounced during the late infection stage. Additionally, our examination of bacterial clearance rates suggests that HLA-A11/DR1 primarily influences cell recruitment and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which affects the bacterial killing capacity of macrophages in the late stage of infection. The reduced IL-10 production and lower levels of regulatory T cells in humanized mice could underlie their compromised resolution ability. Intervention with IL-10 promotes bacterial clearance and inflammatory regression in the late stages of infection in transgenic mice. Our findings underscore the heightened sensitivity of HLA-A11/DR1 mice with impaired resolution to S. suis infection, effectively mirroring the immune response seen in humans during infection. The humanized HLA-A11/DR1 mice could serve as an optimal animal model for investigating the pathogenic and therapeutic mechanisms associated with sepsis and other infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its outbreak in December 2019, the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to 191 countries and caused millions of deaths. Many countries have experienced multiple epidemic waves and faced containment pressures from both domestic and international transmission. In this study, we conduct a multiscale geographic analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in a policy-influenced dynamic network to quantify COVID-19 importation risk under different policy scenarios using evidence from China. Our spatial dynamic panel data (SDPD) model explicitly distinguishes the effects of travel flows from the effects of transmissibility within cities, across cities, and across national borders. We find that within-city transmission was the dominant transmission mechanism in China at the beginning of the outbreak and that all domestic transmission mechanisms were muted or significantly weakened before importation posed a threat. We identify effective containment policies by matching the change points of domestic and importation transmissibility parameters to the timing of various interventions. Our simulations suggest that importation risk is limited when domestic transmission is under control, but that cumulative cases would have been almost 13 times higher if domestic transmissibility had resurged to its precontainment level after importation and 32 times higher if domestic transmissibility had remained at its precontainment level since the outbreak. Our findings provide practical insights into infectious disease containment and call for collaborative and coordinated global suppression efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A wide range of pesticides is applied for crop protection in vegetable cultivation in China. Regulation of pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) in vegetables is established but not fully enforced. And pesticide residues in vegetables were not well monitored. This study conducted the monitoring surveys from 2011 to 2013 to investigate the pesticides in vegetables in the northwest region of China.Methods: A multi-residue gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method (GC/MS) was used in determination of pesticides in vegetable samples. The χ2 test was used to compare the concentration of pesticide residues.Results: A total of 32 pesticide residues were detected in 518 samples from 20 types of vegetables in this study. 7.7% of the detected pesticide residues exceeded the MRLs. The percentages of residues that exceeded the MRLs for leafy, melon and fruit, and root vegetables were 11.2%, 5.1%, and 1.6%, respectively. There was no seasonal difference in the proportion of samples that exceeded the MRLs in different vegetables. A total of 84.3% (27/32) pesticides were detected at concentrations that exceeded MRLs. And of the 27 pesticides that exceeded the MRLs, 11 (40.7%) were banned for use in agriculture. The most frequently detected pesticides were Malathion (9.4%), Dichlorvos (8.7%), and Dimethoate (8.1%).Conclusion: The observed high rate of pesticides detected and high incidence of pesticide detection exceeding their MRLs in the commonly consumed vegetables indicated that the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) may not be well followed. The management of pesticide use and control should be improved. Well-developed training programs should be initiated to improve pesticide application knowledge for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chimeric PCV1-2 clone containing the PCV2 capsid gene cloned into the backbone of the nonpathogenic PCV1 genome was recently generated based on PCV2 and PCV1 strains isolated in China. The efficacy of this available candidate inactivated vaccine was evaluated by subjecting conventional pigs to intramuscular immunization with the inactivated chimeric PCV1-2 virus, followed by challenge with wild-type PCV2 strain. By 35 days post-vaccination (DPV), all vaccinated pigs had developed seroconversion, having high indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) titers of antibody and neutralizing antibody against PCV2. By 21 days post-challenge, gross and microscopic lesions of lymph nodes and lungs in non-vaccinated but challenged pigs were significantly more severe than those found in the vaccinated group. PCV2 viral copy loads detected in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes or serum samples of vaccinated pigs were significantly smaller than those in non-vaccinated but challenged pigs ( P≤ 0.05). The results suggest that inactivated PCV1-2 is effective in inducing protective immunity against PCV2 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High molecular weight (MW) species were observed at substantial intensities in the positive-ion mass spectra in urban Shanghai aerosols collected from a single-particle time-of-flight mass spectrometer (in the m/z range 250-500) during three separate periods over 2007-2009. These species correlate well with the CN- mass signal, suggesting that C-N bonds are prevalent and that the observed high-Mw species are potentially nitrogen-containing organic salts. Anti-correlation with the ambient O3 concentration suggests that photochemical oxidants are not involved directly in the formation of these species. The Mannich reaction, among amines (or ammonia), formaldehyde, and carbonyls with an adjacent acidic proton, is proposed as a plausible pathway leading to these organic salts. Although the high-MWspecies observed in the single-particle mass spectra appear to be nitrogen-containing organics, further chemical confirmation is desired to verify if the proposed Mannich reaction can explain the formation of these high-MW species in regions where ammonia, amines, and carbonyls are prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NO2, SO2, O3, benzene, and toluene were measured in Taopu industry park of Shanghai during the period June to August 2003 by differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique. The daily average concentrations of SO2, NO2, and O3 ranged from 5.7 ppb to 40 ppb, 22 ppb to 123 ppb, and 10.6 ppb to 23 ppb respectively. SO2 and NO2 concentrations were found to depend on wind direction. The diurnal variation of NO2 concentrations had two peaks due to traffic emission. Our DOAS measurements of NO2, SO2 and O3 were compared with the conventional measurement instruments (API automatic monitoring instrument). The concept of a percent difference (PD) and linear regression methods were employed to study the difference between DOAS and API instruments. The correlation analysis between PD values and meteorological parameters and analysis of abnormal higher absolute PD values indicated that the lower visibility induced the bad compatibility between the two systems. The results showed that both systems exhibited strong compatibility with good correlation, therefore the DOAS system is able to provide reliable information on distribution patterns of major air pollutants. Average benzene and toluene concentrations were 1.4 and 8.0 ppb respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explain China's cigarette pricing mechanism and the role of the Chinese State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) on cigarette pricing and taxation. Methods Published government tobacco tax documentation and statistics published by the Chinese STMA are used to analyse the interrelations among industry profits, taxes and retail price of cigarettes in China. Results The 2009 excise tax increase on cigarettes in China has not translated into higher retail prices because the Chinese STMA used its policy authority to ensure that retail cigarette prices did not change. The government tax increase is being collected at both the producer and wholesale levels. As a result, the 2009 excise tax increase in China has resulted in higher tax revenue for the government and lower profits for the tobacco industry, with no increase in the retail price of cigarettes for consumers. Conclusions Numerous studies have found that taxation is one of the most effective policy instruments for tobacco control. However, these findings come from countries that have market economies where market forces determine prices and influence how cigarette taxes are passed to the consumers in retail prices. China's tobacco industry is not a market economy; therefore, non-market forces and the current Chinese tobacco monopoly system determine cigarette prices. The result is that tax increases do not necessarily get passed on to the retail price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat landraces have abundant genetic variation at the Glu-1 loci, which is desirable germplasms for genetic enhancement of modern wheat varieties, especially for quality improvement. In the current study, we ana‐ lyzed the allelic variations of the Glu-1 loci of 597 landraces and 926 commercial wheat varieties from the four major wheat-growing regions in China using SDS-PAGE. As results, alleles Null, 7+8, and 2+12 were the dominant HMW-GSs in wheat landraces. Compared to landraces, the commercial varieties contain higher frequencies of high-quality alleles, including 1, 7+9, 14+15 and 5+10. The genetic diversity of the four com‐ mercial wheat populations (alleles per locus (A) = 7.33, percent polymorphic loci (P) = 1.00, effective number of alleles per locus (Ae) = 2.347 and expected heterozygosity (He) = 0.563) was significantly higher than that of the landraces population, with the highest genetic diversity found in the Southwestern Winter Wheat Region population. The genetic diversity of HMW-GS is mainly present within the landraces and commercial wheat populations instead of between populations. The landraces were rich in rare subunits or alleles may provide germplasm resources for improving the quality of modern wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many novel reassortant influenza viruses of the H9N2 genotype have emerged in aquatic birds in southern China since their initial isolation in this region in 1994. However, the genesis and evolution of H9N2 viruses in poultry in eastern China have not been investigated systematically. In the current study, H9N2 influenza viruses isolated from poultry in eastern China during the past 10 years were characterized genetically and antigenically. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these H9N2 viruses have undergone extensive reassortment to generate multiple novel genotypes, including four genotypes (J, F, K, and L) that have never been recognized before. The major H9N2 influenza viruses represented by A/Chicken/Beijing/1/1994 (Ck/BJ/1/94)-like viruses circulating in poultry in eastern China before 1998 have been gradually replaced by A/Chicken/Shanghai/F/1998 (Ck/SH/F/98)-like viruses, which have a genotype different from that of viruses isolated in southern China. The similarity of the internal genes of these H9N2 viruses to those of the H5N1 influenza viruses isolated from 2001 onwards suggests that the Ck/SH/F/98-like virus may have been the donor of internal genes of human and poultry H5N1 influenza viruses circulating in Eurasia. Experimental studies showed that some of these H9N2 viruses could be efficiently transmitted by the respiratory tract in chicken flocks. Our study provides new insight into the genesis and evolution of H9N2 influenza viruses and supports the notion that some of these viruses may have been the donors of internal genes found in H5N1 viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. Early detection is critical for the risk stratification and early intervention of progressive DKD. Serum creatinine (sCr) and urine output are used to assess kidney function, but these markers are limited by their delayed changes following kidney pathology, and lacking of both sensitivity and accuracy. Hence, it is essential to illustrate potential diagnostic indicators to enhance the precise prediction of early DKD. A total of 194 Chinese individuals include 30 healthy participants (Stage 0) and 164 incidents with type 2 diabetes (T2D) spanning from DKD's Stage 1a to 4 were recruited and their serums were subjected for untargeted metabolomic analysis. Random forest (RF), a machine learning approach, together with univariate linear regression (ULR) and multivariate linear regression (MvLR) analysis were applied to characterize the features of untargeted metabolites of DKD patients and to identify candidate DKD biomarkers. Our results indicate that 2-(α-D-mannopyranosyl)-L-tryptophan (ADT), succinyladenosine (SAdo), pseudouridine and N,N,N-trimethyl-L-alanyl-L-proline betaine (L-L-TMAP) were associated with the development of DKD, in particular, the latter three that were significantly elevated in Stage 2-4 T2D incidents. Each of the four metabolites in combination with sCr achieves better performance than sCr alone with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.81-0.91 in predicting DKD stages. An average of 3.9 years follow-up study of another cohort including 106 Stage 2-3 patients suggested that "urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) + ADT + SAdo" can be utilized for better prognosis evaluation of early DKD (average AUC = 0.9502) than UACR without sexual difference.

Glacier ice, supraglacier stream water, ice-marginal stream water, proglacier stream water samples were collected at Qiyi glacier located in central part of Qilian Mountain 2006-06 - 2006-07. Major ions concentration, pH and EC were analyzed. The results indicate that pH varies from 8.05 to 8.79, and EC 32.4 - 134.4 microS cm(-1). The order of major ions concentration in differed water is: supraglacier stream water< ice-marginal stream water < proglacier stream water. Meanwhile, hydrochemical characteristics vary from HCO3(-) -Ca(2+) to (HCO3(-) + SO4(2-))-(Ca(2+) + Mg(2+)). Major ions,almost in all samples; HCO3(-) > SO4(2-) > Cl(-) > NO3(-), Ca(2+) > Mg(2+) > Na(+) > K(+) mainly comes from carbonate weathering,and some is from sulfate dissolution. Concentrations of Mg(2+) and K(+) increase quicker than Na(+) and Ca(2+) in proglacier stream and ice-margin stream that is inverse to their abundance in crust. The spatial characteristic of ions concentration is controlled by the process of water-rock and temporal change is hydrological factors.