[Retracted] Effects of cisplatin on the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of breast cancer cells following ß­catenin silencing.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that, for the cell migration and invasion assay data shown in Fig. 3A, C, E and G on p. 1843, a number of overlapping data sections were identified such that data which were intended to show the results from differently performed experiments had apparently been derived from the same original sources; moreover, these overlaps were featured in different alignments relative to their matching partners. In addition, other errors had been made during the process of compiling the figures; for example, the authors had overlooked indicating that the protein data shown in Fig. 1F were for ß­catenin. In view of the number of overlapping data panels that were identified in Fig. 3, the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a satisfactory reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [ International Journal of Molecular Medicine 45: 1838­1850, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2020.4543].

Effects of different phosphorus and potassium supply on the root architecture, phosphorus and potassium uptake, and utilization efficiency of hydroponic rice.

Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) affect seedling growth, root configuration, and nutrient uptake in hydroponic rice, but there are few studies on all growth stages of rice. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the response characteristics of root morphology, plant physiology, and P and K uptake and utilization efficiency to different supplies of P and K. Two local conventional rice varieties (Shennong 265 and Liaojing 294) were used as experimental materials across four treatments, including HPHK (sufficient P and K supply), HPLK (sufficient P supply under low K levels), LPHK (sufficient K supply under low P levels) and LPLK (low P and K levels) in a hydroponic setting. The results showed that HPHK and HPLK significantly decreased the acid phosphatase activity of leaves and roots from full heading to filling stages when compared to LPHK and LPLK. Sufficient supply of P or K significantly increased the accumulation of P and K (aboveground, leaves, stem sheath, and whole plant) and root morphological parameters (root length, root surface area, total root volume, and tips) during major growth stages when compared to LP or LK levels. HPHK was significantly higher than other treatments in terms of dry weight and the root activity at the main growth stage, P and K uptake rates in nutrient solutions at various stages, related P and K efficiency at the maturity stage, yield, effective panicle number, and grain number per panicle. In addition, the effect of HPHK on the above indexes were significantly greater than those of single sufficient supply of P or K. In conclusion, HPHK can improve plant configuration, increase plant P and K absorption and root activity, and increase rice yield and related P and K utilization efficiency.

Development of an agroinfiltration-based transient hairpin RNA expression system in pak choi leaves (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis) for RNA interference against Liriomyza sativae.

The vegetable leafminer (Liriomyza sativae) is a devastating invasive pest of many vegetable crops and horticultural plants worldwide, causing serious economic loss. Conventional control strategy against this pest mainly relies on the synthetic chemical pesticides, but widespread use of insecticides easily causes insecticide resistance development and is harmful to beneficial organisms and environment. In this context, a more environmentally friendly pest management strategy based on RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a powerful tool to control of insect pests. Here we report a successful oral RNAi in L. sativae after feeding on pak choi (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis) that transiently express hairpin RNAs targeting vital genes in this pest. First, potentially lethal genes are identified by searching an L. sativae transcriptome for orthologs of the widely used V-ATPase A and actin genes, then expression levels are assessed during different life stages and in different adult tissues. Interestingly, the highest expression levels for V-ATPase A are observed in the adult heads (males and females) and for actin in the abdomens of adult females. We also assessed expression patterns of the target hairpin RNAs in pak choi leaves and found that they reach peak levels 72 h post agroinfiltration. RNAi-mediated knockdown of each target was then assessed by letting adult L. sativae feed on agroinfiltrated pak choi leaves. Relative transcript levels of each target gene exhibit significant reductions over the feeding time, and adversely affect survival of adult L. sativae at 24 h post infestation in genetically unmodified pak choi plants. These results demonstrate that the agroinfiltration-mediated RNAi system has potential for advancing innovative environmentally safe pest management strategies for the control of leaf-mining species.

Development and validation of an infectious disease control competency scale for public health professionals.

BACKGROUND: Infectious diseases persistently pose global threats, and it is imperative to accelerate the professionalization of public health workforce. This study aimed to develop and validate the infectious disease control competency scale (IDCCS) for public health professionals to fill a theoretical gap and elevate practical capabilities by informing public health professionals' development goals. METHODS: The initial item pool was generated through a literature review, and categorized into three dimensions (knowledge, practical skills, and leadership) based on the competency iceberg model and public health leadership framework. A two-round Delphi process was conducted to determine indicators within the scale. A pilot survey was utilized for item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A formal survey was employed for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The weight value of each indicator was calculated using the analytic hierarchy process. RESULTS: An initial scale with three primary items, 14 secondary items, and 81 tertiary items was generated. Twenty experts participated in the two rounds of the Delphi process. Authority coefficients exceeded 0.9 in both rounds. Kendall's W was 0.29 and 0.19, respectively (both P < 0.001). Item analysis presented a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.98, with corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranging from 0.33 to 0.78. EFA demonstrated that cumulative variance explanations for the four primary dimensions (knowledge, practical skills, leadership, and personal quality) were 77.463%, 73.976%, 81.174%, and 68.654%, respectively. CFA indicated that all composite reliability values and average variance extracted surpassed 0.8 and 0.5, respectively. The standardized factor loadings of the items ranged from 0.630 to 0.977. Among the seven model fit indices, each of the four dimensions satisfied at least five criteria. A final three-level scale comprising four primary items, 14 secondary items, and 64 tertiary items was constructed. The weight values for the four primary items were 0.4064, 0.2878, 0.2082, and 0.0981, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The IDCCS was established to evaluate the competencies of knowledge, practical skills, leadership, and personal quality for public health professionals in infectious disease control. This scale demonstrates good reliability and validity, and can be used for performance evaluation, recruitment processes, curriculum development, and individual self-assessment.

The ubiquitin E3 ligase RZFP1 affects drought tolerance in poplar by mediating the degradation of the protein phosphatase PP2C-9.

Abscisic acid signaling has been implicated in plant responses to water deficit-induced osmotic stress. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unelucidated. This study identified the RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase RING ZINC FINGER PROTEIN1 (PtrRZFP1) in poplar (Populus trichocarpa), a woody model plant. PtrRZFP1 encodes a ubiquitin E3 ligase that participates in protein ubiquitination. PtrRZFP1 mainly functions in the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum and is activated by drought and abscisic acid. PtrRZFP1-overexpressing transgenic poplars (35S:PtrRZFP1) showed greater tolerance to drought, whereas PtrRZFP1-knockdown lines (KD-PtrRZFP1) showed greater sensitivity to drought. Under treatment with polyethylene glycol and abscisic acid, PtrRZFP1 promoted the production of NO and H2O2 in stomatal guard cells, ultimately enhancing stomatal closure and improving drought tolerance. Additionally, PtrRZFP1 physically interacted with the clade A Protein Phosphatase 2C protein PtrPP2C-9, a core regulator of abscisic acid signaling, and mediated its ubiquitination and eventual degradation through the ubiquitination-26S proteasome system, indicating that PtrRZFP1 positively regulates the abscisic acid signaling pathway. Furthermore, the PtrPP2C-9-overexpression line was insensitive to abscisic acid and more sensitive to drought than the wild-type plants, whereas the opposite phenotype was observed in 35S:PtrRZFP1 plants. In general, PtrRZFP1 negatively regulates the stability of PtrPP2C-9 to mediate poplar drought tolerance. The results of this study provide a theoretical framework for the targeted breeding of drought-tolerant traits in perennial woody plants.

Diagnosis of bilateral pharyngoesophageal diverticula with using swallow contrast-enhanced ultrasound: a case report.

Pharyngoesophageal diverticulum (PED) is a rare disease of the esophagus that is usually asymptomatic and often found incidentally during a thyroid ultrasound examination. Due to its anatomical location close to the thyroid, it is easily misdiagnosed as a thyroid nodule, which leads to unnecessary thyroid biopsies and surgical treatment. The occurrence of a single esophageal diverticula is common, while the existence of multiple diverticula is rare. Left side diverticula are more common than right sided ones, while bilateral occurrences are rarely reported. We report an extremely rare case of bilateral pharyngeal esophageal diverticula. The patient was a 55-year-old asymptomatic man who came to our hospital after thyroid nodules were identified in another hospital. Due to the extensive clinical experience of the ultrasound physician at our facility, the patient was suspected to have bilateral esophageal diverticula, which was confirmed by using swallow contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Consequently, unnecessary thyroid treatments were avoided in this patient. This study shows that although bilateral pharyngeal diverticula are unusual, the possibility of their existence should be considered if nodules are located posterior to the bilateral thyroid glands and have suspicious imaging characteristics. Particular attention should be given to nodules located on the right side of the thyroid, which are sometimes overlooked easily due to their very low incidence. If real-time ultrasound cannot be used in making the diagnosis, PED can be further identified using swallowing CEUS to avoid unnecessary thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) and surgical treatment.

Insufficient FUNDC1-dependent mitophagy due to early environmental cadmium exposure triggers mitochondrial redox imbalance to aggravate diet-induced lipotoxicity.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic contaminant widely spread in natural and industrial environments. Adolescent exposure to Cd increases risk for obesity-related morbidity in young adults including type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Despite this recognition, the direct impact of adolescent Cd exposure on the progression of MASLD later in life, and the mechanisms underlying these effects, remain unclear. Here, adolescent rats received control diet or diets containing 2 mg Cd2+/kg feed for 4 weeks, and then HFD containing 15% lard or control diet in young adult rats was selected for 6 weeks to clarify this issue. Data firstly showed that HFD-fed rats in young adulthood due to adolescent Cd exposure exhibited more severe MASLD, evidenced by increased liver damage, disordered serum and hepatic lipid levels, and activated NLRP3 inflammasome. Hepatic transcriptome analysis revealed the potential effects of mitochondrial dysfunction in aggravated MASLD due to Cd exposure. Verification data further confirmed that mitochondrial structure and function were targeted and disrupted during this process, shown by broken mitochondrial ridges, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, imbalanced mitochondrial dynamic, insufficient ATP concentration, and enhanced mitochondrial ROS generation. However, mitophagy is inactively involved in clearance of damaged mitochondria induced by early Cd in HFD condition due to inhibited mitophagy receptor FUNDC1. In contrast, FUNDC1-dependent mitophagy activation prevents lipotoxicity aggravated by early Cd via suppressing mitochondrial ROS generation. Collectively, our data show that insufficient FUNDC1-dependent mitophagy can drive the transition from HFD-induced MASLD to MASH, and accordingly, these findings will provide a better understanding of potential mechanism of diet-induced metabolic diseases in the context of early environmental Cd exposure.

Preparation and characterization of intelligent and active bi-layer film based on carrageenan/pectin for monitoring freshness of salmon.

This work aimed to develop and characterize a novel bi-layer film (BIF) for monitoring the freshness of salmon. The indicator layer consists of carrageenan (Car), pectin (PEC) and purple sweet potato anthocyanin (PSPA), and the antibacterial layer consists of Car and magnolol (Mag). The results showed that the Car/Mag2 had the optimal water resistance: the static water contact angle of 80.36 ± 0.92 °, moisture content of 31.38 ± 0.86 %, swelling degree of 92.96 ± 0.46 %, and water solubility of 40.08 ± 1.17 %, and showed excellent antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus with antibacterial rate of 86.13 % ± 0.10 % and 97.53 % ± 0.02 %, respectively. Then BIFs with different PSPA concentration were tested. The morphology, mechanical and water vapor properties (WVP) of the BIFs were studied, and its application in salmon preservation was evaluated. The mechanical properties and WVP test results showed that the BIF0.2 had the optimal Tensile strength (TS) and WVP values. The BIFs showed distinguishable color changes between the pH ranges of 3-10. The shelf life of salmon packaged by BIF0.2 was prolonged by 2 days. Moreover, the BIF0.2 was able to effectively monitor salmon freshness. In conclusion, the BIF has great potential for monitoring salmon meat freshness.

Selenium represses microRNA-202-5p/MICU1 aixs to attenuate mercuric chloride-induced kidney ferroptosis.

Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) is a nephrotoxic contaminant that is widely present in the environment. Selenium (Se) can effectively antagonize the biological toxicity caused by heavy metals. Here, in vivo and in vitro models of Se antagonism to HgCl2-induced nephrotoxicity in chickens were established, with the aim of exploring the specific mechanism. Morphological observation and kidney function analysis showed that Se alleviated HgCl2-induced kidney tissue injury and cytotoxicity. The results showed that ferroptosis was the primary mechanism for the toxicity of HgCl2, as indicated by iron overload and lipid peroxidation. On the one hand, Se significantly prevented HgCl2-induced iron overload. On the other hand, Se alleviated the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels caused by HgCl2. Subsequently, we focused on the sources of ROS during HgCl2-induced ferroptosis. Mechanically, Se reduced ROS overproduction induced by HgCl2 through mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU)/mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 (MICU1)-mediated mitochondrial calcium ion (Ca2+) overload. Furthermore, a dual luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that MICU1 was the direct target of miR-202-5p. Overall, Se represses miR-202-5p/MICU1 axis to attenuate HgCl2-induced kidney ferroptosis.

Association between indoor residual spraying and the malaria burden in Zambia and factors associated with IRS refusals: a case-control study in Vubwi District.

BACKGROUND: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) has been implemented to prevent malaria in Zambia for several decades, but its effectiveness has not been evaluated long term and in Vubwi District yet. This study aimed to assess the association between IRS and the malaria burden in Zambia and Vubwi District and to explore the factors associated with refusing IRS. METHODS: A retrospective study was used to analyze the association between IRS and malaria incidence in Zambia in 2001-2020 and in Vubwi District in 2014-2020 by Spearman correlation analysis. A case-control study was used to explore the factors associated with IRS refusals by households in Vubwi District in 2021. A logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with IRS refusals. RESULTS: The malaria incidence reached its peak (391/1000) in 2001 and dropped to the lowest (154/1000) in 2019. The annual percentage change in 2001-2003, 2003-2008, 2008-2014, 2014-2018 and 2018-2020 was - 6.54%, - 13.24%, 5.04%, - 10.28% and 18.61%, respectively. A significantly negative correlation between the percentage of population protected by the IRS against the total population in Zambia (coverage) and the average malaria incidence in the whole population was observed in 2005-2020 (r = - 0.685, P = 0.003) and 2005-2019 (r = - 0.818, P < 0.001). Among 264 participants (59 in the refuser group and 205 in the acceptor group), participants with specific occupations (self-employed: OR 0.089, 95% CI 0.022-0.364; gold panning: OR 0.113, 95% CI 0.022-0.574; housewives: OR 0.129, 95% CI 0.026-0.628 and farmers: OR 0.135, 95% CI 0.030-0.608 compared to employees) and no malaria case among household members (OR 0.167; 95% CI 0.071-0.394) had a lower risk of refusing IRS implementation, while those with a secondary education level (OR 3.690, 95% CI 1.245-10.989) had a higher risk of refusing IRS implementation compared to those who had never been to school. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing coverage with IRS was associated with decreasing incidence of malaria in Zambia, though this was not observed in Vubwi District, possibly because of the special geographical location of Vubwi District. Interpersonal communication and targeted health education should be implemented at full scale to ensure household awareness and gain community trust.

Selenium alleviates pancreatic fibrosis in chickens caused by mercuric chloride: Involvement of the MAPK signaling pathway and selenoproteins.

Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) is a widespread inorganic mercury with digestive toxicity. The pancreas is an important digestive organ in animals, and pancreatic fibrosis (PF) is a major pathological feature of chronic pancreatitis, which can be caused by heavy metals. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for the animal organism, performing biological functions in the form of selenoproteins, as well as alleviating the toxicity of heavy metals. In this study, we explored the specific mechanisms underlying the protective effect of Se on HgCl2-induced pancreatic injury in chickens. Morphological observation and serum biochemical analysis showed that Se attenuated HgCl2-caused pancreatic tissue damage and elevated glucose concentration and α-amylase activity. Next, the expression of oxidative stress indicators such as MDA and GSH-Px as well as inflammation-related markers including IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected. Results showed that Se had an inhibitory effect on HgCl2-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Furthermore, we found that Se alleviated HgCl2-induced PF by detecting the expression of markers related to PF including TGF-ß1, α-SMA, COL1A1, and FN1. Mechanistically, Se attenuated HgCl2-induced PF via the MAPK signaling pathway. Importantly, several selenoproteins, especially those with antioxidant activity, were involved in the protective effect of Se on HgCl2 toxicity. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that Se inhibited HgCl2-induced oxidative stress and inflammation and alleviated chicken PF through the MAPK signaling pathway, in which some antioxidant selenoproteins were involved.

Effectiveness of momentary intervention on influenza vaccination among the elderly in China: From willingness to action.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of momentary intervention on the willingness and actual uptake of influenza vaccination among the elderly in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study assessed the willingness of the elderly to receive influenza vaccination, and an momentary intervention aimed to increase vaccination willingness among those initially unwilling. The elderly reporting a willingness were offered free influenza vaccination through a community intervention program. RESULTS: A total of 3138 participants were recruited in this study, and 61.3 % (95 % CI 59.6 %-63.0 %) were willing to receive influenza vaccination at baseline. The willingness rate of influenza vaccination increased to 79.8 % (95 % CI 78.4 %-81.2 %), with an increase of 18.5 % (95 % CI 16.3 %-20.7 %) after momentary intervention. The influenza vaccination rate was 40.4 % (95 % CI 38.5 %-42.3 %) before and 53.9 % (95 % CI 52.0 %-55.8 %) after momentary intervention with an increase of 13.5 % (95 % CI 10.9 %-16.2 %). There was no significant difference in influenza vaccination rates between the initially willing people and those who changed to be willing to receive influenza vaccination after momentary intervention (vaccination rates: 78.0 % vs. 81.3 %). CONCLUSION: Momentary intervention has been shown to effectively enhance the willingness of the elderly to receive influenza vaccination, thereby facilitating the translation of this intention into actual behavior.

Lipidome is a valuable tool for the severity prediction of coronavirus disease 2019.

Objective: To describe the lipid metabolic profile of different patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and contribute new evidence on the progression and severity prediction of COVID-19. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in Peking University Third Hospital, China. The laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients aged ≥18 years old and diagnosed as pneumonia from December 2022 to January 2023 were included. Serum lipids were detected. The discrimination ability was calculated with the area under the curve (AUC). A random forest (RF) model was conducted to determine the significance of different lipids. Results: Totally, 44 COVID-19 patients were enrolled with 16 mild and 28 severe patients. The top 5 super classes were triacylglycerols (TAG, 55.9%), phosphatidylethanolamines (PE, 10.9%), phosphatidylcholines (PC, 6.8%), diacylglycerols (DAG, 5.9%) and free fatty acids (FFA, 3.6%) among the 778 detected lipids from the serum of COVID-19 patients. Certain lipids, especially lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), turned to have significant correlations with certain immune/cytokine indexes. Reduced level of LPC 20:0 was observed in severe patients particularly in acute stage. The AUC of LPC 20:0 reached 0.940 in discriminating mild and severe patients and 0.807 in discriminating acute and recovery stages in the severe patients. The results of RF models also suggested the significance of LPCs in predicting the severity and progression of COVID-19. Conclusion: Lipids probably have the potential to differentiate and forecast the severity, progression, and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients, with implications for immune/inflammatory responses. LPC 20:0 might be a potential target in predicting the progression and outcome and the treatment of COVID-19.

Temperature extremes nip invasive macrophyte Cabomba caroliniana A. Gray in the bud: potential geographic distributions and risk assessment based on future climate change and anthropogenic influences.

Cabomba caroliniana A. Gray, an ornamental submerged plant indigenous to tropical America, has been introduced to numerous countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania, impacting native aquatic ecosystems. Given this species is a popular aquarium plant and widely traded, there is a high risk of introduction and invasion into other environments. In the current study the potential global geographic distribution of C. caroliniana was predicted under the effects of climate change and human influence in an optimised MaxEnt model. The model used rigorously screened occurrence records of C. caroliniana from hydro informatic datasets and 20 associated influencing factors. The findings indicate that temperature and human-mediated activities significantly influenced the distribution of C. caroliniana. At present, C. caroliniana covers an area of approximately 1531×104 km2 of appropriate habitat, especially in the south-eastern parts of South, central and North America, Southeast Asia, eastern Australia, and most of Europe. The suitable regions are anticipated to expand under future climate scenarios; however, the dynamics of the changes vary between different extents of climate change. For example, C. caroliniana is expected to expand to higher latitudes, following global temperature increases under SSP1-2.6 and SSP2-4.5 scenarios, however, intolerance to temperature extremes may mediate invasion at higher latitudes under future extreme climate scenarios, e.g., SSP5-8.5. Owing to the severe impacts its invasion causes, early warning and stringent border quarantine processes are required to guard against the introduction of C. caroliniana especially in the invasion hotspots such as, Peru, Italy, and South Korea.

Dynamics of respiratory infectious diseases under rapid urbanization and COVID-19 pandemic in the subcenter of Beijing during 2014-2022.

Objective: The study analyzed the impact of urbanization on epidemiological characteristics of respiratory infectious disease in Tongzhou District, Beijing during 2014-2022 to provide reference for prevention and control priorities of respiratory infectious diseases during the innovative urbanization process in China. Methods: The incidence data of notifiable respiratory infectious diseases (NRIDs) in Tongzhou Beijing during 2014-2022 were summarized. The trend of incidence rate was analyzed by Joinpoint regression model, and entropy method was performed to construct the comprehensive index of urbanization (CIU) and generalized linear model was used to analyze the influence of CIU on the incidence rate of respiratory infectious diseases. Results: Totally 72616 NRIDs cases were reported in Tongzhou District during 2014-2022, and the incidence rate of NRIDs was higher during 2017-2019 (153/100 000) than during 2014-2016 (930/100 000) and during 2020-2022 (371/100 000), respectively (both P < 0.001). The CIU constantly increased with slight fluctuation in 2016 and 2018, respectively. The incidence rate of NRIDs showed an increase along with the CIU during 2014-2019 (r = 0.95, P = 0.004), while the incidence rate's tendency was interrupted by COVID-19 during 2020 with slight decrease in 2020-2021 and rebounded in 2022. For the patients aged <15 years, the incidence rate of NRIDs revealed a very sharp rise at the urbanization period without COVID-19 pandemic compared with that under pre-urbanization period (RR = 7.93, 95 % CI 7.63-8.24), and dropped off to the similar level as of pre-urbanization period when COVID-19 pandemic spread. Conclusions: Urbanization process may increase the incidence of NRIDs but constrained by COVID-19. Certain measures should be taken to prevent and control the effects by urbanization process, such as good natural environment with less population density, ecological environment with good air quality, promoted hand hygiene, mask wearing, keeping interpersonal distance, vaccination, media publicity for NRIDs' prevention and control.

A new species of Populus and the extensive hybrid speciation arising from it on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

While the diversity of species formation is broadly acknowledged, significant debate exists regarding the universal nature of hybrid species formation. Through an 18-year comprehensive study of all Populus species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, 23 previously recorded species and 8 new species were identified. Based on morphological characteristics, these can be classified into three groups: species in section Leucoides, species with large leaves, and species with small leaves in section Tacamahaca. By conducting whole-genome re-sequencing of 150 genotypes from these 31 species, 2.28 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis utilizing these SNPs not only revealed a highly intricate evolutionary network within the large-leaf species of section Tacamahaca but also confirmed that a new species, P. curviserrata, naturally hybridized with P. cathayana, P. szechuanica, and P. ciliata, resulting in 11 hybrid species. These findings indicate the widespread occurrence of hybrid species formation within this genus, with hybridization serving as a key evolutionary mechanism for Populus on the plateau. A novel hypothesis, "Hybrid Species Exterminating Their Ancestral Species (HSEAS)," is introduced to explain the mechanisms of hybrid species formation at three different scales: the entire plateau, the southeastern mountain region, and individual river valleys.

Protective effect of PCV13 against all-cause hospitalized pneumonia in children in Beijing, China: real-world evidence.

BACKGROUND: The study evaluated the protective effect of 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (PCV13) against all-cause hospitalized pneumonia in children in Beijing. METHODS: Based on the vaccination record and inpatient medical record database of Beijing, children born in 2017 in Beijing, matched by age, gender, and district of the children with the ratio of 1:4, were selected as the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups according whether if vaccinated with PCV13. The incidence rate and 95 % confidence interval (95 %CI), vaccine effectiveness (VE) and direct medical costs of all-cause hospitalized pneumonia were calculated and compared within the same period of 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and 30 months after the birth of the child. RESULTS: The decreased incidence rates of all-cause hospitalized pneumonia were observed at the four points in the PCV13 vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated group, which were significant at the points of 12 months (0.42 % vs. 0.72 %, P = 0.001), 18 months (0.90 % vs. 1.26 %, P = 0.002) and 24 months (1.37 % vs. 1.65 %, P = 0.046). The VE of PCV13 against all-cause hospitalized pneumonia within 12 months was the highest as 41.9 % (95 % CI 19.6 %, 58.0 %), followed by 29.3 % (95 % CI 11.4 %, 43.5 %) within 18 months, 17.1 % (95 % CI 0.3 %, 31.1 %) within 24 months and it almost disappeared within 30 months. The VE of 4-dose vaccination within 18 months and 24 months were 39.9 % (95 % CI 20.3 %, 54.7 %) and 27.2 % (95 % CI 8.6 %, 42.0 %), respectively. The median hospitalization cost of the children in the vaccinated group was higher at the four points but without significance. CONCLUSIONS: PCV13 had a certain protective effect on all-cause hospitalized pneumonia, and the booster immunization strategy had the best protective effect with great public health significance to enter the immunization program.

Mass immunisation to eradicate Japanese encephalitis: Real-world evidence from Guizhou Province in 2005-2021.

Objectives: To explore epidemiological changes of Japanese encephalitis (JE) in a long-time span and evaluate the impact of mass immunisation. Method: Data on JE cases from hospitals and the county Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Guizhou Province was collected between 2005 and 2021. Epidemiological changes were analyzed according to a series of policy implementations and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Results: A total of 5138 JE cases and 152 deaths were reported in Guizhou Province during 2005-2021. The average incidence and case fatality rates were 0.83/100,000 and 2.96%, respectively. The JE prevalence showed a declining trend over the years with the reduced incidence gap between age groups and narrowing of the high-epidemic regions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the JE activity reached its nadir in 2020. The inclusion in the Expanded Program on Immunization of the JE vaccine and catch-up immunisations showed a significant impact on the JE declining incidence rate. Conclusions: The implementation of JE immunisation programs has played a crucial role in controlling its spread. Continued efforts should be made to maintain high coverage of the JE vaccine and strengthen disease surveillance systems, ensuring JE effective control and eventual elimination.