Trends in HIV/AIDS-Related Mortality and the Impact of Antiretroviral Treatment Strategies in Lu'an City: A Comprehensive Analysis.

BACKGROUND There are many factors that affect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths, and different antiretroviral therapy (ART) strategies may affect HIV/AIDS-related fatality rates. However, studies on this area are very limited. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with HIV/AIDS-related mortality and the impact of different ART strategies in Lu'an City, Anhui Province, China, 1999-2023. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data of HIV/AIDS cases were downloaded from the China HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System, and were assessed to evaluate the impact of different ART strategies on the related fatality rate using interrupted time series (ITS). RESULTS We found that age at diagnosis of 15 years, 25 years, 40 years, and 60 years, as well as receiving ART, were protective factors against death (with P below 0.05), while lower CD4 count at the last CD4 count and the year of diagnosis before 2007 and between 2007 and 2016 were risk factors (with P below 0.05). ITS analysis revealed that in the year of the introduction of free ART in 2006, the fatality rate decreased by 38.60% (P=0.015). The fatality rate trend from 2006 to 2015 was -1.1%, which was not statistically significant (P=0.434). The fatality rate trend from 2016 to 2023 was -0.33%, indicating a decreasing trend (P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS Children under 15 years old and elderly patients had a higher risk of death. The main reasons for the decrease in HIV/AIDS-related fatality rate were ART, especially the "early treatment" strategy.

A Study on the Predictors of Disease Severity of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND Early and rapid identification of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases is important. The present study aimed to investigate the predictors of disease severity and thus determine the trends for disease progression early. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with COVID-19 were recruited from Fuyang Second People's Hospital from January to February 2020. Patients' demographic, epidemiological, and clinical data were collected, and the relationships between these variables and disease severity were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 158 cases were included according to COVID-19 diagnosis, and the treatment schemes were analyzed for identification of early indicators affecting COVID-19 progression. Severe cases accounted for 18.99% of the diagnosed cases. Analysis showed that patients' age (χ²=10.640,=0.041); the time interval between onset and diagnosis (χ²=7.278, P=0.026); the source of cases (χ²=5.557, P=0.018); fever (χ²=5.676, P=0.014); dyspnea (χ²=113.085, P<0.001); muscle or joint pain (χ²=3.900, P=0.048); chest pain (χ²=13.446, P=0.006); the levels of lymphocytes (t=2.917, P=0.014), C-reactive protein (U=730.00, P<0.001), and aspartate aminotransferase (U=1235.00, P=0.002); damage in both lungs within 3 days of admission (χ²=7.632, P=0.003); and diabetes (χ²=6.675, P=0.010) were significantly correlated with the trend of intensification. CONCLUSIONS Older age, a long time interval from onset to diagnosis, imported cases from an affected area, dyspnea, muscle or joint pain, chest pain during the course of the disease, reduced lymphocytes, elevated C-reactive protein, computed tomography scan showing damage to both lungs within 3 days of admission, and diabetes mellitus are predictors for severe COVID-19.

Gibberellins Play a Role in Regulating Tomato Fruit Ripening.

Although exogenous applications of gibberellins (GAs) delay tomato ripening, the regulatory mechanisms of GAs in the process have never been well recognized. Here, we report that the concentration of endogenous GAs is declined before the increase of ethylene production in mature-green to breaker stage fruits. We further demonstrate that reductions in GA levels via overexpression of a GA catabolism gene SlGA2ox1 specifically in fruit tissues lead to early ripening. Consistently, we have also observed that application of a GA biosynthetic inhibitor, prohexadione-calcium, at the mature-green stage accelerates fruit ripening, while exogenous GA3 application delays the process. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ethylene biosynthetic gene expressions and ethylene production are activated prematurely in GA-deficient fruits but delayed/reduced in exogenous GA3-treated WT fruits. We also show that the GA deficiency-mediated activation of ethylene biosynthesis is due to the activation of the ripening regulator genes RIN, NOR and CNR. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that GAs play a negative role in tomato fruit ripening.

Effect of Short Message Service on Management of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients in Anhui Province, China: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study.

BACKGROUND To explore the significance of short message service (SMS) on the management of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients in reinforcing the treatment adherence and health awareness, and provide scientific evidences for popularizing this model and formulating related polices and measures. MATERIAL AND METHODS Six counties (districts) were selected by stratified cluster sampling method, and randomly divided into control group and intervention group. Pulmonary TB patients eligible to the study criteria were included in the study. SMS management and regular education of core knowledge about pulmonary TB were carried out in SMS group patients. The conventional directly observed therapy (DOT) was carried out in control group. Data was collected by questionnaire method. RESULTS A total of 350 patients were included in the study, including 160 cases in the SMS group and 190 cases in the control group. There were 270 males (77.1%) and 80 females (22.9%). The treatment completion rate in SMS group (96.25%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (86.84%) (χ²=9.52, P=0.002). Both the interrupted treatment rate and the missed dose rate in the SMS group were significantly lower than those in the control group (χ²=10.41, P=0.001; χ²=28.54, P<0.001). After a period of treatment, the reexamination rate of SMS group patients was significantly higher than that in control group (except the reexamination rate after 5 months treatment). CONCLUSIONS The management of pulmonary TB patients by SMS can effectively reinforce the completed treatment rate of pulmonary TB patients and reduce their missed dose rate and interrupted treatment rate, and further enhance their reexamination awareness. Therefore, SMS on the management of patients may be a new promising therapeutic strategy for pulmonary TB.

Application Value of Combined Detection of DCE-MRI and Serum Tumor Markers HE4, Ki67, and HK10 in the Diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer.

Objective: To investigate the application value of the combined detection of DCE-MRI and serum tumor markers (HE4, Ki67, and HK10) in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 40 patients with advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) confirmed by surgery and pathology in our hospital from February 2019 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received DCE-MRI, the detection of serum tumor markers HE4, Ki67, and HK10, and the combined detection of DCE-MRI and the serum tumor markers (HE4, Ki67, and HK10). The application value of the three detection methods was analyzed. Results: The number of true positives in the single detection (DCE-MRI detection and the detection of serum HE4, Ki67, and HK10) was notably lower than that in the combined detection. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the single detection were notably lower compared with the combined detection. The area under the curve in the ROC of the combined detection was notably larger than that of the single detection. The results of the combined detection were better than those of the single detection (P < 0.05), with the highest sensitivity of the combined detection. Conclusion: The combined detection of DCE-MRI and the serum tumor markers (HE4, Ki67, and HK10) can effectively improve the diagnostic accuracy of AOC patients, with high sensitivity and specificity, which has an important diagnostic value in clinic.

Characterization and Expression Analysis of ERF Genes in Fragaria vesca Suggest Different Divergences of Tandem ERF Duplicates.

Ethylene-responsive factors (ERFs) play important roles in plant growth and development and in responses to abiotic stresses. However, little information was available about the ERF genes in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), a genetic model plant for the Fragaria genus and Rosaceae family. In this study, 91 FveERF genes were identified, including 35 arrayed in tandem, indicating that tandem duplication is a major mechanism for the expansion of the FveERF family. According to their phylogenetic relationships with AtERFs from Arabidopsis thaliana, the tandem FveERF genes could be grouped into ancestral and lineage-specific tandem ones. The ancestral tandem FveERFs are likely derived from tandem duplications that occurred in the common ancestor of F. vesca and A. thaliana, whereas the lineage-specific ones are specifically present in the F. vesca lineage. The lineage-specific tandem FveERF duplicates are more conserved than the ancestral ones in sequence and structure. However, their expression in flowers and fruits is similarly diversified, indicating that tandem FveERFs have diverged rapidly after duplication in this respect. The lineage-specific tandem FveERFs display the same response patterns with only one exception under drought or cold, whereas the ancestral tandem ones are largely differentially expressed, suggesting that divergence of tandem FveERF expression under stress may have occurred later in the reproductive development. Our results provide evidence that the retention of tandem FveERF duplicates soon after their duplication may be related to their divergence in the regulation of reproductive development. In contrast, their further divergence in expression pattern likely contributes to plant response to abiotic stress.

Identification and characterization of tomato gibberellin 2-oxidases (GA2oxs) and effects of fruit-specific SlGA2ox1 overexpression on fruit and seed growth and development.

Gibberellins (GAs) play a crucial role in growth and development of the tomato fruit. Previously published studies focusing on the effect of GAs on tomato fruits used chemical treatments, constitutive overexpression or silencing of GA biosynthetic and catabolic genes globally throughout the plant. Fruit-specific overexpression of GA catabolic enzyme genes GA2-oxidases (GA2oxs), however, may provide an alternative method to study the role of endogenous GAs on the fruit development. In this study, we have identified 11 SlGA2ox proteins in tomato that are classified into three subgroups. Motif analysis and multiple sequence alignments have demonstrated that all SlGA2oxs, except SlGA2ox10, have similar motif compositions and high-sequence conservation. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis has showed that SlGA2oxs exhibit differential expression patterns in tomato fruits at different developmental stages. When the fruit-specific promoter TFM7 was used to control the expression of SlGA2ox1, we observed no changes in growth and development of vegetative organs. However, fruit weight, seed number and germination rate were significantly affected. We also treated tomato fruits with GA biosynthesis inhibitor and observed phenotypes similar to those of the transgenic fruits. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that expression of cell expansion and GA responsive genes were downregulated in transgenic tomato fruits, supporting that overexpression of the SlGA2ox1 leads to reduction in endogenous GAs. This study provides additional evidence that endogenous GAs and the SlGA2ox1 gene play an important role in controlling on fruit weight, seed development and germination in tomato plant.