[Epidemiological characteristics of mumps among people aged 0-14 in Jiangxi Province, 2015-2022].

Objective: To analyze the epidemic characteristics of mumps in people aged 0-14 years in Jiangxi Province and the vaccination situation of mumps-containing vaccines (including mumps vaccines) from 2015 to 2022 to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of mumps epidemic in Jiangxi Province. Methods: The mumps epidemic situation and mumps vaccination data in Jiangxi Province from 2015 to 2022 were obtained from Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System and Jiangxi Immunization Program Information System and were analyzed using descriptive epidemiological methods. The chi-square test, cluster analysis, and Cochran-Armitage trend test were used for statistical analysis. Results: From 2015 to 2022, a total of 40 734 cases of mumps were reported in people aged 0-14 in Jiangxi Province, with an annual average reported incidence rate of 53.69/100 000, and the peak of incidence occurred in aged 6-7 years group, and the reported incidence rate was 86.43/100 000. The high incidence seasons in 2015-2019 were summer and winter, and there was no significant high incidence season in 2020-2022. Mumps outbreaks mainly occurred in Shangrao, Ganzhou, and Ji'an, and the outbreak sites were mainly reported primary schools. From 2015 to 2019, the 1-year group was the primary age group for vaccination against mumps, while from 2020 to 2021, it was 0 and 1-year groups. Conclusions: From 2015 to 2022, the incidence of mumps in the population aged 0-14 in Jiangxi Province showed a downward trend, and the peak of incidence occurred in age group 6-7 years. It is suggested to continue to strengthen the coverage rate of 2 doses of mumps vaccination for school-age children and, simultaneously, strengthen the monitoring and prevention of mumps in key places to avoid outbreaks.

[Application of autoregressive integrated moving average model to predict and analyze the incidence trend of mumps in Jiangxi Province].

Objective: To predict and analyze the incidence trend of mumps using the Autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) in Jiangxi Province. Methods: The ARIMA was used to model the number of mumps cases per month from 2015 to 2019 in Jiangxi Province. The number of mumps cases in 12 months was predicted and was compared with the actual reported cases in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. Results: The optimal model was ARIMA (0,2,1)(1,2,0)12. The predicted number of cases was significantly higher than that reported in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The number of reported cases of mumps in 2020, 2021, and 2022 decreased by 54.02%, 63.40%, and 66.09% compared with the forecast. Conclusions: From 2020 to 2022, the reported incidence of mumps in Jiangxi Province was significantly lower than the predicted incidence. Considering that it was related to non-drug intervention measures and changes in immunization strategies, it was suggested to strengthen mumps surveillance further to better cope with the epidemic situation of mumps.

Exploring the mechanism and experimental validation of Fuzi Lizhong Tang in treating gastric cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the mechanism of Fuzi Lizhong Tang (FZLZT) in treating gastric cancer using network pharmacology and molecular docking, and to validate the results through in vitro experiments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Active ingredients and target genes of FZLZT were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, while disease targets of gastric cancer were collected from GeneCards, OMIM, and DrugBank databases. The "herb-active ingredient-target gene" network was constructed using Cytoscape software, and core active ingredients were obtained through topological analysis. Protein-protein interaction analysis was performed using the STRING database, and core targets were obtained through topological analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID database. Molecular docking was conducted using AutoDock Vina software to verify the interaction between core ingredients and core targets. Cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) assay was used to determine the proliferation inhibition effect of FZLZT on AGS, BGC823, HGC-27, MGC-803, and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell lines, and ANNEXIN V-FITC/PI double staining combined with flow cytometry was used to measure the cell apoptosis rate. RESULTS: Network pharmacology analysis revealed 117 active ingredients and 261 target genes of FZLZT, and 211 overlapping targets with gastric cancer. Ten core active ingredients were identified through topological analysis, including quercetin, 7-methoxy-2-methyl isoflavone, kaempferol, luteolin, naringenin, isorhamnetin, quercetagetin, glycyrrhizic acid A, ß-sitosterol, and medioresinol. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the mechanism of FZLZT in treating gastric cancer mainly involves cancer, inflammation, metabolism, and blood rheology-related pathways, and may act through 7 core targets (CDKN1A, MYC, MAPK1, MAPK14, RB1, RELA, and STAT3). Molecular docking results further confirmed the prediction of network pharmacology. In vitro experiments showed that FZLZT inhibited the proliferation of all five gastric cancer cell lines, with the strongest effect on SGC-7901 cells, and induced apoptosis in SGC-7901 cells. CONCLUSIONS: FZLZT has a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristic in treating gastric cancer. Its active ingredients may regulate the expression of proteins such as CDKN1A, MYC, MAPK1, MAPK14, RB1, RELA, and STAT3 to activate cancer-related signaling pathways to achieve its therapeutic effect.

Effects of essential oil/palygorskite composite on performance, egg quality, plasma biochemistry, oxidation status, immune response and intestinal morphology of laying hens.

The current study aimed to assess the effects of different levels of essential oil/palygorskite composite (EO-PGS) supplementation on performance, egg quality, oxidative status, immunity and intestinal morphology of laying hens. A total of 480 laying hens aged 65 wk were randomly assigned into 4 groups (6 replicates of 20 hens each). Hens were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0 (control diet), 0.5, 0.75 or 1.0 g/kg EO-PGS for 56 d. Data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA. Results showed that birds fed with diet supplemented with EO-PGS had increased the egg production (P < 0.05) more than birds fed with control diet. The yolk index and shell thickness were increased in 0.75 and 1.0 g/kg EO-PGS groups at d56 (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in plasma biochemical parameters among all groups. Compared with the control group, supplementation of EO-PGS increased the immunoglobulin-G and interleukin-2 levels in plasma (P < 0.05). The total antioxidant capacity in plasma and liver, the plasma catalase concentration, the activity of total superoxide dismutase in the liver and the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the spleen were increased in the EO-PGS groups (P < 0.05). The concentration of malondialdehyde in the liver was decreased with the increasing level of EO-PGS (P < 0.05). The crypt depth of ileum and duodenum of birds fed with EO-PGS supplemented diet had a tendency to decrease (0.05

The effects and combinational effects of Bacillus subtilis and montmorillonite on the intestinal health status in laying hens.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects and combinational effects of Bacillus subtilis (BS) and montmorillonite (MMT) on laying performance, gut mucosal oxidation status, and intestinal immunological and physical barrier functions of laying hens. Three hundred sixty laying hens (29-week-old) were randomly assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (n = 6) for 10 wk as follows: (1) basal diet; (2) the basal diet plus 5 × 108 cfu BS/kg; (3) the basal diet plus 0.5 g MMT/kg; and (4) the basal diet plus 5 × 108 cfu BS/kg and 0.5 g MMT/kg. Dietary supplementation with BS increased egg production and egg mass, the activities of catalase (CAT) and total superoxide dismutase in the intestinal mucosa, and villus height and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio of the jejunum (P < 0.05) but downregulated the mRNA expression levels of toll-like receptor 4 and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) in the duodenum and jejunum, interleukin 1 beta in the duodenum, and nuclear factor kappa B P65 (NF-κB P65) and tumor necrosis factor alpha in the jejunum (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation with MMT increased egg production and egg mass, the concentration of secretory immunoglobulin A in the duodenum, and the occludin mRNA expression level in the jejunum (P < 0.05) but reduced feed conversion ratio, malondialdehyde concentration in the duodenum and jejunum, and the mRNA expression level of MyD88 in the jejunum (P < 0.05). In addition, there was an interaction effect between BS and MMT supplementation on the CAT activity and the MyD88 mRNA expression level in the duodenum and the mRNA expression level of occludin in the jejunum (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary BS and MMT and their combination may improve the intestinal health status of laying hens, which may contribute to the increase in hens' laying performance.

[Effect of the taurine on striatum tissue cell cycle and apoptosis in manganese exposed rats].

Objective: To elucidate the effect of taurine on neurotoxicity induced by Mn by investigating cell cycle and apoptosis in manganese exposed rats. Methods: 156 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into 1 control group, 3 manganese exposure groups (10, 15, and 20 mg/kg respectively) , and 9 intervened groups based on orthogonal design, with 12 rats in each group. After 12 weeks of exposure, all rats were decapitated and striatums were removed, cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, the apoptosis was detected by TUNEL, level of Mn was determined. Results: The striatum apoptosis index of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn were significantly higher than control group (P<0.05) . The striatum apoptosis index of the 9 intervened groups were significantly higher than control group (P<0.05) . 150 and 200 mg/kg of taurine could decrease apoptosis index of the group exposed to 10、15、20 mg/kg of Mn (P<0.05) . The striatum Mn content of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) . The G0/G1 proportion of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn were significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05) , the S proportion of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Mn could cause cell cycle arrest to S, increase level of apoptosis in striatum, to a certain extent, taurine can protect neurons from apoptosis induced by Mn.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of cycloserine and linezolid during anti-tuberculosis treatment in Beijing, China.

SETTING: Plasma concentrations of cycloserine (CS) and linezolid (LZD) in tuberculosis (TB) patients are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE: To measure the plasma concentrations of CS and LZD after drug ingestion in drug-resistant TB patients. DESIGN: Patients who received CS and LZD as part of their treatment between 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2016 were studied retrospectively. CS and LZD plasma levels were determined using high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma drug concentration, age, sex, liver disease, renal disease, administered doses and diabetes mellitus status were recorded. RESULTS: Based on 390 samples, CS plasma concentrations were below the lower limit of normal (54.87%, 214/390). There was a statistically significant difference between the low concentration group (14.0 ± 3.71 µg/ml) and the target concentration group (25.2 ± 3.73 µg/ml, P < 0.01). The mean plasma concentration of LZD was 15.6 ± 4.91 µg/ml, which was within the target concentration (12-26 µg/ml) in 65 patients. Variables that correlated with CS and LZD concentrations were not found in this retrospective study. CONCLUSION: Low plasma CS concentrations were common, while 83.1% (54/65) of plasma LZD concentrations were within the target range. Therapeutic drug monitoring is essential to maintain appropriate plasma drug concentrations in the era of precision medicine.

[Effect of the mediation of the taurine on striatum tissue Ca(2+) homeostasis in manganese exposed rats].

Objective: To elucidate the effect of taurine on neurotoxicity induced by Mn by investigating activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase and content of Mn and active calmodulin in manganese exposed rats. Methods: 156 male SD rats were randomly divided into 1 control group, 3 manganese exposed groups (10, 15, and 20 mg/kg respectively) , and 9 taurine intervened groups based on orthogonal design (doses of taurine intervention were 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg respectively) , with 12 rats in each group. After 12 weeks of exposure, all rats were decapitated and corpus striatums were removed, activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase and content of Mn and active calmodulin were analyzed. Results: The corpus striatum Mn content of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn and 9 taurine intervened groups were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) . Active calmodulin content in 10 mg/kg manganese exposed group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) . 150 and 200 mg/kg of taurine could decrease active calmodulin content of the group exposed to 10 mg/kg of Mn (P<0.05) . The corpus striatum activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase of the 3 dose groups exposed to Mn were significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05) . 150 mg/kg of taurine could increase activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase of the group exposed to 10 mg/kg of Mn (P<0.05) . 150 and 200 mg/kg of taurine could respectively improve activities of Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase of the group exposed to 15, 10 mg/kg of Mn (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Mn can decrease the rats corpus striatum activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase, effect level of active calmodulin in relation to dose of Mn, to a certain extent, taurine could regulate activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase and improve the level of active calmodulin.

Comparative bioavailability of rifampicin and isoniazid in fixed-dose combinations and single-drug formulations.

SETTING: The bioavailability of rifampicin (RMP) decreases by ∼30% on interaction with isoniazid (INH) in stomach acid conditions, which can result in the development of drug resistance and treatment failure. OBJECTIVE: To compare the bioavailability in healthy volunteers of five anti-tuberculosis fixed-drug combinations (FDCs) used in China (formulations A-E) containing RMP and INH against single-drug formulations taken as reference. DESIGN: Two- or three-period, two- or three-sequence crossover study of drugs. RESULT: Only RMP formulation E passed the bioequivalence criteria, with 90% confidence intervals for the log-transformed ratios of AUC0₋24, AUC0₋∞, and Cmax of respectively 89.9-103.7, 89.6-102.2 and 87.7-107.9. For INH, formulations A, B, C and D passed the bioequivalence test, but not product E, where the 90%CIs of the log-transformed ratios of AUC0₋24, AUC0₋∞, and Cmax were respectively 85.2-100.7, 85.2-100.7 and 73.8-100.9. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the bioequivalence analysis carried out in this study, RMP formulations A, B, C and D were not within the acceptable range and only formulation E passed the bioequivalence criteria of 80-125%. In comparison, four-test INH formulations (A, B, C and D) were bioequivalent to the corresponding single-drug formulation, while product E failed in the bioequivalence criteria.

The indication and surgical results of local excision following radiotherapy for low rectal cancer.

AIM: Radical surgery of rectal cancer is associated with significant morbidity, and some patients with low-lying lesions must accept a permanent colostomy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of local excision followed by adjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer for curative purposes. METHOD: One hundred and seven patients with rectal carcinoma performed with local excision were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: The procedures of local excision were trans-anal resection in 83 patients, trans-sacral resection in 16, trans-sphincteric local resection in five, and trans-vaginal resection in three. The overall disease-free survival rate was 80.4% (86/107), including 90.0% (54/60) for T1 and 72.3% (34/47) for T2 tumours, respectively. Eighty-two of 107 patients underwent adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy after local excision, and 25 did not, and the DFS rates between radiation and nonradiation group were significantly different for T2 [81.6% (31/38) vs 33.3% (3/9), P < 0.05], but not for T1 tumours (90.9%vs 87.5%, P > 0.05). The rates of local recurrence and distant metastasis were 13.1% (14/107) and 4.7% (5/106), respectively, and the median time to relapse was 15 months (range: 10-53) for local recurrence and 30 months (21-65) for distant recurrence. The risk factors for local recurrence were large tumour (≥3 cm), poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and T2 tumour. CONCLUSIONS: Local excision followed adjuvant radiotherapy is an alternative and feasible technique for small T1 rectal cancer in selected cases.

Genetic variants in COMT and neurocognitive impairment in families of patients with schizophrenia.

This study examined the relations of genetic variants in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, including rs737865 in intron 1, rs4680 in exon 4 (Val158Met) and downstream rs165599, to schizophrenia and its related neurocognitive functions in families of patients with schizophrenia. Totally, 680 individuals from 166 simplex (166 affected members and 354 nonpsychotic first-degree relatives) and 46 multiplex families (85 affected members and 75 nonpsychotic first-degree relatives) were interviewed using Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies, administered Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Continuous Performance Test (CPT), and drawn for venous blood. Both categorical (dichotomizing families on affected members' neurocognitive performance) and quantitative approaches toward the WCST and CPT performance scores were employed using the family-based association test and the variance components framework, respectively. Both false discovery rate and permutations were used to adjust for multiple testing. The genotypes of rs4680 were associated with both the WCST and CPT performance scores in these families, but not with schizophrenia per se in either whole sample or subgroup analyses. Meanwhile, the other two single nucleotide polymorphisms were differentially associated with the two tasks. For WCST indexes, regardless of subgroup analyses or quantitative approach, only rs737865 exhibited moderate associations. For CPT indexes, rs737865 exhibited association for the subgroup with deficit on CPT reaction time, whereas rs165599 exhibited association for the subgroup with deficit on CPT d' as well as quantitative undegraded d'. Our results indicate that the genetic variants in COMT might be involved in modulation of neurocognitive functions and hence conferring increased risk to schizophrenia.

Resistive-wall-mode active rotation in the RFX-mod device.

The fundamental question of how the flow velocity of the background plasma can influence the motion of magnetohydrodynamics instabilities and, in the ultimate analysis, their stability is addressed. The growth of resistive-wall-mode instabilities in toroidal confinement devices well represents one example of such a problem. In this Letter, we illustrate a new strategy that allowed, for the first time in a reversed field pinch experiment, a fully controlled rotation of a nonresonant instability by means of a set of active coils and how the new findings compare with numerical modeling.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha cDNA cloning and its mRNA and protein tissue specific expression in domestic yak (Bos grunniens) from Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

Adaptation to hypoxia is regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), a heterodimeric transcription factor consisting of an oxygen-regulated alpha-subunit and a constitutively expressed beta-subunit. How animals living on Qinghai-Tibetan plateau adapt to the extreme hypoxia environment is known indistinctly. In this study, the Qinghai yak, which has been living at 3000-5000 m altitude for at least two millions of years, was selected as the model of high hypoxia-tolerant adaptation species. The HIF-1alpha ORFs (open reading frames) encoding for two isoforms of HIF-1alpha have been cloned from the brain of the domestic yak. Its expression of HIF-1alpha was analyzed at both mRNA and protein levels in various tissues. Both its HIF-1alpha mRNA and protein are tissue specific expression. Its HIF-1alpha protein's high expression in the brain, lung, and kidney showed us that HIF-1alpha protein may play an important role in the adaptation to hypoxia environment.

Leptin cDNA cloning and its mRNA expression in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) from different altitudes on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, plays an important role in body energy homeostasis. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), an endemic and keystone species living only at 3000-5000 m above sea level on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a typically high hypoxia and low temperature tolerant mammal with high resting metabolic rate (RMR), non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), and high ratio of oxygen utilization to cope with harsh plateau environment. To explore the molecular mechanism of ecological acclimation in plateau pika, we first cloned pika leptin cDNA and compared its mRNA expression in different altitudes (3200 and 3900 m) using real-time RT-PCR (Taqman probe) technology. The full-length pika leptin cDNA was 3015 with 504 bp open-reading frame encoding the precursor peptide of 167 amino acids including 21 residues of signal peptide. Pika leptin was 70-72% homologous to that of other species and was of similarly structural characteristics with other species. The pika-specific genetic diversity in leptin sequence occurred at twenty sites. With the increase in altitude, there were larger fat store and high level of ob gene expression in plateau pika. Our results indicated that leptin is sensitive to cold and hypoxia plateau environment and may play one of important roles in pika's ecological adaptation to harsh plateau environment.

Plasmodium fragile: inhibition of cultures by serum from rhesus monkeys immunized with homologous parasites.

Rhesus monkeys, Macaca mulatta, that had previously been immunized with the Nilgiri strain of Plasmodium fragile grown in culture, together with control monkeys with and without inoculation of Freund's adjuvant, were challenged with cultured parasites. After treatment with chloroquine, the monkeys were rechallenged. Serum specimens from three immunized monkeys caused a specific, dose-dependent inhibition of parasite growth in culture. Fifty percent inhibition of in vitro growth was obtained using 5% immune serum combined with 10% normal rhesus serum. The specific inhibitory component of immune serum was shown to be IgG antibody. Results of the study demonstrated that there is good correlation between the inhibitory activity of immune serum, parasite growth in vitro, the in vivo response to challenge, and the indirect fluorescent antibody titer.

The in vitro cultivation of Plasmodium gonderi.

Plasmodium gonderi, one of the vivax-type simian parasites, has been cultured in vitro by the candle jar method and by the sealed flask method. It showed a 48-hour asexual cycle and maintained its morphologic integrity. The effect of different sera (human, rabbit, and horse) was tested in culture and compared with results using rhesus serum. Growth was lower in rabbit and horse serum, but higher in human serum. Compared with individual human and rhesus serum, the multiplication rate in combined rhesus and human sera (1:1) was greater. In addition, human erythrocytes proved refractory to invasion by P. gonderi in vitro.