Utilization of traditional Chinese medicine in the management of cutaneous ulceration induced by cervical lymph node metastasis in tonsillar carcinoma: A case report.

OBJECTIVE: Cutaneous ulcers induced by metastasis present a challenging clinical issue, often resistant to conventional dressing change interventions. In this case, we demonstrates the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in managing ruptured tumors. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case study of a 40-year-old Chinese male patient diagnosed with advanced tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma with cervical lymph node metastasis and cutaneous ulceration. Despite nearly six months of conventional dressing treatment yielding minimal improvement, significant healing of the ulcerated surface of the neck metastasis was observed after approximately two months of decoction therapy. The cancerous lesion exhibited a reduction of nearly 90 %, with concomitant alleviation of secondly symptoms such as cold intolerance, excessive sweating, anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS: In this case, we introduces Traditional Chinese Medicine may be an effective alternative therapy for the treatment of cancer-related disease. And it may also be an optional therapeutic approach for healthcare practitioners with cutaneous carcinoma ulceration.

Prevalence and correlations of schistosomiasis mansoni and schistosomiasis haematobium among humans and intermediate snail hosts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The control of schistosomiasis is particularly difficult in sub-Saharan Africa, which currently harbours 95% of this disease. The target population for preventive chemotherapy (PC) is expanded to all age group at risk of infection, thus increasing the demands of praziquantel (PZQ) tablets according to the new released guideline by World Health Organization. Due to the gap between available PZQ for PC and requirements, alternative approaches to assess endemicity of schistosomiasis in a community, are urgently needed for more quick and precise methods. We aimed to find out to which degree the infection status of snails can be used to guide chemotherapy against schistosomiasis. METHODS: We searched literature published from January 1991 to December 2022, that reported on the prevalence rates of Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium in the intermediate snails Biomphalaria spp. and Bulinus spp., respectively, and in humans. A random effect model for meta-analyses was used to calculate the pooled prevalence estimate (PPE), with heterogeneity assessed using I-squared statistic (I2), with correlation and regression analysis for the exploration of the relationship between human S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections and that in their specific intermediate hosts. RESULTS: Forty-seven publications comprising 59 field investigations were included. The pooled PPE of schistosomiasis, schistosomiasis mansoni and schistosomiasis haematobium in humans were 27.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 24.0-31.1%], 25.6% (95% CI: 19.9-31.3%), and 28.8% (95% CI: 23.4-34.3%), respectively. The snails showed an overall infection rate of 8.6% (95% CI: 7.7-9.4%), with 12.1% (95% CI: 9.9-14.2%) in the Biomphalaria spp. snails and 6.9% (95% CI: 5.7-8.1%) in the Bulinus spp. snails. The correlation coefficient was 0.3 (95% CI: 0.01-0.5%, P < 0.05) indicating that the two variables, i.e. all intermediate host snails on the one hand and the human host on the other, were positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rate of S. mansoni and S. haematobium is still high in endemic areas. Given the significant, positive correlation between the prevalence of schistosomes in humans and the intermediate snail hosts, more attention should be paid to programme integration of snail surveillance in future.

Clinical Effect Analysis of Fire-needle Acupuncture at Neiyingxiang Treating Persistent Allergic Rhinitis.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted the first trial to evaluate the effect that fire-needle acupuncture at Neiyingxiang (ExHN 9) in patients with moderate to severe persistent AR. METHODS: This was a randomized, single-center, sham, and placebo-controlled rial. Patients were kept blinded to their group assignment. All participants were equally assigned to the fire-needle acupuncture (FA) treatment group, sham fire-needle acupuncture (SFA) group, or loratadine group. The trial was designed with an acupuncture intervention once a week for 4 weeks and follow-up 4 weeks. The Total Nasal Symptom Scores (TNSS), Total Non-Nasal Symptom Scores (TNNSS), Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), Allergic Rhinitis Control Test (ARCT), and total nasal resistance of 150 Pa were evaluated as outcome measures. RESULTS: A total of 180 participants were enrolled, and 175 participants completed the trials. At 2 and 4 weeks, the TNSS, TNNSS, and RQLQ scores of the FA and loratadine groups were significantly lower than those of the SFA group. At 8 weeks, the scores of loratadine group increased compared with the FA group (Cohen's d >0.80, p < 0.01). The ACRT score of the FA treatment group rose gradually. After treatment, the total nasal resistance of the FA group was significantly decreased and was lower than that of the other two groups (Cohen's d >0.80, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Fire-needle acupuncture at Neiyingxiang (ExHN 9) is effective for improving nasal allergy symptoms and quality of life in patients with moderate and severe persistent AR, and the duration of its effects is long. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Laryngoscope, 134:4471-4479, 2024.

Fire needle acupuncture at Neiyingxiang (EX-HN 9) in the treatment of moderate and severe refractory perennial allergic rhinitis: A case report.

RATIONALE: In recent decades, the incidence of perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) has been increasing annually. However, some patients could not achieve adequate symptomatic relief with routine pharmacological treatment. Consequently, there exists an urgent clinical imperative for the development of safe and efficacious treatments with sustained therapeutic impact to ameliorate the symptomatic burden and enhance the quality of life. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient was a 35-year-old woman. She had suffered moderate and severe refractory PAR for decades and failed to sustain symptom mitigation from regular treatment. DIAGNOSES: Perennial allergic rhinitis. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent a 4-week course of fire needle acupuncture at Neiyingxiang, administered weekly, during which all allopathic medication was discontinued. OUTCOMES: The total nasal symptoms score, total non nasal symptoms score, rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire, and the total nasal resistance of the patient were decreased after treatment and achieved symptomatic relief. Follow-up conducted 3 months post-treatment revealed enduring symptom relief, with only sporadic nasal congestion elicited by cold stimulus. LESSONS: This case proves that, fire needle acupuncture at Neiyingxiang may be beneficial in treating moderate and severe refractory PAR patient and have a lasting effect.

Sentinel Surveillance of Schistosomiasis - China, 2021.

Introduction: This report analyzes the national surveillance data for schistosomiasis in 2021 to understand the current status and provide evidence for further policy actions to promote elimination. This analysis is in line with the National Surveillance Plan of Schistosomiasis, which was revised in 2020 to adapt to the new stage of moving towards elimination. Methods: Data from the 2021 national surveillance of schistosomiasis in humans, livestock, and snails were collected from 13 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) and analyzed using descriptive epidemiological methodology. The antibody-positive rate and area of newly discovered and re-emergent snail habitats were calculated. Results: In 2021, a total of 31,661 local residents and 101,558 transient population were screened for antibodies using indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA). Of those who tested positive, 745 local residents and 438 transient population underwent further parasitological examination, with only one stool-positive result in the transient population. Additionally, 12,966 livestock were examined using the miracidia hatching test, with no positives detected. The total area of newly discovered and re-emergent snail habitats was 957,702 m2 and 4,381,617 m2, respectively. No infected snails were found using the microscopic dissection method, but six pooled snail samples were reported as positive using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for detecting specific sequences of Schistosoma. japonicum, in Anhui and Jiangxi Provinces. Conclusions: The prevalence of schistosomiasis among humans and livestock was found to be low, however, a potential transmission risk was identified in certain areas. To reduce the risk of transmission, a comprehensive control strategy should be continued and new techniques should be implemented in the surveillance and early warning system.

Oncomelania hupensis Distribution and Schistosomiasis Transmission Risk in Different Environments under Field Conditions.

The goal of schistosomiasis prevention and control in China is shifting from transmission interruption to elimination. However, the area inhabited by the intermediate host, the snail Oncomelania hupensis, has not changed much in recent years. Different environmental types have different impacts on snail breeding, and understanding these differences is conducive to improving the efficiency of snail monitoring and control and to saving resources. Based on previous epidemiological data, we selected 199 villages in 2020 and 269 villages in 2021 from transmission control, transmission interruption, and elimination areas of snail breeding. Snail surveys were conducted in selected villages using systematic sampling and/or environmental sampling methods in six types of snail-breeding environments (canals, ponds, paddy fields, dry lands, bottomlands, and undefined environments). All live snails collected from the field were evaluated for Schistosoma japonicum infection using the microscopic dissection method, and a subsample of snails was subjected to loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to assess the presence of S. japonicum infection. Snail distribution data and infection rate and nucleic acid positive rate of schistosomes in snails were calculated and analyzed. The 2-year survey covered 29,493 ha of the environment, in which 12,313 ha of snail habitats were detected. In total, 51.16 ha of new snail habitats and 107.76 ha of re-emergent snail habitats were identified during the survey. The occurrence rate of snails in canals (10.04%, 95% CI: 9.88-10.20%) and undefined environments (20.66%, 95% CI: 19.64-21.67%) was relatively high in 2020, and the density of snails in bottomlands (0.39, 95% CI: 0.28-0.50) and undefined environments (0.43, 95% CI: 0.14-1.60) was relatively high in 2021. Of the 227,355 live snails collected in this study, none were S. japonicum-positive as determined by microscopy. Of the 20,131 pooled samples, however, 5 were S. japonicum-positive based on LAMP analysis, and they were distributed in three environmental types: 3 in bottomland, 1 in dry land, and 1 in a canal. The bottomland environment has a high risk of schistosomiasis transmission because it contains a large area of newly emerging and re-emerging snail habitats, and it also had the most breeding snails infected with S. japonicum. Thus, this habitat type should be the key target for snail monitoring and early warning and for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis.

A Nomogram for Predicting Prognosis of Advanced Schistosomiasis japonica in Dongzhi County-A Case Study.

BACKGROUNDS: Advanced schistosomiasis is the late stage of schistosomiasis, seriously jeopardizing the quality of life or lifetime of infected people. This study aimed to develop a nomogram for predicting mortality of patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica, taking Dongzhi County of China as a case study. METHOD: Data of patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica were collected from Dongzhi Schistosomiasis Hospital from January 2019 to July 2022. Data of patients were randomly divided into a training set and validation set with a ratio of 7:3. Candidate variables, including survival outcomes, demographics, clinical features, laboratory examinations, and ultrasound examinations, were analyzed and selected by LASSO logistic regression for the nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was assessed by concordance index (C-index), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). The calibration of the nomogram was evaluated by the calibration plots, while clinical benefit was evaluated by decision curve and clinical impact curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 628 patients were included in the final analysis. Atrophy of the right liver, creatinine, ascites level III, N-terminal procollagen III peptide, and high-density lipoprotein were selected as parameters for the nomogram model. The C-index, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the nomogram were 0.97 (95% [CI]: [0.95-0.99]), 0.78 (95% [CI]: [0.64-0.87]), 0.97 (95% [CI]: [0.94-0.98]), 0.78 (95% [CI]: [0.64-0.87]), 0.97 (95% [CI]: [0.94-0.98]) in the training set; and 0.98 (95% [CI]: [0.94-0.99]), 0.86 (95% [CI]: [0.64-0.96]), 0.97 (95% [CI]: [0.93-0.99]), 0.79 (95% [CI]: [0.57-0.92]), 0.98 (95% [CI]: [0.94-0.99]) in the validation set, respectively. The calibration curves showed that the model fitted well between the prediction and actual observation in both the training set and validation set. The decision and the clinical impact curves showed that the nomogram had good clinical use for discriminating patients with high risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram was developed to predict prognosis of advanced schistosomiasis. It could guide clinical staff or policy makers to formulate intervention strategies or efficiently allocate resources against advanced schistosomiasis.

Molecular evidence on the presence of Schistosoma japonicum infection in snails along the Yangtze River, 2015-2019.

BACKGROUND: Due to sustained control activities, the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infection in humans, livestock and snails has decreased significantly in P. R. China, and the target has shifted from control to elimination according to the Outline of Healthy China 2030 Plan. Applying highly sensitive methods to explore the presence of S. japonicum infection in its intermediate host will benefit to assess the endemicity or verify the transmission interruption of schistosomiasis accurately. The aim of this study was to access the presence of S. japonicum infection by a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method through a 5-year longitudinal study in five lake provinces along the Yangtze River. METHODS: Based on previous epidemiological data, about 260 villages with potential transmission risk of schistosomiasis were selected from endemic counties in five lake provinces along the Yangtze River annually from 2015 to 2019. Snail surveys were conducted in selected villages by systematic sampling method and/or environmental sampling method each year. All live snails collected from field were detected by microscopic dissection method, and then about one third of them were detected by LAMP method to assess the presence of S. japonicum infection with a single blind manner. The infection rate and nucleic acid positive rate of schistosomes in snails, as well as the indicators reflecting the snails' distribution were calculated and analyzed. Fisher's exact test was used to examine any change of positive rate of schistosomes in snails over time. RESULTS: The 5-year survey covered 94,241 ha of environment with 33,897 ha of snail habitats detected accumulatively. Totally 145.3 ha new snail habitats and 524.4 ha re-emergent snail habitats were found during 2015-2019. The percentage of frames with snails decreased from 5.93% [45,152/761,492, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 5.88-5.98%] in 2015 to 5.25% (30,947/589,583, 95% CI: 5.19-5.31%) in 2019, while the mean density of living snails fluctuated but presented a downward trend generally from 0.20 snails/frame (155,622/761,492, 95% CI: 0.17-0.37) in 2015 to 0.13 snails/frame (76,144/589,583, 95% CI: 0.11-0.39) in 2019. A total of 555,393 live snails were collected, none of them was positive by dissection method. Totally 17 pooling snail samples were determined as positives by LAMP method among 8716 pooling samples with 174,822 of living snails, distributed in 12 villages of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces. The annual average positive rate was 0.41% (95% CI: 0.13-0.69%) in 2015, 0% in 2016, 0.36% (95% CI: 0.09-0.63%) in 2017, 0.05% (95% CI: 0-0.16%) in 2018, 0.05% (95% CI: 0-0.15%) in 2019, respectively, presenting a downward trend from 2015 to 2019 with statistical significance (χ2 = 11.64, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that S. japonicum infection still persisted in nature along the Yangtze River and traditional techniques might underestimate the prevalence of schistosomiasis in its intermediate hosts. Exploring and integrating molecular techniques into national surveillance programme could improve the sensitivity of surveillance system and provide guidance on taking actions against schistosomiasis.

Surrounding road density of child care centers in Australia.

High surrounding road density could increase traffic-related air pollution, noise and the risk of traffic injuries, which are major public health concerns for children. We collected geographical data for all childcare centers (16,146) in Australia and provided the data on the road density surrounding them. The road density was represented by the child care center's nearest distance to main road and motorway, and the length of main road/motor way within 100~1000-meter buffer zone surrounding the child care center. We also got the data of PM2.5 concentration from 2013 to 2018 and standard Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from 2013 to 2019 according to the longitude and latitude of the child care centers. This data might help researchers to evaluate the health impacts of road density on child health, and help policy makers to make transportation, educational and environmental planning decisions to protect children from exposure to traffic-related hazards in Australia.

Rapid Assessment on Potential Risks of Schistosomiasis Transmission - 7 PLADs, China, 2019 and 2021.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: Oncomelania hupensis(O. hupensis) and livestock are main infection sources of schistosomiasis. The schistosome infected O. hupensis and livestock's feces are important risk factors in the transmission of schistosomiasis. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: The potential risks of schistosomiasis transmission remain prevalent, giving an early warning to local government with information on existing transmission risks. It is expected that the effectiveness and efficiency of schistosomiasis surveillance could be improved by conducting rapid risk assessment at the beginning of transmission season. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: Rapid risk assessment is essential in early detection and the active monitoring of indicators of the transmission risks of schistosomiasis in endemic areas. This could work synergistically with surveillance system to minimize infections and prevent rebounds of endemic schistosomiasis outbreaks.

From the One Health Perspective: Schistosomiasis Japonica and Flooding.

Schistosomiasis is a water-borne parasitic disease distributed worldwide, while schistosomiasis japonica localizes in the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and a few regions of Indonesia. Although significant achievements have been obtained in these endemic countries, great challenges still exist to reach the elimination of schistosomiasis japonica, as the occurrence of flooding can lead to several adverse consequences on the prevalence of schistosomiasis. This review summarizes the influence of flooding on the transmission of schistosomiasis japonica and interventions responding to the adverse impacts from the One Health perspective in human beings, animals, and the environment. For human and animals, behavioral changes and the damage of water conservancy and sanitary facilities will increase the intensity of water contact. For the environment, the density of Oncomelania snails significantly increases from the third year after flooding, and the snail habitats can be enlarged due to active and passive diffusion. With more water contact of human and other reservoir hosts, and larger snail habitats with higher density of living snails, the transmission risk of schistosomiasis increases under the influence of flooding. With the agenda set for global schistosomiasis elimination, interventions from the One Health perspective are put forward to respond to the impacts of increased flooding. For human beings, conducting health education to increase the consciousness of self-protection, preventive chemotherapy for high-risk populations, supply of safe water, early case finding, timely reporting, and treating cases will protect people from infection and prevent the outbreak of schistosomiasis. For animals, culling susceptible domestic animals, herding livestock in snail-free areas, treating livestock with infection or at high risk of infection, harmless treatment of animal feces to avoid water contamination, and monitoring the infection status of wild animals in flooding areas are important to cut off the transmission chain from the resources. For the environment, early warning of flooding, setting up warning signs and killing cercaria in risk areas during and post flooding, reconstructing damaged water conservancy facilities, developing hygiene and sanitary facilities, conducting snail surveys, using molluscicide, and predicting areas with high risk of schistosomiasis transmission after flooding all contribute to reducing the transmission risk of schistosomiasis. These strategies need the cooperation of the ministry of health, meteorological administration, water resources, agriculture, and forestry to achieve the goal of minimizing the impact of flooding on the transmission of schistosomiasis. In conclusion, flooding is one of the important factors affecting the transmission of schistosomiasis japonica. Multi-sectoral cooperation is needed to effectively prevent and control the adverse impacts of flooding on human beings, animals, and the environment.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention among Primary School Teachers: A Study in a City of Guangdong Province of China.

This study aimed to understand the status of knowledge, attitudes, and educational practice of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention among primary school teachers in a city of Guangdong province of China in order to provide baseline information for CSA prevention training for teachers. Teachers from 8 schools in a city of Guangdong province were surveyed, in May 2019, via an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. On the whole, primary school teachers had positive attitudes toward CSA prevention, but their knowledge and educational practice for CSA prevention were somewhat limited. Results of multiple logistic regression showed that older teachers (40 years or older) (OR = 1.692. 95%CI 1.135, 2.521), classroom teachers (OR = 1.877. 95%CI 1.269, 2.776), and teachers who had participated in training (OR = 4.293. 95%CI 2.907, 6.339) had more educational practice. The findings in this study could provide useful information for developing further CSA prevention education in primary schools.

Cohort studies of long-term exposure to outdoor particulate matter and risks of cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Robust evidence is needed for the hazardous effects of outdoor particulate matter (PM) on mortality and morbidity from all types of cancers. To summarize and meta-analyze the association between PM and cancer, published articles reporting associations between outdoor PM exposure and any type of cancer with individual outcome assessment that provided a risk estimate in cohort studies were identified via systematic searches. Of 3,256 records, 47 studies covering 13 cancer sites (30 for lung cancer, 12 for breast cancer, 11 for other cancers) were included in the quantitative evaluation. The pooled relative risks (RRs) for lung cancer incidence or mortality associated with every 10-µg/m3 PM2.5 or PM10 were 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.23; I2 = 81%) or 1.22 (95% CI, 1.02-1.45; I2 = 96%), respectively. Increased but non-significant risks were found for breast cancer. Other cancers were shown to be associated with PM exposure in some studies but not consistently and thus warrant further investigation.

Health and related economic benefits associated with reduction in air pollution during COVID-19 outbreak in 367 cities in China.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government implemented nationwide traffic restrictions and self-quarantine measures from January 23 to April 8 (in Wuhan), 2020. We estimated how these measures impacted ambient air pollution and the subsequent consequences on health and the health-related economy in 367 Chinese cities. A random forests modeling was used to predict the business-as-usual air pollution concentrations in 2020, after adjusting for the impact of long-term trend and weather conditions. We calculated changes in mortality attributable to reductions in air pollution in early 2020 and health-related economic benefits based on the value of statistical life (VSL). Compared with the business-as-usual scenario, we estimated 1239 (95% CI: 844-1578) PM2.5-related deaths were avoided, as were 2777 (95% CI: 1565-3995) PM10-related deaths, 1587 (95% CI: 98-3104) CO-related deaths, 4711 (95% CI: 3649-5781) NO2-related deaths, 215 (95% CI: 116-314) O3-related deaths, and 1088 (95% CI: 774-1421) SO2-related deaths. Based on the reduction in deaths, economic benefits for in PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, O3, and SO2 were 1.22, 2.60, 1.36, 4.05, 0.20, and 0.95 billion USD, respectively. Our findings demonstrate the substantial benefits in human health and health-related costs due to improved urban air quality during the COVID lockdown period in China in early 2020.

The association between ambient air pollution and blood lipids: A longitudinal study in Shijiazhuang, China.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have explored the associations between ambient air pollution and blood lipid levels. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap based on a routine health examination cohort in Shijiazhuang, China. METHODS: We included 7063 participants who took the routine health examination for 2-3 times at Hebei General Hospital from January 2016 to December 2018. Individual serum levels of cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured. Their three-month average exposure to air pollution prior to the routine health examinations was estimated using inverse distance weighted method. We used linear mixed-effects regression models to examine the associations between air pollution and levels of blood lipids while controlling for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol drinking, temperature, humidity, with a random effect for each individual. RESULTS: Particles with diameters ≤2.5 µm and ≤10 µm (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) were all positively associated with TC, TG, and LDL-C and negatively associated with HDL-C, in single pollutant models. Each 10 µg/m3 increment of 3-month average PM2.5 was associated with 0.65% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03%-1.28%], 0.56% (95%CI: 0.33%-0.79%) and 0.63% (95%CI: 0.35%-0.91%) increment in TG, TC, and LDL-C, and 0.91% (95%CI: 0.68%-1.13%) decrease in HDL-C. In two-pollutant models, the effects of gaseous pollutants on blood lipids were weakened, while those of PMs were strengthened. Stronger associations were presented in the elderly (≥60 years) and overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 24) participants. CONCLUSIONS: Ambient air pollution had significantly adverse effects on blood lipid levels, especially in overweight/obese and elderly individuals. CAPSULE: Significant associations between increased air pollution and worse blood lipid levels were found, especially in overweight/obese and elderly individuals.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention among Parents of Children with Hearing Loss: A Pilot Study in Beijing and Hebei Province, China.

This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention among parents of children with hearing loss. The study involved 127 pairs of parents with deaf and hard of hearing children from three special education schools in Beijing and Hebei province, China. The findings revealed that the parents lacked knowledge about CSA prevention, such as the character of perpetrators and child victims. Parents were supportive about potential CSA prevention education in schools. Most parents told children much about personal safety, but topics on CSA prevention were still insufficient. The study also found that education level was significantly associated with knowledge and attitude. Elder parents knew more and talked more about CSA prevention. Mothers and girls' parents were more willing to communicate with children about CSA prevention. The conclusion of the study was that parents appeared to have gained a positive attitude, but poor knowledge and practice. Their knowledge and skills of effective communication should be strengthened to promote CSA prevention practice.

Suspension culture process for H9N2 avian influenza virus (strain Re-2).

H9N2 avian influenza virus has caused huge economic loss for the Chinese poultry industry since it was first identified. Vaccination is frequently used as a control method for the disease. Meanwhile suspension culture has become an important tool for the development of influenza vaccines. To optimize the suspension culture conditions for the avian influenza H9N2 virus (Re-2 strain) in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells, we studied the culture conditions for cell growth and proliferation parameters for H9N2 virus replication. MDCK cells were successfully cultured in suspension, from a small scale to industrial levels of production, with passage time and initial cell density being optimized. The influence of pH on the culture process in the reactor has been discussed and the process parameters for industrial production were explored via amplification of the 650L reactor. Subsequently, we cultivated cells at high cell density and harvested high amounts of virus, reaching 10log2 (1:1024). Furthermore an animal experiment was conducted to detect antibody. Compared to the chicken embryo virus vaccine, virus cultured from MDCK suspension cells can produce a higher amount of antibodies. The suspension culture process is simple and cost efficient, thus providing a solid foundation for the realization of large-scale avian influenza vaccine production.

[Significance of ENG and DPG in the vestibular function examination in patients suffering BPPV].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the significance of the electronystagmography (ENG) and the dynamic posturography (DPG) in the vestibular function examination in patients suffering BPPV. METHOD: Forty, 34 to 79 old vertigo patients were examined with DPG and ENG. DPG evaluation parameters includes sense organization test from vestibular sensory score, proprioception score, visual score, Romber's score and composite score. ENG examination include caloric test. RESULT: Twenty-six out of 40 BPPV patients got abnormal caloric test results; 33 patients got DPG abnormality which led to a low vestibular perception scores. Twenty-four out of these patients got abnormal results in both caloric test and DPG, while in 9 patients that got normal caloric results came up with low vestibular perception scores, except for which there was no significant abnormality in SOT. Besides, the BPPV patients, compared with normal, got abnormal scores in caloric test of ENG and vestibular perception test of DPG (P < 0.05), if course of BPPV was over 12 months, higher abnormal degrees appeared (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ENG and DPG are important methods in vestibular function tests, a comprehensive analysis of both is applied to value the severity of vestibular function in patients with BPPV and the duration of BPPV directly affects the vestibular function.

[Identification of expanding-related genes from young fruit of cucumber after pollination].

Differential expression of genes in young fruit of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) before/after pollination was investigated via cDNA amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP). There were 64 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) displayed specially in young fruits after pollination of 6-72 h (Table 1), five of which were verified to be mainly expressed in young fruits by reverse Northern dot blotting (Fig.2). Sequence data showed one TDF was a new gene encoding expansin and was named as Cs-Expansin10 (CsExp10), which might be related to the expanding growth of cucumber fruit after pollination (Fig.3), another was significantly similar to the glutathione reductase gene, and the others had no similar sequence in GenBank database (Table 2).