Effects of 3-month Qigong exercise on heart rate variability and respiration in anxious college students.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the effects of Qigong on the anxiety state, heart rate variability (HRV), and breathing of anxious college students. METHODS: A total of 37 individuals (18-25 years old) were randomly allocated to the control (n = 19) and intervention (n = 18) groups. Qigong interventions were conducted five times weekly for 12 weeks, with each session lasting 60 min. Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Fatigue Scale 14, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and 36-item Short Form Survey, HRV, and respiration data were collected before and after the 3-month intervention. RESULTS: Individuals who participated in the three-month Qigong exercise intervention showed a significant reduction in anxiety, particularly mental anxiety (p < 0.05). Subjects in the intervention group presented a decrease in skin temperature (p < 0.05) and an increase in blood volume pulsation (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, HRV exhibited a significant increase in the standard deviation of interbeat interval before and after comparisons (p < 0.05) and between the two groups (p = 0.039) and a reduction in the normalized low-frequency power after the intervention. Moreover, the intervention group experienced increased abdominal breathing depth and abdominal breathing per minute (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that Qigong is an effective mind-body exercise strategy for relieving anxiety. HRV and breathing were improved accordingly among college students after the completion of the 3-month Qigong program.

CD36 deficiency inhibits proliferation by cell cycle control in skeletal muscle cells.

Obesity-related muscular dysfunction and relative muscle atrophy affect an increasing number of people. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle cell development and growth may contribute to the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass in obesity. Fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36), as a long-chain fatty acid transport protein, is crucial for lipid metabolism and signaling. CD36 is known to function in myogenic differentiation, and whether it affects the proliferation of skeletal muscle cells and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the effect of CD36 deficiency on skeletal muscle cell viability and proliferation was examined using C2C12 myoblasts. Results showed that the deletion of CD36 enhanced the inhibitory effect of PA on the proliferation and the promotion of apoptosis in skeletal muscle cells. Intriguingly, the silencing of CD36 suppressed cell proliferation by preventing the cell cycle from the G0/G1 phase to the S phase in a cyclin D1/CDK4-dependent manner. Overall, we demonstrated that CD36 was involved in skeletal muscle cell proliferation by cell cycle control, and these findings might facilitate the treatment of obesity-related muscle wasting.

All Hands on Deck: A synchronized whole-of-world approach for COVID-19 mitigation.

The COVID-19 pandemic can no longer be mitigated by a nationwide approach of individual nations alone. Given its scale and accelerating expansion, COVID-19 requires a coordinated and simultaneous Whole- of-World approach that galvanizes clear global leadership and solidarity from all governments of the world. Considering an 'all hands-on deck' concept, we present a comprehensive list of tools and entities responsible for enabling them, as well a conceptual framework to achieve the maximum impact. The list is drawn from pandemic mitigation tools developed in response to past outbreaks including influenza, coronaviruses, and Ebola, and includes tools to minimize transmission in various settings including person-to-person, crowd, funerals, travel, workplace, and events and gatherings including business, social and religious venues. Included are the roles of individuals, communities, government and other sectors such as school systems, health, institutions, and business. While individuals and communities have significant responsibilities to prevent person-to-person transmission, other entities can play a significant role to enable individuals and communities to make use of the tools. Historic and current data indicate the role of political will, whole-of-government approach, and the role of early introduction of mitigation measures. There is also an urgent need to further elucidate the immunologic mechanisms underlying the epidemiological characteristics such as the low disease burden among women, and the role of COVID-19 in inducing Kawasaki-like syndromes in children. Understanding the role of and development of anti-inflammatory strategies based on our understanding of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL1, IL-6) is also critical. Similarly, the role of oxygen therapy as an anti-inflammatory strategy is evident and access to oxygen therapy should be prioritized to avoid the aggravation of COVID-19 infection. We highlight the need for global solidarity to share both mitigation commodities and infrastructure between countries. Given the global reach of COVID-19 and potential for repeat waves of outbreaks, we call on all countries and communities to act synergistically and emphasize the need for synchronized pan-global mitigation efforts to minimize everyone's risk, to maximize collaboration, and to commit to shared progress.

Spread of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W clone, China.

During February 2011-June 2012, invasive infection with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W was identified in 11 persons in southeastern China. All isolates tested had matching or near-matching pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns and belonged to multilocus sequence type 11. The epidemiologic investigation suggested recent transmission of this clonal complex in southeastern China.

One country, two worlds - the health disparity in China.

As result of its spectacular economic growth, millions of Chinese have been lifted out of poverty, making China a model for impoverished countries. Although, for many, economic growth has led to prosperity, ever-growing disparities exist between those who have benefited from the economic advancement and those left behind. Massive gaps in development exist between: regions, urban and rural and social groups. This contribution is to develop a detailed understanding of the health disparity in China by examining the discrepancies in major health indicators. Current efforts to reduce the disparities, and its challenges, opportunities and global implications are also assessed.

Impact of supplementary immunization activities in measles-endemic areas: a case study from Guangxi, China.

Because of limited resources, each year during the period from 1999 through 2007, only about one-quarter of the 111 counties in Guangxi province were selected by means of risk assessment to participate in Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs), targeting children aged 8 months to 14 years during 1999-2003 and 8 months to 10 years during 2004-2007. Approximately 2 million doses of measles vaccines were administrated each year during SIAs. Estimated from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, with a reliable internal consistency over years, the average annual incidences of measles before SIAs (1993-1998), during the first phase (1999-2003), and during the second phase (2004-2007) were 16.05, 9.10, and 2.46 cases per 100,000, respectively. The overall provincewide annual incidence decreased by 84.67%, from 12.12 cases per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.10 cases per 100,000 in 2007. The percentage of counties with annual incidence ≥10 cases per 100,000 decreased from 55% in 1993 to <1% in 2007. Compared with the pre-SIA period, the greatest decrease in annual incidence was 83.93% for the 10-14.9-year-old group and the smallest decrease was 46.16% for children <1 year old. The multiple-year SIAs targeting children in selected high-risk counties were effective in controlling measles in mountainous, impoverished, and multiethnic measles-endemic areas.

Innovative use of surveillance data to harness political will to accelerate measles elimination: experience from Guangxi, China.

The major challenge for measles elimination is to harness sufficient political will to provide the necessary financial and human resources. This is particularly relevant for local governments (at county and township levels in China) and communities that generally have not accepted measles as a serious health burden and thus have not made its prevention a high priority. An effort has been made to use surveillance data to harness political will and overcome or mitigate the shortage of resources in the impoverished province of Guangxi, one of China's 31 administrative divisions. A comprehensive information system collecting data pertaining to Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI-info) was refined to align with China's political system and translate international and national commitments into sustainable local actions. The EPI-info has proved an effective tool in identifying high-risk areas, strengthening routine immunization services, conducting mass measles immunization campaigns, and catalyzing capacity building at both county and local community levels. We outline the principles and operational features of the EPI-info and the rationale and steps taken to refine it.

Models of preconception care implementation in selected countries.

Globally, maternal and child health faces diverse challenges depending on the status of the development of the country. Some countries have introduced or explored preconception care for various reasons. Falling birth rates and increasing knowledge about risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes led to the introduction of preconception care in Hong Kong in 1998, and South Korea in 2004. In Hong Kong, comprehensive preconception care including laboratory tests are provided to over 4000 women each year at a cost of $75 per person. In Korea, about 60% of the women served have known medical risk history, and the challenge is to expand the program capacity to all women who plan pregnancy, and conducting social marketing. Belgium has established an ad hoc-committee to develop a comprehensive social marketing and professional training strategy for pilot testing preconception care models in the French speaking part of Belgium, an area that represents 5 million people and 50,000 births per year using prenatal care and pediatric clinics, gynecological departments, and the genetic centers. In China, Guangxi province piloted preconceptional HIV testing and counseling among couples who sought the then mandatory premarital medical examination as a component of the three-pronged approach to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV. HIV testing rates among couples increased from 38% to 62% over one year period. In October 2003, China changed the legal requirement of premarital medical examination from mandatory to "voluntary." This change was interpreted by most women that the premarital health examination was "unnecessary" and overall premarital health examination rates dropped. Social marketing efforts piloted in 2004 indicated that 95% of women were willing to pay up to RMB 100 (US$12) for preconception health care services. These case studies illustrate programmatic feasibility of preconception care services to address maternal and child health and other public health challenges in developed and emerging economies.