[Epidemic characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and the lag effect of average daily temperature on the epidemic of HFMD in Beijing].

Objective: To analyze the epidemic characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Beijing and explore the short-term lag effect of daily average temperature on HFMD. Methods: The incidence data and meteorological data of HFMD were collected from Xicheng District, Chaoyang District, and Changping District of Beijing between January 2009 and December 2018. The dose-response relationship and short-term lag effect of temperature and HFMD incidence were explored by the distributed lag non-linear model (DNLM). Results: From 2009 to 2018, a total of 97 210 cases of HFMD were confirmed in Xicheng District, Chaoyang District, and Changping District of Beijing. The incidence rate of HFMD in Xicheng district was 71.83/100 000, which was the lowest in three districts. The total annual average incidence was 146.89/100 000 in the three districts. The cases were concentrated from May to July, with a small peak in October to November. The ratio of male to female was 1.49∶1, and the median age of the patients was 3.08 (1.89, 4.39) years old, which showed a decreasing trend in children under 6 years old (Z=-30.11, P<0.01). The DNLM showed that the cumulative relative risk (RR) curve had a bimodal distribution, with RR of 1.36 (95%CI: 1.05-1.76) and 1.35 (95%CI: 1.10-1.66), and the peak values appeared at 4 ℃ and 26 ℃, respectively. Conclusions: The incidence rate of HFMD in Xicheng was the lowest in three districts of Beijing. In addition, the incidence of HFMD is seasonal, and the incidence is higher in spring and summer than that in autumn and winter. Daily average temperature had a lag effect on HFMD, which was different between high temperature and low temperature.

Comparison of gefitinib and platinum-based chemotherapy and only platinum-based chemotherapy to treat lung adenocarcinoma.

To study the curative effects and safety for patients who adopt both gefitinib and platinum-based chemotherapy or only platinum-based chemotherapy in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma, 80 EGFR mutation-positive lung adenocarcinoma patients in stage IIIB/IV were divided into two groups. Half of them received both gefitinib and standard chemotherapy (group A), and the others (group B) received only standard chemotherapy. Overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and the related toxicities of both groups were recorded in order to take certain nursing measures for a variety of toxicities. Next, statistical methods were used to analyze the curative effects and safety of the two treatments. The results showed that ORR, DCR and median progression-free (mPFS) survival of the two groups of patients showed no statistical difference (P >0.05). However, group A (18.56 months) had a longer median overall survival (mOS) than group B (14.87 months), which was of statistical significance (P less than 0.05). Nausea and loss of appetite were common mild adverse reactions, and anemia and leukocytopenia were moderate common adverse reactions. The difference between these two groups of patients regarding adverse reactions was not statistically significant (P>0.05). In conclusion, the two treatments have similar safety, but lung adenocarcinoma patients with drug resistance during stage IIIB/IV after using first-line gefitinib therapy have lower survival benefits than patients who take both gefitinib and platinum-based chemotherapy.

Relationship between transmembrane serine protease expression and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of esophageal cancer in Eastern Europe and Asia, being the 6th most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of transmembrane serine protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and to correlate it with the clinical biological features of esophageal cancer. The expression of transmembrane protease serine 4 (TMPRSS4) mRNA and protein in carcinoma tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues and non-tumorous esophageal tissues was determined using PCR (qRT-PCR). The results show that both TMPRSS4 mRNA and protein expression were remarkably lower in adjacent normal tissues than in tumorous tissues. TMPRSS4 protein expression in esophageal carcinoma was correlated with patient demographic characteristics, tumor type, high TNM stages and overall survival (OS). Based on the experimental results, we conclude that TMPRSS4 is closely related to the occurrence, development and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Compensated Semimetal LaSb with Unsaturated Magnetoresistance.

By combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and quantum oscillation measurements, we performed a comprehensive investigation on the electronic structure of LaSb, which exhibits near-quadratic extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) without any sign of saturation at magnetic fields as high as 40 T. We clearly resolve one spherical and one intersecting-ellipsoidal hole Fermi surfaces (FSs) at the Brillouin zone (BZ) center Γ and one ellipsoidal electron FS at the BZ boundary X. The hole and electron carriers calculated from the enclosed FS volumes are perfectly compensated, and the carrier compensation is unaffected by temperature. We further reveal that LaSb is topologically trivial but shares many similarities with the Weyl semimetal TaAs family in the bulk electronic structure. Based on these results, we have examined the mechanisms that have been proposed so far to explain the near-quadratic XMR in semimetals.

Investigation of the effect of traditional Chinese medicine on pain and inflammation in chronic nonbacterial prostatitis in rats.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the symptoms of chronic nonbacterial prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CNP/CPPS) may be treated using a cocktail of herbs that stimulate blood circulation ('activating blood circulation formula'). We investigated the effect of three doses of this formula on a rat model of CNP/CPPS. Male Wistar rats were injected with a saline extract of male sex accessory glands on days 0 and 30 to induce prostatitis and then treated daily by gavage between days 32 and 60. Treatment with low, medium and high doses of activating blood circulation formula resulted in an almost total rescue of paw withdrawal threshold at day 60, and treatment with the highest dose also significantly decreased prostate inflammation (assessed histopathologically). We further observed elevated serum prostaglandin E2 levels in the CNP/CPPS model which decreased upon high-dose treatment, and increased Cox-2 expression in the prostate and spinal cord dorsal horn which was rescued in both tissues in the high-dose group and in the prostate in the medium-dose group. These results shed light on a possible mechanism by which activating blood circulation therapy may alleviate pain in a rat model of CNP/CPPS by downregulating Cox-2 expression in the spinal cord, thereby raising the pain threshold. Further research will be needed to fully characterise the mechanism by which activating blood circulation therapy produces this therapeutic effect.

Epidemiological analysis of pneumoconiosis in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and cases reported by the Urumqi Railway Bureau.

This study investigated the incidence and development of pneumoconiosis in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and cases reported by the Urumqi Railway Bureau to provide a scientific basis for developing prevention and control measures against pneumoconiosis. Data from pneumoconiosis cases were input into Excel and analyzed by SPSS version 17.0. There were 13,165 cases of pneumoconiosis through 2010. Coal workers accounted for the largest proportion of cases. From July 2006 through 2010, a total of 1233 new cases of pneumoconiosis were reported in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; most cases were reported in Urumqi. From 1981 to 2012, 3332 new cases of pneumoconiosis had been confirmed by the Urumqi Railway Bureau, including 77.73, 16.96, and 5.31% stage I, II, and III cases, respectively. In the last 30 years, the number of new pneumoconiosis cases peaked in 1986; most of them were silicosis cases. In addition, there were more than 200 cases of pneumoconiosis combined with pulmonary tuberculosis reported by the Urumqi Railway Bureau. The coal industry in Urumqi is the main industry in which occupational pneumoconiosis occurs in Xinjiang. Thus, substantial effort is still required to eliminate pneumoconiosis by 2030.

A model of expanding HIV/AIDS education in Chinese rural areas.

The aim of the present study is to explore an effective model of HIV/AIDS health education for a rural Chinese population. Students in two middle schools were given HIV/AIDS health education. The education in Tiechang town was carried out in the form of delivering multimedia lectures, video tapes and brochures, while in Daping town brochures were distributed to students. After receiving health education, each student extended the health education to three peasants who were their relatives or neighbours. After the education was provided, the test scores of AIDS knowledge increased significantly in the students of Tiechang town (0.50 baseline, 0.69 post-test1, 0.68 post-test2). For the expansion subjects, the scores increased significantly (0.56 baseline versus 0.74 post-test) in the Tiechang group, and also increased mildly (0.52 baseline versus 0.59 post-test) in the Daping group. Empowering secondary school students to teach others about AIDS was a highly effective model for spreading AIDS prevention knowledge among the rural Chinese population.

Involvement of putrescine in osmotic stress-induced ABA signaling in leaves of wheat seedlings.

To elucidate one mechanism by which putrescine (Put) functions in plant signaling under osmotic stress, Put and ABA contents, and plasma membrane-NADPH oxidase (PM-NOX) activity were detected in wheat seedling leaves. Under osmotic stress, ABA and Put contents, PM-NOX activity, and PM-NOX-dependent O2.- production all increased. The inhibitor tungstate (T) of ABA bio-synthesis reduced the increases in ABA and Put contents under osmotic stress. The inhibitor D-arginine (D-Arg) of Put bio-synthesis didn't reduce osmotic-induced increase of ABA, but it inhibited the increases of PM-NOX activity and O2 . - production, and the inhibitory effects were reversed by exogenous Put. These findings suggested that ABA might regulate Put biosynthesis, and Put might regulate PM-NOX activity. Treatments with three inhibitors imidazole (I), diphenylene iodonium (DPI) and pyridine (P) of PM-NOX reduced significantly not only O2 . - production, but also the stress-induced increase of Put content, which indicated that O2 . - production might regulate Put biosynthesis. Treatments with EGTA (Ca2+ chelator), La3+ and verapamil (V) (Ca2+ channel blockers) reduced significantly the stress-induced increase of Put content, which suggested that Ca2+ might regulate Put biosynthesis. With these findings, it could be concluded that Put was involved in ABA signaling induced by osmotic stress via regulating PM-NOX activity in wheat seedling leaves.

Giant anisotropy of the magnetoresistance and the 'spin valve' effect in antiferromagnetic Nd(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4).

We have studied anisotropic magnetoresistance (MR) and magnetization with a rotating magnetic field (B) within the CuO(2) plane in lightly doped AF Nd(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4). A giant anisotropy in the MR is observed at low temperature, below 5 K. The c-axis resistivity can be tuned over about one order of magnitude just by changing the B direction within the CuO(2) plane, and a scaling behavior for the out-of-plane and in-plane MR is found. A 'spin valve' effect is proposed for explaining the giant anisotropy of the out-of-plane MR and the evolution of the scaling parameters with the external field. It is found that the field-induced spin-flop transition of the Nd(3+) layer under high magnetic field is the key to understanding the giant anisotropy. These results suggest that a novel entanglement of charge and spin dominates the underlying physics.

Ophthalmic presentation of giant cell arteritis in African-Americans.

PurposeTo determine the differences in the presentation of ophthalmic giant cell arteritis between African-Americans and Caucasians.MethodsThis was a multicenter retrospective case series comparing African-American patients with ophthalmic GCA to a previously published Caucasian cohort. Neuro-ophthalmic centers across the United States were contacted to provide data on African-American patients with biopsy-proven ophthalmic giant cell arteritis. The differences between African-American and Caucasian patients with respect to multiple variables, including age, sex, systemic and ophthalmic signs and symptoms, ocular ischemic lesions, and laboratory results were studied.ResultsThe Caucasian cohort was slightly older (mean=76.1 years) than the African-American cohort (mean=72.6 years, P=0.03), and there was no difference in sex distribution between the two cohorts. Headache, neck pain, and anemia were more frequent, while jaw claudication was less frequent in African-Americans (P<0.01, <0.001, 0.02, and 0.03 respectively). Acute vision loss was the most common presentation of giant cell arteritis in both groups, though it was less common in African-Americans (78 vs 98% of Caucasians, P<0.001). Eye pain was more common in African-Americans (28 vs 8% of Caucasians, P<0.01).ConclusionsThe presenting features of ophthalmic giant cell arteritis in African-Americans and Caucasians are not markedly different, although a few significant differences exist, including higher rates of headache, neck pain, anemia, and eye pain, and lower rates of jaw claudication and acute vision loss in African-Americans. Persons presenting with suspicious signs and symptoms should undergo evaluation for giant cell arteritis regardless of race.

Magnocellular and parvocellular visual pathways have different blood oxygen level-dependent signal time courses in human primary visual cortex.

PURPOSE: The magnocellular and parvocellular pathways (M and P pathways) are the major pathways of the visual system, with distinct histologic and physiologic properties that may also have different metabolic characteristics. We hypothesize that the differences of the 2 visual pathways would also manifest as differences in the signal time course of blood oxygen level-dependent functional MR imaging (BOLD fMRI). The differences in BOLD signal time course may provide insight into the metabolic requirements of the 2 pathways. METHODS: Eleven fMRI sessions on 6 subjects were performed using stimuli that preferentially activated the 2 pathways. Regions commonly activated by both the M and P stimuli in the primary visual cortex (V1) were determined, and the contrast elicited by the stimulus, time-to-peak (TTP), and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the BOLD signal time course were measured. RESULTS: The functional stimuli activated cortical regions described previously in the literature, such as V1, V4, and V5. Within V1, the TTP of the signal time course of the 2 stimuli were statistically different, with the P stimulus generating TTPs that were on average 12% faster than the M stimulus (P = .0037). CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated the ability to functionally differentiate the M and P stimuli in a commonly activated anatomic region. Because the BOLD response is dependent on the ratio of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin in the blood, the difference in the BOLD time course between the 2 stimuli suggests that the oxygen demand of the 2 pathways may be different.

The prognostic value of PD-L1 expression for non-small cell lung cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the much-debated relationship between the gene expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and cancer patient prognosis. The prognostic value of measuring PD-L1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was analyzed. METHODS: We searched PubMed for studies about the relationship between PD-L1 expression and NSCLC patient prognosis. Only studies with patient survival data related to PD-L1 expression in NSCLC patients with different characteristics were included. The effect size (ES) for this analysis was the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Six studies with 1157 patients were included with the defined including and excluding criteria. There is no significant heterogeneity among the studies (I(2) = 0%, p = 0.683). PD-L1 expression was significantly associated with the differentiation of tumor (poor vs. well: OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.33-2.75, p = 0.001). High PD-L1 expression was also correlated with poor prognosis in terms of the OS of patients with NSCLC (pooled HR = 1.75, 95% CI: 140-2.20, p < 0.001; heterogeneity test: I(2) = 0%, p = 0.643). CONCLUSIONS: NSCLC patients with positive PD-L1 expression exhibited poor OS. The PD-L1 expression was higher in tumors with poor differentiation.

Protection by salvianolic acid A against adriamycin toxicity on rat heart mitochondria.

It was found that salvianolic acid A (Sai A) has potent antioxidant activity. The effects of Sai A on adriamycin-induced heart mitochondrial toxicity of rats in vitro and on adriamycin antitumor activity are investigated in this article. Malondialdehyde (MDA) formation and membrane rigidification of rat heart mitochondria intoxicated with adriamycin were significantly reduced by Sai A. In the electron spin resonance (ESR) studies, Sai A has no significant effect on the formation of adriamycin semiquinone radicals (AQ.), while hydroxyl radicals generated by electron transfer from AQ. to H2O2 were scavenged by Sai A dose-dependently. On the other hand, Sai A was shown to have no effects on the antitumor activity of adriamycin in cultured L1210 ascitic tumor cells and in mice with P388 ascite tumor. These results indicate that Sai A protects against adriamycin induced heart mitochondrial toxicity of rats, while Sai A has no antagonizing effect on the antitumor activity of adriamycin.

Antioxidant activity of two dibenzocyclooctene lignans on the aged and ischemic brain in rats.

The effects of two dibenzocyclooctene lignans on peroxidative damage of aging and ischemic rat brain were studied. Incubation of eight-month-old rat brain mitochondria and membrane suspension with Fe(2+)-cysteine resulted in the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decrease of ATPase activity. Schisanhenol (Sal) (10(-4) M) completely inhibited the peroxidative damages of brain mitochondria and membrane of rats. The swelling and disintegration of brain mitochondria, as well as the reduction of brain membrane fluidity induced by Fe(2+)-cysteine were also prevented by Sal. The results of imitative experiment of ischemia and reperfusion of brain mitochondria and membrane in vitro indicated that Sal significantly impeded production of MDA and loss of ATPase activity induced by reoxygenation following anoxia. Oral administration of Sal induced increase of cytosol glutathione-peroxidase of brain in mice under the condition of reoxygenation following anoxia. The other compound schizandrin (Sin B) also has similar activity. But its potency is weaker than that of Sal. All these results indicate that Sal and Sin B have protective action against oxidative stress.

Scavenging effects on active oxygen radicals by schizandrins with different structures and configurations.

We have studied the scavenging effects of different structures and configurations of schizandrins isolated from Fructus Schizandrae, a traditional Chinese herb, on active oxygen radicals with the method of spin-trapping technique. The active oxygen radicals were produced from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). In addition, the scavenging effects of schizandrins on hydroxyl radicals (.OH) in Fenton's reaction and the scavenging effects on superoxide anions (O2-.) in both riboflavin/EDTA and xanthine/xanthine oxidase systems have also been studied. They are compared with the scavenging effects of both Vitamin C (Vc) and Vitamin E (VE). The experimental results have shown that the scavenging effect of schizandrin B (Sin B) on the active oxygen radicals is stronger than that of S(-) Sin B and R(+) Sin B. For schizandrins of the same molecular structures with different stereoconfigurations the scavenging effects of S type of the benzene ring on active oxygen radicals are stronger than those of R type and for schizandrins of the same stereoconfigurations with different structures the scavenging effects of schizandrin C (Sin C) on the active oxygen radicals are stronger than those of Sin B.

Unilateral oculomotor palsy and bilateral ptosis from paramedian midbrain infarction.

Lesions of the oculomotor fascicles are localized clinically by associated neurologic deficits. We present two patients with bilateral ptosis, unilateral paresis of all other muscles innervated by the oculomotor nerve, and sparing of the contralateral superior rectus muscle--findings suggesting a lesion of the proximal oculomotor fascicles and the central caudal subnucleus. To our knowledge, these are the first such cases with radiologic confirmation of a lesion within the dorsal, paramedian midbrain.

The crossed paralyses. The original brain-stem syndromes of Millard-Gubler, Foville, Weber, and Raymond-Cestan.

In this article, the crossed syndromes of Millard-Gubler (facial palsy and contralateral hemiparesis), Foville (facial palsy, conjugate gaze paralysis, and contralateral hemiparesis), Weber (oculomotor palsy and contralateral hemiparesis), and Raymond-Cestan (internuclear ophthalmoplegia and contralateral hemiparesis) are detailed from the original reports. These and other related syndromes were instrumental in establishing important principles in brain-stem localization: the occurrence of cranial nerve palsies contralateral to hemibody motor or sensory disturbances, the concepts of the medial longitudinal fasciculus and conjugate gaze, and the corticobulbar innervation of the facial nerve nucleus.

Giant cell arteritis with unusual flow-related neuro-ophthalmologic manifestations.

We report two patients with giant cell arteritis and unusual neuro-ophthalmic findings. One patient developed a horizontal one and a half syndrome associated with upright posture. The responsible lesion was dorsal pontine infarction. The other patient had bright light-induced amaurosis fugax in the absence of extracranial carotid occlusive disease. Both patients continued to have symptoms despite the use of high-dose intravenous corticosteroids. The manifestations of both patients occurred early in the course of giant cell arteritis and were flow related.

Oculomotor synkinesis following a midbrain stroke.

A 33-year-old man developed a complete third nerve palsy in the setting of acute bacterial endocarditis. MRI revealed an ischemic stroke in the cerebral peduncle involving the third nerve fascicle. Subsequently, he was observed to have paradoxic elevation of the eyelid on adduction and downgaze. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration of oculomotor synkinesis after an acquired, ischemic CNS lesion.

Cerebral air embolism complicating cardiac ablation procedures.

Two patients with similar courses of neurologic impairment and subsequent recovery after cerebral air embolism complicating cardiac ablation procedures are described. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, combined with aggressive resuscitative efforts, appears to have contributed to each patient's recovery.