[Burden of disease and risk factors among children under 5 years in China from 1990 to 2019: a perspective of international comparison].

Based on the Global Burden of Disease study 2019, the standardized mortality rate and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate of children under 5 years old were selected as evaluation indicators to compare and analyze the current situation and differences of disease burden of children under 5 years old between China and other regions from 1990 to 2019. The change trend and difference of disease burden of children under 5 years old in China were analyzed by sexes. From 1990 to 2019, the all-cause standardized mortality rate of children under 5 years old in China decreased from 1 153.81/100 000 to 160.39/100 000, and the all-cause standardized DALY rate decreased from 104 426.40/100 000 to 16 479.01/100 000. In 2019, neonatal preterm birth, congenital heart anomalies and lower respiratory infections ranked the top three disease burden of children under 5 years old in China. Except that the disease burden of neonatal preterm birth was lower than that in North America, they were much higher than that in Western Europe and North America in the same period. The burden of unintentional injury diseases, including pulmonary aspiration and foreign body in airway and drowning, was higher than that in Western Europe and North America. The standardized mortality and DALY rate of the top ten diseases and injuries in boys and girls under 5 years old in China showed a downward trend (P<0.05), and most of them were higher in boys than girls (P<0.05). From 1990 to 2019, the disease burden of children under 5 years old in China decreased significantly. However, compared other regions, it is still necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of neonatal premature birth, birth defects and unintentional injuries, and take different sex-specific interventions to improve the overall health of children.

[The clinical impact of artery-first approach combined with vascular resection and reconstruction in the treatment of pancreatic head carcinoma].

Objective: To evaluate the application of artery first, combined vascular resection and reconstruction in the treatment of pancreatic head carcinoma. Methods: The clinical data of 13 patients with pancreatic head cancer were retrospectively analyzed from February 2014 to March 2016 in the Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University. Preoperative computed tomography of high resolution layer or magnetic resonance imaging examination demonstrated pancreatic head carcinoma, as well as close adhesion, stenosis, compression or displacement of superior mesenteric vein or portal vein wall. In the operation, the artery first approach was used and the whole arterial blood supply in the head of the pancreas was fully exposed and interdicted. Finally, en block resection and vascular resection and reconstruction was adopted. Results: 12 of 13 patients had pancreatoduodenectomy synchronously with vascular resection and reconstruction; the other patient had these two surgery sequentially. Four patients received blood vessel wedge resection, five had segmental resection combined with end to end suture, and four had segmental resection combined with artificial vascular graft reconstruction. Operation time was (327.2±65.5) minutes, and the amount of blood loss was (472.6±226.4) millilitres. One patient suffered from delayed gastric emptying, and two patients had pancreatic fistula. All patients recovered from postoperative complications by conservative treatment. No patients developed biliary fistula, gastrointestinal fistula, abdominal infection, pulmonary infection, diarrhea, hypoglycemia or other complications, and none died in perioperative period. Postoperative pathological findings confirmed the diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Mean tumor diameter was (4.2±1.5)cm, and (3.8±1.5) metastasis were found in (13.6±2.5) resected lymph nodes. In 11 cases, the tumor cells were found in the outer membrane of blood vessels, 2 cases were found to have tumor invasion in the inner membrane, and all the resection margins were negative. All patients were followed up, and 2 patients died of liver metastasis 11 months and 18 months after operation, respectively. One patient survived with local recurrence of tumor 13 months after surgery. Other patients had no tumor recurrence and metastasis. Conclusions: The artery first approch combined vascular resection and reconstruction is safe effective and feasible in the treatment of pancreatic head carcinoma. It can improve the ablation rate of pancreatoduodenectomy.

Using pseudo amino acid composition to predict protein subnuclear location with improved hybrid approach.

The subnuclear localization of nuclear protein is very important for in-depth understanding of the construction and function of the nucleus. Based on the amino acid and pseudo amino acid composition (PseAA) as originally introduced by K. C. Chou can incorporate much more information of a protein sequence than the classical amino acid composition so as to significantly enhance the power of using a discrete model to predict various attributes of a protein, an algorithm of increment of diversity combined with the improved quadratic discriminant analysis is proposed to predict the protein subnuclear location. The overall predictive success rates and correlation coefficient are 75.4% and 0.629 for 504 single localization proteins in jackknife test, and 80.4% for an independent set of 92 multi-localization proteins, respectively. For 406 single localization nuclear proteins with < or =25% sequence identity, the results of jackknife test show that the overall accuracy of prediction is 77.1%.

p38-MAPK pathway is activated in retinopathy of microvascular disease of STZ-induced diabetic rat model.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) in diabetic retinopathy of microvascular disease and the potential mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The diabetic rat model was constructed by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The expression of CRH in the retina of diabetic rats and wild-type rats was detected by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). CRH shRNA or Scr shRNA adenovirus was injected into the eyes of diabetic rats and wild-type rats, respectively. The effect of down-regulated CRH on visual electrophysiology in rats was evaluated. Protein expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and inflammatory factors that were related to the microvascular lesion after CRH downregulation were detected by Western blot. Furthermore, p38 expression was detected by Western blot to explore whether mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was involved in the function of retinal endothelial cells regulated by CRH. RESULTS: The expression of CRH was significantly up-regulated in the retina of diabetic rats. RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA level of CRH in the retina of diabetic rats injected with CRH shRNA was decreased. However, no significant change in CRH level was observed in rats injected with Scr shRNA adenovirus. The down-regulated CRH could improve the diabetes-induced visual impairment and retinal inflammatory response. Moreover, the down-regulated CRH led to a decreased phosphorylation level of p38. CONCLUSIONS: CRH improves the diabetic retinopathy of microvascular disease via the p38-MAPK pathway, which is expected to be a new target for the treatment of diabetic microangiopathy.

Urinary excretion of N-nitrosamino acids and nitrate by inhabitants of high- and low-risk areas for esophageal cancer in Northern China: endogenous formation of nitrosoproline and its inhibition by vitamin C.

A total of 238 samples of 24-h urine were collected from inhabitants of high-risk (Lin-xian) and low-risk (Fan-xian) areas for esophageal cancer in northern China, according to three protocols: (a) from undosed subjects; (b) from subjects who had ingested 100 mg L-proline three times a day 1 h after each meal; and (c) from subjects in Lin-xian who had ingested 100 mg ascorbic acid together with 100 mg L-proline three times a day 1 h after each meal. As an index of individual exposure to N-nitroso compounds or their precursors, ingested in food and/or formed endogenously, the levels of four urinary N-nitrosamino acids and nitrate were determined. The amounts of N-nitrosoproline, N-nitrosothiazolidine 4-carboxylic acid, N-nitrososarcosine, and nitrate excreted in the 24-h urine of undosed subjects in Lin-xian were significantly higher than those in Fan-xian, indicating a higher exposure of the inhabitants in the high-risk area to N-nitroso compounds and their precursors. Ingestion of L-proline resulted in a marked increase in urinary N-nitrosoproline levels in inhabitants from both areas, suggesting that endogenous nitrosation may occur to a larger extent when appropriate amine precursors are ingested in foods. Intake of moderate doses of ascorbic acid by high-risk subjects effectively reduced the urinary levels of N-nitrosamino acids to those found in undosed subjects in the low-risk area. If N-nitroso compounds formed in vivo are among the causative factors for esophageal cancer in this area of northern China, ascorbic acid appears to be effective in lowering the body burden of these carcinogenic compounds, thus offering a rational basis for long-term intervention studies in this area.

[Application and progress of miRNA in chronic rhinosinusitis].

Chronic rhinosinusitis(CRS) is one of upper respiratory inflammatory diseases, with a high incidence. It affects the patient's work efficiency and quality of life seriously. However, the pathogenesis of disease is not definite. In recent years, some reports have proved miRNA play an important role in the development and occurrence of CRS. This paper reviewed the role of miRNA in pathogenesis,diagnosis and treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis.

Diamagnetic measurements based on the compensation of TF current diffusion in J-TEXT.

Due to the existence both of toroidal ripples and toroidal field (TF) current diffusion, the toroidal flux changes with time when the TF current is at the flat-top. A diamagnetic measurement based on the compensation of TF current diffusion has been built in J-TEXT to solve this problem. The measurement system includes a double-loop installed in the vacuum vessel and an array of small printed circuit board (PCB) magnetic probes placed on the mid-plane of one TF coil. A model was proposed to analyze and compensate the effect of TF current diffusion. Experiment results show that the residual flux is about 1 × 10-4 Wb after the compensation and it can meet the need of diamagnetic measurement in J-TEXT.

Adsorption of phosphate from aqueous solutions and sewage using zirconium loaded okara (ZLO): Fixed-bed column study.

This study explores the potential of removing phosphorus from aqueous solutions and sewage by Zr(IV)-loaded okara (ZLO) in the fixed-bed column. Soybean residue (okara) was impregnated with 0.25M Zr(IV) solution to prepare active binding sites for phosphate. The effect of several factors, including flow rate, bed height, initial phosphorus concentration, pH and adsorbent particle size on the performance of ZLO was examined. The maximum dynamic adsorption capacity of ZLO for phosphorus was estimated to be 16.43mg/g. Breakthrough curve modeling indicated that Adams-Bohart model and Thomas model fitted the experimental data better than Yoon-Nelson model. After treatment with ZLO packed bed column, the effluent could meet the discharge standard for phosphorus in Australia. Successful desorption and regeneration were achieved with 0.2 NaOH and 0.1 HCl, respectively. The results prove that ZLO can be used as a promising phosphorus adsorbent in the dynamic adsorption system.

Microangioarchitecture of optic papilla.

Two hundred postmortem normal human eyes of 100 cases were studied by four methods to investigate the microangioarchitecture of the optic papilla. The following results have been obtained. The Zinn's circle is important to the blood supply of the optic papilla. It gives off tributaries to the papillar prelaminar and laminar layers and pial vessel network at the retrolaminar portion. The blood supply of the prelaminar layer comes directly from the branches of the short posterior ciliary arteries and Zinn's circle, while the choroidal vessels contribute only a few branches to this area. The above two results are not consistent with Hayreh's idea. Between the central retinal artery system and short posterior ciliary artery system, there are anastomoses at the pial vessel network and in the optic nerve at the retrolaminar portion, but none is found, obviously, in the intraocular portion of the optic nerve. The microangioarchitecture of the optic papilla is accommodated to the nerve in which it resides. The most superficial vessels are radiating, those in the prelaminar and laminar layers are lamellar, and those in the retrolaminar portion are an interwoven network. The caliber of the capillary at the prelaminar and laminar layers is the narrowest, therefore, an ischemic change easily takes place right here.

[HPCE determination of trimebutine maleate in rat plasma and its pharmacokinetics].

AIM: To develop a method for the determination of trimebutine maleate in rat plasma by using high performance capillary electrophoresis. The method was employed to pharmacokinetic analysis of trimebutine maleate. METHODS: Plasma samples were deproteinized with acetonitrile (containing ephedrine hydrochloride as internal standard) and the supernatant was dried under N2 stream at 50 degrees C. The residue was dissolved with methanol-water (1:1) and injected into the capillary by siphon. The electrophoresis was performed in uncoated fused-silica capillary and the voltage was 10 kV. The running buffer was 0.03 mol.L-1 NaH2PO4(pH 6.0). The eluate was detected at 214 nm by UV detection. RESULTS: The recovery for trimebutine maleate in rat plasma was 72.8%-87.9%. The calibration curve in plasma was linear over the range 5-200 micrograms.L-1. The limit of quantitation was 5 micrograms.L-1. The intraday relative standard deviation (n = 6) and the interday relative standard deviation (n = 18) were less than 14%. The highest concentration in plasma was observed at 30 min after ig trimebutine maleate to rats. The pharmacokinetic results were AUC0-infinity = 8 micrograms.min.mL-1, T1/2(Ke) = 173 min and Ke = 5.6 x 10(-3) min-1. CONCLUSION: The method is accurate, sensitive and suitable for pharmacokinetic study of trimebutine maleate.

[Determination of ecdysterone in Achyranthes bidentata Bl. and its activity promoting proliferation of osteoblast-like cells].

AIM: To study the activity of ecdysterone from Achyranthes bidentata Bl. (AB) promoting proliferation of osteoblast-like (OB-like) UMR106 cells and to determine its content in AB by HPLC method. METHODS: Ecdysterone isolated from AB was cultured with OB-like cells UMR106 together in vitro and the proliferation of OB-like cells was determined by MTT assay. The chromatographic conditions for determining ecdysterone included an ODS column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microns), a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of water-acetontrile-tetrahydrofuran (86:11:3), detection wavelength of 243 nm, and column temperature of 27 degrees C. Phenacetin was used as the internal standard. RESULTS: The ecdysterone from AB had significant activity promoting proliferation of OB-like cells, the proliferation was promoted by 41% (n = 3). The average recovery of ecdysterone was 96.2% (RSD = 2.1%), the calibration was linear in the range of 30-300 micrograms.mL-1 (gamma = 0.9998). CONCLUSION: Ecdysterone was screened quickly by cultivating with OB-like cells together in vitro. The HPLC method is accurate, fast and reproducible for the determination of ecdysterone in AB.

[Spectroscopic study on the high voltage fast pulsed discharge of nitrogen, ammonia or their mixture].

The emission spectra from the pulsed discharge plasma of nitrogen, ammonia or their mixture were measured. In the discharge of pure nitrogen gas, as the pressure increased, the discharge volume decreased and more dissociation of nitrogen molecules occurred due to the higher energy density. In the discharge of ammonia, N,N+ and NH+ were observed, but no NH2 and NH3 were detected, indicating that ammonia, which has the lower dissociation and ionization energies as compared to nitrogen, was highly dissociated. The discharge of the mixture of N2 and NH3 was also studied. The dependence of the dissociation of nitrogen on the ratio of nitrogen to ammonia was investigated by emission spectra. The optimal ratio for nitrogen dissociation was obtained. The advantage of using the mixture of nitrogen and ammonia in the synthesis of nitrides was discussed.

[Investigation on the excited state dynamics properties of hemicyanine molecules].

In this paper, the excited state dynamics properties of hemicynine were investigated by using time-resolved fluorescence and 3D fluorescence spectra techniques. The interaction of hemicyanine molecules caused formation of H-aggregates and a blue shift of the 3D fluorescence spectra in interleaving hemicyanine/arachidic acid multilayers. The peak of fluorescence was a red shift along with the time decay. The lifetime of the LB fluorescence was much shorter and the difference of beginning luminescence was less than that of the hemicyanine solution due to the stronger intermolecule interactions in the aggregates.

[The embryonic development of iridial muscles].

Development of iridial muscles was observed in 116 fetal eyes (72 human embryos 7 weeks to full gestation). Bundles of microfilaments with local high density spots appeared in the cytoplasm of the anterior pigment epithelium early in 10 week embryos. The high density spots later grew to be the dense-bodies in the myofilaments, the original structure of the pupillary sphincter. In embryos of 4 1/2 months, blood capillaries grew into the sphincter, which was fully developed in the 6th month, and myofilaments of the dilator muscles began to appear in the cytoplasm of peripheral anterior pigment epithelium, with villous protrusions toward the stroma. Many myofilaments with scattered dense-bodies were seen in the protrusions. It was thus confirmed that both the sphincter and dilator muscles originated from the iridial anterior pigment epithelium of neuro-ectoderm; however, the former developed fully to form independent smooth muscle bundles, while the latter was less developed and remained part of the pigment epithelium (myo-epithelium). The appearance of both muscles was earlier than previously reported.

[Embryonic development and structure of human Bruch's membrane].

A morphological study of Bruch's membrane was performed on 61 human embryonic and fetal eyes by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The basement membrane of retinal pigment epithelium could be identified in the 5 week embryo. At the 11th week, the five components of Bruch's membrane were all discernible. The features of the five components were topographically examined by scanning electron microscopy.

[Development of the lens and zonulae in the human embryo].

The embryonic development and ultrastructures of the lens and zonulae in 212 eyes of 131 human embryos were studied by light and electronic microscopy, with the finding that the capsule and zonulae appeared earlier than previously reported. The laminate structure of the capsule was observed in the 7 week embryo, and the early structures of zonulae were discernible in the 10th week on the basement membrane of the non-pigmental epithelium of the ciliary body and on the capsule, indicating that the capsule was specialized basement membrane of the lenticular epithelial cells, and the zonulae originated from the non-pigmental epithelium of the ciliary body and the capsule of lens.

[Isolation and identification of three steroid compounds from Mauremys mutics plastron].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the steroids components from extract of Mauremys mutics. METHOD: The steroid compounds were isolated by using vacuum liquid chromatography and PTLC. The structures of three compounds were determined by spectral, chromatographic and chemical analysis. RESULTS: Three steroids were isolated from M. mutics and identified as cholesterol, elcosenoic acid cholesterol ester, cholester-4-ene-3-one. CONCLUSION: All the three compounds were isolated from M. mutics for the first time.

Factors affecting ß-ODAP content in Lathyrus sativus and their possible physiological mechanisms.

A neuroexcitatory non-protein amino acid, ß-N-oxalyl-L-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP), present in the seeds of the hardy legume crop grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.), was considered responsible for human lathyrism. The levels of ß-ODAP were reported to vary in different tissues during plant development, and to be affected by a wide range of environmental stresses. In this paper, dynamic changes in ß-ODAP level at specific stages of plant development as well as the influences of various environmental factors, including nutrient deficiency, drought, salinity, toxic heavy metals, and Rhizobium symbiosis on ß-ODAP levels were analyzed, highlighting the relationship between changes in ß-ODAP concentrations and Rhizobium growth. Possible mechanisms underlying ß-ODAP accumulation are proposed and future research is suggested.

ß-ODAP accumulation could be related to low levels of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide in Lathyrus sativus L.

Level of the neuroexcitatory ß-N-oxalyl-L-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) varies with development and environmental stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (mainly O(2)ⁱ- and H(2)O(2)) are frequently reported to play important roles in plant development and in response to various stresses. To investigate the possible inter-relationship between contents of ß-ODAP and ROS, grass pea leaves have been analyzed for contents of ß-ODAP, O(2)ⁱ- and H(2)O(2). The results showed that leaves containing high levels of ß-ODAP, exhibited low levels of O(2)ⁱ- and H(2)O(2), while leaves with high contents of O(2)ⁱ- and H(2)O(2) accumulated little ß-ODAP. The application of pyridine or ABA which inhibit the production of O(2)ⁱ- or H(2)O(2) led to an increase in ß-ODAP contents in intact or detached young leaves, whereas inhibition of catalase activity using AT (3-amino-1,2,4-triazole), leading to an increase in H(2)O(2) content, result in significant decrease in ß-ODAP levels of detached young leaves. In addition, inoculation of Rhizobium to young seedlings enhanced O(2)ⁱ- and H(2)O(2) levels, but reduced ß-ODAP contents in shoots. These results suggest that ß-ODAP accumulation could be related to low levels of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide in grass pea tissues.