[Spatial analysis of echinococcosis in pastoral area of Qinghai province, 2019].

Objective: To understand the spatial characteristics of echinococcosis and associated factors in the pastoral area of Qinghai province, and provide evidence for the effective prevention and control of echinococcosis. Methods: The number of echinococcosis cases in the pastoral areas of Qinghai in 2019 was collected to perform spatial epidemiological analysis. The thematic map of the distribution of echinococcosis cases was generated with software ArcGIS 10.8 for visual analysis and spatial autocorrelation analysis. The spatial autocorrelation and spatial scanning analysis were performed to estimate the clustering of echinococcosis with software SaTScan 9.5. Software GeoDa 1.14 and ArcGIS 10.8 were used to establish spatial lag model and geographical weighted regression model to analyze the related factors of echinococcosis epidemic. Results: In 2019, the echinococcosis surveillance covered 64 741 people in the pastoral area of Qinghai, and 829 echinococcosis cases were found, with a prevalence rate of 1.28%. The distribution of the cases had spatial correlation (Moran's I=0.41, P<0.001). The most possible clustering areas indicated by spatial scanning analysis included Banma, Jiuzhi, Dari and Gande counties of Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (LLR=460.77, RR=9.20, P<0.001). The prevalence of echinococcosis in the pastoral areas was positively associated with the total annual precipitation (ß=0.13, P=0.036), and negatively associated with population density (ß=-1.36, P=0.019) and doctors/nurse ratio (ß=-25.60, P=0.026). Conclusions: The distribution of echinococcosis cases in the pastoral areas of Qinghai in 2019 had spatial correlation, and the prevalence was affected by total annual precipitation, population density, and doctors/nurse ratio.

Thirty years of submental intubation: a review.

Submental intubation has been used as an alternative to conventional intubation in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery since its introduction by Francisco Hernández Altemir in 1986. A review of submental intubation was performed using data from all case reports, case-series, and prospective and retrospective studies published between 1986 and 2016. The indications, variations in incision length, incision sites, types of endotracheal tube used, methods of exteriorization, and complications were recorded and analyzed. A total of 70 articles reporting 1021 patients were included. The main indication was maxillofacial trauma (86.9%, n=887), followed by orthognathic surgery (5.8%, n=59), skull base surgery (2.8%, n=29), and rhinoplasty and rhytidectomy (1.5%, n=15). The complication rate was relatively low: 91.0% of patients (n=929) were complication-free. The most common complication was infection, occurring in 3.5% (n=36) of the total number of patients, followed by scarring (1.2%, n=12) and formation of an orocutaneous or salivary fistula (1.1%, n=11). In summary, submental intubation is a good alternative airway with minimal complications.

Isolation and Characterization of the PKAr Gene From a Plant Pathogen, Curvularia lunata.

By using EST database from a full-length cDNA library of Curvularia lunata, we have isolated a 2.9 kb cDNA, termed PKAr. An ORF of 1,383 bp encoding a polypeptide of 460 amino acids with molecular weight 50.1 kDa, (GeneBank Acc. No. KF675744) was cloned. The deduced amino acid sequence of the PKAr shows 90 and 88 % identity with cAMP-dependent protein kinase A regulatory subunit from Alternaria alternate and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Pt-1C-BFP, respectively. Database analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of PKAr shares considerable similarity with that of PKA regulatory subunits in other organisms, particularly in the conserved regions. No introns were identified within the 1,383 bp of ORF compared with PKAr genomic DNA sequence. Southern blot indicated that PKAr existed as a single copy per genome. The mRNA expression level of PKAr in different development stages were demonstrated using real-time quantitative PCR. The results showed that the level of PKAr expression was highest in vegetative growth mycelium, which indicated it might play an important role in the vegetative growth of C. lunata. These results provided a fundamental supporting research on the function of PKAr in plant pathogen, C. lunata.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Curvularia lunata associated with maize leaf spot based on its Clg2p gene using semi-nested PCR.

UNLABELLED: Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boed, the causative agent of Curvularia leaf spot in maize, was determined according to conidiophore and conidium morphology in a previous study. In the current study, a sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay was developed for the detection of C. lunata. Two specific forward (ClgD1/ClgD2) and one reverse primers (ClgD3) were designed based on a Ras-related (Clg2p) gene. Eight C. lunata isolates that represent different virulent strains in maize, six other Curvularia spp., and 22 fungal plant pathogens were used to test the specificity of the primers. PCR amplification using ClgD1/ClgD3 as the first-round primers resulted in an 870-bp band from the C. lunata isolates. The detection sensitivity using ClgD1/ClgD3 was 100 pg of genomic DNA. In the second round of PCR, a 1 : 50 dilution of the first-round PCR products was used as a template with the ClgD2/ClgD3 primer pair, which increased the detection sensitivity to 1 fg. This semi-nested PCR procedure could also be used to detect C. lunata from infected maize leaves. The proposed PCR-based assay may be used for diagnosing and monitoring maize Curvularia leaf spot. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The semi-nested PCR assay may provide researchers and laboratory technologists a tool to rapidly detect C. lunata, which causes maize Curvularia leaf spot, compared with histological examination.

BCR/ABL modulates the cytokine and retinoic acid response of c-Rel in human myeloid cells.

A human myeloid cell line, Mo7, and a daughter cell line expressing the bcr/abl oncogene, Mo7-P210, were used in a comparative study analyzing the effects of p210BCR/ABL expression on tyrosine phosphorylation, specific DNA binding and expression of the proto-oncoprotein c-Rel. The steady state expression of c-Rel was indistinguishable in both cell lines. Tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding of c-Rel were slightly elevated in Mo7-P210 cells. Further, Mo7 and Mo7-P210 cells showed different responses concerning c-Rel after stimulation with cytokines and retinoic acid. The results presented here demonstrate that c-Rel can be modulated by hematopoietic cytokines and suggest that bcr/abl expression has an impact on these responses and that c-Rel may be a downstream effector for p210BCR/ABL.

[Radioimmunodetection of human lung cancer xenografts by isotope labeling monoclonal antibody ALT-04 in nude mice].

Three nude mouse models bearing the human lung cancer were established from two fresh surgical specimens and one cell line. Tumor histological structure and cell morphology were similar before and after transplantation. The monoclonal antibody ALT-04 (McAb ALT-04) against human lung cancer was labeled by 125I, 131I and 201Tl. Radioimmunodetection study showed that all the three kinds of xenografts in nude mice were specifically located by McAb ALT-04. Imaging examination confirmed the ability of isotope labeling McAb ALT-04 to detect the presence of transplanted human lung cancer tissues without the aid of background subtraction manipulations. It is suggested that McAb ALT-04 have the possibility of locating in the tumor diagnosis and guiding in the treatment.