Morphological and molecular characteristics of a Trypanosoma sp. from triatomines (Triatoma rubrofasciata) in China.

BACKGROUND: Triatomines (kissing bugs) are natural vectors of trypanosomes, which are single-celled parasitic protozoans, such as Trypanosoma cruzi, T. conorhini and T. rangeli. The understanding of the transmission cycle of T. conorhini and Triatoma rubrofasciata in China is not fully known. METHODS: The parasites in the faeces and intestinal contents of the Tr. rubrofasciata were collected, and morphology indices were measured under a microscope to determine the species. DNA was extracted from the samples, and fragments of 18S rRNA, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) were amplified and sequenced. The obtained sequences were then identified using the BLAST search engine, followed by several phylogenetic analyses. Finally, laboratory infections were conducted to test whether Tr. rubrofasciata transmit the parasite to rats (or mice) through bites. Moreover, 135 Tr. rubrofasciata samples were collected from the Guangxi region and were used in assays to investigate the prevalence of trypanosome infection. RESULTS: Trypanosoma sp. were found in the faeces and intestinal contents of Tr. rubrofasciata, which were collected in the Guangxi region of southern China and mostly exhibited characteristics typical of epimastigotes, such as the presence of a nucleus, a free flagellum and a kinetoplast. The body length ranged from 6.3 to 33.9 µm, the flagellum length ranged from 8.7 to 29.8 µm, the nucleus index was 0.6 and the kinetoplast length was -4.6. BLAST analysis revealed that the 18S rRNA, HSP70 and gGAPDH sequences of Trypanosoma sp. exhibited the highest degree of similarity with those of T. conorhini (99.7%, 99.0% and 99.0%, respectively) and formed a well-supported clade close to T. conorhini and T. vespertilionis but were distinct from those of T. rangeli and T. cruzi. Laboratory experiments revealed that both rats and mice developed low parasitaemia after inoculation with Trypanosoma sp. and laboratory-fed Tr. rubrofasciata became infected after feeding on trypanosome-positive rats and mice. However, the infected Tr. rubrofasciata did not transmit Trypanosoma sp. to their offspring. Moreover, our investigation revealed a high prevalence of Trypanosoma sp. infection in Tr. rubrofasciata, with up to 36.3% of specimens tested in the field being infected. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to provide a solid record of T. conorhini from Tr. rubrofasciata in China with morphological and molecular evidence. This Chinese T. conorhini is unlikely to have spread through transovarial transmission in Tr. rubrofasciata, but instead, it is more likely that the parasite is transmitted between Tr. rubrofasciata and mice (or rats). However, there was a high prevalence of T. conorhini in the Tr. rubrofasciata from our collection sites and numerous human cases of Tr. rubrofasciata bites were recorded. Moreover, whether these T. conorhini strains are pathogenic to humans has not been investigated.

Mechanism of Jinteng Qingbi granules in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis using metabolomics analysis.

This study investigated the differential metabolites after rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rats were treated with Jinteng Qingbi granules. Collagen-induced arthritis rats were divided into three groups, namely normal group, model group, and Jinteng Qingbi granules group. Serum compounds were identified, annotated, and classified using metabolomics to explain the physicochemical properties and biological functions. The metabolites were screened using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. There were differences in serum metabolites between RA and normal rats; Jinteng Qingbi granules improved RA and recovered the metabolite levels to normal. Compared to the normal group, 51 differential ions were screened, and 108 ions were changed in the Jinteng Qingbi granules group compared to the RA model. Eight metabolites were upregulated in the RA model group compared to the normal group, whereas 10 metabolites were downregulated. Treatment with Jinteng Qingbi granules increased the levels of 12 metabolites such as cinnamate and decreased the levels of 16 metabolites such as allamandin in the RA model. Differential ion enrichment was mainly related to the histidine metabolic pathway in amino acid metabolism. Jinteng Qingbi granules resulted in improvements in the RA model, which were mainly associated with lipids and lipid-like molecules, organic acids, and derivatives, providing a new possibility and basis for screening biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of RA.

Risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus by age: a multicentric cohort study in Hebei, China.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an unique metabolic disorder that occurs during pregnancy. Both GDM and advanced age increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study used a GDM cohort study to investigate the role of age in the adverse pregnancy outcomes for pregnant women with GDM. From 2015 to 2021, 308,175 pregnant women were selected, and the data received from 22 hospitals by the Hebei Province Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System. There were 24,551 pregnant women with GDM that were divided into five groups by age (20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44 years old). Because the prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes was lower in pregnant women with GDM aged 25-29, they were used as a reference group (P < 0.05). Compared with GDM women aged 25-29 years, GDM women aged 35-44 years had a significant higher risk of cesarean delivery (aOR: 2.86, 95% CI 2.52-3.25) (P < 0.001), abnormal fetal position (aOR: 1.78, 95% CI 1.31-2.37) (P < 0.001), pre-eclampsia (aOR: 1.28, 95% CI 1.01-1.61) (P < 0.05), macrosomia (aOR: 1.25, 95% CI 1.08-1.45) (P < 0.05), and large for gestational age (LGA) (aOR: 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.31) (P < 0.05), GDM women aged 40-44 years had a higher risk of placenta previa (aOR: 2.53, 95% CI 1.01-6.35) (P < 0.05), anemia (aOR: 3.45, 95% CI 1.23-9.68) (P < 0.05) and small for gestational age (aOR: 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.60) (P < 0.05). Advanced maternal age was an independent risk factor for abnormal fetal position, pre-eclampsia, anemia, macrosomia, and LGA in pregnant women with GDM.

Prevalence and adverse perinatal outcomes of anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy in Hebei Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia in pregnancy is one of the most frequent complications related to pregnancy and is a public health concern. This article examines the prevalence of anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy and the associations between anaemia and adverse perinatal outcomes in Hebei Province, China. METHODS: We used SPSS software to describe the incidence of anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy in Hebei Province and analysed the clinical characteristics in anaemic patients and the relationship between anaemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy was 35.0% in Hebei Province. The prevalence of anaemia in the population with a high education level was lower than that in the population with a low education level. The incidence rate in rural areas was higher than that in urban areas. After adjustment for confounding factors, anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy is an independent risk factor in terms of placenta previa, placental abruption, uterine atony, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, heart disease, postpartum haemorrhage, premature birth, laceration of birth canal, puerperal infection, caesarean section and large for gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of anaemia in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. A comprehensive approach to prevent anaemia is needed to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

The Exploration of Flowering Mechanisms in Cherry Plants.

Flowering cherry (Cerasus sp.) are significant spring-blooming trees. However, the short blooming period and the rarity of early and late-flowering varieties limit their use in gardens in northern China. The experiment incorporated annually early-flowering species such as Cerasus discoidea, Cerasus pseudocerasus 'Introtsa', Cerasus dielsiana, Cerasus campanulata 'Youkou', Cerasus yedoensis 'Somei-Yoshino', and Cerasus spachiana f. ascendens, as well as twice-a-year flowering species like Cerasus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' and Cerasus subhirtella 'Accolade'. We observed the timing of natural events and growth measurements for specific plants over a span of two years. This research involved a thorough examination of their ability to withstand cold temperatures, considering their physiological aspects. We examined the levels of nutrients and hormones in the flower buds at various stages of development in plants that bloom yearly and every two years. The findings indicated that C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' is adaptable, offering the lengthiest autumn blooming phase lasting 54 days. The hierarchy of cold tolerance was as follows: C. pseudocerasus 'Introtsa' > C. discoidea > Cerasus × subhirtella 'Autumnalis' > C. dielsiana > C. 'Youkou'. Furthermore, the soluble protein content in leaves increased before autumn flower buds' sprout of twice-a-year flowering varieties but declined in C. yedoensis 'Somei-Yoshino' within the same time. We determined that changes in nutrient content significantly contribute to the autumn opening of C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' robust short branch flower buds. During the final phase of flower bud development, the rise in trans-Zeatin-riboside (ZR) and indolacetic acid (IAA) promotes the initiation of the first flowering period in C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' prior to its mandatory hibernation. The occurrence of secondary flowering involves a multifaceted regulatory process. These findings serve as valuable references for delving deeper into the mechanisms governing cherry blossom formation and secondary flowering.

The Effect of 2016 Chinese second-child policy and different maternal age on pregnancy outcomes in Hebei Province, China.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of the 2016 Chinese second child policy and different maternal ages on adverse perinatal outcomes. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from 22 monitoring hospitals in Hebei Province from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2021. A total of 413,892 parturient were divided into 3 groups based on delivery age: 20-34, 35-39, and 40-55 years old. The clinical data were analyzed to explore the relationship among the 2016 Chinese second-child policy, maternal age, and various pregnancy risks. RESULTS: Pregnancy complications showed an upward trend from 2013 to 2021.The top 10 incidences of pregnancy complications in Hebei Province were anemia, small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), macrosomia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), premature delivery, preeclampsia (PE), postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), placenta previa, and placental abruption. The two-child policy was implemented in 2016. The incidence of pregnancy complications, anemia, GDM, PE, placental abruption, cesarean delivery, premature delivery, SGA, LGA, macrosomia in 2016-2021 was significantly higher than that in 2013-2015 (P<0.05), and the proportion of women of advanced maternal age (AMA, ≥ 35 years old) increased from 2013 to 2021. Advanced maternal age was a risk factor for most assessed adverse pregnancy outcomes, including GDM, PE, placenta previa, placenta abruption, cesarean delivery, PPH, premature delivery, SGA, LGA and macrosomia. CONCLUSION: After the adjustment of the "second-child" policy, the incidence of pregnancy complications increased. Moreover, the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in AMA has increased. Early prevention and intervention should be implemented to cope with the occurrence of adverse perinatal outcomes.

The study of the characteristics of the secondary flowering of Cerasus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'.

The short flowering period of ornamental cherry trees is the main factor limiting their use in gardens. Determining the secondary flowering characteristics of ornamental cherry trees is required to prolong their flowering period. In this experiment, Cerasus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' was used as the experimental material. The phenological differences in their annual growth cycle were observed using the BBCH coding system. The cooling requirements of the flower buds were evaluated by the chilling hours model (temperature between 0 and 7.2 °C) and the Utah model. The expression of the core gene involved in bud dormancy regulation DAM (dormancy-associated MADS-box) from the completion of flower bud differentiation in one year until the following year was measured by performing real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR. The results showed that the flowering duration of C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' from November to December was longer than that of C. yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino', which was from March to April. The progress from seed bud-break to flower bud opening took about 10 days for C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis', while the same stage for C. yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino' took around 20 days. Additionally, the flower buds of C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' needed only the chilling temperature unit of 54.08 to satisfy the chilling requirement, while C. yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino' required a chilling temperature unit of 596.75. After the completion of flower bud differentiation, during low-temperature storage, the expression of DAM4 and DAM5 genes first increased and then decreased, whereas, the expression of the DAM6 gene continued to decrease, and the expression of DAM4, DAM5, and DAM6 in C. yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino' increased rapidly and was maintained at a high level. This showed that the upregulation of the expression of the DAM4, DAM5, and DAM6 genes can inhibit the flower bud germination of Cherry Blossom. The relative expression of the DAM gene of C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' was significantly lower than that of the DAM gene of C. yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino' from the end of October to the beginning of December, leading to its secondary flowering in autumn. These results might elucidate why the flower buds of C. subhirtella 'Autumnalis' can break their internal dormancy and bloom in the autumn and then again in the following year. Our findings might provide a reference for conducting further studies on the mechanisms of secondary flowering and bud dormancy in cherries.

Secular increase in the prevalence of gestational diabetes and its associated adverse pregnancy outcomes from 2014 to 2021 in Hebei province, China.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the secular prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and evaluate its adverse pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women in Hebei province, China. Methods: We analyzed the data from the monitoring information management system for pregnant women in 22 hospitals of Hebei province, China. In this study, 366,212 individuals with singleton live births from 2014 to 2021 were included, of whom 25,995 were diagnosed with gestational diabetes. We described the incidence of common complications and further analyzed the clinical characteristics in GDM patients and the relationship between GDM and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Results: The top 3 pregnancy complications in Hebei province are anemia, gestational hypertension, and GDM. The average incidence of GDM was 7.10% (25,995/366,212). The incidence rate of GDM significantly increased from 2014 to 2021 (χ2 trend = 7,140.663, P < 0.001). The top 3 regions with GDM incidence were Baoding (16.60%), Shijiazhuang (8.00%), and Tangshan (3.80%). The incidence of GDM in urban pregnant women (10.6%) is higher than that in rural areas (3.7%).The difference between the GDM and Non-GDM groups was statistically significant in terms of maternal age, gravidity, parity, education level, and incidence of pregnancy complications (gestational hypertension, heart diseases, and anemia) (P < 0.05). GDM individuals were at significantly increased risk of most assessed adverse pregnancy outcomes, including premature delivery, Cesarean delivery, uterine inertia, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, Apgar (activity-pulse-grimace-appearance-respiration) score at 1 min, and macrosomia (P < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that GDM was an independent risk factor in terms of premature birth, Cesarean delivery, uterine inertia, placental abruption, NICU admission, and macrosomia. Conclusion: The risk of adverse pregnancy outcome in pregnant women with GDM is significantly increased. In order to reduce the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes, effective interventions are needed.

Everolimus inhibits breast cancer cell growth through PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies and the leading cause of cancer­associated mortality in women worldwide and in China. Everolimus (C53H83NO14) is an efficient anti-cancer drug for breast cancer which targets mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The present study investigated the inhibitory effects of everolimus on breast cancer cells and an MCF­7­bearing mouse model. The potential mechanism of the everolimus­mediated decrease in growth and aggressiveness of breast cancer cells was reported. Results demonstrated that everolimus significantly inhibited breast cancer cell growth, migration and invasion. It was demonstrated that everolimus induced apoptosis through decreasing B cell lymphoma (Bcl)­2 and Bcl­w and increasing caspase­3 and caspase­8 expression levels in breast cancer cells. It was observed that everolimus decreased phosphoinositide 3­kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT) and mTOR expression levels in breast cancer cells. Results additionally demonstrated that PI3 K overexpression prevented that everolimus­mediated inhibition of growth and aggressiveness in MCF­7 cells. In vivo assays demonstrated that everolimus treatment markedly inhibited tumor growth in the MCF­7 bearing mouse model. Overall, these data indicate that everolimus inhibits growth and aggressiveness of breast cancer cells through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways, suggesting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway may act as a therapeutic target for the treatment of human cancer.