[A Review of Comparative Studies on Exposure Levels of Air Pollutants Among Different Modes of Transportation in China's Cities].

Urban traffic is closely related to the daily life of the public,and air pollution in the traffic microenvironment has become a public health problem that cannot be ignored.This paper reviews the comparative studies of air pollutant exposure levels among different modes of transportation in multiple cities in China.By comparing the exposure levels of pollutants among different modes of transportation,this paper provides a reference for protecting the health of the public in daily transportation and selecting targeted control measures.

[Characteristics and Differences of Household Fine Particulate Matter Pollution Caused by Fuel Burning in Urban and Rural Areas in China].

Objective To explore the overall level,distribution characteristics,and differences in household fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution caused by fuel burning in urban and rural areas in China. Methods The relevant articles published from 1991 to 2021 were retrieved and included in this study.The data including the average concentration of household PM2.5 and urban and rural areas were extracted,and the stoves and fuel types were reclassified.The average concentration of PM2.5 in different areas was calculated and analyzed by nonparametric test. Results The average household PM2.5 concentration in China was (178.81±249.91) µg/m3.The mean household PM2.5 concentration was higher in rural areas than in urban areas[(206.08±279.40) µg/m3 vs. (110.63±131.16) µg/m3;Z=-5.45,P<0.001] and higher in northern areas than in southern areas[(224.27±301.66) µg/m3 vs.(130.11±140.61) µg/m3;Z=-2.38,P=0.017].The north-south difference in household PM2.5 concentration was more significant in rural areas than in urban areas[(324.19±367.94) µg/m3 vs.(141.20±151.05) µg/m3,χ2=-5.06,P<0.001].The PM2.5 pollution level showed differences between urban and rural households using different fuel types (χ2=92.85,P<0.001),stove types (χ2=74.42,P<0.001),and whether they were heating (Z=-4.43,P<0.001).Specifically,rural households mainly used solid fuels (manure,charcoal,coal) and traditional or improved stoves,while urban households mainly used clean fuels (gas) and clean stoves.The PM2.5 concentrations in heated households were higher than those in non-heated households in both rural and urban areas (Z=-4.43,P<0.001). Conclusions The household PM2.5 pollution caused by fuel combustion in China remains a high level.The PM2.5 concentration shows a significant difference between urban and rural households,and the PM2.5 pollution is more serious in rural households.The difference in the household PM2.5 concentration between urban and rural areas is more significant in northern China.PM2.5 pollution in the households using solid fuel,traditional stoves,and heating is serious,and thus targeted measures should be taken to control PM2.5 pollution in these households.

Efficacy and Safety of Jianpi Jieyu Decoction for Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Depression of Xin (Heart)-Pi (Spleen) Deficiency Syndrome: A Multi-centre Randomized Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jianpi Jieyu Decoction (JJD) for treating patients with mild-to-moderate depression of Xin (Heart)-Pi (Spleen) deficiency (XPD) syndrome. METHODS: In this multi-center, randomized, controlled study, 140 patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome were included from Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Botou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from December 2017 to December 2019. They were randomly divided into JJD group and paroxetine group by using a random number table, with 70 cases in each group. The patients in the JJD group were given JJD one dose per day (twice daily at morning and evening, 100 mL each time), and the patients in the paroxetine group were given paroxetine (10 mg/d in week 1; 20 mg/d in weeks 2-6), both orally administration for a total of 6 weeks. The primary outcome was the change of 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) score at week 6 from baseline. The secondary outcomes included the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, Traditional Chinese Medicine Symptom Scale (TCMSS), and Clinlcal Global Impression (CGI) scores at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th weekends of treatment, HAMD-17 response (defined as a reduction in score of >50%) and HAMD-17 remission (defined as a score of ⩽7) at the end of the 6th week of treatment. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. RESULTS: From baseline to week 6, the HAMD-17 scores decreased 10.2 ± 4.0 and 9.1 ± 4.9 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.689). The HAMD-17 response occurred in 60% of patients in the JJD group and in 50% of those in the paroxetine group (P=0.292); HAMD-17 remission occurred in 45.7% and 30% of patients, respectively (P=0.128). The differences of CGI scores at the 6th week were not statistically significant (P>0.05). There were significant differences in HAMD-17 scores between the two groups at 2nd and 4th week (P=0.001 and P=0.014). The HAMA scores declined 8.1 ± 3.0 and 6.9 ± 4.3 points from baseline to week 6 in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.905 between groups). At 4th week of treatment, there was a significant difference in HAMA between the two groups (P=0.037). TCMSS decreased 11.4 ± 5.1, and 10.1 ± 6.8 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.080 between groups). At the 6th week, the incidence of AEs in the JJD group was significantly lower than that in the paroxetine group (7.14% vs. 22.86%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared with paroxetine, JJD was associated with a significantly lower incidence of AEs in patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome, with no difference in efficacy at 6 weeks. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR2000040922).

miR-142 downregulation alleviates the impairment of spatial learning and memory, reduces the level of apoptosis, and upregulates the expression of pCaMKII and BAI3 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

MicroRNA-142-5p (miR-142-5p) has been found to be dysregulated in several neurodegenerative disorders. However, little is known about the involvement of miR-142-5p in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain angiogenesis inhibitor 3 (BAI3), which belongs to the adhesion-G protein-coupled receptor subgroup, contributes to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite its very high expression in neurons, the role of BAI3 in AD remains elusive, and its mechanism at the cellular and molecular levels needs to be further elucidated. The current study sought to investigate whether miR-142-5p influenced BAI3 expression and neuronal synaptotoxicity induced by Aß, both in APP/PS1 transgenic mice and a cellular model of Alzheimer's disease. Altered expression of miR-142-5p was found in the hippocampus of AD mice. Inhibition of miR-142 could upregulate BAI3 expression, enhance neuronal viability and prevent neurons from undergoing apoptosis. In addition, the reduction of phosphorylation of Synapsin I and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), as well as the expression of PSD-95 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice, were significantly restored by inhibiting miR-142. Meanwhile, the levels of Aß1-42, ß-APP, BACE-1 and PS-1 in cultured neurons were detected, and the effects of inhibiting miR-142 on spatial learning and memory were also observed. Interestingly, we found that BAI3, an important regulator of excitatory synapses, was a potential target gene of miR-142-5p. Collectively, our findings suggest that miR-142 inhibition can alleviate the impairment of spatial learning and memory, reduce the level of apoptosis, and upregulate the expression of pCaMKII and BAI3 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice; thus, appropriate interference of miR-142 may provide a potential therapeutic approach to rescue cognitive dysfunction in AD patients.

Factors influencing the quality of clinical trials on traditional Chinese medicine-Qualitative interviews with trial auditors, clinicians and academic researchers.

BACKGROUND: As clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapies have increased, several empirical studies have shown that the quality of TCM trials is generally low in terms of risk of bias. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the quality of TCM clinical trials to provide strategic advice on trial quality improvement. METHODS: One focus group with clinical trial auditors (n = 4) and six in-depth semi-structured interviews with clinical research organization managers (n = 2), lecturers and researchers in TCM academic institutions (n = 2), a chief physician in a TCM oncology department and a PhD candidate specialized in non-pharmaceutical TCM interventions were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Factors that influenced the quality of TCM clinical trials emerged with the following 6 themes: trial design; trialists/participants; trial conducting; TCM specified problems; trial monitoring, and finally societal influences. The lack of expertise and time inputs of the trialists were repeatedly mentioned. Methodological difficulties experienced when conducting TCM trials including calculating sample size, analyzing the efficacy of TCM decoctions with multiple ingredients, blinding in trials investigating non-pharmaceutical TCM interventions were highlighted. Interviewees agreed that third-party monitoring can help improving trial quality and improve participant welfare, may accelerate recruiting processes and increase compliance; however more comprehensive regulations and funding requirements would be needed. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified real-life issues influencing the quality of TCM clinical trials from design to reporting. In addition to mandatory training for TCM trial designers and coordinators, more effective institutional oversight is required. Future studies should explore specific measures to address the methodological problems in TCM trials and explore how the quality of TCM trials can affect further evidence synthesis and clinical practice.

A direct comparison of four high-risk human papillomavirus tests versus the cobas test: Detecting CIN2+ in low-resource settings.

Low-cost, accurate high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) tests are needed for cervical cancer screening in limited-resource settings. More than 200 cervical cytological specimens from hospital patients were collected and analyzed for a real-world study. We evaluated the analytical and clinical performance of four widely used HR-HPV test (Tellgen, Hybribio, Liferiver, and Sansure) based on real-time polymerase chain reaction technology platforms, compared with the cobas test. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse lesions (CIN2+) were set as the disease endpoint, and all the five HPV tests were performed with equal sensitivity (McNemar's test; P = 0.971) and specificity (McNemar's test; P = 0.953). All genotyping using the INNO-LiPA HPV test showed that HPV-16, -52, and -54 were the most common types among CIN2+ cases. Overall, the four HR-HPV tests analyzed appear to be as effective as the cobas HPV test in both agreement and clinical performance. Therefore, each of these low-cost HPV test kits could be implemented in limited-resource settings to accelerate the control of cervical cancer. However, we suggest that there is a need to further standardize and optimize testing around clinical sensitivity and specificity.