Hydatid disease imposing serious threat on human health and great loss in livenotstock pastoralism remains a major public health problem in western China. To assess and monitor the effect of control program on transmission dynamics, we used the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered sheep at slaughterhouse as an indicator during the period of 2007 to 2013 in Emin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The results showed a significant decline trend of prevalence in all age groups during the 7 years when the control program was implemented; particularly, the rate was reduced by 72% after first 3 years. Among the sheep slaughtered, the age distribution evidenced that the prevalence increased significantly as the sheep grew older. The baseline data indicated that the rate was 4.5% at the age <1, 6.7% at age 2~, and reached to the highest 17.9% at age > or =4 years. Earlier response to the intervention pressure was seen in the sheep at the younger age. Significant decline started from 2008 at the age <1, from 2009 at age of 1~, 2010 at 2~ to 3~, and the latest, in 2012 at age > or =4. This study demonstrated that the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered sheep may be used as an indicator to assess and monitor the transmission status during and after control program providing information for betterment of performance to sustain control strength.
Abattoirs/statistics & numerical data ; Animals ; China/epidemiology ; Echinococcosis/epidemiology/parasitology/prevention & control/*veterinary ; Female ; Male ; Prevalence ; Sheep ; Sheep Diseases/epidemiology/parasitology/*prevention & control

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of apatinib and S-1 for treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer, in order to provide clinical therapy reference for advanced gastric cancer.Methods:Clinical trials were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) , Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database (CSTJ) , Wanfang Medical Network, VIP Journal Database (VIP) , China Biomedical Literature Database (CBMdisc) , Cochrane Library, PubMed, etc., searched from Jan. 2010 to Oct. 2019. The experimental group were given apatinib combined with S-1, and the control group received S-1 monotherapy. Two sets of RCT in patients with advanced gastric cancer were collected. Researchers first screened literature, data extraction and to assess the risk of bias, then made Meta analysis with RevMan5.3 software, the test level was α=0.05.Results:A total of 12 Meta analysis of randomized RCT were selected from the group, including 561 cases of patients. The results showed that objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of the experimental group was higher than those of the control group [ (RD=0.16, 95% CI: 0.08-0.23, P<0.0001; RD=0.21,95% CI: 0.14-0.29, P<0.00001) ]; There was no significant difference in nausea and vomiting, hand-foot syndrome, fatigue, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, leukopenia, neuro-toxicity and mucositis between the two groups. The rate of hypertension, proteinuria, hemoglobin of the experimental group decrease was higher than that of the control group [ (OR=6.21, 95% CI: 1.92-20.13, P=0.002; OR = 10.57,95% CI: 5.06-22.04, P<0.00001; OR=2.84, 95% CI:1.25-6.48, P=0.01) ]; and there was a significant heterogeneity in hypertension among them ( P=0.008, I 2=63) . Conclusion:Compared with S-1 alone, the treatment effect of S-1 combined with targeted drug apatinib can significantly improve ORR and DCR of patients with advanced gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND:Pressing massage applied to myofascial trigger points(MTrPs)has shown clear effect in relieving pain.However,further research is needed to investigate the effects of different levels of pressure applied during the massage. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the different strength of pressing on MTrPs in rats with chronic pain. METHODS:Sixty SPF-rated male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group of 10 rats not involved in MTrPs modeling and 50 rats involved in modeling.The MTrPs model was established in the left medial thigh muscle of rats by blunt strikes combined with centrifugal exercise and 40 rats that met the evaluation criteria after modeling were randomly divided into model group,light press group,medium press group and heavy press group,with 10 rats in each group.The rats in the blank group and the model group were not intervened,while the rats in the light press group,the medium press group and the heavy press group were intervened with a homemade press stimulator with light force(0.3 kg),medium force(0.5 kg)and heavy force(0.7 kg)to MTrPs.The intervention time was 7.5 minutes per session,with one session every other day,totaling seven sessions.Electromyogram,soft tissue tension and mechanical pain threshold were detected by electrophysiological instruments,soft tissue tension tester,and pressure painmeter,respectively.After the intervention,in the blank group,muscle tissue was taken from the inside of the left thigh,while in the other groups,MTrPs tissue was taken.The pathological morphology was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining,while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect the levels of cyclooxygenase-2,prostaglandin E2 and bradykinin. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the blank group,the model group had lower mechanical pain thresholds,higher soft tissue tone,higher amplitude frequency of spontaneous electrical activity,significant pathomorphological changes,and increased levels of cyclooxygenase-2,prostaglandin E2 and bradykinin(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the medium press group and the heavy press group showed increased mechanical pain thresholds,decreased soft tissue tension,decreased spontaneous potential frequency amplitude,and decreased levels of cyclooxygenase-2,prostaglandin E2 and bradykinin(P<0.05),and significant recovery on pathomorphological changes.No significant changes in the above indicators were observed in the light press group(P>0.05).Compared with the medium press group,the heavy press group showed better improvement in the above indicators(P<0.05).To conclude,moderate to heavy pressing is often required to alleviate MTrPs pain.

Objective : To investigate the effects of Tuina targeting different body parts on the behaviors and gut microflora of rat models with valproic acid (VPA)-induced autistic spectrum disorder(ASD). Methods: Twenty female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with 12.5 d of pregnancy were randomly divided into VPA model group [intraperitoneal injection of VPA (600 mg/kg), n = 15] and saline group (intraperitoneal injection of equal amount of normal saline, n = 5). The offspring male rats injected with saline were secleted as control group. The offspring male rats injected with VPA were randomly divided into VPA, dorsal, and abdominal groups (n = 7 in each group). On the 21st day after birth, three-chamber social test, open field test, and marbleburying test were carried out to observe the social abilities, anxiety behaviors, and stereotypical behaviors of rats in the four groups. Rats in dorsal and abdominal groups underwent Tuina for 14 d, twice a day. On the 35th day, behavioral tests were conducted again, and intestinal contents were taken for species composition and structural analysis, as well as marker and differential species analysis. Result: (i) According to behavioral observations, compared with VPA group, the social and movement time in the central open field of rats in dorsal group increased significantly (P <0.05), and the number of buried marbles decreased markedly (P < 0.01), indicating improvement on their social abilities, anxiety behaviors, and stereotypical behaviors as consequences of dorsal Tuina; and the number of buried marbles was reduced as well in abdominal group when compared with VPA group (P < 0.05), suggesting the improvement on their stereotypical behaviors following abdominal Tuina. In the marble-burying test, the number of marbles buried in dorsal group was less than in abdominal group, and the stereotypical behaviors were improved more significantly (P < 0.05), and there were no significant differences in the three-chamber social and open field tests between the two groups (P >0.05). (ii) In accordance with intestinal microflora detection results, compared with VPA group, both dorsal and abdominal groups showed increased richness (P < 0.05) and elevated diversity (P < 0.05 in dorsal group and P < 0.01 in abdominal group) in intestinal microflora. The results of differential analysis indicated that at the phylum level, compared with VPA group, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in rats in abdominal group showed a significant reduction trend (P < 0.05); at the genus level, compared with VPA group, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in rats in dorsal and abdominal groups decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Dorsal group also showed significant increase in the genus Blautia in the analysis of marker species comparedwith VPA group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Tuina impacted the behavior and gut microflora structure of ASD model rats. Dorsal intervention had a significant effect on social abilities, anxiety behaviors, and stereotypical behaviors of ASD model rats, while abdominal intervention only had an obvious effect on stereotypical behaviors. Both dorsal and abdominal interventions increased the richness and diversity of gut microflora of ASD model rats, with abdominal intervention improving the intestinal microbial diversity more significantly and resulting in a more uniform species distribution.

BACKGROUND: Intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) control improved outcomes in the Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the Elderly Hypertensive Patients (STEP) trial. Whether baseline serum lipid parameters influence the benefits of intensive SBP control is unclear. METHODS: The STEP trial was a randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of intensive (SBP target of 110 to <130 mmHg) and standard (SBP target of 130 to <150 mmHg) SBP control in Chinese patients aged 60 to 80 years with hypertension. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular disease events. A total of 8283 participants from the STEP study were included in this post hoc analysis to examine whether the effects of the SBP intervention differed by baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) concentrations. RESULTS: Regardless of the randomized SBP intervention, baseline LDL-C and non-HDL-C concentrations had a J-shaped association with the hazard of the primary outcome. However, the effects of the intensive SBP intervention on the primary outcome were not influenced by baseline LDL-C level ( P for interaction = 0.80) and non-HDL-C level ( P for interaction = 0.95). Adjusted subgroup analysis using tertiles in LDL-C1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-1.13; P = 0.18), LDL-C2 (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.55-1.20; P = 0.29), and LDL-C3 (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.47-0.98; P = 0.04) was provided, with an interaction P value of 0.49. Similar results were showed in non-HDL-C1 (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.59-1.29; P = 0.49), non-HDL-C2 (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.48-1.04; P = 0.08), and non-HDL-C3 (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.47-0.95; P = 0.03), with an interaction P -value of 0.47. CONCLUSION: High baseline serum LDL-C and non-HDL-C concentrations were associated with increased risk of primary cardiovascular disease outcome, but there was no evidence that the benefit of the intensive SBP control differed by baseline LDL-C and non-HDL-C concentrations. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03015311.
Aged ; Humans ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Blood Pressure/physiology* ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Hypertension ; Cholesterol ; Risk Factors