Objective To analyze the situation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) ownership in malaria-endemic African countries from 2010 to 2023, so as to provide insights into China’s deeper participation in malaria control in Africa. Methods The study period from 2010 to 2023 was divided into three phases: the baseline phase (from 2010 to 2015), the middle phase (from 2016 to 2019), and the final phase (from 2020 to 2023), a total of 11 African countries with at least one Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in each phase were included. Data pertaining to ITNs in 33 surveys of the above 11 African counties from 2010 to 2023 were captured from the DHS database, and the proportions of sources of ITNs and ITN ownership in each phase (number of ITNs ownership per person, overall ownership rate, and ownership rate per two residents) were calculated. The differences in numbers of ITNs per person between urban and rural areas and specified by socioeconomic status were analyzed. Results The proportions of ITNs from distribution campaigns were 60.24% to 94.01% and 50.46% to 85.04% in 11 African countries in the middle and final phases, respectively. The median numbers (interquartile range) of INTs ownership per person were 0.22 (0.50), 0.33 (0.50) and 0.33 (0.50) in the baseline, middle, and final phases, and the overall ownership rates [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 59.77% (59.50%, 60.05%), 70.32% (70.06%, 70.57%), and 69.21% (68.95%, 69.47%), while the ownership rates per two residents were 26.91% (26.66%, 27.16%), 38.07% (37.80%, 38.34%), and 36.56% (36.29%, 36.84%), respectively. The number of ITNs per person showed a significant increase followed by a significant decrease in 7 countries during all three phases (H = 102.518 to 2 327.440, all P < 0.05; Z = -48.886 to -4.653, all P < 0.016 7 after Bonferroni correction). In 33 surveys, there were 31 (Z = -26.719 to -2.472, P < 0.05) and 28 surveys (Z = -27.316 to -4.068, P < 0.001) with significant differences in numbers of ITNs ownership per person between households in urban and rural areas and with different socioeconomic status, including 20 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person in households in rural areas than in urban areas, and 17 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person among the poorest households than among the richest households. Conclusions There are substantial disparities in ITNs ownership in 11 African countries. Intensified co-operation on malaria prevention and control measures, such as ITNs, is recommended between China and African countries to build a global community of health for all.

Objective:To investigate the clinical diagnosis and treatment of IgG4-related disease（IgG4-RD） primarily involving the nasal cavity and skull base. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 8 patients with IgG4-RD primarily involving the nasal cavity and skull base who visited the Nasal and Skull Base Surgery Department at Xiangya Hospital from October 2017 to January 2024. The cohort comprised 4 males and 4 females, aged 8 to 69 years. Clinical data, laboratory examination results, imaging findings, histopathological results, and treatment plans were collected. The clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up results of IgG4-RD primarily involving nasal cavity and skull base were summarized and previous literature were also reviewed. Results:The initial symptoms in the 8 patients included nasal congestion, headache, sensory function decline, and facial deformities. Three patients also had parotid and pulmonary involvement. Among the 8 patients, 4 underwent partial surgical resection combined with glucocorticoid therapy; 1 underwent partial surgical resection combined with glucocorticoid and immunosuppressant therapy; 1 received glucocorticoid therapy alone; and 2 received glucocorticoid combined with immunosuppressant therapy. Follow-up was conducted one month after treatment, lasting from 5 to 79 months. During the follow-up period, recurrence was observed in 1 patient treated with glucocorticoid combined with immunosuppressants and in 1 patient treated with glucocorticoid alone, while the other 6 patients achieved significant remission. Conclusion:The diagnosis of nasal cavity and skull base IgG4-RD requires the combination of histopathology, laboratory tests, and imaging results. Treatment primarily includes glucocorticoids or combined immunosuppressants. For patients with significant compression symptoms, sensory function impairment, or facial deformities, surgical resection is an important treatment option. Given the high risk of recurrence, early intervention, active treatment, and long-term follow-up are crucial.
Humans ; Male ; Skull Base/pathology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged ; Nasal Cavity/pathology* ; Adult ; Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease/therapy* ; Immunoglobulin G ; Child ; Young Adult ; Adolescent

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of incorporating simple bedside indicators into death predictive model for elderly critically ill patients based on interpretability machine learning algorithms, providing a new scheme for clinical disease assessment. METHODS: Elderly critically ill patients aged ≥ 65 years who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Tacheng People's Hospital of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture from June 2017 to May 2020 were retrospectively selected. Basic parameters including demographic characteristics, basic vital signs and fluid intake and output within 24 hours after admission, as well acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), Glasgow coma score (GCS) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) were also collected. According to outcomes in hospital, patients were divided into survival group and death group. Four datasets were constructed respectively, namely baseline dataset (B), including age, body temperature, heart rate, pulse oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, mean arterial pressure, urine output volume, infusion volume, and crystal solution volume; B+APACHE II dataset (BA), B+GCS dataset (BG), and B+SOFA dataset (BS). Then three machine learning algorithms, Logistic regression (LR), extreme gradient boosting (XGboost) and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) were used to develop the corresponding mortality predictive models within four datasets. The feature importance histogram of each prediction model was drawn by SHapley additive explanation (SHAP) method. The area under curve (AUC), accuracy and F1 score of each model were compared to determine the optimal prediction model and then illuminate the nomogram. RESULTS: A total of 392 patients were collected, including 341 in the survival group and 51 in the death group. There were statistically significant differences in heart rate, pulse oxygen saturation, mean arterial pressure, infusion volume, crystal solution volume, and etiological distribution between the two groups. The top three causes of death were shock, cerebral hemorrhage, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Among the 12 prognostic models trained by three machine learning algorithms, overall performance of prognostic models based on B dataset was behind, whereas the LR model trained by BA dataset achieved the best performance than others with AUC of 0.767 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.692-0.836], accuracy of 0.875 (95%CI was 0.837-0.903) and F1 score of 0.190. The top 3 variables in this model were crystal solution volume with first 24 hours, heart rate and mean arterial pressure. The nomogram of the model showed that the total score between 150 and 230 were advisable. CONCLUSION The interpretable machine learning model including simple bedside parameters combined with APACHE II score could effectively identify the risk of death in elderly patients with critically illness.
Humans ; Critical Illness ; Machine Learning ; Aged ; Algorithms ; Intensive Care Units ; Retrospective Studies ; APACHE ; Prognosis ; Organ Dysfunction Scores ; Hospital Mortality ; Male ; Female

ObjectiveTo understand the epidemic characteristics of influenza in Beijing from 2023 to 2024, and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of influenza. MethodsData on influenza-like illness (ILI) from secondary level and above hospitals, etiology surveillance data, and influenza clusters outbreaks data from 2023‒2024 were used to analyze the epidemic trend and pathogenic characteristics of influenza. Furthermore, an influenza comprehensive index was used to categorize the epidemic intensity at the severity level. ResultsA total of 2 065 857 ILI cases were reported in 2023‒2024 epidemic season, and the percentage of ILI was 3.67%. The age group of 5‒14 years accounted for the highest proportion of ILI (30.48%). A total of 41 766 throat swabs from ILI were detected, with a positive rate of 17.28%.A (H3N2) (51.86%) and B Victoria (41.93%) were the most prevalent subtypes of influenza virus. Clustered influenza outbreaks occurred mainly in primary schools (57.78%) and middle schools (35.55%), mainly caused by the influenza A (H3N2) subtype (85.93%). According to the influenza comprehensive index (I), the period of influenza activity and above (I>0.5) lasted for a total of 37 weeks, accounting for 71.15% of the entire influenza season. ConclusionCompared with previous years, the epidemic level of influenza in Beijing was increased in 2023‒2024, and the peak time became earlier. The comprehensive index method can objectively evaluate the level of influenza epidemic and provide suggestions for the future prevention and control of influenza in Beijing.

Chronic venous insufficiency(CVI), a prevalent condition within vascular surgery, displays marked variation in prevalence in the world. The management of CVI poses a significant challenge to healthcare systems and profoundly impacts patients′ well-being, warranting heightened attention. Current therapeutic approaches to CVI encompass both non-surgical and surgical interventions. Non-surgical treatments aim to alleviate symptoms through compression and medication, while surgical methods focus on repairing or removing diseased veins to restore normal blood flow. However, the effectiveness of existing treatments remains suboptimal, necessitating further research and the exploration of novel therapeutic schedule. This review article delves into the attributes and characteristics of current treatment modalities for lower extremity venous insufficiency and speculates on potential future trends in management.

Objective:To observe the effects of Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription on ulcerative colitis rats with yang deficiency of spleen and kidney syndrome; To discuss its mechanism.Methods:Totally 70 male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group, model group, mesalazine group, Qifu Lizhong Guanchang Prescription high-, medium- and low-dosage groups; blank group ( n=10), other groups ( n=12). Except for the blank group, the other groups used bitter cold purgative therapy (Dahuang Decoction) by gavage, and combined with trinitrobenzen sulfonic acid (TNBS) +55% ethanol compound method to induce UC rat model. After successful modeling, the blank group and model group were given 1 ml normal saline enema daily, Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription groups were given Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription 3.00, 1.50, 0.75 g/kg enema daily, and the mesalazine group was given mesalazine 0.03 g/kg enema daily, once a day for consecutive 14 days. After 14 days, Disease Activity Index (DAI) score was performed, and hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) was used to observe the pathological tissues of the colon. The expressions of Occludin and adhesion molecules A (JAM-A) protein in colon tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results:HE results showed that the mucosal structure was damaged, inflammatory cells were infiltrated, edema and ulcer foci were observed in model group. The mucosal structure of mesalazine group and Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription groups were intact, and inflammatory infiltration, edema and ulcer of neoepithelial were improved. Compared with model group, the DAI scores of Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription groups decreased ( P<0.01), the expressions of Occludin and JAM-A in Qifu Lizhong Guanchang Prescription high- and medium-dosage groups significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Qifu Lizhong Enema Prescription can significantly relieve the symptoms and pathological morphology of UC rats, and the mechanism of repairing intestinal mucosal barrier may be related to up-regulating the expressions of Occludin and JAM-A proteins.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and mutation spectrum of monogenic diseases in Chinese population through a large-scale,multicenter carrier screening.Methods This study was conducted among a total of 33 104 participants(16 610 females)from 12 clinical centers across China.Carrier status for 223 genes was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and different PCR methods.Results The overall combined carrier frequency was 55.58%for 197 autosomal genes and 1.84%for 26 X-linked genes in these participants.Among the 16 669 families,874 at-risk couples(5.24%)were identified.Specifically,584 couples(3.50%)were at risk for autosomal genes,306(1.84%)for X-linked genes,and 16 for both autosomal and X-linked genes.The most frequently detected autosomal at-risk genes included GJB2(autosomal recessive deafness type 1A,393 couples),HBA1/HBA2(α-thalassemia,36 couples),PAH(phenylketonuria,14 couples),and SMN1(spinal muscular atrophy,14 couples).The most frequently detected X-linked at-risk genes were G6PD(G6PD deficiency,236 couples),DMD(Duchenne muscular dystrophy,23 couples),and FMR1(fragile X syndrome,17 couples).After excluding GJB2 c.109G>A,the detection rate of at-risk couples was 3.91%(651/16 669),which was lowered to 1.72%(287/16 669)after further excluding G6PD.The theoretical incidence rate of severe monogenic birth defects was approximately 4.35‰(72.5/16 669).Screening for a battery of the top 22 most frequent genes in the at-risk couples could detect over 95%of at-risk couples,while screening for the top 54 genes further increased the detection rate to over 99%.Conclusion This study reveals the carrier frequencies of 223 monogenic genetic disorders in the Chinese population and provides evidence for carrier screening strategy development and panel design tailored to the Chinese population.In carrier testing,genetic counseling for specific genes or gene variants can be challenging,and the couples need to be informed of these difficulties before testing and provided with options for not screening these genes or gene variants.

Objective:A genome-wide molecular characterization of FJ21351116, a strain of G3P[8]-E2 2021 collected in Fujian, China, was performed.Methods:Whole genome sequencing of FJ21351116 was performed using a high-sensitivity group A rotavirus whole genome sequencing method. Genomic characteriza-tion of the virus was assessed by nucleic acid sequence analysis using MEGA 11.0, Geneious 9.0.2 and DNASTAR software. Neutralization epitopes of VP7 and VP4 (VP8*) were analyzed using BioEdit v. 7.0.9.0 and PyMOL v. 2.5.2.Results:In this study, FJ21351116 was shown to be a G3-P[8]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A2-N2-T2-E2-H2 genotype, and the result of phylogenetic tree showed that the VP7, VP4, VP3, and NSP2-NSP5 genes of the FJ21351116 strain were related to the equine-like DS-1-like G3P[8] genes that have been detected in Japan in recent years. VP6, VP1, VP2, and NSP1 genes are closely related to G2P[4] in most countries, especially in Singapore, suggesting that this strain was formed by genetic reassortment during the evolution of equine-like G3P[8] and G2P[4]. Evolutionary relationships between the VP7/VP4 genes of FJ21351116 and Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccines suggest that the multiple mutations in both VP7 and VP4 (VP8*) neutralizing antigenic epitopes and vaccine amino acid sites. It is hypothesized that the Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccines may be less effective against equine DS-1-like G3P[8] RVA, and the sequence differences with Rotarix are higher than those with RotaTeq.Conclusions:In this study, we found a rare case of DS-1-like G3P [8] RVA strain in China. Currently, horse-like DS-1-like G3P [8] RVA is relatively rare in China and may be poorly protected by vaccine strains, emphasizing the importance of continuous monitoring of RVA strains and the development of efficient and full-coverage RVA vaccines.

Objective:To analyze the effect of depressive state on Alzheimer's disease(AD)mice,3xTg-AD mice were stimulated with chronic social frustration stress(CSDS)and chronic mild unpredictable stress(CUMS),to estab-lish an early AD-induced depression mouse model,and to detect cognitive and behavioral changes,activation of micro-glia in the hippocampus and neuronal loss.Methods:Three-month-old mice were subjected to 8-day stress stimulation alternately,the depressive state of the mice was evaluated by behavior,the evaluation criteria were formulated,and the cognitive behavior was detected and analyzed,and the hippocampal brain tissue sections were stained with immunofluo-rescence to observe the deposition of β-amyloid(Aβ)and the aggregation of microtubule-associated protein(tau),mi-croglia activation and neuronal loss.Results:Depression-related behavioral results showed that the CSDS+CUMS group had depression-related phenotypes.Cognitive-behavioral testing showed that the new object recognition index of the mice in the CSDS+CUMS group was significantly reduced(P＜0.05),and the Morris water maze showed that the spatial memory ability of the CSDS+CUMS group was significantly reduced(P＜0.05),but there was no obvious fear memory loss in the CSDS+CUMS group in the conditioned fear experiment.The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that Aβ deposition appeared in the hippocampus at 4 months of age,the activated microglia increased(P＜0.001),and a certain degree of neuronal loss appeared in the CSDS+CUMS group(P＜0.001);At 8 months of age,the CSDS+CUMS group showed tau protein aggregation early.Conclusion:We established a model of AD-induced de-pression in AD mice,in which 3xTg-AD mice experienced early decline in learning memory and increased AD-related pathological deposition of neurons in the hippocampus,accompanied by microglial activation and neuronal loss.

Diabetes mellitus(DM)is an endocrine metabolic disease mainly characterized by chronic hyperglycemia,which seriously threatens the health and quality of life of human beings,and with the improvement of living standard and unhealthy lifestyle in China,the incidence of DM continues to rise and tends to be younger,so it is urgent to carry out in-depth research on hypoglycemic treatment.DM is pathologically based on absolute or relative insulin deficiency,and there is no radical cure for it,and Western medicine mostly adopts insulin injection or oral hypoglycemic drugs for symptomatic treatment,which is effective but prone to toxic side effects in long-term use.Chinese medicine has the advantages of multi-path and multi-target in treating DM,and plays a role in lowering blood sugar by promoting insulin secretion,improving insulin resistance,regulating glucolipid metabolism and anti-oxidative stress,etc.Its efficacy is remarkable and the rate of toxic side effects is low.In recent years,there have been more studies on the mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine and compound prescriptions on animal models of DM.By reviewing the relevant literature in recent years,the author has systematically sorted out the mechanism of hypoglycemic action of single Chinese medicine,traditional Chinese medicine compound prescriptions,effective components of traditional Chinese medicine and their related experimental designs,from promoting insulin secretion,inhibiting gluconeogenesis,promoting glycogen synthesis,improving insulin resistance,inhibiting glycosidase activity,alleviating oxidative stress damage,inhibiting inflammatory response and regulating intestinal stress.The study and experimental design of the hypoglycemic mechanism of Chinese medicine were summarized in terms of promoting insulin secretion,inhibiting gluconeogenesis,promoting glycogen synthesis,improving insulin resistance,inhibiting glucosidase activity,alleviating oxidative stress damage,inhibiting inflammatory response and regulating intestinal flora,etc.,with a view to providing reference for the wider clinical application of Chinese medicine in hypoglycemia and its in-depth pharmacodynamic study.