Globally, pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood mortality. Pneumonia is the second killer of children less than 5 years of age in China. The World Heath Organization and United Nations Children′s Fund launched the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD) in 2013. The ambitious goal is to end preventable childhood deaths due to pneumonia by 2025. Countries or regions should achieve the following goals: (1) reduce mortality from pneumonia in children less than 5 years of age to fewer than 3 per 1 000 live births; (2) reduce the incidence of severe pneumonia by 75% in children less than 5 years of age compared to 2010 levels. If the implementation of key interventions is accelerated, the mortality rate of childhood pneumonia will drop substantially every year, which makes the goal achievable.
Child Mortality ; trends ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Pneumonia ; mortality ; Time Factors

Child ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Humans ; Pneumococcal Infections ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Pneumococcal Vaccines ; immunology

Natural disasters may lead to the outbreaks of infectious diseases because they increase the risk factors for infectious diseases. This paper reviews the risk factors for infectious diseases after natural disasters, especially earthquake, and the infectious diseases following disasters reported in recent years. The infectious diseases after earthquake include diarrhea, cholera, viral hepatitis, upper respiratory tract infection, tuberculosis, measles, leptospirosis, dengue fever, tetanus, and gas gangrene, as well as some rare infections. Children are vulnerable to infectious diseases, so pediatricians should pay more attention to the research on relationship between infectious diseases and natural disasters.
Child ; Communicable Diseases ; etiology ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Humans ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; etiology ; Wounds and Injuries ; complications

influenza virus can infect humans and cause disease. The clinical presentation of human infection is usually mild, but the infection caused by A(H5N1) avian influenza virus occurring initially in Hongkong in 1997 or the A(H7N9) virus isolated first at the beginning of this year in China is severe and characterized by high mortality. The mortality rate of adolescents and children caused by H5N1 avian influenza is lower than that of adults and the younger the child the lower the mortality rate. A few pediatric H7N9 avian influenza cases recovered soon after treatment. A child was determined to be a H7N9 avian influenza virus carrier. These findings suggested that the pediatric H7N9 avian influenza infection was mild. It is very important to start anti-virus treatment with oseltamivir as early as possible in cases of avian influenza infection is considered. Combined therapy, including respiratory and circulatory support and inhibiting immunological reaction, is emphasized in the treatment of severe cases.
Animals ; Birds ; virology ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype ; Influenza in Birds ; virology ; Influenza, Human ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; virology ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of arecoline on hepatic insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes rats and to elucidate its possible mechanism.

METHODSForty five Wistar rats were fed with high fructose diet for 12 weeks to induce type 2 diabetic rat model. rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 8): control group, model group and model group were treated with different dose (0, 0.5, 1, 5 mg/kg) of arecoline. After 4 weeks, the fasting blood glucose, blood lipid and insulin level measured , mRNA expression of liver constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), pregnane X receptor (PXR), glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the protein expression of p-AKT and glucose transporter4 (GLUT4) were detected by Western blot.

RESULTS1.5 mg/kg arecoline could significantly decrease the level of fasting blood glucose, blood lipid, blood insulin level and liver G6Pase, PEPCK, IL-6, TNF-alpha mRNA level in type 2 diabetes rats. 1.5 mg/kg arecoline also could significantly increase CAR, PXR mRNA level and p-AKT and GLUT4 protein expression.

CONCLUSIONArecoline improved hepatic insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes rats by increasing the mRNA levels of CAR and PXR leading to the creased glucose metabolism and inflammation related genes expression.

Animals ; Arecoline ; pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; metabolism ; Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Glucose-6-Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Insulin Resistance ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; metabolism ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase (GTP) ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; metabolism ; Receptors, Steroid ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEDiet is an important factor influencing blood pressure and, increases in dietary carbohydrate intake can raise blood pressure in adult rats. A previous study showed that the blood pressure of the rats fed with high-carbohydrate was 5-20 mmHg higher than that of control rats. While the mechanism involved is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high-sucrose intake on blood pressure of young Wistar rats and the role that sympathetic nerve system in the process.

METHODSMale neonatal Wistar rats were performed sympathectomy operation with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and then divided into four groups: (1) 0.1% VitC saline-common diet group (VN), (2) 0.1% VitC saline-high sucrose (VS), (3) 6-OHDA-common diet group (OHN) and (4) 6-OHDA-high sucrose (OHS) after three week. The data on the body weight (BW), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Then the level of blood glucose, serum insulin and angiotensin II (AngII) were measured and the functional studies of the thoracic aorta was performed.

RESULTSThe VS group exhibited higher SBP than the OHS group from the 6th week (113.7 +/- 4.2 mmHg vs. 104.0 +/- 5.8 mmHg, P < 0.01) and the VN group from the 7th week (117.6 +/- 6.3 mmHg vs. 109.6 +/- 4.6 mmHg, P < 0.01), while the SBP of the VN group was similar to those of the OHN group and the OHS group (P > 0.05). No significant differences in blood glucose, serum insulin and insulin sensitive index (ISI) were found among the four groups. The thoracic aorta segments of the VS group had higher contractive response to AngII (P < 0.01) and NE (P < 0.05) than the VN group, but the relaxations to acetylcholine (ACh) and nitroglycerine (NTG) showed no difference among the four groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe high-sucrose diet might elevate the blood pressure in young Wistar rats and the sympathetic system may play an important role in this process.

Angiotensin II ; blood ; Animal Feed ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; physiology ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Dietary Sucrose ; administration & dosage ; Insulin ; blood ; Male ; Oxidopamine ; administration & dosage ; blood ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sympathectomy

It has been recognized that pertussis is a disease that affects all age groups. There are obvious limitations in the currently used diagnostic criteria with "one-size-fits-all" definition, which is not advantageous to start individual treatment and perform strategies for preventing the transmission. Therefore, the expert group of Global Pertussis Initiative gives a suggestion for the diagnosis of pertussis. Based on the related published studies, the present article analyzes the limitations of the current criteria, and introduces the GPI's suggestion in detail.
Humans ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Whooping Cough ; diagnosis

In countries and regions with high vaccination coverage, several vaccine-preventable diseases have been resurged in recent years, such as measles, varicella, pertussis and mumps. Some studies have found that the clinical manifestation and epidemiological characteristics of these diseases were different from those in pre-vaccine era. This article reviewed the clinical and epidemiological features of vaccine-preventable diseases before and after wide immunization implementation, focusing on the situation in China, in order to attract the attention of clinicians, raise awareness, strengthen prevention and control, and promote in-depth research for these diseases.
Chickenpox ; China ; Humans ; Measles ; Mumps ; Vaccination ; Vaccines

Objective: To study the changes of inflammatory response and apoptosis in parotid gland tissues of rats after X-ray irradiation, and to explore the protective effect and possible mechanism of Sarcandra glabra on radiation-induced parotid injury in rats. Methods: A total of 120 male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups(24 for each): control group, single irradiation group, radiation combined with a high(26.8 g·kg^-1·d^-1), moderate(13.4 g·kg^-1·d^-1) and low(6.7 g·kg^-1·d^-1) dosage of Sarcandra glabra group. The parotid gland of rats in the irradiation group received 15 Gy X-ray. Rats in each group were anesthetized with 2% pentobarbital sodium (0.16 ml/100 g) at 10, 40 and 70 d after irradiation and blood was collected from abdominal aorta. ROS levels in blood serum of each group were detected on the 10th, 40th and 70th days after irradiation. After parotid gland tissue was taken, the pathological changes and ultrastructural changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The expression level of TNF-α in parotid gland tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry, and apoptosis of parotid cells was detected by TUNEL assay. Results: The content of ROS and the expression of TNF-α protein in the single irradiation group were simultaneously increased compared with the control group (t=-24.723, -35.013, -19.515, P<0.05; t=-13.563, 43.519, -15.249, P<0.05), while they were reduced by Sarcandra glabra in a dosage dependent manner, especially in the high dosage group of Sarcandra glabra (t=5.295, 8.138, 6.545, P<0.05; t=10.093, -7.868, 10.539, P<0.05). In the control group, the parotid gland tissue structure was intact, without congestion, exudation, edema, etc. For the single irradiation group, the parotid gland tissue became hyperemia, edema and inflammatory cell infiltration at 10 d after irradiation followed by fibrosis at 40 d after irradiation. These pathological alterations in the parotid gland tissue were significantly recovered when the rats were treated with Sarcandra glabra before irradiation, and the tissue damage was negatively correlated with drug dosage. TUNEL assay showed that the apoptosis rate of parotid gland cells in the single irradiation groups was higher than that in the control group (t=-4.639, -3.979, P<0.05). Conclusions Sarcandra glabra protects parotid gland from radiation damage by scavenging radiation-induced ROS and declining inflammatory response, and thus it may be applied as a potential protective agent for radiation injury.

OBJECTIVETo improve the design of the devices used for autoatic elasticity distraction osteogenesis, and to preliminarily testify their feasibility for clinical application.

METHODSThe internal automatic distraction devices were constructed by three parts, including sinusoid shape memory alloy distractor, reconstructive plate and mini-plate. The animal model of trifocal bone transport reconstruction of canine mandibular mentis was duplicated, in which a 6 cm mandibular mentis segment was removed and the transport disc was created by osteotomy in both ends of the mandibular defect. The plates were used for internal fixation and shape reconstruction of the mandible. They also served as transport distraction guidance for the elasticity distractor.

RESULTSThe new devices could complete bone transport as expected. Regenerated bone segments were formed in two months and both sides of the mandibular body were lengthened. Because of the narrow angle and obstruction from the thick soft tissues in the mentis area, the ultimate symphysis mentalis was not reconstructed.

CONCLUSIONThe design of the internal elasticity distraction devices showed potential feasibility for clinical practice. But further studies are still needed for better control of the strength and balance of distraction forces.

Animals ; Bone Regeneration ; Elasticity ; Mandible ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures