Background: Serum immunoglobulin A antibodies against Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), viral capsid antigen (VCA?IgA) and early antigen (EA?IgA), are used to screen for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in endemic areas. However, their routine use has been questioned because of a lack of specificity. This study aimed to determine the distributions of different subtypes of antibody and to illustrate how the natural variation patterns affect the specificity of screening in non?NPC participants. Methods: The distribution of baseline VCA?IgA was analyzed between sexes and across 10?year age groups in 18,286 non?NPC participants using Chi square tests. Fluctuations in the VCA?IgA level were assessed in 1056 non?NPC participants with at least two retests in the first 5?year period (1987–1992) after the initial screening using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: The titers of VCA?IgA increased with age (P < 0.001). Using a previous serological definition of high NPC risk, nasopharyngeal endoscopy and/or nasopharyngeal biopsy would be recommended in 55.5% of the non?NPC partici?pants with an initial VCA?IgA?positive status and in 20.6% with an initial negative status during the 5?year follow?up. However, seroconversions were common; 85.2% of the participants with a VCA?IgA?positive status at baseline con?verted to negative, and all VCA?IgA?negative participants changed to positive at least once during the 5?year follow?up. The EA?IgA status had a high seroconversion probability (100%) from positive to negative; however, it had a low probability (19.6%) from negative to positive. Conclusions: Age? and sex?specific cutoff titer values for serum anti?EBV antibodies as well as their specific titer fluc?tuation patterns should be considered when defining high NPC risk criteria for follow?up diagnostics and monitoring.

With the rapid changes in people's lifestyles, natural and social environments in recent years, the prevalence of chronic and non-communicable diseases in China and its related risk factors have also had tremendous changes. The epidemiological characteristics of chronic and non-communicable diseases and their risk factors vary throughout the country, and the impact of unique climate, diet and lifestyle in southern China on the incidence and prevalence of chronic and non-communicable chronic diseases remains to be elucidated. Therefore, large-scale cohort study is urgently needed to provide evidence for the etiological research and management of chronic and non-communicable chronic diseases in different areas, and for the national management strategy for major chronic and non-communicable diseases. The prospective cohort study of chronic and non-communicable diseases in general population in southern China was established in December 2017. The study recruited permanent residents aged 35-74 years from both urban and rural areas in Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A big data platform of precision medicine which integrates health information with biological samples for long-term follow up has been established. A baseline database of 116 520 people aged (54.9±12.5) years, including 71 077 women (61.0%), has been established. Collecting questionnaire survey data, physical examination data, and biological samples. This paper briefly introduces the concept, design and progress of the prospective cohort study of chronic and non-communicable diseases in general population in southern China.

Hepatic stellate cell(HSC)activation is a key link in the development of liver fibrosis.The metabolic reprogramming of activated HSC has become a hot topic in current research,especially the change of glycolysis is an important factor in regulating HSC activation.Based on the metabolic reprogramming in the process of HSC activation,this paper expounds the mechanism of regulating HSC activation and liver fibrosis through glycolysis,and reviews the research progress of traditional Chinese medicine and its active ingredients in regulating HSC glycolysis to prevent and treat liver fibrosis.Liver fibrosis is a complex pathological process involving multiple factors and pathways.From the perspective of regulating the glycolysis of activated HSC,it can provide a new idea for the development of anti-liver fibrosis drugs.

Background: Anti-programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) immunotherapy has been proved to be effective on gastric cancer in ongoing clinical trials. However, the value of PD-L1 in predicting responses of patients with gastric cancer to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy is controversial. Some studies suggested that intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression might explain the controversy. This study aimed to analyze the expression of PD-L1, PD-L2, and PD-1 as well as CD8(+) T-cell density in primary tumors and lymph nodes from patients with stage T1-4N+M0 gastric adenocarcinoma to explore the heterogeneity of PD-1 signaling pathway molecules. Methods: In primary tumors and metastatic as well as non-metastatic lymph nodes from patients with stage T1-4N+M0 gastric adenocarcinoma, we detected PD-L1 and PD-L2 expression with immunohistochemistry. CD8(+) T-cell density in primary tumors and PD-1 expression on CD8(+) T cells were detected with immunofluorescence. Uni-variate analysis was used to determine the prognostic values of them. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify independent risk factors that affect patients' overall survival and disease-free survival. Results: Among 119 eligible patients who had undergone surgical resection, the positive rate of PD-L1 was higher in metastatic lymph nodes than in primary tumors (45.4％ vs. 38.7％,P= 0.005); the positive rate of PD-1 on CD8(+) T cells was significantly higher in primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes than in tumor-free lymph nodes (both P < 0.001). The intensity of PD-1 expression on CD8(+) T cells in primary tumors and in metastatic lymph nodes were stronger than that in tumor-free lymph nodes from the same patient. Beside, the positive rate of PD-L2 did not show any differences between primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes. In multivariate analysis, PD-L1 expression, PD-L2 expression, a low density of CD8(+) T cells in primary tumors, and PD-1 expression on CD8(+) T cells in primary tumors were associated with poor prognosis.Conclusion: The expression of PD-L1 is heterogeneous in primary tumors and in metastatic lymph nodes from patients with stage T1-4N+M0 gastric adenocarcinoma, which might explain the inconsistent results in assessing the prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in previous studies.