China ; Female ; HIV Infections ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; prevention & control ; National Health Programs ; Pregnancy ; Risk-Taking ; Social Stigma

Background: Mitral annulus (MA) area is derived during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) assuming of a circu‑ lar shape using the MA diameter from the apical 4 chamber (A4c) view. Since the MA is not a circular structure, we hypothesized that an elliptical model using parasternal long-axis (PLAX) and apical 2 chamber (A2c) view measured MA diameters would have better agreement with 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE) meas‑ ured MA in degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Methods: Seventy-six patients with moderate-to-severe DMVD had 2D TTE and 3D TEE performed. MA area was measured retrospectively using semi-automatic modeling of 3D data (3D ­TEEsa ) and considered as the reference method. MA diameters were measured using different 2D TTE views. MA area was calculated using assumptions of a circular or an elliptical shape. 2D TTE derived and 3D ­TEEsa . MA areas were compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The median MA area measured at 3D ­TEEsa was 1,386 (1,293–1,673) ­mm2 . With 2D TTE, the circular model using A4c view diameter resulted in a small systematic underestimation of MA area (6%), while the elliptical model using PLAX and A2c diameters resulted in 25% systematic underestimation. The standard deviations of the distribu‑tions of inter-method differences were wide for all 2D TTE methods (265–289 ­mm2 ) when compared to 3D ­TEEsa , indicating imprecision. Conclusions When compared with 3D ­TEEsa modeling of the MA as the reference, the assumption of a circular shapeusing A4c TTE view diameter was the method with the least systematic error to assess MA area in DMVD and moder‑ ate to severe regurgitation.

Background: Mitral annulus (MA) area is derived during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) assuming of a circu‑ lar shape using the MA diameter from the apical 4 chamber (A4c) view. Since the MA is not a circular structure, we hypothesized that an elliptical model using parasternal long-axis (PLAX) and apical 2 chamber (A2c) view measured MA diameters would have better agreement with 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE) meas‑ ured MA in degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Methods: Seventy-six patients with moderate-to-severe DMVD had 2D TTE and 3D TEE performed. MA area was measured retrospectively using semi-automatic modeling of 3D data (3D ­TEEsa ) and considered as the reference method. MA diameters were measured using different 2D TTE views. MA area was calculated using assumptions of a circular or an elliptical shape. 2D TTE derived and 3D ­TEEsa . MA areas were compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The median MA area measured at 3D ­TEEsa was 1,386 (1,293–1,673) ­mm2 . With 2D TTE, the circular model using A4c view diameter resulted in a small systematic underestimation of MA area (6%), while the elliptical model using PLAX and A2c diameters resulted in 25% systematic underestimation. The standard deviations of the distribu‑tions of inter-method differences were wide for all 2D TTE methods (265–289 ­mm2 ) when compared to 3D ­TEEsa , indicating imprecision. Conclusions When compared with 3D ­TEEsa modeling of the MA as the reference, the assumption of a circular shapeusing A4c TTE view diameter was the method with the least systematic error to assess MA area in DMVD and moder‑ ate to severe regurgitation.

Background: Mitral annulus (MA) area is derived during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) assuming of a circu‑ lar shape using the MA diameter from the apical 4 chamber (A4c) view. Since the MA is not a circular structure, we hypothesized that an elliptical model using parasternal long-axis (PLAX) and apical 2 chamber (A2c) view measured MA diameters would have better agreement with 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE) meas‑ ured MA in degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Methods: Seventy-six patients with moderate-to-severe DMVD had 2D TTE and 3D TEE performed. MA area was measured retrospectively using semi-automatic modeling of 3D data (3D ­TEEsa ) and considered as the reference method. MA diameters were measured using different 2D TTE views. MA area was calculated using assumptions of a circular or an elliptical shape. 2D TTE derived and 3D ­TEEsa . MA areas were compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The median MA area measured at 3D ­TEEsa was 1,386 (1,293–1,673) ­mm2 . With 2D TTE, the circular model using A4c view diameter resulted in a small systematic underestimation of MA area (6%), while the elliptical model using PLAX and A2c diameters resulted in 25% systematic underestimation. The standard deviations of the distribu‑tions of inter-method differences were wide for all 2D TTE methods (265–289 ­mm2 ) when compared to 3D ­TEEsa , indicating imprecision. Conclusions When compared with 3D ­TEEsa modeling of the MA as the reference, the assumption of a circular shapeusing A4c TTE view diameter was the method with the least systematic error to assess MA area in DMVD and moder‑ ate to severe regurgitation.

Background: Mitral annulus (MA) area is derived during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) assuming of a circu‑ lar shape using the MA diameter from the apical 4 chamber (A4c) view. Since the MA is not a circular structure, we hypothesized that an elliptical model using parasternal long-axis (PLAX) and apical 2 chamber (A2c) view measured MA diameters would have better agreement with 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE) meas‑ ured MA in degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). Methods: Seventy-six patients with moderate-to-severe DMVD had 2D TTE and 3D TEE performed. MA area was measured retrospectively using semi-automatic modeling of 3D data (3D ­TEEsa ) and considered as the reference method. MA diameters were measured using different 2D TTE views. MA area was calculated using assumptions of a circular or an elliptical shape. 2D TTE derived and 3D ­TEEsa . MA areas were compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The median MA area measured at 3D ­TEEsa was 1,386 (1,293–1,673) ­mm2 . With 2D TTE, the circular model using A4c view diameter resulted in a small systematic underestimation of MA area (6%), while the elliptical model using PLAX and A2c diameters resulted in 25% systematic underestimation. The standard deviations of the distribu‑tions of inter-method differences were wide for all 2D TTE methods (265–289 ­mm2 ) when compared to 3D ­TEEsa , indicating imprecision. Conclusions When compared with 3D ­TEEsa modeling of the MA as the reference, the assumption of a circular shapeusing A4c TTE view diameter was the method with the least systematic error to assess MA area in DMVD and moder‑ ate to severe regurgitation.

Pneumocystis, an important opportunistic fungal pathogen that parasitizes in multiple mammalian lungs, may cause life-threatening Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) and even death among immunocompromised individuals. With the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing and multi-omics technologies, systematic comparative analyses of genome, transcriptome, and whole-genome sequencing results demonstrate that Pneumocystis is a type of obligate biotrophic fungi, and requires obtaining nutrition from hosts. In addition, sexual reproduction is an essential process for Pneumocystis survival, production and transmission, and asexual reproduction facilitates Pneumocystis survival, which provides new insights into understanding of the whole developmental process of Pneumocystis in the host lung and inter-host transmission of Pneumocystis. This review summarizes the advances in the reproduction mode of Pneumocystis and underlying mechanisms, which provides insights into prevention and treatment of PCP, notably for the prophylaxis against nosocomial transmission of PCP.
Humans ; Lung/microbiology* ; Pneumocystis/genetics* ; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis/microbiology*

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic related risk factors in farmers aged ≥18 years in China, to explore the influence of population economic factors on them. Methods: A total of 3 367 farmers, including fishermen or hunters, aged ≥18 years were selected as study subjects from the database of Nutritional Status and Health Transition of Chinese Residents Project in 2015. Basic information (age, gender), data on anthropometric (body height, weight and waist size), blood biochemical and socioeconomic (occupation, income, education level and living area) were included. According to the definition of the metabolic syndrome released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2005, five cardio-metabolic risk factors appeared as central obesity, increased triglycerides, decreased HDL-C, increased blood pressure and increased plasma glucose. Co-prevalence of risk factors was defined as detecting 2 or more risk factors in a person at the same time. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic factors and metabolic risk factors. Results: In 3 367 framers of 15 provinces (autonomous region and municipality), the prevalence rates of central obesity, increased blood pressure, increased plasma glucose, increased triglycerides and decreased HDL-C were 51.8%, 59.0%, 17.0%, 25.5% and 38.7% respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risks for central obesity (OR=3.69, 95%CI: 3.17-4.28) and decreased HDL-C (OR=3.28, 95%CI: 2.81- 3.82) were higher in women than in men, and the risks for increased blood pressure (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.63-0.84), increased blood glucose (OR=0.80, 95%CI: 0.67-0.97) were lower in women than in men. Age was positively correlated with the prevalence or co-prevalence of metabolic risk factors (trend P<0.05). Framers in western China had obviously lower risk for central obesity compared with farmers in central China. No significant correlation was found between farmers' income level, education level or the prevalence of metabolic risk factors. Conclusion: In 15 provinces of China, the prevalence of at least 1 kind of cardio-metabolic risk factor was found in 85.5% of the farmers, and the co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factor was found in 60% of farmers. The prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors were significantly associated with age and gender. It is suggested to take targeted nutritional intervention and health education according to the distribution characteristics of prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic factors and strengthen the early prevention and control programs of the diseases.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Farmers ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology* ; Obesity/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

Humans ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell/pathology* ; Kidney Neoplasms/pathology* ; Biomarkers, Tumor

Anemone flaccida Fr. Schmidt is a perennial medicinal herb that contains pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins as the major bioactive constituents. In China, the rhizomes are used as treatments for a variety of ailments including arthritis. However, yields of the saponins are low, and little is known about the plant's genetic background or phytohormonal responsiveness. Using one-quarter of the 454 pyrosequencing information from the Roche GS FLX Titanium platform, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to identify 157 genes putatively encoding 26 enzymes involved in the synthesis of the bioactive compounds. It was revealed that there are two biosynthetic pathways of triterpene saponins in A. flaccida. One pathway depends on β-amyrin synthase and is similar to that found in other plants. The second, subsidiary ("backburner") pathway is catalyzed by camelliol C synthase and yields β-amyrin as minor byproduct. Both pathways used cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases (CYPs) and family 1 uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases (UGTs) to modify the triterpenoid backbone. The expression of CYPs and UGTs were quite different in roots treated with the phytohormones methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid and indole-3-acetic acid. This study provides the first large-scale transcriptional dataset for the biosynthetic pathways of triterpene saponins and their phytohormonal responsiveness in the genus Anemone.
Anemone ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; drug effects ; Glycosyltransferases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism ; Plant Growth Regulators ; pharmacology ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; Rhizome ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saponins ; metabolism ; Triterpenes ; metabolism

Bacterial infection is a common finding in patients, who develop medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) by the long-term and/or high-dose use of anti-resorptive agents such as bisphosphonate (BPs). However, pathological role of bacteria in MRONJ development at the early stage remains controversial. Here, we demonstrated that commensal microbiota protects against MRONJ development in the pulp-exposed periapical periodontitis mouse model. C57/BL6 female mice were treated with intragastric broad-spectrum antibiotics for 1 week. Zoledronic acid (ZOL) through intravenous injection and antibiotics in drinking water were administered for throughout the experiment. Pulp was exposed on the left maxillary first molar, then the mice were left for 5 weeks after which bilateral maxillary first molar was extracted and mice were left for additional 3 weeks to heal. All mice were harvested, and cecum, maxilla, and femurs were collected. ONJ development was assessed using μCT and histologic analyses. When antibiotic was treated in mice, these mice had no weight changes, but developed significantly enlarged ceca compared to the control group (CTL mice). Periapical bone resorption prior to the tooth extraction was similarly prevented when treated with antibiotics, which was confirmed by decreased osteoclasts and inflammation. ZOL treatment with pulp exposure significantly increased bone necrosis as determined by empty lacunae and necrotic bone amount. Furthermore, antibiotics treatment could further exacerbate bone necrosis, with increased osteoclast number. Our findings suggest that the commensal microbiome may play protective role, rather than pathological role, in the early stages of MRONJ development.
Animals ; Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw/prevention & control* ; Bone Density Conservation Agents ; Diphosphonates ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Microbiota ; Periapical Diseases ; Zoledronic Acid