Objective: To assess the capacity of prevention and control on chronic non- communicable diseases (NCDs) in China. Methods: On-line questionnaire survey was adopted by 3 395 CDCs at provincial, municipal and county (district) levels and 3 000 primary health care units, and assess on capacity of policy, infrastructure, capacity of training and guidance, cooperation, surveillance, intervention and management, assessment and scientific research from September 2014 to March 2015. Results: (1) Capacity of policy: 23 (71.9%) provincial, 139 (40.6%) municipal and 919 (31.2%) county (district) governments or health administrative departments had existing plans for prevention and control of NCDs. (2) Capacity of infrastructure: 25 (78.1%) provincial, 136 (39.8%) municipal and 529 (18.0%) county (district) CDCs had set up departments dedicated to the prevention and control of NCDs, with 9 787 staff members, accounting for 5.0% of the total CDC personnel, working on NCDs prevention and control programs. 68.1% of the CDCs had special funding set for NCDs prevention and control. (3) Capacity of training and guidance: 2 485 CDCs (74.9%) held all kinds of training on prevention and control of NCDs. 2 571 (87.3%) CDCs at the county (district) level provided technical guidance for primary health care units. (4) Capacity of cooperation: 42.0% of the CDCs had experiences collaborating with the mass media. (5) Capacity of surveillance: 73.8% of the CDCs had set up programs for death registration while less than 50.0% of the CDCs had implemented surveillance programs on major NCDs and related risk factors. In terms of primary health care units, 32.4% of them had set up reporting system for newly developed stroke case and 29.9% of them having programs on myocardial infarction case reporting. (6) Capacity of intervention and management: 69.1% and 68.2% of the CDCs conducted individualized intervention programs on hypertension and diabetes, while less than 40.0% CDCs conducting intervention programs on other NCDs and risk factors. More than 90.0% of the primary health care units carried out follow-up surveys on hypertension and diabetes. However, only 17.4% and 13.7% of the CDCs working on hypertension and diabetes patient management programs while 83.7% and 80.4%, of them following the standardized guidelines for management, with successful rates of control as 59.2% and 55.2%, respectively. (7) Capacity of assessment: 32.4% of the CDCs or health administrations carried out evaluation programs related to the responses on NCDs. (8) Capacity of scientific research: the capacity on scientific research among provincial CDCs was apparently higher than that at the municipal or county (district) CDCs. Conclusions: Compared with the results of previous two surveys, the capacity on policies set for the prevention and control programs improved continuously, at all level NCDs, but remained relatively weak, especially at both county (district) and primary health care units.
China ; Chronic Disease/prevention & control* ; Community Health Services/organization & administration* ; Health Planning Organizations/organization & administration* ; Humans ; Noncommunicable Diseases/prevention & control* ; Public Health ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Workforce

Objective: To carry out a quantitative estimate that related to the effects of short-term exposure to PM(2.5) on all-cause mortality and emergency visits in China by using the systematic review and Meta-analysis. Methods: We selected all the studies published before March 2018 from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang database, PubMed and EMBASE and data on relative risk (RR), excess risk (ER) and their 95%CIs: appeared in these papers were extracted. According to the differences in the size or direction (heterogeneity) of the results, we computed summary estimates of the effect values using a random-effect or fixed effect model. We also conducted the subgroup analysis and Meta-analysis to have assessed the selected studies for the evidence of study bias. Results: A total of 33 original studies, indexed in databases, were identified. Among those studies, 39 sets of data on mortality and 4 sets of data on emergency were valid to show that within the daily concentration range from 47.7 to 176.7 μg/m(3), for 10 μg/m(3) increases in PM(2.5) concentrations, it would increase the daily numbers of deaths by 0.49% (95%CI: 0.39%-0.59%) and 0.30% (95%CI: 0.10%-0.51%) for all-cause deaths and all-cause emergency-room visits, respectively. For subgroup analysis, the combined effect of PM(2.5) in causing short-term all-cause deaths in the northern areas (ER=0.42%, 95%CI: 0.30%-0.54%) seemed lower than that in the southern areas (ER=0.63%, 95%CI: 0.44%-0.82%). The combined effect of PM(2.5) concentration below 75 μg/m(3) (ER=0.50%, 95%CI: 0.37%-0.62%) was higher than that of PM(2.5) concentration ≥75 μg/m(3) (ER=0.39%, 95%CI: 0.26%-0.52%). Conclusion: Within the concentration range from 47.7 to 176.7 μg/m(3), short-term exposure to current level of PM(2.5) might increase both the all-cause daily mortality and daily emergency visits in China.
Air Pollutants ; Air Pollution/statistics & numerical data* ; China ; Databases, Factual ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Environmental Exposure/statistics & numerical data* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Particulate Matter/toxicity* ; Time Factors

Objective: To explore the relationship between different dimensions of infectious disease-specific health literacy scale in China. Methods: Structural equation model (SEM) was employed to assess the psychometric properties of the infectious disease-specific health literacy scale. Based on the database from a randomly selected sample of 4 499 adult residents in three provinces in China, from March to May 2015. AMOS 21.0 software was used to build the SEM for data analyses. Results: SEM analyses showed a good model fit of data, with the following satisfied parameters: goodness-of-fit index was 0.969, adjusted goodness-of-fit index was 0.962, root mean square residual was 0.038, root mean square error of approximation was 0.038, standardized root mean square residual was 0.032, Tacker-Lewis index/non-normed fit index was 0.926, comparative fit index was 0.934, normed fit index was 0.925, relative fit index was 0.915, incremental fit index was 0.934, parsimony goodness-of-fit index was 0.782, parsimony-adjusted normed fit index was 0.817, parsimony-adjusted comparative fit index was 0.825 and critical N was 702. The established SEM showed that the total influence path coefficient of "infectious disease-related knowledge and values" on the "infectious disease prevention" , "management or treatment of infectious diseases" and "identification of infection sources" were 0.771, 0.744 and 0.843, respectively. The total influence path coefficients of "identification of infection sources" , "infectious disease prevention" on "management or treatment of infectious diseases" were 0.164 and 0.535, respectively. The effect of "infectious disease-related knowledge and values" on "management or treatment of infectious diseases" appeared the greatest (55.4%), followed by "infectious disease prevention" (28.6%) and "identification of infection sources" (2.7%). Conclusion: This SEM could be optimistically used for planning and evaluation of health education and promotion programs on infectious diseases prevention.
Adult ; China ; Health Literacy ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Psychometrics ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Animals ; Anxiety ; Larva ; Lead ; Oxidative Stress ; Zebrafish

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the RNA binding protein of Toxoplasma gondii (TgDDX39) using bioinformatics technology, and to evaluate the immunogenicity of TgDDX39, so as to provide insights into development of toxoplasmosis vaccines. METHODS: The amino acid sequences of TgDDX39 were retrieved from the ToxoDB database, and the physicochemical properties, transmembrane structure domain, signal peptide sites, post-translational modification sites, coils, secondary and tertiary structures, hydrophobicity, and antigenic epitopes of the TgDDX39 protein were predicted using online bioinformatics tools, incluiding ProtParam, TMHMM 2.0, SignalP 5.0, NetPhos 3.1, COILS, SOPMA, Phyre2, ProtScale, ABCpred, SYFPEITHI and DNA-STAR. RESULTS: TgDDX39 protein was predicted to be an unstable hydrophilic protein with the molecular formula of C₂₁₇₃H₃₄₅₈N₅₉₈O₆₆₁S₁₈, which contained 434 amino acids and had an estimated molecular weight of 49.1 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.55. The protein was predicted to have an extremely low possibility of signal peptides, without transmembrane regions, and contain 27 phosphorylation sites. The β turn and random coils accounted for 39.63% of the secondary structure of the TgDDX39 protein, and a coiled helix tended to produce in one site. In addition, the TgDDX39 protein contained multiple B and T cell antigenic epitopes. CONCLUSIONS Bioinformatics analyses predict that TgDDX39 protein has high immunogenicity and contains multiple antigenic epitopes. TgDDX39 protein is a potential candidate antigen for vaccine development.
Humans ; Toxoplasma/metabolism* ; Toxoplasmosis/prevention & control* ; Vaccines ; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte ; Computational Biology ; Protozoan Proteins/chemistry*

Objective: To explore the associations between maternal and prenatal depressive symptoms and children's behavioral problems at 2 years old. Methods: In the present study, a total of 491 mother-child pairs were selected from the Shanghai-Minhang Birth Cohort Study (S-MBCS) which was conducted in Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Minhang District in Shanghai between April and December, 2012. Data from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies on Depression was gathered to assess the maternal depressive symptoms in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, as well as at 6 months and 12 months postpartum. Neurodevelopment at 2 years was assessed, using the Child Behavior Checklist. We used generalized linear models with a log-link function and a Binomial distribution to estimate the risk ratios (RRs) and 95%CIs, on children's behavioral problems at 2 years of age. Sensitivity analyses were performed among participants without postpartum depressive symptoms. Results: After adjustment on factors as maternal age, gestation week, average monthly income per person, parental education and children's gender etc., maternal depression in second trimester of pregnancy was found associated with higher risk of both developing emotional (RR=2.61, 95%CI: 1.36-4.99) and internalizing problems (RR=1.94, 95%CI: 1.22-3.08). However, maternal depression in third trimester was found to be associated with higher risks of developing emotional (RR=6.46, 95%CI: 3.09-13.53), withdrawn (RR=2.42, 95%CI: 1.16-5.02), aggressive (RR=2.93, 95%CI: 1.45-5.94), internalizing (RR=1.79, 95%CI: 1.01-3.16) or externalizing problems (RR=2.56, 95%CI:1.49-4.42). In sensitivity analysis, antenatal maternal depression was found positively associated with children's emotional, internalizing and externalizing problems and the differences all statistically significant. Conclusions: Maternal depression during pregnancy might increase the risks of children's behavioral problems. In order to decrease the incidence of children's behavioral problems and promoting both maternal and child health status, monitoring program regarding maternal mental health care should be strengthened.
Adult ; Child ; Child Behavior Disorders/psychology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Depression/epidemiology* ; Depressive Disorder ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Maternal Age ; Mothers/psychology* ; Pregnancy ; Problem Behavior/psychology* ; Prospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective:To explore the effect of a Chinese medicinal composition ( Xiadanqi) on the prevention of radon exposure induced injuries of lung in vitro and in vivo. Methods:Mice were randomly divided into three groups of blank control group, radon-exposed group alone and radon-exposed group intervened with Chinese medicinal composition. The pathological changes of lung tissues in each group after 120 WLM were observed by HE and Masson staining, and the expressions of α-SMA protein and Vimentin protein in lung tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry staining. The levels of oxidative stress in lung tissue of each group were detected with SOD and MDA kits. At the same time, a radon exposed cell model and a radon exposure + Xiadanqi intervention cell model were constructed using an ecological radon chamber. The cell adhesion abilities of different groups were detected by an adhesion kit. The cell migration ability of each group was determined by the transwell migration experiment. The expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin protein was detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with the radon exposure group, the concentration of MDA was decreased ( t=4.43, P<0.05), the activity of SOD was increased ( t=3.22, P<0.05), and α-SMA and Vimentin protein expressions were decreased ( t=3.08, 7.57, P<0.05) in lung tissue of mice intervened with 2 mg/g Xiadanqi. In vitro, compared with radon exposure group, the migration ability was reduced ( t=4.78, 13.01, P<0.05), the cell adhesion property was enhanced ( t=3.41, 12.55, P<0.05), the expression of E-cadherin protein was increased ( t=2.96, 19.57, P<0.05), and the expression of Vimentin protein was obviously reduced ( t=21.00, 33.32, P<0.05) in radon-exposed cells with the treatment of Chinese medicine (150 μg/ml and 200 μg/ml). Conclusions:The Chinese medicinal composition ( Xiadanqi) has a certain radioprotective effect on radon exposure induced injury by reducing oxidative stress, attenuating EMT and fibrosis, and thus it may be applied as a protective agent for radon induced injury.

Biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) is a novel technique of external beam radiotherapy, combining positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) with a linear accelerator (LINAC). The key innovation is to utilize PET signals from tracers in tumor tissues for real-time tracking and guiding beamlets. Compared with a traditional LINAC system, a BgRT system is more complex in hardware design, software algorithm, system integration and clinical workflow. RefleXion Medical has developed the world's first BgRT system. Nevertheless, its actively advertised function, PET-guided radiotherapy, is still in the research and development phase. In this review study, we presented a number of issues related to BgRT, including its technical advantages and potential challenges.
Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Algorithms ; Particle Accelerators ; Biology ; Radiotherapy, Image-Guided/methods* ; Radiotherapy Dosage

Humans ; Neoplasms/genetics* ; Nuclear Proteins ; Co-Repressor Proteins ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Molecular Chaperones

High-voltage pulsed electric field(HV-PEF)ablation technology has demonstrated promising applications in the clinical treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).However,its use has been limited to exploratory applications in a small number of cases,and the underlying mechanisms remain largely undefined.To facilitate broader clinical implementation,comprehensive molecular mechanism studies via extensive animal experimentation are essential.Rats,due to their ease of modeling COPD and the availability of comprehensive molecular reagents,serve as an optimal model for such studies.Consequently,the development of electrodes specifically designed for HV-PEF respiratory ablation in SD rats is of significant importance.In this study,we meticulously examined the anatomical structure of rat airways and investigated various equipment parameters,including material composition,rigidity,diameter,electrode ring dimensions,spacing between positive and negative poles,insulation coating for the catheters,welding techniques between the guidewire and electrode ring,and the design of vent holes in the catheter.Based on these considerations,we fabricated PVC ablation electrode catheters with integrated ventilation functionality.Subsequently,we employed finite element simulation to estimate the field strengths that could be applied by these electrodes.The simulation results were then validated in normal rats to assess the electrical safety and efficacy of the electrodes.These findings laid the groundwork for further investigation into the mechanisms of HV-PEF treatment for COPD.