Background: The H5 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of clade 2.3.4.4 circulate in wild and domestic birds worldwide. In 2017, nine strains of H5N6 AIVs were isolated from aquatic poultry in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the origin, reassortment, and mutations of the AIV isolates. Methods: AIVs were isolated from oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs of poultry. Identification was accomplished by inoculating isolates into embryonated chicken eggs and performing hemagglutination tests and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The viral genomes were amplified with RT-PCR and then sequenced. The sequence alignment, phylogenetic, and molecular characteristic analyses were performed by using bioinformatic software. Results: Nine isolates originated from the same ancestor. The viral HA gene belonged to clade 2.3.4.4B, while the NA gene had a close phylogenetic relationship with the 2.3.4.4C H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) isolated from shoveler ducks in Ningxia in 2015. The NP gene was grouped into an independent subcluster within the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 AIVs, and the remaining six genes all had close phylogenetic relationships with the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 HPAIVs isolated from the wild birds in China, Egypt, Uganda, Cameroon, and India in 2016–2017, Multiple basic amino acid residues associated with HPAIVs were located adjacent to the cleavage site of the HA protein. The nine isolates comprised reassortant 2.3.4.4B HPAIVs originating from 2.3.4.4B H5N8 and 2.3.4.4C H5N6 viruses in wild birds. Conclusions These results suggest that the Northern Tianshan Mountain wetlands in Xinjiang may have a key role in AIVs disseminating from Central China to the Eurasian continent and East African.

Objective To explore the significance of the initial clinical symptoms and clinical manifestations of neuroblastoma(NB)to achive early identification of NB. Methods A retrospective study was performed on patients diagnosed with NB,who attended the Hematology Oncology Center,Beijing Childrenˊs Hospital from March 31st ,2007 to March 31st,2015. The clinical characteristics were compared between the children 〈1_year_old and≥1_year_old. The result was analyzed to compare the difference in clinical symptoms and tumor biologic characteristics of patients with different initial clinical symptoms between 2 groups. Results A total of 330 patients were included in the study,43 of them were younger than 1 year old,and their most common symptoms were cough and fever( each 17 cases,and accounted for 39. 5%,respectively);while the most common symptoms in patients≥1_year_old(287 cases)was fe_ver(177 cases,61. 7%),followed by lymphadenopathy(107 cases,37. 3%),bone pain(97 cases,33. 8%)and anemia (48 cases,16. 7%). The frequency of symptoms differed significantly between 2 groups(all P〈0. 05),such as fever (39. 5% vs. 61. 7%,χ2 ﹦6. 68),anemia(4. 7% vs. 16. 7%,χ2 ﹦6. 00),bone pain(0 vs. 33. 8%,χ2 ﹦18. 99),abdo_minal pain(0 vs. 25. 3%,χ2 ﹦10. 19),diarrhea(16. 3% vs. 3. 0%,χ2 ﹦12. 73),lymphadenopathy(7. 0% vs. 37. 3%, χ2 ﹦14. 12)and anorexia(9. 3% vs. 33. 4%,χ2 ﹦9. 21). Datients had fever,anemia,lymphadenopathy,cutaneous hemorrhagic spot or periorbital ecchymosis,bone pain,abdominal pain,exophthalmos,and anorexia early in the initial course of the disease,whose serum lactate dehydrogenase values were significantly increased(P〈0. 05). Datients suf_fered from fever,anemia,lymphadenopathy,bone pain,limbs dysfunctions,abdominal pain at the beginning of the disease,whose urine vanillymandelic acid values were higher than normal(P〈0. 05). Conclusions The study of sympto_mology suggests the most common symptoms in patients with NB 〈1_year_old are cough and fever,while those ≥1_year_old are fever,lymphadenopathy,bone pain,and anemia. Por patients with symptoms mentioned,carrying out the necessary NB_diagnose_related laboratory and imaging studies was statistically relevant to patientsˊ ages(〈1_year_old and≥1_year_old),which may contribute to earlier identification and diagnosis of NB.

Background: The H5 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of clade 2.3.4.4 circulate in wild and domestic birds worldwide. In 2017, nine strains of H5N6 AIVs were isolated from aquatic poultry in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the origin, reassortment, and mutations of the AIV isolates. Methods: AIVs were isolated from oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs of poultry. Identification was accomplished by inoculating isolates into embryonated chicken eggs and performing hemagglutination tests and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The viral genomes were amplified with RT-PCR and then sequenced. The sequence alignment, phylogenetic, and molecular characteristic analyses were performed by using bioinformatic software. Results: Nine isolates originated from the same ancestor. The viral HA gene belonged to clade 2.3.4.4B, while the NA gene had a close phylogenetic relationship with the 2.3.4.4C H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) isolated from shoveler ducks in Ningxia in 2015. The NP gene was grouped into an independent subcluster within the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 AIVs, and the remaining six genes all had close phylogenetic relationships with the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 HPAIVs isolated from the wild birds in China, Egypt, Uganda, Cameroon, and India in 2016–2017, Multiple basic amino acid residues associated with HPAIVs were located adjacent to the cleavage site of the HA protein. The nine isolates comprised reassortant 2.3.4.4B HPAIVs originating from 2.3.4.4B H5N8 and 2.3.4.4C H5N6 viruses in wild birds. Conclusions These results suggest that the Northern Tianshan Mountain wetlands in Xinjiang may have a key role in AIVs disseminating from Central China to the Eurasian continent and East African.

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of newly treated high-risk group neuroblastoma (NB) patients with bone marrow metastasis and to explore the prognostic factors. Methods: The clinical features (sex, age, stage, risk group, pathological type, metastatic site, etc.) of 203 newly treated high-risk NB patients with bone marrow metastasis admitted to Hematology Oncology Center, Beijing Children′s Hospital from January 2007 to December 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 118 males (58.1%) and 85 females (41.9%). Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis and Cox regression was used to analyze the prognostic factors. Results: The age at onset of the 203 patients was 41 months (9-147 months). The metastatic sites at diagnosis were as follows: bone in 195 cases (96.1%), distant lymph nodes in 104 cases (51.2%), skull and endomeninx in 61 cases (30.0%), orbit in 30 cases (14.8%), pleura in 16 cases (7.9%), liver in 13 cases(6.4%), canalis spinalis in 13 cases (6.4%), other sites in 11 cases (5.4%) and skin and soft tissue in 10 cases (4.9%). In all, 194 cases were enrolled for prognostic analysis. The follow-up time was 36 months (1 day-138 months) , and the 5-years event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 36.1% and 39.7%, respectively. A total of 118 patients (60.8%) had events (first relapse or death) with the time to event occurrence was 15 months (1 day-72 months), whereas 112 patients (57.7%) died with the event occurrence to death time was 3 months (1 day-21 months). There was no significant difference in 5-years OS between radiotherapy group and non-radiotherapy group (42.3% vs. 38.3%, χ²=3.671, P=0.055). The 5-years OS in transplantation group was significantly better than the non-transplantation group (44.3% vs. 35.5%, χ²=8.878, P=0.003), and the radiotherapy combined transplantation group also had a better 5-years OS rate than the non-radiotherapy combined transplantation group (45.8% vs. 37.3%, χ²=5.945, P=0.015). Univariate survival analysis showed lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 1 500 U/L, the amplification of MYCN, the metastatic sites of orbit, canalis spinalis and pleura were associated with poor prognosis of newly diagnosed high-risk NB patients (χ²=21.064, 13.601, 3.998, 6.183, 15.307, all P<0.05). The amplification of MYCN and the metastatic sites of pleura were risk factors for prognosis of newly diagnosed high-risk NB patients by Cox regression models (HR=1.896,1.100, 95%CI: 1.113-3.231, 1.020-1.187, both P<0.05). Conclusions The prognosis is unfavorable in high-risk group NB patients with BM metastasis. Radiotherapy combined with transplantation can further improve the prognosis of these patients. The amplification of MYCN and the metastatic sites of pleura were the poor prognostic factors for high-risk NB patients with bone marrow metastasis.