Abstract: Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics, prevention and control strategies, measures and the effects achieved of malaria in Huangshi City from 1951 to 2021, and to offer a reference for further strengthening malaria eradication and control successes. Methods　Descriptive epidemiological methods were used to assess the prevalence, measurements, and impacts of malaria in different time periods based on data for malaria control in Huangshi City from 1951 to 2021, and we created "semi-log" line graphs and charts to display the prevalence of disease and the effort done in prior years in terms of prevention and control. Results　Between 1951 and 2021, 527 780 cases of malaria were recorded in Huangshi, with an average annual incidence rate of 40.07/10 000. The prevention and control of malaria has gone through four stages, namely, the high prevalence of malaria stage (1951-1979), the basic elimination stage (1980-1999), the consolidation stage (2000-2010), and the eradication stage (2011-2021). Different strategies and measures have been adopted in different epidemic periods. During the high epidemic period, great efforts have been made to carry out general surveys and treatments, and strengthen the management of symptomatic patients; during the eradication stage, prominent and classified prevention and control strategies were adopted. When the incidence rate dropped to below 1/10 000, the main measures adopted were malaria monitoring, including timely discovery and standardization of infectious sources, disposal of epidemic points, management of migrant population malaria and vector monitoring. Through active prevention and control, remarkable results were achieved, and the incidence rate of malaria fell to below 1/10 000 in 1989, reaching the level of "basic elimination of malaria" issued by the Ministry in 1999, and passed the provincial malaria elimination acceptance in 2015. In recent years, with the increasing labor exports and foreign exchanges, imported malaria has been on the rise. African countries are the main sources of imported malaria, and the main species is P.falciparum. Conclusions　Malaria was once one of the main infectious diseases endangering the health of people in Huangshi City. The preventive and control methods and procedures adopted in different epidemic periods are effective. Currently, we have entered the consolidation phase of malaria elimination, with the focus of work being to monitor, report, and timely and effectively respond to imported malaria cases, thus reducing the risk of local transmission.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the genotoxicity of a magnesium alloy coated with beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP).

METHODSFour groups were designed. In the first group, AZ31B magnesium alloy surface was coated with beta-TCP using chemical bath deposition, and in the second group magnesium alloy was tested. The other two groups were negative control (pure titanium) and positive control groups (0.5 mg/L bleomycin). Single cell gel electrophoresis was adopted to investigate genotoxicity of the alloy samples in different groups, and 60 cells from each group were analysed. Tail moment and tail DNA percentage were used as reliable indicators to show DNA damage in lymphocytes induced by every testing sample. Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test was used to compare results from 4 groups.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in tail moment and tail DNA percentage between magnesium alloy group [(0.52 +/- 0.12), (6.82 +/- 1.81)%] and magnesium alloy coated with beta-TCP group [(0.51 +/- 0.12), (6.89 +/- 1.93)%, P > 0.05]. Tail moment and tail DNA percentage in negative group were (0.47 +/- 0.14) and (6.29 +/- 1.64)%, and tail moment and tail DNA percentage in positive group were (5.17 +/- 1.23) and (22.09 +/- 4.51)%.

CONCLUSIONSNo significant increase was found in DNA damage in lymphocytes induced by magnesium alloy coated with beta-TCP.

Alloys ; Calcium Phosphates ; Coated Materials, Biocompatible ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Humans ; Magnesium ; Materials Testing

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the reproduction toxicity of the mixture composed of dichlorvos, dimethoate and malathion synergistic effect on male mice, and further explore its possible mechanisms.

METHODSThe 105 male mice were divided into 7 groups, including control (0 mg/kg), mix low (10.8 mg/kg), mix medium (21.5 mg/kg), mix high dose (43.0 mg/kg), dichlorvos (5.1 mg/kg), dimethoate (12.6 mg/kg) and malathion (25.3 mg/kg) group. The oral gavage for successive 35 days, and the mice were sacrificed on the 36(th) day. The body weight, and the quantity, activity and morphology of sperms were examined. The levels of sexual hormone were measured, including testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E(2)). Pathological changes of testicle and epididymis were observed by morphology, pathology and electron microscope.

RESULTSAfter 14 days exposure, the body weights of the mice were lower in the mix-high dose group ((22.40 ± 3.07) g) than those in control group ((26.73 ± 2.82) g) (P < 0.05). After 28 days exposure, the body weights of the mice were also lower in the mix-medium dose group ((30.00 ± 4.93) g) than those in control group ((33.13 ± 3.29) g) (P < 0.05). The sperm counts and sperm motility decreased significantly as the toxic concentration arised. Comparing to control group ((373.33 ± 14.65)×10(6)/g weight of epididymis and (75.17 ± 7.68)%), the spermatozoa count and sperm motility had decreased in mix-medium and mix-high dose groups ((321.17 ± 18.19)×10(6)/g weight of epididymis, (225.00 ± 19.67)×10(6)/g weight of epididymis, and (64.67 ± 9.91)%, (57.83 ± 9.66)%), and the sperm abnormality rates were higher in mix-medium and mix-high groups ((43.33 ± 8.66)‰ and (55.00 ± 13.80)‰) comparing to those in control group ((32.67 ± 8.17)‰). Compared to those in control group (FSH (1.41 ± 0.20), E(2)(17.32 ± 2.72), LH (8.75 ± 1.32) and T (3.45 ± 0.80) nmol/L), the serum level of FSH (3.14 ± 0.62) and (3.85 ± 0.37) nmol/L, E(2) (36.81 ± 6.68) and (43.76 ± 9.82) nmol/L in mix-medium and mix-high dose group increased (P < 0.01), while the level of LH (5.21 ± 1.23) and (4.27 ± 1.09) nmol/L and T (1.37 ± 0.38) and (0.73 ± 0.18) nmol/L decreased (P < 0.01). The morphological and ultramicrostructure results of testicle and epididymis indicated that the mature sperm numbers were decreased, and the cacoplastic sperm head and the tail of spermatozoon were observed in mix-high dose groups.

CONCLUSIONThe dichlorvos, dimethoate and malathion mixture had synergistic reproductive toxicity to the testicle and epididymis structure and function, and thus leading to the process of generation cell cytopoiesis abnormalities, simultaneously the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis were also affected and thus resulted in parasecretion.

Animals ; Body Weight ; Dichlorvos ; toxicity ; Dimethoate ; toxicity ; Malathion ; toxicity ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Organ Size ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; Toxicity Tests

Background: and Purpose Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Early recognition OH is required with sensitive assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether blood pressure (BP) changes during exercise can predict the occurrence of OH in PD. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 80 consecutive patients with PD. All patients agreed to participate in a baseline evaluation and cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET).According to the initial active standing test (AST), those without OH (PD-nonOH) at baseline had their AST results followed up for 6 months. The main outcome was defined as whether patients without OH at baseline would develop OH after 6 months. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the relevant variables. A nomogram was constructed based on clinical features and identified variables. The concordance index (C-index) and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the accuracy and predictive ability of the nomogram, respectively. Results: CPET results indicated that peak load, peak heart rate, heart rate recovery at 1 min, and systolic BP change (ΔSBP) were lower in those with OH than in the PD-nonOH group (p<0.05) at baseline. Logistic regression analysis indicated that peak load and ΔSBP during CPET had significant effects on OH (p<0.05). Age, sex, peak load, and ΔSBP were used to construct the nomogram model (C-index=0.761). The prediction model had an AUC of 0.782 (95% confidence interval=0.649–0.889) and a specificity and sensitivity of 70.0% and 81.8%, respectively. Conclusions This study has identified predictive factors for OH development in patients with PD. CPET could be used as a complementary examination to identify patients at a high risk of OH.

Abdominal Wall ; Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; Colonic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Female ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Ileal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Ileocecal Valve ; Leiomyoma ; diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary ; diagnosis ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Uterine Neoplasms ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of carbon disulfide (CS(2)) on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9 in mouse embryo and uterus tissues and to explore the mechanism of embryo toxicity induced by CS(2).

METHODSAt the phases of follicular development and embryonic implantation which was subdivided into early-implantation phase and late-implantation phase, mice were intraperitoneally exposed to CS(2) (the dosage was 631.4 mg/kg, and the volume was 0.1ml/10 g body weight) for 2 consecutive days. All indicators were got at the ninth day in gestation, and the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in embryo and uterus tissues was analyzed by gelatin zymography.

RESULTSThe number of implanted embryos significantly decreased after exposure at late-implantation phase (16.000 ± 12.166) compared with those of the control (30.700 ± 5.599, P < 0.05). Expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in embryos declined obviously at the three reproductive phases (P < 0.01), and the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in embryos at the phases of late-implantation phase (0.6837 ± 0.0929, 0.7309 ± 0.0822) and follicular development (0.6222 ± 0.0997, 0.7520 ± 0.1068) were much lower than those of the control (1.0000 ± 0.0710, 1.0000 ± 0.0413, P < 0.01). Expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in uterus significantly increased at the phase of late-implantation (1.3153 ± 0.3032, 5.0210 ± 4.0307) compared with those of the control (1.0000 ± 0.1771, 1.0000 ± 0.0996, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONEmbryo toxicity of CS(2) is more obvious at the phase of late-implantation. Exposure to CS(2) disturbs expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in embryo and uterus tissues, which might be one of the important factors contributed to embryo toxicity induced by CS(2).

Animals ; Carbon Disulfide ; toxicity ; Embryo Implantation ; Embryo, Mammalian ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Female ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Pregnancy ; Uterus ; drug effects ; metabolism

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; metabolism ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo identify antithrombin III (AT-III) gene mutation and polymorphisms in pregnant women and parturients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).

METHODSThe genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 50 pregnant women and parturients with CVT and 52 matched healthy women for molecular analysis using a PCR/DHPLC assay followed by DNA sequence analysis. Ten primer pairs were designed for amplifying the AT- III promoter region and exons 1-6 including the exon/intron boundaries. A rapid screening assay based on DHPLC was established to screen the mutation and polymorphisms of AT- III gene.

RESULTSSix abnormal peaks were detected in 40 of the patients by DHPLC. Direct DNA sequencing was performed on representative samples detected by DHPLC profiling. One pathogenic heterozygous G13328A missense mutation in exon 6, and a novel silent mutation in exon 4+243 G>A were identified. Six single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites were found, including 4 previously reported ones in the SNP library and two were novel SNP sites. An abnormal peak was detected in the control group by DHPLC.

CONCLUSIONDHPLC allows automated and rapid high-throughput detection of AT- III gene mutation and polymorphisms in the clinical setting and prenatal diagnosis. Our findings suggested that AT- III gene mutation, as well as its polymorphisms, contributes to the occurrence of CVT in pregnant women and parturients.

Adult ; Antithrombin III ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Case-Control Studies ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Genetic Testing ; methods ; Humans ; Intracranial Thrombosis ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic ; genetics ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo perform mutation analysis and describe the genotype of the SMN gene in a patient with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and his family.

METHODSDeletion analysis of the SMN1 exon 7 by conventional PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and allele-specific PCR, and gene dosage of SMN1 and SMN2 by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) were performed for the patient and his parents; reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and sequencing were performed for the patient. To determine whether the SMN variant was exclusive to transcripts derived from SMN1, the RT-PCR product of the patient was subcloned and multiple clones were sequenced directly; PCR of SMN exon 5 from the genomic DNA of the parents and direct sequencing were performed to confirm the mutation.

RESULTSIn SMN1 exon 7 deletion analysis, no homozygous deletion of the SMN1 was observed in the family; the gene dosage analysis by MLPA showed that the patient had 1 copy of SMN1 and 1 copy of SMN2 his father had 2 copies of SMN1 and 2 copies of SMN2, and his mother had 1 copy of SMN1 and no SMN2. A previously unreported missense mutation of S230L was identified from the patient and this mutation was also found in his father.

CONCLUSIONA novel missense mutation of S230L was identified in the SMA family and the genotype of the family members were investigated.

Base Sequence ; Child, Preschool ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Exons ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Muscular Atrophy, Spinal ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SMN Complex Proteins ; genetics ; Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood ; genetics ; Survival of Motor Neuron 1 Protein ; genetics ; snRNP Core Proteins ; genetics