The infection rate of Oncomelania snails, emergence rate of Schistosoma japa-nicum cercariae, number of emerged cercariae and survival time of infected snails were observed experimentally by exposing single snails to different number of miracidia (i.e. 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 respectively). The infection rate of snails was shown to be increased with the increasing number of miracidia. The frequency of cercaria emergence of infected snails varied significantly in different seasons and the highest was in spring and summer. No cercaria emergence was observed in winter. The average number of cercariae emerged from a single infected snail in each observation was 70.67, and through the whole lifetime in this experiment, 1,148.85?96.29. There was no significant difference in average number of emerged cercariae among the 5 groups of infected snails. The maximum number of cercariae emerged from one infected snail was 8,079. Calculated from the begining of cercaria emergence, the survival time of infected snails was in average 118.28?9.94 days, and the longest being 839 days. There was no significant difference in survival time among the 5 groups, and 94.8% infected snails died within one year.

Objective To understand the Oncomelania hupensis snail distribution in the working areas of Yangtze River hy?drologic agencies located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in 2016,so as to provide the evidence for assess?ing the risk of schistosome infection of hydrological workers and establishing the control strategies. Methods The suspicious en?vironments with O. hupensis snails in the above working areas were selected as study areas,and the snail situation was surveyed by the system sampling method combined with the environmental sampling method. The survey data were collected and analyzed statistically. Results Totally 19 working areas from 17 hydrological agencies were selected as the investigation sites,among which,10 working areas from 9 agencies were found with O. hupensis snail distribution. The constituent ratio of the areas with snails reached to 38.81%of the investigation areas,the occurrence rate of frames with snails was 3.08%,and the average densi?ty of living snails was 0.07/0.1 m2. By comparison,the average density of living snails and occurrence rate of frames with snails in hydrological agencies under the jurisdiction of the Middle Reaches Administrative Bureau were the most serious among three administrative bureaus of the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission. Conclusions There are various degrees of O. hupen?sis breeding in the working areas of hydrological agencies located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River ,and the hydrological workers are facing with the risk of schistosome infection.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between comorbidity and fall injury degree in elderly inpatients with falls.Methods:Using the method of retrospective study, 212 elderly patients with fall comorbidity in a tertiary general hospital from January 2017 to March 2020 were selected as the research objects. The clinical data were collected according to the degree of injury. The severity of comorbidity was evaluated by age adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ACCI), and the relationship between the comorbidity and the degree of fall injury was analyzed.Results:The overall acci index of 212 patients was (7.21 ± 2.69) points, and the average number of comorbidities was (4.74 ± 2.20). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in CCI ( F value was 10.806, P<0.001)、aCCI ( F value was 15.231, P<0.001), comorbid circulatory system diseases ( χ2 value was 9.580, P=0.022) , urinary system diseases ( χ2 value was 10.127, P=0.018) , endocrine system diseases ( χ2 value was 7.978, P=0.046) and comorbidities( F value was 3.093, P=0.028) among elderly patients with different injury degrees. Spearman correlation analysis showed that age, CCI, aCCI and the number of comorbidities were correlated with the degree of fall injury ( P<0.05). Logistic regression model showed that aCCI ( B value was 0.234, OR value was 1.264) was an independent predictor of fall injury. The area under the ROC curve was 0.652 (95% CI 0.579-0.725, P<0.001). Conclusions:The aCCI index can predict the degree of fall injury.

OBJECTIVETo study the immunogenicity and safety of recombinant yeast-derived hepatitis B vaccine (YDV) in adults.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-four healthy teachers aged 22 approximately 58 years with serum negative HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc and with normal temperature were randomly selected from Beipiao city, Liaoning province. All the subjects were immunized with 5 microg/0.5 ml of YDV made by Beijing Institute of Biologic Products, for three doses at an interval of one and six months, respectively.

RESULTSThe positivity of serum anti-HBs was 35.0%, 83.3%, 65.5% and 32.7% with a geometric mean titre (GMT) of 12.6 mIU/ml, 402.0 mIU/ml, 70.3 mIU/ml and 20.3 mIU/ml, respectively, three, seven, 12 and 24 months after immunization. The positivity and GMT of serum anti-HBs appeared the highest seven months after immunization, then began to decrease sharply. The positivity and GMT of serum anti-HBs in women was higher than that in men either three, or seven, or 12, or 24 months after immunization. The positivity of serum anti-HBs in those of 35 years or over was lower than that less than 35 years, seven months after immunization, but no age difference could be found 12 months after immunization. No local or systematic adverse reactions were found in all the subjects within three days after immunization.

CONCLUSIONThe recombinant yeast-derived hepatitis B vaccine (YDV) is immunogenic and safe for adults, but the persistency of serum anti-HBs in after immunization should be followed-up further.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Hepatitis B Antibodies ; blood ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunization ; Middle Aged ; Sex Factors ; Vaccines, Synthetic ; immunology ; Yeasts ; genetics

Objective To get a controllable acetabulum component inclination angle during the total hip arthroplasty(THA) with the lateral position,a new method using a self-made instrument was introduced.Methods Totally 80 consecutive patients undergoing THA at the lateral position were enrolled.Forty acetabular components were assembled using a new method with a self-made instrument referring to the 42 degrees' angle drawn on the wall(group A),while another 40 acetabular cups were implanted free-handedly(group B).The postoperative inclination angle was evaluated on the anterior-posterior pelvic radiographs.Results The average inclination angle was 43.3° ± 3.7°(34.7°～49.1°) in group A and 40.3 ± 4.5o(32.8°～50.7°) in group B.Moreover,40/40 of group A and 38/40 of group B were in the Lewinnek's inclination safe zone(P＞0.05),without significant differences between the two groups.Conclusion It is practical and reliable to decide the acetabular component orientation using the lateral position instrument and reference angle on the wall.

Objective:To investigate the common viral pathogen spectrum of acute respiratory infection (ARI) cases in Changshu city.Methods:Nasopharyngeal swab samples from outpatients and inpatients in five sentinel hospitals in Changshu city from January 2022 to October 2023 were collected. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the nucleic acids of influenza virus (Flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (AdV), human rhinovirus (HRV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), enterovirus (EV), human coronavirus (HCoV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), and human bocavirus (HBoV).Results:Of the 1 936 ARI cases, 18.1% (350/1 936) were tested positive for viral nucleic acid. Flu had the highest detection rate (7.1%), followed by HBoV (3.7%), AdV (1.9%) and RSV (1.6%). The virus detection rate was significantly different among different age groups and seasons. In March 2023, the total virus detection rate was the highest (47.6%), mainly Flu. Flu showed unimodal prevalence in spring and winter. The prevalence trend of HBoV and HCoV was consistent, and the detection rate of HBoV (5.43%) was higher than that of HCoV (2.45%), both of which peaked in summer. RSV prevalence peaks in autumn (4.5%). The detection rate of children aged 0-5 years was the highest, reaching 33.3%.Conclusions:The main ARI pathogens in Changshu city from 2022 to 2023 were Flu, HBoV, AdV and RSV.

Objective To compare the consistency of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)and fully auto-mated chemiluminescent immunoassay(CLIA)methods in measuring plasma aldosterone concentration(PAC)in the elderly patients in intensive care unit(ICU)and to explore the correlation between the levels of aldosterone(ALD)and blood biomarkers.Methods A total of 41 elderly ICU patients were included.PAC was measured using both LC-MS/MS and CLIA methods,followed by methodolo-gy validation and consistency comparison.Meanwhile,a retrospective analysis of the patients'clinical data was conducted,and the cor-relations between ALD and blood biomarkers were analyzed.Results The linear range of the LC-MS/MS method was 15 to 1 500 pg/mL,with a lower limit of quantification of 15 pg/mL.The inter-day and intra-day precisions were both less than 15％,and the re-covery rate was 94％to 99％,with no significant matrix effect.The PAC results detected by CLIA and LC-MS/MS methods were posi-tively correlated(r=0.762 7,P＜0.01),but the consistency between the two methods was poor.Deming regression analysis yielded the equation Y=0.969 6X-16.71,with a slope of 0.970(95％CI:0.890～1.049)and an intercept of-16.71(95％CI:-25.690 to-7.728).Bland-Altman analysis showed that CLIA overestimated PAC by an average of 21.18 pg/mL(95％CI:-25.89 to 68.26 pg/mL)compared to LC-MS/MS,with a bias of 24.02％.In the correlation analysis between ALD and blood biomarkers,ALD showed a significant positive correlation with myoglobin(Mb)(r=0.303,P＜0.05).Conclusion The LC-MS/MS method demonstrated good methodological performance in measuring PAC in the elderly patients in ICU.The consistency between LC-MS/MS and CLIA methods was poor,and the two methods should not be used interchangeably in clinical practice.There was a positive correlation between ALD and Mb,suggesting that ALD may be associated with myocardial injury.

Sugar reduction and restriction have become one of the most urgent health demands as the number of obese people increases globally. Sugar substitutes (mainly classified into sugar alcohols, natural sweeteners, and artificial sweeteners) have been widely used in food processing as alternatives to sugar for their low energy and high sweetness. Thus, the classification, metabolism pathways, advantages, applications, and human health effects of sugar substitutes, their effects on human health were introduced, and the relationships between sugar substitutes and obesity, diabetes, intestinal microbes, hypertension, and all-cause mortality were emphatically summarized in this paper. Generally, long-term high intake of sugar substitutes is associated with adverse health outcomes such as elevated blood pressure, higher risks of diabetes, cancer, and increased all-cause mortality. Meanwhile, sugar alcohols and natural sweeteners are more likely to associate with beneficial effects on human gut microbial diversity, while artificial sweeteners associate with imbalance of gut microbiota based on available evidence. Current published research focuses on single sugar substitute exposure with varied health effects, while nearly half of commercial sugar substitute products contain two or more sugar substitutes. The effects of exposure to multiple sugar substitutes on human health are not clear yet, so further strengthening the relevant epidemiological and molecular mechanism research is necessary.

OBJECTIVE To compare the safety of high-dose methotrexate （HD-MTX） via peripherally inserted central catheter （PICC） and totally implantable venous access port （TIVAP） in pediatric patients with malignant brain tumors. METHODS Patients with malignant brain tumors who received HD-MTX via PICCs or TIVAPs in our hospital from July 2018 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical data were collected to compare differences in blood concentration of methotrexate （MTX），the incidence of adverse events （including adverse drug reactions and catheter-related complications） and length of stay in hospital. Multivariate linear regression was applied to analyze the factors that influenced the blood concentration of MTX. RESULTS A total of 107 patients were included in the study，with 65 patients in the PICC group and 42 patients in the TIVAP group. Blood concentration of MTX at 24 h （C24 h） in TIVAP group was significantly higher than PICC group （[ 126.87±61.99） μmol/L vs. （102.45±48.77） μmol/L，P＜0.05）. There was no significant difference in blood concentration of MTX at 42 h （C42 h），compared with PICC group （P＞0.05）. Results of multivariate linear regression analysis showed that TIVAP was associated with the increase of C24 h（P＜0.05）. No significant differences were observed in the incidence of adverse events and the length of stay in the hospital between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Risk of adverse events is not increased，although the MTX C24 h level is elevated after administration of TIVAP. TIVAP is a safe choice for HD-MTX therapy with implementing therapeutic drug monitoring.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of the methionine synthase reductase （MTRR） rs10380 C＞T gene polymorphism on methotrexate （MTX） plasma concentration， adverse drug reaction， and prognosis in children with intracranial tumors. METHODS Peripheral blood was collected from children with intracranial tumors， and genomic DNA was extracted. The MTRR rs10380 C＞T genotype was analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry. The association of the MTRR rs10380 C＞T gene polymorphism with the ratio of MTX plasma concentration to dose （C/D ratio）， adverse drug reaction， tumor recurrence， and metastasis was analyzed. Bioinformatics analysis was used to explore the association of the rs10380 genotype and MTRR gene expression and its possible mechanisms. RESULTS A total of 75 children were included in the study. The distribution frequencies of the wild-type CC genotype and C allele of rs10380 were 62.67% and 81.33%， respectively， while the distribution frequencies of the variant CT genotype and T allele were 37.33% and 18.67%， respectively， which were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium（P＞0.05）. The incidence of electrolyte disorders （51.06%） and tumor metastasis rate （57.45%） in children with the CC genotype were significantly higher than those with the CT genotype （P＜0.05）. No significant differences were observed in the 24-hour and 42-hour C/D ratios and recurrence rates between the two genotypes of children （P＞0.05）. Bioinformatics analysis showed that MTRR protein mainly works in conjunction with 10 proteins， including MMAA， and was involved in various biological processes such as sulfur amino acid biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS The MTRR rs10380 CC genotype may be a risk factor for electrolyte disorders and tumor metastasis in children with intracranial tumors after MTX chemotherapy.