Objective:To analyze the molecular characteristics of the virus in a local outbreak of dengue fever in Jiangsu province in 2023, and to provide a basis for the prevention and control of the outbreak.Methods:Serum samples were collected from suspected dengue patients in the acute phase of the outbreak for virus detection and serotyping by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Positive specimens were amplified with full-length genomic fragments and subjected to second-generation sequencing and related evolutionary analyses.Results:Four confirmed cases of dengue were found in Changzhou city, Jiangsu province, from October 18 to 21, 2023, with epidemiological association between the cases, which was recognized as a dengue outbreak. The serum RT-qPCR result of the four cases were all dengue type 1, and the whole genome sequences of three of the cases were obtained. The evolutionary tree of the E gene and the whole genome showed that the three sequences were located in the 3rd branch of the 1-I genotype, which is similar to the genotype 1-I. The genome-wide sequences of the E gene and the genome-wide evolution tree showed that the three sequences were located in the 3rd branch of the 1-I genotype, which is similar to the genome-wide genotype 1-Ⅰ. The E gene and the genome-wide evolutionary tree showed that all three sequences were located on branch 3 of genotype 1-Ⅰ, with high sequence similarity to the dengue virus epidemic strains in Guangdong and Yunnan provinces in 2023. Amino acid variant site analysis showed that there were 16 branch-specific amino acid site changes in the sequences of the three cases, among which the structural proteins, C protein and prM protein, had one variant site each, E protein had two, and the non-structural proteins had the largest number of NS5 variant sites (9).Conclusions:The local outbreak in Jiangsu was caused by dengue fever type 1 virus, with high nucleotide sequence similarity to strains from other regions of China, and amino acid site alterations.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Qingda Granule (QDG) in ameliorating hypertension-induced cardiac damage and investigate the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: Twenty spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were used to develope a hypertension-induced cardiac damage model. Another 10 Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normotension group. Rats were administrated intragastrically QDG [0.9 g/(kg•d)] or an equivalent volume of pure water for 8 weeks. Blood pressure, histopathological changes, cardiac function, levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory response markers were measured. Furthermore, to gain insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of QDG against hypertension-induced cardiac injury, a network pharmacology study was conducted. Predicted results were validated by Western blot, radioimmunoassay immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. RESULTS: The administration of QDG resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure levels in SHRs (P<0.01). Histological examinations, including hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining revealed that QDG effectively attenuated hypertension-induced cardiac damage. Furthermore, echocardiography demonstrated that QDG improved hypertension-associated cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and colorimetric method indicated that QDG significantly reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response levels in both myocardial tissue and serum (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Both network pharmacology and experimental investigations confirmed that QDG exerted its beneficial effects in decreasing hypertension-induced cardiac damage by regulating the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II (Ang II)/Ang II receptor type 1 axis and ACE/Ang II/Ang II receptor type 2 axis.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Hypertension/pathology* ; Renin-Angiotensin System/drug effects* ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Rats ; Inflammation/pathology*

A method for simultaneous determination of 21 kinds of Aconitum alkaloids(ATS)in biological specimens and infused liquor using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS)was developed.The biological samples were pretreated with methanol-acetonitrile(1∶2,V/V)for protein precipitation,while infused liquors were diluted 100-fold with acetonitrile,followed by centrifugation,and filtration by a 0.22-μm membrane.Chromatographic separation was carried out on an EC-C18 column using gradient elution with the mixture of 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.2%formic acid as mobile phase A and acetonitrile as mobile phase B.With this method,all the analytes were separated within 9.5 min.The samples were detected in positive ESI mode with dynamic multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)and quantified via external standard calibration.The results showed that the concentrations of the analytes in the range of 2-1000 ng/mL had excellent linearity(R2>0.9992)with the peak area.The developed method was successfully used for detection of 21 kinds of aconitum alkaloids,with limits of detection of 0.5-2 ng/mL,quantification limits of 2-6 ng/mL,intra/inter-day precision≤6.0%,spiked recoveries of 89.4%-100.9%,extraction recoveries of 74.2%-104.4%,and matrix effects ranging from-11.1%to 9.2%in blood/urine.The method was applied to detection of 12 samples from 4 fatal aconite poisoning cases,and all 21 kinds of ATS with total alkaloid concentrations of 0.04-4.18 μg/mL in blood and 154.96-422.83 μg/mL in medicinal liquors were detected.Tissue distribution revealed that the order of concentrations from highest to lowest is as follows:urine(157.22 μg/mL)>gastric contents(51.37 μg/mL)>kidney(21.6 μg/g)>whole blood(4.18 μg/mL)>liver(0.03 μg/g).This method showed many advantages such as simple pretreatment,low detection limits,accurate quantification,broad analyte coverage,and superior anti-interference capability in complex matrices,proving ideal for forensic and toxicological analysis of aconitum alkaloids.

Objective:To analyze the molecular characteristics of the virus in a local outbreak of dengue fever in Jiangsu province in 2023, and to provide a basis for the prevention and control of the outbreak.Methods:Serum samples were collected from suspected dengue patients in the acute phase of the outbreak for virus detection and serotyping by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Positive specimens were amplified with full-length genomic fragments and subjected to second-generation sequencing and related evolutionary analyses.Results:Four confirmed cases of dengue were found in Changzhou city, Jiangsu province, from October 18 to 21, 2023, with epidemiological association between the cases, which was recognized as a dengue outbreak. The serum RT-qPCR result of the four cases were all dengue type 1, and the whole genome sequences of three of the cases were obtained. The evolutionary tree of the E gene and the whole genome showed that the three sequences were located in the 3rd branch of the 1-I genotype, which is similar to the genotype 1-I. The genome-wide sequences of the E gene and the genome-wide evolution tree showed that the three sequences were located in the 3rd branch of the 1-I genotype, which is similar to the genome-wide genotype 1-Ⅰ. The E gene and the genome-wide evolutionary tree showed that all three sequences were located on branch 3 of genotype 1-Ⅰ, with high sequence similarity to the dengue virus epidemic strains in Guangdong and Yunnan provinces in 2023. Amino acid variant site analysis showed that there were 16 branch-specific amino acid site changes in the sequences of the three cases, among which the structural proteins, C protein and prM protein, had one variant site each, E protein had two, and the non-structural proteins had the largest number of NS5 variant sites (9).Conclusions:The local outbreak in Jiangsu was caused by dengue fever type 1 virus, with high nucleotide sequence similarity to strains from other regions of China, and amino acid site alterations.

Objective:To analyze the genotypes distribution of common and rare thalassemia in people of reproductive age in Huadu district of Guangzhou,enhance the database of thalassemia.Methods:Peripheral blood samples were collected for genotype analysis in Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Huadu District from January 2016 to October 2022.Gap-PCR and Reverse dot blot hybridization were used to detect common thalassemia genotypes.DNA sequencing was performed in samples suspected of rare genotypes.Results:A total of 16 171 subjects were identified as thalassemia carriers,and the positive rate was 44.41％(16 171/36 412).The genotypes of 114 cases(0.31％)were rare.A total of 10 845 cases were identified as α-thalassemia carriers(29.78％),and--SEA/αα was the most common genotype in those people,followed by-α3.7/αα and-α4.2/αα.A total of 4 531 subjects were identified as common β-thalassemia carriers(12.44％).The most common β-thalassemia mutation in the population was β41-42/βN,followed by β654/βN and β-28/β N.A total of 681 subjects were identified as αβ thalassemia carriers(1.87％),among them--SEA/αα compounded withβ CD41-42/β N was the most common genotype.A total of 48 cases were identified as rare α-thalassemia carriers,14 types of mutations,in which Fusion gene/αα was the most common.A total of 52 cases were identified as rare β-thalassemia carriers,11 types of mutation,in which βSEA-HPFH/βN was the most common.Conclusion:The thalassemia genotypes in Huadu district are complex and diverse.We should attach great importance to the detection of rare thalassemia genotypes.

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of children with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and to summarize the mid-term efficacy of China Net Childhood Lymphoma-mature B-cell lymphoma 2017 (CNCL-B-NHL-2017) regimen. Methods: Clinical features of 436 BL patients who were ≤18 years old and treated with the CNCL-B-NHL-2017 regimen from May 2017 to April 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical characteristics of patients at disease onset were analyzed and the therapeutic effects of patients with different clinical stages and risk groups were compared. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression was used to identify the prognostic factors. Results: Among 436 patients, there were 368 (84.4%) males and 68 (15.6%) females, the age of disease onset was 6.0 (4.0, 9.0) years old. According to the St. Jude staging system, there were 4 patients (0.9%) with stage Ⅰ, 30 patients (6.9%) with stage Ⅱ, 217 patients (49.8%) with stage Ⅲ, and 185 patients (42.4%) with stage Ⅳ. All patients were stratified into following risk groups: group A (n=1, 0.2%), group B1 (n=46, 10.6%), group B2 (n=19, 4.4%), group C1 (n=285, 65.4%), group C2 (n=85, 19.5%). Sixty-three patients (14.4%) were treated with chemotherapy only and 373 patients (85.6%) were treated with chemotherapy combined with rituximab. Twenty-one patients (4.8%) suffered from progressive disease, 3 patients (0.7%) relapsed, and 13 patients (3.0%) died of treatment-related complications. The follow-up time of all patients was 24.0 (13.0, 35.0) months, the 2-year event free survival (EFS) rate of all patients was (90.9±1.4) %. The 2-year EFS rates of group A, B1, B2, C1 and C2 were 100.0%, 100.0%, (94.7±5.1) %, (90.7±1.7) % and (85.9±4.0) %, respectively. The 2-year EFS rates was higher in group A, B1, and B2 than those in group C1 (χ²=4.16, P=0.041) and group C2 (χ²=7.21, P=0.007). The 2-year EFS rates of the patients treated with chemotherapy alone and those treated with chemotherapy combined with rituximab were (79.3±5.1)% and (92.9±1.4)% (χ²=14.23, P<0.001) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that stage Ⅳ (including leukemia stage), serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)>4-fold normal value, and with residual tumor in the mid-term evaluation were risk factors for poor prognosis (HR=1.38,1.23,8.52,95%CI 1.05-1.82,1.05-1.43,3.96-18.30). Conclusions: The CNCL-B-NHL-2017 regimen show significant effect in the treatment of pediatric BL. The combination of rituximab improve the efficacy further.
Adolescent ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Burkitt Lymphoma/drug therapy* ; Child ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Lactate Dehydrogenases ; Lymphoma, B-Cell/drug therapy* ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the molecular mechanism of Jiangtang Xiaozhi tablets （JTXZT） in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） by means of network pharmacology and molecular docking. Method:With the help of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， TCMs Integrated Database （TCMID）， Encyclopedia of TCM （ETCM） and Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanism of TCM （BATMAN-TCM）， the chemical compositions of medicinal materials in JTXZT were obtained， the compound targets were predicted in SwissTargetPrediction database and STITCH database. The targets of NAFLD were searched by The Human Gene Database （GeneCards）， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， Therapeutic Target Database （TTD） and DisGeNET， and intersection analysis was performed with the targets of the active ingredients to obtain the targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD. Based on STRING 11.0 database， the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network of therapeutic targets was constructed， and the enrichment analysis of therapeutic targets was carried out by DAVID 6.8. Finally， the interaction characteristics of key components and core therapeutic targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were verified based on molecular docking. Result:The key components of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were quercetin， luteolin， kaempferol， berberine， isorhamnetin， betulinic acid， oleanolic acid， ursolic acid. formononetin and hexitol， and the core targets of JTXZT for treatment of NAFLD were mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 （MAPK1）， Jun proto-oncogene， activator protein-1 （AP-1） transcription factor subunit （JUN）， MAPK3， protein kinase B1 （AKT1 or Akt1）， tumor protein p53 （TP53）， E1A binding protein p300 （EP300）， Fos proto-oncogene， AP-1 transcription factor subunit （FOS）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF），amyloid beta precursor protein （APP） and cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily E member 1 （CYP2E1）. Biological function and pathway enrichment analysis showed that JTXZT mainly through xenobiotic metabolic process， oxidation-reduction process， cholesterol metabolic process and other biological processes， regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway， MAPK signaling pathway， NAFLD and insulin signaling pathway to play a role in the treatment of NAFLD. The results of molecular docking showed that the active components of JTXZT had a good affinity with the core targets of JTXZT for the treatment of NAFLD. Conclusion:JTXZT treats NAFLD through multiple active components， multiple key targets and multiple action pathways.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence rate of infectious diseases during hospitalization in late preterm infants in Beijing, China, as well as the risk factors for infectious diseases and the effect of breastfeeding on the development of infectious diseases. METHODS: Related data were collected from the late preterm infants who were hospitalized in the neonatal wards of 25 hospitals in Beijing, China, from October 23, 2015 to October 30, 2017. According to the feeding pattern, they were divided into a breastfeeding group and a formula feeding group. The two groups were compared in terms of general status and incidence rate of infectious diseases. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for infectious diseases. RESULTS: A total of 1 576 late preterm infants were enrolled, with 153 infants in the breastfeeding group and 1 423 in the formula feeding group. Of all infants, 484 (30.71%) experienced infectious diseases. The breastfeeding group had a significantly lower incidence rate of infectious diseases than the formula feeding group (22.88% vs 31.55%, CONCLUSIONS Breastfeeding can significantly reduce the incidence of infectious diseases and is a protective factor against infectious diseases in late preterm infants. Breastfeeding should therefore be actively promoted for late preterm infants during hospitalization.
Beijing/epidemiology* ; Breast Feeding ; China/epidemiology* ; Communicable Diseases/epidemiology* ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Pregnancy

Clinical breakpoints are used in phaseⅡorⅢclinical trials to categorize microorganisms if susceptibility to new tested antibacterial agents that means the patient infected by the pathogen will be enrolled the study or not.The role of this consensus is to define procedure and required data to setting breakpoints and how to revaluate it in clinical trials.

AlM: To monitor long - term changes of matrix metalloproteinase-2 ( MMP-2 ) in human tears fluid after laser in situ keratomileusis ( LASlK) .
METHODS: Thirty - two myopia cases ( 64 eyes ) underwent uneventful LASlK were enrolled in the study. Tear fluid were collected and MMP-2 expression was analyzed by Western - bolt assay preoperatively and postoperatively on 15d, at 1, 3mo, and 1a.
RESULTS:LASlK increased the concentration of MMP-2 in human tear fluid. At 15d postoperatively, the magnitude of MMP-2 was 1. 4 times that of preoperative, thereafter subsided, but didn't return to preoperative level by 3mo ( P < 0. 05 ). Up to 1a after surgery, the concentration of MMP-2 almost recovered (P>0. 05).
CONCLUSlON: MMP- 2 is significantly expressed in human tear fluid after LASlK, then subsided with time, but didn't return to preoperative level by 3mo and almost recovered up to 1a, indicating wound healing of LASlK would continue up at least 3mo after surgery and almost recovered 1a postoperatively.