Objective:To determine the prevalence of self-reported food allergies among children in the grasslands of North China and to analyze its associated risk factors.Methods:In this study, a cross-sectional epidemiological survey method was used to select children under 14 years old by multi-stage, stratified and random cluster sampling in the grassland ecological area of Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, China from May to July 2018. Face-to-face questionnaires were administered to gather food allergy-related information from the participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors associated with self-reported food allergy.Results:A total of 2 086 children completed the survey. The prevalence of self-reported food allergies was 22.0%(459/2 086). The prevalence of multiple food allergies (≥3 types) was 3.1%(64/2 086) versus 16.3% (341/2 086) for a single food allergy among all children. Mango allergy (6.1%, 127/2 086) was the most common, followed by peach allergy (4.1%, 85/2 086). Children who reported food allergies had a significantly higher prevalence of all 4 atopic disorders (eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis than those without food allergies(35.73% vs. 20.65%, 5.88% vs. 2.77%, 17.86% vs. 7.38%, 16.78% vs. 10.45%, χ2 =44.663 1, 10.434 3, 45.038 3, 13.728 4, all P<0.001).Significantly associated risk factors of food allergy were found to be pollen allergy ( OR: 2.29; 95% CI: 1.80-2.92) and drug allergy ( OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.12-2.09). Conclusions:The prevalence of self-reported food allergies among children in the Zhangbei County area of the North China Grassland was relatively high. Pollen allergy and drug allergy are major risk factors.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of the macrophage activation syndrome/systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis（MS）score in macrophage activation syndrome（MAS）associated with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis（sJIA），and to provide a reference for clinical work.Methods:This study was a retrospective case-control analysis，conducted on the patients initially diagnosed as sJIA-associated with MAS and admitted into the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of Children's Hospital Affiliated to Xi 'an Jiaotong University from July 1st，2016 to June 30th，2023. All of the patients met the diagnostic criteria for patients with MAS associated with sJIA according to the 2016 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology（EULAR）/American College of Rheumatology（ACR）/Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization（PRINTO）standards. The basic information at baseline，clinical manifestations，and auxiliary examination results were collected. The MS score was applied to re-evaluate the children diagnosed as sJIA-associated with MAS. When the MS score ≥-2.1，the possibility of sJIA with MAS was high. Thirty cases of sJIA without MAS were randomly selected as the control group.Results:There were 28 cases in the MAS group，including 13 males（46.43%）and 15 females（53.57%），with an average age of（7.51±4.01）years. Compared with the control group，the MAS group were significantly more likely to have high fever（ χ2=8.539， P=0.003），hepatomegaly（ χ2=11.621， P<0.001），splenomegaly（ χ2=11.710， P<0.001）and neurological involvement（ χ2=27.619， P<0.001），with the differences being statistically significant. Meanwhile，there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of white blood cell count（ Z=-4.001， P<0.001），neutrophil count（ Z=-3.659， P<0.001），platelet count（ Z=-4.687， P<0.001），albumin level（ Z=-4.018， P<0.001），alanine aminotransferase（ Z=-3.846， P<0.001），aspartate aminotransferase（ Z=-5.932， P<0.001），lactate dehydrogenase（ Z=-6.150， P<0.001），triglycerides（ Z=-5.874， P<0.001），fibrinogen（ Z=-5.808， P<0.001），ferritin（ Z=-5.280， P<0.001），erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ Z=-3.971， P<0.001），ferritin/erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ Z=-5.433， P<0.001），reduction of two-line cells in blood（ χ2=11.408， P<0.001）and the presence of hemophagocytosis in bone marrow smears（ χ2=28.260， P<0.001）. Moreover，there was a statistically significant difference in MS scores between the two groups（ Z=-6.148， P<0.001），with higher MS scores in the MAS group. Nevertheless，this study showed the median MS scores of both groups ≥-2.1. Conclusion:The MS score was significant to a certain degree as reference for the diagnosis of MAS，and this study showed that the MS score in the MAS group was significantly higher than the control group. However，the median MS scores in both groups were no less than -2.1. This might be related to the influence of factors during the assessment，which made it necessary to optimize the cutoff values of the MS score. Therefore，prospective studies should be carried out on the role of MS score in early identification of MAS.

Objective Aimed at investigating the effect and molecular mechanism of artemisinin on hemo-dynamics and vascular remodeling in monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)rats.Methods 30 male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(n=10):control group,MCT-induced PAH group(MCT group,60 mg/kg)and artemisinin intervention group(50 mg/kg).At 28 days after modeling,the right ventricular systolic pressure(RVSP),mean pulmonary artery pressure(mPAP),heart rate and right ventricular hypertrophy index(RVHI)were measured to evaluate the development of PAH.HE staining and α-SMA immuno-histochemistry were used to observe the morphology and assess muscularization of pulmonary arterioles,and the percentage of medial wall thickness(WT%),the percentage of vascular wall area(WA%)and the proportion of muscular vessels were calculated to evaluate the degree of pulmonary vascular remodeling.The mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α and LDHA were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot,respectively.Pyruvate and lactate concentration in lung tissue was measured using pyruvate and lactateassay kit.Results Compared with the control group,the RVSP,mPAP,heart rate and RVHI were significantly increased in MCT-induced PAH rats(all P<0.05).Histological analysis showed that the increasedmedial wall thickness of small pulmonary arteries and vascular muscularization were observed in MCT-treated rats compared with control rats.WT%,WA%and muscularization degrees of pulmonary arterioles were higher in MCT-treated rats than those in the control group(all P<0.05),suggesting successful construction of PAH model.Compared with the MCT group,the RVSP,mPAP,heart rate and RVHI decreased in the rats treated with artemisinin(all P<0.05),accompanied with lower WT%and WA%(P<0.05),and muscularization of pulmonary arterioles was improved(P<0.05).Further study showed the mRNA and protein levels ofHIF-1α and LDHA in lung tissue of MCT-induced PAH rats were higher than those in the control group,the content of lactate and pyruvate and the ratio of lactate to pyruvate were higher than that in the control group(all P<0.05).However,the mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α and LDHA in lung tissue of rats treated with artemisinin were lower than those in the MCT group,the content of lactate and pyruvate and the ratio of lactate to pyruvate were lower than that in the MCT group(all P<0.05).Conclusion Artemisinin improves hemodynamic and pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH rats through inhibiting HIF-1α/LDHA signaling pathway-mediated glycolysis.

Objective To propose a novel method for verifying the isocenter in radiotherapy based on markers and conduct a preliminary test. Methods A feasibility experiment was conducted on wooden box phantom for radiotherapy resetting. Fifteen groups of displacement data were randomly generated,corresponding to the position deviations of the isocenter in the radiotherapy plan relative to the original isocenter. According to each set of displacement data,with the aid of movable lasers and a CT scanning couch,CT scanning was performed with two sets of markers (3 per set) affixed to the phantom which were corresponding to the original and treatment isocenters,respectively. In the Eclipse treatment planning system,the coordinate data of the original and treatment isocenters were manually verified,and the difference of coordinate data was calculated to obtain the actual displacement value. The treatment isocenter position was finally confirmed by comparing with the actual displacement. In addition,the study attempts to use threshold segmentation algorithm to automatically detect metal markers and obtain coordinate values of the original isocenter on patient-positioned CT images. In the wooden box experiment,the absolute value of the difference between the actual displacement value and the planned displacement value (?d) was used to represent the position accuracy of treatment isocenter,and the deviation value obtained with threshold segmentation algorithm for isocenter detection was ?s. Results The ?d in the X (left-right),Y (superior-inferior) and Z (anterior-superior) directions was (0.83±0.37) mm,0 (0,0.5) mm and (0.45±0.29) mm,respectively. The ?s in the X,Y and Z directions was (0.46±0.22) mm,0 (0,0.5) mm and (0.33±0.29) mm,respectively. The mean values of ?s in 3 directions were all lower than 2 mm,within the range of permissible clinical positioning error. Conclusion The method of automatically verifying treatment isocenter position based on markers is feasible,and the study provides a useful reference for radiotherapy resetting using CT simulator.

To verify whether chaperones can promote the soluble expression of PlpE in Escherichia coli and whether the expressed protein is active,prokaryotic expression and Western blot detection were performed.The results showed that:The PlpE prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a(+)-plpE was expressed as inclusion body,and the expression form was not changed by changing the concentration of inducer,induction time and temperature.The companion proteins pG-KJE8,pGro7,pKJE7 and pG-Tf2 were co-expressed with pET-32a(+)-plpE in Eschierichia coli expres-sion system,respectively.When the final concentration of IPTG of 0.5 mmol/L,L-arabinose of 0.5 g/L or tetracycline of 5.0 μg/L were added as inducers and induced at 37 ℃ for 8 h,the results showed that the molecular companion pGro7 could change the expression of rp-PlpE from inclu-sion body to soluble expression.pG-KJE8,pKJE7 and pG-Tf2 had no effect on the expression of rp-PlpE.The soluble rp-PlpE can react specifically with the positive serum of Mannheimia haemolyti-ca.Therefore,the study showed that the co-expression of the chaperone protein pGro7 can make the rp-PlpE protein express in a soluble form,and the purified protein exhibits reactogenicity.These findings lay the foundation for the establishment of a subunit vaccine and serological diagno-sis methods for Mannheimia haemolytica.

Objective:To determine the prevalence of self-reported food allergies among children in the grasslands of North China and to analyze its associated risk factors.Methods:In this study, a cross-sectional epidemiological survey method was used to select children under 14 years old by multi-stage, stratified and random cluster sampling in the grassland ecological area of Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, China from May to July 2018. Face-to-face questionnaires were administered to gather food allergy-related information from the participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors associated with self-reported food allergy.Results:A total of 2 086 children completed the survey. The prevalence of self-reported food allergies was 22.0%(459/2 086). The prevalence of multiple food allergies (≥3 types) was 3.1%(64/2 086) versus 16.3% (341/2 086) for a single food allergy among all children. Mango allergy (6.1%, 127/2 086) was the most common, followed by peach allergy (4.1%, 85/2 086). Children who reported food allergies had a significantly higher prevalence of all 4 atopic disorders (eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis than those without food allergies(35.73% vs. 20.65%, 5.88% vs. 2.77%, 17.86% vs. 7.38%, 16.78% vs. 10.45%, χ2 =44.663 1, 10.434 3, 45.038 3, 13.728 4, all P<0.001).Significantly associated risk factors of food allergy were found to be pollen allergy ( OR: 2.29; 95% CI: 1.80-2.92) and drug allergy ( OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.12-2.09). Conclusions:The prevalence of self-reported food allergies among children in the Zhangbei County area of the North China Grassland was relatively high. Pollen allergy and drug allergy are major risk factors.

Diabetes is one of the major chronic non-communicable diseases in China. This article discusses the progress of diabetes prevention and control under the leadership of the government and how to integrate the National Diabetes Prevention and Control Center (DPCC) into the work of primary medical and health institutions in Yunnan Province, providing reference and experience for diabetes prevention and control efforts in the central and western regions of China.

Diabetes is one of the major chronic non-communicable diseases in China. This article discusses the progress of diabetes prevention and control under the leadership of the government and how to integrate the National Diabetes Prevention and Control Center (DPCC) into the work of primary medical and health institutions in Yunnan Province, providing reference and experience for diabetes prevention and control efforts in the central and western regions of China.

Objective Aimed at investigating the effect and molecular mechanism of artemisinin on hemo-dynamics and vascular remodeling in monocrotaline(MCT)-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)rats.Methods 30 male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(n=10):control group,MCT-induced PAH group(MCT group,60 mg/kg)and artemisinin intervention group(50 mg/kg).At 28 days after modeling,the right ventricular systolic pressure(RVSP),mean pulmonary artery pressure(mPAP),heart rate and right ventricular hypertrophy index(RVHI)were measured to evaluate the development of PAH.HE staining and α-SMA immuno-histochemistry were used to observe the morphology and assess muscularization of pulmonary arterioles,and the percentage of medial wall thickness(WT%),the percentage of vascular wall area(WA%)and the proportion of muscular vessels were calculated to evaluate the degree of pulmonary vascular remodeling.The mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α and LDHA were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot,respectively.Pyruvate and lactate concentration in lung tissue was measured using pyruvate and lactateassay kit.Results Compared with the control group,the RVSP,mPAP,heart rate and RVHI were significantly increased in MCT-induced PAH rats(all P<0.05).Histological analysis showed that the increasedmedial wall thickness of small pulmonary arteries and vascular muscularization were observed in MCT-treated rats compared with control rats.WT%,WA%and muscularization degrees of pulmonary arterioles were higher in MCT-treated rats than those in the control group(all P<0.05),suggesting successful construction of PAH model.Compared with the MCT group,the RVSP,mPAP,heart rate and RVHI decreased in the rats treated with artemisinin(all P<0.05),accompanied with lower WT%and WA%(P<0.05),and muscularization of pulmonary arterioles was improved(P<0.05).Further study showed the mRNA and protein levels ofHIF-1α and LDHA in lung tissue of MCT-induced PAH rats were higher than those in the control group,the content of lactate and pyruvate and the ratio of lactate to pyruvate were higher than that in the control group(all P<0.05).However,the mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α and LDHA in lung tissue of rats treated with artemisinin were lower than those in the MCT group,the content of lactate and pyruvate and the ratio of lactate to pyruvate were lower than that in the MCT group(all P<0.05).Conclusion Artemisinin improves hemodynamic and pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH rats through inhibiting HIF-1α/LDHA signaling pathway-mediated glycolysis.

To verify whether chaperones can promote the soluble expression of PlpE in Escherichia coli and whether the expressed protein is active,prokaryotic expression and Western blot detection were performed.The results showed that:The PlpE prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a(+)-plpE was expressed as inclusion body,and the expression form was not changed by changing the concentration of inducer,induction time and temperature.The companion proteins pG-KJE8,pGro7,pKJE7 and pG-Tf2 were co-expressed with pET-32a(+)-plpE in Eschierichia coli expres-sion system,respectively.When the final concentration of IPTG of 0.5 mmol/L,L-arabinose of 0.5 g/L or tetracycline of 5.0 μg/L were added as inducers and induced at 37 ℃ for 8 h,the results showed that the molecular companion pGro7 could change the expression of rp-PlpE from inclu-sion body to soluble expression.pG-KJE8,pKJE7 and pG-Tf2 had no effect on the expression of rp-PlpE.The soluble rp-PlpE can react specifically with the positive serum of Mannheimia haemolyti-ca.Therefore,the study showed that the co-expression of the chaperone protein pGro7 can make the rp-PlpE protein express in a soluble form,and the purified protein exhibits reactogenicity.These findings lay the foundation for the establishment of a subunit vaccine and serological diagno-sis methods for Mannheimia haemolytica.