We investigated the prevalence and spatial distribution characteristics of T.gondii infection in cats in China,to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and con-trol of T.gondii.We searched PubMed,CNKI,Wanfang Da-tabase,and Baidu Academic Database to retrieve studies on the seroprevalence of T.gondii in domestic cats published by December 31,2023,in China,to investigate the spatial loca-tion and expression of T.gondii infection in China by using Geographical Information Systems(GIS).SPSS 26.0 software was used for statistical analysis.A total of 86 eligible studies published between 1984 and 2023 were included in this study,covering 28 provincial administrative regions and involving 20 722 cats.The ArcGIS classification results indicated that the overall positivity rate of T.gondii in domestic cats was 14.78％(3 080/20 836,95％CI:14.07％-15.03％).No epidemiological study of T.gondii infection in cats has been reported in Tibet,Tianjin,Hainan,Hong Kong,Ma-cao,or Taiwan.The prevalence of T.gondii infection in cats was highest in Shanxi Province(60％,54/90,95％CI:49.82％-70.18％),followed by Hebei Province(57.33％,43/75,95％CI:46.07％-68.59％),Henan Province(45.53％,173/380,95％CI:46.07％-68.59％),and Yunnan Province(43.64％,24/55,95％CI:30.49％-56.79％).The lowest seroprevalence of T.gondii antibody was found in Jiangxi Province(2.47％,2/81,95％CI:-0.90％-5.90％).Furthermore,the seropreva-lence of T.gondii in cats in northern China was 14.12％(2 044/14 491 95％CI:12.34％-15.90％),whereas that in southern China was 16.30％(1 036/6 355 95％CI:15.40％-17.20％).Significant differences were observed between them(x2=16.60,P＜0.05).The temporal distribution results indicated a decrease in the overall seroprevalence of T.gondii in cats in China from 1984 to 2023.Our findings suggested that T.gondii in cats is widespread in China,with a stable epidemic cycle,and the rates of Toxoplasma positivity vary greatly among regions.The increasing prevalence of pet cats in China,and the close rela-tionship between these cats and humans,may pose substantial exposure risks to a large susceptible population.Therefore,the association between cat ownership and T.gondii infection in humans,and how to decrease human environmental contamination through cat exposure to T.gondii and T.gondii oocysts,requires further investigation.

Objective To develop a medical positive pressure protective suit for long-voyage aeromedical evacuation to realize protective isolation and drinking water and energy supply for medical personnel during long-voyage aeromedical evacuation of respiratory infectious disease patients.Methods The medical positive pressure protective suit had a one-piece structure,with its main part made of hydroentangled non-woven fabric,head and forebreast parts made of amorphous polyethylene terephthalate anti-fog material and wearing-and taking-off parts sealed with zipper and autohesion,which was equipped with a portable positive pressure air supply device,an airborne centralized positive pressure air supply device and a monitoring and warning device.The portable positive pressure air supply device was fixed in the back of the suit at the waist,the airborne device was made by modifying the commercially available positive pressure air supply fan,and the monitoring and warning device monitored the air supply volume of the fan,the battery power and the pressure inside the suit.Results The suit behaved well in protection,clean fresh air supply without time limitation and facilitating hydration and energy replenishment of medical personnel by forming three activity spaces.Conclusion The suit developed can continuously provide a clean and comfortable microenvironment,meeting the requirements of medical personnel for protection and hydration and energy replenishment during long-voyage aeromedical evacuation.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(11):113-116]

Celastrol and wilforlide A are the main active triterpenoids of the traditional Chinese medicine Lei Gong Teng, which have anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities, and are the material basis for the clinical efficacy of Lei Gong Teng-related Chinese medicinal preparations. By analysing the biosynthetic pathway of active ingredients, optimizing genetic elements and utilizing "cell factory" to produce triterpenoids heterologously will be an effective way to obtain from Tripterygium wilfordii in the future in a "low-cost and high-efficient" manner. CYP712Ks are the first cytochrome P450s involved in the skeleton modification of friedelane-type and oleanane-type triterpenoids in T. wilfordii, and they can catalyse the generation of polpunonic acid from friedelin and 3-epi-katonic acid from β-amyrin by carboxylation at C-29 position. In this study, four multifunctional TwCYP712K1/2/3/5 were used to clarify the catalytic function and substrate selection preference using in vivo functional characterization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The spatial structure of the protein-substrate binding was clarified through homology modeling and molecular docking, and then the differential amino acids in the active pocket of the protein were mutated to clarify the crucial amino acids determining the catalytic function and the selection of substrate structure. A total of 63 mutant elements were constructed, and the amino acid sites affecting the carboxylation function of TwCYP712Ks were analyzed. In particular, the key amino acids affecting the substrate selectivity of TwCYP712K2 towards oleanane-type and friedelane-type triterpenoids were revealed and the TwCYP712K2^F127I and TwCYP712K2^A227T mutants would result in a reversal of the product ratio. In conclusion, four proteins of TwCYP712Ks were semi-rationally designed by homologous protein alignment and mutual mutation to elucidate multiple amino acid sites determining the catalytic function of the proteins, and a series of activity-enhancing or altering mutants were obtained, which provide abundant catalytic elements for the biosynthesis of active triterpenoids from T. wilfordii, and the mechanism of carboxylation in the C-29 position was initially elucidated.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the serum microRNA (miRNA) expression and examine the impact of miRNA expression profiles on T helper type 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) imbalance among patients with cystic echinococcosis, so as to provide insights into the illustration of the mechanisms underlying chronic Echinococcus granulosus infections, and long-term pathogenesis. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from the sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, and subjected to high-throughput sequencing with the Illumina sequencing platform. Known miRNAs were annotated and new miRNAs were predicted using the miRBase database and the miRDeep2 tool, and differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. The target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using the software miRanda and TargetScan, and the intersection was selected for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, miRNAs that targeted genes relating to key transcription factors RORC and FOXP3 that determine the production of Th17 and Treg cells or their important regulatory pathways (PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways) were matched. RESULTS: A total of 53 differentially expressed miRNAs were screened in sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, including 47 up-regulated miRNAs and 6 down-regulated miRNAs. GO enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed miRNA were involved DNA transcription and translation, cell components, cell morphology, neurodevelopment and metabolic decomposition, and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed miRNA were mainly involved in MAPK, PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, there were 3 miRNAs that had a potential for target regulation of RORC, and 15 miRNAs that had a potential to target the PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS Significant changes are found in serum miRNA expression profiles among patients with E. granulosus infections, and differentially expressed miRNAs may lead to Th17/Treg imbalance through targeting the key transcription factors of Th17/Treg or PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways, which facilitates the long-term parasitism of E. granulosus in hosts and causes a chronic disease.
Echinococcosis/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics* ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics* ; Th17 Cells ; Transcription Factors/genetics*

Objective: Hypoglossal nerve-facial nerve 'side'-to-side neurorrhaphy is a new method for the treatment of potential incomplete facial paralysis after acoustic neuroma. However, there are differences in postoperative outcomes among patients. This study analysed preoperative factors that may influence the treatment outcomes of neurorrhaphy. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 53 patients who were treated by neurorrhaphy for facial paralysis after acoustic neuroma resection. After a one-year follow-up period, the patients were divided into two groups according to facial functional outcome: better recovery or ordinary recovery. We analysed the following factors: gender, age, tumour size, and characteristics, tumour adhesion to the facial nerve, the duration of facial paralysis (DFP) and F wave appearance prior to neurorrhaphy (F wave). Results: Univariate analysis showed significant differences between the two groups in DFP ( = 0.0002), tumour adhesion to the facial nerve ( = 0.0079) and F waves ( = 0.0048). Logistic regression analysis of these factors also showed statistical significance with values of 0.042 for the DFP, 0.043 for F waves, and 0.031 for tumour adhesion to the facial nerve. Conclusions Tumour adhesion to the facial nerve, F waves appearance and DFP prior to neurorrhaphy are the predominant factors that influence treatment outcomes.

Adult ; Cytogenetics ; Genes, p53 ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics* ; Mutation ; Prognosis ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/genetics*

Objective: To investigate the current status and real performance of the detection of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 fusion transcript levels and WT1 transcript levels in China through interlaboratory comparison. Methods: Peking University People's Hospital (PKUPH) prepared the samples for comparison. That is, the fresh RUNX1-RUNX1T1 positive (+) bone morrow nucleated cells were serially diluted with RUNX1-RUNX1T1 negative (-) nucleated cells from different patients. Totally 23 sets with 14 different samples per set were prepared. TRIzol reagent was added in each tube and thoroughly mixed with cells for homogenization. Each laboratory simultaneously tested RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels of one set of samples by real-time quantitative PCR method. All transcript levels were reported as the percentage of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 or WT1 transcript copies/ABL copies. Spearman correlation coefficient between the reported transcript levels of each participated laboratory and those of PKUPH was calculated. Results: ①RUNX1-RUNX1T1 comparison: 9 samples were (+) and 5 were (-) , the false negative and positive rates of the 20 participated laboratories were 0 (0/180) and 5% (5/100) , respectively. The reported transcript levels of all 9 positive samples were different among laboratories. The median reported transcript levels of 9 positive samples were from 0.060% to 176.7%, which covered 3.5-log. The ratios of each sample's highest to the lowest reported transcript levels were from 5.5 to 12.3 (one result which obviously deviated from other laboratories' results was not included) , 85% (17/20) of the laboratories had correlation coefficient ≥0.98. ②WT1 comparison: The median reported transcript levels of all 14 samples were from 0.17% to 67.6%, which covered 2.6-log. The ratios of each sample's highest to the lowest reported transcript levels were from 5.3-13.7, 62% (13/21) of the laboratories had correlation coefficient ≥0.98. ③ The relative relationship of the reported RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcript levels between the participants and PKUPH was not always consistent with that of WT1 transcript levels. Both RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels from 2 and 7 laboratories were individually lower than and higher than those of PKUPH, whereas for the rest 11 laboratories, one transcript level was higher than and the other was lower than that of PKUPH. Conclusion: The reported RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and WT1 transcript levels were different among laboratories for the same sample. Most of the participated laboratories reported highly consistent result with that of PKUPH. The relationship between laboratories of the different transcript levels may not be the same.
China ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; RUNX1 Translocation Partner 1 Protein ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transcription, Genetic ; WT1 Proteins

Based on plant species databases, species lists and literature records, general situation of the Chinese medicinal endemic plant (vascular plant) has been systematically summarized, and its quantity and distribution characteristics of Chinese medicinal endemic plants are presented in this paper. The results showed that 3 150 endemic species are Chinese medicinal plants belonging to 785 genera in 153 families, which includes 38 species of 22 genera in 12 families of pteridophyta, 42 species of 14 genera in7 families of gymnosperms, and 3 070 species of 749 genara in 134 families of angiosperms. The top four families involving medicinal endemic species are Asteraceae (218 species), Ranunculaceae (182 species), Labiatae (151 species), and Liliaceae (133 species). The top four provincial administration distributed medicinal endemic species are Sichuan (1 568 species), Yunnan (1 533 species), Guizhou (955 species) and Hubei (930 species).On the regional scale, the most abundant one is the southwest region (2 465 species), followed by the central region (1 226 species) and the northwest region (949 species). Localization characteristics for domestication and artificial cultivation of medicinal endemic species are more prominent due to their narrower and limited distribution areas, indicating it is possible for these species acting as local potential resource for reasonable economic development.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the results of HBsAg positive results among different detection systems,and provide reference for the analysis of clinical test results and the publication of the report.Methods The HBsAg positive serum specimens with the quantitation result lower than 80 COI were detected by Roche Cobas e602 electrochemical luminescence analyzer.All the specimens were also detected by Roche Modular e170 electrochemical luminescence analyzer.The differences of detecting results were compared and performed the linear correlation analysis.Results The experimental results of two detection systems are R2 =0.933.The positive coincidences of Group A,B,C,D and E were 60.60％,92.72％,96.66％,96.66％ and 100％,respectively.The positive coincidence of the males was 87.66％,while the positive coincidence of the females was 70.96 ％.The positive coincidence of the males was significantly higher than the females (P＜0.05).Conclusion The HBsAg detecting results of Roche Cobas e602 and Roche Modular e170 electrochemical luminescence analyzer had high correlation.The results higher than 10 COI had 100％ positive coincidence rate,however the results between 1 and 10 COI were not.The result between 1 and 10 COI may lead to controversial results,suggestions for further checks.