Objective To analyze the situation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) ownership in malaria-endemic African countries from 2010 to 2023, so as to provide insights into China’s deeper participation in malaria control in Africa. Methods The study period from 2010 to 2023 was divided into three phases: the baseline phase (from 2010 to 2015), the middle phase (from 2016 to 2019), and the final phase (from 2020 to 2023), a total of 11 African countries with at least one Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in each phase were included. Data pertaining to ITNs in 33 surveys of the above 11 African counties from 2010 to 2023 were captured from the DHS database, and the proportions of sources of ITNs and ITN ownership in each phase (number of ITNs ownership per person, overall ownership rate, and ownership rate per two residents) were calculated. The differences in numbers of ITNs per person between urban and rural areas and specified by socioeconomic status were analyzed. Results The proportions of ITNs from distribution campaigns were 60.24% to 94.01% and 50.46% to 85.04% in 11 African countries in the middle and final phases, respectively. The median numbers (interquartile range) of INTs ownership per person were 0.22 (0.50), 0.33 (0.50) and 0.33 (0.50) in the baseline, middle, and final phases, and the overall ownership rates [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 59.77% (59.50%, 60.05%), 70.32% (70.06%, 70.57%), and 69.21% (68.95%, 69.47%), while the ownership rates per two residents were 26.91% (26.66%, 27.16%), 38.07% (37.80%, 38.34%), and 36.56% (36.29%, 36.84%), respectively. The number of ITNs per person showed a significant increase followed by a significant decrease in 7 countries during all three phases (H = 102.518 to 2 327.440, all P < 0.05; Z = -48.886 to -4.653, all P < 0.016 7 after Bonferroni correction). In 33 surveys, there were 31 (Z = -26.719 to -2.472, P < 0.05) and 28 surveys (Z = -27.316 to -4.068, P < 0.001) with significant differences in numbers of ITNs ownership per person between households in urban and rural areas and with different socioeconomic status, including 20 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person in households in rural areas than in urban areas, and 17 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person among the poorest households than among the richest households. Conclusions There are substantial disparities in ITNs ownership in 11 African countries. Intensified co-operation on malaria prevention and control measures, such as ITNs, is recommended between China and African countries to build a global community of health for all.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of curcumin on lipid metabolism in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of curcumin (0-70 μmol/L) on proliferation of A549 and H1299 cells was assessed using MTT assay, and 20 and 40 μmol/L curcumin was used in the subsequent experiments. The effect of curcumin on lipid metabolism was evaluated using cellular uptake assay, wound healing assay, triglyceride (TG)/free fatty acid (NEFA) measurements, and Oil Red O staining. Western blotting was performed to detect the expressions of PGC-1α, PPAR-α, and HIF-1α in curcumin-treated cells. Network pharmacology was used to predict the metabolic pathways, and the results were validated by Western blotting. In a nude mouse model bearing A549 cell xenograft, the effects of curcumin (20 mg/kg) on tumor growth and lipid metabolism were assessed by measuring tumor weight and observing the changes in intracellular lipid droplets. RESULTS: Curcumin concentration-dependently inhibited the proliferation of A549 and H1299 cells and significantly reduced TG and NEFA levels and intracellular lipid droplets. Western blotting revealed that curcumin significantly upregulated PGC-1α and PPAR‑α expressions in the cells. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis predicted significant involvement of the HIF-1 signaling pathway in curcumin-treated NSCLC, suggesting a potential interaction between HIF-1α and PPAR‑α. Western blotting confirmed that curcumin downregulated the expression of HIF-1α. In the tumor-bearing mice, curcumin treatment caused significant reduction of the tumor weight and the number of lipid droplets in the tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS Curcumin inhibits NSCLC cell proliferation and lipid metabolism by downregulating the HIF-1α pathway.
Curcumin/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism* ; Animals ; Lipid Metabolism/drug effects* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mice, Nude ; Down-Regulation ; Mice ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; PPAR alpha/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; A549 Cells

As a type of acute cerebrovascular disease,stroke is one of the most common fatal and disabling diseases in the world,which seriously threatens the quality of life of patients;however,there are still limited treatment methods for this disease in clinical practice.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has a long history and good efficacy in the treatment of stroke,and the active components of TCM can alleviate nerve injury caused by stroke by improving the development and progression of various pathophysiological mechanisms such as nerve inflammation,oxidative stress,and blood-brain barrier damage.This article reviews the role of active components of TCM in the treatment of ischemic stroke,in order to provide more ideas and options for the clinical treatment of this disease in the future.

Objective To construct risk models for predicting the occurrence of high altitude de-acclimatization syndrome(HADAS)in the population returning from the plateau to the plain based on different machine learning algorithms and validate the predicting efficiency of these models.Methods Field or online surveys were conducted on the individuals who had ended their high-altitude living and returned to the plain areas from November 2020 to February 2024.Basic information,chronic mountain sickness(CMS),HADAS symptoms and other data were collected.With the inclusion and exclusion criteria,totally 1 095 individuals were subjected and assigned into the modeling group.Positive events were defined as HADAS score>5.Then the modelling group was divided into a training set(n=766)and an internal test set(n=329)in a 7∶3 ratio.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression was used to select independent variables.Risk prediction models for high-altitude adaptation symptoms were built based on 8 machine learning methods,including multiple factor logistic regression(LR),decision tree(DT),random forest(RF),eXtreme gradient boosting(XGB),support vector machine(SVM),K-nearest neighbor(KNN),light gradient boosting(LGB)and na?ve bayes(NB).The models were compared and evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,calibration curves and confusion matrices in the internal test set.The final model was presented using a nomogram or Shapley additive explanations(SHAP)algorithm.In August 2024,another 132 individuals who returned to the plains and met the same criteria were recruited and served as the external validation group.Results There were 549 individuals(50.14%)out of the 1 095 subjects having HADAS symptoms.LASSO regression identified CMS score,age and duration of high-altitude residence as significant predictors.Among the 8 machine learning algorithms,the LR model was identified as the best,with an area under the curve(AUC)value of 0.819(95%CI:0.789～0.850)and 0.841(95%CI:0.799～0.884),and an F1 score of 0.801 in the internal test set,respectively,and the AUC value and F1 score of the LR model were the largest among the 8 models in the internal test set.Spiegelhalter Z test of the calibration curve of the LR model indicated that its P=0.703 in the training set while P=0.281 in the internal test set.The AUC value of the LR model was 0.867(95%CI:0.765～0.969)in the external validation set.Conclusion The LR model constructed based on indicators including CMS score,age and duration of high-altitude residence has a good overall performance in the internal test set,and good discriminating effect in the external validation set.The constructed nomogram is convenient for application.

Objective:To explore the mechanism of Amomi Fructus in ameliorating ethanol-induced gastric ulcer (GU) in mice using metabolomics, network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques.Methods:The mice were divided into the blank group, model group, aqueous extract of Amomi Fructus group, volatile oil of Amomi Fructus group, combined aqueous extract and volatile oil of Amomi Fructus group and omeprazole group according to the random number table method, with 10 mice in each group. The blank and model groups were gavaged with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, the Amomi Fructusaqueous extract group was gavaged with 0.152 5 g/kg of Amomi Fructus aqueous extract, the Amomi Fructus volatile oil group was gavaged with 26 μl/kg of Amomi Fructus volatile oil, the Amomi Fructus aqueous extract and volatile oil combined group was gavaged with 0.152 5 g/kg+26 μl/kg of Amomi Fructus aqueous extract and volatile oil synergistic solution, and the omeprazole group was gavaged with 5.2 mg/kg of omeprazole, 1 time/day, which was administered continuously for 7 d. The gastric ulcer model was established by using ethanol 2 h after the last administration, and the pathological changes of gastric histology were observed by using HE staining; the main differential metabolites were detected by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS non-targeted metabolomics technique, and the metabolic pathway enrichment analysis was carried out; the potential targets and key pathways of the anti-GU action of Amomi Fructus were predicted by network pharmacology; the "metabolite-response-enzyme-gene" network was established by combining the serum metabolomics and network pharmacology; and the key targets were verified by molecular docking technology.Results:HE staining showed that the gastric mucosa of mice in the model group was severely damaged, with cellular tissue damage and inflammatory cell infiltration, whereas the drug administration group showed some protective effects; the results of non-targeted metabolomics showed that 2 metabolites were up-regulated and 17 metabolites were down-regulated in sera of mice in the co-administration group of aqueous extract and volatile oil of Amomi Fructus compared with the control group, and the 19 metabolites were strongly correlated and well clustered, involving nicotinic acid and nicotinamide metabolism, citric acid cycle, glyoxylate and dicarboxylic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism and other metabolic pathways; the results of network pharmacology showed that Amomi Fructus improved GU by affecting target proteins, such as STAT3, AKT1, SRC, and TLR4, which were closely linked to the signaling pathways of cancer pathway, human cytomegalovirus infection, and lipids and atherosclerosis; the joint analysis of network pharmacology and the combined analysis of network pharmacology and metabolomics identified the glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway as the main metabolic pathway in which Amomi Fructus may exert gastroprotective effects; the molecular docking results showed that the main active component of quercetin had a better binding ability to the key targets.Conclusion:Amomi Fructus exerts a protective effect on ethanol induced GU model by regulating the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway, providing theoretical basis for further research on Amomi Fructus.

A bivalent chimeric virus-like particle(ND-FAdV-4/8a/8b cVLPs)displaying NDV HN protein,FAdV4 fiber-2 protein,FAdV-8a Fiber protein and FAdV-8b Fiber protein was construc-ted based on insect baculovirus expression system and Newcastle disease virus-like particle vector platform and was identified using indirect immunofluorescence,Western blot and transmission e-lectron microscopy.The results showed that recombinant baculoviruses rBV-c8aFiber and rBV-c8bFiber expressing FAdV-8a Fiber and FAdV-8b Fiber were successfully constructed.In addition,all components of ND-FAdV-4/8a/8b cVLPs were correctly expressed,and ND-FAdV-4/8a/8b cVLPs was a nanoparticle about 100 nm in size,with a capsule membrane and fibers,providing a green and safe virus-like particle vaccine candidate for the control of Newcastle disease and avian adenovirus disease.

To investigate the role of the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-contai-ning family member X1(NLRX1)in the replication of Newcastle disease virus(NDV),the ex-pression level of NLRX1 was examined following infection of 10-day-old specific pathogen-free(SPF)chicks and HD11 cells with the NDV NA-1 strain.Additionally,the proliferation of NDV,the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in HD11 cells,and the oxidative stress status were e-valuated in the presence of either overexpressed or underexpressed NLRX1.The results demonstra-ted that NA-1 infection led to an increase in NLRX1 expression both in vivo and in vitro.Further-more,overexpression of NLRX1 inhibited viral proliferation,enhanced the expression of cellularIL-1β,IL-6,and IFN-β,without affecting levels of autophagy or apoptotic cells.However,NLRX1 elevation resulted in elevated mRNA levels of iNOS,Keap1,Nrf2,NQO1,and HO-1 within 24 h.In conclusion,NLRX1 suppresses NDV proliferation by promoting early ROS production.

Objective:To develop and test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire on knowledge, attitude and practice of hereditary tumor management in nurses, so as to provide a basis for the evaluation of nurses′ knowledge, attitude and practice of genetic tumor managementMethods:This study was a cross-sectional study. According to the theory of knowledge, attitude and practice, the preliminary draft of knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire for the management of hereditary tumors in nurses was prepared by means of literature review, group discussion, expert correspondence and pre-investigation. From December 2022 to January 2023, 173 nurses from 27 hospitals in Guangdong Province were selected as survey objects by convenience sampling method, and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were tested to form the final questionnaire.Results:A total of 145 valid questionnaires were collected finally, including 6 males and 139 females aged (31.35 ± 7.23) years old. There were 50 items in the questionnaire of knowledge, attitude and behavior. The Cronbachαcoefficients of the total questionnaire and each dimension was 0.965, 0.938, 0.967, 0.956, and the split half reliability coefficient was 0.780. The total content validity of the questionnaire was 0.960, and the content validity of each item was 0.857 to 1.000. Seven common factors were selected by exploratory factor analysis, and the cumulative variance contribution was 68.72%.Conclusions:The questionnaire on knowledge, attitude and practice of hereditary tumor management in nurses has good reliability and validity. It can be used as a survey tool to study nurses′ knowledge, attitude and behavior of hereditary tumor management.

Nuclear medicine plays an indispensable role in the diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis of a wide range of diseases.Nuclear medicine using radionuclides for diagnosis has the advantages of accuracy,speed,high sensitivity and high resolution.Currently,several radionuclides play pivotal roles in disease diagnosis.This article primarily examines the clinical application and research of diagnostic radionuclides,including 18 F,89 Zr,68 Ga,99m Tc,131 I,123 I,and 11 C.The objective is to offer valuable insights for disease diagnosis and staging of diseases.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of endoscopic resection using snares for the treatment of gastric submucosal tumors(SMTs).Methods 66 patients diagnosed with gastric SMTs and treated with endoscopic resection from August 2017 to August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the snare group(endoscopic resection using snares,n=33)and the traditional resection group(endoscopic resection using a traditional disposable incision knife,n=33).The operation time,overall resection rate,incidence of adverse reactions,operation cost,hospitalisation cost,and the post-operative hospital days were compared between the two groups.Results The lesion diameter was 8.00(6.00,14.00)mm in the snare group and 8.00(7.50,10.00)mm in the traditional resection group,the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant(P>0.05);The operative time in the snare group was significantly shorter than that in the traditional resection group[26.00(19.00,30.50)min vs 33.00(22.50,49.50)min],the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05);The overall resection rate in both groups was 100.0%;Neither group of patients had intraoperative perforation.There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of adverse reactions such as intraoperative bleeding,abdominal pain and fever between the two group(P>0.05);The operative cost of the snare group was significantly lower than the traditional endoscopic resection group[(8 642.18±1 078.56)yuan vs(13 266.45±2 160.80)yuan],the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Compared with traditional surgical instruments,endoscopic resection of gastric SMTs using snares has a shorter operating time,lower surgical costs,safe and effective,making it worthy of promotion.