Objective: To investigate a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic reported in Rongcheng City, Weihai, Shandong Province. Methods: The SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid positive patients and their close contacts were investigated, and the whole genome sequencing and genetic evolution analysis of 9 variant viruses were carried out. An infection source investigation and analysis were carried out from two sources of home and abroad, and three aspects of human, material and environment. Results: A total of 15 asymptomatic infections were reported in this epidemic, including 13 cases as employees of workshop of aquatic products processing company, with an infection rate of 21.67% (13/60). Two cases were infected people's neighbors in the same village (conjugal relation). The first six positive persons were processing workers engaged in the first process of removing squid viscera in the workshop of the company. The nucleic acid Ct value of the first time were concentrated between 15 and 29, suggesting that the virus load was high, which was suspected to be caused by one-time homologous exposure. The whole genome sequence of 9 SARS-CoV-2 strains was highly homologous, belonging to VOC/Gamma (Lineage P.1.15). No highly homologous sequences were found from previous native and imported cases in China. It was highly homologous with the six virus sequences sampled from May 5 to 26, 2021 uploaded by Chile. The infection source investigation showed that the company had used the squid raw materials captured in the ocean near Chile and Argentina from May to June 2021 over the last 14 days. Many samples of raw materials, products and their outer packages in the inventory were tested positive for nucleic acid. Conclusion: This epidemic is the first local epidemic caused by the VOC/Gamma of SARS-CoV-2 in China. It is speculated that the VOC/Gamma, which was prevalent in South America from May to June 2021, could be imported into China through frozen squid.
Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 ; Epidemics ; China/epidemiology*

Objective:To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) in mice.Methods:Twenty four C57 MIRI mice were randomly(random number) divided into four groups: SO group, RI group, MSC+RI group, and MSC + RI+ PC61 group. The ratio of Treg were detected by flow cytometry. Serum levels of CK, TNI, BNP, IL-10 and TGF-β were measured by ELISA. The histological changes of myocardium were observed by HE staining. The number of cardiomyocyte apoptosis was measured by TUNEL staining, and the area ratio of myocardial infarction were determined by TTC staining. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data.Results:In the MSC + RI group, the ratio of Treg and the levels of IL-10 and TGF-β were the highest, while CK, TNI and BNP were the lowest ( P<0.01) .The number of myocardial apoptotic cells, infarct size and tissue fibrosis were the least ( P<0.01) . Conclusions:MSC can induce the production of Treg, increase the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β, and reduce the inflammatory injury after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion.

Macrolide antibiotics are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics with the macrolide as core nucleus. Recently, antibiotic pollution has become an important environmental problem due to the irregular production and abuse of macrolide antibiotics. Microbial degradation is one of the most effective methods to deal with antibiotic pollution. This review summarizes the current status of environmental pollution caused by macrolide antibiotics, the degradation strains, the degradation enzymes, the degradation pathways and the microbial processes for degrading macrolide antibiotics. Moreover, the critical challenges on the biodegradation of macrolide antibiotics were also discussed.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Macrolides

Objective: To compare the calibration result of standard X-ray RQR radiation field between SSDL (NIRP) and CEA LIST LNHB(France), and to explore the feasibility of calibrating H_p(3) in standard X-ray RQR radiation field of SSDL(NIRP). Methods: Using a column model with a diameter and high of 20 cm, TLD was calibrated in SSDL (NIRP) and CEA LIST LNHB (France) to measure the personal dose equivalent eye lens dose H_p(3), X-ray RQR radiation field included RQR4(60 kV), RQR7(90 kV), RQR9(120 kV), with energy response, angle response and linear response. Results: In terms of energy response, the calibration results of TLD in both SSDL (NIRP) and CEA LIST LNHB (France) were in good agreement. The difference between exposure value and response value was less than 10%. In terms of angle response, the calibration result of TLD in CEA LIST LNHB (France) was better in SSDL(NIRP). The difference between exposure value and response value in CEA LIST LNHB (France) was less than 6%, while the difference between exposure value and response value in SSDL(NIRP) was more than 10% at angle of 20°. In terms of linear response, both calibration result of SSDL (NIRP) and CEA LIST LNHB (France) were in good agreement. Conclusions The standard X-ray RQR field in SSDL (NIRP) can be used for the calibration of H_p(3).

Objective: To improve the clinician′s recognition of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). Methods: The detailed clinical information, neuropsychological examination, cerebrospinal fluid examination, imaging characteristics, electroencephalogram examination and gene detection were analyzed in a case of GSS similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in symptomatology. The differences between the two different prion diseases were compared in combination with the literature review. Results: The patient is a 62-year-old woman, with cerebellar ataxia as the first symptom, followed by rapid dementia, accompanied by pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hyper-intense signal in diffusion weighted imaging in caudatum and cortical ribboning, and protein 14-3-3 was negative. PRNP gene analysis showed P102L gene mutation. Conclusions The typical clinical manifestation of GSS is hereditary ataxia followed by cognitive decline of varying severity. Detection of PRNP plays an important role in the diagnosis of GSS.

Objective:To propose a new robust optimization method, known as modified worst case method, was proposed, which can enable users to control the trade-off between nominal plan quality and plan robustness.Methods:In each iteration of the plan optimization process, the dose value of each voxel in nine scenarios, which corresponded to a nominal scenario and eight perturbed scenarios with range or set-up uncertainties, were calculated and the maximum of deviations of each scenario voxel dose from that of the nominal scenario was included as an additive robust optimization term in the objective function. A weighting factor p robust was used to this robust optimization term to balance the nominal plan quality and plan robustness. Results:The robust optimization methods were implemented and compared in an in-house developed robust optimization module. When p robust=0.8, compared with conventional optimization, the ΔD 95% of CTV was reduced from 9.8 Gy to 7.6 Gy. When p robust was reduced from 1 to 0, ΔD 95% was increased from 7.0 Gy to 9.8 Gy, whereas the D 95% and D max of CTV, and the D 5% and D max of organs at risk (OAR) in the nominal scenario were reduced. Conclusions:The proposed modified worst case method can effectively improve the robustness of the plan to the range and set-up uncertainties. Besides, the weighting factor p robust in this method can be adopted to control the trade-off between nominal plan quality and plan robustness.

Objective To analyze the type-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus(HPV) among women aged 18-45 years from the general population in Liuzhou,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Methods Totally,2 300 women aged 18-45 years old were enrolled in Liuzhou,from March to July,2013.Cervical exfoliated cells were collected for liquid based cytological and HPV DNA tests.Women were referred to colposcopy exam,based on the clinical practice guideline.Results Overall,the prevalence rates of any HPV or oncogenic HPV appeared as 22.7％ (95％CI:21.0％-24.4％) and 17.3％ (95％CI:16.0％-19.1％),respectively in this population under study.The high-risk HPV prevalence peaked at the age groups of 18-25 and 41-45,increasing along with the severity through cytological and histological tests.Statistically significant differences between the prevalence of CIN2 + (Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 +) in women older than 26 years (1.7％,95％CI:1.0％-2.4％) and 18-25 years (1.2％,95％CI:0.5％-1.9％) of age,were not observed.Among samples diagnosed as CIN2+,positivity of HPV bivalent (16/18) and nine-valent (6/ 11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58) vaccine,related high risks on the types of HPV types appeared as 44.1％ and 97.1％.Conclusions The age-specific HPV prevalence rates in the general women aged 18-45 in Liuzhou presented as having bimodal distribution,suggesting that the disease burden of cervical diseases in women aged 26-45 years should not be ignored.Nine-valent HPV vaccine might provide more effective prevention outcomes on cervical cancer in China.

Objective:To explore the relationship between big endothelin-1 (big ET-1) and cardiac remodeling in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).
Methods:A total of 167 consecutive HOCM patients admitted in our hospital from 2015-01 to 2016-05 were enrolled. Blood levels of big ET-1 and NT-proBNP were measured;electrocardiogram(ECG), dynamicECG,echocardiography (UCG) and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) were examined for relevant statistical analysis.
Results:In all 167 HOCM patients, blood level of Big ET-1 was positively related to NT pro-BNP (r=0.35, P=0.000), left atrial (LA) diameter (r=0.169, P=0.019) and heart rate (r=0.141, P=0.037);negatively related to hemoglobin (r=-0.173, P=0.013) and the ratio of interventricular septum (IVS)/posterior wall of left ventricle (r=-0.165, P=0.017). Based on the finding of positive correlation between Big ET-1 and LA diameter, the patients were divided into 2 groups:Normal LA group, n=74 and Enlarged LA group, n=93. Compared with Normal LA group,Enlarged LA group had the higher blood level of Big ET-1 (P=0.001);increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (P=0.024), thicker IVS (P=0.003), lower LVEF (P=0.001);enlarged LVED volume (P=0.002) and IVS (P=0.002);elevated ratio of atrial fibrillation(AF);more patients with moderate to severe mitral regurgitation (MR) and NYHA functional classIII/IV.
Conclusion: Blood level of Big ET-1 was positively related to NT pro-BNP and LA diameter in HOCM patients;the patients with enlarged LA had increased Big ET-1, more obvious cardiac remodeling and the higher incidence of AF occurrence which implied that Big ET-1 might play the role in cardiac remodeling in HOCM patients.

Objective: To assess the immunogenicity and safety of recombinant B-subunit/whole cell cholera vaccine (rBS/WC) oral cholera vaccine (Ora Vacs) infused with antacids in healthy population at ages of 2-6 years. Methods: Between December 2009 and January 2010, we recruited 900 volunteers aged 2-6 years od through giving out recruitment notice for the eligible children's parents from different vaccination clinics of Chongzuo city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and subjects were randomly (2∶1) assigned to receive Cholera vaccine infused with antacids or placebo, and observed for safety. Serum samples of 300 subjects in immunogenicity subgroups (200 for vaccine groups, 100 for control groups) before the 1st dose and 49 d (±3 d) after immunization were collected, and determined for antibody levels against the cholera toxin (anti-CT) and cholera vibriocidal (anti-Vab) with Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), based on which the GMT was calculated. There were 266 cases paired with the serum samples before and after immunization (177 for vaccine groups, 89 for control groups). The comparison of subjects' age at enrollment and the level of GMT before and after immunization between groups were analyzed by t test. The superiority test for the difference between seroconversion rates of vaccine groups and control groups were analyzed by χ² test. Results: Of 900 subjects enrolled, the number of males and females were 503 and 397 respectively (vaccine groups 335 vs. 265, control groups 168 vs. 132), the average ages of vaccine groups and control groups at enrollment were (4.8±1.2) years and (4.9±1.2) years respectively. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of gender and age (χ²=0.00, P=1.000; t=0.55, P=0.585). The 2 times increase rates of anti-CT and anti-Vab in vaccine groups after inoculation were 90.96% and 57.63% respectively, which were superiority to those of control groups (15.73% and 29.21%), and significant differences were observed between groups (χ²=15.89, χ²=3.85, P<0.001). There were significant differences between vaccine groups and control groups after inoculation in terms of GMTs of anti-CT (1∶647.56 vs. 1∶99.49) and anti-Vab antibodies (1∶16.19 vs. 1∶11.27) (t values were 15.82 and 3.43, respetively; both P values were<0.05), significant differences were observed in the growth rates when compared the GMTs of anti-CT (6.63 vs. 1.11) and anti-Vab antibodies (1.64 vs. 1.16) before inoculation between vaccine groups and control groups (t'=17.85 and 4.96, P<0.001). In terms of safety, the adverse reaction rates in vaccine groups and control groups were 37.67% (226/600) and 36.67% (110/300), respectively,the common adverse reaction including fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, allergies, rash, etc; and the severity degree were mainly for level 1. Conclusion Ora Vacs infused with antacids could produce an positive effect on immune response and safety.

Background and objective Background and objective Follow up by computed tomography (CT) and growth evaluation are routine methods for the differential diagnosis of indeterminate pulmonary nodules in clinical practice. Pulmonary nodules with diverse biological behaviors may show different growth patterns and velocities. The aim of this study is to identify the volume growth curve of both benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. This work also intends to determine these nodules' growth patterns and provide evidence for the establishment of a follow-up strategy. Methods The CT data of 111 pulmonary nodules (54 solid, 57 subsolid) were retrospectively evaluated using 3D volumetric software. All of these nod-ules have been followed up at least twice. Of these nodules, 35 were confirmed as lung cancers, whereas 5 were confirmed as benign by pathology or histology. Moreover, 71 nodules showed no growth in more than 2 years. Stable nodules were defined as low-risk nodules, as confirmed by reevaluation from experts. On the basis of their densities and diameters, the nodules were classified into four types: benign/low-risk solid nodules, malignant solid nodules (diameter ≤1 cm and >1 cm), benign/low-risk subsolid nodules, and malignant subsolid nodules (diameter ≤1 cm and >1 cm). The follow-up interval time (d) were plot-ted on the x-axis, and the nodules' volume (mm3) and logarithmic volume were plotted on the y-axis. Two radiologists subjec-tively determined the type of growth curve. Chi-square test was performed to compare the growth curves of benign/low-risk and malignant nodules. Results Of 18 solid cancers, 12 cases (66%) were found with steep ascendant growth curves. Those of 3 cases (16.7%) were flat ascendant, 2 cases (11.1%) slowly ascendant, and 1 (5.56%) case flat. Of 17 subsolid cancers, 8 cases (47.1%) manifested steep ascendant growth curves. Those of 4 cases (23.5%) were slowly ascendant, 3 (17.6%) flat, and 2 (11.8%) descendant–ascendant. Of 36 benign/low-risk solid nodules, 5 cases (13.9%) manifested descendant growth curves, 17 cases (47.2%) flat, 8 cases (21.6%) slowly ascendant, and 6 cases (16.7%) undulate. Of 40 benign/low-risk subsolid nod-ules, 4 cases (10%) manifested descendant growth curves, 21 cases (52.5%) flat, 9 cases (22.5%) slowly ascendant, and 6 cases (15%) undulate. The distribution of growth curve types significantly differed between benign/low-risk and malignant nodules (χ2=42.4, P<0.01). Conclusion The growth curves of lung cancers are heterogeneous. A steep ascendant curve is the main type for lung cancer, with the exception of flat, slowly ascendant, or even descendant curve. A slowly ascendant curve cannot exclude the diagnosis of lung cancer, especially for subsolid nodules.