Objective To understand the current status of capacity building in schistosomiasis control institutes in schistosomiasis-endemic provinces (municipality, autonomous region) of China. Methods The responsibilities and construction requirements of various schistosomiasis control institutions were surveyed by expert discussions, and field interviews and visits during the period between May and June, 2023, and the questionnaire for capacity maintenance and consolidation in schistosomiasis control institutions was designed. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in county-, municipal-, and provincial-level institutions that undertook schistosomiasis control and surveillance activities through the Wenjuanxing program. The distribution of schistosomiasis control institutions, the status of institutions, departments and staff undertaking schistosomiasis control activities and the translation of scientific researches on schistosomiasis control in China were analyzed. The laboratories accredited by China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) were considered to be capable for testing associated with schistosomiasis control, and the testing capability of schistosomiasis control institutions was analyzed. Results A total of 486 valid questionnaires were recovered from 486 schistosomiasis control institutions in 12 endemic provinces (municipality, autonomous region) of China, including 12 provincial-level institutions (2.5%), 77 municipal-level institutions (15.8%) and 397 county-level institutions (81.7%). Of all schistosomiasis control institutions, 376 (77.4%) were centers for disease control and prevention or public health centers, 102 (21.0%) were institutions for schistosomiasis, endemic disease and parasitic disease control, and 8 (1.6%) were hospitals, healthcare centers or others. There were 37 713 active employees in the 486 schistosomiasis control institutions, including 5 675 employees related to schistosomiasis control, and the proportions of employees associated with schistosomiasis control among all active employees were 5.9% (231/3 897), 5.5% (566/10 134), and 20.6% (4 878/23 682) in provincial-, municipal-, and county-level institutions, respectively. There were 3 826 full-time employees working in schistosomiasis control activities, with 30.5% (1 166/3 826), 34.6% (1 324) and 34.9% (1 336/3 826) at ages of 40 years and below, 41 to 50 years and over 50 years, and there were 1 571 (41.0%) full-time schistosomiasis control employees with duration of schistosomiasis control activities for over 25 years, and 1 358 (35.5%) employees with junior professional titles and 1 290 with intermediate professional titles (35.5%), while 712 (18.6%) full-time employees working in schistosomiasis control activities had no professional titles. The three core schistosomiasis control activities included snail control (26.3%, 374/1 420), epidemics surveillance and management (25.4%, 361/1 420) and health education (18.8%, 267/1 420) in schistosomiasis control institutions. The Kato-Katz method, miracidium hatching test with nylon gauzes, and indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA) were the most commonly used techniques for detection of schistosomiasis, and there were less than 50% laboratories that had capabilities or experimental conditions for performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), dipstick dye immunoassay (DDIA), dot immunogold filtration assay (DIG-FA), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. During the period from 2018 to 2022, schistosomiasis control institutions had undertaken a total of 211 research projects for schistosomiasis control, with a total funding of 18.596 million RMB, published 619 articles, participated in formulation of 13 schistosomiasis control-related criteria, and applied for 113 schistosomiasis control-related patents, including 101 that were granted, and commercialized 4 scientific research outcomes. Conclusions The proportion of independent specialized schistosomiasis control institutions is low in schistosomiasis control institutions in China, which suffers from problems of unsatisfactory laboratory testing capabilities, aging of staff and a high proportion of low-level professional titles. More investment into and intensified schistosomiasis control activities and improved capability building and talent cultivation in schistosomiasis control institutions are recommended to provide a powerful support for high-quality elimination of schistosomiasis in China.

Objective:To investigate the cognition and learning habits of different types of postgraduates and evaluate learning effect and its potential risk factors on clinical epidemiology in a medical college, so as to provide relevant data for improving the teaching method and learning effect of clinical research methods for postgraduates.Methods:A cross-sectional study design was conducted to enroll all the postgraduates of Grade 2020 in a military medical school. A self-filled questionnaire was adopted to collect data. The discrepancy of cognition and learning habits between different types of postgraduates was evaluated by univariate analysis. Discussion was conducted to clarify the potential risk factors of learning effect. t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to test the differences between groups for continuous variables. Chi-squared tests or McNemar tests were applied to evaluate the difference between groups for categorical variables. Results:A total of 652 postgraduate students were enrolled for analysis, including 409 master students (62.7) and 243 doctoral students (37.3). The proportion of doctoral students who have heard of clinical epidemiology ( χ2=19.99, P<0.001), who have learned clinical epidemiology ( χ2=9.20, P=0.002), who are interested in ( χ2=11.41, P=0.001) and think the course is important ( χ2=10.71, P=0.001), who previewed before class( χ2=11.21, P=0.001), reviewed after class ( χ2=3.29, P=0.001) and actively discuss in class ( χ2=11.64, P=0.001) is significantly higher than that of master students, the difference was statistically significance. The average score of all the postgraduates was (5.50±1.62) points before teaching and (7.47±1.90) points after teaching, the difference was statistically significant ( t=-23.49, P<0.001). After teaching, the grades of full-time students improved more than that of part-time graduate students, there was statistical significance in the master group ( t=4.41, P<0.001), while not in the doctor group ( t=0.94, P=0.351). Conclusions:The mastery of key points on clinical epidemiology have significantly improved after teaching among the postgraduates of different types. Different teaching methods and processes should be adopted to the variety of postgraduates according to their knowledge foundations and shortcomings. Besides, standardizing their learning habits are of certain significance to improve the learning effect.

Objective:To investigate the differences in gene expression levels in knee chondrocytes and chondrons in vitro.Methods:The chondrocytes and chondrons were isolated from full thickness of the 8-months ( n=5) rabbit knees cartilage. Chondrons from right knee were enzymatically isolated using 0.3% dispase and 0.2% collagenase-2 with shaking for 3 hours. Chondrocytes were isolated by 0.4% Pronase and 0.025% collagenase-2 from left knee. The mRNA levels in chondrocytes and chondrons were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR, including matrix proteins [aggrecan(Agg), collagen(Col-2), Col-6A6, Col-10, Col-11], MMPs and inhibitors (MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-13, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, TIMP-3), cytoskeletal proteins (Sox-9, vinculin, tubulin, actin), cytokines (IL-β, TNF-α). Analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0 statistical software, and the two-group comparisons were considered as significant by t-test at P<0.05. Results:Compared to the chondrocytes, the Agg [(5.78±0.90) vs (1.89±0.27), t=9.26, P<0.001], Col-2 [(6.29±0.76) vs (3.06±0.60), t=7.46, P<0.001], Col-6A6 [(0.89±0.18) vs (0.22±0.06), t=7.90, P<0.001], Col-10 [(3.83±0.76) vs (1.00±0.26), t=7.88, P<0.001] and TIMP-1 [(1.98±0.85) vs (1.03±0.34), t=2.32, P=0.049], TIMP-2[(3.46±1.50) vs (1.52±1.06), t=2.36, P=0.046], TIMP-3 [(3.96±0.50) vs (1.36±0.18), t=10.94, P<0.001], Sox-9 [(7.09±2.93) vs (3.24±0.77), t=2.84, P=0.022], vinculin [(3.42±1.69) vs (1.46±0.68), t=2.41, P=0.043], tubulin[(9.34±0.71) vs (2.35±0.80), t=14.61, P<0.001] showed higher expression in the chondrons. Compared to the chondrocytes, the MMP-1 [(1.02±0.30) vs (2.67±0.45), t=6.91, P<0.001], MMP-3 [(1.21±0.32) vs (2.52±0.79), t=3.44, P=0.009], MMP-13 [(1.23±0.34) vs (3.42±0.86), t=5.30, P=0.007], IL-1β [(1.02±0.14) vs (2.70±0.49), t=7.37, P<0.001], TNF-α [(0.99±0.08) vs (3.15±0.54), t=8.85, P<0.001] showed lower expression in the chondrons. There were no difference between chondrons and chondrocytes for Col-11, MMP-9, actin ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The gene expression of extracellular matrix components are higher and the gene expression levels of inflammatory factors and MMPs are decreased in chondrons compared with the chondrocytes, suggesting the chondrons have more multiplication potential as seeding cells for tissue-engineered cartilage.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is associated with stroke-related mortality. However, the long-term association of blood pressure (BP) and the risk of stroke-related mortality and the influence path of BP on stroke-related death remain unknown. The current study aimed to estimate the long-term causal associations between BP and stroke-related mortality and the potential mediating and moderated mediating model of the associations. METHODS: This is a 45-year follow-up cohort study and a total of 1696 subjects were enrolled in 1976 and 1081 participants died by the latest follow-up in 2020. COX proportional hazard model was used to explore the associations of stroke-related death with baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP)/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) categories and BP changes from 1976 to 1994. The mediating and moderated mediating effects were performed to detect the possible influencing path from BP to stroke-related deaths. E value was calculated in the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1696 participants, the average age was 44.38 ± 6.10 years, and 1124 were men (66.3%). After a 45-year follow-up, a total of 201 (11.9%) stroke-related deaths occurred. After the adjustment, the COX proportional hazard model showed that among the participants with SBP ≥ 160 mmHg or DBP ≥ 100 mmHg in 1976, the risk of stroke-related death increased by 217.5% (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.175, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.297-4.388), and the adjusted HRs were higher in male participants. Among the participants with hypertension in 1976 and 1994, the risk of stroke-related death increased by 110.4% (HR = 2.104, 95% CI: 1.632-2.713), and the adjusted HRs of the BP changes were higher in male participants. Body mass index (BMI) significantly mediated the association of SBP and stroke-related deaths and this mediating effect was moderated by gender. CONCLUSIONS In a 45-year follow-up, high BP and persistent hypertension are associated with stroke-related death, and these associations were even more pronounced in male participants. The paths of association are mediated by BMI and moderated by gender.
Adult ; Blood Pressure/physiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Stroke

Objective:To explore the blood pressure levels and the influencing factors of hypertension among Hainan centenarians, and provide basic data for the further blood pressure related studies of the centenarian population.Methods:The baseline data were from China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study (CHCCS). This cross-sectional data, based on the community population, was a complete sample study of centenarians, including questionnaire survey, physical examination and physiological index detection. A total of 1 002 centenarians were recruited to describe the blood pressure level. According to the guidelines for the prevention and treatment of hypertension in Chinese adults in 2018, the prevalence of hypertension was analyzed.Results:The median levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic pressure and pulse pressure were 152.0, 76.0 and 76.5 mmHg, respectively. Blood pressure level was higher in females than in males. The prevalence of hypertension was 71.9%, mainly in isolated systolic hypertension with the prevalence of 60.1%. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the risk of hypertension in women was higher than that in men ( OR=1.624, 95% CI: 1.155-2.283), and the risk of hypertension in the northern ( OR=0.625, 95% CI: 0.434-0.901) and central areas ( OR=0.586, 95% CI: 0.346-0.993) was lower than that of the Eastern. Conclusion:The prevalence of hypertension, mainly in isolated systolic hypertension, showing gender and regional distribution differences.

Objective:To explore the prevalence of lipid profile and the influencing factors of dyslipidemia in centenarians in Hainan province, and provide basic data for the study of the lipid profile in centenarians.Methods:The data of this study were from the baseline data of China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study from June 2014 to December 2016. A total of 1 002 centenarians were recruited. According to the guidelines for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in Chinese adults in 2016, the prevalence of lipid profile were described and the prevalence of dyslipidemia with different clinical classifications were compared, and the main influencing factors were analyzed.Results:The median levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C were 4.60 mmol/L, 1.05 mmol/L, 2.77 mmol/L and 1.41 mmol/L, respectively, in centenarians in Hainan. Blood lipid profile level was higher in females than in males. With the increase of BMI, TC, TG and LDL-C increased significantly, while HDL-C decreased significantly. The total prevalence of dyslipidemia was 19.1%. Smoking, BMI and area distribution were the main influencing factors of dyslipidemia.Conclusion:The prevalence of dyslipidemia in centenarians in Hainan was at a low level compared with other countries, and the blood lipid profile level was higher in females than in males.

Objective:To analyze the association of waist circumference, BMI, waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio, calf circumference and waist-calf circumference ratio (WCR) with depression risk in centenarians in Hainan province.Methods:A total of 1 002 centenarians in Hainan were selected by cluster sampling. GDS-15 was used to investigate the depression. Multivariate linear regression and logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the correlation between anthropometric indicators and depression risk. Restricted cubic spline was used to analyze and visualize the linear relationship.Results:After adjusting demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnic group, marital status, educational level and type of residence) and lifestyle (smoking and drinking), the standard β of BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR, calf circumference and WCR associated with GDS-15 were -0.069, -0.032,0.009, -0.009, -0.099 and 0.060, respectively, and the P values of BMI and calf circumference were <0.05. With the increase of calf circumference, the risk of depression decreased, OR value was 0.94 (95% CI:0.90-0.98), and after adjustment, the results were still significant. Classified variable analysis indicated with the decrease of calf circumference and the increase of WCR, the risk of depression increased gradually, the trend P values were 0.038 and 0.042, respectively. Conclusion:Central obesity (waist circumference and WCR) and periphery obesity (calf circumference) have differed effects on depression in centenarians, and increased calf circumference is a protective factor for depression in female centenarians, attention should be paid to the mental health of the elderly women with lower calf circumference.

Objective:To investigate the short-term effects of articular injection of hyaluronic acid combined with glucocorticoid in patients with knee osteoarthritis.Methods:From October 2017 to June 2018, a total of 188 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis received parallel articular injection. There were 60 cases with mild knee osteoarthritis, 72 with moderate and 56 with severe according to the WOMAC knee functional score. There patients were divided into group rank Ⅰ48 cases, Ⅱ 49 cases, Ⅲ 45 cases, Ⅳ 46 cases according to the knee joint X-ray Kellgren-Lawrence classification. The unified treatment regimen was 2.5 ml Sodium Hyaluronate (SHA) injection for the first time, SHA 2.5 ml and compound betamethasone injection (CBI) 1 ml for the second week, and 2.5 ml of SHA for the third week. WOMAC score and Lequesne index were used to evaluate joint function before the first injection and after SHA and SHA+CBI injection. The improvement rate of Lequesne index ≥30% or improvement rate of WOMAC score ≥25% was regarded as effective treatment.Results:Lequesne index and WOMAC score decreased gradually in the mild, moderate and severe groups after 3 weeks of injection. Among these patients, the improvement rates of Lequesne index after SHA injection and SHA+CBI injection were 36.44%±8.46% and 49.26%±13.75% in the mild group, 23.09%±12.61% and 30.66%±14.95% in the moderate group, and 10.50%±8.78% and 11.07%±6.52% in the severe group. The improvement rate of WOMAC score in the mild group after SHA injection and after SHA+CBI injection was greater than 25%. After SHA injection, the improvement rate of WOMAC score was 13.06%±10.21% in the moderate group, and 27.49%±13.61% after SHA+CBI injection. Those in severe group were all less than 25%. Kendall's staub correlation analysis results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between WOMAC function score and X-ray Kellgren-Lawrence classification ( r=0.744, P<0.001). The Lequesne index and WOMAC scores of the Kellgren-Lawrence X-ray classification decreased gradually after 3 weeks of injection. The improvement rate of Lequesne index period in group rank Ⅰ after SHA and SHA+CBI injection was 36.64%±10.05% and 52.00%±8.19%, respectively. That for group rank Ⅱ was 32.05%±8.09% and 41.95%±10.53%, group rank Ⅲ 16.93%±10.34% and 27.77%±10.25%, group rank Ⅳ 7.52%±5.53% and 7.60%±6.66%. The improvement rate of WOMAC score period in group rank Ⅰ after SHA and SHA+CBI injection was 29.48%±11.77% and 42.59%±13.55%, respectively. That for group rank Ⅱ was 26.72%±10.21% and 30.49%±16.90%, group rank Ⅲ 13.78%±5.96% and 23.05%±9.52%, group rank Ⅳ 4.77%±3.80% and 4.27%±4.23%. Conclusion:For mild or X-ray classification Ⅰ, Ⅱ knee osteoarthritis patients, articular injection SHA or SHA+CBI are effective. Further, SHA+CBI is better than single injection of SHA. SHA+CBI injection was effective for moderate knee osteoarthritis patients. For severe or X-ray classification Ⅲ, Ⅳ patients, SHA or SHA+CBI injection at interval are invalid.

Objective:By describing and analyzing the epidemic characteristics and trends of the attack rate, the crude mortality and relevant indexes in Hubei province during the pandemic of COVID-19 to provide comprehensive evaluations of the epidemic trends and the effects of intervention measures.Methods:Based on the case data reported in Hubei province during the COVID-19 epidemic, combined with the important time of major interventions and event, the cumulative attack rate, the sequential increase rate of new cases, baseline increase rate of new cases, the observation-confirmed case conversion rate, the cumulative crude mortality, the daily severe case rate, and the ratio of death to severe were used to describe and analyze the epidemic characteristics in different phases of the COVID-19 epidemic.Results:The epidemic experienced an outbreak phase from January 10 to February 3 with large amount of case reported, a peak phase from February 4 to February 19 with continuous increasing number of new cases and deaths, a platform phase from February 20 to March 3 with balanced diagnosis and treatment number, and a descending phase from March 4 to March 18 with decreased diagnosis and increased treatment number. Up to March 18, the cumulative attack rate of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hubei province increased from 0.03/10 000 on January 19 to 11.46/10 000, from 0.04/10 000 on January 10 to 45.13/10 000 in Wuhan city, and from 0.002/10 000 on January 20 to 3.70/10 000 in other areas of Hubei province other than Wuhan city. The increase rate of new cases fluctuated during the epidemic period and reached the highest at February 12 in Hubei province. The cumulative crude mortality in Hubei Province increased rapidly from 1.01% on January 19 to 5.13% on January 26, then decreased to 2.54% on February 13, and then slowly increased to 4.62% on March 18, and similar trend was also observed in Wuhan city. The daily severe rate in Hubei Province increased from 26.88% on January 27 to 34.27% on March 18. The ratio of death to severe decreased from 7.37% on January 23 to 0.35% on March 18.Conclusions:The epidemic cycle of COVID-19 in Hubei province proposed to be 60 days, which was about 1.76 times of the combination of the longest incubation period or isolation period (14 d) and the average hospitalization time of confirmed patients in Hubei province (20 d). It suggested that the major anti-epidemic decisions made in China were effective.

Objective To analyze the clinical feasibility and effectiveness of the "G"-shaped surgical approach in robotic pancreatoduodenectomy. Methods The clinical data of 17 patients who were undergoing robotic pancreatoduodenectomy at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from June 2017 to March 2018 was analyzed. Results All the 17 robotic pancreatoduodenectomy operations via the "G"-shaped surgical approach were successful. The operationtime was (499 ±146) min (350-825 min), and the blood loss was (119±38) ml (20-500 ml). All surgical margins were negative. All patients recovered well after surgeries, and the postoperative hospital stay was (21 ±6) (14-36 days). However, one patient experienced secondary surgery due to bilioenteric anastomosis fistula, fortunately the surgical process went successfully. This patient had pancreatic leakage (class B) after surgery and was discharged with tubes after a conservative treatment, another patient had gastroplegia and recovered completely after conservative treatment. Conclusion It is a safe and feasible procedure to use the robotic pancreatoduodenectomy with the"G"-shaped surgical approach.