Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the bacterial communities of biting midges and ticks collected from three sites in the Poyang Lake area,namely,Qunlu Practice Base,Peach Blossom Garden,and Huangtong Animal Husbandry,and whether vectors carry any bacterial pathogens that may cause diseases to humans,to provide scientific basis for prospective pathogen discovery and disease prevention and control. Methods Using a metataxonomics approach in concert with full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing and operational phylogenetic unit(OPU)analysis,we characterized the species-level microbial community structure of two important vector species,biting midges and ticks,including 33 arthropod samples comprising 3,885 individuals,collected around Poyang Lake. Results A total of 662 OPUs were classified in biting midges,including 195 known species and 373 potentially new species,and 618 OPUs were classified in ticks,including 217 known species and 326 potentially new species.Surprisingly,OPUs with potentially pathogenicity were detected in both arthropod vectors,with 66 known species of biting midges reported to carry potential pathogens,including Asaia lannensis and Rickettsia bellii,compared to 50 in ticks,such as Acinetobacter lwoffii and Staphylococcus sciuri.We found that Proteobacteria was the most dominant group in both midges and ticks.Furthermore,the outcomes demonstrated that the microbiota of midges and ticks tend to be governed by a few highly abundant bacteria.Pantoea sp7 was predominant in biting midges,while Coxiella sp1 was enriched in ticks.Meanwhile,Coxiella spp.,which may be essential for the survival of Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann,were detected in all tick samples.The identification of dominant species and pathogens of biting midges and ticks in this study serves to broaden our knowledge associated to microbes of arthropod vectors. Conclusion Biting midges and ticks carry large numbers of known and potentially novel bacteria,and carry a wide range of potentially pathogenic bacteria,which may pose a risk of infection to humans and animals.The microbial communities of midges and ticks tend to be dominated by a few highly abundant bacteria.

Objective:To explore the incidence and mortality of digestive system cancers, and the trend of the disease burden attributed to different risk factors in population in China.Methods:Data were obtained from the GLOBOCAN 2020 and the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2019 databases and only the data from the Chinese population were included. Using Excel 2019 and R 4.2.1 software, indicators including age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), age-standardized disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate and its rate of change were used to illustrate the disease burden of digestive system cancers attributed to different factors and their trends.Results:In 2020, the ASIR of digestive system cancers in China was 83.00/100 000, and the ASMR was 63.80/100 000. The numbers of digestive system cancer cases and deaths increased with age, and more cases and deaths occurred in men than in women in all age groups. The age-standardized DALY rate of esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and liver cancers showed decreasing trends in China from 1990 to 2019 (rate of change: -45.26%, -46.87%, and -65.63%, respectively), whereas the age-standardized DALY rate of pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and gallbladder and biliary tract cancer showed increasing trends (rate of change: 67.61%, 30.52%, and 7.21%, respectively). The trend of the mortality rate was consistent with the DALY rate. Compared with the age-standardized DALY rate attributed to behavioral factors, the annual proportion of the age-standardized DALY rate attributed to metabolic factors to the total age-standardized DALY rate of esophageal cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer increased from 1990 to 2019. There was no significant change in the rank of age-standardized DALY rate of gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and gallbladder and biliary tract cancer attributed to different risk factors in China from 1990 to 2019, but the rank of certain attributed risk factors for the age-standardized DALY rate of esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer moved ahead (esophageal cancer: high BMI; colorectal cancer: low milk intake, and low whole-grain intake).Conclusions:The incidence and mortality of digestive system cancers was serious in China in 2020, and the annual proportion of the disease burden of digestive system cancers attributed to metabolic factors increased from 1990 to 2019. The rank of attributed risk factors for several digestive system cancers changed significantly.

Aim To study the effects of high-fat diet on testicular germ cell apoptosis in mice through endoplasmic reticulum stress. Methods C57BL/6J male mice were assigned into normal group and high-fat diet group randomly, with six mice in each group. The mice in normal group or high-fat diet group were fed with regular or high-fat diet continuously for five months. The mice were weighed, anesthetized, and euthanized to collect testicular and epididymal tissue for analysis. The testicular tissue was weighed and their indices were calculated. Epididymal tissue was collected for semen analysis. The morphological alterations of testicular tissue were observed using hematoxylin-eosin ( HE ) staining. The apoptosis of germ cells was detected by TUNEL staining and the apoptotic indices were calculated. The expression levels of apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins in testicular tissue were detected by Western blot. The protein expression and localization of GRP78 in testicular tissue were further detected by immunofluorescence. Results The results showed that compared to the normal group, the high-fat diet group had a significant increase in body weight, a significant decrease in testicular index, sperm concentration, and sperm vability, loose arrangement of germ cells, significant thinning of the seminiferous epithelium, no significant change in the diameter of seminiferous tubules, a significant increase in germ cell apoptosis , with an increased apoptosis index, and significant increase in expression of Bax and cleaved-caspase-12,and a significant decrease in Bcl-2 protein expression. The expression levels of GRP78 , p-IREl, XBP1, and ATF6a proteins were significantly up-regulated, while p-PERK, p-eIF2a, ATF4 protein expression showed no significant changes. Immunofluorescence results further showed a significant increase in the expression of GRP78 protein in the testicular tissue,with no significant changes in the expression location. Conclusions High-fat diet can induce the apoptosis of mouse testicular germ cells, and the mechanism may be related to the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress IRE1 and ATF6 signaling pathway.

Aim To investigate the role of autophagy in the dysfunction of testicular TM4 cell junction induced by ERα down-regulation. Methods TM4 cells were treated with different concentrations of E R a inhibitor ICI182780 (ICI), and the proliferative activity of TM4 cells was detected by CCK-8 method. The number and morphological changes of TM4 cells were observed by light microscope. The levels of E R a, junction function related proteins and autophagy marker proteins were detected by Western blot. The expression and localization of Cx43 were detected by immunofluorescence staining. The cells were treated with chloroquine (CQ) and ICI for 24 h. The expression levels of autophagy and junction function related proteins were detected by Western blot. Results When ICI concentration was 50 nmol • L ~ or above, the cell viability decreased significantly. The increase of cell vacuoles in ICI group was observed by light microscope. Compared with normal control group, the protein expression levels of E R a, ZO-1, occludin, claudin-11, p-catenin and Cx43 in ICI groups significantly dropped, while the expression levels of N-cadherin and E-cadherin had no significant changes; LC3 II significantly rose, while p62 expression significantly fell. The results of immunofluorescence showed that the fluorescence expression of Cx43 in ICI group decreased significantly, but the position of CX43 did not change significantly. Compared with ICI group, the expression levels of LC3 II, p62, Cx43, ZO-1 and β-Catenin significantly increased. Conclusions The down-regulation of E R a leads to damage of TM4 cell junction function, which may be related to the activation of autophagy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the combination of Naoxintong Capsule with standard care could further reduce the recurrence of ischemic stroke without increasing the risk of severe bleeding. METHODS: A total of 23 Chinese medical centers participated in this trial. Adult patients with a history of ischemic stroke were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio using a block design to receive either Naoxintong Capsule (1.2 g orally, twice a day) or placebo in addition to standard care. The primary endpoint was recurrence of ischemic stroke within 2 years. Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, death due to recurrent ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality. The safety of drugs was monitored. Results were analyzed using the intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS: A total of 2,200 patients were enrolled from March 2015 to March 2016, of whom 143 and 158 in the Naoxintong and placebo groups were lost to follow-up, respectively. Compared with the placebo group, the recurrence rate of ischemic stroke within 2 years was significantly lower in the Naoxintong group [6.5% vs. 9.5%, hazard ratio (HR): 0.665, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.492-0.899, P=0.008]. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary outcomes and safety, including rates of severe hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The combination of Naoxintong Capsule with standard care reduced the 2-year stroke recurrence rate in patients with ischemic stroke without increasing the risk of severe hemorrhage in high-risk patients. (Trial registration No. NCT02334969).
Adult ; Humans ; Secondary Prevention/methods* ; Ischemic Stroke ; Stroke/prevention & control* ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/complications* ; Double-Blind Method ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors

This article summarizes the strategy and effects of preventing and controlling the epidemic in the evacuation support of the aero medical evacuation team of the 7th peacekeeping medical contingent of China to Mali， to actively respond to the coronavirus disease-19 （COVID-19 ）epidemic based on existing medical conditions and further provide scientific evidence for guaranteeing military medical service in public health emergencies.

The Qinba areas, located in the Central China, represent 317000 km2, cover 6 provinces. The major mountain of Qinba areas, the Qinling, separates China North and South. This region is one of the areas with the most bio?diversity and ecological importance in China and globally, and considered as natural gene bank and bio-resource bank. Qinba mountain areas, together with the Alps in Europe and the Rocky Mountains in North America, are known as the"Three sisters of the earth"by the geological and biological circles. Most of the lands in this region are protected as national park, natural reserve, water resource protection area, etc. These areas have well preserved ecosystem and breeding and habitat area for many endangered species of plants and animals, inculding Panda. In this region, there are more than 4000 species of higher plants, about 2000 species of medicinal plants and animals, 200 species of wild ornamental plants and 180 species of economic fungi with edible and medicinal value in those areas. Medicinal plant cultivation, eco-agricul?ture and ecotourism are the major industries in this region. The State Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment of Qinba Areas, located in Hanzhong, the central city of Qinba, is focusing on pan-regional biological resources research and rational utilization, ecological protection, and comprehensive and coordinated regional development.

Objective To study the inhibitory effect of T lymphocytes secreting EphrinAl-Caspase-3 in vivo and on the growth of cancer cells in nude mice with breast cancer. Methods Nude mice (n = 35) were inoculated with breast cancer cells to construct a nude mouse model of breast cancer. When the tumor volume reached 0. 1 cm3, 30 nude mice with average size tumor tissue were randomly divided into PBS group, uninfected adenovirus group, T lymphocyte infected with Ad-EphrinAl-Caspase-3 group, and intratumoral transplantation. Tumor size was measured every day 2 to 3. Three groups of tumor-bearing nude mice were selected. After the above-mentioned cell transplantation, the subcutaneous tumor tissue homogenate was obtained every day 2 to 3, and the content of EphrinAl-Caspase-3 was detected by ELISA. At the end of the experiment, the animals in each group were sacrificed by cervical dissection and sliced. The presence of T lymphocytes expressing green fluorescent protein was observed under a fluorescence microscope, and Caspase-3 and Ki-67 were detected by immunofluorescence. Results After one week of inoculation of breast cancer cells into nude mice, the presence of subcutaneous tumors could be touched by hand, which proved that the tumor-bearing animals of breast cancer cells were successfully modeled. On the 8th day after inoculation, the tumor volume of the nude mice in each group became larger, and the difference between the treatment group and the PBS group/T lymphocyte group was extremely significant ( P<0.05). Although the tumor volume of the T lymphocyte transplantation group was slower than that of the PBS control group, there was no statistically significant difference between the two. The expression of EphrinAl-Caspase-3 was detected in the EphrinAl-Caspase-3 treatment group on the 2nd day, reached the peak on the 8th day, and then the secretion decreased gradually. No expression of EphrinAl-Caspase-3 was detected in the PBS control group and the T lymphocyte group. The presence of dispersed green fluorescent protein-labeled EphrinAl-Caspase-3-T lymphocytes was observed in the tumor tissues of the treatment group, while the presence of green fluorescent protein was not detected in the PBS group and the T lymphocyte groups. In the infected cells of the treatment group, the proportion of Caspase-3 positive cells was up- regulated, and the proportion of Ki-67 positive cells was down-regulated. No expression of EphrinAl-Caspase-3 was detected in the PBS group and the T lymphocyte group. Conclusion EphrinAl-Caspase-3 can significantly inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, thereby exerting an anti-tumor effect.

OBJECTIVETo study a non-drug therapy for hypertension disease by combining percutaneous laser and electric pulse stimulation to acupoint with music, and to test the efficiency of the combining treatment to grade 1 essential hypertension.

METHODSA total of 174 patients with grade 1 essential hypertension were randomly assigned to 3 groups with a random number table after Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome differentiation: the photoelectric and musical treatment group (Group 1, with a self-developed multi-mode audio frequency pulse photoelectric therapeutic apparatus), acupuncture group (Group 2), and oral placebo group (Group 3), 58 cases per group. The curative effect of each group was evaluated by the changes of blood pressure and CM syndrome integral before and after treatment.

RESULTSCompared with Group 3, there were significant decrease of blood pressure and CM syndrome integral in Group 1 and Group 2 (P<0.01). Compared with Group 2, Group 1 showed the highest decrease in systolic pressure (P<0.017). The total effective rate of anti-hypertension in Group 1 (91.38%, 53/58) was significantly higher than that in Group 2 (74.13%, 43/58) and Group 3 (18.97%, 11/58, P<0.05 or P<0.01); and that in Group 2 was also significantly higher than that in Group 3 (P<0.01). There were significant difference in the total effective rate of CM syndrome integral in both Group 1 (93.10%, 54/58) and Group 2 (84.48%, 49/58) as compared with Group 3 (17.24%, 10/58, P<0.01), while there was no significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe multi-mode audio frequency pulse photoelectric therapeutic apparatus, combining music, laser and electric pulse stimulation, is clinically useful for grade 1 essential hypertension. This "three in one" therapy method is non-invasive, easy and simple to handle. It is expected to be popularized as a new alternative treatment.

Acupuncture Points ; Blood Pressure ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Essential Hypertension ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Lasers ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Music ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDPyroptosis is the term for caspase-1-dependent cell death associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines. The role of alveolar macrophage (AM) pyroptosis in the pathogenesis of the acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) remains unclear.

METHODSC57BL/6 wild-type mice were assigned to sham, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) + vehicle, LPS + acetyl-tyrosyl-valyl- alanyl-aspartyl-chloromethylketone (Ac-YVAD-CMK) and LPS + Z-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone groups. Mice were given intraperitoneal (IP) injections of LPS. Drugs were IP injected 1 h before LPS administration. Mice were sacrificed 16 h after LPS administration, and AMs were isolated. Western blot analysis for active caspase-1 and cleaved caspase-3, evaluation of lung injury and a cytokine release analysis were performed. AMs were treated with LPS and adenosine triphosphate (ATP); caspase-1-dependent cell death was evaluated using flow cytometry; the apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) pyroptosomes were examined by immunofluorescence.

RESULTSThe expression of activated caspase-1 in AMs was enhanced following LPS challenge compared with the sham group. In the ex vivo study, the caspase-1/propidium iodide-positive cells, caspase-1 specks and ASC pyroptosomes were up-regulated in AMs following LPS/ATP stimulation. The specific caspase-1 inhibitor Ac-YVAD-CMK inhibited the activation of caspase-1 and pyroptotic cell death. Ac-YVAD-CMK also reduced the lung injury, pulmonary edema and total protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). In addition, Ac-YVAD-CMK significantly inhibited interleukin-α2 (IL-1α2) release both in serum and BALF and reduced the levels of IL-18, tumor necrosis factor-α± (TNF-α±), High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) in BALF during LPS-induced ALI/ARDS.

CONCLUSIONSThis study reported AM pyroptosis during LPS-induced ALI/ARDS in mice and has demonstrated that Ac-YVAD-CMK can prevent AM-induced pyroptosis and lung injury. These preliminary findings may form the basis for further studies to evaluate this pathway as a target for prevention or reduction of ALI/ARDS.

Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; prevention & control ; Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oligopeptides ; pharmacology ; Pyroptosis ; drug effects