Objective To investigate the health education needs and available resources in schistosomiasis-endemic areas based on integration of community resources, and to explore the operation pathways for health education and promotion during the stage of schistosomiasis elimination. Methods A community was selected from Nanji Township, Xinjian District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province around the Poyang Lake areas as the study site, and a questionnaire survey on health education needs for schistosomiasis control was conducted among permanent residents at ages of 20 years in the community during the period between June and July, 2022 using face-to-face interviews. In addition, the resources available for the community-based schistosomiasis control health education were investigated among workers in township-level specialized institutions, members of civil society organizations, villagers, teachers and high and primary school students through field observations, field surveys and thematic interviews. Results A total of 304 individuals participated in the questionnaire survey on community-based health education needs for schistosomiasis control, and 94.41% (287/304) and 93.42% (284/304) of the respondents were most interested in knowing/understanding knowledge of the morphology of schistosomes and knowledge associated with the transmission route of schistosomiasis. The four most popular patterns for disseminating schistosomiasis control knowledge included live broadcasting of schistosomiasis control videos (94.41%, 287/304), printed brochures (89.80%, 273/304), special lectures by doctors (62.50%, 190/304) and physical health education materials for schistosomiasis control (61.51%, 187/304). There were 96.71% (294/304) and 77.63% (236/304) of respondents that accepted the participation of township healthcare center and township government/village committees in dissemination of schistosomiasis control knowledge, and there were 95.72% (291/304) and 80.59% (245/304) of respondents that mainly acquired schistosomiasis control knowledge through village allocation of leaflets and volunteer schistosomiasis control activities, respectively. There was 96.71% (294/304) of respondents participating in the dissemination activities of schistosomiasis control knowledge held by village committees, township healthcare centers, and high and primary schools/kinder-gartens, and 61.25% (177/289) of respondents were willing to participate in volunteer schistosomiasis control activities. A total of 115 individuals participated in the survey of available resources for community-based schistosomiasis control health education, and there were a large number of organizational, human and cultural resources in the community that were useful for health communication services. Conclusions The abundant human and material resources from rural communities in schistosomiasis-endemic areas may be integrated into schistosomiasis control health education to generate a rural health education pathway with the joint participation of schistosomiasis control institutions, township governments, community departments and community residents, which may provide insights into the future development of schistosomiasis control health education.

Objective:To analyze the clinical application value of serum heme oxygenase (HO)-1expression level in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and, based on that, establish a diagnostic model combined with glucose regulatory protein 78 (GRP78) so as to clarify its diagnostic effectiveness and application value.Methods:A total of 210 NAFLD patients diagnosed by abdominal B-ultrasound and liver elastography were included, and at the same time, 170 healthy controls were enrolled. The general clinical data, peripheral blood cell counts, and biochemical indicators of the research subjects were collected. The expression levels of HO-1 and GRP78 were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariate analysis was used to screen independent risk factors for NAFLD. Visual output was performed through nomogram diagrams, and the diagnostic model was constructed. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of NAFLD. Measurement data were analyzed using a t-test or Mann-Whitney U rank sum test to detect data differences between groups. Enumeration data were analyzed using the Fisher's exact probability test or the Pearson χ2 test. Results:Compared with the healthy control group, the white blood cell count, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GTT), fasting blood glucose (Glu), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), serum HO-1, and GRP78 levels were significantly increased in the NAFLD group patients ( P ?

Objective:To study the changes of serum N-glycan abundance in patients with liver fibrosis at different stages of hepatitis C, and to establish and evaluate the diagnostic model for clinical application value.Methods:Data of 169 hepatitis C virus-infected cases with liver fibrosis were enrolled. Nine kinds of serum N-glycans were detected and analyzed using DNA sequencer-assisted fluorophore-assisted capillary electrophoresis technology. A binary logistics regression method was used to establish a diagnostic model based on the changes in the relative content of N-glycans in each stage of liver fibrosis. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate and compare the diagnostic efficacy with other liver fibrosis diagnostic models.Results:N-glycan diagnostic model (B and C) had highest AUROC= 0.776, 0.827 for distinguishing fibrosis S1~S2 to S3~S4 and S1~S3 to S4 than GlycoFibroTest (AUROC = 0.760, 0.807), GlycoCirrhoTest (AUROC = 0.722, 0.787), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (AUROC = 0.755, 0.751), FIB-4 index (AUROC = 0.730, 0.774), and S-index (AUROC = 0.707, 0.744). However, the diagnostic efficacy of model A (AUROC = 0.752) for distinguishing fibrosis S1 with S2~S4 had lower diagnostic potency than that of the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (AUROC = 0.807). Diagnostic efficiency was improved when the N-glycan profiling and the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index were combined to diagnose liver fibrosis in each stage, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.839, 0.825, and 0.837, respectively.Conclusion:The serum N-glycan profiling diagnostic model has potential clinical application value in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between level of Th17/CD4+T cell ratio in peripheral blood and postoperative complications in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

METHODSFifty-one patients with HBV-related cirrhosis who received OLT were enrolled in this study. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to measure the proportion of Th17 cells to CD4+T cells at the following time points:pre-OLT, and post-OLT days 7, 14 and 21. The relevant hepatic biochemistry indexes, serum concentration of FK506 and level of procalcitonin (PCT) were detected for all patients after OLT.

RESULTSThe transplant recipients were divided into four groups according to the postoperative complication, which included acute rejection (AR, n=12), postoperative infection (POI, n=10), transient intrahepatic cholestasis (TIHC, n=12) and no complications (n=17). The Th17/CD4+T cell frequencies were notably higher in the AR patients after OLT (vs. before OLT, P less than 0.01) and this increase was positively correlated with rejection activity index (RAI; r=0.759, P=0.004). Up to post-OLT day 14, the frequencies of Th1 7/CD4+T cells in the POI group were similar to those of the AR group but they decreased to near-baseline level at post-OLT day 21.Furthermore, the percentage of Th17/CD4+T cells in the POI group was positively correlated with PCT (r=0.768, P=0.010). The frequencies of Th17/CD4+T cells in the TIHC and no complications groups showed a slowly decreasing trend after OLT and became markedly lower than the before OLT levels (P<0.01). The concentration of FK506 in the AR group was significantly lower than that in the other groups at post-OLT day 14 (P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONSTh17/CD4+T cell level in peripheral blood might be a useful marker for risk assessment and monitoring of OLT postoperative complications, such as acute rejection and postoperative infection, in the early stage, and might help to improve patient prognosis by allowing for timely application of anti-rejection and antibacterial agents.

Calcitonin ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Transplantation ; Postoperative Complications ; Protein Precursors ; Th17 Cells

Objective To explore the value of superior vena cava (SVC) Doppler spectrum in evaluation of the therapeutic effects of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (HBHO)-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) in rats and establish a new method for assessing pulmonary hypertension.Methods Fifty male SD rats were included.Forty of them were developed HBHO-PH and randomly divided into four groups with different manipulations:beraprost treatment group,sildenafil treatment group,placebo group and model group,with 10 rats in each group.The rest of 10 rats served as controls.Cardiac structure,pulmonary peak velocity (PAVmax),tricuspid peak velocity (TVEmax) and SVC Doppler ultrasound were performed in all rats before and after treatment for 2 weeks.Pulmonary arterial pressure was determined by the right heart catheterization.The relationship of the parameters with the pulmonary arterial pressure was analyzed.HE staining was done in lung tissues.Results Right heart catheterization showed that pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) of the treatment groups were lower than that of the model group,the difference was significant(P ＜0.01).Pulmonary artery pressure decreased in varying degrees both after placed in a normal environment and after 2 weeks of treatment.PASP of the beraprost treatment group and the sildenafil treatment group decreased significantly and showed no statistical significant difference with the control group.In contrast,PASP of the placebo group was significant higher than that of control group(P ＜ 0.05).No statistically significant difference was found between the non-placebo treatment groups in PASP.Compared with the control group,the right ventricle/body weight ratio of the model group was statistically significant increased in all other groups(P ＜0.01).Right SVC AR/S ratio was well correlated with PASP (r =0.603,P =0.001).Right SVC AR/S ratio was statistically significant lower in treatment groups compared with the model group (P ＜0.01).All groups except the control group demonstrated various degrees of pulmonary arterial wall thickening.Conclusions The right SVC spectrum of AR/S correlates well with PASP and can be used to evaluate the pharmacological therapeutic effect of rats with HBHO-PH,in particular with moderate to severe PH.

Objective To explore the characteristics of the flow velocity waveform of superior vena cana (SVC) in a rat model with chronic monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension by echocardiography.Methods The chronic pulmonary hypertension model was developed by monocrotaline solution (60 mg/kg) injection into the abdominal cavity in 32 SD rats.Eight rats with the placebo injected served as controls.An examination of the flow velocity waveform of SVC was performed by Doppler echocardiography via supraclavicular fossa before and 28-day after the injection.The pulmonary arterial systolic pressure was measured by pressure-guided micro-catheter 28-day after the injection both in the control and the pulmonary hypertension model group.Results Chronic monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension was successfully developed in 29 rats.The flow velocity waveform of SVC showed that the ratio of the maximum reverse peak flow velocity due to atrial contraction (VAR) to the maximum systolic peak flow velocity (Vs) and VAR increased dramatically 28-day after the monocrotaline solution injection in both sides of SVC (P ＜0.01), while only the Vs of the right SVC significantly decreased (P ＜0.05).Conclusions The changes of VAR/Vs ratio and VAR in rat model with chronic monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension suggested that the changes of flow velocity waveform of SVC have indicating features in reflecting pulmonary hypertension.

Aim To investigate the effect of U50488H(a selective κ-opioid receptor agonist)and isoproterenol(ISO,a β-adrenergic receptor agonist)on ventricular arrhythmias and Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in rats.Methods 60 rats were randomly divided into five groups,ie,normal control group,I/R group,ISO+I/R group,U50488H+ISO+I/R group,Nor-BNI+U50488H+ISO+I/R group.The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias and arrhythmia score were determined. The expression of Cx43mRNA was tested by RT-PCR.The expression of Cx43 protein in myocardial cell was tested by an immunohistochemical approach with a quantitative imaging system.Results ① Compared with the I/R group,arrhythmia score was increased with administration of ISO(P<0.05).U50488H intravenously injected before ISO significantly decreased the arrhythmia score(P<0.05).② Compared with the normal control group,the expression of Cx43 mRNA was decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05).With administration of ISO,the amount of Cx43 mRNA was not significantly increased.③ Compared with normal control group,total and phosphorylated Cx43 proteins were significantly decreased in the I/R group(P<0.05),and the phosphorylated Cx43 was also decreased with administration of ISO.Compared with ISO+I/R group,phosphorylated Cx43 was increased with administration of U50488H (P<0.05).Conclusion κ-opioid receptor agonist U50488 H antagonizes the arrhythmias through the regulation of Cx43 during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion via inhibiting β-adrenergic receptor pathway.

Objective To investigate the effect of lamivudine (LAM) on serum interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-4 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB). Methods Serum IFN-γ and IL-4 levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 66 CHB patients at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after LAM treatment respectively. And 20 healthy volunteers served as healthy control. The comparision of pretreatment and post-treatment was done using t test and numberation data were analyzed by non parametric rank sum test. Results In HBeAg positive patients, the serum level of IFN-γ was (21.03±4.44) ng/L in complete response group, which was higher than partial response group [(13.85±3.92) ng/L] and non-response group [(10.63± 3.11) ng/L] (t=7.56,t=11.87, both P<0.01). Take that IFN-γ is 15.66 ng/L as boundry patients with high baseline IFN-γ level showed much higher complete response rate (31.0% vs 8.7%, x2 =8.391, P<0.01) and lower non-response rate (13.8% vs 52.2%,x2=4. 256, P<0.01) than those with low baseline IFN-γ levels. After LAM treatment, the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratios in complete response patients were approximate or even higher than those in healthy group, whereas the IFN-γ/ IL-4 ratios of patients with partial response and non response were lower than those in healthy group. In HBeAg negative patients, the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratios increased slowly but didn't reach the same levels of healthy group. Conclusions It is suggested that LAM treatment can increase IFN-γ release and reduce IL-4 release in CHB patients. The response type to LAM therapy is associated with the recovery of T helper cell (Th) 1/Th2 balance post-treatment and pretreatment IFN-γ levels.

Objective To study the effect of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist(GnRHa)against car-boplation-induced gonadotoxicity in rats. Methods Forty Wistar rats were divided into four groups which received carboplation, GnRHa + carboplation, GnRHa and normal saline respectively(n=10 for each group). Blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta and the levels of blood follicle stimulation hormone (FSH) and estradiol (E<2>) were determined. Both ovaries and uterus of each rat were removed to measure the amount and the maturity of follicles. Body mass and morphological and pathological features of the rats were also observed. Results Compared with that in control group, the body mass of ovary and uterus decreased (P<0.05), and a significant reduction was observed in the number of ovarian follicles at each grade (P<0.05). The levels of E2 significantly lowered (P<0.05) and the level of FSH markedly ascended in group carboplation. Compared with that in group carboplation, the amount of primitive follicles significantly increased in group GnRHa + carboplation (P<0.05), and carboplation showed markedly protective effect on the ovarian and uterine morphological construction of rats. Conclusion Gn-Rha, appliying to preventing the rat reproduction damage in advance, has the certain protective function.

Objective To study the relationship between the Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection and the formation of gallstones. Methods In this controlled study, the Hp infection rate was detected in both 35 cases of simple gallbladder stones (Experimental Group) and 25 cases of polypoid lesions of the gallbladder (Control Group). The Hp cytotoxin associated gene antigen (cag-A) in bile and gallstones of the both groups was amplified by PCR technique. Results The Hp infection rate was 51.4% (18/35) in the Experimental Group and 48.0% (12/25) in the Control Group, without significant differences (?~2=0.069,P=0.793). In the Experimental Group, cag-A positive results were noted in bile samples in 7 cases (20.0%, 7/35) and in gallstone samples in 1 case (2.9%, 1/35), whereas in the Control Group there were no positive results observed. The Hp cag-A positive rate was significantly different between the two groups (?~2=5.822,P=0.016). The presence of Hp cag-A in bile was correlated with the Hp infection of the stomach (x~2=3.886,P=0.049). Conclusions That the DNA of the Hp can be found in bile and gallstones of patients with cholelithiasis indicates a correlation between Hp infection of the gallbladder and the formation of gallstones.