Progress towards rubella elimination after implementation of rubella immunization for over 20 years in Shandong province, China

The rubella vaccine has been included in the immunization program in Shandong province of China since 1995. Here we observed the rubella vaccine coverage, epidemiology, serosurvey, and virological surveillance data, in order to identify the challenges impeding the progress towards to its elimination following the implementation of rubella immunization over a 21-year period in Shandong province. We first noted that the annual increase in vaccination coverage resulted in decreased rate of rubella incidence, which was maintained at a low level. Second, the average age of rubella patients had shifted to the 15-29-year age group, making this group the main population affected by the rubella virus (RV). Third, more than 90% of the study population were immune to rubella. However, the positive rate of rubella IgG in some cities was relatively lower indicating that an insufficient proportion of individuals had been vaccinated. Finally, the transmission of the genotype 1E RV was gradually interrupted due to the implementation of rubella vaccination. Unfortunately, the endemicity of the imported genotype 2B RV was established due to the pockets with unvaccinated people. Therefore, comprehensive vaccination coverage of the population, combined with high quality monitoring of rubella, is necessary to achieve the rubella elimination goal.

[Study of the association between polymorphism of persistent obesity, human leptin gene/leptin receptor gene and molecular subtypes of breast cancer]

Objectives: To explore the association between the polymorphism of persistent obesity and genetic variations in the LEP (human leptin gene, LEP) and LEPR (leptin receptor gene, LEPR) genes and different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Methods: All 703 female patients of breast cancer diagnosed by histopathology in the Sichuan Cancer Hospital or the West China Hospital, excluding patients with metastatic breast cancer or mental disease, were selected as cases from April 2014 to May 2015. At the same time, 805 healthy women received physical examination in medical examination center of Sichuan People Hospital or Shuangliu maternal and child health care hospital, excluding those with therioma, breast disease, and mental disease, were enrolled in control group. A uniform questionnaire was used to collect general information including demographic characteristic, reproductive history height, weight, and so on. And the obesity status in recent 10 years was judged. Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer was used to determine the genotypes of LEP rs7799039, LEPR rs1137100 and LEPR rs1137101, while the multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of risk factors related to breast cancer in different molecular subtypes; and then, the association between polymorphism of persistent obesity, the LEP, LEPR genes and breast cancer of different molecular subtypes was analyzed by binary logistic regression models. Results: The average age of controls was (48.98±8.83) years old, while the age of cases of TNBC, Luminal A, Luminal B, and HER-2+ were (51.43±11.33), (49.94±10.10), (49.73±9.38), (50.50±9.04) years old, respectively. The frequency of genotype LEP rs7799039, LEPR rs1137100 and LEPR rs1137101 in control group was separately 74.8%(1 157/1 546), 83.6%(1 339/1 602) and 88.4%(1 416/1 602); while 77.6% (1 074/1 384), 82.4% (1 155/1 402) and 87.9% (1 232/1 402) respectively in case group. Compared with non-persistent obesity subjects, the persistent obesity ones showed an increased risk in TNBC (OR=3.58, 95%CI: 1.90-6.72), Luminal A (OR=2.65, 95%CI: 1.35-5.21) and Luminal B (OR=1.90, 95%CI: 1.26-2.89) breast cancer. LEP rs7799039-AA was relevant with the upward risk of Luminal B independently (OR=1.30, 95%CI: 1.00-1.69). Besides, persistent obesity was found to have a combined effect on Luminal B (β=3.34, 95% CI: 1.00-11.12) with LEPR rs1137101-GG. Conclusion: Persistent obesity could increase the potential risk of TNBC, Luminal A and Luminal B breast cancer. Women who were suffered from persistent obesity with a genotype of LEPR rs1137101-GG were more susceptible to Luminal B breast cancer.

[Imaging diagnostic methods for identification of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with early squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity mucosa: a literature review]

The paper describes properties of clinical visualization approaches which are applied for detection of sentinel lymph nodes in patients suffering from oral cavity squamous cell cancer. Diagnostic efficiency results and technological features of different imaging techniques are discussed.

[Application of State Space model in the evaluation of the prevention and control for mumps]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of mumps in 2012 and 2014, and to explore the preventive effect of the second dose of mumps-containing vaccine (MuCV) in mumps in Shandong province. Methods: On the basis of certain model assumptions, a Space State model was formulated. Iterated Filter was applied to the epidemic model to estimate the parameters. Results: The basic reproduction number (R(0)) for children in schools was 4.49 (95%CI: 4.30-4.67) and 2.50 (95%CI: 2.38-2.61) respectively for the year of 2012 and 2014. Conclusions: Space State model seems suitable for mumps prevalence description. The policy of 2-dose MuCV can effectively reduce the number of total patients. Children in schools are the key to reduce the mumps.

Identification and Antifungal Activity of Compounds from the Mangrove Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus clavatus R7

Two new coumarin derivatives, 4,4′-dimethoxy-5,5′-dimethyl-7,7′-oxydicoumarin (1), 7-(γ,γ-dimethylallyloxy)-5-methoxy-4-methylcoumarin (2), a new chromone derivative, (S)-5-hydroxy-2,6-dimethyl-4H-furo[3,4-g]benzopyran-4,8(6H)-dione (5), and a new sterone derivative, 24-hydroxylergosta-4,6,8(14),22-tetraen-3-one (6), along with two known bicoumarins, kotanin (3) and orlandin (4), were isolated from an endophytic fungus Aspergillusclavatus (collection No. R7), isolated from the root of Myoporum bontioides collected from Leizhou Peninsula, China. Their structures were elucidated using 1D- and 2D- NMR spectroscopy, and HRESIMS. The absolute configuration of compound 5 was determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compound 6 significantly inhibited the plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Colletotrichum musae and Penicillium italicum, compound 5 significantly inhibited Colletotrichum musae, and compounds 1, 3 and 4 greatly inhibited Fusarium oxysporum, showing the antifungal activities higher than those of the positive control, triadimefon.

Susceptibility of influenza A(H1N1)/pdm2009, seasonal A(H3N2) and B viruses to Oseltamivir in Guangdong, China between 2009 and 2014

Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from patients through the influenza surveillance network of the CDC of Guangdong. All specimens between 2009 and 2014 were checked for influenza virus using MDCK cells and further subtyped. Of those collected, 542 H1N1pdm09, 230 A(H3N2)and 448 B viruses selected at random were subjected to fluorescence-based NAI assays. Viral RNA was extracted from resistant isolates, and their NA genes were amplified by RT-PCR. Alignment of nucleotides and amino acids was performed. We performed structural modelling and simulations of mutants using Modeller 9.x and AutoDock and analyzed conformations and binding affinities. All tested seasonal type B and H3N2 viruses from 2009 to 2014 remained sensitive to oseltamivir. However, there were five strains (out of 198 tested isolates acquired between June and September 2013) that were resistant to oseltamivir. Another three resistant strains were identified among isolates from March to April 2014. We found that 2013/2014 oseltamivir-resistant strains and 2012/2013/2014 oseltamivir-sensitive strains had all or some of the following mutations: N44S, N200S,V241I, I321V,N369K, N386 K and K432E. MutationsV241I, N369K, N386K and K432E, alone or in conjunction with H275Y, had a significant impact on the binding pattern and affinity of oseltamivir for neuraminidase, rendering neuraminidase less susceptible.

Bromodomain protein 4 is a novel predictor of survival for gastric carcinoma

Expression of bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4) has been reported to predict a worse prognosis in solid tumors. However, its expression profile and prognostic value in gastric carcinoma (GC) remains unknown. Here we investigated BRD4 expression in GC and explored its association with patient survival. Tissue samples were obtained from 95 GC patients who underwent surgical resection to remove the primary tumor from January 2009 to December 2010. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of BRD4 in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to analyze the data of BRD4 expression profile and clinicopathological characteristics. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed BRD4 was overexpressed in GC tissue compared with adjacent normal tissue. BRD4 expression was significantly associated with TNM stage (p < 0.001), lymphatic permeation (p = 0.011), and vital status at the end of follow-up (p < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test demonstrated that higher BRD4 expression was an adverse predictive factor for survival in GC. Multivariate analysis by Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that BRD4 expression was an independent worse prognostic factor in GC. In conclusion, BRD4 could act as a potential biomarker for prognostic assessment of GC.

Ulinastatin ameliorates tissue damage of severe acute pancreatitis through modulating regulatory T cells

BACKGROUND

Ulinastatin or urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI) has been shown to ameliorate the inflammatory response induced by experimental severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and hence reduce the mortality, however the mechanism of its action remains incompletely understood. We have investigated the effect of ulinastatin on regulatory T-cells (Tregs) in an established rat model of SAP.

METHODS

We established a rat SAP model by injecting 5% Na-taurocholate into the pancreatic duct and treated the SAP rats with ulinastatin with different dose level (5000, 10000, 30000 U/kg) through intraperitoneal injection at 0, 6 and 12 h.

RESULTS

We showed that the tissue damage of pancreas and the mortality of the SAP rats were significantly reduced by ulinastatin. We also showed that in the SAP rats the frequencies of CD4+ T cells and Tregs, as well as the expressions of TGF-β1, CTLA-4, and Foxp3 were decreased in the SAP animals while IL-1β, IL-10 and TNF-α were significantly increased. Treatment with ulinastatin up-regulated the proportion of Tregs in CD4+ T cells and the expression of IL-10, Foxp3 and CTLA-4 in the SAP rats in a dose dependence fashion, while down-regulating the levels of L-1β and TNF-α, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that ulinastatin alleviates inflammatory response and tissue damage in SAP rats by increasing the proportion of Tregs. Our study provides a new mechanism for the beneficial effect of ulinastatin in SAP rat model.

[Association of XRCC1 gene polymorphism and low dose ionizing radiation with peripheral blood lymphocyte micronucleus]

Objective: To explore the effects of X-ray repair cross complementing gene 1 (XRCC1) polymorphism and low dose ionizing radiation exposure on radiology professionals' peripheral blood lymphocyte micronucleus. Methods: A matched case-control study was designed. From 2013 to 2015, 1 102 radiology professionals with micronucleus test rusults, and 45 cases with present micronucleus were enroled into case group. 180 diagnostic radiology technicians detecting no micronucleus were chosen as control group, cases and controls were 1∶4 mached on gender, age ≤40 or >40 years old. According to the detection of micronucleus levels (0‰, 1‰, 2‰) , the objects of our study were divided into the reference group, the low detection group and the medium detection group. The form of radiation workers' occupational health examination was used to collect the general baseline of the research objects, history of smoking, drinking, poisonous and harmful material exposure, past medical history, accumulated illuminated dose and lymphocyte micronucleus rates (‰) , etc. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) technology for genotyping; Compared the baseline data and radiation exposure level between the differentmicrokernel detection groups; Adopted multivariate logistic regression to analysis the combination effect of XRCC1 Arg399Gln gene polymorphism and accumulated illuminated dosefor micronucleus rate. Results: The accumulated illuminated dose in the reference group, the low detection group and the medium detection group were (23.44±15.23) , (21.76±2.56) , (24.22±18.61) mSv, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups (P>0.05) . Under the dominant inheritance mode, after adjusted age, smoking and drinking factors, the results suggested that XRCC1 Arg399Gln micronucleus medium detection group compared with the reference group, Arg399Gln-GG as reference, Arg399Gln-GA+AA decreased the occurrence of micronucleus (OR=0.175, 95%CI: 0.036-0.848) . Arg194Trp and Arg280His did not affect the incidence of micronucleus (P>0.05) . Did not find the combination effect of XRCC1 Arg399Gln gene polymorphism and accumulated illuminated dose for micronucleus rate (P>0.05) . Conclusion:XRCC1 Arg399Gln gene polymorphism can affect the incidence of micronucleus, and carrying the XRCC1 Arg399Gln-GA+AA genotype is a protective factor of micronucleus's occurrence, but low dose ionizing radiation may not affect the occurrence of micronucleus independently.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound mapping of sentinel lymph nodes in oral tongue cancer-a pilot study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with peritumoral injection of microbubble contrast agent for detecting the sentinel lymph nodes for oral tongue carcinoma.

METHODS

The study was carried out on 12 patients with T1-2cN0 oral tongue cancer. A radical resection of the primary disease was planned; a modified radical supraomohyoid neck dissection was reserved for patients with larger lesions (T2, n = 8). The treatment plan and execution were not influenced by sentinel node mapping outcome. The Sonovue^™ contrast agent (Bracco Imaging, Milan, Italy) was utilized. After detection, the position and radiologic features of the sentinel nodes were recorded.

RESULTS

The identification rate of the sentinel nodes was 91.7%; one patient failed to demonstrate any enhanced areas. A total of 15 sentinel nodes were found in the rest of the 11 cases, with a mean of 1.4 nodes for each patient. The sentinel nodes were localized in: Level IA-1 (6.7%) node; Level IB-11 (73.3%) nodes; Level IIA-3 (20.0%) nodes. No contrast-related adverse effects were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

For oral tongue tumours, CEUS is a feasible and potentially widely available approach of sentinel node mapping. Further clinical research is required to establish the position of CEUS detection of the sentinel nodes in oral cavity cancers.

CD27 natural killer cell subsets play different roles during the pre-onset stage of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

NK cells participate in the development of human multiple sclerosis (MS) and mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), but the roles of different NK cell subsets in disease onset remain poorly understood. In this study, murine NK cells were divided into CD27high and CD27low/− subsets. The CD27high subset was decreased and the CD27low/− subset was increased in lymphoid organs during the pre-onset stage of EAE. Compared with the counterpart in naïve mice, the CD27high subset showed lower expression of Ly49D, Ly49H and NKG2D, and less production of IFN-γ, whereas the CD27low/− subset showed similar expression of the above mentioned surface receptors but higher cytotoxic activity in EAE mice. Compared with the CD27high subset, the CD27low/− subset exhibited increased promotion of DC maturation and no significant inhibition of T cells proliferation and Th17 cells differentiation in vitro. Additionally, adoptive transfer of the CD27low/− subset, but not the CD27high subset, exacerbated the severity of EAE. Collectively, our data suggest the CD27 NK cell subsets play different roles in controlling EAE onset, which provide a new understanding for the regulation of NK cell subsets in early autoimmune disease.

HMGB1 blockade differentially impacts pulmonary inflammation and defense responses in poly(I:C)/LPS-exposed heart transplant mice

A large number of recipients are in a compromised immune defense condition because of the routine application of immunosuppressive regimens after heart transplantation. Our previous work demonstrated that blockade of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) prolongs the graft survival. Whether and how HMGB1 blockade impacts respiratory responses against pathogen-like challenge in organ transplant recipients when it improves cardiac graft are not elucidated. At the present study, after abdominal heterotopic heart transplantation, the recipient mice were treated with HMGB1 mAb, and then challenged with poly(I:C) or LPS intratracheally on day 7 post transplantation. We found that the level of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) HMGB1 was elevated after heart transplantation, and aggravated responses to respiratory tract poly(I:C)/LPS challenge were observed. HMGB1 neutralizing mAb treatment in poly(I:C)-challenged recipient mice alleviated pulmonary histopathological changes, neutrophil infiltration and inflammatory cytokine release, but unaffected the level of IFN-β, the distribution of CD11b(+)CD27(+)/CD11b(+)CD27(-) NK cell subsets, and CD8(+) T cell responses. In LPS-exposed recipient mice, HMGB1 mAb treatment ameliorated pulmonary inflammatory damage and enhanced the phagocytosis of phagocytic cells. Thus, this study may establish a basis for the application of HMGB1 blockade to improve the outcomes of heart transplant recipients because HMGB1 inhibition ameliorates pulmonary inflammation, but maintains defense-associated responses.

A New Xanthone Glycoside from the Endolichenic Fungus Sporormiella irregularis

A new xanthone glycoside, sporormielloside (1), was isolated from an EtOAc extract of an endolichenic fungal strain Sporormiella irregularis (No. 71-11-4-1), along with two known xanthones (2, 3). Their structures were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis (IR, MS, and 1D- and 2D-NMR), a chemical method, and a comparison of NMR data with closely related compounds previously reported. According to the structures of isolated compounds, their plausible biosynthetic pathway was deduced.

4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide-induced mutagen sensitivity and risk of cutaneous melanoma: a case-control analysis

Mutagen sensitivity assay, which measures the enhanced cellular response to DNA damage induced in vitro by mutagens/carcinogens, has been used in the study of cancer susceptibility. 4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO), an ultraviolet (UV) radiation-mimetic chemical, can produce chromosomal breaks in mammalian cells and induce cancer. Given the potential role of 4-NQO as the experimental mutagen substituting for UV as the etiological carcinogen of cutaneous melanoma (CM), we tested the hypothesis that cellular sensitivity to 4-NQO is associated with the risk of developing CM in a case-control study of 133 patients with primary CM and 176 cancer-free controls. Short-term blood cultures were treated with 4-NQO at a final concentration of 10 μmol/l for 24 h and scored chromatid breaks in 50 well-spread metaphases. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. We found that the log-transformed frequency of chromatid breaks was significantly higher in 133 patients than in 176 controls (P=0.004) and was associated with an increased risk for CM (adjusted odds ratio=1.78, 95% confidence interval: 1.12-2.84) after adjustment for age and sex. Moreover, as the chromatid break values increased, the risk for CM increased in a dose-dependent manner (P(trend)=0.003). Further analysis explored a multiplicative interaction between the sensitivity to 4-NQO and a family history of skin cancer (P(interaction)=0.004) on the risk of CM. Therefore, our findings suggest that sensitivity to 4-NQO may be a risk factor for the risk of CM, which is more sensitive than UV-induced chromotid breaks.

Orbital two-channel Kondo effect in epitaxial ferromagnetic L1(0)-MnAl films

The orbital two-channel Kondo effect displaying exotic non-Fermi liquid behaviour arises in the intricate scenario of two conduction electrons compensating a pseudo-spin-1/2 impurity of two-level system. Despite extensive efforts for several decades, no material system has been clearly identified to exhibit all three transport regimes characteristic of the two-channel Kondo effect in the same sample, leaving the interpretation of the experimental results a subject of debate. Here we present a transport study suggestive of a robust orbital two-channel Kondo effect in epitaxial ferromagnetic L1₀-MnAl films, as evidenced by a magnetic field-independent resistivity upturn with a clear transition from logarithmic- to square-root temperature dependence and deviation from it in three distinct temperature regimes. Our results also provide an experimental indication of the presence of two-channel Kondo physics in a ferromagnet, pointing to considerable robustness of the orbital two-channel Kondo effect even in the presence of spin polarization of the conduction electrons.

In metals, electronic scattering from defects by the two-channel Kondo effect is expected to cause deviation from standard low temperature behaviour, however this effect has not been unambiguously shown. Here, the authors present evidence consistent with all transport signatures of the effect in ferromagnetic L1₀-MnAl films.