[Economic evaluation on different two-dose-vaccination-strategies related to Measles, Mumps and Rubella Combined Attenuated Live Vaccine]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the economic effect of Measles, Mumps and Rubella Combined Attenuated Live Vaccine (MMR) under different two-dose vaccination programs.

METHODS

A hypothetical birth cohort of 750 000 infants over their lifetime, was followed up from birth through death in Zhejiang province. The current MMR vaccination strategie would include three different ones: 1) Childlern were vaccinated with Measles-Rubella Combined Attenuated Live Vaccine and MMR, respectively at the age of 8 months and 18 months. 2) Children receive MMR at 8 months and 18 months, 3) Strategy 1 plus an additional vaccination of MMR at 4 years of age. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), incremental cost-benefit ratio (ICBR) and incremental net benefit (INB) were applied to calculate the health economic difference for Strategy 2 and Strategy 3 as compared to Strategy 1. Univariate sensitivity analysis was used to assess the robustness of results with main parameters, including the rate of immunization coverage, effectiveness of the vaccines, incidence and burdens of the related diseases, cost of vaccines and the vaccination program itself.

RESULTS

ICER, ICBR and INB for Strategy 2 and Strategy 3 appeared as 2 012.51∶1 RMB Yuan per case and 4 238.72∶1 RMB Yuan per case, 1∶3.14 and 1∶1.58, 21 277 800 RMB Yuan and 9 276 500 RMB Yuan, respectively. Only slight changes (<20%) were found under the univariate sensitivity analysis, with varied values on main parameters.

CONCLUSION

Based on the current national immunization program, infants vaccinated with MMR at 8 months of age, generated more health economic effects than the Strategy 3.

Quantum Levy Flights and Multifractality of Dipolar Excitations in a Random System

We consider dipolar excitations propagating via dipole-induced exchange among immobile molecules randomly spaced in a lattice. The character of the propagation is determined by long-range hops (Levy flights). We analyze the eigenenergy spectra and the multifractal structure of the wave functions. In 1D and 2D, all states are localized, although in 2D the localization length can be extremely large leading to an effective localization-delocalization crossover in realistic systems. In 3D, all eigenstates are extended but not always ergodic, and we identify the energy intervals of ergodic and nonergodic states. The reduction of the lattice filling induces an ergodic to nonergodic transition, and the excitations are mostly nonergodic at low filling.

Identification of genetic variants associated with susceptibility to West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease

West Nile virus (WNV) infection results in a diverse spectrum of outcomes, and host genetics are likely to influence susceptibility to neuroinvasive disease (West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND)). We performed whole-exome sequencing of 44 individuals with WNND and identified alleles associated with severe disease by variant filtration in cases, kernel association testing in cases and controls and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) imputation into a larger cohort of WNND cases and seropositive controls followed by genome-wide association analysis. Variant filtration prioritized genes based on the enrichment of otherwise rare variants, but did not unambiguously implicate variants shared by a majority of cases. Kernel association demonstrated enrichment for risk and protective alleles in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A and HLA-DQB1 loci that have well understood roles in antiviral immunity. Two loci, HERC5 and an intergenic region between CD83 and JARID2, were implicated by multiple imputed SNPs and exceeded genome-wide significance in a discovery cohort (n=862). SNPs at two additional loci, TFCP2L1 and CACNA1H, achieved genome-wide significance after association testing of directly genotyped and imputed SNPs in a discovery cohort (n=862) and a separate replication cohort (n=1387). The context of these loci suggests that immunoregulatory, ion channel and endothelial barrier functions may be important elements of the host response to WNV.

Vitamin D improves diabetic nephropathy in rats by inhibiting renin and relieving oxidative stress

BACKGROUND

It is well established that the activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the oxidative stress caused by hyperglycemia are major mediators of the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Vitamin D may be important in maintaining podocyte health, preventing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation, and suppressing renin gene expression and inflammation, but its mechanism requires clarification. This study evaluated the specific mechanism of vitamin D to DN improvement.

METHODS

We induced a rat model of diabetes with an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). The streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were fed normal chow for about 2 months to induce the DN model. The DN rats were then treated with irbesartan and/or calcitriol, administered intragastrically about 1 month.

RESULTS

The rats displayed the early characteristics of DN, including increased microalbuminuria, obvious hypertrophic kidney, and a markedly increased kidney weight/bodyweight ratio. Vitamin D inhibited the compensatory increase in renin expression. Malondialdehyde, which reflects oxidative stress levels, was elevated in the DN group rats and their antioxidant capacity was significantly reduced. The irbesartan and calcitriol interventions markedly improved the renal pathology and pathophysiological changes. Irbesartan combined with vitamin D (calcitriol) more effectively ameliorated DN than irbesartan alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin D combined with angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers exerts a synergistic effect on the treatment of DN, not only by inhibiting renin but also by reducing oxidative stress and increasing the renal antioxidant capacity.

Draft Genome Sequence of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa Strain Stag's Leap

ITALIC! Xylella fastidiosasubsp. ITALIC! fastidiosacauses Pierce's disease of grapevine. Presented here is the draft genome sequence of the Stag's Leap strain, previously used in pathogenicity/virulence assays to evaluate grapevine germplasm bearing Pierce's disease resistance and a phenotypic assessment of knockout mutants to determine gene function.

Photoluminescence characterisations of a dynamic aging process of organic-inorganic CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite

After unprecedented development of organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells over the past few years, one of the biggest barriers towards their commercialization is the stability of the perovskite material. It is thus important to understand the interaction between the perovskite material and oxygen and/or humidity and the associated degradation process in order to improve device and encapsulation design for better durability. Here we characterize the dynamic aging process in vapour-assisted deposited (VASP) CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite thin films using advanced optical techniques, such as time-resolved photoluminescence and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Our investigation reveals that the perovskite grains grow spontaneously and the larger grains are formed at room temperature in the presence of moisture and oxygen. This crystallization process leads to a higher density of defects and a shorter carrier lifetime, specifically in the larger grains. Excitation-intensity-dependent steady-state photoluminescence shows both N2 stored and aged perovskite exhibit a super-linear increase of photoluminescence intensity with increasing excitation intensity; and the larger slope in aged sample suggests a larger density of defects is generated, consistent with time-resolved PL measurements.

Draft Genome Sequence of "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" from a Citrus Tree in San Gabriel, California

The draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" strain SGCA5 from an orange citrus tree in San Gabriel, California, is reported here. SGCA5 has a genome size of 1,201,445 bp, a G+C content of 36.4%, 1,152 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), and 42 RNA genes.

De Novo Genome Sequence of "Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum" from a Single Potato Psyllid in California

The draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum" strain RSTM from a potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) in California is reported here. The RSTM strain has a genome size of 1,286,787 bp, a G+C content of 35.1%, 1,211 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), and 43 RNA genes.

Measurement of the Target-Normal Single-Spin Asymmetry in Quasielastic Scattering from the Reaction (3)He(↑)(e,e')

We report the first measurement of the target single-spin asymmetry, A(y), in quasielastic scattering from the inclusive reaction (3)He(↑)(e,e') on a (3)He gas target polarized normal to the lepton scattering plane. Assuming time-reversal invariance, this asymmetry is strictly zero for one-photon exchange. A nonzero A(y) can arise from the interference between the one- and two-photon exchange processes which is sensitive to the details of the substructure of the nucleon. An experiment recently completed at Jefferson Lab yielded asymmetries with high statistical precision at Q(2)=0.13, 0.46, and 0.97  GeV(2). These measurements demonstrate, for the first time, that the (3)He asymmetry is clearly nonzero and negative at the 4σ-9σ level. Using measured proton-to-(3)He cross-section ratios and the effective polarization approximation, neutron asymmetries of -(1-3)% were obtained. The neutron asymmetry at high Q(2) is related to moments of the generalized parton distributions (GPDs). Our measured neutron asymmetry at Q(2)=0.97  GeV(2) agrees well with a prediction based on two-photon exchange using a GPD model and thus provides a new, independent constraint on these distributions.

Upregulation of long noncoding RNA ZEB1-AS1 promotes tumor metastasis and predicts poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Despite progress in diagnostics and treatment of HCC, its prognosis remains poor. Emerging studies showed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have crucial regulatory roles in cancer biology. In the current study, differentially expressed lncRNAs between HCC and paired non-tumor tissues were identified using microarrays. The effects of a specific differentially expressed lncRNA (termed ZEB1-AS1) on tumor progression were investigated in vitro and in vivo. We found that ZEB1-AS1 is frequently upregulated in HCC samples, especially in metastatic tumor tissues. DNA methylation analysis shows a tumor-specific ZEB1-AS1 promoter hypomethylation. Aberrant methylation is tightly correlated with overexpression of ZEB1-AS1 in HCC. Patients with ZEB1-AS1 hypomethylation or with high ZEB1-AS1 expression have poor recurrence-free survival. Functionally, ZEB1-AS1 promotes tumor growth and metastasis, acts as an oncogene in HCC. The ZEB1-AS1 gene is located in physical contiguity with ZEB1 and positively regulates the ZEB1 expression. ZEB1 inhibition partially abrogates ZEB1-AS1-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer metastasis. Our results provide novel insights into the function of lncRNA-driven hepatocarcinogenesis, highlight the important role of ZEB1-AS1 and ZEB1 in HCC progression, and indicate that ZEB1-AS1 may be served as a valuable prognostic biomarker for HCC.