Comparative effectiveness and safety of xiyanping with ribavirin for rotavirus enteritis therapy in childhood: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: To employ meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness and adverse events of Xiyanping and ribavirin in children with rotavirus enteritis.Methods: Searches included PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biology Medicine Database (CBM), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP database), and Wanfang database from inception to March 2017. Clinical indicators, with respect to the total effectiveness rate, fever time, duration of diarrhea, creatinine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB), rotavirus (RV) negative conversion rate, and adverse reaction, were compared between Xiyanping and ribavirin groups.Results: Five-hundred and twenty-six records were obtained after searching the databases, and 18 studies (3557 participants) that met the inclusion criteria were included. All of them assessed total effectiveness rate, and two records evaluated RV negative conversion rate. There were significantly higher rates in the Xiyanping group than in the ribavirin group {OR = 3.76, 95 %CI (3.03 - 4.66), p < 0.00001; OR = 2.68, 95 %CI (1.56 - 4.60), p = 0.0004}. Compared with ribavirin group, fever time, duration of diarrhea, and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) were significantly lower in xiyanping group [MD = -1.23, 95 %CI (-1.64 to -0.81), p < 0.00001; MD= -2.15, 95 %CI (-2.68 to -1.62), p < 0.00001; MD = -16.90, 95 %CI (-17.23 to -16.57), p < 0.00001}. Six studies reported adverse reactions, but there was no significant difference between xiyanping and ribavirin groups {OR = 1.44, 95 %CI (0.40 - 5.17), p = 0.58}.Conclusion: This review suggests that xiyanping is more effective than ribavirin in children suffering from rotavirus enteritis.Keywords: Ribavirin, Rotavirus enteritis, Systematic review, Virazole®, Xiyanpin

Association of SLC11A1 Polymorphisms With Tuberculosis Susceptibility in the Chinese Han Population

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important health issue in the world. Although the relation of SLC11A1 polymorphisms with TB risk has been extensively studied, it has not been reported in the northwest Chinese Han population. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationships between five polymorphisms in or near the SLC11A1 gene and susceptibility to TB. The Agena MassARRAY platform was conducted for genotyping from 510 TB patients and 508 healthy controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed through logistic regression adjustment age and gender to assess the relationships between polymorphisms and TB risk. Our results identified that rs7608307 was related to increased TB risk in males (CT vs. CC: OR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.12–2.56, p = 0.013; CT-TT vs. CC: OR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.08–2.41, p = 0.020) and age ≤41 group (CT vs. CC: OR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.04–2.65, p = 0.035), respectively. The SNP rs13062 was associated with the TB risk both in males (p = 0.012) and age >41 group (p = 0.021). In addition, we observed that the CC genotype of rs4674301 was correlated with increased TB risk in females (p = 0.043). Our results demonstrated the relationships between polymorphisms (rs7608307, rs4674301, and rs13062) in or near the SLC11A1 gene and age- and sex-specific TB risk in the northwest Chinese Han population

Geophagy of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Xiangguqing in the Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve, China

Geophagy is common in extant nonhuman primate species, but the exact reasons for it across species remain unclear. Previous diet studies on Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) were only focused on organic materials (plants and small animals). There are no reports on R. bieti exhibiting geophagy in the field before this study. This study was carried out at Xiangguqing in the Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve from June 2008 to May 2009. We recorded the behavior of geophagy and collected samples of soil consumed by the monkeys there and analyzed their content in a laboratory. We identified a total of eight sites where the monkeys consumed soil in the home range during the study period. The total time spent ingesting soil was 13,690 seconds. 20 adult males, 34 adult females except lactating mothers, and 12 immatures without infants were seen to eat soil throughout this study. Average time spent in soil-eating bouts differed significantly among age/sex classes. This study suggests that particular age/sex classes or individuals in certain states of society and health will predictably display a behavioral pattern of geophagy. Our data indicate that geophagy in R. bieti is best explained as a response to nutrient deficiency, as soil consumed by the monkeys was significantly higher in calcium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, and sodium. Although R. bieti consumes iron- rich soil, control samples that were not consumed also had high levels of iron, suggesting that high altitude alone is not a sufficient explanation for geophagy in this species.PublishedYe

Comparative analysis of the JRL gene family in the whole-genome of five gramineous plants

The Jacalin-related lectins (JRLs) gene family play a crucial role in regulating plant development and responding to environmental stress. However, a systematic bioinformatics analysis of the JRL gene family in Gramineae plants has been lacking. In this study, we identified 101 JRL proteins from five Gramineae species and classified them into eight distinct clades. Most of the AtJRL proteins clustered in the same group and were differentiated from the Gramineae JRL proteins. The analysis of protein motifs, gene structures and protein domain revealed that the JRL genes play diverse functions in Gramineae plants. Duplication events indicated that tandem duplication significantly contributed to the expansion of the JRL family, with most JRL members underwent purifying selection. Tissue expression profile analysis showed that most OsJRL genes were highly expressed in the roots, while ZmJRL genes exhibited high expression in inflorescences. Furthermore, the expression level of OsJRL and ZmJRL genes were influenced by drought, cold, heat and salt stresses, respectively, implying that these genes play important roles in response to various abiotic stresses. RT-qPCR results demonstrated that OsJRL4 was up-regulated under PEG6000 and NaCl stresses, while OsJRL12 and OsJRL26 were down-regulated under PEG6000. These findings provide comprehensive insights into the JRL gene family in Gramineae plants and will facilitate further functional characterization of JRLs

Female Resistance to Invading Males Increases Infanticide in Langurs

BACKGROUND: Infanticide by adult male occurs in many mammalian species under natural conditions, and it is often assumed to be a goal-directed action and explained predominately by sexual selection. Motivation of this behavior in mammals is limitedly involved. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used long-term reproductive records and direct observation in captivity and in the field of two snub-nosed langur species on the basis of individual identification to investigate how infanticide happened and to be avoided in nonhuman primates. Our observations suggested that infanticide by invading males might be more accidental than goal-directed. The invading male seemed to monopolize all the females including lactating mothers during takeovers. Multiparous mothers who accepted the invading male shortly after takeovers avoided infanticide in most cases. Our results conjectured primiparous mothers would decrease infanticidal possibility if they sexually accepted the invading male during or immediately after takeovers. In the studied langur species, voluntary abortion or mating with the invading male was evidently adopted by females to limit or avoid infanticide by takeover males. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The objective of the invading male was to monopolize all adult females after his takeover. It appeared that the mother's resistance to accepting the new male as a mating partner was the primary incentive for infanticide. Motivation analysis might be helpful to further understand why infanticide occurs in primate species

The Survey of H5N1 Flu Virus in Wild Birds in 14 Provinces of China from 2004 to 2007

The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza emerged in the year 1996 in Asia, and has spread to Europe and Africa recently. At present, effective monitoring and data analysis of H5N1 are not sufficient in Chinese mainland.)) were obviously higher than those in other 13 provinces. The results of sequence analysis indicated that the 17 strains isolated from wild birds were distributed in five clades (2.3.1, 2.2, 2.5, 6, and 7), which suggested that genetic diversity existed among H5N1 viruses isolated from wild birds. The five isolates from Qinghai came from one clade (2.2) and had a short evolutionary distance with the isolates obtained from Qinghai in the year 2005.We have measured the prevalence of H5N1 virus in 56 species of wild birds in 14 provinces of China. Continuous monitoring in the field should be carried out to know whether H5N1 virus can be maintained by wild birds

High endemicity of alveolar echinococcosis in Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the People’s Republic of China: infection status in different ethnic communities and in small mammals

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a neglected zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the fox/dog tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. In this study, we collected data on 286 AE cases reported from Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the People’s Republic of China from 1989 to 2015 with an annual incidence (AI) of 0.41/100,000. Among the patients, 73.08% were diagnosed in the last 11 years. The incidence (0.51–1.22 cases/100,000 residents) was higher in the high-altitude mountainous areas than those in low level areas (0.19–0.29/100,000 residents). In term of ethnic group, the AI of AE in Mongolian (2.06/100,000 residents) and Kazak (0.93/100,000) groups had higher incidence than the other ethnic groups, indicating sheep-farming activity is a risk for infection given that sheep farming is mainly practiced by these two groups in the prefecture. A total of 1411 small mammals were captured with 9.14% infected with E. multilocularis metacestodes. Microtus obscurus was the dominant species captured in the mountainous pasture areas with 15.01% infection rate, whereas Mus musculus and Apodemus sylvaticus were the dominant small mammals in the low altitude areas. Only 0.40% of A. sylvaticus were infected with E. multilocularis. These findings show that Yili Prefecture is a highly endemic area for AE and that the high-altitude pasture areas favorable for M. obscurus may play an important role in its transmission in this region

Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpes Virus (KSHV) Induced COX-2: A Key Factor in Latency, Inflammation, Angiogenesis, Cell Survival and Invasion

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), an enigmatic endothelial cell vascular neoplasm, is characterized by the proliferation of spindle shaped endothelial cells, inflammatory cytokines (ICs), growth factors (GFs) and angiogenic factors. KSHV is etiologically linked to KS and expresses its latent genes in KS lesion endothelial cells. Primary infection of human micro vascular endothelial cells (HMVEC-d) results in the establishment of latent infection and reprogramming of host genes, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is one of the highly up-regulated genes. Our previous study suggested a role for COX-2 in the establishment and maintenance of KSHV latency. Here, we examined the role of COX-2 in the induction of ICs, GFs, angiogenesis and invasive events occurring during KSHV de novo infection of endothelial cells. A significant amount of COX-2 was detected in KS tissue sections. Telomerase-immortalized human umbilical vein endothelial cells supporting KSHV stable latency (TIVE-LTC) expressed elevated levels of functional COX-2 and microsomal PGE2 synthase (m-PGES), and secreted the predominant eicosanoid inflammatory metabolite PGE2. Infected HMVEC-d and TIVE-LTC cells secreted a variety of ICs, GFs, angiogenic factors and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which were significantly abrogated by COX-2 inhibition either by chemical inhibitors or by siRNA. The ability of these factors to induce tube formation of uninfected endothelial cells was also inhibited. PGE2, secreted early during KSHV infection, profoundly increased the adhesion of uninfected endothelial cells to fibronectin by activating the small G protein Rac1. COX-2 inhibition considerably reduced KSHV latent ORF73 gene expression and survival of TIVE-LTC cells. Collectively, these studies underscore the pivotal role of KSHV induced COX-2/PGE2 in creating KS lesion like microenvironment during de novo infection. Since COX-2 plays multiple roles in KSHV latent gene expression, which themselves are powerful mediators of cytokine induction, anti-apoptosis, cell survival and viral genome maintainence, effective inhibition of COX-2 via well-characterized clinically approved COX-2 inhibitors could potentially be used in treatment to control latent KSHV infection and ameliorate KS

The Overseeing Mother: Revisiting the Frontal-Pose Lady in the Wu Family Shrines in Second Century China

Located in present-day Jiaxiang in Shandong province, the Wu family shrines built during the second century in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) were among the best-known works in Chinese art history. Although for centuries scholars have exhaustively studied the pictorial programs, the frontal-pose female image situated on the second floor of the central pavilion carved at the rear wall of the shrines has remained a question. Beginning with the woman’s eyes, this article demonstrates that the image is more than a generic portrait (“hard motif ”), but rather represents “feminine overseeing from above” (“soft motif ”). This synthetic motif combines three different earlier motifs – the frontal-pose hostess enjoying entertainment, the elevated spectator, and the Queen Mother of the West. By creatively fusing the three motifs into one unity, the Jiaxiang artists lent to the frontal-pose lady a unique power: she not only dominated the center of the composition, but also, like a divine being, commanded a unified view of the surroundings on the lofty building, hence echoing the political reality of the empress mother’s “overseeing the court” in the second century during Eastern Han dynasty