The association between hantavirus infection and selenium deficiency in mainland China

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by hantaviruses and transmitted by rodents is a significant public health problem in China, and occurs more frequently in selenium-deficient regions. To study the role of selenium concentration in HFRS incidence we used a multidisciplinary approach combining ecological analysis with preliminary experimental data. The incidence of HFRS in humans was about six times higher in severe selenium-deficient and double in moderate deficient areas compared to non-deficient areas. This association became statistically stronger after correction for other significant environment-related factors (low elevation, few grasslands, or an abundance of forests) and was independent of geographical scale by separate analyses for different climate regions. A case-control study of HFRS patients admitted to the hospital revealed increased activity and plasma levels of selenium binding proteins while selenium supplementation in vitro decreased viral replication in an endothelial cell model after infection with a low multiplicity of infection (MOI). Viral replication with a higher MOI was not affected by selenium supplementation. Our findings indicate that selenium deficiency may contribute to an increased prevalence of hantavirus infections in both humans and rodents. Future studies are needed to further examine the exact mechanism behind this observation before selenium supplementation in deficient areas could be implemented for HFRS prevention

Periodicities in the Daily Proton Fluxes from 2011 to 2019 Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station from 1 to 100 GV

We present the precision measurement of the daily proton fluxes in cosmic rays from May 20, 2011 to October 29, 2019 (a total of 2824 days or 114 Bartels rotations) in the rigidity interval from 1 to 100 GV based on 5.5×109 protons collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. The proton fluxes exhibit variations on multiple timescales. From 2014 to 2018, we observed recurrent flux variations with a period of 27 days. Shorter periods of 9 days and 13.5 days are observed in 2016. The strength of all three periodicities changes with time and rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the 27-day periodicity is different from the rigidity dependences of 9-day and 13.5-day periods. Unexpectedly, the strength of 9-day and 13.5-day periodicities increases with increasing rigidities up to ∼10 GV and ∼20 GV, respectively. Then the strength of the periodicities decreases with increasing rigidity up to 100 GV.</p

Relationship between ambient fine particles and ventricular repolarization changes and heart rate variability of elderly people with heart disease in Beijing, China.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of particulate matters less than 2.5 &mu;m in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) on heart repolarization/depolarization and heart rate variability (HRV). METHODS: We conducted a panel study for elderly subjects with heart disease in Beijing from 2007 to 2008. PM2.5 was measured at a fixed station for 20 h continuously each day while electrocardiogram (ECG) indexes of 42 subjects were also recorded repeatedly. Meteorological data was obtained from the China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System. A mixed linear regression model was used to estimate the associations between PM2.5 and the ECG indexes. The model was adjusted for age, body mass index, sex, day of the week and meteorology. RESULTS: Significant adverse effects of PM2.5 on ECG indexes reflecting HRV were observed statistically and the strongest effect of PM2.5 on HRV was on lag 1 day in our study. However, there were no associations between PM2.5 and ECG indexes reflecting heart repolarization/depolarization. Additionally, the effects of PM2.5 on subjects with hypertension were larger than on the subjects without hypertension. CONCLUSION: This study showed ambient PM2.5 could affect cardiac autonomic function of the elderly people with heart disease, and subjects with hypertension appeared to be more susceptive to the autonomic dysfunction induced by PM2.5

Facile immobilization of heparin on bioabsorbable iron via mussel adhesive protein (MAPs)

Motivated by adhesive proteins in mussels, strategies using dopamine to modified surface have become particularly attractive. In the present work, we developed a novel and convenient method to modify the biodegradable Fe plates with heparin. Iron was first treated by a facile one-step pH-induced polymerization of dopamine, and then a high density heparin was successfully grafted onto the surface via coupling with polydopamine (PDA) active layer. Heparin immobilization contributed much longer blood clotting coagulation time than the pure Fe sample, and hence reduced the risk of thrombosis. Cell viability tests suggested that the heparin modified Fe plates were more favorable to the proliferation of ECV304 cells. In summary, the heparin modified Fe plates with good anti-thrombus properties and inhibiting the proliferation of VSMC cells provide great prospects for biodegradable iron

Characterization of a conjunctival melanoma cell line CM-AS16, newly-established from a metastatic Han Chinese patient

Ophthalmic researc