Benzoxime carbaldehyde prevents rheumatoid arthritis in a rat model by inhibition of oxidative damage

Purpose: To investigate the effect of benzoxime carbaldehyde (BXCD) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a rat model.Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned randomly to 5 groups (6 rats per group): normal control, RA, and three treatment groups. Rats in the normal control and RA groups received normal saline, whereas those in the three treatment groups were given 2, 5 or 10 mg/kg of BXCD daily for 30 days by intraperitoneal injection. Pressure pain was analysed using electronic pressure pain detector, while the expressions of interleukin (IL)-6, interleukin (IL)-1β, nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in serum were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.Results: Treatment of RA rats with BXCD for 30 days led to significant (p < 0.05) recovery in pain threshold. At a dose of 10 mg/kg, BXCD decreased pain threshold value to a level comparable to that in normal control rats, and decreased arthritis score to 1, relative to arthritis score of 16 in untreated animals. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level was 4-fold higher in untreated RA rats than in normal and BXCD-treated groups. BXCD treatment increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and blocked increases in the blood levels of IL-6, IL-1β, NF-κB p65 unit, and TNF-α. Western blot assay showed that BXCD treatment prevented increase in the level of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in RA rat tissues.Conclusion: These results indicate that BXCD prevents RA in a rat model via inhibition of expressions of inflammatory cytokines and decrease in oxidative stress. Thus, BXCD has a strong potential for the management of RA.Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, Pain threshold, Antioxidant enzymes, Inflammation, Inflammatory cytokine

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980-2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dosespecific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in countryreported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81.6% [95% uncertainty interval 80.4-82 .7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39.9% [37.5-42.1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38.5% [35.4-41.3] in 1980 to 83.6% [82.3-84.8] in 2019). Third- dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42.6% (41.4-44.1) in 1980 to 79.8% (78.4-81.1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56.8 million (52.6-60. 9) to 14.5 million (13.4-15.9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

A New Swarm Intelligence Approach for Clustering Based on Krill Herd with Elitism Strategy

As one of the most popular and well-recognized clustering methods, fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering algorithm is the basis of other fuzzy clustering analysis methods in theory and application respects. However, FCM algorithm is essentially a local search optimization algorithm. Therefore, sometimes, it may fail to find the global optimum. For the purpose of getting over the disadvantages of FCM algorithm, a new version of the krill herd (KH) algorithm with elitism strategy, called KHE, is proposed to solve the clustering problem. Elitism tragedy has a strong ability of preventing the krill population from degrading. In addition, the well-selected parameters are used in the KHE method instead of originating from nature. Through an array of simulation experiments, the results show that the KHE is indeed a good choice for solving general benchmark problems and fuzzy clustering analyses

Anodic Pd Catalyst in Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell and Its Electrocatalytic Stability

The electrocatalytic activity of the Pd anodic catalyst in direct formic acid fuel cell(DFAFC) for the formic acid oxidation is excellent, while its electrocatalytic salability is poor. The reason and mechanism of the excellent electrocatalytic activity and the poor electrocatalytic stability of the Pd/C catalyst have become an important investigation area of the anodic Pd catalyst in DFAFC. This paper mainly summarizes the situation of research and development of anodic Pd catalyst and Pd-based composite catalysts in DFAFC. The advantages and disadvantages of the Pd catalyst, the mechanisms of the poor electrocataltic stability of the Pd catalyst, the methods and the mechanism of the increase in the electrocataltic stability of the Pd catalyst are reviewed

Dietary Copper Requirement of Juvenile Oriental River Prawn Macrobrachium nipponense, and its Effects on Growth, Antioxidant Activities, and Resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila

The present experiment evaluated the effects of dietary copper (Cu) on growth, antioxidant activities, and susceptibility to Aeromonas hydrophila infection of juvenile Oriental river prawn Macrobrachium nipponense, as well as determining the optimal dietary copper requirement. Semi-purified diets containing seven graded levels of copper (2.8, 12.2, 20.9, 29.8, 43.1, 78.9 and 157.1 mg/kg diet) from CuSO4⋅5H2O were fed to juvenile prawn (initial weight 0.101±0.002 g). The weight gain of prawns fed with 2.8-78.9 mg/kg Cu was higher and they had lower feed conversion ratios than the group fed 157.1 mg/kg Cu. Cu concentrations in the hepatopancreas, muscle, and whole body in prawns tended to increase with increased dietary Cu concentration. Hepatopancreas Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD) activity, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and total antioxidant competence (T-AOC) were highest (P<0.05) in the 43.1 mg/kg Cu group. The hepatopancreas malondialdehyde (MDA) content was lower (P<0.05) in the prawns fed 29.8 mg/kg Cu than that in prawns fed 2.8, 12.2, 78.9 and 157.1 mg/kg Cu. After the feeding experiment, prawns were injected with A. hydrophila, and the cumulative mortality rate of the prawns fed with 20.9-43.1 mg/kg Cu was lower than the prawns fed with 2.8 and 157.1 mg/kg Cu. The optimum requirement of dietary Cu in juvenile prawns was estimated at 26.9-27.8 mg/kg diet based on cumulative mortality rate and whole-body Cu retention