Case report of rapidly progressive proliferative verrucous leukoplakia and a proposal for aetiology in mainland China

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a rare oral leukoplakia and has four features such as chronic proliferation, multiple occurrences, refractoriness to treatment and high rate of malignant transformation. As mentioned above, most PVL cases processed to malignancy over many years, sometimes 20 years. However, this report described a case of rapid progress, which had malignant transformation in a short period. Additionally, the aetiology of PVL was discussed and immunity was proposed as the possible cause

Rapid Regeneration Offsets Losses from Warming-Induced Tree Mortality in an Aspen-Dominated Broad-Leaved Forest in Northern China

Worldwide tree mortality as induced by climate change presents a challenge to forest managers. To successfully manage vulnerable forests requires the capacity of regeneration to compensate for losses from tree mortality. We observed rapid regeneration and the growth release of young trees after warming-induced mortality in a David aspen-dominated (Populus davidiana) broad-leaved forest in Inner Mongolia, China, as based on individual tree measurements taken in 2012 and 2015 from a 6-ha permanent plot. Warming and drought stress killed large trees 10–15 m tall with a total number of 2881 trees during 2011–2012, and also thinned the upper crowns. David aspen recruitment increased 2 times during 2012–2015 and resulted in a high transition probability of David aspen replacing the same or other species, whereas the recruitment of Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) was much lower: it decreased from 2012 to 2015, indicating that rapid regeneration represented a regrowth phase for David aspen, and not succession to Mongolian oak. Further, we found that the recruitment density increased with canopy openness, thus implying that warming-induced mortality enhanced regeneration. Our results suggest that David aspen has a high regrowth ability to offset individual losses from warming-induced mortality. This important insight has implications for managing this vulnerable forest in the semi-arid region of northern China

An Analytic Analysis of Phase Transitions in Holographic Superconductors

Using a simple analytic approach, we study the universal properties of second-order phase transition in holographic superconductor models. We explore a general model in arbitrary dimensions in which the condensation occurs via the St\"uckelberg spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism. All the possible second-order phase transitions and their universal characteristics can be identified analytically. The relationship between the critical temperature and charge density is generic, and the critical exponents can be greater than the typical mean field value 1/2. In addition, the related numerical factors can also be computed qualitatively.Comment: 9 pages; revised version to appear in PT

Prevalence of hyperuricemia and its related risk factors in healthy adults from Northern and Northeastern Chinese provinces

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a potential risk factor for developing insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we studied the prevalence of HUA and associated risk factors in the population of two provinces in northern China. METHODS: Based on the research of Chinese Physiological Constant and Health Conditions conducted in 2008–2010, we enrolled 29,639 subjects in a randomized, stratified study in four sampling areas in Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. We collected 13,140 serum samples to determine biochemical indicators including uric acid(UA), glucose, blood lipids, liver function, and renal function, and finally a representative sample of 8439 aged 18 years and older was determined. We also defined and stratified HUA, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and lipid abnormalities according to international guidelines. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the UA levels between different genders and regions. The total prevalence of HUA is 13.7%. Men had a higher prevalence of HUA than women (21% vs. 7.9%; P < 0.0001). As age increased, HUA prevalence decreased in men but rose in women. The suburbs of big cities had the highest HUA prevalence (18.7%), and in high-prevalence areas the proportion of women with HUA also increased. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to filter out twelve HUA risk factors, including age, gender, residence, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, obesity, abdominal obesity, CKD, drinking and sleeping. After adjusting for these factors, the odds ratio of HUA was 1.92 times higher in men than in women. Compared with agricultural and pastoral areas, the odds ratio of having HUA was 2.14 for participants in the suburbs of big cities and 1.57 in the center of big cities. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HUA is high in northern China. The differences in HUA prevalence by geographic region suggested that unbalanced economic development and health education, therefore HUA prevention measures should be strengthened to improve quality of life and reduce health care costs

Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 variants in Shanghai after ending the zero-COVID policy in December 2022: a clinical and genomic analysis

IntroductionAn unprecedented surge of Omicron infections appeared nationwide in China in December 2022 after the adjustment of the COVID-19 response policy. Here, we report the clinical and genomic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections among children in Shanghai during this outbreak.MethodsA total of 64 children with symptomatic COVID-19 were enrolled. SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences were obtained using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were compared between variants. Phylogenetic tree, mutation spectrum, and the impact of unique mutations on SARS-CoV-2 proteins were analysed in silico.ResultsThe genomic monitoring revealed that the emerging BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14 were the dominant variants. The BA.5.2.48 infections were more frequently observed to experience vomiting/diarrhea and less frequently present cough compared to the BF.7.14 infections among patients without comorbidities in the study. The high-frequency unique non-synonymous mutations were present in BA.5.2.48 (N:Q241K) and BF.7.14 (nsp2:V94L, nsp12:L247F, S:C1243F, ORF7a:H47Y) with respect to their parental lineages. Of these mutations, S:C1243F, nsp12:L247F, and ORF7a:H47Y protein were predicted to have a deleterious effect on the protein function. Besides, nsp2:V94L and nsp12:L247F were predicted to destabilize the proteins.DiscussionFurther in vitro to in vivo studies are needed to verify the role of these specific mutations in viral fitness. In addition, continuous genomic monitoring and clinical manifestation assessments of the emerging variants will still be crucial for the effective responses to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Current trends in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.

Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the study of the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) processes of a drug. Understanding PK properties is essential for drug development and precision medication. In this review we provided an overview of recent research on PK with focus on the following aspects: (1) an update on drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters in the determination of PK, as well as advances in xenobiotic receptors and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the modulation of PK, providing new understanding of the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms that result in inter-individual variations in pharmacotherapy; (2) current status and trends in assessing drug-drug interactions, especially interactions between drugs and herbs, between drugs and therapeutic biologics, and microbiota-mediated interactions; (3) advances in understanding the effects of diseases on PK, particularly changes in metabolizing enzymes and transporters with disease progression; (4) trends in mathematical modeling including physiologically-based PK modeling and novel animal models such as CRISPR/Cas9-based animal models for DMPK studies; (5) emerging non-classical xenobiotic metabolic pathways and the involvement of novel metabolic enzymes, especially non-P450s. Existing challenges and perspectives on future directions are discussed, and may stimulate the development of new research models, technologies, and strategies towards the development of better drugs and improved clinical practice

The control of sclerotinia stem rot on oilseed rape (Brassica napus): current practices and future opportunities

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a major disease of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). During infection, large, white/grey lesions form on the stems of the host plant, perturbing seed development and decreasing yield. Due to its ability to produce long-term storage structures called sclerotia, S. sclerotiorum inoculum can persist for long periods in the soil. Current SSR control relies heavily on cultural practices and fungicide treatments. Cultural control practices aim to reduce the number of sclerotia in the soil or create conditions that are unfavourable for disease development. These methods of control are under increased pressure in some regions, as rotations tighten and inoculum levels increase. Despite their ability to efficiently kill S. sclerotiorum, preventative fungicides remain an expensive gamble for SSR control, as their effectiveness is highly dependent on the ability to predict the establishment of microscopic infections in the crop. Failure to correctly time fungicide applications can result in a substantial cost to the grower. This review describes the scientific literature pertaining to current SSR control practices. Furthermore, it details recent advances in alternative SSR control methods including the generation of resistant varieties through genetic modification and traditional breeding, and biocontrol. The review concludes with a future directive for SSR control on oilseed rape

Clinical research evidence of cupping therapy in China: a systematic literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Though cupping therapy has been used in China for thousands of years, there has been no systematic summary of clinical research on it.</p> <p>This review is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of cupping therapy using evidence-based approach based on all available clinical studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We included all clinical studies on cupping therapy for all kinds of diseases. We searched six electronic databases, all searches ended in December 2008. We extracted data on the type of cupping and type of diseases treated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>550 clinical studies were identified published between 1959 and 2008, including 73 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 22 clinical controlled trials, 373 case series, and 82 case reports. Number of RCTs obviously increased during past decades, but the quality of the RCTs was generally poor according to the risk of bias of the Cochrane standard for important outcome within each trials. The diseases in which cupping was commonly employed included pain conditions, herpes zoster, cough or asthma, etc. Wet cupping was used in majority studies, followed by retained cupping, moving cupping, medicinal cupping, etc. 38 studies used combination of two types of cupping therapies. No serious adverse effects were reported in the studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>According to the above results, quality and quantity of RCTs on cupping therapy appears to be improved during the past 50 years in China, and majority of studies show potential benefit on pain conditions, herpes zoster and other diseases. However, further rigorous designed trials in relevant conditions are warranted to support their use in practice.</p