Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Viburnum farreri (Adoxaceae)

The whole chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of Viburnum farreri has been characterized from Illumina pair-end sequencing. The complete cp genome was 158,516 bp in length, containing a large single-copy region (LSC) of 86,990 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 18,502 bp, which were separated by a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,512 bp. The genome contained 130 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA genes (4 rRNA species). Most genes occur as a single copy, while 17 gene species are duplicated. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that V. farreri is closely related to the species of V. brachybotryum

A randomized, open-label, phase 3 study evaluating safety and immunogenicity of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Chinese infants and children under 6 years of age

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes a considerable disease burden among children in China. Many isolates exhibit antimicrobial resistance but are often serotypes covered by the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Because the approved infant immunization schedule in China allows PCV13 vaccination only for those 6 weeks to 15 months of age, this phase 3 study was conducted to evaluate PCV13 immunogenicity and safety in unvaccinated older infants and children. Eligible participants were stratified by age into four cohorts: Cohort 1 (n = 125), 6 weeks−2 months; Cohort 2 (n = 354), 7−<12 months; Cohort 3 (n = 250), 1 −<2 years; Cohort 4 (n = 207), 2−<6 years. Cohort 1 received PCV13 at ages 2, 4, and 6 months; older cohorts were randomized 2:1 to PCV13 or Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine using age-appropriate schedules. Within-group immune responses were assessed by immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers. Safety evaluations included solicited reactogenicity events and adverse events (AEs). IgG geometric mean concentrations and OPA geometric mean titers for all 13 PCV13 serotypes increased for all participants vaccinated with PCV13, but not those vaccinated with Hib. Immune responses in Cohorts 2–4 were generally comparable with those in Cohort 1 (the infant series) for most serotypes. PCV13 was well tolerated across cohorts, with reported AEs consistent with expectations in these age groups; no new safety signals were identified. These results suggest that PCV13 administered as a catch-up regimen to infants and children 7 months−<6 years of age in China will effectively reduce vaccine-type pneumococcal disease in this population. NCT03574389

Data_Sheet_1_Association of altitude and frailty in Chinese older adults: using a cumulative frailty index model.docx

ObjectiveThe population is aging exponentially and the resulting frailty is becoming increasingly evident. We aimed to explore the association between altitude and frailty, and to identify associated factors for frailty.MethodsThis is a community-based cross-sectional survey. 1,298 participants aged ≥60 years from three different altitudes were included in the study. To quantify frailty, we constructed a frailty index (FI) and a frailty score (FS). The FI was divided into non-frailty, prefrailty, and frailty. The Odds Ratios and confidence intervals (ORs, 95%CIs) were used to evaluate the association between altitude and FI and FS in multivariate ordinal logistic regression and linear regression.ResultsThere were 560 (53.1%) participants in the prefrailty and 488 (37.6%) in the frailty group. The FS increased with higher altitude (P for trend ConclusionThe study indicates that high altitude exposure is an associated factor for frailty in older adults. This association become stronger with higher altitudes. As a result, it is essential to conduct early frailty screening for residents living at high altitudes.</p

Mutual communication between radiosensitive and radioresistant esophageal cancer cells modulates their radiosensitivity

Abstract Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality for patients with esophageal cancer; however, the response to radiation varies among different tumor subpopulations due to tumor heterogeneity. Cancer cells that survive radiotherapy (i.e., radioresistant) may proliferate, ultimately resulting in cancer relapse. However, the interaction between radiosensitive and radioresistant cancer cells remains to be elucidated. In this study, we found that the mutual communication between radiosensitive and radioresistant esophageal cancer cells modulated their radiosensitivity. Radiosensitive cells secreted more exosomal let-7a and less interleukin-6 (IL-6) than radioresistant cells. Exosomal let-7a secreted by radiosensitive cells increased the radiosensitivity of radioresistant cells, whereas IL-6 secreted by radioresistant cells decreased the radiosensitivity of radiosensitive cells. Although the serum levels of let-7a and IL-6 before radiotherapy did not vary significantly between patients with radioresistant and radiosensitive diseases, radiotherapy induced a more pronounced decrease in serum let-7a levels and a greater increase in serum IL-6 levels in patients with radioresistant cancer compared to those with radiosensitive cancer. The percentage decrease in serum let-7a and the percentage increase in serum IL-6 levels at the early stage of radiotherapy were inversely associated with tumor regression after radiotherapy. Our findings suggest that early changes in serum let-7a and IL-6 levels may be used as a biomarker to predict the response to radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer and provide new insights into subsequent treatments

Efficacy of the AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine in young Chinese women with oncogenic HPV infection at baseline: post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are efficacious against HPV infections and associated lesions in women HPV-naïve at vaccination. However, vaccine efficacy (VE) against oncogenic, high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types in women infected with any other HR-HPV type at first vaccination (baseline) remains unclear. This post-hoc analysis of a phase II/III study (NCT00779766) evaluated AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 (AS04-HPV-16/18) VE against HR-HPV type infection in 871 Chinese women aged 18–25 years over a 72-month follow-up period. Study participants were DNA-negative at baseline to HR-HPV type(s) considered for VE and DNA-positive to any other HR-HPV type. Initial serostatus was not considered. Baseline DNA prevalence was 14.6% for any HR-HPV type and 10.6% excluding HPV-16/18. In the total vaccinated cohort for efficacy, VE against 6-month and 12-month HPV-16/18 persistent infections (PIs) in women DNA-negative to HPV-16/18 but DNA-positive to any other HR-HPV type at baseline was 100.0% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 79.8–100.0) and 100.0% (95%CI: 47.2–100.0), respectively. VE against HPV-16/18 incident infections in women DNA-positive to one vaccine type but DNA-negative to the other one at baseline was 66.8% (95%CI: −18.9–92.5). VE against HPV-31/33/45 incident infections, in women DNA-positive to HPV-16/18 and DNA-negative to the considered HPV type at baseline was 71.0% (95%CI: 27.3–89.8). No HPV-16/18 PIs were observed in vaccinated women with non-vaccine HPV A7/A9 species cervical infection at baseline. These findings indicated that women with existing HR-HPV infection at vaccination might still benefit from the AS04-HPV-16/18 vaccine. However, this potential benefit needs further demonstration in the future

Naturally acquired HPV antibodies against subsequent homotypic infection: A large-scale prospective cohort study

宫颈癌是全球15-44岁女性中第二常见的癌症，其主要病因是高危型HPV的感染，尤其是HPV 16型和18型的感染，在我国与约84%的宫颈癌有关。早期研究显示因自然免疫获得抗体的女性再次感染同型HPV的风险降低较为有限（约35%），但在这些研究中多依据IgG抗体而非中和抗体作为自然免疫指标进行保护效果分析。我校研究人员利用国产双价HPV疫苗III期临床试验中未接种HPV疫苗且HPV DNA为阴性的3600余名18-45岁健康女性队列，分别采用中和抗体和IgG抗体作为获得自然免疫的指标，分析其在之后5.5年的随访期间再次感染同型HPV的风险。该研究首次在大样本长期随访队列中以中和抗体作为免疫指标评价HPV自然免疫效果，获得了客观准确的HPV自然免疫数据，丰富了HPV自然史研究，为HPV疫苗接种策略的制订提供了重要依据。我校博士生姚星妹、中国医学科学院肿瘤医院陈汶教授和北京大学人民医院赵超教授为该论文共同第一作者。我校吴婷教授、张军教授、夏宁邵教授和中国医学科学院肿瘤医院乔友林教授、赵方辉教授为该论文的共同通讯作者。Background: Although recent studies have suggested that naturally acquired Human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies are partly protective against subsequent homotypic infection, the extent of protection remains indecisive. Here, we evaluate the protective effect of neutralizing and IgG antibodies simultaneously. Methods: In a cohort of 3634 women aged 18-45 years from the control arm of a phase III trial of the HPV-16/18 bivalent vaccine, participants were tested for neutralizing antibodies by pseudovirion-based neutralization assay (PBNA) and IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at baseline. HPV-16/18 incident and persistent infections were identified using cervical specimens periodically collected during the 5.5 years of follow-up. The protective effects of HPV-16/18 neutralizing and IgG antibodies against homotypic infection were assessed using a Cox proportional hazard model. Findings: For the persistent infection (PI) endpoints of HPV-16/18 lasting for over 6/12 months, a prevalence of type-specific neutralizing antibodies was highly protective (6-month PI: hazard ratio (HR) = 0.16,95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04, 0.65; 12-month PI: HR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.94), whereas a prevalence of IgG antibodies was associated with minor and non-significant protection (6-month PI: HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.09; 12-month PI: HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.36, 1.20). After increasing the cut-off value to the median IgG level, the risk of 6-month PI was significantly lower in seropositive vs seronegative women (HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.83). Interpretation: Naturally acquired antibodies are associated with a substantially reduced risk of subsequent homotypic infection.We thank all the study participants and research staff of the HPV-003 Study Group for their contributions to the present study. In addition, we also thank Dr. Allan Hildesheim of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health for his helpful comments on this study.该研究获得国家自然科学基金、福建省卫生教育联合攻关计划项目、厦门市科技重大专项、中国医学科学院医学科学创新基金和厦门万泰沧海生物技术有限公司的支持。Funding: NSFC; The Fujian Province Health Education Joint Research Project; Xiamen Science and Technology Major Project; CIFMS; and Xiamen Innovax