Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has been one of the most common infectious diseases in Shijiazhuang City, as is the situation in China overall. In the National HFMD surveillance system, the pathogen detection was focused on EV-A71 and CVA16, and therefore, information on the other EVs is very limited. In order to identify the circulating EV serotypes in the HFMD outbreaks in Shijiazhuang City during 2010–2012, 4045 patients presented with HFMD were recruited in the study, and clinical samples were investigated. Typing of EV serotypes was performed using the molecular typing methods, and phylogenetic analyses based on entire VP1 sequences of human enterovirus 71 (EV-A71), coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16), CVA10 and CVB3 was performed. The results revealed that EV-A71 and CVA16 were the 2 most important pathogens but the circulating trends of the 2 viruses showed a shift, the spread of EV-A71 became increasingly weak, whereas the spread of CVA16 became increasingly stronger. CVA10 and CVB3 were the third and fourth most prevalent pathogens, respectively. Co-infection of two viruses at the same time was not found in these samples. Based on entire VP1 region sequences, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that C4a subgenotype EV-A71, B1a and B1b subgenotype CVA16 continued to evolve. The CVA10 strains were assigned to 4 genotypes (A–D), whereas the CVB3 strains were assigned to 5 genotypes (A–E), with clear geographical and temporal-specific distributions. The Shijiazhuang CVA10 sequences belonged to 4 epidemic lineages within genotype C, whereas the Shijiazhuang CVB3 sequences belonged to 2 epidemic lineages within genotype E, which may have the same origins as the strains reported in other part of China. CVA10 and CVB3, 2 pathogens that were previously infrequently detected, were identified as pathogens causing the HFMD outbreaks. This study underscores the need for detailed laboratory-based surveillances of HFMD in mainland China.

Background/Aims: Serum cortisol level is elevated in patients with essential hypertension. We aimed at investigating the association of serum cortisol levels with parameters of renal function in essential hypertension. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients with essential hypertension participated in the study. Fasting serum samples were collected at 8:00 am. Renal function was measured as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine- cystatin C equation (eGFRcr-cys). Correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis were used to detect the relationship between cortisol and eGFRcr-cys. The distributions of serum cortisol were split by the tertiles and subjects were stratified into those with low, median and high levels accordingly. Results: Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in subjects whose eGFRcr-cys<90 ml/min/1.73 m² than subjects whose eGFRcr-cys>90 ml/min/1.73 m² (394.0±93.4 vs. 343.2±98.4 nmol/L, P=0.001). Age, systolic blood pressure, and serum total cholesterol, uric acid, cortisol levels were significantly associated with eGFRcr-cys, serum levels of creatinine and cystatin C. After adjusting for clinical factors, serum cortisol level had a statistically significant negative association with the eGFRcr-cys (β=-0.19, P=0.027), and positive associations with cystatin C (β=0.31, P=0.001) and creatinine (β=0.14, P=0.044). With the increment of cortisol tertile, the eGFRcr-cys significantly decreased (93.18±14.36 vs. 84.61±14.67 vs. 81.29±12.36 ml/min/1.73 m² for low, median and high tertile, respecively, P=0.001). Conclusion: Serum cortisol level was negatively correlated with eGFRcr-cys in subjects with essential hypertension. Further studies are needed to investigate whether cortisol plays a role in hypertensive nephropathy development.

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The tamoxifen-responsive conditional Cdh5-CreERT2 is commonly used for endothelial cell specific conditional deletion of loxP-flanked gene sequences. To address the role of endothelial cell Shb gene for B16F10 melanoma immune responses, tamoxifen-injected Cdh5-CreERT2 /WT and Cdh5-CreERT2 / Shb flox/flox mice received subcutaneous tumor cell injections. We observed a decrease of tumor myeloid cell Shb mRNA in the tamoxifen treated Cdh5-CreERT2 / Shb flox/flox mice, which was not present when the mice had undergone a preceding bone marrow transplantation using wild type bone marrow. Differences in CD4+/FoxP3+ Tregs were similarly abolished by a preceding bone marrow transplantation. In ROSA26-mTmG mice, Cdh5-CreERT2 caused detectable floxing in certain bone marrow populations and in spleen cells. Floxing in bone marrow could be detected two months after tamoxifen treatment. In the spleen, however, floxing was undetectable two months after tamoxifen treatment, suggesting that Cdh5-CreERT2 is operating in a non-renewable population of hematopoietic cells in this organ. These data suggest that conditional gene deletion in hematopoietic cells is a potential confounder in experiments attempting to assess the role of endothelial specific effects. A cautious approach to achieve an endothelial-specific phenotype would be to adopt a strategy that includes a preceding bone marrow transplantation.

The in situ pretreatment and in situ conversion of corn fiber increased cellulose conversion and the overall ethanol yield.

Background: Treatment of pulmonary fibrosis by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has accumulated important experience. Our interest is in exploring the medication regularity of contemporary Chinese medical specialists treating pulmonary fibrosis.Methods: Through literature search, medical records from TCM experts who treat pulmonary fibrosis, which were published in Chinese and English medical journals, were selected for this study. As the object of study, a database was established after analysing the records. After data cleaning, the rules of medicine in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in medical records of TCM were explored by using data mining technologies such as frequency analysis, association rule analysis, and link analysis. Results: A total of 124 medical records from 60 doctors were selected in this study; 263 types of medicinals were used a total of 5,455 times; the herbs that were used more than 30 times can be grouped into 53 species and were used a total of 3,681 times. Using main medicinals cluster analysis, medicinals were divided into qi-tonifying, yin-tonifying, blood-activating, phlegm-resolving, cough-suppressing, panting-calming, and ten other major medicinal categories. According to the set conditions, a total of 62 drug compatibility rules have been obtained, involving mainly qi-tonifying, yin-tonifying, blood-activating, phlegm-resolving, qidescending, and panting-calming medicinals, as well as other medicinals used in combination. Conclusions:The results of data mining are consistent with clinical practice and it is feasible to explore the medical rules applicable to the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in medical records of TCM by data mining.