Significance of primate petrosal from Middle Eocene fissure-fillings at Shanghuang, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China

An isolated petrosal bone belonging to a diminutive primate is reported from Middle Eocene fissure-fills near Shanghuang (southern Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China), the type locality of several newly described primates (Eosimias sinensis, a basal anthropoid; Adapoides troglodytes, a basal adapinan; Tarsius eocaenus, a congener of extant tarsiers; and Macrotarsius macrorhysis, the first Asian representative of an otherwise exclusively North American genus). Because of its fragmentary condition and unique combination of characters, the Shanghuang petrosal cannot be assigned unambiguously to any of the Shanghuang primate taxa known from dental remains. However, the possibility that the petrosal represents either an adapid or a tarsiid can be dismissed because it lacks defining basicranial apomorphines of these groups. By contrast, the element does present arterial features consistent with its being haplorhine. Deciding between the likeliest candidates for its allocation—Omomyidae and Eosimiidae—is difficult, in part because it is not known what (or even whether) basicranial characters can be used to distinguish these clades. If the Shanghuang petrosal is that of an cosimiid, as both direct and indirect evidence appears to indicate, the following implications emerge: (1) as long suspected on other grounds, anthropoids share a closer evolutionary history with Omomyidae (and Tarsiiformes) than they do with Adapidae (and Strepsirhini); (2) the specialised basicranial anatomy of extant anthropoids and their immediate cladistic relatives is derived from a primitive precursor whose otic morphology was like that of omomyids in most known respects; (3) the evolution of the defining dental and basicranial apomorphies of extant Anthropoidea has been distinctly mosaic in pattern.     

Molecular identification of three Trichinella isolates from Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China

DNAs of Trichinella dog isolate (HC), Trichinella swine isolate (HH) and Trichinella cat isolate (SW), obtained from Heilongjiang Province, were amplified by the fragments of 18S rDNA and ITS2. Two reference strains, Trichinella spiralis (ISS3) and Trichinella nativa (ISS10) were used for sequence comparison. Sequence and dendrogram analysis indicated that HC belonged to T.nativa and HH together with SW belonged to T.spiralis. This method permits rapid species identification of Trichinella isolates, although further evaluation is required before precisely identification.     

Trends in Cardiac Biomarker Testing in China for Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction, 2001 to 2011: China PEACE-Retrospective AMI Study

Objectives

To describe trends in the availability of biomarker testing in Chinese hospitals and how practice complies with established standards for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Background

Cardiac biomarker testing is standard in high-income countries, but little is known about the availability and use of cardiac biomarker testing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as China.

Methods

Based on a nationally representative sample of Chinese hospitals in 2001, 2006 and 2011, we describe the temporal trends and regional differences in the hospital capability and rates of use of cardiac biomarker testing, as well as the variation in use across hospitals with testing capability, for patients labeled with the diagnosis of AMI.

Results

We sampled 175 hospitals (162 participated in the study) and 18,631 AMI admissions. 14,370 patients were included in analysis of biomarker use. The proportion of hospitals with biomarker testing capability was 57.4% in 2001 (25.0% troponin and 32.4% creatine kinase MB fraction (CK-MB) only) and 96.3% (81.4% troponin and 14.9% CK-MB only) in 2011. The proportion of hospitals with troponin testing capability in 2011 was significantly higher in urban compared with rural hospitals (96.8% vs. 71.4%, p< 0.001). In 2011, only 55.9% of hospitals with troponin testing capability (71 out of 127 hospitals) used the assay for more than 80% of their patients with AMI. Among hospitals with either biomarker testing capability, there was marked variation in use in both rural (from 7.1% to 100.0% of patients) and urban hospitals (from 57.9% to 100.0% of patients). In 2011, 36.1% of the patients with AMI did not have troponin tested and 4.9% did not have either biomarker measured.

Conclusions

The recommended biomarker tests for AMI diagnosis are not universally available and the testing is not consistently applied when it is available in China.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01624883     

Serologic prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in field mice, Microtus fortis, from Yuanjiang, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China

Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were investigated in serum samples of field mice, Microtus fortis, from Yuanjiang, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China. The modified agglutination test (MAT) incorporating formalin-fixed whole tachyzoites and mercaptoethanol was used to determine antibodies. Antibodies to T. gondii (MAT > or = 1:20) were found in 36 (29%) of 124 trapped mice. The antibody titers of positive sera (percentage in parentheses) were 1:20 (8.9), 1:40 (3.2), 1:80 (3.2), 1:160 (1.6), 1:320 (1.6), 1:640 (1.6), 1:1,280 (1.6), 1: 2,560 (0.8), and > 1:2,560 (6.5). No antibody to T. gondii was found in 104 sera of laboratory-bred M. fortis infected with Schistosoma japonicum between 1 and 45 days after infection.     

Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors of an Outbreak with Scrub Typhus in Previously Unrecognized Areas,Jiangsu Province,China 2013

Scrub typhus, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, has emerged recently in Jingjiang City, China where the disease had not been known to exist. We analyzed epidemiological data, clinical characteristics and risk factors of scrub typhus outbreak in Jingjiang City, 2013. The 271 clinically diagnosed patients were predominantly farmers 50 to 69 years old and the peak of onset was early to mid-November. For the 187 laboratory-confirmed cases, the major clinical manifestations of the patients were fever (100%), eschar (88.2%), rash (87.7%), chills (87.7%), and headache (66.8%). A community-based case-control study was carried out to investigate the risk factors of the scrub typhus outbreak. Bundling or moving waste straw (OR=9.0, 95%CI 4.6-17.8) and living at the edge of village (OR=0.6, 95%CI 0.4-0.9) posed the highest risks through single- and multi-variable conditional logistic regression. Phylogenetic analysis of the 56-kDa TSA gene showed that the new cluster (GB-C2) and the previously reported cluster (GB-C1) of O. tsutsugamushi were associated with this outbreak. These findings are useful for the establishment of a detailed control strategy for scrub typhus infection in previously unrecognized areas of Jiangsu Province, China.     

2001～2011年上海市风疹病毒分子流行病学研究

本研究对2001～2011年本实验室保存的血清标本检测结果为麻疹IgM阴性,风疹IgM阳性病例相对应的咽拭子标本进行风疹病毒（Rubella virus,RV）分离,用RT-PCR方法对细胞培养产物鉴定后扩增病毒E1基因,扩增产物用于核苷酸序列测定,并进行分子流行病学分析。结果表明,60份咽拭子标本共分离到31株RV,获得27株RV的739nt（nt8 731～nt9 469）核苷酸序列,系统同源性分析表明,27株RV分离株分别属于两个不同的基因型,除分离自2011年的11009株、11052株和11106株为2B基因型外,其他分离株均为1E基因型。27株RV分离株大部分的核苷酸突变为无义突变,氨基酸序列高度保守。24株1E基因型分离株中大部分毒株氨基酸序列完全一致,自2001年以来可能有来自同一传播链的RV在持续传播。本研究首次监测到2B基因型RV2011年开始在上海流行,经GenBank核苷酸序列比对发现,其与越南、日本、阿根廷等国家近几年的RV分离株核苷酸序列同源性达99%。由于以前对风疹的监测较少,尚不能证明其来源。     

中国国内首次发现Ⅰ基因型乙型肝炎病毒基因序列

对云南省参加健康体检人员中一份乙肝表面抗原阳性标本S区基因序列测定,以了解其分子生物学特点。利用巢式PCR扩增HBV S基因片段,并对扩增产物进行序列测定,将基因序列提交到GenBank上进行BLAST搜索,同时运用Mega软件进行同源性分析,并构建基因树,并将其核苷酸和氨基酸与已报道的A~I基因型参考株的同源性进行比较。核苷酸和氨基酸比较结果证明,此标本病毒基因型为HBV I基因型。本文所发现的I基因型标本为国内首次报道。     

Epidemic hemorrhagic fever in Hubei Province, The People's Republic of China: a clinical and serological study

Between July 1975 and April 1980, 71 patients were admitted to the Second Attached Hospital of Hubei Provincial Medical College in Wuchang with the diagnosis of epidemic hemorrhagic fever (EHF). The clinical course among these patients was similar to that described for patients with Korean hemorrhagic fever, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome of the U.S.S.R. The overall mortality was 11.2 percent. Sera obtained from some of these patients as well as from patients admitted to the First Attached Hospital of Hubei Provincial Medical College were tested against an antigen associated with Korean hemorrhagic fever and showed exceedingly high antibody titers. We conclude that EHF in Central China represents the same or a closely related disease process as Korean hemorrhagic fever.     

Schistosomiasis control in the People's Republic of China

Schistosomes, snail-transmitted trematodes (blood flukes), cause a major parasitic disease that ranks second only to malaria in terms of human suffering in the tropics. Schistosoma japonicum has occupied its ecological niche in China for thousands of years; through natural selection it has evolved survival mechanisms that make it difficult (if not impossible) to eradicate. As discussed here by Allen Ross, Li Yuesheng, Adrian Sleigh and Don McManus, vaccination, in combination with current control strategies, may significantly reduce the morbidity of this disease and ultimately improve the quality of life for those living adjacent to endemic zones. This article provides a special focus in Hunan province and examines the potential impact of the Three Gorges Super Dam Project on schistosomiasis control.     

Insight to the Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in Tianjin,China during 2006-2011

Background

The proportion of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) among all the reported tuberculosis (TB) cases has increased in different populations. Despite the large burden of TB in China, the epidemiology of EPTB in China remains largely understudied and the risk factors for having EPTB diagnosis in China have not been identified.

Methods

To gain insight to EPTB epidemiology in China, we analyzed TB surveillance data collected in Tianjin, China, during 2006 to 2011. The frequency of EPTB among all TB cases and within different socio-demographic groups of the study patients aged 15 years and older was determined for EPTB in general and by specific types. The distribution of socio-demographic characteristics was compared between pulmonary TB (PTB) group and EPTB group by chi-square test. Crude and multiple logistic regression-derived adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined to assess the associations between having EPTB diagnosis and each individual explanatory variable in question.

Results

About one-tenth (1,512/14,561) of the patients investigated in this study had EPTB. Of these 1,512 EPTB cases, about two thirds were pleural TB. Significant difference in age, occupation, and urbanity of residence were found between PTB and EPTB groups (p<0.05). Patients with EPTB diagnosis were more likely to be 65 years or older (aOR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.46), to be retired (aOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.75), and to live in urban areas (aOR = 1 38, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.55).

Conclusions

The findings of this study extends the knowledgebase of EPTB epidemiology in developing countries and highlight the need for improved EPTB detection in China, especially in subpopulations with high risk for EPTB or having limited access to medical facilities with adequate capacity for EPTB diagnosis.     

Risk factors for helminth infections in a rural and a peri-urban setting of the Dongting Lake area, People's Republic of China

Schistosomiasis japonica and soil-transmitted helminthiasis are endemic parasitic diseases in the People’s Republic of China (PR China). As very few studies have reported on the distribution and interaction of multiple species helminth infections, we carried out a comparative study of households in a rural village and a peri-urban setting in the Dongting Lake area of Hunan province in November and December 2006 to determine the extent of single and multiple species infections, the underlying risk factors for infection, and the relationships with clinical manifestations and self-reported morbidity. In each household, stool samples were collected and subjected to the Kato-Katz method for identifying Schistosoma japonicum, Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura infections. Clinical examinations were performed and questionnaire surveys conducted at both household and individual subject levels. Complete parasitological, clinical and questionnaire data were obtained for 1,298 inhabitants of the two settings. The overall prevalences of single infections of S. japonicum, A. lumbricoides, hookworm and T. trichiura were 6.5%, 5.5%, 3.0% and 0.8%, respectively; the majority of the infections were of light intensity. We found significant negative associations between wealth and infections with S. japonicum and A. lumbricoides. Clinical manifestations of splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and anaemia were prevalent (9.0%, 3.7% and 10.9%, respectively), the latter two being significantly (P < 0.05) associated with schistosomiasis. Self-reported symptoms were more common among females but there was considerable under-reporting in both sexes when relying only on spontaneous recall. Our findings may guide the design and targeting of a more equitable, comprehensive and integrated parasitic disease control programme in Hunan province and in other areas of PR China.     

Epidemiologic Characteristics and Risk Factors for Congenital Hypothyroidism from 2009 to 2018 in Xiamen,China

Objective: Early diagnosis and treatment of children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) through newborn screening can effectively prevent delayed development. This study was designed to investigate the pathogenesis and factors that influence CH in urban areas of China between 2009 and 2018.Methods: A retrospective analysis of newborn screening data and diagnosis and treatment information for CH diagnosed in the information database of the neonatal disease screening center in one of China's five special economic zones from 2009 to 2018.Results: Of the 947,258 newborns screened between 2009 and 2018, 829 (406 girls) were diagnosed with CH at birth (1 diagnosis/1,136 births). Among the 608 cases of CH diagnosed at birth and re-evaluated at the age of 3 years, 487 were permanent congenital hypothyroidism (PCH, 1/1,429), and 121 were transient congenital hypothyroidism (TCH, 1/5,882). A total of 83.2% of infants with PCH (405/487) underwent thyroid imaging in the neonatal period, of which thyroid dysgenesis accounted for 28.64% (116/405) and functional defects accounted for 71.36% (289/405). The incidence of CH changed significantly in infants with initial serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations of 41 to 100 mIU/L and ≥100 mIU/L, whereas the incidence of mild CH showed a slight increase. The incidence of CH was significantly higher in postterm infants (1/63) and low-birth-weight infants (1/370).Conclusion: In the past decade, the incidence of CH has increased, mainly due to the increase in the incidence of PCH and TCH. The incidence of mild CH has increased slightly. Postterm birth and low birth weight are important factors affecting the incidence of CH.Abbreviations: CH = congenital hypothyroidism; FT4 = free thyroxine; L-T4 = levothyroxine sodium; PCH = permanent congenital hypothyroidism; TCH = transient congenital hypothyroidism; TSH = thyroid-stimulating hormone; TT4 = total thyroxine     

Census and survey of wild black-crested gibbons (Hylobates concolor concolor) in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China

Black-crested gibbons (Hylobates concolor concolor) inhabit the subtropical forests of Southern China and Northern Vietnam, and have never previously been the subject of any systematic behavioral or ecological study. This report presents the findings of a three-month census and survey of black-crested gibbons in the Wuliang and Ailao Mountain Game Reserves in Yunnan province, China. The censusing methods used here were similar to those techniques used during other census studies of gibbons. The sites visited were subtropical broadleaf evergreen forests, with trees belonging to the families Fagaceae, Theaceae, Magnoliaceae, Lauraceae and Elaeocarpaceae. A total of 23-25 groups of black-crested gibbons were documented from 4 sites visited, and a group density estimate from all sites averaged 0.82 groups/km2. These gibbons were found to be polygynous with an average family group size of 7-8 animals, comprising 1 adult male, 1-4 adult females and numerous offspring of various ages. Some of the ecological and evolutionary implications of these findings are also presented.     

Genetics education in the People's Republic of China.

The National Education Commission of the People's Republic of China directs all educational course content from kindergarten to graduate level in all disciplines. The study of genetics is thus controlled by the members of the commission, so there is little variation of course offerings from one institution to another. Formal genetics education begins in lower middle school and is expanded somewhat in upper middle school (high school). Middle school marks the end of the formal education for most Chinese students, although many graduates learn the practical aspects of genetics while working in agricultural plant and animal breeding. Students who continue the study of genetics in universities find that course work is concentrated and research is encouraged, although facilities and supplies are limited. On graduation from a university, most students are sent to factories to use their expertise for increasing food production, while a very small percentage of students continue on to graduate school and eventual research and university teaching. The area of human genetics is handled exclusively in medical schools.     

Photosynthesis research in the People's Republic of China1

The first research paper on photosynthesis in China was published by T.T. Li² in 1929. Two photosynthesis laboratories were established in Shanghai and Beijing in the 1950s and the 1960s, respectively. A photophosphorylation `intermediate' was discovered after the energy conversion process was separated into light and dark phases in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, research has accelerated at several different levels through efforts of a large number of scientists in China. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease and Its Relationship with Meteorological Factors in Jiangsu Province,China

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is an important public health issue in mainland China, including Jiangsu Province. The main purpose of this study was to depict the epidemiological characteristics of HFMD and evaluate the effects of meteorological variables on its dynamics via spatiotemporal analytic methods, which is essential for formulating scientific and effective prevention and control strategies and measures. In total, 497,910 cases of HFMD occurred in the 2009-2013 period, with an average annual incidence of 126.3 per 100,000 in Jiangsu. Out of these, 87.7% were under 5 years old with a male-to-female incidence ratio of 1.4. The dominant pathogens of the laboratory-confirmed cases were EV71 and CoxA16, accounting for 44.8% and 30.6% of all cases, respectively. Two incidence peaks were observed in each year, the higher occurring between April and June, the lower between November and December. The incidence ranged between 16.8 and 233.5 per 100,000 at the county level. The incidence in the South of the province was generally higher than that in the northern regions. The most likely spatiotemporal cluster detected by space–time scan analysis occurred in May-June of 2012 in the southern region. Average temperature and rainfall were positively correlated with HFMD incidence, while the number of days with rainfall ≥ 0.1mm, low temperature, high temperature and hours of sunshine were negatively related. Particularly, relative humidity had no relationship. In conclusion, the prevalence of HFMD in Jiangsu Province has an obvious feature of seasonality. The etiological composition changed dynamically and might be a latent driving force for the temporal variation of the incidence of HFMD. A moderately warm environment promotes the transmission of the HFMD viruses, while particularly cold and hot climate conditions restrain their transmission.