肺灌注PM2.5对高血压大鼠心血管系统的炎性作用

目的 观察大气细颗粒物对机体心血管系统的炎性作用,探寻其可能作用机制.方法 在上海市某非工业区采集大气PM2.5,选取雄性自发性高血压(spontantously hypertensive,SH)和Wsitar Kyoto(WKY)大鼠各24只作为实验对象,设低、中、高3个剂量组和1个对照组,染毒剂量分别是1.6、8.0、40.0mg/kg,采用气管滴注法进行PM2.5染毒,观察不同染毒剂量组、不同机体内血清高敏C-反应蛋白(high sensitive C-reaction protein,hsCRP)的水平,同时检测心肌白细胞介素1-β(IL-1β)、白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)和MIP-2细胞因子的mRNA表达水平,了解机体肺灌注PM2.5后心血管系统的炎性反应,从而探索PM2.5对心血管系统的毒性效应及其可能机制.结果 大鼠PM2.5染毒后,WKY和SH大鼠各染毒组血清hsCRP水平与对照组比较,差异均有统计学意义,且随染毒剂量增加而增加,即存在剂量-反应关系.同时在相同染毒剂量下,WKY和SH大鼠hsCRP水平差异有统计学意义.此外,心肌组织中IL-1β、IL-6、TNF-α和MIP-2的mRNA表达水平总体上随染毒剂量增加有增加趋势,同时相同染毒剂量时,在SH大鼠体内上述各细胞因子的mRNA表达较WKY大鼠高.PM2.5对SH大鼠的心血管系统的炎性反应可能大于对WKY大鼠的作用.结论 PM2.5引起WKY和SH大鼠心血管系统出现明显的炎性反应,且对SH大鼠的作用更为明显,提示PM2.5对机体心血管系统有一定的损伤作用.     

Identification of SLC25A37 as a major depressive disorder risk gene

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent and disabling mental disorders, but the genetic etiology remains largely unknown. We performed a meta-analysis (14,543 MDD cases and 14,856 controls) through combining the GWAS data from the Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium and the CONVERGE consortium and identified seven SNPs (four of them located in the downstream of SCL25A37) that showed suggestive associations (P < 5.0 × 10⁻⁷) with MDD. Systematic integration (Sherlock integrative analysis) of brain eQTL and GWAS meta-analysis identified SCL25A37 as a novel MDD risk gene (P = 2.22 × 10⁻⁶). A cis SNP (rs6983724, ∼28 kb downstream of SCL25A37) showed significant association with SCL25A37 expression (P = 1.19 × 10⁻⁹) and suggestive association with MDD (P = 1.65 × 10⁻⁷). We validated the significant association between rs6983724 and SCL25A37 expression in independent expression datasets. Finally, we found that SCL25A37 is significantly down-regulated in hippocampus and blood of MDD patients (P = 3.49 × 10⁻³ and P = 2.66 × 10⁻¹³, respectively). Our findings implicate that the SCL25A37 is a MDD susceptibility gene whose expression may influence MDD risk. The consistent down-regulation of SCL25A37 in MDD patients in three independent samples suggest that SCL25A37 may be used as a potential biomarker for MDD diagnosis. Further functional characterization of SCL25A37 may provide a potential target for future therapeutics and diagnostics.     

A big pertussis outbreak in a primary school with high vaccination coverage in northern China: An evidence of the emerging of the disease in China

BackgroundA big pertussis outbreak occurred in a primary school with high vaccination coverage in northern China. An investigation was carried out in order to calculate the attack rate and identify the risk factors.MethodsBetween May 12 and July 29, an investigation was carried out in the primary school, which included 383 students and 27 teachers. Three definitions were used to distinguish the cases: confirmed, epidemiologically linked and suspected cases. A total of 232 blood samples were collected and examined by ELISA among healthy children in another primary school.ResultsA total of 138 suspected pertussis cases were counted, of which 116 students were confirmed. The attack rate among students was as high as 30.29%. The pertussis outbreak lasted 88 days, and had quaternary cases of transmission. Migrant children were almost four times as likely to catch the disease as local children (p = 0.005). In addition, students who had received the last dose of pertussis vaccine more than 4 years prior were three times more likely of becoming ill than those less than 4 years (p = 0.006). The average level of antibodies to pertussis was 30.99 IU/mL among healthy children. No statistically significant difference was observed between DTaP and DTwP (p = 0.843).ConclusionsThis pertussis outbreak in a primary school with high vaccination coverage was an evidence of the pertussis resurgence in China. The major risk factor we identified was the waning of immunity in the years after pertussis vaccination. Booster vaccination for students should be given.     

A survey of variable selection methods in two Chinese epidemiology journals

Background  

Although much has been written on developing better procedures for variable selection, there is little research on how it is practiced in actual studies. This review surveys the variable selection methods reported in two high-ranking Chinese epidemiology journals.     

The 2015–2016 influenza epidemic in Beijing,China: Unlike elsewhere,circulation of influenza A(H3N2) with moderate vaccine effectiveness

BackgroundWhile the 2015–2016 influenza season in the northern hemisphere was dominated by A(H1N1)pdm09 and B/Victoria viruses, in Beijing, China, there was also significant circulation of influenza A(H3N2) virus. In this report we estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE) against influenza A(H3N2) and other circulating viruses, and describe further characteristics of the 2015–2016 influenza season in Beijing.MethodsWe estimated VE of the 2015–2016 trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV) against laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection using the test-negative study design. The effect of prior vaccination on current VE was also examined.ResultsOf 11,000 eligible patients included in the study, 2969 (27.0%) were influenza positive. Vaccination coverage was 4.2% in both cases and controls. Adjusted VE against all influenza was 8% (95% CI: −16% to 27%): 18% (95% CI: −38% to 52%) for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 54% (95% CI: 16% to 74%) for influenza A(H3N2), and −8% (95% CI: −40% to 18%) for influenza B/Victoria. The overall VE for receipt of 2015–2016 vaccination only, 2014–2015 vaccination only, and vaccinations in both seasons was −15% (95% CI: −63% to 19%), −25% (95% CI: −78% to 13%), and 18% (95% CI: −11% to 40%), respectively.ConclusionsOverall the 2015–2016 TIV was protective against influenza infection in Beijing, with higher VE against the A(H3N2) viruses compared to A(H1N1)pdm09 and B viruses.