Neutrophil extracellular traps aggravate neuronal endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis via TLR9 after traumatic brain injury

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and ER stress-mediated apoptosis play an important role during secondary brain damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Increased neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation has been demonstrated to be associated with neurological damage after TBI. However, the correlation between ER stress and NETs remains unclear, and the specific function of NETs in neurons has not been defined. In this study, we found that the levels of NETs circulating biomarkers were remarkably elevated in the plasma of TBI patients. We then inhibited NETs formation by peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4, a critical enzyme for NETs formation) deficiency and discovered that ER stress activation and ER stress-mediated neuronal apoptosis were reduced. The degradation of NETs via DNase I showed similar outcomes. Furthermore, overexpression of PAD4 aggravated neuronal ER stress and ER stress-associated apoptosis, while TLR9 antagonist administration abrogated the damage caused by NETs. In addition to in vivo experiments, in vitro experiments revealed that treatment with a TLR9 antagonist alleviated NETs-induced ER stress and apoptosis in HT22 cells. Collectively, our results indicated that ER stress as well as the accompanying neuronal apoptosis can be ameliorated by disruption of NETs and that suppression of the TLR9-ER stress signaling pathway may contribute to positive outcomes after TBI.

Deferoxamine ameliorates neurological dysfunction by inhibiting ferroptosis and neuroinflammation after traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important reason of neurological damage and has high morbidity and mortality rates. The secondary damage caused by TBI leads to a poor clinical prognosis. According to the literature, TBI leads to ferrous iron aggregation at the site of trauma and may be a key factor in secondary injury. Deferoxamine (DFO), which is an iron chelator, has been shown to inhibit neuron degeneration; however, the role of DFO in TBI is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore whether DFO can ameliorate TBI by inhibiting ferroptosis and neuroinflammation. Here, our findings suggest that DFO can reduce the accumulation of iron, lipid peroxides, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and modulate the expression of ferroptosis-related indicators. Moreover, DFO may reduce NLRP3 activation via the ROS/NF-κB pathway, modulate microglial polarization, reduce neutrophil and macrophage infiltration, and inhibit the release of inflammatory factors after TBI. Additionally, DFO may reduce the activation of neurotoxic responsive astrocytes. Finally, we demonstrated that DFO can protect motor memory function, reduce edema and improve peripheral blood perfusion at the site of trauma in mice with TBI, as shown by behavioral experiments such as the Morris water maze test, cortical blood perfusion assessment and animal MRI. In conclusion, DFO ameliorates TBI by reducing iron accumulation to alleviate ferroptosis and neuroinflammation, and these findings provide a new therapeutic perspective for TBI.

Brain-derived extracellular vesicles mediate traumatic brain injury associated multi-organ damage

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can negatively impact systemic organs, which can lead to more death and disability. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of TBI on systemic organs remains unclear. In previous work, we found that brain-derived extracellular vesicles (BDEVs) released from the injured brain can induce systemic coagulation with a widespread fibrin deposition in the microvasculature of the lungs, kidney, and heart in a mouse model of TBI. In this study, we investigated whether BDEVs can induce heart, lung, liver, and kidney injury in TBI mice. The results of pathological staining and related biomarkers indicated that BDEVs can induce histological damage and systematic dysfunction. In vivo imaging system demonstrated that BDEVs can gather in systemic organs. We also found that BDEVs could induce cell apoptosis in the lung, liver, heart, and kidney. Furthermore, we discovered that BDEVs could cause multi-organ endothelial cell damage. Finally, this secondary multi-organ damage could be relieved by removing circulating BDEVs. Our research provides a novel perspective and potential mechanism of TBI-associated multi-organ damage.

Bioavailability and regional transport of PM2.5 during heavy haze episode in typical coal city site of Fenwei Plain, China

Despite the decrease in anthropogenic emissions, haze episodes were still frequent in the Fenwei Plain, which was identified as one of the three key areas for air pollution control. Herein, PM_2.5 samples were collected to investigate the influence of festival effect during the Chinese Spring Festival from February 2rd to 13th, 2019, in Linfen on the Fenwei Plain. The characteristics of element pollution, enrichment factor, source apportionment, regional transport of PM_2.5, and health risk assessment were discussed. Meanwhile, the simulated lung fluid method (SLF) was carried out to accurately assess the inhalation risks of heavy metals (HMs). Results indicated that the average concentration of PM_2.5 was 195.6 μg·m^-3 during the studying period. Road fugitive dust (15.6%), firework burning source (25.6%), industrial emission (30.5%), and coal combustion (28.3%) were identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) modeling. Using the HYSPLIT trajectory model, air masses from the central Shaanxi, southern Hebei, and northern Henan were the dominant transport paths during the Spring Festival, which contributed 21.9 and 41.2% of total trajectories, respectively. The findings that high PSCF and CWT levels were found in central Shaanxi, southern Hebei, and northern Henan were confirmed. The SLF mean bioaccessibility (%) of the solubility of particulate metals was in order of Mn > Ni > Sb > Ba > Zn > Pb > Cr. However, the carcinogenic risk value of Cr was the highest, exceeding the maximum acceptable risk. The present study provided important information for further analyzing the air pollution cause of Fenwei Plain.

First Report of the Root-Lesion Nematode (Pratylenchus thornei Sher and Allen, 1953) Parasitizing Oats in Gansu Province, China

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is a vital cereal crop and serves as food, feed, and industrial material for many commercial growers. The presence of root-lesion nematodes (RLN; Pratylenchus spp.) in oat-cultivated areas of China is alarming because RLNs display an endo-migratory life cycle and rank third among the most damaging nematode pests (Jones et al. 2013). Their penetration and feeding cause necrotic lesions on the roots, which further dispose plants to other soilborne pathogens resulting in extensive root rots (LaMondia, 2003). In China, it has been reported that P. thornei harmed sugarcane and wheat. (Fang et al 1994; Fan et al. 2020), However, there are no reports on the damage of P. thornei to oat. In June 2021, a survey of one oat field, exhibiting poorly developed plants reduced till number and distinct lesions on roots was conducted in Dingxi city, Gansu province, China (N 35°56', E 104°60'). Thirteen soil and root samples were collected from symptomatic plants (cultivar: Jizhangyan No.5). Nematodes were extracted from root and soil samples using the modified Baermann funnel method (Hooper, 1986). Twelve samples tested positive for the presence of RLN with population densities ranging from 3 to 25 juveniles and females/100 g of soil and 2 to 32/g of root. No males were detected. Twenty females from the twelve positive samples were selected at random and examined morphologically for species-level identification (Figure 1A-J). The female bodies were slender, almost straight or ventrally curved after heat relaxation (Figure 1A), labial region continuous with the rest of the body and bears three faint lip annuli. The stylets were short and stout with well-developed basal knobs (Figure 1C, G). The pharyngeal and reproductive components were typical of pratylenchid nematodes (Figure 1B). Tail region cylindrical, straight or curved ventrally, having variable terminus viz., broad, bluntly rounded or truncate, with no striations around terminus (Figure 1H-J). The diagnostic morphometrics of adult females were as follows: body length 591.4 ± 20.1 μm (466.6 to 742.7 μm), body width 22.5 ± 0.5 μm (20.1 to 26.2 μm), distance from anterior end to excretory pore 88.4 ± 3.5 μm (75.7 to 99.7 μm), stylet length 16.8 ± 0.2 μm (15.2 to 18.7 μm), and tail length 33.7 ± 1.3 μm (25.5 to 43.2 μm). De man's morphometric parameters were a: 26.3 ± 0.8 (19.8 to 31.1), b: 5.7 ± 0.2 (4.7 to 7.0), c: 17.9 ± 0.8 (12.9 to 23.7), c': 2.3 ± 0.1 (1.7 to 2.8) and V value was 77.8 % ± 1.2 (67.3 to 86.6 %). The morphological and morphometric characteristics of our detected population is consistent with Loof's 1960 description of P. thornei Sher and Allen, 1953 (Table 1). For molecular analysis, five females from the twelve positive samples were selected at random for molecular analysis. DNA was extracted from single females according to the method of Wang et al. (2011). The ITS region was amplified by primer pair 18S/26S (Vrain et al., 1992) and the D2/D3 expansion region of the 28S rDNA was amplified by primer pair D2A/D3B (Castillo et al., 2003). High quality PCR products of accurate fragment length were sent to the Tsingke Biological Technology (Xian, China) for sequencing. The ITS sequences (813 bp-817 bp, GenBank OP902282, OP902284, OP902287, OP902288 and OP902289) of Gansu population showed 99.26%-100% sequence identity with P. thornei reported from Italy (FR692299, FR692303 and FR692304) (Figure 2). The 28S sequences (738 bp-764 bp, GenBank OM278343, OP217988, OP218403, OP218404 and OP218567) showed 100% identity with P. thornei populations reported from Belgium (KY828302), the USA (OK490327) and Iran (JX261960) (Figure 3). Morphological and molecular data of the Gansu population obtained in this study supported its identification as P. thornei. The endo-migratory association of the host-nematode relationship was confirmed by observing nematodes inside the roots using acid fuchsin root staining (Wu et al. 2014) (Figure 4). Oat (cultivar: Jizhangyan No.5) seeds were sown in pots containing 500 g of naturally infested soil (an average of 12 P. thornei /100g of soil); autoclaved soil was used as a control. Fifty seeds were directly sown in pots (20 × 16 cm), with three replicates. Plants were maintained in an incubator at 28 ± 1°C (12 h/12 h light/dark). Results indicated that plants inoculated obviously grew poorly with some lesions on roots and P. thornei numbers in them increased 16 times both in soil (50.7 ± 9.6 nematodes/100g) and roots (708.0 ± 8.7 nematodes in the entire root system). No P. thornei was found in the control soil and roots (Figure 5). Morphological and molecular characteristics of specimens isolated from oat symptomatic roots (n = 10) were identical to P. thornei. The losses caused by P. thornei are still unknown, and considering Pratylenchus spp. are commercially important nematode, the more investigations on oats should be made in the future. As of yet, RLNs were not reported from any oat-cultivated areas of China. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. thornei parasitizing oats in the Gansu province of China.

Occurrence, distribution and risk assessment of microplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in East lake, Hubei, China

The pollution of microplastics (MPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment is a global problem, which has attracted extensive attention of many researchers. In present study, MPs and PAHs are investigated to study the impact of human activities and their possible relationship in China's second largest urban lake, East Lake. The abundance of MPs are 3329.19 ± 2059.26 particles/m³ and 2207.56 ± 1194.04 particles/kg in water and sediment, respectively. MPs are predominantly characterized by fibers, polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), colorlessness in water and sediment. The abundance of MPs in water with frequent human activities is higher, which is reversed in sediments, indicating that disturbance is not conducive to the enrichment of MPs in sediments. The concentration of 16 PAHs are 36.95 ± 13.76 ng/L and 897.08 ± 232.34 ng/g in water and sediment, respectively. PAHs in water are mainly 2-3-ring, while there are 4-ring PAHs in sediments. The good corresponding relationship between MPs and PAHs indicates that human activities have an important impact on the distribution of pollutants compared to the interaction of pollutants. In addition, the significant positive correlation between lakeshore length and water MPs abundance indicates that surface runoff may be an important source of water MPs. The pollution load index shows that MPs in sediment has reached moderate to severe pollution level, while the water is slightly polluted level. The potential ecological risk assessment results show that more than half of the sediment sites are at dangerous to very dangerous ecological risk level.

Influence of temperature and precipitation on the fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: simulation experiments on peat cores from a typical alpine peatland in Central China

The corresponding relationships between temperature, precipitation, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration in a typical ombrotrophic peatland in Dajiuhu, Shennongjia, were quantitatively characterized by field sampling tests validated with simulation experiments. The PAH concentrations of peat cores in Dajiuhu peatland ranged from 262 to 977 ng·g^-1, with a mean value of 536 ± 284 ng·g^-1. PAHs were mainly composed of 2-3 ring PAHs, accounting for 31.7% ± 2.00% and 31.7% ± 5.00%, respectively. The concentration of PAHs in peat cores showed a significant decrease with increasing temperature, while the low molecular weight PAHs (LMW-PAHs) were more sensitive to temperature changes compared to the high molecular weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs). Besides, with the increase of quantity and velocity of leaching liquid, PAHs in peat were first transferred in the form of attached large-size particles and then gradually entered the aqueous phase. According to the IPCC projections of global warming, Dajiuhu peatland will release 956 ± 26.3 kg·°C^-1 PAHs into gas phase during 2030-2052, and a conservative projection based on local temperature trends showed that 459 ± 12.6 kg·°C^-1 PAHs will be released into gas phase by 2047 in Dajiuhu peatland. The projected release fluxes of PAHs in Dajiuhu peatland with precipitation volume and precipitation velocity are 381 ± 201 kg·100 mm^-1 and 1052 ± 167 kg·min·mL^-1, respectively, which are primarily from peat into particulate and aqueous phase.

Inhibition of neutrophil extracellular trap formation attenuates NLRP1-dependent neuronal pyroptosis via STING/IRE1α pathway after traumatic brain injury in mice

Introduction

Increased neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation has been reported to be associated with cerebrovascular dysfunction and neurological deficits in traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the biological function and underlying mechanisms of NETs in TBI-induced neuronal cell death are not yet fully understood.

Methods

First, brain tissue and peripheral blood samples of TBI patients were collected, and NETs infiltration in TBI patients was detected by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. Then, a controlled cortical impact device was used to model brain trauma in mice, and Anti-Ly6G, DNase, and CL-amidine were given to reduce the formation of neutrophilic or NETs in TBI mice to evaluate neuronal death and neurological function. Finally, the pathway changes of neuronal pyroptosis induced by NETs after TBI were investigated by administration of peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (a key enzyme of NET formation) adenovirus and inositol-requiring enzyme-1 alpha (IRE1α) inhibitors in TBI mice.

Results

We detected that both peripheral circulating biomarkers of NETs and local NETs infiltration in the brain tissue were significantly increased and had positive correlations with worse intracranial pressure (ICP) and neurological dysfunction in TBI patients. Furthermore, the depletion of neutrophils effectively reduced the formation of NET in mice subjected to TBI. we found that degradation of NETs or inhibition of NET formation significantly inhibited nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor pyrin domain containing 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome-mediated neuronal pyroptosis after TBI, whereas these inhibitory effects were abolished by cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), an activator of stimulating Interferon genes (STING). Moreover, overexpression of PAD4 in the cortex by adenoviruses could aggravate NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis and neurological deficits after TBI, whereas these pro-pyroptotic effects were rescued in mice also receiving STING antagonists. Finally, IRE1α activation was significantly upregulated after TBI, and NET formation or STING activation was found to promote this process. Notably, IRE1α inhibitor administration significantly abrogated NETs-induced NLRP1 inflammasome-mediated neuronal pyroptosis in TBI mice.

Discussion

Our findings indicated that NETs could contribute to TBI-induced neurological deficits and neuronal death by promoting NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis. Suppression of the STING/ IRE1α signaling pathway can ameliorate NETs-induced neuronal pyroptotic death after TBI.

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm quark in proton-proton collisions at s = 8 TeV

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm ( c ) quark in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are reported. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb - 1 collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The W bosons are identified through their leptonic decays to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. Charm quark jets are selected using distinctive signatures of charm hadron decays. The product of the cross section and branching fraction σ ( pp → W + c + X ) B ( W → ℓ ν ) , where ℓ = e or μ , and the cross section ratio σ ( pp → W + + c ¯ + X ) / σ ( pp → W - + c + X ) are measured in a fiducial volume and differentially as functions of the pseudorapidity and of the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W boson decay. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. The impact of these measurements on the determination of the strange quark distribution is assessed.

The characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in water and sediment of dajiuhu subalpine wetland, shennongjia, central China, 2018-2020: Insights for sources, sediment-water exchange, and ecological risk

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs) are persistent environmental issues. Secondary emissions are produced as a result of climate change and human activity. To observe spatio-temporal variations of PAHs and HMs and to discuss the sources as well as the source or sink of PAHs for sediment and peat, twelve surface sediment and surface water sites were chosen along the direction of the flow to down hole in the Dajiuhu area, simultaneously, surface peat and water samples were collected in peatland. Samples were continuously taken for three years (Sep. 2018, Sep. 2019, and Sep. 2020, respectively). The results showed that PAHs and HMs are common in sediment and peat. PAHs concentration is generally higher in peat and water, while HMs concentration is relatively higher in water and relatively low in sediment and peat, and the ecological risk of sediment was low. HMs in sediment are mainly affected by rock weathering, while PAHs are mainly affected by atmospheric deposition, biomass and coal combustion and vehicle emission. HMs and PAHs can be used as an indicator of rock weathering and human activity in Dajiuhu area, respectively. A water-sediment fugacity analysis revealed that peat is a sink for PAHs, confirming that it has a high capacity for adsorbing organic contaminants, and that sediments are secondary sources of PAHs that can release them into water. Attention should be paid to the increased fugacity fraction (ff) value in peatland, indicating that peat might be converted from a sink to a source of PAHs.

Antagonistic Effect of Trichoderma longibrachiatum (TL6 and TL13) on Fusarium solani and Fusarium avenaceum Causing Root Rot on Snow Pea Plants

Snow pea root rot in China is caused by Fusarium solani (FSH) and Fusarium avenaceum (FAH), which affect snow pea production. The chemical control methods used against FSH and FAH are toxic to the environment and resistance may be developed in persistence applications. Therefore, an alternative approach is needed to control these pathogens. This study focuses on Trichoderma longibrachiatum strains (TL6 and TL13), mycoparasitic mechanisms of FSH and FAH, as well as growth-promoting potentials on snow pea seedlings under FSH and FAH stress at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. The average inhibitory rates of TL6 against FSH and FAH were 54.58% and 69.16%, respectively, on day 7. Similarly, TL13 average inhibitory rates against FSH and FAH were 59.06% and 71.27%, respectively, on day 7. The combined TL13 and TL6 with FSH and FAH reduced disease severity by 86.6, 81.6, 57.60, and 60.90%, respectively, in comparison to the controls. The snow pea plants inoculated with FSH and FAH without TL6 and TL13 increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) contents in the leaves by 64.8, 66.0, 64.4 and 65.9%, respectively, compared to the control. However, the combined FSH and FAH with TL6 and TL13 decreased the MDA and H2O2 content by 75.6, 76.8, 70.0, and 76.4%, respectively, in comparison to the controls. In addition, the combined TL6 + FSH and TL6 + FAH increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) by 60.5, 64.7, and 60.3%, respectively, and 60.0, 64.9, and 56.6%, respectively, compared to the controls. Again, compared to the controls, the combined TL13 + FSH and TL13 + FAH increased the activity of SOD, POD, and CAT by 69.7, 68.6, and 65.6%, respectively, and 70.10, 69.5, and 65.8%, respectively. Our results suggest that the pretreatment of snow pea seeds with TL6 and TL13 increases snow pea seedling growth, controls FSH and FAH root rot, increases antioxidant enzyme activity, and activates plant defense mechanisms. The TL13 strain had the greatest performance in terms of pathogen inhibition and snow pea growth promotion compared to the TL6 strain.

Impact of short-term control measures on air quality: A case study during the 7th Military World Games in central China

The 7th Military World Games held in Wuhan (WH) in Oct 2019 provided an opportunity to clarify the impact of short-term control measures on air quality. Fine particulate matters (PM_2.5) were collected in WH, Huangshi (HS), and Huanggang (HG) during the control (Oct 13-28, 2019) and non-control periods (Oct 29- Nov 5, 2019). The results showed that air quality was good during the control period, with the concentrations of PM_2.5 and gaseous pollutants being below the Grade Ⅱ of China Ambient Air Quality Standard. Concentrations of PM_2.5 and its major chemical components in the control period were significantly lower than those in the non-control period, with reductions ranging from 17% (trace elements) to 46% (elemental carbon). However, higher contributions of secondary components such as SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, NH₄⁺ and secondary organic carbon (SOC) to PM_2.5 were observed during the control period, suggesting the important role of secondary transformation. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) of PM_2.5 showed that the main source regions were potentially located in surrounding cities Hubei Province, but regional transport can't be ignored. Six sources were identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) for both control and non-control period. The contributions of combustion emissions and vehicle emissions were amplified in the control period, while the contribution of construction dust increased significantly when the control measures ended. Emission reductions contributed more to PM_2.5 concentration decrease in WH (55%) than that in HS (51%) and HG (49%), which was consistent with the stricter control measures implemented in WH. These results indicated that short-term controls were effective at lowering PM_2.5 concentration. However, the elevated contributions of secondary aerosols and the influence of regional transport on the study areas also need to be paid attention for air quality improvement in the future.

Prevalence of herpes simplex virus 2 among MSM in Mainland China: a systematic review and meta-synthesis

BACKGROUND

As one of the most prolific sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the world, Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2) is one of the primary causes of genital ulcers. In addition, HSV-2 infection multiplies the risk of acquiring HIV. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at particularly high risk of contracting both diseases. Unfortunately, little information is available with regarding to the comprehensive prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in mainland China. The objective of this manuscript was to determine the composite prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in mainland China via systematic review and meta-synthesis.

METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Database for Chinese Periodicals, and the VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals for relevant articles published from the database's inception to 28 April 2022 that reported data on the prevalence of HSV-2 within the MSM population in mainland China. We considered publications to be eligible for inclusion if they satisfied these conditions: (1) publication participants were MSM in China mainland. Studies were excluded if participants were exclusively all HIV-positive MSM, all HIV-negative MSM, injection-drug users, or MSM sex workers. These studies would have introduced selection bias and skewed pooled prevalence estimates higher or lower; (2) proportion of HSV-2 virus among MSM in China mainland were reported; (3) HSV-2 diagnosis was conducted in a laboratory based on a strict type-specific glycoprotein-G based assays diagnostic method or PCR method; and (4) had a sample size over 20. Exclusion criteria included: (1) not being an original manuscript, such as a review article; (2) being a guideline, correspondence, and/or conference abstract; (3) the publication population did not reside in China mainland when the study was carried out; and (4) if the same epidemiological data were printed in both English and Chinese journals, English articles were preferred. We assessed the risk of bias in each individual publication using the modified quality assessment tool for systematic reviews of observational publications (QATSO). This meta-analysis was conducted by using R software. Due to extensive heterogeneity between various publications, we employed a random effect model to calculate the composite prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. We then conducted meta-regression to investigate the potential causes of observed heterogeneity. Lastly, we employed subgroup analysis based on characteristics of studies to compare the prevalence estimates across the groups. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plot, Begg's test and Egger's test. Sensitivity analysis was also performed by removing each single study separately.

RESULTS

This study included 31 articles (9 published in English and 22 in Chinese) in our meta-synthesis. The pooled prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in China mainland was 0.094 (95%CI:0.074 to 0.116). Prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in Southwest China was higher than other regions, prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM that recruited from VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) was lower than other ways, respectively. Compared to 2000-2010, the prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in mainland China showed a downward trend during 2011-2020, however, the difference was not statistically significant .

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in China mainland is high, around 0.094. It indicated HSV-2 needed to be screening for MSM population among China mainland and proper actions should be taken to curve the trend of HSV-2 among MSM in China. Trial registration CRD42020180361.

Variation of pollution sources and health effects on air pollution before and during COVID-19 pandemic in Linfen, Fenwei Plain

Stringent pollution control measures are generally applied to improve air quality, especially in the Spring Festival in China. Meanwhile, human activities are reduced significantly due to nationwide lockdown measures to curtail the COVID-19 spreading in 2020. Herein, to better understand the influence of control measures and meteorology on air pollution, this study compared the variation of pollution source and their health risk during the 2019 and 2020 Spring Festival in Linfen, China. Results revealed that the average concentration of PM_2.5 in 2020 decreased by 39.0% when compared to the 2019 Spring Festival. Organic carbon (OC) and SO₄^2- were the primary contributor to PM_2.5 with the value of 19.5% (21.1%) and 23.5% (25.5%) in 2019 (2020) Spring Festival, respectively. Based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, six pollution sources of PM_2.5 were indicated. Vehicle emissions (VE) had the maximum reduction in pollution source concentration (28.39 μg· m^-3), followed by dust fall (DF) (11.47 μg· m^-3), firework burning (FB) (10.39 μg· m^-3), coal combustion (CC) (8.54 μg· m^-3), and secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) (3.95 μg· m^-3). However, the apportionment concentration of biomass burning (BB) increased by 78.7%, indicating a significant increase in biomass combustion under control measures. PAHs-lifetime lung cancer risk (ILCR) of VE, CC, FB, BB, and DF, decreased by 44.6%, 43.2%, 34.1%, 21.3%, and 2.0%, respectively. Additionally, the average contribution of meteorological conditions on PM_2.5 in 2020 increased by 20.21% compared to 2019 Spring Festival, demonstrating that meteorological conditions played a crucial role in located air pollution. This study revealed that the existing control measures in Linfen were efficient to reduce air pollution and health risk, whereas more BB emissions were worthy of further attention. Furthermore, the result was conducive to developing more effective control measures and putting more attention into unfavorable meteorological conditions in Linfen.

[Risk factors for recurrence and survival analysis in locally advanced T4a papillary thyroid carcinoma after R0 resection]

Objective: To investigate the treatment outcomes and risk factors of postoperative recurrence in T4a papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods: A total of 185 patients with locally advanced T4a PTC treated in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2006 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 127 females and 58 males, aged between 18 and 80 years, with 74 patients aged over 55 years. According to AJCC thyroid tumor staging, 111 cases were stage I (T4aN0M0 26 cases, T4aN1aM0 35 cases, and T4aN1bM0 50 cases) and 74 cases were stage Ⅲ (T4aN0M0 29 cases, T4aN1aM0 19 cases, and T4aN1bM0 26 cases). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival and the recurrence-free rate, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses on the clinical data were performed. Results: Recurrent laryngeal nerve invasion was observed in 150 cases, trachea invasion in 61 cases, esophagus invasion in 30 cases, and laryngeal structure invasion in 10 cases. Postoperative follow-up periods were 24-144 months, with an average of 68.29 months. Of the 185 patients, 18 (9.73%) had recurrences or metastases, including 9 cases (4.86%) died of recurrences or metastases. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates were respectively 95.21% and 93.10%. The 5-year and 10-year disease-free survival rates were respectively 89.65% and 86.85%. Univariate analysis showed that age of onset, tumor diameter, preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, esophageal invasion and cervical lymph node metastasis were the risk factors for postoperative recurrence of T4a PTC(all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (OR=3.27, 95%CI: 1.11-9.61, P=0.032) and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (OR=4.71, 95%CI: 1.19-18.71, P=0.027) were independent risk factors for T4a PTC recurrence. Survival rate of patients with T4a PTC involving only the recurrent laryngeal nerve or the outer tracheal membrane was significantly better than that of patients with tracheal invasion (P<0.05). Conclusions: T4a PTC patients with R0 resection can still achieve good efficacy. Preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis are independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence in the patients.