[Investigation on cognition, diagnosis and treatment status of chest tightness variant asthma among Chinese pediatricians]

Objective: To evaluate the awareness, diagnosis and treatment of chest tightness variant asthma (CTVA) among pediatricians in China. Methods: The survey was conducted by convenient sampling method. Pediatricians with professional title of attending physician and above from different grades hospitals in 30 provinces were invited to conduct online questionnaire surveys through WeChat, pediatricians scan QR codes to complete electronic questionnaires in the mini program from January 16th to February 4th, 2021. The contents of questionnaire included the awareness, diagnosis and treatment of CTVA, and comparing the differences between pediatricians in secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals. Results: A total of 1 529 pediatricians participated in the survey, and 1 484 (97.06%) pediatricians completed the questionnaire and included in the analysis, including 420 males (28.30%). The awareness rate of CTVA among pediatricians was 77.83 % (1 155/1 484). Pediatricians in tertiary hospitals had higher rates of awareness of CTVA than pediatricians in secondary hospitals [81.86% (898/1 097) vs 66.41% (257/387), P<0.001] and had better execution of the guidelines [89.15% (978/1 097) vs 79.59% (308/387), P<0.001]. A total of 93.06 % (1 381/1 484) of pediatricians' first-line treatment included inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for CTVA. Among them, a higher proportion of pediatricians in tertiary hospitals used ICS included regimens for first-line treatment of CTVA compared with pediatricians in secondary hospitals [94.90% (1 041/1 097) vs 87.86% (340/387), P<0.001]. The reported well control rate of CTVA was 32.08% (476/1 484), which was significantly lower in secondary hospitals than that in tertiary hospitals [17.31% (67/387) vs 37.28% (409/1 097), P<0.001]. Conclusion: Most pediatricians are well aware of CTVA, among which there is a certain gap in clinical practice between pediatricians in secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals in terms of understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of CTVA.

Comparative microbiome analysis reveals the variation in microbial communities between 'Kyoho' grape and its bud mutant variety

Microbes are an important part of the vineyard ecosystem, which significantly influence the quality of grapes. Previously, we identified a bud mutant variety (named 'Fengzao') from 'Kyoho' grapes. The variation of microbial communities in grape and its bud mutant variety has not been studied yet. So, in this study, with the samples of both 'Fengzao' and 'Kyoho', we conducted high-throughput microbiome sequencing and investigated their microbial communities in different tissues. Obvious differences were observed in the microbial communities between 'Fengzao' and 'Kyoho'. The fruit and the stem are the tissues with relatively higher abundance of microbes, while the leaves contained less microbes. The fruit and the stem of 'Kyoho' and the stem of 'Fengzao' had relatively higher species diversity based on the alpha diversity analysis. Proteobacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Rhodobacteraceae had significantly high abundance in 'Fengzao'. Firmicutes and Pseudomonas were highly abundant in the stems of 'Kyoho', and family of Spirochaetaceae, Anaplasmataceae, Chlorobiaceae, and Sphingomonadaceae, and genera of Spirochaeta, Sphingomonas, Chlorobaculum and Wolbachia were abundant in the fruits of 'Kyoho'. These identified microbes are main components of the microbial communities, and could be important regulators of grapevine growth and development. This study revealed the differences in the microbial compositions between 'Kyoho' and its bud mutant, and these identified microbes will be significant resources for the future researches on the quality regulation and disease control of grapevines.

[Analysis of respiratory syncytial virus infection in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infection in China from 2017 to 2020]

Objective: To understand the detection rate, epidemic pattern of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in China. Methods: From June 2017 to March 2020, a prospective multi-center study on the viral aetiology among hospitalized children with ALRTI was conducted in six pediatrics hospital of North China, Northeast, Northwest, South China, Southeast, and Southwest China. A total of 2 839 hospitalized children with ALRTI were enrolled, and the respiratory specimens were collected from these cases. A multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay were employed to screen the respiratory viruses, and the molecular epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children infected with RSV were analyzed. Results: The positve rate of RSV was 18.6% (528/2 839), and the positive rate of RSV in different regions ranged from 5.5% to 44.3%. The positive rate of RSV in male was higher than that in female (20.2% vs 16.3%), and there was a significant statistically difference between two groups (χ2=6.74, P=0.009). The positive rate of RSV among children under 5 years old was higher than that among children older than 5 years old (22.3% vs 4.5%), and there was a significant statistically difference between two groups (χ2=97.98,P<0.001). The positive rate of RSV among the <6 months age group was higher than that of other age groups (all P<0.05). During January 2018 and December 2019, RSV was detected in almost all through the year, and showed peaks in winter and spring. RSV-positive cases accounted for 17.0% (46/270) among children with severe pneumonia, including 36 cases infected with RSV alone. Conclusion: RSV is an important viral pathogen in children under 5 years old with ALRTI in China. The virus can be detected almost all through the year and reached the peak in winter and spring. RSV could lead to severe pneumonia in children and caused huge threaten to children's health.

DXA-measured visceral fat mass and lean body mass reflect abnormal metabolic phenotypes among some obese and nonobese Chinese children and adolescents

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The exact constellation of body composition characteristics among metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) and nonobese (MUNO) children and adolescents remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the major body composition determinants of metabolically unhealthy phenotypes among Chinese children and adolescents.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We used data from a cross-sectional survey in 2015 that included 1983 children and adolescents aged 6-18 years. Subjects were classified into two phenotypes based on a combination of body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome components. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Among all boys and among adolescent boys, those with MUNO phenotypes displayed significantly higher indices of body composition except for fat mass (FM) percentage and trunk-to-legs FM ratio compared with the metabolically healthy nonobese phenotype (all P < 0.05). MUO individuals had higher arm FM, lean body mass (LBM), and trunk lean mass compared to metabolically healthy obese individuals (all P < 0.05). Visceral fat mass (VFM) and BMI were the major independent determinants of MUNO (VFM, 6- to 9-year-old boys, OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.00-1.03, P = 0.021; BMI, 6- to 9-year-old girls, OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.31-2.84, P = 0.001; and adolescent boys, OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.23-1.44, P < 0.001). LBM was the major independent predictor of MUO among adolescent boys (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.03-1.17, P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Among children and adolescents, the metabolically unhealthy phenotype was associated with excess of body composition, but with significant differences observed based on age and sex. VFM and LBM derived by DXA can predict the metabolically unhealthy phenotype effectively in specific sex and age groups.

[Study on the correlation between depression and emotion regulation strategies in the elderly residents]

Objective: To explore the cross-sectional study of depressive and emotional regulation strategies of elderly residents in Yinchuan and their relationship. Methods: A total number of 1 043 elderly cases, including 505 from 5 nursing institutions and 538 from 5 communities in Yinchuan city were chosen, from March to May, 2016. Depression survey using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), emotional adjustment strategies were conducted using the Gross Emotional Regulatory Questionnaire and the Rumination Scale. Results: The overall incidence rate of depression among the elderly residents appeared as 32.0%, with 35.5% in the communities and 28.3% in the nursing homes and the difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=6.187, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of depression among the elderly and the aged in the community (χ(2)=0.066, P=0.798) by the trend analysis method. The score of GDS for the 1 043 elderly was (9.1±5.7) points. The scores on cognitive reappraisal in emotional adjustment strategies and on expression inhibition were (26.7±8.0) and (16.3±6.6) points respectively. The score of the rumination was (34.5±11.7) points. There were significant differences in cognitive reappraisal scores on different sex, hobbies and physical exercise (all Ps<0.05) among the elderly. There were significant differences in rumination scores among the elderly with different age, marital status, cultural level, interest (all Ps<0.05) and in the scores of expression inhibition among the elderly with different levels of education and income (all Ps<0.05). There appeared a negative correlation between the depression scores and cognitive reappraisal (r=-0.400, P<0.01) but a positive correlation between the scores of depression and rumination (r=0.652, P<0.01). Conclusion: The incidence of depression identified in the elderly residents appeared high and was associated with emotional adjustment strategies, in Yinchuan city.

Cytoskeleton changes of airway smooth muscle cells in juvenile rats with airway remodeling in asthma and the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway mechanism

This article aimed to investigate changes in the cytoskeleton of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) in juvenile rats with airway remodeling in asthma. We further investigated the involvement of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway mechanism. Rat models of airway remodeling in asthma were established by antigen sensitization with ovalbumin for 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. The control group was treated with normal saline instead of ovalbumin. In the intervention group, after 8 weeks of culture, ASMCs were treated with the ROCK-specific inhibitor Y-27632. Immunofluorescence, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analyses were used to observe changes in the cytoskeleton (F-actin and α-tubulin) of ASMCs and expressions of RhoA and ROCK. The asthmatic groups had significantly higher average gray values of F-actin in ASMCs compared to the control group (P < 0.01), and these values for the intervention group were significantly lower than those of the 8-week asthmatic group (P < 0.05). Expression levels of the α-tubulin protein in the asthmatic groups were all significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01), and the levels in the intervention group were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). Expressions of RhoA and ROCK mRNA and proteins in all asthmatic groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01). Together, these results demonstrate substantial changes of the ASMC cytoskeleton and abnormal expressions of RhoA and ROCK mRNA and proteins in juvenile rats with airway remodeling in asthma.