A new variant of respiratory syncytial virus glycoprotein gene and clinical features of infected children / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological features of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in Beijing, and monitor the sequence variations in RSV glycoprotein (G) gene and clinical features of infected children.Methods:Respiratory tract specimens were collected from children with acute respiratory infection in the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. RSV-positive specimens screened by multiple nucleic acid testing were subjected to PCR to amplify the full-length RSV G gene. A phylogenetic tree was constructed after gene sequencing to analyze RSV subtypes and trace G gene variants. Clinical data were retrieved from the medical record system to analyze the clinical features of children with RSV infection in Beijing.Results:A total of 5 489 respiratory specimens were collected from 3 046 male patients and 2 443 female patients. The average age of the patients was 4.36 years. A total of 589 RSV-positive specimens (10.7%, 589/5 489) were detected with 349 from male patients and 240 from female patients. The average age of children with RSV infection was (2.51±2.78) years and the median age was 0.48 years. RSV had been circulating among children in Beijing since March 2023 with two epidemic peaks in May (24.6%, 122/496) and December (18.2%, 126/693). The predominant subtype of RSV in the first half of 2023 was subtype A, but it was replaced by subtype B from November 2023. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a novel G gene of RSV subtype B (RSV-B-BA9-954bp) with a length of 954 bp, which belonged to a new cluster in the phylogenetic tree. The percentage of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was higher in children with new variant of RSV subtype B infection than in those with common RSV subtype B infection [44.1% (15/34) vs 25.2% (31/123), χ 2=4.600, P=0.032], while the counts of white blood cells and the levels of C-reactive protein were lower in the children with new variant infection ( P<0.05). Conclusions:RSV has been prevalent among children in Beijing since March 2023 with two epidemic peaks. The predominant A subtype is gradually replaced by to B subtype. A new variant of RSV B G gene (RSV-B-BA9-954bp) is detected among the children.

Research progress on the mechanism of iridoids from Gardenia jasminoides against Alzheimer ’s disease / 中国药房

Alzheimer’s disease （AD）is a common latent neurodegenerative disease ，which is characterized by cognitive impairment，loss of learning and memory function ，abnormal behavior and dementia. At present ，there is no specific drug to effectively prevent or reverse AD. Gardenia jasminoides is the dried and mature fruit of G. jasminoides J. Ellis ，a gardenia plant in Rubiaceae. Its chemical components mainly include iridoids ，triterpenoids，organic acids and volatile oils ，among which iridoids are the main active components of G. jasminoides . This paper summarizes the researches on the mechanism of iridoids from G. jasminoides against AD at home and abroad in recent years ，in order to provide reference for the development of new drugs against AD.

Taxifolin attenuates inflammation via suppressing MAPK signal pathway in vitro and in silico analysis / 中草药·英文版

Objective: Taxifolin is a natural flavonoid compound that can be isolated from onions, grapes, oranges and grapefruit. It also acts as a medicine food homology with extraordinary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. This study aims to explain the protective effects and potential mechanisms of taxifolin against inflammatory reaction. Methods: Levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed in different time after the treatment of taxifolin in RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Subsequently, the mRNA and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were also evaluated. A silico analysis was used to explain the binding situation for the investigation of taxifolin and MAPK signal pathway. And then MAPK inhibitors were used to reveal the expression level of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells. Results: It was demonstrated that cell inflammatory damage induced by LPS was significantly alleviated after the treatment of taxifolin. Then, the mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α were reduced and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were down-regulated remarkably as well. In silico analysis, taxifolin could form a relatively stable combination with MAPK signal pathway. MAPK inhibitors showed increasing or decreasing effect in the mRNA levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α, which suggesting that taxifolin down-regulated iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α expressions were not entirely through the MAPK pathway. Conclusion: This finding demonstrated that taxifolin improved the inflammatory responses that partly involved in the phosphorylation expression level of MAPK signal pathway in RAW264.7 cells exposed to acute stress.

Auxiliary diagnosis model of children with autism spectrum disorder based on random forest / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#The random forest algorithm was used to construct a rapid screening diagnostic prediction model for children with autism spectrum disorder, to provide the references for early detection, early diagnosis of ASD children, and to reduce the pressure of ASD clinical diagnosis and assessment.@*Methods@#The random forest algorithm of machine learning was applied to build the auxiliary diagnosis model. Totally 346 ASD children and 90 normal children were evaluated by Social Responsiveness Scale and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. ROC curve, and accuracy was used to evaluate the models.@*Results@#Among the models, the accuracy of 13 feature factors and 7 feature factors were above 0.9, the sensitivity was up to 0.927, the specificity was up to 0.936 and the AUC was up to 0.979. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and AUC of the model were 0.943,0.959,0.931 and 0.978 respectively. The fitting and generalization effects of the three models were all satisfactory.@*Conclusion@#A random forest model based on the SRS Scales and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales can be used to diagnose ASD accurately and provide scientific basis for the development of rapid screening and diagnosis tools.