Tobacco point-of-purchase marketing in primary and middle school neighbourhoods in Tianjin / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand the distribution of tobacco point-of-purchase(pop) activies 100 meters around the primary and middle school and the situation of selling cigarettes to students of Tianjin. To provide evidence for creating a smoke-free and healthy school environment.@*Methods@#With the method of simple random sampling, 195 schools were selected to investigate the tobacco retailers within 100 meters around the school, and the nearest tobacco retailers was observed.@*Results@#Totally 36.9 percent of the schools found tobacco retailers within 100 meters. There were 127 tobacco retailers, and no tobacco advertisements were found. The percentage of tobacco retailers within 100 meters of vocational schools, primary schools and middle schools was 33.3%, 34.1% and 40.4%, respectively. Among the 72 tobacco retailers observed, the proportion of tobacco retailers within 20, 21-50, and 51-100 meters from the school were 9.7%, 36.1% and 54.2%, respectively. The majority of tobacco retailers were grocery stores/convenience stores (55.6%), followed by alcohol and tobacco stores (34.7%). The proportion of tobacco selling points failing to set up the signs of "smoking harmful to health" and "not selling cigarettes to minors" were 81.9% and 86.1% respectively.@*Conclusion@#It’s concerning that the layout of tobacco retailers and the posting of signs, and the tobacco products for to minors in Tianjin. It is necessary to strengthen the surrounding environment renovation and publicity and law enforcement.

Enhancing immune effects of a DNA vaccine against kidney cancer using CD40L as an adjuvant

The use of specific combinations of antigens and adjuvant represents a promising approach for increasing the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. In the present study, we evaluated the immunity and antitumor effects of DNA vaccines with G250 as the target antigen in a mouse model of renal cell carcinoma. We constructed two recombinant plasmids, pVAX1-G250 and pVAX1-CD40L. The recombinant plasmids were injected into mice by intramuscular injection and electrical pulse stimulation. ELISA and ELISPOT experiments were performed to evaluate the corresponding humoral and cellular immune responses following immunization. To further investigate the antitumor potential of the DNA vaccines, we established a tumor-bearing mouse model expressing G250 target antigen. Our results showed that immunization with the combination of the two plasmids exerted the strongest anti-tumor effects. Therefore, our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of CD40L as an adjuvant for DNA vaccines and highlighted the promising use of these vaccines for the treatment of tumors.

Coronary heart disease mortality in China: age, gender, and urban—rural gaps during epidemiological transition / Mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria en China: edad, sexo y brechas entre la población urbana y la rural durante la transición epidemiológica

Objetivo. Examinar y describir la mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria y su patrón de cambio (tendencia) por sexo, edad y zona de residencia (urbana frente a rural) en Tianjín, China, en el contexto de la transición epidemiológica, y compararla con lastendencias actuales en las Américas y Europa. Métodos. Se analizaron 104 393 casos de muertes debidas a cardiopatía coronaria ocurridas en Tianjín entre 1999 y 2008. Se codificó la mortalidad debida a cardiopatíacoronaria según la Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades (novena y décima revisiones). Se analizaron las tasas estandarizadas de mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria y sus tendencias por edad, sexo y residencia urbana frente a rural. Resultados. Durante el período de estudio, de 10 años, la proporción de la mortalidad total debida a cardiopatía coronaria registrada en Tianjín aumentó significativamente(de 16% a 24%) y la mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria estandarizadapor edad aumentó levemente (sin significación estadística), en contraposición con las tendencias de mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria observadas en diversos países delas Américas y Europa, que están descendiendo. No se encontraron diferencias en la tendencia de la mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria por sexo en Tianjín. La mortalidadgeneral por cardiopatía coronaria fue sistemáticamente más elevada en los grupos de mayor edad, los varones y los residentes de zonas urbanas. La proporción de muertes debidas a cardiopatía coronaria que ocurrieron fuera de los hospitales fue de 55,81%, con una tendencia decreciente en el período de estudio. Esta proporción fuemayor en las zonas rurales que en las urbanas, pero no se encontró diferencia entre los distintos grupos de edad.Conclusiones. Desde 1999 hasta el 2008, la mortalidad por cardiopatía coronaria en Tianjín varió según el sexo, la edad y la residencia urbana frente a la rural...

Objective. To examine and describe coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality and its pattern of change (trend) by sex, age, and area of residence (urban versus rural) in Tianjin, China, within the context of epidemiological transition, and compare it with current trends in the Americas and Europe.Methods. A total of 104 393 cases of CHD death in Tianjin occurring between 1999 and 2008 were monitored. Death due to CHD was coded using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) standards (ninth and tenth revisions). Standardized CHD mortality rates and their trends were analyzed by age, sex, and urban versus rural residence. Results. During the 10-year study period, the proportion of total deaths due to CHD in Tianjin increased significantly (from 16% to 24%) and age-standardized CHD mortalityincreased slightly (with no statistical differences), in contrast to CHD mortality trends in various countries in the Americas and Europe, which are declining. No difference was found inTianjin’s CHD mortality trend by sex. Overall CHD mortality was consistently higher among older age groups, males, and residents of urban areas. The proportion of CHD deaths occurringoutside hospitals was 55.81%, with a declining trend over the study period. Rural areas had a higher proportion of outside-hospital CHD mortality than urban areas, but no difference wasfound across age groups. Conclusions. From 1999 to 2008, CHD mortality in Tianjin varied by sex, age, and urbanversus rural area of residence. Future research to identify CHD risk factors and the populations most vulnerable to the disease is recommended to help strengthen CHD prevention. Strategiesfor CHD control similar to those used in various developed countries in the Americas and Europe should be developed to reduce the CHD burden in China.