Incidence and associated risk factors of congenital hypothyroidism among newborns in Hainan, China: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the incidence and risk factors of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in newborns in Hainan Province, China, to provide a reference for early and effective prevention strategies. METHODS: Newborns born in Hainan Province from 2017 to 2021 were the subjects of this study. Time-resolved immunofluorescence was used for initial screening and chemiluminescence for confirmatory diagnosis. Based on the diagnosis, newborns were classified into CH and non-CH groups. Statistical analysis was conducted on the initial screening and confirmed CH cases in newborns in Hainan Province, and potential risk factors for CH were explored. RESULTS: From 2017 to 2021, a total of 585,886 newborns were screened, revealing 6,856 initial positive results, 614 positive rescreens, and 420 confirmed CH cases, yielding an incidence rate of 1/1,395 (420/585,886). The annual initial positive screening rate of newborns in Hainan Province showed a rising trend from 2017 to 2021 (p=0.000). No significant differences were found regarding gender (p=0.400) and ethnicity (p=0.836). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that residing in coastal areas, especially those with salt fields (OR=2.151, 95 % CI: 1.364-3.390), was risk factors for the development of CH in newborns. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CH in newborns showed a year-on-year increase in Hainan Province from 2017 to 2021. Residing in coastal areas, particularly those with salt fields, was identified as a risk factor for the development of CH.

Genotypic spectrum of α-thalassemia and ß-thalassemia in newborns of the Li minority in Hainan province, China.

Purpose: To explore the genotypes and allele frequencies of α, ß and α+ß thalassemias in Li minorities, which resided in Hainan Province of China for a long time. Methods: In the present study, 1,438 newborns of the Li minority were collected from January 2020 to April 2021. The genotypes of thalassemia were detected by fluorescence PCR and verified by flow-through hybridization PCR analyses. Rare genotypes were detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism electrophoresis and Sanger DNA sequencing. Results: Among 1,438 participants, 1,024 (71.2%) were diagnosed with any kind of thalassemia. Among all thalassemia carriers, 902 (88.09%) subjects were diagnosed with α-thalassemia, and 18 subtypes of α-thalassemia were detected, with the top three genotypes being -α4.2/αα (25.39%), -α3.7/αα (22.62%) and αWSα/αα (16.96%). Thirty-two (3.13%) patients were ß-thalassemia carriers, and 6 types of ß-thalassemia genotypes were detected. The top two genotypes were ßCD41-42/ßN (46.88%) and ß-28/ßN (18.75%). Additionally, 90 (8.79%) cases were α + ß-thalassemia, and the top two genotypes were -α3.7/αα, ßCD41-42/ßN (30.00%) and -α4.2/αα, ßCD41-42/ßN (26.67%). Furthermore, two genotypes (-α4.2/HKαα and ßCD76 GCT > CCT/ßN) were first identified in Hainan Province, and ßCD76 GCT > CCT/ßN was first identified in China. Conclusion: Newborns of Li have a higher prevalence of thalassemia for a long period, and further education on the impact of thalassemia, follow-up studies of the clinical manifestation and treatment and proper intervention methods should be designed to reduce the burden of thalassemia and enhance the quality of life in Li newborns.

The efficacy and safety of massage therapy as an adjuvant in the treatment of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in neonates: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) has become a major problem that endangers the life and health of newborns. It is the most serious complication after neonatal asphyxia with a high mortality rate. Even survivors of HIE would suffer permanent neurological developmental impairment that seriously affects the growth and development in the future. Previous studies have shown that massage therapy can improve the prognosis of neonatal HIE. However, the efficacy of massage therapy on the growth, development, and sleep in neonates with HIE reported by various studies is inconsistent, which will be thoroughly assessed in this meta-analysis. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of massage therapy on the growth, development, and sleep neonates with HIE published before February 2022 will be retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Clinical Trial Register. Literature selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses will be independently completed by 2 researchers. Meta-analysis will be performed by using RevMan5.4. RESULTS: The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides a high-quality synthesis to assess the effect of massage therapy on growth, development, and sleep in neonates with HIE. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/G9WXN.

Variants of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene in neonates with phenylketonuria in Hainan, China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency and PAH genotypes in neonates in Hainan, China. Methods: We performed heal stick to collect blood and obtain dry blood spot specimens from newborns in Hainan from January 2007 to December 2016. Phenylalanine (Phe) concentration in these dry blood spots was measured by the fluorescence method to screen phenylketonuria (PKU). For suspicious samples, the genotypes of the PAH gene were amplified by biotin labeled oligonucleotide primers. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were then analyzed by flow-through hybridization to detect genotypes. At the same time, peripheral blood samples of children suspicious of PKU and their parents were used to perform gene sequencing. Results: Of the 914,520 newborns screened, 29 of them had PAH deficiency. The incidence of PAH deficiency in Hainan was 3.17/100,000. A total of 58 mutant alleles belonging to 15 different types were identified in the 29 patients. In terms of genotypes frequency, the top 4 were: c.611A > G 20.7% (12/58) , c.728G > A 17.2%, c.158G > A 15.2% (9/58) and c.721C > T 13.8% (8/58). The frequencies of other genotypes were all below 10%. Conclusion: The incidence of PAH deficiency in Hainan is relatively high among all provinces in southern China. With a total frequency of 67.2%, c.611A > G, c.728G > A, c.158G > A and c.721C > T, and are the most common PAH gene genotypes.

Model predictive control of steering torque in shared driving of autonomous vehicles.

The current path tracking control method is usually based on the steering wheel angle loop, which often makes the driver lose control of the automatic driving control loop. In order to involve the driver in the automatic driving control loop, and to solve the vehicle path tracking control problem with system robustness and model uncertainty, this paper puts forward a steering torque control method based on model predictive control algorithm. Based on the vehicle model, this method introduces the steering system model and the steering resistance torque model, and calculates the optimal control torque of the vehicle through the real-time vehicle status, so as to make up for the model mismatch, interference and other uncertainties, and ensure the real-time participation of the driver in the automatic driving control loop. To combine the nonlinear vehicle dynamics model with the steering column model, and to take the vehicle state parameters as the feedback variables of the model predictive controller model, then input the solution of the steering superposition control rate into the vehicle model, the design of the steering controller is realized. Finally, to carry out the simulation of lane keeping based on CarSim software and Simulink control model, and the hardware in-the-loop test on the hardware in-the-loop experimental platform of CarSim/LabVIEW-RT. The simulation and test results indicate that the designed torque loop path tracking control method based on model predictive control can help the driver track the target path better.

13-Methyl-palmatrubine induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in A549 cells in vitro and in vivo.

Corydalis yanhusuo, a well-known herbaceous plant, is commonly used in the treatment of inflammation, injury and pain. One natural agent isolated from Corydalis yanhusuo, 13-methyl-palmatrubine, was found to have a cytotoxic effect on cancer cells as reported in published studies. In the present study, we synthesized a potential anti-lung tumor agent, 13-methyl-palmatrubine and analyzed its activity. 13-Methyl-palmatrubine exhibited a cytotoxic effect on a panel of cancer cell lines in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Among all the tested cancer cell lines, lung cancer A549 cells were most sensitive to 13-methyl-palmatrubine treatment. Meanwhile 13-methyl-palmatrubine showed less cytotoxicity in human normal cells. Our investigation revealed that 13-methyl­palmatrubine induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 13-methyl-palmatrubine treatment caused activation of P38 and JNK pathways and blocked the EGFR pathway. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that 13-methyl-palmatrubine inhibited the growth of A549 cells mediated by blocking of the EGFR signaling pathway and activation of the MAPK signaling pathway and provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of 13-methyl-palmatrubine.

A novel inhibitory kinetic fluorimetric method for the determination of trace methomyl in environmental samples.

A novel inhibitory kinetic fluorimetric method for the determination of trace methomyl was proposed. It was shown that the Fenton reagent oxidized rhodamine B in acid medium which enabled the fluorescence quenching of the latter. The presence of trace methomyl clearly inhibited the reaction. Upon addition of EDTA, a good linear relationship between the inhibitory effect and the concentration of methomyl was observed, together with improved stabilization and sensitivity. Factors affecting the determination of trace methomyl were investigated systematically. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range for the determination of methomyl was 0.04-2.2 microg/mL; the detection limit and the quantification limit for methomyl were 0.011 and 0.037 microg/mL, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of methomyl in four environmental soil samples, six environmental water samples and one synthetic sample; the results were compared with those determined by the HPLC method. The recoveries and the relative errors were 83.5-101.2 and 0.47-2.02%, respectively. The possible reaction mechanism has also been discussed.

Chemically functionalized silica gel with alizarin violet and its application for selective solid-phase extraction of lead from environmental samples.

A new material for solid-phase extraction of Pb(II) was prepared using chemically functionalized silica gel with alizarin violet. This material is stable in 6molL(-1) of HCl, 6molL(-1) of H(2)SO(4), common organic solvents and pH 1.0-9.0 aqueous solutions. The influences of analytical parameters including pH of the aqueous solution, amount of the functionalized silica gel, stirring time and flow rates of sample solutions on the quantitative recoveries of Pb(II) were investigated. At the optimum conditions, Pb(II) can be adsorbed with almost 100.0% retention, the adsorption equilibration for Pb(II) was achieved within 15min, and the adsorption capacity of the sorbent for Pb(II) is 3.45mgg(-1) of dry functionalized silica gel. For Pb(II) solution of 10ngmL(-1), the pre-concentration factor is as high as 500, and the recovery is higher than 92%. The new solid-phase extractant has been used for the pre-concentration of low level of Pb(II) in water and soil samples with high recoveries. The standard reference water sample (GSBZ 50009-88(2)) was introduced for accuracy and precision of analytical data.